Chapter 24: Preparations

The streets of Ylisstol were abuzz with rumors of all sorts. After the Exalt had formally announced the upcoming arrival of the Plegian hierophant, tensions had risen to a fever pitch.

The palace was more crowded than usual. After Lucina sent word to him via pegasus courier, Laurent had ordered the Shepherds south to the capital, leaving only a minimal force to maintain their headquarters. The castle staff had worked feverishly to prepare one of the abandoned wings of the palace for habitation, enlisting the knights to assist with moving the bulkier pieces of furniture.

At times, they were perhaps a bit too enthusiastic in lending a hand. Severa caught Lily in the hallway late one afternoon, apparently trying to move a full-sized wardrobe entirely by herself.

"You're going to hurt yourself, you know..." Severa remarked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Huh?! Oh, it's you." Lily rolled her shoulders. "Don't worry, it's not like I'm trying to move it up a flight of stairs or anything. It just needs to get from one end of the hall to the other." She lifted one side of it just barely off the ground and pushed. The wardrobe made a loud scraping sound as it slid a few inches further down the hallway.

"Maybe not, but dragging it along the floor like that might damage it," Severa pointed out. "How long have you been at this, anyway?"

"An hour, maybe."

Severa looked past Lily to the end of the hall, then back over her shoulder. "Well, then, I guess I should lend a hand, or you'll be here all day."

"Only if you don't mind," said Lily quickly, relief evident on her face.

They moved the wardrobe down the hall in short spurts—even with two of them, it was still heavy and solid, and they couldn't haul it more than several feet at a time without having to pause to catch their breath. "I'm amazed you were trying to do this on your own," Severa panted during one of their breaks.

Lily rubbed at the back of her neck, wincing. "I thought it'd be good training to help me get stronger..."

"There's a difference between strength training and stupidity," said Severa, her voice tart. Lily guffawed.

"Yeah, yeah. I guess I might've been going a bit overboard." She leaned against one of the walls. "Still, if it helps me protect the people I care about, I don't mind being a little bit stupid."

Severa smiled. "Speaking of which, how are things between you and Teresa?"

"Things are good," said Lily, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "She's been sleeping a lot better these past couple of months, and, uh..."

"You don't have to go into too much detail," Severa teased.

Lily's blush deepened. "You're not being very nice, Severa."

"Since when have I been nice?" said Severa, winking.

"I've been meaning to ask..." Lily began, then trailed off.

"Ask what, exactly?"

Lily blinked, and she quickly shook her head. "No, never mind. I don't really need to know, and it's none of my business, anyway."

"...I see." Severa tapped on the side of the wardrobe and changed the subject. "I reckon two or three more lifts should do it for this."

"Probably three, if we want to get it properly against the wall," said Lily.

"Heave-ho, then..."

As they lugged the wardrobe into its proper place, Severa couldn't help but think she knew what Lily had been about to ask, and it soured her mood. My love life is nonexistent, despite any assumptions to the contrary. And it's certainly not something I'd want to talk about.

Winter's grip on the land began to slacken. While the improving weather was a boon to travel along the roads, it was a double-edged sword. The Shepherds had their hands full dealing with it: requests from local officials to clear mudslides left by the melting snows, from merchants worried about bandits targeting their goods, and from hunters who had sighted Risen on their expeditions.

Cynthia joined the royal pegasus knights in scouting missions to support the Shepherds. As commander, she believed in leading from the front, so she spent most of her time away from the capital. It made no significant difference to Severa's workload—she'd already handled most of the administrative work on her own—but she did find herself missing her friend's cheery optimism.

"I'd hoped that things would calm down a bit, but I guess it's just our luck to be dealing with one thing after another," she said to Laurent one afternoon. The two of them were in Ylisstol's military headquarters, sorting through stacks of reports from their forces in the field.

Laurent lifted his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose. "I never took you for a blind optimist, but perhaps I must reconsider my biases."

"Hey, I never said I expected things to calm down," Severa pointed out. "Just that I hoped they would."

"...Fair enough." Laurent frowned at the report he was perusing, then slid it across the table to Severa. "If there's one thing I'm confident of, though, it's that we're unlikely to run out of problems anytime soon."

