A/N: So I've been on quite a long hiatus over the summer and pretty much disappeared from with no warning and left my fanfics here to catch dust. I can't really say much on where I've been for the past few months, other than I have been going through some family problems. There's been a lot of drama, screaming and fighting between my family members and it really got to me to the point of depression and overall seclusion. But I've been getting better and things have calmed down quite a bit. I actually have to thank a lot of my friends, both in my actual life and internet, who've been supporting me through these tough times, and if it weren't for them, I wouldn't know what I would do. So after a long wait, I present to you, Kjelle's segment. I hope you enjoy.
The Steadfast Soldier
"Well, when I was really little, you and I used to wage mock battles. You never really gave it your all, though. Said you didn't want to 'leave a dent.' Heh. But I'm older now. How about a real match? Come on, I'm a tough cookie!"
Today was a beautiful day. Spring had decided to come early in Ylisse, erupting color in all corners of the kingdom. Trees were beginning to bear juicy fruit, flowers of all kinds and colors were blossoming left and right in the vibrant green fields, and the wind had calmed to a gentle breeze, which carried the sweet smells of the flowers and nature into the air. Nature had finally roused itself from its long sleep as winter has finally come to pass, bringing in warmer days and bright skies. The people of Ylisse were beginning to feel the happiness that spring usually brought in full throttle, especially young Kjelle.
The jade-haired girl stood tall and proud in the field just outside her home with a smile on her face. Across from her, just a few feet away, was her father, who had taken a day off from being a knight of Ylisse to spend some time with his little girl. No doubt the pair had been infected with the restlessness everyone else had gotten with the coming of spring. Standing in such a lush green field, you'd think the daughter-father duo had decided to take a nice little stroll outside to stretch their legs, maybe pick some of the freshly bloomed flowers to bring back home and present to a certain fiery red-head whom Kjelle called Mother.
If you thought that, then you really don't know Kjelle at all. Picking flowers? Pah! Save such a task to someone like Cynthia or Severa – not her. Taking little strolls? Kjelle doesn't take "strolls". She goes on runs, taking laps around the field and back to her house at least ten to twenty times before lunch. She was the daughter of Ylisse's own Bull and Panther – the greatest knights in the royal army and in the infamous Shepherds. Strolls and flower picking don't suit her – they're a waste of time; time that could've been used to train herself to be a greater knight than her own mother and father combined!
In that case, what are the father-daughter duo doing in the field anyway?
Well, they're sparring.
Kjelle faced her father, guard up and positioned for a good fight. In her hand was her chosen weapon, her tool to ensure that she will defeat her father in this grand battle: a ladle. It was all she could find to use as a makeshift lance, and even then, it was still far from her preferred weapon of choice. And she is still a child; she couldn't use a real lance even if she wanted to, but give her a few years and she'll be wielding one in no time. But for now, she had to settle with a ladle for a lance, despite how ridiculous it looked. But at least she didn't look as ridiculous as her father, who had taken the mock battle a lot more seriously than his small little girl.
The Viridian Knight had taken it upon himself, not only to find a weapon, but to search for armor as well. And so, there he stood in all his greatness, wielding a big stick that he had found near the forest just behind their home as a replacement for his sword, a pot on his head for a helmet, and in his other hand was the pot's lid, which was to act as his shield. No doubt, her father looked more ridiculous than Kjelle. But past the ridiculousness of their chosen weaponry and armor, their expressions bore nothing but absolute seriousness. This was meant to be taken seriously.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Kjelle?" said her father. "It's not too late to back out, y'know."
The young girl scowled. He was taunting her, trying to get her to lose her will and run craven, but not today, not this time. She will stand vigilant and eventually, stand victorious. "I say it should be you who should back out, father."
"Oh really?" He chuckled, adjusting the pot on his head as it began to slide further down his face, taking some locks of his green hair with it. "Don't get too cocky now."
Kjelle scoffed. Now he was just playing word games. "Enough talk. Let's fight!"
She ran forward, ladle raised and bellowed a loud battle cry. She swung her weapon at her father, only to have the utensil bang uselessly against her father's impenetrable pot lid shield. Her father took this moment to swing his stick sword, missing Kjelle completely as it swung right over her head, and stumbled forward. This gave the little warrior an opening; an opening that she gladly took.
