I now have a tumblr! On this tumblr, I'll be posting bits and pieces of new chapters as I work on them, so you all don't have to wait so long on my sorry, procrastinating self. The link is on my profile if anyone wants to check it out. Also, this chapter is insanely short compared to the others, but this will be a longish arc, so there may be two more chapters in this age.
Chapter 7-
None of Alfred's history books could have prepared him for the Fiendlord War. A few months had passed in the era since the first time they had travelled to the Middle Ages, when they had come to rescue Natalya. In that short period of time, Magus and his troops had completely taken control of the southern half of the continent. There hadn't been any contact from Porre and Denadorino in weeks, and the army had moved towards the northern continent, the last Guardian stronghold.
The castle was understandably in chaos from the recent turn of events, and things had only worsened when the king arrived from the battlefield severely wounded. Queen Leene hadn't left his side in the week they'd already spent there.
There hadn't been any sight of Gilbert, either. Since the king had been rushed off the battlefield, Gilbert disappeared into the fray of mystics. Queen Leene swore he was wreaking havoc on their side- perfectly safe and uninjured!- but doubt and rumors were beginning to float around the castle.
Alfred was really getting tired of hearing them. Medieval armor was almost impossibly heavy, but the queen refused to let him out of the castle without some kind of protection. Matthew had almost started to froth at the mouth when Alfred announced his plans to join the troops at the front, and Natalya and Kiku had their own apprehensions. It didn't matter what they thought, anyway. He couldn't just sit around and wait for Magus to break through the defenses to meet him! Also, he had to find Gilbert and make sure he was okay. His vendetta against Magus would make him careless enough to get killed if he didn't watch himself.
He looked silly in chain mail and his coat, but he couldn't possibly leave his precious jacket back at the castle! It went wherever he did, regardless of tackiness or inconvenience. Besides, the shock of seeing him wearing it could make some mystics pause long enough for him to push them off Zenan Bridge.
"You are not going out there alone, Alfred," Matthew quipped, trailing after him in the armory. Kiku had also come with the excuse of looking at some of the weaponry while Natalya lingered in the doorway, arms crossed and mood sour. She wore her own chainmail and had new daggers to replace her old ones, but Matthew wasn't yelling at her. When Alfred pointed this out, Matthew's face turned an interesting red color.
"Yelling? You want YELLING?" he exploded, shocking Kiku into dropping the sword in his hands. The metal harshly clanged on the stone floor, making Natalya finally look up. She tightly sighed. "What part of don't screw up history do you not get? You're being an even bigger idiot than usual! I didn't know that was even POSSIBLE!"
Alfred winced at the pure verbal abuse. Matthew continued ranting anyway, voice growing an octave louder with every word. "Do you think before making these kinds of stupid decisions? If you go out to that battlefield, you'll die in an instant! You've heard the knights in the infirmary- they're fighting the skeletons of their fallen comrades! YOU CAN'T SHOOT A SKELETON AND HOPE TO KILL IT! THEY'RE ALREADY DEAD, ALFRED!"
"I'll get a sword, then!" he exclaimed, whirling around to Kiku, still staring with a cowed expression. "We can push through them like Gilbert! Kiku and I can break through the lines while you and Natalya back us up and help the troops! With his magic and stuff, we'll have them away from the bridge in no time!"
Kiku opened his mouth to respond to his suicidal plan, but Matthew cut him off. "He can't just throw his magic around without a care! Fire is dangerous, Alfred! Also, how are we going to explain a human having magic? They'll think we're mystics in disguise, working for Magus all along!"
"That's what they thought about Gilbert, but he-"
"GILBERT IS PROBABLY DEAD!"
