Chapter 40) Bonds
I ended up sleeping away the next three days, just absolutely exhausted by everything. From the second day onwards, I just moved in permanently with Seliph for a few reasons. Mostly because it was reassuring. Sleeping next to him, and waking up beside him, reminded me that I really was home. And also, it was getting cold and he was warm. Not like it was any different from taking naps together.
But despite my ordeal, the war continues. Now it's just a matter of figuring out who would move first: Alster or Darna. And where we needed to strike.
The sword I… ah… stole from Reinhardt while he was busy having his arm torn up by Hestia… well, it was a nice sword. Good weight and practically sang through the air as I finished up my pre-dawn training with the traditional 'dance' out in the practice yards. What caught my eye was the reinforcement between the blade and hilt, designed to look like a green gem, mostly because that reinforcement was something I'd seen on Killing Edges. Well, not so prettily done before. This was definitely a masterwork sword, something someone had spent quite a bit of time perfecting. I kind of felt bad for stealing it from him, but… well… such thoughts weren't suited for the dance, so I let them flow out of my mind as I focused on the wind playing with my hair. The crunch of the dirt under my feet. Making sure each movement was precise, without a trace of excess.
"Pretty…" Just as I finished, a soft voice caught my attention and I turned to see Patty nearby, watching. "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," she mumbled, smiling sheepishly. "But seriously, those dances or whatever are pretty. I've seen them a lot. Among the soldiers, I mean."
"In Isaach, it's tradition to begin and end practices with one," I explained, walking to the edge of the yard to towel myself off. I noticed there was an extra towel, and more water than I'd set out. "Different ones, of course. What's suitable for warming up isn't necessarily suitable for cooling down."
"That's pretty neat, actually! I wonder why that came to be."
"Well, Isaachian festivals have sword dances. As in, sharp blades are used as props, like ribbons." But, then again, how did those start? They were unique to Isaach, so it likely had some sort of story with it? I'd have to bug Shanan about it. "Anyway, I don't normally see you outside at this hour. You're in the kitchens, making food for the hunters."
"Yep, and I delivered them!" She giggled, proud of herself. She really did love cooking and she was damn amazing at it. "I even made sure Hestia had treats. Since she has to work so hard to help out."
"She's used to helping out her dumb humans." I took note again of the extra towel and water and finally put the pieces together. "Oh, wait, duh. You're out here to train."
"Close?" She put her hands together in front of her, half-like she was praying. "I was actually hoping you could teach me? I asked Lester about who would be good for that, and he said that you already teach Arthur."
"Honestly, we all teach each other bunches of things." And this reminded me of something I had wanted to request of her. "So, let's trade lessons. I'm curious about picking locks."
"Ooo, that'll be fun to teach!" She grinned. "But yay! Lessons! I mostly learned from Uncle Dew, but he's more of ambush-assassin sort of thing and the like. Not the best for the straight up combat we've been doing and… umm…" Her grin fell and she looked down. "I've always been just a thief. I've killed and fought a couple of times, but… well, my reaction at the shrine probably shows it's not something I'm used to."
"Seliph and I threw up after our first real battle. And our second. Maybe our third." I touched her cheek and gently tilted her head up so that I could look her in the eye. "But you want more options for guarding, so that you can survive, yes?"
"Yes. Or dodging. I mean…" She gestured at her rather small and thin frame. "Armor and I don't get along very well."
"Oh, I know the feeling. It just looks heavy. Can't imagine wearing it." I grinned and she smiled back. "Okay, well, first things first. Warming up, so that you can safely practice."
After warming up, with her showing me a couple of tricks to stretch out the wrists and me showing her some stretches for the legs, we began the lesson. I could see Patty's base easily, because the way she held herself was already perfect for quick and easy movement. It was how she held the rest of her, like her arms, that showed her weakness. So, I focused on that, specifically helping her with holding her sword out in a way that would actually protect her, instead of just dampen a blow. She was an eager student, determined to become stronger and I did my best, while mentally promising to ask Shanan for tips. After all, Shanan had taught me, when he could.
"Well, this looks convenient." Speaking of 'students', Arthur sounded amused, and he looked it when he walked up, with Tine, both dressed in practice clothes. "Riona, Tine was curious about learning swords," he explained to me. She ducked behind Arthur, but smiled shyly and nodded to confirm the words. I noticed then that she had her long red ribbon tied about her arm, and no ribbons around her pigtails. A way to hold onto that 'bond', huh? "Apparently, Conall once told her that Isaachian swordsmanship would suit her more than what they tried to teach her in Alster."
"Did he now?" I asked, curious. A quick glance over Tine showed why that might be. "Ah, slimmer figure and probably better suited for dodging and deflecting."
"That's what I figured. So, do you mind teaching her?"
"Of course I don't mind, if she doesn't." I made sure to smile, just to emphasize how little I minded. I saw Tine relax. "You've lessons with Aunt Lachesis today, right?"
"Yeah, she's helping me learn how to ride." For once, his smile was shy. He'd learned from Oifeye that Uncle Azel had been a mage knight, and had become fascinated by the idea. "I get to have my head kicked in by a horse. Yippee."
"Oh, don't fret so much. You're more likely to get trampled because you fell out of the saddle or something." I kept up the smile, and he just laughed. Poor Tine squeaked, and Patty took advantage of the break to wipe some of the sweat off and get some water. "Doesn't look like any of the others are out yet, so get some stretches done. And can you help out Patty while I get Tine started? You're skilled enough for that."
"Yeah, of course." He hesitated a bit before patting my shoulder. I beamed and gave him a quick hug. Then I skipped over to Tine and Arthur went over to Patty.
"Thank you very much for this," Tine murmured, more at the ground than me. She fussed with the ribbon on her arm. "I truly appreciate it."
"No need to be so formal," I chided, smiling. I leaned down, though, to catch her eye. "Just to confirm, you want to learn swords?"
"Yes, I do." Despite her timidness, the light in her eyes was determined. "I do know some basics, but it's mostly just the standard taught to Friege soldiers and it just…"
"It can be hard to use a style you're not suited for." I smiled and nodded. "Okay, did you warm up already?"
"No, not yet." She ducked her head and fiddled with one of her pigtails. "I wanted to be sure you didn't mind…"
"Excuse to spend time with you? Why would I mind?" I winked and giggled. She tentatively glanced up and smiled. "Okay, let's start with warm ups."
Though I kept one eye on Arthur and Patty initially, my focus was primarily on Tine, making sure she stretched properly. Then it was actually teaching her, and it was easy to see she had some training. It was differently than with Patty, though, and you could just tell she was uncomfortable with her initial stances. Personally wondered why no one had taught her a different style before deciding it could've been a pride or stubbornness thing. It wouldn't surprise me.
"Okay, Tine?" I began, stepping near her. I noticed her tense and shifted back a bit. "Would you prefer me to tell you where to shift your hands and feet or move them myself?"
"Hmm? Ah…" she began, before trailing off. Like I'd surprised her by asking for her choice or something. Maybe I had. "You can move them."
"Okay." Carefully, I did so, moving her hands on the hilt and then gently nudging her feet until she was in the proper stance. "A lot of Isaachian defenses will involve dodging and, more importantly, deflecting. The grip you had is good if you plan to block, but there's an even-odd chance that you'll twist or break something if you try to deflect with it like that."
"And the stance is for moving more quickly?"
"Precisely. The first stance is good for holding your ground, but Isaachians are always on the move."
"I've noticed." She smiled hesitantly. "You never seem to stay still ever."
"You should've seen me when I was younger. Apparently, they had to pair me up with someone for naps in order to keep me from running off, once I started walking!" So Aideen had told me, at least. I wished I could remember who it was. It hadn't been one of the Tirnanog kids. Maybe Ced? We had been in Silesse. "So…"
"Well, this is a fun looking scene!" Larcei joined us with a laugh, bouncing on her toes. I looked around and saw that the others had joined us outside. Arthur had actually left, meeting Aunt Lachesis to start his own lessons. "You're out here early, Riona," she continued. She fixed Patty's stance, since Patty continued to practice like a good student, and absently kissed her cheek. "Catching up?"
"That and I wanted to get a feel for the sword I'm 'borrowing'," I replied with my own laugh. Then I shrugged and went back to helping Tine. "You go ahead and get your training done."
"Sounds good." Larcei hugged me around the neck and kissed my cheek too. "I'll help out when I'm done! Shanan and I had some lessons last night, so I'll be taking it easy."
"Oh~?"
"Hush, you." She made a face, and I snickered. Tine and Patty looked very confused. "Ignore her. She's just being mean."
"The meanest, yes."
By the time Larcei finished up, and the two of us started helping Patty and Tine with cooling down, everyone else was firmly in their training (save Lester who was hunting and would practice later). Not far from us, Iuchar and Nanna were getting lessons from Oifeye, with Iuchar learning swords in general and Nanna learning different ways to guard and protect herself. Not far away, Diarmuid was also getting lessons, learning lances from his father, and Uncle Finn smiled so proudly at him while Diarmuid did his best to follow instructions. A noticeable distance from them, Aunt Lachesis was helping Seliph and Leif learn how to fight while mounted, while also helping Arthur learn how to ride. When she reached up to her throat, no doubt dry from all the shouting she had to do, Uncle Finn left Diarmuid briefly to pass her some water and absently kissed her hand before returning to Diarmuid's side, no big deal made of the actions (save for Aunt Lachesis's silly-sweet smile and Oifeye's indulgent look).
"I wonder if Mom and Dad had been like that," I whispered to myself. Was it something born from long years together? Even when accounting for the years of separations, Aunt Lachesis and Uncle Finn had more time together than Mom and Dad. After all, Mom and Dad only had… what? Three years with each other? Three and a half? Still more than Sigurd and Deirdre, who had been together for only around two years before she'd been kidnapped. "I wish…" I was so happy to meet Aunt Lachesis and Uncle Finn, and was absolutely ecstatic for Diarmuid and Nanna, but it reminded me of what I'd never have. And of the ache in my heart.
Sighing, I shook my head and tried to make myself focus on Patty and Tine, making sure they didn't accidentally skimp or anything. However, I noticed a very strange sight. Someone with silver hair walking aimlessly towards the decorative pond that helped mark one of the boundaries of the practice yard. I thought it was Yuria at first, but the hair was wavy, not straight. So, I realized it had to be Sara, who… I didn't think would be up at this hour. And who was heading straight for the pond.
Without thinking about it, I ran over to her and caught her by the arm just before she stepped into the water. "If you're looking for a swim, there's better places than the pond," I half-joked, pulling her back. She blinked slowly at me, like she was trying to figure out why I was there. Though I did just grab her out of nowhere. "And wearing better clothes. You're likely to drown with all that. Even with how shallow it is."
"Oh, I'm outside," she murmured, looking around curiously. She then put a finger on her cheek and hummed in thought. "When did that happen?"
"Were you sleepwalking?"
"No, there was someone calling for help. 'Someone, please, help me.' But in a tone that says they're not actually expecting help. It's so sad, so I was trying to figure out where it was coming from." She sighed gustily, and scowled. I frowned because I hadn't heard anything, and no one else had either, since they hadn't reacted. "But it's hard. There's so many voices to filter through. All the dead crying and crying. Makes it hard to discern that voice, but I think the person is still alive."
"So, basically, you were very focused?" There were… so many things to ask about there. So many. "Also, you hear the dead?"
"Only their last thoughts, last words. They linger and linger, even after the spirits have passed on. The world carries them, remembering even when others forget." She suddenly focused on me, her eyes bright and strangely old for her face. "Your mama's last thoughts were about how she wished she and seen you and Conall one more time. She loved you two very, very much."
"Oh?" That was… okay, total honesty? That was a little creepy. But it was also touching, to hear that. And the combination led to only one thing: curiosity. "That's an interesting power, but I can imagine the trouble it causes. Like how I'll accidentally set things on fire or something."
"I've learned how to block them out, but sometimes, they get loud." She closed her eyes and brought her hands up by her ears. "The cries for help tend to be the loudest. This one was particularly loud. I'm worried."
"As am I." I took her hand and tugged her along, back towards the castle. I glanced over at Larcei on the way, and she caught my eye and nodded. She'd finish up the lesson, so that I could make sure Sara didn't walk into something. "Here, we can head to the roof and you can figure out the direction from there. Will that work?"
"I think so? I normally wander until I figure out the direction, but this isn't a temple, so it's more dangerous." She squeezed my hand, opening her eyes to look at me again. "Conall is fine."
"Hmm?"
"For now, Conall is fine. I can sense it." She smiled sweetly. "Your bond with him is very strong, so it's an easy 'read'. He's towards the south, and misses you lots."
"Does he?" South… I recalled Cyas telling me Conall was in Thracia… "Well, all the more reason to find him."
"And keep him. Wolves are lonely and weaker without their packs."
"They certainly are less effective at hunting." And I was definitely having one of the oddest conversations I ever had. Which was saying something since I sort of had a conversation with Lewyn about his arms rotting. "I am definitely looking into some folklore over what this ability could be." Her hair was a particular shade silver, which I had only seen on Yuria and Deirdre (sort of, via pictures). Maybe there was something in Verdanite stories? "In the infinite free time that I have."
"Thank you."
"...For?" I glanced at her curiously as we finally entered the castle. "Wanting to research?"
"For not being afraid." She giggled. "Most people are. Because the power is so strange."
"I can summon sparkles that allow me to cut through the thickest of armors as if they were nothing but air, Shanan can turn invisible, arrows with literally bounce off of Ulster's bare skin, Diarmuid can punch a reinforced door down, and we won't even go into the weirdness that is Ulir luck." I laughed, amused now. "Seriously, you're in good company."
"Yes, I am in good company. All of you are very nice." She beamed at me. "I'm so glad I followed Leif's voice out of the temple."
"Good." I smiled back at her, even as I wondered what the hell she was talking about. "Now then…"
"That way." She pointed out a window, towards the north. "It's that way, some distance away."
"The voice?" My eyes immediately fell on Darna in the distance. I had a feeling… "Hopefully, we can help them."
"Me too." Her expression became sad, and very tired. "Me too…"
I ended up having breakfast with her so that I could try and cheer her up again, a task Yuria helped with since she and I now tended to eat breakfast together. It just… felt like the right thing to do.
After breakfast, I cleaned up and changed and walked the halls in what was my typical 'patrol' of making sure everyone was okay and answering whatever questions there were. As had happened the past few days since I'd returned, I had quite a few soldiers simply walk up to say 'hello' and how glad they were that I had returned safely. A few asked about if I had seen people in the dungeons, and though I hadn't, I told them about how Shanan hadn't seen anyone. The number of people who asked that particular question, though, made me worry. I knew Child Hunts occurred, and Bloom wanted to publicly execute Uncle Finn as an 'example' to discourage more rebellion. How many others were captured? How many others had been killed? Made examples of? All I knew about him, as a ruler, was that he took over the Manster District, he sent assassins, and the people of the Manster District hated him. I also knew he was someone who let his wife beat his little sister to death, but also held his daughter as she sobbed and was utterly heartbroken at the death of his son and daughter-in-law-to-be.
"Some days, I wish things were as simple as a children's story," I sighed, walking down the hall. Hestia, walking next to me, made a 'mror?' noise and I petted her head. "Oh, don't mind me. Just your dumb human making things complicated." She tilted her head and then promptly jumped up and braced her paws against my chest to lick my face. "Yes, yes! I'm fine, Hestia!" She just licked me more insistently. "You're just getting me back for disappearing on you!" She barked and went back to licking my face, her tail wagging up a storm. "Little brat."
Eventually, I got her to get back down on the ground and we continued on to my planned destination: the 'children's' room where the younger children stayed, played, and learned. And napped, as I soon learned, because they were settled down for naptime. I leaned against the doorframe, keeping Hestia with me, and waited until I could catch the eye of someone, specifically the one I'd known would be here.
"Ah, Lady Riona!" Inanna greeted me warmly. She picked her way over towards me, cuddling her leopard-kitten against her chest. Said kitten was all-but-hugging her back, showing they felt safe. "Did you need something?"
"Just checking in, now that I'm well enough to walk about," I explained, smiling proudly at her. Then I looked over the room again, this time noticing just how many young children were in here. Far more than I would've thought. Far more. "I heard we got some more refugees while I was gone." However, the number of children here implied more than 'some'. The entire room was filled with sleeping little kids, toddlers, and babies, with slightly older children (like Inanna) watching over them. Many of the caretakers looked very tired, very thin, and very sad. The oldest looked the same age as Inanna. The youngest… probably about eleven. "Wanted to make sure everything is okay and all. You know; same old, same old."
"You're the fretter, after all." Inanna giggled and glanced over the room, mentally debating something. "I can ask around and get you a list, if you'd like. I think they're so grateful to have shelter that… well..."
"Yes, I'd definitely appreciate that." I might've said more, but I saw one little girl, barely five if that, had woken up crying, though she was trying to keep quiet. "Oh, poor dear…" I immediately went to her, carefully weaving my way around all the nappers before sitting next to her. "Do you want a hug?"
"I want my mommy…" she whimpered. I caught one caretaker, a young boy somewhere around twelve, wince and realized that her mom had probably died. "I miss my mommy."
"I'm sorry, sweetie," I murmured. Very carefully, I stroked her hair and after a moment, she climbed into my lap so that I could hug her. "I wish I could just wave my hand and make your mom appear, but I can't. But I'm sure she's thinking of you right now."
"Really?"
"Yes. I miss my mom too, but I know she loves me and watches over me, even though I don't get to see her." I kissed her hair and began rocking her. Absently, I noticed Hestia head over to one of the caretakers to lick their hand and generally be cute and comforting. The child (because, really, they were all children) immediately hugged her and buried their face in her fur. "So, when you're feeling better, you should do lots of fun things. Then you can tell her all about the wonderful things you've done and the nice people you've met."
"...I miss her…"
"I know, sweetie. I know."
I continued doing what I could to reassure her, and when she fell back asleep, tended to the next one who woke up, this time from nightmares. Giving what comfort I could and letting their caretakers take their own little breather. At Innana's urging, many of them actually shyly walked up for hugs, which I gave freely. It was the least I could do, and I had to admit that I was glad that Inanna put so much trust in me now. I'd definitely keeping working hard to be worthy of it.
"Thank you so much for the help," Inanna told me once the last of the children had settled back for their naps. And a few of the babysitters joining them in slumberland, though off in the corner to be out of the way. "A lot of them don't sleep because of their own nightmares, I've noticed."
"I'm definitely adjusting duty rosters, because you all shouldn't have to shoulder this all on your own," I whispered. I wondered who came up with it? There needed to be at least one adult around. What if there was an emergency? "I can try to get that done today, but more likely, the switch will happen tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is fine." She giggled when her leopard-kitten nosed her cheek, but then became sad for some reason. "So, Anat has a name for her leopard."
"She does, yes." I didn't know it yet. Anat said she'd tell me when she was done with her messages for the morning. "Have you named yours?"
"No…" She sighed and cuddled with her leopard-kitten. Who adored the attention and playfully batted at her. "I think of some, but…" She looked down briefly before returning her attention to me. "How did you pick Hestia's name?"
"Hestia's?" At her name, Hestia appeared at my side, pressing herself into my leg in an effort to get pets. Which worked, of course. "Well, 'Hestia' is actually from many Isaachian stories."
"Really?"
"Yes. It's the name of a fairy of flames, who kept a warm home. In the stories, she granted sanctuary to the lost and weary, and tended to them while they healed." Now that I thought about it… 'Hekate' was the name of another fairy in the stories. When one had to purify and ghost, it was her name that was invoked, for she was a being who lived in the liminal space between the realms of the living and dead, and thus, one who could assist the wandering souls of the lost. I wondered why Conall picked that name. "Since she was such a comfort, I went with that. Well, that and the fact that she liked it."
"I see." She became thoughtful. "Maybe I should just say names and see if she reacts."
"You'll figure it out. I promise." I ruffled her hair and she giggled, chipper again. "Seems like everyone is napping peacefully now. You'll get that list for me?"
"Either by the end of today or tomorrow."
"Go for tomorrow. Some might have to think a bit." I kissed her forehead and headed for the door, Hestia faithfully keeping at my side. "Until later."
I ended up delaying a little bit, mostly because the babysitter-caretakers wanted a little more advice, hugs, and Hestia's comfort. So, I lingered, doing my best to answer questions and be as reassuring as possible. Only when the last one went back to work (or their own nap) did I leave, with Hestia following after a moment to give a couple one last lick. Then I headed down the hall, mentally noting what I'd need to do and who I'd need to talk to. Most of it would have to be later today, sadly, but I could at least make my plan and...
"I figured I'd find you around here." Lester caught me in a hug as I turned a corner and I laughed and returned it. "So, how are the children?" he asked, gesturing for me to follow him. Hestia ran ahead a bit, mostly just to run. "Napping okay?"
"They miss their parents, have nightmares, and seriously, who the hell thought it was a good idea to force their care onto a bunch of barely older children?" I sighed, leaning briefly into his side. Almost all of them had… "Dare I ask why they're 'refugees'? And why there's so many children?"
"Apparently, Bloom is completely focused on 'dealing with the rebels', meaning taking Leonster, and as a result, bandits get to run amok." He grimaced. "That's assuming, of course, that they're… you know… bandit-bandits. Not just people who turned to banditry because Bloom keeps the taxes too freaking high."
"I suppose in theory it's an effective way to reduce the chances of rebellion?" If you taxed the people until they could barely afford the cost of living, then… again, in theory, it left them will little time to plan and act on rebelling. "In practice, if you give someone nothing to lose…"
"Then they have everything to gain." Lester sighed. "That's basically what's happened. We started because we were tired of watching people die or worse. People join us because what do they have to lose? Their lives? What lives?"
"Yeah…" And while you could argue 'the lives of the children', they were already traumatized and scarred. And with the Child Hunts, you would likely lose them anyway. "If we go to Miletos, I'm deeply afraid of what we'll find."
"Why?"
"Hilda supposedly rules there. She's the one who beat Tailtiu to death, for fun. And tortures civilians. For fun."
"...I swear to the gods that if we see entrails strewn about the place like ribbons…"
"Oh, ew, gross!" I shoved him (lightly), and shuddered. "Ugh! I didn't need that mental image!"
"Haven't you seen worse with Hestia's kills?"
"Hestia doesn't try to decorate cities!" And I froze when I realized something. "Wait, where is Hestia?" Because while she had been just in front of us, she… ah… wasn't now. Nor was she in sight. "Oh, gods damn it."
"Really?" Lester sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sometimes, I swear she does it on purpose because she thinks we're being too serious or something."
"Or she decided she didn't like that glorious mental image!" I glared and he held up his hands in a pacifying/surrendering gesture. "Seriously, where did that even come from?" I held up a hand to stop him when he opened his mouth. "That was rhetorical. Rhetorical. Let's just find my wolf before she breaks or steals something."
