Iason's family lived in a nameless village in the hills of Valais. It consisted of no more than a handful of houses and lots of goats. She must have passed it numerous times on her way to Iolaus' family.
It was smaller than Dalós, but with the same calm and peaceful atmosphere. She loved it. And she loved the way Iason's eyes lit up at seeing his family home.
They had been staying with Iason's brother Dimitris and his wife Channah. They had an extra room available. Vara couldn't remember how many times Channah had apologized for their humble home, but she would never forget the look on the woman's face when she had found Vara tending to the goats that morning.
Channah stared at the scene wide-eyed and placed a hand over her mouth in shock. Vara was spreading out grain and greens for the animals. Pieces of straw were all across her hair, one of the goats had managed to snatch the hem of her dress and was happily chewing on it. The rest of the goats were impatiently pressing against her and each other trying to snatch the food from Vara's hands.
From a distance, Iason was watching it all amused.
Channah approached him, still looking shocked. "Iason! Do something! Her dress! But how she looks! Why are you smirking like that!"
Iason grinned at her. "Don't worry so much. I assure you, she is in her element. You should see her at home. You wouldn't know the difference between her and the servants." He watched fondly as Vara lifted one of the young goats in her arms and fed it a leaf of lettuce. With one free hand, she tugged her dress free from the teeth of another goat and scolded the animal.
Channah blinked stunned at her brother-in-law's words. "I didn't know ladies did that sort of thing."
Iason chuckled. "Only this one."
Vara had placed the animal she was holding down again and now walked over to the two of them. Her smile was filled with joy. "Good morning."
Iason shook his head amused and plucked a piece of straw from her hair. "What would the court say if they saw you now?"
Vara huffed. "What do I care about the court?"
Another chuckle sounded and Zinon, Iason's younger brother joined them. "Lady Vara," he smirked widely and made a bow, "queen of the pen."
Channah slapped his arm. "Show some respect!"
But Vara answered his smirk. She lifted the edges of her skirt high and made a deep curtsy. "My lord."
Zinon grinned and kissed the back of her hand. "You look lovely, my lady."
"Such flattery," Vara said amused.
"No flattery," Zinon denied, "I speak only the truth."
Channah rolled her eyes. "Such a charmer you are. Don't you have chores to do? I believe Dimitris mentioned a fence that needed repairing yesterday."
Zinon sighed heavily. "Why do you have to ruin my fun, dear sister?"
"Because if I didn't, your fun would last all day and no work would ever be done."
"I see not much has changed since I left," Iason commented dryly.
Vara laughed softly. "Let's go then, so your brother won't get scolded again. We should prepare for our visit to Valais anyway. They are expecting us."
Iason wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. "We will. But perhaps you should bathe first. The way you look now they might not let us in."
...
"We've traced him down." Octavius sat kneeled in front of his king. "He sought refuge with some of his friends, but the turned him over in fear of your judgement, my king. They did not want to lose land and title."
King Marcos folded his hands against his lips and held a thoughtful frown. "Has his father been notified?"
Octavius nodded. "Lord Matís claims he has no son," the soldier informed the king, "do as you see fit."
The king nodded. "Very well. Where is he?"
"We've placed him in a holding cell, Your Majesty."
King Marcos rose from his seat. "Take me to him. I want to hear what he has to say for himself." It was a delicate matter after all. Young Matís had once been a respectable courtier, but the things he had done in secret were not respectable at all. And with the recent proof that he was indeed responsible for the attack on Iason, the king was pushed into a difficult position. He was reluctant to banish the young man who knew too much of the royal court, and a weapon discarded would be picked up by the enemy in a heartbeat. He needed to hear him explain himself before he could make a decision.
Slowly the king descended the steps to the holding cells and waited for Octavius to open the door.
Inside the cell, a young man lifted his head, a defiant look in his eyes. When he saw who had visited him, he made a small bow. "Your Majesty."
King Marcos narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Felix."
...
Eurydice sat at her husband's bedside quietly and sad. The past few days he had taken a turn for the worse. His face was fallen in, his breath was raspy, and he was so, so tired.
Eurydice forced back her tears. For almost fifty years he had been at her side. Now she was going to lose him.
How could she bear it?
In the bed, Caius opened his eyes. He looked at his wife lovingly. Even after all these years, she was still beautiful. And so strong. He had always relied on her. What a formidable queen she had been. "Don't... cry... my love," he rasped, "it's been... a good... life."
Eurydice took his hand between both of hers and kissed it. The tears she had been holding back now fell freely.
"No... tears," Caius told her gently, "my strong... wife." He winced in pain. "Call them. It is... time."
...
Torcan slowly went through the series of movement of his training. It was still difficult for him to find sparring partners, which made it hard to improve his skills so he could perform his duties as Darius' bodyguard.
But he'd rather train alone than with half-hearted soldiers that didn't take him seriously.
Because of that, he jumped startled when his sword was blocked by another.
Darius lowered his weapon and nodded at Torcan. "So you let my wife fight your battles for you now?" He swung his sword again and Torcan blocked.
Torcan looked down. "That was not my intention."
Darius snorted. "Yes it was." Their swordplay continued for a while.
"Things aren't how they used to be, Torcan," Darius spoke after a while, "I am your king now."
"I know," Torcan said, "I apologize for forgetting myself. It will not happen again." He blocked another hit.
