“Thank God…” Hector threw his head back and breathed a sigh of release.

He looked at Jon. “Ready for bed?”

“Yeah,” Jon answered.

Now, he could get a good look in the room. It was smaller, with a library of books. Instead of a large bed, there were three smaller beds side by side.

Hector lifted Jon into the bed closest to the door.

“Is that fine?” Hector asked him when he was done.

“Yeah.”

Hector turned away, before hesitating and turning back to Jon.

“Do you want to be under the covers?”

“...Maybe,” Jon replied.

Hector fixed the covers so that they were over Jon.

“I’m not undressing you…”

Jon nodded with agreement. He did reach for his own overalls and unbuttoned them under the covers so he could pretend to be comfortable.

He heard Hector throw himself on the bed. “Ugh…”

Jon tried to fall asleep. He couldn’t. Being in the chair meant that he couldn't exhaust himself. All he could do was stare at the roof.

Eventually, he heard Mallory come into the room. He didn’t him pass by, but he heard a large [ile of clothes crumple onto the floor before Mallory threw himself onto the bed.

Mallory’s clothes are pretty heavy, Jon thought.

“...Are you still awake?” Mallory asked to the air.

“Yep,” Hector said.

“Yep,” Jon responded.

Mallory sighed upon answering, taking large breaths in between each of his own responses. “It’s almost over… two more days… and then…”

“Amalia was in love with me?” Hector asked. Jon heard him sit up as he did.

Mallory didn’t answer immediately.

“Mallory, answer me.”

Mallory had always held his tongue in service of keeping the peace, but now Jon could feel true fear and hesitation within Mallory's non-action. All this while he kept staring at the ceiling. Jon attributed this to practice

“Mallory.” Hector pressed on. “If you knew, why didn’t you tell me?”

Mallory still didn’t answer.

“Are you asleep?” Hector added after.

“No,” Mallory answered quickly. He seemed ready to talk now. “No. Just...I don’t know. I don’t think that I can speak for Amalia.”

“But Tallow-”

“Tallow’s gonna assume what she knows about people,” Mallory said. “She has to make judgments like that, ‘cause she’s out in the wild. She has to play her cards close to her chest. But, you, Hector, you-”

“I’m sheltered,” Hector responded, disheartened. “So I can afford to make mistakes like that. I get it.”

Jon started to recognize the self-defetedness Hector carried around him. Jon didn’t even know if he was ever that down back at the farm.

“I… I don’t…” Mallory couldn’t seem to find the words.

Hector found his own.

“So, you didn’t tell me cause it didn’t matter. Got it.” Hector concluded.

There was some more silence after.

“...Hector.” Mallory finally said, “Just talk to her. I think there’s just a lot of heightened emotions right now. Everyone’s hyperactive and jumpy.”

“And I have to be the smart one?” Hector complained. “ It’s not fair.”

More silence. Jon understood that Mallory was trying to give Hector his space, which Hector eventually found the words to fill.

“...Is this how you feel all the time… Mallory?”

“...A little.”

“...I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t apologize Hector. Just give things some time. You can talk to Amalia when this whole thing blows over.”

Jon then heard creaking on the bed next to him. He assumed that was Mallory adjusting.

“Whether Amalia is or isn’t in love with you… that’s on her, Hector. You shouldn’t ignore her feelings, but you shouldn’t burden yourself either.”

“Why couldn’t more people just be like Jon’s mom,” Hector suddenly said, changing the subject of the conversation. Jon still felt like it was a relevant point. He was just trying to figure out why.

“I miss her,” Hector added.

I miss her too, Jon thought. He just didn’t feel very comfortable sharing that fact with Hector. He still wanted to know why.

“...You want to marry Jon’s mother?”

Marry?

“No!” Hector yelled., sitting up quickly. “No way!”

Mallory was already laughing.

Jon smiled, partly because Hector marrying his mother was funny, partly because it was nice to hear genuine laughter.

