'The lord' was exactly what Senzajin had in mind.
A proud man without any emotional expressions, a straight back and the hands hidden behind it. Everything about him screamed self-confidence and the awareness of having power.

"Father." It hurt Senzajin a little that Luca called that man that way but it was necessary.
The lord turned around, slowly, a lot of patience but a chest that probably could talk loud enough to count as calm screaming.
"There you are.", he said, quite calmly but certainly with a dangerous glimmer in the eyes. "Have you forgotten your manners, son? Your mother was worried sick when you did not return home after training. We suspected someone kidnapped you, which was..." His look fell on Rin who did not hesitate to return it. "...at least kind of true."
"My apologies, mylord. I accidentally hurt him on the training grounds and my home was closer than your estate, Sir.", Rin apologised with a short salute. "I had to treat him for all these days. I apologise as well for not giving word to you about his presence at my house."
"Hmph." was all the all-so-mighty lord replied, returning to the window to stare outside, leaving the room in an awkward silence.

A few minutes passed, then he raised his voice once more.

"Even if this was more an accident, I want you to remember the consequences for such behavior. You will not leave your rooms, Luca, and you, Rin..." He sighed a little. "I have a mission for you to attend to until Luca is allowed to leave his rooms again."
"Sir." Rin straightened. "Should I prepare for a journey outside of Quel'Thalas?"
Senzajin noticed the loss of colour in Luca's face once she said that and gently squeezed his shoulder.
It was now, that they knew about their soulbond, that they would feel ripped apart.
The first days of a bonding could end up as physically painful if not passed together.
"Yes, that would be quite wonderful.", the lord replied. "Return to me once you are done. I shall give you the details then."
"Mylord." Rin saluted one last time and then, with a hurt expression on her face when returning Luca's look, turned around and left.
"You are dismissed as well."

Luca attempted a short but polite bow and then went for his own rooms.

"What a disgusting man.", Senzajin complained quietly, as if someone else could still hear them.
"Every noble is like this."
"My family isn't."
"Your family?"
"The Sunrunner family. Rather low nobility but enough to count as nobility." Senzajin smiled faintly. "You should visit them once in a while. You already look like me, they'll believe you."
"You think they'd take me too if I'd run away?"
Senzajin laughed warmly. "I'm sure they would. But I recommend listening to that old geezer for now. Once you are allowed to leave, you can go there. I'll tell you the way on a map just in case..." He shivered only thinking about it. "...they'll catch my soul."
Luca gulped. "I hope they'll never do."
"So do I." Senzajin sighed and then laughed barely loud enough to be heard. "But as far as I know my life I'll end up walking into a trap and get caught."
"Then don't walk at all."
"Please, sonny, I need my movement!", he laughed and Luca giggled.

That moment they entered his room and a guard stepped forward to lock the room, as they heard after the door closed.
Luca threw the little pouch on his bed and immediately himself next to it, rolling to the side and watching the empty rest of the bed.

"You ever just wish for someone to be there with you?", he quietly asked. "Locked in a room with you so you can enjoy each other's company?"
"Am I right to assume you are referring to Rin?"
Luca hesitated a while. "Maybe. But you are 'someone' as well."
"Am I now? I'm just a ghost."
"That doesn't change the fact that you are still a person."
"I wish I'd be."
"Quit talking bullshit, father."

Senzajin winced.
Father.
He called him father.
He couldn't say why it hit him so hard but he enjoyed it. As if part of his dream actually came true.

"Father?"
"Sorry..." He chuckled a little in embarrassment. "I guess I'm just not used to get called 'father'..."
Luca smiled widely, a weird happiness expressing on his face. "Believe me, it's nice to have someone to call 'father' who actually acts like one. Sometimes I even feel like I was found somewhere around Quel'Thalas and they adopted me because they felt sorry for me- " He stopped and the smile faded. "But mother is like my mother. She doesn't act distanced or anything, she seems to hate all this nobility stuff. I saw her ranger armour a few years ago, but never on her. She cried in the room, holding a bow. I feel like she isn't allowed to do anything that was fun for her anymore."
"Damia was pretty ambitious as a ranger, I can tell." Senzajin wanted to chuckle but he understood the situation the woman and mother was in now. "Is there no way she can get what she wants?"
"She asked 'father' about it and got beaten up by him pretty badly. I saw it without them noticing. He locked her in her room for a week." Luca sighed. "I wish I could help her..."
"You can. With help of my family." Senzajin put a hand on Luca's head. "My father doesn't like restrictions in society, that's why my mother enjoys her time with whatever she wants and supports him in trying to change the lives of other women here in Quel'Thalas. My sister would most likely help, since she is a Ranger-General."
"I can't do anything though for a certain amount of time."
"I can try to leave your side for just this once."
"Are you sure...?"
Senzajin nodded with a faint smirk. "She gave birth to two wonderful children of mine, after all."
"I'll wait here then. Not that I have much of a choice..." Luca sighed deeply.

Senzajin smiled and turned around to go through the walls.
Damia was in exactly this kind of sitation he would've loved her not to be in.
A ranger imprisoned in the restrictions of nobility was like an animal in an unlocked cage or a madman tied up with loose ropes.
One mistake and they go crazy.
It surprised him she kept her sanity for so long, maybe it only seemed so though.

The view on his home pulled him back into the present.
The door was open again but this time because of his adolescent sister Dhania, who went off for her blood magic training it seemed.
He was a little worried about her since the blood magic responded to the berserk she was cursed with.
No doubt that one day she would have to run for her life as well.
But right now she ran for her training.
He went for the door.

Palnor stood there, shaking his head with a faint smile before he closed the door.
He then took a seat on the same couch Senzajin saved his life on years ago, putting an arm around Ophelia's shoulders who seemed faint, barely even present in the situation.
Yet before Palnor could even say a word, someone knocked at the door again.

Senzajin froze in shock the second he saw the purple stone in the priests hand.

"We apologise for disturbing, Sir.", the leader of the five men group said. "But we've sensed Senzajin's spirit in here and as you probably remember, the Regent Lord ordered to capture it as soon as possible."
"What for?"
"Does it matter? We are here by order of the Regent Lord."
"What. For?", Palnor repeated. "You may not understand, since priests like you abandoned their families, but I do not care about what my son did. Unless you want to return his soul into his body and send him back to our household, you shall stay way from him."
"But that's exactly why the Regent Lord looks out for him. Maybe not bring him back to this household but for revival reasons indeed."
"Banishing.", Senzajin said without giving opening his mouth another thought.
"Banishing...?" Palnor's eye glow increased so immensely it didn't even look elven anymore. "You dare lie at me to take my son's soul for banishing him?!"

The priests took a few steps back at the unusual sight of such intense eye glow but regained control sooner than better.
The first priest raised his hand, casting a spell that created a stream towards the purple crystal in his hand.
Before Senzajin could even realise what was going on, the stream caught him and the next second he was surrounded by purple crystal walls.