On the attack of Anphony Castle, thieves & bandits took to the villages in the Agustrian forest. Though small, the villagers there felt their lives were indeed fulfilled, and joyful.
That was crushed when their houses were destroyed or pillaged. Mothers, fathers, and children… all killed in an instant. The soulless bandits who live only to instill fear cut down their dreams as quick as the booming thunder after the bright lightning.
Lady Edin of Jungby had gotten word of the bandit's destruction. Her life as a beloved sister of the church told her not to turn away from those in need. Alongside her trusted knight, Mideel, she indeed surveys the aftermath, and lends hands to those who have none.
xxx
"I'm leaving now, Sir Sigurd." Edin, the blonde priestess, with her staff in hand, was well prepared. With a smile upon her face, helping others made her feel like a wonderful person.
"Are you sure this is ok, Edin?" Sigurd, the blue haired Lord of Chalphy, had shown concern over Edin's decision ever since it came to mind. The people in those villages may not be too welcome to any stranger. "I could send along Alec & Noish to protect you in case you are attacked."
Edin put her right hand out to Sigurd. "I must decline. Other then Mideel, I am capable of protecting myself." She showed Sigurd a book with a lighting bolt insignia on it. "Sir Azel of Velthomer has lent me a magic tome, and I have learned how to chant spells from it as of late. I guess..." She looked up to Mideel, on his white horse, with his bow & quiver tied to his back. "...We'll be protecting each other, right, Mideel?"
Mideel looked down upon her. Her determined face always seemed to catch him off guard. Ever since Edin was captured by Verdane's troops, Mideel had always been extra careful to ensure he, nor his lady, had not come to any harm. He'd been training much harder, fighting in the arena more often, but to hear that Edin would be capable of fighting alongside him now...
"Well, if you are to believe in your own strength, then I suppose I can't restrain you from the battlefield, milady." Mideel responded. "But, do be careful."
"Of course. Same to you."
Mideel helped up the priestess onto his horse. "Are we ready, Lady Edin?" Edin pulled the hood of her cleric outfit up above her, and grabbed onto Mideel's waist tightly.
"Yes. Let's go, Mideel."
"As you wish." With the use of his reigns, Mideel commanded the horse to move. It neighed, and shot outward from the castle, heading towards the forest as fast as its legs could carry it.
xxx
In no time at all, the huge amount of trees, and swampy setting had indicated they had arrived.
Mideel departed from its white stallion, and tied its reigns to one of the nearby tree stumps. "The rest of this will have to be on foot, of course." Mideel faced Edin, and held out his arms. Edin then too left the horse, with Mideel catching her.
Though it was a bit of a walk, Edin continued forward, staff in hand. Her will to assist would not be broken. Mideel followed behind her, with his bowstring at the ready, just in case.
When she had reached the nearest village, she could not express her sorrow through any kind of communication.
It was as she imagined, and then some. Bloodied streets, houses burnt to the ground, corpses strewn about in random positions... She had her work cut out for her. No matter how much these visions were deeply ingrained, and each individual occurrence of such things came across her eyes, it was still overwhelming to her heart to see such broken spirits.
Mideel paused at the sight of it as well. All that he could mutter was 'Heartless.' He had not been so accustomed to witnessing such tragedy as much as Lady Edin had.
Edin looked around, nervous at the atmosphere around her. "Where to begin..." she pondered.
Suddenly, she heard the voice of a distressed child. She looked over at the source of it, and saw an unconscious old woman, along with a small chestnut-haired boy, who was struggling to wake her up by any means.
"Come on, mom! You got to wake up! Please!! You got to!" The child, absorbed with grief, was pulling at the woman's tattered, and ruined clothes. She was moaning in great pain.
Edin knew why. Her right leg was complete crimson. It came from a giant gash below her knee. From the looks of it, the shape of the cut resembled the sharp edge of a battle axe.
"Hold on. I'm coming!" Edin called out to the boy. He saw this blonde woman dressed in long white cleric's robes approaching him, and assumed the worst. He scowled at this stranger.
"Do not worry, child. I am here to help." She held out her staff to him. "This will be able to heal your mother's wounds. But I'm going to need you to step away from her."
The expression on the child's face had not changed, as he tugged closer to his mother. "No way! How can I trust you? You're going to hurt Mom with that thing!"
Edin knew that this protest would eventually come, but then the boy looked up to his mother's face. With what little strength she had to endure, she turned her head to his son, and nodded slightly.
"Mom..." It didn't take much after that for the child to move a few feet from the broken woman.
"Thank you." Edin smiled. "I promise, this won't take long." She closed her eyes, as if to be in a state of concentration. The boy looked up at the red bulb of the young lady's staff. It started to glow brighter and brighter, until its color changed to pink. Edin raised the staff upward, and the pink light from it transferred onto the woman's wound. The dark red cut trickling down her leg had started to disappear, as new skin had begun to replace it.
