Flora witnessed the horror of the battlefield for the first time. Only two days prior, the city had been besieged, the wall breached, and the ground stained with blood. Death hung over the city like a cloud. Though the bodies of the fallen had been cleared out, the massive piles they had been put into sat just over a kilometer outside the city, and were only starting to be covered with dirt. It was unknown exactly how many had died that day, but Trace told her estimates were around eleven thousand. As they passed, she clutched him tightly, and fear gripped her heart. What if he had died? What if he was just one of a number buried here? As they entered the city proper, they were greeted by many friendly faces. Maren was standing off to the side with Evals, trying to take inventory of all the things they had collected from the field. Sythe sorted out pieces of armor nearby, throwing parts that were still fit for use into one pile, and the rest into another to be taken away. Further in, they saw Zen sitting next to Natani, who had recovered well from her injury. Then they saw…

"Flora. Thanks again for watching Maeve." Keiren said, walking over to them from the cluster of Basitins he had been talking to. "How is she?"

"She's fine. Eric and Karen are keeping an eye on her today." Trace said, holding Flora close. She hadn't said a word since they got into town. "Do you know where Keith is? We need a favor from him."

Eric raised an eyebrow, and looked down at Flora. "Does it have anything to do with that?" He pointed at the subtleseed necklace she was wearing, and she quickly covered it up. "Hey, no judgement here. A few months ago, maybe, but today? I've seen stranger things. I'm one of those stranger things. Surrogate father to a young leopard, Duke of Edinmire, and protectorate under the Basitin military. You and Trace are the least of my worries right now."

Trace pulled her close. "Yeah, we actually were thinking of asking King Adelaide to preside over a small ceremony. Nothing big, but we would officially be married."

Keiren smiled lightly, and started walking. "Keith has been over this way. You want to actually be married before something bad happens, right?"

Flora blushed and looked down. "Yeah. I know it's dumb, but-"

"It's not dumb." Keiren reassured her. "The city was nearly lost. We were almost overrun several times. We all were in constant danger right from the start. They broke the walls and began to burn the city, a horde of men who wanted nothing less than the complete destruction of everything here. It'd be good for you to get married right now actually. Could take some people's minds off the war."

The three walked down the road in silence, Flora still clinging to Trace, even tighter as her eyes fell on some of the most badly wounded. There were Basitins, Humans, and Keidran who would not be fighting ever again. Some were missing limbs, others were so badly shaken from the attack they were restricted in their movement, and some stared blankly into nothing, their eyes glassed over. "What happened to them?" she asked quietly.

Trace frowned, and pulled her even closer. Keiren was the one who answered though. "War… changes people." he said slowly and grimly. "Many who go come back as a different person, some better, many worse. Seeing the bloody conflict, knowing that you have killed or could have been killed, it changes you. Some folks here will be sent away to the Basitin Isles, where King Adelaide has offered to give them respite, far away from the conflict. But there are some who won't go. They have family here they can't abandon. This is their home. They may be broken, but if the fight comes to them, they will see it to the end."

"And what about you?" Flora asked timidly. "How has it changed you?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'm still processing everything that's happened the last few months. I feel like the world has moved forward, and I'm still trying to catch up."

"In other news…" Trace said suddenly, trying to shift the topic. "How have you enjoyed being the Duke? Everything you thought it would be?"

"Far too much paperwork for my liking." Keiren smirked. "It makes me long for the days when I could tell someone to do my jobs. At least I have Utkr to help with all of it. And Lynn, he's been an absolute blessing. I don't know how anyone can be so happy making copies of paperwork, but that man somehow can have every document in triplicate, with my signatures, and still get eight hours of sleep at night. I know Basitins can't use magic, but there's something magical about him."

"He's certainly something." Keith said as the three approached. He was standing next to Telk and King Adelaide, overseeing the refitting of a building into a salvage station to process all of the metal. "When I got back here after becoming a general, he may have done some… questionable things regarding paperwork… and my signature…" Keith said, fully aware that the King was listening to him.

