Chapter 41) Divinity
Darna is ours and is on the road to recovery. Now, we had to go prepare to take Alster… while also reevaluating how we looked at things. Or maybe that was just me and those I grew up with? Who knew?
Oifeye once told me that you never stopped learning and changing for as long as you lived. This war of ours really does highlight that.
The sun was warm. The wind was cold, but the sun was warm, and I could easily see myself dozing off as I laid up here on the roof of Melgen's castle. But I did my best not to, because I'd climbed up here to think. And laugh at myself as lessons slowly seeped in and became solid in my mind. Or something.
"I talked about listening, but I purposely kept myself ignorant just so that I could remember how complicated things are," I whispered to myself. No reason, really. I just had wanted to hear the words aloud, to make them more 'real'. "I suppose it's better to say that I was… not pretending, exactly, but…" I kept it at the 'present', and maybe some of the 'future'. Not the past. Aside from the Loptyrian Hunts, that is…
I briefly thought about why that was, beyond my own issues, and came upon an answer quickly enough. Despite the complexity, it had actually been easier. I was used to complexity. I didn't actually know what to do when things were 'simple' or perceived to be simple, at least. Because, all my life, I had been raised knowing that the 'mythical Someday' where we 'saved Jugdral' would never be a conflict between good and evil. It was a conflict between everyone who did what they thought was right, and a conflict of hurt people desperately longing for revenge. Sure, there would probably be a few who didn't qualify for that (Hilda came to mind, but I didn't know every ally we had; we could have bandits with us for all I knew). But for the most part, it was a mess, because people were messes. And it wasn't as if Bloom was quite like Danann. I mean… Danann let his soldiers butcher and rape as they pleased, and forced Isaachians into 'labor camps' where they worked until they fell over dead. Danann hadn't ruled, really. He'd strangled Isaach. Bloom did seem interested in ruling… with everyone in chains. At least, based on my own limited knowledge...
"The first thing Oifeye taught us was that no one is 'the villain' in their own mind. Their actions are always justifiable to themselves. They always have a 'good reason'. They're the 'hero', after all. It's all a matter of perspective." And with simple gossip and history, you twisted people's perception. You saw it with my parents and their friends, who went from traitors to heroes in the space of five years. You saw it with Arvis, who went from hero to villain. And I was sure the Loptyrians saw themselves as justified in their revenge. "But… but justifications doesn't mean you're right. And feeling bad doesn't erase your guilt…"
Look at Bloom, for instance. I purposely hadn't focused on it both because he was Ishtar's father and because his actions never directly affected me (unlike Danann), but regardless of his feelings on the matter, he had kidnapped Aunt Tailtiu and Tine and secluded them from everyone. His soldiers had killed Uncle Azel, and he'd covered it up (though, perhaps that never did get reported). He had turned away while his wife beat Aunt Tailtiu to death, and hid the cause of death. He kept people like Bramsel in power, despite Bramsel being a known rapist, and supported others who were just as bad. He purposely kept the people of Manster on the edge of starving, to 'minimize' the chances of them rising up against him. Not to mention copious use of assassins, even against children, and remained so stubborn about 'threats to the Empire' that he had destroyed entire cities. And that was just what I knew about. If I did a little bit of looking, I was sure I could find more. I had just… not done that. Because he was Ishtar's father (and she had to learn her kindness from somewhere among her family and it sure as hell wasn't Hilda) and I felt guilty over Ishtore. Because I felt I had to keep remembering the complexity of the situation, both because of what happened to my parents and because of how guilty I felt not only over the deaths, but how I had lost my temper while fighting General Richard and Danann.
But… I shouldn't. I shouldn't feel guilty. Because who wouldn't lose their temper when fighting them? Richard raped Creidne, brutalized her to the point of suicide, and Creidne had been our first friend in Tirnanog, one of the few who loved us and not just the 'hope' and 'salvation' we represented. And Danann… well, I had thought about it earlier, but he'd slowly strangled Isaach for nothing more than a desperate need to 'prove' his superiority. I shouldn't feel bad for losing my temper, even if I acknowledged the brutal way both died. I shouldn't feel guilty over it, because I was human and I was allowed to feel. I was allowed to be imperfect. And… and if I didn't lose my temper, then how could I know how to reign it in when I inevitably lost it again? That was why I didn't know what to do when my emotions wanted to simplify things. I always fought against it, fought to keep everything buried so that I could smile for everyone else.
"But it's okay to keep some things simple, right?" I smiled as I whispered the words, because it went so contrary with what I grew up with. "It's okay. I just… I won't forget that I'm fighting people. I will never forget that, even as I let some things become simple." That I was fighting scared people. We'd give them chances, but I had to be careful about confusing different fears. And I had to be careful to not offer mercy at the expense of justice and I had to just accept that I wasn't… I would never reach everyone. Not with my words. My actions spoke louder. All of our actions spoke louder… "Ha… I can't believe I'm legally an adult when I'm this stupid. That I'm like… two, three years into being an adult when..." Who decided that 'sixteen' was of age? How could anyone think that a sixteen year old could-
"RIONA!"
"I didn't do it!" The words came automatically and I swung my legs around to hop to my feet before I even really processed that Oifeye had shouted for me. Mostly because I knew that tone and it always meant trouble. 'I was in big trouble' trouble, not 'everyone is going to die' trouble. "Unless it was something I was supposed to do, because in that case, I did do it!" I rambled, heading to the edge of the roof to try and find him below. I mean… I had made sure I had everything done before I decided to talk to myself on the roof like a potential-crazy person. "So… uh…"
"Oh, Princess Riona!" That was a different voice, belonging to one of the older refugee girls we had staying with us. Even from here, I could see her smiling, though Oifeye was scowling as she rushed over to join him. The contrast between the two was kind of amusing, really. She even had blonde hair to his darker brown. "Can you help us with something?" she asked, waving her hands to make sure she was seen. "Please?"
"Yeah, sure, I'll climb down." So… what was going on? Oifeye wouldn't be mad at someone needing my help. And he was definitely at least annoyed. Did I miss a message from Sandas or Anat? "Give me a second!"
It didn't take long for me to climb down, and then I followed the girl, who cheerfully skipped along despite wearing a heavily patched and loose dress, and Oifeye, who was doing his best impression of a storm cloud. I desperately tried to think of just what had happened, and wondered if it was less something I had/hadn't done, but something Hestia had. But if that were the case, Oifeye would've just said something? This was all weird, and I kept on fretting as we made it to the large room where the children played and took their lessons. That's when I discovered what the problem was. There were cats. Wild cats. Caracels, I believed they were called, based on the little 'tufts' I could see on the ears. And they were baby ones, toddling about to sniff around, making this very high pitched noise that almost sounded like 'meep', and happily 'headbutting' the children, who squealed in delight. Completely adorable… and completely not really supposed to be anywhere near here, much less in the middle of the kids' room. For crying out loud, I was pretty sure they were nocturnal anyway!
"We found them outside all alone!" the girl explained with a bright smile. I needed to find out her name, since if she was the one who got me, she was a 'leader' among the children. "So, how do we make sure they're okay?"
"I… well…" I began, desperately trying to not laugh. Oh, I knew why Oifeye was mad now. He had to be scripting a very long lecture in his head. "Okay, first off… ah, never mind. We'll have lessons about approaching wild animals later." There was no way I could lecture with fluffy cuties in the room. "Let's see the dears and then we'll work on getting you all checked over."
The children were delighted at watching me carefully look the baby-caracals over, while one of the older children went to get a healer at my request. Once I was reasonably certain that they had nothing wrong with them (that I could find), I checked them over for ticks and fleas and the like. And then checked the children over for the same. And, once Lana arrived (giving me the most 'you have got to be kidding' face before switching to her 'healer mask'), we gave the caracals baths. And then the children got their own baths, with all cloth going to the laundry, juuuust in casies. Once all that was done, I left the room to let Lana check for any potential diseases and whatnot and headed down the hall. And just barely made it out of sight before I had to lean against the wall because I couldn't keep from laughing anymore and I was laughing so hard that I teared up and my belly ached!
"Of all the things…" Oifeye, however, was far less amused when he caught up with me. Not even the leftover suds clinging to his hair diminished the 'thundercloud' look. The toddlers and babies liked to splash (probably because we made funny noises), and he had kindly taken over bathing them when we had difficulties. "This is your influence, you know," he scolded. I nodded, even as I kept on laughing. "So. Plan of action?"
"We… we need…" I struggled to say, trying to get my breath under control so that I could be serious. But then I was hiccuping, so that was pointless. Oh gods… "Whoo boy…" And there was another hiccup. Or twelve. "We need…"
"Calm down first."
"Trying!" I took a deep breath and held it until my chest began hurting, and then breathed out. Like usual, it worked for me; Lester never had luck with it. "Okay… we need to warn the soldiers that there might be a mama-caracal prowling around, angrily looking for her babies. And once we're sure everyone is fine, then I need to give them lectures about approaching wild animals."
"And figure out what we're going to do with the new ones."
"Ideally, we get them to their mama!" Otherwise, we… er… might have new baby animals to take care of? "Look, I don't know why they decided to emulate me! There's hundreds of other sane people in this army!" Oifeye was still scowling, though. "But I'm going to be giving them all the lectures! Many lectures. So many lectures." I pushed off the wall and took a step back, smiling innocently. "After warning soldiers, sooooo… byeeeeee~!" And I ran off as fast as I could because I knew Oifeye had only just started the lecture.
I heard Oifeye yell after me, but I ran quick, an expert at dodging such lectures by this point in my life. Besides, I really did want to find a soldier as soon as possible. If their mama was still alive, she had to be deathly worried about her babies. I wanted to soothe that distress quickly and, luckily for me, I ran into a soldier before long. Mursili at that.
"Is something wrong, my lady?" he asked, looking me over curiously. No doubt trying to piece together why I was running through the halls. "Did Hestia cause trouble again?"
"I hope not!" I replied with a laugh. Even as worry burrowed into my head because it had been a few hours since I'd seen her. "She should still be with Larcei and Shanan, helping train the soldiers."
"You mean terrify them into running quickly, yes?" Mursili shuddered, and I muffled another laugh. After all, that was exactly what she was helping with. Few things got someone running faster than a wolf charging towards them. "If it is not that, though…"
"Actually I was looking for someone to talk to the soldiers for me." I smiled at him, now biting back laughter for a difference reason. "So, for whatever reason, the children decided to emulate me and when they found baby wild animals, they brought them inside." I couldn't keep from laughing when Mursili groaned. "I know; I know. But if you can tell everyone to keep an eye out for a potentially angry mama-caracal?"
"I will, but I'm not certain we should get our hopes up, my lady." Mursili sighed, shaking his head, and I frowned. "Scouts found a few Friege soldiers attempting, poorly, to do surveillance on us." Poorly, huh? Was it because they had no knowledge of the land or because Bloom was running low on skilled scouts? "They'd been here for a few days, based on their camp, and Bloom never stopped his soldiers from overhunting, so..."
"...I see." So, rather like Danann on that front. Did Grannvale have an overabundance of prey animals or something? ...Well, it didn't matter, because I was sure someone local had to have warned him of the dangers or tried to. And Bloom had ignored it, just like Danann. "Well, perhaps we'll get lucky? You never know."
Note to self: make sure I listen to the people around me. That way I hopefully did less stupid stuff than this. ...Hopefully.
"I still can't believe you set me up!" Larcei grumbled, sprawling out on my bed. She had the morning off, so she was hanging out with me until I had to leave. "Seriously!"
"I have no idea what you mean," I replied absently, going through my closet. I was trying to find something to wear, but nothing was really… well, catching my interest. "Ugh… why are clothes difficult?"
"It's all the worse when you have a vague, but super particular, impression in your head for how you want to look." Larcei threw a pillow at my head, and I glanced back to give her a 'really?' look after it bounced off of me and hit the floor. "Nice underwear, by the way. That's a new breast-band, isn't it?"
"Yeah, the lost weight decided to come from my boobs, so my old ones were getting big."
"I know that feeling. I had to buy new ones myself." She sighed mournfully, so much so that I had to chuckle because I knew she was being over-the-top on purpose. "Such a shame. I liked how my breasts looked."
"You still have awesome breasts, Larcei. Promise."
"Thanks, love!" She laughed, bouncing a bit on the bed, based on the squeaking I heard. I needed to have someone check to make sure the bed was still stable and all. "I think you benefited from smaller ones, though. Your figure looks better than ever."
"Aw, thank you~!" Ah, boosts to the ego. Just what I needed. "Now, if only I can find something to freaking wear."
"Doesn't help that it's been getting cold. We should probably do shopping." Larcei gasped and snapped her fingers. "Wait! I was complaining at you!"
"Was wondering when you'd get back to that." I grinned at her over my shoulder and caught her playful glare. "But honestly, I'm not sure what you're referring to. It's been a busy few days."
"Shanan taking me out shopping for gauntlets!" Oh. That. Yep, totally forgot about that. "And don't pretend you didn't! He said that you recommended it!"
"Well, I'm not going to pretend now that I know what you're talking about." Back to flipping through clothes. "But both of you needed a break, and you've needed new gauntlets for a while apparently."
"...Not a while." Larcei was mumbled, and when I glanced back at her, I saw she was looking away, blushing faintly. "It was only damaged in one of the last couple of fights."
"Oh. Huh." So many things to say to that, but it would be a little mean to keep teasing right now. "But yes, I did recommend it. I figured it was a convenient enough excuse. But I won't do stuff like that if you don't want me to." I walked over and kissed her cheek, ducking down to smile at her. "Should I not?"
"I…" She groaned and flopped back onto the bed, burying her face in the pillows. So, basically, 'I have no idea'. "Oh, hey, this smells good. New shampoo?"
"Seliph got a new one, yes." And I seriously thought about stealing it. Wouldn't be hard at all, since his stuff was set up next to mine in the bathroom. "Nice change in subject."
"Not change! Distraction!" She lifted her head up briefly to grin before laying down again. "I don't really know. I should talk to the adults, huh?"
"Aunt Lachesis."
"She is rapidly becoming our 'we don't understand romance so help!' person, huh?" Well, to be fair, she both offered and in this case, the other options were Uncle Finn and Oifeye, who were Shanan's best friends. "Give me your honest opinion."
"I always do."
"Even more so that usual." She was quiet for a long moment, but I let her gather her thoughts. I knew she needed it. "You think I have a chance?"
"I think you have as much of a chance as anyone." I went back to my closet and going through my clothes, trying to find… I didn't even know. Something that jumped out, I supposed. "Main problem is Shanan switching from 'sole protection because I feel guilty for surviving' to 'oh, right, I am allowed to find my own happiness'. I've been prodding him about it, and I know the others have, but you got to go through that first before there even really is a chance. The army's annihilation completely messed up everyone connected to them." And it seemed like the older I got, and the more I interacted with people, the more aware I became of that.
"True." Larcei lifted her head up again, and smiled slightly. "Okay, I think… I think I'll be a little more active. After Alster. Because I doubt any attempts will get through his thick skull before then."
"Too true." Now, if only I could come up with some sort of 'plan of attack' for my current problem of…
"Okay, it's taking you a ridiculous amount of time picking out clothes. Even for you." Larcei swung around so that she was sitting again. "What's wrong? I can see clothes so it's not a lack of options or anything."
"Yeah, but none of it is…" I struggled for a word. "I want to dress up a little, I suppose. But not festive dress up."
"Ooooohhhh…" Larcei grinned, eyes sparkling with glee. Whoo boy… "Something to wow Seliph when you two are-" And then there was a knock on the door. "I swear to the gods if this is an emergency…"
"I hope not." My mind was generating thousands of possibilities, though, from 'Hestia is being a little shit' to the more terrifying. "Come in!"
"Riona, you're in your underwear."
"Come in if you don't mind seeing my lovely underwear!"
"Well, I don't mind, I think." Maliya opened the door and came in, closing the door behind her before bowing to Larcei and me. "Pardon the interruption," she murmured, straightening. I waved off the apology, and instead focused on the bundle of cloth she carried. If Maliya was the one here, then it probably wasn't an emergency-emergency. And the color was super pretty. "This… actually, this might be a little forward, but…"
"Not sure why you think that, when Riona's literally standing around in her underwear," Larcei joked with a bright grin. Maliya quickly muffled a laugh. "What's up?"
"Well, some of us have notice that your clothes don't quite suit the changing weather." That was true. None of us had really packed 'winter clothing', since there was so much else to keep up with, and certainly not clothing that dealt with the sharper changes in temperature the Manster District was prone to. Isaach was more of a 'constant cold' once fall and winter hit, lie Silesse. "So, we've begun mending and making some clothes for you all?"
"That's so sweet!" It really was. "Is that one of them?"
"Yes. I had planned on waiting, but… well, Lady Riona, you're having your first date in goodness knows how long, so…" Maliya carefully unfolded the cloth, revealing it to be an absolutely beautiful dress of blues and grays. "What do you think?"
"I think I'm wearing that!" I laughed, grinning. It suited my vague imagination much more than my Isaachian clothes! "So, anything special with how it's put on or anything?"
Maliya helped me get ready, not only helping make sure the dress hung right on me, but tying scarves around my waist like a belt to give the dress even more color, but not overwhelmingly so. And I had to admit that the look was very flattering on me, more than I would've expected, really. But what really startled me were the intricate braids Maliya put into my hair, leaving most of it down, but deftly making sure it would stay out of my face. Larcei got on her hands and knees on my bed and leaned forward to watch Maliya work, sparkling eyes hinting that she might see if there was something similar she could do for her shorter hair.
"My lady, I hope you're not in here." Around the time Maliya finished, Niamh knocked on my door and came in, eyes narrowed suspiciously. She quickly relaxed when she saw Maliya fussing over my appearance. "Oh, good, I was worried you were discarding relaxation for work again," she explained, leaning against the frame. "Please make sure you enjoy the entire day, Lady Riona."
"Don't hesitate to get us if there's an emergency, though," I replied, feeling a bit… bubbly, I suppose. It was ridiculous, of course, but I felt like a 'princess', far more so than I had when trapped in Alster. Sure, the clothing there might've been nicer, but there was something much warmer about this and how Maliya made sure everything was perfect. "Ah, and make sure that everyone is extra quiet around the infirmary. They're doing some surgeries there." One of the soldiers got appendicitis in the middle of the night, plus there were some others. Some blocked arteries that had to be cleared, debridement of some wounds, couple of hernias… most were in the refugees who arrived a few days ago. Think there was someone with a literal hole in their heart. "And if Hestia acts up…"
"My lady, by this point, we know exactly what to do when Hestia decides she's bored."
"Yeah, get one of us!" Larcei laughed, hopping off the bed. When Maliya stepped away from me, she began pushing me out the door, with Niamh helpfully holding the door open. "Go on, go on! Find treats for us!"
I didn't even dignify that with a reply. I just rolled my eyes and left, doing my best to not wear a silly smile or skip. I mostly failed, but I didn't actually mind, particularly when the people I passed complimented me. Though, I was a bit out of sorts when I got to the main gate and Seliph wasn't there. There had been a couple of morning meetings that he couldn't put off or delegate, but I'd assumed that all the fretting and fussing over my clothes took more time than his meetings. Apparently not.
