Author's Note: From here on I basically have to read the chapter I originally wrote and then rewrite it from scratch thanks to 's new system which doesn't allow copy and pasting from the site. This sucks cause I used to do that to read fanfiction when I was away from home, copying and pasting then printing so I had like little story books. Can't do that anymore, which invokes great sadness within me. Ah well.

Chapter 18: Double Trouble

It had been quite some time since his dreams hadn't been plagued by memories of the Fang or Maria. For once, his slumber was peaceful. Whether that was because he had finally managed to defeat Mark in a battle, or was simply glad to be alive, none could say.

Instead, his thoughts ran with simulations of battle. Before him stretched the fields of Caelin, leading to the Castle gates where both Lundgren and Mark awaited. Everyone was looking to him for guidance. And yet… "I'm not talented." He told everyone. "I'm not anyone special. I have a small amount of talent with magic and the blade, but every single tactic I've ever devised is only possible because I've trained myself that way. Even then, it's rare for everyone under a tactician's care to survive. So remember: Whatever is happening in the battle, do not throw your life away. If that mean you retreat, you retreat. I don't want to win at the cost of any of you."

The dream shifted and changed. Instead of the fields of Caelin, he found himself in an open plain, on vast fields. Nearby was the hut his family lived in. Instead of Lyn and Florina, before him stood his mother and father. His father's long brown hair was tied in a ponytail, while his mother's long blonde hair was unkempt. Apparently she hadn't gotten ready in the morning, or had but ruined her hair once Father had explained his plan.

First he attempted to have Will hold one of the practice blades. Of course first he was holding it upside down which caused the tip to stick into the ground, before falling over. Another two or three attempts didn't yield any better results either.

Next was the lance, and after that followed the axe. Those were experiments in patience as the mistakes just got worse and worse with the heavier types of weapons. "It's hard to find your strength quickly. Not everyone is as gifted as the chieftain's daughter."

Following this at some point they managed to get a hold of magical tomes. While he could actually make use of these, it was clear that years of study in the magical arts would be needed for him to be half as good as the next mage.

So instead they taught him tactics. Even in the plains, tactics could be useful. Whether fighting wild animals or buffalo. Even tactics took him time and effort to learn, but it was something anyone could do as long as they had the brain power and the commitment to it.

Even then he failed. "Well, we love you very much son, and we understand that everyone has a role in this world. Your role is simply somewhere else." His mother said, placing a hand on his head.

"We'll be moving to Badon soon." His father continued. "I'm sure once we're there you'll find your place. If not, we just have to keep looking."

It was quite a ways from the Plains of Sacae.

Will jerked awake, looking around with wide eyes. Florina jerked back, holding a bowl of something he didn't recognize. "What… is that stuff?" Will said, still breathing rather hard.

"The ointment." Lyn answered curtly. Looking around, he noticed that pretty much everyone was close by, and most had looked over to check on him once he had awoken.

"Ah… right… sorry… and thanks." Will said, slumping back down with a hand over his face. He had told Florina how to prepare the poison deterrent, before he had slipped yet again into sleep. That made it three times in a short span of time. He hoped it was only from the fatigue of the battle.

"Almost thought you had died on us." Sain said with a laugh. Kent knocked him upside the head.

"It wouldn't be funny if he had died!" The cavalier said angrily. Sain had the good grace to look ashamed.

"Oh, but it's always better to laugh than cry!" Serra chirped happily, bustling about. After spending a large amount of time healing the minor cuts people had received, ensuring there was no poison among the Black Fang members. Then she had healed up Will, which took an unusual amount of concentration. The only thing she left was the poisoned cut on his hand, so the ointment could be applied.

Erk had a peaceful evening thanks to this, and chose to read in his spare time, finishing a book he had been working on for the past few weeks.

Dorcas and Wil were sitting at the campfire, keeping it well stoked and Wil asking Dorcas about the semantics of marriage, which Dorcas was all too happy to explain. Why Wil wanted to know about marriage was a question Will felt was better left for a time when he wasn't a poisoned mess.

