Chapter 33) Siege


We're all together again and thus, we're off to see Ganeishire! The wonderful… something, something… Ganeishire! None of us actually know much about Ganeishire, truth be told. We know it's one of the major cities of Isaach, and that it's the one closest to Tirnanog. Danann supposedly ruled from there, for a time, before setting up in Rivough. No one seems to agree on exactly why Danann doesn't rule from Isaach Castle, with tales from resistance fighters bothering him to the ghost of King Mariccle himself scaring the shit out of him. Though there are also those who think it's simply because Rivough is the closest Isaachian city to the Yied Desert, and to Grannvale.

Regardless, though, we make our way towards it, having some minor skirmishes along the way. When we get there, it'll be our first time attacking a city. It'll be the first major battle… well, there go the nerves. This was going to be fun, fun, fun.


There weren't a lot of places to hide near Ganeishire. It was mostly just some cliffs nearby, leftovers of the nearby mountains, ones where you had to use a spyglass to see anything significant about the city. There were remnants of old forests that had once surrounded the city, but had been cut down for whatever reason. Firewood? Prevent people from hiding? Who knew? Maybe not even the people in charge, for now.

"Looks like the scouts are still having some trouble getting in," Lester observed through the spyglass. Our group, plus Hestia, was all seated or standing at the cliffside closest to Ganeishire, watching and waiting. Oifeye had encouraged us to walk up here, both to look over the city that would become a battlefield and because we were all becoming a little frustrated. More than a little. "Again. The guards are apparently very careful." And thus, we had been camped out here for a day and a half, irritated.

"Of course they are," Seliph sighed, leaning against me briefly. He had been tugging his own hair from nerves and frustration, so I'd undone my braid for him to play with instead. Less likely to actually pull something out. "Probably to prevent exactly what we're wanting to do."

"No doubts about that." Lester sighed as well and brought the spyglass down to rub his eyes. He'd been making off and on observations for a while now. "Do I have red marks from the spyglass?"

"I'd hope not," Lana replied, barely looking up from her mending. She'd brought a bit to have something to do while we sat and waited, though we were careful to make sure she sat further back just in case the wind caught something. "Because then that's all that pressure right on your eyeball and do you know how gross it is to try and fix someone's eye?"

"I do, in fact, remember being around to watch Mother do that, yes," Lester immediately retorted, voice dry enough to use for kindling. It matched his droll look. "And I definitely know I don't want you anywhere near my eyes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means Lester knows you'd be upset and if there's one thing he hates, it's having his little sister crying," Ulster immediately 'translated', cutting off the potential argument or whatever. No doubt that would've played a part, but it was also a reminder that Lana wasn't yet as skilled as Aideen. Eye wounds were particularly tricky to deal with anyway. "Regardless, if things keep up like this…"

"We're not going to be able to attack," Larcei grumbled, curling her hand into Hestia's fur. She, and Ulster for that matter, rested against Hestia, sprawled out on the ground instead of sitting and hanging their legs over the side like Diarmuid and me or just sitting cross-legged on the ground like Seliph, Lana, and Lester. "Civilians will be caught in the crossfire."

"Precisely." Ulster sighed and attempted to sit up. Hestia reached around and bumped him back down with her muzzle though, since he was closest to her head. "I guess she thinks I need more rest."

"You were out scouting until recently." Larcei rolled over so that she could scooch into Ulster's side, quietly comforting him. "But this is getting frustrating."

"Quiet reminder that Oifeye's suggestion is still there," Diarmuid gently said. We all sighed because we all did know it was still there. When word first came that scouts were having difficulties sneaking inside, Oifeye had suggested we make ourselves as 'big' and 'grand' as we could, using that as our warning to the civilians. And honestly, it probably was the smarter thing to do. "I know we're not really keen on it, but…"

"I really don't want to risk their lives," Seliph whispered. Despite the quiet, his words were firm. "I'd honestly rather they surrender or something, and we didn't have to fight, but we know that won't happen. So, if we're going to risk lives, it should be the people who have actively volunteered, not…"

"Not people who happened to be caught in the middle." In future battles, such things might not be avoidable. So we wanted to avoid it, while we still had the choice. "Which is why you want people inside to warn the civilians, even though that could show our hand sooner. So that they have more time to hide and not be used as hostages."

"I know it's naive and foolish, but I still believe it's the best way forward." Seliph's voice continued to be firm. I wished I could see his expression, but each time I tried to glance back, he nudged me forward. He was definitely doing some sort of elaborate braid for my hair, to be taking so long. "That said, I know that we can't wait much longer. If my way yields no results by the end of the day, we'll go with Oifeye's plan." He tied off my braid and rested his head against my back. "But, please, let's try my foolish way a little longer."

"If it was really foolish, we would've stopped you." Still, we were feeling the time…

"Hey, Lester, let's switch," Larcei suggested, hopping to her feet. Lester tossed her the spyglass and curled up on Hestia too. Ulster moved over so that Lester could be near Hestia's head and get licks. "You've been staring at them for a while. Let's see if my fresher Od eyes can find a weak point." She hummed a bit as she looked out, frowning a bit. "Hmm… that's interesting."

"Did you find something already?" Lana asked, startled. So were the rest of us, with Seliph even straightening to give Larcei a weird look. "I mean… uh…"

"Like I said. Fresher eyes, and I was specifically looking for things to exploit. I'm a bit better at that than Lester, who was making general observations." Larcei brought down the spyglass and smirked. And it was her 'I have a great idea' smirk, which never meant good things. In fact, it normally meant pranks or things we'd want to strangle her for. "Mainly it's the main gates themselves, which we've been ignoring. It's just two people from what I saw, and on the younger side."

"Okay?" Lana frowned a bit, because the words didn't make sense. Larcei then nodded at Diarmuid, and somehow, that was all Lana needed. "Oh. Ooooohhhh…"

"Actually, that might work," Ulster murmured. He sat up and looked right at Diarmuid. And me. For some reason. "That might work very well, actually." Except I had no idea what they were talking about, until I remembered an off-hand thing Ulster said a few days ago. Then I groaned because there was no way… no way…!

"You're not serious," I said. Ulster only smirked. "Oh dear freaking gods above, you're serious. And don't joke about being always serious because we know damn well you're not."

"I'm serious about serious things."

"Not the damn point!"

"Missing half the conversation here," Diarmuid sighed, poking my head. His confusion had been replaced with suspicion, rightfully so. "What are you two talking about?"

"Something Ulster joked about the night before you caught up, or I thought he was joking about." I looked to the others beseechingly, only to see them also actively considering it. All of them. "There's no way it'll work. Diarmuid and I aren't that charming."

"Wait… oh, wait, what?" Diarmuid shook his head, catching on now. "No, no, and no. It won't work. She's right. We're not that charming."

"Won't know unless we try," Lana chirped, giggling. It was her nervous giggle, meaning she wasn't sure this would work either. But she was throwing her vote in for it, because… because. "Wouldn't be the first time you two charmed your way out of trouble."

"That was getting out of being yelled at for breaking things!" Diarmuid retorted. I just covered my face, not believing this at all. Seliph's sympathetic pat on my back did nothing to make the situation better. "Not infiltration!"

"Well, you are trying to break things. Just more ideological this time. You're trying to break our enemy." Lana smiled and it was the same smile she had when we tried to get out of taking medicine when sick. "Soooo…"

"It's not going to work!"

Diarmuid and I argued against the idea for a while longer, but eventually, we gave up. It was difficult to argue against Seliph, Ulster, Larcei, Lester, and Lana. I felt vindicated when they told Oifeye and Oifeye protested, though. Made me think Diarmuid and I were at least making sense. But Seliph convinced Oifeye to let us try, thanks to taking advantage of the sincere belief he could put on like a mask, and so, within the hour, Diarmuid and I were walking right up to the front gates of Ganeishire. To somehow convince the guards to let us in. Somehow.

"If we start the battle, I'm blaming them," I muttered as we approached. This was utterly ridiculous. "I mean it. I will."

"You and me both," Diarmuid sighed. He wasn't any happier about this than I was. "Ugh… I knew talking us out of trouble would bite me in the ass someday. I knew it."

"Not like this though."

"Not in the slightest." Still, when the guards could actually see and hear us, Diarmuid put on his warmest and most charming smile. "Good morning to you!"

"Morning, sir, lady," one replied, bowing their head slightly. The other one nodded, though I thought I noticed a bit of a blush on their face. "Are you seeking entry to Ganeishire?"

"If it's not a problem," I confirmed, doing my best to smile as well. The first guard softened a bit, and I studied them both quickly. The one that might be blushing was noticeably younger, but Larcei had been right. Both were on the younger side, and their nervous, yet relaxed, postures hinted they were newer recruits. "I can see you're on high alert."

"There's talks of rebels and resistance. Always has been, but some of our soldiers haven't returned from scouting."

"That doesn't sound good." For a number of reasons. They knew we were coming. Or, at least, they suspected. "I suppose that's why you're glaring so suspiciously?"

"I… oh, my pardon." The first guard smiled slightly, sheepishly. "I fear I am a tad… grumpy."

"More than a tad!" the second one laughed. It hurt my heart to see them both just so… normal. In the coming battle, they'd probably die. It wasn't fair and, worse, there was no way to make it 'fair'. "His shift was all messed up for the week and he's got a crying child wondering why he had to cancel their picnic."

"That's awful," Diarmuid murmured, wincing in sympathy. Then he was back to the smiles. "I hope you can get off duty soon."

"We'll be off in an hour or so, thankfully." The second guard shifted a bit, nervously, and the first one nudged them with a grin. "Good tavern not far from here, if you're wanting to visit."

"That sounds good." Diarmuid continued to smile, but he did give me a slight 'what the hell' look. I just kept up my own smile. "Ah, but does that mean we can head in?"

"Yeah, I mean; you two are nice and all. I doubt any rebels would be polite to rank and file soldiers like us." The second guard snapped their fingers. "Oh, but your weapons do have to be bound. Safety reasons. You can remove them only at the blacksmith. If you want someone to tend to your weapons, Jake's the best one."

"That sounds wonderful, and completely reasonable." Diarmuid unhooked his sword and passed it over to the second guard. I did the same, but passed it to the first one, still wearing the warm smile. "Thank you so much! Now, what was that tavern again?"

We made a little more small talk as the weapons were bound, and as Diarmuid got directions to the tavern and a few other places of interest. Mostly things like how long they'd been soldiers (not long) and about their families (the first guard had a three year old; the second was the eldest of five siblings). Some basics on rules (try not to bother patrolling soldiers, please don't steal, etc). Then we were let inside, no more questions asked. Because… because I didn't even freaking know.

"That… that shouldn't have worked," I said softly once we were a good distance away from the main gates. I couldn't believe this. "That shouldn't have worked. Why did it work?"

