Hector had thought things would slow down after they had defeated Nergal, but he was wrong. Things were moving far too quickly for the newly-minted marquess. He had thought he'd have time to grieve over his brother's death after the war, but he had been sorely mistaken.

As soon as Uther was in the ground, he was officially made marquess. They had to call the league to a few meetings, working out the details surrounding House Laus and all other states that had been for civil war, not to mention that as new marquess, Hector had earned more spies than his brother.

Politics were tedious, and even more so when you were in the center of them. On top of this; he had to make sure to only make the most calculated movements, because he never knew who was watching and when they weren't.

News reached him sooner than expected of Marquess Caelin's passing, and for the first time in a long while he thought of Lyn. He had seen Eliwood, of course. Outside of League gatherings, Eliwood occasionally stopped by offering to help Hector blow off some steam in whatever fashion Hector thought would work. They both knew that Hector had never expected to become marquess—and it was much more work straightening himself than he could have anticipated. While they had to postpone or cancel some of their bi-monthly spars, they did their best to continue tradition.

Lyn, however, wasn't marchioness and had no real reason to come to assembly. She did at the beginning, but it wasn't long before she avoided it, like Hector still wished he were able to. When he heard of Lord Hausen's death, Hector expected Lyn be declared Marchioness and to see her at the next gathering.

Instead, she had requested audience with him much earlier.

Hector met with her in the courtyard. She was his friend, after all, and that was excuse enough to drop formality, which was more than welcome in his book.

The light conversation was pleasant, though after an hour of chatting, Hector hadn't figured out the reason for Lyn's visit.

"Are you still sneaking out to fight?" she asked. Her tone suggested she already knew the answer, and Hector knew what she was thinking.

He chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "What? Me?"

Lyn quirked her eyebrow.

"Oh, don't give me that look. Of course I am." Hector smirked, leaning forward onto the small table they were sat at. "But that doesn't leave this conversation."

Lyn laughed. "Hector if any person in this castle knows you half as well as I, they don't need me to tell them."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not so obvious, you know."

"Oh please! Eliwood has told me about that poison-trick you like to play."

"Has he, now?"

"Yes!" Hector had never told any one what Durban (Armads? He still wasn't sure) had told him when he picked up Armads. At some point, he had assumed every one knew despite him not telling them. "He also told me you were bed-ridden for two months! Is life some kind of game to you?"

Hector scowled. It had become nothing more than a parlor trick. The first time he downed a glass of poison was at a large event. A small party to celebrate Ostia's new Marquess, it was doomed to be crawling with new spies to test Hector's merit and weaknesses. His brother had many spies already watching him carefully, and there were even more watching Hector.

And Hector was doomed to die in battle so he might as well have made a show of it.

Downing a whole glass of poison wouldn't kill him (of that he was positive) and, in Hector's opinion, was a great way of deterring any would-be assassins.

Just because Hector couldn't die in bed, didn't mean he couldn't be confined to one for two months. The second time wasn't nearly that long, however.

"I'm not dead, am I?" Hector responded. It was obvious in his voice that he was quickly losing interest in this line of conversation.

She folded her arms, cross. "You could be." She let out a curt sigh, deciding to drop it. Knowing Lyn, it was probably more or less that she realized he had already poisoned himself, so reprimanding him now wouldn't do much good. On top of that, she had to have come here for some reason. Caelin was a long way from Ostia, and a trip either way was one that you didn't make just for a simple visit.

Luckily for him, she brought it up herself.

"But I didn't come here to yell at you for being stupid," she said. "If I did, I would have stopped by earlier."

The faintest of smiles ghosted her lips and the corners of Hector's lips pulled in response.

"You've heard the news of my grandfather, right?"

Hector nodded. From the way she avoided even a euphemism for death made him think she hadn't quite come to terms with it. He couldn't blame her, though. Hector still refused to sit in the Marquess' chair at dinner, or for audiences.

He decided not to pry into the details.

"You'll be Marchioness, then," Hector said. It was the obvious response. He didn't want to ask her how she was doing, because he knew, and he was positive that she knew he understood.

"No..." she replied. She looked away from him. "That's why I'm here, actually. With Grandfather gone, the castle seems much emptier. And he was the reason I came to Lycia in the first place."

Lyn had given him few details, but he had never really asked for further explanation. He knew of the hunt Lundgren had set out for, in order to claim her grandfather's throne, but past that he knew little. He could have asked Matthew but it wasn't too important to him.

"So...?"

"I wanted to talk to you about passing on everything Caelin is to you. Or, Ostia, I guess," she said. "I don't know the politics of any of this... I was hoping to go back to the plains and... Settle, I suppose." She chuckled. Nomadic life usually entailed not settling, but it was much closer to the word than living in a castle to her.

