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Aedion is eighty-seven when Lysandra dies. He goes to the edge of Caraverre, where they first crossed over into its territory after the war, and he cries. Wishing it was him, he stays there for days before Aelin hears the news, and comes to find him and see if he is okay. After his cousin's words he finally journeys back, and realizes that there is no point without his wife. He leaves the continent and goes to live with Nesryn in the Southern Continent, leaving Caraverre in the hands of Evangeline and her lover.

Manon is two hundred and three when Dorian dies. She keeps a cool face as she hold court for the first time with out her husband, her princling, and she swears never to do it again; she instantly hands her title down to her's and Dorian's daughter, Asterin. Despite her cold exterior, she's breaking down on the inside and is struggling to hold it all together. She leaves their kingdom forever, and is never seen from again. She never speaks again, she never touches another being again, she never smiles again. She goes to the cabin Asterin's hunter had once lived in a stays there till she's long dead.

Lorcan is six hundred and thirty-one when Elide dies. He screams as the doctors tell him that his wife has died in the birth of their first child; despite having to raise their child he withdraws from the world, wishing it was him, until Rowan tells him that if he doesn't stop drinking his child will be taken from him. After the visit from Rowan, Lorcan forces himself to grow and become a better father for his child, his final part of Elide.

Yrene is twenty-five when Chaol dies. They had been planning to visit the Southern Continent to visit their friends over there, when their ship sinks and Chaol rushes everyone else off, losing his life to do so. After getting their child to safety, Yrene hires someone to take her back to the crash site and retrieve his body, so she can attempt to bring him back once again. After failing, she realizes that there is nothing that can bring him back, and pushes herself into her healing once again so others can have what she can't.

Nesryn is sixty-seven when Sartaq dies. When she hears the news that he was murdered during a midnight stroll, she can't help but wonder whether it was one of their children that killed him, for the title of Emperor. Heartbroken, she seeks to find out he killed her husband, and give them what they deserve in return for what they took from her. The Empire riots each and everyday when they find out that their Emperor was murdered in his own palace, when she finally finds the murderer, she wonders how she could have been so dumb to overlook Sartaq's own siblings in the start of her search.

Rowan was one thousand, four hundred and eighty-six when he first felt it, his body and powers weakening. This was it, he was finally fading after all this time. He'd lived a good, long life with his Fireheart - and now he was finally going to enter the Void. Rowan didn't know how much time he had left with Aelin, and did his best to make the most of it. She didn't know what was happening to him, he'd hidden it from her, he didn't want her to experience anymore loss. She'd already lost so many people in her lifetime. So in the months it took for his power and body to finally fade into the Void, he never once told her what was happening to him.

Aelin is one thousand, one hundred and forty-nine when it happened. Rowan had faded into the Void, and hadn't told her what he was going through. He'd been holding her in bed when it'd happened; she'd been facing him, and he'd just faded away. It had taken her some time to come to terms about what had happened, that didn't mean she was over it, it mean that she'd realized what had happened to her mate. They'd spent one thousand, one hundred and twenty-nine years together and now he was gone - in the void. 

Aelin had lost so many people in her lifetime; Rowan, Dorian, Chaol, Yrene, Sam, Lysandra, Aedion, Elide, Manon, Evangeline, Nesryn, and, even people like Ansel. That was the day Aelin began it understand it, the loss, the grief, the hate, the unfairness, the loneliness. Someone she'd once known and hated someone who had once been been filled with those same emotions. She'd killed them for what those emotions had driven them to do

She began to understand Maeve...

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Aelin had lost so many people in her lifetime; Rowan, Dorian, Chaol, Yrene, Sam, Lysandra, Aedion, Elide, Manon, Evangeline, Nesryn, her parents, and, even people like Ansel and Nehemia, and, definitely, Celaena. 

The day Rowan faded Aelin slowly began it understand it, the loss, the grief, the hate, the unfairness, the loneliness. Someone she'd once known and hated someone who had once been been filled with those same emotions. She'd had to killed them for what those emotions had driven them to do.

She began to understand Maeve...

Maeve had been the only Valg Queen in existence. She'd had to escape from the Valg realm and make the world believe she was one of the three Fae Sister-Queens, along with Mora and Mab, when in reality there had only been two Fae Sister-Queens. Why? She was in such a similar situation to the one Aelin, herself, was in now. Maeve had been drowning - she was alone, trapped, ignored by her husband.

The only difference Aelin could find in her situation was the issue of her husband - he'd faded, died, and left her alone without even telling her what was happening to him. She hated it. The loneliness, the feeling of emptiness, the withdrawals from the fact of humans. And god, Aelin missed Rowan like nothing she'd ever felt before; it was overtaking her, her action, her feelings, her.