"Fine, fine." Lester paused though, thinking. "Wait, isn't the kitchen on this hall?"
"...Shit."
We thankfully caught Hestia before she stole anything from the cooks, but it was a near thing. Most of the kitchen assistants today were actually refugees, meaning they didn't know anything about Hestia or her cleverness. Which meant that Hestia had pretended to be cute and all while sneakily creeping towards the nice big roast that was cooling. And I'd caught her just seconds before she bit the thing to steal it.
"I am so sorry about her," I sighed, keeping a firm grip on Hestia while I apologized to the head cook, whose name escaped me for the moment because damn it, names. Lester had been with me to help with damage control, but he had to go drop something important off with Iuchar. Sooner the better. "I think she's trying to get revenge on me for being gone for so long."
"Lady Riona, believe it or not, it actually cheers my little old heart to see her back to her tricks," the head cook laughed. She was a charming older lady with hair as white as snow frizzing up around her face. She'd joined us in Rivough, if I remembered correctly. The beaded necklace she wore was the last present she ever got from her son, who died in the labor camps, while the scarf in her hair was made by her eldest granddaughter. Could remember all of that, and not her name. "Hestia was just so despondent without you. If she wasn't with one of the Scions, she was laying in your room, clearly waiting for your return."
"Until she saw the opportunity to sneak out, at least." Still, I did scratch Hestia behind the ear and Hestia pressed against my side so that I could really get in there through her fur. "Still, she should at least try to not steal one of the centerpieces of the meal!"
"Now that, I will agree with." She leaned down and wagged her finger at Hestia. "You need to also not scare my assistants. They're all lovely, but timid. And you are very big."
"That she is." And I noticed quite a few of the new ones eyeing Hestia warily. Those who had been here for a while did their best to reassure, but that would take a few more meetings. Not helped by how 'out of control' she likely seemed with this little trick. "Anyway, did Oifeye eat breakfast?"
"He did! Ever since Lady Lachesis joined us, she's been quite keen on making sure he gets all his meals. Same with King Shanan and, now, Lord Finn." She sighed happily, chuckling. "I must say that Lady Lachesis and Lord Finn are so sweet. Reminds me of when my husband was alive, gods bless his memory."
"I'm just glad they seem to be doing well." I grabbed Hestia's fur when I saw her eyeing some fresh bread. "You'd think you never eat with how you go after food!" I rolled my eyes and began dragging her out. "I look forward to the meal!"
My plan had been to take Hestia outside, so that she could run off this excess energy and go hunting. However, to my surprise, Yuria was just a short distance away, apparently waiting for me. "War Council has been called for that information you wanted to give," she informed me softly. I nodded, only a little surprise. While I'd meant to report it all immediately, my exhaustion led to that being deferred. I'd instead written down things that were priority, and then everything else would wait. "Here, I'll walk with you to there. It's in a different room than before."
"Thanks, Yuria," I whispered. However, I studied her, mentally debating something. What I had wanted to tell everyone… warn everyone about… "Yuria, would you like to listen in?"
"Me?" She pointed to herself, confused. "Why me?"
"The information… I believe you have a right to know. But…" I sighed and petted Hestia just to have something to do. "It might send you into a panic."
"...You found out something about the incident that led to me losing my memories?"
"Maybe." I sighed, already kind of regretting even bringing this up to her. But shielding her might just be worse? Maybe? "Big maybe."
"But it's at least related to someone from…" She fell silent, and I waited for her. Waited for her to come to a decision. And, eventually, she did. "I… I want to try. Because I think it's important." She shakily took my hand, but her eyes were resolute. "Linoan is already watching the infirmary, so…"
"Got it." I squeezed her hand reassuringly, and nudged Hestia to stand at her side. Gods, please let this be okay… "Then, let's go."
Yuria wasn't the only 'odd addition' to the War Council. Leif and Nanna were at the table next to each other, in between Seliph and Diarmuid, and they looked around curiously, like they were comparing it to something. Uncle Finn was in the back part with Oifeye, Shanan, and Aunt Lachesis, leaning on Aunt Lachesis's chair while the four chatted about something quietly. Tine was also here, hiding a bit behind Arthur and Fee while Fee and Larcei had an animated talk about some strategy that I was sure would work more 'in theory' than reality, and Arthur actually talked with Lester about horses, instead of being silent as he normally was. Took a second to find Lana, Lester, and Patty, mostly because they were in the back corner for some reason, but their smiles hinted they were having a fun talk anyway. Iuchar and Ulster were much closer, discussing axes and techniques, and I noticed that we might need a bigger table if we were going to have this many people in the War Council.
Seliph had been silent, probably thinking about something, but he smiled when he saw me. He looked a little confused at Yuria, but gestured for her to join everyone at the table. Yuria shook her head, though, and actually darted to the back where the adults were. Specifically where Oifeye was, and he immediately gave her a hug, sensing something was off. I thought it was all smart, personally. If she did panic, Oifeye was probably best suited to help her.
"Sorry to be late," I commented, taking my place by Seliph, with Hestia sitting in between him and me. Ulster moved so that he was standing next to me and kissed my head when he noticed I was a bit off. I wasn't looking forward to this. "Am I the last one?"
"No, Lewyn's not here," Iuchar pointed out. I looked around the room again and saw he was right. Lewyn wasn't here. Where the hell was he? I hadn't seen him at all since my return. "So, are we waiting for him or waiting for him to slip in and make a dramatic entrance?"
"Well, I'd like to get this started, since I'm sure everyone here has better things to do than stand in a cramped room all smushed together by a table." I smiled slightly. "I take it that size is why the room was moved?"
"And we might need to move it again."
"Glorious." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, pulling apart a couple of tangles in the process. "Well, whatever. I'm certainly not waiting for Lewyn. Mostly because I'm sure he already knows more than half of it, and is just being 'mysterious' for stupid reasons." I made sure to look at everyone, gauging reactions and moods. Most seemed to agree with me, thankfully. "So, I mentioned things like Reinhardt being in the area, and Cyas likely being south by this point, yes?"
"Cyas?" Leif repeated, sounding surprised. He glanced down at Uncle Finn for something, and he nodded. "I know the name. We have difficulty getting into Leonster thanks to his strategies. Thankfully, he left abruptly, for some reason." I had a feeling the reason was 'Julius, Ishtar, Reinhardt, or Conall needed him'. That just seemed how he was. "Though, he's… we also owe him a debt."
"A dear friend of ours, Mareeta, fell prey to a terrible curse," Nanna explained softly. She fiddled with her hands a bit, but Diarmuid took one to squeeze it reassuringly. "It sent her into a berserking rage, wanting nothing more than to kill. She did her best to fight it, to the point of crying, but it held her spirit tightly. Bishop Cyas was the one who cured her of it, and also made sure she was in a safe place before leaving to continue on his own journey."
"Still, if he's south, then we might meet him when we try to take Manster…" Leif and Nanna exchanged a dark and pained look, hinting there was something deeply personal about Manster. Then again, it was the largest city of the Manster District. "That won't be easy. He's a very skilled tactician, plus the morale boost for having him…"
"One step at a time, Leif," Lester chided, sliding between Diarmuid and Larcei to join the crowd at the table. Larcei shifted down to make room and casually leaned her head on Fee's shoulder briefly. "Also, seriously, next meeting is involving a bigger room."
"I hear that, and I'm used to scrunching up all small," Patty sighed. She and Lana found a place between Arthur and Iuchar, but it was a very tight fit. I had Hestia move to sit more 'behind' Seliph and me, so that I could move down and help make a little more room. Not much, but still. "Oh, whatever. Your note also mentioned meeting Arvis."
"Who is apparently unburnt?"
"I yelled at him instead and it was fantastic," I declared brightly, making sure my smile matched my tone. There was more than a little snickering at that. "Okay, so that means the main thing is-"
"Julius." Tine's quiet voice was surprising, mostly because it was the first time I'd heard her interrupt anyone. "Ishtar was also in Alster, but you wouldn't need report on that like this," she continued softly, hiding behind Arthur. I could still see her eyes, though, and they were sad and knowing. "So, you want to tell them about Julius."
"You're so clever, Tine~!" I made sure to grin at her and she tentatively smiled back. "But yes, Julius. We're going to talk about Julius because Conall doesn't know the proper meaning of words like 'little' and 'complicated'." I sighed, tired from just thinking about all of it. Ulster wrapped a supportive arm around my shoulder. "Though, I can understand the use of 'complicated' because it's not like I've got words for it."
"So, are we starting with how Julius nearly killed you?" Uncle Finn asked softly. The entire room stilled at that. Hestia whimpered and Ulster held me just a little tighter. "Seems like a good place, at least."
"Yes, but we're not going into the full story. I'm tired enough, thank you." I sighed, rubbing my temple. I caught Tine smiling sympathetically, even as she gripped the back of Arthur's shirt. Of course she understood. She was Ishtar's cousin. She had far more experience with Julius than me. "So, basically, Bloom wanted to kill Uncle Finn via public execution. Big surprise, right?" Across the table, I saw Diarmuid pull Nanna into a one-armed hug and she leaned into his side. Aunt Lachesis grabbed Uncle Finn's hand and held on tightly. "Julius suggested putting the body on display."
"He did what now?" Larcei asked, her jaw dropping. No big surprise on that one either since… well… that was probably the one thing Danann didn't do. "That's… nauseating…" She even covered her mouth, and I didn't blame her. We Isaachian raised ones… we believed that bodies had to be properly tended to. Put on display didn't match that. At all. "And you said Julius suggested this?"
"Yes, Seliph's little brother." I briefly glanced at Seliph and saw that he'd gone stoic, trying to hide everything. Leif looked at him worriedly and, after a moment, hesitantly rested his hand on Seliph's shoulder. Seliph lifted his own to briefly touch Leif's hand, a silent recognition and 'thank you'. "I, being me, spoke up-"
"Of all the times to emulate me!"
"Yes, I know. I panicked, okay?" I grimaced, remember that bit of excuse. Uncle Finn still gave me a skeptical look there, but I more focused on Yuria. She was hugging herself, trembling slightly, and Oifeye had his arm around her, talking quietly to no doubt reassure her. Shanan was rubbing her back, and I saw Aunt Lachesis looking at her worriedly. However, Yuria caught my eye and nodded, silently telling me to continue. "So, I spoke up and Julius wanted to know why. Had a bit of an argument."
"Seriously?!" Larcei facepalmed and hid her face in Fee's shoulder. "You argued with him?"
"Yeah, and he nearly killed me. Well, probably more for the insult, but still." I sighed, rubbing my temple again. And my touch lingered on my cheek, remembering that numbness. "He only didn't kill me because, and I more or less quote from here on, he loves me and because, like Conall, I am not afraid of him. That last trait was so 'precious' to him that he didn't want to kill me over 'something so silly'."
"And, to reiterate, the silly thing was the execution of Finn and the desecration of his corpse, right?" Fee asked softly. She looked so… it was hard to describe her expression. Sadness, disgust, pain… "So, the death of his mother turned him into a… um…"
"Trying to remember the difference between 'psychopath' and 'sociopath' so that I could finish that sentence," Iuchar murmured. He didn't look quite as sickened as the rest of us, but then again, he grew up with Danann as a father. "I had heard that Prince Julius was whimsical, but that seems a little…"
"Most people's whims don't involve murder."
"Yes."
"I have heard of people displaying bodies, but Bloom actually cracks down on that," Patty chimed in. She held Lana's hand, while Lana leaned heavily on her. Lester rubbed her back, whispering something I couldn't hear. "Something about it attracting rats, flies, and other things that could help spread disease? And the… ah… pieces potentially falling into people's water and food, depending on the place?"
"Nice to know he's pragmatic," Arthur instantly deadpanned. For some reason, that actually made most of us burst into laughter. I did see Hestia move closer to Seliph, though. "Wonder of freaking wonders."
"If he were really pragmatic, he'd rule well. Not tyrannically, with an longing of wringing the District dry of every drop of resources." Patty grumbled a couple words under her breath, probably some creative cursing based on Lana's impressed look. "Worse in recent years because he's so focused on dealing with 'threats'."
"Meaning us and Leonster," Leif whispered. He looked down sadly briefly before shaking his head and then nodding. "All the more reason to oust him. But we have to time it. I…" He hesitated, but Uncle Finn caught his eye and smiled reassuringly. "I didn't. I let my rashness color my judgement, and we lost a lot of good people. Including Dorias, one of my advisors."
"Yet despite that loss, you held through a siege for so long that the attackers were getting desperate," Seliph said, smiling at Leif. Leif shrugged and looked away, embarrassed. "That is amazing, truly."
"I think it's more a testament to the skill of the people around me, personally."
"And yet, they chose to follow you, so have a bit more faith in their judgment," Diarmuid chided, smiling softly. Then he grinned. "Or fake it like the rest of us. Either-or." And that sparked another round of laughter. "So, Riona, all of this was because you wanted to tell us Julius went insane? Violently insane?"
"Except no healer can find anything wrong with him," I countered, perhaps a touch harshly. It was more frustration than anything, but Ulster did use his free hand to poke my cheek in quiet rebuke. "No poison, no illness, nothing at all wrong with his brain or anything. And we're talking about some of the best healers in Jugdral researching constantly for the past four years." Silence fell. "If you just looked at his health, then aside from being prone to normal illnesses, he should be fine. There's no sort of traumatic brain injury or anything that would lead to such a difference in personality."
"So, dark magic?"
"Could be. Could be a curse." I thought of what Cyas said, though. "If that's the case, then no one has been able to break it. Cyas even mentioned that it might take a god to break it, if it is one."
"...So, he just-"
"And while that was a memorable incident, his moods would always swing about wildly. Literally, one moment he would be concerned over a person. The next? Killing someone because they walked too fast or something." I could feel myself sagging just at the memory of it. "Balancing on the edge of a knife every day, wondering whether you'd have 'nice and charming' or 'murderous'. Wondering if he'd kill someone just to make himself feel better or if you could distract him from it because he didn't care either way." It was like… it was like humans were livestock or odd little pets. "And there's one kill that was… interesting."
"Oh, hell, we're going to need calming teas after this, aren't we?" Iuchar groaned, facepalming. I kind of hoped he'd follow it with something gloriously melodramatic, but sadly, that wasn't the case. "Or a bunch of alcohol."
"Warm milk with honey," Ulster corrected. He looked right at Shanan then, and frowned a bit when he noticed how badly Yuria was doing. "You still need to show us the family recipe."
"When we have more of a breather, I suppose we can just have a full cooking lesson or something," Shanan replied. He stepped away from Yuria so that Oifeye could move Yuria a little closer to Aunt Lachesis, who pushed herself up to help with comforting Yuria. Uncle Finn, after a moment, just had Yuria sit down. I felt so guilty… "Maybe we can get Oifeye to make something edible."
"Let's save the miracles for the battlefield, please." And there was a round of laughter, one that got an 'encore' because it took Oifeye a second to even realize there had been a joke at his expense. "Hey, is Yuria-?"
"W-what was interesting about it?" Yuria interrupted, somehow making her question firm despite the shakiness of her voice. She looked right at me, and despite the fact that she had two people holding her, despite the fact that she was trembling and hugging herself… her eyes were resolute. She wanted to hear this. "Riona?"
"It was the wound," I whispered. At first, I looked away from her to address everyone else, almost nauseous with guilt. But then I realized that this, above all else, was probably what she needed to hear and so, I looked back at her. "It was diagonal. Almost like something had tried to rip the person in half." I moved my hand over my torso, to mirror the wound. Larcei and Lana immediately gasped; they picked up on it instantly. "...I'm not sure…" How did I continue this? I didn't…
"It matches my scar." Tears filled Yuria's eyes, but she didn't shed any. Not yet. "It's a perfect mirror of my scar." I saw Leif and Nanna look at each other in confusion. Patty frowned, and tugged on Lana's sleeve. "Leif, Nanna, Patty… Yuria is the name I am using because I lost my memories, but my birth name is Julia. I am Seliph's younger sister, and… and Julius's younger twin." She tripped over the words a few times and, to my knowledge, it was the first time she had ever announced it personally. But still, her voice was firm. "So, it's possible that Julius tried to kill me. And, since I remember… sort of… being sent away by Mother as someone was trying to kill us both..."
"...Perhaps we let that thought rest for now." I closed my eyes, fighting back a grimace. I'd been so startled at the time, but if you took what bits Yuria could remember… and I knew from Conall that Julius had 'seen Deirdre's corpse first'... No, I didn't want to think of that connection yet. Not yet. "But I did want to bring that up, and how…"
"How it's entirely possible that whatever happened to Julius, it increases the chances of us having to kill him," Seliph whispered. I winced, feeling just the worst. I knew how much he had wanted to meet Julius. All of us did. Well, all of us Tirnanog people did. "But if that's the case, then why is Conall still trying to 'fix' him?" Seliph sighed and rubbed at his eyes. Exhaustion, or tears he wouldn't shed. "If you could figure that out in…"
"Well, for one, I didn't grow up with him. Conall did, so I am less 'invested' in Julius than him," I pointed out automatically. Instinctive reaction to try and protect him. But then I sighed. "And because… there was one more strange incident."
"Who died and how?"
"No one." I made sure to look at everyone and saw Tine looking curiously at me. Like she knew what I was talking about, but didn't think it was possible. Or… still possible, rather. "He had some sort of coughing fit or something. I held him while his lungs tried to remove themselves from his chest cavity. Like a cat trying to hack up a hairball or something."
"...Interesting mental image." Still, Seliph smiled slightly, and I was glad. I'd used that analogy in the hopes of making him laugh. "Was the attack unusual?"
"I only saw the one, but I don't know." I looked down, remembering. "When he talked, he sounded more… timid, I suppose. Shyer. And his smile was completely different. Lit up his face differently. Honestly, it was like he was a completely different person. And I didn't get a sense of danger. All I got was a sense of…" I tried to think of a good comparison. "Like trying to hug water or something. Sure, you can get your arms 'around' it, sort of, but in the end, it'll slip away."
"That's a little…"
"And there's something he said then that just won't leave my head." And at the memory, I… I actually felt like crying. "I told him a little bit about you, Seliph. And he asked if you would save him. When I told him that you would, he asked if I would too. I promised I would nd he just looked so relieved…" I had to stop, seriously feeling my eyes burning and a lump forming in my throat. Ulster immediately pulled me into a more 'proper' hug, and the whole room was silent. "He then said that he knew it. That he had accidentally trapped Conall and Ishtar and others, somehow, but he knew that we, all of us here, would make everything right again. That we would save him, and everything. He fell asleep soon after and I didn't really get a chance to clarify, but…" That one incident…
Silence continued, no one really knowing what else to say or do. I certainly didn't. But then, thankfully, Oifeye raised his hand to catch our attention. "I'd say to think more on this, and leave more discussion for another time," he 'suggested' quietly yet firmly. He had a badly shaking Yuria in a hug and was already leading her to the door. "And take at least the afternoon off."
"I can ask Sara if she knows anything too," Leif offered. He was rubbing Seliph's back now, and Seliph was looking down, with his eyes closed to will back tears. "She's got a connection to the Loptyrians, and… well, there's a former priest in my army. Salem. Sadly, he's at Leonster, but…"
"Then let us talk of this again, together, after you talk to him." Oifeye made sure to look at all of us, his eyes sad. "But, for now, rest."
We did actually try to stay to discuss more, but the adults chased us out. Aunt Lachesis took charge of Seliph in particular, though Hestia stuck close to him. Uncle Finn and Shanan herded the rest of us down the hall and at some point during the walk, someone snagged my sleeve. I was surprised to see it was Tine, but when she saw she had my attention, she pointed outside, and so, I followed her out into the gardens. Eventually, we wandered to a great tree, the leaves slowly beginning to change colors, and we sat down among the thick roots and rested against the trunk. It was… wonderfully relaxing, truthfully, but I couldn't help but remember the tree I had hidden in back at Alster, the one Julius had rotted with a touch.
"When that happens, we say it's the 'old' Julius," Tine quietly explained. She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around legs, resting her chin on her knees. "What you were talking about, when he talking about 'saving'."
"It really did feel like I was looking at a completely different person," I murmured, looking up at the leaves. They swayed in the wind, and I wondered what the wind said. Would've been so helpful to have Lewyn around to tell us, but nope! Nowhere to be found! Did he leave the army or something? It wasn't like he was social or anything, so if he had, we probably wouldn't be able to notice. "I'm… guessing it's that 'old self' that leads to…"
"That and it was slow." Her eyes wavered, as if with tears, but she was too tired and worn to cry. At least about this. "At the start, he was mostly normal. That's when he and Ishtar started dating. Back when he was normal. And Conall would research and Cyas would take care of everyone. Reinhardt kept a watchful eye."
"And gradually, it got worse."
"Yes. The times where his old self shows are few and far between. He's even taken to threatening Conall, and he didn't used to. Only Ishtar escapes threats, but the people around her…" Tine flinched and hid her face in her knees. "She's never had a lot of friends, but Julius threatens the few she has."
"Like Reinhardt."
"I'm surprised he hasn't killed Reinhardt yet. I really am." She looked up again, smiling bitterly. So very bitterly. "I keep wishing that Conall would just… take Ishtar away to somewhere safe. Be the knight in shining armor. Even though Conall has never been 'knightly'. Arvis…" Again, her eyes wavered. "When I told Arvis, he whispered he used to think the same about his mother. That Prince Kurth would save her from the demon that was his father."
"So, is Ishtar in love with Conall?" Not sure why my mind jumped to that. Maybe it was because even I knew the story of Cigyun and her tragic love with Prince Kurth. Oifeye had told me. "You don't have to answer, of course."
"Sadly, I have no idea." She sighed and hid her face in her knees again. "I know she loves Julius, or at least the old Julius, but Ishtar doesn't really confide in me. She tries to be the strong one. But while Ishtar and Conall always been close, I do think that there's been a shift in how she feels. Not just the strong friendship they've had since they met, but…"
"And Conall?"
"Conall doesn't confide in anyone, save Ishtar maybe. Well, probably talks more with Arion, but I don't really know Arion, so…" She shrugged, still hiding. "If he wants something to be secret, it remains secret. And Ishtar has always gotten his best smiles, so…"
"I see." Truthfully, I shouldn't have even asked. It was only my business if they made it mine, but I couldn't help but be curious. And I couldn't help but remember what Julius had said about accidentally 'trapping' them. "Cyas thinks there's no way to save him."
"I don't think so either. I haven't for a while." She turned her head to look at me, resting her cheek on her knees. "I'm honestly not sure if Ishtar and Conall think there is either. They just can't simply give up on him."
"Blinding themselves to cling to hope…" Conall, that… that wasn't a 'neutral' path at all. My silly, hurting twin… Next time I saw you, I was giving you a big hug. "Or, rather, letting hope burn their eyes shut."
