Now that we're back to the happy stuff, time to indulge in giving Alfonse the love he deserves!
Alfonse lead the charge as his group made their way through the Tempest. The Tempest was a truly bizarre phenomenon, being able to create replicas of the worlds they've explored and heroes they've encountered and recruited onto their side. It was strange for some of their heroes to fight those they're familiar with, sometimes even themselves, but it was made easier when they accepted that the soldier's they fought weren't real.
They had managed to reach one of the deeper parts and were making their way through the last line of defense to the dungeon. They had run into the masked swordsman, Marth, who informed them that one of the soldiers he recruited for help, Joshua, had been captured and brought into the depths of the Tempest. Anna and Sharena were scouting ahead with Marth to locate where he was being held, and Alfonse was leading the group to distract the enemy soldiers in the meantime.
Takumi and Ike were handling the enemies to the south end while Subaki expertly fended off the foes to the north. That left just Alfonse to face the duplicate of Ike. To fight someone who had been fighting alongside him throughout their time in the Tempest was unreal, but his acceptance of the Tempest's reality made the fight easier. And with his opponent being someone he had trained with, he knew exactly what to do to bring him down with ease. Once the duplicate faded, the real Ike, Takumi, and Subaki approached him.
"Is everyone well?" The prince asked.
"More or less," Ike answered, "Though Takumi did take a pretty bad hit."
"They just got lucky. I'm fine," The prince retorted, pulling his sleeve up to cover a clear burn mark.
"Seems like all of us made it out safe," The pegasus knight said, "And I've done a quick scan of the area, all the enemies have been taken care of."
"Perfect. Thank you, Subaki. You all can come out."
Mia, Lute, and Dorcas, who had been told to find somewhere safe to hide until the battle cleared over, came out into the clearing and approached the soldiers.
"I must say, that was quite an impressive display," The young mage said, "Not on the same level of my skill, but still impressive."
"I'll say!" The swordswoman said, "I really wish Joshua was here, I bet he would think the same thing."
"He might just get the chance to see for himself," The group turned to see Marth approaching them, "We've found where Joshua is being held. With the enemy cleared out, now is our best chance."
"I don't see any reason to wait."
Marth leads the group away from the rocky ruins into a stone building. Underneath the structure was a series of tunnels, the only source of light coming from torches that hung along the walls. They passed by several empty cells as Marth guided them to the cell holding Joshua. Though the swordsman's clear directions didn't stop Mia from wanting to speed up the process.
"JOSHUA! JOSHUA!"
"You don't have to shout, Mia. We know where he is," Dorcas said, trying to calm the girl down.
"Sorry, but I'm worried. What if they found out that all the soldiers are gone? What if they took Joshua somewhere else?"
"It's very unlikely," Marth reasoned, "I asked for princess Sharena and Anna to stay by his cell until I came back. If anyone did come to take him, they wouldn't allow it."
After taking a turn, they finally came to his cell. Anna was standing outside it, but Sharena wasn't around. Mia quickly ran up and looked at the gambling man, sitting crossed legged on the floor, through the bars.
"Joshua! Are you all right?!"
"I thought I recognized that yelling. Don't worry yourself thin, I'm fine."
"Glad to see you all made it here all right. Good job leading them, Alfonse," The commander said.
"Thanks. Where's Sharena?"
"I asked her to look for the key. I hope she'll be back soon."
"I FOUND THEM!" Sharena's voice came as the princess quickly turned the corner and came into light.
"She's back," The prince said snarkily as the commander rubbed her ears. He took the keys from his sister and opened the cell door, helping the gambling man up to his feet, "It's a relief to see that you're unharmed, Joshua. It's never pleasant news to hear that a fellow soldier is being held within the Tempest."
"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with, prince. I can't quite say the same for you, Marth."
"My deepest apologies, Joshua. I promise to repay for allowing this to happen."
"I'll hold you to that, so expect this to be added to your tab."
Alfonse could see the visible sweat forming on Marth's forehead and stepped in, "I'm sure you don't need to place this kind of request on Marth. I believe there's a better way to assure you get your keep."
His attention went to the prince, "Oh? How so?"
"Our cause, the Order of Heroes, is always given plenty of funds to compensate for essential materials and to reward the soldiers that fight for us. And I can imagine that, when the Tempest has faded, you would not want to fall back under the control of the contract at the hands of the Emblian empire. I also doubt that Marth has the means of being able to truly repay you in full for your work and dedication. But, under the Order of Heroes, I can guarantee that you will be well compensated."
Joshua leaned his head down to stare the prince in the eyes, "You drive quite the bargain, your highness. Let's just hope you can keep it."
"I've managed to command and control hundreds of soldiers. One more shouldn't be a challenge."
