Parting - Part 4

That was not to say the condition he was currently in was all that bad. It wasn't optimal – far from it. But he still believed he could fight with teeth bared, and he hoped that he wouldn't be collapsing any time soon. That was still mere supposition though – it wasn't as though he understood the nature of his affliction entirely, nothing beyond the fact that it came when his progress seemed to be at its most vigorous.

The Princess looked conflicted. There was a wrestling in that shrouded heart of hers – a heart that Oliver could not easily reach, despite his new understanding of Command. Hers was a soul that was too difficult to grasp.