Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Simon

“Let me take her Mamma.” Simon stepped closer to the wagon and their horse, pulling the reins from his mother and smiling as she handed them over, “You should get some rest.” Simon lifted his chin, motioning toward the wagon and Linda shook her head.

“We’ve been on the road for days and I’m not sure how much more sitting I can handle.”

They’d left their home in Dimwood Cove almost a week ago on his 18^th birthday. Simon could still see the worry on his mother’s face as they walked. Even though they were days away from their former home, she still wasn’t comfortable. As many times as she told him that she was ok, it was his greatest gift and most frustrating curse that he knew she wasn’t being honest. 

Lars Eriksson had been Simon and Sara’s grandfather. While he had died when Simon was very young, his story was well known. Lars had grown up just off the lakeshore of Dimwood Cove, and their lineage went back generations. It was no secret that their family was gifted, and that it passed from generation to generation, continuing into Lars's only son, Micke. One day, as Lars saw Micke overwhelm their community leader’s son as they wrestled, he felt very aware that his moment was coming. His son was different than him, but just as gifted, and that was clear. Micke’s heightened senses and sensitivity made it obvious that he would continue their legacy. He had a temper, but that was to be expected and could be resolved once he found his partner. The older his son got, the harder it became for Lars to sit back and be just one of the people in the community. He was charismatic and comfortably wielded his family’s reputation like a sword, most of the time creating a mixture of awe and trepidation. He struggled to stay quiet when he had opinions on changes in the Cove, often using his gift to sway his neighbors or create a sense of self-imposed authority.

Every year, Lars's influence was growing, and he enjoyed how the Eriksson family name carried weight. He was difficult to challenge or disagree with. His instincts were just too strong, and his inner compass was trustworthy. His suggestions had saved their crops and their homes during challenging times, and people felt indebted to his abilities. He had saved them, and he wasn’t shy about reminding them.

When Micke was 18, Lars chose his moment. He knew that a storm was coming, one that would overtake their small cove, causing flooding and damage that would bring their community to its knees. He’d seen it before, and they’d come together, bracing for the impact, putting everything in place to save their homes. But this time, he would not give any warning. This time, he would find himself mysteriously out of town, telling his neighbor that a relative of his needed their assistance, and they would be back in a couple of weeks.

When Lars came back to town two days after the storm, it was hard to hide his amusement as he saw the floods. He had barely settled his wagon when his neighbor ran over, letting him know about the emergency town meeting that was to take place later that day. At the meeting, it only took minutes for someone to ask him what he thought they should do. He casually dismissed the question, making it clear that he couldn’t tell them what to do, but only what felt right. He taunted them, saying how much he’d enjoyed the visit to a neighboring community to see his family, and that it was a community he could see himself being a part of. It was easier for him now to justify a departure considering the state of his farm.

At their lowest, his neighbors begged him to stay, they let him know how much they needed him, and how grateful they’d been for everything he’d done for them previously. Knowing that this was the right moment, he said, “I could only feel comfortable here, continuing to grow my family here if I was able to truly mold this community into what it could be.” At first, people were unsure what he meant, but he let his eyes linger on their community leader and it was clear he was letting them know that he would stay, but only if he could lead.

Not everyone was convinced of what was being positioned as Lars Eriksson’s divine right to rule, and while it was only whispered about, the dialogs about dissent and skepticism never stopped. A lot of people realized that he had exploited his reputation for personal gain and leveraged the fear they’d had after the storm left their village in shambles.

With that, Lars felt it best that they solidify their place and consider the next generation. Lars suggested that Micke find a partner in another town, one that only knew of the power his family had, and not how they had gotten it. He sent Micke on a tour, where he was to build relationships with neighboring communities and find a wife who was also gifted.

One of his first stops was a town his father had suggested when they looked at the map together. This town was known to have an Elder who ran the community and shared the same gift as Lars. Willowbrook was known for its gloomy weather and abundant wildlife. With his heightened senses, Micke felt immediately comfortable under the gray sky above him as soon as he rode into town. He walked through, his chin high, realizing that most of the people in the town seemed to be struggling to get by. After a quick conversation at one of the stalls in the market, he was made aware that their town leader had two gifted children. Micke was only momentarily excited as the shopkeeper let him know that his first-born daughter had already been married and only his second-born son remained. Upset by the news, and already frustrated by the long ride, Micke felt himself start to get angry, snapping at the man who’d given him the information and storming off.

He was almost stumbling, so overwhelmed by his frustration as he walked out of the market, punching a hay bale as he passed it and feeling his chest rising and falling as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Are you all right?”  

Micke turned quickly, ready to verbally unload on whoever had dared to question him, but stalled when he saw the beautiful, concerned face in front of him.

“I’m… fine... I’m fine.” He still felt like he was panting as she watched him, but she let him be. She didn’t badger him with questions the way his mother did. She didn’t assess him while he struggled the way his father did. She wasn’t gifted or his perfect match, he knew that. He’d been told all his life that the moment he found his match he would immediately know. That it would feel like every muscle in his body would simply relax and every question he had would be answered. He didn’t feel either of those things, but what did it matter?

“Do you need something to drink?” She asked, “My house is just up the hill.”

“What’s your name?” Micke asked.

“Linda.”

“How much farther?” Simon smiled to himself as Sara poked her head out of the wagon.

“How much farther was it when you asked yesterday?” Simon asked.

“Three days.”

“Then I guess we’re down to two.”

“Can you stop for a bit?” Sara asked, and Simon pulled their horse to a halt. She climbed out of the wagon and motioned over to the tree line to let them know she needed to use the restroom. Linda’s eyes scanned the wide-open area, but there was nothing to see.

“We’re ok,” Simon said and Linda nodded.

“I can’t imagine what my sister is going to think when we show up.” Linda let out a heavy exhale, “I just hope she has the space for us.”

“Mamma.” Simon said, letting his eyes linger on the ground, “I’ve been thinking, I’m not so sure that Lyndale is the right place for us.” Linda looked at him, lowering her eyes to catch his and waiting as he lifted his face to look at her.

“Been thinking, or been feeling?”

“Both,” he answered confidently and she she nodded as she considered. They’d been walking toward the village that her sister had married into for days now. It was the only idea that she’d had when they’d left their home, and she was hesitant to change it even if she knew it wasn’t a good idea since Micke would search there at some point. It was just a good place to get some rest.

“Tell me, Simon.”

Simon had spent a long time suppressing the feelings he’d had. Even when his instincts were screaming, he tried to silence them in his mind. When his father had realized that Sara was not gifted, everything had changed. Suddenly the gift that put their family in power was at risk and it became a family secret that could change all of their futures. Micke had decided that he had changed their fates by marrying Linda, that his father had been right that he never should have married someone who didn’t have a gift. She remembered that day they met and the anger that he’d had that had quickly gone away. This time it didn’t go away - it moved into their home as a permanent resident.

One day Simon and Sara were out in the cove swimming. They’d been out for an hour so far, enjoying the practically deserted water and the time away from the constant noise at home. Without understanding why, Simon slid his fingers over the water’s surface, pausing for a moment before he yelled to Sara that they needed to get out. When she didn’t immediately start to swim to shore, he gripped her wrist, pulling at her frantically. She’d never seen him this way and started to kick her legs hard to keep up with him, “Simon, what’s wrong?” She asked when she lifted her head to take a breath.

“Keep swimming!” When he looked back at her he saw one of their neighbors, far off, he waved at them, trying to get their attention but they were just too far away, he knew they wouldn't make it, “Shit…” As he glanced up at what had previously been calm water, he saw the wave coming. When he turned, Sara’s eyes were wide and they both started to swim again before Simon came to a stop, “Sara, stop. When I tell you, you take a deep breath, ok?” She nodded at him, afraid to look away from him and into the wave as it approached, “Don’t fight it, just let the wave take you in and if you can, you take another breath.” Sara nodded again and Simon looked back at the wave, only feeling Sara’s presence at that point, “NOW!”

The wave crashed down on them and Simon knew that they would be ok. He knew Sara was afraid, but he did not doubt that they would both survive. Ten minutes later, they both panted on the cove beach, looking at each other and silently acknowledging, that Simon was a Guide, just like his grandfather.

Simon made Sara promise not the tell anyone. If Sara not having a gift could be a secret, then him finding out about his could be a secret as well. He’d heard what people in their town had said, about how his grandfather had stolen his seat and how they resented him for it. He’d seen how angry his own father was at the idea that they wouldn’t be able to keep it and he hated them both for it.

“East. We should go east.” Simon said and Linda turned in that direction as Sara approached them.

“Then we go east,” Sara said, giving Simon a soft smile. Simon pulled at the reins and they set off again.

Wilhelm

“It’s not my fault mamma!” Wille yelled at Kristina as she closed the door behind her, frustrated, but well accustomed to his outbursts.

“Wilhelm, sit down.” He glared at her and then moved to the open chair to his left, “I understand with the amount of people it’s difficult for you to not become frustrated, but you must remember your position.”

“I told you I didn’t want to go! I told you how it makes me feel to be surrounded by all of them.”

“And I told you that sometimes you will simply have to rise above it.” She said dismissively, “I will leave you here to calm down. Your brother will handle the closing statements.” She reached for the door and Wille called out.

“I’m sorry.” Wille said, and he meant it, he hated feeling this way and he knew she hated it too, “You know I don’t mean to - I’m not trying to – I just can’t control it.” He felt tired, his entire body on edge. While he was used to feeling this way, it was even more challenging when dealing with a room full of people and wandering eyes.

“Wilhelm, please don’t think I don’t understand. Your father, rest his soul went through what you did. We had hoped that you would receive my gift like Erik did, but seeing as you did not, you will need to figure out how to get through life with his.”

“But mamma, it’s not the same, you and father were bonded.” They’d had this conversation before. She had expectations of his behavior and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t meet them.

“While that may be, we have done an extensive search for a partner for you Wilhelm, and you have not matched with a single one of them. We may have to accept that you will not find your perfect match.” She didn’t even spare him a second glance before she walked out of the room, disregarding the fact that she’d wounded him by confirming something Wille had only considered at his lowest moments.

Wille’s room was dark. The curtains drawn allowed him a more clear mind and the special fabric in his sheets gave him the relaxation that he craved. He cut into a pear and climbed into bed, closing his eyes and trying not to replay the afternoon he’d had.

It should have been just another luncheon but everything had gone wrong. The outfit that his mother had selected for him had been an itchy fabric that set his teeth on edge. The plate of food that had been served had been spicy and distracting causing him to wince after the first bite. When the horn started to play he couldn’t help but stand quickly, accidentally knocking over the wine that was on the table before fleeing the busy room.

Wilhelm’s family had built their town from the ground up and with that, they had claimed the title of Lord and Lady Farthington. There had never been another family to try to stake a claim on their community and that was simply because most people were very happy there. They made decisions as a community for the greater good and with an overall consideration for everyone.

Many hoped to join the community of Farthington and it wasn’t an easy process. At its creation, Lord and Lady Farthington decided they would only allow a certain kind of person to live inside their walls. They had to have a skillset and be able to explain how they would provide for the community. They had to work hard, understanding that while their needs would be taken care of, the Farthington’s would take the largest portion. Generally, people who were let in were referrals from people who were already in the community, ensuring that someone could vouch for them and this allowed the “right” kind of people to be in their community.

Monthly, people who had applied would come before the council to state their case. Their referral would join them to support their application and Lady Farthington and her eldest son would sit in as the decisions were made. They were only there to witness as their elected council assessed the people in front of them and this allowed the community to truly feel that the decision was in their hands. This was all for show, of course, Kristina had already told the council members who would be accepted and who would not be, but people didn’t need to know that.

Wille slammed down his fist on the bed, still frustrated by everything that had happened, his body tensing as a soft knock came from his bedroom door. He hoped they would just go away, there wasn’t anything that would make this afternoon better and he could feel himself closer and closer to losing control.

“Wille, it’s me.”

Wille lifted his head, glancing at the door, still considering for a moment if it was best to simply ignore it before he answered, “Come in.” Erik walked into the room, closed the door behind him, and took a breath as he looked at Wille.

“How are you?”

“Fine.” Wille kept his response short. He knew his brother wasn’t his enemy, but he couldn’t always be sure he was his friend.

“I talked to mamma. She wants you at the applicant council meeting tomorrow.”

“Erik, no, please. I hated it last time I went.” Wille sat up, feeling his anxiety coming back to him after only a few minutes of peace.

“It’s only a couple of hours. We sit, we listen, we guide as needed and that’s it.”

“We guide?” Wille asked, his tone tight.

“Alright, mamma and I guide.”

“I’m not going.” He leaned back in his bed, closing his eyes, trying to count, hoping to calm himself down.

“Wille…”

“I SAID I’M NOT GOING!” Wille said through gritted teeth and with his eyes still closed.

“I know it’s challenging Wille, but –“

“You don’t know,” Wille surprised himself with how calm he felt, sitting up and addressing his brother, “For some reason, you and Mamma seem to think I like being like this. You all think I like walking into a room and feeling like someone turned a dial inside me up to the highest setting and I can’t seem to turn it down. You all judge my response, but won’t allow me to stay away from situations that will cause me discomfort. I’ve said it before to mamma so I’ll say it to you – I’m sorry I wasn’t born a Guide. I know how much easier it would be if I wasn’t a Sentinel.”

“It will get easier, Wille, once you find your Guide. They’ll be able to help you and support you like mamma and I can’t.”

“Oh, haven’t you heard? I don’t have a perfect match. I won’t have a Guide.” Wille shrugged and let himself lower back into his bed. A minute later he heard Erik’s footsteps move away from him and the door close as he exited the room.

Simon

“Simon, are you sure this is a good idea?” Linda said, giving a casual smile to the woman who had just taken their information.

“Yes,” Simon replied, taking a breath and looking at the closed door in front of them.

“Did you see their dresses and the horses? I’ve never seen horses groomed like that before.” Sara’s eyes scanned the room, she was enchanted by everything they’d seen since they walked into the town of Farthington earlier that day.

They’d camped last night and when Simon had woken up, he’d announced that he thought they should continue East. They passed through a small fishing village that reminded them of home and when Simon pointed over the hill and asked one of the men the name of the town ahead of them, they told him, “Farthington, but don’t bother. Just keep on moving past it.” The man had let his eyes scan their small family and had taken one look at their wagon, knowing Farthington wouldn’t select them.

Simon pulled at the reins, disregarding what the man had said, and continued forward, knowing Farthington was exactly where they needed to go.

After waiting an hour, the woman who had taken their information called them forward. She gave them a brief smile, clearly knowing they wouldn’t be selected, but they had a policy to see anyone who came for approval. When she opened the door, it was a large room, off to the right was a panel of 9 men, all immediately watching them. Simon felt Linda tense and Sara turned in a small circle as she took in every inch of the decadent decorations.

“Still sure?” Linda asked, only so he could hear it.

“I’m sure,” Simon said confidently.

“Welcome.” Kristina stood, her smile forced as she addressed Linda, Simon, and Sara. Simon knew immediately she shared his gift as did the man seated to her right, he wondered if she could sense his as well, “Welcome to Farthington, I am Lady Farthington and our family welcomes you.” At this, the young man seated next to her nodded his head briefly, “We’re so happy that you have chosen our community to join and we hope to provide you with a thoughtful interview that will allow us to see if we have space for you at this time.” She smiled at the council and Simon felt confusion flash on his face before he quickly corrected it, almost overwhelmed by the judgment he was feeling from the men in front of him.

“Ms. Johansson, if we could ask you a few questions.” The man in the chair closest to them addressed Linda and Simon let his eyes land on Lady Farthington. It had been a mistake to lie about their name. He knew that she knew they were being dishonest, but he somehow still felt like everything would still be ok.

“Yes, of course, sir.” Linda gave him a smile and the man couldn’t help but return it.

Wilhelm

Wille closed his eyes as he pulled his tunic over his head, his material of choice not causing him any discomfort as he considered not attending the meeting Erik had told him was required. He was already late, but something was telling him he needed to go. For some reason, he even felt like he wanted to be there.

The last time he’d gone had been a nightmare. Three hours of watching people plead their case to join their town. He’d had to walk out multiple times, overwhelmed by the intensity of the situation. The nervous breathing, the occasional tears when people were rejected – it was all too much.

Taking one more deep breath he walked out of his room, and toward the meeting.

Simon/Wilhelm

“I’m sorry, Ms. Johansson, it doesn’t appear that we’ve received a reference for you, from someone in our community?” They watched as he flipped through the thin file that had been provided to him.

“Um, that’s correct sir, I don’t know anyone here.” Linda was trying to sound confident, but Simon easily recognized the shake in her voice.

“I see. Unfortunately, without a referral, it is very difficult for us to gauge how well you would acclimate inside our walls. I’m sure you understand.”  He closed the file and placed it on the table in front of him, the motion feeling very final even though he didn’t say it.

“Why can’t you just tell us more about your community and then we can see how we might fit in?” Simon spoke up, all eyes landing on him.

“Young man, that’s not how it’s done.” One of the men who hadn’t spoken until now answered Simon’s question.

“Why not?” Simon pushed back. He let his eyes peek over to the Farthingtons and saw a smirk on Erik’s face as Kristina’s eyes narrowed. As much as he wanted to stop, not wanting to upset anyone, he knew he needed to keep talking, he was supposed to be here.

“Because that’s not how this works.” The tone had become more pointed.

“Sir, I am happy to answer any questions or provide any information that may help you all decide. My mother, my sister, and I have walked a very long way and I know that we may not have the appropriate documentation, but we feel this is the right fit for us.” The man leading the interview let out an exasperated exhale.

“I’m sure you do. A lot of people hope to join our community, but unfortunately, we have limited space… ” Simon knew he had continued to speak, but could barely understand him. He suddenly had a flashback of the wave that had confirmed his gift, feeling jarred and unstable. Through the fog, he saw a door at the back of the room open and started to turn to look but felt light-headed, his eyes going out of focus before he felt fingers dig into his arm.

“Simon… Simon, are you ok?” Sara asked, her hands lifting to hold his cheeks as he looked at her, knowing he was ok, but feeling overwhelmed suddenly.

“…That being said, we are unable to allow you entry into our community at this time.” The man slid the file forward, barely acknowledging the scene taking place in front of him.

“They’re approved!”

All eyes were on Wilhelm as he stood next to his mother on the raised platform. Kristina and Erik shared shocked expressions and the council appeared the be confused by the outburst. Sara lowered her hands as she saw Wille and Simon make eye contact, Linda’s eyes sliding back and forth between the young man and her son. Kristina gave the council an apologetic smile before taking a step towards Wille, whose eyes had not moved from Simon’s, and whispering, she said, “Wilhelm please, we cannot have any disruptions.” She smiled again at the council.

“They’re approved.” Wille was looking into Kristina’s eyes and she knew based on his tone he would not bend.

“Please understand our position. You cannot walk in here and announce an approval. We can’t break years of tradition to allow this family into our community. How would we explain it to our people, why would we do something so out of character?”

“Because, he’s my Guide.”

Chapter Text

“Malin, please escort them to my sitting room.”

At Kristina’s direction, a woman who had been standing motionless near the door they first entered through, raised her arm and pointed it toward the door that Wille had walked out of. Kristina turned to an attendant next to her and added, “Have Boris join us.”

“Please, if you all would follow me,” Malin said as she continued to point at the exit since there hadn’t been any movement. Linda looked to Simon in silent question and only after he realized everyone seemed to be waiting for him, did he look away from Wille and into his mother’s nervous face.

“Yes, it’s fine, Mamma.” Linda and Sara walked close to Malin and Simon followed behind them, feeling all eyes in the room resting on him as he did. He made eye contact with Wille again as they moved toward the door, expecting him to lower his eyes, but instead, he took a step closer to him surprising them both as Simon took a step back.

“I’m sorry. I – “ Wille started, and Kristina gripped his elbow, smiling apologetically at Simon and motioning him forward with her hand.

“Erik, please make sure that you stay until the final group has been seen.” Erik nodded, still seemingly a bit shocked as they all walked out of the room.

The sitting room was more intimate than Simon expected for a building this size. As they filled the room it was clear that Linda was less comfortable in the confined space and as soon as Malin closed the door behind Kristina, she spoke, “There must be some mistake, my son is –“

“Gifted. You needn’t deny it. I can sense it now. I don’t know why I couldn’t before. My question is what brought you here, and who are you really?” Kristina silently invited them to take a seat as she lowered into a chair front and center in the room.

“We left our home days ago and were going to Lyndale to meet up with my sister.”

“But Lyndale is days away in the opposite direction.” Kristina watched Linda shift in her seat. Linda tried to glance at Simon, not sure how much she should share and she was momentarily saved as the door opened again. An older man entered the room, smiling as he greeted Kristina’s familiar face and then turning to Wille. Without warning, Wille moved to stand in front of Simon and surprised himself as he felt his eyes narrow. Simon, Linda, and Sara’s jaws dropped as they watched him take up a protective stance and the man smirked at Wille, looking around him at Simon.

“Oh my.”

“Wilhelm, return to your seat this instant. I’m so sorry Boris, you’ll understand why we’ve called for you.” Kristina said, clearly annoyed. Wille didn’t move, only relaxed a bit as Boris gave him a soft smile.

“Wilhelm, I am going to take a seat and I think you should do the same. Why don’t you sit down on the couch and we’ll all talk? I think you all may have a few things to catch me up on.” Kristina called for tea as Wille took a seat on the couch near Simon, he felt immediately embarrassed by his behavior, knowing what had caused it, but understanding that Boris wasn’t a threat, “Welcome to Farthington,” Boris paused to connect with Linda, Sara and then Simon, “I’m Boris, a historian of sorts, but also an advisor to the family.”

“You’re a Sentinel,” Simon said, and Linda and Sara both tensed.

“I am, and because I am unbonded, my presence around you and Wilhelm has made him a bit uncomfortable. It will pass. Now, I’m sorry, I know I’m a bit late, can you tell me your names?” He looked to Linda first, respecting her position as their mother.

“My name is Linda; these are my children Sara and Simon.”

“Simon?” Wille said, confirming the name he had just heard, and Simon nodded while Boris smiled.

“I guess I’m not the only one who has questions.”

“I’m so glad you all have arrived; we haven’t had a match in Farthington since Lord Farthington passed years ago,” Boris spoke to them with such intrigue and familiarity that it was almost uncomfortable.

“How do you know they’re a match?” Sara asked, assessing Boris and then looking at Wille who was watching Boris closely.

“Oh, it’s clear they are a match,” He looked at Kristina and smiled as she watched Simon and Wille next to each other, “Can’t you feel it, Simon?”

“I, I’m not sure exactly what I feel.” Simon still felt a bit cloudy, feeling calmer and safer than he had in months, but unsure why and that left him uneasy.

“Why don’t you tell me how you ended up here.” Boris took the cup of tea that was offered to him and leaned in, interested. Simon took a moment to consider and felt that they would all wait as long as they needed for him to speak. He heard the soft taps of spoons in cups as they stirred their tea and couldn’t help but think that it would be more comfortable in the room if he could only close the curtain on the window.

“We were supposed to go to Lyndale,” he started, looking at Kristina to confirm his mother’s information earlier, “But, something, I don’t know what, but something,” he let himself quickly look at Wille before his eyes went back to Boris, “Something told me I was supposed to be here.”

“Amazing.” Boris smiled, “I truly never tire of hearing how the pairs find each other. It’s a beautiful thing.” Boris leaned back in his seat and took a sip of his tea.

“We will have 1B prepared for his mother and sister,” Kristina said to the attendant who had finished serving tea. The attendant nodded quickly and walked out of the room as Simon looked at Kristina.

“And for me?”

“You will need to stay here, and close to Wilhelm, it’s very important early on for you two to be near each other,” Kristina answered, almost annoyed by the question.

“I won’t be separated from my family,” Simon said, speaking firmly as Kristina looked back at him, confused by his response.

“Linda, am I correct in saying that you do not have a gift?” Boris asked and Simon felt himself get angry which was not a normal emotion for him. So many years of Linda having to hear about how she hadn’t been his father’s match had made him bitter towards any questions to her.  As he was preparing a retort, Wille spoke.  

“What does it matter if she is or not?”

“I apologize if the question has caused any harm. Allow me to explain. You have two children, one of them having a gift and the other does not. This would mean that you and your partner are not a bonded pair, or more romantically referred to as a perfect match.” Boris explained calmly. Simon parted his lips to respond and Linda placed her hand on his knee to stop him.

“You are correct. My husband is also a Sentinel.”

“An unbonded Sentinel as your husband, that must have been very challenging for you. For all of you,” Boris said, looking to Linda first and then Sara and Simon. Linda felt her throat tighten and knowing her voice may crack she simply nodded.

“Where is your husband now?” Kristina asked, “I don’t sense any grief from you.”

“Mamma,” Wille said through gritted teeth.

“They are within our walls Wilhelm; I am allowed to ask questions.” Kristina gave a smile that was barely passable as she put her attention back on Linda, “I’m sure you understand.”

“He is back at home. He will not be joining us and we will not be returning.” Linda answered and Kristina continued to watch her.

“This feels, unfinished. The book has not been closed.” Kristina said, looking out the open window and taking a sip of tea. Her confidence in what she was saying made Sara look at Simon who didn’t turn to face her, knowing that if he did, she’d see that he agreed with Lady Farthington, he knew things with their father weren’t over. Without warning, she spoke again, “Simon, your mother has traveled very far. I think it best she gets settled. Malin will escort Linda and Sara to their rooms and we will show you to where you’ll –“

“I’ve already told you I won’t be separated from them.” Simon looked to Wille, unsure why he felt the need to explain himself, “I’m sorry, I know something is happening here, but I need to be with my family.”

“Simon, can I ask you, when you give it some thought, how do you feel about Sara and Linda going to their rooms while you stay behind?” Boris asked and watched Simon as he considered, smiling as he saw acknowledgment on Simon’s face that he knew they were fine without him. Stubbornly, Simon didn’t answer the question. “The reason that I asked about Linda’s gift, is because if you have not grown up around a bonded pair, I understand you may not fully understand what’s happening. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to explain. Why don’t you stay back with me and we can chat?”

Simon had never had anyone offer him information about his gift before. The only gifted person that he’d ever met was his father since he could barely remember interactions with his grandfather. It was hard to ignore how intriguing it was to be in a room with three other gifted people, one of them sharing the same gift as he did. Simon looked to Linda and Sara, “You all go ahead, I’ll be right behind you.” They both eyed him uneasily but trusted him as they were escorted from the room leaving Simon in a room with Wille, Kristina, and Boris.

“Lady Farthington, perhaps it may be easier if…” it was clear he was pausing to avoid giving her direction and Simon watched as she leaned back in her seat, thinking louder than Simon had ever experienced. After a few seconds, she stood, her eyes lowering to Boris.

“You do understand.”

“I do,” Boris assured her. She gave a tight smile to Simon and walked out of the room

“I’m not leaving,” Wille said as soon as the door had closed.

“Well, I would imagine you wouldn’t want to, but that will be Simon’s decision.” Boris spoke directly to Simon, “Would you like to have Wilhelm present, or would you like for him to wait outside?” Simon chewed his bottom lip as he felt Wille look away from him, almost creating a false sense of privacy as he prepared to answer the question.

“He can stay.”

“Very well.” Boris placed his tea on the table and leaned back into his seat, “Now I –“

“I’m sorry,” Simon stood, and moved to the window, tugging softly at the curtain, and letting the room darken. As he returned to his seat, he saw that Boris and Wille both let their shoulders relax a bit more, “You were saying?” Boris smiled, understanding why Simon felt called to close the window.

“A lot of what we know about our gifts is information passed down within families. It used to be that Sentinels and Guides only had children with each other, this would ensure that their gift was carried into the next generation. That has become less likely now, as you’ve experienced in your own family. It is not easy to wait and endure the search. There is no perfect science to it, but generally, if there are two children only one of them will be gifted. This has made it so that every year there are fewer and fewer of us.” Boris paused, giving Simon a moment to think through what he’d been told.

“How many Sentinels and Guides are there?” Simon asked.

“Difficult to say, it is not always obvious and some people find their gift more troubling than others.”

“What you said earlier, about my father being unbonded, you mean like him? That he would be troubled?”

Boris tilted his chin as he considered his answer, clearly planning what he would say, “Have you ever lost something that you couldn’t find? Something you need, but something you could also survive without?”

“Of course.”

“As I understand, that’s what it feels like to be an unbonded Guide. You have a feeling that you don’t have something, that you’re supposed to have something, but you are accustomed to the feeling, it’s all you’ve ever known.” Boris watched Simon, waiting before he continued.

“Yes, I know what you mean.”

“So, I would ask that you imagine now, that you’ve lost something, but it’s something that you think you need to survive. Like you’re on a walk through the desert and can’t seem to find water. That is a clearer picture of what it’s like to be an unbonded Sentinel.” Simon turned to look at Wille who seemed to be processing what Boris was saying as well, “It’s not consistent, obviously, but there are moments where you feel so anxious about not finding the water that it's almost unbearable. Your father will have felt like that all this time, regardless of whether he loved your mother, you, and your sister, his anxious search in his mind will have continued.”

“That’s how you feel?” Simon asked Boris and Wille looked up to wait for the response as well.

“I suppose I am a bit different. I was bonded previously. I met Giacomo when I was very young. We had twenty years together before he passed. He was my best friend; I was very lucky.” Boris allowed himself a moment to remember him and Simon watched with raised interest.

“This wasn’t a romantic partnership?”

“No, my perfect match was my best friend. While the bond is predetermined, it doesn’t mean that your relationship will be a romantic one. But this match will provide a kind of love and care that you’ve never experienced before. As far as my search for water, I’ve already found it and while I know I won’t have anymore, knowing I had it was enough – is enough to give me peace of mind. I feel much more settled.” Boris couldn’t help but look between Simon and Wille who glanced at each other, neither of them looking away.

“Your parents, they were together, as a couple?” Simon asked him and Wille nodded.

“Yes, they were very much in love.” Wille looked away from Simon as he remembered his father and Simon turned back to Boris.

“What did Lady Farthington mean earlier, about us needing to be near each other at the beginning?”  

“The best example I can think of would be to consider cement. Once it’s been mixed and is in the appropriate place, it needs to remain undisturbed as it gains strength. You two know about each other now, but it’s best that you are near each other so that the bond can strengthen. Wilhelm especially will find himself a bit disgruntled with a separation now. You may also feel a bit untethered.” Simon heard Wille let out a heavy exhale, shifting in his seat a bit and for the first time, he realized that he could feel his anxiety. He wasn’t angry or frustrated, he was afraid.