Rath was sitting nearby, and though he was merely sharpening arrows Will felt better that the man was looking completely healed. And here I was thinking he only cared for Sacaens… Will thought, mentally kicking himself.

"You seemed like you were having a bad dream." Lyn said, as she took the ointment from Florina to apply it. It stung something terrible when it touched his skin, but he knew it would be helpful.

"Well, it wasn't that… I remembered something." Will said, looking up at the stars. It was looking to be shortly passed midnight now, likely a day after they had gotten Ninian's ring back. "It shook me awake. During my time before the Fang."

"What was it?" She asked, sounding genuinely intrigued. Will thought for a moment.

"…" He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He closed it again and closed his eyes, thinking hard. After about a minute he opened his eyes, looking at Lyn. "Umm… what was it again?"

Matthew fell out the tree he was currently perched in. He wasn't eavesdropping. Nor was he planning to report anything and everything he heard to Lord Uther. Well he was, but no one would be able to prove it. At least he was looking okay. "Why even bring it up then!" The slightly annoyed thief shouted, rubbing his arm. "Ow…"

"Well, I didn't know I'd forgotten it…" Will said, defensively.

"Because you forgot it?" Florina asked, slightly confused.

Will sighed. "Something like that…"

He tried to recall everything that had happened on this journey. Lyn and he had been together from the start, after she saved him on the plains. Shortly afterwards Kent and Sain had joined and started them on this crazy quest. Lundgren wanted Lyn's head, and Mark was helping him for as of yet an unknown goal.

With the addition of Wil and Florina, they had become Lyndis's Legion. After helping Dorcas's wife Natalie, he had joined. They had run into Serra and Erk, and while Serra had proved to be a headache, they were both valuable assets. Then came Rath. The quiet nomad that was amazingly adept with a bow. Will had grown to like the man over the past few days. Perhaps they could travel together for a time after this was all over.

Just recently Will had run into old friends. Meeting Nils and Ninian was a welcome surprise, and soon the acolyte Lucius had joined as well to help the two. In the last battle, Mark had shown up for the second time, the first being when they had met Erk and Serra. With the poison running through his body, another direct confrontation was not going to be in his best interest. Their group wasn't an army, but it would do nicely for the demise of the oppressors of Caelin. So long as no other territories joined the fight. That thought suddenly weighed on his mind as Lyn finished applying the ointment.

"We should let him rest." Rath said. With a nod Sain and Kent lifted Will off the grass bringing him to his tent and lying him on the ground. The others decided to sit around the campfire. Slowly, people began to trickle off to bed. Once Serra finally got tired, Florina offered to take over for her in Will's tent. Serra plopped down by the fire, smiling to herself.

"She really worries about him, huh?" Serra said conspiratorially to Wil, though everyone was able to hear her no problem.

"Just what exactly are you implying?" Kent said, raising an eyebrow. However, Sain seemed to be on a similar wavelength.

"It must be nice, to have such a beautiful young girl willing to-" he stopped abruptly when he spotted Lyn giving him a look that would've frozen anyone's blood.

"But Florina's scared of men." Wil pointed out, which seemed to open up the discussion further. Lyn's mood continued to sour.

"Ah, but she's always been less shy around Will, and since he's training her…" Dorcas said. Although not usually prone to gossip, when it came to love and relationships he always took part, perhaps as a favor to Natalie or to tell her stories apart from the battles.

"Well, Florina has been taking unusually good care of him when he gets injured…" Erk said. Despite his desperation to stay out of the conversation, his curiosity was peaked when he heard Wil mention Florina's fear of men.

"It's not like anyone wouldn't do that for a friend. I've done it before and that was when he was a stranger." Lyn muttered to herself darkly, glancing over at the tent. A part of her really wanted to go into the tent now, but Florina being happy to help with an injured man was something that didn't happen often at all. To be a good friend, she had to let Florina do this. Besides, it wasn't like she was worried about Will. He'd be fine. He always was.

