Needless to say, no one seemed the least bit thrilled about his injury overall.

Not to say that there was really anything to be thrilled about it in the first place. By the time the two of them had arrived back at the castle, he had lost enough blood that he could barely keep a solid train of thought; when the question of how the injury occurred in the first place, all he really remember was a slur of words that were suppose to serve as an answer. It was absolutely terrible. He could barely get his armor off and there were people who wanted to get all over his case about the whole matter- like that was what he really wanted to talk about at that time.

He supposed he should've been thankful that Lady Calill had accompanied him, seeing as she offered to give the answers that she knew of that regarded his injuries. It helped with getting a few people off his back but there were those who refused to be tested as such.

"You just about got yourself killed out there today."

A brief sigh escaped from his lips as fingers moved to pinch at the empty space between his eyes; he didn't really need to listen to his sister's voice right now. He knew she meant well but... he didn't need to be reminded of it. His chest was bound tightly with a thick roll of gauze that made it even harder for him to breathe; every needed inhale felt like it was constricted and repressed into a shorter motion that barely drew in enough air into his lungs. Another, different type of binding had been wrapped around his right arm and its strong hold made it feel nearly immobilized. An orange, paste-like ointment pushed out from underneath the wrappings and carried a terrible scent with it- he figured it was for the burns seeing how the paste felt as though it had numbed his flesh instead.

"I'm very aware of that, Lucia." he started; moving his fingertips to press into one temple next as a headache began to ring in the back of his head. "I mean, I was there."

The obvious downturn at the corner of her lips said she wasn't the least bit amused by the answer but didn't want to say anything further. Her arms were tightly crossed over her chest, which was one sign that she irritated by something or someone; it was a motion she usually carried when Bastian was around. Her chopped off locks had been recut to appear more evenly styled as they bounced lightly at the curve of her jawline. She didn't seem all too bothered by the sudden haircut and remarked that it might've been for the best anyways; her longer locks had gotten into her way sometimes when in the midst of a battle or swing. Eventually, her stiff expression softened and her arms slowly returned to her side. "... You had Elincia worried sick about you."

He hadn't really considered taking in the Queen's view on the matter... "Well tell her I send my apologies… I let myself get caught off-guard."

"Well, I trust that you were busy evacuating the civilians and with all the smoke, it would've been difficult to see someone sneaking up on you." Lucia offered as she eventually moved one hand to balance on her hip instead. "Not to mention, without your horse, you're pretty much defenseless."

"Oh ha ha."

She chuckled briefly at his sarcastic remark and watched as he touched at his arm once more; she knew from experience that the burn ointment the healers created felt more irritating than anything else. It always felt like it did more damage than good but, just from experience, she knew it worked surprisingly well. "Hopefully we won't be expecting any kind of engagement any time soon- although, knowing our luck so far, someone's going to be at our borders soon enough; you're going to need a few days of rest before you can get back out on the field- Healers' orders."

"If I recall correctly, the healer's also ordered for you to keep in bed for awhile after the whole mess with Ludveck but you acted like you didn't hear a word from them." Geoffrey remarked.

"Yeah but I wasn't stabbing in a vital area during that whole encounter." she reminded.

Okay, she had a point.

But he really wasn't looking forward to bed rest for two or three days; maybe a day at most but after that he usually got bored and gave up on the orders. The healers also said the wound healed easily enough and gave them no problems... so it would seem as though it wasn't all too serious. Although, in reality, it easily could've been dangerous had the attack been aimed lower to strike vital organs instead of just beneath his ribcage. "Alright... fine." he admitted. "But I need you to step in and make sure the civilians will be taken care of-"

"I've already dispatched some guards to keep post overnight and keep an eye out for Begnion soldiers just in case they're stupid enough to show up again. The supplies have been handed out and we've ordered in some lumber from Gallia to start rebuilding the damaged houses and property buildings. It's going to take some time but things will get put back in place sure enough- and hopefully not get burned down again."

"I guess we can only hope for that one." he nodded briefly. "That reminds me, if you see Calill somewhere on your way out, can you ask and see if her daughter Amy is alright?"

"Sure... but on one condition."

He tested himself on whether or not he wanted to know what she wanted from him; it was a difficult choice just the same... she wasn't a merciful one when it came down to these 'conditions' and such. "On second thought, I'll just ask her in a few days."