With a great yell, her body tensed and without warning, she tackled her father to the ground. He yelped with surprise before he fell into the grass with Kjelle sitting right on top of him.
"Aaah! You got me," he chuckled. When he opened his equally green eyes, he was surprised to see his daughter not smiling and cheering about how she had finally beaten him, but frowning and glaring at him instead. The knight trembled; Kjelle's glare reminded him all too well of her mother's. "What's wrong?"
Kjelle's frown deepened. "You went easy on me."
"What?"
"You. Went. Easy. On. Me." Kjelle repeated, emphasizing word for word with a nice jab of her ladle on her father's chest. "I thought I told you not to do that. I wanted this fight to be fair. I wanted it to be a fight between equals!"
Her father sighed; he was caught red-handed. "I didn't want to leave a dent on my little girl," he said with a smile.
He ruffled Kjelle's hair and for a moment, she considered batting it away, not wanting her father to be let off that easily. But the gesture was so nice and so comforting, that the thought disappeared just as quickly as it had come.
"You wouldn't leave a dent on me. I'm a tough cookie!" She replicated the furious look that she'd often see on her mother's face every time she lectured her father about bringing food onto the battlefield with him, but the look didn't look as menacing as she had hoped it would be due to her smaller size and round baby face.
Her father laughed and quickly enveloped Kjelle into a tight, warm hug. The young girl tried to fight her way out of her father's arms by flailing her arms and legs everywhere, but it was no use – her father's hold was too strong; she couldn't escape. "You're just too cute!"
"Hey! What's all the hubbub going on over here?"
"Mother!" Kjelle squirmed, until her father finally released her from his grip, allowing her the freedom to bound over to her mother's side and present herself, standing tall and proud, just like her mother.
"Hey, kiddo," Sully greeted, ruffling her daughter's jade green locks affectionately. "What were you and your pops doing all the way out here?"
"Sparring," she chirped.
"Good!" Sully patted Kjelle's back, in which sparked a happy glow in the girl from her mother's praise. "Keep it up and you'll be a knight of Ylisse in no time." She turned her attention onto the green-haired man on lying on the ground and broke out into loud laughter at the sight of her husband. "And what in Naga's name are you wearing?"
Kjelle's father sheepishly removed the pot from his head, revealing unruly green locks. "I had to have armor to protect myself, Sully. Our daughter is quite the hard hitter, very much like you."
"Well she is my daughter," Sully beamed. The red clad cavalier plucked the pot and its lid from her husband's grasp, along with Kjelle's ladle. "But seeing you with that pot on reminded me of Donnel. That kid fought every damn battle with that pot on for no reason. He could've gotten himself a regular helmet, but no – he wanted the pot."
He chuckled. "Yeah. He was rather attached to it."
Kjelle smiled softly. She always liked to hear her parents' stories about the other members of the Shepherds. "I was finally able to defeat father today in our mock battle," she declared proudly.
Sully looked at her with comically wide eyes. "You did? Geez, you're getting rusty if our six year-old daughter can send your arse to the ground." She punched his shoulder playfully, which was immediately returned.
Little Kjelle watched as her parents quickly fell into their usual routine of playful snide comments, friendly punches, and the usual roughhousing. Yes – she knew her father threw their mock battle on purpose and had let her win, but she decided to let the matter slide…for now.
"In the future, you and I used to train together. You were as strong as any man, and I suppose that valor rubbed off on me. I wanted to be like you—even best you one day. But then you... You were gone before I got the chance."
"Come one! Hit me harder, Kjelle! A good and powerful blow is key in getting your opponent down on the ground and make it easier for you to stab at 'em! C'mon!"
Kjelle was breathing heavily, her arms and legs were burning from exertion and she was drenched in sweat. The heat of the sun was bearing down on her and with her training armor on, she was feeling the brunt of it.
"Gettin' tired?" Sully asked from her side of the field. The red-head was also wearing her armor for their training session, but she showed no signs of the fatigue that plagued Kjelle.
"No," she grunted, lifting her wooden lance up. "I can still fight."
She couldn't back down now, not when she had finally convinced her mother to start training her in preparation for Kjelle's future as a knight. At first, her mother had said no, telling her that it was too early for Kjelle to get so serious about it. But the girl had insisted, going as far as even trailing after her mother everywhere she went until the haughty woman had finally agreed to it, under certain terms that is. Her terms were that Kjelle had to follow the same training regimen that she uses every day; this also meant that Kjelle's training would be every day as well. There were to be no complaints, and Kjelle had to follow Sully's every command. "If you want to be knight," her mother had said, "then I'm gonna treat you as one."