"Lyn, you've got a rather nasty scowl. I'd recommend not looking at anyone. You might scare them to death." Rath murmured to her, making Lyn glance around.

"Huh? I do?" She said, putting a hand to her face. She hadn't even realized how pronounced her frown had become.

"Lyn, are you worried about Will?" Nils asked, somehow appearing on her left side, while Rath was on her right. How had she not noticed them? She took a quick mental note that Ninian was right next to NIls. All three of them had sprung a sneak attack on her. Or maybe she just hadn't been paying attention.

"What?" She said, slightly confused. "No, of course not! He always seems to bounce back, so why should I be worried?"

"Because you look really angry that Florina's helping him." Nils piped up. She realized she had been staring at the tent for some time now, and with that scowl on her face, with her brow knitted, it must've looked like she was livid.

"No, of course I'm not! Florina's my best friend!" She answered defensively. She rubbed her temples quickly in an attempt to ease her frown, which had been stubborn in falling off her face.

Ninian grasped her hand in a friendly manner. "Lyn…" She said, a small knowing smile spreading across her face. "I think I know exactly what's ailing you. Just so you know, I'm not after him."

"Why would I care?" Lyn responded, slightly louder than she had intended.

"In fact, I'll support you one hundred percent!" She practically yelled, ensuring that everyone was listening in, and making Lyn look at her directly.

"You… you mean it?" She asked, a light blush finally spreading across her face as she smiled. Then she shook her head vigorously. "No, that's not what I… I didn't… I mean like I said…"

Ninian just smiled knowingly, then skipped away to her tent with Nils at her heels. Rath gave the tiniest chuckle that only Lyn was able to catch, before he also headed off to his tent.

"What was all that about?" Wil asked curiously, making Lyn jerk up and see everyone staring at her. They had caught the randomly shouted portions, but everything else to them was a mystery.

"Nothing. Just some stupid idea Ninian's got stuck in her head." Lyn responded, crossing her arms.

"Oh really?" Matthew said, popping out of the shadows behind her. How was it that everyone was managing to sneak up on her tonight?

"Matthew!" She yelled, actually landing a few feet from her initial sitting position which was an achievement as she was sitting when it happened.

"But when she said 'I support you all the way, Lyn' you said…" he began, before Lyn covered his mouth with both her hands.

"Look, I'll give you anything you want, just don't tell a soul about this." Lyn offered, for the first time feeling a tiny bit desperate.

"Anything I want?" The thief said, smiling slightly.

"As long as it's reasonable. And if you tell a single soul…" She made a plunging gesture.

"Point taken, milady!" The thief answered cheerily, and vanished into the shadows again.

"Jerk." She muttered.

"Thank you." He said from his concealed spot.

"That wasn't a compliment!" And she stormed off.

Dorcas smiled. "Young love." He stated to himself, with a small chuckle. "They might have it worse than you and I did, Natalie."

Florina was still sitting next to Will, who seemed to be having a continuation of his dream from before, or a bad one. His brow was furrowed and he was murmuring something she couldn't quite make out. Florina looked around, then leaned in closer to hear.

"Father… I thought you like them… I can become a good warrior… let's go back… I can be… a Lorca…" After that he fell silent, sleeping soundly. His brow relaxed and he began to look much better. Florina continued to sit there for a full minute, before the full implications of what she had heard hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Lyn!" She yelled, dashing from the tent. When she noticed Lyn wasn't there, she looked confused.

"Over there." Erk said, jabbing his finger at their tent. Florina nodded and dashed over, entering without so much as a hello.

"Lyn, you've got to hear this! I just… I just…" She was breathing heavily, as she had ran a little too fast. It was just so shocking!

"Florina, calm down." Lyn calmly told her friend, looking up from her spot on the ground. "Now, what is it?"

