Both marriage polls are going to be closing in two weeks, so make sure to get your votes in on your choices for Haswar and Lymsleia's husbands. If you are unable to vote in the poll, feel free to leave your vote in a review here. Remember that you have the option to vote for two people in Lym's poll. Here's the link: forum/Suikoden-VI-Fanfiction-Polls/180690/

Chapter Two: Part One

One month later…

The air was thick with tension in the war room of the Liberation Army headquarters. Nash could sense it, even standing just outside the room. He glanced at Sierra. "I have a feeling this won't go very well."

"Well, the current meeting going on is not going well," she replied, rolling her eyes. "So it's not surprising."

Nash grinned at her. "You seem nervous, old girl."

Sierra glared at him with crimson eyes. "I'm not. I'm annoyed. I don't see why you persist in staying in this country. Every single person I've met here with some sort of power is a selfish idiot. And the…food is not very appetizing either."

"We're here because my mission is not yet complete," Nash gently reminded her. "I've returned to Harmonia empty-handed twice. I don't believe they'll allow a third failure."

"As if you should be afraid of insignificant humans."

"You haven't met many Bishops, I see."

Inside the war room, Caesar stood tense. He looked at Bearyl for a long moment and then looked across the table at the man Bearyl was addressing.

"I can't believe you would do this," Bearyl said hotly. "You ordered your men to abandon their posts in Zinnia? Are you out of your mind? Do you realize what you've done?!"

"Like I told you, my Lord," Lorik Varra said tensely. "I had no choice. The citizens of Zinnia poisoned the water supply in the mayor's mansion. Four of my men have died and twenty others are either vomiting uncontrollably or have absolutely no control over their bowels! In the last month or so the people of Zinnia have indicated to us that they, in no way shape or form, appreciate our liberating them from Sheikh Sloan Faakhir's control! We were outnumbered and desperate! I had to abandon the town for the safety and security of my men!"

Bearyl scoffed and shook his head furiously. "Since when is maintaining an occupied town ever easy? All this shows me is that you made absolutely no effort to win the citizens over! Is it any wonder when a spoiled aristocrat like yourself takes power?!"

"How dare you!" Tala hollered. She even reached for the gunstock war club strapped to her back, and Varnaz in turn quickly readied his morning star. But Lorik gestured to Tala and the young woman immediately backed down. "I will not stand here and be insulted by you, my Lord. I've been the mayor of my hamlet since I was eighteen years old. Since then I've led my people through every strife in this country. From famine to tax hikes and every known harassment there is. I know how the political games work sir."

"And yet you lost Zinnia," Bearyl shot back. "Which only proves you're not as good as you puffed yourself up to be when you joined the Liberation Army."

"What it means," Lorik countered, his voice rising. "Is that I know when I'm facing a losing battle. I have sacrificed much for this Army! I've marched the people of my town—men and women of all ages—straight to their deaths time and time again because I believe in this cause! But I'm not going to continue spilling their blood over a town that has no appreciation for everything we have done for them!" Lorik slammed his fist into the war table. "I will not do it anymore! I must take care of them, Bearyl! And if that means withdrawing my forces from a hostile town, then you better believe I will do it!"

Bearyl was breathing heavily through his nostrils. He suddenly straightened and folded his arms over his chest. "You don't want them to spill blood anymore? So does this mean you're withdrawing from the Liberation Army?"

Shock registered on Lorik's face, and he looked rapidly between Bearyl, Varnaz, and Caesar. He stammered for a moment before he said. "I-I never said that. I was referring to Zi—"

"If you don't have the stomach to remain committed to your missions, then how can I trust you with anything in this Army?" Bearyl snarled.

"Haven't you listen to a single damned thing I've said?!" Lorik hollered. "My people are dead! They were killed by the citizens of Zinnia, and this was just one of MANY incidents! I withdrew from the town for their safety! Hasn't that registered at all, Bearyl Lutis?!"

Bearyl snorted again. "The only thing that's registered is that you've played me for a fool, Lorik Varra."

"My Lord—" Caesar suddenly spoke up.

