A/N: Did this during calc class. It stared with just Eirika, Ephraim, and Lyon, but I couldn't resist throwing Seth in there too. I feel like his presence is necessary. The fandom (myself included) sometimes turns him into an angsty lovestruck knight, but here I tried to show that's he's still a general too. There are some scenes in the game where despite the fact that he may be in love with Eirika, he says some pretty direct and hard truth when it comes to battle.

So anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!

Words: 559
Characters: Eirika, Lyon, Ephraim, Seth
Time: End of the first part of the endgame
Genre: Angst

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Nintendo, not me.

Her sword plunged deep into the flesh of the living corpse before her. She felt brittle bones breaking, cold thick blood clinging to her arms; she heard a breathless gasp of pain. The violent light in Lyon's eyes disappeared as she ripped her blade free. He crumpled, no longer dead, but dying.

Her legs shook too much for her to remain standing. Falling to her knees, she cradled his head in her bloodied arms. A hand rested on her shoulder. She didn't look, but she knew it was Ephraim's.

"I did it, Lyon. I kept my promise."

Lyon's fingers twitched, like he wanted to move them. He stared at her face, nothing else, his gaze clear and sad. The blood that trickled from his mouth was already brown and dry.

"Thank you, Eirika…"

Tears fell onto cold skin and empty eyes. Lyon moved no more, and Eirika clung to his vacated body. Her brother's hands wiped her cheeks dry, and she leaned into him, breathing deep.

"I killed him."

"No," said Ephraim. He closed Lyon's eyes with a steady hand. "You set him free."

She would have given the world to never have to leave this spot. To stay with Lyon and Ephraim forever, as if by clutching the dead boy's hand tight enough, by crying hard enough, she could beg him back to life. It was Seth's voice, soft but decided, that made her blink and look up.

"It is not over yet, Princess."

Her knight, his sword still drawn, his armor streaked with dark blood. He was her rock, her constant companion, but this time his sympathy for her was overpowered by the task that lay ahead. At first, her insides raged. How could he stand there and talk of the future, when Lyon was dead? How could he look at her like that, speaking of duty, when her friend was gone? All she wanted to do was close her eyes and wish hard enough that when she opened them, everything would be different.

General Seth did not look away. His face was impassive and his gaze unflinching as he waited for her to rise. "The time for grief is not now," he said. "The world is counting on you."

He's right. You know he's right.

Slowly, one finger at a time, Eirika let go of Lyon's hand. Ephraim helped her to her feet. There were words she should say, words of blessing and purification, but she could not bring them to her lips. With conscious effort, she forced each of her limbs in turn to stop shaking – first her legs, then her arms; only then could she grasp the hilt of Renais's treasured blade once more. Eirika faced the Silver Knight and nodded, forcing her grief into a cold and quiet corner of her heart.

As she walked past him, she felt his hand grasp hers. The Silver Knight, Renais's finest general, shouted quick, clear orders to the group, but it was Seth that held her hand, her Seth.

"Let's go, Princess," he said at last, with a slight squeeze of her fingers.

With Seth on one side, Ephraim on the other, Eirika nodded. She held her head high and did not look back as she took the first step toward their only chance at freedom.