One Against An Army...
*~*~*
A/N- I don't know how many of you are Xena fans, but I took this script from the Xena episode "One Against An Army," and changed the characters and plot elements (Aside from the Greek setting, because Ancient Greece is just SO cool) Anyway, it is a beautiful story of devotion, loyalty, friendship and nobility. So let me know what you think... ^_^
*~*~*
The bright morning sun beat its rays over the entirety of Ancient Greece, making the distance known for the battle ships sailing in the distance. Unaware of the far off and obscure threat, the profound and infamous warrior Utena stood, her pale pink hair glistening in the yellow sun. Her leather-clad body was shifting its weight to one side as she skeptically watched her partner warming up.
Anthy stood a few yards from a little contraption of her own she had created. A long tree limb was parallel to the ground, but about five feet above it, suspended by two other trees suitable distances apart.
In a short sprint, the woman with the long purple hair ran up towards her little contraption and used the tree limb as an aid to do a flip in the air. She landed successfully, and looked over to Utena with a successful smile. "How was that?"
Utena was quite proud of her, but she did her best to hide it, because she wasn't interested in watching Anthy injure herself. "Terrific," she acclaimed almost sarcastically, "Now can we head to Thessaly before you hurt yourself?"
Anthy shook her head stubbornly. "No, you see Utena... I've worked out your entire flip, and broken it down into its relatively simple steps."
Utena arched an eyebrow comically.
"The mechanics, the speed, trajectory, and lastly, the arc of the spin." Anthy seemed rather proud of herself, but Utena continued to fake disinterest.
"Good. So... What's the point?"
"Your flip, Utena." Anthy played along with her friend's stubbornness.
"Oh yeah? Then what foot do I start on?"
Anthy frowned. "Don't confuse me. This time, no limb. Watch."
Anthy turned around to attempt the flip without the tree branch for balance, but Utena grabbed onto her arm. "Anthy, before I tried the flip without a bar I made 300 attempts with it."
"Slow learner, huh Utena?" Anthy patted her arm as if giving her mock comfort, "I had the same problem with basket weaving." She backtracked to the same location she sprinted at to do the flip, but not before removing the broken tree limb.
"It's the right foot," Utena began as she watched, "But I'd rather you didn't."
Anthy rolled her eyes, even though Utena couldn't see. "It isn't like this will kill me. Just let me try one time, okay?" She asked, her drive from watching Utena flip in countless duels evident, "That's all I need. One time."
Utena did nothing but slightly shake her head, and watched worriedly as Anthy began to prep herself for her first attempt at a real flip. Carefully, the warrior's companion warmed up. When she was ready, she took another sprint, running and propelling herself off of the ground to perform the feat.
"Wrong foot," Utena flatly commented just before Anthy abruptly landed on the hard ground with a large crack.
.....
Along the narrow dirt trail, Anthy hobbled along ahead of Utena and her horse. She used the tree limb from earlier as a walking stick, because her poor ankle was about as swollen as a full pomegranate.
"I'm telling you, my ankle is fine," she managed through gritted teeth.
Utena, staying true to her character and trying to help out, offered for about the hundredth time. "Come on, let me take a look at it. I mean, so what? You tried, and failed... It happens."
"It's nothing serious, Utena," Anthy's sentence fell short when Utena grabbed her foot from behind and lifted it up to examine it. The shorter girl hissed and whined in pain.
"Good thing it's nothing serious," the taller warrior said half sardonically. The two of them had been in this playful and picking mood all day, despite Anthy's injury, and the viridian-eyed girl was not about to give in now.
"Oh! Ow... That doesn't hurt," she lied unconvincingly.
Utena squeezed the ankle in a teasing fashion. "Already too swollen, huh?"
Anthy managed to, but painfully, pry her foot from Utena's grasp and continue to limp along. "I'll walk it off."
"You know, I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't have tried that flip," the woman with the sky blue eyes tried not to show her worry. Anthy, obviously being patronized, remarked back. "You'll work it in, I'm sure."
Utena's voice suddenly became loud and worried. She froze and screamed out, "Anthy! Hit the dirt!"
Anthy immediately fell to the ground on her stomach, only to be met with a cold blade slicing the side of her boot in half. The swollen ankle emerged from the split leather cloth, and she frowned.
Utena put her sword away after she voluntarily ruined Anthy's footwear. She bent over, and began to help her partner to her feet.
"Why did you do that?" Anthy demanded as she mishappenly got to her feet.
"The most popular theory for healing sprains. Elevation, and ice cold water." Utena sat Anthy down next to a brook that ran along the trail they had been following.
"Yeah? Well, I'm not very thirsty."
Utena was inclined to grin, if it weren't for the crippling injury Anthy had inflicted on herself. "Sit down..."
"Now you owe me a new pair of boots, Utena dear..." Utena nodded in response while she pulled the boot away from the injury.
As she began to tend to Anthy's wound, a figure burst onto the scene from the brush. It was a tall woman, wearing armor also, but of a different design than Utena's. Her breaths were ragged and misplaced, evidence that she had been sprinting for quite a distance. The stranger bent down and used her hand to gulp down water from the brook.
"You! Run for your lives!" She warned once she had caught her breath.
"Why? What's going on?" Utena, becoming immediately interested, asked.
"A huge army landed three nights ago. And a fleet of tall ships, foreign, laid waste to our troops in Marathon. They're headed this way on a forced march for Athens."
Utena remained pensive while she thought over the description. "Tall ships, three masts?"
The female soldier nodded.
"Was there a double row of oarsmen?"
The orange haired soldier nodded again.
"Persians." She said evenly, already knowing the army this warrior woman was talking about.
Anthy frowned a bit in thought. "Have you fought them before, Utena?" Referring to the long lifetime of wars and alliances Utena had before they had met each other.
"Anthy, that army over the mountain is the most ruthless one to have ever taken up weapons," she paused, "If they reach Athens, Greece is lost."
"What are we going to do?" The injured woman asked again.
"Stop them."
"And the Spartans were fighting alongside the Greeks? That's a first."
The anonymous warrior spoke up again. "They fought bravely, but were so outnumbered they never had a chance."
Utena began to help Anthy back up, and with one heavy lift she placed her onto the back of the stallion. Anthy situated herself, and listened in. "Persians will swarm through here like Akio's woman handling on a good day. We'd better move quickly."
The other woman made some comment about the sky being so thick with arrows; the blazing sun was hidden behind them.
"Someone had better warn the Athenians. You-"
"Arisugawa." The woman finally revealed her name.
"Arisugawa, can you run onto Athens and tell them about Marathon?"
Arisugawa nodded, and without another word she turned and began sprinting in the directions of the far off city-state of Athens.
Utena yelled after her, "Pace yourself! A run like that in this heat could kill you. We'll try to slow them up."
Anthy cleared her throat to make herself known atop Utena's horse, Dios. "Stopping an army? Isn't that something that you try about... 300 times before you actually do it?"
"Keep that foot elevated," Utena said coolly, not matching her jovial attitude of before.
The two rode onward, catching broken rays through the leaflet openings of the foliage above them. The heat kept them silent for long periods of time, but a couple choice conversations did make themselves known.
"Go on, say it," Anthy sighed. "We'd be moving a lot faster if I hadn't tried that."
"Tried what?" Utena made it difficult to decipher whether she was being serious or not.
"The flip."
Utena's didn't seem to have heard Anthy's words, and her eyes lit up as she suddenly had a brilliant plan. "Oh, the pass!"
Anthy was now utterly confused at this change of topic. "The pass?"
"The pass at Thermopaly! That's the answer!" Utena cheered to herself. Anthy looked down at Utena from her perched position. "What's the question?"
"That pass is the shortest route from Marathon. The Persians will have to go through there, so it's the best place to stop them."
Anthy was very skeptical. "Two of us against an army?"
Utena shook her head. "No, an army against a landslide that we cause, thereby sealing it off. It will buy Athens some time."
Thankfully her partner's plan made more sense to her now. Anthy nodded, but then a thought struck her. "Utena, why don't you go on ahead? With my injury, I am just slowing you down. Go make the landslide, and I'll wait here."
"No," Utena remained stubborn. "Persian advance scouts travel a day ahead of the infantry. They'd find you." She raised a hand and affectionately placed it on Anthy's swollen ankle.
