6:37 PM

The front hall was impressive. Jeffrey had to admit that the Ostians certainly knew their stuff when it came to anything military. Fort Feran was comparatively small, but the architects had managed to get all they could out of the limited space. The front hall could be used for meetings, meals, shows, and probably much more. As such, it was designed with beauty in mind—or at least as much beauty as would befit a fort. The fluted pillars, the large table, the paintings on the walls—they all had a strange sort of spartan elegance to them, combining pleasantry with practicality. It was a nice balance, and Jeffrey admired the men who had managed to come up with it. He even noted that the ceiling had a acoustic slant to it, probably to ensure everyone could hear someone giving a toast or marching orders.

Footsteps distracted him from his study of the room's shape. He turned to see the three Lycian lords enter the hall. Lyn, Hector, and Eliwood all crossed over to him, wearing their own somber expressions. Jeffrey nodded at them. "Well?" he asked.

"It looks like Hector was right," Lyn said. "The Ostians have kept this fort in remarkably good shape. The rooms are almost entirely intact, and most of them even have mattresses. A few of the doors have begun to rust, but other than that, this fort's almost as good as new."

"The food coffers are empty," Eliwood added. "If there was anything there, it was probably pilfered by thieves. But since we just restocked in Ostia, it shouldn't matter. We can keep the troops fed for days if we have to."

Jeffrey nodded, understanding the subtext to Eliwood's statement. No matter what happened, they only had a few days left. "So you find the fort to be satisfactory?"

The lords all nodded.

"Excellent," Jeffrey said, smiling. "I'll inform the troops we'll be staying here. You three should choose some rooms for yourselves, maybe assign others to the units."

Hector bit his lip. "All right," he said.

Jeffrey lifted an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

Hector paused before shaking his head. "Never mind," he said. "We'll figure it out."

"All right," Jeffrey sighed. He knew better than to argue with someone who weighed twice as much as he ever would. He turned and left the hall.

Lyn looked around the large room, and sighed. "I think I'll be on my way, too."

"Where are you going?" Eliwood asked as she started toward the door.

"Outside," was all Lyn said before disappearing.

Eliwood and Hector looked at each other. "So," Eliwood said, "Room assignments...?"

6:40 PM

The first person Jeffrey saw was Guy. The myrmidon was seated on a tree stump near the fort's gate, looking out into the forest they had crossed to get there. Jeffrey called to him as he approached. "Guy! Look alive!"

The Sacaen swordsman turned his head, quickly rising as he saw the tactical expert approach. "Jeffrey!" he said, moving forward. "What's going on?"

"We're staying here," Jeffrey said. "Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector all looked it over, and they deemed it satisfactory, so I need to let everyone know." He looked around. "Speaking of which, where are they?"

Guy looked over his shoulder, and realized that he and Jeffrey were the only ones in sight. He looked back at the tactician. "Um... I think they may be in the fort already..."

Jeffrey sighed. "Wonderful. After we asked them to wait until we checked it out first."

"Well, they weren't setting up their rooms or anything," Guy said defensively. "Most of them just wanted to check it out. They weren't going to stay if you said we couldn't. They're not stupid." He paused. "...mostly."

Jeffrey suppressed a smile. "So you have no idea where they are now?"

Guy pointed. "Some of the riders went over to the stables," he said. "And I'll bet you'd find Rebecca, Lowen, and Merlinus in the dining hall."

Jeffrey shook his head. "I just came from there."

"Ah." Guy glanced around once more. "In that case, no, I have no idea where they are now."

Jeffrey sighed. "Well, thanks anyway. I guess I'll start at the stables, and find the others later." He turned to go, waving at Guy as he headed toward the stables.

Guy sat back down on his tree stump, but got back up an instant later as he heard another set of footfalls approaching, although these were much lighter, barely audible even to the trained ear of a Kutolah warrior. He looked around to see Lady Lyndis emerge from the front entrance of the fort, moving with the light, stealthy walk of a woman of the Lorca. She stopped just outside, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath. The look of discomfort she had been wearing melted away, replaced by one of complacence and happiness.

Guy took a tentative step forward, then began walking toward her; unlike her, he made enough noise that she opened her eyes at the sound of his approach. She smiled upon seeing him. "Guy!" she said pleasantly. "What are you doing here?"

"The same as you, I wager," Guy answered, returning her smile. "Enjoying the outdoor air."

Lyn sighed, turning to the woods. "I don't think 'enjoying' is the right word," she said. "It's full of all these strange scents. Tree sap, leaves and needles, animal leavings..."

Guy nodded. "The winds of Sacae are much clearer, for sure. Still," he added cheerily, "It beats that stuffy air inside, correct?"

Lyn smiled at him. "Yes, I suppose it does." She walked forward, away from the building. "It is nice out here."

Guy looked at her, seeing the sense of longing hidden in her eyes. "Hey, Lyn?"

"Yeah?"

"You miss Sacae, don't you?"

Lyn sighed. "With every waking moment." She smiled at him. "And even a few moments I spend asleep."

