Llhaesa spent much of her Sunday following the rescue mission not reading by the fire as intended, but rather engrossed in watching video of the Arrhazonan revolution.

By the time her mum arrived, llhaesa had watched comprehensive footage of the incredible and brave leadership of Jahrae. Llhaesa’s respect for Jahrae, already virtually infinite, leaped exponentially forward, carried forward on a wave of love.

We were so young then, llhaesa thought. Even at the time of the revolution, Jahrae was barely 24 years of age. When it mattered most, Jahrae stepped up, stepped forward, and went after their dream, proving to be the relentless catalyst that triggered the Arrhazonan people to demand better. When that time came, they looked for Jahrae to take them the rest of the way.

Other elements of Jahrae’s involvement in the revolution caught llhaesa’s attention; throughout that time of upheaval, Jahrae’s leadership remained peerless and consistently true to her – their – beliefs.

In the nascent stages of uprising, when there was as yet no real indication that the majority of the Arrhazonan people now stood with those opposed to the government, Jahrae stepped out from the shadows and boldly identified herself to Brellian as a leader of the movement to topple him, via a message delivered by post, boldly signed by her:

Brellian,

For llhaesa, for the Arrhazon people, I – we – stand against you, unmoving and unrelenting. We look forward to the day of your defeat.

Jahrae T’srha Khentavra

Once she sent that letter, Jahrae, as with llhaesa 2 years before, was a marked woman, and if she fell into the clutches of government, it likely meant death. Her courage in standing up and calmly calling out “this is who I am, this is what I intend to do” brought tears to llhaesa’s eyes. In addition, the ‘for llhaesa’ part of the message compounded the up welling of emotion inside.

Later, as the revolution grew serious, faced with the imminent and certain death of untold thousands, Jahrae made the choice to kill those threatening and capable, already taking aim – not an easy choice for a pacifist, but llhaesa, as did their world, knew it was the right choice to make.

Jahrae’s decision saved so many lives, all because she had the presence of mind to evaluate and understand options and consequences virtually instantaneously, and implement the best option. Where alternatives existed, Jahrae always followed the alternative path, rather than take life.

When things neared conclusion, when some – many – on her side, in the heat of the moment, threatened to kill Brellian, Jahrae calmly and boldly stood between them and Brellian, putting her life on the line to protect rule of law and the ideals for which they worked so hard.

Looking back with no small amount of nostalgia, llhaesa thought on the two years of marriage with Jahrae prior to her own exile. What she remembered of that time were intangibles – the promise of a future that lie fully in front of them, the elemental and yet unassembled parts that portended a brilliant future for Jahrae, once she found her confidence and direction. Llhaesa could see the raw, undeveloped brilliance, she just could not see how, where, or when it would manifest itself.

Feeling the strong pull of regret at having not been present during that period of Jahrae’s self-discovery, llhaesa carefully backed away from her self-pity, a recognised slippery slope that would adversely affect the current time if she continually allowed herself to wallow in what she had missed. Knowing and understanding was important, but she needed to leave it there.

By coming to terms with an understanding of the past, llhaesa hoped to reach a better understanding of what Jahrae experienced and what shaped her life after llhaesa was gone – her triumphs, her regrets, the pain she felt, the nightmares, the demands placed upon her that she met or perhaps from which she shied away.

Had someone forced llhaesa fifteen years ago to choose another to carry forward her dream and outlook, to make certain the world did not backslide, Jahrae would obviously have been that choice. Yet thrust into that role through circumstance, Jahrae rose to the occasion and as a result achieved what no other in Arrhazonan history had achieved.

Subsequent to the revolution, Jahrae settled nicely into the background, though she drew continual press coverage for the myriad of charitable interests under her direction – by far the pre-eminent charitable organisation on Arrhazon. In addition, if an important question of social policy arose, media inevitably contacted Jahrae, expecting her to weigh in with a point of view. Hers was a point of view that carried much weight on Arrhazon, the credibility of the leader of the revolution coupled with the guardian of the legacy of llhaesa.

If llhaesa were not already married to Jahrae, if they met for the first time now, for the first time in her life, llhaesa would aggressively pursue another as a love interest.

When they first met, the attraction was instantaneous and mutual, and they fell into a relationship both wished to have. Theirs was a mutually aggressive and recognised interest of one in the other, not that of one unaware and the other smitten.

Everything was ahead of them then, an unknown journey laden with wonder and potential pitfalls. Even llhaesa’s music career was a thing of the future, despite her initial success, and despite the fact it was significantly muted by government restrictions triggered by her activism.

In their missing years, llhaesa thought, Jahrae grew in ways that Jahrae initially never desired, and in fact tried to run away from – until she met llhaesa. On that day when goons sent by Brellian locked Jahrae out and prepared to take llhaesa away, Jahrae began to shed the cloak of feigned but superficially believed embarrassment over parental activism, shed her youthful detachment and propensity to follow another’s lead, and began a march toward finding her voice, her confidence, and a willingness to accomplish.

