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Guest: It's the poison. The poison was slowly killing him and his soul had to expend energy fighting it which weakened him. What happened after he was first poisoned has nothing to do with it.

Griffith was looking over some maps and planning some battle strategies inside the Fortress of Doldrey.

During their flight from Wyndham, he had sent some messengers to spread the truth of what happened to other nobles. The General in charge of the Red Bear Knights, who were sent to garrison Doldrey after it had been reclaimed, had fortuitously sided with the Hawks and willingly gave them refuge within the fortress.

It was by far the safest place for them right now and it was an incredibly defensible position. So it had become the main staging point for the civil war with Midland.

Several noble houses and Knight Corps had sided with the Hawks. Just as many if not more had sided with the king. Some were remaining stubbornly neutral at the moment. Though he supposed that was only natural considering how recent this all was and the fact they had just come out of a war with Tudor.

Thinking of Tudor, he glanced at a letter on the table. One he kept looking back at, unable to take his mind off of it.

Apparently a diplomat from Tudor was on the way to Doldrey to negotiate. Griffith suspected they would offer aid in the form of food and supplies in return for some concessions once the war had been won and the Princess was sitting on the throne. Griffith wasn't happy that he and the Princess would have to negotiate with them, but the supplies would be of an immense benefit to the war effort. He couldn't afford to reject them out right without at the very least hearing them out first.

He heard the door to the war room creek open. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, he saw Princess Charlotte.

Turning to face her, he smiled. "Your highness, what are you doing up at this hour? You should be asleep."

"I've tried, but I can't sleep… Everything that's happened… I… It's just… It feels so surreal…"

Griffith nodded in understanding. "I see. I completely understand. I'm much the same, really. It's quite difficult to rest when one's mind is so occupied thinking and worrying. I've faced many a sleepless night before and after important decisions and major battles. And I will admit, the situation with your father and keeping you safe has kept my mind quite occupied."

The Princess looked down at the ground in shame. "I'm sorry…"

Griffith strode over to her and held a finger under her chin, tilting her head to look him in the eyes. "Your highness, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. None of this is your fault. The blame lies solely upon the King for doing as he did. If anything, I'm glad I suspected something was wrong and investigated when the guards blocked my entrance… But let us not dwell on such grim matters. Come, let us speak over a glass of wine. Perhaps it will help us both relax enough to get some rest tonight."

He led her by the hand to some chairs next to the fireplace within the war room. Then he grabbed a couple of glasses and a wine bottle and poured a glass for both himself and the princess. After handing the princess her glass he sat down in his own chair.

"So, how are you finding your new accommodations?" Griffith inquired before sipping from his glass.

"They're nice! I'm pleasantly surprised! I was expecting much worse from a fortress, but my room is nearly as luxurious as my room back in Wyndham was." The Princess said with a smile.

Griffith chuckled. "Indeed. It seems to have been designed for nobility to stay here for extended periods as they manage the defenses. It stands to reason considering how vital Doldrey is. Regardless, I'm quite glad you're satisfied. Is there anything I might be able to do or acquire for you to make your stay here more comfortable?"

"No, no. I'm quite comfortable. Thank you." The Princess told him. She took a sip of her wine.

After a moment she sighed and said, "Admittedly, I do feel a bit… how do I put this…? Like a fish out of water? I believe that's a saying… Surrounded by all these men in armor without my maids or other noblewomen present… I have spoken with Lady Casca, however! She's a bit more rough around the edges than what I'm used to but it's nice to have at least one other woman present that I can speak to. I must say, she's very impressive. She's offered to teach me how to use a sword in case I ever need to defend myself. We're going to start tomorrow."

Griffith raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh? Well, I can certainly see the merits of you learning to wield a sword considering the circumstances. Even if it's simply some of the basics. Though I would advise against attempting to join in the war directly. It would be quite dangerous and you would be a priority target for capture on any battlefield."

"Oh no. I have no desire to do what she does and fight on the front lines. But after what happened… I… I want to know how to protect myself if I need to… I just don't want… If someone…" She muttered.

Griffith nodded and looked into the fireplace. "It is to regain your confidence after you were attacked then… I see… Yes, I imagine being armed and knowing you can fight back may help in that regard. I shall arrange for some knife and dagger fighting lessons as well, for situations where you may not be able to carry a sword. A sword is significantly better since it has a much longer reach, but a dagger is much easier to conceal and carry around. You can almost always keep one with you if you hide it properly, and having any weapon in a dangerous situation is better than having none at all."

"Thank you…" The Princess muttered.

Griffith smiled at her. "Of course, your highness."

They continued to chat for a while, sipping on their wine.

Eventually they settled into a comfortable silence which lasted for several minutes before the Princess spoke again. "Lord Griffith? I… I never properly thanked you for rescuing me… So, thank you. Thank you so much for saving me… If you hadn't come when you did… And my father… It must have taken so much courage to risk everything to oppose him like that… If we hadn't escaped, you would have been killed or… or worse… I don't even want to imagine it…"

"Your highness, even had that dreadful possibility come to pass, I would do it all again a million times over. More, even. As many times as it took to see you safe. I would never let you suffer so, as long as I had the means to stop it or otherwise intervene. What that man attempted to do was an act of the utmost evil and degeneracy. And to you, no less, his 'daughter'… No… He is no true father. I dare say he's barely even a man… Please forgive me if I'm being too presumptuous in saying so."

"No, not at all. You're right… How could he…? I just don't understand… He's never done anything like this before… It just happened out of nowhere." Charlotte muttered.

"Hm… Not out of nowhere, I'm afraid… I believe he may have been planning something like this for quite some time." Griffith told her. This was an excellent opportunity to further cement her disdain for her father. He wasn't about to let this chance go to waste.

She looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

"I had actually started to suspect something shortly after Guts had left. I learned some facts that lead me to a rather disturbing conclusion. There were marriage proposals in the past. Other nobles sought your hand. He rejected all of them. He also had several opportunities to offer your hand to secure alliances with other kingdoms. He never did. And I heard some rather disturbing rumors of how he looked at you while you had your back turned and how he spoke of you while you were not present, among other things… I believe he had desires for you for quite some time now, horrific as that is."

Charlotte stared into the fire in silence for some time, processing all of this. Eventually she asked, "Marriage proposals… I'd never heard of any until now… I'd started to suspect that perhaps I may be a ghastly sight…"

Griffith gave her a warm smile and shook his head. "No, your highness. Your radiant beauty knows no bounds. Any man would be blessed to have you."

"Does that mean… Do you want to marry me, Lord Griffith?" Princess Charlotte asked nervously.

"I would be more than honored, your majesty." Griffith stood up and knelt before the princess. Taking her hand in his he kissed it before looking deep into her eyes. He could see the adoration within them. "Princess Charlotte… When this war is won, will you marry me?"

"Yes…" She whispered breathlessly. "I will…"

Griffith smiled and stood up. Leaning in, he gave her a kiss upon her lips.

What neither of them noticed was the general of the Red Bear Knights, Viscount Radford, listening in and watching them through a crack in the slightly ajar door.

Radford scowled to himself. Griffith was a man of common birth. How dare he propose to her majesty?! The insolent brat should know his place! And for her to actually accept? No! Even if he is the hero who defeated Tudor and saved her from the clutches of her father, he was still of common birth! It was absolutely unconscionable!

He stormed off.

This wasn't acceptable! The war would have to continue, obviously, but something would have to be done about Griffith. A common man could not be allowed to marry royalty, no matter how skilled a commander he may be.

Guts had returned to the village where he and Griffith first heard of the blind witch doctor, before heading off into the woods to find him again. This time, he had more patience and actually listened to the old man who was more than happy to teach him.

He didn't get it right away, and it frustrated him, but after a few days of practice he had managed to learn how to "meditate". Putting himself in a trance without the need for the potion he normally used.

Interestingly, the Elves that had hidden before had actually revealed themselves this time. Little human-like things with pointed ears and bug-like wings.

Seeing them reminded him of Chitch, the little flower spirit he'd met in his past. He met her in a prison cell after he'd been captured on one of his bad days. She healed some of his injuries, but he had stopped her before she could use up all of her leaves to heal him. He then helped her. He dug up her flower, making sure the roots stayed intact, and smuggled the flower out of the cell. As soon as he got free he planted the flower in a field filled with other flowers just like hers.

She'd been elated by the new home.

When Guts had to leave, she tried to convince him to stay. He stayed for a few days, making sure nothing happened to her or her flower until he was sure it would survive in its new home but he did eventually have to leave.

She begged him to stay. When he told her he couldn't, she begged to come with him. He'd been tempted, but he couldn't exactly bring a flower with him everywhere he went. So he had to say his goodbyes.

In the following months and years, he had almost convinced himself that the entire thing was one big fever dream or hallucination brought on by the poison.

Until he met Zodd. Then he became convinced spirits and demons were completely real. Seeing these things with the witch doctor just solidified in his mind the fact Chitch had been completely real.

So Guts left the Witch Doctor, who gave him a final ominous warning and refused to answer any questions on what the warning actually meant.

With that done, Guts headed to the flower field where he'd planted Chitch.

He arrived at roughly the start of spring and looked around.

"Chitch?" He called out. "Are you still around?" There was no response.

He went to the exact spot where he remembered planting her flower. It was gone… But in its place were dozens of other flowers.

He supposed that meant the little spirit had already died. From what little he knew, some plants just didn't live very long so it was only natural… He supposed these other flowers may have come from hers. Though, he supposed it was just as likely they didn't. This field was full of flowers just like hers, after all…

"Hey… It's been awhile… I guess you're not here anymore, huh? Sorry I didn't come back and visit again sooner, Chitch… I was busy fighting in a war. It's over now. We won…" He said, sitting down in front of the spot he had planted her, being careful not to hurt any of the other flowers in the process. It felt like he was talking to a grave.

He continued on to talk about the Band of the Hawk and Griffith. Regaling the absent flower with his war stories. He talked about Zodd… He talked about how he and Griffith had been knighted and became nobles and how the Band of the Hawk had been knighted after the war was over.

He didn't mention the assassinations. He kept that to himself. Even if she was dead and gone, he didn't want to tell her about that messy business.

When he was done, he sighed and scratched the back of his head. "What am I doin'... You aren't even here… I'm talking to nothing…" He stood up again and took a deep breath, slowly releasing it. He looked up at the clouds in the sunny sky for a moment before turning and walking away.

This time he was heading south east to the land bridge that connected the Kushan Empire to the continent. He heard they had some interesting sword styles there. And maybe they'd have a sorcerer or witch doctor who could help him more than the blind witch doctor here in Midland had been able to.

Fun Fact: As far back as Chapter 2 I was considering having Chitch be a character in the story, sort of like Puck and Ivalera. But then I looked up how long Shepherd's Purse flowers live and realized, she would be dead or would die very early on anyway. Plus, Guts carrying around a flower pot everywhere would be pretty damn inconvenient for a mercenary who's always wandering from battle to battle. So, yeah. He actually managed to save her and plant her in the field.

Anyway, yeah he's trying to head to Kushan. There are some pretty nice maps of the world on the internet. I'm not entirely sure if they're accurate since they seem to contradict each other in some ways. But the ones I'm using both seem to have at least something of a land bridge connecting the main continent to Kushan.