"What will you do about them?"
"Save them, hopefully. We'll certainly try." I smiled bitterly. "I'm sure it doesn't mean much from me, considering Ishtore died. And I can't even promise that we will save… well, either of them, but I've got more tricks for Conall than Ishtar."
"And you'll try. You'll try for both of them. Even Ishtar." She smiled sadly, yet there was a sweetness to it. "And… and I'll try too. I'm still not too sure about… um… fighting with you all. But I know you're sincere and that you do your best." She lifted her head finally, a determined light in her eyes now. "Ishtar has always been there for me. Ever since I came to Alster, she was there for me. Helping me." She looked up at the leaves, watching them move with the breeze. "I want to help her. I want to be strong enough to support her. Strong enough that she knows I can support her. So, I'll try too."
"You'll probably have much better luck than us."
"I hope so." She sighed. "I hope so." And the conversation might've ended there, but that was when I remembered something. Because, typical me, I remembered things a tad late.
"Tine, did I give you Ishtar's letter?" I facepalmed when she shook her head. "Can't believe I forgot. Here." I stood up and brushed myself off before offering my hand. After a moment of hesitation, she took it and let me pull her up. "Here, let's get that to you. Maybe it'll give a clue to how we can save her from herself."
Saving, saving, saving. Save Jugdral. Save the people. But could we save a single person? And what qualified as 'saving' anyway? Curing? Mercy-killing? Why must the world be so complicated?
"Thank you for organizing the medicines for me, Riona," Aunt Lachesis murmured, a little more focused on the book she was reading than her words. I didn't blame her, though. One of the refugees had come down with an illness that no one seemed to recognize, so we had to research just what it was. So, here Aunt Lachesis was, sitting at a table set up in the medicine closet while I worked. "Augh… how did Alicia memorize all of this stuff?"
"Well, based on the stories, it's a damn miracle that Conall and I even got conceived with how much of a workaholic Mom was," I pointed out, dusting the shelves. Organizing meant cleaning too, after all. "Could also be that she had a good memory for that sort of thing. Like how Diarmuid can remember the exact number of swords we have in the armory, but not where he left his pen. Or how I can never remember names for the life of me, but can make medicines in my sleep."
"Quite true." Still, she was grinning and I had a feeling she was biting back laughter. "I will admit that one of my first thoughts, once the excitement of hearing about her pregnancy had died down, was 'wait, when did they even have the time to have sex?'."
"Ah, just what every teenager wants to hear. Her parents' sex lives."
"No worse than the well-meaning, but nosy ladies who keep prodding me over whether or not Finn and I will try for a third child or not." She rolled her eyes and flipped through a few pages, stopping at one and running her finger down it to look for something specific. "Honestly."
"People are seriously asking you that?" I rolled my eyes and coughed when I accidentally dusted dust into my face. "Blech. Dust tastes horrible. Almost as bad as Oifeye's cooking." I made a face before shrugging. "Anyway, maybe they think you're younger than you are?"
"Are you calling your aunt old, Riona?" She gasped, comically offended with her hand over her heart even, before laughing and shrugging. "Could be. I did notice some surprise when I told someone that I was thirty-seven." As soon as she said the number, her good mood shattered like a glass. "Thirty-seven… that's over eleven years past the age Sigurd lived. He and Quan were twenty-six. Ethlyn had been twenty." Hearing that made me pause. I'd never realized Ethlyn had been so young. That's how old Seliph was. "Eldie had been… twenty-four." Made me wonder how old Ares would be. I… think he was just two years older than Seliph, so twenty-two? "Ah, never mind me." She waved her hands in front of her, 'wiping' away the thoughts like I was wiping away dirt from the shelf. Whoever cleaned last didn't do a good job. "But I guess that is a good lead-in to more serious talk."
"Like…?"
"How you're recovering." She returned to her researching, cross-checking with the piece of paper where all of the sick person's symptoms were listed. As well as semi-recent medical history. Juuuust in case. "You were captured and in enemy territory, and what you told us wasn't exactly…"
"I think I'm doing okay." I paused in my cleaning, biting my lip. "The main thing is that I don't know what to do, nor do I know how to try and 'fix' things."
"Regarding Julius, you mean."
"Yeah." I sighed and rested my head against the shelf briefly before drying everything off and actually organizing the medicines. Via returning them to the shelf in a proper order. "Then I feel like I should've gotten more information. Tried to throw what weight I have. Just…"
"From what you said, and from what Finn told me, you had your hands full making sure Julius didn't kill massacre the city on a whim."
"Worst part is that I think that's an underestimation. I really do." I mean… Julius turned a man to mush and made a tree rot with… "Hey, Aunt Lachesis?"
"Hmm?"
"Have…?" Without really thinking about it, I rested a hand over my Mark, remembering how it had burned then. It had never happened before, and hadn't happened since. But I was certain I hadn't imagined it. "Have you ever heard of the Marks burning?
"The Holy Marks?" She glanced at me curiously before flipping to another page. "Mmm… no, not that… Well, actually…" She leaned forward a bit, like she found something, but then she sighed and sat back in her chair and flipped to another page. Whatever this disease was, it wasn't proving easy to identify, it seemed. "There's an old story about how the Marks would always know the power of Loptyr and warn the bearers of their blessing, which could be a burning feeling, I suppose." She shrugged. "That all said, it's a very old story and nothing else even remotely hints to it."
"I see." Power of Loptyr? Was that why? It only happened once, but… in that case, though, why would…
Wait, no, of course, the Loptyrians would have the power of Loptyr. Why else would they come out and be all powerful and everything? Yes, most people thought it was all Arvis's doing, so people didn't think of Loptyr, but from what I knew, Arvis didn't have anything to do with it. So, of course, the Loptyrians had found a Loptyr Major. But who was it? Julius, perhaps? The Mark on his forehead had been a darker red than my own Fjalar Mark. To most people, red was red, but what if Loptyr's Mark was a 'dark red' to Fjalar's 'fire red'? Though, even if that was the case, how would Julius be Loptyr Major? Arvis was Fjalar, and Deirdre was Naga, and no one person could bear two Majors…
"Aunt Lachesis, can a Major be born from a Minor?" I asked, returning to my cleaning. Then I grimaced because that was out of nowhere. Well, so had the first one, but… "I mean… um…"
"Wondering what stories I might've learned compared to Oifeye?" she asked, distracted by her research. I sighed in relief that she came up with an answer. "Anyway, according to the stories, the answer is 'yes', but only if two Minors of the same Holy Blood got together and had a child. Most of the time, care is taken to make sure that doesn't happen, to prevent there from being multiple people with Major Blood running about and making a mess of political stuff. You've got a similar thing with Major-Minor pairings, though in that case, they're simply 'strongly encouraged' to only have one child." She shrugged, far more focused on the book. The excitement in her face hinted she might've identified the disease, but she was making sure before declaring anything. "There was talk of marrying Oifeye and Ethlyn together once, actually."
"Really?" I'd never heard that. "Why?"
"Because Sigurd didn't show any inclination for marrying. Or even courting, really. Not until Deirdre. When we got the invitation, I had to read it ten times to even remotely believe it was real." She double-checked the list of symptoms, carefully comparing them to whatever was in the book. "After Ethlyn married Quan, many people bemoaned the fact that the next generation likely wouldn't have Major Baldr. Ignoring how arranged marriages are technically a thing."
"Interesting." But my mind was more on the first thing she said. That it was possible, if born from two Minors. So, if Julius really was Major Loptyr, then Arvis and Deirdre would've both been Loptyr Minor. But how did that happen? Considering the Loptyrian Hunts, where would someone of Loptyrian blood even live? ...Wait, of course. Deirdre was from the Spirit Forest. Based on the stories I knew, that was definitely a good place to hide. But then where did Arvis get the blood? Had it always been in the… no, that wasn't possible either. Children only inherited one Holy Blood from a parent. That meant that Arvis's mother had to have had it...
"You look like you're thinking yourself in circles."
"I am, and I'm not even sure if it's an important circle or not." I sighed and shook my head. Better to think more on that when I had paper to keep track of things. "So, subject change!" I grinned at her over my shoulder, because if there was one thing I was good at, it was smiling through just about anything. "Connecting to something hinted towards before we got all serious and everything, are things going well with Uncle Finn? They look it, but…"
"Well, we're still adapting to each other. There are new traumas. New scars. New nightmares. New things to compromise on." She smiled softly, though, her eyes filled with love and contentment. "But, at his heart, he's still the same squire I fell in love with all those years ago, and I'm still the spoiled brat who he somehow fell in love with." She giggled and then sighed happily. "So, we make it work, and will make it work."
"I'm glad." Though it would've been understandable, it would've been heartbreaking if they couldn't be together. If everything had changed too much for them to 'make it work'. "I'm sure Mom's smiling."
"Alicia smiled a lot, during those days." She sighed and leaned back in her chair, stretching out her neck slowly. "I wish… it's rather sad, though."
"What is?"
"Out of all the couples in the army, only Finn and I…"
"...Ah." That was right. By this point, all of the various couples… either one or both were dead. Long dead, in some cases. "I heard you two eloped?"
"Yes, though it was always just meant to be a promise. Ultimately, though, that's our wedding. Nothing like I envisioned, but at the same time, my 'dream wedding' can never happen. Too many people I would've want involved are gone." She laughed, though, and went back to her research. "Still, I can't say I regret it. Eloping, I mean. It was very nice, and I was very happy."
"Oifeye told me that you two had Mom as your witness." I finally finished with one shelf and moved to the next one to clean and organize it. "Why her? If you don't mind me asking."
"A few reasons, including how both of us were very close with her. But chief among those reasons was that both of us knew she wouldn't stop us. She was like that." She giggled, back to her research. "So long as it didn't hurt people, she… mostly let people do what they wanted. She was a bit stricter when it came to you and Conall, but even then, it was born from her desire for you two to not be hurt." She smiled warmly, yet sadly. "Everyone else we might've wanted… Finn and I weren't sure if they'd try to talk us out of it or not, and it was important to us. We knew it was silly, and possibly ill-advised, but it was important."
"And Mom would go along with it, because it's what you wanted and it wouldn't be entirely detrimental to your health."
"Precisely. And she got all into it too." Her eyes were distant now, no doubt 'looking' at the little chapel in Silesse where she and Uncle Finn married. "Fancied up one of my dresses, make me a little veil. Even gathered some fresh flowers to braid into my hair and use as a bouquet."
"It sounds like fun."
"It was." Her eyes danced when she looked over at me. "I'm not sure you and Seliph can get away with it, though."
"There are way too many things going on to even think about marriage." Still, I knew I turned red. Bright red, based on how much my face hurt. "A-anyway, next practice session, do you mind showing me a few more tricks to add to my repertoire?"
"That's a bad subject change, but of course I'll teach you." She laughed, distinctly amused. "I can't fight properly, sadly, but I can at least help with that. I'll be teaching some people staves over the next few days."
"Good, we need more healers." And I didn't want to be teased about romance at the moment, so desperately, I tried to think of a subject change. A lighthearted subject change, since I was guessing she wanted that. "So…"
"Lachesis, how are you doing?" Enter Oifeye, beacon of convenience. "Any luck?" he asked, bringing in some fresh candles for us to use. I absently lit them as he set them out, 'tossing' the little flames while I cleaned. "His sister was asking."
"I think I have it narrowed down to two, but honestly we need to do a little test to be sure," Aunt Lachesis explained, showing him the page. However, she suddenly smirked and winked at me. "That said, I just asked Riona about what I should say to the lovely men and women all asking me about your availability."
"My… availability?" Oifeye frowned, confused, and I had to fight back laughter. Aunt Lachesis contained hers to snickering. "Why would they need to meet me?"
"Oh, for dates, perhaps?" Aunt Lachesis grinned. "Basically, what should I say to the people asking me about whether you're single or not?"
I just about died of laughter at Oifeye's completely undignified squawk. It was just too funny!
I could get to like mornings, at least mornings where neither Seliph nor I had anything to do. After letting Hestia out to go hunting with Lester, I just lazed about in bed while Seliph slept beside me. Well, not lazed-lazed. I still did some work. Mostly reviewing some paperwork. When I was done with that, though, I began writing down everything I could think of about Julius's heritage and potential Loptyr blood. Because hopefully seeing it would help me or something. Honestly, it might've been better to wait to do this until Leif talked to Salem. Or until Sara said something. I mean; Leif and Nanna had both asked her, but Sara had gently refused to say anything, specifically stating that it was better for someone nice 'like Salem' to say it. She would if she had to, of course, but she'd rather he did it. Which already seemed to hint that Cyas was right. Whatever happened to Julius had no cure. So, it was really just a matter of figuring out what, and how. Or really the 'how', because I hoped that the 'how' could help us find a weakness or… something. I didn't know. It just felt important. So, I kept track of my logic, and kept track of my questions. Chief among them being 'who exactly was Cigyun?' and 'if they do have the Loptyr tome, how the hell did they get it?'.
Of course, it didn't matter because I was suddenly kicked, and I frowned at Seliph, annoyed at the disruption. Then I gasped and threw the paper and pens to the side because he was tossing and turning, caught in a nightmare. "Seliph?" I called, leaning over him and shaking his shoulder. He woke with a gasp, breathing heavily and coughing. "Hey, Seliph." I leaned a little more over him, letting my hair fall over my shoulder almost like a curtain to block out everything else. "Easy. You're awake now."
"Am I?" he croaked, still coughing. His hand shook as he reached up to touch my face. "You're here, right? Really here?"
"Yep." I shifted a bit so that I could lightly pinch his cheek. "Really here and really real."
"And you know who I am, right?"
"You are Seliph, the nefarious thief who stole my heart before I even knew it." I smiled down at him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Though, I suppose I just replaced mine with yours or something."
"You must have." He caressed my cheek and slowly relaxed, though his breathing was still a little shaky. "Morning?"
"And it's a very good morning for you to wake up to such a lovely sight, yes?" I leaned down and brushed a kiss over his mouth. "Bad nightmare?"
"Very." He threaded his hand through my hair before pulling me in for a slightly longer kiss. "I dreamed I led everyone into a trap, and you just… watched. Because you didn't know us." His eyes wavered. "The others…"
"Are just fine, or were when we said goodnight to them yesterday." I smiled slightly, raising an eyebrow. "But seriously, Seliph. Can you really see me not leaping to people's aid?"
"Well, you didn't have your memories." He did smile, though. "That said, it is hard to imagine. Maybe if you were told we were people like General Richard or Danann."
"Maybe." I laid down on my side and pulled him into a hug. He ducked his head, so that his ear was over my heart, and I ran my hands through his hair, carefully picking apart the tangles. I'd brush it properly later tonight. For now, I just held him for however long it was, feeling him slowly and surely relax and his breathing even out. "Are you feeling better?"
"Much." He suddenly shifted and kissed my neck. I gasped without thinking about it and felt him smirk. "I find it amusing how many sensitive spots you have there."
"Watch it, mister. I know where you're ticklish." I tried to scowl at him, but I could only laugh as he rolled us over so that he was pinning me to the bed. "My, my. Here I am, at your mercy. What a lovely way to thank your lady love."
"I was wondering what would be a good way to show how much I appreciate you." He kissed me, and then kissed me right under the jaw. "What's a good way, dear?"
"Well…" I struggled to not squirm as he kissed down my neck. "You're doing a great job so far, physically wise. Maybe some words of praise and adoration?"
"How flowery? Iuchar levels?"
"Tempting, but…" And, of course, that's when someone knocked on the door. Because what else was going to happen? "Please tell me I didn't hear that."
"For crying out loud, we have the morning off…" Seliph groaned and pulled the blankets over both of us. I couldn't help but giggle. "Think we can get away with pretending to be asleep?"
"Like you would." I did pull him down into a hug and kissed the top of his head. "Because you'll worry it's an emergency."
"Damn my responsible self." He sighed and kissed me soundly before rolling off the bed and onto his feet. "Let's see who it is."
The answer, it turned out, was Leif and Diarmuid. A very apologetic Leif, and a decidedly not-apologetic Diarmuid. "Aw, what a shame," Diarmuid teased as soon as the door was open. "You're both clothed. Sleeping-clothes, but still."
"You want me to answer the door while naked?" Seliph asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Diarmuid just smirked. Leif, hilariously, went red. "No, sorry, you don't get that kind of show from me, Diarmuid."
"I suppose I'll have to content myself with admiring all the others in our army." Diarmuid sighed mournfully. "There are just so many gorgeous people in this army. It's ridiculous. Nearly too much for my poor pansexual heart."
"It does mean we get a nice view no matter where we look, though!" I joked, laughing. Seliph rolled his eyes again and then playfully looked hurt. "You, my dearest love, have nothing to fear. To me, you are the loveliest sight. After all, you are my one true love, the soulmate of my heart and very being."
"Save for Hestia," Seliph immediately deadpanned. Diarmuid just laughed and laughed, and Leif was resembling a rotten tomato. "I have to compete with her."
"Well, it is Hestia."
"True, true."
"Gods, I love you two," Diarmuid managed through his laughter. He then patted Leif on the head, still snickering. "Ah, sorry. Don't think you've seen us banter like that before."
"Diarmuid, stop acting like the older one," I teased, leaning against Seliph. Seliph wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my temple. "Leif's older than you by… like… three months."
"I'm just showing affection for the boy who has a crush on my little sister," Diarmuid replied with great dignity. Leif promptly squawked some sort of noise, and the three of us, being horrible, giggle-snicker-laughed. "Okay, more seriously, if we're going too far, hit us in the head or something."
"Yes, please. Everyone has their own boundaries."
"Seriously, it's like I'm back in Fiana again," Leif grumbled, still red. Seliph and Diarmuid looked curious about that, but I just smiled. "Anyway, the whole point of coming to bother you was that I wanted to talk with you about what sort of role Nanna, Linoan, Sara, Finn, and I will be playing in the army? Diarmuid was showing me the way."
"Are we talking present or future?" Seliph asked, becoming thoughtful. I ducked back into the room and found the papers he'd need for this discussion. "The two will be slightly different, since in the future, we'll be integrated your forces into the main army, and I don't know how your people will want to do that." He took the papers from me and kissed me. "Thanks, Riona."
"I think the study just down the hall should be empty, if you two want to talk privately," I told him, smiling warmly. "Diarmuid and I will send food there and then… I don't know… watch the soldiers train?"
"Don't forget that you have a morning meeting."
"Right, about delegating things more and getting more officers. I'm working with Oifeye and Uncle Finn on that." I shrugged and nudged Diarmuid. "You? I know you have a bunch of afternoon meetings, but..."
"I have a meeting at the same time you do with Iuchar and Lester about reorganizing the cavalry," Diarmuid answered. That's when we noticed Leif giving us weird looks. "What? We can be serious. Sort of. Sometimes."
"But that's for later. Well, for Diarmuid and me," I replied with a great big grin. Then I started nudging the door shut. "I think Seliph and I need to get ready for the day. Diarmuid, let's go find a good place to enjoy the view and pass the time before our meetings, shall we?"
Just another day, really. But I treasured these days, especially now. I swore I'd go mad without them.
"So, Larcei, I've a quick question," I began absently, desperately fighting back laughter. She looked at me suspiciously, setting down the paper she'd been reading. "You mean to give me this poorly written love letter?"
"Wait, what?" she asked. She snatched the paper from me and groaned. "Damn it! I thought I burned all of these!"
"Are your soldiers sending you love letters disguised as reports?" I lost the battle with my laughter and actually fell off the windowseat we were both sitting on. "Oh dear gods!"
After our now-traditional lunch with the army, Larcei snagged me to help her get through a backlog of reports, using a parlor instead of her more typical 'office' for a change of scenery. Shanan, thankfully, would be officially assisting her in leading the infantry, but we were definitely going to have to split things further (hence my meeting with Oifeye and Uncle Finn). We were just getting too large, and with some of the refugees volunteering to fight for us… plus we needed someone to help coordinate all of our 'army-related civilians' or whatever the proper term was. Like the cooks, messengers… lots of work to be done, and since my 'duties' were so varied and the like, it fell on me to reorganize things. When I wasn't dying from laughter as I was now.
"Okay… okay… I can breathe…" I wheezed, leaning against Larcei's legs. She scowled and huffed, and immediately set her papers to the side to mess with my hair. "Now that initial reaction is done, you want me to burn it?" She dropped the offending paper in my lap. "Got it. A pile of ash, just for you~!" I did my best to catch all the ash from the former-paper and held up my hand. "What do you want to do with it?"
"This." She opened up the window and moved my hand so that she could blow the ash out said window. "Well, I feel a bit better now."
"Has this happened a few times?"
"More than a few."
"Okay, I'll get that addressed." I tipped my head back to look at her and twisted my hand so that I could squeeze her reassuringly before wiping off the residual ash on the floor. "Has this happened a lot?"
"Often enough that I'm questioning whether they take me seriously or not." She grimaced, closing the window. "And I'm not sure what to do differently."
"Should check to make sure none of the others have experienced this." I did hope that it was just some well-intentioned, lovesick fools who didn't understand how badly their efforts came across. "I will definitely make sure it's addressed."
"Via scolding?"
"I'll let a few women know, women who definitely know what it feels like to be harrassed." I grinned at her. "We can also tell Aunt Lachesis."
"...Oh, gods, let me do that. I want to see her reaction." She snickered and moved to sit down on the floor next to me. "I keep forgetting we have more adults to depend on. I didn't want to trouble Oifeye when he's got work literally overflowing his desk."
"And we also want to impress him. And Shanan. Emphasize that we can stand on… mostly equal ground." And since Shanan was now helping Larcei, she really wanted to seem his equal. "But speaking of more adults, how have you been?"
"About the sheer irony that Diarmuid, who firmly believed his parents were dead gets his parents back?" Her voice was dry enough to spark flames, but she simply sighed. "Well, I won't deny that I'm bitter. I want my parents. I want my mother's hugs. I want to ride on my father's shoulders… well, more like his back, given my size. I want to hear their words of praise, instead of hearing 'they would have been so proud of you'." She rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. "But, at the same time, I'm so happy for him. And I'm more than a little smug that I was at least right about him."
"You got to say 'I told you so' yet?"
"I did during our talk. And I might use that to get him to go along with a scheme or two." She snickered. "Anyway, I think I'm happier than I am bitter. But I won't deny that little ache."
"Yeah, I know the feeling." I rested my head against hers. "Can't help but wonder how loving my parents were with each other."
"You get the stories, but what happened behind closed doors… we'll likely never know that."
"Unless they happened to write it down." Or if there was a way to properly communicate with spirits. Which could be possible. Look at Sara's ability. But still… "It is fun watching them, though. Aunt Lachesis and Uncle Finn, I mean."
