A/N: Hello people. I am alive. The reason I haven't updated in a month is because...
Nephenee: He got up and got a life.
Lex: When that didn't work out, I came back here... Wait, that ain't it. Go away! Well, would you guys believe that this chapter had been finished some (gulp) two weeks ago, and that the next chapter is a work in process.
Nephenee: He forgot.
Lex: Yes I did... yes I did. Well, I've also been busy with college.
Nephenee: (Sigh)
Lex: Thank you MattyBoy91, cazzcappy, and draobpuc (it was refreshing to read that I avoid using clichés) for the kind feedback. I got some catching up to do, I'll go read the paper and you guys enjoy. Hey, Neph, do me a favour. Give our readers a recap.
Nephenee: (Sigh) Fine, on the last chapter of the Relentless Sentinel we saw: A sassy Nephenee, jokes that Lex thinks are funny, references to other Fire Emblem games, ambiguous plot clues, a badly written Bastian, unnecessarily long monologue, Lex thinking he's clever, and now, more of the same.
Lex: That was uncalled for.
Chapter 6: Disputes Before the Battles
As an experienced veteran, I'm familiar with the saying "the calm right before the storm". Until yesterday, my life as am officer of the Crimean Army has been very uneventful – train, spar, eat, and get my ears blown by Kieran's screaming. That changed when Kieran and I received a letter from Duke Renning instructing has that in less than twenty-four hours we had to prepare the troops to start our march around Crimea.
I don't have a right to be angry by the sudden news; I knew I would return killing others once I returned to being a soldier – it was inevitable. Not only that, I already knew this campaign was going to happen, even when Queen Elincia herself doesn't know.
I still didn't get any time to say a proper farewell to my family – that's why I'm walking to our house, late at night, to leave a letter explaining that I won't be around for a while and that I will be thinking of them often. I'm pretty sure that the boys can't read yet, I think Wendy might be able to read it, and I'm not sure if Amelia took any classes while I was gone. I know ma can't read, neither could I until Calill taught me when we met, then I taught Wendy. I hope she doesn't slack-off and not teach the rest how to read and write. I taught her because after me, she's the oldest one; therefore, she has to be more responsible.
I just hope they don't think I didn't want to say a proper goodbye to them.
Once I reach our house, I noticed that even at night-time the house looks glamorous. I slipped the letter under the front door and headed back to the castle.
The clanking of my armour echoes on the empty streets I walk on, and the lack of an even louder clanking serves as a reminder that my old partner won't be there to watch my back. I hope that I still will be useful even if Brom won't be watching my back. He and I made a good team, he would dispatch of the lightweight soldiers that attacked us and I the slower ones. Some Begnion soldiers would call us the Bumpkin Duo, which had made me really uncomfortable – since it was by the time I was extremely self-conscious about my rural roots. One day, Brom noticed I didn't liked getting teased by them... the beating he gave them might have been a little harsh, but he said that those guys were nincompoops that needed some sense beaten into them.
Brom... he must be in Ohma right now, he probably already told the entire village where and how I'm living. It's going to be so embarrassing once I visit, they'll be asking so many questions at once. Although a nasty side of my wants my old teenage crush to hear how well I'm doing; I know it's childish, still, it's not like I will invite him here and give him a long tour of our house just so I can show off.
I shook my head. I need to grow up a little more, or maybe the boy's immaturity is contagious.
It was still dark when I reached the castle, although, some rays of sunlight could be seen at a distance. I hurried once I realized that morning was just a few hours away. Kieran and I were given instructions to move the army as soon as possible in order to avoid attracting attention from the citizens. I saw some soldiers inside the castle, all of them being members of Kieran's army. They looked puzzled; probably they are wandering if we are at war again since they must've heard that we are to move out of the city.
"Captain!" I heard a soldier called out. I stopped and looked at a soldier coming my way. I noticed he's a halberdier, although he stood out because his armour wasn't the traditional white and yellow, it was silver and gold – meaning he was one of the Crimea's elite soldiers. "Captain," he repeated once he was next to me, "Duke Renning and the count of Fayre wish to speak to you at the Duke's office."
