Interlude - Ganeishire
Ganeishire is liberated. The very first city to be freed… the very first victory in our 'war'... it's a big moment to be certain. Everyone celebrates and greets us with cheers and smiles. However, it's not all fun and games. Now that we have a defensible city, we have to prepare. We have to build not just a 'resistance', but an 'army'. It's a big difference, literally. More people, more supplies, more… everything. It's kind of crazy. More than kind of, actually. And it's even more intimidating.
Well, someone has to do it. And by 'someone', I meant us. Because our only other choice was to run away, and we were tired of that.
"Riona?" Seliph's voice slowly dragged me from my book, a very smutty story Lana recommended. It was surprisingly good, with a fun and interesting plot and sex scenes that were more than 'insert thing here'. "Riona, I know you're up there. Hestia's whimpering."
"Aw, is she?" I asked, pushing myself up slightly to lean over the edge of the castle's roof. Sure enough, there was Hestia, giving me her best 'puppy dog eyes' despite being very far down. Seliph petted her to try and reassure her. "She was hunting with Ulster earlier. Didn't think they'd be back yet."
"The hunters returned an hour or so ago," Seliph replied, laughing. I glanced up at the clear sky, noticing the sun was higher than I would've guessed. I'd been here since a little past dawn, after finishing all my morning duties. We were easily late morning, early afternoon. Whoops. "Anyway, what are you reading?"
"The Assassin's Bride." I marked my spot and closed the book before swinging my legs around so that I was sitting on the edge, kicking my feet. "You might like it, actually. Still got scenes that'll make you blush, but the plot is amazing!"
"Lend it to me when you're done, then." Seliph grinned. Or I guessed. He was kind of tiny from up here. I could see the red ribbon he had tied around his arm, though. It matched the one I wore on my wrist. "Maybe we'll do that group read thing again."
"Oh, this one would be good for that!" Of course, we might not have the time, but maybe we could figure out ways to do work while we did? We'd helped each other with lessons while doing a group read before, after all. "Though, maybe we should do one none of us have read? Lana's read this one, and I'm halfway through."
"We'll discuss it with the others." He laughed, warm and bright, but that only made his sudden serious look all the more… well, serious. "Hey, you got any shifts or duties coming up?"
"Nope. All my stuff is late afternoon and evening today." I adjusted the ribbon on my wrist and smiled down at him. I knew what he was going to ask. "Want me to come with you?"
"You mind?"
"Of course not. I'll be right there." I tucked the book into my sash and stood up. Hestia barked excitedly, tail wagging, because she knew I'd be back with her soon. "Oh, but keep your voice down because otherwise, Oifeye is definitely going to-"
"Riona!" Spoke too soon. There he was. Damn it. "Riona, how did you even… oh I don't care!" Oifeye grumbled, storming over to where Hestia and Seliph were to glare up at me. I didn't get why he was so surprised. I did this all the time in Tirnanog, and there was no reason why I'd stop just because we weren't there anymore. "Get down from there this instance!"
"You want me to jump?" I asked dryly, even as I hunted for a quick way down. Seliph, meanwhile, was laughing his head off. "I'm not sure I'll bounce to my feet from this height."
"You know exactly what I meant!" Oifeye glowered at laughing Seliph. He didn't notice Hestia slowly doing a 'play-bow'. "Lord Seliph, you shouldn't encourage such dangerous behavior!"
"I'm perfectly safe! Besides, you let me keep a wolf as a pet."
"That was reluctant and-AUGH!" And Hestia decided that Oifeye's yelling was the start of a new game and jumped on him. "Hestia, no! I'm trying to scold Riona!"
"Not listening~!"
"Riona!"
Thanks to Hestia pinning Oifeye, Seliph and I managed to escape before Oifeye could give me a lecture from hell that I'd pretend to listen to and promptly forget about. Hestia caught up to us before long as well, wagging her tail and yipping excitedly. I had to keep a good grip on her fur when we entered the chipper market, smiling and waving to people as we passed. Quite a few greeted us in return, stopping us to say something about how grateful they were that we freed Ganeishire. Some even just stared at Seliph, eyes sparkling in wonder. Seliph did his best to not squirm, and I took to actually calling out to those people to make them squirm in turn. Hero worship and the like was sadly inescapable, but that didn't mean I had to put up with them making Seliph uncomfortable. It was still unnerving, even if I knew we had to get used to it. Besides, it was hilarious making them blush.
We left the market quickly, and Hestia loped a bit ahead, excitedly heading for the gates. I had to call her back to my side, though, as we weren't heading outside. Instead, we made our way towards one of the residential areas of the city. It was much quieter here and not just because most of the town was either working or at the market. The dark ribbons tied outside people's houses were the other reason. Black for family, red for friends. Every house bore red ribbons, but only a few had black. Seliph paused outside of the closest one, looked around for some sort of identifying mark, and closed his eyes to gather his nerves. I took his hand and leaned into him reassuringly and he smiled at me before knocking on the door.
"Welcome home, Papa!" Almost immediately, the door swung open to reveal a little girl in a newly made black dress, smiling brightly. That smile dimmed, though, when she saw Seliph and me and she looked up and down the street to find it was just us, with Hestia. "Oh, he's not home yet," she mumbled, sighing. Then she scowled and stomped her foot. "He's super late."
"Hello there, little one," Seliph murmured. He kept up the smile, though I could see the strain already. "Might we come in?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess." She paused and then gasped. "Wait! You're Prince Seliph and Lady Riona!" She bolted inside. "Mama! Mama, mama, mama! We've guests! Super-duper-important guests!"
"Well, she's a bundle of energy." Seliph glanced at me and then stepped inside. I followed, but had Hestia wait by the open door. It just seemed proper, especially since the girl's mom stumbled into the room, hands dirty from working in the dirt, looking a little frazzled while her little girl skipped about in excitement. "Ah, hello there. I apologize for showing up so unexpectedly."
"No, no, it's fine, Prince Seliph," she murmured, smiling kindly. And tiredly. Like her daughter, she wore black. "But what are you…?"
"You're Muirenn, yes?" Seliph asked softly. He hesitated a bit, but I nudged him encouragingly. "The wife of Uaithne?"
"Ah, yes, I am." She clasped her hands in front of her and looked down. "We… ah…"
"Oh, are they going to tell us when Papa is coming home?" the little girl asked, tugging at her mom's skirts. She smiled brightly before scowling. "I mean; I don't see why Papa gets to play so long in the dirt." And here came the awkward silence. "You get mad when I do it!"
"Hey, little one, you want to pet Hestia?" I offered gently, crouching down to look at her with a smile. Someone had to distract her, clearly. "My wolf right there." I pointed for emphasis, and Hestia's ears perked up at the thought of pets. "She's super soft. Bathed her just yesterday to make sure of it."
"Really?" Her eyes widened and she looked to her mother for permission. As soon as her mother nodded, she squealed and raced for Hestia to pet her. "Wow! Soft-soft!"
"I apologize for all the fur she'll get on her, but that should be enough to keep her busy." I straightened and shifted so that I could keep an eye on Hestia. Hestia sometimes forgot humans were a little more fragile than her. "I take it the funeral was recent?"
"Yesterday morning," Muirenn confirmed, smiling sadly. She bowed to us. "Thank you, so much, for handling all the costs."
"It is, literally, the least we could do," Seliph whispered, doing his best to not wilt. We found out the day after the battle that some of Ganeishire's people had jumped into the fray alongside our fighters, determined to assist us however they could. Sadly, a few of their number had been among the many dead. Oifeye said the losses were 'minimal', but that was hard to swallow when looking at a tired widow and a child who didn't realize yet that her dad was never coming home again. "I wanted to check in on you, though. And all those who lost family, of course. Is there anything you need?"
"No, I am afraid what's needed now is simply time. Your people gave us more than enough money to make it through the next few months."
"Is it truly enough?" Seliph winced. "I know you can't place a price on a life, but…"
"Ha… you're a bit more awkward than people think, huh?" She laughed softly, with a kind smile. "The last thing my husband saw, Prince Seliph, was you standing proudly over General Harold's body. The last thing he heard was that Ganeishire was free." Her eyes were serious, yet still so very kind. It almost hurt. "I won't pretend it doesn't hurt. I wish he had lived. But he died with a smile on his face, knowing that the future would be safe for our little girl. Knowing that we would not have to fear her growing older and either being prey for a Child Hunt or prey for soldiers. If one has to pick a death, that's a good one." Her smile wobbled and her voice became thick. But she didn't cry. She was too tired to cry. "I only ask that you keep pushing forward, Prince Seliph. I only ask that you really do make that future."
"You have my word, ma'am." Seliph bowed to her. "You have my word."
We lingered a bit longer, mostly so that her little girl could play a bit more with Hestia, before leaving to head to the next house, a family who lost their son and were trying to adapt to that missing place at the dinner table. Then the next one, a man who lost his wife and sister and struggled to take care of his newborn daughter. Then the next. Then the next. Seliph remembered every name. I focused more on being reassuring and distracting the children. Hestia let herself be the distraction, most of the time, though sometimes, she went right up to someone and refused to leave their side until we left because she decided they needed the comfort more. We spent quite a bit of time at each house, making sure they were going to be fine. We even helped a few with chores, and I pretended not to know how to do a couple so that they could 'teach' me with a smile and a laugh.
However, as we crossed through the market to head to another residential area, someone threw mud at Seliph's face. Annoying enough on its own, but the way the crowd gasped, you'd think he got hit with shit or a rock or something. But I couldn't tease about it. I couldn't try to lighten the mood. After all, someone just 'attacked' one of Hestia's humans and she never tolerated that.
"Hestia, no!" I snapped, barely catching her by the fur. Even then, the force of her lunge made me fall in the mud and I had to wrap my arms around her to pin her down. "No, no, and no!" I had to pin her, because Hestia was snarling, hackles up, and honestly, only the fact that she loved me stopped her from breaking free and biting whoever threw that at Seliph. Or killing them. Hestia only played nice with people she liked, and she did not like people who threw things at her pack. "No! Calm! Stay by me!" None of this was helped by how aggravated the crowd was. "By me!"
It was a giant mess. Some people tried to help me wrestle Hestia down, and I had to snap at them to keep away because she would bite and I refused to be responsible for missing fingers or limbs. Others fussed over Seliph, with him desperately trying to calm people down because 'it was just mud' and there was no reason to react so poorly to something so incredibly simple. Still others had apparently caught the thrower and began scolding them. When Hestia was calm enough to at least stop fighting me, I looked up to see if I could find said-thrower, and realized she had to be the young girl glaring balefully at the ground. And she was young. Too young to really be able to 'moralize' things, but old enough to know what was going on. Too young to think in concepts of 'the greater good', but old enough to know pain. And the bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks showed she was in a lot of pain. The black clothes she wore said why.
"You should not be so angry," someone was saying to her. I felt my own temper spike. While I was annoyed at her throwing stuff at Seliph, because it was Seliph and I had to deal with an angry Hestia and getting covered in mud, no one had a right to restrict her emotions! "Your family would weep to see you so angry."
"Why would you say that?" Seliph demanded instantly, voice just barely loud enough to be heard. He stepped away from the fussers and frowned heavily. I might be too busy to scold, but he wasn't. "No, let her have her anger. She clearly lost someone in the battle. I have always been told that anger was an important part of the grieving process. Please, do not rob her of that."
"B-but, Prince Seliph…" The speaker was lucky I couldn't see them well with the crowd. I would've thrown mud at them. "To be angry at you is…"
"Why should she not be angry at me? I led the battle where she lost someone dear to her. I gave the orders that led to their death." Seliph looked right at the girl, eyes and tone sincere and respectful. "Resent me if you want. Hate me if you need. Feel what you have to in order to make it through the pain. You should mourn however you wish." He smiled kindly and walked to the girl, kneeling in front of her. She was silently crying now. "That said, I do ask that you do not throw things at the soldiers. Your mourning should help you move forward, and should not harm yourself or those around you."