"I have no idea," Diarmuid replied, as stunned as I was. Noticing some people staring at us, he smiled gently to relax them. They smiled back and went about their business. "Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but did I get a date out of it?"

"You did. You really did." I sighed heavily, facepalming. This was ridiculous. "I can hear everyone's laughter now. Gods damn it all."

"Well, at least we're inside." That was true. "Even if I am now terrified about the bad luck we're going to have to counter this bit of 'good luck'." Also true. "And terrified of how bards and storytellers shall spin this as divinely blessed." Also-also true. "Let's listen in and figure out where to proceed from here."

"In about an hour or so, you need to go to that tavern. Maybe some drinks will get some more information." Deciding that I had to tease in order to process any of this, I smirked at him. "Or, you know, pillow talk." I laughed when Diarmuid sputtered and choked on laughter and protests, turning quite red in the face. "We really should've gotten names. Oh well. Get theirs later."

"I hate you." His continued laughter, however, took any and all heat out of the words. "Right, listening now."

I continued teasing him, of course, but he teased me back and at that point, it was less to deal with the situation and more to blend in. If people thought you weren't listening, they talked a lot more. And what they talked about was rather interesting, actually. It seemed the main general in charge, Harold, was rather… well, not liked, but no one actively hated him either. His helper, though… whoever General Richard was, the people wanted him dead. Rather fascinating, really, to hear the people be so ambivalent on on, and feel such intense hatred for the other. That all said, Ganeishire was a bit of a ruin, with the people openly speaking of support for Shanan. It was telling that this Harold let them, but what it said, I wasn't sure. Did it mean Harold believed in our cause? Or did it mean he didn't think we were anything to be concerned about? It could honestly be either, or a reason I wouldn't know to consider.

"Miss? Miss!" It took a couple of seconds to realize that a store owner, a young man not much older than Diarmuid and me, was waving at us. "You two, get inside, quickly" he urged, half-reaching out to actually grab us. Diarmuid and I glanced at each other in confusion, and then tensed as we noticed quite a few others were hiding. "General Richard is doing his 'market walk'. You don't want to catch his eye."

"Well, I can see why the people want him dead if he gets this sort of reaction," I mumbled, heading inside the rather nice store with Diarmuid, the wares being of candles and perfumes. It smelled heavenly, really, and I was strongly tempted to look around. If, you know, I wasn't thoroughly creeped out by the current situation. "Thank you, sir."

"My sister caught his eye. We never saw her again." The man's eyes were dark and he shut the door to make it seem like he was closed. "The bastard… I really do hope Prince Seliph has moved like the rumors say. I hope his group guts him."

Not knowing how to react to that, considering that Diarmuid and I were… you know… part of that little group, we ducked down underneath a window, so that we could peek out, but still remain hidden. It was telling that the only ones who remained outside were the very young and the very old, and mostly males at that. And, before long, we saw this 'General Richard' walking past, chest puffed out and an arrogant smirk on his face. Enough to be annoying anyway, but I froze when I saw the brown hair, the brown eyes, and, most importantly, the scars on his cheek and neck, like someone had clawed him. I… I knew someone by this description. I could never forget that description. Creidne, bruised and bloody, sobbing out that description as she was dosed with miscarriage teas and things to help her get some sleep while Aideen tended to her bruises and scrapes… I could never forget. I could never forget…!

"The hell are you doing?" Diarmuid hissed, snagging my arm as I tried to leap out and cut the bastard down. I tried to rip out of his grip, but instead, he tugged me into his arms to make sure he had me. And, damn that Hezul strength, I couldn't escape! "We're here to get information."

"But that… that bastard…!" I growled. I almost didn't bother keeping my voice down. In fact, I might not have, but Diarmuid's shoulder muffled me enough anyway. "That general… he's the one who… who…!" I struggled to escape again. "Let me go! I'm going to rip him apart!"

"Now is not the time to emulate Larcei." Diarmuid sighed. He didn't get it. He didn't understand. I could punch him for it. "I'm reminded why you two had such an explosive argu-"

"Creidne!" I spat out the word and he paused. "Creidne! He… that man…!"

"...Not now." He pulled me closer, effectively pinning me. "You go out, you might get him. Actually, you probably will. But that'll start the fight sooner. That'll drag all these people into it."

"But…!" Distantly, I knew he was right. But all I could think of was Creidne and how she had… and of how…! "He…!"

"Later. Not now. We'll slaughter him later." He continued holding me. I continued to struggle. But he was stronger than me, the strongest of us, and so, we stayed exactly where we were until that general was long, long gone.

Everything was just a sea of white noise afterwards, as Diarmuid said something to the shopkeeper, probably some sort of thanks, and then dragged me out of the store, and out of the market entirely. Dragged me over to a quiet spot near the walls, an alcove where few would go, where few would linger. An isolated place. A safe place.

"I'm sorry," Diarmuid murmured after a while. He winced and I could see he was on the edge of tears. "But, right then, it couldn't-"

"Diarmuid, shut up for a few more minutes," I ordered, the words snappier than I would've liked. Logically… logically, I knew he was right. Logically, I knew that this would not be the last time I would have to swallow my feelings to do what was best for the army. Logically, I knew that, as a leader, there would be times… I knew all of that. But… but I… "I'm still in a mood to punch you, and I'd really rather not." Because I knew it had hurt him too. Even if he hadn't been there to see the worst, all males had been kept away because Creidne kept screaming, Creidne was still his friend. He'd still worried terribly over her, had cried at her suicide attempt. I knew… "So please, shut up a little longer."

"Okay." And he did, because that's what I needed. Later, when I was calm, I'd poke and prod him about what he'd need. Once I was calm, we would switch roles. But it was hard. It was so, so hard to calm down. Almost as hard as choking back my tears.

I didn't cry, when Creidne was brought back. I had wanted to. I had wanted to scream, to rage. I had wanted to demand why she had to suffer, why anyone had to suffer like that. I had wanted to bawl because she was so badly hurt, so badly traumatized, and it was all because she had kept Lana and Larcei safe. Another person who suffered to protect us, but worse. It was worse, because it was Creidne and she hadn't protected them for the 'hope' we represented but because she loved us so, so dearly… Gods, I had wanted to wail. But I hadn't. I hadn't. I hadn't because everyone else was. I hadn't because it felt like someone needed to smile for her, and no one else was, so I decided it should be me. I had sat by her as Aideen mixed up all the medicines for her and smiled warmly at her whenever she glanced my way. Telling her that it would be okay now. Telling her that she was safe now. Holding her hand, when she let me, and smiling at her until she smiled back, finally believing that we were all real. That we were no hallucination. That Shanan had really rescued her. That she really was safe and away from that general

But I remembered. I remembered all that terror, all that pain. I'd locked it up, because it didn't feel right to have. I'd locked it up, because Creidne had needed someone, anyone, to smile. But it still hurt. And to just sit by… to just sit by…! Even if I didn't have a right to be hurt, it still did, and I had never hated myself more for it.


After I finally calmed down, and watched as he punched a couple of trees so that he could calm down, we returned to the marked and I bought Diarmuid sweets. He only accepted when I said we'd share, but I insisted on buying them. Sweets for apologies, sweets for gratitude, and sweets because Diarmuid had the biggest sweet tooth and the fastest way to help him feel better was giving him candy. Or bribe him into not saying a word about anything, like how I'd nearly jeopardized everything for my own selfish reasons, like a child. Then, while he went to the tavern for that drink-date with the guard, I returned to the candle-shopkeeper to actually buy a few things as quiet thanks for looking out for us. His sympathetic smile told me Diarmuid must have mentioned a friend of ours had been one of General Richard's victims, and it didn't escape me that he'd slipped a little extra of the perfumes into my bag of purchases. I made sure to leave a bit of extra coin in a place where he could easily find it. Partly because I knew he deserved it, and partly because that little bit of 'normality' helped ground me further. A little thing I did in Tirnanog, back before… it helped me calm down further. I had to be as calm as possible. It was much harder to fake a smile when you really wanted to gut someone.

After leaving the shop, I promptly got lost and had to ask around to find the tavern. And by ask, I meant, 'hey, where is the tavern where charming blonde boy is having a date?' because, amusingly, people were able to tell me where to go by that description. Diarmuid, being friendly and polite, was certainly popular based on the crowd. Some might call it charm, but I thought it was just another indication of how hard their lives had been, to be so enthralled by kindness. Regardless, I joined him, the guard, and all their new and old friends for a surprisingly good and friendly meal. Afterwards, everyone went about their lives and Diarmuid and I decided to go to that blacksmith the guards recommended, mostly just to see what we overheard there. After a bit of asking around, we found it, and it was packed. Clearly, this Jake person was very good at what he did. Sadly, though, the crowd didn't talk about anything important, just typical town gossip. Fascinating, particularly in how much people knew about other people's sex lives, but rather useless for a fight.

"Well, you two are new faces!" the blacksmith, Jake, declared with a laugh when we finally managed to make it to the front counter where he did business. He had a kind and warm smile, the smile of someone who genuinely enjoyed what he was doing, and his laugh was boisterous. "What can I help you with?"

"If you've the time to spare, I wouldn't mind you looking at my sword," Diarmuid explained, passing over his steel sword. I still hadn't heard how he had one; he'd left on patrol with an iron sword. I assumed he stole it from the enemy. It's not like they'd need it, and it also wasn't like the soldiers didn't claim weapons from dead resistance fighters. As well as anything else potentially valuable. "I've been doing what I can, of course, but…"

"Always good to have an expert eye, yes?" Jake laughed again and, after untying the rope binding it, unsheathed the sword to study it. "Oh, very nice… this is a good piece. A couple of small things, maybe, but otherwise, it looks quite good."

"I'm glad to hear that!" Diarmuid smiled warmly. "So, what small things?"

"Just a bit of sharpening, and if you don't want the hilt checked now, I'd recommend it in a few more battles." He sheathed the sword again and tied it back up. "Your choice, really. Won't cost you too much. More if you want to reinforce the hilt."

"Reinforce?"

"Looks like you throw a lot of strength into your hits, honestly a bit more than this sword is made to handle. Quite the accomplishment, really." He shrugged, but Diarmuid and I tried to not squirm. Hello big issue of Hezul blood; Diarmuid had actually broken a few practice swords before he got a handle on his strength. "Regardless, reinforcing will lessen the chances of, say, your sword snapping in half because you hit something really damn hard."

"Oh, huh, I never noticed that." Diarmuid became thoughtful. "Hmm… how much?"

"I'll pay, if you want to do that," I offered. While there was a 'group fund' for the army, each of us also had our own individual things. For our group, Aideen gave us a hefty allowance. She had apparently been collecting it over the years, selling more of her jewelry, to make sure we had personal funds. "I mean; you bought lunch."