Closing down the Athenaeum connection, llhaesa continued pondering Jahrae’s transformation from reluctant and wide-eyed teenager to revered world leader. Maybe she missed the how, but they were together now, their relationship stronger than ever for the experiences both endured.

Llhaesa no longer would play mentor to Jahrae, as she did when Jahrae wished to blow off class for the day. Now she had to accommodate the needs of Jahrae’s profession, attending events, greeting ambassadors from other nations, supportive and in the background as Jahrae did her thing. If there was mentoring, it was mutual, one to the other in ways that made theirs an almost symbiotic relationship.

The state dinner at the White House was scheduled in a bit over a week, and llhaesa walked a fine line, given they asked her to perform musically. On a night where Jahrae would lead the Arrhazonan delegation and be the focal point of the affair, llhaesa was hesitant to shift the spotlight away from her partner, yet a declination would seem a slight to the President.

Llhaesa’s solution was to let Jahrae pick what music she would play. Jahrae, as expected, was reluctant to venture onto llhaesa’s turf, but llhaesa insisted, and so Jahrae had promised to think on the matter and render her opinion later.

Jahrae had, for all of half a day. An hour before, Jahrae sweetly but firmly informed llhaesa that as the Ambassador, as an Arrhazonan, as her wife, Jahrae wished for and expected llhaesa to be at her very best, not believe hers was a role to be shunted to the background. Everyone in the delegation represented the best of their world, Jahrae, claimed, and it was their best that each should put forth, not a muted effort designed to keep attention away and elsewhere.

With that in mind, Jahrae chose Corporeal Superficiality – the second release in the triad of songs llhaesa recorded on her final night on Arrhazon as the first for llhaesa to play at the event. Jahrae’s second choice was the brilliant, complex, and at times whimsical Overture for Exhilarative Moments, part of a full-length classical composition by llhaesa written while she was at N’rellia, and now recognised to be the greatest classical work written by an Arrhazonan composer.

The Overture was a lengthy piece on a stand-alone basis, usually close to fifteen minutes of varied-tempo piano play. Since M’traliel would also play, llhaesa needed to rework the piece for piano and violin.

The third song chosen by Jahrae for play – llhaesa loved that Jahrae put such effort into the selection process, and that she had such extensive knowledge of her work – was Equality, the title song from llhaesa’s only actual full-length recording and intended professional release, a mesmerising anthem defiantly laying claim to gender equality.

For the final selection, Jahrae chose no prior work, but rather tasked llhaesa to write a new composition specifically for the social event bridging two worlds.

Llhaesa smirked as she thought of how Jahrae sussed out both llhaesa’s intended reluctance and the reason for that reluctance, and knew Jahrae meant every word of her admonishment. She knew llhaesa so well!

Jahrae expected llhaesa to give all she had to give when playing, and if she did not, Jahrae would be the first to recognise a restrained and mundane effort. No one was as familiar with llhaesa’s music, moods, and inspiration. Even if Jahrae did not have the technical music knowledge that M’traliel and Khahishra possessed, Jahrae knew the music by feel, and she knew every little detail of llhaesa’s moods and abilities. Llhaesa might fool others, but she would never ever fool Jahrae.

Jahrae, off in the kitchen working on snacks for Saehressa’s expected arrival, busily went about stuffing mushrooms and making guacamole with an accompanying and contrasting salsa. Llhaesa initially offered to help, but Jahrae enjoyed culinary creation, and happily shooed llhaesa away from the suddenly very used and messy kitchen.

Llhaesa wandered back in an hour later and wrapped her arms around Jahrae, pulling her into a passionate and well-delivered kiss. The partners lingered in each other’s arms for a while, before the timer signalled a need to remove the mushrooms from the oven.

With their separation, llhaesa set out to clean up, first unloading the dishwasher, rinsing the dirty dishes and implements of cooking, and then loading them into the dishwasher. She happily hummed a tune as she worked, and Jahrae wallowed in the sweet sound; let it wash over her body and through her mind, llhaesa’s voice somehow adding warmth and a blissful feeling of home.

While she worked and sang, llhaesa’s mind remained active, and it reached a decision on a matter for which she had devoted much thought. Stopping her work, she again walked to Jahrae, this time a wide but serious smile pulled across her face.

Llhaesa choked a bit as she tried to utter the words, with no sound emerging even as her mouth started to move, and Jahrae felt some minor flutter of alarm begin to well up inside. “’Essa? What is wrong?”

Llhaesa’s expression reflected thought, a search for the right words. “My love, nothing is wrong, nothing at all, in fact. Everything is right.” Llhaesa reached out and took both of Jahrae’s hands in her own. “Ronnie and my divorce was final yesterday.

Jahrae T’srha Khentavra, will you remarry me?”

Jahrae was stunned, no two ways about her reaction. This was completely unexpected and an incredibly beautiful surprise, which is why her eyes opened wide, their dazzling display as if emeralds embedded in her face reflecting bright ambient light, shimmering and telegraphing her answer of joyful acceptance.