“I’m joking, dude,” Mallory replied. “Jon’s mother is nice. But who knows what she had to go through when she was younger.”

Hmm. Jon never thought about it. His mother never talked about her past. And neither did Jassiter. Jon did learn about Graves when just before he ended up leaving the farm. Maybe he should ask when he got back. It would probably be way more void of political power play weddings.

“You think I can find someone like her?” Hector asked.

Like my mother?

“I think you already have,” Mallory said simply.

Who?

“Huh…” There wasn’t much more talking after that. Jon wanted to hear much more about how nice his mother was, and who this person was that Mallory was talking about, but he didn’t get any of that.

Instead, the dark ceiling became the abyss that eventually led him into the next morning.

Now, Jon was looking at a lit ceiling, instead of a dark one.

He turned to the side, and he saw that the other two beds were empty.

They’re probably busy…

Jon decided he would take himself around the castle and try not to be carried around anymore.

He decided to wear the same overalls as before. He looked over and saw a sack with his clothes next to his bed.

I can do this…

Jon decided to stop at his shirt. His legs weren’t ready to move at all yet.

He tried to push himself onto the wheelchair, but fell over, hitting the seat of it with his head.

The wheelchair rolled out of reach towards the door.

I can do this…

Jon dragged himself across the room towards the chair. Since it was pressed against the door now, Jon was able to push himself against it and climb into the chair.

Good.

From there, he managed to roll himself out into the hallway. Mallory was coming down the hallway when he saw Jon ease out of the door.

Mallory jumped in shock. “Oh, Jon! You… you got in the chair! You’re out of the room!”

“Yeah…” Jon wasn’t as proud as he thought. It was exhausting.

“Do you… want me to grab you?”

Jon nodded again. He needed to rest.

“Alright,” Mallory nodded as he came close to Jon. “Now, we’ve all organized shifts to take you around during the day, so that we’re not just leaving you. Is that alright? Or do you want to go outside and just make some shots?”

“...I want to come with everyone,” Jon replied. He liked being around, and if everyone worked hard to make a plan, he didn’t want it to go to waste.

“Alright! Come on!” Mallory grabbed the chair from behind and pushed.

Jon was then impressed by the level of thought that had been put into taking him around.

First, Mallory brought Jon to some people and talked with them, laughing and making jokes Jon didn’t quite understand.

Sometimes, Mallory would introduce Jon, and Jon would say, “Hi,” just to be polite.

Most of them wore fancier outfits much like the ones he saw from the princess at the party, but they all started to blend together, and most of the time, Jon ended up just staring at their faces anyway.

“I don’t know why we didn’t do this before,” Mallory noted after they left a couple. “You’re a gold mine.”

Jon gave a small smile at being called a gold mine. It was nice to be complimented.

Next, Mallory met up with Hector in the middle of one of the hallways.

They quickly gave each other a fist bump before trading off Jon.

“I’ll see you,” Hector said, grabbing Jon’s chair. “Let’s go.”

“Kay.” Jon waved at Mallory as Hector and Mallory went opposite directions, just like the other night. This parting felt way sweeter, though.

Hector was back to wearing his armor and his cape like before. He brought Jon to a small room, which he locked behind him after they entered.

“Alright,” Hector said. “This is a super important task. The most important one I have right now.”

Jon nodded in acknowledgment.

Hector sat down at a table with a pen and paper already out.

“I have to write a letter to Mercy’s dad,” Hector said. “But, I don’t know how to do it.”

He held the pen and paper up to Jon. “So, you should do it.”

Me? Jon was about to reach for the paper when Hector turned away.

“Never mind,” Hector said, “your arms don’t work.” He turned back to the table and growled. “I’ll have to do it myself.”

My arms, not my legs… Jon thought about telling Hector, but he seemed so focused on trying to write the letter that Jon didn’t want to interrupt him.

“What do I say?” Hector asked after a few minutes of chewing on the back of the pen. “He’s the War Minister, right?”