"Stupid ankle. If only I hadn't tried that..."
"Well if that's the worst thing that happens today, I'll be thrilled..."
.......
"Utena? What about that thing you did in Ohtori...? You know, that power you had. It could destroy an entire army."
Utena thought about what Anthy was talking about; the Power of Dios. She remembered the first time Anthy had seen it. At the time, Utena was a lone warrior woman, traveling Ancient Greece to right wrongs, and do her best to triumph over evil. A prince (the one she had named her horse after) she had met when she was younger encouraged her to do so. It was a difficult and abstract thing to explain, but she was convinced that the ethereal surge that had befallen her weapon was he. Maybe he was a God...
She had come upon a peasant town in her travels. This was where she first met Anthy. A young girl, being passed from man to man, but not by money like a normal slave. But by strange duels that men combated in for possession of her. Utena, being the noble warrior that she was, found this a shameful and horrible act. To think that someone would try and possess another human! She figured that in order to save her, she would have to participate in those duels, and win.
And that was what Utena did. The pale haired warrior stayed in the city of Ohtori, and watched over Anthy until she defeated every one of the duelists, the main being the eldest brother. That was an entirely different story on its own.
The two had been traveling together ever since. Utena watched the young 'slave' girl grow into a beautiful and well-rounded woman, and much more talkative and open than the distant and cold girl she once was. In fact, Utena felt strongly for the lavender-haired woman riding atop her horse. After all the time they had been together, she could not testify whether her feelings were the boon from the goddess Aphrodite. But she did know she would give her life, and more, to keep her safe.
After her trip down memory lane, Utena got back to the topic Anthy was discussing with her. "I wish I could still call it up. But that took a purity of essence that- well, it's gone now."
Anthy found it best that they change the topic. "Has it ever occurred to you that the landslide will only delay them? I mean, what if the Persians just go around the mountain and continue into Athens?"
"Then we'll have them right where we want them," Utena said firmly. Anthy felt as though she could never keep up with Utena and her mischievous plans. She sighed while looking down at her ankle, resting atop the horse.
"Where?"
"Tripolis," Utena's eyes darted back and forth cautiously, "There is a secret armory in the area, and if we're lucky the weapons will still be there."
Anthy didn't bother asking how Utena knew of its existence. "We? As in you and me? The two of us?" She was beginning to think Utena planned on the two of them defeating this massive army on their own.
"As in you, me, and the Tripolis militia."
"Oh, that 'we.'" Anthy commented in a relieved fashion. Her heat inflicted daze was quickly broken when she heard a male warrior's cry and felt a gust of wind go past her.
A man had burst from the bushes, but of course Utena was already prepared for his attack. Before he had fully emerged himself, she had already unsheathed her sword and aimed it for his neck. The two of them stood, he being notably shorter than the noble female warrior, with sword tip pointed to chest.
"Give up the horse, or the last thing you see will be your heart in my hand!"
Utena looked him over quickly in her mind, assessing an accurate overview of this soldier. He was very unthreatening, with his innocent blue eyes and petite stature. She had learned many years ago never to misjudge a scroll by its paper, so she made it a point to keep her guard up.
"You've been following us for the last half hour," she said, catching a slight look of surprise in his voice, "All that time, for this move?"
He applied a bit more pressure to the sword tip against Utena's breastplate. "Help her down, or I will!" The young soldier motioned towards Anthy, who could find it in her to do nothing but stare.
"Alright. I can see you're pressed for time." Utena turned around to make it look as though she was going to help Anthy down from the horse. But instead, she performed one of her trademark flips, and landed on his opposite side.
"Right foot first..." Anthy whispered to herself as she noted the way Utena carried out the flip.
Within a matter of seconds, Utena had the young man down on his back. She loomed over him, and was sure to note the misleading look in his eyes. "He's a Spartan from his clothes. Unless, he stole them from a real warrior."
The young man quickly raised his voice in defense. "I am a Spartan! I fought at Marathon... When my commander saw we were losing, he sent me to find a fallback position. Unfortunately, my horse came up lame, and I had to kill him..."
"Don't get any ideas," Anthy slyly said, causing Utena to grin in response.
"I wanted your horse to finish my mission, and get this treated."
He motioned to his back, so Utena turned him over. Exposed was a bloody flesh wound, the blood seeping through the ripped shreds of his shirt. Anthy grimaced, "It looks pretty bad."
"It's only a flesh wound," Utena mumbled just loud enough for them to hear, "I can dress it. Did you get that running from battle?"
He looked insulted. "Spartans don't run."
"Oh, I know." Utena said, helping him to his feet and inspecting his blade. "They fight to the death. Hmm... Not a nick on it. You're a deserter, aren't you?"
He shook his head and stammered. "No, no-no. I swear it on my father's life!"
"Oh, a coward AND a liar. Your father must be proud." Utena patronized him.
"All right, all right! I admit it. I ran! I'm a disgrace to my homeland..."
Utena wasn't too inclined to feel pity for someone who ran from a battle. But Anthy on the other hand was. "Everyone feels fear."
"But we don't all run," Utena contradicted. "If we did, there would be no home left to run to." She turned and looked at the Spartan soldier. With a half grin, she made him a proposal. "I'm offering you a chance to redeem yourself. Join us."
He half laughed in a mocking shock. "Join you? Against that army?! What good could the three of us do?"
"Utena has a plan to stop them," Anthy said from the horse, not disclosing any specific information.
He looked at the tale, rose haired woman. "You do?"
"Oh yes. And you'll fit into it nicely..."
.......
Since she had been traveling with Utena, the former slave girl had become much more interested and opinionated. Meeting this Spartan soldier did nothing to hinder her active mind, and from her seat on the animal, she bent down as much as possible to get to know him.
"What village in Sparta are you from, Miki?"
Miki walked alongside the horse that Anthy was using from transportation, and beamed. "Mizola. The most beautiful village in the Peloponnese."
"Oh yeah, it's famous for that waterfall, right?" Utena asked, and then looked up at Anthy. "It's seventy feet high."
"Yes. I pray that I might one day get to see that waterfall again. As well as my wife, and soon Tsuwabuki."
"You can change," Anthy pushed her heavy hair from her face to save her from the heat. "He doesn't have to know about the one time you failed."
"What if I fail again?"
Anthy didn't have an answer to that. Utena, meanwhile, who had been walking a bit of a ways ahead of the two, noticed a glint off a sword a ways forward, looking to come from the hills.
"Utena, you still haven't told me your plan to stop the Persians," Miki said. Utena continued to look ahead, but she spoke. "Oh, haven't I?"
Utena paused in her footsteps. She waited for Miki to pass by her before she grabbed onto the horse's muzzle and whispered in its ear. "Hey, I want you to take Anthy into the woods and keep her there, all right?"
Anthy bent down, and whispered to Utena. "What is it? Did you see something?"
"Sunlight bouncing on steel just up ahead. It's the advance party I've been expecting." She checked to be sure her weapons were in place.
"I can help," Anthy insisted. Utena shook her head, knowing more than enough that Anthy could hardly walk, let alone fight.
"Don't argue with me," Utena said as firmly as possible. "I'll explain later. Go on, get out of here." With a tap to Dios' shoulder, Anthy and the beast disappeared.
"Get ready for a fight, Spartan." Utena hit the sheathed sword against Miki's chest and walked on. Miki had no time to react before he could see a group of about two-dozen Persians making their way towards them. They were ready for a fight.
"Get her!" the leader called out. Utena readied her sword, and fought easily against each and every man who advanced towards her. She became lost in her own battle, and made the mistake of becoming unaware of her surroundings.
Miki, the supposed Spartan, stood solitaire in the midst of it all. He looked petrified and pathetic, holding his sword against his chest with no strength to fight. Anthy, hiding in the shadows, saw this and knew he needed encouragement. She remembered the story he had just told her about his cowardice, and decided he was desperate for some coaching.
Anthy studied the battle scene, then quickly nudged Dios to bring her into it. She rode up aside Miki, and reached down to shake his shoulder.
"Miki! Miki, snap out of it!" She kicked him with her good foot, and he awoke from his fearful daze. "Miki, fight or take refuge!"
Anthy and Miki both went to leave the battlefield. By this time the Persians were retreating from Utena's blade. An archer, looking to make one final move in, saw the girl atop the snowy white horse riding away. He raised his bow, and with one motion of his arm, sent an arrow flying into Anthy's back.
