It was evening by the time Blanc woke up.
After a quick trip to the toilet, he made his way towards the table where the rest of the group stood talking.
"And that's how I got into the Iron Line. Survival and hunger," Miyanna concluded, just as Blanc approached.
"It seems I missed quite the story," he said, making the others aware of his approach.
"Brother," sniffed Kael, acknowledging his presence even though he was barely able to speak, trying to hold back his tears, "Mi- *sniff* Miyanna had such a… such a sad story,"
"Oh, did she now?" Blanc asked, taking a seat at the head of the table next to Celine.
"My love," smiled Celine to him.
He took her hand in his and kissed it lightly before sitting straight in his chair.
"You said you would eat once you woke up," said Celine.
"Did you all have your fill?" Blanc asked.
"We ate, you did not," said Celine, getting up from the table and heading towards the kitchen.
Moments later, she came back with hot stew and placed it in front of him.
"But we have things to discuss," Blanc muttered.
"And it can wait until after you eat, can't it?" asked Celine, frustrated.
Lune, Kael, and Mianna all looked with different reactions at the two's conversations.
Kael had a sad look on his face as he looked with intent at Blanc.
He could guess what Blanc was doing. And it saddened him and made him cry even more after hearing Miyanna's story.
Lune, though sad for the same reason Kael was sniffing earlier, was enjoying her brother and his fiancée's bickering.
Her fever was gone, and yet she felt warm seeing the two. It made her remember her parents, her older sister, and the memories from the mansion.
While Miyanna, while finding the two fighting quite funny, could not put her finger on the reason why she wanted to join in on the fighting, to argue, curse, and then laugh it over.
She understood better than all others present why Blanc was not eating.
It was just one thing she saw many people do. Prioritizing who gets to eat their fill and who gets the leftovers.
It made her respect Blanc even more.
She would have never thought a Noble Blood would be capable of such self-sacrifice after all.
"Fine, fine," Blanc admitted defeat, "I eat, then we talk."
"Good," nodded Celine before she went back to asking questions to Miyanna.
Blanc wanted to listen in on their conversation, but he could not.
As he began taking a spoonful of stew to his mouth, he began preparing himself to tell all he saw last night.
He needed to prepare himself mentally.
After all, he knew either questions or tears would follow after every single thing he would say.
So he got lost in thoughts, bite after bite, slurp after slurp, he was getting himself as ready as possible.
The only thing he was thankful for was that, besides potions, he took a bottle of wine for their talks from the old woman's cottage.
He knew a glass would be necessary. And maybe Celine would join him.
Ah, wait, never mind.
She could not drink.
Not that much, at least.
He was ready to have some leeway on that as long as she knew when to stop and to control herself.
But what were the things we needed to talk about?
Ah yes. All is ready.
As ready as it can be, at least.
"Thank you and the Vita for the meal," said Blanc out loud, to nobody in particular.
"Only one bowl?" asked Celine, "There is still enough for you to eat more."
"Believe it or not, I am full," said Blanc, offering her a smile as proof, before getting up and putting his bowl back into the kitchen to be washed later.
He stopped there for a second.
Closed his eyes and sighed.
He nodded once, then spoke.
"Wine?" he asked.
"We have wine?" Celine frowned.
"Since this morning, yes," Blanc confirmed from inside the kitchen.
"I will not refuse a sip or two, then," Celine replied.
"Bot no more than that, my love. You know why," said Blanc.
"I know, I know," she dismissed playfully, "Miyanna, you want a glass?"
"Sure," she nodded, looking towards the kitchen.
She watched Blanc picking three wooden cups from a shelf and bringing them back to the table, together with a wineskin.
"What about us? Can we taste the wine as well?" asked Lune.
"You two can taste the wonderful aroma of boiled water from the river, freshly brought to a chilling temperature to bring out all the aroma," muttered Blanc as he went back and brought two other cups and water for the twins.
After Celine poured some wine for the three adults and some water for the twins, they all turned towards Blanc, worry and helpless curiosity on all their faces.
"Well then," Blanc exhaled after sipping a bit of wine for courage, "I will start with an explanation first."
After all nodded in agreement, Blanc began.
