The assassin kept on attacking. It didn't take long for her to run out of arrows; but then she pulled out a sword. It caught Eisso off guard. She walked up closer to him.
"You're in my way," she said firmly. She raised her sword.
"And you're in mine," Eisso replied. He made sure his own weapon was ready. "If you and your troops retreat, I promise we won't hurt you."
"Half of us are already dead," the assassin murmured. "That was the orders. There's no use for nearly-dead men. It would be an honor…to die and join our master."
Eisso couldn't even respond. The assassin got closer.
"And now…you will die and join your family."
She moved quickly, raking her sword along his entire arm. He dropped his tome, and she cut his shoulder. Everything started fading to black as he heard familiar voices call his name…
…
The room was dim. The candles were the only source of light in the small tent. He was hurt; he knew that. But he also knew that he couldn't just…sit still. Not like this.
"H-hold still, Eisso…I can't tend to your wounds if you keep squirming!"
His sister was scolding him. He knew that much. In truth…the whole world seemed to be getting darker. "Eisso, stop moving! Do you want to die?"
"Of…of course not…" Eisso muttered. "But…I can't sit here."
"It'll only take a few moments," Kenzie assured him.
Eisso nodded—even that small movement hurt. Kenzie started dressing his wounds.
"You can't be so reckless," Kenzie said. "Ocielle would never let me live it down if…if we lost you."
"Well," Eisso said, "I'm not dead yet. So…yay?"
"Don't be foolish! You're an idiot sometimes! You almost died, Eisso. Do I need to spell it out for you?"
Kenzie said, getting louder.
"N-no," Eisso replied. "Just…don't let everyone hear you yelling at me."
"Sometimes you deserve to have a bad rumor or two about you," Kenzie said. She stepped back, Eisso's entire arm covered in bandages. They were almost red already. "But you're done. Please be more careful. I can't lose my brother."
"I won't die until I have your permission," Eisso promised.
Kenzie nodded, seeming satisfied. "Just come back to me if you start to feel dizzy. And don't get too close to anyone, okay?"
"Sure," Eisso said. He was feeling better already. He just…had to pretend that his arm wasn't bleeding. He picked up a tome, and went back to the battlefield.
Suffice to say, it was pure chaos. He could easily pick out his friends, though. Hopefully they could last a little bit longer.
Eisso found Morgan first. "How are we doing?" He asked.
Morgan turned to face him. "Eisso! I'm glad to see that you're okay." He examined Eisso, but his eyes lingered at the latter's bandaged, bloody arm. "Er, mostly okay." He paused for a few moments. "But to answer your question, well…it could be better. But we're almost done."
"No one else is hurt?" Eisso asked.
"No one else is hurt," Morgan confirmed. "I haven't seen anything more than a few scratches. Nothing fatal. Nothing that can't be patched up quickly."
"Good," Eisso said. At least his friends were doing alright. "Where do you need me?"
Morgan surveyed the battlefield. "I was going to help Lucina once you came out. Can you keep Kenzie out of harm's way? There's not that much enemies here, but it wouldn't take much to—"
"I can defend my sister," Eisso replied. "You go help Lucina."
Morgan gave a quick, firm nod and left Eisso alone with the battlefield in front of him and a small array of tents behind him.
Every now and then, Eisso would use his magic to finish off an enemy that got too close. Everyone was protecting the makeshift camp. Whatever enemies made it past that line were weak enough for Eisso to stop without much effort.
Within the hour, Eisso didn't see a single enemy standing. He watched for a few moments as everyone started coming to the main healer's tent, then he turned behind him to see Kenzie coming out.
"It's over?" She asked.
"This battle is," Eisso said. "But…the war isn't. Not yet."
"It will end soon," Kenzie replied softly. "And then we'll be able to laugh about all of this."
"…yeah," Eisso said. He really hoped that she was right.