Well, surprisingly enough, I managed to update before the end of the month… YAY ME! Okay, so I'm like off by a day, but who's counting? Anyway, there's not much to say right now, but I hope that you enjoy this chapter. Astrid's brothers are going to play a bigger role from now on, not to mention we'll find out what happened to Gatrie, our favourite knight.
Oscar: Will I be set free this chapter?
FireEdge: Maybe. You'll see.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.
Defying Fate
Chapter 12
It was official; dungeon cells sucked. They were cold, hard and smelled dank. At least they didn't smell as bad as Boyd's old clothes, thankfully. There were no windows either, since it was below ground, but worse of all, it was quiet. Being part of a family with two brothers, and living with a bunch such as the Greil's Mercenaries had caused Oscar to become accustomed to noise.
There was always something to be heard; idle chitchat, arguing, laughing, something breaking. When he was outside, he would hear the sounds of someone training, or sparring. He'd hear the snorts and whinnies of the horses, and the sounds of nature. Even at night, Oscar was surrounded by sounds. Boyd's snoring to be exact and Rolf's occasional sleep talking, or sleep screaming when he had a particularly nasty nightmare.
Either way, Oscar had never been subjected to such silence for a long time. Only the shuffling of the single guard ever broke the stillness. The guards were never keen on talking either. Then again, why would they talk to him for?
So, Oscar lived in silence for two days, or at least he thought it was two days, since he had gotten two meals. However, on his third day, the hush was finally broken… by Gatrie.
It was time for his current guard to go off-duty, to be replaced by a fresh man. To Oscar's great surprise, Gatrie was the new sentry. As soon as the old guard went up the nearby staircase, Gatrie turned to face Oscar. Before the knight could even say a word, Oscar spoke.
"Gatrie! What are you doing here?!"
"Saving your sorry butt, that's what! Is that the proper way to greet your savior?!" Gatrie hissed back, glancing behind him, just in case the guard had heard. The dungeon did echo somewhat, after all.
"And how do you plan to do that?" demanded Oscar, relaxing a little, having gotten over the shock of seeing him.
"Er… well, I'm working on that. It was hard enough to secure this job in the first place! It took me these past two days to get hired and then to worm my way into being on the shift to watch you! I can't do everything at once, you know!"
"Right, sorry, Gatrie. It's just that I'm a little cranky, being stuffed into this miserable cell for two days," the other man replied with a sigh. "Have you talked to Astrid? She might be able to help." Oscar's mouth twitched into a frown as he mentioned her name. He had not seen her since Raul had caught him and he couldn't help but admit that he was anxious to know how she was. In fact any news of what was happening outside his cell would be great. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.
"Gatrie! Have you sent anything to Ike? I have a feeling that we might be stuck here for a little longer than we'd expected."
"… Of-Of course!" Gatrie exclaimed after a suspicious pause.
"… Gatrie…"
"I'll send him a letter right after I get off shift! First of all, let's find a way to get you out of here."
Astrid stared resolutely out the window, her eyes not really focused on anything in particular. Her mind kept running over the events of the past two days. They had all been a disaster and since yesterday morning, she had holed herself up in her room, refusing to see anyone. In hindsight, it was a rather foolish thing to do, since she was rather hungry now and had demanded the last maid to leave her be.
Right after Raul had caught her and Oscar, he had immediately punched Oscar. The two had then gotten into a tussle, exchanging quite a few blows before several guards had arrived and taken Oscar down to the dungeons. When Raul had returned, he had been furious, but not at her. He thought that it had all been Oscar's fault and had simply escorted her back to her room, telling her that the wedding was to go on as planned.
The time before the wedding had passed in a blur; she had been rather dazed and was perhaps in a sort of shock at what had all happened. It wasn't until Raul had kissed her, after she had unconsciously said her vows, that everything solidified in her mind. Oscar had been arrested, and she was now married to Lord Raul.
Immediately after this kiss, she had bolted out of the room, and ran into the stables—a habit that had plagued her since childhood. Being in the company of the silent horses had always had a calming effect on her. It was there that her brothers had found her, stroking the nose of her mare. She had brought it with her from her estates; the horse would be her only friend in this strange new place. However, despite her brothers' attempts to coerce her into talking, she had refused to speak to them. She still played mute even when her mother had found her and slapped her for her insolence.