"You…" the girl began. But that broke the dam and she began sobbing. "My papa… and my brother… and my mom…" Each word struggled to escape the tears. "They all…"
"I am so sorry for your loss. If I could spare you this pain, I would," Seliph murmured. He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "But they wanted a world where you were safe. And I will make that world. I sadly cannot take up all of their dreams, but I can pick up that one. You have my word, whatever it is worth to you."
"And you lot should be helping a girl with her loss, not scolding her when she lashes," I added, standing. Hestia was calm enough for me to let go of her, so I scowled at the people, hands on my hips and everything. And pretended I wasn't covered in mud because of Hestia. "Or did you all think our resolve would falter just because of one person's anger?"
"We've all made our decisions, and we will not falter from the path." Seliph stood and addressed the crowd. While I was annoyed, he was calm. "So please, help each other. Don't punish the hurting. Try to help them heal. We will have to move forward, much as I would like to tend to everyone's individual hurts."
"Freaking hell, trust us a little more. Besides, Seliph has been hit with worse than mud in the past. Hestia likes dropping her half-eaten kills on our faces." Sighing, I walked over to the girl and wiped away her tears. Sadly, I accidentally smeared some mud across her cheek, but she didn't seem to notice. Or care. "As for you… why don't I walk you home?" I absently noticed the red ribbon I wore was the only thing not mud-stained, a damn miracle considering everything. But I was glad for it. We all wore red ribbons to mourn the dead. "Seliph, can you take Hestia outside the city?"
"Yeah, I'll handle her." He grabbed Hestia's muddy fur and pulled-nudged her down the road towards the gates. "Thanks."
"Of course."
I walked the girl to her home, in the residential district where Seliph and I had been heading. The girl was staying with her grandparents, and I stayed a short while to talk and make sure they were well. And reassured them that everything was fine, that a little mud wasn't going to hurt. Afterwards, I ducked through one of the 'secret' entrances and met Seliph outside. Or more watched Hestia frolic through the flowers until I found where Seliph was laying down in the grass. Mostly by almost tripping over him.
"You're so muddy!" Seliph teased, grinning. He still had some dirt smudged on his face, something I hadn't noticed while he was being all cool and all. "Almost as much as Hestia. Lana's going to be so mad!"
"If I thought that was going to happen, I would've left Hestia back at the castle," I grumbled, sitting down next to him. He held out his arm and I took the offered 'pillow' laying down to watch the fluffy clouds pass by. I was sure some mud got on his sleeve, but whatever. "I'd suggest a leash, but she chewed through all the others ones. And the collars."
"We'll have a good talk with her after she's run and hunted herself out." Seliph sighed and rolled on his side to look at me. "Surprised that there aren't more angry ones, truthfully. More people who are like 'why did you not save my loved one?' or something."
"Considering the crowd's reaction? They probably avoid you to not deal with the trouble." I didn't like that the girl had been 'shamed' for a natural reaction. "I prefer the angry ones. I know they're actually looked at us."
"And not what we represent. Yes, I do too. That girl felt more honest…" He sighed. "Maybe it was a mistake to walk about."
"No, I don't think so." I rolled onto my side too and poked his nose to make him squeak. "I think it's a good thing. That's why I came with you. Trust me; I would've told Hestia to sit on you or something if I thought it was stupid."
"True. But maybe we'll do the rest another day. For now, though, we should let Hestia run a bit to calm down." He smiled. "Can I braid flowers into your hair?"
"Oh, yeah, sure." I smiled back. "Let's do that."
I ended up braiding flowers into his hair too, and we decided that it really was best to simply return to the castle. We'd visit the rest tomorrow morning. For now, it was back to work. After I changed clothes and Lana scolded me severely for how muddy my clothes were. And after I watched her scold Hestia for how muddy her fur was. Hestia's reaction was to rub against her and get mud on her. Because Hestia.
The courtyard of the castle was filled with people. It was filled with lots of people. Ulster did his best to keep everyone in organized lines, one for people getting health checks from Lana and one for the people officially signing up for our little army with Diarmuid. Because lists were important. Lists let you keep track of names, ages, allergies, and potential health concerns. Lists let you read out names to determine who went missing during a battle. Lists let you know exactly who and where to contact should the worst occur. Lists made everything extra official. There was something terrifying about it all. More than terrifying, really.
"Looks like Hestia decided to help Ulster," I murmured, watching Hestia keep near Ulster and use her sheer size to herd people. Though there was something amusing about a wolf herding people. "I wonder if Lana needs help…" Of course, I couldn't just go down and ask. I had my own duties. I just managed to finish up my morning stuff early, so I came out to the balcony to rest and watch the crowd. "Wow, though, there's a lot of people." Part of me wanted to count, but it was a bit difficult with people going in and out of the lines. But it was a lot. "I've never seen so many people in my life."
"They're from the nearby villages." Lester appeared at my side, resting against the railing just like me. He smelled of horses, hinting he just finished tending to them. He had stable duty today. One of those chores that would slowly be taken over by others, so Lester wanted to do what he could now. "And to think, we're still outnumbered ten to one," he noted, looking out over everyone. "Or twenty to one."
"Gods, we're insane." But who was more insane? Us or the people who followed us? "All of us are completely and totally insane."
"I don't think the sane survive when the world goes mad."
"That went more philosophical than I intended."
"Whoops."
Both of us fell silent, watching the people below. Ulster, with Hestia's continued help, slowly managed to get people into the proper lines, though there were so many that they twisted about anyway despite the 'clear' system of 'check health with Lana and then sign up with Diarmuid'. I knew there were helpers somewhere, there had to be, but I didn't know who was who. So I simply watched Lana check on everyone with a smile, and Diarmuid work on getting those all important lists done.
"So you've been cleared for duty?" Diarmuid asked with a warm, bright smile. He was seated at a table with a bunch of pens and paper, perfectly serene. Too serene. I knew he was internally screaming over all the people. "Excellent! Please write your name here…"
"Ah, I don't know how to write…" the person groaned. They winced at how loud they were. "Is that…"
"Oh, no, of course not!" Diarmuid took a pen and turned the paper. "Okay, so, what is your name? And is it that you can't write or read and write? We'll give you lessons."
"Both. Thank you, my lord!"
"The least that we can do. So, your name?"
"Ah, yes, it's…"
"You know; I never realized how privileged we were," I noted, tuning the conversation below out. I wouldn't remember the name. I was too high up to see more than basics about them, so I couldn't even use that to try and help. "That's the tenth one that I've seen that didn't know how to read and write. I always thought…"
"Thought it was universal, but in hindsight, the Tirnanog kids only knew because Mother held lessons," Lester summed up. He sighed and leaned into my side. I rested my head on his. "It makes sense. Even in exile, we're the children of nobles. But it is still a little..."
"Helps expand our horizons, and helps show us how little we know of the world."
"Yep." And that wasn't a comforting thought. "Do we have an age limit?"
"Sixteen. Same as the resistance. Of course..."
"Pretty sure some of them are lying about their age." He nodded to a couple of people in the line for Diarmuid's sign up. While they could be baby-faced, there was something young to their features and they looked a bit lanky-gangly. Like they were still growing into their full height. "I doubt we can call them out on it, though."
"Worse is that we do need every sword." Though the younger ones could probably be used as messengers? That would allow them to help without… "Gods, we're responsible for all these people. We're responsible for their lives." And their deaths.
"We are." Lester sighed. "Never realized the scope. And, worse, it's just going to get bigger."
"It is." I honestly felt like I was going to buckle under the weight. But we couldn't. Someone had to fight back, and we were just so damn tired of… "I wonder why no one else stood up."
"I asked Oifeye about that. Apparently, many have. But they all were obliterated quickly." He smiled bitterly. "How we're going to avoid the same fate, I have no clue."
"Neither do I." We did have Holy Blood, but that didn't mean we were naturally good leaders. It just meant we had some extra boosts to help us not die in a battle. Not that we were invincible. "Well, Oifeye is a good strategist. We're willing to be pragmatic. We have titles that people flock to."
"That's true. So, maybe coincidental inheritance stuff helping us out?"
"Maybe." That was so much bullshit, but what could you do? We just had to take advantage of what we had and hope that would be enough. "Distraction. We're much too serious. We should be chipper."
"Don't know how you manage to fake it and it's not like they're looking up here anyway." He drummed his fingers on the railing, clearly thinking. "Oh, have you asked the Dozel soldiers about Conall?"
"Nope." I almost laughed at his skeptical look. "They're not exactly very talkative. They're with us because of Ulster and Larcei, and because Danann's an asshole." They were not with us because they believed in us. They simply were willing to gamble that Uncle Lex's children were better people than Danann. "I've tried to ask, but they get super formal and I feel like even if they did know, they wouldn't tell me? Or they'd tell me the basics like 'he lives in Belhalla'." I almost shrugged, but then remembered he was resting against me. "So, no, I haven't. I do want to, but… well..."
"Damn, I thought that would last longer." Lester sighed and hunted about for something else to talk about. And then frowned heavily and leaned forward. "Hold up. Why are those guys posturing in front of Lana?"
"Hmm?" I leaned out to get a better view, and had to bite back a laugh when I saw what he was talking about. "Oh dear gods, they're flirting with her!" And poor Lana had no idea what to do about it. She kept the calm smile, but even from here, I could see it getting stiffer and stiffer. "Hey, Ulster."
"Uh… Riona? I'm Lester."
"I think I know that." I leaned out a little more, and Lester grabbed my shirt to make sure I didn't fall. "But I want to see his reaction!"
"Why?"
"Gods, you cannot tell me you're oblivious to Lana's crush on him. She's told you." I found Ulster and, sadly, he wasn't even looking that way. He was still working on keeping everyone organized. "Ugh… workaholic."
"You know, as an older brother, I am contractually obligated to automatically dislike matchmaking my sister."
"Oh, please. If anything, you should be helping her out! Besides, it's not like you don't know and like Ulster." I started waving, balancing on one hand, and Lester grabbed the back of my shift with both hands. "Come on… look up, you dummy."
Amusingly, Ulster did, in fact, look up right then. I pointed to Lana, whose smile and stiff posture stronger hinted she was about to club someone in the head with her staff. His eyes narrowed immediately, and he bent down to whisper something in Hestia's ear. Hestia licked his hand and bounded over to Lana, shouldering her way through some flirtatious patients to nuzzle Lana into a sweeter mood. The flirtatious ones promptly stumbled back, because wolf and wolves were always bigger than you expected, and Lana promptly moved to the next ones in line. Ulster swung around to escort the previous flirters to Diarmuid's 'sign-up' line, with Diarmuid being perfectly oblivious to what just happened and greeting them with bright and charming smiles. Hestia promptly laid down next to Lana and there were no more ridiculous flirts holding up Lana's line. For fear of getting an annoyed wolf on their ass.
"Well, that's solved!" I laughed, settling back on my feet. Lester breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn't one slip away from death. "But ugh, I wanted Ulster to have a bigger reaction."
"Like what?" Lester asked dryly. He pinched the bridge of his nose, unamused. "Calling them out dramatically?"
"If Ulster did that, we'd have to check him for a head injury or twenty." I rolled my eyes. "No, no, I wanted… something."
"Very descriptive."
"Shut up." I stuck my tongue out at him and he shook his head. "Come on! She's been crushing on him for a while! And they'd be super cute~!"