Lucia laughed lightly at her brother's hesitation before she moved to tuck away a straying piece of hair. "Come on, it's simple enough. All I want to know is... what exactly is going on between you two? I mean, beforehand it just seemed like her flirting around you but now... I don't know, she seems to have calm down quite a bit; she's not as extravagant with her greetings or with her praises for you."

"It's nothing, Lucia." he answered quickly, finding out soon enough that his hasty words didn't seem to help him all too much. "Look, her husband died a few years ago in an accident; she's managing both a bar and an inn, as well as the little girl the two of them had adopted together. I just... I want to offer help where I can. That look on her face when she thought Amy was trapped in that burning building was horrifying to see..." Oh Goddess, she wasn't going to let him down for this one. "Now can you go see if she's alright for me?"

"Sure thing." she nodded faintly, not surprised by her brother's words; she remembered that he passed on his happiness when the wedding invitations had been sent out but... it was also easy to see how disappointed he seemed in it just the same. He always appeared buried in his work that it didn't seem like something like that would bother him for very long, but it did. She never let it on that she was aware of it and always played along with his game. This just seemed like one of those moments where she would play dumb and let him keep the ordeal to himself. "I'll be sure to keep an eye on the other Royal Knights- especially Kieran."

"I gave up on that a long time ago." he remarked with a faint chuckle. "There's no saving the man."

"Well then, in that case, I won't take responsibility for whatever might happen to him during your absence." Lucia spoke as she started to turn to leave. "I'll pass your bill of healthy recovery on to Elincia and tell her not to worry; we'll be praying to the Goddess for some hope that Begnion will keep us out of its war for now."

They would need a lot more than prayers to do that.


One by one, soldier by soldier, the Royal Knights slowly began to return back to the castle.

She had questioned both Marcia and Astrid about it and they both confirmed that the fires had been put out; the rest of their forces were busy salvaging what they could before they would set up a temporary camp for the displaced civilians. While she trusted their words, she still preferred to have a look see for herself and go over the damages. It meant she'd have to get back on a horse but she could follow the next call of reinforcements out and make sure the supplies were properly distributed. The soldiers carried on their own bits of conversations while she felt as though she was being more reserved to herself for some odd reason. She supposed it was just her worry for Amy; she promised she would be back as soon as she could but... it felt as though that had been spoken hours ago. The little girl was probably worried sick about it.

And of course... there was that matter with the Commander as well.

She watched as his condition quickly deteriorated with every step closer to the castle; she cursed her womanly panic for thinking that he wasn't going to make it at some points, only to have him pull through and regain his strength for a few more moments. Most of the injury seemed based on blood lost and tissue damage but... she had overheard a few of the healers remark that it was a fairly simple injury to heal- which was a relief to hear. She would have to make time soon enough to go visit him when he was well enough to have company; it didn't feel as though she had thanked him properly for saving Amy. Yeah, she had spoken the words but... they seemed little compared to him rushing into a burning building to retrieve her... and then getting stabbed later on during their exchange.

Such a brave, handsome Commander needed more than just a few simple words of thanks.

The sight of the brittle, broken and blackened support beams in front of her confirmed the one thing she was certain of. Glass windows had long since exploded and turned to ash as bare empty frames remained in a half-pledged memorial; a few pieces of furniture kept hold onto the frames of their former luxuries as they laid in scattered, displaced fashions. Those beautiful drapes she had nearly died over when they finally came in were no longer visible- lost somewhere under the eager tongues of the flames. It was a dreary, hated sight but... there was a lot more that could've been lost; a lot more that couldn't have been rebuilt and replaced.

"I guess it's no surprise as to why you're back here."

The voice called for her attention as she stepped back to look behind her for the given moment; watching as the blue-haired Sword wielder carefully made her way through the torn up street and stepped over the fallen debris. It was certainly easy to see why most of the men in this country swooned and swayed over her- she did have quite the gifted figure and the talents with a sword was something to boot along with her looks. But she was also the sister of the Commander... which only proved that good looks simply ran in their family.

A light smile played on her brightly-colored lips in greeting. "Lucia... well I guess I could say the same to you just as well. I figured on my way back it wouldn't hurt to... survey the damages."

