Chapter 12) Knight Slayer
After Erinys joins, our group pushes forward, setting up a camp to attack Agusty from. We worry for civilian casualties, though, and so, we continue making preparations, wondering if the reason why Chagall refuses to let anyone leave… well, I wonder, at least, that he uses them as shields. They're certain effective as ones. So, we wait. We wait, and wait, trying to figure out what to do.
If the enemy breaches the camp again, I'm going to be very annoyed.
It was amazing how you barely noticed things until they didn't happen anymore. It took me only a day to realize there was something missing from my infirmary tent, and I spent the better part of that day trying to figure out what it was. Eventually, though, I realized what it was: Shanan's laughter, and these tiny little flowers he'd leave on the table to brighten up the room. I had laughed when I realized what it was, and resolved to make a point to tell him how much I liked the flowers when I next saw him. He remained in Mackily this time, with the skeleton defenses we left there. It would be the first time he was away from Lady Ayra and me for more than a few hours.
"Oh, why aren't you and Chulainn sharing a tent, Alicia?" Deirdre half-demanded. Even as she folded blankets for me, she looked almost comically annoyed. "You're dating! No one would say a word."
"I think they'll say quite a few, since gossips are a thing," I pointed out. I set up my vials of medicine on a back table, careful to make sure the labels were easy to see. "Besides, Deirdre, I have my job."
"You also have a life." She huffed, scowling. "Chulainn has the patience of a saint, you workaholic."
"So do you, considering Sigurd is so busy." I grinned as she blushed. "But yes, I know, my friends and love are very patient with me."
"And your brother."
"Azel is used to workaholic siblings. Arvis is even worse than me."
"The next time I'm in Grannvale, I'm going to drag him on some sort of vacation. You, Chulainn, Arvis, Sigurd, me… probably a few others. A nice long vacation." She smiled softly, giggling a little. "Actually, that sounds like fun. Think we'll be able to do that after this?"
"I don't know." I sighed, stepping away from the medicines to check my staves. I had plenty of healing staves, thank the gods, and Sleep was resting quietly with them. I hoped I wouldn't have to resort to using it, but I knew I would. "This might be a civil war, but the others attacked a very well-known ally of Grannvale. Lord Eldigan even attended the military academy in Belhalla. Then, after we came to assist, they continued their assault. It's become a direct insult, and thus, King Azmur will no longer be allowed to ignore the whisperings of war from Augustria. It's all the worse since King Chagall is a 'new' king. It sets a bad precedent if allowed to 'get away' with it." That didn't even go into how the more mild-tempered nobles, like Prince Kurth, were still in Isaach. "Likely, we'll have to set up here like we did in Evans Castle, as a watch to ensure King Chagall will behave."
"Oh." Deirdre sounded so quiet, and I glanced at her worriedly. "No, it's nothing. I just…" She hesitated a little and then smiled shyly. "I had hoped to go to Chalphy."
"That's right. You haven't seen it yet." I thought a bit and then smiled. "Well, I'm not sure if Sigurd will be able to take you, but I don't see why you and I can't take a little vacation over there."
"That would be lovely!" She giggled, and turned from the blankets. "They're all folded, by the way. They have been. I've just been fussy."
"Of course you have been." I thought of how to change the subject, and laughter outside caught my attention. Curious, I headed for the entrance of the tent and pushed open the flap, looking around to try and find the source.
Deirdre leaned over my shoulder, hands braced on my back as she got on her tiptoes to look with me. "Over there." She pointed to the grouping nearby, and it didn't take me long to figure out what was going on.
Ayra, Lachesis, Finn, and Lex were all setting up tents, and based on how frustrated Ayra looked, and how sheepish Lachesis smiled, I thought Lex and Finn were helping the two with their knots, since this was likely Lachesis's first time setting up a tent and I knew that Ayra had difficulties tying good, strong knots. Of course, knowing Lex, he was teasing them silly, and Ayra was trying to retaliate, while Finn just quietly tried to show them how to do it.
"They're so adorable!" Deirdre squealed, giggling. Her eyes danced as she leaned forward a bit more to look at me. "Shall we join in?" I almost agreed, but a quiet cough snatched my attention, and I turned to see Erinys standing. She shuffled awkwardly, holding something behind her back, but despite her hesitance, her eyes held a clear question.