Luckily, her brothers and sisters had convinced both Raul and her parents to let her spend the night by herself rather than with her husband, as was customary. That night passed in an endless rerun of all that had happened between her and Oscar. She felt horrible; because of her recklessness she had endangered Oscar's life. Now he was trapped in Raul's dungeon, perhaps with death awaiting him. Eventually, she had exhausted her mind and fell asleep.
The next morning brought both servants and her family to her door. However, she had refused to let any of them in. It turned out that Raul had informed her family of Oscar. Her parents had yelled and threatened her through the door. She ignored them until they finally left. Her brothers had tried to coax her out, with kinder intentions, but she had told them to leave her alone. All of her sisters had been forced home by their husbands the night before, so they did not have to opportunity to speak with her either. However, despite a few more attempts by her family, Raul never once came to her door, which she was thankful for.
So, she had spent the rest of that day contemplating her situation and concocting plans to help Oscar. She cared not anymore that she was married to Raul; she only wanted Oscar to escape Begnion unscathed. Her solitude had given her time to resign herself to her fate, but in no way was she going to bring Oscar down with her. Astrid was also worried about Gatrie. She had no idea what had become of him, or whether he knew of Oscar's predicament.
Now, the next morning, she still had not the slightest clue as to what she should do next. After going nearly two days without food, she was starting to feel faint and her mind was not thinking straight. Moving away from the window she sat down on her bed. The next servant that came, she would tell to fetch her food.
Not a moment later, a knock sounded at her door. Jumping up, Astrid approached the door cautiously.
"Who is it?"
"Joel. And Elijah," came Joel's voice. "We brought some food for you."
"You haven't eaten since before the wedding. Let us in, Astrid," her other brother added with more than a hint of command in his voice.
Biting her lip slightly in contemplation, she finally decided to open the door a crack and peek outside. There, her two brothers stood with a large tray of food in Joel's hands. Seeing that no one else was with them, she let them in, swiftly shutting and bolting the door shut behind them.
Setting the tray down on a low table in the middle of the room, her brothers turned to face her. She ignored their disapproving faces as she pulled a stool towards the table and began to delicately eat the food, despite her hunger. The etiquette drilled into her since childhood always did persist even in the direst circumstances.
Elijah and Joel watched their youngest sister butter a piece of bread and bite into it, occasionally drinking the milk that she had poured for herself. She looked as if she hadn't slept well and she still wore her nightdress with a house robe thrown over. They let her eat in silence, fully aware that she would most likely not answer their questions while she was eating.
As she finished the loaf of bread, and began to reach for the small bundle of grapes, her brothers sat down on nearby chairs. Putting one in her mouth, she lifted her eyes to regard their faces. Their identical visages were grim and set; they were ready to question her now and they expected answers. Swallowing, she wetted her lips with another sip of milk before speaking.
"What did Raul tell you?" she ventured, figuring that this would be the best way to start their no doubt to be awkward conversation.
"He told us that you were in a state of shock, because you had been assaulted by a strange man before the wedding started," replied Elijah after a moment. "Mother was furious and demanded that the man be executed. Of course, she forgets that he'd need to be trialed. Raul refused however, saying that he'd deal with him in due course."
"Doesn't want to spoil his reputation, or rather your reputation. It wouldn't do for people to think that he had allowed some cad kissing his wife right before their wedding," Joel added with a grimace.
"That's not the point, however," Elijah resumed. "We'd like to know who this man was, and we'd like to hear what happened. From you. We're not leaving until you do."
"You must understand, sister, we want to help you. We know that you wouldn't let some stranger take advantage of you. You're hiding something, and you need to tell us."
Astrid hesitated, unsure of what to do. She knew that her brothers meant well, but what was she supposed to tell them? Anyway, what could they do to help her? This whole situation was rather ridiculously complicated.
"Astrid."
"I'll tell you if you help him escape," she replied as Elijah spoke her name.
"That man, you mean?" asked Joel, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I guess he's obviously an acquaintance if you want him to get away. Or perhaps more than friends, judging by what the two of you were doing."
"That… That was…" Astrid stammered, blushing. Shaking her head, she decided to change the topic slightly. "Please, it doesn't matter what happened. He doesn't deserve to be locked up, he did nothing wrong! He's only a simple mercenary—"
"Mercenary? Is he part of that group you were fighting with?" exclaimed Elijah, eyebrows furrowing as he shot Joel a sidelong glance. The other man returned his frown, but they both immediately turned their gaze back to their sister. Luckily, their exchange had escaped her.