"Anthy!" Miki tried reaching up once he noticed her slouch. She was leaning forward on the horse, desperately trying to stay balanced atop it despite the pain in her upper back. The weapon was fully inserted through Anthy's upper left shoulder blade, and the head of the arrow slightly emerged from her front, just beneath her collarbone.
A surge of unrelenting pain passed through her body, and Miki had to help her down from the horse. She collapsed on the ground just before Utena came running over.
"Anthy!" She tenderly held the girl in her arms, balancing her carefully. A concoct array of painful grimaces passed Anthy's dark features, but she did her best to be strong.
"This is my fault! My fault!" Miki paced in the background.
"Then go do something useful!" Utena snapped back, not taking her eyes from the woman in her lap, "Make a fire!"
"It's not... It's not that bad." Anthy deeply inhaled between each word. Thick blood spurted from her wound.
"Anthy...This is going to be painful. Ready?"
From watching Utena perform first aid on hundreds of people, the girl knew what was coming to her. She managed a nod before Utena turned her around. Anthy lay half on her side, very uncomfortably while Utena's hands held onto the end of the arrow protruding from her back.
Anthy braced herself as Utena snapped the end of the arrow. "Ah! Oh..." Anthy's body quivered from the pain, and she begged for the pain to cease. "That's... That's enough...."
"Just a little more..." Utena had to force herself to cause this necessary pain to Anthy. She forced the arrow through, making the head emerge from the front enough for her to grab onto. The bleeding flesh inside Anthy's chest oozed and contracted against the intruder.
"Gods..." Anthy covered her face with her hand, trying to brace the hurt by gritting her teeth. Utena was as gentle as possible, but it was unmatching to the sensation flowing through her chest.
Once Utena had the arrow fully removed from her, and she could calm her gasps enough to speak, Anthy retorted. "I hardly felt a thing..."
Utena held the arrow in hand. She brought it close to her nose, and gave Anthy a worried expression.
"Wha..." Anthy tried to breathe through her pain. "What is it?"
"Poison..."
......
Utena held a thick stick into the fire, burning the blunt end of it. Inside she was rapidly trying to conceive of a way to save Anthy... But on the outside her visage appeared nothing but solemn and sad.
When her tool was ready, she brought it over to Anthy, who was lying down with her upper body propped against some rocks.
"Ready?" Utena asked warily. Anthy knew it was time to seal the wound before it bled anymore. Hiding her lips with one hand again, the injured woman cried out in anguish as the hot poker fried her skin. Utena carefully sat Anthy up, and applied pressure to the other end of the wound. She grimaced while hearing the open wound sizzle shut.
"Will it get the poison out?" Miki bent over, watching Anthy's pained face intently.
"No, it's already moving through her system." Utena began to work on a poultice for the wound. Miki sat down next to Anthy, who had her eyes closed as she tried to contain her screams.
"Why did you come back for me?" He asked earnestly, with a touch of guilt in his voice.
She swallowed down the blood rising in her throat. "I wanted you to see that waterfall... And your son, Tsuwabuki."
"I'm sorry I froze. I guess I came up short again," He slightly grunted as Utena thrust a bowl of her mixture into his hands, "Can we still execute your plan?"
"Don't you worry about my plan," Utena grimly said as she rubbed the paste onto a cloth.
"Miki's right to be concerned, Utena..." Anthy did her best to stay conscious, "Why don't you leave me, and go on ahead?"
"Those were the advanced troops, and they travel a day ahead of the main force. So we still have time." Utena slowly put the poultice just inside Anthy's ruined top, nestling it against the wound.
"Be honest with me, Utena.... How bad is this poison?"
Utena smoothed a few stray locks from Anthy's tired, weary eyes. "It didn't hit a main artery. This poultice will delay the effects until we can get to Tripolis and treat it with a serum," she noted the sweat on Anthy's brow. "By tomorrow you'll be trying those flips again. With a staff."
After Utena aided Anthy's wound the best she could, both her and Miki set her back up on Dios' back. She was leaning in the saddle, keeping quiet to save her energy.
Miki walked next to Utena, continuing to glance up at Anthy worriedly. "If she dies-"
"She won't!"
"Yes, I'm sure, but 'if' she dies, you'll hate me for freezing up like that. You'll blame me for the rest of your life!"
Utena had just about had it with this pathetic excuse for a warrior. "How I feel about you doesn't matter! You're the one who has to live with yourself."
"But with Anthy hurt, doesn't this change your plans?"
"Yes!" Utena yelled, frustrated. She then lowered her voice a little when Anthy began to listen in. "Yes, it does. Look, I need you to come through for me now more than ever. With Anthy's injury, we're moving too slowly. I need you to run ahead to Tripolis."
The blue-eyed soldier looked ecstatic. "Yes, anything at all."
Utena continued. "I want you to tell the head of the militia to get his men ready to meet me. There's been a landslide at the pass at Thermopylae."
Miki blinked unexpectedly. "The pass is blocked?! Then there's hope! You didn't tell me that!"
"Well, you'd better get moving. There may still be Persian scouts ahead."
"Thank you for giving me another chance," He clasped hands with Utena, and then got on his toes to gently shake Anthy's hand. "I'll see you later, with help. This time, no amount of fear will stop me from doing my duty."
Anthy was able to flash a slight smile. "Make your son proud. Be careful," she encouraged.
Miki nodded, and with that the petite Spartan soldier was gone. When he was out of hearing range, Anthy confronted Utena. "I don't understand..." she held down a cough, "There's no landslide at the pass. We didn't get to do it."
Utena checked the poultice. "And there's no waterfall in Mizola."
Even though she was weak and weary, Anthy knew she must be missing something. "What?"
Utena began to explain. "Spartans, from the age of eight, carry around a wooden stake. They're constantly squeezing it between their hands to toughen up. When I helped him up earlier, I noticed there were only a few calluses on his sword hand. " Then she added hardly, "He's no Spartan."
Anthy swallowed the warm liquid arising her throat. "Then where is he from?"
Utena finished checking on the poultice. "Persia. He's a spy."
"But Utena, he has a wound."
"One of his fellow Persians gave him that to make his story more convincing. Right now he's rushing back to tell them there's been a landslide at the pass."
Anthy finally realized what Utena had done. "So we don't have to do it. The army will be diverted anyway."
"Right into us and the Tripolis militia. Now, let's get there, and treat you with that serum."
The two girls continued on their journey to Tripolis, Utena trying to get there as quickly as possible to treat the poison flowing through Anthy's veins. The lavender-haired beauty fought to keep her eyes open while they walked along. But when they got to their destination, a surprise met their eyes.
There was nothing left.
The city was completely evacuated and destroyed. What wasn't burnt to the ground was broken, ravaged and destroyed until there was nothing salvageable. Utena couldn't believe her eyes. She had to keep herself from swearing aloud.
"What is this place?" Anthy asked.
"Tripolis," Utena said flatly, thinking only of the antidote. "Or what's left of it."
"Everybody's fled..." Anthy observed quietly, not needing to mention the obvious. But Utena did.
"They're all gone. The militia razed the village so there would be nothing left for the enemy. There..." Utena moved her head towards the ruins of a building.
"The Physician's hut." Anthy prayed her antidote would be in there.
The poisoned woman waited on the horse while Utena walked inside. She ravaged all the shelves, piles of bottles, everything. No serum. She kicked up molten ashes, and threw a few random items. A shelf almost fell down over her head, and she avoided a concussion with a swift motion. Anthy tried to peek inside, but she had no luck with her inability to move without pain.
Her frustration was about as mounted as it could possibly be. In a basket on the floor, she saw a corked bottle top probing out. She bent down and lifted it, only to see the bottom half shattered off. Utena fought back the hot tears that welled up underneath her bottom eyelids.
Carrying the broken bottle, she slowly emerged from the ruined Physician's hut. Anthy saw the broken bottle in Utena's hand, and her hopes fell.
"No serum."
Utena's fingers clenched around the neck of the bottle. She thrust it down with such a hard, disturbed energy it shattered against the ground.
"No militia..." Anthy continued, "You know, Utena. They say bad things come in threes. How about that armory?"
Utena went to Dios' side, and reached up for Anthy's hand. "We're not staying here. We're moving on to Thessaly. After all, they'll have medicine there."
