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Her poor horse had probably had a much worse experience out there than Estel herself. It was her responsibility as a knight to care for her own mount and her gear, so she spent quite some time in the stables, checking over Ashes' hooves and inspecting her carefully for bee stings and so on.

When Estel left her horse's stall, she was keenly aware that Ashes was probably much cleaner and well-groomed than she was, now. Her clothing was pretty hopelessly stained with dirt and grass, her cloak was fraying, and the soles of her boots were starting to feel like they should be replaced soon.

Her fever had gone down a little, but her cough hadn't gone away - if anything, it felt like it had gotten worse. Outside the stables, she found a bench and sat down hard, putting her head in her hands.

"You!" Estel jumped to her feet so quickly she nearly fell over. "Where have you been?! I went looking for you two!"

"I was worried!" And now she was angry. She looked him over briefly for injuries before moving closer and lowering her voice - they were supposed to keep this a secret, after all - to ask, "Did you find him?"

"You were already bleeding when we--" Estel turned her head aside, covering her mouth to cough. "--when we left."

The idea that the king would have left without a word to go looking for armor seemed ridiculous. He was the Great King; he probably had the finest armor in the land already.

The world blurred before her eyes. Shaking her head to clear it, she asked, "Are you always this reckless?"

"I," Estel snapped, "am not fine. And I'm not too proud to admit it. I swore an oath to uphold the code of conduct - all of it. A knight must always help those in need. And the code of the Stallion, which I pledged myself to - 'Kindness and sincerity, opening their hearts to all, showing understanding to those who need it.' We are in this together, all of us - we are responsible for each other."

"Y-yes. You're right. I should." Estel closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "...I'm glad you're alright."

What a ridiculous, weak child she must seem like to him.

Estel nodded slowly, beginning to walk. "I don't really remember... why I came here. Why I wanted to be a knight. But I think it must be because there's really nowhere else for me to go. Humanity's last refuge... as far as anyone knows."

She paused for a moment to cough. She was really thirsty, now that he'd mentioned it.

"...and whatever else I might be... 'm not lazy. I'm not a coward. If I had any reason to live before I made my vows, I've forgotten what it was. A knight must sacrifice themselves for their king at all costs..."

He had a point, there.

"I wonder who I was." The idea of having forgotten her life should have been chilling, awful, but when she thought about it, all she could feel was the sensation of having had a burden lifted from her shoulders. Why wasn't she more concerned about this?

"Perhaps when we've had some time to recover, we could go search some more?" she asked.