Seed went upstairs to retrieve his coat; the autumn breeze put a chill in the air, hinting at a long winter. Culgan led Seed and Christina across town, north of the palace, to Varen's manor and knocked on the door. Culgan turned to both of them, reminding them, "Don't entertain any talk of rebellion. We're just here to listen."

"Yeah, I got it," Seed responded.

"Okay!" Christina nodded.

Varen opened the door and smiled when he saw Seed. "General-" he caught himself, "Forgive me." He opened the door further and stepped aside, "Please, come in."

Culgan nodded cordially and entered with Christina, and Seed followed last. Seed grinned, "Varen?" He held out his hand to shake.

"Yes," he answered, taking his hand, "It's good to finally meet you, Seed."

"You too."

Christina held out her hand, "I'm Christina. Nice to meet you!"

Varen took her hand, a little bemused by her presence, "Nice to meet you too."

Culgan looked around, "Are Senna and Lekton here?"

"Yes, they're in their rooms," Varen said, leading them into the den after closing the door. "Have a seat. I'll go and get them."

Seed looked around as Varen left them. "Nice place."

"Wow, look at that garden!" Christina said, peering out the bay windows.

Seed looked over his shoulder at the back yard. "That's a lot of work."

"He must have servants and stuff, right?" Christina asked, sitting back in her chair. "Wow, this chair is so comfy too. Like sitting on a cloud."

Varen walked back into the den and took a seat on the couch across from them, near the piano. "They'll be joining us shortly."

"So, do you live alone in this place? Aside from with, uh… Senna and Lekton?" Seed asked.

"Yes, it's just the three of us here now. My father lived here for some time, but he left as soon as I came back. Senna and Lekton are like family to me though."

"Who does the gardening?" Christina asked.

"My father had a gardener, but Senna takes care of it now."

Senna and Lekton came downstairs and through the hallway to join them in the den, taking a seat on the couch with Varen. He introduced them, "Senna, Lekton, this is General Seed and Christina."

Senna didn't take her eyes off Seed, smiling, "Nice to meet you."

Lekton's jaw dropped as soon as he saw him, "Varen, where did you…" He bowed, "It's an honor to meet you, Seed."

Seed felt flattered and a little strange. Lekton was surprised at how young he still looked. Apparently Senna thought the same as she spoke up, "You look younger than I thought you would. Not that I thought you would look really old or anything!"

"I did make rank younger than most," Seed grinned.

Christina looked at Seed with a newfound kind of awe.

"Have you any plans, Seed? Now that the war is over," Varen asked.

"Plans, no. I haven't given the future too much thought," he admitted ruefully. "There's not any place for me in the military anymore. Right now, I'm living one day at a time."

"What is it that you do now?" Senna asked, curious.

"I'm helping out an old friend run his pub. It's not permanent," he answered.

"Oh, a pub! We should visit sometime," she nudged Lekton with her elbow. "Maybe you can have your first drink there." She would only let him have one, but Lekton grinned.

"Have you given any thought to what I mentioned before, Culgan?" Varen asked, testily.

"I haven't forgotten," Culgan answered.

Seed smiled at Senna when he caught her looking at him, and she looked away. He couldn't stifle that one.

"It's something that Highland needs, but it will take a lot of time and resources," Varen continued.

"What do you mean what Highland needs?" Christina asked, confused.

"A rebellion," Varen answered. "The people want it. They just need someone to spark the fire."

"And how would you do that?" Seed asked.

"We will need to start some rumors here and there, get the people talking. My people can take care of that."

"Your people?" Christina asked. "Like a tribe?"

Seed chuckled at that.

"No, merchants mostly," Varen clarified.

"It sounds dangerous," Culgan said. "It could stir unrest, but how would that help you organize an army? Wouldn't it just risk bringing unwanted attention to your cause?"

"Perhaps," Varen said pensively. "The citizens need to talk about their dissatisfaction with the current government officials and a return to Highland's glory. Raising and organizing an army would be the part that requires the most time."

Lekton decided to speak up, "I don't know about you guys, but I can't stand looking at that red and gold flag flying over the palace instead of Highland's flag."

"We lost the war," Culgan spoke sternly. "The Highland military is no more. The King and Queen are gone."

"But not dead," Seed said, looking at him.

Culgan shook his head. "Jowston is flourishing, and they've made allies of their neighbors. If there was a rebellion, it would be crushed. Especially if rumors started floating around."

Varen decided to raise another point, "The Holy Kingdom of Harmonia will want to reclaim Highland for themselves sooner or later. I would rather someone we trust end up in charge at the end of it."

"Would they?" Culgan challenged. "High Priest Sasarai didn't hesitate to pull out during the last battle."

"But we wouldn't want Harmonia to take Highland, would we?" Seed asked. "And make it part of their theocracy?"

