Chapter 4 - Justice
Author's Notes: Finally Gangrel's time is up. Here's the next chapter, apologies for the wait, the next one will be out soon as well, but I didn't want to keep them together since it'd be too large and the content didn't fit. Anyway, enjoy as always
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Awakening
Piercing through the veil of sleep, I glanced at the object sitting away from me blaring a foghorn of noise. The strange thing was it resembled my phone, but that was impossible because I didn't have any of my possessions with me when I was in Ylisse. Course, I was in my bed, so through some confusing mess my brain thought up, everything must have been a dream. Disappointed, was the initial feeling I felt in this situation, but the silver lining was I wouldn't have to fight for my life again. Then again, I would trade that bout of adventure and excitement for anything, after all life is more fun when you're crazy. Slapping myself awake, I headed to the kitchen to prepare my favorite breakfast, a good old American breakfast. With the bacon sizzling away, I poured myself a cup of orange juice. Toasted bread, smoked bacon, and fried eggs caused my mouth to water as I took in the enticing aroma.
Taking a bite of toasted bread in what felt like weeks, I relished the taste of the fine toasted bread traveling down my throat. That was until, I couldn't breath. I couldn't suck in air, and I could feel myself losing my grip on reality. As the darkness edged over my vision, I fell into the blackness.
What greeted me when I could see again was Lissa standing over me with a big smile on her face. Looking around, I noticed that I was still inside my tent and my breakfast was nowhere in sight. Tears began to well in my eyes as the memory of toasted bread disappeared.
"Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry Arthur."
"Don't worry about it, I was dreaming about bread."
"Oh were you fantasizing about breakfast again."
"I was eating breakfast until started choking on the bread or something it was pretty weird."
"Oh that's because I held your nose closed."
"Oh gods, you're not trying to put me to sleep permanently are you." I said to Lissa with horror in my tone, as if to accuse her of sending me to my grave before I was ready.
"No no, it's just when I saw your face, I couldn't help, but remember what Robin did when I found her asleep. I mean I couldn't help to try it on you." Something must have clicked in my head hearing that Lissa found Robin asleep, because in my mind that girl never sleeps. She's always doing something either for the sake of the army or just to plan something for the Shepherds. It's all well and good, but I felt a break could do her some good.
"Let me guess, I made a funny face similar to Robin's?"
"Nah, she made funny sounds, you looked more like someone who found out they couldn't talk anymore."
"What, I don't talk that much." As if on cue from the words that had just formed from my mouth, Gaius walked by to throw in his thoughts.
"I don't know if you haven't noticed Peppy, but you come off as someone who would go crazy without his mouth."
"Oh, that hurts Gaius hearing it from you," I sniffled from the sheer absurdity of his accusations.
"Hey, there's a reason I call you Peppy." He declared before walking off to wherever he was headed before coming in to amuse himself.
"Anyway Lissa, I assume you came to wake me up for Robin's briefing or something?"
"Well that's one thing, but I just came to get you for breakfast, cause we all know how much you like it, I mean you were even dreaming about it, so you can thank me later."
"Ah my angel has descended upon me, I have been fortunate enough to have been blessed by her presence." I declared with as much theatrics as I could manage. Hands waving, arms flailing, and poses of reverence. We walked to the breakfast tent, as I endured my embarrassment to continue the theatrics for all to see. When the rest of the camp saw us, Lissa's rosy cheeks seemed to alight with color, and my grin seemed to unhinge my jaw. It was embarrassing no doubt, but I got Lissa to blush so it was well worth it in my opinion.
Grabbing the rations we were given for breakfast, I noticed that Robin was making it. Taking the food to one of the tables. I examined what could be my final meal. It was some sort of stew, with two hunks of bread on the side. Taking one of the pieces, I dunked it into the stew and took a bite. The wheaty taste of the bread and what I realized was carrot stew wasn't that bad of a combination. Looking around, I could see Panne eating it quite voraciously she must have really liked carrots, although it wouldn't win any honors from me. Chewing through the first bite, I was soon joined by Stahl, Gaius, and Donnel as they sat themselves down.
"How's it going guys, excited for a battle with the head honcho himself?"
"Hey Arthur, haven't seen you in a while, I'm more concerned with this last meal, I mean couldn't we have something better?"
"Ah, I know what you mean Stahl, wouldn't like my dying moments to be about the stew that made my stomach churn." As if this was important, Gaius cleared his throat, motioned us to lean in closer to be less conspicuous. Although with all of us huddled together, I felt it was much more suspicious than if we sat normally.
"Alright since your all so grumpy about it, all let you have some goods from my stash, but don't tell anyone, Peppy here knows how important it is to me." I nodded my head to show agreement with what he said and Gaius continued by slowly extending his hand into the robes he wore. He fussed around a bit and appeared to be grabbing something. Withdrawing his hand, there sat four small looking pastries each decorated differently, but they all smelled mouth wateringly good.
I stared at the small pieces of pastry sitting in front of me and wondered how they would taste if they could make my mouth water from just the smell. The pastry had icing that looked extremely sweet and delightfully as if they would melt in your mouth and taste like a bite of heaven. The texture looked smooth as if to draw you in to have a taste of its sugary goodness. Its cream waiting to be consumed, sandwiched between two pieces of batter fluffier than feathers. At some point, my drool had reached down to the floor and Maribelle was heading over to our table. She must have sensed ill manners in the air and honed in on it.
"Darling you shouldn't be drooling, it is in poor taste."
"Oh, sorry just couldn't," before I could finish that thought, Gaius was signaling me to stop. He must really want to keep from sharing all his sweets. I could relate in a way since I didn't particularly like sharing desserts that I like either. "help myself, since the stew tasted so good."
"Oh, well then, just my luck I was going to bring Chrom some of his, but he seems to have run off. Since you appear to like it so much, I'll give it to you." Finishing her kind though, she plopped another serving of the stew down in front of me. Of course I didn't really want to reject her offer, but there was only ruin in my stomach for one more item.
"Thanks Maribelle," I said to her as Gaius tried to contain his laughter. I was hoping for her to leave so I could pretend I ate the stew, but she stood there with that smile on her face as if waiting for something. It didn't look like she would leave until I started eating. Giving up, I began to help myself to another bowl of it, not sure if it was just my inner torment at not being able to eat Gaius's confection, but I felt the stew tasted a lot thicker than last time.
Walking through the camp, I felt a little down from having to trade another helping of stew to Gaius' desert since he probably wouldn't offer any more for a while. In the midst of my sadness, Miriel came walking back and gave a slight nod once she saw me.
"It appears you are showing signs of depression Arthur, I believe the appropriate response to this stimulus would be to ask 'are you okay' Arthur?"
"Oh, hey Miriel, I'm fine just a little sad over the fact that I traded sweet sweet dessert for stew that tasted worse than it did before."
"Well, going on this postulate, let us assume that the stew you ate was worse than before, how were you given the stew?"
"Now that you mention it, it did seem strange for Maribelle to be giving me Chrom's serving and she even waited for me to start eating before leaving." It suddenly dawned on me, the snickering that I ignored because it was in the background. Lissa's face as Maribelle gave me what probably wasn't even Chrom's stew. Robin laughing into her hand as I grimaced at having to eat another helping of her stew. There was definitely something wrong what had happened and a certain part of it did seem very out of place. The only question left on my mind was who did it, was it Robin trying to get ahead, or was it Lissa attempting to prove who was the greater prankster. I had a good feeling it was Lissa, something told me that it was her idea since Robin couldn't have been that cruel surely. She was too new at this game.
While I pondered this, my thoughts came back to the fact that I missed out on sweet, sugary, delight and a tear fell down my face as I gave it an honorary sniffle.
"There is no reason to cry Arthur, logically there should come numerous opportunities for you to indulge in your cravings."
"Thanks Miriel, you're actually pretty nice in your strange way."
"Compliment is noted," she replied while walking off to go about her tasks. As I watched her walk away for a moment, I remembered what I had to do. There were still a couple things to see to before I could relax considering a war still had yet to be fought.
