Gene was dragged from his cell with an iron chain around his neck and hands. They bit into his skin. Light blinded him as they entered the courtyard. When his sight came back into focus, the first thing he saw was ropes swinging from the gallows.

He lurched backwards.

"Let him out of those things," a familiar voice muttered. "This is a farce."

Gene spun around as best he could and spotted his brother standing a few feet away, arms crossed.

"The General said we couldn't let the other prisoners see him go free," the warden said, "that we had to stage it to—"

"I don't care. Take those chains off him."

Gene met Oliver's eye and dared not to speak. The guards removed the chains. Gene forced himself to his feet.

"You are now in my custody. If you screw up, I will suffer the same fate as you. If you really do care about me as some form of family, then you'll do well to remember that," Oliver stated. "Do you understand?"

Gene nodded.

"Good. Follow me. We're going to get your uniform."

"Uniform?"

"Yes," Oliver said, striding away. Gene hurried to keep up. "Condition of your release is that you help the army here. I am your Captain now."

"Yes, sir?"

Oliver rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to call me sir," he muttered. "Come on."

Oliver took Gene to the barrack stores and listed his own sizes. He was handed a bundle of clothes, which he thrust into Gene's arms.

"Go in there and change," he said, pointing to a small side room.

Gene nodded and did as he was told. He returned a moment later.

"That's freaky," the store clerk said. "You look identical."

"You should do well to note," Oliver began, "That I have Captain insignia and he does not."

The store clerk dared not say another word.

"Come on."

Oliver led Gene, who was holding onto the clothes Yasuhara had given to him, away from the barracks. They detoured to an equipment store, where Oliver picked up a bag, before heading out through the city, back to the field where they first met.

"Dump those there," he ordered, pointing to the grass. Gene dropped the clothes where Oliver had indicated.

"Why are we here?"

"I want to know what you can do. You were in the army in Eshia?"

"Yes. I was a Captain."

Oliver smiled to himself.

"What did you do?"

"I was given the new men," Gene explained. "Boys, really. I was good at teaching them… I could stop the older men from… I made the training fun. I wanted to do medical stuff. But I was not allowed."

Oliver nodded.

"Well you've lost your rank here, but you can work back up to it. If you prove yourself, perhaps some medical training can be arranged," he said.

"But they don't trust me."

"No, they don't."

"Do you?" Gene asked.

"I do not think you're here to hurt my people. And I think given the circumstances, that is all you can hope for right now." Gene nodded, and Oliver went on. "I also… I want to apologise for what happened in that prison cell. I did not… I should have stopped it sooner."

Gene swallowed hard.

"In Eshia, I know worse is done to people they bring in," Gene mumbled. "You could have not stopped it. But you did. I am grateful."

"I won't let that happen to anyone else," Oliver vowed. Gene smiled. "Anyway, we're here to find out what you can do."

Oliver opened up the bag he had collected and pulled out two wooden short swords. Gene's smile widened.

"You want to fight?" he asked. "We did that as children… You know, when I first came to Ocral, I was sure my memories of a brother were made up. I thought you were an imaginary friend. It is nice to know that you are real."

Oliver did not smile. He passed one of the wooden swords to Gene and backed up. Gene's eyes widened a little at the serious expression on Oliver's face.

"You get a point if you hit my torso," he explained. "I get a point if I hit your torso. Pretend the blade is real; so for example, you can't hold the blade with your bare hand as you would cut yourself. Understand?"

Oliver waited for Gene to nod, then he launched his attack. It was a wide arcing swing, that Gene parried with ease. Oliver smiled. The alarm on Gene's face melted a little.

"Good."

Oliver swung again and again. Gene batted off his attacks but made no attempts to attack back.

"If you do not try and score a point, I will have you do press ups until sundown."

"That's mean."

"It's what my instructor used as a punishment."

Gene began to fight back. Neither man put too much force into their hits, relying more on skill and finesse than brute strength. Oliver was surprised to see that when Gene started to put some effort in, they were reasonably well matched.

"What happens—" Wack. "—if neither of us scores?" Gene asked.

"We just keep going."

"Perhaps you need an incentive to beat me," Gene teased.

"I need no incentive."

"Perhaps the winner should receive a kiss from Mai."

Oliver, who had been smiling a moment before, scowled and redoubled his attempts. Gene, put off a little by the change in tone, focused harder on his defence.

But Oliver's technique began to suffer. Gene managed to trip his brother. He held the wooden sword to Oliver's throat.

"Do you sur—"

Oliver swept his foot, knocked Gene over and jabbed the wooden sword into Gene's chest.

"Don't hesitate. You should have beaten me."

Gene rubbed where Oliver had hit him.

"Ow. Well, you shouldn't let your emotions get the better of you. I didn't realise you were so protective over your girl."