"Very well, thank you for telling me," I said. He saluted and went about his business.
I changed my course from the courtyard to Duke Renning's office. I'm not surprised that he wishes to see me at the moment. He probably wants to say something encouraging, pat my back, and send me off. Although, I find the person he chose as his messenger strange. He sent one of an elite member of Crimea's Imperial Guard, who are supposed to answer directly to Queen Elincia. Unless that soldier is a dang fool that can't even see that the movement of soldiers within the castle is odd, or Duke Renning's influence spreads out deeper than I thought.
I believe Soren would describe Duke Renning as being either the best type of ally or the most dangerous type of enemy. Thankfully, I believe him to be a man of good intention, even if his methods could be seen as a takeover attempt.
When I was near Duke Renning's office, I heard that both Count Bastian and Duke Renning were talking, but I couldn't make out what exactly they were saying. Even though the door was open, I still knocked on the door to let them know I was here.
"E-Excuse me, sirs, you asked to see me." Both of them were facing each other by the window. The room was dimly lit by a few candles. When I spoke, they turned their attention to me. Duke Renning left the window's side to sit by his desk – which I noticed was filled with more papers than the last time I saw it.
"Captain, I apologize for leaving this crucial part of the campaign for the last minute," he said. I'm lost, what exactly is he talking about? "We never told you or General Kieran how exactly you both are going to rout this country of lawbreakers." That is a very good point... I just assumed that Kieran knew where we needed to go. If he doesn't, then we would just run around the country taking out different brigand camps... that would just be silly.
"We've hired someone that for weeks has been gathering information on different criminal activities and knows the location of almost all the hideouts of Crimea's cutthroats," he said.
Count Bastian walked up next to Duke Renning, "He's also prepared a plan for you and brave General Kieran to follow."
The door behind me closed, which had slightly startled me. I turned around, only to see that the door hadn't closed itself. There stood a man who I consider to be the deadliest man in the entire continent, Volke! He just stood there, staring at me with his blank expression. Most of his face was covered, but his emotionless eyes always left me wondering if he was even human.
Volke... I haven't seen him since the last battle. How did I not notice his presence?
"Volke will be giving you reports and advice that will help you," Duke Renning said. I turned to face the nobles.
"And General Kieran?" I asked.
"He's only to contact you," Duke Renning answered. "Then, you relay the information given to you to Kieran."
"F-Forgive my boldness, Duke Renning, but Kieran is most trustworthy," I said, I'm doing my best to not allow my legs to shake out of the nervousness I'm feeling because I'm talking back to a powerful noble. "Unlike me, he truly is a knight whose wish is to protect his country.
"Such thoughtfulness from someone so young," Count Bastian said. "If someone such as yourself had joined the clergy, you would've received sainthood in less than a year." I've never talked had much contact with Count Bastian in the past, but those rumours about him exaggerating every little thing apparently has turned out to be true.
"We do not question Kieran's loyalty. In fact, I would have Geoffrey take some lessons from him in that aspect," said Renning.
"Surely you jest. Although our young General Geoffrey might have his faults, his loyalty is unquestionable" Count Bastian, with a confident tone.
"My friend, this is something we can debate another time." I don't know what Geoffrey has done to anger Duke Renning, but is evident that he is not pleased with something. "As I was saying, we do not doubt of Kieran's loyalty. We only are meeting one of Volke's demands. He wishes to keep as little contact as possible."
"When we gave him the choice between reporting to Sir Kieran or you, he chose you," Count Bastian said. "Must be something about old comrades-in-arms."
Volke and I have fought together on many battles, yet we have never spoken... in fact, I never thanked him for rescuing me from the prison cell right before I joined General Ike's small band of rebels. Calling us comrades is just one of Count Bastian's exaggerations. I turned my head to see Volke – out of the corner of my eye – still standing there, looking dangerous with that getup of his. I can make out at least three daggers on his person; it looks like he's concealing them, although I think those are a distraction from the really dangerous dagger I know he has but I can't see it.
