I’m at it again. Lilina’s got some shit to work through and man, part 4 is gonna be so good. 1,271 words. 

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Ostia was large, as far as Lycian territories went, but even
so the shrine of Roland could be reached with only two days of easy riding. The
remnants of the Lycia Alliance Army were not taking an easy ride. They pushed
themselves to a frantic pace, turning what Lilina remembered to be a relatively
calm and scenic country road into a nightmare of anxiety. The bright sunshine
and warm weather was at odds with the snorting of the horses and the clink of
armor and weapons.

The faces of the villagers they passed were drawn and
frightened. Lilina wished she could stop and talk to them. Why were they
afraid? Was it Bern? Her father’s death? The coup, or the army now racing
through their land? All of the above? There were still so many things she didn’t
know about Ostia and her people, things she had to learn quickly. For one
moment Lilina felt the full crushing weights of despair and obligation. The
change in mood startled her horse, and the black palfrey dropped out of a
canter, mincing her hooves and shaking her head. It was enough to drag Lilina
back to the present and give her something to do as she regained control of her
delicate mount.

The remaining army streamed around the pair, except for Sue
who slowed. Next to the sleeker Lycian palfreys and coursers, Sue’s scruffy
brown Sacaen horse looked ridiculous. Next to the shining steel plate of the
Lycian armor, Sue’s own breastplate of bronze scales looked just as odd. But in
this case, the unusual came across as a breath of fresh air.

Lilina straightened from soothing her high-strung mare as Sue
approached.

“Lilina,” Sue said, “do you need to stop?”

“No, I’m alright,” Lilina replied. She sighed. “There’s just
a lot happening, isn’t here?”

Sue inclined her head, and her dark hair gleamed emerald in
the strong sunlight. She didn’t seem to want to say any more.

Lilina stopped herself from sighing again. Sue was always so
quiet, she’d never been able to understand the other girl and that hadn’t
changed in the years they’d been apart. “There’s not really time to stop, is
there? No time to enjoy all this.” She gestured around, to the open countryside
that the army had disturbed by their passing. “Certainly no time for weakness
on anyone’s part. I have to be stronger.” She kicked her mare firmly on the sides,
and the palfrey jumped into a startled canter, following after the army that
had passed them by.

Sue caught up quickly. The horses of Sacae possessed a
uniquely ground-eating gait that made them the equal of any of their larger,
Lycian kin. For a moment, the two rode side by side in silence. Then Sue said, “No
sense in pushing too hard either. Everything is harder and more dangerous when
you’re stressed.”

Lilina looked over at her, eyebrows raised. “With all that’s
happened, with everything I’ve lost and everything we could still lose, you
think I can just…not be stressed?” Her words came out with more anger than she
intended, but Sue seemed less upset by the anger than by any of Lilina’s
previous attempts to be polite and courteous.

“We need you,” Sue said bluntly. “We need every strong
person who is able and willing to fight. Everyone who is brave and true.”

Lilina flushed nearly as red as her mantle. No one had said
they needed her before this. Certainly, Roy had not been unhappy to have her
once she made her opinions known, but he never would have asked for her to
come. None of them would.

“I-”

“But I know,” Sue said, continuing as if Lilina had not started
to speak, “that sometimes being strong and brave means being able to ask for
what you need.”

There was no time to reply. They had caught up to their
comrades. The Lycia Alliance Army had arrived at the Shrine of Roland.

Roy moved back towards her, the army parting around his
white courser like water around a rock. In his brand new armor and mantle he
looked every bit like a war leader and nothing at all like the fifteen year old
boy Lilina knew he was. “Lilina,” he said. “I’m glad you caught up. This is the
cave right? What can we expect inside?”

Sue’s comments were forgotten as Lilina turned her attention
to the problem at hand. She followed Roy back through the ranks of the army and
to the entrance to the cave. “This is right. It’s a volcanic cave, so it’ll be
hot and difficult to traverse.” She paused. “There’s no point brining the
horses, or most of the army. Only take a few who can help.”

“I’ll go,” Sue volunteered, riding up behind them.

Roy looked at Lilina and she shrugged.

“That’ll be fine,” he said. “I’ll go pick out a few others.
Try to remember what you can about the Shrine.”

Lilina slid down from the saddle in a swirl of crimson and
maroon. She took off her mantle and rolled it up. She pulled a spell book out
of one of her saddlebags and stuffed the mantle into the empty spot. The fine
wool of her kirtle would be warm enough in a lava cave without adding a full
cloak to it.

“There’s not much to remember,” she said to Roy as he
rejoined her on foot, followed by a few of his knights and fighters. “The
Shrine is at the back of the cave. The route is narrow and the floor is
treacherous. We’ll need to be careful.”

One of the knights, a man named Alan, if Lilina remembered
correctly, spoke. “Please allow us to proceed ahead of you and clear the way my
lord, my lady.”

Roy nodded, and the chosen few streamed into the cave. Roy
walked more slowly, next to Lilina. Sue moved up just ahead of them, but kept
her bow held loosely in one hand.

“Are you alright, Lilina?” Roy asked. He, too, had noticed
her falling out of the army earlier.

Lilina shrugged again. With one hand she raised her skirts
to jump over a small crack in the floor. Small wisps of smoke rose up from it
and similar cracks all the way through to the shrine. Lilina had only come here
once before, and then her father had lifted her up over all the worst of the
dangerous parts. Lilina shook her head and blinked a few times to discourage
any tears. “I’d be lying if I said I was fine, but there isn’t time for
mourning. I have to be strong for the sake of Ostia.”

Roy offered her a small smile. “Good for you, Lilina.”

Lilina clearly heard Sue snort from her place ahead of them.

Roy heard it too, but misunderstood. “Is everything alright,
Sue?” he asked.

Sue turned around as if to reply, but the sudden clamor of
metal on metal interrupted her. She whipped back around and broke into a run,
pulling an arrow out of her quiver as she did so.

“It must be bandits!” Roy said, drawing his sword from its
scabbard. “Do you think they’ve taken Durandal?”

Lilina’s grip tightened on the spell book. “Only the worthy
can remove the sword from its rest. I think we should give these bandits the
bad news.”

“Lilina…” Roy said.

Lilina didn’t respond. She just started running to catch up
to their comrades, to reach a place where her actions would make a difference,
where, for a little while, she could forget everything but the moment right in
front of her.

Part Four.