Anthy shook her head stubbornly. "No, just wait."
"We can take the back roads."
"But your plan?" Anthy coughed loudly and leaned a little more, breathing deeper. She paced her words. "Miki would have told the Persians about the fake landslide. That means they'll be heading here, and you promised the people you'll slow them down, right? So, let's take care of that first."
They stared at each other for a long time, trying to best the other in a deep stare. "No, first the serum," the warrior insisted, "We can get back in time to-"
"Utena, we can't make it back in time to slow down the Persians! And if we can't stop them while the Athenians are moving up, then Athens is going to fall."
There was a long silence. They both knew Anthy was right. And they both knew Utena would refuse to save Athens in exchange for Anthy's life.
"How long do I have?" she whispered desperately, trying to ignore the pain circulating from her wound.
Utena bit her bottom lip, and gave no reply. That was all the answer Anthy could take.
"Then we'll have to stay and fight then, won't we? Tomorrow we'll go to Thessaly. It's a choice we have to take."
Utena grabbed Dios' reins, and made ready to move along in silence, but was interrupted by the sound of hoof beats in the distance. "Horses. It's the Persian cavalry, the advance party. Come on."
Eventually they reached a far off shelter that hadn't been touched by the burning of the village. Utena opened the big doors with the iron bar, helped Anthy inside, and locked the door.
Utena quickly assembled a makeshift bed for Anthy with miscellaneous blankets and pillows she found. After ordering her partner to rest, and helping her to the bedding, she walked over a large wooden chest.
"Utena. Aren't we going to the armory?" Anthy struggled to make herself comfortable. She felt hot... very hot.
"Just got there." Utena jerked a wood panel off of the top of the chest. She set it aside, and repeated the action a couple more times until she had a large hole. As she pulled out weapons, she began to explain. "We really bought ourselves some time with that short cut." Out came some swords, arrows, and halberds. "There is more than enough in here for an army."
Anthy's coughs became more hoarse, and then she replied sardonically. "I didn't know I qualified as an army."
Utena set aside the weapons she found, and went to Anthy's side. With an unpracticed ease, she moved the blankets and pillows to make the girl more comfortable. "Okay."
"Utena, in case this poison starts spreading faster, I do have a last request." Anthy gave a testing smile, but her older partner shook her head. "You can tell me about it when we're old and gray."
"Oh, that's funny," Anthy avoided Utena's eyes. "Really, uh... After you've slowed down the Persians, if I can't make it, I want you to save yourself. I don't want to be a burden to you." Anthy knew that even if Utena did enjoy protecting and taking care of her, she was always a burden on her.
"I can't promise that." Utena said. And she meant it.
"We're all going to die, eventually," Anthy managed as matter-of-factly as possible.
"Not today." Utena tenderly stroked the sweaty bangs sticking to Anthy's forehead. "I know this is bad. But we've survived worse, right?"
The girl with the coffee skin searched out Utena's eyes before her lids slowly fell shut. She was tired, so tired...
"Right?"
Anthy eventually fell into an uneasy sleep with no response. When she was sure Anthy was asleep, Utena went outside to collect more herbs, and check out the enemy's camp. There were at least thirty or forty campfires. She sighed, and made her way back inside the armory. Anthy was sitting up, coughing profusely. Utena ran over, and scolded her with a motherly concern.
"Are you all right? What are you doing sitting up?" The herbs were set next to the fire, and within an instant she was by Anthy's side, helping her settle back down.
"I was just uncomfortable on my back..." Anthy's voice was incredibly hoarse compared to usual. "The Persians are out there. Aren't they?"
"Yes."
"How many campfires?" Anthy asked. She lay still as Utena performed the hourly checkup on her poultice.
"About thirty or forty." Utena pretended that statistic was no big number at all. But thanks to years of observing Utena, Anthy knew better.
"Ten men or so per fire..." the sickly girl mused. She then took this moment for a bad attempt at humor. "That's good. For a minute there, I thought we were in trouble. At least we have the element of surprise in our favor."
Utena forced a smile in response to the sarcasm. Anthy was having trouble breathing, so Utena waited for her breaths to calm before speaking up. "It's the main cavalry. Their best warriors."
"Well, we only have to delay them, right? Just bloody their noses a little bit?" Anthy swallowed her own blood collecting in the back of her throat. It felt the same as having a cold, like thick mucous building in her pipes. Except it hurt a thousand-fold.
"You just let me worry about their noses." Utena watched Anthy, a deep pit of worry swelling inside of her chest. "I need to find a place to hide you until after the battle."
"I guess I'm going to miss out on all the fun, huh?" Anthy asked with a grin, though whether it was fake or not, she wasn't sure herself. With every breath she appeared weaker and frailer in Utena's eyes.
"You know," Anthy began again, trying to ignore the pain speaking caused, "I realize that this is just a clever diversion to make me forget about my boots."
Both of them smiled at each other until a hard cough interrupted the moment. Anthy tilted her head to the side to release long, painful coughs that caused the blood filling her throat to spurt onto her lips. She hadn't paid much attention to it, but Utena noticed right away.
"My chest feels so he-heavy..." Anthy mustered between gasps.
Utena took her two longest fingers, and pressed them against Anthy's lips. When she pulled them back, there was thick crimson smeared on their tips.
"What? ...What is it?" Anthy became aware of Utena's grave facial expression.
Utena stared at the blood on her fingers a long time before she looked at Anthy. Blood, coming up her throat. That could only mean...
"Blood," Utena said hollowly, trying her best to stay put together. "The arrow must've grazed your lung. The poison..." She couldn't find it in her to finish the sentence.
But Anthy knew what it meant.
"I just ran out of time, didn't I...?"
.....
Anthy lay motionless and tired, unwilling to turn her body over to get more comfortable. Aside from that, she could only find content in watching Utena. Her partner was boiling a large cauldron of what appeared to be oil over the fire, as well as preparing multiple booby traps and weapons.
Anthy paid particular attention when Utena laid down what appeared to be a ladder.
"That doesn't look like a weapon," she mused, in a slightly challenging tone. She had her suspicions, but they were not met until she heard Utena's answer.
Utena threw down a rope with the 'ladder.' "It's not. It's a litter. I'm putting you on it, and getting you out of here."
Anthy was in disbelief. "Why? Did the Persians pull back?" Utena's lack of eye contact gave her a positive. "Utena, you can't do this!"
The poisoned girl now knew it was in Utena's definite plan for the two of them to leave. Ride ahead to Thessaly, get the serum, and ignore the oncoming Persians. But Anthy would not have it.
"Utena, you can't do this. You can't leave... Not if they're still out there! You're the only one!"
"Anthy, quiet!" Utena snapped rather uncharacteristically. She should have known better, but her raised voice did not calm Anthy.
"Look, I know what you're doing," Anthy swallowed a throat full of blood, "You can't leave. If you don't hold them up-"
Utena bit her bottom lip firmly. "I am not going to let you die. I can still get you to Thessaly, and the antidote."
"And then what?" Anthy challenged. Her voice rose as loud as her lungs would allow. Her tired, purple eyes glared passionately. "What happens to Athens? What is my life worth, then?"
Utena stopped her pacing, and stood a bit closer to Anthy. "First things first."
Anthy's fist dug itself into her fur blankets. The two women looked into the eyes of the other, and once again had a silent contest. But she had been taught too many things by the warrior woman, and this action was too hypocritical.
"The first thing is the greater good! You taught me that... There are things in life worth dying for. Things that hold a higher meaning than our own existence." Anthy failed to mention the fact that she had been existing for far too long.
"Not your existence."
"Why?" If it were not for her present condition, her eyes could kill. "Because I'm your friend?"
"Yes!" Utena's voice shook again, but this time there was more of a quiver to it. Her hard hands clenched, and even though she knew that Anthy was right... Gods damn her for turning into this selfless individual who put faith in the greater good over her own life. Utena would not let Anthy die before her eyes.
She couldn't live without her.
"Well then honor my memory." The silence was interrupted only by the cracking of the fire. "We both know that I'm right. This is right."
Utena was now on her knees next to her dying partner. The only way she could suppress her sobs was by biting her bottom lip.
"Utena, promise me. Promise me that you will not leave this battle because of me."
The pale-skinned warrior was given no choice.
