A/N: Sorry I kept you waiting extra-long on this chapter, guys, events conspired against me (one of which was a really painful surgery that took way too long to recover from), but I'm back now. As per the norm of this story, I've already released an audio version of it as of one week ago. If you feel so inclined, please go give it a listen, as I think it is some of my best narration to date. Although, don't get your hopes up too high, I'm no Chris Sabat when it comes to voice acting.

In any case, please read, review, and most importantly, enjoy what is basically going to be a filler/support conversation chapter, with things getting really heated in terms of action next chapter.

All's Fair

"Are we certain that this is a good idea?"

"For the hundredth time, Yinne, no, I am not certain that this is a good idea," Kiara said, exasperated, her blue wings buzzing with irritation. "But it seems to be the right path to take, given the circumstances."

The Shepherds were on the march, headed for a portal to the Outrealms that had been mapped by Robin decades ago, when he went in with half of his comrades to secure an army of Einherjar. He had kept the only copy locked in his private safe, and had eventually passed it on to Morgan when she succeeded him as Grandmaster of Ylisse. Her niece, Kiara, had seen the map a few times, and had been able to mark it on her own map with a margin for error of about five miles, give or take. Even so, she was reasonably confident that she would be able to spot the correct area from the air, as the portal had a couple of landmarks that could help point out its location to anyone who knew what to look for.

Their reason for marching into the space between worlds was a group of bandits that had been kidnapping children from nearby villages and towns, then holding them prisoner in the Outrealms. Since the laws of time apparently did not function the same way in the other dimension, there was no telling how long some of those kids would have been trapped in there. Since those that went into the Outrealms did not age while in them, they faced the possibility that some of the people they would be trying to rescue could have been trapped for years.

It was a depressing thought, but not one nearly as troubling as another that had plagued many of the members of their party. For during their initial encounter with the bandits responsible for the kidnappings, their leader was revealed to bear the likeness of a man they had thought long dead- Mako's future counterpart, Mataras. Whispers of necromancy and ghosts flitted about the campfires, and did nothing to make the son of the Black Swordsman feel any better about the entire situation.

The silver lining to that, Kiara thought, was that she and Lilina had been too busy trying to help their friend keep himself together to be worried about which one of them would win his affections. That wasn't to say that the situation was resolved, but at least the awkward glances and stilted conversations between them had more or less come to a stop.

The girl was snapped out of her musings when Elizabeth asked her, "Hey, Tactician?"

"Yes, Liz?" she asked distractedly as she looked over at her comrade.

"Are we nearly there? We've been hiking for a week now, and no magic portal," the red-head complained with a scowl. "When are we gonna find this thing?"

"Tomorrow, I should think," Kiara replied without looking at her map. Looking up at the sun, she murmured, "About an hour of sunlight left…"

"Should we make camp?" Lilina inquired as they paused before a decline in the forest floor. "We're at higher ground here. More defensible in case of an ambush."

"I agree," the tactician nodded. Turning to Elizabeth, she added, "Mind telling the others that this is where we'll be spending the night?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," the other girl muttered, turning around to go and start passing on the message to the rest of the group.

"W-What do you think we're gonna find in the Outrealms?" Yinne asked nervously.

"Oh, I don't know," Kiara grunted as she laid her pack on the leafy ground in between two mighty redwood trees. "Bandits, for starters. Maybe a few Risen that have managed to hide in there since Grima's demise… Might be a few Einherjar left that we could recruit."

"Risen?!" the half-taguel squeaked. "I, uh… I think I'll be calling in a sick day in advance."

"We don't get sick days," Gilbert, a Sylph fairy boy said as he moved to claim a spot a few meters away from Kiara's.

"We don't?!"

"No, because if we get ill, we have Altman and Brian to take care of us," Lilina giggled.

"This is species endangerment!" Yinne cried helplessly as he bounded off, probably in search of his girlfriend, Minerva. "Save meeeeee…!"

Kiara laughed softly to herself and went to one of the transport wagons in order to get out her tent so that she could set up her shelter for the evening. She was surprised when Mako hopped out of the vehicle, holding a familiar bundle in his arms. "Nice try, pal, but that's my tent," she grinned at him.

"I know," he smiled back, though it was a grim version of the expression. Then again, he had been rather out of sorts since his encounter with Mataras. "I was hoping to help you set up for the evening."

The offer took her off-guard, seeing as he had never offered to do so before. It wasn't that such a gesture was out of character for him- far from it- but she had to wonder why the sudden interest in helping her?

Something in her expression must have hinted at the thoughts going on in her head, because he said in a lowered tone, "Show me where you want to settle in, and I'll explain while I set this up."

Still puzzled and intrigued, she showed him where she had laid her pack, and he followed without a word. Once they had reached the area, he started to roll out the bundle, and said, "This is my way of saying thanks, I suppose."

"Thanks for what?" she asked, surprised by his words.

"For talking with me the other night, before the village was attacked… and for not condemning me as a coward because of my weakness," he said, still maintaining a lowered tone so that the casual observer would not hear him. "I haven't really been able to put into words how much that meant to me, but I am grateful for your companionship, regardless." He looked her in the eye as he straightened up to begin rigging the canvas to one of the wooden supports, and saying, "I know things have been strained between you, me, and Lilina, and that I'm partly to blame for my indecision. But you haven't let that stop you from being there for me. Thank you, Kiara, truly."

She felt a blush coloring her cheeks, but unlike most of the time when heat suffused them, she had no trouble holding his gaze now. Fixing a warm, gentle smile on her face, she said, "You're worth being a friend to, no matter the circumstances, Mako."

"Even if it is my counterpart back from the grave to kill us all?" he asked dryly, but she could see the faintest hint of humor amid the bleak words.

"Even then," she said with a straight face, only to crack another smile at the young man dressed in black. "Besides, whatever he does isn't a reflection of you, remember? You are your own man."

"Yeah," he nodded, though she could tell that he still didn't quite believe the words that he spoke. "Thanks again, Kiara."

"Hey, if you still feel like you owe me thanks, I'll take your dessert ration at dinner," she teased him.

