"Welcome to Garn," the general said quickly to his men, using his arm to motion to the small town around them, "We will stay here for no more than a night or two, I haven't decided which, so don't get too comfortable. We head out for Wallfront soon to begin our final push to the fortress. We'll stay longer there."
"Any specific goal in mind here?" Dregar asked Zayn.
"Rest," Zayn replied simply, "Whatever is ahead of us, we need to be even more prepared than before. The closer we get to the border, the more dangerous it gets on our part. I know none of us wish to see any more Tokens, but that doesn't mean that we should close our eyes to them. Either way, sleep. Eat. And be ready to leave on my command."
"Very well, sir," Dregar responded, as did all the other men. And then, the group dispersed. The only people left standing with the general were Iris, Kayde, and Shen, who didn't seem to know exactly where to go. Shen spoke up to Zayn. "Do you have any clue where to find an inn?"
The general looked back. "Not a clue," he said with a chuckle. "I was going to look around for one myself. Might do us some good to ask around."
Iris began looking for any sign of one, but had no luck in her search. What she did notice, though, was that this town reminded her a lot of home. It was small, and there were people bustling about everywhere in the streets. She assumed by how busy it looked that there was a marketplace nearby. She pointed to the people.
"Must be around here somewhere. I suggest going that way," she suggested.
"Shot in the dark?" Zayn asked.
"Not quite. I grew up in a village much like this, general," she said, "Look at all these people running about. You'll notice that some are carrying bags. What does that mean? That means there's a market nearby. And, if this place is anything like Eda, the market is generally where you will find everything. Even inns."
"That makes sense. Thanks, Ingred," Shen replied before anyone else could say anything and then began to ride past them towards the busy streets.
"Hopefully I'm right in my assumptions," Ingred mumbled to Kayde and Zayn, "I'd hate to send him on a wild goose chase."
Kayde smirked in her direction.
"I doubt finding an inn to sleep in is anything like chasing a wild goose," Kayde said with a slight grin.
Iris smiled at Kayde as well after making sure the general could not see her.
"Then you know nothing about inns, Kayde," she jested, "Or perhaps nothing about chasing wild geese. At least the geese are loud when they run."
The general couldn't help but to snort at this. Both Kayde and Iris snapped their heads to him as soon as they heard it. He was looking back at Iris with an expression of amused disbelief. His eyebrow was raised at her as if he were asking her why the hell she would say something like that. Iris quickly looked away from him. Why? Because she wanted to smile. Really smile. Laugh, even. His laugh, even though it wasn't heard much, was contagious.
"At least the inns stay still," the general pointed out. Iris composed herself and met his gaze once more.
"Shows what you know."
As Zayn and Iris continued to jest with each other, Kayde just watched them in silence. He observed them both with keen eyes. He saw that Iris's cheeks were flushed with color and noted that she seemed to be extremely happy speaking with General Zayn. Kayde didn't pretend that he didn't know why. He knew exactly why. The same exact reason the general returned her friendly banter with an equal amount of contentment. Kayde knew that the general had taken a liking to Iris.
And why shouldn't he? Kayde thought to himself. Iris is nothing short of amazing.
As much as Kayde wanted to cast his eyes away from the girl, he could not. And as much as he didn't want to admit it to himself, he cared for Iris too. She was fierce and beautiful. He wished he hadn't teased her so much in the beginning. Maybe then... it would have been different. But, he shrugged it off.
He still enjoyed seeing her happy, and if the guardian was being honest, the general deserved to be happy as well. Kayde knew that, even without knowing too terribly much about Zayn. War had an impact on anyone that experienced it... and to be inducted as general at his age had to be more than tasking. Kayde knew that, even though he was good at his weapon, he could never hope to lead thousands of men into battle... especially knowing that some would never return.
Kayde averted his eyes to the general, slightly raising an eyebrow at him. Zayn noticed the stare almost immediately. Once Zayn's focus was on Kayde, the Remorda Guardian quickly cast his eyes over to Iris, who was now fiddling with something in her satchel. Then, he raised his eyebrow even higher, as if to say I know your secret.
And then, Zayn simply heaved a big breath and shrugged a little in Kayde's direction. "Well, we should go find somewhere to tie our horses and store our belongings while the day's still young. Maybe you're wrong about the inns running around," he said, catching Iris's attention once more. She simply looked up at him for a couple of seconds.
"Good luck," was all she said.
With another chuckle, Zayn began heading for the village. Iris and Kayde followed after.
It wasn't long before they found what they were looking for. As they approached the inn, Kayde imagined it growing legs and running away from them. But, much like expected, it stayed in its place.
They tied their horses next to Shen's and went inside. It wasn't nearly as full as the one in Alabast, so this time, they each got their own rooms. Once they were assigned, Iris quietly made her way to hers. It was a smaller room, but she hardly cared. She just sat her things in the corner and made her way to the bed. It was still midday, so she wasn't planning on sleeping just yet. Instead, she just relaxed and succumbed to her thoughts.
