--Written by: Naki
"My lord, is it wise to continue with that course of action?"
Bane looked up from his magical map. He had just finished explaining his recent plan and expected to have no kinks in the works. He looked to the one who had just spoken and merely smiled. "Then speak, my princess. I value your thoughts."
The smaller woman opposite him met his stare. "It is extremely risky. Many times over attacking a city with all the Dragoons has proved suicidal to many Winglies." Her blue eyes appeared ghostly dark and sunken; her long silvery platinum hair was braided down her back and her bangs hung to the sides of her face. "And to take the Child and her daughter..."
"My princess, I am suprised at you. I believed you like taking risks." Bane coaxed.
"I like taking risks that don't sacrifice useful Winglies!" She snapped. Bane took a step back from his magical map. "You know as well as I do that Humans outnumber us at least fifty to one! Don't cause genocide to the one race you are attempting to preserve!"
"Very well. Do you have another idea?" Bane asked, his anger rising. "Perhaps a better one?"
"I do." She said, motioning with her hand to both Repard and Blian. "Use these two as diversions while I sneak inside and take the target."
"Bait...I do like the idea," Bane rubbed his chin. "My princess, you are brilliant! I hadn't thought of that." He turned to Repard and Blian. "That's just what we'll do. Repard, Blian, you will attack the city from the north..." he waved his hand over the map and the map glowed green as it adjusted swiftly to contour to his new plan. "Then the princess will come in and take the target with minimal resistance."
"That is understood, sir," Repard saluted smartly. Blian followed suit.
"Good. Dismissed."
Blian and Repard left the chamber.
Bane leaned to the princess, stroking her chin with his fingertips. "Though I truly adore your plan for taking the Child and Moon-daughter, I shudder to think I could loose you to those fiends..."
"You mustn't worry about me," the princess smirked smugly. "If by chance I find myself in a tight corner," she raised her hand to his stomach and it began to glow, "I'll just blow my way through."
Pleased, Bane straightened. The princess made to leave.
"My princess," Bane called, stopping her. She turned to see him smile. Not this again. "If you could, my chambers, tonight?"
The princess, her face blank, said nothing as she turned and walked through the door, shutting it behind her.
"Come, Demeter," she snapped, calling her new lady-in-waiting to her side.
"Yes, my lady," Demeter followed her.
The princess stopped abruptly and stared into space. "You know what, I think I'll give you a new name. How about," she turned around to face Demeter, "Rindeseyu?"
"If it suits you, then I like it."
"Very well, your name is now Rindeseyu." The princess turned about again and continued walking down the corridor. Why did I just name her that?
"Get out... A voice whispered through her head, causing her to stop. Was that just her imagination due to her frustration with Bane? The voice had a feminine youthful quality to it, as if a voice of a young adult. The princess dismissed it and took a step back down the corridor. The voice returned, more insistent, making the princess rethink her dismissal. "Get out...!"
"What?" The princess asked aloud, halting again.
"My lady?" Rindeseyu asked, coming to her princess' side.
"I said get out! You do not belong here!"
"What do you mean! I do belong here! This is my home!"
"Get out! This is my body! It is not yours!"
"What!" The princess felt uncontrollable panic rising in her. Am I going insane?
"How can you possibly go insane when this is not your body, not your mind? It is my body and my mind! You are not Erisi, I am, so GET OUT!!"
The princess clapped her hands to the sides of her head and screamed as she fell to her knees and slumped over.
The plan moved into action. Every Wingly was cloaked using Wingly Magic and hovered about the city, awaiting the next command. The army was thin, but it spread out over the city, leaving a large circumference around the area of Indels Castle.
