As the fierce battle raged on around her, Cordelia prayed hard to the gods for the strength to make it out alive. She was currently in a tight spot; she was stuck battling on foot because she had ordered Aurora to flee from the battle with an injured Ricken. Her heart was heavy, because she wasn't sure if he would make it back to safety alive with the injuries that he had sustained.

At the moment, however, she was more concerned about her own odds of survival, for she was stuck hiding behind a large rock, while the risen searched for her. She panted heavily and her heart rate quickened when a couple of risen headed in her direction. She tightened the grip on her lance and readied her self to attack when they got close enough. She hoped that she could take them out without alerting the others.

When one of the risen passed by her hiding spot, she quickly shoved her lance at it and impaled it through the head, killing it instantly. The other one had managed to sneak up behind her, but luckily Cordelia's reflexes were good enough that she was able to turn around in time to block its sword with her lance. She grit her teeth as she struggled to push the risen away, but suddenly the beast let out a screech of pain as a sword was shoved through its chest from behind. As its body fell to the ground and dissolved into purple dust, Cordelia's heart filled with relief as Gregor stood before her.

"Oi! Is Cordelia alright?" he said, ducking behind the rock with her as he placed his hands on her shoulders. He looked her over quickly, his demeanor serious as his eyes were filled with concern.

"Y-yes, I'm okay." she said, nodding slowly. Her eyes then widened as she noticed that he was bleeding from a wound on his side. It didn't look too serious, but it was still fresh and she noticed that he was wincing in pain.

"Gregor! You're hurt!" she said, placing a gentle hand on his chest as she squatted down to examine the wound more closely.

"Eh, it not too bad. It take more than this to stop Gregor." he said, a small smile crossing his face. The smile quickly faded however and was replaced with a grim look as he carefully poked his head out of their hiding spot to survey their surroundings.

"Need to find others. Frederick tell Gregor that fell dragon most likely on its way here." The color drained from Cordelia's face as she listened silently as Gregor spoke. "Gregor will protect his Cordelia. Not matter what." He reached over and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"W-where do we need to go? There are risen everywhere." Cordelia said as she shifted with unease. She looked behind them and saw that they were near a steep hill that led into a forest at the bottom. It didn't look too steep though, so sliding down it would probably not be a problem.

"Maybe we can sneak over and slide down the hill? We could probably escape into the trees." Cordelia suggested as she looked back at Gregor.

"Good idea. We most likely be spotted though. Must be quick." Gregor said, taking a deep breath as he placed a hand over his wound.

"Can you run, Gregor?" Cordelia asked, gulping nervously. Gregor grinned slightly and nodded.

"Hehe, Cordelia underestimates him again. Gregor can run. He be fine." he said, chuckling. Cordelia was not convinced as she frowned.

"Gregor-" she began, but was interrupted as the rock they were hiding behind was hit with a wind spell and broke apart.

"Run! Now!" Gregor yelled as he grabbed Cordelia's hand and they both sprinted towards the top of the hill. Cordelia glanced behind them and saw the risen giving chase, and her eyes widened in fear as she saw archers nocking arrows. They weren't going to make it.

"Sorry, my Cordelia!" she heard Gregor say before he let go of her hand and used all of his strength to shove her forward. Cordelia yelped in surprise as she left her feet and fell over the side of the embankment. She managed to look up in time to see arrows wiz by overhead, before she hit the ground and rolled down the rest of embankment. She groaned in pain and pushed herself up, just in time to see Gregor's limp body slide to a stop a few feet away.

"Gregor!" Cordelia yelled as she scrambled to her feet and ran to his side. She grabbed him and rolled him onto his back, and the blood drained from her face. Arrows were embedded throughout his body; two in his right shoulder, one in his gut, one in his left thigh, and one in the right side of his chest. Gregor's face was contorted in pain, with his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth set in a grimace.

"N-no..." Cordelia choked, tears already spilling down her face. She took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself as she looked up to where they had fallen from. The risen were not there yet, so she had time to get Gregor and herself out of sight before they were found. She quickly looped her arms under his and dragged him with her into the forest. When they were in the safety of the trees, she propped Gregor against a large trunk and looked him over.

Cordelia really hoped that this was all a huge nightmare, because Gregor's condition looked grim. Blood was oozing from where the arrows pierced him, and some was leaking out from the corner of his mouth. She raised a shaky hand and placed it on his cheek; it was cold to the touch.

"Gregor, please..." Cordelia said as she broke down sobbing. She could feel her heart breaking, and every breath she took was like fire in her throat. This couldn't happen to her. She couldn't lose him, not now. They had too much to fight for. She couldn't fight alone. An image of Severa popped into her mind, causing her to sob harder. She didn't want to return to their daughter without him.

