I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL SACRED STONES CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(

To Rhythm Starter: I'm really glad you like it so far and thank you so much for letting me know. Now I know that I'm writing for someone else other than myself, XD

Chapter Two

The Protected

King Hayden apologizes for being unable to spare soldiers. However, he does provide Eirika with a small but trusted party of vassals. Eirika is grateful for the king's aid.

Chasing rumors of her brother, she sets out for Grado. The group's first stop is the remote village of Ide, which was, until very recently, a part of Renais. Here, Eirika sees the devastation of Renais with her own eyes.

"Seth has mapped out a route for us," Eirika told the others. "We'll travel south of Renais and pass through Serafew into Grado territory."

"Hmm," Moulder thought quickly. "That would seem a sensible plan. Assuming, of course, that we can avoid any run-ins with Grado soldiers…"

"Pah!" Michael decided to join the conversation. "You worry too much, old man. Any run-ins will quickly be taken care of when I'm around."

"You talk too much," Gilliam told his brother with a frown.

"You're too uptight, Gil." The man in white replied as he propped his lance up in the ground.

"You both are weird on my account," Kyra decided to tell them as she and Franz ended their conversation. It had been three days since they had left King Hayden's castle. Eirika was intent on getting to her brother to help and inside of her, Kyra was just the same. Her cousin was all the family that she had left out of everyone. Kira was the most important person to her out of anything and she was going to go on a rampage if something had happened to her.

Seth had taken notice of the feeling seeping off of the woman that had healed him. He had a vague idea on what was making her so nervous but he didn't know for sure. He was going to have to talk to her about that later.

"Princess Eirika," The blue-haired woman turned to Vanessa. "May I have your leave to scout ahead? From the sky, I'll have a better chance of spotting any nearby troops. We're yours to command, Your Highness. Will you give your permission?"

"Yes, of course," Eirika was still getting used to giving the orders. It was normally either her father of her brother that did so. "Keep an eye out for enemy bowmen though, Vanessa."

"Yes, Your Highness, I shall. I shall prove myself worthy of the honor of your trust." The green-haired woman smiled before hurrying off to her flying horse.

"She seems…very sincere." Eirika commented as the young woman took to the sky.

"Sincere. Yes, quite." Moulder agreed.

"You mean, you don't know her?" Kyra raised an eyebrow.

"We might be from the same kingdom, but that doesn't mean that I know every soldier there."

"Then how do you know Michael?" She asked him.

Moulder pulled a face. "My dear, EVERYONE knows Michael."

"Hey," The man they were talking about glared at them. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Princess!" They all turned to see Vanessa returning to them quickly with a worried look on her face. She landed. "I have band news. The village to the east is under stack by bandits."

"Bandits!" Eirika sounded worried.

"We have arrived at our first dilemma." Moulder sighed. "We must move quickly and attract as little attention as possible, but…"

"But I cannot stand by and watch innocents be harmed," Eirika told him. "Vanessa, how fare the villagers?"

"I spotted one injured person. He appeared to be just a child." The green-haired Valkyrie replied.

"If we grab him and bring him closer, you can heal the kid, right?" Kyra asked, moving closer to them again.

"Yes, I would be able to if he gets closer." The man answered her.

Kyra grinned. "Come here, Vanessa. I've got a plan."

The green-haired woman looked a bit worried for a moment as the other whispered something into her ear. "Are you sure about this?"

"Of course," Kyra hopped up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Don't worry. Everything'll be fine."

"Don't get too over your head, Kyra," Bethany's voice called out to the other woman. "You cousin would not like to hear of your foolishness."

"Thanks for the concern, mom." Kyra stuck her tongue out at her teacher before the horse took to the sky.

Bethany glared after her student for a moment before shaking her head. "All right. Seth, Franz, Gilliam, head down south and take care of the bandits below. Michael and I will keep an eye of Eirika and Moulder."

Seth nodded to his older sister and led the duo down to hurry up and defeat the bandits so they could get on with their mission.

~All I've ever wanted

Was to see you smiling

I know that I love

Oh baby why don't you see~

"Stefan, are you ready to leave?"

