At council
After several hours of discussion, explanations, arguments, and more arguments...
The matter of Iyas was finally brought before the royal council.
Needless to say, the reaction was not positive.
"A spy?"
One advisor nearly stood from his chair.
"You want us to shelter a Norvoss spy?"
Several nobles immediately voiced their agreement.
Others looked at Iyas with open suspicion.
The fox stood near the back of the chamber.
Head lowered.
Ears drooping.
Tail motionless.
For once, he had no witty remarks.
No excuses.
No dramatic speeches.
Just silence.
One count slammed a hand against the table.
"This is madness!"
"He spent years gathering information on us!"
Another noble pointed directly at Iyas.
"How do we know he won't betray us tomorrow?"
The fox lowered his head further.
Because honestly...
He didn't have a good answer.
Then Ebruhan spoke.
And the room quieted.
Not because everyone agreed with him.
Because everyone respected him.
The blue dragon calmly explained everything.
Iyas' childhood
His reasons for serving Selene.
The fact that Selene herself had effectively abandoned him.
And most importantly...
The fact that Ebruhan would personally take responsibility for him.
That last part changed everything.
The arguments continued for nearly an hour.
Some still opposed the idea.
Others reluctantly agreed.
Eventually, after much debate...
The council reached a decision.
Iyas would remain.
For now.
Under supervision.
When the meeting finally ended, Iyas was still struggling to believe he was alive.
Later that evening...
The palace gardens were quiet.
The fox sat alone on a stone bench.
The sunset painted the flowers gold and orange.
For the first time in years...
He wasn't spying.
Wasn't running.
Wasn't hiding.
And somehow that felt stranger than everything else.
Footsteps approached.
Iyas immediately stood.
Ebruhan stopped nearby.
The dragon's expression remained as unreadable as ever.
"The palace has accepted you."
Iyas blinked.
Then blinked again.
A small smile slowly appeared.
"...Really?"
"Do not look so surprised."
"I am surprised."
Ebruhan folded his arms.
"For your living arrangements..."
The fox listened carefully.
"You will be staying at my residence."
Iyas froze.
"...Living with you?"
The words came out much louder than intended.
Ebruhan immediately frowned.
"Do not misunderstand."
The fox quickly straightened.
"Sorry, sir."
The dragon sighed.
"I own three houses."
"You may use one of them."
Iyas stared.
Three houses?
Of course he owned three houses.
He was Ebruhan.
The dragon probably had more property than some nobles.
The fox scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"So..."
"I get my own house?"
"Temporarily."
"Oh."
A pause.
"Still better than prison."
Ebruhan couldn't argue with that.
The dragon's gaze hardened slightly.
"But remember what I told you."
Immediately, the humor disappeared.
Iyas stood straight.
"Yes, sir."
"If you betray that trust..."
"I know."
The fox nodded firmly.
"I remember."
For several moments, neither spoke.
Then Iyas suddenly bowed.
Deeply.
More sincerely than he ever had before.
"Thank you."
Ebruhan raised an eyebrow.
The fox continued.
"I won't waste this chance."
His voice was steady.
Honest.
"I promise."
The blue dragon studied him for a moment.
Then nodded once.
"See that you don't."
With that, Ebruhan turned and began walking away.
Iyas remained standing in the garden.
Watching him leave.
The fox looked up toward the evening sky.
Years ago he had been a spy serving Selene.
A few days ago he had been chained in a prison cell.
Today...
He somehow had a place to live.
A second chance.
---------------
The sun had already begun to set when Ebruhan led Iyas through one of the quieter districts near the palace.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a house.
Not a mansion.
Not a noble estate.
Just a comfortable, well-built home.
Large enough for one person.
Maybe two.
Ebruhan opened the door.
"Inside."
Iyas cautiously stepped through.
Then froze.
A living room.
A kitchen.
Bookshelves.
A fireplace.
A bedroom.
A bed.
His own bed.
The fox slowly walked around.
Touching a chair.
Looking at the shelves.
Opening a cabinet.
Then checking the bedroom again just to make sure it was real.
"Sir..."
His voice sounded strange.
Almost disbelieving.
"This is..."
He looked around once more.
"My house?"
Ebruhan immediately crushed the dream.
"No."
Iyas deflated.
The dragon continued.
"You do not own any of this."
"Oh."
"I will take it back the moment I find somewhere else to put you."
"Oh..."
The fox's ears drooped.
Then perked up again.
Still...
It was a roof.
A bed.
A place to sleep.
That was already more than he'd expected when he chained in a prison cell.
Iyas sat on the edge of the bed.
Then immediately stood up.
Then sat again.
Then stood again.
He clearly didn't know what to do with himself.
Finally, he looked toward Ebruhan.
"Sir."
"What?"
