These kids have been through a lot. Time to bring them somewhere safe and bring them back to their families.
They couldn't even remember just how long they have been running. It could have been a few minutes or a few hours, all they knew was that they had to get away. From the moment the contract the Embla soldiers placed on them had been broken, the soldiers have been tracking them down to get them back. Soleil, Shiro, and Siegbert have been doing everything they can to avoid having the Emblian army, as they knew that coming into conflict with them would once more result in them being bound to their army and forced to fight. They had attempted to join up with the army that freed them from the contract, but they were on a quick move and they quickly lost track of where they were going. Now the only plan they had was to keep as much distance from the Emblian soldiers as possible until they either found a safe place to hide or ran into a familiar face. Though the second option was becoming a lost cause. They had yet to find an even remotely familiar face and the area was becoming more and more unknown to them. They reached a large clearing, no sign of any soldiers around them.
Soleil collapsed back first onto the grassy ground as she tried to catch her breath, "I… I think… we might be safe here… for now…"
"Thank Gods…" Shiro helped Siegbert lean against a tree and sat down next to him, "… How are you holding up, Sieg?"
"So far… so good," He rubs his left thigh with both hands, "Though… I'm not sure how long I can keep this up…"
During their escape, Siegbert had taken a pretty bad hit and ended up spraining his left ankle and has been having to put up with it the entire time they were running. Shiro could see that the Nohrian prince's ankle had gotten rather swollen by this point.
Finally getting his breathing back to normal, the Hoshidan prince looked over to the young mercenary, "Soleil, we really need to find somewhere to rest and hide. Sieg's ankle is not going to get better if we keep running."
"I know," She rolled over on the floor to look at them, "But that's easier said than done. I've been to a lot of places during my mercenary work, but I don't have any clue where we are right now."
"Should we try to locate those soldiers that saved us?"
Siegbert answered him, "We already lost track of them a long time ago. Who knows where they are by this point? And with how far we've run, I don't think finding them will be easy."
The three of them let out a sigh. Silence prevailed until Soleil spoke again, "I hope Rhajat is all right."
"So do we," Siegbert spoke.
They had ended up becoming separated from Rhajat while they were running. Whether she managed to get away or got captured by the Emblem soldiers, they didn't know. They could only hope that she was safe.
The momentary silence and peace broken as the slowly growing sound of footsteps and voices of soldier closed in on them.
Soleil shot up, "They already found us?!"
"This is bad! We need to move!" Shiro stood, grabbing Siegbert's arm and slung it over his shoulder. Siegbert groaned the moment his injured foot touched the ground, even with Shiro carrying most of his weight, "There's no way we'll be able to run if Sieg's ankle is this bad."
Soleil felt herself panicking, desperately looking around to see if there was some sort of small crevice they could hide in until the soldiers were gone. Just as they felt the time was running out, a blue spark of light appeared behind them. The light grew and formed into a portal, the light giving off a warm and comforting feeling.
"That portal…" Siegbert spoke up, "Where do you think it leads?"
"Can't really say," The other prince answered.
"Only one way to find out," Soleil said, taking a step closer to the portal.
"You sure that's a good idea, Soleil?"
"It's either we go for it or get captured again. And I'd rather be anywhere but here right now!"
Realizing their other options were impossible at this point as the soldiers seemed to be approaching, the three quickly jumped into the portal. The portal closed just as the Embla soldiers reached the clearing.
They were blinded by a bright light and fell to the ground once they reached the other end of the portal. They barely had any time to have their visions clear up before they heard two people speak.
"This is new. I didn't think it was possible to summon three heroes at once."
"Are you three all right?"
They looked up and saw the hooded summoner and blue haired prince standing above them.
"Yup, we're fi-" Soleil stopped herself as she got a good look, "Hey, I recognize you two."
Shiro looked at them closely, "Right, you're part of that army that broke us free from the contract."
"More than just a part of the army, we're two of the leaders of the army. I'm prince Alfonse and this is Kiran, our tactician, and summoner. It's because of him that you were brought here," He introduced them as the three kids stood up, "Mind if you tell us your names?"
"My name is Siegbert, the son of the crown prince of Nohr, Xander."
"Name's Shiro. My dad, Ryoma, is the crown prince of Hoshido."
"And I'm Soleil! My father, Laslow, is the retainer to prince Xander! … Yeah, not as exciting, but still pretty cool," She said with a smile.
"Wait. Xander, Ryoma and Laslow are your parents?" When they all nodded, Kiran smiled, "Follow me. I think I know the best way to get you all settled here."
A high pitch scream was the only warning Laslow had before he felt a smaller body crash into his and hug around his torso. When he saw the mass of bright pink hair, he hugged her back, "Nice to see you, Soleil!"
Ryoma felt something slam into his side before an arm draped over his shoulder, "Dad, I think you're getting rusty. You didn't even see me coming."
"Father!" Siegbert completely ignored the pain in his ankle as he ran up to Xander, the older man catching his son in a tight hug.