"It is. And since Aunt Lachesis is a girl, we can talk to her about things like 'hey, is it normal to miss a period when you know you aren't pregnant?' and the like."
"Larcei, we've known that for years. Stress messes up so many things."
"As well as weight loss." She made a face. "I've lost some. Which most would be happy about, but it makes my clothes look weird on me."
"Maybe we should listen to the cooks and eat more." I grinned. "Perfect excuse to splurge on sweets!"
"Gods, what I wouldn't give for a piece of spiced honey cake right now…" She sighed happily, humming in delight. "Mmm… or those honey balls Muirne makes?"
"The fried dough rolled in honey?" My mouth watered just remembering it. Muirne was an amazing baker. "Oh, or maybe the roasted peach and honey nut tarts that Dalvin makes?"
"Oh, those are so good!" She squealed in delight, clapping her hands. "What were those muffins that Mistress Caoimhe handed out during the winter festivities?"
"Um… ah! The black tea and honey muffins?"
"Yes, those!" She licked her lips, and I had to wipe my mouth because I was actually drooling at this point. "Ugh… I'm hungry now."
"Me too." I paused, thinking. "Wait, what's stopping us from going to make some?"
"Er…" She pointed to the papers. "Work?"
"Oh. Right." I hummed a bit, thinking. "Maybe you can work in the kitchen while I cook? Like how we used to do our math assignments while doing chores?"
"What if I get another love letter?"
"Show it to the cooks and kitchen assistants and bemoan how they're wasting your time." I winked at her, amused at the mental image. "Bet that'll help you deal with this!"
"Mmm… you know what? Sure. Maybe if I'm a little more social, then I can get protection from that idiocy." She made a face. "I have a crush already, damn it."
"Speaking of which…"
"No."
"Got it." I kissed her cheek and then tickled her side to make her laugh. If she didn't want to talk, then it was better to not force. For now. "So…"
"Hey, you two in here?" Fee opened the door to the parlor and peeked inside curiously. "Yay, you are!" she giggled, waving us out of the room. Larcei and I shared a look and a shrug before doing just that. "Where's Hestia?"
"She's with Uncle Finn," I explained, noticing Fee was actually skipping down the hall. What happened? Or what was happening? "He woke up from a nap due to nightmares, and she refused to leave his side." Which hinted a lot to how much Uncle Finn stoically endured and how bad the nightmare had been. "So, what's going on?"
"Better to show you~!" She giggled, in the best mood than I'd seen in a while, and before long, she led us out onto a balcony. A balcony where most of our 'War Council' were crammed near the railing. "Found them."
"Perfection~" Lester teased, twisting to grin at us. I did a mental count of everyone, and noticed that while Tine and Yuria were all stuck in the middle of the mess with the rest of the War Council (including Leif, Patty, and Nanna), Ulster and Lana weren't. Though Yuria looked elated by whatever was going on, holding onto Diarmuid's arm excitedly. "Hurry."
"Is this what I think it is?" Larcei asked with a tiny, disbelieving smile. Seliph helped her get to the front and she flailed a bit, her smile growing. "It is…!"
"Keep quiet."
"Right, right…"
Curious now, I pushed my way forward too, ending up next to Patty and Iuchar. I helped Patty sit on the railing, since she was in serious danger of being crushed, and Iuchar moved so that a bit more breathing room. Only then did I look around and in an instance, I saw what was going on. In the courtyard below, there was a blushing and uncharacteristically nervous Ulster trying to talk to a mildly confused Lana. Oh, no wonder everyone was here. Though poor Tine, Patty, Leif, and Nanna looked so confused. But even Arthur was wearing a grin.
"Oh, just… here!" Ulster was saying, shoving a piece of paper into Lana's hands. He looked away, raking a hand through his hair and pulling on the strands. "That might… explain things better?"
"You wrote down what you were going to say?" Lana asked, smiling slightly in amusement. Still, as she read through the note, that smile slowly transformed into just disbelief. Open-mouth disbelief at that. "These are… some my favorite lines from The Assassin's Bride…"
"The advice I got was to actually say them, but when I practiced, it sounded like I was making fun of it. I'm no Iuchar who can actually put meaning behind them, regardless of dramatics and grandiose gestures." He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck now. Iuchar sniffed, pretending to be tearing up from the praise. "So, I thought I'd write them instead. I'm better at writing anyway."
"Oh…" Slowly, Lana began smiling again, this time warmly. Though I saw happy tears in her eyes, threatening to fall. "So, quick question."
"Yes?"
"A lot of these lines involved declarations of love. Can I interpret this as such?" Her smile grew when he nodded. "Really?"
"I would hope you would, actually." Finally, Ulster looked at her and smiled shyly. "So, um… considering what you dropped on me last-MMPH!" And that was when Lana kissed him. Threw herself at him and kissed him. He barely caught his balance, and her, but kissed her back.
Up on the balcony, all of us were practically wiggling from sheer delight, though we did our best to be quiet. While a bit disappointing that we couldn't actually hear too-serious Ulster say the lines, I had to admit that this suited him more. And made them all the more sincere for it. Plus, Lana still loved it, and that was all that mattered. So, we all kept quiet, letting them have their moment. However, when Lester nodded, us Tirnanog kids began cheering and clapping, with the others following suit a split-second later. Both Ulster and Lana jumped and yelped, blushing redder than my eyes, and looked up to see us there with our pleased-cat-grins. When they scowled and opened their mouths to yell, though, we all fled, the Tirnanog kids making sure to grab at least one non-Tirnanog person to ensure they escaped. I ended up with Fee, and we ran and ran down the halls, laughing so loudly that the sound echoed off the walls.
"Oh, that was so much fun!" Fee giggled once we were safely outside. We actually ran into the market, using the crowd to hide. "I was surprised at first when Diarmuid told me what we were doing, but it was fun!"
"That's why they were so mad that Seliph and I confessed where they couldn't see," I explained, keeping a hold on her hand as we meandered through the crowd. I couldn't help but notice how much more cheerful this market was compared to Alster's. Less things, but far more cheerful. Certainly less wary. "I'm certain they're plotting something to get back at us."
"Have you all done this before?"
"More or less every time there was a new couple in Tirnanog. It was a practical application of our sneaking lessons." I grinned, remembering how we used that to justify it to Aideen when she caught us once. She just walked away and let us be obnoxious. "But anyway, you been okay?"
"Me? I've been great! Mostly." She stepped a bit closer to me and hugged me. "I have been wanting to apologize to you, though."
"For?"
"You got caught. I'm one of the people in charge of patrols, but…" She looked down, and I realized this had really been weighing on her. "I'm sorry."
"They hid in the woods, and I know one person in that group had…" I bit my tongue, shaking my head. No, I shouldn't say that. Not only was it not reassuring, but… "I accept the apology, Fee. Have you thought about how to strengthen the patrols?"
"I've been talking with Oifeye and Finn about it, actually." She sighed gustily. "This will be easier once Leif's army joins up. They have fliers too, you see."
"Do they?"
"Yep! Not a lot, but still, more aerial patrols is only a good thing." She began to perk up again, which was only good. The world didn't seem right if Fee wasn't smiling. "But yes, I've got a lot of ideas that I'm shifting… wait, no, sifting through to fit us best."
"Tell me about them. And we can shop while we talk." I winked, giggling. "First things first, though. I want something sweet!" Even watching Ulster and Lana confess did nothing to curb how hungry I was! "Sugar to make our brains work!"
"Huzzah!"
We actually spent a good chunk of the afternoon in the market, not only talking army stuff, but also gossiping in general, with her letting me know of fun things that happened while I was gone. While eating lots of sweets, of course. Would ruin our dinners, but who cared? We were (technically) adults, after all!
"Blech, I'm tired of walking…" I complained just seconds before I jumped onto Shanan's back. He yelped and stumbled, but caught me. And barely avoided getting hit in the face with my basket. "Carry me!"
"You're not eight years old anymore, you know," he half-complained. He still carried me with ease, though, once he'd adjusted to my weight. Up ahead, Hestia raced about this way and that, burrowing under random shrubs and coming out with some dead squirrel or something. I just hoped she didn't get a snake again. "Oh, my poor back."
"Is this where I'm supposed to make jokes about you being old? Because I think Oifeye, Uncle Finn, and Aunt Lachesis would protest that." I snickered, just imagining the reaction, and Shanan groaned. "Besides, you're the one who insisted on coming with me when I went herb collecting."
"You got captured the last time you went herb picking!" He scoffed and shifted me so that he could hold me a little better. "Of course I'm coming with you."
"I was doing just fine until Reinhardt showed up, and I'm sure Reinhard has a healthy respect for Hestia now." Though, at the moment, Hestia was happily running around like she was a puppy again. "Bah, whatever. I get you all to myself for once! Yay!"
"I feel like most people would be fetal for a week after being in enemy territory where your life could end on a whim."
"So, you mean most of my life?"
"Okay, point…" He sighed. "Really should've done better by you all."
"If we want someone to blame, I think it should go to the people who kind of burned our parents alive. Or held hostages to massacre them. Or electrocuted them to death. Or-"
"I get it; I get it!" He sighed again, this time in exasperation. "You're always so quick to stop my self-pity."
"That's because you make things your fault when they're not your fault." I held onto him a little tighter. "I told you that Conall said you were an idiot for blaming yourself, right? That he thinks it's his fault because he ran the wrong way."
"Not sure why he thinks he knew what way was up when he'd been separated from his twin sister via the burning roof caving in." Not to mention how chaotic all of that was. "But, as you saw, if I'd had Balmung, I could've gotten him."
"Wouldn't have had to get him if I hadn't been stubborn." Seriously, blame fell on me. I was the one who insisted on going back for the things.
"Or Aideen, Oifeye, and I could've made sure that you had all the important things."
"If that's the case, then you need to split the blame between all three of you, not shoulder it on your own." Not to mention how he felt responsible for Deirdre's kidnapping. And all the trouble that resulted from that. "Bleh, we're too serious."
"We are. Also, aren't you supposed to be foraging?"
"I already got everything, silly." I giggled and he rolled his eyes and promptly 'dropped' me. Really just loosened his grip on my legs and I hopped off. "Mean!"
"We're walking deeper into the forest when we don't have to." He looked around and whistled for Hestia. She popped her head out from behind a shrub and disappeared again. "Then again, Hestia is having quite a bit of fun."
"Of course she is." It had been a bit since we had a simple 'hike' through the woods. "Say, Shanan, have you ever had a crush on anyone?"
"Have I what?!" He actually tripped over his own feet because I'd startled him so, and I had to laugh and laugh and laugh. "Where did that come from?!"
"Lighthearted conversation. Obviously." I tried to stop laughing, but I couldn't. His expression was just so scandalized! "I mean; bunches of people had crushes on you back at Tirnanog, but I don't think I ever saw you go on a date or anything!"
"I… hmm…" After recovering, which took a hilariously long few seconds, he crossed his arms and leaned against a tree, clearly thinking about it. "Well, I definitely had a few precocious crushes on some people in the army. Fleeting things, really. I can't even remember anymore."
"Mom, maybe? You were with her a lot." I giggled, mostly because I thought it was ridiculous and all. "Falling in love with the healer who tended to your every ill~?"
"Oh, please. I think Alicia would roll her eyes at the thought." So, Shanan rolled his eyes in her place. "No, Alicia was almost immediately like an older sister, or even mother, to me. Right about the same as Aunt Ayra. Probably the healer thing." He chuckled, amused by the thought. "To be honest, I don't think I had a crush on any of the core members. The people you would've grown up hearing about."
"Aw, that's boring." I huffed, actually a bit annoyed. "Really? You're not hiding anything from me?"
"So many ways to answer that, but on this front, no." He chuckled and brought his hair over his shoulder to begin braiding it. "I haven't thought about such things for a long time. For a while, my priority was keeping you all safe, just as I promised. Then I had to do what I could to protect Isaach."
"Huh." That just… "You know… Seliph once made a comment about being worried I set myself on fire to keep others warm." I smiled sadly at him, moving the basket of herbs to my other hand. "Wonder if I learned that from you."
"Riona, there's nothing to worry about." He smiled, but I saw the tiredness in it. "It's a-"
"Shanan, I know we're weak still, but we're getting stronger. And our strength has always been tied with the bonds we have." I walked over to him so that I could reach up and poke his cheek. Like I could just poke the exhaustion out of his smile, and him. "You're allowed to be happy and to have your own life. I can't think of anyone in the army who would be upset about that. And that's both Sigurd's and ours." I then tugged his sleeve, like I could just pull him away from the guilt. If only it were so easy. "Stop being a lone wolf. You'll have difficulty catching your preferred prey if you don't. Fancy sword or not."
"Balmung is a weapon of divine power." He sounded almost offended by the 'trivial' description. Which was amusing, but could also simply be because it was one of the very few things he had from his family.
"Divine sword or not, then." I pouted up at him. "Will you promise? To stop being the lone wolf and all?"
"Yes, yes." He sighed when I kept pouting. "I promise, Riona, that I will try. I'm pretty content with my life, though. More or less."
"I just don't want you to use duty, and us, as a chain. I love you, Shanan. I don't want to be something weighing you down." I wondered if there was a way I could 'make the promise stronger' or at least lighten the mood a little. I'd heard of people doing 'pinky promises', but Shanan refused to do those. He'd made two 'pinky promises' in his life, one with Deirdre and one with Mom. And both times, it had been the last time he had seen them. "So, if you keep doing that, I will have Hestia sit on you and lick your face off."
"That's…!" He burst into laughter, and I grinned, pleased to succeed. "Now that is quite the threat!"
"Right up there with Aunt Lachesis and Oifeye lecturing you?"
"Don't even get me started on those two's lectures!" He groaned, facepalming, and I snickered. They had sat him down for a good four hours, or so I heard. "Seriously, those two… and Finn was sitting there, laughing like he hadn't done stupid stuff before like get himself impaled, twice-!" Sadly, Hestia's sudden barking cut off that no-doubt-interesting line of conversations, and I made a mental note to ask him more about it before running towards where the barking was coming from. "Hey! Don't go off on your own! You were captured not all that long ago!"
"I'm following Hestia!"
"That doesn't mean anything!"
I rolled my eyes, but kept on running, soon finding Hestia who was not only barking, but whimpering. I wondered why, but then I saw the young girl on her knees by a tree, struggling to stand. After a moment, I realized that I knew her. She was far more disheveled, with her hair falling out of a braid and dirt and sweat staining her simple dress, but it was one of the dancers from Darna. Layla, I believed her name was? Lene's friend. I opened my mouth to ask what she was doing here, but then I yelped and rushed over, dropping the basket as I desperately hunted for some sort of spare clothed because her feet were… well, they were mangled. There was no other way to describe them. The amount of blood oozing out of them made me almost nauseous, not to mention all the rocks and sticks embedded into what bits of skin weren't cut and jagged. And some of it that was. I wondered where her shoes were, but for all I knew, they fell apart.
"Easy, easy, help is here," I whispered to her. Shanan stumbled to a stop behind me, no doubt noticing the injuries as well. I saw him search his pockets for something to help with the bleeding, but he sighed. Neither of us exactly expected this. "I'm not sure if you remember me. I'm Riona."
"Princess Caitriona?" she rasped. She coughed harshly, like she hadn't had water for a while or something. "So, I am near Melgen? I had to leave the road once I got a short distance out of the city. Patrols."
"Yes, you're near…" The implications of her words finally came through. "Did… did you walk here? From Darna?"
"Ran, walked, limped… I've been crawling a bit these past few steps. My feet and ankles hurt too much for my knees to bear my weight." She gripped my shirt and looked up at me finally, tears streaming down her cheeks. Days-old makeup blotched her face, and she was grey from exhaustion. "Hey… I know… I know you all have so much to look after, but I couldn't think of anyone else who could help…" Her voice cracked and she bowed her head. The hand gripping my shirt trembled. "Please… please save my friends?"
"Shanan, let the infirmary know what's going on." I hugged Layla and turned to look at him. "I'll follow, but infirmary needs a heads up."
"I'm staying with you until we're out of the forest," Shanan replied. He didn't look at me, but at the area around, and picked up my basket of herbs. "Just in case. Once there, I'll run ahead."
"I'll take it," I agreed, not wanting to argue. Then I turned back to Layla. "I'm going to get you on my back. You can tell me more on the way, okay? We'll do what we can for your friends. I promise."
"Okay…" she mumbled, laughing tiredly, yet happily. "I made it… thank goodness…" She rested her head against my shoulder, sagging from sheer relief. "I just hope it's in time for Lene and Ares…" Shanan reacted at both names. I definitely knew that second one. "Gods, thank you for hearing my prayers…"
Well, this was going to be an interesting story.
There was a bit of a whirlwind when I carried Layla back to Melgen, mostly people reacting to how badly her feet were wounded. I had more than a few of the soldiers appearing at the infirmary to lend her their clothes, and even more helping to reassure Layla while Yuria and I got things together to actually treat Layla. And brush her hair and help her change. Really, our soldiers were amazing.
"Are you in pain?" I asked softly, carefully picking out rocks, dirt, sticks, and what seemed like metal shards from her feet. I tried to be as gentle as I could, but I did have to repeatedly dig into the wounds. "Do we need to numb your feet up more?"
"No, I'm good," Layla reassured, sipping her tea. A nice chamomile mix to help her relax, courtesy of Linoan before she finished up her shift in the infirmary. "Are you sure the towel is enough?" She pointed to the towel I had over my lap, to catch the blood from her feet. "I mean…"
"Layla, if you bleed enough to saturate this, you'd be in shock. And I mean the medical definition of it." I grinned at her before returning to my work. This was slow going, which was why I was doing it instead of, say, Yuria. Yuria was mixing up medicines for her in the back corner, while Sara tended to the more 'typical' injured. Not that I could see those typical injured, since we had Layla set up in a curtained off part for privacy, right near an open window for the breeze. "Chair comfortable?"
"Very." She smiled sweetly and leaned back in said chair for emphasis. One foot was in my lap, letting me work, while the other was resting on an a stack of pillows on the bed, elevated and bandaged. I'd done that one first since I knew positioning would be awkward. "Your soldiers are so kind. And they truly believe in you."
"I'm glad, and will continue to do my best to be worthy of that trust." It was nice to hear, even though I was sure that for some, they believed because of my heritage. But hopefully, I would prove them right with my deeds. "You up for telling me what is going on? Darna is quite a few days travel away, on the road. Through the trees and off the path, it would take even longer."
"Ah, yes, of course…" She sipped her tea, gathering her thoughts. I continued picking things out of her feet, waiting for her. "Bramsel got tired of waiting, and is sending mercenaries to ambush you here at Melgen."
"That so?" Been expecting something like that.
"But I overheard Bramsel give Javarro an order. While they were out, he wanted Javarro to test Ares's loyalty. And if it falters, Javarro was to kill him."
"That's an interesting request." Ares… son of Eldigan and Grahnye, cousin to Diarmuid and Nanna, nephew to Aunt Lachesis and Uncle Finn… while many of us had hoped to meet him, this sort of thing was… "Are they not mercenaries?"
"They are, and Ares is very skilled. He's the Black Knight." And if Ares had Mystletainn, then that reputation of 'invincibility, made sense. "The thing is… he doesn't like Bramsel, staying only because he owes Javarro for saving his life when he was a child. And Bramsel… he lusts after Lene."
"And Ares protects her?"
"Yes, they're lovers." ...That was why her lover had looked familiar. Similar features to the Nordions here. "Well, he'd protect her anyway, but that in particular plays a part in why Bramsel wants Ares 'put in his place'." She tightened her grip on her mug, looking down. "So Ares is in danger from the very person he feels indebted to, and doesn't know it, and I'm worried. But, admittedly, I'm more worried about Lene."
"...If Ares is away…"
"No one protects us dancers. Ares is the only one who gives a single damn about us in that place." She began trembling and I saw her bite her lip. "Worse, Lene sassed Bramsel, insulted him for only being 'brave' when Ares wasn't around. So now, Lene is in the dungeons, or worse. Honestly, it's probably worse already."
"...I see." Though I continued to work, inside I was frozen. That bright and kind girl… that sweet and devoted boy… even ignoring the connection we had to Ares, all of that… "Still, it is quite the distance."
"I know. At first, I tried to chase after Ares. But some of the other mercenaries caught me. They beat me, and threatened to rape me if I tried to leave again. Bramsel didn't want anyone to leave the castle, probably to make sure no one told Ares. The servants like Ares far more than him, after all." She shrugged helplessly. "But I couldn't just sit around while Lene was in danger. She…" She took another sip of her tea and took a few breaths to calm down. "When I was younger, a plague ripped through Darna."
"Did it?"
"It was horrible. My parents died fairly early into it and I can still remember my little brother bleeding from his eyes and nose, spitting up blood as it threatened to drown him. His tongue blackened, he turned all yellow, and he was just in so much pain. Head, belly, chest… it took him four days to die, and he looked so relieved when he passed." She laughed hollowly. "Can you imagine? A one-year-old being relieved to die?"
"Were there no doctors?"
"There was a husband and wife team who worked heavily with the church. Tending to everyone they could, without payment. It's how I survived, actually." Her smile was mirthless. I wondered if she regretted living, while her little brother didn't. "I never got his name, but he was so very kind. Long blonde hair tied in a braid, and gentle gold eyes. Just a beacon of serenity. I believed him when he said he'd help me, and he did."
"Did they catch the plague?"
"No, the bastard Imperials... I heard they killed that kind man like a dog. Never heard what happened to his wife." Why the hell would they do that? And this would've been back when Arvis was… gods damn it all. "I ended up in the orphanage, the one tended to by the church, and just… I felt dead. I just wanted to die. But then… then I met Lene."
"She was in the orphanage too?"
"Yep. Though, at first, I ignored her. I didn't want anything to do with anyone. So, I never reacted when she came over to say hello." She smiled warmly and when she closed her eyes, a single tear fell down her cheek. "But Lene didn't give up on me. She kept at it, doing whatever she could think of to get me to smile. And, one day, she proudly showed me her dancing." She laughed, delighted by the memory. "I wouldn't call it a 'good' dance or anything. Good for a child, perhaps, but only that at best. However, It was like… I could just see the color flow back into the world with her every movement. Her laughter, cheer, and passion lit up the world…"
"Like your own dances."
"Exactly…" She opened her eyes again. "We've been friends ever since. Each other's only friend. She takes care of me; I take care of her. And I'm fond of Ares because he helps Lene smile. He brought back her smile, her true smile, when the worst aspects of our job started to wear it away." She looked down and sipped her tea. I began properly cleaning and bandaging her foot, finally done getting the debris out. "So, I wanted to help them. And I remembered how kindly you and Prince Seliph watched our dance, Princess Caitriona. The warm smiles and the genuine praise. And Lene told me that you and your wolf helped her. So…"
"Easy, we'll figure out something." I tied off the bandage and made sure to look her in the eye. I wanted to make sure she knew how serious I was. "I promise we will do every we can for them. And I guarantee you that we will get Lene out of that place."