“May I speak to Boris alone for a minute?” Simon asked. Wille looked like he wanted to push back, but instead stood.

“Yes, of course. I’ll be just outside.” He cut his eyes at Boris in a warning and received a respectful nod in return. After the door closed Simon glanced over at the window he had closed earlier.

“I never asked for my gift. A lot of times I wish that Sara had received it instead of myself, like if only I’d been born first so I didn’t have it.”

“That’s not the way it works. You would have always been a Guide because Wilhelm would have always been a Sentinel and you two go together. There is not a world where either of you would have not had these gifts.” Boris said simply.

“Is that fair really? We don’t even know each other and now if we’re away from each other I will feel like something is always lost and Wilhelm will feel on the verge of death?”

“Fair is an interesting positioning,” Boris said, genuinely interested.

“What if I don’t want someone else’s happiness to be dependent on me? What if I don’t want to feel how he feels? He’s afraid. I already have my fears, and now I can feel his too.” Simon leaned back on the couch tired from the realization.

“When you felt his fear earlier, how did it make you feel?”

“Nervous, like I needed to do something about it, make it go away,” Simon said, still feeling it now.

“What else?” Boris asked. Simon didn’t immediately answer and Boris let the silence continue for a few minutes.

“I guess I felt like I could tell him mine too. I wanted to tell him mine too, and I knew he’d understand.” Simon seemed surprised by his answer and Boris smiled at him.

“Well, that does seem fair.” Boris gave a small shrug and Simon couldn’t help but smile to himself.

“I have one more question if you don’t mind.”

“I think that Wilhelm can be expected to wait patiently for a bit longer. Please, go ahead.”

“When I walked into the room earlier, with Lady Farthington and her other son, I could tell immediately that they were gifted. Not only gifted but they shared the same one as me. Why couldn’t she sense mine?” Simon asked.

“I’m not completely sure, but I have a theory. My guess is that would be because you didn’t want her to know.” Boris suggested and Simon’s eyes went wide, surprised.

“I didn’t do anything.” He answered, almost defensively.

“No, perhaps not intentionally, but I have a feeling that you may have some experience in suppressing your gift. Most people who are gifted take great pride in it, and they enjoy the benefits of it. One day ask Wilhelm how many times he has enjoyed taking advantage of his heightened senses. Even though a lot of the time it can cause stress, I assure you there are benefits. I have a feeling you may push against yours a bit more, making it a bit less obvious. Also, and this is between us, Lady Farthington has a habit of deciding who is worthy of her attention. I assure you, while she may not have seen you earlier, you have her undivided attention now, so please keep that in mind.”

Simon stood, smiling at Boris, “I need to go out there, but may I speak with you again, if I have more questions?”

Boris nodded, “Anytime.”

Simon opened the door to find Kristina and Wille talking at the end of the hall. Kristina was speaking pointedly and Wille appeared to be doing his best to listen. Without thinking, he moved toward them and placed himself between the two of them, looking at Wilhelm.

“Boris and I are finished,” turning to Kristina, he added, “Thank you for introducing us, it was very helpful.”

“Of course.” Her tone was tight, clearly annoyed to have been cut off.

“Come on Simon, I’ll show you around.” Wille went to reach for Simon’s arm but stopped himself and mumbled a quick apology. After they’d turned the corner and had put some distance between themselves and Kristina, Simon could feel his body starting to relax, “Sorry about my mom. She means well.”

“Does she?” Simon asked and Wille came to a stop, smiling at the question.

“I suppose you’d know better than me.”

“Wilhelm!”

Wille and Simon looked over as a voice called out and the same attendant who had been in the sitting room earlier approached them, “I’ve prepared the room next to yours, for Mr –“

“You can just call me Simon.”

“Simon, of course, your room has been prepared, please let us know if you need anything else.” She said, waiting for Simon to acknowledge what she’d said and then she moved quickly down the hall, off to her next task. Simon turned to Wille, opening his mouth and Wille raised his hands.

“I know, you’re not crazy about it. How about I just show it to you, and then you can decide if you want to stay in it or not?”

“Fine.” Simon wanted to be agreeable and he was happy to realize that as much as every part of him wanted to be open to Wille’s suggestion at that moment, he also felt perfectly fine disagreeing with him.

They walked through the halls, occasionally Wille would pause to point out something that he thought Simon might find interesting. They were both obvious as they snuck glances at each other during their tour.

“Your room is far from the rest of the rooms in the house,” Simon noted after Wilhelm had said his room was just down the hall.

“Erik used to be in the room that you’re in, but he snores.” Wille continued to walk as Simon came to a stop.

“What?” He looked at him, confused.

“I know, it sounds crazy, but it used to keep me up all night, I wasn’t sleeping at all with him next door.” Wille under normal circumstances would have felt embarrassed sharing the story, and probably wouldn’t have told it at all, but for some reason, he felt like he could tell Simon anything.

“What if I snore?”

Wille smiled and shook his head as he looked down at his shoe, “It doesn’t work like that.”

“Like what?” Simon asked.

“Things that you do, wouldn’t be the same as when my brother or someone else did them.” Wille didn’t have to explain further. Simon knew what he meant. Their bond made their actions much more tolerable to the other person.

“Sara’s sneezes,” Simon said, almost to himself.

“What about them?” Wille asked, crossing his arms and letting his chin rest on his hand, clearly giving Simon his undivided attention.

“She has bad allergies. My father used to snap at her when she would sneeze, it drove him crazy.” Simon thought through some of the different times he’d seen his father irritable and looked at Wille, “I think it’s hard knowing that you and him – that you both struggle with the same things.”

“That’s understandable.”

They started their walk again, “But you and Boris, and my father, all three of you seem so different.” Wille laughed and looked at Simon.

“Your mother and sister are both not gifted, but they’re different. You and my mother have the same gift, but you seem very different.”

“I guess.”

“I’m still learning a lot, but one thing I know is that I’ve had a lot of different paths presented to me. Each one felt possible but would have different results. Your father took a path that produced the life he has now. I’ll be honest that I feel a bit validated knowing I didn’t go down the ones I’ve seen before.” Wille started to walk and Simon reached out, gripping his wrist.

“Wilhelm?”

“Wille. You can call me Wille.”

“Wille, I know you heard my conversation with Boris earlier, Sara and I used to walk to the cove if we wanted to discuss anything private,” Simon paused as Wille swallowed and nodded, “What are you afraid of?”

“The same thing you are.” Wille and Simon held each other's gaze before he pushed a bedroom door open and walked in. The room was sparsely decorated but had two walls full of books. Simon smiled as he let his fingers slide across them.

“I can have those moved to my room, after Erik moved out I kind of used this room more as a sitting room. They wouldn’t have had time to get rid of the chair and bookshelves.”

Simon turned, and shook his head, “No, they’re nice. The only books that we had in Dimwood were about farming and building, nothing like this.” Wille nodded as Simon continued to walk through the room. When he stopped in front of the decadent armoire and opened it, Wille moved closer.

“Oh, let me show you this!” He gripped a small knob and pushed it forward, opening up the back of the armoire to a small crawlspace and smiling at Simon, “My father put it in for us when we were little, Erik and I just barely fit now. Go on.” Simon couldn’t help but feel a bit excited as he climbed through, crawling for a bit before he came to a door with a knob, “Turn it, then push the clothes aside, it’s the same armoire that’s in the other room. Simon turned the knob and then gave the armoire a strong shove, letting out a gasp as he tumbled out of it and onto the floor, tensing as he heard a scream.

“Who are you?”

Simon looked up from the floor and saw a girl who appeared to be their age reading a book in what he assumed was Wille’s bed, “Um- I…”

"Are you ok?” Wille crawled out after him and was surprised to see Simon on the ground before looking up at his bed, “Fel? What are you doing here?” She had her hand to her chest as she climbed off the bed, tossing the book to the side. Wille reached down and helped Simon up.

“What am I doing here? Wille we were supposed to meet 30 minutes ago to go to the cave.”

“Oh shit. I’m so sorry. I completely forgot.” Wille said apologetically and it was clear she immediately accepted it. Simon couldn’t help but slide his eyes from Felice to Wille’s bed in confusion. He surprised himself by taking a step closer to Wille and attracting Felice’s attention.

“Who’s this?”

“Oh, sorry,” Wille smiled at Simon and then looked back at Felice, “This is Simon.” Simon gave a tight smile and Felice made a face.

“Ok… and who is Simon? Are you a new approval?”

“Not exactly. We were rejected.” Simon said, feeling a bit standoffish.

“Rejected people don’t enjoy guided tours after their time in front of the panel and they certainly don’t get shown secret passageways. In fact, I’ve never seen another person down here…” Felice’s brows raised as she stopped speaking and looked at Wille who seemed suddenly shy, “Oh my god. Wow. You just let me go on and on, I can’t believe you didn’t say anything. Do you still want to go today? Probably not. We can go another day. I..”

“Fel? Maybe you could give us a minute?” Wille asked and Felice nodded.

“Yeah, of course.” She walked past Simon, and crawled into the armoire, pulling it closed behind her. Just before it had closed all the way they saw it pop back open and she climbed back out, “Sorry, I’m Felice, the best friend.” She extended her hand and Simon took it, letting out a giggle just as she pulled away and climbed back inside.

“Sorry, I wasn’t exactly expecting to run into anyone,” Wille said when they were alone again.

“I like her,” Simon said, walking deeper into the room, and Wille’s cheeks went pink, excited at the idea that his match liked his best friend, “She loves you, at one point she was in love with you.” Simon looked at Wille, not for confirmation, but just to gauge his response, “But not anymore.”

“Not anymore,” Wille said, shaking his head.

Simon walked over to Wille’s bed, sliding his finger on the sheets and then looking over at Wille, “My mother made their sheets from wood pulp. It took a long time, but they were the softest material.”

“I’ll have to remember that.” Wille said, gratitude all over his face as he watched Simon take in his room, “How would you feel about going to the cave? There’s never anyone else there, and it’s still water. I like it because it’s enclosed so the sun isn’t coming down on us. I figured you might miss the water, coming from the cove.”

“I do, actually. Can my sister come?”

“Yes, of course!” Wille walked to his bedroom door and called to one of the hallboys, asking them to prepare horses before closing the door again, “Let me grab a couple of things, and then we’ll go get her. We’ll go out through the kitchen so we don’t run into my mom.” Wille opened the armoire and banged on the back of it, a minute later Felice was crawling back through and standing with them.

“Please tell me I don’t have to go back home.”

“No, we’re going to go see if Simon’s sister would like to join us and then we’ll go.” He dug through clothes at the base of the armoire looking for shorts he could swim in.

“Oh fun! Should we invite everyone then? I can grab the girls, but my guess is that then August would find out – “ Simon felt Wille tense as Felice continued to speak and walked over, casually resting his hand on Wille’s arm and reaching inside the armoire to pull the back closed.

“I think I’d prefer if it was just us for today if that’s ok,” Simon said, sliding his hand from Wille and turning back to Felice.

“Of course, sorry, I can’t imagine how new this has all been.” Felice offered and Simon lowered his eyes as he thought.

“Let’s head out,” Wille said, catching Simon’s eye and getting a small nod in return.

Simon looked up at the house that Wille had told him his mother and Sara were staying in, two houses seemed to be strategically placed close to the largest building that he’d seen inside the walls that he knew now housed the Farthington family, “Wow.” He looked to Wille who seemed a bit awkward, “It’s, large. Are there other families that live here as well?” Wille shook his head.

“No, um, this one, and the one across the street, they’ve been left empty.”

“Why?”

“For you.” At Simon’s shocked expression Wille continued quickly, “I mean, for your family – ok, I shouldn’t have said for you, my father, when he moved here, his family moved into the house over there that would be for Erik’s match.”

“So, if Erik never finds his match, nobody would ever live in that house?” Simon asked.

“I never thought about it that way, but yea, I guess.”

“So, when that guy said that there was limited space for people to join the community, he wasn’t thinking about these homes?” Simon looked back at the house and Wille and Felice sat quietly on their horses. Simon climbed off and walked to the front door, knocking, and was surprised to have someone he didn’t recognize open the door.

“Where’s my mom?” Simon asked.

“It’s ok - um, that’s Sofia, she’ll be helping you all around the house,” Wille said, feeling uncomfortable because he knew Simon would be.

“Right.” Simon tried to smile and it came out more of a grimace as he walked past Sofia and into the house.

“Fuck. He hates it here.” Wille said, his eyes still on the house door, before lifting his hand and rubbing his face in frustration.

“I think it’s just a lot to get used to. I never thought about the wasted space and maybe he’s just not used to people serving him.” Felice said, trying to make Wille feel better, when he didn’t answer she continued, “So, what’s it like? What’s he like? How do you feel?” She looked at him eagerly and was almost shaking with excitement.

“Why don’t you give me a few days to sort all those questions out? For now, I’m just hoping that he’s here for the next few days.” Wille finished the sentence quietly and looked over at Felice.

“I doubt he would have agreed to go with us today if he didn’t want to,” Felice said casually and Wille’s lips parted.

“Oh, damn.” He slid off his horse and knocked at the front door that was opened moments later. Sofia seemed surprised to see him but pulled the door open and Wille walked past her, “Can you ask Simon if I can come up?” She nodded, matching his intensity, and walked up the stairs returning with Simon who looked worried, next to her.

“Are you ok?” Simon looked up at him and Wille tried to calm his breathing, forgetting that when his emotions spiked like this, Simon would feel at least a fraction of it.

“Yes, I, um –“ He glanced over at Sofia who moved to the kitchen as soon as she realized they may want to speak privately, “You don’t have to come, today. I just mean if you were feeling like you needed to come because you felt pressure or could tell that I wanted you to come, I don’t want you to feel like you have to do anything. It occurs to me that Boris saying it felt like I was dying may have put an unnecessary amount of pressure on you and – “

Simon took a deep breath and smiled up at Wille who felt his heart rate start to slow and match Simon’s breathing. Instead of answering any of his concerns, he let them breathe together for a couple of minutes before asking, “Better?”

“Yes, sorry.”

“If I didn’t want to go, I wouldn’t go.” Simon said firmly and Wille nodded, taking an extra breath, “I don’t want it to seem like the student has become the master, but I think you should know that the same way you want to be near me, I want to be near you too.” Simon smiled and saw Wille lift his eyes, looking past Simon and causing him to turn around to see Sara coming downstairs. Her eyes were on Wille’s chest and Simon hadn’t even realized his hand had been resting there. He lowered it and smiled up at Sara.

“All set?”

“All set. Mamma finally fell asleep. I think she likes the idea that Sofia will be here.”

Sara, Wille, and Simon walked outside and introduced Sara to Felice. They were quickly on their way knowing they wouldn’t have much time with how late it was getting. Wille let Felice lead the way, wanting to ride behind and keep an eye on things as they made the quick ride to the caves. Felice and Wille hadn’t brought many people to their secret spot, knowing that as soon as more people were aware it would lose some of its magic so it was fun to watch Simon and Sara’s jaws drop as they saw the clear blue water.

Sara leaned forward, dipping her fingers in, and looked up at Simon, “Feel it.” He took a step forward and Felice and Wille watched him closely as he touched the water.

“Wow. That’s unreal.” He stood, looking down at the water and feeling confused. Felice stepped over to the side to put her bag down, climbing out of her clothes and wearing just the items she’d brought to swim in.

“Wille hates rough water, and any of the pools that are inside the walls are generally hot or cold. Years ago, after a particularly rough attempt at swimming in one of the community pools, Boris brought us here.” Without warning she jumped in and seconds later Sara joined her.

“The water is almost always the same as the temperature outside so it doesn’t feel overstimulating. Do you want to get in?” Wille asked.

“I’ll join you all in a bit,” Simon said, walking over to the side and taking a seat, it was the first time he’d been able to just take a minute to think in hours and Wille could tell that he needed it. He walked over to the shallow end of the cave water and eased in before swimming over to join Sara and Felice.

Simon smiled as he watched Sara and Wille talking, it seemed insane to him that hours ago they’d never met, and now this felt like something he’d seen a hundred times before. Sara caught him watching and climbed out, walking over and lowering to sit next to him.

“We barely got to talk earlier, what’s he like?” Sara asked and Simon smirked as he saw Wille pause, knowing he was listening. 

“Nothing like Papa.” Wille turned and smiled at Simon before reaching out and dunking Felice.

“Good,” Sara said, resting her head on her brother’s shoulder.

When they got back to the house it was late, Simon felt like he could barely keep his eyes open and he was grateful that they had left a note for Linda and that the staff had packed them sandwiches. Felice continued to her house, waving goodbye to the group and Sara got off her horse, handing the reins to Wille.

“Whenever you want to ride her, you just let them know at the stables.” He reminded her of the promise he’d made earlier when Sara had let them know how much she loved to ride horses. She nodded and looked at Simon as she was about to walk inside.

“I’m right behind you.” He said, climbing off his horse and Wille tensed, climbing down as well.

“I understand,” Wille said quickly as Simon tied his horse off to Sara’s.

“I just don’t think I’d feel comfortable being away from my family. It just feels like a lot, really fast.”

“I mean it, I do understand, really. We’ll get together tomorrow.” Wille gave his best smile, but it was performative for both of them. He knew Simon could feel how uneasy he was about the separation and Simon felt like after all they’d been through in the last couple of weeks, he shouldn’t leave them alone.

“Ok, breakfast?” Simon asked.

“Yes, breakfast.” Wille nodded and climbed back on his horse giving Simon one more glance before riding away. Simon stood, for much longer than he expected to, watching Wille and the horses get smaller as they walked further into the grounds of his home and only turned to go inside when he couldn’t see him anymore.

Simon had been in his bed for three hours, the first bed that he’d slept in in days and he knew how tired he was but it felt like his mind couldn’t rest. After one last failed attempt at getting some sleep, he climbed out of bed and put his shoes on. He heard the soft creak of the door as it slid open and listened for movement in the rest of the house. When he didn’t hear any he climbed down the stairs and walked out the front door.

Wille was reading and for the first time starting to feel calm and relaxing lower into his bed when he heard a knock at his bedroom door. At first, his only reaction was to stare at it, knowing the staff wouldn’t bother him that late.  Then acknowledging the feeling that had come over him minutes ago he smiled to himself and climbed out of bed to open the door. Simon barely waited for it to be all the way open before he walked past him.

“That house is really big,” Simon said, walking over to the bed and picking up one of the pillows. Wille looked at him, confused as Simon walked over and handed him the pillow before he picked up another one and stacked it on top of the other in Wille’s arms.

“Do you want us to find a smaller house?” Wille asked, watching as Simon walked back over to the bed and started to fold the covers on top.

“No, Sara likes it.” He pulled the sheet off the mattress and put it on top of the covers before lifting the stack and looking at Wille, “I can’t sleep.”

“So, you wanted to make sure that I didn’t either?” Wille joked as he lifted his pillows.

“You weren’t sleeping,” Simon said confidently and Wille nodded in confirmation, not sure what to say. “I don’t want to have to sleep here.”

“I know.”

“I’ve never had trouble sleeping before. Ever.” Simon said, frustrated but feeling relieved to feel comfortable talking about it.

“I’m sorry.” Wille put the pillows down on a chair next to him before moving closer to Simon and pulling the blanket and sheets from his arms to place in the same chair, “It’s a lot, I know it’s been a lot. We can talk to Boris, and see if he has any suggestions tomorrow.”

“It’s a big house, Wille.” Simon said again and Wille’s face went from concerned to confused again, “Can you just come sleep in one of the rooms over there so that we can both get some rest?”

“Oh, yeah. Yes, of course,” Wille smiled, handing Simon both of the pillows before he lifted the heavier comforter and sheets into his arms, “Yeah.”

Simon let out an exhale, feeling the calm flow through him again, and walked past Wille quickly to pull the door open as he stepped into his shoes.

“That must have been a better tour than I thought earlier that you made your way back to my room.” Wille said, adjusting the pile in his arms as Simon smiled to himself, shaking his head and Wille asked, “What?”

“I walked through 5 towns to find you the first time, and you think I couldn’t get to you from next door?” Simon bit his cheek as he walked out of the room, knowing that it wouldn’t have mattered how far he needed to walk, he would have done it. Wille pulled his door closed behind him, and walked to catch up to Simon.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“What my mother said earlier, about your father and that things were unfinished. Do you feel the same way?” Wille asked, keeping his voice low as they moved through the dark halls. Simon nodded and Wille waited for him to feel comfortable speaking.

“He’ll be here soon.”

Chapter Text

Wille woke the next morning and felt groggy. He’d heard people talk about getting too much sleep, but with how difficult it was for him to fall asleep, it’s not something that he’d ever experienced before. The room was still dark and Wille smiled to himself as he recalled last night when Simon suggested the room next to his and then changed his mind and put him in this one across the hall instead. Talking to himself now he acknowledged, “That side of the house faces the sunrise.” The smell of food drifted into his room and he remembered that they had planned to have breakfast so he climbed out of bed and decided to make his way downstairs.

As he entered the kitchen, expecting to find Simon, Wille found Linda instead. She sat at the kitchen table, her fingers idly tracing patterns on its surface, while Sofia bustled by the stove. Caught off guard by Wille's unexpected presence, Linda let out a startled gasp, her eyes widening in surprise as she turned to see him.

“Oh, sorry. I came over last night – the bond, it, well, being separated made things uncomfortable for both of us.” Wille didn’t know how much he needed to explain, but he felt like he should keep talking to avoid the awkward silence as Linda watched him, “I’m sorry, I thought Simon was down here, I can go back upstairs, or I can go –“

“Wilhelm.” Linda smiled at him and motioned to the chair across from her, “Please, join me.” Wille slid into the open seat and Sofia poured him a cup of coffee, he smiled at her in gratitude, knowing he wouldn’t drink it until it was room temperature and she went back to cooking, “Simon is still sleeping, which makes sense if he didn’t get much sleep last night. Sara left about an hour ago, something about getting to ride as much as she wants.” Wille smiled, excited that Sara was taking him up on his offer, “Is that your doing?”

“Oh, not really, I just told her that she could. Seems like she already liked riding.”

Linda took a sip of her coffee and nodded, “She’s always loved animals, but horses in particular. I wanted to get her one but her father felt that anything we had should serve a purpose and we already had a horse that was for transportation and helping in our fields.”

“Justification of the noise,” Wille said reaching his hand out to touch the coffee cup to see if it was still hot, then pulling his hand back when it realized it was.

“I’m sorry?”

“My guess is that the stables weren’t too far from your house, so he could hear the horse all day and all night. Multiple horses mean more noise and any excessive noise is difficult for Sentinels to deal with. With one horse he could tell himself that he needed to put up with it because you all needed the horse. A horse without a purpose would be difficult to justify.” Linda’s face changed as she sat back in her seat, “I’m sorry, I’m not saying that was ok, I’m just explaining the potential why.”

“No.” Linda shook her head slowly, “No, that actually makes sense.” She smiled, “He never explained it like that. I suppose I should have known. When the children would play too loudly, it would cause him so much stress.” Wille nodded in understanding and Linda eyed him. She parted her lips to speak and was interrupted as Sofia lowered the plates in front of them before excusing herself from the room.

Linda knew that Wille wouldn’t be able to enjoy the hot food in front of him. She rose from her seat, taking his plate with her as she made her way to the kitchen window. With a gentle push, she cracked open the window, allowing a cool breeze to waft into the room, and put Wille’s plate in front of it. Before returning to her seat, Linda retrieved a small piece of ice from the ice chest Sofia had replenished earlier that morning and dropped it into Wille’s coffee cup. He didn’t have a chance to thank her before she started to cut into the eggs on her plate and looked at him.

“I’d like to be honest with you, I’m not crazy about the idea of my son being bonded with someone like my husband.” She lifted her fork to take a bite and didn’t look away, wanting to make her point clear.

“I get that.” Wille lifted his coffee cup, the coffee finally cool enough for him to enjoy and took a sip, “I only know who I was before Simon got here. I admit that some of the things I’ve heard – there are similarities, but I’d like to think we’re not the same.” He bit his cheek and slid his fingers on the table in front of him before looking back up at her, “Can I ask you a question?”

Linda nodded before standing, pulling Wille’s plate from the window, and placing it in front of him. He wasn’t sure if she even realized she was doing these things, or if she was just so used to anticipating someone’s needs.

“Does Simon snore?”

At first, Linda was confused by the question, pausing before answering, “Sometimes, generally only if he is really tired, so I would imagine after the day he had, last night I’m sure – oh, did he keep you up?” Wille smiled, relaxing it for only a moment before he let out a laugh and shook his head.

“No, I didn’t even hear him.” He lifted his hand to his mouth, still a bit surprised, and then looked back at Linda, wanting to explain but their attention was drawn to the stairs as they heard Simon come down.

“Good Morning,” Simon greeted before walking over and kissing his mother on the cheek.

“Good Morning,” she said, smiling at him, “How did you sleep.”

“Great, after the midnight kidnapping.” Simon smiled at Wille and he returned it, “Where’s Sara?”

“Riding.” Linda answered, “She’ll be back soon because we need to go over for a meeting of some kind with everyone who was accepted into Farthington yesterday.”

“What?” Simon asked and looked at Wille.

“They do it once a month, the day after the panel. Everyone who is moving in has a day where they’re given a tour of the community, rules, and schedules. Didn’t you all do that in Dimwood?”

Simon and Linda shook their heads and Wille appeared a bit confused. Linda stood and walked over to start putting food on a plate for Simon and motioned toward a few crates with a serving fork, “Those arrived this morning. I believe they’re our clothes.” Simon looked at the boxes, confused, and then looked at Wille again.

“It’s one of the benefits, clothes are provided by the community,” Wille said, taking another sip of coffee and watching as Linda and Simon exchanged glances, “Speaking of clothes, I should probably head home. I didn’t leave a note or anything.” Wille stood, seemingly a bit nervous and Simon moved to his feet as well. Linda watched, seeing them together for the first time after yesterday.

“Thank you, again for last night,” Simon said as they stopped at the front door.

“I should probably be thanking you since it’s the only reason we both got to sleep.”  They both smiled at each other and Wille reached for the doorknob.

“Um, how does it work?” Simon motioned between the two of them and Wille seemed unsure how to answer, “I mean, like how last night was uncomfortable and then today with the tour – I…”.

“Oh! I don’t know either.” They both chuckle together as Wille continues, “There’s a lunch in the middle of your tour in our courtyard, why don’t I meet you all there?” He raised his brows in question and Simon nodded.

“Only if you want to, you don’t have to, we can meet up later.”

Wille smiled, “Only day two and you’re starting to sound like me.” Simon rolled his eyes and smiled and Wille walked out the front door. When Simon turned back to the table Linda was still watching.

“What?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen you like this before.” Her eyes followed him as he took a seat, and had a bite of his food before grabbing Wille’s coffee cup and taking a sip, “I knew things were challenging at home, but Sara smiled at me this morning before she left and I just –“ Linda shook her head, her eyes getting wet and Simon placed his hand on hers.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

Linda smiled and rubbed her free hand on his, “It’s not your job to make me feel better about it. I guess I just wish we had left sooner.” She gave him another tight smile and then stood, “I’m going to unpack a bit before I get ready.” She started up the stairs and Simon called out to her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell him I was a Guide sooner. Maybe he would have been happier, or better if I had.”

“Is that what you really think?” Linda asked, leaning against the wall knowingly.

“No,” Simon answered softly, knowing what he did now, he was sure that the combination of being unbonded, wanting his father’s approval, and being hungry for power would have always made him impossible. She gave him a soft smile and finished her climb up the stairs.

Wille paused as he turned down the long hall to his rooms. He blinked as he realized that he felt the separation. It wasn’t painful, but he felt very aware of it. When Simon had come downstairs that morning, he’d felt a mutual excitement to share space and now he couldn’t feel that and there was a gap left behind. Instead of feeling upset or disappointed about it, he was happy at the fact that he could finally define why he was feeling that way.

As he pushed his bedroom door open, he was surprised to find his mother and Farima talking and pacing in the middle of his room, “What are you all doing here?”

“Wilhelm, you can’t disappear in the middle of the night without telling us where you are, and to find out that Simon wasn’t in his room either – well, I was hoping that Boris would have made it clear how important it was for you two to spend time together,” Kristina said calmly. Wille smiled to himself as he recalled that Simon knew exactly how to find him last night, “Wilhelm! Are you listening to me?”

“Yes mamma, I’m sorry, I slept in one of the rooms at Simon’s house.” Wille walked over and opened up his armoire, pulling out clothes to wear. Kristina took a step closer, seemingly very interested, “And, Boris did talk about us strengthening the bond, but we talked more about the gifts. Simon hasn’t been around other Guides and there’s a lot we both don’t know about the bond.”

Kristina stood and observed him like she did so often, it was another way that Wille realized how different their gifts could be. While Simon was clearly able to feel things in a different way than Kristina, at no point yesterday had he ever felt like he was being studied, “Why do you feel unsettled about him? Did he give you some indication that he wouldn’t stay to be with you? They can’t be considering going on to Lyndale, not when -”

“Mamma.”

“Wilhelm, have you made it clear to him how important it is that he stays? How lucky they are to have gotten to stay?” Kristina at him and then to Farima who seemed unsure how to respond to the conversation.

“Mamma, please.” Wille felt himself getting more and more frustrated and all of the sudden, the breathing in the room felt too loud.

“We know how,” she paused and took a breath, “challenging things have been for you, this bond will make it so that you can be more engaged with the community like your father was.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been a burden mamma,” Wille said softly, “that I haven’t been the pillar of community you have been hoping I would be.”

“Wilhelm, I only meant that it takes a lot for us to remind the people why our community operates the way it does. We have a lot of responsibility and now you can help us to shoulder it.”

“Get out.” Wille looked at his mother before letting his eyes flicker to Farima as well.

“Wilhelm.”

“GET OUT!” Wille slammed the armoire door shut and turned away from her, knowing from experience that more than the raised voice and harsh tone, she’d feel how much anger he had for her at that moment. Within seconds he heard them walk out of the room and he closed his eyes as he rested his hand on his chest, sliding it in circles and hoping that Simon could only feel the same gap he felt and not how angry he was.

Sara ran her hands down the front of her dress as they joined the group that was waiting, “Do I look ok?” She asked Simon quickly, looking between him and the group.

“You look beautiful,” Linda said with a smile, and Simon nodded in agreement.

As they moved closer, Simon looked down at his tunic and realized that while they were all wearing a similar navy material, the stitching on their outfits was gold and everyone else had black. He knew that Sara would realize it too, her attention to detail was much stronger than his and he saw her eyes scan the young woman closest to her.

