Gregor the Overlander and the Return of The Warrior

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Neither Gregor nor Luxa wanted to get out of bed. Luxa was enjoying herself cuddled up next to Gregor and Gregor was having fun playing with Luxa's long silver hair. "You're really back," Luxa said half to herself half to Gregor. Gregor put down the strand of hair he had been playing with and held her even tighter. That was the only answer she needed.

Eventually, Luxa figured they should get up before guards get sent to see where they are. She told Gregor they had to get up and get going. They both begrudgingly got out of bed and went to take a bath. As Gregor sat in the warm rushing water he processed what had happened that morning. He was back, he was with Luxa, back with all his friends. As much as Gregor loved his family, everyone down here was his family too. After being back with Luxa he knew he would never be able to leave again. His dad would understand, Lizzie would want to come down too to be with Ripred, Boots would befriend the cockroaches again, but there was always his mom. She would never have let him come down here in the first place so no way she's let him stay here.

Gregor got dressed in new white clothes and walked out to see Luxa wearing the same white robes, although much fancier. This is the first time he really realized how much she had grown up. She hadn't grown much taller, she was still about 5'4", but she had filled out a lot more since he had last seen her. She also looked much older. There was just something about her that made her seem a whole lot older the 16. Maybe it was the confidence she could portray so well. Maybe she had just grown up. What ever it is, it made her the most beautiful girl Gregor had ever seen.

He must have been staring cause Luxa started blushing and asked in the bubbly voice he had been missing for years, "Are you ready to go Gregor?" This was the first time the happy 12 year old he had left had really shone through and he loved it.

"Of course My Lady," Gregor replied with a jokingly low bow. Luxa started laughing so hard she was crying. Gregor's mind started racing with ways to convince his family to let him stay here with Luxa.

They left the bedroom and walked down the corridor to the high hall for lunch, as they got closer Luxa clearly got nervous and slipped one hand into Gregor's and put the other on his forearm. before they walked into the room they gave each other one last look and Gregor kissed her forehead, then they walked in.

What lay in the hall had shocked Gregor. All his friends had gathered for a feast. Was this for him? He looked at Luxa who was smiling at him. It was for him...

All the heads turned to them when they walked in, he was suddenly mobbed by old friends all trying to say hi to him until a loud deep voice called out from behind the crowd, "Give the boy some room, he's probably weak after being in the Overland so long." The group parted ways as a huge rat walked up smirking. "I was losing hope that you weren't coming back Overlander, and I especially didn't expect to have you walk in with my bond here," Ripred said as he approached Gregor. His beady black eyes were flicking between Gregor and Luxa before he locked eyes with Gregor. Gregor had gained some ground on the old rat, but Ripred still had a good 2 feet on him. The stare down continued as the rest of the group backed away, a fight between the two ragers could get very ugly very quickly.

Then to the shock of everyone around, the pair began laughing hysterically. Gregor patted Ripred on the side with the hand Luxa wasn't holding and said, "You should have known it was only a matter of time before I was back. You could only dream I wouldn't come back. And quit pretending this is a shock, you could smell me as soon as you got into the castle."

"Yes yes, I did dream you wouldn't. I thought there was an odd smell in the castle today," the rat said as he turned around and started back to the buffet table. But, Ripred being Ripred, he whipped his tail back at Gregor as he started walking off. Without flinching Gregor caught the tail before it slapped him across the face. The slightest bit of the rager sensation bubbled up in him as he gave a slight tug to get back at the rat. As Gregor let go, Ripred looked back pleasantly surprised.

The rest of the group instantly crowded back around Gregor welcoming him back. After greeting everyone and starting to catch up, there was one guy standing in the back who was glaring at him. Gregor had never seen him before but he pushed it away and decided to ask Luxa about him later. He sat down at the table to eat; Luxa sat on his left, still holding onto his arm and almost hiding behind him, and Mareth on his right. As he enjoyed the fresh fish and mushrooms, he caught up with Mareth, beside the quick encounter in Luxa's room they hadn't seen each other in years. Mareth had updated him on everything happening in Regalia; they had repaired almost the entire city, Luxa was doing an incredible job ruling, and they still had relative peace. The humans had even become peacekeepers of the Underland; Luxa and Hazard had started trying to help other creatures of the Underland settle disputes without war. He glazed over at Luxa almost in disbelief seeing the 12 year old girl who declared war on the rats becoming a full diplomat like her grandpa, it was incredible.

This glance at her worried him, she'd barely eaten anything and was practically cowering behind him. Like she was trying to hide from someone's view. While he told Mareth about his new life on the farm, he looked over the table. Gregor quickly figured out who she was avoiding. Down the table talking to Howard was the man who he saw earlier. He caught Gregor's gaze but broke it and looked down at his food. Gregor looked back at Luxa, she had clearly figured out he found out why she was hiding. The look in her eyes was begging him to get them out of there. Gregor rose from the table and excused himself and Luxa, claiming they were going to see the rebuilt city.

As soon as they hopped on Aurora, the shiny gold bat took off. She knew exactly where the pair wanted to go. Throughout the short flight through tight tunnels there were no words spoken besides brief greetings between Aurora and Gregor. Gregor held tightly onto Luxa until their destination came into view. Ares' old cave. After Ares saved Gregor instead of his old bond Henry, he was basically banished and spent most of his time here. After the two humans slid off the bat she flew away to give them some privacy. Luxa clearly spent a lot of time here; there were blankets and pillows strewn across the cavern floor. There was even a bed. Gregor took Luxa's hand as they walked over to the pillows. After they sat down they stayed silent for a while, neither knew what to say.

Luxa finally built up the courage to get out a sentence, "I'm sorry, I never thought you would come back." It came out as barely more than a whisper; after Luxa finished her sentence she broke down and threw her arms around Gregor's neck and buried her head in his chest. "I'm sorry, I am so so so sorry Gregor. I didn't mean to I'm sorry," she cried into his chest.

Hearing this seemed to confirm everything Gregor had feared, she had moved on. But she was clearly upset so maybe she does still care, what if it wasn't her idea. His mind raced trying to come up with a reason for her to do this. He didn't know how to react, he just held her rubbing her back, kissing the top of her head and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. After her crying had slowed and Gregor had composed himself, he asked the million dollar question, "Who was that guy?"

Luxa stayed silent, but eventually she spoke. It was so quiet Gregor could barely hear it, but it hit him harder than the Bane, "My fiance."