The Banished

by Fallen Ark Angel

Being the head of the royal guard is hard enough without factoring in the fact you're an Overlander. How can Gregor possibly guard the queen while constantly having to watch his own back? But when a more prominent threat forms over Regalia, far more sinister than any they have faced before, Gregor must put his own problems aside for the greater good of them all.

23. Chapter 23

The Banished

Chapter 23

The room was dark when Gregor awoke in it. It took him a moment once he had to place his surroundings. He was in one of the royal chamber's extra rooms. It took him even longer to recall why. Luxa had taken his job from him, along with most of his belongs. Or at least the important ones.

Laying there for a good moment, Gregor did a quick stock of what exactly he had left. Definitely not his pride. Not his dignity. Not his shiny helmet that he never seemed to be able to keep a hold of. They had even taken his sword from him, though he had easily gone out and gotten another. As he had purchased his dagger, that was safe. He also had some clothes, which was great. He was currently lacking armor, though he didn't see that as a huge detriment, as he also was lacking the interest in fighting for Luxa. At all. If she didn't need him, fine. That was just fine.

Gregor took a moment or two to become familiar with his current standing before slowly getting out of the bed. He had to be careful, being in the royal chambers afterhours now. Luxa was nowhere to be found, though that was probably to his benefit. He no longer had the head guard excuse. He couldn't be caught with her. He would have to say that he was with…he was there for…

Why else would be in the royal chambers?

Hazard. Of course. He was visiting with Hazard and had fallen asleep in the sitting room. Luxa nor Hazard had the heart to awaken him. It was merely an accident. Yes. Yes! That would work. He wasn't sure what he would say on any of the other nights that he stayed there, but for the moment, that was all he had and he was sticking to it.

Gregor was presently surprised to find no guards around, though he did not notice for a good while. He was practicing what he would say in his head, after all. He wanted it to sound truthful and unrehearsed. At first he found it a shame that there was no guard to tell it to. Then he found relief in the fact that he did not have to lie. And lastly, anger came to him.

Where the hell were all the guards? They were on the cusp of another war and there was no one guarding the royal chamber? No matter Luxa might not be in it at the moment, it did not matter. Anyone could sneak in there and be lying in wait for her when she did return. That was why there were always guards there. That idea wasn't even his own, really. It had been in place long before he was head guard. It was just a rule. A basic rule. Any idiot could understand its purpose.

…Unless there was something wrong. Unless someone had sieged the palace. Unless the banished had risen up in revolt. Unless, unless, unless.

Gregor's fears were quelled when he saw people milling around the halls not soon after, very few even raising their heads to glance at him. So everything was fine. Good. Good. Everything was fine. For some reason, there just were guards in the royal chamber. Not good, but better than there being an attack on the palace. That would be the true travesty. He would just have to have a talk with his men and then-

But ah. He was no longer in charge of any of that. This was not his screw up. Not in the slightest. He was not on the hook for it. He wasn't on the hook for anything! Really, he had nothing to do all day and no one to do it with.

It had been a long time since Gregor had had one of those days. Most of the time, he had to work all day long and never got a chance to do anything fun. Now that Luxa had fired him however, he was totally full of free times. He was allowed to do whatever he wanted constantly.

And he kind of liked the idea.

Not that he didn't want to work. And he was almost completely sure that eventually, he would be allowed to resume his position. Luxa was just upset as it was and she wanted him to suffer. Which was fine, really. Eventually, she'd calm down and they could go back to life as normal. You know, after they finally got rid of all the banished and everything. Until then though, they were stuck in the awkward position they were in.

"Ah, here you are then, Overlander."

Gregor hardly looked up as Perdita came into the room. "Do not tell me; I am not allowed to eat here anymore? With the soldiers?"

"I am not going to stop you, no," She said with a shrug of her shoulders. How would it look then, for someone to tell the warrior of late that he was unable to eat with the other men and women that fought for Regalia? Who would do such a thing?"

"Luxa," Gregor said with a slow shake of his head as Perdita took a seat in front of him. "She is exactly the person to do such a thing."

