“Yes.” Bastian spoke up following. “I could use a drink.” Jaden stifled the need to grin. He had missed the feeling of family, his time away had been comprised of talks of treaty and learning about the Rizel people, his people. Now the warmth of his attachment to these people, his friends, his only family made him wonder if it had been worth it to stay away.

The library was filled with books of fiction and history and geological maps. Shelves upon shelves of leather bound books that rivaled the palace of the king himself. Jaden noticed a rather large book lying on a stand beside Bastian’s favorite reading chair and picked it up. “The Dane and the Darkness.” He shook his head. “Don’t you think you’re a little old for tragic romances Bastian?”

Sabine came over and handed him a glass as Bastian sat down in his high backed chair beside the fireplace. “Ah, the hero fighting against all odds to save the one he loves and in the end he dies for her. A good story knows no age.”

Jaden laughed quietly. “I prefer reality to fiction.”

“We’re all living a story. We just don’t know if its tragic until the end.”

Deciding to let the subject drop Jaden stayed quiet and looked out over the landscape from the window. There was comfort in the fact that nothing had changed since he left. “So Jaden, how are you managing your family lands always being away from home?” Sabine asked conversationally.

“Lester handles almost everything on his own.” He turned around to see the astounded expressions on their faces. The details and duties of managing the surrounding lands could not be done when he spent almost all of his time away. “I even tried once to abdicate my lordship to him but he refused. He says he’s only a servant and doesn’t want to be anything else.”