"I would say I am fine, yes." He cleared his throat as quietly as he could, "I was in the Battle for New London, it was a massacre." He shook his hand left and right in a slow manner, "Many good souls loyal to the King died that day." His leg was bouncing up and down ever so slightly after the topic had been brought on, likely from stress. Clair zoned out, looking past his companion reminiscing about the years of war he has experienced, leaving a somewhat blank stare on his face.
A few minutes later the waitress comes back with a pushable golden cart with gallic markings on it with two large dishes and a bowl of ice with a large bottle of the requested wine. "Navarin D'Agneau for the madam." She took the cover off, revealing Ambres steaming meal. After putting it onto the table, she repeated the same motion for the man just with a different meal. "Merci." They both exclaimed at the very same time. The employee gave them a polite smile just before leaving the cooled wine on the table and quickly moving away.
Ambre smiled pleasantly as the ragout was placed in front of her - it was one of her favourite meals, and the smell invoked pure nostalgia in her. Nevertheless, she couldn't just dive into it immediately. Augustin appeared to be reminiscing about the horrors of the war,
Deciding to snap him out of it, she decided to follow up with another question.
"And what do you do now? Continue doing what you've done in Dublin where I saw you?"
Augustin didn't get straight into his meal either. Instead, he opened the wine bottle, which was followed by a loud pop. He poured the crimson liquid into her crystal glass, filling his own afterwards. Clair put the bottle back to the place it rightfully belongs. The crown covered bowl of ice where it sat so perfectly.
"Of course." He answered without much hesitation. A rather genuine smirk appeared as he extended his arm towards Ambre, holding the glass of freshly poured wine.
Taking the wine glass that Augustin poured for her, she raised it towards his and let them meet, causing a satisfying clink. "To our reunion" she replied with fake confidence, and promptly took a sip of the wine, savouring its richness. She had completely forgotten the taste of Gallic wine by that point, even more so something of this high quality. At least Bordeaux managed to secure proper supplies even in the midst of the war.
Setting the glass down, she proceeded to start slowly working away at her meal. Not certain on how to drive the conversation forward and avoid causing suspicion at the same time, she decided to ask something simple.
"I guess it is." He promptly responded to her question before taking another sip of the fine Gallic wine. Augustin was rather hungry at that point in time so the once fine steak disappeared rather quickly, one rich piece at a time. Numerous thoughts were coursing through his mind, even if nothing appeared blatantly wrong. Many of them were related to Ambre. She acted distinctively different from how he used to perceive her. Going from a courageous devilish woman to a person that seemingly was intimidated by some pesky guards.
Her companion took another flavourful sip of the wine before asking a question in return, "What about you then? What happened during the war and after the war?" Genuine intrigue took over Augustin as he observed her in between each sip of the wine.
"Tell me everything." A slight smirk once again appeared on his face.
And there it was. The question she was sure was going to be asked, one she didn't want to answer at all. Nevertheless, it was too late to back out now, and catching his gaze made her start speaking without thinking.
"I'm sure you've noticed when I went missing.. roughly two years ago. Just when we were starting to raid Southampton before the push, I was on an operation to harass the traffic there and take out patrols." she went quiet for a bit, reminiscing what happened next.
"I've encountered one of the Bretonians' best pilots which nearly took me out, but the very last second I've managed to take him out with a Veuglaire shot. I wanted to call it a day and return to Leeds, but on the way near Southampton I've come across something that I had to chase further into the system, towards the sun. Later I realised it was some sort of glowing alien that turned its guns on me as soon as I was away from traffic." Ambre explained as she put her hands down on the table - she was clearly shaken by this experience.
"I.. had no chance against it, felt like it was messing with my head as I fought it. My guns literally flew off the wings when it shot me, so I had no option left but to try and escape. Just as my ship was about to tear itself in half from its shots, my countermeasures worked and I ended up in cruise. I was a second away from death, completely exhausted, the engine overheating, leaking coolant and the wings on fire. My luck didn't end there - just as I was about to reach the jump hole back to Leeds, a Liberty Navy patrol disrupted me in that state.. I didn't have a choice. The Cougar's reactor blew up when they tried to escort me towards their battleship." she answered dejectedly. She didn't look at Augustin in the eyes, fully expecting him to soon reinforce her thoughts that she failed completely.
