Interlude - Rivough
Isaach is free! It's so strange. Isaach has been a territory of Grannvale, and the Empire, since before I was born. Yet now, it is actually free. But now, the real fight begins. Well, sort of. We make preparations first. But we will leave Isaach and cross the Yied Desert, heading towards Leonster where Leif, and Uncle Finn, hopefully still alive. But the desert is harsh, and harsher still now that it is firmly under Imperial control. Plus there is healing from the battle with Danann, and trying to gather information.
Ah, so much to do… there's not enough hours in the day.
"I can't believe it!" Larcei flailed about, horribly annoyed at me. "I simply cannot believe it! You two confessed where we couldn't see it!"
"Larcei, that's the hundredth time you've complained about that since Seliph and I announced our courting." I simply looked at her drolly. "Do you want my help or not?"
"Fine, fine…" She grumbled a bit more under her breath. "We are finding a way to get you two back for this! I swear it!"
"Yes, yes, we already know. Because that's the fiftieth time you, alone, have mentioned it."
"Rawr!"
"Leaving now."
"Nooooo! Don't leave me alone with this mess of paper!" She leaned over to cling to me, but the angle she did it at actually led to both of us falling off the bench, and all the paperwork we'd been working on to fall all over the place. "See! I'll drown if you don't!"
"You're just already getting back at me!" I rolled my eyes at her grin. "Ugh… let's pick up the papers. Thankfully, things are still bundled… mostly." There was a split second of silence before we both burst into laughter. "We're so ridiculous."
Larcei and I were out in the gardens, to keep out of way of the people repairing the castle while also doing some work. Larcei had asked me to help her figure out a good way to keep things organized, since Seliph did make her take charge of the infantry, but she hadn't found a system that worked for her. It also led to me helping her actually complete some of the paperwork because Larcei was the type to leave things to the last second. Not something you could do with paperwork. You fell behind fast if you tried.
"Lady Riona?" Thankfully for our dignity, Larcei and I had just gotten settled back on the bench, with all the paper, when one of our soldiers walked up and bowed. "My apologies, but I had a question," they murmured. I tried to not wince. This sort of thing was becoming distressingly common. "Why is it that we are no longer allowed on the sparring grounds after a certain hour?"
"Ah, that's from Lana in the infirmary," I explained, relaxing. This was the sort of question I did actually need to answer. "We had a couple of soldiers practicing late at night, and badly hurt themselves. Then we had one who ended up fainting and no one knew until the morning." I smiled, while Larcei facepalmed. "So, Lana's ordered that no one is allowed." Of course, there was another reason as well, but this was the main one. The other ended up being something we realized after implementing the rule.
"Ah, I see." They bowed again. "Thank you, my lady."
"Of course." I kept the smile until they left and then sighed, leaning against Larcei. She hugged me tightly and kissed my temple. "Ugh…"
"Why is it that many of them ask you questions?" Larcei grumbled. She ran her hand through my hair to reassure me. I closed my eyes and simply relaxed. "Where's Hestia again?"
"It's early morning, so Hestia is out hunting, and she's extra needed since Lester is with Ulster in Isaach Castle." We still had some of Danann's forces holed up there, refusing to surrender. They weren't so skilled that we'd bring the full might onto them, but… "And I don't know why they're asking so many. At least that one wasn't bad."
"What's bad?"
"Being asked where the duty roster is?" No small part of me wanted to snap at them, but what would that accomplish? The battle with Danann already proved we still needed to earn their trust. Yelling at them for questions… that would just hurt our cause even more. "That one comes up a lot."
"Seriously? We put up multiple copies all over the damn place!" She kissed my head and continued running her hand through my hair. "Blech. I wonder if it's some sort of power play."
"I have no idea." But I did know I needed a subject change. "Hey, Larcei?"
"Hmm?"
"After Danann died, during the party, did you see Aunt Ayra's ghost?" It was something I'd been wondering. She'd appeared before me. I would hope she 'showed up' in front of her children or something.
"Actually, yeah…" Larcei let go of me, and I sat up to pull her into a hug. She moved the papers so that she could sit a little closer. "She said that she was proud of me."
"You talked to her?"
"I think so?" She laughed hollowly. I kissed her hair and hugged her a little more tightly. "I mean; it could've been some sort of hallucination brought on by exhaustion. I was pretty loopy, truthfully. The battle… getting revenge… realizing Mother's dream… it was a lot. But Ulster said he saw Father, and that Father had laughed, so…"
"Well, I've seen a couple of ghosts, so I'm sure it was them." Marricle and Aunt Ayra… both tied to the land… though I did hope they could rest easily now. Or would soon. "And hey, we have always said that our parents are watching out for us." I frequently asked my parents for 'help'. Hell, I'd done it during the battle. "I consider that proof that they are."
"That's a good point." She sat up, giggling. I saw the tears in her eyes, though. "It's nice, knowing that we've more proof of that."
"Indeed." I touched her cheek and brushed my thumb under her eye, wiping away the tears she wouldn't shed now, but I knew she had shed in the past. "How are you doing? We haven't really talked about your parents after…"
"...I knew deep down it was foolish. I think all of you knew that I knew." She sighed, and leaned over to rest her head on my shoulder. I took her hand and kissed her head. "I just… I just wanted to see them again so badly, you know? I wanted more than just those vague memories. And I thought… well, maybe they did escape? Maybe they just couldn't find us? There are so many 'what-ifs' when it comes to that group."
"There are." Though it seemed that by traveling, we might find the answer to many of those questions. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, though. I leaned towards 'good', but only because it meant Oifeye, Aideen, and Shanan would have answers. Even if those answers hurt. "And while the 'what-ifs' exist, you can't help but hope."
"Pretty much." Larcei closed her eyes and a couple of tears slipped down her face. I reached over to wipe them off with my sleeve. "So, I'm… hurting, but I'll be okay. I'm just… tending to the parts of me that the hope burned." She sat up and glanced over her shoulder. "And whoever is trying to be sneaky, be glad Hestia isn't here. She would be very offended."
"Ahaha… something tells me I won't be joining scouts any time soon." Arthur crawled out from behind some rose bushes, smiling sheepishly. "I didn't want to interrupt what seemed to be an 'Important Moment'," he explained, sitting back on his heels so that he could air-quote the last two words. "See, I was first coming over to tease and make dry remarks, but then I saw it was serious and… yeah." He shrugged. "I haven't been here long. Just into the 'you can't help but hope' part. Promise."