With Tharja trailing behind me, I felt listless, unsure of what to do with all this activity going around me, I felt useless. Thinking of how to solve this problem I decided it would be best to ask our resident tactician what there was to do. Strolling around the camp I looked left and right for any signs of our blue haired friend. Passing through most of the camp, I saw her walking with her tome and in the midst of a conversation with herself. Sneaking behind them I got ready to give them a good scare. Inhaling air to fill my lungs for a good scream, I was unfortunately noticed by her who was now clearing her throat to end my foolishness.
"Oh hey Robin, didn't see you there, I'm just yawning not wasn't trying to scare you or anything."
"Nice try Arthur, but I've got what I'd like to call a sixth sense for your shenanigans by now."
"Interesting, that sounds like a challenge, care to make a wager?"
"You sure you want to do this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well didn't you lose the last two wagers you made."
"This should be easy then, since I've got such a bad rep lets try and make it three shall we?" I asked extending my hand forward, palm out looking for a shake. Robin raised her eyebrow before taking my hand in her vice like grip as if to show her steel for the wager being set.
"Alright, if my next prank doesn't shock you in anyway then I lose, however if it does manage to rattle your cage a bit then I win, sound fair?"
"Sounds fine with me, and the wager?"
"Let's go with the classic loser has to listen to the winner."
"You're on Arthur and may I say good luck." With that set I was about to walk away, until I realized that wasn't the reason I was looking for Robin in the first place. I was trying to find a job to do before we began marching.
"One more thing Robin," I called to her.
"What is it now Arthur?"
"Is there anything that needs doing right now, I've got a bit of free time and was wondering if the army needed help with anything." I waited for her response as she stroked her chin in thought thinking of the numerous things that needed to be done.
"I've got a job you can do Arthur, would you mind looking for Cordelia and help her check the inventory, she should be in Anna's carriage right now."
"Can do captain." I yelled allowed giving her one final salute before walking off. Back to walking through the camp again, I felt a presence extremely to me that gave me the chills. Looking back, I noticed it was only Tharja standing behind me. I gave a sigh of relief and continued walking, but the feeling didn't disappear. It felt like I was an animal about to be devoured whole by something much bigger than it. I couldn't quite shake the feeling of paranoia. There was a strange sensation warning me of encroaching danger, like something anyone feels when walking in the dark. When I glanced behind me once again, Tharja had disappeared from my sight. That's when a memory hit me, of my past when I had the feeling of being stalked all day. If I recall, the next thing that should happen is I'm gonna feel a pulling sensation on my hair. Standing there with my eyes closed, my hair was tugged and I began to remember why I should have never let this happen. Opening my eyes, I remembered why I should have been more careful of who I was with. Tharja had pulled a strand of hair from my head and placed it within her jar.
"Uh, what just happened?"
"I just acquired another part of you Arthur, now I can curse you as much as I like."
"Well on the bright side, glad to have you back Tharja, missed your silly antics."
"What, you're supposed to be shocked not encouraged." As she turned away from me, covering her face with her long dark hair. I chuckled at that, she always did make me laugh, that I remember quite clearly. With my hair having been plucked I didn't feel paranoid anymore so there was that. Heading back on track I found the tent Robin had directed me too and pulled Tharja along. I opened the flap and took a look inside, there I was greeted to the sight of Cordelia's shapely rear in my eyes. Course being me, I had to milk the moment as she was bent over checking the numerous crates of weapons and tools for the army. With my quota of inspiration out of the way, I cleared my throat to get her attention.
"Arthur, what are you doing here?"
"Robin asked me to help you do inventory, so here I am happy to help a friend in need."
"Oh, well you can help me sort that box then, it's quite a mess." She said, indicating the bashed crate sitting near near the back of the tent.
"Sure, I don't mind," I replied as I moved over to the box she indicated. Looking inside, it indeed looked like quite a mess, there were swords laying ontop of bows, quiver straps stuck and tangled with throwing axes, and dragon stones embedded in the wood of several staves. The box looked like it had been roughed up by a pack of horses who decided to use it as a kicking post. I slowly, steadily, carefully, got the box organized and in proper shape. It took quite a while to untangle and sort the many objects in the box. By the time I was finished Cordelia was finished with the rest of them and came over to do the final check up on the box I was sorting.
As I was cleaning and putting away the last box, I could hear a ruffling sound coming from the tent flaps opening behind me. Craning my neck, I was hit by a mouth watering smell coming from a pie that was being held in the hands of Anna. I attempted to turn back to the job at hand, but was significantly slowed down by the fact that the aroma of fresh baked dough combined with cooked meat was distracting me greatly. It took much longer than it should have, but I finally finished and let out a sigh of exasperation.
"Now hold on Arthur, before you go and take all for yourself, let me and Cordelia get some first."
"Anna, Anna, Anna, who do you take me for some wild boar, the thought of eating the entire mouthwatering, doughy, goodness, myself is just too much, I would never." I gave that line with as much hurt in my tone that I could manage, but the snort she gave in response told me she didn't believe me.
"Arthur, in my line of work, its a requirement to be able to tell when a potential customer needs a push to make that purchase and how much of a push. Let's just say that, the look on your face told me, you'd have paid for it if I asked, but I wouldn't go as far as make a friend pay for something free now."
"Can we please move on, I'm quite hungry from all these boxes." Cordelia interrupted my rebuttal, so I begrudgingly sat down on one of the crates and waited for my portion of the pie. Anna went ahead and split the pie into three equal portions and as she cut into it, steam rose from the inside of the pie being opened. As I was about to take the plate with my pie on it, Virion happened to be walking by.
"Ah, Arthur it appears I've found you at a rather opportune time."
"What do you want Virion, I'm trying to enjoy some pie here," I asked hoping he would allow me to eat in peace.
"Hmm, well I was walking through camp gracing the air with my presence, until I came upon you and it just so happens that I'm feeling quite peckish," Virion said indicating the pie I was holding in my hand. A moment of tense silence passed, until Virion mentioned the game that I had lost earlier and now would be a good time to fulfill my end of the bargain. With a tear in my eye, I slowly, regretfully, slid the piece of deliciousness over to him. He picked it off of the bench and went on his merry way as I watched the pie disappear from my sight. Oh cruel fate, when will my fortunes turn, when will things go my way?
My answer came in the form of a blonde-haired angel carrying another slice of heaven with its majestic aroma caressing my senses. She strode into our tent and placed the slice next to me and muttered words that I was too grateful to hear.
"Hey no worries Arthur, I baked more than one pie so you can have some of mine," said Lissa as she gave me one of her bright smiles. I don't remember her being this beautiful, is it just from the spur of the moment, or something more. Well moving on, I have pie to eat, tucking into the pie that was so graciously placed before me. It was as delicious as I thought it would be, the taste of the fresh baked dough coupled with the savory meat and creamy vegetables melded together from the intensity of the fire. To summarize, it was a pretty good pie, in fact it was so good by the time I was finished with it Lissa had already left. I didn't even have a chance to thank her for helping me in my time of need, I promised myself to return the debt in some way.
As I bathed in the afterglow of good food, my thoughts were interrupted by a teasing voice, "So Arthur, what do you think?" said the voice. My consciousness returning from the pie induced fog, I glanced at the direction the voice was coming from and my eyes settled on to the sight of a grinning Anna.
Unsure of what she said I responded, "The pie was quite great, I don't remember eating a pie as good as that one." Apparently we were not on the topics of pies because of the glare she was giving me that seemed to say 'realize already fool'. If it wasn't the pie she was asking about what could it be, I tried signaling to Cordelia who was watching the two of us calmly for help with my eyes.
Being the helpful friend that she is she got the message, "What she means Arthur is what do you think of Lissa?" She clarified for me.
"Oh, well I think shes pretty fun to be around, she makes a great target for my pranks, and when she smiles it seems to light up the room." I answered, which for some strange reason that I couldn't quite put my finger on caused both Cordelia and Anna to break into grins.
