A/N: Dear readers, I am deeply sorry for making you wait so long for the continuation of this story. And maybe even more so for what I have to add. I will not be able to continue for quite some time as I am currently facing the finals of my studying and education. Those are frightening beasts, I can tell you ;-) Anyhow, do not expect any updates before late April. But rest assured that this story will be finished! I am not going to abandon it. I am just reaaaalllly, reeeaaaally slow about it.

On we go. Oh, and please note that once again this chappie hasn´t been beta-ed.

Moony, what happened to you? My brilliant beta has somehow vanished. I am quite concerned, cause I cannot seem to reach her via mail or pm. (se-kari). She has been a great support and made the story flow better with her suggestions and corrections. Miss you!

CHAPTER 17

Escalations

Aknock alerted the High Lord and his wife to Takan´s presence. Akkarin bid him enter, curious as to what the servant would want at that time of day. It was unusual for his old friend to contact him once he had retired, especially in the company of his wife.

"Lord Balkan is here to see you, Master."

"Balkan?" Akkarin sought out his wife´s gaze raising an eyebrow in silent question. Sonea simply shrugged. "What does he want, Takan?"

"I cannot say, Master, but it seemed urgent."

The black-robed magician sighed and stood up moving away from the bed. When he reached the door he looked back ruefully. "No peace for us today, I fear. Once again my post claims me. I´m sorry."

"Don´t be. Just get back here quickly." She smiled.

The High Lord stepped out of the room, straightened his robes and settled his face in an expression of mild reproach. He did not like to be called at at this time of day. Even Lord Osen had learned that by now. Then again the old Warrior certainly wouldn´t contact him if it wasn´t important.

Takan led the way down the stairs and into the study of the High Lord´s residence. The Warrior was pacing up and down clearly agitated. When the High Lord entered the older man approached and bowed.

"High Lord."

"Lord Balkan, what brings you here at that late hour?"

"A rather, eh, delicate matter, my Lord." Balkan gazed at Takan, who had remained inside the room standing at attention. "Maybe we should discuss this in private."

"Very well, shall Takan bring us a glass of wine first?"

Akkarin was now very curious. The red-robed magician wasn´t easily flustered. Something must have shattered his calm. It certainly was unusual for him to not sense his displeasure and apologise accordingly.

"Yes, please", the older man said and absentmindedly combed his left hand through his hair his other clamped around a piece of paper. "Maybe that would be for the best."

This was getting rather odd. What could have the man´s robes in such a twist that he would be that affected? The High Lord stepped closer to his old comrade and teacher, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Balkan."

Finally he was granted a direct and unwavering gaze, bringing back the man he knew. The red-robed man gripped his extended arm with his left hand, completing the male half-embrace his superior had offered.

"Akkarin, I have failed you."

"I cannot imagine you have, Balkan. Come. Sit down."

The two men settled into the chairs by the fire. Takan, who had left to fetch the wine, returned and offered them both a long-stemmed glass filled with sparkling deep-red liquid before bowing and leaving them alone again. The Head of the Warriors and the High Lord each sampled the wine and leaned back in the chairs, the latter watching his guest over the rim of his glass with a mixture of unbelieving certainty and unacknowledged trepidation. Had something gone wrong with the volunteers? Had there been another rogue?

"Now, tell me. What makes you judge yourself so harshly?"

"I feel I have made myself guilty of not having protected your wife early and insistently enough."

Akkarin was caught off guard. This had to do with Sonea? Again? First the standard of banishment, now his old comrade´s surprising admission?

"I fear I do not understand. Please elaborate."

"Before I start, I´d like to have your permission to speak frankly even should I be forced to speak ill of one of our Guild members. What I have to impart is mostly based on my own impressions and gut-instincts, nevertheless I have learned in many a battle that I have to trust my inner warnings."

"You may speak freely, Balkan. I will hear you out as a friend rather than your High Lord as far as that will be possible for me. I cannot promise anything more, as you well know."

Lord Balkan seemed to be relieved and grateful, so Akkarin had read him correctly. The old Warrior feared to invoke another feud in the Guild, between powerful Houses most likely. And one House, the High Lord assumed, would be his own.

"Thank you, Akkarin. I first felt those inner warnings, so to speak, when I was supervising your wife and Regin of Winar this morning. Something about the way they interacted, or rather the way he interacted with her seemed to be, well, maybe not inappropriate, but certainly uncommon."

