Hello again, I'm back! And man have I had a hectic past couple of weeks! I had exams last Monday and last Thursday, and a couple of big assignments the week before, so I've been unable to write. Then, after my final exam, my dad came to take the ten hour drive back home with me. When we got back, it was 2 in the morning on Friday. He kept me busy after I woke up that day, and then yesterday, my brother had us go play paintball for his sixteenth birthday. I wrote the chapter that afternoon, and then today we had church, and then we went to a performance of "Hamlet" at the local theatre. So I've literally gotten this chapter to you guys as soon as possible. I hope you enjoy it!

So, I'm home for the summer, and am officially done with my first year at college! With no schoolwork to weigh me down, I intend for there to be shorter gaps between chapter postings. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep my word on that. Almost a year in, and I'm not even halfway done with the story! I hope that I don't lose interest before I'm done, as I have at least three other fanfic projects that I want to work on, but refuse to do due to loyalty to this tale.


"They seem to be staying in place for now. I think they are waiting on some kind of rendezvous. At least as far as I can tell. I don't know who they could be waiting for because I'm pretty sure that I saw a lot of the higher ups gathered there." said Daisy

"Then we'd better tread carefully. A direct assault won't cut it for the three of us. Could you tell me where, exactly, the leaders are positioned? Is there a way we can get close without being detected?" asked Faval.

"They are gathering by a cluster of trees just northeast of the village. So... yes." said Daisy.

"Good. That'll provide us with some cover. So, here is the plan. I get as close as I can, and then fire as many shots that I can before they pinpoint my location. Once they come after me, Asaello will provide cover fire from the side. Hopefully, it will buy us enough time to escape, and hopefully, the foliage will be too thick for their horses. We should be able to outrun them if the terrain is in our favor like that." said Faval.

"Are you sure that is the safest idea? That doesn't sound very well thought out." remarked Asaello.

"Do you have a better idea? If not, shut up." snapped Faval

"How about we don't do this at all?" asked Daisy "This... this doesn't seem right. If they are trying to take down the empire, then shouldn't we be helping them?"

Faval sighed "Look, I don't like our employer either, but do you really think that a rebel army will actually have the funds that we need? I hate it too, but we have to do this for the kids at the orphanage."

"Patty wouldn't approve." said Daisy resolutely, folding her arms and standing in Faval's way.

"And since when have I sought Patty's approval? And since when does she get to judge or hold the moral high ground? You know perfectly well that the two of us have very different standards."

"You can say that again." Daisy muttered under her breath.

Faval heard her remark, but chose to ignore it. "Anyways, earned gold is earned gold. Now let's get this over with."


Stealthily and quickly they got into position near the liberation army's camp. Faval drew his bow and had it pointed at Shanan. Asaello stood next to him, pointing an arrow at the man standing next to Shanan. They each lined up a head shot, and let loose an arrow. At that moment, a yellow aura surrounded each of them and the world seemed to slow to a crawl. Shanan recognized the familiar sound and saw the incoming arrows. Shanan suddenly seemed to have super-speed, and he tilted his body out of the way, barely dodging the arrow from Yewfelle, which was traveling about as fast as he was.

Asaello's arrow, however seemed to slow to a crawl in midair, and Shanan managed to snatch it out of midair and save the man next to him. He followed the path of the arrows with his eyes and spotted Faval and Asaello.

"Snipers! Right in front of me!" he shouted and rushed forward, drawing the Balmung. Faval shot another arrow, which Shanan promptly slashed out of the air.

"Shit." said Faval, who instinctively thrust his bow in front of him to absorb the blow. The two holy weapons struck one another, glowing yellow, and sending a blast of yellow wind across the camp.

Shanan was startled when his opponent's weapon failed to shatter beneath his blade, and then he got a clear look at it. He recognized it instantaneously. "Wait... You're!"

Faval used his leg to shove Shanan away and then he used his bow to bludgeon his head and knock him off balance. "Where's my cover?!" he shouted, turning sideways to see Seliph rushing towards him. He raised his bow and-

"Wait! Faval! Stop!" a voice cried out. Faval froze, and so did Seliph.

"Faval? What're you doing here?! Don't tell me you're working for Blume!" said Patty, approaching cautiously.

"Under protest." said Faval, sounding exasperated "He promised me a lot of money if I... wait... you're here, so that means... you're fighting alongside the rebels?!"

"Yes I am! We're here helping the people, and we're going to finish off Blume. Why are you working for him anyways?" she asked, tilting her head like a confused puppy.

"Oh, is that your fundraising plan for the orphanage? Get money for the orphans... by working for the man who made them orphans in the first place? Makes sense. It sounds like your typical brand of brilliant strategy to me" said Patty sharply.

