………

Chapter 17: Wine for the Pained

Percival paced his room in Brass Castle. He could not stop pacing, no matter what he tried. He was attempting to straighten his thoughts, to understand what was going on. Finally, a notion, a useful one, came to him. Borus… At the thought of the man's name, his feet stopped moving. Percival's fist met the wall… once, twice, three times, before the man crumbled to his knees on the hard stone floor, choked in misery. Borus! Damn it, Borus! He sobbed, letting his bruised fist collide with the stone once more.

At Percival's door, about to knock, Salome lowered his hand, hearing the man's grief through the walls of the great castle. He sighed quietly, attempting to control his own emotions, before moving down the hall. Upon reaching his next destination, he raised his hand slowly before bringing it down on the wooden door three times.

"Milady… may I come in?" There was no answer. "Milady?" Still no answer. "I am entering, milady." With that, Salome opened the door to Chris's chamber. "Milady?" He stepped into her bedchamber, but was surprised to see no one there. The sheets on the bed were neat, the desk chair tucked nicely under the desk, as if Chris had not even been there.

As he left the room, he met Roland, walking down the hallway. "Roland, have you any idea as to where Lady Chris is?" The stern elf nodded.

"She is attending a meeting with the councilors." He paused. "It looks as though it is serious. The councilors are trying to get her dismissed from duty." Salome did not bother to hide his surprise before realizing the reason.

"She did not consult the council before taking her actions in the Grasslands… oh my, this could be quite unpleasant…"

Roland walked past Salome, saying quietly as he passed, "Do not worry. Lady Chris is an avid reader."

Salome watched the elf's departing back. What did he mean by that?

……

"Don't you see, councilors, I had no time to return to Zexen for orders, or even send a messenger. We were facing––"

"You've no proof of that, Miss Lightfellow. You directly violated Zexen's Code, the code you swore by when you became captain," declared Councilor Ghent, obviously pleased with himself.

"Besides," Fraunz said, "I've heard there was actually no monster." Chris's eyes grew wide as she stared at Fraunz in horror, shaking her head. "One of my advisers informed me that this was a plight for you to gain glory, Miss Lightfellow. There was no battle, was there?" Chris shook in fury.

"I have held my tongue to you people for far too long. You dare try to take this and make it nothing? You dare try and mock those who died because of that monster? Six thousand soldiers died out there, not even all Zexen, to save your hides, and you try and make it nothing? How can you deny their deaths?"

"P-Please, Miss Lightfellow, do quiet down––" Sehnto tried, but he was immediately cut off.

"No, Councilor, beg your pardon, but you quiet down. I will no longer take your foolery, your play. You make a mockery of politics, gentlemen," she said, spitting the last word in a rage, "all of you. How do you sleep at night, knowing the lives you have wasted, knowing the horrors you have caused people in the past, all for your games, all for you money. Well no more, Councilors. Under Document 17, Paragraph 6 of the Code, I hereby am expelling each and every one of you with sufficient proof for suspicion of corruption among the High Council."

"Y-you can't do that!" Fraunz sputtered, standing along with a few other councilors. Chris's fist on the table silenced them all.

"I can, gentlemen. Have you read your own Code? Your country has nearly eight thousand troops who will support me when I say your fraud has gone on long enough. Good day, gentlemen. You are dismissed." The door to the Council room opened, and three marshals, each present on the battlefield the day before, stepped in the room.

"You heard the Captain," one marshal barked at the flabbergasted men. The Councilors, not believing what happened, were one by one removed from the building. Some kicked and fussed, while others simply looked grim. Chris breathed deeply. She looked up as Salome entered the now empty Council room. A smile was on his face.

"I never thought I would see the day, milady. And I have never been more delighted that you took the time to read the fine print in the Code. You do realize, however, that you are now in charge until a new Council is elected?" Chris nodded.

"I am all too aware of that, Salome." She sighed, knowing there would be much work for her. The strategist turned for the door, but looked back.

"Let me help you with that, milady. Take all the time you need to relax, as it has been, to say the least, a stressful month for you. I will take care of everything." Chris turned to protest, but Salome was already gone.

…… A/N: At this time, if you want some real mood for this next part, please look on the bottom of my profile for a music link. Recommended you read slowly.