But it was okay, because before I could really start thinking of how to pass the time, Seliph walked into the courtyard, discussing something with Ares, of all people. I wasn't sure what, though I was glad to see the two of them interacting, so I couldn't help but smile when Seliph glanced my way. Then I had to fight to keep from laughing when Seliph just stared and… ah… didn't finish his sentence. Wasn't sure he finished his word, actually.
"This is why I got you," Ares said dryly, smirking in amusement. His posture was stiff, but I noticed it was more relaxed than it had been the past few days. "You're too easily distracted."
"I'm not sure this is… I'm not easily distracted!" Seliph protested, blushing from embarrassment. I covered my mouth to muffle my laugh. Ares just looked skeptical. "I'm… ah…"
"You're only two years younger than me. Why do you make me feel old?" Ares rolled his eyes and shoved Seliph towards me. "Seriously, go have fun for once. Oh, but Riona?" He focused on me, and I did my best to pretend seriousness. "Can Hestia help out the cavalry soldiers learn how to freaking dodge? It's too easy to pull them from their saddles."
"...Just keep her safe, please," I agreed slowly. I mean; I couldn't deny being uneasy about it, because a horse's kick could easily hurt or kill her. At the same time, though, everyone and their dead great-grandmothers knew how important Hestia was to me, so... "I'm sure she'd be delighted to help, of course, but..."
"Don't worry. Won't have her around the horses to avoid spooking them. There's this training thing Iuchar set up for practice sitting since some of the new ones sit in the saddle like they've got an iron rod up their asses." Understandable, of course. Horses could be expensive to keep, particularly in an area that didn't have a lot of extra funds. "Anyway, have fun, you two."
"Thanks for dropping Seliph off!" I waved Ares goodbye and, as Ares left, skipped over to Seliph with a smile. "So, how do I look?"
"Even prettier than normal, which is really saying something," Seliph answered easily, leaning down to kiss me. I blushed, pleased. "So, off to the market?"
"Sounds like fun!" I laughed, taking his hand and tugging him forward. We both made sure to wave to the guards manning the gates as we passed through. "Meetings run long?"
"I ended up having an extra one." Seliph kept on smiling, but I could see the strain in it. "I had a couple of representatives from town wanting to speak with me."
"...About the lack of room."
"Yeah." We stopped walking so that Seliph could lean against me. It must've taken a lot out of him… "They do want to help, but Melgen wasn't made for this many people." He gave me a look and… well, attempted a joke. "And animals."
"Hey, I gave them the warnings!" And, heartbreakingly, patrolling soldiers had discovered the dead body of a caracal not far from where the kittens had been found. So, they had stayed with us, to Oifeye's grief. "But yeah, we need more room… and we need to get everyone home…" Or, more accurately, repair those homes. Though, you did have the issue of people just… staying with us. To fight. To handle the day to day things. "But we'll make it through."
"I know. But we might have to march on Alster sooner rather than later, and not just the refugees. I sent Fee off to check on Leonster, but…" We could only hope Leonster was still standing. None of the refugees brought any news about it falling, but… "But you're right. We'll make it through."
"Indeed." I smiled warmly and kissed his cheek before pulling him down the road, again. "Oh, Larcei wants treats, by the way."
"She always wants treats. She's almost as bad as Hestia!"
"I know, right?"
We made sure to talk of lighter things to get our moods back up so that we were smiling by the time we actually ran into people at the market. As usual, it was a bustling place, filled with loud laughter. Strains of musics flitted through the air from various musicians plying their trade between the stalls. Children raced about playing, while their parents shopped and did chores. Vendors boasted about their wares, trying to lure in customers. It was so wonderful to see a place so lively, though I was sure there were problems I just couldn't see. But I couldn't let the shadows drag down my sunshine, right?
"Whoa, easy there!" Seliph laughed when a child ran into his leg. He stopped laughing, though, when he saw that the child was tearing up, clearly distressed instead of having fun like some of the others. "Hey, what's wrong?" He let go of my hand and knelt in front of the child, wiping their face. "You get lost?" After a moment of staring at us, the child nodded slowly. "Here, I'll help. And… up we go!" He easily lifted the child onto his shoulders, and the child was so startled that they stopped tearing up almost instantly to look about in stunned wonder. "Which way did you last see them?" The child pointed further into the crowd. I'd never known a child to be so quiet before. "That way? Okay!"
"You want a sweet while we hunt?" I asked, smiling up at them. The child hesitated before nodding and smiling shyly. "Then let's get you one, okay?"
We wandered the market, eventually buying a pastry for the child while we looked for their parents. Or at least someone who knew them. It was surprisingly hard, but that was mostly because the child didn't say anything. Just pointed. Seliph and I quickly figured out to only ask 'yes or no' questions while searching, and I honestly wondered if we'd have luck. In fact, I wondered if they less 'got lost' and more had their parents die and they just didn't understand.
"Emilia!" Thankfully, the worries proved unfounded, more or less. The young woman who pushed through the crowd and rushed for us looked a little too young to be the child's mother, but she was at least someone who knew them. "Oh, Prince Seliph, Princess Riona, thank you so, so much!" she blurted, tripping a bit over her words. "We got separated in the crowd and-"
"I'm just glad we were able to assist," Seliph reassured, smiling warmly. I helped Emilia off Seliph's shoulders and wiped the crumbs off her cheeks when I saw them. "Oh, we did buy her a treat, though. I hope that's okay."
"Of course!" She smiled and then knelt down to hug Emilia. "I'm so sorry. I should've kept a better grip on your hand…" Emilia just smiled, still not saying anything. "Let's get home. Auntie is worried." She stood up and took Emilia's hand before bowing. "Again, thank you so much!"
"Please, it's no trouble. Again, I'm just glad we could help." Seliph crouched to ruffle Emilia's hair. Emilia beamed up at him. "Be safe."
"Thank you!"
I swore she thanked us at least twenty more times before leaving, careful to keep a good, yet gentle, grip on Emilia's hand the whole time. Emilia turned around and waved goodbye to us, and we of course did the same until they were out of sight. But, I couldn't help but be curious about…
"Ah, that was a mighty kind thing you two did, Prince Seliph, Princess Riona." A nearby vendor, an old man with plenty of smile lines on his weathered face, called to us. Seliph and I immediately ducked a little closer so that we could hear him better, and I found myself entranced by his wares: beautiful bolts of cloth and the like. "Poor Sierra was running all over the place, trying to find her sister," he explained, smiling sadly. "Just had to calm her down from a panic attack, actually."
"I imagine the liveliness of the market didn't make it easy," Seliph murmured, looking down the path again. I focused on a beautiful pale pink cloth that I thought would look beautiful on Yuria. "Plus Emilia's quietness…"
"Muteness, you mean, your highness." The vendor sighed, and Seliph and I glanced at each other, startled. So, that was why… "Their parents were executed by Bloom for 'treasonous intentions'." The hell did that even mean? "Really, they were just complaining a bit about how the taxes made it hard to make ends meet." That was enough for death?! The hell?! "They were killed right in front of Emilia. She's been mute ever since. Luckily, Sierra and Emilia had family who could take them in. The children of executed are just ignored by our lovely empire." That was so… "Ah, listen to me ramble when-"
"No, thank you." Seliph made sure to look him in the eye, to emphasize the sincerity of his words. "I had not heard what constituted a death sentence, nor did I ever know that the families of the executed were essentially thrown to the side. Thank you for telling me. I know it's another thing I need to watch for."
"That said, we're being very serious for a date," I pointed out, mostly because this wasn't something Seliph and I should discuss alone. It should be everyone, particularly those who didn't grow up in Tirnanog. So, we would remember, but… "I know that the more tailor-y minded folk are thinking about making new clothes for us, so you mind if we talk about prices for these lovely colors?"
Thankfully, both the vendor and Seliph were more than happy to switch to business, and we spent a while discussing the fabrics before we found terms all three of us were happy with. With the promise of the bolts' delivery in the morning, Seliph and I continued walking through the market, to continue our date. We did make sure to get treats for everyone, plus a little extra, and we also sent some to Sierra and Emilia's home, both because we thought they deserved some after what we heard, and as a 'thank you' for showing us another reason to fight, and win.
I did my best to keep stoic as I read through Diarmuid's notes on the inventory, but it was hard. We were running low on… just about everything, really. It would be easier to make of list of what we had in 'adequate' supplies, and I could probably count the number of 'plentiful' resources on one hand. When paired with the other report I had from Ulster's scouts… Bloom had never set regulations or anything about overhunting or overforaging and, as kind as Ishtore was, Ishtore didn't change that either. The locals had done things as they always had, but the soldiers had just done whatever. Meaning that the local flora and fauna were already 'low' for the season… and we were making them even lower. We had to take less, and soon, we couldn't take any, if we wanted there to be enough both for the locals to get by and…
"We could switch to one or two meals a day to help stretch things," I murmured, walking through some of the lesser used halls. If I, of all people, walked around with a frown, I knew it would worry everyone. My whole 'able to smile through anything' thing coming back to bite me in the ass, really. Even if we were learning to be more open and delegate more. "Low resources, little space…" And more and more refugees by the day. Based on the maps and the news the refugees bought, practically every village within two days of Leonster had been destroyed by bandits. The ones that hadn't were still unlivable as Friege's soldiers had seized their possessions for 'replenishing supplies', which, when combined with how little they had anyway… "Starting to wonder where Ishtar and Ishtore did get their niceness." I had assumed Bloom, both because there was no way it was Hilda and because of how fatherly he had been to Ishtar, but… "I think I need to remember that even when things are complicated, people wear masks." Particularly when they wanted to take advantage… ah, none of this was helping with the current problem…
"He's so fluffy!" Inanna's lighthearted voice caught my ear, and I decided to go see her, hoping that seeing her cheerful would soothe my nerves. Of course, it took a bit to find her, since she was actually sitting outside in the sunshine with Eresh in her lap, chatting with the blonde girl who had first told me about the caracals. "I love the tufts!" Inanna giggled, petting the caracal in the girl's lap while keeping her other hand on her leopard. One of the things I'd insisted on was, like the other animals we'd adopted, each of them needed an 'owner'. The blonde girl was the first one to volunteer. "Roxana, you should think of a name, though!"
"I'm so bad at names!" the blonde girl complained, carefully brushing her caracal's fur. So, her name was Roxana. About time I learned that. And seeing her and Inanna side by side made me guess that she was around Inanna's age. "How did you pick Eresh's?"
"I talked a bit with Lady Riona for advice!"
"Do…" Roxana smiled shyly. "Do you think she'd mind if I ask too?"
"Of course she won't." Inanna rolled her eyes and picked up some flowers to… attempt weaving them. She wasn't very good at it. "One of these days, I'm going to convince you that none of them mind. If it's a bad time, they'll actually tell you."
"But it's the Scions and they're amazing and wonderful and... oh, you're giving me that look again." Roxana brushed her hair behind her ear before returning to brushing her caracal. Her very happy caracal, based on the purring I heard. The shininess of Eresh's fur hinted that they'd first brushed her, likely Inanna showing Roxana how to do so. "Um… subject change, but you're really bad at flower crowns."
"I-I'm still getting used to seeing flowers all the time!" Inanna scowled, before yelping because Eresh decided one of the flowers looked tasty and tried to nibble on it. "No, no! That's not food! Ugh… is that poisonous to you…?"
"I doubt it. But we can take her by the infirmary later. Or do we have animal doctors?"
"None yet." But that was a good point. We needed to recruit some. Some that wouldn't balk at the… ah… unique ones who traveled with us. "Argh… why is it so hard?"
"Well, for one thing, you're pinching too hard." Roxana reached over to fix Inanna's grip; I thought I caught a little blush on Inanna's face and had to smile. Crush or embarrassment? No clue, but the thought amused me. "Oh, I'm reminded. I'm next for our question trading, right?"
"Yep!" Inanna smiled, and I wondered what they were talking about. Then again, it could be how Inanna tried to bridge the Loptyrians and the non-Loptyrians. I'd ask later, because that was also a good idea. "You said you had one, but it was sad and dark."
"Yeah, I was just…" Roxana returned to brushing her caracal. "What… were you taught about the Child Hunts? And the sacrifices?"
"Ah. Yeah, that's dark." Inanna took her time to answer, continuing to try and make a flower crown. "Well, we're taught it's necessary in order to keep Loptyr's strength up. So, ever since the Loptyrian Empire fell, we had yearly sacrifices." They… they sacrificed their own…? "So, the whole sacrifice thing… well, just felt like everyone else taking up their share of the price, finally."
"Do you still think that?"
"Not sure. I mean…" Inanna struggled for her words; Eresh wake up briefly to lick her cheek before settling down for napping again. "Among us, it was always volunteers. What Sandas and the others went through, though…" Inanna bit her lip, finding it hard to continue. "Well, that's not volunteering."
"Wouldn't call being dragging screaming from your mama 'volunteering' either." Still, Roxana smiled, understanding that Inanna couldn't elaborate more. "What did the adults think about it?"
"Dunno. I mean; they might believe what I did. They might… well, they might not care, because of the Loptyrian hunts. Child Hunts could just be revenge for that. Though, I've heard that the Loptyrian Empire had them too, so maybe it's a weird revenge-revenge thing?"
"Hmm… I wonder too…" And that's when Roxana glanced back and saw me standing at the threshold like a stalker. "Oh, Lady Riona!" She scrambled up, almost sending her caracal to the ground, though she quickly caught them and tucked them against her shoulder. "Did you need something?"
"Oh, I just heard some laughter and thought I'd be nosy," I replied airily, smiling. Seeing her slump a bit, though, I skimmed through my papers for something and, thankfully, found something quickly, thanks to a note Diarmuid wrote in the margins. "With that said, if you don't mind doing an errand for me…"
"Of course!" Roxana's eyes sparkled and she bounced on her toes, eagerness radiating off her like a puppy. Her caracal, somehow, mirrored the look, with less bouncing. "What is it?"
"Well, I was looking over what's needed, and… frankly, given how many babies we have with us, the number here for diapers seems low?" Careful to cover up most of the paper, so that they couldn't see what else was there, I showed both of them the number. While 'adequate' was written next to it, Diarmuid had jotted down 'based on how many diaper changes we had to do in Isaach, I'm not sure this number is 'adequate' at all, so can you check?'. "Can you check this for me? Either the numbers we have are wrong, or they're enduring, and the last thing we need is fussier babies."
"And waking everyone up in the middle of the night." Roxana nodded and beamed. "I'll ask my sister! She takes care of the babies a lot. See you later, Inanna!" And she was off like a cheetah, disappearing down the hall with a speed that frankly startled me.
"I'm sorry for stealing her, but she looked so disappointed she couldn't help and that is something that needs to be checked…" I leaned down to ruffle Inanna's hair, and she smiled up at me, showing no hard feelings. "Also, big surprise, I was here for a bit."
"Wow, that is a surprise," Inanna retorted, voice perfectly dry. Someone was definitely picking up sarcasm from us. "You can't even blame Hestia this time!"
"Hestia is the reason most of the time, though!" I 'protested', smiling too much for it to be anything but playful. It wasn't as if I could argue the point, after all. "Anyway, you've been doing okay? Belief wise? That question made me realize we haven't talked about that in a while."
"It's… difficult. Both because they're not only something I believe… or believed… or… whatever... and what my parents did and everyone around me." Inanna returned to her flower crown making, while Eresh yawned and blinked sleepily at me. I gave her a scratch behind the ears. "At the same time, though, I… I think of that village. I remember the stories of what all happened to our people in the past, for crimes not ours. I know those are true."
"Yes, unfortunately." People cheering over the death of children… even if I could understand that they had been grieving, I couldn't understand why they had felt so righteous in that moment. I doubted I ever would. "Sadly, we don't really have a lot of priests traveling with us who might be able to help with a crisis of faith, but you know we're always willing to listen anyway, right?"
"I am. And Lady Sara said there's a priest among Lord Leif's forces who I can talk to." Ah, yes, Leif had mentioned him as well. Since Sara kept silent, he would be the one to confirm if… "So, I think… I'll talk to him. When he joins up with us. Lady Sara never really believed, so she can't help, though she has tried for me and she's super nice."
"Of course." I properly knelt down and kissed her forehead. "Like you told Roxana, though, I'm never so busy that I can't at least tell you 'we need to talk later'."
"Especially since you're delegating finally!" Inanna cheered in delight as she finally finished the flower crown. It was a very crooked thing, but whole. "Yay! My first one!" Then, to my surprise, she set it on my head. "My next one will be better. Promise!"
"I think it's better than my first one, so you don't need to worry." In truth, I was touched that she'd give me it at all. "Thank you. I'll treasure it."
"Hee~" Inanna beamed and stood up, cradling the protesting Eresh. "Ah, I almost forgot. I'm having lunch with Anat."
"Better not keep her waiting!" I laughed and waved her goodbye as she dashed off, smiling. Of course, my cheer dropped when I looked back to the inventory papers. "Ah, no good…" I pinched my cheeks in an attempt to 'jolt' them into smiling or something and then decided to walk around outside to let the sunshine cheer me up. Of course, I only managed like… two steps before I realized there was another person out here: Ares, with Sarabi curled up against his shoulder. "Uh…"
"Animals are such nosy creatures, aren't they?" Ares half-joked, pointing to Sarabi. Apparently, the 'curiosity killed the cat' phrase applied to little lion cubs too. "I think she smelled the other two cats and wanted to play." Right now, though, she was content with batting/chewing Ares's hair. "And, yes, I did overhear a good big of that."
"This is why I blame Hestia for most of the conversations I overhear," I replied with a laugh, tucking the papers in my pocket. Then I stretched my arms over my head, being careful to not dislodge my flower-crown. "It is her fault a lot."
"Conversations like hearing Lene read Father's letter to me?" Ares kept his expression neutral, and I… uh… tried to figure out how to respond to that. "Hestia sheds a lot."
"Er…" Oh, I had no good answer for this. But, if he knew, I guess I just had to keep as honest as possible. "Surprised she read it aloud. For people to potentially overhear, I mean."
"Not an uncommon trick to give someone a push without drowning them. Or to get them to do something they know they should do, but keep getting distracted from." He shrugged, and untangled Sarabi from his hair. She proceeded to 'bite' his fingers; we needed to find some sort of toy for her. Even if she did look adorable. "She's read letters for me in the past because I'd have to get ready for a job or something. Probably the first emotionally challenging one, but it's little different than what we've done before. Save that I wasn't running around trying to remember where I put a glove or something."
"And you knew Hestia and I were at least near because of her fur." Note to self: make sure Hestia got brushed before any operation from now on. "Well, awkward much?"
"You do a good job keeping secrets. I noticed that since you and Hestia were also outside our room that first night in Darna for longer than you implied." Ares waited for an answer, but I didn't really have one. I mean; he wasn't wrong? Just curious how he figured that out. "I must say, given some of the things I said that day, I'm surprised Hestia didn't come in sooner."
"...The fact that she didn't is testament to how she knew you would never actually do that." At this point, I might as well not bother hiding. And, seriously, check to make sure no shed fur gave us away. Never had that trouble before, but Ares was clearly trained to look for anything out of place. And I had to assume our future enemies would do the same. "Otherwise, she would've torn out your throat. She's a wolf, and we're her pack. Even if Lene gives her yummy treats." I sighed, not sure on what to say. This was so awkward… which might've been Ares's intention, since I'd overheard two very emotional things. "But the door really was open."