"After we saw the smoke that day, I began to feel restless," he said, looking at Kael and Lune. "Worry overtook my mind as I asked what was happening back home. So, yesterday, after you two fell asleep, I went and checked."
"What? You went back home without telling us?" Kael erupted, jumping from his chair.
"Patience, Little Kael," instructed Blanc before continuing, "I could not risk all our lives going together, and it would have taken us a lot longer that way, wouldn't it?"
"It would have," nodded Lune, pulling Kael back on his chair using his hand.
"Yes, and it took me a little bit, but I got there. And…" Blanc trailed off.
"Brother?" asked Lune, her face showing that she could guess his next words.
"I am sorry, Lune, Kael. Our family lost. The mansion and Duldera are no longer. As for Father, Mothers, and Valar, all I know is that they are either captured or have escaped. Which ones are which, or if at least one of them escaped, I cannot say. All I can say is that Blood Denegis and its allies have been defeated by the Iron Line, the Ulveth Kingdom, and its King." Blanc explained.
He tried to sound neutral, as if reading from an imperial report, devoid of any emotion, as he spoke, hoping it would somehow make it easier.
But it did not. Neither for him, nor for the others.
"What do you mean, brother?" Kael whispered, the sniffing from earlier returning, his earlier anger slowly turning into sadness, both to him and Lune. "What do you mean the mansion and Duldera are no longer? How could Father and Mothers lose? It's impossible."
"Kael," said Blanc, a sad look on his face, "I saw it with my own eyes. I found Drew, Beyanna, and the bodies of all their children in the ruins of the mansion. Duldera's walls have fallen. Not to mention that the plains of Duldera and the entrance to the Golden Forest are filled with corpses."
"And how do you know…" Lune began through the tears, "How do you know that our family is not dead between the bodies?"
"I captured one of… one of Miyanna's former colleagues," said Blanc, but was interrupted by Celine.
"Was it necessary to say it that way?" she asked.
Blanc sighed, "You are right, I am sorry, Miyanna, it was uncalled for. Let me rephrase it then. I captured a soldier of the Iron Line and questioned him. He told me all he knew. It cannot be trusted that he knew the correct information, but the general thing remains the same. We have lost. Which means that we cannot remain here. It was from him that I heard that Morois are in the forest. And it was the truth, as you all saw. And that creature of True Vita we saw that first night was fighting against twelve of them as I was coming back here," he explained, looking around the table at everyone, "Nowhere is safe anymore. Last night I wanted to leave as fast as possible because of the Morois. Now, once you all regain your strength, we will leave even if it's safe."
Silence dawned over the table they were staying at, with only the silent tears of Lune and Kael breaking the silence.
"And go where?" asked Kael after a minute.
"It's undecided yet. What I know is that nowhere is safe. Neither for you two nor for Celine. She is pregnant, Kael. She is strong. But childbirth is not swordplay nor book stories. She needs people to look after her and to help her give birth safely. If we can't offer her that, it would be safer not to have the baby at all. Celine's life is more important than that baby's life."
As Blanc continued explaining to Kael why they could not stay, Celine looked for a moment at Miyanna's face as she was stuck, wide-eyed on Blanc's face.
Yes, she felt guilty earlier at Blanc's words when he called the Iron Line soldier he captured 'her colleague'.
But more than that, Miyanna was amazed beyond belief at Blanc's words just now, 'Celine's life is more important than that baby's life.'
Did a man ever say such words before? she wondered. She really thought about it.
And all she knew of men before was that they cared more about glory and how best to throw their dicks around than to worry about the women they were with.
What man would cherish the life of a woman more than his own child?
As she asked that question, she noticed Celine's gaze, so she turned towards her, and only when she saw her wry smile did she understand.
A man who truly loves. A man who loves the person, not just the body. A man who cares, not just pretends to.
What she would give to be cared for like that.
She could not help it.
She was a warrior at her core and body, but a woman at heart and soul.
A woman who, in her survival for another day, did not know what to be cared for really meant.
Until this gray-eyed man appeared and shattered that veil around her mind.
Only to turn and swing a hammer at the glass that was her own heart.