Chapter 7) Waterside Renvall

We've made it to Renvall, gaining one last 'recruit' along the way, a wyvern. My wyvern. After talking with Eirika and Neimi, I decided to name her Brynhildr the Valkyrie, after a legendary queen of Renais, who famously prevented a war from breaking out between Frelia and Rausten centuries ago, among other things that make her a popular folk hero to this day. She seems to like the name, and tolerates Neimi more in appreciation for her help. And the food. Neimi loves feeding her.

But we're at Renvall. Prince Ephraim, Orson, Forde, and Kyle should be here, somewhere. It was time to rescue the idiot prince and his entourage. Yay.

"And there we are." Joshua tightened and secured the last buckle on the saddle around my legs. "That should hold you," he replied, stepping back. He reached over to scratch Brynhilder behind the eye-ridge, smiling as she 'not-purred' as we'd come to call the sound. "I think she's starting to tolerate me, petal."

"She must know you're my brother, brother," I replied. I'd fallen into the habit of teasingly nicknaming him 'brother', which he took in stride. His little smile hinted he liked it. "Alright… less chance of me falling from the saddle…"

"You and Vanessa are going to be surveying the battlefield, right?"

"Yeah. Vanessa's not quite recovered enough to fight, though she's cleared for flying and emergencies. We'll relay information down." I sat back in the saddle a bit and glanced worriedly over at where Vanessa was making her own preparations. Moulder tended to her, but I couldn't help but wonder if she was pushing herself too much. "And I don't need to explain why I'm not, you know, fighting." I'd only recently learned how to stay on Brynhildr when she took off. I had progressed to even being able to keep hold of my lance! Just… everything else was off still.

It was different than riding a horse. You tamed a horse and taught it. But there was no 'taming' a wyvern, and even if she chose me to ride her, and even if she liked me, Brynhildr made it clear that she let me ride. It was more like… having a partner fighting with me always. I wasn't really certain how to take the promise of such a 'constant' companion, when everyone else had disappeared. I couldn't wait to ask Orson. Actually, I couldn't wait to tell him. He was going to freak out so badly.

"Oh, good, you're over here." Natasha, surprisingly, ran up then, looking almost flustered. She tripped over her feet even, but Joshua quickly caught her. "Ah, sorry," she murmured. She smiled slightly. "You're always having to catch me."

"It's because you get focused and forget to watch your feet, little miss," Joshua teased. He smiled warmly. "So, what caught your focus today?"

"Something for… actually, something for both of you." Her smile turned a little shy and she stepped a little closer to me, nodding respectfully to Brynhildr before passing me something small.

I took it carefully, and nearly gasped as I held it up to the light to see it properly. It was a woven… well, 'tapestry' was the only word I could think of, though that implied something far larger than the tiny thing that easily fit in the palm of my hand. 'Charm' might be a better word, as that's just what it felt like. A woven charm with white, red, and silver threads, forming a pattern I recognized as a symbol of the God-King of the Skies. On the back, though, was the symbol of the Queen-Goddess of the Dead. A careful look showed where the two sides had been stitched together with painstakingly small thread.

"It's beautiful," I whispered, smiling at it. I couldn't keep my eyes off it. "A charm?"

"Yes," Natasha confirmed. Her smile sweetened, and I glanced at her hands, noticing they were reddened, with a bandage here and there. She must've only recently finished this. "In Grado, wyvern riders are traditionally given a charm like this as a means of protection. Normally, the Sigil of the Skies is on both side, but you are not of the Grado Army, so I thought I'd invoke the love the Goddess of the Dead has for those with red eyes, and ask that she watch over you a little extra."

"It's amazing." I wasn't sure how protective it would actually be, but the fact that she had made me this, by hand? Even if it was probably more of a guilt-gift, considering I'd almost drowned fulfilling a request for her, I was touched. So touched that I hid my sudden urge to cry by tucking it into my pack, and buckling it down extra tightly to make sure it didn't fall. "I'll keep it near always."

"I'm glad." She giggled, flushing slightly, before pulling a similar one out of her pocket and presenting it to Joshua. "This is one made in thanks for watching out for me, and for saving Emma."

"I get a special one too?" Joshua asked, grinning. He whistled softly as he took it from her. I noticed his had reds too, but also blacks and golds. "I see the Queen of the Dead's symbol… and is this the one for the God of the Sun?"

"Yes," Natasha confirmed. She ducked her head now, flush darkening. "I… remember reading that Jehannans respected the God of the Sun, and would pray to him instead of one of the more battle-like Gods before a fight?"

