Hours before the rebellion was set to begin, Len summoned the junior officers to the meeting room for a briefing on the coming night’s events. For reasons of security, most information about the operation had been kept on a strictly need to know basis. The majority of troops who’d be participating had no inkling of what was about to occur, including the summoned officers.
Len requested Gideon’s presence for the briefing and he obliged, more out of respect for the older man than for a genuine need to be present. Surelin’s council had gone over the plan together so many times that they joked about being able to recite it backwards.
Gideon joined the briefing late, entering the meeting room well after Len had begun.
“Discipline is the order of the hour,” Len told the room as Gideon quietly stepped inside. “You must keep the troops focused on the objective no matter what is occurring in the rest of the city. Chaos will be unfolding everywhere, and many will think of their family members who may be in danger in other areas of the city. You must make sure that each soldier understands that nothing is more important to our future than the success of this mission.”
The men and women in the room all had their full attention on Len. Some showed visible signs of anxiety, others looked eager, but all were focused on him.
They just found out that one of the biggest things they’re ever gonna do will happen in only a few hours from now.
“Now we must discuss something difficult. You must keep a careful watch for any signs of seditious behavior from your troops. If any of them have been compromised by the great houses, this will be the perfect opportunity for them to betray us. You are hereby authorized to order the instant death of any soldier who fails in their duty at this hour. But for your own sakes, exercise extreme discretion. The princess has already commanded that you will explain yourself to her in person if such an event occurs. Is that well understood?”
Quiet murmurs of assent rose into the air. Right afterwards, the door opened quietly, and Surelin popped her head inside. She quickly scanned the room, then crooked a finger towards Gideon.
He left the room, giving Surelin a curious look as he shut the door behind him.
“What is it?”
“Come with me. I’ve got something to show you.”
She moved off before he could ask any questions, and he followed, shrugging.
The rest of the dyework's second story contained little more than a few empty offices and grimy storage rooms. But at the very end of the building, tucked away in a forgotten, dusty corner, rested a simple metal ladder leading up to the attic. Surelin led Gideon straight to it, and immediately began to climb.
“What’s so important up there?”
She reached the hatch at the top of the ladder and opened it, then quickly pulled herself up to her feet.
“See for yourself!” she called out after disappearing from sight.
She's excited about something, Gideon thought while climbing up.
The attic was even more decrepit and run down than he imagined it to be. The building’s sag had created a very noticeable depression in the floorboards around the center of the room. Several floorboards were also missing, as were many of the boards in the roof. A large hole had been torn out of the western wall, letting in a cold draft of air but also providing an exceptionally good view of the city. The sun had set only moments before, but there was still enough light to make out the western wall far off in the distance, beyond a vast sea of building tops.
Surelin stood by a bench resting on the far side of the room, giving him an eager smile as he climbed up and got to his feet. A lit lantern sat on the bench, casting a bright yellow glow into the room and onto the other objects beside it. What looked to be a full set of plate armor, buffed to a silver shine, had been laid out across the bench. In what little space remained on the bench sat two unlit sky lanterns and a long, thin match.
“What’s all that, then?”
“It’s for you,” Surelin smiled. “The armor is, anyway. A solstice gift. Come take a look, but you’d better skirt around the edges of the pit.”
He took her advice, and upon reaching the bench bent over to peer down at the armor. Surelin studied him closely as he inspected it.
“This’s for me?”
“Mhm. It’s all your size.”
He’d asked her for new armor a few days before, and soon after she’d sent Tia to him to get his measurements. But a full suit of plate armor was far beyond anything he’d been expecting.
“Wow, I…I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, a good place to start off with might be, ‘thank you’,” Surelin replied, grinning.
“Thank you,” he nodded. “This must’ve been expensive.”
“You’re very welcome. This should keep you much safer than your old set. To be honest, Gideon, I don’t think I’ve ever known a person who needed a good set of armor more than you.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
She really cares about me.
A wave of awkward shyness washed over him, and he looked back down at the armor sheepishly. Plate armor was something only the rich ever wore, and with good reason. Even the cheapest plate provided an unparalleled level of protection.
The entire set was plain, naked steel, unlike the engraved plate he’d seen nobles and other wealthy men wearing on occasion. The cuirass was bulky and slightly rounded around the chest, and the shoulders were protected by thick, rounded pauldrons. The fingers on the gauntlets were joined and protected by several layers of steel on the exterior, its interior being a combination of chainmail and leather. An angular bevor built into the cuirass’s collar jutted out prominently and provided a full range of frontal protection for the throat. For the lower body, a mail skirt hung from the bottom of the cuirass, draping over mail greaves. The sabatons were layered steel, with a pronounced, flattened end past the toes which would be good for kicking.
A rounded steel barbuta also rested upon the bench, but Gideon wasn't interested in it.