"Yeah, I noticed the lock was broken after you had left. They must've broken it in case Lene escaped them. That was my room, you see." Meaning it was an obvious place for Lene to run and hide if she had escaped the soldiers. "But, while I'm thinking about it, would it be all right if we locked the door here?"
"Of course?" Okay, now I had to frown. "Why wouldn't it?"
"Well, I've noticed that few do here." That was surprising. I hadn't noticed at all. "I asked around a bit, and learned it was because you and yours from Tirnanog didn't really keep doors locked? Closed at most, unless Hestia is barricading it."
"Hmm? Well, yeah, we do that, I suppose. There are exceptions, of course, mostly Lana since she often keeps half-made medicines in her room, or did, and..." I facepalmed as I finally got it. "Ugh… okay, need to run around… wait, no, I'm not taking everything. I promised myself that." Freaking hell, I needed better habits. "Niamh and Mursili. I'll start with them."
"Uh…"
"Sorry, mental jumps." I almost ran a hand through my hair in frustration, but remembered the crown in time. "Ares, we Tirnanog crazies don't lock our doors or anything because of Hestia. She opens doors with ease, and while locks held her back when she was a puppy… not so much now. She can, and has, broken doors before. That's why someone has to go with her to take her out, actually. She broke the door back at our home in Tirnanog trying to get out on her own." And the doors leading outside in castles tended to be heavier than the doors inside.
"I see." Ares smiled slightly, finally showing something besides neutral stoicism. The mischievous light quietly dancing in his eyes hinted he had fun watching me squirm. Well, couldn't say I didn't deserve it. "Well, then I think we'll do that, then."
"Yeah, no, do what makes you comfortable." Freaking hell, the things I don't notice could fill an entire freaking library! Maybe two! "And I do apologize for overhearing. I swear; it wasn't planned necessarily. I just… uh…"
"Stayed because you're used to eavesdropping because it was the only way you learned things as a child when things were dangerous. I know I did the same." He sounded surprisingly unbothered by it, now that he'd had his revenge, but I stiffened because… well, I couldn't say he was wrong. Even if I hadn't considered it before. Ugh… "Just please try not to do so again? At least when Lene and I are in our room?"
"Oh, yeah, I can try." Just pushing things to the side for now. "Hestia has a habit of chasing after bad feelings like she does a rabbit, though."
"I can tell. She practically glued herself to my legs after I first got that letter." He scowled suddenly at Sarabi, who looked up at him with big innocent eyes, still happily (and gently) gnawing on his fingers. "My hand isn't food, you know. Are you hungry again or something?"
"She could be. Hestia ate a lot as a puppy."
"Speaking of your Hestia, by the way, I think she's teaching Sarabi how to open doors."
"...I hope you don't mean for me to stop her, because I think I'd have an easier time winning an arm wrestling match against you." Hestia did what she wanted, and sometimes, it corresponded to what I wanted her to do. "But we definitely will need to have people lock their doors if that is the case. Don't want her eating anything important."
"I now get why the most common phrase out of a pet owner's mouth is 'what is that in your mouth?'." Ares grumbled something and continued scowling at Sarabi. Until Sarabi made this silly sound that sounded almost like a hum or something, and nuzzled his cheek. "...Why does that work?"
"They know that cuteness lets them get away with things." I had to chuckle, though, at just how easily she thawed him. "Anyway, I need to find people to get that whole 'locked doors are okay' thing started. Want to walk with me?"
Turned out that Sarabi agreed before Ares could, and wiggled out of his arms to run away. Which, of course, resulted in Ares and I chasing after her. Which made her run more because obviously it was a game, and not us being worried or anything. Animals. Got to love them.
"You want to know what duties you can take over?" I asked, startled. I mean… it wasn't what I expected when Arthur asked to talk to me. He'd helped us a lot, of course, but… "Why?"
"I think at this point I need to accept that I'm fond of you crazy insane people and I'm staying," Arthur sighed, reaching back to fix his hair. Tine has asked to braid it and, of course, Arthur had indulged her request. "And, since I'm staying, I insist on working."
"Of course." Still, not what I'd expected, so I took a moment to look around the garden where we were sitting. The trees were changing color, giving the garden a warm feeling. Though, some of the flowers were already withering from the cold. And there were weeds sprouting because we just… didn't have time to add weeding to the chores. Though, I did wonder if some were edible. There might've been dandelions. "I'll let Seliph know. We might shove all the mages onto you, to give them their own classification and make less work for the others."
"Some of the Friege soldiers… well, former Friege soldiers… joined up, right?"
"Some, yes." Plus, some of the new soldiers had a talent for magic, and thus, were learning so that we could diversify our forces further. "Are you sure, though? I love having you around, but…"
"...I keep thinking of Ishtore's last words." Arthur looked up at the sky, watching the clouds pass by. There were a few grey wisps, but nothing that looked like a storm. Thankfully. "I keep thinking about… well, why he thought I was there. Why he thought I was fighting. It won't leave my head." He sighed and closed his eyes. After a moment, he leaned over to rest his head on my shoulder. I smiled slightly and kissed his hair. "Makes me feel bad. Not just for killing him, but for all the ones I've killed. I hadn't cared, because everyone has to do what they can to survive. But, there seemed to be something… not quite wrong but…"
"Not quite right either?"
"Yeah. It's all just… icky, really. Like when you're almost sick, but not quite sick." He paused to collect his thoughts. I heard laughter and glanced over to see some of the children playing with the animals. Lene was with them, teaching them games and how to dance, somehow not losing her balance despite Sarabi staying all but attached to her foot and jumping at her scarves. "He said I had a good heart. Ishtore, I mean. I never heard anything like that before. And, honestly, I don't really believe it. I don't think I have a bad heart or anything, but… my life was defined by my own goals. One day at a time. That sort of thing."
"You had to survive."
"And I didn't have people slamming the world's weight on my shoulder. The grandest goal I had was finding Tine." With his eyes still closed, he took my hand and squeezed it. Despite the seriousness of the conversation, I smiled because it was the most affectionate he'd been with me. "But, as I said, I'm fond of you crazies and… and I want to try and be… well, not completely the person Ishtore thought I was. I doubt I ever will be. But closer. At the least, fight for the people and all that fun stuff."
"That makes sense to me."
"Plus, I want to help as a means to… okay, not quite atone… make it up to Tine? I mean; I killed one of the few people who was kind to her, unconditionally. I'd feel like a bad brother if I didn't try to make amends." He smiled bitterly. "It's all complicated. But hey, you guys are fond of complicated, right?"
"We're trying to learn how to think simply!" I laughed softly, though, changing the 'protest' to a 'joke'. "It's a work in progress."
"And that's another reason why I'm staying. You guys need people who will needle you when you're overthinking." Arthur opened his eyes finally and grinned. "Kind of like Fee."
"Still can't believe she tried to give a report after flying through the night." Fee had returned from scouting Leonster in the early hours of the morning, and was currently passed out in her room. Or should be. I left Hestia to guard her and make sure no one disturbed her. "Well, welcome officially to the army, Arthur. We're going to work you to the bone."
"Yippee." His voice was as dry as possible, and I almost laughed, but he suddenly frowned and sat up. "What's going on?" He pointed to where Lene and the children were and I saw they were no longer playing, but looking towards something. "Yo, Lene! What's going on?"
"Looks like we got another round of refugees!" Lene yelled back, waving to make sure she had our attention. I almost winced, already thinking of the logistical problems. But we couldn't not help… "I'll keep the animals and toddlers out of the way!"
With Lene handling the children, Arthur and I ran to the front courtyard, where we were already getting set up. Though I knew no few of us were uneasy, we kept up the smiles to not worry the new arrivals. And gods, they were probably the worst off we'd had yet. If that sentence made any sort of grammatical sense. But they were terribly thin, wearing ragged clothes, covered in bruises and scrapes… It was like they had run through ten or twenty battlefields to get here…
"Easy, easy…" I murmured to one, helping them hobble inside. They wore a dark cloak, some shade of purple, and they were noticeably older than most in the group. I worried they might have some sort of arthritis or gout because of the stiff movements, and made a mental note to get some remedies for that. "You're safe here." As I helped them, I noticed they were covered in burn scars, from their hands and fingers to even their face and neck. There had to be even more under the cloak and robes. "Do your scars ache? We have some medicine that can help with that." I glanced over towards Seliph, who wasn't far from me, but he was already helping someone. "So…"
"No, not physically," they reassured, smiling faintly. For some reason, though, that smile made me nervous. "You are quite kind." They reached up and patted my head. "Quite kind indeed."
"Oh, no, it's nothing!" The nervous wouldn't go away. In fact… in fact, it felt like… it felt like something was trying to squirm its way into my skull…? It was deeply unsettling, but I couldn't tell why. So, I kept up the smile, because what else was I supposed to do? They needed my smile, not my unease, after all. But that feeling was burrowing deeper and deeper and...
"Bad Grandfather." There was a small flash of light and all at once, the feeling left me. The person's hand left my head the same moment, with a bit of blood across the top. The light had been a spell. "That's very rude." It took a moment to realize Sara was the one speaking, and I twisted to see her look… I had never seen her look so stoic before. "Leave her head alone," she continued. I… had no idea what the hell she was talking about. "I'm rather tired of you drowning nice people." Actually, everything felt a little unreal. What the hell was…?
"Lady Riona, get away from him!" Still, I recognized Inanna's voice. Even if I had no idea where she was. "That's Archbishop Manfroy!" And I did know what that meant!
I threw myself back, terror flooding me to the point that I couldn't even conjure up a spark of flame. Manfroy himself looked briefly annoyed and even rolled his eyes before gesturing sharply and… and ripping through the nearby soldiers that immediately began drawing their weapons. Blood flying everywhere. Limbs flying everywhere. Screams of pain, shrieks of fear… both blended together in an ear-shattering cacophony that made it even harder to focus on anything. Manfroy scoffed and casually threw another dark spell… right at Seliph. Who looked as frozen as I did, with one more complication. Lene was behind him, along with several of the children. Meaning that he couldn't dodge, even if he could react in time. And all of us were in such shock that all we could really do was watch in stunned horror as the spell flew. Or so I thought.
Unlike everyone else, Shanan wasn't frozen. Shanan moved just as quickly as ever, and since he couldn't safely pull all of them out of the way, he intercepted the spell. He nearly buckled from the pain, though, as it tore through his side, whipping all the way up towards his face. Blood poured from the wound, and it was impossible to put pressure on the whole thing. Not that Seliph didn't try. With shaking hands, Seliph helped Shanan hold his side, where the deepest wound was. Both of their hands were coated within seconds.
"SHANAN!" I wasn't sure who yelled. Oifeye? Uncle Finn? Aunt Lachesis? Ulster? Larcei? Seliph? Someone else? Hell, with how out of it I felt, it could've been me and I wouldn't know. I barely even noticed Yuria rushing over with her healing staff, with Sara quickly joining her. But Shanan didn't pay attention. His attention was solely on Manfroy, and he glared at him with such hateful fury that my blood ran cold. I had never, never, seen that sort of expression on his face before.
"...I know this spell…" Shanan bit out, snarling. Manfroy actually tilted his head, looking curiously confused. Distantly, I still heard shouting. Someone was, smartly, trying to coordinate some sort of plan. I didn't know who. Uncle Finn, maybe? Oifeye? No clue. Hell, maybe it was Lewyn, because who knew where he was? "I know this pain. You're the one… you're the one who kidnapped Deirdre!" He… wha…?
"Oh, the little prince who kept me from killing the Baldr brat at Agusty," Manfroy murmured with a little sigh. Like he was exasperated or something. "And here you are doing the same thing again." Shanan tried to lunge, but his leg collapsed under him. Seliph held him up. "Tsk, tsk. You shouldn't move with such injuries. And Sara…" Now Manfroy just sounded disappointed as he focused on her. "What are you doing with these rebels?"
"They're warm and don't make spirits cry," Sara answered easily, far more focused on helping Yuria heal Shanan. I noticed her purposely trying to keep Yuria behind her and, distantly, I wondered where Inanna, Anat, and the other Loptyrian children were. I hoped somewhere safe. "Obviously."
"So, you turn against the one who raised you?"
"You only raised me because you killed Mama and decided you needed an heir." Sara rolled her eyes. "You also killed Papa just for loving Mama. You're my grandfather in the most basic definition of the word, and if I could rip your blood out of me, I would. But then I'd lose Mama's blood, and that's not fun."
"I knew I should've kept you on a tighter watch." Manfroy sighed again, and then looked behind Sara. Right at Yuria. And it was only when Yuria froze, face turning an pale ash color in less than a second, that I realized why that might be bad. "Oh-ho… and there's the other nuisance. Clever, clever…" Diarmuid appeared from nowhere, by my eyes, to support Shanan's other side and 'conveniently' shield both Sara and Yuria. "That's not, though. I have no quarrel-"
"Moira's crying again." Sara said the words coldly and Manfroy stiffened. I tried to think if I knew the name, but my mind might as well have been a block of stone for all the good it was doing me at the moment. "Can't you see it? Can't you hear?"
"She only cries because I move too slowly, but I'll fix that soon!" At the forceful words, black magic whirled around Manfroy's arm. "I'll deal with all of you right now…!" And that was when things finally 'snapped' back to being real.
"Don't you dare!" I yelled, lunging forward to tackle him. With the spell disrupted, the magic broke around me like glass and gouged me. I didn't know where. Anger kept me numb. Anger at myself, for standing around like a dummy. Anger at Manfroy, for everything. "You're not killing anyone! I won't let you!"
"Ugh… why is that woman more troublesome in death than she was in life?" Manfroy growled, scowling at me. He tried to regain his calm, but the anger was still there. Anger… and pain. Very deep pain, like the pain in Aideen's eyes. In Oifeye's eyes. In… "I had hoped to rattle your memories and use you, but…" The hell? "I know better than to leave too many loose-!"
A howl was the only warning any of us got before Hestia flew past me and savaged Manfroy's arm. He screamed in both pain and fury and threw a spell at Hestia, sending her flying. For one heart-stopping second, I thought… I thought he'd killed her. But Hestia managed to land and snarl, despite the blood oozing from her flank. I wondered how she lived, but then thought it might've been because Manfroy was down an arm and distracted by pain. Though, he was about to attack her again…!
"No!" Without even thinking about, I snapped my fingers and threw fire on him, setting his robe aflame. Immediately, he broke off the spell and screamed in absolutely terror. He tried batting at the flames, stumbling around, and when his scream broke off with a sob, I felt so… so guilty… I mean… I had seen those burn scars. And, because of Inanna, I actually did know his story. He had suffered so much, so I almost pulled back. I almost hesitated.
But just before I did, I remembered that it was the same thing Mom had done and the pain that had followed. And I remembered… no matter what rationalization a person had, no matter what their reasons… it didn't assuage their guilt. And the fact of the matter was… was this man led the Child Hunts. This man was someone Ishtar hated (and seeing how moral she at least tried to be, that said a lot). This man was someone Conall hated, if I remembered correctly, which said even more. This man kidnapped Deirdre and traumatized the army for nothing but his own selfishness. This man tried to take advantage of our trust to kill Seliph… So, I grit my teeth and forced the flames forward, keeping them on him. Even as he screamed in pain and terror, I kept on him, keeping calm. In fact, I kept so calm that between one breath and the next, I invoked 'Luna' without even thinking about it and the flames became a crystal blue-white that devoured everything it touched. It was joined with more orange-yellow fire, and I glanced to the side to see Arthur and Tine had joined me, concentrating their own fire on him as well.
Right about the point I was starting to get dizzy (Magic? Pain? Blood loss? Who knew?), Manfroy suddenly sprouted a blade from his chest. It took a couple of blinks to see that Ares, at some point, had slipped behind Manfroy and struck, using Mystletainn's ability to resist magic to get close. Of course, Luna kind of… bypassed that, so he ended up burned, but the black light from Mystletainn healed most of it up before long, especially after Ares ripped Mystletainn out.
Sadly, though, Ares didn't get to land a final blow. Taking advantage of the seconds in between, Manfroy whispered something and warped away. Just like that. Here and gone again. While I could totally understand just wanting to get the hell out of here when you had been run through by Mystletainn… it was just not fair that he could do that so easily! Especially when… when…!
Hestia's whimper snapped me out of my angry-daze fuzzy feeling and I immediately collapsed by her to hug her tightly. I made sure to press my hands on her injury and it took everything I had to not start bawling when I felt the warm blood. I had… I had really thought Manfroy would kill her! My Hestia… such a thing was the exact reason why I had tried to leave her back in Tirnanog in the first place! If I lost her, I… I had no idea what I would do…! But, she was here. She was here, just fine, save for that injury that didn't seem deep at all. She whimpered and nuzzled me, radiating comfort, and I clung and clung, reassuring myself that she was here. I hadn't lost her. She was here.
"Hey, you're the more injured of you two." Ares gently touched my shoulder, and I reluctantly loosened my hug on Hestia so that I could look at him. He still had some burns, but they were minor, thankfully. "Come on, let's get you both to the healers," he urged, gently helping me stand. Hestia quickly jumped up and braced herself on his arm to lick him. "Ack! Down! Down!" Hestia barked and licked him again, before switching to me. For once, I let her get away with it. "See? She's fine. Surprisingly, we're all fine. Just… injured."
"Injured, and a little too aware of…" I began. But I stopped because I couldn't think of how to continue the sentence. However, I did know what had to be done. "Ares, I can walk to the healers. Can you take Arthur and Iuchar and begin talking to the refugees? We need to confirm our safety and I know…" I would confuse the fears. I knew I would. I was certain many of us would.
"Yeah, I got that." Ares nodded at someone behind me. "Leif?"
"Seliph is a little rattled, so I figured I'd take a patrol outside to check for any ambushers," Leif explained, stepping to my side so that I could see him. He laughed when Hestia made sure to give him a good lick too. "Finn and Lachesis are already checking the interior. Or, well, Finn said he would once he convinced Shanan to sit and be a good patient."
"Can't blame him for not being calm," I mumbled. Manfroy… so he was the one who… I couldn't… well, I supposed it made some sense, but… ah… "Some leader I am, getting-"
"Hey, if I'm not allowed to badmouth my leadership skills, then I'm not letting you badmouth yours." Leif grinned and patted me on the back. "Besides, team. Working together. Aren't you all the ones who are always saying that your true strength is the bonds we share or something?" That… was right. So right that I had to smile. "Anyway, Lene looks ready to kill Ares and me for not letting you head over, and I'm sure she wants you to get checked too, Ares, so I'm off!"
"Be careful, please." This was not how I expected today to go. At all.
This was going to be a fun evening, huh?
