Alternate title: The chapter that refused to be written

Heartbroken

Matthias has no memory of getting back to the safehouse. One moment he is abandoning Lukas in the side street, the next he is practically crashing through their front door, shouting for the others to come help him. At least, that is what he thinks he is doing. His mind seems strangely murky, and his thoughts move like syrup. He can hear himself yelling, but he cannot fully grasp the actual words that make it out his mouth.

He hears a great commotion from the living room as he stumbles through the hallway and moments later, Tino and Berwald stand in the doorway of the living room with twin expression of determination, ready to fight of intruders. Berwald is clutching the iron poker from the fireplace, ready to strike, but when he sees them, he lowers it slowly and it drops to the floor with a loud clang moments later. Tino is right behind him, with his bow drawn, but he drops it with a horrified gasp when he catches proper sight of them, Vilje hanging limply in Matthias' grasp.

Berwald is the quickest to recover from the shock to take control of the situation. He marches forward; not wasting any time on asking questions and curls his own arms underneath Vilje, lifting to transfer her weight to himself. Matthias whines in protest, a thin, wounded sound and he tightens his grasp on instinct, his mind screaming at him that Vilje is his burden to carry and nobody else's. It is his fault that she is in this condition. His fault that she is not moving and barely breathing, he should be the one to fix it.

Berwald unwinds one his arms again and with surprising gentleness, he pries Matthias' fingers open one by one, from where they are digging bruises into Viljes arm. the other one is still curled underneath her back, helping to keep her weight up. "Matt," he says calmly, and the lack of anger is soothing on Matthias' frayed nerves. "I have no idea what is going on, but you need to let go so we can see how badly she in injured and help her."

Matthias slackens his grip and the moment the weigh is gone from his arms and he can no longer stop the tears from flowing freely down his cheeks. He crumbles right there in the hallway, his legs refusing to hold him up any longer and weeps quietly, watching Berwald carry Vilje into the living room and place her carefully on the couch.

He hears Berwald hiss and curse quietly as he gets a closer look at Viljes injuries. "Tino, we need ice," he says and the pitch in voice turns Matthias stomach to a heavy pit of dread. It must be truly bad for Berwald to lose his composure. "We need to reduce this swelling quickly. If we are lucky, the water in the bucket outside should be frozen, can you go get it?"

Moments later, Tino rush by Matthias, nearly knocking him over in his hurry to get outside complete his task. Then the front door opens, and slams shut and Matthias winces at the sound.

"Matthias, come here." Berwalds tone is calm but firm, and Matthias moves almost on instinct, his mind finding it easier to complete the simple tasks rather than process the events of the last hour. His limbs are protesting his every move as he mostly crawls his way across the living room towards Berwald, lacking the energy to stand up properly.

Vilje lies on the couch, Berwald is gently supporting her neck and checking the extent of the bruising, which has darkened considerably since it happened, making it look even more gruesome than before. He listens to her raspy breathing and curses quietly once more, before propping up her head with a few blankets and cloak to keep her head still as he moves his hands away. Then he turns toward Matthias, face perfectly blank and not betraying his feelings, making Matthias increasingly nervous. "Matt, you have to tell me exactly what happened and who did this."

Matthias feels like a child, overwhelmed with guilt, and he keeps crying as he blurts out everything wanting it all out in the open, the nights events spin through his mind like a whirlwind. He knows words are leaving his mouth, he can hear them, but apparently, they make no sense to any other than him, because Berwald lifts a hand almost immediately and makes a calming sound to stop his rapid flow of words. Matthias frowns in confusion. First Berwald asks what happened and now he is stopping him from talking before he can finish his story. He gestures wildly towards Vilje, willing Berwald to understand, but to no avail.