Matthias walked slowly down the stairs inside the castle. A feeling of uneasiness had settled into his stomach since he woke this morning. Since waking, he wandered about the castle's corridors in a daze, lost in the labyrinth of his mind. He had been like this since he briefly felt Erisi a few days ago. He marched outside and the sunlight broke through his personal prison and woke him up consciously. Standing on the steps to the back exit of the castle, Matthias gazed at the scene below. Everyone was outside; it was a fine day. There were clumps of people in different areas of the garden, talking quietly. The only loud sounds came from Claira and Meru as they chased each other through the giant hedge maze to the north.
He observed one group in particular. It consisted of Dart, Lavitz, Deirdre, Kurintsu, and Albert.
He descended one step and he felt it. He stopped suddnely, feeling the air. It was thicker here, more humid, one step down. It was moister than one step up. But, that's ridiculous! The weather doesn't work that way... Matthias looked up towards the sky and raised an open hand, palm facing the heavens. He looked at his hand and rubbed his fingertips together. Weather may not work that way, Matthais thought, looking up again. But Wingly Magic does!
Kurintsu caught that train of thought, and looking at Matthias, he stood up suddenly, cutting Dart off in mid sentence. "Albert," he said, not taking his eyes off Matthias, "collect your troops. An invasion is at hand."
"What? Where?" Albert stood.
Kurintsu turned his head, his eyes serious. He pointed up. "There."
"Where?" Dart said, looking up as he stood. "I see nothing."
"Remember what I told you about Crystal Tracks?" Kurintsu asked.
"Yeah," Dart said. Deirdre stood and looked skyward as well.
"Can you not feel it?" Kurintsu asked.
Albert gasped as the answer came to him. "The air! It is much more humid than it normally should be! The Wingly Magic is again creating condensation, but instead of revealing itself in Crystal Tracks it is creating humidity for those earthbound."
"Precisely!" Kurintsu responded. "And they think we're to be surprise attacked. They must be more cautious."
"How can we attack something we can't see?" Dart asked.
Kurintsu smirked. "A resonating Dragoon Spirit reveals the condensation track to each and every Wingly. Use that to your advantage and let's get prepped for war."
Claira and Meru came running out of the hedge maze laughing but their laughter died when they saw the looks on the others' faces. Claira slowly pulled a few strands of her hair away from where it was caught in the corner of her mouth.
"Hey guys," Meru said, with an attempted laugh. "What gives?"
"Arm yourselves!" Kurintsu snapped.
"What?" Claira asked. Just then, Matthias came tearing down the back steps and behind Claira. He seemed to make contact with something because of the "oof" before he hit the ground.
"You can't hide forever!" Matthias snarled and caused his Spirit to resonate at his chest. When the light died down, a Wingly was revealed writhing under Matthias' iron grip around his neck. The Wingly gasped for air but was cut off when Matthias tightened his grip. The Wingly struggled momentarily and fell still.
Not missing a beat, Matthias jumped to his feet and into the air. With a battle cry the Spirit resonated once again, this time much longer, exposing the rough outlines of many Winglies.
To escape Matthias, many Winglies dropped down to the ground, only to be met by sword, spear and hammer.
One Wingly soldier set his sight on Deirdre. Unarmed, the only thing Deirdre could do was run away. She ran into the hedge maze in an attempt to get away from her pursuer. Angered, Kurintsu, though unarmed, followed in hot pursuit. Deirdre turned sharp corners in a haphazard fashion and she lost count quickly. Turning right suddenly, she screeched to a halt. She found herself facing a dead end. Whirling about, her face scrunched in despair as the Wingly approached her, brandishing a sharp double-edged dagger in one hand.
"Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you," the soldier said to her, though his eyes said otherwise.
"Somehow I don't believe you," Deirdre said with a hint of sarcasm dancing on her voice.
"Then I'll show you," the soldier took a step forward. Deirdre attempted to get away, but he caught her arm and threw her on the ground. She struggled to get away as he pinned her to the ground and screamed when he put his hands in places they shouldn't have went. She continued to struggle and scream and not even the movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention.
