Painting the Silence

See disclaimer in part one

Epilogue

The Imperial Army's small offensive force had kept its station there on the mountain for two days after the battle, alternately sending scouts up and down the trail, fending off new attackers, and trying fruitlessly to break through the door of solid stone that sealed the cave in the mountain's side shut. And even though it was true that some of those who watched and waited were beginning to despair, it was also true that nothing would budge them. They'd seen their Emperor go in, and until he came out or they found a way to get through to him, they wouldn't just leave and abandon him.

Despite the bloodstains and the grim looks on the soldiers' faces and the thinness of the fires that had been set, the waiting camp was a welcome sight to their wayward leader.

Aegina caught sight of him first as he came over the rise, stared for a moment, and then took off running, drawing the attention of the entire camp. Then the rest of them were up in a clamor, alerting their resting comrades, getting up and standing at attention or following Aegina to greet him.

"Gulcasa-nii! Are you alright?! You aren't hurt, are you? How did you get out of there? Are you—?"

"Slow down," Gulcasa managed, shaking his head. "And stand at ease. Unless you all relax, politeness says I have to keep standing, and I'm too tired for that…"

There were deep shadows under his eyes and a few new scratches on his dusty and increasingly battered leather armor, but other than that he seemed to be unharmed. In his arms, he cradled Nessiah—apparently unconscious, with bandages showing beneath his faceplate and blood streaked across his cheeks—closely to his chest.

"Before we start discussing anything, I need our field healers over here," Gulcasa said as Aegina and the others escorted him into the heart of the camp. "Nessiah's lost a lot of blood, and he's had a hard time of the past few days—do whatever you can for him."

When their company's few doctors and healers ventured through the crowd and Gulcasa had given Nessiah into their care, Luciana folded her arms and scowled at him. "Now will you let us know what the hell happened to you and why it's taken you so long to get back here?"

"In a minute. Is everyone alright?" Sitting down on a nearby boulder, Gulcasa looked around, surveying their ranks. "It doesn't seem as though we've lost anyone, but I can tell there's been a fight here… they attacked as soon as we set off that trap, didn't they?"

Aegina nodded. "It took a while, but we fought off the assault. There were injuries, but none of ours were killed. There've been a few other attacks since then, but nothing serious."

"And you two and Emilia? You're alright?" As the twins nodded, Gulcasa sighed, visibly relieved. "I was worried. We tangled with a shaman on the other side of that tunnel, and he made a few choice remarks about extinguishing my bloodline… if anything had happened to you, I don't know what I would've done."

"So, spill," Luciana ordered, folding her arms and fixing him with a glare. "It can't just have been your horrible sense of direction that's taken you this long."

Gulcasa gave her a halfhearted glower, then shook his head. "The tunnel we took leads straight through to the other side of the mountain. When we got out, I tried to take as fast a route as I could back to this place, but there were tribal patrols all over the place. We had to duck for cover a lot—I don't think I could've handled them all alone."

"Wasn't he of any help to you?" Luciana demanded, shrugging a shoulder off in Nessiah's general direction.

"I will not have another word against him again," Gulcasa snapped, his eyes flashing. "If it weren't for Nessiah, I would never have made it back here. He saved my life, at considerable risk to his own sanity. The shaman I told you about blocked our way out of the tunnel, so that I had to try to fight him in a space so small you couldn't've swung so much as a sword, let alone a scythe—and there were dampening spells all over the cave that kept Nessiah from using any magic. There at the entrance, he was able to use enough magic to see, but in the end he gave up his sight spells in order to kill the shaman. He's been in very bad condition these past days—mostly unconscious, and almost always delirious when he was awake. If not for him, I wouldn't be here talking to you, so I don't want to hear your complaining ever again."

"He—really saved you?" Aegina asked, taken aback.

Gulcasa nodded. "Nessiah… isn't like us. He's not used to people, to being around them or being able to put his faith in them; it took a lot of courage for him to trust that I would get him out of there. We talked about some things when we were in there… and I understand him well enough now to know that he hasn't stayed apart from us all this time out of disdain, but because he's afraid of being hurt. We have to try a little harder with him… it's going to take a while to close the distance between us. But…"

Luciana and Aegina exchanged bewildered glances, then turned back towards Gulcasa, staring at him almost worriedly.