"Calm down," Berwald sooths and catches one of his flailing hands in one of his own and Matthias stops fighting. "You're obviously a bit confused and I see that your head is bleeding…"

'Wait,' Matthias thinks, 'bleeding?" He tunes out whatever else Berwald says. When did he start bleeding? He touches the free hand to his face, feeling up towards his hairline and winces when his fingers hit a bump and cause a jolt of pain strong enough to almost white out his vision at the touch alone. His fingers come away tacky with partially dried blood. He figures it must have happened when he hit the wall in the earlier scuffle, he never even noticed. He whimpers at the memory, and begins wiping at the spot, as if it can also wipe away his guilt, embracing the pain it causes, feeling deserving of every bit of it.

Berwald quickly catches his other hand to stop him from inflicting any more damage to himself, and he growls in return, frustrated and distraught, but Berwald does not loosen his grip until Matthias finally grows tired and stops fighting again.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Berwald asks then, still calm, no sign of annoyance at Matthias' behavior and Matthias does not know if he should be relieved or not. He is expecting them to yell at him eventually, maybe he would feel better if Tino and Berwald could just explode and get it over with, and right now he just feels guilty. Then Berwald pats him on his cheek to gain his attention and he realizes he must have zoned out and ignored the question the first time. "Matt, other than your head, are you hurt?"

Matthias doubts his broken heart counts as an injury to the others, even though it feels like he lost a piece of himself somewhere in that side street and the remaining shards ache at the loss. He sniffles and shakes his head to reply to Berwald's question and the sudden movement makes it feel as if his entire head is about to fall off his shoulder and he almost topples as a spell of dizziness washes over him. He doubles over as much as he can and heaves, but there is nothing left in his stomach to bring up but a few spits of sour bile.

Berwald surprises Matthias again by pulling him in close to his chest. He wraps his arms around his back and just holds him there in a firm but careful hug. "Calm down," he rumbles gently, "we will figure this out, just breathe."

Matthias initially fights against the hold, but he is no match against Berwald and eventually just sags against his chest, feeling a little more grounded. He mostly stays still and just breathes until it finally feels like the air can make it to his lungs without stuttering over his sobs.

He hears the door open again and thump against the wall once before it slams shut and then rapid footsteps across the floorboards. Berwald drops his embrace and Matthias sways a bit on the spot, almost falling over once his support is gone. He glances towards the doorway where Tino comes rushing in with a bucket he places before the couch.

He sits there, useless as Berwald break off large chunks of ice formed atop the water in the bucket, crush it into smaller pieces that he wraps in pieces of cloth, and place carefully around the swelling on Viljes throat.

Tino stands anxiously on the side, wringing his hands. "Ber, do you know what happened yet? Has he told you anything?" He gestures towards Matthias.

Matthias vaguely thinks that he should be insulted. He is sitting right there and Tino is talking over him as if he is not present. If Tino wants the damned story, he can have it and Matthias lets him know by telling him.

Berwald however shushes him again and turns to Tino. "Not much that makes sense I'm afraid." Matthias makes a sound of protest, only to be ignored by them both. "Could you maybe boil some water, we need to clean that cut and a few more minutes might make him calm down enough the become a little bit more coherent, I'd rather get the whole story rather to piece it together and get it wrong."

"Do we even have minutes?" Tino snaps then, and Matthias shrinks from the anger in his voice, not expecting to hear such a harsh tone from him. "They were attacked out there, and I'm pretty sure it must have been the soldiers, what if someone followed them back here? The guards could break down that door any second to arrest us and then it will all be over."

"No!" Matthias interrupts firmly. He is pretty sure that word makes it out correctly even though none of his other have so far, judging from how Berwald and Tino both turn to him. He feels much like a child interrupting a conversation between his parents, but Lukas promised he would keep the guards off his trail and Matthias chooses to believe him. He breathes and focuses to string the next words together. "Nobody followed, I'm sure." He stares determinedly at Tino who chews uncertainly on his lower lip but eventually backs down after a nod from Berwald.

"I'll go get that water boiling then," Tino mutters and ducks his head, furiously wiping his eyes as he hurries to the kitchen, eager to get away and out of sight.