"U-Um, Volke... why me?" I asked.
"Unlike that loudmouth, you seem to be capable of keeping a secret," he answered. His voice was deep and filled with disinterest.
"Will you join the battlefield?" I asked. I know he doesn't want people to know he will play a part in this, but speaking from experience, he can wreak havoc on the battlefield without his allies noticing he was even there.
"That costs extra," he said.
"Must you be so greedy?" Count Bastian said - I turned to see him – rubbing his forehead. "After all the jobs I've given you, I would've thought I've earned a preferred discount."
I heard Volke scoff, "You have, Count. My employer in this job is the Duke and not you."
"Aha! Well played," Count Bastian said with an amused tone.
"Perhaps another time, we are only dealing with pirates and bandits. I trust the strength of Captain Nephenee will be more than sufficient on the coming battles," Duke Renning said. You've only seen me spar with Geoffrey! The fact the he's betting so much on me isn't helping the fact that I work terrible under pressure.
"Suit yourself," Volke said.
"Captain Nephenee, are there any problems with this?" Duke Renning asked. Strangely, his tone indicates genuine concern, as if hoping this won't be an inconvenience to me.
"No, sir." Had I known we needed a spy that wouldn't fight, I would've recommended Heather for the job. It would be nice to have a friend in this ordeal, even if said friend sometimes doesn't understand the concept of personal space.
"Very well-"
"Someone is coming," Volke said.
A second later the door opened. The soldier I met earlier came in.
I took my eyes off of Volke for just a moment. Apparently that was all he needed to disappear without me noticing... I'm glad he's on my side.
"Milords! I have bad news; General Geoffrey came back from his assignment earlier than we though. He's also noticed the soldiers of General Kieran's army being mobilized," the soldier said. Duke Renning sighed. "I was able to reach Geneal Kieran before he did and informed him he you asked the army to be moved as soon as possible and not to wait for Captain Nephenee. Thankfully, he did not ask for evidence of your orders."
"Good job, the situation is still salvageable due to your quick thinking." I'm starting to feel like an innocent bystander on a violent political storm that really doesn't concern me.
"General Geoffrey hasn't moved to intercept Kieran, instead, he asked for you, milord. I fed him false information and sent find somewhere else." I noticed he was starting to run out of breath.
"He'll go for Elincia when he doesn't find me." Duke Renning stood up. "Come, Bastian, let's buy them enough time to exit the city walls." He looked at me with a serious expression that said "hurry."
I nodded, tightened my grip on my lance, and left the room running. Volke must be near me, probably moving from shadow to shadow, though I would be lying if I said that I knew if he truly was around.
The castle halls were slightly more illuminated than before, judging form the light coming from the windows, I say in an hour it will be morning. As I run, I let out an exasperated sigh. It's too early to be dealing with this kind of stuff.
I saw none of the soldiers that will be accompanying me; instead, I saw some castle workers were starting to begin their duties. Kieran must be pushing them really hard to have moved them so fast. He's so excitable, I'm actually sad I missed seeing him shout stuff no one gets but himself. He's like an adult version of one of my brothers.
Why are castles so needlessly huge? I've been running for a few minutes and I haven't reached the exit. No wonder some nobles never leave their castles, doing this every day must be a pain.
When the exit was in sight, I started to feel some joy at my goal being close. Maybe the first I'll do when I reach the exit is head to the castle's stable and take a horse.
"Soldier, stop right there!" No! The unmistakable voice of General Geoffrey had barked out that order. I stopped and turned to see an angry Geoffrey walking in my direction. "Why are the soldiers of the Third Legion reading for battle?" I remained quiet. Whether I like it or not, I'm part of Duke Renning's scheme, I won't play the ignorant card. "I'm your superior. Answer me!"
"The Third Legion is following orders given to us by our superiors," I answered. I took a deep breath in order to calm myself. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must return to my post."