"Yeah, with Geoffrey out of the picture, I'm having to fill in his post for now." she remarked lightly enough. "How is everything here?"

"Ah well..." Calill started as she turned back to the burnt mess behind her. "The inn is gone; there's no way we could save it from this mess."

Lucia frowned slightly as she took note of the crippled building in front of her now. It used to be such a beautiful establishment and she remembered the satin pillows well... they were always her favorite part whenever the team had to stay the night. It was difficult to see it in its condition now. "I'm sorry. If it's any consolation we should be getting new lumber in by next week, so repairs should start then."

"That sounds like a spot of good news for once." she nodded. "I'll just build it bigger and better than before. I should probably start putting out new orders for furniture and drapes then... I'll have to think of a new theme- you know I was planning on redecorating anyways, so I guess you could say this actually helped me out. Thankfully the bar is still salvageable or else that would've just ruined busy in this city overall. I'll just have to replace a few walls and repaint but it should be good as new soon enough. I might have to replace the liquor though, no one likes a hot drink."

"It's good to see this whole matter hasn't slowed you down in the least bit." Lucia chuckled, already seeing the expression on the Sage's face change from classified to something more cheery as though she was already redesigning the building in the back of her head. "Oh, before I forget, I was told to pass on a question from Commander Geoffrey."

"Is that so?" Calill questioned; fingertips toying with her lower lip for a moment. "Well what did he want to know?"

"He wanted to know if Amy was alright. He seemed to be quite worried about her well-being; I thought it wouldn't hurt to ride out here and make sure he got his answer as soon as possible. Goddess knows he'd probably come out and ask himself if I didn't set up a few guards to keep him stationed in his room." she answered.

Actually, she probably wouldn't have minded if the Commander wanted to come out here himself- oh, what was she thinking? He was just now recovering from a serious injury, he needed his rest. "I was just about to go check up on her, you're welcome to join me and see for yourself if you wish." she offered, eventually stepping away from the ruins of her former inn as she started in the direction to where the civilians were staying on the outskirts of the city. "She's probably still a little shaken from the whole matter."

"I'm honestly surprised we managed to escape this situation with no causalities." Lucia commented as she slowly started after the woman, eventually matching pace at her side as she followed her along the wrecked street underfoot. "I haven't gotten a chance to overlook the matter just yet but I brought a few healers along with me just in case. Hopefully they're already with the civilians and hadn't gotten lost somewhere along the way."

"I think we would've suffered a few deaths had the Royal Knights not be so quick to react." Calill noted. "We're thankful for that."

"They've really been pushing themselves lately, what with the rebellion and now Begnion breathing down our necks... I tell you, I think Geoffrey's going to give himself a heart attack with all the worrying he's been doing. But he has good reason to." she added. "All we can do is take it day by day though and make sure incidents like these don't evade our grasp."

That seemed true enough.

How much longer were they going to be able to take on Begnion's forces? With the men they had now... it didn't seem like they would be lasting all too long. Then again, with the recent appearance of the Greil's Mercenaries and their rescue of Lucia herself, things seemed as though they would soon be looking up. Maybe then situations like these would be few and far between, or better yet, non existing.

"We should be thanking you just as well. We need as much help as we can get these days."

"Oh don't worry about it." Calill assured as she moved to brush aside a loose blonde bang; tucking it behind one ear. "You should consider yourselves lucky for having a World-Class Sage on your team; not everyone gets to hold the bragging rights to that."

A light sense of laughter left the Swordswoman as she merely shook her head. "I suppose you do have a point."

It didn't take them all that long to get to the outskirts of the city and find where a few of the reinforcements were already setting up tents to serve as a temporary base for the civilians. White-robed healers went from group to group and tended to the wounded, although most of the injuries appeared to be either burns or minor scraps and cuts. There were a few groups of men who were assisting the soldiers while mothers tended to their young children and tried to keep them calm during the ongoing set up around them; a few of the older children found different ways to entertain themselves as they raced back and forth across an empty part of the open fields. Just a few hours before, everyone was running around and screaming as fires raged around them and now... well, at least everyone seemed to have found a small piece of solace to hold on to. That was more than enough to ask for.

It was much easier for the little girl to find her rather than for her to call out or go from group to group.