"Treason will get you nowhere, Overlander," she told him with a sigh as she looked around the mostly empty mess hall. Most everyone was off on their duties. After all, with Vlad and co. hanging out in the castle, there was much need for soldiers and guards.

"So you know then? About what she did?"

"I know what both of you did. I know how both of you acted. And though I am truly displeased with each of you, I do find some sympathy in my heart for a man doing what he finds noble."

Gregor was in mid-bite as he said, "Go on."

"I am head of the army, Gregor."

"I am aware."

"And it is my job to get generals in line for war. And since Luxa has gone off on her tirade and more or less decommissioned Mareth, I suppose that leaves you."

"Leaves me," Gregor said slowly. "Leaves me for what?"

"Well, you know, I am lacking a general already, due to Luxa getting rid of the last one."

"She tends to have that state of mind when it comes to the help."

Perdita shook her head. "The job comes with a room, if it's any enticement."

"What job?"

"Are you dense then?" She still held his eyes with her own. "I am offering you the position as general."

He just sat there for a moment before moving to begin eating again. Through bites, he asked, "And why would you do this?"

"Do you fear secret motives that much, Overlander?" She shook her head then before rolling her eyes. "There is no…catch, as you would say."

"There has to be."

"There is not." She smiled at him then, something that was rather weird for the woman. "You just have to promise me that you will follow my orders better than you do our queen's."

"Wholeheartedly."

"Good." Reaching over then, Perdita patted his arm. "You shall be a general. Which, in all honesty, should have been what you were to begin with."

"Should I be able to speak freely?"

She gave a motion with her hands. "I am not as your old boss, Overlander. You are allowed to discuss things with me. It is your job. I do not want a thoughtless lamb to do my bidding."

Nodding, he looked back up as he said, "Luxa will not like this."

"Luxa is at an impasse currently. She has taken the warrior out of commission and, though it is something they would like during normal times, people are not happy now that they see a war brewing. She has taken Mareth out and Namus as well. We are possibly on the heels of our biggest war since the Prophecy of Time and she is only making more enemies. It would do her well to have you as a general. So long as the two of you keep the arguments to a low."

He still shook his head. "The men shall not think much of me. Very few like me. I-"

"Then it is your job to make them like you, to make them respect you. Do you not think it hard for I when I was young, to make myself known? I was a woman, fighting a man's battle. And here I am. Luxa as well. Queen Athena. Queen Wevox still reigns in the-"

Gregor made a face. "It is the age of women, it should seem."

She gave her a look right back. "Is that a problem, Overlander?"

"No," he said with a slight shake of his head. "I was just making an observation is all."

"Good," she said, nodding then. "Is that all then?"

"Just one thing."

"Yes?"

"The only other generals then are Helix-"

"That is right.

"-and...Barrett?"

She stood then, rolling her eyes once more. "You shall find overtime, Overlander, that perhaps Queen Luxa's affections were not all you thought they would be, yes?"

He just watched her walk away for a long moment before letting out a long sigh. If he thought being a guard during the time they were in was hard, he knew that he'd be in for a rude awakening when he actually controlled something important.

---

It was only after finishing his meal that Gregor reported to the armory, at the suggestion of Perdita. She had told him that he would be getting fitted armor. When he asked why he was not just allowed his guard armor back, she told him simply that he was no longer a guard, therefore, it no longer suited him. And though he disagreed, he figured it best to just follow her instructions.

"Oh, I always get black armor," Gregor told the woman who was Miravet's replacement after the older woman finally passed.

"You used to get black armor," the woman told him as she picked out a breastplate. "You did because it blended well with your flier. Then they continued to give it to you per Queen Luxa's suggestion, I am sure at your suggestion. Now you are a general. You will wear this."

"Why?" He stared at the rusted red colored armor. He couldn't imagine actually wearing it. "I do not like-"

"You shall not be having to see yourself, Overlander," the woman told him with a long sigh. "The rest of us will. It is either this or white armor."

"White?"

"Aye."

He paused for a moment before shaking his head. "The red shall do."

"As I thought."