“Maybe they’ve given us the wrong box?” Simon suggested, but he was pretty sure mistakes like that weren’t made here often.

“I’m sure it’s fine. We’ll get it sorted out.” Linda said, quickly trying to put Sara at ease as Simon continued to look at the group gathered together. Everyone seemed very excited and it was hard not to get caught up in it. But, as he took in more of the group, he realized how similar they all were. Each group had a clear couple, most of them accompanied by a child and Linda appeared to be the oldest one in the group.

“You must be Simon.” He took a step back, realizing that every part of him felt suddenly uncomfortable. When he turned to find the person who had spoken, he was met with an ingenuine smile from a boy who appeared to be a few years older than him, “I’m August. My mother was Lord Farthington’s sister.” Simon felt confused by the greeting, unsure how August had known who he was and also why he felt so uncomfortable in his presence. As August extended his hand, he remembered the feeling he’d gotten from Wille when Felice had said the same name yesterday. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he shouldn’t shake his hand, but he also felt a wave of anger toward him.

“August.”

Simon looked over to see Wille approaching the group and August let his hand lower, giving Wille the same smile he’d given Simon, “Wille, I was just introducing myself to your –“

“Why don’t you go ahead and get things started,” Wille said, cutting him off. He was well aware that people were listening and that he had attracted attention by joining the group. August appeared a bit stung but moved through the gathering to take his position at the front.

“I thought you were going to come to lunch?” Simon asked.

“Figured the tour might do me some good,” Wille said as he smiled in greeting to Sara and Linda. Simon could tell it was more than that, somehow he seemed tired from the short time they'd spent apart but was happy he had joined them. Wille lifted his hand to his mouth as he looked around, starting to chew on his cuticle and Simon reached out, wrapping his hand around his wrist at first in an attempt to calm Wille, but as he looked at the fabric under his fingers at their hands lowered, he noticed something that caught his eye.

“You have gold stitching too?” Simon asked and Wille started to respond before Sara shushed them.

“Simon, be quiet, he’s starting,” Sara said, clearly frustrated, and looked back up at August.

“Know that you were each chosen for a reason. Every person in our community is valuable and we’re so happy that you chose us.” August gave an intentional pause and Simon flinched as people around him started to clap. He turned to look at Linda who seemed equally confused as August continued, “I know by now you’ve all been assigned a cottage and hopefully were able to start to get settled.” His eyes scanned the group and most people were nodding excitedly. Simon felt his eyes land on him and Sara elbowed his side signaling him to nod. August smiled in response and stepped off the small platform he had been occupying. Without warning he started to walk down the path in front of them.

Sara and Linda quickly joined the group and Wille was just behind them, pausing when he realized that Simon hadn’t moved, he looked at him questioningly and Simon looked at August, “Let’s just keep a bit of space.” Wille nodded and they folded in after the last family in the line.

“You may miss out on some of his speech back here.”

“Aren’t you both Farthington’s? I’m sure you’d be able to fill in any gaps.” Simon said.

“He’s not a Farthington,” Wille responded and Simon wanted to move on.

“Why didn’t we receive the same outfits as everyone else?” Simon touched his arm to show Wille the stitching and waited for his response.

“They’ll have given you the same clothes they give my family since you all are considered like family now,” Wille’s answer was casual and Simon felt his eyes widen, knowing that what he was saying made sense, but it still felt heavy, “Technically the bond is a deeper partnership than family – “ Wille looked over, realizing how it sounded and stopped talking. Simon felt himself walk a bit faster to stay close to the group.

“- in your home, you will have seen your weekly schedule. It should have been placed on your kitchen table. This will show the times you will be expected to volunteer in the greenhouses, clean the zone you have been designated to, complete any scheduled work, and when you will do your weekly pick-up of produce for your home.” Simon could see in the crowd that Sara was looking at Linda and he looked as well, wondering if they had seen this schedule.

“Do they have the families working together? I don’t love the idea of Mamma doing too much heavy lifting, but if I’m with her I could handle that part.” Simon asked as August answered a few questions from the group.

“Oh, you all won’t have a schedule,” Wille said casually.

“But he just said that everyone received a schedule.”

“We don’t participate in the same activities. So, for example, Mamma and Erik participate in the monthly application sessions, and I help with things like picking out the color and fabric of the clothes that are sewn for the community.” Simon watched Wille, feeling himself processing what he was saying and when he was quiet for longer than expected Wille turned to him, “What?”

“You’re saying my contribution to the community would be holding up fabric samples?” Simon couldn’t help the judgment that was coming through in his question.

“No, I mean if that doesn’t sound interesting, we can figure out something else for you to do.”

“Or something to do in general.”

“I’m sorry, I guess I’m confused,” Wille said and for the second time that day, he wished he was a Guide instead so that he could better understand what emotion he should be getting from Simon.

“Sara and I grew up on a farm. We’re used to working hard and helping out our neighbors when they need it. I don’t think I can feel like I’m doing my part if I’m not helping.”

“Wasn’t your father the community leader?”

“Yes, but I mean, Dimwood was nothing like this.” Simon turned and motioned toward a few of the buildings around him, “You can’t possibly think every other community is like this.” Wille let his toe drag on the ground, not wanting to say the wrong thing and Simon felt bad as he sensed Wille’s nerves, “Maybe later I can tell you more about my home?”

“I’d like that.”

“Come on slow pokes!” August called out and Simon felt himself make a face. They continued down the main road and at the front August pointed out different buildings and interacted with the different members of the group. He saw Sara ask a question that he couldn’t hear and watched the wink that was incorporated into the answer.

“What’s the deal with him?” Simon asked.

“He’s what I was supposed to be.”

“What?”

“A couple of years ago, Mamma asked me to lead these tours. She felt like it would be a great way for people to have a more intimate interaction with the Farthington’s when they were first settling in. I told her I didn’t think it was the best idea because it was a difficult environment to control, but she said it would be fine. There was a baby in the first group, and I was doing ok until she started to cry.” Wille paused and swallowed, “It was so hot that day, I just remember sweating and the baby was crying and the family was apologizing to me, can you believe that? Like, how do you apologize for your baby crying, but it was because of me, I was melting down.”

“God, Wille, I’m so sorry,” Simon said, hoping that Wille could feel it too, but he only shook his head, dismissing the comment, “I can’t imagine how lonely this has been for you.” Simon could feel Wille still caught up in his own head, “For the record, I feel bad for the baby too.” He smiled up at Wille and received the laugh that he hoped for, “If you want, I can burst into tears to try to get August to experience a glimpse of what you did.”

“Don’t!” Wille said quickly, still laughing.

“Alright, well, the offer is on the table.”

"It wasn't all bad. Mamma found Boris after that. She felt like I needed to get my emotional outbursts under control. Instead, he just confirmed that these were things I was going to go through while I was unbonded."

They walked in silence after that, both of them caught up in their thoughts and occasionally tapping into the commentary from August. The community was beautiful, and more than that, it was thoughtful. Simon recalls many times that new people moved to Dimwood and they would spend a few afternoons as a community helping update or start a home for them. They were never strategically placed, but their lands were so much more spread out.

As they moved into the courtyard, Simon saw Lady Farthington and Wille’s older brother smiling and preparing to greet them. Kristina caught Wille’s eye and turned her head, silently requesting that he join them. Simon felt his hesitation but saw Wille move to fall in line as everyone joined the queue.

“I hope that the tour gave you a good first look at our town,” Kristina said as took Linda’s hand between both of her own and gave her a closed-mouth smile.

“It was very informative,” Linda responded and Simon muffled a laugh as he saw Kristina tense. He could feel Erik and Kristina trying to get a read on them so he looped his arm with Linda’s and ushered her away. Simon chose the table that appeared to be the farthest away from where he assumed the Farthingtons would be sitting and lowered himself into one of the chairs.

“Well, I am starting to understand why we wouldn’t have been approved,” Linda said, scanning the group, and when her eyes landed on Simon, she saw his discomfort. She reached out, letting her hand rest on his knee, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling like it’s kind of uncomfortable being here, knowing they didn’t actually want us here. Then to find out that we won’t play much of a role, I don’t know.” He could tell his mother had her concerns about being here, and he knew they were valid, but he didn’t want to make things more complicated, “Maybe it’s just all new.”

“Maybe. Try to take it easy. It’s one thing getting settled into a new place, but doing that while trying to get used to the idea of having a match is a lot to take on.”

“Mamma, Simon, we’re supposed to go first to pick out our food, August just told me, come on.” Sara approached them and seemed excited to be delivering the news. Linda stood while Sara waited for Simon to join them, “Come on.”

Simon looked over at the receiving line that was still taking place, his eyes scanning the group and then back to Sara, “Um, I think I’m going to go back to the house, I may still be a bit tired.” Linda looked at him with concern and Simon lowered his eyes.

“Do you want me to go with you?” She asked.

“No, no. I’ll be fine. You all need to do the rest of the tour so that we know what’s going on here.” He stood finally, leaning in and kissing his mom on the cheek before making a quick exit. Once he was outside of the courtyard on the small quiet road back to their house he paused to lean against the large building and took a deep breath.

When Simon opened the door to their assigned house, he found Sofia seated at the small table in the kitchen. He’d barely spoken with her since their awkward first meeting and still wasn’t sure how he felt about having her in their home.

“Hi, I didn’t expect you back so soon. Did the tour end early?” She asked, looking up from the book she’d been reading.

“No no, I just wasn’t feeling well so I thought I should come back and rest.”

“Oh, let me make us some tea and maybe that will help.” She stood without waiting for his answer and Simon surprised himself by taking a seat at the table instead of going up to his bedroom.

“Tea sounds nice.” He felt grateful for her in that moment, knowing that he was supposed to speak with her and that this conversation was important. He watched as Sofia moved through the kitchen comfortably, quickly filling the kettle and then preparing the tea as the water warmed and then asked, “Did you join Farthington with your family?”

“I submitted my application alone, and wasn’t selected for the community,” Sofia said, there was a bit of apprehension in her voice, but she didn’t seem guarded in the conversation. Simon made a confused face and she smirked when she turned to look at him, “You’re wondering how I’m here.”

“Yes.”

“Everyone who works in the Farthington home is a part of a program of sorts.”

“A program?” Simon asked and Sofia poured the prepared tea into the water.

“Yes. We work for three years and then we are allowed to join. I’ve been here for a year, so two years from now I will become an official member of Farthington.” She placed a mug in front of Simon and bit her bottom lip to muffle her laugh as she saw his face, “I know how it sounds.”

Simon tried to adjust the look he knew he had been giving but was still thrown off, “I, I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.” He pulled the mug closer to him and looked into the water, hearing the chair across from him slide across the kitchen floor as she took a seat.

“I think you might be familiar with the town of Silverbrook,” She paused and waited for Simon to look up again.

“Yes! It was one of the closest towns to Dimwood. We had a couple of families from there move into our community after the –“ Simon stalled, feeling sadness from her and recalling his own from that night, “You were there when the fire happened?” Sofia nodded, wrapping both hands around her mug. It had been two years ago and had been the result of a fire that should have gone out and didn’t. The farmer had gone to bed that night having no idea that the strong breeze would change so many lives.

His house had been the first one to catch, and unfortunately, it wouldn’t stop there. Silverbrook was a newer community that had been hastily built and with the easiest materials that they could come by so their wooden houses went up quickly. By morning, half the homes had burned to the ground and more than twenty people had gone with them.

“My brother was only 7, and he got scared when he heard all the shouting and saw the flames, so he hid,” she looked up at Simon and he already knew the rest of the story. His first impulse was to tell her she could stop, that she didn’t need to relive it, but he could tell this was a story she hadn’t shared in a while, and if she could stand to tell it, he would make sure that he could listen, “My father told my mother and me to run and get as far away from the house as possible, and that he would find my brother. My Mom took me to the well to help as people were filling buckets but then she went back to help find my brother,” She paused again and looked around the kitchen, “They never made it out of the house.”

Simon felt the tear slide down his face and wiped it away quickly. His calming presence often found people wanting to open up to him and in the energy exchange, he tended to give them some of his calm and take on some of their grief. He recalled the morning of the fire, he’d woken up feeling awful. Sara had rubbed his back as he’d gotten sick and he didn’t know why until word from town had come back about all the lives that had been lost. He’d experienced pain from others, but had never felt the kind of grief he did that morning, “I’m so sorry Sofia.”

“People in town tried to help me out, you know. I stayed with a couple of different families, but everyone was struggling at that point and since I was almost an adult I didn’t feel comfortable taking limited resources from them. We hadn’t been there long enough to establish much. There was a woman in Silverbrook, she’d lost her husband in the fire, and having her two young sons, she didn’t know how she’d manage to rebuild. She’d heard about Farthington and offered me the chance to come with her if I would help with the boys on the way. She had family in Courtshire so she figured if she wasn’t selected, she would just continue and I could go with her.”

Simon recalled the mental notes of the group he’d been with that morning, “None of you were selected.”

“Right.” Sofia nodded before taking a sip of tea, “But, Lady Farthington, she knew I was all alone, and she offered me the chance to work my way in.”

“Did she let the mother and her kids do the same?” Simon already knew the answer but watched Sofia shake her head. There was a knock at the door and they both looked in that direction. She started to stand and Simon put his hand up to stop her, “It’s for me.” Sofia was lifting her cup to take a sip when Simon stopped and turned back to her, “Thank you.” He returned her timid smile and then pulled the door open to find Wille waiting.

“Are you ok? Sara said you weren’t feeling well.”

Simon looked up at the sky, feeling the sun beating down on them, and pulled the door closed behind him. He walked down the steps and moved into an area shaded by the house as Wille followed, without warning, Simon looked at him and asked, “The people who work in your house, are they all single?”

Wille seemed taken aback by the question and stumbled a bit over his words before pausing to think, “I mean, I’m not sure, but I guess it occurs to me that I can’t think of any of them that are married or have kids.”

“You don’t think that’s weird?” Simon asked.

“I’ve never really thought about it. I just know they’re working their way into the community.”

“You don’t find it odd that everyone who is selected for this opportunity is completely alone, in other words, completely dependent on your family and this program? That they have to work three years to feel secure in their position here?” Simon was trying to keep his tone even but was struggling and he heard his voice raise, only lowering it to make sure that Sofia didn’t overhear.

“Did something happen? Did Sofia say something?” Wille asked, looking at the house and Simon froze.

“She didn’t,” Simon shook his head quickly, “She didn’t say anything bad about your family or her program and it’s really important that you don’t think negatively about her because I don’t want your mother or brother questioning her being here.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not following.”

Simon let out a loud exhale, “I just,” he stopped himself, leaning up against the house and looking down at his feet, “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

“Can we just drop it?” Every part of him was screaming for him to tell Wille, to open up to him about how he was feeling about everything he’d heard today, but he’d spent so many years feeling guarded, it was a harder habit to break than he expected. Even if he was ready to ask Wille all the questions that he had, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to properly articulate his thoughts and he was almost afraid of the answers he would get. So instead, he put a muted look on his face and looked down the path toward the courtyard, “Maybe we can still catch up with everyone else.”

“Please don’t do that,” Wille said, and Simon looked at him, feeling guilty, “I know what it feels like when someone wants to avoid saying something to me. My mother and brother do it because they don’t want to deal with my reaction, but I know you’re doing it because you don’t want to upset me.”

“Wille, I’m sorry I –“

“I’ve never had this, ok. The way that you can feel how I feel and you just know what to do. I’ve felt more taken care of by you in the last day than I have in my entire life and I know that’s a lot and that you have a lot of experience dealing with someone like me, but I’m not him. We’re both afraid that I’ll be too much. Not just us but both our moms as well and I understand their concern. I do.” Wille saw Simon lift his hand, knowing he was going to try to comfort him, and took a step back, surprising Simon who curled his fingers and let his hand lower, “I couldn’t stand it if you felt like you were just here to take care of me.”  

“Yesterday, when I asked to speak to Boris by myself, you stepped out. I suspect that you walked down the hall to try to not eavesdrop, but you were stopped by your Mom so you still ended up hearing. When you thought the bond may be making me feel pressured to go to the caves, you made sure I wanted to go. Last night, when I showed up to your room in the middle of the night to tell you I couldn’t sleep, you didn’t hesitate to come with me.” Simon gave a small shrug, “You don't even realize you're taking care of me too." Simon watched as Wille’s lips curled up, and he couldn’t help but match it, “You're not too much for me. This may be one of the first times I'm feeling like a bit too much for myself. I guess I just want a little more time to sort out my thoughts. I’m not used to feeling this on edge.”

In the quiet lull that followed, they both sensed the strength of their bond. Even in silence, an undeniable energy pulsed between them, unlike anything either of them had felt before. "Can I try something?" Wille's question broke the stillness, met with a swift nod from Simon. Stepping forward, Wille hesitated only momentarily before extending his arms and wrapping them around Simon. He leaned into Wille's sturdy frame, resting his chin on his shoulder as he reciprocated the hug, surrendering to the comfort of their connection.

“Is this ok?” Wille asked.

Simon closed his eyes and let his head turn; he knew he didn’t need to answer. Wille would know that this was exactly what he needed and they would both be able to feel his body start to return to the more familiar calm.

Chapter Text

“No, no, let’s use a smaller skillet.”

Simon walked out of his bedroom hearing movement in the kitchen. He felt confused as he stepped off the bottom step and saw Linda seated at the table and Wille standing next to Sofia at the stove.

“What’s going on?” Simon asked. All three of them looked in his direction as Simon walked into the room and took a seat in the chair next to his mom.  

“We’re making breakfast,” Sofia said confidently and Wille smiled.

“Do you all need any help?” Simon asked and they both shook their heads, dismissing the question quickly. Sofia poured him a cup of coffee and he lifted it, blowing into the cup and thinking about yesterday afternoon. 

After spending the morning touring Farthington it had taken a while for Simon to feel grounded again. He knew the role that Wille had played in that and even though Simon was struggling to find his words, he hadn't needed them. Once he was feeling better, they'd walked over to Erik's old room and Wille walked him through how the books had been sorted and shelved so that Simon could pick some out. He spent over an hour reading the first page of book after book while Wille flipped through one of his childhood favorites. When he'd finally found a few that he was interested in reading he climbed into Wille's chair and they spent the next couple hours reading quietly, occasionally sneaking glances across the room.

Sara walked into the kitchen and immediately poured herself a cup of coffee, surprised to see Wille in an apron. “You cook?” She asked.

“Sara…” Linda said, smiling sympathetically in Wille’s direction.

“No, I understand. I don’t cook, but since I’ve already picked out the fabric this month, I figured I should do something.” Wille looked at Simon who laughed while the others appeared to be confused. Sofia handed him the smaller skillet and he placed it on the burner in front of him.

“Let’s grab 6 of those eggs.” Sofia passed him a small bowl and motioned toward the eggs that were sitting on the counter. Wille walked over as Sara took a seat at the table joining her brother and mother.

“Oh, shit.” Everything stopped as they watched the two eggs falling to the floor. Linda, Sara, and Simon all froze, too used to sudden outbursts from Micke after small accidents like these. Sofia quickly grabbed a rag and started to wipe up the mess, “I’m sorry.” Wille said calmly and the room started to relax.

“No big deal, grab two more.” Sofia motioned to the eggs that were stored on the counter and he pulled two.

“We probably shouldn’t use those since if we do, we won’t have eggs at the end of the week,” Sara said as she looked over at the clock on the wall.

“What?” Simon asked, confused.

“The guidelines say we only get 18 eggs per house, based on how many of us live here. I wonder if they’ve adjusted it based on Wilhelm being here. I should ask August about that.”

“Sorry, what are we talking about?” Simon asked, still confused.

“Gosh Simon, they handed out the guidelines while we were on the tour. Were you paying attention at all?” She paused and Simon shook his head to confirm he’d barely been listening, she rolled her eyes before she started her explanation, “Our weekly pick-up only allows for so many items. So, I’m just saying, that since we only get 18 eggs per week, I’m fine with not having eggs this morning.” Simon started to speak again before Sofia cut in.

“That isn’t something that we’ll need to be concerned about.” She smiled at Wille and pulled the eggs from his hand, quickly breaking them, setting the shells aside, and pouring them into the skillet.

“What do you mean?” Linda asked. Sofia handed Wille the spatula and turned to face her.

“Your household is technically part of the Farthington house, so you will operate under the same guidelines. They just deliver what you need from the house. So instead of doing a once-a-week pick-up, I just let them know when you are getting low on items or if you want to make something special.” She finished her explanation confidently and Simon’s eyes cut to Linda who was processing the information. Wille already knew how Simon would react, and kept his eyes on the skillet in front of him, moving the eggs from one side to the other.

“Oh, that does make it easier,” Sara took the plate that Sofia handed to her and glanced at the clock again. Wille and Sofia filled the rest of the plates and the five of them sat down to enjoy their meal.  

“It’s really good,” Simon said, looking at Wille whose cheeks went pink at the compliment, “You had a very good teacher.” He smiled at Sofia and she took a bite.

“What time are you meeting with Boris?” Linda asked Simon.

“Not for another 30 minutes.”

After what he'd learned yesterday and the fact that he was struggling to talk through how he was feeling, Simon had asked Wille about setting up a time to talk to Boris. He wasn’t even sure what he wanted to talk about as much as he just wanted to be able to speak freely and hear from someone who had a bit of understanding of what he was going through. Wille had sent a note and they’d received a response within an hour to confirm that Simon could come by the next day.

“Oh, I guess we’ll all be heading out around the same time then, I’m meeting with Lady Farthington,” Linda said.

“What?” Simon asked, his eyes flickering to Wille who seemed just as surprised.

“She sent over a request yesterday. Now that I think about it, the note was less an invitation and more a summons. I don’t think I had an option to decline.” Linda said, recalling the note, “But I get the feeling people don’t generally decline invitations to sit down with your mother.” Linda looked at Wille, and he shook his head.

“No, they don’t.”

“I don’t love the idea of you sitting down with her alone, I – I mean.” Simon bit the inside of his cheek, not wanting to say anything in front of Sofia but nervous at the idea that his mother would be unattended with someone he didn’t trust, "You know what I mean." Sara finished her coffee, setting her mug on the table.

“Yeah, I’m heading out in a minute as well.”

“Where are you going?” Simon asked.

“Riding with August.”

“What?” Simon hadn’t meant for his voice to raise when he asked the question, but he felt surprised by the outing.

“He offered yesterday after the tour. He loves to ride too.” She smiled at all of them, either ignoring or not fully understanding the look that Simon was giving her.

“But you barely know him.” Simon offered quickly and Sara laughed.

“Yes, and Wille practically lives here now and we’ve known him for three whole days.” She rolled her eyes and scooted her chair back to stand.

“Sara, if you wait a minute we can walk over together,” Linda said, moving to stand as well. Sara gave her a quick nod and walked out the front door as Linda climbed the stairs, and Sofia started to wash dishes.  Simon looked between the front door and upstairs before looking at Wille.

“I’ll go with your mom, August isn’t harmless by any means, but there’s only so much he can do. My mother, on the other hand, well, she can do anything and she’s very invested in -” he lifted his hand and motioned between the two of them. Simon leaned back in his seat and stared at Wille, “What?”

“You hate spending time with your mom, I can’t ask you to do that,” Simon said as he heard Linda coming down the stairs. Wille took a sip of his coffee and stood.

“You didn’t.” He walked over to the sink and handed his plate and cup to Sofia as Linda kissed Simon on the cheek.

“I’ll see you later!” she said and waved to Wille and Sofia.  

“Hold on Linda, I was thinking it might be nice to join you.”  Wille and Simon exchanged smiles before he walked past Simon to catch up just in time for Linda to give him a confused look as they walked out the front door.

Simon rested his elbows on the table, closed his eyes, and rested his fingertips at his temples. He heard his plate and cup slide against the table top and he looked up to find Sofia walking them to the sink.

“I can wash my dishes.”

“Of course you can.” She said as she ran them underwater.

“I’m not sure how comfortable I feel having you cook and clean for us. We never had that back home.”

“Well, technically, Wilhelm cooked for you today, which I assure you is much more scandalous.” She held his gaze, clearly trying to get him to smile and he gave in.

“You can be honest though, if there is a day you don’t want to do something, or you just don’t want to do anything, you have to let us know.”

“It’s not so bad,” She shrugged as she placed his cup on the drying rack and wiped her hands with the towel at her waist, “Normally it’s only people who are almost finished with their three years that get special assignments. It’s half the work being here, and I get my own room.” She watched his face and could still see he was a bit uneasy, “I promise it could be worse.”

“It could be worse seems like a rough benchmark to use,” Simon said, more to himself than to Sofia.

“Linda, welcome. I’m so happy you could join me.” Kristina greeted Linda from the same chair she had occupied previously when they sat in her sitting room as a group. Linda saw Kristina’s face change as Wille entered the room behind her, “Wilhelm, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I figured that it might be nice for Linda to have some company.” He tried to keep his tone light as he moved to an open seat on the couch that would force Linda to sit as far away from his mother as possible. He knew she was trying to figure out why he was there and he also knew that without him having a real motive she wouldn’t be able to land anywhere.

“Well, I am always happy to see you,” she gave him a smile that didn’t quite make it up to her eyes and motioned for Linda to take a seat, “I was just hoping to check in and make sure you and the children were settling in.” She leaned forward with her elbow on her armrest and let her finger tap her lip as she waited for Linda’s response.

“Oh, it’s been very interesting learning about Farthington, it’s very different from Dimwood.” Linda’s tone was guarded, and Wille didn’t need to be a Guide to know that, but he knew his mother would notice it.

“I was hoping to hear a bit more about Dimwood and why you would have left.”

“Mamma,” Wille cut in, “It’s none of our business.”

“I’m sure Linda doesn’t mind sharing a bit about where they came from Wilhelm, don’t be silly. We’re practically family now.”

Linda swallowed, “I loved Dimwood and so did my children. It was beautiful and, well it was home. But I have known for years now that my husband and I – that we were not well suited.”

“You know that my husband was an unbonded Sentinel when I met him as well, we have that in common,” Kristina said and Wille felt his fingers dig into the couch under him.

“I suppose we do,” Linda said with a shallow nod.

“My husband was very dedicated to our community; my guess is that your husband is as well?”

“Yes, very.”

Kristina leaned back in her seat and observed Linda and Wille at the same time, “I can’t imagine that he will have taken it well that you left with his children. Especially a gifted child.” Linda didn’t answer because there was no question, it was clear that Kristina was trying to gauge how much of a problem this was, “Your oldest, she seems to be settling in. I’ve heard she spent time at the stables yesterday and today.” Wille felt his forehead crease and Linda shifted next to him.

“Yes, she’s navigating the change very well.”

“I’m so glad. We’re so invested in you all having success here.” Kristina’s eyes turned to focus on Wille and he refused to look away, “Tell me, Wilhelm, how are you and Simon getting along?”

Boris looked up as he heard the knock at his door and smiled as Simon leaned in, “You ready for me?”

“Yes yes, come on in.” Boris stood, moving from the reading chair he had in the corner of the room and walking to the seating area that was in the middle of the room. It was clear the room was intentionally kept dark, with only the light sneaking around the curtains shining in. Simon touched the couch as he lowered into it, letting his fingers explore the material, “It’s velvet.” Boris mentioned.

“Did they make it for you here?” Simon asked, his fingers still sliding against it.

“No, I brought it from my old home. Almost everything here is from a past life.” They sat in a comfortable silence for a minute before Boris asked, “So, how are you feeling? How have the last couple of days been?”

“I don’t know.” Simon offered and Boris chuckled.

“I think that’s appropriate given the circumstances. Perhaps I should zoom in a bit. How are you feeling about Farthington?”

“It feels, big,” Simon said and Boris didn’t immediately respond, “The house is nice, and Sofia is amazing, but I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.” Boris nodded, “My mom is 46.” Simon lowered his eyes as he took a minute to consider his comfort level with Boris. Ultimately, he decided that if Wille trusted him, he would do the same, “Do you think one of the reasons they didn’t pick her was because she’s 46?”

“That would be one of the reasons,” Boris said confidently.

“What would be the others?”

“She’s unmarried which they would see as someone comfortable disregarding tradition. Especially while their husband is still alive, it shows that the woman is strong-willed, and may not take direction well. It’s also rare for young adults to join the community. While you and Sara are no longer children you are of decision-making age where you have made decisions for yourself before. Most of the children here grow up being told what to do in almost every area of their lives. The older the children are, the more challenging it is for them to adopt that.”

Simon’s lips parted, looking at Boris somewhat shocked, “Oh, is that all?”

“I mean, we can assume that part of it is that you all are not white, but I don’t think you need me to tell you that. The Ehrencrona family brought with them resources that were needed at the time. I can’t say they would have been accepted otherwise and there aren’t any other families here that aren’t white.

“And, knowing all of this, you’re fine with being here?” Simon asked.

“When Lady Farthington showed up at my home, she didn’t speak to the wealth that Farthington had, even though that was obvious based on how she arrived. She let me know that her son was an unbonded Sentinel who was struggling and I felt called to help.” Boris swallowed and glanced toward the closed window, “I had just lost my Guide and was feeling adrift in my home that had been the most comforting place I’d known for years. I know that Giacomo would have wanted me to help. I went through exactly what Wilhelm is experiencing. His mother and I see “struggle” very differently. The panel and I also see value to the community very differently.”

“I think that if Wille wasn’t here, that I would have wanted to move on. I don’t understand how he’s supposed to be my perfect match but he comes from a place that doesn’t want anything to do with my family.”

“It was always going to be you who came to him,” Boris said with a soft smile.

“What do you mean?”

“Sentinels and Guides are not walking around with their fingers crossed you know. We’re supposed to find each other. There are so many times the universe guides us and we choose not to listen or we find reasons to ignore it. Giacomo and I met at a market. His family was on a ship and came to town to barter on the one market day we had a month. He wasn’t going to get off the ship because of the rainy weather, and then the sun came out,” Boris looked at the window again before lowering his chin and smiling as he recalled the memory, “Wilhelm’s only reason to leave Farthington would have been to find you and his mother will have convinced him that based on his status they should only be looking in specific places. I would wonder if they would have ever ended up in your little cove town.”

“They looked for me?” Simon sat up straight in his seat.

“Oh yes, they’ve visited neighboring communities for the last year. I told them over and over that it was a fool’s mission, that the two of you would eventually be guided to each other if you were patient, but she wouldn’t hear of it. The visits were not easy.”

