I watched the dragon out of the corner of my eye.  This was something new for Tsar.  The bastard was actually being nice to me.  I had to wonder what he had up his scaly sleeve.  We were in a tree house he had created near my home.  The tree was a mallorn from my parents home world of Arda. Its white bark and golden leaves sparkled in the sunlight Tsar had probably called up just for the special effects.
     "I am no longer Balance," the dragon said.
     I looked hard at him, more in disbelief that his would have the nerve to say that than anything.
    "Yeah, right."  The scorn in my voice was thick but Tsar did not rise to the bait.
     "I have found something worth giving it up for, Archer," he said.
     "What might that be, lizard?"
     Tsar was in his human form, the form I had known for years as Nick.  The three thousand dollar suit was gone and he looked very casual in a long sleeved black silk shirt and khaki slacks.  He moved, sitting forward on the easy chair he had been lounging in.
     "Love," he said quietly.
     I laughed in his face.
     "Love?  You don't even know what it is."
     He leaned back, settling comfortably, and crossed his leg over his knee.  Nonchalantly he picked invisible lint off the cuff of the pants.
     "You are quite right," he said.  "But I intend to learn.
     "How?"  I was getting worried.  Tsar was acting strangely and it made me uncomfortable.
     "Rogue."
     I was out of the chair and in his face before the thought could hit my nerves.
     "Rogue!" I growled at him. "Don't you even think about screwing around with her."
     "What will you do, Archer?"  His voice was calm and I felt my blood begin to boil.
     "You may be nearly a god, you cold blooded son of a bitch but I will kill you if you mess with her."
     "Jealousy, Archer, what would Thistle say?"  His look puzzled me, it was almost sad.
     "I would like nothing better than for Rogue to find someone to love but you are not it."
     "That is not for you to dictate,"  he said with a slight smile.
     I was taken aback.  What he said was true, of course, but he seemed confident.
     "I hold a hope in my heart that she will love me," he said.  "As your Thistle loves you."
     A twinge in my heart stopped my retort in my throat.
     "For her, only for her, I have given up the power of the Balance,"  he said smiling.  "Sit Aaron, I would talk to you more if you would relax."
     Dammit, I knew he was up to something and if he was going to use Rogue to get to me I was going to kill him.
     "I have been manipulating you, Archer," he said.  "From the day Thistle 'died' I have been casting little spells on you to wear away your hope of her return.  I am sorry for that."
     Emotions warred in me, the desire to strike out at him, the dawning realization of what he had done, the pain of Thistle's mistrust.  I used my power to increase my strength to max and backhanded him across the face.
     The chair went over backwards, Tsar crashing to the floor.  I stepped back quickly, activating my force field.  From its desolid state my bow appeared in my hand, ready.  The black arrow was on the string before Tsar moved.  Chuckling he lay on his back, shaking with laughter.
     "Typical reaction," he said from behind the chair.
     "What did you expect!" I shouted.  "You may have ruined my life!"
     He moved, I drew a bead on one eye as his head appeared.
     "Is that what love does?"  he asked.  "It makes you violent?"
     "No!  Your interference makes me violent.  Your disregard for the feelings of Thistle make me violent." I blazed.  "What did you do to Rogue?  Did you zap her too?"
     "Yes," he said, hanging his head.
     The arrow buried itself in the wall, inches from his head.
     “I can’t kill you, you bastard,” my body shook with the desire to take this creature out of existence but what I said was true.  As much as I hated Tsar for all his evil machinations I could not kill him in cold blood.
     “I have wronged you, Archer,” he said.  “I ask for your forgiveness.”
     “Forgiveness!” I said incredulously.  “You must have balls the size of the moon to ask that!  You cost me Megan and may have cost me Thistle and you ask forgiveness!”
     My jaw tightened, my fist clenched on the bow.  The last time I was this mad I had broken my katana but Thistle had fixed it.  Her face flashed across my eyes, the love still untarnished.
     “I will kill you, dragon, if I ever find you have ensorcelled me or mine ever again.  This includes Rogue.”
     “It is Rogue I would make happy, Archer, not you.  She means much to me for some reason and I would explore this.  Know that if you interfere with her I shall remove you from the picture.”  He smiled.  “Now that we have threatened one another . . .”
     “Tsar,” I said, covering my eyes with a hand.  “How do I know that you are not playing games?”
     I looked up at him as he sat impassive.
     “I can but give you my word.”
     “Give him the chance, Ghost.”  Rogue’s wave had lifted her quietly to the veranda and she stood in a small puddle, face very serious.
     “Hiya, Love,” Tsar said softly, moving toward her.
     “Hiza!” she replied, stepping into his arms.
     As they hugged I could see her face over his shoulder.  I saw happiness and wonder in her eyes as she smiled at me.
     My scowl disappeared.
     “Do you love him?” I asked her.
     She smiled but said nothing.
     “I would like to find out,” Tsar said, turning with his arm around Rogue’s waist.
     “I will hold him to his word not to interfere further with you and Thistle.” she said, a touch of rancor still in her voice.
     Everything in me rebelled against this.
     “Let me live my life, Ghost,” Rogue said as she kissed me on the cheek.
     She was right, again.

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