DISCLAIMER: Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. You know what that means? That's right, I don't own a thing! (Well, aside from the OC…)
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Mattyboy91: With any luck, this one won't be such a snorefest… LOL.
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Alright now… brace yourself for the next chapter!
CHAPTER 11
The Proud Sable Commander
Having successfully obtained the orbs we needed from the Fane of Raman, our forces marched onward to the next stop before reaching Gotoh…
The Kingdom of Grust.
As noted in the pages of history, this powerful military nation was founded by one General Ordwin and his battalion of black-armored knights (the precursors to the now infamous Sable Order, actually). With their incredible power, they outmatched and conquered the barbarians that had once occupied the land.
When all was said and done, the great commander of his squadron ended up becoming the first king of the newly established kingdom, Grust. His peerless courage and leadership would be the main reason that Grust would be recognized as one of the greatest of the continent's seven kingdoms.
Too bad this kind of leadership couldn't be passed down to the current ruling king of this realm, Ludwik. Being the coward that he was, the empire had no trouble at all in pressuring him into an alliance.
Of course, given that Grust's forces have suffered extreme losses at our hands, the alliance had proven not to be very effective. Word had it that King Ludwik had even fallen gravely ill upon hearing constant news of his country's losses.
No doubt about it… win or lose, this once powerful kingdom is going to fall hard after this next battle.
XXXXXXXXXX
(Camus POV)
The situation was stacked against us.
The Akaneian League, led by Altea's Prince Marth, had beaten back all of the empire's forces at every turn. The bulk of Grust's military was used to oppose them, but all of them fell before the league's might.
I had no regrets about freeing Princess Nyna from the empire's hold, even as they were furious for my actions. It's only because I led their forces to several victories that I still live now…
And now… all that was left of Grust's forces were stationed back here, and this will more than likely be our final stand… but if that's what it takes to stand up for my country's honor, then I'll lay my life on the line with no hesitation.
"Commander! The league is approaching from the east!"
My second in command, Robert, rode up to me with this news.
"I understand. Did you see anyone of interest in their forces?" I asked him.
"The League is being led by Prince Marth of Altea. I've also confirmed that Princess Nyna of Akaneia is also traveling with him and his friends."
So… the prince kept Princess Nyna safe. Thank goodness…
"I see… thank you for your report." I nodded.
My other two subordinates, Belf and Leiden, rode up from the south.
"Commander, our forces are ready for battle. We have reinforcements stationed in the forts as well if things look dire. Do you have any further orders?" Leiden asked.
I thought carefully before nodding.
"I do… but before that, I must tell you all something…"
I beckoned them a little closer…
"Gentlemen… you three have been with me ever since I became your captain years ago. I want to thank you all for staying at my side for that long amount of time…"
Belf nodded, "And we would gladly do it all over again, captain. But… why do you say this now?"
I took in a breath. This was going to be hard to say…
"My next order as your captain is to fall back once the league reaches this forest."
Undaunted by their widening eyes, I turned toward Robert, "Robert, if I am destined to fall here, the command will be yours."
"But commander!" Leiden protested, "Surely you don't mean to take the entire league on all by yourself?"
Robert also added, "General, we made an oath the day you became our commander. We will not leave you to the fate you're describing."
I shook my head, "I have some personal business to attend to with the prince and one of his soldiers. If I know Prince Marth, he would not resort to dishonest trickery to triumph in this battle. Please… just trust me when I give you this order."
Very reluctantly, they all conceded, with Belf speaking up, "As you command, captain… but please be careful."
I nodded and gestured for them to prepare to fall back, then called out to the rest of my squadron…
"This is for the glorious kingdom of Grust! Let us show the league our true power!"
A deafening war cry was my response. With no further things to add, I hefted my lance and waited…
XXXXXXXXXX
(Chris POV, 24 minutes ago)
It was about another two weeks' worth of travel before we finally managed to get to the center of Grustian territory. During that time, my injuries from Morzas finally healed completely…
Along the way, I noticed that many members of our army were steadily improving as the days went on…
Sheeda's pegasus had matured to the point of growing a horn on its forehead, thus it was now the fastest flying mount in our forces. Sheeda also was attempting to learn swords, so Raddy decided to give her advice on that matter.
