Yuri barely moved an inch. After his ordeal only a day earlier, Flynn couldn't blame him. The initial shock had faded after Flynn had found him, followed by terrible tremors and violent physical illness. He had slipped back into shock on the ride back to Zaphias and had been in that state ever since.

Killing a man was no easy task. Many young knights quit after their first experience. Horror stories passed from one knight to another about such things. Flynn had known the feeling of what it was like to take a life in battle. It chilled him to the bone and shook him to the core, but he powered on. This was very different.

It had been quickly determined that it had been an act of self defense. Yuri hadn't said anything to that effect, or anything at all, but the evidence was clear. Ragou had released the wolf in an attempt to kill Yuri. It had gotten a hold of the henchmen first. Yuri had grabbed one of the henchman's swords in an effort to protect himself and had been able to defeat the creature. After fighting for his life, Ragou had come after him with a knife, and Yuri had defended himself once more. Flynn had ordered the manor closed off and a formal investigation had proceeded. Yuri hadn't been the only one who'd fallen prey to Ragou, but he had been the one survivor.

Cumore's involvement was a trickier subject. He had signed a statement, but minimized his own involvement and he had been careful not to incriminate himself. His letter stated simply that he had witnessed two of Ragou's henchmen grab Yuri off the street and that he had done nothing to stop them. Flynn knew there had been more to it than that.

From what he had be able to glean from the investigation, Ragou had been hunting for victims, but not in the area near his manor. Many of his victims had been guildsmen and travelers, not citizens on the continent of Illyccia. That had allowed him to go largely undetected and explained many of the disappearances that Raven had noticed between Capua Torim and Dahngrest. Even though the circumstances were terrible and he wished that it hadn't happened this way, that Ragou had been properly punished for his crimes before, he also knew that at least now he couldn't commit further ones.

He tried to immerse himself in work, anything to distract him. Guilt still hung heavy in his heart. If only he hadn't started that argument. If only he hadn't let Yuri leave. If only he had been able to get more evidence against Cumore. None of this should have happened and because it had, Yuri was suffering. Those charcoal eyes were still hollow and distant, the spark of wonder gone from them. Flynn wondered for a while if he was going to be all right, if his mind would be able to cope with what had happened. Only time would tell.

Filing charges against Cumore proved to keep his mind off of Yuri for the time being. The investigation against the nobleman was very slow going. There was very little evidence of his involvement and what they did have was circumstantial. Flynn was certain that his involvement was not as minimal as he had stated.

Proving Cumore's guilt was taking a lot of work. The Imperial Council didn't want to admit that their judgment could have been in error twice, but Flynn wanted to show them the truth. Those of money and lineage could not be allowed to commit crimes without consequences.

When Cumore walked into the palace as a free man for his indictment before the Council, Flynn's anger was barely contained. He couldn't blow up though. He had to handle this calmly and with decorum or the Council would not take him seriously otherwise. There was enough of a problem getting basic laws passed. They judged Flynn as too young, too inexperienced for the position, and he was pretty sure that the only reason they had humored him at all at the beginning of his term was that he had the future Emperor's backing. He was still trying to prove himself.

"I don't understand why I'm here. You have a signed statement from me, obtained by Lieutenant Sodia. What more do you want?" Cumore asked before the Council

"We have evidence of further involvement in the kidnapping incident," Sodia replied. Flynn stood silently behind her, overseeing the proceedings.

"I already told you what I know."

"Would you repeat the contents of your statement before the Council?"

He sneered, but cleared his throat to do it anyway. "I was walking through the Public Quarter when I noticed a pair of men grab the Commandant's pet, excuse me, I mean the young man in question."

Flynn's hand tightened on his pen, but he held the anger back. It was a deliberate jab at him, an attempt to raise his hackles. He wouldn't let it work. He held firm and maintained his professionalism.

"Can you describe the men you saw?"
"They were a pair of unimpressive, hulking brutes. Guild types. That's all I know."

"Can you explain why, then, we have witness testimony that places the two men from the basement of the Ragou's manor as having visited at your residence on several occasions?"

The widening of Cumore's eyes was just enough to show that he hadn't been expecting that. He had no idea how much of the bodies they had recovered or that his henchmen had been killed at all. The remains had been just enough to get witnesses who could identify them. He may even have been hoping that they would have been disposed of along with Yuri in order to minimize the number of people who could connect him to the disappearance.

"You must be mistaken. I would never hire people of such obviously ill repute. It's unbecoming of someone of my status."

