At first Lilina didn't believe her eyes. What would Sue be doing here, in Ostia, so far away from her home? It was entirely improbable that a girl Lilina had not seen since she was eight years old would suddenly be here, leading a horse through the long hallways of Ostia Castle, but that is what it seemed. She hurried to catch up.

"Sue?"

The other girl turned around. Improbable or not, it was Sue. She looked oddly the same as she had last time, though a good deal taller. "Lilina…I didn't expect to see you."

Despite what had happened, Lilina almost laughed. "This is my home," she said instead, although she knew that Sue had not been to Ostia before, and wasn't even certain if Sue knew, really, who she was.

Sue shrugged awkwardly, causing the bronze scales of her armor to clink together. She said nothing.

Conversation stalled, and an awkward silence formed. It had always been like this between them. They were not naturally compatible, perhaps. Or maybe Lilina was simply no good at making friends. In the past, they had merely separated to play their own games while their parents talked. Now though, Lilina refused to give up.

"Strictly speaking, I don't think my…I don't think father would have appreciated horses in the halls," she said, gesturing to the elaborately-tacked horse by Sue's side. It was a joke, of sorts, ruined by an up-welling of emotion. Not that she was particularly good at making jokes anyway.

Sue gave an embarrassed glance at the horse, which was currently eyeing a nearby wall-hanging with suspicion. "I am sorry about your father," Sue said. "He was a great warrior."

"He was," said Lilina. Of course Lord Hector was a great warrior. Was. Had been. It hadn't helped him in the end. Her mother had been a great warrior too, for all the good it did.

Lilina scowled. It seemed everyone in Roy's hodge-podge force had expressed their condolences. But she did not want to think about her father, or his death. She wanted to be doing something. No one seemed to realize that, not even Roy, who knew her better than anyone.

Sue rubbed a hand on the back of her neck. "Can you show me the stables? I don't know where they are."

"Oh! I can do that! It's-" Lilina paused, trying to think of the most horse-friendly route. "I think we should go that way."

Ostia castle was not in good shape, and Lilina despaired slightly as they walked. She had studied battles, and fighting, and strategy, but she had never seen one in person before. Blood she might have anticipated, but not the sour, metallic smell of it soaking in and clinging to everything. Nor the other smells of death, or the persistent buzzing of flies already finding their way to the dead. There were scorch marks from magic, chips in the stone from metal weapons, and in one case a wall had been knocked through entirely. Rooms were standing open, precious items had been burgled.

To be fair, Lilina was not in much better shape. Her bliaut was wrinkled from days of captivity, and now soiled and torn in several places from the fighting. She had lost her headband, and her hair was in desperate need of a brushing. Utterly unsuitable for Lady Ostia. Utterly unsuitable for going with Roy.

Lilina looked back at Sue, but whatever words she was going to say died in her throat. Sue was paler than she should be, and clung to her horse's reins as if they were the only think keeping her upright. The horse snorted and tossed his head, eyes showing more than a bit of white.

The easiest route to the outside was the same one which Sue and the others had fought their way through, not so long ago.

"Over here," Lilina said, simply, taking a side hall that would be longer and more inconvenient, but also less gruesome.

They walked in silence for a short while, with only the muffled clopping of hooves on carpet to accompany them.

"It's different, when you're fighting," said Sue. "Mother Earth and Father Sky, all those people…all those lives. Not at all like shooting rabbits." She paused. "I dislike it but…I'm done running. I shall fight for my people."

"I knew them," Lilina said. "The guards, I mean. I knew them all. They served my family for so long…how could they do this? Why did they-" a few tears ran down her cheeks and Lilina scrubbed at her face with one arm to get rid of them. There wasn't time for tears now. Whatever the reason, the betrayal had happened, and now she was left alone to pick up the pieces. That word, alone, kept surfacing in her mind no matter how many times she quashed it. "There's much to do before we leave, isn't there?" she said, forcibly turning her thoughts to the many, many tasks that awaited her. Tasks she needed to get done quickly, if she was to go with Roy when he left. She had no intention of being left behind again.

"Do you want help?" Sue asked.

"Help would be appreciated," Lilina said, pulling up short next to an unassuming wooden door. "But first, the stables."

Sue nodded her assent as Lilina opened the door. They stepped together into the sunlight.