Chapter 1
Rowan Valebright had defeated a demon king once while half-asleep.
He had negotiated a ceasefire between rival kingdoms with a cracked rib and no breakfast.
He had stared down ancient dragons, living gods, and one particularly aggressive tax collector.
None of that prepared him for the feeling of walking home.
"Are you smiling?" Lila Valebright asked.
Rowan realized his mouth hurt.
"...Possibly."
She laughed softly, adjusting the strap of her travel bag. The road into Eastrun stretched ahead of them, familiar and warm, the city's stone towers catching the morning light.
Two weeks ago, they had left as newlyweds.
Now they were returning as something far more dangerous.
A settled couple.
Rowan glanced at her again, the way he had been doing far too often since the wedding.
Lila caught him and raised an eyebrow. "If you keep looking at me like that, people are going to notice."
"I married you," Rowan replied calmly. "They already have."
Her cheeks colored just a little. "Still."
Rowan smiled and looked forward again.
The city gates loomed ahead. Guards stood straighter as they recognized him.
"Guild Master!" one called.
Rowan lifted a hand in greeting. "At ease."
The guard hesitated, then added, "Welcome back. Both of you."
Lila smiled. "Thank you."
As they passed through the gates, Rowan felt it.
A familiar hum in the air.
Not danger.
Not exactly.
...Residual nonsense.
He frowned faintly.
"Do you feel that?" he asked.
Lila nodded. "I was hoping it was just the city."
Rowan exhaled slowly. "The city usually smells like bread and bad decisions."
"This smells like paperwork," she said.
They walked on.
People waved. Merchants bowed. Someone shouted congratulations again. Rowan returned it all with practiced ease, but his eyes were scanning now.
Notice boards.
Structural reinforcements that hadn't been there before.
A sign hastily removed from a wall that read CLOSED FOR CONFIDENCE.
Rowan slowed.
"...Lila."
"Yes?"
"When I said I trusted Dorian..."
She nodded solemnly. "You trusted him emotionally. Not logistically."
"That was my mistake."
They reached the guild plaza.
It was... intact.
That alone was suspicious.
Rowan stopped at the base of the steps leading into the Silver Ember Guild.
The doors stood open.
Inside, movement.
Too much movement.
Clerks rushing. Guards reorganizing. Apprentices whispering like prey animals sensing a predator.
Rowan placed a hand on the doorframe.
"...I am not prepared," he said calmly.
Lila squeezed his arm. "You survived the wedding."
"Barely."
They stepped inside.
The guild hall froze.
Every sound died.
Someone dropped a stack of forms.
Dorian Lionsreach stood at the center of the room holding a clipboard, mid-sentence.
"And if anyone asks—"
He turned.
Saw them.
The clipboard hit the floor.
Rowan raised an eyebrow.
"Dorian," he said mildly.
Dorian's mouth opened.
Closed.
"...Guild Master," he said, voice cracking only a little.
Rowan looked around.
At the reinforced beams.
At the filing cabinet labeled APOLOGIES (ACTIVE).
At the humming storage room door in the back.
Then his gaze dropped.
"...Is that," Rowan asked slowly, "a chicken?"
The chicken clucked.
Lila leaned closer. "It's very confident."
Rowan nodded. "I don't like that."
Dorian cleared his throat. "So. Welcome back."
Rowan folded his hands behind his back.
"Explain," he said gently.
Dorian gestured broadly. "Before or after congratulations?"
Lila smiled. "After."
Dorian nodded gratefully. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," Rowan and Lila said in unison.
Dorian winced. "You're already doing that thing where you speak together."
Lila laughed. Rowan did not.
"Dorian."
"Yes."
"What happened," Rowan said, "while we were gone?"
Dorian inhaled.
"Well."
The chicken hopped onto the counter.
"...That," Rowan said, pointing, "feels relevant."
Dorian nodded. "Extremely."
An hour later, Rowan sat at his desk.
He had not moved.
He had listened.
He had asked questions.
He had stopped asking questions.
Now he stared into the middle distance with the expression of a man mentally reviewing every life choice that led him here.
"So," Rowan said calmly. "To summarize."
Dorian nodded eagerly.
"You declared controlled normalcy."
"Yes."
"You hosted a public confidence event."
"Yes."
"You issued preemptive apologies."
"...Yes."
"You registered a chicken as a morale asset."
Dorian smiled weakly. "Auxiliary."
Rowan closed his eyes.
Lila poured him tea.
"That's not helping," Rowan murmured.
"It's helping me," she replied cheerfully.
Rowan opened one eye. "You knew."
"I had suspicions."
Rowan exhaled.
The chicken sat between them, serene.
Rowan looked at it.
"...What does it do?"
Dorian hesitated. "Define do."
Rowan's eye twitched.
Lila leaned in. "It's harmless. Mostly."
Rowan stared.
"...Mostly?"
The chicken clucked.
Rowan sighed. "Of course."
He stood slowly, rolling his shoulders.
"Well," he said, "I suppose I should thank you."
Dorian blinked. "You should?"
"Yes," Rowan said. "You didn't let the city fall."
Dorian straightened slightly.
"You didn't start a war."
Dorian smiled.
"You didn't summon an eldritch entity."
The chicken blinked.
Rowan paused.
"...You didn't summon an eldritch entity, correct?"
Dorian raised a finger. "Not intentionally."
Rowan sat back down.
"We'll talk about this later," Rowan said.
Dorian nodded. "That seems to be the theme."
Rowan looked around the guild hall again.
At the people.
At the city beyond.
At the chicken.
Something beneath the chaos felt... tense.