"And you bought sweets before that," Diarmuid countered. He glanced at me, nodding at my own blade. "Are you doing to get your own weapon checked?"

"Well…" Truthfully, I did want to. This Jake clearly knew what he was doing. But silver blades weren't exactly common, so... "Hmm…"

"Now that's interesting," Jake murmured, voice becoming surprisingly quiet as he leaned a little forward. His eyes were on the hilt of my sword, studying it closely. "Might be wrong, because of the rope binding it to it's sheath, but that design of hilt is normally used for silver weapons. The color, a silver blade." I… well, uh… people could tell different weapons apart by their hilts? "Not a weapon most are able to afford." He leaned forward a bit more, studying both of us. "Are you two, perhaps, with King Shanan?"

"We…" I began. I glanced at Diarmuid and after a moment, Diarmuid nodded. "We're with Seliph, actually."

"Ah, then given the strength and clear wealth, you must be two of the Scions." Jake smiled softly, nodding. "All right. Let's look at your blade, my lady…?"

"Riona. I'm the daughter of Alicia and Chulainn."

"Lady Riona of Sophara." He held out his hand, and I passed him the silver blade, trying desperately to not blush. 'Of Sophara'... I had never claimed that title as my own, but I couldn't deny how happy it made me feel. "And you, sir?"

"Diarmuid, the son of Lachesis of Noldion and Finn, a knight of Leonster," Diarmuid explained, laughing. I elbowed him in the side, knowing he was mostly laughing at me. "Nephew of Eldigan the Lionheart."

"And oh the bards do sing of the tragic tale of the Lionheart, killed while desperately trying to protect his lands and friends," Jake noted, a touch melodramatically. But there was clear respect in his eyes, which was expected. Just as Sigurd had been spun into a tragic hero, Eldigan and Quan also had their tales embellished, often to the point of absurdity. Some stories state Eldigan died fighting Sigurd, protesting against 'Grannvale's cruelty' even over his dear friendship. In reality, Eldigan had been executed by his own king, trying to stop the war. "Well, while I fix your blades, why don't you hop next door, my lord and lady? My wife, Anna, runs the store there, and if you want information, she's your best source."

"Ah, thank you!" Diarmuid grinned. "But, let's work on the price first. We insist on paying, and full price at that."

"Now, I can't do that."

"Sure, you can! I insist!"

There was a cheerful bit haggling, while I kept track of the difference to pay back later, and then we headed next door to the local armory, run by the Merchant Anna. Rather smart to group them together, truthfully, and it was easy to see the incredible quality of the items as soon as we walked in. Diarmuid's eyes were drawn to a beautiful, and expensive, silver sword hanging on the wall, and I had to admit that I studied the 'enchanted blades', swords imbued with magic through the runes carefully carved onto the blades, very closely. While I had no training in magic beyond the absolute basics, by choice, I was very strong magically, thanks to the Fjalar blood. Honestly, I was probably more magically powerful than physically, thanks to that. But they were a tad expensive, even with our funds, especially when we were supposed to be gathering information. Honestly, we'd probably been in town far too long, but… well…

"Why, hello there~!" A woman with red-hair tied in a ponytail walked up then, regarding us with a sly smile and her finger on her cheek for some reason. "Welcome to my shop!" she chirped, giggling. Like her husband, the cheer in the laugh and the warmth of her smile showed how much she loved her job. "Anything catch your eye in particular? Adorables such as yourselves do get a discount."

"Tempting as the discount is, truth be told, we're here to talk to you," Diarmuid explained, smiling charmingly. I noticed a few of the store helpers glancing at us, and winked at them. To my amusement, they giggled, blushed, and quickly returned to their work. "You're Miss Anna, yes? Your husband said that if we want information, you're the one to talk to."

"Depends on the information." Anna crossed her arms, still smiling, but her eyes studying and serious. The way she shifted hinted that if things came to a fight, she could defend herself. Easily. Then again, we were literally in a room filled with weapons. "What are you looking for?"

"We're…" Diarmuid glanced around before whispering. "We're with Seliph."

"Oh?" Her smile took a distinctly mischievous light, but the serious remained. "In that case, come to the back with me."

"Thank you." Diarmuid continued to smile. "Later, we'll come back for that discount."

"Ah, someone knows the way to a merchant's heart!" Anna laughed. "This way, this way. Girls, you're in charge!"

'The back' was the break area, from the looks of things, complete with fine tables and chairs and fancy teapots. Being a merchant was clearly profitable, which was probably more than a little obvious. But still, this place was rich, and I was raised by nobles. Former nobles in exile who had to hide, yes, but still. It was like those fancy-smancy tea parties Lana would sigh about when we were little and didn't quite understand that things were bad and why we were on the run. It was almost uncomfortable, really, because it felt like the life we 'would' have had, if our parents hadn't died. And I wasn't sure how much I liked that.

"This blend is good, though it is foreign," Anna rambled, serving tea for Diarmuid and me. Diarmuid and I just smiled. I, personally, half-wished I had a mug of warm milk with honey instead. "Regardless, what sort of information are you looking for?"

"Really entrances and exits that aren't as guarded," I explained. Diarmuid and I exchanged an exasperated look. "We… ah… just got lucky at the main entrance."

"Pretty face, pretty smile, and sometimes, people forget you've a pretty mind too." She winked, amused, and then sat down at the table with us. "But there's plenty. Ganeishire was an old town converted into a refugee camp, during the Holy War. So, there's lots of ways in and out as a means of escaping and no matter how nice the guards are, we do keep our secrets."

"What can you tell us about them? We noticed some younger and inexperienced ones…?"

"They're not the norm. Most of the ones here are older veterans, sent to the middle of nowhere because they can't stand Danann." She sipped her tea and smiled warmly. "So, you might get lucky in that fashion."

"They can't stand Danann?" I held off on my tea, though Diarmuid did start drinking his. "Really?"

"However you feel about Langbalt, he worked hard and he was very fair to the people in his care. And he was at least clever. Danann got all the worst aspects and none of the good ones. So, a lot of the older soldiers refuse to follow him."

"And they don't get killed for it?"

"If Danann tried, they'd revolt. He's too lazy to deal with that. Too lazy to bother killing them anyway. So, he just sends them away so that he doesn't have to hear to their grumbling. Because listening takes more effort than he's willing to exert." She rolled her eyes, and I did have to laugh at that. "Regardless, you can see if they'll be willing to surrender based on that. They take their oaths seriously, though, so it might not work."

"Still, it's a potential tactic." And one that could minimize battles, if we could word things well. "An interesting one, at that."

"Is there also a way to quickly, and quietly, warn people of the battle coming?" Diarmuid asked. Noticing he'd drunk the tea surprisingly quickly, I decided to try it and was treated to some sort of light herbal mix. Something about it reminded me of my vague memory of Mom's smell, the faint scent of fresh herbs meant to heal, calm, and soothe. A scent Mom never noticed because she was so used to it, but had meant comfort and laughter to me, too little to know or remember anything. A scent that, no matter how many medicines Oifeye and Aideen made, no one seemed to replicate. Aideen always smelled of quiet perfume, gifts from patients, and Oifeye always smelled of horses and steel. "We don't want them to be caught, though we recognize the risk in letting our enemy know."

"That's so sweet~" Anna giggled. She looked between us and nodded. "Of course. We've ways. Some of it is to hide from certain generals…" Her voice became a growl at the end, and I stiffened, remembering how quickly the town had hidden when General Richard walked through. "Others are the Child Hunts."

"Are they so widespread?"

"Thankfully, not in Isaach. Danann lets people do whatever, and Harold here refuses to let the priests do any of the Child Hunts, much like Iuchar and Iucharba. Surprising, considering those two are Danann's sons, but someone clearly made sure they learned morals." She shrugged. "But the priests do slip through anyway, like rats."

"I see." Diarmuid glanced at me, and I subtly shook my head. I really didn't want to talk about that. Even if I was slowly getting used to battles, or at least too tired to care, that was still… "So, everyone will be able to hide quickly?"

"Yep." Her eyes went hard suddenly. "That all said, we… or at least I… want a promise."

"What's the promise?"

"General Richard needs to die."

"Oh, we can do that." Diarmuid continued to smile, but I saw the edge in it. "He… ah… hurt one of our dearest friends."

"Oh, good, I don't have to explain further." She smiled back, and it was distinctly vicious. "We'd like to see the body as well. Just to be certain, you know? Might even help his living victims to see him dead. I don't know. But just a confirmation. Doesn't have to be long. Just a confirmation that he really is dead."

"We'll talk it over with Seliph. I'm sure we can arrange something." Diarmuid gestured to his empty cup. "What blend is this, by the way? It's delicious."

"Oh! I'm glad you like it! It's from Agustria, you see. Popular in Noldion."

"It is?" Diarmuid's eyes lit up, and I couldn't blame him. He was always eager to learn about Aunt Lachesis's home. "Really?"

"Yes, so it's got a couple of flowers unique to it…"

Anna rattled off about the tea for a while, and then, once the pot was empty, actually led us to one of the hidden side entrances. We thanked her profusely and escaped, keeping close to the outer walls until we were sure the guards were looking away before darting down the road to return to camp. That was about the point we really realized how late it was; the sun was setting. That was way longer than expected. Way longer.

"Welcome back, you two!" But despite how long it had been, Seliph greeted us with a warm smile. He was the second to greet us, though. Hestia had been first. "Is Hestia done licking your faces off?" he teased. "She's been ever-so anxious."

"For now," I laughed, kissing her nose before nudging her off my arm and back to all fours. While she hadn't knocked Diarmuid and I to the ground, she had used our arms as balancing points to get to our faces. "And yes, we're back. Sorry we were gone for so long."

"You're fine." Still, his welcoming hug clung a bit, hinting to how much he had been worried. "You find out anything?"

"We did." I waited to continue as the others ran up, giving Diarmuid and I their own hugs. "Got some entrances, some warnings…"

"Excellent!" Seliph smiled proudly, and I knew no small part of it was him being proud that this was working, so far at least. "We'll send in scouts tomorrow."

"Yeah…" I trailed off, and looked at Diarmuid. He nodded, knowing what I was thinking about. "There is one bit of information that we should share before the group because it'll shape the strategy. I'm sure of it."

"Oh?" Seliph looked curious; Ulster caught my tone and frowned. Larcei, Lana, and Lester were stoic. "What is it?"

"None of us are allowed to go anywhere alone." I glanced at Larcei, Lana, and Lester in particular before focusing on Seliph again. "Got the name of that general who hurt Creidne. Richard." I paused, more to calm my heart than for any sort of drama. The others reeled from the news, guessing what the next bit would be. "And he's here."

"Well, I hope the locals won't mind us killing him." Seliph looked at me worriedly, and I ducked my head automatically. "Is that the only thing?" At my nod, he smiled and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "In that case, let's meet up with Oifeye and then hear the full report. We'll come up with a plan."

