Chapter 14 – Epiphany in the Shadows
The sun was setting as Marcia and Elincia winged their way over the vast Lake Ephraim in southern Crimea. Elincia looked down over the still surface of the waters, darkened by the advancing twilight. She had flown over the lake many times over the years and had always found it beautifully serene, but today, for some reason that eluded her, she found it slightly disturbing. Then the reason occurred to her. She had never flown over it this time of day before, when the approach of night colored the waters in a sinister shade of purple, as if some malevolent entity was seeping into it. She was accustomed to seeing it earlier in the day, when the sun cast the lake in a shimmering blue, like that of sapphires, of an elegant evening dress, of stained glass in a cathedral window.
Like the one Ike crashed through.
Elincia shook her head. Why was she thinking about that now? The nightmares had stopped months ago, and she had barely thought about it since. But her mind kept reverting back to that image that came to her during the failed healing at the school. But dwelling on it would not bring back what was gone, and right now there were more pressing matters to attend to.
As she tried to compel herself to heed her own admonishment, a voice from outside grew louder and louder until it pushed through her thoughts. "—NEED TO PUT DOWN SOON. DID YOU HAVE A DESTINATION IN MIND?"
Of course. Since telling Marcia to go east, she had not given any specifics as to where they were going. In fact, she had not said much at all, which had probably troubled her talkative companion. "I'm sorry, I was a little distracted," she said to Marcia, who now looked a bit sheepish for raising her voice. "Please head to Knight's Crossing."
"The border town?" Marcia asked in an unbelieving tone. "But that's at least another half hour away, and it'll be completely dark by the time we get there. Lucia will have me sacked if she finds out I had you out so late, and that's if she's feeling generous."
"It's all right, I can handle Lucia. Just keep going."
"Lucia aside, it's dangerous to be out at night that close to the border. We should at least spend the night in one of the lakeside towns and make our way to Knight's Crossing tomorrow."
Elincia shook her head. "No, that would make us even later reaching Melior. And besides, I don't want General Owens getting word of our approach. I want this to be a surprise visit."
Marcia looked back at her passenger. "Why? Do you think he's up to something he shouldn't be?"
"Nothing definite. But something I heard back at the school makes me suspect he may not be as assertive in carrying out his duties as he should be."
Marcia studied her for a moment. "I could continue to make fairly logical arguments, such as if he is up to something we shouldn't be heading to his garrison at night, and alone. But I know that expression. It means any further attempt on my part to argue would be about as fruitful as trying to empty out the lake with a leaky bucket." With that, she went quiet and turned her full attention back to flying.
As they neared the eastern shore of the lake, Elincia spotted what seemed to be puffs of smoke pluming against the yellow horizon. "Marcia? do you see that?" she said, pointing towards the black puffs rising among the trees
"It's probably just a caravan bedding for the night," Marcia suggested.
Elincia studied them for a little while longer. Although she couldn't quite put her finger on it, it didn't seem like the normal smoke of campfires. It was a little too…uneven. "But why camp here when Breydon is just a few miles away? Let's fly over it, just to have a look."
Marcia adjusted her pegasus' course slightly to take them over the spot where the puffs were originating, muttering something about hoping the watchmen didn't have bows as she did so. They glided over the shoreline and beyond the trees, Elincia scanning the ground below for campfires.
But the only light that met her eyes was the dying glow of embers scattered among blackened wreckage.
Elincia looked over the area for any sign of movement but couldn't detect any in the poor light and visibility. "It must have been a caravan that just came up through Knight's Crossing," Marica surmised, "It looks like bandits, but I didn't think there were any bandit groups strong enough to do something like that left in Crimea."
"I'm not convinced it was bandits," Elincia replied, thinking back to what Ocela had told her about the church. Suddenly a hint of something caught her eye, right before the Pegasus cleared the scene. "Land the Pegasus. I think I saw something."
Marcia shook her head. "I'm sorry, your highness, but I really have to put my foot down this time. You can fire me if you want, but it is simply too dangerous. The best thing to do would be to fly to Breydon, alert their militia and then let them investigate the scene."