Matthias stares after his retreating back and then turns his focus back towards Vilje. He wants to help her get better, but Berwald gently pushes him back towards the foot-end of the couch every time he moves to help. He resigns to his fate and leans against the fabric of the couch, holding Viljes hand and listening to her labored breathing. He holds his own breath when there is too much time in between hers, fearing it might be her last, he grasps tighter around her fingers, willing her to keep fighting.

Gods his mind is foggy. Tino must have returned from the kitchen at some point without him noticing, Matthias can hear him talking to Berwald, but he tunes them out, trying to get a handle on his own thoughts. His head hurts, and he is tired. He has so much he needs to tell them, and he must do that without slipping up about Lukas. Just the thought of Lukas makes his chest ache. He wants to sleep, but every time his eyes drop, he sees flashes from the fight and jerks back awake, a firm reminder that Vilje is injured, and he needs to look after her, he cannot stand the thought of failing her, or anybody else.

Berwald is at a loss of what to think. Less than half an hour ago, he was asleep thinking they were as safe as they could be considering the circumstances, and then he was ripped awake by yelling and a crash from the front door, fearing that the Rat king might have sold them out and sent the guards to their safe haven. The sight that met him in the doorway might not have been his first fear, but it will likely haunt him for the rest of his life.

He has never seen Matthias look like that before, not after everything they have seen so far and not even fresh out of a nightmare when his walls come down before he remembers to put on a brave front for the day to come, and then he noticed Vilje, unmoving in Matthias' arms.

Berwald feared the worst then, especially after Matthias held on tighter, refusing to let her go when offered help.

After settling Vilje on the couch and placing some ice over the bruises over her throat, he feels a little more settled as she is still breathing on her own at that point. Unless the swelling grows worse, she should be able to heal on her own. However, he has no idea if there is any deeper injury he cannot see, and Matthias is no help in trying to figure out if he should be worried about any further injuries besides her throat. He is obviously trying to explain, but his sentences jumble together, and many of the words come out slurred and impossible to interpret.

Tino is making an absolute ruckus in the kitchen, trying to light a fire and heat some water. Berwald wants to go after him, offer a few words of comfort, but Tino is too upset to listen to anything Berwald has to say, so it is better to leave him alone for the time being and calm him down later. It might be for the best. Berwald has no idea what to say that might even begin to make any of this seem all right. While they were safe and sound sleeping, their friends seems to have barely escaped hell.

Berwald curses inwardly, tearing his gaze away from the kitchen to more urgent matters. Vilje's condition seems mostly stable for the time being, and he can think of nothing else he can do that might help. He is not sure how to deal with Matthias either, talking is not his strongest skill and his friend has proven to react poorly to angry words and harsh noises already, so he must tread carefully not to stress him further or he might shut down completely.

Matthias claimed he was not injured besides the cut and swelling on his forehead, but Berwald notices that when he is not busy clutching at Vilje's hand, he clenches his hands over his chests and curls in on himself as if in great pain, crying quietly. He appears utterly heartbroken, but Berwald supposes that makes sense. Matthias has grown increasingly close with Vilje, especially the past few days and judging from his ramblings, Matthias he blames himself for what happened out there.

Matthias finally seems to calm down a little, or at least he seems to have run out of words, and he sits quietly at the foot of the couch, petting the blankets, stroking Viljes hand or wiping away tears from his face. His head drops occasionally as if he is about to fall asleep, but then he jolts back up, wide-awake even though the bags under his eyes makes it seems he has not slept in weeks.

Tino returns with a basin of hot water and some rags some minutes later and hands them over. He seems a little calmer than before, but Berwald suspects he still wants to interrogate Matthias and get answers immediately judging by how he is chewing on his lower lip to keep himself from talking. Berwald is thankful for that minor blessing. Yelling is not going to help the situation, because Matthias shrinks away by Tino's presence alone, clearly worried about more harsh words and not in any state to handle a confrontation.

"We need a healer to look at Vilje," Berwald mutters, trying to keep his voice calm and the situation under control. "We still have some funds and I'd say this is worth spending them on, rather than possible bribery." He hates the thought of letting Tino go out in the street alone after what happened, but they are badly in need of help and of the two of them, he is the far better option in Berwalds opinion. Tino can more almost unseen through the streets and most people take better to him rather than a gruff smith. They will want to help Tino.