"I somehow survived, although with major burns, and had to live in Bretonian custody until the war ended. They didn't treat me well after what I've done. I only had the opportunity to escape when the Council wanted to take custody of me, probably to sent me to the guillotine for 'war crimes'."
It was best for her to lie about what happened after, just to avoid upsetting him. If anyone had heard that she worked for what turned out to be Bretonians, especially on this planet, she'd probably be dead or rotting in a cell within hours. And just like that, her appetite was lost.
The man in front of her remained silent as she told her unfortunate story that encompassed the past two years. Visible concern took over his facial expression as the story carried onwards. Augustin didn't know what to make of this. Something he never expected to happen, happened. Noticing her lowered hands, he put his own down as well, moments before squeezing both of her hands with his in a comforting non-hurtful way. Possibly for the first time in more than a decade,he felt the pain of another person, especially someone like her, someone important.
Clair had a minuscule suspicion that this wasn't all of it. That there was something more that she wasn't telling him. He wanted to know. His mind spiralled into malicious intent towards the Bretonians that tormented her but ultimately was overcome with concern and care.
"It'll be-" He stopped himself, taking a small breath before reevaluating what he wished to say. "Tell me everything, Ambre." Her companion uttered with a sorrowful tone. Augustin did not have the slightest inkling on how to deal with something like this but such was life and thus, a hefty amount of emotional baggage was attached to him now. He was determined to assist her fully. Clair took a quick glance at his surroundings, looking if anyone was near them to hear her story. Not a single living soul besides the two populated second floor of the restaurant. "Please?"
She sighed, realising he picked up on the fact that she wasn't telling the whole truth. At least he didn't seem to react to her story harshly, and her hands being held by his convinced her to let loose the truth about her situation.
"The Conseillards wanted to bring me back a month ago, and likely sent me to the guillotines for the 'war crimes' I've committed, namely taking out targets with antimatter and taking part in the destruction of San Diego. At the same time, I had a Rheinlander come visit me saying he was recruiting people for his militia - and I'd have the opportunity to escape both Bretonian custody and whatever fate awaited at the hands of the Council." she explained. She looked around the restaurant again, checking if there was anyone around that could've been listening to their conversation - it didn't appear so.
"Crimean Privateers, they were called. They said it was some sort of planetary militia that were desperate for pilots, so they even looked at PoWs like me. I was pardoned by the Bretonians in exchange for agreeing to his offer. It turns out that frontier planet they were based in was Exeter. Which had a Bretonian government. They were the one who gave me the ship that landed." the Gaul paused for a few seconds, thinking of whether it was worth saying the next sentence.
"I don't know what to do. I'm stuck serving them when I can barely fly anymore, and I can't return home because the Council would be out to get me." she said quietly, clearly struggling with not breaking down.
Augustin still did not let go of her. He did not plan to do so either. He simply remained mute for the duration of her speech. Whilst looking deep into her teary mournful eyes, Clair had no idea something like this could have ever happened to her. He felt remarkably guilty of what has happened to her and because he could not have prevented this long ago. Seeing a companion so deeply hurt had flipped a sentimental switch in his mind. Ambre much like everyone else would've expected him to be overcome with disgust towards her, yet, his body language and his facial expression exclaimed only the deepest concern and care.
"You are not stuck serving them. Stay here with me and rest of the Enclave." He squeezed her hands a little tighter as a genuine and bright smile broke his otherwise sorrowful look. A smile that indicated that she can break down in her own agony and he will be there for her. Augustin was confident he would have no problems dealing with anyone coming after her. Augustin did not have anything or anyone left besides her after the war. Ambre was practically the last bastion of his survival.
She wasn't sure how to respond to Augustin - that proposition came out completely unexpected. She took a few seconds to think of what to say.
"I can't, Augustin. I have promises to keep, and eventually I'll be able to get my family to safety, away from the Council government. They're still on Nevers, and I can only hope they're doing fine under terrorist occupation." she answered regretfully.
"It's safe neither here, nor there for them. If I keep doing what I've done, I'll be able to get them somewhere safe thanks to the connection I'm working for." Ambre explained. As much as she would have liked to return to where she was - she was no longer in a good condition to fight, and, to her mind, lost everything already. She should've died there and then - everything she's done after her release was for her family whom she hasn't heard from for years.