"You wouldn't mind if we searched the premises of your mansion then?"

"I don't know why you should need to. I have plainly stated my lack of involvement with this case."

Whispers passed between the members of the Council and, after a moment, a hush fell over them. They waited, watching over the proceedings silent and stately. An agreement of some sort have been reached and they finally spoke.

"The Imperial Council is going to convene further on the subject for the time being, and consider the weight of the evidence before proceeding through the court. The parties are dismissed."

Flynn had to bite the inside of his cheek to allow Cumore to walk away unpunished once more. If he didn't get a warrant soon, any evidence that remained could be gone. He didn't like the Council's current ruling, but he understood that his current evidence was weak at best. Right now, their only hope could be if Yuri knew something they didn't and just wasn't telling them. Flynn hadn't gotten around to asking him yet.

It physically hurt to see Yuri like this. His injuries were healing slowly, but there was no doubt that he would bear those scars and mental ones long after the risk to his health subsided.

He took a tray for Yuri's lunch with him on his way upstairs. He thought that maybe sharing a meal together might help pull him back from the brink of shock. He knocked on the door of Yuri's room, but received no reply. When he opened the door, Yuri was gone.

The panic he felt was mercifully brief as he headed down to the stables where he found Yuri, curled up in the hay with Repede. He should have expected this.

He slipped in and set the tray down on the edge of the door.

"Yuri."

He sprung up out of the hay, groping for his sword that lay beside him. Repede intervened before he could draw it. The hardness of those eyes softened a bit when he looked up at Flynn, letting the sword stay at rest, but in his hand.

"Are you all right?" It was a stupid question that Flynn tried to use to ease into further conversation.

"Yeah." It was a lie.

"I brought you some lunch."

"I'm not hungry."

Flynn set the tray down anyway, hoping that Yuri would at least eat something.

The silence stretched out, long and heavy and colder than winter. Flynn had so much to say, but didn't know how to say any of it. After a few long moments of nothing, the only thing he could put together was. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Yuri replied coolly. He let the silence grow once more as he ate a couple of grapes, but largely ignored the rest of his meal. "What was his name?"

"Ragou." Flynn hadn't told Yuri about him before. He wished that he didn't need to know about what sort of horrors had happened before his arrival. "Much like Cumore, he was responsible for the near genocide of his town. He-"

"Stop. I don't want to hear any more." He laid back down, scrunching his back into the wall of the stable. "I don't want to think about it anymore." Even his voice was hollow, lacking the liveliness that he had had only days before. He had changed. Horror did that.

"Why don't you come back upstairs?"

"No."

Flynn couldn't argue. If Yuri didn't want to, Flynn wouldn't force him. It wouldn't make anything better. He would at least be warm and safe here. "Let me know if you need anything."

No reply came and Yuri closed his eyes, one hand still tight on the cord of his scabbard. Whether he was pretending to sleep or honestly trying, Flynn couldn't say. And he hated it, but he decided it was best to leave Yuri alone for now. There was only so much that he could do for Yuri and he hated that even more.

Yuri had lost something that Flynn had admired in him. Perhaps it was innocence, a sense of wonder. That light in his eyes, wild and mischievous had been replaced by cold distance. That was Flynn's fault. He had hesitated too long. He should have worked harder to return Yuri to Earth. Instead, he became caught up in his presence, caught up in how much his world had changed simply because Yuri was there. He had been unable to separate those things and his feelings from his initial purpose for Yuri. He had always intended to send him home.

It was a painful thought, when their relationship was still new, but it would be best for Yuri. Flynn didn't want to see him ruined any further.

He considered the thought through the rest of the day and well into the night. A verdict still hadn't come down from the Council. He couldn't bring himself to eat. He checked on Yuri once more time, trying to persuade him to return to his room. It did no good and Flynn resigned himself to bed. He hated feeling so helpless.

His bed was so cold and the pure silence of his room was suddenly unnerving. It felt as if the emptiness of the palace was bearing down on him. Even the soft crackle of the fireplace wasn't enough to break through. Left alone with his thoughts and no work to busy his hands or mind, he reached only one conclusion.

He had been a fool to forget his purpose, to disillusion himself and think that this would last, to let his feelings get in the way of what was right. He never should have entertained the swell in his chest, the flutter of his heart. He should have crushed those feelings with cold mercilessness and not gotten emotionally invested. He had gotten wrapped up and forgotten his purpose. Yuri was his responsibility and it was his responsibility to do the right thing, before it was too late.

Flynn was left with only one solution: he had to send Yuri home.