Tino looks conflicted for about a moment, but after glancing over to Vilje, he seems to make up his mind and nods. "I'll see what I can find." He dons his clothes, fast as if he has a demon nipping at his heels and heads towards the hallway.

"Be careful out there." Berwald says, fighting down the urge to follow and make sure he stays safe and Tino nods firmly once again and moments later he is out the door and gone. Berwald turns his attention back on Matthias once the sound of footsteps disappears outside and he accepts that he can no longer stop Tino from heading out alone no matter how much he hates it, glad to have a task he can focus on.

Matthias moves easily wherever Berwald guides him and only whines in complaint when he must to let go of Viljes hand so Berwald can get a better look at the wound on his head and wash away the blood. The cut is not very deep, but the skin around is swollen and slowly turning dark in a nasty bruise that will likely hurt for days. Matthias is quiet now, almost eerily so, only wincing a little when Berwald pushes too hard on the cut to clear it off debris.

"Why were you out tonight?" Berwald asks carefully, hoping that he can get some more answers now that it is only the two of them and the situation is mostly under control.

Matthias looks at him with large, wet eyes then, his entire face is blotched red after all the crying. He looks so young and vulnerable, Berwald almost feels guilty for wanting to pry information from him, but he needs to know. "I couldn't sleep," he whispers hoarsely. "I went out alone, figured I'd just watch the guards while I was out. I didn't know she came after me, I'd have been more careful if I did, I swear. Nobody was supposed to get hurt."

"You went out," Berwald repeats slowly. "You thought you were alone, but what happened then?" Berwald rinses the rags and returns to the wound, hoping to give the impression that he is not prying for information, but rather just listening if Matthias wants to share his story.

Matthias looks conflicted and starts breathing faster, growing more agitated again. "She came out of nowhere, thinking I was in trouble, she attacked, but the guards, he was too strong." Matthias flails and Berwald must capture his hands again, so he will not knock anything over. "I hit the wall, when I got back up, he was choking her, had to fight him off, but she was already out."

Berwald sighs as Matthias begins crying again and he realizes there is no chance of keeping a normal conversation going. The words come out clearer now, but Matthias still seems unable to keep track of his own logic. He mentions both a group of guards, but also makes it seem like there was one present, which seems strange, but head trauma can easily explain the minor inconsistencies in his story. "What happened to the guard?" Berwald asks. There is a little more ice left in the bucket and he puts it in a cloth and places it on Matthias' forehead to cool down the swelling.

"I stopped him, had to get Vilje out." Matthias winces again and attempts to push away the offending, freezing cloth, but his movement is so sluggish and weak it is barely a fight for Berwald to keep it where it is.

Still referring to just one guard, Berwald notes thoughtfully.

Then Matthias suddenly turns more frantic, shoving harder at Berwalds hands until he is forced to drop the ice. "The guard," he hisses insistently, suddenly grabbing hold of Berwalds shirt, pulling himself closer as if Berwald could not hear him perfectly well to begin with. "I got his key."

"Key?" Berwald asks carefully. "What key."

"THE key!" Matthias yells and Berwald must hold him back from falling over as he pats over his pockets and indeed pulls out a key. "The key to the walls! We can get in; we can get revenge! We can go right now!"

Berwald takes the key and puts in his own pocket, ignoring Matthias' shout of protest. "You are not going anywhere until you can think straight."

"But I got the key, Ber." He is pleading, hanging on to Berwalds clothing as if that will somehow convince him.

Berwald pries him off again, as gently as he can. "We can't go yet. Vilje needs a healer first, we need Tino, and you need some proper rest. When is the last time you slept through the night?"

"I don't want to sleep," Matthias protests petulantly, but he finally let go of Berwalds clothing. "It's bad."

