He woke up and stared out the window. The yellow-tinted clouds danced across the sky like two children playing a game of tag. It could only mean that the weather would be changing soon, and the cold season would be upon them. He inhaled and stretched his arms in the air then got out of his bed to ready himself for the day. His heart was still heavy with the knowledge of Loraz's choice he told himself to smile. If he could stay by her side, even as a friend he was okay. Her happiness was all that mattered to him. So much time had passed he knew that her finding another was a possibility. Although, he couldn't stop hoping that when they had finally reunited it would result in more than one night of passion at a moment of vulnerability. He thought that as the days went by it would be easy to handle. Keeping himself busy was his only escape from the emotional storm that raged inside of him. With him having to manage all of Loraz's political affairs, for the time being, he was happily distracted during the morning hours of the day. His afternoons were filled with training and sparring with Jensek as he received daily report updates on various things. Jensek was to travel back to Ay Su to check on the others that morning and then return within the week to give a status report on things. Hopefully, his men were staying out of trouble. Sav and Gotte were watching over them which kept him at ease, but with Jayel on the prowl, you couldn't be too careful. A knock at his door made him pause and he looked over at the holock checking the time. It was twenty minutes past the hour and breakfast wouldn't be there for another thirty minutes. He wondered who it could be as he walked over to his desk while fixing his shirt and spoke,

"Enter."

The door opened and in walked a servant out of breath and eyes glossed over. The sweat pooled upon his brow and dripped down the sides of his face. Vestin, shocked at his guests' fatigue, escorted the man to a chair and poured him a glass of water to drink. The messenger took the drink and gulped it down. He reached into his jacket and pulls out a small envelope sealed with the wax symbol of a giant tree surrounded by birds.

"I have a message for you...from the Sire of Serenity...an invitation to be precise."

Vestin's eyes grew wide and he grabbed the letter from the man's outreached shaky hands. Opening the letter and skimming it briefly he looked back up at the messenger. His eyes clouded over as the air in his throat became trapped within.

"This can't be...how could this have happened? Jensek went there a few weeks ago. I can't believe what this letter is saying."

The messenger looked at him, his face was still moist with sweat.

"I do not know the details, but maybe that letter talks about the big execution that took place at the castle."

Vestin showed the letter to the man and stared at him. A chill ran down his spine as he tried to control the tone of his voice.

"You know about this? So there was a mass execution?"

The messenger looked over the letter and nodded his head then handed the paper back to Vestin.

"That letter bears only truths. I witnessed half of the deaths myself. Public slaughtering if you ask me. Half hanged the other stabbed clear through the chest. The lot that took part have innocent blood on their hands if you ask me. The crimes didn't even make sense, what law states a man can't accept the good nature of another."

Vestin stormed out of the room and made his way to Jensek. Ready to fall apart he banged on the door to his room and waited for Jensek to answer. Not even fully opened he pushed the door to see a half-sleep shell of a man standing before him.

"I would nag you on the fact that you were still in bed if not for the fact that I have bad news to share with you. Your trip to Ay Su may not be needed."

Jensek eyes popped open at the sound of Vestin's voice. He cleared his throat and squinted his eyes trying to make out the partial blur that stood before him. He went out drinking with the stable boys and overdid it with wine and ale. A night he wouldn't be repeating any time in the future.

"Calm down, I don't understand. What are you in such a panic so early in the morning for? Why won't I be going to Ay Su? Not that I'm questioning your decisions, just some clarification would be nice."

Vestin shoved the letter at Jensek and waited for him to read it. He paced the hallway in front of his door while Jensek slowly read the scribbles the person who wrote called words.

"How did we not know of this sooner? Have you not been keeping in contact with any of them?"

Jensek's eyes widened and he looked up at Vestin. Watching him pace back and forth gave him the proof he needed to know the letter was true.

"When did you get this?"

Vestin paused and walked up to him and took back the letter. His stomach twisted as he stared at the words and the thought of his men and how they were killed for his actions, more blood that stained his hands.

"Just this morning. The messenger said they were hanged or spared through the heart."

Jensek slammed his fist on the door and let out a groan.

"The last time I saw them they were all in good spirits. I had planned to see them again this evening after practice as we planned. Dammit, I told them to keep their heads down for a while. Is Gidens still safe?"

"His name isn't listed so I would assume so."

Jensek punched at the door again. He mumbled to himself and began to breathe heavily. His comrades, taken out for a mess they knew nothing about, while he sat comfortably at the castle as a guest of a forgotten princess. He looked back at Vestin as a sentence flowed through his mind.

"You're not planning on going back?" Walking up to him, he reached out his hand to touch his shoulder, only to be stopped in his tracks by Vestin taking a step back, "Surely you understand this is a trap and that you'll be killed or worse tortured?"

