A/N: I never realized how hard it is to name random OCs with generalized names that at least somehow sound okay in my own language too. Not to mention that they don't fit at all with the names of the canon characters. (I just wanted an excuse to name someone Steve)
It took Berwald three more days to recover enough to get up and walk around without constantly grimacing in pain. The wound was far from being healed, but it now was covered with a thick layer of scab and Berwald even was able to move his arm again, albeit only limited. And not only Berwald, the rest of us also recovered from the various stages of exhaustion and light injuries we had sustained from our adventures.
My cough had grown worse over the second day of our stay, I couldn't leave the bed for quite a while, my lung had burned at every breath and my limbs constantly hurt. It had felt almost as if I was dying and hadn't it been for Mathias loving care and comfort and Emil's frequent visits to make sure that I was still alive, I doubted that I would have recovered as fast as I did. But after another day of staying in bed, but with less pain and more boredom, on the morning on the fourth day I woke up feeling almost whole again, even my hands were finally healed enough that I could use them without pain or feeling stiff.
The owner, whose name actually was James, had stopped at nothing to get both Berwald and me the best treatment he could offer, almost to an extent that I felt uncomfortable. James had claimed that he wanted to thank us for bringing the news of the war and keeping his son company but compared to what he did for us that was nothing. Still I didn't want to argue since I knew how lucky we were to end up in such caring hands. It could have been much worse.
As for the war, James and his family had alerted the nearby village and laid out an escape plan in case of an attack. There was no point in mounting a defense, there were too few people and even less weapons so our best choice was to try and get the hell out of there. James even built some kind of stretcher that could be hitched to a horse to make sure that Berwald wouldn't be left behind. I didn't quite understand why James was willing to go so far for us, a bunch of strangers, but I was nonetheless thankful.
We all knew though that if there really was an attack our chances were more than slim, the land around the inn was mostly flat with grass being the major vegetation and the snow that was our biggest protection would become our greatest obstacle should it come to an escape. It had started to snow again on the night from the second to the third day and now the land was covered with a thick layer of powdery white. It was unlikely for an army to attack in these conditions but I had learned the hard way that one should never feel too safe behind assumedly impermeable defenses.
But instead of an attack, we got news on the fourth day. On the late evening a group of riders from the capital arrived, the early nightfall and the snow made it impossible to ride through the night and so they had little to no choice but to stay and get a bit of rest. Tidings of the attacks had finally reached the capital and now the king was readying his troops for war. He had sent out riders to rally as many men as possible and in addition rider were sent out to bring word to the West that reinforcements were on their way.
I wasn't sure if that actually were good news. It was good that finally something was done about the Orushian troops going wild in the region but after experiencing a warlike situation firsthand I wasn't too fond of it at all. And the only good thing of a winter war was that no crops would wither away on the fields because the harvest had long been brought in. I really couldn't understand what the King if Orusha was thinking to start a war in this more than inconvenient season.
We were sitting in the taproom once more, our group and two of the messenger riders; even Berwald had made it out of his room and sat now nestled in a mountain of pillows and blankets on one of the benches, leaning heavily against the wall. Tino sat beside him, a mug with hot spiced wine in his hands and keeping a careful eye on his lover's condition. It would take more than four days to heal for a wound like Berwalds to heal and he had only nearly survived a severe case of blood poisoning. But Berwald was tough and as I watched him I found that his face was relaxed and carried the slightest hint of a smile over the attention he got from Tino, only noticeable for people who knew him quite well.
Across from Berwald and Tino sat the two men from the capital, tankards with beer in hands and eagerly sharing their stories with us. They couldn't have been more different, one was big with a thick coarse beer and an outgoing easy nature, the other was smaller and had a cleanly shaved face and an ever present frown plastered on his face. Both of them were friendly though and thus I decided to ignore their appearance.
Squeezed in on the other side of Berwald sat Francis and Arthur, originally Arthur had intended to sit on the other side of the table but Francis had pulled him on his lap and invalidated Arthur's argument with a lot of kisses. But Arthur didn't seem too unhappy about it; he even leaned against Francis' side from his newly acquired position directly beside him, having a similar alcohol embargo than Mathias forced on him by Francis t.
Mathias and I sat at the head of the table, it was a bit cramped but I didn't mind the closeness, on the contrary, I quite enjoyed Mathias' arm that he had slung around me and the warmth that radiated from him. Mathias drank beer again but I had wisely decided to keep his consume under control this time and had confiscated his tankard and would only surrender it for a time and when Mathias had earned himself the privilege.