Tears streamed down her face as the Wingly soldier attempted to pull down her dress and hold her down at the same time. As she struggled, she wiggled her leg free from his grip and brought it up into his crotch.
The soldier screamed in pain, but before he could double over, the thick part of a fallen brach swung through the air and clobbered the soldier in the head. The Wingly fell over and was still. Through her sobs, Deirdre pulled herself to a sitting position. She stared up at the person who saved her.
Kurintsu owned the hand that gripped the now bloody branch. He dropped the branch on the ground and rushed to her side. He slid his arms around her and cradled her against him as she cried into his shoulder. He gently slid both of them into a shadowed corner to hide them from the other Winglies.
Outside the maze, the battle was as chaotic as butterflies in a whirlwind. Everyone was moving so quickly that everything was almost a blur. Dart fought valiantly, even though the cut on his brow bled down into his eye, stinging horribly and somewhat blinding him. He took a vital second to pause and wipe his eye and failed to notice the Wingly that came up behind him. The Wingly raised his blade and drove it through Dart's shoulder. Dart cried out in pain and collapsed onto the ground.
"Dart!!" Lavitz charged over, slaying the Wingly on the spot. He dropped his spear on the ground and shook Dart. He got no response. Observing the pool of blood on the ground, Lavitz ripped his shirt off and held it onto Dart's shoulder and put his full weight onto it. Dart's face turned pale as snow and this scared Lavitz.
"Damn it, Dart, don't die on me!" Lavitz cried, pressing harder and harder on Dart's shoulder.
Matthias came from nowhere and tackled another Wingly that tried to jump Lavitz from behind.
A small woman chuckled as she watched the battle with her red eyes. She turned on her heels and walked inside the castle, towards her intended target. With a hand she motioned for two large male Winglies to follow her inside. They did as she bid with no hesitation.
She navigated the castle without fault, finding the room where the Child and Moon-daughter were fast asleep. She nodded to the mother and she walked over to the crib and sneered down at the sleeping infant. What a disgusting creature. Humans. She turned to the second male.
"Take the child. Carefully!" She added, as she turned to walk out. Followed by the male Winglies, she reached the main doors.
"Who are you? What are you doing?"
She turned as Queen Emille ran towards them. The Queen noticed the unconscious Shana draped over one Wingly's shoulder and the baby held by the other. Despite the glowing red eyes, the Queen recognized the smaller woman. "How could you do this to us, Erisi! How?" She took a couple of steps closer. "How?"
The smaller woman smirked as she stepped closer to the Queen. "It concerns you not." She brought her hand up and back handed Emille across the face with such a force that took Emille off her feet. Emille propped herself up and held a hand to her face.
"No!" She screamed. "Shana! Chandra! Don't take them, please!"
Her shout seemed to echo about the castle as a whisper echoes in a graveyard.
The castle's backyard looked everything like what it was used for: a war zone. All Winglies left alive shot up into the air and retreated as one all of a sudden. Albert, all cut up and bloody, looked around somewhat confused. His eyes fell upon Lavitz and Dart.
"Oh, god..." Albert dropped his lance and ran over. Lavitz had tears streaming down his face and was obviously close to hyperventilating. Albert slowly pushed Lavitz away and applied pressure to Dart himself. "Miranda!" He called. "Miranda!"
Miranda, empty quiver on her back, rushed over. Dragoon Spirit in hand, she held it out over Dart's limp body and it resonated. Its healing power swept over Dart, stopping the bleeding, but he remained unconscious.
"Okay, let's get him inside," Albert said. "And gently!"
Kongol slipped his giant hands underneath Dart and lifted him up like an infant. He looked to Albert. "Where?"
Upon entering the castle, Albert led the small party into the tiny infirmary and surprisingly, Kongol managed to squeeze into the room. He laid Dart upon the small bed and left the room. Albert and Lavitz stood by the bed, looking down at Dart.
