Walter sighed as he shoved off the wall across from the door to Isaac and Lenna's door. The old elf, who had taken him in a century ago, had finally arrived. He looked almost exactly like Philia, just with broader features and two more inches of height. His cheek bones were a bit more pronounced as well and his expression never left the same flat and disinterested gaze.

"Gramps." Walter greeted him.

"Not yet. You still haven't given me a grandchild." Lord Ashborne shot back immediately.

"Phil-" Walter tried to counter just like how he had a hundred times before.

"Would come around if you stayed by her side for more than a week at a time." The old elf utterly crushed Walter's retort once more.

Walter sighed again. "I'll go spend some time with her once this is over." He said with obvious resignation. He liked Philia but the thought of specifically trying to push their relationship into the romantic category just didn't feel right. If she wanted it to go that way then he definitely would not object, but he wouldn't be the one to make the first real move, not after what he had done.

Lord Ashborne nodded once. "Good."

Walter gestured towards the door. "They're both inside meditating. I wouldn't enter if I were you though. Waking up Lenna V'Nova while she's standing silent vigil over her mate just sounds like a good way to get cut in half." He warned the old elf.

Lord Ashborne eyed the door for a moment before he turned back to Walter. "Go see Jina, she misses you." He told the adopted stray that his mate had taken such a liking to. He would never say it aloud, but he had taken a liking to Walter too, even if it was to less of an extent than the women in his family had.

Walter nodded. "I've been meaning to, I just keep getting caught up one thing or another. Philia wants more candies." He explained.

Lord Ashborne nodded as his way of dismissing Walter and silently took his place adjacent to the door to Isaac and Lenna's room. There wasn't a very high chance of the royals attempting anything, but the chance was large enough that Cainen and Walter had both asked him to ensure Isaac and Lenna's safety. The royals did not like powerful guests in their domain, especially ones rumored to be a demigod with a V'Nova matriarch whom he is mated to. According to the spies and magical informants whose sole purposes were to inform the surface as to what the Innerworld was up to, Lenna V'Nova should be the matriarch of the V'Nova clan in Contantis and its surrounding territories. Whether she actually acknowledged that or not was semantics as far as the high elven royals were concerned. If anyone involved were actually being openly honest with themselves and each other, Lenna was the one who drew the most attention and had the largest target on her back. Everyone just knew that messing with someone's mate, especially someone as powerful as a demigod, was a good way to wind up as a victim of a premeditated violent murder.

"Do you want me to relieve you at some point?" Walter asked the blade dancer.

"Twice a day, dawn and dusk, for half an hour each." Lord Ashborne instructed him. Apparently the old man was going to stand guard the entire time by himself.

Walter shook his head. "I'll send Gypsy over to keep you company whenever I don't need her and she's in one piece."

Lord Ashborne didn't reply with anything other than a nod so Walter took it as his time to leave. Lady Ashborne was not the only stop he had to make before day was through and Gypsy was still missing a few pieces.

—

Cainen listened as Xlen explained everything that was going on outside. Every soldier was mobilized as their guard schedule was changed from five nine hour days a week to seven thirteen hour days. There were no longer three distinct shifts per day but two. All of the extra guards were on patrol throughout the city or gathered in front of various places of importance, chief being the embassy/hotel where the 'strays' were staying.

"They really like to overreact, don't they?" Cainen commented with a slight smirk.

"I can feel the mana event from here." Xlen reminded him. "It wouldn't be that big of an overreaction, under normal circumstances."

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"Exactly." Cainen caught his friend's opening. "They knew that it was going to happen, and they knew that it was harmless, mostly. This is just theatrics at this point."

"Mostly?" Xlen wondered and looked back from the window to eye his friend questioningly.

"The enchantments within a few dozen feet of him are going to have noticeable wear by the time he is done, if some of them don't fail outright." Cainen explained something that everyone but he and Walter had overlooked.

"Will that be safe?" Xlen wondered. The duo were on the top floor after all.

Cainen shrugged. "Probably."

Xlen eyed him flatly. "You know, you can just tell me things." He told the older man whose smirk just grew wider.

—

On the ground level of the spire, in an immaculate golden throne, a timeless being sat with a permanent scowl on his face. Fate weavers were always nothing but trouble and Cainen Su'Sol was no different. Sure, there were plenty of good things that the old fate weaver had done in his time, but he also had the habit of making at least as much trouble for the king in question. A king who now seethed in silence with tension hanging so thick around him that it could be cut with a knife.

"Your Grace, i-is there anything that I can do to relieve some of your tension?" One of the five retainers asked tentatively.