I smiled at her, and turned my attention back to Deirdre. "Tease them extra for me?" I asked. Deirdre giggled and nodded, making sure to give Erinys a warm smile too. "Thank you. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Sounds good to me." She winked and skipped over to the group, making some innocent comment that made Lachesis and Finn burst into laughter, and Lex and Ayra turn bright red.
I, however, turned back to Erinys and gestured to the infirmary. "Come on in," I told her. She gave me a warm and grateful smile. "What are you hiding anyway?"
"Oh, um…" Erinys stammered. She followed me into the tent, and then shyly set down some small ceramic jars on my table. "I… brought some medicines we use in Silensia."
"Oh?" I opened one up, smiling at the crisp scent that wafted up. "What do they do?"
"They're primarily good for helping stop blood and for disinfectant. Pegasus knights deal mostly with arrow injuries, since they're so effective against us, so our medicines are geared towards minimizing how dangerous they are." She shuffled her feet again, ducking her head. "I… also wanted to talk to you a bit. If you didn't mind."
"I don't mind, and for the future, there's no need to bring a 'payment' for my listening." I smiled slightly as she flushed. "With that said, I do greatly appreciate the new medicine. Arrow wounds are notoriously tricky."
"I-I'm glad to help." She sounded a little squeaky. "Um…"
"What did you want to talk about?" I sat down in a chair and nodded to the one on the other side of the table. She shook her head, though, remaining on her feet. "I'm all ears."
"It's just…" She sighed, rubbing at her arm as she looked at everything in the tent but me. "It's Prince Lewyn. I… I ran into him. Here. I know it's him. He's older, but I… I'd know him anywhere. But..." Hesitantly, she finally looked at me, and there was something fragile in her eyes. "He didn't… acknowledge me. Notice me. It's like… I don't think he recognized me. I think he's forgotten me." With every word, her voice became smaller and smaller, until I had to lean forward and strain to catch it. "I don't like… being ignored…"
"Of course not. No one does." I watched her carefully, noticing how she fidgeted with her gloves, and held herself stiffly, even as she slumped. "That's not all that's bothering you, is it?"
"It's not." She curled into herself a bit, but she still held herself tense. "I… w-well, even if he forgot me, he has to know I'm from Silensia. But he… he hasn't asked about home. He hasn't asked about his mother. He hasn't asked about… anything. He could do those things while still not knowing me, right?" Though her voice remained small, she spoke quickly, like a dam had broken and the words burst from the cracks. "So, has he forgotten? Has he forgotten his duty? Has he forgotten his home? His people? The thoughts keep spiraling through my head, and I know you're really busy, but I couldn't think of anyone else he's spent time with besides Sylvia, and Sylvia was in the middle of a performance, and I just…"
"Breathe, Erinys." I watched as she did as I said, frowning as she coughed. Now that I looked at her, I noticed she was pale, with noticeable bags under puffy eyes. I wondered when she last slept. "You ultimately want to know what I think about Lewyn, yes? You want to know if I think he has forgotten." I waited until she nodded, and then I waited a moment longer as I gathered my thoughts. "The answer is, no, I don't think he has." "I don't think so." I closed my eyes and thought of the music Lewyn played, how careful and attentive he was to the patients and their requests. It spoke of someone kind, too kind really, to willingly take a path that would lead to harm to the people he loved. I thought of how Lewyn had made sure to fetch Ethlyn when the child came in, helping the only way he could. I thought also of what she had said about him, and why he had left in the first place. "I think, perhaps, he is simply still lost, and he thinks you expect an answer." I opened my eyes and looked at her again, noticing how closely she paid attention. "So he tries to pretend ignorance, because he wants to run away and avoid the problem instead of confronting it. That's my assessment, at least."
"...That makes sense." She smiled sadly, looking down. "I don't really want an answer, though. I just want him to talk to me, like he used to. And maybe consider coming home. I've missed him horribly, and Queen Rahna wants him back. He's all she has left of her family." She sniffed, tearing up, but she also looked frustrated. "He's so… so selfish! Why is he the only one allowed to sacrifice for loved ones?"
"Why not ask?"
