Major Johnston sighed.
The princess was trying, but she clearly had no idea how to run proper communication channels. If one of his subordinates hadn't gotten him as well, when they were asked to call for Richard, then he would have had to rely on second hand reports, or at least, Richard would have had to send another runner to fetch him.
He rubbed his nose as he walked through the palace.
'Or is it a political thing?' He wondered. 'Did us presenting Richard as some sort of noble come back to bite us in the ass? I'll have to ask Richard.'
"Sir, may I ask you something?" Captain Riley, his second-in-command for this mission, interrupted his thoughts.
"Go ahead."
The freshly promoted captain fell into step with him.
"Why are we helping them? Isn't the Empire our enemy? They killed a bunch of people."
Edgar resisted the temptation to roll his eyes.
"Captain, we are not an imperial power, out to conquer and expand our territory. We need to establish some form of diplomatic communications, else this war would only be ended with things future generations would come to regret." He explained in a measured tone. It was far from the first time the question had been asked. "In addition, while the apparent connections to the empire are unfortunate, they are not dangerous. In fact, I am betting they will turn out to be advantageous."
"But… why are we still here?" She said. "A couple drone strikes, or an airborne unit… they are savages. They don't have a chance in hell of stopping us with their swords."
"I suggest you study history captain." Johnston stopped. "Are you familiar with Vietnam, or the battle of Isandlwana? If we are careful, no, they cannot hurt us, but such vigilance is impossible to maintain perpetually. Furthermore, fleeing would undermine our diplomatic standing, both here, and with the locals with us. I am not going to stand idly by, and let the town get butchered, especially not when protecting them will help out cause. Helping a foreign diplomat that is imperilled, after all, is not just standard practice and good sense, but the golden grail of diplomacy. Captain, I recognise you are new to your rank, and I thank you for expressing your concerns privately so as not to harm morale or relations, but I strongly suggest you reread the cultural briefs."
The captain saluted, bearing a stony face, and left.
Edgar slumped and shook his head.
"If it isn't a damn corporal trying to get into the pants of anything with two legs, or a lieutenant with a map, compass, and no sergeant in sight, its green officers not understanding politics." He shook his head. "At least she earned her promotion, and purchased commissions are dead. Her combat experience is going to be necessary tonight, if her highness' fears of a night attack are true."
Tara had found it uncomfortable being with Rasha. The girl 'rubbed her the wrong way', as Richard had once said. She looked like a Warrior Bunny, yet she was so different in both accent and temperament. She was so… submissive.
So, Tara took a walk, wandering the halls of the House Formal palace until the meeting was over.
She was slightly hurt that Richard hadn't wanted her presence, but then, she had seen the way he kept blushing whenever he looked at her. It was rather cute.
She caught Richard's voice down a hall.
"…right. So, the Nerevarine, Nerevar reborn, then went on to fight Dagoth Ur." Richard explained. Tara recognised the words, something to do with one of the myths Richard knew, she wondered. "Now, the Hero of Kvatch was also a prisoner, in the Imperial City. When the cult of Mehrunes Dagon, the cult of the Mythic Dawn assassinated the Emperor, it was through a hidden escape passage that went through the prisoner's cell that the Blades tried to sneak the Emperor. It didn't work, but it did set in motion the legend of the Hero of Kvatch, who would bring the… well, it gets complicated, again, but basically there was this necklace they had too take to the Emperor's only surviving son."
"It was a magic artifact as well?" A young, unfamiliar voice asked. "Did it show who was a proper heir?"
"Yup. The Amulet of Kings. Long story short, it ended with Martin, shortly after being made Emperor, sacrificing himself to summon an avatar of Akatosh, who banished Mehrunes Dagon back to Oblivion." Richard continued to explain. He paused. "Oh, Tara."
He smiled, and blushed, with his helmet in his hand. Next to him, a young girl stood.
Tara blinked as she recognised the young Countess Formal.
"Your Grace." She nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Richard… so, what were you two discussing?"
"Ah, fiction. The Elder Scrolls, specifically the Blades, an order of bodyguards and spies, as well as the 'Prisoner', an archetype that shows up pretty commonly in those games." Richard blinked. "Wait, how did we go from discussing defences and history to the Elder Scrolls?"
Myui Formal blinked in confusion.
"I… am not sure, Sir Richard." She winced. "Ah, my apologies. You are Tara, yes? Good evening to you."
"And you, your Grace." Tara replied to the young girl.
Myui glanced at Richard, then her servants, who appeared to double as bodyguards, based on the way they were positioning themselves. She slumped.
"Thank you, Sir Richard, for helping." She muttered, loud enough to hear. "I… Princess Pina tries to help, but the Saderan Empire has been trying to absorb us for generations, and my father…"
She sniffled.
"He was also a noble in the Empire, so he was forced to take his troops… he went through the Gate." She wrung her hands. "Her Highness didn't want me to mention it, but… I can't lie… and I miss him. A lot."
Richard winced and knelt to be at eye level with the young Countess.
"Thank you, for telling me." He rubbed her arm. "I… I also lost my father when I was young. But a lot of the soldiers that went through the Gate were captured. I can ask if your father is among them, so at least you have some hope."
Tara sympathised with her. She sat on a nearby bench, next to a window.
"I never got to know my father, due to our… my people's culture. My mother… she had a lot of responsibilities, so I never got to spend much time with her. The Empire took my sisters, and I don't know if any of them survived." She blinked in surprise at the wetness in her eyes and on her cheek. "I mean no offence, but the Empire got what it deserved. I hope your father is safe."
Myui nodded, tears in her eyes.
"I… he was always busy… I…" She cleared her throat. "My apologies, I… this is… um… undignified. I… I hope your sisters are safe as well. I don't… I'm not angry… I don't blame you. Emperor Molt is why my father is gone. I… I blame him, and I am glad the Empire got beaten by your forces, Sir Richard."
Richard's protests about him having no command over NATO forces died when she hugged him, to Tara's amusement.
"Ah, goodnight, Sir Richard, Lady Tara." Countess Myui curtsied, before leaving, slightly embarrassed, but with a great weight off her shoulders.
Tara laughed quietly as the countess' servants followed her.
"My, aren't you popular with women." She teased. "Should I try to arrange for you to get the Princess alone, and see what secrets you can get from her?"
Richard glared at her.
"She's like, ten, and she was hurting because of her father's disappearance. Besides, I… have no idea how to handle relationships. Also, Pina, while being younger than me, grew up in the viper pit of Imperial politics; I'd rather avoid dealing with someone who survived that, thank you very much."
"Alright, I'll stop." Tara held up her hands. "So, you've never had any sort of relationship?"
"Not the romantic sort." Richard admitted, sitting beside her on the bench. "After my father died… I just kinda retreated inwards for a while. Eventually, I found HEMA, uh, Historical European Martial Arts, and the SCA… Society for Creative Anachronism, and spent a ton of time reading, playing with mock swords, etc. Never… never really pushed myself to look, and no one expressed that sort of interest in me, that I was aware of anyway."
"Well, then they were blind fools." Tara grinned as Richard blushed at her comment.
Richard shifted in his armour in embarrassment.
Footsteps came rushing down the hall.
"Sir Richard!" One of Pina's knights called. "Her Highness requests your presence. The enemy is attacking!"