I Will Be the Greatest Knight

"Dame…" Alix greeted, slightly uncertainly, but his voice, as usual, held a bit of a tone that gave way to his noble upbringing.

To Irene's horror, the knight attempted to stand up as he placed the bowl on the low table before him and used his strength to push himself upward.

"Oh!" Irene exclaimed, rushing forward. "Please don't stand on behalf of me. I simply wanted to see that you're alright."

He settled even if he did so hesitantly. There was something begrudging about his actions. She could tell he was a knight through and through by the way he wanted to behave as he normally did. She experienced this already through her father, but, unlike her father, Alix would make a full recovery.

"If you insist," he stated. "What can I do for you?"

"This is enough," Irene continued, assuring him, and when he gestured for her to take a seat, she did. "Admittedly, I saw you when they brought you here, and laying my eyes upon you now is my way of ensuring that you somehow overcame what I witnessed before. I'm still having trouble accepting that the you before survived and are here now like this."

Alix was still horrified over how long he had been out. The only reason he believed it in the first place was because of how weak he had grown—how he was beginning to doubt if he could even hold a sword right now, yet he didn't want to try it because he didn't want his heart broken if the love of his life was taken away from him.

He already told himself he would work as hard as possible to return to how he was before. This was the reality of a knight.

"That bad?" he asked.

Siverly, in the corner, cleared his throat despite supposedly minding his own business and reading a book. The mage's actions forced Alix to resume his slow eating of porridge with bits of nuts and berries inside that were supposed to do something for him.

"You were on the battlefield when I was," Irene responded, her voice becoming a bit more sullen. "You looked worse off than the corpses I had seen before." However, her head lifted, and she offered the older knight a smile. "That's why I needed to confirm for myself that you really were as alive and well as the others were saying. I almost didn't believe it, but look how well you look."

Something else occurred to Felix as he slowly ate his food.

"Beyond my appearance, how were the two commanders behaving for everyone to be in disbelief that I'm alive?" he wondered slyly.

Irene clammed up a bit at that, and her smile became somewhat guilty.

"They both care about you a great deal, sir," she reminded him.

"Call me Alix unless we're acting as knights," he reminded her in response. "I told you that when I was last in Chemois and ensuring Henry was settling in."

"Then I will present my gift of well-wishes as a concerned friend rather than a dutiful knight," she responded with a grin.

"What did you bring me?" he asked, suddenly more interested.

From the pouch she had brought with her in case she truly did find something worthy for the knight, she presented the bottle she had put rehydrated herbs into. Irene placed it on the table and slid it across so that it was within Alix's reach.

"Eldrivin," Irene responded, and, at Alix's lowered eyebrows, she added, "a medicinal Sünstoian drink. I added a few herbs with restorative properties in hopes that they will help aid in your healing and regaining of strength. Although I also have to admit that, while it came from arctic berries, it's undoubtedly past the state of sweetness. I won't be offended if you don't try it or, if you do, you hate it."

Alix turned the bottle in his hands. The language was beyond his realm of understanding, but he was willing to entertain those who were so passionate about his healing, just as the mages already had been. He didn't want physical help from anyone, but he could do this much.

"Pour me a bit of it, please," he requested.

Irene turned to Katerina, who had busied herself deeper in the house and next to the hearth, where something was being cooked.

"Could I have some sort of cup, miss?" Irene approached the woman, asking politely.

Katerina immediately went to a cupboard and brought out something small.

"Is this size alright, dear?" she wondered.

Irene offered a smile and nodded.

"Yes, thank you," the knight responded.

The woman was so kind that Irene felt guilty for her unknowing jealousy before. She had snapped at the woman for not addressing the Commander appropriately and reveled in Siverly giving her a few quips about how she was handling her mana. Now that she had a grasp on the reasoning for her ridiculousness, she felt bad.

She wished she could loudly say she was working on bettering herself, and no one had to worry about her acting like a little girl with a crush when Commander Henry returned.

Obviously, that was out of the question.

Instead, Irene returned to the knight who was waiting patiently, and she uncorked the bottle for him.

There was a square of cloth that she had placed in before corking it the last time because she needed something to filter out the herbs and sediment, so hopefully it was a smoother drink. Only giving him about two or three tablespoons' worth, she was satisfied with the amount and pushed it towards the blonde knight.

"Thank you," he said gratefully. "Here's to health, I suppose."

Alix was tired of the porridge and wasted no time tossing the small amount of liquid backwards.

However, once his head returned to its neutral position, his eyes were faintly watering.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" he asked, his voice a bit strained.

Irene cracked a small smile at that.

"Better drunk than in pain, I suppose," she admitted. "My grandmother would drink a variation of this quite often during the final weeks of her life. It helped her sleep at night."

"It's really no wonder," Alix responded as he politely wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin that had been resting on his lap. "Thank you for thinking of me."

However, before Irene could respond to her fellow knight, there was an interruption at the door.

"I've been looking everywhere for you and Siverly," Felix announced, out of breath. "Mages from Nickron are here, wanting to speak to those who went with the Commander."

Irene stood up. Her visit to the knight was just about over anyway, but she turned towards Alix.

"Has Sir Trenton filled you in on the details?" she wondered.

"Apparently not," the Hydrogian second in command stated.

"We will be back with more information, I'm sure," she assured him before she went, along with Siverly, to the edge of Idona where Felix directed them.