"You!" Albert snapped to a young nurse who stood by the door. "Go and get the best doctor you can find! Go! Now!"
The young woman turned and fled down the stairs. On the way down, she passed Queen Emille. Emille was still holding her face and crying.
"Queen Emille! What is the matter my Queen?"
Albert overheard this. He ran out of the infirmary and onto the stairs. "Emille!" She ran up to meet him, still crying hard. "What is wrong?" He pulled Emille's hand away from her face and gasped at the size of the bruise that had been left there. "What happened?"
At this time, Matthias was at the foot and of the stairs and began climbing.
"She took Shana and the baby," Emille managed to sputter out.
"Who?" Albert coaxed, holding her.
"Erisi!" She answered. "Erisi kidnapped them!"
Matthias' insides froze. No. That's impossible! Erisi wouldn't do such a thing!
"That's how I got this," she pointed to the bruise on her face. "She hit me. There was something much different about the way she looked and the way she carried herself. Her hair was the usual Wingly color and her eyes were a glowing red. She smiled when she hit me; it was like she had no conscience whatsoever."
Matthias felt himself begin to slip back into his personal hell that he had been trapped in earlier and forced him out of it by asking, "How is Dart?"
"He's hanging on," Lavitz answered, leaning on the banister. "That's not to say I'm not worried, though."
Pounding footsteps sounded as the nurse returned with the doctor. This was the same man who delivered Shana's baby. Matthias briefly wondered why the doctor was in Bale in the first place, but that thought was squandered by the fact that Dart need the best doctor available, regardless of where the doctor came from.
Matthias joined Albert and Lavitz in the small infirmary. The doctor looked up at Albert and gave his verdict.
"He will live, only he must be kept on strict bed rest for the time being. He needs time to recuperate from blood loss. Keep him on a diet of fluids and soups. I will come back in two weeks to check up on him. If there are any emergencies, do not hesitate at all to notify me and I will be right here. That is all. Excuse me." He slipped between the two men and out the door.
Lavitz's first thought was to stop the man and berate him for being disrespectful to the King, but there were more important matters at hand and King Albert seemed to care less at the moment.
Albert kneeled down next to the bed and took Dart's hand in his. He raised Dart's hand and touched it to his forehead. "Stay with us, my friend. We are nothing but a leaderless rabble without you."
Lavitz felt as if he was somewhat responsible for what happened to Dart. He leaned over the bed and gently brushed Dart's bangs out of his eyes. Feelings of guilt and helplessness swept over him. How could Dart still consider him his best friend? Lavitz shook his head, and a tear dripped unbidden from his eye. "This is all my fault. I should have been there by your side, Dart..."
Albert stood and placed his hand on Lavitz's shoulder. He steered Lavitz to face him. "Look at me. None of this is your fault. Trust me, Dart cried long and hard when you died two years ago. It is fine to feel remorse that you should have done something but don't cry; Dart is still with us. He is and will always be your friend. Don't ever doubt that, Lavitz. He is a brother to us all as well as our leader. I don't ever what to think that we Dragoons will be without him."
Lavitz hastily wiped the rogue tear away. "Yes, my King. Ever since I came back, I've known the frailty of life better than anyone in this castle. Though you must know you are not that only one I bear loyalty too. I would go to the gates of Hell to bring Dart back."
Albert smiled; he was so proud of Lavitz. "I commend you for that. A man should never have loyalty to one person alone. My loyalty is for everyone in Serdio. Every man should have loyalty to their king, their family, and their friends." He patted Lavitz's shoulder and lightly squeezed it. "I admire you even more now than when we were younger."
Baby Lavitz cried in the distance and Queen Emille, despite her bruised face, comforted her baby son. Her voice drifted into the infirmary. Albert and Lavitz looked to each other, sharing the same thought.
Lavitz took a deep breath. "Well," he said, placing his hands on his hips and looking from Albert to Dart. "Who's gonna tell him?"