Simon nodded as he considered what it would have felt like for Wille to be taken from town to town to be told there was a Guide there that he should meet. Repeated unfamiliar surroundings and disappointment would have been horrible for him. He felt Boris watching him and barely acknowledged it as he wished that he hadn’t taken Wille up on his offer to go with his mother, “Did he ever consider just picking someone and not looking anymore?”

“No.”

Simon smiled to himself and nodded at another way in which Wille was nothing like his father, “I’m glad that she brought you here.”

“I am too.”

“We’re getting along fine,” Wille said, feeling Linda watching him.

“I should take it as a good sign that you’re sleeping at his home. Are you all sharing a room?” Kristina asked and Wille glared at her causing her to nod, “Well since you’re not, do you see this as a more platonic relationship?”

“I’m not sure that we can say after a couple of days what kind of relationship they’ll have,” Linda said, seeing how uncomfortable Wille was.

“You and I are unsure, they’re not. In the same way your husband knew immediately that you were not his perfect match, Simon and Wilhelm will have known if their relationship was romantic or platonic,” Linda lowered her eyes, stung and Wille gripped his armrest, “Normally, this is something I feel like I would be able to deduce on my own, but Wilhelm’s thinking is more scattered and Simon is very good at guarding how he’s feeling.”

“Thank you so much for having me, Lady Farthington.” Linda stood and Kristina looked at her, surprised by the sudden movement, “I appreciate you checking in, we’ll let you know if we need anything as we are getting more comfortable in Farthington.” Wille stood as Linda started to walk away and only glanced at Kristina before they walked out of the room.

“I’m sorry, about my mom. She’s been trying to get me to talk to her for the last couple of days and I was ignoring her, she’s not used to being unsure of how a plan is going and I – “ Wille paused as Linda came to a stop at the end of the hall and looked at him.

“We’re not all that different.” She let her eyes lower before looking back up at his confused face, “Your mother and I are both wondering how this is going to work out between you two when you’re so different. But I guess the bond resolves that.” She smiled to herself, “I suppose the difference between her and I is that I know you’re in love with my son.”

“I –“ Wille stopped, unsure what to say as Linda looked at him. Between his mother and his brother, he wasn’t used to having to provide much confirmation, but for Linda, he nodded. He held his breath, unsure how she would respond. After a brief pause, she lifted her hand and placed it on his cheek giving it a soft pat.

“I’ll see you both for dinner. Sofia will know how to make fish like we used to have at home. I think Simon and Sara would like that.” Linda smiled at him, already thinking about her and Sofia making dinner, and walked down the hall as Wille finally let out his exhale.  

“Did you know that Sofia was from Silverbrook?” Simon asked and Boris smiled at the question, “I just want to know if she was put in our house to make us feel more comfortable, or if she was put in the house to report back on us because she makes us feel comfortable.”

“Does she make you feel comfortable?”

“Yes.”

“I think that before you consider who you should trust, you should trust yourself completely. If you trust her, you should trust her.” Boris added casually.

“But that doesn’t answer my questions.”

“Of course it does. I can’t confirm that for you, Lady Farthington wouldn’t share those kinds of details with me since she knows my loyalty is to her son. But you already know the answer to your questions.”

Simon sat back, crossing his legs and thinking, “Did Erik go with them? When they were looking for Wille’s Guide?” Boris shook his head.

“They would never leave the community without someone in charge. Erik stayed behind as they traveled. Wille was the priority because Guides are much more easily managed. Lady Farthington doesn’t like to show any signs of weakness.”

“Wille isn’t weak,” Simon said more pointedly than he expected.

“You and I agree on that, but she will have seen things differently.”

Simon nodded, “I should go. I didn’t mean to take up so much of your time.”

Boris shook his head, “I don’t mind at all. It’s been a long time since I was able to have a conversation with a Guide who wasn’t trying to sort out my intentions.” Simon stood and smiled.

“Should I be trying to sort out your intentions?” Simon asked.

“I feel confident you’ve already done that.”

Simon walked through the halls of the Farthington home and looked into the faces in the paintings that covered the walls. He could remember snippets of the history that Wille had shared during his first hours here, but he hadn’t retained much. He got to Wille’s room and raised his hand to knock on the door before pausing and lowering his hand. He looked over at the door to the right that was previously Erik’s and would have been his and knocked on that one instead.

“Yes?”

Simon pushed the door open to find Wille lying down on the bed, surrounded by bookshelves, and surprised to see him. “Hey.” Wille turned his head on the pillow and smiled. Simon could tell he was trying to figure out how his conversation with Boris had gone.

“Hey.” He moved toward the bed and threw himself down on it, letting out an exhale as they both looked up at the ceiling, “How did it go with our moms?”

“Well, she wanted to know how you all were settling in and if you and I were sleeping in the same bedroom.” Wille didn’t look over as he felt Simon’s head turn quickly with his jaw dropped. They both sat quietly for a few seconds before Simon started to laugh and Wille couldn’t help but join him.

“How did it go with Boris?”

“He gave me all the reasons why my family wouldn’t have been selected for Farthington, and helped me confirm that your mom tried to put a spy in our house.” Simon shook his head, starting to laugh again and Wille sat up, leaning against the headboard looking down at Simon, shocked.

“Ok, that’s not funny,” Wille said.

“Probably not, but it wasn’t anything I didn’t know, and Sofia’s not a spy,” Simon said, sitting up and leaning against the headboard. Wille looked down at his hands uncomfortably and Simon scooted over until their shoulders were touching and he elbowed his side, “She is probably going to find out about the cooking, so you may want to make sure she hears it from you first.” Wille couldn’t help but smile and Simon leaned into him, resting his head on his shoulder.

“Here I thought I was having the harder conversation.”

Simon glanced around the room, remembering how cold the house had felt as he walked down the hall and looked into the faces of the Farthingtons that came before Wille, and realized just how much better it felt being by Wille’s side. “He told me that you all looked for me,” Simon said, all joking gone from his voice. Wille took a minute to think about all the different times they rode up to a new town and he had hope, only to know within seconds that the person he was meeting wasn’t his Guide. He felt Simon’s hand rest on top of his and their fingers curled together, their hands resting between them, “I’m sorry I took so long.”

Wille squeezed his fingers, tightening the grip on Simon’s hand, and swallowed, “It was worth the wait.”

Chapter Text

“You made this?” Simon asked, taking the bread that Wille had offered him and watching as Wille nodded. Simon took a bite, prepared to lie if it didn’t taste good, but instead felt shocked as he started to chew, “This is amazing.” Wille smiled and Simon took another bite, “No seriously, wow.”

“Ok, you don’t need to be that surprised,” Wille said, narrowing his eyes at Simon who laughed.

The last couple of weeks had felt like drinking through a fire hose. Every day it seemed like Simon was finding out something new and unexpected about the community he was now a part of and a lot of the discovery period hadn’t been fun. The other parts though, the part where he got to see his mother smiling and relaxed again, when he got to see Sara run out of the house excited about where she was going, and the feeling he got when Wille and him were near each other - those seemed to override all the other stuff.

They had created a routine of enjoying breakfast and dinner as a family, and Sofia and Wille had easily fit into that. After Simon’s insistence that he would need to be doing something, he had the chance to try everything. They didn’t want him on any kind of schedule, but he had gotten the chance to work in the greenhouse, to help rebuild part of the stables, to be a part of the weekly food distribution, and to help with landscaping.

“Are you all done then?” Simon asked, pulling his gloves off. He had been helping out in the greenhouses that morning and had finished up some harvesting just before Wille had arrived.

“Yeah, I was coming to see if you wanted to go eat at the gazebo?” Wille held up food that he had prepared for their lunch. Simon nodded quickly and placed his gloves in one of the bins. He washed his hands and then let one of the other workers know that he would be leaving.

The gazebo had become one of Simon’s favorite places. While it was community property, it was close enough to the edge of the Farthington homes that most people didn’t feel comfortable using it, and with the distance from their neighbors and the protection from the sun, they both liked relaxing there.

“So, you’re enjoying spending time cooking with Sofia?” Simon asked, climbing up the two steps and taking a seat at the small table that had been built into the structure.

“Yeah, I hope I’m not getting on her nerves. She’s been really patient with me.” Wille pulled out sandwiches he had made for lunch, placing Simon’s in front of him, “Your mom doesn’t mind, right? We’ve kind of taken over in the kitchen.” Simon laughed.

“My mom spent almost 20 years cooking for four people while dealing with my father. I feel confident that she loves that now she has the two of you cooking whatever she wants.” Simon took a bite of his sandwich and smiled as he chewed. When he looked across the table and saw Wille open his sandwich, he saw they were different, Simons had so many more components, all of them that Wille knew Simon enjoyed but would have been too much flavor for him to have.

“I know sometimes you miss Dimwood; do you think she misses it?” Wille asked.

“Yeah, I do.” Simon nodded as he looked out at the trees before looking back at Wille, “You remember when Boris said that as a Guide, I’ve always felt like I was looking for something and couldn’t find it when he was talking about me without you?” Wille nodded, remembering the conversation, “When I think about our life at the cove, it was like there was something there that was never supposed to be there, and I knew it.”

“Micke?”

“Micke.” Simon confirmed, “It’s crazy to think that if he had just found his Guide, he would have been a different version of himself and may not have even stayed there.” Simon went quiet as he thought this through and this was something that Wille had gotten used to. A lot of times Simon just wanted a second to roll ideas around in his mind. Sometimes he would share them and sometimes he wouldn’t but it was clear this wasn’t something he’s always had the space to do, “Do you think you’ll always want to be here?”

Wille leaned back in his seat. Over the years he’d considered at length what his life would look like away from the pressures of home, but he’d never imagined not living there, “I think when I was little, I always imagined being here, but I –“ Wille stopped himself and Simon watched him, smiling softly as he considered what he thought he was going to say next, “You already know what I’m going to say?”

Simon shook his head, giggling, “You know I can’t read your mind. I don’t know what you’re going to say, but I can feel the emotions behind it. You’re so certain, but at the same time you feel unsure.”

Wille smiled, “Certain of what I feel, unsure of how to say it.” He paused as he replayed the thought in his mind over and over and Simon waited patiently, feeling stress coming from Wille and knowing he may feel pressure to share something he isn’t ready to.

“I always thought we’d be in Dimwood,” Simon said.

“Will you tell me why you all had to leave?” Wille asked. He’d been wondering, wanting to be patient and not press Simon to share unless he wanted to, but there was still so much that he didn’t know. Simon took a breath and laced his fingers together.

“I found out about my gift when I was 14. Sara was there when I realized it and I made her promise that she wouldn’t tell anyone because I knew what would come with it. My father had been losing the trust of the community because being a Sentinel he wasn’t able to provide the same guidance that my grandfather had been able to. They were starting to question his place and I didn’t disagree with them. I’m not sure I believe that anyone should get to lead simply because of the family they come from.” Simon paused and Wille knew he wasn’t just talking about his family, but the Farthington’s as well.

“Did your father know you felt that way?” Wille asked.

“I’d mentioned it to him before but he dismissed it and would go on and on about how his father had put our family in their rightful place. I didn’t know that so many communities were run by Sentinels and Guides. I think there is so much value in a Guide being a part of a community, but I don’t understand why guiding has to be the same as leading.”

“Mamma thinks the two go together since she was born gifted it means she was expected to lead.”

“Well, my grandfather would agree. My father felt that since Sara and I both didn’t have a gift, neither of us would be allowed to lead, and Dimwood wouldn’t be able to justify our family’s leadership anymore. I felt good about it. I told myself that if I could just keep my gift hidden maybe they would overthrow him just like my grandfather had done to another family, and then Dimwood would pick their leader and things would go back to the way they were.”

“You felt like that’s how it was supposed to be?” Wille asked and Simon nodded, “So what happened?”

“I knew Ingrid Persson was in trouble.” Simon shifted in his seat, “I was in the market with Mamma and Micke I had felt uneasy the entire time we’d been there. We were at our third stall when I remember feeling like I needed to go check on something in the woods near the stream. I was ignoring it but when we were loading up the wagon, I saw Micke look in the same direction I’d been thinking about and I knew he’d heard something. Next thing I knew I took off running. By the time I got to the woods near the stream, I could hear her screaming for help. She had climbed up a tree and couldn’t get down. She was trying to lower herself but was barely hanging on by the time I got there.” Simon rubbed his hands on his face, “God I just remember his face, he kept asking me how I knew where she was.”

“So, after that, he knew?”

“Within hours it seemed like everyone knew, or at least they were coming to their own conclusions. They’d remembered my grandfather’s intuition and it was like once Micke suspected it, he could sense it, and he knew. He felt like it had saved our legacy that I would lead. He was going on and on about finding a Sentinel for me so that I wouldn’t make the same mistakes he did.”

“He was talking about marrying your mom?” Wille asked and Simon nodded.

“and having Sara as a result of it. I remember hearing him and realizing he didn’t even know how hateful the things he was saying were. So, I told him I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t confirm I was gifted to the community; I wouldn’t marry the first Sentinel that he could find, and I wouldn’t lead.”

“What did he say?” Wille hadn’t even realized when he’d leaned forward in his seat, his fingers inches from Simons.

“At first, nothing,” Simon said, shaking his head, “I’d felt frustration and aggression come from him before, and we all knew about his temper, but the anger coming from him overwhelmed me. I felt paralyzed by it, all I could do was stand there as I watched him destroy our home.” He paused and Wille took Simon’s hand in his, silently letting him know he didn’t have to continue but Simon rubbed the top of his hand before he continued, “He told me that the next day he would call a town meeting and that I would confirm I had the same gift as my grandfather, then he left. Mamma was devastated, Sara was afraid and I just remember thinking we had to go. That night while Sara and I tried to clean up the mess, Mamma packed as much as she could and loaded the wagon. At dinner, he told us that we’d be going into town the next day for a meeting. The next morning while he was getting ready and he knew I’d be preparing the wagon for the ride we simply got in and rode away.”

“And with only one horse he couldn’t come after you,” Wille said, remembering his previous conversation with Linda.

“Well, not without a very long run to our neighbor’s farm, no. He won’t have wanted to do that though.”

“Why?”

“He was already losing the trust of the community, now they knew his son was gifted, but his entire family had run off?” Simon shook his head, “He’ll have made up a story to explain the disappearance.”

“That’s why you think he’ll come after you?”

“I know he will,” Simon said confidently and Wille felt a surge of anger flow through him as he thought of Micke and knowing he would do anything to protect Simon and his family.

“You’re safe here,” Wille said, and he felt sure of it, but he still looked at Simon, almost wanting him to confirm that he was right. Instead, Simon leaned back in his seat, his hand sliding away, and let himself enjoy the sight of two squirrels who seemed to be engaging in a game of tag, jumping from branch to branch. Wille followed his eyes and they both watched as they got higher and higher and harder to see. Simon squinted as he saw one of the squirrels fall, shocked as he tried to find him on the ground so far away.

“He made it,” Wille said and Simon looked at him.

“Would you tell me if he hadn’t?” He asked.

“Probably not.” Wille smiled and felt Simon start to relax as he returned the grin. They sat quietly for a little longer, only hearing the sounds of the birds and trees from where they were in the yard.

“I saw Mamma this morning, she wants to have dinner sometime this week,” Wille said before Simon pulled a face that made Wille smile.

“We have the community dinner on Thursday, I feel like if we sit at their table, that should count.” Simon watched and Wille considered this as he took a bite of his sandwich, “Have you thought about helping out with the cooking for the dinner? It might be fun for you.”  

“I dunno, I don’t want to make anything harder on anyone.” Wille gave a small shrug.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s easy at home when I flinch at the heat, or if I need to ask Sofia to taste something for me, but in the kitchen, I know how busy they are, when I get overstimulated, it tends to make people uncomfortable.” Wille lowered his eyes and picked at his bread. Simon moved his foot forward, resting his ankle against Wille’s as they sat in silence. One of the things that Simon had been working on was not unintentionally dismissing the things that Wille would say. He’d want to automatically let Wille know it was ok if he became overstimulated, but it could be palpable when people react to his sensitivity and that was very real.

“Home?” Simon asked, lifting his brows, when Wille finally looked up at him.

“You know what I mean,” Wille said, feeling shy and Simon nodded.

“I do.” Simon smiled as they looked at each other, both of them taking another bite as they heard horses approaching. Simon felt Wille stiffen and turned behind him to see Sara and August riding up. August’s smile had never gotten warmer to Simon, and the way his sister looked at him made him nervous.

“You two want to ride out with us? We’re going to check out the south fields, Lady Farthington asked me to see how things were looking out there.” August sat up straighter in his saddle and Simon felt uneasy as he watched Sara smile in his direction.

“I think we’ll pass,” Wille said confidently and Simon gave them a tight smile.

“Simon, are you sure? We went yesterday and it’s a really beautiful ride.” Sara asked, inching her horse closer to August.

“Yeah, will you be back for dinner?” Simon asked and Sara nodded.

“Wille, I’m doing the east field tomorrow if you want to join me.”

“I have plans tomorrow,” Wille said, making it clear it wasn’t up for discussion. August tensed, clearly put off by Wille’s cold response, and gave Simon and Wille a tight nod before turning his horse and riding away. Sara glanced between the two of them before turning to catch up, August giving no sign of waiting for her.

“Plans tomorrow?” Simon asked, smiling.

“I’ll make some.” Wille chuckled as he finished his sandwich and folded up the paper it had been wrapped in, “You’re still good to do the ritual after dinner tonight?”

“Yea of course,” Simon said

Wille was in Erik’s old bedroom when he heard footsteps down the hall. Simon had gone back to the house and Wille wanted to grab a few things before he went back for dinner. He’d left the door open so he paused to listen, going back to his search after he’d heard the pattern of steps.

“Surprised to find you here,” Erik said from the doorway.

“Are you?” Wille asked, pulling a book off the shelf and placing it on the one he was already holding.

“You’ve barely been home the past couple of weeks. I only see you at the required events, which is funny because you never used to attend those.” Erik slid into the chair that Wille normally used for his reading, “How have you been?”  

“I’ve been good. Busy, I guess, but good.” Wille pulled the spine of another book, adding it to the stack. After a few seconds, he turned to find Erik watching him, “What?”

“You feel, different,” Erik said, “It’s weird, you feel so much less tense, but your emotions seem so much more jumbled up.” Wille turned back to the bookshelf, rolling his eyes as he felt Erik continue to try to get a read on him, “That’s not a bad thing,” Erik shook his head, “I don’t know if I ever realized before that there weren’t as many.”

“Did you need something?” Wille asked, trying his hardest to avoid being annoyed by his brother’s visit.

“August said that he asked you about riding out to the East field and you turned him down. Mamma was hoping that you would go with him.”

“Well, luckily, she has a lot of experience in me not doing what she wants me to do,” Wille said, turning to smile at Erik.

“Wille, come on, it’s one afternoon and you can take Simon with you.” Erik tried to sound casual but his brother’s response to the suggestion immediately told him he had failed.

“What are you playing at?” Wille eyed Erik, placing his books on the table and crossing his arms.

“Nothing, Mamma has always wanted us to be more involved,” Erik said and Wille continued to stare at him, “and people have taken to Simon. I don’t think she liked that he was folding in at first, but people find him so approachable. She’s very impressed.” Wille nodded, more calmly than Erik had seen him in a very long time before picking his books up again.

“It’s interesting because up until a few weeks ago, it always seemed like you and Mamma could so easily anticipate when I was on the edge. Not enough to help me avoid it, but enough to remove me from a situation that may cause embarrassment for the Farthington name. It’s clear that has changed.”

“Wille.” Erik looked up at him, trying to interpret what his brother was saying.

“When you tell Mamma that I said no to joining August on his tour of the fields, you also tell her to stay the fuck away from Simon. While you’re at it, you tell her that if she does anything to pressure Simon, Linda, or Sara to do anything for her, I will personally make sure she regrets it. They’ve been through enough.” Wille tried to remain calm, but he knew he wouldn’t last much longer in the room with Erik, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before walking down the hall.

Wille had been tense ever since he’d come back to the house earlier that day. While he was happy that he’d made his position clear with Erik, knowing that his mother was already trying to manipulate Simon kept him feeling uneasy about the situation.

Simon hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to him because as soon as Wille had come in Sofia had been excited to show him the recipe that she’d found for them to make dinner that evening. As calming as cooking had been for Wille, he didn’t have the same excitement while he was taking Sofia’s direction. He had mismeasured ingredients, accidentally cut his finger and when the hot oil popped up on his neck, he swore so loudly that it made Simon jump from the couch where he had been reading in their living room. He marked his page and placed the book on the table before walking into the kitchen to find Wille apologizing to Sofia who seemed a bit unsure how to help.

“What are we making?” Simon asked as he walked in. He rested his hand on Wille's back, moving it in a slow circle as he looked to Sofia to answer.

“Vegetable fritters.” She said, smiling sympathetically at them as she rolled more of the mixture they’d made into a small ball. Simon knew this was another dish that was familiar from home for her, they would have made them with fish instead of vegetables.

“That’s brilliant, they had a bumper crop of zucchini this year.” Simon reached out and stole one of the fritters that was already cooling and took a bite. Wille watched his expression, smiling as he saw Simon’s brows go up excitedly, “oh my god.” Simon let his hand lower and took a seat on the counter, asking Sofia about the dipping sauce they had made to go with them. They had made a habit of adding sauces and sides that had more flavor so that Wille could still enjoy the great food without the intensity. Linda had always made all of their food to her husband’s taste, so it was exciting for them to be able to eat the way they wanted and Wille didn’t want them to miss out. He went back to frying the fritters, content with the distraction of the conversation.

Wille had grown up seeing his parents and the way that they moved together. It always seemed like they had a secret language and they loved speaking it with each other. Being with Simon was so complex because he knew that Simon made these small gestures to put him at ease, but he never paired them with the exhausted looks that he’d received from his family. He never made Wille feel like too much or even that he was doing anything extra. He knew they’d both been concerned, Wille based on the burden he’d always felt like, and Simon because of how difficult his father had been, but even when things felt clumsy, it still felt right. He felt frustrated that he knew he wouldn't have time alone with Simon until later, he'd been wishing he had found the right words earlier at lunch. 

“Are we ready?” Madison asked from the seat in the wagon. Dinner had gone on without incident and Simon was excited to participate in what Maddie had planned for them.  He had only met her a few times, but she always made him laugh and he loved that Wille’s two closest friends seemed to genuinely care for him. Earlier that week when they’d been shoulder to shoulder chopping wood, she’d mentioned that she’d been wanting to do a full moon ritual that she hadn’t gotten to do since she’d arrived at Farthington six months earlier. After Simon said that he’d be interested in having one as well they enlisted Felice, Wille, and Sara to join them. Maddie and Felice parked the wagon and Simon placed a package in the back.

“What are you up to?” Wille asked him.  

“No questions!” Maddie said, smiling, she was practically buzzing and Simon found it contagious as he climbed up into his saddle, zipping his lips in response to Wille’s question.

“I didn’t know it was going to be such a big deal, I should have invited August,” Sara said as she climbed onto her horse. Simon was glad that the sun had set and she couldn’t easily see his face.

“This is a ritual for manifesting and setting intention. When it comes to August my only intention is to spend less time with him so it may feel counterproductive to have him with us.” Maddie said casually and Felice elbowed her in the side before turning to address Sara.

“He probably wouldn’t have been interested, he’s generally more into community events.” She said, trying to smooth over Maddie’s obvious disdain for him. The wagon started to roll forward and the horses followed.

“I don’t know, when we went to the cave to swim today, he had a great time. He was surprised that you all hadn’t shown it to him before.” Sara’s horse fell in step with Simon’s and he could feel the tension coming from Felice and Wille.

“Sara, you shouldn’t have taken him there.” His voice was lowered, not wanting the group to be involved in the discussion. Wille gave his horse a soft kick and moved up so that he was riding next to Felice in the wagon. Wille had never said that the cave was a secret, but he had felt that it was sacred and was disappointed to know that she had shared this spot with someone Wille didn't' care for. Sara looked up at the group before looking back at Simon.

“Why?”

“Because it wasn’t your place to share.” Simon struggled to articulate what he wanted to say, not wanting to talk about August while he didn’t know how she felt about him, “They wanted to keep it private so that not as many people would be there if they wanted to go.”

“But I only told August, he’s Wilhelm’s family,” Sara said, still confused and Simon took a breath, “I know you don’t like him.”

“It’s not that I don’t like him, I barely know him, I just – “

“You don’t get a good feeling about him?” Sara asked, her tone seeming more accusing than he was used to. “You’re not exactly hiding the fact that you don’t like him and he’s tried to be nice to you. He specifically asked me where you all were this afternoon so that he could invite you to the field. He’s seen that you enjoy working in the greenhouse.” Simon stayed quiet, not sure what to say but knowing he wasn’t wrong when it came to August and his intentions.

“Just be careful.”

The rest of the ride was uneventful. Wille had stayed up with Maddie and Felice, and Simon and Sara hadn’t continued their conversation about August. When they pulled up to the clearing Wille made a motion with his head to have Simon look up and smiled as he heard him gasp. The trees were parted to give them a beautiful view of the night sky. The moon felt like it was hovering just above them and the stars lit up the forest. Simon and Sara climbed off their horses and moved closer to the group.

“Ok, Wille, Sara, and Felice, you’re in charge of getting the fire going. Simon, you’re with me.” Maddie clapped her hands together after giving them their assignments and everyone got to work. It didn’t take long to get a fire going with the wood they brought, and after they’d rolled stumps over it was the perfect seating area.

“I’d like to thank each of you for joining me for this full moon ritual,” Maddie said, standing in front of her seat as Simon lowered himself onto his. She held sage over the fire, lowering it and allowing the flame to catch, and then walked up to each of them clearing the space around them with it, “As I said earlier this is a time to set intention for the moon cycle. We’re manifesting, we’re letting go, we’re really taking a look at what we want for ourselves and most importantly, we’re asking for it.” Teasingly, she circled Felice again, and Felice laughed as she pretended to cough, “My assistant is going to provide each of you with a pencil and a bay leaf. You’ll use these to ask for what you want.” At this, Simon stood and distributed the pencils and leaves.  

“I may need a larger leaf.” Felice joked and everyone laughed with her. Maddie rested the sage on the edge of the fire and sat down. Each of them took time to consider what they wanted and after a few minutes, they’d all written something down and were holding their leaves at the ready.

“Now, we make an offering,” Maddie said, smiling at Simon who stood.

“First, for our host.” He handed Maddie a small package wrapped in brown paper, “I’ve brought you dried lavender to make an offering. This will help calm your mind and promote a sense of inner peace. This will allow you to make more space for your infectious excitement that you’ve been missing and find comfort sharing that with the people around you.” She stood and walked to the fire, dropping the lavender in and following with her basil leaf.

“Sara.” Simon said, grabbing another small package and handing it to her as she smiled up at him, “I’ve brought you frankincense to make an offering. This will help to remove any negative energy that made the journey here with us. This will allow easy passage for positive energy that will help to provide clarity and protection for you.” Following Maddie’s lead, she put the frankincense in the fire and then her leaf.  

“Felice.” Simon paused in front of her, “For you I have yarrow. This will help enhance your voice and empower your courage. This will allow you to put out any doubt you may have in sharing your thoughts and help you to speak freely while trusting what you have to say.” Her eyes watered as she stood and walked over to the fire, dropping both items in.

“Wilhelm.” They both smiled at each other as he used his full name, and Simon handed him the small package, “For you I have Cedar. This will help to support a stronger connection with the earth and ward off negative influences. This will allow you to let go of any inner voice that isn’t your own and create a natural energetic cleansing.” Wille looked down at his hands, letting them close around the items he was about to place in the fire, and then stood and dropped his Cedar in before reading his bay leaf one more time dropping it in after.

“For myself, I brought Daisy’s.” Simon smiled as he looked down at the package in his hand, “They’ll help to support new beginnings and purification. This will allow me to sit in the joy that I’ve found and to view it with a more innocent perspective.” He walked to the fire and dropped the dried daisies in watching them catch before letting the basil leaf fall from his hand.

“Thank you, Simon.” Maddie said, “If we could all take hands,” She stood and raised both her hands, offering them to Simon and Felice as everyone closed the circle around the fire, “I just want to thank each of you for joining me tonight.” They stood, holding each other’s hands, their eyes on the fire they surrounded for a few minutes before Maddie let her hands drop. Simon walked over and hugged her.

“Thank you for asking me to participate.”

“Yeah, it probably won’t happen again, I’m not supposed to cry during a full moon ritual.” She smiled and him and he returned it.

“You’ve been in Farthington too long if you think that everything has to have rules.”

They put out the fire and loaded any items they’d brought back in the wagon. They’d left the fire pit, knowing they’d all be back to participate in another one in the future. The group didn’t talk much, it was clear they were all thinking through the ritual and their offerings, and as they rode back the only real conversation was when Sara pointed out the shooting start that felt like the perfect closing ceremony to Maddie’s ritual.  

Simon was lying in bed, struggling to find the easy sleep he’d been enjoying for the past couple of weeks when he heard a soft tap on the door.

“Come in.” Instead of sitting up Simon glanced at the door, pulling the covers back as Wille poked his head in and smiled at his unasked question. Wille crawled into the bed and Simon watched as he rested his head on the pillow, “Are you going to be able to sleep on these?”

“Are you inviting me to find out?” Wille asked and Simon chuckled. With the full moon, Simon could still make out his face in the dark room and saw him bite his bottom lip, clearly working up the nerve to say something, “Earlier when I said that I always imagined myself living in Farthington,” Wille looked to Simon and Simon nodded, “What I was going to say was that now I feel like I could live anywhere as long as you were there too.”

“I spent so many years trying to hide how I felt about things, and I’m realizing I still have to work on stopping that.” Simon reached out and rested his fingers at the back of Wille’s neck, sliding his thumb on his jaw, “Sometimes, because I can feel or generally interpret how you feel, I forget that I need to tell you or show you how I feel about things because I know how easily you’ll question if I feel the same way you do."

“So how do you feel?” Wille asked, searching Simon’s face.  

“I love you too.” Simon saw relief flash on Wille's face before he pulled him closer, both of them nodding at each other before they shared a kiss that resonated with the intensity of their connection, but also felt so precious and rare. 

Chapter Text

Wille’s fingers hovered just above Simon’s skin as they lay in bed together, he smiled as he replayed Simon telling him that he loved him over and over again. He’d woken up minutes ago, feeling the sun sneaking into the room, and the sheets finally starting to feel uncomfortable. Simon shifted slightly and his face touched Wille’s fingertips. He jerked his hand away, not wanting to wake Simon, and watched his lips curve into a smile.

