In which Thomas reflects on his altercation with Luca Blight, Cecile panics about the entire ordeal, and Kinnison imparts another warning.
Thomas's heart is in the right place, even if his ideas about Luca Blight staying at Budehuc aren't the most logically sound.
But I wouldn't have a story if he didn't keep living in the castle, after all.
The contents of this chapter are loosely based on a series of comment threads from March 10th, 2005.
"Master Thomas, how many fingers am I holding up!?"
A single candle sat atop the nearby infirmary desk, illuminating Cecile's panicked face with a contrastingly cheerful glow. Thomas sighed and gingerly removed his jacket, taking care not to irritate his new wound. "Cecile, I'm okay. It just stings a little, that's all."
She immediately reached over and took his coat, her mouth set in a grim frown at the sight of blood and the torn shoulder seam. "I just can't believe it! How could anyone think that's an appropriate way to behave!? I mean… I probably shouldn't have yelled, but—"
"C-Cecile… please don't blame yourself. All things considered, it could've gone much worse."
"Worse?!" Cecile's voice rose to almost a frantic squeak as her hands flew to her mouth. "I...I don't even want to imagine that! I'm going to fetch Sir Tuta, but… I don't like the thought of leaving you alone. Are you sure you'll be okay? You won't pass out!?"
"I promise, I won't pass out."
"You're not lightheaded? Dizzy? Nauseous!?"
Despite being uninjured herself, Cecile's expression was far more peakish than his own. Thomas sighed again and offered a weak smile as he rolled his shoulder in hopes that it would put her nerves at ease. "See? I'll be okay."
Her stare was intense. He felt himself growing flustered under her close scrutiny. Cecile's eyes darted back over to his torn coat, then she sighed. "All right… I believe you, Master Thomas! Please wait right there, I'll be back in a jiffy!" She saluted and sprinted out of the room.
What an evening…
His shoulders slumped. Thomas carefully ran his fingers across his new injury. Although the young castle master wasn't a warrior by any means, after enough training sessions with Juan, even Thomas knew the strike wasn't meant to be fatal.
Which means...this was a warning.
It didn't take a strategic genius to decipher the meaning behind such a warning. It was meant to intimidate and make a statement. Whatever the Highlander's reasons for staying at Budehuc were, Thomas was already questioning his decision to welcome Luca Blight to Budehuc. Although they housed questionable individuals during the war, this was a new breed of "questionable." And this time around they didn't have a collection of True Rune bearers at their disposal in case someone needed to be restrained. Thomas had heard rumors that Geddoe was staying on the castle grounds somewhere, but he had yet to see the mercenary with his own eyes and assumed he had his own agenda.
Besides, I can't always rely on others to keep things under control...
Rowdy residents weren't unusual. Drunken bar fights, disorderly conduct, petty theft, and property vandalism were all challenges he learned to tackle over the past six years as castle master. It wouldn't be the first time a resident was less than respectful, but it was the first time in recent memory someone actually lashed out against him. Although Thomas wasn't entirely pleased that the younger Viki took matters into her own hands and teleported the troublemaker off to Budehuc's jail, he couldn't help but feel relieved he didn't have to directly handle disciplining Luca.
The infirmary door quietly clicked open, shaking Thomas from his thoughts.
"Ah, Cecile—"
"Thomas!" Kinnison rushed in, his voice high with alarm. "Are you okay?"
Thomas swallowed nervously and was unable to stop himself from stuttering. "I-I'm fine. It's barely a scratch."
Kinnison exhaled in relief. "I just passed Cecile in the halls. She made it sound like you lost your arm!"
"My…? Oh no, I promise, I still have it," Thomas lifted both arms to reassure Kinnison, then winced. "It's just a bit sore, that's all. Some bandage is all I need to patch it up."
"I knew it...I knew this was bad news. If I had been there…"
"Kinnison, it's not your fault."
"Yes it is!" the archer frowned and grabbed Thomas by the hand. A fresh surge of embarrassment colored the castle master's face. Despite Kinnison's serious expression, all Thomas could think about was their brief time together during Yun's Valetine's Day dinner. "You don't know Luca, but I do," Kinnison continued, his voice rising with passion, "I was there during the Dunan Unification War. You don't know what kinds of things I've seen," his expression darkened. "The kinds of atrocities he committed...it wasn't human."
"K...Kinnison…"
"He's supposed to be dead, Thomas! He died! It took a fleet of archers along with eighteen of our most elite fighters to kill him! And I... I just stood by and let him walk right through the castle gates and into your home..."
Thomas felt his new injury tingle uncomfortably. "Kinnison...if...if he's as dangerous as you say, there's nothing I could have done when he arrived in the first place to stop him. I don't have eighteen elite fighters at my disposal. There are no battalions of archers at Budehuc. Even during our own war we barely managed to scrape by."
"I...I know," Kinnison deflated and sat opposite Thomas in the infirmary's guest chair, still holding the castle master's hand. "And while he hasn't killed anyone yet, how long is that going to last? Who's going to stop him this time? Can he be stopped? And why is he even here in the first place? How is he even here? What are we going to do?"
The onslaught of questions was dizzying. Thomas didn't want to admit that he still hadn't found the time to make a visit to the library and study up on the war Kinnison was mentioning. It was hard to accept there was someone truly dangerous living amongst them. After several years of peacetime, Thomas didn't want to acknowledge that maybe those quiet days were coming to an end, and it was even harder to admit that it could be attributed to a single resident. Outlandish, even. After all, plenty of difficult residents had taken up lodging at Budehuc in the past.
Then again, those troublemakers weren't formerly dead warriors from the past...
"Well," Thomas drew in a breath, "we have people here from all over. Grassland, Zexen… people who had a history of fighting wars against each other in the past, but eventually put aside their differences and became friends. We all came together to make it work. Who's to say we can't make this work too? Maybe some time alone in jail will help him cool his head."
"Thomas, he hurt you!"
"T-then...I'll just have to be stronger. This is my home—our home. If he wants to stay here, he's going to have to learn to love it just like we do, or leave. I would be letting down Cecile and the others if I didn't at least try. There were so many others we could have turned away during the war, but we welcomed them in."
Kinnison quietly brushed his thumb across the top of Thomas's hand. The gesture set his nerves on edge again. "You… you might not be a fighter, but you have so much in common with him. I can see why people follow you."
"I...er…who…?"
The archer offered a warm smile. "The last leader I followed… there's something about you that reminds me of him. I want to believe in you. Even if this whole thing sounds ridiculous, somehow it doesn't feel ridiculous when I hear you talk about it. Every time you speak about Budehuc, it's like… I just know you'll figure out the right thing to do."
Am I really though? Do I really know the right thing to do?
Suddenly the infirmary door flew open. Cecile stood at the threshold waving a roll of gauze, Tuta hovering quietly behind her. "Master Thomas! I brought Sir Tuta! And spare bandages! Are you still okay?! I was—" she immediately flustered as her eyes landed on Thomas's hand in Kinnison's. "O-oh...oh, I'm sorry, I...ah…"
"C-Cecile," he swallowed back another swell of anxiety. "T...thank you, that's fine."
"It's no problem at all! I...I have to get back to my patrol and check on Miss Yun! I'm so sorry!" Cecile offered a hasty salute and smacked the roll of gauze against the visor of her helmet before handing it off to Tuta. The doctor awkwardly stood off to the side, glancing between the three of them.
Kinnison quietly retracted his hand. Before Thomas could interject, Cecile was already scrambling down the hallway with loud, clattering footsteps. For reasons he couldn't identify, seeing her reaction felt even more embarrassing than Kinnison's affectionate gesture.