"Good," Larcei grumbled. Still, she waved him over and we both shifted down the bench to give him some room to sit. He smiled in appreciation, but continued crawling over to simply sit at our feet. My feet to be specific. "Tease and make remarks, huh? Do you really have that much free time?"
"Unlike the rest of you, I don't actually have duties." Arthur hesitantly leaned back against my legs. I leaned down to kiss the top of his head and promptly began playing with his hair. "Why is that, by the way? I'm grateful, of course. I love being lazy."
"Now you're just being smug." Larcei growled something under her breath before poking me in the side. "Hey, why does he get to be the exception? He's on our War Council thingumabob… thing."
"How eloquent."
"Shut up."
"Arthur is on our War Council because he's our only mage for the time being," I explained, braiding tiny braids in Arthur's hair. His hair was super soft and silky. I'd need to steal his hair-care stuff later. "Well, Yuria is a mage, but she's primarily helping in the infirmary because Lana needs all the help she can get." Hopefully, we would get more, but neither Dozel nor Isaach was known for magic. "However, Arthur, you're really only traveling with us as thanks to Fee, yes?"
"That and to make it to Alster a little more…" Arthur began. He paused and laughed, nodding a bit. I sulked when it messed up a braid and undid it to redo it. "I get it. I'm not a leader because you're not sure if I'll stay or not."
"Of course. You have your own goals, and you are looking for your little sister. You should spend time with her." And none of us wanted to go through the trouble of finding a replacement for him. "So, that's the reason. Simple, yes?"
"I like it." Arthur poked my foot. "By the way, didn't you have a meeting?"
"About… oh." I yelped and scrambled off the bench, nearly kicking both Larcei and Arthur. I did have a meeting, dealing with relocating the children saved. "Shit, shit, shit! I'm going to be late!"
"I'll help Larcei!"
"Love you too, Arthur! Larcei, we'll talk more later!" And then I was gone, running as fast as I could down the paths and inside the castle proper. And nearly got myself a broken neck because I forgot which paths were under repair and almost ran straight into a long drop. Thankfully, Iuchar had been near and he caught me before I fell over the edge.
"Well, that was close," Iuchar noted, leading me back to a safe part of the halls. I could only smile sheepishly. "So, what has you imitating the fierce speed of the wind gods?"
"I'm going to be late for a meeting," I answered, glancing to the side. The area was very obviously under repairs, meaning I'd hyper-focused and lost track of my surroundings. That had been happening more and more lately. I should've brought it up with Oifeye before he left Rivough to secure some supplies for Yied. I'd talk to him about it when he returned. "But since I'm here, how go the repairs?"
"Slower than we would like, but it remains steady. Had some trouble getting supplies this morning, but we managed to clear that up."
"Was it because…?"
"Oh, no, it was because there was a miscommunication in how much we needed!" He laughed, and I smiled softly, glad to hear it. We were all worried about his mental and emotional state, given everything that happened, but he was recovering, slowly but surely. We could ask for nothing more. "There's actually not been as many… ah… instances lately."
"Really?" I had to keep myself from bouncing. Seliph had hoped that seeing Iuchar and his forces actively repairing Rivough Castle, and the interactions born from it, would soften people's opinions on them. It seemed the gamble was paying off, and I found that wonderful. For all his dramatics, Iuchar really was kind and eager to do the right thing. "Great, we can throw more work at you!" I grinned and he sighed so forlornly that I laughed too. "Sorry?"
"Well, I suppose I should make sure to pull my weight for this glorious endeavor!" He bowed with a little flourish, making me laugh even harder. "Now then, my lady, might you give me the honor of escorting you? I dread telling Prince Seliph that I let his love fall to her death from a window."
"Translation: please let me make sure you don't walk right into repair work again and make a mess." I grinned, amused. And just… I couldn't help but feel a little giddy about being called 'Seliph's love'. I had it bad it seemed. "I happily accept the escort. I need to head to the meeting room by our War Room."
"I have just the path." He gestured dramatically and led the way, purposely making his cape flutter. I had to snicker. "This way!"
I thankfully made it to the meeting in time, and managed to coordinate a good system for taking the children home. It took longer than expected, though, so I sent a message to Seliph letting him know that I wouldn't be able to have lunch with him after all. Made me a bit sad, since we were both so busy that lunch was often the only time we could spend an extended amount of time together, but our work was important. And, unfortunately, Seliph's lunch 'break' was shorter than usual because of his own meetings, and by the time I was done, he was off. So, I ended up with a bit of unexpected free time and I decided, after snagging a quick bite to eat from the kitchens, to go to my room and read through the two letters I had again. One from Conall, and one that arrived just yesterday, from Aideen.
"This warning about Manfroy really does trouble me…" I whispered, skimming through that part of Conall's letter. Hestia yawned next to me and tucked her nose under my arm. Even though she really shouldn't have been on the bed with me. But I let her get away with it, because she was adorable. "The Archbishop…" Conall's letter wasn't all warnings. It shared some fun stories from Belhalla, Alster, and Thracia that he didn't get a chance to tell me. But the warnings… the warnings were troubling. "So, Manfroy is the one in charge or something now? Conall, your wording is damn confusing here." At the least, this Manfroy led the Loptyrians and was a powerful dark magic user, with access to spells that no other priests had. And Conall wrote down what he knew about dark magic, which he admitted wasn't much, but knew was more than me. "I need to take notes on this, don't I?" I made to get up, but Hestia quickly twisted to pin me. "Hestia!" She yawned and scooted to lay half on top of me. "Ugh… brat. You're heavy, you know." I sighed and just read through. I could make notes before bed or something.
Still, some of these spells were just… strange to me. Spells that left toxins in your body? Spells that made you choke on black blood? Spells that took you to the very brink of death, but not past? Then there were apparently illusions? 'Scrying', which let them see from afar through reflective surfaces somehow? And that was just what Conall knew about. He swore there had to be more, worse things that he didn't know of, yet.
"Then there's the thing on Julius…" I skipped to that little paragraph, where Conall talked a little bit more about Julius. How he'd broken after witnessing Deirdre's death, and Julia's disappearance, becoming almost childlike. About how Julius seemed to be forgetting things in his madness. How Conall was hunting for a way to cure him. "He wrote that he made sure to write this to Seliph as well." I hadn't gotten to talk to Seliph about it, though. Still, they were in Belhalla and had access to the best healers. There surely had to be a way, and I knew Conall was stubborn enough to find it. "Guess he got more of Mom's healer thing than me."
