(3) Left Behind

With the help of Felicia, sneaking out of Nohr was easy. Of course, she refused to come with us. She wanted to stay behind with Xander's, thinking it'd look to suspicious if everyone suddenly disappeared. So we were stuck with Camilla, Leo, Elise, Takumi, and Niles. I felt bad for Niles, being the odd one out, but he wanted to come. Wherever Leo went, he went, which was kinda creepy…

We all traveled by horse, or dragon, or wyvern, or whatever we had. Walking on foot would make us too tired, and our goal would be hard to reach if we were late. Tonight, I declared that we'd reach Fort Dragonfall. Camilla mentioned she had people she had friends there, and they'd have no problem with us staying. So, there was where we were headed.

It was a pretty smooth ride, besides the constant complaining coming from Takumi and Leo. I guess putting them on the same horse wasn't a good idea. Takumi basically refused to hold onto Leo, so he ended up (nearly) being trampled on, at least seven times. Besides that, everyone rode smoothly. Niles rode with Elise, which made Elise feel slightly uncomfortable… But the point is at least we got their. Thanks to Camilla, I didn't have to deal with any whiny children.

But I did feel some sympathy for Takumi.

"Do you think Hoshido will attack Nohr first?" Camilla murmured to me.

"I mean, we do have Takumi…" I reminded.

She continued to keep her eyes on the road, frowning. "Do you think they'll leave him behind? I mean, in the depths of war, there are some people you have to leave behind."

I thought hard, suddenly feeling heartbroken. Would they really do that?

Camilla faked a laugh, and turned her head sideways to look at me. "Oh darling!" She bickered. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, really, it's nothing to worry about. Just keep being your sweet self and we'll all make it though."

"Camilla…"

"Just my silly self rambling. You should know better not to listen to your big sister by now!" She laughed longer.

She was really overdoing it.

"I understand…" I contemplated. "I'm not a child anymore."

"You're growing up so fast," She murmured sweetly under her breath.

The air was crisp as we flew. My hair blew all over the place with the wind. I tried to hold it back with one hand, the other holding on to Camilla. But there was no hope in fixing it. I feel like now that it was extremely uneven, I hated my hair more.

Most of the ride there, my hair covered my eyes, and I couldn't see a thing. So I didn't realize when we were there. Camilla pulled us to a halt, holding her hand up dramatically as if we just arrived at god's gates. She let out a breath, and jumped off her ride. Everyone else did too, and as by Camilla's orders, they tied them up inside a close stable.

I looked around curiously, watching for any form of life. But no one was there.

"Camilla, where are your friends?" I asked suddenly.

"Oh darling, that's the joke. This fort is abandoned, no one is here. Welcome to Fort Dragonfall, I'm my own friend!" She laughed at herself. She pinched my cheeks, "Oh, but not to forget you! You're my best friend, don't worry sweetie!"
"Hey!" Elise called as she jumped off her horse. She bit her cheek, giving Camilla the puppy-dog-eyes that everyone falls for.

Camilla hugged Elise. "Never to forget you! The cutest little one I know!"

Leo cleared his throat, "Eh-hem. Camilla, we should set up for the night."

Camilla straightened her back, letting go of Elise. "Right, this way everyone!"

Elise followed close behind Camilla, and Niles talked to Leo. Probably flirting, but at least Leo wasn't with Takumi again. I much rather someone flirt with my brother than fight with him. Then again, Takumi did seem a bit lonely. I realized Takumi didn't have his weapons, which means he probably gave them up a while ago; or, of course, it meant they didn't trust him.

I didn't want Takumi to feel left behind, so, I took some steps back to meet with him. He stayed silence, pretending not to notice me. I felt slightly uncomfortable, knowing what the conditions were between us. I'm not sure if we were even on "speaking levels", at the moment.

"Are you okay?" Takumi questioned abruptly.

I flinched back, surprised he talked to me. "Yeah!" I said a little too enthusiastically. "I've never been better, I mean, I'm really happy. I mean, I'm-"

"I was talking about your wounds," Takumi smiled a bit. "But I'm glad you're happy. That's kinda a weird thing to find in a war."

"I'm not happy about the war… But I'm happy the wars going to be over."

"I see…"

Then there was more silence.

"Well," I sang awkwardly, "You did a really good job, coming up with a plan like that. You're really smart."

Takumi's cheeks got pink, and he looked away from me. "Thanks?" He said questionably.

"I mean it."

He bit his lip nervously. "Thanks." He muttered, quieter this time.