"I'm scared he'll run away again." She sniffed again, and I gestured to my shoulder, a silent offer for her to cry on it. She actually moved to sit on the floor and cry in my lap. "Sorry… my back still hurts…"
"That's right; you pulled it this morning." I reached down to stroke her hair, and she closed her eyes, letting the tears slip down her face. "There's a lot of broken trust here, isn't there? He doesn't trust the people around him to make their own decisions, and you don't trust him to not disappear again. Seems like you need to focus on fixing that before you doing anything else."
"Maybe." She sighed, and relaxed slowly. "You're very comfy… like Annand..."
"Who is Annand?"
"My older sister. She's the leader of the pegasus knights, the Seraph of the four Angelic Knights of Silensia." She laughed a little. "Sorry, the Angelic Knights are the highest ranked pegasus knights in Silensia. Annand is the highest, followed by Pamela, the Cherub. Archangel Deet'var is third, and I'm… the newest one. I'd just been promoted when we got word, and begged to be the one to look for Prince Lewyn." She sighed, relaxing more. "I'm… so tired…"
"Stay here a while, then." I stroked her hair again. "Sleep. I'll wake you if something happens."
She mumbled something, already half-asleep, and I switched my priorities to studying the medicine she had brought, and making some more of the ones I already had, just in case. I worked quickly and quietly, letting her nap. At one point, though, I caught a sound at the entrance, and looked up to see Lewyn peering in, looking worriedly at Erinys. I gave him a smile, and shook my head slightly, a silent 'come back later', and he nodded, leaving.
Those two had awkward days to come. I wondered how involved they'd make me.
"Lady Deirdre, have you thought of names for your baby?" Sylvia asked as she checked on the bandages boiling on the fire. A few hours ago, Sigurd had led the forces to battle, but there were less casualties than expected, especially with three people working the infirmary here, and Sylvia was, by nature, a talkative person. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"
"Honestly, I'll want both eventually," Deirdre answered. She measured out medicine for me while I checked on some of the worse wounded. "I would love a little boy with Sigurd's hair and eyes, though."
"And maybe a little girl who takes after you? That'll be cute~" Sylvia giggled, pulling the bandages out of the pot with some tongs and setting them on a towel to dry. "But names?"
"I haven't thought of names yet. I've decided I'll think of some when things calm again, after Sigurd has told Eldigan of the happy news."
"That's adorable~!" Sylvia giggled again and then turned to me. "Alicia, bandages are done!"
"Help Deirdre with the medicines, then," I called, fixing the blanket over one patient. I wasn't sure how to take the less work. The infirmary should be filled with those injured, but had a chance of surviving. Either there weren't that many injured, or we had a lot of dead. "Rest up. We don't know when the next wave will come." As it stood, I'd even had time to change my dress after the initial waves, and comb the blood out of my hair.
"Okay!" the two chorused before settling down to work. I laughed a little and returned to checking on the injured, feeling dread pool in my stomach even as I faked my calm cheer.
Knowing how battles normally went, I should've been so much busier. I should be scrambling to tend to everyone. I should've had broken healing staves. I should've run out of bandages and medicine. I should've felt under-prepared, despite days of preparations. Yet, I felt none of these things. Everything was calm, under control. The battle was going horribly. I was certain of it.
It was almost a twisted relief when the next wave of injured arrived, and I was busy again. But it was still too few. While Sylvia, Deirdre, and I frantically tried to tend to them, it was not the 'normal' franticness. It was calmer. We had bad injuries, but too few. We had unconscious, but too few. There were just too few.
"Tell me what's going on," I whispered to Erinys, bandaging her up. She had fallen back due to an injury to her leg, nothing that would take her out of the fight, but enough that she needed it tended to. She had insisted on no healing staff, and I had allowed it after assessing it. "There's something wrong. I can tell."
"It's bad," she confirmed, speaking softly. Deirdre and Sylvia rushed about, checking on the recent arrivals, and cheering the conscious with their smiles. "We might have to fall back, truthfully."
"Why? Is Lord Eldigan in charge or something?"
"No, he's still imprisoned. Instead, we have someone named Zyne and his elite soldiers. He is known as the Knight Slayer, thanks to this stupidly large lance he wields, designed to cut down a horse and rider in one swing. I have no idea how he lifts the thing. But he can, and he's fast, and his soldiers are second only the Lord Eldigan's Cross Knights."