"We will always be at odds where that girl is involved," Darius continued, "I will accept that. I will let it go. She is married now and far away from court. She is no longer a threat to my sister. As long as it remains that way, I won't address it again. And neither will you. Do we have an agreement?" He countered a hit from Torcan.
Torcan inclined his head. "My king."
Darius nodded. "Good. Now give me a real fight. I can't have my guard go rusty."
A faint smile appeared on Torcan's lips. "As you wish my king."
The next hour the room was filled with only the sound of clashing swords.
...
"Mother," King Marcos entered the room and approached warily. When he had been called away from the holding cells, he had known time was short. One look at his father told him the old man was struggling to stay conscious.
Eurydice looked at her son with tear struck eye sand Marcos rushed to lock his arms around her.
"Oh my boy," Eurydice cried softly, "he is leaving us."
"Marcos." His name was no more than a breath on Caius' lips.
King Marcos walked over to the old man and sat down on the bedside. "I'm here, father." He took his father's hand.
Behind him, the door opened again and Cyrus stepped into the room. He joined his father at the bed. "Grandfather," Cyrus said quietly. It was hard to see him like this. His grandfather had always been his rock. The thought of losing him filled him with grief.
Caius' eyes settled on Cyrus. "My boy," he rasped.
Cyrus let out a shaky breath. He had been young when his mother died, even younger when his older brothers had died. Could he have done something different? Spend more time with his grandfather?
Now it was too late.
Caius held out his other hand to his grandson and Cyrus took it without hesitation. "Look... at you..." the old man rasped, "strong man... a ... father... prince of... Auros." A warm smile was on his face. "...proud..."
Cyrus bowed his head at his grandfather's praise. He didn't feel like he deserved it.
He grabbed his grandfather's hand between both of his and kissed it.
Caius gently freed his hand and placed it on Cyrus' head. Then his eyes flitted the room. "Where is... my Vara?"
Marcos cleared his throat. "She is at Boncini, father. A day's ride from here."
"I have sent out riders to notify her," Eurydice spoke softly, "but I fear they will be too late."
Caius closed his eyes tiredly. "I will wait..." He drew another raspy breath, "... for her..."
"My love," Eurydice choked on her tears.
"I must... wait."
...
"Now we need to fortify our own borders." Byron took a sip of the wine and looked at Darius with a serious expression. "Sending out soldiers to strengthen Salvire has turned Balor's eyes towards Lavos. We knew this would happen, but you need to understand, king Darius, Lavos shares a larger border with Balor than Tirèze. We cannot spare more men."
A deep frown settled on Darius' face. This was troublesome indeed. "What is your suggestion?" he asked.
Byron and Eloni had arrived at Tirzé that morning. Byron as a representative of king Elon, Eloni to aid her sister during the last term of her pregnancy. After a shared evening mean, the women had retreated and the men had gathered to discuss strategies.
Byron cleared his throat. "Turn to Boncini for men. They are closest to Salvire. Send our men back to defend their own border. If Balor manages to infiltrate, they'll have access to Tirèze's Northern border. We'll both be overrun."
Darius gritted his teeth. What Byron said made sense, but to turn to Boncini?! He knew whose estate that was. Turn to that girl for aid? He'd never live through it. She would never make him forget it.
"Balor is building a stronghold in Fis," Byron continued, "from there it is only a short way to Lavos. Our spies have notified us a large force is gathering there. They are preparing an attack."
Torcan leaned towards Darius discretely. "My king, his words make sense. Lavos does not have the military force we have. They have aided us when we asked. Now it is time for us to aid them."
Darius sighed and looked at Byron. "You understand I don't have men for you tomorrow. Even if I were to send a missive now, Boncini is two days away. It will take time for them to organize men too. What will you do in the meantime?"
"King Elon has sent all available men to the border," Byron answered, "we can only hope to withstand a direct attack for so long."
Darius finished his wine. "I need time to think. I will have an answer for you tomorrow."
...
Eloni smiled at her sister proudly. "Pregnancy becomes you, dear sister. You're glowing. I'm assuming you are happy here?"
Elora smiled brightly. "I am."
It made Eloni laugh and she winked at Elora. "So he is not so barbaric as you initially believed?"
A secretive smile lingered on Elora's lips. "Perhaps in some ways he is, but I found that I don't mind."
"I'll admit," Eloni said, "he is not the brute I took him for when he came to visit Tolais. He seems to have gained some respect for women." She smiled. "Elvi found herself a sweetheart."
Elora's eyes went wide. "When did this happen? Has she engaged herself?"
"Not yet," Eloni said, "but father allowed him to remain at court so they can get to know each other. He is a minstrel's assistant."
"Of course," Elora said amused, "that sounds just like Elvira. But what does father say? Minstrels travel. He'll need his assistant with him. Will father allow her to join them?"
"If it makes her happy," Eloni said, "you know Elvi. She likes nothing more than read. And she'll have every opportunity travelling. "
Elora laughed. "I suppose that's true. What about Eloise?"
Eloni sighed. "There have been suitors, but Eloise is picky. You know what she's like. I think it troubles mother more than it does Eloise."
"She'll be fine," Elora said while leaning back in her pillows. "One day she'll see a man and decide she wants him. And there will be no reasoning with her."
Eloni grinned. "Imagine that, Eloise being unreasonable."
They both laughed.