That evening, Arvel, Rain, Lunette, and Fidget sat around the table after dinner. The wild tale that Melodia had spun was only just beginning to sink in.
“Are we certain she’s telling the truth?” Rain asked.
“It could be a trap,” Lunette said, “A way to lure you away from Elediah’s Trail in search of mythical artifacts of power.”
“Nah,” Arvel said, “Freddy already confirmed they existed. Had whole legends attached to ‘em and everything. Besides that, Melodia’s only a good liar some of the time. When she’s got her glamor on and she’s really into the act, she can be real convincing. But she can’t make up that kind of panic and upset as when I told her I didn’t know where this stuff was.”
“It seems to me that she relies on being charming,” Lunette said, shaking her head; “I can’t imagine she’d try to manipulate you by getting mad at you.”
“So what now?” Fidget asked, her feet kicking excitedly under the table, “We start digging?”
“No!” Rain replied quickly, “We can’t just start tearing up the farm. We have to have a reasonable plan.”
“How do we put together a more reasonable plan than that?” Arvel asked, “We got no clues about where my pa might’ve stuck any of this stuff. All we know is that it exists. Probably.”
“True artifacts are not easily destroyed,” Lunette said, “Seeing as I know of no conveniently located volcanoes in which he could’ve disposed of them, I imagine he simply hid them.”
Rain bit her lip a moment, before saying, “Elediah’s Trail is running thin on supplies. We had hoped to have enough to last us through the winter... But we lost so many people to demon attacks early on, and while it may mean fewer mouths to feed, fewer hands also slowed our building and planting. I’ve been discussing with Frederik the idea of sending a few people to go and collect supplies from Fairvale. We might also send him as well, to do research in the grand library, to learn more about Sir Elediah’s artifacts.”
“Will you be returning as well?” Lunette asked.
“What?” Rain asked, surprised, “N-No, of course not. I made a commitment to the people of Elediah’s Trail, and I’ll not be abandoning them just before harvest season.”
“You wouldn’t be abandoning them,” Lunette replied, “Furthermore, you are the marchioness of the whole of Nathulan, not just Elediah’s Trail. You already made a commitment to all the people of the eastern marches.”
Arvel was quiet, listening to their conversation. But Fidget would not remain silent.
“You’re leaving?!” Fidget asked, smacking both hands on the table.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Rain replied, looking at Fidget, “I might need to make a brief trip to Fairvale from time to time, but I won’t be gone more than a few weeks...”
“A few weeks?!” Fidget asked, “That’s too long!”
“Rain is still Lady Deleraine,” Lunette said, “Though she has a skilled staff with which to delegate the day-to-day governance of the province, her leadership is still important. If the lady is away from the manor for too long, the land owners within the province may believe that she’s become lax in her duties and no longer cares for their needs.”
Arvel let out a slow exhale, before saying, “You could go back with Freddy, for a little while, just to make sure they ain’t burnin’ the place down without you.”
Rain did a poor job at hiding her offense. Her hands balled into fists and she said, “That is unseemly! You would send me traveling alone with another man, even an honorable one such as Frederik?”
“Pretty sure Freddy ain’t interested in women,” Arvel said as he reclined in his chair, tipping it back onto its back two legs as he looked up at the ceiling, “Or men. Pretty sure he ain’t interested in anybody. ...Books maybe? He’s interested in books.”
“You wouldn’t be traveling alone in Mr. Frederik’s company,” Lunette said, “I’d send others along to ensure your safety and also to ferry goods.”
“You wouldn’t come?” Rain asked, surprised.
“My first obligation has always been to protect you,” said Lunette, “But to leave Elediah’s Trail and its militia in this state would be to abandon them. If you order me to accompany you, I shall, but otherwise, I will commit myself to the protection of your interests here.”
Rain’s eyes began to mist. She bit her lip and furrowed her brow in frustration.
“I’d not thought the conversation would go this way,” she muttered, “I only meant to impose on Frederik to research the matter further...”
“You have been putting this off for far too long,” Lunette said, “When we left Fairvale, you spoke as though you were simply accompanying the settlers to their destination. It’s been over two months now and you haven’t so much as sent a courier back to Fairvale.”
Rain wiped at her eyes, and stood from the table abruptly, pushing her chair back with her legs and lightly scraping it across the wood floor. She took a deep breath, steadying her quivering voice, and said “I’ll not be seen as a sluggard. I have an obligation to my people, all of my people, and I’ll see to their needs before returning to my own.”
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Though Fidget opened her mouth to protest, she quieted when she felt Lunette’s hand covering her fist on the table. Rain looked at Fidget for a moment, before she turned her attention to Arvel, who’d still been staring at the ceiling.
Slowly, Arvel lowered his chair back down to all four legs, and he looked up at Rain, saying calmly, “We’ll still be here when you get back.”
The tears welled in the corner of Rain’s eyes, and she quickly turned to hurry outside, shutting the front door behind her before the first sob was let to slip out.
Fidget looked at Lunette, then Arvel, nearly in a panic, before she shouted, “Do something!”
“This isn’t something we can ‘fix’, not in the way you’d like it to be changed,” Lunette said softly, petting Fidget’s hand, “This is something that Rain needs to do. Being a noble is a life of privilege, but it is also a life of obligation, and she must needs answer to the obligations she’s left to languish in Fairvale.”
“We could all go!” Fidget said.
