A/N: No, I wasn't finished with this backstory nonsense.
Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are from Tales of Vesperia and do not belong to me.
Fionn was accepted into the Knights on his sixteenth birthday. When he came down the stairs of their small house wearing the uniform he'd been given and carrying the few belongings that he would be taking with him to the palace barracks, his father looked the proudest that Fionn had ever seen him. He strode through the streets, unable to hold back his grin. Finally, he was a knight! He had been honored with the chance to serve and protect, to explore and test himself. He was part of an illustrious tradition, and he was eager to make a name for himself and do some good for all the people that had helped him over the years.
He found it a little strange, however, that Vesperia wasn't at his side as he walked through the streets. They'd talked about this for so long that the achievement wouldn't feel complete without him. Recently, he'd fallen into one of his despondent moods again, though. More and more often lately he would sink into a sort of lethargic depression and find himself a place where he could sit and quietly watch the world go by. He never spoke to Fionn about the cause of it, and guesswork only ever led back to conditions at the palace, something else Vesperia spoke of with noteworthy rarity. Surely becoming a knight would snap Vesperia out of it. Soon, they would be far too busy to brood.
The courtyard of the palace was abuzz with activity as new recruits arrived from within Zaphias and other cities all throughout the Lunar Empire. Fionn was directed to a barracks, given the time and location of the commencement address, and told to stay out of the way while everything got settled. He went and put away his things, all except for one golden, rose-shaped pin. Wondering if the authority Estellise had invested in it had survived over the years, Fionn pinned it over his heart and went for a stroll around the outside of the palace, trailing the fingers of his left hand over the stone.
He heard Vesperia before he saw him, though the sound of blade against blade was muffled by the camellia-speckled walls of the hedge maze. Fionn paused a moment before entering. In his memory, the bushes were much taller. He went slowly, halfway recalling certain landmarks and listening always for the sounds of a duel and the snatches of Vesperia's voice to use as guides. The further into the maze he went, the easier it became to understand what was being said in the pauses between the meeting of swords. He recognized Estellise's voice and smiled crookedly. Vesperia had never been one to let the Council forbid him anything, and he wanted Estellise to know how to fight. They should have known it would be useless to argue against him.
He stepped around a corner into view of the small, gravel courtyard just in time to see Vesperia send his sister stumbling backwards into a bush. Estellise knocked him flat on his ass when he went to help her out, and Vesperia laughed, admitting he'd deserved as much. They were dusting themselves off when Fionn stepped forward.
"Really, Vesperia? You can't beat me, so you resort to fighting your sister?"
Estellise peered around her brother and recognized him immediately. "Fionn!"
He only got a quick glimpse of her before she was across the courtyard, her arms around him as she hugged him for all she was worth. Pressed so tightly together, he was made acutely aware that she had grown, and he felt his face heating up as he pushed her gently back a step. She refused to let go, holding him at arms' length and looking him up and down.
"Oh, my, it's been years! You look…! You look…."
She seemed to have forgotten what it was she meant to say as she met his eyes. Fionn couldn't really blame her, as he was having a hard time thinking, himself. Estellise was…. He'd never noticed before, but she really was….
Vesperia stepped in, slinging one arm easily around Fionn's shoulders, and one around his sister's. Just like that, the moment shattered.
"Hey. The uniform suits you."
"Thanks." He shrugged out of the loose embrace, uncomfortable for no reason he could name. "Where's yours?"
In an instant, the smile vanished from Vesperia's face and he turned away. "I don't have one."
"What?" Fionn looked from him to an equally glum Estellise. "Why not?"
It was Estellise who spoke up quietly, watching her brother. "It's because of the Council. They decided that, since they can't be sure of his age—"
"Bullshit!" They flinched at the anger in his voice. "By the time next year rolls around, they'll have come up with another excuse. They're just keeping me out because they can!"
"Vesperia, please, just give it a year. I'll talk to them. I'll have mother—"
"No." He took a moment to compose himself and get a good look at Fionn in his new uniform before turning away once more. "She shouldn't have to waste her strength arguing with those vultures. I'll figure something out."