“What are you doing?” Simon asked as his eyes opened sleepily to see Wille giving him a sheepish grin.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Wille said, relaxing into the pillow. Simon shook his head dismissing the apology and smiling. Simon looked at the bed, seeing the sunlight shining, and then up at Wille.

“I suppose my room isn’t the most Sentinel-friendly,” Simon said apologetically. Wille shrugged and scooted closer to Simon in bed.  

“I think I could get used to it.”

“Really?” Simon asked, and Wille considered before shaking his head.

“Probably not.” The boys both collapsed their heads together as they laughed hysterically until they were both trying to catch their breath. Wille looked at the bedroom door and then back at Simon, “Sofia is already in the kitchen.”

“Go. I heard her talking about doing turnovers and there’s no way you should have looked as excited about apples as you did.” Simon teased recalling hearing Wille and Sofia talking last night after dinner. Wille leaned forward and kissed Simon on the nose before scooting out of bed.

“Apple, Cherry, and Pear,” Wille said and Simon smirked, “Go back to sleep.” Wille moved over to Simon’s side of the bed and lowered to kiss him on the lips this time, both of them smiling afterward, still getting used to the idea of that being normal between them and feeling a bit awkward as Wille bit his bottom lip and walked out of the room. Simon smiled and let his fingers rest against his lips before shaking his head and feeling so much happiness, realizing it was a mixture of his own and Wille’s.

“That one’s too hot!” Sofia reached her hand out and pulled Wille’s wrist back before he touched the turnover that was on the baking sheet in front of him. They had made the pear ones specially for him and he was too eager to taste them. Working with him over the past few weeks had made her so much more aware of what he could and couldn’t handle from a taste, smell, and touch standpoint and it was one of the reasons that he had enjoyed spending time with her so much.

“Which one do you like best so far?” Wille asked before cracking the window the way he’d seen Linda do it before and putting the pan in front of it.

“The cherry is so much better than I expected, but the lemon curd has to be my favorite, they were my Mom’s favorite,” Sofia said, smiling to herself as she remembered sharing turnovers with her mom when she was younger. She sniffed, realizing her eyes were getting a bit wet, and wiped her hands on her apron, “I absolutely asked for too much fruit.” She said, motioning to the half-full basket on the table.  

“Maybe you can just take it with you to the laundry when you go later, see if anyone else needs it?” Wille offered.

“Oh yeah, I don’t even think they’ve even had cherries in the house baskets the last couple of weeks.” She lifted the basket and placed it near the backdoor to remind herself to take it along when she left later.

“What smells so good?” Simon asked, walking into the kitchen and looking between Sofia and Wille.

“I hope you’re hungry because we made enough turnovers for the entire community without any real intention of sharing them.” Sofia joked as she walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a plate. Simon’s eyes scanned the counters and table and saw tray after tray of turnovers.

“We may have gone a little overboard,” Wille said, pulling the pear tray away from the window. Simon took a seat at the table and Sofia grabbed one of each flavor and placed them on the plate before setting the plate in front of Simon, “Wait!” Wille grabbed one of the turnovers on Simon’s plate and switched it out for a different one, “This one has more filling.” Wille took a step back, standing next to Sofia and they both watched him cut it in half as Simon laughed awkwardly.

“You all are making me nervous.” He cut off a smaller piece, feeling them watch closely he made his best attempt to have an equal amount of crust and filling before taking a bite, “So good!” Wille and Sofia’s faces lit up and Simon continued to chew as they started to describe how they’d made the filling. He was sure it looked like he was listening, but he’d never be able to repeat this back to them. All he knew was that these two people who hadn’t known much happiness in the past year seemed so excited to watch him enjoy this bite of food and it was so fun to watch.

“Let’s try the pear now.” Sofia pulled another plate and cut one of the pastries in half as Wille told Simon which one on his plate was pear. They each tasted it and let out similar sounds of enjoyment. While the apple had a punch of flavor the pear was so much more delicate and it was clear this one had been made with Wille in mind.

“Wow!” Linda walked into the kitchen and looked around, smiling as she surveyed the kitchen.

“Oh Linda, you’re going to love the cherry!” Sofia placed a turnover on the plate and poured Linda a cup of coffee as she took a seat next to Simon.

“I’m sure I will.” Linda sipped her coffee, “Has Sara already been down?”

“She left about 20 minutes ago to meet up with August,” Sofia said and Simon rolled his eyes as Linda nodded, “She didn’t say when she’d be back, but I didn’t ask.”

“I was hoping she’d be available this morning, I’m going to help with the flowers for the dinner on Thursday and I thought she could go with me.”

“I can go with you, mamma.” Simon offered.

“No no, don’t worry. I’ve just barely seen her these past few weeks if we weren’t at meals, I was hoping to check in.” Linda could feel each of them watching her and she wasn’t used to feeling too much attention and had enjoyed the weeks of not receiving worried glances, “I’ll set something up later this week. Now, where was I?” She put on a smile that Simon could tell was more for them and cut into the turnover in front of her. Wille and Sofia watched closely, trying to be more relaxed than they’d been with Simon but not doing a great job, Simon giggled as he watched them and sensed their joy all over again after Linda told them how amazing it was.

“Sof, do you need help putting these away? I was supposed to meet with Mamma and Erik in 15 minutes.” Wille started to condense the pastries and stacked the pans to assist as much as he could.

“No, I should be fine.” She went about storing the cooled pastries as Linda asked a question about the lemon curd and Wille lifted his apron over his head before hanging it on the hook on the wall. Simon stood, selected one of the pear turnovers, and wrapped it in a napkin before walking Wille to the front door.

“You want to meet up later for lunch?” Simon asked as he handed Wille the napkin.

“Yea, gazebo at noon?”

Simon nodded and leaned in to kiss Wille before he walked out the door. Simon watched him climb down the stairs and waited, laughing as Wille turned to give him one more glance before turning down the path to his childhood home.  He was still smiling when he pushed the door closed and made eye contact with Sofia and Linda who had both been watching his interaction with Wille. While Sofia had a huge grin on her face, Linda’s smile seemed more guarded. Simon felt his cheeks warm as he returned to his seat at the table.

“Mamma, I – “ Simon started and Linda shook her head. Sofia went back to putting away the food, unsure if she should leave them to have a private conversation.

“He loves you.” She said, giving his hand a squeeze and Simon nodded. He knew she was apprehensive, but he also knew that wasn’t about Wille or him, and this response would be good enough for now.

“Are you still doing laundry this morning?” Simon asked Sofia as he took another bite.

“Yes, as soon as I have things cleaned up here, I’m going to head over. Wilhelm helped me load the cart.”

“Do you mind if I come with you? I wanted to do some laundry but also, I was wondering if they keep more sheets there?” Simon asked.

“We can pick up additional sheets, that’s no problem.”

“I was hoping they’d have some of the ones that are softer than mine?” Simon tried to sound confident in what he was saying, knowing he was making it obvious that he wanted them with the intention that Wille would be in his bed. It shouldn’t surprise them, but he still wasn’t used to it.

“Oh, I believe they have those made special for him. But, they’ll be around to collect my food order in a bit. I’ll ask that an extra set of sheets and pillowcases be brought by.” She reached for the list and made an additional note at the bottom. Linda watched as he smiled, satisfied with the easy resolution.

“Ah, Wilhelm.” Kristina smiled at Wille as he walked into her sitting room and took his usual seat.

“Mamma.” He greeted her quickly, knowing that anything additional would give her more to parse, and without knowing her intentions that didn’t seem smart. Erik walked in and kissed his mother on the cheek before acknowledging Wille and taking a seat.

“Alright, I suppose we’ll get started. Wilhelm, I’ve asked that you start to attend our weekly planning meetings as we get you more involved in the community planning and – “

“What makes you think I’d want to be more involved?” Wille asked.

“Well, now that you - well, you seem to be in a better place, seems only appropriate that you would take a more active role. It’s expected and our people will appreciate it.” Kristina said, confused by his response and Erik lowered his eyes, having expected Wille to push back.

“They will appreciate it, or you will appreciate it?” Wille asked.

“I will admit, the response to your pairing has been a big morale boost to the community. People have enjoyed seeing you with Simon and the Eriksson’s have made an impression. We have so many people who recall seeing how powerful your father and I were together, this has been a pleasant reminder of what leadership should look like.” Kristina finished, and let her eyes rest on Wille’s, sensing his reservation before turning her head to Erik and looking at him, confused. Wille saw their exchange and didn’t know what to make of it but appreciated the break in the lecture.

“You’re assuming that Simon will want to be involved, and I don’t think that’s the case.”

“What do you mean? All I’ve heard is how he’s been helping in so many different areas. I’ll admit, I think it blurs the lines a bit and I think we can better use his influence in other places, but for now, I think it can work in our favor. People find him very relatable.” Wille felt himself close to lashing out, knowing that Erik hadn’t made his position clear on involving Simon, “Especially if Erik and I are to be away, it will be important that you are actively involved.”

“Away?” Wille asked, confused.

“Well, yes, now that you and Simon are settled, we will need to start the search for Erik.” Kristina looked at Erik who seemed uncomfortable and Wille looked between them both.

“You can’t be serious.” Wille waited for either of them to agree and when they didn’t, he continued, “We traveled all over looking for my match and we didn’t find him because we weren’t supposed to.”

“It may be easier,” Erik paused to clear his throat, “The search for a Sentinel may not be as challenging.” Wille’s eyes went wide and he leaned back in his seat, smiling.

“Oh, you think it was me. You don’t think it’s hard to find your perfect match, you think that I was hard to find a perfect match for.” Wille took a breath, knowing that a few months ago that would have wounded him. He would have yelled at both of them and stormed out, devastated that they didn’t understand him, but it felt different now. He still felt the same waves of anger and frustration, but it seemed to matter less. They seemed to matter less, “Well, best wishes on your search. But, something to consider, a lot of the time I don’t want to live in your community, so I’m certainly not going to run it for you while you’re wasting your time out there.” Kristina let out an exasperated exhale and Erik tensed as Wille called for tea.

“So, you two are…” Sofia cut her eyes to Simon and waited for him to respond. They each had a hand on the cart and were pushing it down the road to the laundry that was on the edge of town, “I don’t know, do you even say together when it comes to Sentinels and Guides?”

“You know I don’t know,” Simon said, smiling at her, “I think we’ve been together since the first time we shared space, but if you’re asking if our bond is romantic or platonic, it’s romantic.”

“What does that mean?” She asked.

“No idea,” they both laughed, “I don’t think it changes anything. We’ve both known our lives would share a path.”

“Well, I’m happy for you two. I will say that it’s creating additional work, we had to make the apple turnover filling twice because it didn’t have enough flavor. I should have put together that it was your favorite.” Simon lifted his hand and covered his face to hide his embarrassment.

“Sorry, and then I asked you about the sheets, we’re both annoying.” He looked at her apologetically and she shook her head.

“No, it’s nice.” Her eyes moved to the path as she nodded, “It should be like that, extra cinnamon and softer sheets.” They shared a smile and pulled the cart to a stop outside the laundry.  Sofia put the fruit basket under her arm and then pulled a laundry bag with their kitchen towels and tablecloths inside. Simon grabbed the remaining three bags and threw them over his shoulder.

When they walked in there were a few other people from the town who had already started their laundry. They found four large basins that were empty and filled them with water then lit a fire to heat the water. The large room started to fill as more people came in, each of them greeting Simon and Sofia with a polite wave.

Sofia had filled Simon in on the extra fruit they had so while he sorted the clothes into the heated water, she walked through the room passing out snacks as people washed their clothes. There were still so many people that Simon hadn’t met so it was a nice time to get to know his new neighbors and Sofia had a chance to introduce him to some of the Farthington house employees that had come by as well.

After a couple of hours, they had completed their washing and loaded the wagon with their folded items that would be put on their clothing line at the house. When they returned home Simon brought out the clothespins and mentioned a note he’d seen from Linda to let him know that she had left to go meet about the flowers and she’d be back later for dinner.

They worked well together as they hung their freshly laundered items, a bit tired, and ready for a break as they started to go inside. Simon paused as he folded the last laundry bag and looked up the path to see two people with a cart approaching the house.

“Oh, that’s Meg and Birgitta, they work at the house, they must have our groceries and the sheets.” She elbowed Simon teasingly about the sheets but Simon didn’t look at her. His eyes were still on the two women who moved closer, “Simon?”

“Good morning, Sofia.” One of the women said as she pulled her small cart to a stop in front of their house. Her tone seemed even, but she didn’t seem excited and Simon couldn’t exactly place it but he felt nervous energy from both of them.

“Hey, Meg, Birgitta, I don’t know if you all have met Simon yet.” She motioned in his direction and they smiled at him. He knew that they were expecting a response but for some reason, he didn’t want to make them feel welcome at his home.

“Did you all need something?” He asked and felt Sofia look at him with her brows raised, it was rare that he was cold.

“We brought the items requested.” Meg lifted a basket of food and held it out to Sofia, but Simon took it instead. After she had handed off the basket, she lifted a wrapped package that Simon assumed was the sheets and he took those as well.

“Thank you,” Simon said, and it was coated in dismissal much more than gratitude. He turned and climbed the stairs, placing the items just inside the back door, and waited for Sofia to join him. She felt confused but didn’t want to keep him waiting so she waved goodbye to her old friends and turned.  

“Sofia, can we talk to you for a minute?” Birgitta asked, and for the first time, Simon realized she was holding a letter in her hand. He pulled the door closed behind him and climbed back down to stand next to her, “Oh, Mr. Eriksson, we won’t take up any of your time.”  

“Sofia and I were just about to prepare lunch, so it would be our time.” They’d moved into a standoff, Sofia wanted to tell Simon that he didn’t need to worry, but she realized the girls seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her. Once they realized that he wasn’t going anywhere Birgitta almost seemed a bit defeated as she handed the letter to Sofia. She saw the Farthington seal and pulled it open, reading it quickly before handing it to Simon.

“She wants to see me now?”

“Who is Elin?” Simon asked Sofia.

“She’s the house manager for Farthington house.” Sofia folded the letter and placed it in her pocket.

“Yes, she requested now,” Meg responded. Simon reached out, gripping Sofia’s elbow and pulling her over to the side to give them space to talk, putting Sofia’s back to Birgitta and Meg so that he could still see them.

“You don’t have to go talk to anyone. When Wille gets here we’ll ask him to find out what this is about.”

“I don’t think it could be anything bad. I spoke with her last week and she just asked how things were going. I told her how much I was enjoying it and that we were all getting on well. She had asked me about you and Wilhelm’s relationship but I told her I wouldn’t feel comfortable talking about it,” when she saw his face change, she continued, “I can just go and see what she needs.” Sofia glanced back at Meg and Birgitta who seemed to be engaged in their own tense conversation.

“You’re sure?” Simon asked and Sofia nodded. He looked around, trying to think quickly and not wanting to tell Sofia what to do, but knowing that something didn’t feel right. He nodded at her and then walked back over to the two girls waiting and motioned down the path that would lead them to Farthington, “After you two.” They looked at him, a mixture of surprise and confusion before looking at Sofia.

“It’s only Sofia that’s been requested,” Meg said quickly.

“Sofia is currently working in my house, so I think that any conversation that will be had with her should include me as well.” He said and his tone made it clear he wouldn’t be giving in. Somewhat frustrated, Meg and Birgitta turned to lead them to Farthington House.

Simon and Sofia were led to a room down a hall that Simon had not been in. He retraced their steps as they walked, wanting to make sure that he could easily get them back to a familiar place in the home. Without saying anything, Meg and Birgitta left and Sofia knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Sofia pushed the door and Simon saw a woman seated at a desk who looked up with a stern face that shifted to surprise as she saw Simon was with her.

“You wanted to see me, Elin?” Sofia saw Elin’s eyes lingering on Simon and started speaking quickly, “Oh, this is Simon, or um Mr. Eriksson.” Elin stood and extended her hand to shake it, Simon took it, only because it was polite.

“Yes, Mr. Eriksson, it is a pleasure to meet with you, if you wouldn’t mind, I was hoping to speak with Sofia.”

“I do mind.” He said and felt the energy shift in the room.

“It doesn’t concern you; you’ll receive additional communication later,” Elin mentioned, clearly trying to sound as casual as possible as she returned to her seat, and Simon lowered into the chair across from her.

“Well, I suppose it will save you the effort to just tell me now,” Simon said confidently and Sofia looked between them before sitting slowly in the available seat next to Simon. Elin leaned back in her chair, and let out an exhale before she turned her attention to Sofia.

“Sofia, is it true that earlier today you distributed food to members of the Farthington community that had been received on behalf of the Farthington family?” Elin lifted her chin slightly as she waited for the answer and Sofia had a confused face. Simon placed his hand on hers in her lap.

“On behalf of the Farthington family?” Simon asked.

“The food that is delivered to your home is from the items allotted for the Farthington family. We have very strict guidelines on what each home receives.” Elin returned her eyes to Sofia, “Did you distribute food to people today at the laundry?”

“Yes, but it was just extra that we had left over from cooking this morning. We weren’t going to be able to use it and it would have gone bad.” Sofia was speaking quickly and Simon flinched, frustrated that she’d so easily admitted it, but still trying to avoid telling her what to do.

“You know that by doing that you have broken a rule, not only for the community but in your position and as a part of your program through Farthington house.”

“I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I – “

“You will be removed from your position and asked to leave Farthington, effective immediately.” Elin slid a sheet of paper across the desk and placed it in front of Sofia as she and Simon exchanged shocked faces.

“You can’t be serious,” Simon said.

“Mr. Eriksson, I understand you are new to our community but our guidelines are binding and we have a strict zero-tolerance policy. We have no choice but to maintain the integrity of the community. This is not personal; this is a liability that we cannot overlook.”  

“I’d like to speak to Lady Farthington,” Simon said.

“I cannot interrupt Lady Farthington to speak on staff matters,” Elin said dismissively and Simon turned as he heard Sofia starting to cry. Simon stood, pulling Sofia to her feet and pulling her to the door, “Mr. Eriksson, Sofia will need to leave immediately, you will be assigned a new staff member this afternoon.” Simon looked at her confused, not understanding how she could so easily fire someone without any conversation or consideration for what had taken place. He tugged at Sofia’s arm and pulled her out of the office and started to walk down the hall.

“I wasn’t thinking. I knew it was a rule. But when he said -” Sofia said softly and Simon turned to look at her, pausing his quick stride.

“There’s no way that you are agreeing with this, and who said what?” he asked and Sofia shook her head, sniffing and wiping her eye.

“It’s nothing. I’m just sorry you’re going to have to start over with someone else.”

“I am not!” Simon turned a corner, “We’re going to handle this.”

Wille walked into the Eriksson house and found it surprisingly quiet. This time of day Sofia would normally be in the kitchen preparing their mid-day meal or doing chores and he knew the house was empty since he could only hear the wind coming through the window he’d left open earlier. He knew that they planned on making an easy pasta salad so he figured he’d get things prepared for when Sofia returned. When he looked over at the back door, he saw a package on the ground and a basket of food. He knew from previous weeks that this would be the weekly delivery from the house and quickly recognized some of the ingredients that he and Sofia had discussed. When he bent to pick it up, he saw his name on the wrapped package next to it and left the basket in its place, and instead, picked up the package wrapped in paper.

He ripped into it to find the same sheets that would be placed on his bed at home and his mouth fell open recalling the conversation that he and Simon had earlier that day. He smiled as he placed them on the kitchen table before returning to collect the basket by the door. He had pulled out the zucchini when he heard a knock at the front door and walked over to open it.

“Oh, um – “ the man who was looking at Wille seemed surprised to see him and looked back at the other person who he was with.

“Can I help you with something?”

“We’re here to collect the belongings for the young lady who used to work here.” He said, and Wille could tell there was supposed to be more confidence in his statement.

“What do you mean used to work here, are you talking about Sofia?” Wille asked.

“Yes, she’s been dismissed.”

“No, she hasn’t,” Wille said taking a step forward and causing the man to take a step back. He handed Wille a sheet of paper and Wille read it quickly.

“Oh, shit…” He shoved the paper into his pocket and took off in a run toward Farthington house, pausing to turn back, “If either of you set foot in the house and touch anything I’ll make sure you’re both dismissed.” The men looked at each other, confused and conflicted. The last thing that Wille saw was the man he’d been speaking to step back onto the main path.

Simon stopped in front of the door he knew was Kristina’s sitting room and straightened his top before speaking to the attendant outside, “I need to speak to Lady Farthington.”  

“I – I’m so sorry Mr. Eriksson, I can’t interrupt Lady Farthington, she’s in the middle of a meeting with Mr. Horn.”

“It’s really important that I speak with her now,” Simon said and lifted his hand to knock on the door before turning the knob and walking in. Kristina and August looked up at him, surprised, and the attendant quickly apologized before Kristina dismissed them.

“Mr. Eriksson, is everything ok? Is Wilhelm –“

“Wille is fine. I’m here to speak about my sta – Sofia, they’re trying to remove Sofia from Farthington for giving cherries to people at the laundry.” For the first time, Simon didn’t bother trying to avoid Kristina’s assessment of what he was saying or how he was feeling. He was fine with her knowing how frustrated he was and that he wouldn’t bend.

“Is this true? Did you hand out food to community members?” Kristina asked, looking at Sofia who had moved into the room but was still hovering near the door.

“That’s neither here nor there!” Simon said, raising his voice and taking a step to move in front of Sofia.

“Well of course it is. We’re not allowed to provide additional food to anyone. So now we have people who enjoyed something that they would not have had without her involvement and people who have not. How can we create an environment where everything is equal if it is not?” August said, shaking his head and smiling, clearly surprised at Simon’s confusion.

“There’s no way you’re saying that to me while sitting in the largest house in the community and enjoying tea that I’m sure you only have under this roof.” Simon narrowed his eyes and dared August to respond.

“We have rules and she broke one!” was the most August could come up with and Simon stepped toward him.

“The rule is ridiculous and she didn’t do it with any ill intention. She thought she was doing something nice, " Simon looked back at Sofia, "Maybe I did it too. We both handed the fruit out.” Simon crossed his arms and Kristina smirked before leaning back in her seat.

“You don’t lie well, Mr. Eriksson, which is a good thing and I can appreciate that, but it doesn’t change that she has broken a rule,” she looked around Simon, addressing Sofia again, “You understand, I’m sure.”

“If she goes, I go.”

“That’s not happening,” Wille said, catching his breath as he pushed into the room and came to a stop next to Simon, “It was me, I – “

“Oh, you also handed out fruit with Sofia?” Kristina said with a laugh.

“No, it was my idea, I’m the one who told her to do it.” He turned to look at Sofia, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think.” When Wille turned to look at Simon, he saw anger and frustration on his face and it was a far cry from the smiles they’d had in bed that morning.

“I don’t see how it matters if you told her to do it. She still knew it was wrong.” August said and Simon and Wille both turned to glare at him.

“Enough!” Kristina said, putting her hands up, “If Sofia was asked by Wilhelm to distribute the items, I can see how she would have overlooked guidelines to fulfill his request. We will, in this case, allow her to remain in her position and in Farthington. Wilhelm, you will issue an apology for your lapse in judgment.” August looked at her, surprised, and placed his tea on the table.

“Lady Farthington I’m afraid if we start to make exceptions we –“ Kristina raised her hand to silence him and looked at Simon.

“Mr. Eriksson you must understand that we have these rules to keep order in the community. We can’t have some members of the community receiving special treatment.”

Simon’s eyes scanned the decadently decorated room before he looked down at his tunic that matched Wille’s and then back to Kristina, “Are we done here?”

“I’ll send word to Elin that we will not be making any staff changes.” Kristina gave a nod to Simon and he turned and walked out of the room with Sofia and Wille at his heels. After they had rounded the corner Simon turned to face Wille.

“What were you thinking?” He asked, almost seeming hurt by his own question.

“I wasn’t. I forgot. Sofia I am so sorry, I know how important the rule is.” Wille waited for her to give a small nod and looked back at Simon.

“That’s how things operate here? One mistake, if you can even call it that, and she’s kicked out of the only home she’s had for the last year?” Simon lowered his voice as he finished before he looked around, not trusting the people in the house, knowing it must have been someone from the house who had been in the laundry earlier who reported the indiscretion.

“It’s only to make sure that – “ Wille started, but stopped as he saw the shock on Simon’s face.

“You’re defending it?”

“No, I’m not defending it, I’m just trying to explain why the rules are in place. It’s for everyone.” Wille saw Simon’s head shake, confused by Wille’s explanation.

“It’s not for me. Sofia, come on.” Simon held out his arm and Sofia walked to him, giving Wille an apologetic glance as they walked quickly out of the house.

Simon sat on the top stair on their front stoop and looked down the path that he and Sofia had walked earlier to Farthington House and leaned back. They’d finished dinner twenty minutes ago and still no sign of Wille. He heard the door open behind him and glanced over as Sofia took a seat next to him.

“Thank you, for earlier.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Simon said, shaking his head, “I know they treat me differently because I’m Wilhelm Farthington’s match, but the reality is that we all left our communities with no place to go. We’re no different and you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I should have told him that it was against the rules. I did know. I shouldn’t have done it.”

“At most, you should have just told him or me to be the ones who did it, but I don’t care what anyone says, the rule is dumb. I feel like going door to door with the basket that arrived today and handing all of it out.” Simon said dragging his foot on the step under him and Sofia smiled and shook her head.

“You’re going to get both of us kicked out of here aren’t you?”

“Probably,” Simon said, pressing his shoulder to hers, “But not today.” He glanced at the path again and Sofia followed his eyes.

“It’s not like him to miss dinner.” She watched as Simon looked down at his feet, “He was just trying to do something nice; you know.”

“I know that. But, he was also raised in a community that villainizes a kind gesture, so it was reckless to suggest it.”

“Hmmm, I can’t imagine why he would suddenly be seeing things a bit differently.” She smiled and looked at Simon who cracked a smile as well.

“Cinnamon and sheets?”  

She nodded, “Which by the way, I just put on your bed, so don’t make me have done that for nothing.” Sofia stood and extended her hand, helping Simon to his feet. He nodded at her before he stepped down, and walked quickly toward Farthington house.

Wille sat in the gazebo and looked at the trees, he watched the squirrels chasing each other and realized how late it was getting. He stood, knowing he should be getting back, and walked towards the small staircase on the gazebo. He paused as he heard feet on grass and knew it was Simon, waiting until the last moment to face him, afraid he’d have the same frustration he had earlier.

“Were you going to come back home or go back to Farthington house?” Simon asked, standing just outside the gazebo. Wille stepped back and lowered into the seat he was previously in.

“I wanted to go home.”

“I’m allowed to be frustrated with you.” Simon stepped up on the gazebo as Wille watched him, “I don’t even think I knew that. I have this constant feeling of wanting to make sure you’re safe and happy and cared for. But today I was frustrated with you.”

“Should I be concerned that you seem pleased by that?” Wille asked and Simon smirked at him before sitting down next to him.

“I wouldn’t want either of us to not be able to have differing opinions or to be able to disagree because of our bond. I’m not happy I was frustrated with you, but I am glad that we’re still able to have individual thoughts. That being said, it upset me earlier to hear you trying to explain something that felt so obviously wrong to me.” Simon paused, wanting Wille to feel comfortable communicating how he was feeling.

“When I was younger, I think I was around 8, that rule didn’t exist. There was a community garden, but some people had chosen to have their gardens separately from the one we all shared. That year, the harvest was bad. We weren’t starving by any means, but everyone had less than they’d had previously. Everyone except the people who had their gardens at home.” Wille took a breath before continuing, “Families were sharing with other people at their discretion and suddenly there were jealousies that we hadn’t experienced before. They blamed my parents for allowing some people to have more than others when it was supposed to be about community, equality, and shared responsibility. It was the first time they’d felt pressure from our people.”

“So, they made the rule?” Simon asked.

“Right. They felt like the rule would get us back to the original mentality that Farthington was built on.” Simon started to speak and Wille nodded, causing Simon to stop, “I know what you’re going to say. It’s an odd rule to have when my family lives the way that they do. But, in the original plan, Farthington was to be run by a Sentinel and Guide and the payment for that service was to have what they have now.”

“What we have now,” Simon said, lowering his eyes and Wille nodded. They sat in silence, Wille’s eyes returning to the squirrels that he knew Simon could no longer see with the sun almost completely gone and Simon pulled at a loose string on his tunic.

“You meant what you said earlier. When you said that if Sofia had to leave, you would go too. Mamma wouldn’t have responded the way she did if she wasn’t 100% sure that you were going to leave,” Wille said, looking at Simon.

“I’m sorry I said that,” Simon said, reaching for Wille’s hand and pausing in case Wille didn’t want him to take it. When Wille didn’t pull away Simon laced their fingers together, “Yes,” Simon nodded and turned his body, curling his leg so that he was facing Wille but keeping their hands together, “If they had made her leave, I would have wanted to leave too, but I wouldn’t have left without you,” Simon caught Wille’s eyes to make sure he was making his point clear, “I should have talked to you first. I just didn’t know what else to do. I need you to know that any plan for me includes you now.”

“I know a bit about getting upset and making rash decisions,” Wille said, smiling for the first time. Simon leaned in, letting Wille’s hand drop as he wrapped his arms around his waist and relaxed against him, “If we get to a point when you can’t be here anymore, we’ll go.” He felt Simon nod, his nose brushing against his neck. He let his hand slide the length of Simon’s back like Simon had done for him so many times before, “You already know that at some point we’ll have to go, don’t you?”

Simon pulled back, looking up at Wille and searching his eyes, trying to decide how he’d receive what he was about to confirm. He could feel love and understanding so he nodded before leaning back into him and feeling Wille’s head rest against his.

Chapter Text

“How long are the dinners normally?” Simon asked.

Simon and Wille clasped hands as they walked down the path that would lead them to the field behind Farthington house. Once a month their community would have dinner together. Attendance was not optional and it would be noticed if you were not in attendance. Linda and Sofia walked in front of them, none of them looking overly excited to have dinner outside of the controlled environment they’d gotten used to.

“Couple of hours. We really don’t have to stay for the entire thing. They’ll put out the food, we’ll eat and then while everyone is talking, we can leave.” Wille said. His eyes lingered on the tables that he could see in the field and he was anticipating Simon dropping his hand once there were more eyes on them.

There was a lot of conversation in the community on what the nature of their relationship was. While they had seen Kristina and Ludvig, they also had heard stories of Boris and his Guide so they knew that the two of them may not end up as romantic partners. While Simon was still getting acclimated to the community and as they were coming to the realization that their future may not be in Farthington, it just seemed easier to avoid attracting any additional attention.  