"I see now," Lorik said. The usually composed man was positively furious. "You don't see any value in me. You don't see any value in my people. All we are to you is just pawns you feel you can push around." He knocked the figurines off the map as though for emphasis. "You don't give a damn what Agameru has given for you, for this Army. I was a fool to ever pledge us to your cause." He turned on his heel. "Tala, send the word out and gather what's left of our people. We're returning home."

"So you're quitting?" Bearyl demanded incredulously. "One little loss and you give up?! Thank you for confirming everything I have said about you!"

Lorik looked over his shoulder and gave Bearyl a deathly glare. "The fact that the losses I've suffered is nothing more than a "little loss" to you validates to me that it was a mistake to join you. I wish you victory…and may you learn some humility along the way."

"Lord Lorik—" Caesar began.

"Consider it done, my Lord," Tala said, her glare even more deadly than Lorik's. The two of them then stormed out of the war room.

"Good riddance," Bearyl rasped, shaking his head.

"Lord Bearyl, I—"

"Varnaz, send out the command to all our allies. Lorik Varra and the town of Agameru are to be treated no differently than the enemy. They've abandoned our cause so our soldiers are forbidden from going to the town. Any and all messages that come from Varra or Agameru are to be burned upon receiving. No association with that pathetic little hamlet whatsoever is allowed."

"Lord Bearyl—" Caesar said more forcefully.

"Yes, sir," Varnaz said, and immediately left the room.

"My Lord," Caesar said, coming to Bearyl's side. "We must—"

"Send in the next one!" Bearyl called out towards the door.

The double doors opened once more and Nash and Sierra sauntered inside. "Wow, what was wrong with his Lordship?" Nash asked humorously. "He looked like he ate a bad egg! Oh, hello Caesar!"

"Hello, Nash," Caesar said numbly.

"So, my Lord," Nash said, addressing Bearyl. "To what do we owe the honor of your personal summons?"

"The two of you have been here for over a month," Bearyl began. He was still simmering with anger from his argument with Lorik. "And in that time you both have contributed nothing to my Army."

"Nothing?" Nash asked, looking surprised. "I seem to recall saving the Crowned Princess of Falena with your soldiers."

"And what you done since then? Neither of you have gone on missions. Neither of you have even provided any useful information to me. You haven't even told me a single thing about Harmonia!"

"Why would I? I'm a spy from Harmonia. Do you realize what will happen to me if I spill Harmonia's secrets?"

"As if you would know any," Sierra muttered.

"When I look at you both I see a couple of freeloaders who have overstayed their hospitality and have eaten all my food," Bearyl snapped. "You have ten seconds to tell me exactly how either of you are any use to my Army!"

"Eaten all your food?" Sierra echoed. She frowned deeply. "We've eaten none of your food!"

"I'm sorry you feel that we're not contributing anything," Nash said. "But in reality we're actually being very helpful to the Liberation Army. Our work just happens behind the scenes."

"Then tell me the information I want to know! Or send word to Harmonia that we need assistance!"

"I cannot do that."

"Then you're not welcome here." Bearyl jabbed a finger at them. "You're both a waste of time and of absolutely no use to me. Therefore, I'm dismissing you from my Army. Vacate these premises immediately."

"Waste of time?" Sierra's demeanor suddenly turned dangerous. Her ruby eyes glowed dark red and she squared her small shoulders. "How dare you speak to me that way? You—a stupid little human whose ego is bigger than his actual worth! Do you not realize who I am? I eat pathetic little peons like you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!"

Bearyl faltered for the first time, and fear visibly flooded through his body. Caesar was also on edge, though he began to gingerly step away from Bearyl.

"That's enough, honey," Nash said, suddenly inserting himself between Sierra and Bearyl. He forced a smile at the leader over his shoulder. "We get the message. We'll be on our way." He calmly turned Sierra around and steered her towards the door. As they reached the door though, Nash suddenly turned and looked at Caesar. "I know you have a lot to prove, Caesar, but I expected better judgment from a Silverberg." Then they were gone.

Caesar gaped after him, even as Bearyl suddenly rounded upon. "What was he talking about?"

Caesar slowly looked back at him. He took a moment to regain his bearings before he said. "I'm impressed, my Lord. In the span of five minutes, you manage to successfully burn two important bridges."