Now that they were getting closer to their destination, she began to wonder what would happen after their mission was complete. What would happen to her? And for the next hour or so, she sat there pondering on the possibilities. Would they simply all go home? It didn't seem that simple... but what else was there? If they could truly kill the man that called himself Erodyne, would that end it?
She didn't know. She didn't know a lot about war, despite being a soldier for the a small while. Ah, she figured she would just have to wait and see. Plus, there was no guarantee that they were going to succeed. That small, niggling voice in her head was always reminding her of that. Not so long ago, that thought scared her. But now? She wasn't so afraid.
She knew that if she died now, it would at least be for a good cause. The only thing that she truly feared above all else was discovery. She, of all things, did not want to dishonor her father and aunt. If Eldia found her out, she would take the execution with as much grace as possible. But... she would not see her father shamed for her actions. Iris sighed, knowing that if nothing else, her father would live.
Maybe that would be enough.
Before she could think any more on the matter, she heard a knock at the door. With a small stretch, she went over and opened the door to find Zayn standing in front of her. She nodded in greeting and waited for him to speak. But... he did not.
"Is there something you needed, sir?" she pushed.
"Yes," he finally answered, "Got a minute? I'd like to talk to you."
"I've got a lot of minutes, considering my only order is to rest," she said, and stepped away from the opening, "Come in, then. Let's talk."
He did.
As soon as they were both seated, the general began picking through his things. Iris watched as he fiddled about in his bag for a few moments and then pulled something from it. He held it out to her. Iris was confused, but let him place whatever it was in her open palm. When it's weight hit her hands, she looked down to what appeared to be a medallion of sorts.
'What is this?" she asked, fingering the circular edges.
"It is called the Commander's symbol," he told her, "A symbol of importance that is given to soldiers of outstanding militarism and determination. I never thanked you for saving my life... twice, at least not properly. So... here is my thank you. I do not give these out often, know that. Wear it, and you will be respected anywhere you go. By men and women alike."
"General," Iris voice was the deepest he'd ever heard it, "I appreciate this, but only if I deserve to have such a thing."
"Ah, of course you do. I would not give it to you otherwise," he assured her with a slight smile, "Not to mention... I also never thanked you for getting my arrow down for me."
She had to think for a second to remember what he was talking about. The arrow on the top of the post.
"Maybe next time you should watch your aim so you don't lose it in the first place," she heckled, "I can't imagine what you were shooting at for your arrow to land all the way up there. A bird, perhaps?"
Zayn laughed a little. "No, not quite. And if we're getting technical, I don't have to watch my aim... do I? Now that I have someone who can go get all of them for me," he pointed out, "Right, Ingred? I could easily stick you to that job: arrow-fetching. And know that I'm not the best archer, as I'm sure you could tell."
"Or... you could go get your own damned arrows," she smirked a little, "like a normal general."
"What do you know about normal generals?" he asked, "This is your first war."
"I know nothing," she answered, "At least in that regard. I do know enough about fighting and war, though, to tell you that next time, you should probably leave the arrow shooting to Shen and Jehrth. I assume you had good reason to pick them as the bowmen of the group."
He nodded at this.
"Perhaps I'll take your suggestion, Gw- Ingred," he caught himself, hoping that she hadn't heard it. He watched her face. It didn't seem like she had. After the slip, Zayn stood up from his seat and grabbed his satchel. Iris followed his example and stood up as well, the Commander's symbol still in her hand.
"Is there anything else that you need, sir?" she asked. With a shake of his head, he began to turn away.
"Thank you, general... for this," she referred to the token he had given her, "It means a lot to be given such a thing. Perhaps I will be respected within my village after all, even with all the trouble with my former betrothed. And maybe my father will be proud of me as well. I hope to the gods that once I come home, he won't kill me for taking his place."
"I doubt that he would kill his son," the general replied, looking over his shoulder at the rogue, "And from what you have told me about him, you could probably outrun him."
Iris let out a short laugh. "That's a terrible joke."
"Sorry," he apologized. "If I'm being honest, jokes are hardly my strong suit. Anyhow, he'll be proud of you," he told her, "War injuries are something you can take pride in. It shows that he served his country well. Kind of like a scar. Things like that, to me, give a person great worth. When you go home, tell your father that I am grateful for the service he provided to Eldia."
Iris had never heard it put in such a way. But now that he had said it, she wondered if she would ever see things differently. The scars she had from some of the fights she had been in... she wore with pride. They may not be the most beautiful thing, but they showed strength. And Iris would rather be strong than beautiful, and she supposed the same could be said for her father.
"Thank you, general. I will make sure to tell him. Hopefully I will get the chance to go home and do so. So don't get me killed." That last like was another attempt at humor.
"We'll see," was all he said with a twitch of his lips. "But I'll leave you be. Don't stay up late tonight."
"Yes, sir."
With a small salute from Iris, Zayn walked back out of her door. After closing it behind him, the rogue walked back over to sit on the bed. This time, she was smiling as she sat there. Under her breath, she mumbled to herself, "Hopefully I can also outrun my aunt."