Chapter 64: Unity

Raising his palm Izaya looked at the rune the healer had drawn upon it.

It hadn't changed, hadn't faded either. Did that mean he could use this anytime he wanted on anyone present?

A hint of pride and competence filled Izaya's mind as his lips curled into a smile.

He had never been good with swords, never been able to protect his sisters from immediate danger, not even their own goddamn father.

Because as old as he was, Izaya was weak.

Weak.

Always had been.

But this- didn't this mean there was a chance he would be able to learn more of this power? More spells? He heard the rumors. About priests creating miracles.

A simple shield protecting anyone he wanted to, was there a spell for that as well?

"Lady Kururi?" Craigh suddenly called his attention back with a slight hint of worry, and Izaya realized he hadn't said a word for quite the amount of time.

"Sorry, I was just in thoughts."

It was then that rustling noise burst the silence like a fine grape pressured under a knife.

Immediately Craigh jumped to his feet, and the sword he had lost so unluckily earlier was tightly grasped in his hands.

Izaya expected another wolf- the same kind as before, a loner, split from the group for some reason, out to taste the blood he smelled so dearly. Because despite healing the brave knight, he was still soaking in it from head to toe.

But sooner than expected the two of them relaxed as the shine of steel emerged from the bushes and blond hair, mixed with spots of red stepped into the light.

Shizuo.

He was alive-

Relief washed over Izaya the second he spotted the king, but the same did not account for Shizuo.

Izaya could tell from the way his expression fell as soon as his eyes fell onto the two. His heart visibly sank and his breath failed him-

"Iza-"

"Shizuo!" Izaya quickly interrupted the syllable that was about to form his real name- A glance was cast towards Craigh, and just for a second the knight returned the gaze.

But no cloud of doubt passed his eyes and he smiled in what appeared to be relief.

"Is everything alright?" Shizuo quickly saved his words as his body flew over to his queen. Izaya was a horrible sight. Blood had splattered most of his dress, his skin too, and Craigh- Kneeling in front of the queen he seemed anything but sure about her well being. "Are you hurt? This blood-" Shizuo hurried, but Izaya quickly shook his head.

"It's Craigh's, not mine," he explained hurriedly, and almost immediately Shizuo's attention shifted towards the guy that was like a brother to him.

As if having touched fire the knight immediately raised his hands in a defending pose and showed his best smile.

"All good, no need to worry about a beast like me."

More noises of rustling nature filled the air from the side and Craigh tensed.

"What about you? Any difficulties?" he asked, but Shizuo quickly diminished his fear for reinforcements of the bad kind.

"None," the king declared, and as if on cue, Crispin emerged from the forest first.

A considerably smaller amount of blood was staining his own armor and upon seeing the wolf's corpse his already sour expression tensed even more.

"There was another?" he heaved, and wiped at a blotch of dark red that had stained his cheek.

"Yeah, but she knocked the bastard down real good," Craigh announced with a laugh, and Crispin turned to face that bastard that dared to laugh in such a situation, but immediately froze upon his sight.

Words of unfamiliar nature laid on the tip of his tongue, but Karazam was quicker to speak them, as he was the next to rejoin them.

"You look awful-" the young squire exclaimed and immediately rushed towards the ginger knight.

Compared to the rest of the knights his clothes had remained awfully clean and intact- probably because they were fighting as a team. Izaya imagined they were keeping those not too skilled at handling a sword in the midst of their rows to look out for hidden attacks.

"Most of the time, but even worse now I suppose," Craigh laughed and suddenly Chester stood at the border of the campside.

"Craigh-"

The knight faded out, his eyes blown wide at the unexpected sight. Ignoring Karazam's examination the ginger quickly moved over in large strides.

A hand was placed onto Chester's head as he showed his best smile.

"I'm fine. No need to worry," arms brought up into the air Craigh gestured towards their queen instead. "The lady already healed me. Only a few scratches are left."

"Healed?" Chester repeated, and suddenly it was not only Craigh and Chester that looked at Izaya.