.......
*~*~*
A/N- I don't know how many of you are Xena fans, but I took this script from the Xena episode "One Against An Army," and changed the characters and plot elements (Aside from the Greek setting, because Ancient Greece is just SO cool) Anyway, it is a beautiful story of devotion, loyalty, friendship and nobility. So let me know what you think... ^_^
*~*~*
The bright morning sun beat its rays over the entirety of Ancient Greece, making the distance known for the battle ships sailing in the distance. Unaware of the far off and obscure threat, the profound and infamous warrior Utena stood, her pale pink hair glistening in the yellow sun. Her leather-clad body was shifting its weight to one side as she skeptically watched her partner warming up.
Anthy stood a few yards from a little contraption of her own she had created. A long tree limb was parallel to the ground, but about five feet above it, suspended by two other trees suitable distances apart.
In a short sprint, the woman with the long purple hair ran up towards her little contraption and used the tree limb as an aid to do a flip in the air. She landed successfully, and looked over to Utena with a successful smile. "How was that?"
Utena was quite proud of her, but she did her best to hide it, because she wasn't interested in watching Anthy injure herself. "Terrific," she acclaimed almost sarcastically, "Now can we head to Thessaly before you hurt yourself?"
Anthy shook her head stubbornly. "No, you see Utena... I've worked out your entire flip, and broken it down into its relatively simple steps."
Utena arched an eyebrow comically.
"The mechanics, the speed, trajectory, and lastly, the arc of the spin." Anthy seemed rather proud of herself, but Utena continued to fake disinterest.
"Good. So... What's the point?"
"Your flip, Utena." Anthy played along with her friend's stubbornness.
"Oh yeah? Then what foot do I start on?"
Anthy frowned. "Don't confuse me. This time, no limb. Watch."
Anthy turned around to attempt the flip without the tree branch for balance, but Utena grabbed onto her arm. "Anthy, before I tried the flip without a bar I made 300 attempts with it."
"Slow learner, huh Utena?" Anthy patted her arm as if giving her mock comfort, "I had the same problem with basket weaving." She backtracked to the same location she sprinted at to do the flip, but not before removing the broken tree limb.
"It's the right foot," Utena began as she watched, "But I'd rather you didn't."
Anthy rolled her eyes, even though Utena couldn't see. "It isn't like this will kill me. Just let me try one time, okay?" She asked, her drive from watching Utena flip in countless duels evident, "That's all I need. One time."
Utena did nothing but slightly shake her head, and watched worriedly as Anthy began to prep herself for her first attempt at a real flip. Carefully, the warrior's companion warmed up. When she was ready, she took another sprint, running and propelling herself off of the ground to perform the feat.
"Wrong foot," Utena flatly commented just before Anthy abruptly landed on the hard ground with a large crack.
.....
Along the narrow dirt trail, Anthy hobbled along ahead of Utena and her horse. She used the tree limb from earlier as a walking stick, because her poor ankle was about as swollen as a full pomegranate.
"I'm telling you, my ankle is fine," she managed through gritted teeth.
Utena, staying true to her character and trying to help out, offered for about the hundredth time. "Come on, let me take a look at it. I mean, so what? You tried, and failed... It happens."
"It's nothing serious, Utena," Anthy's sentence fell short when Utena grabbed her foot from behind and lifted it up to examine it. The shorter girl hissed and whined in pain.
"Good thing it's nothing serious," the taller warrior said half sardonically. The two of them had been in this playful and picking mood all day, despite Anthy's injury, and the viridian-eyed girl was not about to give in now.
"Oh! Ow... That doesn't hurt," she lied unconvincingly.
Utena squeezed the ankle in a teasing fashion. "Already too swollen, huh?"
Anthy managed to, but painfully, pry her foot from Utena's grasp and continue to limp along. "I'll walk it off."
"You know, I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't have tried that flip," the woman with the sky blue eyes tried not to show her worry. Anthy, obviously being patronized, remarked back. "You'll work it in, I'm sure."
Utena's voice suddenly became loud and worried. She froze and screamed out, "Anthy! Hit the dirt!"
Anthy immediately fell to the ground on her stomach, only to be met with a cold blade slicing the side of her boot in half. The swollen ankle emerged from the split leather cloth, and she frowned.
Utena put her sword away after she voluntarily ruined Anthy's footwear. She bent over, and began to help her partner to her feet.
"Why did you do that?" Anthy demanded as she mishappenly got to her feet.
"The most popular theory for healing sprains. Elevation, and ice cold water." Utena sat Anthy down next to a brook that ran along the trail they had been following.
"Yeah? Well, I'm not very thirsty."
Utena was inclined to grin, if it weren't for the crippling injury Anthy had inflicted on herself. "Sit down..."
"Now you owe me a new pair of boots, Utena dear..." Utena nodded in response while she pulled the boot away from the injury.
As she began to tend to Anthy's wound, a figure burst onto the scene from the brush. It was a tall woman, wearing armor also, but of a different design than Utena's. Her breaths were ragged and misplaced, evidence that she had been sprinting for quite a distance. The stranger bent down and used her hand to gulp down water from the brook.
"You! Run for your lives!" She warned once she had caught her breath.
"Why? What's going on?" Utena, becoming immediately interested, asked.
"A huge army landed three nights ago. And a fleet of tall ships, foreign, laid waste to our troops in Marathon. They're headed this way on a forced march for Athens."
Utena remained pensive while she thought over the description. "Tall ships, three masts?"
The female soldier nodded.
"Was there a double row of oarsmen?"
The orange haired soldier nodded again.
"Persians." She said evenly, already knowing the army this warrior woman was talking about.
Anthy frowned a bit in thought. "Have you fought them before, Utena?" Referring to the long lifetime of wars and alliances Utena had before they had met each other.
"Anthy, that army over the mountain is the most ruthless one to have ever taken up weapons," she paused, "If they reach Athens, Greece is lost."
"What are we going to do?" The injured woman asked again.
"Stop them."
"And the Spartans were fighting alongside the Greeks? That's a first."
The anonymous warrior spoke up again. "They fought bravely, but were so outnumbered they never had a chance."
Utena began to help Anthy back up, and with one heavy lift she placed her onto the back of the stallion. Anthy situated herself, and listened in. "Persians will swarm through here like Akio's woman handling on a good day. We'd better move quickly."
The other woman made some comment about the sky being so thick with arrows; the blazing sun was hidden behind them.
"Someone had better warn the Athenians. You-"
"Arisugawa." The woman finally revealed her name.
"Arisugawa, can you run onto Athens and tell them about Marathon?"
Arisugawa nodded, and without another word she turned and began sprinting in the directions of the far off city-state of Athens.
Utena yelled after her, "Pace yourself! A run like that in this heat could kill you. We'll try to slow them up."
Anthy cleared her throat to make herself known atop Utena's horse, Dios. "Stopping an army? Isn't that something that you try about... 300 times before you actually do it?"
"Keep that foot elevated," Utena said coolly, not matching her jovial attitude of before.
The two rode onward, catching broken rays through the leaflet openings of the foliage above them. The heat kept them silent for long periods of time, but a couple choice conversations did make themselves known.
"Go on, say it," Anthy sighed. "We'd be moving a lot faster if I hadn't tried that."
"Tried what?" Utena made it difficult to decipher whether she was being serious or not.
"The flip."
Utena's didn't seem to have heard Anthy's words, and her eyes lit up as she suddenly had a brilliant plan. "Oh, the pass!"
Anthy was now utterly confused at this change of topic. "The pass?"
"The pass at Thermopaly! That's the answer!" Utena cheered to herself. Anthy looked down at Utena from her perched position. "What's the question?"
"That pass is the shortest route from Marathon. The Persians will have to go through there, so it's the best place to stop them."
Anthy was very skeptical. "Two of us against an army?"
Utena shook her head. "No, an army against a landslide that we cause, thereby sealing it off. It will buy Athens some time."
Thankfully her partner's plan made more sense to her now. Anthy nodded, but then a thought struck her. "Utena, why don't you go on ahead? With my injury, I am just slowing you down. Go make the landslide, and I'll wait here."
"No," Utena remained stubborn. "Persian advance scouts travel a day ahead of the infantry. They'd find you." She raised a hand and affectionately placed it on Anthy's swollen ankle.
