Rewards and Rememberances

As the battle came to an end, the grim cost of success became clear. The horde of enemies had not vanished with Vyrmar's ****, requiring a heavier set of casualties to dispense of his handiwork. A battallion of Grushta cavalry had come to aid in the fight, a surprise by all, and one that many had not immediately understood as aid. The bodies of the dead were found, collected, cleaned, and carried away the next morning to their burial place. The choice of burial location and ceremony was impressive; along a ridge line that marked an unofficial border between the two nations. The grave markers were neutral and uniform, so that passerby could not know who belonged to what nation or culture. This was surely intentional, you realize, as it would serve as a reminder and warning of any army on the march of the possible consequences.

Although the march home was swift and exuberant, there was little fanfare on the return of the Army. Over the next few days, you were curios to figure out why, but couldn't figure it out. You suspected guilt from killing one of their own, or a lack of victory from having not truly fought and defeated their nemesis, the Grushta. The closest you could come to a clear answer was that there was no cheering or open celebrations because everyone did what was expected. They left, they fought, and they returned, with Sovereign General Agrippa Demarchus' daughter returned to her, the peculiarness of which could not stop vexxing one of your comrades.

"Are we not going to talk about it?" James asked from the shared room you inhabited; Pretenses of decency had been discarded by now.

"Talk about what?" You ask. His question had been out of the blue, breaking a small silence, so you were genuinely confused.

"Does the fact that the 'daughter' we went to go rescue is an orc not bother any of you?" He asked, seemingly frustrated as he asked

"Not really, no" Bruce responded quickly, with his characteristically indifferent shrug.

"Of course you would be the one to be unphased by it" James shot back as he crossed his arms. Bruce was indifferent to his animosity

"Think about it this way. We were here to find a book, which we did. To get it, we had to rescue a girl, which we have. That the situation wasn't what we imagined is immaterial?"

"We still haven't actually gotten that book yet" Kraig added in "They said we'll get it, but we should already have it in hand and be getting our reward by now."

James heard his brother, but let the comment go, "Immaterial? You're alright risking your life based on a lie?"

"She was held captive against her will, and as bait for the Sovereign General. She was clearly in need of help. Giving how she looked, she was clearly beaten and almost certainly ****. Who she really is or is not related to doesn't matter."

"Ya, I guess." James squinted slightly as he admitted defeat "Still, don't you think it's strange nobody brought that up? Hey, this girl you're rescuing isn't _really _his daughter?"

You finally chose to speak up "They probably didn't bring it up because they didn't think anything of it. While it may be abnormal, everyone here already knows about, so they didn't think to bring it up. As for how that came to be, I'm sure there's any number of reasons why a human man male have an orcish girl as his daughter."

"You realize that's impossible, right?" James asked, still somewhat defensively "The bits and pieces of that puzzle fit just fine, so I'm told, but it doesn't produce anything. He can't be her father."

Bruce chuckled at the definitive statements, "James, you still have a lot to learn, and you shouldn't speak about parenting before actually being one." Bruce stands up, holding his arms up as if holding an infant child "you have one of them little ones in your hands, you look at them in their eyes. You do everything for them. You see them grow and learn with each passing day. You revel in seeing them become a person of their own; with every sunrise meeting a new, slightly different version of the kid you knew the night before. Whether it was your seed or not that contributed to making them is the last concern in your mind. Agrippa is her father in all of the ways that matter. If you and that elvish fiance of yours choose to adopt at any point, you'll understand for yourself."

"Right" James replied, his mind slightly vacant all of the sudden. You can see the point was made in his eyes, dotting side to side slightly. You ponder as to whether it dawned on him that if his newfound relationship were to carry on its trajectory, that it meant he couldn't sire his own children. "You make a good point old man, as usual."

There was a pronounced knocking the door, which Kraig had been closest to. All eyes moved in that direction, as the twin opened the door. On the other side was the Sovereign General's daughter herself, along with the Grand Aluf and a few of her lower ranked recruits.

"Afternoon Miss," Kraig responded with a casual smile "We're surprised to see you here, no doubt, but also very glad that you've recuperated so well." While Kraig may have been a little uncouth and jarring to talk about it so bluntly, he was right. The heavy bruising and injuries she sustained were gone, as if nothing had happened.

"Yiala, is fine, and thank you. May we come in?"

"Of course miss" He backed up quickly and extended his hand. There was some grunting from the recruits, who were carrying a pair of heavy chests into the room. Bruce, ever the gentleman, quickly rose and extended his chair to her, as there was no other place to sit.

"So," She began with a slight giggle "These are the foreign heroes I'd heard so much about. Who would have thought?" The question received a slight chuckle from the room as well, given everything you've been through.