"I am contractually ob-"
"Play the overprotective older brother thing too much, and I am contractually obligated as Lana's friend to kick your ass." I grinned and he shuddered. Lester was easily the better rider, and gods knew he was a good shot, but Ulir luck or not, I still handed him his ass on a silver platter when it came to sparring. "Still say you should learn some close combat stuff."
"You kidding? I have my hands full with training bows and keeping up with riding. And, you know, all of our other duties. Which are going to increase dramatically in the coming weeks and months." He scowled when I snickered. "Should make you learn bows, so that you appreciate how hard it is."
"No way in hell. If I'm going to learn another weapon, it'll be magic for the headstart Fjalar blood gives me." But even as I said the words, I grimaced. I wasn't fond of the idea. Not in the least. "Though I suppose some of us might want to consider diversifying."
"Less than you think, considering the new recruits." He shrugged. "Besides, Dozel is infamous for its axe users. And we all know…"
"Ugh… don't 'weapon triangle' me!" I could recite it in my sleep! Oifeye made sure we knew it, when we started our weapon training. "Yes, yes, I know! Swords beat axes!" That's what saved us when killing General Richard, who was thankfully buried in an unmarked grave. None of us could bring ourselves to give him a gravestone or anything. Not after what he did, especially to Creidne. "There's a magic triangle too, right?"
"Yep. Fire trumps wind, which beats thunder, which conquers fire. Light and dark magic, however, are separate from the 'triangle'. They are superior to the elemental magics, and are equal yet opposite to each other." He recited it easily, and shrugged when I gave him an incredulous look. Lester did have some aptitude for magic, thanks to Aideen, but he'd never shown an interest. "Lana did learn the basics, remember? I helped her with memorization."
"Oh, right." I forgot Lana learned the basics of combat magic amidst everything she had to learn to be a healer. So much memorization. No wonder the stories about Mom mentioned she stuck close to a few people. She must've spent so much time studying! "Wait, weren't you supposed to be making medicines for Lana?" I paused and looked up at the sky to see where the sun was to get an estimate on the time. And judging by where it was… "And I… uh… damn it." I was going to be late.
"We're such amazing leaders." Lester facepalmed and I just sighed. "Truly. Why do people place their hopes in us?"
"Hell if I know." Except that they were desperate. "See you at dinner!"
I bolted then, racing through the halls and swinging around the corners. I scared a few of the servants, but I shouted apologies over my shoulder and kept on running. I really scared them when I took the stairs ten at a time, but I landed perfectly and continued on. As it was, though, I did have a group of people waiting awkwardly at the practice yards, probably wondering just why they'd signed up for an army where one of the leaders was late to her own lesson.
"Hello~!" I greeted brightly, slowing to a skip and stopping with a bounce. The energy made many of them smile. "Sorry for being late. Had to make sure people stopped flirting with the healer while she was trying to work." It wasn't a lie. That just hadn't been the only reason why I was late. Besides, it worked as an explanation, especially because no few facepalmed, no doubt knowing the people I was talking about. "So, first things first. You all probably know this, but I'm Riona and I'll be your instructor today. You'll have Larcei tomorrow if you're willing to keep going. If you want to switch to a different weapon, you just let Oifeye know and he'll reassign you. Any questions?"
"I heard something about self-defense lessons as well?" one woman asked. She had a fierceness to her eyes, a defiance to her posture. Her face and neck were scarred, each looking very deliberate, like someone had tried to carve her up like an apple. She was also the only one here who looked me in the eye, something that immediately made me like her. Because she looked at me, not my title. Not what I represented. "This might not be the place to ask, Lady Riona, but…"
"I think that's an excellent question, Miss…?"
"Niamh, my lady."
"Miss Niamh." I smiled brightly at her. "The answer is that we offer that in the evenings and it's available for anyone that wants to take it, whether or not they're in the army. They'll go on for however long we're in Ganeishire."
"I see." She smiled back. "Are we allowed to show our own tricks?"
"Of course! We're always up for new ways to maim people!" I giggled and quite a few of the group laughed. "More seriously, we're well aware that some tricks we use aren't the best for others, so it's actually highly encouraged to share." For instance, if things got really bad, then I could just set people's clothes on fire with a thought. That wasn't something most could do for obvious reasons. "And just for emphasis, it's open to both girls and boys." We had a few boys hesitantly ask if they could join in when we first made the announcement. "It's open to all ages as well, and if you need babysitters, I promise, you'll find many who are willing to watch them." Lana was actually a bit excited by the thought, though she tried to hide it. "I can't think of anything else to rattle off. So, any other questions?"
"No, that's sufficient." She curtseyed and stepped back into the group. "Thank you."
"Of course~!" I giggled and looked all of them in the eye. I tried to not let my nerves show. I'd never really taught anyone before. But if we were going to have them fight, it was only right to make sure they knew how. "Well then, if that's it for questions, let's start with some warm ups, shall we?"
I tried to not think about how I was teaching people how to kill others. I tried to not think about how many of them would be dead after the next battle. I focused on the present, laughing and teasing in equal measure as I did my best to teach. I owed it to them, after all.
Armies required a lot of paperwork. You knew it from the super-official-lists, of course, but there were bunches of others. What exactly they were, I had no idea. Why? Because Oifeye handled them for us. Supposedly, he was getting things organized to show us, but part of me felt like he was going to take it all on himself so that we had more free time to flounder about to find our footing. It was just like him. Plus, you know, he was a complete workaholic anyway.
"Oifeye, break time~!" I called, letting Hestia open the door for me so that I didn't have to balance the tray awkwardly. Hestia promptly pushed through and raced for Oifeye, nearly knocking him out of his chair entirely. "Hide important stuff quick! Hestia's bored."
"I think I noticed!" Oifeye… tried to snap. He was laughing too much, though, as Hestia braced herself on the arm of the chair to lick his face. "Did someone clean her teeth recently? Her breath isn't actually that bad."
"Lana and I did this morning." I set the tray on the corner of the desk and set out the plates and bowls of food around the piles of paperwork. "So, anyway, we have some beef dumplings, paired with a cheese sauce, and some freshly prepared noodles in beef broth. And some tea and ale for you."
"Are you planning on eating this too?" Oifeye eyed all the food warily, pushing Hestia down to the floor. "Surely this is too much."
"You missed breakfast. And lunch." I grinned at his blank expression. He hadn't noticed. "So, I made this special for you~!" I snagged Hestia when she began sniffing the food curiously and tugged her towards me. "Though, before you protest, it is the planned dinner for tonight. I was helping with the prep and asked if I could use some to guilt you into eating."
"And the ale?"
"That's at the insistence of… someone I'll remember the name of in about three hours from now." I giggled. "Apparently, you need good ale to keep up with all the work you're doing!"
"That seems like someone trying to sell me some ale." Still, he smiled softly. "Huh. I don't think I've had much alcohol since leaving Sigurd. Alec, Naoise, and Arden would drag me into drinking contests as a means of getting me to be social. Beowolf and Chulainn would join in, and drink everyone under the table."
"I can sneak the ale to someone else if you'd rather."
"No, no. I think I avoided it to lessen the chances of drowning my sorrows. And I want to remember them. Someone needs to." He reached for the mug of ale, but I poked his hand to stop him. "Hmm?"
"Food first. Otherwise, it's just going to go straight to your head."
"Ah, yes, of…" Oifeye trailed off, frowning. "Wait, how do you know that about alcohol?"
"Deimne and Muirne's family made the alcohol for Tirnanog, remember?" Meaning that Deimne would share the family allotment with friends, while Muirne made sure we were smart about it. "Besides, adult. Remember?"
"Not sure how much I like hearing you all snuck alcohol…" Oifeye sighed and I just grinned. And tightened my grip on Hestia because she was really curious about the food. Like she hadn't just ate a big deer an hour ago. "Ah, I suppose that's the least of my concerns nowadays."
"Maybe just a little. Maybe." I used my free hand to thumb through the papers, curious about what he'd been working on. All I saw were long strings of nonsense. "Did you write these in code or something?"
"Shorthand." He began looking around for something and then picked up the silverware from the tray. I'd forgotten to set them out. Oops. "Lets me work faster." And prevented us from helping, damn it. "Ah, damn, I forgot…"
"Yes?" I tried to not bounce a bit. If he forgot something, then I could help! With something besides making sure he didn't accidentally starve himself. "What is it?"
"Lord Seliph and Diarmuid were handling some inventory things for me, but I forgot to ask them to drop off my weapons with that blacksmith you all like."
"Jake? I can do that." I giggled, pleased. "Are they in your room?"
"Yes, they are." He smiled softly at me. "Thank you. And I'll be sure to eat before returning to work. Promise."
"You better! Like I said, I made it just for you!" I had to pull Hestia out of the room with me, because she really wanted some of his food. "Lock the door. She's still hungry. For some reason."
"She's like a toddler. Always hungry." Oifeye chuckled. "I'll handle that. Thank you."
"Of course!" I shut the door and continued dragged Hestia down the hall. "Stop acting like you haven't eaten!" Hestia whined and looked at me pitifully. "You literally just went hunting!"
Hestia continued to be a brat until we were a good distance away from Oifeye's study. Then she was playful, racing ahead of me and barking like she hadn't been sulking about not stealing Oifeye's food. I rolled my eyes and ducked into Oifeye's room to pick up his swords and lance before heading out into the market. People greeted me with laughter and smiles, and I made sure to match their cheer, followed by yelping because Hestia charmed some treats out of some curious kids. Laughter followed me as I scolded her and when we actually stepped into Jake's to drop off the weapons for maintenance, I had to apologize to Jake because Hestia decided to try and steal his hammer. Because it apparently looked like a fun chew toy.
"Ugh, you're just being a little shit to get back at me for not letting you have any dumplings," I muttered, glowering at her as we popped into Anna's. There was no reason to not say 'hello', after all. "How did you end up so spoiled?" She barked and I thought she was just 'confirming' my thoughts. However, she soon dashed through the main room and around the other customers to tackle Seliph. Because apparently, Seliph was here. "Sorry!"
"Nice to see you too, Hestia," Seliph wheezed, struggling to get her to stop licking him. She'd headbutted him in the gut in her enthusiasm. "Why don't we have a leash for her again?"
"She chews through them. She's a wolf, not a dog." Still, when I whistled, Hestia returned to my side fairly quickly. "You okay?"
"I'll live." He took a few deep breaths to even out his breathing. And strangely held something behind his back. "Wasn't expecting that."
"Few people expect Hestia to tackle them." I scratched her behind the ear, and Hestia panted happily, wagging her tail. "If I weren't more worried about the trouble you'd cause outside, sweetie, I'd tell you to stay there."
"Oh, gods, the last thing we need is an unsupervised Hestia. She'll get bored in two seconds." Seliph began fidgeting, and still kept something behind his back. Suspicious. "So, what brought you here?"
"I was running an errand for Oifeye, and then decided I'd swing by and see if I could say 'hi' to Anna." However, there was sadly no sign of her. Either she was in the back or was taking the day off. "So, what did you get me?"
"Wha…?" Seliph squeaked. A couple of the other customers started watching us closely for some reason. "What makes you think I got you anything?"
"Because I've known you all my life, you always get fidgety when you have a 'surprise' for someone, and you're being very careful to hide something behind your back." I grinned and he scowled. "So?"
"Ugh." He sighed and held out a beautiful sword. I took it curiously, wondering why he'd get me a sword when I had Dad's silver blade. Then I unsheathed it and saw the orange-red blade and the runes carefully etched into the steel. Power thrummed through me and I tucked the sheathe under my arm to free up my hand and trace the runes. They warmed to the touch and I felt a 'call' to my blood. "It's a Fire Sword. Boosts the user's magical power and lets them throw Elfire spells at their enemies."