"Stupid ankle. If only I hadn't tried that..."
"Well if that's the worst thing that happens today, I'll be thrilled..."
.......
"Utena? What about that thing you did in Ohtori...? You know, that power you had. It could destroy an entire army."
Utena thought about what Anthy was talking about; the Power of Dios. She remembered the first time Anthy had seen it. At the time, Utena was a lone warrior woman, traveling Ancient Greece to right wrongs, and do her best to triumph over evil. A prince (the one she had named her horse after) she had met when she was younger encouraged her to do so. It was a difficult and abstract thing to explain, but she was convinced that the ethereal surge that had befallen her weapon was he. Maybe he was a God...
She had come upon a peasant town in her travels. This was where she first met Anthy. A young girl, being passed from man to man, but not by money like a normal slave. But by strange duels that men combated in for possession of her. Utena, being the noble warrior that she was, found this a shameful and horrible act. To think that someone would try and possess another human! She figured that in order to save her, she would have to participate in those duels, and win.
And that was what Utena did. The pale haired warrior stayed in the city of Ohtori, and watched over Anthy until she defeated every one of the duelists, the main being the eldest brother. That was an entirely different story on its own.
The two had been traveling together ever since. Utena watched the young 'slave' girl grow into a beautiful and well-rounded woman, and much more talkative and open than the distant and cold girl she once was. In fact, Utena felt strongly for the lavender-haired woman riding atop her horse. After all the time they had been together, she could not testify whether her feelings were the boon from the goddess Aphrodite. But she did know she would give her life, and more, to keep her safe.
After her trip down memory lane, Utena got back to the topic Anthy was discussing with her. "I wish I could still call it up. But that took a purity of essence that- well, it's gone now."
Anthy found it best that they change the topic. "Has it ever occurred to you that the landslide will only delay them? I mean, what if the Persians just go around the mountain and continue into Athens?"
"Then we'll have them right where we want them," Utena said firmly. Anthy felt as though she could never keep up with Utena and her mischievous plans. She sighed while looking down at her ankle, resting atop the horse.
"Where?"
"Tripolis," Utena's eyes darted back and forth cautiously, "There is a secret armory in the area, and if we're lucky the weapons will still be there."
Anthy didn't bother asking how Utena knew of its existence. "We? As in you and me? The two of us?" She was beginning to think Utena planned on the two of them defeating this massive army on their own.
"As in you, me, and the Tripolis militia."
"Oh, that 'we.'" Anthy commented in a relieved fashion. Her heat inflicted daze was quickly broken when she heard a male warrior's cry and felt a gust of wind go past her.
A man had burst from the bushes, but of course Utena was already prepared for his attack. Before he had fully emerged himself, she had already unsheathed her sword and aimed it for his neck. The two of them stood, he being notably shorter than the noble female warrior, with sword tip pointed to chest.
"Give up the horse, or the last thing you see will be your heart in my hand!"
Utena looked him over quickly in her mind, assessing an accurate overview of this soldier. He was very unthreatening, with his innocent blue eyes and petite stature. She had learned many years ago never to misjudge a scroll by its paper, so she made it a point to keep her guard up.
"You've been following us for the last half hour," she said, catching a slight look of surprise in his voice, "All that time, for this move?"
He applied a bit more pressure to the sword tip against Utena's breastplate. "Help her down, or I will!" The young soldier motioned towards Anthy, who could find it in her to do nothing but stare.
"Alright. I can see you're pressed for time." Utena turned around to make it look as though she was going to help Anthy down from the horse. But instead, she performed one of her trademark flips, and landed on his opposite side.
"Right foot first..." Anthy whispered to herself as she noted the way Utena carried out the flip.
Within a matter of seconds, Utena had the young man down on his back. She loomed over him, and was sure to note the misleading look in his eyes. "He's a Spartan from his clothes. Unless, he stole them from a real warrior."
The young man quickly raised his voice in defense. "I am a Spartan! I fought at Marathon... When my commander saw we were losing, he sent me to find a fallback position. Unfortunately, my horse came up lame, and I had to kill him..."
"Don't get any ideas," Anthy slyly said, causing Utena to grin in response.
"I wanted your horse to finish my mission, and get this treated."
He motioned to his back, so Utena turned him over. Exposed was a bloody flesh wound, the blood seeping through the ripped shreds of his shirt. Anthy grimaced, "It looks pretty bad."
"It's only a flesh wound," Utena mumbled just loud enough for them to hear, "I can dress it. Did you get that running from battle?"
He looked insulted. "Spartans don't run."
"Oh, I know." Utena said, helping him to his feet and inspecting his blade. "They fight to the death. Hmm... Not a nick on it. You're a deserter, aren't you?"
He shook his head and stammered. "No, no-no. I swear it on my father's life!"
"Oh, a coward AND a liar. Your father must be proud." Utena patronized him.
"All right, all right! I admit it. I ran! I'm a disgrace to my homeland..."
Utena wasn't too inclined to feel pity for someone who ran from a battle. But Anthy on the other hand was. "Everyone feels fear."
"But we don't all run," Utena contradicted. "If we did, there would be no home left to run to." She turned and looked at the Spartan soldier. With a half grin, she made him a proposal. "I'm offering you a chance to redeem yourself. Join us."
He half laughed in a mocking shock. "Join you? Against that army?! What good could the three of us do?"
"Utena has a plan to stop them," Anthy said from the horse, not disclosing any specific information.
He looked at the tale, rose haired woman. "You do?"
"Oh yes. And you'll fit into it nicely..."
.......
Since she had been traveling with Utena, the former slave girl had become much more interested and opinionated. Meeting this Spartan soldier did nothing to hinder her active mind, and from her seat on the animal, she bent down as much as possible to get to know him.
"What village in Sparta are you from, Miki?"
Miki walked alongside the horse that Anthy was using from transportation, and beamed. "Mizola. The most beautiful village in the Peloponnese."
"Oh yeah, it's famous for that waterfall, right?" Utena asked, and then looked up at Anthy. "It's seventy feet high."
"Yes. I pray that I might one day get to see that waterfall again. As well as my wife, and soon Tsuwabuki."
"You can change," Anthy pushed her heavy hair from her face to save her from the heat. "He doesn't have to know about the one time you failed."
"What if I fail again?"
Anthy didn't have an answer to that. Utena, meanwhile, who had been walking a bit of a ways ahead of the two, noticed a glint off a sword a ways forward, looking to come from the hills.
"Utena, you still haven't told me your plan to stop the Persians," Miki said. Utena continued to look ahead, but she spoke. "Oh, haven't I?"
Utena paused in her footsteps. She waited for Miki to pass by her before she grabbed onto the horse's muzzle and whispered in its ear. "Hey, I want you to take Anthy into the woods and keep her there, all right?"
Anthy bent down, and whispered to Utena. "What is it? Did you see something?"
"Sunlight bouncing on steel just up ahead. It's the advance party I've been expecting." She checked to be sure her weapons were in place.
"I can help," Anthy insisted. Utena shook her head, knowing more than enough that Anthy could hardly walk, let alone fight.
"Don't argue with me," Utena said as firmly as possible. "I'll explain later. Go on, get out of here." With a tap to Dios' shoulder, Anthy and the beast disappeared.
"Get ready for a fight, Spartan." Utena hit the sheathed sword against Miki's chest and walked on. Miki had no time to react before he could see a group of about two-dozen Persians making their way towards them. They were ready for a fight.
"Get her!" the leader called out. Utena readied her sword, and fought easily against each and every man who advanced towards her. She became lost in her own battle, and made the mistake of becoming unaware of her surroundings.
Miki, the supposed Spartan, stood solitaire in the midst of it all. He looked petrified and pathetic, holding his sword against his chest with no strength to fight. Anthy, hiding in the shadows, saw this and knew he needed encouragement. She remembered the story he had just told her about his cowardice, and decided he was desperate for some coaching.
Anthy studied the battle scene, then quickly nudged Dios to bring her into it. She rode up aside Miki, and reached down to shake his shoulder.
"Miki! Miki, snap out of it!" She kicked him with her good foot, and he awoke from his fearful daze. "Miki, fight or take refuge!"
Anthy and Miki both went to leave the battlefield. By this time the Persians were retreating from Utena's blade. An archer, looking to make one final move in, saw the girl atop the snowy white horse riding away. He raised his bow, and with one motion of his arm, sent an arrow flying into Anthy's back.