I spent most of the afternoon either getting treated in the infirmary, helping with the injured, or reassuring people that everything would be fine. Anat and Inanna stuck close to me throughout it, both for their reassurance, and protection. The reminder of how dangerous dark magic was led to spikes of anger towards Loptyrians, damn it all, and they were the focus, being the eldest two of the Loptyrian children with us. But I believed I got most of it quieted by dinner. I hoped. I made sure to ask Niamh, Maliya, and Mursili to keep an eye for me. After all, I couldn't. After dinner, we held a War Council. For once, though, the 'adults' weren't there with us. Shanan was in the infirmary, with Aunt Lachesis as his caretaker (and guard/watcher). Uncle Finn and Oifeye were restructuring our defenses, and doing patrols to make sure we were truly safe for the time being. Lewyn, meanwhile, was… somewhere… listening to the wind. He had actually been near beside himself when he'd learned what had happened, as the sylphs hadn't noticed at all, so now he was 'putting them to work', so to speak. The rest of us, though…
"I'm surprised we have milk and honey left in Melgen at this point," Lester attempted to joke. It fell flat, though, thanks to the heavy mood. Not even the traditional warm milk with honey was enough to lighten it. "You know; we've gotten warnings plenty of times and we've had enemies on the field attack when we tried to help, but…" It was another thing to actually see it. Especially like this. "Anyone else notice how shaken the adults were? Besides Shanan, I mean."
"From what I understand, Manfroy used that exact same trick to kidnap Deirdre in the first place," I whispered, nursing my milk. I honestly just wanted to cling to Hestia again, but she was with Yuria, who was the only one sitting. Mostly because she couldn't stand. Manfroy's appearance had shaken her and though she managed to work in the infirmary, once she was relieved of duty, her legs refused to hold her weight. Diarmuid actually had to carry her into the room. "He'd disguised himself as a civilian taking refuge in Agusty Castle, and then attacked. Kidnapped Deirdre, and nearly killed Mom."
"And you know this because…?" Lester tried to give me a skeptical look, but I returned it with one of my own and he facepalmed. "Wait, no, duh, now I remember. Oifeye freaking told us."
"Normally, I'd tease, but today's been…" I sighed and looked to everyone else, wondering if anyone was 'okay'. Sadly, no one really seemed to be. The closest would be Ares and Lene, but both were sitting on the windowsill, with Lene leaning against Ares, and both were exhausted at best. "I suppose we should… I guess apologize?"
"For what? Helping people? Hell to the freaking no!" Patty immediately countered, slamming her hands on the table just to punctuate her words. The milk mustache she had almost ruined the effect, but her eyes were serious. "Haven't you all… or, well, I guess it's all of us by this point, huh? Anyway, haven't we been proving that there's no weakness in being kind? Being kind is what's getting us all sorts of allies!"
"And what are we supposed to do? Turn out all those people?" Fee added, setting her mug on the table before putting her hands on her hips. Though she'd slept through most of the confrontation with Manfroy, she was still showing signs of exhaustion from earlier, plus adding extra patrols when we woke her up. However, her eyes were as sharp as ever. "That would make us as bad as the Empire! That's part of the reason why we're fighting, right? In the hopes of being better?"
"Exactly! Also, Fee, that mug is balanced precariously." There… there was actually a bit of laughter, quiet and tired laughter, at that, particularly when Fee squawked and hastily picked her mug back up. "So, no apologizing! Sure, we got hit hard, but the evil dude ran away. If he didn't die wherever he landed, at least!" Patty smiled at all of us, and the mood lightened. "So, uh… damn, I'm hitting a blank now."
"So, really, we should be giving thanks to the beauteous gods and goddesses of war who stepped up to batter him into submission!" Iuchar dramatically declared, gesturing grandly. With… with a rose. He had a rose in his hand. Where did that come from?! It was so ridiculous that there was another round of laughter! Quietly, tiredly, but still…! "Plus, in a way, you could say you took the lessons from the past and applied them to the present, yes? No one was kidnapped."
"Plus… plus, no one is dead," Lana addedly slowly, smiling shakily. She was tired enough to lean on Ulster because she'd put a lot of work into healing the soldiers injured by Manfroy. But her eyes sparkled. "I believe they'll make a full recovery."
"And how many people can claim that they walked out of a battle with the Archbishop of the Loptyrian Church on their own two feet? Few, I'm sure." Iuchar bowed with a flourish and then gave the rose to Yuria. She smiled slightly and it did seem like she got a bit more color to her face. She got a bit more when Hestia braced herself on the arm of the chair to lick her cheek. She even giggled. "I am surprised by his age, though. He's old enough to have a granddaughter our age."
"Sara didn't want to talk about him when I asked, so she definitely hates him."
"Most do," Tine muttered darkly, half-hiding behind Arthur and Fee. It took a couple of blinks to even recognize her voice because I'd never heard her… "It's a mutual hatred all around, though. I hate him almost as much as I hate Hilda." That said a lot right there. "I'm told he and Duchess… er… Aunt Alicia never got along. And he and Conall loathe each other. And I know that the only reason why Ishtar hasn't killed him is because she's worried about who'll take over. Well, tried to kill him."
"Just our luck, right?" Diarmuid murmured, drumming his fingers on the table. Then, after a moment, he moved behind me to play with my hair. "I suppose his only allies, true allies, are within the church."
"If even them. I've only met him a few times, but I always got the feeling that everyone was a piece on a board for him." And he'd been playing a very long game since he was involved in Deirdre's kidnapping. Twenty years, at least. "I don't… know much other than what's probably obvious. I do know that as Archbishop, he has access to powers the others don't."
"Like whatever the hell he tried to do to Riona? That Sara stopped? Speaking of her, where is she? I know we invited her."
"Sara's not comfortable being the sole attention of many people," Leif explained, smiling apologetically. We waved the apology off, though, because if there was one thing we wanted, it was for people to be comfortable. "She was raised in isolation and all. That said, I did ask her about it. She's glad to explain things one on one." Save for what was going on with Julius… "Though, what she said was… uh…"
"She said that he was trying to 'scramble your memories'," Nanna hesitantly finished, playing with her hands. An uncomfortable silence fell and I desperately began trying to remember anything I could think of, wondering if… "She said it was an all-or-nothing sort of deal, and that he didn't have time to complete it."
"But considering what we know about Aunt Deirdre…" It… her amnesia was not due to trauma or anything. It was so obvious now. Manfroy kidnapped her, erased her memories, and set her up to marry Arvis. "I suppose it was to make sure Arvis got into power?" Leif hesitantly glanced at Seliph, who had locked up, face stony and a posture as rigid as one. Lester moved to the other side of the table and pulled him into a hug. "I mean…"
"Riona, there's something you've been working on," Seliph murmured. He leaned into Lester, not even bothering to stand up straight. Larcei rushed over to rub his back, giving what comfort she could. "I have a feeling it's related to…"
"Well, I hadn't made the connection to Manfroy and Deirdre's kidnapping or anything," I sighed. But he was right. From what I knew… "But I don't think it was necessarily to put Arvis in power. I think it was for someone like Julius to be born."
"That… something tells me I'm going to hate this."
"There's a reason I made sure to keep the papers flipped over." Barely resisting the urge to sigh again, I just leaned back to put most of my weight on Diarmuid. He stopped playing with my hair to wrap me up in a hug. I probably should've brought this up sooner, but I... "I think Julius is Loptyr Major."
"He's what?" Well, at least the uncomfortable and awkward air was gone. Replaced with shock, but you know… "Riona, that's…"
"The Mark on his forehead is a different shade of red." I glanced over at Tine and she gasped, covering her mouth to muffle the sound. But she'd caught my thought. I knew she would. "Like Deirdre, most of his Holy Mark is on his scalp, covered by his hair. But he has part on his forehead. And that one is more of a crimson compared to the Fjalar Marks, which are more of an orange."
"...And everyone knows that every type of Holy Mark has a different color."
"Precisely. Now, for most people, red is red. And most people are unaware that Cyas is Arvis's first born." Because, no matter what he said, Cyas was most likely the Fjalar Major of our generation. I was certain of it. "So, add the two together and everyone would just assume that Julius was the Fjalar Major." Tine nodded, confirming that had been the case. "And… well…"
"No doubt that efforts were made to quiet the possibility of Julius having any Loptyr blood for his own protection as well," Ulster pointed out. He was frowning, no doubt thinking quickly to put pieces into places. "And using Arvis as a shield and scapegoat would mean the populace still wouldn't think about it, particularly when the stories all say that those of Loptyr's blood were gone."
"But Deirdre lived in the Spirit Forest, meaning it would be a good place to hide," Lester continued, pulling that little thread. Poor Seliph just had his eyes shut, not wanting to deal with this after today. "The question would be… okay, wait, can-"
"Two Minors of the same blood will beget a child with Major blood." All of us frowned at Ulster who grimaced. "I got sat down with that lecture because the villagers wanted to discourage any attraction to Riona. Which I never had, no offense." I pretended to be hurt for all of a second before waving it off. And being annoyed that he got that lecture but not me. "If a Major and Minor get together, then all their children will be Majors. Watch out for that, Larcei." The unexpected teasing startled all of us into (still tired, but slowly growing warmer) laughter, especially when Larcei threw a pen at him. "So, the question becomes 'where did Arvis get the minor blood'?"
"More like his mother," Tine mumbled, ducking a little more behind Arthur. He twisted a bit to pat her head. "He obviously got it from her, but Cigyun's past is completely unknown." She whimpered a bit and hid even more. Somehow. "I never thought about that…"
"No doubt, as has been stated, for Julius's protection, because we've all at least heard about these Loptyrian Hunts now," Lene chimed in, sitting a little straighter in Ares's lap. Though, she still leaned against him. "But… uh… while this is all good and all, don't you all think you're discussing something that's too far ahead?" And awkward (sheepish, really) silence reigned again, because she was completely right. "You've all been talking about this for a bit, but it looks like we just got one more reason to take Alster now. Making sure that they can't use the refugees as cover again to slip inside and kill us all."
"Ah, right, did I ever give my report?!" Fee squeaked, covering her face to hide her embarrassed blush. Now that we were working on a plan, though, all of us began… well, not quite getting better or anything. But our moods were improving. Slowly. "It's… not great. Leonster is beginning to buckle. Which we expected, but…"
"But it's yet another reason," Seliph murmured, slowly straightening. Larcei and Lester remained at his side, supporting him. "Thank you, Lene, for getting us back on track." He smiled weakly at her and she gave him a big smile of her own. Ares kissed her hair, looking noticeably proud of her. "So, let's begin planning that. We have to both reinforce Leonster and take Alster. Those are our immediate goals. The former requires speed. The latter will require information." He held up a hand when Arthur immediately tensed. "Tine doesn't have to tell us anything. I remember my promise. What it does mean, though, is that we'll need an infiltration team, and not just our scouts. We need people that they won't even think to look at."
"I can go?" Patty volunteered, even putting her hand up. Her milk mustache was gone, meaning someone had informed her. Perhaps Yuria? She was looking a lot better, though she still sat and clung to Hestia, who took advantage of the situation to be half in Yuria's lap, even though she really shouldn't. "Thief, after all, and I do still have those plans I was making when Riona got kidnapped. Before Shanan went ahead like a dummy." And we'd have to watch him to make sure he didn't go off on his own again. I doubted seeing Manfroy would be good for his mental health. "I'd rather not go in alone, though."
"Of course, so…"
"Well, this might be forward, but I can go with her?" Lene volunteered, almost absently. Ares frowned at her and she shrugged. "People only pay attention to dancers when they're performing. Otherwise, we might as well be invisible. And no one expects a dancer to be much of anything."
"That may be so, but that just means it'll be all the more dangerous if you're caught," Ares pointed out softly. He took her hand and squeezed it. "I wouldn't be able to go. I stand out too much."
"I imagine there's some soldiers who will volunteer."
"I can think of a few who will jump at the opportunity," I added, though mostly absently. Mostly because there was that conversation I had overheard between Seliph and Aunt Lachesis and well… "There's also this one trick we used to do with Seliph." I glanced at him curiously, wondering if he knew what I was talking about. His almost immediate smile said 'yes. "Not sure if it'll still work, but…"
"Wait, are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Larcei asked, also catching the thought. I just grinned and she laughed before grabbing Seliph's shoulders and leaning on his back. "I'm doing your makeup, Seliph! At least when you set off!"
Wonder how the bards would dramatize this? If it worked, that is.
Plans were made and within a couple of days, we were moving out. Well, some of us were. We had split the army into four 'groups': Melgen, Leonster, Infiltration, Strike. Very creative names, yes. Melgen was the largest and, well, would remain in Melgen until it was time to formally move on Alster. Infiltration left ahead of everyone else, in the hopes that whatever spies Bloom had on us wouldn't notice. Leonster and Strike moved out together to… well… head to Leonster. Yes, yes, super creative names, yes. At least they were to the point?
"Hestia can't believe you are still so nervous when she's being soooo cute," I teased, tickling Leif's side. He made this adorable squeaky noise and tried to escape, but Hestia had him blocked on his other side. "See?"
"At least let me pretend to be dignified!" Leif protested, now laughing at the tickling. The closer we got to Leonster, the more nervous he got. Understandable, of course. But I took it upon myself to try and help him relax, mostly because Hestia refused to let him be. "Come on!"
"Hey, I'm keeping Hestia from jumping on you! Imagine how dignified you'd look with all the mud and whatever on your armor!" I noticed Uncle Finn glance at us worriedly, but he relaxed when I winked and returned to talking with Diarmuid. Diarmuid's job during this trip was to make sure Uncle Finn didn't worry much. "Or, wait, do you just want to look cool for Nanna? She's busy talking with Sara and Linoan at the moment, so you don't have to worry about that." And she'd been talking with those two for practically half the journey, no doubt fretting over the medicinal supplies we were bringing.
"Freaking hell!" And now he was red, all the way to his ears! "We're the same age, you know!"
"I'm like… six months older than you, so I win~!"
"Win what?!"
I continued poking fun at Leif, both figuratively and literally, while Hestia frolicked about the rest of the group to check on everyone. I worried when I noticed her spending a particularly long time with Shanan, to the point that she actually began walking at his side. He let her, of course, keeping a hand on her and… well, the healers said that he was cleared, but I couldn't help but worry anyway. He'd been hit with a dark magic spell, after all, and we knew so little. Then again, Sara had been one of the ones tending to him and she knew a lot. So, I probably shouldn't...
I squeaked when Leif poked my side and made a face at his triumphant grin. "Yeah, yeah, you got me," I 'complained', rolling my eyes. I was actually glad he was playing around too. "I'm still ahead, though!"
"I disagree if only because I've got no idea how you get 'points'! Leif retorted with a grin. He laughed when I shoved him (lightly, of course). Up ahead, Ulster and Larcei paused their conversation to look back curiously, but shrugged when I waved them away. It had been a bit since they had time to talk to just each other, after all. "Anyway, we're coming up on Leonster soon."
"Are we?"
"Yeah…" His grin disappeared. "I can hear the fighting."
At first, I wondered what he was talking about. But as the army slowly grew silent and grim, I could hear it too. The now far-too-familiar sounds of battle… they announced we had arrived at Leonster long before we made it around the large cliffs/plateaus/whatever-they-were-called and could actually see the castle itself. It was even easier to see thanks to how the villages in front of Leonster were nothing but charred ruins.
Without thinking about it, I held Leif's hand as we approached, our army careful to keep off the main road to minimize the chances of Alster seeing us and sending forces right behind us. After all, we were 'technically' sneaking around. That unfortunately meant that we had to walk right through the broken villages and it was a gruesome scene. Corpses were strewn all over the place, with bits missing due to animals. Buildings slowly crumbled in the wind. The air itself was choked with the smell of rot and ash. And the buzzing… so many flies. They were all over the place, their maggots happily squirming about in the corpses. Cawing crows that scattered when they noticed our approach. Then there were just the more… I suppose 'mundane' things? The crinkling and cracking of glass shards as we accidentally stepped on them, from where windows had shattered. What bits of food hadn't burned or been devoured just laying in the ash, more mold than anything by this point.
Leif stiffened next to me, and bolted for something, half-dragging me because he forgot I was holding his hand. We both nearly fell, but Hestia was instantly by us so that we could use her as a balance. While we did that, I saw just what had startled Leif into action. Not far away, half-hidden in the shadows of what had once been a chimney, there was a coyote gnawing away at the corpse of a child. Perhaps a little girl, based on the tattered ribbons still in blood-matted hair.
"I didn't know coyotes ate carrion," I whispered absently, not quite sure how else to react when I felt so numb. But, after a moment, I thought of something. I let go of Leif's hand and approached the coyotes. They growled at me, but I kept calm and looked right at them. "No, that's right. I read that you prefer fresh meat, but…" I knelt by them then and pulled out some bits of dried meat from my pack. "Clever one, might we trade?" Thinking quickly now, I pulled out some berries from my pack as well. To sweeten the 'deal'. "The little one for this?" The coyote eyed me warily but did step away from the corpse. "Thank you." I set the fresher food down in front of them, and studied them as they gobbled it up. Thin. They were too thin. That was why they risked coming near a village at all. "Thank you very much." I reached out and pet them without even thinking about it. They actually licked me before finishing up the food and bolting, sated for now. "I hope the next days have better hunting." Then I looked to the remains and scooped them up. Maggots and flesh sloughed off and clung to my arms and legs, but I was more focused on how one of their arms broke off. Mostly because I… I didn't know what to do about it as it 'thumped' to the ground.
"I've got it," Leif mumbled, appearing at my side to pick not only the arm up, but a doll that hadn't been far from it. I hadn't noticed it because of how mud-encrusted it was. "I can see why Diarmuid always prays that you don't get eaten by a bear." It was a weak attempt at a joke, but it was an attempt nonetheless, so I managed a smile. Besides, I was sure that if Diarmuid didn't say the same thing now, he would later. Same with Ulster and Larcei. "So, we should… uh…" But then came a problem. We couldn't burn the dead; the smoke would give us away and we couldn't afford to get caught. We couldn't really bury them either, because we had to get to Leonster as soon as possible and even a mass grave would take too long.
"Lord Leif?" Thankfully, Uncle Finn joined us, as calm as always. "We have blankets we can use to cover them," he offered quietly. After a moment, both Leif and I nodded. It was the best we could do for now. When things were calmer, we would come back. "Then over here." He gestured to the rest of the army, which was already moving. "We'll find a spot to put them."
In silence, we split up to gather the bodies in one spot. Or what remained of the bodies, as was the case for most. The only ones that could be considered 'intact' were the ones that had been crushed by fallen buildings, terrible as it sounded. There were even a few that we didn't really have much of. A torso without a head. Lone hands. Legs, but nothing else. Just… pieces. Pieces of people. And you couldn't even blame it fully on animals or just rot either. Some of the cuts were just too clean and, regardless, the fires… they had clearly been caused by humans. Soldiers. Friege soldiers. Friege soldiers had annihilated them. I was glad Tine wasn't with us. I wasn't sure how she'd react.
"Riona, here." At some point between one limb and another, Shanan caught my arm and tugged me away from the pile of corp… of remains. "You cut yourself," he chided, pulling out medicine to rub on my hands. And got some tweezers to pluck some maggots from my injuries. They'd burrowed in while I was moving bodies and I hadn't noticed. I was numb. I was completely numb. "Let the others take care of the rest. There's not much, and you'll need your strength."
"...Right…" I mumbled. Or tried to. The word felt like mush in my mouth, and sounded more like it just dribbled out than anything else. So, I just rested my head against his shoulder and let him continue tending to me. "Ha… I'm an idiot for not…" I didn't even know how to finish the sentence. Probably should've just left it at 'I'm an idiot' because of how true that was.
Shanan paused in tending to my hands just long enough to kiss my hair, and then let me rest against him. I needed it.
