The Union

He raised his knuckles and was about to knock when he stopped. He glanced at the woman beside him.

"You must, Tim. You must." Lucia said.

"Okay" Timothy inhaled and knocked on the door.

"Erik. It"s me. I... I have to talk to you for a bit."

Steps pounded from the other side of the door followed by the creaking of the hinge.

After opening the door and seeing them, Erik grinned. "Are you going to boast about your love-life again Tim?"

Erik"s cheerfulness made it harder for him to proceed. Lucia then gripped his hand and looked at him in a way that gave him courage.

"I"ll leave the two of you alone." Lucia said.

She let go of his hand and walked away.

Timothy turned his attention to Erik. His cheerful face was no more. "What happened Tim? Something wrong?"

"We should talk inside"

"Um. Okay. Then, after you" he gestured towards the room.

Timothy then found himself seated in front of Erik.

"Your talent in avoiding eye contact is uncanny" Erik commented. "So? What do you want to talk about Tim?"

"A letter just arrived. From Knightsend. Marquis Benedict is...uh.."

Timothy struggled to find the words.

"He"s no more, Erik."

Timothy was finally able to look Erik in the eye. His friend"s eyebrows twitched. Erik then gave a wheezing laugh as he shook his head.

"Tim, that"s not a good joke. Despite how I act, I still love my father you know"

"I"m not joking Erik."

"You"re not joking? Cut it out Tim. He"s dead? He"s Benedict Connel. The famous Benedict Connel, Tim. My old man is a little bit senile if you ask me. But he"s a great man. He will not die just like that"

Even though it pained him, Timothy handed the letter to Erik. The letter was full of insults and no son should read such insults about his father. Nevertheless, Erik deserves to know what happened.

After reading, Erik laughed again. "This is obviously a fake. Bernie must have taken a joke too far. This is fake!" he raised his voice.

He threw the paper. "Fake Tim. Fake! My father is not dead. He is Marquis Benedict Connel. He is not dead Tim!"

Erik sprang up and grabbed the chair. He smashed the chair on the floor.

"Lies! lies! lies!" he chanted every time he slammed the chair.

Erik soon ran out of strength. The chair was already splintered when he stopped. He sat on the floor and leaned against the bed.

Erik screamed. He pounded his fist on the floor.

Timothy rushed towards Erik and embraced his friend. He didn"t say anything because Erik needed warmth more than words.

Erik sobbed on his shoulder. His tears were many and his grief overbearing.

"I will avenge him. I will get justice for my father. I will stuff that letter to Rickard"s filthy mouth. I will let him suffer a fate a million times worse than what he did to my father. Give me my revenge Tim. When the time comes, let me be the one to end his worthless life!"

"Yes. I will make sure of it Erik. I will give you justice. We will crush him like the insect he is. I promise this to you. As your friend I will."

It took more than an hour for Erik to calm down. He was still sobbing when Timothy let go of his embrace.

"I hate to ask this of you, but you should be the one to tell Lady Maria of this."

Erik nodded weakly with his head lowered.

Timothy doesn"t want to leave Erik with this state but he still have many things to do. Now that Marquis Benedict is dead, he was more determined to take his army to Knightsend.

He let go of Erik and gave him one last pat on the back. "We will leave tomorrow Erik. We will destroy General Rickard, his army and those treacherous mercenaries."

Timothy stood up and went to the door.

"Tim" Erik called.

He looked behind. Erik, with ragged hair and swollen eyes, looked at him with an expression br.i.m.m.i.n.g with rage.

"You promised. You told me that you will help me find justice for my father. I"m expecting that you"ll deliver."

Timothy nodded to that.

"Leave it to me. I will dismantle Knightsend stone by stone if I have to. I will give your father the justice he deserves."

**********

"You don"t have to do this you know" Sylvie said.

Lucia didn"t respond. She just continued replacing Sylvie"s bandage.

"Hey. I said you don"t have to do this." Sylvie repeated.

