Chapter 13) Oaths

We've broken through one of the last defensive lines of Agusty, killing Zyne. The army looks at Deirdre, Sylvia, and me with awe, but I'm quick to point out how lucky we are. Thankfully, though, there's not a lot of time for them to stare. Sigurd leads his army forward, in the hopes of forcing Chagall to release Lord Eldigan.

The final battle of this campaign is nigh.

Movement beside me dragged me out of my slumber. I blinked slowly, yawning a bit as I tried to put the pieces together through my hazy, addled mind. Then I blinked slowly simply because I realized I had a shirtless Chulainn sitting next to me, and it took me a moment to remember why he'd be next to me while he slept. Then I noticed something else.

"You were hiding an injury?" I whispered. He stiffened and glanced at me over his shoulder, but I ignored his look to sit up and poke at the large gash across his back. "Ugh… I must've been really out of it last night if I didn't notice."

"Well, you weren't really looking at my back," he pointed out. He held himself still as I continued inspecting his injury. "I wasn't hiding it, though. I got it treated. Not with a staff, but Lady Aideen checked it."

"That is beside the point." I continued to frown, noticing it was deeper at his lower back than his upper. Likely, he's been struck there first and it whipped up from there. "Your armor?"

"Ripped off. I'll be wearing a different one today."

"How did that happen? Were there too many dead?"

"Not quite. Lex was knocked off his horse from that Zyne fellow, and Ayra got distracted because the two were in the middle of their flirting-arguing when it happened. I shielded her."

"That'll teach them to argue on the field." I sighed and sat back on my heels. "I should treat this…" A quick glance around, though, reminded me that I had no staves here. I had planned to return to the infirmary last night. "Dang it."

"I'm to report to a healer before the battle, which will likely be soon. You go back to sleep."

"I slept too long as is." I felt horribly guilty. "I should-EEP!" I couldn't yelp but squeak as Chulainn suddenly twisted and pinned me down onto the bedroll. "...Um…" My face heated up at his intense look. I knew, distantly, that he was just studying my face, but my emotions decided to make me embarrassed anyway. That only served to embarrass me further, and the cycle just made my blush grow darker and darker. "Chulainn?"

"You look exhausted." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Even if you're not still recovering from that staff, I insist you just go back to sleep for a bit."

"I… have work." My throat was dry. "Um… Chulainn?"

"Hmm?"

"Did… um… did you have to pin me?" My eyes darted to the side nervously. "It's a little… um… well, I can't say 'bad', but uh…"

"I somehow doubt it's much odder than someone reacting to their shirtless lover by scolding them for an injury." Chulainn smirked. I knew he did, even if I wasn't looking at him. His tone gave him away. "Well, I could be wrong. It's not as if I have much experience in that sort of thing."

"You're the one who didn't even realize he was handsome." I brought my attention back towards him and frowned. "But I believe I told you before that being without clothes does very little to me. I'm stripping people all the time to reach their injuries."

"I suppose." His smirk widened. "But it's still amusing."

"You're the one who fell in love with a healer. I'm not going to be normal."

"That's fine. Normal is scary." He laughed a little and finally got off me, sitting beside me instead. "I'm serious, though. You need to sleep."

"I'm serious in that I have my job." I made to sit up, but he simply leaned over me. "Chulainn…"

"You look ready to pass out again, even if you don't feel it." He ran his fingers over my cheek before threading them through my hair. "Just a bit more sleep, please."

"..." I reached up and caught his hand as he pulled it away, and absently started tracing the little scars I saw on it. "Do you promise to have a healer treat your injury?"

"Yes."

"Do you also promise to be extra careful?"

"Yes."

"Do you also-also promise that when you go to the infirmary, if it looks like they're being overwhelmed, you'll come wake me up before marching off?"

"...Yes." He smiled slightly. "I will. I'll even go right now, if you'd like."

"Then, in the meantime, I think I will go back to sleep." On impulse, I kissed his palm before letting go and curling into the bedroll. I was already dozing. "Chulainn?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"...I love you too, Alicia." He leaned down to brush a kiss over my temple. "I'll be back shortly to let you know about the infirmary."

"Thank you…" I smiled at him before closing my eyes and nodding off.

