The dust seemed to settle on the battlefield and Penelope sheathed her sword. Moving her gaze out, she was quick to notice that Alan wasn't the only loss they had suffered. Though Brerra had managed to secure a strong win over Younis, they hadn't gone without their own losses. She let out a soft sigh as she looked out over the fallen knights of both sides left behind the ruins of battle. No longer near or in a village, the bodies seemed far more laid out in the field, sending a small chill down her spine.
Her gaze shifted over to her uncle, watching as the baron rode back towards the border. He held his head high and kept his gaze focused ahead despite bleeding from a wound on his leg. No wonder they want to win so badly.. She thought to herself, finding herself understanding her uncle and the other cold-hearted knights just a little better. The aftermath of a battle was always gruesome, especially when villages got stuck in between, but seeing only her fallen comrades mixed in with a number of enemy knights made her a little more aware of the losses the knights went through during the war as well.
She let out a shaky sigh and turned to look back over at Gavin. "Come on. We should go regroup with everyone... We'll have a battle in Grimsby tomorrow." she told him in a quiet voice. With a look of sympathy, she paused before adding, "He'll be buried properly just like the others. There's no time to properly mourn right now though."
"Penelope, Gavin, what's going on-" Mia rode up besides them only for her words to fall short as her gaze fell on Alan. The baroness frowned lightly and lowered her head for a moment. She let a few moments of silence pass before lifting her head to look at the two. "Someone will have to tell Bran about this once we return to camp."
"I will." Gavin mumbled.
Mia gave him a nod of approval before letting out a soft sigh. "To lose a child at any age is not something I wish on any parent." the baroness muttered, nearly to herself. Her gaze focused back ahead and she signaled for them to follow her. "Now isn't the time to focus on death. Let's regroup and rest before we make our way to Grimsby tomorrow. The living still have one more battle to face before we can rest for a little while."
Penelope nodded her head in agreement with Mia before looking over at Gavin. The male knight seemed reluctant to move. Even though the bodies would be tended to by those assigned, it was clear to her that he didn't just want to leave Alan. She felt a stab of sympathy for him and his loss. Had she lost someone, she knew she wouldn't leave their side easily either. The female knight placed her hand on his back, gently ushering him away from his friend.
---
The knights regrouped and made their way to where the wagons of supplies were located. Jane and a couple other physicians went to work bandaging up the wounded. A few knights that were uninjured went to work with serving out food and water to the others. As they all settled in for the night, a few begun to make small campfires to warm themselves as they filled their bellies and prepared to get rest before they had to march off to the next battle.
Penelope, Olivia, Gavin and Layth all sat quietly around the same fire. Her brother had joined with the intent to brag about the supplies remaining safe under his care however, he read the atmosphere and for once shut his mouth as he sat down on the other side of Penelope. She was surprised by Layth's suddenly quiet attitude as he rested with them. His sympathy for Gavin's loss seemed enough to keep him quiet but she wondered what had made him decide to stay with them. She glanced at her brother. He had his arms crossed and his gaze focused on the fire that burned in front of them. Though curious, she didn't mind his presence this time and instead found a bit of comfort in being surrounded by a handful of people she cared for. Gavin's loss made her grateful that they were all still safe.
Hopefully Crow is safe too.. She thought, glancing up at the night sky. She hadn't seen the thief in battle, likely because they hadn't gotten close to the village, and she hoped that meant he had either found a way to remain safe during the fight or had stayed out of it completely.
"Aww man I can't believe we have to go straight to Grimsby tomorrow." Olivia groaned, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group. "Couldn't the barons have at least given us a little more time in between these two battles?"
"And let Younis recover from this one?" Layth snorted. "We can't properly win anything unless we drive them out of our kingdom first."
"I gueessss." Olivia drawled.
"We should probably be getting to sleep soon. The barons mentioned something about wanting to leave as soon as the sun rose, right?" Penelope casted a glance at Layth.
"Yeah." Layth grumbled. His gaze flickered over to Gavin and he snorted. "Is that all you're going to eat?"
Penelope shifted a bit and looked over at Gavin. The male knight had been silent since they had left the battlefield. Looking over now, she noticed that he had only taken a couple bites from his bread and left the rest of his serving of food untouched. Gavin nodded his head, not even bothering to look over at Layth. "I'm full. You can have the rest if you want."
"I'm not a pig you can just shover your leftovers to." Layth growled. He paused before grumbling, "Finish your damn food."
"It might be good to eat a little more, Gavin." Penelope added tentatively, shooting her brother a stern look. "With another battle tomorrow, you'll need your energy."
Layth shot a glare at penelope in return and looked back over at Gavin. When the male knight didn't say anything, he narrowed his eyes. "While I hate agreeing with her, she's right." he said bitterly. "You'll wear yourself thin and get killed," As Gavin looked over at him, Layth glanced down at Penelope. "or get someone else killed trying to protect you."
Penelope turned her head to glare at her brother. "Couldn't have phrased that a little less bluntly?" She hissed quietly, not catching his glance at her.
Layth held her glare. "No." He responded coldly. "I tried to help. I'm not here to babysit. If he wants to live he'll eat, if he wants to starve himself and fall into the first sword that gets to him then so be it." He shook his head and got up to his feet. "Whatever. Just don't get in my way." He turned and stalked off.
Penelope rolled her eyes as she watched her brother leave. She turned back and noticed Olivia smirking. "What?" She asked confused.
"Nothing... I've just never seen Layth try to actually help before.. It was interesting." Olivia snickered.
"It was definitely different." Mumbled Gavin. Penelope blinked in surprise as she caught a hint of amusement in Gavin's low voice. She smiled a little and nodded her head in agreement.
Olivia and Penelope continued chatting while Gavin sat quietly like before, not changing much despite a brief moment of amusement with Layth's actions. He did, however, finish his food, which put Penelope at ease. As the night wore on, the knights eventually laid down for the night. Penelope closed her eyes as she laid down on the forest floor with the rest of her battalion. Feeling tired from the battle, it didn't take her long to fall asleep, drifting off into a deep slumber despite all that had occurred.