Evening found Chris wandering down the empty streets of Vinay del Zexay. Before long, her feet had taken her to the sandy, untouched beach where Borus had taken her long ago. Sitting herself down in the sand, she looked down at the bottle of Borus's wine she had been carrying. "Here's to you, Borus…" Removing her boots, she stood, stepping into the cool water with her bare feet and wading in to her knees. She did not try and stop the tears that streamed down her face as she popped the cork on the bottle. Slowly, she began to pour the wine into the ocean. "To you, my love…" she whispered.

The fluid seemed to glide from the bottle, and in the evening light, meld with the ocean water to create a spiraling cloud of color. Chris's tears gathered at her chin before dropping into the colorful water. It seemed as though many minutes passed before the bottle was even half empty. Good, Chris thought. A drop for every bit you're worth. Let the ocean know who you were, and let all those that see it remember you.

She heard a noise in the water, and looked up. The wine bottle dropped from her hand into the swirling water. Wading toward her, wet, exhausted, dehydrated, but alive, was Borus. He stopped. Wind swept down and caressed her short hair. She could only stare; she could not bring herself to move. Borus was the first to stir. He approached her, slowly.

"I am… going crazy…" Chris whispered. How…? Borus laughed, despite himself.

"You are not crazy, Chris. The monster, it threw me all the way to the ocean." As if suddenly remembering something, he held up his hand. In the darkening light, Chris could barely make out a symbol. The True Truth Rune. "… It followed me, it saved me…" She could not believe her eyes, but she knew she wanted to.

Without thinking twice, Chris threw herself at him, and he welcomed her with open arms, holding the woman he had thought unbreakable close. Swaying her back and forth, he let her cry into his chest. "Borus…" she sobbed. He smiled into her hair.

You say I have changed, Chris… he thought. But you have changed too. Out loud, in a whisper that only she would hear, he said something he had been meaning to say for a long time.

……

When Percival heard the knock at his door, he shouted, "Be gone! I do not wish to speak with anyone." He had long since retired to his bed, attempting to sleep. When the knocking persisted, Percival stood from his bed moving toward the door. "Leave me alone! I––" He opened the door and stopped talking. His tired, baggy eyes could not have been wider.

Borus looked at his friend with a look of surprise. "Dear Percy! What has gotten you in such a rut? Why, looks as though you have not had a drink in a good while." Borus held up a bottle of wine, with barely a quarter of it filled. Percival stood gawking. "Lady Chris told me she would pour it to the pigs, but I caught her pouring it to the ocean instead. Pity, that. Ah, but there is still some left." Borus put an arm around Percival and led him to a chair, sitting him down. From a drawer where he knew Percival kept his glassware, he took two wine glasses out and set them on the desk. He began to pour it into the first glass. "Pardon the taste. Chris let her hand slip, I'm afraid."

Percival began to shake where he sat. Borus took pleasure in seeing the usually smooth and always prepared Percy finally ill-equipped for a situation. He gave Percival a moment to catch up. The Knight of Gale bowed his head for a moment, before snapping his head up and glaring at Borus.

"Damn you, Borus, damn you!" Borus chuckled to himself.

"Oh come now, Percival, I was miles out at sea attempting to swim back on a piece of driftwood I happened upon." Percival's glare burned through Borus's skull. "Oh, fine then, Percy, next time I am stuck out at sea I'll send you a letter or something. Now, drink some wine. It shall do you good." Still glaring, Percival picked up the wine glass and downed the entire thing in one gulp.

"Ugh, it's salty…"

……

"Thank you for your aid, gentlemen," Chris said, bowing slightly to the bandit resistance. "We hope you have a safe journey back to Holy Harmonia." Krick nodded his thanks and bowed back before turning away, motioning his men to follow.

Only one remained. "Lady Chris…" It was Khith, dressed in normal Harmonian garb. The man looked much different out of the bandit garb that Chris was used to him donning. She smiled at him.

"Something I can do for you, Khith?" The older man shifted.

