A/N: A short piece I wrote a while back and just uncovered recently. I remember being in the mood to type something kind of gory and battle-related... and I remember this being the result of that mood.

It was rare for her to be seen with a sword.

And even rarer that she would have it outside of its sheath.

But now… its perfect silver shape and form was coated red as blood dripped down from the tip to spill across the handle and stain her fingers; her white gloves almost no longer noticeable underneath the new crimson color. Her pure white armor and matching tunic were equally stained with spatters that resulted from the brutal acts of her blade. The sheer, baby-blue decorative cape that once trailed beautifully behind her had been ripped off a long time before and was lost somewhere underneath the feet of the battling soldiers. She didn't care much for it for now… if she wanted to get another one, it would be no problem but it was the least of her worries.

Tightening her grip on Amiti, it felt like her body was moving in sync with the blade as she tore its steel body through more flesh. It was sickening. She didn't want to be here killing but it felt like all other options were empty. If she wanted to live than she would have to shed blood now and pray for forgiveness later.

"Ike!"

She could barely see the Commander's form in the rush of soldiers around her but she continued to work herself towards the last location she spotted him at. He had to be somewhere close by… Goddess help her, he had to be.

And just like that, she could hear the harsh cry of blades colliding before the sound of him screaming chilled the back of her heart. She pushed herself to run faster despite her growing fatigue; she made herself get rid of those in her way despite her hatred for battle. If he was hurt, Goddess help her she would make those involved pay for it.

A small break in the soldiers around provided her with just enough of his image to work herself towards him. Her slender, agile body easily worked and slipped its way through single battles before she found herself just a few yards from him.

His form had been knocked to the ground and she could see him struggling to get back up; his red cape concealed any possible injuries but the massive rip in it suggested he had been struck by a sword at least one. And like that, she felt a stronger determination fuel her journey as she set her aim on the soldier who had placed the tip of his sword against the Commander's back. She wasn't one for violence or even hate for that matter... she had promised to lead Crimea away from wars and yet found herself being drawn back in through the strong crimson tide that splashed at her borders. With the collision of Begnion on one side and the rest of Tellius on the other... there was no remaining choice for her. But with Lord Ike, he made it seem okay; he told her she was only doing what was necessary, he promised to keep her out of the battles but for this one time, she couldn't let him keep it.

Repositioning her grip on Amiti once more, she pulled the sword out to her side before she put her entire body behind the massive swing that followed afterwards.

The soldier before her went down in a mist of red as she found the break in his armor rather quickly and spilled open the soft area just before his ribcage. It was sickening chorus of sounds as the blade peeled apart flesh and muscle patches to just barely skim the sensitive organs that were protected inside. The former man went down without another sound, his armor clattering as it made a harsh collision with the ground below... his blood-stained sword sprawled out just a few inches from his dying fingertips.

It had to be done.

She tried to keep telling herself that.

Ashera, forgive me...

"Ike…" his name felt as though it barely left her lips as she knelt down at his side. When her golden eyes spotted the growing amount of blood that dripped to the ground beneath him, she swore her heart stopped once more. "Lord Ike… please answer me…"

He groaned lightly and slowly pushed himself up from where he had been placing most of his pressure against his right arm. He thought he had heard her voice before but he told himself that he was hearing things, that she would know better than to storm across the battlefield like this. There was no doubt that he was wrong this time though. "Elincia… what are you doing this far into the battlefield? You're supposed to be with Lucia and Geoffrey."

He had his reasonings for questioning her... but they were soundless to her given the situation. "If I was with them than no one would be here to protect you." she spoke.

There was no way he could argue with her...

If she hadn't gotten here when she did, he would be in a far worse condition. He had let his guard down too quickly and let his confidence get too far ahead of him... he supposed in a way he deserved that last hit; he deserved to be knocked down like that. There was a feeling that the entire tide of this war would have changed had his death been signed right here and now; he couldn't even imagine what would have happened after that...