"Aha!" Camilla called out. "Here's the door. I'll need someone to help me with thi-"

"I will," Takumi called out anxiously.

Camilla raised an eyebrow, and looked at me first. I shrugged, nodding slightly. Leo shot a look of disgust at Takumi, which made me want to lecture him on politeness. Though, in all honesty, I was surprised Takumi was helping. I was pleased with him, even if it was just the littlest help. I felt like a proud mother bird.

"On three, okay? One… two… three!" Camilla shouted as the door roared open. Takumi and Camilla didn't break a sweat opening the giant door. Which, I found suprising.

"What's next, Camilla?" Leo asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Well, if we want to sleep here, we need supplies." Camilla admitted, "But I didn't think about bringing anything."

Leo groaned in annoyance.

"But of course, I know where they keep extra supplies. You can thank me later," Camilla smiled wide. "I'm going to need Niles to stay here with Corrin and Takumi, the rest of us will go back with our dragon friends and horses. We'll come back with some blankets, maybe some food if we're lucky."

Niles nodded, chuckling, "I'll keep these two in line."

"Oh, but of course, Leo…" Camilla giggled, "We have to fix that collar of yours."

Elise laughed too, nudging Leo as he whinned about how we never told him about these things.

"You guys find a place to set up." Camilla waved us goodbye as Elise followed.

Leo eyed Takumi before turning to leave with Camilla. Leo was probably jealous Takumi got to stay with me. He often felt that way about anyone. Either way, Takumi avoided him, and walked carefully into the fort. Like Camilla had said, no one inhabited the place. It looked like everyone just packed up and left. It was unbelievably empty, and I didn't think the rest of the place was different.

I stopped to sit down at a fire place. Obviously, it wasn't lit, but I liked pretending it was. The stone floor and walls were colder than it was outside. I just hoped that the others would come back with blankets. The fireplace still had some wood in it, and I'm sure if Leo was here, he could light it. There were no ashes left, probably scattered around by the breeze passing through.

Niles knelt next to me politely. "Did you want me to light that? Because I don't mind."

I raised my eyebrows at him.

"I have stuff in my bag…"

"What do you have in your bag?"

Niles laughed, "You'd be surprised."

I decided not to question Niles any further than I had. He lit the fire easily. I don't know how because he was blocking the view, but he did. He let out a small "tada" and sat down on a box in a corner. I creeped closer to the fire, wishing my shivering would stop.

Sooner or later, Takumi scooted next to me. He didn't say anything, just held his hands out to feel the warmth. His knees were tucked under his chin, and he looked like he was ready to transform into a ball. He cleared his throat a few times, making matters more awkward.

Takumi hadn't said anything for at least twenty minutes. Niles hummed in the back, doing whatever he was doing. My eyes drooped down a few times, feeling sleepy out of boredom. I watched the door carefully to see when Camilla and the others would come.

Takumi coughed, then spoke softly. "I heard you and Camilla talking."

My stomach dropped. "What were we talking about?"

Takumi avoided the question. "They won't come back for me. They will leave me behind." Takumi admitted, gloomily.

"Takumi, I'm sure they miss you."

"I understand why you had to leave Xanders, but this is different." Takumi choked on his words, "They don't miss me, they won't even realize I'm gone… I'm just a left behind soldier." Takumi pulled his knees closer to his chest, squeezing his legs tightly.

I paused, thinking carefully about what to say next. But before I had the chance to say anything, Takumi continued.

"Mother, the queen, she was the only one who payed attention to me. My whole life I've been living in the shadow of who I'm supposed to be… and she understood that. Mother understood I felt lonely. But now…" Takumi trailed off.

I felt heartbroken by Takumi's words. I never realized how he'd felt.

"I just want to be something. Not someone else. And Mother understood that…" Takumi continued.

I felt guilty. Gulping before asking, "Do you blame me for what happened to her?"

Takumi shrugged. "I don't know. I ask myself that often." Takumi sighed, "Maybe I just blame you because I blame myself. I should've done something…"

Niles humming continued.

"You did your best, Takumi. You always do."

We shared the silence. Takumi bit his lip in embarrassment, not knowing what to say. I did the same, feeling anxious.

"Well, Takumi," I went on, placing my hand on his arm. "I can assure you, I won't leave you behind. I can't speak for the others, but I know that with me around, you'll never be left behind." I smiled kindly at him.

He blushed, quickly changing the subject. He tugged on my hair softly, feeling it between his fingers. "If you want, I can fix your hair for you…"