Fionn's first year in the Knights was even busier than he had expected. Up before the crack of dawn and in bed after dark, his days were a constant blur of chores, drills, and lessons. He excelled when it came to fighting, and he learned quickly enough how to look after the horses and care for his gear. Unfortunately, with the exception of the introduction to local monsters, he found that he had a lot of catching up to do when it came to his studies. There simply hadn't been tutors available in the lower quarter for much of what he needed to learn. With most of his free day given over to studying in the library, he had very little time left for Vesperia and Estellise, though he did see them around the palace and Vesperia showed up to watch him spar as often as not. Ironically, he actually had far less time to spend with his friends after taking up residence in the palace.
As for Estellise…she was another matter entirely. Fionn would see her walking past and forget where he was going or what he was supposed to be doing. He lost practice bouts and tripped over his own feet too many times to count because he'd accidentally caught a glimpse of her, then hadn't been able to let her out of his sight. Plenty of the other knights-in-training teased him about his clumsiness and its obvious cause, but Vesperia never said a word and Fionn was thankful for that small kindness. He found himself hoping with a nervous sort of anticipation that Vesperia would bring her along when they met up, but he was always a little relieved when Vesperia showed up alone. Fionn wasn't sure what to do about the bumbling fool he became around Estellise and, much as he wanted to see her, he also wanted her to be impressed with him. At least things between him and Vesperia were the same as they'd always been, and he could forget about his strange anxieties and the stresses of training, and simply be himself for a while.
Eventually, his busy routine became habit, and Fionn found that he wasn't quite so exhausted when he went to bed, wasn't struggling so hard during practice bouts, and was nearer the top of the class than the bottom. He pushed himself harder to avoid complacency and to continue growing stronger. He kept up his studies in the library, aiming to surpass every one of the wealthier students who had come with the advantage of having grown up with personal tutors. He worked until he was satisfied that he couldn't work any harder, and he went to bed tired, but with the certainty that he'd given his best and that his best was pretty damn good.
Still, every now and again, a restless curiosity would take hold of him. Though different from the stirring he felt at thoughts of Estellise, there was a fascination within him that he'd carried for much longer. He was researching that one morning, nose buried in a book, searching for information on worlds where people couldn't use magic but were skilled with weapons, people who sometimes seemed to be able to speak with animals….
The great doors to the library opened with a soft creak which Fionn ignored. He was immersed in a description of the Kritya's way of speaking mind-to-mind with creatures that followed them like familiars. Footsteps approached him, muffled by thick carpet, and Fionn looked up finally to see Vesperia and Repede come to a halt across the table from him.
"Have a look at this," he said excitedly, turning the book around and sliding it over. "You say you talk to Repede. Is it anything like that?"
Vesperia barely glanced at the book. He'd never shown much interest in his heritage. "I'm leaving."
"All right, all right." He pulled the book back and closed it, resigned to picking up his research when he wouldn't drive his friend away. "Have you had breakfast?"
He shook his head. "No, Fionn. I came to tell you that I'm leaving the city."
Something in his tone made it a fight for Fionn to keep up a smile. "Going monster hunting again? I'm free today. I could join you."
"No, you can't. Not if you want to stay in the Knights. I'm not leaving on a lark, I'm just... I'm just leaving."
He nearly overturned his chair in his hurry to get around the table. "For how long?"
"I don't know," he said, but he wouldn't meet Fionn's eyes. He'd always been an awful liar.
"You aren't planning on coming back, are you?" His silence was answer enough. "Is this about the Council?"
Now Vesperia met his eyes, and Fionn could see fury in him, banked and barely held back. "Of course it's about the Council! It's about the Council and the nobility and the palace and the anemone bed! It's about all of it!" He looked around suddenly at the startled faces peering up at him and those that were pretending not to have noticed, and he continued in a quieter tone. "I don't belong here."
"What about your sister? What about me? We were supposed to be knights together!"
"Grow up. You're too old to keep believing that the world will be fair just because you want it to be." The bitterness in his voice burned like acid, strong enough that Fionn couldn't believe he'd never noticed before. "As for Estellise…she's strong. She'll be fine. Keep up her lessons for me. No one else will teach her."
