With Love From The Other Side

Arrows were flying left and right! I barely dodged one of them that went whizzing by my pale green hair. I quickly nocked an arrow into his bow, and fired at a Daein soldier. The arrow hit the soldier directly between the eyes, killing him instantaneously. The lifeless soldier fell to the water, causing a rift around him in the Ribahn River.

I was considered a Marksman now, both by the Mercenaries and Shinon. I fired my personal bow once more, sending more arrows zipping towards the enemy at high speed. Around him, Ike and the rest of the Mercenaries were engaged in their own battles. All of them were near the center of operations for the Daein army, which consisted of an experienced group known as the Dawn Brigade. Leading the army was Micaiah, a Light Sage who was a master strategist and could foresee any attacks.

What hurt me was that some of their opponents were former friends of the Mercenaries. For example, Zihark and Jill were fighting on the other side, as I watched longingly. I don't wish to harm his friends, but I meant what I told Mist; any person who tried to hurt my loved ones was an enemy to me. I quickly ran across the murky water, splashing on nearly every step. I nocked an arrow quickly, and aimed at a Trueblade with red garment. The brunette dodged easily, before attacking Mia.

The two Trueblades were swordfighting quite viciously. Both of them sustained a large amount of injuries, but they still persisted, hoping to overcome the other. Mia quickly tried to slash at the brunette, but he dodged, landing a slice at Mia's shoulder. I watched in anticipation, before becoming focused again by an arrow whizzing by his left ear.

When I noticed the assailant, my mind became cloudy. The marksman firing at me was a blonde-haired boy, covered in light blue and white garment. A shoulder pad was on his left shoulder, as he nocked another arrow into his own personal odd bow. He released with elegance, sending an arrow directly between the eyes of a cat laguz. I watched in astonishment; the boy was pretty handsome, and a good fighter as well. However, I quickly put these thoughts out of my mind, as I nocked another arrow into my bow. I fired it at a bearded man wielding an axe, who dodged it by rolling in the water. I had to compliment the Dawn Brigade's skill; they nearly matched the Greil Mercenaries!

I nocked another arrow, trying to aim at another target. I noticed a wolf facing off against a tiger laguz, so I fired. The arrow missed, due to the wolf jumping away.

Suddenly, light, white, magical orbs formed around me, surrounding me with their radiance. I quickly saw the silver-haired girl, whispering the ancient language as the white orbs began to circle. I realized what was happening, and quickly jumped to the side as the orbs came crashing together at my previous location.

After the Purge of light magic, my focus was on the blonde marksman. I couldn't ignore him; no matter how hard I tried. He had my attraction, despite me not even knowing his name!

"Leonardo, aim at that Arch Sage!" I heard Micaiah call out to the blonde archer, as he nocked an arrow. Leonardo aimed at Soren, and released, sending an arrow whizzing at the Arch Sage. The green-robed male quickly jumped to the side, dodging the razor-sharp arrow by a few millimeters. Then, the marksman nocked another arrow to aim at Shinon, who was firing away at Daein soldiers.

I turned towards where Mia and the brunette Trueblade were dueling to see the brunette standing over a fallen Mia with a golden sword at her throat. I had never seen anyone take down Mia. However, he quickly redrew his sword, and put it back in his belt. He offered Mia a hand, which she quickly approved. The two then nodded at each other, before running off to fight other soldiers. I had never seen something like that occur.

Meanwhile, Boyd was clashing with the other axe-wielder that I aimed at before. The two were neck-and-neck, with no one gaining much advantage during the duel. As I rotated my head, something caught my eye. Something black. I turned my head slowly, to see black armor slashing at Laguz left and right. I couldn't believe my eyes; the bladework, the technique…it could only be achieved by one person…

The Black Knight.

I quickly ran away from the black-armored knight to see Oscar dueling with a Silver Knight wearing blue armor. I watched despairingly as I saw a Marshall in orange armor take down Gatrie onto the floor, before seeing the laguz quickly get across. I smirked, knowing that our mission was successful. I saw Ike give the signal to retreat and regroup, while the Daein soldiers retreated as well. I saw Micaiah glimpse at Ike, before turning away with Sothe at her side.

However, Leonardo didn't leave yet. He stared at me, as if studying my face for remembrance, before giving me a small smile. I grinned slightly back, before going with the rest of the Greil Mercenaries. From the corner of my eye, I saw the Trueblade in the red garments motion for Leonardo to follow him. I swear I almost saw him frown, as if he was missing me. I must be dreaming, though. He's the enemy! I can't be falling in love with him…

"I can't believe that Trueblade beat me…he's powerful…" Mia when we were eating around the table. Oscar was silent, lamenting over his unfinished battle with the girl, whose name was Fiona. I had learned the names of the Dawn Brigade over dinner, due to the Greil Mercenaries clashing with all of them. Aran, a Sentinel with black armor, had beaten Nephenee, while Laura, a female Saint, had decimated Rhys. However, Rhys was sickly, so I guess that affected the battle.

Meg had taken out Gatrie for the count, while Edward, the Trueblade with the red garment, had beaten Mia. Jill and Zihark didn't encounter any of us; I don't believe it was by luck though, rather by choice.

The Laguz Alliance was deprived of morale, despite the successful diversion caused by us. They had seen so much bloodshed, and so have I. However, I wasn't thinking about the casualties, or anything of the sort. I was thinking about that blonde-haired marksman, Leonardo. I couldn't get him out of my head, no matter how hard I tried. The way he shot his bow, the way he smiled…ugh, Rolf, pull yourself together! He's the enemy.

"Hey, Leo, why were you eyeing that green-haired marksman?" Edward asked me, when all of us were about to go to sleep. Micaiah, Sothe, Nolan, Aran, Laura, Zihark, Jill, and Tauroneo were already fast asleep. It was just the two of us. I quickly turned to face him, and laughed awkwardly.

"Ahaha…I wasn't…haha... staring!"

"Leo, we're best friends. I can tell when something's troubling you."

"Oh, alright…that green-haired marksman…he's cute…"

"Oh, Leo…you've fallen in love with the enemy, haven't you?"

"I'm afraid to say so."

"Don't be. No matter what, I'm here for you, okay?"

"Thanks, Edward."

"But…I just think you should be careful…"

"Of course."

"Hey, you're not the only one with a crush on the other side."

"Oh, really? Who?"

"That Trueblade from the other side. She's great at bladework…" This surprised me. I never thought that Edward, of all people, would end up falling for Mia, or so Zihark, Jill, Tauroneo, and Sothe told us. I think they told me that the green-haired marksman's name was Rolf.

"But, Leo, remember…we need to help Daein…"

"I know…I just wish we didn't have to fight…"

"Me, too, Leo…" With that thought, we both climbed into our separate beds, but didn't fall asleep yet. I had a lot on my mind, especially considering the amount of battles to come.

AN: Well, that's the first chapter! Rolf seems to have gotten himself a crush on Leonardo, while Edward has the same, except with Mia! The next few chapters will be Rolf-centric, due to the story taking place at the same time as the events in Radiant Dawn. The main pairings will be as follows: Leonardo/Rolf, Edward/Mia, Micaiah/Sothe, Ike/Ranulf, and many others. Don't worry, there'll be slash and regular pairings XD