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The harsh rays of the morning sun forced their way through the thin curtains, shining right on to Beverly's face.
She let out a groan, rolling around to hide her eyes in the pillow. Her arm stretched out onto the bedsurface next to her.
She let out a sigh.
Cold.
Empty.
Like it had been every morning for the past year.
Beverly knew she should drop that habit, stop letting herself hope that he might return and she'll just wake up next to him one morning like it had all just been a long, bad dream.
But how could she?
When they had started seeing each other she was well aware of what him being an Hero of the Guild meant. She knew that to fulfill his duties he had to go travel through the land and be gone for weeks, sometimes even months at a time.
She also knew of the risks, that he'd be fighting all kinds of creatures and people and be prone to getting injured, or even worse. All those nights she had spend tracing the scars all over his body were first-hand proof of that.
And even though she hadn't exactly loved the idea of all of that she would have never asked him to quit. She knew it always had been his dream to become a hero and that helping people was his passion, which was one of the many things she loved about him.
She just didn't expect that something would actually happen to him, let alone this shortly after they had just been married and settled into their own home.
It just wasn't fair. Their life had ended when it should just be starting.
So, how could she just give up hope that he might return one day? That they might get to live that life after all?
Sluggishly, she made her way out of bed and changed out of her nightgown and into her uniform dress for her early shift at the tavern.
How someone could feel the need to get drunk this early in the day she still didn't understand. "Gives you work, doesn't it?", the host would tease her. "I suppose", she'd say.
After preparing a light breakfast she left the house, feeling a warm summer breeze on her skin as she made the short way to the tavern.
Like expected it was already decently packed with people drinking, gambling and talking louldy over each other. She began greeting customers, taking orders and serving them, talking to the people and just going about her day like usually.
It was just before noon when the atmosphere inside the tavern changed all of a sudden.
She was replacing the empty jugs on her tray with filled ones as she noticed the boisterous voices of the customers behind her turning into hushed whispers.
She turned around to see what the sudden change of mood was about and her eyes widened as the tray slipped out of her hand, clattering onto the floor.
In the doorframe stood a man, tall and skinny, his clothes hanging loose and heavy on his frame. His blonde hair was long and unruly, just like the beard adorning his sunken in face.
She could make out the whispers around her.
"Can it really be?"
"He looks so different."
"Is that truly him?"
Yes, it was. She instantaneously knew it was him, had to be him. Because no matter how different and changed he may have looked, those eyes, big and green, always so full of hope and wonder, his eyes, she could pick them out in a crowd of thou-
sands.
And currently those eyes were focused only on her, filled with this familiar adoration she had been craving for so long.
As if some kind of dam had broken tears started filling up her own pair of eyes and ran down her cheeks as she rushed over to him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder, both as tightly as she could, like she was scared he'd vanish again if she didn't.
He returned the action and, even though he was unusually
careful and hesitant, as if he couldn't quite believe yet that he was really here, that it was really her, and his arms weren't as strong and sturdy as she remembered them to be, she felt just as loved and protected as she always had.
She would start sobbing if she wasn't already.
They stayed like that for a moment, just holding each other and crying, until Beverly finally dared breaking away just enough to look up at him.
She raised one of her hands up to his cheek to caress it, feeling the coarse hair on his pale, furrowed skin.
"Oh, Brom", she whispered, and, Avo, how long had it been since she last said his name? "Just what happened to you?"
He put his calloused, scarred hand over hers, holding it there and slightly turning his head to put his rough lips against her palm.
"I don't even know where to start", he said softly, his voice tired and strained but a hint of his usual teasing charm coming through. "It's a long story. Maybe we could go home first?"
The way he said the word, full of exhaustion and longing, it broke her heart. "Of course", she reassured him quickly.
Taking hold of his arm she slowly led him up the short path to their house. As she opened the front door for him he carefully made his way inside and stopped justa few steps in. He took a slow, deep breath through the nose and started looking around at the interior.
She couldn't quite make out his expression. It was like a mixture of astonishment and relief. She noticed tears starting to well up in his eyes as he stared right ahead into the room.
"Brom", she said softly, placing a hand on his back, about to pull him back into a hug.
He startled out of his trance, wiping away the moisture in his eyes. "I'm fine, I... I'm just shocked to see you kept the trophies on the wall. For a moment I was scared you had used the opportunity to finally get rid of them", he joked as a small smirk formed on his face.
Beverly face softened at that. "Still deflecting with humor, I see?", she teased back, glad that at least some parts of him hadn't changed.
"It was a serious concern of mine."
She couldn't help but snort in amusement. By Avo, how much she had missed especially this part of him, the one that always managed to lighten the mood and make her laugh, not matter how glum the situation at hand was.
She led him to the small wooden table in their kitchen and pulled out a chair for him. "You should sit", she said as she walked over to the stove, preparing the fire. "It'll be time for lunch in a bit. I'm sure you must be hungry."
"Beverly", Brom said, his tone now serious again, making her turn around. "I really think we should talk. About... where I've been." His gaze was directed downward.
She walked over to the table, sitting opposite of him.
"I'm sorry, I just assumed you might want to settle in first."
"I'm afraid I won't have time for that."
"What are you talking about, Brom?", she asked in confusion and he started to explain.
He told her everything. About Jack. About Bargate Prison. About the torture. About his mother.
And about what he had to do now.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she let out a scoff.
"You can't be serious, Brom."
"Beverly-"
She stood up from the chair and started pacing the room.
"You're saying that after spending every second of the day for over a year wondering and worrying about you, telling myself that you are not lying dead in a ditch somewhere in some by Avo forsaken corner of Albion, and that you will return home eventually, I do finally get you back only for you to just run off again?"
"Beverly-"
"And your state no less! In that condition you might as well be dead! And you want to fight Jack of Blades of all people?"
At that he got up as well, walking over to her, trying to get her to look at him.
"No, Brom, this isn't fair."
"I know it isn't. You think I want to do this? After everything I just told you about what I've been through, you really believe I'm not desperate to just breathe for a moment? To just be?
"Then why don't you?"
"Because I have to. It's my responsibility, as a member of my bloodline and as a Hero of the Guild."
"What about your responsibilities as my husband?"
Her voice began to quiver as tears pooled in her eyes.
"It just isn't fair", she repeated, burying her face in her hands.
Brom gently pulled her close, wrapping her up in his arms and stroking through her hair, holding her quietly for a moment.
"When will you have to leave?", Beverly mumbled into his shirt, interrupting the silence.
He hesitated for a moment. "At sunrise."
Her body tensed up under his touch. "I'm sorry, I really don't have much time. I shouldn't even be here, but I... I just really needed to see you."
"Tomorrow morning at sunrise", she repeated as she raised her head from his chest to look up at him. She let out a hum and contemplated for a moment. "So there is enough time for a shave at least."
Brom chuckled at that. "Not a fan of the look?"
She shook her head. "You're so handsome, it'd be a shame to hide it like that." He smirked at the compliment.
"Let me promise you something", he began. "As soon as this is done I'll take you somewhere, anywhere you want, where it'll be just you and me. No Guild. No hero work. Just us. For as long as you will endure me."
She raised her eyebrows at him. "Anywhere I want?"
He cupped her face in his hands, wiping away the tear-streaks.
"Anywhere you want."
"Alright", she agreed, "But you need to promise me something else first."
"I don't think this is how it works", he laughed, "But alright."
"Promise that you'll come back to me. Alive."
His gaze softened. He leaned forward, bumping his forehead against hers. "Nothing could be easier than that. I'll always find my way back to you."