"It's amazing…" I had to admit I was only paying half-attention. The sword held most of my attention. "Wow…"
"So, you like it?"
"I love it!" I beamed at him, giggling. But then I remembered the price. "Oh, wait, this is expensive…"
"Not that much. And I got a discount because I bought it when placing the bulk order for the army." He grinned and I softened, not finding it in me to argue. It would be rude to refuse for price, and besides, it was such a wonderful gift. I'd repay him, of course. "I'm glad. Diarmuid mentioned that the magic swords caught your eye when you two were here."
"They did, indeed." I sheathed the sword, smiling at it. A way to use my magic without actually studying tomes… Aideen had offered to teach me, of course. She knew tomes, like most High Priestesses, though she had only ever learned the basics. But I had always… even if I accepted my blood ties to Arvis, I didn't like it. I just tolerated it because I loved Mom so much. It had extended to my magic as well, where I tolerated it because I loved Mom and because it was just so damn helpful. But in war, you had to use all your weapons, to their fullest. This would let me… "Thank you. Really, I appreciate it."
"I'm glad." Seliph laughed, relieved, and he bent down to snag Hestia when she tried to go 'investigate' something. "I was a bit worried you'd be mad. Since, well…"
"Of course." Seliph knew of my conflicted feelings towards my magic. "Though, why get me anything? There's no holiday or anything, right?"
"Er… no reason!" He looked away awkwardly, making me frown. Some of the other patrons began giggling, for some reason. "Anyway, what errand did Oifeye forget about?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes." I wasn't sure I should let him get away with changing the subject, but then shrugged. He'd tell me when he felt like it. "Just dropping his weapons off at Jake's." I hooked the new sword onto my belt, wondering how I'd carry two with me in battle. I'd ask Oifeye when we got back. I knew Ulster was having some difficulties figuring out how to carry his sword and axe around. "They needed maintenance, but he forgot."
"Probably too busy being up to his ears in paperwork that I'm ninety percent certain is supposed to be our job." Seliph pointed to the door and we both left the store, Hestia following us closely. "Or, well, ninety-five percent."
"Oifeye is going to 'dad' us all through this." Couldn't be mad about it, though. It was just how he was. "Besides, we've no idea what we're doing."
"And that's not stuff you can really afford to make many mistakes over. If any" Seliph sighed and pet Hestia as we made our way deeper into the market for some reason. "Still, we need to learn."
"We do." It wouldn't be 'right' if we were just figureheads. People placed so much on us. We had to try and meet their expectations. "Why aren't we heading back to the castle?"
"Need to meet Diarmuid. He was arranging food deliveries and, more importantly, has all the lists of the things we need."
"Ah, I see." I thought about asking more, but Hestia's ears twitched and she suddenly lowered herself, growling. "Hestia?" She didn't react to me. Instead, she began pushing her way through the crowd, away from the main path. "That's…" I exchanged a look with Seliph and both of us chased after her. As dangerous as an unsupervised, bored Hestia was, it was nothing compared to an unsupervised, growling Hestia.
We followed Hestia out of the market, and down one of the side alleys. Then we both stiffened when we saw what had caught her ear, and just why she'd immediately started growling. There was a girl surrounded by men, and though I couldn't see the girl very clearly, she was on the ground, curled into herself, while the men leaned over her. Hestia growled loudly, making them yelp, and she shouldered through them to stand protectively in front of the girl. She'd done something similar when Creidne was brought back, recognizing before the rest of us why Creidne kept screaming despite being 'home'. There were some things she knew were wrong, no matter whether it happened to 'pack' or not.
"Well, this is a lovely sight," I began dryly, voice dropping to a low hiss. As the men turned to face us, Seliph rested a hand on my shoulder, a silent warning to keep my temper. It would be very bad, on many levels, if I let it loose. I had a weapon and a Hestia, after all. "I trust this is simply you all being particularly obtuse?"
"It seems to me that she'd prefer you all to leave," Seliph added with a 'kind' smile. The cold tone made it as 'kind' as a knife in the back, and the group noticeably blanched as they finally recognized us. "You should be more careful of such… aggressive invitations in the future. Wolves can rip off arms, you know."
The men said something. I saw their mouths move. But I didn't even bother to listen and just gestured for them to get the hell away from here. Which they did. Quickly. Running into each other quickly. I rolled my eyes and scoffed, stepping away from Seliph to go to the girl. I expected her to be very traumatized or hesitant. That was why Seliph hung back and let me go to her first. But, instead, the girl… the girl seemed fine. In fact, she was petting Hestia with a delighted look on her face, like the incident hadn't happened at all.
"So soft…" she breathed, giggling. Despite Hestia's size, and Hestia still being rather aggressive with snarling and growling, the girl showed no signs of hesitancy. Not even a trace of fear. That was… odd. "You're so cute too. Thank you for helping me, pretty one."
"Her name is Hestia," I said, petting Hestia's head to soothe her. Slowly, Hestia relaxed and then she nosed the girl, probably wondering why the girl wasn't afraid. The girl giggled in response. "I'm called Riona, and that's Seliph over there."
"Yuria." She smiled at me, still petting Hestia. She had silver hair held back by a circlet and amethyst eyes. Something about the description seemed… familiar. However, what startled me was how her smile reminded me of Seliph's. "So soft."
"She's a pain to bathe to keep her fur that way." I held out my other hand and pulled her up when she took it. "Anyway, you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine." She brushed off her skirts, and bowed to us. She wore unusual clothing for Isaach, with more layers than typical. Then again, the packs she carried hinted she was a traveler. "Thank you so much. I was separated from my guardian in the crowd, and then…"
"I can guess from there." My voice was a bit more caustic than I intended, so I winced and waved Seliph over. "Come here while I calm down a bit more."
"I wish we had gotten their names," Seliph sighed before smiling gently at the girl. With both of them smiling, I really noticed the strange similarities in their smiles. "Regardless, please forgive Riona's temper, and my own."
"No, no, it's fine," Yuria reassured. She looked between us curiously, but I just focused on taking a few more deep breaths. Hestia pressed into my legs reassuringly. "Um… but do you mind helping me find…?"
"Of course we will." It wasn't like we could leave her alone. "Anything distinctive about him?"
"In this crowd? Plenty." She laughed. "But he has green hair."
"That's unusual." Well, in Isaach, it was. Silesse, on the other hand… from what I'd heard, it was the most common hair color. "So, green hair. Got it." He glanced at me, and I nodded. I was calm enough. "Then here, follow us."
"Thank you!"
Without thinking about it, I took Yuria's hand as we stepped out into the market crowd, with her firmly between Seliph and me and Hestia on my other side. She gave me a slightly weird look, but didn't pull away. If anything, she stepped closer, looking this way and that. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity, and it was almost as if she was trying to absorb every single sight around us. When we came upon the middle of the square, always a lively place with people relaxing and eating from the various food stalls, she gasped at the musicians playing on the makeshift stage, giggling like she had never seen anything like it before.
"This is so amazing!" she gushed, bouncing a bit to the music. It was a simple folk song, popular at festivals. "Ah, I don't remember ever being around so many people before!" That… that was an odd sentence. "Oh, goodness, I hope I'm not being rude…"
"Of course not," Seliph reassured. It was rather heartwarming to see someone so giddy. "Ah, Hestia…" He sighed and I groaned when I saw Hestia's tail disappear into the crowd. "Damn it. Forgot to hold onto her."
"I'll get her!" And before we could stop her, Yuria was off after Hestia. Oh dear.
"Well, uh… huh." Seliph reached back to fix his ponytail and shrugged. "I can still see her in the crowd. Should be fine, right?"
"I hope so," I murmured. I braced myself against his shoulder and got on my tiptoes so that I could see her more clearly. Thankfully, her hair was very distinctive. "She's cute."
"I suppose," Seliph replied. He smiled slightly. "She caught Hestia. Might be having some trouble getting her to come back, though."
"Yeah, probably should've warned her about that."
"Well, she did run off." He snickered and I had to laugh. "That all said, there's something strangely familiar about her. And yes, I know that sounds like a really bad pickup line."
"You said it, not me." I nudged his side, grinning, and he rolled his eyes. "However, I agree. There is something familiar about her. But distantly." Save for that smile. That one… well, not 'bothered', but it was the only word I had.
"Like you've heard the description, but never met." He frowned. "And she's caught in the crowd. Let's meet her."
"Sounds good."
It took some pushing, but we did manage to make it to her and I playfully fussed over Yuria while Seliph scolded Hestia for disappearing on us. Hestia barked and led us to a food stall, clearly wanting some of the meats cooking. I almost refused, but Yuria's stomach happened to grumble then, so Seliph and I bought food for all of us and we found some space to sit on the outskirts to eat in relative peace. Yuria shared hers with Hestia, giggling as Hestia licked her hand, and I had to pin Hestia before she took all of Yuria's. And share mine with Yuria to make sure she got a full serving.
We had just finished our food when Yuria gasped and leapt to her feet. "Lewyn!" she called, waving to someone in the crowd. "Over here!" Both Seliph and I stilled at the name, and my jaw dropped at the man who stepped out of the crowd and walked towards us. His face was older than the portraits, but there was enough similarities that it was easy to identify him, especially with Yuria calling out his name. This was King Lewyn of Silesse, a member of Sigurd's army, dear friend of our parents, and one of the many who went 'missing' after the Belhalla Massacre. I couldn't believe any of them were alive, but he admittedly had some of the best chances. Still, though… what were the chances? "I'm so sorry!"
"No, no, I should've made sure you and I were closer before we stepped into the crowd," Lewyn dismissed, shaking his head. He rested a hand on her shoulder and studied her curiously. "Still, you're quite chipper. The mood of the market infecting you?"
"Well, the music is lovely. Almost as lovely as your flute. But I met nice people!" She gestured to us excitedly. "And they have a cute dog!"
"Based on the size, I'd say that's a wolf, actually. Quite the unusual pet." His eyes narrowed at us, but after a moment, he smiled. "Ah, but I think I know you two. Seliph and Caitriona. Alicia would've had a fit, to see you with a wolf."
"That's what Shanan said," Seliph replied, shooting to his feet. I was a little too stunned to do anything but sit and pet Hestia. "Ah, but yes. It's nice to meet you, King Lewyn."
"Just Lewyn. I am no king." His voice became a little bitter. "Silesse fell, and my mother went to her death with dignity. The rest of us simply do what we can to survive. So, I don't know what Oifeye and Aideen told you, but don't call me 'king' again."
"I… I'm sorry."
"...Nah, I'm just giving you a bit of a hard time. Bit of an old habit and, admittedly, I did the same with Sigurd." Lewyn smiled and leaned forward a little. Seliph smiled awkwardly in return. "So, you all started it, did you? The grand and glorious fight against the empire? A good place to start. Isaach's people have always been strong, their hatred for the Empire doesn't have many moral conundrums with Danann being an idiot, and it's far enough away that reinforcements will be difficult."
"Yes, it's a good place to build momentum to push forward." Seliph glanced at me and I made myself stand up and lean into him to give him a bit of support. This was all sorts of bizarre, really. "Though, I do wish Shanan was with us." Yeah, it did feel a little odd to liberate Isaach without him. "But he's in Yied, searching for Balmung."
"Ah, so he did hear that rumor. I did as well." He smiled, nodding. However, I thought I saw a calculating look in his eyes and that made me frown. "So much is moving, and so very quickly…" He closed his eyes, thinking, and then nodded once more. "Ah, but that's neither here nor there. I know this isn't very polite, but might you do me a bit of a favor? I was here to see the fuss and to ask Oifeye, but hey, you're right here."
"What is it?"