"I have decided to… remain here, in Zexen. Harmonia was never for me. It was a reason I was so eager to believe they had wronged me in the first place. Now I know the truth, but I still believe my loyalty lies here. Also, I have always been searching for my older brother." He paused. "You see, I used to live in the Karayan village. My older brother took me there a while ago. But soon after, he sent me away to Harmonia. He said it was for my own safety." He paused. "He never did tell me much about his life. We grew up in Karaya, from what I remember. He was gone for a long time, and would only come back and visit once or twice a year. Then one day, he showed up, saying he was staying for good. It was after that that me made me go to Harmonia."

"You believe your older brother is still here?" Chris asked, looking at Khith with interest.

"Yes, actually. Perhaps you have heard of him. His name is Jimba." Chris blanched. Khith noticed this, but said nothing.

"Khith, come to my room. I have a few things to tell you."

……

A few hours later, the six knights, whole again, and Louis entered the tavern. Salome, Roland, Chris and Borus sat at one table, while Percival, Louis and Leo sat at another. Leo launched into a loud talk about how well Louis's black eye was healing up.

"So tell me," Borus said, addressing the three others at the table. "What happened to the monster?" Salome shrugged.

"Back from whence it came, I suppose," the strategist offered. "After the True Runes separated from it, it imploded, then simply disappeared."

"And Geo?" Borus asked, waving to the bartender for drinks.

Roland looked to Borus. "I among other scouts located his corpse. We gave it to the Harmonians, as they felt the most responsible." Salome nodded his agreement.

"It turns out Harmonia was encouraging trade and travel to Tinto. The heads of their government were getting complaints of overpopulation. In reality, there was no problem with overpopulation; it was all Geo's handiwork."

"He truly had things worked out," Chris mused. The waiter brought their drinks over. "Of course, he also led the Councilors to their downfall."

"So I've heard," Borus said, smiling at Chris. Salome chuckled, noting the smile.

"Now that someone has finally taken a stand against the Councilors," he said happily, pausing for a sip of his drink, "many people are stepping forward and complaining about things they have done. We have so much proof of their corruption that they haven't a chance to defend themselves. I suppose we owe it all to Chris and her reading habits."

Chris rolled her eyes, but laughed, taking a sip of her drink. "I will tell you one thing, they purposely make the Code unexciting so that you do not read the fine print." At this Salome and Borus chuckled.

Roland set his glass down on the table. "Perhaps it is finally time for Zexen to turn a new leaf."

"Indeed," Borus agreed. "A new rule should be supplied to the Code, one that allows army officials to root through the candidates and dispel those who have questionable or obviously fraudulent backgrounds."

Salome brightened at the idea. He turned his gaze to Chris. "Milady?" She looked up at him with questioning eyes. "Milady, you are in charge. Should you order it, this rule, with perhaps minor alterations, could be added to the Code." Chris laughed.

"Salome, it looks as though my power has gone to your head." She thought for a moment. "Very well, I will read that awful Code again and make a few changes, with the agreement of the army officials." Salome nodded, pleased.

"Very good, milady."

Borus stood. "I propose a toast!" he called quite suddenly. Leo, Louis, and Percival looked over from the other table. Leo raised his glass.

"A toast to who, dear Borus?" Percival asked, raising his glass slightly as well.

"To two people," he said. "First, to our Goddess, Lady Chris, who has never led so well in her life as she did in the past month. Thanks to her, we live today."

Chris rolled her eyes at the highly modest statement, but smiled as everyone repeated, "To Lady Chris." The Six Knights took a sip. Louis stared longingly at the alcoholic beverages before taking a sip of his ginger-ale.

Borus's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Second I raise my glass to Louis. Never before have I heard such a wonderful rendition of I'm a Little Tea Pot." The knights roared with laughter. Louis blushed. Even Roland allowed a small smile to pass his lips.

Chris watched the merry group with new eyes. Her wall, her façade, had crumbled with Borus's words of love. They still resonated through her and filled her with something she had lost with her father's death. She no longer felt alone. These were her friends, this was her family… And for the first time in a long time, she felt happy, truly happy.

Borus had moved off to sit at the other table. Chris smiled as Leo offered Louis some beer. "Lady Chris." Salome's voice startled her. She turned in her chair to look at the strategist.

She let her curiosity show. "What is it, Salome?"

"What do you have planned, if I may ask? What will you do now? It would be your chance to leave the army." Chris shook her head.