Natalya pulled Matthew out of Alfred's face, stepping in before anyone could further meltdown. Without a word, she glared him over to her previous post. She didn't have to look at Kiku, already scurrying away with the excuse of finding everyone some lunch. Finally, Natalya jerked Alfred's chin to her level. "Both of you are right, but you're acting like stupid kids. Regardless of history, we can't wait in the castle forever. The legend says the hero defeated Magus at his stronghold, which is somewhere north of Porre. We need to cross Zenan to get there. However," she growled, flicking her eyes back up to Alfred, "blindly charging into battle will only get us killed. The knights need to win that battle. We can aid them, but I doubt we'll be doing much fighting. Guns will be basically useless, and I can't do much with my daggers."
She took a deep breath, trying to keep her cool when Alfred's eyes lit up again. "Say a word, and I swear I will rip out your vocal chords!"
He decided to listen to her.
"Now that Alfred has finally shut up, we can tell Leene our plans and get her advice on this. The king still needs to recover, and I don't think telling him this will help him feel at ease."
As she led the two back to the king's chambers- which had become a sort of mock audience chamber as of late- Matthew couldn't help but elbow Alfred in the ribs. In retaliation, Alfred flicked his forehead. "Boys," Natalya snapped.
"Sorry," they echoed.
((((()))))
"We're running out of rations," the captain huffed, wincing back at the fighting. His golden armor had several dents in it and his cape had been ripped off ages ago. Their strategy of interchanging platoons by the day had been going well enough, but none were permitted to leave in case reinforcements came for the mystics. So far, none had come, but their numbers weren't dwindling as the fallen were soon reanimated and forced to fight once more. The soldiers couldn't hold the line much longer without new supplies.
"I'll head to the kitchens," Natalya offered. "If you need anything else, you can ask them."
Alfred miserably nodded, keeping a jealous eye on the fighting going on just yards away. He would be able to help, he knew! But he had to concede that Natalya's plan was pretty smart, and it had stopped Matthew from strangling him. Mattie was still pretty peeved to be at the bridge though.
The captain released a heavy breath once she had gone. "Do mine eyes deceive me, or is she the spitting image of Her Majesty?"
"She gets that a lot," Alfred said. The captain gave him a hollow grin before shouting for the next platoon to take over. They ran into the fray with pathetic morale, immediately jumping into battle to allow their comrades to run back. The captain took off his helmet to salute them. Alfred, Matthew, and Kiku mimicked him. He joined the rest of the soldiers, frantically slashing at the enemy.
Matthew, assuming a role as medic, knelt next to the worst-off soldiers, pulling out the last of his supplies. He had spent most of his time at the palace in the infirmary, working with the rest of the short-staffed nurses. Kiku immediately strayed over to some of the better soldiers, checking up on their weapons and armor to assure all was well.
Alfred felt a tug at his sleeve, breaking his stare. At his side, in too-big armor, stood a kid that couldn't have been older than fifteen. He held his helmet at his side, revealing his dirty blonde hair. The boy nervously smiled. "Um, are you a new soldier, sir?"
"Kind of," Alfred answered. He tried to look past his baby face as he forced a grin of his own. "My name's Alfred."
"Alfred," he repeated. The boy had a bit of an accent, hardening his consonant sounds and deepening the vowel sounds. It was unlike anything Alfred had heard before. "My name is Raivis," he introduced with a salute. "This is my first time in battle. Everyone here has fought in Porre or somewhere else."
"Well, I think you're doing pretty good, Raivis! Is there anything you need? If you're injured or you need some new equipment-"
He quickly shook his head, unsheathing his sword. It had a different design than the others', and was much slimmer, too. That was probably how he had been able to lift it, let alone swing it at the enemy. "My oldest brother made this for me before I left home. Both of my brothers are fighting too, but they're at a higher position than me, so we don't have time to see each other. Actually, I was wondering if you could fill me in on some things? I was told to start fighting without getting much of an explanation. Was the king really injured a few weeks ago?"
Alfred nodded, looking back to the castle, looming in the distance. Natalya had probably made it there by now and was most likely threatening the cook and his staff for more food. For whatever reason, the head cook and the captain of the Zenan forces weren't exactly on the best of terms. It was a good thing Natalya was taking charge like this. Maybe she acted more like a princess than she liked to let on. Alfred sat down after Raivis did, finally admitting he was tired. "I heard as much. Did you hear about Gilbert Beilschmit? He was fighting alongside the king, but dove into enemy territory after His Majesty was taken back to the castle. I think he's looking to take on Magus himself."
