Chapter 7: The Queen's Gambit Accepted
Garrus slowly awoke feeling strangely refreshed. He swore he heard a voice singing to him earlier but decided to not ponder. The sun graced the high cloudless sky as a steady breeze blew in from the sea into Fort Alpea. Garrus took in a deep breath of the breeze that blew in through the narrow window and appreciated the soothing, if a bit salty, scent. He slowly got up, standing still for more of the sluggishness to wear off. The fort remained as quiet as it was at dawn. There was some more activity, but most were conducting their business quietly. As Garrus passed the doorway out of his room after getting dressed, a guard looked over.
"Excuse me sir," the guard prompted. "The queen wishes to meet with you when you are ready."
Garrus gave a small nod and proceeded towards the study room where he last saw Elincia. She was still there, sitting at a desk writing correspondence papers. She looked like she had just taken a nap. The lengthy escort of the night before wore everyone down. Upon entering the room, Elincia looked up and smiled.
"Garrus," Queen Elincia greeted. "I am sorry that we couldn't discuss what you wanted yesterday."
"It's fine, Your Majesty," Garrus replied shortly with a small smile.
"Now that things are somewhat calm, we can speak on the matter," Elincia said.
Garrus sat down in a chair in front of Elincia's desk. "I heard from my travels and noticed in your capital that Crimea is actively seeking alliances with Laguz nations."
"That is correct," Elincia said happily. "Tensions between the Beorc and Laguz have been too hostile in the past few decades. Crimea is proud to form alliances with those who helped defend our country during the Mad King's War, even Laguz."
"How is it turning out?" Garrus inquired.
"We have formed strong ties with Gallia. They helped us rebuild Crimea. The hawk tribe in Phoenicis are interested but have not responded much. The raven tribe in Kilvas is not too interested." As Elincia finished, an uneasy expression crossed her face. "The three Laguz nations have recently formed the Laguz Alliance and are thinking of declaring war against Begnion."
"That's…complicated," Garrus realized. "What is it about?"
"Begnion's treatment of Laguz the past few decades," Elincia explained. "We are allies with Galia, but Begnion also aided us greatly during the war. If the Laguz Alliance declares war, Crimea will have to remain neutral."
"What about Goldoa?" Garrus asked suddenly.
Queen Elincia had a slightly puzzled look on her face. "We have tried to contact the dragon Laguz several times but have yet to receive a single response. Why?"
"I also heard on my travels about the country's attempts to contact them," Garrus replied. "I would like to help."
"I appreciate the offer," Elincia smiled after a brief moment, but it disappeared just as quickly. "However, I do not think the court will accept a person of your status in diplomacy."
"I am not asking for an ambassador position," Garrus explained. "I am merely asking for somewhere to start to aid Crimea's attempts in contacting Goldoa."
"That is a strange request coming from someone such as yourself," Elincia noted Garrus's armor, but smiled again. "But I will consider your offer."
Garrus stood up from his chair and smiled. "Thank you, Your Majesty. That is all I wanted to ask."
As he proceeded towards the door, Elincia spoke up. "You are a mercenary, correct?"
"Yes, I am," Garrus answered.
"Have you ever heard of the Greil Mercenaries?" Elincia asked.
Something suddenly ticked in Garrus's mind. "Yes. A friend of mine...fought during the war three years ago. He told me about them."
"You look very well-trained," Elincia commented. "Perhaps you may consider joining them."
"I prefer to work alone," Garrus said with a hint of uneasiness.
"I am certain you will do well," Elinicia replied optimistically. "Ike is quite accepting of people of all kinds."
Garrus forced a small smile back and left the room. He heard about the Greil Mercenaries. They were an incredibly famous group of fighters in Crimea. They had the great distinction of being led by Crimea's young war hero during the Mad King's War, former general Ike. Stephan told him about them. Unrivaled swordsman and leader of the village of the Grann Desert where Garrus lived, he fought with Ike's army against Daein during the war. He also found and attempted to recruit another Branded from the group. From what Stephan described, the person was a rather gifted wind sage and master tactician who was quite adamant that he belonged with normal society and refused to leave Ike's side. The recent news with the group was they have not been seen in months. It only added to the queen's problems concerns in the midst of politics and the rebellion.