Aelin began to understand how Maeve felt when she'd been alone, locked in a Valg world with no one like her. She began to understand how Maeve felt with only books for company, lost and completely alone. 

Now, Aelin loved books, she truly did, but they were not a replacement for human interaction. Well, social interaction since she knew quite a few people who weren't human: Fae, Witches, Shape-Shifters, and, she'd even know some Valg. She needed social interaction, she hadn't had much - if any - since Rowan had faded away The Void, and it was driving her crazy. She'd never felt so alone before - not even in The Salt Mines, Endovier... 

Social interaction... It had once seemed like a common, everyday occurrence - and, now, it was a blessing Aelin couldn't help but long for it wistfully.

She lived in a castle full of people, and she hadn't spoken to anyone since the day after Rowan faded. There was more people in this castle then there ever had been at the Assassin's Guild, let alone the Assassins' Keep in Rifthold, and yet she felt more alone in this castle than she ever had there.

Some days she accepted it, and kept staring at the wall; most days she refuse to accept that Rowan had died. That Dorian had died. That Chaol had died. That Yrene had died. That Lysandra had died. That Aedion had died. That Elide had died. That Manon had disappeared and had never been heard from again...

Manon had disappeared and had never been heard from again...

When Aelin thought about that in particularly, it never seemed like a bad idea. A good idea even. The longer she spent in this castle the worst the loneliness would; a change of scenery, a change of surroundings, a change in her life sounded like a brilliant idea. It'd give her a chance to deal with everything without feeling like she was being suffocated by the daily going on's of the Court Of Terrasen.

"Go." A voice whispered to her. Turning to the sound, Aelin couldn't see anyone in her room. No one. Not one person. 

"Go." It whispered to her direction again.

It was a rather familiar voice, almost like she'd heard it before many years ago... But she couldn't place a name on who it was. She knew she should have been able to, but she just couldn't. The name eluded her still.

Still... Whoever it had the right idea, for her to leave Terrasen for once and all. She'd done it before, and now she'd do it again.

"Go." 

"Where?" Her voice was incredibly croaky, she hadn't said a word in over a month. Not since Rowan...

"I know a place." It was louder this time, clearer. "I'll take you to. A cabin in the woods, far from here."

"Alright -" Was all Aelin managed to say before she choked up, she was really doing this then...

A translucent figured appeared, glowing slightly. Their face was blurred, so she couldn't see who it was, but Aelin didn't care. She just needed to get away from everything. The figure was clearly a woman. She held out her hand toward Aelin, who grabbed it, only for the world to start spinning.

Whoever it was had the same ability as Fenrys, to 'slip between folds in the world' as he'd always said, only she had the ability to travel much further than he could.

Aelin was in a cabin as promised, but there was one thing she hadn't signed up for. The spirit... She could she their face now... She knew who it was...

Maeve...

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Yes, Aelin was in a cabin as promised, but there was one thing she hadn't signed up for, and she definitely didn't like it. The spirit... She could she their face now... She knew who it was...

Maeve...

She'd been tricked, Aelin realised. She'd been tricked by one of the evilest, most vile women in all of the worlds. She couldn't believe that in her grief she allowed herself to fall for something so stupid, had she really been dumb enough to fall for Maeve's trick? The answer was obviously yes, not that she wanted to accept that.

"Get back!" She yelled, if only to make her feel slightly better. It wasn't like there was much she could do to stop the Valg Queen; Maeve was a spirit, and Aelin was...not... "Stay away from me!"

And despite her, useless, efforts, all that could be heard in that cabin was the laughter of one woman - if she could even be called that. Not after all the horrible things Maeve had done.

Although, Aelin know understood why Maeve had acted the way she had, that didn't mean she condoned it. She understood the loss, the grief, the hate, the unfairness, the loneliness - but she'd never actually do the things Maeve had. Aelin couldn't, ever, imagine doing things that horrible to people, she'd never locked someone up in a iron coffin and torture them daily. 

Yes, she had done horrible things to people in the past, when she'd been Celaena Sardothian. Celaena had been considered Adarlan's greatest assassin, one of the only people to have spent a total of one year in the mines (considering most could only survive an average of three months in the mines), and, she come through it all to end up working for the very King that had been a fundamental part of her family's demise. Of course Celaena had been an assassin before she'd been working for the King Of Adarlan. 

As Celaena, Aelin had done horrible things, and she hated herself for it. She'd sworn to herself to never do anything like that again. Ever. But she'd moved on, given time, and she'd become a better person. She'd killed Maeve, and taken back her country. She'd freed Terrasen. She'd become the Queen Of Terrasen. She'd become better. 

So, she understand how Maeve felt and understood why she'd felt the need to do those horrid things, she had been in pain. Hurting. Suffering. Alone. And Aelin felt all those things now Rowan was gone, but she also felt betrayed. She been tricked by Maeve, for who knows what reason. 