I had tried Tino's spiced wine but had found I didn't like the taste at all, the taste was not at all like the sweet wine that Francis' had offered us so I stuck to beer. It was still not my first beverage of choice but better than nothing. Apparently people who stayed in inns and taverns never drank anything without alcohol in it. Emil was sitting on the other end of the table, head resting on his folded arms, the puffin perched on top of his head.
It was still early in the evening but we had sat for quite a while now and I was growing a bit hungry. Still, the conversation was going on and I didn't want to miss out on it so I had to wait until James returned from his round around the perimeters to check if everything was in order. Since the army was hopefully on the move by now, and news from the King's declaration were spreading wildly, the Orushians would most likely halt their advance and not draw out their lines any further. But one could never be too careful.
"This whole situation is completely messed up. I don't know what the king is thinking, declaring war in the middle of winter." The big one, Steve complained. After drinking quite a few beers his tongue had loosened up and he was speaking more openly. His companion David seemed a bit nervous and he tried to tie in the other's tongue a few times but so far to no avail.
"But what else should he do? It was not him who started the attacks and he can't leave the West undefended." David tried to argue but Steve only waved his hand dismissively. "Why can't the West defend itself?" "Because we have no troops." Arthur grumbled. "The king keeps his army around the capital and our Lords are all a bunch of crybabies who ran with their tails between their legs the moment they smell danger, taking all their guards with them and leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves. If they were at least enough weapons available so that we could arm ourselves, but no..." Arthur's tone was sour and a frown adorned his impressive eyebrows as he was talking, carving a thin line in the table with his fingernail.
David looked outright shocked at Arthur's unfriendly words, it had been hard for him to swallow Steve's drunkard talk but his king being insulted by an almost sober Arthur was hard to handle. But even David had to admit that Arthur was right. The reason Orusha had been able to push in so far and fast was the terrible state of the country's defenses, everything outside the capital relied on their local Lords for protection and as we had seen firsthand that had failed horrendously.
"If only Lord Kohler had returned earlier, he might have been able to talk some sense into the king. This whole mess wouldn't have started if our borders weren't so bad protected. I bet Lactan is preparing to invade from the other side right now, licking their fingers at the ripe and unprotected fruit they're about to pluck thanks to Orusha." Steve continued, unimpressed by David's resigned expression. I was so absorbed in the implications of his words that I missed the mention of Mathias' father at first, but Mathias had visibly perked up at the words.
"Do you know if Lord Kohler is fine?" He asked, leaning over the table until his nose almost touched Steve's cheek. " 'course he's alright, why wouldn`t he?" Answered the other, throwing Mathias a confused look as to why he suddenly seemed so intent on cuddling, even more so as an expression of intense relief washed over Mathias' face as he sat back again. "Why, what is he to you?"
I took Mathias' beer and pressed it in his hand; he deserved to wash down the good news with his favorite drink after all. Mathias took a heavy swig from the mug before he returned it to me with a grateful smile. "He's my father." He said then, returning his attention to Steve, whose yes widened slightly at Mathias' words.
"No way, you're a Lord?" David exclaimed and looked outright shocked. "Not exactly, I'm just the son of a Lord; my father has to resign his titles to me first before I can become a true Lord." Mathias explained and gestured for David, who had gotten ready to stand up, to sit down again. "There's no need to bow, I don't care about such things."
"How come a Lord's son is out here, so close to the danger without at least an escort or something?" Steve earned another shocked glance from David as he casually addressed Mathias like that. That David seemed to take the class system to heart and even though he had sat down again, he looked as if he wanted to fall to his knees any second now.
It was kind of funny really. I had met Mathias in a brothel, a kind of compromising environment; there had never been the need for formalities. Mathias' identity as a noble had never been of consequence for me, even though as a mere commoner it should have been my duty to pay him my respects. But like he said, Mathias had never cared for such things and sure as hell he wouldn't start now.
Come to think of it Berwald was a noble too, even Tino was considered nobility, and only Emil and I were of lower birth. I didn't know about Francis and Arthur though; they were at least citizens which still were considered a better social position than peasantry. Luckily no one at the table, except for David cared about social standing. But would that be the same once we reached the capital? Mathias surely wouldn't care, and most likely wouldn't Berwald and Tino, but what about their families? What about the rest of their society? Mingling between nobles and common folk was frowned upon and a serious relationship like the one Mathias and I aspired was almost impossible.
