Chapter One

Gerard walked slowly through the camp at night.  Row after row of tents was full of drunk, drowsy or sleeping soldiers, all enjoying their recent victory.  Well, victory might be a strong word.  They’d managed to drive out the raiders from one of the northeastern border towns after an entire week of chasing them across the plains.  Still, it felt good to have accomplished something after all that work, and he wasn’t about to deny his men their celebration.  After all, they’d followed him through thick and thin long before now. 

He continued wandering until he’d passed out of the camp and into the strip of no man’s land between the tents and the town walls.  Tonight there would be celebrating inside as well as outside.  No Wyndfall town could suffer Tyroshi raiders for long, and they were enjoying their first true night of freedom in far too long.  Gerard smiled to himself.  They’d made a difference here today. 

A quarter of an hour passed as he simply followed where his boots took him.  He didn’t look up to see where he was going until he saw the off-white color of canvas pass into his peripheral vision.  He stopped, unsurprised to find himself outside this tent, and knocked on the center post. 

“Enter,” came the curt response from within, and Gerard smiled as he pushed open the tent flap.  Levi sat at a plain wooden table that faced the entry of the tent, but didn’t look up immediately.  He had a pen in hand and was scribbling away at some document or another with at least six more waiting for attention beneath the half burned candle.  Gerard couldn’t help but chuckle at the way Levi’s light colored hair stood on end from running his hands through it and the smudged ink stains on his fingertips and his nose.  Levi’s green eyes snapped up at the sound, wondering who had the temerity to laugh at him, but they softened at the sight of Gerard.

“What?” he asked, setting down the pen to rub his face with both hands.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.  You might end up wearing more ink than that paper,” Gerard indicated the half written letter.

Levi smiled.  “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“What’s got you trapped in here at this late hour?  The revelry is just outside your door.”

Levi leveled a look that clearly said Gerard knew better.  “Unfortunately, these letters won’t write themselves.”

“And I suppose the fate of the nation hangs in the balance?”

“Make light of it all you want, but someone has to deal with these things, and seeing as how you’re less than inclined…” he trailed off.

“I know, I know,” Gerard conceded, “and I appreciate it.  I’d be lost without my second in command.”

“As long as you’re aware.”  His tone was serious, but Gerard still caught the edge of his smirk as he turned back to the letter, and only the scratch of the pen filled the tent.

After a few moments of stillness, Gerard shifted from one foot to another.  “Don’t take too long.  I’m sure some of those letters will keep until tomorrow.”  It could have been an order, but they both knew it wasn’t.

Levi looked up with a half-smile.  “Only the important ones, I promise.” 

Gerard nodded and strode from the tent so Levi could finish.  He greeted several of his men as he passed them before coming to the large tent he was calling home on this campaign.  He nodded to the boy who stood guard outside at all times before entering.  The inside was sparsely furnished, but contained everything the commanding officer of the Fifth Legion required.  His own worktable contained maps and charts of the area, along with a few strategy and warfare books.  One chest at the foot of his bed contained his clothes and another by the desk, his weapons and mail.  The only luxuries in the tent were the plush rug beneath his feet and the decently sized bed in the corner opposite the table.  There was also a wooden bath behind the tent which could be wheeled inside and filled if he so desired.  He supposed those were the perks of commanding a Legion. 

He took his time stripping off his tunic and shirt, mussing up his dark hair as the latter came over his head.  His boots and socks hit the floor soon after, and he curled his toes in the carpet, enjoying the indulgence briefly.  With a sigh, he set the boots next to his clothing trunk and laid today’s garments on top before moving to his table and lighting a candle.  He grimaced when he noticed the small stack of correspondence left in the center of the desk so he couldn’t miss it.  “Levi’s work,” he muttered, knowing Levi would have specifically informed the delivery boy to leave the letters where he couldn’t miss them.   He slid into the chair and lifted the already broken seal of the top letter to see what required his attention this time. 

The tent flap slid open and closed with a rustle sometime later, but Gerard didn’t look up.  There was only one person who was allowed to enter this tent without being announced by the guard.

“Well, this is a change of events.”

“Somebody left these letters on my desk.  I figured that meant I should read them,” Gerard replied sarcastically, scanning the concluding remarks on the page.  With a sigh, he set the letter back on the desk and pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to ward off the headache he could feel coming.  “The Tyroshi High Chief wants to apologize for the raids on our border,” he bit off, turning his blue eyes on Levi.  “What good are his apologies when men are dying?” 

“His apologies are an assurance that he still wants to be our ally,” Levi replied calmly as he walked over and picked up the letter from where it’d been dropped on the table.  “You know he wouldn’t be writing this unless things were bad in Tyroh.”

Gerard closed his eyes and sighed.  “I know.  Civil unrest is not something I’d wish on any ruler,” he paused, turning to look at Levi once more, “but his problems are spilling over our border, and that is unacceptable.”  His tone was unforgiving, and Levi understood why.  Wyndem men were suffering and dying because the Tyroshi Chief didn’t have control of his own people.  “What do my father and cousin have to say about all of this?”