Jon nodded. That was what Mercy said.

“That’s like, the foreign affairs guy, but they don’t believe in peace and talking to people, so, in that case…”

Hector spoke as he started writing. “Dear… Mister... War... Minister-no!”

Hector sat up and slammed the table lightly with his fist. “He’s also Mercy’s dad!”

He continued writing. “And… Mercy’s dad…”

With that finished, he turned to Jon. “What should I write next?”

Jon didn’t write letters. He also hadn’t read any of Jassiter and Ben’s correspondence, so he didn’t have too much of an idea of how they should look like.

He shrugged.

“How about…” Hector’s face scrunched up in thought. “I love your daughter?” Hector asked.

“Hmmm…” Jon tried to think if that was good or not. He didn’t know if it was true, but it sounded nice.

“You’re right, Jon,” Hector jabbed his pointer finger in Jon’s direction. “That’s not true at all!”

He started writing again. “I… have… feelings… for... Your daughter! And they are... they are not… all… good… but a lot of them are!”

After writing the letter, Hector pushed Jon out of the door and looked both ways. When he saw that the way was clear, he started turning right.

“Hector!” Hector, Jon, and the chair all shook Luther’s shout.

“Shit,” Hector muttered.

“What are you doing?” Luther called. Jon couldn't see Luther, but he could certainly hear him yelling from behind the chair.

“And why do you have the boy?” Luther continued.

“Don’t you have 4 other daughters to curse out?” Hector asked. “I’m busy doing important diplomatic stuff, and you’re busy going away!”

He started pushing Jon away from Luther’s direction.

“You accursed boy!” Luther called out. “It’s not important if I don’t know about it! Come back here!

The rest of Luther’s curses had drowned out as Hector pushed Jon forward. Jon assumed Luther was too busy going the other direction to go after them.

They eventually came to another door.

Mercy opened it.

“Here’s the letter for your dad,” Hector said, handing it to her. “Sorry for taking so long, my dad was in the other direction. And here’s Jon.” Hector pushed Jon forward. “Don’t lose him.”

“...Shut up.” Mercy told him quietly. Mercy then took Jon and closed the door on Hector’s bewildered face.

“Self-important jerk,” Mercy muttered.

Jon looked at the inside of the room. It was the most unique one he saw so far. There were a ton of spools hanging in a large cabinet with a ladder with wheels next to it, as well as several white mannequins littered over the area.

A ton of workers dressed in grey clothes walked around the room, carrying either spool or dresses. Jon recognized the spool from when his mother had occasionally made new clothes. Jon wore mostly a mixture of Ben’s and Susan’s hand-me-downs.

Junwata was in the room, standing aside and observing a single mannequin that some of the workers were attending to. There was a black top on it that they were sewing and a woman who was flipping through a wide notebook.

“Did he write the letter?” Junwata asked as Jon and Mercy approached, still observing the paper.

“Of course, he did.” Mercy replied. “He wants to impress you. And he thinks he’s impressing Dad.”

Mercy gave the letter to Junwata, who took it while still not looking. He brought the letter to his face, taking a moment to read it.

“...I’m glad your father isn’t receiving this letter,” Junwata finally said, handing it back to Mercy and turning back to the mannequin. “He would kill this boy in an instant.”

Mercy took the letter and read it herself.

“...Well, he’s honest at least,” she said. “It’s kinda sweet.”

“And that honesty will get him killed,” Junwata remarked. Jon watched Mercy folded the letter and put it inside her black top next to her chest. Jon didn’t know if it would stay in there, but he trusted that Mercy's judgment.

Junwata continued his scathing remarks. “I’ve never read such idiotic phrases written in such a refined grade of penmanship.”

“That’s Hector….” Mercy remarked. “Although you sound a bit like Dad.”

“Me and your father-”

“Are you sure this is the dress you want?” The woman flipping through the notebook asked.

“It should be adequate,” Junwata responded. “It’s battle-ready. I made sure of it, and my niece’s designs should be up-to-par.”