"Important bridges?" Bearyl barked out a laugh and turned away. He knelt down on the floor to pick up the figurines Lorik had knocked over. "The mayor of Agameru and a Harmonian spy are hardly important bridges!"

"My Lord," Caesar said hotly, standing over him. "I've told you this before. Any and all potential allies—no matter how big or small their significance may be to you—are important. We don't have very many alliances as it is, in case you haven't noticed! We can't afford to burn what little bridges we have! And you're not doing so effortlessly, but you're doing so in such a way to ensure that we can never rebuild those bridges!"

"Why would I want Lorik Varra to come back? A man who can barely swing a sword and who allows a woman to fight all his battles?" Bearyl dumped the figurines back onto the map. "We'll get bigger and stronger allies than him."

"How will you do so when we're losing the allies we currently have?!"

Bearyl glared at Caesar. "Your discontent is irritating me, Caesar. You offered me your services in order to restore Nagarea to proper order. Why did you join my cause if you have absolutely no faith in me?"

"I do have faith in you," Caesar insisted. "If I didn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

Bearyl reached out and touched Caesar on the shoulder. "I trust you, Caesar. But I need you to trust more in me. I know exactly what I'm doing. Together we will take down the Theocracy and rebuild it much greater than it was before. My vision has been carefully mapped out, and we must work together. Do you have my back?"

"Of course, my Lord."

"Good." Bearyl reset the figurines to their regular positions on the map. Once he was done he grabbed one of the heavy paperweights securing the map and slammed it down over Agameru. "We're going to win, and it will be glorious."

Caesar said nothing more. Bearyl took his leave, not noticing that Caesar didn't follow. Now alone in the war room Caesar stared down at the map of Nagarea. After a moment he scrubbed his face furiously with both hands.

"I know you have a lot to prove, Caesar, but I expected better judgment from a Silverberg."

Caesar slammed both hands down upon the map, his breathing uneasy. He ducked his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Did…did I not use good judgment when I joined this Army? I thought Bearyl Lutis could bring about change, but he's a man who is egotistical and uncompromising. Was it a mistake for me to come here?

Daunte rose onto his tiptoes and balanced the box over his head. Very carefully, he tucked the wooden box onto the high shelf and sighed in relief as he settled back down onto the flats of his feet. That's the last of it.

"Daunte, thank you so much for all your help." An eleven-year-old boy with spiky black hair and hazel eyes, dressed in a black tunic and tanned baggy pants, hurried over to him. "I thought it would take me forever to sort everything out in here!"

Daunte turned to smile at the boy. "I'm glad I could help, Ichirou."

Ichirou wiped his hands on his brown slacks and grinned toothily. "Managing the Liberation Army's storage vaults is a tough job, but I'm proud to have it!"

Daunte had been very surprised when he found out that the storage vault for the entire Army was supervised by a child. At the same time though, he recognized that Ichirou was a hard worker and took a lot of pride in his job. When the boy had requested assistance, Daunte was more than happy to help him. Particularly when his own items were resting on the shelves inside the vault.

"Do we have any extra nails?" Roen came into the vault, holding a hammer. "I'm trying to repair the wall in the armory, but the wood is all rotted! I tried to ask for some more materials, but they told me there wasn't any!"

"Here." Ichirou knelt down and rummaged through an old tool box. He pulled out a small bag and handed it to Roen. "I hope these will be enough."

"Thanks, Ichirou." Roen wiped the sweat on his brow, leaving a smudge of dirt, and huffed. "I don't understand why the walls in the armory need repairing! The armory is empty!"

"But it'll be full soon enough," Ichirou told him. "Your hard work will pay off!"

"I hope so." Roen shook his head. "I wish Gunther had chosen me instead of Felicity for that mission! I'd rather be fighting a horde of boars than this!"

"You'll live," Daunte laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. Roen only grumbled though and stormed out of the storage vault.

"I think we're done for the day," Ichirou said, looking at the neatly stacked boxes and items around them and nodding with satisfaction. "We can—"

"He really left?!"

Ichirou paused at the outburst outside the vault. Daunte exchanged a glance with the boy for a long moment of silence before the two of them moved towards the door to listen. Less than four meters away they saw three Liberation Army soldiers talking.