"C-Cordelia..." Gregor said weakly as his eyes slowly opened. His breathing was ragged, and he coughed as more blood seeped from his mouth. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out as she choked on her sobs.

"Cordelia...Gregor is so glad you not hurt...So glad..." he breathed, a small smile crossing his pale face. He reached up with a shaky hand and cupped her cheek, wiping some of the tears from her face, but leaving a streak of blood behind.

"Gregor...I-I'll go find help!" Cordelia said as she started to stand up, but Gregor grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"N-no, please stay with Gregor. He...is not long for this world now." he said softly, his own eyes filling with tears.

"Please don't say that! You can't die here!" Cordelia wailed as she reached out and placed her hands on his chest, her hands desperately gripping his shirt. "Please...Please don't leave me...I love you so much...And Severa..."

At the mention of Severa, the tears filling Gregor's eyes finally spilled down his face. "My little Severa...Gregor so sorry he leave her...And his Cordelia." He took a deep, shaky breath and wrapped a hand around Cordelia's back, weakly pulling her closer.

"Gregor need to thank Cordelia, for giving him gift of wonderful and happy life. He was so loved by the most amazing woman in land. He not regret saving her life." He choked out as he coughed up more blood. "Please...promise Gregor you live on and protect our dear daughter, Cordelia. Tell her he sorry he not live to see her grow up..."

"G-Gregor, I..." Cordelia began, but she couldn't continue as she was raked with more sobs. She had so much she wanted to say, but nothing came out, and she didn't have enough time to say it all.

"Cordelia, please do one thing for Gregor." he said softly, running a shaky hand through her hair. "Please, smile for Gregor? Will be a good parting image of this world, he thinks." Cordelia sniffed and took a deep breath. She had no idea if she would be able to smile at a time like this, but she would try. She thought of all the good times they had together, and she forced a small smile to cross her face.

"Ah, thank you. Such a beautiful sight...Gregor so lucky..." he said weakly, offering his own strained smile. "Gregor loves you Cordelia, so much more than words could ever describe. He is so, so sorry."

"I love you too, Gregor. So much." Cordelia said softly as Gregor's hand slowly dropped from her face. He took a strained breath as his eyes slowly shut, and he sighed as the air left his lungs for the last time. Cordelia's heart shattered as she let out an anguished wail. She threw her arms around Gregor's lifeless body and screamed into his chest. Every breath she took felt like fire in her lungs, and she couldn't think of anything other than the fact that the love of her life was gone forever. She didn't know how long she sat embracing the body of her dead husband, but she was only pulled from her sorrowful state when someone shook her violently and screamed her name.

"Cordelia, please snap out of it!"

Cordelia didn't have time to react as someone pulled her away from Gregor's body and slapped her across the face. Stunned into silence, she looked up to find Sumia looking down at her, tears running down her face.

"Su...mi...a..." Cordelia croaked, her voice strained from all of her sobbing. Sumia tried to pull her friend to her feet, but Cordelia would not loosen her grip on Gregor.

"Please, we have to get out of here. My pegasus can't carry us both and Gregor's body." Sumia said softly.

"No! I will not leave him!" Cordelia said angrily, glaring at Sumia as she hugged Gregor's body tighter.

"I will take him!"

The two women turned to see Frederick ride up to them on his horse, a grim expression on his face. He dismounted and hurried over to Cordelia, and he lifted Gregor's body into his arms as Cordelia reluctantly let go. The knight lay the body on his horse beside another, its while robes and blond hair stained dark with blood. Cordelia felt sick when she finally recognized who it was: Libra. If a man totally devoted to the gods was forsaken, what chance did the rest of them have?

"Get to the rendezvous point. I will not let anything happen to Gregor's body, Cordelia." Frederick said, and he quickly urged his horse onward and he disappeared back into the forest. Cordelia suddenly felt very weak and her legs almost gave out, but Sumia managed to catch her in time.

"Oh, Cordelia, I'm so sorry." Sumia whispered, hugging her best friend tightly. Cordelia didn't respond, and instead clung to Sumia for dear life. The little hope that she had been clinging to had quickly diminished. How was she supposed to go on without the one person who gave her the strength to? How would she protect their daughter without him?

"W-We need to go." Sumia said as she grabbed Cordelia's hand and they quickly mounted her pegasus. They flew off to regroup with the survivors, and Cordelia's heart was darkened. Her future was now bleak and empty, and she closed her eyes and tried to think of a way to tell Severa of her father's demise. It would not be an easy task, and shewas not confident that the future would treat them well at all.

I'm too much of a hopeless romantic to write too much angsty stuff like this. Gah, gotta write some mushy fluff to recover now xD