Once Lana caught her breath, she lowered her finger and brought her hand to her chest.

“I…” She took one more deep breath of calm. “Sorry about that display. I know Hector means well in his heart.”

Jon grimaced. He was just glad that there wouldn’t be anymore feuding for the time being.

“There’s a lot we have to talk about,” Lana continued, “but, I’m sure you’re tired. And, I’d rather do this when I don’t have as much to do. Plus, really Lauriel should be here, and-”

“Who’s Lauriel?” Jon asked. He was so curious he forgot to be polite and wait his turn.

Lana didn’t seem to mind at all, almost as if she anticipated the question.

“Lauriel is… chief officer of this chapter of the King’s Guard,” Lana explained wearily. “He should be the one inspecting all of the recruits, but… that honor falls down to me. Samson is first lieutenant and right-hand man to Lauriel, but he’s gone as well. As second lieutenant, the chain of command deems me to act as chief and commandant until then. and since I’m here, that means I’m interim leader until either he or Samson returns.”

The large amount of positions and lingo were starting to make his head spin, but he forced himself to stay focused on Lana.

“I want to be able to go chase after Lauriel, but we’re short-staffed, and there’s way too many things that have to get done here, and thus I cannot participate in the field. Theoretically, Hector should be acting as commandant at my side, but due to an excessive number of reasonings including…”

She held up a fist and pulled up a finger for each reason she listed.

“His necessitation of needing to be on the field… his propensity to blow off his duties… his immaturity… his distaste for the aristocratic and nepotistic nature of his position… his stubbornness… among other things…”

Lana looked up from her hands to see Jon still waiting patiently for her to speak.

She threw her palm against her forehead in disbelief. “I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.”

“No… no… where was I…”

There was a knock at the doorway. Mallory had already stepped inside the office but was using the wall to knock to get Lana’s attention.

“Hey Lana, sorry to interrupt,” Mallory said. “I think we’re ready to try again with Hector if you want. I think he’s calmed down.”

“Oh no, Mallory,” Lana said, “it’s fine. In fact, I was hoping to have a word with you anyways.”

“Me?” Mallory put his hand to his chest. “Not Hector and me, and me and Hector, and-”

“No, silly.” Lana was already reaching under the desk again. “This.”

She pulled out a folded envelope that looked stuffed to the brim and held it out to Mallory.

The small smile on Mallory’s face quickly disappeared. “Oh.”

“Come on, take it,” Lana said calmly.

“Yeah, but, I don’t think… is that an order?”

Lana raised her eyebrow. “It’s an order, Mallory.”

Mallory sighed. He walked up sullenly and took the letter from her hand.

“I assume you already know what this is,” Lana said.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” This time, Lana returned Mallory’s sour expression, showing that she understood. However, Jon was still lost. “Just crappy timing, you know?”

Lana nodded. “Well, first, we can finish our debrief with the-”

“What’s taking so long?” Hector walked back into the room casually, interrupting the ongoing conversation and drawing attention to himself. Jon wondered if this was the reason Hector was never used to knocking on doors.

“Hector,” Lana frowned. “I’m trying to have a serious-”

“No one cares about your self-appointed delusions of grandeur.” Hector gestured with his hand as if things were taking too long for him. “Hurry up and send us on the next mission.”

Lana’s hand folded into a fist ominously. Jon could see it shake from trying to focus all of her anger into it.

“Maybe you should take yourself just a tad bit more seriously.” The last word was a higher volume than the others, so much so that Mallory literally ran between Lana and Hector before they tried to soothe the situation.

“Hector’s just a little tired from the last mission,” Mallory said. “I think he’s a bit of a sour spot right now, you know? With the wedding and stuff, right?”

“Like she’d ever understand that,” Hector muttered loud enough for her to hear.

Lana’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I don’t think he meant it like that!” Mallory quickly said. “He just means he’s being forced into it!”

“Right…” Hector had already turned away from his sister, and so she just decided to let the matter go.

