Author's Note: :P Why am I writing such angst? I dunno, blame music-- Within Temptation and Evanescence have like totally KILLED my fluff-writing ability right now, so I wrote something to "My Last Breath" by Evanescence. XD Lololol, I don't know why I'm feeling so angst-filled at this moment, but hey-- this was fun to write. I just hope that you people can deal with my depressingly bad attempt at poetry. (Whee, no rhymes... I can do rhymes, but ehh.)
- ToKissTheRoses

I am fully prepared to die in this battle. I do not know if the rest of the company understands this, but I do.

If I die here in this godforsaken forest, then I will have died as I wish to-- for something I want to change.

I sat polishing my Sieglinde, eyes closed, whispering the words to a poem that I had memorized as a child. It was about a queen in a fairy tale, who died for her country-- I had always liked it, though it was depressingly morbid.

"Let them come for her blood,

She will shed it for her people;

Let them come for her life,

She will lose it for her friends;

Let them try to vanquish her-

She will die for him," I murmured, polishing away at the silver legendary sword.

I fell asleep in a few minutes, holding onto the hilt of my favorite weapon, at my desk. Someone carried me to bed, I know not who. But when I woke, I had a sense of resolve. It would carry me through the day, even if I was afraid-- or so I hoped.

When we went into the temple, I saw the hordes of undead that I hated with such a passion. I went to the front lines, despite protest from those that saw me. I hacked at them-- those children of demons and witches-- with such ferocity I could see the startled looks from others. As the others and I fought closer and closer to Lyon, I took a weapon from the ground and used it to vault over an Entombed towards my childhood friend.

I held up my sword and whispered, as I blocked, struck, blocked…

"Let them come for her blood."

Lyon threw a spell at me-- I did not know the name. But I dodged it, and struck back at him with Sieglinde. He dodged it as well, but he did not have such luck with my continuation of the first blow-- an upper inside crescent. He had a gash across his left arm now, but it moved still.

"She will shed it for her people."

He used a Flux spell on me, and it hit. The damn thing seemed to leech away my energy, but I still struck at him quickly and strongly.

"Let them come for her life."

I slashed at him once again, and it took off a chunk of his hair, leaving only a scratch on his cheek. The Demon-Lyon smiled at me, and I thought for a moment I saw sadness in those eyes-- then it was replaced with an insane rage.

"She will lose it for her friends."

He hit me with another Dark spell, and since I had not studied in Dark magic, I did not know the names of any spells but the Flux. I stumbled, but recovered, finally hitting the Prince of Grado with a slice that cleanly took his head from his body.

"Let them try to vanquish her."

A huge, monstrous-- thing, for that is the only word that can describe it-- seemed to pour out from his broken, stiff body, and I must admit I screamed. I could not move, frozen in shock and fear of it, though I told my body to move, move, move-- the Demon King bore down on me with its claws, and I closed my eyes.

I heard a shout from a little ways away-- "Eirika!"

I smiled. "She will die for him."

I had never heard Seth address me by my first name before. Then, the claw pierced my chestplate, and I fell to the ground. I don't think it bothered with the final blow, for I lay there, bleeding out, on the floor of a dark temple, in front of the essence of evil itself.

I saw two things before the darkness pulled me away from everything. A sword slashed through the Demon King, in one clean hit, and its owner's face above mine, shaking my shoulders. The same man was lifting me up to his chest as he ran towards Natasha.

The last thing I heard was a word from him, red hair mussed up, face slowly turning red as he comprehended that I was dying-- "Eirika…"

I did try to say something-- I believe the breath left my lips as I finished murmuring, "Seth."