"The people you are being unfair to are the people who will be under his command once he returns. I'm not one of them, so you do me no injustice."

"Not on the same level, but I recognize that you have feelings, and I'm talking to you, so. Anyway, I'm trying a tactic called 'be as honest as possible on the grounds that the Enemy has tried social engineering before and I don't think he can manage to get close enough to do it again but just in case it's harder to manipulate people who are being more honest with each other.' Also you're Doomed so I don't want to bet on a bad thing being categorically impossible to try on you."

"I appreciate it. In the spirit of similar honesty, the worst thing my uncle can do to me is kill me, and that's now quite solvable; the worst thing he can do to his children is command them to kill for him, and it's on their behalf that I have not forgiven him."

"Well his children are the ones who want him back, and I am nnnot qualified to play family therapist, so at that point I'm rather inclined to declare it the best I can do."

"Yeah. You've made that clear. I - I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of people again, I really am."

"Um--if I could get a list at some point--it might take me a while to memorize but names should be easier to work from than 'froze to death' or 'died in such and such a battle' or 'fatal case of asshole husband.' Celegorm told me how your sister died," she explains.

"We can draw one up."

"Thanks. I'm sure I'll think of more things over time, but I think that's everything for now. Should I be making a more formal farewell to anyone else before I go?"

"It's a war, we'll see you again, I wouldn't worry about it. Sure you don't want to stay for another dinner?"

"Tempting, but I have work to do."

"Then good luck, and stay safe."

"I shall do my best to ensure that my immediate vicinity is much more dangerous for anyone who intends me harm than it is for me. See you around."

He smiles. Hands her the letter for his cousins. And heads back out.

And she tucks the letters in her new reinforced-leaf bag and heads west back to Himring.

(Odette rejoins her own thread here)

He finds Illia a few hours later because there are people in need of healing. "Your sister's pretty great."

"I know."

"She seemed to anticipate she'd need more variety to stay sane. Do you?"

"Not...yet. But I'm not pushing myself as hard as she is."

"Let me know when you do need anything."

"I'll let you know. Oh, actually, I don't think I've learned the alphabet either. I mean, I saw it, when we were making the press, but I didn't learn it learn it. I should do that after I finish the current batch of healing."

"Certainly. It's easy to pick up."

"I wonder if it helps that I know three probably-harder ones already."

"Three?"

"The Latinate alphabet, the Fraktur alphabet, and the Hebrew alphabet."

"What sort of scholarship requires so many alphabets?"