"Such orders can only be emitted by Queen Elincia, or in case of emergency, me." You might want to add a third party, one that doesn't even need an emergency. "Who gave the orders?"
"Duke Renning..."
"He's gone too far this time! The Crimean Army is not his personal band of hired muscle." Geoffrey scowled. "Come, I sent someone to alert the Queen. We will inform her of this illegal action on the throne room."
"I-I have orders to follow." I have to keep my end of the bargain.
"Yes you do, mine," he said.
"Sir, with all due respect, I acknowledge the fact that you are my superior-"
"Any orders given by Duke Renning do not outweigh mine when it comes to the military," he said, his tone slowly rising.
"Sir..."
"Disobey my orders and you will be charged with treason!" What? Can he do that? I guess this is what they call being stuck between a rock and a hard place. I don't want to take the chance to be thrown in a dungeon for going against orders I'm sure that do not outweigh my original orders.
"Very well, sir. Lead the way."
Needless to say, the walk to the throne room was an awkward one on my end. I guess Geoffrey must be fuming, not that I blame him; he's just doing his job. The problem is that I'm also doing my job, which apparently goes against his own.
When Geoffrey and I reached the throne room, Queen Elincia, Count Bastian, and Duke Renning were already there. Queen Elincia sat on her throne with a sleepy look on her face, she was dressed in a simple red dress that was made of fine materials, and her hair lacked the complicated knots it always had – if anything, her hair looked messy.
Duke Renning looked unfazed at seeing me here, but his partner-in-crime waved with a grin at me.
"Your Majesty," Geoffrey bowed, "I'm sorry to have disturbed your much-needed rest. A situation that needs your complete attention has occurred."
"He is exaggerating, Elincia," said Duke Renning. "It is merely a situation that he does not know how to react, so he runs to your side."
"What is that suppose to mean?" Geoffrey asked.
"Peace, Geoffrey. You two are fighting before the situation is even explained to me," Elincia said, sounding like the voice of reason in this dispute.
"After returning from a mission given to me by Duke Renning, I find that the new army he's been building is moving out of the city. Once I found this soldier," he pointed at me, "my fears that Duke Renning had abused his position had been confirmed. We have received no reports of being invaded or of any threat that require this much force."
"Geoffrey, how many times do I have to repeat myself? I am the minister of military affairs, which means that I have free reign over the army's decisions. My niece has trusted me with such a post because I have the training and experience to make sound decisions that concern the protection of Crimea," he sounds confident, strong, and sure that he'll win. I envy such traits.
"That is if we live during wartime, right now you function as an advisor, milord," the last word was spoken with resentment.
"With all that has happened, is it accurate to say we live on peace times?" Count Bastian said. "Surely we can't lower our guard right now just because the fighting has momentarily stopped."
"Your Majesty, the fact that Bastian is involved is enough evidence of conspiracy." That was uncalled for, I don't know the count of Fayre personally, but he's certainly better than most nobles.
"Enough! Why is it that we are always fighting? For heaven's sake, you are bickering in the presence of one of our soldiers." I was fine by being ignored by them, why did she have to remind them of my existence?
"Elincia, my dearest niece, I acted on my own because you have so much work with foreign affairs: You are helping Apostle Sanaki restructure the centuries old Begnion system, dealing with breach the gap between laguz and beorc, and recently started helping Daein. I only wish to help in this one small domestic affair." Duke Renning said with a gentler tone.
"Uncle, please explain yourself," Queen Elincia said.
"Certainly, as you know, for the last months I've been building an army that has been called Crimea's Third Legion," Duke Renning said.
"With scarce resources," Count Bastian interjected.
"Thank you, Bastian. Yes, with little resources I've built this small army for the purpose of tightening security on our soil," Duke Renning explained.
"Have I done a poor job in that aspect, uncle?" Queen Elincia asked with doubt on her voice.
"You have done an excellent job for an inexperienced ruler." Here's my translation: yes. "I've observed your conduct when it comes to security by reading reports, although you always react how you should, you haven't taken any steps to stop the problem. You've only dealt with the symptoms of this problem."