"That's it?" He grabbed Vesperia by the collar. "You're just going to run away like that?"
He sighed. "I'm not running away. This wasn't an easy decision."
He laid his hand lightly over Fionn's wrist, and Fionn jerked back. He could barely stand to look at his oldest friend, couldn't believe this sudden announcement. Vesperia had never said a word to him. He'd just gone and decided all on his own.
"I can't talk you out of it?"
"No."
"One last match. If you beat me—"
"It's not going to work like that this time."
"If you can't even beat me, how do you expect to survive out there on your own?"
"I won't be on my own." He scratched Repede between the ears. "Besides…do you know you're the only person who's ever beaten me? All that sparring together where you learned how I fight, and how often did you watch me when I kept practicing even after you'd had enough for the day? You know me almost as well as you know yourself, Fionn. You're my better half."
"Does it count for anything that I don't want you to go?"
"It does." He smiled sadly. "But not enough."
He heaved a sigh. "Be careful, at least. If you get yourself killed, I won't forgive you."
"Wouldn't ask you to." He started to walk away, but Fionn reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder.
"Vesperia…I hope you find what you're looking for."
"So do I."
And then he left, back down the carpeted walk and out the huge doors that closed slowly behind him.
The next three years saw Fionn given more and more important and dangerous missions with the Knights. He had made lieutenant at eighteen and celebrated with Estellise. It felt strange for the two of them to be together without Vesperia, but it was exciting too, in a completely different way than fighting was. They walked through the palace gardens together that night and when Estellise slipped her arm through his, Fionn felt light as air. He walked her back to her room and—somewhat daringly, he thought—he lifted her hand to kiss the back of her wrist. She blushed as soft a pink as some of the wildflowers he'd seen on his first day outside of the city, and he felt something similar to the awe and amazement of that unforgettable morning. When she smiled sweetly up at him, the rest of the world ceased to exist and he knew he was in love.
After that night, he began making short trips home on his days off to bring her flowers from the garden. It had fallen once more into a wild and sorry state over the years since she had been allowed out of the palace, but he restored it and began taking care of it, thinking always while he did of his princess.
During that time, both of them were receiving letters from Vesperia. He wrote them infrequently and with such lengthy and disjoined subject matter that it seemed certain every individual letter had been written over the course of days, or even weeks. He sent pressed flowers and seeds from some of the strange plants and exotic blossoms he found. He sketched children with wide grins indistinguishable from the ones in Zaphias' lower quarter, and monsters like nothing ever seen near the capital—bizarre and fantastic and sometimes nightmarish. He related funny stories and bits of information about the friends he was making. Sometimes, he talked about how much he missed them, and he asked if they would look up at the night sky, so at least he wouldn't be alone when he looked at the stars. He never provided a way for them to write back, and none of his letters allowed them to pinpoint his location. He could have been in an imperial city or with the guilds or on another world. As often as they could, Fionn and Estellise made time to look up at the night sky together, and if granting the request of someone who might as well be brother to them both started to feel more and more like an excuse as they held hands and leaned against one another, well…Fionn was sure Vesperia would forgive them that for the sake of the happiness they had found in each other.
With his rise in rank came an increase in responsibilities that often took Fionn far from the walls of Zaphias. The world was a huge and wondrous place, and he sent letters back to Estellise detailing all the places he traveled, including sketches of the landscapes and architecture. It was on one such mission into the heart of Union territory that Fionn happened to run into Vesperia in the most unlikely of places. He had been sent to the leader of the group that ran the guilds with an invitation to begin a series of peace talks. Vesperia had been in the audience chamber, just as surprised to see Fionn as Fionn was to see him. Still, the mission had to come first, and he'd tried to ignore the weight of his best friend's attention on him as he waited for the Don to read the Empire's missive.
It all went wrong. There had been treachery. The real letter had been switched out for a fake that all but declared war on the Union. Fionn's protests fell on deaf ears as he was taken to a cell. Vesperia watched the whole scene silently, eyes dark and face unreadable.
He came and found Fionn soon after and, even still reeling from what had just happened, even in a dim cell in unfriendly territory, he still knew the sound of his friend's footsteps and wasn't surprised to hear Vesperia's voice at his back.