We avoided the villages after that. For our own sake. So, it took longer than originally planned in order to actually arrive at Leonster Castle. But Leonster's forces were still fighting. I was frankly amazed by their sheer will to continue despite literal months of fighting. It was inspiring, really. If I could hold onto even half as much resolve, I'd make it through this entire war easily.
"We're just waiting to make sure the horses are fine," Larcei informed me softly. She and I were standing next to each other slightly ahead of the main group, mostly because Hestia had wanted a squirrel before the fight. And she was taking her time eating it too, just lounging between us while she munched. "Then we'll do… something, I guess?"
"I hope so as we hiked a long way to do nothing," I teased, bumping my hip against hers. She just rolled her eyes. "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be." She adjusted her gauntlets (the ones Shanan bought her, and they were pretty with whites and golds and dark blues) and looked out to the horizon, watching the battle. "How are your hands?"
"Just fine." I held one out for her to look herself and she took off my own gauntlet to do just that. My hands were still bandaged, though, just in case there was still debris or maggots in the wounds. Nanna hadn't thought so, but better safe than sorry. "See?"
"Good." She squeezed my hand briefly before putting my gauntlet back on. "I wonder what the strategy is going to be for charging in."
"Same here." Were we rushing to the front? Sneaking through a side entrance? Some combination? There were many ways to go about this. "We should…" Hestia suddenly jerked her head up, ears twitching. "Hmm? What is it, Hestia?" Hestia tossed the last of the squirrel up into the air, chomped it down with one snap of her jaws, and walked a bit ahead, ears still twitching. "Hestia, I swear to every god that has ever existed and will exist, if you're about to rush ahead for a rabbit or something…"
"Wait, hush, listen." Larcei let go of my hand and brought her hand up by her ear and I frowned as I finally heard what was causing the trouble. Screams. But a different sort of scream than earlier, one not quite part of the 'songs of war'. "Where… oh, there!" She pointed to a spot near the front gates, where an archer lady with long purple-blue hair had fallen off her horse, right as some lancers were bearing down on her. Just a reminder that while we prepared, many died…
For once, the next bit of recklessness wasn't my fault or Larcei's. It wasn't even Hestia's. It was Diarmuid's, as he charged forward on his horse before anyone could think to stop him, probably because they didn't know what he'd planned. He didn't even have his sword drawn, after all. Not that it mattered or anything, but Diarmuid made it to the woman and snagged one of the lancers by the collar and threw them up into the air. And then elbowed them into the wall hard enough for them to go 'splat'. And stole their lance to take care of the others.
"Drama queen," Larcei deadpanned once it became clear that Diarmuid would be fine. I was torn between facepalming, groaning, and just laughing at the ridiculousness. "Well?" She glanced at me with a smirk. I pretended to think before shrugging, since at this point, I saw no reason to wait either. Whatever plan had been made was clearly not happening. "Then let's go, go, go!" And Larcei and I jumped into the battle as well. We were going to get into so much trouble for this, but hey, we'd blame Diarmuid. Because that was fun. Besides, Hestia was with us. We could also sort of blame her. She wouldn't mind. If I gave her a treat later.
Larcei and I slid into the battle behind the archer lady, who was understandably a little baffled by all this, and decided to rush for the ballistae that the enemy had. For some reason. My best guess was that they were originally Leonster's and had been taken over by the enemy, but it did seem odd. Though maybe that was just because this was my first time dealing with ballistae outside of theoretical practice. But that just meant Larcei and I did exactly what Oifeye always said to do when dealing with them; close the distance. They were easy pickings at that range and, even better, for some reason, they were all in a line. So, Larcei and I could just… run the entire back of the line and take them out one by one easily. Though, that did leave us a slight problem once we were done. Namely, the enemy kind of noticed the lack of giant bolts flying and some went to investigate. Which Larcei and I almost didn't notice because we were focused on disabling the ballistae so that the enemy couldn't use them again. But that was fine, because even if we weren't paying attention, Hestia was. And Hestia had no qualms tearing people's throats out while Larcei and I finished up.
By the point Larcei and I disabled the last one, the rest of the group had joined the battle, so Larcei and I split up to fall in with someone who knew the plan. Assuming there was one, at least. I had no idea, and just followed Hestia's lead, working in tandem as we always did. Cripple, kill, guard each other. Those were the three 'beats' of our dance through the battle. And led us to fight back to back with Shanan.
"How does Hestia know how to fight, by the way?" Shanan asked when we had a moment to breathe. I leaned against his back briefly to catch my breath and then flicked the blood off my sword to sheathe it. I had been using the one I 'acquired' from Reinhardt, but at this point, I wanted my Fire Sword. "I mean… by now, I'm sure it's practice, but…"
"'Hunting' humans can't be much harder than hunting anything else?" I half-suggested, shrugging. Hestia barked and rubbed her head against my free hand in a very clear 'PETS NOW!' message. "Yes, yes, sweetie." So, I obliged, rewarded with a happy wolf, complete with tail wagging and slinging blood and mud everywhere. "You're going to be a pain to bathe later."
"She's always a pain to bathe." Shanan smiled, though, and leaned around me to also pet Hestia. And winced. "Agh…"
"Shanan!" Immediately, I supported him and eyed where the deepest part of the wound Manfloy had inflicted had been. Hard to tell if things were bleeding… Shanan wore black and he was as splattered as I was. More, actually. One only had to look at the ground to see just how many more he had killed compared to me. "Easy…"
"Healers did clear me." He sounded defensive, but when I looked at his face, I decided it was more 'frustrated'. "I don't know why there's pain all of a sudden. I was fine not long ago. Even had Sara check so that Finn would stop fretting."
"Uncle Finn stops fretting? I mean; he told me he was taught how to fret by the best." I made sure to smile and he did chuckle. "You mind if I prod the area?"
"Go ahead." He held still as I moved to his other side, and winced again when I barely touched it. "You know… I don't remember it doing this last time. Then again, I was in shock last time and everything hurt anyway."
"Nothing feels particularly warm or anything, so I'm going to tentatively guess you're not bleeding. At least, not outwardly." Still, this was worrying… "We're getting you to a healer. Hestia, go warn the closest one for me."
"Riona…" He sighed when Hestia loped off. "Right, right. Need to make sure I don't drop dead."
"If you drop dead, I hope Dad drop-kicks you back to the living."
"How would you drop a kick?" Shanan's eyes sharpened and in the time it took me to blink, he had whirled out of my grip and killed someone sneaking up on me. "We're fighting on the way over. There's still too many."
"I accept that compromise." Mostly because it would be idiotic to do anything else. There were too many around still. "Hestia went this way."
"How can you… never mind." He smiled slightly. "The trail of crushed limbs. I'm following you."
Hestia found Nanna first, and I dropped Shanan off with her to get checked before jumping back into the battle. Hestia kept close as always, keeping me safe while I whipped fire magic around and focused on the heavily armored soldiers. Something I noticed while doing that was… well, it was easier to use Luna. It wasn't as if every blow was Luna-fied or anything. But I did notice that I could find that calm more easily than before. Particularly when I thought of those first battles in Tirnanog and Ganeishire. I… hoped it was an indication that despite my idiocy, I was actually getting stronger?
"Riona?" And I wasn't the only one either. Ulster tearing a mage into ten pieces with two 'swings' of his brave axe showed he was able to activate Astra more reliably as well. "Hey, you mind if I throw you up?" he asked, smearing some blood across his cheek while trying to get rid of some sweat. I gave him a weird look and he pointed at my fire sword. "Diarmuid might be better, but he's busy." Oh, and I knew what he wanted now…
"What? I can't just launch myself off your shoulder?" I teased, mostly to needle him a little. He made a face, and I grinned. "Sure, why not? But if I get hit by an arrow and get yelled at, I'm blaming you." Not like I had to worry about anything else. It was Ulster, after all. I trusted him with everything.
"Like how you and Larcei charged?"
"We were just following Diarmuid!" I petted Hestia, who whimpered a little because she realized her dumb humans were going to do something potentially stupid. Again. "Okay, how are we going to do this?"
The answer was remarkably simple, given our 'love' for complexity. Namely, I ran and jumped to land on Ulster's intertwined hands and he literally threw me up as high as he could. Then, when I reached my highest point, I sparked the flames from my fire sword and spun to better 'throw' a small wave of fire. One that I 'pushed' a little with my own power to make it just a little faster, and catch the Friege soldiers off guard. The result was some burning enemies, who were easy prey for the others nearby. And Ulster catching me to keep me from landing badly.
Hestia barked at me in annoyance as Ulster helped me to the ground, but went right on back to the fighting because that little stunt turned Ulster and me into higher-priority-targets. Ulster and I had been prepared for that, though, so we watched each other's backs, switching targets sometimes mid-run to keep our attackers guessing. Had a mini-heart-attack when Ulster got hit by an Elthunder, but despite the burns and other damage, he kept on going until we got the area clear and we could hunt down the mage who hit him. At least, that was the plan.
When we found them, though… well, someone else had reached them first. A woman about our age, give or take a year or so. She had short brown hair, with a feather hair ornament (that looked like Nanna's truthfully) pinning her bangs back, and dark green eyes. She wielded twin daggers that ripped through the mage's spine with ease, blood flying everywhere. Despite the brutality of it, though, there was a strange sort of elegance to it as well… like she was dancing with death… no, more like she was dancing and death was her accompaniment.
"Oh, I am way too bisexual for this," I breathed, just staring, even as the corpse hit the ground in a mess of blood. Ulster raised a brow at my words and I grinned. "What? You don't think a person who can kick ass is sexy?" Reminded once again of all my crushes in the past, and my dearest love. I definitely had a type.
"I was thinking she was terrifying, personally," Ulster replied with the perfect amount of dryness. He also ran a hand over my scalp, checking for head injuries. "Then again, you probably find that part of the appeal."
"Maaaaaaybeeee~?" I glanced around, looking over the rest of Leif's army, and came to a very distinct conclusion. "Our armies are filled with so many hot people. Freaking gods, I'm seriously too bisexual for this."
"Should I send a warning to Seliph?"
"Nah, Seliph is my one and only, the keeper of my heart for now and eternity." I looked back at Ulster just in time to see him roll his eyes. "But I can admit people are hot. I mean; people in general tend to be beautiful and handsome and whatnot. But like… you have to admit the number of people who are amazingly gorgeous we have in the armies is really up there."
"Mmm… yes, I suppose I do have to agree. Sadly." Ulster looked around then, conveniently ignoring my adorable pout. "Looks like things are settling down…" He was right, though. The battle was settling down. Enough that people were grouping up to chat or calling out to friends they hadn't seen in a while.
"Eleri!" Like Leif, who happily waved his hand to catch someone's attention. "Hey, Eleri!" Leif laughed, smiling. Scary-sexy-lady turned and smiled warmly, confirming that to be her name. Eleri, Leif's 'older sister'. She was… uh… not how I imagined. I kind of imagined someone like Aideen or Muirne. Not someone who reminded me a lot of a predator, complete with practical, black pants and shirt. And a red scarf. And knives strapped on her arms and thighs. They almost hid the wounds slowly seeping blood, but she was less wounded than one would expect. Then again, she seemed more like an ambush predator sort of fighter. "We're back!"
"I knew you would be," she replied with a laugh, heading over. As soon as she was close enough, she pulled him into a hug. "Ah, you're so grown up! To think that only a couple years ago, you were hiding in my skirts…" What now?
"Eleri!" Ah, the tone of an exasperated sibling. Ulster and I shared a grin, since we knew it well. "Stop saying things out of context!" Leif squirmed, now thoroughly embarrassed. "Let go! You're hugging too tightly!"
"Never~!"
The two continued 'arguing' and were soon joined by a girl with Isacchian features who wore a winglet hairpin that matched Eleri's (and Nanna's). Though I was curious, I turned my attention away, because I was more curious about who else was talking. My gaze quickly fell on Uncle Finn, though, who was a short distance away with Diarmuid. Both seemed to be talking to the archer lady from before, and also a man around Uncle Finn's age who held her shoulder.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Diarmuid was saying. Uncle Finn must be introducing them, then. "My name is Diarmuid." He smiled his most charming smile, clearly doing his best to make a good impression, and the lady's eyes filled with tears, even as she smiled. The man behind her was slack-jawed, smiling in disbelief. "You must be Selfina and Glade. Mother and Father have told me about you two." And that would explain why Diarmuid decided to be dramatic earlier, then. He had wanted to protect a friend of his parents.
"Mother?" the lady, Selfina, repeated a little shakily. Now she was definitely crying, but she kept on smiling as she turned to Uncle Finn. "Lachesis?"
"She's in Melgen right now," Uncle Finn explained softly, resting a hand on Diarmuid's back. His smile was just as soft. "She was captured, but the Liberation Army rescued her. We've been catching up."
"Oh, I…" Now in a full-on cry, Selfina hugged Uncle Finn tightly, almost knocking him off his feet. Diarmuid steadied both of them. "That's so wonderful, Finn!"
"She's going to be incoherent for a bit," Glade joked, laughing. Still, he had tears in his own eyes as he slung an arm around Diarmuid's shoulders. "Well, I guess I need to make sure Diarmuid knows stories about your younger days. The few I know that he hasn't heard, at least. So many from those early days of training..."
Ulster nudged me then and raised his hands in a pacifying gesture when I scowled at him for distracting me. He smiled apologetically and pointed to the soldiers nearby, some of which were trying, and failing, to limp to a healer. Knowing what he was trying to say, I made a face before whistling for Hestia. When she appeared at my side, and got pets, Ulster and I went to help the injured get treatment. It was the least we could do, so that the others could have the reunions, and meetings, they have long waited for.
Leonster Castle was… amazing. I wasn't quite sure just why I felt that way, walking the halls as I was. Maybe it was a carryover from my admiration of its defenders. Because like them, you could see the 'damage' (exhaustion, wounds, scars vs. cracks and dust and some halls blocked by rubble), but it still held tall. It still held proud. Like the earth itself, really. Beaten, battered, but eternal… no wonder Njorun, who had wielded the lance of earth, had resided here after the Holy War.
"I see you had the same idea I did." Diarmuid's laughing voice echoed about the hall, so it took a bit to find him. Not helped by how dim everything was. Night had long since fallen, and Leonster didn't have a lot of candles or anything left. What they did have was saved for the infirmary. "Just walking around and admiring things," he continued when I finally found him, leaning next to a large window. The full moon lit up everything enough so that I wasn't straining to see anything. "No Hestia?"
"She's in my room," I explained, skipping over to the window to peer outside. You could see more damage there. Walls broken, for instance, and churned up mud that destroyed what might've once been gardens. "I would've thought you'd have a tour."
"It was offered, but I insisted Father catch up with his friends. Not like Leonster is going anywhere, after all." He looked out the window too, admiring the view. I was sure it was absolutely gorgeous when not worn down from years of fighting. "I never thought I'd see Father's home." He smiled slightly, chuckling. "Always knew of the mythical 'someday', of course, but…"
"Never really knew where we'd go, right?" I smiled sardonically at him, just so amused by how 'prepared' we had thought we were or whatever. But I quickly frowned when I noticed his right hand was bandaged. "The hell did you do to your hand?"
"Hmm? Oh." He held it out for me to inspect. Which I did. Because his hand was completely wrapped up. "Sword broke on me finally. Haven't been keeping up with the hilt as much as Jake said I should."
"Jake…? Oh, right, the blacksmith in Ganeishire." I traced the bandages, frowning more as I thought about that day so long ago. And from there, a thought bloomed. I didn't… quite like it, but… "Here, come with me."
"I'm all bandaged and treated, you know. Nanna fussed more than Aideen!" He sighed and held up his free hand in surrender when I gave him a 'just listen' look. "Fine, fine…"
Silently holding his hand, I led him to my room and… well, fussed a bit while I mentally debated in my head. Diarmuid sensed that something was up, but didn't press me. Instead, he sat down and gave Hestia a vigorous rubdown, to her absolute delight. Finally, though, I decided to go for it and picked up Dad's Silver Blade from where I had it in the corner with my other two swords. And then spent a good moment just standing there with the sword, because… well…
"Here," I whispered, keeping my voice soft to minimize the chances of my voice cracking or anything. Diarmuid glanced up from petting Hestia curiously, and frowned when he saw what I was holding. "Yours broke. So, here." I held it out to him and his jaw dropped. "Use this one."
"I can't do that!" Diarmuid protested, scrambling onto his feet. Hestia whimpered and tried to nose his hand to demand more pets, but Diarmuid's focus was entirely on me. "That's… I mean… it was your father's!"
"And if you lose or break it, I'm going to be mad. But…" I bit my lip, trying to hide my pain. It hurt. It hurt to give it away. But… but, that was probably a sign that I… "I haven't used it a lot in battle lately. I've been using my fire sword, and I've got that new blade I… uh… acquired from Reinhardt." This time, I thrust it into his hands and stepped back so that he had to take it or let it drop. He, of course, took it. "I'll feel better knowing you've got a good blade. Especially since you'll still have a few rounds of fighting here, likely." And I was part of the strike team. "I think… no, I know that Dad would roll his eyes at me treating it as anything particularly special, especially if I'm not using it."
"But…"
"So, I want you to use it. Swords are made to be used. And I still have the things I inherited from Dad anyway. Less material, but more important." Plus, in a way, the fire sword was more… well, 'me', I supposed. Sword and flame both. Sword and magic both. "But, again, if you lose or break it, I'm getting Hestia to pin you."
"...Okay." He smiled warmly and pulled me in a hug, no doubt seeing the pain I tried to hide. "I will take care of it. And when the fighting is over, I'll give it back. Promise."
"K…"
Diarmuid held me for a while before leaving to give me time to think and relax. And relaxation sounded wonderful. I even had a book to read, packed carefully in my bag. But when I went to change into my nightgown and get that book, I noticed that my room was missing something. A large, fluffy something. I spent a good minute hunting around my room, looking behind doors and underneath the bed, before groaning. Hestia had decided, at some point, that if Diarmuid wasn't going to pet her, she'd seek pets elsewhere. Gods damn it.
Growling curses under my breath, I left my room to go hunting for my little brat of a wolf. Which was hard because she'd had ample time to escape and I didn't know this place well at all. So, I had to just wander and hope I got lucky. I tried following stray fur, but the place was just too dark for that. And, just my luck, most people were asleep for once. And the ones that weren't… well…
"Shanan, gods damn it!" Well, the only two I ran into were Larcei and Shanan, with Shanan getting yelled at by Larcei. "I know why you said you have difficulties going to healers, but seriously, we like you to not be dead!" she snapped, hands on her hips. "You're supposed to be resting!" Never did learn what was up with Shanan's injury. I'd ask another time. "Ugh… I'm glad Ulster decided to check on you!" So, Ulster was wandering around somewhere? I should go see if he could help...
"Sorry, sorry…" Shanan mumbled, shaking his head. He sounded out of it, so much so that I stayed where I was in case Larcei would need help carrying him or something. "I was resting, but then I…" He laughed bitterly, leaning against a wall. "I thought I saw Quan." ...That's… "I thought I saw Quan and I was running before I could even think. Stupid, huh? Must've been a hallucination, brought on by how much I miss him."
