SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant

The flight back ended in the forest outside Euclid.

Caelvyrn descended through the clouds and landed in a wide clearing far enough from the walls that an enormous dragon appearing from the sky wouldn’t immediately send half the city garrison into a panic. The moment Trafalgar, Rhosyn, and Dravok were off his back, Caelvyrn straightened again with what looked suspiciously like relief.

”There. Everyone is alive, nobody fell off, and I’ve successfully completed my temporary career as transportation.” His huge head lowered toward Trafalgar. ”If you decide you’re ready to continue training, let me know. Preferably before someone simply assumes I’ll be carrying everyone across the continent again.”

Trafalgar looked up at him. ”You complained the entire way here.”

”And yet I still brought you. That should tell you how generous I am.”

”Or how much you enjoy complaining.”

Caelvyrn’s eyes narrowed slightly. ”Your balance is still worse than I expected. I had to adjust twice mid-flight.”

Trafalgar met his gaze. ”I didn’t fall.”

”That’s not the same as doing it well.”

Dravok watched the exchange without much interest before turning to Trafalgar. ”I’ll contact you when it’s time to return. Don’t come looking for me before then. Your mind needs a proper break, and a few quiet days won’t undo everything you’ve learned.”

”How long are you planning to disappear for?”

”I don’t know yet. I told you I have things to take care of.” Dravok glanced toward the distant walls of Euclid. ”Spend the time with your family. When I’m ready to continue, you’ll know.”

Trafalgar nodded. He expected Dravok would be gone for a few days, perhaps a week or two at most. Whatever preparations the old Primordial had mentioned were clearly important, but Trafalgar doubted he’d stay away for very long with their training unfinished.

Dravok gave Rhosyn a brief nod before walking toward the trees.

Caelvyrn spread his wings behind them. ”And with that, I’ve fulfilled every obligation anyone could reasonably invent for me today. I’m going home.”

”You’ve had a difficult morning,” Trafalgar said.

”Finally, some understanding.”

The dragon pushed off the ground before anyone could answer, the force of his wings flattening the grass beneath them. A few seconds later he was already rising above the forest, apparently very pleased to be carrying nobody but himself.

Trafalgar watched him disappear between the clouds.

Then he turned toward Euclid.

The sight of the city did something to him that he hadn’t expected.

For the people inside those walls, he’d only been away a relatively short time. For Trafalgar, the memory of leaving felt much farther away. Years of training sat between that moment and this one, even if the world itself refused to acknowledge them.

He wanted to go home.

By the time he reached the mansion, Rhosyn walking beside him, that feeling had only grown stronger.

Two soldiers stood guard outside the garden entrance. Both straightened the moment they recognized him, and one immediately stepped forward to open the gates.

”Lord Trafalgar. Welcome back.”

”Good to be back.”

The gardens beyond were familiar in a way Caelvyrn’s impossible underground landscapes could never quite be. Trafalgar had barely crossed half the path toward the mansion when the front doors opened.

Mayla appeared first.

Aubrelle was beside her, with Cynthia only a few steps behind.

For a moment, Trafalgar simply looked at them.

Mayla’s pregnancy was the first change he noticed. Her stomach had grown enough that there was no ignoring how close she was getting now, and seeing it after the strange stretch of time he’d experienced inside the dimension made something tighten pleasantly in his chest.

Then Mayla smiled.

”You’re finally home.”

That was enough.

Trafalgar crossed the remaining distance and pulled her gently against him, careful of her stomach but considerably less careful about how long he held her there. Mayla didn’t complain. Her arms came around him instead, and she rested her cheek against his chest as though she already understood exactly what he needed.

”You were only gone a little while for us,” she murmured. ”Take as long as you want.”

Trafalgar closed his eyes.

”I missed you.”

”I know.”

Aubrelle stepped closer once he finally loosened his hold on Mayla. Trafalgar reached for her next, and she came into his arms with no hesitation.

”I’m happy you’re back,” she said, her voice warmer than usual. ”You sound tired.”

”Apparently living years in a training dimension isn’t particularly relaxing.”

”I could have told you that without trying it.”

Trafalgar laughed quietly and kissed the top of her head before letting her go.

Cynthia stood waiting with her arms folded.

When Trafalgar looked at her, she tilted her head. ”Are you planning to stand there looking emotional, or do I get a turn?”

”There she is.”

He pulled her against him before she could say anything else.

Cynthia made a small sound of protest that had very little conviction behind it, then wrapped both arms around him and held him just as firmly.

”You really do look exhausted,” she said against his shoulder. ”Whatever those three were doing to you, I hope it was worth it.”

”I learned quite a bit.”

Cynthia pulled back enough to look at him. ”You can explain everything properly over food.”