Regin! Again. The High Lord felt his own misgivings rear their heads, but he had promised Sonea to trust her with this strange development just a few minutes ago, hadn´t he?

"I know of the young Winar´s efforts towards my wife, Balkan. I ask you to treat this as personal information, Sonea believes him to be genuine in his promise to change his views."

"Forgive me for being so frank, but you do not seem to agree with your wife?"

Ah, so the old fox had heard the slight inflection despite his efforts. No other than a Head of the Guild would have dared to call him out on it, certainly. Then again he had always valued Lord Balkan´s direct, honest and steady ways. He locked eyes with the man sitting in front of him. This was a very precarious situation.

"It is in my nature as a politician to second-guess dramatic changes such as this. I find I cannot discard certain habits easily."

"I understand. I myself wasn´t sure what to make of his behaviour this morning. Coming back here after my visit to the Volunteers and finding the Guild in an uproar about the rather dramatic conclusion of Regin´s little gathering I decided to, ehm, investigate further."

Akkarin leaned forward in his chair subconsciously. His body tensed subtly. His expression, however, did not waver from open albeit controlled interest.

"And?"

A heavy silence followed his short question. Both men seized each other up, weighing how to proceed. The High Lord´s gaze never strayed from the Warrior´s blue eyes. Instead of the unreadable, uncompromising black stare he sometimes employed as High Lord, however the black-robed man allowed his eyes to convey some of the emotional turmoil inside. It was a silent demand to answer honestly, man to man, friend to friend. Balkan inclined his head, acknowledging the invitation and held up his hand, paper still clutched inside.

"And I found this in his rooms."

Flawless letters covered the sheet in the unmistakable hand of a noble. However, what really drew the dark-haired man´s attention was the single line at the top of the list.

'How to get rid of Sonea'

As rage threatened to flood his body he pushed it back and adapted the inner calm he had trained himself in when returning to the Guild as black magician and having to conceil his new powers. He couldn´t afford to act solely as Sonea´s husband. His being the High Lord always brought a political dimension to everything he did. He lifted his gaze and met the other man´s eyes.

"You found this in Regin´s room?"

"Yes."

"Do you recognise the handwriting?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It is Regin´s."

"I see."

"Look at the first point on the list."

Akkarin read the paragraph out loud.

"Embarrass her during a social event with other nobles, show her up, make her commit mistakes in protocol."

Regin had added some prompts like 'wrong address/social etiquette/ bowing/tea'. In capital letters was written 'TEST HER (tea party? Issle, the others?)'. Akkarin kept on reading silently.

"It explains a lot doesn´t it?"

Balkan´s voice wasn´t as strong as it usually was. He clearly didn´t like the implications he himself had hinted at. The young Winar had always been one of his favourites.

"I am not sure about this, Balkan. Have you read the other points on his list? He has put a lot of effort into this. It sounds like a whole battle plan. This is an emotionally motivated act, I am sure of this. I know that Regin never liked Sonea, was jealous and, yes, spiteful. The question is: Does he hate her enough to want to 'get rid of her'? And would he go to such lengths to reach his aim, simply for petty revenge?"

The other man reacted surprised at first, but quickly caught on to what Akkarin was trying to do. Since the Warrior had taken over the part of accuser Akkarin had decided to speak in Regin´s favour. It was an old conversational trick learned from his mother. If you wanted to reap the most of an argument represent both sides and try to come up with convincing arguments from both perspectives. Thus you will be well prepared when entering a political debate – and be certain in your final decisions. A lesson well learned.

So Balkan continued as Regin´s adversary. "In the past Regin has never let an opportunity slip by to embarrass and even hurt her. If she hadn´t beat him in the Arena he wouldn´t have stopped."

"Agreed, but that was before the war. He never showed signs of hatred afterwards. He did not attack her again."

"She is a black magician now... and your wife."

"Her being under my protection didn´t stop him before."

"Neither did you."

"Excuse me?" A warning undertone had crept into the High Lord´s voice. He hadn´t expected this turn of the conversation.

"Forgive me, but you must know that we all wondered why you chose to make her your novice in the first place. When you didn´t react to Regin´s treatment of her it was seen as silent encouragement, which had us even more puzzled." The old Warrior paused, eyeing him warily.