Meanwhile, Gordin was improving by leaps and bounds in his archery, though part of me wanted to credit that to Jeorge teaching him a few things about using a bow. Regardless, he was beaming widely as he wore his Orion's Bolt symbol with pride. He even got to use the Parthia as well, that lucky devil!
Cain, Abel, Vyland, and Roshea had invested in ornate armor for themselves and their horses in the meantime. The badges on their armor had certified them as honorary paladins of Altea (Cain and Abel) and Aurelis (Vyland and Roshea). On top of that, all of them decided to try their hand at using axes, so Bord and Cord have been pretty busy showing them the ropes for using axes.
Merric and Linde were progressing very quickly in their sorcery studies. Their potency for offensive spells was now at an astounding level, and now they were beginning the basics for using staves. Of course, they would need to start from the bottom, that being the basic Heal staff…
As for myself and Caesar, we kept building up our strength through training. Now I was pretty confident that I could wield the mighty sword, Mercurius. As Est said, this weapon would surely come in handy by now… and I was pretty sure I was going to need it soon.
It's a good thing we were getting some much-needed improvements… because this next scuffle with Grust was sure to get pretty hairy.
I had gotten to know Tiki a little during our travels. As Bantu said, she was of the Divine Dragon clan, supposedly the most powerful of the dragons to exist…
Aside from that though, she was a cute one… though the fact that she has taken to calling me 'Chrissy' now is just a little bit embarrassing…
'Of course, it was better than what she's calling Marth now… hah!' I grinned at this thought.
After a couple of hours of marching, we finally caught sight of what was left of Grust's forces. Looking through my spyglass, I noted that the field was crawling with several paladins and a few armored knights and generals. A few forts were also present in the area along with a single village…
"All those ridersbane lances and armorslayer swords we stockpiled are really going to come in handy here…" I muttered to myself as I put away my spyglass.
Lord Marth and Lady Nyna were approaching from behind, so I turned to the former…
"Sire, the whole field is waiting for us to strike. I don't see them moving just yet…" I told the prince.
"I see… thank you, Chris." He said, then he turned to grandpa to tell him to think up a plan…
Now I turned to the princess…
"Lady Nyna… isn't there something you want to tell us before we get started with our attack? This may be your only chance to say something…"
She seemed reluctant to speak… but she nodded, "Very well then… as you two wish…"
Nyna took in a deep breath before she began…
"When the empire's forces, which were allied with Grust at the time, conquered Akaneia… the whole royal family was slain, aside from me. On the other hand, I had been put under custody of Grust – or their Sable Order, to be more precise."
I nodded, "I suppose that makes sense. You had to have been a high priority target."
"Yes… and Doluna wished for me to be executed, so that the lineage of House Akaneia would be eradicated. Grust was willing to comply with their request…"
"And yet you stand before us now, telling us all this." Marth cut in.
"Correct… I still live because the captain of the Sable Order came to my defense."
Wait… the captain? Does that mean…
She turned towards me now…
"Christopher… the man you met in Gra… he was that captain. His name… was Camus."
Our eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when we heard this…
The man who was most likely leading the enemy forces here was the same one who spared Lady Nyna!
Suddenly… it all came together…
Nyna's surprised reaction when I told her my story in Gra…
Her uneasiness when we first came to Chiasmere…
And her fearfulness when we said we would have to come here to finish off Grust's forces…
It all made sense now!
"It was General Camus that saved you?" Marth asked, just as surprised as I was…
"Yes…" she nodded, "He constantly defended me, not even caring if the Dragon of Darkness would bring his wrath down upon him. He was also the one who arranged my escape to Aurelis…"
"Damn… it's no wonder Doluna isn't too fond of him right now." I shook my head, "I'll bet he's only here because of his brilliance as a general…"
Nyna looked down sadly…
"The truth is… I once hated him as well, but… his compassion dampened my hatred of him… and now, I can't bring myself to dislike him any longer."