As they approached the field, they saw Sara and Felice talking near one of the tables and Simon slid his fingers from Wille’s to return her wave to get their attention. They both glanced at each other, silently acknowledging the impact of their loss of contact

“Four courses to go,” Simon said to Wille, waiting for him to take a breath and nod before letting his pinky slide against his and walking toward his sister as Wille walked to the table where his mother, brother, and August were seated.

Kristina looked up from her seat at Wille and then over to the table where she saw Simon settling into a seat between his mother and Felice, “Isn’t Simon joining us at our table?”.

“No, Mamma. He’d prefer to sit with his mother and sister.” At Wille’s announcement that Simon wouldn’t be joining them, August shifted over, creating an open seat between him and Erik. Wille took the newly empty seat and the attendant for their table switched out the chilled water for room temperature. Kristina raised her hand and pointed to the seat that was still open next to August and the chair was removed. She leaned forward, glancing around before she spoke.

“Is everything ok between the two of you?”

“Yes, everything is fine.”

“Then I don’t understand why he wouldn’t want to join us at our table. Is this still about the small misunderstanding with the girl?” Kristina asked, confused and Erik shifted, clearly uncomfortable being in the middle as August tried to pretend he wasn’t listening. Wille laughed as he took a sip of his water and Kristina and Erik looked at him, confused, “May I ask what has you so amused?”

“You and the fact that you can’t imagine what it’s like for a son to want to spend time with their mother or sibling and her name is Sofia. She has been a real comfort to Simon and his family since they come from neighboring communities.” Wille looked over and immediately caught Simon’s eye as they shared a smile before Simon returned to the conversation he appeared to be having with Linda.

“Well, that’s exactly why I assigned her to their house, so I’m glad to hear it,” Kristina said with a smug grin before sipping her drink, “But, Wilhelm, I made it clear to you that Erik and I will be leaving in a couple of days, I think it’s important that the community sees strength coming from us at this time.” Kristina’s tone was getting more pointed and she was clearly losing patience.

“Who is us?” Wille asked, effectively ending their conversation as someone approached their table to say hello to their family.

“What’s the deal with you and August?” Simon asked Felice. He had glanced at the head table and seen August eyeing their table. When he followed his line of vision, he expected it to be on Sara, but instead, he saw him closely watching Felice.

“No deal. A few months ago, he showed some interest, which I ignored. He barely knows me, he just likes that my parents have a lot of influence in the community.” Felice cut into the food on her plate and took a bite.  

“He’s hard for me to get a read on,” Simon mentioned quietly, wanting to make sure that Sara didn’t overhear their conversation.

“Probably because he’s always putting on a show. Rumor was that he was looking for a strong match to impress Lady Farthington because that would put him in position right behind Erik. It’s so foolish though, he’d never be allowed any real position of power.” Felice felt Simon turn to look at her.

“Why?”

“The Bylaws and August isn’t gifted.” She offered and Simon’s only concern had been August’s interest in Felice because Sara was so obviously interested in him so he easily accepted her response and moved on, “It’s always been obvious that August resented Wille for not enjoying his gift.”

“I’m sure, which helps to explain why he shouldn’t have one.”

 “People used to think that Lady Farthington would eventually send Wille away based on the way she would react to his behavior at town events.”

“Why would they think she would send him away?” Simon asked and then heard Sofia laughing with Linda next to her and awkwardly took a bite of food. Felice saw the realization and wished she hadn’t said anything.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t now, and it’s good that she didn’t, since you were able to find him.”

“I always would have found him." Simon said, looking at Felice, "and the truth is that sometimes being somewhere you’re not wanted is worse than someone asking you to leave.” Felice watched him as she digested what he said and Simon looked at Wille again who smiled at him.

Wille thanked the attendant who placed the simple dessert in front of him with a smile. He saw that Erik, Kristina, and August had much more decadent items in front of them and he felt his leg start to bounce as he felt like each course had been slowing down as he waited to go back home.

“Just to give you a heads-up, Mamma is going to ask August to keep an eye on things while we’re away since you didn’t want to,” Erik said, lowering his chin so that only Wille could hear him.

“Fine with me.” Wille slid his fork into the cake and pushed it across the plate. He watched as his brother rolled his eyes, he hadn’t yet touched his dessert, “What?”

“You have no idea how lucky you are,” Erik asked.

“Lucky?”

“Your situation is settled.” Erik kept his volume low but his frustration was more obvious. Kristina stood to make rounds of greeting the different tables and Erik gave her a tight smile as she left the table.

“What does that have to do with anything? Is this because you don’t want to go searching with Mamma? Because you don’t have to, I keep trying to tell you that it won’t work.”  

“Don’t be such a child.” Erik set his fork down, the entire pretense of eating his dessert gone and Wille tensed as he looked at his brother before glancing at Simon who was at attention and letting him know with a small hand motion that he was fine, “You know that I can’t just wait. You know what they expect. They’ve let Mamma continue based on the technicality that her Sentinel died; they won’t be patient forever.”

“They don’t want Mamma to continue to rule without her match?” Wille asked.

“Right.” Erik said, taking a drink of water before turning to Wille, “It’s more than that though. The thought process now is that they shouldn't have to wait for me to find mine when you have yours.” Wille’s eyes went wide as he understood.

“That’s why Mamma has pushed up the search?”

“Yes.” Erik’s eyes lifted above his head and Wille looked behind him to find Simon standing. He reached out his hand and placed it as platonically as possible on his shoulder and Wille had to stop himself from resting his on top of it.

“Dessert was, well, dessert,” Simon said, smiling, “But, I may have tricked Sofia into telling me that there’s strawberry shortcake back at the house. Are you ready to go?” He was clearly giving his partner an out and Wille knew if he didn’t take it, he could say things he hadn’t properly thought through.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Wille stood and looked at Erik who had lowered his eyes and appeared to have put a mask back on as he started to eat, “Tell mamma I’ll come around to say goodbye before you all leave.”

“So that must be what Felice meant about the bylaws.” Simon and Wille were back in the Eriksson house in Wille’s bed later that evening and he’d finally been able to share what Erik had said at dinner, “How do you feel?”

Wille turned, looking up at the ceiling from his back, and shook his head, “Like I know Erik isn’t going to find his Sentinel out there, and the more time that goes by the more they’re going to try to pressure mamma who is going to try to pressure us.” Simon nodded to himself, reaching out his hand to rest on Wille’s bare chest before tracing shapes as they sat in silence.

“You know, if that’s what you wanted, to run the community. I would do it.” Simon curled his fingers and Wille lifted to his elbow and looked down at Simon.

“My mother was right; you don’t lie well,” Wille said and they both started to laugh as they curled into each other, and as he laid back down, facing Simon again, “No, we both know it wouldn’t work.”

“We don’t have to figure anything out tonight.”

Wille nodded in agreement before he reached out, sliding his fingers through Simon’s curls and pulling him in for a kiss. It didn't matter how many kisses they had shared since their first one, each one felt just as perfect, and like the smallest reminder of how well they fit together. At this moment, Wille realized one of the most important parts of their bond. The walls were closing in, and everything seemed more confusing than it had when the day started, but when it came to Simon, there was no question, everything made sense.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Wilhelm, how have you been?” Boris greeted Wille warmly as he walked into his office.

“I’ve been well, how have you been?” Wille asked as he settled into his normal seat on the couch.

“Things have been quiet without you around. I was glad to see that you had asked to sit down, but happy that you hadn’t needed to check in before now. It seems like things have been agreeable.” Boris poured tea into a small cup for Wille and leaned back again.

“I remember all the stories that you told me, about you and Giacomo, but I’m not sure I was paying attention to how you felt.” Wille took a sip of his tea.

“How do you feel?”

“Kind of crazy, actually?” Wille said with a grin, “I would start a war between communities for him. After I found out that apples were his favorite fruit, I asked Mamma to plant two additional rows in the community gardens. I can’t think of much I wouldn’t want to do just to make sure he was happy.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Boris asked and Wille looked up at the ceiling as he considered the question, “I know what you mean, it’s a jarring realization to have this person that you do anything for. Especially when months ago, you didn’t even know their name, but my question to you would be, how would Simon feel about you starting a war?”

“He would hate it,” Wille answered quickly and Boris smiled.

“A perfect match doesn’t mean that you love all the same things or that you have all the same thoughts. It means that you balance each other. You will challenge each other. There were times when Giacomo and his constant consideration drove me crazy. The trust I had to have in him and his feelings tested us often, but together everything made more sense.” Boris paused as he remembered his match and Wille sat quietly. This had happened so many times before and now more than ever Wille understood how important it must be to be able to have these memories. After a minute, he continued, “How is he doing?”

Wille recounted the last few days for Boris, including what had happened with Sofia and at the community dinner, “I need you to tell me what my mother has planned.” Wille placed his teacup on the table and faced him, “The day Simon arrived, she asked you if you understood. Now I’d like to understand too.” Boris let out a chuckle.

“My goodness, I’m not sure she would have wanted you bonded so badly if she knew how much more aware it would have made you,” He looked at Wille who didn’t crack a smile and continued to wait, “Alright. Well, your brother has filled you in on the important part. The expectation for Farthington has always been that it would be run by a Sentinel and a Guide. Together they would be able to best support the needs of the community. There is no disagreeing that the Farthington family started this community and the importance they’ve been allowed to have, but your mother can only blame the founding fathers for the dilemma she’s facing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when Farthington was created there were a lot of Sentinel and Guide pairs. The original Lord and Lady Farthington had 6 children, each of them gifted and each of them found their match. They had no reason to think that as years went by, there would be fewer and fewer perfect matches. Lord Farthington, like Simon, was one of two children and he was the only one with a gift because his parents were not a perfect match. Your aunt, August’s mother did not have a gift. When Lord Farthington passed, the committee rewrote the bylaws because this was the first time one of the leaders had passed before their children could take over. They allowed her 8 years before one of her children would need to move into the leadership position, with a perfect match, or they would locate a new Sentinel Guide pair.”

“8 years, so you’re saying – “

“She has one year left.”

“So, if Simon isn’t happy here -  if he were to leave, that would mean that she would be back at square one.” Wille shook his head, “All this time it was positioned that they wanted me to be more settled. They said they didn’t want me to have to deal with the anxiety and that they wanted me to have someone who could better comfort me, what they really wanted was to retain their place in this house.”

“Wilhelm.”

“WHAT?” It had been a long time since Wille had felt anger like this and when he saw Boris didn’t react, he felt ashamed. Boris had seen him at his lowest and he didn’t want to go back to that. He also recalled at dinner, when he had felt anger toward his brother and Simon had immediately felt it too, “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I probably should have told you before, but –“

“But before Simon, I may have really lost it,” Wille said so that Boris wouldn’t have to. He didn’t like remembering all the times he’d lashed out at his family or Boris who was just trying to help him. He always regretted it afterward, but it was always too late to stop the reaction he’d already had.

“What does he say about all this?”

“He knows we’re not supposed to be here.” Wille paused, realizing that was the first time he’d said that to anyone, “But, he doesn’t want to leave without a plan since he has his mother and sister to consider.”

“They’d want to leave too?”

“It feels like his sister, Sara, likes it here. She is acclimating well and fitting in. I’m not sure that Linda wants to be here, but I think she just wants her children to be safe.”

“Well, you two have a lot to consider, but I would remind you about the balance we spoke about earlier. There is a reason the founders felt strongly about having a Sentinel and Guide at the helm. There is nothing stronger than the two of you together.” Boris said with confidence and the knowledge that he’d felt that kind of strength before.

“Explain to me again what they’re doing?” Simon said, turning his head to Felice. She smiled and elbowed him in the side. They were sitting on a blanket in the field with different community members and had been enjoying a quiet afternoon until August and Hugo had started what could only be considered, a disturbance.

“Arm wrestling.” She said, trying to keep from laughing.

“Right, but why?”

“I don’t think we’ll be arriving at a why. I think this is just a parading masculinity thing.”

August and Hugo were joking with each other while standing near a raised stump. The taunting had been going on for a while before Hugo gave in.  They were both laughing, but it was clear that they had moved past the joking portion of the conversation. They seemed to both want to win, especially with so many people watching. August was removing his outer tunic as Madison took a seat next to Felice and Simon on their blanket.

“What if I just declare both of them losers?” She asked as Felice offered her one of the cookies that Simon and her had been sharing and they all laughed together.

“What’s going on?” Sara sat down next to Simon and glanced between him and the two men upping the stakes, “Well, what we’re looking at is a dick-measuring contest.” Maddie offered as she started her second cookie.

“How was your ride?” Simon asked and Sara smiled excitedly.

“So good. Ever since Wilhelm told them I can ride whenever I want, they set aside my horse for me and nobody else rides her, even if they don’t officially say that, they never offer her to anyone else.” Sara was talking to Simon but her eyes were still on August. Simon wanted to be frustrated, but it had been so long since he’d seen her like this, it was hard not to be happy for her.

After a few seconds, he felt himself warm and then turned to see Wille approaching. He took a seat and while they normally would have kept a careful distance with so many people around, when Wille lowered to join their group on the blanket, Simon scooted back to rest his back against Wille’s chest and he rested his chin on Simon’s shoulder, “What am I looking at?” He received three different answers from Maddie, Felice, and Simon that all explained the scene taking place and after looking around the field quickly he pressed his lips to Simon’s neck before looking forward again.

“How was Boris?” Simon asked.

“Informative,” Wille said and looked at Simon when he turned to make eye contact with him. The glance confirmed that they would talk later and Simon rested against him again.

“Where is my wife? I think I need a good luck kiss before we get started!” Hugo joked as he looked at his wife who was playing with their young daughter a few blankets away. It would have been a sweet exchange if they hadn’t been watching him and August taunt each other for the last 10 minutes. His wife laughed before walking forward and giving him the good luck kiss he requested. August didn’t miss a beat before he wanted the same attention.

“Oh, come on, that’s not fair. Felice, you should take mercy and give me good luck too!” August moved toward their blanket to mixed reactions. Felice automatically shook her head, not only was she not interested, but she’d seen him with Sara for the last few weeks and would never have shown interest to someone her friend so obviously liked. Maddie’s face was nothing but disgusted at the mention of the request. Sara and Simon were shocked, both of them knowing that he’d made it seem as though he had feelings for Sara, only to publicly hope for Felice’s attention. Wille stood, causing Simon to put his hand down to regain his balance.

“Get on with it, or go home.” It was clear he was upset and the rest of the residents wouldn’t have known why. August put his hands up to try to lighten the mood and most people laughed, thinking that Wille was just standing between his best friend and his cousin. Sara lowered her eyes before standing.

“I’ll see you all back at home.” She was walking quickly and Simon stood as well before addressing Maddie.

"Buy me a few minutes.” He smiled at Wille before he took off after Sara, and Maddie was already at the tree stump saying that before the two of them competed, they should both have to win against her first.

“Sara!”

“Stop, you don’t have to say anything.” Sara came to a halt, Simon could see her lift her hand, wiping a tear away before he was able to catch up to her, “I know you didn’t like him. You saw him doing this, didn’t you?”

“Of course not, you know that’s not how this works.” Simon wrapped his arm around his sister’s shoulder and tightened it until she looked at him, “I’m not going to pretend that I saw you two ending up together, but you’re my sister. Your perfect match wouldn’t even be good enough for you in my eyes.”  

“But you didn’t like him.” There was a bite to her words, like she wanted a fight and he refused to give it to her.

“It doesn’t matter what I thought.” He smiled at her and she let more tears fall.

“I wanted him to like me. He’s smart and funny. I know how he comes off, you know, but when it’s just the two of us, it’s different.” Simon nodded at her as she tried to explain, “I get it now. He thought I might be gifted.” Simon tensed, trying so hard to hide his response.

“But you told him you weren’t?”

“Yeah, I mean, and Lady Farthington already knew that, so I thought she would have said something, but when I told him he seemed surprised, almost disappointed. I’m so fucking stupid.” Sara turned, leaning into her brother, and let her tears fall.

“Hey, there’s nothing stupid about caring for someone else,” Simon said as he wiped one of the tears sliding down her face.  

“It’s easy for you to say that, you have Wille and I’m just the bad offspring.”

“More than anything else, what I’ve learned since we got here is that there is someone.” Simon smiled at Sara as he slid his thumb across her cheek again, “I can’t say that it will be someone you’re in love with or someone that you love, but we’re all just out here looking for people who love us back. You and I are the lucky ones because you already know how much I love you.” Sara nodded and they hugged each other tight, having missed the closeness they had before they arrived at Farthington. “Now listen, we have to get back because there’s something I need you to see.”

When Sara and Simon returned to the field, they saw Wille and Felice holding Maddie back as August hovered near the stump looking uncomfortable.

“You’re a coward! A weak-ass coward! WHAT NOW?!” Maddie called out with her finger pointed at August, and Hugo couldn’t help but laugh, the majority of the audience a bit uncomfortable. When they got her back to the blanket Simon looked at Wille for explanation. Before Wille got a chance to speak Felice wrapped her arms around Sara.

“He’s horrible, or whatever is worse than horrible.” She pulled back and looked at Sara, “I don’t want anything to do with him, I promise and I’ve told him that over and over again.” She held her eyes on Sara’s until she nodded and they hugged again. Simon smiled, watching the exchange and Wille finally got Maddie seated on the blanket.

“Well, she was kicking his ass. She was just about to get his hand down when he decided it wasn’t fair that he would be tired before he arm wrestled Hugo.” Wille watched Maddie, almost expecting her to stand up again.

“That’s because he’s a fucking coward!” Maddie yelled and most of the crowd laughed.

Simon reached for Wille’s hand, wanting to return to the safe and protected position they had earlier and Wille gladly complied, “I have a feeling this is going to go in our favor.” Simon said, leaning back into Wille as August and Hugo moved back to the stump in the middle of the crowd.

Small children played around them, their little fists up in the air and caught up in the excitement while people were openly picking sides as the two of them gripped each other’s hands. It was difficult to keep track of the stakes, multiple days of greenhouse duty, and produce baskets until it was clear the loser would have a tough week ahead.

“Let’s go, Hugo!” Wille called out, and heads turned as the youngest Farthington rooted against his own family. Simon smiled as he saw Sara laugh at the obvious slight and fell in love with Wille all over again as he felt the Sentinel grip tighten at his waist.

Within a minute, August had seen his second public defeat, somewhere between Wille telling him he loved him and seeing his mother in a carefree state, August’s defeat was one of Simon’s favorite moments that he’d had since he arrived at Farthington.

“Blow it off,” Simon said, smiling up at Wille as he pulled away from kissing him on the top stair of their house. Wille laughed, wanting to do nothing more than go back upstairs to the comfort of their bedroom.

“You know what’s crazy?”

“Hmm?”

“All these years, every month people have come here wanting to join our community and I never cared. Mamma would ask me to come to application day, to provide input, to greet the people who would be living in these homes and I always ignored her,” Wille looked off as Simon looked up at him thoughtfully, his fingers laced at the back of Wille’s neck, “But now I think, this is someone who is going to be in the greenhouse with Simon, or planning a community dinner with Linda.”

“The real question is do I love you more or less as you start to embrace these duties?” Simon asked and they both laughed. Simon curled his fingers into his neck and Wille lifted his chin.

“What is it?”

Simon squinted his eyes as he thought before shaking his head, “I don’t know, something feels off. I just can’t decide if it’s remnants of what we know about what’s going on with your mom and the fact that they’re back, or if it’s something else.” Wille tried to read his face, “I don’t know.”

“It’s only a few hours, if you’re not helping with landscaping today, come over to Farthington house with me and I can meet you up in Erik’s room after we’re done,” Wille suggested and Simon nodded in response.

“You can just imagine me waiting in your bed when you finish.” Simon smiled suggestively up at Wille before they kissed again and started their walk toward Farthington House.

“Good morning, Wilhelm.” Kristina smiled at him and Wille couldn’t help but feel a bit guarded, “It’s so nice to have you here with us.” She patted the chair between her and Erik. Wille moved between them, taking a seat, and looked at Erik.

“How was the trip?”

“The people of Willowmere were very kind,” Erik replied and Wille accepted it. He understood Erik’s position. As much as he wanted a perfect match, he also wanted to lead Farthington, which is something that Wille would not easily understand. The familiar part was the crushing disappointment of traveling to a community only to find that this person who on paper was perfect for you, felt nothing for you.

“We will try again in a month.” Kristina smiled at her sons, both of them knowing her well enough to know it was ingenuine, “How many applicants today?” Kristina asked the committee.

“18 Lady Farthington.”

“Let us proceed.”

Simon turned the page in his book and took a breath, his heart was racing and he couldn’t figure out why. He climbed out of Wille’s bed and walked over to the window, pulling it open to take a deep breath, knowing that fresh air generally helped him to calm down. As he pulled his hand away from the window, he saw the soft shake in the fingers on his right hand and gripped it with his left, considering that he may need to return home.

He took a deep breath and smiled, surprised as he smelled the cove that was so far away, but still felt like home. He took another breath and closed the window, knowing that the next time Wille returned he wouldn’t want his window open.  Simon couldn’t seem to shake the anxious feeling and decided it was best that he wasn’t in Farthington house. He wrote a quick note to Wille, letting him know that he was going home, but as he pulled the bedroom door closed behind him, he knew he should be somewhere else.

In the main hall of Farthingon house, the doors opened and a man walked in unaccompanied. He was confident and the family and committee knew based on the list they had that he was not someone that was expected to arrive.

“Hello.” He greeted the committee before he turned and looked at the Farthington family, before Wille knew why, he was on his feet. Erik and Kristina gawked at him, both of them uneasy from the man and Wille’s response, “I’m so sorry to interrupt the events of the morning, but you see, I am here to collect my wife and children.”

Wille glared at the man in front of him and took a step forward before he felt Erik’s fingers dig into his arm to hold him in place. He flung his arm, easily besting Erik as he moved toward the uninvited man. The main doors to the room opened and only then did Wille come to a stop.

“Papa,” Simon said, just above a whisper. The man turned, and when he saw Simon, he smiled and nodded his head.

“It’s time to come home.”

Chapter Text

Wille walked past Micke to place himself between Simon and his father as the rest of the room watched.

“Oh.” Micke smiled as he looked between Simon and Wille, “Do you have something to tell me, son?” Wille’s eyes narrowed and he took a step back towards Micke.

“Don’t.” Simon reached out, gripping Wille’s wrist. Weeks ago, before Simon had arrived, Wille and Micke would have been much more evenly matched. Two unbonded Sentinels that were both quick to anger and with more strength than the average man. But Micke was cold and Wille would only fight to protect Simon while Micke had the desperate energy of a man who didn’t have anything to lose.

“I think that we’re getting off on the wrong foot,” Micke said to Wille before turning to address the committee, Kristina, and Erik, “As Simon mentioned, I am his father, leader of Dimwood Cove. I’ve come to escort my family back home.” He smiled, but Simon knew that Kristina and Erik would both be able to feel the tension and anger coming from him.

“They’re not going anywhere with you,” Wille said, moving forward again, feeling Simon’s fingers digging into his wrist, and the confidence in his voice made Micke stand up straight.

“Son, please tell your match that he is more than welcome to join us back in Dimwood,” Micke added with a shrug, still trying to do his best to appear calm.

“Don’t talk to him!” Wille yelled and the combination of Wille’s raised voice and refusal to cower made Micke’s façade shatter.

“I don’t know what you’ve learned growing up here behind your walls, boy, but you won’t tell me how to address my family. I’ll – “

“Mr. Eriksson, while you are behind my walls I will dictate how you will address my family.” Kristina moved to her feet and Erik stood behind her. As she stepped forward on her platform four attendants made themselves known as they stood behind Wille, “Now, it sounds like we have a lot to discuss, but you have interrupted a day that must continue. Nothing will be decided until we have fulfilled our obligation to our applicants.”

“There is nothing to discuss. My family and I will be on our way.” Micke said, his attempt at calm had returned once he realized he was outmatched.

“Please take Mr. Eriksson to the guest room on the 3^rd floor.” Kristina didn’t leave any room for discussion as the attendants closed in around him. Micke turned to face Simon again, his tone oscillating between attempts at calm and clear frustration.

“Simon, you get your mother and sister and prepare your things. You will return home, and you will guide Dimwood.” Micke didn’t look away from Simon and his son didn’t cower under his glares but Wille still moved to cut off his view. He was herded from the room and Kristina raised her chin.

“Please send in the next applicant.”

Simon looked at her, confused as the committee, Kristina and Erik returned to their previous formations and waited patiently for the next person to come in and plead their case. Wille wrapped his hand around the one Simon still had on his wrist and pulled him toward the door Simon had come through.

“Wilhelm, we’re not finished here,” Kristina called out and Wille ignored her, pulled Simon the rest of the way, and turned down the hall away from the dozens of people who were waiting to be seen. Once they were alone Wille stopped and looked at Simon who still seemed in shock. He lowered his shoulders to look into Simon’s eyes before reaching out and sliding his thumbs against his jawline.

“Are you ok?” Simon nodded in response to his question and Wille felt relieved, “I need you to tell me what we need to do now. Can you do that?”

“Mamma. We need to go find mamma.” Simon said as his breathing became more regular and some of the color returned to his face. Wille turned to look at the clock on the table near them.

“She’ll be back at the house. We’ll have someone get Sara from the stables on the way.” Wille slid his hand into Simon’s, curling their fingers together and squeezing them as he started to walk and Simon felt his mind racing.

“Mamma!” Simon called out as he pushed the front door of their home open harder than intended. As it landed against the wall Linda sat up at the kitchen table, shocked by their entrance.

“What is it?” She looked frantically between Wille and Simon, “Is it Sara?” Simon shook his head as he moved closer and Wille closed the door behind him as she moved to her feet.

“No, Papa, he’s here. He came to Farthington House, they have him there.” Simon was speaking quickly and Linda lowered back into her chair, overwhelmed by how quickly things had changed, Simon glanced at Wille who moved to the cabinet, pulling out a glass and filling it with water that Linda easily took.

“He’s at Farthington House now?” She asked after taking a sip.

“Yes, Lady Farthington had him put in the guest room,” Simon confirmed.

“Oh, that’s not a guest room,” Wille said, causing Linda and Simon to both turn to look at him, “I mean, it’s code. There’s no third floor in Farthington House. He’s in a cell in the basement.”

“Like in a dungeon?” Simon asked.

“I mean, I wouldn’t call it a dungeon. I haven’t been down there since I was a kid, Erik locked me in as a joke once, it was –“

“Boys, please,” Linda said, placing her cup on the table. Simon and Wille went quiet and Simon lowered into a seat. He saw Wille’s chin lift slightly the way it did when he heard something that he couldn’t see and Wille felt his glance.

“I think it’s Sara.”

The front door opened without warning and Sara came in, clearly still trying to catch her breath as she looked around the room, “They told me to come immediately.”

“I should give you all a few minutes,” Wille said, moving toward the front door and Simon looked between Linda and Sara. Linda gave him a small nod and Simon quickly caught up to Wille before he pulled the front door open.

“Wait,” Simon called out and Wille turned, concerned before he continued, “Any plan for me includes you now, remember?” Wille’s eyes closed as he gave Simon a tight nod and his shoulders relaxed just before Simon wrapped his arms around him.

“Can you all please tell me what’s going on?” Sara asked, growing impatient. Simon and Wille separated, moved to the table, and Sara joined them. They gave a full account of what had taken place and it was clear each of the Eriksson’s were unnerved by Micke’s arrival.

"He seemed untethered, he felt so much more out of sorts than he usually does," Simon said, looking at Linda. 

“Maybe I can talk to him. I can tell him that I’ll go back with him and you two can stay here.” Linda said and Simon shook his head immediately.

“Absolutely not.”

“It’s only Simon that he wants anyway,” Sara said, her eyes narrowed and Wille winced as he recognized how hurtful that statement must have been for Sara to say, but also for Linda to hear.

“Sara!” Simon scolded and Linda reached over, resting her hand on Simon’s silently asking him to avoid an argument even though it was clear what she said had hurt.

“It’s true. We all know the only thing he cares about is keeping his position and he doesn’t need either of us to do that. You both know that I’m right. There’s nothing to discuss. I can’t go back to living with someone who hates me. I won’t do it.” Sara scooted her chair back and stood.

“Sara, please sit down,” Linda asked in an even tone.

“Mamma, please,” Sara said and it was clear she was close to tears.  

“A few minutes and then we need to talk through this as a family,” Linda said, giving Sara’s hand a quick squeeze before Sara walked out the front door. Linda rested her elbows on the table and let her face rest against her hands as Simon rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.

Wille’s eyes landed on the closed door before looking at Simon who was watching him and gave him a soft smile of encouragement. Wille stood and leaned in, kissing Simon on his cheek before he followed Sara out.

“Do you mind?” Wille asked, motioning to the seat on the step next to her. She looked up at him and shrugged before looking forward again.

“Technically everything in the community is yours right, I don’t even know if you have to ask.”

“If you wanted to be alone, I would understand that.” Wille waited, watching her and she gave another shrug.

“I know I probably shouldn’t have said that. I’ll apologize to Mamma.”

Wille chuckled and looked at Sara who seemed surprised by his smile, “You’re talking to someone who has lashed out and stormed out of a lot of rooms. I didn’t come out here to suggest you apologize. Even though, I think you’ll feel better if you do. I just came out to check on you. I have an uncomfortable amount of experience being with a parent who doesn’t make you feel wanted.”

Wille didn’t know Sara well, but one of the things that he appreciated in her communication was that she didn’t say what people wanted to hear.  She spoke what was on her heart and that allowed for every conversation to come from an honest place, regardless of if it was comfortable.

“I kind of get why he hates me, you know. I ruined their plans.” Sara took a breath and looked down the path that led to Farthington before continuing, “I was supposed to be gifted and if I had been, he would have been happy. Simon wouldn’t have had to deal with any of this and Mamma wouldn’t have been made to feel like she did something wrong. He’s always been so angry about something I couldn’t do anything about.”  

“For years, I used to try to find stories about how to make a gift go away. I wanted to be able to do anything to just make myself less of a burden on my family. I thought if I could just be more like them, everything could be easier. The other day when Sofia and I were making those turnovers it hit me, I don’t even like my family.” Wille chuckled again as he said it out loud. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes before taking a deep breath, realizing this was the first time he’d said it out loud, “I remember thinking about how much I thought you all would enjoy them and how excited I was to watch you try them.”

Sara looked at him, a bit confused, “I’m not sure I understand.”

“The only thing I ever wanted to do for my family was change myself,” Wille said, hugging his knees and looking at Sara.

