Trina's despair

Sir Magnus helps Corinne down from Steelheart, his large hands practically encircling her waist. "To the dungeons with her, Sire?" he asks.

"You understand the need, Corinne?" you say to her.

"Yes," she whispers, her head still lowered.

"Once she is there, remove her bonds and provide her with a good meal," you say to Magnus. "Something from the feast, rather than dungeon gruel. But give her no cutlery, nor even a bone which might be sharpened - and keep an eye on her to ensure she does not try to do harm to herself."

"Of course, Sire. Come with me now, lass." Magnus leads Corinne away, and she shuffles alongside him with her eyes lowered the entire time. Just before they disappear from sight into the castle, she glances back at you for a fleeting moment; then, she is gone.

You turn to Trina and take her hands in yours - and to your surprise, she winces and pulls back. "Forgive me, Sire," she says, and returns her hands, but carefully.

You look closer at her hands, and see that both are bruised across all the knuckles, much of the skin scraped away; and the third and fourth finger of each is bent inward at an unnatural angle, crooked and swollen. "Trina, what is this?"

"It is how I escaped my chains," she says quietly.

"You wielded a sword against that giant with broken hands?" you ask, incredulously. "Trina, you should not have been riding like this! Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"If I had, I feared you would react with concern, and tenderness," she says. "That might have re-awakened Corinne's madness. Besides, there was nothing that could have been done at the time... and the fingers are not broken, I merely **** them out of place to make my hands smaller, so that -"

"Squire!" you shout to the boy attending to your horse. "Find Master Sanjay, tell him to meet me and Lady Trina in his apothecary without delay!"

"The hands will heal, in time," Sanjay says as he finishes tying on the splints which will keep Lady Trina's fingers still until they are strong again. "I will remove the wrappings three days hence, but my Lady must take care not to put strain upon her hands for at least a fortnight. Your sword will have to remain sheathed until then, and when you are ready for the practice yard, begin with lightweight wooden swords. When you can clench your fingers tightly without pain, then they are fully healed; but a bone which has **** from its place once will do so more easily next time, so even after you are better you will need to remain aware of this."

"Thank you, Master Sanjay," you say to him. "I know these are your chambers, but may I ask you to leave us alone for a moment?"

"Of course, Sire. I take my leave, my Lady." He bows with his hands outstretched, then leaves the room and lets the door close behind him.

"Once again, I owe you my life, Trina," you say to her, stepping close and carefully taking her bandaged hands.

"Only because I allowed myself to be distracted from my duty," she mutters. "It will not happen again... it cannot happen again. I must resign from the Kingsguard, it is the only way."

"Do not speak of such things now, Trina. Wait until you have had a chance to gather your wits. I know my own have been somewhat scrambled; and I did not have to break my own hands to escape from being chained up in a crypt, nor did I put a sword through a man's heart today!"

"I cannot take the chance. It could happen again, you know it as well as I." She looks up at you, eyes shining and full of both despair and longing. "Xavier, how can I be your sword and shield when all I want is to feel your arms around me? How can I protect you from danger when to look into your eyes renders me blind to all else that passes? And how can I stand for the honor of Elyssia and her King, when I have lost what honor I had?"

"To some of what you say, I have no answer," you tell her, "but I will not allow that last to stand unchallenged. You have not lost your honor, Lady Trina Sarawynn. Yes, we allowed our passions to consume us, for a moment... we are human, Trina, and we have hearts that we might love! And if we had not, then Corinne would still have found a way to steal me away; her obsession could not have been long denied. If not for you, I would now be dead, or worse. You are the most courageous, noble, and selfless person I have ever known..." You take her cheek in one hand, catching the tear which rolls down it. "And, the most beautiful woman on this Earth."

You lean in close to her, and she kisses you, at first softly and then more deeply. When at last you break apart, she laughs and sobs at once, shaking her head back and forth. "Xavier, this is madness, you know that it is!"

"For a girl of six summers to take up a sword to fight for justice, that was madness," you tell her. "It was madness to make a blacksmith into a King. That I beheld you right before my eyes, every day for over five years, and yet I somehow never truly saw you - I tell you, I must have been mad indeed! But this," you continue, placing a hand upon her heart and then gently putting one of hers upon your own, "this is not madness, Trina. Madness would be to deny it for even one moment longer."

She looks up at you, and her deep blue eyes reveal her inner turmoil, the conflict between love and duty, hope and despair.

"We have time," you tell her. "Until your hands are healed, you will not be able to serve as Kingsguard even if you wished. Take that time, Trina. Decide what it is you want most. I fear I must go now, as our disappearance has apparently caused quite a fervor and I need to appear before the people and assure them that all is well. Once that is done, a decision must be made regarding Corinne, and for that I will need you as a witness."

"Of course." Trina takes a deep breath, and her inner strength reclaims her eyes. "Though I cannot wield my sword, there is no other Sworn Protector of the Crown present. Therefore, it falls to me to escort you, Sire."

"You may recall, my Lady... you shall have a place upon the Kingsguard for as long as you wish it to be so, even should you lack the strength to hold a sword. And so, as always, I am grateful to have you by my side."