With Ariana's camp up in arms as the news of the assassination attempt spread, the major leaders of the army were spread thinly, restoring order and organizing the search for the other assassins. Shaye insisted on leading that search herself, once she was dressed, asserting her authority as First Blade easily over the Arctrans who had chosen to follow the True Queen. Though it had taken more than an hour, the two remaining Skarrans were captured alive, their attempts to kill themselves thwarted by quick thinking from the men and women who found them. Their questioning would be left until morning, though Shaye again insisted on overseeing their incarceration even as word was sent to the Commander that their interlopers had been found. She had a special hatred of Skarrans - that they had been used to try and kill her Queen was just another reason to want them dead.
Liam, too, had been busy giving and overseeing orders. Now that they were closing in on the Usurper and her army, they needed to take special care that they weren't taken by surprise and that no other interlopers invaded their camp. He ordered Clan Tarven to take charge of guarding the True Queen and keeping her and her Consort safe before checking in with the Queen himself to inform her that two more assassins had been found and would be interrogated. That had taken longer than expected, but he hoped the young queen would take to heart the advice he had given her.
There were other matters that needed tending to after that, and by the time the Commander was finally able to return to his own tent to rest, it was already morning. It was just as well he'd given orders that they'd be remaining there for at least another night, in part to allow their scouts time to scour the area and in part to allow them all to get another night's rest before moving on. They would need to be extra vigilant now that they were nearing enemy territory, and the extra sleep would be welcome.
Shaye arrived back at their shared tent just moments after Liam, and for a brief moment, entertained the idea of just walking straight back out again. Though she was now covered in tunic and pants, boots on her feet, she knew he was still angry about how ingrained her instincts were - that she would respond to the sound of her queen shouting for help without even putting on boots before she ran to assist. But it had been a long night, and she was cold and tired. Even if they ended up shouting at one another again, she couldn't think of anything better than lying in Liam's arms to sleep. Pausing to close the tent flaps securely, she turned to face him, her dark eyes wary.
Liam didn't even so much as turn around when she entered their tent. He didn't have to look to know it was Shaye. He knew her almost as well as she knew herself. There was no mistaking her footsteps, the sound of her breathing, or even her scent - distinctive as all of that was to this one woman he'd known since childhood. He had tugged off his coat and tossed it carelessly aside, as was his habit, and was about to dispense with his boots when she joined him. He knew she was likely angry at him for scolding her in front of the guards - her, the First Blade - perhaps the only person in the Queen's Army who was not under his command and not subject to his orders. He didn't blame her for having rushed to the Queen's rescue - he'd followed practically on her heels. What irked him was how she always gave such little regard to her own safety, as if she didn't matter, as if her life was unimportant, except perhaps to him.
Unbuckling her sword harness from her shoulders - one of the few who carried her sword strapped between her shoulders for ease of movement - she shrugged out of it, setting the weapon aside before moving toward the brazier to warm her pale fingers. "The Skarrans are secure," she told him. "The Wild Ones want to interrogate them - they say the Goddess will give them more truth than our tortures will." Business, perhaps, before pleasure, but it was the only way she could see to open a dialogue between them. For all that he was the Commander and she, the First Blade, they were still Liam and Shaye, and as such, they still had trouble, at times, expressing themselves like adults.
He grunted his acknowledgement, as she'd likely expected him to do, as he tugged his boots from his feet. He would not be caught with his pants down again, though he was expecting no more trouble now that morning had arrived. "They can try, but if they do not have results by noon, then we will do things our way," he replied, keeping his eyes on his boots, rather than look at her for fear he might soften and she might find him weak. "I have ordered Clan Tarven to guard the Queen," he added, knowing full well he had done no such thing - he had made the request, and they had agreed. There was no ordering the clansmen to do anything they didn't want to do. "I should have done that already," he added, regretfully.
At this pronouncement, Shaye forced herself not to laugh, knowing full well that no one ordered Kari's people to do anything. Indeed, even if they were ordered not to do something, invariably they did it. Holding in her smile, she glanced at Liam. "No one could have predicted they would try something so forthright. There are twelve guardsmen dead, and another fighting for his life. Skarran assassins are the best at what they do, and the cruelest."
"And twelve families who have lost a loved one," Liam remarked, darkly. Shaye knew him well enough to know he was likely to blame himself for this, though no one else in camp would blame him for it. Death was the price they all paid for war, and though their cause was a just one, Liam agonized over each soldier that was lost, as if he were a kinsman. "They deserve cruelty in return, but we are not Skarran." He finished with his boots and set them in front of the brazier to dry.
"No, we are not Skarran," she agreed vehemently, turning to remove her own boots now her hands were no longer numb with cold. "And we are not Velasca. Torture should not be our first choice, or even our second. We are better than they are. The moment we become like them, everything is lost." She sighed, thumping down onto the edge of the bed to tug at her boots. "I should have checked the sentry lines before I came to bed."
"Already done," he replied, having done that himself only a short while ago. "When this is over, I'm going to spend a week soaking in a hot bath and another week sleeping. And I'm going to eat my fill and get stinking drunk," he said, stretching his arms over his head and twisting to crack his back. There were days when he felt far older than his thirty-some odd years. There were other things he planned on doing, too, but he made no mention of those just yet.
Shaye was quiet for a long moment, her boots forgotten by the bed as she leaned forward onto her knees. "It'll be over soon," she murmured. "A month, maybe less. The scouts are reporting that they've seen the campfires outside Loscar - it looks as though Velasca intends to fight openly, rather than risk the city."
"Fool," Liam muttered. "She'd do better fortifying the city, but we will take advantage of her mistake. We have to be careful now. She will stop at nothing to be rid of Ariana before we reach her camp." He deposited himself on the bed, debating between breakfast and sleep and maybe something else.
