The Black Magician Trilogy [alternate ending]

The High Lord - Epilogue (Part 1)

   Akkarin wrapped his arms around Sonea as the door to the new Black Magician Quarters clicked shut behind them.  He placed a kiss on her temple and she sunk into his embrace.

   'Our new home,' Sonea sighed, 'it's finally finished.  Thank goodness!'

   Akkarin chuckled and smiled down at her. 'No more magicians living in our basement making sure that we don't escape into the city and go on a power rampage.'

   Sonea laughed, rolling her eyes. 'True, it'll be nice to not have eyes on us every time we leave our room.  It'll just be you and I, and Takan.  We can finally relax.'

   'Would you like to explore?'  Sonea nodded.  Akkarin had been overseeing the designs and building of the new Black Magician Quarters whilst Sonea had been studying with Dorrien and Lady Vinara in the Healer's Quarters.  He hadn't allowed Sonea to see the plans, wanting the house to be a surprise and to keep her focused on her studies.

   'So, we are standing in the entrance hall on the ground floor.  This is where the first set of Magician's rooms reside,' he motions to a door on the left.  'Each set of rooms has a sitting room, a master bedroom, two smaller guest or family rooms, and a private bathroom.  To our right is a common seating area with a small library.'

   Akkarin lead Sonea by the hand into the common area.  At one end of the room are comfortable seats arranged for social gatherings, and at the other end sat sets of desks for general use.  Almost all the wall space is taken up by bookshelves half filled with books, and broken up by large windows which let the afternoon light spill into the room.  The room was warm and cosy, a perfect place to study away from everyone else, she thought.

   'It's wonderful, Akkarin, I think I'll be spending quite a bit of time in here.'

   He smiled his crooked half smile at her, 'I thought you'd say that, but wait until you see our rooms.'

   They walk out of the room and Akkarin gestures to the door beneath the staircase.  'At the back of the ground floor is the kitchen, which opens out onto a small garden. 'I'll show you that another time, Takan is a little busy at the moment and I don't want to disturb him.'

   Sonea smiled at Akkarin's care for his servant.  Well, Takan felt more like family than servant, but he wants to serve his 'master' for saving him and Akkarin assured Sonea that he is happy in his role and wouldn't change it for anything.

   Akkarin showed Sonea the rooms on the ground floor; they had no furniture in since there was no magician to live there at the moment.  Despite that, the room looked inviting in the bright light, which made her wonder at what it would be like when it was eventually filled with the belongings of a new Black Magician.

   Though, I hope that isn't soon, she thought, because that would mean that one of us had accidentally slipped a thought to one of our Escorts, or had died.  She shuddered at the thought of Akkarin dying, and quickly pushed it out of her head.

   'Sonea?  Are you alright?'  A worried crease appeared between Akkarin's eyebrows.  

   'Yes, I'm fine,' she smiled up at him, 'just a bad thought, that's all.  Are you going to show me our rooms now?'

   'Of course.'  Akkarin took Sonea's hand and lead her up the stairs.  On the landing he pointed out the doors that lead to the empty quarters on the left and right sides of the Quarters, then opened the door that lead to their new home.

   Sonea walked into their new sitting room, smiling at how much attention to detail Akkarin had put into making it their own.  From the bookcases lined with their personal books, to the matching desks, and the artwork depicting the country they had saved.  Comfortable seats in a deep red colour matched the curtains, and the screens matched the cream rug that covered the majority of the floor.  The room was cosy, but not dark, despite it's relatively large size.  The sunlight streaming through the window drew Sonea's attention.