Suspicious of the grins plastered on their faces I couldn't help but ask why. With a shuffling of their hands and a few giggles that seemed to communicate some strange message between the two of them, I thought to myself this is why I don't understand women sometimes.
After the giggle fit had died down, Anna opened her mouth to speak, "If Lissa was in danger, how would you feel Arthur?"
"I think I'd feel the need to rush in and help, but I feel that way towards anyone of my friends." I answered as truthfully as I could hoping to get them to stop grinning."Alright I'll give you that one, well answer this if you can, during the times when you're walking around camp, who pops up in your head the most?" I felt a tinge crawl down my spine with the way she phrased that question and the smile that seemed to stretch across her face rather menacingly. Course I had to think about this, recalling my memories I came to a realization, my thoughts have lately been clouded of Lissa especially with the incident just know as I couldn't get that look out of my head.
"I guess that would have to go to Lissa, but that's not because I love her or anything it's just shes fun to prank."
"It's okay Arthur, I understand completely, you only like to prank her there's nothing about her that you find appealing, am I right?"
"Yep, exactly, right on the mark on that one."
"So can you tell me why you're so red in the face right now?" She giggled happily at my predicament, as I felt the emberassment flow through me. Hoping my savior would respond again, I looked to Cordelia for help. This time however, she was too busy laughing behind her hand as if to hide her amusement.
With the two of them laughing like mad hyenas, I decided to make my exit from the tent and get back to preparing for the match that would be happening soon. Walking through camp, my thoughts continued to drift towards the topic that was just discussed. Did I love Lissa, I couldn't quite answer that question just yet, but I did feel that she was someone that I couldn't allow to die. Isn't that normal though, wanting to protect your friends?
With my thoughts in jambles, I chose to wash my face hoping a little cold water would wake me from my stupor. The nearest stream would be near Nowi's tent so I plotted a course towards it. Coming upon the stream, I leaned down and cupped my hands into the water, splashing my face with it. Drying myself off, I was about to get back up when I felt a pressure on my back and before I knew it I was kneedeep in the stream, my pants soaked completely through. Turning around to my would be assailant, my sights settled on Nowi whistling to the side pretending to be innocent. Course I couldn't be fooled by such an act, she wasn't even wearing a hat.
"Come here Nowi, I want to show you something." I said to her in the lowest voice I could manage. Before she could start running, I lunged towards her and managed to get a firm grip around her tiny waist. Reaffirming myself, I threw her into the stream effectively paying her back successfully. Course I didn't count on her transforming into a dragon, the next thing I knew I was being picked up like a sack of potatoes and liberally dunked into the stream. Sacrificing my coat, I managed to squeeze out of it and attempted to tickle her to death. Swiftly I got underneath her belly and began prodding and running my hand through her soft underbelly. I knew I had hit the spot when I heard the sounds of a deep gravely kind. Assuming she couldn't take anymore, she transformed back into her usual form and called out to me to stop.
"Stop Arthur, sto- hahaha- stop," she yelled out through breaks in her laughter. With my victory assured, I helped her up and found the cape that had flown off in the mean time.
Affixing the cape back onto her shoulders, "Do you feel better now?" was the question she posed to me.
"Oh you were trying to cheer me up Nowi?" Well that was a surprise, I didn't see Nowi as someone who could understand others.
"I'm quite mature, I'll have you know." She uttered in response as if to prove a point, she told me of the variety of people shes met over the years.
"Alright alright, I shouldn't judge based on appearances, anyway I am feeling better Nowi thanks." Realizing that I wasn't confused anymore, I guess I had Nowi to thank for that. Looking back at Nowi, she had disappeared from my sight and a strange tingling sensation was traveling down my spine. It was then that a Nowi had appeared on top of my shoulders, her legs firmly planted next to my head. Trying to ask her what she was doing the only response came as a shout.
"I am Nowi, rider of Arthur, and you will face my wrath as I travel across the lands with Arthur my trusty steed," Nowi shouted on top of me. Seeing as how she wasn't particularly heavy or difficult to carry I didn't really mind. I spent the next couple minutes going wherever Nowi instructed with her random declarations. I guess she was pretending to be a knight and I was supposed to be her horse. I must say, I've never seen so many mixed reactions before, there was Gaius who broke out laughing, Fredrick who had shaken his head at the sight of our majestic form, and Robin who had shaken our antics off as something to be expected.
"Where to now my liege?" I asked the one sitting on my shoulders holding a stick in her hand.
"To the front my trusty steed!" She declared directing her stick in that direction as if leading a charge. Moving my legs as carefully as I could so she wouldn't fall off we reached our destination in quick time. We had arrived at the entrance to the camp and right as the horn was sounded for the march too. Helping Nowi off of my shoulders I put her down gently and gave her a high five because I felt like it. The noise level began increase as the number of people who were marching gathered. Calming myself down, I gave my gear one final check and determined they were all there.
"You ready Nowi," I asked her.
"Always, were gonna beat'em all," she replied confidently.
Chrom appeared suddenly at the front of the troops and began the march with the pace being set. I began to move along with the others in the company, apparently Robin would be telling the others about her plan once we got to the designated location. As the scenery changed from the rolling hills and grasslands to gravel and mountains, I could see the sun had moved into the middle of the sky and was bathing the land in its heat. Definitely too cheerful for what was to come, but it may just have been me, seeing as how I felt bright days are meant to be relaxing and peace provoking.
"Almost there, I want you all to gather near the jutted rock for Robin's instructions," yelled Chrom to the gathered masses marching behind him.
As we collected near the rock in question, Robin began her climb on to the rock and almost slipped a couple times. If there was tension before, it was shattered by the feminine cries coming from her adventure into rock climbing. I had a good laugh at that before things had to become serious indicated by Robin clearing her throat to get our attention.
"Now that you are gathered here before me, I would like to address the troops first. Anyone who is capable of using a bow your position is atop that mountainside cliff behind us, I want an even number of archers on each side. Get yourselves sorted out and move. I have relayed the rest of my orders to your commanding officers who are already on top of the ridge." With the first set of orders dished out, the part of are army who could wield a bow slowly, but steadily moved themselves toward the ridge. As they were finally in position, Robin gave a satisfied nod and prepared to deliver the next set of orders.
"Riders, whether that be aerial or not, I want you near the treeline on either side of this valley. When the sky lights up with a brilliant flash, charge forward and strike the enemy that will be occupied by our frontline. The rest of you will form a line covering the entrance to this valley and the road that leads to Ylisse." With a shout, the troops began to move towards their intended destinations while the rest of us waited for our orders. We piled in closer to her now that everyone else was out of the way and awaited the commands that we would be given for our victory.
Sighing Robin gave out our orders, "First things first, I need a small group of our fastest runners to lure the enemy out and into our ambush. It may be dangerous, but it is important all you need to do is run towards the flat field a couple hundred meters away from where we are now. So Lissa, Arthur, you're up." She finished with a nervous roll of her shoulders. Course I had a few thoughts about that and I made sure to point them out.
"Wait a moment, wouldn't it be easier with a horse?"
"They won't chase you if they don't think they can catch you."
"My legs are in pain, I can't run!"
"I saw you carrying Nowi just fine, don't make excuses."
"but, but..." I stuttered trying to think up some way of weaseling out of this job, that was when my thoughts were interrupted by a yank of the collar. As I stumbled about, I soon settled down to my new height staring into Lissa's face. Too close, I can already feel my face getting hot, spinning out of her grip I calmed myself down.
With an idle shake of her hands, as if she was still holding onto my collar, "Come on Arthur it'll be fun, think of it as a race, maybe you'll beat me this time."
"Not sure how you can possibly see this as a race, but seeing as how Robin's giving me her death glare, I suppose there is no saying no." Resigning myself to my fate, I gave one last sigh for good measure and moved on. Robin gave a satisfied nod at that and brought out a map of the area. Motioning us to lean closer, we gathered in front of the map, close enough to see the small details put into it such as her scrawls littered all over the map of different things, such as enemy positions, roads, and other useful strategic information. With us sufficiently close to the map, she motioned her fingers to indicate positions and markings as she spoke.
