Loss of Innocence

[Claire]

When their eyes met for the first time since leaving him, Claire felt warmth spread in the pit of her stomach. She was sure it was love for her mentor, but surely it was platonic. He had saved her and kept her alive, and she had missed him when he was gone. When his arms folded around her waist and he pulled her into a careful hug, she was sure he could feel her heart beating from the excitement of the moment – even through his armor. He made no comment when she blushed a pretty shade of pink at his compliment.

Before they left, Claire knelt in front of Rika and hugged the woman tight, kissing both of her cheeks before allowing Xavier to drag her away. This was a day she would remember forever.

As they climbed to the highest part of the city, Xavier was careful with her. At first he didn’t seem to want to touch her for fear of damaging her garment, but she laughed at his timidity which only encouraged him to prove her wrong. His strong hands wrapped around her tiny waist, made even smaller by the corset, and lifted her over puddles and other dirty things lying about in places. By the time they made it to the castle, Xavier had Claire by the hand.
To make things more formal he draped her hand over his forearm, and she fell back on the teaching she had received from Destiny and her mother – without even thinking about it. It had been ingrained in her from the moment that she could walk.

Xavier was talking, forcing Claire to listen, and she frowned when he asked her not to be angry with him. He spoke of Sieg and moving against the Warheight heirs, and something else – something he wouldn’t say to her. Then everything moved so quickly that Claire had a hard time even registering what had occurred.

When the doors opened and Xavier fell into a deep bow, she mimicked him – not fully understanding what was going on.
It took Claire a full minute to get past her shock as Lady Ravenshield crushed her in a familiar hug. She knew the woman but it had been ages since she’d seen her last. Without thinking she hugged the woman back, careful of her robes. She smelled like family, like the home she had before everything had gone wrong. When they parted, Louvinia kept a firm hold on her hands, and Claire gave her a reassuring squeeze. The Lady Warheight had always been her favorite Aunt – so full of adventure and glamour and magic.

“It feels as if it has been an eternity and a half, Aunt Louvinia!” The familiarity rolled off Claire’s tongue with eagerness, but she was reserved – unsure if this familiarity was allowed. It had been so long that she couldn’t help but be enthusiastic and enthralled by her Aunt’s presence. When she saw the knowing and understanding in her Aunt’s eyes Claire could almost feel her heart break. She managed to keep the tears out of her eyes and off of her face as she smiled once again, too happy at being reunited with her Aunt to be totally undone by the memory of her lost family.

[Sage]

Darius was a flurry of gold and green. When he appeared behind Louvinia in the hall his mighty hammer, Vigor, was already drawn and leveled at Xavier. An especially formidable feat, consider it's topheavy nature. The towering man snorted like a bull as he fell upon Xavier with a blow of the great hammer, to which Xavier responded by catching the infinitely heavy thing, a similarly impressive display of strength.

The response had been a reflex, and as his eyes met Darius', and saw understanding, he lowered his hand. The enormous bulk of the hammer fell to the ground, fracturing the stone tiles that made up the floor. Darius shoved Xavier toward the exit, his words too enraged to interpret. Before the blow was struck, Louvinia took up Claire delicately in her arms, shielding her from the violence.

" Enough! Outside, the both of you! "

Darius roared, not daring to face his formidable wife. " Lou, you know what he... "

General Ravenshield grabbed for his weapon once more, when a flicker of silvery wind erupted from Louvinia's hand, cutting him as he tried to heft it's weight. " And no weapons! Talk, like men! "

Xavier, who had lowered his defenses, fully anticipating Darius' reaction, sullenly left the room in silence. His guilt left him unable to defend himself against Dariu's righteous aggression, despite Louvinia's interventions. Darius dusted himself once, fiercely, and moved to Claire. All the while he watched Xavier's back, until he was gone. Turning Claire to face him, he gripped one shoulder firmly, reassuring her as much as he could in her anger.

" It is very nice to meet you, young Warheight. It's true what they say, you are every bit the firebrand the King was, at your age. And I should know. I had sincerely hoped you had left Algeroth, until after this ugly mess had been dealt with, but it seems your caretaker has seen fit to squirrel you away in a demon-infested swamp, instead. Right under Sieg's nose, no less! "

As his heartfelt speech turned into somewhat of a rant, Louvinia nudged him, forcefully. He stopped speaking, abruptly, and gave a slight bow, before heading toward the door Xavier had left through.