"Not unless a Blight survived to be put back on the throne," Culgan answered.

"Well, we made sure of that, didn't we?"

"Seed…"

"That brings me to another part of my plan," Varen added, "We need to get Jillia back on the throne. It is her rightful place, and the people would support her fully."

"I would be interested to hear the actual planning involved in following through with that," Culgan stated icily.

"You said that you made sure that she survived. Do you know where she disappeared to?" Varen asked.

"Then, you don't know where she is," Culgan said.

"Harmonia," Seed volunteered. "That's where he said she'd be safe."

"Harmonia is an entire country," Culgan withheld a sigh. "We don't know where she is. And it's a nonissue because a rebellion would be futile."

"If she's in Harmonia, it may make finding her easier than I thought," Varen said. "And it's only a matter of time before Harmonia makes their move."

"What gives you any idea Harmonia is planning to make a move, aside from hope?" Culgan asked.

Seed interrupted, "They're a bunch of self-righteous power-hungry priests that always saw Highland as belonging to them. Why wouldn't they?"

"If they did, they would negotiate for it before going to war."

"Since when does Harmonia negotiate?"

"When it suits them."

"Oh, well, that's a start," Seed said.

Culgan paused and glanced at Varen, "Excuse me. Is it all right if I have a moment alone to speak with Seed?"

Seed straightened and smirked, giving Senna a look that said 'I'm in trouble now'. She smiled back, knowing that look all too well, and snapped her attention away from Seed's handsome face when she heard Varen's voice, "Why don't we go and get our guests something to drink? Senna, Lekton."

Christina stood up and followed them through a doorway in the hall but she stopped out of sight to eavesdrop.

Culgan brushed his hair back with a sigh, "What are you doing, Seed?"

Seed looked over at him grimly, "I'm hearing him out."

"You do realize what he's asking, don't you? He wants us to lead the troops if he ever puts them together."

"Yeah," he sighed, leaning forward to rest his weight on his knees. "We died, didn't we? And now we have a second chance."

"Exactly. A second chance to live."

"Culgan, the last couple months, I've been trying to act like everything is back to normal. But I can't. This isn't L'Renouille. I don't feel like I can even call her that without drawing unwanted attention to myself."

"That's paranoia."

"Yeah, but I'm right, aren't I? Don't you think they still hate us? It may have been three years since it ended, but we aren't one big happy family now, are we? They took it all, and they can pick us out by our accents or by what we call our city, and they can hate us."

"Are you suggesting we're second class citizens?"

"Maybe."

"That's unfounded."

"I want it back, Culgan. That's all I'm saying. I want her back."

"What if we were to give it everything. Again. And still fail?" Culgan asked, quietly but firmly.

"That's a risk I'd have to take. I didn't give it everything to go back to being a peasant again. And I sure as hell wouldn't join the military under their flag."

"We don't have a military. We'd have a ragtag crew of rebels."

"Rebels that used to be soldiers," Seed added.

Culgan leaned his elbow on the arm of the chair, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to gather his thoughts. "You've already made up your mind, haven't you?"

"I just don't think it's impossible if we're careful. You know as well as I do what Highland is capable of. The Jowston Alliance outnumbered our military three to one, and we still took their capital out from under them."

"We don't have Leon Silverburg, and we don't have the Beast rune. You have to consider that."

"We don't need 'em," Seed started.

Christina walked into the hallway, "Seed, don't be stupid! Listen to Culgan-"

Seed stood up from his seat and growled, "What did you say?"

Christina backed off and stammered, "I don't want you to throw your life away for a hopeless cause! Culgan is just being realistic..."

Seed felt his skin grow hot with anger at her interjecting and insulting him. "Leon Silverburg failed us at Rude forest. That was a huge turning point in the war. Culgan knew better than he did, and we could have taken them if he'd only listened. We don't need him."

"Even if we did win her back, she'd never be the same…" Christina spoke softly.

"You have no loyalty to my country," Seed glared, "I wouldn't expect you to understand." His words stung her, and she looked away.

"You may not have Leon Silverburg," Varen spoke up, stepping out of the hallway from behind Christina, "but you have his student. He was brilliant, but he was flawed. I have studied his tactics and his mistakes, and I learn from the mistakes of others as well as my own. I would not follow too closely in his footsteps."

Seed calmed himself and took a seat when Senna entered with a tray of cups filled with water. His hand still trembled with suppressed anger as he accepted one from her, and he forced a smile that didn't meet his eyes. "Thanks."

Culgan hesitated, "You trained under him, then?"

"Yes." Varen cast a surreptitious glance at Seed as he spoke, "I remind you as well that the Orange Army started out small. Led by an inexperienced youth. We have two generals and a tactician already."

"Give us some time to think it over," Culgan offered, standing.

"Of course."

Seed stood up, handing his cup back to Senna with a more genuine smile.