The King of Pejera nodded tiredly to the two guards that stood stoically outside the doors to his and his wife's private chambers. No one was allowed past these double doors made of thick oak without their express permission. Something that neither of them gave often. Passing through the doors, he waited for them to close soundly before giving into his exhaustion visibly: slouching his shoulders, and rubbing a hand over his eyes. Today he was feeling every single one of his sixty years and was looking forward to his rest.

He passed through his sitting room, and opened the door to his bedroom. The room was dim, the fire in the hearth had reduced to embers and his wife had lit no candles. Thus, it took him a few moments for his eyes to adjust before he was able to make out the form of his wife convulsing silently on the floor before one of the easy chairs.

But the king did not call for help. He did not rush to her side either. He stared at her twitching body and suddenly felt even more exhausted than he had heartbeats before. He walked over to her dressing table and picked up a small wooden dowel that was covered in indentations and bite marks. He knelt on the floor next to her, and shoved the piece of wood between her teeth to keep her from biting her tongue even more than she already had. Then he sat down, and with the ease of long practice, held her head as still as he could and waited for the fit to pass.

He wasn't sure how much time passed before his wife let out an explosive breath, the dowel falling from her mouth as her whole body went limp. After a few gasping breaths, she cracked open one of her stunning violet eyes and looked up at the frowning countenance of her husband.

"You're back early," she croaked out. Blood dribbled from her lips but she was to weak to wipe it away.

"You promised you'd stop this, Savana," the king said, his voice tight with anger even as his touch stayed gentle.

"I said I'd try to stop," she corrected.

"Don't give me bullshit," he hissed, "your Sight is under your complete control. That is the uniqueness of your gift."

"Maybe so, but -"

"No buts!, " he was shouting now, "Every time you See into the future, your own future shortens! How much time do you really have left, Savana? Five years? Three?"

At this, the queen managed to strength to sit up. Long Sight quests always made her physically and emotionally weak, which is why, when faced with his anger, she reacted with some of her own.

"It is unimportant, Veles," she shot back, just as venomous, "You had no concern for that particular consequence when we were first wed."

Veles paled in anger, "I viewed you as a means to an end then," he spat, unashamed at admitting it, and secretly pleased when she flinched at his callous.

"And now?" she hissed.

"Now?!" he shouted, "Things are different now, I need you more than I need your gift, Savana!"

She was taken aback at that, but only for a moment. Just long enough for her to take a deep breath and regain her composure. Once she had, she answered him stiffly, "And unfortunately for you, Pejera needs the benefits of my gift more than it needs me." As she spoke, she reached up and gripped the arm rests of the easy chair she'd fallen before her husband found her, and heaved herself back up into it.

Veles swore angrily under his breath, shooting to his feet and pacing. After a few passes between the doors and the huge four poster bed that dominated the room he stopped short and looked at his wife seriously.

"Savana, you're forty-eight years old. The only reason you're lived this long is because you can control your gift. Now, will you please tell me how much of your remaining life you're spent?"

Savana felt the last of her anger and frustration die at her husband's quiet, sad tone. Love may not be something they shared, but that did not mean that didn't care for each other.

"I've maybe two more years left; if I stopped completely right now," she answered reluctantly.

Veles closed his eyes as if in pain and dropped to sit on their bed.

"Two years?" he asked hoarsely.

"Yes," she confirmed again, "just enough time to set some last things in motion."

Veles looked at her, her face half lit, half in shadow from the dim light of the orange embers.

"I never asked this of you. Even in the beginning, when I considered you little more than a tool, I still strove to protect as much of your life as I could."

Savana smiled sadly at her husband of some thirty-one years, knowing, despite what she's said before, that he was right.

"Yes, that's true," she agreed aloud, but truthfully I do this more for our grandchildren than for Pejera as a whole. They..." she struggled for a moment to find the appropriate words, "They are going to have a hard time of it, Vel. No matter what future I look into, there is always this...darkness. And the only way I can help, is by doing this."

The king didn't answer her. He couldn't really refute her reasoning. And in the end, he had no way of stopping her; no matter how much he wanted too.

Once more, the king felt every single one of his years, and once again, wanted nothing more than his rest. Tired of both the day, and this conversation, this dispute he couldn't win, he turned from her.

"I'm going to bed, Savana," he said, standing and starting to undress.

"Alright, one last thing though? Tomorrow would you mind if I took Bearnard's place at the Court of Justice? I want to take Draconcia with me."

Veles paused in his disrobing to look at her suspiciously, "Is this one of those 'some last things' you wanted to do? Because to a ten year old, the Courts will most likely be extremely tedious."

Savana shrugged her shoulders, "It may be," she answered carefully, "but if this works out how I hope it does, it would lighten Drake's path considerably. But it will depend on her own choices, not mine," was her cryptic finish.

Veles waved her off, unwilling to try and figure out just what she meant, "Fine, go ahead."

He finished undressing and climbed into bed, sighing as he finally relaxed fully for the first time all day. But Savana stayed in her chair. Veles knew why too, she was debating telling him something. He could sense it in her demeanor. Knowing that there was nothing he could do to sway her either way, he closed his eyes and let himself begin to drop off.

"Veles?" she asked him finally.

"What, Savana?" he asked tiredly, he'd almost been asleep.

"There's something that is making their futures dark. Something I can't See."

That caught his flagging attention. He rose up onto his elbows and looked at her again.

"Why not? Can you guess?" he asked.

Savana shook her head, "I can only hope I can learn what it is before I run out of time."

Veles sighed and fell back onto the bed. He was too tired for this now. Too tired to speculate on shadows that his wife couldn't define. To guess at a threat that was apparently so distant that even his Seer wife couldn't See far enough to make it out clearly.

"We'll figure it out later, Savana. For now, I just want to rest."

He was just so exhausted. So very, very tired.

"Then sleep, my husband," the queen said quietly, her voice comforting, "You're right, we've some time yet."

She died a year later.