We both fell silent as we heard this… but it was only a few seconds until I spoke up once again…
"Lady Nyna… you love him, don't you…"
It was more of a statement than a question… but Nyna neither denied nor confirmed what I said.
The princess spoke once more, "I just want to see him one more time… but not if it means that you two must face him…"
Well… this just got severely complicated…
How were we even going to speak to the man? His forces probably won't even let us near him…
"Nyna… we cannot make any guarantees about this… but we'll do whatever we can. I hope you understand…" Marth told the princess.
She nodded, "I do… thank you, Marth… Christopher… I cannot ask for anything further."
Grandpa came up to us next…
"Sire, our forces are ready to march. You need only give the signal…"
"Of course, Malledus…" Marth nodded, then gave a war call…
It was time to strike! Drawing my sword and shield, I fell in with the rest of our forces as we charged ahead to engage Grust for the final time…
Four paladins rode towards us as Draug and Roger readied their lances. As they charged in, Draug thrusted at one of the paladins fatally, knocking him from his horse. Roger had a little bit more trouble as the other three were using hit and run tactics to clip him before he could counter. Fortunately, Barst used his bow to shoot at one of the paladins, slowing him down a little so that Roger could run him through his ridersbane. Ogma leaped forward and sliced into another paladin just before he could raise his lance to attack. Finally, Gordin and Castor fired several arrows until the last paladin was thoroughly perforated…
"Don't let them get to the keep! Crush them here!"
Huh? Uh oh…
A general, who looked to be somewhat elderly (though not as much as my grandfather or commander Jeigan), was the one who made that call. That eye patch over his right eye must mean he's seen several wars…
When he shouted this, a group of armored knights (with a couple of generals also present) started trudging our direction. Ogma drew Mercurius as I took out an armorslayer and we raced in to take them out. I was thankful that their heavy armor slowed them down quick enough for me to slice into one of them. I turned quickly and blocked the other knight's lance thrust with my shield, then thrusted my blade through his metal hide. He fell over without any trouble at all.
Meanwhile, Ogma was making quick work of one general as he used Mercurius to strike a fatal blow right through his armor. The other general was about to come down upon the hero, but he immediately turned and stabbed him, the blade punching right through the general's armor…
It was then that Marth finally caught up with us…
"Sire? Where were you?" I asked him…
"Sorry. I was busy securing a village not too far from here. Apparantly, Sister Lena's grandparents live here, and they gave me a staff that supposedly restores weapons like new again…"
"Huh… interesting."
"Yes, well… Julian decided to give it to her now. How are the enemy forces?"
"We've cleared out most of them-"
The sound of beating hooves quickly alerted us north.
"Seems they had reinforcements waiting…" Marth noted as he drew his rapier.
As more paladins came onto the scene, Gordin raised Parthia up and fired an arrow at them. Amazingly, the arrow pierced through two of them, allowing Marth to race forward and thrust his own blade through a third one. The last two were coming at me, so I tossed a hand axe at one of them, nailing him right in the head. The other one continued to charge at me, so I raised my shield to block his lance thrust. It staggered me a little bit, but I recovered quickly enough to lob another hand axe his way as he turned around to charge again. The axe made contact with his neck, ending him immediately.
We continued our charge westward as the general from earlier came up to me. Before I could draw my weapon, however…
"General Lorenz!"
Huh? Sheeda?
She flew to our position and greeted the general, whom I now concluded had to be this Lorenz she was speaking of…
"This is a battlefield, lass! Why are you-"
Sheeda cut him off, "Forgive me, general. My name is Sheeda and I hail from Talys. My father has actually told me much about you…"
The general must've realized who she was now, and he smiled…
"Oh! Princess Sheeda, it's you!" he exclaimed, "You've certainly become such a beautiful lady since I last saw you. I really should thank Mostyn for being a good friend to me all these years…"
"Yes, well… I must ask you something." The falconknight said, "General, why are you fighting for Doluna? Didn't you oppose your country's alliance with the empire?"