"Looks like someone really pulled one over on you. I don't remember you being so careless."
"What are you doing here?" Humiliated and confused, Fionn couldn't even bring himself to turn around and face him.
"You thought I wouldn't even come say hello?"
"I mean here in Dahngrest, in a guild city, in the audience chamber of the man who essentially runs the Union! Is this the answer you found? Have you turned your back on us?"
"I haven't turned my back on anyone except the Council."
"We're at war, Vesperia! You can't be here saying things like that and not expect me to believe that you've abandoned the Empire!"
"I don't remember you being this dramatic, either. Have I been gone that long?" Behind him, the creak of the heavy cell door echoed throughout the dungeon. "We're not at war just yet. You've got time to stop it."
Fionn took the hand offered to him and got to his feet. It wasn't until he stepped out of the cell that he realized Vesperia intended to stay behind.
"You can't honestly mean to take my place. They'll kill you if I don't make it in time."
Vesperia settled in on the cot, apparently completely unconcerned. "Better hurry then. If they kill me, there really might be a war."
"You—!" He sighed. "I'll let you have it over this when I get back. I won't fail."
"I trust you."
He trusted him with his life, with the fate of two nations. With that sort of pressure, Fionn couldn't afford to fail. He snuck out of the Union headquarters, the building almost deserted with all the guildsmen off rallying their own men to war. Somehow, he got to his horse and got out of the city, feeling like a target the entire way in his imperial uniform. Prince Ioder was not far away, stationed in the nearby imperial stronghold of Heliord where the talks would have been held—would still be held. He had to believe that he would be able to reach the prince in time and obtain a new letter. If the Union had received a fake, then surely the orders sent to the Knights would have been changed as well. Only a new letter of command from a member of the imperial family would set things right.
Hours away, in the imperial city of Heliord, Estellise's cousin Ioder was awaiting the Union's answer to the official letter. As a potential heir to the throne should anything happen to the empress and her daughter, he had been sent to assure the Union of the Empire's earnestness in seeking peace. Now, Fionn was glad he had been. He was going to need something directly from the imperial family to convince both sides to lay down their arms. He only hoped he would be able to explain the situation, obtain a new letter, and make it back on time.
As he rode, he wracked his brain trying to think of who the traitors could have been, but, in the end, there were too many possible suspects. He didn't know his own men as well as he'd thought, and the burden of guilt rested as much on his shoulders for taking too little care regarding the safety of the message. They would find the traitors, he would see to that personally, but it was a matter for another time. First, the coming war had to be averted at all costs. Thinking of Vesperia sitting the cell meant for him, Fionn tightened his hold on the reins and sent up a brief prayer for the success of his mission.
He pushed his mount hard the entire way, knowing the journey was taking a toll on her, but unable to do aught else. She bore him through the darkness, nearly running down small monsters that emerged to block their path, and leaving others in the dust. Twice, they were forced to stop when packs of larger creatures hoping for an easy kill surrounded them or blocked their way. Fionn dismounted to cut the beasts down, cursing them for their cunning and hunger and the time they had cost him, then swung back up into the saddle and raced off once more.
There were still a few scant hours before dawn when he arrived, and he made such a racket demanding to be seen that he woke half the fort, Ioder included. Luckily, the young prince was smart enough to realize that the situation required immediate attention, and he had Fionn brought into the office he had been assigned for his stay.
He spoke quickly as soon as they were alone, trying to convey as many details as possible without wasting one precious second more than necessary. Ioder listened attentively, asking few questions. He was pulling out blank sheets of paper even as Fionn finished speaking. A servant brought in tea and a platter of sliced meat and bread. Ioder indicated it with a quick flick of his quill.
"Eat," he said. "You'll need your strength for the return trip."