As the others walked away, I saw Ulster sling his arm around Lester's shoulders, while Diarmuid held Lana's hand and Hestia pressed herself into Larcei's side and licked her hand reassuringly. I tried to follow, but Seliph caught me in a hug before I could take more than a step. Sighing, I rested my head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of my head, just letting me rest. Knowing that I would've almost lost it, and how much it hurt.

"We're definitely killing him," Seliph murmured after a moment. When I glanced up, I saw he was looking over my head at Ganeishire. "I'd rather we not fight too many battles. I'd rather our enemies surrender. I'm scared of fighting, and I know I am nowhere near as strong as I ought to be. But that man will die. I will not accept a surrender from him."

"Or if we do, it's just to send him to an executioner's block," I whispered, reaching up to hug him back. That might be fun. Even if there was a small part of me who disliked that I found any sort of killing 'fun'. "The people of Ganeishire want to see his corpse."

"We'll let them. And then we'll bury it."

"Do we have to?" I sighed when I said the words, though. I knew we did. No matter how much you hated a person, you should still give some respect to the corpse. "If it can be arranged…"

"You and Larcei cannot pair up, but if we can arrange it, I'll do my best to have you two fight him." Seliph pulled away to look at me, smiling. "I mean; you two are some of our best fighters. It only makes sense."

"Thanks." I smiled back, relieved. Relieved that he understood just why it was important for me to at least see it. Why it was important for us. I knew that, if Lana could fight, he would've made sure she could see it too. "Remind me to buy you something in the market. It's really nice there."

"I'll think of something, then." He took my hand and led me back to the camp. "But for now, let's hear that full report. And I desperately want to hear how you two got in. We were watching through the spyglass and…"

"I still can't believe that worked and I swear to everything that if you make that a 'go to' thing…!" I scowled when he laughed. "Seliph!"

I knew that he brought it up then not just because of interest, but because he knew I'd get annoyed and I wouldn't focus on that general. From there, it became easy to relax again, to be the one with the confident smile again. Seliph always did know how to make me feel better. Always had, really.


Two days later, we set everything into motion, after talking extensively with everyone about the plan. Most would attack head on, after some scouts snuck in to take command of the main gates and warn the civilians that it was time. However, Ulster, Larcei, Diarmuid, and me wouldn't be with that main group. Instead, we would use a different entrance and sneak into the castle itself, ahead of everyone else. Officially, it was to assassinate the enemy generals, providing they refused surrender. Unofficially, it was Seliph keeping his promise to me as well as… he said something caught his attention and, so he wanted Ulster and Larcei to head in ahead of everyone to see if he was right. But he didn't want them alone, just in case, so Diarmuid and I were asked to tag along. Hestia had wanted to come with us too, but since we were supposed to be sneaky… well, it didn't escape any of us that Seliph had grouped the four best climbers together. So, Hestia was convinced to stay near Seliph and Lana to protect them instead. Barely.

"Well, here we are, with no conveniently open windows in sight," Ulster noted blithely. Surprisingly so, considering it was him. Then again… "So, how many dates did you and Riona accidentally get while getting us directions, Diarmuid?"

"I know we're in a serious situation, but don't think I won't push you into the mud," Diarmuid instantly retorted. Larcei snickered and I sighed. "And they weren't dates! Stop exaggerating!"

"Fine, fine. Offers for tours around the city."

"It wasn't even that!" Diarmuid scowled, and I just facepalmed. I would admit that the locals had been a little on the blushing side, but… "In case you didn't notice, they were looking at you with starry-eyes too."

"Wait, really?" Ulster frowned. Now I shared an exasperated look with Larcei. Ulster could be horribly oblivious. "Why?"

"Yes, whyever would they be starry-eyed at the heroes who are going to liberate Ganeishire and, eventually, the world," I retorted, making my voice as melodramatic and dry as possible. "That surely doesn't make any sense at all."

"But that's neither here nor there!" Larcei added, bouncing a bit. Her eyes were serious, and she was a touch green because more killing, but she was excited to get started. "Let's get down to business!"

"To defeat the empire!" I still kept my tone melodramatic, and got some laughs. "Though I think it's 'up to business', truthfully. We're climbing, right?"

"To the roof, yeah. If there's no windows open." Larcei shrugged. "Though, I can hear that little voice in the back of my head that sounds like Aideen going 'please don't'."

"Not to mention Oifeye." All of us shuddered and silently agreed that Oifeye would never learn that we did this. Ever. "Here. I'll head up first. I think either Larcei or I are the lightest, and we both know you two are too smart to actually pick-"

"You're definitely lightest," Ulster instantly deadpanned. Both Diarmuid and I burst into laughter and Larcei scowled. "You've seen how-"

"Thank everything we're alone because if anyone saw us, they'd seriously question putting their hopes in us," Diarmuid noted dryly. All of us were quite sarcastic at the moment. Probably because we were all incredibly nervous. This was the first siege, the first major battle. And, on a personal level... "I know we're bantering to hide nerves, but still, family of my heart, we are important leaders on an important mission that involves lots of blood and guts, not a group of cats with particularly small attention spans to be herded."

"I suppose we are going overboard." Ulster smiled sheepishly. After all, he started the whole round. "Riona, that looks like a good place to start climbing up."

Taking the hint, I headed up, finding a path surprisingly easy. I'd expected more difficulty, given this was a very proper castle. But the edges of the stone were worn and dented, as if no one had properly maintained the castle for a while. Not to mention the decorations on the side. I did have a couple of scares where something I swore was secure wasn't, and I definitely bruised my knees and shoulders catching myself when I slipped. But I made it up before long, and even had time to stretch a bit while Larcei climbed up. Soon after she joined me on the roof, though, we heard the 'slam' of a door and turned to see a couple of dumbstruck archers climbing out from a hatch. Who were no doubt wondering how we ended up on the roof, just as we were startled about there being people here at all. Larcei and I recovered first. Barely. As in 'no time to draw weapon, so throwing now!' barely. Larcei really threw the one she grabbed, sending them sailing through the air, screaming bloody murder. Mine was more of a 'trip and drop' sort of thing, though that had a very unintended consequence. I nearly dropped them right on Diarmuid.

"You okay?" I yelped, leaning over the edge in a panic. In order to avoid the sudden falling screamer, Diarmuid had to actually let go of one of his handholds, leaving him dangling by his fingertips on one hand. And he was already halfway up, so it was quite the distance to the ground. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were taking our path up!"

"Need slightly different handholds for the skill difference!" Diarmuid reminded. I winced, kicking myself for forgetting that. "I'm fine, though!"

"You sure? I can climb down to help!" Especially since Ulster was almost up to backup Larcei, should the need come.

"Just fine!" Diarmuid swung his legs for a bit of momentum and pulled-jumped to another handhold, catching it with both hands. "Don't throw anymore here, though."

"Got it!" I did watch a little longer, worried, but Diarmuid did seem to have it under control, so instead, I went to the still open hatch and peered down. Just in time to see more people on the way, no doubt wondering why there were screams.

They froze when they saw me looking down at them and I smiled automatically at their shock. Then, noticing they were still stunned and that the ladder was wooden, I reached down as set the ladder on fire. It took a bit more concentration than I'd like, more than starting a campfire, but it went up before any of them unfroze enough to actually climb up to me. Then I closed the hatch and sat on it to keep them from continuing up. Larcei gave me a weird look at first, until she heard the thudding of people trying to open it, and the screams of people dealing with fire. Then she sat down too, leaning against my back. Both of us taking a very brief break while we waited for the boys.

"Well, at least we have a way in?" Ulster sighed as he joined us on the roof. He glanced over the side worriedly, back at Diarmuid. "Okay, he's climbing up well…" He turned to Larcei and me, and gave us the weirdest look ever. "Why… why are you two sitting?"

"We're on the hatch," I explained. The thumping had finally stopped, so now, Larcei and I were really just waiting on Diarmuid. "I set the ladder on fire."

"Ah." And Ulster needed no other explanation. "Diarmuid, you good?"

"Just fine!" Diarmuid replied, voice drifting up. Before long, he actually joined us, rotating his wrist a bit. "Sorry, nearly getting hit by a screaming person slowed me down."

"I'm really sorry about that…" I mumbled. I fished through my pouch, one of the medicinal pouches that Lana insisted we carry, and found a bit of the pain reliever balm. "Over here. You can't tell me your wrist isn't hurting."

"Just a little." His slight smile was pained, hinting it was more than a little. But it was just like him to try and play it off because I felt so guilty. "Won't say 'no' to the balm." And that more than 'hinted'. Diarmuid was stubborn about medicine. Probably because he used to be so frail and he frankly got tired of always being the ill one. "Thanks."

"No problem." I started rubbing it in, careful to not hurt him. Thankfully, it was his offhand, but still… "Sorry."

"It's fine. No one died." Diarmuid paused when I gave him a skeptical look. "Okay, the person you threw died. Not me."

"Speaking of people dying…" Ulster began. He was by the now-open hatch, looking down with Larcei. "Riona, why is it that you burned the ladder and not just their clothes? We could've used the ladder."

"W-well, it would've gone up anyway if I did that!" I protested, face burning with an embarrassed blush. In retrospect, I really should've. Oops. "I mean… it was wooden!"

"We might've had more than ash." Ulster shrugged though, not really bothered. "Whatever. Larcei and I will jump down first. Because Neir blood. Dozel isn't know for its mages."

"Thank everything because only Seliph has any sort of resistance to magic." Diarmuid and I were the next 'best' at it and that… that wasn't really saying anything. "Head on down, then. Diarmuid and I will catch up."

It was a surprisingly long drop down, one that made my ankles and knees ache on the landing. A couple of hops and rotations loosened them up again, though, and so, the four of us raced through the halls. We passed by a few screaming servants, no doubt wondering where the hell four crazy armed people came from, and we actually did stop and nudge a few into nearby rooms as a silent 'things are going to be chaotic, please hide and be safe' thing. Though, given the screams, I was more or less certain all they inferred was 'AH, CRAZY PEOPLE!'. Couldn't blame them for that one. Based on the noise, the main force of our resistance force had crashed through the front. No one expected us already in the castle, racing through to try and find the generals.

That wasn't to say the place was completely devoid of soldiers, of course. Just that we didn't come across any for a long while, not until we hit the more inner portions of the castle. Even then, there was something odd about it. None of them seemed particularly enthused about the fighting, focused far more on defending than actually attacking. It felt off and I knew I held back a bit, more looking for a way to slip through than actually kill any of them.

