dagda

Morgan was <i>pissed</i> afterwards. Went up to me and asked, 'how come I go in to mediate and they sock ME?'

Hahaha, that's the first I've heard of anything like that...

What about you, then? Did you ever have rows with them?

Never. I've... never fought with them before.

In that case, I think maybe you could <i>try</i> having a quarrel? Er, not that I know anything, but...

After we first fought, Morgan gave me this outfit, and these earrings, and I was let into the Glasgow Gang. Indra started getting dead upset at all my 'knightly habits' after that, so I changed bit by bit...

In my mind, I'm a Knight of the Tower, one to Her Majesty, King of the Siege, but at the same time, we're Glasgow Gangers too. Just friends. Don't you think?

Ugh, Morgan couldn't give me a trickier mission... How am I supposed to be the comforting sort?

...Pfft.

I know what you're trying to get at. We just... me and them have been apart for too long.

What's to fear? Honestly, I bet Indra reckons everything's as usual as it could be. You're still just the same in her eyes.

That much I believe. That much, I do.

So, may as well scrap with her first! Right?

...Suppose so.

Feeling better now? Wow, I'm not even sure what I'm saying anymore... See you tomorrow, then?

Right on. See you tomorrow!

Tomorrow... We've still got plenty that needs doing. It's down to us to distribute all the meds and supplies those people with you brought...

Baird pats her on the shoulders, cracks a faint little smile, and quietly hums through the tune Dagda sang when she first came back with the gang.

It stirs a memory in Dagda, of years and years ago. As if Master Finn had clapped her just as firmly on the shoulders, that final time they belted out their song.

Or perhaps, it was that encirclement, the last breakthrough, when his great bloodied hand gripped her shoulder as tightly as death.

'Isa! You... You brought us hope!'

'But you have to remember, the vacant throne...'

It's as if all this time an arrow has remained in flight, and here and now pierces true through her heart. At long last, she recalls the words that follow.

'It rests barren! Your duty is far more than to await a monarch!'

The throne has been a barren one...

That's what he meant by 'vacant throne' all along...

His old and weary smiles. His each and every turn to her gaze. His final breaths. His lone dying request. He hoped to push her, to free her from this gravest burden.

Dagda places her hand across the 'Book of the Tower Knights' forever on her person. A sturdy tome, a weighty one.

She continues to write no longer. In its stead, she forges one step forward, and that is all.

Siege, I... I've got some water. Have a drink.

The Duke of Windermere's got supplies enough on this ship. You can drink what you'd like. No need to save any.

It's fine. I'm much better now.

How are you? And the others who boarded with us, are they...?

The soldiers lost their fellow men, and we've...

Dagda strokes lightly across her brows. Where originally they were neatly kept, new hairs are now growing out, a slight stubble against her fingers.

I can't quite remember properly. Why did Baird split up with us, back then?

...Because one more time, she just wanted to get word to McClaren.

She wanted everyone to come with. That's why she stayed behind. To fetch the bloke she knew from the video shop.

Her memory was never even that good.

I remember you all talking about how she got all careless once and let a basket of eggs slip. No breakfast for any of you the next morning.

But she remembered how I stamp my feet about when I'm nervous. No one else even noticed, but she came over to me. Comforted me.

Why's her memory so good one moment and so bad the next...?

...I should have gone with her...

Maybe I should've persuaded her just a little harder. I knew how she'd stayed there all this time. I knew she'd care for the people more than we <i>could</i> know...

But we did nothing. You did nothing.

Siege, how much longer will you keep hesitating? When are you finally going to think to make a choice?

You have to choose!

What IS your path in the end? Are you here as revenge for your friends, to be a king, to be a leader, or is it to see your moral code through? You can't just stay the way you are, not doing anything!

I...

You put a decision to me on the way here. You said you weren't the lord I was born to serve. Well, I've made my decision.

May the Knight die as vassal to her king. May the Knight die for her friends.

The Knight will abide by virtue, and the Knight will gladly sacrifice. That is my oath.

But, Dagda... It doesn't feel to me like they need an Aslan King anymore. All of that's in the past.

I'll stand with you, with them, and with the people aboard this ship. That's all.

I understand.

Siege, this Book of the Tower Knights is yours now. You must keep it safe and sound. That's my choice.

What are you...?

I've realized what Master Finn was trying to tell me, and what it meant for them to stake their lives in order to rescue me.

They didn't want for me to inherit their burden. They entrusted a 'vacant throne' to me, so I wouldn't deceive myself with the weight of it all like they did... They wanted me to see Victoria's future in their place, with clear eyes.

I give this book to you. No longer am I just Isabelle Montague, Knight of the Tower. Now more than ever, I'm Dagda of the Glasgow Gang.

I'm not protecting Victoria's king, no. I'm just protecting my friend.

...Alright.

The wind flies past their faces, endlessly for the yonder behind them, as if it blows everything away.

Once the war's over, I'll take you to visit the tower. Visit my masters.

Sure.

Siege...

Never since I swore my oath have the lights in the Palace been lit, out behind the Tower. I've never guarded a Victorian monarch. We Knights of the Tower... long lost everything we ever protected.

So I have to ask. Have the Knights of the Tower accomplished their duty...?

Yes.

Your duty is accomplished.