Shizuo did too. Albeit not in delight.

"The rune the healer showed me. It works on others too," Izaya quickly explained, and he looked towards the knights, but the words were meant for Shizuo more than for the rest.

Worry carved deep frowns into his forehead as he looked up and down Izaya's body.

Izaya wasn't injured, but he was awfully pale.

A conflicting cocktail of pride and concern mixed in Shizuo's mind as he looked at his wife.

Because yes, he healed Craigh, he probably saved him from a much worse fate, if not even death.

But also- fuck. Izaya.

Having noticed his expression Izaya merely smiled with all the conviction he could muster. "I'm fine." He had already smelled the question on Shizuo's tongue, but the answer only caused the king to feel worse.

Because he should have been there.

It wasn't like he didn't trust Craigh, and he would rather go to hell than to blame the knight for having done a great job at protecting what was dearest to him.

But he had risked Izaya's life.

Be it intended or not.

And suddenly they were there. The arms around Izaya's body, pulling him into a tight hug. The armor Shizuo wore wasn't nearly as comfortable as Shizuo usually felt, but Izaya could tell he was moving with as much care as he could.

"Sorry- I shouldn't have left you," Shizuo whispered, and something in Izaya snapped at that.

A string. Something that had kept this weird mixture of gratitude and confusing sympathy at bay.

Warmth of an unknown kind spread in Izaya's chest with unstoppable force and for a second Izaya was very glad his face was hidden in Shizuo's shoulder.

The hug-

The closeness-

Somehow it felt much better than it should.

"I'm fine. Really," Izaya whispered with more effort than he should need, and the hug tightened.

"I know."

It was Alaric who joined the group last, along with Carlyle and Lothar. Both being mediocre in handling swords they had advanced further into the forest and were checking out the roads instead.

Returning last they had missed all words of assurance.

"What the hell happened here-" Alaric cursed and a worried expression so unfitting of his character grazed his face as he looked towards their ginger knight. "Craigh-" he called in a clear manner of distress and the knight in question quickly groaned.

"Oh my god, I'm all good. Cease your kind words they might make me vomit," he laughed quickly, and Alaric's steps slowed down as his expression shifted to one of disbelieving relief. "What about the road?" the ginger quickly continued to ask, eradicating the last of Alaric's worries as he took a deep breath.

It appeared there was no need to worry after all and so he smiled, "The road ahead is clear, no obstacles all the way back home."

"Finally-" Craigh sighed, "I can't wait to get my ass back into a decent bed."

"Might want to wash up too," Crispin suddenly said, awfully quiet considering he was usually jabbing at Craigh with everything he got.

"You don't like my new style? I was thinking the color suits my beard," Craigh laughed and Carlyle snorted while tossing his water bottle towards the ginger knight.

"Take that and make yourself look decent again."

Laughter filled the clearing of the forest and quicker than expected the sound of crickets returned to their side as well.

Safe for the blood on the ground and the wolf's corpse on the side it seemed as if nothing had ever happened at all.

Finally leaving Izaya, Shizuo unlocked his tight hug and met Carlyle's eyes instead.

"Should we move?" It was a question that asked for intel, not for opinions.

The three of them had been looking out for any obstacles, be they human, animal or object on the road.

Seeing how their lands were wide and easily accessible by sight Alaric's eyes were perfect to scout the route.

Clearing his throat Carlyle seemed to hesitate before answering. "Any other time I would strongly suggest we do," he started, and couldn't quite hide the way he shortly glanced towards their queen. "But you can't just ride out without a break."

Of course.

"Because of me?" Izaya asked, naming the issue at hand so that no one needed to dance around the obvious topic.

Words meant to be said were swallowed and a short moment of silence followed as even Carlyle seemed unsure of what to say.

"It's not your fault, my lady," Karazam tried to lift Izaya's mood, but Izaya wasn't stupid.

Of course it was his fault. Using his spell had drained him more than he liked to admit, and the ride here had also strained his body.

This entire idea of setting out on his own will and without the carriage had been his to blame for.