"I did, but… try as I might, I couldn't convince his majesty to refuse their demands. Meek as he was, they proved to be better at negotiating with him than I did…"
I just shook my head here, wondering how Grust could actually last this long under that man's rule…
"What's troubling that young man?" I heard him speak, so I looked up at him.
"Ah, General Lorenz… my name is Chris and I come from Altea." I told him, "Forgive me for sounding cold here, but… how is it that a weak-willed man like King Ludwik was able to keep a nation like Grust up and running?"
"What are you saying?" the general told me.
"Does he not realize that the empire's only interest is to annihilate all of mankind with the power of the manakete horde? We can't let them achieve their objectives…"
"My friend here is correct…" Sheeda nodded, "You don't need to fight in this battle. Please, join us so that we can put a stop to the empire!"
Wait… why is he shaking his head?
"It's not that simple. I've served Grust for nearly 35 years now, so I cannot simply betray my nation like so many others in your forces have. I want to continue honoring my country… and if it means fighting for it until the end, then I'll do it."
I shook my head…
"General… with all due respect, that is a pawn's way of thinking."
"Excuse me?"
"Look… I understand what you mean when you say you can't betray your nation, but your liege was an idiot for believing that anything good would come from an alliance with the empire. What's stopping Doluna from sacking your country if heaven forbid they end up triumphing in the end? If they decide that Grust has outlived its usefulness, then all who live here will surely suffer…"
He looked down gravely at this…
"I'm not saying you have to agree with that line of thought, but just think about it for a while…"
I left them to their own thoughts and ran off with a few others following…
Another general came upon me as I continued onward, but thankfully he didn't last too long, as Gordin fired another Parthia arrow and it punched right through the general's armor… and the general himself. He didn't get back up after falling over.
Now we were heading through a very thick forest. Only our foot-soldiers were able to get through these woods without much trouble. The rest of our forces either had no problems (our flying units) or had a slow time going through the trees (our horse riders).
XXXXXXXXXX
(Marth POV)
This forest was awfully thick…
It took about 12 minutes before we finally got to an open area in the forest… and to our surprise, there was someone there waiting for us. In fact… it was the one person we were anticipating would show himself in this battle.
Camus… the captain of the Sable Order.
There were three others with him, two brown-haired cavaliers and a blond horseman. Chris and I approached him slowly.
"I've been waiting for you, Prince Marth." He said, then he noticed Chris had come with me, "And it looks like we meet again, soldier."
So it was true… that man he met back in Gra. He was this man right here… Camus.
"General Camus…" I started, "Please listen… none of us here want to fight you. Nothing good will come from this battle! Don't you realize that?"
He shook his head…
"Whether this battle is meaningless or not means nothing. As long as Grust continues to support Doluna's objectives, I must do my duty as one of Grust's loyal knights. It's too late to for me to turn back now…"
Now Chris spoke up…
"Camus… is this the only purpose you think you have now? To die for a nation that has no bright future ahead of itself? Doluna may very well decide to do away with your homeland if they decide it's outlived its usefulness. Are you just going to sit back and let it happen?"
Chris turned around to see that Princess Nyna was approaching. That seemed to give him an idea…
"And what about Lady Nyna? What is she going to do if you decide to throw your life away like you're about to? She loves you, Camus!"
Taking my cue from Chris, I added, "Ever since we made landfall, she's been extremely concerned for your safety. Please, drop your weapon… if not for this world's future, then for Nyna."
Again, he denied what we told him.
"I told you two already… it's too late for me to change now. I am not going to disobey my crown over an unproven theory that you've provided. As a knight, I am to follow his majesty's orders without question, so there is nothing any of you can do or say to change my mind…"
He looked down at us seriously here…
"Besides… I hold part of the blame for the destruction of your homeland and the deaths of your families. Would you be content with letting a person like that off freely?"
