"I do not like the way you are looking right now, are you sure you want to go in there on your own?" Luc asked as they finally stopped in front of Mero's office.
"I mean, I could go in and ask on your behalf so you can avoid any altercations with him." said Luc, he was really worried, he did not want his two friends fighting.
He hated seeing them fight, and most of all he did not want Zuph to allow his uncontrolled anger lead him to lose his position and honour.
"Luc, I am not a child, you do not have to ask on my behalf for anything." Zuph answered sounding rather upset. "Besides, what sort of knight would I be if I sent you instead of going on my own?" he asked.
"You should just stay out of my way and calm down." he added.
"I cannot calm down, I do not trust you, for all we know you can become rather aggressive, and you showed us you still do just a few days ago." Luc said.
"Can you stop troubling me and just leave me alone?!" Zuph asked.
"With how harsh you are sounding right now, I am afraid that is not possible, I am not leaving you alone and that is final." Luc insisted.
"Good morning Zuph, good morning Luc." said Zechariah as he smiled, he was on his way to see Mero and was truly surprised when he saw the two of them here.
"Good morning." replied Zuph rather harshly.
What is the matter with you Zuph?" asked Zechariah, he did not like how upset Zuph looked at the moment.
"He is about to go and speak to Mero and he is annoyed that I will not let him go alone." replied Luc.
"Of course you will not, not when he is looking like he is about to kill someone." replied Zechariah.
"You see, he agrees with me." Luc said.
"The both of you be quiet and just let me be!" he exclaimed and sighed walking into the the tent.
Zechariah and Luc both looked at each other and followed after Zuph quickly, they wanted to make sure he would not end up doing something that he would regret later.
...
"We need to make sure this side of the camp is guarded heavily, the East might decide to ambush us at any time and we will be unprepared." Mero said pointing on a map laid on his desk as Elihu nodded.
"You do not have to worry Mero, I will handle that instantly." Elihu replied.
"Good, that will be all I..." Mero's voice trailed off as he saw Zuph walk into his office.
"Good morning... Mero." Zuph said calmly, it took his everything in his being not to dash at Mero and punch him for what he did, but he knew he had to behave.
"Good morning Zuph." Mero replied, certainly surprised but he did not say he was.
"What are the two of you doing here?" he asked noticing that Zechariah and Luc had also walked in.
He did not remember calling them all to a meeting, but something told him that they followed Zuph.
"We came to speak to you..." Luc said smiling, lying through his teeth, what he really meant to say was that they were here to watch just in case anything happened.
"I see..." replied Mero as Elihu mouthed words of confusion to them and they replied with a shrug.
"Is there anything I can assist you with?" Mero asked rolling the map on his desk.
"Yes... I came here to ask for my previous duties back." said Zuph seriously.
Mero paused and looked up at him, confused, surprised and most of all wary. After all since that day that they had almost fought with one another, he and Zuph had not spoken to each other, he had not apologized, and neither had Mero, which was why he found this sudden visit and request odd.
"I see, but were you not the one who asked that your duties be changed a few days ago?" asked Mero.
"And after that you took leave and only returned yesterday." he added looking at Zuph whose fists were tensed up behind his back.
"That is true, however, I have come here to apologize for the rude behaviour I displayed with you a few days ago." he said.
"Whatever problems you face in your personal life is just that, personal. I should never have interfered in matters that do not concern me, and for that I am sorry." Zuph said it with his mouth, but in his heart he was cursing himself for having to lie like this.
The last thing he wanted to do was apologize, it was going to be hard for him to pretend like everything was alright, but he knew that he had to try his best.
"I accept your apology. I was never upset with you." Mero replied, to be honest, in the moment he knew that Zuph was right for confronting him for what he did to Nora, but he did not think that Nora and Zuph were that close to the extent that he would come to defend her.
"You have every right to your own opinion." he added.
"Thank you for accepting my apology, and I realize now that it was foolish of me to ask my duties be changed just because of that." he said.
"I agree with that." Mero said, the others were completely silent, as if they were waiting for things to escalate quickly.
"So, can I return back to my old duties?" asked Zuph.
"Welcome back." Mero replied as he smiled.
"Thank you Mero." said Zuph as he bowed his head concealing how he gritted through his teeth in rage. How could this man hurt someone who loved him so much and still carry on with his life as if things were normal?! He truly was heartless.
"You do not have to thank me. Elihu will tell you of all the things we have planned." said Mero as Zuph nodded.
"If that is all, would you please excuse me, I have a report to deliver to the queen." he said as he took his leave immeadiately.
"What in the world was that?" asked Elihu as soon as he was sure Mero was out of earshot.
"You tell me because frankly I do not understand either." replied Zechariah.
"I apologized to Mero, simple." Zuph replied, he hated that they were all here to annoy him.
"Yes, but that apology did not really seem that honest if you ask me." said Elihu as he laughed.
"Shut up Elihu, you of all people cannot tell me that." Zuph shouted.
"You know, I was surprised when you asked that your duties be changed, but now that you came here to ask for it back, I am utterly perplexed." said Zechariah.
"I agree with Zechariah, why make a big fuss to change your duties only to ask for it later? It is not like you Zuph to be so reckless." said Luc.
"Yes, what is the matter with you? I know you care about Nora, we all do, but risking your duties because you want to fight with Mero and defend her is not wise." said Zechariah.
Zuph kept silent, Elihu on the other hand burst into laughed, clutching his stomach in the process from how hard he was laughing.
"And what is the matter with you?" Luc frowned.
"Can you both not see? Or are you completely blind?" he asked laughing.
"It is clear as day that Zuph here has feelings for Nora, and that is why his behaviour as of late had been so erratic. Why else would a man risk his reputation for a woman?" Elihu asked.
"Is that true Zuph?" asked Luc turning to look at him.
"Of course it's true, why ask him if it is?" Elihu scoffed.
"Well maybe because not everyone is like you Elihu, you only help women because you want to sleep with them." Zechariah responded frowning.
"Correction, I used." Elihu corrected. "I used to help women because I wanted to sleep with them, now I have changed." he said.
"Who knows, maybe my spirit has rested upon Zuph now." he laughed as both Luc and Zechariah frowned at him.
"Is it true?" asked Zechariah.
"You can think whatever you want to think, all I know is that this man calls himself our friend, he eats and drinks with us, laughs with us and yet none of us could suspect that he had another woman." Zuph answered.
"If that does not make you the slightest bit cautious then you all are truly fools." replied Zuph as he turned around and left.
"Should we be worried about him?" Luc asked as Zechariah sighed shaking his head.
"Obviously yes, he seemed to have lost trust in everyone at this point, and I still insist he has feelings for Nora." said Elihu as he shrugged and left after Zuph, he was supposed to inform him of his duties after all.