"Um, yes. He's a member of the Greil's Mercenaries. I fought with him during the war. His… His name's Oscar, he's a dear friend of mine."
"Just a friend, Astrid? Raul caught the two of you kissing!" Joel demanded. He was beginning to wish that Susan, Diane or Elizabeth were here to help. Obviously this was going to be a much more awkward situation than he could have anticipated.
Astrid flushed both with embarrassment and shame. It had all been going so well. They were going to end it there and continue on with their lives. Perhaps they would correspond with each other through letters, strictly as friends. If Raul had only arrived a few seconds later.
"Astrid, what's your relationship with this man?" Elijah asked, noticing the blush on his sister's face.
"I've already told you, we fought together in the war," Astrid replied, blushing a deeper shade of red. "And… And… I-I don't really know what happened, but… but… " She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. It was too uncomfortable to admit it to her brothers, not to mention it overwhelmed her with guilt and pain.
"You fell in love?" offered Elijah, noticing the change of expression on her face. Astrid didn't answer. He felt a twinge in his heart as he regarded her; he was acquainted with that look. Elijah felt the pang again and he looked away from his sister, marvelling at the strangeness of this predicament.
"Oh dear Ashera…" muttered Joel, dropping his head into his propped up hand. "Why do unfortunate marriages and unrequited love plague our family?!"
"What ever are you talking about, Joel?" asked Astrid curiously. Unrequited love? She had never heard of that in their family before.
"Tell us your story, and we shall tell you ours," Elijah answered, once again exchanging looks with his brother. Joel was grimacing. Clearly he didn't want to share his story, but Elijah thought that there would be no avoiding it.
Astrid settled herself on the bench, gazing at the beauty of the garden. After speaking with her brothers, she had agreed to stop holing herself up if they agreed to help her free Oscar. She had played along with Raul's story and told both him and her parents that she had been in a state of shock. Now, however, she was better, though she still requested that she be left in solitude for another few days to get used to the sudden change. Strangely enough, Raul had consented without any qualms.
She felt a little more at ease now, having filled her stomach as well as lifted the weight on her chest by finally telling someone of her plight. Though she had not expected that someone to be her twin brothers. Still, they had listened rather well and had taken it better than she had expected. Of course, after hearing what they had to say, she understood why. She would've never suspected that their usual content demeanours hid secrets so painful.
"Astrid!" cried a familiar voice, calling her from her reveries. Looking up, she saw Gatrie, dressed in the armour of Raul's house, running towards her.
"I can't believe my luck, running into you in the same place as last time. We should make this our meeting spot or something," the knight said as he approached her.
"Gatrie! What are you doing here? Why are you dressed like that? Oh, we'd better be careful, if we get caught together, Raul will suspect something."
"Doesn't matter! We have to find a way to rescue Oscar and get you out of here!"
"You've seen him?" exclaimed the noblewoman, not hearing the second part of his sentence. "Is he all right?"
"Yes, yes, he's fine. However, he is a bit grouchy. Must be the lack of sunlight or something…"
"Gatrie, please tell him that my brothers are figuring out a way to help him. However, I don't know when we can do anything. It could take weeks," Astrid said.
"Your brothers? Oh, well, that would certainly be helpful. I'm sure they more resources than I do… By the way, have I mentioned that I'm guarding Oscar's cell tonight? You should sneak down and tell him yourself," Gatrie stated, remembering the frustrated look on Oscar's face whenever he spoke of Astrid.
"See him? I-I'm not sure if that's a good idea…" she murmured, looking down at the ground. She did want to see Oscar again, but she had already caused him enough grief. The noblewoman had been planning to help her brothers, but she would let them take care of getting him off the grounds.
"Don't worry, you won't get caught. I'll keep watch," replied Gatrie, misinterpreting her reluctance. "Just disguise yourself as a maid. It'll only be for less than an hour. You'll be in and out, then back in your room before you know it. Anyway, I'm sure he'd like to see you again. He's been pretty gloomy, it's not like him."
"Um… All-All right, I'll go. I'll go to the dungeons tonight, when the house is asleep…" she answered with a small smile. "You know, Gatrie, you're a very good friend."
"You flatter me, Astrid!" Gatrie denied, though his beaming grin said otherwise. "But, you know, Oscar is terribly lucky to know a guy like me."
Footsteps. He could hear soft footsteps coming down the stairs. Oscar glanced at Gatrie, standing up and walking towards the bars.