It only took a few brief seconds before she watched as the pigtailed girl bounced her way over to her.

"I told you I'd be back soon enough." Calill smiled as she stooped down just enough to pick the girl up into her arms; feeling the way the child eagerly threw her own arms around her neck. "Are you alright? How is everything going around here? Smooth as pine needles?"

"Yeah, the soldiers showed up a few minutes ago and started putting tents up; a few of them were saying some funny things when they got the instructions mixed up." Amy recalled.

"Ha, well that does sound like them... let's just make sure we don't repeat anything we heard, alright?" she chuckled quietly before she turned back to the blue-haired woman just a few steps away from them. "You can tell Sir Geoffrey that she's doing just fine, although her hair may be a little burned here or there she'll be okay."

Lucia nodded and smiled briefly as she watched the girl seemingly bury herself into the other woman in pure joy at their reunion. "I'll be sure to pass the news on, I'm sure he'll be happy to hear about it-"

"Lady Lucia!" the interrupting call was soon to be identified as the familiar red-haired Paladin hurried over to where they stood. His face was covered in beads of sweat but he barely seemed to notice the matter, as though the extended fight to put up tents did little to damper his stamina. One would think after a brief encounter in a fire-takened city where he had to fight soldiers and then was expected to extinguish houses and now put up tents... that it would at least break a little bit of concentration. Not for him though. "I'm certain you're busy at the moment but I must ask, where is the Commander? His elongated absence is noted."

"Geoffrey is... out of commission right now; I'll be replacing him just for the moment in overlooking this matter." Lucia answered. "Is there anything you need help with or anything wrong with the supplies we brought back with us?"

Whether or not the answer gave him much of what he wanted, he seemed to have tossed it all aside regardless. "We're going to need a few more tents as well as a couple of more soldiers; a few of the civilians have offered their assistance but if we wish to be done before dark then we're going to need some more hands."

"I doubt that we'll be able to finish before dark but I'll see if I can't get a hold of a few more soldiers. We just sent a team of them back to the castle so their replacements should be coming along soon enough." she started. "Which reminds me, why are you still here, Kieran? The rest of the party is back at the castle recovering; these new regiments should be enough to take care of this matter."

"Nonsense. Commander Geoffrey asked for me to remain here until this whole operation was under control and I am seeing this matter to the end. Second-in-Command bows down to nothing."

"Alright... well then, I'll be sure to tell Geoffrey that you're keeping your word to him; I'm sure he'll be happy to hear it." Lucia nodded before she watched as the man responded to a call of his name elsewhere. A heavy sigh escaped her as she moved her hands to her hips. "I don't think we've ever moved so many soldiers back and forth from one location to the next in such a little timespan. We'll be paying overtime for this one but it'll be worth it... plus it prolongs me having to tell Kieran what really happened to Geoffrey."

"That bad, huh?" Calill questioned.

"Oh well you know how Kieran can be... dramatic."

"Momma, what happened to Sir Geoffrey anyways?" Amy asked in short response once their conversation had ended; she pulled herself out of the soft material of her cape that draped heavily around her neck.

She took a moment to try and formulate an appropriate answer for the girl and briefly glanced over to the blue-haired woman for some kind of support. "Well, Amy, he had to go back and tend to things at the palace; Queen Elincia is probably expecting a lot of reports on this whole mess and he's the one responsible for them. He's just doing what his job asks him to do. Don't worry though, he'll be back soon enough."

"Can I see him soon?"

"Uh well... that's up to him, sweetheart; we'll have to see if he has free time soon enough before his next departure." The answer was deemed good enough for the girl as she eventually made the motion to get back to her feet before she took off to join in a game with some of the older children. A brief sigh escaped heavily from her lips as she moved fingertips to touch at her temple; she had a feeling the girl was going to be keeping up with that request at every given moment. "It's hard to believe just a few hours ago everything was so normal."

"I know the feeling and it's a strange one." Lucia agreed. "You know, I may be stepping over my boundaries here a little bit but... if you want, you can bring Amy by in a day or so and let her see him. He should be fine enough by that point and, if he chooses to disobey the healer's orders, he'll probably be walking around just as well. He seemed just as worried about her as she is about him."

"I think... that would be wonderful."