“Alright, Hector. If you’re that insistent, then your next mission is to-”

There was the sound of a gushing wind outside of the building, and Lana suddenly tensed up.

Jon tensed up once he saw Lana had done so. However, the sound was succeeded by the two girls outside cheering and giving each other a high five.

Tallow and Genevieve walked into the building.

“You should have seen it!" Genevieve said to Mallory. “We did, like, the biggest wind spell ever!”

“I told you it would be fine if you just thought about what you’re already doing,” Tallow said. She had a general smile on her face that surprised Jon, but he was happy just to see that it was there.

“Oh, yes, you’re Sabez’s ward, correct?” Lana asked once she saw Tallow.

“I guess that’s one way to put it,” Tallow said, arching a concerned eyebrow towards Lana, who was reaching underneath the desk again.

“Yes. I have something for you. From the Tamladir parliament.” Lana held out another envelope to Tallow. This one was incredibly clean-looking and had a red seal holding it closed.

All of Tallow’s skepticism melted from her face when she saw it. “Oh.”

“What is it?” Mallory asked.

“It’s…” Tallow turned over the envelope a few times. “This is pretty damn important.”

She took it and pried it open with her thumb.

“What’s it say?” Hector asked. “Is it from-”

“Sush-up, dumb face, I’m reading it now,” Tallow said, although it wasn’t in her usual scornful attitude. She seemed wary as she pulled out a paper that was neatly folded in three parts, opening it in order to read the interior.

They waited for her to comment, but she took her time, reading the paper again and again before she finally answered.

“Oh, fuck.” The curse was alarming to Jon, especially in the quiet way it had been delivered.

“And this one.” Lana presented a new envelope. This one was much more tattered and brown with color. “I’m sure this-”

“That's Sabez!” Tallow ran up and practically snatched it from Lana, who didn’t mind at all.

She ripped open that as well and began to read the contents.

“That one looks like it’s gonna fall apart,” Hector said.

“That’s ‘cause we don’t want people going through our… aw… fuck…”

Tallow tossed her head back this time.

“What is it?” Mallory repeated, asking for everybody. “Is it bad?”

Tallow looked back and forth between the two papers, one in each hand. She then gestured to the group with the clean letter.

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“This nice clean letter over here, is from the Vindhazi consulate, and it’s telling me to come back to the consulate immediately, and…”

She gestured with the letter from Sabez, still not taking her eyes from it. “And this one’s telling me to listen to it.”

There was a mild silence as Lana shuffled behind her desk until she picked up a large bag.

“Genevieve!” Lana called. “This is the next shipment. Can you deal with that?”

“Right away.” Genevieve saluted Lana. She then made a sad look at Tallow.

“So soon, huh?” she said softly. Genevieve then grabbed the shoulder bag, then rushed out of the door.

“Are you meeting Sabez again?” Mallory asked Tallow.

“No…” Tallow pressed her lips together before speaking again. “He’s not coming.”

“What do you mean?” Hector turned to his sister. “Screw the next mission. I’m taking Tallow back.”

“No can do, Hector,” Lana said. “I need you on another mission. You-”

“I said I’m not doing it,” Hector repeated. “I’m taking her back home.”

“You-”

“Eh!” Tallow raised her hand so that all the attention came back to her.

“Do your job, Hector,” Tallow said. “It’ll be fine. This was always coming. Just sooner rather than later, you know?”

She tapped Hector on the shoulder. “You do a good job. Don’t screw yourself up just because of little ol’ me.”

She stepped out of the room, regarding each of the two letters in her hand while she did. Jon watched her leave.

Tallow…

“This is ludicrous,” Hector said. “Really?”

“Hect, let’s hear her out,” Mallory said before Lana responded. “Come on. Next mission.”

Hector groaned. He turned back to Lana. Jon didn’t think he’d ever seen Hector so grumpy.