Severa took the paper and quickly skimmed it. Apparently some Valmese nobleman's private hunting ground was overrun with "undesirable guests"—evidently a euphemism for poachers—and he seemed to think that the Shepherds should make its cleansing their highest priority. "Doesn't seem like a real problem to me," she said in an acidic tone. "Pompous ass. Probably has more game there than one man could hunt in a lifetime, and he's still on about the peasants 'stealing' from him."

"I quite agree," said Laurent, "but he also controls the main mountain pass between Valm's capital and its main port. As distasteful as it may be, we need to keep him placated."

"Politics," muttered Severa. "Gods, why did I ever let myself get involved in this?"

Laurent's expression was almost pitying. "On the path you've chosen, there was no avoiding it."

Severa absorbed his remark with a faint smile. I suppose that's true. As long as it's for Lucina, I would do anything. Even if I can't be by her side, I can still watch her back.

There was a knock at the door. Laurent called out without looking up from his desk. "You may enter."

The door opened and Kira of the Shepherds came in. She'd clearly arrived recently, and come straight from the stables: her boots and the hem of her cloak were still spattered with spots of mud from the road. She saluted. "Commander!"

"At ease, Kira." Laurent set down the papers he was looking at and gave her his full attention. "I assume you have something for me?"

Despite Laurent's admonition, Kira didn't relax completely. She licked nervously at her lips before speaking up again. "Yes, sir. The latest missive from the merchants' guilds."

Kira reached into her satchel and held out a sealed scroll. Laurent accepted it, breaking it open and quickly looking it over. Evidently satisfied, he looked back at Kira. "You have done well. Take a few hours' rest, and get a good meal before you head out on the road again."

The paladin looked relieved. "As you say, sir! Thank you, sir!" She saluted Laurent, then Severa, and hurried out of the room.

"So..." said Severa in a leading tone. "Not gonna keep all of the hot merchant gossip to yourself, are you?"

"The merchant guilds have been keeping us apprised of the road conditions," said Laurent, leaning over his desk to pass the missive to Severa. "According to this, the mountain passes into Plegia have fully cleared."

"We expected as much, didn't we?"

Laurent nodded. "This simply gives us confirmation that Hierophant Morgan's visit will proceed as planned, without any delays."

"I suppose it does." She kept her face carefully blank.

"Severa..."

Something in his tone made Severa wince. Oh, gods, what is it now? "Yeah?"

"I get the sense that you now more about this than you are letting on," said Laurent bluntly.

Damn him and his intuition! She put up a defiant front. "Is that a problem?"

"Perhaps not. I take it your silence on the matter means whatever knowledge you have was shared in confidence by the Exalt, and I would not ask you to break trust."

"That's awful considerate of you," said Severa, her voice dry.

"However," Laurent continued, "this means that any additional measures taken in light of that information will be left to you alone. I suggest you confer with Her Grace."

"I'll do that," said Severa. "Might as well get to it now, if that's okay with you."

"I have no objections." Laurent smiled and straightened his glasses. "You've finished your share of paperwork for the day."

Severa pushed back her chair and got to her feet, stretching. "Thank goodness for that." She gave Laurent a casual wave as she headed out the door. "Later, then."

Lucina wasn't in her room when Severa knocked on the door. Asking the castle staff led Severa to the training field, where she found the Exalt working up a sweat despite the early spring chill.

"Hey, Lucina," she called as she approached.

"Severa." Lucina nodded, not dropping the tip of her blade. The heavy wood whooshed through the air as she continued her practice swings.

Severa smirked. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything too important."

"Not particularly," said Lucina. "To be honest, I wasn't keeping too careful of a count. The thirtieth swing feels much the same as the twenty-ninth, and so forth."

"If you're losing count, maybe you should take a break," said Severa. "Who are you expecting to fight, anyway?"

Lucina grinned sheepishly. "It's more that I've never had reason to come up with any other way of clearing my head."

"Yeah, I guess." Despite her attempts to joke around, Severa understood Lucina's mindset completely. During their lifetime, they had known nothing but war. Their ingrained desire to be ready for the worst at any time would never be completely unlearned.

"I assume you have something you'd like to speak to me about, correct?" Lucina lowered her sword at last and leaned up against one of the training dummies.

"You don't know that. Maybe I'm just here because I like talking to you," said Severa with a wink. Lucina chuckled and waved a hand.

"Well?"

"According to the latest report from our scouts, the passes into Plegia have cleared. The Hierophant should have no difficulty making his journey to Ylisstol."

"That is good to hear," said Lucina, nodding.