"Lorik Varra left! He really left! He took all of his allies with him, too! I don't think he's coming back!"

Ichirou audibly gasped and Daunte felt his stomach twist. Lord Lorik Varra left the Liberation Army?

"Does he think the Theocracy will leave him alone just because he left us?" one soldier quipped. "Sheikh Faakhir will now most surely launch a campaign against Agameru!"

"It must have been awful in Zinnia," another said softly. "It's really appalling how blind those people are! Lord Varra liberated them from a tyrannical Sheikh, and what did they do in thanks? They rioted nightly and poisoned Lord Varra's soldiers! Still, to abandon us like this?! It's not our fault Zinnia didn't cooperate with us!"

"I guess the rumors were true then," the third said. "Lord Varra really must not have wanted to occupy Zinnia, but did so due to pressure from Lord Bearyl."

"Lord Bearyl doesn't have much of a sympathetic ear, does he? I mean he also cast out those Harmonians—"

"No!" Daunted hissed, looking away. As there weren't many Harmonians in Nagarea, he knew exactly who they were referring to. Nash and Sierra! He forced them out?! I had no idea! When did they leave?!

"—a bit creepy, but they were helpful," the soldiers continued. "What is Lord Bearyl thinking, treating potential Harmonian allies this way?"

Daunte closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. So…in the course of a single day Lord Lorik Varra quits the Liberation Army and takes all his soldiers with him. And Nash and Sierra are thrown out. What is going on? Is Lord Bearyl downsizing or is he just in a bad mood? Because none of this seems logical!

"I-I don't like this," Ichirou said softly. He rubbed at his arms and busied himself by fiddling with some boxes. "I owe Lord Bearyl everything. I would've been sentenced to the Dark Chasm if he hadn't intervened on my behalf. But this doesn't make any sense. Why is he blowing off our allies like this? It's already really hard for us to gain any ground as a legitimate Army because a lot of citizens think we're heathens and terrorists! Lord Lorik Varra was one of our highest profile allies and Lord Bearyl drove him off?"

Daunte shared in Ichirou's apprehension. Admittedly he didn't exactly have the highest opinion of Bearyl Lutis after the man upheld their month-long suspension for a full month. He'd also refused to listen to any of Daunte's concerns—whether it be about liberating the Dark Chasm, or even regarding Tidur and her daughters.

"Why should we be concerned about the wife of a Sheikh? As if the man would sentence his own daughters to the Dark Chasm!"

But he would. Daunte was sure of it. Sloan obviously didn't make idle threats, and his pronouncement of his wife and daughters as traitors was a definite threat. Yet Daunte had not been allowed to go back to K'alak'i Patieba to check on them, and Bearyl refused to investigate the matter. Felicity had been so overwhelmed by guilt because of it that she'd gotten sick. But all they could do was pray that Sloan leave his family alone.

It wasn't reassuring when their leader, who claimed to be a liberator, didn't give a damn about the people he was trying to liberate.

But Daunte saw how distressed Ichirou was, and in his own experience of dealing with Arin he didn't want to make the boy any more upset than he was. So he forced a smile and patted him on the shoulder. "It'll be all right. We're the good guys, remember? The people of Nagarea will remember that."

Ichirou quickly nodded and smile. "That's right, we are the good guys! And the good guys always triumph! Thank you, Daunte!"

It still amazed Daunte that his simple words of reassurance had such an impact on the people around him. Dr. Yulin had told him such in the Dark Chasm, but he remembered back to that fateful night a month ago, when Lady Leknaat proclaimed him to be the Tenkai Star of the 108 Stars of Destiny. He still did not know entirely what that meant, and he hadn't seen Leknaat since then. But the more he thought about it, the more Daunte realized that yes, he did seem to have a natural power of persuasion. And while he didn't speak often, when he did the people around him seemed to…gravitate towards his voice.

But I'm still not in a position to lead, and I don't think I want to lead.

"Well, we're finished up in here," Ichirou said again, nodding with satisfaction at their surroundings. "I think you've done enough for the day. You can go up to the mess hall and get something to eat, or I heard Jantu is giving sparring lessons in the arena. Maybe you can stop over there if you're interested?"

