To Love, Once Again

Chapter 22

Icaros returns with a bow, holding a pot of hot water, files clamped under his arm. What a strange sight, to see the Captain of the Guards holding a pot in the King's chambers. He sets it down on the desk, bows, and addresses his King.

Sera gently pushes Lucien to sit on a nearby cream-white chaise. His thick red hair needs to be tied back. It's a good thing Sera's one of those girls who always has a hair band around her wrist. Softly gathering the red strands that lay around his neck, she ties it behind him in a low ponytail. Her fingers itched to braid this glorious hair. What is it with the low maintenance men who have such great hair? For Sera to have great hair like this, she needed to oil and comb it every night, and make sure to blow dry it to boot. Lucien looked beautiful with his hair all swept back too. He was swoon-worthy in any hairstyle, she thought inwardly.

"Sire, shall I give you the reports you requested now?"

Sera moves quietly, cutting away all the old bandages and cleaning the wounds with hot water.

"Give me the brief on Dorne, and leave the rest for me too look through later."

The two men talked, completely ignoring Sera who hunkers down and begins to lightly dab the alcohol on Lucien's wounds. Not even a wince or groan comes out of him.

Icaros begins his rough briefing on Dorne's background. Somehow, Sera feels like Icaros has done this before, with the way he so smoothly recited the briefing. Was Lucien doing this for her? No, she shouldn't delude herself like that. Lucien was working, and he was being effcient by having her fix him up at the same time.

Icaros' briefing went like this:

The background check didn't turn up much.

Dorne, no last name, as was common for bastard children, did have the looks to be his younger brother. He was the result of what he claimed was the old King's dalliance with a traveling minstrel's daughter. However, there was no information regarding his upbringing, where his family was, what he'd been doing before he showed up.

The only information they were able to confirm from Dorne himself and others, was that Dorne was also a former soldier under Lucien's command. They'd fought together in the Great War.

Now, Lucien was a commander during the Great War, and he knew the face of every man in his regiment. Lucien was sure that he'd never met Dorne before at all.

The fact that no one knew precisely where exactly he came from was disconcerting. Lucien furrowed his brows. Sera immediately pauses her work from sowing up a large gash on his arm.

"Are you all right?" He nods, and waves at Icaros with his free hand to continue.

Dorne was still a new face in the castle, popping up to claim his inheritance right after the King's marriage was announced. Dorne's current activities were training, eating, and sleeping. There was the possibility he had magic, but was yet unconfirmed.

"Sire, I'll leave the other reports here" Icaros ends his report on Dorne, and gives a crisp salute to Lucien. The red captain's mantle whirls from around his shoulders as he exits the room.

Lucien and Sera are alone in the room.

They both watch the needle as it swiftly and surely knits Lucien's flesh together.

After a long period of silence, Sera speaks in a low voice.

"Please, be careful during the challenge.."

She knew she couldn't dissuade Lucien from accepting the challenge. It would be wrong for her to tell him to break his word when the challenge was set. The only thing she could do, was ask him to be careful. Ask, and keep her hand steady, to do her best to fix Lucien up so that he could fight in good condition.

As a small child growing up in a small town, where everyone keeps their doors unlocked, she was used to a slow, peaceful lifestyle. After moving to the city as a teen with her family, Sera lived a comfortable life. The crime rate was low, and streets were safe enough for girls to say out late. The only violence she knew came from the news with the occasional murder/accident/etc..

In comparison, this was a world where people still fought with swords and shields. Yes, there was magic, but that was rare. Everyone else was just struggling to survive. Order was achieved through a strong caste system. Convenience wise, there were no flushing toilets, no stoves, no electricity. Women never traveled alone, often settling down right after maturing.

To her, it seemed barbaric in the beginning. She tried to change things, to match with the ideals she believed in. Her attempts of making the women more outspoken, to take up roles as messengers and horse trainers during the Great War was a complete failure. That experience taught her to listen first to the voices of the people, and adjust according to what they were comfortable with.

As she got to know the people, saw how they lived, and became one of them, she came to appreciate the culture of Thornmere. There were things she couldn't accept or agree with, but she would do her best to live with. Things like the violence. Most issues between individuals were solved through duels. And the way women were treated. Seeing only women who stayed in their homes to watch after their children broke her heart. There must be some women among these mothers who longed for something more, like to become a scholar, or even a knight. Her understanding was that women were viewed in Thornmere not as equals, but inferiors to men.

To them, that wasn't true. Women were just as important, but they operated in a different role, like the legend where men and women were two halves to fit a perfect whole. The maids and noblewomen she talked to about this would never understand, giving her a blank look when she asked them if they ever wanted to be anything beyond being a wife or a mother.

There was a clear line between male and female roles. Women were wives and mothers first before their identity as themselves.

That was their culture. It meant something to the people. So she would try to respect it.

She would also respect the challenge, even if she thought dueling was an outdated and savage way to solve a problem. This was their way.

All Sera could do was hope, and do her part. So that one day, like tapping her way forward in the dark with a cane, she can discover a way that respected their culture but also incorporated the core values she believed in.

But that's something far into the future.

Right now, she felt restless and worried. She believed in Lucien, but with the way Dorne readily drew his sword at Lucien in the Great Hall.... he would try something. She was sure of it.