"Find out if this being is actually a demigod or not. I need definitive proof, now." He ordered the man with as much calm as he could muster. He needed to know if bringing the entire building down on their heads would actually take care of the V'Nova and her mate or not. They were already causing a stir and the other big players had started to move as soon as they had set foot inside of the city. The last fate weaver, the heir of the first dragon slayer, and the most prominent noble of the youngest noble house had all moved in perfect coordination. Powerful or not, too many people had more power than their stations allowed and they were flexing that power. If they could have been dealt with directly then they already would have been. Instead, the king would just have to settle on removing something important to them but not important enough to warrant an armed revolt. Something like this supposed demigod that they were all worried about. It was a very happy coincidence that a V'Nova heiress would be able to be crushed at the same time.

—

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, Isaac and Lenna both stopped meditating long enough to get something to eat, relieve themselves, and bathe. As the food had been brought up to them, the duo hadn't had a chance to meet with their new guard who stayed outside. When Isaac returned to his mission of meditating until he was almost entirely back to normal, Lenna took a few minutes to converse with the ancient blade dancer that had agreed to watch over them while they attempted to heal as much as possible.

Lenna walked out of the room with her sword on her hip and throwing spikes holding her hair up. She was wearing casual clothes which put her at a clear disadvantage if she was forced to fight anyone, but if Walter had trusted the old elf outside of their door, then she would give him the benefit of the doubt at least.

"Greetings." Lenna told Lord Ashborne in her usual calm and smooth tone.

"Salutations, Lady V'Nova." The older elf replied and opened his eyes. His autumn red eyes met her moonlight silver ones in an emotionless but assessing gaze.

Lenna could feel that he was strong as soon as she saw him. Lord Ashborne was a man who moved like flowing water through battlefields. He was a man who ran like a flooded river and left toppled men like trees in his wake. She had no doubt in her mind that he could beat her in a normal fight, now, things could be different if Lenna was willing to die for his loss. She was pretty confident in turning a fight between the two of them into a draw however, as much of a draw as two simultaneous losses were anyway.

"Lord Ashborne, I presume." Lenna replied in her same normal tone.

The bladedancer nodded. "That is I." He agreed. "Walter has spoken very highly of you."

Lenna nodded in acknowledgement of his words. "He's an alright combatant, but a terrifying enemy." She commented.

"Indeed." Lord Ashborne said and turned his gaze to look directly across from him once more. From that position, his peripheral vision could see down both ends of the hall.

"Why are you protecting us?" Lenna got straight to the point now that the pleasantries were over.

"Master Su'Sol and my adopted stray cat both asked me to." He replied without any hesitation. "That is all."

Lenna smiled at Walter being referred to as a stray cat. "Well, thank you." She told him. "Knowing someone like yourself is watching the entrance to our den will let this wolf rest easier while she guards her dragon."

Lord Ashborne turned to look at her again, this time with a hint of a question in his eyes. "A wolf and dragon?" He wondered.

"When Isaac first met me, he said that I looked like a lone wolf fighting off another pack. And like the female wolf, my male is the one people pay attention to while I protect his throat with everything I have." Lenna explained. "A woman, who is closer to a mother figure to Isaac and I, once described him as being a dragon and she claimed that I was his hoard."

Lord Ashborne nodded in understanding and thanks to Lenna for answering his question. "I have not met very many females in my time who would openly refer to themselves as a 'bitch', but I will endeavor to maintain the safety of your 'den'." He told her with the slightest hint of a smirk trying to fight through his permanently flat look. "I will not lie to you, and tell you to rest assured, just simply know that I will do my best."

Lenna blinked at him a few times as she processed the first half of his reply. She chuckled which turned into subdued laughter. "Thank you." She told him again as soon as she stopped laughing enough to reply. "Would you like a chair?"

Lord Ashborne shook his head. "No, thank you. I was a royal guard for a time, this is nothing." He explained.

"Then I will bid you a good morning and return to my rest." Lenna told him with a respectful nod. Lord Ashborne returned it but didn't say anything else as she went back inside. A few minutes later, Lenna was meditating again and Walter had arrived to relieve the old man for a short time.

"She is interesting." Lord Ashborne told Walter when he arrived. "If her mate is half as interesting as she is, then I can see why you both like them."

Walter knew instantly that the old man was referring to Walter and Cainen and not Walter and Philia or Gypsy. "He is, though in a very different way." He confirmed for the old man. "So, there won't be a problem with her being a V'Nova?"

Lord Ashborne shook his head. "No. There probably wouldn't have been anyway." He replied. The unspoken part that he had refused to say but Walter read between the lines quite clearly was: 'I trust your's and Cainen's judgment enough that even if she hadn't had a great personality, there wouldn't have been a problem.'

Walter nodded with a smile. "Good."

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