Raivis's eyes grew wide. His hands began to shake a little, but he balled his fists before Alfred could take notice. "Captain Gilbert Beilschmit? Wow! My big brother met him once, about seven years ago. He told me he was an amazing knight. If he's looking for Magus, we'll have this war won soon!"
As he anxiously chattered on, Alfred only half-listened, looking for Natalya to hurry back. More soldiers were starting to wilt to their knees, and Matthew had too many patients to care for at once. Alfred needed to help, but Raivis kept him there, now asking about Matthew and Kiku. "Are they new soldiers as well?"
"Yeah. I think it's just us three and our friend at the castle. Almost everyone from Truce is already in the army. We're kind of new around here. Hey, do you remember when the queen was kidnapped? We helped Gilbert rescue her. Some mystics had hid her in Manolia Cathedral, pretending to be humans. You have to be careful around them- they looked and acted just like humans."
Raivis gulped at the thought, a shiver wracking through him. He looked back at the fighting for a moment before sighing. "I hope my brothers are okay. They were in Denadorino when the Fiendlord's army overtook it. They're all I've ever known. When this war started, they had to leave, and I was left alone. I joined the army against their wishes to try and get into the same platoon as them."
Alfred frowned, futilely trying to look past the fog and massive river for Denadorino. He could barely see the outlines of the mountains surrounding the town. "Don't worry, Raivis," he lowly said. "I'm sure they're okay."
"…I hope so," he murmured. With a sigh, he looked towards the castle. When he jumped up so suddenly, Alfred flinched, thinking he'd noticed a mystic that had broken through the line. However, it was only Natalya, loaded with bulging bags and a box of food. The mere sight of it made Alfred hungry.
"That's my other friend," Alfred beamed, leading Raivis over to meet her halfway. "This is Natalya! Also, yes, she does look a lot like Her Majesty."
Raivis didn't seem to be listening. He took the box of food, passed in along to someone else, and hugged her.
"Princess!" he cried, squeezing her tight. Natalya tried to peel him off of her, starting to panic, but the boy wouldn't budge.
"Alfred," she snapped.
"I don't know!" he replied.
Raivis finally pulled back, further stunning them when they noticed he was crying. He shamelessly rubbed his eyes with his palms and beamed. "Princess, I can't believe you're here! We looked for you all over the place, but we couldn't find you! Toris is still looking for you, even during the fighting. I just can't believe you'd be here!"
"Raivis," Alfred nervously started, feeling the weight of the soldiers' stares on him, "I think you're confusing her for someone else. Natalya isn't-"
A sword at his neck cut him off. Matthew and Kiku bolted over in an instant, drawing their own weapons. Raivis started to shake again, making his sword wobble. However, he kept it pointed at Alfred. "No, Alfred, she's my princess. She's yours too, since you came from another time as well."
"You are also from the past?" Kiku cautiously asked.
Raivis ignored him, looking back to Natalya. "I came here with Toris, Eduard, Feliks, and the prince- surely you remember them, right? You had the same kind of pendant as your brother, so you shouldn't have lost your memory. If it weren't for the prince, we would have lost ours too."
A mighty crash from the battle interrupted her stunned, "My brother?"
Even Raivis gaped with wide eyes as a huge skeleton began to rise on the other end of the bridge, formed from the collective animated skeletons of the fallen soldiers. When it had fully risen, it began swatting at nearby soldiers, sending many flying off the bridge and into the long stretch of sea below.
"Now can we help fight?" Alfred weakly asked.
Matthew gave a terrified nod. The soldiers situated around them stood to attention (stuffing their mouths as they went) and looked to him for instruction. When Matthew found his voice wasn't properly working, Alfred took over for him. "We're going to charge in and protect the front. Get as close to its legs as possible so it can't throw you off the bridge. My friends and I will focus on bringing it down, so back us up too."