"Go on."

"Well, your motives became clear during your trial.After that it was truly Sonea´s motives that were questioned. Why would she choose exile with you over staying in the Guild and finishing her education? Anyways, when you returned as lovers no one had any doubt that you would stop him now."

"Even if only in defending my honour as her husband?"

He himself could hear the sarcasm poorly hidden in this rhetorical question. Why did people find it so hard to believe that they truly loved each other? Honestly, what political reasons would he have had to marry her? But that was a topic for another day.

"I do not think that would be the main reason, no."

Ah, well done old friend. The High Lord allowed a small smile to grace his features.

"True."

The Head of the Warriors appeared to be pleased. It would seem that he had taken quite a liking to Sonea himself.

"Now – back to Regin and his list. Why try at all, now that he not only has to face me and my wrath but also prepare for graduation? Sonea could easily defeat him again, all on her own. Even worse for him, we would be joining against him. Furthermore, even without our positions as black magicians and our magical strength, I am still a powerful man in my own right. Regin´s and my family have been grudgingly allied for centuries. Why risk this fragile alliance along with everything he has worked for in the past? It does seem too ill-considered and risky, even if he truly hated her still. His plan would have to be executed on a far greater scope to truly harm Sonea or me. Something doesn´t add up."

"Still, he has collected quite a few good strategies on here. Good meaning very likely to harm, in this case. Take point three for example. 'Make her overreact and use her powers DANGER = discredit to HL'."

"HL standing for High Lord, you assume?"

"Exactly. If she steps out of line too much it might put you and your reinstatement in question. Some of the nobles are still of the opinion that you are too powerful and shouldn´t be trusted, no matter your promises and recent sacrifices. To be fair a lot of our efforts are not visible to outsiders. The ceaseless labour with the volunteers or your lessons with the Heads are not widely known. People do not see the hard work, but they certainly see the dangers."

"Well-spoken, old friend. So it would seem that Sonea might not be the main goal, after all. So what is this about? A political move against me?"

"Against you personally or maybe against what you represent – change. Just think about your promises. An alliance with Sachaka? The hated enemies of past decades? Maybe Regin has been pushed by his family? The hatred against Sachaka runs deep in Kyralian blood, especially in the old families."

"Good point, Balkan, but I still cannot see how Regin would have any hope of succeeding with this ill-laid plan, however dangerous some of these points on his list are. I repeat, something doesn´t add up."

The older man nodded and sighed. "I guess that leaves us with only one possibility."

"Indeed. Has the boy returned yet?"

"Let´s see."

Regin!

Lord Balkan wore a fierce expression. His displeasure with his protégé was visible. Akkarin felt sorry for his old friend. For all his rough exterior the Head of the Warriors was a good-hearted man.

Balkan?

Yes. Where are you?

I am on my way back to the Guild. Have you...have you heard...about–

Yes, of course I have heard about it. The whole Guild knows. I want you to come to the High Lord´s residence immediately after your arrival.

The residence? Is this, but, the High Lord, he has already sent a messenger saying that he did not wish to pursue further action against my family, he–

Regin!

High Lord?

I assure you that my earlier decisions still stand. I wish to speak with you concerning another matter.

I understand, High Lord.

So, do what the High Lord asks of you.

Of course. I will tell the driver to hurry.

Do that.

Akkarin took a sip of his wine and swallowed slowly. As always the rich taste and spicy aroma of the Anuren helped him focus. He needed to inform Sonea. He stood up and moved towards the stairs.

" High Lord?"

"Balkan?"

"Wouldn´t it be prudent to inform the Administrator of this? It might have severe consequences for several Guild members, after all."

"I agree. Call him and order him back to the Guild. He must have finished with Issle´s family by now. I´ll fetch my wife."

"Sonea?"

Akkarin had to surpress a smirk. His friend didn´t normally pose such inane questions. Ah, well, Balkan asked for it, and damn, he needed to lighten his own mood anyway.

"Sonea who? No, one of my other wives hidden in my closet. Which one would you prefer?"

The other man grinned lopsidedly. "I walked right into that one, didn´t I? If I may say so, it´s good to see you haven´t lost your humour, under the circumstances. If I might elaborate, you want Sonea to take part in this confrontation?"

"Yes."

"Akkarin, I am not sure, if–"

"Forgive me, old friend, but her participation is not open to discussion. I have promised her to involve her in my decisions whenever they concern us both or her in particular."

