After the battle, some of the men that survived the attack began to emerge from their defenses and started to wander the city, most of which searched for the mage who conjured the Phoenix that saved their lives. Eventually the majority of them made it to the Royal Palace from the thought that it was Bianca Trinity, the Phoenix Herald, that summoned her namesake.
Upon entering the courtyard, the warriors saw their leader crying in Niall's arms; although many of the new recruits didn't know Niall by face, the older soldiers and veterans called greetings to both members of the Tydarian royal family.
Niall looked up from Bianca, glancing over to his companion and beckoning her forward. The red-head complied and confidently strode through the increasing sea of mingling bodies to the embracing pair. By the time she arrived, Bianca's tears had run dry, but she refused to let go of Niall.
After a few minutes of the red-head standing awkwardly on the sidelines, Niall broke the silence. "Tri-lac, could you please help the Herald here? She seems to be in some form of distress."
"Tri-lac?" Bianca's head shot up, worry spread over her face at the name. "You mean the woman from Telarosh." She didn't finish the sentence, her head lowered, downcast in shame and sorrow, stood silent.
The Huntress strode up to the Herald, fists clenched and back muscles tensed. Once she was within striking distance, she lashed out with a right hook that sent Bianca sprawling to the ground.
The crowd suddenly went silence, dumbfounded by this attack on their monarch. Some men stepped forward to defend Bianca, but were met with Niall's raised hand. The veterans stood back and lowered their weapons, but still tense and ready to act at a moment's notice. Many recruits followed their lead, save the few unfortunate souls that were stopped by Niall's menacing glare.
"That was for my home, my people, and my brothers." Tri-lac's hand rose to touch the pendant around her neck when she mentioned the Brothers Grimm, then her anger subsided and her face cleared, "Now let's take a look at that arm."
Tri-lac knelt beside the startled Herald; her hand glowed with a dim white light as she touched Bianca's injured arm. Bianca's face carried both a startled and a concerned look, her body tense with her nervousness due to Tri-lac's recently revealed anger.
"Nothing too serious," She says, pulling her hand away from the Herald's arm, "give it a day and you'll be fine." Tri-lac stood, smiling in an attempt to lessen Bianca's nerves, with her arm outstretched. Bianca took her arm and rose to her feet slowly, moving her injured arm to find it wasn't broken, but very bruised now. "Thank you," Bianca whimpered.
"Now that we've gotten that out of the way," Niall started, "Let's get moving. Ceallach, get inside, throne room in 20 minutes, bring all the surviving advisers." Ceallach nodded and ran inside, dodging rubble and the occasional corpse of a Tydarian.
"Bianca, get cleaned up, I want you ready in 30 minutes; we need to plan our next move." Bianca nodded shyly and moved into the palace after Ceallach.
"And the rest of you, get moving! I want this city cleaned up before they send the next wave!" Everywhere, Sergeants barked orders and soldiers scattered with Niall chuckling quietly to himself, leaving him and Tri-lac in the courtyard by themselves. "You're good right?" He murmured.
"I wouldn't say good: I mean I wanted to kill that bitch for what she did to my home, but…" her voice trailed off slowly.
"But you promised you wouldn't?" He joked. Tri-lac nudged him playfully with her fist, "So, where to now?" she asked.
"Now? Now we talk to Ceallach and see what the hell is happening." A smile appeared in the corner of his mouth as he strode towards the palace, "Shall we?"
"I thought you'd never ask."