One night, I was typing a chapter for one of my stories. All of a sudden, a very nice looking plot bunny came up. I said hello and gave it a thought carrot. Then it bit me rather viciously, and suddenly I received the idea for this story. My angst muse decided to give me a shove in what she deemed to be the right direction, and so I found myself typing this up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones.

Seth was well aware of how harsh his breathing sounded. He was well aware of the blood tricking down his side. And he was well aware of the danger that his charge, the Princess of Renais, was currently in.

"Seth…your wound…you really must-"

"I'm sorry, Princess, but I cannot allow my well-being to stand in the way of your safety."

"But-"

"I have sworn to protect you with my life, Princess. I will not fail your father."

"If you must…" Eirika gave a small sigh. If only Seth wouldn't be so stubborn…

The horse carrying its two bone-weary passengers plodded on through the growing darkness.

Suddenly, there was the twang of a bowstring. Instinctively, Seth pushed Eirika down, causing the feathered bolt to plunge into his left shoulder. He let out a hiss of pain. Reaching slowly towards his left shoulder, the Silver Knight steeled himself, and then yanked the arrow out with all his might. Eirika flinched when his already pale face blanched even more.

"Seth- we really must stop. At this rate, you are going to-"

"Princess- I know my duty. I cannot stray from it," Seth forced out amidst gritted teeth.

"Seth…" Eirika whispered.

Another hiss from the invisible bow. This time, it passed barely over their heads into the shadowy distance. This time, however, a voice came with it.

"You IDIOTS! I told you to hit their HORSE! I want those two alive!"

"Valter..!" Eirika gasped, "He's catching up!"

"We need to go faster," murmured Seth. He pushed the horse into a gallop. A sharp pain seared through his head.

"Ugh…!"

"Seth! Are you…?" Eirika looked in concern.

"I'm…" Seth's vision clouded. He fought to stay conscious, even for one more minute. I…must…insure…her…safety…It was draining him to keep the fog that threatened to overcome him. His awareness was quickly fading.

"Seth- we need to-" Eirika was interrupted when another arrow streaked by.

"Come now, Princess Eirika, give up now and spare us all the further trouble. Your escort looks as if he's about to faint." General Valter's mocking voice boomed out through the canyon, spitting out her title scornfully.

"Never, Valter- I will never give up. You will not accomplish what you want, General." Eirika retorted.

"Princess…no…don't…" Eirika suddenly remembered Seth at the sound of his faint voice. She spun around in the saddle to find the Silver Knight half slumping onto her, blood streaming from his side and shoulder.

"Seth- just hold on! We're almost there! Just hold on!"

"I…leave…don't…worry…about…" Seth's voice faded off, and he lurched backwards, tumbling out of the saddle and onto the ground with a resounding thump, the darkness overtaking his world.

"SETH!" Eirika shrieked. She was about to pull back on the reins and go help him when she was alerted to the flapping of leathery wings. Oh no! I can't let him catch me! Eirika thought wildly. She was about to tell herself that Valter be damned- Seth needed help and that came first-- before his previous words suddenly came to mind:

"I have sworn to protect you with my life, Princess. I cannot fail your father."

"I cannot fail your father."

Father…

"Seth…" She looked back at his prone figure. "I'm so sorry…" Spurring the horse onwards, Eirika escaped into the night. I hope you understand, Seth…it's like you said...

Meanwhile, a very unhappy General Valter had since landed and dismounted.

"Fools! I told you to not let her escape!" He growled.

"I-I-I'm sorry sir, but we…"

"No buts! You let the princess get away!" Valter hissed, kicking the ground in frustration, stopping short when his foot suddenly hit something soft.

"Hmm? What do we have here…?" Calling for a lantern, Valter stooped down to examine the mystery object.

"It's a man, sir!" One of his men reported, "I believe he was the princess's escort from the looks of his armor. He doesn't seem to be in very good shape- his blood loss is high."