"...Thank you…" She smiled tearfully, and a few more tears fell down her face. "Thank you so much…"
I made sure Layla was comfortable before cleaning up and letting Yuria know I was done. Then I left the infirmary, noting Hestia laying down by the door. She got up with a stretch and a yawn, shaking herself awake from her doze, and she led me to a large room where the rest of the War Council was meeting. Just as before, Leif, Nanna, and Tine joined us. I was just grateful that the room was actually large enough to accomodate us this time. Though, I did wish there was a little less yelling.
"We're saving the girl!" Larcei snapped, bristling. Iuchar rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her, but she remained tense. "So-!"
"Larcei, I don't recall anyone saying that we weren't going to save her," Seliph countered. He had his eyes narrowed in annoyance, hinting this argument was less due to disagreements and more due to bad word choices and misinterpretations. "But we have to be smart about it. Just storming the place might put her in more danger."
"Yet every second we waste…!"
"We'll waste more time if we get captured or if the girl is used as a hostage! Or killed because we rushed in!"
"Wonder how long this has been going on," I whispered, petting Hestia as I watched others jump into the argument, namely Lana and Lester, though the others didn't exactly calm any of it. She simply yawned, unimpressed by all of this. "I know; I know…" I debated joining the table, but decided that I didn't want to jump into this, so I instead headed into the back where Shanan watched over all of us. Oifeye, Uncle Finn, and Aunt Lachesis weren't here for whatever reason, which was probably why this argument was even happening. "Layla's feet are treated, but Yuria still needs to do another check to know the long-term damage."
"I hope she'll be okay," Shanan whispered. He continued watching before turning to me. "I'm guessing you Tirnanog kids are being particularly bristly because of what happened to Creidne?"
"Hey, for once, I'm not involved." I sighed and looked over everyone again, noticing it really was just us. Everyone else was awkwardly fidgeting, no doubt wondering what was going on. I was pretty sure this was the first time they'd really seen any of us argue. "But has the story spread or something?"
"Some of the soldiers remember her as one of the dancers in Darna, and Bramsel apparently has a… reputation." He dug his fingers into his arms. "So, everyone has made a guess. Is it wrong?"
"Wish it was. But there's more to the story." I bumped my shoulder into him. "Hey, how do you know the name 'Lene'? You reacted to it."
"Hmm? Ah, I suppose we did rarely talk about her. We thought she'd been lost in the Massacre, so it was painful." Shanan looked down briefly before focusing on me. "'Lene' is the name of Sylvia and Claude's daughter."
"Oh." I facepalmed, now getting why the name had been familiar. I knew I'd kick myself over that eventually. "Green-haired dancer. Why didn't I suspect something just from that?"
"Because there's a bunch of people with green hair, and lots of dancers?"
"Point taken." Still, it probably would've made things a lot easier if I'd made that connection sooner. "Why haven't you stopped them?"
"Figured it would be good for them to get it out while waiting for you." He straightened then and strode to the table, leaning against it. Everyone immediately shut up, looking at him. "So, you all feeling better?" I nudged Hestia to run over to either Larcei or Lana before joining Shanan at the table. Larcei made things easier by moving to Lana's side to hug her. "Riona has information."
"Sadly, it's basically what we all suspect," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Because of where I was, I was actually next to Arthur (and Tine, who hid behind him as usual), and to my surprise, he took my hand. The grip was hesitant, but comforting. "Mostly. There's another part to this all. Ares." Nanna and Diarmuid's eyes widened. Leif and Seliph both jumped. "I can't confirm much, but I've actually seen him. He and Lene are lovers, so I met him briefly in Darna. Based on that little bit, and the name, I can guess he is, in fact, Ares of Nordion, heir to Hezul. And it's quite likely that he's got Mystletainn. Ares is the 'Black Knight' that Patty told us about."
"Mystletainn heals the wielder as it drinks the blood of its kills," Iuchar murmured, nodding. Slowly, very slowly, everyone was relaxing. "I recall the stories giving Hezul himself a reputation of invincibility once he received the blessings of the God of War, Jarl."
"Yet, because apparently Ares has been protecting Lene from Bramsel's lust, Bramsel has set up a little 'test' for Ares. What makes it dangerous is that the one administering that test is someone named 'Javarro', who apparently is the reason why Ares surviving Leonster's Fall."
"Meaning he might let down his guard or even let him claim his life."
"Or whatever. No clue. All depends on how Javarro goes about it." I held onto Arthur's hand a little tighter. "So, what are we doing? Ares's mercenary group is coming towards Melgen to ambush us, so no clue where exactly he is, but Lene is in Darna."
"I can fly over the route and keep an eye out for the mercenary group," Fee offered, resting her hand on her chest. Emphasizing the words. "I imagine someone nicknamed the Black Knight will stand out a tad."
"Yes, leave that sort of thing to the scouts," Ulster added quietly. He took Lana's vacated spot, standing in between Iuchar and Diarmuid. "Once he's found, then we can figure that part out from there."
"So, as for Lene…"
"You guys have sent groups ahead to deal with enemy leaders before, right?" Arthur asked, shrugging. He glanced around the room, like he was wondering just why it didn't come up sooner. "It's not like you're going to make this guy an ally or anything, right? It'll be like with Danann?"
"If he surrenders, then he gets a trial and execution," Seliph whispered. He didn't quite look anyone in the eye, no doubt embarrassed by the yelling now. "Probably not publically. Well, maybe a public trial. I don't know. We'll think of something if that happens."
"Pretty sure you can just skip to the execution, but whatever." Arthur sighed. "So, anyway, now that everyone is calmed down, can we get an explanation for why you all went off?"
"...Uh…"
"...A friend of ours was captured and raped while playing bait to ensure Larcei and Lana escaped," Lester explained softly. Diarmuid moved so that he could hug him, though he himself was trembling. Patty patted both of them on the back, looking a little lost. "She was only just beginning to recover when we left Tirnanog. So, situations like that are a little…"
"Basically, the situation surrounding Miss Lene hits too close to home," Nanna summarized, with a soft and gentle smile. The mood of the room lightened a little at that smile. "I understand. It was a bit unnerving to see you all arguing."
"Well, normally, we try to talk things out before things get to all-out-yelling like that." Lester sighed and looked to Seliph. "Still, Arthur is right. A small group to get inside Darna and rescue Lene seems best."
"I agree, and it should probably be just girls," Seliph murmured. He looked at Larcei and smiled. "I don't even have to ask, I know, but-"
"Not even a god could stop me," Larcei boasted, grinning. She soon smiled apologetically, though, and Seliph waved away the apology. All were at fault, after all. "We know that Fee will have to stay here for scouting."
"But she can also serve as a messenger." Seliph looked to Fee to confirm that, and she nodded, beaming a bit. "Patty?"
"Yep, I'm good to come along!" Patty agreed, puffing out her chest. She even grinned. "Not the first time I've done something like this. Uncle Dew would always do what he could to help out the captured and Hunted."
"I'll be coming along as well," I declared firmly. I saw the protests on everyone's faces and shook my head. "I'm the only one in the group she's actively talked to. Seliph and I are the only ones she'll recognize, likely, but since this group is going to be all girls…"
"Well, it's not like you'll be alone." Patty pointed to Hestia. "Is she coming along?"
"Er… good question." The immediate answer was 'no' because sneaking through an urban area and giant mottled-gray wolf didn't typically go together. But when I looked down at Hestia, I saw that despite her doing her best to behave and comfort Lana and Larcei, her hackles were raised. "I think she's coming whether we want her to or not. She doesn't like these sorts of situations anymore than we do."
"And she won't scare Lene?"
"Probably not, actually. Lene was being harassed when I properly met her."
"Oh, this is when Hestia ran off on her own instead of at our signal," Seliph murmured, piecing the timeline together. I nodded, and he smiled slightly. "In that case, Lene would've already seen Hestia as something protective. And I do remember Hestia figuring out why… our friend was screaming before the rest of us."
"Besides, she's at the perfect height to bite Bramsel's balls off if need be," Lana deadpanned. It startled a laugh out of most of us, though the boys winced in sympathy. Or imagined pain. Either-or. "Hey, Nanna?" Lana stepped out of Larcei's hug to lean into Ulster, rested a hand on her back to support her. "Do you mind going along?"
"I certainly don't mind, but are you sure you don't want to instead?" Nanna asked. She and Leif exchanged a look, and Leif smiled warmly at her. "Considering earlier…"
"We can only spare one healer, definitely need a healer along just in case, and I'm not trained to fight." Lana shook her head and looked down. "I would love to see someone rip his heart out and squeeze the black out of it, but it's better if someone trained to fight went along. Yuria can't go, and neither can Lachesis."
"Then, of course I will." Nanna smiled, though I saw most were a little surprised by the creative imagery Lana used. Been a while since I saw her this mad. "I'd be honored to."
"Um… might I come along as well?" Tine suddenly requested. I actually jumped because I'd completely forgotten she was behind Arthur and me. "I'd like to help her, if I can." She tentatively stepped out from behind Arthur to look at all of us. "I'm still not sure about fighting for the army, but this… this is different."
"We'd be honored for your assistance, Tine," Seliph replied softly, smiling at her. She ducked her head and hid, but I thought I saw her smiling too. "Let that be the group, then. You guys go ahead and leave to get ready. Ulster, Fee, let's work on some immediate patrols to scan the area, and the rest of us will discuss what to do for Melgen's defenses."
He didn't need to tell us twice. In fact, our group was so quick to get out of the room that was actually crashed into each other. After laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, we rushed down the halls, to head to our rooms. I ran into a surprise near mine, though. Literally. I ran into Lewyn.
"Holy hell, you are still alive," I deadpanned, unable to help it. This was, literally, the first time I'd seen him since we took Melgen. "Okay, got so many things to say to you, but can you head to-"
"That girl, Lene, is fine for now, and if you are quick, you might make it," he blurted. I blinked slowly, trying to figure out what the hell, and I realized that he looked… well… winded. "Ares is proving a tad more… difficult. The sylphs are more worried about Lene, and you have as much luck herding sylphs as you do cats, but I believe he and his are closer to Darna than Melgen for now and might still be when you-"
"Did you, for the first time, gather information for us without us asking?" I pointed at him, surprised. "I mean… wait, how do you even know about Lene and Ares?"
"Wind. The infirmary window was open. I heard what Layla told you."
"Ah. Right." Well, that was a stupid question. "Okay, so, we can help her…" That was a bit of a relief to hear, especially from him. "I think this is the first time you've not been pragmatic. Or pretended to be pragmatic."
"There are many unforgivable things, and according to the wind, Bramsel is guilty of quite a few." His eyes hardened. "I'm disgusted such a man defiles Darna."
"Huh. We might eventually get along after all." I shrugged and pointed to his arm. "Everything fine with them?"
"No worse than what you saw and, no, I have not forgotten my promise." He ran a hand through his hair and grimaced. "I was looking into something and it took longer than I anticipated."
"Next time, can you warn us that you're leaving the army for a bit or something? Please?"
"I will. As I said, it took far longer than anticipated. I'd expected to be back the same day." He grimaced, but then shook his head. "No matter. I've been following the wind to figure out what room you all moved to."
"Make sure you know what I reported about my capture, okay? Because I've got a feeling you've answers to it."
"I might." He hesitated, but then did something unexpected. He ruffled my hair. "Move quickly, but you've more time than you think. From what I can tell on the wind, Bramsel will wait until Ares is more than a day away."
"Thank you."
He left then, done being social, and despite how weird that was, I ran into my room, making mental notes of what I'd all need, and who all I'd need to speak to before leaving. The next few days were going to be… interesting. Very interesting.
Darna looked the same as it did before. Except there were fewer guards. You'd think that would make things easy, but no. Because of a few key things. The worst of which was, of course…
"Hestia, you being a brat makes things harder," I sighed, sitting in the branches of a nearby tree. The exact reason why I'd been hesitant about her coming along. "Sorry, everyone."
"Considering she was out the castle before we were ready, I'm certain that she would've been following us, or leading us, before long," Larcei pointed out, leaning over to bump shoulders with me. She and I were sitting on the same branch. "Still, looks like Patty is back from her scouting."
"Yep." And I led the way down, swinging from one branch to the next. When I landed on the ground, right by where Hestia was laying down, Nanna and Tine actually clapped. "Thank you, thank you~!" I stepped out of the way so that Larcei could land without worrying about kicking me. "I'm glad you enjoyed the show~!"
"Well, you climbed down so gracefully!" Nanna laughed, grabbing her staff again. A mend staff she got from her mother. She also wore a very unique sword called an 'Earth Sword', which she explained was like a weaker version of Mystletainn. "I couldn't help but be in awe."
"Always glad to have a pretty lady's attention," I declared with a wink. Nanna laughed again, this time blushing. "Tine, have you recovered your breath?"
"I have, thank you," Tine replied, looking down. Though the days of travel had led her to not be as inclined to hide, she still had difficulty looking us in the face when talking. "I'm sorry…"
"Don't be. You're not the one causing problems." I looked pointedly at Hestia, who stood with a stretch and shake and walked over to lick my hand. "Yes, you're cute."
"She's very cute." She petted Hestia without hesitation. Which made sense because she likely had spent quite a bit of time with Hekate. "You know… there is a poaching market."
"There's a what." My voice went flat, and I felt Larcei, who finally climbed down, place her hands on my shoulders. "I take it you don't mean something like 'hunting on noble lands is technically illegal but damn it, there is not enough food'?"
"No, I mean people who capture baby animals to be sold as exotic pets and entertainment."
"...Fucking…!" And I promptly turned the air blue with curses, the most vile ones I could think of. Hunting for food was one thing. Hunting to turn beautiful animals into fucking court jesters was a completely different thing!
And that, of course, was when Patty returned, her eyes wide as she cautiously approached us. "Uh… what happened?" Patty began slowly. She hid behind Nanna, who looked like she was trying to decide if she should stay back or stop me. "Um…"
"Wow, she has the same reaction Conall did," Tine noted. Surprisingly, given how timid she normally was, she wasn't startled by my cursing. In fact, it seemed to amuse her. "Anyway, I brought it up because I thought that we might be able to use that excuse?"
"Brought up what? The caged animals?"
"...Oh, right, they use cages." She sighed. "Never mind."
"Patty, we're freeing the animals after we've saved Lene," I declared, stomping my foot. Larcei rubbed my shoulders, trying to calm me down. "Those poor babies… all frightened and away from their mamas…"
"Swear you're going to get eaten by a bear one of these days," Larcei sighed. She hugged me and rested her chin on my shoulder. "So, Patty, how's the town?"
"They're being very cautious about letting people in and out," Patty reported, stepping out from behind Nanna. She crossed her arms and sighed. "Very cautious."
"So, send Riona and… well, it worked with Diarmuid, so maybe Nanna can."
"Huh?"
"What are you… oh, hell no!" I yelped, turning to scowl at Larcei. Larcei just grinned. "Come on! For one thing, they know who I am, and for another thing, Diarmuid and I still don't know how that worked!"
"Are we talking charming the guards?" Nanna asked. She looked completely unamused. "I have done that before and I don't know how it worked either."
"See! You can't count on that!" Giggling stopped my protests, but mostly because it was Tine giggling. "Conall do something like this too?"
"Oh, no, Conall tells them exactly what he thinks and while they're reeling, just walks on through," Tine managed to explain. She kept on giggling, though she covered her mouth to try and muffle it. "You're all just flailing about and…"
"It is really funny to see," Patty agreed with her own grin. Still, she let it fall for a 'serious' look and focused on Hestia. "Getting her in is the main problem. Best idea I have is splitting up somehow, but even then, that doesn't solve the main issue."
"Perhaps we can have Riona walk in to negotiate with Bramsel?"
"Now that's a thought…"
"Will it work with Hestia, though?" Nanna asked. She shifted her weight, trying to ease aching feet. "To be so close to Bramsel and…" Hestia growled then. "Ah. I'm taking that as a 'no'."
"I can probably keep her under control, but it's a 'maybe' depending on how angry she gets," I sighed. Really should've left her, but Larcei was right. Hestia had been waiting for us outside the gates, and we already knew she had some way out. No one knew how she managed to escape and make it to me, after all. "If she gets really mad, then I have to physically pin her, which…"
"Not the best way to do 'negotiations', even fake ones." Nanna sighed. "You know; growing up, I wanted a pet, but…"
"I think this whole thing shows that Hestia has pet humans, not the other way around." All of us sighed, our ideas drying up. "Patty is right, though. There's definitely going to have to be some sort of split. Since Hestia's mine, how about you four sneak in and I try to figure out something with her?"
"Is it wise to split that way? Especially since you were captured recently?"
"We're fighting a war against an Empire. I think wisdom is far away from us."
"Well, I suppose, but…" Nanna trailed off as Patty poked her and pointed up. "Hmm?" All of us looked up and we saw familiar wings very high in the sky, too high for scouts to just casually see her or anything. "Oh, that's Fee, isn't it? She's your only flier?"
"That she is," Larcei confirmed, waving her arms to let Fee know where we were. Fee arced around to some nearby cliffs and we made our way over to her as she dismounted and sat on the edge. "Hey there, gorgeous~!"
"Hi, hi!" Fee greeted, grinning. She was a bit sunburnt and definitely wind-chapped, but she was as cheerful as ever. "Any luck getting in?"
"Not yet. Hestia's a bit of a problem."
"Figured as much." She reached up into her pack and tossed down a little treat for Hestia. Who caught and gobbled it up as quickly as you please. "Well, I was doing a patrol, and I think I found the mercenaries."
"Really?" Larcei raised an eyebrow, and I knew I was surprised too. "It's been… how long now?"
"Don't ask me why they're still here. Makes no sense to me. Best guess I've got is that they're waiting to see if we'll cut back on patrols. They've got quite a few mounted in their number and all, so they'll want to take the main road as much as possible." Fee shrugged. "Regardless, was wondering if one of you wanted to come by and confirm it with me."
"Hmm… probably a good idea…"
"In that case, Hestia and I will go with Fee," I decided. We were getting absolutely nowhere, and I didn't want to prolong this anymore than we had to. Lene needed us to be as quick as we could, after all. "You four head in, and if I can make it inside, I'll meet with you. Otherwise, I'll come in with Ares, if he's there. Or get help from Fee."
"Probably the best idea," Patty agreed, hands on her hips. After a moment, she petted Hestia and gently tapped her head. "Causing all sorts of trouble. You're lucky you're so cute." Hestia promptly licked her face, making her squeak. "Ugh! Your breath stinks!"
"Yeah, we need to clean her teeth." Figured it could wait until after… whatever happened here. "Okay, I'll see you all later."
While the others headed towards Darna, Fee led Hestia and me, carefully and quietly, across the road and off through some woods, with her pegasus flying high above us to remain (mostly) hidden. Before long, we came upon where the mercenaries were camping, laughing and drinking. We crouched among the shrubbery, doing our best to not be seen, and I tried to see if Ares was within sight. Hestia, of course, decided to burrow under the bushes. I pulled her back and we made to retreat, but Hestia wagged her tail, apparently pleased by something. Two seconds later, I learned it was because Ares was near, and he'd come over to investigate the sound. Meaning he could see her, and me. And possibly Fee, though she was better hidden.
"Ares, what's wrong?" someone called. Ares just blinked slowly at me, and I mimed for quiet before beckoning him to follow. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just going to see what made that noise," Ares called back, looking over his shoulder at the person. I started falling back, pulling Hestia with me. "I need to stretch my legs." I just continued to make my way backwards, meeting Fee at some point. After a moment, Ares followed us and looked almost irritated. "If that was an attempt at spying, it was a very poor one."
"If we wanted to spy, we'd send the specialists, like Fee," I pointed to Fee, who waved and smiled. Hestia decided she was tired of behaving and headbutted Ares's legs. "She's been very worried about you."
"Has she?" Ares became confused for a moment before kneeling down to pet her. "Not sure what I did to worry you, but I'm sorry for it."
"It's less what you did, and more what we know," Fee explained. She glanced at me, and I gestured for her to take lead here. "A friend of yours, Layla, told us some information."
"Layla… should be in Darna," Ares replied slowly. Now he was frowning. "You're in Melgen. Well, not now. Did she tell you here?"
"No, she basically mutilated her feet running from Darna to Melgen."
"She what?" Ares stood up abruptly, almost panicked. "Is she okay?"
"She will be. But right now, we're worrying about you." Fee hesitated for a moment before nodding to herself. "You and Lene."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Basically, Bramsel wants you dead so that he can have Lene to himself," I answered, deciding to take over. And probably oversimplify a lot. "Javarro is supposed to test your loyalty and if you fail, he's to kill you. Meanwhile, he's taking advantage of Lene sassing him to throw her in the dungeons or something."
"...Lene…" he breathed before wincing and looking down. He clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, with Hestia nosing his hands worriedly, and then he abruptly turned around and began walking away. "I'm talking to Javarro."
"That's not-"
"Don't misunderstand. It's not that I don't believe you." He kept his head bowed, and I saw how rigidly he stood. "I know Bramsel has been lusting after Lene. And despite the fact that Javarro is the only parental figure I really remember, I have no illusions that he has any real affection for me. He values me for my skill in battle, and the boost to reputation I give to him and his mercenaries. Nothing else." He clenched his fists again, this time hard enough to enough to tremble. "But I need to hear it from him. For my own sake. And if I simply leave, then I'll just lead all of them straight back to Darna, where the civilians can get caught up. And who the hell knows what more Bramsel will do to Lene."
"Ares…" I couldn't think of anything else to say, and he didn't really expect a reply since he kept on walking. When he was out of sight, I sighed and looked to Fee. "I think I messed that up."
"How else were we going to explain what danger he was in?" Fee pointed out. I nodded, conceding the point, but I petted Hestia, wishing I had a bit more tact or something. Maybe I could've softened the blow. "I'm going to get my pegasus and head up. If he needs help, I can get to him quickly."
"I'll make my way back to camp and… see what happens, I suppose," I murmured. Really, I just had to hope I didn't get Ares stabbed or something. "See you later."
Fee made a point to hug me, and I kissed her head before we parted. I kept a firm grip on Hestia as we moved, keeping low to the ground. Before long, we were back to the camp, and I watched as Ares walked up to where a man dressed in noticeably better armor than the rest was sitting. That… had to be the leader, Javarro.
"Javarro, if we're not going to be moving any time soon, then I'm heading back to Darna," Ares said softly, just loud enough to be heard. Javarro glanced up at him, eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I'm a bit worried about Lene."