I barely woke up when he returned to reassure me that the infirmary could handle not having me there while I slept a little longer. I managed to extract a promise to give the others orders to wake me if something changed before passing out again.

It had better be a darn emergency for me to use the Sleep Staff like that again. This exhaustion was ridiculous.

By the time I woke up again, feeling rather refreshed, Sigurd had led his army off. I cleaned myself up and got dressed before heading over to the infirmary, worried. I was instantly greeted by Lachesis and Finn, which… confused me a lot. It confused me enough that I let them lead me to a chair and agreed to simply instruct Lachesis while I worked on mending and the like.

"So, Sigurd assigned you two as extra guards, along with some soldiers patrolling?" I asked as Lachesis tucked a blanket around me and Finn took the clothes I'd mended away. I felt like an invalid. "Also, what is with all the fussing?"

"Well, Deirdre and Sylvia are abed, so we figured you were pushing yourself," Lachesis explained cheerfully. She even smiled brightly. "Since, you know, you push yourself a lot and you were tired enough to actually sleep in today."

"That's the last time I listen to Chulainn." I felt almost sulky, and frowned as Finn brought me a mug of tea instead of more mending. "I'm fine. I think, as a healer, I am perfectly capable of determining that."

"Well, I'm a healer-in-training, sort of, so you should let me get experience since there's been no emergencies." She was, unfortunately, right. Though, this time, Sigurd sent regular messages to reassure us that the main reason was because there was barely anyone to fight. Sigurd was mostly just securing and protecting civilians, so Aideen and Ethlyn could handle the injured on the field easily. "I need to practice."

"Besides, you gave us a huge fright yesterday," Finn added. He fussed over the blanket around me, smiling. "You passed out."

"That is simply from using the Sleep Staff in an overpowered way it wasn't necessarily intended for," I replied. The staff had been sent back to Mackily for repairs. "Will you at least let me check on people here?"

"You did that five minutes ago." Finn grinned mischievously before looking at Lachesis. "Speaking of Lady Deirdre and Miss Sylvia, though, weren't you going to check on them?"

"I was," Lachesis confirmed, smile warming. "You were about to go on patrol, right? Will you walk with me part of the way?"

"Of course," Finn agreed. He headed for the entrance, picking up his lance along the way. "Shall we?"

"Yes, we shall!" She giggled and skipped out of the infirmary, with Finn falling in step beside her easily. Normally, I'd think it adorable, but today, I was just irritated. I sat there at the table for a moment, sipping my admittedly delicious tea, before deciding that there was no reason to listen to them. This was my infirmary, and I was a healer. They had no right to bar me from working!

So, I stood slowly, taking my tea with me as I checked the patients. They were all asleep, thankfully, so it was easy to change their bandages and make sure their wounds weren't infected. A couple were in the earliest stages of infection, so I jostled them awake to clean them before urging them to go back to sleep.

When I was done checking injuries, I fussed over blankets, making sure there weren't tears in them, and then went towards the back corner where the other mending was. I sipped my tea as I went, trying to pick out what herbs they'd used to make it, and mentally plotted out everything I needed to do. Mending was the priority at the moment, but I knew we still needed some medicines, especially since Sylvia hadn't been able to make any yesterday evening. So, we had that to deal with as well, and then I wanted to check on how many staves we had. No one had properly answered me when I'd asked how many needed repairs, so now was a perfect time to determine that, and-

"Ah, Miss Alicia." An oddly familiar voice called my name, and I looked up, confused. It had been a while since anyone had called me 'Miss' Alicia in this army, even among those I called my title. "Might I ask a favor?" The speaker, whoever they were, stood hesitantly in the entrance of the infirmary, not quite inside, and the sunlight shone behind them, masking their features in shadow. "I'm sorry. I know this is odd…"

"No, it's fine," I replied, defaulting to my polite-healer smile. I moved to the table and sat back down, taking a sip from my tea. "But please don't block the entrance, just in case."

"Oh, right." The speaker stepped forward, and I dropped my mug when I saw his face, little bits of tea splashing onto my hand and table. It was an appropriate response to Lord Eldigan suddenly being in my infirmary! "Can you… get a message to Sigurd for me?" He sounded hesitant, and his eyes darted about almost in confusion. "I tried, but I couldn't get through, and ah…"

"I'll… get Finn on it." This was bizarre. This was so bizarre. How did we go from fighting to free someone to that someone appearing in camp. "We'll also get Lachesis. She's been worried." I actually felt a little dizzy from all of this, and chose to not stand. Maybe I wasn't as recovered as I'd thought. "Would… you like some tea?" I gestured to the pot on the table. "It's… it's good."