Faval was rather taken aback by her reaction. He and Patty had had their arguments before, but... the look on her face... it looked to much like either spite or disgust. And for once, Faval found that he couldn't make a good argument against her logic. He sighed loudly, and lowered his weapon "You're right... I didn't fully think this through. Forgive me."

"Of course you didn't, the only thing that you think with is your... never mind, it doesn't matter. If you really think that way, then join us! Help us give the people peace!" said Patty enthusiastically.

Faval gave a small laugh "Patty... you've grown up. You sound like you're my mom! Ok, Daisy! Asaello! You guys win! Let's go!"

"You brought them?" said Patty, surprised.

"The chatterbox and the silent shooter who can't shoot? Yup."

"Can't shoot? My brother is an ordinary archer competing with a dick with a magical bow. What right do you have to complain about that? You should be grateful that nobody will be able to hold a grudge against you for killing-" Asaello put a hand over Daisy's mouth.

"After that first shot, I saw Patty from my position. I couldn't warn you." he said. Faval just nodded.

"So, you're Faval?" asked Seliph.

"Yes, and you are?"

"Prince Seliph" Patty whispered.

Faval's pupils dilated and he bowed quickly "Prince Seliph, please forgive me." he said.

"Don't worry about it. Patty told me about the orphans. It's a very understandable motivation."

"Yea, well, the ends don't justify the means. I can't believe I was stupid enough to work for the empire. I'm ashamed of myself. I vow to make it up to you, somehow." promised Faval.

"Well, thank you Faval, it's good to have you aboard." said Seliph, brushing aside Faval's hurried apologies.

"So... what are we doing now?" he asked.

"For now, waiting. Some of our forces are arriving from Alster, and a part of our forces are also waging a rescue mission at a nearby fort. Once we've regrouped, we'll make a beeline for Conote. Tell me, does Blum have many more forces to throw our way?"

"Not that I know of. The castle seemed deserted, and Blume made it sound like he had sent everything he had your way. Unless he's received reinforcements in the past... day, there shouldn't be much to worry about."

"Thank you Faval, that'll be all for now. Why don't you take some time to go and meet your relatives?" suggested Seliph

"...Relatives?" Faval said slowly.

"Yup." said Patty cheerfully. "It turns out that our mom has a twin sister, who's still alive and living in northern Isaac, and she has three kids. Two of them are with the liberation army. Look! Here they are now!" she said, pointing to them. "See, this is Lester. He's an archer like you, and this is Lana, she's a cleric."

Faval turned to look at them, and as soon as he saw Lana, his eyes lit up. "Well hello there Lana." he said in a suave voice.

Lester's smile began to shrink, and Patty looked like she was about to scowl. Then there was a sound like a thunderclap that captured everyone's attention. Internally, Lester was actually glad about the interruption, but externally, he shouted "Oh, come ON! Can we not have just one peaceful moment all to ourselves without interruption? Is that simply not possible?!"

It was not, because Ishtar was here. "I'm sorry about this, but you're all going to die." she said, and she began a barrage of attacks with the Mjolnir tome. Seliph, Finn, Shanan, and Oifey all tried to rush her separately, but that was the problem. They tried to attack her separately. Finn charged first. While he wasn't hit directly, he was thrown off of his horse. While this happened, Seliph was attempting to flank her. Ishtar noticed and immediately turned to blast him. Shanan realized that a direct hit would likely kill Seliph. So he leapt in and slashed at her. She barely avoided getting cut in half, instead, getting a slash on the side. The bolt directed at Seliph went wild. It didn't hit him, but it did send him flying into the brush.

Ishtar whipped around and fired another bolt at point blank towards Shanan. He held Balmung sideways in front of him and the bolt struck there. On a normal weapon, that would've simply conducted the electricity and made him even more crispy fried. However, since this was a holy weapon, the Balmung actually both absorbed and deflected at least half of the force of the bolt from Mjolnir. So, Shanan survived, but he fell to his knees, his body literally smoking.

Faval, observing all of this, decided that helping out with this would be the best way to show his use to the liberation army. He got into a well covered position, drew back the Yewfelle, and fired a glowing arrow, which shot right through her upper left leg.

"YOU DARE?!" she screamed, and suddenly, her complete attention was on him. She fired a bolt at him, but he managed to leap out of the way and dodge the bolt completely. As Ishtar turned in order to target to him, she stumbled. The injury Faval had just given her reacted to the sudden motion and her leg gave way. This gave Faval an opening, and he dealt her an identical injury on her other leg.