The next hour came and went much like earlier. No news had arrived regarding General Geoffrey's charge against Castle Falirae, and traffic in and out of the fort was carefully watched. As the final minutes of the hour came, so did a dracoknight riding atop a black wyvern. It caused a nervous stir as the man on the wyvern was questioned. He claimed to be carrying a message from the capital Melior, but his black armor with silver-colored outlines clearly said he is, or was, a dracoknight from Begnion. The quality of the large axe he carried also suggested he likely had great skill. Garrus watched from the higher level of the fort near the entrance to the indoors. The fort had a rather strange but effective tatical layout. Those seeking shelter would have to walk up some ways on the stairs but would prove an advantage for defending.
The soldiers allowed the dracoknight to pass. As he walked up steps towards the interior entrance, Garrus noted he had swept back brown hair, and wore an eye patch over his right eye. As the knight came at the top of the steps, Garrus noticed his tall figure, and the unmistakable yet subtle sleepy expression on his face.
"Captain Haar!" Garrus suddenly found himself standing uptight.
The dracoknight stopped and gave a confused look. "Lieutenant?" Haar realized a couple seconds later. He walked over to Garrus. "What are you doing here?"
"I left the service a few years back," Garrus explained shortly. "I'm a mercenary now. Crimea needed my services so here I am."
"That's a better excuse for a job than what I have," Haar grinned slightly. "I am a currier."
Garrus looked to the side as a chuckle slipped out. "That's…quite a change of careers for someone of your skill, Captain," Garrus noted.
"If I remember, Levail spoke very highly of you," Haar commented. "How is he?"
"I have not spoken to Captain Levail since I left," Garrus responded.
Haar gave a passive expression. "Still a shame you did not join the ranks of the dracoknights."
Garrus shook his head. He declined the offer back then.
"Good thing you didn't," Haar continued. "When you have crazy senators for superiors, overconfident rookies to command, and only your general and his daughter to keep you sane, you quit early."
Garrus merely gave a shrug, unable to comment.
"It was nice meeting you again, Lieutenant. I must really see the Queen," Haar walked off lazily. "And then I can find myself a nap…"
Garrus watched as Haar walked off, and then turned to the view in front of the fort.
Something was off. He noticed a spec of white in the distance, slowly moving along the path towards the fort. It looked like the Crimean army. They were probably reinforcements. However, Queen Elincia's location was kept secret. Only those at the fort and the Queen's trusted knew her location. The marching array of soldiers was also far too large for the fort to accommodate. And it can't be the Royal Knights because most were out attempting to capture Castle Falirae. The realization of what was about to happen hit Garrus with a sudden rush. He turned around and sprinted to sound the alarm.
The situation against the rebellion army had reached a near crisis point. News arrived that Ludveck had infiltrated Lucia's informant network and captured her. In addition, the army marching towards the fort was the main force of the rebellion, and it was sighted that Lord Ludveck was leading them. The whole fort was bordering on panic as everyone was trying to fortify the defenses. Their current saving grace was either get Queen Elincia out safely, or hold out until the Royal Knights arrive. The problem with the latter choice was no one knew how far away the knights were or even if they were on the way. The problem with the former choice was Elincia refused to run. She was going to command her forces personally.
Garrus could not tell if Elincia's decision boosted morale or added to the edgy atmosphere. Perhaps it was both. What was certain was however many soldiers were within the fort will soon confront the main force of Lord Ludveck's army. Everyone within the walls was holed up, as all the gates of the fort were sealed. It was not long before Ludveck's army arrived at the front gates. Instead of standing at the front gates, they started walking around the fort.
Everyone who stood at the fort's vantage point began looking at each other with confused looks.
"Why are they marching to the rear gate?" one mage asked.
As if on cue, yelling and metal clashing broke out from the fort's rear side. Everyone looked over and saw a sea of white-armored soldiers pouring in from the rear gate.
Garrus ran over to one of the soldiers. "Tell Queen Elincia that the rear gate has been opened! We don't have much time!"
