[*]
His eyes, dark as lacquer, flickered with firelight, deep and chilling.
The young man's eyes were usually exceptionally 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 after all."
A heavy silence fell, broken only by the CRACKLE and POP of the embers.
"Little General," Amy clapped her hands lightly and grinned at him. "Weren't you the one who swore to serve the nation with your life, to die for your country? Why do you seem so afraid now?"
"If I had been born in a time of chaos with no family to speak of, my death would mean nothing. But now, with the nation in peril and my family's legacy on my shoulders, even if I am willing to die, I fear my sacrifice alone cannot save this crumbling dynasty."
