Well, I just kind of felt like writing this fic I guess. Not much more to say than that. Hope you guys like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem, or any of the characters.
Just outside of Castle Caelin, the rain poured down mercilessly as Kent rode his brown horse near the gate. What he thought would have been a casual ride out into the country had turned into a race against giant thunderhead clouds and heavy rain.
With a grim expression on his face, he looked up to the top of the gate, his red hair hanging in front of his eyes in it's soaked condition. There should have been at least one guard, but the storm must have forced them to take shelter.
And here he was, stuck outside.
A large bolt of lightning raced across the sky, followed by a large clash of thunder. The horse beneath Kent pranced around nerviously. His horse was never fond of storms.
Racking his mind for someway to get inside, without making people think he was an intruder trying to get into the castle, he automattically discarded the idea of climbing up the castle wall and over the battlements. That technique only worked in invasions, and even then, there were many problems with that. What if he slipped on the wet stone of the castle and fell? And how would he get his horse over the wall?
At that thought, a mental image of his brown horse in a catapult appeared in his head. Shaking his head and ridding himself of the idea, he continued to stand outside the gate as the rain echoed down around him.
Hadn't someone known that he was leaving the castle? No, no one had. Kent had left in a hurry, trying to rid himself of stress. He thought that a nice ride around Caelin would have helped him relax, but to his dismay, everything just seemed to go wrong.
Drenched to the bone, water beginning to soak through his armor, Kent made one last desperate glance up at the battlements. Once again, he came to the conclusion his guards were inside, no doubt playing cards and drinking heavy ale.
How was it possible that the Crimson Shield, a title he only recently aquired, could defeat hordes of bandits and protect the Marquess and his grand daughter from danger, but he couldn't get inside the castle during a storm? The reason was beyond him.
Suddenly, with a giant groan, the large wooden door came to life and opened, allowing for Kent to ride through. Standing on the other side was Sain.
"I was about to come looking for you. According to the guards," Sain glanced over to a lit window and Kent followed his gaze. Immediatly he saw several guards laughing, lifting up giant mugs of ale in what appeared to be a chugging contest. Sain continued, "They said you had left several hours ago. Half of the castle went into an uproar when they found out you were missing in a storm like this." He looked at Kent intently and then added, "Especially Lyn."
At the sound of her name, Kent's gaze shifted from the rain forming puddles on the paths to Sain. Ever since the end of their quest several months back, Sain had diligently worked on trying to play 'Matchmaker' and hook the two up. He knew how Kent felt about Lyn, but it wasn't his place to interfere.
"It would never work out, Sain. Cut it out, and throw one of those guards on patrol." Kent mumbled, leading his horse to the stables, leaving Sain standing back in the rain. Reluctantly, Sain headed towards the building the guard's were lodged in.
As he entered the stables, a sandy-haired boy took the reins of Kent's horse as he wearily slid off of the saddle. Giving it one last pat on the head, Kent watched at the boy lead her away, lost in his own thoughts.
What if what Sain said was true? Was Lyndis really worried about him? Maybe it was possible that she felt the same about him... But like he had told Sain just moments before, things would never work out between the two. He was a knight of Caelin. His duty was to serve the Marquess and protect the heir. And unlike Sain, Kent was serious about the position he had been accepted into at the castle. She was of noble blood, and he, was well, Kent. His purpose was to serve and protect.
But maybe... No, it just wasn't possible.
When Kent arrived to the door of his room, he called for a warm meal from a passing kitchen worker looked down the hallway. The unusually large and omnious storm clouds had made the Castle a lot darker then it usually was during most storms, and as a result, large torches had been placed inside metal brackets located to the stone walls. This seemed to light up the hallways more, but there were still the dark patches of shadows that gave the castle a slightly eery appearence, especially with the occasional flicker of lightning.
Kent had taken off his armor and changed out of his wet clothes into something much more comfortable when his food finally arrived. He thanked the boy from the kitchen, and slipped him a small coin. The boy's face lit up and he ran off, probably heading to stash it somewhere. Turning to head into his room, he had just barely shut the door when Kent heard a knock.
Setting down his food with a sigh, he opened the door, and saw a lanky messenger standing before him.
"The Marquess sent me to remind you that a group of new recruits are arriving three days from now, and you're supposed to pick out the ones which are supposed to continue training." The messenger spoke in a solid monotone, no doubt bored with his job of delivering messages to various people around the castle.