“Your mission…” Lana said, seemingly wary of another outburst from Hector, “is go to the Library of Mana in Allura and allow Mallory to assist wherever he can before taking him to the School of Mana in-”

“Fine, and then what?” Hector asked.

“And there he’ll take his new position as council of-”

“Hold, hold, hold it.” Hector shook his head. “You said, position.”

“Yeah, I did,” Lana said. “Was I unclear?”

“For how long?” Hector asked.

Lana looked as if she didn’t know how to answer. Hector turned to Mallory, who looked ashamed.

“How long?” Hector repeated sternly, this time in Mallory’s direction.

“It’s a position, Hector,” Mallory said quietly, almost to the point of whispering. “So, like… however long they-”

“No.”

Lana got another look of disappointment on her face. Jon was surprised that Lana never seemed to be used to this from Hector, especially because Jon had learned to adapt to it early on.

“He can’t take a new position now,” Hector exclaimed. “He needs to be there for the wedding so that he can officiate! Then he needs to be there with me at the castle as my steward and-”

“Hector,” Lana said solemnly.

“No, sorry, vizard.” Hector corrected. “Fine. It’s a stupid term. It’s advisor, and mana doesn't change that, but-”

“Hector.”

“And then we need him for the King’s-”

“Hector.” This time, it was Mallory who called his name. “That’s it, bro. Game’s done.”

Jon watched the shock slowly wash over Hector’s face.

“I… no… you… you!” Hector pointed at Lana, who was clearly insulted.

“Me, what?” Lana demanded.

“What type of sick game are you playing?” Hector asked. “Sending away all my friends like this?”

“Friends?” Lana asked. “Hector, what are you talking about?”

She sighed. “You need to grow up. You need to learn to walk on your own two feet for once. Mallory can’t be following you around cleaning up your messes for you everywhere you go. And neither can anyone else.”

She gestured outwardly. “These are your co-workers, Hector. Everyone’s got their own jobs and lives to be concerned about instead of having to worry about you. Even Mallory-”

“Me and Mallory do good work for the King’s Guard!” Hector responded. Lana however, wasn’t deterred.

“You’re not doing good work,” Lana said, “You’re dragging him down. He can’t reach his full potential if he’s always having to look out for you! Heck, no one should be having to do that for you, Hector. It’s embarrassing. The world doesn’t revolve around you-”

“Actually…” Mallory finally managed to cut in for once between the back and forth. “Hector is gonna be King…”

“That’s not the point,” Lana said. “You’re gonna be in charge of trying to hold this realm together. The people here aren’t your caretakers nor your playthings. They’re here to do their job. And besides, Mallory’s not even your friend. He’s your-”

Jon could barely process what happened next. He heard what seemed to be the ignition of a fire spell behind him, and was prepared for one of Hector’s spells.

For better or for worse, he expected to see a wave of fire brushing over Lana in a second. Instead, Jon was blinded by a split-second explosion of light.

“Ha!” Lana’s yell was strong enough to pierce through the sounds of flames tearing through the air.

Jon saw that Lana was now standing with one foot on top of the desk and leaning forward with her fist stretched out in front of her. She was breathing hard, and stacks of papers were floating around in all directions.

Jon made a quick turn over his shoulder. Mallory had his hands pulled back in fear.

Hector wasn't even in the room anymore.

Lana soon noticed the papers flooring alongside her head. Her stern expression quickly became one of panic.

“No!” She squealed. ‘No, no, no, no…”

She dropped onto the table and began to grab the papers that were already on the floor.

“I can help…” Mallory started to kneel down and reach.

“No!” Lana pulled back up momentarily, stopping to collect papers. She spoke rapidly.

“You need to go check on my brother. Please check up on him. Make sure he’s… that I didn’t…”

Mallory nodded. “Alright.”

“Do you…” Lana looked up with concern. “Are you-”

“Nah,” Mallory said. “I should have been the one to tell him.”

“I tried…” Lana shook her head. ‘I tried. I tried to make sure he was with you, I-”

Mallory put a hand on Lana’s shoulder. “Breathe.”

