“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Andrian exclaimed, slamming his hand down on the table. “Do you seriously think he’s in a condition to tell his life story to a room full of strangers?! Marshal Generals, with all due respect, I have to object to this.”

“General Andrian, he might not be in the condition, but he’s certainly in the position where it is necessary,” Dray, Marshal General of the South, answered in a cool voice. “His mental condition is not the concern of the council, his official testimony is.”

“I believe I have already provided a detailed account of what he knows, so there should be no reason for him to speak before the council. Was my report insufficient?” Rastari inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“Not at all, but the circumstances have changed. No matter how good of a report you’ve given, it is guaranteed that there will be missing information. What you know was told to you by a human with unknown motives regarding what she saw in someone else’s memories. There will obviously be missing information that we can get from him,” Dray responded in a dry voice.

“The issue isn’t the request, the issue is the time and place!” Andrian said through clenched teeth. “If you want to talk to him, you can do it in private. Better yet, you can talk to me in private. Falyn’s told me enough that I can fill you in sufficiently on anything Rastari wasn’t privy to.”

As I listened to them argue, I wondered if I should just agree to what they wanted. It didn’t seem worth it to upset Andrian’s superiors just for my sake. I was terrified by the idea of speaking about that in front of an entire council like this. I was shaking just from thinking about it. But how would they punish us if we refused?

“We certainly can’t accept the testimony from you. You should know better than to suggest that,” Barryl scolded Andrian before adding, “but I don’t don't think it should be a problem to make this a private discussion. Considering General Rastari's report, that part of your request is reasonable enough.”

“But this is still the time for it though,” Zeke interjected before Andrian could respond, “I’ll agree to reducing the audience to the four of us, but this happens now. The joining ceremony is two days away, so there is no time to delay this.”

“Agreed,” Dray conceded, “We can talk in private, but we do it now.”

Barryl and Jackson both agreed to those terms and immediately adjourned the council meeting. It was clear that this was as far as they were willing to bend on the matter, but I was relieved nonetheless. It was a better outcome than I'd previously imagined. I was led out of the large council room and back toward the entrance of the building. However, instead of leaving out the front door, we went through another door off to the side that I hadn’t even noticed when we arrived.

Inside was a simple room with a table and eight chairs around it, and not much else. Both Andrian and Rastari accompanied me into the room with the four marshal generals. It was no surprise to anyone that Andrian had come with me but I hadn’t expected Rastari to come as well. It was a pleasant surprise, although I wasn’t sure what his motives were for joining us. In any case, I felt like it was a good thing that he’d come along.

We sat down around the table and the marshal generals looked at me expectantly. I, on the other hand, had no idea what I was supposed to say and was full of anxious energy that made me nervous and uncomfortable. There was no way around it. I was going to have to do this.

After we’d sat in an awkward silence for a moment, they seemed to realize that I wasn’t going to start talking on my own. Jackson broke the silence, “Start at the beginning. You’re the son of a duke from the south, but you grew up on the eastern border?”

I took a deep breath before answering, “Yes, I did.” My hands, which were clenched into fists in my lap, were turning white from the tension I’d put into them. I stared at them intently as I answered and felt a familiar hand caress my shoulders. Andrian was here with me. I wasn’t alone. I’d already told him everything. Maybe if I pretended I was talking to just him, it would be a little easier to do this.

“Why?” Jackson’s simple question shattered my delusion immediately. There was no pretending it was just me and Andrian here. “Please explain how that came to be.”

“My mother was his maid. She ran away when she found out she was pregnant and went back to her hometown.” My voice sounded robotic, even to me. I tried my best not to feel anything as I spoke.

Dray immediately followed up by asking, “So she was his lover?”

“No, she was his victim,” I responded bluntly.

“Is this even relevant?” Andrian interjected, “Just get to the point.”

“We’re just trying to understand how the son of a man who is well known for his hatred of our kind ended up living next to the borderland. It’s very interesting that the son of such a man was frequently entering the Beastlands as a child. It’s also interesting that the same boy suddenly disappeared when the first murder occurred, only to reappear at such a convenient time.” Zeke spoke to Andrian but I could feel that his eyes were fixated on me. Ah, now I understood what this was all about.

“Just what are you implying?” Andrian asked with a frosty voice. I released my tightly clenched fist so I could reach out and place my hand on his knee.

“It’s okay Andri,” I said in a quiet voice, “what he’s implying is reasonable.” I took a deep breath before continuing, “My father’s wife had a daughter and never got pregnant again. He wanted a male heir and used my mother to get one. She was unwilling through the whole process. When she found out she was pregnant, she escaped and ran away. That’s all there is to it. As for crossing the borderland as a child, the first time was an accident, and after that, I was just a kid who wanted to visit his friend.”