"How dare you?" he pretended to scoff before cracking a small smile of his own, which lightened Kiara's heart considerably.

I'd like to say that seeing him happy is all I want, but that wouldn't be true, she thought as she moved to assist him with erecting her tent. What I really want is to be the one that makes him smile and laugh. Am I a bad person for wanting that? Is it selfishness to want to share in my life with his so that we are both happy? Her thoughts tugged her smile downwards, but she tried to ignore them while they strove to complete the necessary chores that were involved in setting up camp for a small militia.

That night after dinner, Kiara sat alone in her tent, a mostly untouched bowl of soup sitting amid a pile of maps and books that detailed whatever was known about the Outrealms. Some of it belonged to her, but the majority of this small library was on loan to her from Gilbert's personal collection.

She had been poring over the manuscripts for a few hours now, and was completely engrossed in her studies- so much so that she failed to hear the faint swishing of the entrance flap admitting a newcomer. In fact, it wasn't until the intruder coughed gently that she was even aware of their presence.

"Hunh?" she mumbled, looking up with bleary eyes at her cousin, who stood by the entrance with a raised eyebrow. "Oh. Hi, Oliver."

"You doing alright?" he asked her as he moved to stand across the table from her, glancing at the maps she had scattered about. "You've been at this a little too long from the looks of things."

"I'm fine; it's just a little hard on my eyes, reading with nothing but candlelight to brighten the tent," she sighed as she rubbed her red-rimmed orbs. "Did you need something?"

"Just to check in on our commanding officer," he replied with a light smile. "Kiara, please get some rest. We're going to be taking a pretty big risk tomorrow, going into the Outrealms. Our comrades need you well-rested so that you can make good decisions."

"I need to finish reading all of these if I'm going to be making well-informed decisions when we go in," she argued tiredly. "I can sacrifice a few extra hours of sleep for that."

"You'll only be getting five or six hours if you were to fall asleep right now," her cousin said. "I know we're trained to go into battle on minimal sleep, but if you have a chance to get some proper rest, you should take it."

"Ollie, I appreciate the concern, but don't make me pull rank on you," she said with a tired chuckle. "I'll be fine, I promise."

"Okay," he shrugged, apparently unfazed by the mild threat. "You can pull rank on me, but if you kick me out of here, I'll just go and get Mako to talk to you into getting some rest."

In spite of herself, his counterargument caught her off-guard. Shooting him a mild glare, she muttered, "That's not playing fair."

"Only dead men fight fair, remember?" Oliver smirked as he quoted their grandfather.

"The only dead man around here will be you if you don't let me get back to my work," she said warningly, her good humor starting to desert her.

Holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender, her cousin backed away and said, "All right. But if those candles aren't out in fifteen minutes, I'll make good on my suggestion."

"I'll have you doing double shifts on dishes for a week," she countered.

"Fine, gives me more of a chance to talk to Teela."

His comeback caused her to blink rapidly several times, then stare at him owlishly while a broad smile spread across his features. "You and…?" she started, then stopped, unsure of how to finish her inquiry.

"Nothing definite yet, but we've been enjoying one another's company quite a bit during this excursion," he told her casually. "She's on kitchen duty most of the time by popular demand, so if you want to stick me next to her, I'm all right with that."

"I… You… Just leave," Kiara finally said heavily. "Send Mako or don't, I've got work to do."

"Okay," Oliver shrugged again. "But you're robbing him of precious sleep time, you know."

"Don't blame me for-!"

"Sorry, can't hear you, I'm gone."

She glared at the tent flap, wondering if he really would rouse Mako from his sleep just to try and get her to rest, then decided that he was bluffing. Much as he was concerned for her, he wouldn't disturb his friend's slumber just to prove a point. I think…

"I should know my own cousin better than this," Kiara sighed as Mako stood across the table from her, wrapped in a rough blanket, swaying with exhaustion, eyes nearly shut against the mild candlelight. His hair was a right mess, too, but under any other circumstances than the current ones, she would have found it very cute.

"Yeah, well, he said you weren't sleeping, so I came to…" the Spriggan paused to heave a large yawn before continuing, "…ah, I came to tell you that you need your rest, too. Please, go to bed… I don't think either of us is going to be left alone until you do."

"You're not wrong!" Oliver's voice called from outside the tent.

"How do you have this much energy?!" Kiara demanded angrily.

"Brian asked me to try a new energy stimulant for an experiment, and it proved more potent than he had anticipated, but I think I'll crash- eventually," he said cheerfully. "I'll leave for now, but I'll be back soon. And if you aren't on your way to bed by then, cousin, I'll crack you over the head to knock you out."

"This is grounds for insubordination!" the tactician snapped at him.

"Conflict of interest," he chuckled, though it sounded as though he was moving away from them. "We're related, so I doubt it would hold up in court if you arrested me. Also, I'm your best swordsman, and you kinda need me. Sweet dreams!"

"Rrgh…" she scowled, then looked back at Mako. What she saw immediately caused her irritation to evaporate. The poor boy looked as though he was going to fall asleep standing up, but somehow he was managing to hold her gaze through long, slow blinks.

"Can I go to sleep yet?" he mumbled. "I, uh… Actually, I don't remember which tent is mine."

"Oh, you…" She sighed, trying not to laugh at the poor boy. "Have you still been having trouble sleeping?"

"Yeah…" he said drowsily. "But… if you're not sleeping, either… Then we can be midnight pals." He tried to smile, but it came out only as a slight upward twitch of his lips.

"No, I don't think so," Kiara giggled lightly, despite her own exhaustion. "You need your rest where you can get it."

"Looked in a… mirror lately?" Mako chortled. "Those rings… under your eyes are starting to look like some kind of mutated tea bags."

She winced, reaching up to touch the mentioned area. "That bad, eh?" she asked him.

"Yeah…" he said through another massive yawn. "Sorry, I think I'm going to need help back to my tent… Otherwise, I might just… fall asleep on the ground and stay there."

Kiara smiled at him and replied, "Well, I would help you, but I don't know where you put your tent."

"Oh…" he said blearily. "Huh."