"Yes, gladly." He smiled slightly. "Thank you. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Gods, what were you doing to us?

So, it turned out that when Chagall realized he was losing, he freed Lord Eldigan to serve as his 'shield' from an 'invasion'. Lord Eldigan promptly tried to figure out what was going on, and discovered the so-called-invader was Sigurd. He was pushed back when he tried to send a message directly, so he rode the edges looking for the camp, before heading to the infirmary, rightfully thinking that I'd be there and I'd know how to get a message to Sigurd.

By the time I'd figured all that out, Sigurd had returned and practically tackled Lord Eldigan off his feet with a relieved hug. From there, Lord Quan led patrols to secure the camp, while Sigurd and Lord Eldigan traded stories to get a better idea of how we ended up in this situation in the first place. I'd been called to listen and weigh in, mostly because Lord Eldigan wanted a healer's perspective on certain events.

"So, in summary, Noldion was attacked, you went to assist, and you got dragged into what should have been a civil war," Lord Eldigan sighed. We were in Sigurd's tent, sitting at a little table set up within. "I'm so sorry, Sigurd."

"No, if anything, I should be sorry," Sigurd replied. He looked almost depressed. "The worst part is that my king can't…"

"We'll lose Agusty temporarily, much like how Verdane lost Evans. There's no way around it. King Jamke was allowed to keep his castle because he didn't attack directly, but King Chagall doesn't have that protection." Lord Eldigan shrugged. "That's not your fault, Sigurd. It's politics."

"But still, I…"

"Are you worried I'm mad at you?" Lord Eldigan smiled slightly. "Idiot. Of course I'm not. If anything, I am upset that I brought trouble to you, and could not protect my country."

"But…" Sigurd made to protest again, but Lord Eldigan gave him a look and so, he sighed instead. "Oh, fine. But I'll work as hard as I can to make sure we move out as soon as we can."

"I'll stick with King Chagall and make sure he behaves, or try to." Lord Eldigan's smile faltered. "We'll see how that goes."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Sigurd hesitated a moment before nodding, an idea clearly blooming in his eyes. "Well, Quan should be back soon, and I think I've a lovely bottle of wine." He grinned impishly. "If you're up for it?"

"I could use a drink, yes." Lord Eldigan laughed softly, relaxing at last. "Ah, but before I forget. Thank you, Sigurd, for protecting my home."

"Always." Sigurd's grin softened into a smile. "I wish I could've done it better, but hey, my kid will be born in the land my best friend loves so dearly. That's pretty amazing."

"I suppo… wait, hold on, kid?" Lord Eldigan's jaw dropped, but Sigurd simply winked and darted out of the tent. "Sigurd, get back here!"

"Deirdre is a couple months pregnant," I explained for Sigurd. I laughed a little as he turned his shock look my way. "Yes, it's lovely timing. Quan has been plotting ways for the three to play before Altenna leaves."

"Oh, gods, a mini Sigurd…" Eldigan groaned. He leaned back in his chair, looking despairingly up at the ceiling, and I laughed again, unable to help it. "Please let him inherit Deirdre's temperament. Please."

"You're aware Deirdre was the one who came up with a plan for a bloodless takeover of Mackily, and it worked, right?" I laughed a third time as he groaned again. "He's going to cause quite a bit of trouble for poor Ares." At the mention of Ares, though, I felt my cheer falter. "Lord Eldigan-"

"Please drop the title. You saved my son's life."

"...Eldigan, then." I paused a moment, trying to think how, just a year ago, I only knew these people by rumor. Now I was on first-name-basis with them. "I have a question, if you do not mind."

"Go ahead." His demeanor became both casual, yet serious. "What is it?"

"How did Noldion inherit the Major blood?" I winced as he simply closed his eyes. "If you'd rather not answer…"

"No, it's just… honestly, that's the source of my trouble now." He leaned back in his chair, noticeably drooping. "Are you willing for a little history lesson?"