Weirdness really started when one, a soldier with noticeably better armor, struck Ulster with his axe. Ulster blocked it with his bare arm and kicked the soldier back. However, instead of pressing forward like a fighter normally would, the soldier continued walking back, studying Ulster closely. They then gestured sharply and all the other soldiers stopped fighting, some even jumping back to return to formation. The four of us stood there awkwardly, not quite sure what was going on. Especially when that first soldier, probably some lieutenant or something, just continued to study Ulster. It wasn't as if we could return the favor. All I could see was 'noticeably older than the ones who had been guarding the gate a couple days ago' and 'brown eyes'. Their helmet completely covered their hair.

But, after a long moment of the awkward staring contest, the soldier, lieutenant, whatever… they smiled sadly. "Neir blood, and Lord Lex's face…" they murmured. "I'd heard Lord Lex had married the Isaachian Princess, Ayra, and fathered two children." Well, technically, they hadn't married, much like my own parents, but… "You are…?"

"I'm the elder one, yes," Ulster replied calmly. He held himself proudly, almost defiantly, daring the person to say a single mocking word. "My name is Ulster."

"Lord Ulster, huh?" They sighed heavily, and we had just enough time to be shocked by the title before being stunned because they dropped their weapon and kneeled. That's when I remembered what Anna had said about the 'older' soldiers here, and figured out what Seliph had meant by 'gamble'. And had to resist facepalming for not piecing it together sooner. "In that case, I surrender." More weapons hit the ground with dull clangs and I could only stare as I watched every single soldier just… give up. Even with their leader surrendering, this was… this was a little… "We surrender." We were so paying for this eventually. We really were.

"I… er…" Ulster looked to Larcei, who threw up her hands in a 'I have no damn clue' fashion. "While I am thankful, I also wonder…"

"Our oaths are to Dozel house. However, we do get the freedom to choose what lord to serve, if there are multiple lords. Crusader Neir was insistent on that, just in case there was an inadequate successor." They continued to smile. Sadly. "Considering Danann, I think I'd rather take my chances on Lord Lex's children."

"You think that highly of my father?"

"Lord Lex was kind. He was reckless and a hothead, with a distinct love of fighting, but he was always kind. And he was loyal." That smile warmed, but it remained sad. I didn't like what that sadness hinted. "While Danann got most of Lord Langbalt's worst traits, falsely believing such behaviors would earn his father's favor, Lord Lex inherited most of his best and had those traits encouraged by his mother. Those traits led to Lord Lex and Lord Langbalt to fight, and led to him fighting for Lord Sigurd. But even then, Lord Langbalt was always proud of him. He walked his own path, after all." They chuckled. Sadly. Yeah, I wasn't liking that. "Lord Lex was always the first to protect the people, the first to protect loved ones. His first fight with Lord Langbalt started because he worried Lord Langbalt's envy of the other houses, of the acknowledgement they got while Dozel was ignored… Lord Lex worried it would hurt their people. Their soldiers. Us."

"That sounds like… the stories I've heard about him…" Ulster said the words quietly, with a faint smile. I glanced around, half-expecting a trap. But there was none. Diarmuid was looking too, and nodded at me to confirm that. Larcei was a little too surprised by everything still. Couldn't blame her. "I only have one memory of him."

"Do you?"

"Yes." Ulster closed his eyes to better remember. "Someone was attacking Mother. Someone large and scary, with a giant axe. I was scared, and I tried to go to her, because Mother made everything safe. It made the large man almost attack me, but he froze for some reason. He froze and stared before reaching out… I was so scared, crying even. But then Father was there in front of me, protecting me. Angry, righteous, and safe. I knew I was safe, because he was right there." He opened his eyes again, and I caught the trace of tears. But Ulster ignored them. "We're after the generals."

"General Harold entered the field. General Richard is going to reinforce at the signal, bringing us with him." They pointed down the hall. "Just head straight down the hall. He's in the giant room, with large double doors. We'll get the rest of ours to surrender, with your permission."

"Of course." Ulster smiled warmly, as did Larcei. "Thank you!"

The two ran down the halls, for some reason, being totally trusting. Which, while Larcei was excitable and reckless, was a bit odd for Ulster. But, then again, bring up our parents and we tend to not be as pragmatic. Had a feeling this was also part of the 'just in case' thing Seliph had mentioned, so I shrugged, smiled at the soldiers, and ran after Larcei and Ulster. Because while they couldn't be distant enough, Diarmuid and I still could. Thankfully.

However, as soon as we were out of sight of the soldiers, Diarmuid caught up to me and rested a hand on my shoulder, making me stop. "I'm not sure they noticed… well, I know Larcei didn't," Diarmuid began softly. Very softly. "Not sure if Ulster did. But the way they talked about Lex…"

"Everything was sad," I whispered. It still bothered me. "Like how Oifeye talks of Sigurd." That special tone you used when you talked about someone you respected, after they had died. "I wonder how."

"I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later." And when we did, Larcei was going to crack for sure. Ulster might too. "We're falling behind."

"Let's go."


The further we ran down the halls, the less guards we encountered. The few we did simply let us by, making me think the guards here had been considering surrender anyway. It was Ulster and Larcei that made them decide, because of their remembrance of Uncle Lex, but the thought had been in their heads before we ever showed up. Made me feel slightly better about all of this. Slightly. It was still rather startling. I hadn't expected any surrenders here, no matter what Seliph had hoped. Plus, the way they had talked implied they were going to join us? Who recruited people from the enemy side? What sort of craziness was…? Then again, Aunt Ayra had nearly killed Uncle Lex when they first met, and Jamke had been an enemy to start. But the Jamke thing had been a series of Ulir luck. Which the four of us didn't have. And I doubted Lester and Lana's luck would spill over to us. So, it was weird. It was very weird.

"Oh, hey, outside…" Diarmuid whispered, slowing to a stop. Larcei, Ulster, and I also stopped, realizing that we were running right past a balcony. "Should we…?"

"I'm a bit worried about that signal," Ulster murmured. He hesitated before nodding. All of us sheathed our swords again in unison. "That said, I think it would do us all some good."

"Yeah, I think so-ACK!" Diarmuid had to jump back because Larcei nearly trampled him in her haste to see outside. "Yes, Larcei, I do so love having my feet bruised and broken. I was just thinking of asking you for a dance to really get them bruised."

"She is not paying the slightest bit of attention." Ulster sighed and joined Larcei outside, resting against the balcony. "Oh, wow…"

Diarmuid and I joined them, and I almost asked what so held their attention. But all words died as I looked out as well. From up high, it was easy to see where Ganeishire had once thrived. From here, you could see the badly patched roofs and the hastily fixed walls. From here, you could see the crumbling buildings of abandoned districts and the overgrown gardens left behind by previous inhabitants. From here, you could see the massive size of the graveyard and where it had been hastily expanded to account for all the dead. You could even see which of the deceased still had living relatives, because of the number of flowers set on each.

Also from here, you could see the battle and it was… it was unlike anything I had ever seen. Yes, I'd been part of battles. Yes, I'd run away from battles. But from up here, you could see the order in the chaos on the field. Oifeye's lessons in tactics, brief as they were, mentioned 'formations', something I thought fell apart the instance a battle started. But from up here, I could actually still see them. Yes, you could see the individuals fighting on their own and the bits of a free-for-all, but overall, everyone on both sides was set up to maximize their effectiveness.

Automatically, I hunted for my family, wondering who was where. Lana was easy to find; she was set up behind three 'walls' of fighters, healing and encouraging those nearby. Oifeye and Lester rode along the edges of the battle, taking advantage of their mobility to sneak behind the enemy's formations and disrupt them. Oifeye also shouted orders, using his tactical prowess to act as an 'on the field' tactician. Lester focused much more on hit and run tactics, and covering fire for the injured. His father's brave bow certainly did increase his damage output.

Seliph was, surprisingly, harder to find and, honestly, I found him more because a large wolf was rather noticeable and Hestia kept close to Seliph in the ordered-mess. He was more in the center of things, shouting encouragement and orders while killing enemies that came close. Though I knew he had to be terrified, he didn't let the people see anything but the confidant leader. Though I knew he'd be sick later, he fought without reservation. It was… it was strangely… I wasn't sure what I felt, watching. He felt so far away, and not just because I was way up on a castle balcony and he was fighting below. It felt like he was fading into the distance, and I… I didn't like that. At the same time, I wasn't sure why I felt that way. We all knew that when we marched, he'd be the leader. Nothing about this situation was surprising. And we were going to be with him for all of this. So, it was… it was very strange.

Just as strange was the relief and warmth I felt when Seliph suddenly looked up, right at me. He stared for a half-second, forever in a battle, before smiling brightly. Automatically, I smiled back, feeling the urge to laugh suddenly. But I quieted the urge, and that was a good thing, as Seliph quickly pointed towards a man in… in literally shining armor, shouting orders to the soldiers. I caught what he wanted instantly and leaned out over the railing to better sight them. Someone, probably Diarmuid, held the back of my dress to make sure I didn't go tumbling off, so I focused solely on that distant figure and concentrated. The distance made it difficult, but I managed to set some of his clothes on fire before too long. Just a tiny bit, sadly, but it had the intended effect of scaring the living hell out of those nearby and making their formation crumple. I looked down again at Seliph, and he gave me another warm smile before returning to the battle, petting Hestia while he took a short break from the fighting.

"Looks like they're handling themselves well," I murmured, hopping back on my feet. To my confusion, Larcei and Ulster were watching me with sly smiles. A quick look to my other side showed Diarmuid was amused. "...I'm missing something. I'm really missing something."

"What makes you think that?" Larcei asked innocently, widening her eyes to add to the effect. Now I definitely knew I was missing something. "We're just glad everything is well."

"Yeah, last time you guys acted like this, you were trying to lead me into a prank." I only avoided it because Shanan had triggered the little 'trap' instead, when he returned home unexpectedly early. "So, you'll have to forgive my suspicions."

"Like we can set up a prank now!" She rolled her eyes. Ulster actually facepalmed. I was definitely missing something and I didn't like it one bit! "Whatever. We've a dastard to eviscerate."

"...Dastard?" I had a feeling she used that word just to distract me and, damn it, it worked. "You want to call him a craven while you're at it?"

"Maybe a craven cur."

"Hey, don't insult dogs like that!" I scowled and she laughed. "Ugh, whatever. Don't tell me the secret. I don't care." Yeah, I did. Because, while I knew we all had our secrets, this one clearly involved me. But I was good at pretending. "Jerks." Sometimes.

"H-hey!" Larcei tried to grab me as I stormed off, but I danced out of her reach before continuing down the hall. "Riona! Wait up!"

I ignored any and all attempts the three made it apologize or whatever, hyperfocusing on our task to not round on them for what was likely a very stupid thing. Particularly when we were in the middle of important things. But damn it, it was so beyond irritating. And I knew even with the apologizing, they wouldn't tell me. Otherwise Larcei would have just blurted it out. None of this helped my nerves one bit and since I was ignoring them, I couldn't switch to bantering to try and calm down. It was honestly more than a little pathetic, to get so riled up. We weren't in Tiranog anymore, where I could get away with things like this. As a 'leader' for the army, I didn't even have the right.

