Eldon leaned against one of the arches in front of the manor. He watched servants prepare their carriage for their departure. For the first time since they arrived here, his body didn't feel stiff. And he sighed as he imagined his bed in the barracks. But he also wondered how Leanne was. Eldon wished he could tell her about everything. She was going to ask him about so much, and he would have to lie through his teeth.
For her safety, he reminded himself.
"Good morning, Eldon," he heard Elouise's sweet voice from behind.
Eldon turned his head and smiled at her.
"I have an idea," she said. "Usually, this celebration is between the soldiers after the ceremony, but I thought it would be nice if, if we, well, if we..." she looked down at her hands, and roses colored her cheeks. "If we did something together the night of your knighting ceremony."
"Yes," he quickly answered without even considering what he was agreeing to.
Being alone with Elouise. At night. Away from any prying eyes. Where he could just sit and listen to her talk about anything for hours and mentally curse himself and his damn heart for the way he felt about her. It sounded perfect.
Elouise grinned up at him.
"... eventful, right?" Eldon heard Ivy ask. He and Elouise looked over, finding her walking with Henry.
Henry sighed. "Well, that is a better word for it." He then faced forward and beamed at them.
Ivy did the same. "Is anyone else just relieved to be going home?"
"Perhaps a bit too much, yes," Elouise answered. "I miss my own bedchamber, my garden, and my wonderful baker. I'm hoping we return to plenty of new treats to try."
"It's too bad we couldn't end this trip by seein' 'nother dragon," Eldon whispered, eyeing Ivy.
Ivy whined. "I know! I wonder where Luna is right now."
"But you get to go back to Clawdia."
Henry groaned. "That name..." And then his cousin pinched his forearm. "Ow! Ivy." He moved away from her and rubbed the spot.
"Do not judge my child's name and I will never judge yours," she said, raising her chin.
Eldon and Elouise laughed.
"Let's sit next to each other, Elouise," Ivy then said, rushing forward and taking her by the wrist.
As she was being dragged away, Elouise glanced at Eldon and Henry. "I will see you both during our first rest stop!" Then she hurried to catch up and walk alongside Ivy.
Eldon smiled as he watched her. Then he remembered yesterday and turned to Henry, frowning. "Got any idea where Haven is?"
Henry tensed at the mention of her name, and he shook his head. "I went to the tavern last night in search of her. She wasn't there, which did not surprise me. I have a feeling she will not be showing her face in the city any time soon... or at all."
"Yeah. Udolf really got the people hatin' her. Ain't worth the risk."
"She survived, though. I'm certain she is somewhere celebrating her victory."
Eldon didn't doubt that.
Then Henry added, "I hope you don't think we're on her side now because we saved her."
"I know." Eldon nodded. "I might never forgive her or think differently 'bout her, but she didn't deserve to die like that."
"Yes. Now it's over, though, and she is out of our lives."
Eldon snickered. "I hope she is. At least outta mine."
"Eldon, I believe it's time you face the truth." Henry narrowed his eyes at her. "Whatever happens to you or me happens to all of us. We are in this together now. Indefinitely."
Eldon scrunched up his face. "I don't remember agreein' to that." He and Henry stared at each other for a moment, and then they burst into laughter.
More seriously, Eldon said, "I don't mind that, actually."
"Neither do I."
"Alright, you two," Fayre spoke up, walking through the archway entrance.
She was followed by Sir Aaron whose arm was wrapped carefully and held up to his chest with a cloth around his neck. Although his misery was evident in his eyes, he smiled at them.
"Let's all get ourselves settled into our carriages," Fayre explained. "The faster we get out of here, the better." She turned just as Gidget approached. "Do you have everything, Gidget? Yours and Elouise's?"
Gidget nodded. "Yes! Checked twice and ensured everything was securely placed into the wagon!"
"Perfect. Let's go."
The three of them scurried to their carriages.
Once King Philip and Berney were outside, Henry and Eldon went with them.
Lord Udolf hovered near the entrance, watching them silently. If Eldon hadn't glanced over at him, Udolf probably wouldn't have said anything at all.
"Safe travels, everyone," Udolf spoke, waving at them.
Eldon blinked and looked down.
"Thank you, Lord Udolf," said King Philip. Not a hint of emotion in his voice.
"Feel free to return anytime."
Eldon side-eyed King Philip and watched his jaw clench. Instead of responding, King Philip just nodded and hurried to the carriages.
Eldon and Henry sat across from King Philip and Berney. Berney immediately started to complain about how uncomfortable the wooden bench was, even with its cushioning. Eldon just felt relieved he wouldn't have to deal with this long ride back to Starset alone. Henry would suffer along with him. As Henry had said, they were in this together now. That meant the pretty things, the bad things, and the Berney.
---
The following week, Dr. Rolfe finally got a proper look at Eldon's ankle and declared him well enough to resume his training. Eldon dreaded the next month with the captain, but he was sure glad he no longer had to pretend to limp everywhere.
His early mornings were spent with Elouise as they got back into the routine of their training. Five days out of the week, he rigorously trained with the captain with plenty of breaks in-between where he got to meet up with Booker and Annaliese. Aaron's recovery was speedy, allowing him to train Booker with ease. Annaliese bragged endlessly about her knight—a wonderful woman by the name of Colleen.
Evenings were spent with Elouise, Henry, Leanne, and Ivy. As expected, Leanne asked him many questions. Fortunately, she never suspected anything off. She just kept saying how happy she was to see them all again.
Ivy usually read books to them, or they'd go for long walks throughout the town. The walks were always filled with people dropping what they were doing to gawk at Elouise and Henry while Eldon, Leanne, and Ivy chuckled to each other about it.
One evening while Ivy and Leanne were absent due to Clawdia being ill, Eldon and Elouise took the opportunity to show Henry their abilities. Henry was most astonished by Elouise's teleportation and attempted make sense of it through logic until Elouise poked fun at him.
"Could you merely enjoy this instead of questioning every little thing about it?" she asked.
"I'm not questioning every little thing," Henry argued. "I simply cannot fathom how it's physically possible for a person to disappear in thin air and reappear elsewhere."
"Henry, it's magic."
"Yeah, kinda the point," Eldon added.
Henry huffed and crossed his arms. "Fair enough, I suppose."
They spent the rest of that evening beneath the ash tree, sharing theories about angels and I.C. until their eyelids became too heavy. They used the last bit of their energy to drag themselves off to their beds.
Life seemed kind of... normal, which was weird. But Eldon didn't complain. He knew it wouldn't last. He knew Arnold's threat still held true. Something would happen this gelid. Halcyon was barely going to start, though.
So, he continued waking with a smile every day despite dealing with captain for most of it. Still, he kept a positive outlook on things. He knew their peaceful days would stop soon, and Elouise would become serious about everything again.
For now, however, they were fine.
And he planned to cherish every second of it.