"Ares, what is it with you getting mixed up with that girl anyway?" Javarro sighed, exasperation making each of his words heavy. He stood slowly, rolling his shoulders. "I have told you before. You can have fun with women, but don't get tangled up with them. Gets in the way of the job."
"And I respectfully disagree, but that doesn't have much to do with what I said." Ares still held himself stiffly. "So?"
"Request denied." Javarro shrugged and turned away. "Besides, you should put the girl behind you. I imagine Bramsel has broken her by this point… heh..."
"Seems their information was right. Both about what happened to Lene, and how you would test my loyalty, by purposely saying something you know would rile me." Ares glared when Javarro whirled to face him. "You're not as smart as you think you are, Javarro. You or Bramsel. The rebels… no, the Liberation Army knows all about your plans. About our 'ambush', and about how Bramsel ordered you to kill me." He scoffed then, and laughed mockingly. "Also, I don't recall saying that I request anything. I told you what I was doing."
"I don't take kindly to those who disobey orders, Ares…!" Javarro growled. The nearby mercenaries were all in various states of 'ready to fight', watching the show with some degree of shock and fear. "Not even you!"
"I am grateful for all that you have done for me, Javarro, regardless for your reasons, but I'm cutting our ties here." Ares's glare somehow became even fiercer. "I am loyal to a fault, and loyalty is a prison, but if you're going to make me choose between those conflicting loyalties, I will choose a path that I can be proud to walk."
"You little ingrate!" Javarro tried to punch Ares in the face, but Ares caught his fist with ease, stopping the motion cold. "Who do you think you are?! You're nothing but a dog of war, like the rest of us!"
"...I am Ares, heir to Hezul." Ares spoke softly, but with conviction, and he pushed Javarro back, hard enough that Javarro actually hit the ground. "I am Ares of Nordion, of Agustria. Ares, son of Eldigan the Lionheart." He turned away from Javarro, walking slowly towards where the horses were grazing. Silently taunting them to strike, but none moved. They were too stunned, and I didn't blame them. "I am the son of the greatest of knights, and I refuse to stain his legacy by simply leaving someone to such a fate. Especially the woman I love and cherish." He found his horse and got them ready for riding before mounting up with ease. He held his head high, and I swore I was looking at a king. A proper king. "All who stand in my way will become naught but stains on the Demon Blade." He drew his sword and my blood hummed at the sight. The blade itself glinted in the sunlight, and it pulsed with power, like it was celebrating the battle to come. "So, will you become my prey? Or will you choose to cling to your miserable lives for a few more moments?"
Someone shot. I didn't see who. But before the arrow could hit him, I set it aflame, just reacting automatically. In the back, there was a scream, and I looked to see Fee surging up into the air on her pegasus, a body slipping off her bloody lance. Other screams joined the air, calls to arms, and as I watched Javarro slowly pick himself off the ground, I decided to just set the ground on fire, to get a small barrier and buy Ares and Fee a little more time to get situated. And freak out the mercenaries more. ...And I miiiiight have set Javarro's shirt on fire. Because of what he said.
"Ares!" I yelled, already heading away from the camp. He glanced back at me. "I'm going to meet up with the rest of my group to save Lene!" Hestia kept up with me easily, howling to disorient the mercenaries further. "You work with Fee to survive and make it back to her!"
"I owe you!" he yelled back. Which was all he had time to say. The first ones fell on him, but he cut through them easily, the blood flying everywhere. With Fee swooping down to pick off any archers, the feathers from her pegasus's wings dancing with the blood as both caught the wind.
Hestia and I ran. We ran from the battle to head for Darna. I didn't bother going to the 'old spot' where I had last seen the others. Without Hestia to worry about, I knew they'd already gotten in. I just now had to do the same. Somehow. Here was where things got tricky, but I would give it my all. Of course, it was easier said than done. After all, the guards were keeping close watch on the entrance.
"Much as I hate to follow Larcei's idea, I am seriously wondering if I have to try and talk our way in," I whispered, pressing myself against the outer wall to stay out of their immediate sight. If I didn't have Hestia, I could scale it easily, especially the older parts, but Hestia didn't climb easily. Or at all. Mostly. She climbed a tree once, but fell and never did it again. "Blech… well, the wall is old and Mursili had mentioned that Bramsel hadn't tended to it well. Could be a weak point or…"
Hestia suddenly whimpered and I looked down, confused. But she was looking at something behind us, so I turned and I saw there was actually a rather tall man standing silently a short distance away, by the wall. He looked to be in his early thirties, and something about him was strangely calming. It might've been the eyes, a soft gold, or the gentle and serene smile he wore. Kind of reminded me of Aideen, really, and he even had blond hair like her, worn in a braid that fell over his shoulder, though he wore simpler clothing than Aideen ever did. But when he saw me looking, he beckoned me towards him, pointing to a spot of the wall hidden in shadow. Curious despite myself, I crept over, with a whimpering Hestia all-but-attached to my leg. But I didn't find anything in the shadows.
"So, something here?" I looked around a bit more and sighed. "I don't see anything." The man appeared at my side and Hestia growled a bit, but he didn't seem bothered. Instead, he pointed to a very specific part of the wall and, when I touched it, I felt it shift. "What the…?!"
Startled, I ran my fingers over the stone and found very distinct notches, hard to see but easy to feel. Not the convenient handholds and footholds I'd use to climb, but something intentionally made. And when I pulled the stone out, it came out in one piece, and there was a handle on the other side. And it revealed a smooth tunnel, with supports on the inside, leading to a similar stone on the other side. It was big enough for a person easily. Big enough for a wolf, too.
"Oh, well, that's convenient. Thank you…?" I turned to face the person, and found that he was gone. "Another ghost? Seriously?" I looked down at Hestia, who whimpered again. "You're not fond of ghosts, huh? I'm sorry, sweetie. But at least they're helping?" Unlike what most of the stories I grew up with said. Oh well. Just showed that you shouldn't completely trust stories. Use them as a guide and a starting point, sure, but not your sole bit of information. Still, so many of them… "I guess it goes to show how awful the Empire is. Even the dead are doing what they can to take them down. Or something." And I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth or whatever the phrase was. Because now I could sneak in, with Hestia.
Time to find the others then. And hope there was still time for Lene… and that Ares and Fee would be okay...
"There was a freaking hidden tunnel?" Patty grumbled. Thanks to Hestia, I'd found the rest of the girls easily and told them about what all happened on my end while we waited for a change of guards at the actual castle. Patty was sure that would be the best time to sneak inside. "I've never heard of that, but it makes sense. Gets people out."
"Or people in if the place is under siege," Tine pointed out. She frowned a bit, thinking, and stepped a little closer to me when we heard people pass. All of us were in an alley right by the castle gates, where we could keep an eye on things. "I know that Alster has a few doors like that, but they were actual doors."
"Alster is a newer castle though, right? I vaguely remember hearing that?"
"Alster was destroyed by Loptyrian priests in the days prior to the Miracle of Darna, so it had to be completely rebuilt," Nanna rattled off easily, shifting so that she had a little more room to breathe. She was squished between Larcei and Patty, across from me. Hestia was, of course, at my side, where I could keep a good grip on her. "At least, that's what Father taught me."
"That's the story told in Alster as well," Tine agreed. Larcei and I just shared a shrug because we had no clue. History-history wasn't something Oifeye, Aideen, or Shanan specialized in and though Danann let Isaach keep their printing presses, there were limits to just how many books made it through Yied and Rivough. Sadly. "So, Alster itself is older, but the structures are newer, yes. Built during a relatively more peaceful time."
"I remember, vaguely, using some of those doors to escape Alster when Bloom found out that Leif was there." Nanna sighed. "Lots of running and city-hopping there."
"Gods, I remember how much fun that was," Larcei groaned. I grimaced, remembering. Tirnanog really had been a blessing for us, but even then, it was only because it was super hidden and stories of it were the only real proof it even existed. Shanan only had known the story because it was where Od grew up prior to being Hunted and dragged across the desert and all. "Blech, too dark. But such tunnels are something we should check in other places."
"I imagine most of the castles and cities have secrets like that," I added, wondering if there was a way we could find them efficiently and incorporate them into strategies. If so, then we could really… "I bet Leonster has a few." Nanna nodded vigorously, smiling slightly. They must've used one to get out of Leonster in the first place. "Something to keep in mind, at least."
"Yeah, and we need to assume our enemies know about most of them. Bramsel is probably the only one stupid enough to not maintain a defensive wall." No doubt about that. "Patty, how we doing?"
"Let's see…" Patty murmured. She crept to the end of the alley and leaned out slightly to survey the area. "Guards are changing… no one around…" She looked back at us. "We won't get a better chance. Everyone remember the plan?"
"Groups of two," I reminded. Well, 'two'. I'd be with Hestia. Larcei and Patty would pair up, as well as Tine and Nanna. "Do whatever we have to in order to keep ourselves safe, and Lene, and make decisions based on that."
"Yep." Patty glanced around again, double-checking, and she nodded. "Okay. Let's move."
We followed Patty's lead, keeping Hestia between us to lessen the chances of a guard catching sight of her. When we all split up, Larcei briefly took my hand and squeezed it. I made sure to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek before heading down my randomly chosen path. I knew there was a worry about me being captured again, but more groups were better in this case. We didn't know where exactly Lene would be, after all. Dungeons? Bramsel's room, wherever that was? Some other random place? Castles were huge. And I was the only one Hestia would listen to if she became aggressive.
"Don't suppose you can try and follow any familiar scents here, Hestia?" I asked her softly, moving quickly and quietly through the castle. By sheer… something… I didn't really run into anyone, though I had to duck into some alcoves and dive behind statues a couple of times to hide. "Though, I suppose I really could just ask someone…" Layla had mentioned that the staff here liked Ares more than Bramsel, and based on our last visit, Bramsel wasn't liked at all, really. But… "Ah, let's just…" And that's when I noticed Hestia walking ahead, apparently going with my suggestion. "Oh, gods damn it." Quickly, I caught up with her, and snagged her fur. "That hadn't been a serious suggestion, you know."
"Who's there?" And this was, of course, when I encountered someone. Because what else was going to happen? "You are no…" However, I knew this person. I knew the guard who stepped around the corner and blocked my path. "Princess Riona?" Mursili asked, startled. To be fair, I was too. I knew he was in the guard, but what were the chances…? "What are you doing here?"
"I… well…" I hesitated, but I thought of how friendly he had been last time. And how much Sandas looked up to him. "I'm looking for Lene."
"Lene?"
"She's one of the court dancers here. Green hair?"
"The fiery one Bramsel wants." He looked down briefly, and when he looked up again, there was a strange resolution in his eyes. A fierce light of determination, burning among what looked to be guilt. "They just took her from the dungeons, on their way to Bramsel's room. Follow me."
"Thank you!" I smiled, elated, and Hestia actually licked his hand. "Really, thank you so much!"
"It's something I should've been doing anyway." He strode rapidly through the halls, clearly knowing just where to go, and I kept up as best as I could. Hestia, of course, kept up easily, because wolves. "How is Sandas doing, by the way?"
"He's doing wonderfully. He's healing from being Hunted and he's just a bundle of adorableness. I've had quite a few soldiers tell me that his enthusiasm at being a messenger has lifted their spirits." And that was when I remembered a potentially awkward thing. "Er… I did let him get a pet, though?"
"A pet?" He glanced over at me. "Really?"
"I thought the responsibility would be good for him and give him something to focus on when he's not running messages." I shrugged, smiling awkwardly. "And, you know… I find animals comforting, and I knew he had nightmares."
"Of course…" He laughed quietly. "Well, we can make it work. What kind of pet?"
"A leopard?"
"A… a what?" He almost stopped to give me a 'what the hell' look, but Hestia bumped into him to keep him moving. "A leopard?!"
"He named him after you. Mursi. Super adorable."
"A leopard?!"
"He's a kitten?" I was reminded of when I first asked to keep Hestia. "There were three leopard kittens. Their mama was killed by hunters, and they're too young to know how to hunt and all?"
"...Forgive my impertinence, but you have strange ideas for pets, my lady." He sighed, and made a sharp turn down another hallway. We didn't run into anyone, surprisingly. Or maybe not so surprisingly, since Mursili was leading. "That's going to be interesting to explain to Maliya."
"I… half apologize?" I scrambled to follow him. Hestia actually slipped a bit. "He's really attached, and Mursi has been helping him with the nightmares, so… oh, never mind. Just blame me."
"Believe me, my lady, I am." He suddenly began moving even faster. "There…!" He pointed and I saw a small group of soldiers, five of them, walking ahead. A bound, gagged, and crying Lene was thrown over one's shoulder, and though she struggled some, it was clear she was tired out. "Hey!"
Hestia didn't even give them that much of a warning. Seeing our quarry at last, she surged forward, using her full speed, to blitz on past them and block their path. She snarled, baring her fangs, and her hackles were up to make her appear even larger than normal. Even with her crouched down and back, ready to pounce and snap. And she made sure they knew how unafraid she was by looking right at them, unblinking. Like she was staring at their souls and judging them unworthy of them.
Not going to lie, I almost went for my weapon too. I almost threatened them just as Hestia did. I certainly was furious enough, seeing how Lene was. But then Mursili stepped forward and asked them, "is this the choice you want to make?" The guards looked everywhere but him, and cowered from Hestia's snarl. "Is this really the choice you want to make? Doing what you're told and looking the other way, despite knowing what Bramsel will do to that girl who has done nothing wrong?" He spoke very softly, but he held their attention anyway. "Is that the choice you will make again? Again and again and again? How many times do you make it until your heart stops screaming? A hundred? A thousand?"
No one moved. No one twitched. Without thinking about it, I relaxed, just… listening. Something about how he spoke, so quietly but with such conviction… this is something he had thought about for a while now. Something he had wanted to say for a while. And since I didn't know if the guards were actually listening, since they looked down and purposely used their helmets to hide their expressions, I made sure I was.
"I know. I know it's hard. I know that we do what we have to in order to survive. After all, we have no hope in winning against the Empire, right? No hope for anything, really." He laughed bitterly. "But if we keep our heads down and our mouths shut, then maybe we can eke out some semblance of a happy life, right? Bought by innocent lives, perhaps, but who cares? Who can care? With everything as messed up as it is, it's terrifying enough just to care for the people around you. I know that. I know that very well."
I gestured for Hestia to calm, matching her defiant stare with my own confident one. Eventually, she eased out of her crouch, holding herself tall instead. Dominant, but not aggressive. Of course, based on the flinches, the guards didn't know the difference. Or perhaps their flinches were actually because of Mursili's words.
"My home was torched during a Hunt. There's not even ash left of it. And during that Hunt, my little brother-in-law, Sandas, was taken. I can still hear Maliya's screams as he was ripped from her arms. And I remember…" His voice cracked. "I remember turning away, leaving him behind. My little brother… I left him to that fate, because I had no hope of saving him. Maliya and I barely escaped with our own lives. But still, I left him…!" He was crying. The tears streamed down his face, but he kept on talking. "I didn't even try! Because what hope was there? None! None at all!"
This time it was my turn to flinch, wishing we had somehow gotten here sooner to help somehow. I wanted to look away in shame. But I held myself still, and checked my other urge to rush over and hug Mursili. The tears were ones he had wanted to cry for a long while. I could tell that. And I thought… I thought I saw some of the guards crying too.
"We made it to Darna. We cobbled together a new life from the pieces. I got a job as a guard, and was eventually assigned to guard the blockade. I watched the Liberation Army set up camp, and I just looked away, not willing to put my trust in them. Because any sort of victory over the Empire was nothing more than a fantasy." He laughed, but I couldn't figure out the tone. Bitter? Incredulous? Neither quite fit. "But then I heard something. I heard that some of their leaders went to the Yied Shrine. Cleared it out. Supposedly even saved some children that had been there. Unbelievable, right? But the rumors were consistent, too consistent to be anything but truth."
Hestia stopped snarling, though her hackles remained up to emphasize her size. Not that the guards were actually trying to get around her. They were frozen just as they were. I thought Lene might've been able to get out of their grip, but she remained where she was, too tired to try and, likely, not willing to chance it. After all, from here, I could see her ankles were bound too. She still cried. If I didn't feel like this was important, I would've rushed over. But I felt like doing so would undermine just… whatever was going on. And it was… it was important. I knew that.
"Then, incredibly, one of those leaders actually walked up to talk to us while her wolf hunted. Us, soldiers of the enemy. Nameless soldiers… yet she wanted to learn what we knew. Valued our insight, because she wanted to learn if there was a way to solve things without violence." This time, his laugh definitely was incredulous. He even shook his head before rubbing some of the tears off his face. "Without violence… in a world like this? Madness, isn't it? But she truly believed in it. And that belief made me ask what I thought was the impossible. Did she happen to see Sandas in the Shrine? And she had. Not only that, but she had saved him. She saved my little brother, who I thought lost. She'd done what I had known was impossible. Sworn was impossible."
I remembered his reaction, that day. That relief… that had been what I had seen. All I had seen. I wondered now what other emotional tells I had missed that day. I wondered what ones I was missing now, especially since all the guards, including Mursili, wore their helmets. Those things really did cover faces, which I supposed was part of the point. Protection.
"I saw Sandas later that day, and he greeted me with a bright smile and hug. The same smile and hug as always. After babbling about how glad he was that I was safe, as if I'd been in any real danger, he told me of how Princess Riona herself had carried him out of his cell." He gestured to me for emphasis. I hoped I looked suitably… I don't know. Dignified? "He told me of how Prince Seliph played with him, how Lord Oifeye and Lady Lachesis would tell him stories to help him sleep. How all of the leaders, the Scions… how, despite their numerous duties, they took care of him, holding him when he had nightmares, giving him hugs whenever he wished, helping him relearn how to play with the other children… it was a miracle to me. Beyond a miracle, even."
One of the guards stumbled backwards until they hit the wall, like they couldn't stand up on their own anymore. A few more were trembling. The one carrying Lene was rigid, frozen like they'd become a statue. But they lifted their head slightly, and I saw they were silently crying, just like Mursili still was. Now I was sure some of the others were.
"I talked to others in the army, those willing to come converse, and I learned that such miracles… they weren't uncommon. Not with them. Almost every single one of them had a story where one of the Scions of Light, the leaders of the Liberation Army, had helped them personally, both on and off the battlefield." I hadn't known anyone else had spoken with the border guards. I wonder who all had. "For instance, one was saved from certain death by Princess Fee of Silesse swooping down and risking arrows, just to pull them out of harm's way. Another twisted an ankle while on march, and Lord Diarmuid carried them on his back until they could safely stop and be treated. Every single soldier I spoke with had a story like that." Mursili laughed, and again, I couldn't quite place the tone. I thought 'disbelief' fit best, but… "And they also spoke of how valued they felt. How there were efforts, from the very leaders, to make sure every soldier was comfortable. How they never expected blind obedience, and explained their reasons when asked. How they were more than willing to listen to grievances and questions. How, despite their lofty lineages, they took part in every chore, and always volunteered themselves first for the dangerous missions."
Now I felt like crying, overwhelmed. I was just… I was just so happy, to know the soldiers did know how much we appreciated them. I only didn't cry because I knew that if I cried, I wouldn't stop, and then all the attention would be on me. And that… that wasn't right here. No, it should be on Mursili. So, I bit them back and just smiled. And barely saw how a couple of the guards started, because what Mursili said was just so foreign to them.
"Most importantly, though, was how determined they are. How, despite knowing the pain that can come from caring, they care for every person. How they cry and ache for every death and vow to do better, so that next time, they can save even just one more person. How they are willing to fight for people they don't know, and will never know, just because they know it is right. Because they truly believe that despite the darkness that has enveloped the continent, despite the things that people had done or ignored in order to survive… they still truly believe that we are worth fighting for, living for, dying for."
Mursili discarded his helmet then, letting it clang to the ground. The tears he still shed somehow only enhanced the conviction and strength in his gaze, the determination in his features. I saw Hestia relax slightly, like she knew that she didn't need to be so on edge, with him looking like this. And I felt the same. I was glad I followed my instincts on this.
"So, should we still do what we've done for years? Stand aside and ignore the evil that has burrowed its way into our homes? Keep our heads down and cover our ears, pretending we do not see the horrors being committed and hear the screams of the victims?" Mursili looked each one of them, not quite in the face since most were still looking down, but as close as he could. "Can we do so, knowing that these people who don't know us, will never know us, fight and die for us? Fight and bleed? Fight and suffer? All for us! Can we really do so and help their enemy? Help our enemy?" Silence… silence… the guards were frozen. "There's a choice. There's always been a choice. So, do you choose the same as you always have? Or will you choose differently, at last?"
The guards remained still for one more breathless moment, and then the one holding Lene set her down gently, helping her sit on the ground, and stumbled back. I immediately rushed to her side and went to undo her gag. She held up her bound hands, though, and shook them as if to say 'these first'. So I did, and she began to remove the gag herself, shaking her head when I tried to help again. I nodded, understanding, and petted Hestia when she joined us and shielded Lene. I heard several clangs then, and when I glanced back, I saw the guards had thrown away their own helmets, so that they could cry freely and cover their faces. Every single one of them was crying. A few even leaned against the wall, sobbing.
"It's okay," I whispered, standing and walking to the closest one. Using my sleeve, I wiped away the tears and smiled at them. "I thank you for the courage you've shown. I know it had to be hard, when you know, far better than I, the dangers of the world right now." I looked at each of the guards, and then at Mursili, who was smiling in relief. Relief that his words reached them. "Mursili, there are four others who came with me. Hestia can help us find them." I glanced down at Hestia, and she barked, agreeing to it. "After we find them, what do you say to kicking Bramsel out of Darna and into the pits of hell? I think it's long past time for Darna to return to its people."
After all, after a speech like that… how could I simply leave? I couldn't. They trusted me, trusted us, with so much. And so, I had to do what I could to be worthy of it. Just as I strove to be worthy of the trust all of our soldiers gave me. A most arduous task, but it was one I took on gladly. And one I would never regret.
The others were found before long and plans were quickly made (once I explained what was going on). There wasn't any time, really, to focus on what all actually happened until later. And when there was finally a little bit of time, Larcei just wouldn't shut up about it. Gods damn it.
"Seriously, we should've just sent you alone and sweet-talk the guards," Larcei 'groused'. She grinned far too much for it to actually be that. "I mean…"
"Look, it was their own morals," I retorted, rolling my eyes. I was never living this down. "Their own morals."
"Yeah, after being reminded of them by the guard you charmed."
"I didn't charm anyone…!" I grumbled a bit more and then looked back to where Lene was. When we all split off, Lene had requested not being left alone. Larcei and I immediately said she could come with us. "You okay? I know all four of us are kind of scrunched together in this alcove." Because, of course, Hestia was with us.
