It was warm that day. The gentile clouds lazily passing over head, pushed by the subtle breeze sweeping over Crimea. If you were out in the open, you could see the lush green forest surrounding the trail forged out of countless wheels, feet and hooves passing over for years. Yale wasn't in the sun. The tall figure stayed in the concealing shadows of the brush. The only ray of sunlight hitting his face was the small amount strong enough to pass through the layers of leaves hung over head. He wasn't there because he hated the sun; he would have loved to be out in the open, soaking in the warmth of the sweet spring air and not concealed by the itchy brush he squatted behind. But he had to be hidden, out in sun he could be seen and right now Yale needed to be invisible to any soldiers that could come out of the crumbling castle. It was only way he could find her.

Yale clenched the handle of his axe until his course knuckles turned white and his palms began to sweat, thinking about how foolish he had been. He knew Daein soldiers were in the area; but, instead of going to a port where the army had yet to invade, they'd taken the quickest route, one that was bound to have troops stationed there. It wasn't a bad idea to be honest, just risky. From the information he had gathered they were still allowing ships to sail in and out if the humble port town. They, of course, checked every ship for Crimean refugee soldiers, but he knew it wouldn't be impossible to grab a one heading towards Begnion. It would have went well if he had argued a little harder with Gwen about getting rid of their weapons to avoid suspicion, but he knew it was a lost cause. The mage had always felt safer carrying her tome and he had to admit, though the he was decent in a fist fight, the fighter was better at protecting them both with his axe. Regardless, he knew they should try to sell them, even in their deteriorating condition there was always a buyer and they could use the money; but they didn't sell them. Both strolled into the town with his axe strapped to his back and Gwen's tome within reach on her belt, her head held high while Yale's was just the opposite.

He was shocked at how far they were able to go in to town, and for a split second, he believed that his fear was merely paranoia. That belief stopped however when a pompous man with his head held higher than Gwen's, and dressed in the typical Daein onyx armor, stepped in front of their path. He halted them to a stop with a palm facing the duo as the other hand clenched a well sharpened javelin. He couldn't remember exactly what he had told them, it was something along the lines of "In the name of our king, Ashnard, I demand that you drop your weapons."

Yale was more than happy to oblige, but Gwen wasn't. The mage had mouthed off to the soldier as Yale tried to tell her to shut up; wanting to convince the soldier that they were only there to sell the weapons. They might have gotten away with a slap on the wrist if Gwen hadn't reached for her tome. That's when a soldier, that had been hidden nearby, stepped up to hook his arm tightly around Gwen's neck and yank the book out of her hand to arrest her. All sense of reasoning disappeared as Yale's instincts kicked in when he saw the Daein start to strangle Gwen. Without even thinking of the consequences, the fighter pulled the soldier off the young mage and slammed his fist into the man's jaw, causing all hell to break loose as the bone snapped under his knuckles. As the man fell to the ground, Yale quickly took hold of Gwen's arm and ran past the hurt soldier and on looking civilians as he pushed forword into the line of tall trees surrounding half of the port town. When they were far enough for a breather he decided to make a mistake that would haunt him for years. He told Gwen to run in the other direction, towards the path they had taken earlier that day, and to hide under a wooden bridge they had passed until Yale had lost the soldiers. It probably would have somewhat worked, even if he was caught she would still be safe, if only someone hadn't of seen them split up. That's the only explanation for how they knew they were not together, whether it was another soldier or even a civilian he didn't know, all he did know was that after he had ran off, they took her instead.

Gwen had always been faster than Yale; even with walking she always seemed to end up in front of him, which was bad considering her weapon of choice. She should always be behind him or at least by his side, but no. Despite her short stature, the mage had always managed to take long steps. So when Gwen sprinted off, Yale knew she was far away from where he was. That's why he didn't make it in time when he heard her scream his name. The fighter's heart still sank every time he thought about how desperate and scared her voice sounded as she was attacked. Yale had hardly ever heard her become scared before or even looked remotely terrified. Now that he knew what it really sounded like, he never wanted to hear that sound again, and it pained him when her scream echoed in his nightmares. By the time he ran to the source of her cry it was too late. All that was left for him to find was her emptied satchel and cloak scattered across the dirt path. The scene made him sick, but what caused his stomach coil in knots and set his blood to boil to the point that he could slaughter a thousand Daein troops, was a puddle of blood soaking into the rough wool of the teal cloak. With rage fueling him, Yale took Gwen's discarded belongings before he followed the path back into the village as the sun began to set over the vengeful fighter.