The soldier wasted no time and rushed to the Queen. Garrus entered the fort interior and ran down the many hallways towards the rear courtyard. Garrus's running came to a sudden halt as he came across the armory. He looked at this current lance. He had it since he stole it off a Bengion soldier at that prison. He tossed it aside and grabbed another off the armory rack. It was short, light, and with a steel tip; standard military issue, but far better than his old rusted stick. As Garrus sprinted outside, he could see the calamity. The rebellion had not reached the upper level yet, but the noise says they were getting closer. Garrus ran down the steps and encountered a wall of the fort's defenders getting overrun by the flowing enemy count. As the fort's defenders retreated just past Garrus and the enemies were about to attack him, he engaged.
It came to him naturally. He had not fought in a battle since Daein's liberation. He was performing better than he thought. But something was making him hesitate. The rebellion soldiers were very inexperienced. They were too predictable. They merely charged straight on with youthful battle cries, and were easy to dodge. The rebellion soldiers were also poorly coordinated; they never planned on ganging up on others. They lacked team unity. They were young men.
These people were sold on the sole idea of fighting for glory, Garrus thought to himself. They do not truly understand war.
There were some experienced veterans among the amateurs, struggling to give orders, but youthful ignorance caused the orders to fall on deaf ears.
Garrus decided to focus his attacks by delivering his attacks to the head. He attempted to cause mild concussions on the young soldiers to knock them out long enough that in the event Queen Elincia emerged victorious, they can be held prisoners and reconsider their actions. Whether Queen Elincia's soldiers were capable of the same ethical decision was a different matter. The rebellion soldiers were slain in self-defense.
The battle wore on where the minutes seem to have tripled in length. Maybe half an hour, or maybe an hour, passed before Garrus knocked out enough soldiers to create a fairly large concussion brigade. He managed to find a pause in the fight and leaned on his lance in exhaustion. He looked around quickly at the front lines. They were slowly being pushed back towards the top of the fortress, when Queen Elincia attempted to stand strong. The less experienced Crimean ally soldiers were barely holding the defensive line, and Elincia's the well-experienced non-army fighters were frantic in their attempts to help the soldiers. Among the fighters was Captain Haar.
"Captian Haar!" Garrus ran over.
The frighteningly experienced dracoknight looked over to Garrus after slamming an unfortunate rebellion soldier hard onto the ground.
"Is any help arriving?" Garrus shouted over the noise. "The defensive line is slowly falling apart!"
"A Pegasus knight came in earlier and said the Royal Knights are on their way. Queen Elincia has ordered everyone to continue their stand," Haar yelled back. "Watch out!"
Garrus wheeled around. Before he could block the attack of the enemy solider, a giant bolt of lightning came out of the sky and crashed into the soldier, courtesy of the mage standing on the ledge above him. The solider collapsed onto the ground with a thud. Almost immediately, Queen Elincia flew in and stopped next to Garrus.
"Queen Elincia," Garrus called in alarm. "What are you doing here? This is front line!"
Elincia did not respond. Her right hand held the royal house sword of Crimea. It was a slim design, with a lavishly decorated hilt and handle. Elincia was staring down at the bottom of the fort, at the center, where Lord Ludveck stood. He glared back at her, with a self-assuring smirk on his face. The battle continued with Elincia occasionally appearing at the front line, much to the panic of ally soldiers. Not much time passed before a clear battle cry was heard in a corridor on the east side of the fort.
"Your Majesty! We'll countercharge their flank!"
The most monumental expression of relief came across Elincia's face when she heard the cry.
"Geoffrey! Geoffrey, oh, Geoffrey!" Elincia repeated. She nearly fell off her Pegasus as if she believed it was a dream.
"The Royal Knights will succeed again! Indomitable knights of Crimea, this is the hour you have trained for! Hold the line, and run them down!" Geoffery order his knights.
The tide of the battle quickly changed. Morale among the allied soldiers soar to levels near what Garrus saw during his last days in Daein. Enemies were forced to deal with two fronts; the front where Garrus stood, and the front of the Royal Knights. The ranks of the enemy began to disintegrate. The noise continued for what felt like another half an hour, and then the rebellion army fell. Lord Ludveck was captured and taken to the fort prison.