"Why wouldn't I be good with being close to two pretty girls?" Lene immediately replied with a small smile. Larcei and I both grinned. "And Hestia is so soft and sweet." Hestia, tail wagging, licked her arm and pressed into her leg. "But yes, I'm okay. I think this alcove is bigger than the first apartment Layla and I had, actually."
"Cozy~!" I teased. Since I had a means of fighting without my swords, if the need came to it, I held out my hand to her. She seized it quickly. "If things get chaotic, and there's a chance it might, Hestia will keep you safe. Larcei and I will do what we can, but if we're separated, Hestia will stay with you. And get you right back to us."
"Then I'm as safe as I can be in this weird situation, huh?" She kept on smiling, but I had a feeling she was a bit like me. Capable of smiling through just about anything. "If we end up near my room, and it hasn't been looted, I do have a sword? Not that I really know how to use it, mind, but…"
"You let us know if we're near, okay?" I squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back. "Larcei?"
"Let's see…" Larcei whispered. She peeked out of the alcove and quickly darted back. "Okay, they're leading him past." She lightly kicked my leg. "Why are we not killing him outright again?"
"To be better than we were before," I murmured. I stepped back and moved more in front of Lene, so that she couldn't be seen. "And because we are a very small group who has had no time to secure the civilians."
"That's right…" She sighed and knelt down to hug Hestia. "There. Now I won't do something stupid. Like tear out his guts through his throat."
"And reach all down into that? No need to get elbow-deep in a muck like that guy."
"With the amount he drinks, you'd probably get more wine than blood on you," Lene muttered. She held my hand a little more tightly, and actually a little painfully, but I let her. No matter how calm she appeared, I knew she had to be shaken. "I hear them…"
"Ah, I can't wait to see Javarro's 'gift'!" Bramsel was laughing. He strode on past with a set of guards, the very same ones ordered to bring Lene to Bramsel, though either Mursili's story had explained that away or Bramsel truly didn't notice. Either way, Bramsel was moving. "I wonder if it's just the head or not."
"His messenger didn't say, my lord," Mursili replied, since he was leading the group. He glanced at the alcove and I winked at him when he caught my eye. "But he's certain it's a gift you shall never forget."
"Excellent, excellent!" Bramsel kept on laughing, and Mursili kept up the act and story, whatever exactly it was.
We waited a little longer and then Larcei peeked out again. She then nodded and motioned for us to follow her, and we promptly began our own little patrol around the castle. Our goal? To convince the guards here to at least surrender. The guards and mercenaries outside the castle were being handled by Patty, Tine, and Nanna, who would also handle spreading word throughout the city to let the people know just what was going on. We hoped it would minimize battles here, and thus, minimize deaths. As for convincing? It went well. Most knew at least me on sight, thanks to the earlier visit, and they knew what our presence meant and surrendered quickly. Many even smiled in relief. They were tired, so very tired, of how life was. Of course, not all surrendered, for whatever reason. For those, Larcei and I managed to knock them out. And lock in rooms. Sort of.
"I love all the convenient heavy things in this castle," I noted, dusting my hands off. Just got done moving some furniture to barricade a bathroom where we'd thrown a couple unconscious people. "We will need to get Nanna over to them soon, though, just in case." Brain damage was a thing, after all. "We all good out here?" I walked out of the room and shut the door behind me. I saw Lene petting Hestia, but Larcei wasn't out of her room yet. "We're probably almost done, aren't we?" Many of the guards who surrendered volunteered to convince their fellows, and the groups had found us to formally surrender and all. "Good… we'll make it with plenty of time, then."
"More time to plan the perfect entrance," Lene teased, looking at me. But she wasn't smiling now. "Why did you come, though?"
"To… Darna?"
"Yes." She frowned a bit. "I know how the world works. Now, granted, based on that long speech Mursili gave, you all are a bunch of weirdos like Ares. But Mursili told me that you had come into the castle, specifically, to find me."
"We did." I saw no reason to hide it. "As for why… there's a few parts to it." I sighed and reached back to undo my braid. It was falling out. "One, a good friend was raped. Back in Isaach. She played bait to protect Larcei and another friend of ours, Lana, and when they caught her…" I closed my eyes, forcing back nausea as I remembered. "So, that's one reason. It's also why I lost my temper last time I was here, and why Hestia was all snarly. Always had a low tolerance, but after that…" I shrugged and smiled bitterly. "Well, let's just say that it's taking a lot of self-control to not just kill stab Bramsel a lot and let him slowly bleed out."
"Why not do that?"
"Because I've done similar in the past, and I hate it. And because I made a promise to try and do better." I had to shake my head to dispel the oh-so-tempting mental image. Though I disguised it by shaking out my hair. "As for the other reason… well, you're probably wondering where Layla is."
"Probably wherever the hell all the servants are."
"Nope, but that's a good point that we should ask about." Seriously, where were they? "She's in Melgen."
"...Melgen?!" Lene's voice went very squeaky and despite her shock, I had to admit it was adorable. "But that's…"
"Yeah. She ran all the way to Melgen to ask for help." I began braiding my hair again, and checked on Hestia. She was laying down at Lene's feet, perfectly calm. "She tried to get Ares, but was stopped." Which reminded me. I wanted to find those mercenaries. They'd probably fight anyway, but I wanted to get that confirmed.
"Ha… not sure if Ares would've come anyway…" She winced and looked away. "We had an argument right before he left. A bad one. Told him to just forget we ever met. So, I mean…"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Lene." Half-thought about saying more, but then I saw Larcei coming out of the room she'd been throwing people in. "All good?"
"Yeah, I had one stir and had to quickly shove them into a different spot," Larcei sighed, rolling her shoulders. She then hopped a bit to get a little more pep to her and grinned. "Okay, we continuing on?"
"We should see if any guards know where the servants are," I suggested. She nodded, her eyes narrowing slightly. She'd noticed that little oddity too. "But yes, I'm sure we're almost done, so let's check a few more halls and then head outside."
"Sounds good to me~!" Larcei winked and skipped over to kiss my cheek. "Onward! Hestia, come with me to sniff someone out!" Hestia tilted her head, actively debating, before getting up to do that. "Good girl! I'll get you a treat later!"
"No spoiling until we're done working!" I made to follow, but Lene snagged the back of my shirt. "Yes?"
"I still don't get why you came," she whispered. She didn't look up at all, just kept her eyes to the floor. "You all have lots of important things to do. Saving the world and all. So…"
"If we can't save a single person, then how can we save the world?" I asked quietly. I turned to face her and took her hand in both of mine. "And ignoring the personal reason, the fate that awaited you isn't one I'd wish on my worst enemy. Plus, as I said, Layla ran all the way to Melgen, ran until her feet bled, on the off-chance that we could help. How could we tell her 'no'?"
"You're really far too kind." She still didn't look up. "I mean; you're even just knocking out the people attacking you."
"We don't know why they're fighting. Willing to bet they're scared. Lots of people are scared. And why wouldn't they be? We're all keenly aware of what'll happen if we lose. And even if we win, there's no guarantee that things will be better." I shrugged. "Besides, isn't there enough despair and misery and woe in the world? Enough death and violence?" I laughed then, feeling a bit self-conscious. "I'd rather be merciful and give people a choice. Because if people feel like they haven't a choice, then what else are they going to do?" I thought of what Inanna told me about what she'd been taught. I thought about what Mursili had said. "Now, if a person chooses to fight, then I will oblige. But if they want to take another path…" I let go of her hand, but still held out both of mine. "Then I want to help pull them onto a different one. Because I believe it is our choices who determine who we really are. Our choices when we know there is another way."
"...You're so weird." Still, she took my hands and she finally looked up, smiling shyly. "Um… thank you. For coming for me. If not for you and Mursili…"
"Of course." I squeezed her hands. "Come on. We're falling behind."
"Right!"
We quickly caught up with Larcei and Hestia, and continued our patrol, setting some of the guards to find the servants and reassure them. Then we headed outside. We met Tine, Nanna, and Patty on the way and followed them through the various alleys up onto the walls of Darna, waiting for Mursili to finish his part of the plan. After all, we finished up a lot quicker than expected.
"There's a few mercenaries who need a little more convincing, and a couple that I think will need some time to fix their joints before we see just how serious they were about their threats," Nanna explained to me. She, Lene, and I were sitting on one side of the gates while Larcei was chatting with Tine and Patty on the other. Split so that we could hide a bit easier. Hestia was laying behind Lene and me, hidden. "I might have broken something. A few somethings, actually."
"I love how you're all prim and proper looking, and you apparently can snap bones with ease," Lene giggled. I bit my tongue about mentioning Nanna was Hezul Minor, mostly because… well, I was sure Lene knew about Ares's heritage, and it felt better for that familial connection to be revealed by Nanna, to Ares. "Was everything okay otherwise?"
"Oh, yes. Tine was quiet, but her words seemed to convinced them more than ours."
"Well, she's of Friege, and yet, she's with you all. And, you know…" Lene shrugged. "You guys did kind of kill her cousin."
"Huh?"
"Nanna wasn't with us for that," I sighed, wincing. I still felt horrible about Ishtore's death. I'd make sure there were fresh flowers when I was back. "And it's not that simple or anything. Sadly, lots of things are complicated." The things with Julius… Conall and Ishtar being on the other side… gods, I hated this… "And that's a gloomy topic for a time that is not now." I looked around for a distraction. And I found one almost instantly. "Hmm? What's that?"
"What's what?" Lene asked, trying to find what I was talking about. She gasped when she did, covering her mouth. "That's can't be… Ares…?"
"Huh?" I frowned, squinting as I looked, and I barely noticed Nanna scramble behind me and lean against my back. "Oh, that is him…" I didn't notice at first because… well… he was covered in a lot of blood and sweat. So he didn't look blonde for the moment. "And he's… heading for the gate." Logically, of course, but… "Damn it. Okay."
Thinking quickly, I scrambled over to the far side and climbed down, slipping a few times because I didn't have time to find a good route. But despite the scrapes and bruises, I still made it down in one piece and I waved, just barely catching Ares's attention. He changed direction to head straight for me. As he did, a shadow flew above us, and I looked up to see Fee flying near, and preparing to land. I shook my head and pointed inside the city, back towards the castle, and she nodded and pulled Annand up to continue on flying.
"What's going on?" Ares asked, dismounting. He was definitely coated in blood. Not quite dripping, but enough that I had to wonder if he favored black so that the bloodstains wouldn't be quite as noticeable. "I-"
"No time," I whispered. I actually had no idea, but better to be safe than sorry. "Lene is fine. Is there like another door or something you can use to get inside with your horse?"
"Around back, closer to the castle." Reassured that Lene was fine, he instantly relaxed and he leaned against his horse. "I'll coordinate with Fee. That's her name, right? Not a lot of name-shouting."
"Yeah, it is." Without thinking about it, I brushed the hair out of his face. "You get inside. We'll fill you in later."
"Thank you." He smiled slightly, but it quickly fell. "I didn't kill all of Javarro's people. And not Javarro himself."
"That's fine. We're expecting at least one more battle." I grinned. "Like I said, we'll fill you in later. I think you'll like the story. But for now, move quickly. Don't want them catching on."
"What the hell did you do?" He sighed. "Whatever. Later."
"Yes, later." And I scaled the wall again, this time being a little easier than heading down because I could better find a path up. Once I was at the top, I checked down to make sure Ares was moving, and when I confirmed he was, I returned to where Nanna was. And where Lene and Hestia should've been, but I saw Lene was heading down the stairs, with Hestia following her closely, and I couldn't blame her. For one, she'd been certain Ares wouldn't come back. For another…
"Ah, Lord Bramsel, please move ahead for a moment." Mursili and his group had brought Bramsel here, which meant we had to lay low and hope he didn't look up. "I wish to check the gates," Mursili was saying, keeping his head low. Bramsel, stuck as he was in whatever fantasy he had, walked on through the gates without even questioning anything. That surprised me, since I was sure someone would have to shove him or, worse, stay out with him. "Thank you."
It was only after Bramsel took a few steps beyond the gates that he slowed, starting to suspect something. But, by then, Mursili and his group were already on the gate controls and the gates slammed shut, trapping Bramsel outside of Darna.
"Sorry, Bramsel, but the people have spoken," I declared firmly, drawing his attention up. His eyes widened when he saw all of five of us on the wall. Larcei, on the other side of the gates, even waved. "They prefer having someone else ruling over them. So, we're giving you a choice. Surrender, and be put on trial for your misdeeds, or be gutted like the pig you are." I smiled sweetly, checking the urge to snarl. Hestia could handle the snarling. Later. "The choice is yours. We'll give you some time to think on it."
He shouted some sort of profanity, but I didn't pay attention. Neither did the rest of us. After all, just because Bramsel was outside… that didn't mean our job was over. But I did see some people already laughing and clapping in the streets. Not full on celebration yet, but easy to see that this one action had lifted their mood considerably. And, though I was tempted to join in, I instead split off from the others, going to try and find Lene and Hestia. Plus Fee and Ares. To my surprise, I ended up finding Ares and Lene first, not far from the castle at all.
"Lene!" In two long strides, he caught up to her and swept her up in a hug. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Lene shook her head, clinging to him tightly. "Are you okay?"
"I've been better," she mumbled. Despite the blood on him, she held him even more tightly. "I have been worse, though. I got rescued before anything happened. Save, you know, being bound up in the dungeons. I swear; that place hasn't been cleaned since the Miracle of Darna."
"Ha…" He pulled away a little, just enough to brush the hair out of her face. "I'm sorry. I should've listened to you. I…"
"Forget about it." She shook her head. "You… you came back. You came back for me…"
"Of course." He rested his forehead against hers. "I love you."
"And I love you…" She smiled sweetly, if a bit shakily. "Don't leave me again?"
"Never." He smiled back. "You're stuck with me."
"I think it's the other way around!" Though she managed a laugh, she began crying, her smiling mask finally breaking. "I was so scared… scared of what Bramsel would do… scared that I wouldn't see you again…"
"I am the Black Knight, incarnation of the War God, remember? I'll always come right back to you." He tried to wipe her tears away, accidentally smearing blood on her. "I'm sorry I wasn't here. But you're safe now, at least. And I'll make sure you always stay safe."
"Okay…"
Movement caught my eye and I turned to see Fee waving at me, Hestia sitting at her side with her tail wagging and wagging. "So, what exactly happened?" she asked me, smiling in amusement. She had a few cuts on her, and a few bruises, but otherwise, seemed fine. If sweaty. "Because this is going to be a fun story, isn't it?"
"It's certainly a story," I replied. I glanced over at Ares and Lene again, before returning my attention to her. "Here, let's get you to Nanna for a checkup and I'll tell you on the way."
Now came the tough part. But we had time to plan. Hopefully.
After being healed up, Fee left to inform Melgen what all had happened here. It was something the six of us had debated for a bit before deciding letting Melgen know that Ares and Lene were safe, and that we were taking Darna was more important than having one extra fighter, even if that fighter was a flier. After seeing her off, we got to work moving Darna's citizens into the castle for protection, and talking to the remaining guards and mercenaries. Those who didn't want to fight at all were kept under watch, but otherwise allowed to wander as they pleased. The more… argumentative ones… were put into the dungeons. For their own safety. Hestia nearly tore the throat out of one when they spat at me.
"Oh, I'm so glad Sandas is making friends with the other children!" Maliya laughed, stirring whatever stew she was cooking for everyone. As soon as we started moving people into the castle, Maliya had found and hugged me before thanking me a thousand and one times, at least, for saving her little brother. And asked numerous questions about how he was doing and all. Contrary to what Mursili feared, she didn't seem to mind Mursi that much, though it could be her relief overshadowing her unease. "Ah, I think I'm going to cry again…"
"If you start crying, then this time, I might cry!" I teased, carefully added honey to the milk I had warmed. With magic, because the stoves were all full of food. Those who volunteered to cook, plus the actual hired cooks, were going all out today, it seemed. And it all smelled wonderful… I was tempted to imitate Hestia and steal some! And glad I'd barred her from the kitchen. I would've had to roll her out! "Also, is that supposed to be boiling like that?"
"Yikes, no!" She moved the pot to a cooler spot and tentatively checked under the lid. Before long, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, caught it before it did any damage. Fine way to thank you all, messing up the food!"
"Oh, believe me, you could burn it all to ash, and it would still be better than some meals I've had in the past." Satisfied with the amount of honey, I moved the two mugs to a tray. "Now, let's see if I can make it through without dropping anything."
"Good luck, my lady!"
"Thank you~!" I winked at her, and carefully weaved around the various people in the kitchen to leave. Hestia met me immediately, whimpering a bit. "Look, I'll get you a treat later. If you go in there now, you're going to get something hot dropped on you." I nudged her away from the door with my foot. "Now, come on. I need you to lead me to Ares and Lene." Because the warm milk with honey was for them. Larcei would make some for the rest of us later. I just happened to finish up sooner than anticipated.
Hestia sighed and looked mournfully at the kitchen before slowly trudging down the hall. I rolled my eyes and followed her, keeping to the side to stay out of the way of the people rushing to and fro. A few people stopped to talk to me, but for the most part, they were too busy to notice me beyond 'try not to run into this person'. Which was nice because it meant I reached the room Ares and Lene were sharing fairly quickly. But that led to a bit of awkwardness. Namely, they were having a private discussion and for one reason or another, had the door cracked open. Meaning I was eavesdropping by accident. Damn it.
"So, what's going to happen?" Lene was asking. She sat on the bed, absently kicking her feet since they barely brushed the floor. She wore much different clothes than before, a simple dress, and hugged a stuffed bear to her chest, one that matched Seliph's. After all these years, Ares… he still had the bear Mom had given him… "I mean…"
"Bramsel and Javarro both need to die," Ares murmured, tending to Mystletainn by a writing desk. It seemed like he was mostly cleaning it, but it still somehow startled me to see a 'Divine Weapon' being tended to like any other weapon. "And even if I tried to stay out of it… well, that wouldn't happen."
"That's true." Lene hugged the bear even more tightly. "And we really should go to Melgen and see Layla. And your family, right? That healer girl… what was her name? Nanna, right?"
"Yes, and she's apparently my cousin. Got the Mark and everything." He chuckled, shaking his head. "It's so bizarre to me. I was so sure that my family was dead. Yet, my aunt and uncle apparently still live, and I have two cousins. Madness, really."
"And names for them too!"
"And names. Which is a relief…" Ares stood up and leaned Mystletainn against the wall before sitting down beside Lene. "Bit of a shock to learn my uncle is the famous Finn of Leonster, though."
"I'm not too surprised. Makes sense to me you'd be related to a hero." She leaned against Ares and began playing with the bear, mostly moving the arms up and down and making it 'dance' in her lap. "Even if it's not by blood."
"...Not sure if you're complimenting me or making fun of me." He frowned at her, and she smiled innocently. "Oh, whatever. Regardless, I'm not really sure what to do besides that. My life has been defined by jobs and battles. I don't think…" He paused, blinking slowly. "Yeah, I've… never picked my own destination before. Mercenaries go where the work is, and Javarro handled the contacts."
"And I've never left Darna. Even the idea of going to Melgen is frightening, though less frightening than not seeing Layla. But, Ares, will it be okay?" She looked up at him and hugged the bear to her chest again. "Being with the army? You're not exactly found of Seliph."
"Sigurd. I hate Sigurd. He betrayed my father, ruined his homeland, and then got Leonster slaughtered because of his stupidity." Ares's words were blunt and no-nonsense. He even scoffed. "Hailed as a hero… idiocy at its finest, really."
"Well, you were hoping to kill Seliph to seek revenge against Sigurd, right?"
"Yes." Again, he was blunt. I felt myself seize up, though, and pain spiked through me. Not just because of the terror of losing Seliph, but also… also that Ares would hate Sigurd, when I knew from the stories that Sigurd had worried about Ares right up until the end and that, before Agustria fell, Ares had loved him too. Him and Seliph, both. "I recall you mocking me for it."
"I wasn't mocking." Lene scowled at him. "I was telling you it was stupid. Big difference." She rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "People do what they have to in order to survive. Fact of life. And people have to put up with shitty stuff to do their jobs. I've had to dance for dirty old men, have my dance defiled with their lewd eyes, just to make a living, you know? Knights have to kill people. It's their job to kill people."
"Yeah, I know. Doesn't change that pretty much everything that went wrong in my life can be easily traced back to Sigurd. So, yes, I want revenge. Yes, I want to kill Seliph for that revenge." He undid Lene's ribbon and carefully ran his fingers through her hair. "And yet, that desire played a part in why I wasn't here when you needed help. So, you went through something horrible that would've been worse if not for sheer luck and Layla nearly breaking herself. Meaning Layla also got hurt. You and Layla both were harmed, for my revenge. And that's not worth that. Nothing is worth that." He tilted her face up towards him. "Nothing is worth losing you."
"Ares…" Lene blushed and quickly kissed him, catching him by surprise. "Seriously, you say some of the cheesiest things!"
"I did spend my toddler years in a court." He grinned and she 'hit' him with the bear. "Don't use my toy against me. It's precious."
"And currently in my hands, so ha!" She held her head up haughtily before laughing and relaxing. "But that doesn't really answer my question, you know? Will it be okay? Do you still want to kill him?"
"Part of me, yes."
"But not fully." She smiled knowingly. "You've never been fully behind it. That's why you asked Riona about him."
"Thanks for reminding me that I need to ask what she meant about Father's death." ...Ha… that was far meaner in retrospect. Whoops. "Later, when my head isn't as much of a mess. Today's been… interesting. And everything had been much less certain. All I know is certain is that I owe them." He ran a hand through her hair again, before gently caressing her cheek. Lene leaned into the touch, closing her eyes. "They saved you, after all. I really should've listened to you. I knew you were right."
"I could've worded it better. Even if you two didn't agree, you did feel indebted to Javarro for saving your life and all." She set the bear in her lap and held his hand on her face with both of her hands. "But you came back. I yelled horrible things and still, you came back."
"I knew you were just frustrated with my stubbornness. It's not like it's the first time that's happened." He smiled when she laughed and nodded. "Anyway, we can figure out the future later. When we're both a little less frazzled from the day."
"We?" Lene opened her eyes, startled by something. "Really?"
"I told you. I'm not leaving you. So, of course we'll discuss it together." His smile softened as he laughed. "You're stuck with me."
"Ares…" Lene stared for a moment before she tackled him down to the bed and kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you too. Though, your knee is in my gut."
"Oops!" She scrambled off of him and picked back up the bear. It had fallen to the floor. "Sorry. I was just… really happy. That's all."
"Did you expect me to make the decision for you or something?" He pushed himself back up, looking unamused. "Really?"