"Thanks for the reminder, now if you'll excuse me, I need to be going." At this, Kent shut the door, and moved to the chair in the corner of his room near a small table. Shoveling food into his mouth at a rapid rate, he was interupted by yet another knock at his door.
Fed up and in a fowl mood because of the weather, Kent stormed over to the door, and flung it open, to reveal Lyn standing outside in the corridor.
"Ah, Lady Lyndis. Please forgive my rudeness. The weather seems to have put me in a bad mood." He said, his heart beating a little faster. Just his luck. Why couldn't Lyn have been the first or second visitor?
"It's really no problem Kent. And how many times do I have to tell you? You don't have to call me 'Lyndis'. Lyn is just fine." She said calmly.
"I am one of your knights, and it's only right to use the proper title that goes along with your position."
"Kent, you and I both know that I would rather not be the heir to the throne of Caelin. Please, drop the stupid title, it sounds obnoxious anyway." Lyn peered past him into his room. "I see your eating dinner, so I won't continue to bother you any longer."
"It's not a problem." Kent said and then added, "I don't mind the company."
He ran a hand through his wet hair. It was possible, that she might stay longer, but he highly doubted it. She would have her duties to get back to, just like him. In that way, they were the same. Just as he figured, she contemplated the offer, and then turned it down.
"I really should be going. I just stopped by to make sure you were ok."
"I should be going too. Have a good night... Lyn."
In the morning, Kent faintly recalled collapsing on his bed after his conversation with Lady Lyndis. How he wished that some day he could tell her how he felt. That day though, was somewhere far in the distance.
Taking a quick glance out his window, he noticed that heavy torrents of rain were falling down. The thunder had stopped, but the rain was lessening the overall visibility. The air seemed to have an uneasy feeling. The guards would have to watch carefully today.
Sain barged into his room ten minutes later, not bothering to knock. "Look outside Kent, the storm is 'lightning' up!" he said.
"Oh haha. Your so funny I almost forgot to laugh." Kent was not in the mood for light-hearted jokes from his companion. In fact, he wasn't in the mood for much of anything.
"Don't be so glum! It's a new day! And just think- today, you might not get locked out of the castle!" Sain said jokingly. Kent just gave him an icy glare.
At that moment, there was a sudden commotion through the halls. People ran through the corridors in confusion and panic, while armored guards ran out to the stables or to various weapon cabnets located in strategic places in the castle. Archers dashed into the rain with bows slung over their backs, and quivers full of arrows. If they were lucky, the archers would be able to get a first shot at the attackers.
Wasting no time, Kent and Sain bolted down several corridors to the stables. With the coming and going of so many horses, the stables were almost as hectic as the hallways of the Castle. Grabbing a lance off the wall and jumping on to his horse, Kent came to a halt when he reached the gate. Now all he could do was wait.
On top of the battlements, Lyn had nocked an arrow and patiently waited for the enemy to come in sight. Apparently one of the guards had been shot down on patrol by an enemy archer, which meant that enemy could be hiding ride outside their doorstep and they wouldn't even know it. The rain and wind were unusually strong.
In a split second, Lyn saw the glint of a sword, and she shot an arrow in the direction that it came from. She couldn't tell if the arrow hit it's mark, but seconds later a wave of arrows flew up and above the spot where Lyn had been sitting. Had the wind not been so strong, those arrows could have proved deadly.
Kent took the flying arrows as a sign that the enemy had begun to advance on them. There were a few choices they had now. They could see if the archers would take down the enemy, which in this rain, was highly unlikely. They could attempt to surprise the enemy by opening the gate and attacking first. Or, they could wait until they were breached.
The last option was one Kent had hoped they wouldn't have to face, but if was possible. More than possible actually. It was incredibly likely.
Arrows continued to fly from both sides, and then, the ground seemed to tremble and shake. Either there was going to be an earthquake, (which was so unlikely, that the chance of having killer snowmen attack from the north was higher) or, that was a marching army.
Lyn had ran out of ammunition just as she began to see the enemy clearly. All through out Lycia there were small groups of bandits, randomly located near mountains, plains, or other places. This group of bandits was much larger than anything she had ever seen. As the archers around her continued to shoot at the enemy, she noticed that there never seemed to be a gap. As soon as one bandit fell, another took it's place.
This was going to be one hell of a battle.
Silverfox09: Well, I hope it's ok. It was one of those random things you kind of just come of with and then you want to write a fic about it... If it sucks, please tell me so in a review. Actually, why don't you just review in general? If you guy's like the way it's going, I'll add more chaps. I need a couple reviews though, so yeah.