The Dragon and the Ice Village

Kamui winced as she felt the dagger dig deep into her skin; Flora's aim was improving.

She ignored the pain of her shoulder and blocked another dagger coming her way. The princess blocked one after the other causing the maid in question to glare back at her before running towards her, daggers like claws on her hands, before she let them fly towards the white haired princess, who blocked each and let them fall harmlessly unto the snow.

Behind her, Nyx fired flame after flame against the few tribesmen mages while Zero protected her from incoming spear men and swordsmen with his bow. Effie and Arthur, true to their word, kept Elise as far away from the conflict as possible and watched, nervously, as Kamui and the others fought. A few tribesmen had managed to run towards them only for Effie to knock them out with the butt of her spear. Cyrus would strike one or two of the tribesmen in the leg or arm to disarm them or forced them to retreat to seek a healer while Joker dealt with a Felicia and a few pesky warriors that were trying to surround them.

The more tribesmen came down, the more came out of the village to face them; a few that had been knocked out were getting back up again and those that had a few burns on their and arrows on knees came back for more.

Perhaps asking her allies for mercy would all be in vain unless…Clear! Their leader would surely…!

But what if that had the opposite effect? What if by striking their leader, she angered the tribe even more? What if they truly were beyond reason…? What if…?

"Ouch!" A dagger scratched her cheek, before another slammed into Kamui's blade before it could reach her face. "Flora!"

Kamui and Flora stood face to face, with the maid putting pressure on the knife as if to break the silver sword in two. "Kamui…you should have run back…! Why didn't you!?"

The princess just glared and whispered, "You had your chance…why didn't you kill me…?" Flora opened her mouth to respond, only to feel a slight pain on her knee before she was sent tumbling down to the snow. Before the maid could retaliate, Kamui quickly slammed her sword's hilt into her stomach. Flora let out a loud gasp as she lost consciousness.

"Flora!" That was Felicia; she had seen her sister fall down and was now running towards her but by then Joker had tackled her. Felicia tackled Joker back but she didn't notice Cyrus coming to help him before she was taken out with a swift smack in the head by the knight's spear.

"My children!"

A gust of wind got Kamui straight in the head.

She winced as the cold wind slammed against her, and then another as she was forced to back away from the unconscious Flora. The princess looked up and spotted Clear, face red with anger, a tome in his hand, as he sent another gust of wind towards her. Kamui moved out of the way as the magic hit the snow behind her before running towards the Ice Village leader.

He glared as a pair of swordsmen appeared before the princess, blocking her path. They swung their swords towards her. Kamui parried the blows before disarming one of them and taking the other by surprise by grabbing him and throwing him to the side—the princess didn't try to look shocked at realizing she had thrown a grown man to the side—before running towards Clear again.

"Sir! Tell your men to stand down!"

"Bah! So you can finish us off?!" Kamui said nothing as Clear shook his head in anger. "What fool do you take me for!?"

"If you would only let me—"

"NO!" Magic danced across his fingers as the wind around them came to a stop. "I WILL NOT BE MADE A FOOL ANY LONGER! YOU TAKE MY CHILDREN! AND YOU MAKE US YOUR SLAVES….! AND NOW, YOU DIE!" And then, he let the magic fly, hitting Kamui straight in the chest with a lightning bolt. The princess was sent to her knees, breathing hard as her cape ripped to shreds around her and sparks surrounded her body before disappearing.

"KAMUI!"

"LADY KAMUI!"

"SISTER!"

Kamui's ears were ringing as the pain surrounded her body.

Then, she felt it.

Her teeth were getting longer…her nails were getting sharper…she could feel them digging into her palm as she held her sword…and then, she looked up.

Clear was shocked as he stared at the glowing eyes of the girl, who was back on her feet and was running towards him. He panicked, and before he could send another blast of thunder towards the girl, Kamui was upon him.

She raised her hand and held him by the neck, using her body to push both of them down.

Kamui held him by his neck as her silver sword dangled over his head; he glared at her defiantly as she glared back and then he closed his eyes and said, "Finish me…"

And Clear waited. He waited for the fateful blow that would end him. He waited for the blow that would tear his people apart and kill his children. He waited for—

The grip on his neck loosened and the weight on his chest lifted.

Clear opened his eyes to see the princess of Nohr standing above him, offering him a hand; her eyes were no longer glowing with wild rage and her nails and teeth had returned to normal. He stares at her in confusion as the fighting stopped around them.