"By the time we do that it could be too late. Please Marcia, at least fly over the scene once more. And go a little lower, I think there's someone down there."
Marcia sighed disapprovingly but nonetheless veered her Pegasus back around towards the smoldering campsite in a downward arc. Elincia focused her gaze towards on the splayed figures that were scattered around the wagons, trying to glimpse any sign of life through the blurring smoke. Then her eyes caught something, a flash of shadowy movement. Now if she could convince Marcia to land…
Suddenly there was a thump, like a lump of dough hitting a table. Then the Pegasus shrieked horribly and the next thing Elincia knew she was falling downward, piercing the glassy surface of the lake with a violent splash. The chilled waters of the lake gripped her like an icy fist, sending needles of frozen shock through her skin and into her brain. By pure instinct, she kept her mouth closed as her arms and legs began to reflexively push her to the surface. Finally breaking through, she gasped in air as she collected her bearings. Fortunately, the shore was only a few dozen yards ahead. After testing her arms and legs for injury, she began to make her way toward the shore.
Shivering, Elincia finally felt firm ground beneath her feet as she sloshed her way toward dry land. Elincia searched the sky and the beach, looking for Marcia or her mount, but there was no trace of anyone. As the sound of insects droned in her head, a thought more chilling than the water struck her. What if Marcia had fallen into the lake as she had? She turned back around, looking for her friend.
It was then that something crashed into her from behind, hitting her square in the back. She felt the breath knocked from her as she was sent flying back into the water. She attempted to raise herself but realized through the confusion that something, or rather two somethings, were holding her down. Through the sliver of reason that remained in her mind, she realized they were two hands.
So her assailant was human, or an untransformed laguz . But what could she do with that information? If only these two hands weren't so strong... That's it! she heard from somewhere almost outside herself, as her brain screamed for air. Two hands also meant two legs…
With waning strength, she maneuvered her legs until they were positioned around her assailant's right thigh, feeling how thin it was as she did so. Whoever it was, they obviously had a small frame, and they were so focused on drowning her they didn't notice what Elincia was doing. Good, that would make this easier, she thought as she locked her feet together and brought them back towards her with a strong yank.
Her opponent's leg buckled, and Elincia felt the hands release her shoulders, followed by a hard splash. Elincia pulled herself upright, inhaling a full gulp of air before rushing her attacker, who had recovered with remarkable speed, already back on their feet.
They splashed around there in the shallows, rolling and grappling each other like crazed otters as each tried to gain an advantage over the other. Elincia still had no idea who her opponent was since their face was covered by a dark hood, but judging from the contours of the body it was most likely a woman. Finally, Elincia finally managed to gain the upper hand, pinning her assailant's arms to the side as she straddled her midsection, pinning her to the ground. "Who are you?!" she demanded through heavy breaths as she felt the cold water dripping from every part of her. The figure did not answer her, merely staring at Elincia with a fire fueled by shame and rage.
"Majesty!" Elincia looked up to see Marcia running towards her. "Are you all right?" the Pegasus knight called out.
"I'm fine," she replied, pushing down on her now squirming prisoner. "But bring me some rope. I've netted myself a feisty one here."
"Majesty?" the person under her asked in a feminine voice.
Later, Elincia sat on the beach, rubbing her sore shoulder as she eyed her attacker positioned several feet away, bound hand and foot. Night had wrapped itself completely over the land, its obscuring blanket diminished somewhat by the waxing moon. Elincia dared not light a fire, for her attacker could still have friends around. Marcia had gone back to retrieve her Pegasus from where she had managed to land further down the shore, leaving Elincia alone with her attacker. Which was no longer quite so bad, since most of her menace had been removed with the hood, revealing a young girl around Elincia's age. Since finding out Elincia's identity, her demeanor had shifted from defiant to moody silence. Since hearing who Elincia was, she had settled into a determined vigil of the lake, as if expecting help to leap from it.
"So do you feel like talking yet?" Elincia asked. No answer. "Look, I know you're scared that you're going to be punished, but I don't believe you knew who I was when you attacked me. If you would just explain yourself, then maybe we can work something out."
The girl shot her such a look that it looked like she would break out of her bonds and rush her again. But then her eyes wavered, and she did the last thing in the world that Elincia expected her to do.