Gulcasa shook his head. "…Anyway, where's Emilia? I want to wait until Nessiah's awake and well enough to be moved before we head on, and since that may be a while, I'd like to talk to her."

"She's sleeping, but she'll definitely want to hear that you're back," Aegina told him. "…Come with us."

---

The first thing that Nessiah was consciously aware of was the pressure of someone else's hands holding one of his. Then came the darkness; he'd had more than enough of that, so with his next breath he fixed his sight spells back in place.

"…nnh…"

"Nessiah…?"

His head was spinning. He lay still for another moment or two, making sure it was clear, then turned to see that Gulcasa was sitting next to him, Nessiah's right hand clasped tight between both of his, held to his chest. His golden eyes were wide with surprise and—was that hope or worry or relief, or a combination of the three?

"Nessiah, are you awake?"

"…Gulcasa…"

He tried to push himself up, but Gulcasa reached out to touch his shoulder, keeping him down. "Just lie still for a while. You've been out for what amounts to two and a half days, and the field healers tell me you've a while yet before you're completely over the blood loss."

"What… happened?"

"We're back at the camp," Gulcasa told him. That was definitely relief there now; Gulcasa's eyes seemed so soft a gold that Nessiah almost had to wonder if he was holding back tears. "The trip back took a while, and you were doing badly the whole time. It's definitely a weight off my chest to know you'll be alright; I was starting to worry that casting against that shaman in your condition was too much for you."

Somehow, Nessiah managed a smile. "I've been through far worse, believe me. This is nothing."

"Idiot." Gulcasa reached out to lightly rap Nessiah's forehead with his knuckles. "Don't just pass this off as no big deal. I was worried about you. I owe you my life, and I promised I'd take care of you. If we'd lost you…" He let the sentence hang, looking away.

Nessiah felt his face heat up, and he weakly reached out to rest his hand on Gulcasa's arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean… I never wanted to worry you."

"…" Gulcasa shook his head. "At any rate, try to get some rest. Once you're feeling better, we're moving on—we've still got that crown to find. And…" Nessiah found himself being given the same cool, no-nonsense glare Gulcasa used whenever he was scolding his sisters or his soldiers, the glare that said nothing would change his mind. "I don't want you hiking on your own, not when you haven't even recovered from that bandit attack completely yet. You're riding with me."

"Wha—" Ride? As in, on Gulcasa's dragon? What? "I can—"

"You can't. I watched you lag behind the rest of us and saw you collapse whenever we stopped for a break all the way up here, and I wasn't sure how to get you to stop it then, but I do now. You're riding with me, and make no mistake, that is an order, not a suggestion."

With frustration and embarrassment, the blush already covering his face deepened. "I can walk on my own, Gulcasa. I've—"

"Been through worse, I know." Gulcasa raised his eyebrows. "And I don't give a damn. You're riding with me, the end. If you try to get out of it, I will have you declared insubordinate, and we can tie you to the saddle. Either way, you're not walking, so I don't care whether you go the dignified way or not."

"Ngh." Well, that was something that could be said for Gulcasa, he supposed. Around the idealistic Emperor of Bronquia, chivalry was alive and well. Even when it would've been much more convenient—not to mention healthier for his pride—for it to be dead.

"Glad you understand." And then Gulcasa shook his head and smiled. "I'm doing this because I'm worried about you, stupid. I do not ever want to see you in the state you've been in these past days again, and whether you like it or not, I'm making good on my promise to take care of you."

"Th-that's not fair." Crimson with humiliation, his chest fluttering, Nessiah covered his face with both hands.

"What isn't?"

"What you're doing. …Excusing yourself by caring." He tried not to shake, and failed. "I can't say no to that."

Gulcasa just laughed.

"You fought through the darkness, and you risked death and worse to save me. You've clawed your way back up from all kinds of sickness; surely a free ride ought to be considered a fair reward instead of some kind of punishment. When life hands you a favor, learn to take it, Nessiah."

And although he didn't voice them, the words were there, ready to be said.

Stupid. I was only able to do that because you were there the whole time, holding my hand.

Owari.