The walk home was more silent than usual. While Aermith’s attention was focused on other festival activities, Avina silently followed by his side. The recent events caused thoughts to pile up in her head. There was so much to go through but only one of them outshined the rest. The boy, who was he? Xerxes’s Nephew? Son? Cousin? Son was guaranteed but Avina didn’t like making assumptions. Their features looked too similar to be anything else besides Father and Son. Avina recalled making eye contact with the boy but that was about it. He had given her an odd look before placing his attention back on the crowd.

‘Was there something on my face?’ She wondered, even ripping her hand away from Aermith’s to run her hands along her face. Aermith gave her a slight glance before deciding to comment.

“What, my hand was getting too sweaty? When was that ever an issue.” He flashed her a smile.

“No,” After wiping down her face, she looked down at her hands only to find nothing there. “I just thought there was something on my face.” Even after finding nothing, she was determined to find something. Avina persisted, rubbing every inch of her face.

A laugh escaped Aermith. “So desperate to find something that isn’t even there. Caught a special someone looking at you huh?”

Avina’s hand movements froze before lowering them back down at her side. Her cheeks blossomed a red blush that was difficult to hide. She was guilty, and embarrassed that her Father was even paying that much attention. Her immediate reaction when embarrassed was to just stare at the ground. “How did you- tsk…” Her question was instantly abandoned. “The boy was staring a little too hard then made a face at me… That’s why I thought there was something on me.”

Her father laughed once again before scratching the back of his head. He wasn’t sure on how to approach this topic, especially to his Daughter. His Wife would’ve been better for these types of situations but now, it was up to him to deal with it. Aermith looked up at the dark sky that illuminated every now and then from fireworks. “How do I say this,” His next choice of words needed to be picked wisely. “This entire walk back home, have you stopped to wonder why you care about this so much?”

Avina’s head lifted, now staring at the path ahead. “I… I actually haven’t? Why do I care so much?”

She was young and naive, a girl that didn’t even understand attraction and feelings was about to enter a whole new world. “Well I guess you're at the age to at least understand. And yes I'm saying understand, not experience. What can you tell me about relationships?” Aermith asked his question.

“Sure I see couples all the time but I can’t tell you anything about relationships.” She answered quickly.

He nodded, “Okay that was expected, can you at least tell me how a relationship springs to life?”

“Not at all.” She was becoming impatient. Her father wasn’t getting to the point, the reason why they were talking about this in the first place.

“It all starts with attraction-”

Avina blocked her ears with both hands, “You’re giving me this talk?! No, I don’t want to hear it!” Her voice raised three octaves.

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This is exactly why Aermith needed to choose his words wisely. It was to avoid getting this exact reaction. Surely the topic was to be revisited at a later date, maybe when Gurhen wasn’t fresh in Avina’s mind.

“Okay! Okay! I get it, I’m done.” He lightly chuckled at her embarrassed expression.

Slowly but shortly, her hands were removed from her ears. She was cautious, ready at any moment in case her Father wanted to start up again. “Can you please just promise to not talk about that unless I ask.” Avina then recalled asking, curious on why she cared about how Gurhen looked at her. “Ask directly. I mean about feelings… and relationships.”

Aermith nodded at her request. “Okay, understood. Yeah your mother was definitely better at this than I am.” The two turned a corner before walking up steps.

There was another thought that Avina dwelled on. One arguably more important than Gurhen. Her mind raced faster than she could walk, causing her to stop halfway on the steps. Avina’s hand gripping on the railing only got tighter. Aermith reached the top before he could realize his Daughter stopped walking. He turned to face her just as a gust of wind swept through. There were no more fireworks at this point, the only thing that was left to light the sky were the stars. The girl looked up at her Father. Her lips quivered, struggling to gather the words to form her question. She was more or less scared of what his reaction would be. Though if she wanted to get her answer, then it needed to be asked.

“What made you become a knight? And then… What made you quit being one?” The question was left in the air for Aermith to answer.

It was silent, almost too silent. Despite how dark it was, She could still feel Aermith’s piercing gaze. The wind settled now and her Father still hasn’t given her an answer. He wasn't thinking about how to answer it, but if he actually should answer. An evaluation had to be made before a response was given.

‘Was it Scarlet’s performance that made these questions arise? She’s never been interested in my life as a knight up until now. What an odd request.’ Aermith walked down the steps to approach Avina.

“My own Father made me become one. It was some sort of principle the Lockhart’s followed before your time. Generations ago, they believed that every man in the family should stand up for what’s right. And if that meant becoming a Knight to fight for this kingdom, this family? Then you’d be enlisted. Every other man before me took up that mantle with no issues. But I was different.”

Aermith went onto lean his back against the railing, “I hated every second of it. You make a few friends in the beginning, get close to one another, even get placed in the same squad.” A sigh left him before continuing to speak again, “But even in the end, all of those bonds were temporary. Either you or all of them end up dead. After the battle was over, they’d gather all the bodies and pile them together just to burn them. You weren’t remembered by your name, but instead, a four digit number given to you the day you enlist. My intention isn’t to make you afraid, but make you aware that war is very much a real thing.”

“Even after all of that, there’s still some sort of resentment I hold for myself because I didn’t fight harder for what I wanted-”

Avina was quick to cut him off once again, “What… did you want?”

“Freedom.” His answer was short, smooth like silk. It was something he’s been wanting to say for a long time.

“So now I ask you, Avina. What do you want?” His gaze was directed at his Daughter. His stoic expression held strong, not faltering for a second.

Unlike Aermith, she didn’t have an immediate answer. Her Father’s story was taken into consideration. It almost bothered her that she wasn’t as swift as her Father but her judgment wasn’t going to stray off it’s path because of his experience. It only took a few minutes to answer, but in those few minutes, she understood what needed to happen in order to get to where she wants to be at.

“Justice.” A surge of determination traveled through her very body. Her answer was said with a confidence that even surprised Aermith.