“Early spring?” Hadrian asked.
“Only temporary, I’m sure,” Royce replied. “Nothing this nice stays long. Okay, now that you’re on level ground, try walking to the gate. I’ll wait here.”
Even after two weeks, the courtyard still bore signs of combat. Dark smears and sooty smudges on the walls, a broken cart, a missing door, and several shattered windows all told the story of what had happened while he had been in the prison.
Hadrian spotted another patient out for her daily exercise. Arista wore a simple blue dress and had gained enough weight to start looking like herself again. She swung her arms and took deep breaths of fresh air while circling the ward. Her hair was down and blowing in the breeze.
“Hadrian!” Arista cried out after seeing him.
He tried to straighten up and winced.
“Here, let me help you.” She rushed forward.
“No, no, I’m trying to go solo today. Royce is releasing some of his tyrannical control.” He hooked a thumb toward his friend, waiting at the palace doors. “I’m surprised Alric lets you wander around alone.”
She laughed and pointed at two well-armed guards whose eyes never wavered from her as they stood a short distance away. “He has turned into a mother hen. It’s kind of embarrassing, but I’m not going to complain. Did you know he cried the night they carried us out? Alric has always been more like our mother than I am. How can I be mad at someone for caring?”
They walked together to a bench. It was clear of snow; the warm sun had dried it clean. The two of them sat down and Hadrian was grateful for the rest.
“Alric did well,” he said. “I’m sure it was difficult for him to leave Medford and go to Drondil Fields. Royce tells me he took quite a few of the citizenry with him.”
She nodded. “Yes, and doing so made the siege difficult. Hundreds of people were jammed into the corridors, halls, and all around the courtyard. Food was scarce after only a month because there were so many mouths to feed. Alric’s advisors told him he had to deny food to the sick to save others, but he refused to listen. Some of the weak actually died. Count Pickering said Alric needed to surrender in order to save those he could. I heard from Mauvin that Alric was planning to do just that. He was just waiting until after Wintertide. I’m proud of my brother. He knew they would kill him, but he was willing to sacrifice himself for his people.”
“How are things now at Drondil Fields?”
“Oh, fine. Supplies are flowing again and Count Pickering is administrating from there. I’m not sure if you know, but Medford was destroyed. Drondil Fields will need to function as the capital until Alric can rebuild. That’s funny, as it served just such a purpose in the beginning.”
Hadrian nodded and the pair continued to sit while quietly looking around the courtyard. Arista unexpectedly took his hand and squeezed. Glancing down, he saw her looking at him with a warm smile.
“I want to thank you for trying to rescue me,” Arista said. “You have no idea how much it meant. When I was in the…” She paused and looked away, staring at some distant, unseen point. A shadow crossed her face and lingered long enough to make her lip quiver. When she spoke again, her voice was softer and less confident. “I felt very alone. More so than I imagined a person could be.”
Arista chuckled softly. “I was so naive. When I was first captured, I believed I could face death bravely—like Alric was going to.” Arista paused again, studying the fallow garden and wetting her lips. “I’m ashamed to say that I’d completely given up by the end. I didn’t care about anything. I just wanted the fear to stop. I was terrified, so terrified that… And then… then I heard your voice.” She gave another sad little smile. “I couldn’t believe what I heard at first. You sounded like a birdsong in the dead of winter… so warm, so friendly, so very out of place. I was falling into an abyss, and at the very last moment, you reached out and caught me. Just your voice. Just your words. I don’t think I can ever express how much they meant.”
He nodded and squeezed her hand back. “I’m pleased to have been of service, my lady.” Hadrian gave a reverent little bow of his head.
They sat quietly again for some time. When the silence was nearly uncomfortable, Hadrian asked, “What are you going to do now? Go with Alric to Drondil Fields?”
“Actually, that’s something I need to talk to you about—but not today. We both have healing yet to do. It will wait until we are stronger. Did you know Esrahaddon is dead?”
“Yeah, we found that out.”