Ezner's eyes were wide at hearing all of this. His stomach was heavy and twisted up inside now. She thought he was dead? And she was gone? His face plainly showed his distress. He found himself remembering the girl he'd had to toss the body of overboard that ship all those arcs ago. He didn't even know her name, wasn't even her friend, not really, but he had felt her loss. 

He was pained at having caused Elisabeth to go through that. 

[b]"I..." [/b] Ezner swallowed, his eyes now going down to his hands that were in his lap, [b]"I don't know what to say."[/b] One hand escaped the other, and was rubbing the back of his neck, as Ezner tried to process all of this. Elisabeth was gone. She had gone off to either Viden, a country he knew absolutely nothing about, or Scalvoris, a country he knew only the smallest bit about. And she was hurting. Because of him.

Guilt was clear upon his face.

She had done so much for him. She had showed him who he wished to be. She had treated him as a person, and a good person at that. And he'd hurt her by not being there. By disappearing. His becoming free had made her think he'd died. He was selfish. So damn selfish. What would've happened if he hadn't collapsed on the doorstep to that Order clinic? Would she still be here? Would they have managed to find time for each other? Would they have gone to buy those clothes she had tried to get him from Mrs. Dey? Would they be in Viden now, together? She had said she wanted to take him one trial.

[b]"Thank you for telling me, sir. It was very kind of you to invite me into your home. I..."[/b] He closed his eyes, then looked up at the man, tears filling his eyes, [b]"I didn't have a choice. But I do now. Do you know if Elisabeth intends to come back to Rharne? I need to make things right."[/b]