After a moment more of staring, I set Conall's letter on the nightstand and picked up Aideen's letter. It was a short one, a quick thing she sent immediately after receiving our letters. And it was all over the place. She talked about how proud she was about our victories, and how worried she was about our injuries. She was relieved to hear Conall was well, delighted by his letter, but sad that he didn't stay (though she did write a reply to his letter and sent it to me for safekeeping). She gossiped about how everyone was in Tirnanog, from how well Creidne was recovering to how Dalvin and Deimne were healing to how Muirne was trying to ask Dalvin out to how many ultimately died from the attack. She mentioned that the entire village was sending a care package, and that we would get it soon(ish). She all but begged that we be careful in the desert, and to write her frequently. All in all, it was like she was right here, and the letter made me miss her terribly.
Hestia suddenly lifted her head, tail wagging hard enough to rock the bed. After a moment, she jumped off, knocking the wind out of me and popping my back, and ran to the door, barking. I groaned, honestly wondering if something was broken, and refused to move, even as the door opened. I didn't even twitch until I felt someone crawl onto the bed and burrow under the covers with me. Then I looked to see Lana and raised my arm so that she could just snuggle against me. Which she did, right as Hestia jumped back onto the bed and laid down on our legs.
"Well, I don't think we're moving for a while," I wheezed, still recovering from Hestia using me as a platform. Hestia had the grace to whimper and lick my leg, through the blanket. "So, what brings you here, Lana? It's the middle of the day, meaning you're normally up to your ears in stupid injuries."
"Maybe I just wanted warmth? You do give off the most body heat," Lana teased. She yawned, though, and curled up more against me. "I had to deal with particularly stupid injuries, so I wanted rest. I was told you were in your room, so…"
"So, I have a little sister to cuddle~! I win!" I kissed her cheek and snuck my arm around her to hug her. She giggled. "So, particularly stupid?"
"Drinking contest. Followed immediately by an athletics contest."
"...Oh dear." Who in all the heavens and hells thought that was a good idea? "So, we're going to need a new set of rules, clearly."
"I only healed them enough to not be fatal. And they're denied hangover remedies. We'll see if that gets through their heads." She sighed gustily and reached up to pick up Aideen's letter to me. "Oh, this from Mother?" She glanced over it, and frowned. "Wait, did you not tell her about you and Seliph being together? Finally?"
"I ran out of paper and figured you all took care of it?" I plucked the letter from her hand and set it on the nightstand before settling in a bit better. Hestia gave me a dirty look when I moved my legs, but quickly laid down again. Definitely pinned. "Did you not?"
"Well, of course, I did. Surprised it didn't come up in her letter."
"There's an entire care package on the way. It's probably there."
"Mmm… point." She giggled and poked my cheek. "You and Seliph are together~! We're getting you back for doing it where we couldn't eavesdrop."
"I think I've heard that threat a million times now." I rolled my eyes, but she kept on giggling, beaming. "Does it really make you that happy?"
"Of course! I love you both super much."
"You're the sweetest." I tickled her and she shrieked in laughter, nearly kicking Hestia off the bed. Hestia gave us a dirty look again, but went straight back to sleep. Still pinning us. "Hey, how are the people from the camps doings?"
"We lost a few, but most are healing up." She smiled in relief, and I kissed her forehead, glad. I knew she'd been very worried about them. "It'll take them a very long time to recuperate, but we can get them stable by the time we move out, I think." Then there was a quiet knock on the door and, after a moment of both of us wondering 'who the hell', Lana lifted her head, frowning. "Yes? Who is it?"
"Oh, shoot, do I have the wrong room?" Fee's voice was muffled by the door. "Darn it, I was sure this was Riona's room," she continued, whimpering a little. "Ugh…"
"It is my room, Fee," I called, pushing myself up as well. I tried to turn and sit, but Hestia refused to move. "Come on in."
"Oh, yay!" A rather frazzled Fee opened the door and jumped inside, shutting it behind her. Like, her hair was sticking up a little, like she'd been pulling at it. "Hey, so, I know you… wow, you both are resting," she mumbled, tucking some papers under her arm. Hestia lifted her head curiously. "I shouldn't bother, I know, but I am behind on paperwork for the scouting stuff, because I forgot I had to do Ulster's half as well, and-"
"How about you first just lay down with us and join the break?" Lana suggested, scooting even closer to me to make room. I moved to the edge of the bed myself, and Hestia hopped off so that we could. "Then we'll help you. But rest first."
"I can agree to that!" Fee laughed and tossed the papers onto the nightstand, or tried to. She fell a little short. "Ack!"
"Here, I'll help," I volunteered, rolling off the bed and onto my feet. However, my vision immediately blurred and went fuzzy, so I sat back down hard. "Whoa…"
"Riona?" Lana called, immediately sitting up and hovering over my shoulder. Fee got all the papers up and onto the nightstand before hovering over my other shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"
"My vision went a little weird for a moment…" However, it cleared up pretty quickly. That said, that didn't happen a lot. "Maybe the reason why Hestia insists on pinning is because I've been working too much?" I'd increased my training as well, hoping I could become stronger, faster. So that a child wouldn't be killed in front of me again. That would be even more stress, though…
"It could also just be you standing up too fast, but…" Lana took my wrist to check my pulse, while Fee snuck behind me to rub my shoulders. "Truthfully, I have been worried about how much we've all been working. All the new recruits, juggling things to account for how many died…" Trying to figure out a way to get the soldiers to trust us so that we didn't have that berserker rage again…
"Yeah…" Hestia whimpered and nosed my knee. I scratched her behind the ear and she licked my palm. "Surprised Oifeye hasn't said anything."
"Oifeye has been working two times as hard," Fee pointed out. She wrapped her arms around me for a hug, and rested her chin on my shoulder. "However, break time means laughs and fun, yes? I've actually been working on that kitty-cat headband for Arthur that we joked about."
"You have?" I asked, bursting into laughter. Lana gave us both a weird look. "It was a bit of a joke, but if she's really making one…"
"Working. I'm working on it. I was going mad because of all the reports!"
The three of us laid down under the blankets to joke around, and Hestia jumped right back on the bed to pin our legs, hinting that I was probably right. She was worried, and she was making sure we were going to rest a bit. Made sense. She was a brat, but a kind and worrywart of a brat. I'd give her an extra treat later.
"And I think the broken practice blade says we're done for the day," I joked to Diarmuid as the ashes of the wooden pieces fell. It was late at night, long past dinner, and Diarmuid and I were taking advantage of the 'no one allowed on the practice fields after a certain hour' thing to spar and train with each other. "Night. Whatever."
"We probably should've stopped sooner, but we were both stubborn about that spar," he laughed, a little breathlessly. He headed over to the side of the yard and snagged the towels we left out. "Catch!"
