Guardian (Sequel to Fearless)

Chapter Forty Nine

A/N -- Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Now that we've had the guardian trials... it's time to start building on the end of the book. ALSO IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER -- IN VIDEO FORM!

Azabela sat at the table with Dane, who ate his lunch silently. His entire life, he'd been a quiet boy... but today was different than others. He said nothing at all to Azabela; he didn't even look in her direction from the other end of the table. Dane just stared down at his plate, his shoulder-length locks swirling to obscure his face. Not one to be kept in suspense, the huntress cleared her throat. He still didn't look up.

"Dane," she finally said, drawing his attention. He jumped a little, shaken from his thoughts.

"Huh?" he asked. "Sorry."

Azabela chuckled and shook her head. "You look troubled. Is everything alright?"

Dane smiled a little, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. In fact, everything about him, including the smile held up by pins, looked incredibly anxious. Even his coal-black eyes looked darker than usual. "Yeah, everything's good," he said. "Just... do you have any idea when mom is going to be home again?"

"She's not coming back home anytime this week," Azabela answered, her brow denting in. "She had to put your aunt through the guardian trials. She told us that, remember?"

Dane visibly relaxed at that. "She's not coming home tonight?"

"You look happy about that," Azabela put down her eating utensil and eyed him suspiciously. "Dane, what did you do?"

He looked about as guilty as a fox in a chicken pen, despite his best efforts to hide it.
When he met Azabela's face, he found that she was still staring directly at him. "Ah, I didn't do anything. I was just wondering if she'd be home anytime soon." It was such a lie, and the huntress knew it immediately.

"Dane," she drew out his name.

He sighed. "Can I ask you something?"

Azabela nodded.

"If all three of us were home," he began, swallowing a mouthful of air. "And mother was coming at me with intent to kill, would you stop her? Could you stop her?"

Azabela was breathless for a second. "Why would she..." she began, and something in her eyes went dark. "You didn't smoke the fiddler's weed did you?" Dane looked taken aback, but Azabela went on regardless. "Oh gods, Dane, you didn't go and make us gods damned grandmothers already did you?"

"No!" Dane interrupted before she could go on. "And uh, no. I just... I was with grandmother in the village a couple weeks ago, helping her sell her remedies..."

"Did you steal something?" Azabela guessed again.

Dane looked at her pointedly. "No. " He took a deep breath. "I just met someone... that I like," he said quietly. "I think."

Azabela shook her head. "That's it?"

Dane nodded. "That's it. I just... I wanted to bring her here for dinner one night. I would cook, obviously. I was going to bring her a night when mom wasn't home... for the first time, anyway. She'll obviously meet mother eventually."

"I see. Well that's alright." Azabela's gaze softened. "But I must ask: why when she's not home? Why do you think she'd kill you for liking a girl?"

"Because," Dane sighed. "You know she's weird about that kind of stuff. Especially since I'm... male. With all the stuff that... happened. I don't want her to think I... ah, I can't think of how to say this." His face heated up red, and he stopped trying to explain himself.