Reflections

Making his way from the infirmary, Magnus ignores the looks and greetings of the soldiers and staff as he passes through town. Making his way through an open gate, he wends his way down a path between a small copse of trees next to the city. Finally reaching a clearing, the early morning sun glitters across a blue lake stretched out in front of him. Moving to the water’s edge he bends down and takes a look at his reflection in the clear water. Looking back at him are his own tired and haunted eyes. Finding no answer or solace he reaches down and takes a handful of water, splashing it over his face. Moving back from the water’s edge, he takes a seat on a fallen log and draws his sidearm, laying it on the trunk next to him. Slowly and methodically, he begins disassembling his pistol. Checking the spring and the chamber for signs of defects or wear. As he begins putting it back together, he hears footsteps coming from the city. Continuing to put together the handgun he ignores the steps even when they come to a stop just behind him.

"Thought I might find you here. You always did love water."

"What do you need Amirah?" Taking a seat next to him she offers him a foil wrapped sandwich.

"You need to eat. You won't catch Arthur or Vivienne if you collapse from exhaustion." Taking the package from her he unwraps it and looks at her

"Thank you." Smiling she brushes her black hair back behind her ear.

"Don't worry about it. Whether you like it or not Magnus I will always be here to look after you." Finishing a bite from his sandwich Magnus chuckles a dry chuckle.

"Always so loving and caring you are Amirah. Careful someone might mistake you for a loving housewife instead of the sword wielding marshal you are." Pouting she pushes him from the log.

"Why are you always like this Magnus? Why is everything a joke to you? You have people who actually care about you and are concerned about you and all you do is brush it off with snide comments and jokes. Why won't you ever open up and let us in?" Sighing, Magnus looks out over the water once more.

"You know why. There's far too much at stake."

"Dammit Magnus. You have to let someone in. You need to...." Before she can finish, her PDA beeps and with a frustrated look, she taps away for a moment before getting up.

"Please at least think about it. Can you promise me that?" Looking back at Amirah, sadness wells up in him at the barely contained tears in her eyes.

"I'll try. I'm not making any promises though."

With one last sad look she turns from Magnus and heads back towards the town. Waiting until he can no longer hear Amirah walking away, Magnus gets up and stretches the kink from his back. Tossing the last of his sandwich into the lake, Magnus picks his pistol up from the log and begins making his way back into town.

Sitting quietly at a table in the barracks mess hall, the five women look at each other, none wanting to be the first to speak. Finally breaking the silence with a sigh, Lana begins to talk.

"We each need to decide what to do. I can't decide for you. This is too big a decision for one person alone to decide. I understand perfectly if you can no longer remain with the unit. Thoughts?” Looking around at the other women, Lana settles into her seat and waits. Looking up from her hands, Celeste is the first to reply.

“I’ll Stay. Magnus is probably the best chance I have of finding those responsible for the death of my father. If I have a chance to make them pay, even if it’s only a small one, I’m going to take it.” Smiling, Ikane looks over at the dark-haired women.

“I’m also staying. I’ve known Magnus a long time and I’m not going to leave his side again. It was the worst decision I ever made letting him leave without me. It’s not happening again.” Kicking her feet up on the table, Eva leans back in her chair.

“Well, I reckon it’ll be absolute chaos going forward. That’s my kind of tune, I’m in.” Laughing Lana looks across the table at the blonde woman.

“You truly are nuts Eva, you know that?” Before she can reply, Ariane slams her hands onto the table, a look of disgust crossing her face.

“Are you all serious. You realise he’s the enemy right? He’s literally what we trained to fight. You’re all out of your mind if you think for a second that I would stay. He may be the best Paladin that’s even served in the order, but he’s still a demon. I’m out of here.” Before anyone can stop her, she pushes the chair back, ignoring it as it slams into the wall. Stalking off, Ariane doesn’t look back as she leaves the four women to continue staring at her back. Sighing, Lana gets up from her chair and puts the flung chair to rights.

“Well, that went about as well as I expected. Out of all of us here, Ariane is the most stringent for the rules. Ikane, you remember how much fuss she made when you wanted to get a shimmer.”

“Yeah. You would think I kicked her dog or something that way she behaved.” Putting her feet down from the table, Eva leans forwards and looks Lana in the eye.

“So, what now, o fearless leader?”

“Now we head back to Magnus and let him know what we have decided and that Ariane will no longer be a part of this unit.” Getting up from the table, the four remaining women leave the mess hall and head towards the town center.