She dropped the Mjolnir term as she fell flat on her back as she fell flat on her back. It slid completely out of her reach. She began to sob. "No... I failed, Prince Julius... I'm sorry... I'm-"

"Going to live." said a cool, sharp voice. A red and black vortex seemed to form around Ishtar, causing the crusaders to hide away. Leaves swirled about and seemed to burn up, and the ash clumped together to take the form of a young man with crimson hair and a hypnotic voice. He stooped down to pick up the Mjolnir, and he handed it to her "Ishtar. I will not lose you here, I can't afford for you to fall now. Come with me, rest and recuperate in Belhalla."

"P-Prince Julius?! How did you-"

"That doesn't matter, my thunder goddess. What does is that I need you. You are the most important person in my life, so now come, join me." he said, reaching out to her.

"Of-of course, anything!" she said, reaching out for him. He lifted her up, quite easily it seemed, and held her in an embrace, an interesting feat to observe as he was practically bridal carrying her. Then, in a flash amidst swirling leaves, they were gone, with only the charred ground to prove that they had ever been there.


"So, Teeny, do you know much about Princess Ishtar?" asked Seliph a bit later.

"Yes, Ishtar was just like a big sister to me." she said.

"What about that boy who came for her, do you know anything about him?"

Teeny frowned "That was probably Prince Julius." she said.

"P-Prince Julius?!" cried Seliph, alarmed. "Why was he here? Did he come directly after us?"

"No, I don't think that he would attack us personally. Not unless most or all of his other options were eliminated and he decided to take us as a serious threat. Apparently he's rather arrogant, so that would take a lot. No, I think that he was just her to make sure that Ishtar remained safe. The two of them are lovers, you see." explained Teeny.

"So... what do you know about Prince Julius? Do you know him very well?" asked Seliph

"Not exactly. I've met him a few times at Belhalla. But from what I've seen of him, I'd say that he's... well, how can I put it? He's... got this sort of charm to him. He can attract others to his side, despite not being very... passionate in words or deed. He can be as cold as ice. It's can be quite terrifying, really. It's almost inhuman. He always seems his nicest when around Ishtar, though. He... does what he wants, but at the same time does what can keep her satisfied. Yet he's always clearly in control."

"So... is he manipulating her? Could we show this to her and get her to come over to our side?" asked Seliph

Teeny shook her head. "He's controlling, but from what I can tell, he's sincere in his affections towards Ishtar. I think that, while he is extremely possessive... He also genuinely loves her. I don't think that Ishtar could ever break away from him even if she wanted to."


Ishtar woke up in a bed in a lit room. She looked under the sheets to find herself dressed in a leotard. A rather conservative one, but a leotard nonetheless. She looked at the injured spots on her legs and found large rings covering them.

"They are there to help." Ishtar quickly covered herself with the bedsheets, and looked to her bedside to see Julius sitting beside her. "For the past week, the best healers in Belhalla have been doing their best to heal you while you've been barely conscious. I'm glad that you're finally awake."

Nodding towards where he legs were hidden he continued "Even with the best healers available, those injuries could've left you unable to walk for the rest of your life. I didn't want to leave you in that state, so I took measures. I created those rings and put them on you myself. They compensate for your injuries, and allow you to walk, even run properly. In fact, they've actually enhanced your body and what you can take. It's the least I could do after allowing this to happen." Julius said, studying her face. "I wouldn't deserve to have your love if I did anything less for you." Then after another brief pause, he added "Oh... and I wouldn't deserve your love if I did something like THAT, so fear not about that" he said after a couple of moments.

"What?" said Ishtar.

"I can see it on your face, you're worried about modesty and the possibility of having been taken advantage of. I had some of your servants watching me while I cared for you. I took your feelings into consideration. I may want you, but I want to earn you. Being a drooling gawker while you lay injured is the farthest thing from my mind, and not the way to make it happen." then Julius gave a sly grin. "Besides, if that were my intent, don't you think that you'd be wearing considerably less?"

Ishtar's face turned red briefly, then she broke into a giggling fit. Julius chuckled a little, then went serious again, as did Ishtar.

"Wait... I've been gone for a week? Father!" she cried, sitting up, pale and shaking.

Julius closed his eyes. "I sent Skaro and some of the Schwarze Rosen to defend him... they failed. I'm sorry."

Ishtar moaned as tears rolling down her cheeks. "Now... now SHE is the only family I have left..."

"...At the very least, they now know how you feel." said Julius after several moments

"Who? The Rosen or the-"

"The rebels. Skaro survived, retreated, and attacked them again when they arrived at Manster. The rebels had a casualty there."

"One casualty hardly-"

"A casualty of some significance." Julius elaborated. A casualty with holy blood.

"The prince?" asked Ishtar.

"Unfortunately, no. He's still alive. It was a lesser noble, someone significant only to the leadership. But they are devastated by the loss. As devastated as you are."

Ishtar sniffed "I hope so. So who? Who was it that died?"