Vestin smiled. His eyes became moist as he licked his lip and turned his head towards the window behind him.

"I have no choice, " He looked back over at Jensek, his eyes pleading with him to understand how he felt, "Jayel has him, Jensek. Gotte is like a father to me. I can't just leave him to the mercy of that sick bastard. He is the only person close to family I have left."

Jensek sighed and grabbed at the bridge of his nose as he tried to think of what to say. He understood how Vestin felt, but he couldn't just let him run off to become someone's torture toy. There were still people who depended on him and for the short time that he had gotten to know Gotte, he wouldn't want Vestin rushing foolishly into danger.

"Vestin, think right now. You are that princess' Second. He is after the princess. If you go there to save Gotte he will capture you, kill him, and then use you to bring her there."

Vestin turned to the wall behind him and went to punch it, then pulled back and touched it lightly with his fist.

"I know, I know...Gotte probably got captured trying to save our comrades. The old fool can't seem to just focus on saving himself. If he could, he'd tell me to forget about him and focus on Loraz, the mission should be all that matters. But I lost one father to Jayel and was too young to do much about it, now I'm about to lose another...I can't just do nothing."

Jensek walked up to him and grabbed him firmly on his shoulder. He waited for Vestin to meet his eyes and sighed.

"You understand the risks, yet you still want to go?"

Vestin turned to face him completely. Jensek backed up, taking a deep breath while Vestin ran his fingers through his hair trying to collect his thoughts. With his hands on his waist, he slumped his shoulders and looked at Jensek.

"I don't know what I should do. Either way, I jeopardize someone I care about deeply."

"Then take my advice and choose life...please. I am not asking as subordinate to his captain, but as one friend to another. Choose to live...if not for any of us then for Gotte."

Vestin clicked his tongue and clenched his hands into a fist. What Jensek was saying made sense to him in every way. Gotte would want him to stay put and protect Loraz. He would put the mission before everything just to make sure that he could restore Loraz to her throne and save Serenity. Panic filled him as he searched for ways to have both Gotte and Loraz in his life. He turned his head and saw Loraz walking down the hall talking to various people that followed behind her. Each person that was with her kept asking for her thoughts on funeral arrangements and who to invite to the final burial. She looked up and saw him and Jensek standing outside Jensek's room. Handing off the list of decorations to one of the aides she walked up to Vestin when she noticed the look on his face.

"Vestin, what's going on, you look ill. Are you okay?"

Vestin looked over to her and the look in her eyes only made his mind fog over even more. The silence between them as he tried to figure out what he should do seemed to go by slowly.

"I'm fine, Lo, you needn't worry about me. Jensek and I can handle this."

Jensek popped him on the back of the head and looked over at Loraz and shook his head then made eye contact with Vestin.

"He is not fine. Stop trying to take on everything by yourself and dragging me along for the ride."

Vestin rubbed his head and narrowed his eyes at Jensek.

"I'm not."

Jensek folded his arms across his chest and scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

"Either you tell her what's going on or I will. Maybe she can talk some sense into you."

Loraz looked behind her and saw that the aides that were with her still stood there watching. Their eyes locked on to soak up everything so that they could use it later on. She knew the look well, the look a starved predator makes when it finally finds prey. She placed her hand on Vestin and Jensek's arms and with her eyes let them know they had an audience.

"I will be sure to send my final suggestion to your office later today. Please inform the King I will be late joining him for breakfast. That will be all ladies you are dismissed."

The aides bowed and walked off down the hall. Loraz still wary of being overheard waited to be sure that they were alone. She looked at Vestin and saw the color on his face had disappeared.

Jensek cleared his throat and looked down the hall.

"Should we continue this conversation inside?"

Loraz nodded her head and tapped Vestin on the arm gently to let him know to follow her inside.

Vestin, still in a panicked daze, stood there.

Jensek scoffed and pulled him into the room by his shirt and closed the door.

"Ancestors guide me...can you please give us back Vestin? This lump of flesh is pissing me off."

Loraz tapped Jensek's arm and looked him in eyes. She shook her head then walked up to Vestin and took hold of his hands.

"What is going on? Has something happened?"

Vestin looked at Loraz then over at Jensek. He sighed heavily then hung his head as the reality of the situation started to weigh on him. She was the last person he wanted to see at the moment.

Don't show me any more kindness. Don't worry so much about me. Don't look at me with those eyes. Don't keep giving me hope. He thought. 

He placed his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes as he felt her hand stroke his hair.

