Attack on Fire Emblem - Chapter 3 (Elise-led evacuation)
"Stupid grey-haired coward," Elise muttered under her breathe. "Corrin would have thought of something."
The petite noble was still pouting after Robin issued her orders. She did not see the need to retreat – they had many heroes with them. Could none of the military veterans really stand up to the Titans? Still stuck in petty thoughts, her retainers Arthur and Effie reported that their supplies were ready. They were prepared to go to one of the nearer villages to oversee their evacuation. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted that Arthur's right hand held a cloth with crude drawings on it.
"It's a map, milady," the knight politely revealed what he was holding. An idea popped into Elise's head. She quickly pointed at a farming village that Robin had ordered to be abandoned. She was going to disobey Robin's orders and be a hero. Her elder sister Corrin had done exactly the same thing in defying their father's orders, and Corrin eventually brought peace to two warring nations.
Immediately, Arthur and Effie both dissuaded her. Both heroes had served in the frontlines for most of their careers, while Princess Elise had served as a distant mage and healer.
"You dare defy your princess?" Elise bellowed. Arthur and Effie bowed in respect but still rejected her requests. To every threat that Elise made, her two retainers simply replied that her top priority was her safety. "Corrin would go," Elise snapped bitterly.
The trio was assigned to follow General Quan's lead. The tall, imposing general had gathered his party members to discuss the formation to follow. It was then Elise decided to make a move. During Quan's harangue, Elise quickly stole the map from the oblivious Arthur. She was going to be heroic, no matter what her companions say.
Before proceeding southwards, she checked her supplies and examined her route on the map. She was not stupid; she would avoid being seen by the Titans by following the tree-lines and camouflaging herself. She had engaged Titans before and knew that she could not scratch them. So she would be extra careful. Off she went.
The village she aimed for was called Reims. She knew nothing of it except it was on her map. She galloped full speed towards it with dreams of being celebrated like a hero.
Upon arrival in Reims, Elise was shocked to hear how unsettling quiet the village was. She cautiously dismounted her horse and gripped her staff tightly. She had expected to catch the villagers in the midst of an evacuation and she would have guided them to safety. Pausing when she heard a gnawing tremor, the young princess slowly pushed opened the door of a hut where she heard the sound.
A three-metre Titan was biting into the limbs of an old lady. Elise was rooted in shock as she witness the Titan calmly chew on the bones of the unconscious old lady. Summoning her inner strength, she cast a stasis spell on the Titan but it had no effect. Elise had forgotten the Titans were immune to magic.
"Are you human?" a voice interrupted her thoughts.
She turned to see a small village girl, roughly her age, peeked out of toppled table. Elise nodded, and the village girl quickly explained that all the villagers had fled, except her half-eaten grandmother who had difficulty moving. Mozu could not bear to abandon her grandmother, and had stayed behind with her.
Elise held in her nausea and conceded that there was nothing that they could do for Mozu's grandmother. They should leave immediately. Despising herself for speaking the same way that Robin did a day ago, Elise apologised to the grandmother before snatching Mozu by the hand and dragging her towards the horse.
Except that Elise's horse was no longer there. Did she forget to secure the reins of her horse? Elise panicked. Her supplies and map was on the horse. There was no time to check. The three-metre Titan had lost its interest in the grandmother and was now stalking the two girls.
"Run!" she yelled to Mozu. The two girls dashed down a random path. Elise hoped her memory was spot-on as she ran zigzagged to put the Titan off their trail. The Titan was still gaining on them.
Running through thick vegetation, the Titan pounced in an attempt to grab Elise. Its long, thick fingers brushed against Elise's back, but it missed. Elise did not have time to breathe a sigh of relief. She and Mozu kept running till the face-planted Titan was out of sight.
Coming to an open plain in the forest, Mozu and Elise finally collapsed in disbelief. They had actually outrun a Titan! Elise allowed herself a small laugh but only for moment. The rushed chirping of nearby birds shut her up. Eight more Titans emerged out of the forest.
Was this the end of Elise? Her thoughts were in whirl as she saw no way out. All Elise could think of was how heartbroken her sibling would be after they hear of her demise. The biggest Titan was about eight-metes tall and was approaching quickly. It had a sinister grin, and seemed to know that its prey had given up.
"For justice!" Arthur yelled his trademark battle cry as a tomahawk that Titan square in the eye. The Titan roared in pain before pulling the offending object out. The princess turned to see Effie, Quan, Clarisse and Cain leading several horsemen into the fray.
Effie brought Elise her horse. They had been searching for Elise since her departure, and found her horse along the way. Elise, with Mozu behind her, quickly mounted. She turned to see Arthur bravely hacking away the heels of one of the Titans forcing it to topple. Clarisse fire arrows accurately, blinding the Titans. Quan and Cain rode circles around the Titans, confusing them. The veterans were working together professionally. For a moment, Elise was confident that they would suffer no fatalities.
"Milady, watched out!" Effie rode to the side of Elise. Half a second later, a Titan (that had been toppled by Arthur) had reached to grab Effie and squeezed tightly. The immense pressure created a cracking sound from Effie's ribs.
Reacting quickly Arthur slashed at the fingers of the Titan, freeing Effie. Before he could check on the wounded knight, the other hand of the Titan swept Arthur into its mouth. A sickening crunch could be heard.
The shock of Arthur's death fazed everyone. Like of stack of dominos, their professionalism fell apart. Clarisse was the next to fall. Her anger at Arthur's death made her fire arrows at the murderous Titan and she pounced upon by another nearby Titan.
Cain lost concentration for only a moment and stepped on by another Titan. Quan shouted his final orders to the remaining Askr horsemen, and rushed towards the Titans to distract them. He did not last long before one of the Titans grabbed him.
"Princess Elise, we must go," Effie weakly said. Elise would no longer argue this time. Too many heroes sacrificed their lives for her. With tears in her eyes and head hung low, Elise rode away in shame.
Author's comments: In Attack on Titan, any bravado not back up by thoughts would always end poorly for the protagonists. I attempted to capture that spirit here as Elise makes a unilateral, ill-advised move.