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They\'d left her parents—her father still over at Gar\'s tree—and headed straight back to the Tree City to find the women\'s council leaders and find out how quickly they could prepare the ceremony to establish the disformed.

That led to a discussion with Tarkyn because Elreth wanted patrols around the City that even after she\'d made the announcement, just in case.

That led to a conversation with the disformed who were training with Tarkyn\'s guards—not all Protectors, but all skilled. Elreth decided to tell them and get them to spread the word to the other disformed, to make sure as many of them were at the market that evening for dinner as possible.

Aaryn had to get involved then, since he understood the systems they had in place to spread important news—and these disformed were training. They couldn\'t leave until they were released. So he promised to send a messenger to the cave and get the word spreading from there.

  Then they had to speak with Lhern about gathering the Alphas after the announcement. Then there were reports from Tarkyn\'s scouts who\'d found sign of the human again, but hadn\'t been able to locate her…

The day was endless. It passed quickly—too quickly. Before they\'d even arrived at the market for dinner, Elreth was frazzled and stressed, desperately trying to keep everything straight in her head.

Because of his mood, Aaryn was glad that he stood in her shadow all day, called in to give his opinion when she needed it, but otherwise allowed to simply listen. He was glad to put a hand to her back when she sighed, or to tug her away from an elderly citizen that had stopped her as they passed through the City for the third time that afternoon, on their way to dinner. Unaware of the burdens Elreth was carrying, the female wanted to make suggestions to Elreth about how they might more efficiently serve the meals in the market.

Aaryn stepped in between them as Elreth\'s face began to drag for the ground.

"We are so grateful that you have such useful advice, Kheryn. Perhaps you can approach the Master of Kitchens? Tell him that you spoke with Elreth. He knows better how these things work behind the scenes, and he can take your suggestions to the staff?"

"Yes, yes of course!" the older woman said, smiling broadly. "I\'ll do that right away!"

"Perhaps, um, you could wait until tomorrow. There will be a great number of Anima at dinner tonight because Elreth has important announcements. Tomorrow might be a better day to get the Master\'s full attention."

The woman nodded slowly, her graying hair fluttering around her face. "Good to know!" she cackled. "You know, they said you weren\'t going to be useful as a King, but I think you\'ve got a good head on your shoulders, Sire."

"Thank you?" Aaryn said, torn between feeling offended, and feeling encouraged.

"You made a good choice, Elreth," the female winked.

Elreth smiled. "Yes, I know I did. The Creator made a good choice for me."

She caught Aaryn\'s eye as the woman turned away, waving over her shoulder. He stepped closer to her, pulling her into a brief hug.

Neither of them spoke, but they were still for a moment, and Aaryn thought that maybe, like him, that was what she needed.

When they parted, she squeezed his hand, then they walked slowly towards the market. Aaryn could feel Elreth\'s nerves, but also her certainty.

They held hands right up until they walked through the open doorways from the trails. Then Aaryn signed, \'You\'ve got this.\'

She looked at him gratefully, then walked into the market first, accepting the greetings of those who were excited to see her.

*****

An awkward hour later Aaryn was reminded of why he\'d been grateful that so many of their meals since their return from their honeymoon had been taken in a rush, or at the Cave or during a meeting. Sitting at the top table with Elreth, all eyes on them, was uncomfortable.

Though he didn\'t sense the malicious gazes from among the people so much—and it was nice to see Gwyn, who\'d rushed up to hug Elreth when she arrived at the market, shocked to see them—he wished this was done so he could be out from under all these eyes.

He\'d never felt comfortable with nothing at his back, and the eyes of the entire city on him. There were too many eyes shadowed with thoughts against the disformed. But he knew… this was his role now. And he was glad to be at Elreth\'s side.

Other than catching up with Gwyn, she\'d been very quiet during the meal, biting her lip and clenching her hands in her lap when she didn\'t realize he was watching.

Then the servers came to remove their plates and Elreth took a deep breath, preparing to stand and speak.

Before she could move, Aaryn put a hand to her thigh and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"You\'re right," he said, pulling back far enough to meet her eyes before leaning in again. "You\'re right. And you\'re doing the right thing, for the right reasons. Let them see that. You were right to tell the elders it was time to stop avoiding change out of fear. And you\'re right to push forward and attack this, instead of waiting for it to come to you. You\'re right, El. The rest doesn\'t matter when you know that."

Forehead lined with emotion, her eyes shone as she returned his gaze.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for sticking with me today. I know it hasn\'t been fun."

"Being close to you is what I need, El. You know that," he said.

He would have kissed her, but she\'d always been hesitant about public displays of affection, so instead he signed, \'You\'re exactly what they need.\'

Then he nodded and sat back in his chair so she could stand and, taking a deep breath, call for the people\'s attention.

*****

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