That night, Yale waited outside a tavern for a drunken Daein to stagger out of the building. It didn't take long for one to stumble out of the warm atmosphere of the crowded tavern and into the cool late fall air, mumbling incoherent slurred phrases. When he passed the dark alley Yale pulled the black armored man into the shadows and held the blade of his dagger to the man's neck. It was amusing to see how the feeling of the cold metal on the man's neck could sober him up enough to snap back into reality, which was exactly what Yale needed. The soldier had told him that Gwen was alive and was taken to a prison, but he didn't know which one and only gave him the name of a few. Yale thanked the soldier and then snapped his neck. He didn't do it to cover his track, Yale killed him only out of his new found hatred for Daein; though, it did help that he recognized the voice to be the man with the javelin. Back then he was the man responsible for taking Gwen away; now, Yale no longer blamed the him for Gwen's arrest but he'd be lying if he said it didn't feel good to have the soldier's body jerk and then go limp after the bone snapped under his hands. That was not his only victim that night. Several other Daeins walked out that building or strolled by in patrol were pulled into the dark alley. Each one either had their neck snapped or slashed open. He may regret it later in life, but that was doubtful. He never did before and he didn't stuck around but he was sure that the villagers would be punished for his actions.

After that night, he began his search for her, and after two months, countless dead Daein troops and five prisons, he came to his last lead. If Gwen wasn't here then he didn't know where else to look. Nearly every single guard now only seemed to tell him the names of prisons he had already investigated, and he doubted that they would take her to a place so far off from where they had captured her. If Canteus was a no go, Yale didn't know what he would do. He dreaded the thought of her being forever lost to him, but he also feared of what he would find of she was there. She wouldn't be the same, that was for certain; but Goddess, he hoped she was alive. Seeing the teenager dead would no doubt drive Yale further into madness; but if she was alive, Yale was sure that something had to have happen while she was in there. The fighter just knew it and he feared what it was and how it would change her usual carefree cheerful demeanor. He had sheltered Gwen since forever, leaving her to know only small hardships such as missing a few meals, working long summer days for very little reward or huddling around a fire to keep warm in the harsh winters; even a few close calls with bandits, but nothing like torture or imprisonment.

Gwen needed to be there with her sanity intact and every hour that he waited, crouched down in a patch of dirt behind that itchy and smelly shrub, felt like an eternity. He had to be patient thought, this was how it always was with the others. Hidden there full of regret until a guard would wander outside for him to capture. Once in a while more than one would come out, leading to more dead soldiers, not that he minded that; the only issue was taking them down without causing alarm to the rest. The only really good thing that came out of that was training what little stealth he had. He would need all of it if he was to ever sneak into the prison she was in. Yale could be stealthy, but no that stealthy. The dagger he had helped a lot but he was far more comfortable with his axe leading to the possible choice of going berserk and just charging the place, but that would be stupid. Yale may have had the help of surprising with the others, but there was no way he could fight an army of fully trained soldiers. Yale couldn't even remember the last time he had a decent lesson in combat. His only option would be to sneak into the dank prison and try to attempt to get Gwen out without anyone noticing; but the changes of that option where zero. They could just dart for the door if she was in good enough health but that was also doubtful. Yale would never know if he needed to do that though, not until a guard came out; but that would never happened.

Yale's dark narrow eyes shot open wide at a noise he didn't expect to hear. An alarming sound of people speaking over the creaking noise of wheels bumping over rocks. He peeked up from the shrub and watched as a relatively large group wandered towards the castle with a great deal of shock on his face.

"What in the hell are they doing here?" He asked to no one but himself. Did they plan on breaking out the prisoners or were they unaware of the castles new purposes? If it was the later than they were in for a big surprise. Part of him wanted to try and warn them; but how would he do that? Stroll right up to them? What if they were Daeins themselves, then what? He didn't know. Socializing was never Yale strong point. He stood up slowly, still debating on what to do. The possibility of just yelling at them came to mind but as soon as he was up completely he quickly slammed back down into the dirt below him, cursing under his breath. Why are there members of the beast tribe outside of Gallia? Yes, he was close to the border, but still not close enough to catch a glimpse of a beast, let alone three. They could just be more prisoners; though, if they were prisoners they'd either be in chained, in cages, half dead. There was no way would they be completely free to move as they pleased. As he thought about it more, Yale remembered that the people of Crimea hated them almost just as much as the Daeins, so it could be an attempted barter, trade out a loved one for a Gallian. Yale thought about possibly joining them in doing that but decided against it, Gwen would never forgive him and Yale doubt that he had the courage to take on one of the beasts.