Once they gave a collective salute, the line charged, shouting a battle cry as they went. Raivis ran near Natalya's side, promising he wouldn't let her get touched. Alfred had to pull her away before she could give the boy an earful of modern-day profanity.
Up close and personal to the skeleton didn't diminish their fear of it. Raivis was shaking something terrible- if he wasn't so motivated to protect Natalya, Alfred knew he probably would have passed out by now. Most of the soldiers looked the same, motivated solely by Alfred's encouraging shouts and horrifying thoughts of what would happen to Guardia if the monster made it across the bridge.
"A-A-Alfred," Raivis stuttered, his armor clinking from his trembling, "I-I think I have an idea."
"Is it better than my idea of whacking at it until it falls down?" he asked, clumsily stabbing his sword into the skeleton's leg. It took almost too long to dislodge it. The skeleton's massive hand swept down low, dragging soldiers away. Alfred winced, forcing himself not to look. "Okay, it is better than my idea. Anything's better than my idea. What are you thinking?"
In response, he lifted his hand. In almost an instant, a swirling dark mass had formed. "We have to use magic. Physical attacks aren't doing anything. The princess and I can take the torso; you and those other two can handle the legs."
"Uh, would this be a bad time to tell you we don't have magic? Well, except for Kiku, but-"
Raivis stopped vibrating long enough to shriek and practically start convulsing. "WHAT?" he squeaked. "B-but, you're from Zeal! Everyone at the palace had magic!"
"Zeal? What? Dude, I'm from Truce! It's just Kiku and maybe Natalya!"
"No way! You look just like…." Raivis cut himself off, nervously biting his lip. "I'm not supposed to talk about that. Just… just hang back, then. I'll be able to handle this thing on my own. This was my brother's creation anyway."
With no further explanation, Raivis jabbed his hand with the shadow magic at the skeleton. The bone seemed to bend and crack away from the magic. At the weakened spot, Raivis stabbed his sword into the leg. It further cracked. Alfred yelled for him to get the other leg- he could handle it from here. Kiku caught on and slashed out at the torso, swinging fire high. Natalya threw out her endless supply of daggers (Seriously, Alfred thought, where does she even keep all of them?) and Matthew began looking for the mystic that had cast a spell that could make a monster like this.
While the rest of the troops and his pals pounded away at the skeleton, Matthew scanned every face and every retreating mystic for something out of the ordinary. Aside from Raivis- who had been too busy with Alfred to cast the spell- no one appeared to be exceptionally powerful. A few of the Guardian troops left the fight with the skeleton and went after the mystics. Matthew supposed the battle had been won, just like history stated.
Still, there had to be something, or someone….
That something and someone suddenly caught Matthew's eye. A sword nearly identical to Raivis's stood impaled into the ground beside a soldier, nervously watching the battle. Or was he watching Raivis? Matthew couldn't be sure. The young man had pale hair like Raivis's and glasses. From what he could tell from the distance, the man also looked similar enough to Raivis. Was this one of his brothers?
Almost as soon as he thought it, the young man hurriedly put back on his helmet and picked up his sword. He was gone in an instant, fading into the crowd of other soldiers. Matthew turned back to the skeleton, just barely able to fight back. Individual bones lay scattered on the bridge, and those still molded together as the monster's body were starting to fall apart or break. Nearly all of the soldiers had left the fight, save the captain and few others, listening solely to Alfred's command. It struck him as ironic. Alfred had always wanted to be a knight and a hero, and now he was both.
Kiku and Alfred seemed to have come up with some new moves. When Kiku would shoot out some more of his fire, Alfred would stab through it to fell the monster quicker. They kept this up for quite a while, doing a good enough job for Natalya to join Matthew. She was only slightly out of breath, but Matthew had a sinking suspicion that she was only acting as though she wasn't tired. Even Alfred and Kiku looked ready to sleep for a day or two.