Rolling her eyes, she moved around the table and said, "Come on, you." Letting him lean on her, she helped him over to the cot in the corner of the pavilion. He mumbled something along the lines of thanks, and allowed her to lead him without resistance. As she lowered him into the makeshift bed, she asked him, "So, are your nightmares still bothering you?"

"Yeah…" he drawled. "Getting… worse."

"Worse?" she repeated worriedly.

"Since the… forest," Mako sighed as she leaned him back, making sure that his head rested on the pillow. "Hard to rest… without him being there." She guessed that by 'him' he meant Mataras.

"Has anything been able to help?" she asked him concernedly. "Have Brian or Altman given you anything to help you sleep?"

"Yeah…" the young man said, his voice growing fainter as he settled into the bedding. "I sleep… but… the dreams are still… there…"

"Well…" Kiara said as she looked down at him, her heart aflutter. "Just remember that I'm here, and I'll do my best to keep the nightmares away." She thought that he was already asleep by that point, but she also liked to think that he had heard her, because when his eyes stopped moving underneath their lids, he had a small, peaceful smile on his face.

Feeling a little bolder than she normally did, Kiara leaned over his face and kissed him on the brow, wishing with all her heart that Naga would grant him at least one peaceful night.

Only then did she realize that she had given him the only bedding in her tent. "Dammit," she huffed before moving to extinguish the candles. Whether she had bedding or not, she was feeling extra tired after her conversation- if it could even be called that- with Mako.

I suppose I'll make do with the ground and a blanket, she thought resignedly. But Ollie is going to pay for this.

Mako awoke before Kiara did, grunting slightly as he sat up in her cot. Blinking a few times, he spent a few seconds trying to recall what had happened the previous evening. He remembered being woken up by Oliver, then talking with Kiara for a bit. Then… nothing.

He blinked a couple more times in surprise when he looked over and saw Kiara sleeping against the wall of her tent, a blanket around her shoulders and her blue-and-silver cloak under her head as a pillow. He realized with a start that she had given him her bedding, one of the few comforts she was afforded as a commanding officer- the rest of them slept in bedrolls that were little more than a blanket between them and the ground.

Why did she-? Oh, right. He remembered with a touch of embarrassment that he hadn't been able to recall the location of his tent the previous evening. Ach, Grima take me, that's humiliating.

"Kiara, are you up?" Mako froze in place as he heard Lilina's voice outside the tent, accompanied by her silhouette, which moved to open the tent flap. "You told me last night to be here… early." She paused in mid-step as she beheld Mako looking up at her like a fish about to be gutted for dinner.

"Uh…" he began, then stopped. When Lilina made no moves or said anything, Mako tried again. "This is…" he started, then sagged and muttered, "Sorry, I got nothing."

"Not even the truth?" Lilina asked, her voice even. Too even, the Spriggan thought warily, keeping an eye on the pommel of Falchion.

"I do have that, yes," he nodded. "But it's really so stupid that you'll probably think I'm lying anyway."

"Tell me before I decide that for myself," she replied, her face and tone still betraying nothing of her emotions.

"Can I meet you outside in two minutes?"

"Oliver worried about his cousin sleeping, so I guess he dragged me out of bed at some ungodly hour to try and convince Kiara that she needed some proper rest," Mako said swiftly as soon as they were out of earshot from the others. "I really don't know if it worked, because I pretty much just fell asleep standing at her door, so to speak. I guess she moved me to her cot and then slept on the floor?" He shrugged helplessly.

"That's what happened?" Lilina asked him, still keeping her voice restrained.

"Far as I can tell, yeah," he nodded.

"And what made you think that I wouldn't believe that?" she asked him quizzically.

"Is there a law in our country that allows us to not answer questions if we don't want to?" Mako asked hopefully.

"I don't know, I think so," Lilina said with a frown.

"You're the princess, shouldn't you know?" he asked, instantly realizing his mistake once he finished speaking.

Lilina's eyes grew cold as she stared him down before saying through gritted teeth, "That's what my father and I have advisors for. What does that have to do with my original question?"

"You know, whatever that law is, I am invoking it right now," Mako said with a nervous smile. "I don't want to answer that question- or the other one, either. I choose not to."

"Why?" she asked him with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

"Hey, I'm protected the laws of the Halidom," Mako protested. "I think? Please don't stab me."

"Mako, I'm not going to hurt you because you spent the night on Kiara's cot," Lilina said with a roll of her eyes. "Now if you were missing any clothing items, or this happens again, we might be having a very different conversation."

Now it was Mako's turn to look defensive. "Wait, why would it matter if I did?" he realized aloud. Before Lilina could do more than give him a warning look, he stood up and said, "If I did spend the night there for… other… reasons… why would it matter if I told you or not?" What he didn't say, but he thought should seem fairly obvious, was the fact that he didn't owe Lilina an explanation for any of his actions concerning his personal life.

The princess' eyes broke contact with his own as Lilina turned away to heave a deep sigh. "It might not matter where the militia in concerned," she said softly. "But no matter my feelings toward you- or Kiara's, for that matter- I'd have thought that we were still friends enough that you would at least explain to me why you would…" Her voice trailed off.

"Choose her over you?" Mako asked, his voice low. "Is that what you think this is?"

Lilina did not answer him.

Letting out a sigh of his own, Mako rubbed his eyes and said, "Lilina, I haven't chosen her over you. I haven't chosen you over her. I haven't chosen anyone. And the way that you're complicating my life, I don't know that I ever will get to make a choice with a clear head."

At this, she made a slight choking sound and turned around to face him with fire in her eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

Meeting her gaze evenly, though still very much aware of the sword she had at her waist, Mako replied, "I asked around with some of the others. Apparently Kiara had feelings for me long before you did."

"And?" Lilina demanded.

"I guess I'm just curious as to why you couldn't let your own best friend pursue her heart's desire," Mako asked pointedly. "Why- no, wrong question. When did this start for you?"

The princess was silent for a couple of minutes in response. Just as Mako opened his mouth to repeat the question, she said in a soft voice, "It was about six months ago. Remember those brigands we took out alongside Lady Morgan and Sir Laurent? It was near Entharis."