Getting back into a crouched position, Yale watched as the majority of the group started gathering up weapons from one of the carts while the light blue beast started to talk to a young man with blue hair clad in a red cape and two women, one in red holding the reins of a white horse and the other wearing a regal orange dress. Combining the orange clad woman, the two kids getting prepared to fight and the Gallian beasts, they were an odd looking group. But he was now certain of their mission, storm the castle, and now he would like nothing more than to join them. With their help, he could possibly find the girl who was hopefully in there waiting for him. The only thing stopping him from approaching the group were the damn beasts.

He had ran into their kind before when both he and Gwen were hired, along with another group of mercenaries, to protect a farmers cows from a few beast that were taking them. Yale had never seen them in this form before though, even at ten yards away he could make out their ears and tail sending a shiver down his spine. Just like the last time, he was getting an uneasy feeling from them, making him struggled with his decision to stay put and wait for them to bring the prisoners out, or to walk up and join them. He would have stayed like that until just the very last moment, but his inner turmoil was interrupted by the feeling of cold well sharpened steel pressing up against the nap of his neck. No doubt about it, that feeling really could snap a person back to reality in a matter of seconds.

Yale swore under his breath. He had been too busy looking at the beast that he didn't even think that they might send out scouts.

"Drop your weapon, please." a voice commanded in a tone that took him by surprise, it was if he had been asked to pass the salt. Yale, of course, obliged. There was no point in him taking on a group that big, nor did he have any desire to attack kids. So, Yale painfully loosened his death grip on the axe, not even realizing how tightly be had been holding it until he felt his hand ache, as a large hand reached out and quickly picked up the discarded weapon before taking away Yale's sack full of what little belongings he and Gwen had. As the hand took hold of Gwen's cloak, his own hand flinched out, trying to get it back.

"Stand up with your hands behind your head." the owner of the hand commanded in a sterner voice, noticing the fighter's movement. Yale retreated his and as he followed the instructions. It didn't surprise him that there was two, scouting alone wouldn't be the smartest idea. Then again, was it really smart for them to storm a castle?

"Are there any more weapons?" the calmer voice questioned.

"I have a dagger in my right boot." Yale replied as he stood up with his fingers now laced behind his head. There was a long pause after that and he began to wonder if they wanted the fighter to retrieve the dagger himself, but that would be weird, wouldn't it?

"Well."

"'Well, what?"

"Well, go get it."

"Get what?"

"The dagger." the other man made a groaning noise beside the fighter.

"The hell do I have to be the one digging through his sweaty boot?"

"Because I'm the one holding the lance to his neck."

There was a pause and he was tempted to turn to face them, but was stopped when he felt the hand slide into his boot for a split second before retrieving the dagger.

"There, I got it." He stated with annoyance, "Now can we go? I don't want to miss the fight."

"You shouldn't be so eager to fight." Yale felt the man remove the blade from his neck and gently pushed him forward with the staff of the weapon, forcing him to start towards their group.

"You're starting to sound like Titania." he grumble under his breath.

"That's because she's usually right."

"And you are?"

"More than you." before his capture could make any sort of comeback a voice called out as they closed the distance between the forest and the small army.

"That was surprisingly fast." the woman holding the white horse's reins spoke. Yale was quick to notice that her calling out to them took the attention away from whatever conversation she was holding to and directed towards him. Their piercing staring made his hand clench tight against his scalp as his nerves started to run on high speed.

"We'll it helps that we knew his exact location. Thank you Ranulf, you saved us a lot of trouble with that." he heard the voice add from behind him.

The light blue haired beast smirked, showing off deadly canines that made Yale's stomach sink. "Well, he wasn't exactly quiet. Nor is he the happiest person, is he? That's quite the scary look you got there."

"He's just probably pissed because of how easy it was to capture him." boasted the loud one, who was now standing beside the equally young man with the cape. Yale found that, who in closer view, he looked a younger then himself, but with the same built of muscle.

"Seriously, you wouldn't believe it, Ike. He should have at least given it some fight." The green haired fighter looked at him, smirking, "It was like you wanted to get captured." Yale felt anger as he saw the fighter's cocky green eyes narrow in silent accusation as his voice trailed off.