Hector didn't close his mouth until he realized it was open. Lyn was leaving? He hadn't put much thought into her lack of presence before now, because he knew he could always visit her, or she might come during the next assembly.

"You want to leave."

"Hector, I was hardly around anyway. We never got a chance to properly sit down until now, and you haven't seen me as nearly as much as Eliwood." She still had a smile, but she was close to arguing now.

For some reason, the logical fact that Eliwood had seen more of Lyn became somewhat infuriating to Hector now. Suddenly he was just mad. Mad over Lyn's planned exodus, mad over the fact that she was leaving, and mad that Eliwood got to see her much more than him. Especially since Eliwood was married! He couldn't just go around seeing other women like that. And what of Lyn? Had she-

Oh. The reason he was angry hit him like a brick, or a well-placed axe. Blast.

"So what do I do to sign Caelin over to you? Sign a paper? How does it work?"

Hector grumbled, his fists clenching on the table before him. Realization had struck him, and he'd have to answer her eventually. He stared into her eyes, glowering.

"I don't want you leaving Lycia," he growled.

Lyn glared. "You don't get to decide, Hector." Her voice was nearly venomous. She was about to walk out.

"I can decide not to take Caelin under Ostia," he countered.

"You're impossible!" Lyn stood, slamming her hands down on the table. "Why do you care whether or not I go back to Sacae? You haven't come to visit me in Caelin. We've hardly even seen each other!"

Hector stood as well. "Will you listen to me?!" His voice raised with her own.

"Are you listening to yourself?! What do you have against me going back to my home? Aren't you my friend?!"

The lord sifted a hand through his hair. He had probably already screwed it up. Hector barely knew politics, and he had always heard that this sort of thing was even more difficult. He didn't even have a chance any more.

Unfortunately, he didn't come up with a reasonable quip fast enough.

"I'm leaving," Lyn declared. "Caelin's yours, or would you rather I leave it to Eliwood? Either way, don't expect me around here again."

She turned, sharply, and Hector almost worried her ponytail would hit him.

"Listen!" Hector said, quickly cutting her off by skirting the table. He grabbed her shoulder, and she yanked herself away from him. "Do you have to be so stubborn?!"

Lyn laughed. "You're right, I've forgotten I'd never be able to beat you in that department!"

Hector groaned. Lyn was ready to bolt, so he figured he couldn't mess it up any more.

So he leaned down and kissed her. Not a graceful gesture by any means—he could feel her jolt with surprised as their lips touched, but she didn't pull away, and neither of them closed their eyes. It was a glare, through a kiss.

She didn't exactly reciprocate, nor did she push him away. However, she did push his chest after he had already pulled away.

She seemed a little lost... confused, anyway, and Hector offered a small smile in consolation.

"I can't believe you," Lyn said, pushing him away again. Hector was a large man, and despite her strength he didn't budge. "Who do you think you are?"

Hector wanted to answer haughtily that he was Marquess Ostia, but Lyn had her lips pressed against his once more and his surprised allowed her to push him backwards, stumbling. He hardly knew what to do with himself, and his fingertips brushed the places he thought his hands should be.

She bit down on his lower lip, changing her previous anger into a passionate gesture, and that seemed to be enough to goad Hector into retaliation. One of his hands found her hip, squeezing at the fabric of her dress, while the other was on her back, pulling her towards him. She grunted as he drew her nearer, pushing once more at his chest. Finding that he still wouldn't yield, she gripped at his shirt harshly, while the other one fell. She wasn't quite sure where to put that one.

Her tongue forced its way into his mouth, and he let out some kind of noise that was definitely not anything resembling what she knew of Hector. He blushed, realizing that was his, and tried to compensate for it by retaliating the fight her tongue was trying to start with his. He didn't have the same confidence with it as he had behind an axe swing, and he wasn't sure he'd know when he won.

Lyn moved her hands again; one into Hector's hair and the other around his neck. He could feel her lips move against his, but wasn't he supposed to have his eyes closed? With her hands away from his chest, he guessed that gave her free reign to press herself up against him—another thing that surprised him. She was warm, and he only had a moment to register that before she had hooked one of her legs around his.

Hector was kind of impressed. He had no idea that she would be this receptive to his initial kiss. He also had no idea that she would be this good at it. He decided to let himself go, wrapping his mind around the kiss and the sheer feeling of her body pressed close against his, and the pressure on the back of his knee from her foot and-

Lyn pulled her leg back, hard, and toppled Hector to the ground.

He gasped as he made contact, his look turning to a harsh glare, which he directed up at Lyn. "I thought you Sacaens always played fair!"

Lyn chuckled, placing her hands on her hips. "You were the one that started playing dirty."

Hector stood, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"So does this mean you'll stay?"

She tutted, shaking her head. "I don't know, Hector, you may have to convince me a little more."

"I can do that," he said. She rolled her eyes and kissed his cheek.