The look of torturous pain was no more. In its place was a grin of happiness. Though she did struggle, the woman was able to stand up, as if she had not been struck at all. She faced the blonde priestess.
"Oh, bless your heart. However can this be repaid?" The woman enquired.
Edin shook her head. "Please, no. This action does not require payment. I do what I can to help others, that's all. Your good health is payment."
The child then resumed his clutching of the mother's brown dress, leading the mother to smile down on him. "Say thanks to the nice lady, dear. She saved your mother's life."
"Thanks." The child quickly, and quietly, replied.
Edin knelt down to the now shy child that once faced her with an angry look. "You're welcome, little one."
xxx
"Lady Edin!!" Mideel called out from the other side of the village.
Edin heard him clearly. "I'm afraid I have to go now."
Edin then rounded one of the houses, and headed over to Mideel's location at a small corner of the village. "What is it?"
Mideel knew what little words he had to describe what was in front of him were not enough to convey the emotion. So he simply just pointed with his finger straight ahead, and he felt that was enough.
Edin looked over to where Mideel was pointing, and what she saw was beyond belief…
It was a little girl, with lime-green hair. Her hands were tied behind her to a post as her mouth was gagged with a red headband. Though Edin had not known why the child's eyes were completely soulless.
"I found her exactly like this." Mideel explained. "But I'm afraid that's not the worst of it. Look behind you."
The second Edin had done so, she immediately wished she had not.
A middle aged man, and a young woman... at least, that's all she could make of it from their heads. The rest of their bodies were hacked up beyond comprehension. The home that they were not far from was fully intact from the outside, but the inside of it showed nothing. Everything that wasn't nailed down was gone. Not a dinner table, nor a small bed in sight.
"How could people do this?" A small tear made its way down Edin's cheek.
"Those monsters!" Mideel's fist was shaking with utter rage. The bandits obviously ransacked the home. The people, the man and woman, whom tried to stop them, paid a heavy price. To add insult to injury, they killed them in front of their own little girl. Looked no older then ten, yet she had now been introduced to the concept of not only death, but being an orphan.
Edin ran over to the bound child, and freed her. The little girl had not moved at all since, suggesting the incident itself has mentally paralyzed her.
"Mideel, take this child." Edin said. Mideel slowly walked over with his head hanging down, hiding his eyes from Lady Edin. Even though they both knew how each other were feeling, Mideel preferred he not display such anger to his lady. He grasped the child, and hugged her into his arms.
"It's going to be ok..." Mideel had told the little girl. That was all he could say. That is all that can be said to someone so young.
Edin then went back to the center of the village, wiping away whatever tears had managed to develop. She saw there was indeed some life to what remained of the village. A few of the people left alive were gossiping between one another. They did not know who these mysterious people were, but they came to a consensus that they indeed came to help, and not harm.
Edin stepped upward onto a ledge of a fountain in the middle of the village, and proclaimed to the people. "Everyone, hear my words."
They had all faced the blonde cleric. Mideel walked outward, with the small girl next to him as she meekly towed herself towards the other villagers.
"I am Lady Edin of Jungby Castle. And this is my loyal soldier. Mideel. We feel that what has happened to you all is completely unforgivable, and must be righted. We have a great strength that fights for those who cannot, such as yourselves. This will be a long journey, but staying the path means retribution for those who have died here. I will fight for you all to ensure a future of what is left of this thriving village. So we merely ask for your support in the coming days and months ahead. However..."
The tears swelling in Edin's eyes were now too much. Nevertheless, she continued on bravely with her words of confidence.
"However, I can not promise to fix." She held her staff across her arms, as if to hug it gently. "Only...to soothe."
The villagers stood there on the cleric's every word. With that, they all scattered about to their respective homes, each returning with different items.
One of the men, an elderly blacksmith no taller then the rest of the people appeared. He came out with a dry piece of ham.
"I know you guys must be stacked up with food, but it never hurts to have a little more, right? I was going to split this between my boy, but those jerks came, and killed him in one swoop. It sure would stink if a pretty lady like you fought on an empty stomach."
He handed the ham over to Edin. Edin bowed in thanks of the kind man.
A young raven-haired woman came over to Mideel, presenting him with a gray bow.
"This bow belonged to my husband. He was a great hunter, and if you were to use that bow in your battles, maybe he can fight alongside you kids in spirit."
Mideel honorably took the bow, pulling back on its bowstring. It was well made, indeed. "Thank you very much, miss." Mideel looked over to Edin, whose eyes were wiped away once more of her crying tears.
Edin looked towards Mideel, and nodded. "I'm afraid our time is short, and we must head back to Agustria. Once again, we greatly appreciate your support."
