Patrick took a deep breath and let it out.

If running to Hannish Street from the palace would've gotten him there faster, Patrick would have. Instead, he'd taken one of the carriages that parked outside the entrance. Not everyone could have their personal carriage parked in the palace stable after all. Anyone lower than a viscount, specifically.

Jittering nervously, Patrick tried not to shake the carriage too much. After all, they could tip over easily, and that was the last thing Patrick needed at the moment.

Thankfully, Hannish Street, though located in the center of Lockton, was on the main road that went through town. Arriving, Patrick climbed out, paid the driver, and entered the open door of Garden House. He hoped that Fatima was available, but he didn't know her schedule. If she wasn't then Patrick supposed he could talk to Jamila. Or even Fila would do at this rate. Maybe one of them could convince Reed of the seriousness of the situation.

Immediately looking into the apartment on the right, just inside the front door, Patrick was relieved to see Fatima working at her stove.

"Vice-Captain Davis," she greeted, looking up from her stew. Whatever it was, it smelled spicy. "Come in. Sit. I will make you eat."

"Fatima, I don't have time for that." He stepped in and turned her to face him. "Reed is in trouble."

The older woman looked Patrick over with the slightest twitch of her brows. "When is he not in trouble?"

"This is worse than usual, Fatima. He's--The barracks building fell down! They've been stealing the money to repair it for years and it's finally fallen down. And because Reed is in charge, he's at fault!"

Fatima's lip curled. Now she was angry.

"They'll kill him. Fatima. You have to convince Reed to leave Lockton. He has to leave or they'll kill him!"

She struck his cheek. It was a light tap compared to some he'd received from high nobility, but it was enough to get him to release her arms. "You stupid boy."

Patrick stepped back. "I know you care about him. This is extremely serious. The roof fell in during an inspection." He squeezed his fists. "Hannish Street is run by the company, so there's nothing to worry about on that front. Greene and Baron Davis will continue to make sure that things are maintained even if Reed isn't around. But Reed must get out of town!"

"And then what?" Fatima demanded, slapping her spoon against the stove with a clang. "He leaves and goes where? And when they send someone to get him there, does he run again? You would have him run forever! Have you asked Amro what he thinks?" She leaned in with a questioning hmm? She narrowed her eyes. "He told you to spin on it, didn't he?"

Pushing his hair back from his forehead, Patrick stared at the ceiling in distress. Reed hadn't been that vulgar, but Fatima knew Reed well enough.

"If Amro has said he will not run, then I will not try to make him." She closed her eyes with a sigh. "Perhaps he has a plan."

"He doesn't," Patrick said in defeat. "This came out of nowhere. We had no time to plan for anything." His heart ached. Reed had done so much for them over the years. Patrick owed him so much, and there was nothing he could do to pay the man back. This wasn't fair. It just...

Fatima grabbed the front of Patrick's shirt, pulling him down to hug. "There, there. Do not cry. This is Amro's decision. But if you want to tell him what his decision will cause, then you do it."

"And... what will it cause?"

"If they harm him, we will fight. We will not put up with this anymore. He got us everything we have, and we will give him everything in return."

Patrick's eyes widened. He twisted his gaze to look at the side of her head and slowly drew back. "You can't do that..." he whispered. "They'll kill you all."

"If that's what it takes," Fatima said, "Then we will die to the last child. It is Hanbul's way. Amro has proven that he will take care of us, and we will fight as his army."

Backing away a step, Patrick shook his head. "He will not be happy with that."

Fatima smiled. "Then it seems you'd best make him think of a way to save himself." She wagged her spoon at Patrick, stopping short of tapping him on the chest, since it had red sauce on it still. "Now. Go back up there and tell him he is being stupid."

Snorting a shocked, single laugh, Patrick wiped his face and staggered out of Fatima's apartment. The carriage he'd ridden down had already left, but another was passing and stopped when he waved.

This was not what Patrick had expected of Fatima, but it seemed like a very typical Hannish thing to do. Reed might make a different choice based on this information. His only other option now was Lily. Reed listened to Lily. She would convince him to do something to save his skin. Patrick groaned, leaning forward over his knees in the carriage as it rattled back toward the palace. Lily would be at her post in the western garden today. Just past the north hall on the fence. Once at the palace gates, Patrick cut left, skirting through the hedges to get to his next destination.