"Yeah, we pray he'll blind our enemies to give us an advantage. Some of the more religious will wear his tokens into battle." Joshua's grin softened into a smile and he looped it around his sword belt. "There. Sword belt ornament. That's the proper place for a token lovingly made by such a beautiful lady."

"I-it's nothing too fancy!" She sounded so squeaky now. "But, I did… um…"

"I'm half-kidding, Natasha." His smile softened even further. "Sword belt ornaments like this are typically woven by non-mercenaries to give to mercenaries as tokens of appreciation and protection." He glanced at me just as I opened my mouth, so I chose not to point out that it wasn't just non-mercenaries who did that. It was also done a lot between lovers, or mercenary partners. "So, it was all true, but I did make the words a little more teasing than they needed to be."

"...One of these days, I'll just be able to take your teasing without a reaction." She huffed a little and Joshua was back to grinning. "I will."

"Then I'll just have to think of other ways to tease you! It'll be fun!"

"As amusing as watching you two is, I think the others are becoming serious," I interrupted, mostly for Natasha's sake. Joshua made a face while Natasha gave me a grateful look. "See? General Seth is in the middle of saying something."

"That brings us to our current problem in Renvall," General Seth was saying as the three… four… of us moved closer to the others. Everyone was armed and armored, holding themselves almost stiffly. "Renvall is surrounded by lakes, rivers, and mountains." He nodded to the nearby river for emphasis, and he didn't even need to point to the mountains. If not for the one behind us, we'd have a clear view of Renvall. "The only known entrance is the bridge to the main gate. There may be some sides ones, but the places is too guarded to safely send anyone, and even then, it would require strong swimmers."

"Of which, we don't really have," Joshua sighed. He casually waved when Neimi and Franz jumped, clearly not expecting him. "I don't fancy a swim in these waters anyway."

"Do Jehannans even know how to swim?" Ross asked. He looked genuinely curious. "It's all desert, right?"

"There's these things called 'oases' where we normally jumped headfirst, junior." He shrugged. "Besides, all the years of people trying to throw us in water thinking we'd drown teaches you quick, or, you know, you do actually drown. Which isn't fun. Ask Emma here."

"I almost drowned," I protested instantly. "Almost." I tried to reach over and snatch his hat, but he leaned out of reach. "Grr…" Of course, my announce disappeared as soon as Brynhildr reached around and stole the hat with her teeth. "Brynhildr, you're the best!"

"Give me back my hat!" Joshua complained, trying to reach for it. Brynhildr, however, just sat up, letting the hat just dangle from her teeth, playfully swinging it away when he got close. "Petal!"

"Oh, Brynhildr, let him have it back," Eirika urged, stepping out of the group. She walked over and hand out her hand. "Please?" Brynhildr looked around a bit, and then, noticeably reluctant, she dropped the hat into her waiting hand. "Thank you." She handed the hat back to Joshua, who made a show of inspecting it before donning it again. "Why do you even wear that?"

"He'll tell a different story every time you ask," I instantly pointed out, cutting off Joshua's explanation. He gave me a sulky look, but then shrugged with a grin. "Jehannans are honest about everything but things they don't consider important. You can't lie with the sun in your eyes."

"Is… that a saying?"

"Jehannan one, yeah."

"Oh. I like it." She laughed a little but it faded quickly as she turned to face everyone. "This will be the most dangerous battle we've fought." Princess Eirika bowed suddenly to all of us. "I'm sorry for dragging you all into this. I thank you so much for your help, and if you do not mind lending me your aid one more time…"

"We're here for you, Princess Eirika," Franz declared. He smiled sweetly. "I'm sure we'll be fine. My brother is with Prince Ephraim, as are Kyle and Sir Orson. They'll be fine."

"Yes, the hour of your reunion is not far off," Moulder added. His smile was soft. "I'll have my staff, just in case."

As will I," Natasha murmured. She bowed her head and closed her eyes. "Oh, sacred light, guide and protect us…"

"We'll really need it, since this screams of a trap," Joshua sighed. He shrugged and winked, though. "Ah, well. Our luck is bound to turn around at some point, right?"

"Right, and we're with you all the way!" Ross cheered. He started bouncing on his toes, eyes glinting in eagerness. "Ready or not, Renvall, here we come!"

"Easy, Ross," Garia chided. He rested a hand on Ross's shoulder to calm him. "A true warrior remain calm in battle. Look to Gilliam as an example."

"I simply see nothing to discuss, Garcia," Gilliam protested. As always, his expression was stoic and stern. "It's time to fight."

"Very true," Vanessa agreed. She swung up on her pegasus and smiled slightly. "We're yours to command, Princess Eirika."

"I'll work on stealing some of their valuable and information," Colm volunteered. He smirked slightly. "I'm definitely the man for that. Might get something good."