Others would think her mother was cruel, but in truth, this was typical of her. Her mother had trained herself restlessly in her youth to prove herself to her family and to all the other warriors in Ylisse, mostly the men, that she had the mettle to be a knight, which eventually evolved to becoming the need to be the greatest knight in Ylisse. A feet her mother has already accomplished, and the need evolved once more into becoming Kjelle's goal – to match her mother's strength and skill and become a knight just as great as she.
Hence why Kjelle was where she is now, dressed in training armor that her mother had specifically had made for her – so that she could get used to the weight of it – and armed with a training lance made out of wood – made by her own father. Her mother had done the same thing, donning her armor and also wielding a training lance, so that whenever they sparred, it would be fair – a true test of skill. But the weather was against Kjelle today; it was unbearably hot, leaving Kjelle to be roasted alive in her own armor.
Kjelle's armor was so different compared to her mother's. While her mother wore the armor of a cavalier, Kjelle donned one of a knight or a general. It had a huge and heavy outer shell that connected to her shoulders and extended outward, circling behind her from the crook of her shoulder to her opposite, practically engulfing her. It put so much weight on her, that when she had worn it the first time around, she couldn't even stand up straight. She would've preferred armor like her mother's, but after seeing Kjelle's less than satisfactory riding skills, she had decided against it, but that was a story for another time.
Sully sighed. "Kjelle, that's enough for the day. I can tell you're bone tired. Look at you! You're barely able to keep yourself upright, let alone a wooden lance."
"No!" Kjelle insisted, "I can still do this."
"No, no. That's enough."
Sully walked over to the exhausted girl and plucked the wooden lance from her fingers. Kjelle was dejected; how can she hope to be as strong as her mother, if she could barely last twenty minutes in a fight? Yes – it was unbearable hot and the heat had left Kjelle in a major disadvantage with her armor, but those are just excuses! Kjelle knew there will be times in which she would have to fight in less conditional areas, like in deserts or in heavy rain. She has to learn to adapt and persevere. There's no complaining in real battles. Complaining is for wimps; Kjelle aims to be the best of the best.
"Hey, what's with that look on your face?" Sully had noticed Kjelle's odd expression. "Listen, I know you want to continue on with your training, but it's no good to work yourself ragged. You'll more likely end up dead than get stronger, if that's the case."
"I know, Mother. But I just…" She sighed.
Sully cocked an eyebrow. "You…what?"
Kjelle looked up at her mother with her eyes downcast. "I just want to be like you. I dream of becoming as strong a fighter as you. I want to become stronger so that I can be like you, and maybe even best you one day," her shoulders slumped. "But how can I do that if I can't even graze the surface in training? I didn't even last long in our sparring match."
A warm smile stretched across Sully's face; hearing her daughter tell her something like that, it made her proud to see the dedication in her. "Kjelle," she says softly, easily catching her daughter's attention, "you lasted longer in my training than any of the trainees that your father and I have to deal with back in Ylisse. Them – Bah! They can't run thirty laps around the field in full armor like you did. They can't even last five minutes in a match against me or your pops. Didn't graze the surface, you say? Pffft! Kjelle, you were astounding today."
"Really?"
"Yep," Sully chuckled, brushing away a stray green lock of hair from her daughter's face. "You did good, kid. At the pace you're going, you'll be as tough as me in no time."
The determined spark in Kjelle's eyes had returned. Her mother had given her such a grand compliment; she had to make sure she was worthy of it. "Thanks, Mother."
Sully smirked. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't tell anyone I got all mushy like that, not even your father. I've got a reputation to uphold." She patted Kjelle's back. "Now get inside and give yourself a breather. You earned it."
With a chuckle, Kjelle gathered up the wooden lances and darted for home with her mother following close behind. A feeling of contentment fell over her. With someone as strong as her mother and as resilient as her father, she just knew there was no way they would ever be defeated. Kjelle could count on that.
Sitting on her father's favorite chair, the wooden one with the carving of a panther done on the back, Kjelle's eyes were glued to the window in their parlor, keeping a keen eye out for the silhouettes of her mother and father as she patiently waited for them to come home from their most recent campaign of the country side. She had gotten a letter from her father not too long ago, telling her that they'd be returning home today, safe and sound and eager to see her face again and other mushy stuff like that.
