The trip back home was long and silent. He had felt lonely on the trip to Thaktall, but now he just felt empty. That coupled with the complete silence of the moving group, left him far too much time to think. To accept what he had done and hate himself for it. Even if he hadn’t known what the councilors were planning, he gave them the power to do what they did. Pushing the blame onto the councilors wasn’t fair, and he considered his own role in this. What else would he need to do in this war? Could he even keep going? It was a serious concern and one that had been building steadily.

His two knights had been extra protective after Pali’s death and the recent situation. Their overbearing attitudes had made it difficult to have a normal conversation. They would hopefully relax after returning to Elpis, though he understood why they were so tense. Pali was widely considered to be near invincible, and he had just died during an operation that was supposed to be mostly harmless. Even now, he could see them hovering closely around the carriage. They rode on mounts and looked like the perfect knights. It was the first time they acted so strict, and he was reminded of Pali.

The only person he felt comfortable talking with was Stella. Thankfully, they had both been more than a little eager to talk and spoke more often on the return trip. Stella often talked about his family, and about random things she had been working on. He could tell that she was attempting to distract him, and he tried to let it happen. However, every break opened the pathways for other more vivid images to ruin his thoughts. Still, he was looking forward to finally seeing her again. Hopefully, spending some actual time with his family would help as well.

There wasn’t much longer too, as they were only a few hours away now. He stared down the road as best as he could, trying to avoid looking back at Councilor Janette. Her expression had shifted since the battle. Her eyebrows narrowed and her sight grew distant regularly. She was obviously thinking about a lot of things, and probably trying to figure out how to deal with Pali’s death. From Stella, he knew that almost no one knew of Pali’s death yet, and he wondered how Janette would share the information.

The ride continued in silence, and his gaze never fell. This time he noticed every bump the carriage hit, and the shake of the carriage bothered him this time around. He was able to notice more and felt bothered by a dozen more things on their return trip. There was only one thing he wanted to see, and he only relaxed when he saw the walls of Elpis come into sight. He slumped into the cushion, realizing that he had been uncomfortable in it. The carriage had changed from luxurious and large to small and suffocating.

“We need to talk.”

Janette’s words surprised him, and he flinched a little as she tapped him on the arm. It was only to get his attention, but he understood just how dangerous Janette was now. He nodded stiffly, his neck cracking with the gesture. He didn’t trust himself to reply calmly and settled on a simple gesture. She let out a long sigh before speaking.

“You don’t need to be so frightened. Everything I do is for the defense of Elpis. You saw one of Larkin’s new monsters. A single one. It killed Pali without trying and would’ve done the same to us. Imagine a town filled with them. Destroying the place was necessary.”

“What about the non-combatants? I saw them!”

Wilt shot back, more automatically than with any prior consideration. They were the words he had kept hidden during the trip. He sounded angry, and the words made it sound like he was blaming her. She had given him the opportunity to speak, and he let his tongue slip. He didn’t mean to make it sound so much like a challenge, but he didn’t try apologizing either. It was the truth, and he wanted to know.

“It was necessary! Everyone there was part of Larkin, Mercy is something we can only consider once the war is over!”

Her conviction was mixed into her words, and there was a fervor in her eyes that he could not match. Nor did he want too, and he responded with as much.

“That’s just an excuse! I won’t do something like that again.”

His voice rose and he yelled loud enough that he was concerned that others would be able to hear him. He turned to look out the carriage with some worry, but none seemed to have noticed anything. Janette tapped some lines of chalk, drawing his attention to it. Ignoring the obvious gesture, he glared at Janette.

“We can talk freely, and I’m sorry for putting you through that. I never expected you to understand what people like Pali and I would be willing to do. Nor did I ever want to make you do something like that. You and Stella are part of the next generation. Kids like you will become the leaders after this war ends. However, you can’t stop now. Thaktall was a mess, and we lost Pali. We need you to fill the gap, even if only to protect Elpis. Are you willing to do that much? If not, we might need to make some sacrifices, but the decision is ultimately yours.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Her tone had shifted into something closer to what he remembered in the past, and he found himself listening attentively. Her implication of sacrifices made him consider what she meant but had an idea of the scale she was looking at. Running away wasn’t a real option and acting as a protector for Elpis sounded like something he was willing to do.

