Ignite the Sun

Alison absolutely demolished the two plates of food offered to her and was currently fighting to stay awake – which was proving to be a difficult task.

"If you're sleepy we can continue talking tomorrow, no need to push yourself."

"...okay." The girl rubbed her eyes and nodded weakly.

Damien stood up and offered her a hand, this time the girl didn't hesitate to take it and followed him to one of the rooms rented by the Order.

He chose the room that was meant for Nickolas due to the fact that their leader hasn't gone in there even once – it was essentially a completely clean and unused room.

Once Alison was sleeping soundly on the massive bed Damien quietly left the room and moved towards the backroom, there were a few more things he would like to discuss with Ginny.

He found her with a quill in hand, slouched over a massive book and knocked on the doorframe to announce his presence.

Ginny looked over her shoulder and smiled at him.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, she's sleeping already but I wanted to talk with you about something."

"I'll be out in a moment, I just need to finish this section."

He watched in silence as she scribbled lines on paper in deep black ink and asked:

"Why does it take so much paper work to book a single room?"

"Mother insists on keeping three copies of everything." Ginny rolled her eyes. "I need to fill a rubric with details for every day a room is occupied thrice."

"Just use a copying quill, Nickolas does it all the time with the paperwork – I don't think he actually wrote a single word in the past two hundred years."

"And where would I get one? Despite our popularity we're just an inn, it's not like we can trade directly with the Tower."

"I'm sure Geo or Lady Sylara could get you one, just put in a request with the city."

"Maybe I will." She finished writing and put down the quill. "Come on let's get out of here if we're going to talk, this room is a bit stuffy."

***

As they sat at the counter Damien briefly explained the situation to Ginny.

"Poor girl, good thing you found her there – I imagine those boys who tried to fight her would've come back with reinforcements." She nodded thoughtfully. "Does it mean you'll be staying with us longer than usual?"

"I was planning on at least two months, but it all depends whether the girl agrees to train user me "

"Won't sir Nickolas and sir Leon be opposed to the idea? They can't just let go of their best fighter like that."

"I saved Leon's ass so many times that he wouldn't dare to disagree and Nickolas is rather lax when it comes to running the order – also he's stronger than me."

"Still, training someone is a rather large time commitment, I doubt you'll be done in just a few months and it's not like they'll grant you leave for years."

That was true – he could flunk his responsibilities for a few months no problem, but a few years were a lot even with their extended lives.

But there was a solution.

"I'll just apply to be the next ambassador, that way I can do my 'duties' while remaining in Mountainfall."

"What about sir Patrick? He's been in the position for almost twenty years."

"When we were drinking together yesterday he kept complaining how much he hates this job, he even offered me the position half-jokingly. I imagine he'll jump from joy when I offer him to take over."

"If that's the case I think you should move to the Fortress with her once you get the position."

Damien raised an eyebrow.

"Are you throwing me out?"

"Of course not, but you're going to be essentially raising her and an inn isn't a suitable environment to do that. Speaking of which, do you even have any experience with children?"

"Ginny, I'm over five hundred years old, I think I can manage a kid."

"Damien has a kid?" A new voice came from behind. "That's news me."

The woman in her early fifties who just entered the building approached the counter with a chuckle.

She looked remarkably similar to Ginny, the only difference were their eyes – Ginny's were hazel, while the woman's were dark brown.

"Hello Caroline." Damien greeted her with a nod.

"Mum, what are you doing here?" Ginny frowned.

"Your father left the keys in the office so I came to get them, but it seems like I stumbled into something much more interesting." Caroline sat next to Damien and looked at her daughter. "You can go fetch them while Damien explains everything to me."

Ginny groaned but obeyed and disappeared into the backroom again.

Damien recounted the recent developments to Caroline, keeping the same brief version he told to Ginny.

"And you're saying she's sleeping in Nickolas' room right now? You should consider moving to the fortress if you're serious about training her and the ambassador stuff."

"That's what I told him." Ginny came back and handed a pair of keys to her mother. "I was just curious whether he knows how to raise a kid."

"He most certainly does not." Caroline deadpanned.

"Excuse me?" Damien was surprised by the immediate response.

"I've been running this inn for decades and talked with countless people from the Order – I know that you avoid interacting with the youngest recruits like a plague."

"That's because Nickolas told me not to!" He defended himself. "Apparently I'm too soft and interactions with me would be detrimental to the recruits discipline."

"My point still stands, sometimes you have to be firm with kids." Caroline shrugged. "I know a thing or two, I raised five myself – if you ever need help don't hesitate to ask me or Ginny."

"I'm sure I'll do just fine myself, but thank you for the offer." Then he remembered something. "Actually, speaking of help, could one of you take care of her in the morning? I'm going to talk with Nickolas about the ambassador stuff and I might not come back before she wakes up."

Ginny nodded.

"Leave it to me."