“So what happened then?”

Felden stared at Linara, leaning forward over his desk, as she recounted the events.

“They ran. We searched the inside of their headquarters and eventually found a tunnel, but the man we saw at the entrance was long gone. We found a few assistants and brought them back. They are being detained in your dungeons.” Despite his lack of preparation in other areas, Felden did have dungeons ready.

“Did you find Denham and his missing patrol?”

Linara swallowed. “Dead. From the look of things, they were being kept prisoner, but were executed before the leader fled. They were bound with their throats slit. It was my fault for delaying.”

“No.” Felden shook his head. “No, I can't blame you for this. You did more than I initially asked of you, and made a decision. I think it was the proper one to make. Take care of the wounded you know you have.” Linara clenched her teeth, but nodded. “Speaking of the wounded, how is your squire doing?”

“She needs time to recover.”

“But she will live.”

“Yes,” Linara nodded again. “I want to…ask a favor about that.”

“As I said before, you’ve done more than I ever asked or expected. I am in your debt.”

“I want you to take care of her here, until she recovers, without me. When she is able, give her the option to join your men. I think they would be glad to have her with them.”

“You are leaving, then?”

Another nod. “I am in no rush to reach my destination, but the more I think about it, the more I realize I do not entirely know what awaits me there. It is better if I face it alone.”

“I will make the arrangements. Again, you have exceeded expectations. If I thought there was any way for me to get you to stay here long term, I would make an offer, but I know you’d turn me down.”

Linara visited Sal the next morning. One of the rooms on the first floor had been converted into an infirmary for the wounded guards. Sal’s cot was in the corner, surrounded by makeshift curtains. Linara pushed through these and was greeted by the girl smiling up at her.

“You don’t look too bad.”

“They stitched me up yesterday. Lord Felden has some good doctors.”

“It’s his city now, right? Entirely? You won it for him.”

“I guess I did.” Linara shrugged. “Didn’t want to, but they struck first.”

Sal’s smile faltered. “I heard the others talking. Denham didn’t make it.”

“Sometimes we can’t save everyone. I’ve lost people before. Good friends. Family, even. I was worried I was going to lose you.”

Sal gave a little half smile. “Now you’ll be even later to get back to Olentor.”

“I need to talk to you about that.”

The realization was instant. Sal was too smart for her own good, it seemed. “You’re leaving me, aren’t you?”

“I’m going to leave tomorrow.” Linara reached out, patting Sal’s head. “Felden’s doctors will take care of you, until you are better. Once you are, you get to make a choice. Your own choice.”

“What do you mean?”

Linara grinned. “You’ll be offered a place here. In the guard. You don’t have to take it, though. You can do whatever you want. Go back to Bavmont and show off everything you learned. Go south. Follow after me, if you want. It’s up to you.”

“Don’t you have more to teach me?” Sal asked, trying to push Linara’s hand away.

“You survived multiple battles and defeated skilled opponents. You’re more than ready to go off on your own. You are very unique and you will learn as you see more, regardless of if I’m there or not.”

“Fine. I want you to promise me something, though. In exchange for abandoning me.”

“What it is?”

“When you see your prince - your king - don’t hold back. Show him the real you.”

Linara froze, letting Sal finally push Linara’s hand away and fix her hair. “You know, my people have a saying.”

“What is it?”

“Hatharen women take what they want. In terms of men, that is.”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “That’s very…specific.”

“It’s complicated. But, if I still want him, I won’t let anything stop me.”

“Really?”

Linara nodded. “Before, I was jealous. I didn’t want to share. It was…it was childish. He tried to tell me, but I ignored him. We could have worked things out, I think. So, I’ll do as you ask.”

“Good.”

From Celkeish, Linara walked east along the road, towards Olentor. At some point, not long after leaving the city, she passed out of the Independent Lands and into the territory of the kingdom, but the surroundings did not look any different. Grassy fields to the south and north. Just barely within her vision, to the north, was the mountain wall, slowly curving southward far to the east. The road would, eventually, take her to the city of Olentor itself, and southeast of that was Aesuthal. The former was more of a home to her than the latter. She could not imagine herself ever returning to the stronghold.

When she passed through a small village as she traveled the road, several of the residents spotted her and called out. She smiled and waved, but didn’t stop to rest.

A day and a half later, she came across a large town, where she did stop to rest for the night. The owner of the inn recognized her, refusing to take her money. “You’re Linara. Hero. Can fix things.”

Linara looked down at him in confusion as she leaned on the counter. “What do you mean? Is something happening?”

“The unification isn’t going well. Some of the people are angry about it. War in the south not helping, either. If whoever wins down there comes north, people are worried they will be sent to defend the southern border of Wellant.”

“Better to fight sooner than later, and together rather than separately.” Linara said, frowning.

“That’s what more level heads say, about that at least. But nobody denies there’s other parts that don’t feel fair.”

“How so?” She asked.