"And for that, I am in your debt." he replied as he tried to force himself into a more suitable position; that last strike had hit him hard enough to throw his body out of balance and place it in semi-shock, there were some doubts that his legs would be able to support him but he had to convince himself that they would. Warm blood rushed between his fingers as he kept one hand tightly pressed against the left portion of his face, trying to cover just one of many wounds he had managed to earn from his stupidity. "But the battlefield is no place for a Queen."

She watched as he slowly forced himself to stand despite the slight shaking in his limbs and the dripping mess of blood that ran down the front of his body; his uniform was discolored and torn as several hits had managed to damage his flesh and muscle underneath. Her mind couldn't exactly get a grasp on what kind of pain he might've been in... her strength was nothing compared to some of the rivaling soldiers around them, she was convinced she had just gotten lucky with the few deaths that her blade had garnered. "It wasn't a place for a Princess either… but I was still in it."

"I can't guarantee that I can protect you again, Elincia… and if I can't fulfill that promise, then I will try by all means to avoid a situation that would dictate that." he remarked as he slowly removed his hand only to look at the overwhelming stain of blood that had collected in his palm. "Stay by my side… please."

She tried not to worry herself on his injuries as she pushed herself to her feet; her eyes looked down to the bloodied sword in her hand before she turned back to him. "I believe it's time that you stayed by my side, Sir Ike."

His eyes settled on her for a moment, taking note of the new look of determination that stuck to her expression; it took a few short seconds to get used to it before he allowed for a soft chuckle to pass through his bloodied lips. "As you wish, my Queen."

Once the blood had been cleaned away, only a crude, pulsing gash was left behind.

The left side of his face had been massively split in a heavy handed slash that tore from his forehead down to his jawline; the sharp sided blade had ripped the flesh apart with such precision and yet still managed to leave behind a ragged cut. His eyelid had been split down the middle and it was a wonder of how he managed to get out with his eye still mostly intact; the healers had done what they could but couldn't promise picture perfect results... the most they could give was that he would maintain at least sixty perfect of his vision in that eye.

It left a horrifying, blood-red scar when it had finally been healed but… in some odd way, she kind of liked it.

Standing in the opening to his tent, she watched as he kept to his cot and seemed to be trying to fight himself to keep awake; a losing battle it would seem. His broad chest had been tightly wrapped in white bandages to keep his other wounds from becoming irritated at any given movement. She didn't know the full extent of his other wounds but after overhearing what some of the healers had to say, the bandages seemed necessary enough. Even though the deep cuts and even the minor impalement wound had been healed, the scar tissue left behind in the wake was deemed almost just as painful as the injury it replaced. "It could've been a lot worse, you know..."

He snapped himself awake at the sudden voice before his still blurred vision managed to pick her out of the mess of colors and shapes around him. There was another light chuckle that escaped him as he found no surprise at her late night visit before fingertips moved to touch carefully at the scar once more. "You're not the first person to say those words to me... but honestly, I always wanted a scar like this. Some kind of grotesque, terrifying piece that could scare a small child if it wanted to."

She could tell he was trying to lighten up the mood and she appreciated the motive, but in some way, she believed those words just the same. It sounded like something he would say truthfully after all. And she could play into his game. "I suppose it's a necessity for every great Commander to have a massive scar of battle."

"I don't see why not. You should tell Geoffrey to get a head start on his."

"Oh, I'll be sure to rely that message to him as soon as I can." she humored before she pushed herself those last few steps into his tent; allowing for the loose flap of thick material that served as the door to slowly fall back closed behind her. Fingers lightly tucked aside her green locks as she made the short distance over to his bedside. "Although I'm not too sure how Lucia would handle it; I have a feeling that she would probably hate it."

A light shrug moved from his shoulders. "You never know." he offered, dropping his hand back to where it had been resting against his still throbbing abdomen. A part of him would have preferred to keep the wound over having to deal with the agonizing scar tissue that stretched and irritated his flesh. "Although Mist and Titania already despise it- Mist is pretty set on her opinion that I'll never find a girl who would want to deal with it. Boyd and Gatrie seem to like it though, they mentioned something about it adding ruggedness to my character; which is apparently something I needed at a time like this."

