My weekly Finetta fic! Dedicated to Makas0ul for their support! Thank you! I was recommended to write Izetta and Fine feeling nervous/relieved before and after Izetta's big speech to the Germanians.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shuumatsu no Izetta.


Half Her Strength

Howling winds blast through the foggy mountainside, causing the tent around you to shudder.

But you don't falter, nor do you tremble – not as you make this request.

You cannot let an innocent girl take on your role against the Germanian soldiers. The job is far too dangerous, and you won't stand for anyone but yourself being put in that position.

Your princess can see that set determination in your eyes, you know she does, because she dips her head and consents.

"Very well. Izetta will address the Germanians herself."

She promptly turns to the girl that is being dressed in Izetta's appearance and dismisses them all from the tent.

You are well-aware of what the princess has told you, how these women soldiers are loyal to Elystadt down to the kerosine in the tips of their nails and hair, how they wouldn't hesitate to lay down their lives for their country, and for their princess.

But you still notice the sigh of relief your look-alike gives just before she exits the tent, leaving you alone with your beloved princess.

She remains standing at the opposite side of the table, her eyes trained on the other girls. But as soon as they've left, her gaze ultimately travels back to you, as it always seems to do.

"Izetta..." Her voice is low and weighted with concern. "Are you absolutely sure about this? You seem uneasy. My soldiers are more than capable of taking on this role."

Now, you too stand from your seat, maintaining eye contact.

"Please don't misunderstand me, Princess! I never doubted for a second that your soldiers weren't capable of the task! It's just that... I'd feel so much more uneasy if I were putting an innocent girl's life in danger while I waited safely here in a tent. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her!"

The princess' eyes are melancholy, and for a moment she is silent. When she next speaks, it is reserved, almost saddened.

"I think I understood your reasoning behind this decision, even before you told me just now."

That is all she says, but you know there is so much more to it.

Her eyes glaze over in a haze of temporary remembrance, and you've got to wonder exactly what it is she's reliving in her mind in that moment.

How many times has she wanted to do what you are doing now? To put herself at stake rather than someone else, someone completely innocent?

But her status, her noble birth, and her country would never allow her to put herself in harm's way like that. How many innocent people had been injured or killed in her stead, because she couldn't put herself on the front-lines, or at the barrels of the guns?

She envies you for what you are doing now.

And you know she is only allowing you to do it because it's what she's never been able to do.

She doesn't want you to feel the same guilt she feels – the guilt of staying hidden away somewhere safe while someone else bleeds for you.

She is giving you a blessing, a gift – to put your own life on the line.

It is one of few privileges she's never gotten to experience.

But as much as you understand all of this - all she is doing for you now - you still don't miss the flash of concern in her eyes.

Because you are her dear friend.

You know you would've had no right to think of yourself so highly on your own, but she's said it time and again, until you truly came to believe it yourself. She's told the world upfront that you are her closest companion, told her soldiers that you are her only friend who's never cared about her rank, and she's called you her White Witch.

She loves you dearly – as dearly as you love her.

And therefore, she can't help but be scared about what you are planning to do.

Slowly, she makes her way around the table to your side. You stand right away, but the backs of your knees knock against the chair, causing you to yelp.

You straighten up, only to find your legs are trembling now. She notices, and opens her mouth to once again make the offer, so you might redact your decision to do this yourself.

But you don't want to let her get that far.

"Izetta..."

"Princess! Please allow me to stand for myself! I want to do this, not only for you and for your country, but for myself as well!"

As any loyal subject making a request of the princess should, you throw your head down in a deep and formal bow, eyes squeezed shut.

For a moment, there are only the sounds of the howling winds once again.

Then, two warm arms wrap around your shoulders, coaxing you to straighten yourself up, to stand proudly.

But just before your eyes can meet hers, she pulls you in, effectively hiding her own expression into your shoulder. She sighs with her whole body, squeezing you tightly to her chest. She sounds so tired.

"P-Princess...?"

Initially, you fear she might be unwell somehow.

But you soon come to realize you aren't the only one shaking.

The only thing that ails her now is concern for your safety. She needs you just as badly as you need her.

You don't hesitate a moment longer to circle you arms around the small of her back, pulling her in as close as the limits of your bodies allow. You burrow into the side of her neck, brushing past the thick materials of the trench coat she's wearing until you feel the softness of her skin.

With both of you quivering as you are, it cancels out, until it feels like you are both still.

For a long, long moment, you stay that way with her, breathing her in, feeling her heart beating quickly over yours, wondering if this will be the last time...

Eventually, she gives you one final squeeze and breathes a whisper against the shell of your ear.