The red-robed man smiled knowingly and inclined his head. "I see. I´ll contact Osen then."

"I´ll return immediately."

Akkarin swept out of the room and when he was no longer visible he hurried up the last steps. He needed to explain to Sonea what had been reveiled.

Fifteen minutes later a small and rather tense crowd had gathered in the Residence´s dining room. Lord Balkan had seated Regin with a rather dissatisfied jerk of his head. The younger man hadn´t needed to be told twice to sit down meekly. His own discomfort was clearly visible.

Lord Osen had arrived only two minutes later and had taken a seat facing the novice, mustering him sternly. There had not been enough time to inform the Administrator more than superfluously about the subject of the meeting. Still, it had been enough to grasp its implications.

The Head of the Warriors himself sought out the gaze of his young protégé and finally chose a seat next to him, a gesture of silent support. His expression, however clearly communicated that Regin would have to prove himself worthy of his regard or face consequences beyond mere displeasure. In contrast to his outwardly calm demeanour his right index finger was tapping against his thigh, a sure sign of agitation.

Just when the thickening silence had neared an unbearable intensity two pairs of footsteps could be heard approaching the room. Takan opened the door and the High Lord´s wife entered, followed closely by her husband.

TBMD TBMD TBMD

Regin took one look at the other novice and felt an icy-cold certainty grip his heart: I have lost her.

Wait what? Lost her? I never even wanted to be her friend? Or what? I mean it was all about keeping my word and, and my plan, right?

Any haughty display he might have had displayed under normal circumstances seemed childish and worthless now. His eyes followed the two black magicians as they went around the table and seated themselves opposite of him, the High Lord pulling out the chair for his wife before sitting down himself. Regin felt like a rat in front of a snake, or rather a whole pit of snakes, as three pairs of merciless Kyralian black eyes stared him down. He uncertainly looked to his right, searching the face of his mentor for any hint as to what was about to happen to him. He did not receive any reassurance there.

Finally the High Lord broke the silence and his cold and formal tone made the young man shiver.

"Regin of Winar, it has come to my attention that there remain some facts unclear pertaining to today´s unfortunate events at your party."

"My Lord?"

"Facts that must be settled here today. It would seem that more than one grave error of judgement has occurred. I intend to rectify that."

What was the black-robed man speaking of? He had already agreed to accept the Winars´ apologies. Would he go back on his word now? Regin felt slighted. The High Lord had lured him here, promising him that nothing had changed and now he dared to take it back? He didn´t know what this was all about, but he was finished with being unrightfully accused for one day. The young Winar frowned and straightened in his chair, his nostrils flaring. Before he could open his mouth and respond, however, Lord Balkan gripped him with merciless strength.

"Don´t you dare voice that thought, boy, or I´ll lose every hope I ever had for you."

"Thank you, Balkan. However, I myself am quite intrigued to hear what Regin has to say to me. Now, tell me, novice, what was it you wanted to hurl at my face?"

A Winar never failed to answer a direct challenge. "You promised that things had been settled between your family and mine. It´s not right to take back your word now."

The belated "High Lord" couldn´t be heard over the gasps filling the room. The black-robed man, of course, remained completely unfaced and in control. His stare seemed to cut right through Regin´s self-assured facade, laying bare the panicked uncertainty underneath.

"I see", was all he said. Nothing else. He just sat there and looked at him. Said nothing else and kept watching him with those frightening eyes. As seconds ticked by Regin felt like a constantly growing weight had settled on his chest, making it harder and harder to breath. Intellectually he knew that not even a minute had passed and still it felt like an eternity in which this frightful stare had already been directed at him. His eyes flicked over to search for Sonea´s, a question and a plea clearly visible in them.

The young woman´s lips curled in an unconscious imitation of those of her husband. It hurt to see the disdain etched in her features. "Don´t you dare expect support from me, Regin."

If he wasn´t mistaken there had been an undertone of hurt and even betrayal in her voice. He didn´t understand. Why would she be hurt by his actions during the party? He had defended her, hadn´t he? Of course, if she had known that he had purposely tried to embarrass her she might have —

Every last bit of colour drained from his face as realisation finally settled in. Regin didn´t know how they had found out, but he was certain about one thing: this was far worse than anything else that had happened today.