As he followed orders, Fionn took the opportunity to study Estellise's cousin. He'd only met him once before, and Ioder hadn't made much of an impression. What he had noticed had been Vesperia's dislike of the prince. It was nothing terribly overt, just a sense that he wasn't comfortable around Ioder. Stranger still, he hadn't seen anything in Ioder's behavior that would have caused that. If anything, he was as friendly toward Vesperia as he was toward Estellise. When he'd asked about it later, Vesperia had changed the subject and Fionn had all but forgotten about it. He remembered now, and wondered what it was his friend had disliked about Ioder. The prince seemed to be intelligent and serious. He was responding to the situation quickly and appropriately. As he set the letter aside and began to write a second copy, Fionn read it from across the desk and approved of the contents. Whatever it was that Vesperia had seen in the young noble wasn't readily apparent.
"I'll be sending you with both of these. Hand one off to the leader of the Union, and read the other to your knights. With any luck, this won't have damaged our bid for peace beyond repair. I'll set a few of my people to begin investigating. You do the same on your end. I shouldn't have to tell you to be careful who you trust."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
He was trying to collect the letters and salute and bow and back out the door all at once. The few minutes of calm that had interrupted the urgency of the situation had left his head spinning. He felt unsteady on his feet and a little dazed, but the need to press on was an undeniable compulsion. He had another long ride back to Dahngrest and a war to halt before he would even have a chance to think about catching his breath once more. In the midst of all that, it was a little startling to hear Ioder's soft laugh.
"You didn't mention how you escaped, but would I be right in thinking that you found my cousin Vesperia among the mighty of the Union?"
"How did you—?"
"He had to be somewhere, and you had to have an advocate that could convince the Union to let you slip away. If you see him again…would you tell him that we miss him and would like to see him back home in the palace?"
"Yes, sir. Of course."
He'd have said that to Vesperia, anyway, but having the thought come from Ioder as well brought a faint smile to his face. Vesperia had friends and family in the Empire. He would have to return.
The stablehands were waiting for him with a fresh mount, a huge beast, armored and no doubt well-trained to deal with the monsters that scavenged the roads. Fionn set out immediately, invigorated by hope and determination and the constant awareness of time ticking away, measured in tints of lightening gray as the hidden sun crept ever closer to the horizon. The monsters were scarcer so close to dawn, and those that did try to get in the way were ridden down and trampled beneath iron-shod hooves.
Even with all his haste, even with the best mount Heliord had had to offer, Fionn still barely made it back in time. Letters held high, he charged between the two massed armies as the sun rose, and it was as if he brought the glorious light of truth with him. He shouted to the knights to lay down their arms, calling the command until every last one had obeyed. He read Ioder's words aloud, revealing the treachery that had brought them to that precipice and the wish for peace that now held them back. Don Whitehorse himself stepped forward and came to meet him, one hand extended for his own copy of the letter, and a smile stretched wide across his face that reminded Fionn too much of his oldest friend.
He was lost amid a riot of activity, soldiers standing down and looking for orders, guildsmen milling about and shouting for news of what was to come, and so many plans to be made for meetings and strategies and questions that it seemed a wonder there would be enough hours in the day to contain it all. The tension of the morning hadn't been fully banished, but it was eased by the relief of a catastrophe averted. People went back to their business wearing strained smiles and keeping a tight grip on the fragile hope they'd been given. The Empire and Union had long been rivals when they weren't outright enemies, and the idea of peace between them was still difficult to believe in.
Vesperia was gone by the time Fionn had a chance to look for him. He had left a note with one of the guildsmen.
I saw myself out when they came to tell me you'd done your job. Hope you don't mind that I didn't stick around for that tongue-lashing. You'll probably have worked it out on your own, but I've joined a guild. We've got work right now, but after that, I'll be coming back, at least for a little while. You should already know this, but I'll tell you anyway-just because I've joined a guild doesn't mean I've given up my loyalty to you and Estellise. Watch the stars with me tonight. They should be especially beautiful after all that's happened.
That night, Fionn left the safety of the city behind for a deserted hill where he could sit alone and gaze up at the heavens. He opened up to the stars, said to them everything he'd wanted to say to Vesperia: how stupid it was for him to have bet his life the way he had; how proud Fionn was to have been given that trust; how foolish it had been to join a guild with tensions between the Union and the Empire higher than ever; how angry he was that Vesperia had run away from him, not once, but twice; and how much he missed him. He told the stars all that he wouldn't be able to say to Vesperia, all the things that Vesperia would already know he wanted to say because he was Fionn's other half and they knew each other as well as they knew themselves.
