Lora of Two Worlds

They waited two more days at the northern foot of the Thanehorn Range. At last, news from Deepford, and Alvin's convoy with von Klein. Windsor Yvain's twenty thousand had been cut into three pieces by the Yorvik, Yarrow-Deep, and Weybrook armies. Each segment destroyed separately. When the surrender order from Stoneford reached him, Yvain's eight thousand had already lost over half. Outmatched, no reinforcements, he raised the white flag and let the Yorvik guards bind him. Thrown at Cedric Hugo's feet, Yvain heard the general laugh: "Good thing we marched. My head merit, why share it with other domains?" His blade fell. Windsor Yvain joined his father on the road to the afterlife. General He and General Conrad met with Alvin, then each led their forces home. Watching Conrad's retreating column, Lora asked Alvin: "Brother, have you met General Conrad before? He seems very courteous to all of us Odenheims." "Fellow soldiers. Who knows when the Lohenheim army might fight alongside them again?" Asking Alvin was the right move, Roland would have said nothing useful. Lora pressed: "'Again'? The Lohenheim army fought alongside them before?" "The year you were born. I rode with Father to support General Claude's campaign against the rebel Baron Wyman. During the night raid on Caiford, we encountered Redmane cavalry, also there to assist the crown. The Redmane commander was Conrad's lord, Zarek Zachary, commander of the Northern Plains Command." So, old comrades in arms. Given Conrad's age, he'd been a young soldier then. And his kindness to me... was just transferred affection? Lora wanted to ask if her father had saved the chieftain. But Faye came running, arms wide: "Yangyang! I finally caught up! I moved all your things into my carriage. We share, no more loneliness!" "Perfect. Tonight at Yuanshi County, I'm going to sleep spread-eagle on a real bed." The two girls climbed into the carriage, hand in hand. The road was an official highway, well-trafficked, smooth. Alvin, Roland, and Leon climbed into the carriage too, to brief each other on everything that had happened. "The Askar men are straightforward, enroll them as guards, put them on the military register. Next year is the three-year household update, they'll officially become Lohenheim residents." Alvin had handled the guards on the road and already had it sorted. "But the Black Eagle, and Faye's matter... this concerns your life. We need to discuss with Father. If there's another way to manage the Horn family, you needn't force yourself..." Alvin addressed Roland. Roland wasn't concerned. Among noble houses, marriage for alliance was normal. Alvin only worried that Faye was Black Eagle, that Roland might not care for her. "I gave my word. They've come a thousand miles with me. No going back. I'll speak to Father and Mother myself. They'll agree." Leon said nothing. He'd already talked with Roland that night. Roland had said: Faye's nature was a bit like Lora's, lively, innocent. He didn't dislike her. Given time, affection would grow. The men finished their talk. Alvin and Roland dismounted and rode horseback. Faintly, from the carriage, the girls' voices: "I aimed straight at the center and let go. Guess what?" "What? What?" "I hit it!" "Amazing! You've barely trained. When I was little, learning archery, the bow was so heavy, my arm shook. Father made me hold the bow without letting go. Afterward, I couldn't even hold my fork." "Your father is so harsh. Mine isn't like that." Hearing Lora speak of her future father-in-law, Faye's heart raced. She'd have to serve her parents-in-law, live with them. She couldn't help asking: "Is your father easy to talk to? Does he... scold people often?" Lora didn't know about Faye's engagement to Roland. She thought of Brendan's whipping and described it vividly: "My father is only nice to me. When my brothers mess up, not just scolded. Whipped. One cry, one lash. The swelling, this high." She held her hand at the carriage ceiling. Faye's face changed. This future father-in-law, quite a temper! But Roland was gentle. He must take after his mother... "Yangyang, it would be better if you married a few years later." "I'm not marrying. What's the point? Like my mother, stuck in her courtyard, repeating the same things every day. And having baby after baby." This was still the early Empire. In later ages, women would become property. Damnable feudal society! Faye, a Black Eagle girl, raised freely, heard this and fell into confusion. Pretty dresses and handsome husbands, suddenly not so appealing. Seeing her troubled face, Lora comforted: "Just my thoughts. I won't be fifteen until winter. Plenty of time to worry about that." "But I'm already sixteen..." Faye said, forlorn. Lora hugged her, rocking: "Yes, yes, Faye's sixteen and wants to marry. When we get back to Lohenheim, I'll introduce you to my cousin. Tall, handsome, a sheriff at a young age. Marry him, you'd be a sheriff's lady!" Faye shook her head: "No, no, I don't want any cousin. Your brother has already asked for my hand. I..." A proposal? My brother? "When? How come I don't know?" Faye saw her wide eyes and panicked. Was there something wrong? She stammered: "It was... at Highgarden... didn't your brother tell you?" Highgarden? That day, she'd heard Leon and Roland talking. Leon was worried about Lord Horn. "I've already brought his son back, what's there to worry about?" Roland wouldn't scheme like this. It must have been Leon! Always quiet. Always playing the omniscient seer. And now, for his own ambitions, binding the Black Eagle to his cause. Sacrificing her brother. Lora's eyes were practically throwing sparks. She steadied herself: "Don't be afraid. I'm here. Do you not want this match?" "Your brother... he's very nice..." Lora said, patient: "Nice is one thing. But marriage needs mutual love. Two people spend their whole lives together. If he doesn't love you, what's the difference between marrying him and marrying a walking corpse?" "He doesn't love me..." Faye had never thought about this. And "walking corpse", she'd never heard the phrase. She was a thousand miles from home. Panic rose. Days of pre-wedding anxiety, bottled up, finally broke: "Yangyang, what do I do?" She held Lora and wept.

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