”That sounds fair.”

Trafalgar stayed close to all three of them after that, with little interest in pretending the time apart had felt equal. Mayla seemed perfectly content to keep one hand around his arm while Aubrelle remained beside him, and even Cynthia didn’t make another comment when Trafalgar reached for her hand a few moments later.

Rhosyn watched the scene from several steps away.

For the first time since they’d stopped the training, Trafalgar looked genuinely lighter. The tension that had followed him out of the dimension had eased almost the moment he’d seen them, and Rhosyn found herself quietly pleased by it before Mayla’s voice pulled her from the thought.

”Rhosyn, it’s good to see you too.”

Rhosyn blinked once and looked toward her. ”You too. And you’re looking... considerably further along than the last time I saw you.”

Mayla laughed softly, one hand moving over her stomach. ”That’s because I am. He noticed too.”

”It was difficult not to.”

Trafalgar crouched slightly in front of her and placed a hand carefully against her stomach. ”How have you been feeling?”

”Tired sometimes. Heavy most of the time.” Mayla covered his hand with hers. ”But everything is fine. The healers keep checking, probably more often than they need to because everyone in this house has decided worrying is a profession.”

”Good. Let them worry.”

Mayla gave him an amused look. ”I thought you’d say that.”

They moved inside together after that.

Aubrelle told him about the quieter changes around the mansion and Euclid while he’d been away. Mayla had spent most of her time preparing for the birth and being ordered to rest whenever she tried doing too much. Cynthia, predictably, had been far less willing to sit around.

”I’ve been learning from Arthur,” Cynthia explained as they settled into one of the sitting rooms. ”Nothing dramatic. Mostly training and helping with a few things around the mansion.”

”So normal work.”

”Exactly.”

Aubrelle tilted her head toward Trafalgar. ”And you? Apart from being beaten for what apparently felt like several years.”

”Mostly that.”

Cynthia stared at him.

Trafalgar sighed. ”Fine. I managed to learn Godstep. It’s already better than Severance Step, but still… not exactly comfortable to use yet. Origin Guard too. I’m working on Ruin Pulse now, and it’s considerably more annoying than the other two were.”

Mayla’s expression softened. ”But you’re stopping for a while.”

”Dravok didn’t exactly give me a choice. My head wasn’t handling the time difference well anymore.”

”Then for once, listen to him,” Cynthia said. ”You don’t need to turn every advantage you find into a competition with yourself.”

Trafalgar looked at her. ”I’m getting that speech surprisingly often.”

”Maybe there’s a reason.”

He couldn’t argue with that one.

Aubrelle tilted her head slightly, Pipin perched nearby and quietly relaying everything she was sensing from the room as usual. ”Godstep sounds… useful. If it’s already surpassing Severance Step, that alone is a significant improvement.”

”It is,” Trafalgar admitted. ”It’s just not something I want to rely on too heavily yet.”

There was, however, one thing he needed to tell them before the evening became too comfortable.

”I won’t be staying in Euclid the entire time.”

Mayla looked up immediately, though there was no accusation in her face.

”Darian du Thal’zar contacted me. He wants to meet in two days.” Trafalgar leaned back slightly. ”It’s been a long time since we spoke properly, and there are several things I need to find out from him.”

Aubrelle nodded slowly. ”Do you expect trouble?”

”I don’t think so. Caelum doesn’t either. But Darian is the head of a Great Family now, and our arrangement was never simple. I want to see where we stand after all this time.”

Mayla squeezed his hand. ”How long will you be gone?”

”A few days at most, assuming the conversation doesn’t become more complicated than it needs to be.”

”Then go.” Her answer came easily. ”Just come back when you’re done.”

Trafalgar smiled and leaned over to kiss her forehead. ”I will.”

Cynthia had been quiet for a moment.

”I’m coming with you.”

Trafalgar looked toward her. ”I expected you might say that.”

”Good. Saves us the argument.”

Rhosyn, sitting nearby, added calmly, ”I’m going too. We already discussed it.”

Trafalgar considered the two of them, then nodded. His earlier idea of bringing Barth wasn’t necessary if Cynthia was coming, and keeping the group small would make a private meeting considerably easier.

”Then it’s the three of us. Cynthia, Rhosyn, and me.”

Aubrelle smiled faintly. ”Try not to start a war.”

Cynthia answered before Trafalgar could. ”If one starts, it won’t be because we tried.”

”Very reassuring.”

Trafalgar laughed and settled back between them.

For the first time in what felt like far too long, there was nowhere he needed to be that evening, nobody waiting to hit him, and no technique he had to understand before the next day began.

Two days from now, Darian could have his attention.

For tonight, Trafalgar was home.