"It's been quite the story, young lady" Bruce responds "and I'm sure it's only going to get more strange from here"

"That's hard to imagine, but I have a suspicion that you're probably right. Did you really come all the way from Krakorum, just for a book?"

"Yes" You add in with a slight bow "My name is Fiana Windblossom. The twins here are James and Kraig Dowton, and this is Bruce Clifton. It's an important book for my kin, that belongs in Elvish hands, so we came to collect it after Vyrmar had previously refused it."

"Yes, well, I can understand why" Her soft voice had turned more gruff and perturbed at the mention of him. She reached to open one of the chests, and pulled a book out "The Grand Aluf was able to find it in the archives. I was curious what all the fuss was about when I heard the story, and so I wanted to see for myself. She opened the book and absent mindedly flipped through the pages "Now, I can't read Elvish, but it's obvious to see why Vyrmar was opposed to it" She hands to book to you, open faced, as you turn the page around, you see that it's a graphic depiction of an elvish woman in the throws of ecstasy, with a cock of seemingly impossible size being pushed into her ass.

"The man hated fun" The response got a brief chuckle. You feel embarrassed at first, but realize the young woman isn't the slightest bit bothered.

"At any rate, I wished to provide you your reward in person. And, since I thought that giving you a book wasn't much of a reward, the Grand Aluf and I conspired, and brought this along as well." Kraig started to make a move towards the chests, but a slight push at his shoulder by Bruce kept him still.

"James" Adranna finally spoke up "your personal request in here as well. Free of charge. A personal gratitude, for all of you, that you kept my men and women safe. It's because of you four that any of us are here right now to talk about what happened" Whatever this personal request was is a mystery to you, but one that can wait.

"Speaking of requests" Bruce chimed in snidely, looking to the rogue "Miss Yiala, James had a question for you, if you don't mind."

He glared at the soldier for a second, but turned to young woman with a smile "No, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"You want to know about me and my father" She said flatly, with a practiced smile. Feeling awkward, James simply nodded

"It's alright. I've had to explain the story most times that we have foreign dignitaries." She adjusted her posture as she spoke, straightening and becoming more proper "There was a time where Vilory considered the Intransican Empire as distant friends. The claims of a man becoming a God is Anathema to our people, but the nation sought to strengthen the lands of men, just as they did. This meant dealing with 'the orc problem'."

As she continued, you felt a lump in your throat, and the sudden urge to walk out. Whatever comes next has to be uncomfortable for her to talk about, and you'd rather spare her, but she seems used to it by now.

"My father was a second liutenant of the Cavalry when he first came of age, scouting the lands for possible invaders and trouble makers. On reports of an orc band, he was sent to dispatch them, fearing a threat." Viala took a deep breath "the pack of warriors that they expected was predominantly women and children. My father told his superior to stop and turn back, but the orders were given just the same. My father did what he was told, until he saw me. An infant, my mother likely dead, helpless. He took me as his own and disobeyed his commander. On returning home, he was given a court martial and charged for treason for disobeying orders. He was acquitted, and it was quickly figured that he was right. When other bands had found out what had happened, their vengeance was great. He raised me ever since, and has spent his entire life trying to atone for what he did." She looked towards the roof for a moment, likely holding back a tear.

"Do you love your father?"

She nodded "Of course. It's been complicated, of course, and that wasn't always the case, but there's nothing he wouldn't do for me. Not just because he's trying to be forgiven for what he did, but because he loves me as his child."

"Well, her certainly did a great job raising you to be a strong, remarkable woman. I'm sure he's a very proud father."

"Yes, he is" She said rising from her chair, a slight pause in her words "You're alot like him, actually."

"Oh, not really" he responded humbly "just another old soldier who's had a family"

She smiled gently "This country is chocked full of old soldiers with families, and yet I don't think any of them are like you." She turned to you and the others "any of you, for that matter. I could never thank you enough, and I know if he were here, he would say the same thing. If there's anything else I could do for you before you depart, please let me know."

"Actually," Bruce spoke up "if it's not too much trouble, could I trouble you for some company over dinner?"

Adranna, wide-eyed, motioned for her recruits to leave in a hurry before Viala responded "Actually, that sounds nice. I can't promise the Sovereign General won't chauffeur me around, just to be warned."

"That's fine with me"

"Great" She responded as he left. As the door closed, there was a stunned silence. Bruce, with an uncharacteristic smile on his face looked at the three of you "What?"

"Bruce, I'm shocked" Kraig broke the quiet "Did you really just ask a princess out on a date?"

"What!? No. Just, the young lady has a very interesting story that I would like to hear more about. Besides, she's not a princess"