“Yeah!” Mercy added while giving her uncle a momentarily curious glance. “I wrote down the specifications and everything myself! It should be fine!”

“I know,” the woman commented .”It’s all very fine and dandy. Your knowledge of these things matches even the greatest of seamstresses. Maybe even more so. But-”

The woman looked up from the paper. “It’s all black.”

She flipped through the book. “Even undergarments. Even-"

“Listen to the woman,” Junwata responded. “And try not to question my niece again or I shall have your tongue added to its seams."

“What he means,” Mercy added, “was that everything is fine. And besides, Mallory said to listen to me, right? You heard the man.”

“You heard him,” Junwata added.

The woman frowned and gulped, but she nodded.

Mercy slapped her uncle on the arm. “Don’t do that! It’s a suggestion, not a demand. You can’t threaten people over suggestions!”

“I only don’t want her to tamper your dress for tomorrow,” Junwata responded. “If I had more time, I would have had our finest seamstresses draw it up and brought it with me.”

“I’m not gonna let something simple like clothes stop me from winning,” Mercy said.

Junwata nodded and patted her back. “That’s my niece.”

Jon felt warm watching Mercy’s super serious and dangerous uncle pat her on the back.

After watching the dress be sewed a bit more, and listening to Mercy ask some more questions, Mercy asked Jon to stretch his arm out.

“Let me see.” She stretched the tape over his arm.

“...It’s the same. Let’s go.”

She grabbed Jon and pushed him out. “I’ll be back, Uncle.”

Junwata didn’t respond, choosing instead to focus on the dress.

Mallory was already coming down the hallway towards them.

“I thought Tallow was coming!” Mercy said, miffed.

“She’s asleep,” Mallory said. “No worries, I've come.”

Mercy sighed. “Really? Aren’t you busy? She should be more considerate.”

“It’s fine. How’s the dress?”

“I think my Uncle’s gonna kill someone from a missed seam,” Mercy said. “I think he’s a little worried that someone will tamper with something before the big day. I just have to make sure he doesn’t kill any of the seamstresses.”

“Don’t worry,” Mallory said, “we have way too many of them anyway. For a guy who wears the same three colors and clothes every day. I swear, he spends money on the weirdest stuff.”

They passed Jon between each other.

“I think he would like to talk to you more,” Mercy said. “If you ever have the time.”

“Will I ever?” Mallory asked with a smile.

He turned with Jon in tow.

“Bye, Jon,” Mercy said, waving.

“Bye, Mercy.”

Mercy went back inside of the room.

Jon enjoyed being able to sit with Mercy in a situation without fighting, although there were threats of murder.

After a time, Mallory let go of the chair and snapped his fingers.

Jon felt energy rising around him before the wheelchair started to move forward by itself, following Mallory.

Mallory’s hands were occupied holding a long document that he read while walking in the hallway.

Jon didn’t mind. He kicked back and enjoyed the ride. It was even smoother than being pushed by a real person.

They soon ended up where Jon recognized the entrance to Tallow’s room. Avery was waiting excitedly in front of Jon’s door.

He turned when he saw Mallory approaching.

“Oh, hey Jon!” Avery said, waiving. “There you are! Mallory, I thought-”

“Change of plans,” Mallory said, his eyes not leaving the paper. “Now remember, don’t lose Jon, or-”

“Hector will strangle me.” Avery nodded excitedly. “Got it.”

He looked at Jon.

“I’ll be your legs today!” Avery said. “We’ll go wherever you want! At least for the few minutes I have with you!”

Mallory already started walking away.

“Where do you want to go to now?” Avery asked.

Jon had an idea.

After having Avery take him to the nearest bathroom, Jon had miraculously managed to do everything by himself the entire time.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Avery asked.

Jon shook his head frantically.

Jon using the bathroom took up most of Avery’s few minutes, so after getting him back in the chair, Avery took Jon to the barracks.