"Now that's just mean!" I barely managed it because of how heavy my arms felt now. My legs felt like jelly as well. "How are you holding up?"
"Like I said. Probably should've stopped sooner." He sat down on the ground and I stumbled over to sit next to him, toweling the sweat off. "Ugh… and I have to lift things in the morning."
"Oh, you'll be fine. Hezul strength and all." I bumped my shoulder against his and he rolled his eyes. "Funny how the sky just… looks the same and different at night, huh?"
"Same sky, same stars, except at the same time, they all look a little different. Like the constellations and guiding stars are in slightly different places, because we're further south. Or something." He looked up and traced out one. I didn't know which one. I was bad at finding constellations. "I wonder what the night sky looks like in Leonster?"
"I wonder if they have the 'same' constellations, or if they have different stories attached to the patterns." I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. "Hey, how are you?"
"I just… oh, wait, different context."
"Yep. How are you about your dad?" Once we left Isaach, we would push on to Leonster. Ideally, Uncle Finn would still be there, fighting. "And I guess your mom too?"
"Since we've heard nothing on my mother, I am continuing with my assumption that she is dead." He smiled slightly, still looking up at the stars. "I mean; based on the stories…"
"Unless Aunt Lachesis mellowed out a lot, we probably would've heard about her even before Lewyn told us about Leif and Uncle Finn." If for no other reason than her being one of the few Master Knights of Jugdral. "Safe assumption."
"But the fact that she made it there, supposedly…" He fell silent, searching for his words, and I waited patiently, closing my eyes to rest a little. Wished Hestia was with us, but I'd sent her to keep Seliph company while Diarmuid and I sparred. "I wonder if I have a sibling."
"Oh, that's a possibility, isn't it?" I opened my eyes again, thinking. I hadn't thought about that at all. I wondered if the others had. "I bet that if you do have a sibling, you have a sister."
"Why bet that?"
"Because then you'd match the rest of us, silly!"
"The hell are… oh. Huh." Diarmuid chuckled, shaking his head. "I never thought about it, but you're right. One boy and one girl. Have it for…"
"Mom, Aideen, Aunt Ayra, Erinys, Aunt Tailtiu…" Technically, I supposed Deirdre sort of counted? She had two boys and one girl. "Wouldn't that be funny?"
"Bit odd, truthfully, but whatever. Not the weirdest thing about our lives."
"True." I giggled. "I bet she'd be absolute adorable. Like Lana." The thought made me happy, truthfully. "We would totally spoil her with hugs and affection. I mean; if she's your sister, then she's really… like… everyone's sister? You know how we are."
"True." He laughed softly, and rested his head against mine, taking my hand. "That said, it's not the only thing I'm worried about."
"Oh?"
"I'm worried about Conall and Ishtar as well. We'll probably see them again once we're in Leonster. After all, Ishtar's family apparently rules the Manster District." That was… true. And it was a bit… awkward… "The more I think back on it, the more I'm convinced the two are being pulled apart by all their duties, morals, and obligations."
"...Yeah, I'm convinced too." It was painful, but what were we supposed to do? How could we 'fix' that? Was there even a way? "Everything is clearly more complicated and worse than we originally thought, and we even knew it would be complicated." I thought about Conall's letter and his warnings. "Deirdre's death was apparently so violent that it traumatized Conall, which I can't imagine is helping matters."
"Damn, what happened?"
"I didn't ask. I couldn't." He was so scared, so panicked… how could I press him? "I know he was trying to tell me more, but…" Even though I knew the information would be important, I just… I couldn't stand seeing him in pain. Fine way for a leader to act, to prioritize being a 'big sister' over useful information. Yet, at the same time, I knew I couldn't act any other way. To do so would be to lose a part of myself. "I'm sure we'll learn. Probably in the worst way possible."
"Probably. Life seems to like doing the worst case scenarios." We fell silent for a moment, enjoying the breeze, before Diarmuid spoke again. "Worst case scenario… we'll be crossing the desert."
"Yeah. It's rather odd, isn't it?" The Yied Desert… the place where Ethlyn and Quan died. The place our parents wanted us to avoid, so much so that they sent us away to safety. The place where everything began going wrong for our parents. "I know we talked about leaving Tirnanog and 'saving the world' or whatever. The whole Mythical Someday thing. But I never actually thought we'd cross the Yied."
"To be fair, I'm not sure we thought much about it at all." That was very true. "It was an expectation pushed on us, and we rose to meet it because we got so tired of being helpless and seeing people hurt. Tired of seeing all the atrocities, and knowing it was even worse elsewhere."
"Very true." It was just… humbling to realize how little we actually knew. "Wonder if we'll run into Shanan while in the desert."
"Hope so. We can finally help him out now." Diarmuid suddenly laughed. "Hey, we'll actually be able to spend more than a couple of weeks with him at a time, won't we?"
"We… oh, you're right. We will." Wow, that was going to be weird. Great, but weird. "We'd be traveling with him."
"And maybe we can even help Larcei with her crush?" He grinned. "She has, quietly, admitted it to us. I mean; we've known, but..."
"Of course." It was good, in my opinion, that she openly acknowledged it. Accepting was the first part in deciding what you wanted to do. And I hoped it went as well for her as it did for me. "We should probably wait for Shanan to get acclimated with all of our insanity. And see if Larcei's crush holds up under extended contact."
"True, true. Could be that after a month of spending constant time together, the feelings would fade." He poked my leg. "However, if she does still have them…"
"Then we are definitely, absolutely helping her out. No questions about that!" It would be so much fun! Teasing Larcei was hilarious, after all. "She's going to kill us, though."
"If she doesn't die from embarrassment first."
"True, true."
"Oh, good, you two did stop for the night." Yuria jogged over then, smiling sweetly at the two of us. She was still dressed in her normal clothes, though her circlet was off. "I was going to practice scolding on you two if you were still sparring," she teased, giggling a little. Diarmuid and I both laughed in return and stood up. "You are done, yes?"
"Yeah, I think so," Diarmuid replied, glancing at me. I nodded, still feeling the effects of pushing our sparring too far. The morning was going to be ever-so-much fun. "Unless you'd like to learn, Yuria?"
"Oh, goodness, no!" Yuria actually flailed a bit. "I can barely lift up a staff, much less a sword!"
"Good excuse to build up your strength."
"I have far too much to learn as it is, Diarmuid!" She sulked while he laughed. "You are being quite mean."
"It would be funny!"
