Tears pricked Roland's eyes as he held his wife tightly against him. He'd already snuggled and kissed each of his children. This was his last goodbye to make before the harrowing task ahead. At least this time he had proper winter clothes, and some better rations along with a fresh water supply.
Even a bedroll. That would be a boon.
"I love you more than my life, Serafina." He whispered in her ear.
"Do not spend your life now. Come back and spend the rest of it with me." Tears colored her voice.
He leaned back slightly, and brought one hand up to cradle her cheek. His thumb wiped away the moisture there.
"I will do my very best." He promised, and her lip quivered. She never made promises she couldn't keep, and neither did he. She understood the significance of his wording.
He lowered his head, and gasped slightly as she came up on tiptoes to meet his lips part way. It began as a kiss of farewell, sweet and full of longing. As it reached its natural end, Roland found instead that Finn was clutching him closer instead of letting him go.
He groaned softly and held her tighter, the desperation of need in them both driving the embrace. When the kiss finally ended, both were in tears, and the look they shared said more than words could.
Roland wished he had some final instruction, some comforting word, anything further to say. He didn't.
Finn nodded, and he was thankful that she understood. Pages and pages of letters, he could write, but now, she already knew everything he had to tell her. With a final squeeze, he released her, and shouldered his pack.
Judah chirped, and moved forward to gently nudge Finn's back with his nose. She turned, and he lowered his great head to look into her eyes.
A moment passed while Roland looked on, and then his wife threw her arms around the creature's neck.
"Take care of him," He heard her say before releasing the enormous cat.
Roland wondered if she would be so easily affectionate if she'd seen how easily the creature could devour a sentient being. He had the urge to get between his wife and Judah. Though the enormous cat was… good, for lack of a better word, he wasn't tame.
"Oh! I did not expect…" Lysander's voice came from behind Roland, carrying his own pack. The agreement had been to meet here and leave as quickly as they could. The former provider had not yet seen the creature he was to ride on the journey.
"Judah, can you carry the both of us, do you think?" Roland asked. If the answer from the great animal was no, he would go alone. Finn shot him a mildly censuring look.
She knew he would rather be in danger alone than put anyone else in harm's way.
Judah titled his head first one way, then another. Trotting over to Lysander, who was now frozen in place, Judah sniffed at the man.
Lysander held his breath, eyes wide. A moment later, Judah chirped again. It seemed to be assent.
"Well that settles it," Finn said.
"I wish I could make some kind of saddle to help us both stay on, but… there's no time. We must go now." Roland said.
Judah crouched to make it easier for the two men to climb onto his back.
"We have to go stop the giants, Judah. You found them for me before, can you do it again? Please?" Roland leaned forward to ask.
Instead of a response, the animal shot forward. Roland had time for barely a glance back at Finn before she was out of his sight.
She had one hand raised in farewell, tears in her eyes, resolve written across her face.
His heart ached to leave her behind again, but there was no other way.
Turning forward, he whispered faintly.
"Gwen, please keep your promise and watch over them."
Conversation during the ride was nearly nonexistant. The icy air of the mountains, which had grown colder still since the morning, stung the men's faces, forcing them to wrap scarves over their noses and mouths. Any inch of bare skin was subject to frostbite.
Judah labored well under the double weight, though he had to stop more often than before.
Roland recalled the looks of the guards who had been in charge of watching over the creature while he packed. Not knowing what else to feed him, they'd brought him increasingly large slabs of meat before simply bringing him an entire live goat to eat.
He smirked a little bit as he was now not the only one exposed to Judah's appetite. Everyone had agreed that he needed to be adequately fed to perform the task being asked of him. He'd also been brought gallons of water until he was satisfied.
When they topped the second peak, it was getting close to nightfall. Judah continued his pace until darkness was deep over the mountains, and the moon was high above.
Roland wanted to tell the cat that rest was allowable, that he could stop if needed, but every mile they could keep between the giants and the city was precious to him.
So he kept silent and held on.
____________________
Finn hugged Quilina and Jacqueline goodbye. The river ships of Klain were departing to help carry as many troops as Ceto would send. It was time for her guests to flee home.
Especially as Finn's house had new guests. Her father and brother had moved in so that their home could be used to house refugees from the surrounding towns, and Victoria was to stay with them while Dr. and Mrs. Sherman made the infirmary battle-ready. Naomi stood with them, changed out of her finery into more functional attire.
Quilina was sad to leave, and Victoria clung to her.
"Don't go! You're my best friend in the world!" The little orphan was saying.
"I'll be back someday." Quilina promised. "I'll grow up and move to Klain."
Jacqueline pursed her lips but didn't say anything to her daughter about it.
"Thank you so much for your hospitality, and… everything," She said to Finn.
"You're welcome anytime you need to come back." The hostess replied, As long as there is anything here to come back to, She mentally added. Saying so out loud would needlessly frighten the children.
The alliance with Ceto also allowed for refugees from one nation to flee to another and receive shelter and aid. The surrounding towns were already emptying into Klain, but some of the people were joining the boats and fleeing to the sea.
The nature of the threat had not been made public, but rumors of unusual, giant monsters from another world abounded.
Not because anyone had let out the information, but because Judah's parade through the streets was something not soon to be forgotten.
Everywhere, Swordbearers were carrying out their tasks, reinforcing the walls, and preparing to fend off whatever kind of attack might come.
Jacqueline pulled Quilina away with a final wave, and the pair headed towards the river. Victoria sniffled sadly.
"I'll never be happy again until I have my friend back." She whimpered.
"You have friends here," Finn chided. The girl had developed a bit of a flair for being dramatic sometimes.
"It's not the same," Victoria complained. "Who will play dolls with me?"
Finn sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, having trouble keeping patience with her little sister-in-law when the very city they were in could be destroyed by the coming threats.
She felt a tug on her hand, and looked down to see Gabe nodding at her.
"I'll play with you, Victoria. Let's go inside and wait for the babies to wake up." He said, squeezing Finn's hand.
She squeezed his back, grateful that he was taking this small worry off her shoulders.
Victoria lit up, and threw her arms around the boy, surprising him.
"Thank you, Gabe!!" She cried out, delighted. He seemed unsure about whether to hug her back or shove her off of him, and settled for awkwardly patting her back.
"I said let's go," He gave Finn a longsuffering glance over Victoria's shoulder. Finn smothered her amusement over his attitude and smiled her gratefulness.
The children and adults filed inside, but Finn grabbed Naomi's hand. "Will you be all right looking after the children and babies for a while if I run to the library?" She asked. She had just finished nursing the babies, so it was a prime opportunity to get a little research done.
"Of course! I've wanted so badly to go there, myself." Naomi nodded.
"Then why don't you go? I can hold things down here," Finn's father turned from where he was about to head inside.
"Are you sure?" Finn asked a little skeptically. "Three babies is… a lot."
"I've got two helpers in there, and I know where your wet-nurse neighbor lives if I get into real trouble," He grinned.
"That's true…" Finn equivocated for a moment, debating the merits of having help and leaving more hands for childcare. "All right, Naomi, let's hurry!"