“If we all leave, then who’d take care of the settlement?” Arvel asked, “Lunette’s trainin’ the militia, but you and I are still two of the strongest fighters here. The demons might be gone fer now, but that don’t mean bandits won’t decide to come along and see what they can get.”
Fidget clenched her jagged teeth before letting out a frustrated sound, somewhere between a whine and a roar. Lunette rose from her chair and walked around the table, leaning down to hug Fidget, resting the goblin’s head against her bosom.
“It won’t be that long,” Arvel said quietly, looking toward the front door, “She’ll be back before you know it...”
Another evening passed late into the night, with Rain not yet coming to bed. Though Arvel had gotten used to her waiting until everyone was asleep to slip in, he would not simply let it go this time. Once Lunette and Fidget had both drifted off, he carefully snuck out of bed, through the living room, and out onto the front porch.
There, Rain sat on the edge of the porch, gazing up at the sky full of stars. As soon as she heard the door creak behind her, she quickly wiped at her eyes, as though she hoped Arvel wouldn’t notice she’d been crying. Arvel said nothing as he eased down to take a seat beside her, hanging his legs off the edge.
“I can imagine what you’re thinking,” Rain said, “...’it’s always something with her’...”
“I get why you’re upset,” Arvel said, “But life... don’t always work out the way we want, when we want it to.”
“I know I have important obligations,” she whispered, “But when I was in Fairvale, it felt as though I spent much of my time listening to the needs and complaints of those who owned the most land. But those needs are not always the same as the tenants of serfs who work their land. Since I came to Elediah’s Trail, traveling among the common folk and seeing the ways that they live, I’m finally beginning to understand the lives that I’m working to protect... and realizing how little I’ve truly done for them.”
“So what’re you gonna do about that when you get back?” Arvel asked.
Rain smiled weakly and said, “Part of why I don’t want to go back, is because I have no idea what I’d even do differently. I came out here to the wastes, selfishly hanging all of my hopes on your father, that he could save my people from the threats of demons, goblins, and others. Without a ‘legendary immortal knight’ to swoop in to the rescue, I’m back to relying on myself to help my people... and that’s not something I’m sure that I’m very good at.”
Arvel lifted his arm, and draped it around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side.
“The problems yer dealin’ with are big,” he said quietly, “Too big to expect any one person to solve all by themselves. Not you, and not any legendary hero. But you’ve seen what a whole lot of little folk workin’ together can do. You brought a handful of soldiers out here who didn’t last real long, but in spite of that, Elediah’s Trail has its own militia who successfully held off a demon invasion. Half of ‘em were fightin’ with pitchforks and pots on their heads but they still made it through.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re driving at,” Rain said quietly, “Do you mean I should expand the militia throughout Nathulan?”
“Not specifically,” he replied, “I can’t tell you what every little town and village needs. But they can. Instead of asking a landlord what their estate needs, why not ask the people who work on it? They’re the ones that do the most of the living there, and the dying.”
“That might upset my vassals,” she said.
“Ain’t that all the more reason?” Arvel asked, looking down at her, “If they don’t want you talkin’ to the people that serve them, then you oughta be real suspicious about what they’re tryin’ to hide.”
Rain smiled softly up at Arvel as she laid her head on his shoulder and said, “The wisdom you possess surprises me sometimes.”
Arvel chuckled and said, “Surprises you? I might be insulted, except I ain’t all that used to being called wise.”
“Only because you’re such a recluse,” she said, “I imagine if you spent more time around people, they’d call you wise much more often. You have a remarkable sense of people and how they behave for someone who’s spent so long away from them.”
“My pa raised me to be suspicious,” Arvel said quietly as he looked up at the sky, “And the first time I really let my guard down and quit bein’ so suspicious... well... You know the story of me and Melodia. It ain’t that I hate people. But I tend to expect the worst out of ‘em. Suspect until proven trustworthy, y’know?”
“Except Fidget?” Rain asked with a smirk.
“Well that’s different,” Arvel said with a chuckle, “Fidget ain’t never been anything but honest with me. When she’s happy with me, or upset, or furious as all hells, I always get the full brunt of it. I never have to poke ‘n prod at her to know how she feels. I don’t think she could intentionally betray my trust if she tried, she’d probably start cryin’ a whole downpour first.”
“And Lunette?” questioned Rain.
“Y’see Lunette’s got that whole noble knightly thing goin’,” he explained, “Like, I know she ain’t born nobility or nothin’ but she’s dedicated herself to it. Like, I think bein’ chivalrous means more to her than most people. When she gives ya her word, she sticks to it, like it’s her oath.”
Rain nodded, and nuzzled against his shoulder, quiet.
“Ain’t gonna ask me about you?” he asked, leaning down to nuzzle her hair.
“I don’t know that I’ve given you reason to trust me again,” Rain said quietly.
Arvel didn’t respond at first. He instead wrapped both his arms around her, and pulled Rain onto his lap, as he looked up at the sky.
“I don’t think you’d intentionally betray me again,” Arvel said, “Just like Fidge, I think it’d just tear ya up too much to go through with it. And like Lunette, I think you put a whole lot of emphasis on what bein’ noble means, and bein’ true to your word. It’s just...”
As he trailed off, Rain looked at face, searchingly. But he seemed as distant as his skyward gaze.
“You got priorities,” Arvel said quietly, “And even if you want to put me at the top of em, you and I both know you can’t right now.”
Rain laid her head back down on his shoulder as her tears overflowed, and Arvel hugged her tightly. Neither of them spoke another word. Instead, they sat quietly with their feelings.