Neither of us could respond. We knew the answer to that question already… we wouldn't.
He then hefted his lance…
"Now draw your weapons and let us end this charade at once." He demanded with finality.
"Camus! No!"
Princess Nyna finally came up here with us. One look at her face showed she was nearly ready to cry…
"Camus… please, you don't have to do this. You gave me back my life… and Marth and his friends gave me back my kingdom."
She tried to stop for a few seconds to regain her composure, which was rapidly falling apart at these circumstances… but to no avail.
"I don't want to see you fight and die…" she sobbed, "Please, Camus… join our cause. We need you, no… I need you!"
Tears rolled down her face as she awaited the commander's answer…
"I… I'm sorry, princess… but I cannot do that…"
This was quite a shock for the princess…
"W-what?" she gasped, "But… Camus, we-"
The Sable Commander cut her off, "If I followed my heart and not my crown, I would do as you asked of me… but a true knight would never abandon his homeland or his liege… especially not in their darkest hour."
He then looked around, noticing most of our forces… specifically those who joined from the opposing side.
"I am not like most of your friends, princess…" he told us, "I would not abandon my nation simply because of whom or what side of the war it supports. What you're essentially asking of me is to cast aside the very principles and ideals I have built up and followed ever since I became a knight. Do you truly believe I can simply throw all of it away as though it meant nothing at all?"
Chris was sorely tempted to rebut the commander's argument… but Nyna wasn't able to say anything to this…
"I have lived my life as a proud knight of Grust, and I have no regrets if it means that my life will end in her service. It is the only path I have ever known… and it's the only road for me now…"
He looked down at Nyna now, and a sad smile crossed his face…
"My princess… for the short time we've been together, you have made me a very happy man… and I will forever remember our time together, even in the afterlife…"
Nyna's sadness seemed to increase tenfold at this…
"Farewell, Princess Nyna… I hope that you may find someone else that can bring joy back into your life."
We shook our heads at this, as Nyna completely lost it and burst into further tears as she covered her face. Hardin came to get her to safety, but she was reluctant to follow…
Chris looked back up at him, "Camus… you knew this was going to happen, didn't you…? That's why you told me that our paths would cross again in the future… is that right?"
Camus only nodded, and again he raised his lance, "Yes… however, as mad as it may be, none of you will leave this area alive. As long as I hold this lance, Gradivus, you have no chance of besting me."
So… that lance was Gradivus, the last of the three regalia!
"Do you still wish to face me, knowing the weapon I hold?"
With a heavy heart, I drew my rapier as Chris asked for Mercurius from Ogma. He looked as I felt right now… neither of us wanted to do this.
"So be it…" he grimly noted, "A pity you two had to waste your lives."
"Speak for yourself, general." Chris retorted, and so I turned to everyone else…
"Everyone, this is our fight now… don't interfere."
"But Prince Marth!" Malledus shouted, "He's too strong for either of you! Let us all attack him at once!"
"No, Malledus… this is something we must do ourselves…" I told him with finality.
"Just trust us, grandpa. We can do this…" Chris added.
Chris then turned to Camus, "If you're so stuck up on honor, then let's settle this like gentlemen. Come down from your horse and only one of us will face you."
"If that is what you wish, Sir Christopher… but it changes nothing. Neither of you have any chance of victory." He told us as he dismounted.
It looked like Chris was trying to see if we could gain an advantage by forcing him to dismount. Most horse-riders didn't fight too well off their mounts, so he must've been trying to see if this applied to Camus as well…
Turning back to the commander, I readied my rapier as he held the Gradivus. Then, we rushed forth at each other, struggling as my sword clashed with his lance…
Camus' fighting potential proved to be as strong as everyone has said, as he managed to overpower me, bat away my rapier, and knock me away with the blunt end of the lance. I was able to recover and leap out of the way of a lance thrust, but when I tried to counter, he simply sidestepped my own attack. Then, his lance managed to clip my left arm, drawing blood as it connected. Gritting through the pain, I quickly sliced twice, managing to penetrate his armor and cut into one of his legs. Camus, despite his leg injury, was still quick to dodge another thrust to his midsection, and he clipped me again, this time on my shoulder.
