Village of Hansel, The Thearid Home, Present day.
The night was almost upon them as the sun's orange haze overtook the village.
Xeto circled the outside of the Anaria's home and entered the stables behind the building.
A single lantern served as the only source of light, mimicking the twilight of the outdoors.
Xeto shuffled though the thick hay as the stench of manure assaulted his senses. He picked up a readied saddle from a stool. I'll make Zuland pay for what they did.
The medium grain-colored horse brayed aloud as Xeto neared him.
Xeto stood on his toes only to be greeted by the emptiness of the stalls as there were no other horses.
"You'll have to do," he said. Was this the right thing to do? Anaria had fallen asleep after she healed both of the knights of Iron Gail. It was good, she needed the rest. Roy left to gather some food for them all though Xeto felt a pin of guilt as he wouldn't be present. Though any amount of doubt was wried by the furnace of anger in his chest. Again, he had found himself face to face with the men of Zuland and what had they done? Murder in cold blood. Images of the young girl; Petra, flashed in his mind. Maybe a war wouldn't be a such a foul idea, it would be Loradel's chance to wipe Zuland from the Allied Kingdoms. His thoughts were interrupted as the stable door creaked open.
"Commander?" said Rebecca, as she peaked her head through the door. "Where are you going?" Her eyes jumped to the saddle in his arms and back to him.
"I'm going to give chase to that monster, and end it…permanently. You injured that hawk's wing, it couldn't have got far." He threw the saddle over the horse as it neighed and began to strap it.
"Ha. Just when I think you don't have a sense of humor." She smiled as she closed the door behind her.
Xeto continued equipping the horse.
Her smile faded. "Then I'm coming with you."
"No," he retorted.
"What? Why?" She blinked rapidly as she threw out her arms. "I'm your scout, we're a team."
"I refuse to put you in any danger. I have to fix this…alone."
"Commander," she spoke rapidly. "I won't remain here idle while you chase your death."
"This isn't a discussion, Lieutenant."
"Lieu—" Rebecca scoffed. "Xeto," she said.
He stopped, locked by the what she had said, though he kept his head down to hide his expression. Two years they had been together and this was the first time in such a longtime he had heard her call him by name.
"I'm more than just a Lieutenant, Xeto…I'm your friend." There was a somber tone in her voice as she attempted to look him in the eye.
Xeto felt his foundation weaken as his shoulders slumped. He turned to meet her emerald eyes. "I saw the way you reacted when you saw Alzac. You blame yourself for what happened to him."
Rebecca sucked in her lower lip as her eyes bounced in his. "I…" she whispered. "I didn't mean for that to happen."
"If something happens to me, I wouldn't want you to carry the weight of guilt for me. Furthermore, I'm the one who's to blame for killing those Zuland soldiers." He looked coldly into her eyes. "I command you to return to the Loradel outpost and warn Taloz of what happened here. Should they try to punish you for the killing of the soldiers…tell them you had no choice and that you were simply following my instruction. That should relieve you of the consequences." He spoke in a stern voice.
"Don't do this…" exclaimed Rebecca.
But her words fell on deaf ears as Xeto turned back to the horse. "That's an order."
She scoffed angrily before slammed the stable door on her way out, causing a slow rain of hay to fall from the upper floor.
~0~
The clattering of the horse hooves echoed louder in Xeto's ears as it was joined by the slight tapping of light rainfall as it hit the rocky path. The words of his lieutenant echoed in his mind as it muffled everything else. The uneasy feeling quickly grew into frustration as he wiped his wet bangs from his face. "Damn it," he whispered. Though cold, the rain did nothing but stoke his temper. He found himself reliving past events…