It wasn't even like he regretted the decision, but he was very well aware he was acting against the knight's will.

He expected resentment, maybe a sour note to their expressions, instead they only showed sympathy and care.

"It should be fine. The corpses should teach any creature nearby that it's a bad idea to mess with us," Alaric shrugged and pulled at the dead wolf's tail to move it away from the center of their camp.

"Is it unsettling?" Shizuo asked and Izaya blinked.

"What? Staying?"

A short nod was given, and again Izaya wondered just how much more understanding this king was going to get.

The knights too.

Not a shred of doubt, annoyance or sourness grazed their faces. Some of them were trying to wipe the blood off their armor despite it not really helping their appearance.

But none showed even a shimmer of reluctance and Izaya smiled.

"I feel safe enough as it is."

"You heard our queen," Carlyle nodded with a smile, and Lothar plucked a piece of armor off his shoulders in order to give them a good stretch.

"I will make sure to prepare a feast," he laughed and walked towards their horses.

Bound to the tree a couple meters off Izaya had completely forgotten they existed as he rummaged inside their bags for the food they brought.

Using the bottle of water Craigh had been handed he used it to wash most of the blood off his face. It was fascinating, but apart from a few light scars nothing was left from the injury caused by the wolf's jaw.

"Here," Crispin suddenly said and extended his hand with what appeared to be a small crucible. "Put that on. Should help," he announced with his usual rigid form of expression, and somehow Izaya couldn't help but smile at the action.

He cared so much more than he let on. And Craigh was obviously aware.

Taking the object with no jab or joke he merely nodded wearing a board smile.

"Do you really?" Shizuo suddenly whispered, tearing Izaya's sight from the two.

"What?"

"Feel safe," the king elaborated and nodded towards the wolf's head in Karazams's arms as he carried it off. "That wolf-" he started, but Izaya was quick to interrupt.

"Didn't get me, did it?" he asked, and Shizuo's lips stilled.

Confidence and not a shred of fear showed on Izaya's expression and so he snorted relieved.

Yeah, he really wasn't scared.

Eyes grazing the campside and the way it so quickly filled itself with life and chatter, Shizuo sighed as he relished in the moment.

They were fast.

Without the carriage forcing them to slow down, their horses could skip a much greater distance.

The sky above was already resembling the one he saw from the castle and his expression relaxed.

They were fine.

Izaya was. His knights were too.

Whatever it was that killed those men and kidnapped those women, it was far away for now and of no immediate danger to Izaya.

Quick chatter started building as the knights argued over the right way to cook a rabbit and a short snort escaping Izaya's lips caused Shizuo's own mood to lighten up.
"Are you looking forward to returning?" he whispered, and Izaya turned.

Returning, huh?

Certainly.

Many things had happened ever since he married Shizuo. The vial. His father's visit. Shinra and his efforts to keep him from dying.

And yet this entire trip also seemed to hold not only the worst memories.

The knights and the way they interacted with each other, but also with Izaya-

Looking back at it now, Izaya wouldn't trade the past events for anything else.

Not to mention the spell he had learnt to use.

Looking at the back of his palm Izaya couldn't help but grin.

Shinra was going to love this. And he was probably going to try and analyze how it worked and would try to explain it with words of nature instead of magic or belief.

He was already looking forward to that attempt.

Mika too and Clairance.

His departure had been a haze in Izaya's mind, but he could clearly remember their worried gazes.

No word had been sent yet about his recovery and breaking the news to them about it seemed to form the highlight of these past weeks.

James would probably cry or try to hide doing so while scolding Shizuo about his duties that he had left behind.

So, yeah.

The question of whether he was looking forward to returning home was a simple one to answer and so he smiled at Shizuo as the fire Alaraic started picked up pace and the smell of roasting meat drove away the stench of blood.

"Very."

End of Act 2

to be continued~

Now this was sweet wasn't it? :3

We are finally heading home- healthy, motivated and most importantly… with budding feelings spiraling out of control („ಡωಡ„)

See you next Saturday~!