"The majority of our forces are cavalry." I knew there had been too few. My bad feeling… it had been right. "How are our foot soldiers?"
"Thankfully, thanks to the lance's size, it's just… a strong lance to them. It damages, but most manage to avoid being reducing to paste. Some aren't so lucky, though." Despite the grim words, she smiled sweetly when I tired off her bandage. "I best return. My aerial capabilities allow me to pick off some troublesome enemies, like the mages. Is there anything you need me to relay to Lord Sigurd?"
"...Simple tell him that the infirmary remains ready, and that I have faith in him." I hoped the words would soothe him. "Though, if he looks as if he is in need of a laugh, also tell him that if he gets himself badly hurt, I will be very vexed with him on Deirdre's behalf. He is not allowed to make my best friend cry."
"I shall!" She hopped to her feet, bouncing a couple of times to check how much stress her leg could take, and bowed to me. "Thank you kindly." She limped off, back to her pegasus outside, and I saw her off, watching the feathers fall as she disappeared into the skies. I caught one, and barely managed to stifle a bitter little laugh as I immediately got it bloodstained. I hoped that wouldn't curse her.
Sighing, I looked around, almost hoping for someone else to come. It didn't necessarily have to be someone injured, but someone else to tell me more. How many were dead? How many did death take before I even got a chance to fight back? How many people would be crying tonight? Those questions ran through my head, and this time, I did laugh bitterly. It had been so much easier to do my job when I wasn't close to people. It was so much easier to remain detached when the only two people I cared about were safely away. But now, I desperately worried, and not just over my friends. I worried over the soldiers I knew by face, but not name, because I had seen so many of them smile and laugh. I had spent a great deal of time with this army. I recognized many from our days at Evans Castle, long before we marched into Verdante proper.
But… I was still their healer. I was still the Chief Healer of this army. No matter how much my heart ached and shattered, I'd do my duty. It was all I could do for these crazy, yet loving, people.
A slight trembling shook me from my thoughts and it took me a second to realize the ground was shaking, barely enough to notice. It wasn't an earthquake, or so I thought. In fact, it reminded me more of how the ground felt when many… horses…
I jerked my head to the horizon and gaped as I realized horses really were heading for us. But they wore the colors of reds and golds of Augustria, instead of the mix of colors that represented our own. The enemy… had broken through, and at the front of the charge was a man wielding a lance that looked almost comically large. Zyne had broken through.
There was some sort of commotion behind me, likely the patients panicking. But I held myself firm and calm, as a healer was supposed to, and I actually walked towards the enemy, keeping my expression cool and stoic, my posture tall and poised. I lifted my head slightly, just slightly, and waited for them to stop. I knew there was a not-so-insignificant chance that they'd just trample me, but I held my ground, taking the gamble.
They slowed as they approached me, the rank and file soldiers significantly sooner than Zyne, who stopped almost right in front of me, turning slightly so that I didn't get a face full of horse breath. He looked down at me, expressionless, and I returned the look with my own passive calm. The air held still as we continued to stare at each other, with only the distant sounds of battle to break the silence that fell.
He looked away first. "You will be coming with me," he declared. He shifted his grip on his lance. "I wish to duel Sigurd, yet he refuses."
"So, you intend on taking me, a simple healer, hostage," I replied softly with a polite smile. "My, my. I had no idea that knights attacked healers."
"I am not attacking."
"I view 'kidnapping' as an attack." I shook my head, holding onto my calm with all the skill years of practice had given me. "This camp is filled with wounded and non-combatants, led by a healer and a woman in the early months of pregnancies. Yet you come at us, with an army, intending to take us hostage." My smile remained polite, but I knew it had cooled. "That is the way of Augustria, then?"
"You will be coming with us, by force if necessary!" His voice was snappy, anger bleeding through. He bristled at my quiet insults, and glowered, trying to make me cower. I faced him impassively. "Make this easy on yourself!"
"I am a healer. Healers never take the easy road. Our jobs involve fighting Death with all of our skills, every single day, when it would be far easier to give up on the wounded." I shook my head, and made my tone the tiniest bit patronizing. "I look Death in the face, every hour, and I see the faces of those I failed to save in its eyes. You're just a man, a strong man, but a man nonetheless. You are not enough to frighten me, and neither is your army strong enough to make me submit."
