Suikoden VII

Chapter Five: Part Six

Note: Sorry for the delay, I've been having problems with my tablet.

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Chapter Five: Part Six

Potsfurt

"Excuse me, Miss Yasmine. This arrived from the capital with urgency."

Yasmine accepted the letter from the messenger at the front door and immediately opened it in front of him. She did not read the letter, but she took the pages out of the envelope and inhaled them. Then she shook out the pages and the envelope. She found no contaminations. "Thank you. I will bring this to the Prince directly."

Yasmine entered the sitting and waved off the maids. Brendan was sitting on the couch reading a book. "This letter arrived for you, Your Highness," Yasmine said, holding it out to him. "For safety reasons I checked it, and it is safe. I haven't read it."

Brendan closed the book and set it on the coffee table. "It wouldn't bother me if you did read it, Yasmine." But he took the letter from her. Yasmine watched him closely as he read it. She noted his pale complexion and sunken eyes. The constant travel between Potsfurt and Blutkrieger was starting to have a visible physical toll on Brendan. At this point Yasmine wondered if the King was trying to deliberately work the Prince to death, which would be a stupid considering they were in the middle of two major conflicts!

Someone already challenged His Majesty to Royal Combat. And the Prince cannot challenge the King for a few more years. Does he really need to treat his eldest son this way? After everything the Prince has done to prove his loyalty?

Brendan suddenly smashed the letter between his hands. The next moment he stood. "We're being called back to the capital. We need to leave—"

"No, we're not," Yasmine interjected. "Sit down, Your Highness. You're going to relax first."

Brendan narrowed his eyes. "I cannot ignore a summons—"

"You're not going to ignore it, but you're not going to respond to it right this minute," Yasmine shot back. "Ever since Prince Vahan betrayed the Crown, His Majesty has had you hopscotching between Potsfurt and Blutkrieger. You are going to collapse if you do not take a moment to breathe! Now sit—down." She enunciated her words with a hard tone.

Brendan held her gaze for a long moment. Then he slowly sat back down on the couch.

"Good," Yasmine said. "I'm going to handle your affairs for the rest of the rest, Your Highness. Relax and don't do anything. Tomorrow we will worry about departing for the capital.

Brendan still said nothing. Yasmine turned to leave. "I will notify the soldiers about—"

"If His Majesty is angry by my delay, he will try to blame you," Brendan spoke up. "He will try to punish you, Yasmine."

A hard knot formed in the pit of Yasmine's stomach. She frowned deeply and clenched her hands into fists at her sides. But when she spoke, it was in a calm tone. "There is nothing worse he can do to me than what he already has, Your Highness."

Brendan let out a shaky breath behind her. Yasmine didn't want to linger because she was afraid she would become emotional. She moved to leave, but Brendan suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist. She paused and turned to face him. His head was bent forward; she couldn't see his face.

"...Why haven't you ever blamed me?" Brendan asked finally, his tone quiet.

Yasmine stared at him. She swallowed thickly before she spoke. "Because it wasn't your fault, Your Highness," she responded.

Brendan said nothing more but he let her go. She hesitated for a moment before reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder. "Take a nap. That's an order from your assist, Your Highness."