She started to cry.
For a moment Elincia just sat there, blinking. This isn't what killers do, is it? They shout and curse and threaten bloody revenge. But they don't cry, and they don't bawl on like a spoiled infant denied the last piece of pie. What was going on here?
"'What's…the…use," the girl choked out between sobs. "You might as well…just kill me and get it over with…I failed. I'm nothing but a failure. And with that she began wailing again, so intense that she rolled over, face down in the sand, but she continued as if she didn't even notice.
Elincia considered her next words as she moved to help the girl back into an upright position. What did she mean she had failed? Did that mean that she knew who Elincia was all the time, and had intended to kill her? She considered the girl up close. Although her legs were rather thin, her arms and torso were a bit bulkier. But not with fat, with muscle. More muscle than she had ever seen on a girl. No wonder she had been so easy to unbalance. Her face, which had obviously decided to follow the pattern of her legs, was almost delicate. Her hair, thin and wiry, fell to just below her shoulders. It was as if someone had torn apart a teahouse doll and a warrior doll and then reassembled them into this person. Elincia was almost tempted to remove the restraints, until she remembered herself being held under the water. She may not look it now, but this girl had a strength that belied her awkward frame. She was a lioness playing the part of a mewling kitten.
Elincia moved back to her previous position, studying the figure before her. "Well, can you least tell me your name?"
In the pale moonlight, Elincia could see the girl raise her head up to face her. "I see. You need something to write on the wood slab when you hang me in a tree. Very well, my name is Claire."
"Will you stop talking like that?" Elincia said as pity did its best to hold back growing exasperation. "Before we start talking about executions, can you at least tell me what you failed at, Claire?"
Claire sniffed. "I was hired to protect the caravan, but you can see how well I did at that. And then I thought I might at least have the opportunity to avenge my employers, but I just ended up attacking an innocent bystander, who just happens to be the queen of all people." She lifted her head up, exposing a face full of irritation. "Why couldn't you have just been a sock merchant or something? But that's just my luck. So just go ahead and do it. If you don't, I'll just end up disappointing someone else."
"Will you cut that out? Nobody's killing anyone." Elincia's eyes softened, and she tried to smile, before remembering that Claire probably couldn't see it. "Just tell me the story from the beginning."
"There's not much more to tell. As I said, our group was hired to watch the caravan. So, my boss sent me and Benson." Her voice began to light up with enthusiasm. "I was really excited, because this was to be my first real mission. And I really wanted to do good, you know, since the boss had done so much for me."
"So you're a mercenary? Which group do you belong to?"
Claire hesitated. "We're…not exactly mercenaries. But that's not the point. Anyway, Benson sent me to scout the land ahead, and when I got back, I found…I found…" then she started crying again.
Elincia sighed and was about to speak when she heard a whinny behind her. She turned to see Marcia approaching. "Good, you're back" Elincia said, glad to have some company besides this odd crying girl with a secret violent streak. "How's your Pegasus?"
Marcia shook her head. "I'm afraid a few bones in the right wing have been broken. She won't be flying until I can get her mended."
"I'm so sorry!" Claire cried out in such a high-pitched wail that Marcia jumped slightly. "You see, I can't do anything right!"
"Is she the one who attacked you?" Marcia asked, staring at the girl.
"I know it's hard to believe, but yes," Elincia replied. Then in a lower tone she said "but be careful, this may just be an act to get us to lower our guard. But back to your Pegasus. Can she still travel on foot?"
Marcia patted the neck of her steed. "Sure can! She may be down, but she's not out."
"Great, we can ride her to Breyton."
"Of course, your majesty. We should leave right away, before some of her friends come back," she said, turning back to the sobbing mass on the ground.
Elincia shook her head. "Not quite yet. I need to check out in the camp first."
"Highness, we can come back in the morning if you wish, but it's far too dangerous to go there now."
"It will only take a minute. Besides, if the girl is telling the truth, and I think she is, then she wasn't part of whoever attacked the caravan."
"But she shot us out of the sky. If she'd ever stop crying, I'd pop her one!"