Oliver scowled and sat down next to his brother.

"She's not my girl. She's the General's wife. I just… I protect her when I can. The General has been very kind to me."

"You care for her more than just as your mentor's wife," Gene muttered.

"Do not speak Eshian when there is anyone else about," Oliver ordered. "Only me. Got it?"

"Yes."

"And you will teach me."

"I thought you did not want to remember it."

"It will be useful, if I ever have to go undercover," Oliver said.

"Why is she not your wife?"

"Because I did not ask her in time. Now get up. Let's go again."

The two brothers fought until the sun began to sink. After, they lay back on the grass, exhausted and panting.

"I think you enjoyed this more than you want to admit," Gene said.

"It is reassuring to know that I can reliably beat someone who was trained by the enemy," Oliver retorted.

"I beat you too," Gene said.

"I beat you more."

"No, you didn't!"

"Want me to prove it?" Oliver asked.

Gene laughed.

"Maybe tomorrow," he said. "I am exhausted."

"You said Yasuhara rescued you?"

"Yes, the water was a lot colder and further than I had expected. He found me clinging to driftwood. He rescued me and nursed me back to health. My toes had gone purple. I am surprised they did not drop off…"

"Idiot."

"Not my wisest decision."

Oliver smiled to himself.

"Let's head back. Mai should have dinner ready soon."

Oliver packed the swords back into the bag, slung it over his shoulder and stood up. He stretched a little before offering a hand to Gene.

"Grab your stuff."

"It's Yasuhara's, can I give it back to him?"

"No. He's been taken to Redport with another Captain. He's going to serve in the army there."

Gene's smile dropped from his face.

"Oh."

"I'm sorry."

"Will I see him again? He is my friend."

"Perhaps."

They did not talk for the remainder of their journey home. Mai was rushing around the kitchen when they arrived.

"Dinner is not ready yet!" she squealed. "I'm running late. I'm sorry. I'll be— Gene, of course, I forgot. You're staying with us! I'm glad you didn't get executed."

"Me too," Gene said. "Do you need help?"

"I… No, I'm fine. Oliver, can you show him to his room? I'll get him some bedding after dinner. I guess he's having the only room left."

"Okay."

Oliver took Gene to the only empty bedroom, where he put Yasuhara's clothes down. Then the two brothers headed back downstairs.

"How come you are running so late? Catherine keep you busy?" Oliver asked.

"No, I had some stuff to do after seeing her this morning."

"Stuff? To do with your mother's house?"

"Not really. Well. Sort of? I do have to find something to do with it. It's not fair to have a nice house like that empty. I should sell it to a family that needs it. Unless you want it?"

"No. I couldn't."

"Fine. I'll sell it then. Bee said she could help with that."

"The doctor? She—"

"This is not her first death. She knows who to ask and stuff." Mai sighed. "Gene, how was your first day then?"

"Easy. Your Captains are weak."

Mai laughed.

"The enemy obviously doesn't know what false sense of security means," Oliver muttered bitterly.

Oliver had been released from his duties guarding Catherine. Now that he had to keep an eye on Gene, it was not deemed suitable that he continued both roles. So he spent his days training and learning from his brother.

Mai, meanwhile, had returned to helping Catherine out every morning. In the afternoon, she snuck off elsewhere.

It had been a spur of the moment decision that first day.

She had marched to Bee's house and demanded to be taught medicine. Her reasoning was sound. Even if she had found her mother before she died, Mai knew she had no idea how to treat poisons. She wanted to learn. She wanted to stop other people from suffering in the way that she did.

However, it did not go to plan.

Bee had had a visitor. A fiery redheaded woman with a sharp eye and a sharper tongue.

"You want to learn medicine?" the redhead had asked, one eyebrow raised. "Then come and see me at the barracks."

This woman was Ayako, Bee's mentor, who had within the last few days moved to Basingold.

"To be closer to my husband, who has just been redeployed to Redport!" she told Mai later with a scowl. "The people who organise this army are useless. We explained the situation but no, they transfer us both! To opposite cities! Again!"

So Mai now spent her afternoons training in medicine under Ayako. She found half of her time was bandaging up small cuts for whiny soldiers looking for sympathy.

None of them knew who she was. If they had known she was their General's wife, they would have perhaps acted with a little more respect and a lot less flirting. Mai did not tell her husband what she was doing. Nor did she tell Oliver.

She wasn't exactly sure why. She knew Lin would not care and Oliver might even be supportive, but she wanted it to be a secret. To be something that was hers and hers alone.

Mai knew this would not last forever. One of them would get hurt eventually and end up in Ayako's care. Or they might accompany another soldier. But for now, it was Mai's secret.

Ayako knew who she was, but she was happy enough to keep schtum.