"And I'll do what I can to protect everyone with my arrows," Neimi offered. Her eyes wavered, like she was about to cry, but her smile was kind. "I'll be fine. I'm with everyone."

"And together, we are a rather strong group," Artur added. He closed his eyes. "So, do not falter, Princess Eirika. We are here for you, just as you are here for us."

"Besides, you can't be thinking you'll fight this without my genius," Lute scoffed. She sounded so serious that I had to fight back a laugh. "Let's deal with them, so I can get back to my studying."

"See, this is why you just push forward, Eirika," I deadpanned, smiling at her to soften the words. "A leader is supposed to trust herself, right? So, go for it. These are just men. We've literally fought monsters."

"She's right, your highness," General Seth murmured. He smiled as Eirika finally straightened. "We're prepared for battle."

"...Then, let us go to battle," Eirika whispered. She smiled at us all, though she also looked ready to cry. "To Renvall, everyone! We'll capture it in record time!"

We all cheered, since it seemed appropriate, and surged forward. Brynhildr's muscles bunched up under my legs before she launched herself up into the air, the wind blasting me almost like a slap or knife. But from the air, I had a perfect view of the field.

To Renvall… to Orson and the others… we had to succeed. We had to.

I had no idea if I was thankful for the swiftness of the river or not. On the one hand, the blood that dripped in didn't linger. On the other hand, it also took the corpses that fell in off too, and battered the bodies on the rocks, which almost seemed worse. I mostly chose not to look at the river. I had to make sure Ross didn't drown in the lake, after all.

"I still can't believe he's doing this," I muttered, tapping Brynhildr's side to tell her which direction to veer towards so that I could keep Ross in sight. Ross had the 'brilliant' idea of simply swimming the lake to go around the mountain. With Vanessa landing to rest a bit, that left it to me to make sure Ross didn't drown or get shot. "Points for enthusiasm, I suppose." Brynhildr growled something that I thought might've been exasperation. "Yes, I know." I was talking with a wyvern. I was over a battlefield, riding a wyvern, and talking to her. Nothing about that sentence made sense.

Sighing, I shook my head and, after checking to make sure Ross was still swimming, I studied Castle Renvall itself. From up here, I thought it was actually way more vulnerable by the air. If I were a little more reckless, I could just swoop down into the courtyard and if I came from behind, I'd likely even be able to get in. I thought that might be because the only other country with fliers was Frelia, so they didn't bother with aerial defenses. My eyes narrowed when I noticed just how freaking large the windows were, though. You could fit a horse through them, if they could…

I paused, looking down at Brynhildr, and then back at the windows. They were probably large so that wyverns could swoop in for a quick defense. That was my best guess, at least.

"Still, I wonder if I should volunteer to drop someone there," I murmured. I squeaked, though, as Brynhildr tensed under me. I jerked my head down, worried that Ross was in trouble, but he'd actually climbed up onto the shore just fine, and Brynhildr actually turned towards the nearby woods. I wondered why, but then I caught a flicker of movement among the trees. "Ross!" I leaned over the saddle to look at him. "Don't go too far ahead! I need to check something!" He waved to let me know he'd heard, and I urged Brynhildr to land near the woods.

I unbuckled myself from the saddle and slipped off, taking my lance as I carefully approached the area where I thought I'd seen the movement. Brynhildr moved slowly next to me, one wing wrapped around me protectively. She growled lowly, lowering herself down as we approached a certain tree.

"So, someone's there, Brynhildr?" I asked. She growled in reply. "Well, in that case, you might as well come out. Otherwise, I'm going to ask her to drag you, and I don't think your limbs would appreciate it."

"...You're no Grado soldier if you're being this polite." Someone stepped out then, a man wearing some armor subtle in how expensive it was. His demeanor was relaxed, but his hand hovered near the tree, likely where he had a weapon hidden. "...Yeah, you're definitely not," he continued softly. He reached up to tug his hood a little more forward, though, hiding his face and hair. "I'd say mercenary, but if you are, you're not in Grado's employ. But you have a wyvern..."

"Are you going to keep talking about nonsense or explain what you're doing here?" I kept my lance at my side, and leaned against Brynhildr. "There's a battle going on."

"That's why, actually. I'm trying to determine who is attacking Renvall." I caught the brief bit of a wry smile on his face. "If you listen to rumors, it's just Prince Ephraim."

"Yeah, well…" My eyes narrowed. "You're no Grado soldier yourself, are you?"

"Nope. Farthest thing from it."

"No interest in earning yourself some coin by joining with them?"

"Coin isn't really something I think of."