"All a case of mistaken identity," Elincia assured her. "Now let's go check out the camp."
Marcia sighed again. "Will you at least allow me to go scout the area first and make sure it's safe?"
A short while later, Marcia returned and gave the all clear. Elincia cut the bindings around Claire's feet so she could walk. "All right, let's go."
"Why do I have to go?", Claire whined as they made their way through the trees. "Are you just trying to remind me of how much I had screwed up?" she asked, her tone brimming with indignation.
By this point, it was taking everything in Elincia not to strike her. This girl had gone from ruthless attacker to a sobbing wreck whom she could find odd pity for, then to a defiant jerk before her face even had a chance to dry. The girl who had not wanted to do anything more than try to turn herself into a crying, huddled mass now walked completely erect, with a haughty stride that would make any noble look like a beggar. The change had occurred as soon as Elincia had said "let's go" and immediately Claire refused to get up until forced to by the pair.
She looked at their reluctant companion. Now that she was standing straight, Elincia could see that Claire was taller than either her or Marcia. She had not made any move to attack or escape, although Elincia had no doubt that the two of them could restrain Claire if necessary. Especially with her hands tied behind her back. But despite Claire's unpleasant change in demeanor, something still made Elincia feel the slightest twinge of sympathy for her. For that reason, she would continue to be diplomatic. For now.
"Aren't you curious as to who did this to your companions? To get justice for them?" Elincia asked.
Claire flicked her head, trying to get a strand of hair out of her eye. "Why does it matter? They're dead, and no amount of justice can change that. Besides, whoever did this is long gone."
"But there might be some clues left at the campsite."
Claire scoffed. "You're wasting your time. I already looked before you got here. Trust me, there's nothing to find."
Forgive me if I think your word is as useful as paper shoes in a rainstorm, Elincia thought to herself as she brushed aside some undergrowth. But she kept that to herself.
At last, they stepped out of the trees and into the clearing. It was roughly circular and well-maintained, obviously used frequently. The embers had by now burned themselves out, leaving the scene coated in uneasy obscurity. Elincia could make out the faint outlines of the wagons, and the faint whiff of smoke in the air made it seem as if the caravan had just doused the campfire and bedded down for the night.
But then Marcia lit her torch, its powerful illumination revealing the scene. Bodies were strewn all over the scene, sprawled in a variety of positions. The wagons, reduced to charred skeletons, arched sharply out of the landscape. Elincia took a step forward, causing her foot to bump against something. She looked down into the eyes of a man in his early thirties, his unblinking eyes staring at her from a mangled and bloody face, a dagger jutting out of his chest.
"That's Benson," Claire whispered as she stumbled over, kneeling over the body, bowing her head, and for a moment Elincia thought she was going to start crying again. But she didn't. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.
Unfortunately, Benson was not alone. Bodies garbed in the clothing of merchants were strewn all over the campsite, and from the many sharp glints reflecting off the torchlight, they had all been armed. They had put up a brave resistance, but it hadn't been enough against whoever had come up against them. Noticing the direction of the light shift, Elincia looked over to see Marcia moving quietly among the still forms, checking for survivors. But if whoever or whatever did this was as thorough as they had been with Claire's companion, it was most likely a vain hope. Elincia looked back down at Benson, the blood giving an unnatural sheen to his spiky hair.
But it was no longer Benson.
Ike was laying there, staring at her with eyes sharpened by rage and disappointment. Blood poured from the wound Cohen had inflicted on him, but he ignored it as if it was nothing more than a scratch. Elincia gasped, taking a step backward.
Then Ike spoke. "What's the matter, your highness? You don't look happy to see me," he asked in an unnaturally condescending tone as he raised himself up on his elbows. "Can't really say I'm surprised, considering I saved you I don't know how many times, and you couldn't even save me once." He then smiled at her. And not that taciturn half-smirk that was his trademark, but rather a wide, unearthly leer that exposed all his teeth, as out of place on his visage as an execution at a birthday party. "Ike..." she rasped through a constricted throat, clapping her hands over her eyes. "I'm so sorry...I tried...I really tried…"
She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to yelp and jump backward. She opened her eyes to see Marcia standing in front of her, a concerned look on her face. And behind her was Claire, head poking across Marcia's shoulder, fear on her face. "Are you all right, your Majesty?"