"Then by force, you come with us!"
"Then, by force, we refuse!" The words were accompanied by a blast of light magic, and I didn't even need to turn around to know Deirdre was glaring. "We will not let you harm our people!" she snapped, coming to stand next to me. I glanced down to see her Aura tome glowing. "You're only coming after us because you began losing anyway! How pathetic!"
"You know nothing!" Zyne snapped. He brought his lance up, and the soldiers behind him prepared their own weapons. "Capture them! Leave the three woman alive, but do what you will with the others!"
"Knights suck." Sylvia skipped to my other side, and to my surprise, she held a sword. "I'm not good at fighting," she muttered, glowering at the preparing soldiers. "But I'm decent enough at being a distraction, especially since they're not aiming to kill. I can distract for Deirdre."
"We won't let them get anywhere near the injured," Deirdre agreed. She brought up her hand and loosed another Aura spell, blasting a horse and its rider into nothing but ash. "Alicia, what do you plan?"
"Well…" I began. I took stock of how many people were here, and though it was much more than Mackily… "I think I'll try our trick from before."
"Have fun!" Deirdre blasted another knight and Sylvia darted forward, rather boldly dancing close to a horse and slicing at the legs before jumping back. She paid for the daring with a gash to her side, but the horse reared back in shock and threw its rider.
I ducked back into the tent, smiling gently at the worried patients, and headed for where the Sleep staff rested in the corner. I snatched it up and bolted back outside, tripping a little over the hem of my skirt. Then, before I had a chance to hesitate, I brought the staff up and poured my magic into it, sending out Sleep's power as a wide blanket. I winced as pain jabbed my hand, and I teetered to one side as the light faded. But it… mostly worked. I had gotten most of the enemy soldiers, and the few I didn't stumbled and tripped, like they were carrying their horses instead of the other way around.
Unfortunately, Zyne was one of the few I missed, and even worse, he managed to shrug off Sleep's linger effect fairly quickly, even if he had to drop his lance and dismount. "You…" he breathed, staring at me. Sylvia and Deirdre weren't far away, taking care of the others I had missed. "You fight with the ferocity of a knight."
"I don't need to hear that from someone who clearly doesn't know what being a knight should mean anymore," I retorted. I brought the staff up again, my vision wavering at the edges. "You're a disgrace." I focused on Sleep again, hoping to try and cast it again. But pain lanced through my hand again, and blackness threaded my vision before I got a chance to do more than make the gem on the staff glow a bit.
But that had been enough to make him stumble back, flinching from the attack that wouldn't come, and that left him wide open for Deirdre's Aura spell to blast him, searing off one arm and making him stagger. He caught himself, his lone hand stiffly clutching his stump of an arm. He opened his mouth to say something, but Sylvia danced in close and caught him across the chest before slitting his throat. She jumped back from the spray of blood and Zyne fell with a gurgle, dying in a pool of his own blood.
As silence fell, the three of us just stared at the body and then looked at each other, a little startled by what we actually managed. Apparently, moving to simply capture instead of simply fighting to kill crippled fighters.
"We… need to tie up the rest," I pointed out. I dropped Sleep to the ground, wincing at how bloody my palm was, and then wincing again at all the cracks clearly visible in the staff. It was no wonder why it hadn't worked a second time; I wouldn't be able to use it again until someone fixed it. "Oh, gods…" I felt lightheaded and dizzy, my vision black and grey at the edges. I needed to sit down.
"People fight like this every day?" Sylvia complained. She dropped her sword and rotated her wrist as she pressed her other hand to the wound on her side. I barely noticed the other gashes she had taken across her legs and arms, mostly because they bled so sluggishly. "People are weird! Weird!"
"Let's just make sure they can't hurt us when they wake," Deirdre suggested. She looked a little queasy. "Oh, I might faint… or vomit… or both…" She whimpered, covering her mouth. "I should not have fought so much… Aura is taxing anyway..."
"Alicia, can you do a health check on her?"
"I can force myself," I replied. I still had work to do. I couldn't pass out yet. "I need to look after you, and we need to deal with the unconscious…" This was very poorly thought out. We should've just run. "Okay, fourth wind can come very soon…"
Thankfully, some of our own soldiers returned before long, intending on 'saving us', and happily took over tying up everyone so that Deirdre could safely pass out, and I could tend to Sylvia's injuries and try not to pass out myself. Based on their looks of stunned awe, I had a sneaking suspicion that we weren't going to live down this lucky turn of events any time soon. Lovely.
