"I can't believe it." Aaron muttered, grimacing as Sila removed another shard of glass from Ace's leg with a pair of forceps. He looked away and locked eyes with Brant, who sat on a cot in the corner with tired eyes. "How could you let this happen?" 

"I already told you." Brant replied, "The mission was to retrieve the artifact, and that's where my focus was. Ace wouldn't have done any different, had our roles been swapped." 

"I'm sure he would have!" Keira snapped. 

Brant shook his head. "He himself said that if it came down to it, he would watch his own back, and nobody else's." 

"Well guess what?" Keira asked, taking a step closer to Brant with her hands on her hips, "He didn't end up actually acting on that principle. There were many times where he chose to slow his progress, or risk his own safety, only for my benefit!" 

"Well, regardless of that, I regret what's happened to him as much as you do. It's unfortunate. But I can't reasonably be blamed." 

Aaron narrowed his eyes. "Are you a fool? Of course this is your fault! You could have helped, and you chose not to. That's all you." 

Brant rose to his feet and boldly met Aaron's gaze. "Believe me, I take no pleasure in this turn of events myself. But we aren't children on a field trip. We're soldiers, on an expedition of war. And seeing that we've completed our objective, with no casualties, only a manageable injury, we should be thankful." 

Keira narrowed her eyes. "You mean to say that just because things aren't as bad as they could possibly be, that we should just be glad? I'm not so easily fooled." 

"I'm not trying to fool anybody. I only—" 

"And don't forget that you were gonna let me fall to my death too!" 

Aaron clenched his fists and took a step forward. "He what?" 

"I knew you could figure out something." Brant retorted, "I honestly don't understand you guys. I've only vaguely known any of you for a few days at most, and you expect me to put my life, my quest, and our mission on the line, just for your sakes? I find that expectation unreasonable." 

Aaron snatched Brant's shoulder with a firm grip. "You listen here. If you allow anything to happen to my sister, then I'll personally see to it that you go through hell. Twice." 

Brant stared back at him with a stony countenance. "I'll keep that in mind." 

"You'd better." 

The blue-eyed man nodded. "Now, you listen here. I get that many of you insurgents are family, friends, whatever. But I don't have any of those bonds, not to any of you. So you can't keep expecting me to act as if I give a rip if any of you live or die. All I care about is my quest to end the gods' interference with mankind. Understood?" 

Aaron bit his lip. "I do. I only expect you to act like a decent human being, which you've failed at thus far." 

"I'm sorry I've fallen short of your standards." Brant said with a biting tone as he turned and exited the room. 

******************** 

Baird pulled his coat tighter around his body and crossed his arms as he gazed into the Innutukian sky. The first rays of the waking sun had only just begun to shoot over the hilltops, while the restless winds had swept across the land all through the night. 

Baird's shoulders jumped as an icicle dropped from an overhanging tree branch onto his head. Frigid droplets crept through his hair strands and slithered down his neck. He jerked his head to shake it off. 

After one last vigorous shudder, his body returned to the highest temperature it could maintain in the conditions. The sight of several young men running along the opposite sidewalk wearing nothing but shorts caused Baird to vicariously shiver, as if he hadn't already had reason enough to do that for himself. Now that takes discipline, he thought to himself, his gaze following them as they rounded the street corner and each made the turn with an identical sharp pivot on their toes. 

"Why'd we have to get up this early, 'gain?" Hannah whined, causing Baird to snap his head over to her. 

Chariya cleared her throat. "Innutukians are the ultimate morning people, Hannah. The earlier in the day one accomplishes their goals, the more favor they bestow upon it. Hence, we visit the king at this early hour." 

Hannah whimpered and shrunk into her fluffy coat. "But why's Wendy get to stay back and sleep in her warm bed?" 

Vapor ascended from Chariya's mouth as she exhaled. "You know, I chose you two for good reason, and left Wendy behind for an equally good cause." 

Baird stepped over a frozen puddle. "Why is that, exactly? You never told me." 

"It is quite simple. I consider you two to be effective diplomatic lubricant to keep at my sides. Our Danlashian comrade, on the other hand...not so much." 

Hannah mustered a half-hearted chortle. "I gotta say, wake me up dis early, and I'll prolly be 'bout as bloody grumpy as her." 