"Shanan…" Larcei's anger faltered and she grimaced, unable to think of what to do or anything. I was the same, and felt frozen because of it. "I…"
"Being here really emphasizes it because I used to bother Quan all the time with questions about Leonster. I loved asking him, though. I loved how Quan lit up when talking about his home. I hoped that by asking, I could somehow become a prince who loved my own country just as much."
"You… don't love Isaach?"
"I didn't remember it." Shanan said the words easily, but it was enough to remind me of how young he'd been when all this started for him. "I didn't remember anything about it, really. Just… impressions. Like what you all have of your parents." He didn't look at her now. Instead, he looked out a nearby window, but I wondered what he actually saw. "Ha… even now, when I think of 'home', the first thing that comes to mind isn't anywhere in Isaach. It's collections of camps and castles where we all stayed. Particularly the snowy castle in Silesse, where we spent a very happy year resting and enjoying ourselves."
"Shanan…"
"But Quan always talked so happily about Leonster. He loved it and wanted to do everything he could to ensure it thrived." He smiled, but it was horribly sad. So sad that you couldn't really call it a 'smile' at all… "Sigurd was always my ideal 'leader', and still is, but in many ways, Quan was my ideal 'prince'. I wanted to serve my people as he did." He chuckled, but it was a terribly bitter sound. It was made worse by the deep sorrow in his eyes, too deep to even cry. "I never thought I'd see Leonster without him."
Larcei hugged Shanan from behind then, just… giving what support she could. Shanan let her, with his only reaction being a mild look of confusion. And me? I made sure to escape so that they wouldn't see me. That was clearly going to be a bit longer, and I didn't want to ruin it. And not even for teasing reasons. Shanan clearly needed that hug, and why wouldn't he? Not only was he in the home of a long dead friend, but seeing Manfroy again must've shaken him anyway. And with whatever was going on with his injury… better to let him be alone tonight, and then badger him in the morning.
So, instead, I continued my hunt for Hestia and as it turned out, she found me. She barked to let me know she was outside, and I found her in the overgrown garden, happily munching on the flank from some sort of hooved animal. "Did you sneak out for a midnight snack?" I asked her, laughing. "Little brat." Still, I petted her when she abandoned the remains and pressed herself against my leg. "You know… I can't help but wonder if Mom and Dad ever thought about visiting here?" What had been their plans after the war? Mom probably would've been a healer, of course, but what had Dad planned? Where would we have lived? "I guess it doesn't matter, huh?" Because here we were now. And we had to make a better…
I closed my eyes, still petting Hestia, and could only laugh at myself. For a better world… for a better future… ha, but who is the one who decides if something is 'better' or 'worse', huh? And who would it be better for? It wouldn't be better for quite a few people who lost their families. The Loptyrians felt that the world we lived in now was 'better', and it was hard to argue when you knew of their persecution. But it, ideally, would be better for us and the people around us…
"Saving the world is a really selfish thing, isn't it?" I opened my eyes to look at the stars sparkling above and felt… I didn't know what. "But, hopefully, the world we save… the world we make… it'll be better for more people than this current one is." That's all I could really do. I couldn't focus on the ones I couldn't save. 'Maximizing' the people saved couldn't come at the cost of justice, just as 'justice' shouldn't be served to the point of tyrannical brutality. And even those with reasons for what they did… there were a lot of things you could 'rationalize' in your head, but that didn't mean it was right. And when your goals trumped your morals… well, didn't that lead us into this mess to start with?
Hestia licked my hand, drawing me from my thoughts, and I laughed again, giving her a good rub. And did my best to avoid getting blood on me because she was such a messy eater. Before I could tease her, though, I heard someone approach. Hestia's ears twitched and she immediately growled, careful to stand and make herself as big as possible. Not quite attacking, but wary. Very wary.
"Ah." Still, the man who emerged from the shadows didn't seem like a threat. "I didn't expected to see anyone awake," he murmured, bowing his head slightly. I wondered why I didn't see him coming sooner, before noticing that his dark clothes were all various different shades of 'dark', blurring his silhouette. Blurring his outline. "You…" He frowned very slightly, studying me closely, before smiling even more slightly. "You must be Lady Caitriona. You look like your mother."
"You knew my mom?" I asked, startled. What the hell? He didn't look that much older than me and, as far as I knew, Mom never came near Leonster. "How?"
"When the Loptyrians were allowed to walk free, some of us wanted to learn magic and staves from others. Lady Alicia volunteered to teach us, despite the animosity between her and Archbishop Manfroy." Ah, that was right… Manfroy would've been… Mom, why hadn't you said anything? Was it because Deirdre lost her memories? ...Wait.
"Loptyrian?" Could he be…? "You're the former priest that Leif mentioned." And that Inanna had mentioned. "Salem, yes?" He nodded and I hesitated, an impulse rising. "About Julius…" I shouldn't do this. I should wait for the others. But I couldn't. I just couldn't. Not when so many people I loved were tied up in this. "Sorry to just jump right into serious stuff instead of being polite, but…" I had to know. "Is there a way to save him?"
"...No." He said the word as gently as he could, but I still winced. "No, not among us. It is possible the Valkyrie Staff might be able to assist, but even that is… questionable." The Valkyrie Staff… supposedly, it could bring back the dead. But Aideen said that Claude told her there were a thousand and one conditions that had to be fulfilled to even have a chance for it to work. It was better suited as a particularly powerful healing staff. "I am not entirely sure why this is happening to him, exactly. They told us contradicting stories about it, even those of moderate rank like myself. But…" He looked down, unable to keep eye contact. "I know the end result. I know the what."
"And what is that?"
"Loptyr is devouring his soul." He spoke gently, but I felt like knives had been driven into me. "He is, essentially, a sacrifice to Loptyr just as much as those who are Hunted. The purpose… one could say it is simply power, but if that is the case, why is he not killed like the others?"
"...Basically, Julius is slowly dying, and has been for five years, and the only way to save him is…" I covered my face, remembering Julius's words. 'Real' Julius's words, in Tailtiu's dusty room. He knew. He knew the only way he could be saved. That was why he had asked. "I… I see…" Still, Salem answered my questions, even after I so rudely blurted them out, so I dropped my hands and did my best to smile at him. For the first time in my life, though, I couldn't smile the perfect smile. "Thank you for telling me."
"I will explain all that I know at a later date. Lord Leif requested it." That didn't surprise me. Not one bit. "Do you need help to your room, Lady Caitriona?"
"Nah, I'll be fine. Hestia's with me." To prove my point, Hestia whimpered and licked my hand before pressing herself against my left reassuringly. "Again, thank you for answering my questions." I couldn't hold the forced smile anymore and so, I dropped my gaze. "Please, remember to get some rest. What has you up late tonight anyway?"
"Old nightmares." He pulled back his sleeve and I gawked at the deep scars there. "The priests do not… approve when one of the fold questions." Oh. Great. Not only warped from trauma that just sat and stagnated into infection, but the ones that questioned got offed before they could do anything? Freaking hell. "I will be heading in soon, though. Please, do not wait on my account."
"Thank you." I bowed to be polite and, thankfully, Hestia took advantage of her always being a brat to rush off. "Ack! Hestia!" Which gave me the perfect excuse to bolt out of the garden and run all the way to my room.
When I got there, and made sure Hestia was there, I shut the door behind me and leaned against it for a moment. When Hestia laid down, though, I sat and used her as a pillow, desperate for comfort. She leaned around to lick my face, and I closed my eyes, doing my best to just… I didn't even know.
Gods damn it all…
'Strike Team' left Leonster two days after arriving to continue to Alster. Though, we were a bit small for a 'team'. Really, we should've just said 'the Isaachian royals plus Riona and Hestia' because it was just us five. Because we were all stealthy-stealth. Save Hestia, who was a giant wolf, even if she could move quietly. But Hestia did what she wanted and she had better ears and nose than us. And she was a better hunter, so we weren't having to depend on rations. And she was good about forcing us to rest when we were pushing just a little too much.
"What happened?" Ulster asked me during one such break. We weren't far from Alster, but that was all the more reason to rest. "You've been a bit off ever since we left Leonster." He spoke quietly, and sat under a tree with me. Larcei was a short distance away with Hestia and Shanan, with Shanan laying down on Hestia while Larcei brushed her. "So, what happened?"
"Trying to pretend otherwise is just going to get me a stare of doom, isn't it?" I half-joked, half-sighed. Ulster just raised a brow, waiting. "It's got nothing to do with the current operation."
"And?"
"Just pointing that out." I leaned against the smooth bark of the tree and looked up at the beautiful red, yellow, and orange leaves. The sunlight streamed through to really bring out their colors, making them so much brighter than my thoughts. "I asked Salem about Julius."
"That so?" Ulster frowned, studying me. Gleaning the conclusion of the conversation just from my demeanor. "So, no hope, huh?"
"Only hope involves the Valkyrie Staff, and you know what that means."
"...Best to save that conversation with Seliph until after this operation." He gave me a 'really?' look and I could only smile bitterly. I really should've waited. I could only hope I could wait to tell Seliph, but… "Please at least tell me that you didn't go look for him."
"I didn't. I went looking for Hestia, we spent some time in the gardens, and…" Ran into him. "I couldn't check the impulse. I should've. But I..." I couldn't.
"Well, at least it's extra time for you and me to plot how to convince Conall. Someone closer to Ishtar should handle convincing her." So, Tine. And Tine was expecting something like this. So, hopefully... "Will you be fine?"
"Yeah, I think so." I managed a smile and he studied it for a moment before nodding, believing me. Though he still slung his arm around my shoulders reassuringly. "Give me like… two seconds with Seliph, and I'll be all sunshine and rainbows again."
"You're going to make me gag."
"You're just upset that you can't cuddle with Lana because she's in Melgen." I nudged his side, eager for the subject change. "How are things going there? I've been tragically away, so I haven't been able to spy!"
"N-not answering!" He went red! He went bright red! "Not answering at all!"
"Have you at least kissed besides that first one there?" Aaaand he blushed even more. "Wow, I think you went red to the roots of your hair!"
"Riona!"
"Well, that looks like fun!" Larcei laughed, waving at us. Though I almost drew her into the teasing with me, I was distracted by Shanan attempting to get the large pile of Hestia fur off of him. Too much for simply laying on her. What the…? "He's avoiding answering my question about how he is."
"Shanan!" Ulster scolded, seizing the convenient escape. I let him, because freaking hell, Shanan. "If you're hurting…!"
"I think Hestia would've pinned me," Shanan protested, in between sputtering and coughing. Hestia's fur clung. Badly. I pushed myself up to go help him. "And I wasn't avoiding! I just wasn't sure how to answer!"
"That's avoiding!" Ulster joined us, but made no move to help with the fur. "So…?"
"As before, I was cleared." And that was why Shanan hesitated. According to the healers, he should've been fine last time. "The only thing remotely unusual about it is that it's a bit red. But there's no signs of actual inflammation or anything."
"I see…" Pacified, Ulster began helping finally. Larcei joined in too. Hestia, of course, just laid in Shanan's lap to demand extra pets. "That reminds me, actually. Those welts from treating the Fenrir spell…"
"Oh, the ones Lana, Yuria, and Aideen got, right?" Larcei asked, more seeking clarification than actually wondering. She was more focused on attempting to get the fur out from Shanan's hair. "I wonder if we should use Hestia's fur for camouflage or something."
"I think the fur would stand out more," Shanan grumbled. He attempted to keep being 'mad' for a half second more before Hestia's innocently sweet eyes made him sigh and start petting her. "But Holy Blood attempting to protect me from something worse? That's the theory behind the welts from the Fenrir spell, after all." I didn't want to know what was worse. Why were dark magic spells so… dark? Was it Loptyr's influence or something? Made me wonder if you could make 'nice' dark magic spells. ...Then again, Yuria had Nosferatu, which was a light spell that drained the targets of their life to heal the user's injuries. "Makes sense to me. Holy Blood and magic are weird enough on their own, so combining them would either cancel out the weirdness or make it worse."
"So, you're not heading anywhere on your own until that redness fades. Aside from the plan for today, because that's needed. And even then..."
"Finn told me that if I try, he'll make sure Lachesis and Oifeye know. And he knows that someone…" Shanan looked right at me. I smiled innocently. "Will tell him." I most certainly would. Hell, I'd tell Oifeye and Aunt Lachesis directly! "So, if I'm on my own, it'll be due to unexpected circumstances only. Or the plan, but we'll find a place to meet."
"That's a promise, then." Larcei scowled suddenly. "Why the hell is her fur so damn clingy?!"
"You're the one who threw it on me, you know!"
The amount of time it took to get most of the fur off was absolutely hilarious. It got to the point that I actually began tucking some of it into Shanan's collar to make it look like it was on purpose. Which resulted in Shanan tickling me to get me to stop. And Ulster trying to fix things, while Larcei laughed and decided to join in on the fun. ...Really, we only managed to get ourselves cleaned up and on the road again because Hestia knocked us to the ground and we had to get her settled down and remind her that we really didn't have the time to play at the moment.
Once we neared Alster, I split off from the others with Hestia for a couple of reasons. One was, well, Hestia. Another was that if anyone was getting caught, it was going to be me. I had been here before, and had walked through these streets often. I had a higher chance of being recognized even with a hooded cloak and we didn't know how, exactly, people would react to that. Would they shelter me and risk themselves? Would they try to minimize trouble for their families by reporting me? Would they ignore? I didn't feel confident guessing, so it was best for me to just keep separate. Besides, it meant that I could focus on finding our Infiltration team (with Hestia) while the Royal Trio focused on information gathering. That is… if I could somehow get Hestia inside… doubted there would be any convenient ghosts and/or tunnels in the walls this time...
"Sorry, miss, but standard procedure," one of the guards said as soon as I approached the gates, waving me over. Keeping my hood up, I gave them my best smile and obeyed, not wanting to cause trouble. Trouble meant… well… trouble. "What brings you into Alster?"
"Just simple mercenary work," I lied, keeping up the smile. They held out their hand and I handed over my pack. And hoped that they wouldn't look too closely at my swords. In retrospect, snagging some steel swords to use as decoys would've been a good idea. None of us really had 'simple' weapons by this point. "Got to go where the jobs are, after all."
"And that means coming to busy, troubled areas." They went through my pack, and I glanced around, noting that the other guards on duty were questioning others who were entering. And Hestia used that distraction to slip in without anyone really paying attention, waiting for me in the shadows of a nearby building. "Everything looks in order. Though, I've not seen a mercenary carry a book before."
"Really shouldn't since it eats up space, but book hunger really makes a girl grouchy." I focused back on the guard and laughed. And… caught a blush on their face. Didn't expect that one. "So, it's my one indulgence. I'm thankfully able to afford that nowadays."
"Well, I hope you find a good job, and employer." They handed me back my pack, and passed me two cords. "Weapons have to be tied up while in the city. Lord Bloom's orders."
"Nervy fellow, isn't he?" Still, I made sure to not make a fuss, tying both with ease. If things got bad, I had my fires, after all. "Hope he's paying you lot enough."
"For now, sure. We'll see in the coming days." They winced and glanced around worriedly. I smiled encouragingly. "I'm worried about my niece and nephew with all the war talk."
"I can imagine." I made a mental note to super-prioritize getting civilians to safety. We were doing that anyway, of course, but... "Ah, but that's too gloomy of a topic. Know of a good place to relax around here?"
"There's a tavern near the main square where a dancer recently set up shop. Only seen one of her performances myself, but I don't think I've ever seen better." They grinned, and that blush was back. "Tavern is good as well. Lots of us guards take our breaks there."
"Then I'll be sure to check it out." Cords tied and pack back on my belt, I winked and waved as I headed in. "Maybe I'll see you there! I'll buy you a drink if I do!" And I made sure to duck into the crowd before heading into the shadows of a nearby alley. Hestia met me, happily pressing into my leg. "Good girl…" I scratched her behind the ear and laughed softly. "Dancer, huh? Well, well… maybe we should check that out first."
Hestia agreed by loping off, certain that I would follow and catch up. Rolling my eyes, I did and kept a grip on her fur as soon as I could, because it really was too crowded, and it just got even more crowded the closer we got to the main square. The reason became obvious very, very quickly. I'd been right; the dancer in question was Lene. And she was performing right now, a bedazzling spectacle of energy and cheer. Her smile was brighter than the sun, and she jumped and spun as if she could never run out of energy. The crowd itself was spellbound, smiling and cheering, only taking their eyes away to make quick little purchases from nearby vendors. One in particular, a blue-haired girl wearing a simple yet pretty dress, was making a killing because she sold flowers. Flowers that were often thrown onto the stage Lene danced on as tokens of appreciation and wonder. Of course, I had a feeling that the 'girl' was there for a different reason besides money. After all, I knew that hair color easily. And, when I got closer, the 'flower girl' looked up curiously and smiled, proving me right before darting into a nearby alley. I waited a moment to send Hestia towards Lene before heading there myself, careful to make sure no one was following.
I'd barely taken two steps before Seliph snatched me up in a hug. "Missed you," he whispered, right in my ear. I tried to play off my blush, and failed miserably when he actually kissed my ear, before he moved to kiss my cheek like he hadn't just made me squirm with delight and everything. "Well, that did get a reaction. Lene was right."
"Lene?!" I squeaked, turning redder. He laughed softly and simply kissed me properly. "What does Lene have to do with anything?"
"I asked her for advice, since I'm always trying to find more ways to show you how much I love and appreciate you." He smiled gently at me, and I almost forgave him. Almost. "I've missed my sunshine."
"I… you…" Okay, things I expected? Not this. At all. Expected to maybe have a bit of teasing. And then be serious. Instead, I was a stammering, blushing mess. "You've been plotting!"
"Maybe a little." And now he looked oh-so-smug. I was getting him back for this. I really was. I'd need to figure out how and- "Revenge for laughing at me before our last date." ...Still getting him back. "How was Leonster, by the way?" Oh, I was definitely getting him back for this!
"You're horrible." I tried to scowl, but his delighted, quiet laugh just made me smile anyway. Damn him. "Absolutely horrible."
"Yes, yes." He brushed strands of hair out of my face, and leaned forward slightly, frowning worriedly. "What happened?"
"Hmm?"
"You haven't been sleeping, and your smile is sadder." He brushed his fingers under my eyes and I could only sigh. Despite what Ulster had said, and despite my joke, I'd known he'd figure out something was wrong quickly. "Leonster?"
"Leonster is fine, or was when I left. Tired, but there." Outside the alley, the crowd roared with applause, hinting that Lene had finished her dance. But neither Seliph nor I moved. "It doesn't have to do with the current operation. Could distract you from it."
"But it's clearly weighing heavily on you." Seliph kissed my forehead, a warm and gentle kiss that was so comforting that it nearly sent me to tears. "I won't force you, but I'd rather you not bear the weight just to keep from burdening me. Even if I know its because of your affection and care for me."
"...Yeah…" And now that I thought about it, I… I should've brought up the thing with Julius and Loptyr blood sooner, just so that it wasn't so much of a… ha, keeping secrets wasn't always… no, keeping secrets was sometimes a very selfish thing, huh? "I met Salem, the Loptyrian priest Leif told us about, and asked him about Julius."
"Did you?" Seliph studied my expression and his own face fell when he saw the answer in my eyes. "Ah… my poor little brother…" He pulled me into a hug, clinging tightly, and I hugged him back with all my strength. "Damn it."
"I should've waited to ask. I'm sorry."
