Pre-Canon Adventures Collection

A Step Too Far

Ardorus catches wind of a Voltaris group gunning for his life, and he seeks to protect his family at all costs, and sends them as far away from himself as he can while he fights; but what he doesn't know is that the Voltaris are already wise to his plans

And he runs out of time to stop them

Author's note: again, it's an old one, but for those who have read "The Fisher," this is the one that precedes it. I reused the same dialogue from it to officially link it; so you will prolly guess what comes in this

also, it do be a bit of a chonker for a oneshot, and I realised at the time it was awfully long, but there was a lot to get through

*a lot* XD

it is slightly less wholesome, but paramount to Ardorus' character, so just work with me on this one

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"Mara, do not panic..."

Mara whirled around to her other, her eyes bright with fear.

"Ardorus, you do not just come in here and say, 'do not panic' and expect me not to panic. What's going on?" Ardorus scooped the small Achillean in his arms and grabbed a handful of items before turning to face Mara, his features rigid with anxiety. She grabbed his shoulders to stop him from flustering. His breathing was ragged and his whole body was tense. "Ardy?"

"There is a Voltaris rebellion headed our way. We must prepare."

Ardorus pulled himself from Mara's grasp and continued running around the hut, gathering small items, blankets, bottles, supplies. Mara continued to watch in shock, still misunderstanding what the Nestoris Master was insinuating.

"How can you be so sure?"

Panting, Ardorus stopped for a brief moment to connect with his other.

"The Sendaris sent word this morning. There was a Voltaris group out to get Thalleous Sendaris. He was with us on our attack at the border two weeks ago. He survived, but they have spoken ill of my name. I am next." The finality of Ardorus' last words resonated off the walls of their family hut and the realisation set in that this was not a mere threat, but an act to come.

Deadly.

Mara's breath was ripped from her lungs as she saw the panic on Ardorus' face, and the flustering had upset Achillean to where he cried loudly, calling for his father, yet his audible cries were not the only thing screaming for their attention.

Ardorus took a deep breath in.

"I am taking Achillean to your sister, Isla. He will be safer there. I want you to grab Jediah and get as far away from here as you can. I will come back for you."

The stunned stillness of the room was glaringly obvious to anyone who passed by, but the disbelief was thicker as Mara tried to comprehend the threat laid upon their lives, simply by being with the Nestoris Master. She never approved of Ardorus' hunts against the Voltaris clan, just as she never approved of his disappearances to help fight battles that were not his to fight. She knew that Aegus was more than capable of handling the patrol teams, but she never tried to stop him. She knew that Ardorus did it all out of protection, not just for his clan, but for his family, too.

Now it had dawned on all of them that being family of the Nestoris Master made them as much a target as Ardorus was himself. Mara, especially, never expected it to come to this, even after Jediah was born. With two young boys now to care for, the weight of responsibility had just come crashing down.

Mara nodded affirmatively and also began gathering things, before yelling for Jediah to come back to her. The young boy came running into the hut and froze on seeing his parents running ragged, Ardorus clinging onto his younger brother, sweat beading across his forehead.

"Dad?" he whimpered.

Ardorus stopped in his tracks to cast a worried look on Jediah. Slowly, he passed Achillean to Mara and knelt in front of Jediah, planting his palms on the boy's upper arms and rubbing his thumb over his skin.