“So, you don’t think I’m wrong to refuse to go back with him?”

Wille shook his head, “I’ve been realizing I can’t go back either, and I don’t think either of us should have to. I’ll tell you something else, you’re not gifted because you were never supposed to be, but if you had been, it wouldn’t have changed anything. Whatever he said, it wasn’t true. His choices put him where he is now, and you’re a product of those, not a reason for any of them.”  

“How are you so sure?”

“Let’s call it a feeling,” Wille said and Sara laughed. Neither of them had ever had the chance to experience the gut instincts of a Guide, but Wille was sure and Sara trusted him.

“Simon keeps saying that he would have always found you. Do you think that means that you were always supposed to be a part of our family?” Sara asked thoughtfully and he parted his lips to respond but was too surprised by the question to answer immediately, “I guess so, right.” She added simply and Wille thought about all the times that he cried himself to sleep over the years and how much peace it would have given him to know that one day he would seamlessly fold into another family.

The front door opened and Simon looked down at them on the stairs.

“Thank you,” Sara said to Wille who barely looked at her, just nodded as she stood and moved inside quickly to check on Linda.

“Hey.” Simon offered a hand to Wille and pulled him to his feet, “You need a few minutes?” Wille nodded and pulled Simon in for a hug.

“A few minutes might be nice.”

“Mr. Eriksson,” Kristina walked into the room and an attendant closed the door behind her, “I’m so sorry for the unpleasantness earlier. I’m sure you understand the importance of tradition.”

Micke had been placed in a sterile white cell. While it didn’t have bars the glass window was impenetrable and the contents of the room were simply a bed and a small table. She could see that he had been provided water and a light meal at her request, but he hadn’t touched either one.

“Unpleasantness? Is that how you’d describe imprisoning me for coming to bring my family back with me?” Micke asked, moving to stand next to the glass. Kristina smiled because she could tell that he was testing her.

“I suppose I’m confused, they don't seem to have wanted to be there if they left.”

“They know where they belong,” Micke said, glaring at her and pacing back to the wall of the room.

“Yet, here they are.” Kristina lowered into the open chair and crossed her legs, “I don’t mind being clear because I’m aware that while I know your intentions, you don’t know mine and I don’t see that as an effective way for us to communicate. I’m not sure if your wife and your daughter will want to leave with you or not. Judging by Simon’s response, I don’t believe they are inclined, but your son will not be leaving Farthington.”

“That’s your son, the one who is his match?” Micke asked.

“It is.”

“I’ve already told them that he can join us in Dimwood. I would never have him repeat my mistake and be with someone not gifted, he will come with us.”

“Sentinels…”  Kristina took a deep breath and shook her head, “I met my husband when we were young, like Simon and Wilhelm. One day we went riding, he was driving the carriage and going entirely too fast but that was my fault seeing as it was my laughter that was making him do it,” she paused to remember, “We hit a rock and it practically shattered the back wheel. We were a half-day walk from Farthington and didn’t have any food or water. I remember him pacing and trying to see what he could do to repair the wheel and after sitting for a few minutes, I knew that everything was going to be ok. I remember telling him to stop, that he was going to hurt himself messing with all the broken wood but he just couldn’t. He hoped that his brute force would fix the wheel. Within twenty minutes he’d cut his hand and I’d ripped the hem of my skirt to try to stop the bleeding.”

“You wanted him to just sit there?” Micke asked, frustrated at the idea. Kristina seemed to ponder his question, trying to recall her feelings on that day.

“I wanted the cleanest path to resolution.” She said, looking back at him, “15 minutes after the cut, one of the people in town who had been trading for us at a nearby port rode up in his wagon. All we needed to do was sit and wait.”

“Explain to me how my son fits into this. I saw the other boy, I could sense that he was also gifted. Why do you need my son?”

“Why do you?” Kristina asked, then smiled at the glare she received in response to the question, “Again, I’ll be transparent, it’s only fair. I sent a rider to Dimwood when your family arrived. I asked them to find out about the Eriksson family. They were relatively guarded and my son has never been a very strong communicator. I will admit that the correspondence I received was, alarming.” Micke stormed toward the glass and slammed his fist against it.

“Let me out of here!”

Kristina raised her voice as she continued, “They say that you have let the community down with your leadership. The talk is that since your father passed you’ve done nothing to help them improve their lives and it’s been almost impossible to get anyone to move there while families move away to more abundant towns. Even after the neighboring community burned to the ground, they didn’t want to move to Dimwood, a community that is barely hanging on.” Micke threw the plate and cup from the table before throwing it at the window, panting as Kristina watched him, “The rumor is that your family fled, frightened by one of your tantrums, and I must say based on what I’ve seen, I think that may be true.” She looked into his eyes, “And I’m right.”

“If he’ll come back with me, we can make them see. We can make things good again, like my father did.” Micke seemed tired, stepping to the side to look at Kristina through the only clean portion of the glass, “I can make him understand.”

“What did I mention earlier about brute force?” Kristina shook her head, disappointed in his lack of understanding, “I understand, I’ll admit that I was doing my own form of it up until very recently, trying to force something and I’m only realizing it now. It’s amazing though, if you think about it. You have a son who doesn’t want to lead his community, but has found his perfect match and is well-equipped to be the best leader for any community. I have a son who wants to lead, but hasn’t found his perfect match and can’t lead ours.”

“You want your son and Simon to lead here, at Farthington?” Micke asked.

“Right now, Simon is the cleanest path to resolution. I just needed to sit and wait.” Kristina looked at the mess in his cell with disgust, “I’ll ask your family if they would like to speak with you, and then you will leave Farthington. The expectation is that you will not return. You were greeted with kindness this time, that will not happen again.” She turned and walked toward the door, hearing him bang on the glass, shouting profanities as she walked toward the door. She waited as an attendant pulled it open for her.

“What should we do with him Lady Farthington?”

“Please have him restrained and clean up the room.” She paused, “His son will be here soon to see him.” She turned to return to her office and was surprised to see Erik had been waiting just outside the room she’d been in. They seemed to be reading each other when Kristina took a step closer and placed a hand on his cheek before leaning in and kissing his other one, “You understand, this is what will be best for everyone.” Without waiting for his response, she lowered her hand and walked down the hall as he watched.

“She says that he’s been asked to leave, but that if you all want to, you can say goodbye.” Wille stood in the doorway to the Eriksson house holding the letter that had been sent over by Lady Farthington. He thanked the man who had brought the letter and closed the door then handed it to Linda who read it and passed it around the table. When Simon handed it to Sofia who had joined them, she folded it without reading it and placed it on the table.

“He’s just leaving?” Sara asked, suspiciously.

“Knowing mamma, there is probably more to it than that, but we have had people who were asked to leave before,” Wille paused as he saw Sofia trace shapes on the kitchen table as she shifted uncomfortably, “and I know that there is security set up for it.”

“Well, I don’t have anything to say to him. I’m certainly not going to go give him a sendoff.” Sara leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms.

“You don’t have to.” Linda offered quickly.

“Neither do you,” Simon said. Linda seemed to be thinking through both options in her mind, clearly trying to decide how much of a duty she had to speak to her husband who had made her life so challenging. There was a peace that came with knowing that she had an option. She looked at Simon and gave him the smallest head shake.

“I can just write them back and say that he should be asked to leave immediately,” Wille said and Simon stood.

“No, I’m going.” He saw Wille’s face and smiled, “We’re going.”

Wille and Simon were escorted to the long hall where Micke was being held. As Simon’s steps began to slow, Wille offered him one more out, lowering his voice to a whisper knowing that from this distance Micke may be able to hear them, “I know you’re feeling like you have to do this, but you don’t.”

“I think I do, but I don’t know if I know why yet.” Simon looked down the hall and Wille nodded. He trusted Simon and knew that if he wanted a last conversation with his father, he should have it. They came to a stop in front of a door and Simon looked at the attendant.

“He’s not in here,” He took a few more steps to the next door and pointed at it, “He’s in this one.”

“It’s a safety issue, you’ll need to speak to him from here.”

“Please, unlock this one,” Simon said and Wille placed his hand on Simon’s back.

“Are you sure?” when Simon nodded in response, Wille motioned for the door to be opened and the attendant hesitantly unlocked it. Simon started to take a step forward but Wille put his arm out and walked in first instead. Micke was already looking at them from his seat on the bed when they walked in.

“Finally ready to admit you want to go home?” Micke asked, looking past Wille and at Simon, “Because I have to ask, what makes her game more noble than mine?”  Simon looked at him, for the first time in a long time not feeling afraid or anxious to share space. A lot of that had to do with knowing Wille was in the room, but suddenly things felt much clearer than they had before.

“I think that you know it’s over.”

“We can talk to them. They can be reasoned with. We’ve done it before.” Micke stood and Wille tensed before Simon placed his hand on his back. His father didn’t miss the gesture.

“It’s been years since they trusted you.”

“So, I should just let everything my father put in place fall apart while you stay here and help them build theirs?” Micke kicked the small table that had just been returned to his spot minutes before they arrived and while Simon bit his bottom lip and lowered his eyes, giving his father privacy for his tantrum, Wille looked at the table, flipped over, and moved to put it back but Micke shoved him to stop him. Wille didn’t stumble but Simon put his hand on his father’s chest in an attempt to move him away and he started to shout, pointing at Wille “Don’t you come in here thinking you’re better than me. You Farthington’s think that you’re more deserving because your name is on these walls? Just because you were given it and we had to take it doesn’t make you all any better. Seems like being born into it didn’t make it any easier to keep.”

“I don’t think I’m better than you,” Wille said, earnestly, shaking his head, “I think I could have become you – would have become you, if I’d chosen differently.” Wille moved toward the table again, this time turning it over without interruption and taking a step back.

“We’re not going back with you, and I feel like you knew that.  But if you need me to be the reason that you walk away from it, so be it. You can tell everyone I was the reason it fell apart.” Simon looked at his father, feeling the different emotions going through him, still feeling the anger that was lingering from the conversation earlier.

“You would disregard our legacy to fulfill someone else’s?”

“No.” Simon shook his head, “I would figure out what mine is supposed to be instead of taking someone else’s like you did.” Simon said and Micke glared at him, “It’s over Micke. Just let it be over.”     

“How long had you known? When did you find out?”

“When I was 14.”

“And you kept it from me, why?”  

“You have to ask?” Micke’s head lowered at Simon’s question and not for the first time, Wille related to him. There were so many times in his life that he’d wished he’d been a guide instead. He’d seen the way that his mother and Erik could accurately assess a situation, or have the foresight that he wished he could. If Micke had been a guide, he would have known that Simon was gifted years ago.

“Your mother didn’t want to come?”

“She’s done enough for you over the years.” Simon said, anger sneaking in, “You should go now. I don’t know what Lady Farthington planned to keep you away for good, but I think you shouldn’t find out.” Wille knocked on the door and an attendant opened it quickly.

“Mr. Eriksson will be leaving Farthington now. Please escort him and his wagon to the gate.” Simon stepped out of the way and only received a passing glance from his father as he walked out of the room. Wille walked over and put his arms around Simon’s waist, letting Simon relax against him, “So, what now?”

“The book is closed.”

“Please don’t start speaking like my mother, I couldn’t stand it,” Wille said and felt Simon’s body shake against him as he laughed. Simon turned his head, pressing his lips to Wille’s neck before relaxing against him again.  

“Thank you for coming with me. I know you’re going to say that I don’t need to thank you, but I want to.”

“He did bring up a point that we have known for a while and probably need to address.” Wille said and Simon looked up at him, “Now that we know her game isn’t any more noble, how do we stop playing it?”

Chapter Text

Wille adjusted his tunic and looked at himself in the small mirror they had. Last night they’d been up much later than usual. Sara had made a joke at dinner about something that happened when she and Simon were younger and it had turned into hours of reminiscing about Dimwood. It was nice to be able to hear about where they’d come from and how they made the best of their situation. When Linda told a story that made her laugh so hard she cried, Wille hadn’t missed Simon sneaking into the kitchen to wipe his eyes, seeing his mother laugh in that way hadn’t happened enough for him to not let it move him to tears.

When they climbed into the special sheets that Simon had requested for them, they let their limbs tangle as their energy came together. Wille went to sleep thinking about how often he’d dreamt of nights like this, spent wordlessly feeling so loved.

It had become a normal occurrence that he would wake up with the sun. Generally, he would go down to the kitchen and make breakfast with Sofia, but today he would be leaving Farthington for the day. Wille kneeled and kissed Simon on the cheek, knowing the gesture would wake him, but not wanting to leave without saying goodbye.

“You’re leaving already?” Simon asked, with his eyes barely open.

“Yeah, Felice is waiting outside,” Wille said while running his fingers through Simon’s curls causing Simon to smile, “The earlier we get there the easier it will be to avoid crowds.” Simon blinked his eyes open.

“You’re sure you don’t want me to go?” Simon asked, trying to pay close attention to his response. A few days earlier Felice had asked Wille to come with her and Madison to do some exploring at the market day in the next community over. He’d only been with her once before because the combination of the heat, that many people, and how loud it could be was overwhelming. She’d invited him again after seeing how well he’d done at the community events since Simon’s arrival and she'd made it clear how important it was to her that they attend together.

“I’m sure. I don’t want to be dependent on having you with me everywhere. Boris agreed when we spoke yesterday that I should be as independent as possible.” Wille took a confident breath and replayed their previous conversation. When Simon had first arrived, they had felt an almost constant want to be together, which had been nice, especially since it had been mutual, but it wasn’t sustainable.

Simon reached out and gripped the front of Wille’s tunic, pulling him forward and kissing him, “I’m proud of you.”  Wille gave him a shy smile before kissing him on the cheek and standing.  

“I love you.”

“I love you too, have fun.” Simon closed his eyes and went back to sleep as Wille walked out of the bedroom.

Simon stepped out of the front door an hour later and found Linda seated and watching as people walked by. She was just lowering her hand from waving when he took a seat next to her, “Anything interesting happening?”

“Just a sea of matching tunics and leggings,” Linda said before taking a sip of her coffee. She heard Simon chuckle and leaned into him, “I’m sorry.” Simon shook his head, dismissing the apology that she didn’t need to give, “I just don’t know how they’ve all been doing it for years. Same clothes, same food, same schedule. I get it, you know. I see all the benefits of how they live, but – “

“It kind of makes you feel like screaming sometimes?” Simon asked.

“Yes!” They both laughed together as another person walked by and they raised their hands in unison to wave, “I just have this overwhelming desire to wear red.”

“Oh, wow mamma, don’t go too crazy.” He smiled and reached for her hand, “This wasn’t the plan. Or, I guess now that I know what I know about Sentinels and Guides, it probably was the plan, but we were never supposed to get away from Papa only to have a whole new set of rules to follow.”

“I’m grateful, you know. We have it so good here. We didn’t know where we were going to end up, and that was scary. I’m happy that we have a house and we’re safe. I just…” she paused and looked at her son who rested his head on her shoulder, letting her know that she didn’t need to finish the sentence. He already knew how she was feeling and he’d never see her as ungrateful for wanting to start this next part of her life with a few fewer restrictions.

“Lady Farthington, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Boris glanced up from the book he’d been reading to see Kristina standing in the doorway to his office. She had sent a note to him the day before to request a meeting but hadn’t provided any additional details. She walked in confidently and he invited her to take a seat.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had an opportunity to connect. I wanted to check in to see how things were going.” She said pleasantly.

“By things you mean…”

“Well, you know that Wilhelm has generally struggled to communicate with me. I hoped that perhaps he had been able to connect with you, fill you in, give you some idea of how things are going with Mr. Eriksson.” Kristina cleared her throat and focused on Boris, trying to get a read on him.

“Simon and Wilhelm seem to be adjusting to their bond well.” Boris nodded, keeping an even tone, and let the awkward silence surround them as he felt Kristina wanting to hear more from him. When he didn’t continue, she took a breath.

“I suppose there’s no need for me to beat around the bush. You are aware of the situation we find ourselves in. I had hoped that I would be able to gain more insight from the girl we placed in the Eriksson home, but that hasn’t come to fruition.” Kristina was losing patience and Boris recalled Simon’s inquiry about how Sofia had ended up in their home.

“What kind of insight is it you’re looking for Lady Farthington?”

“Well, my son was here yesterday. I guess I’d like to know more about how Simon is adjusting. All I keep hearing is about how he’s washing his own clothes and picking weeds in the community gardens, but he has yet to join us at our head table and seems to avoid me unless he’s upset about something or other. I need to know if he is in a position to help Wilhelm lead Farthington!” She had raised her voice at the end, catching herself and taking a breath before smiling at Boris, “Of course anytime I mention him, Wilhelm shuts down.”

“Well, I can tell you that they seem to have a great deal of respect for each other,” Boris said and Kristina rolled her eyes.

“Boris when I asked you to come here those years ago, it was to assist Wilhelm while he was navigating some overwhelming emotions. He will be moving into a position that will cause him a great deal of stress and will come with pressure. It will be a seat he hasn’t filled before. Can I depend on you to assist in positioning him to fill it?” Kristina asked.

“I’m surprised.” He said casually.

“By?”

“The question you’re asking.”

Kristina narrowed her eyes, letting the sting from his comment linger as he held his position, “What question should I be asking instead?”

“Does he even want to fill it?”

“You’re, ok?” Felice asked. They had arrived at the market and there were more people than they had expected. She watched him as they climbed out and moved closer, waiting for him to show that he was uncomfortable or wanted to return home, but he’d continued toward the busy square.

“So far so good,” Wille answered as he took a breath and smiled at her.

“So, what are we looking for? I mean I know it won’t make much sense to do clothes or jewelry or anything else we can’t wear around the community, but what else?” Maddie lifted a pair of earrings off the table closest to her and held them up as she looked in the mirror.

“They have lots of stuff. I was hoping to get a new journal and some oils for my bath.” Felice motioned to a familiar cart that she’d visited when she was there before.

“Sofia gave me a list of spices that she hasn’t been able to get since she got to Farthington, and I was also hoping to get some different coffees and teas.” Wille pulled out the list that he’d put in his pocket that they’d made last night and scanned it.

“Oh! I should see about getting more herbs and crystals for our next ritual.” Maddie started walking with renewed excitement and Wille came to a stop at a shop that had spices. He handed the woman the list and let her know the amount he wanted for each.

“So, what’s new? I feel like I’ve barely seen you. I heard your father was being added to the committee.” Wille raised his brows in fake excitement and Felice smiled.

“Yes, he’s very honored. He’ll be a part of the next application day and they’re starting their planning for next season already. I never thought they’d accept him, you know.” Felice let it go unspoken, but they both knew he was the first person of color on the committee and their family was one of very few in Farthington at all, “My Mom is of course going overboard with the whole thing, she thinks it’s the biggest deal ever. Which isn't that surprising since she’s still asking me about you and me,” They both laughed together, remembering the days when Felice had feelings for him and how easily she’d welcomed a friendship once he’d made it clear that’s all they’d ever be.

“And how about you? How are you doing?” Wille took the bag that was being offered to him and exchanged it for the money he had in his hand.

“Well, I’m glad you asked. I was hoping to introduce you to someone.” She smiled and Wille looked at her, surprised.

“Oh, thank god, we’re getting to the interesting part.” Maddie walked up, eating a turkey leg, and pointed toward a stall with beautiful fabrics hanging from it, “They’re in the back corner this time.” Felice turned her head to look in that direction before she pulled at Wille’s arm.

“Wait, who am I meeting?”

“Fel’s secret boyfriend.” Maddie provided before she took another bite and Wille’s jaw dropped before it turned into a smile.

“What? You never said anything.”

“I know, but there’s been so much going on, but with Adrian – ”

“His name is Adrian?” Wille interrupted.

“Yeah, he asked me out when I came a couple of months ago, but I know the expectation is that I’d date within the community and I couldn’t even imagine what mamma would have said but then at the full moon ritual Simon talked about courage and trusting myself so I just thought why not?” Felice had been talking quickly and bit her bottom lip smiling as she waited for Wille’s response. He tucked her arm under his and started walking again.

“Let’s go meet your secret boyfriend.”  

Simon had joined Sara in the stables for an hour as she showed off the progress she’d been making with her horse. She hadn’t mentioned August in days and that was something to be grateful for. Felice had extended her an invitation to join them at the market today but Sara had chosen to spend time riding instead. As he was saying goodbye, she let him know she’d be riding for another hour or so before she bathed her horse, but that she would be home for dinner later.

When he left the stables, he wasn’t entirely sure where he was going. Initially, he thought it might be nice to go sit in the gazebo, but he’d left the book he’d been reading at home. Pausing for a moment, he surprised himself as he started walking again, this time, toward Farthington house.  As he walked, his destination felt clearer and he was glad. They always greeted him warmly when he arrived, offering him a beverage and asking if he needed anything. He quickly waved them off and started down one of the quieter halls, stopping in front of the door at the end.

Simon knocked and leaned in to listen. While he was sure he was supposed to come by, he knew coming by without an invitation was a gamble. This was one of the few rooms he’d never been to at Farthington house and since his run-in with the house manager, he wasn’t crazy about spending too much time wandering around.

“Come in.”

Simon gripped the doorknob and turned it, leaning his head in first. He made eye contact with Erik who stood, “Mr. Eriksson, hello. I’m surprised to see you.”

“Sorry to come by unannounced. I was hoping to speak to you about something if you had some time. I can come back later if you need me to. I know that you and Lady Farthington are going out of town tomorrow, so I don’t want to impose.”

“No no, please come in.” He sat down and then motioned to the open chair in front of his desk and Simon closed the door behind him before taking a seat, “I’m not sure you and I have had much of a chance to speak since you arrived.”

“This is odd.” Simon played with his hands in his lap and smiled when Erik looked at him confused, “When I speak with your mother, she knows that I’m being guarded, that I’m trying to close off how I’m feeling, I didn’t know how that felt, but I can sense it with you. It’s interesting.” Erik leaned back in his chair and looked at Simon.

“Are you asking me to let my guard down, Simon?”

“I’m trying to decide if I can let mine down first, but I think so.” They both looked at each other for a few moments before Erik stood.

“Come with me.”

Simon stood without hesitation and followed Erik out of the small office.

Erik pushed the door open and Simon walked inside. The only light came from the large windows at the front of the home and he immediately recognized it as the same layout as his own house.

“They’re identical,” Simon said, sliding his fingers along the chair in front of him.

“Well, these two houses were designed to appear like the others in the community while obviously being larger.” Erik sat down on the couch and Simon sat in the chair across from him.

“Do you come in here often? I’ve never seen the lights on from our house.” Simon’s eyes wandered the room, looking for signs of life.

“Sometimes. Not often.” Erik swallowed and Simon let the silence fall around them, “I used to come here more, I liked knowing what it meant. What these houses stood for.”

“Past tense.”

Erik relaxed deeper on the couch, looking around the room before looking back at Simon, “Since Wille and I were younger, the plan never changed. My parents would lead, and when I was of an appropriate age, I would take over with my Sentinel. I used to sneak in here when they would clean it weekly and picture living here with my match. I was so sure. My parents used to tell us about how easy it was for them. They found each other young, they lived here in this house and they seamlessly transitioned into leading Farthington.”

“I would imagine it was nice to have such a clear-cut example.”

“It was until it wasn’t.” Erik gave a tight smile, “When my father passed away it became more obvious that the plans couldn’t be as casual.  Mamma was very focused on making sure that we were prepared to continue leading Farthington, but that’s not the way it had ever worked before. Mamma and Papa found each other on a trip to a tournament in a village that is days away from here. My grandparents before that actually met when my grandmother’s horse got away from her and my grandfather found it, can you believe that?”

“Before I met Wille, I think I would have said no,” Simon answered, smiling as he recalled seeing Wille for the first time.

“So, you can imagine how confused Mamma has been. She had just convinced herself that she didn’t have the time for Wille and me to have good stories, and she seemed ok with that, as long as things worked out the way they were supposed to.” There was a sadness in his voice that Simon had never noticed before and he felt himself relax into his chair as well.

“I don’t think that you won’t have a good story,” Simon said, trusting the voice in the back of his head, letting his eyes drift off. Erik watched him, smiled, and felt himself get his hopes up before he tilted his head.

“You’re stronger than I am. I think your sight may be stronger than mamma's as well.”

“How do you figure?”

“You knew the question I had before I did,” Erik said. He realized how rare it had probably been for Simon to have conversations with another Guide. He’d had more practice with his mother, but the energy coming from Simon felt different in intention.

“But you know what I want to know from you.” Simon didn’t try to hide his eagerness to get the answer and Erik nodded.

“Mamma and I both think that your father chose not to return to Dimwood.”

Simon heard the small gasp he let out before smiling, resting his elbows on his thighs and letting his fingers cover his mouth, finding so much relief from the casual confirmation, “Thank you.”

“You know that your plan changes everything she had in place.”

“How? You said yourself the plan was always for you to lead Farthington. More than that, I can tell that you’ve always wanted to.”

“I’ve heard the way Wille talks about Mamma so I know it’s already been made clear to you that it doesn’t really matter what we want.” Erik stood, his energy felt scattered as he paced the way Simon had seen Wille walk the length of a room before, “She doesn’t want to wait for things to fall into place anymore.”

“And you accept that?” Simon asked.

“I think you know we’re not known for choices here.”

Simon stood and looked at Erik, “What I do know is that Wille will have a good story.” They stared at each other before Simon moved toward the front door before pausing, “Thank you. I appreciate you answering my question.” Erik gave him a polite nod and Simon walked out of the house.

“My goodness, do we need to sneak the wagon around to the back of the house? If cherries were going to get Sofia kicked out, I can’t imagine what this will do.” Simon said as he looked in the back of the wagon. Wille climbed down and kissed him in greeting.

“I could tell you why it won't be a problem but it would only upset you.” He said and Simon shook his head as he realized that the biggest issue hadn’t been that she was breaking the rule, it had been her position in the community while breaking it.

“You’re right, let’s move on,” Simon said as Wille’s fingers slid the length of his arm, sensing that the realization had upset him.

“Simon come back here and look at these.” Maddie was holding up a bag and he walked over as she started to pull out herbs and dried flowers to show him. Wille could feel happiness radiating from him because of how happy he was to see them as she pulled each item out and they talked through the healing properties of each.

“Can I help?” Sofia asked as she walked out of the house with her arms raised.

“Here, these are light.” Wille handed Sofia a stack of folded fabric and Simon looked at them confused.

“Wow, these are beautiful! Imagine a dress in this material.” Sofia held it up to Simon to show it to him and he reached out his fingers to touch it.

“What are we going to do with that?” Simon asked.

“Wille told him that we had a very strict uniform here in town, but he just wouldn’t take no for an answer. There has to be at least 10 outfits worth of fabric there.” Maddie climbed out of the back of the wagon, grabbing the bag of spices that Wille had purchased.

“Who wouldn’t take no for an answer?” Simon looked at Maddie and Wille as they looked at Felice who couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is Sara home? Because I’m going to tell you everything, but I want to tell everyone at once.”

Simon nodded in response to Felice’s question and felt Wille wrap his arm around his waist as they all walked toward the house, “How was your day?” he asked, and Simon smiled up at him.

“Interesting.” Simon shook his head as Wille looked at him questioningly, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. I want to hear everything that happened at the market.” It was clear that the day had gone well and the last thing Simon wanted to do was ruin that in any way, it was so nice to see him this playful especially coming out of a situation he was nervous about. Tonight, they would enjoy, and tomorrow they could discuss.

“This is starting to be a bit of a bad pattern,” Simon said, half of his face still against his pillow as Wille opened the bedroom door to leave the next morning.

“I promised I’d see Mamma and Erik off; I’ll be back soon. You were supposed to sleep through me leaving.” Wille said as Simon climbed out of bed, stretching before joining him at the door.

“I’ll walk you out. Maybe Sofia will let me help her.” They smiled at each other as they climbed down the stairs and found Sofia chopping strawberries.

“You started without me?” Wille asked, looking around at the different fruit that had been put out.

“Only the chopping, nothing is exciting about that.” She quickly added, “We’re making jams.” When she saw the question on Simon’s face.  

“I’ll help chop until you get back.” Simon walked Wille to the door and felt a bit uneasy, “Unless you want me to come with you.” Wille looked at him, concerned and remembering how he felt when Micke had surprised them before, but also feeling empowered after his day at the market yesterday.

“I’m going to wave at them, and then come back. We’ll be making jam in the next 20 minutes.” Wille pulled the door open and Simon nodded, then lifted his eyes to Wille and tried to add some confidence to his agreement before watching him walk down the steps.

As Wille approached the house he saw bags being loaded into the carriage as August supervised. When he noticed him, he patted the attendant on the shoulder and moved to Wille’s side.

“Good to see you. Lady Farthington let me know I’d be stepping in to keep an eye on things again, I just wanted you to know that it’s no problem, I’m happy to help.” Wille couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he crossed his arms impatiently.

“Great. Do we know when they’ll be down?” He looked up at the house for a sign of movement and was happy to see his mother and Erik walking toward them.

“I’m so glad you decided to see us off Wilhelm,” Kristina said, pausing in front of him.

“I told you that I would.”

“We’ll be back in a few days,” Erik hugged Wille and he felt himself tense. It had been a long time since they’d hugged and he saw Kristina’s eyes widen slightly as she took in the display of affection as well.

“I’ll see you then,” Wille said, adjusting his tunic after Erik pulled away and took a step closer to their waiting carriage.

“Don’t worry Erik, Lady Farthington, nothing to worry about. You two just enjoy your time.” August smiled and received the same tight smile from Erik and Kristina.

“Thank you, August, if you don’t mind, I’d like a word with Wilhelm before we go.” She moved her hand to dismiss him and he made a show of checking that their bags had been appropriately stacked. She cleared her throat and leaned closer to Wille, “There’s no easy way to say this.”

“See, this is why Wilhelm is a better helper than you are. He’s focused while you’re snacking.” Sofia pulled the cutting board away from Simon as he tossed another strawberry in the air and caught it in his mouth.

“Sorry, just one more.” Simon tossed the strawberry he’d had waiting in his hand in the air and Sofia laughed as she turned away before she heard it hit the ground. Surprised, she turned at the sound since he’d yet to miss. When she looked back at him, he had a dazed look on his face making it seem that he hadn’t noticed the strawberry had landed next to him on the floor.

“Simon?” Sofia asked, taking a step toward him. He scooted his chair back, causing her to take a step back, surprised at the sudden movement.

“Something’s wrong.” He moved to the door and slid the first pair of shoes that he saw.