That all said, all bits of annoyance, self-pity, guilt, and what-have-you disappeared as we arrived at a set of very large double doors. Which were, of course, locked. Because why wouldn't they be?

"Well, it's not like we're being subtle anyway," Diarmuid noted after we all spent a moment sighing. He studied the door a bit, contemplating something. Larcei used that opportunity to sneak over and hug me. I sighed and leaned into her, not returning the hug to let her know I was still a bit annoyed, but accepting it to tell her to not worry about it. "All right then." And then Diarmuid punched the door. Twice. And kicked it once. The punches bloodied his knuckles, but dented the door and lock. The kick broke it entirely, leading the doors to crash open with a deafening thud. "There we are."

"One, Hezul strength is freaking ridiculous, and I am forever afraid of any Hezul Major," Ulster deadpanned. I, stunned into silence, just grabbed Diarmuid's hands to tend to the bloody knuckles. Larcei tentatively crept to the door and poked it. It creaked and groaned, and a splinter or ten fell off. "Two, we should work on your tendency towards dramatics."

"I'm not that dramatic." Diarmuid shrugged. "But it was locked. How did you expect us to get inside? We can't pick locks."

"There's this thing called 'ambushing'." Ulster gave him a droll look. "Which Larcei and I are particularly good at."

"Well, too late now." He smiled innocently and charming. Ulster facepalmed. Larcei continued staring at the broken door. I finished up tending to Diarmuid's knuckles. "Besides, how do we know there's not multiple exits?"

"That this general might've already used?"

"Hey, you're the one who stopped us for conversation."

Sensing that this could go on for a bit, mostly because all of our nerves were beyond frayed, Larcei and I glanced at each other and actually ran inside the room, forcing the boys to yelp and follow us. Of course, we didn't have far to go. General Richard was inside the sparse, but fairly nice, room, staring dumbly at the broken door. Larcei stiffened at the sight of him, recognizing him from the description as well. Here… here he was. Here he really was and this time… this time…!

"Good afternoon!" I greeted blithely, with the brightest smile I could manage. General Richard's attention slowly turned to me. "Sorry for the mess! You're late, though."

"Late…?" he repeated. His eyes went to Larcei. Then Ulster. Then Diarmuid. Then around, clearly expecting more people. After all, we broke the door. Well, Diarmuid did. Almost a bit of a shame no one knew where Eldigan's son was, whatever his name had been. Hezul Major antics would be ridiculous. "For what? The signal hasn't…"

"You've a meeting with the death gods today." I continued smiling, continued being cheerful. I hated him too much to even glare. "We're here to show you the way."

"Death… wait…" General Richard stepped back, finally putting the pieces together. He took a couple more steps back, towards the axe resting on the wall. "The rebels…!"

"Four of the Scions of Light, if we must be technical and dramatic. Like Diarmuid's breaking the door suggested." I crossed my arms, but I heard swords unsheathing. I glanced around and saw that, surprisingly, it wasn't Larcei. Larcei was too busy glaring balefully at the general. Ulster and Diarmuid had both drawn blade, prepared to gut him. "So, General Richard, I've a single question. Are you going to meet death prone with a blade in hand or on your knees?"

"I… I surrender!" General Richard brought his hands up, but I saw the calculating light in his eyes. The shock was passing, so now he was trying to figure out the best way to kill us. He thought we were naive kids, and thought we'd be the 'honorable knightly' sort. "So-"

"Surrender denied~!" I kept on being cheerful. Now I heard Larcei unsheathe her sword. "You're not surviving this day." Distantly, I realized how 'mean' this all was. Yes, he was an older general, a veteran, but it was still four-to-one, four with Holy Blood at that to give us an extra little 'boost'. Underestimating him would be stupid, particularly when all four of us were a little nervous and a little angry. Yet... "You're not seeing tomorrow's dawn. Either you die in this room, or you die on the executioner's block. I prefer the former."

"I've just been following orders!"

"We know what you've done. We know your victims, the ones you didn't kill when you got bored." It took everything I had to not scream. But I still smiled. Smiling was easy. "And Danann is dying too, for everything he's done. So if it was his orders? He's dying for them too. You can prepare the way to hell for him. After all, as I said, you're late for your meeting with Death."

"Spoilt brats!" He lunged back and to the side, barely dodging Ulster when he surged forward in ambush. "You think war and battle are games?" He palmed the axe, snarling. "I'll-"

"You act like we're not used to death." Yes, we were naive idiots. Yes, we were inexperienced leaders. Yes, we were green fighters. But… "And you act like someone like you even has a chance at scaring us." Now I drew my own blade, and mentally prayed that Mom and Dad were watching and would help me where they could. "Say hello to death for us, will you? We're sending a lot of your ilk their way, so it's best to be polite."

He snarled and tried to strike. I wasn't sure who he was aiming at, but all four of us jumped back to dodge. And that's when the battle began. And it wasn't… well, as I mentioned earlier, underestimating him would be stupid. Regardless of our feelings for him, he was a general and a veteran of many battles. He knew his limitations far better than we knew ours. He knew how to read the ebb and flow of the battle better than us. And he was strong. When he did hit, the pain was horrible. I took one to my leg and had to quickly fall back to bandage it up before I bled out, only managing to have that time because Ulster and Larcei shielded me. Then I had to be the sole assault while Diarmuid also fell back to tend to his own injuries. The worst was when he managed a really bad hit on Larcei, a blow that certainly would've killed her if she'd not been of Neir blood.

But even with all that, we had our advantages. There were four of us to split the battle, and only one of him, and our Holy Blood gave us an advantage in stamina. So, he tired faster than us. He wore clothes, clothes easily seen even with all the armor, and they were quite flammable. He wielded an axe, possibly enchanted since he always seemed to swing twice when I expected only one, and all four of us wielded swords. The lack of magic meant that Ulster and Larcei could block him, when he didn't get lucky, gaining minor injuries and freaking him out because who wouldn't freak out over someone blocking an axe with their unarmored arm.

At one point, though, he did manage to grab Diarmuid, being the slowest and least dodgy of us four. He tried to angle Diarmuid to give the axe at his throat, no doubt attempting to take hostage. But the close proximity… well, if he could grab Diarmuid, then Diarmuid could grab him. And joints were relatively fragile. And Diarmuid was strong. So, it worked just about as well as you'd expect and ended with Diarmuid rather casually twisting General Richard's wrist around to at least sprain it badly, if not outright break it. Either way, Diarmuid escaped and General Richard was down a hand. Not his dominant hand, but still, the pain had to be excruciating, even with battle fever numbing things.

"Your life is mine!" Larcei snapped then, surging forward. Her sword sparked and shone with green sparkles and when she struck, I saw the 'five' for the 'one' I'd always seen when Shanan activated Astra. And that was more than General Richard could take. He fell to pieces. Literally. Blood everywhere, limbs falling off… Larcei successfully used Astra in battle, for the first time, and killed him. He was dead. And in pieces. Three pieces to be precise.

In stunned silence, we stared for a moment before automatically running to each other. Hugs, winces… helping each other properly tend to our injuries. That sort of strange quiet that immediately followed a fight, except we didn't have the older fighters shouting to get everything organized. We didn't have Lana to scold us. It was just us, awkwardly trying to process everything while also trying to not bleed out and get a very angry Lana on our asses. Us, trying to not throw up because even if we hated this guy, it was still a death and gods, it was a violent way to go. We were used to death. We were becoming used to killing. This sort of violence? The worst we'd seen before this was Hestia's leftovers. Which, you know, were probably worse because wolves ate more or less everything of their kill, but you know…

"So, is he dead?" Larcei asked quietly once we were done bandaging. She sounded so small, so fragile, that none of us pointed out that with all the blood slowly spreading across the tiled floor, he definitely was. "Is he…?"

"We can always make sure," Diarmuid offered quietly, already moving to the body. When he brought his sword up, I nudged his leg and handed him my silver blade instead. It was the strongest of ours, and bones could be tricky to cut through, even for a Hezul Minor. "Thank you." Diarmuid sheathed his own sword and then, quick as you please, Diarmuid chopped off Richard's head, turning the number of pieces from 'three' to 'four'. "There. Definitely dead."

"Good…" And Larcei's legs buckled and she collapsed to her knees, bursting into tears as her sword hit the bloody ground. Diarmuid dropped my blade and immediately ran over to hug her, so that she could cry into someone's shoulder. "Finally… finally, I could pay Creidne back…! Finally, I could…!" She went from sobbing to wailing, clinging to Diarmuid's arm. "Finally…!"

Her wails and Diarmuid's quiet comforting being the only sounds, Ulster and I decided to check around the room, making sure no one was around, and going to ambush us. Something we should've done earlier, really. But still, a sweep about the room showed nothing, and so, Ulster sheathed his sword, and I picked up mine to do the same. Ulster passed over a bit of cloth to wipe off the worst of the blood, and then we just stood there awkwardly, because Larcei was still sobbing and Diarmuid was still doing what he could to comfort her. And we couldn't just… you couldn't tell someone to just 'stop crying'. Well, not these sorts of tears, at least.

"What are the orders for the body?" Ulster asked after a moment. He nudged the largest part curiously before shrugging and going to the axe a short distance away. It had clattered and spun in the aftermath, it seemed. "I don't remember."

"That's because there wasn't any," I replied. Seliph left it at our discretion, since there was no guarantee we'd run into him. Just a hope. "So, I suppose we can just carry it out. Locals want to see it."

"I hope this is the only time we're doing bodies on display."

"Probably." Much as I hated the man, I could admit that putting him on 'display' might be a bit much. Well, I could admit it now. "We'll bury him and make sure no one can actually do anything to the body before and after. They just want it confirmed that he is dead."

"Makes me feel a bit better." Ulster smiled a bit and then picked up the axe to study it. After a moment, he used his sleeve to wipe off the blood. And then froze. "This… this is…"

"Ulster?" I frowned worriedly and when he didn't move, I crouched down next to him. "Ulster, hey, what's wrong?"

"I…" His voice was a croak, and I was startled to see tears welling up in his eyes. "This…" He gave up and just shoved the axe at me. "Here."

"Okay?" Confused, I studied it, wondering just what I was looking for. But then I saw something that was really damn odd. On the handle was Isaach's royal seal. But Isaachians weren't known for their axes, especially one so finely made. "That's…"

"Aideen… she said not a lot of people knew." Ulster spoke slowly and as soon as he mentioned Aideen, I knew… I knew why this shook him so. I figured it out, just from that. But Ulster kept going. He had to say it, in order to process it. "But when Father and Mother got together, he had that carved onto his best weapon, his Brave Axe, as a sort of joke. Something about having the family he was marrying into on the weapon that best showcased his birth family. I think. It made sense when she said it."