"Thank you, Ichirou." Daunte had promised Arin he would meet him for lunch, but it was still a bit early for that. He decided go over to the arena to see what sort of lessons Jantu was giving. Admittedly Jantu had intimidated him considerably when they'd first met, but Daunte was impressed by how grounded Jantu was, and how strong he was as well.

A small crowd of civilians and soldiers were leaning against the rail, looking into the makeshift arena. Daunte poked his head around in time to see a soldier crawl over a rail out of the arena as Jantu shouted, "Who's up next?"

"I will!" Daunte shouted, raising his hand as he reached the open gate of the arena.

"Daunte, welcome!" Jantu smiled at him and waved him inside. At least it looked like Jantu was smiling. The Kobold warrior had the head of a black greyhound dog and bright amber colored eyes, but he was easily 186 centimeters tall and had a very muscular physique. He wore a yellow sleeveless gi with a black belt tied around his waist, and he had a tabarzin strapped to his back. It was easy to look up to Jantu because he always had total control over himself, and he was a formidable fighter.

"What are you giving lessons in today, Jantu?" Daunte asked him, taking a stance three meters from him.

"Dueling," Jantu said. "In my experiences a lot of the warriors here have experience on the battlefield and can read their foe accordingly. However, one-on-one duels are far less common, and I've found that not very many here have ever been in one. Have you ever been in one, Daunte?"

Did the beating that Sloan Faakhir give me count as a duel? he wondered. Instead of saying that however, he shook his head.

"Then now is as good of a time as any to learn. Here." Jantu unstrapped the tabarzin from his back and hurried over to the rail. Several weapons were set out on display there. "Your weapon is a tekko, correct? Then I'll fight with a tekko as well."

"R-Right," Daunte said. He was suddenly glad he'd stashed his tekko in his waistbag, even if they'd weighed him down for most of the morning. He clamped the tekko on around his hands. "Thank you, Jantu."

"How else can I teach you how to duel if we're not using the same weapons?" Jantu returned, wearing tekko that were twice as thick as Daunte's. "Okay, the very first thing you want to do is to not take your eyes off of your opponent once. By studying their body language and their facial features, you can predict their next move. However, there's more to it than that."

"Really?" Daunte asked.

"Oftentimes while dueling, your opponent will speak to you."

"Speak to me? Why?"

"They will taunt you to make you nervous, or they might blurt out something if they're uncomfortable. If you're lucky, your opponent might be foolish enough to call out the name of an attack they have."

The soldiers around them roared with laughter, but Daunte focused on Jantu. "Why would anyone speak in a one-on-one fight? Doesn't that waste your energy?"

"Because in one-on-one duels your energy is equal," Jantu said. "You're afforded the luxury of running your mouth because you're not going to be ambushed from behind. It's just you, and the other person. You can find out many things about your opponent with a duel. Whether it be in subtle words, or the way they breathe, with enough practice you'll be able to predict their next move."

"…You said we were equals," Daunte said. "So I can't use my Rune in a duel? Why?"

"Because dueling has a degree of etiquette that is lacking in standard fights," Jantu said. "Because there is greater respect in meeting your opponent in a duel than in a standard fight. It is the respect of facing each other of your own strength, without outer assistance such as Runes. So as you can tell, many people are usually unprepared for it."

Daunte let out a shaky sigh. "No Runes. Got it."

"In dueling, there are three facets you must keep in mind: attack, defense, and deathblow. The best way to remember these facets is to compare them to rock, paper, and scissors. In this case think of defense as rock, attack as paper, and deathblow as scissors. Rock will always beat scissors, so defense will always beat deathblow. However paper beats rock, so attack will beat defense. But scissors beats paper, so deathblow will always beat attack.

"But since this is a duel, your opponent will not stay idle long after they make a proclamation. You must listen carefully to what they tell you, and act quickly in response. Otherwise you might end up blindsided."

"What happens if I select attack and my opponent selects attack?" Daunte asked.

"Then you'll hit each other. Sometimes you'll eat hurt each other equally, other times you might deal a more powerful blow or vice versa. With deathblow, this is your strongest move in a duel. If you both select to do a deathblow, then you'll have a true power of strength and wills, and the chances of it failing for you are significant. You're better off just defending when your opponent does a deathblow."