"Go ahead." I shifted to get more comfortable in my own chair. "I expected it, truthfully."

"Right…" He sighed, and nodded, opening his eyes to look at me. "The full thing would require far too much time, but the simple version should suffice, I think." He fell silent, frowning slightly as he gathered his thoughts. "It was Hezul's children who proved there were some exceptions to the 'first child of the Major inherits the Major blood' rule. He had four children, and it was his youngest, Klotho, who inherited the Major. In fact, she was the very first exception. All of the other Crusaders passed their Major Blood to their firstborns."

"...Ah."

"Yeah." He laughed bitterly. "The situation in Augustria became… tense then. Civil war tense. First born versus the Major, made all the worse because the family was close. The siblings loved each other dearly. It killed them to be put against each other, almost literally. The stories mention suicide attempts." He sighed again, his eyes unfocusing slightly. "However, Klotho had another problem. She was in love with the duke of Noldion's son. So, the day after her eighteenth birthday, she eloped with him, causing a huge stir."

"That sounds like an understatement."

"Short version." He actually grinned, but it faltered quickly. "She and her new husband were the target of people's ire, but Klotho was clever. She swore an oath that would bind all her descendants as well. An oath of eternal loyalty to house Agusty. Her brother accepted the oath, and declared that Mystletainn would go to the house."

"Thus, Noldion has the Major blood."

"Yes." He fell silent again, frowning slightly. "When I became the Duke of Noldion, I took on that same oath. I am to remain eternally loyal to the royal house, and if I do not, Noldion pays the price. You saw it here. Chagall ordered the attacked on Noldion because I 'broke' the oath and spoke out against him."

"...Oh." I tried not to squirm. It answered my second question of why Chagall thought he could've gotten away with launching the assault. "So, what will you do now?"

"I will serve. I have no choice, really." He shrugged. "This incident showed that I have no allies in Augustria. I cannot depend on Sigurd's protection forever. He will return home at some point, as will Quan. I must do what I can for my country alone. I cannot burden them any further." He smiled bitterly. "I rambled more than I intended. You're a good listener."

"Healers do a lot of listening." I smiled back, sadly. "You want me to hide this from Sigurd, don't you?"

"It'll worry him and, really, I just want to see him happy. I want him to focus on his child." His smile grew a little warmer. "So, please, let's just…"

"I understand." I still sighed, though. "I fear for you, though. Chagall will not take this lying down, and he clearly does not know how to reward loyalty."

"So long as my friends and family remain safe, I'll take whatever abuse he throws at me." His smile widened. "But that is neither here nor there. I cannot falter from this path, sadly. Can you tell me more of Ares and Grahnye's conditions? I wish to hear everything."

"Yes, I can." I spared no details about the injuries they'd suffered, and how they, and Noldion, were recovering. He ended up sharing some stories of Noldion in between my little reports, and the way his eyes shone told me he adored his home. He adored being its duke. He adored his people. But his adoration was also his shackle. His love was his chains. Chagall had his loyalty only because Eldigan loved and cared so much for his home and country.

My heart broke for him. I could only hope that there could be some sort of happy ending to this mess. I doubted, but I hoped anyway.

Records on Dew:

'Former' thief, 13 years old

A thief captured by Jamke's brothers, who helped cheer up Aideen while she was prisoner. He is absolutely loyal to her.

He's… not much of a fighter, though he has strong potential. Really, though, he's just not suited for the battlefield.

Despite his constant protestations, everyone knows he still steals. But he gives everything to the army, so we all look the other way.

Author's notes: And with this, we end Game-Chapter 2. Chagall is the final boss of the chapter, and, in-game, survives only because Eldigan pulled him from the field. In the manga, he's not fought at all, though. In-game, once you deal with Zyne's group, I think there's like... three or four opponents left (I think three ballista users and Chagall), hence the lack of fighting.

How Noldion came to be the Major Hezul holders, and the associated oath of eternal loyalty, is revealed in supplementary materials, though I did add to it a bit (the youngest daughter was never named from my understanding; I went with 'Klotho' to fit in with 'Lachesis'). It certainly adds more to why Eldigan remains loyal to Chagall, despite Chagall being a bastard.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Jungby (There will be three interludes again to showcase the timeskip)