"Quite. Mean." She ducked behind me, continuing to pout. I just had to snicker at the ridiculousness of it all. "Hmph."
"Well, you're quite lively for the hour," I teased, twisting slightly to kiss her cheek. She giggled, blushing a bit. "And it's been a while since we talked. How have you been about what you figured out?"
"About what…? Oh, you mean…" Yuria began. Her cheer faltered slightly, but she soon smiled again. "It is rather confusing still, truth be told, but at the same time, I'm glad. I have a base, even if I don't remember it, and it lets me piece together bits and pieces of my old life. And you all no longer have to talk around it."
"And you got a brother out of it."
"I did! And cousins! It's quite fun, having family. I'm so glad Lewyn left me here with you all. I've learned so much!" She giggled, back to her brightness, and Diarmuid and I both smiled. "It's been wonderful!"
"I'm glad." I really was. I'd been worried the weight of learning about her birth name and birth family would've been crushing her, but she seemed to be doing just fine. I hoped it would continue. "So, what brought you out here, Yuria? Scolding us for training too much?"
"Partially. Lana actually asked for me to look for you two." Yuria did her best to look serious, but she was smiling too much. "She's been very concerned about how much we've all been working, so she's given the order that all of us are to take the day off tomorrow."
"She did?" I… but that… "There's so much work!"
"Healer's orders~!"
"And once that comes into play, we know we've lost," Diarmuid sighed, grimacing. He was also thinking of everything he needed to do, and what would now be pushed off a day. "Well, this will be… the hell are we going to do anyway?"
"I have no idea," I replied, completely honest. It had been a while since we had free time. "I suppose we could read? Or I could find some animals to-"
"Denied."
"I didn't even finish."
"Don't care. Denied."
"Aw…"
"Actually, Riona, I had a question," Yuria began. She studied me curiously, frowning slightly for some reason. "Have you and Seliph gone on a date since you confessed?"
"Huh? Oh, no, of course not," I answered. Both Yuria and Diarmuid shared a look at that. "We have been far too busy. Some days we don't get to see each other because our schedules conflict."
"...That is an emergency." Yuria looked to Diarmuid again, and he nodded, both far too serious suddenly. "That must be rectified. Immediately."
I had a sudden bad feeling about all of this. I really did.
I was right to have the bad feeling. Yuria and Diarmuid had rounded up everyone, save Seliph and myself, to arrange for Seliph and I to have a date. It turned into a picnic date, complete with hiking outside of the town, far away from anyone but patrolling soldiers. And we weren't allowed to do anything about it, really. The others cooked, arranged excuses, volunteered to take care of Hestia… What shocked me the most was how everyone pitched in to help out. Even Arthur. It was bizarre! Absolutely bizarre!
"I think what confuses me the most was how quickly they managed all of it," Seliph murmured. Both of us were sprawled out on the grass in a meadow, watching the clouds drift by in the sky. "I think it was less than an hour. I barely heard about the plan before they shoved us out of the castle."
"I'm more surprised they didn't take the opportunity to eavesdrop and spy," I pointed out, shifting a little closer to him. I was using his arm as a pillow and half-dozing. "I suppose Lana was right about us needing a break, though."
"Yeah, I think so too." Seliph sighed, smiling. "I forgot what it was like to simply lay down. Smell the flowers." They did smell nice… "You asleep?"
"Not fully yet." But I was tempted. He was warm, and so was the sun. I understood why cats liked to fall asleep in a patch of sunshine right now. I really did. "Hey, did Conall's letter to you mention Julius?"
"It did." He sighed, smile falling. "My poor little brother… driven mad by whatever is going on. I hope Conall does find a way to cure him. I want to meet him."
"Especially since you met Yuria."
"Exactly." He laughed a bit, though it was still sad. "I like being an older brother. It's nerve-wracking, but fun."
"You and Diarmuid should have a talk about that. Since, you know, he could have a sibling in Leonster."
"Oh, that's true. I didn't think about that." Seliph reached over to take my hand and absently began tracing patterns on my palm. "Of course, we've all been working so much that we've barely thought about anything, huh?" He grimaced. "How did our parents get through all of this?"
"I have absolutely no idea." I really understood now why Aideen's stories about Mom always mentioned how they had to seek her out, though. I sincerely felt like we were running as fast as we could and still falling behind. "Did we finish writing the letters to all the families of the deceased?"
"Barely, yes. There were so many. My hand cramped up halfway through, and I swore I was writing the same thing. I didn't want to, but I just…"
"Too tired, too sad." I sat up a bit and leaned over him, my hair falling down almost like a curtain, shielding out the world. "But it's at least done with, yes?"
"For now." He reached up and pulled my down to kiss me sweetly. "Until the next battle where…"
"Where their lack of trust in us leads to bad decisions again…" That was the crux of it. How did we make them trust us? How did we earn it? How…? "And our naivety just…" I remembered the insults that one soldier threw at me. 'Sheltered bitch'... described me accurately for sure. "You know; I have a feeling this isn't something most people talk about on dates."
"Well, it's not like they'll find out."
"True."
"Your highness? My lady?" Both Seliph and I rolled to our feet, hearts pounding because expected some sort of emergency. However, instead, it was simply one of our soldiers. Niamh, actually, from my first sword-lesson class. "My apologies for disturbing you," she murmured, bowing. In the distance, I could see another soldier fidgeting awkwardly. "We were on patrol and happened to overhear…"
"Ah, I suppose we really should've kept such talk behind closed doors," Seliph murmured, ducking his head. I facepalmed, absolutely mortified. Our soldiers deserved our best, and not hearing us complain so much. How could we inspire them if…? "I'm sorry you had to hear that."
"No, no, your highness. In truth, many of us have feared you didn't trust us." She looked at both of us sincerely, and both Seliph and I glanced at each other, startled. Neither of us thought that they would think that. We never even considered that. "We have seen how desperately you all have been working, even on things that I am certain could be delegated. If I may be blunt, we've been terribly worried about your health."
"I suppose Lana suddenly forcing a day off didn't help the worries…"
"On contrary, we were delighted you were taking the break. Of course, that made it more heartbreaking to hear you two talk so sadly while out on your first date." She smiled briefly, but went back to being serious. Her fellow patroller remained distant. "If I may, why is it that you feel as if we soldiers do not trust you?"
"I… well…"
"...There have been some minor things, but the major one was the battle with Danann," I began slowly. Perhaps it was because I had gotten so used to answering questions from the soldiers or perhaps it was because of Niamh's sincerity, but the answer came easily. "When we wanted to delay to double-check the presence of Loptyrian priests and potential children hostages, there was nearly a mutiny. I was not there to see it, and I still do not know the full details, but what Arthur wrote me was… rough. Iuchar and the Dozel soldiers could not go anywhere alone for fear of their safety. Despite there being a conversation, multiple conversations even, about the dangers of in-fighting."
