Chapter 1

Too much time had gone to waste. Many Crimeans had fallen under Daein's rule in his absence and he would not rest until he restored his superb and knightly shape, which would allow him to cut through the hordes of ebon-clad demons that occupied his precious country – his home of Melior. Despite his years of training, the elite soldiers under his command, and his mastery of the axe, Captain Kieran suffered the most humiliating defeat of his life weeks prior to his release from Castle Canteus, and he would be dammed if he squandered this second chance to retake Crimea and restore his honour.

Before he could swing his axe for what felt like the one thousandth time, he dropped his weapon, which almost landed on his foot. He fell backwards a few seconds later, his body shutting down even though his mind screamed for more training. Duke Renning would've chewed him out for overtaxing his body, while General Geoffrey's approving nod would have been a generous praise for his dedication, but they were not with him. He wasn't taking orders from the men he looked up to. He was taking orders from a stranger - a good and trustworthy man – who saved the Princess after he failed to protect her.

Kieran regained enough strength to move his arm and block the sun's intense light from his eyes. He noticed that his recent exposure to the sun was at least returning some colour to his skin.

After thirty minutes of lying on the dirt, the red-haired knight stood up once again. He toyed with the idea of continuing his training with some push-ups or perhaps running through the nearby woods, but he decided against it when he realized that he had spent too much time away from Princess Elincia. The Greil Mercenaries were with her, and they were more than capable of protecting her, but Kieran's sense of duty wouldn't let stray away from General Geoffrey's last order: "Protect her at all cost." She was their client, but he was honour-bound to protect her

Once he retrieved his steel axe from the ground and his tunic that hung on a nearby branch, Kieran headed back to Port Toha. It felt a little unreal to find a town that had been untouched by Daein's steel. As nice as it was to bask in Port Toha's false sense of peace, Captain Kieran would instantly remember his skirmishes with Daein's forces whenever he felt himself relax. Even as he passed the front gate of the fishing town, all he could think of was those few seconds he lost sight of Princess Elincia before her disappearance.

Kieran spotted Commander Ike's tactician talking to the quiet, teal-haired soldier girl near the Inn they were staying in. It seemed like the short mage was giving her some basic supplies for the next battle. He couldn't help but notice the lance he was giving her appeared to be in poor condition. He approached them to make sure that the soldier girl wasn't going into battle with a shoddy weapon, only to confirm that she was given a glorified broomstick for a lance.

"Excuse me!" he declared loudly.

Kieran startled both of them, but the tactician returned to his cool and collected demeanour by the time he turned to face the Crimean knight. "Kieran," he said. "Good, I wanted to speak with you about something important."

His pride got the better of him. "Let me guess: You and the commander want to utilize my expertise to lead the cavalry!"

"Not so loud!" he hissed. "And no, Titania leads all mounted soldiers." Kieran's enthusiasm crashed just as fast as it rose. "Let's go somewhere private."

Kieran felt like he forgot something when Soren faced the militia girl and apologized for something. Soren then lead him the part of town where most of the fishermen lived. The streets and old wooden houses were mostly empty because they were still at sea. The salty air was disorienting for the knight who barely stepped out of Crimea's core region.

"I heard you can vouch for the Princess' claim to the throne," he stated.

"You think she's been lying to you?" Kieran asked, trying his best not to sound angry.

"What I think is not important. However, we might need a little more than her good word to convince Begnion's leaders." Kieran was aware of the difficult position the late king's daughter was in. He didn't quite understand why she was hidden away from the court, but he didn't like to dwell on politics. "I need to know just how much weight your word will have if we need you to confirm the fact that she's the only heir to the Crimean throne when we meet the senate."

"What do you mean by that? I'm a knight of Crimea, captain of the Fifth Platoon! I answer directly to General Geoffrey and Duke Renning," Kieran stated proudly. "My word weights just as much as the immense trust these great men have placed on me."

Soren sighed and shook his head. "That's nice. Not exactly what I'm asking, though."

He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Then what are you asking?"

The young tactician looked at Kieran as if he were the biggest idiot in Tellius. "You look a little young for your rank. I'm asking if you're the son of a baron, count…"

"Are you suggesting that I haven't earned my rank?" Soren had no idea he had just delivered the worst possible insult anyone could give the red-haired knight.

"That's up to you to decide. But I see this conversation is getting me nowhere." Soren turned to the direction which they came from.

Kieran tensed and clenched his fists, but he called Soren out just before he was out of earshot. "Hey!" Soren turned to face Kieran again. "I'm no noble. I am the youngest son of a wealthy merchant." He grunted softly. "The senators know my father."

"Ah," he said. Kieran hated that sound. It was the sound of it all making sense to them once they learned of his family. "Thanks for sharing that. It might prove very useful if we need to back the Princess' claims."

The knight felt like hacking away at something – anything – once Soren was nowhere to be seen. It was a sensitive subject for him… the equivalent of throwing salt to an open wound for him. He managed to quickly calm himself down with a deep breath. Though, he prayed he wouldn't be needed once they met the senate. Kieran was willing to do anything for Princess Elincia. Nevertheless, he had preferences. He'd rather serve only on the battlefield.

As he made his way back, he saw the militia girl from earlier giving a loaf of bread to a small girl. Kieran watched as the militia girl patted the child on the head and sent the grinning child away. It was then that he remembered Soren giving the militia girl a half broken lance and he wanted to know why – sending recruits to fight with poor quality weapons wasn't very smart.

"Miss!" he called out. And Kieran startled her for a second time on that day. When she faced him, Kieran noticed she had positioned her helmet to hide her eyes from him. He thought she was intimidated by a knight. Some squires and green recruits avoided eye contact with their superiors, nothing a little experience couldn't fix. Kieran was once terrified of Duke Renning.

"Ya got a funny way of greetin' people," she said nervously. Kieran did not hear her.

Just before he questioned the militia girl on why she was given that shoddy lance, Kieran realized he forgot her name. He heard that Brom fella call her by name once. It was long and had too many syllables for Kieran's liking. But not remembering your comrade's name was rude, so Kieran stood in front of the militia girl and stared at her, waiting until he could remember her name, completely unaware of how uncomfortable he was making her feel.

His stare became so intense that she, for some unknown reason to Kieran, found the ground very interesting. After a few awkward minutes passed, he yelled "Marcia!" But he remembered that the girl in front of him wasn't a Pegasus knight. "Is not your name."

She looked up, still hiding her eyes. " I… Know."

"Give me a minute." He resumed his intense stare.

"Nephenee," she hurriedly said.

"Bless you," he replied.

"No… um, that is my name," she said.

"Oh! That's right!" He recalled that time when Brom introduced her to Commander Ike and Princess Elincia. "Your name is Nephenee!"

She cocked her head slightly to the left. "It… is." Despite the fact that her helmet hid part of her face, it was clear she was very confused… and a little frightened. "Can I help you with somethin'?"

Kieran's eyes widened. What did I need from her? The tables had turned. She now stared at him, and he was nervous. Since he couldn't remember what he wanted to talk about with her, he told her what he told his soldiers whenever he was in this position. "I just wanted to tell you to fight true and bold, and you'll made Crimea proud!" That line had never failed before

"I – Thanks, Captain, I will." She seemed a little more confident. Kieran had no idea how much she needed that sudden burst of encouragement. In fact, seeing some brash and somewhat thickheaded knight hold his head up in pride, despite how slim their chances of success were, boosted everyone's morale. He also made people smile when he wasn't screaming their ears off.