"I remember."

"Do you also remember how you saved my life?" Lilina's voice was barely a whisper now.

Mako's answer was a little longer in coming this time, but he responded, "I do… You had been pinned down by archers, wounded with two arrows, one in your leg, the other in your stomach… I thought that you might have bled out at first."

"I almost did," Lilina said, rubbing her abdomen where the weapon had spilled her blood. "But you swooped in and saved me… Took out the archers and the man who was going to behead me so fast that I don't really know how you did it. Then you carried me to Altman and Sir Libra, taking blasts of magic on your own flesh along the way. You were my dark knight that day, come to save the princess…" She smiled, but it was weak attempt. "I suppose it sounds a lot like a fairy tale… And those don't happen in real life, do they?"

She made to walk away, but Mako stopped her with a hand on her wrist. "Look, I'm not…" he started then stopped. "Look at our parent's lives," he began again. "The dragon slayers, people call them. Sounds like something out of a bedtime story, yet we know it as the truth. My own flesh and blood proves that fairy tales do exist." So saying, his vibrated his wings to accentuate his point.

Lilina stared down at his hand for a moment before saying, "Then what does that mean for me?"

"It means that your prince charming will come someday," Mako replied. "Maybe it's me, maybe not. But I don't want you to hold onto 'maybes', alright? If you find somebody else that can make you happy, please, pursue them. And if one day I realize that I missed out, it will be on my head alone."

"My feelings about you won't change," Lilina insisted.

"Then you might be condemning yourself to a life of misery," Mako told her, though he tried to make his tone as gentle as possible. "You and Kiara."

"What?"

"What if I did choose Kiara?" he asked her quietly. "Would you really be content with knowing that your best friend is with the love of your life? Would you really be able to support her as you ought?

"Or what if it was somebody else entirely?" he insisted before she could get an argument in. "What then? Do you and Kiara develop a hatred for one another because your arguments drove away the person you both coveted? Do you both spend your days pining after the one that got away?"

Lilina's face reddened, but she kept her voice mostly controlled. "I would content myself with knowing that you are happy, either way," she said firmly.

"Lilina, you are only fooling yourself with that lie," Mako sighed again. "Look, as it stands, I don't want to be with either of you. You're both amazing friends, but I don't care to see your own friendship deteriorate because of me."

"So what does that mean for the three of us, then?" she demanded. "Will you just keep leaving the possibility open to the both of us? That's cruel, to be aware of the situation and do nothing about it."

"There will be no possibility for either of you until you sort it out," Mako replied firmly. "You can't pin this on me- I never wanted it. I only thought of the two of you as comrades, nothing more. Now that I know how you both feel, it forced me to see you both in a different light, and now I can no longer see the people I once did."

"You're blaming us for your indecision?" she asked, affronted.

"I am naming the source of it," he replied. "And until one or both of you backs off, the only thing I want to do with either of you is to receive my orders in battle and give debriefings. No more campfires together, no more midnight visits, no more confiding in one another."

Lilina stared at him in utter shock and disbelief. "So that's it?" she scoffed. "You'll just cut two of your best friends out of your heart because you can't make a decision?"

"In case you haven't noticed," he snarled, finally losing his composure as he rounded on her. "I've got more than enough on my plate to deal with than worrying about how to break it to you that I… am not… interested right now. There's a murderous kidnapper on the loose, who just so happens to look like me, and not only that, represents what I could become!"

He shoved his face invasively close to Lilina's at the end of his little tirade. She took a half-pace back, her hand on the hilt of her sword, her eyes wide with fear and embarrassment. When it was clear that he was done talking, she whispered, "You know, you're starting to look an awful lot like that painting outside the throne room."

Mako flinched as if he had been stabbed, then retreated a few paces away from her as he said, "Tell Kiara what I've told you. I'm tired of being the toy that two children are fighting over."

"We weren't-!"

"I said I'm done!" His voice cut at her like a whip, rendering her silent long after he had walked away from her and disappeared among their tents. Then again, it was hard to see anything while rain fell from her eyes.

Oliver and Kiara sat together as they ate, both of them surreptitiously glancing at Mako, who sat alone in a corner, glaring daggers at his breakfast.

"Okay, I know it was Kerry on duty for breakfast, but I don't think that any dish has ever deserved to be looked at with that much hatred," Oliver said in a low voice to his cousin.

"He looks more frustrated than angry, Ollie," Kiara replied. "I just wish I knew why."

"You don't think it's because I dumped in your tent last night, do you?" he asked with a grimace. "Which by the way, I am very sorry about. I was worried about you not getting enough sleep, and I really thought that he would be able to get through to you."

"Yes, you should be sorry about that," Kiara muttered, shooting him a scowl. "Even if I did get a good night's sleep because he was able to more or less convince me, you should know better than to manipulate people's feelings like that."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry- a thousand times over," Oliver said defensively. "I was pretty tired myself, and I wasn't thinking clearly."

"You said you were-"

"Yes, I was playing Brian's guinea pig for an energy stimulant, but as it turns out, the mind needs rest just as often as the body," Oliver sighed. "So even though my body had plenty of energy, my mind was not really where it should have been."

"Hmph," Kiara muttered. "Well, I forgive you, but you are going to still spend the next two days on cleanup duty for the mess tent. Brian will be joining you, but it'll be for a full week for him since I didn't approve of these tests of his on my troops."

"That's fair," Oliver agreed before she could change her mind.

"Also, you're going to get Mako to come join us for breakfast so that you can apologize to him, too." Kiara smiled thinly at her cousin while he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

At last he said in a rather small voice, "I don't want to."

"You had no problem dragging him out of his tent to come and join me last night, so I don't see why this should be an issue for you," she replied. "Go on, then."

"This was so much easier when I wasn't aware of what I would be doing," the young man groaned before standing up and moving to do as she had ordered. Over his shoulder, he added, "I will get you back for this."

"Of that I have no doubt," Kiara chuckled.

"Hey, Mako," Oliver said as he approached the Spriggan boy. "I just wanted to say-"

"Shove it," Mako growled. "You've no idea what you did with your little stunt last night."