She took a breath and nodded. “Yes. Yes. Please check up on my brother.”

Mallory nodded and walked out of the room.

Now it was just Lana and Jon again. Lana ignored him and began to rush after the papers.

Jon began to help as well.

“No, no, Jon, it’s okay,” Lana said breathily. “These papers, they’re important. They’re special, they’re…”

Jon had been helping people long enough to know that when they said it was okay, they might have needed help anyway.

Lana reached and grabbed the second piece of paper Jon was about to add to his pile.

“They're numbered,” she said to him.

Jon looked at the corner of the paper. There was an incredibly curvy instance of “87” on it as if it had been drawn on.”

“They don’t number the stupid things,” Lana muttered. “So, I have to make sure when I go through that I… I…”

She stopped collecting papers again. “I failed, Jon. This was supposed to be professional, but then, it just turned into a mess, and-”

“It’s okay,” Jon said.

“No,” Lana shook her head. “It’s not okay. My father can’t keep going around trying to make sure everyone is appeased. And Hector is being thrust into this job that I don’t think he’s ready for, and…”

She looked at Jon, defeated. “Hector’s not incapable of the job. I know he can do it well. He’s just not ready, and I don’t know what it’s gonna do to him. I was supposed to make sure he was ready for the job, and I failed, Hector is just… just… He hates me…”

Jon felt like he was about to cry, but the tears weren’t his.

“I thought it would have been worth it if we could pull this off… but… both he and Macy hate me so much, my own brother and sister… and now you know… what if everyone knows… and I…”

Jon saw that Lana was finally about to have tears of her own, and he didn’t want her to get her papers wet, and so he pointed to them.

“Oh, right.” Lana sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Right. Thank you, Jon. Your wisdom surpasses mine in this moment of weakness.”

Jon didn’t mean all of that, but Lana continued to collect papers, and he did too. Soon, the entirety of the stack was split between them. Jon had made sure that the papers were at least in order, even if there were pages that were missing.

They kept collecting papers until the entirety of the stack was split between the two of them. Jon had made sure that the papers were at least in order, even if there were tons of numbers missing.

“This was so unbecoming for me,” Lana said. “But, that’s okay. Jon, I’m sorry that your introduction was so short, but I’ll make sure to have a proper ceremony when it comes time. Until then, you’re officially a part of the King’s Guard.”

Jon nodded.

They put the papers on the desk, and Lana began shuffling them in order.

“For now, I want you to escort Hector and Mallory through their mission until Mallory is secured. When you come back, there'll be a little bit more for us to do until Hector’s coronation. I’ll make sure that you’re compensated for this job like any other.”

Jon didn’t really care about the payment, but having the payment meant that it was a job, so he was happy that it was still present.

“Should I just send it all to your family?” Lana asked. “It may be difficult, given the circumstances, but-”

“Yes,” Jon answered before he heard the part about difficult circumstances. Lana moved on before he could ask about it.

“Okay. You already have back pay for the two previous jobs you’ve done before. I’ll just take care of everything with your father hopefully by then.”

Dad.

“We’re having trouble keeping the gems charged,” Lana said. “So, I’ll hopefully be able to iron out that issue so that we have stronger communication between us. Once I get some… free time.”

“Yeah.” Jon wasn’t in a rush to speak to his family. He knew when the time came, he would return home. Just like when he would see Mercy again.

“Are you sure you don’t want a longer break?” Lana said. “You’ve done so much in a short amount of time.”

Jon shook his head. He needed to stay with his friends and keep busy. He didn’t want to become as idle as he was on the farm or in the castle ever again.

“Okay. I appreciate your commitment to the security of the realms. Well met, Jon.”

She then bowed her head down to the papers and started to write carefully again.

Jon bowed his head then started to walk out.

“And Jon.”

Jon turned back to Lana.

“Keep an eye out on my brother, would you? I mean not like-”

“Yeah.” Jon left before Lana could second guess herself.