The man glanced up from his horse and looked at the woman that was walking towards him. With long blond hair and bright blue eyes the woman was dressed in a small black dress with a bright green cape and a pair of purple boots. Under the dress was a pair of tan pants and around her waist was a small white and golden belt.

Stefan Bouince was in his late twenties with short, dark brown hair and matching eyes. Dressed in white and black instead of his armor, he wore his sword on his belt as he ran his hand over his horse's nose again.

"There are bandits below," Stefan told the woman. "Can we really just leave these people here with no defense against them?"

Before the woman could reply they received information that the villagers had caught wind of their fate as well.

"This is terrible…What are we going to do? Those bandits are so close." A woman worriedly turned to the blonde that stood beside the man and the horse. "If we can't find some way to protect ourselves, the village is doomed."

The blonde glanced up at her companion as he mounted his horse. "Stefan, would you…" She was cut off as a blue-haired woman burst into the village.

"People, listen to me! You must close the village gates immediately. Hurry, before the bandits arrive!"

"Who are you?" The blonde asked her. "You aren't from one of the neighboring towns, are you?"

"Her weapons give her away," Stefan commented. "She's no peasant."

"I am Er-"

"Erina!" The trio turned to see a white Great Knight pull up behind the blue-haired lass on a horse. "I told you not to wander off during battle."

"I'm sorry, Bethany."

~Bethany, huh?~ Stefan thought to himself. ~Rather similar. Especially the armor. Could it be…?~

The blue haired lass turned back to the two of them. "My name is Erina. We are mercenaries."
"A mercenary named Erina, huh?" The blonde replied. "There's more to you that that, I feel. But don't worry- it's none of my affair." Stefan could have sworn he heard a sigh of relief from the woman on the horse. "I haven't told you who I am yet, have I? I am Selena, a general in Grado's army and this is my right-hand man, Stefan Bouince." The man wanted to slap a hand to his face. You don't pronounce that in enemy territory, even if your country is the one winning.

"Ah!" 'Erina' gave her companion a glance.

Selena caught it. "Is something wrong?"

"No…uh, nothing." 'Erina' shook her head.

Oh yeah, these were definitely who Stefan thought they were. It had been a while since the last time he had seen General Bethany or the Princess of Renais but it looks like nothing of them had changed. He wondered…should he say something? He didn't like the whole ordeal of this war. Not when it was with a land that they had been friends with for years and years. What was their Lord thinking? Either way, he was sure that General Glen was going to be extremely pleased with this information.

"It looks like these villagers have some bandit troubles. I would like to help, but we have orders…we're to leave for the capital immediately, and we cannot stay. You're armed. And you claim to be a mercenary. Will you help them?"

"I believe that this is what they approached the village for in the first place, Selena." Stefan commented, giving the two women another glance. "I believe that we can leave these villagers in their hands."

"You are one of Grado's generals," Bethany decided to speak. "Why do you care what happens to the people of Renais?"

"These aren't soldiers." Selena answered her. "They're people. Should they suffer because their leaders fight? I've petitioned your aid. Take this as payment." The blonde woman gave 'Erina' a red gem before mounting her own horse. "Stefan, let's be on our way."

Bethany watched the man for a moment, sure that this man knew who they truly were. Stefan was fine though. He didn't like to cause trouble and she knew that he would keep his mouth shut.

Bethany had met Stefan Bouince a few times when she had escorted Ephraim and Eirika to Grado to play and study with the Grado twins. She would hang out with the Generals of Grado. Selena. Duessel. Glen…Stefan was a man from the lower regions of Grado that had come forward because he had been tired of living on the streets and being a solider had been a right path for him. He was strong enough to be a General of Grado, but he didn't want to be. He believed that he was just fine with being Selena's right hand man. Stefan was an interesting man to talk to and if she recognized him without even hearing his name then she was sure that Stefan had recognized her and Eirika as well

"Bethany! Eirika!" Michael's voice made the two women turn from the village as they closed their gates to see that Vanessa had returned to them with the wounded boy and Moulder was healing him. It was clear that Kyra had stayed behind with the boy's father to help defend him and Vanessa took off to the sky, most likely to help herself.

