19 – RESPITE

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The Third Timeline

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I awake feeling like a corpse. It takes my senses several minutes to return and when I open my eyes, I realize that I'm strapped to the saddle of a horse. I yawn and look at our surroundings. Gone are the mountains of Plegia. We are riding through the hills and plains of Ylisse.

"How… how long have I been asleep?" I ask Chrom.

He jumps and looks over at me. "Gods, I thought you were dead for a while there. You've been asleep for two days."

"Where are we?" I ask.

"Two days from the capitol. The crow has gone ahead to scout out the state of the city and deliver a note to Flavia telling her of our success," he answers. "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry," I say.

Chrom digs in his pack and hands me a piece of bread and some dried meat, which I eat gratefully. Once I've drank half a canteen of water and splashed the other half on my face, I feel more alive.

I see Henry and Olivia riding side by side in front of us.

"How are they?" I ask Chrom.

"I don't know. It's hard to tell. They've both been quiet. He's hardly let go of her hand but he doesn't let her touch him in any other way. He's an odd man, to say the least."

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm… relieved," he says. "It still feels a bit like a dream. We've succeeded in stopping Gangrel but I don't know what lies ahead for us. I hope Flavia has retaken Ylisstol."

"I think it would be hard to stop her. Have you heard anything about Emmeryn? Is she safe?"

He shakes his head. "My heart tells me to ride straight to Ferox, but I know that our priority must be to speak with Flavia."

"Your sister will be safe now that the king is dead."

"I hope so."

I study the expression on his face. Ever since we reached Plegia I have felt so distant from him. Memories of our days in Ferox stir up an ache of longing in my heart. I want nothing more than to be close to him again, but I know with certainty that for a time, I cannot allow that to happen.

We reach a small vale and I see Henry and Olivia dismount and unsaddle their horses.

"Why are we stopping?" I ask Chrom.

"We've been resting during the day and riding at night as a precaution," he says.

He dismounts and takes care of Stormtreader. I untie myself from the saddle and get off my horse, my feet unsteady on the ground. I sit down, lightheaded.

"You're awake!" Olivia says. "How are you- are you feeling alright?"

"I feel tired, but calm," I reply. She looks relieved.

Henry sits down next to her and takes her hand.

"That was one hell of a hex," I say to him.

He pulls a small bottle from his satchel and throws it to me. "Drink this. You'll feel better."

I uncork the bottle and swallow the liquid, feeling it slide nauseatingly down my throat. I hiccup and put my hand over my mouth. Another hiccup startles me and then four more.

I look at Henry and see him smiling slightly. Olivia laughs.

"What did you give her?" Chrom demands.

"Nothing lethal," Henry says.

"Son of- a bitch," I say between hiccups. "Why- why do you even- have this?"

"In what situation would a potion like that be useful?" Chrom asks.

Henry shrugs, yawning and lying down on the grass. He closes his eyes, still smiling.

I finally manage to get control of my body and take a long drink of water to wash the foul taste of the potion away.

Chrom lies down on the grass and pulls me towards him but I stop him and say, "I don't want to sleep any more."

He nods and gets to his feet. "Come, let's talk then."

I follow him away from the camp to a small stand of trees where we sit, sheltered by ferns. "What is troubling you?" I ask.

He doesn't reply, taking my face in his hands and kissing me deeply. Longing sweeps over me and but I push him away. "I can't…" I say.

"I know," he says, "But I had to tell you that I love you because I haven't in days. There has been so much darkness and bloodshed, I've hardly had time to think. But my feelings for you have not lessened or changed, and I don't think they ever will."

"You can't trust me right now, though. I don't trust myself at all."

"Then I will be on my guard with you, I promise. I know something has broken a part of you, but we have healers in Ylisse who can help you. Soon we'll both be safe again."

"Until then you can't get too close to me," I say.

"I won't. But for just a few minutes, I need to be with you. Please."

"Chrom…"

He takes me in his arms and whispers, "Just for a few minutes… just be the woman who loves me. I need that more than anything right now."

"I do love you," I tell him.

"Then stay with me just for a moment."

Against my better judgment, I put my arms around him and rest my head against his chest. He kisses the top of my head but doesn't push for more. I rest with him for a while, allowing myself to feel the peace of being close to him.