“And then you stopped visiting because of what happened to your mother?” Dray inquired.

“Essentially yes,” I replied, “It took fourteen years, but my father found me and my mother. He sent his men after us. They were to bring me back and murder my mother. Their orders were to make her death as brutal as possible and to leave her body in a place where animals could find it.”

“And the details from here are what was in my report,” Rastari suddenly interjected before anyone could ask me to tell them more. “Marshal Generals, I don’t want to impede your investigation in any way, but I don’t want to see the kid break down again either. He’s here of his own accord, offering to condemn his own father, so why are you interrogating him like this? When the time comes, he will speak for us. I have no doubt about that, so maybe we can conclude this here.”

All four of the marshal generals seemed to consider his words. I was truly surprised that Rastari had that kind of faith in me. I looked up from my lap for the first time and met his eyes from across the table. Somehow the sight of his knowing smile from across the table was incredibly reassuring.

“I don’t know what he's done to convince you of this, but I’ll trust your judgement. To a degree, at least. I’m willing to move on, but only past the events you were able to report on. There’s still more we need to ask him,” Jackson stated the last part firmly. I didn’t mind though. I could answer their questions more easily, if I didn’t have to talk about that.

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“Agreed,” Berryl added, “we can skip over the details of his trauma, but there are things we need to understand. First off, why did your father send you instead of your sister? What was his scheme?”

“My father considers me to be a great disappointment, and he never actually intended for me to be his proper heir. He always claimed that was his intent, but he really only intended for me to be a puppet so my sister could inherit everything while still obeying the Vraynian succession laws. I was a pawn that wasn’t even useful to him, so he threw me away.” I lifted my head and met their gazes as I spoke. I realized that what I was feeling was something akin to anger. They knew what I’d been through well enough to understand my motives, yet they still felt the need to interrogate me. “I understand that being my father’s son is reason enough on its own for you to be suspicious of me, but I can assure you that I hate him the most out of anyone here.”

I was amazed at the words that poured out of my mouth. It was the truth, but it felt strange to say it out loud. What was that feeling again? Right, it was anger. I was a little bit angry at the marshal generals for their complete disregard for me. But that was a tiny drop in the sea of rage I felt towards my father, his men, and everyone else who had done nothing but contribute to my pain.

“I doubt that there’s anything I can say to make you trust my intentions, so I’m not going to bother,” I continued, growing more confident as I spoke. “Instead of trying to convince you, I’m going to make a request of you instead. Two requests, actually. The first is for you to give me time. I’m not strong enough to talk about these things casually, even if it's only in front of a small group. You’re asking me to talk about the memories that will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life, and I really don’t feel ready to tell that story to complete strangers. However, when we go back to Vrayna for the human wedding ceremony, I promise you I’ll be ready to talk. And as for the second request… Justice will be served by the Beastlands, yes?”

“Don’t even think about asking us to spare his life!” Zeke growled as his answer.

“I have no intention of doing so. Quite the opposite, actually,” I quickly replied before he could misunderstand me any further, “I... I want to see it with my own two eyes, the end of the man who stole my life from me.”

Zeke stared at me for a moment before smiling at me for the first time. It wasn’t a particularly nice smile, in fact, it was quite scary, but it was genuine. With that dangerous smile still on his face, he said, “If that’s all you want, I think we can work something out.”

After that, they were done interrogating me, which meant there was no reason for us to stay. I was glad to be done with it and free to leave that uncomfortable room. My request to witness my father’s execution seemed to have endeared me to them but that wasn’t the purpose of my request. There was a part of me that needed to see it. I felt that if I didn’t, I’d never truly believe I was free. I might regret making such a request when the time came, but I felt like seeing it was the only way for me to move on.

As we exited the council building, I quietly said to Andrian, “I’m sorry. I suppose what I said in there must have been unexpected. I probably sounded like a horrible person to you. I hope you aren’t disappointed in me.”

It took more courage than I’d thought to say those words. A disappointment. The thing I was terrified I’d become to him. I didn't think he held any sympathy for my father, but would he be disgusted that I wanted to see that? Much to my relief, his answer was to ask me in a surprised tone, “Why would I be disappointed?”

“Because I’m the type of person who would want to see his own father’s execution. I don’t want you to think less of me but I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t something I desire.” I stopped walking for a moment, and under the giant dome with Beastland officials bustling about around us, I looked at the man I loved, terrified of the rejection I might see on his face. "I feel like I need to see it to believe it."