"Oh." I knew the story. It was an enchanted axe, one of the 'Brave' weapons, something Uncle Lex had gotten from a fairy who lived in the waters by Verdane. He'd gotten it for being honest, and had used it through all the battles, all the campaigns. Right up to the Belhalla Massacre. "Ooooohhh…" I carefully set the axe on the ground, stretching awkwardly to try and get it away from the blood, and gathered him up in my arms, just in time for him to start silently crying. "Oh, shit."

"I-it doesn't mean anything!" Larcei suddenly snapped. I looked back and saw her still sobbing, but obviously, she had heard all of that little exchange and was now crying for a different reason entirely. Diarmuid continued stroking and kissing her hair, his slight smile so incredibly bitter. "They just… they just got his weapon! Maybe he was captured! Maybe he is still…!" Her voice cracked and she shook her head roughly. "He's still alive! He is!" But it did make a considerable dent in her 'very firm' belief. Because his best weapon, his preferred weapon, was here. It was here, in the hands of a most horrible person, someone Uncle Lex would've never entrusted it to. It could be Uncle Lex was 'tricked', but for him to give up his best weapon… that didn't… "He is!"

"Of course," Diarmuid whispered. I knew he didn't believe it. We all did. But it was just what you had to say in a situation like this. "I'm sure he's just fine."

"Exactly!" It was hard to understand that single word because she was sobbing, wailing, so hard. "Exactly!"

Diarmuid and I just held Larcei and Ulster, comforting them as much as we could as both sobbed. We remained there, isolated from everything, until Oifeye walked in, with Hestia, to inform us that the battle was over. Seliph had killed General Harold himself, when Harold had refused the offer of surrender, and Hestia had come with Oifeye to actually track us, since we weren't outside. He saw how much Larcei and Ulster were crying, of course. And he saw the axe and smiled sadly, recognizing it instantly, before leaving to make sure people would avoid the area and give Larcei and Ulster the time they needed. Hestia remained, of course, bloody from the battle, and favoring one of her back legs. But she was otherwise uninjured, having just been lucky or having been treated by Lana, and so, she licked and nuzzled both Ulster and Larcei, giving them what comfort she could and letting them cling when they needed the extra warmth.

When everyone was finally composed enough to leave, Ulster carried the axe out. Larcei carried General Richard's head, by the hair. Diarmuid and I carried the rest of the pieces. Hestia kept close to Larcei throughout the entire trip back outside. Larcei needed it, to pretend everything was fine when we left and presented the body to the locals. To pretend we were the glorious victors, instead of children badly missing the parents they barely remembered.

Pretend, pretend… it was like the games we used to play, the make-believe stories of 'playing house' or 'exciting adventure to seize the treasure'. Except we didn't exactly have a choice to 'end' the game. Not now, at least.


The evening air was full of songs and laughter, the wind dancing about as lively as the partiers below. Despite how tired everyone must be, everyone insisted on throwing a huge impromptu festival, with all the food and songs such things implied. After all, Ganeishire was finally free of Grannvale, for the first time in almost twenty years if I had my timeline correct. Plus, it was the first true victory of the resistance, our first 'real' victory in the war. Everyone had affectionately taken to calling us the Liberation Army, instead of simply the Resistance. I didn't mind it much. It was better than the quiet whispers that followed us as we passed. Whispers calling us 'the Crusaders', fighting a 'Holy War' against the 'Evil Empire'. Creepy as hell, really. We weren't chosen by gods or anything. We were chosen by them, the people. But there was no countering that. We couldn't prove that we weren't 'chosen by fate'. And, you know, the Holy Blood we inherited didn't exactly help with 'but we aren't warriors of the gods' thing. It did give us advantages those without Holy Blood didn't have. Something that we'd always known, but didn't quite realize. Not until these battles, at least, where it became all too clear just how… different… we were. Not invincible by any means. But different nonetheless.

"Ah, and here you are." Oifeye's voice startled me, enough that I almost tumbled off the railing of the balcony I'd been hiding on. "You must've been quite deep in your thoughts, to not hear me," he noted, grabbing my shirt to make sure I didn't actually fall. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't worry about it!" I dismissed, waving my hand to emphasize said 'dismissal'. I turned to face him properly, leaning against the railing. "You were looking for me, though?"

"Yes." Oifeye leaned against the railing himself, looking out over the festival-party-thing. It looked like everyone was having fun. "I wanted to check on you, since you're hiding up here on the balcony instead of dancing through the crowd."

"Oh, I'm fine!" I made sure to smile. "Just a little-"

"You're better at lying than Alicia, but you lie about the same things." Oifeye laughed, genuinely amused. And sad. He was always just so sad, especially when remembering our parents. "Though she'd always retreat behind that 'healer's mask' of hers and use her training to set all pain to the side, working it out by taking care of others. Now, Chulainn was very good at hiding what he felt. Alicia and Ayra were the only ones who saw his true feelings."

"I'm not…!"

"You've always been the first to hide your own pain behind a smile. You've always been the one to say 'someone needs to smile, so it might as well be me', no matter how much your heart ached. The one exception was when Conall was taken." He smiled, just a touch smug, and I groaned. "I raised you, if you'll recall."

"Yeah, I know." I sighed. "Ugh… why do I bother trying to hide anything from you?"

"Because you know I have a lot to fret about and like to make sure you only contribute by climbing far too high or you punched a bully's teeth out."

"I only did that second thing one time." And it had only been because his teeth had already been loose. Baby teeth and all. "But I am fine. Just rather tired."

"And unnerved by the hero worship?" Again, he was smug and, again, I could only groan because, damn it, he was perfectly right. "We can continue with the guessing game, but I think I'll win it."

"Ugh." I scowled and then sighed. He was definitely my 'father', even if he wasn't my 'dad'. Hiding really was pointless. "Okay, okay. I'm a bit nauseous from the battle as well, achy from the fighting, and still processing things."

"Now, was that so hard?" He was definitely far too smug, but his smile softened and he ruffled my hair. "All things I'd expect, really. I do wish there had been more time…"

"Oifeye, would you have ever thought we were prepared 'enough'?"

"You all? Of course. Me? Not so much." He smiled sadly, glancing at the bandage I had on my arm, some scrape from Richard. I was wearing a sleeveless shirt, so it was really visible. And it was a sign of how, if something had gone a little differently, I might've been down an arm. Or dead. Much like the bandages on my legs, also visible thanks to the slits on my skirt. "I really do understand now why they were all so conflicted, and why everyone always seemed to worry about me, those last couple of years."

"...I'm sorry…" I could only look down because what else could I do? What else could I say?

"No, don't be. You were attacked, and you chose to not run away. You chose to stand your ground and protect what you loved with everything you had."

"Well, it's only fair."

"You know; that's something Sigurd would say." Oifeye chuckled, clearly remembering. "Though, Alicia did believe in some sort of fairness in the world. Life wasn't fair. It just wasn't. But you could make it a bit fairer. Though I think she and Sigurd briefly argued over 'how much' fairer you could make things, at the beginning. It's hard to say. She became much more hopeful, living with the army." It was a shame all of their hopes were answered with nothing. "Regardless, if things had to start, I'm a bit relieved they started as they did."

"You are?" That made me frown. "You're happy Tirnanog got attacked?"

"No, I'm relieved that it's different." Oifeye fell silent, gathering his thoughts. I looked below and saw the party was still in full swing. At this rate, it would be dawn before anyone thought about stopping. "When Creidne was…" He paused again, this time trying to think of a tactful way to continue. "When Creidne was captured, that was the first time all of you, together, insisted on fighting, insisted on going. Before, you took turns. Before, you waited until there was a quiet moment."

"I remember that." We'd just been so afraid, and we knew… we knew what would happen. Did happen. "Aideen was the one who refused." The first, and only, time she ever got involved in those discussions. "Even made us stay in the manor."

"She was scared, because it was just like how everything started for us." He laughed softly, but it wasn't a very happy laugh. "Well, not just like everything. But everything started because Aideen had been kidnapped and Sigurd went to save her." Which honestly just summarized everything about Sigurd from what I understood. Recklessly loyal, willing to fight an entire country's army just to save a friend, and endlessly kind. "Ah, but that's enough reminiscing. Should I divert people from you a while longer? There have been requests from the people to see 'the charming blonde girl, daughter of the healer who saved King Shanan and of Sophara's true lord'. Well, all of you, of course, but you're the one I wasn't sure I had to continue coming up with excuses for."

"Uh…" I had no idea how to respond to that one. I should've expected stuff like this. Making appearances. That wasn't new, of course. We did it with the infirmary, while doing our shifts. But being requested? That was new. For me, anyway. Seliph would be requested. Not the rest of us. But now, I supposed we would be. "Er…"

"So, yes, for a while longer." Oifeye grinned when I scowled. Gods, I hated when he did this. Well, not really, but it was irritating! Mostly. "You know; Ulster is down the hall."

"He is?" That surprised me. I would've thought… "With Larcei and Hestia?" Hestia knew something was wrong, and had seriously unsettled Larcei, so Hestia had stayed near, radiating comfort.

"No, Larcei is actually with Lana. Last I saw, both were curled up on Hestia, while Hestia licked Larcei's cheek." Oifeye fell silent and I winced. As we all guessed, anticipated even, there had been deaths. Less than expected, since Ulster and Larcei's presence, and relation to Uncle Lex, had led many of the Dozel soldiers to surrender. But there were still some. Lana, of course, took it hard. We all knew it was impossible to save everyone, but this was the first time Lana had been in charge of such efforts. So she felt each death keenly. "Focusing on someone else helps ground her. Rather like Ayra and Alicia, actually."

"Really?"

"Ayra was only able to make it those first few months after leaving Isaach by focusing on Shanan, and Alicia, as I said, almost always dealt with her own pain and panic by taking care of others. Part of why she was such a good healer." He smiled softly, and sadly. "I think I'll go back to check on them, though. After getting them some treats, some warm milk with honey, and making your excuses."

"...Just temporary. I'll be back out soon." But I did want to check in on Ulster, especially if he was alone. "Hey, Oifeye?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. For everything." I smiled as warmly as I could. "I'll thank you again later, when all of this is over, but I do want to make sure you knew and that we'll pay-"

"Ah. There is nothing to repay." Oifeye ruffled my hair again. It was his most common gesture of affection. "When we heard of the Belhalla Massacre, I was devastated. It was hard to breathe, much less actually get up and do things. But I had my promises. I had to take care of you all. And gradually, you all brought laughter back into my world. Happiness amidst the broken shards. Raising you all has been my greatest joy, and it is no exaggeration that you all are my reason for living." He smiled kindly; I had to fight back the sudden burst of tear I felt. It made sense he'd feel this way. Wasn't even a surprise, since Aideen had said much of the same. But still... "There is nothing to repay. Never has been, and never will be. All that I ask is that you be as careful as you can, and that you remember that you are allowed to be happy, truly happy. That all of you will live long and happy lives is my only wish."

