Happy Halloween!

I wrote this story to celebrate the spooky season. It will update every day until Halloween.

It's rated M for violence. I usually don't use an M rating just for violence, but... I felt it was appropriate here.

Prologue

Flynn wouldn't be coming into work today. At least, that was the message a servant delivered to Sodia's office this morning.

"Why?" she asked the young man who'd handed her the note.

"I don't know, ma'am. I delivered breakfast to his room this morning as usual, and he asked me to bring this note to you."

Sodia stared at the scrap of paper in her hand. It was definitely in Flynn's careful printing, but offered no explanation or assurance he'd be there tomorrow. Of course he deserved - and needed - a break at least once in a while, but he'd gotten back from his vacation last night and she had assumed he'd be eager to get back to work and catch up on what he missed. "Is the commandant ill?"

The servant shrugged. "Possibly. He didn't look very well when I spoke to him."

"I see…. Thank you for the message."

"My pleasure, ma'am." He bowed curtly and then left her office.

Sodia eyed the note again with growing concern. She had known Flynn to show up to work with the flu, and nearly had to forcibly drag him back to his chambers to rest. If Flynn was extending his vacation, it must be serious. She worried he'd picked up some virulent bug while away. Whatever the case, she knew she wouldn't be able to focus today as long as she wondered. She'd just take a quick trip to his quarters and make sure he was all right.

Her heels clicked quickly on the smooth floor as she hurried to his rooms. As much as she told herself she was overreacting and Flynn was probably just exhausted from the long trip home, she couldn't shake her fears. For Flynn to miss work, he must be at death's door. Her fears didn't go away when she knocked on his door and received no answer. Was he bedridden with illness? Surely the servant would have mentioned that, but perhaps he was truly incompetent. After a second knock received no answer, she opened the door and strode in.

Part of her expected to find him lying dead on the floor in the sitting room, but the room was empty. She was about to call out when the bathroom door opened and Flynn emerged. He froze in the doorway with startled eyes, water dripping from his hair and wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Sodia gasped and turned away, flushing.

"Sir! I - I apologize for the intrusion. I should have waited for you to answer the door. I received your note and was worried. I feared you might be ill."

"It's fine."

He didn't sound mad, but he didn't sound amiable either. It wasn't that he sounded angry, but there was a heaviness behind his words that made him sound exceptionally tired. Sodia didn't spend too long thinking about that, though, because her mind was caught on what she'd seen: angry red marks scattered over his torso, the tell-tale signs of recently healed wounds.

While Flynn went to his room to change, her mind raced to explain the injuries. Had they been attacked on the return journey? They'd only gone to Capua Nor, but there were still monsters along the roads. The marks didn't look like they'd been inflicted by claws, though. She knew stab wounds when she saw them, and she shuddered to think who might have attacked him. Bandits on the road, maybe. She hadn't seen Lady Estellise yet, but she'd been told the princess returned to the castle safely last night and no one had mentioned their carriage had been attacked, so what…?

The bedroom door opened again and Flynn returned, dressed now. He wore a loose black shirt and casual pants; clearly he didn't intend to go into work today. Sodia didn't blame him as she watched him lower himself stiffly onto the sofa with a sigh and massage his shoulder. He watched her, waiting for her to speak first. She didn't know what to say, though, because she was still reeling from accidentally walking in on her commanding officer wearing nothing but a towel.

"You can sit down, if you'd like," Flynn said.

She jumped to follow his suggestion and sat in an armchair across from his couch. Sodia sat on the edge of the seat, hands folded in her lap and feet close together. "I really am sorry for barging in, sir. It was unprofessional of me."

"Don't worry about. I should have provided more detail in my note so you wouldn't worry."

She wanted to press him for said detail, but if he didn't want to share, she shouldn't ask. Luckily, Flynn saw the question on her face and supplied an answer without prompt.

"As I'm sure you noticed, I'm recovering from some serious injuries. Lady Estellise insisted I take the day off to rest. Considering how exhausted I am, I thought that sounded like a good idea."

Sodia nodded, noticing now how tired he was. His face was pallid with dark shadows under his eyes. It was hard to tell if he looked so tired simply from a lack of sleep, or if events had happened that drained him mentally. Considering Lady Estellise and Yuri Lowell had taken him on vacation in part to give him a relaxing break from work and catch up on sleep, something must have happened to disturb that.

"Sir, who were you attacked by? Would you like me to file the report for you?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't want to file any report. In fact, I'd like you to please not mention my wounds to anyone else."

She frowned in confusion. "I don't understand, sir. You're clearly still in pain - go to the infirmary and let the doctor know you were injured and he can give you more gels. You know the Council will ask questions if you take too many days off without an official medical excuse."

"I am aware. However, if I log an official report I would have to explain precisely how I was injured, and for various reasons I would prefer not to."

The more Sodia learned, the more her confusion and concern grew. Just what had happened on this vacation? "Are Lady Estellise and Yuri all right?"

"Lady Estellise is... uninjured. And Yuri…" The shadows under his eyes grew as he lowered his head. "It's a long story."

Sodia swallowed heavily. 'Uninjured' wasn't the same as 'perfectly fine'. Something major had happened on this trip, and it was clearly still haunting Flynn. "Sir, what happened? If you feel comfortable telling me, perhaps I can help you, or at least deflect questions from others."

Flynn nodded slowly. "If you really want to know, I can tell you. I will warn you that parts of the story may seem unbelievable, but please give me the benefit of the doubt."

"Yes, sir… I'll believe anything you say." What in the world had happened? Fearing the worst, Sodia settled into the chair to listen to his story.