After getting completely fitted, Gregor was slightly relieved to find that he did not require a helmet any longer. Perhaps being a general really was his destined job.

Perdita had told him after he got his armor to meet her in the tactics room, as there was a meeting. For some reason, Gregor was a bundle of nerves at the thought. It was not that he had not sat through meetings before; he obviously had as a guard. It was only that now he would no longer just be a guard. He would be a general. And wouldn't they all be shocked to see him. He still had no room currently and was going to have to wear his armor into the tactics room. Show it off more or less. At least he would be able to get over with unveiling it. To the important people at least.

"Can't let you in, Overlander," the guard at he entrance told him when he tried to walk into the tactics room. "There's a meeting in-"

"As a new general, I would find it best that you learn your place." Gregor stared the man that, only days before, he had been in control of. He was on to much better things though. Much, much better things.

Not surprisingly, it was only Luxa, Perdita, Barrett, and Helix in the room. The youngest of them looked rather nervous about something, but given Luxa's mood as of late, Gregor was not surprised. At all. He was sure that the young general knew his time was limited. Now that Gregor had joined up, he was sure that the other guy was worried about his position.

"Overlander," Luxa sighed upon his entrance, hardly even glancing at him. "This is neither the time nor the place for-"

"What are you wearing?" Barrett asked him with a slight laugh. "Suited up for battle then?"

Gregor just shook his head as he came into the room. "I was instructed to arm myself."

"I told you that you could buy armor if you so wished," Luxa said, her tone more bored than anything else. "I did not-"

"It was not you that instructed me," Gregor told her pointedly before turning his attention to Perdita. Luxa followed his line of sight and frowned rather deeply.

"You then?" she asked the other woman.

"Aye," Perdita said with a nod of her head. "Everyone, I would like you to meet the Regalian army's newest general."

And then things weren't so funny anymore.

To Luxa' defense, she did not yell or scream or send him off to the dungeons to be flogged. Instead she just stood a little straighter and stared at the head of her army.

"I shall expect a full briefing of your decision at a later date, Perdita," she said evenly before glancing at Gregor. "Welcome then, Overlander."

He could see it though, in her eyes and in the slight infliction of her voice that the battle was not yet won. If he and Perdita were going for shock value, they had gotten it. They had not, however, wavered Luxa from her state of mind. She would deal with him later. Both of them, Gregor was sure.

"Thank you, your grace," Gregor said while Barrett still seemed to be trying to hold down his laughter. Helix's expression had not changed much, if at all. If anything, it had gotten darker.

It was only once Gregor was standing there that Perdita, who had been speaking when he came into the room, spoke.

"Vlad and his wife have both refused our offer of peace and have instead begun to draft their own decision, one that I am sure you are all aware of at this point." Perdita mostly stared at Gregor as she spoke. He had no doubt that he was the only one that had not been informed of this. "They have decided that their best course of action is negotiation."

"And they wish for the Fount," Barrett said with a sigh. "Yes, we know."

"And yet they know that there is no way that I would ever agree to that," Luxa interjected. "So why are we discussing it?"

"There are many things to take into consideration," Perdita told her.

"Consideration?"

"I only mean to-"

"If what you mean to do is take my land from me-"

"No, no, I-"

"I believe what Perdita is suggestion is more of a distraction," Gregor spoke up. "Or at least that is what I am thinking."

"Oh, what do you know?" Luxa asked dismissively. Then, after glancing around, she let out a long sigh. "Fine, Overlander. What is it that you have to tell us?"

"I mean only that if you were to tell them thaty you were giving them the Fount, it would get them away from Regalia. They have not enough fliers to take them all there. They would have to march. That would take some time. You, Queen Luxa, would send word to York in the Fount and he could already have a plan of attack devised."

"Have you not been listening, Overlander?" Luxa didn't even look at him as she spoke them. "The whole point of this is to not fight."

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "The whole point of this is to avoid a war. Battle and war differ. If we could get this down to one battle, all or nothing-"

"Yes!" Barrett nodded his head ecstatically. It was during moments such as the one they were having then that Gregor remembered Barrett was not older than him by much. "That is it. We would surprise attack them. Ambush them. Without planning, they have nothing on us. We have the manpower."

