Most of the things that needed doing were done or being done, and now Braydon did not know what to do with himself. He couldn’t start any large projects right now since he would be going to the northern border in the next week or two and he’d be damned if he started writing more letters. As he was drumming his fingers on his desk, Steven could not help but speak to stop him.
“Have you thought of interacting with other people?” Steven’s words may have been said out of irritation but he did have a point. Over the past few days since he returned, all Braydon had done was stay cooped up in his study. And that had taken as much toll on Steven’s patience as his own.
“I know, I should go talk to someone! There is nothing for me to do here anyway.” Braydon said, pretending that Steven’s idea was his own, getting an exasperated sigh from the latter. Since it was not long past midday, there were usually only two places that people would be, the great hall or the bailey. As Braydon walked into the great hall to see if anyone was there, he caught sight of Nela and Mireille. ‘Wait, how long has it been since I have even spoken to Mireille?’ Braydon started feeling a bit guilty that he had not spoken much with Mireille recently, and when she noticed him she let out a small humph. She was clearly thinking along similar lines.
“I see you have run out of things to keep you occupied.” Nela said as he approached them, her characteristic smile on her face. Clearly she had heard Mireille’s complaints already.
“There is not much I can do right now, it’s not like I can start anything with war around the corner.” Braydon answered, paying more attention to Mireille’s expression to see what she was thinking. But he was still unable to glean any more than usual, she had a real knack for keeping up her deadpan expression in all circumstances. It was equally as impressive as Nela being able to smile at almost anything.
“So that’s a yes.” Nela said as she nodded to herself, clearly not letting Braydon get around her question by using a lot of words.
“Did you speak to Rhydian before he left yesterday?” Braydon asked, ignoring the not so subtle jab that Nela was trying to make.
“No, has something happened?” Nela was going to continue teasing him but she caught onto what he was saying and became a bit more serious. Even Mireille, who had been purposefully not looking at him, turned and looked at him. She had obviously heard that war was going to be coming, everyone had.
“Armies are massing on the border, and the King has sent word to the lords of the realm to do the same. It’s now just a matter of how quickly the others respond to his call.” Braydon told them roughly what he and Rhydian had speculated upon. When he mentioned that he would have to go and lead the army, Nela nodded as it was what she had expected but Mireille grabbed onto his sleeve. When Braydon looked at her, he was sure that her expression was one of worry even if it had not changed in reality.
“No.” She uttered in a quiet voice.
“No?” For all that he liked her, she really did not elaborate on what she meant. Though Braydon did have some idea of what she was saying no to.
“Don’t go.” Not much more of an elaboration but it would suffice. Braydon was reminded of her refusing to say goodbye so that he would come back. Apparently going off to war was even more worrying to her than fighting the three barons of Kirton. He couldn’t blame her for that logic, he also took Casburland more seriously than three barons in a backwater territory. There was just no comparison between the two.
“I have to go, it’s part of my duties as a lord of Fiveria.” By the lack of response that he got and that she was still holding onto his sleeve, he knew that he had not persuaded her. And he had no clue how he was meant to, it was not like he was able to stay and not lead his army. If he had another choice, he would rather sit by and watch his brother fight, not join him.
“When are you going to head out?” Nela asked, and by the tightened grip on his sleeve, Braydon knew that this was an important question to Mireille too.
“We don’t think that there will be anything more than skirmishes for the next few weeks. Rhydian is making sure to be as slow as possible in preparing the troops. If we are to make it there in time, the latest that we could set off would be about a week from now.” When she heard that it was a week away, the grip that Mireille had loosened. When Braydon looked back to her after responding to Nela, he noticed that she was still much closer to him than when he had come into the room. Evidently, she was still not satisfied, even if they had managed to placate her for now.
“How many men are you taking with you?” Nela kept asking for more details in hopes of settling down Mireille, and also so that she knew what position they would be in.
“We were thinking of sending one unit, with the rest staying here. I really don’t have any need to send more men, this territory is not in much danger from Casburland aggression. If things go well, I might not even take to the battlefield myself.” Braydon’s response caused Mireille to tense at first, but when she heard his intention was not to fight personally she calmed down again.
“I’ll be taking Gerald and Rhydian with me, so I should be fine. They’ve gotten me out of more than one or two risky situations before.” Braydon tried to further assure Mireille that things were going to be fine, but it seemed that she was as calm as she was going to be until he returned from the north.
