[*]
His eyes were like polished lacquer, flickering with firelight, deep and grim.
The young man's eyes were usually exceedingly clear, but now they seemed shrouded in a black mist.
After a long moment, he said in a low voice, "So it was a dead end."
A silence fell, leaving only the CRACKLE and POP of the sparks.
"Little General," Amy clapped her hands cheerfully and smiled at him. "Weren't you going to be loyal to the nation and swear to serve it until death? Why are you so afraid now?"
"If I were born in a time of chaos, with no family to speak of, my death would mean nothing. But now, with my family and country in peril, even if I have the heart to die in service, I fear I cannot prop up a collapsing dynasty."