Taking several deep, slightly calming, gulps of air - Aelin allowed herself to ignore the laughing of the Valg Queen. "Why?" She questioned, trying to keep a serious look on her face despite her internal feelings. "Why did you bring me here?"

A laugh.

A short, bitter laugh actually came out of the mouth of the crazed woman. "Why? Why you like I brought you here?" Maeve crossed her arms as she spoke. "Like calls to like."

"What do you mean?"

"Like calls to like." Maeve repeated, as if she was losing her patience - and, honestly, Aelin was just purely surprised that the two of them were standing there having a fairly civil conversation. If was truly a sight to be behold. "The two of us are two sides of a coin."

"And how is that?" She didn't have a clue what Maeve meant, they weren't that similar. We're they? 

"You were born into light, I was born in darkness. Both of us ran away from our courts, only to build a name for ourselves elsewhere. We both experience loss where ever we go, both of us feel alone in the world. What isn't similar about us."

And although Maeve was theoretical correct, Aelin couldn't believe that the elder woman didn't have some alternative, hidden motive. 

"And? So what?" She snapped.

"I want us to work together, be allies, become friends."

Aelin was sure why she said it, it might have been the loss of Rowan speaking. Or perhaps, the loneliness. Or perhaps, she was just desperate for company.

It definitely wasn't because of who it was, she could have hated the idea of forgiving Maeve, working with her (for something, not that Aelin knew what it was), and, possibly, even, becoming friends with her. 

It was absurd, but she'd said it without thinking. She didn't regret it, yet though. Not that she could fully grasp what she'd said yet. 

"Alright."

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It was absurd, but she'd said it without thinking. She didn't regret it, yet though. Not that she could fully grasp what she'd said yet. 

"Alright."

It had been months since she'd said that one world that had started her alliance with Maeve, her alliance with the Valg Queen, and Aelin still wasn't sure if she'd made the right decision. Of course, at times, she believed that she done the right thing - after all, times had changed and neither of them were the same people they'd been all those years ago when they hated each other.

Other times, Aelin couldn't help but feel like she was just a pawn in Maeve's plan. She wasn't told much, didn't know what was going on half the time, and the Valg Queen did the barest minimum of the work. And yet, even if that was the case, Aelin knew that she would regret it; not after the gift Maeve had given her on her birthday.

Her powers... Maeve had found a way to get Aelin's powers back somehow. She wasn't sure what the elder Valg woman had done, or bargained to get them back for her - but Aelin couldn't help but be extremely grateful. Her powers, her ability to control fire, was something that was part of her identity. And she'd lost that part of herself the day she sealed the lock.

The one time Aelin had found the courage to ask Maeve what she'd done to get her powers back, all she'd done was annoy the woman enough to earn the silent treatment for a week. Maeve knew what the silence remained her of, and that's why she'd done it.

It reminded Aelin of when she first lost Rowan, and how alone she'd felt in that time. She never wanted to go through that again, so she had never tried asking Maeve about her powers again. She didn't want another "I'll tell you when it's relevant."

The annoying thing about that phrase was that it was never 'relevant', which obviously annoyed the life out of Aelin. Of course she couldn't do anything about that so she was stuck only imagining what Maeve had done to get her powers back. It was a rather calming activity, giving her chance to get her mind off her life and everything Maeve had got her doing.

First Aelin had been thrown back into training, it wasn't that she'd stopped training after defeating Erwan but when Rowan died she'd definitely stopped training. It hadn't been too long that she'd stopped training for, but it was still too long.

Second Aelin gone on a few quick missions for Maeve, stealing a few objects from some extremely rich people. She wasn't sure what they needed them for, but she'd never asked. Maeve had a similar sort of planning method to her - only letting people know her plan when she had no other option.

Third Aelin had kidnapped a couple of people, criminals that no one would miss, according to Maeve they were for her to practise her powers on. Although she hated herself for it, Aelin couldn't help but find herself enjoying it. 

At multiple points she couldn't help but feel like she was becoming a much less moral person, more like she'd been when she was Celaena Sardothien. It had started when she'd agreed to work with Maeve, at first it had been slow but, now, it kept happening a lot quicker. Aelin kept becoming a lot less moral person. And the strange thing was, she almost didn't mind it.

"There's a place I need you to visit."

The voice almost startled her, she'd spent the majority of the day hidden away in her room - reading. Aelin had only come out because for some strange reason her body required food and water to survive. 

"What for?" She asked quickly, almost hoping that if she didn't give the Valg Queen time to think she'd actually answer the question.

"There's someone there I need you to get." The only response she got.

"Who?" Aelin questioned, just as quickly as she had the first time.

"I'll know who it is when you see them."

"Alright." There was no point arguing, she'd know who it was sooner or later. "I'll go."