“Well, put it on!” Surelin exclaimed. “I want to see you in it!”
He quickly removed his claymore and other gear, then put his new armor on one piece at a time. Surelin watched intently as he worked, looking quite pleased.
When it was all finally on, Gideon stretched his arms and legs out to test the range of motion, and was surprised to discover that the armor did not impede his movement very much at all.
“How does it feel?” Surelin asked curiously.
“Great! I thought it’d be really heavy but it’s actually not bad at all.”
Her eyes scanned him up and down, then she lifted her hand to his shoulder to brush off some non-existent dust.
“You look good in it! Now, try the helmet on.”
“Uh…I’d rather not.”
She looked confused. “...Why?”
“I don’t like helmets. They restrict your vision and head motion. And they get really fucking uncomfortable after you’ve been wearing it for a while. Plus they don’t make a difference half the time anyway.”
Surelin was utterly unamused. “Gideon. That blow to your head in the sewers almost killed you. But if you’d been wearing a helmet you probably would’ve been just fine.”
“...Yeah, maybe,” he said abashedly.
“Everyone else is going to be wearing one tonight, including myself. Now put it on.”
He reached over for it. “Did you get plate armor for yourself?”
“Unfortunately, no. There wasn’t quite enough time for it. This may come as a surprise, but it’s much easier to find plate on short notice for someone big like you than it is for someone like me. You’ll just have to use your giant bulk to soak up all the damage for me.”
The helmet slipped on easily, and he buttoned the leather strap under his chin to hold it in place. Surelin gave him an approving nod.
“Good. But don’t think this means you can take unnecessary risks.”
“I won’t.”
She frowned at him. “I really mean it. You need to be cool and collected from now on. No matter what.”
“I will be.” He paused. “I feel kinda bad. I didn’t get you anything.”
Her head cocked to the side for a moment. “Hm. There is something you can do for me right now, though.”
“What is it?”
“You can pray with me.”
He was taken completely off guard. “...Oh. Uh, I don’t really…”
“Believe?” she asked dryly. “I know. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pray, right?”
Well…it’s the least I can do after this and everything else she’s done for me.
“Yeah, sure. Let’s do it.”
She smiled at him. “Go ahead and take your armor off, if you prefer. I imagine you'll be wearing it all night after this.”
He nodded, and quickly removed it all as she looked on. When he was ready, Surelin walked over to the hole in the wall and sank to her knees, facing him.
“Come here. Sit in front of me just like this.”
“Alright,” he replied, embarrassed. He didn’t have the faintest clue on the proper way to pray.
Once he was sitting in front of her, Surelin took both of his hands in hers. The calluses on her palms from sword training felt rough, but the rest of her hands were soft and smooth.
“Bow your head and shut your eyes.”
He did, then snuck a peek at her. Her head was bowed and hovering close to his face.
“Mother of all, hear our prayer. Guide us through our travails, and let us draw from your wisdom. Deliver us from the corruption that threatens to consume us. Teach us your patience, and lend us your infinite compassion.”
“Protect Gideon as he takes up arms against evil in your name. Look kindly upon him as he tries to keep his bad temper under control. Sustain him as he struggles with it.”
My bad temper?
“Is there anything you'd like to say?”
It took him a moment to realize that she was talking to him instead of about him.
“Oh, uh…yeah, I second everything you just said. But also help Surelin. She’s got a lot of hard stuff to do and could really use the backup.”
He heard her let out a quiet, amused scoff before she continued. “Thus we pray, in Her name.”
She released his hands and lifted her head, smiling. “There! That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“I guess not. I liked the part where we held hands. Oh, look.”
They both turned to look out at the city. Thousands of glowing sky lanterns were lifting above the building tops, slowly drifting upward into the night sky.
Surelin eagerly jumped to her feet. “Quick, we’re gonna miss it!”
“Is that why we’re up here?” Gideon asked as he joined her at the bench. She nodded quickly and opened the lit lantern, pressing the long match to its flame.
“Mhmm! Here, hold yours up for me.”
She lit his sky lantern, then her own, and together they walked back to the hole in the wall. They released their lanterns into the open air, looking on as they lazily drifted upwards.
Gideon watched as they hit a gust of wind far above the city and began to drift off to the west.
I wonder how many thousands of people are watching this with us right now, he thought. Is this going to be the last winter solstice I ever see?
He looked to Surelin, then impulsively reached down for her hand. She accepted it, and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
“You really think I have a bad temper?”
A wry smile crossed her face.
“...Well…guess you’re right.”
He watched as mirth entered her smile. “You do have some good qualities, though.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“...Huh. Now that you mention it, I can’t seem to recall any…”
A peal of delighted laughter erupted from her, drowning out his complaints as the stream of glowing sky lanterns continued to float up and away from the city.