"No, of course not. You know you'd lose your bear if you tried!" She stuck her tongue out before shrugging. "I don't know what I expected. Maybe it was just hearing it aloud or… WHOA!" I wondered why the hell Lene yelped, but then I realized that I'd been so distracted by the conversation that I'd forgotten to keep an eye on Hestia. And she'd apparently decided she was bored. Though, the fact that she hadn't forced her way in sooner did really hint that no matter what Ares said, his desire to not hurt Seliph was greater than his longing to get revenge against Sigurd. "Um… hi, Hestia?"
"Did she open the door?" Ares knelt down on the floor next to Hestia and scratched her behind the ears. Hestia panted happily, her tongue lolling out and her tail wagging. "Really?"
"Normally, the answer to that would be 'yes', but your door was already open," I explained, walking in as if I had just arrived. I gave Hestia a dirty look, and she ignored me to rest her head on Lene's lap, earning some pets from her. "I swear that I try to teach her manners, but wolves have very different ideas about etiquette."
"I'm surprised by how well-behaved she is," Ares noted, standing. He saw the tray I was holding then and gestured to his desk. "What is that?"
"Warm milk with honey." I set the tray down and checked the temperature of the mugs. Deciding they were a little cold, I warmed them up again using magic. "It's a comfort drink in Isaach. Thought you both could use it after today."
"Oh, that's…" Ares seemed surprised by that, as did Lene. "Thank you."
"It's no problem. If anything, I should apologize for being a busybody fretter." I winked at them and headed for the door. "Hestia, come on. I'm sure they want to rest." Hestia barked in agreement and lingered just long enough to lick Ares and Lene before rushing out the door and down the hall. "Dinner will be ready in a bit. I can send someone to get you, or you can follow your nose. Everything smells amazing~!"
"One of the few things you can't complain about in Darna is the food." Ares took one of the mugs and sipped it curiously. He then smiled slightly. "This is good. I didn't know milk could be good."
"I'm glad you like!" I made to leave, but then I thought about what I overheard. Most of it… most of it, I really shouldn't comment on. Yet. Watch, certainly, but only that. But there was one thing… "Oh, I almost forgot."
"Hmm?"
"Well, I'm assuming you two will be coming with us to Melgen, to see Layla, right?" I turned to face both of them, noticing Ares passing Lene a mug. "Well, if you two want, you can travel with us too. And not fight. We don't force anyone to fight for us. Chores, sure, but not fighting. Fighting is something you should choose." And both Ares and Lene were looking at me like I'd grown a second head or something. "So, if you want the safety of traveling with a bunch of people, you're more than welcome to stay with us."
"That's… an interesting policy." Ares's expression smoothed out to some sort of neutral scowl, and completely unreadable. "What if someone does force us, though?"
"I'll have Hestia bite them. So, you just let me, or one of the other leaders, know if that does happen. Because fighting is scary, especially fighting in a war. Especially fighting in a war against the very powerful Empire and all. So, it should be something chosen willingly." I winked at them again. "And speaking of Hestia, I need to make sure she's not sneaking into the kitchens, so I'll see you two at dinner, okay?"
I left then, not wanting to drag things out and make them awkward-awkward. And because Hestia sneaking into the kitchens was a very real danger. Proven when I caught her right by the door. It took a bit to drag her away, and even then, I had to send her to Larcei and Patty for distraction purposes. Shortly after that, Nanna snagged me to help her set up the infirmary, mainly clean it properly and reorganize things to be more efficient. Before long, though, I noticed her fidgeting and realized she had used the excuse to try and talk to me about something. I pretended to not notice. She'd bring it up when she was ready, and whoever last cleaned here apparently didn't know corners existed, based on all the gunk I cleaned off the walls in the corner.
"So, I had a question," Nanna eventually began. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her making beds. "If you don't mind?"
"I never mind questions, but I can't guarantee I have answers," I replied, dragging a chair over so that I could reach a bit higher. Seriously, the amount of skimping… Aideen would've tied them into knots! "What is it?"
"Um… well…" She took her time, and when I looked at her again, I saw she was blushing. "I was wondering… how do you let someone know that you're interested? Or gauge their interest? Romantically, I mean."
"Huh?" I definitely had to do a double-take there. "Why ask me?"
"Because you're in such a happy relationship? And um…" Her blush deepened. "You all helped Lana and Ulster…"
"True." I climbed off the chain and leaned against the (clean) wall, thinking. "The best way, in my opinion, is to be sincere and straightforward. Trying to be coy and all is cute, but it could lead to your words being misinterpreted. That said, it's way easier said than done for most."
"Yes…" She nodded, thoughtful now. And still blushing. Seriously, she was bright enough to glow! "Did you have difficulties?"
"My case was a bit… odd. But yes, I nearly had a full-blown panic attack at the thought. I was scared of losing the closeness and making things awkward." I smiled at her and ruffled her hair. "What helped me through was actually my friends. Especially Diarmuid, who reminded me that he wouldn't push if he thought things would be awkward. After all, we're all a pretty close group, so that awkwardness would affect us all."
"So, a good way to assess the situation would be to talk to those close to me and him…" She nodded, giggling. "Yes, that makes sense." She finished making the bed and smoothed out her skirt before moving to the next one. "I'm sorry for the random question. I asked Eleri, of course, and Selfina, but I was curious about what advice you'd have."
"Honored and surprised you think I have the wisdom to give advice." I grinned at her and tossed the rag I'd been using with the other dirty laundry and got a clean one to work on the next wall. Corner, rather. "Who's Selfina?"
"One of Father's friends." She frowned as she pulled a blanket off, and showed it to me. I nearly choked when I saw the gigantic hole in it. What the hell?! "She and Glade were Father's only friends before he joined Sigurd's army."
"I see." I wondered why he only had them. Oh well, not my business. "And Eleri is like an older sister to you, right? Leif mentioned that."
"Yes, and she's in a relationship with Eda, a Thracian Knight who joined us." She sighed gustily. "Oh, I hope things are still going well for them…"
"A Thracian Knight?" I grinned to hide my surprise. Given what Thracia had done to Leonster, I wouldn't have expected any in Leif's army. Clearly, I'd done him an injustice. "Now that sounds interesting."
"How she joined or how they confessed?" She shrugged. "Neither is really as interesting as it sounds, mind, but…"
"I can find interest in most things. How about I trade you story for story? I'm not sure what all you've heard, but I can guarantee you that things were far less interesting than the songs make them sound."
"Well…"
As I helped her, we both talked about our journeys thus far. Quick summaries, most of it, but enough to get an idea of what all we've gone through. And our hopes for the next parts of the journey. When things calmed down, we were definitely doing a girls' night or something. I had a feeling it would be super fun.
A few days later, Bramsel tried to take back Darna. It failed miserably, but he simply retreated and came back with Javarro's forces and whoever else he gathered. Or Javarro gathered. Whichever. Regardless, the second time was a little more successful. They got through the city gates, at least.
"Mursili, why is everyone breaking formation?" I asked, frowning as I saw the panic in the ranks. After the first 'attack', we discussed how best to defend the city, and eventually realized that just leaving it to the guard was the thing to do. After all, they were actually trained for this sort of thing. We six 'outsiders', and well as Ares and Lene... well, our job was to support where we could, but it was hard to do that when they were running all over the place. "Got a few falling back to the infirmary with Lene and Hestia." Because that's the main thing Lene was doing. She had some medicinal knowledge, so she was helping with field medicine and the like. Hestia was with her for protection, and for comfort. I worried for her, but she had begged for something to do, so…
"Working on getting a report on that, my lady," Mursili replied, more than a little nervous. I'd requested he take over the guards, since I knew he could be trusted. No one protested, and I wondered if that was a belief in him or a belief in us. "It happened quite suddenly."
"Of course." I patted his back. "Hey, you're doing fine. I'm sorry if I sounded snappy."
"My life used to be so much simpler." He sighed. "But it was bought with the blood of others."
"And now, it's our turn to pay the price."
"Yes."
I stayed with him until a scout reported, but the report left me cold. Fire. Bramsel and Javarro were having their fighters set the city on fire. I was immediately running back to the main part of the city, wondering just what I could do. Fjalar's descendents could control flame, but when I climbed to the roof of a house, I saw the fire was spreading rapidly. I didn't think I could do it. Some of it, yes. All of it? If I were a Major, sure, but...
"Riona!" It took me a full second to recognize the voice, because I wasn't used to hearing Tine yell at all. "Can you help me up?" she asked when I looked down. "I can climb, but I can't climb like a cat!"
"Get up as high as you can and I'll help you from there," I replied, half-climbing down. She managed to almost get to me via windows and ledges, but we did have to do a couple of risky reaches and jumps to get her fully onto the roof. "So, what's up?"
"B-besides us?" She smiled nervously, and I had to snicker at the joke. "Um… you and I are cousins. We share Fjalar blood, yes?"
"Yes?" I got it in an instance. I was still used to being the only one with Fjalar blood in the group. Arthur rarely used anything but thunder. "If I get half, can you get the other half?"
"I… I don't know, but it can't be much harder than seizing thunder, right?"
"Well, we can certainly try." I turned away, facing one half, and I felt her turn the other way. After a moment, she stepped back so that were were back-to-back. "Okay, here we go…!"
It was hard. It was very hard. Almost immediately, my head was throbbing. I swore my blood was boiling in my veins. My throat and mouth dried out. My vision blurred, making the world hazy. But I refused to yield and after a second of eternity, I was able to tear the flames from the buildings and raise them into the sky, the only 'safe' place I could think of. Behind me, Tine trembled, but when I spared a moment to check on her, I saw she had managed the same. Fire in the sky.
"Want to throw it?" I croaked. My lip split just from that; I tasted the blood. "I can't hold it much longer."
"Neither can I, so let's throw it towards the desert?" Tine suggested. Her voice was very thin and crackly. "One… two…"
Both of us threw the fire simultaneously and we both fell to our knees at how wobbly and unbalanced we were. But we managed to not completely collapse, mostly by leaning against each other, and the fires were gone. Smoke slowly spiraled into the air, but that was it. There was some damage, but that was it. She and I did it. And, based on the sudden burst of cheers, the morale boost to our fighters just added to it.
"Next time we do that, we're dragging Arthur into it," Tine whimpered. She coughed and rubbed at her mouth, smearing some blood. Her lips were cracked too. "Definitely."
"And Yuria," I added, feeling like I'd just sparred Shanan and Oifeye simultaneously. Though, absently, I added 'Conall' to that list too. Hopefully… "Ugh… and we have to keep going… or I have to. You can rest."
"No, I chose to help, so…"
"Okay." I pushed myself up first, taking a couple of deep breaths to steady myself, and held out my hand. "Here." She took it and let me pull her up. "Houses are packed together here, aren't they?" If the fire had spread further… how many homes were already gone? "I'm going to go jumping." And if I had to do magic again, then I was using my Fire Sword. "What about you?"
"I am not climbing down." She grimaced at the thought. "Following you."
"Fine by me!"
We both took off, jumping from roof to roof. Or even just straight running from roof to roof where they were particularly close together. As we ran, I looked around at the various battles, checking to see how things were going. Below, I saw Larcei protect a guard by grabbing an enemy's axe by the blade and slamming it into their face; the guard then gutted the enemy, taking advantage of the dropped guard despite the fear in their face. An archer tried to shoot them, but Patty used her Wind Sword's magic to disorient them before darted in to kill them. I caught her eye and grinned and she waved back before rushing off, doing lots of hit and runs to help with distractions. Despite the wounds the rest of us had, Patty looked completely fine. Ulir luck, as per usual, doing strange things. But no time to grumble about that. Because as we got closer to the gates, the fighting became more and more chaotic, and before long, I saw that it was more than chaotic. Our defensive lines were in complete disarray, and they had no time to reform with the enemy bearing down on them.
Automatically, I drew Dad's silver blade, intending to jump down and assist, but I thought better of it. With things that jumbled, I'd just be a hindrance below. And I couldn't really do a fireball without hurting my own. So, I decided to just… wing it and sheathed the silver blade again to pop the Fire Sword a little out of its own sheathe. I used it as a spark to pool fire into my hand, but instead of throwing it as normal, I… well, I did throw it. But now as a fireball or anything. I threw it between our allies and our enemies and willed it to spread, forming a wall. A wall to protect the guards while they got themselves reorganized. And it worked. It worked better than manipulating the fire before, possibly because this was my own magic, shaping to my intent.
"Can you fence them in?" Tine asked me. She was frowning, considering something. "Is that something that you can do?"
"Sure, why not?" I replied, since hell if I actually knew. But I focused on the fire and made it grow, pouring more magic into it so that it could. It took a moment for me to figure out how to make it go multiple directions and all, but before long, I had the enemy completely fenced in by the flames. "That good?"
"Yes…" She pulled out her Elthunder tome and held it to her chest. "Okay… just like Reinhardt taught me…" She took a deep breath, and concentrated, lightning crackling around her. The force of her magic made her clothes and pigtails flutter, like in a breeze, and she slowly brought up her hand. "And… now!" With a sharp gesture, she cast the spell and a single lightning bolt struck. Right in the center of the group. And they all writhed and spasmed in pain before falling, still. Dead. "It worked!"
"What did you do exactly?" I dispelled the fire and sagged briefly, tired. Holding spells was exhausting. I'd known that, of course, but I was feeling it now. "Like…"
"When people are all clustered together, the lightning can chain about, though you have to cast the spell a little differently." She laughed nervously, clutching the tome now. "F-first time I've done it, though. Oh, I might be sick…"
"If you're going to vomit, vomit on the enemy." I managed a tired grin, and she snorted. "Okay, I, at least, need to head down at this point. You?"
"I think I'll stay up. Lightning is better from above."
"See you later, then." I winked at her and then climbed down the house. I slipped a few times, but nothing too bad. "Okay… Uh…"
"Oh, Lene is over that way!" Tine called down. She pointed towards the walls of the city. "I hope everything is okay…"
"I'll go check!" Yay, something to do! "Stay safe!"
I'd barely gotten two blocks away from her before wishing I'd taken my own advice. While turning down an alley to try and get around a battle, I found myself looking right at an enemy. Who had clearly been waiting for someone to come that way so that they could ambush them, because while I was trying to recover, they were already moving, their sword ready to take my head. Because of their speed, and the limited room, I didn't have time to properly draw my sword at all. But I did still have the Fire Sword popped out, so I drew more fire from it, and thrust out my hand, intending to launch the fireball. You know… like usual. Instead, I accidentally shoved the fire into the person's face and therefore, released the spell point-blank. The result was a thoroughly charred skull… with the skin sloughing off because even the simple act of removing my hand from what was left of their face was enough to tear it apart.
"Oh… I am going to be throwing up so much later…" I whimpered, barely keeping my stomach in check. Hadn't meant to do that. Hadn't meant to do that at all. "Ugh…" I stepped gingerly around the body and shook my hand to try and get rid of the horrible sticky feeling on my hand. But it wouldn't go away, even after I roughly wiped it across the stone of the nearby buildings. "That is so joining the nightmares…"
I leaned against the building briefly, closing my eyes to gather whatever will and courage I had left. Then I made myself walk forward, because I knew I had to. I couldn't let even something like this shake me. So, I kept on going, despite my own exhaustion catching up to me and making it hard to walk. I seriously felt like someone had strapped full suits of armor to each of my limbs. I did my best to not look it, but it took me a second to even realize I'd made it to the gates of the wall. Took me another to realize I almost walked right in the middle of Ares and Javarro fighting.
No idea when it started, since last I'd heard, Ares had been helping guards closer to the castle gates. But it was brutal. They matched each other blow for blow, and I quickly saw how Javarro had accounted for Ares's greater strength: making deliberate holes in his guard to make sure he could block in a way that had the strongest part of his sword meeting the weakest part of Mystletainn. Of course, knowing Diarmuid and the crazy stuff he'd done, I thought that shouldn't have worked, but it was possible Ares held back. Either on instinct or because no matter how angry he was, he was fighting the person who saved his life as a child. But the number of wounds on both showed that the fight couldn't go on much longer, and I absently wondered if I should interfere or stay out of it.
Turned out that I didn't have to decide. Javarro disarmed Ares, but Ares surged forward and grabbed Javarro by the face. Then, in one smooth motion, Ares slammed Javarro into the ground, cracking his skull against the ground. Or, rather, exploding the damn skull because there wasn't a head left! Just a pile of mush and blood, and bone splinters all over the place, from Ares's hand to my own face, because a piece had flown that far.
"That's going to be fun to pick out," I deadpanned, because my other option was definitely throwing up. Ares glanced back at me before looking at his very bloody hand. That had pieces of Javarro's skull embedded into it. Because my brain couldn't let that go at all. "Well, whatever. Do what you do. Any idea where Bramsel is?"
"No, not at all," Ares replied. He limped over to where Mystletainn had landed and picked it up with his not-bone-embedded hand. "You're not too surprised by what happened."
"I've grown up with Diarmuid. Who is Hezul Minor. And I also grew up with three people with Ulir luck. You want weird? Watch an Ulir in a dangerous situation. I swear that the laws of physics break before them." I rambled that off, a bit too tired to filter things out, but he laughed, so all was well. Or something. "Okay, seriously, how about I help you back so that we can at least get your hand treated and…?"
There was movement above. I barely saw it, and Ares whirled as soon as he did. There, up on the wall, was Bramsel, wielding a javelin. I didn't expect him with a weapon. I didn't think he'd know how to fight at all, but he held the javelin with near-perfect form and seemed to know exactly what he was doing. Which was, clearly, chucking a lance right at Ares…!
Except, that didn't happen. It didn't happen, because someone shoved Bramsel right before he threw the lance, making the lance clatter to the stone of the wall. It wasn't until the someone kicked him and picked up the lance that I realized it was Lene. And I could only watch in shock as she hit Bramsel over the head with his own lance and knocked him off the wall. Mostly. He caught himself with one hand. One hand with a slipping grip.
"...You can't do anything with dignity, can you?" Lene asked coldly. Then, with a glare as icy as her voice, she stabbed Bramsel's hand, so that he fell. He fell, screaming, and hit the ground with a strangely loud 'splat'. It was only afterwards that I remembered the whole reason why I'd been heading towards the wall had been because Tine had seen Lene heading this way. "Ah…"
"Lene!" Ares called. He ran towards the nearby staircase up to the wall. Absently, I walked over to Bramsel's body and nudged it to confirm he was dead. "Lene, are you okay?"
"I… uh… might be sick once I stop being mad at him?" Lene dropped the lance and, when Ares made it up to her, she half-collapsed against him. "Ha… but look! I got to save you. For once."
"...You idiot…" Ares held her tightly with his less-injured arm. "You save me every day."
Hestia found me by Bramsel's body, nosing it to confirm the death for herself. I petted her and sighed, looking up briefly at Ares and Lene before trudging back towards the main part of the battle, with Hestia following me. This wouldn't last much longer. Not with the two leaders dead.
Darna wouldn't cause us anymore trouble, it seemed. But it would be a bit before we returned to Melgen. There was a lot to clean.
Arthur
Class: Mage; Skills: Wrath, Pursuit
The seventeen year old son of Azel of Velthomer and Tailtiu of Friege, though thanks to Friege soldiers, he barely has memories of either and was raised by an elderly woman in a remote village. Because he lost his family when he was young, and because his caretaker wasn't the most affectionate of people, he can be a little prickly, especially at first glance, and has underdeveloped social skills.
Bears the Marks of Thrud and Fjalar on his right hand, which spiral around his wrist and bleed partially down the top of his hand. Their blessings gives him a boost to his ability to take pain, his stamina, his magic, and his skill. They also bless him with the ability to conjure fire and lightning without tomes, though he has mostly used this ability with lightning (by accident).
Though he is best with fire and thunder, he is very skilled in all three elemental magics, due to his heritage and growing up in Silesse. His greatest asset, though, is his ability to quickly tear through enemies, especially if he has time to convert the pain he has endured into power, a trick he inherited from his mother. He's not the most defensive fighter, though, due to spending so much time alone… and only recently gaining people who cared if he lived or died.
Originally planned on leaving the army after checking in on Tine, but finds himself lingering. He keeps telling himself that it's stupid to get involved in such a big war, but he can't stand the thought of leaving the people of the army behind. Not to mention Ishtore's dying words burrowing deep into his heart, making him want to be the person Ishtore thought he was.
Author's notes: So, I did things a tad out of order here. Typically, you kill Bramsel, seize Darna, and then have Ares enter Darna in order to recruit Lene. But I liked the idea of Lene killing Brams, so I shifted things. As for Ares… well, after you capture Melgen, Ares appears on the field with Javarro and then you get a string of cutscenes where Bramsel orders the guards to grab and take Lene away (with the implication that he plans to rape her), and Javarro (randomly in game) brings this up to Ares. Ares decides that Javarro is a jackass and is auto-recruited at that point. Ares is, of course, a killing machine, but since he doesn't really have a reliable way to heal on his own (in the game), he does need support (because he kills like… everyone, meaning he constantly loses health and while he does have Ambush, he's not necessarily killing things in one hit without a critical at this point). Though, there may be a church nearby? I can't remember.
Anyway, it's left ambiguous in game whether or not Bramsel… succeeded in his attempts on Lene, and I chose against it for my own reasons. This whole thing is also why I have Lene being among the older children. Bad enough for an eighteen year old, but if I kept to the canon timeline of this being Gran 777 instead of Gran 779, then Lene would've been 16. And if she'd been one of the younger children, then she would've been even younger. Yeah. For people asking why I made her older, here you go.
So, in FE5, Reinhardt actually has two swords associated with him. One is a super fancy, semi-broken sword that he never uses in game, but will give to his sister (Olwen) if she talks to him. The other is the Master Sword or the Meisterschwert as it seems to be called in the localization. In Fe5, it basically just acts as a stronger brave sword (much like in Heroes). However, the sword also appears in FE3/12 as a crit-based silver sword (same might, but +25% critical rate). It's this iteration I'm using for the sword Riona stole from Reinhardt last chapter (hence the slightly different description than the one Reinhardt uses in Fe5 and Heroes), because I thought it suited Riona better.
While in FE4, axe knights (and their promotions) only used axes, they are capable of using both axes and swords in FE5 (sorta, because of the god-awful dismounting thing there). Also in either game, Diarmuid can't actually learn lances, but I thought it would be something he'd do to spend time with his father, so he's picking up a second weapon.
Leif's explanation about Dorias dying refers to events in his game. And yes, I know that there's a conversation where August says something to Leif about Julius in FE5, but that's being tweaked. Because I can. (More seriously, it's to keep in line with how no one seems to know what's going on in FE4.)
A neat thing about FE4 is that there is a 'road' terrain, with its own bonuses. It decreases avoid, but it 'boosts' movement (i.e. you can reach your destination faster via the road than the plain right next to it). Forests, as per usual, reduce movement as well. So, Riona's comment to Layla about how long she ran is a nod to both.
Next Chapter - Interlude, Lull (ftr, we're almost done with Game-Chapter 7)