"The rest of you are going to be split up into small squads which is listed here," pointing at the indicated piece of parchment.
Examining it closely, I noticed me and Lissa's names weren't on it, "How come I don't see my name Robin?"
"You'll get put into your squad after you've managed to lure in the enemy" she said with an emphasis on the job at hand. Everyone now organized into the groups she had discussed, she gave a nod of her head indicating that she was satisfied with the arrangements. Robin waved me and Lissa over to her and told us to begin our operation, and explained how we should go about it and where we had to run for. Steeling my nerves and flexing my body, I released the tension that was built up. With Lissa in tow, we moved towards the enemy march.
Appraising the path we were taking towards them, I noted that we would have to make a hasty retreat through paths covered by roots and bramble from the trees and bushes nearby. I took a look at Lissa and was surprised to see a rather cheerful looking expression on her face. Well as long as shes feeling alright I guess I didn't have to worry at all.
We had been walking for about a mile or so when I caught sight of the approaching army in the distance through the trees. They numbered in the hundreds from what I could see, but that number could only be a smidgen of their real number. Signaling to Lissa to stop for a moment, I asked her how we wanted to do this.
"Well Robin told us to take a couple out before making a break for it so they have a reason to chase us."
"We gotta make sure they'll want to keep chasing us though."
"I got an idea, why don't we tell them I'm Chrom's sister?"
Lost in thought, I was interrupted by the sound of a marching force that was as loud as a stampeding hoard of bulls. They were almost on top of us, and in that instant I had a surreal scene that was playing in the back of my mind that I'd seen in a lot of movies growing up. With a large grin plastered across my face, I told Lissa to follow my lead and do as I say. Lissa gave me a nod to confirm she was okay with whatever I was planning, and so I charged.
Erupting out of a nearby bush must have gave them quite a scare as a number of them shrunk back as I flew out. Lissa stood behind me with a determined look on her face, and as I stood there between her and the enemy, I gathered my breath and shouted, "Run, my Princess, I'll catch up!"
Taking that as her cue, she began running towards the spot we were designated to, glancing back every once in a while with a worried look on her face. It gave me a warm feeling inside knowing she cared, but I had other things to worry about.
"Hey quick, catch that girl, or Gangrel will have your head!" yelled one of the more experienced looking men. At his call, a couple men moved to give chase, but before they could get far, I gave each man an arrow in the back.
"Gotta get past me first," clicking my tongue, I announced quite confidently though it didn't match what I was doing. Sprinting through the woods as fast as my legs could carry me, I relished the feeling of being so awesome for a moment, before an arrow embedding itself to a tree nearby shook me from my high.
Ducking and weaving through the trees and bushes with arrows whizzing past me every couple moments really gave me a thrill. I was so distracted, the danger I was in didn't even seem to register. This was what I was craving, this feeling of danger, of a mortal blow landing, of my life being cut short. Excitement, in its purest form coursed through my blood, pushing me onward as I continued to move through the forest.
My vision went red moments later, I could feel an intense burning sensation on my right arm, and soon after my I could no longer raise it up. I didn't need to waste time looking at it to realize one of the arrows hit me. Remaining calm, I continued to push forwards assuring myself I'd make it. Apparently giddy from managing to land an arrow, I could hear shouts from behind me.
"That ain't the last one, gonna turn you to a pincushion!" yelled one of my pursuers.
Even that couldn't dampen my mood however, after all this was what I wanted. After a few more close calls, I could see the clearing up ahead. Seeing as how I couldn't hear them just yet, I must have bought myself a minute or two. I could make out Lissa just barely, pacing back and forth on the spot Robin had marked with a circle of stones. Well that was convenient, as I ran closer, I waved my arm in greeting. Instead of smiling, she instead gasped in shock at the sight of me.
"I'm hurt Lissa" I said in a pouting way.
"You idiot, now's not the time for jokes, you're seriously injured!"
Seeing her face so angry, quickly cooled me down as I felt a twinge of pain in my chest at hearing her so upset. "I know, I'm sorry, but moving on, we have about a minute before the rest of them got here." Right on cue, the sound of thundering running could be heard in the distance.
"Did Robin tell you how she was going to make this happen after we brought them to this spot?"
"No clue, but worst case scenario were on our own. Come on, chin up, I'll save you just like we planned right." I said as confidently as I could giving her a reassuring smile for good measure.
"I'm not leaving you Arthur, not again, you might not make it this time." She matched me with her courage.
"Well if were in this together, then I'm glad it was with you Lissa."
With a quick nod, we turned to face the mass of troops approaching us. The sheer scale of their size was hard to pinpoint in the forest road, but in this clearing where the hill was slanted I could really see what we were up against. There had to be over a thousand soldiers approaching us, and that wasn't even part of Gangrel's elite force. They dwarfed for 4 of theirs to one of ours. Whatever Robin's plan was I hope she was prepared for this.
As the enemies approached, I could feel sweat beginning to drip down my brow, as the nerves got to me. I had a mental image of our deaths for just a brief moment, trying to clear my head, I gave myself a good slap to the face to calm myself down. It'll be okay, I just have to believe in the others, Robin's an amazing tactician and she'll get us out of this, she wouldn't sacrifice friends for victory.
They got nearer and nearer, as my heart sped up, and my legs turned to lead. I could see their malicious snarls from hear like a wild animal waiting to pounce cornered prey. Lissa who was shaking behind me took deep breaths to calm herself down. In a stare down that seemed to last forever, they charged and I brandished my sword gripping the hilt till my knuckles turned white.
Before they got within a hundred feet of us, I heard the sound of what seemed like a hundred eagles diving all at once. Gazing up to the sky in wonderment, the enemy doing the same, we both saw a multitude of arrows flying through the sky and stared in disbelief for a moment. It was broken by the sounds of screams as they rained upon the army like a hail of rain, continuously barraging the troops near us and arcing outwards. In some twist of fate there were now numerous bodies laden strewn across the grass. We seemed to have crippled a third of their army with this, but the shower had stopped, and they began to reform.
This was when the area seemed to be blanketed in a dazzling array of color, of beautiful beams of different colored lights trailing through the sky. The next moment, I could hear the sounds of horses and other troops to the side. They came bursting out of their hiding places and charged towards the enemy who were still grouped close together. In a matter of seconds they were surrounded by over a hundred Ylisseans boxing them in the forest.
Helping Lissa up having fallen to her knees at the last minute rescue, she fell into my arms. I took a moment in dazed confusion as her hair rested just below my noise, to indulge myself in the fragrant aroma that seemed to be coming off of something. We stayed like that for some time apparently, for the thing I saw were Robin and Chrom standing beside us, we must have looked quite weird as they had funny expressions.
Clearing his throat to get out attention, "There will be time for that later, we still have work to do," he stated in a very playful manner.
Robin was simply giving us a smile that seemed to say "watch out I've got something planned."
With the arrival of these two, I could feel the heat rising to my face, and I quickly disentangling myself from Lissa, who was just as red in the face as I was. With the job over, the pain of having been shot in the arms and leg quickly caught up with me. Lissa quickly came over and healed me with her stave. Making sure I was alright, she gave me a pat down to make sure everything was in good condition. With my condition restored Robin began to speak about our next role.
"I want you two to join up with Gaius, Cordelia, and Panne. They're waiting for you a few hundred meters in that direction." Pointing to the direction in question, I could just barely make out the crimson hair atop one of the figures.
"You two will be helping release prisoners of war that Gangrel has in the camp he set up quickly for his army, they're being kept in cages that they have on wheels. It's guarded, but I'm sure you can manage. After getting them out safely, secure their camp for us and regroup with the rest of us on the road leading to their camp, well find you, simply wait at the rock shaped like an anvil."