It is much like talking to a child, Berwald supposes, but while he is not an expert at talking, he has a lot of patience and Matthias has never been good at staying quiet for too long at a time. "Why is sleeping bad?" he asks. "Is it nightmares?"

Matthias closes his eyes and shudders. "I can't stand it anymore," he whispers. "Every time I close my eyes there is something new to haunt me. I see all the people we have lost; I see what will happen should we fail and all we've done wrong, and I wish I could change."

"Then we'll just wait for Tino," Berwald sighs again. He doubts he will be able to get any more useful information without causing Matthias to break down completely. The burden of leaderships lays heavy on his friend's shoulders and convincing him to sleep is not going to work, but at least Berwald keep him calm and busy until the healer arrives, and maybe sleep will win over him before that. "We need to keep our eyes on Vilje, can you do that?"

Matthias focuses immediately on his task, eyes glued to Vilje's throat and clutching on to her hand again. Berwald gets up, knees creaking a little after so much time on the floor and he heads to the kitchen so he can replace the water in the basin and get a few moments for himself. Gods, he hopes Tino returns soon, waiting for him is pure agony.

Berwald forcefully wrings the rag, needing to busy his hands with something and the fabric creaks in protest of the rough treatment. He knows he needs to keep a cool head and in times like these, he really misses the old forge back in Griven. Whenever he was angry, there was always metal to hammer out for work and all his pent-up anger would go to something constructive, rather than make up meaningless tasks to keep his mind busy.

He occasionally peeks out in the living room to make sure Matthias is staying in place and not plotting a daring plan for revenge, but he is busy fulfilling his task. His head keeps dropping as if he is about to fall asleep, clearly exhausted, but always jolts awake moments later, heaving for breath and scanning the room for threats.

The sun is beginning to rise outside; the house is growing brighter with each passing minute. Berwald can think of no further tasks to keep busy, so he has turned to pacing back and forth in the living room, his hand occasionally strays to the key practically burning a hole in his pocket, but that will have to wait. Matthias still refuses to succumb to sleep, and is leaning tiredly against the couch, his gaze vacant and muttering quietly to himself.

Finally, there is a commotion by the door, and Berwald lets out a long breath of relief when he hears Tinos voice in the hallway, more welcome than even the first bright rays of sun after a long winter in darkness. Seconds later Tino burst through the doorway, wheezing slightly but his face is a lot brighter than when he left, sending a warm jolt of hope through Berwald.

There is a woman on his tail. She looks annoyed and tired, probably not happy about some stranger dragging her through the city at such an early hour it would seem. She is wearing an apron with large pockets and a heavy bag, packed to bursting slung over one shoulder.

"It took me half an eternity to find somebody, but I finally did!" Tino is immediately blabbering. "I had to wait for any of the herbalists' shops to open, none of the healers a seemed interested in helping someone with and injury I could not really explain, because that just seemed suspicious, and I didn't want them to run screaming to the guards. I must have been all over the district when I found Leah." He gestures to the woman who looks utterly unimpressed. "She says she want to help."

How Tino even manages to catch a breath to keep his words flowing is still a mystery to Berwald, but he is grateful to see Tinos spirit lifted and even more grateful to see somebody that can offer them some much needed aid.

"Show me to the patient," she snaps harshly, all business and in no mood for small talk as she hoists the bag further up her shoulder and gives them both expectant stares. Berwald easily steps out of the way to let her walk past into the living room.

Matthias looks up hesitantly at the new arrival and he moves protectively in front Vilje, eying the newcomer suspiciously, even growling at her like a wild animal spotting a threat. Berwald sighs and pulls him away from the couch to allow the herbalist room to do her work. Matthias gives up easily and slumps on the floor, swaying on the spot, but watching intently.

Leah does not waste any time once Matthias is settled and not a threat, she kneels by the couch and immediately begins examining Vilje, muttering quietly to herself throughout the process.

Why are you helping us?" Berwald asks. It might seem rude to question her as she is helping them, but he figures he would rather find out now if they could truly trust the herbalist to keep them a secret. He knows they are a suspicious group, and she must have figured out they do not belong here, especially considering they house they are shacked up in. Tino looks nervous at the question, fidgeting with his clothes.