"Anthy!" Miki tried reaching up once he noticed her slouch. She was leaning forward on the horse, desperately trying to stay balanced atop it despite the pain in her upper back. The weapon was fully inserted through Anthy's upper left shoulder blade, and the head of the arrow slightly emerged from her front, just beneath her collarbone.
A surge of unrelenting pain passed through her body, and Miki had to help her down from the horse. She collapsed on the ground just before Utena came running over.
"Anthy!" She tenderly held the girl in her arms, balancing her carefully. A concoct array of painful grimaces passed Anthy's dark features, but she did her best to be strong.
"This is my fault! My fault!" Miki paced in the background.
"Then go do something useful!" Utena snapped back, not taking her eyes from the woman in her lap, "Make a fire!"
"It's not... It's not that bad." Anthy deeply inhaled between each word. Thick blood spurted from her wound.
"Anthy...This is going to be painful. Ready?"
From watching Utena perform first aid on hundreds of people, the girl knew what was coming to her. She managed a nod before Utena turned her around. Anthy lay half on her side, very uncomfortably while Utena's hands held onto the end of the arrow protruding from her back.
Anthy braced herself as Utena snapped the end of the arrow. "Ah! Oh..." Anthy's body quivered from the pain, and she begged for the pain to cease. "That's... That's enough...."
"Just a little more..." Utena had to force herself to cause this necessary pain to Anthy. She forced the arrow through, making the head emerge from the front enough for her to grab onto. The bleeding flesh inside Anthy's chest oozed and contracted against the intruder.
"Gods..." Anthy covered her face with her hand, trying to brace the hurt by gritting her teeth. Utena was as gentle as possible, but it was unmatching to the sensation flowing through her chest.
Once Utena had the arrow fully removed from her, and she could calm her gasps enough to speak, Anthy retorted. "I hardly felt a thing..."
Utena held the arrow in hand. She brought it close to her nose, and gave Anthy a worried expression.
"Wha..." Anthy tried to breathe through her pain. "What is it?"
"Poison..."
......
Utena held a thick stick into the fire, burning the blunt end of it. Inside she was rapidly trying to conceive of a way to save Anthy... But on the outside her visage appeared nothing but solemn and sad.
When her tool was ready, she brought it over to Anthy, who was lying down with her upper body propped against some rocks.
"Ready?" Utena asked warily. Anthy knew it was time to seal the wound before it bled anymore. Hiding her lips with one hand again, the injured woman cried out in anguish as the hot poker fried her skin. Utena carefully sat Anthy up, and applied pressure to the other end of the wound. She grimaced while hearing the open wound sizzle shut.
"Will it get the poison out?" Miki bent over, watching Anthy's pained face intently.
"No, it's already moving through her system." Utena began to work on a poultice for the wound. Miki sat down next to Anthy, who had her eyes closed as she tried to contain her screams.
"Why did you come back for me?" He asked earnestly, with a touch of guilt in his voice.
She swallowed down the blood rising in her throat. "I wanted you to see that waterfall... And your son, Tsuwabuki."
"I'm sorry I froze. I guess I came up short again," He slightly grunted as Utena thrust a bowl of her mixture into his hands, "Can we still execute your plan?"
"Don't you worry about my plan," Utena grimly said as she rubbed the paste onto a cloth.
"Miki's right to be concerned, Utena..." Anthy did her best to stay conscious, "Why don't you leave me, and go on ahead?"
"Those were the advanced troops, and they travel a day ahead of the main force. So we still have time." Utena slowly put the poultice just inside Anthy's ruined top, nestling it against the wound.
"Be honest with me, Utena.... How bad is this poison?"
Utena smoothed a few stray locks from Anthy's tired, weary eyes. "It didn't hit a main artery. This poultice will delay the effects until we can get to Tripolis and treat it with a serum," she noted the sweat on Anthy's brow. "By tomorrow you'll be trying those flips again. With a staff."
After Utena aided Anthy's wound the best she could, both her and Miki set her back up on Dios' back. She was leaning in the saddle, keeping quiet to save her energy.
Miki walked next to Utena, continuing to glance up at Anthy worriedly. "If she dies-"
"She won't!"
"Yes, I'm sure, but 'if' she dies, you'll hate me for freezing up like that. You'll blame me for the rest of your life!"
Utena had just about had it with this pathetic excuse for a warrior. "How I feel about you doesn't matter! You're the one who has to live with yourself."
"But with Anthy hurt, doesn't this change your plans?"
"Yes!" Utena yelled, frustrated. She then lowered her voice a little when Anthy began to listen in. "Yes, it does. Look, I need you to come through for me now more than ever. With Anthy's injury, we're moving too slowly. I need you to run ahead to Tripolis."
The blue-eyed soldier looked ecstatic. "Yes, anything at all."
Utena continued. "I want you to tell the head of the militia to get his men ready to meet me. There's been a landslide at the pass at Thermopylae."
Miki blinked unexpectedly. "The pass is blocked?! Then there's hope! You didn't tell me that!"
"Well, you'd better get moving. There may still be Persian scouts ahead."
"Thank you for giving me another chance," He clasped hands with Utena, and then got on his toes to gently shake Anthy's hand. "I'll see you later, with help. This time, no amount of fear will stop me from doing my duty."
Anthy was able to flash a slight smile. "Make your son proud. Be careful," she encouraged.
Miki nodded, and with that the petite Spartan soldier was gone. When he was out of hearing range, Anthy confronted Utena. "I don't understand..." she held down a cough, "There's no landslide at the pass. We didn't get to do it."
Utena checked the poultice. "And there's no waterfall in Mizola."
Even though she was weak and weary, Anthy knew she must be missing something. "What?"
Utena began to explain. "Spartans, from the age of eight, carry around a wooden stake. They're constantly squeezing it between their hands to toughen up. When I helped him up earlier, I noticed there were only a few calluses on his sword hand. " Then she added hardly, "He's no Spartan."
Anthy swallowed the warm liquid arising her throat. "Then where is he from?"
Utena finished checking on the poultice. "Persia. He's a spy."
"But Utena, he has a wound."
"One of his fellow Persians gave him that to make his story more convincing. Right now he's rushing back to tell them there's been a landslide at the pass."
Anthy finally realized what Utena had done. "So we don't have to do it. The army will be diverted anyway."
"Right into us and the Tripolis militia. Now, let's get there, and treat you with that serum."
The two girls continued on their journey to Tripolis, Utena trying to get there as quickly as possible to treat the poison flowing through Anthy's veins. The lavender-haired beauty fought to keep her eyes open while they walked along. But when they got to their destination, a surprise met their eyes.
There was nothing left.
The city was completely evacuated and destroyed. What wasn't burnt to the ground was broken, ravaged and destroyed until there was nothing salvageable. Utena couldn't believe her eyes. She had to keep herself from swearing aloud.
"What is this place?" Anthy asked.
"Tripolis," Utena said flatly, thinking only of the antidote. "Or what's left of it."
"Everybody's fled..." Anthy observed quietly, not needing to mention the obvious. But Utena did.
"They're all gone. The militia razed the village so there would be nothing left for the enemy. There..." Utena moved her head towards the ruins of a building.
"The Physician's hut." Anthy prayed her antidote would be in there.
The poisoned woman waited on the horse while Utena walked inside. She ravaged all the shelves, piles of bottles, everything. No serum. She kicked up molten ashes, and threw a few random items. A shelf almost fell down over her head, and she avoided a concussion with a swift motion. Anthy tried to peek inside, but she had no luck with her inability to move without pain.
Her frustration was about as mounted as it could possibly be. In a basket on the floor, she saw a corked bottle top probing out. She bent down and lifted it, only to see the bottom half shattered off. Utena fought back the hot tears that welled up underneath her bottom eyelids.
Carrying the broken bottle, she slowly emerged from the ruined Physician's hut. Anthy saw the broken bottle in Utena's hand, and her hopes fell.
"No serum."
Utena's fingers clenched around the neck of the bottle. She thrust it down with such a hard, disturbed energy it shattered against the ground.
"No militia..." Anthy continued, "You know, Utena. They say bad things come in threes. How about that armory?"
Utena went to Dios' side, and reached up for Anthy's hand. "We're not staying here. We're moving on to Thessaly. After all, they'll have medicine there."