Count Bastian stepped up. "Your Majesty, to deal with everlasting problems of bandits, our citizens have resorted to hire mercenaries. Sometimes those mercenaries turn on their employers and take over the town."
"So you go behind her back?" Geoffrey asked. "Good intentions aren't enough. Elincia is the queen, not you Duke Renning." Geoffrey said, he emphasized the word duke.
"Why must you act as if am your enemy?" Duke Renning faced Geoffrey.
"Why do you ignore that you now answer to Queen Elincia?" Geoffrey's comeback is quite good. "Queen Elincia, by now the army must be waiting outside the city walls, but we have here its second-in-command, therefore they won't move. I urge you to call them back and pass it off as a drill."
"This campaign is inevitable. I've built this army for this very reason," said Duke Renning.
"And it will be used when Her Majesty commands it, after all, those are Her Majesty's soldiers," Geoffrey said.
"Both of you be quiet!" Queen Elincia nearly shouted. I almost jumped when I heard her speak like that, to hear someone as calm an kind as Queen Elincia raise her voice like that... it's frightening. I saw Geoffrey drop his gaze, and Duke Renning looked like he just recovered from shock. "It is obvious I cannot let either of you influence my decision on this matter. So I ask you, Nephenee, what is your opinion?" All eyes were locked on me. What? Me? No! I can't have this on my head, I'm just a simple country girl. This sort of stuff is out of my league.
"Elincia, she's with Duke Renning," Geoffrey said.
"We do not know that. Besides, uncle and Bastian can claim that the citizens need what they are doing. I want to hear the opinion of someone that has lived outside the comfort of our walls, someone that knows the fears of an everyday commoner," Queen Elincia said.
"But..."
"When everything was in its darkest, Nephenee and Brom joined my cause to free Crimea from Daein. She was not a mercenary that I paid for her services, neither was she a warrior looking for honour in battle, she was a girl that against all odds fought for what was consider a doom country. She had the option of leaving, but she stayed. That, Geoffrey, is worthy of the respect of everyone in this room!" To have my queen defend me... it is such an honour that I can't describe it.
"I know you care for me," she continued, "but I will not allow you to insult her." Queen Elincia turned her attention to me, "I would like to hear your thoughts.
Okay, Nephenee, chin up. After that beautiful speech, I really can't stay quiet. I stepped up and straightened my back as bet I could. I directly into her eyes and saw kind eyes that made this situation easier for me.
"Queen Elincia, I hate violence of any kind, I hate the fact that I've killed, and I hate to spill blood on Crimea. It is true that I owe my military career to Duke Renning. I have met with him on several occasions. Despite all of that, I believe this to be necessary.
"On the fields, every one is always worrying that a bandit group will come and steal anything. We know that our queen is fair and just, but we have come to believe that our safety is on our own hands... some people might think that our monarch has abandoned them and join a revolution..." I said.
She adopted a look of seriousness, "Are you saying that if I had taken more measures toward security, Ludveck's rebellion wouldn't have happened?"
"At the very least, it could've been detected sooner," I replied.
"I see," she said after a moment. "Captain Nephenee of the Third Legion, join your superior officer and carry on. I, Queen Elincia Ridell Crimea allow the Third Legion to go about as my lord uncle requested of you."
To think that I influenced on an important decision such as this one. I wonder if historians will study what I have influenced her. I hope I made the right call, I guess only time will tell.
A/N: I guess Geoffrey might be OOC if you squint a little. This will not be his usual behaviour. He acted like he did out of being overprotecting towards Elincia. More of the tension between Geoffrey and Renning will be revealed in future chapters. I also apologize for this chapter being so much dialogue, the next one will have more descriptions. This chapter is the end of the first arc.
Nephenee: It took him three days to update this thing after he decided to update. Lex! No, don't strangle the computer out of sheer frustration.
Lex: Stupid error. Die!
Nephenee: Please, R&R