"Lyn… I just heard Will talking in his sleep. You won't believe what I just heard!" Florina found her words quickly, explaining to Lyn what she had heard and what it must've meant.

His dreams had shifted once more. Instead of the moving picture from before, it was like static images played in his mind while he watched, feeling his thoughts manifest themselves for him.

His mother was from Lycia. She didn't like to talk about her heritage much, so will wasn't sure if she had been anyone while she was there. She lived in the Santaruz canton. It's where the Tiger Eye, the sword he carried with him, was from. After they had arrived in Badon, his mother had given it to him as a gift. She said hard work could overcome natural talent, and not to give up just because it was hard.

His father was Sacaen. Will couldn't remember the exact tribe himself, but it hadn't mattered once they moved to Badon. While his father was proud of his heritage, he was even more proud of his family. They had been loving parents. Until all three of them went on a cruise. A cruise that lead them very close to a certain island. When the boat had gone down, everyone had perished. Everyone expect for him.

Will awoke to the sound of his tent opening flapping. Lyn came in with Florina close behind. Both looked excited about something. He noticed Wil leaving at around the same time.

"What's up?" He asked, smiling slightly. He did feel better, though he doubted he could wield his sword well anymore. Luckily, he still had daggers that Matthew had given him. The thief had shrugged and said 'you'll probably need them before long, or you'll die'. Will had responded with tentative thanks, and the thief had left.

"Is it true?" Lyn asked.

"Is what true?" Will asked back, completely at a loss for yet another time since this journey had begun.

"Was you father one of the Lorca?" She asked pressingly, and moving closer. Will looked surprised at the query. Perhaps he had been speaking in his sleep.

"I don't know." Will answered with a shrug. "Although, I do remember he's from Sacae, or at least that we lived there for a while. I moved to Bardon while I was still young though."

"That would explain why you act so much like one of Sacae from time to time." Lyn said.

Will shrugged again. "I have no clue what you're getting at, but if I remember, I'll tell you." He said, though he doubted very highly that he would happen to remember anything. Part of him knew even if he remembered, he would try to avoid telling her.

"Oh… there's one other little problem…" Will said, before they had a chance to leave.

"What is it?" Lyn asked.

"Tents." He said darkly, and pointed to the list of people, and the number of tents. They had currently four tents. A few groups of supplies had been destroyed during their battle with the fang. They had thirteen people.

"What's the problem?" Lyn questioned, looking at the list. "Just put three per tent."

"Lyn. There are four girls and nine guys." He said.

"Oh…" She answered, though she had never found a problem with it.

"Then again, Nils is still young so…" Will dropped into thought, pointing to imaginary lines and connecting them to others. Florina and Lyn glanced at each other curiously as he worked.

"Write this down." He said seriously. He found it strange that Tent allocations could sometimes cause him more trouble than a battle plan.

Lyn had gathered everyone around the campfire. She looked down at Will's new list. It didn't look like there would be any problems. Just as long as no one else joined. Or as long as they brought tents with them.

"Ninian, Nils, and Will." The siblings breathed a sigh of relief. Being able to room with Will made everything much easier for them. They'd also be able to keep an eye on his condition, which as noncombatants was the least they could do to help.

"Myself, Florina, and Serra." She felt like she'd whack Will for this decision once he was better. It dawned on her this is why he seemed so worried about tents.

"Kent, Sain, Dorcas and Wil with one l. There's only room for three, but since you four are our night patrol Will thought this was best." She said. The four all seemed to agree this worked out.

"Erk, Lucius and Rath are in the last tent." The two magic users seemed pleased to be together to discuss their craft, and Rath simply nodded silently in acceptance.

"With all that settled, I recommend that everyone get a good night's sleep. We still have a lot of ground to cover. To Caelin!" She shouted, thrusting her fist into the air. Everyone else nodded, and then did the same. "To Caelin!" The small band cried before shuffling off to sleep.