"...What am I supposed to say to that?" My voice wobbled and I looked down, really struggling to hide my tears. "Love you, Oifeye."

"I love you too, Riona." He kissed my forehead and wiped away the stray tears that slipped down my face anyway. "I love you too."

Oifeye lingered for a moment, mostly to make sure I wouldn't completely dissolve into tears. It was a near thing, but I managed, so he gave me a hug and left to tend to Larcei and Lana. After a moment to collect myself, I left the balcony as well, heading 'down the hall'. In retrospect, I should've asked Oifeye the exact location, or at least which way to walk, but I hadn't, so instead, I wandered about for a while, wondering just where Ulster was. Eventually, though, I did find him in a large, open room. It wasn't large enough for, say, a ballroom, so I wondered what it had been used for in the past. It was clear by the dust in the corner that it hadn't been used at all. But now, Ulster used it, to practice with his dad's brave axe. I lingered in the doorway, just watching, rather surprised by how easily he adapted to it.

"It's amazing, really…" Ulster murmured when he finished. He knew I was there. He'd known as soon as I walked in. "The only training I have with an axe is chopping wood. But it's almost an extension of my hand, just like a sword."

"Must be the Neir blood," I mused, trying to keep my tone light. I leaned against the doorway, nodding at the axe. "Told you it would be hot."

"Oh, for-!" He laughed at the memory. It was a tired laugh, but one nonetheless. "But that's right. We joked about it, briefly. About how we lacked weapon variety."

"And I suggested you take up axes." It had been a joke, at the time. It didn't feel as funny, anymore. But we laughed anyway. "Are you?"

"Yeah. I'm going to. I'm going to use this." He smiled sadly, fighting back a fresh wave of tears. A few slipped down his cheeks anyway. "I like thinking he's watching out for me. Like how you and Seliph wield your fathers' blades. Like how Lester uses Midir's bow."

"Yes…" I walked over to wipe away the tears. "You're not going to be like…"

"Larcei has clung to that belief too long for her to just give it up. I… I never…" He choked on the words. Because he had. He had believed, to a degree, that his parents were still somewhere. 'They were captured.' 'They were prisoners.' 'They just couldn't find Tirnanog.' There were a thousand and one reasons for them to be missing besides 'they are dead'. You could come up with just as many now. "Ha… I'm an idiot."

"Someone has to hope." In a way, I was 'lucky'. I knew, for a fact, that my parents were dead. There had been pretty elaborate funerals for both of them, according to the rumors, and both were buried in the family crypt in Belhalla. If there was one thing I liked about Arvis, it was that he had buried my parents with each other, though no small part of me wished they'd been buried anywhere else. Anywhere besides the place where Dad had died and Mom had lost everything. Like Silesse. We'd all been happy in Silesse, or so Aideen always said. "I'm not sure holding onto hope about our parents is wise or anything, but someone has to hope."

"But even with that hope, you have to acknowledge even the painful possibilities. Otherwise, we'll just walk to our deaths, just like our parents." He took a shuddering breath and nodded. "I think… I think I'm just going to go to bed. Larcei said she was going to stay with Lana."

"All right." I made sure to smile. "I'll be sure to eat everything yummy in your place."

"...Oh, right, there is food." Ulster actively began debating it, using his hands as makeshift scales, to my amusement. "So, question, if I sneak out to grab some…"

"If you need a distraction to cover an escape, I'm your girl." I took his hand, still smiling, and walked out with him. "Plus, there's a stall just making warm milk with honey. Should be easy to snag some."

"I'm convinced." He smiled softly, quietly conveying his thanks. "Let's drop off the axe, and then hunt down the treats."

"Sounds good to me!"

It didn't take long to find something for Ulster to munch on, and I dragged Seliph into some dancing to serve as the distraction for Ulster to quietly escape back to the quiet of his room with a handful of goodies and a mug of warm milk with honey. Continuing to be the distraction, to make sure no one would ask where Ulster went, I laughed and joked with everyone as if nothing was wrong, as if my own heart didn't ache. Ulster, Lana, and Larcei couldn't join in, they all hurt too much, so I would take up their share. Perhaps we had the right to be sad, finally, but we had to take turns. We had to pick up each other's slack. Because we were the leaders, and leaders had to be confident. Leaders had to inspire. Leaders had to pretend the weight of everyone's expectations wasn't crushing them into the ground.

So, I smiled. I laughed. I joined in with the dancing and singing, the joking and the laughter. I devoured all the treats and praised the cooks. I listened to the stories of the people, asking questions and actively listening. I played silly games with Lester and Diarmuid, dragging the children into a rowdy but fun game of tag. I stuck near Seliph when I saw him flagging, and helped him keep up appearances because everyone wanted to at least say 'hello' to their savior, the Heir of Light. I found the shyer people hanging on the sides and talked to them, making sure they were comfortable. Anything I could think of to encourage the people, and to be the person they expected us to be.

Someone had to be the cheerful one. It might as well be me.


Ulster

Class: Myrmidon; Skills: Pursuit, Vantage, Astra, Paragon, Nihil

The 19 year old son of Princess Ayra of Isaach, and Lex of Dozel, the older twin of Larcei. Though his coloring is Isaachian, his face, build, and height all speak to his Grannvelian heritage, to the point that those acquainted with Dozel and its ruling family can instantly recognize him as Lex's son.

Has Holy Marks for Od and Neir on his right wrist, the two intertwined like a bracelet. Their blessings give him boosts to stamina and the ability to take damage, skill, and the ability to resist physical damage. Due to his Od blood, he has very keen sight, allowing him to track movement easily and allows him to quickly determine weaknesses in an enemy's guard. No one is quite certain how the Neir blood allows a resistance in physical damage, with theories from 'miniature barriers' to 'extra strong skin', but it allows him to block weapons barehanded.

Though taught the Isaachian Royal Style by Shanan, he favors a more pragmatic approach to fights, truly believing that as soon as a battle starts, 'honor' is left to the wayside in favor of people's lives. Is taking up axes to help diversify his fighting, and is already a terrifying force to be reckoned with, thanks to the axe's strength, his natural skill, and Neir's blood giving him a natural talent for the weapon

He's surprisingly ambivalent about Danann, probably as a counter to Larcei's intense passion. He does look forward to seeing Danann die, for the treatment of the people, but he doesn't view Danann as a traitor. Then again, this could be because, unlike Larcei, Ulster doesn't view Danann as 'family' at all. Just another criminal and tyrant who needs to be killed.


Author's notes: So, 'General Richard' is unique to the story and yes, he was wielding Lex's Brave Axe. The Brave Axe is droppable in this chapter, though by a completely different general, and is always droppable because none of the children characters can inherit axes. In the main game, Ulster cannot use axes ever, but he can in the Binary patch, so we're bringing that in for the next bit of inheritance (though I am listing his class as the same thing as the main game for convenience). Ulster's memory about Lex comes from Chapter 27) Blood Ties, with the vagueness being because of his young age, though his ability to remember it at all is because the event was fairly traumatizing.

As for the soldiers surrendering, something mentioned in Game-Chapter 6 is how Sigurd's kindness and ability to inspire loyalty left behind things that could continue to help, even after his death. This is easily seen through Seliph being sheltered in Isaach and through Seliph being accompanied by the children of Sigurd's allies. Because of the varied nature of the children's parentage, though, Sigurd is the only one mentioned in that fashion, so I wanted to bring in the other parents. So, here's a way Lex indirectly helps his children, with his kindness and loyalty having earned the soldiers' respect to the point that, given how far Danann has fallen, they yield.

Seliph, thanks to his Minor Naga blood, has a 30% growth rate. Diarmuid, if Finn is his father, has a 10% growth (and if I calculated things correctly, so does Riona). The others in the Tirnanog kids group have a 7% growth. The thing about Ulster and Larcei being good at 'ambushing' is because their skill 'Vantage' is known as 'Ambush' in the Japanese version. "Your life is mine" is one of Ayra's skill-quotes from FE Heroes.

FE4 doesn't actually have things like vulneraries or concoctions. You're entirely dependant on healers, unless the unit happens to have a Renewal/Life ring, of which there are only two in the entire game, one dropped by an enemy in the first gen and one granted by a special/secret event that occurs after killing the final boss of Game-Chapter 10 with Seliph. Castle guards and churches do also have self-healing (the guarding the castle thing working like thrones in other Fire Emblem games), but churches cost money to heal. Yes, the church charges gold at 5 gold per 1HP healed; this is actually part of why Travant was surprised Alicia didn't charge for her healing (but I… uh… forgot to bring that up when it was relevant… whoops…). But considering who raised these kids, it felt odd that they wouldn't carry medicine on them, so here we go.

Speaking of things I forgot to mention, people have asked why I associate HP with stamina, and a big part is actually the Fatigue system used in FE5 and FE15. Namely, doing things leads to 'fatigue points' accumulating and when that number exceeds a unit's max HP, they are considered 'fatigued'. In FE5, that means the unit has to sit out the next battle. In FE15, they suffer a max-HP reduction until it's fixed via provisions.

Also, in FE4, you don't 'gradually increase' weapon ranks and, instead, they're set depending on your class. And your Holy Blood. If you're a major, then your weapon rank automatically becomes (*), which means you can wield every weapon, including the Holy Weapon. Otherwise, it'll boost your weapon rank by one 'rank'. It's this natural boost that I'm referring to when mentioning how Ulster is good with axes despite no formal training. And speaking of mechanics for FE4, FE4 is actually the first game in the series to utilize the weapon triangle. In FE4, it gives a +20% to accuracy if you're at the advantage, and inflicts a -20% to accuracy if you're at the disadvantage. (It's also the first game to introduce a magic triangle, using the anima one later reused in the Tellius games. Light and dark are outside the triangle, unlike future games, and both have the advantage against the anima magic while being equal to each other.)

Jake and Anna are recurring characters throughout the Fire Emblem series (more Anna than Jake). Anna's only appearance in FE4 is through the 'storage' system of the game, so I thought it would be fun to bring them both in here. (And now they are blessed by the RNG goddess! Or something) As for why Jake is a blacksmith… well, in FE4, you can actually repair your weapons by taking it to the Blacksmith in the castle towns, a feature unique to FE4 iirc (the repairing without using the hammerne staff, not the blacksmith). Thought I'd showcase that feature too. FE4 is also unique in that each individual unit has their own supply of gold (rather than a group fund like most other Fire Emblem games), so I brought that up as well. As for the hilts, most fire emblem swords have different hilts depending on the weapon (for example, a silver sword and a silver blade have different colored hilts).

Next Chapter - Interlude, Ganeishire