"Why is that?"

"Because—"

"Get on with it!" a soldier complained loudly. "We haven't got all day!" various other voices shouted in agreement.

Jantu rolled his eyes. "Another time, then. Do you feel comfortable facing me in a duel? Since this is your first one I'll go easy on you, but I want you to still take this seriously. The next time you might be in a duel your life may be on the line."

Daunte nodded, and took a fighting stance. "I'm ready."

"Give us the signal when we're to start!" Jantu called out. A soldier sitting on the rail raised a whistle and blew it hard.

"Try to relax," Jantu told Daunte, readying himself. "This is only practice."

Daunte gulped and tried to stay on guard as Jantu slowly circled him. He did as he was told and kept his eyes on the Kobold. All around them the soldiers were cheering, and the majority were chanting Jantu's name. But Daunte tried to drown out their voices so he could focus on him.

"Let's do a little warmup," Jantu said suddenly.

Daunte stiffened and his mind was a whirlwind. I-Is that an attack? It's an attack, isn't it? What am I supposed to—defend!

He saw Jantu rush at him and Daunte immediately raised his guard. He yelped when Jantu penetrated his guard and landed two solid blows on him. Daunte staggered, still struggling to maintain his guard, and fell to one knee.

"No Daunte, you must listen!" Jantu admonished him as he jumped back. "That was an attack! You don't defend when I attack! Tell me, what should you do against an attack?"

"D-Deathblow," Daunte stammered, and rose onto shaky knees.

Jantu nodded his approval. "Do you need a break? It looks like I knocked the wind out of you."

Daunte started to nod until he realized something. He's defending! I-I have to attack! Daunte shouted and lunged at Jantu. But Jantu's guard was much better than his and Daunte was only able to land a single punch on the Kobold.

"Good, very good!" Jantu complimented him, though he nursed his diaphragm. "That was a good attack. But now it's my turn."

That sounded like an attack to Daunte, and that meant he needed to perform a deathblow. But what's a deathblow? Does that mean I have to strike harder than I would with an attack?!

Jantu was already charging at him however, so Daunte quickly decided what to do. He dropped down to one knee as Jantu threw a punch at him and then swept Jantu's legs out from underneath him. It didn't trip the Kobold, but it did cause him to lose his balance. Daunte took the opportunity to launch up and deliver two blows right to Jantu's face.

The shouts and the cheers began gradually shifting from supporting Jantu to supporting Daunte. Jantu shook off the blows though, but Daunte noticed his arms were unsteady. "Let's see if you can handle everything I've got."

That sounded like a deathblow, and Daunte immediately raised his guard. Jantu charged at him and threw so many punches so quickly that unfortunately Daunte couldn't dodge all of them. But he did dodge enough to still have some stamina when Jantu tired from his punches and threw three into his torso. Jantu jumped away from him, but Daunte's left ear was ringing from the blow that did land and he fell to one knee once more. When he raised his head though, he saw that Jantu had also fallen to one knee.

"I believe this is a draw," Jantu panted. He pulled himself to his feet. "Good job, Daunte."

The soldiers around them cheered, although others shouted complaints about their duel ending in a draw. Daunte was still nursing his cheek as he stood up, and he didn't find comfort in the fact that it felt so numb. Jantu approached him however and handed him a pot small enough to fit into Daunte's palm. "This is dragon's incense. It will take a while to feel the effects, but it will heal all of your injuries. This'll save you from having to use your Rune on yourself."

Daunte accepted the dragon incense with a nod of thanks but saw that Jantu was limping slightly. He raised his right hand. "Howl."

Jantu flinched and voices rose around them at the sight of seeing the Rune of Restoration in action. Once the spell finished Jantu was standing straighter than even before his duel with Daunte. "That was unnecessary, but I greatly appreciate it Daunte."

"Thank you for the lesson," Daunte said, easing his tekko off and stashing them back into his bag.

"Come back down anytime you feel like having a lesson in dueling," Jantu told him. "With some time, I can introduce you to other opponents to duels."

