21.
Emilia stood on the Clarion's balcony, her left arm in its heavy split, held in a sling. She chewed Mother Paltina's herbs with her side teeth. The herbs were safe, Mother Paltina told her, and they'd help the arm heal faster. However - she'd said this several times - healing the arm too fast would not necessarily be good for it.
Sure. But I need to be in prime condition as soon as possible!
Even from the Clarion, she couldn't see things perfectly. While she'd been sleeping, a rival griffon unit had taken control of Eudy's cannons, causing both the Magister and the Black Knight to retreat, allowing Yggdra to enter the castle grounds. Baldus had finally shown, attacking the Royals from the rear. She could see Gulcasa positioning himself at the castle's southern gate, he and Baldus preparing to pincer Yggdra's force.
If Baldus could hold.
If they could regain control of the cannons.
If Gulcasa could repulse them.
Emilia left the Clarion, running down the steps, her arm jostling painfully.
As she heard news that Baldus had withdrawn, that Zilva had failed to secure the cannons, that Gulcasa himself was now engaging the enemy, Emilia ordered her unit to remount. Orders darted through the castle as the entire imperial force prepared to evacuate.
Emilia ignored the worried glances from her riders as they saw her splint and sling. She quickly checked Twit (the wound in her haunch had reopened, but it couldn't be helped), then unclipped her reins and stowed them in her new pack. With her left arm broken, she had no use for them. She mounted, carefully buckling herself in with her right hand, then sat, ready for orders. Shadows spread from the west, away from the setting sun.
Finally, she heard battle horns - the call for retreat - and cavalrymen cantering through the streets, relaying the message, "Fall back to Karona!"
So they'd retaken Paltina. Well then. According to the Bronquian Code, they must deserve that much.
Emilia felt a surge of anger and wounded pride, then her eyes widened with a fear that numbed both. Had Gulcasa been killed? "Let's go!" she told her riders. "We need to guard the retreat!" They lofted high into the air, seeking the most complete view of the evacuation as possible. Her eyes sought the Dragon cavalry...
There - several units raced through the streets, Aegina's Valkyries guarding their back. But as fast as they went, their formation was defensive - they were guarding the rider at the center...
She flew down, getting a quick look. It was Gulcasa, blood splashed across his armor, but he was alive, holding himself upright, his left arm clamped over his middle.
From her vantage, Emilia could see that the retreat was scattering, but she could do little to prevent it. The only blessing seemed to be that Yggdra's men were just as exhausted and offered little pursuit as the Bronquian forces poured from the gates, clotting the western road to Karona.
It was fully nighttime when Gulcasa's company came to a brief halt on the main road, still having not even crossed the Machina Bridge. Emilia glided down and dismounted, making for the center of the group.
Majunga had been coaxed to sit, and Gulcasa lay back against him, hair clinging to his temples. He still held his hand over his side, over a broad dent in his breastplate.
Emilia knelt next to him, ignoring Aegina who crouched on his other side, barely noticing Nessiah where he stood at Gulcasa's feet. "It's your ribs, isn't it? Do you think they're broken?"
Gulcasa glanced at her but didn't answer the question, breathing hard, a weary harshness in his voice. "I - only need a moment to rest myself."
Aegina fumbled with her canteen. "Please - Your Highness-"
Swallowing, he accepted the canteen and drank, his breaths steadying. "We must keep moving. We'll be seen, and-" he winced "-I don't wish to face them just yet."
Emilia could hear wingbeats. She pressed her lips together, already knowing it was bad news.
"General Emilia." The rider landed and bowed from the saddle. "Your Imperial Highness."
Gulcasa turned his face towards the messenger. "Speak."
"Princess Yggdra and her personal unit have been sighted on Machina Road. They're heading this way."
"Damn," Gulcasa breathed. "No doubt she wishes to finish the job." He glanced at the dent. "I cannot fault her her bravery."
"Yes," came Nessiah's sliding voice, "but where there is bravery, there is a certain lack of...restraint."
Gulcasa blinked, then peered through the darkness at his strategist. "You have a plan, I trust?"
"You have long wanted to kidnap the girl," Nessiah replied serenely. "This, I think, is your chance."
"His Highness is wounded!" Aegina stood and glared at Nessiah; she was taller than him. "We need a plan of escape, not capture!"
"I believe His Imperial Highness is strong enough to remount and lure Princess Yggdra beyond Machina Bridge," Nessiah returned. "Where this - Elusive Valkyrie, was it? - may ambush her from behind, destroying the bridge in the process. That should nicely isolate the princess from any rescue attempts. And if any show up, I will attend to them myself."
Gulcasa considered it for less than half a minute. "Everyone, remount."
Emilia's job was, as always, to observe. She knew that there were probably alternate routes to the Machina Bridge and that Yggdra's forces would be aware of them. She, Emilia, would have to watch for any covert attacks. In the silence of the night sky, she watched Yggdra and her Valkyries pursue Gulcasa, he riding with deliberate slowness.
She kept the fingers of her right hand curled tightly together, worried that Gulcasa was straining himself, that his wound was worse than he'd thought. Yggdra fought fearlessly, relentless even as her Valkyries died around her. She would kill Gulcasa the moment she had the chance. A small unit pursued her in turn, those bandits Emilia had faced earlier. They were catching up to Yggdra. It was all Emilia could do to remain observing, not swoop down to chase the princess across the bridge.
Finally they crossed, finally Aegina sprang her ambush, and the bridge exploded in a torrent of smoke and sparks. In a moment, Majunga reared, and Gulcasa turned on Yggdra like a viper. Even this high, Emilia thought she might have heard Yggdra cry out as the Dragoons closed around her.
Emilia knew Nesisah possessed great magic, but she jumped as she saw his ambush appear behind the bandits, literally out of thin air. She glanced at Gulcasa - he was making good time along the road, leaving everything to Nessiah. She'd be able to fall back too. But she turned again towards Paltina, wanting to see those bandits die, even at Nessiah's hands instead of her own.
Nessiah had not yet engaged, the bandits trying to work themselves into a defensive line. Red light sparkled in the darkness. Emilia blinked. Had she seen that?
She squinted, Twit squawking as there was a sudden flash of red light. Emilia couldn't see anything at first, light-blinded, but as she blinked, the night resolved itself into a red haze. She scanned the battlefield. There were the bandits, in a panic. And - where was Nessiah's unit?
She saw no trace of the soldiers sent to accompany him, only the strategist himself, holding sparks of red light in each palm.
There was another flash of light, Nessiah drawing a sword.
At this distance, Emilia couldn't see it perfectly. But she didn't have to.
When he saw her, Gulcasa called his company to slow their breakneck pace. "Has Nessiah dealt with our pursuit?"
Emilia flapped down, and Gulcasa halted the line, his Dragoons crowding behind him. "I - Back off, all of you, I need to make a report!" She knew this would raise questions, but she didn't want universal alarm if they all heard her news.
Gulcasa, perhaps heartened by his victory, sat upright, Yggdra's limp figure across the pommel of his saddle. He rested one hand on her back, either to hold her steady or to be aware of the moment she moved. He gestured his company away, riding several paces towards Emilia. He kept his voice low. "What happened?"
Emilia swallowed and relayed what she'd seen, trying to be as clear and brief as possible.
Gulcasa frowned, his eyes narrowed. "So he destroyed his own unit and did no damage to our enemies, and has..." He looked up at the sky, his expression distant. "...We can discuss it later. We must ride for Karona, and quickly!"