More than half a year later, Vesperia finally made good on his word. The incident in Dahngrest had seen Fionn promoted to captain. He was overseeing his brigade as they ran through drills in the practice yard one day when Vesperia came strolling over from the direction of the palace, casual as you please, Repede at his side. He leaned against the wooden fence, just within arm's reach.
"Happy birthday," he said.
"You're a day late."
"I got you a really nice gift to make up for it."
"And what about the other two you missed?" Turning to offer a smile and settle a hand on his shoulder, Fionn caught surprise in Vesperia's widening eyes before his friend hurriedly cast his gaze back out over the field.
He ignored the question. "You look good."
"You just saw me half a year ago."
"Didn't have the captain's uniform then. It suits you."
"Join the Knights with me," he said impulsively. "I know it's a bit late, but—"
"They aren't going to let me in, Fionn. Besides, I've found a different path for myself."
"What reason could they have to keep you out? I'll vouch for you, myself. Estellise has mostly taken over for her mother. She could—"
"I won't have other people fighting battles for me. I'm going to go let her know I'm back. Unless…." He eyed the sword at Fionn's side almost hungrily, and Fionn felt the familiar swelling of anticipation before a good fight. It had been three years since they had crossed swords. Far too long.
"By all means."
They entered the training field together, shoulder to shoulder as they strolled past Fionn's brigade, and it was a challenge to seem unhurried when all he wanted to do was race out to the far, empty corner and begin. Vesperia tapped his sheathed sword against his shoulder, eagerness in the motion, one of his tells that meant he was just as impatient as Fionn. Finally, they were far enough away that all else would cease to be a distraction, not that Fionn felt anything short of a national emergency could pull his focus away. They drew their swords simultaneously, and Vesperia cast his sheath carelessly aside as they touched blades.
"I've gotten stronger," Fionn cautioned, grinning.
"Show me."
There was a moment of absolute stillness between them, and then they were in furious motion, blades crashing together and sweeping back as they struck and dodged and parried. If Fionn had gotten stronger, Vesperia had grown swifter. There used to be more time to anticipate him, a longer interval between his tell and his motion that, while infinitesimally shorter, made Fionn feel like he was fighting his old friend on instinct alone. He knew where his sword needed to be, knew when to guard and when to fall back, but he constantly seemed to be there only just barely ahead of Vesperia. It felt as if the slightest hesitation could turn the tide and lose him the fight.
Vesperia's offense was ferocious and unrelenting, but Fionn had spent a few years learning how to take on multiple enemies all at once and his defense was up to the challenge. He struck out when he could, parried, blocked, watched, and waited. Vesperia was good, but he had always been in such a hurry, always prone to some small bit of carelessness in exchange for one more shot at his opponent. When Fionn saw his chance, he took it. A fierce thrust threw Vesperia off balance and gave Fionn the breathing room he needed. He kept up the attack, slower than Vesperia but more purposeful, lacking any unnecessary movement. Vesperia was holding his own, but he wouldn't be able to keep it up. He'd improved, he'd learned some new tricks, but he still left himself open in too many small ways. All Fionn needed was a wide enough gap in his defenses.
"Vesperia!"
Estellise's clear voice carried over the field, bringing the match to an immediate halt. She let herself into the field, passing by rows of knights—knights that Fionn was only just realizing had stopped their own practice to watch him. Fionn saluted her as she drew near, protocol overriding familiarity, but the princess forewent the usual scolding in favor of throwing herself into her brother's arms.
"You're finally home! I missed you so much!" She pulled back and was almost able to frown at him. "How could you come back and not tell me right away?"
"Sorry." He ruffled her hair and glanced at Fionn, a crooked smile on his face. "I couldn't resist."
"All you ever think about is fighting! Tell me where you've been. You never said in your letters. You must have met so many people! What was it like out there?" She dragged him off toward the palace, and Vesperia could only shrug helplessly at Fionn. They would have to finish their match another day.
