Duty

Chapter 84 The comfort of home

Eloni felt like she could cry in relief when one of the stable hands informed her Byron had returned. She had been so frightened, so terribly frightened, that she would lose him.

She had heard the news of what had happened. He had lost his leg. Of course that was terrible, but it would have been unbearable if she had lost him completely.

He survived. He would survive living with one leg as well. It would take time, but Byron was strong in both mind and body. If there was anyone that could come out of this stronger, it was Byron.

Running out to meet him, Eloni almost tripped over her skirts, but she barely even noticed. She needed to see with her own eyes that he was really here.

Byron wasn't the only one that had returned to Lavos. Several soldiers had been too injured to continue fighting. Not all of them had lost limbs, but Eloni saw a man without a hand, and one who had lost an eye. It made her slow her pace a little and she drew a deep breath. What would her rection be when she saw him? When she saw his missing leg? She walked on more cautiously now. She didn't want him to think she was appalled by his appearance. He was still Byron. He was still the man she loved.

A cart pulled up in the courtyard with more injured. Eloni made her way over in anticipation.

True enough, on the back of the cart, she found Byron.

As the cart had come to a halt, he carefully lowered himself to the ground, supported by a pair of crutches.

Eloni withdrew a sharp breath as tears formed in her eyes. The sound of it made Byron look up and his eyes locked with hers.

Slowly, Eloni approached him and reached out a hand to touch his face. A sob escaped her lips.

Byron let out a long breath and locked his arms securely around her waist. Neither of them noticed the crutches falling to the ground, nor the other men grinning at them. All that mattered was that they were together again.

Eloni cried against his shoulder as she held him close. She never wanted to let him go.

Byron planted a soft kiss in her hair and against her temple. "It's alright, love," he said quietly, "I'm here. I'll be alright. Don't cry now, love."

"I thought I had lost you," Eloni cried.

"Hmmm," Byron nodded, "but I'm still here." He brushed the hair away from her face. "Let me look at your face. I have missed looking at it."

Eloni smiled through her tears. "Let us go inside then. You should eat and rest. And then you can look at me all you like."

...

He couldn't believe the news. It could not be true. But it had to be true. There was a reason Cyrus had needed to rush home all of a sudden. He had heard the words Cyrus had relayed to him before departing. Words that couldn't be entrusted to paper lest they fall into the wrong hands. News like this in times of war would only cause political unrest in already disturbing times, and it might just be what would tip the scale.

Still... he hadn't expected this news.

Darius sunk down on his cot and buried his head in his hands. Just when he had sent Torcan away something like this had to happen. Just when he needed someone to confide in, someone he could share his feelings with.

Someone he could trust.

He hadn't always been close with his sister. In fact, he wasn't sure he had been close with her at all. But she was his sister and he cared for her. Had cared. Past tense. She was gone now. A tragic end for a girl wo had lived a hard life, far away from home and filled with duty. Had she even been happy? At all?