The fox tilted his head.
"Why do you even have three houses?"
For the first time all day, Ebruhan looked slightly annoyed.
"Asking a lot of questions."
"I am curious."
The dragon sighed.
Then reluctantly answered.
"The first house is near the palace."
Iyas nodded.
"Convenient."
"It allows me to reach council meetings quickly."
"The second house is near the military district."
The fox blinked.
"Why?"
Ebruhan looked at him like the answer was obvious.
"Because soldiers keep waking me up."
"...Fair."
"So I moved closer."
"...Also fair."
"The third house is near the outskirts."
Iyas waited.
Ebruhan waited.
The fox eventually realized there was no further explanation coming.
"Why?"
The dragon folded his arms.
"When I wish to be left alone."
The fox immediately understood.
"Ah."
Actually...
That made perfect sense.
Being the Royal Protector Dragon probably meant everyone constantly wanted something.
Kings.
Generals.
Nobles.
Messengers.
Iyas thought for a moment.
Then pointed.
"So this one?"
"The outskirts house."
"Meaning you come here when you want peace and quiet?"
"Correct."
The fox slowly turned.
Looking around the building.
Then looked back at Ebruhan.
"So you're putting me in your peace-and-quiet house?"
The dragon froze.
A few seconds passed.
Then Ebruhan muttered:
"...I may have made a mistake."
Iyas immediately grinned.
The first genuine grin Ebruhan had seen from him.
"Don't worry, sir."
"I am very quiet."
Ebruhan nodded,
"Good night, Iyas."
The fox immediately nodded.
"Understood, sir."
As Ebruhan left, he heard the fox excitedly exploring the house.
Checking drawers.
Looking at books.
Testing chairs.
Like a kid who had never owned anything before.
The blue dragon paused for a moment outside.
Then quietly shook his head.
"A troublesome child..."
Despite the words, there was no real anger in his voice.
Only exhaustion.
The same exhaustion he somehow always felt after taking responsibility for someone new.
First Mia.
And now...
A fox spy.
Life truly had a strange sense of humor.
----------
The house grew quiet after Ebruhan left.
For a while, Iyas simply stood there.
Looking around.
The table.
The chairs.
The fireplace.
The shelves.
The bed.
Especially the bed.
Slowly, the fox walked into the bedroom.
His tail swayed nervously behind him.
The mattress looked soft.
Too soft.
Suspiciously soft.
He poked it.
Nothing happened.
He poked it again.
Still nothing.
Then he sat on it.
The mattress sank slightly beneath his weight.
His ears immediately perked up.
"..."
He bounced once.
Just once.
Then immediately looked around to make sure nobody had seen him.
The room remained empty.
Iyas let out a long breath and fell backward onto the bed.
For a moment he simply stared at the ceiling.
A real ceiling.
Not a cave ceiling.
Not a warehouse ceiling.
Not the underside of a wagon.
A real ceiling.
His expression slowly softened.
Back in Norvoss...
No.
That wasn't entirely true.
He hadn't really lived in Norvoss.
Not properly.
Most of his life had been spent moving.
Watching.
Listening.
Hiding.
Sneaking through markets.
Sleeping in abandoned attics.
Dusty storage rooms.
Collapsed buildings.
Under wagons.
Inside barns.
Anywhere nobody would notice a small fox beastfolk.
Whenever he found information...
He reported it.
Then moved again.
Another city.
Another town.
Another disguise.
Another mission.
A bitter laugh escaped him.
The truth was...
He had spent more nights hiding inside other people's homes than inside one of his own.
Because he had never actually had one.
The fox slowly sat up.
His red eyes drifted around the room.
There was food in the kitchen.
A fireplace.
A bath.
A bed.
A lock on the door.
Nobody chasing him.
Nobody ordering him to move tomorrow.
Nobody expecting a report by sunrise.
For some reason...
That felt stranger than being captured.
Iyas lowered his gaze.
"Ebruhan..."
The name came out quietly.
The dragon had every reason to kill him.
Every reason.
And yet...
He hadn't.
The fox remembered standing in that prison cell.
Waiting for judgment.
Certain he would die.
Then somehow ending up here.
A small smile appeared.
The first genuine one all day.
"He really is weird..."
Who spares a foreign spy?
Who gives that spy a house?
Who lets him stay after everything he had done?
The fox lay back down again.
For the first time in years...
He felt tired.
Not exhausted.
Not alert.
Not waiting for danger.
Just tired.
As sleep slowly approached, one final thought crossed his mind.
Tomorrow he would need to prove himself.
To Ebruhan.
To the kingdom.
To everyone.
Then another thought immediately followed.
A much more terrifying one.
His eyes suddenly opened.
Wide.
Very wide.
"...Lady Mia knows where I live now."
Silence.
"..."
-------