"I'm not the enemy." Yale had said, a little too harshly. He was sure it made him look even more suspicious, but he didn't want to be compared to scum like the Daein soldiers.

"Then why were you spying on us?" Ike, inquired. His blue eyes looking him over while his hand rested on the handle of the sword hung on his hip.

"I wasn't spying on you."

"Yea, because crouching down and hiding while staring at us without us knowing, definitely isn't spying." the fighter commented sarcastically.

Yale narrowed his eyes at the sarcasm. "I was waiting for a guard to come out." he wasn't surprised to see them gave a skeptical look.

"Why?" Yale quickly spun around the face the voice behind him; he had forgotten about the knight, but he no longer had a lance to his throat, which he assumed was a step towards trust. The man the same height as him with squinted eyes on a calm face, he was beginning to think he and the louder one were brothers; they did look a little alike with their almost matching green hair. Yale sighed. Might as well tell them, maybe then they would let me join them, he thought.

"A couple months ago, Daein soldiers took someone very close to me." Yale lowered his arms from his head and looked up at the castle's crumbling walls. "From what I have gathered, she might be here, if not then...then I don't know what I'm going to do if I can't find another prison."

"There are more prisons?" Yale looked over at the woman in orange and watched as her elegant features twist into sorrow. Frowning, he slowly nodded his head in reply at the young woman.

"I've only visited the ones that a few Daein soldiers have told me about," he jerked his head at the prison "this will be my fifth try and, so far as I know, I think I might have checked all of the ones surrounding the Capital."

"That's so sweet." Yale jumped at the unexpected sound of a young girl's voice.

He turned and looked down at one of the two kids he saw getting ready to attack, smiling up at him, her bright blue eyes shinning in delight as she clutched her hands to her chest.

"Um, Mist?" Ike stepped towards the young girl, but she startled him by spinning towards him, yelling for him to help Yale with determination in her voice.

"How many chances are we going to get to help someone have a happy ending in this war?" before the boy being question could answer, she spun back around to Yale, who was already confused by what she meant when she said 'happy ending'.

"What's your name?" she asked looking up at him, ignoring the negative ora he gave off.

"Ah, Yale?" he answered nervously looking down at the young girl.

"Don't worry Yale; we'll help you find your girlfriend, right Ike?"

"Girlfriend? Wait, we're not-" Yale held up his hands in defense, wanted to explain their relationship as he was cut off by whom he was beginning to assume was the leader of this group.

"Titania what do you think?" Ike asked the woman in red standing next to him.

She watched the fighter with a soft smile as his scowling face began to heat up from the deep blush, which no one seemed to notice or care.

"You're the commander, it's your decision; but, I do think we could use the help."

Ike nodded as he turned to the fighter, unfazed by his blush. "I know you were probably planning a more indirect approach, but would you be willing to join us?"

"I...I Would, but-"

"Good. I need Boyd, Oscar, Mordecai and Rhys to stay behind and watch over Princess Elincia and the merchants. The rest of you, come with me." Ike commanded waving an arm towards the entrance to the castle. The oldest did as he was commanded and started to walk back to the wagon leading his grumbling brother, a large Gallian and a worried stricken woman, who was a Princess? Did he really hear that? Maybe the better question right now was if they were really just going to waltz right in.

Shockingly, they were; and Yale watched in disbelief as nine of them casually walked into the castle after their commander. Yale hesitated, but soon followed their actions only to stall at the entrance due to the Gallian named Ranulf. Yale froze in place as he looked him up and down with violet and teal eyes; a small smirking was painted on his lip allowing a deadly canine to show, Yale didn't think his stomach could twist any tighter. The beast then shook his head with a chuckle and walked inside, motioning him to follow them under the raised gates as Yale's nerves shot off again, now with bits of anger.

"Gwen, I swear to the Goddess you better be in here." he mumbled under his breath as he entered Castle Canteus.

Honesty is the best policy, so I you have any suggestions or critics please either comment or message me, I am crap when it comes to grammar and rely on spellcheck a lot for my spelling. This is my first time really putting a lot of effort into a story and it took a lot of courage to post it. I hope you will enjoy future chapters, just a for warning I am a college student who is taken a lot of classes and I'm also going to be playing the game while I write this on a tougher setting so I may be late in putting out a chapter simply because I haven't beaten the level yet. Wish me luck and I hope you enjoy the story, thank you.