The man scratched his bald head. “Taxes have gone up and we all know the money is going to our neighbors. There’s a tax exemption if you can supply a certain amount of crops, but the deal isn’t fair, you end up giving away more than you save on the exemption. Trade was supposed to get better but the price of metal has gone up, and they have most of that. They will pay a premium for proper horses, but not everyone can meet the standards. It’s war preparation trade, but it’s harder on us than on them, for now at least. I figure it’ll turn around if things start happening, but there’s more and more thought that it won’t come to that and Wellant is just exploiting what’s happening to take advantage of us.”

“And what can I do about it?”

“You’re a legend, girl.” The man grinned. “It’s good luck to have you around. A Hatharen, and undefeated in duels? News that you’re back will spread fast.”

Linara just shrugged. “I want to visit some old friends in the capitol, nothing more.”

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The city of Olentor rose before Linara. In front of her, the lowest part of the city sat at the base of the hill, with more creeping up the slope. The castle sat on a plateau overlooking the rest of the city. A small part of her said it was a mistake coming back, that she was breaking a promise she made, both to another and to herself. But Yenra, Queen or not, did not hold her loyalty. The agreement did not specify her never coming back, only leaving her post, which Linara had done. Taking a deep breath, she walked forward, towards the outskirts of the city.

The others on the road had only gawked at her, but as she entered the streets of the city, people stopped what they were doing and pointed, some even shouting at her. It felt wrong. She had walked through the city before, but never been given this sort of treatment. Perhaps what the old man at the inn had said was more true than she thought.

The outskirts were the poorest parts of the city, furthest from the center and not even behind the first wall. As she approached the wide open gate and walked through, she entered the proper city, the bare shacks replaced by multi-storied houses. She followed the main street to a market, hearing the familiar sounds of the city around her. People haggled in front of stalls, but upon closer inspection, Linara saw that far less was being offered than she remembered. The people still bought and sold, but less goods changed hands, less were on display. Leaving the square, she walked past a blacksmith she remembered visiting a few times when Henry was busy. The shop was closed, and looked like it had been for some time.

“Grennel left to help his parents with their farm up north.” A voice said. Linara turned to see a young girl standing here. For a moment, she was reminded of Sal, due to the similar heights and hair color, but the girl looked far more fragile than her former student. “Didn’t have metal to work, so went to work for them.”

“Is this common?”

“Ya.” The girl nodded. “Farmin’ ain’t good pay, but pays better than smithin’ nothin’. That’s what me da says, at least.”

“What does your father do?”

“Woodworker. Angry all the time now since they got ‘im making stuff for wagons. He ‘ates wheels the most.”

Linara flipped the girl a circular bronze coin, tossing it to the girl. She nearly jumped as she realized what it was, barely managing to recover and snatch it out of the air. Linara continued up the road, towards the castle, frowning as she went.

After cresting the top of the hill, she finally had the full castle and surrounding grounds in her view. A wide stretch of empty ground lay between the edge of the plateau and the walls of the castle - the fairgrounds at times, training grounds at others, but with it as empty as it was now, Linara was reminded more of the other purpose. A killing field, filled with ancient tunnels and traps that could be primed in case of any danger. Were things truly so bad in the south? Taradira would-

Her brain stopped, the thought causing her to stand completely still, feeling cold. Taradira would win in the south. If the king she served demanded the north, would she lead his army this way? Against the independent lands? Against Wellant and Olentor? Linara imagined the giant walking through the ruins of the city below, black armor stained with the blood of her enemies. The people of Olentor thought of Linara as a hero, a legend. Taradira was that to Hatharen. Would the victorious southern kingdom truly turn their sights to the north, or were the northerners just paranoid? Linara could only hope it was the second.

Letting out a sigh, she crossed the empty field and approached the castle gate. A single guard outside stared at her, eyes wide. “L-Lady Linara!” She saluted. “Y-you’re back!”

“I am.” Linara said, smiling at the woman. “May I enter?”

“Of course!” She pushed open the small side door, allowing Linara to step through the switchback and pass behind the main gate without the massive construction needing to be moved.

Linara made her way to the throne room, ignoring servants and guards stopping what they were doing to gawk at her. As she got closer to the throne room, Vendel appeared in front of her, grabbing her arm. “What are you doing?” He asked, urgently.

“I thought you asked me to visit.” She said as she came to a stop.

“W-well, yes, but that was over a month ago. And you are marching to the throne room. Do you expect to request an official audience? Please, just-“

“I want to present myself to the king and queen properly. If I met with the king in private without my presence being officially known, how do you think the queen would respond?”

Vendel let out a low sound, almost like a growl, but nodded and let go of her. “Allow me to escort you, at the very least.”

“Of course.”

The two of them waited, just out of sight, listening to Senral deal with various mundane complaints until it was finally Linara’s turn. As she stepped into the room, the herald stared at her for several seconds before announcing her.

“Lady Linara of the Hatharen Stronghold of Aesuthal.”

Senral stood up from his throne, eyes wide as he stared down at her. Yenra, in the seat beside his, brought her hand up to her mouth, concealing the lower part of her expression, but her eyes glared at Linara. Rilren stood on the floor between her and the royals, his lips in a small smile.