"Ah, I do remember that…" Niamh murmured, looking down. She fussed with her sleeve, and I saw she wore her sword with a lot more ease than she used to. "I will admit to being among the ones annoyed, even if the reasons were understandable."
"Precisely. So, because of that, we were forced to move ahead early, and… well, you were on the battlefield. You saw the children hostages. You heard of…" Of the one who had died, because I had been too slow, and we could not calm our own army. "That is a failing on our part, and not even going into the many who died, so…"
"Oh, my lady…" Niamh smiled reassuring at us both. "I think I understand now. If I may, might I convey that to the soldiers? So that they might understand your feelings better?"
"Well…" I glanced at Seliph, and Seliph frowned, thinking. "I…"
"Actually, if you do not mind, perhaps you can try that?" Seliph agreed. He smiled sheepishly, laughing a bit. "After all, if our soldiers feel like we do not trust them, then clearly, our current methodology is off."
"That's true," I murmured, remembering Arthur's offer to 'counter-rumor'. Maybe… maybe the real problem hadn't been trust. Maybe it had been miscommunication and misunderstanding. Our group relief a lot on knowing each other, and I knew our habits had led to others feeling left out. Perhaps it had been the same. "Niamh, if you could also do me another favor?"
"Of course, my lady," Niamh replied instantly, with a bright smile. It really lit up her face, actually, and I was momentarily distracted by how pretty she was. "What is it?"
"While I certainly do not mind talking with soldiers, and answering their questions, I have noticed a tendency for them to ask me questions like, say, where the duty roster is." I smiled sheepishly. "I will admit that a lot of my workload would be decreased if people were more willing to ask each other questions like that before coming to me on them?"
"People have asked… oh, I think there's been miscommunication among our ranks. I'll be sure to rectify that." She bowed to both of us and continued smiling brightly at us both. "As for trust, though… your highness, my lady, you and yours have long since earned the trust of those from Tirnanog and Ganeishire. The rest will see why, in time. Please, don't hurt yourselves trying to quicken that. It makes our hearts ache."
"...Thank you…" Seliph whispered. He smiled warmly in return, and I did feel like a small bit of weight fell off my shoulders. "That means a lot."
"It is the truth," Niamh replied, bowing again. "However, if I may, you two do have your date, and I have my patrol…"
"Yes, of course. And thank you for coming to speak with us." Seliph and I shared an amused look. "Clearly, something like that has been needed."
"It is my pleasure to assist." She bowed one more time and left, joining her fellow soldier. Both Seliph and I waved goodbye as the two left and when they were out of sight, we sat down again and simply… laughed at our ridiculousness.
"No small part of me feels embarrassed that we were clearly so pathetic we required such a talk," I barely managed through the laughter. We leaned against each other, struggling to breathe. "At the same time, though…"
"I am glad to have that talk, and I'm glad she felt comfortable enough to approach us, though that could've just been because you were here," Seliph added, wiping at his eyes. He was actually tearing up. "But I do wonder if that was it. A lot of assumptions and not a lot of…" He smiled at me. "Maybe if you had been here for them to ask questions, we wouldn't have had the problem with Danann. Maybe I didn't explain it well enough, and so, it just felt like delaying for no reason."
"Could be. Well, for that last sentence." I wasn't sure I would've made much of a difference, truthfully. "We do have that berserker rage to address as well. But maybe we should just… you know…"
"Actually address it instead of working ourselves to the bone trying to earn their blind trust?"
"Yeah, that." I smiled mischievously at him and lunged forward to pin him to the ground. "So, while we're on the subject of things to change…"
"Going to tell you that if this is serious, I'm not paying attention." He grinned up at me, laughing. "You're too beautiful of a sight to not give my undivided attention."
"Flatterer." I leaned down to kiss him, giggling. It was amazing how a single conversation made me feel so much better. "But I think you'll like it."
"Oh?"
"The idea is that you and I make sure to kiss each other goodnight, every night, so that we see each other at least once a day, and… you know… actually make sure we're going to bed and not passing out at desks?"
"Oh, yes, I do like that idea. I even love it." Seliph caught my hand and, to my surprise, kissed it. I instantly blushed, not expecting that at all, and feeling strangely shy over that bit of affection. "Huh. Iuchar was right. That did get you to blush."
"Iuchar?" I couldn't believe… "When did he…?"
"I asked him for some advice, curious about how courting went among Grannvale nobility, and that was one of his suggestions, since he noticed that while we're free with affection, hand-kissing isn't exactly a thing we do a lot." He grinned again, and I just blushed more. "I should try some of the other things. Just to see your reaction."
"You…!" I only had one way to retaliate and that was to tickle him, so I did just that. He shrieked with laughter, rolling away, and I chased, laughing too. From there, the date became not just relaxing, but fun. And filled with kisses, just because.
This… really was something we needed. I'd thank everyone later.
Seliph and I returned from our date, still laughing about everything, and we ended up having an equally fun dinner with everyone. Afterwards, and after giving Seliph a goodnight kiss like we agreed, I went to bed at a reasonable hour for the first time since… all of this started. And I slept rather well, until I heard Hestia scratching at something. Then I woke up with a groan, grumbling about how Hestia could open up so many damn doors when she wanted to be a prankster, but couldn't go out on her own. In that half-awake state, I rolled over and saw three strange things. One, my window was open. Two, there was a dead body on the floor. Three, Hestia had blood all over her muzzle.
"Did… is that an assassin?" I asked groggily, yawning and sitting up. Then everything finally processed. "Oh, wait, what?!" And, even better, a second person was trying to climb in. "Shit!"
I jumped out of bed and attempted to shove the person out the window. They had a good grip, though, so instead, I jumped up and swung myself out the window, slammed both my heels into their gut. It worked well enough that they went flying, screaming all the while, but I lost my own grip and had to quickly catch myself on the ledge to not join them on the ground. I banged my knees hard enough for them to bleed, but I could still climb back into my room. Hestia whimpered by the window, but when I was safely inside, and shut the window again, she began howling, a loud and long howl, giving her own warning. While she did that, I scrambled about my room, hunting for my swords, and picked up the Fire Sword because it was the first one I found.
