The final battle approaches. I follow behind the army's leader, Lady Corrin – my lady Corrin, if we get into specifics.
Despite the severity of the situation, I still cannot help but smile at the way her hair falls gracefully past her shoulders and half way down her back; each strand like an ocean's wave. I cannot help but notice the way her hips sway as she walks forwards, confidence evident in each and every one of her strides.
Never have I seen such a leader look so beautiful; so elegant and never have I known a leader to be so gentle and fair. Even Felicia, somebody who lacks many maid abilities, has been accepted into her services; welcomed into her heart and has been entrusted with various different tasks.
Honestly, it reminds me of my early days in the castle, under the royal's service.
Gunter was the man who trained all of us to be our finest, and yet he struggled to find anything for me to do… He tried me with bed making; tea preparation and even the tiniest task of selecting biscuits, but I struggled, even then.
If it was not for Lady Corrin, I would have been left back out in the world all alone – again. She beckoned for me; somebody she wished to call a friend and that was something I would happily be!
She cried on my shoulder, making my uniform ever so damp; she laughed so hard that she snorted milk back out of her nose; she entrusted me with secrets that Garon would have executed her for and – above all else – she gave me hope, a home and a sincere friend to love: to hold.
I got the grand opportunity to watch her grow into the woman she is now, and now I am even more than just her butler. I am her significant other; her partner; her rock and the father to her children – our children. My job is not to just protect her or serve her any longer, it is so much more…
"Soldiers; civilians; royals; friends; loved ones…" Corrin speaks, turning to face myself and all of the people who follow her. "Once this door opens, there is no turning back to the past we once knew. Once we go in, there is no backing out. Regardless of your reasons for joining me on this path, I want to thank you all so much. I want to thank you for following me; for jumping over every hurdle that lied in our path and for sacrificing everything just to be a part of the change – the change that will forever be echoed throughout history."
She pauses, and I watch as her eyes look across each and every face before her; mine included; with a soft smile. "Now, do you stand with me once more?"
In response to her question, there is a loud cheer! If spirit was enough to win a battle, then this battle would be served to us on a silver platter; this battle would already be ours.
With the support of her people; her followers; her friends; her family and her loved ones, Lady Corrin opens the door to the final battle. To the final hurdle that awaits us all.
However, what we both know, and what I know pains her to her very core, is the blood that will be shed. As she turned away, I caught a glimpse of her sadness, as she knows many more soldiers will fall…
Regardless, we charge forwards. None of us could stop now, not after sacrificing so much for this cause. Spirits blazing brighter than fire tomes; swords swinging and slicing rapidly; lances piercing through people; daggers and shuriken's being launched through people quicker than frisbees in a competitive match; axes chopping like the enemies are raw meat. All the while, healers try to keep up with the mass demand of healing the wounded…
Which, of course, they cannot.
Soldiers on both sides fall. Blood begins to paint the floors a sickening crimson red and even I nearly slip and fall a couple of times to join the many corpses that lay on the floor, acting as a horrifying carpet.
The battle seems to stretch on for hours on end and I feel my arms ache from the constant throwing of my daggers; from the constant protection towards the love of my life; from my making of not tea, but murder. However, victory draws closer…
Milady stands before the leader, one with no mercy… One who deserves to be on the end of the blade that she wields. One cut; one slice; one pierce-
And in a mere moment, the deed is done.
I watch as Lady Corrin turns around to announce their victory, to stop all the bloodshed, a bright grin on her face! Her whole face brighter than Hoshido!
That's until she sees me. I watch her sword drop; her face fall into utter sadness and fear as she sprints over to me. As I too, fall.
"Jakob!" She screams, each one as agonising as the pain I feel running through my body. She falls to her knees, and I feel her fingers trace across my cheeks… Each one as silky soft as the last. All the while, I watch the tears fall from her face; each one as rapid as the last.
Weakly, I reach my hand upwards to wipe away her tears.
"Y-You can't die – not now!" She stammers. "I'll go, I'll get help and-" She stops when she notices me shake my head; knowing that it is much too late for that, knowing that I would rather spend my final moments with her: not without her.
"Dwyer, Kana…" She trails off. "They need their dad; their amazing father!" I watch her shake her head in utter disbelief, eyes quivering as her breath shakes just as much as her hope.
"C-Corrin, milady…" I try to catch my breath. "I love you so much… I love our family so much…" I look to her, the tears I was fighting releasing as I offer a smile. "Thank you…"
"I love you too-" Any words after that become too quiet to hear, as my senses begin to fail me. My hearing first; then my smell shortly follows… I can no longer catch the sweet fragrances from her hair. The next is my ability to move, as my hand slowly falls from her cheek.
I look closely at her, admiring everything I can in those final moments, whispering: "I love you", one more time before I watch my sight begin to become blurred.
My job was not to protect her, it was not to serve her, it was to love her, and my job has been completed:
To my dying breath.