The sly and confident grin on the prince's face was clear in the low light and it took everything in the other soldier's power to keep their own smiles hidden.
Kiran had just received the notice that Alfonse and the others were returning from the Tempest. Due to the danger it opposed, they had come to the decision to bring a small elite group of soldiers into the Tempest and to have Kiran stay behind to keep watch of the rest of the army and keep everything in control. Kiran wanted to go with them, but he was made well aware of the dangers the Tempest posed to someone who had no means of defending themselves. Still, it didn't stop him from worrying about them, even if they were usually only gone for a few days. It made hearing that they were returning a relief. Each time was the same; he'd greet them at the castle entrance, have the soldiers that accompanied them brought to the infirmary, show the new recruits around and he and the Askr trio would relax and inform him on everything that happened.
"I'm starting to think the Tempest is getting too easy for us. The soldiers aren't anywhere near as beat up as usual," The summoner spoke.
"You can thank Alfonse for that," Anna spoke, taking a sip of her tea, "After Sharena and I separated to help locate Joshua, he leads the charge. Even after we regroup, he still took command. This is probably the most unscathed we've ended up after the Tempest, and that's all because of him."
"And you should have seen the way he handled Joshua! It was amazing!" The princess said, full of excitement, "He had him in his pocket without even flinching. I wanted to laugh so bad, but I didn't want to be mean."
Kiran looked at the prince beside him, "Is that actually what happened?"
The prince lightly shrugged and smiled, "Had I not stepped in, he would have bled Marth dry. I didn't want to burden him with that, he has more than enough to worry about. It was nothing too special."
"It was great! I really wished you were there to see it, Kiran!"
"Well, if our trips to the Tempest keep turning out this good, I might just come along next time."
"Let's just hope that's the case. For now, we'll stay as is and see how it goes," Anna placed her empty teacup down and grabbed Sharena's hand, pulling her up, "Let's go, Sharena."
Sharena stopped them once they reached the door, "Wait! Why are we leaving?"
Anna leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Don't you think they would like some time alone together?"
It immediately clicked in the princess' mind, "Oh right."
The commander had been right on the nose about this since neither the prince nor the summoner noticed they were gone until now. "Commander Anna, where are you two going?"
"Oh, we're going to see how the soldiers are recuperating. Right, Sharena?"
"Yeah! I wanna make sure they're all right. You can stay, Al. You fought a lot, so you're probably tired."
The two were out the door before either of them could respond. Kiran just shrugged it off and leaned back on the couch he and Alfonse were on, "Those two never run out of energy, do they?"
"It seems so. Still, it's not like I'm ungrateful to be with you again."
"Same here," He leaned against the prince's shoulder, "It's not easy going a few days with no way of knowing if you're safe. I can hope and pray, but that's just about it."
"That's hardly true. Just knowing that you are safe here eases our minds and makes it easier for us to stay focused on the task at hand. As much as I would love to have you with us, I'd rather you be somewhere the enemy can't reach."
"I guess so. Though I do wish I could have been there this time. I would have loved to see these great feats Anna and Sharena have told me."
Alfonse smiled and reached to grab his hand, "It really is nice to hear that from you."
He tilted his head up, "What do you mean?"
The prince looked away, "We've been getting many skilled swordsmen added to the army, and seeing the way they perform in battle… it's brought to my attention just how inexperienced I am and how far apart my strengths are to everyone else. I want to become strong enough to not only protect my home and people but everyone in all worlds. But I won't be able to do so if my own soldier's strengths reveal just how weak I am."
Kiran moved closer, "You're not weak, Alfonse. You have your own strengths and skills that the others don't. And the fact that you train as hard as you do shows just how much you care. Besides, you don't have to rely on just strength to contribute to the army. I doubt that just strength alone is what caused you all to come back from the Tempest relatively unscathed," He wrapped his arms around the prince, "You don't have to be like everyone else to protect them. They already respect you as is."
Alfonse brought his arm up and hugged Kiran closer, "You have your own skills as well, you know. You have a natural talent to rid me of my anxieties."
He looked away, "It's nothing too special. I'm just doing what any lover would do."
Alfonse tilted Kiran's head up towards him, "You've done much more than something expected of a lover. And I have my own roles to play for you."
"That being?"
"To keep you from worrying too much over me in battle. I want to be able to put your mind at ease and prove I am as much worthy of having you as you to have me. That is my role as a lover and one I hold with pride. So don't feel embarrassed to feel the same."
Kiran smiled before leaning to kiss him, "With pleasure."
I will give Alfy all the love in the world, so get ready to withstand my intense love.
If you'd like to support and show your love to me, feel free to support me on . Even the smallest amount would be greatly appreciated!
yourladystar