“I will protect Elpis, but what do you mean about replacing Pali. I can’t, won’t do what he did.”

While protecting his home sounded fine, he didn’t want to become the next Pali. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the responsibility, it was that he didn’t have the same conviction as the man. Taking that position would be too much for him.

“I’m glad to hear you are willing to do that much. I didn’t mean you would be replacing Pali. You might have the strength for it, but you lack his disposition. No, I want you to take his place in name and power alone. The position was always meant for you, but I don’t need an answer right away. Nor should you give me one. It is something you will need to consider carefully, and I trust you will give it some consideration at the very least.”

She spoke in her teaching voice, and he struggled to come up with a response. He knew that any response he came up with now would only seem like a rushed decision. Rather than trying to come up with a thoughtful response, he instead chose to just nod at her.

An awkward silence filled the carriage again, but thankfully it didn’t last long. They arrived at the city walls a few minutes after their conversation ended, and he practically ran out. His hands slapped against the door loudly, as he pushed it open forcibly. Sadly, he didn’t get to leave in complete silence.

“Keep quiet about what happened. The council will figure out how to tell the people of what happened.”

Wilt didn’t respond stepping out of the carriage and rushing towards the main gate. A warm wind brushed against him, and the sun bore down on him forcefully. Compared to the freezing snow of the mountains, he was sweating from just standing outside now. The sunlight bathed over the growing crowd behind the main gates, but he was able to see his family.

It wasn’t hard to spot his family and he noticed Stella standing along with them. They were one of the few people separated from the rest of the crowd, and he saw them all standing together. Stella would probably go and speak with Janette, but he would get to speak to her later. He just wanted to see his family again. Feeling a little like a child finding his lost parents, he felt tears streaming down his face. They came out quickly, an uncountable stream that he didn’t really care about. He could say anything, and

Maybe, he should have cared more about his image and the other people who had crowded the streets upon their arrival, but he only saw his family. Like a small child, he walked over to his mother, head down with shame. Even if she didn’t know what he had done yet, she pulled him into a hug immediately. Wilt stood there resting his head on his mother’s shoulder. He was taller than her, so he had to bend down awkwardly to actually rest his head on her. He didn’t care and just pressed closer to his mom.

Even if the trip had only been a little over a week total, he felt more homesick now than during his thirty days at the academy. More than that, he just needed to be with them. His parent's comforting presence did a lot to let his tension and let some of the horrible memories fall away. They would come back, but his joy at being with his family was enough to push it away.

Nothing was said, and the carriages and troops marched past him. The crowd was loudly cheering, but he only heard his mother’s soothing words. Everything seemed to go quiet as she whispered the words gently.

“Welcome home.”

The small phrase made him feel a lot better, and he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t anything special, but it was exactly what he wanted to hear. A simple two words made him feel better than anything anyone could’ve said to him.

The carriages went deeper into the city, and the crowd followed them. After crying for a few minutes, Wilt went with his family, heading to their house. He was a little surprised to notice that Stella stuck with him, and she grabbed his arm in a comforting manner as they walked. His sister grabbed his other hand and was telling him about all of the fun things she had done while he was away. He listened happily asking about the occasional store or food item. It sounded like she had spent a lot of time with Stella.

He enjoyed hearing things from his sister’s perspective, and he eagerly promised to take her to some of those places again. She was happy enough with that and started coming up with things she wanted to buy. He couldn’t help but smile a little as his sister mentioned things that were worth more than anything he owned. Well, he guessed that wasn’t true anymore as the communication devices had earned him a fortune. He grasped his sister’s hand more tightly and pulled her harder. She moved with his swinging arm, half skipping as she walked. It was how he had walked with her before going to the institute. Thinking about the institute, he thought of something that she would enjoy and smiled brightly at her.

“You know what, I think I have something better in mind than a store.”

His sister would like the Terrasix. Well, he at least felt like she would appreciate it. She tried to pry out the surprise from him, but he kept his mouth shut. Finally, they entered his house, and he smelled the freshly made food and his smile grew a bit bigger as he relaxed in the unchanging sight of his home.