Raising a Hero

Chapter 61

Three weeks into the month, I got the surprise of two letters at once. One from the temple requesting my services as soon as possible, and the second from Romanian (Maybe I should call him by his middle name 'Lee'? Wasn't I supposed to call him your highness or something, technically?). Preparations for our arrival had been completed ahead of schedule and he hoped to be able to see us in three days time.

Gus walked in to me quickly cleaning up to head to the temple and made his grumpiest face yet.

"Is there any chance you could avoid passing out or getting a nosebleed this time?"

"It's not like I try to get like that." I undid my braid so I could use a polished hair stick Milly had lent me to pile my hair atop my head instead.

"Then actively try not to get like that. Please. I beg of you."

After hearing the strain in his tone, it was no surprise that he followed after me to the temple. Hal even expected it, giving me the same warning to not return unconscious or anemic.

Priest Miurian just short of ran to meet us the moment we stepped through the door. His blond hair looked more mussed than usual.

"I'm not sure if you can do anything," he said as he ushered us along. "So don't feel pressured. It's just...I can't send him away. The man has spent every penny to his name just to get here."

"He doesn't know anything about her, does he?" asked Gus from beside me.

"No no. He's been to two temples already with their healers. Not that they would have had the strength to do anything more than Dorius..."

Yo, why are you letting the government of this nation hoard all the healers? I mentally shot up to heaven, since I might as well being in the temple.

'Agency,' came back the familiar voice. 'Save your energy.'

Freedom, agency, blah. Seems to get that you also had to accept the consequences of others bad choices. Really, though, someone should do something about that loser of a king.

'What do you think I've prepared a hero for?'

I stopped in place. Had I heard that correctly.

Gus and Miurian looked back at me in confusion.

"Lilly?"

"Is everything alright?"

Up until now, Nehcor hadn't said anything about what Gus had to do as a hero. It would have helped me tremendously if he had said, then I could've known what kind of education Gus had needed, or at least what to prepare him for.

But now to know it might have something to do with overthrowing the king...dude, rebel heroes got killed. They killed lots too. Politics was messy, messy crap, with short-lived glory and even shorter lived lives.

'Agency...' whispered through my head.

But that didn't mean Gus got to choose the consequences.

I shook the thought from my head and hurried to catch up with them.

In one of the blessing rooms, with the facing mirrors and bright lighting, I found a haggard man dressed in dusty clothes that had once been well to do holding on to the floppy, drooling form of a child. They could have been five or seven, but I had long ago decided not to try and judge the age of a child.

My chest ached at the man's wan face and shadowed eyes. He had the usual dark colorings and olive skin that was common to this part of the world, as well as his child. They both looked like they could do with a bit more weight to their bones.