Jill approached Julius nervously as the Tribune worked to bring his cousin back to consciousness. "Is there anything I can do?"

Julius suddenly drew Octavius's sword and pointed it threateningly towards Jill, who backed up with her hands raised in surrender. "You can stay away from us," Julius snarled.

"It wasn't her fault, Julius," Ambrosia said from the corner.

"No, you're right." Julius was trying to keep the majority of his anger and worry out of his voice but the more time that passed without him succeeding in rousing Octavius, the less he was able to do so. "It's her king's. He was the one who stabbed Octavius."

"Julius-."

"Why are you defending them?" demanded Julius of Ambrosia. "He took both your leader AND your deputy, and Jill's acting like nothing happened!"

"No I'm not!" Jill snapped. "In case you didn't notice, he took Balthazar too."

"Oh wow!" snapped Julius sarcastically. "Because that's completely on par with having your best friend stabbed!"

Jill flinched. Ambrosia strode forwards and placed her hand on Julius's shoulder. "It wasn't her fault."

"I know. But she's the only Merlinian in the room so I'm taking my anger out on her."

Julius suddenly drew his arm back and angrily threw the sword at Jill, but the throw fell very short and Jill didn't even have to move to avoid it. Despite this, she shied further away from Julius.

"Calm down!" Ambrosia placed her other hand on his other shoulder. "Calm down, Julius."

"Not until I find out that my cousin is going to live!"

At that moment, three Romans came running into the room: Athena, Rufus, and Cassius. Athena gasped when she saw Octavius and dropped to her knees beside him. Julius stared numbly downwards, until he felt someone put their hands under his arms and gently lift him to his feet. He automatically tried to place weight on his right foot, causing him to pitch sideways. He stumbled into a pillar and held onto it for support, waving away Rufus as the legionary tried to help him again.

"We must take him to the infirmary," Athena said urgently, beckoning for help. "Rufus, Cassius, I need you to lift him."

Everyone else watched as the two legionaries lifted Octavius and followed Athena out of the building. Julius leant on the pillar and closed his eyes. Ambrosia fetched the tribune's cane and gave it back to him. Julius said nothing else as Ambrosia left the building.

Jill felt a pain in her heart as if she really had been the one to stab Octavius and attack the others. She knew it was not her fault—nor, she hoped, was it Arthur's—but she couldn't help feeling the overbearing guilt in her heart.

Exiting the building miserably, Jill wiped her eyes with her hand, determined not to cry. Then she looked up and saw the person she had been looking for. Standing at the bottom of the steps to the senate building was a knight dressed in his informal armour: metal vest over grey long-sleeved shirt, metal trousers, and heavy metal boots. His blonde hair was neatly trimmed, and his green eyes held both pleasure at seeing Jill again and sadness at having just been told what had occurred.

As Jill gazed steadily at him, he slowly opened his arms wide, inviting Jill into his embrace. Jill took a choked breath in and, her face creasing up as if she were about to cry, she ran the rest of the way down the stairs and hugged him tightly. Resting her head on his chest, she surrendered all the emotions she had been supressing for the last fifteen minutes and allowed herself to cry. Galahad simply held her tight and stroked her hair with his right hand, a gesture he knew she found comforting.

"Wh-who tol-told you?" sniffled Jill.

"The Greek woman who came past," replied Galahad softly. "I know that must have been hard to watch."

Jill squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. "He-he looked like King Arthur but he-he also…d-didn't. It was scary. The way he was talking and acting…he almost killed a Roman man in there!"

"I know." Galahad continued stroking her hair. "We'll find out the truth, don't you worry."

"Now everyone's going to hate us," Jill said miserably. "The Greeks have lost both of their representatives, the Westerners' representatives are both injured, and the Romans' general is in a critical condition. We've lost Balthazar too, but the others won't care. Melody and Julius are going to testify that King Arthur committed the acts of his own free will. Ambrosia may stand up for us, but she won't be taken seriously. Since their representatives were left alone, the Westerners are going to be labelled as our allies and have war declared on them too. Best case scenario: they join forces with us against the Greeks and Romans and we battle to a standstill. Worst case scenario: the Westerners hate us as well and they all destroy us."

Galahad placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back so that his concerned face could meet her miserable one. "That is quite a prediction. What makes you say what you did about the Westerners?"

"Think about it," Jill said. "The Greeks and Romans were hit hardest by this. Three of the four of their representatives were taken and the other is almost dead. The Westerners were pretty much left alone. I know they're both injured but it's not life threatening. At least, I don't think so."

She paused for breath. Galahad gazed steadily at her for a moment, before placing both his hands tenderly against Jill's cheeks, holding her head gently. "I love you," he said. "I do not say it enough but I truly love you."

Jill smiled weakly. "I love you too."

"We can get through this. I know we will. And we'll get through it together. I will not let you suffer alone, okay?"

Jill gave a grateful smile and the two embraced again.

On the other side of the plaza, Ambrosia paused as she watched the medics work on Octavius. She was not allowed in, that much was clear. Even Rufus and Cassius were allowed, and neither of them were medics. Ambrosia suspected it was because she was not Roman: she was Greek. Relationships between all four civilisations were sure to become tenser and tenser as the news of what had happened spread.

All of a sudden, Ambrosia's body sagged, and she felt inexplicably exhausted. She was struggling to keep her eyes open. She staggered backwards until she hit the platform in the plaza, which she leant on for support. Her body was horribly cold from head to toe, and she could feel her movements getting stiffer. For a few terrifying moments, she thought her illness had finally caught up with her. Then she realised it was affecting her entire body, not just her chest and windpipe.

Just a minute or so after it had begun, Ambrosia was a statue.