"Please be careful."

As you step away, you give the only appropriate answer.

"I will, Princess. I promise."

Extending your arm, you offer her your pinky. It's something you two haven't done in over a decade, not since you were young girls who'd only just met, playing in springtime fields, walking beside autumn lakes, and dancing in winter barns.

She smiles and loops her little finger around yours.

Then, your contact breaks, and she lets you go.

You make it your mission to come back to her, no matter the cost.


You've done a lot of dangerous things in your life.

But flying on a rifle through an active battlefield where there was constant gun and cannon-fire from live tanks and bloodthirsty enemy soldiers had its perks.

At least you could move. At least you'd had your magics.

But here, in this mountain range where the Lay Lines had run dry many centuries ago, you had nothing but your voice.

As you address the soldiers down below, giving off a guise of power and magic, you can only pray everything goes smoothly and turns out as planned. If even one small thing goes amiss, if even one of those snipers misses her mark, it could all be over.

Standing perfectly still in the face of your enemies might be one of the toughest things you've ever done. They don't know it, but you're entirely defenseless, save from a few skilled snipers concealed within the trees.

Your princess waits anxiously in a tent not far away, and her life is in your hands.

But you of all people, a witch, should know a thing or two about miracles.

You'd never been certain about their possibility until today, when you're certain one must've happened.

Because you won.

The mountainside crumbles, crushing the tanks and ranks of enemy men below, showing the world that you are invincible, no matter how much of a farce that is.

When it's over, the snipers reveal themselves, and commend you, as you do the same for them.

The strength suddenly leaves your legs, and you've got to assure the others you're all right before you manage to stand once again.

After that, they lead you back to the tent where the princess is waiting.

The very second you lift the flaps and move them aside to enter, you can see her. She'd been pacing insistently about the closed-in area, probably since the very second you'd left.

Now, she straightens up and whirls around immediately, gasping your name in a voice thick with both worry and relief.

"Izetta!"

She rushes to you instantly, tears already gathering in the corners of her eyes. She reaches out and grasps your hands so tightly it hurts, but it's the best kind of pain you can imagine.

"Princess-"

"Are you all right?" she demands. "I was told it was all a success, but I know it must have been frightening for you to do without your powers."

Her earnest lilac eyes are threatening to spill those tears. You want to do all you can in order to prevent that.

"P-Princess..."

But you can't think of the right words to say.

Hands are trembling, and you can't tell if they're yours or hers. Perhaps both.

But it isn't long before you once again feel the tension and suspense leave your body, draining out of you as though a floodgate has been lifted. Your knees buckle, and you fall to them, causing your princess to cry out in terror.

"Izetta?!" She drops down in front of you, kneeling in the dirt as a princess never should. "Izetta, what's wrong? Are you injured?" Frantically, she grasps at your hands once again, her eyes flicking nervously over your person, seeking out any potential open wounds.

It's all you can do to try and configure your voice to reassure her.

"N-No! I'm unharmed, Princess. Nothing's wrong. I-I'm just... so relieved it's come to an end. I'm so relieved..."

Even though you've seen the water in her eyes since the second you walked in, you're the one who starts shedding tears first. Sniffling, the little hiccups start to bubble up in the back of your throat, and you bow your head in embarrassment.

"F-Forgive me... for showing such an unbecoming side of myself..."

But she makes you understand there's nothing to forgive, for no crime has been committed.

She wraps you in her arms and pulls you close, letting out a breath that you can tell takes a great weight of stress with it.

"What have I told you before?" she murmurs into your shoulder. "Do not be ashamed of your tears, Izetta. Your honesty is just one of the many things I love about you."

Her words make you weak, weaker than you've ever felt before.

When you're crying and crawling through the dirt, she is shielding you with both arms spread wide, shouting in your defense all while she ignores the blood pooling at her side.

When you're collapsing even though you aren't the slightest bit hurt, she is covering you in her presence and telling you it's okay.

She always makes you feel so pitifully weak, because she is so undeniably strong.

And when she tells you that she loves you, that's always the final straw.

You break down and begin to wail like a newborn in her arms, sobbing and clinging tightly to her, choking out her title in between caterwauls. She holds you firmly, whispering your name, fighting back sobs of her own.

Even in your weakest times, she gives you half her strength, until you can stand on your own once more, be it in a figurative sense or a literal one.

She holds you, comforts you, pets through your hair and all down your back, assuring you everything's going to be all right.

And when she says it, you truly believe it, from the bottom of your heart.


A/N: Clearly, the anime seems to have other ideas... But I'm always praying for a happy, (gay) ending!

Please review!