"Clive, you're doing it again!"
"I am not, Joseph."
"You are! I can hear your teeth creaking from here," King Joseph stood up to look at the map spread before them on the table. "Every time you look at this thing your start gnashing your teeth."
"We had them!" he bellows. "We had them cornered in Agria. It took months to get them there, but they still slipped through to the coast. They set fire to almost every village, town, and city as they left and then just stopped and ran." He threw himself into his chair. "What are they playing at now?"
"Your majesties?" the voice said outside of the tent.
"Yes, come," King Clive ordered.
"An emissary from Caelum desires to have an audience with you."
Both of the men looked at each other. Joseph nodded and King Clive said, "Very well, He will have his audience."
A slim young man with long black hair stepped through the tent opening.
"Your majesties," he said and bowed. "I am Min Orland and I have been sent to negotiate a prisoner exchange."
Both men looked at each other again before looking at the smug face of Min.
"Won't you please be seated?" Sir Clive said gesturing to a chair.
Later King Clive called for his page. "Take this man to one of the guest tents, and see to his every need." It was a phrase that meant 'make sure he stays there' but sounded less like a threat.
"Thank you sire," the young man simpered. "I'm sure that I will enjoy your celebrated generosity."
King Clive merely nodded waiting for the emissary to be taken away before trusting himself to speak.
"Well?" he said. "What do you think of his demands?"
"They seem to be pretty standard," King Joseph replied. "Though they seem to punish Scarlet and Dragneel pretty heavily."
"How can you be so calm Joseph?" King Clive said as he began to pace.
"Because your are being upset enough for the both of us," was the answer.
"The prisoners have been moved to a stronghold across the sea for their protection," he quoted Orland. "More like put in safe storage so that we have to pay," he said as he began grinding his teeth again.
King Joseph stood up and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Come now, Clive," he began, "We will find a way to bring them home." He patted his shoulder again, "Now come on."
"Where are we going?"
"We are going to do some sword practice," was the answer.
"What? Why?"
"Because I think better when I'm moving," his friend said and then after giving him a grin he added, "And I won't have to listen to you trying to reduce your teeth to powder."
King Clive gave a small laugh. "Alright then, if it will help you think."
Sir Belno was a changed man at his sentencing. Months spent in the castle cells with nothing to do, no books, no outside communication, and no visitors save one had turned him quieter. He hadn't seen any of his family since his arrest and his eyes hungrily searched the face of his wife and children as he was brought into the courtroom. The sorrow and betrayal on their faces seemed to dishearten him.
Finally Queen Justine spoke. "Sir Belno, you have been found guilty of treason, of aiding and abetting enemies of the crown, and of undermining the throne." She sighed, "The usual punishment for such actions is death, however because of your years of faithful service, and your very young children this has been deemed too harsh. You have however lost the title of knight of the realm and are no longer to be addressed as such. Your lands and rights to them are now transferred to your heir, Sir Simon. Your punishment for seeking to usurp the power of the crown will be that neither your heir nor his children will be eligible for the throne."
A gasp was heard. The right to the throne was one of the deepest held privileges of all the clans. Taking that away had been cause for uprising and rebellion in the past. What was the queen thinking?
"Your children's children shall have the right to the throne restored to them, but we will ensure that you personally never see your progeny ruling," Queen Justine said over the murmuring crowd. "Also, as it was your intention to take the lands of Scarlet and Dragneel, the valley of Belserion, its buildings and products now belong to the family of Dragneel."
Sir Belno's face began to start to redden.
"And the plain of Zirconis along with the forest of Levia, their buildings and products are now the property of the Scarlet family."
"Your majesty, that is too much!" Belno cried.
The queen's voice turned frosty, "You have been the agent of both their houses losing their heirs to those who are demanding a high price for their return. A price that they would never be able to pay on their own. You are making amends for this evil you have done, even though it is being done unwillingly."
The man stopped his protesting.
"Furthermore," the queen continued, "Mister Belno, you have a choice before you. You are no longer welcomed in the capitol or in any of the other lands of Fiore, though if Sir Simon feels the need to uphold his filial duty he may be allowed to take you to your former estate. Should you be found outside of the boundaries of your lands you forfeit your rights to trial and your life. Your other choice is immediate banishment from the kingdom." The queen looked over the audience. "King Joseph has promised instant death should you be found in any of the lands of Stirling." She nodded to a servant who brought out an hour-glass. "You will have an hour to confer with your family and then I will expect to hear your decision- Retire to your former lands or banishment."
Guards lead Belno and his family into a side chamber so that they could council together.
An hour later the man came shuffling in before the queen and the court, Sir Simon scowling behind him.
"Mister Belno," the queen began, "what choice have you made?"
"If it please your majesty," Simon said stepping forward, "he will be coming home with us." He looked as if saying the words gave him much displeasure, but the quiet sobbing of his mother made it clear why this had been the outcome.
"Indeed, Sir Simon," the queen said with some warmth, "You honor us with your demonstration of a son's duty to his parents." She looked back at Belno, "The guard will escort you to your home and there will be random checks to ensure that you are still there. Should you not be home, an immediate search for you will be launched, if found outside your lands…" she left the rest unsaid.
"Yes your majesty," was all he replied.
"Then court is dismissed," Queen Justine proclaimed.
Before the party set out Princess Levy presented Belno with a gift. It was a book composed of all the letters and reports she had received detailing lives lost, families scattered, farms burned, and children orphaned. The pages were very familiar to Belno as Levy had come to visit him every day to read them to him. Every. Day.
"I hope, sir, that you can find some way to make amends to these families," Levy said as she handed over the book. "I know you cannot give them back their loved one, but you might be able to find some way to ease their pain." Then she turned and walked away.
Two weeks later King Clive and King Joseph returned to Magnolia. It was a somber reunion for all the royal family. The absence of Gajeel seemed to press down on everyone's spirits. The family dinner that they shared that evening was subdued. The Stirling royals would be returning to their home within the next few days, with the exception of Juvia. She insisted that Levy needed her so she had to stay. There was a certain amount of negotiation between the child and the adults at the table, with the resulting agreement being that if Juvia began to miss her parents or her home then she would be escorted home immediately, and the reassurances that she would be treated with the utmost care while in Fiore.
Min Orland had been brought to the castle along with the prisoners of war that Fiore had captured. The seas were too rough for travel at this time of year and the prisoners had been promised fair treatment until the exchange could be made. King Joseph and Queen Aria would lead their people back to Stirling and begin to gather their portion of the ransom to be paid to Caelum. They would return in the spring to escort the prisoners and the ransom to the exchange on the coast.
The winter passed slowly for Levy. She spent most of her mornings in her studies, but now had Juvia tagging along. She spent hours helping the girl continue learning to read and write while Queen Justine patiently helped the child with her sewing. Juvia and Levy spent a lot of time tending to those that had been wounded and displaced by the war. In fact, Juvia spent most of her afternoons playing with and teaching the orphans in the castle all the things she learned in her studies. Levy took her example and began to teach basic reading and arithmetic to the children, and found that she liked it. Though she was able to keep busy during the day, at night Levy only had time to think. She thought of the many people she was responsible for, but mainly she thought of a pair of strong arms carrying her as she looked up into ruby red eyes.