"Such as the cutters," Gregor said nodding his head. "When we were out getting the leaves, Luxa, remember? When they surprised us? That was a massive battle. Not a war. That is the way it must be."

"You know not of the way it must be, Overlander," she snapped at him then. "You were not here when they arrived behind our walls and you are of no use now."

"I am a general."

"And yet I can strip you of that title as quickly as I did your one previously."

Perdita cleared her throat while Barrett just looked off, not so enthusiastic any longer. Helix still looked relatively pensive, however, finding no joy in the Overlander getting reprimanded as he worried about his own punishment for whatever mistakes he knew he would inevitably make.

"This is neither the time nor the place for the two of you to act in such a childish manner," Perdita told them as Barrett distracted himself by straightening his sword belt. "So make the choice, both of you; would you rather stand here and argue or both be willing to accept that the other has some important things to include in such a conversation? Because at this very moment, I could do with out either one of you."

For once, Luxa did not correct Perdita for, well, correcting her. Instead, she just took a step towards the table, staring down at the map for a moment.

"You all wish to send them to the Fount then? Trick them?"

"If not mow them down while they await decision outside our walls," Barrett told her with a nod.

"That is not an option," Luxa told him, glancing up for a moment before shaking her head. "And you then, Helix?"

He could not have looked more panicked as she spoke to him. Looking up, he began to stammer, "I-I-"

"Vlad wants an answer today," Perdita interrupted. "And I think that is the one that you should give him. That you shall send him to the Fount with escorts. He and most of his army. Then the Fount launches an attack. We will send soldiers from here as well, to get them from behind. It shall be a slaughter, really, but what other choice do we have?"

Luxa merely shook her head. "This is not how I wished it to turn out."

"And who would? Wish for this then?" Perdita held her gaze for a moment before looking at Barrett. "This is to be kept a secret from all. If they hear of this-"

"It is understood," Barrett said, nodding his head. "I am not as dense as you all make me out to be."

"No one makes you anything that you are not," Perdita told him while Luxa only sighed. Helix, glad that the pressure was off him for the moment, let out a very audible breath, causing everyone to look at him. When he felt their gazes, his defenses went back up and he began to sweat it some again. At that point, honestly, Gregor felt kind of bad for the kid, really.

"Then we are dismissed," Luxa said, nodding her head. "For now at least. Barrett, Perdita, you both can take care of what needs to be done. Get messages out to York as well as prepare troops. Send Mareth to the Fount also, if you would."

That finally got Perdita to freeze, if only for a moment or two. Then, recovering, she asked, "For what purpose, if only so I could tell him?"

Luxa shrugged. "You all tell me so frequently that he wishes to go stay there, prepare an army and all. Well then, this shall be his golden opportunity to prove himself to me. To us all, really. And should this go over well, then I shall relocate him and his bond over there, to begin preparations of a real military."

Gregor could tell by the look on Perdita's face that she did not like this idea at all, but still she nodded and headed out. Watching her leave for a moment, Helix then quickly made his own exit, no doubt relieved to find that he had no marching orders. Gregor was slightly disappointed to find that he too was without any, but figured it an inopportune time to bring such a thing up.

"Come then, Overlander. Or should I say General Overlander?" Barrett laughed as he headed off, though Luxa stayed by the table, staring down at the map spread over it. "There is much to attend to. As your first action as a general, you shall help me out some, hmmm? I'll show you the ropes. There are not many, but you can find them, at times, to become quite tangled."

Barrett patted the younger man's shoulder as he passed and, after a glance at Luxa, Gregor headed out with him, though he really didn't want to. It was better than the alternatives however and Gregor felt quite safe in following along with the other guy. Besides, what could Barrett really do to him anyways?

"A general now, huh?" Barrett asked him once they were out of the tactics room and down the hall somewhat. "That is quite an impressive feat."

"It was Perdita's doing, merely," Gregor assured the other guy. 'She wished for me to still have a part in all this despite Luxa attempting to oust me."

