Rune got up and placed another log on the dying fire, and then came and sat back down next to me. He tool off his Reflec-Robe and threw it on a nearby chair. I taunted him that he would get a stern talking-to from Bindo for scattering clothes around. He stuck his tongue out at me and then said, "I want to tell you about where I was, and everything that happened." I interrupted him for a moment to ask him about the terrible nightmare I had in the past, after he had left. He assured me that nothing like that had ever happened. I still felt unsure about it, something didn't sit right with me, but I dropped the subject so he could enlighten me with his tales.
He told me of his journey to back to Motavia, how he found Molcum in ruins, the death of Alys Brangwin and finally how they ended up here at the Esper Mansion. He held my hand as he informed me of the Ice-Digger and the stolen Eclipse Torch. He then turned his face away for a moment, then back and looked into my eyes. He blinked and said, "You aren't going to like what I have to say next." I could feel the tears well up behind my eyes and my throat clenched as I thought to myself, "He has to leave again. Oh, Light, he is leaving." He gripped my hand tightly in his and spoke.
"Kayne, my love, I have to leave again. I am a Protector, and as Lutz, you know it is my destiny to fight the Darkness. I want you to know that I will always love you and the children. You are my life, my soul mate, and I will always, always be in your heart and mind protecting you, even if I am not here in physical form." He then hesitated for a moment and at last spoke again. "There is more I need to tell you, but now is not the right time."
As he ended his oration, I was sobbing, clutching his hand tightly in mine. I understood that his destiny lay with the Darkness, and I understood perfectly that I could very well lose him. He took the back of his hand and gently wiped the tears from my cheeks. He embraced me and held me in his arms for ages. As the fire died down once more, we decided to retire to our bedroom. We walked down the now dimly lit hallway. Before we arrived at our chambers, we stopped in the children's rooms to find them asleep, Araliya on her windowsill. He put his tiny daughter back in her bed and then joined me once again for the long walk down the hall to our chambers.
The room was dark save small oil lamps on either side of our bed. As Rune closed and locked the door for the night, I watched him. Watched the way he moved, the way he always cocked his head to the right when concentrating; in this case to get the somewhat ancient lock on the door to function; and the way he was always blowing the hair out from in front of his eyes. When he was finally victorious in his wrestling match with the lock, he removed his green tunic and pants and got into bed.
I suddenly realized that I would need to start sleeping on my side of the bed again, as I had gotten used to being able to sprawl out in Rune's absence. I also remembered how Rune and I always fought over the blankets, although he would almost always relinquish them to me in the end...unlike a certain seven-year-old, suddenly sleeping in Mommy's bed, who seemed to gain the strength of five Fanbites when wrestling for the blankets in her sleep. As he turned out the light on his side of the bed, he put his arm around me and kissed me as the room went black, except for the glimmering starlight coming through the open curtains of the chambers. That night, we shared a memorable evening, one of love that had been separated for nearly two hundred years.