"Who could be coming down here this late? Is your shift over already, Gatrie?"
"Nope," the blond replied, smirking.
Oscar regarded him suspiciously, but when he turned his gaze towards the stairs, his look of suspicion changed to surprise.
"Astrid?" he breathed. She approached the cell, one hand over her mouth as she stifled a gasp. His cheek and jaw were discoloured with a yellow and purple bruise, and a tiny bit of blood had dried over a small gash. She could not help the tears that flowed down her cheek; his wounds just looked so painful.
"Oscar… Are-Are you all right? Your face…"
"It's fine. It's looks worse than it really is," the paladin replied off-handedly, much more occupied with the fact that she was standing in front of him.
"I'll go keep watch, erm, up the staircase," Gatrie muttered under his breath as he scurried up said stairs, leaving the two alone for the time being.
"I'm sorry Oscar, this is my fault—" Astrid started, her hands gripping the bars of his cell.
"No. It's not. It was my decision to-to kiss you," he replied, blushing slightly as he recollected the memory. After spending so long a time with only his thoughts, he had realized what a brash move that had been. "Anyway, that's in the past. It doesn't matter whose fault this is. It can be both our faults."
"Yes, getting you out of here is of more urgent importance," Astrid said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "My brothers… They will help you. I do not know when, or how, they mean to do so, but they will."
"And… And what of you?" Oscar asked after a moment. "Won't you, and your brothers, get into a lot of trouble for helping me?"
"… I know not. We will work something out, do not worry," she answered. Another silence fell between them. Astrid did not know what else she could say to him. She had apologized, had told him about what she knew of the plan to free him. Then, the sound of Gatrie's footsteps coming down the stairs saved her the trouble. "Oh! I-I should get going… I don't want to get caught."
Letting go of the cell bars, she was about to walk away, when Oscar unexpectedly grasped her hand through the bars. She let out a small gasp and her head whipped around to face him. However his eyes were fixed on her hand. On the golden, diamond-embedded ring that circled her slender, calloused finger. A moment later, he let go of her hand, not saying a word.
Astrid's eyes lingered on Oscar's form once more, but he had turned away to face the back of his cell. Just then, when he was gazing at her ring, she had seen such an expression on his face that it wrenched at her heart. What emotion it had been exactly, she could not place. The best she could come up with was a bitter resignation. But what would bring upon such a sentiment? Turning, she carefully made her way up the stairs once more, passing Gatrie on the way up.
"Feeling better, champ? I thought that seeing her again would cheer you up!" Gatrie said, unable to see the look on Oscar's face.
"… Yes… I'm going to sleep, Gatrie."
"Okay, I'll be off shift by the time you wake up, probably, so I'll see you again… Um, I think tomorrow night."
With a nod, Oscar retreated to the very back of his cell and sat down, his back pressed to the wall. Though his eyes were closed, Oscar did not drift off to sleep right away. The ring on Astrid's finger had hit him like a splash of cold water. He had completely forgotten that she was married now.
During his shifts, Gatrie had talked non-stop about how they would get him out of there and take Astrid with them (conveniently leaving out the parts about how they were to escape). Gatrie's optimism had made him forget that she was a married woman now. Though he had already resolved to give her up and move on, the ring—cold, hard proof of her nuptials—had still come as a blow. The sheer beauty of the ring had also overwhelmed him; the gemstone was one of the biggest he had ever seen.
That's right, Oscar. You could've never afforded something like that. He can give her everything that she wants; she'll be happy. Shifting his position on the chilly, stone floor, he felt a stab of resentment. He had determined that he would not bother Astrid again after he was back in Crimea, but no matter how strong he willed, he could not blow out that one small, quivering flame of hope. Hope that things could still end with his happiness intact.
Okay… Slow chapter, and not so exciting. Also, in case anyone was wondering what Elijah and Joel told Astrid, don't worry, that will be revealed next chapter. I just felt that I didn't want use up that particular story element this chapter. Speaking of the twins, what did you think of that scene? I didn't like it too much, but no matter how many times I try to revise it, it still doesn't seem right.
Oscar: And I'm still not free…
FireEdge: Well, obviously not. What kinda story would it be if you escaped the very next chapter?!
Oscar: One where I wasn't miserable?
FireEdge: Can't have everything, now can you? Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter. It won't be up for a while though; school's starting in less than a week. I'll be occupied with getting back into the swing of things, so please be patient.
--FireEdge--