"No, don't be. I know to not hold onto hope and burn myself. I, of all people, can't burn my eyes shut and block out everything." So he said. The shaking hands on my back told a very different story. "Tell me the full thing later?"
"It's not much, but sure." I leaned back just enough for me to kiss him. He reciprocated a bit desperately, but I didn't mind. "Let's see… lighter things. Lighter thin… a-ah…" And his idea of changing the subject was to kiss my ear! Again! "Seliph!"
"You are really sensitive there!" He grinned, and it was almost his normal one. "I definitely need to remember that. And see about applying those other bits of advice."
"What all did Lene tell you?!" And how did she even… she and I hadn't talked about stuff like this! Was it just typical stuff or did she guess because of watching me or…? Oh, man, I was blushing so badly. And it was all the worse because Seliph snickered and smirked at me. "No more ear-play!" I covered my ears for emphasis, and he leaned forward to muffle his resulting laughter in my shoulder. "I'm getting you back for this! I mean it!"
Eventually, Seliph convinced me to uncover my ears and led me to the tavern, helping me up the stairs to a back room. Where Lene and Hestia were waiting, Hestia being quite impatient. In fact, Hestia barely waited for the door to close before jumping up on Seliph, bracing her paws on his chest to lick his face repeatedly.
"Seliph, we're supposed to be doing laundry today, so when Hestia lets you go, you should really change out of the dress," Lene suggested, smiling warmly from her perch on the table. Seliph attempted to agree, but Hestia was Very Insistent on catching up on affection. "Maybe I should've said 'if'."
"Hestia, at least nudge him towards wherever he needs to go," I sort-of-scolded, mostly amused by the situation. I leaned against the table by Lene, just watching. Sure, I could help, but I wasn't. "Where's Patty?"
"Still out investigating. She should be back soon." She bit her lip to keep from laughing as Seliph slowly managed to get Hestia to let him head to his room to change. At least, until Seliph was out of sight. Then she started guffawing. "Hestia is ridiculous!"
"Now imagine that with Sarabi."
"No way! We're going to teach her to behave!" Yeah, good luck with that one. "Anyway, though…?" She grinned meaningfully at me, eyes dancing with mischief. "So… how was your reunion with Seliph~?"
"What all did you even tell him?!" I was back to blushing. Argh… and here I thought I was finally keeping my cool… grr… "I mean…"
"Lots of prostitutes in Darna, and when Layla and I first started living on our own, a few helped us out a lot. Shared their money and food, made sure we were safe… that sort of thing." Lene shrugged, still grinning. "Layla and I repaid the favor when we could. All the interactions resulted in quite the education!" Well, I would imagine so. "Truthfully, I was surprised he asked me for advice, but he said it was because I had a different background than… well, pretty much all of you. And, you know, am in a very happy relationship. Arthur grew up differently too, for instance, but can you imagine going to him for advice?"
"Well, relationship advice, sure." Arthur might just get the person checked for a head injury or something. "Still, I'm getting you back for that as well. You can't even blame Sarabi because I know how much you adore her!"
"She is cute." Lene kept on grinning, kicking her legs briefly before hopping off the table. "Ah, but can I mitigate said revenge by sharing some advice with you?" I swore she was the personification of mischief at this point. I really did. "I'm all for equal-opportunity-teasing!"
"Is that what we're calling it?" Though, I did have to admit there was an appeal. There were some things that you just… couldn't ask a parental figure, no matter how much you loved and respected them (and admitted they had good advice). And out of the people I knew well, only Lana and Lene were in any sort of relationship. Well, Maliya was too, but I didn't think she'd be so candid with me yet. "Whatever. The answer is maybe. We'll negotiate later."
"I look forward to it~!" Lene laughed and, before long, I had to join in. Not only was it an infectious laugh, but the whole situation was just so… ridiculous, really. Ridiculous, yet normal.
It made me wonder about what life would've been like (should've been like) if the Belhalla Massacre had never occured. So many what-ifs… I just had to make the most of the life I had now, though. And be thankful that I could salvage those tentative bonds.
By the time Hestia let Seliph go, and he was able to change into cleaner clothes, Patty returned, and she brought Shanan, Larcei, and Ulster with her. Which, of course, led to hugs and teasing. Hestia was particularly insistent on getting Patty covered in fur… I mean, showing her affection. I had to buy her a treat in order to get her to settle down long enough for us to exchange information. Even then, she laid right at our feet and refused to budge for anything.
"So, no troubles with you, Seliph?" Larcei teased once we were settled down around the table with some food and drink. Her eyes shone with amusement. "Can still pull off a dress?"
"Well enough, though it was definitely easier to masquerade as a woman when I was younger," Seliph answered absently. He was more focused on his food, truthfully. "Hardest part was getting inside, but when isn't that the hardest? I actually got quite a few compliments."
"I can believe it, both the compliments and how hard it is to actually get into the city." Larcei looked right at me, and I sighed, already knowing what she was going to say. "Bet Riona just talked to a guard and walked on in, though."
"Most definitely."
"I had my stuff checked!" I snapped defensively, scowling at them both. My mood wasn't helped by Ulster's snicker, and Shanan, Patty, and Lene looking a little confused. "Ugh, why do you always make things bigger than they are with that?"
"Perhaps when you don't do something ridiculous, we won't," Ulster commented lightly, his grin belying the 'calmness' of the words. Like Larcei, his eyes glittered with silent laughter and danced with mischief. "Didn't you get a date out of something like that back at Ganeishire?"
"That was Diarmuid, damn it! And I still don't know how that worked!"
"Of course it worked." Ulster shrugged, still grinning, and I was sorely tempted to throw something at him. "Shanan, did we not tell you about how we had Diarmuid and Riona charm their way into Ganeishire?"
"There was no charming!"
"Tempted as I am to join in, because Riona, you are always charming…" Lene began with a laugh. Which sparked laughter from everyone else. Gods damn it… was today 'pick on Riona' day or something?! "We do have business to discuss. Such a shame, really."
"I'm sure you feel like you're having to herd cats with us!" Paty joked, grinning. However, she soon became serious, and the lighthearted mood disappeared in an instance. "Thanks to today, I have secured three routes into the castle. And that's without me being able to climb up the side of a castle."
"...Climb up the side?"
"You haven't seen them do that yet? It's how those three…" Patty pointed to Ulster, Larcei, and me. "Get on the damn roof. Diarmuid can do it as well. You'll see it most with Riona, though, because Hestia will get all whimpery."
"...Wait, you climbed up there?!" Lene's eyes went as wide as plates. "What's wrong with stairs?!"
"Too boring," Ulster, Larcei, and I chorused, even matching pitch to be perfectly dry. It was well worth Lene's bewildered look, and everyone else's laughter.
"That reminds me," Seliph managed through his laughing. He had to briefly hide his face in my shoulder to muffle the sound and attempt to calm down. "Ares saw Diarmuid climbing and asked for him to teach him." Lene groaned and just let her head fall to the table. "Distracted, however! Basically, Patty, you were saying that these crazies might have other ways of getting inside too, yes?"
"Pretty much!" Patty chirped, grinning. She took great delight in that little bit of chaos. "Prince Shanan, why don't you climb all over the place?"
"Something about falling out of a lot of trees?"
"More like I fell out of a tree, was getting tended to by Alicia and Aideen, and J… someone set the place on fire," Shanan rattled off. I frowned curiously, because I knew this story well. It was how Jamke joined up with Sigurd, and it was why Mom and Jamke had an awkward relationship for a good few years. But then I remembered that Patty was Jamke's daughter, and hearing about how your dad set a castle on fire wasn't exactly… great. And should probably come from someone she'd personally known longer. So, I quickly covered Larcei's mouth when I noticed her about to ask why Shanan didn't use a name, and then masked it by shoving some bread in her mouth. "As a result, I… ah… stopped climbing things unless I absolutely had to. But that's neither here nor there. Any word on their army, Patty?"
"Mostly standard rank and file, since they've lost a lot due to the siege and the failed attempt to assassinate us in Melgen," Patty answered, going back to being serious. Even if she poked Lene and pointed confusedly at Larcei, who was choking on the bread and giving me dirty looks. Probably made more weird by neither Ulster nor Seliph reacting, and Shanan only reaching over to pat her back. "No Reinhardt, no Ishtar, no one of such importance that their name stands out… really, Bloom is the only we have to worry-worry about." She shrugged, sighing. "That said, he's got that psycho-electro tome thing that I can't pronounce."
"...Mjolnir?"
"That's the one!" Hard to say what was funnier. The name itself, or Shanan's slightly scandalized look at a Divine Weapon being described like that. "Anyway, he's the only real threat, from what I understand. Everyone else is reasonably skilled, but I don't think requires anything special."
"Simply information, and disruption of morale," Seliph murmured, nodding. He then leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Which is what we're all going to do until the main forces arrive. How many days before Leonster moves out?"
"Leonster's forces will march in… at this point, two days," I answered, doing some quick math in my head. They had to recover, but if we took too long, Bloom would notice the lack of reports from that front. "Melgen is probably already on the move at this point. If not, then tomorrow."
"Because we need them to move more noticeably, to hide the rest of the plan and to give everyone as much time as they can to gather their reserves." Seliph's smile grew slightly, strangely dignified. "Will you four rest or head out?"
"Think it's best we go ahead and get started with our stuff as soon as possible." I glanced at Shanan, Ulster, and Larcei and the three of them nodded. "Hestia will stay with you, for obvious reasons."
"Of course."
"So, what exactly are you four doing anyway?" Patty asked, already standing. She'd have to show us her paths, after all. "I haven't heard that yet." None of us answered verbally. Just a round of… rather evil-looking-grins. "Oh, this is going to be funny, isn't it?"
"Iuchar might groan when he hears," Ulster laughed, also standing. He stretched slowly and then sharply leaned back when Hestia tried to jump on him. "Someone hold her, or we're never getting out of here."
Lene helpfully pinned and played with Hestia so that the five of us could escape. From there, we briefly split up to hide where we were going and then followed Patty into the castle. Patty left us then to do her own thing, and Shanan went his own way because (for once) his part of the plan would be a lot easier if he was alone. Namely… well, he used Balmung to turn invisible and then shift things ever so slightly. A painting tilted just a little ajar. A vase moved. A door pushed open with a quiet creak. Things of that nature. Subtle things to make people uneasy. Make them know something was wrong, but find it difficult to just say why.
Meanwhile, Ulster, Larcei, and I climbed to the roof so that we could move more easily to other areas of the castle to do similar things. Though, in our case, it was to be a bit more blatant. Not necessarily anything to scare people, but to aggravate them. Stealing things from rooms. Scattering dirt across sparkling clean floors. Tossing neatly folded laundry all over the place. In short, a mischievous puppy's dream come true.
"I can't wait to tell Aideen about how all those pranks we pulled as children were actually training," Larcei snickered, covering her mouth to keep quiet. Ulster and I also covered her mouth. And then each other's, just for fun. "Seriously…!"
"I know, right?" I whispered, barely keeping it together. This was a very serious mission, after all, dealing with very serious matters. "Okay, okay…" But even Ulster was trying hard to not laugh, and the three of us just leaned forward to huddle together and do our best to keep absolutely quiet. "Few more and then we'll head back for the day?"
"Sounds good to me," Ulster agreed, mostly muffled because we were all still covering each other's mouths. Honestly, if we weren't so close, I doubt I would've understood. "Let's head to where we're meeting Shanan and…" He trailed off, all cheer disappearing. "...I hear shouting."
Worriedly, we crawled to the edge of the roof and then let Ulster climb down first, heading towards a place close to where the screaming was, hopefully. And, it turned out to be a study. Bloom's study, to be specific. He was snapping at servants, all but throwing things at them. I frowned at the sight, because I hadn't seen anything like that when I'd been here before… but then I thought of Ishtar. Seeing this, I had a feeling Bloom tended to be on his best behavior for people he viewed as peers or superiors, and I knew, without a doubt, that Ishtar would scold her father for yelling at the servants. So, he had probably been on his 'best behavior' the whole time I was there, and if I had stayed longer, I might've seen this back then.
Still, it bothered me, especially when I recognized one of the servants; she'd been the one who most frequently gotten me whenever Julius requested me, the one who said I was like Conall because I was kind. So, I sighted a couple of candles, flickering as they were by what seemed like some important papers, and made them flare up just as it looked like Bloom was about to hit her. We quickly had to scrabble back up the wall to avoid being seen, so all we heard was shrieks and calls for water. At least, at first. When things quieted, I (alone) climbed back to that window and peered inside. No one was there, but I did see a soaked desk, with bunches of ruined paperwork sitting in puddles, the ink slowly bleeding. I snatched them up and a few other things before leaving, knowing that even with things ruined… well, very clever people, cleverer than me, knew how to get information from anything.
Let it never be said we weren't creative?
The next few days were spent more or less the same. Before long, whispers and rumors spread that the castle was haunted, filled with the vengeful ghosts of all those killed during the Empire's occupation. We, of course, 'gently encouraged' those rumors, and spread a few more of our own. And as the stories built, the news of Melgen marching weaved its way through, binding everything up into a pretty little package. Even better, the gossip mill didn't even mention Leonster, and our own scouts confirmed that they were on the way. Things were going remarkably smoothly… which meant all of us were ready for something to go wrong.
"Why are we always so worried when everything goes okay?" Larcei complained. Quietly, of course. She, Ulster, and I were on the roof of Alster Castle, for a few reasons. And that meant we just had each other and no convenient distractions while we waited. And waited. And waited. "I mean…"
"We are very aware of the phrase 'no strategy survives contact with the enemy'," Ulster answered, despite the fact that Larcei probably hadn't actually wanted an answer. He ignored her dirty look and just leaned more on my back. Larcei herself was laying down on my lap, and I tried to think of how I ended up in the middle of the twins. And amusing myself with thoughts of how envious quite a few people would be right now. "But, that's what tactics are for."
"So, Oifeye. And Lewyn."
"Yep." Of course, we knew that was a big simplification. But this was probably the biggest battle we all fought. Larger armies, larger goal… and if we won here, we proved that Isaach was no mere fluke. Meaning Lewyn would use his winds to keep track of people, and relay the movements to Oifeye, who would adjust the plan as needed in order to fulfill the goals Seliph set. "Ah, over there." Ulster stood up and I twisted to see him pointing north, towards Leonster. Or, more accurately, the first signs of Leonster's army. "And our main army is…"
"On the hill, as they have been for the past couple of hours," I whispered, nudging Larcei up. She playfully whined, but stood and pulled me up with her. "Attempting to negotiate." Of course, we hadn't expected negotiations to work. We just wanted to give Bloom a chance to surrender, because it wasn't as if we hadn't been proven wrong a thousand and one times and more. Well, not 'just'. Negotiations bought time, and held attention. "So…" I tensed when I saw the predetermined signal: three flashes of light from a mirror, followed by two more. I glanced to Larcei to confirm, and when she nodded, I snapped my fingers and shot a small fireball into the sky. And turned towards the north, where Ulster had kept his gaze, to see Leonster's forces charge, led by its prized cavalry. The famous Lanzritter, reborn at last after its destruction following the Yied Massacre and Leonster's fall.
Within what felt both like seconds and days, the rear gates were broken through, because there had been few soldiers stationed there. Ulster nudged me and I threw two more fireballs into the sky, giving the second signal… for our main army to begin its own charge, to take advantage of the rattled defenses to overwhelm the front. I could only pray that Lene and the others had finished evacuating the civilians to some sort of safety. That was her primary job during this, with Patty assisting when she wasn't helping with messages. And no small part of me wished I could help, but… but I had my own job. The three of us had our own jobs. And it was fairly similar. Sort of.
Ulster ruffled Larcei's hair and kissed my cheek. Larcei kissed my opposite cheek and teasingly pinched Ulster's. I just hugged them both before climbing down first, swinging inside an open window before racing through the halls. Because this was part of our job. Assassinate Bloom if possible, but priority to making sure all the servants and possible guests were somewhere safe, to minimize civilian casualties. And to lessen the chances of hostages. We had to assume Bloom would do that, and I doubted there would be a convenient Ishtar or Conall showing up to help mitigate the mistake of assuming otherwise (and the mistake of not communicating properly with our angry soldiers).
"Quickly, head in here," I urged when I found a group. I helped a few into a large room, one that should fit quite a few people comfortably, but was fairly out of the way. "Keep away from the windows and shut the door, okay? Everything is going to be… well, hopefully, we'll make things okay?" Did they have loved ones fighting? If so, I couldn't really say… "You'll be safer here, so…"
"Princess Riona?" one of them called, interrupting my babbling. I only vaguely recognized them; they were one of the kitchen assistants. "Princess Riona, Lord Bloom headed to a balcony not long ago, while carrying…" Oh. Shit.
"Thank you!" I darted over to hug them before rushing out of the room. "Only move if things get dangerous here! We'll come for you when the fighting is over!" And then I was bolting down the hall as fast as I could, half-wishing Od blood boosted speed instead of skill just so that I could get there a little faster. Because Bloom moving already was… well, we'd kind of hoped he'd wait, but clearly, that wasn't going to be the case. So, now I had to hope that I could distract him or something. I doubted I could win a battle, but if I used some tricks, then maybe I could buy time or something? I wasn't...
I found a balcony and dashed outside, almost running into the railing because of how little I was paying attention, and only not doing so because I slipped and fell hard on my shoulder. Sadly, it wasn't conveniently the same balcony Bloom was on. He was on a different one, within sight, with Mjolnir's spell already in hand. And thanks to my falling, and the resulting pain, I couldn't focus on… even though he was within sight, I couldn't set anything on fire. Not before Bloom threw Mjolnir's might… right at Seliph…
Everything just… stopped for me. Sound. Wind. The fighting. My own breath. My own heart. Everything was frozen, leaving me only with the terrible sight of Mjolnir streaking straight for Seliph. With the terrifying sight of Seliph turning and realizing with wide eyes that he wouldn't be able to dodge. And even with Naga's blood, he might… he might…!
It hit with a 'boom', a rumbling akin to the loudest of thunder. Dust rose from the impact, shrouding the area in a thick cloud that none could see through. Chips of stone from the streets and nearby buildings rained down, joined by the sparkling shards of glass. I was so sure that I'd see nothing but charred corpses when it all cleared. So, so sure. But when it did… when it did clear, there weren't any. And it was not Seliph who was bloody. It was not Seliph who grit his teeth in pain. It was Ares, with Mystletainn in hand, who was bloody and who grit his teeth in pain. It was Ares, standing firm with a wide-eyed, shocked, and completely untouched Seliph safely behind him.
"Well, that hurt more than I'm used to," Ares quipped, his voice strangely loud in the quiet that filled the battlefield. He quickly flipped Mystletainn around and stabbed a frozen, nearby Friege soldier straight through their skull. Mystletainn glowed with a dark light as the body fell, and some of Ares's wounds slowly sealed up. Though, some still remained and he still spat out blood. "Still, survivable. Painful, but survivable."
"How did you…?" Bloom breathed, actually taking a half-step back. The hand clutching Mjolnir shook, even as he tightened his grip. "How does a sellsword survive Mjolnir?!"
"It's called 'Mystletainn'. You might have heard of it." He flipped Mystletainn back to the 'normal' grip and scoffed. "But if that's all you got, no wonder you had to keep hiring me to clean up your messes."
