27 Resolve (1/2)

She strode past the entrance like an arrow released by accident, one that had a granite wall as its unintended target. But there truly was one final obstacle in her path.

”Child,” called someone.

The somber voice that belonged to a much older man brought her up short again. It made her lift her gaze, which, before that moment, had been trained on the ground, looking at nothing except where next to place her feet.

A familiar pair of dark eyes – large and slightly drooping at the corners – met her sight. Due to age and to all that life kept putting him through, these eyes were more lined than the ones Hilde was used to seeing.

”Lord General…” she said, voice barely audible. Because of the House's high ceiling and largely empty interior, however, it echoed.

Lothar's father tilted his head to one side, a trace of humor in his quirked mouth. ”So formal, Princess?”

The next breath that Hilde drew in hitched in her throat.

”Uncle…”

Before she knew what she meant to do, she had crossed the handful of paces that separated the two of them. For the first time these last handful of days, she gave free rein to all the grief and pain she'd been carrying, though perhaps it was more accurate to say that the control had been wrenched away from her hands.

Face pressed against Lord Alfwin's shoulder, the young woman sobbed her heart out and released all her pent-up rage. The sounds of her wordless agony were muffled, yet at the same time, they were amplified by the thick windowless walls that enclosed five biers arranged in a semi-circle.

”Did you know, my dear?” the Lord began. One of his arms was around Hilde's violently shaking shoulders, his left hand rested on the crown of her head. He made no attempt to make soothing gestures, knowing perhaps how useless they would be. In a reflective tone, he went on, ”Next to my children's passing while I live, this situation is the realization of one of my worst fears.” He paused and slackened his hold on Hilde, prompting her to raise her face so he could see it. Lord Alfwin's expression hardened and he shook his head. ”My son has truly ended up making you cry,” he said. ”And now I have three good reasons not to forgive him.”

Hilde did not need to ask what the other two were.

He had failed to protect the Prince he was sworn to – that was the first.

The second was dying on top of that failure.

Lothar was undeniably guilty of these offenses, and there was no use trying to protest Lord Alfwin's harsh judgment. She knew, he gave it both as a father and as a general.

The third offense, she could do something about. There were few enough things she could still give the man she idolized and adored; she let him off from the inconsequential crime of breaking her heart.

Drawing once again from the skills of her former identity, Hilde forced her tears to stop.

Seeing this and understanding her intent, Lord Alfwin actually let out a weak chuckle.

”Even when Lothar was alive, I could not quite believe that he deserved your devotion as a student, much less your budding affections as a woman.” Smiling in reminiscence, the Lord cupped Hilde's face and used his thumbs to wipe at her tears. ”It was but the jest of two drunk fathers that had brought the two of you together. You asked the King for a sword and a teacher, and I happened to have been thinking that my so-called genius son could use a more difficult challenge. One he will not master in short order.”

Lord Alfwin released Hilde, resting his hands on her shoulders instead. He then surprised her by laughing again, and more heartily.

”He saw the task of teaching you as his first mission as a soldier, and you – you proved to be everything I could have hoped for. Lothar at twelve did not know how to handle your four-year-old self, and the man he was at twenty-four was hardly any better. That my son had managed to reach maturity at all with his character only slightly twisted, that was your doing, Princess. And now I freely admit, despite his many inadequacies, I did secretly harbor the hope that I might one day call you daughter.”

Without a certain veteran actress' help, Hilde would have ended up crying again at any given point during Lord General Alfwin's speech. As it was, all she could do throughout was smile wistfully as her own memories of the years they spent together surfaced in her mind – from when they were children to the last time they ever saw each other.