The sheer bitterness and resentment in his friend's voice alerted Oliver to one very simple fact- whatever Mako was angry about, it went beyond him as an individual. Which meant that this could not be handled by Oliver on his own. Upon realizing this, Robin's grandson nodded and backed away, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "All right," he said as he stepped back. "But I am sorry for my part in it, just the same." So saying, he left Mako to his brooding.

"Uh…" Oliver said as he sat back down with his cousin. When she looked a question at him, he said, "I would rather shovel pegasus dung for the rest of this excursion than go back and talk to him right now."

"What, really?" Kiara asked him disbelievingly.

"Yes, because no matter what kind of punishment you inflict on me, it is a lot less scary than he is right now," the young replied as he jerked his thumb at Mako over his shoulder. "I called it right the first time- he is about a hundred different shades of angry right now."

"You're sure?" Kiara replied, concern replacing her slightly joking manner.

"Have you ever, in the entire time that we've known him, seen Mako growl at anybody?" Oliver inquired.

"Not that I can remember, no," Kiara answered. "He's yelled in battle, sure, but…"

"This is way different," Oliver insisted. "He's beyond angry with me, but I get the sense that I'm not the only one he's mad at." He hesitated, then asked, "Look, at the risk of getting my head lopped off, did anything… happen… between you two last night?"

"Wha-? No!" Kiara insisted. Noticing the looks that a few of their friends were giving her, she lowered her tone and said, "Nothing worth writing home about. He was practically asleep again by the time you had him at the entrance."

To his credit, Oliver nodded and accepted her word without any reticence. "All right, did you two argue? Talk? Gamble?"

"Gamble?" she snorted.

"I've seen people blow their tops for less," Oliver shrugged. "Honestly, though, can you think of anything that happened between you two that would see him this upset?"

"We hardly talked, and what we did talk about was… private," she replied. When Oliver opened his mouth, she cut him off by saying, "Look, it's not my place to tell you what we discussed, though suffice to say it's nothing romantic in nature."

"All right, I'll take your word for it," he said reassuringly. "So if you didn't say anything to upset him, and nothing 'happened', what on earth has him so mad?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Kiara shrugged. "He was gone when I woke up, so if he got upset, it was probably after he left my tent."

"Huh…" Oliver muttered. "I wonder if he's talked to anybody this morning?"

"I'll ask around while we're packing in our gear," Kiara decided. "I'd take it as a favor if you did the same."

"Of course," her cousin nodded. "Truth be told, with Mataras- real or not- popping up out of nowhere, I worry about him. I hope he'll make it through this all right."

"As long as we are here to help him when he needs us, I'm sure he'll be fine in the end," the tactician smiled.

About an hour later, when everyone's equipment was nearly packed in, Oliver approached Gilbert. "Kiara wants you on forward scout today," he told him.

"Very well," the Sylph said as he slapped a heavy book shut and stowed it in his baggage. "What range?"

"No further than a kilometer in advance- she thinks we'll arrive at our destination today," the blue-haired swordsman replied. "But before you go, there's something I need to ask you about."

"Yes?" Gilbert asked curiously. It was unlike Oliver to socialize with him outside of delivering orders or practicing combat. It wasn't that there was any animosity between them, they just weren't friends.

Sensing the trace awkwardness, the swordsman said, "Look, I know we aren't exactly friends, but I was trying to talk to your cousin this morning, and he seemed very out of sorts."

Gilbert frowned, his curiosity transforming into concern. "How so? Is he ill?" he asked. Though they were not often seen together, it was known among the Shepherds that Gilbert and Mako regarded one another as brothers.

"No, he just seemed…" Oliver hesitated. "It will seem trivial, but honestly, I've never seen him so angry before."

"Well, what did you do to anger him?" Gilbert asked, prompting Oliver to look offended. "I mean, you must have done something."

"I did, but nothing that earned me his reaction to my greeting this morning," Robin's grandson protested. "Look, you know your cousin. Is it normal for him to have anger as a mood? From what I know of my friend, he gets angry as a reaction sometimes, but not preemptively."

Gilbert considered this for a moment before saying, "I would agree that he is not an angry person in general. However, given what you've told us about his future counterpart playing a role in all this, I would imagine that could put a serious strain on his psyche that could lead to the mood swings you are describing."

Oliver frowned, but said, "Maybe you're right… It feels like this is something else to me, though. Look, would you just keep an eye on him for the next few days? I don't think he really wants me near him right now."

"Of course," Gilbert nodded. "Should I find anything unusual about his behavior, would you prefer I report to you or Kiara?"

"Whichever one of us is closest," Oliver shrugged. "Thank you, Gilbert."

"Thank you for being concerned for my cousin," the Sylph answered with a small smile. "I may not know you well, Oliver, but I am glad to know that Mako has made such good friends, living in Ylisstol."

"All right," Kiara huffed as she finished loading the last of her books into the wagon. "That's the last of-"

"We need to talk."

"Gah!" Kiara yelped as Lilina grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around. "Grima's eyes, you almost-! Lilina?" Her protest was interrupted by concern for her friend when she saw that the princess' eyes were red and puffy, and that there were tear tracks running down her cheeks. "Lilina, what happened?"

"We happened," she said bitterly. "Look, this is probably going to take a little while. Can we delay the departure?"

"We've still got about fifteen minutes before we actually get moving, but if need be, we can hop in the wagon and continue our conversation in there," Kiara answered as she patted the wooden structure. "Now, what's going on? What do you mean 'we happened'? Is something about the mission bothering you, or-?"

"It's Mako," Lilina interrupted. "He… I came in… I don't…" She tried desperately to stifle another sob, but only just managing to do so.

"Lilina, you aren't making any sense," Kiara said as she pulled her friend in close for a hug. "Try and slow down, then tell me what happened with you two."

The princess nodded and forced herself to take several deep breaths, trying to steady her accelerated pulse and calm her thoughts. When she had regained some control, she said, "I… came into your tent this morning. You wanted to discuss ambush patterns that involved uphill battles, remember?"

"Yes, I was wondering why you didn't show up for that, but figured something else had taken your attention," Kiara replied with a frown. "Did you and Mako get into a fight?"