"It's okay for you to feel that way," he told me in a soothing voice, "I don't think any less of you for hating a man who hurt you so much. I'm more concerned about how you feel right now." He wrapped both arms around me, one around my waist and one over my shoulder, pulling me into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from that."

As I laid my head on his shoulder, it felt like the entire world around us disappeared. My eyes stung with unshed tears but I resisted the instinct to set them free. “Andri, I don’t deserve you.”

“What’s what I’m supposed to say,” he laughed softly, “If I had my way, I’d tear him limb from limb for what he did to you. The way you feel, it’s only natural. Don’t think less of yourself now that you’ve found the strength to be angry at him. Embrace it. Use that feeling to grow stronger, not to make yourself feel bad. No matter what it is, I’m on your side.”

We stood in the middle of the crowded dome and held each other for a moment, until I heard Rastari’s voice interrupt us, “You two about done over there? I was going to ask you to join a few of us for dinner, but instead I have to watch the man who rejected me with his new lover?”

Despite his teasing, I couldn’t help but smile. “Rastari,” I said, “thank you for helping me in there.”

“What can I say,” Rastari replied, “I guess I've grown fond of you or something. I couldn't just leave you two to fend for yourselves with those guys. Now come along, there’s a group of us going to a nearby tavern for a meal and you two have to come be our guests of honor. No marshal generals, I promise.”

I looked to Andrian to see how he felt about it. At my inquiring gaze, he nodded, so I answered, “I’d like that.”

We exited the dome and backtracked a bit until we were back in a regular part of the city again. The tavern we went to was similar to the one I’d seen in the lion village, complete with a private rooms for us to have our meal in. When we arrived, Shidah and Luxania were waiting, as well as Coraggio and the snake general Garwal, whom I’d met on my journey to the Beastlands, were waiting. Eventually we were joined by Estra and an owl general by the name of Illian, who seemed excited to meet me after hearing about me from Estra.

It was a simple dinner with good food, even better alcohol, and pleasant company. No one brought up my past, the events of the afternoon, or anything else that might have ruined the mood. After such a long and stressful day, it was a bit of peace that I hadn’t realized I needed. Again, I thought about Andrian’s words from the night before. “The people who matter will be on our side.” I looked around the table and felt a warm affection for the people who sat with us. All of them were here to show us their support and celebrate our joining, completely separate from the politics of the treaty. Even General Illian, who I was meeting for the first time, was here for those reasons. We ate until we could eat no more and the alcohol flowed freely late into the night.

In the time since I’d entered the Beastlands and began learning about my new home, I’d realized a couple things. The first was that generals in the Beastlands were nothing like the generals of the Vraynian army. Our authority structure was different and the marshal generals were far closer to the human definition of a war general. I wondered if Prince Elantro knew this. I doubted he did. They probably would’ve had to keep the information hidden if it had been my sister who came, as she wouldn’t have kept quiet about being married to someone of a lower status. I, on the other hand, was relieved to learn that the generals I knew were simply higher ranking officers. It was far more comfortable that way.

The second thing I'd learned was that almost all of the beastmen I’d met had an incredible capacity for alcohol. Wine, mead, beer, cider, and other stronger spirits flowed freely and I had no hope of keeping up with them. I tried to meet their pace, but I was only able to handle a few sips for every full glass the people around me drank. By the end of the night, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get up from our table, while nearly everyone else seemed just fine. However, Estra and Illian seemed to be struggling as much as I was, which made me wonder if it was simply a matter of exposure, as bird beastmen were known to abstain from alcohol due to how it affected their ability to fly.

When the night was over, the others almost had to carry the three of us out of the tavern. In my drunken haze, it seemed perfectly reasonable to just let Andrian carry me in his arms, so I didn’t insist on trying to walk of my own accord. He was warm and comfortable, so it seemed wise to let him do all the work while listening to the sound of his heart beating against my flushed cheeks. My head was swimming pleasantly and everything faded into the background. I heard the occasional burst of words, like “place to stay,” and “inn over there,” as I closed my eyes. After almost being lulled to sleep by the steady rhythm of Andrian’s steps, I felt the temperature around me change and realized we were inside a building. I heard a new voice and blinked my eyes open long enough to realize we were in the lobby of an inn before closing them again.

We were soon moving again and I recognized the feeling of being carried up a flight of stairs followed by the sound of a door opening. I was placed on top of some cool sheets that felt soothing against my hot face. I felt Andrian pulling off my shoes and a blanket being placed on top of me. I could feel the room spinning around me even though my eyes were closed. It was a little uncomfortable but I didn’t feel like I could move enough to do anything about it. Before the blackness took me, I thought that maybe I should stop trying to keep up when drinking.