Geoffrey was standing by the stable door. His left arm was in a splint. Messenia knew how he got that injury. After Geoffrey had returned with lord Damien and learned the truth, Geoffrey had defied orders and rode into the outer forest to go look for Will. He had gotten himself hurt, trying to climb up to the inner forest and still refused to come back. Geoffrey had to be practically dragged back to the barracks. He was punished for disobedience and had been confined indoors for the past few weeks.

Messenia was kind of hoping she wouldn’t run into Geoffrey these past few days. Geoffrey was the only one who had openly confronted her about Will in the past. She knew that he disliked her before, and now he must absolutely hate her after what had happened. Messenia braced herself for whatever Geoffrey was about to say, but she also thought that she'd deserved whatever came her way.

Geoffrey walked closer to where Rowan and Messenia were standing. Messenia looked down and didn’t meet his eyes.

“I heard you gave Walter his much needed bath”, Geoffrey said.

Messenia looked up surprised at this. This was not what she’d expected. Geoffrey had a curious expression on his face as if he was studying her. Rowan had a smile on his face. Messenia gulped and managed to produce a small smile.

“Rowan, Where’s Leon?” Geoffrey asked turning to Rowan. Leon was Geoffrey’s horse.

“I had him taken out for a little bit of exercise since you haven’t been riding him,”Rowan replied.

“Ah.. I was really hoping to see him today”Geoffrey sounded disappointed.

“I see your confinement to the barracks is over”

“Yes, And I’ll have this thing off my hand in a couple days as well. I’ll make it up to Leon then” said Geoff with a big smile.

Messenia felt that she was intruding upon a private conversation and excused herself. As she turned to leave, Geoffrey said he was leaving as well and walked back to the manor house with her. They both walked in awkward silence for a bit while messenia was frantically searching for what she should say.

“Geoffrey, I’m sorry about Will. I’m so sorry that he is gone because of me”.

“No, that wasn’t your fault. That was your mother’s fault. And I don’t blame people for what their parents did or didn’t do. Will being gone, Is that the only thing that you’re sorry for?”

Geoffrey’s words had cut deep. She was glad that he didn’t blame her for her mother’s actions. But this further reminded Messenia of how she’d acted towards Will because of his mother Anya.

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Messenia didn’t have anything to say in her defense. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked to Geoffrey, hoping he’d understand how sorry she felt.

“I know that your mother had a big influence on your upbringing and the way you acted, but in the end, we are all responsible for our own actions. If you really want to make amends with people, reflect on your actions and the prejudices that led you down the wrong path. If you go through life thinking that you’re better than everyone by birth, you’ll end up being an insufferably cruel person just like your mother”.

Messenia nodded, these realizations had come to her and she’d been beating herself up over them ever since.

“It’s not too late for you Messenia. I see you’ve already taken some steps in the right direction. But you have to be careful not to fall back into old patterns”.

“No, that will never happen Geoffrey. I can finally see my mother for what she really is and what I truly was. I’m never going back to that”.

“Good”. Geoffrey had an encouraging smile on his face. Messenia couldn’t remember a time when they were comfortable in each other’s company. This was far from comfortable, but she had a feeling it would get better.

They talked a bit as they walked back to the manor house. Geoffrey wanted a play by play account of how she scalded Walter. But the memory was still a bit too fresh and painful for Messenia to dwell on it. Cara had almost gotten hurt because of her.

As they reached the courtyard, their attention was drawn to the road. There were three riders approaching, carrying the king’s banner. The knight in the lead was wearing a red cloak and his horse was also draped in red.

Geoffrey and Messenia looked at each other. They and everyone else knew that the presence of the rider in red carrying the king’s banner meant only one thing. The king was summoning all his lords and their men. The kingdom of Lorraine was at war once again. Eighteen years of peace had finally come to an end.

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The news spread through the house and the village like wildfire. The king had declared war against the kingdom of Surha to the east. The Surhans had been conducting raids in Lorraine’s eastern borders for weeks now and they weren’t planning to stop. The Surhan king had even refused to acknowledge the raids, further angering king Alfred. The king had finally called his banners.

This meant that Lord Damien had to gather up all his men and head to the capital. Most of the young men like Geoffrey were excited, while the veterans like Lord Damien and the Captain were much less so. For Messenia, this meant that her father would leave and she would be left alone with her mother. She wasn’t about to let this happen.

As Messenia marched into her father’s study, she had determined to convince her father to do three things. First, she would convince him to let her go with him to the capital. Second, for the duration of the war, she would stay with the Drungeon family in the capital and third, she was taking Rowan and his family with them. She would not leave them here with her mother in charge.

Lord Damien wasn’t too keen on the idea of taking his daughter with him. But he respected Messenia’s reasons and was proud of her for making such a decision. In the end, Damien agreed to all of Messenia’s demands.

Lady Milderd exploded at the dinner table that night when Lord Damien informed her of his decision. Milderd was really hoping to bring Messenia around and now she was going to be taken away from her. Milderd tried using tears and fury in equal measure, but to no avail. Her husband and daughter were determined. Lord Damien and Messenia were leaving and lady Milderd was to stay behind. That night Lady Milderd had to be carried to her room by the maids. She didn’t emerge from the room even when her husband and daughter rode away. Everything she ever loved had been taken away from her.