"Ungh…"
This time, I was able to land a cut on one of his arms. Still, Camus held strong and gritted through the pain. I feinted a slash at his other arm, then attempted a thrust at his chest, but he was quick to see that coming and parried my attack, kicking me to the ground as he did. Before he could continue, I immediately went into a kneeling position and swiped at his legs again, nailing him again. Although his mobility was hampered, he still held strong as I got back up and attempted to swing at his mid section. Spinning the Gradivus, Camus stopped my advance and nailed me on the side of my head with the blunt end of the lance, knocking me back to the ground again. My head was spinning as Camus pointed the deadly weapon right at me…
"Goodbye… Prince Marth."
XXXXXXXXXX
(Chris POV)
I watched in horror as Camus drove the Gradivus through the prince. The point had gone right through his chest! Even if the hit missed his heart, he'd surely die if I didn't get him help immediately.
"No! Lord Marth!"
I rushed onto the scene as the prince was bleeding heavily. Carefully, I led him to our three healers and barked out orders to get to healing him at once. Sheeda, who was now being followed by General Lorenz, looked on tearfully as she saw Marth groaning in agony from the power of the Gradivus…
I turned back to Camus and drew Mercurius. If he was going to fight with a powerful weapon, then so was I…
"Sir Christopher… why is it that you fight? Do you not believe in standing up for your liege?"
I looked at him…
"I don't fight just because of king and country, Camus. I'm participating in this war because I want to fight for what's right. I'm not going to sit back and let the empire keep its stranglehold on the continent. I will do whatever it takes to crush Doluna's ambitions, and if I have to destroy those allied with the empire, then I will do it."
Camus gave me a look here, "If you're not one to fight out of loyalty to a nation, then why did you take Prince Marth out of the way?"
"It's because he is my friend…" I told him, "I've lost my home and my family to this war, and I'll be damned if I lose more of my friends to it as well. That is why I fight…"
He took a few minutes to comprehend this…
"A noble cause…" Camus nodded, then raised Gradivus once more, "But even so, I cannot agree with the ideals you abide by. I follow my own beliefs, and I will fight to defend them."
"Then let's just see whose beliefs are stronger!" I challenged him, tossing aside my shield and raising Mercurius.
With a quick rush, I swung the mighty sword left, but he was expecting this and blocked accordingly. Knocking aside my sword, he then attempted a slash with the lance, but I backed away to avoid and then attempted a thrust with the sword, which he sidestepped. Facing the commander again, I swung upward, catching the arm that Marth had hit earlier. I could see Camus' face flicker with pain briefly, but he otherwise remained undaunted, as he attempted to stab at me with the Gradivus. Unfortunately, I was too slow to get out of the way, and he nailed my right shoulder…
"Augh!"
Having nailed my shoulder, Camus then attempted a slash at my chest, but I was barely able to raise Mercurius to intercept the attack. As we clashed our weapons, I attempted to kick him to knock him away, but apparently he had the same idea as he lashed out with his own leg and knocked me back also.
"For a young age, you fight well… but it won't be enough to bring you victory."
"I'll go down fighting if I have to, general!"
Twirling the Gradivus, Camus intercepted my downward strike, and bashed my head with the blunt end of the lance. I was reeling a little bit from the hit, but then…
"AAARRRGGGGHHH!"
Unimaginable pain flared through my body as he thrusted the Gradivus through my mid-section. I fell to my knees, struggling to keep holding onto the Mercurius…
"Sorry, Christopher… but your journey is over." he said as he came over to finish me.
As he raised his lance one last time, I tried one final attack… and I thrusted my sword upward…
"No! Commander, look out!" one of the three knights that were with Camus called out to him, but it was too late…
He tensed up as his face contorted in agony.