“Wait, with whom? What’s going on?” Sofia turned off the oven and walked over to the door, absent-mindedly slipping into shoes that she knew weren’t hers.

“I don’t know.” She knew that was more for him than it was for her, but she still took off running when he did, trying to keep up with him as they ran toward Farthington House.

Wille saw movement behind his mother and the look of confusion on Erik’s face. Whatever she was about to say, he didn’t know what it was, “Mamma, I –“

“Boris is gone.” She said quickly, raising her chin to confirm that her statement was final, and Wille felt like the air had been knocked out of him.

“Gone, what do you mean, gone?” Wille asked, trying to keep himself calm, but knowing that would only last so long, “He wouldn’t just leave.”

“His services were no longer needed. He was dismissed yesterday evening and I felt like it was best that you hear it from me.”

“Where is he?” Wille asked and he saw Erik take a step toward him as Kristina adjusted the belt on her coat.

“That’s not your concern. He’s no longer here. You’ve been doing so well, it was clear that you didn’t need the level of support that you were receiving, so he was asked to leave. I’m sure you understand.” She turned to climb into the carriage and Wille tried to reach for her arm but Erik stepped between them.

“How could you do this? He was the only one who understood!” Wille cried out, making the horses shift at the outburst. Kristina ignored him as she waited for the door to be opened. “WHERE IS HE?” Wille had all eyes on him now as he yelled at her and she refused to turn and face him. Erik gripped his arms, looking between his brother and his mother.

“Wille please calm down, please.” Erik sounded like he was pleading and Wille was so much stronger than he was as he lunged toward his mother again, he felt August’s fingers dig into his arm. Kristina kept her eyes forward as she took her seat, hearing her son cry out the same question over and over again.

“Wille!” Simon yelled and Wille turned to see him running toward them with Sofia behind him. She was still wearing her apron and he was in the clothes he slept in. When he walked up, he quickly shoved August away, not wanting him anywhere near Wille, and looked at Eric who took a step back, “What happened?”

“She got rid of him, he’s gone, he’s gone.” Wille was crying and Simon was trying to follow, turning to Erik who knew his question.

“Mamma has just told Wille that Boris was dismissed yesterday,” Erik said, lowering his eyes before lifting them to Simon again. Simon turned to Sofia and she approached, wrapping her arms around Wille who hadn’t stopped crying. Simon felt every emotion from Wille, the pain and disappointment felt so intense as he stood and tried to ground himself, that it felt nearly impossible to push the positive energy into Wille.  Simon moved to the carriage door and looked at Kristina. She didn’t look at him, and he was thankful for the moment so that he could take time to think and listen to the voice in his head.  

“You will never have to wonder why,” Simon said, taking a step back before she had a chance to respond. He gripped Erik’s arm and pulled him so that they could walk in step.

“I didn’t know.” Erik said quickly to Simon before turning to Wille who was still trying to catch his breath, “I didn’t know. I promise I didn’t know.” Simon dug his fingers in to get his attention.

“Promise me that no harm would come to my sister,” Simon said, keeping his volume low. He saw Wille lift his head, knowing that he’d heard. Erik felt Simon put his guard up and did the same, doing his best to block out anything his mother may be trying to feel in their interaction.

“I promise.”

“Promise me that you’ll write your own story,” Simon said, letting his hand lower, releasing the grip he had on his arm. Erik paused, swallowing and feeling the heat from his mother’s eyes on his back before he nodded. His voice cracked even in his whisper.

“I promise.”

Simon nodded before extending his hand and raising his voice to a volume that everyone would hear, “Have a good trip, Erik.” He shook his hand and then avoided looking at Wille before he climbed into the carriage with Kristina.

Simon put his hand on Wille’s back, letting his palm circle as Sofia hugged him and the carriage started to move away from Farthington House. He watched until he saw the gates close behind it.  When he could no longer see them, he leaned in, resting his chin on Wille’s shoulder, and whispered into his ear, “I need you to come with me.” Wille turned, his face already red from his tears, “Sofia, we’ll meet you back at the house.”

Simon slid his fingers between Wille's and turned them to walk toward Farthington House, disregarding the people who had watched the outburst minutes ago. Trusting Simon completely, Wille let himself be guided as they turned down the winding halls and avoided the house staff. It was only when they came to a stop that he looked up, “What are we doing here?” Simon pushed the door open and they walked into the office that Boris had used previously. The room was empty except for the couch in the middle of the room.

“Wille, I didn’t know him the way that you did, but I do know how much he cared for you. He cared for you so much and he was loyal to you.” Simon lifted their hands, placing a kiss on the back of Wille’s before letting it drop and walking to the couch. He ripped each of the cushions off, looking at the couch again, frustrated before turning, “Help me?”

Wille wiped his eyes and then moved to the couch and mimicked Simon’s position with his fingers just under the front of the base of the couch, they both lifted and when the back of the couch touched the ground they saw a sheet of paper, folded with Wille’s name on it. Simon saw Wille freeze and reached for the letter, placing it in Wille’s hand.

“Whatever it says,” Wille started, but struggled to continue before looking at Simon who nodded in response.

“Whatever it says, we won’t be here when your mother returns.”

Chapter Text

Wilhelm –

I’m so sorry I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, perhaps it’s for the best. You told me recently that you were unsure if you were paying attention to how I felt when I told you the stories of Giacomo and myself. I realize now that as Sentinels we waste so much time trying to cultivate a comfortable place to exist, that we don’t always make time to understand how we feel. This becomes even less of a focus when you’ve found a Guide who will understand how you feel sometimes better than you do yourself.

I will tell you how I feel now as my things are being packed and I know this chapter is coming to a close. I am so grateful for you and my time here. I wish that we had spent more time talking about how good things could be, to make sure that you held on to hope as you were overcoming everything you were dealing with. I may not have sight like Simon and Giacomo, but I know that you deserve everything that comes next.

I will agree with your mother on one thing, my services are no longer needed so I’ll leave you with these final words. You have never been too much. You have always been enough. You are so capable. You have every right to be happy. Remember to trust him, tell him how you feel, and there is nothing stronger than the two of you together.  

-Boris

Wille read the letter over and over again as Simon put the cushions back on the couch and pulled the curtains closed at the window. He took a deep breath and looked around, picturing the last time he was in this room and who he’d been only days ago. When he looked up, he found Wille’s red-rimmed eyes looking back at him. They moved at the same time toward the couch and Simon sat down, leaning his back against the armrest and leaving space for Wille to sit between his legs. It felt like such a stark difference from the first time they’d sat on a couch together.

“Is he safe?” Wille asked, and Simon could tell by his tone that as much as he wanted the answer, he was nervous after they’d both considered what Kristina was capable of when it came to ensuring that Micke wouldn’t be a problem.

“Yes,” Simon answered quickly, feeling confident in his response and wanting to put his mind at ease. He felt Wille’s body relax into him, “I don’t feel any sadness or fear here. He felt confident, almost like he’d adopted her decision.” They sat quietly as Simon continued to think and Wille rested his hands on Simons at his waist, “I think we’ll see him again.”

“What do we do now?” Wille asked as he remembered the promise Simon had made before they opened the letter.

“For now, I just want to sit here with you, if you don’t mind.” Simon dropped his chin and leaned forward, pressing his lips to Wille’s neck before resting against the arm of the couch again. Wille turned easily and moved lower to put his head on Simon’s chest, wanting the comfort of his steady breathing.

Simon glanced around their kitchen table. Sara was watching him, trying to predict what he was about to say, Linda seemed on edge with the impromptu request to meet as a family and Sofia was doing her best to hide that she was watching Wille, wanting to make sure he was feeling better after what he’d been through that morning.

“Wille and I are going to return to Dimwood.” He said  bluntly, and all eyes were on him, “I feel confident that Micke has not returned and I've put it off as long as possible.”

“But I thought – you never wanted to lead the community,” Sara said, confusion on her face.

“And I still don’t. I’ll make it clear that we are there as community members and while I am happy to provide any assistance I can with my abilities, they should elect their leader. I will tell them what I’ve always known, and that’s that they should not put another family in a position of power, but it will be up to them how they use that information. In a perfect world, we would all leave together, but I know I can’t ask that of you. I’ll understand if you don’t want to come along. I know that Erik will make sure you’re all taken care of.”  Simon lowered his eyes, nervous about what would come next. He was surprised as the group stayed quiet. Linda scooted her chair in, poised to speak and Wille cut in.

“I’m sorry.” He was breathing harder than he should have been and felt Simon place his hand on his knee to support him, “I’ll never be sorry that you all came here because it changed my life,” he paused and Simon smiled at him, “But I am sorry for the additional upheaval.” Simon looked at Sofia whose eyes had lowered and he reached out, gripping her hand.

“You know that when I said all, I meant you too, right?”

“I just, I know that the only reason they let me stay was because of you. If you left, I’m not sure that they’d let me live here anymore.” Sofia said, shifting uneasily in her seat.

“Do you want to stay?” Simon asked, “Because I feel confident that Erik will allow you all to stay in Farthington if that’s the choice you make.” She shook her head.

“I want to come with you all.” She said and she felt his hand tighten around hers as he smiled at her before looking at Linda.

“Mamma?”

Linda took a breath and nodded to herself as she was preparing her thoughts, “My only regret was staying in a house where I wasn’t wanted with your father. If I stayed here, in a community that would have turned me away, I would be repeating that. I’m ready to go home.” Simon felt his eyes fill with tears, happy, but trying to be brave as he looked at Sara.

When she had found out about his gift so many years ago, he’d had these moments where he wanted to say so much but couldn’t without giving himself away. Their silent communication had been such a comfort when he needed to stay quiet, but now all he wanted her to do was tell him that she’d come with them. He blinked and felt the tears slide down his cheeks.  

“You’re allowed to be happy here.” He said, giving her the out she needed. He scooted his chair back and walked over, hugging her before turning and climbing the stairs to go to his room. Linda looked between her children, wiping her own eyes before she made a move to follow Simon.

“I’ll go,” Wille said. If Sara was going to stay, he wanted to make sure that Linda had as much time with her as possible and he wanted to be there for Simon.

Wille knocked softly at Simon’s bedroom door, knowing he’d be welcome, but still wanting to give a warning before he walked in. He found Simon seated at the foot of the bed, wiping his eyes, “I’m sorry.” Wille shook his head to let him know that he didn’t need to apologize and then pulled the chair over to sit across from him. He pulled Simon’s hands into his and looked into his eyes, “I already know what you’re going to say, so don’t. It’s not happening.” Simon lifted his hand, bringing Wille’s with it, and wiped his cheek, “I know you’d stay if I wanted to, but that’s not the answer. We’re not supposed to be here.”

“That’s not what I was going to say.” Wille said, smiling at him and Simon challenged him with a look, “Ok, that’s not all I was going to say. I was just thinking about when you first got here and you felt how afraid I was and how long ago that feels. I think this may be the first time in my life I’ve felt brave. So, I just wanted to let you know that if you need to feel sad, or scared, or unsure, you don’t have to worry about me. Let me take some of this for you.” Wille had barely finished his sentence before Simon climbed into his lap and cried into his shoulder.

He knew most of the tears were around the decision that he was nervous Sara would make. He didn’t know what his life looked like without her and she had been the biggest constant he’d ever had, but he also felt the weight of his time here at Farthington and what it would look like to return to a community that would know who he was now and what he’d hidden from them. He didn’t question the decision to return to Dimwood, he felt confident it was the right choice, but he was frustrated by the need to make it and uproot the people he loved again.

“I love you,” Wille whispered as he felt Simon’s fingers dig into his tunic.

“I love you,” Simon said, sniffling as he let himself be held.

“We’ll need to think of a reason to get their wagon back.” Wille tapped his lips as he thought. Sofia was stirring the sauce on the stove as he made a note. Sara had gone to the stables with Linda and Simon had let him know that he wanted to take a walk and spend some time at the gazebo.

“You think they’d say no to your request?” Sofia asked.

“I don’t think so, but with him being left in charge, I don’t want to give August any reason to send for my mother. He can’t know that we’re leaving.”

“How about the books? Everyone knows that you’ve been staying here. You can tell them that you’re going to move a good portion of the library at Farthington, here.”

“Oh, that’s good. That way we can take some of the books anyway. Simon mentioned they don’t have many books in Dimwood.” Wille made another note.

“Be careful, we won’t have much space so we’ll need to consider essentials. I can leave all my stuff here; I’ll just pack a small bag.” She put the lid on the pot and sat down at the table.

“You’ll pack whatever you need and we’ll make it fit,” Wille said casually and made a mental note that he would pack his things last in case they needed extra space for something she wanted to bring along, “We should check with Linda to see if there’s anything in this kitchen that she doesn’t have at home that we should take with us.”

“I’ll ask her to go through it with me later. Did you look at the food list? I’ll put it in tomorrow so that we can have food for our trip. I didn’t go too crazy because I didn’t want anything to be too obvious, but it will all travel well.”

“Yes, it’s perfect. Remind me to ask Simon to sneak into the greenhouse and pull any seeds that we have here that they don’t plant in Dimwood currently. Since he’s worked so much with the greenhouses here, I’m thinking he may want one back home on their property.” He jotted down a reminder for himself and looked at Sofia, “Anything else?”

“Nothing that’s coming to mind right now.” She stood and stirred the pot again before starting to cut up some bread.

“How are you feeling about all this?” Wille asked and Sofia paused cutting to turn to look at him.

“It’s been a long time since I felt like I had a family.”

“Well,” he shrugged, “You’re stuck with us now.” He watched as she nodded to herself and turned to start cutting again, smiling.

Wille smirked, his eyes still closed as he felt Simon’s fingers running through his hair. He knew that the sun was only just starting to come up. They had stayed up late last night. Wille had asked Simon to tell him more stories about Dimwood, wanting to know everything about where they were going.

“Time to get up,” Simon whispered, his lips just above Wille’s ear.

“Normally you’re trying to convince me to stay in bed, what’s going on?” Wille opened his eyes, to see Simon smiling at him as he pushed his hair out of his face.

“Felice is going to be downstairs in twenty minutes.” Simon said, still playing in Wille’s hair, “Seems only right that you two take one last trip to the cave.” Wille sat up, putting his elbow down on the bed.

“There’s so much to do. They’re bringing the wagon around this morning so we can get the books, and we need to pack up the stuff here, I still need to go to my bedroom and figure out how I’m going to smuggle stuff out. I don’t think there’s time to go swimming.”

“I know you want to go, but I also know that you deserve the chance to say goodbye to the few things you really loved here.”

“Simon – “

“I’ll go to Farthington and pack the books I want to take and leave space in one of the boxes for you to put your items in so that they can all come out at once.” Simon felt Wille about to protest again, “I don’t know what it looks like for us to come back, you know. I just want you to have this.”

“I thought maybe you’d want to go to the stables with Sara.” Wille offered and Simon shook his head.

“Since she missed dinner last night, I asked her when she came in before we went to bed if she wanted to go for a walk. She said she would be riding most of the day.” They made eye contact, both of them unsure if they wanted to talk about this now, knowing how fragile Simon was about it and that Wille was expected downstairs soon.

“If she stays, we’ll make sure that you see her again. Just because we leave Farthington, that doesn’t mean that we have to forget the people here.” Wille looked at the nod that Simon gave him and knew he was unsure. The longer they were together the more he realized how he could tap into how Simon was feeling, “You mentioned before that you felt like we would see Boris again. What are you feeling about Sara?”

Simon let his body fall back resting his head against the pillow and looked up at the ceiling, “I don’t know what she’s going to do and I’ve been trying to avoid reading her.” He felt the confusion coming from Wille and took a breath, letting it come out slowly, “It’s her choice, you know. After how she responded to my reaction to August, I know that I need to back off. She didn’t need me to say anything, he showed who he was. I keep thinking about when you told me about the different paths you could have chosen. I think about how my father made a choice and it made him the worst version of himself, but he’s still making choices, I’m hoping with different intentions. I want Sara to make her own choice because I see how important it is, and I don’t want to try to influence her to do what I want her to do.”

“Is that what you meant when you mentioned Erik writing his own story?”  Wille asked, looking down at Simon who nodded.

“I’m sorry if you felt like I was overstepping. I know that you two have a complicated relationship.”

Wille smiled, “I will just have to get used to you being unable to stop yourself from caring about people. What a chore for me.” Simon let out a chuckle and Wille leaned in to kiss him and kept their lips close as he looked into his eyes, “I hope they make their own choices too. If anyone knows how important that is, it’s me.”

“What do you think your mom will say when she comes back?” Felice asked.

They’d spent their first hour together pretending it was just like any other day. They raced their horses to the cave and laughed as Wille let Felice win like he always had. He smiled as he stepped into the water, remembering the peace it had brought him the first time he’d come. They joked about their last community gathering, and Wille’s impression of August talking to Lady Farthington made Felice laugh so hard she felt like she couldn’t breathe. It was only when they were drying off that Felice broke the illusion that this was like any other morning spent together.

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying not to think about it too much because it won’t change anything.”

“I heard my parents talking this morning. My mom was going on and on about how they shouldn’t be taking Erik to other places to look for his match when he could just find a match here.” She and Wille both rolled their eyes, knowing that her mother was still hoping that Felice would end up with one of the Farthingtons, “My father was trying to explain to her the agreement that was in place, about a Sentinel and Guide being in leadership together and he accidentally let it slip that it didn’t matter if Erik found a perfect match anymore.”

“So, it’s not just Mamma who has decided that Simon and I would take over, she’s already told the committee.” Wille shook his head and looked at the still cave water. “What do you think your parents will say when they realize you’re leaving too?” He cut his eyes toward her and saw her crack a smile.

“Did Maddie say something?”

“No, but I’ve seen how often you’ve been riding out and I don’t think you would have introduced me to Adrian if it wasn’t something serious. What I really want to know is if I can have a selfish moment to convince you to come with us.”

“I don’t know what I want to do yet, but I know I don’t want to be here anymore, especially without you.” She looked at him with shy excitement, “We still have our family home in Courtshire. I floated the idea to Maddie that we could go stay there and you know she was ready to start packing. I know how badly my parents wanted to be here in Farthington with its reputation, but I don’t want to be the token Black girl anymore and I can’t figure out who I am in a place that wants to tell me who I need to be.”

“Courtshire huh?”

“I’m hoping in the next few weeks, as long as it takes for me to convince Mamma and Papa to give me the keys. I know he’ll cave eventually. What do you think?” Felice asked.

“Is that a half-day ride from Adrian’s community?” Wille asked and she nodded as he continued, “And I think that’s only two days away from Dimwood.”

“That was the first thing Maddie pointed out, she already said she plans to bully Simon into meeting up as often as possible to do the full moon rituals.”

“I’m not sure she’ll have to do much bullying.” They smiled at each other as they knew their morning together was coming to an end, “I’m so excited for you.” They started to pack up their things, both of them already imagining what was coming next and already thinking about the first chance they’d have to meet up.

“Hold on just a second,” Felice said as they walked their horses toward the tables. She pulled at the reins and turned them toward the riding ring where they could see Sara. There was a person near the fence, clearly trying to get her attention as she continued to ride and she seemed to be ignoring them. As they moved closer, they saw that it was August who appeared frustrated at her lack of attention. Sara saw them approach and stopped in front of the fence near them after Felice waved to get her attention.

“Am I late?” She asked and Felice shook her head.

“No, we’re just getting back. I just wanted to see if you still wanted to meet up, in case you, um,” she paused and looked at August, “had things you needed to do.”

“No, I’m almost done here. I’ll meet you at your house in an hour.”

Felice smiled at her and turned her horse, pausing as she realized Wille hadn’t moved, “Are you coming?”

“I’ll see you in the morning. I wanted to talk to Sara for a minute.” Wille climbed off his horse and tied the reins to the fence post.

“I was hoping to talk to you.” August had walked over to Wille, clearly eager to have some face time, “Your mother left me a list of things to check on while she and Erik were away. I thought you might find some of the topics interesting.” August smiled hopefully at him and he nodded.

“That sounds like a good idea. I have a lot going on today with moving the rest of my things into the Eriksson house, but why don’t we meet tomorrow morning at the north field? Does 7 work for you?” Wille asked and August seemed shocked at the suggestion.

“Yea, I – of course. Did you want to ride together?”

“No, it’s best if we meet there, quieter ride, you know,” Wille said and August nodded in agreement.

“Of course, I understand. This is great.”

“Great, now if you don’t mind.” Wille looked at Sara and August nodded quickly.

“Yea, I’ll leave you two, lots to get ready for tomorrow,” August added and Wille didn’t turn to face him again as he walked off.  Sara smiled at him as she slid off of her saddle.

“Did you have to pick the farthest field?”

“Only seemed appropriate. Plus, that will give us a couple of hours before he even gets back into town. It’ll be the end of the day before he realizes we’re gone.”  Wille gave a shrug and Sara smiled.

“Are you here to tell me I should leave with you all?” Sara slid her fingers against her horse, not looking over at Wille. She saw movement as he climbed up one step of the fence and leaned forward with something in his hand.

“This is for you.” He was holding out an envelope and when she took it, she looked up at him questioning, “It’s a copy of the letter I left for Erik. He knows the horse is yours and that you’ll be allowed to stay in the house as long as you want to. I also told him I removed money from the safe that’s for you if you ever decided to leave so that you would be able to get wherever you needed to go.”

“Why do you all have money here when community members don’t need to pay for anything?”

“A question I’m sure my mother wouldn’t want to answer,” Wille said, smiling.

“He’d agree to all of that?”

“I think so, but more than that I think he understands the potential if he didn’t. I read the bylaws I keep hearing about. Right now, I’m next in line to lead and he can’t change that. It will be much easier for him to fulfill a few requests than to be concerned if I decide to come back. Once I'm gone he'll have quite a bit of leverage with Mamma if she wants the family to have a chance to stay in power.” Wille gave a sneaky smile and climbed up to sit on top of the fence.

“Does Simon know you did this?”

“Yes. I figured you may not have decided what you wanted to do yet, but I wanted to make sure that you were taken care of either way, and I know Simon and Linda will feel better knowing that too.” He smiled at her and she nodded, “Enjoy your lunch with Fel.” He climbed off the fence and untied his horse before walking away.

“If we have to choose between the two to fit everything in that last box, we should take your clothes over your sheets. We have lots of sheets back at the house, but it may be a while before we can track down clothes in the right material for you.” Simon paused, holding two books, and let his hands rest on top of the box in front of him, “We should have asked Felice if Adrian’s family had some.”

“One of the bolts that we got was soft enough. Sofia set it aside to make sure we took it with us.” Wille said, folding the rest of the clothes he’d pulled out and putting them in the box on the table.

“Well, we have to take all of them, she loved the other ones,” Simon said and Wille nodded in agreement, “The food should be delivered this afternoon and then I think we’re all set.” He pushed a couple of things around in the box in front of him to make space for the two books in his hand and then placed the lid on top. Wille walked over, picked the box up, and placed it next to the door by the other three. He looked around his room and then walked over to the bed and sat down. Simon watched him for a minute before going over to the other side of the bed and lying down.

“I should be sadder, right? This is my home. It’s odd that I’m not sad. I spent my entire life in here.” Wille gave his room one more pass before laying down next to Simon.

“Not necessarily. You haven’t exactly been spending much time here. The definition of home changes more often than people think. It’s something that I don’t think we always notice.” Simon reached across the gap between them on the bed and laced his fingers between Wille’s as they both looked around the room.

“How are you feeling about tomorrow?” Wille asked, looking over at Simon.

“Seems crazy that this will be the second time I’ve packed a wagon to leave, but I can’t believe how different it feels. Do you think there’s anything you will miss?” Wille looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

“It’s all memories, right? I remember Erik and me chasing each other through the secret passage, my father giving me my books, the first time Boris told me a story and I finally felt understood, but those are moments I won’t have again. The best times I’ve had here I can take with me.” He felt the grip on his hand tighten and he smiled to himself.

“It’s late, we should be getting back to the house and then getting some sleep. I’ll take the first box down. Take a minute.” Simon kissed Wille and got out of bed. He grabbed the box closest to the door and walked out, leaving Wille to lay in his bed one more time.

“Pull it around to the side, as close to the door as possible. Do you think people can see us from here?” Simon looked around and Wille pulled the wagon to a stop.

“Only if they’re looking. We’ll make sure as we’re filling it that we’re not doing it all at once. We’ll only load what we need tonight and then we’ll take the rest just before we leave in the morning.” Wille jumped out and then held out his hand for Simon and they walked hand in hand to the side door. When they pushed it open, they found Sofia, Linda, and Sara in the kitchen.

“Finally.” Sara said, she was holding a box and walked over and placed it on the floor next to the door Simon and Wille had just walked in, “I was starting to think I’d have to carry my box down from my bedroom on my own.” Simon’s lips parted and he looked at Sara who smiled at him. Wille moved into the kitchen to leave the two of them alone and quickly started discussing which items from the kitchen they’d be packing.

“So, does this mean – I mean, are you…” Simon tried to speak but was stumbling over his words. Sara took a step forward and wrapped her arms around him and he could feel her nod against his shoulder.

“I thought about what you said.” Sara said and he heard her sniffle, pulling back and looking at her, “We are the lucky ones. I don’t want to be away from the people who love me.” She looked over at Wille, knowing that he was listening, that he would understand he was included, and that she appreciated how much care he had shown her. Simon pulled her into another hug.

“You know I’ll support it if you decide to stay, right?” Simon asked and she nodded.

“I’m not saying I’ll be in Dimwood forever. Felice promised me there’d be a room for me in Courtshire as well, but for now, I know where I want to be.” She said confidently and Simon took a step back, smiling as he wiped the tears off his face.

“Let’s go get the box.”  

Wille kissed Simon on the cheek and climbed out of bed. He paused to take in the moment, knowing this would be the last time he did that in this room, sliding his fingers on the sheets under him and remembering the feeling of finding them in the package. This was another memory he’d want to take with him. His movements were controlled, trying to move the bed as little as possible so that Simon could get a bit more sleep before their long day today. They’d all discussed at dinner that they would ride as long as possible to get as much distance between them and Farthington and then they could take the next few days as slowly as they wanted. When he walked into the kitchen, he let out a laugh as he found Sofia holding eggs.

“We already packed the skillet.” She smiled at him and put them back on the rack she’d pulled them from.

“Maybe we’ll just do some fruit and bread?” He waved at one of the chairs to tell her to have a seat and she grabbed a cutting board and a knife and lowered into the closest open chair. He handed her the bread that they’d left out and then pulled the strawberries and melon and put them on the table.

“I had an idea I wanted to talk to you about,” Sofia said. She seemed a bit nervous but determined and Wille stopped cutting to make sure she knew he had his full attention, “You know I’m from Silverbrook that’s about an hour away from Dimwood?” He nodded and she started to cut, losing her nerve, but still wanting to get her idea out, “They do a market every weekend, and Mamma always used to talk about how she wished there was food.” She paused and waited for him to connect the dots, but Wille looked confused.

“That seems sensible.”

“I guess, I mean I was thinking. What if you and I had a cart at the market where we could sell the food we made? You wouldn’t have to be the one who talked to people, I could handle that. When I mentioned it to Simon, he said he would come and do all the talking if we needed him to, but I told him that I would make sure it wasn’t overwhelming. I promise people in Silverbrook aren’t as intense as they are here.” She was speaking quickly as she finished and started cutting again, missing the smile that was on Wille’s face.  

“Yes.” Wille was nodding as he started cutting the strawberry in front of him, “We could do the turnovers because we could do all the different flavors. Oh, and that stew that we made a couple of weeks ago would travel so well.” The next fifteen minutes were spent firing off ideas. Some were great and some were silly but it was hopeful and infectious and exactly what both of them needed as they were considering what was next.

Sara walked into the kitchen, wearing the clothes she’d worn when she arrived in Farthington weeks ago, “Do we think anyone will be watching the stables this early?”

“No, you’re good. You’ll want to be quick though because August should be preparing to ride out in about an hour.” Wille mentioned as he handed her a napkin with bread and cheese in it. She gave him a quick hug that he settled into and then walked out the front door.

“I’m going to get all that loaded.” Wille pointed at the side door and bit into the bread in his hand, “Your stuff is all there, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll get changed and then do one more walkthrough of the kitchen.”

They both stood and went their separate ways. When Wille was picking up the third load he ran into Linda in the kitchen making cups of coffee and eating the fruit they'd left out, “Do you need any help?” He shook his head and held up the box in his hand, “This is the last one.”

“Hold on, let me put these in.” Simon stepped down the last step, dressed for their departure, and pulled the lid off the box in Wille’s arms, “Maybe these are sheets I do want.” He slipped the sheets from his bed into the box and put the lid back on top while exchanging smiles with Wille before he walked back out to the wagon.

Linda walked over to Simon, putting her hand on his cheek, “You’re sure about this?” and he nodded.

“Positive.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek before smiling.

“Then we go home.”  

The three of them followed Wille outside and heard hooves approaching. Sara climbed off her horse and handed the reins of the second horse she’d brought, to Wille. She pulled her horse closer to the wagon and adjusted her saddle as Linda and Sofia shifted things to make everything fit in the back of the wagon. Simon held Wille's horse in place as he adjusted the stirrups.

“Psst!” They both jumped as Felice and Maddie came walking out of the path by their house. Maddie was laughing as she lowered her hand from her loud whisper and pulled Simon into a hug, “I miss you already. You have to make sure you answer my letters, I already bought all the stuff for our next ritual.” Simon agreed and gave her another hug, imagining how fun it would be to consider their next offerings.

Felice leaned into Wille and they dug their fingers in, holding each other tight. “You know where we are, we’ll get any letter sent to Dimwood. Write as soon as you’re in Courtshire,” She nodded at him, excited but still sad to see her friend go before they traded and Maddie was hugging Wille. Felice waved goodbye to Linda and Sofia before she hugged Sara and they were off as quickly as they'd arrived, understanding that this truly was a “see you soon” and knowing they shouldn't attract attention.

Simon wrapped his hand around Wille’s waist as they both gave the girls one more wave, “How do you feel?” Simon asked and Wille took a breath.

“A couple of months ago I was trying to make peace with the fact that I wouldn’t have a perfect match.”

“And now?” Simon asked, smiling up at him.

“It would be difficult for anyone to convince me that my life wasn’t about to be perfect.” 

“Let’s go,” Simon said, giving Wille one more kiss before climbing into the wagon and taking the reins from Sofia. Sara and Wille climbed into their saddles and moved in front of the wagon on their horses.

“Ready?” Simon asked, letting his eyes jump from person to person and waiting for a confident nod from each of them. He looked at Wille and smiled.

“Let’s go home.”