That other day proved to be a good while in coming. It was rare that Fionn found time off from his duties, and when he did, Vesperia always seemed to be either missing or seeing to his sister's education in the art of the sword during what precious little time she had between her official lessons and various social engagements. The three of them would stargaze together when they could, but that was a quiet time, a time for soft conversation and companionship, not duels. Vesperia walked his sister back to her chambers on those nights and, as much as Fionn had missed having all three of them together, he couldn't help feeling that one of them was a third wheel. There was something strange among them and he wasn't sure if it was due to having been so long apart or simply of having grown up.
One evening, nearly a week after Vesperia had returned, Fionn was preparing for bed when he heard a knock at his window. Being three stories up, he wasn't sure at first what had caused it, but when he went to look, there was Vesperia, grinning ear to ear as he clung to the stone of the palace wall.
"This is a lot easier when there's a tree," he said as Fionn hurriedly pulled him inside.
"What were you thinking? What if you had fallen?"
"Too late to worry about that." He showed himself into the small set of apartments, looking around curiously even though he'd lived all his life in the palace and must have seen rooms just the same countless times before. "Very nice. Coming up in the world."
"I haven't forgotten my roots."
He indicated the wall above his desk where he had mounted the swords he'd trained with as a boy: the wooden one for learning the basics, the blunted steel blade for practice, and his first real sword, notched and gleaming, retired now from slaying monsters. Vesperia looked upon them with approval.
"I'll have to make you a gift of the one you used against the bee."
"You still have it?"
"Of course." He turned away from the desk and smiled. "You haven't asked me about the guilds."
"I assumed you wouldn't want to talk about them to an imperial captain. You were protecting people—in your letters. That's why you never mentioned any names, never told us exactly where we could find you. Did you really think I might use a personal correspondence from you to further the goals of the Empire?"
He hadn't realized how angry he'd been over that suspicion until he voiced it. He had thought Vesperia knew him better than that. He'd thought they'd trusted each other.
His concerns were brushed away with a light smack to the back of his head. "Don't be ridiculous. You of all people should know that letters can be intercepted." He sat down sideways in one of the wingback chairs in front of the cold fireplace. "Ring for some snacks, and I'll tell you all about it. I got to know the Don pretty well. He likes you."
That night, and for many more afterward, Vesperia and Fionn passed hours talking and telling stories about what they'd done during their years apart. More often than not, Vesperia fell asleep wherever he happened to be sitting, and Fionn would be subjected to his complaints of a stiff neck or shoulders the next morning. It felt like he'd gone back to his childhood when Vesperia would flee the palace to spend the night with him in his tiny, cramped room. They used to tell stories by candlelight back then too, or talk about how great it would be once they became knights together, or wrestle until Fionn's father would come in and order both of them to go to sleep. Vesperia still had no qualms about pulling him into a wrestling match, but he was quicker to give up and back off than Fionn remembered. He joked sometimes about getting too old for roughhousing and Fionn would always laugh at that, thinking it would be a long day in coming that Vesperia was too old for a fight.
The days passed easily one into the next. With the Empire and the Union both having laid down their weapons in favor of talk, peace had come surprisingly quickly, although murmurs of dissent remained inescapable. For his part, Fionn was on top of the world. He was a well-respected captain despite his humble background. His men were hardworking, courageous, and loyal. His best friend was home again after three long years abroad, and his relationship with Princess Estellise…that had progressed well past a simple childhood friendship.
He soon found that his courtship of the princess was an open secret, and not so much looked down upon as he had feared. His deeds as a knight had brought him renown and acceptance, and he suddenly found himself on the receiving end of social invitations from people probably more interested in his relationship with the princess than in himself. Wherever he went inside the palace, he was greeted and welcomed, though it still didn't really feel like home. Sometimes though, when he looked at Estellise and she smiled just for him, he wondered if it might feel like home someday soon. Though Estellise's suitors had included personages up to and including the Commandant himself, Fionn was the one she had chosen. Her mother had already given her approval of the match, and everything seemed to be going well as far as convincing the Council. There was only one other person whose blessing Fionn wanted….
He'd been watching Vesperia for a long time. Currently, his friend was practicing sword drills on his own, but Fionn could remember seeing him battling dummies he'd pieced together from pilfered supplies, back before anyone at the palace had been willing to let him learn to fight. He had come a long way over the years, and proven his loyalty to his adoptive family—and to Fionn—time and time again.