“Your Royal Majesty.” Linara said, bowing down on the carpet. “I have come to beg your forgiveness for my sudden absence three years ago, and beg you to allow me to visit your city and catch up with some old friends.”

Silence. Linara kept her gaze on the floor in front of her. Nobody in the room made a sound. Various nobles standing off to the sides did not gossip or whisper to each other.

“Would old friends include me, Linara?” Senral asked, a humor in his voice. Linara tilted her head back upwards, seeing him sitting down again, smiling as he watched her.

“Only if your majesty wishes it.”

“His majesty does.” Senral said, standing up again. “Yenra, I wish to catch up with my old friend. May I leave the rest of today's audiences to you?”

The queen’s face was frozen as she stared at her husband, not a single muscle moving until she decided to talk. “Of course, husband.” She emphasized the last word, but Senral seemed not to notice, simply nodding at her before striding down the steps, grabbing Linara’s arm and lifting her to her feet.

“Come and tell me about your adventures.” He said, loudly, and guided her off to the side, through a door and back into a private room.

“What are you doing here, Linara?” He asked when they were alone.

Everything came back to her. Being this close to him, his face, his eyes, even his smell as he stood next to her, close enough that she could reach out and touch him. She had tried her best to avoid thinking about him, but she missed him. All the years they had been apart seemed to weigh down on her.

She wanted to smile and make a joke about coming back to visit her old friends. She couldn’t bring herself to do that, not when his lips were right in front of her. She reached out, but he was faster. She had barely placed a hand on the side of his head before he grabbed her, pulling her against him, pressing her dirt-stained armor against his clean royal clothes as he pulled her into an embrace, her lips finding his as they passionately kissed each other.

The two separated, panting. “We parted on far worse terms than these. What happened?” He asked, smiling. His smile was exactly how she remembered it.

“I want you.” She said. “I want you and if you’re too stupid to control yourself I’m not going to hold back to save you from it.” She said, and kissed him again. “Your wife will be furious.”

“I don’t care.” He responded. “I missed you. I missed you so much.”

“I’ll arrange a guest room for you.” Senral said, handing Linara her breastplate. The two of them had removed her armor once piece at a time, the process of fully stripping her taking too much time for either of them to complete without giving in to their urges, resulting in Linara taking off one or two pieces at a time. “Atheyara was given your old rooms.”

“I heard that the two of you were getting along well.”

“She doesn’t compare to you at all.”

“So you tried?”

He went pale. “I-“

“Don’t worry about it, Senral.” She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I under-“

“No.” He interrupted her, his expression suddenly serious. “You should talk to her, when you can. I-it’s complicated.”

“I believe you were the one saying that kings are allowed to have harems, before I left. This is just part of that.”

He looked down, then noticed the dirt on the front of his jacket. “I should fix this. You need to talk to her. We can have a further discussion later.”

“We can do more than just discuss.” Linara said, smiling. He grinned back, his serious expression breaking for a moment before he turned away, leaving the room.

Before the door closed, Rilren stepped through, closing the door behind him.

“Linara.”

“Rilren.”

“The two of you are certainly getting along well already, from the sounds of it.”

“You were listening.”

“I was standing guard.” The man said, keeping a straight face.

“Do you disapprove?”

He let out a sigh, dropping his stiff posture. “If the two of you going at it like that can break him out of his complete apathy, I am in no place to object. The queen has been making a lot of policies that he doesn’t even consider overly closely, let alone object to. There was a time when he seemed more alive, for several weeks, when he was talking to Atheyara. That did not last.”

There she was again. “What happened between the two of them?”

Rilren shrugged. “I don’t know, but it has been a month since she left her rooms. Only a select few servants are allowed in or not. Even the king rarely meets with her.”

“I’ll talk to her at some point.” Linara set her breastplate down on the floor, next to the other pieces of her armor. “Tell me about yourself, though. How have you been, since I’ve left?”

“Edmon has little interest in sparring with the knights, so at first I was lacking in a good partner. Eventually I ended up having the king himself grace my training field.”

“And how is his royal highness doing in terms of swordplay?”

Rilren grinned. “He might be able to beat you, I think. He managed to combine what you taught him and the methods of his new teacher very effectively. I feel almost redundant at times.”

Linara rolled her eyes, leaning back against the wall. “And how about you outside of your duty. Life goes on? Get married yet?”

“No.”

“I met a young girl who I thought would be quite enamored with you.”

“You know I’m not interested.” He replied, frowning at her. “Stop teasing me.”

“It’s fun, though.” She said, then sighed. “I suppose I should go and find a servant that will show me to my new room, and settle in. Then I can look forward to an eventual confrontation with her highness.” Linara picked up her armor, then paused. “How bad are things with Wellant, really? Things don’t look great, and I’ve heard there is unrest. Has she gone too far?”

His face twisted in an expression Linara couldn’t read. “The queen is doing what she thinks is best. It’s not my place to question policy. I’m just a soldier with a fancy title. My lands will only enter my direct administration once I retire.”

Linara rolled her eyes.