"...Then who the hell are you?" I tensed, and Brynhildr growled, reacting to me. The man took a step back and to the side, half behind the tree. "You're no mercenary if you think something like that. A mercenary knows how important money is, because it's the difference between starvation and keeping yourself afloat. Someone who says something like that is definitely a rich brat who has never had to budget or barter. Just bought whatever caught their fancy without any regard to how others wouldn't be able to afford it in their wildest dreams."

"That's a rather scathing review of a person you barely know."

"If you want scathing, I can certainly give you one. But I think my Brynhildr wants a piece of your hide instead." She growled again, lowering herself even further. "Now, who are you? You're no Grado soldier, and you're no mercenary. The child of a noble who thought he'd play at war?"

"I'm not playing."

"Then your family better be dead, because being this damn close to Renvall is probably killing them from worry."

"I'm trying to buy them time to escape."

"They're not going to escape if they're fretting themselves to illness. Gods, you're as stupid as Prince Ephraim if you think like that." I rolled my eyes, and only barely noticed how he'd tensed. "Not being there for his people, probably doesn't even know his dad is dead because he had to stay to calm the people instead of evacuating, or how much Eirika's bawled and nearly made herself sick from worry." I couldn't help but grumble, just pissed off now. "You want to know who's fighting? It's her. Eirika, I mean. Because her stupid brother is apparently here, or near here, and she freaked out and came running here because she's so damn scared by the possibility of him dying that she all but runs into a trap."

"...She's here?" The man had stilled, his posture stiff. "Why…? She's known for her peaceful…"

"Sorry to break it to you, mister, but we're at war. You pick up a weapon or you die, and it's not a game where you get to determine who gets involved and who doesn't. War taints everything." I rolled my eyes and climbed back onto Brynhildr, buckling myself in again. "Whatever. If you can't figure that much out, then there's no way you're a threat. Try to stay away from Renvall, though, and get back to your family. It hurts to lose people. I don't want your family to deal with that because you're an idiot."

I urged Brynhildr to take off, and she did so after growling at the man one more time. I tried not to curse as I realized I didn't buckle myself in tightly enough and slammed into the back of the saddle. Thankfully, it was one with a high front and back, likely to minimize the chances of slipping off and falling to your death, so I was just a little bruised. As Brynhildr took us above the clouds, I glanced down to see if that man was still around, but it was impossible to see him among the leaves, so instead, I turned my attention back to the battlefield. While I'd been talking to that man, it seemed like everyone had broken through the front lines and made it past the bridge, so instead I had Brynhildr fly for that courtyard I'd noticed earlier and land next to the horses. I unbuckled myself and dismounted, taking my lance and quickly catching up with the others as they headed on in. Garcia and Gilliam gave me curious looks, but nodded when I shook my head and let me continue on. I patted Ross on the shoulder as I passed him, noticing there was blood among the water dripping off his face, but not commenting.

A sudden yelp of surprise up front, though, made me lunge and swing around a corner, expecting Eirika to be under assault from an ambush or something. Instead, though… Instead, though, I saw Orson. Orson in front of a smiling Eirika and a grim, yet relieved, General Seth. Talking to them even. Haggard. His looked haggard, like he hadn't slept in a while. Maybe a bit dazed. But alive. He was alive. He was alive and well, and oh gods… he was… he was…!

Thousands of thoughts screamed through my head, and I dropped my lance, too stunned and relieved to even attempt to operate my hands. The sound made the three of them jump, but Eirika's smile warmed when she saw me, and Orson… his jaw dropped. His jaw actually dropped.

"Emma?!" he yelped, pushing past Eirika to catch me in a hug. "Emma, what are you doing here?!" He sounded almost like his old self, ready to scold me for some stupid bit of recklessness. "You're supposed to be-"

"The village burned," I told him slowly. I knew this hug. I knew this warmth. Hell, I even knew the scent. Orson's clothes always smelled peppermint and lavender, because Monica really hated when he came back from missions smelling of mud and sweat and threw bunches of sachets at him whenever he left to minimize the smell. "And I came out here to… t-to…" My voice cracked, and the tears I'd been holding back for six months burst. Unable to stop them, I sobbed and wailed, clinging to him tightly. "I was scared! I was so scared! It's just been fighting and killing and… and weird monsters and… and…!"

"...I'm here, Emma." Orson's hug tightened around me. "I'm here. Just cry. It's been a long few months." He kissed the top of my head. "I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." I managed a nod before just giving myself to the tears, letting out all the grief, fear, and frustration at long last.

I was safe. Orson was safe. In a few more hours, we'd all head back to Frelia, and everything would be well. It was safe. It was safe to cry again. Everything would be okay.

Next Chapter - Shattered Bond