"I dunno" Claire replied as if Marcia was talking to her. "She just all of a sudden started to stare at me like an imp was dancing on my head. Then she started talking to herself. It was weird."
"I'm fine," Elincia insisted as she eyed the body next to her. It was again the body of Benson. Still and silent, as a corpse should behave. "It's just been a long day, that's all. Marcia, did you find any survivors?" she asked, eager to change the subject.
Marcia opened her mouth to reply when a scream filled the night air. It came from the grove on the other side of the clearing, where the trees thinned out before meeting the road. Elincia and Marcia ran towards it, with Claire straggling behind them, her movements hindered by bound wrists.
They finally arrived at the source of the harsh sounds, which had now dropped into low moans, under a drooping white pine within sight of the road beyond. Leaned against the trunk was another young merchant, a crossbow bolt protruding from his side. Elincia knelt down beside him, examining the wound. "You're safe now," she said reassuringly, "we're going to help you."
The man lifted his face toward her, his face sheened with sweat. He tried to speak, but delirium garbled his words. "Just try to relax," she said, as she ran her fingers through a sticky substance on the shaft of the arrow and smelled it.
"Poison," Elincia pronounced. "Marcia, go back and get the antidote out of the saddlebag. We may not be able to heal him, but at least we can stop the poison from doing any more damage to his system."
Marcia nodded and rushed back through the trees.
Elincia turned her attention back to the man, who was staring at her intently, gasping out something inaudible. "I can't understand you. Please, don't exert yourself too much."
It was then that Elincia felt a hand on her wrist, and she was forcefully yanked close to the man, so she could feel his breath on her neck. "He's there..." he rasped out, "got to find...Ike..."
"What did you say?" Elincia asked, but the man's head drooped as he slid into unconsciousness. No! Not Yet!
She looked back at Claire, who had not said anything since they had found the injured man. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what? The scratchy gurgling of a man about to join his comrades?"
Elincia looked back at the wound, The arrow had gone deep, but judging by the shaft the tip was likely smooth and straight. "I need to get that arrow out of him," she announced with renewed vigor. He has to live! "Could you help me? I need someone to hold him while I remove it."
"What do you want me to do, sit on him? If you want me to help, you gotta untie my hands."
Elincia considered the request. If Claire had desired it, she could have finished her off back in the clearing during that...episode before Marcia could have intervened. And she could have easily escaped while she and Marica were distracted by the screams, but she hadn't.
Elincia stood up and walked behind Claire, loosening the knots that held the ropes in place. When they finally fell off, Claire sighed with relief, rubbing her wrists. "Ahh, that's better, she said, walking over to the injured man, grabbing his shoulders, "so do I hold him like this? What if he jerks loose?"
"I have faith in you," Elincia said, "backed up by bruises. Remember to hold on, no matter what."
Even though she was prepared for the worst, the procedure went pretty smoothly. She slowly pulled the arrow out, the man only letting out a slight unconscious shudder as she did so. Mercifully, he did not awaken, but remained in an unfeeling stupor. Marcia returned with the antidote, then quickly departed again to get her pegasus, so they could begin the difficult task of transporting him to Breyton.
"You're going to kill him, you know," Claire commented as Elincia guided the antidote down the man's throat with extreme gentleness.
Elincia did not immediately respond as she stoppered the antidote and pressed a rag against the wound to staunch the bleeding. "What do you mean?" she said at last.
"I'm no healer, but even I know that wound needs to be treated with a staff before he's moved, or you're going to make it worse. Not to mention any other injuries he may have. Don't you have one with you?"
"No," Elincia replied with terseness. What was taking Marcia so long?
"Well, given how eager you seem to be to keep this man alive, your next best bet is to send someone to the nearest town for help. And since I doubt either one of you is willing to leave the other alone, I, with all due humility, accept the responsibility."
Although she was never going to admit it aloud, Elincia knew that Claire had a point. But still, she wasn't going to let her win so easily. "How do I know that you'll really go for help instead of just running off?" she asked, injecting the question with as much doubt as she could muster. Or worse yet, bring the wrong kind of help?