"My men are dead. They were captured and killed...all of them except Giddens and of course Jensek. Since you had Giddens relocated to the school to recover, he is protected by Ay Su as a guest of a royal family. It is all my fault and their blood is on my hands, Lo"

Jensek looked at the floor as he remembered all of their faces. His last memory of them was the night he gave them all the news that Giddens was safe and recovering well at the castle. He should have convinced them all to come. Loraz had extended the offer to all of them. Instead, they took up board outside the castle school, and for that, they lost their lives.

"I told them not to wander too far from the central city, but the daft fools walked right into the arms of death."

Loraz stood there as she let the words sink in. Her gaze was blank as she stared off into a distant memory of the men. She hadn't known them long, but they were her people, they were brave soldiers ready to follow their leader to the ends of Zanooma. The lights in her eyes began to fade as she thought of the two that had raised Vestin.

"Wait, so does that mean...both of them are dead as well?"

"No, Sav was away on business..." Jensek said.

Vestin looked back down at the letter in his hand and felt the tear begin to pile in the corners of his eye.

"Gotte was caught with the others. He is being held as a guest of honor"

"Just a fancy way to say, prisoner," Jensek whispered.

Vestin looked Loraz in the eyes.

"If I go to him, Lo, I may not be able to come back."

"What do you mean?" Loraz asked.

Jensek walked closer to them and reached over Loraz to poke Vestin in the chest hard with his forefinger.

"He means that he knows the whole damn thing is a trap. That letter was written in Jayel's hand. It is personally calling him back to retrieve what he has lost. In exchange for his life."

Loraz looked at the letter and grabbed it from Vestin. She shook her head after reading it and tossed it to the ground.

"Then you can't go...not without a plan at least. Why would you willingly walk into a trap like that?"

Vestin picked up the letter and then looked her in the eye. Her pleading only made his decision harder, but he couldn't stand doing nothing. Coming up with a plan would stand doing anything longer than necessary. The thing Jayel could do to him in the amount of time it would take to prepare a rescue plan was something Vestin couldn't allow to happen.

"Lo I have to go. Gotte is in this mess because of me. All my men are dead because of me. I can still save him if I go. I can't wait for a plan to come to me, Lo. He could die before then. You don't know Jayel as I do. His sick way of entertaining himself goes way past mentally disturbing. I can't let Gotte go through that if he hasn't already."

Loraz grabbed at his arms, her legs weak from the thoughts that ran through her head. She could very well lose the last person she had left from her past. This thought scared her and she wanted so much to convince him not to go, but the only thing she could do was to at least make sure if he went he had a plan and backup.

"I don't understand why. Why would you willingly walk into a trap like that? What purpose does it serve if you lose your life.?"

"I have to, Lo. If I don't Gotte could be tortured until I do. I can't have any more blood on my hands."

"And what's to say he is still alive? If he has killed everyone he captured? How can you be so sure that he hasn't killed Gotte? You can't just go running to him like a himbi to a bibble jam trap. I'm sure Gotte and your uncles raised you better than this. I understand your frustration, but you mustn't let the fear cloud your judgment."

Vestin pulled away from her and grabbed at his hair.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't be able to live another day if I don't go and he ends up being killed because I didn't take a chance. Because I was too afraid to take the risk."

Loraz bit the inside of her lip. She could understand his feelings for wanting to go and save Gotte, but why couldn't he wait for a plan to make sure everyone came back safely? She grabbed Vestin's arm again and forced him to look at her. She knew if she didn't try to get him to think he'd run off into an unknown situation. If life had taught her anything it was to always step forward with a plan. Even if the plan had little chance of success, some kind of plan was better than none.

"You have to think of this reason. He will kill him even if you go. For all, we know he could have died with the others and the sick bastard is just holding his corpse just so he can show it to you. We will think of a plan to save him. One that doesn't put any more lives in danger."

Vestin pulled his arm away and opened the door. He looked back at Loraz then at Jensek. It would be too risky to involve anyone else, he could enter the castle in Serenity and then use himself as a bargaining chip to save Gotte. He could use his life to keep the princess safe. As long as Jayel had him everything would be okay.

"I am going, Jensek, you stay behind."

Jensek stormed forward and grabbed his shoulder.

"What and send you off to die? Are you daff?"

Vestin pushed his hand off and pointed at Loraz.

"I need someone to look after Lo for me. If I don't make it back I want someone I trust to stay by her side and watch over her. You will have to become her Second in my place."

"Don't be a fool. She has, His Majesty, Robert to look after her. Not to mention a whole damn army of soldiers. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, she chose you as her Second, not me."

Vestin just stood there and listened to Jensek's words echo through the doors and down the hallway.

Loraz stared at the holock as she listened to the two of them argue. Her mind had gone blank as the words floated by her ears.

Jensek ran his finger through his hair and growled.