Because Mai had been sewing as a hobby for some time, Ayako quickly signed her off for stitching up wounds. She soon learnt how to set bones when broken and apply tinctures and salves.

"What did you give that man?" Mai asked, after their last patient of the day left.

Ayako smirked and took a seat.

"I have three bottles of liquid that I give to men who insist something is wrong when they are fine. It is a problem of the mind where they have convinced themselves something is wrong, and by giving them harmless liquids, they feel they are combating the problem and it goes away," Ayako explained.

"Why three? Are they different types?"

"Well, I would not want my patients thinking I had one cure-all. But they also taste different. Pass those over," she said, pointing.

Mai passed over the three bottles.

"Smell this one."

Mai smelt it. It was sweet, like honey and she said words to that effect.

"Yes, it does have honey in it. Along with a few other herbs like sweet leaf and basil," Ayako said. "Now smell the next one."

Mai smelt the second bottle.

"Ooh, bitter."

"Yes, lemon, grapefruit, ginger and rosemary," Ayako listed. "And finally…"

Mai smelt the final bottle and almost gagged.

"The recipe of this one changes a lot, I generally just mix stuff up until it smells bad enough."

"But why?"

"Because I give kids the sweet one and adults the bitter one."

"And the foul one?"

"To anyone that annoys me too much," Ayako said, still smiling. "Generally with a nice slice of 'only the toughest men can manage this, but you'll get better much faster' or something like that. The idiots swallow it right down and try not to gag. They don't bother me much after that."

Mai laughed.

"That's cruel."

"When you've been doing this as long as I have, you would do the same," Ayako muttered.

"How long have you been doing this?" Mai asked.

"My mother started training me as soon as I could walk and talk. Then when I got a bit older, my father had me assist with his surgeries. He had no patience for his patients, so my mother did the people interactions, while he did the heavy stuff. They were walking stereotypes," Ayako said. "You know, the woman being caring and the man being useless at that stuff. But they saved a lot of people."

"Where are they now?"

"My father died not long after I married my husband, my mother moved south to be closer to her sister. I visit her every now and then."

Mai smiled.

"Do you want children?"

Ayako scowled.

"If they would let me near my husband long enough to get a baby in me I would," she muttered darkly.

Mai laughed.

"Perhaps the people in charge know how good you are and don't want you waylaid by babies," she suggested.

"I would not be surprised. But a baby would not stop me. If I can look after you while treating people, I think I could look after a baby too."

"Oi, I'm not a baby."

"You ask as many questions as a small child."

Mai pouted and Ayako pinched her cheek.

"What about you?"

"Me? No. I can't have children yet," Mai said quickly. "I've got too much to learn from you and I definitely could not look after a child while learning."

"Too right."

"Even if…" Mai looked away. "My husband returned from a trip and started talking about having a family."

"I know of several poisons th—"

"You can't poison the General of the army because he wants children," Mai muttered.

"I can if he hurts you in the process," Ayako said. "And I could make it look like an accident too."

"Like an accident…?" Mai frowned. "You can do that?"

"Yes."

Ayako swept around to a cabinet, unlocked it and picked up a little sealed bottle. "This substance stops the body being able to use the air that it needs to breathe."

"Could you… Could you tell what had happened to them afterwards?"

"Not easily. Even I would struggle unless the skin turns red. That sometimes happens but not always. Once poisoned, the victim usually has a seizure, so they end up on the floor. I once saw a case where someone was poisoned, had a seizure and hit their head on a rock. They died from the blood loss before the poison finished its work."

An icy trickle spread through Mai's arms.

"You keep that locked up though, right? No one could get to it?"

"Yes, it is sealed and locked. I would know if someone had used it from my store."

Ayako put the poison back where it had come from and locked it away.

"Is it common?"

"No, not particularly. While not difficult to make, you need to know how. Not many people know how."

Mai nodded.

"You're worried about your mother's death?" Ayako guessed, as she looked through another cabinet.

"I just… She was always so careful. I don't understand it."

"All it took was one careless person," Ayako muttered. "I'm sorry. It was before her time."

"I should get home."

"Mai, take this with you."

Ayako pressed a bottle into her hand.

"What is it?"

"If you do not want a child yet, take this after… It'll stop anything happening."

"He wouldn't make me—"

"Just take it. Even if you never have to use it. I would feel better knowing you had it. Some men get ideas and… Well, you're small."

Mai frowned.

"The General might be a bit cold, but he's not like that. He wouldn't force himself on me."

"Then you can give me the bottle back in a few years time," Ayako said. "I want you to prove me wrong."

Mai pocketed the bottle.

Author's note: Am I writing the wrong stuff these days? The number of reviews I'm getting just seems to be getting closer to 0 and I'm sad about it.