Guy laughed softly at the joke. "I miss it, too. When this is all over, I'm headed straight back to the Kutolah. I've improved my sword arm so much, I doubt they'll recognize me."

Lyn nodded, but remained silent. Guy looked at her for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I forgot that you... the Lorca..."

"It's okay, Guy," Lyn said, holding up her hand to silence him. "That's... that's not it."

"Oh?" Guy stepped closer. "What is it, then?"

Lyn hesitated for a second, then turned from him, shaking her head. "Nothing," she said. "Thanks for talking to me, Guy, but I really should go."

Guy put a hand on her shoulder. "Go where?" he asked.

She looked over her shoulder at him, smiling once more. "Wherever I find myself when I stop walking."

Guy hesitated a moment, but released her and returned her smile. "Spoken like a true Sacaen," he said.

Lyn only nodded before turning and walking toward the forest.

6:46 PM

"The fort faces south," Eliwood said as he followed Hector through the halls of Feran. "We can assign the women to west wing quarters, and keep all the men in the east wing..."

Hector looked over his shoulder at his friend. "Are you serious, Eliwood? You really think we should assign people to rooms?"

"Do you?" Eliwood asked.

Hector grumbled something under his breath as he turned back down the hall. "Why bother? They're big boys now. They can figure out who they want to stay with."

Eliwood allowed himself a small smile. "I suppose it does seem like a lot of trouble, doesn't it?"

"I go through all the trouble of bringing you guys to this fort," Hector grumbled, "And all Jeffrey can say is 'figure out the room assignments.' That seem fair to you?"

Eliwood laughed softly, then brushed his red hair aside and looked at his friend, his smile fading. "Hector."

Hector came to a stop, turning to face his friend. "Yeah?"

Eliwood lowered his eyes. "It may..." He cleared his throat. "At the very least, it may be wise to divide the men from the women for the night."

Hector shut his eyes, turning away. "Dammit, Eliwood," he said, leaning against the wall. "I do not want to have this conversation with you."

"Think about it," Eliwood insisted, drawing closer. "We don't need emotions getting in the way of the battle tomorrow. We can't have people trying to take advantage of the fact that this could be their last night together."

"Could be," Hector echoed. "They don't know it."

A grave look crossed Eliwood's eyes. "We know little about the trials we'll face tomorrow, but I doubt even the most optimistic of our group would expect zero casualties."

"Maybe not," Hector answered quietly. "But maybe so. You, Jeffrey, Lyn and I have done a pretty damn good job so far."

"Not good enough," Eliwood said, almost too soft for his friend to hear.

Hector turned to him, eyes wide with understanding. "So that's what's bothering you."

Eliwood's face darkened. "I..." He shook his head. "That's not relevant. As I said, people might feel compelled to do things tonight they would never do otherwise. And the last thing I want to have to deal with tomorrow is a heart broken by rejection."

"Rejection," Hector echoed. He leaned back against the wall. "Rejection. Our men face down the most powerful enemy soldiers without flinching, without running, even when their life seems to be in peril. But rejection—they're scared to death of it, scared to death of the very idea..."

"Hector?" Eliwood took a step forward. He had never expected to hear such words coming from Hector's mouth.

The Ostian lord took a deep breath, standing up straight and looking Eliwood in the eye once more. "Look," Hector said, "you're right. I don't want to have to send a man onto the battlefield when he's been left a sobbing wreck by a girl who turned him away during what could be the last time they saw each other. But at the same time, it's the only way we're going to get all the fight out of them that we can."

Eliwood gave his friend a puzzled look.

"Think about it," Hector continued. "If a man goes to see a woman, tells her he loves her, and gets rejected, then yeah, he's going to feel awful—for a while, at least. But imagine how much more awful he'll feel if he thinks he's riding to his death before he got a chance to tell her." He took a breath. "The ones who get rejected—at least they'll feel something of a sense of closure. And the ones who don't, if there are any, will feel like they have something to fight for—and, more importantly, something to live for."

Eliwood nodded slowly. "I... think I see what you mean..."

"Hell," Hector breathed, "if I saw someone moping because they didn't know how someone else feels about them, I'd give them a smack on the head and tell them to go ask. This is their last chance, after all... their last night."

"And we can't deny them their night," Eliwood concluded.

Hector was slightly taken aback, but nodded slowly after a moment. "...yeah," he said. "That's exactly it. Their night."

Eliwood nodded. "You'll... you'll have to excuse me for what I said earlier," he said. "I understand now, and I agree with you."

Hector gave him an odd look. "You sure? You still seem a little..."

"I'm sure," Eliwood replied, a degree of warmth returning to his voice. "I'm just sorry I bothered you about it."

Hector smiled at him. "Well, never you mind," he said. "If you find yourself thinking about tomorrow, just think about the big victory party we'll have in Badon after we win."

Eliwood didn't even try to suppress his smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

Hector patted his friend on the shoulder before continuing down the hall; Eliwood stood in place, watching him go. As Hector vanished around a corner, he repeated, "I'll keep that in mind." The warmth was gone from his voice, and all that remained was a tinge of loneliness.