"I look forward to it." Daunte bowed and turned to leave the arena. Dueling indeed made things a little more difficult because it gave him less time to make his next move because his opponent was always reacting one way or another.

But I think I can get better at it with some practice. I just hope when I get into a real duel where my life is on the line, that I'm able to hold my own against my opponent.

"'—a-a-ahnd to w-who I m-m-mahke my bridle—'"

"'Bride'," Daunte gently corrected him, holding the script for Beast and the Beast a little higher for Arin. They were sitting in Daunte's bed with their backs to the headboard. "The word would be 'bridle' if it had an 'L' in it."

"R-Right," Arin said, nodding. "'—my bride moost love me—'"

"'Must'."

Arin sighed shortly. "I'm sorry, Brother."

"Don't apologize. You're still learning. I wish I had better materials to teach you with; reading from a script like this isn't very practical."

"At least I'm not pronouncing 'beast' as 'bast' anymore," Arin laughed.

"That's right." Daunte looked towards the table, where he'd left the container of dragon incense burning. The smell of incense had filled the room and it looked like it'd stopped burning, but Daunte no longer felt the aches and pains of his duel with Jantu. He looked back down at the script and flipped the page. "Try reading some of Beauty's lines."

Arin groaned in protest. "Daunte, do I really have to read a girl's lines?"

"Well, according to the second page a boy is eligible to play Beauty as well."

Arin giggled. "That would be hilarious to see!"

"I think so, too."

There was a knock at their door and both boys looked up. "Come in!" Daunte called out.

"Hi," Roen said, quickly coming in and closing the door behind them. "Did you hear about what happened with Nash and Lorik Varra?"

"Yes, I did," Daunte said grimly.

"What happened?" Arin asked.

"Bearyl Lutis made them leave," Roen said harshly, taking a seat on Arin's bed.

"W-What?" Arin looked at Daunte with confusion. "Why would Lord Bearyl make them leave?"

"He made Nash and Sierra leave, but Lorik Varra quit on his own," Daunte explained. "I overheard some soldiers talking about it."

"This isn't good," Roen said. "Our leader threw out one of his biggest allies, and skilled warriors from Harmonia? Is he out of his mind?!"

"I don't know, why don't you ask him?" Daunte sighed, shaking his head. "What are we supposed to do about it?"

"Daunte, we joined this Army because we had no other options. But we've been here for well over a month and despite everything we've done we're still treated like nuisances. Lord Bearyl won't let us forget our "betrayal" of him with Sloan Faakhir's Garrison, despite the fact that he keeps bragging about saving the Falenan Royals! He doesn't ever have anything positive to say about us! Not you, not me, not Felicity, not Arin—"

"W-What?" Arin cried out, looking hurt. "H-He says bad things about me?! Why?!"

"Roen, that's enough!" Daunte said harshly, standing up from his bed. "If you have any other options for what we can do, I'll gladly hear it! Until then, stop complaining about our current circumstances because I would MUCH rather be here than back at the Dark Chasm!"

Roen looked at Daunte for a long moment of silence before he slowly nodded and stood up. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've been complaining so much. I-I just wish…" he wrung a hand through his hair. Since all of them had been receiving much better nutrition their hair was starting to grow out quickly and thickly, but it was still short. "I wish things were better. I just wish none of us were even put in this position!"

"I know," Daunte said, lowering his voice. "But there's no use wishing things different. All we can do is look forward."

"Right…" Roen forced a smile at them. "I'm sorry for lashing out at you guys. I'm just venting because I spent all day in that damned armory trying to fix it up and I didn't get one word of thanks. Just some more complaints. I'm pretty tired though, so I'm going to go to bed early."

"What did Lord Bearyl say about me?" Arin asked.

But Roen shook his head at him. "Don't worry about it Arin. Have a good night, guys."

"What did Lord Bearyl say about me?" Arin repeated more forcefully after Roen left.

"I don't know," Daunte said, which was only a half-truth. He'd never heard Bearyl Lutis directly regarding any complaints about Arin, but he'd heard rumors about supposed…gossip between Bearyl and Varnaz. If the rumors were true, then the upper chain of command of the Liberation Army thought Arin was a liability and was in the way. Daunte didn't like thinking about it though, and he didn't want to think the rumors were true.