Claire puffed her cheeks, and turned red, as if she was about to unload a steaming heap of righteous indignation. But then she exhaled, a thoughtful expression on her face as she looked back toward the camp. "Will you find out who was responsible for what happened here tonight? And see that they answer for what they did?"
Elincia nodded, impressed with the sudden maturity in Claire's tone. "I promise I will do all in my power to find the guilty party and see that they face justice."
"Then I swear to you by the honor of my organization, that I will honor my word to you, to seek out the nearest town and send help with all possible speed."
"Thank you. And the town you want is Breyton. It's only a few miles north of here." Suddenly a thought occurred to her. If there was a group that was operating within the borders of Crimea that apparently even Lucia knew nothing about, she needed to find out more about it. Better to start out with something simple. "By the way, what is the name of your organization?"
"I can't reveal that to outsiders, but I can tell you that any oath made in its name is binding," Claire replied, deftly diverting the question. "If one is made and then is broken, we would be punished by our leader. Trust me, I would rather keep a thousand oaths to you than face his wrath even once."
"But how would he even know?"
"Believe me, he would know," and for a moment Elincia thought she saw Claire tremble. "Nothing is hidden from him once he looks in our eyes. But even if he didn't, you could make sure he found out anyway. Just go to a tavern and tell the barkeep that firefighter Claire didn't keep her oath. So you see, you have nothing to lose."
Elincia jumped up in a flash and grabbed Claire's arms with a suddenness that made the girl start. "Hey, what are you doing?" she cried out, squirming under Elincia's grip.
Elincia ignored her, staring her right in the face. "Tell me something. Is the name of your leader Volke?"
The eyes of Claire went wide with surprise. "How do you know his name? No one outside our group is supposed to know his name! Even I'm not supposed to know it, but I tricked Benson-"
"Never mind that now," Elincia said, feeling a wave of excitement. "This is great news! I was beginning to think the earth had swallowed him." Suddenly a thought dawned on her. "Does that mean you're an assassin?"
"Only a few do that, and only after our leader approves it" she replied, still hesitant to use Volke's name. "But we do lots of other things too. For instance, I'm in protection and sabotage, which requires just as much if not more skill," she said proudly.
"Indeed," Elincia murmured. "Amazing. But why has he been ignoring me? My retainers and I have been asking for a fireman in every tavern across Crimea but never received any response."
"You even know the summons," Claire said, looking at Elincia with what must have been the closest she ever came to respect before shaking her head. "I don't know why your requests went unanswered, if you are as close to him as you appear to be. But I can assure you, he is very much alive."
Elincia released Claire. "Then I have a favor to ask of you. When you get back to your group, tell Volke that I would very much like to speak to him about a matter of utmost importance."
Claire nodded. "I'll tell him how you spared my life when you could have easily ended it. If that doesn't convince him to at least see you, I don't know what will."
"I really can't ask for more than that. But time is of the essence if we are to save this man's life, so you'd better be leaving before my friend returns." She pulled a ring off her finger and pressed it into Claire's palm. "Give this to the captain of the guards. It's my signet ring, and should prove that your story is true."
Claire regarded her hopefully. "Does that mean you're letting me go?"
The girl could have run off or attacked her at any time after Elincia had cut her bonds but had instead chosen to stay and help her. And now, she was asking permission to leave. Her attitude seemed to shift every time she blinked. "Of course. Now hurry."
Marcia arrived back at the scene with her pegasus, and Elincia explained what had happened. Marcia said nothing, merely looking a bit reproachful before turning her attention to the wounded man. Elincia, deciding to begin keeping her promise to Claire immediately, and also to avoid any more of Marcia's chiding looks, made her way back to the campsite. Stepping into the clearing, she waved the torch around, searching the lugubrious scene for any movement, but there was none. She glanced over to where the body of Benson lay, thankful it was on the far side.
She made her way to the nearest wagon, carefully making her way through the still forms that dotted the area. It was very quiet, the only sounds being a few early cicadas and the flickering of her torch. As she neared the burnt husk, she noticed the light glittering off the ground around it in a thousand dancing points, as if someone had broken a giant mirror.