"Well…" He gestured to Yuria, who bowed again. "See, I found Yuria badly injured years ago in Belhalla, and we've been living in the outskirts of Silesse since then. However, Jungby Knights have been patrolling deeper and deeper in Silesse, so we left. I intended on going to Leonster, but…"
"I do not travel easily," Yuria whispered, looking down sadly. Hestia immediately nosed her hand to try and cheer her up. "I slow him down."
"Now, now, Yuria, you travel very well, given everything," Lewyn reassured gently. He patted her shoulder. "But it is true that I want to move faster than Yuria can travel. You mind watching out for her?"
"Oh, of course we don't mind," Seliph agreed easily. I smiled when Yuria looked up hesitantly and she tentatively smiled back, relieved. "Though, may I ask why you're going to Leonster, though?"
"Well, it's chasing some rumors." Lewyn shrugged and crossed his arms. "But they say Prince Leif of Leonster has been fighting and-"
"Leif?!" Seliph's eyes lit up and it took a moment to remember why that was. Leif was his cousin, the child of Ethlyn and Quan. "He's alive?"
"So far, according to the rumors. And, more importantly, has been holding Leonster against Friege's armies for quite some time, despite some tactical disasters." Lewyn chuckled. "Spirit and morale can overcome quite a few disadvantages. Tacticians often forget to account for that."
"He's alive…" Seliph, of course, was focused on that point. "How did he…? I mean…"
"Well, Finn, of course." Another one was still alive?! But wait, Uncle Finn was... "Finn has been raising and protecting him." Uncle Finn was Diarmuid's…!
There might have been a bit more, but a 'thwump' behind us made me turn, and I yelped when I saw Diarmuid standing there, papers falling from nerveless hands. I'd forgotten all about Seliph needing to meet him, and no doubt he'd been storming over to ask where the hell we'd been. But now, though, he stared at Lewyn in total shock, jaw dropped and everything. Because what other reaction were you supposed to have when you learned the dad you swore was dead… was really alive.
"P-pardon, but can you repeat that?" Diarmuid asked shakily. Seliph rested a reassuring hand on Diarmuid's shoulder and I picked up the papers quickly. Hestia remained near Yuria, who looked so confused. "That… That thing about Finn…?"
"The rumors state that he's been protecting Prince Leif, and is currently in Leonster," Lewyn repeated, frowning a bit as he studied Diarmuid. But, after a moment, he smiled. "Wait, you're Diarmuid, aren't you?"
"I… I am…" Diarmuid started crying, though he quickly covered his face to hide it. I shoved the papers at Seliph and helped wipe away the tears. "You're… you're heading there."
"I am." His smile became gentle. "Would you like me to carry a message?"
"Just… just that I'm looking… looking forward to meeting him…" Diarmuid looked down, desperately trying to hide his crying. "I a-appreciate it."
"Of course." Lewyn turned to Yuria and pulled a tome out of his bag. "For you, just in case. I'll be back to assist Seliph as soon as I can." Yuria took the tome with a smile and nodded, understanding. "Good girl. I'll see you soon." And then he was gone, disappearing into the crowd as easily as the wind. That was… uh… that was a thing.
Seliph and I glanced at each other and nodded, silently knowing exactly what to do. He quickly helped Diarmuid leave the area, mostly because if people knew he was crying, they'd be swarming us before long. Hestia followed them, providing another comforting presence for Diarmuid. I shrugged and smiled at Yuria, who held the tome to her chest, still looking a little confused by everything.
"Finn is his father, and Diarmuid thought he was dead," I explained, taking her hand again to lead her to the castle as well. We went at a much slower pace, since there was no immediate need to escape. "So, Diarmuid just got a bit overwhelmed."
"Oh, I see," Yuria murmured, nodding. She smiled kindly, laughing. "I'm sure their reunion will be wonderful."
"Meeting, actually. It's a tad complicated." And that was a conversation for another time entirely. "So, you know magic?"
"A-ah, yes, I know some!" She looked down at the tome in her arms. "I'm best with light magic truthfully, but Lewyn taught me wind magic because the tomes are easier to obtain." She smiled sweetly. "I know staves as well."
"You do?" Well, I knew who Lana's favorite person was going to be as soon as I introduced her. "That's amazing!"
"Oh, goodness…" Yuria looked down shyly, giggling and blushing. "So, is it really okay that I stay with you all?"
"Of course it is." Though, I had to admit. It was very odd to have 'new people'. Odd and a little uneasy. But I couldn't let her know that. It wasn't her fault by any means. "We're a weird group, but you'll be fine."
"J-just one question?" Yuria blushed a little more and leaned forward to whisper. "Are… um… are all of you so good-looking? You, Seliph, and Diarmuid all…" She blushed even more, turning as red as an apple. "Like… wow…"
"Yep~!" I laughed at her little whimper. "You get used to it, though. Trust me, within a few days, you'll barely notice!"
"I somehow doubt that." Still, she smiled. Even if she was red to the roots of her hair and the tips of her ears. "So, the castle?"
"Yep!" Yes, I couldn't let her know how uneasy I was about having a new person in our group. She was much too sweet. "This way, this way!"
"Ha! I knew it!" Larcei declared triumphantly, with a bright laugh. She even rolled on the floor, laughing so hard. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"
"Oh, shut up!" Diarmuid snapped back. His disbelieving, cautiously optimistic smile took all the heat out of the words, though. "Logically, who would expect…?"
"Just admit it! I was right!"
"Never!"
Laughter filled the room as we clustered together in Seliph's room to celebrate learning that Diarmuid's dad might actually be alive. It hadn't been exactly planned or anything, and really, Diarmuid had wanted to not make a big deal out of it. After all, he knew how lucky he was to even have that decent chance and he knew how the rest of us were a little jealous. I mean; it would be impossible to hide. To have the chance of seeing our parents again? That would be amazing, but we also knew it was impossible. Larcei might still cling to the idea of Uncle Lex still being alive, to the point of refusing to ask the Dozel soldiers about Uncle Lex and Aunt Ayra in order to continue clinging, but the rest of us knew the truth. Aside from Lester and Lana, who still had Aideen, all of our parents were very dead.
But that was no reason to not be joyful for Diarmuid. So, all of us found bunches of snacks and drinks and threw an impromptu party. Because that's what friends and family did.
"So, this is Uncle Finn, right?" I asked, holding up a portrait. We all had grabbed all the portraits we had and scattered them across the floor to scour them for pictures of Uncle Finn. Just to remind ourselves. "Matches the description. Blue hair, blue eyes, Diarmuid's smile."
"Let me see!" Lana demanded, reaching over and making 'grabby hands'. She refused to actually come get it, because that would mean getting up from where she was resting against Hestia. She'd been in the infirmary before all this and was exhausted. "Come on!"
"Here." I tossed it over and hunted for more. A difficult task, sadly. There weren't a lot of pictures anyway, and so… "Ugh… why are there so few?"
"He left before everyone actively started making sketches," Ulster calmly pointed out. I threw a pillow at him, though he easily ducked underneath it. "You asked!"
"It was probably rhetorical," Lester noted dryly. He grinned triumphantly and picked out a portrait. "Here! This is him, right? Don't know who the pink haired lady is, though."
"I think that's Ethlyn, Seliph's aunt."
"Oh." Lester studied it for a moment before passing the picture to Seliph. Larcei and Diarmuid were still 'arguing', meaning it wasn't safe to pass them anything. "She's pretty. How did she die again?"
"The Yied Massacre," Seliph whispered. He stared at the picture, eyes sad. That picture was one of two we had of her. "Travant and the Thracian Knights caught them in an ambush. Aunt Ethlyn, Uncle Quan, and Altenna all died there. They're Leif's family."
"Aideen broke down when she heard, if I remember correctly," Ulster murmured, frowning a bit. We all nodded. After all, that was one of our first memories. "Still, if you can forgive me, Seliph…"
"Why the hell did they bring a child to the desert?" Seliph passed the picture to me, and I studied both Uncle Finn and Ethlyn. They were the same age, and both were laughing in the picture. I wondered what about. Some joke? Some story? Whatever it was had been lost, but still, I couldn't help but be curious. "I don't get it. Our parents chose against that. It was dangerous. Why would they risk their daughter like that?"
"Maybe they didn't think it would be dangerous until they reached Phinora." Ulster sighed and shook his head. "Still, given that they were fighting Thracia, I wonder why they thought Thracia wouldn't strike them at the desert? Oifeye's lessons make it clear that fliers rule desert battles. An ambush is obvious."
"We are looking at it in hindsight, though."
"True." He paused. "Okay, obvious thing is obvious, but we won't mention any of this when we actually, you know…"
"When we meet Leif and the others. Regardless of how idiotic we think it is, it still…" We had enough tact for that. Even Larcei. Maybe. "It had to hurt them terribly. We know the pain of losing family before you could remember them."
"Exactly."
"Oh, I found one with Lachesis!" Lana gasped, brandishing it triumphantly. All of us, save the still bickering Larcei and Diarmuid, clustered around her and Hestia to look at it. "Wow, she's so gorgeous. Look at that smile."
"They look so happy," I whispered. Honestly, that was the running theme with all the portraits. They were all so very happy. Of course, no one would draw portraits of them being sad, but to see them all smiling so brightly, when in a year or so they'd all be dead was… it reminded me of what Arvis stole from all of us. It also reminded me of what we would be stealing from our enemies. "He's quite handsome, though."
"He really is. You can see where Diarmuid got his good looks for sure." Lana set it down among all the other portraits. "Was that really it, though? Is that all we have of him?"
"I think so." It wasn't as if our parents had these made expecting them to be the only way we knew what they looked like or anything. They'd expected many, many more years with us. They expected that we'd grow up with Finn and not ever scramble for any bits of information we had on him. "What do we know about him? Diarmuid's dad, eloped with Lachesis, knight of Leonster, has apparently been taking care of Leif for… seventeen years?" If I had my math right, that is. Leonster supposedly fell in 762, a year after the Belhalla Massacre. "Oifeye thinks of him as an older brother and dear friend even now, right?"
"I think so, yeah." At the least, he'd been excited when we told him about meeting Lewyn and about Finn possibly still being alive. Before being distracted by Yuria. He did a bit of a double-take when we introduced her, but was currently giving her a tour of the castle. "Um… what else? Surely there's…" There had to be some stories, right? If we remembered hard enough, then…
"Ugh, you can be more cheerful about this!" Larcei complained. At some point during the bickering, while we'd been far too distracted by the portraits, she'd sat up and now, she and Diarmuid were glowering at each other. "Your dad is alive! That's fantastic!"
"It is, but that doesn't mean I get a happy reunion or anything," Diarmuid grumbled. Any trace of cheer was gone now, drowned out by frustration over something. "He might not want anything to do with me."
"Oh, come on. He's your dad!"
"He's never met me, remember? He left to go to Leonster before I was born. Before he even knew I was going to be born." Diarmuid looked down, but not before we saw the genuine fear in his eyes. 'What if he rejects me?' 'What if he decides being a father is too much?' 'What if he picks duty over family?' The questions were so easy to hear. "So that's why. Just because it's the worst case scenario doesn't mean it can't happen. Look at the damn Belhalla Massacre. And Yied Massacre. Worst case scenarios happen all the time."
"But…" Larcei frowned, her eyes wavering. "I'm sure…"
"We can't. We can't be sure. Because any stories we have are nineteen years old at best." An awkward silence fell on all of us. After all, we couldn't say he was wrong. "I'm sorry. I know you all would do next to anything to have the same possibility. And I am happy about it. I'm happy to have it. But I just can't latch onto the best scenario and run with it. I can't… I don't want to get my hopes up. Not when we don't have a clue…"
"...Well, if he is a jackass, we can think of a great big prank instead," I pointed out after a moment. I snuck around our little circle to him and hugged him from behind, leaning heavily on his back and resting my chin on his shoulder. "He's a knight, right? With a horse and all? Maybe have Hestia scare the horse?"