"Hey, listen! My village is being attacked by bandits." The young lad began. "My name's Ross. Come on! You have to help me wipe those thugs out!"

"All right," Eirika was a bit taken aback at being approached like this. "Just…just take a deep breath and calm down, Ross. Lave the villages to us. We'll drive off the bandits."

Michael didn't hear the rest of the conversation as he hurried off to kill some more bandits. He didn't really bother with talking on the field. All he watched to do was hurt the ones that were hurting the others.

Their little group was quickly joined by Kyra again, a middle-aged man in his forties in her tow with an axe. The man, in blue and tan, took sight of the one that seemed to be leading the group of bandits and took care of the fool quickly.

"You saved my son. I owe you my thanks." The man with the beard turned to them as the man fell.

"It's not necessary," Eirika began but Seth took a step forward.

"…Hold on a moment…Aren't you…the great Garcia? You fought for Renais, didn't you?"

The man stayed silent. "Seth," Eirika began. "Do you know this man?"

"We know of him," Bethany replied, realizing what her brother was saying.

"He was a troop commander for Renais until around ten years ago," Seth told her. "When my sister and I were recruits, the soldiers used to tell so many tales about him. They called him a daring and fearless fighter for Renais." Seth turned back to the man. Kyra could see a pale blush upon the new man's cheeks beneath his beard as he tried to keep a grin from spreading across his face. "Master Garcia, you must know the peril our homeland faces right now…can we impose upon you to lend your strength to Renais once again?" Bethany watched as her brother talked.

"Sorry, I'm retired now." Garcia replied with closed eyes. "I'm not a soldier anymore. It's…a decision I made long ago."

"Master Garcia…" Seth's hopes for another hand of aid to go into Grado with were falling.

"…When I was a soldier, I lived my life fighting for my country's honor. I left no time for my family. I spent my life fighting for faceless, uncaring nobles. When my wife fell ill and died, I met the child she had left behind…At that moment, I finally realized what my duty had cost me."

"And that's why I never plan on falling in love or getting married," Michael snorted. Kyra whacked him in the back of the head, telling him to shut up.

Garcia continued like nothing had interrupted. "I stood at my wife's grave and promised her I would be a father to our son. I'm done with armies. I'm done with fighting, except to protect my son. I've no regrets. I'm the boy's father."

Kyra smiled. The man's words were understandable, but it seemed that his son didn't like them. Ross went running forward with a look that told the others that he wanted to beat some sense onto his father.

"You…you blasted fool!" Ross growled. "Father, what's all this nonsense I'm hearing?"

"Ross!"

"If you're not goin, then I will! I'm a fighter. I know I can do this!"

"Ross, what are you saying? I…"

The lad cut his father off. "Dad, please! Listen to me! I respect you more that any other man in the world. I know you gave up being a soldier for me. I know that! But how can you throw away such a big part of yourself? You're a warrior at heart! You can't give that up and be happy! Look at me, Dad! Have you seen me fight? I'm not a child anymore. I'm a warrior, like you. You're free to worry, but I can survive on my own!"

"Ross…" Garcia was lost for words for a moment.

"You want to challenge me, Father?" Ross demanded. "I'm a fighter. The best in all of Ide!" He lifted his hatchet. "I'm not gonna lose to you! I'm not gonna lose to anyone!"

Garcia dropped his head with a smile. "You're right. You're a good soldier, Ross." The man lifted his head and called to Seth. "Sir Seth…if these old bones of mine can still serve, I'd like to join you."

"Dad…" Ross looked like he was about to cry.

"Looks like my boy grew up while I wasn't looking…He's tougher than I thought. He doesn't need my help. I've raised him as best as I could, but he's right. I've nothing to fear. I should fight. I will fight."

"All right then," Kyra grinned and grabbed the child's hand. "Shall we make introductions?" She began to point everyone out to Garcia and his son. "I'm Kyra and this is Seth and Bethany, the twin Generals of Renais."