"I told you… I'd go down fighting." I weakly retorted, blood pooling from my mouth as I said this…
As I pulled the blade from Camus' chest, he fell backward as his blood spread outward from his body. Everything soon went black as the pain began to be too much for me to take…
Before my back hit the ground, I could've sworn I heard someone calling for me as my consciousness faded away…
XXXXXXXXXX
(Linde POV)
"Chris!" I cried out as he hit the ground. I quickly came over to him as Princess Nyna approached Camus, heartbreak evident in her eyes. As I quickly took out my healing staff to treat the hero's grave wound, I could hear Camus speaking with the princess…
"Nyna… I… I will… miss you…" he coughed out blood as he spoke…
The princess had her head buried in his neck, not even caring if her image would be marred by his blood, "Camus… why…? Don't go… don't leave me… please!"
"I… cannot…" he coughed out, "… good… bye… my… princess…"
His eyes closed, and Nyna broke down in tears, whispering and sobbing her fallen general's name as she did, probably also telling him that she loved him as well. Again, Hardin led her away as the three subordinates that were with Camus took his body. I had done all I could to heal Chris, so I asked them…
"How come you didn't help your commander?"
It was the blond horseman that answered my question…
"It was by his request that he faced Altea's prince and the fallen soldier before you alone. He claimed it was personal business, but I am not at liberty to say what it might've been…"
As he and his colleagues turned to leave, he said one other thing…
"The Gradivus is yours now. Use it how you see fit…"
"Er, thank you… but what about-"
One of the cavaliers cut me off, "The commander does not need an audience for his passing. If your next objective is to get to Medon, you should go as soon as you can."
And before I could press them further, they rode away…
"Nngh… ah…!"
I looked down to see Chris writhing in pain from the wound left by Camus…
"Chris, don't struggle…" I gently told him as Wrys came over to offer his help.
"Hm… this injury looks severe…" he noted, more to himself than to anyone else. With a Recover staff in hand, he poured all of his power into the staff and directed it toward the gash in Chris' mid-section. The hero's writhing of agony stopped as he calmed down and the wound sealed up.
"He needs rest… it will be a few days before he can start fighting again." He told me.
With the battle finished, we took over the keep they were guarding and moved both Marth and Chris there to continue treating their grave injuries.
XXXXXXXXXX
(Marth POV)
It was several hours after our hard-earned victory over Grust that I had awoken. Sheeda was sitting at my bedside, her face red from the waves of tears that she had been crying…
"Sheeda, I-"
I couldn't finish my sentence as she wrapped her arms around me in a firm yet gentle embrace. My shoulder was beginning to get wet as she whispered into my ears…
"Marth…" she sobbed, "Thank goodness you're alright… I… I didn't want to lose you. I still don't… not now… not ever."
I couldn't do anything else except return her embrace…
"It's alright, Sheeda… I'm still alive, okay? Please don't cry…"
It was like this for several minutes, but she eventually calmed down and released her arms from me, so I followed suit. As I sat back up, the soreness began to flare up a little, but I pulled through.
"Marth…? Where are you going…?"
Putting my shirt back on, I replied, "I need to speak to Nyna… I owe her an apology."
Her face showed an understanding expression. I didn't need to explain why…
We both left my room, but instead of going to the quarters where Nyna was waiting, Sheeda went to her room just a few rooms away. While I was heading to Nyna's room, Chris had exited one of the doors and was also going to where I was…
"Chris? What are you doing up?"
He weakly chuckled, "Well, I'd ask you the same question, sire. But, if you must know… I need to speak to Lady Nyna… even if she probably wants nothing to do with me now…"
"I see… in that case, let's keep going."
XXXXXXXXXX
(Chris POV)
After a couple minutes of slow walking, we found Lady Nyna in her current quarters. Her face, ordinarily beautiful, was now marred with red and trails of tears…
I hung my head in guilt when she looked my way. While I normally felt proud of myself after emerging victorious in a grueling battle, I was feeling anything but right now…
"Marth… Christopher…" she breathed.
"Lady Nyna… I… I am so sorry." I muttered sadly.