Though she wouldn't say it out loud, Kjelle was just as eager to see her parents again too. They had been gone for nearly half a month, leaving twelve year-old Kjelle alone in the house with the occasional check-up visit from a few of her parents friends – mostly from Mrs. Cordelia with Severa tagging along and Mr. Donnel and his wife, Nowi. Though she appreciated the visits, Kjelle preferred the company of her parents more, especially since they have been gone for so long. Other than the visits and household chores to keep her occupied, Kjelle used her time alone to train; pushing herself to do more and improve her skills more than the usual, even going as far as waking up at the crack of dawn and training until sunset – with breaks and time to eat and rest. And with her parents returning, she was eager to show off the fruits of her labor to both her mother and father.
Movement caught Kjelle's eye, and the young girl squished herself up against the glass to get a better look through the heavy rain. She gasped, happiness welling up inside of her, as she spotted two people riding horses on their way to her house.
It's them, she beamed. They're here! Mother and Father are home!
She ripped herself away from the window and jumped off of her father's chair, making a beeline for the door. Immediately, she could hear the sound of the horses drawing near, then stopping, followed by the sound of her parents dismounting and walking up the dirt path to the house.
Kjelle jittered with excitement as she stood in front of the door, waiting to hear the awaited-
Knock, knock!
Without a second thought, she wrenched the door open and said, "Mother! Father! Welcome ho—"
She stopped and her eyes went wide. The people standing before her, weren't here parents, but two soldiers, who were drenched from the rain. Both had sullen looks on their faces.
"May I help you?" she asked cautiously.
The taller of the two looked at her, his eyes bearing so much sadness. The cold grip of fear grabbed at Kjelle's heart as a million questions ran through her head, but two questions kept repeating in her thoughts: Who are these men, and where are my parents?
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "Sir Stahl and Lady Sully were…" He swallowed his words, like it was too painful for him to say.
Kjelle felt anger bubble in her. "Speak up, man! Compose yourself and tell me where my parents are."
The soldier had a look of surprise on his face before it quickly melted back to the look of grief that he bore the moment he arrived at her doorstep. "Sir Stahl and Lady Sully," he repeated, "were killed in action."
Kjelle froze. What?
"As our army were marching en route back to the halidom, we were ambushed by a large group of Risen. I-I'm sorry, young lady….but your parents had fallen in the battle."
"My mother…a-and my father, they are—" Kjelle couldn't even bring herself to say the word.
The soldier nodded his head solemnly.
Kjelle felt like someone had just doused ice cold water over her head. Her parents – Ylisse's own Bull and Panther, the Ruby and Viridian Knight – were dead. How can it be?
The second soldier spoke up. "They died with honor. The fought off the brunt of the Risen attack and saved many lives. We were able to recover this for you," he extended his hand, revealing a small pouch in his palm. "We, the Exalt and all of the soldiers in our company offer our condolences."
This felt like a dream. A horrible, horrible dream that she desperately wished she could wake up from. As she received the small pouch of what she had left of her parents, the grief had finally set in. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she willed them away, wanting to stay strong.
She reached into the pouch and pulled out the memento of her now deceased parents; a ring, her mother's ring. That's all she had left of them, just her mother's ring, nothing to remind her of her father, whose deep forest green eyes always shone with a gentleness to them, who would eat more than he needed to because he was somehow always still hungry, and who'd hold back whenever they sparred because he didn't want to harm her in any way. It was just a ring that had once belonged to the woman she adored and admired, whose strength surpassed all the men in the Shepherds, including the Exalt's – the woman Kjelle wanted to be.
Kjelle couldn't hold in her grief any longer. She fell to her knees, cradling that single gold band in the palms of her hand, and cried.
She didn't have parents anymore. There would be no more mock battles between her and her father out in the field whenever the day was bright and sunny. There would be no more screams of encouragement from her mother whenever she went out to train. Nothing. She was all alone.
NOTE: If you liked what you read, feel free to tell me about it in the reviews. If not, you can still type me a review. Share with me your reaction to this segment. Did you cry? Where you shocked? Were you disappointed? Do you think I need to improve on something? Tell me. Critiques and comments are welcome! No hate please, unless it is justified. Thank you. :)