With a strong salute, "Sir Yes sir," I padded off towards the trees with Lissa in tow.
"What was that about Arthur?"
"Oh I just always wanted to do that."
"Hail and well meet my fair compatriots, fear not we have arrived all in one piece, we can now commence our mission-" Before I could continue, there was a piece of candy in my mouth. Now how'd that get there, that's when the flavor hit me and what a flavor indeed.
"You all get one, just to get yourselves ready," Gaius stated, handing a piece of his prized sweets to each of us.
With that underway, we made progress towards the camp that was in question, Panne redirecting us every moment or so, probably to avoid enemy troops. I was too distracted to notice that though since I could barely muster enough focus to follow along let alone think, since her ears were scanning from left to right. What did hearing things sound like with those things, were they soft to the touch, how can I get a chance at grabbing a feel. The next thing I know, Gaius is signaling us to lay low in a nearby bush right outside the camp. I must have been really distracted because I don't remember walking this far.
That's when I heard the sound of footsteps not far off, it looked like a couple of guards patrolling the perimeter. They soon passed us and I nodded at Gaius, and we slowly, carefully, quietly tailed the guards. When we got within striking distance, I grabbed onto my knife I held at my side and swiftly incapacitated one of the guards using the handle of the blade, Gaius doing the same for the other. The last remaining guard remained oblivious to what was going on behind him and after hiding the bodies, I knocked him out as well. With the patrol out of the way, we moved a little closer towards the camp.
Crawling around the outside of the fence, we took stock of what the situation was. There were about a dozen guards all around the camp going about their business. Only four of them were remaining station which was right in front of the two large cages that seemed to be filled with people. There were tents strewn all over the grass, crates stacked haphazardly, and a number of weapon stands sitting around.
"Any plans or do we just rush headlong in and take our chances against them?" I asked the group.
"It looks like the best course of action would be to take out the guards quietly and hide them within the tents; the rest of us would wait near the cages and strike right when the numbers were more in our favor." Cordelia said in a calm manner that brimmed with confidence.
"I agree with red hair, we need someone who can is use to such a job to take it on." Panne threw in.
"I guess that's you or me, Gaius."
"Best be you Peppy, I need to unlock the cage if need be."
"Alright, count to three hundred before striking, I'll even it up by then."
With the plan being set, I went to work. I surveyed the camp to see which target would be easiest to take down first. Just my fortune, one of the guards moved towards a tent and went inside. Entering the same tent as him, I noted that he was about to climb into his cot and lay down. Allowing him to finish, I used that as my chance to knock him out. No one would suspect he'd been knocked out just now. Opening just a side of the tent flap, I looked for my next victim.
There are about seven guards left not counting the four stationed at the cages. I looked back and forth for another target and my eyes settled on the two talking to each other while eating what seemed to be boar near a campfire. Making sure no one saw me, I crept up behind them and knocked them both out with a quick punch to the temple for both of them. Satisfied they were down for good, I laid them on the benches they were sitting on previously. That's when I heard a gasp from behind me, turning around I saw one of the guards holding a cup of mead. Glancing at his face quickly I could tell from his eyes that this wasn't his first cup.
"Hey, they felt tired so I told them to lie down." I informed him of the situation as calmly as I could.
"Oh, fellas only had two cups, knew they were lightweights, and can't beat the mead guzzler." He said sitting himself down on the bench as well.
"I challenge you then, if you can't finish that cup and the two here in one go, then you don't deserve to call yourself great."
"What you calling me a liar, fine bottoms up." After the third cup, he promptly collapsed in a heap, well that was easy. Four down, only four more to go and I'm in the clear. Taking a look around, I saw three of them cleaning weapons from one of the stands and the last one writing on some piece of paper. Choosing the easiest one first, I gave him a good knock to the head as he was leaned down. He fell forward in his chair and his cheek rested against the paper he was writing, next up was the tricky one.
I used the crates piled up to conceal my presence and crept closer to them. There was only one way I could do this realistically at this point. Brandishing my knives, I waited for their focus to divert to the weapon they were cleaning and charged. With the element of surprise on my side, I took two of them down with a clean gash through their throats and before the third could get his weapon up I knocked him down. Pummeling his face repeatedly, he attempted to throw me off which prompted me to slice his flailing arms. With his panic rising, I gave him a good hard kick to the side to knock him out. That was the last of them, time to check on the others.
Heading back to the others, I took a look at how they were doing. The guards that were camped around the cage were no where to be seen, they must have taken them out then. I jogged towards the front of the carriage and saw Gaius bent over the lock of the cage. The lock seemed to be some crude contraption that seemed to be building up rust, Gangrel must not have really cared for these guys. As Gaius was working, I glanced around for the others, but I couldn't see them. I heard them first, the sounds of metal on metal crashed into my ear. Making sure Gaius would be okay alone, I headed off in the direction of the sounds.
I jumped over the barrels, crates, and bodies on the floor, and came to the outskirts of the camp. I could hear the clang-clang of weapons bouncing off each other nearby. Soon enough the shouts of voices could be heard over the din of fierce fighting. Sneaking into the brush, I planned to take the enemy by surprise with my entrance. When they finally came into sight, I was shocked at what I saw, there was an entire squad of over a dozen troops backing Lissa, Cordelia, and Panne into a corner.
"Come on ladies, make it easier for yourselves, give it we won't hurt you."
"Oy, aint that the princess who was with the man who took down a couple of our guys?"
"Oh, Gangrel's going to reward us lads if we bring her to him."
"What's wrong he aint here to save you this time?"
I had to do something, anything to turn the tide of battle, there were about twenty enemies grouped in a semicircle and moving forward slowly, menacingly. Judging by the two Plegian bodies on the floor, they must be going in carefully out of caution. Preparing myself mentally, I unsheathed my sword. I moved behind their lines and to their back. With a long breath, I charged.
Yelling at the top of my lungs, I sliced as many of them as I could while moving through their line. In my haze, I couldn't aim properly, but I felt my blade cutting into flesh more then once. Regaining my senses and bearings, I was standing in front of our small group and felt the urge to announce my presence.
"Don't think of starting the party without me boys!" I taunted, giving them one of my smirks.
"Kill'em all!"
With that shout, it broke into chaos. They all charged at once, leaping at us with their blades like rabid dogs. It took all of my concentration to simply ward them off with parries and blocks. Glancing at my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of Cordelia fending for herself quite well against four of them. Panne was in her rabbit form making a dent in their numbers. They would get too close only to be stomped on by her powerful legs. Everyone seemed alright, so I focused on the group of Plegians in front of me.
With a slow breath, I parried one of the blades coming at me and delivered a blow to his hand causing him to drop his sword. Quickly spinning around, I gave him a slash to his legs causing him to drop to his knees. The next moment I was sent flying backwards by something heavy, looking up I gazed in wonder at one of the biggest men I'd ever met not to mention the intimidating hammer he was hauling for a weapon. Man, he was huge and rippled with muscle, he moved like a walking behemoth, but he didn't appear to move very fast. He aimed another blow at my head, probably hoping to crush my skull, using his slow overhead strike to my advantage, I sliced his vulnerable belly before he could close the deal.
My blade was stuck, as I tried to pull it out of his thick belly, I could feel my face going paler. The other men must have realized the same thing I did, as they moved against me quickly to take advantage of their good fortune. One of them rushed in with a quick slash at where I was just a moment before, but I had already rolled out of the way. Scanning the ground for anything to use, my eyes settled on my salvation. It was the sword from the first man I had taken down. Rushing towards it with my life on the line, I gripped the blade and swung as hard as I could. Blood sprayed on to the ground as the one chasing me had his hand chopped clean off. I used this oppertunity to kick my sword hanging in the big guy's gut as hard as I could. Fortunately, the blade came loose and I caught it in my hand.
I threw the other sword onto the ground, and gripped familiarity. There were still four more soldiers in front of me, but I didn't feel cornered. I felt excited as if this was a moment of glory, as if my victory was assured. I fought in a daze, slicing and dodging as felt natural. By the time I came back to my senses, there were bodies strewn across the floor and I could feel a bizarre sensation in the back of my mind. It didn't stop however, soon my vision began to darken and soon I couldn't see anything at all.