"When he arrives..." Severa paused, looking around. The training ground was empty apart from the two of them, and there was nothing nearby that a would-be eavesdropper could use to hide. "I... I think it would be for the best if I'm not one of the people who meets him. Not officially, at least."

Lucina's brow furrowed. "Why do you say that?"

"Knowing what I do about him, I don't think I'd be able to act naturally." Severa bit her lip. "But I don't want to leave your side, either."

"Hmm." Lucina looked thoughtful. "I think I may have an idea for that..."

"So why exactly are you being so secretive?" Severa grumbled.

"Because this is a secret, obviously!"

"Oh, please."

Severa trailed behind Lucina as they headed to the throne room. The Exalt seemed to be in surprisingly high spirits, humming to herself as she led the way. "To tell the truth, I probably wouldn't have known about it either, if it weren't for your father."

"Wait, hold on, daddy told you about this?"

"Sir Frederick was one of the Halidom's most trusted advisors," said Lucina. "When my father wished for his counsel on matters of state, it was better to know that he had firsthand knowledge of what was being discussed. After all, my father was not the most skilled at explanations..."

Severa snorted. "Yeah. I guess with sensitive political stuff, the exact words that people use really matter."

"Precisely." Lucina opened the doors of the throne room and motioned Severa inside. "Which is why they made use of the advisors' room."

"The what now?"

Lucina strode quickly to the far end of the room before moving to the right side of the throne and running her hand along the wall. "Let me see if I remember correctly... Ah! There it is." There was a faint click of some hidden mechanism being activated. Moments later, a decorative wooden panel shifted, swinging outward on a hinge.

"Whoa!" Severa's eyes widened. "How long has this been here?"

"I don't think anyone knows for sure," said Lucina. "But regardless of that, this should serve perfectly."

Severa poked her head into the secret room and looked around. It seemed comfortable, if understandably dusty: a small writing table with indentations for an inkwell and a candlestick, a sturdy chair with a worn cushion on the seat, and a stool that could serve as a footrest. The ceiling was too low to stand comfortably inside, but that was probably intentional.

"So if I'm in here, I'll be able to hear whatever you're talking about in the throne room?"

"Right. The way the throne room was built makes it so that sound carries to this room quite easily." Lucina swung the panel further open to show Severa the back. "Also, if you slide this bit over to the side—"

"I'll be able to see what's going on, too?" Severa grinned. "Good grief. I had no idea the royal family was so sneaky." A thought occurred to her, and her eyes narrowed as Lucina swung the panel shut once again. "Hold on. If daddy told you about this..."

Lucina's cheeks flushed. "Oh dear. I suppose I should come clean."

Severa pointed an accusing finger. "I knew there was something fishy going on when you suddenly became unbeatable at hide and seek!"

The Exalt sucked a guilty breath through her teeth. "Even I got competitive sometimes. And when Sir Frederick overheard me complaining to my parents about being found too easily, he said he'd give me a secret weapon."

"The nerve of him!" Severa exclaimed. "That's practically cheating! All this time I thought you'd found a way to turn invisible, and instead you were just sitting in here..."

Lucina put her hands together, smiling. "I'm sorry, truly, I am. How can I make it up to you?"

"Hmph!" Severa crossed her arms and turned away huffily, closing her eyes. "The wounds of childhood games past don't heal easily, especially when I think of all the sweets I gave you as a penalty for losing." She blushed, scratching at her cheek with one finger. "Though honestly, I probably would have shared them with you anyway..."

"Sweets, was it?" said Lucina. "Well, then, why don't the two of us go into town tonight? I'll buy you dessert, as an apology for way back then."

Severa cracked one eye open to look sidelong at Lucina. "Hm. I suppose that'd be a start on your way to redeeming yourself. But don't think I'll accept just one as payback—my forgiveness doesn't come cheap!"

Lucina smiled broadly. "Don't worry. If it comes to that, I have the whole royal treasury at my disposal. I'll spend as much as I need to to get back in your good graces."

Severa faked a cough into her hand as an excuse to cover up her rapidly deepening blush. "Good grief, I wasn't serious, you know... Ugh. There's no way I could stay mad at you, especially for something so silly."

"Thank you, Severa." Lucina put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "No matter what, I've always been able to count on you. I'm glad you're my friend."

Severa met her liege's eyes and finally gave up on the pretense of irritation, allowing herself a smile. "So am I."