When Aelin arrived, she was in a dense forest. Trees as far as she could see, brief glances of the blue sky if you looked hard enough, birds hopping from tree to tree. It had been a long time since she'd seen a forest that beautiful, it reminded her of a place she'd been a long time ago. She couldn't remember the name.

As she explored her surroundings, Aelin heard a voice. Cautiously, she withdrew her sword from its sheath and held it in front of her. It burned with her fire, for the first time in years.

Another humanoid being came towards her. One with the same voice. They looked at her and gasped, "Aelin?"

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Exploring her surroundings, Aelin heard a voice. Cautiously, she withdrew her sword from its shelth and held it in front of her. It burned with her fire, for the first time in many years.

Another humanoid being came towards her. One with the same voice. They looked at her and gasped, "Aelin?"

She known the voice, Aelin recognised the voice as soon as she heard it so why couldn't she put her finger on the name.

"Hello?" She called out quietly, almost as if her words were asking who the person was. 

She wasn't used to it, this feeling of unease. She knew for certain that this was the one Maeve wanted her to bring back with her, but she didn't have a clue who this person was. The only thing she knew about them was that she surely knew them somehow many years ago.

"Who's there?" Her voice was rather strained as she asked the question. 

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius wasn't used to having to rely on other people. It had taken her a while to get used to working with Maeve, but in the long run... She'd actually liked working with her old enemy much more than she'd ever thought she would. It was, almost, enough for her to wish she'd just blood sworn herself to Maeve all those years ago. Aelin could often imagine how much better her life could have been if she hadn't chosen to go against Maeve.

"Relax." The voice was cool, calming, familiar. Aelin took several deep breathes in and out. "Aelin, you need to relax. It only me."

The person took a few more steps closer to her, Aelin could start to make out whom it was. They took a step forward, definitely male. Another, sharp, pointed ears. Another, curly, golden hair. Another, golden-brown skin. Another, twin scars from his brow to his jaw.

The name clicked into place in Aelin's brain. Finally. "Fenrys?"

"Yes, it's me." He spoke, his joy radiating through his words. "I can't believe it's you. Everyone thought you were dead, Terrasen thought you were dead."

"Don't worry." Aelin smirked, an almost sinister look forming in her face. "To them, I am dead."

Fenrys was obviously shocked. His mouth was gaping, his face was white, and his eyes kept running over her. "I... I... What do you mean?"

"I am dead." She spoke, spite filling her voice. "D-E-A-D! Or, to world I'm meant to be dead."

"Aelin..." Fenrys gasped, he must have been having a nightmare. Aelin, his queen, would never had said something like that. "Why are you dead to them?"

"That isn't any of your concern." She smirked, her eyes a glimpse into her mind. Crazy. She looked crazy, or at least her eyes did. "is it now, little wolf?"

Aelin ran her finger down his arm, in a rather threatening manner. A manner that Fenrys had never once pictured with his queen, with Maeve yes, but never Aelin. 

Sensing his discomfort, Aelin let out a laugh. Not a normal, joyful laugh that everyone was used to hearing from her. No, this almost sounded wicked, Fenrys realised. And he had to be honest with himself, it scared him. Aelin had always been such a good and just person when he'd known her. 

This... This didn't seem like her at all. This seemed a lot more like Maeve, this to him was almost like reliving the nightmare that was when he had been bloodsworn to Maeve herself.

"Aelin..." Fenrys finally let out, his voice unstable and concerned. He had no idea what was going on with his queen; at first he'd just been glad that she was alive despite what everyone else thought, but now... Now he almost thought that she would have been better off dead, this wasn't his Aelin. This wasn't any version of Aelin he knew, she was a completely different person.

"What?" She muttered under her breath, she was getting rather fed up with this. At first the prospect of reuniting with Fenrys sounded great, but now he only seemed judgemental. It was like he hated her, how she had changed. 

Of course she had changed, her mate had died. What did Fenrys expect? For her to be happy, dancing around without a care in the world. Well, he was wrong, he was not going to get that Aelin. That Aelin had died along with Rowan, this Aelin was different. She had been opened up to the feelings of lost and abandonment.

Abandonment...

She been abandoned by everyone; most of her friends and family were dead, Fenrys was the only one left. And even he had abandoned her in some way - he'd left her to suffer alone in that castle of hers, and he'd never ever tried looking for her when she disappeared. He'd just presumed that she'd faded away just like Rowan. And now, he acted like she shouldn't have changed. So what if she'd changed. 

Growing more and more fed up with him and his antics, Aelin turned to Fenrys with amusement lighting up her eyes. "Never mind , it doesn't matter. You're coming with me..." It was almost a snarl, more like malicious purring, but it distracted him long enough for Aelin to knock him out so she could take him to Maeve.