Rubbing her brow, Shaye sighed again. "She's running out of time, and she played her hand too soon," she said. "We'll be ready for her now." She raised her head, turning weary eyes onto him where he sat near her. "I'm surprised you haven't growled at me yet. Surely you'll been holding onto a scolding all night."
Liam, too, had been busy giving and overseeing orders. Now that they were closing in on the Usurper and her army, they needed to take special care that they weren't taken by surprise and that no other interlopers invaded their camp. He ordered Clan Tarven to take charge of guarding the True Queen and keeping her and her Consort safe before checking in with the Queen himself to inform her that two more assassins had been found and would be interrogated. That had taken longer than expected, but he hoped the young queen would take to heart the advice he had given her.
There were other matters that needed tending to after that, and by the time the Commander was finally able to return to his own tent to rest, it was already morning. It was just as well he'd given orders that they'd be remaining there for at least another night, in part to allow their scouts time to scour the area and in part to allow them all to get another night's rest before moving on. They would need to be extra vigilant now that they were nearing enemy territory, and the extra sleep would be welcome.
Shaye arrived back at their shared tent just moments after Liam, and for a brief moment, entertained the idea of just walking straight back out again. Though she was now covered in tunic and pants, boots on her feet, she knew he was still angry about how ingrained her instincts were - that she would respond to the sound of her queen shouting for help without even putting on boots before she ran to assist. But it had been a long night, and she was cold and tired. Even if they ended up shouting at one another again, she couldn't think of anything better than lying in Liam's arms to sleep. Pausing to close the tent flaps securely, she turned to face him, her dark eyes wary.
Liam didn't even so much as turn around when she entered their tent. He didn't have to look to know it was Shaye. He knew her almost as well as she knew herself. There was no mistaking her footsteps, the sound of her breathing, or even her scent - distinctive as all of that was to this one woman he'd known since childhood. He had tugged off his coat and tossed it carelessly aside, as was his habit, and was about to dispense with his boots when she joined him. He knew she was likely angry at him for scolding her in front of the guards - her, the First Blade - perhaps the only person in the Queen's Army who was not under his command and not subject to his orders. He didn't blame her for having rushed to the Queen's rescue - he'd followed practically on her heels. What irked him was how she always gave such little regard to her own safety, as if she didn't matter, as if her life was unimportant, except perhaps to him.
Unbuckling her sword harness from her shoulders - one of the few who carried her sword strapped between her shoulders for ease of movement - she shrugged out of it, setting the weapon aside before moving toward the brazier to warm her pale fingers. "The Skarrans are secure," she told him. "The Wild Ones want to interrogate them - they say the Goddess will give them more truth than our tortures will." Business, perhaps, before pleasure, but it was the only way she could see to open a dialogue between them. For all that he was the Commander and she, the First Blade, they were still Liam and Shaye, and as such, they still had trouble, at times, expressing themselves like adults.
He grunted his acknowledgement, as she'd likely expected him to do, as he tugged his boots from his feet. He would not be caught with his pants down again, though he was expecting no more trouble now that morning had arrived. "They can try, but if they do not have results by noon, then we will do things our way," he replied, keeping his eyes on his boots, rather than look at her for fear he might soften and she might find him weak. "I have ordered Clan Tarven to guard the Queen," he added, knowing full well he had done no such thing - he had made the request, and they had agreed. There was no ordering the clansmen to do anything they didn't want to do. "I should have done that already," he added, regretfully.
At this pronouncement, Shaye forced herself not to laugh, knowing full well that no one ordered Kari's people to do anything. Indeed, even if they were ordered not to do something, invariably they did it. Holding in her smile, she glanced at Liam. "No one could have predicted they would try something so forthright. There are twelve guardsmen dead, and another fighting for his life. Skarran assassins are the best at what they do, and the cruelest."
"And twelve families who have lost a loved one," Liam remarked, darkly. Shaye knew him well enough to know he was likely to blame himself for this, though no one else in camp would blame him for it. Death was the price they all paid for war, and though their cause was a just one, Liam agonized over each soldier that was lost, as if he were a kinsman. "They deserve cruelty in return, but we are not Skarran." He finished with his boots and set them in front of the brazier to dry.
"No, we are not Skarran," she agreed vehemently, turning to remove her own boots now her hands were no longer numb with cold. "And we are not Velasca. Torture should not be our first choice, or even our second. We are better than they are. The moment we become like them, everything is lost." She sighed, thumping down onto the edge of the bed to tug at her boots. "I should have checked the sentry lines before I came to bed."
"Already done," he replied, having done that himself only a short while ago. "When this is over, I'm going to spend a week soaking in a hot bath and another week sleeping. And I'm going to eat my fill and get stinking drunk," he said, stretching his arms over his head and twisting to crack his back. There were days when he felt far older than his thirty-some odd years. There were other things he planned on doing, too, but he made no mention of those just yet.
Shaye was quiet for a long moment, her boots forgotten by the bed as she leaned forward onto her knees. "It'll be over soon," she murmured. "A month, maybe less. The scouts are reporting that they've seen the campfires outside Loscar - it looks as though Velasca intends to fight openly, rather than risk the city."
"Fool," Liam muttered. "She'd do better fortifying the city, but we will take advantage of her mistake. We have to be careful now. She will stop at nothing to be rid of Ariana before we reach her camp." He deposited himself on the bed, debating between breakfast and sleep and maybe something else.
Rubbing her brow, Shaye sighed again. "She's running out of time, and she played her hand too soon," she said. "We'll be ready for her now." She raised her head, turning weary eyes onto him where he sat near her. "I'm surprised you haven't growled at me yet. Surely you'll been holding onto a scolding all night."