“This is my fiance,” Soral proudly introduced as the children reached the base of the tower.

  The boy peaked at her from behind Soral. With his light brown hair and brown eyes it would be easy to believe the two really were related. The girl, who seemed a few years older, observed Ruena skeptically. Her hair was a darker hue than her brother's, with a hint of red that was brought out under the direct sunlight. She neither hid nor approached, only watching closely. It was no wonder why Soral had been so eager to rescue them from the tower.

  "I am Ruena Alodan," she introduced, filling the silence with something, "What are your names?"

  Apparently that was the wrong question from how quickly the boy hid completely behind Soral. The girl scowled but at least she gave a response. "I'm nobody. Don't bother paying any attention to me."

  "We will have to pay attention to you if we take you in," Ruena pointed out.

  "I never consented to that," the girl shot back.

  "Alright, so we have Nobodi," Soral interrupted, "Then I guess that makes your little brother Anibodi?"

  It took Ruena a moment to realize he was treating nobody like her actual name. As always, his naming sense for what counted as an appropriate name was quite unique. The children didn't seem to realize he was being serious, with the boy being especially confused.

  "Soral, you can't just give them names like you are handing out nicknames," Ruena warned, "It will be difficult for them to live with those names, so we should give them time to reveal or choose their own names."

  "And until then, they can be Nobodi and Anibodi," Soral repeated stubbornly, "See? Isn't it perfect? No one will ever suspect that those are their real names so once they reveal their new names no one should be surprised."

  “I’m fine with it,” the boy said quietly as he clung to Soral’s leg.

  “Fine. Call me whatever you want,” the girl caved, “Don’t think giving me a name means I belong to you.”

  Ruena could only imagine what kinds of horrors they had seen during their time in the tower, but she was getting a basic idea of what the newly named Nobodi was the most wary of. “I don’t own people,” she said, “Even once I marry that overpowered idiot over there, neither of us will own the other. We will be partners.”

  “Destined partners,” Soral agreed happily, “For eternity.”

  “What does that make us, then?” Nobody demanded.

  “Family,” Ruena replied simply, “If that is too much for you, I can make you my apprentice instead. A girl like you should know how to defend herself when the worst comes. You don’t have any magic either, do you?”

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  Nobody flinched. “Either? You mean you also don’t have magic?”

  “Correct,” Ruena confirmed, “What do you say? Want me to teach you a few tricks?”

  “And I can teach your brother how to maintain control of his overflowing magic power,” Soral added.

  Now that negotiations with their new companions were complete, they returned to Alodan. Nobodi seemed determined to test Ruena’s authenticity at every turn, but Anibodi slowly started to open up and enjoy himself. He clearly wanted to interact with people, but he was scared. The one person neither of them was scared or wary of was Soral. The most stressful situation was when Nobodi ran into Blade who had yet to leave.

  “New faces? Are you strong?” Blade asked, immediately dismissing Nobodi to eagerly approach her brother, “You look strong. Fire-”

  “Get away from my brother,” Nobodi growled. Had she known how to fight, Ruena got the sense she would have attacked him without hesitation.

  “Blade, children are off limits,” Storm warned, “We talked about this.”

  “Fine, I get it,” Blade gave in and immediately backed off. His backwards glances showed that he was definitely still interested, but luckily Storm was able to quickly diffuse the situation.

  As soon as Blade left the area, Nobodi turned to Ruena. “When will you start teaching me?” she demanded.

  “Start by getting healthy first,” Ruena told her, “I don’t know what happened in that tower, since I can’t hear thoughts like Soral can, but you are clearly in need of some basic nutrition and exercise. Fighting in that state will only break your body, but I can help you strengthen it in the meantime.”

  Nobodi wasn’t pleased, but she accepted. “If you don’t teach me properly, I will find my own way to fight,” she warned.

  “I am Ruena Alodan, the current Weaponsmaster,” Ruena told her, “I have no intention of stopping you from learning how to fight. If I did, I never would have offered in the first place. Shall we eat? Soral is an excellent cook.”

  The dining table was a chaotic arrangement with Jazz sitting at the head of the table, Blade almost seeming to pick a fight with his food, and the various other guests that had travelled back to Alodan with them. It was an environment where no one was afraid to show their true selves. Even Bastion seemed oddly relaxed.

  After dinner, Bastion called Ruena over. “You are the Weaponsmaster now,” he stated, “Soon you will officially take on the title of Duchess as well. I will stay to attend your wedding, but after that my role here is done.”

  “You are going back to sleep,” Ruena realized. Even though they had not shared enough time to grow truly close, she already felt a pang of loneliness, “Can you really not stay any longer?”

  “I am certain we will meet again,” Bastion promised, “I am not leaving yet, so let us save our farewells until the time comes.”

  “In that case, I will do whatever I can to ensure that you have a memorable rest of your stay,” Ruena promised in turn.

  That being said, Ruena really didn’t have much time to spare to spend with him. She had to fulfill her duties, as well as her promise to Nobodi. Then there was the official appointment ceremony for her title, meeting with the vassals, reorganizing the Alodan Warriors so they could function without her constant presence, and the obnoxious social obligations a new Duchess was required to take care of. Once all of the initial nonsense was done, Ruena was tempted to either become a hermit noble or scare everyone away.

  Luckily Soral took the brunt of the planning for the wedding. Taking full advantage of Grant’s genius, he constructed an entirely new venue for this purpose alone. Between that and all of his other wild ideas, this was sure to be quite the extravagant wedding. Still, Ruena had no intention to discourage him. This was his wedding as much as it was hers, so he had the right to enjoy herself.

  Unfortunately, she forgot about one important thing. The wedding dress.