"…I want to talk…" Kamui said, shaking slightly as the cold overwhelmed her body. She was freezing but she didn't care and just looked at Clear as he stared at her then at her extended hand in confusion.

"Why are you…?"

"Let's talk…"

Clear was silent before he takes her hand; as the princess helps him to his feet, he can see Joker and Cyrus aiding his fallen people and his children were waking up from their unexpected slumber, watching in surprise as the princess helped their father to his feet.

Elise still keeps her distance even as the fighting stops, but she's already asking if anyone needs a healer, going about with Effie by her side and healing the tribesmen who just can't help but blink in confusion at everything that's happening around them.

But the princess smiles back at her sister before she turns and says, "…King Garon sent me to deal with your rebellion…" she explained and raised a hand before Clear could say anything else. "But he told me to deal with it as I saw fit…and I have."

"…you…you have…?"

"…whatever you have to do…do it…before Nohr finds out…"

"…why…why are you…?"

"I owe it to Flora and Felicia…" Kamui said with a sad smile. "It's the least I can do…I wish I could explain more…but…it's for them…I do it for them…so if you must do something…do it soon…understood?"

Clear was silent before he smiled and nodded. "Thank you…"

"…please don't."

"…and yet I feel I must…you…you are nothing like your Father…"

Kamui flinched at that and shook her head as she turned and shouted, "Everyone okay there, Elise!?"

"Yep!" the younger princess returned with a bright smile on her face. "Just a few cuts, bruises and burns! But nothing too serious! Oh! I'll probably need a few extra bandages though…"

"Please…Lady…Kamui…" Clear began, bowing. "Please…allow me to…repay you for your kindness…and for your mercy…"

"I don't want anything…really," Kamui told him.

"I still insist…considering that…"

"You were angry. I wouldn't have blamed you even if you had killed me…" Because I deserve it…I deserve to die…because of what I did…

"But…"

"….rooooarggghhhhhhhhhhh!"

A familiar roar pierced the heavens as both Kamui and Clear stared about in a panic.

The princess recognized that roar. They were the Nosferatu, the faceless ones, the ones she had encountered in the Forlorn. Had they…had the beasts followed them!? But how..!?

She couldn't see them anywhere but she could already see the panic forming around her; Clear was shouting orders as her allies scrambled about and aided the injured. Effie and a tripping Arthur surrounded Elise as they quickly moved towards the gates and to safety. Joker and Felicia took turns to help a pair of injured swordsmen while Cyrus was helping Flora with a pair of injured healers. Zero and Nyx were in a panic; the man was pointing his bow and arrow frantically in the distance, trying to pinpoint where the Nosferatu was coming from while Nyx stared left and right in effort to spot the beasts before they spotted them.

And then, Kamui felt them.

She could feel the slight sensation of movement on her cold and naked feet; she could feel the pounding as the snow and dirt began to tear each other apart and out the Nosferatu appeared, sending frost all over the area as they let out a loud scream.

More and more Nosferatu sprouted from the ground, more and more and more were hit by a frantic Zero and nervous Nyx but the arrows and magic were nothing.

These seemed stronger than the ones they had fought back in the Forlorn and it showed.

Their skin was sickly green. The masks they seemed to glow as the rotten chains they carried slammed into the snow.

They were surrounded, even if they reached the village in time, they would have no chance.

The people were already tired.

Kamui stared at the creatures and then felt her pouch.

She had no choice.

The princess remembered when she had contemplated turning into that beast when surrounded back in the Forlorn; would she dare become a monster so that she could live another day? Yet she had been saved from her decision by her old friends and now—with a determined glare—it was time to save them.

Kamui ran towards the nearest Nosferatu, hand inside her pouch, feeling the stone as she raised it up in the air and felt the change take her as the creatures roared.

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Cyrus had panicked the moment he saw Kamui run out towards the Nosferatu; and then he panicked even more as he saw the column of water surrounding her.

He had grabbed his lance in alarm and was ready to run towards his friend but stopped short when he saw a new beast in her place.

The strange thing was tall, taller than the Nosferatu before her; it was a dragon.

Cyrus didn't know how he could tell the difference, but he knew the creature that had just appeared was a dragon but it was nothing like what he had imagined.