"Sort of," she sniffled. "When I came into your tent, he was still there- just waking up from the looks of things. I saw him, and you, sleeping on the floor." From there, she explained the conversation they'd had, concluding with his ultimatum concerning the tangle in which they had found themselves in.

"Oh boy…" Kiara breathed heavily. "No wonder he was so testy this morning." Lilina looked a question at her, so she added, "He was pretty curt with Oliver at breakfast, and we've been trying to figure out why. I guess that this explains it."

Lilina sniffed again, then asked, "So now what?"

"Now, nothing," Kiara shrugged. "We honestly don't have time for this. The mission comes first- we can sort out our own messes after we get home safely."

Lilina gaped at her, dumbstruck. "How can you be so callous?!" she demanded.

"Because my job demands that I not put my personal feelings before the duty entrusted to me," Kiara said, a warning tone in her voice that Lilina chose to ignore.

"Well then I don't know who taught you, but it certainly wasn't Sir Robin or Lady Morgan," she snapped. "They always, always put their heart into their work, never separating them. If you're trying to keep them apart, you're not even half the tactician they-"

Smack!

Lilina reeled, her left cheek stinging and red from where Kiara's right palm had collided with it. Looking at her friend, too stunned to speak, she watched as the tactician pointed at her accusingly and said, "Don't presume to tell me how to do this job, and don't you dare insinuate that I am anything other than Robin and Morgan's heir. When duty called, my grandfather was ready to put his own wellbeing aside in order to slay Grima. And when they realized what he was up to, my aunt and father took it upon themselves to possibly sacrifice their own lives to do what needed be done so that others would not have to suffer. I am following their example, remembering that there are people who need us to do our duty, people that don't have time for us to figure out who loves who."

"Ignoring for the moment that you have just struck your future sovereign," Lilina said slowly as she caressed her injured flesh. "Your teachers never, not once, ignored the needs of their troops. And right now, I need for us to figure this out, Kiara! I can't go on like this!"

"You can and you will!" Kiara snapped. "Your future self- my grandmother- may have found love in the midst of war, but it was only because she had her priorities straight first! The mission, then our personal lives! When will you learn that?!"

"Right after you learn that we aren't pieces on your chess board!" Lilina spat.

"I have never-"

"Will you two just stop?!" a new voice interrupted, startling them both. The girls turned to see Ignacio, of all people, standing there with a very disapproving frown on his face, complimented by his tightly folded arms. "I'm embarrassed for you if this is how you treasure your friendship," he said in disgust. "And I'm certainly not taking orders from a pair of brats that can't work together for two weeks without getting at each other's throats."

"Brats?!" Lilina repeated.

"We are the two ranking officers-!"

"Yeah?!" Ignacio snapped, interrupting Kiara. "Because I don't see my commanding officer and her closest advisor. I see two schoolgirls arguing over the pettiest of matters. Kiara is right, this is war. People will die if we don't act! But we can't act if we are not all with one another, and not all of us can keep performing at our best when we have a heavy heart! Real leaders find a way to connect with and reassure their troops, not just order them to keep going, even when all seems hopeless! If you were both trained by the best, then you had better believe that your troops expect the best from you!"

Both girls reddened, shamefaced as they realized that he was right. Both of them had been acting as poor examples for their troops, ignoring lessons that could be learned from one another, and instead choosing to see them as flaws in each other's character.

"Now for the love of Naga, will you please start acting like the crown princess and the future Grandmaster?" Ignacio demanded. "We're all sick of being led by two children."

For a moment, there was dead quiet in the air between them. Then, Kiara asked, "Who'd have thought you had that in you?"

"I am the crown Prince of Plegia," the young man replied seriously. "I may smile and wave a fair amount, but I know what is expected of people that are destined to lead. Right now, neither of you are acting as you should."

"You've made your point, Ignacio," Lilina said tiredly. "We get it. Just…"

"Get the troops moving, and we will work out our issues on the road," Kiara asserted. "We will do our best to keep it quiet."

"That's all that we ask," the prince said with a sigh of relief.

The two girls were sitting in the back of one of the three supply wagons allotted to their small company while Ignacio drove the two horses so that they could have an open discussion without worrying about any other eavesdroppers- so long as they used their inside voices.

"So, what now?" Kiara asked the other bluenette.

"What?"

"You're the one saying that we need to hurry up and figure out how to settle things between us and Mako, so let's hear your idea for how to do that," the tactician answered, a little exasperated. "Surely you must have some notion on how we're going to proceed, seeing as it seems to be bothering you so much."

"Kiara, play nice," Ignacio called over his shoulder.

"Butt out!"

"I… hadn't really thought that far ahead," Lilina admitted, ignoring the interruption. "I suppose it's silly, but no one really looks to me for bright ideas. You're the idea girl around here, so I suppose I just…" She trailed off, embarrassed.

"You thought I had a magic solution for this tangle?" Kiara snorted, her lips twisting upwards in a grim amusement. "I'm book-smart, not a love doctor."

"Sorry," Lilina replied, hanging her head.

Kiara sighed heavily and rolled her eyes to heaven, trying to think of what to say next without starting another fight. Eventually, she said, "I suppose… We should try to evaluate our compatibility?"

"What?" Lilina asked, looking up at her comrade. "What does that mean?"

"We try to figure out which one of us would make a better future wife for him based on what we each have to offer," Kiara said bluntly. "We both have strengths to support him, but also weaknesses that could be his undoing, if we're not careful."

"You're really going to have us compare ourselves in such stark manners?" Lilina inquired dubiously. "You know that if we do this, there are certain things that we can't unsay."

"I know, but you're determined to do this now, and I can't think of anything else," Kiara replied, her tone etched with frustration. "Not unless you have a better idea?"

"…I don't," Lilina admitted softly.

"Want me to help?" Ignacio asked, sounding as though he had a huge grin on his face.

"These interruptions do not end well for you," Kiara said icily.

"Sorry!"

"Shall we?" Lilina sighed.

"I can't believe I'm doing this, but Naga help me, yes," Kiara sighed. "Let's see how we measure up to one another."