But I'd heard Bearyl Lutis say these exact same words about the Falenans. Anything is possible.

Another knock at the door startled them and Daunte looked towards it. "Did you forget something, Roen?" he called out.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?"

Both Daunte and Arin straightened a little at the sound of this voice and Daunte quickly opened the door. "L-Lord Caesar?"

"Caesar is fine," the Army strategist greeted them, smiling his usual lazy smile. "I have no use for titles."

"Please, come in," Daunte said, gesturing him inside. Arin's eyes went wide when Caesar stepped into the room fully. "Hi there kid," Caesar greeted him. "How are you feeling today?"

"I feel okay," Arin said, managing a smile.

"What can we do for you this evening?" Daunte asked, closing the door behind him.

"I imagine the both of you heard the good news," Caesar said, his tone dipping a little as he took a seat on the windowsill.

"Does Lord Bearyl really say bad things about me?" Arin asked.

Caesar twitched, but hung onto his smile. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Arin."

"Oh." Arin breathed out a sigh of relief.

Daunte hadn't missed Caesar's twitch but decided not to press it. "Why did Lord Bearyl throw so many of our allies out?"

"Lord Lorik Varra was unable to maintain stability in Zinnia so he withdrew his forces without Lord Bearyl's permission," Bearyl explained. "Lord Bearyl didn't exactly lend a sympathetic ear to Lord Lorik's dilemma, so Lord Lorik quit."

"And what about Nash and Sierra?"

"Well, Lord Bearyl wanted to know some secrets about Harmonia. He also wanted to use Nash to secure an alliance with Harmonia. Nash refused on both counts, so Lord Bearyl threw him out."

Daunte rubbed a hand over his face. "But…Nash admitted he was a spy, right? Even though I don't agree with Lord Bearyl's decision, didn't he realize Lord Bearyl would've asked him these things eventually?"

"It was inevitable," Caesar agreed. "But our Lordship should've realized that a spy working for another country was not going to simply spill secrets. He also should've realized that a spy was probably the last person in any position to broker an alliance between two powers."

Daunte started at this. Caesar was being openly critical of Bearyl Lutis. Remembering what Caesar had said to him before their campaign on the Garrison, he was very surprised to hear Caesar say these things. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked finally. "Isn't it your job as the Army strategist to publicly agree with all of your commanding officer's decisions, no matter how bad they are?"

Caesar spread his arms out. "This isn't exactly public, is it?"

"…No," Daunte agreed.

Caesar looked over his shoulder out the window. "Three years ago I participated in a war called the Second Fire Bringer War. It was difficult work, trying to unit diverse forces who held animosity for each other, but in the end we succeeded. I can't necessarily take all of the credit because there were so many people who worked hard towards the same goal, but it was great to be one of them."

"…Was there 108 people participating?" Daunte asked.

"Huh?" Caesar asked, looking back towards him.

"Never mind."

"Well, in any case we succeeded. I came here to Nagarea just a little over a year ago because I had heard plenty of stories about how this isolated little country was suffering under corruption. I saw the opportunity to once again help make change, and…to admittedly hone my own skills as a strategist. I met Lord Bearyl Lutis, and it was quite an amazing first meeting. I've yet to meet a man with more enthusiasm and charisma for a single cause than him. I could see the passion he held for wanting to make changes and I couldn't help but want to join his cause."

Caesar frowned deeply. "But charisma and enthusiasm…I'm afraid can also serve to cover up poor judgment and a massive ego. I've stuck by my Lord through everything since then. I've listened to him, offered my own advice, and have ducked my head every single time he's refused to listen to me. It's my duty as a strategist to stand by my leader no matter what." His hands dug into the windowsill, his knuckles turning white. "No matter how many people die. No matter how many allies we lose. No matter—" he didn't finish the sentence.

Daunte felt incredibly uncomfortable seeing Caesar so destitute about their circumstances. He looked at Arin and saw that his little brother looked more upset now than he had over hearing that Bearyl Lutis was saying bad things about him.

Caesar then sat up and forced a smile at them. "I think I've bothered you both long enough. Have a good night." He took his leave, leaving the brothers staring after him in stunned silence.