Going Back To Reality

Henry and Commander Lothian were sitting at the low table in Katerina's home.

She had set out bread and cured meats for the men to eat for lunch but, when the food dwindled, and Henry still hadn't answered Katerina's question about what had happened in Polona, a tense silence took over the three of them. 

The commander occasionally glanced at Henry to see if he had wiped the grim expression off of his face. Seeing that it was still there, he knew it wasn't his place to answer. He had already told Katerina all he had wanted to about the situation with Henry. 

"You seem…" Katerina started to talk as she observed Henry who was staring at his empty plate with a forlorn expression. "Upset." 

There were other words she could use - sad being at the top of the list. Yet she knew she shouldn't push her luck. It seemed it was a common trait amongst knights that they would run in the opposite direction if someone tried to care about their emotions.