"You mean because you're rebels?" the herbalist asks sharply, looking up from her work just long enough to give them a cold stare.

Berwald just nods and shrugs, he sees no reason to protest the obviously true accusation.

"I'm going to pretend I don't know what you are and continue my life as normal," she says simply and Berwald can sense no trace of a lie in her tone. "I don't enjoy seeing people suffer, no matter who they are and where they come from. And believe it or not, not everybody likes the rule we have around here." At the last statement, her eyes glint dangerously.

"I might have told her a bit about our mission on the way here." Tino whispers guiltily and leans against Berwald for comfort as they watch her work.

"Be glad you came to me and not any of the other herbalists in this district," Leah comments darkly. "If you did, you might have found yourselves in a cell come midday and hanged before sundown. The healers usually help most people, but you will have to bring the patient to them and if circumstances are too suspicious, they still might tell the authorities."

She continues working, mixing up poultices and potions with various items from her bag. "Your friend will survive, but she will need a lot of care to get back on her feet and not to be rude," she says hesitantly after several minutes. "These are not exactly optimal conditions for a patient in recovery and I doubt you have the time to watch over her at all hours of the day, and I'm also sorry to say I doubt you have the medical skill needed to care for her properly."

"What do you suggest we do then?" Tino asks quickly, his voice cracks slightly, revealing his anxiety.

Leah licks her lips just as nervously. "I don't suggest this lightly, but I live in an apartment above my shop, and I have a spare bed. I can look after her until she is good enough to leave on her own or all of this is over. I am not foolish. I know the presence of rebels within the city walls means war is a lot closer than the king and his guards will have us believe."

"You say you hate to see people suffer," Berwald say carefully. "You must know that if the rebellion reaches the capitol, a lot of people will perish in the confrontation. Maybe if you give us up to the authorities you can stop the sacking of your city. So, I must ask you again; why are you helping us?" Tino pinches his arm hard in protest, but Berwald keeps his expression blank. He will not let this woman bring Vilje anywhere unless he can be sure she will be safe.

She looks angry then and stops her work to glare at them. "We are all sure to die if your bloody rebellion fails." Her voice is sharp, and red splotches of anger creep up her cheeks in an instant. "We might not die quickly in battle like you lot, but the king's rule is slowly choking the life from us all. I told you, there are people on the inside that want to be free, they just don't have the courage to stand up because if they do, they will be made into an example and their families will suffer."

She is gathering a breath to keep the argument going, but Berwald stops her. "I believe you," he says gently, hoping that she can hear his honesty. "I just had to make sure you were trustworthy."

"Asshole." She deflates with one last angry release of air, but fury is still burning brightly in her eye after being tricked.

Tino lets out a relieved sigh and the grip on Berwalds arm eases up once it turns out the healer will not just leave them and Vilje to their fate.

"So do you want me to bring her back to my apartment?" Leah asks, her voice is still a little bitter, but her offer seems sincere.

Berwald nods. He is not happy to send Vilje away, but this woman is far better suited to take proper care of her than any of them are and they have work to do and little time to get it done.

Matthias looks horrified, "You're going to take Vilje away?" he cries, sounding betrayed. The words come out surprisingly clear and Berwald feels relieved that he seems to be growing a little more lucid.

Leah lifts an unimpressed eyebrow as she glances as at him. "That must have been quite the blow to the head," she sighs and gestures for Matthias to come closer. Her face softens a little and she puts on a small, but slightly strained smile. "I will note take her away or long," she says reassuringly in a practiced tone. "She will be safe with me, and when you meet her again, she will be all better. Now, will you sit still and let me look at that head of yours."

Matthias nods slowly and allows her to examine his head, only hissing quietly in protest when she prods too hard at the tender skin on his forehead. She looks at his eyes and he flinch away from the light streaming in from the crack in the curtain. She looks at his arms, taking not of the smaller scrapes and bruises, but does not dwell on them for long.