"We both are, princess…" Marth added, "We failed to re-unite you with your beloved. We failed our promise…"
To our surprise, she shook our head…
"No… it is I who should apologize… for making such a selfish request like I did."
We fell silent and looked back up at Nyna. Struggling to stay strong, she continued…
"The bitter truth is… I always knew that it would lead to this outcome. Ever since I entrusted the Fire Emblem to you, Marth… I knew that this was what was going to happen."
She bit her lip slightly as she continued on…
"Have you two ever heard the story of the Curse of Artemis?"
Curse of Artemis? What was this…?
We shook our heads…
"When the Fire Emblem is passed on to others to restore Akaneia, a price must be paid. The great Altean hero, Anri, had someone who loved him dearly… a princess named Artemis, and he loved her in return with equal passion. But… after the Dark Dragon, Medeus, appeared to destroy all of mankind, they were forced to part ways… forever."
Wow… this… this was a pretty sad tale.
"That is why Artemis had cursed the Fire Emblem. It may have been the end of war, as she had put it, but it was also the end of love… for she had to lose the one she loved with all her heart. That was the price she paid to entrust the Fire Emblem to another…"
She shook slightly as she finished…
"And now that the emblem has been passed on once more, I am the one bearing this curse…"
Whatever fortitude Nyna was demonstrating earlier was now lost as she concluded her tale. Once again, new tears began to well up from her eyes as though they had been wrought from a stone. Shutting her eyes, she smiled sadly…
"Ah… I must look pitiful for falling apart so quickly… you two had suffered so much from this war when you lost your loved ones and when your homes were ravaged… yet I… I can never be as strong as you two are…"
Marth and I exchanged glances when she said this… she was certainly taking this very hard. We honestly couldn't blame her…
"Please… just let me be alone for a while." She sobbed, "It is too much for me to bear… and I must confront my feelings on this…"
"You need not say anything else, Princess Nyna." Marth told her gently, "We'll take our leave at once…"
"If you need anything, don't hesitate to call us… milady." I added, "We're here for you now…"
"Thank you… both of you."
We silently left her room… and once we shut the door, I could briefly make out the muffled sounds of anguish from her room…
"Camus… no… I loved… nly y… br… me happ… ess…"
With nothing else left to do, I went back to my room, writing down all that we did during this battle. Although I had tried to go to sleep that night, I was unable to get any rest…
Camus… he was willing to die for his country, even knowing the sinister things that it was supporting with its alliance to Doluna. I disagreed with his unwavering sense of loyalty to his nation, as to me it amounted to nothing more than reducing one's role to that of some useless pawn.
I wholeheartedly wished that we could've met under entirely different circumstances. Circumstances that didn't require us to be opponents on the battlefield…
I also felt sorrow for Lady Nyna, as she had gone through a lot of pain in this brutal war. First, her kingdom had been ravaged, then her family was massacred, and now her beloved had been slain in battle… by my hand no less.
I had a feeling this would heavily strain my friendship with the supposedly 'cursed' princess. It'd probably be a long time before I can speak to her again… if ever.
A crescent moon was the last thing I saw before I finally shut my eyes…
This battle was truly a test of conflicting ideals… a trial of opposing beliefs… and a clash of two virtues…
But while our side was victorious… a grueling question still plagued me in my dreams…
Was it really worth it in the end?
END OF CHAPTER
Thus another chapter (and it was a real doozy) comes to a close.
Lots of promotions here, but I'm sure you know who became what. =P
Sorry if this chapter's a bit on the long side, but it IS a critical plot point in Book 1, so I wanted my rendition of the corresponding chapter to look as good as I could make it out to be. Whether or not I did alright in that sense is up to you to decide.
Oh, and for those that don't know, Camus' three lackeys are from the game "Fire Emblem: Akaneian Saga" (the fourth map to be precise). Since they appear in the remake, FE12, I decided they should also have an appearance in Book 1 too… so yeah.
As usual, if you have any commentary or reviews, I'll be listening.
Until next time, farewell.
