Author Notes:
-I do not own Fire Emblem and do not make any profit from this story.
Chapter 10: No Rest For The Weary
The feeling of the fresh, gentle breeze flowing on his skin as he walked through the camp was welcomed, cooling his body after the recent battle. The Shepherds had set up camp next to the port right as the night set, the remaining Valmese soldiers having been evicted from the town. A sour taste stuck to his tongue: while the Ylissean army had emerged victorious, they had managed to save but one of the Valmese rebels, a woman from Chon'sin he still didn't have the occasion to see. The offensive had taken a great toll on the Ylissean combined forces, many of the Khan's and Exalt's soldiers having died that day. As for the Shepherds, two of their member's lives were laying in the hands of both the clerics and the Gods.
The infirmary in sight, he adjusted his clothing, missing the familiar weight of his armor and the katana always at his side. A feminine figure was standing in front of the tent, washing various healing instruments in a bucket whose water was stained with a crimson liquid. He approached the silhouette, that he recognized as Libra as he came closer, then clearing his throat to catch his attention. Startled, the cleric dropped his tools and jumped a few steps back before looking up to the man, his mouth agape.
"Lon'qu! Please refrain from startling me this way, lest I suffer from a stroke," he exclaimed, then crouching to grab the fallen tools.
"I'm sorry. I should expect people to still be on edge after everything that happened," the swordsman replied. Standing above the cleric, he observed him for a few seconds before crouching and assisting in the tools recovery in silence. Both the monk's robes and arms were tainted with blood that Lon'qu could only guess didn't belong to him.
Working together, recovering the tools was done shortly. Lon'qu handed the few scalpels he had recovered, that the monk grabbed and threw in the nearby bucket along with the rest of his tools, then wiping his bloodied hands on the herb. He then stood up, followed by the swordsman.
"Did you come to visit Cherche?" he asked, examining Lon'qu carefully.
The myrmidon nodded, satisfied. How the cleric reached that conclusion was of no concern to him, as long as he got what he came for. "Going straight to the point I see. I wish to visit her indeed, if you allow me."
"She's still recovering from our operations," Libra replied. "As long as you don't wake her up, I suppose there is no harm in letting you come. However, you might want to wait to do so: Sumia came earlier, looking quite distraught. I believe she would appreciate being left alone, for now."
Lon'qu replied with an understanding nod, then breaking the silence after a few seconds of pause.
"How are they faring, both Cherche and her wyvern?" he asked, their cries of agony as they were struck with the dark spell still vividly engraved in his mind. He had been lucky Cordelia was nearby, carrying the woman's unconscious body out of immediate danger on her pegasus while Lon'qu dealt with the ambushing Sorcerer. Matched by few in close quarters, the myrmidon had no issues closing the distance while dodging the mages slow spells, then putting a term to the vile being's life with two rapid strikes. Moving Minerva away from the battlefield had been a more delicate process, which had required the help of several men and beasts, along with a cart to displace her.
"Not well, I fear," Libra replied, shaking his head slowly. "The foul magic penetrated their very core, rendering the usage of our healing staves nigh useless. They are… severely weakened, and feverish. To be perfectly honest, we do not know yet if they will even survive. It's a miracle their bones weren't shattered along with their armor in the first place, although I suppose you will see the results yourself when you do visit."
Lon'qu lowered his head ever so slightly, clutching his jaws to repress the shaking overtaking his body. It was all his fault. Had he been more careful, the whole situation could have been avoided. Instead, incapable of watching his own surroundings, the wyvern and her rider had decided to forfeit their lives to save his own. Such was his cursed fate: unwillingly drawn to a woman for the first time since his days in Chon'sin, history had repeated itself. Once again, the very woman he had sworn to protect had sacrificed herself looking out for him. More than guilt, it was anger filling his body: anger born from the woman's foolishness and his own powerlessness, despite all the years he spent steeling his body to avoid such an utter failure ever again. Firmly keeping his jaw shut, he had to fully focus to hold back screams of frustration.
The calm voice of the priest tore broke his self-blaming trance, bringing him back to the current world. "Sumia seemed… rather touched by Cherche's fate. Please do not be offended if she acts coldly towards you. The human mind, under the weight of sheer emotion, is not always rational. We all know you are not to blame for what happened."
Lon'qu firmly shook his head, dismissing the cleric's attempt to reassure him. "You're wrong, priest. This wouldn't have happened had I been more careful. The blame is mine to bear alone."
A deep breath escaped the lips of the blonde priest, who then locked his eyes into the swordsman's. "You may have not realized it, but Cherche looks up to you, Lon'qu."
"How would you know?" the myrmidon interrupted defensively, escaping the gaze of the monk by looking to the side, arms crossed.
"I have a certain… talent for reading people's struggles," Libra started, then pausing for a few seconds to gather his thoughts before continuing. "Both Chrom and Virion shared her tragic story to me. Many of her friends and comrades followed Rosanne, her homeland, in its demise. We all have our own demons we try to hide, and Cherche is no exception."
"Her nightmares…" Lon'qu murmured, lowering his head as he remembered the night where he first met the woman. His own dreams had kept him up back then, as usual. The woman had hinted at her struggles this night. And yet, he didn't do anything, too self-absorbed with his past to realize the extent of her pain.
"Being our newest recruit, it looks to me like she did her best to conceal her fears while she tried to fit in," the monk continued, ignoring the swordsman's reaction. "While she usually kept to herself, I believe she was getting closer to Sumia… and to you."