When my vision finally cleared, I was in a dark place. There didn't seem to be anything, it was pitch black, but I could still see as if I was in an inky mist. Walking through the fog, I was suddenly blinded by a ray of light in the distance. Rushing towards it I came to a strange looking woman sitting in a chair. She was covered in a strange looking robe that seemed to wreath to and fro as if it was alive. Walking in front of her, she raised her ahead and looked me up and down.
"So your my new wielder hmm?" She spoke in a rather sing songy voice.
"So the rumors were true, this sword is cursed," I said to nothing in particular.
"Well what does your name happen to be young man?" She asked in a pondering tone, her stare inspecting me like I would fine food.
"The name's Arthur, and you?" I returned hoping to shed some light on what was going on.
"My name is Raksha, spirit of the sword, and wielded by many in the past. I have driven many insane before we could meet, the blade needs a sufficient amount of blood and emotion from the wielder before they can meet me. So, you've gone further than most would dare with a cursed blade." Clearing her throat, she gave me a rather incredulous look, "are you listening Arthur?"
"Hmm, yeah I'm listening," I said, though she must not have taken me seriously cause of the flying blade headed my way. Ducking out of instinct, it grazed my head managing to snip off a few loose ends.
Exclaiming in surprise, "What was that for Raksha?"
"An attempt at getting you to focus, rather important stuff mind you."
"I was focused, could hear every word."
"Then why do your eyes glaze over each time you look at me?"
"Ah, that's simple your robe doesn't conceal much, added to the fact of this bizarre situation I'm currently in and its not too hard to make someone slack jawed." I pointed out each fact with clarity in mind. Course, the next thing I know, Raksha's robes morph into a more appropriate dress that felt vaguely familiar. It was yellow and frilly, but at the same time felt light and mobile.
"Now on to the next set of matters regarding myself. We are bond by a link between wielder and blade, through this link a few advantages can be inherited. First, if you have need of me simply call my name and I will appear in the sheath, in desperate cases I can appear in your hand if you will it. Second, we can communicate through each other and with each other, I see the world through your eyes and on occasion can rest control of your body at times I deem fit. Third, the longer you wield me, the closer we become in spirit and mind."
"Sounds interesting, a magical sword, how awesome can that be," I said with my jaw to the floor salivating at the prospect of such a thing. I was going to have fun with this, was the only thing running through my head.
With a nod of her head she continued, "We gain more power with the growth of your emotions and the blood of enemies, particularly those seen as cruel by others. I will return you to your world now."
"Wait," raising my hand, "one last thing we need to do before I go."
"I've said all I've had to say."
Stretching out my hand, "Good to meet you partner," I declared with a great grin plastered on my face.
She seemed shocked at my declaration, but timidly took my hand in its grip. With a few firm shakes, I prepared myself to return to the battle.
The moment my vision took in the green scenery around me, an axe head was headed straight for me. I rolled to the side, as the axe flew where my head was just before. Glancing at my opponents, there was only a single man standing in my way. Unsheathing my blade, I felt the familiar power reside within my body, it made me feel light. Rushing forward, I ducked under the clumsy oaf's swings and finished him off with a slice through his belly.
With the wake of bodies I left, there was a sheen of red on my blade which promptly disappeared into the sword itself drinking up the blood. I placed Raksha back into the scabbard and looked for the others. Walking around the forest, through the bushes, and the bodies strewn about, I came upon a rather shocking scene. Cordelia, Panne ,and Lissa all seemed fine, though a little tattered. What surprised me was the the number of slain Plegians around them. There had to be over two dozen of them.
Whistling, "Looks like I should have worried more for the Plegians than you guys."
"Arthur you're okay," Lissa yelled.
"Yep, I'm perfectly fine," I told her, but she disappeared, before the question even registered, I felt a tremendous amount of force on my chest. The next thing I knew, I was looking up at the sky.
"You were all alone, against so many, I got so worried," she cried in my arms.
I felt a tinge of red crawl into my face that only intensified as Cordelia and Panne came over with mischievous grins on their faces. When Lissa finally let go of me, Gaius came over with the prisoners armed and ready. There had to be over forty troops in those cages, I wonder why Gangrel, held them captive. It seemed we were ready to move on to the next part of our plan, I noted. Though they weren't all wearing proper armor, they at least had leather straps and shields to help blunt blows.
"What's next Gaius?" I yelled out.
"Now we find ourselves a rock, but first, I need a dozen of you to guard the camp we were at, make sure no Plegians get in," he pointed at the ones to guard the camp and they shuffled off in unison.
"Any idea where the rock is?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Its about a ten minute jog through the main road until we reach the large plain. So were getting a move on lets go. Anyone behind's gonna have to give me all their sweets."
I started following after Gaius, the rest of the troops falling in behind us. We passed by a lot of trees on the way, and I couldn't hear the sounds of fighting this far away from the main clash. I hope our side was winning, Robin had to take care of that though, I just have to believe in her. Soon enough, there was a large field that could be seen in the distance, I didn't see any weird looking rocks yet though. All of a sudden Panne shouted out for us to hide in the nearby bushes. I jumped into one without thinking and landed in a heap beside Lissa. I felt a pinprick of pain lance through my side. Lissa looked over with concern and relieved it with her staff. I silently thanked her for the help and as I opened my mouth to explain more someone dragged me out of the bush. Looking at my would be captors, there were about six men, but about eight others behind them, in chains and cuffs. I could feel a dark anger well up inside me at seeing such a thing.
"Oy, boss, theres a noble looking girl in here to," one of the ruffians yelled out, throwing Lissa beside me.
"Oy, we could sell'em for quite a lot don't you think?" said one of the nastier looking ones in the back.
The boss must have been the dark robed man with the strange gloves on his hands. He turned his attention towards us and began to examine us like I would a fine piece of art.
"They will do, cuff them with the others." With that order, the five armed ones moved to capture us. Of course throughout this, I was about as tense as I could get. The thoughts that ran through my mind called for death, turning a friend of mine into a slave only deserved death. As one of the men moved to grab me, his arm was severed from its socket. As he stared at it in disbelief, I rushed forward and sliced through his neck, sending his eyes rolling. The others stared on in disbelief, but charged forward. Their movements felt slow and unorganized, as if they were panicked, fighting like a wild beast. And beasts needed to be hunted. Baring my fangs, I sliced through their arms, dismembering each of them. As they fell to the blows clutching at their missing arm. I drove my blade through each of their hearts. They collapsed and cried in agony as I watched. The leader stared on in disbelief, his eyes wide and sweat began to pour down his pale face.
I snarled, "Which hand?"
"What, which hand, what are you talking about!" He yelled out, panicking.
"Which hand did you use to brand people as animals, to be kept and sold." He could only manage a few meaningless pleas for his life, before I silenced him. With all the animals killed, I rummaged through the pockets of their leader to find the key that kept the cuffs locked. With it in hand, I moved to the chained prisoners. They stared at me with shock, but with a hint of awe in their eyes. I released them all from their bindins and asked them what happened. They explained that the men acted like normal traders until they nestled inside of our small village, they made off with each of us in the dead of night to not arouse suspicion. I nodded in satisfaction, watched them leave.
Soon enough the others returned from their hiding place, and collected around us, Lissa having returned to my side after the carnage. Gaius gave me a pat on the shoulder and threw a piece of confection my way, I popped it into my mouth without thinking and savored the taste of fine chocolate.
"Remind me never to make you mad Peppy." I saluted in response, and we began marching onward again towards a rock that looked like an anvil.
Lissa came striding in beside me, with a curious look on her face, she looked as if she wanted to tell me something. Seeing as how she wasn't going to start the conversation herself, I asked, "Something on your mind Lissa, you can tell me anything."