"The Generals?" Ross looked ecstatic. "What are you two doing way out here?"

Garcia seemed to have figured it out all ready and gave a short bow to Eirika. "Dad, what are you doing?"

"It's an honor, your Highness," Garcia grabbed his son's head and pulled him down into a bow as well.

"Highness?"

"And this lovely lady here is Princess Eirika." Kyra told him with a smile.

Ross looked like he was about to piss himself. "Th-the Princess?"

~All I've ever wanted

Was to see you smiling

All I ever wanted

Was to make you mine~

"Thank you so much for your help," The villager told them as the sun began to set. "Please, stay the night and rest."

"We would if we could but we have much to do and far to travel. Your safety is reward enough." Eirika replied.

"Ah, well…" his eyes dropped to her wrist. "My, that is a splendid bracelet you're wearing."

"Thank you. My father gave this to me." The young lady replied with a soft smile.

"It's a wonderful gift. But you should be careful, wearing such a valuable item so openly. Since Renais was invaded, things have become so dangerous around here. There are gold-hungry thieves and bandits everywhere."

"Is that right," Kyra scratched her side as she glanced around with a bit of worry.

"Indeed. The most wicked are Bazba's Bandits. They are…cruel beyond words. If you have something they want, your life is worth less than nothing. Just the other day they assaulted some travelers and…oh, it was awful."

Eirika looked horrified. "I…I can't believe such things…"

"Oh, Renais is finished, mark my words. The Grado Empire's stolen our future. Our only hope against them was that Prince Ephraim would prevail, but…rumor has it that he's on the verge of being crushed by Grado's vast numbers. These are dark days. Travel with care."

"Away with you, old man," Kyra shooed him away at the look of horror on Eirika's face. She took her back to their group and they marched off, the conversations going on through the rest of the evening before they finally decided to stop. Michael had hurried to make something for them to eat and Eirika and slunk off with Kyra to a nearby field for some silence. Kyra didn't mind the silence, it was better than hearing Michael and Ross as they were already arguing over who was strongest between the two, and she sat there with the Princess, just thinking to herself for a while.

"Ephraim…" Eirika sighed, gazing at the stars.

Kyra looked at her friend. "Don't worry, Eirika. Your brother's just fine."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. Kira would protect the Prince to the ends of hell and back. They're all just fine." She wasn't sure if she was saying that to assure her Princess or to assure herself.

Eirika nodded before letting her drift back off into memories. Kyra watched her with a smile. Eirika was so different than her brother was. Ephraim just wanted to fight but his sister didn't like to. If she could, Kyra would have left Eirika in Frelia and gone after her cousin and their Prince alone but she had to follow orders.

"Oops! Beg your pardon." Kyra turned to see a man with long, dark blue hair, matching eyes, and a cloak had bumped into Eirika.

"Hey!" Eirika backed away from him and Kyra placed herself firmly before her. The man gave them both a cheeky grin before taking off. Kyra frowned.

"Princess, are you all right?" Seth asked as he and his sister approached them.

"Y-yes…someone bumped into me is all. I was jarred."

"Jerkwad," Kyra grunted, crossing her arms.

"Hm?" Seth pulled a horrified look. "Your highness, where is your bracelet?"

"My bracelet?" Eirika glanced down at her arm. "It's…gone. Where could it be? Did that man-"

"Son of a bitch!" Kyra growled with anger as she glared after the cloaked man. He was gone now, though.

"I'll find him!" Seth told the women before turning to run off.

"Don't worry about it, Seth," Eirika told him. He turned back to look at her. "That bracelet was a gift from my father, but Ephraim needs our help. I can't let sentimentality get in the way of my duty."

"No, Princess…we must retrieve your bracelet regardless of cost." Seth told her. "You cannot lose it. Let's go. We must hurry."

Kyra was confused. She didn't know what was so important about this bracelet but with the looks that Seth and Bethany were wearing on their faces she wasn't just going to stand there and find out what they would do to her if she refused to help.

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