Lon'qu raised his head, looking back at the priest. The man was right: ever since Robin had paired them together, they had seen each other on multiple occasions. They even had planned to meet after the last battle, the woman seemingly having something matters of importance to bring to his attention. Needless to say, these plans had been foiled because of the injuries both her and the wyvern sustained.
Unphased, Libra continued, still staring at the man. "So close, in fact, that both her and Minerva forfeited their lives to save yours."
A sympathetic smile formed on the monk's cheeks, who carried on before the swordsman could react. "Such a heavy burden they left you. It's almost selfish, you owe them your life because of their choice and theirs alone, and there's nothing you were able to do about it."
It was the first time Lon'qu had such difficulties returning someone's gaze: it felt like the priest's lifeless emerald eyes were peering at his very soul, reading him like an open book. His chest tightened, it was getting too painful. The whole situation was just like back in Chon'sin, as Ke'ri fell to the bandits' blows. He remembered the girl dying in his arms as he wept over her gashing wounds, too weak to even offer him last words.
The sight of Sumia leaving the infirmary was almost a relief, despite the resentful glare she threw at the swordsman as she walked away. Now wasn't the time to wallow in self despair. As long as the woman had the slightest chance to remain alive, he couldn't afford to give up.
His composure regained, Lon'qu straightened, letting newfound resolve take over his doubts. "I do not leave my debts unpaid, priest. May I now visit her?"
The priest nodded, moving aside to free the way. "Stay as long as you want, but do not try to wake her up. And if she does wake up, make sure to call for me. Now if you excuse me, I still need to tend to Minerva."
The swordsman didn't answer, instead walking to the entrance of the infirmary. Only as he moved past the opening did he mutter a single 'thank you', making sure to be away from the monk's hearing range.
Inside, a few seconds were needed for his eyes to adapt to the obscurity. A single candle was lit near one of the beds, which was barely enough for the man to observe the surroundings. Under its sheets laid an immobile silhouette, which could only belong to the woman. As he walked to the bed, Lon'qu noticed hers was the only one occupied. They were alone, the room plunged into an eerie silence uncharacteristic of the usually noisy camp.
A stool stood right next to the bed, probably previously occupied by Sumia. Near it was Cherche's armor, laying on the ground. The swordsman frowned as he realized the extent of the damage: the whole gear was battered, cut in multiple places because of the foul magic, which had been powerful enough to saw even through the steel. Even an expert blacksmith would have difficulties fixing such heavy damage.
A prickling sensation shot up his spine as he turned to observe the laying woman, freezing him to the spot. Bandages covered most of her shoulders, tainted crimson red in numerous spots. While multiple sheets had been placed above the rest of her body to keep her warm, Lon'qu could only imagine her whole body was covered in such a fashion to stop her blood from flowing out.
His knees nearly giving out, the swordsman let himself fall on the stool, taking a few seconds to come back to his senses before looking back at the woman. Her face was stuck in a pained expression, with deep furrows gathering on her forehead and next to her closed eyes. Her breath was thin and ragged, laboriously escaping her puckered lips. She was soaked in sweat, her damp hair spread behind her in a messy fashion.
Fighting the impulse to run away, his gynophobia striking harder at him the longer he stood near the woman, he extended his hand to place it on her forehead, only to remove precipitately. She was burning with fever.
On the nightstand nearby stood a bowl of water, accompanied by several humid rags. Hoping to somehow diminish her fever, Lon'qu grabbed one of the rags and applied her to her forehead. As he touched her, a sudden coughing fit shook the woman, making him quickly retract his arm again. Fighting off his instincts, he placed a hand behind Cherche's head, holding her still as drops of blood escaped her lips.
"There, there. It's fine, just keep resting," Lon'qu instinctively comforted the wyvern rider as he placed her back on the pillow, then moving aside the few strands of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. While he doubted the woman could even hear him, she had at least returned to her regular state, besides the puddles of blood now adorning the surroundings of her mouth. Grabbing the rag once again, he soaked it in the bowl before awkwardly applying it on the sides of her mouth. The drops of blood slowly vanished at the contact of the cold water, staining the fabric of cloth instead.
"I will not allow you to die. Not until I repay my debt to you," he whispered as he cleaned Cherche's face, his uneasiness slowly but steadily disappearing as he focused all his efforts on improving the woman's condition. Once done, he set the dirtied rag aside and dampened another one, then applying it to the knight's forehead. A satisfied smile formed on his cheeks as the woman remained this time immobile, her breath growing ever so slightly more regular.
Placing the bowl of water back on the nightstand, he leaned back on his stool and crossed his arms as he watched over the sleeping rider. While the night promised to be long, his muscles still sore from the recent battle, he couldn't rest just yet. The woman had saved his life on now multiple occasions, leaving Lon'qu with a heavy debt he intended to repay in full. Sleep could wait, just like he would for the woman to come back to him.
If you were still wondering, the 'surprise' was the shift in the story's POV, as we now see the world through Lon'qu's eyes. I hope you enjoyed the read as much as I enjoyed writing this chapter.
As for the usual schedule stuff: looks like I managed to release this chapter in two weeks as always, despite thinking I'd need need another one to be ready. It is partly because this chapter is a bit shorter than the ones I recently released, mainly because it's meant as an introductory chapter to Lon'qu. The next chapter should be out in two weeks: with the summer being over, I should be back to regular schedules at work from now on.
That said, until next time! It's really been a blast writing this story lately and I appreciate the time you take to read my work, which I can only hope you enjoy.
09/04/2018: Temporary update. It seems there is something wrong with my computer, which I'm going to have to get fixed. I hope to resolve this issue before long, but you may expect 1 to 2 weeks of delay for the next release as I'm currently unable to write. Apologies.