"Good things first," Lilina asserted. "Is that all right?"

"Sure," the other girl muttered. "And we'll start with you, okay?"

"Very well," the princess nodded. "What can I offer Mako, in your opinion?"

"Honestly?" Kiara sighed. "A great deal. You're the crown princess, the future Exalt, which by proxy would one day make him the most powerful man in the country. Your beauty alone is enough to turn heads without adding your rank to it, so there's that. You're both warriors of rare skill, and you love your homeland to death. People all throughout the land know how you fight on their behalf, and they love you for it- and Mako respects you for it. You're kind to your subjects, but your tenacity in combat is hard to match, which I know he values in a partner on the battlefield. Your families have a history, but then, I could say the same about mine. Not to mention the fact that you've known one another your entire lives and fought together many times, though again, I can say the same. And… you really do love him, as far as I can tell."

Lilina's face was a tad red now, but she managed to say, "I didn't know you thought so highly of me." It seemed strange that in light of why they were making these confessions for her to feel a new surge of affection for her commanding officer.

"I do," Kiara said so softly, Lilina had to strain to hear it. "But shall I lower your opinion of me now? I know your flaws as well as your strengths."

"Wait," Lilina said hurriedly. "Allow me to list your own strengths before we injure one another's feelings."

"All right."

"You're one of the most brilliant, selfless, beautiful women that I have the honor of knowing," Lilina began. "Your wit is only matched by your determination, and your own visage is as alluring as Lady Tiki's. Your heart also beats for this land of ours, and your skills would serve well at Mako's side, especially since you are both descended from the Alfheim warriors."

Here, she gestured at Kiara's azure wings for emphasis, both of them picturing his pitch-black wings that were similar in nature. Lilina continued on, saying, "Mako is best friends with your cousin, so his ties to your family arguably trump my own. And while I may have known him for my entire life, the same can be said of you. And I believe that between the two of us, he trusts you more than I, seeing as he places his life in your hands when you conjure the battle plans that we use. …And I know that you have loved him since before we were even made to understand what love is."

Kiara nodded in acceptance of the praise, saying, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Lilina answered. She hesitated, then added, "I suppose we should now move on to our flaws, then."

"We could stop now and debate off of merit alone," Kiara suggested.

"No," Lilina said stubbornly. "If we're doing this, we need to see it through."

"Fine, then," Kiara sighed, resigned to the inevitable. "You first."

"Well…" Lilina winced. "You tend to let people know that you're the smartest one in the room, even if they already know it, which I believe might lead to an inferiority complex on his part. You're so dedicated to being a tactician like your mother and grandfather that you would have almost no time to invest in a relationship. I don't know that you could love him as much as your job."

Kiara took a deep breath to keep herself calm, forcing her body to stay relaxed. Once she felt her pulse settle a little, she began to speak quickly, so as not to be interrupted. "You're more stubborn than your father, and as clueless as your mother when it comes to others' sense of privacy." Already, the princess was reddening rapidly, but Kiara pressed on in a dull monotone, "Your rashness is nothing short of embarrassing, and you're quite simply used to having things go your way, which in simpler terms, makes you spoiled. Were you to be in a relationship with him, my guess is that compromises would be all but impossible for the two of you to reach, and further, you would remain unaware of how much you would be hurting him whenever you inevitably overrule his wishes with your own single-minded stubbornness.

"Lastly, as the next Exalt, you would be expected to have children," Kiara concluded, leaving a tomato-faced Lilina feeling very confused.

"What…?" she tried, before feeling a sudden need to clear her throat. When she had done that, she asked, "What on earth do children have to do with this?"

"He says he doesn't want any," Kiara told her. "He told me some time ago that children confuse and scare him. That he's spent so long learning how to end people's lives that he's unsure that he would even be suitable for fatherhood. I myself could be persuaded either way, but were he to marry you, the choice would be taken out of his hands."

"I'm sure that he would ada-"

"Do you know what keeps him up at night?" Kiara demanded suddenly. "Did you even know that he hasn't hardly slept since we began this trip, and that his encounter with Mataras has made that fact even worse? Do you know what his hopes and dreams are for the future? Do you even have a clear picture of Mako in your mind, or are you simply fixated on that memory of him charging through enemy fire to come and save you, making that out to be his entire identity?"

"I am aware that he is as human as any of us," Lilina shot back with some heat. "But is it wrong for a girl to dream of marrying the knight in shining armor?"

"No, it's not," Kiara nodded. "But you didn't answer my other questions, so allow me to reiterate them in an abridged manner. How well do you really know Mako?"

"I know him well enough to be his friend," Lilina said tightly, her pride smarting after the vicious blows Kiara had dealt to it. "Isn't one of the merits of courtship and marriage supposed to be discovering new things about your partner?"

"True," Kiara acknowledged calmly. "But can you say that you are one of his confidants? Good relationships, above all else, are based in trust."

"I-" Lilina started to say, the stopped and lowered her head slightly. "No, I'm not," she mumbled. "He doesn't share his deep concerns with me, and never once have I heard what he wants out of life beyond his role as a Shepherd."

Kiara nodded silently, though without any hint of smugness or superiority. "He shared such things with me, and I with him, as of late," she said quietly. "I honestly didn't know if he had done the same with you or not."

"So he trusts you more," Lilina said a trifle bitterly. "I get it. But there's another point that you need to consider."

"What is that?" Kiara inquired, wincing as the cart hit a dip in the path, jostling them both a bit.

"As the leader of the Shepherds, can you knowingly place him in danger, knowing that should he fall due to an error you made, it would plague you for the rest of your days?" Lilina asked challengingly.

"I accepted that burden when I inherited my grandfather's mantle," Kiara answered without batting an eye, surprising Lilina with the fortitude and conviction of her response. "The fact that I love him has no impact on my decisions as a tactician. And if he were to fall, I would grieve when time permits, but above all else, I would do my duty to this company.