"Maybe I should just let you and Deirdre do everything! You clearly are doing a better job!" Sigurd complained a little sulkily as he paced through the tent. "Just set you on the army! Sleep and Silence them all!"
"Please don't," I replied simply, watching him pace. He and I were in Chulainn's tent, actually, since Sigurd had wanted to talk, and I hadn't wanted to disturb the patients. Chulainn had volunteered it before going out on patrol. "Any more people, and I think I'd faint outright, and do some serious damage to my hand." Even now, I still felt dizzy and lightheaded, and I could move my hand very well without opening all the cuts criss-crossing my palm. I shouldn't use Sleep on so many people at once. I got reckless because how well last time went. "That's not even taking into account that the staff needs repair, badly."
"How is it, by the way?"
"The staff? I just told you."
"Your hand." He gave me an exasperated look. "I'm asking about your hand."
"Oh, that'." I shrugged. "It is no different than when you asked earlier, Sigurd, before you starting your whining." I knew he was only 'complaining' because there was complete reassurance that all of us were fine, even the growing baby. "I'm more confused as to why he wanted a duel."
"Proper Augustrian thing, but I wasn't biting." He sighed heavily, finally stopping his pacing to flop down in the chair across the table from me. "So, he decided to take hostages to make me behave."
"That is certainly the knightly thing to do." I bit back a groan. Lord Eldigan really was the only 'true knight'. He was definitely going to die. I hoped not, but it was likely going to happen. "Perhaps 'knight slayer' was more appropriate than he would've ever admitted. He could slay cavalry with ease, but if he even considered that, he 'slaid' knightly code long before."
"Maybe…" Sigurd sighed, and shook his head. "Oh, but this isn't why I wanted to speak with you privately. Are you up for a lengthy conversation?"
"You might as well, while I'm still conscious." It took almost all of my energy to simply smile at him. "What is it?"
"We got a messenger from Grannvale at Anphony. They arrived shortly after your letter saying you took Mackily, so I think they hit Noldion after you left, and then came up. We talked a bit about the campaign and all, it's going well, which I'm not sure how much I like, though I'm glad to hear my father is safe." It took me a full two seconds to remember that the 'campaign' he talked of was the Isaachian Campaign, and that he had mixed feelings because of Shanan and Ayra. "But he also told me of Arvis's mother and Prince Kurth…"
"Oh. That." I sighed and leaned back in my chair, forcing my cotton-filled head to think. "Well, never mention it to Arvis. If there is one way to make his temper burn, it's bringing that up. It's a sore spot." I sighed again, thinking about what bits I knew. "Our father was horrible. He was abusive, possessive, rapist, and womanizer. Azel and I are born from his forcing himself on others, specifically those Cigyun was close to, as 'punishment' for some imagined slight against him. He kept her locked up because he hated how she 'flirted' with other men, when really, she was just smiling politely. During all that Prince Kurth would visit Velthomer to build bonds with the nobles, and he befriended Cigyun. Given how imaginative our father was, though, I'm not so certain there was an actual affair, and neither is Arvis." I thought of how Arvis once, while visiting me, told me how he did think his mother had fallen in love with Prince Kurth, and how he'd quietly hoped that his mother could get her marriage annulled, and remarry Prince Kurth instead. He had loved how happy his mother finally was around Prince Kurth, though he admitted he had complex feelings for the prince himself. After all, Prince Kurth did play a part in why his mother left.
"I see." Sigurd fell silent, looking contemplative. "Prince Kurth seemed to love her. According to the messenger, an old retainer of the court, he refuses to marry because of that lingering love."
"That could just be guilt talking." I shrugged. Arvis and I had talked about the strangeness once, and we both thought it really was guilt. It made more sense than a supposed love that lingered for seventeen-eighteen years. "Prince Kurth had a few lovers prior to Cigyun and since her departure, according to the rumors. He just hasn't taken any within the last decade, and he doesn't marry. People come up with their own stories to justify actions."