"I saw someone else with the same sword as Raivis," Matthew reported, convincing her to sit down a moment. She begrudgingly obeyed with a tight sigh. "I think he may be one of the others Raivis spoke of. The ones with, er, your… brother. If he's not mistaking you for someone else, of course. There's always a possibility-"
"Shut up, Matthew," Natalya tiredly said. "You know it's true. I knew it was true, but I kept trying to convince myself otherwise. From the way things are looking, you and Alfred or your parents were from the past too. Gilbert as well, most likely. Maybe everyone in the bloody world is!"
Matthew winced, trying to sort through his thoughts for some way to comfort her. Nothing he came up with would help- It's not too bad; you don't have to go back there. If they were going to stop Morozko, it probably meant stopping the princess as well, thus preventing everyone from going back in time. Natalya would never pop up in Matthew and Alfred's present. They would never meet, never journey together, never knew the other existed. To save the future was to erase everything they had ever done together.
The thought made him stop a moment. Francis wouldn't have come to the future, either. He didn't know if Jeanne had come with him or had lived in Truce all of her life, but Matthew was certain Francis would disappear. What would happen to him? If Francis and Jeanne didn't find him and adopt him….
No.
He couldn't think about that. He had more important things to sort through, such as a war, saving the future, and helping the distressing princess. Matthew could wait to focus on his personal problems later.
"WE DID IT!"
Matthew and Natalya looked up to see Alfred group-hugging everyone within range, including a still-shaking Raivis and horribly flustered Kiku. The skeleton was nowhere to be found, and there was a new, large hole in the side of the bridge. Alfred gave the captain a quick salute and ran off before he could receive any form of gratitude. With an apology to the captain, Kiku trailed after them. Raivis remained on the bridge, frowning over the side, still shivering. "Mattie, Natalya," Alfred shouted, "we did it! We beat Zombor! We saved the mainland! We're going to defeat Magus and win the war!"
"Z-Zombor?"
"It's the nickname I gave to Mr. Bones back there. Sounds pretty intimidating, eh?"
"Not really."
"You're such a party-pooper, Mattie."
Alfred dragged them to their feet, still bouncing in triumph. Once on their feet, he pulled them and Kiku into a second group hug. Natalya clawed her way out of it in an instant with an elbow to the stomach. "Alfred!" she shrieked.
He laughed it off, taking the abuse in stride. After the awesome victory they just had, Alfred was willing to put up with any sour mood she or Matthew handed him. He was sure nothing could bring him down now.
Except for one thing.
I'll be able to handle this thing on my own. This was my brother's creation anyway.
His brother's… creation? That made no sense! Why would Raivis's brother, who was obviously part of the Guardian army, want to make Zombor? That was sabotage to the extreme. In the middle of a war like this, sabotage could ruin everything. Sabotage… like kidnapping the queen and crushing the kingdom's morale.
Alfred felt the smile slip from his face. He tossed a look over his shoulder, but Raivis wasn't standing at the bridge anymore. In a panic, he searched all of the soldiers for any sign of him, but Raivis was long gone.
There had been four others with him, including Natalya's so-called brother. If Raivis was a spy for the other side, maybe one of his brothers could be…. But it didn't make any sense! Slash was rumored to be a human, but it was probably just a rumor. Why would people fight with mystics in a war for their domination? If Magus was really Morozko, why would he be fighting for the mystics? Not that he was, if Raivis had been telling the truth. He, his brothers, and whoever Feliks and Natalya's brother were, were from an earlier age.
They were wrong, the Old Man had been wrong- but what could they do? It was already obvious they played a part in ending the war. If they left now, there was no telling what could happen. Maybe Magus would win and mystics would rule over everything. Alfred also owed Gilbert, the king, the queen, and the captain, too. He had to win the war for their sakes.
So, after proposing they head to Denadorino before night fell, Alfred decided to keep quiet. Matthew would probably figure things out soon enough, and hopefully they'd be too involved to quit by then.
A lump sat in his throat as he tiredly trudged alongside his friends.
