A/N:

This is the sequel to my story, What would have been. I hope you like it.

If you have read, What would have been, welcome back and thank you so much for your support.

Aelin:

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius usually liked shopping but this was torture. Being dragged through a marketplace by heavily armed guards kind of put a damper on fun. The summer sun shone down, bringing with it a blistering heat and a wind that smelled of dead pine needles and hot pavement. Sunbeams filtered through nylon shade sails strung above venders carts and shouts echoed through the marketplace. People promoting their wares and haggling over prices, mingling with the calls of exotic birds and other manner of strange animals .Beside her, Elide glared at Lorcan's back. "Let's give him the slip." She muttered to Aelin. "Don't even think about it." The Fae male warned. Elide cursed superhuman fae hearing under her breath. " I can still hear you." Lorcan said without looking back. "Elide," Aelin said, with a wicked grin, "I like this vicious streak. I wish I got to see it more often."

Lysandra fanned herself with a silver silk fan. "Why can't we go wedding dress shopping in winter!" She complained.

"Maybe because the wedding is in Autumn?!" Aedion said rolling his eyes. Lysandra shrugged and continued fanning herself against the heat. "We could have just done this last winter," She said. "It's not my fault that Quinn put off taking us!" Aedion protested. Up ahead Quinn, her uncles captain of the guard, turned around to glare at Aedion. Aedion looked away quickly, pretending to have an extreme fascination with a nearby stall, then realising that it was displaying womens undergarments and quickly averting his eyes. Aelin pulled a paper bag out from a hidden pocket in her gown and peered inside. "Oh darn! My chocolate melted." She offered the bag to Rowan who was walking beside her. He wrinkled his nose at her and shot her a disbelieving look. He wasn't that different from the first time that she had met him three years ago. His hair was a little shaggier, in desperate need of a trim. His tattoos were still as brutal as ever and he still wore his tunic with his hatchet at his side. Aelin shrugged and offered the bag to Elide, who took one gratefully. "I won't make it through this day without sugar." She said.

"Why do you need to be here anyway?" Lysandra asked the Fae males grumpily, she glared at Rowan. "You're not even supposed to see the dress until the wedding." Rowan shrugged. "With the war between Linea and Ardarlan brewing we need to be cautious because as a known ally of Ardarlan they could try to assassinate Aelin. Also she's the future queen of Terrasen, she has a lot of potential enemies." Aelin rolled her eyes. "Enemies, Shmenemies. They can stuff it."

"Don't be so dismissive." Quin warned. "It's a legitimate threat to the crown." Aelin and Lysandra both gave him unimpressed looks. In truth, Aelin missed fighting, with her upcoming wedding to Rowan, court politics, and the general rush of things, she barely had time to visit the training room anymore. It was getting depressing. She missed the rush of fighting and the heavy weight of a blade in one's hand. She never carried weapons anymore. (There was no place to hide them in a gown.) And she had lost her edge, (Seriously, if someone had jumped her right at that moment, she wouldn't have been able to put a fight.) She didn't think she could take it anymore.

…..

Aelin knelt before her uncles throne with her head bowed and her eyes closed. "I have a request I would make of you uncle." She said. They had been through this multiple times before but she was determined to get her way. "Spit it out," Orlon said impatiently. "I want to join the war." Aelin said imploringly. "You know I can fight and-" "No Aelin." Her uncle interrupted wearily. "We have been over this- We need you here-"

"No one needs me here." Aelin said, her voice rising as her temper flared. "All I do is plan parties and rehearse my vows. They need me there. Please let me go to Dorian, Chaol and Nehemia, I know I can help them." "Enough!" Orlon boomed, his voice echoing throughout the empty hall. He stood to his full height and glared down at her. "That is the end of that Aelin. You shall not go and that is final." All of Aelin's fire died abruptly. "If you just send me with the troops, I can make a difference. I know I can." She felt tears well up behind her eyes but blinked them back. She would show no weakness in front of her uncle. "No." Orlon said firmly, his voice quiet again. He slumped back in his throne and suddenly he looked tired and frail, as if the years had finally caught up with him. "No." He closed his eyes and for the first time, Aelin didn't see her uncle, the King. She saw a tired old man who had shouldered too much responsibility for too long. "If its travel you wish for, after the wedding I shall send you to Queen Maeve. And you can spend the winter in Wenlyn." "What I want is to fight." Aelin said fiercely, getting to her feet. She turned on her heel, hair flying behind her, and stalked from the room.