She stooped down to pick up one of the gleaming objects. It was made of metal. Long and cylindrical, it was hollow through the middle with holes on both ends. A windchime. Elincia frowned. Why would anyone attack merchants carrying windchimes? She stood up, moving over to where the bodies of the horses lay. Examining them with a stab of pity, she saw that their coats were frosted with dried sweat. These poor animals had been pushed hard, only to be slaughtered without mercy alongside their masters. Moving onward, she found that there was not much left in the back of the wagon, the crates having all been thrown out on the ground. Nonetheless, Elincia made a thorough examination, trying to find any clue as to who did this or why.
She was searching around the rear of the second wagon when she recoiled suddenly from an object lying under the back left wheel. At first it looked like a severed human hand, but upon holding the torch to it revealed a black gauntlet, worn and battered. What had appeared to be fingers turned out to be oddly clumped grass.
Elincia picked up the dark, battered metal and considered it. A gauntlet such as this belonged to a knight, but none of the victims she had seen had anything close to resembling a knight's equipment. Had the rest of it been stolen? Or had it belonged to whoever had attacked them? Elincia brought the black gauntlet right up beside the torch, intent on studying it more closely.
That was when she realized that it wasn't black. It was green.
Her heart skipped a beat as this new piece of information ricocheted in her brain. In her extensive experience in both combat and ceremony, she knew of only one knight who had worn this particular shade of green. But even if there were, there was another way to be sure. With trembling slowness, she turned the gauntlet over and there, carved in the underside was an O, followed by a dash and then two more letters, GM.
Oscar, Oscar of the Greil Mercenaries.
Her breath caught in her throat. She had not seen or heard from him since that fateful night in Sienne, presuming him to be dead. She quickly moved around the camp, rechecking all the bodies to verify that none of them was Oscar. It had been three years, he could have changed his appearance or been in disguise. A new sense of anxious purpose even drove her into the woods around the camp, wanting to make sure, oblivious now to everything except her need to be sure. She even mustered the courage to recheck Benson. But despite her extensive efforts, she did not find the body of Oscar anywhere.
She leaned against a tree, overwhelmed by a sense of relieved elation, the torch extinguished at her side. She knew what she was feeling was wrong, given that she was surrounded by so much destruction and horror, but she couldn't help it. Her mind was telling her that there were a million reasons why that gauntlet was here, and none of them indicated that Oscar was still alive. But these logical assertions were being dashed to bits by the enormous waves of warm emotion flowing out of her heart. After believed to be dead for so long, Elincia knew with the firm conviction of a religious zealot that Oscar was alive, just as surely as if he was standing here with her, smiling and offering her a warm cup of tea.
And so was Ike.
There was no other explanation. Why else had she felt the impulse to fly east, on the very route that led them to this caravan, which had led her to the man who had whispered Ike's name? Where she had found evidence that demonstrated that one of Ike's men, believed dead, was still alive? Not only that, but she had encountered Claire. Who knew Volke. Who had helped to save her uncle Renning when everyone else believed him gone. It was an omen. No, it was more than that. It had to be destiny itself guiding her, showing her the way to correct a horrible wrong.
The wrong of believing she had let Ike die. But how could she have ever let herself be convinced that he was dead? According to Lucia's best contacts, no trace of a body had been found in the rubble. This was Ike. He had taken on a mad king infused with the power of the medallion, an impossibly strong Black Knight, and even Ashera herself. He had been infused with the power of a Goddess, and it would take more than an arrogant little prick to take him down.
She felt the warm waves, which had swept away her mind's attempt to dissuade her, now began swirling, shrinking, coalescing into a small and fragile, yet bright and persistent seed of light that nestled itself in a part of her soul that had been empty for three years, setting down strong roots. No, it was not wrong to feel that way here, for that is how Ike found her – in the midst of bloody carnage, saving her from the same grisly fate and restoring her with a reason to live. Now she would find him. She would find him and save him and restore him to his rightful place.
When the town guard rode into the clearing a short time later, they were surprised to find Elincia curled up at the base of an oak, eyes closed and smiling.