Alfonse and Kiran walked into the room, having been following the rushing children, and Alfonse spoke with a smile, "This was quite the caring decision, Kiran. Reuniting them with their parents right from the start."
"Well, I can imagine that they were probably worried about them. And what better way to have them get situated than to through someone they know."
Siegbert looked up at Xander and his eyes widened, "Father, your eyes!"
Xander chuckled lightly and brought a hand up to ruffle his son's hair, "It's nothing to worry about. I'm perfectly fine, promise."
"Ugh, I thought I recognized that scream."
Soleil looked at the doorway to the room and saw the dark haired mage they had gotten separated from, "Rhajat!" She released her father and caught the mage in a tight hug, "I was so worried about you! You're not hurt, are you? Are you sure you're all right?"
"I'll be peachy when you stop touching me."
Shiro spoke up as Rhajat managed to release Soleil's grip on her, "Seriously, Rhajat, what happened to you when we lost you?"
"I managed to hide from the Emblian soldiers. I came across some other soldiers, but when they didn't attack me, I figured I could trust them. And they lead me here. I recognized the summoner and prince and thought this would be a good place to stay."
"Well, it's definitely a lot better than being out there," The Hoshidan prince remarked.
"And I feel a lot better knowing that you're here!"
Soleil captured Rhajat in another hug, the dark mage trying desperately to squirm her way out of the other's grasp. The sight made it impossible for the others to hold down their laughter. Though the joyful noise was cut short when Siegbert let out a pained groan and shifted his weight into Xander.
"Siegbert!"
"Oh damn, I forgot. Prince Alfonse, is there anywhere for Sieg to rest up? He twisted his ankle pretty bad."
"Of course. I can imagine that you all might want to rest as well. Xander, can you and Siegbert follow me to the medical ward?"
"With pleasure. Let's go," Xander effortlessly carried most of Siegbert's weight, keeping him from applying any further pressure on his ankle.
Once they had brought Siegbert to the medical ward and placed him on one of the beds, Alfonse sent Xander to find Elise and ask her to come to examine the young prince's injury. He thought it would be best to have someone familiar with Siegbert to see the extent of the injury. The young princess had finished examining and was wrapping his ankle in gauze.
"How is his ankle, Elise?"
"Not too bad. It's a bit swollen from all the running they did, but it'll heal right up in a few days."
"Thank you, aunt Elise."
The young princess giggled and gave him a big hug, "No problem, silly! Anything for my nephew! Now, I'm gonna go find Camilla and Leo. I know they're gonna be so happy to see you."
The princess practically skipped out of the room, a sight that Alfonse couldn't help but smile at, "She sure is quite cheerful, not much different than Sharena. You're really lucky to have her in your family."
"I am."
"Well, I shouldn't disturb you any longer, I know you'd like to rest. I'll go see how your friends are doing."
Alfonse walked to the door and was about to leave before he was stopped, "Ah, prince Alfonse!" He looked back at the Nohrian prince, "I… I wanted to thank you for saving me and my friends. I can't begin to imagine what might have happened to us had you not come to our aid. I was truly starting to fear the worst."
He smiled, "I appreciate the gratitude, though I doubt I'm the one you should be thanking. It was Kiran's power that brought you and your friends here."
"Oh, right. Well, know that I'm still grateful."
Alfonse could tell that there was something he wanted to tell him but was holding himself back, "If there's something you wish to say, feel free to say. We're allies now, so don't be afraid to speak your mind to me."
Siegbert looked away, seeming to struggle to make the words come out. When they did, they came out all at once and very loud, "Please teach me your way with the sword!"
"Huh? W-What?" His sudden words left him stunned and confused.
Siegbert called himself down, "During our battle when you and your allies were helping to free us from the contract, I noticed the skills you have with your blade. It's nothing like I've ever seen during all of my training in Nohr. I want to become the best ruler for Nohr, and the strength to protect my family, friends, and people is something that I need to improve. If I can learn the way in which soldiers of your world fight, I might be able to get closer to that goal."
He could feel himself getting overwhelmed by his words, "I-I appreciate that you admire my strength, I really do, but I'm not sure I'm the best person to educate you on this. I'm nowhere near the strongest soldier in this world and I'm not the greatest mentor out there-"
"But I saw the way you lead your soldiers in our battle; you have strength, courage, and intellect that reminds me very much of my father. I know you are the only person I can turn to for this. Even if you're not the perfect teacher, it won't matter much to me. So, would you at least think about reconsidering?" The Askr prince was silent, and he once more looked away, "I… I understand if I'm being overbearing about this. I am being rather unreasonable, so it's fine if you want to decline-"
"N-No, I'm not going to decline."
He looked back wide-eyed, "Huh?"
"This is a bit of a sudden request, and I'm not the least bit prepared to take such a role, but… I wouldn't be opposed to doing this for you."
"Really?!"
He nodded, "But let's save this discussion for some other time. Right now, the only thing you need to concern yourself with is resting and letting your ankle heal. So try not to do anything to worsen it, understood?"
Siegbert smiled and gave a slight sitting bow as he sat up straight, "Yes sir!"
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