Roman's brow furrowed as he cocked his head to the side. "Of course I know her." He glanced around at their surprised faces. "What?"

"You never told us you knew the woman in charge of the Militia," Noelle said, stacking her hands on her hips. 

"You never asked. You never asked me anything except how I knew Lee." Roman glanced back at Helena. "Lady Helena - "

"Was his mother's employer," Helena finished with a soft smile. "In Osha, before everything went south with the royals. Pauline worked for me in the palace where I lived as Tarvril's mistress."

Chuck, one of the men they'd saved along with Abigail, snorted, his smile faltering when Helena turned her attention on him. 

"I was younger then," she said with an arched brow. "I've dealt with my fair share of stress in the years since Tarvril was murdered. Besides," her eyes glittered as she smirked over at Finny, "some men like an older woman."

"You lied to us," Noelle snapped, glaring at Roman. 

"When did I lie?" Roman asked, lips pursing. "We've been traveling together for ages and you never once asked me more about myself than that one time in the woods. You didn't ask me about how my mother died after we ran into Lee. You didn't ask me what happened to my father. The only thing you ever cared about was how I could be useful to you. I'm sorry, Noelle, if I've disappointed you."

Noelle opened her mouth, closed it again, and turned to Phoenix. Phoenix focused on Roman. She didn't need any of her giftings to see the hurt in his eyes. Had she ever really taken the time to learn anything about him? To find out where he came from?

No. While she hid herself, she blocked out others - something Eric had grown to be quite adept at.

She didn't want to be like her brother. Not that way.

"You should have told us," Maverick said, his voice quiet as he looked at Roman. "You should have told us everything."

Roman's expression shifted from hurt to shame, and he dropped his gaze, nodding. Helena watched the exchange, her curiosity palpable. 

"You defend yourself to her, but not him?" She gestured from Noelle to Maverick. "I know you to be respectful, Roman, but this reaction..." Helena stepped past Roman, her eyes on Maverick. "This denotes, dare I say, deference?"

Maverick said nothing, watching Helena as she drew closer. The older woman reached up stopping her hand just an inch away from his face, her eyes fixated on his.

"I can see it. You have the Tremaine brow, the eyes. You must be him."

Over Helena's shoulder, Finny rolled her eyes. "Stop the dramatics, of course it's him. Did I not say when I left 'I'm going to meet Maverick and bring him back'?  You know exactly who he is." 

Helena dropped her hand, shooting a glare over at Finny. "I knew one of them was him, but I didn't know which."

"Please - the giant is blond. Obviously not a Tremaine." Finny pointed at Youlden. "And those two are too old." She waved her hand toward Chuck and Victor. "You're fanfare is boring me, Helena. Get started or be gone, I don't have time for your nonsense." 

Mygel sucked in a breath at Finny's harsh tone, but Helena didn't seem to notice. She pursed her lips and nodded.

"You have a point." Turning back to Maverick, she shrugged. "I've always been a fan of the dramatic. Welcome, Maverick Knight - heir to the throne of Braskey."

"As long as we can prove there aren't other heirs who have a more immediate right," Mygel added, her smile bright. 

"There's rumor Bainon has a son," Helena said with a nod. "He's--"

"Not Bainon's," Phoenix finished, drawing Helena's attention for the first time. The woman looked her up and down, taking in her appearance in stride.

"A Guardian." 

"The Guardian," Roman corrected. "More powerful than-" He glanced at Phoenix, hesitating for the slightest moment. "-than anyone you have here." 

Helena nodded in interest. "And your parentage?"

"She doesn't know them." Finny's lie surprised Phoenix, whose eyes widened as she lurched at the pain of the lie, but Helena had already glanced back, not seeing the reaction.

"She doesn't?" Helena turned from Finny to Roman, who squared his shoulders, his face unreadable.

"No."

Helena's gaze narrowed, and she assessed the lot of them as though waiting for someone to crack and give her a secret.

Youlden cleared his throat. "It's common for Guardians nowadays to be unaware of their parentage. Many have been separated from their relations due to..." he trailed off as everyone turned their attention on him. Blushing, he dropped his head. "I read a lot."

Helena turned back to Phoenix, assessing her anew. "We have Guardians in the Militia - seasoned individuals who could help train you." She crossed her arms. "Don't think that Guardian strength or speed will be enough for you to prove your worth here. We expect the Guardians to be accomplished in at least one method of battle just like everyone else. You won't receive any special treatment from us."

Phoenix dipped her head in acknowledgment. "With all due respect, I'm already trained in sword, archery, and hand-to-hand combat." 

Helena sniffed, a look of disbelief almost identical to the one Roman had given her so long ago crossing her face. "We'll see about that. Mygel, show them to their accommodations. We'll test their skill sets in the morning."

"I don't intend to stay," Abigail said. "I've no interest in joining the Militia."

Helena leaned back as though slapped. "I beg your pardon."

"We saved Abigail from an Army execution," Roman said, stepping in front of Helena and blocking Abigail. "We needed to keep her, the boy, and the others safe. We brought them with us - but we never discussed them joining. Not really."