Anthy shook her head stubbornly. "No, just wait."
"We can take the back roads."
"But your plan?" Anthy coughed loudly and leaned a little more, breathing deeper. She paced her words. "Miki would have told the Persians about the fake landslide. That means they'll be heading here, and you promised the people you'll slow them down, right? So, let's take care of that first."
They stared at each other for a long time, trying to best the other in a deep stare. "No, first the serum," the warrior insisted, "We can get back in time to-"
"Utena, we can't make it back in time to slow down the Persians! And if we can't stop them while the Athenians are moving up, then Athens is going to fall."
There was a long silence. They both knew Anthy was right. And they both knew Utena would refuse to save Athens in exchange for Anthy's life.
"How long do I have?" she whispered desperately, trying to ignore the pain circulating from her wound.
Utena bit her bottom lip, and gave no reply. That was all the answer Anthy could take.
"Then we'll have to stay and fight then, won't we? Tomorrow we'll go to Thessaly. It's a choice we have to take."
Utena grabbed Dios' reins, and made ready to move along in silence, but was interrupted by the sound of hoof beats in the distance. "Horses. It's the Persian cavalry, the advance party. Come on."
Eventually they reached a far off shelter that hadn't been touched by the burning of the village. Utena opened the big doors with the iron bar, helped Anthy inside, and locked the door.
Utena quickly assembled a makeshift bed for Anthy with miscellaneous blankets and pillows she found. After ordering her partner to rest, and helping her to the bedding, she walked over a large wooden chest.
"Utena. Aren't we going to the armory?" Anthy struggled to make herself comfortable. She felt hot... very hot.
"Just got there." Utena jerked a wood panel off of the top of the chest. She set it aside, and repeated the action a couple more times until she had a large hole. As she pulled out weapons, she began to explain. "We really bought ourselves some time with that short cut." Out came some swords, arrows, and halberds. "There is more than enough in here for an army."
Anthy's coughs became more hoarse, and then she replied sardonically. "I didn't know I qualified as an army."
Utena set aside the weapons she found, and went to Anthy's side. With an unpracticed ease, she moved the blankets and pillows to make the girl more comfortable. "Okay."
"Utena, in case this poison starts spreading faster, I do have a last request." Anthy gave a testing smile, but her older partner shook her head. "You can tell me about it when we're old and gray."
"Oh, that's funny," Anthy avoided Utena's eyes. "Really, uh... After you've slowed down the Persians, if I can't make it, I want you to save yourself. I don't want to be a burden to you." Anthy knew that even if Utena did enjoy protecting and taking care of her, she was always a burden on her.
"I can't promise that." Utena said. And she meant it.
"We're all going to die, eventually," Anthy managed as matter-of-factly as possible.
"Not today." Utena tenderly stroked the sweaty bangs sticking to Anthy's forehead. "I know this is bad. But we've survived worse, right?"
The girl with the coffee skin searched out Utena's eyes before her lids slowly fell shut. She was tired, so tired...
"Right?"
Anthy eventually fell into an uneasy sleep with no response. When she was sure Anthy was asleep, Utena went outside to collect more herbs, and check out the enemy's camp. There were at least thirty or forty campfires. She sighed, and made her way back inside the armory. Anthy was sitting up, coughing profusely. Utena ran over, and scolded her with a motherly concern.
"Are you all right? What are you doing sitting up?" The herbs were set next to the fire, and within an instant she was by Anthy's side, helping her settle back down.
"I was just uncomfortable on my back..." Anthy's voice was incredibly hoarse compared to usual. "The Persians are out there. Aren't they?"
"Yes."
"How many campfires?" Anthy asked. She lay still as Utena performed the hourly checkup on her poultice.
"About thirty or forty." Utena pretended that statistic was no big number at all. But thanks to years of observing Utena, Anthy knew better.
"Ten men or so per fire..." the sickly girl mused. She then took this moment for a bad attempt at humor. "That's good. For a minute there, I thought we were in trouble. At least we have the element of surprise in our favor."
Utena forced a smile in response to the sarcasm. Anthy was having trouble breathing, so Utena waited for her breaths to calm before speaking up. "It's the main cavalry. Their best warriors."
"Well, we only have to delay them, right? Just bloody their noses a little bit?" Anthy swallowed her own blood collecting in the back of her throat. It felt the same as having a cold, like thick mucous building in her pipes. Except it hurt a thousand-fold.
"You just let me worry about their noses." Utena watched Anthy, a deep pit of worry swelling inside of her chest. "I need to find a place to hide you until after the battle."
"I guess I'm going to miss out on all the fun, huh?" Anthy asked with a grin, though whether it was fake or not, she wasn't sure herself. With every breath she appeared weaker and frailer in Utena's eyes.
"You know," Anthy began again, trying to ignore the pain speaking caused, "I realize that this is just a clever diversion to make me forget about my boots."
Both of them smiled at each other until a hard cough interrupted the moment. Anthy tilted her head to the side to release long, painful coughs that caused the blood filling her throat to spurt onto her lips. She hadn't paid much attention to it, but Utena noticed right away.
"My chest feels so he-heavy..." Anthy mustered between gasps.
Utena took her two longest fingers, and pressed them against Anthy's lips. When she pulled them back, there was thick crimson smeared on their tips.
"What? ...What is it?" Anthy became aware of Utena's grave facial expression.
Utena stared at the blood on her fingers a long time before she looked at Anthy. Blood, coming up her throat. That could only mean...
"Blood," Utena said hollowly, trying her best to stay put together. "The arrow must've grazed your lung. The poison..." She couldn't find it in her to finish the sentence.
But Anthy knew what it meant.
"I just ran out of time, didn't I...?"
.....
Anthy lay motionless and tired, unwilling to turn her body over to get more comfortable. Aside from that, she could only find content in watching Utena. Her partner was boiling a large cauldron of what appeared to be oil over the fire, as well as preparing multiple booby traps and weapons.
Anthy paid particular attention when Utena laid down what appeared to be a ladder.
"That doesn't look like a weapon," she mused, in a slightly challenging tone. She had her suspicions, but they were not met until she heard Utena's answer.
Utena threw down a rope with the 'ladder.' "It's not. It's a litter. I'm putting you on it, and getting you out of here."
Anthy was in disbelief. "Why? Did the Persians pull back?" Utena's lack of eye contact gave her a positive. "Utena, you can't do this!"
The poisoned girl now knew it was in Utena's definite plan for the two of them to leave. Ride ahead to Thessaly, get the serum, and ignore the oncoming Persians. But Anthy would not have it.
"Utena, you can't do this. You can't leave... Not if they're still out there! You're the only one!"
"Anthy, quiet!" Utena snapped rather uncharacteristically. She should have known better, but her raised voice did not calm Anthy.
"Look, I know what you're doing," Anthy swallowed a throat full of blood, "You can't leave. If you don't hold them up-"
Utena bit her bottom lip firmly. "I am not going to let you die. I can still get you to Thessaly, and the antidote."
"And then what?" Anthy challenged. Her voice rose as loud as her lungs would allow. Her tired, purple eyes glared passionately. "What happens to Athens? What is my life worth, then?"
Utena stopped her pacing, and stood a bit closer to Anthy. "First things first."
Anthy's fist dug itself into her fur blankets. The two women looked into the eyes of the other, and once again had a silent contest. But she had been taught too many things by the warrior woman, and this action was too hypocritical.
"The first thing is the greater good! You taught me that... There are things in life worth dying for. Things that hold a higher meaning than our own existence." Anthy failed to mention the fact that she had been existing for far too long.
"Not your existence."
"Why?" If it were not for her present condition, her eyes could kill. "Because I'm your friend?"
"Yes!" Utena's voice shook again, but this time there was more of a quiver to it. Her hard hands clenched, and even though she knew that Anthy was right... Gods damn her for turning into this selfless individual who put faith in the greater good over her own life. Utena would not let Anthy die before her eyes.
She couldn't live without her.
"Well then honor my memory." The silence was interrupted only by the cracking of the fire. "We both know that I'm right. This is right."
Utena was now on her knees next to her dying partner. The only way she could suppress her sobs was by biting her bottom lip.
"Utena, promise me. Promise me that you will not leave this battle because of me."
The pale-skinned warrior was given no choice.
.......