"I'm going with you. I told you to rely on others more."

Vestin balled up his fist cocked back and swung at Jensek's face. His knuckles made contact with his cheek and Jensek flew back a bit.

"Damn it Jensek just follow orders this once."

Loraz gasped as Jensek stumbled backward and went over to see if he was okay.

"Was that necessary, Vestin?"

Jensek blinked a few times and pushed past Loraz then returned the gift he received back to Vestin. Before Vestin could stagger backward he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him up against the wall next to the door.

"I CAN'T FOLLOW SUCH RECKLESS ORDERS!"

"Let me go, Jensek. I have to do this...just protect Loraz and Gidens."

Vestin grabbed Jensek's hand and pressed on it firmly. He understood Jensek's anger. If he went and died now they would be alone, Gidens and Jensek would have nowhere else to go. He understood how much they looked up to him and it was one of the reasons why he had to go alone. He couldn't lose anyone else...even if they thought him foolish or became angry with him, as long as he could keep them safe it was fine.

"Release me, now..."

Jensek put pressure on Vestin's chest and stared him in the eyes.

"But who will look after you? Who is going to make sure that you don't make this little princess of yours cry and dawn herself in white robes at your ceremony? Tell me. Is it fun to play hero all by yourself, for the sake of the Ancestors, learn to lean on others, Captain? I am still your soldier. Part of your sector. They were my comrades, too."

Vestin hung his head. Jensek's words hit hard. They stabbed at him as tiny knives aim at his heart. His body just lost all strength and if not for the wall and Jensek's hand he would have fallen to the floor. Defeated by words, how shameful for a captain of the royal family army, the rightful queen's Second, and the leader of Yorland.

Her hands flew over her mouth as she watched them go back and forth. She knew that Jensek was only trying to save his captain from a trap, but his words were too heavy and harsh. How much longer would she stand on the sidelines and watch the two of them rip apart their close bond? She rushed over and placed a hand on Jensek's shoulder.

"By the Ancestors, guys...we can talk this out."

Jensek stared right through Vestin and then released his hold on his shirt.

"Who is going to look after you?"

Vestin stood there for a moment then pushed Jensek away and fixed his shirt.

"I'm going to be fine. He won't kill me on sight. If you want to help, then use the time I'm gone to come up with a plan to save us. I will buy you some time. He won't kill me, he has something much worse planned for me."

Loraz walked up to Vestin and slapped him across the face. She could see there was no talking calmly with him. His mind was no longer clear and he was ready to sacrifice himself for someone he cared about. Yet he ignored all the ones who cared about him.

"You don't understand anything right now, do you? Your men are dead, Vestin. Right now you only have thoughts of rescuing Gotte and revenge for your fallen comrades. You are not the only one hurting. What of those who only have you left?" Loraz looked back down at the ground and fought back tears, "I know why you want to do this. I understand it all too well, but do you wish for us to just let you go and sacrifice yourself to protect us? I only just got you back in my life and now you wish for me to let you go again?"

Vestin's chest tightened and he looked over at Jensek, who was still standing in front of him facing the wall, then back at Loraz. He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Lo, I...I'm sorry."

Loraz pounded him on his chest lightly as she cried. She knew there was nothing that would change his mind. No amount of talking would get him to see things.

"No, Jensek is right...rely on us more. We are not so weak that we cannot fight beside you. We don't need your protection." She pushed him away and tried to clean her face with her sleeve. "You promised me and my mother to be there for me. You said you'd always be by my side...you promised me."

Vestin sighed as he watched her try to wipe off her face and hide it at the same time. The last memory he'd have of her was this one. A painful memory of how he had to say goodbye in the cruelest way he could think of. He'd have to make her hate him. He walked up to her and gave her one last hug. He kissed her forehead then stepped back with a weary smile on his lips.

"I'm sorry...I have to break my promise to you."

At the sound of his words, Loraz legs lost all energy and she fell to the floor. Her tears streamed down her face and the words she wanted to yell out at him were caught in her throat.

Vestin went and picked up the letter he dropped from the scuffle he had with Jensek. He walked over to Jensek and looked at him then paused then whispered,

"I'll be waiting for you to come to rescue me."

Vestin placed a hand on Jensek's shoulder then walked out the door and made his way down the hallway. Each step became harder and harder as he heard Loraz sobbing.

Jensek turned around and looked down at Loraz lost in her grief and his chest tightened. He walked up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. Looking out the door and into the hall he listened as Vestin walked further away from them and with a voice as loud as thunder he yelled,

"Damn it Vestin, get your ass back here!"

Vestin paused briefly then without turning to face them he continued to walk to the stables. He wouldn't let his father die for him again.