"Intruders! Assassins!" I screamed, slamming open my door and tossing my sheathe to the side. I wanted my sword out, damn it. "Intruders! Up, up, up, everyone!" I ran down the hall, Hestia following me closely, stopping only to howl again. "Okay, who to check on fi-" And a scream from Lana's room made my blood freeze. "Lana!"
I skidded to a stop in front of Lana's room, actually falling and landing hard on my hip. I didn't care, though. I got on my feet and went to open the door. But though the knob turned, the door didn't budge. I slammed my shoulder against it, and thought I heard something fall. I knew I heard another scream and the sound of a sob. Lana. Lana was in there, and Lana barely knew any fighting…!
"Bastards…!" I rested my hand on the door and sparked flame into life to burn the door. It was wood, after all, and wood burned very well, particularly when a pissed off Fjalar Minor was setting it on fire. The smell of smoke irritated my nose and eyes, but I held firm. We'd have to replace the door, but that was a small price to pay. "Lana! It's Riona! Hold on just a little longer!" Still, the door was large, so it burned far too slowly for my comfort.
So, I dragged a bit of magic from the sword to make it erupt into flames and I slammed my shoulder against it to make it splinter. Splinters dug into my skin and the fire burned, but the door began falling apart, along with whatever was behind it, so I kept at it. I kept at it until there was an opening just large enough for Hestia to burst through. Which she did with a snarl, and there was a panicked scream inside followed by the sound of Hestia tearing out someone's throat. I then dampened the flames and pushed through the charred remains to stumble inside.
Lana's room was a mess. Clothes, blankets, feathers, remnants of pillows… practically everything was thrown every which way, like a tornado blew through. Lana herself, though, was fine. She was bleeding from an arm wound, and she had some bruises, but she clung to Hestia tightly, shivering, while Hestia growled at the corpse on the floor, blood gushing out of the large hole in their throat.
"Told you it would only take a little longer," I rasped. The smoke and shouting had hurt my throat. "You going to be okay, Lana?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Lana replied shakily. She stood up slowly, still clinging to Hestia. Hestia whimpered and licked her hand. "They didn't… they didn't get me. I'd woken up to get some water. The blood is from falling into things." She wiped at it awkwardly, and I could see how jagged it was. "I… wait, what happened to my door?"
"...It was blocked." I nudged the ashy chunks out of the way. "Come on, we should get out of here."
"Right…" Lana walked a few steps and nearly fell. Hestia supported her, though, so Lana was able to grab her Recover staff and then join me. "You're hurt…"
"Later." I stepped out into the hallway and saw others rushing about, reacting to the screaming and the like. "Shall we?"
"I can't run, but yes." She gripped Hestia tightly, still using her as a bit of a crutch. "Let's go."
Lana wasn't kidding when she said she couldn't run, but that was fine. Everyone else was, so we could afford to walk through. We had to stop a few times for Lana to tend to someone very badly hurt, but for the most part, everyone was on top of things. I left Lana and Hestia very briefly to duck into Seliph's office and find the lists of names we had for everyone in the army, before we continued to where everyone was converging: the main hall. We met our friends there, particularly a frazzled, bloody Yuria who was dealing with a lot of injured. Lana, of course, immediately went to join her, Hestia following closely, and I thumbed through the pages, ready to call out names myself. However, as I looked through just how many there were, I realized there was no way I could do this on my own. And I could call my friends, but…
"Niamh?" I called, looking around in the crowd. A couple of people glanced at me and whispered. "Niamh, you around?"
"I am, my lady!" Niamh jumped out of the crowd. "You're injured, my lady," she murmured, frowning. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah, I just panicked when I realized these bastards barricade Lana and went a bit overboard." I said the words absently, and only half-noticed the soldiers around me smile for unknown reasons. "However, we need to see who's here and who isn't. So…" I handed one of the pages. "You can read, right?"
"Yes, my lady." She smiled warmly at me. "I will get right on it."
"Thank you." I smiled back and then looked to everyone else. "Okay, people, if you can read, please step up! Need a bit of help making sure we're not missing anyone!"
People practically jumped over each other in their eagerness to volunteer. While I handled that, Seliph appeared and ordered every single injured to get checked over in case of poison. Fee, Iuchar, and Diarmuid headed outside with some groups of soldiers to patrol outside and see if more were sneaking in. Larcei and Arthur handled patrolling inside the castle, and I joined in with my own group of soldiers after finishing passing out the papers and getting bandaged up. Seliph hadn't really wanted me to leave, since I was rather injured, but I distracted him with a kiss and left before he regained his wits. I knew I'd pay for that later, but I needed to see, with my own eyes, that everything was safe and fine.
"Seems like we're clear in our area," I murmured, once we reached the end of our selected halls. They were the areas by where Lana, Larcei, Yuria, Fee, and I slept, so I figured if there were going to be any lingering ones, it would be either here or where the boys slept. "Good job, everyone." I turned to smile warmly at them. I, sadly, didn't know any of their names. One was a new one, while the other four had been with us since Ganeishire. "Let's not relax our guard, but I think we can chat and joke and the like, if you want."
"That… could be fun, my lady," one whispered. She was one of our younger ones, honestly one that I half-thought had lied about her age. Still, she held her bow with ease, showing she'd trained hard. "Um… may I ask you a question?"
"Certainly." I made sure to keep up the smile, even as I feared what sort of question it was. Just because of how they had been in the past. "What is it?"
"Well, it's not a serious question…" She fiddled with the arrows in the quiver on her belt, and her fellows gave her stern looks. "What's it like being in love, my lady?"
"That… er…" Wasn't expecting that. Wasn't expecting that at all. "It's a bit hard to explain. I've been in love with Seliph for forever, so much so that I had to get help to notice!" I instantly regretted saying that, though. They deserved my best, and not-
"That's adorable, my lady!" She giggled, and the others in the group relaxed. "I'm sorry. I know it's a weird question. My village was burned by Dozel… by Danann's soldiers." It touched me that she made the distinction. "So, I haven't really been able to ask many people about that."
"Well, I have dated others in the past, and I'm sure I'm not the only one out of this group of beauties who's at least had a crush!"
That sparked a bit of laughter, and more followed as we returned to the Main Room to report. We gossiped about all sorts of things, from fun and hilarious dates, to most embarrassing crushes to favorite colors and flowers and dresses. The sort of talk I'd have with Creidne and Muirne in Tirnanog. And as we talked, I saw them become more and more relaxed, and smile much more.
I wondered… maybe 'my best' wasn't what was needed. Maybe it was just 'me'. Just 'us'. It wasn't just possible miscommunication and misunderstanding… or, rather, it was, but not just of our words. It was also of us. We stayed apart, and so, they didn't know us. It was hard to trust those you didn't know, after all.
