Hope Falls

“I have no doubt tomorrow I’ll be summoned for an explanation, but until then… yes, let him enjoy the night.” Wyatt nodded in agreement as he pushed to his feet.

"Rest until you hear from me again, do not work. Yiu are like a bee to honey with this place."

“You have been here almost as long as I have when you could have left. It’s in our bones.”

"Now, now, we do not remind anyone of my age, Wyatt. It has been our long held promise." Aoife offered a warm grin then. "They all think I am mature here but not anywhere near your age."

“Whether you like it or not it is the truth.” Wyatt matched her smile, “And yet you are still here, you understand that to work for this place is not something you can just… stop. We signed up for this, and we are still here…”

"For a few days, you have to. Hands are sensitive, and you need full use of it to handle your weapons." Aoife waved him away lightly, "Enjoy time with your family. I'll see you soon."

Wyatt nodded, “Not a word to Kael about Isolde until the morning at the very least. Let him remain unburdened for the night.” He reminded before leaving the room.

"Oh, I didn't expect you home yet." Florence mused, eyes flitting up from where she was moving one plant pot into a larger one, gloved hands covered in soil that she had also accidently smeared across her face. A towel down on the small oak coffee table to prevent any falling down onto the floor.

“There are plenty of guards still outside for Kael and the family, I have been ordered home.” Wyatt held up his hand as form of explanation as he walked in.

"Oh," Florence frowned, though quickly turned her attention back to her activity. "I'm surprised you didn't go back as a guest."

“It would have raised questions, I want Kael to enjoy the remainder of his night. It’s likely the only night off he’ll get before his coronation.”

She nodded, placing delicate coloured stones around the plants stem before taking off her gloves and getting to her feet to close the space between them. Taking his wrist and inspecting the bandaged hand, "What happened?"

“Daphnes sisters did not like being removed from the wedding when they persistently called Idris a bastard to his face…”

"They - Oh, horrible women." Florence shook her head, brushing her thumb from his wrist to the top of his thumb gently. "The poor baby. Did Kael and Indira hear? What does that have to do with your hand?"

“Both of them heard, Kael ordered me and my men to escort them back to their rooms. The younger one didn’t like how she was treated and put her knife through my hand in protest before claiming it was self defence as we were about to beat her. Bullshit.”

"Something she us used to her own guards doing to her, or a political accusation?" Florence frowned, eyes finally moving from his hand to his face. "You were signed off for a knife to the hand. You've stayed working for less... so, she managed to cause damage to more than just the flesh? It was deep?"

“It went through my hand, and it was serrated. She intended to wound greatly with the weapon, I can barely move my fingers… Aoife does not know if full movement is recoverable, yet.”

"You've taken a tumble over a cliff edge whilst training Kael, suffered a thousand cut death hex during the war, fought in various battles and been taken hostage, tortured and poisoned in the length of time I have loved you. It is a lot to have survived, to have recovered from in a lifetime never mind... everything else before you knew me." Her fingers staying lightly curled around his to keep a hold of his injured hand, as the other hand lifted up to cup his cheek. "Don't fret, you'll heal. Like you have done every time."

“I didn’t have them checked for weapons when they arrived… I underestimated them. My judgment failed… again…”

"Could you imagine how it would have been twisted had you checked them? They would have taken it is an insult, as would have Daphne. You would have upset your future Queen and damaged political relations with a ally." She frowned, "Your judgement is impeccable. This wasn't a failure, Wyatt. You've not failed."

“This is the second time in months that my judgment has been incorrect. First with Kael, now this. What if my mind is slipping and I can no longer do the job, Florence? I no longer make the best choices and Kael is promoting me.”

"There is nothing wrong with your mind, nothing wrong with your judgement." She soothed softly, brushing her thumb against his cheek. "Kael has faith in you, he trusts you, because you have proven time and time again that you are the best one for the job. If he thought you weren't up to it Baldruun then he wouldn't have promoted you to begin with. Your more than capable, your mind is sharp. Kael believes in you, Isolde and Aodhän do, I do."

“I should have had them checked. I didn’t, and now their sister is going to be furious anyway and Kael will wonder why he has promoted a man who did not check for threats. My entire job is his safety, what if they’d used that blade on him?”

"I am sure Daphne is going to be more furious that they had the audacity to blatantly insult her step-son. Whether Indira is threatened by the fact or not, that is what Daphne is to Idris." Florence shook her head, dropping her hand as she began to unbuckle what remained of Wyatt's armour. Coaxing it from him to lighten the load, "Kael and Daphne will be more angry that they hurt you, accused you of such monstrous things that they know you are innocent of. You have not put a foot wrong your entire career, not once. Trusting an ally, trusting Kael's sisters-in-law and preserving relations.. it isn't outlandish, love."

“I do not know that I can go on when my judgment is not infallible as it once was. If you asked me did I think the Princess capable of carrying a weapon and using it on me, never mind successfully, I’d have laughed at you. I was wrong… I cannot go on being wrong about people. The way I was wrong about what Kael would do when faced with wolves.”