"You've brought them to our location - you've broken our secrets-"

"I brought them," Finny said, glaring at Helena. "And the Militia is here for the people of Braskey. Enemies of the Army  are not an enemy to us. You forget your place, Helena. You're not a noble lady here anymore."

Helena calmed, nodding. "My apologies. Finnestra is right - we're here to help. If you have no intention of joining our militant efforts, we welcome you to remain with us as long as you like. If the Army is after you--"

"I wish to return home," Abigail said, more firmly as she placed both hands on Trey's shoulders and pulled him closer to her. "We would like to return home."

"You won't be safe."

"My family can protect us."

Helena nodded again. "We will see to your return once we've settled your friends. Will that be enough?"

"It will."

"You and your son needn't fear us. We'll protect you as long as you're in our care." Helena turned back to Mygel. "Take them all out to their tents." She smiled up at Maverick. "Except you, of course, Your Highness. We have rooms for you here in the castle." 

Phoenix cut a glance to Finny, who rolled her eyes. Maverick cleared his throat. "No thank you, Helena. I'll sleep in the tents with my friends."

Helena's eyes sparkled with amusement. "And you've passed the test - a man of the people. There are no tents. The castle has hundreds upon hundreds of rooms. You'll all be sleeping here. Mygel?"

Helena and Finny disappeared behind them as Mygel led the way into the heart of the castle. "Tomorrow's going to be fun," she said, beaming at them all. "We'll get to see what you can do. You'll be sharing rooms - except you, Your Highness - and you'll want to get a decent night's rest. Oh heavens and hells, food! You must be hungry. I'll arrange something with the kitchens. Here we are!"

She'd led them down a quiet corridor that, while still made of marble, had a homelier look - as though it wasn't cared for in the same way the rest of the castle was.

"We're still on the first floor," Victor said, sounding surprised. "I didn't think a castle would have rooms on the base level."

"These were the servant quarters," Mygel said, head bobbing. "Now they're for base level entrants. If you move up in worth to the Militia, your room will improve. I'm currently in one of the nobility suites."

"Where's Helena, the King's chambers?" Noelle muttered under her breath. Phoenix snorted, placing her hand over her mouth to keep her laughing from alerting Mygel.

"This room can house all three woman, and maybe your son?" Mygel gestured to Trey, and Abigail nodded.  "Perfect. Then in the room right across the hall we can put you two," she pointed to Chuck and Victor, "and the big one." 

"What about us?" Roman gestured to Maverick and then himself.

"Helena has been waiting for the two of you. You're in higher rooms."

Roman rolled his eyes. "I'll stay with Youlden, Victor, and Chuck. Thanks."

Maverick peered into the room. "Six beds, five of us - I think we'll all be fine in here. Thank you, Mygel."

She frowned, biting down on her lower lip. "As you say, sire." She dipped into a curtsey and walked away, muttering under her breath. "Helena won't like this."

With a sigh, Roman shrugged. "It's good for Helena to not like things sometimes. She gets used to having her own way."

"You seemed to revere her enough back there," Noelle said with a jerk of her head.

"I have great respect for her - she helped get my mother and father out of the castle. But her methods aren't my favorite. She holds too dear to the memory of Tarvril." He stretched out a hand, as though to stop them from going further. "Whatever you do, don't speak ill of him in front of her. It won't go well."

The men went into their room without much kerfuffle, Phoenix, Noelle, Abigail and Trey moving across the hall. Plain and sparse, it had six twin beds lined up along the wall, a nondescript rug running the length in front of them.

Noelle groaned. "I'm never going to move out of these rooms, am I?" 

Abigail let out a little laugh. "A bed is a bed. Better here than in a tent or out on the ground as we have been."

"Easy for you to say, you're leaving."  Noelle claimed her bed, dropping her satchel on top of it before sitting on the edge. "Trey's going with you?"

"I think it's best." Abigail shot a look at Phoenix. "I don't think it's safe for him here."

"I'm not sure Osha is any safer - that's where he's from," Phoenix replied.

"An orphanage. If he's with me he can be a member of my family. They won't be looking for him."

"But they will be looking for you," Noelle said, bouncing up and down where she sat, testing the mattress. 

"Eric won't let them hurt me."

"You know, the two of you have an admirable dedication to that man." Noelle smirked at Phoenix and Abigail. "Although I must agree - he's never done me harm." She frowned, dropping her gaze. "When is it safe to ask Roman how his mom died?"

The next morning they were awoken early, fed a simple breakfast, and led out to the giant circle of dirt just beyond the castle. A well muscled man and a woman with short brown hair waited for them, scowls fixed on their faces.

"New recruits," the man said. "Welcome to your training. Get ready to bleed."

Looks like these guys mean business! Now you know a bit more about Roman's story and Helena. You've also seen a bit about how the Militia works.

So what do you think? Do you like the ranking rules (how to move up and down in the position of worth)? Are you excited to learn more? Are you ready to hear from Eric again?

Tell me all the things.

MUAH!