"But should he become a target of political games or the victim of an assassin, would you be able to carry on with your life, and all the burdens that would come with it, without him to support you?" she asked her comrade in a dull voice. "As Exalt, your burden will be even greater than my own. With a single decree, you could see our country through a golden era of wealth and bountiful harvests- or send us careening into starvation and ruin. You would rely on Mako to make those decisions with you, should you one day wed him. Can you see him being happy with that burden, and perhaps more importantly, I ask you again- could you carry on without him to support you, should he fall prey to the clutches of Grim Death?"

"Mako would make an excellent King Regent," Lilina replied.

"But would he be happy with that role?" Kiara pressed intently.

"No," Lilina growled. "No, dammit! He wouldn't be as happy as my husband as he would be yours!" Before Kiara could say anything, Lilina snapped, "You win! He would rather be a soldier instead of a ruler! You have the strength of character to endure if something happened to him, and I don't! You're the better match for him, so go on! Take him, have your happily ever after, best of luck and all that." Tears were rolling down her cheeks at the end of her rant, and she broke down into quiet sobs, defeated.

Kiara made no move to leave, though. She simply sat in the supply cart as it rolled along, gazing at her friend with no small measure of sympathy. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't want to do this."

Lilina sniffled and mumbled between her hiccups, "I know… hic… You deserve him. I've been selfish- hic- and I tried to get in your way… just because I saw something I couldn't have…" Wiping at her eyes, she added miserably, "You were- hic- right… I am rash… I didn't pause to consider - hic- how much this would hurt if… when I lost."

"You haven't lost yet," Kiara told her friend. "I intend to pursue Mako in my own time, but that doesn't mean that he's going to reciprocate those feelings. If he has no romantic inclinations toward me, you are free to pursue your own heart, Lilina. After all, agápē love does not always go both ways. All's fair, okay?"

"Ha," the princess sniffled. "And yet I still find myself- hic- preparing in my heart for a lifetime of loneliness." Looking her Undine friend in the eyes, she asked, "How do you stay so levelheaded in a time like this?"

"I had the masters of levelheadedness to teach me," the other girl answered with the ghost of a smile. That expression vanished, however, as she said, "I really am sorry, Lilina. This is not how I wanted to settle things between us."

"Yes, well…" Lilina sighed heavily. "I suppose I didn't leave us much choice, did I? It's as you said- I'm impatient and too used to having things done my way."

"I also said that you're one of the most amazing women I've ever known," Kiara reminded her. "You will get through this, and become better for it, I am certain."

"I wish I could be so sure," the princess said, tears still falling from her azure orbs. "How are you?"

"I'm not," Kiara said with another faint smile. "Tacticians are master bluffers, don't you know? Half of the time we end up having trouble believing the things we're telling our troops."

"Ah," Lilina replied, a fragile smile appearing on her face, in spite of herself. "I suppose I should give Mako an apology… and let him know that we've reached an understanding."

"Would you like me to go with you?" Kiara asked. "I'm at fault, too."

"No," the princess sniffed once more as she dashed her eyes with the fabric from her cape. "I think it would be best if we say our pieces separately, and since he's probably still sore at me, I should go and apologize first."

Kiara nodded amicably and said, "If you believe that's best. Good luck."

"Might want to hold off on that," Ignacio announced to them as the cart came to a stop. "Gilbert is returning."

Kiara's brow knitted as she moved up to the front of the cart. The only reason that the Sylph boy would be returning was if he had seen enemy forces ahead of them, or-

"Do you think he found the gate to the Outrealms?" Lilina asked quietly.

"Let's hope so," Kiara muttered. "I could do with some good news."

"Based on the notes Sir Robin had compiled, and the maps you've shown us, I do believe that I've found the location of the Outrealm gate," Gilbert said as he stood in front of Lilina and Kiara. "We can be there within the hour."

"You're certain?" Kiara asked him grimly. "We don't want to go in circles looking for the damn thing."

"Well, I wasn't entirely sure at first, but then I saw a few men dressed in Grimleal robes standing in front of what I guessed was the gate, so yes, I'm reasonably certain," the young man said with a hint of dry humor.

"No need for the back sass, soldier," Lilina said irritably.

"Lilina, enough," Kiara interjected before Gilbert could make a comment that would see him benched for the mission. "Gil, see to it that everyone has weapons ready and is on full alert. If these are veteran dark mages, we could be in for a bad fight."

"On the other hand, if they are new recruits, this will be a light exercise," the green-winged scholar replied. Despite his apparent doubts, however, he moved to do as he was told.

"Better to expect the worst and encounter nothing than the other way around," Kiara murmured. "Rule twenty-three of grandfather's tactics." Turning to her comrade, she asked, "Are you going to be able to hold yourself together well enough to act as my second-in-command for this next battle?"

"I… don't know," Lilina answered honestly. "I know the truth, and my head should be clearer for it, but… I cannot help but be at war with my heart right now."

"Shall I appoint an interim secondary captain, then?" Kiara asked, a little more forcefully. "Because if you cannot keep your head on, Lilina, I can't trust you to lead with me at the forefront of the coming battle."

"I know that," the princess nodded, her chin trembling. Raising her head with what little dignity she could muster, she said, "Appoint a temporary replacement for the day. I'll feel better once I have a chance to sleep on it, I promise."

"Very well," Kiara replied, seeming relieved and satisfied with the answer. "Would you terribly mind fetching Oliver for me?"

"As you wish," Lilina answered. "I rather thought you'd choose him, anyway."

"Then let's get ready to march," Kiara declared, assuming her commanding air once more. "We've got children to rescue."

Kirito: So... That was a thing.

Mataras: Yeah, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure that wasn't my painkillers and sleep deprivation doing the writing for me. I don't usually do drama like that... I think?

Asuna: Not really. You're more about who's killing whom and how. Some light romance themes here and there, but nothing like what we just read.

Kirito: On the other hand, Mako has quite the pick, huh?

Asuna: Kirito...

Mataras: Yeah, even if Lilina is agreeing to back off for now, that doesn't mean that anything will happen between Mako and Kiara anytime soon... if ever.

Asuna: Have you not made up your mind?!

Mataras: Oh no, I have, I just like keeping people in suspense.

Readers: We know.

Mataras: Next time- Gate to All.