“Those would be the last two letters,” Levi said, indicating the unfinished pile.  Gerard lifted one eyebrow, and Levi rolled his eyes.  “I’m not your secretary, you know.”

“I never said you were.  You know I hate digging through these letters.  So much padding and fancy language trying to mask the true meaning.  I get a headache trying to wade through it all.”

“So you say.  I think you simply don’t want to read them,” Levi chided as he pulled the letters from the bottom of the pile.

“There is that, too,” Gerard quipped with a smile as he propped his arms on the table.  Levi slipped into the second chair next to the table as he scanned the papers once more. 

“Your father sent both letters discussing the situation with Tyroh.  They essentially say that we are to avoid war at all costs while still protecting our borders and people.  Tyroh is in a time of crisis and can’t afford to guard the borders itself.”

“So we are to sacrifice our men because they are in crisis?”

“No one wants war,” Levi replied gravely. 

“No one ever wants war.  That doesn’t mean war doesn’t happen.” 

“I’m not disagreeing with you.  The situation here in the north is getting worse by the day.  Every time we push back raiders in one place, they cross the border somewhere else.  We don’t have the manpower to guard the entire northeastern border of this kingdom.”

“And what did my father have to say about that?”  Gerard tried, but he couldn’t keep all of the acid out of his tone. 

“That the situation has not progressed enough to warrant all-out war.  At this point they are still just raiders on our border, and we are to treat them as such.”

“That is unacceptable!” Gerard yelled, slapping the table in frustration.  Levi was silent a moment as Gerard reigned in his temper.

“Give it some time.  Things are not perfect in this kingdom either.  There are letters in there detailing what might be plague on the western border.  You know this country cannot afford war if it is in the grip of illness.”  Levi’s tone was composed as always, lending some much needed rationality to a situation that was complicated at best.

Gerard groaned, dropping his head into his hands.  When he was here on the front lines, it was easy to see the trauma both his soldiers and the border people were suffering at the hands of the Tyroshi, and he wanted to do anything to stop it.  However, Levi was right.  Sometimes he forgot there was more to this country than just the northeastern border.  “I don’t know how they do it,” he muttered.  “My little cousin is king of the whole nation, and my father is helping him oversee it all.  Everything rests on their shoulders.” 

Levi stood and walked next to Gerard so he could place a hand on his shoulder.  “They do it the same way you lead this Legion �" with knowledge and compassion.”

Gerard lifted his head so he could rest his cheek on Levi’s abdomen, and Levi’s other hand rose to cradle it.  “I do not envy them,” Gerard whispered.

“Nor do I,” was the soft reply. 

Calm settled in the tent as they simply absorbed each other’s company.   After a few moments Gerard sat back and placed a hand on Levi’s hip.  “Is there anything else I need to know about the state of the nation that can’t keep until tomorrow?”  He frowned when he noticed Levi’s hesitation.  “What is it?” 

Rather than replying, Levi reached over to tug on a letter that was half buried under a map and a couple of books.  He frowned when he noticed the unopened seal bearing the mark of Gerard’s father.  “Are you ever going to read this?” he asked cautiously, knowing the personal relationship between Gerard and his father was still tenuous at best. 

Gerard reached for the letter and returned it to his desk so he didn’t have to look at it.  “If it were of true importance, my father would have sent it as royal correspondence rather than as a personal letter,” he shrugged indifferently. 

“It was delivered in the middle of the night by a courier instructed to bring it as quickly as possible,” Levi reminded him.  “That doesn’t seem unimportant.”

“You’re welcome read it, if you think it’s so pressing.”

“Whatever’s in there is between you and your father.  You know I won’t read it before you do,” he replied softly, reaching out to run his fingers through Gerard’s unruly dark hair. 

Gerard stood so he was facing Levi and grasped his other hip.  “Then it will keep until tomorrow,” he whispered, leaning in to place a lingering kiss on Levi’s slight frown.  When he pulled away, he was pleased to see the frown had disappeared.

“If you’re sure,” Levi trailed off in a murmur. 

Gerard took his hand and guided him to the open space between the table and the bed.  “I am sure,” he grinned as he reached under Levi’s tunic and shirt, slipping them off together.  Both shirtless, Gerard took a moment to appreciate the blossoming desire on Levi’s face.  “Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” he quipped, placing a hand on Levi’s belt buckle, “but tonight is a night of celebration.”  He began to undo the leather as Levi’s smile turned into a full grin and passion filled his eyes.  “So we should start celebrating, too.”  Gerard began to chuckle at the look of pure longing that washed over Levi’s face, but he was abruptly stopped when Levi gripped his face and pulled him in for a hungry kiss. 

Author's Note

As always, I would appreciate any constructive criticism. Thanks for reading!