Maybe that was how our parents made it through. Or, at least, that might be how we would make it through.
After all the injured were treated, and we had it confirmed that there were no more assassins to find, Seliph ordered that everyone group together to sleep, just in case. Our group, of course, followed the order, after changing into clean clothes and dragging extra blankets and pillows into Yuria's room. Why hers? Surprisingly, her room hadn't been touched by the fighting. And, while we had started by trying to figure out who might've sent the assassins, the current lack of information meant we hit a dead-end pretty fast. Worse, all the assassins were dead. Ideally, information could be found on their corpses, but no one would be able to shift through any items found until the morning. So, all seriousness soon bled away for a fun little get-together thing.
"Ulster, Lester, and Oifeye are going to be so mad when they get back," I murmured, dozing off in Fee's lap. Wasn't quite sure how it happened, but I was, and Fee was having fun braiding my hair. "Or, well, Oifeye will be mad after panicking."
"He's not going to let you all out of sight for a few days, I bet," Fee joked, giggling. She was putting lots of little braids in my hair, and I absently wondered how many there were. "Father did that once. There was a bandit attack or something, so Father…" She trailed off, all sense of cheer vanishing.
"You okay?"
"Give me a moment?"
"Of course." And, to make sure I did, I focused my attention on the others in the room. Due to the late hour, and our tiredness, we were more in separate groups enjoying each other's company and whatnot. So, I looked to each group and tried to piece together what was going on.
In the far corner, away from where Fee and I were under the window, Iuchar and Seliph were chatting happily. Iuchar was gesturing dramatically, eyes closed and fully into the grandness of the gestures. Seliph nodded along, laughing at the antics, and was actually taking notes, so I had a very bad feeling Seliph was preparing his revenge against me. Because only with us could grand gestures of affections be 'revenge'. He'd probably do it in public too, because any embarrassment he'd suffer would be worth making me blush.
In the center of the room, Lana and Larcei were curled up on Hestia, Lana wanting the extra bit of comfort given earlier and Larcei wanting her favorite 'pillow'. However, they weren't just resting. Arthur was with them, and he was actually teaching them some card game. They used some buttons Yuria had to 'bet', mostly so that he could teach them the rules. I was certain he was also showing them how to cheat, given that I saw him pull a card from his sleeve. Larcei laughed at it, and laughed even harder when, despite the cheating, Lana 'won' the hand. Luck didn't always trump skill, but it was hilarious when it did. Or sobering depending on the context.
A short distance away, Yuria and Diarmuid were actually studying medicinal herbs. Yuria had requested it, because it helped calm her down, and Diarmuid had gladly agreed to it. So, the two of them were bent over one of the books, with two more stacked next to them, going through each page very carefully. I almost didn't pay more attention, but then I saw Diarmuid brush Yuria's hair behind her ear, to keep it out of her eyes, and then I saw Yuria blush. Now that was interesting. Very. Interesting. I'd keep quiet about it for now, but I was definitely going to pay more attention to their interactions over the next few days. Just to see if that was a one time thing or not.
"...I'm worried about seeing my father again," Fee whispered softly, catching my attention again. She continued to braid my hair, so I didn't turn over to face her, but I did make a noise so that she knew I was listening. "I haven't seen him in five years. He just left five years ago, and now, I'll finally get to see him. And it's weird, because Ced left home to try and find him, yet it seems like I'll get to see him first?"
"That does sound a little…" I began, trying to think of the words I wanted. 'Ironic' was all I could think of, but that felt too sarcastic for something so sad. He had left home, missing his own mother's death and abandoning his little sister, to search for his father, and yet… "It's not just 'weird', though, is it?"
"I'm terrified. How is he going to react? Will he hug me? Will he yell? Will he ignore? I don't have any idea. I have my hopes, but I know they could be answered with nothing." Her hands shook. "And he will be returning here. That's what you're waiting on."
"We are." I decided to sit up then, and I pulled her into a hug, letting her rest her head against my shoulder. "And we're here for you. All of us. We'll be right by your side when he does come to Rivough." I kissed her head and rubbed her shoulder. "And if he is a jackass? If he yells or ignores you? We will pull the biggest pranks on him. Promise."
"But he'll have information for you…"
"Being useful is no reason to be a jerk. Being able to help is no excuse to be an asshole. After all, every single person in this room… in this city, even… is helpful and useful. We all pull our own weight, each one of us." I kissed her cheek and leaned down so that I could smile directly at her. "We'd be professional, certainly, but you're family, Fee. And that means two things with this crazy as hell group."
"And those are…?"
"One, you're never alone. Ever." I gestured at all of us. "We're still learning, and we make mistakes, but we are all here for each other and nothing is going to change that." I poked her nose, laughing at her squeak. "And the second thing is that no one hurts our family without some form of retaliation. We will at least pull pranks. With Hestia's help. We've got a long list of things planned in case Diarmuid's dad ends up being a jackass. We can easily pull similar ones on Lewyn."
"...Hee…" Fee began giggling, and then laughing. "Well, that does make me feel a bit better about it. Still nervous, but…" She muffled her laughter and looked at everyone with sparkling eyes. "But I'm not… I'm not alone. I can cry around you all. I can scream."
"Precisely." I decided to be a little mischeivous. "And if you really want to, we could have Hestia drop her kills or something in his shoes."
"Riona!" And she was right back to laughing, loud enough that the others gave us curious looks. I winked, and they smiled and shrugged, deciding it was just us being weird. "That's horrible."
"Just a possibility to consider. That's all." I ruffled her hair and kissed her forehead. "Come on. Let's see if we can guess all the way Arthur is cheating."
"That'll be fun. Let's go!"
Arthur easily agreed to the 'game', and funnily enough, we only managed to guess about three of the ten tricks he tried. Seliph, Iuchar, Diarmuid, and Yuria joined us and it turned into a big lesson and then a free-for-all where we kind of just played however we wanted. In the middle of one hand, I became incredibly sleepy, so I forfeited and curled up in Seliph's lap to sleep. He nudged me up just long enough to give me another goodnight kiss, to the amusement and even cheers of the others, and I was back to laying down and falling asleep.
Not every assassination attempt would lead to such a fun time. I could only hope the next ones, whenever they were, were just as ineffectual, though.
Author's Note: Assassins, assassins, assassins. Because they're fun to utilize. I… actually don't have many notes for the chapter. Weird. Anyway, the thing with Hestia pinning Riona is something my dogs have done to me often.
Next Chapter - Interlude, Magic