She sighs when she is done and looks towards Berwald and Tino. "He seems fine enough, mostly just smaller cuts that will heal on their own soon enough. The only thing to worry about is that headwound, but there is not more to do than hope his head is not scrambled beyond repair, but only time will tell. I can give you some poultices to aid healing and something to help with the pain but not much else. Normally I would suggest a lot of rest and some proper sleep; it seems he is lacking that if I were to make a guess from the way he looks."

It is a relief to hear someone professional confirm that Matthias should be fine, but prescribing sleep to a man that has been avoiding sleep like the plague, that is going to be a problem. "Do you have something to keep nightmares away?" Berwald asks, hoping Matthias will not consider this a break of trust when he recovers that he let a stranger know about his nightmares.

Tino looks curious, surprised at the question. The herbalist looks a little hesitant.

"There are plenty of herbs that help put you to sleep," she says carefully, "but those that can keep dreams at bay are a little harder to get by."

"You mean illegal," Tino interrupts, "but I think we can all agree that none of us wants to get the guards involved no matter what laws we are breaking. So, if you have any herbs that can help our friend sleep, we would greatly appreciate it."

"Foxglove" Matthias mutters from the floor.

The herbalists face changes to horror in an instant and she slaps a hand over his face to stop him from saying anything further. "How do you know about that plant?" She searches his face for something; she looks at Vilje again and curses. "Never mind, I'd rather not know. Such things are better not mentioned, and just mentioning that cursed thing is enough to get you killed around here."

Berwald and Tino shares a confused glance, Berwald files the name away from later, the list of questions is growing steadily. He clears his throat to regain the herbalist attention. "The plant to stop dreams, do you have it?" he asks.

Leah looks up again and licks her lips nervously. The mention of the plant seems to have her a lot more rattled than anything else they have mentioned. "As a matter of fact, I do."

"Then we want it," Berwald says firmly.

She nods firmly. "I will make the brew then." She heads to the kitchen and closes the door behind herself with a firm slam.

Matthias looks forlorn on the floor. "I'm sorry," he mutters, looking up at them. "I didn't mean to make her angry."

Berwald does not even know what to say at this point but places a hand on Matthias' to offer him some comfort.

Leah comes back a few minutes later with a steaming cup that smells awful and hands it to Berwald. "It is not going to taste nice, so it might be a battle getting him to drink it. It is time for me to get back; I have a shop to tend and other customer. You know the way," she nods at Tino. "Bring the girl there two hours after midday, during the guard change. The road to my house is clear at that time but do try to look inconspicuous, I have enough problems as it is."

She heaves the bag back over her shoulder and leaves.

Berwald rotates the cup Leah handed him and watches the ground up herbs swirl around in the murky water, it looks about as pleasant as it smells, but if it will help let their friend get some proper rest, it might be worth it, they need him and his mind returned. He coaxes Matthias to drink despite the weak mutterings of protest and afterwards tuck him into the chair. It only takes a few minutes before he drifts off, face finally relaxing as memories and dreams leave him alone for some much-needed sleep.

The room becomes eerily silent.

Tino sags down on the floor, exhaustion catching up with him. Berwald carefully settles next to him. Tino instantly leans against hid side. "What the hell just happened Ber?" he asks tiredly. "And the weird plant he mentioned, what kind of secrets has he been keeping from us?"

"He will tell us when he wakes up," Berwald mutters quietly. "He probably has his reasons for his secrets

"Are we sure about any of this?" Tino asks hesitantly. This is not the first time Tino has expressed doubts about Matthias leadership and Berwald can understand his concern even though he does not share them. "I trust him Tino, with my life."

"And I trust you," Tino sighs. "I'm just worried."

Berwald holds up the key, it has practically been burning a hole in his pocket. "Matthias returned with this."

Tino gasps and snatches the key to inspect it for himself, then he stares at Berwald in disbelief, mouth hanging open all traces of doubt suddenly gone.

"Once Matthias is back on his feet, we have work to do."