"Tch…!" Bloom prepared to throw another Mjolnir, but though he kept his eyes on Ares and Seliph, he threw it in a different direction. Screams shattered the silence and I could only gape when I saw he had purposely hit one of the nearby buildings to destroy it and send the rubble down on the soldiers below… both ours and his. And, as if to prove it hadn't been an accident, he did the same twice more. Willing to kill his own to destroy us.
Seliph immediately ordered soldiers over to assist, and Ares was right by his side, careful to keep himself between Bloom and Seliph even as he helped pull people out. The battle actually… it actually halted, for lack of a better word. Yes, there were some patches, but most efforts were with trying to free the trapped, with no regards for sides whatsoever. From my vantage point, I could see how many of the Friege soldiers seemed shaken, and why wouldn't they be? It was one thing to pledge your life, and death, to a person or cause; it was another to have someone blatantly show how disposable they thought you were.
Bloom himself was perfectly calm, looking over the crowd with sharp and calculating eyes. I attempted to set part of him on fire, but he ducked out of my sight just before I could, heading inside. I nearly fell again in my haste to do the same and try to catch up, but I managed to keep upright and sprinted down the halls, trying to catch up or at least get within sight! But, sadly, just as before, I wasn't quite in time. Though I did catch up and found him on another balcony, it wasn't in time to keep him from casting the spell.
But a powerful thunder spell hit Bloom straight in the shoulder and he jerked automatically from the pain, sending his spell flying harmlessly into the sky. And when I stepped out, ready to do whatever it took to keep Bloom from attacking again, I swore I'd see Arthur nearby. Probably riding with Fee or something. But… it wasn't. It wasn't at all. It was Tine. Tine, with tears streaming down her face, stood on a nearby rooftop, clutching her still crackling Elthuder to her chest. Arthur (and Fee, for that matter) were nowhere in sight.
"Tine…?" For the second time today, Bloom was startled. To be fair, though, I was too, to the point of not being to move (again). Tine… I had thought Tine would remain in Melgen. Remain there to help protect the refugees and others who couldn't march. That had been the plan when I'd left Melgen, at least… "Tine, are you…?" he began slowly, like he was having trouble processing what he said and saw. Couldn't blame him in the slightest. "Are you betraying me?"
"I… I'm sorry, Uncle…" Tine whimpered, crying now. She trembled badly, and I desperately looked for anyone who might be close enough to help her. "But this is wrong. You're wrong."
"After everything I did for you, you…!"
"Yes, everything you did after you let Hilda kill Mother!" Tine's voice cracked with the force of her yelling, raw pain making the words jagged. "After you covered up my father's murder by your own forces! Taking care of me doesn't erase that! If you truly felt guilty, you would've taken Hilda's head! But you chose that monster! That psychopath who hurts people just because she finds it fun! You chose her over Mother! You chose her over me!"
"Silence!" Bloom gestured sharply, wildly casting… some sort of thunder spell, one that scattered too much to be Mjolnir. That gave me the opportunity to finally stop standing around like a dumbass and to tackle Bloom to make sure he wouldn't cast Mjolnir yet again. With fire in my hands to really distract him. But… ah… in my desperation (and frustration), I'd forgotten about the railing again. And, you know, fulcrums. Physics. Center of gravity and all that. Basically, Bloom and I both went over the railing. I managed to catch myself on the floor of the balcony, barely, but unfortunately, Bloom was also quick enough to grab something: my leg. And damn, he was heavy. "You…!"
"Oh, you couldn't have even dropped the damn tome?!" I snapped when I glanced down and saw he was, in fact, still clinging to Mjolnir. I attempted to use my free leg to kick him off, but while I got him in the face, he dug his nails into my leg, not letting go. And I only had a tentative grip with one hand, so I couldn't flail about that much. I grabbed the edge with my other hand to give myself a little more stability, but even a bloodied/broken nose wasn't loosening his grip. "You're like Hestia with a bone!"
"I will not lose to children who don't understand anything!" Bloom growled, snarling up at me. Mjolnir sparked, but didn't do anything else. Probably because electrocuting me while he was using me as a rope was a really bad idea. "What it means to rule, what sacrifices it takes to-!"
"Oh, shut up! I don't care anymore how you've justified it to yourself!" Third time, sadly, wasn't lucky. I at least blackened an eye, though! "You claim this all is right, and I claim it's wrong! Your idea of justice and ruling does not, and will not, match mine! Which means we're going to fight, and someone is going to die!" Or multiple someones. My grip was slipping. But I did notice that Tine was… "Tine!" I could barely look at her, since I was focused on Bloom, but I did see her staring, still crying. "Tine, get Fee for me!" Because I couldn't ask her to attack Bloom again. She already did that once. I couldn't...
But she surprised me. Yet again. Because, all at once, I saw her gaze harden and she shot an Elthunder right at Bloom. First one missed, but the second one hit his arm, and my leg. I bit my lip to keep from screaming in pain, but Bloom's weight left me all at once. He screamed as he fell, and I watched him fall, wondering just how scary of a death it would have to be. But he didn't die. At least, I didn't think so. I saw him hit a tree on the way down, and grumbled to myself because if I'd know the tree was there, I would've just dropped anyway. However, I hadn't, so I just pulled myself up and then used the railing to get myself standing, breathing heavily from all of that. I'd let the people on the ground handle Bloom, if the ground itself hadn't. At this point, I was definitely out of the fight.
Across the way, Tine watched me worriedly. But when I smiled, she smiled back, more tears joining the first. I had no idea whether they were tears of relief, fear, anger, or some sort of combination. But her smile, at least, was sweet. That was enough for me.
"Well, damn, when Lester described the room as 'exploded', I thought he'd been exaggerating," I commented, blinking slowly at the carnage. I stood in the doorway of the room that once held the Warp Circle Alster had. Now, though? Well, calling it a 'room' probably wasn't accurate anymore. More like 'rubble that happens to be mostly contained in four walls'. "How the hell?"
"Most likely, he used Mjolnir to destroy the other one," Tine explained, supporting me. Though I'd been healed, the numerous injured meant that my leg was still… not liking me at all. When I had wanted to see the Warp Circle with my own eyes, Tine had insisted on helping me limp along. "On the bright side, he can't send people through it either?"
"True." I sighed, though, grumbling under my breath. Because yes, Bloom got away. Between trying to save people from the fallen buildings, and forgetting that Bloom being a Thrud Major mean he could take quite the beating, he had been able to escape to the Warp Circle. "Can't freaking believe…" According to those who saw, and gave chase, Bloom had suffered a broken arm and, likely, broken ribs from the fall, not accounting for bruising. And had still managed to drag himself away. "Is Mjolnir glued to his hand or something?" Because, of course, Bloom had still been clinging to it.
"I doubt it, though that happened with a different book. Ishtar and Conall thought it would be funny." She smiled at the memory and helped me walk away from the room, towards the celebrations outside. We might have only liberated half of the Manster District, but this was still a big victory. Which meant partying. "I'm really sorry about your leg…"
"Relax, I'm not going to lose it or anything. That's why it's still hurting!" It was a lesser wound in comparison to others. Being able to wait was a good thing. "I did expect you to get Fee, but your choice was definitely far more direct."
"I felt like since I had made the choice, I needed to stick with it." She didn't quite look at me as we kept walking. "You all have been so kind, letting me be neutral for as long as I have been. Letting me think and settle my heart and nerves. And never once pushing me."
"If you still want to…"
"I will not be like Conall and Ishtar, letting false hope blind me to reality. I love them and respect them, but this is not a conflict where neutrality exists. Standing aside and staying out of the battles when you have the means to fight… that isn't 'neutrality'. That is supporting the injustices that are occurring. And I won't do that." Now she looked up at me, and though there was some hesitance in her expression, her eyes were clear and true. As clear as a lightning bolt through the sky. "I have decided that what my uncle has done, and what the people he has supported are doing, is wrong. They may have good intentions, but intentions do not change their actions, nor do they change how wrong I believe they are. So, I will fight. And I will save Ishtar and Conall from themselves."
"...Yeah, we will." I pulled her into a hug and kissed her head, just… was it patronizing to feel so proud of her? Probably was, but I couldn't help it! And I was in awe, that she figured out something that had been driving me nearly mad in so short a time. "How about you help Arthur with the mages? Some are former Friege soldiers and I'm sure they'll feel more comfortable with you."
"That sounds good. I promise to work hard!" She smiled brightly, but then we entered the courtyard and got barraged by all the noise. "Eek…"
"I'm probably going to get swarmed before long, so how about you go and let Arthur know?" I smiled reassuringly at her when she hesitated. "Hestia will be here before long, and I know Fee wanted to show you something exciting."
"That's true and… oh, wait, she's waving at me." She hesitated a moment longer before nodding. "Okay, but I'm checking on you later!"
"Have fun!" I waved her goodbye and took a deep breathe, enjoying the crisp air and the delightful smells of various food and drink. They were all specialties of the area, meaning I only vaguely knew a handful of them maybe, but they were still comforting. Almost as comforting as the laughter and singing that danced amongst the scents.
A cheerful bark and howl alerted me that Hestia had arrived before I actually saw her, and I laughed as she bounded over like a puppy. She almost jumped on me, but stopped herself at the last second, remembering that I wouldn't be able to catch her. So, instead, she circled me excitedly before shoving her head under my hand for pets. Which I happily gave her, of course. She had spent the battle protecting Oifeye while he and Lewyn adjusted troop movements, and had done a very good job. Though I knew she was very cross that I got so hurt while she was away from me.
"I knew following her would lead me to you." However, Hestia wasn't alone. Nanna, apparently, had decided to follow, and she smiled wryly at me. "I can't believe she's your pet," she said, watching us. I chose against pointing out that Hestia was pack, not a pet. "Of all creatures…"
"Something wrong with wolves?" I joked, mostly just to prod a little. I remembered how many in Tirnanog had been stunned by her.
"Not necessarily, but she's a wolf." Yes. Yes, she was. "According to the people I grew up with, she's one of nature's perfect predators. All muscle and teeth and able to outrun, out-fight, and out-smart almost any other beast in its territory. Able to coordinate to eviscerate prey ten times their size, and unfazed by both weather and terrain. One could even call them creatures of war, particularly when one sees her fight alongside you." She raised an eyebrow, and skeptically looked at Hestia, who was happily receiving pets from me. "Aaaand you apparently saw her and went 'cutie!' and now she's yours."
"Aw, but just look at her!" I cooed, laughing. Hestia barked at the same time, just adding to the sound. "She's so fluffy! And just look at her pointy little ears! And look at her tail just wagging away!"
"I'm with Diarmuid. I can't believe you haven't been eaten by a wild animal yet." She sighed and I just had to laugh. "Anyway, I was looking for you because I wanted to check you over again."
"If you're out here, then should you really be working?" Still, I followed her when she beckoned, using Hestia as a crutch to keep some weight off my leg. "How are things in the infirmary?"
"We're taking turns enjoying the party. A staggered shift sort of thing. Mother insisted." I was willing to bet it was something she'd tried, and likely failed, to do with Mom. "And if I check you now, then hopefully that means less work tomorrow."
"That does make sense." We made it over to the edge of the party, where some chairs had been set out for people to rest in. Or get their leg checked over by adorable healers, as was my case. "How am I doing?"
"Looks like it's much the same as earlier. It will need a staff for full healing, but nothing immediate. We can finish healing it tomorrow." Nanna smiled at me, clearly relieved, and I grinned back. Hestia nosed my wounded leg gently before resting her head on my lap. "In that case, how about you share some cider with me? Alster has a unique recipe for it that I haven't tasted anywhere else."
"That sounds like a plan!" I carefully stood and Hestia attached herself to my leg to be used as support. "Lead on!"
Nanna and I waded into the crowd, smiling and laughing with the people as we navigated our way through. A few people tried to stop me for something, but others intervened so that I wasn't standing around for long periods of time. Hilariously, when one proved particularly stubborn, Mursili appeared out of nowhere to pick me up and place me on the other side of a person, before doing the same with Nanna. Hestia jumped over to keep up. Before long, Nanna and I had acquired our cider, and I had to agree with her. I had no idea what spices they used, but it was definitely unlike anything I'd drank before. I half-worried it was alcoholic, but no one seemed drunk off it yet, so maybe I was just being a bit of a worrywart.
At one point, though, Nanna gasped and nudged me before pointing to a spot on the edge of the crowd. At first I frowned, worried that something had happened, but then I saw what, or rather 'who', she was pointing at, and I had to smile. Because it was Seliph, Ares, and Leif, just chatting with each other while sharing a drink.
"Thank you again for earlier, Ares," Seliph was saying. It was hard to hear him, but Nanna and I crept a little closer to eavesdrop. Hestia almost ran for them, but I caught her in time. "I can't say I'm not annoyed that I've had to be shielded twice, though…"
"Better get used to it," Ares retorted without the slightest bit of sympathy. It made Leif laugh, though Seliph made a face. "You're the leader. If you die, this whole thing falls apart, you know." Ares gently hit Seliph on the head, using his knuckle. "Honestly, you probably should do the whole 'commanders are supposed to command' thing."
"No way in hell. I will fight and bleed alongside my soldiers."
"Then get used to people throwing themselves in front of you. Besides…" Ares shrugged and took a long sip from his mug. "I knew I'd survive the hit. If I didn't, I would've taken the risk of tackling you."
"Risk?" Leif repeated, laughter being replaced with curiosity. His eyes were bright with amusement still, and it occurred to me that this was the first time I'd seen him smile so freely and easily. "Oh, right, the Hezul blood."
"Harder to control when you're running on battle-fever," Ares confirmed. He raised a brow when he saw Seliph and Leif nod knowingly, and I marveled at how the expression was so much like Nanna's earlier one. "What?"
"Well, we grew up with your cousins, remember?" Leif grinned. "We know the trouble Hezul minors get into! But anyway, you were certain you'd survive? Really?"
"Mystletainn. Now, if it was the Goddess of Thunder, I wouldn't have been so certain, but Ishtar's magical prowess comes from her mother, according to the rumors. Her mother is a Velthomer noble and even those without Fjalar's blood are magically strong. According to the rumors, at least." Ares hailed a young boy who was helping to clean and passed him his empty mug. And some coin. "But it was Bloom, and I'm careful about that sort of thing. I promised Lene that I'd stay with her. That kind of means staying alive."
"That is true…"
"He's the sweetest sometimes," Lene suddenly whispered in my ear. Nanna and I nearly screamed and only didn't because we covered each other's mouths. Lene doubled-over from laughter, before muffling the sound by kneeling and hugging Hestia. Hestia who was suddenly chewing on a bone, so I knew how Lene managed to sneak up! "About time I found you two. I thought it might be fun to wander the market."
"The market is open?" I asked, startled. Mostly because I figured it would be a couple of days, but merchants must've seen the opportunity to hit it big. "That does sound like fun." I glanced at Nanna, who thought it over a bit before nodding and smiling in agreement. "We got to go slow for me, but Hestia will keep me stable."
Might as well have as much fun as possible for the night. I think we deserved it, at least.
Iuchar
Class: Axe Knight; Skills:
Middle child of Danann, brother of Iurcharba and Brian. As a result of being the middle child, he was often left alone, which gave him free time to read books that weren't strictly educational, such as legends and dashing tales of fantasy. As a result, he will sometimes speak in a poetic manner, with suitable drama. Well, that and he loved how much it annoyed his brothers and his father.
Has the Mark of Neir on the back of his shoulder, the lines making a pauldron-shaped pattern there. Its blessing gives him more stamina, a greater ability to resist pain, and the ability to resist physical damage. As revealed by Lewyn, the blessing also gives him a higher pain tolerance.
Has a knack for getting the drop on his enemies, even while being mounted, but because he was the middle son, he was never seriously taught, and got away with skipping training, leading to him not being as skilled as, say, his fellows among the nobles. He takes extra lessons now to try and make up for it a little, but is aware that his contributions to the army are better suited to non-battle situations
Even he isn't quite certain how he kept any sort of morals when he spent so much of his life with his father, but theorizes it's got something to do with his love of stories and his hatred of his father leading him to just be as opposite as possible. Not exactly the best of reasons, but if it works, it works
Author's Notes: And thus ends game-chapter… 7? Are we on 7? Think that's it. Anyway, 'Sarabi' is the name of Simba's mother in The Lion King and I really couldn't not pick a name from there to use. (Well, I could, but… yeah.)
And Manfroy makes his appearance in Gen2. The reason for this is… actually, there's a few reasons. One) much like Arvis, Manfroy is more or less a non-entity in Gen2 until like… Game-Chapter 10, so this brings him in a little early. Second… well, in game, the chars don't actually learn about Manfroy's involvement with… everything… until the Final Chapter, when Manfroy monologues about it. So, I brought him in early so that the chars could make the connections sooner. Manfroy's appearance here purposely takes cues from Chapter 15) Screams, when Deirdre was kidnapped. The 'Moira' mentioned here is briefly brought up in both Memoirs of Velthomer and Manfroy's oneshot in Memoirs of the Lost.
Yes, Eleri cameos here, along with other FE5 chars. This is her at like… 2 or 3 years after the start of Memoirs of the Liberation War. Her joke is a nod to her first chapter, actually. (For simplification on my end, things relating to FE5 chars will be mostly off-screen for this story, at least until we reached the end of FE5's part). Also, for clarification, the battle shown here is based more on FE4, where you have the troops near-constantly marching, not the battle in FE5 (that game chapter happened prior to Leif and Nanna showing up in this story). Also, also, Eleri and Mareeta wear feather/winglet ornaments like Nanna as a nod to the accessory Fallen!Mareeta gives during that Forging Bonds event.
The 'dropkick', by the way, is a move seen in professional wrestling and it's believed that the current form (i.e. what most think of when the word comes up) was created in the 1930s, and was supposedly inspired by kangaroos (unless my research is lying to me, which is totally plausible because I wasn't devoting a lot of time to this). So, I figured that in this case, it's more of Riona playing with words, hence the hyphen in the word and Shanan's response.
Ares protecting Seliph comes from the Fuyuki manga, though that manga compressed Chapters 7 and 8 together, so it's actually Ishtar he's protecting Seliph from. At base stats, Ares is actually capable of tanking a hit from Bloom (taking Mystletainn into account, Bloom deals like… 32 damage to him, and Ares starts out with 40HP). In fact, he can tank a hit from Ishtar with his base stats (just one, though, so if she activates adept, he's dead).
In-game, the boss convo between Bloom and Tine stops at Tine's apology, but I brought in a little of the conversation they have prior to Tine entering the field and a reference to the boss convo they have in the next chapter. (Also, because it's been asked a couple of times and I don't know if the characters are ever going to care, but in this story, Hilda's just a noblewoman from Velthomer, and… well, in my copy of the game, she doesn't have Fjalar minor blood? Don't know if I got a weird copy or what, but between that, and the fact that Ishtore and Ishtar don't have Fjalar minor blood in game, I'm just going with her not having Holy Blood. She's also not related to Victor, which I know is a fairly popular theory. She's just an evil person. [Yes, I know, a remake or something will likely prove this wrong, but this is what I'm sticking with])
Also, standard warning whenever Riona does stupid things with animals. Don't approach wild animals! (Though, really, the coyote would've been more likely to run away before even being spotted.)