He had imagined dragons as larger, bulkier versions of their wyvern cousins but this one seemed small and fragile but no less dangerous. Silver and black scales surrounded her body, as a large tail swung to and fro with wings that flapped about and her head…oh dear gods…her head…she had no eyes nor mouth just a strange jaw-like appendage and horns akin to the antlers of a deer.

And…and it was Kamui…he was staring at Kamui…that was Kamui…that was…

"GYAAHHH!" The dragon—Kamui—roared, and reared her head back before slamming her horns straight into the nearest Nosferatu's face.

The creature roared and then turned into dust before it could it the ground.

Its allies cried out around the fallen Nosferatu and jumped at the dragon.

Kamui!

"GYAAAAHHH!"

The Nosferatu send the dragon down only for them to be slashed and cut by the dragon's claws. They reared back as the beast gets up again and strikes them with her tail.

"ROOAARGHHHHAAA!"

And the dragon is at it again. She's back to her feet and is grabbing the face of the nearest Nosferatu and crushing it in her grip before sending it crashing against another Nosferatu who waits with open arms to receive its brother before it too is struck down by the dragon's horns.

As the dragon slashed and roared, the Nosferatu fell to her wrath; Cyrus could see that Zero and Nyx and a few tribesmen were helping her as well, striking at the Nosferatu to distract them before she buried her horns into their chests or crushed their faces.

And now, only a single Nosferatu stood there, growling meekly as it tried to back away from the ferocious beast that had killed its kin. It tried to hit the dragon with a clumsy fist, but the dragon was faster. She grabbed the fist in midair and then ripped it from its socket before slamming her horns into its face.

The Nosferatu turned to dust with one final defiant howl to the wind.

Everyone was quiet.

No one moved…no one dared to breath and then—

The dragon turned her face towards them and then panic…!

Clear was shouting orders again, "The gates! The gates!" as the dragon moved towards them, there were neither roars nor growls as she walked.

Cyrus didn't know what to think.

Would she attack them? Would she tear them apart like she had done to those Nosferatu? Would she kill them…?

Would she recognize them…? Would she—

"ACHOO!"

Silence.

The dragon let out another sneeze as everyone stared. She sneezed again and again until finally Cyrus said,

"…bless you…?"

She turned her scaly head towards him and finally nodded as the familiar voice of the princess said back, "Thank you…"

It had been an eventful week; meetings, meetings and more meetings, oh, and the occasional the 'Nohrians this and the Nohrians that' comments.

Frankly, it was driving Haruto insane.

So what if one of the Queen's brats had betrayed her 'siblings'? So what if that Nohrian wench was getting attacked? What made them think Haruto would care…it was just a waste of time and effort.

His only concern was making money, building and keeping trade routes and making 'friends'.

But now, he was worried about the Nohrians and their new pet.

The Nohrians had a dragon to call to their aid at any time and moment and after that display at the plaza, he feared for his trade routes…he feared for his merchandise but worse of all, he feared for his life.

He had to get rid of that girl no matter what…but old Nobuyuki told him to not be so impatient. If they were both lucky the girl would die at the hands of her so-called siblings or at the hands of a brave samurai.

But Haruto wasn't stupid; Nobuyuki wanted her gone just as much as he did. He knew he could have just ignored her all things considered but she was a blasted dragon of legend, birthed by some unknown wench the late King Sumeragi had picked off of the streets and now their mortal enemy.

Perhaps if that wench's other brat had those same powers they could…but no. He was too normal and human compared to the dragon brat so Haruto could safely safe and assume that he could not turn into a dragon. But that just made things worse. Without a dragon of their own by their side, Hoshido was surely doomed.

Yet Haruto was not out of ideas; he would call forth hunters from around Hoshido lands…from Izumo to Mokushu to Nestra…to the seas…to something!

He didn't care for the price, if only a great hunter would hunt that dragon down and kill her so that Hoshido (and his gold and life) could be saved.

A/N: And done! Finally! Added a little with Haruto that will be special later on...or not...! For those with the game already you might recognize a few names from the localization...did it to save me the trouble (and also because I could no longer find the original Japanese names and well...lazybones problems...)

Anyway, this chapter finally ends the battle with the Ice Tribe but next chapter the Nohrians attack! (in Hoshido)

Took a while to post this because the sight was having downtime or else it would have been here sooner.

Please leave a review and see you next chapter! (and have a good day!)