Baird smirked. "Watch your language, girl." 

"Ya clearly haven't listened to Wendy for long, if ya think dat's bad." 

"Oh, I've heard it, believe me." Baird remarked with a chuckle. 

Chariya waited for the laughter to subside before speaking. "Now, Baird, I have a favor to ask of you." 

"Sure, what is it?" 

"So, for the king to take us seriously, we must abide by certain cultural conventions agreeable to him, one of which I will need your help to execute." 

Baird nodded. "Alright, what's that?" 

"In this culture, any political figure of any importance is expected to have a bodyguard. And while I personally do not consider that of any great significance, for their sakes, I should like you to act in that function." 

"Okay...is there anything else I should know about?" 

Chariya squinted. "Not a whole lot. You will simply be required to stand by my side at all times, maintain a dignified stance, and only speak when spoken to. I suppose you will also have to participate in the weapon trading custom." 

Baird raised an eyebrow. "Weapon trading?" 

"When two political figures meet, the bodyguards are to trade weapons for the duration of that meeting." 

"And what purpose is that supposed to serve?" 

"It is a token of peace." Chariya said, "For in their culture, one of the highest forms of disrespect and dishonor, is to strike a man with his own weapon." 

Baird slowly nodded. "I see, that makes sense." 

The trio continued on through the city for a few minutes before they came to the royal palace. At the front gate, two straight-faced guards asked for the purpose of their visit and patted them down in search of weapons. They found nothing on the two women, and Baird was allowed to keep his sword, due to his bodyguard status. 

One of the sentries radioed in for escorts while his partner offered one word responses to Chariya's attempts at small talk. Minutes later, a team of armed escorts approached the gate and ushered the princess' party through. They led them down a cobblestone walkway that traversed the expansive outer courtyard. 

On either side of the path, military supervisors of various ranks paced up and down rows of shirtless men, who strained to perform whatever exercise was asked of them, in as many repetitions as was required. Misty fumes ascended from their mouths all the while. 

Chariya, Baird, and Hannah followed their escorts across a bridge and through the grandiose entryway. They strolled down several arched walkways and ascended some spiral staircases before finally stopping at a door. One of the guards informed them that the king awaited on the other side. 

The Kemarian princess inhaled deeply and pushed the door open. Upon meeting the king's gaze, she bowed low. Baird and Hannah did the same once they'd entered behind her. 

Once Baird rose, he met the king's bodyguard in the middle of the room, sighed, and handed his sword over. He furrowed his brow when he received a rusty revolver in return. 

With a shrug, he returned to Chariya's side and watched as the king rose from his chair and stepped over to her. He knelt on one knee before her and lightly touched his lips to her fingertips. Finally, he rose with a warm smile. 

"Greetings, Princess Chariya." he said in a voice low in pitch and commanding in tone. "It is quite a pleasure to see you here. I presume you have some pressing matter to bring before me?" 

The princess offered him a wide grin as Baird pulled her seat out. "Why would you assume that?" 

"Well, it is not every day Kemarian royalty comes to visit, let alone the estranged daughter of an incompetent king." 

"I did not expect such bluntness in your speech, to be perfectly honest." 

The monarch smoothed his beard between his fingers. "I see no necessity to speak anything less than what is on my mind. Now, please tell me what is on yours." 

Chariya inhaled and laid out her case before the Innutukian monarch. Over the course of the next four hours, they discussed and negotiated with refreshing civility.

******************** 

A/N: I find myself kinda admiring this Innutukian king, to be honest. I mean, he was kinda savage right there, but in a graceful way. I can respect that. 😂 

Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter, please remember to vote and comment. 

And any thoughts on the whole situation with Brant, Ace, Aaron, and Keira? Can you see where they're all coming from? 

How about Hannah and the others? Or thoughts on Innutuk in general so far, just what stood out about that scene? 

And I guess this'll be a short note, because I'm already at the point where I have to think up a random question. Let's see...okay, take your eyes off your a screen for a moment, and name the first book your eyes land on. 

(I guess this isn't so much a question as it is a "challenge", but whatever. For me, I can't decide whether they landed on my book of music manuscript paper, or a play-along book called "One Dozen Standards". Anyway, one of the two.) 

And that should be it for me today! I hope you have a great one, and I'll see you in tomorrow's update. Bye!