Macha's Journey

He stretched out his legs, crossing them on the dark purple seat cushions across from him. The sound of leather against leather creaked as his black knee-high boots rubbed against one another.

His arm rested around Macha"s waist and caressed the swell of her hip out of habit. His voice was contemplative as he mulled over the situation.

"Do you think Jóhanna would like to have Aži"s baby? We, I could just give it to her as a present. I"m sure her birthday is coming up. If not, I can probably find some other reason to offer the gift."

His query elicited a giggle from her because the answer to that question was obvious. Her niece was as fanatic about wyverns as she had been about dinosaurs when she was the girl"s age.

Through her light chuckles, she replied, "Of course she would, but Aži"s baby is Aži"s baby. You can"t just give it away. It should be up to him."

Although she would love for Jóhanna"s dream to come true, she did not want to rob a friend of his child.

****

A few days later, Macha sat at her desk. Things settled down after Aži"s laid his egg, so she and Tyr could go back to work, entrusting their wyvern friend to Jóhanna. This arrangement seemed to delight Aži, who enjoyed being fawned over excessively.

Macha opened up a message that Talon had sent.

"Lady Macha Swat,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. I understand you"ve been busy and recently came back from a mission, but the kids all miss you. They keep begging for you and the Captain to visit. Enclosed are some drawings and letters from them. They are all doing well and are constantly keeping me on my toes. Please stop by when you have a chance.

Aside from the good news, I also write because I"m worried about Gabin. He"s been staying out late and not wanting to partic.i.p.ate in the group activities. I know he"s a young man and in a few years he"ll be able to leave the orphanage, but I remember you said to write if any of the children begin to act up.

-Talon Rasmussen"

She puckered her lips and brought them to one side as she tried to think of what to do. Gabin was the boy who she watched over when she first visited the orphanage. Since he was one of the first people she had contact with, he had a special place in her heart.

It was understandable that he wanted to have some s.p.a.ce, after all, he an adolescent and on the edge of manhood. Despite this, she did not want him making the wrong choices in life and end up like Magni or Jarnvid.

Across the room, Tyr noticed that she looked displeased. He strode over and sat on the edge of her desk.

"What"s wrong?" he asked.

If she had a problem, he needed to fix it.

She leaned back in her chair.

"Do you remember what you were like when you were around fifteen?"

As far as she remembered, she had been full of angst and upset at the world for her loneliness. It was not a time she liked to look back on and she made many mistakes in her youth.

Thinking back to his youth caused Tyr to give a mirthless smile. He hated his teen years with a pa.s.sion. In fact, he loathed his life until he met Macha, but that was a whole different conversation.

"Yeah. I didn"t enjoy being young."

Although they already had their chocolate for the day, she wanted to pry into his unpleasant past. She opened the lower drawer of her desk and took out the box of chocolates she stashed away.

"Could you share with me why you didn"t like it?"

Tyr eyed the box and his eyebrows lifted. He played with his opal cufflinks, spinning them around in his fingers. This was a game he knew how to play. After years of being with Macha, he understood it would be best to hold out.

He looked out the window and replied nonchalantly, "I don"t know. It"s a long story."

Her eyes narrowed.

"How long?"

She understood what he was doing. Every time she wanted to bribe him with an extra chocolate, he always wanted to be greedy.

Looking at the seating area, he grinned, "Long enough I think we could sit down and get comfortable."

His smile caused her lips to flatten out. "Fine, but I really want to know what guys experience at that age. You better take this seriously," she warned.

Although she wanted to hear about his youth, this was for research. She did not want to go to Gabin without understanding what a young man would be experiencing.

Tyr sat down on a large armchair and Macha came to sit in his lap.

After receiving his first chocolate, he began, "You have to realize, my youth is probably different from most people. I really didn"t enjoy my teen years."

Sighing, he took a moment to enjoy the caramel that coated his tongue. He did not want to sound conceited, but he had to state the facts.

"It was during that time that Luna and I went to boarding school in Phocée. A lot of girls liked me back then and always stalked me. Our family was doing well out here in Ma.r.s.eille, so we had quite a bit of money. Luna didn"t help with my situation either. She would tell my admirers things about me which only fanned the flames of their interest."

As he talked, he drew his brows together. Macha saw this and smoothed them out.

"Go on," she said gently.

"Anyway, I was also angry because I continually received special treatment. No one understood why this bothered me and Luna kept telling me to let it go and enjoy it. It annoyed me so much that I started getting into fights."

Tyr sighed and shook his head. He had been so angry back then and felt like he was the only sane person in the world.

Macha fed him another chocolate.

He chewed it and continued, "One time there was this kid from a poorer n.o.ble family. He wrote an amazing poem about sailing. I really liked it."

Tyr paused trying to remember the words, but the years made the memory fuzzy. He could only remember the sense of adventure that it invoked in him. It made him want to travel the world and feel the freedom of being in the Outer Reaches.

"I really thought the school should have featured it when the parents came to visit, but they chose mine. Aside from not wanting to deliver my poem in front of the school, I also realized that what I wrote was c.r.a.p."

A bitter frown formed on his face and he leaned his head back onto the high backrest. He closed his eyes, still frustrated at the experience. His hand gripped the armrest.

"The thing is, they chose mine because I was the Valois male and they wanted to show off that I attended the school. Before I read it at the a.s.sembly, the teachers helped me to revise it. In the end, it didn"t even resemble the same poem."

He opened his green eyes and stared at Macha. A mask devoid of emotion fell over his face.

His voice sounded cold and ruthless, "Do you know what that taught me?"

Macha shook her head. Nothing like that ever happened to her before so she was unsure what to say.

"It taught me that the world doesn"t care about merit. People only pay attention to your family background. I decided that I wanted to create an environment that challenged that sort of ideology. That"s why the guild doesn"t take family status into consideration."

This memory of his was important and made her wonder if Gabin had something happen to him recently. Negative moments like this could alter a person and change the course of their future. She hoped that was not the case for the boy. He had been a wonderful child with an affectionate nature. While growing up, he had always been the first to run up and hug her.

Seeing Macha deep in thought; Tyr returned to his original question. He snuck his hand into the box and pulled out a heart-shaped chocolate. He rolled it across his knuckles before popping it into his mouth.

"What"s wrong?" he repeated.

She looked down and realized he had stolen another sweet. Not wanting him to have any more, she shoved the lid down on the box.

"Gabin"s been acting up. Talon wrote a letter and let me know about how the boy has been spending more time away from the orphanage. Apparently, he hasn"t been coming home in a timely manner."

Tyr remained silent; he understood that sometimes boys needed time to sort things out. Back then he did not enjoy sharing what was going on with others.

Since he said nothing, she slipped off of his lap.

When she finished putting the chocolates away in her desk drawer, she announced, "I"m going to go and look for him. I want to make sure everything is all right."

Before she exited the door, he stood up to join her.

Macha lifted her hand, "You can stay and work on the paperwork. I"m sure he"s fine, but I still worry about him."