Part 2
The invitation remained untouched.
It rested quietly upon Adrian's desk, its pale emerald wood gleaming softly beneath the afternoon light that poured through the office windows. Every now and then his eyes wandered back toward it, lingering for only a heartbeat before returning to the growing collection of reports scattered across the polished oak.
Road maintenance.
Guard rotations.
Trade requests.
Construction estimates.
A petition from two neighbouring farmers arguing over the exact position of a fence that had apparently become a matter of great historical importance.
Adrian stared at the parchment.
"...It's a fence."
Elena glanced up from the opposite side of the desk where she had been carefully organizing several maps of the surrounding region.
"What about it?"
"They've attached six pages."
She looked toward the report.
"They have."
"It separates two vegetable gardens."
"It does."
"They've included drawings."
"I noticed."
Adrian slowly turned another page.
"...One of them measured it."
"He did."
"In different handwriting."
"The neighbour disagreed."
Adrian looked toward the ceiling as though searching for patience hidden somewhere among the wooden beams.
"I've fought monsters."
"You have."
"A Warchief."
"Yes."
"I've nearly died."
"Several times."
He gently tapped the report with one finger.
"...This is somehow more exhausting."
The corner of Elena's mouth lifted ever so slightly.
"You'll survive."
"I admire your confidence."
"You've survived Lyra."
"...That's fair."
He carefully signed the bottom of the petition before setting it aside.
"Compromise."
Elena tilted her head.
"What did you write?"
"They each lose six inches."
She blinked once.
"...You can do that?"
"I'm the Mayor."
"...You're enjoying that title a little."
"Only when fences are involved."
The room settled into another comfortable silence.
Outside, the sounds of Stonehollow drifted lazily through the open window.
Builders continued their steady work somewhere beyond the square.
The distant ringing of a blacksmith's hammer echoed rhythmically across the town.
A wagon rolled past beneath the window, its driver greeting someone farther down the street with a cheerful wave.
Life carried on.
Normal.
Peaceful.
Adrian had once believed peace would mean doing less.
Instead...
It simply meant solving different problems.
A gentle knock interrupted the quiet.
"Come in."
The office door opened.
One of the younger clerks stepped inside, carrying another stack of neatly bound papers.
Adrian narrowed his eyes immediately.
"No."
The young man stopped.
"...Sir?"
"I reject them."
"They're trade manifests."
"I reject those too."
The clerk looked uncertainly toward Elena.
She calmly held out both hands.
"I'll take them."
The young man visibly relaxed before passing the bundle across the room.
"Thank you."
As soon as he disappeared again, Adrian leaned back dramatically.
"I liked fighting monsters."
Elena carefully added the manifests to an already growing pile.
"I remember."
"They were significantly more straightforward."
"They usually tried to kill you."
"They announced their intentions."
She nodded thoughtfully.
"That was considerate of them."
He laughed.
"I know, right?"
For another hour they worked quietly together.
There was something oddly satisfying about it.
Elena reviewed patrol routes while Adrian signed construction approvals.
Occasionally one of them asked a question.
Most of the time...
They simply worked.
The comfortable silence between them had long since become one of the things Adrian appreciated most.
Neither of them felt the need to fill every quiet moment with conversation.
Some friendships—
He smiled to himself.
No.
Some partnerships...
Didn't require constant words.
Eventually the final report disappeared into its proper place.
Adrian stretched both arms above his head until several satisfying cracks echoed through the office.
"...Done."
Elena glanced toward the remaining stack.
"No."
He followed her gaze.
Three more bundles waited patiently on the corner of his desk.
"...You're ruining my moment."
"They're tomorrow's."
"Oh."
He immediately relaxed again.
"Tomorrow Adrian can deal with those."
"And today?"
"Today Adrian is finished."
She stood, collecting the maps she'd been organizing.
"You should go."
He looked up.
"Go where?"
"Home."
Adrian frowned.
"I am home."
Elena was quiet for a moment.
Then she looked directly at him.
"I know."
Another pause.
"But you haven't been back to Earth in nine days."
The words struck him harder than he expected.
Nine days.
He blinked.
"...Has it really been that long?"
She nodded.
"It'll be longer there."
His stomach tightened slightly.
He instinctively began counting backwards.
Seven days in Eryndor...
Barely more than a day on Earth.
Grandma Lilly would probably think he had simply taken on another long shift.
His editor was likely wondering why another manuscript hadn't arrived.
The dishes he'd forgotten in the apartment sink were almost certainly beginning to stage a rebellion. Still need to sell that...