With a sigh, she replied, "I think I understand you a bit better Arthur, it makes sense why you would always run off by yourself and jump into trouble. I mean when we first heard stories from villagers talking about what you did, I think I get it. You don't want to see bad things happen to normal people."
"Hey, it's simple, but if I can help even one other person when they need it, I'm happy," I told her. We gave each other, our smiling faces, and for the most part, I felt relieved that someone understood me and why I did things.
"Anyway we should get moving, don't want Gaius taking all our sweets." Rushing us along, we moved with the rest of the group. Hand in hand, we caught up with the others and found the rock we were looking for. It really was a rock shaped anvil, the strange shape really stood out compared to the rest of the rocks nestled around it. It looked big enough to fit several people on top of it. Now all we had to do was wait for the rest of them.
"You thinking what I'm thinking Lissa?"
"Yeah, lets do it." We ran forward and clambered on to the rock in question, sitting atop it we swung our legs back and forth in unison as we waited for Robin and the others.
"Chrom you see them?"
"There in the distance, there's over two dozen people camped around the hill."
"Alright that's according to plan, were going to finish this today, you ready Shepherds."
With that answering call flying through the air, a resounding answer followed. There voices all mingled into one and formed a wall of sound that woke the landscape.
"Lets get moving, we've got justice to uphold," yelled Chrom.
As they neared the hillside, Robin went off to talk to Gaius to understand what occurred on their side of things.
As I stared at the force Robin brought with her, it was rather small, in fact it looked like the only troops with her where the Shepherds. As I started at the number, I came to the realization that it truly was just them. Well Robin must know what she's doing so I'll just leave it to her. Moving on, I looked back at Lissa who was staring at Robin and Gaius talking. Now that I had a good look at her, she really was beautiful, from the shape of her face to the gold hair that seemed to spill forward. What am I saying, I had other things to think about then that right now. Shaking my head to clear the clouds from my brain, I helped Lissa down from the rock.
We moved towards the two of them and asked them what was going on. Robin explained to us that the enemy forces from here on were composed of an elite guard, that Gangrel keeps to himself, they matched the Shepherds skills and the dozen guards Gangrel kept near himself for reassurance. The plan was for the released troops to take on the guards with their numbers advantage and we would fight the elites. With a nod in understanding I awaited the marching orders with Lissa. Soon enough Chrom came by to give the orders. That was until his eyes rested on Lissa and I, he was giving us a funny expression to say the least. Before long, he moved on and we began marching.
"Let's win this Lissa, and we'll be heroes, they'll sing our songs throughout the ages."
"Hey, that's probably thinking too far ahead, but yeah!" With a shout of agreement, we crossed the plains and there they were. Gangrel could be seen in the distance with his troops. The elite guard situated just in front of him, and the other guards to the side. Robin gave the signal and the troops split to take on each side. We would attack from the front to take on his personal troops and ours would attack from the side to take on their guards. With each of us in position, Robin gave one last look around and fired the signal that would begin this final battle between the two kings and their respected following.
I sensed a rising feeling within me, as we ran towards our opponents. They appeared well trained, well armed, and well coordinated. They didn't seem like the typical Plegian troops with the way they coordinated themselves and moved as a team. The excitement finally boiled to a point as we charged against each other. There was only fifty feet between us before we would clash. I picked the nearest target I could reach and set my sights on a stoic looking man in heavy chain mail, while grasping a large sword in his hand. His face showed he was calm and collected as I charged.
As I was just about to barrel towards him, I felt a disturbing sensation in my mind. My vision suddenly blurred and I watched myself be decapitated by his sword as I came rushing in. What was that, was it a vision of my death, I jumped back and stopped a few feet away from him. Then I could hear a voice resound within my mind.
"Calm down Arthur, I do not wish for my new wielder to lose his head so soon after we are acquainted."
"Oh, was that vision you trying to warn me Raksha?"
"Indeed it was, you must use your head, the enemy before you is more skilled than any you've faced before, do not take him lightly and rush in without a plan. I will provide support as you face him."
"Alright, I got it, let's do this partner."
My opponent must have felt surprised at my sudden drawback, as he had a shocked expression on his face. He let out a large sigh and flexed his muscular body, caused by years of training. He seemed disappointed somehow, as if this could have ended much quicker, but that passed when a rather sadistic smile spread across his face.
"Looks like your not as stupid as you look Ylissean. I'll enjoy spilling your guts and using your blood for paint." He snarled, and changed into a stance that radiated danger as if I was prey about to be hunted.
I calmed myself down and let out a few slow breaths to relax my muscles. Grasping my sword, I evaluated that the only way to beat him was to take it slow. Methodically approaching my opponent, I cut at his left arm, which he promptly blocked without a problem. Switching it up I struck at his right side and the results were the same. Alright, it looks like he has no problems with his left or right side, what about his legs. Trying it out, I aimed a low slash at his legs, which he promptly dodged. So hes uncomfortable with blocking low strikes.
As I was still probing for his weakness, a sudden strike came for me aimed at my neck. Right before it hit, I ducked out of the way and got into a defensive stance.
"Now now, you're not the only one that gets to have fun with his meal before consuming," he called out, baring his teeth with the last word.
Readying my blade, I decided to make do with the information I had so far and strike. I slashed downward and felt metal on metal, with our swords touching his face was inches from mine. I could see his eyes from up close, they were the eyes of someone mad. Befitting considering he worked for Gangrel. With our blades still connected, I pushed as hard as I could hoping to get him off balance. I managed to get him off balance and right as he stumbled backwards, I struck. My blade managed a shallow stab at his abdomen, it wasn't deep enough to be fatal, but it should slow him down.
Preparing for another attack, I waited for another opportunity. He fumbled a bit as he stared at his own blood. I felt unnerved, as if something was wrong here. Soon enough I could hear cackling from my injured foe.
"Hahahahah, it's been so long since I've been injured, all the others were such weaklings, not even able to last a moment before I cut them down. I truly will enjoy this, what is your name young man, I will savor it as I enjoy you."
"The name's Arthur, and be careful, this meal's poisonous," I declared.
"I am Victor, known as the Devourer to my enemies, let us see who is food for the other."
Our formalities out of the way, he charged forward, much more aggressive than before. He struck at my left arm aiming to slice it off, but seeing him move, I quickly parried his blade away. Before I was ready, he struck again this time at my stomach going for a diagonal strike. With my eyes, I blocked that one as well. The next one came for my neck a quick flash of steel heading for me, I managed to stop that one as well, but not before I felt a sharp pain from my throat. I could then feel a warm feeling spread down my neck onto my shirt. I was bleeding, I'm sure of it. Looking back up, I saw his smiling face, it looked like he was enjoying this.
Our trades continued, with me sustaining more and more damage, slowly but surely, I was losing this fight. I can't die here though, I had something to do, someone to protect, somewhere to go. Letting out a roar, I tensed my muscles and gave my all for another strike at his blade right before he struck me. His fingers must have rung from the impact, as his hands felt unsteady, using this to my advantage, I leaped forward and managed to slash him across the chest. He staggered back and kneeled down onto his right knee holding his hand to his chest.
I let out a sight of relief, now I could go help the others finish this. I collected a few breaths before I heard a nasty cackle come from behind me. To my shock, he was standing completely unscathed, the only thing damaged was his chain mail, and a large book that he kept under his shirt.
"What's with that face, this aint over," he chuckled throwing the destroyed book onto the dirt. In my state of confusion, he disappeared from my sight and was next to me before I knew it. Red, my eyes could only see red. Looking at him, who was now a few feet away from me laughing, why was he laughing. It hurts, I tried to move my left arm, but couldn't feel anything from there. Taking a look at the oddity, I realized why, there was a large gash in my arm, deep enough that I could see bone. That explains it, when I turned my sights back on Victor, he was coming towards me, a dark grin on his face. Was I going to die. That can't be, this couldn't be how it'd end.
