We prepared to travel back to Ylisstol the next morning. The world seemed strange and boring after the magic of the ball with Merton, and looking at myself in the mirror was unsettling. It was as if the plain woman in her uniform was an old friend who'd changed.
Earl Mathis and Lady Charlotte came out to see us off, but Lady Florence and her family remained inside. Merton seemed grateful. He was the first of us to board our carriage.
I lingered over my farewells a little longer, surprised to find that I was going to miss our hosts.
"Look after yourself," Earl Mathis said as the others boarded behind me. "When I next see you, I want you to be the picture of health. Understood?"
I smiled. "Yes, Your Lordship."
Lady Charlotte threw her arms around me. Startled, I did nothing for a moment. Then I hesitantly returned her hug.
"Thank you so much for everything. Take care." She lowered her voice. "And good luck with Commander Merton."
"Won't you and Cordelia give it a rest?"
She said nothing to that. She just smiled knowingly.
I boarded the carriage and waved to them as we began to move. Once we were trundling down the road and out of sight, I sat back again. Cordelia was grinning at me.
"What?" I said.
"You've changed. You'll be Miss Popular before we know it."
"Cordelia," I tutted. Then I grinned. "I never thought I'd see the day when I could call a noble lady a friend."
My gaze slid to Merton, but he was staring out the window with a frown. It was clear he hadn't heard a word.
My smile faded. It seemed his problems were going to eat him up all the way back to Ylisstol.
***
It only took us a few hours to reach the castle, but once we had arrived, the effects of the ball were already fading. I felt much more like my usual self as we strode into the entrance hall, and I snapped back into the role of a commander when Merton requested an audience with our rulers.
He and I went into the Great Hall, letting the servants take our bags to our rooms. We sat down opposite each other at the grand table and waited in silence. Merton clasped his hands together, his face a shade paler than usual. I crossed and uncrossed my legs, drummed my fingers, and sighed a lot.
"Calla, you're not helping," he said eventually.
I stopped shifting. "My apologies. I'm just impatient to get help for you. Are you nervous?"
He lowered his eyes to the table, a muscle in his jaw flickering.
"It will be fine," I said. "Trust me. Princess Robin can help."
"I hope so. But I wouldn't have to bother her at all had it not been for the mistakes I made with Gailee."
I shifted about again. My chair felt as unwelcoming as a rock today, and my eyes drifted to the empty space where Yukio usually sat.
I stood up and moved around the table, aware of Merton's heavy gaze following me. I didn't meet his eyes until I'd sat down beside him. "I've been thinking...did you really make as many mistakes as you claim?"
His eyebrows rose. "I'm sorry?"
"Was there a right answer for your situation? As far as you knew, if you'd stayed with Gailee, you would have given up everything you wanted. A domestic lifestyle would have drenched you in misery, and that only makes for bitter fathers. Had they lived, Gailee and your child would have been as unhappy as you. Surely she would have had a better life alone, struggling sometimes, then putting up with that kind of relationship."
"But being a single parent must be difficult."
"Neither option you were presented with was easy."
Merton's eyes hardened. "You're right about that. And perhaps you are right about the rest of it. Yet I will never be able to lift the guilt from my shoulders."
The doors began to open at the far end of the hall.
He glanced at my usual seat, then at me. "Aren't you going back before they come in?"
"I feel more comfortable over here. Unless you'd rather I was further away?"
"No. I think I'd rather you were here." His guarded expression melted.
Time came to a standstill as I stared at him.
Then he was suddenly on his feet, bowing his head as Prince Chrom and Princess Robin walked in. I shoved my chair back and stood with him.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Prince Chrom hesitate, his eyebrows lifting as he took in my new position. Then he settled at the head of the table, and Princess Robin took her seat to his right. Merton and I sat down again.
We made a quick study of one another. Princess Robin still looked thin and fragile, but there was more colour in her cheeks than when I'd last seen her. Prince Chrom took her hand and gave us a bemused smile. "Good morning. I trust you had a safe trip?"
"Yes, Your Grace," Merton said. "Earl Mathis was very welcoming, and the information we gathered at Arcton was exceedingly useful."
"I didn't quite manage to finish writing the report," I added. "May I have more time, Your Grace? I should be able to give it to you by tomorrow morning."
"Of course," Prince Chrom said. "But if your trip went according to plan, what is it you wish to talk about?"
Merton's expression turned uneasy, and he glanced at me. I gave him an encouraging smile. I thought I'd perfected them.
He turned back to the prince. "It did not go entirely according to plan, Your Grace. We did run into some trouble."
He began to explain, haltingly at first, everything that had happened from the moment we had arrived on Earl Mathis' estate: being latched onto by Lady Florence, the rats under my door, the ball, and the threats she had made to him. I chipped in when he seemed uncertain of how to go on, but by the end, he was speaking on his own. It was as if he had consigned himself to whatever reaction he would face.