"I heard you"

Sylvie pushed her body into a sit. "Then stop." She gripped Lucia"s wrist. The two guards standing behind stepped forward but Lucia gestured for them to stand down.

She glared at Sylvie. This woman is stubborn.

"Your wound is still fresh. Your healing is not that good. Changing your bandage will keep it clean."

Sylvie let go of her wrist. "Others can replace it."

"Not to boast but I probably have the most experience in doing this. Also, the other Medicus are army medics. Do you want your upper leg to be touched by men you don"t have special relations with?"

"You know that"s not what I meant. Why are you doing this? I betrayed you!"

Lucia again remained silent. She was too tired to argue with Sylvie.

"I tried to kill you once!" Sylvie again exclaimed.

"Twice. You tried to kill me twice. The last time I almost died. You also spied for the Wismarines. I treated you as a friend and you repaid me with betrayal."

"The why?! Why are you sitting beside my bed and replacing my bandage?"

Lucia lifted her head and released a long sigh.

"Because I don"t want your wound to fester. Whether you like it or not, our fates are again intertwined. I still haven"t forgiven you for you betrayal and as much as I want to believe that you"ve changed, I still can"t trust you. But here I am, changing the bandage of someone who tried to kill me. Because I really, absolutely don"t want your wound to fester."

Sylvie lay down and looked away from Lucia. "I"m sorry okay? I"m really sorry. What I did was wrong. You may not forgive me but I just want you to know."

"I don"t really hate you Sylvie. Despite what you did, I don"t hold a grudge against you. Timothy told me what you did for Erik. Good. That was good."

Lucia finished the bandage and cleaned Sylvie"s bedside.

"And don"t pout Sylvie. I know you"re pouting. Be cheerful for Erik. He needs you. His father just died and he needs your support"

Sylvie again sprang. Her quivering eyes were fixed on Lucia.

The guards behind grunted and Lucia doesn"t know if it"s because of Sylvie"s rash actions or because of the news.

"The Marquis? He"s dead?" Sylvie asked.

"Yes. He"s dead. Timothy is informing Erik as we speak. So you see, this wedge between us doesn"t matter right now."

Sylvie blinked a few times. Her expression changed from surprise to sadness.

"Okay. I"ll come to Erik later." Sylvie said.

Lucia didn"t talk to her after that. She fixed her things and went outside with the guards. After opening the door, she saw that Timothy was leaning against the wall and waiting for her.

His face was downcast. His hair which was normally combed neatly was all over the place.

"Tim!" She blurted. She looked behind and gestured for the guards to leave them.

Timothy didn"t wait for the guards to leave. He trudged forward and hugged her.

"I"m comforting Erik but my feelings are also in shambles. He"s a good man. The late Marquis. Before our relations broke down because of the thing with Erik being my squire, he was good to me. Whenever he visits Erik in the palace, he would always bring me presents. I respected him, Lucia. I told Erik that I will get justice for him. But the truth is, I"m mostly doing it for myself. I want to avenge Marquis Benedict."

Timothy then started to sob and Lucia"s heart broke.

Lucia caressed Timothy"s back. "I"m here. I"m here for you. I will always be here for you. Understand? Cry. Sob. Talk. I will listen and I won"t go."

Timothy didn"t let go of her. He sobbed like a child. Lucia doesn"t want to see him like this. She wanted to dispel his sadness as soon as possible.

After a while, Timothy wiped the tears off his eyes. With a still breaking voice he said, "I may need to change our plans a little. We need to speak with Henry."

Lucia immediately understood him but she was still uncertain about this.

"Do you really need them?This could turn ugly if handled poorly." She said.

"Yes. I need some of them. This has just become a war of ideologies. I will smack that monster with the truth. Before he dies, I will show him that his life"s work is useless. I will show him that all his struggles, his efforts- he lived and he will die a useless man. Unlike Benedict, he will die alone, hated by the many. I will break him beyond repair. He said in his letter that chivalry is dead, that it is futile. No. I will show him just how wrong he is."