Like a string pulled just a little too tight.
Rowan felt it now.
Not Dorian's mess.
Something older.
Waiting.
He smiled faintly and reached for Lila's hand.
"Well," he said, voice calm and steady, "honeymoon's over."
Lila squeezed his fingers. "Welcome home, Guild Master."
Rowan stood.
"Everyone," he called, voice carrying easily.
The hall snapped to attention.
"I'm back."
A cheer went up.
Rowan smiled.
Behind him, the chicken clucked.
And far beyond the city walls, something listened.
Rowan Valebright discovered two important truths within the first ten minutes of being back in the guild.
The first was that Dorian had absolutely been left alone too long.
The second was that being married made this significantly funnier.
He stood in the center of the guild hall with his arms crossed, watching three clerks argue over whether the chicken needed to sign its own attendance log.
"It doesn't have hands," one hissed.
"That's discriminatory," another replied.
The chicken clucked.
Rowan turned his head slightly toward Lila. "I want it known that I did not approve this."
Lila smiled sweetly. "You weren't here."
Rowan exhaled. "I was married."
"Yes," she said. "Which means you trusted Dorian."
Rowan winced. "You're cruel."
She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "You're smiling."
He was.
He hated that she was right.
Dorian cleared his throat loudly. "So! Now that explanations are... mostly complete..."
Rowan raised an eyebrow. "They are not."
"...and now that you're back," Dorian continued quickly, "I believe the logical next step is delegation."
Rowan tilted his head. "You want to delegate to me."
"Yes."
"You were acting Guild Master."
"Yes."
"And your plan is to hand everything back."
"Immediately."
Rowan nodded slowly. "Wise."
Dorian relaxed. "Thank you."
Rowan added, "You're still fixing the paperwork."
Dorian stiffened. "...All of it?"
Rowan gestured to the filing cabinets.
Plural.
"Yes."
Dorian looked faint.
Lila patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Think of it as character growth."
"I don't want growth," Dorian muttered. "I want rest."
Rowan smiled faintly. "Marriage does that to you."
Lila elbowed him gently.
Order returned to the guild hall in the way it always did under Rowan Valebright.
Quietly.
Efficiently.
And with a terrifying lack of visible effort.
He didn't shout.
He didn't threaten.
He simply stood there, issuing calm instructions that everyone obeyed immediately.
Clerks reorganized. Guards returned to stations. Apprentices stopped whispering.
The chicken remained.
Rowan pretended not to see it.
Instead, he turned to Lila.
"You don't have to stay," he said softly. "You just got back."
She looked at him, amused. "I married into this."
He sighed. "That wasn't a warning."
She took his hand anyway.
Dorian watched them with narrowed eyes.
"...You hold hands a lot," he noted.
Rowan glanced down at their joined hands. "Yes."
"Constantly."
"Yes."
"It's distracting."
Lila smiled brightly. "Good."
Dorian groaned. "This is what I get for helping."
Rowan gave him a flat look. "You declared a chicken a morale asset."
Dorian lifted a finger. "Auxiliary."
Rowan closed his eyes briefly. "I'm going to ignore that."
Later—after most of the chaos had been corralled into acceptable levels of nonsense—Rowan finally allowed himself to sit.
Lila perched on the edge of his desk like she belonged there.
Because she did.
"So," she said lightly, "how was the honeymoon?"
Rowan's expression softened immediately.
"...Perfect."
She smiled. "Good answer."
"I had notes prepared," he added. "In case I answered wrong."
She laughed and leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.
Several clerks audibly melted.
Dorian made a choking noise. "Do we need to do this in public?"
Rowan looked up calmly. "Yes."
Lila added, "Frequently."
Dorian turned away. "I am surrounded by traitors."
The chicken clucked.
Dorian pointed. "Not you. You're neutral chaos."
The chicken blinked.
Rowan glanced between them. "...It likes you."
Dorian sighed. "Everyone does. It's a curse."
As evening settled, the guild hall emptied out, leaving behind a rare thing.
Peace.
Rowan stood by the balcony doors, looking out over the city he had protected for most of his life.
Lila joined him, slipping her arm around his waist without thinking.
"You're tense," she observed.
"I left," he said simply.
"And came back," she replied.
He nodded.
She rested her head briefly against his shoulder. "You don't have to carry everything alone anymore."
He smiled faintly. "I know."
Behind them, Dorian cleared his throat.
"I hate to interrupt this moment," he said, "but the chicken has claimed your chair."
Rowan glanced back.
The chicken sat proudly behind his desk.
Rowan stared.
"...I sat there."
The chicken clucked.
Lila laughed softly. "It has confidence."
Rowan sighed. "That's been the problem all day."
He stepped forward, gently lifting the chicken and placing it on the floor.
"There," he said calmly. "Boundaries."
The chicken blinked.
Then sat again.
Rowan paused.
"...We'll discuss this later."
Dorian nodded solemnly. "That's what you said about everything else."
Rowan smiled.
"Yes," he said. "And look how that turned out."
He took Lila's hand again.
"Come on," he said. "Let's go home."
She squeezed his fingers. "Together."
Dorian watched them leave, then looked down at the chicken.
"...They're unbearable," he muttered.
The chicken clucked.
"Yes," Dorian agreed. "But they're good for the city."
He sighed and followed after them.
Outside, Eastrun settled into night.
Laughter drifted through open windows.
Lanterns glowed.
And somewhere far beyond the walls, something old shifted—
—but for now, none of that mattered.
Because the Guild Master was home.
His wife was at his side.
And tomorrow would bring new problems.
Probably with feathers.