Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Free again

Chapter 21: Free again

Filarion walked out of the police station, looking regal in his combat clothing. Feneria looked every inch an Empress next to him, in her cocktail dress. When she saw Kaniel, all of her coldness melted away, and she ran to her husband.

Filarion's eyes searched for Johnny, but didn't see him. He felt disappointed at that. A small part of him told him it was too early to get back together. He told that part to shut up.

Prisila came to him, decked in a long satin dress, in a deep blue color. His little sister smiled, and then took a hold of his elbow.

"Searching for someone?" Prisila asked him knowingly.

"Is Johnny still in prison?" Filarion asked. He had not seen the tank during dinner, or today, for that matter.

"No, his necromancer bodyguard rescued him. You will be happy to know I got us a license. Although, I dare say we can no longer bust knee caps," Prisila told him with a small smile.

"I must see him," Filarion said, and went in the direction of the horses. "I must."

"Well, you know the way," Prisila then dislodged herself from Filarion's elbow, and went to Feneria's side. Filarion mounted up, and then he was off.

Careful not to make the horse buckle in the underbrush, he rode at a trod. Soon, he was before Johnny's house. Filarion noticed that the oppressing feel of the wards was gone. So, he picked a wild flower from the ground, fixed his long chestnut hair in place, and then went to knock on the door.

Johnny answered, although the old necromancer was behind him. The man rose his staff, and eyed Filarion suspiciously.

"Adam, don't. He just came to talk," Johnny said, and Filarion smiled, when the old Lich got his staff and himself out of sight.

Johnny stepped to the side, and Filarion trusted the forest flower under the tank's nose.

"I brought you something," Filarion said, and watched as Johnny regarded the flower.

"Thanks, orange is my favorite color," the tank took the flower, and then placed it in a vase, where there were many like it. Filarion felt like hitting himself over the head. Of course, Johnny would pick from the flowers that grew in front of his house.

"I came to talk," Filarion said, and then walked inside. Johnny led him to the living room, and they sat on the couch.

"I see you were let out of prison? House arrest?" Johnny asked, and Filarion shook his head.

"The emperor gave us a license to continue with our business, just, the clientele has to change," Filarion murmured. Johnny snorted.

"I figured as much. So, lord Elathana," Johnny began, but then his anger was cut by Filarion's hurt expression. "I am sorry, little leaf. That was uncalled-for."

"No, it really wasn't. We could... we could find those that killed your parents, and..." the words stuck in Filarion's throat. They could find the bandits easily. He remembered their names; Johnny knew their faces. If they were still alive, they would be found.

"No," Johnny said, and then sighed. "Look, my parents won't be brought back with blood. Right now, the only thing I want to do is go back to adventuring."

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"You don't want revenge?" Filarion asked. Johnny snorted.

"Oh, I do. If I see them again, they are dead. But I won't mar my name with their deaths. Now that they don't have you to give them weapons and potions, what could they possibly do?" Johnny looked at his hands.  Filarion cleared his throat.

"I am thinking of giving away all of my former clients to the law. Not for being my clients, but for what they have done, after they became such," Filarion stated. Johnny rose his head to blink at him.

"They will blab," Johnny told him simply. The chances that the bandits and the scum of the Roarin Empire won't try to drag Filarion back to prison with them were slim to none.

"I will find a way," Filarion stated. This would need careful handling. Filarion had always prided himself on being careful.

"Don't risk it. Let people place quests, and have the adventurers deal with them," Johnny finally told him. A part of the tank wanted for Filarion to risk it. To try and right his wrongs. But that part was outvoted by a bigger part, who wanted Johnny's little leaf to be safe. "Go with your ducklings on easy quests. Leave the business to Feneria and Prisila, or something."

Filarion blinked at him.

"My... ducklings?" Filarion asked. Johnny barked a laugh, figuring that the elf couldn't possibly know how Johnny referred to the three teens.

"The kids you party with," Johnny clarified, and Filarion sighed.

"They won't want to do anything with me, now that they know that I am scum," Filarion spoke. Johnny reached out, and gripped the elf's hand in both of his.

"You did terrible things. Crimes against many," Johnny was not going to sugar coat it. If Filarion was not going to be brought to justice, then at least he would get a wake-up call. "But you have eternity to right your wrongs. For how long have you ran the family business?"

"Fifty years," Filarion said. Johnny's breath hitched.

"Well, those are quite a few crimes," the human shuddered, and Filarion had the decency to look at their linked hands. "But, do you know what? You are doomed to go on a bandit clearing quest, once your ducklings are ready. You will clear your wrongdoings, or I won't have you back."

Filarion's gaze snapped back up to Johnny's blue eyes. The elf's green eyes were wide, and there was hope in them.

"You'd let me back in this relationship? We are not over?" Filarion asked, and Johnny sighed.

"We are over, until you prove that your recent change of heart was not something fleeting," Johnny told him, and Filarion's eyes began to shine.

"When I prove to you that I can be better than how I was, would you eat your half of the apple?" Filarion asked, voice small and full of wistfulness.

"When you prove it to me, I will put a ring around your finger," Johnny promised. With a laugh, Filarion closed the distance between them, and captured Johnny's lips in a kiss.

Adam shook his head from his seat at the kitchen table. Young they were, and thought others deaf. Still, he liked the tank enough to keep their secrets. But, if the elf hurt Johnny again, he was getting another butt poke of death!

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