[*]
His eyes, dark as lacquer, flickered with firelight, deep and grim.
The young man's eyes were usually crystal 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, broken only by the crackle and pop of sparks from the fire.
"Little General," Amy clapped her hands lightly and smiled at him. "Weren't you going on about your loyalty and vowing to die for our country? Why so scared now?"
"If I had been born in a time of chaos, alone in the world with nothing but my own life, then my death would mean nothing. But now, with our country adrift and in peril, even if I'm willing to give my life in service, I fear it won't be enough to save this collapsing dynasty."