….

Back in her bedroom, Aelin fumed and raged. The fire in her blood growing hotter with each passing second. She cursed the war and politics and being apart from her friends for so long. She missed Dorian and Nehemia. They couldn't even come to see her wedding, they were so busy with the war. Aelin looked to her bookshelf. Most of the book there were ones that Dorian had sent to her. And on top[ of the shelf there was an oil painting of Dorian, Nehemia, Elide, Chaol and herself. A sharp pang raced through her and she cried out. Then the world was burning. Fire raced out of her and she bent over her knees, falling to the floor in pain. Tongues of flame raced around the room. Incinerating, destroying, eating anything in its path. It raced along the floor and up the bookshelves, licking its way up the spines. The carpet went up in flames and Aelin was drowning in a sea of fire. The bed caught alight and then it was all but a pillar of red and gold. 'Mala help me' Aelin thought. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down but she ended up just inhaling heat. 'I can't control it.' She choked on her own magic. Gods, she couldn't breathe. Then all of a sudden the fire stopped. It disappeared along with all the air in the room with a soft. Thwump. And then the oxygen was back and Aelin sucked in greedy mouthfuls of it. A steady hand pressed down on her back and started rubbing slow soothing circles. 'Rowan' She thought, and leaned into his warmth. Her mate put his arms around her and hugged her. She turned her face into his shoulder and let the tears fall. "I can't do this anymore, Rowan."

…...

Rowan:

"I know." He said quietly. He pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to her feet. He turned her so her face was buried in his chest and bent his face into her neck. "I know." He murmured into her skin. "This is killing me." She told him. He pulled away and held her at and arms length. Gods she was gaunt. Her hair was drab and she was thin. There were dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she was being eaten up from the inside out. Her eyes were empty and hollow and the spark that made her who she was was completely gone. He knelt and wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her torso. She bent her head over his shoulders. "I believe in you, brat." He said. "Do what your heart says." He felt the vibrations as she laughed weakly. "Thanks, buzzard." He stood and took her hand. "Why don't we go down to the training room. Best two out of three?"

"You're on" She said, wiping at her eyes.

….

Aelin:

That night, Aelin packed her bag. She put in gowns and tunics and books and weapons all in one leather satchel. She snuck down to the kitchen and stole some fruit and dried meat and she put that in too. Then she opened the window and peered outside. Below the rest of the castle loomed far below and from her vantage point in her tower bedroom, it was all dizzyingly high. The lights from the guards torches bobbed back and forth as they patrolled the walkways and parapets. Ducking back into her room she fastened a rope around the leg of the charred bed and threw it. It whistled through the air and fell out the open window. Aelin took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Then she took a running jump out the window and caught the rope on her way down. Her body slammed against the stones. Then she began to climb down. She was going to war.

…..

High above, two figures watched the princess flee the castle. Leaving behind glass slippers and gowns for blood and blades. They watched her vault over walls and twirl out of the way of patches of firelight. They leaned on the windowsill with bated breath as her shadowy figure reached the top of the castle wall and turned to see her home, one last time. Then she dropped over the other side and was gone from sight. "Godspeed, Aelin Galathynius." Fenrys murmured. Beside him, Evalin Ashryver pressed her mouth to her clasped hands and whispered, "Be safe, my Fireheart."

S/A/N: Please review with constructive criticism. I hope you liked it.