"And quite a job our queen did in doing just that. Although your disappearing act did not help you any in your cause, you must understand."

"Yeah, well," Gregor said with a slight shrug. His armor was pretty bothersome, really, and he wanted out of it. "I think when this is all said and done, I'll go with Mareth to the Fount."

"Last time I checked, Mareth is not too happy with you either."

"I do not wish to go for him," Gregor said with a shake of his head.

"Then you believe the Fount deserves an army as well?"

"No. I mean, I don't care, but no, that is not my reason for wishing to go," Gregor sighed. "I was in the Fount before."

"I have heard."

"And while I was there…"

"Do not tell me, Overlander, that you have found another?" Barrett grinned at him then. "What is she like then? Tell me! Did she have-"

"It's not that either," Gregor said, making a face. "It was the people in general."

"Meaning what?"

"While I was there, it was almost like I was, I dunno, their hero or something."

"Really now."

"Yeah," Gregor said, nodding. "They treated me real great. Not like I'm treated here."

"How you are treated here."

"You know," Gregor said with a shake of his head. "Everyone hates me here because, well, Luxa or whatever, but there? There they all love me. They call me their kin-"

"Silence now, Overlander," Barrett whispered harshly, looking around the packed hall. "If you are about to say what I think, then silence yourself. You are too free with your tongue now, here. You must realize that you are still only-"

"See? This is the exact reason that I am going back to the Fount," Gregor said with a shake of his head. "It is much better for me there. Fine, I am without Luxa. That is whatever at this point. I care not the way that she acts. She treats me badly here. Most people do."

"That boy you take care of then? What of him?"

"Zander?" Gregor shrugged. "He shall come with me I sup-"

"No," Barrett said with a shake of his head. "The other Halflander. Queen Luxa's cousin."

"Hazard?" Gregor frowned. "No, me and him already spoke. "He is going to go down there with me, if not sooner. He wishes to leave just as badly."

"Of course he wishes to leave," Barrett said with a roll of his eyes. "Everyone wishes to leave. That is not the problem."

"Then what is the problem, Barrett? What-"

"Right now, he wants to leave," Barrett said with a nod of his head. "And yet, when he is lonely, do you not think he shall long for home? He has only had the queen for many, many years now. They are more or less brother and sister, if not closer. She thinks of him as her son, almost. She has raised him, for the most part. And now you wish to come in between that?"

"It was not my main propagative, no, but he cannot stay under her thumb forever. He-"

"He is weak," the other man said. When he saw Gregor begin to take offense, he said, "I say it not in a mean-spirited way. It is merely the truth, Overlander. He has lost much, fine, but he never truly fights for anything. Luxa makes sure that his every whim is met. He wants to leave merely because he wishes to rebel. And yet, I figure, he shall not like it much there with you."

"I think you have misjudged Hazard," Gregor said with a shake of his head.

"Perhaps I have," Barrett said with a shrug. "I only fear that when he leaves with you, Queen Luxa shall find it an act of betrayal. That both of you betrayed her. And when he tries to return, that shall be destroyed."

"So what then?" Gregor asked. "You think that Hazard should stay here with her forever and always and never truly grow up?"

"Is that what I have said?" Barrett shook his head. "I mean only that taking him to the Fount, getting involved in this, you are breaking a bond that cannot be rebound. I believe, and take this as an outsider's opinion only, that the boy should move away from the palace, become independent, yes, but not in the Fount. It is not a good decision. He should find work here. He is very intellectual. If he would only ask for it, why, I am sure that his grandfather could find him a nice job. You might be able to as well."

Still, Gregor shook his head. "Hazard is a man. He can do as he pleases."

"Aye," Barrett agreed softly as they continued down the hall. "We all can. Perhaps that is why nothing ever turns out too great for any of us."

---

"I find your new armor to be most delightful, Overlander. It brings out your eyes rather well."

At the sound of that voice, that so familiar voice, Gregor jumped up. He had been writing at the desk in his room, marking up a note to be sent the Fount, to Susannah instead of York, requesting that when everything was settled there, she take Hazard in fro awhile. Gregor was sure that no matter the outcome of the battle to be taking place soon, the woman would help her brother's son out. They were family, after all.