Like everyone around him, Garrus also was relieved at the timely arrival of the Royal Knights and capture of Ludveck. He paced to relieve his tension. Soldiers of the rebellion were held captive by allies, and only some allied soldiers were fatally wounded. A few had died. Garrus decided to head to the high vantage walkway at the front of the fort to see the scenery. Upon reaching the top, a soldier ran past Garrus with blinding speed.
What's his hurry? Garrus wandered. Surely, everything should be fine no-
He was rudely interrupted by the scene in front of the fort. There were more rebellious soldiers, but that was not the worrying part. There was a platform. Lady Lucia stood on it. A crowd surrounded her, with soldiers ready to hang her.
Garrus stood in disbelief as Elincia ran off to talk to Ludveck after witnessing what was happening to Lucia. The rebellion demanded Ludveck's release and Elinica's crown in exchange for Lucia's life. Haar joined Garrus at the top of the fort as they waited for the Queen's decision.
"I can't believe they planned this," Garrus gaped.
"Hm…Ludveck is very clever," Haar noted. "He must really want that crown."
"Even Begnion did not go this low. They only allow these kinds of public executions for outright dangerous criminals and…and…" Garrus began to lose grip of his reality over what he said next. "Branded."
Haar looked over at Garrus with yet another sleepy look. "Lieutenant?"
Garrus quickly tried to recompose himself. "I…uh…I'm fine," he ended shortly.
His eye suddenly caught some quick movement some distance past the crowd surrounding the platform. Focusing hard, he could make the figures of two people, attempting to climb a tree. Bows were attached to their backs. The climb was successful and they disappeared in the treetop branches.
"I think I saw two people climbing a tree back there," Garrus pointed.
Haar did not make a response. His attention was clearly directed at Lucia. Several long minutes passed before Queen Elincia reappeared at the top of the fort to deliver her decision to the rebellion army. She was clearly in deep distress but through massive effort managed to speak in a clear voice.
"Rebel soldiers, hear me!" Elincia called. "Ludveck of Felirae, having conspired against the nation, will stand trial. As the queen and ruler of Crimea, I refuse to negotiate with those bent on destroying it."
The lead soldier on the ground looked up at Elincia. Elincia stood by her decision.
"Your Highness! Your trusted friend will now die. Let this burn forever in your memory!"
Everyone atop the fort stood silent and completely motionless. Garrus did not look around to see the reactions. His eyes were fixed on where Lucia stood, where she stood the whole time, but now had a rope around her neck. Every passing second was one step closer to another terrifying chapter in Crimea's history. He could hear Elincia's breath become incredibly shaky. Garrus's eyes looked over to the tree where he saw two archers climb earlier. He had not noticed any movement since the tree climb. If they are here to save Lucia, now would be the time.
And they did.
Without warning, an arrow came streaking out of the tree branches and cut the robe around Lucia's neck before pinning onto the nearly wood pillar. Lucia fell back before being caught by a blue-haired swordsman that Garrus could not make out. The entire crowd surrounding the stage gasped in unison. The swordsman unsheathed his sword and cleaved two rebellion soldiers clean off their feet. Almost immediately, two knights appeared and were knocking more soldiers off their feet. A swordswoman, a wind sage, and other fighters of what appeared to be a mercenary group aided. Garrus looked to his side to find Geoffery's lit expression.
"Queen Elincia! It's Sir Ike and the Greil Mercenaries. They came to our aid!" Geoffery exclaimed. "I'll deploy my knights at once."
Geoffery quickly ran off, unaware of Elincia's dazed expression. She collapsed onto her knees, breathing deeply in relief.
"I will watch on her, Lieutenant," Haar stated. "You go rest…"
Garrus nodded and proceeded slowly back inside the fort. It was deserted, as nearly everyone was near the front of the fort witnessing the Greil Mercenaries or in the dungeons keeping an eye on the prisoners. He walked into his bedroom and left his lance leaning against a single weapon rack. He left his armor on in case another emergency happened. As he began to lie down on his bed, his head fell and stuffed itself into the pillow. Garrus gave a deep sigh.
It was one of the most hectic days he had ever experienced.