Fionn folded his arms over a low branch and rested his chin there, studying Vesperia's movements, admiring his grace and the way he could so seamlessly switch between attack and defense, the way he changed his weapon from blade to pommel to fist to foot without missing a beat. He had altered so many of the standard attacks to fit his style: wild and relentless and not a little rough around the edges for all his skill.
A succession of advancing strikes brought him close enough that the hanging branches of the tree Fionn stood beneath appeared to leave him crowned with flowers. The image brought a smile to Fionn's face, and he ducked beneath the branch to meet his friend as Vesperia sheathed his sword and came to join him.
"Where are you from, Vesperia?"
He asked it knowing Vesperia couldn't provide an answer, but it wasn't a question he could leave unasked for any length of time. It was a question that nearly always arose along with thoughts of his old friend and filled his mind, leaving him preoccupied and restless. He asked because he needed to ask, needed to know.
"Why are you so fixated on that?"
"I want to understand you."
The tiny smile Vesperia offered didn't reach his eyes and lent him an air of wistfulness. "You understand me well enough already."
"Aren't you curious at all?"
"Maybe once I was. Not anymore. It's all right, Fionn. Let it go."
He did because he was used to being told as much, and because he hadn't sought Vesperia out to ask him about his past, but to talk to him about the future. As they walked the palace grounds, he found that he wasn't sure where to start. Although Vesperia knew about his courtship of Estellise, it wasn't something the two of them had ever discussed. Early on, it had been because Fionn was grateful to avoid the embarrassment and teasing he'd received over his love struck clumsiness, but that had been years ago and, without quite realizing it, he had never properly broached the subject with Vesperia. Now, they were set to become brothers-in-law sometime in the near future and, while he could think of no reason for Vesperia not to be thrilled for the both of them, something made him hesitate.
As usual when they walked together, their steps took them to the hedge maze, through turns as familiar as the streets they'd played in as children, directly to the old gravel courtyard, now so much smaller than it had seemed the first time Vesperia had brought him there. Wordlessly, they drew their swords. Smiling, they fought and, in fighting, Fionn forgot why he had come to find his dearest friend in the first place.
The Adephagos came without warning, descending upon their world and stripping half of it bare in a day. Weapons were useless against it, and magic alone did no good. It was a strange gathering that came up with a solution. Information pooled from the imperial princess, a young mage, an imperial captain and spy, and a traveling Krityan suggested that there might be a way to place a seal on the Adephagos, trapping it outside of reality. To do so, they would need a member of the royal family, the remaining magic of the dying moon, and the mystical sword Dein Nomos which linked the two. A spell was written which would require immense power and multiple casters. Rita and Raven—the mage and the spy—along with Fionn would help control and guide the flow of magic collected by Dein Nomos. It would be Estellise's job to take the magic in and wield it against the Adephagos. Judith—the Kriytan—and Vesperia were charged with protecting the working from the servants of the Adephagos. It was not a plan that could save their world, but it was a plan that could keep other worlds from meeting the same fate.
They began the spell immediately. Every hour, the planet was growing weaker as the Adephagos siphoned the life out of it. As Fionn guided the magic summoned up by Dein Nomos into Estellise, he could hear Vesperia fighting behind him, but he had no attention to spare. Had it really been only that morning that Vesperia had sought him out to challenge him over his engagement to Estellise? Perhaps, if they had some time left after the Adephagos had been sealed away, he might ask why Vesperia had lied to him about giving his blessing to the marriage. A marriage that now was never going to happen….
He heard a noise behind him, a noise he had heard before. It was the last sound he'd ever heard several of the knights under his command make, and he was hearing it now from his best friend. He turned, unable to stop himself from looking, and saw Vesperia smiling at him, a trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth. He had been run through by the tail of one of the servants of the Adephagos. More of the monsters were closing in on him. He was nothing but food to them, and Fionn was reaching for him, turning to leave the spell circle, but Estellise screamed and the magic flared.
The last thing Fionn saw as the world was flooded with a brilliant white light was that sad, pained smile on Vesperia's face.