She smiled. "He always has done that. I remember when he had just been appointed as a messenger. One of our governors had a history of fraud, but no one could figure out how he was doing it. It took Lynn less than a day to break him completely. Quite a proud moment."

"What brings you down here Flora? We're not exactly in a city you want to casually walk through right now, especially with the cleanup still going on."

"We actually wanted to speak to you, King Adelaide." Trace said a bit timidly. The king stood tall over him, an anomaly among the Basitins. They hadn't really spoken before, outside of brief interactions before and after combat. "I know that it may be strange, but Flora and I would like you to preside over our wedding. Nothing fancy, just a small ceremony so we can properly be married."

Keith's tail shot up, and Jade raised an eyebrow. "You are aware that my kind does not work like that, yes?"

"I know. But we have been thinking about it for a while, and there's not many other people who can properly perform a wedding. And, the more I think about it, the more it fits. The King of the Basitins, presiding over a human and Keidran ceremony. The only people missing would be Ishtaer, but we can't wait two months or more for Barret to get back. I could have died two days ago. I don't want to risk that again. Please, would you do this for us?"

Jade was silent for a moment, eyes wide. "You have given this much thought. When would this ceremony be, and where would it take place?"

"We were hoping to do it up in our place, Legacy Estate. Someplace out of the way, quiet, away from… well, all of this." Trace gestured to the still broken city. "And as for when, we hope soon. Within the week maybe?"

"Seems rather quick." Keiren said.

"Trace proposed last October." Flora explained. "We were hoping to get married in Lyn'Knoll, but that couldn't have been further from the truth."

"It would be a good way to take the war off of the minds of the civilian population." Jade said, scratching her chin. "And… I suppose you are correct. To have the three major races playing roles in what could potentially be a very influential event would be most beneficial. I will have Lynn brief me on what your ceremonies entail tomorrow. By Friday, you will be married."

Flora smiled widely, and clutched Trace, almost bouncing into the air with excitement. "We can't thank you enough." Trace said, trying to maintain his composure. "We'll prepare the estate for a wedding on Friday, and make sure everyone who should be there is there. Thank you again." Jade smiled, and then turned back to the forge, which had just sprang to life, belching smoke and ash from the brick chimney.

Keith excused himself, and walked with Trace and Flora, Keiren taking his place by Jade's side. "Barret will be sad he's going to miss this."

"Yeah, but he'd understand- Flora!" Trace was nearly pulled over as she bounced forward, holding his arm.

"Friday! Next week!" she squealed. "I'm so excited!"

"Maybe- augh! Flora!" Her claws were digging into his arm, and she wouldn't stop moving. "Keith, can you let everyone- Flora, stop -everyone else know? I guess I'm just going with- AUGH!" Trace was suddenly pulled off of his feet as Flora dragged him through town with unnatural strength, leaving Keith chuckling. Shaking his head, he spent the rest of the morning finding everyone and telling them what was going on. This eventually led him to Zen and Natani, who were the last ones he had to find.

"How are you two holding up?" he asked as he walked over to the cot Natani was sitting on.

"Sore, but I've had worse." Natani said, smirking. "Then again, it really can't get worse than having your soul broken. I'm still having memory fragments come back every few days. I actually remember our parents before they died, but everything fades into the background so quickly. I try to hold onto the good ones, but it's hard."

"What was Flora doing down here? I thought Trace wanted to keep her away from combat?" Zen asked, arm around his brother.

Keith sat down next to her, and wrapped his tail around hers, sighing. "Well, in case you didn't hear when she bounced back out of town, King Adelaide is going to preside over their wedding on Friday at the estate. She wants everyone to be there, especially you Nat."

"Eugh. As long as she doesn't try to put me in a dress." Keith laughed, but then an image of Natani in a dress came to his mind, and he couldn't help but think how nice that would be. "It's already weird enough having not worn my bindings for almost a month."

"I'll talk to the doctors about having you released to go up-"

"I actually just got done talking with them." Zen said. "Nat's been cleared. No sign of infection, but no strenuous activity for a while. No sparring."

"No worries there. I bet Flora will have us in a scramble around the house though, getting it fixed up for everything." Keith said, folding his arms.