"I see." Sigurd nodded, smiling slightly. "Thanks for explaining. I wanted to hear it from someone who would've had more knowledge about it." He laughed a bit. "I wonder what she looked like, though."
"I only know she was incredibly beautiful, her beauty catching the eyes of everyone who passed her." There were not portraits of her in Velthomer anymore, as Arvis had put most of them in storage in order to deal with his own pain, and I'd never heard a description of her. "Her kindness won people over. I suppose you can think of her like Deirdre, in that way."
"Now don't say that! Now I'm going to fret."
"Why? You're nothing like my father. Deirdre will be happy." I smiled slightly. "Stop panicking over stupid things. You have enough to worry about."
"Yes, yes, dear older sister."
"I'm younger than you." I laughed as he looked disgruntled at that. "Go on."
"Fine, fine!" He threw his hands up in defeat and stood up. "I'll talk to you later." He gave me a warm smile and walked out of the tent. I waited a moment and stood up as well, attempting to follow. But the world suddenly tilted, and I half-crashed into the table, the impact barely enough to jar me awake as my vision greyed. I leaned heavily against the table, trying to get my bearings again, but everything just spun and spun and spun…
"What the hell are you doing?" Gentle hands helped right me, and it took a few more spins for me to realize Ayra was in front of me. "You look like hell," she informed me bluntly. "Get to bed." She nudged me towards the bedroll in the corner, but I was so out of it that I actually staggered and nearly fell on my face. She caught me before I did. "You can't be thinking of working now."
"But…" I tried to protest. The one word sounded like mush, even to my own ears. "The injured…"
"You'll be no help to anyone like this."
"But…" I wished she wasn't right. But I knew she was. If I pushed myself any more, I was going to be a patient myself. It was only my pride talking; the healer in me screamed at my idiocy. "I'm sorry."
"Just rest." She helped me to the bedroll, and actually tucked me in when I managed to crawl inside. "I'll check on you later." I wanted to say more, another apology or perhaps some polite gratitude, but unfortunately, laying down made all the exhaustion catch up, so I mumbled something incoherent even to my ears, and promptly passed out, oblivious to just about everything, though I thought I heard her laugh at me before sleep closed my ears.
I woke up only once during the evening, blinking blearily at Chulainn as he leaned over me in the fading light. I blinked a few times before realizing why he looked so awkward, even as he brushed the hair out of my face. I'd stolen his bed. I thought about getting up. but I was tired, and couldn't really move. The thing was… Chulainn looked exhausted too. He had been fighting all day, and he needed to sleep. I couldn't let him sleep on the cold ground.
So, after a long awkward moment of continued staring, I scooted to the side a bit, and held out an arm in a silent suggestion. He stared at me a long moment, face expressionless, before he nodded and slipped in with me. At first, he tried to keep his distance, but after a couple of awkward squirming, his cold feet brushing mine, he seemed to give up, and instead, caught me in a hug and pulled me close, curling around me almost protectively as he closed his eyes. I burrowed a little deeper into the hug, smiling at the warmth and 'safety' I felt, and fell back asleep. I'd have to work three times as hard to make up for sleeping on the job, but for now, I'd enjoy this.
Perhaps it was a little odd to share a bed before sharing a kiss, but somehow, I thought it fit us. I didn't mind, at least.
Records on Aideen:
Cleric, Ullur Minor, 20 years old
The second child of House Jungby, the younger twin of the Ullur Major of this generation. A gentle and kind woman who catches the eyes of many, but only has eyes for Sir Midir
Her Holy Mark is on her right shoulder blade.
A very skilled healer, despite not coming from a house known for magic, a testament to how hard she studied.
Author's notes: In game, Zyne is rather one-note, while in the manga, he is a sympathetic character. I went a slightly different route. Actually using Deirdre and Sylvia in-game to kill Zyne is probably suicide, but I get to play a bit more with things in a novelization. For emphasis, the more people Alicia uses the Sleep Staff on, the more draining it is on both her and the staff; it is best suited for single use, like in game, which she is just figuring out.
In game, the Horseslayer simply 'auto-crits' on cavalry (so, double damage) instead of three times effectiveness, ftr. The term 'Angelic Knights' shows up only in supplementary material from what I know, though the idea of each of them having a separate 'rank' within is something I threw in, using ranks from Christian angelology.
Next Chapter - Oath