"I will not leave this army, Salome. My place is here. Perhaps, in years to come, I will settle down," she said, her gaze wandering to the blonde knight engaged in a quarrel of words with Percival. Salome hid his smirk with a hand. "As for plans in the near future, tomorrow I am due to have tea with Herman. Apparently, he has much to tell me about my father. And Dupa spoke of a joint council between the Haromonians, Zexen, the Grasslanders, and Tinto. I suppose I'll have a talk with Thomas as to how to set such a thing up." Salome nodded, then sighed.

"It has been a long month." Roland said, quite out of the blue. Chris looked from the elf to the depths of her mug.

"Goddess knows what we would do, should such a thing happen again. First Luc, then Geo…" Salome laughed.

"Ah, milady, you worry far too much about things to come. Luc came along, and was efficiently dealt with. Geo followed, and was taken care of as such. If something should happen, I am sure the Silver Maiden of Zexen will step in and hatch a wonderful plan to stop any and all evil, as she has previously done. You are quite the Goddess, Lady Chris."

Chris pouted. "Not you too, Salome." The strategist chuckled and took a sip from his mug.

"What can I say, milady, you live up to the name. A woman whose sword is stronger than ocean waves and leads a powerful army in the name of justice… what better description of a Goddess have you?"

Chris shook her head. "That is high praise from you, dear Salome. Sometimes I wonder if everyone is out to get me." Salome only smiled in response, finishing all but one sip of his beer. He stood, raising his glass high.

"One more toast, friends." The six others quieted. "I propose a toast to all of Zexen and her people." He paused. "They make damned good beer." With that, he downed the last sip.

………

THE END.

Hope you guys enjoyed it, I had fun writing it. I will eventually be taking down all the chapters and reposting each as I edit any errors I find, so the story won't be marked as finished. I may be changing little bits of the plot, so feel free to relive it as it's reposted.

Also, eventually, I'll be starting a new story, though about what I have yet to find out, hehe. But I do have some ideas in this twisted head of mine. So there's that to look forward to.

Special thanks to celeste9, Aeonian Dreams, Virtue, pikinanou, Lily (Lena) Evans, StickyRice, Cathy7, Zafara, and Widower for lots o' feedback and inspiration. You guys are the greatest. An extra cookie goes out to Zafara, who poked me at some point and reminded me I had a mob of angry reviewers ready to attack. Another special thanks to celeste9, who always corrected my mistakes for me. And one last cookie to Aeonian dreams who over all had the longest reviews. I think.

Responses:

Aeonian Dreams: I'd tell you if he was dead or not but a) you probably already know by this point and b) if you don't, you'll find out xD. And I'm glad you got the point of this story. I find that the makers of Suikoden could go a lot further with the depth of Borus's personality. Of course, I also know they had 108 other people to deal with, but hey, I believe in quality over quantity. If your going to use 108 characters, you sure as heck better be able to exploit each to their full potentials. That's my opinion, anyway. Oh, and do you have aim or msn or yahoo etc.? I'll eventually be looking for some pointers on my next story, and where better to look for help then a fellow Suikoden fan? Thanks for your continuous support.

Virtue: Hahaha, remember your first review, how you made it clear that you weren't a Chris-Borus fan? Heh, well, I wonder if that's changed a bit. Anyway, thanks for your reviews. Hope you'll be around for my next story.

celeste9: Welllll, Geo's first name was originally supposed to be Garth, and his last name Wildrow… so no, it wasn't intended -. But, now that you mention it, yes, I suppose Mr. Big Geo had a rather large Girth. And not to worry, betchya I'm a bigger nerd than you, hehe. Thanks for the grammar check… only two? Wow, either the errors are sneaky or that was complete luck. Again, thanks for sticking with me, don't know what I would have done without your support. You also have the honor (pfff, don't know how much honor is there, but…) of being asked for a screen name in aim or yahoo or msn or so on… It'd be interesting talking to you guys (you and Aeonian Dreams) in person-ish… yeah. So anywho, thanks for the constant support. And check the update page for my story… which should appear sometime in the next… year. Till next time.

Thanks for reading, guys! And girls. And whatever comes in between, over, and under… yeah. Thanks!