As he'd expected, Lily stood at her post, though she was reading a book.

"Lily," Patrick called, setting the tone for this conversation. "Reed is in trouble."

She immediately snapped the book shut and looked at him.

"What did he do this time?"

"Salvage inspected the barracks. The roof caved in."

Lily took a deep breath and held it, her face going through all kinds of expressions before she asked. "And what is Reed going to do about it?"

"Nothing," Patrick said. "I talked to Fatima. She said the Hans will riot if he's hurt. I told her that's the last thing Reed would want."

She slowly nodded. "Yeah. That's not something Reed would agree to."

"Please talk to him." Patrick gripped her shoulders. "He's ignoring me, and I feel like he might ignore Fatima, too. But he doesn't ignore you. Please talk to him."

Lily nodded emphatically. "Shall I go now?" she asked.

"No. Kelvin's probably going to be prowling around because Solace woke up. Lady Lorraine took our rejected repair requests, and maybe something will come of that. But I want you to think of some way to get him out of their reach until he's cleared of charges."

"What?" Lily demanded.

"Oh. Shit." Patrick pushed his hair back from his forehead. "Shit. Today has been... Shit. Solace woke up and walked himself to the fish pond and threw himself into the water."

"A soulless fucking woke up?" Lily shouted in disbelief. "If anyone but you told me that, I wouldn't believe it."

"Yes. Lorrie came to get Reed and me while we were cleaning up the barracks, and he was in the pond," Patrick gestured helplessly with his hands. "And he started talking, then the king and queen showed up. It's a mess, Lily. Today has gone head over the bridge, practically from the moment we woke up." Patrick breathed, looking up at the clear sky. He'd not really thought about it, but that summed it up. And it was barely noon. "Blessed Sun... We still have to figure out what to do with Solace. He's... Lily. He kicked Kelvin. Twice. He's got the most unpleasant temperament." He rubbed his eyes. "Reed doesn't want to assign guards to him, either. But we have to... Kelvin won't. Harthford is going to want Solace dead and that'll be even worse--"

"Patrick." Lily grabbed his shoulders, dropping her book in the process. "Breathe. Deep. Breaths. Breathe."

He took a deep breath through his nose and let it out. He'd never really approved of Reed's way of dealing with the high nobles. It was too risky to annoy them since there was always the chance they could take it too personally and cause problems for everyone.

Maybe it would've been alright if Timmons and Avery hadn't gotten involved in the ribbing. But that was in the past, and now they were here.

"You're right. I need... to calm down." Patrick wasn't sure how he was going to go about calming down, though. He was shaking.

"We'll figure this out," Lily caught his hands, pulling them out of his hair. "I'll talk to Reed. We'll figure something out. You know I'm not going to let him get killed."

Patrick focused on her.

Everyone liked Reed, but Lily was devoted to him. Patrick didn't understand that, since Reed encouraged her to act incredibly unladylike. She would never get a husband at this rate, and Reed wasn't going to marry anyone.

Patrick wanted them both to be happy, but Lily's happiness seemed to revolve around Reed, and Reed only seemed to know how to suffer in place of everyone else. They were both hopeless, and in light of the current situation, none of it mattered. Harthford was going to get rid of Solace because the prince was now an even greater threat to the Archduke's plans for the throne. As just a soulless, he would've eventually been killed, but that would've... honestly been after Gwain and Charlotte were disposed of. That option would've left the Western Barracks knights time to pack up and leave, but Solace just... becoming a full person out of nowhere, his death would be expedited. When it happened, it would ultimately be Reed's fault. But if they got rid of Reed before that, though...

It's going to be me hanging for Solace's death.

"Patrick." Lily shook him. "Patrick!" When he didn't respond, she slapped his cheek lightly. "Look at me. Get your head out of what might happen and think about what is happening. Is there anyone we can ask for help from?"

"Lady Lorraine... she took the repair requests," Patrick reported numbly. "Didn't I say that already?"

"Maybe," Lily shook her head. "Go see if there's any other evidence we can provide that might help clear Reed of wrongdoing."

Patrick nodded. She was right. This situation needed action, not panic. As the Vice-Captain, it was Patrick's job to keep people moving. He just needed to pick a direction.