Aedion was staring back at Celaena, eyes so wide that she thought he looked very like a frog. 

"You're alive." he said, his voice barely more than a breath, "You're really alive. And you're ... pretending to be Celaena Sardothien? Why?"

Celaena laughed, a harsh sound against the quiet. "I am Celaena Sardothien." she said.

Aedion's eyebrows creased together, then his face expanded in furious comprehension. "You became an assassin?!" 

"What?" Celaena said "did you expect me to stay a pretty, prissy, princess for the rest of my life?"

Aedion looked as though was trying very hard not to lose his temper, and failing astoundingly. "You mean to tell me that you, you, became an assassin. You hid in the capitol and became an assassin?"

Faster than anybody could blink the laughter was gone from Celaena's face. "you don't get to judge me." she snapped "Of everybody, after everything, you don't get to judge me."

"It doesn't matter what happened!" Aedion shouted, fury covering his face. "It doesn't matter! This, this is unbelievable. And stupid. Even for you."

"Do you even know what happened Aedion? Do you know that I woke up when I was 8 years old, 8, covered in my parents blood? Do you know that I watched a woman die just to give me a little more time to escape? Do you know that I saw all our people dying, and when I looked to see who was killing them, it was you? Do you know all that? Do you still think you have the right to judge me for choices I made?"

Aedion seemed to deflate like a balloon that had had all it's air let out. It was a long moment before he said, all the anger gone from his voice, "If somebody had told me back then ... if somebody had said that someday we would end up here, I would have told them they were crazy. Maybe I don't have the right to judge you. But can you tell me, why an assassin?"

Celaena sighed through her nose, then said "Because when you are young and scared and alone, sometimes you will love anyone who offers you a chance and safety and compassion. Even if that person is the king of assassins. I made a choice, and maybe it was a bad one, but it kept me alive."

Aedion took a deep breath and said "Me too".

After that there was silence. 

***

Sam was staring in utter confusion at the pair before him. It was quite obvious to him that there were great chunks of the story that he was still missing, but he wasn't going to intrude, not right now. He wasn't entirely sure that it would be safe. 

He had never before heard Celaena speak about her past, her life before Arobynn, to anybody. It was almost as if she had sprung into existence at age 8. It made Sam sick to think about her then, all alone and scared. It made him want to protect her, but he couldn't save her from her own memories, he didn't even know what those memories were. 

Looking at Aedion and Celaena, it made him curious about who Celaena might have been once, if she had left such a lasting impression on such an important man. 

Sam was shaken from his reverie by movement from the two people before him. After what seemed like days of silence they had begun moving towards each other, and Sam had his blade in his hand almost before his brain had understood that the pair was moving. A moment later, however, he dropped it. Because Celaena and Aedion weren't fighting - they were embracing. 

***

Celaena was ashamed of the tears running down her face and onto Aedion's tunic, but she wasn't going to wipe them away. For a moment, she let herself be held, and she forgot about the last 12 years, about the blood on her hands and the role she knew Aedion would want her to take on, she forgot about all of it and let herself be 8 years old again. 

After what seemed to Celaena to be no time at all, she heard the sound of a blade hitting the ground. She pulled back from Aedion and turned to face the threat, daggers in hand. What she found instead, was Sam.

Sam was staring at her, questions dancing all over his face. "Celaena," he said, "what is going on?"

Aedion looked from Sam to Celaena, then said "he doesn't know?"

Celaena shot the man a glare full of daggers before turning back to Sam. She took several deep breaths, desperately trying to find the right words, the words that would make this okay. 

"Sam," she said softly "you know that I had a life before I came to Arobynn that i don't talk about, the one you told me didn't matter?"

Sam nodded slightly.

Celaena continued "In that life my name wasn't even Celaena Sardothien"

"I assumed."

Celaena laughed slightly, "Yes well, there's more that you probably didn't assume. Now before I tell you I need you to promise me one thing."

"What is it?" said Sam.

"That nothing will change." Celane replied "that you will not treat me any differently. That you will still love me."

"Of course" Sam said gently "Celaena nothing could ever change that."

"Okay." Celaena took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She didn't want to see Sam's face when he learned the truth, she didn't think she could bare it. Then she said, slowly "When I was born I was given both a name and a title. I was, and I suppose in a way still am, Aelin Ashryver Galanthius, crown princess of Terrasen."

Hey all!

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