It was not the first time I had these thoughts, and still I couldn't find a solution to the problem. And a tiny voice in my head was constantly reminding me that maybe would grow tired of me once we reached his home. He surely had friends there and when he was reunited with them he surely would forget about me. No matter how often I told myself that this was not true, that I could trust Mathias, the voice never quite disappeared.
I sneaked my hand under the table to grab Mathias' that was resting on his lap and his reassuring squeeze was enough to chase the haunting thoughts away. He would never leave me, he promised me that and I could at least believe in him.
The topic at the table had moved on in the meantime, Mathias along with a little help from Arthur had explained why we were there in the first place. The two men had listened intently, although Mathias had left out most details, but still it was quite the adventure. "I can't believe you made it out alive!" Steve was almost too excited about the whole story for my taste. We had gone through hell to come so far and he was outright enjoying the telling of it.
But maybe that was the way to deal with it.
We couldn't undo the past, so maybe it was best to face what happened head on instead of trying to forget as fast as possible. If only it were so easy.
"So you are on your way to the capital, I assume?" Steve asked with a hint of curiosity. David had stayed silent the whole time but at Steve's words he perked up and looked like he wanted to say something, Tino beat him to it though. "Yep, we've been trying to reach the capital for a long time now; I hope we'll arrive there before winter solstice. I would hate to miss out on Yule." Tino said with a longing look in his eyes. I knew from Mathias that a grand festival was held on winter solstice and shortly after the Yule celebrations began. We had celebrated Yule too, but it was only a small event with most people having not enough resources to really go all out. I had always wanted to see one big Yule celebration though.
"I don't even know how many days are left before winter solstice." Tino sighed and hung his head, causing Berwald to pat his back in obvious distress. Since he had been injured Berwald had been the one on the receiving end of love and care in their relationship and even though Tino didn't mind at all, Berwald was a bit unhappy that he couldn't be there for his lover like he used to. And now when Tino was displaying an apparent amount of disappointment Berwald tried his best to comfort him with his temporarily impairment.
"Don't worry." Steve grinned and emptied his beer with one big gulp. "You have plenty of time to reach the capital before the festivities start. I think this year they're going to be extra big, because everyone's afraid of the war and this is their way of coping. Don't you think so Dave?"
David seemed displeased by his nickname but he nodded nevertheless before he cleared his throat to speak. "I think we can even make sure that you reach your destination without further incident." His words were answered with a moment of silence until a whole flurry of speech erupted. Everyone wanted to know what he meant with that at the same time and it took a while before everyone had calmed down enough to listen. After all the drawbacks we were tired of it and the prospect of getting to the capital safely was like a silver lining on the horizon.
"Well we have the duty as Royal Couriers to support the King as much as possible and since we have found Lord Kohler's son and company it should be our duty to safely escort them back to the capital." David explained and tried to appear dignified, an effort that was destroyed however by his comrade Steve who slapped him on the back and chuckled. "You're right Dave, I didn't even think of that. But we can't go all, can we? We still have messages to deliver."
"Wait a minute." Arthur suddenly spoke up. "Are you saying that you are willing to provide us a safe escort to the capital? And make sure that nothing goes wrong along the way?" "Precisely, I imagine it must please the king greatly when his most loyal servant's son and friends are returned to him. We will have to split up the troop though, a few should stick to their original orders."
"That would be great." Tino almost bounced up and down on his seat and was short from hugging David who clearly looked averse to such a display of gratitude. As nice as it sounded I was still aware of his true motifs. He wanted to gain the king's favor or at least the favor of Mathias' father, but as long as it would get us to the capital I wouldn't complain.
Tino was not the only one who was excited, in a sudden burst of affectionate energy Arthur had trapped Francis in a happy embrace, a gesture the man returned with eagerness. Even Emil looked pleased, albeit he cast me a glance that showed that he too was aware of David's hidden agenda. To my surprise Mathias had stayed mostly silent and was only speaking up when the table had grown silent again.
"I'm sure my father will reward you for your services, I can't talk for the king though." Under the table Mathias was squeezing my hand again and I smiled softly at him. "I only hope we don't encounter any more trouble on the way." He said with a calm and thoughtful voice, and I was grateful that I was not the only one who wasn't as excited about this sudden ray of sun like the rest. After all we had learned the hard way that anything could go wrong at any time.
"It's settled then, we're going home." Steve grinned again, and this time Mathias replied with his own trademark grin. "Yes, we're going home."
...