"Is that so?" Valter gave a demonic grin and nudged the unconscious man over with his boot, who gave a low moan. "Ah, my little toy…come back to play. Oh, we will have fun." Turning from Seth's prone figure, he raised his head.

"Men! Secure this man and take him back to the capital. I will interrogate him there."

"Yes sir!" Instantly, one of the soldiers dragged Seth to his feet and bound his hands behind his back before slinging him aboard a wyvern.

"Oh- and one more thing- don't touch him until I come personally. I want him to be in prime condition for questioning. Take care of those wounds and make sure he doesn't budge or die on me. I don't want my entertainment to be spoiled," -he gave them all a hard glare- "and neither do you, for all of your sakes."

A nervous chorus of "Yes sir!" filled the air as the men began carrying out their superior's orders.

Valter gave one last glance at Seth before mounting and taking to the air. You seem like a tough one to crack. I will personally enjoy this. Just watching you writhe in pain will be enough.

/Break/

Eirika slowed her horse down to a trot as she approached the town of Ide, just into the Frelian border. Heaving a sigh of both pain and tiredness, the Princess of Renais headed slowly towards the castle that sat on the hill looking down on the small hamlet. She barely noticed when Franz rode up to her. She barely saw his concerned look for the shadows under her eyes and her slumped over appearance. She didn't even know he was there until he asked her:

"Where's the General?"

Eirika sat up with a jolt.

"What, Franz?"

"I was, ah, just was, uh, wondering where General Seth was."

Eirika hung her head and whispered, "He's…not here."

Franz's eyes widened. "Where is he? He can't have just let you keep going by himself! He's…he's…he hasn't…has he…?" The sad look in Eirika's tired eyes told him that his worse suspicious were true.

"He…who…how…?"

"It was this wyvern rider. His name was…Valter, I think. Seth…was injured. He told me to keep going. And then he…he fell off. He had taken another wound, you see- an arrow. I think Valter had archers set up. And he…he…oh he…oh Franz! I couldn't bear to look back…!" Eirika burst into tears.

"I…I don't believe it…General Seth…he was the best…" whispered Franz, himself getting a little teary-eyed. Then, he sat up straighter. "But I guess he knew that he had to do his duty. He was looking out for you, Princess. The fact that you're here safe and sound is good news for all of us."

"Yes, I know…but…but I could have saved him, Franz. I could have held on tighter…or something! I don't know, but somehow…I feel guilty about this. Like Seth getting taken by the enemy is my fault…" Eirika trailed off.

"It's not your fault, princess," Franz said firmly, "If anyone's to blame, it's those dastard Grado soldiers. They're the ones, princess. And we're not going to let them beat us, now are we?" He asked.

"You're right, Franz. I can't let them get me down. I have to keep fighting until Renais is free once more- for Seth's sake, for my father's sake, for everyone's sake." Eirika sat up in her saddle, looking more determined.

"That's the spirit, Princess Eirika," Franz responded.

"Yes. And maybe, while we're on our journey, we'll find Seth! I know he's alive, I just know it!"

"Mmhmm…"

"And then we'll rescue him…together!" Eirika said forcefully.

"That's right! We'll do it together," declared Franz. "Now for starters, let's get you to that castle over there, alright? Princess Tana's waiting for you, you know."

"Tana? Really?" The princess seemed cheered up quite a bit right now, although the young knight knew it was only temporary.

General Seth…wherever you are…I hope you'll be alright. I'll do my best in your stead with the Princess, but I'm not sure if I can keep her moral up long enough…

To Be Continued…

A/N: Well, I've decided that the plot bunny is worth listening to, so I'm going to continue this and not just let the little thing stand there and shake its paw at me all day long. Please tell me what you think. If I don't get any response, or no one likes it, I'll take it down. In terms of pairings, I'll have SethxEirika, maybe some one-sided InnesxEirika just to spice things up, and more to be determined. The rating also may go up…depending how violent it gets.

And by the way, I know this chapter wasn't very angsty, but trust me- it WILL get pretty intense.