"Okay, leave the horse out of it," Lester instantly protested, scowling. The group shifted a bit to focus more on Larcei and Diarmuid, instead of the portraits. "But yes, we can pull a huge prank on him in that worst case scenario. Classics? Elaborate?"
"Why not both? Nothing says we can't do multiple pranks."
"That's true."
"Oh, I can give him the vilest medicines too!" Lana added cheerfully. She clapped her hands and got up from Hestia to gather the mugs of warm-lukewarm milk with honey and redistribute them. Hestia grumbled a bit before getting up, stretching with a yawn, and trotting over to lay down next to Diarmuid. Diarmuid immediately hugged her and I shifted off his back to instead warm up the mugs for everyone. "The super bitter ones that work, but you hate taking them."
"We can also conveniently arrange for him to have the worst chores," Ulster added, grinning. The mood of the room slowly grew cheerful again, and Diarmuid relaxed. "I mean; I'm sure one of us will be in charge of the chores list."
"We should tailor it, though. I mean; he's a knight. I'm sure he's done all the drudge work as a matter of course." Lana giggled and sat down again next to Larcei, leaning against her shoulder. "We can make sure he gets all his least favorites!"
"But back to the pranks," Seliph redirected, sparking laughter out of all of us. He still looked through the portraits for some reason. "We'd want it to be something that targets only him."
"Hide some of Hestia's kills in his stuff!" Larcei immediately suggested. We all laughed and groaned at the suggestion, and Hestia lifted her head curiously. "Then we can be all 'oh, yeah, she does that'."
"Maybe his shoes? In his shoes?"
"Oh, gross, let's plan for that!"
"You all are the worst," Diarmuid finally said, laughing with the rest of us. Still, he smiled warmly. "Thank you, though. I mean…"
"More seriously, based on the stories, assuming he hasn't had a complete personality shift, it's going to be awkward as all hell, but he'll at least try," Lester noted, smiling gently. He got up to redistribute all the snacks and then actually laid down, using Ulster's lap as a pillow. "But I do think we should acknowledge it'll be very awkward. Like Diarmuid said, he's never met Diarmuid. Ever."
"That's a good point, and I should've acknowledged that," Larcei murmured. She smiled apologetically, but Diarmuid shook his head. No apology required. "And look, we have a plan for the worst case scenario. Or is him… uh…"
"I don't know if him dying in the meantime or the rumors being wrong is worse than being rejected, but for now, I will go with the rejected thing being worse," Diarmuid replied dryly. He stretched out to lay against Hestia, legs in my lap. I fought the urge to tickle his feet. "I mean; if he does die, then it's more or less what I grew up expecting. Hurting a little more, but what I expected. I've been braced for that. Being rejected, though..."
"Okay, so, worst case scenario, we have plans." Larcei grinned. "So, maybe we should plan on the most likely scenario. Are we going to have to shove you at him?"
"Maybe wait until we actually see him to determine that?" Diarmuid pointed at Seliph, needing a bit of a distraction. "Besides, I'm not the only one with a potential family reunion."
"Ah! That's right!" Larcei turned her attention on Seliph, who looked up in surprise. "You've a cousin! A living cousin!"
"Yes, I do," Seliph whispered. He smiled softly, nervously. "He's a few months younger than you, if I recall correctly. And I know nothing else, really. We've never met before."
"Guess it'll be hard to guess what his personality would be like as well," Ulster mused. He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I can't think of how to continue the conversation, though. If he's nice, then all is good. If he's a brat, then we prank him too."
"Pretty much." Seliph grinned. "Bad redirect there, really."
"Then why don't we shelve talks of reunions and talk about our new friend?" Lana suggested, giggling. She'd nearly tackled Yuria off her feet when she learned Yuria knew staves. To Yuria's confusion. "Yuria is so sweet!"
"She's pretty cute too," Larcei noted with a grin. She winked at me, and I giggled. "Wondering if I should flirt a bit."
"Don't fluster the poor girl. Besides, we all know who you have a crush on."
"I-I don't have a crush on Shanan!" Larcei blushed badly. "I don't!"
"Never said a name." Lana grinned triumphantly and Larcei groaned. The rest of us, of course, laughed. "We're ready to listen whenever you're ready to talk about it. I just had to poke fun." Larcei, wisely, didn't reply. "Still, don't fluster her too much. She's not used to people. And she's very aware of how lovely we all are."
"Better not let her see Diarmuid and Riona smile then," Lester instantly snarked. Diarmuid and I immediately rolled our eyes, guessing the next sentence. "She'd probably pass out."
"She saw me smile a lot already, dummy," I retorted. I noticed Seliph had gone back to the portraits and nudged him curiously. He quietly brought up a hand, telling me to wait a little longer. "Regardless, I do insist on the same. Let her settle in a little more before we purposely fluster her."
"So, a couple of days before we forget."
"Knowing us, probably."
"I'll remind you," Lana noted with her 'you-will-take-this-medicine-and-like-it' smile. I playfully hid behind Seliph. "She's already volunteered to help me with the infirmary. I really don't want you to put more pressure on her."
"We'll do what we can to make sure she's as comfortable as possible," Ulster reassured, reaching over to take Lana's hand. Lester scowled, though Lana blushed a little. Ulster, of course, didn't notice, even when Larcei rolled her eyes. "It's just been a while since we had a new person, so I know we'll make mistakes."
"Mmm… point."
Seliph poked my arm then and passed me a portrait, perfectly silent. Confused and curious, I studied it, recognizing it after a moment. It was the one picture we had of Deirdre, drawn long after she'd disappeared. It was more stylized than the other portraits, with her lounging in some chair and smiling gently at the viewer, instead of being a 'day in the life of' like the rest. I didn't know much about her besides the whole 'changed her name, married another man, stood to the side while Arvis murdered all the people she once claimed were friends' thing. She had apparently been Mom's best friend though, to the point that one of the arguments Mom had against marrying was that she had promised Deirdre that she could be her Maid of Honor, and I knew Mom named me 'Caitriona' because Deirdre had picked it. Maybe Mom had known more, or learned more, about why she'd done the things she did. After all, Mom had gotten letters from Arvis when they all lived in Silesse. Maybe the answer was in one of those letters, a detail Mom hadn't known was important until it was far too late. But, if she had, it was lost forever. She was dead. Unless she happened to have a diary or something, most of what she'd known was gone.
But Seliph had given me the portrait for a reason, so I focused on it, trying to figure out what he was silently getting at. And I didn't get it at first. In fact, I only did when I made the observation that her smile was a lot like Seliph's. And Yuria's. That was when I realized why 'silver hair and amethyst eyes' had been such a familiar description. Deirdre had silver hair and amethyst eyes. In fact, if not for the fact that Deirdre had wavy hair and Yuria had straight hair, you could almost argue they were the same person.
"We were thinking there was something familiar," Seliph whispered. He'd known when I'd figured it out. "'Yuria' is ridiculously similar to 'Julia' as well."
"It is," I murmured. I continued studying the portrait, finding slight differences, like how Yuria's face was rounder, but it was certainly… "She told me that she's best with light magic." And everyone and their dead grandmother knew that light magic was the weapon of choice for those of Naga's blood. "What the hell?"
"My exact thought."
"What in all the actual hells?"
"Yep."
"Hey, is everything okay?" Diarmuid asked, reminding me that Seliph and I weren't alone. At some point, he'd sat up, and everyone was focused on us. "What's wrong?" Silently, I passed the portrait to him. "Is there a stain or something on this? That'll be a shame, because even if you have conflicting feelings, it's still..." Diarmuid trailed off, realizing it far quicker than me just what was 'wrong'. "Oh. Oh shit." He handed the picture to Larcei and slowly, it made its way around the circle, with the reactions being variations of gasps and curses. Or yawns in Hestia's case, but that was because she was sleepy. "Okay, so, how does the missing imperial princess suddenly appear here of all places?"
"There's no way!" Larcei yelped. Seliph quietly set the portrait back into the scattered mess and pinched the bridge of his nose. Things just got so complicated. "It's got to be a coincidence. Has to be!"
"A coincidence that she looks almost exactly like Seliph's mother?"
"There were differences!"
"I'm going to note that those differences are features that Riona actually has," Lester pointed out. He found a picture of Uncle Azel in the pile and studied it. "And look, Azel has them as well. So, since we know that Alicia and Azel both had a strong resemblance with Arvis…"
"Lewyn also found her badly injured in Belhalla," Seliph whispered. He rested his head against my shoulder and closed his eyes. "She disappeared during an assassination attempt that killed my mother. It stands to reason that she'd be injured." Assuming, of course, that Lewyn hadn't killed Deirdre himself and then kidnapped Yuria. A bit of a stretch, but you really did have to consider every possible scenario. "The pieces all fit."
"Though, I will acknowledge how crazy of a coincidence it is, because Larcei is right." Lester sighed and sat up, letting Ulster finally move. And promptly lay down in Lester's lap to better stretch out his legs. "However, I will also point out the crazy coincidence of running into Jungby soldiers while on patrol, and one just-so-happened to carry Father's Brave Bow. Life is a string of crazy coincidences."
"That all said, we can debate this into the ground, or simply take the easy way to confirm it," Ulster sighed. He stretched his legs out onto Larcei's lap and lifted his head just enough to glower at her. "Tickle me, and I will kick you in the face." Larcei's innocent smile screamed how she'd been planning on that. "Anyway, though, Holy Mark. Princess Julia of Belhalla is the Naga Major of our generation, right? That'll be a large Holy Mark."
"And getting her to take off her clothes isn't going to be that hard," I noted absently. Then I paused and facepalmed, even before the others died of laughter. "Not what I meant. So not what I meant." I sighed, knowing I only had myself to blame for that one. "But she needs new clothes. All of her stuff is designed for Silesse, which is colder thanks to elevation, and is made for layering, which isn't suited for Isaach. I told her she could borrow ours until we got her new ones. Assuming she's not horribly modest, we can check while helping her with that."
"Then that's a plan, I suppose." Ulster smiled. "Ah, too much serious talk, though. Let's talk of lighter things."
"Too much serious talk?" I gasped dramatically. "Who are you and what did you do to Ulster?!"
"Oh, shut up."
That sparked some laughter, and we talked of lighter things. How we thought things were in Tirnanog. How much we missed Aideen. How we hoped Shanan was okay. Fun little things we'd seen while out and about. Some amusing gossip among the army we were slowly building. Just things to help distract us. Things to help ground us.
When we left the room, all of us would be the confident leaders again. It was good to relax like we were just kids in Tirnanog again.
"So, looks like you're about my height, Yuria," I noted, studying her closely. We girls had gathered in my room to help Yuria into some clothing more suited to Isaach's climate, though Hestia wasn't with us. She always got bored when we talked clothes, and more than once had chewed up an article of clothing from said boredom. She was with Diarmuid instead for now, sensing he needed a bit more comforting. "At the least, you're definitely shorter than Larcei and taller than Lana. I think I've some longer stuff you can wear."
"Thank you," Yuria murmured, smiling shyly. She was seated on my bed, and bounced a bit while Lana and I hunted through my closet. I winced a bit when I realized one of the dresses Aideen made for me did fit the description, but I squashed that down. Aideen would scold me for being selfish. "Hee… I've never done something like this before. I think."
"You think?" Larcei repeated, throwing herself onto the bed now that height comparisons were over. Yuria yelped when Larcei nearly bounced her off. "Sorry! These beds are way bouncier than I expect. You okay?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine." Yuria pressed a hand to her chest, trying to calm her no-doubt racing heart. That had to have been a shock, after all. "But yes, I think. I… I have amnesia, you see."