But after a while, I get to my feet and hold my hand out to him. "Let's go back to the camp. I don't trust myself to be with you like this for much longer."

He stands reluctantly and looks as if he might kiss me again, but to my relief, he keeps his distance.

When we return we find Olivia crouched down beside Henry's sleeping form. He is tossing and turning, flinching and mumbling fearfully. She sings softly in his ear and his body goes still and his breathing steadies.

She looks up at me. "He's been like this every night."

"What's wrong with him?" I ask.

Olivia sits down next to me, exhaustion shadowing her beautiful face. "I wish I knew."

"Thank you for comforting him with your magic."

"It's the least I can do." She sighs. "I know he is different. He doesn't like people and is afraid of being touched and sometimes he's so cheerful and then so sad. But for all his strangeness, he cares about me a lot and he cares about you. That spell he cast to save you – it's taken a toll on him. I'm worried that my songs won't be enough to heal his troubled mind."

"We should get back on the road," Chrom says.

Olivia glances up at him. "Please, can you let him sleep a while longer?"

Chrom nods and walks away to feed our horses. But Lilly suddenly jerks her head up and neighs, staring into the distance.

"What is it, girl?" I ask, following her gaze.

She trots over to Henry and nudges him with her muzzle. He bolts up and she whinnies at him.

"There's riders on the other side of the hill. They'll reach us in a few minutes," he tells us.

Olivia and Chrom draw their swords but I hang back behind them, too afraid to stir my magic and risk losing control again.

Henry stands beside Olivia, hands out to fire a spell. But his arms are trembling and his expression is strained.

We hear the sound of hoof beats then the riders reach the crest of the hill and catch sight of us. One of them shouts and nocks an arrow to their bow, firing it at us. Henry deflects it with a pulse of magic and the riders gallop down towards us, weapons drawn.

"We have no reason to fight you," Chrom calls. "Lower your weapons and let us pass."

"Ylissean dogs!" their leader yells. "You brought the Feroxi to slaughter us! We didn't escape only to die now."

"No one else has to die!" Chrom says. "We will let you pass by."

The nearest soldiers swears and swings his spear at Chrom, but he dodges out of the way and breaks the spear shaft with his sword. The five Plegians bear down on us and Henry sends a powerful blast of magic at them that knocks them off their horses. The startled animals scatter and the soldiers scramble to their feet to attack us.

Henry falls to his knees and tries to cast another spell but nothing happens. Olivia leaps between him and the soldiers and swiftly cuts one of the men down. Chrom tries to fend off the other four but it is all he can do to keep himself from getting killed in such an outnumbered fight.

I step forward, reaching for the dead man's sword but Henry yells at me, "Don't!"

I back away and watch helplessly as Chrom and Olivia struggle against the Plegians.

Chrom kills one and Olivia takes down another. But as they converge on the remaining two, one of them disarms Olivia. After Chrom plunges his sword through the other, he looks up and freezes in panic.

The last Plegian is holding a knife to Olivia's throat, gripping her wrists tightly in his other hand. She struggles to get free but the man presses the knife closer.

"Let her go and I'll let you live," Chrom says.

"You've killed the rest of my friends!" the Plegian replies. "My last joy before I die will be seeing your face as I slit the girl's throat."

Chrom sets his sword down slowly on the grass. "I promise you, I will not harm you. Please, let her go."

Olivia stares at Henry, eyes wide.

He pulls himself to his feet and reaches out his hand but the Plegian sees him and cuts the blade into Olivia's skin, drawing blood.

"Don't move!" the man growls.

The Plegian lifts his blade to slice her throat and Olivia moves in a flash, twisting out of the man's grip and snatching at his blade. In one fluid motion, she whirls around and stabs it into his neck.

As she steps back, Chrom snatches up his sword, killing the soldier.

Henry stumbles forward and grabs Olivia in his arms. She gasps in surprise and gently puts her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm alright," she says. "It's just a scratch."

He doesn't let go and she smiles, kissing his cheek. He pulls back and stares at her with wide, startled eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Olivia stammers. "I know you don't like to be-"

To all of our astonishment, Henry reaches out and slips his hands in her hair. Carefully, as if handling something both delicate and dangerous, he pulls her closer and presses his lips against hers. For a second, Olivia is too stunned to move, then she stands up on her tiptoes and kisses him tenderly.