Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

This one was...difficult for me to write. In order to do this, I had to come to a major decision about pairings and such, and while I'm not quite set on the pairing presented in this part, I'm getting there. It's weird, because I've never done the support in-game, preferring to use other supports. Special, huh?

Wow. Once more, I am stunned by the power of reviews. I've now had...(checks) 75 percent of the guesses stating that Nergal made Ephidel to look like Mark, when it was originally just a coincidence that I wanted to exploit. At least, when you look at the official art for the morphs, they look like Mark. So, yeah, on that note, you're all correct, because it's such a great plot twist that even though I ignored it initially I'm going to have to put it in somewhere. So far, one person has gotten half of the situation down pat. There's one other half of the equation, though, that's going to come up pretty soon, so please send me your input!

Oh, and I'm going to start the next side-story pretty soon. Just a heads-up, there. Enjoy!

#125 – Tenor

"So, sub-commander, how goes the work?" Lyn teased. Sain bolted up from the bed of hay he had been sleeping atop, before he realized it was just Lyn. "Elimine take it, you scared me, milady," he gasped.

"What is it that the sub-commander does, anyways?" Lyn asked, as Sain lay back down. "As far as I can tell, your duties are the same as any other guard's, except you seem to spend more time flirting and slacking off, apparently."

"Slacking off?" Sain demanded, mock horror crossing his features. "Why, I'm merely here to ensure that nobody thinks it's a good idea to take a nap in the stables!"

"Nobody but you, apparently," Lyn rebutted. She climbed the bale and sat next to the cavalier. "And you still haven't told me what you do."

"Well, while Kent deals with the nobles and makes sure none of our troops do anything to antagonize or embarrass them, I'm the citizens' liaison," Sain responded. "I take the impressions of our patrols and use that to figure out if a village is close to rebelling, or if they need a boost in morale, things like that. I also take over for Kent if he's busy making nice with your fellow nobles."

"Is that why you weren't at that 'Welcome to Caelin' ball Grandfather threw for me?" Lyn asked. "Because you were busy doing Kent's work?"

"Ah, no." Sain grinned sheepishly. "When I found out the date, I put myself on patrol duty. All those lovely flowers, not the least of which was yourself…if I said something embarrassing in front of one of them, I fear I should never forgive myself."

"It's never stopped you before," Lyn pointed out. "But the work you do sounds impressive. I'd never thought about the effort that must go into being in charge of the marquisate's troops. Why are you napping here, instead of in your room?"

"Ah…that's because of my duties," Sain confessed. "Whenever I need to take a break, everyone knows that I go to the stables. That way, if I'm needed, I can be found without having to tramp over half the castle."

"That's…really responsible of you, Sain," Lyn said, trying to keep the surprise out of her voice. She had thought that the knight would have said something about meeting horse-riding ladies, but he was far more thoughtful than supposed.

"Sain," a voice came from the doors. Groaning, Sain sat up and regarded Kent. "We have a newcomer. Would you show him around the place?"

"Of course," Sain agreed. "I beg your leave, Lady Lyndis?" After she nodded, he hopped off the bale of hay, swept her a bow, and left, the red-haired newcomer following him.

"Lady Lyndis," Kent murmured, turning to leave.

"A moment, Kent," Lyn said, halting the knight in his tracks. "If it's not too much trouble?"

"Not at all, Lady Lyndis," Kent responded, turning back to face her and walking over. "How may I serve?"

"I haven't seen you since the night of the ball," she remarked. "I wanted to know how you were. Actually, now that I think about it, I've only seen you once or twice before that, since our return to Caelin."

"My new duties have kept me busy," he replied apologetically. "I have been supervising the recruitment and training of new soldiers, to replace the ones…" The knight trailed off, loath to broach such a delicate subject.

"To replace the ones we killed." Lyn held no such qualms. "The soldiers of Caelin, who were just doing their duty and could not refuse their lord's brother…those soldiers, who had families inside our borders…"

"It is not your fault, milady," Kent insisted gently. "And many soldiers did find refuge amongst the villages of Caelin, instead of fighting us."

"What would you have done, Kent?" Lyn demanded suddenly. "If you had stayed here, and Lundgren had told you that I was a fake, trying to take the throne of Caelin, and had to be eliminated? Tell me the truth."

"I…I would have done my duty," he answered, uncertainty clear on his face. "If I had stayed here, I would have rode out amongst the knights of Caelin."

Lyn bit her lip. "I see." The two of them stayed in silence for a few moments. "If…if for some reason, Grandfather told you to kill me now, would you do so?" Her eyes begged honesty, but the cavalier said nothing. "Kent?"

"I do not know what I would do, Lady Lyndis," Kent said quietly. "But no matter what, I would find out the reason before anything else."

"…Thank you, Kent," Lyn said, not understanding why her heart felt like it was in her throat. "For your honesty…and for your loyalty to Caelin. Thank you."

Kent seemed lost for words. "…Milady…I apologize, I–"

"No," she interrupted. "I asked you to tell me honestly, and you did. You have nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, I should apologize for putting you on the spot like that. I hope…" She paused as she jumped off the bale.

Unfortunately, her distracted landing was far from graceful, and she stumbled across a handle to a tool someone had forgotten to put away. She panicked as she began to fall, when a pair of hands caught her arms, stopping her descent.

She glanced up into the worried eyes of Caelin's Knight Commander. "Milady? Are you all right?"

"Ah…yes…yes, I am," she said, flushing at the embarrassment of falling. "I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize," Kent told her, and if it was about the current situation or the previous conversation, Lyn couldn't tell which one. "I…should be going," he finally said, letting go of her. "By your leave."

Lyn blinked at Kent's retreating back. "Ah, wait up!" she called, running after him. As he turned, inquisitive, her mind raced. "You…you never told me just why Sain was raising doves, you know," she finally said.

He blinked, surprised at the statement. "Oh! Well, it started when a young lady in the castle town, Kennice by name, asked him if he could take care of her pet…" Their voices trailed off as they walked down the corridor, no destination in mind. Unbeknownst to them, the tenor of their interaction had been completely blown off-track, moving onto a different path entirely.