Once he'd finished, he bowed his head. I kept my eyes fixed on Prince Chrom.
He was glowering, his eyes dark. "I wish to speak with Lady Florence myself."
Merton looked up. "Your Grace --"
"How dare she threaten any of my soldiers, much less my commander?" Prince Chrom clenched his fists on the table. "She will be brought to trial."
"Not yet," Princess Robin said. "Calla was right when she mentioned the need to gather evidence. We're discussing a noblewoman. We will need solid evidence to convict her -- not just the word of Merton against her own."
Prince Chrom frowned. "But how do we go about getting that evidence? The last time you gathered it for trial, you put yourself in grave danger."
"I promised I'd never do anything like that again."
"Yet you find it hard to keep your promises when pursuing justice for our people." His gaze moved to her shoulders. Her coat had slipped down, revealing bones that were close to the surface of her skin.
She blushed and yanked her coat back into place. "Let's not go through all I've done again now. My idea is much simpler this time, anyway." She looked at Merton. "All you need to do is write a letter to Lady Florence asking for confirmation of your arrangement. Coax her into sending a reply that can be viewed as a confession. Once we have the letter, we have the evidence. We can bring her to trial without backlash."
Prince Chrom reclined in his chair. "I suppose it sounds simple enough."
"It is. And perfectly safe."
***
When we had finished our meeting, Merton and I went our separate ways to go about our duties as usual. It wasn't until the afternoon that we met up again.
I spent a few hours writing the rest of the report in our study. The room had no windows, so I had to keep a candle burning in order to see clearly. By the time I was finished, the flame had almost reached the end of its wick.
Just as I was putting the parchment under my paperweight, the study door opened. Merton entered, his dark hair shining in the light. "Good afternoon, Calla. Are you still writing the report?"
"I've just finished." I steadied my voice. "Did you want me to help you with something?"
"I was hoping you would assist me in penning this letter to Lady Florence. If you wouldn't mind."
"You're brilliant with words. What use can I be?"
"A second set of ears." He sat down behind his desk and looked across at me. "And moral support."
"You were supposed to say, 'Calla, you shouldn't be so harsh on yourself. Your way with words is beautiful.'" I grinned and pushed the candle into the centre of our workspace, my muscles unwinding. Talking with him was so easy now.
He laughed. "There are some people who would not call blunt 'beautiful'. I rather think Lady Florence is one of them." His voice softened. "But you are not useless with your words. You are honest in a world where people use speech as smokescreens. That's something to be admired."
My mouth dried, and heat rose to my cheeks. "Such flattery is too late now. Save it to woo Lady Florence instead."
So he did, and I listened to what he wrote. I found no fault with it, and when he'd finished, we went to find a messenger together. The nearest one was outside, preparing to take parcels elsewhere.
When he had taken Merton's letter and gone, we walked back to the main building. As ever, our progress was slow due to my limp. Merton seemed impatient, and he drew ahead of me twice before realising that I was behind.
"It will be all right," I said when he returned to me the second time. "Lady Florence is certain to put her plan on paper so that she knows you are clear on your terms. Then we'll bring her to trial and have an easy conviction. This time in a month, you'll laugh about it."
He frowned. "I hope so. But, in any case, thank you for assissting me. I don't know how I would have approached Prince Chrom without your encouragement."
"If we consider Princess Lucina's timeline, it seems you wouldn't have."
"Then I may owe you for the rest of my life."
"Don't be silly. I -- ah!" My foot caught on a stone, and pain shot through my bad leg. I tumbled forward.
Merton stepped in front of me, his hands fastening around my waist. I grabbed his forearms to steady myself, and we straightened up together.
His eyes searched my face. "Are you all right?"
"Yes." I was shaking, but I didn't think that all of my adrenaline was from my near-miss. I couldn't look away from him.
We stayed still, faces close, holding each other's gazes. If I had fallen a little further -- or maybe if I just leaned forward... My eyes fell to his lips.
Stones crunched further down the path.
I jerked away from Merton, my heart slamming into my chest. Sara, one of my best pegasus knights, stomped around the corner. Yukio was hot on her heels, his cheeks red and his eyes sheepish. "Sara, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to come out like that --"
They caught sight of us at the same time and screeched to a halt. For a long moment, we all examined each other like startled rabbits.
Then Sara stuttered, "Hello, Commander," and awkwardly marched past. Yukio nodded at Merton and scampered off in the same direction.
We stared after them.
Determined to forget that they might have interrupted something, I cleared my throat. "If Yukio does manage to gain Sara's interest, she's going to eat him alive."
Merton's expression was unreadable. "Are all your knights as stubborn as you?"
"Most are. I train them well."
He looked in the direction Yukio had run. "Then I think I understand that feeling."