Two days.

Two nonstop, merciless days. Mercenaries and bandits alike threw themselves against the fortress at all hours without cease. The stock of weapons and remedies that the stronghold had carried before the battle disappeared rapidly as corpses piled up. Before first light on the second morning, Innes' army was depleted, its numbers decimated to the point of negligibility.

With the single remaining goal of reducing casualties, Innes fired Gerik and Tethys. When they refused to leave him to die, Innes could feel the lesser man inside himself — for he felt very much the lesser for having lost so many men already — begin to break down. He was completely out of control, and for once, he was very much aware of it.

But Gerik nudged him and called him melodramatic, and Tethys made a witty quip and smiled, and when they made one final charge with little to no hope of survival, he was not alone.

Innes had never been so grateful to see Eirika of Renais than he had been when she approached the fortress that final morning. Without her and her forces, Gerik, Innes, and Tethys would have fed the crows. As it was, they had emerged victorious, and with a new companion to boot. Innes had recognized Marisa from a distance from Gerik's earlier descriptions of his friends. In Gerik's words, the guild had bungled and sent Marisa to the wrong place. With the Crimson Flash on the right side, though it wasn't enough to turn the tides, together with Renais' men they survived the day.

Now, though, as Eirika's forces tended to the few Frelian survivors before they began the march to Caer Pelyn and on to Jehanna, Innes was alone for the first time since it had all began. He sat on the stone steps of the Hall, his back pressed against the stone of the door. His quiver was empty, his hands were numb, and his body shook. He tried to calm himself by trying to remember where Tethys' brother Ewan, the one who had proposed the route through Caer Pelyn, had been all of this time, for Innes didn't remember seeing him, but that only made him doubt his senses more. He needed to pull himself together—

"Prince, you don't look so good. Do you need to take a rest?" Gerik asked. He had a large bag of supplies swung over one shoulder.

"I already thanked you for your services and rehired you. I told you, I don't need your help."

Gerik stood in silence for a long moment before sitting down beside him, setting the bag to aside. Innes thought about scolding him for blocking anyone who wanted to go up and down the steps, but he quickly realized that he did not care. Instead of speaking, he clutched his hands together to keep them from shaking.

"You know, I've got to thank you, too," Gerik said. Innes glanced over at him, but Gerik was staring off into the mountains. "If you hadn't spotted Marisa, we might not have gotten to her in time. When I was talking about my company on the way up, I didn't think you were listening."

"It was nothing. Besides, I never turn down free information. You never know when something will be useful," Innes said.

Gerik sighed. "Listen, the battle today…"

"We fought as well as we could have," Innes said. "Frelia's finest fought bravely. Alone, we could not carry the day. Next time, we'll do better."

"You've always pushed yourself this hard, haven't you?" Gerik was watching Innes the way he had in the tavern, with all of the intensity and concentration that Innes had when he sniped targets. In turn, Innes stared at him without really seeing him. "Your confidence, your surety. Pride, too. You've always had it in you to force yourself through anything."

"Nothing is worthwhile unless you fight for it."

"Don't get me wrong, it's admirable. But an attitude like that's going to get you killed one day, Prince." Gerik stood up. "Try not to let that happen."

Innes stood as well, cursing his graceless, quaking legs. "I have no intention of walking into the arms of death."

Gerik shook his head. "You could have fooled me." After a moment, he added, "There's a lot in this world that's worth fighting for. That's why I've got a job. But there are far more worthwhile things that have nothing to do with battle."

Rather than answering directly, Innes said, "It looks like the others are moving. You'd better make sure your mercenaries are ready to go."

Innes could see Gerik beside him, watching him. For a brief instant, Innes thought he saw something in Gerik's expression that looked strikingly like disappointment. It passed in a second, replaced by a blank look.

"Whatever you say, Prince," Gerik said. He picked up his supply bag and swung it over his shoulder. "We'll talk later. You know where to find me."

Innes watched him walk away down the steps. He walked with a purpose, only dallying to laugh at something Ewan seemed to have shouted after him.

Innes stood up resolutely. He did not care if anyone was disappointed in him. He had never cared about such trivialities, and he wouldn't start now. Not even if it left a bad taste in his mouth and a niggling sense of disappointment in himself at the back of his mind.