It was her turn to allow for a soft chuckle to pass through as she found an open portion of his bedside to settle herself on. There was no doubt that his sister could easily express her disgust at it, and seeing as Titania usually served as the mother figure for the Mercenaries, she would share those same concerns without hesitation. Just the same though, they both knew how lucky he was to have escaped with just those wounds. "Well I'm not too sure on any of those opinions but I suppose they have their reasons for them."

"What about you? What do you think of it?"

Humming lightly, she inched herself a little closer to him and gently touched bare fingertips against the knotted scar tissue that had hardened over his skin. The largest collection of tissue was just over the curve of his forehead where the full force of the strike took place; she followed twisted matter down along his eyelid and then to where it shifted over slightly to tear the corner of his lips open; fingertips lightly finished where it left the curve of his chin before she moved to cup her hands over his jawline. "It's hideous but… I like it. As I said before, it could've been worse and at least you still have your eye, so a little scar isn't going to hinder you."

He gave a small nod at her answer before he brought his hands up to cover her own; they were much smaller than his own, which made it that much easier to hide them completely underneath his touch. "As nice as you've been with your honesty… I think it's only far that I share my own words of truth. The color red does not look good on you and I don't think I ever want to see it on you again."

"It's not like I liked it either." she softly defended.

"I didn't say you did… you just surprised me that's all." he assured, trying not to let the slightest downturn on the corner of her lips go any deeper. "But where on Tellius did you learn to swing a sword like that?"

"Well I had to be taught how to defend myself should I rise to the throne." she started. "It wasn't easy and I didn't like it, but Lucia taught me how to wield a blade and how to use it in battle should it become necessary."

"And you saw that it was necessary?"

She pulled away from his touch for a moment, unsure if she should continue the slight frown that toyed on her lips. "Your life was on the line, Lord Ike. It was, without a doubt, necessary of me to push aside my opinions on violence and bring those skills into light. However, do not expect me to use them again anytime soon. I will be expecting you to be ready to defend yourself indefinitely in battle from now on."

It was the light sense of authority in her tone that convinced him easily enough. He gave into a short smile before he reached forward and lightly cupped her chin in one hand; using little effort to pull her back in towards him. "Do not worry about me, your Majesty..."

"If I did that, I would have a lot more free time on my hands, now wouldn't I?" she toyed, giving into the subtle heat that passed from his lips to her own.

Even if he didn't have the possible sixty percent chance of vision in his eye, she was certain he would see her just as clearly as he had before. It was the soft lean inward that touched her forehead against his own and moved his lips to balance on hers; sharing more of that subtle, late night heat that could only be controlled by the pick up in her heart as it nearly rattled itself free in her chest.

"Hey, is the Commander in here? Nah, all I see is some huge, disfiguring scar."

A separate voice calling just a few feet outside forced them apart and gave them little time to spare as the tent flap was pulled open to reveal the owner of the voice. There was no sense of surprise that the two men he had briefly mentioned before had taken it upon themselves to show up at this time. The dark-green haired Warrior had been his on-again, off-again friend for years now, he certainly wouldn't miss an open opportunity like this to tease him- which had been proven with his slight introduction.

"Ohh never mind, Queen Elincia's in here too… Hey Queen Elincia."

She chuckled and turned back to see the two figures who had stepped inside and stopped immediately after noticing her presence. Fingers carefully moved to brush aside another stray lock of hair before she tucked it behind one ear and passed off a welcoming smile to the two of them."Good evening to you too, Sir Boyd and you as well, Sir Gatrie."

"You want us to give you two some alone time?" the blonde-haired Marshall remarked. She had to admit, the man did look a little odd without the layers of armor plaguing him... if anything, he almost didn't seem like the same fighter; he looked just like any other civilian, which in a time like this, was odd to imagine.

"No, it's quite alright. I should be returning to my own guards before Lucia comes looking for me again." Elincia replied as she carefully pushed herself to her feet, hands lightly brushing the soft wrinkles from her uniform. "I'm sure Sir Ike would enjoy your company just as well as mine."

"I'd like to deny that statement." Ike commented, catching the light grin that toyed with her lips before she eventually turned away.

"Good night Sir Boyd, Sir Gatrie... and I hope you sleep well, Lord Ike."