"Really?" Larcei swung around to lay on her stomach and look at Yuria. "That sucks. When did you lose them? Do you know?"
"My first memory is Lewyn finding me in a park in Belhalla about four years ago. I was wearing an oversized shirt, and my hair was damp, like someone had been washing it." She smiled sadly. I paused at the year, and shared a glance with Lana. Four years ago… that's how long it had been since Deirdre died. And since 'Princess Julia' went missing. "I also had fur on me, like I'd been near an animal. Black fur to be precise."
"Were you alone?" Lana asked, pulling one of the dresses out of my closet. I saw it wasn't one Aideen made me and she winked. She'd noticed, and understood. The clothes were special. "No animal or person near?"
"No, I was completely alone," Yuria confirmed. Her eyes sparkled at the dress, though, completely distracted. "Oh, that's so pretty!"
"Isn't it?" Lana giggled. "Here, clothes off. We'll help you into it."
"Ah… okay." She hesitated a bit before standing. "Well, we are all girls."
"Yep~!" Lana grinned. "Besides, in the infirmary, you'll be seeing a lot of naked people. Bandaging and all."
"That makes sense." Yuria began undressing and then squeaked because her hair got caught. "Ugh… that always happens…"
"Here, I'll help," I offered with a laugh. Though the first trick was untangling things. "Mind if I take the circlet off?"
"Oh, no, go ahead," she replied. She actually took it off herself, and smoothed away the sweaty strands. Nothing that looked like a Holy Mark, but… "Thank you."
"No worries." Once we got things untangled, helping her out of her dress and various layers was easy. Sadly, and strangely, there was no Holy Mark immediately in sight. Then again, I was quickly distracted by the scar she had on her chest, so 'searching for Holy Marks' actually disappeared from my priority list. "Holy…"
I'd seen scars before, of course. Survivors from the camps were often covered with them. Not to mention the resistance fighters. Hell, even we had scars, mostly from childhood antics. But there was something just wrong about this scar, and not just because of how huge it was. And it was huge. It ran from her left shoulder to her right hip, easily the width of my palm for most of the path. The scarring over her heart was probably twice the size of my hand and noticeably more jagged than the rest, like something had tried and barely failed to gouge her heart out. I wondered what caused it, because I knew of no weapon or instrument that could cause such a thing. I'd say some sort of beast, but I didn't know of anything huge enough. It was just… terrifying, really.
"Damn, now that is a scar," Larcei breathed. She'd gotten off the bed at some point to study the scar. Lana grimaced and frowned at it, likely wondering the same things I was. "How did you get that?"
"I don't remember," Yuria whispered. She reached up to touch the scarring over her heart. "It was scabbed when Lewyn found me. He thinks whatever caused it… well, he thinks the incident where I got it was why I lost my memories."
"Do you really remember nothing?"
"Mmm… I remember being scared." Yuria's eyes unfocused slightly and her voice became soft. "Scared, and certain someone was going mad. Running through the halls, looking for safety. Looking for him."
"Him?"
"I don't remember who 'him' is. Just someone safe. Someone who could keep me safe. Someone warm and kind." She trembled slightly; I barely felt it with my hand on her shoulder and wondered if I should stop her. "He had two colored eyes. I don't remember the colors. But I remember that." I had to bite back a gasp. Conall had two colored eyes. Though, no Holy Mark did imply that… and yet… "I made it to him, and he helped me. He pieced the skin back together. A staff, maybe? But then everything is…!" Her voice went high and her hands covered her ears, fingers digging into her scalp. Her eyes went wide, but they were still unfocused and distant. Seeing something that wasn't here. "Running and running and shadows and someone, a different someone, apologizing and then everything is light and shadows and skin ripping apart and… and…!"
"Yuria!" I took her hands and got in front of her. "Yuria, can you hear me?" I asked gently. She was shaking badly now. "Yuria, it's Riona. You're safe. You are perfect safe. Try to take a deep breath. Do you need me to count?" She managed a nod. "Okay. In… two… three… four… Out… two… three… four…" Slowly and carefully, Yuria managed to sync her breathing to my counting and she leaned forward to rest her head on my shoulder. I stroked her hair reassuringly, kissing the top of her head. "You're safe. It's fine. You're fine." I repeated the words as she slowly calmed down. Counting and reassuring. Lana left briefly to get some water for her and Larcei rubbed her back. Everything we could think of to help Yuria through this.
"Th-thank you…" Yuria whispered after a moment. She slowly straightened and Lana handed her the mug of water. Larcei helped her steady it when her hands trembled. "I'm sorry…"
"No, I should be the sorry one," Larcei gently chided. She smiled apologetically. "I shouldn't have asked." And I should've stopped her when I noticed the trembling.
"No, this… this always happens when I try to remember. Yet, I try anyway." Yuria sighed and sipped the water. "Truthfully, though, Yuria probably isn't even my name. It just sounded familiar when I heard it in the market, so Lewyn went with it."
"Of course it's your name! It's what you're going by now, and that's all that matters." Larcei continued rubbing Yuria's back. "I mean; Riona doesn't go by her birth-name."
"Really?"
"My birth name is Caitriona," I explained, laughing a little. It wasn't quite the same thing, of course, but… "I just go by Riona. Less of a mouthful."
"Your name is what you choose to go by, nothing more and nothing less," Lana added, smiling reassuringly. When Yuria finished the water, she took the mug back. "You want some more?" Yuria shook her head. "Okay."
"Basically, Yuria, you don't need to apologize for having traumas. We should apologize for accidentally hurting you." I cupped her face and smiled. "If you choose to try again, that should be your choice. And we'll be with you, ready to comfort you, whenever something like this happens. That's what it means to travel with us. We try and be there for each other."
"We're basically a very weird family, and you're right in the middle of it!" Lana giggled and took her hand. "You and I are the healer girls as well, so seriously, remember we're here for you. You and I will stick together."
"Oh… you all…" Yuria breathed. She smiled sweetly, giggling. There was still some fear to her, but it was fading quickly, thankfully. "Ah, okay. I'll try to remember. It's been just Lewyn and me since he found me."
"That's what we're here for," Larcei laughed. "Heart to heart talks while standing around in your underwear." And mildly awkward moment when we realized Larcei was right. We got distracted, so poor Yuria hadn't changed into my dress yet. "Also, to completely change the conversation, how the hell are you comfy with that breast-band?" Larcei pointed to it for emphasis. "You're spilling out!"
"Oh… um…." Yuria blushed, coughing a bit. "I… I can still get it on, so I didn't want to waste money…"
"Making sure you're comfy isn't wasting money, silly." Larcei frowned, nodding. "Okay, which one of us is closest to her size?"
"I think me, actually," Lana noted, studying Yuria. Poor Yuria was blushing madly now. "We'll get her properly fitted, but I think mine will be more comfortable for her. Why don't you and I just grab some of ours, Larcei? Riona can get her into one of hers in the meantime or something. That just looks painful."
"Ah, wait…!" Yuria tried to stop them, but Larcei and Lana were out the door before she could. Larcei actually doubled-back to shut it for us. "Oh, I really don't want to be trouble…"
"Oh, please. All of us are trouble," I dismissed with a wink. Then I headed over to the drawers and pulled out one of my own breast-bands. "That all said, our group is very free with physical affection and the like, so if you ever get uncomfortable, let us know, okay?"
"Okay." She smiled sheepishly. "I… might need help getting the band off, though. It's…"
"Seriously, it's that tight on you?" I handed her my band and worked on getting hers off, wincing. "Freaking hell, I can barely get my fingers under it! You needed a new one a while…" A strange 'buzzing' feeling stole my words. I got her breast-band undone, but then looked at where I'd felt that buzz of power. That was when I saw it.
She did have a Holy Mark. A large Holy Mark, starting from the back of her left shoulder and slowly curving to the front of her left hip, in a very pale silver, with the pale-orange-red of a Fjalar Mark among the angry red marks of a too-tight breast-band. But it was all so hard to see, blending almost perfectly with her skin. If not for the 'buzz', I never would've seen it. Why was it so pale? I'd never seen a Holy Mark as anything but 'vibrant'.
"It's a strange mark, isn't it?" Yuria mumbled. I glanced up and saw her smiling sheepishly. "It used to be more colorful, but it faded soon after Lewyn found me. It's only just started to 'come back'. It's weird."
"I see," I murmured. I wondered what to say and decided, for now, to keep quiet on how it was a Holy Mark. That panic attack… ah, I wished Aideen was here. She'd know what to do. "Not the weirdest thing I've seen." I made sure to smile at her. That Holy Mark… she was Julia. Seliph's sister. My cousin. Family. "By the way, I meant it. You're safe here. And if you ever feel scared, you can find me. Or Hestia. Or Lana. Or Larcei. Or, really, any of us. We won't mind. I promise."
"...Thank you…" She smiled back sweetly. "I appreciate it."
Lana and Larcei returned before long, and we determined that Lana's really was closest. We got all her measurements and helped her get dressed in our stuff before dragging her out to get things settled with the local tailor. On the way, I quietly told Lana and Larcei that Yuria did have a Holy Mark. Our group would have a meeting, later, over what to do about all of this. Well, aside from 'keeping her safe'. That was a given. Obviously.
"So, she is Julia," Oifeye murmured, leaning back against his desk. Our group, sans Lana, was meeting in his study to discuss Yuria. Lana was showing Yuria around the infirmary, taking advantage of how quiet the late hours were to give her a thorough tour. "I thought so. The similarities between her and Deirdre were uncanny."
"What concerns me is that scar and the amnesia," Seliph whispered. He and I were both sitting on the floor, using Hestia as a pillow. "Based on the description… something tells me there's more to my mother's death than what is 'officially' known."
"I agree. While it's possible a spell could've caused the injury, it's still quite abnormal." Oifeye rested a hand on his temple thoughtfully before looking to Larcei. "You mentioned a panic attack when she tried to remember?"
"Yeah, it was pretty bad or I think so, anyway," Larcei confirmed. Like Seliph and me, she was seated on the ground, absently brushing Diarmuid's hair. He'd been hosting the self-defense classes and thus, his hair was a tangled mess. "What bits I caught was that something attacked her and she ran to Conall, who then healed her."
"From there, it was a mess," I added, remembering. Shadows… that word had come up a lot. That could mean… "You think the Loptyr priests might've been involved? I mean; they took over soon after. It's not that big of a stretch."
"Oh, yeah, that's a good point."
"That all said, and forgive me for this, but does it matter at the moment?" Ulster asked, voice a little dry. He and Lester leaned against the walls, opposite sides. Lester behind Hestia, Ulster behind Larcei. "We can speculate later. I'm more confused by the Holy Mark."
"Hmm? Oh, did we never tell you those stories?" Oifeye asked, looking surprised. At all of us frowns, he sighed. "Nope, clearly not. Then again, I think they're Grannvale… ah, whatever. There's stories of Holy Marks fading and reappearing to protect the ones they've blessed. It's possible Deirdre's had also faded."
"Oh." Ulster paused for a long moment before shrugging. "Then, in that case, what do we do?"
"And why didn't Lewyn mention any of this?" Lester asked. That was a good question. "Was it because it was a public place? He thought it obvious? Even so, a little more warning might've been nice."
"It's possible he got distracted," Diarmuid noted reluctantly. He smiled in thanks when Larcei finished brushing his hair and scooted over to the wall to rest against it. "I mean… I did kind of break down crying at hearing about…"
"Right, right." Lester sighed and shook his head. "Regardless, though… it seems strange to me. He has to know, right? He met Deirdre?"
