The Black Magician Trilogy [alternate ending]

The High Lord - Epilogue 2 (Part 1)

   A few weeks later, a week before the wedding, Akkarin had taken Sonea to meet his parents.  She knew that he had a strained relationship with them, especially after the reveal of his use of black magic, and that he had just considered the visit a courtesy call.

   They had arrived at his childhood home a week after giving them notice that he would be stopping by to say hello.  They had been greeted by a servant and led into a spacious and beautifully decorated sitting room.  Akkarin's mother was elegant, and it was clear that he had inherited most of his looks from her, but she could also see where he perfected his cold front.  That came from his father.

   The couple had said a pleasant hello to Akkarin, but had only looked curiously at Sonea until Akkarin introduced her.  They obviously knew who she was, as determined by her robes, but Sonea could see that they didn't know the reason why she was here with their son.

   'Mother, Father, this is Sonea.  Sonea, these are my parents.  Rislin and Arina.'

   'It's an honour to meet you, Black Lady Sonea,' Akkarin's father, Rislin, said with a courtly bow.  'On behalf of our family I would like to thank you, and you Akkarin, for what you did for Imardin.  I know you have suffered losses far greater than... I'm sure without you the Guild would have suffered far greater losses, so thank you for coming back despite your exile.'

   Sonea stared at him, unsure of what to say.  She hadn't expected the man to be so gracious considering what Akkarin had told her of him.  She looked up at Akkarin for guidance, who seemed to be lost for words as well.

   'Thank you, father.  We did what we could.  I only wish we had been able to save more people.'

   There was a lengthy pause.

   'I got the feeling that you didn't come here just to say hello and receive our thank you,' Akkarin's mother, Arina, stated.

   'Yes, Sonea and I are to be married, and we are here to invite you to our wedding... next week.'

   The shock on both their faces almost made Sonea laugh.

   'Married?' Rislin choked out.

   'Yes, father.  I believe you are familiar with the term.'

   Rislin glared at him and Sonea could see the amusement in Akkarin's eyes.  He was having fun!

   'Next week?' Arina said faintly, sinking into one of the cushioned seats.

   Akkarin's eyes softened.  'Yes, a week today.  It will be a small ceremony, and only a handful of guests will be in attendance.  We would appreciate it if you didn't share this with anyone, whether you attend or not.  Despite what we've done, and our station,' he gestured to his robes, 'we want to live as quiet a life as possible.'

   Arina looked between them both.

   'I can believe that, but there's something else going on, call it a mother's instinct if you will.'

   Her dark eyes slid back to Sonea and then to her stomach.  Sonea shifted slightly under her intense gaze.  Arina gasped.

   'You're pregnant!'

   Sonea nodded and Rislin's attention snapped towards her.  

   'Did you intentionally get pregnant so that he would be forced to marry you?  Is that what this is?  You're nothing but a slum-dwelling wh...'

   'Enough!' Akkarin shouted, stepping in front of Sonea so she was out of his father's furious gaze.  'Don't you dare talk to her that way.  Yes, she may have been born in slums but that doesn't define who she is.  I'll have you know that she is a hundred times better than any other woman you've pushed in my direction, and there is nothing you can say that will change my mind.  She is strong, and brave, and resilient, and there is no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with.'

   'But...'

   'There are no 'buts', father.  I love her.  I was falling for her even before we were exiled, before there was a child to think about.  If we hadn't been exiled then I am sure I would have asked her to marry me once she had graduated.'  Akkarin took a deep breath and lowered the tone of his voice.  'I am marrying Sonea whether you want me to or not, whether you attend our wedding or not.  You need to decide whether you want to be in our life, in our child's life.  We're not going to force it on you, nor will we give you an infinite amount of chances.  We want you to make a decision and stick to it, is that understood?'

   Both of them nodded, seemingly stunned at Akkarin's outburst.

   Sonea stepped out from behind Akkarin, resting a hand on the small of his back to stop him from lashing out at his parents.

   'I really hope you do want to be part of our lives.  It's scary enough raising a child for the first time, and it's even scarier to think of doing it without support from family.  Although Akkarin and I are not allowed to leave Guild grounds without an Escort, our child will be able to and it would be nice to know that he or she could have someone to go to where they're not stifled by our Escorts or stared at because of the colour of our robes.'

   She looked between the two, and she could see Arina's eyes soften a little.  Rislin was no longer glaring at her, but neither did he seem open to the idea of his future daughter-in-law and grandchild.

   'We'll leave you both to let it sink in and think it over, and we both hope to see you at the wedding.  An invitation will be delivered here tomorrow morning.'

   With a few words of farewell, Sonea took Akkarin's arm and left the house deep in thought.  Sonea thought that went better than expected, but she was still unsure of what decision Akkarin's parents would make regarding the involvement in their life.

   They had still received no word from Akkarin's parents by the morning of their wedding, and Sonea assumed that the pair had decided to have nothing to do with her or her child ever again.

   So, Sonea was extremely surprised to see both of Akkarin's parents sitting at the front of the ceremonial room.  She could see the surprise and happiness on Akkarin's face as he stared at them before looking up to see her.  His smile deepened and she could see his love and pride from the other end of the room.  Everyone else that they had invited had turned up as well.  Jonna, Ranel, and both her cousins, Rothen and Dorrien, Takan, Cery, Tania, Lady Vinara,  High Lord Balkan, and the ceremony was overseen by Administrator Osen as it was one of his duties within the Guild.

   The ceremony and the following dinner was full of joy and laughter as well as a few toasts and tears for those who could not be there to celebrate.

   Akkarin's parents apologised for their behaviour, stating that they were happy to have another daughter in the family and were looking forward to the birth of their newest grandchild.  Because of this Sonea ended up talking about babies with Arina, Jonna, and Vinara for almost an hour before she was rescued by Akkarin.

   Somehow Cery had already found out that she was pregnant and he refused to give up his source.  However, he was very happy for her and promised to teach the child how to pick locks and get around the city undetected when they were old enough much to the horror of Akkarin's parents who hadn't realised Cery was a Thief before that moment.

   All in all, it was a very mixed group of people that celebrated her union to Akkarin that evening.  Despite that, Sonea wouldn't have given it up for the world.