Edin stepped off the small ledge, and walked back towards the forest, with Mideel and his new bow in check. The villagers all waved them a happy goodbye, grateful for the small charities they had given, and the hope they had left behind.
xxx
"Lady Edin…" She had been staring at the lone piece of ham throughout her journey back to Mideel's horse. "Are you alright?"
"Not really." Edin had a lot of regret in her voice. "Mideel, it's terrible. People like that do not deserve to have their lives torn away like that without warning. It's hideous. Why are there people that do such things? What do they gain?"
"It's reality." Mideel spoke after hearing Edin's words. "There are people of all kinds in this world. Their reasons for such unforgivable acts vary. Perhaps for personal gain, or to make others fear their name, and remember them. I cannot be concrete with you on this, Lady Edin."
"I just don't know. Everything I do as a sister of the church… is it worth it?"
Mideel then started to walk alongside Edin. "Do you doubt your own words, milady?" He said, now facing her, seeing the gloom expression she had.
"What words?" ' What did he mean by that? ' Edin stopped in her tracks, her expression showing her curiosity. Mideel walked up in front of her, and put his free left hand right on her shoulder. Facing her, he quoted her verbatim.
" ' I cannot promise to fix. Only…to soothe.' When you said that, were you not representing your profession as a nun? "
Edin gently took her hand, and removed herself from Mideel's. "Mideel, what are you trying to-"
"I've always believed in your words, Lady Edin." Mideel quickly interrupted her. "You are a kind person, with nothing but devotion towards your people. To me, everything you say is exactly how you feel. When you say that you can help those in need, I truly believe you have the power to do so."
"Mideel, please-" Edin tried to get a word in, but Mideel continued.
"I'm sorry, milady, but I am not finished. When your father, Lord Ring, died, you took the responsibility as the Princess of Jungby without hesitation. It shows how responsible you are. When Verdane attacked us, you were not selfish. You put others before yourself. That shows how caring you are, milady. I know there are times when you may doubt your strengths, but I will always admire your courage and strong will. It is why I have been by your side this long."
Edin's face was showing a slight blush over all these compliments Mideel was suddenly throwing upon her. "There's… there's no need for you to praise me so."
"I would not say it if I did not mean it. Lady Edin, you have the chance to make a difference in what's ahead. I don't ever want you to think otherwise. Don't you see it? Your healing ability gives our troops the will to fight on. There are people here who support you, and wish your beliefs to be a reality. Including me."
Mideel moved towards Edin, and in the scene of the murky forest, and the ruined land, took her in his arms, and embraced her with all his strength. Their faces, mere inches from one another, Mideel moved Edin's hood off from her hair, revealing to him her golden locks of hair, and gave her these words.
"Lady Edin, I promise to stand by your side until my last breath. I love you."
With that, he captured her lips in a kiss. In the mere shock of it all, she had dropped the small ham the villager had given her, but that was quite a minute detail, considering the situation.
They stood like that for a few seconds until Mideel released her. The loyal archer had communicated his love to the one he served without regret. The slight blush Edin gained had now made her entire face pink.
"Mideel, I…" She couldn't complete her statement. The one whom had stood by her as a vassal had confessed to her as a lover. That took her a while to sink in. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath, and replied.
"Thank you. Your words, your devotion, they all mean so much to me. I feel so happy having you by my side, Mideel. Let us ensure the future of this land…" Edin took Mideel's right hand, and looked up at him with a wonderful smile. "…Together."
"No." Mideel smiled back, and put his left hand on top of Edin's. "Not just the future of our land… but our future as well, milady."
With that, they continued back to where Mideel had left his horse. Untying it from the tree stump, Mideel helped Edin up onto the horse, and they both rode back to Agustria, now having more then one purpose to live on, and fight for Lord Sigurd.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
Ok then. That's my first real fic in a long time, and I must say it was a pleasure to write. I myself am an Azel/Edin fanatic, but this kind of fanfic just wouldn't work without Mideel, so I used him instead. I wanted to show the parts of the war that is rarely focused on… the people. The one caught up in the middle of the conflict.
Writing Edin is not similar to writing the other blonde cleric in the series, Natasha. Natasha spent the game pondering the inner workings of the war up to the final battle. Edin doesn't seem like the type to do that. I'd say her type would be more concerned with the casualties of the war rather then the war itself. And that's how I wrote in her character for this entire fanfic. Edin's an absolute pleasure of a character to write due to her devotion, and kind nature. She's hands down my favorite FE4 character.
Anyway, what I'm looking for in your posts are criticism. I don't just want to know it's good and/or bad; I want to know why it's good and/or bad. I'm very rusty, and I'm sure I've made several mistakes along the way.
But most of all, just review, please. It's very appreciative.