"They talked the theories of light magic with each other and Deirdre always enjoyed listening to his performances," Oifeye confirmed. He was back to thinking, hand on his temple again. "But yes, what to do? Obviously, we'll be keeping her safe. Something happened at that castle, and I'm going to assume she's safer with us for the time being."
"Do we tell her what we know-suspect?" Larcei asked. She crawled over and joined Seliph and me on Hestia, snuggling close to me. I rested my head on her shoulder. "That panic attack…"
"No, not yet, at least." Oifeye closed his eyes. I wished Aideen was here. She'd be great for something like this. Would it be safe to write to her about this? "I do think it'll be important to tell her, eventually, but we should move slowly. Her health and well-being are most important. So for now, helping her settle into things will take priority."
"And if she asks?"
"If she brings it up, answer to the best of your abilities. But be wary and cautious. Check who is around, and be prepared for a panic attack. And if she says to stop answering, do so at once." Oifeye smiled kindly. "Other than that, I'd say simply do as I know you all will do. Get to know her, help her feel safe and welcome. She is family, after all, and in our care."
"That's true." Larcei grinned at Seliph and me. "Look at that! We can meet members of that side of the family without having to fight!"
"It is nice to know that, though it makes me wonder if I can meet Julius as well," Seliph whispered. He smiled sweetly and I grinned. It was nice. "Okay, though, we have a plan. Let's try to stick with it. I suppose we can discuss more about the 'what happened' and 'why did Lewyn not tell us' things when Lewyn actually returns."
"Hopefully with good news about Leif and Finn!" I added with a laugh. It soon turned into a yelp when Hestia stood up abruptly, knocking Seliph, Larcei, and me off. "Hey! What's that for?" Hestia whimpered and nosed my cheek. "Oh, outside time for you." I hopped to my feet and she immediately raced out of the room, opening the door fairly easily. "I'll talk to you all later!" And then I was off, chasing after Hestia. It was a bit of an abrupt end to the meeting for me, but Hestia did what she wanted.
Once we were outside, she decided that the castle grounds were too 'tame' for her or something and continued all the way out of the city entirely. I followed, because she really was too fast for me, and times like this, you simply let her wear herself out. Besides, there was something enchanting about Isaach at night, when the moonlight gave everything a more 'silver' or 'blue' sheen. The crisp wind blew, tugging at my hair, and I decided to go ahead and pick some flowers. When Hestia returned to my side, we visited the graveyard so that I could leave the flowers on the graves. Both the new ones that still smelled of fresh soil and the older ones that looked a little neglected. It just felt right to do so, especially since I was already outside.
When I ran out of flowers, Hestia and I returned to the castle, greeting the guards with smiles. Then she decided to go down a certain hallway, and I groaned and muttered curses before following. Because clearly, Hestia was bored and bored Hestia was never a good thing. However, just before we rounded a corner, I saw Yuria and Seliph talking. And promptly hid, holding onto Hestia's fur to make sure she didn't interrupt. At least, that's what I told myself. That I didn't want to interrupt brother-sister bonding. Honestly, though, I hid on instinct, feeling terribly awkward.
"Ah, Lord Seliph, there was something I noticed," Yuria murmured, smiling gently. She looked infinitely more comfortable now that she was wearing clothes better suited to Isaach. "Your hair is tangled. Do you need help brushing it?" A strange ill feeling washed through me and turned my stomach into knots. Brushing Seliph's hair… that was 'my' job. I was the one who did that. I was the only one who… ah, but that wasn't fair. It wasn't like I owned Seliph or his hair. If others wanted to, and he agreed, then I had no right to be mad. But it did make me feel uncomfortable. "I can…"
"That's kind, Yuria, but I'll be okay," Seliph refused with a smile. A feeling of relief settled on me, but that just made me feel more uncomfortable. I mean; that could've been a good way for them to bond. I shouldn't be relieved. "Thank you, though."
"If you're sure." She seemed a little sad about that. "Let me know if there's anything I can help with."
"You don't need to 'earn' your place, you know." Seliph laughed when Yuria squeaked. He'd guessed it in a second. "Besides, you're going to be helping Lana in the infirmary. That's a lot of work."
"Well, yes…" Yuria looked down. "Though, I can't help with the medicines at all. I have to learn them."
"See? Lots of work." Seliph smiled sympathetically when Yuria whimpered. "Diarmuid memorized it all the quickest among us. I'm sure he'd be glad to help you."
"You think so?" She became thoughtful before nodding. "Okay, I'll ask him."
"I think he's free after breakfast tomorrow. Providing no one changed the schedule on me." Seliph hesitated before ruffling her hair. "You're going to be fine. If you're unsure, simply ask."
"I will!" Yuria beamed at him, but sighed when he left. "I was hoping to help him personally, though. Drat."
"Were you?" And suddenly there was Larcei, who must've stepped out of a nearby room. Yuria yelped and Seliph turned back in concern, but Larcei waved him away. I kept a firm grip on Hestia while continuing to eavesdrop and spy. And be awkward. "Middle of the hallway isn't exactly the best place for heart to hearts," Larcei teased, poking Yuria's cheek. "Anyway, mind if I ask why?"
"Well, he, Riona, and Hestia helped me before, so I hoped to return the favor for them," Yuria explained. She sighed again, frowning. "Though, I can't find Riona to ask her."
"She went outside with Hestia. Probably still there." Larcei shrugged. "Anyway, if you want suggestions, feel free to ask. But Seliph only lets Riona brush his hair."
"Really?"
"Yep. We've asked if he wanted us to in the past, even Aideen. But he refuses each time, only agreeing when Riona tries. It's one of their 'things'." Larcei giggled and linked arms with Yuria. "Here, why don't you walk with me? You're being dropped in some strange group dynamics, so I'll give you some summaries to help you feel less like an outsider. And you tell us if you feel lonely, okay? We're not used to new people, but we definitely want to make sure you feel welcome and at home."
"Ah, yes!" Yuria laughed and leaned into Larcei. "Thank you!"
"No problem."
The two of them walked away, and I leaned against the wall. Feeling even more awkward and uncomfortable. I wasn't sure what to do with that little bit of information. I wasn't really sure why it made me squirm. I didn't like it. It was weird, and I wondered if it was just lingering unease of having a new person shaking up all the group dynamics. Change was often uncomfortable. But that didn't feel quite 'right'. That answer didn't feel right. It was likely something different? But what?
"Ack! Hestia!" Of course, in my mental wandering, I forgot to keep a good grip on Hestia. "Yes, good to see you too!" And she apparently ran straight for Seliph, based on the yelps. "No, don't eat the papers! I need those!"
"Hestia, behave!" I snapped, rounding the corner and rushing over. Poor Seliph was trying to fend off an extra-playful Hestia, who apparently thought he was witholding a toy from her. "No, you're not allowed to chew up papers!" I caught her as she tried to jump on Seliph again, only for her to twist and pin me. And start licking my face. "Hestia!"
"Never a dull day when you have a wolf in the family." Seliph wrestled Hestia off of me and Hestia barked happily, wagging her tail. "Yes, hello. Missed you too. Did you have fun outside?" She barked again and play-bowed. "No, I can't play right now." She sat down again, whining. "I know. Your humans have to work. It sucks."
"If brushing her isn't on the chores for us, we need to make sure it is." I tried to brush off the fur on me, but it just clung. I swore I'd brushed her just yesterday, damn it. "Maybe have Lana or Yuria get priority? They can get Hestia antics to wind down from infirmary stuff?"
"I'll bring it up to Lana." Seliph peered at me worriedly. "You okay?"
"Just a little tired." I frowned. "Why?"
"You just… you seem a bit off, is all?" He rested the back of his hand on my forehead. "Mmm… no fever…"
"Like I said, I'm just tired." But now I was back to feeling awkward. "Hey… uh… mind if I brush your hair?"
"Since when do you ask?" Seliph laughed, though, and smiled warmly. "Of course I don't mind. I do need to read these, though." He held up the papers. "And I need to read them tonight."
"We can sit in your room, then." I beamed at him, giddy. This was a tad ridiculous. More than a tad, even. "What are you reading, anyway?"
"Summaries of all the reports. Oifeye says that reading through the summaries will be my primary job as leader, because it'll be the summaries for everything."
"We're going to have to figure out how we're dividing all the labor, aren't we?"
"Yeah, we do." Seliph sighed and scratched Hestia behind the ears. "I have a few thoughts on that, though. Mind listening?"
"Of course I don't mind."
We spent our evening just like that, talking about how we could structure the army so that we could distribute the burden as evenly as we could and also talking about how nervous we were about Yuria and wondering just what the hell happened for her to end up here, of all places. All the while, I brushed his hair carefully, and Hestia slept next to us, waking up occasionally for extra pets. It was a sort of evening we'd had before, though the topics were different. That bit of familiarity was a comfort… though, I really did need to sit down and figure out what was going on with all the awkwardness. Better sooner than later, especially when you were a leader. Leaders couldn't let their personal issues get in the way of things. Leaders didn't have that right. So, I had to figure this out quick.
Something told me that I was going to facepalm and groan when I figured it out, though. Just a feeling.
Author's notes: So, 'Yuria' is an early fantranslation of 'Julia' (as in, this name is still what's under the 'script' section for FE4 on SerenesForest). In game, no one pieces together who Yuria/Julia is until much later (Final Chapter, I want to say?), but players will probably find out in .2 seconds because a) her hair color and b) her stat screen. Her hair color (and her looks in general as seen in official art, especially the more recent ones) is the same as Deirdre's. And her weapon rank for Light Magic is (*), and her holy blood page shows that she's got Major Naga and Minor Fjalar blood. And while the characters don't have access to the stat screen (obviously), they would notice her looks. Especially Oifeye (and Shanan and Finn) who knew Deirdre personally. So, I decided to have them figure it out ahead of time, but keep it quiet initially because panic attacks.
As for the Holy Mark… I brought it up briefly in the epilogue of Memoirs of Belhalla, but having the Holy Mark 'disappear' and 'reappear' is sort of my explanation for how certain Holy Blood people were able to hide their heritage (in Julia/Yuria's case, being raised with Lewyn in seclusion no doubt helped). (The epilogue of Memoirs of Belhalla also brings up the events that traumatized Julia/Yuria, though from Conall's POV.) Julia knowing wind magic comes from Heroes, where the 'lead up' for the Naga tome is 'wind', 'elwind' and 'excalibur' (and just makes sense, because Lewyn had been taking care of her and wind tomes are probably more readily available than light tomes, especially in Silesse). She doesn't have access to wind magic until after promotion in game, though.
Yuria/Julia being introduced in this fashion is a bit of a callback to how Deirdre was introduced, and is based on how she's introduced in the Fuyuki manga (though Seliph learning her name and the like still only shows up when he meets Lewyn). In-game, there's no really emphasis on Leif or Finn being alive, but I felt it was a good thing to bring in here (the conversation Lewyn and Seliph have is from the game, though it is admittedly streamlined and Yuria speaks a little more). Ftr, after she's recruited, Lana can talk to Yuria/Julia and the latter gets a free mend staff out of it.
Also in-game, you can't get the Fire Sword until next Game-Chapter, but it felt smoother to add it here. (Think of it as a love-point-boost convo?) As a High Priest, Aideen gains the ability to use C ranked elemental tomes, and unlike Alicia, learned how to use said tomes (mentioned briefly a few times in previous chapters). Riona, however, chose against learning herself. However, thanks to Aideen, Lester actually has a decent magic growth. With Midir as his father, it's 20%. Though I don't think he can use that magic stat for anything.
The Assassin's Bride is toooootally made up. I mean; I wouldn't be surprised if it was the title of some story, but I picked random words at random to make up the title.
Next Chapter - Brothers