As he came towards me, I couldn't think, I stopped thinking. He stopped right in front of me, and I could see his sword slowly descend down on me. All of a sudden it stopped, as if there was something blocking his passage. Another sword was holding it back, it looked like mine, but that couldn't be I hadn't moved my arm. As he tried to force it down on me, my arm struck managing a blow on his sword arm. It cut deep managing to slice clean through his bone. He stood there in stark surprise, too shocked to comprehend what had happened. While he was bewildered, my blade sank into his heart causing him to splutter up blade before he collapsed in a heap. As my arm returned my sword to my sheath I realized I had no control over my body.
All of a sudden, Raksha appeared before me. I must have been delirious seeing illusions of winning the fight and being alive. She gave me a icy glare before opening her mouth to speak.
"Far too reckless, and vulnerable. You are in need of training indeed. If it wasn't for the fact that you were wielding me when you fought, you would not be breathing right now. It takes a large toll on myself to wrest control from my host even for a moment. If you had not ceased thinking, I wouldn't have been able to make it in time."
"I guess I should say thanks then, I just wanted to move on to the others."
"Arthur, I understand, but you need to make sure your opponenets are truely dead before turning your back. You were almost killed this time."
"I won't forget, and sorry I'm such a lousy host," I said apologetically.
"Although you're one of the most reckless hosts I've ever had, I felt a bond much stronger with you than anyone of my other wielders. In fact, I've manifested enough power to project myself into your world." Raksha sounded pleased, this must have been quite an achievement since she was lapping so much praise on it, but I was too weak to listen at this point. She gave me a worried look, as she realized I had los a lot of blood whilst we were talking. I told her we needed to find someone who could help me and she nodded in understanding. Her form dissolved and flew towards her sword and disappeared.
I hurt all over, I was leaking blood, and I could die soon, but I felt great. I can't remember the last time I felt I was in mortal danger. I watched the plain around me and noted that most of my friends were still fighting. I couldn't see Chrom or Robin anywhere though. Not my concern at the moment, as a numbing sensation could be felt on my left arm.
"I've numbed the senses on your left arm so as to allow you to find a healer without the distraction of the pain." I heard Raksha chime in an explanation as to why. Giving her a mental thanks, I looked for anyone that could help me. It took me a minute or two before I could find Lissa in the distance providing support to Lon'qu. Moving over there, I could feel myself weakening. I got within ten feet of them before I collapsed unable to walk any longer. I tried to lift myself up, but it was no use, until I heard a voice coming from behind me.
"Oh god, Arthur, hang on I'll get someone over here." I could only nod at this point as my vision darkened at its edges. I couldn't tell how long had passed, but soon enough I heard voices coming from above me or was it below me, I couldn't tell anymore. Whoever it was, please don't let me die before coming to terms with regrets, I still had a prank to pull on Robin. The darkness soon took me as I welcomed its inky warmth, away from the pain.
My eyes opened to the sight of an angel descending on me, she was clothed in a beautiful white or was it gold dress and had long golden hair. I see, I must have died and this is the afterlife. Well losing that much blood and almost losing an arm would do that to a person. I sighed and made peace with my friends that I had let down. Clasping my hands together I preached the angel for what to do next.
"Oh, divine one, what does one do once they've passed on," I asked her. It was not her voice who answered me, but rather one nearby.
"Looks like we've lost him, hes delirious and crazy, I knew this day would come sooner or later." I turned my attention to the figure who was wringing out a wet towel, she was wearing a plain brown shirt, with dark pants. Her hair was blue and tied into a strange bun, and I recognized her.
"Ah, it's Robin, I must be in hell, what did I do to deserve such a cruel fate!"
"Hey, what kind of reasoning is that!" She cried, smacking me across the forhead with the towel she was carrying. Lissa was trying to hold in her laughter, but with a wierd face courtesy of your's truly, she let out a good one.
"Thank goodness you're okay Arthur," she said with relief on her face.
"Did ya miss me?" I said teasingly, though I was answered wth a tackle into my gut. The next thing I know, I had a Lissa attached to my side. I wasn't sure how to feel about this, since the only thing that came to mind was the pain. She was squeezing real tight too, at this rate I would be having another brush with death, so I signaled for help from Robin with my eyes.
"Anyway Lissa, we should let him rest, hes probably curious about what happened."
Lissa, fortunately, took that as her cue to remove herself from my stomach and sat backd down on the chair beside my bed. Now that I wasn't delirious, it looked like we were in the tent from the camp we had secured for ourselves. Nodded to Robin for her to continue I waited with bated breath to hear the news of the war's climax.
"While, as you can probably tell, we won in a grand fashion. We suffered little casualties aside from the occasional novice playing the hero. Gangrel's been defeated and Chrom's planning a celebration back in Ylisse, although that's going to be a while from now. My plan went off without any problems and his forces were decimated for the most part, the stragglers went running back to Plegia with their tails behind their legs. Moving on to the final battle, Chrom and I faced him together and we managed to beat him with our combined might. The only one really injured was you Arthur. I have to apologize for that, I did not take into account that you would rush forward and take on their strongest fighter yourself, I had originally planned on Fredrick to take him on."
I let out a ragged breath and realized what Raksha said about me was true, I was too reckless and went charging in without thinking first. I motioned Robin to continue with the summary.
"To my surprise you managed to best him yourself, although I didn't see that coming, I'm glad I was wrong for once," she gave me a winning smile as she went on. "I'll let Lissa tell you what happened as she was there when it happened."
I turned to Lissa, who was fidgeting in her seat before looking at me. Her eyes were red and she looked just about to cry. I told her it's okay, if it's painful she didn't have to tell me.
"No, it's just I was worried you wouldn't have made it. After you charged off to take on Victor, Robin sent Fredrick after you, but he was stopped by a number of their elites who barred his way. He made short work of them, but not quick enough as your fight had already finished. By the time he got to you, you were already severely injured and got my attention." Lissa began to tear up at this point, and I started to feel anxious at seeing tears on her face.
"Hey, I'm still alive Lissa, so it looks like I'm going to have you to thank for that hmm, Anything you want I'll do it." I tried to cheer her up, wiping the tears from her eyes and turning her face to look at mine.
"Anyway, I'm guessing I was near dead, but you managed to patch me up okay. I don't think I need to hear the rest," I declared to the two in front of me.
Robin cleared her throat for one last announcement, and I turned my attention to her, but I was not prepared for what I was about to hear at all.
"You'll be living in the Ylissean Castle after we return so your injuries are healed completely."
There's no way I heard that right, she didn't say what I think she said did she, I stuck my fingers in my ears to clean the lint and motioned for her to repeat what she had just said. Robin repeated it, I denied, and this cycle continued once more before Robin chimed in.
"Chrom said 'I feel bad for Arthur being so injured due to a tactical error. Let's allow him to recover in the castle, he'll love it.' and everyone agreed."
"I'm not getting out of this am I?" I voiced my concern, since I never liked stuffy places, they felt binding, opressive. I could imagine the many ackward dinners, with my poor table maners.
"Well whatever, may as well go with it," I resigned myself to my fate.
As I sighed once again, there came the sounds of rushing feet at the tent entrance and soon enough in came bursting a myriad of people. They all started talking at the same time so the only thing I caught was something about cake, injuries, and a pet name. I told them to calm down, we had all day.
Gaius decided to talk first, "You're alive Peppy, I knew putting sweets beside you would help you heal better."
Next was Tharja, "My beloved, the curses I used must have helped your recovery, I need to make sure you don't suffer the side effects."
That worried me a little, but seeing as how I felt relatively okay, it must have been fine, though I do feel a strange craving for tomatoes right now. Seeing as how I detest them to the point of calling them vomit inducing, that was worrying.
Finally it was Nowi, "You're awake Arthur, all that sleeping must have been good for something, we can go play again," she stated with a grand smile.
We continued like that for a while, talking and catching up. Soon we would have to move back to Ylisse, fortunately I got the chance to ride in the trader's carriage with Anna. War's finally over, now the only thing I had to look forward to next be a stay in the royal castle of all places, this could only be fun.