Still, when Gregor turned to find the woman in his new room, he froze, if only for a moment. At the look on his face, the woman, Usha, laughed ever so slightly.

"Calm yourself then, Overlander," she said, coming further into the room to stand in front of him. "I am not so foolish; if I were to attack you, you could skewer me in a minute."

Still, Gregor only watched her with unblinking eyes. He hardly trusted anyone, but his trust in her was probably lower than his trust in, say, anyone ever alive ever. That deep.

"I come to you merely to apologize for before. And then again to apologize for witnessing what I had, with that woman treating you in such a way." Usha shook her head. "What a fool, huh? Treating such an important man that way."

He never moved his eyes from hers. "What do you wat?"

"What do I want? I want nothing, Overlander, other than to-"

"Then leave," Gregor said, shaking his head slightly. "You have no business here. Not to mention, it is indecent for you to-"

"Oh come now. I know you have been living down under for some time now, but surely you have not adopted all their customs? It is not so in the Overland, is it, that two friends cannot have a conversation should they be of the opposite sex?"

"I see not two friends in this room."

"What is it, Overlander? Warrior? Is it that time I tried to cut you up that has you so tense?" The woman shook her head. "That is silly. All is fair in love and war, yes?"

"We have no business together," Gregor told her. "If you do not leave-"

"I thought you would wish to speak to me instead of my husband is the only reason I have come."

"And why is that?"

"Well, you know, you are an Overlander. And I am part Overlander."

Gregor narrowed his eyes then. "And how is that then?"

"Hmmm?"

"How is it that you are what you are?"

"Do not be so foolish, Overlander, as to think that the only entrance to the Underland is here in Regalia. It is not." She shook her head. "It is just some of us are not as lucky as you, yes? Landing here in this beautiful city-"

"You claim to be a descendant of Sandwich."

"I do not claim anything," she told him harshly then. "I am. More so than your retched usurper ever shall be."

He did not raise to the bait. "Then how is that so?"

"My mother comes from a long line of Underlanders. Or came, I should guess. My father, he was a Halflander. So I suppose that would make me a quarter Overlander, when you weigh the scales just so."

He shook his head. "You speak so-"

"Eloquently? Beautifully? Like fanciful poetry flowing from my mouth?"

Another head shake. "Like an Overlander. Your accent, it is-"

"There are many Halflanders in our trope, you must understand. And my grandfather, the Overlander? He lived for many, many years. As did my father. My mother, she died giving birth to me. I suppose I am somewhat like your queen then, growing up without a mother. Only mine died nobly."

"Dying giving birth is a noble death now?"

"It is when you are giving birth to one such as myself."

He blinked. Then he blinked again. So it was true. Luxa was not the most narcissistic person in all of the Underland. Huh. Who'd of thought it?"

Their conversation died then though as someone else came into his room, very hurriedly. For a second, Gregor feared it someone important, someone that would see Usha in his new room with him and immediately think the worst. Instead, it turned out to only be Hazard, cradling Zander in his arms.

"Gregor," the teen said excitedly as he came into the room. "Look at you! A general now? I understand then, if you choose not to come with me to the Fount. And here is Zander. Luxa says he is your responsibility and-"

"Hazard," Gregor sighed as Zander cooed softly. "Honestly, have you ever heard of knocking? Or, well, calling out from the curtain that it is you and what you want? Because I-"

Usha let out this weird, strangled scream then, startling them all. It was Hazard she moved to face though, quickly reaching out to take Zander from him. The young child began to giggle this, bouncing in her arms slightly.

"Wh-"

"You monsters," the woman cut Gregor off then, her face twisting into a sort of rage that Gregor had never seen before. "How could you have done this? You took my child from me! My child and you-"

"What are you talking about?" Gregor asked as Hazard took a step back, an abnormal look of worry befalling his features. "I don't-"

And then she ran from the room, ignoring Gregor and Hazard's cries for her to explain herself, instead calling something out herself. She was calling for her husband. Screaming for him, more like it.

What was going on?