Well, I thought I was going to have to wait to put this chapter up, but thanks to the cold (negative 10 degrees, yay for New England weather) they cancelled school and ended up pushing mid-years back a day. That means I got another day to work on this story!
Nobody seems to have any comments I can reply to this chapter, so...
Oh yeah, you'll notice Raven says some weird stuff about him and Priscilla in this chapter. Remember that he's trying to keep the fact that they're siblings secret...
One other warning: slight support conversation spoilers in this chapter.
Chapter Five
Confrontations
"Heath."
Heath jumped. The group had now made it to Bern Castle to see if the royal family would help Eliwood and his group with their quest to find the Shrine of Seals. Heath and the rest of the group were waiting outside some distance away from the castle. Heath stayed away from the group, very nervous, as there were many wyvern riders making patrols on the castle, and he was worried someone might recognize him.
He was surprised when he turned around to find Raven glaring at him.
"What is it?" Heath asked.
Raven didn't waste any time. "What the hell do you think you've been doing, taking Priscilla away from me?" he said angrily.
The question caught him off guard. Heath knew Raven didn't want Priscilla with him, but he didn't think Raven cared so much about it. "Taking her away from you? I'm not—"
"Yes you are! You two have been spending so much time alone together it sickens me!"
"How am I 'taking her away from you'? What, is she supposed to be with you at all times?"
"She doesn't deserve someone like you," Raven spat.
He thinks we're more than just friends? he wondered. "Since when do you think there's something going on between us?"
Raven's eyes lost some of their fire. "What? You mean—you aren't—"
"We're not in love with each other, if that's what you're thinking."
The fire in Raven's eyes returned. "I don't want you around her anymore then."
"What? Why not?"
"I told you. She doesn't deserve someone like you."
"And I suppose she deserves someone like you, huh?" Heath said, growing angry. "Why the hell do you care so much about this anyway?"
"Because I am not going to have Priscilla run off with some...fugitive!"
"And why do you care so much about what happens to her?"
Raven exploded. "Because I love her, that's why! I don't want her to end up with some idiot who thinks he can take her away from—"
"I am not taking her away from you!" Heath shouted. "She wants to come with me! And since when was she with you, huh? When she told me you two were old friends I didn't think she meant you used to have a relationship!"
Raven looked as though he was about to tell Heath they had never had a relationship, but he quickly stopped himself. "Well, we did, and—"
"Did is the key word there!" Heath interrupted him. "You used to have a relationship! You don't anymore! What, did she break up with you and you can't get over it?"
Raven's eyes narrowed to slits. "Listen, Heath. You—are—to—stay—away—from—Priscilla. If I see you near her again, I'll—"
"What'll you do, huh? In case you've forgotten, if you hurt me, Priscilla will be mad at you!"
"That doesn't matter! Priscilla needs—"
"IT SHOULD MATTER TO YOU!" It was Heath's turn to explode now. "If you love her as much as you say you do, why don't you take her feelings into account?!"
"I'm doing what's best for her!"
"What's best for her is that you stop interfering in her life! If she wants to be friends with me I don't see why you or anyone else has the authority to tell her she can't!"
Raven was about to reply, but he was suddenly cut off by a scream from the group. It sounded like a young boy. Raven's eyes widened. "Nils!" With one last glare at Heath with murder in his eyes, he ran back to the rest of the army.
Heath quickly followed.
When he got there, he was not prepared for what he saw.
A light-green-haired boy was being held captive by a tall blond woman. She had a scar down her left cheek—Heath recognized her. She had trained him...
"Vaida!"
Vaida looked up, then glared at Heath. "So," she said, her voice strangely low, "you've decided to join with this little group, huh?"
"What the hell are you doing with that boy?!"
"Don't you remember your original objective, idiot?! You were supposed to capture this boy!"
The boy looked at Heath in shock. "You joined this group...to capture—"
"No!" Heath cut him off. "I left the Bern army because of what they were doing to children like you!" He turned to Vaida. "Vaida, let him go!"
"Where are the leaders of this group?" she asked, but the three lords were already running back from the castle.
"What are you doing with Nils?" Eliwood asked.
"Well," Vaida said, "You want to protect this boy?"
"Let him go, or I'll rip your throat out!" Hector shouted.
Vaida smirked devilishly, and let Nils go. "I've been looking for someone to test my strength against," she said.
"You plan to take on all of us?" Eliwood asked.
"Of course not. Come on out, everyone!"
Several wyvern riders flew in from the castle, while cavaliers and mages came from the villages near it.
"If you survive, I'll consider letting you keep the boy," Vaida said, before mounting her own wyvern and flying off.
The army was in for a tough battle...
Heath swerved out of the way as another wyvern rider came for him, and plunged his new silver lance into its side. So far, he hadn't sustained any injuries besides small cuts and bruises. Many of the wyvern riders were unused to fighting, as they were meant to defend the castle and very few had been in an actual fight before.
Heath saw a mage on the ground trying to cast a spell, and he quickly flew down and thrust his lance into him. There were very few soldiers left, only a few wyvern riders and Vaida. Heath was about to fly to where Vaida was when a voice stopped him.
"Heath!"
Heath turned around. It was Nils.
"You cannot attack her! She is being powered by Nergal!"
"Isn't that more reason to attack her?" Heath asked.
"No! Nergal is making her more powerful—you can't hope to defeat her!"
Heath looked off in the distance, to where Vaida and two other wyvern riders were hovering. "She looks the same to me..."
"Don't attack her! Now that we've beaten most of her army she'll probably retreat and lead us to wherever Nergal is!"
Sure enough, after a short while, Vaida retreated, as she had no hope of taking on the entire group alone. Several of her soldiers retreated with her.
Lyndis, with her superior tracking skills, decided to follow them to wherever they were hiding. The rest of the army followed close behind, but Lyndis moved quickly, as the soldiers had not thought to cover their path. After following the tracks for some time, Lyndis and Eliwood decided it was time to set up camp and rest.
Heath lay on his bed, thinking about his confrontation with Raven earlier that day.
She doesn't deserve someone like you...
Did they really spend that much time alone together? Enough to make Raven think they were in love?
You are to stay away from Priscilla...
How could he do that? Priscilla would be heartbroken...
Heath suddenly had a thought. Priscilla didn't want to him to leave...was she in love with him?
It made sense, he thought. Priscilla looked to him for comfort, she called him her best friend, and she was so worried that Heath might leave her...
Was that why Raven thought they were in love? Because Priscilla was in love with him?
An even bigger question formed in his mind: was he in love with her? He did think she was a very nice girl, and she was his best friend, but...love?
Heath's train of thought was cut off as Priscilla came into the tent.
"Heath," she said, with a worried look in her eyes, "you weren't injured in the battle today, were you?"
"Not really," Heath replied. "A couple bruises and scratches won't kill me. It's like my former captain used to say: 'If you can feel the pain, you're not badly wounded.'"
"Really?"
"Yeah. He was a great man...he once charged the enemy archers so they'd shoot him instead of us. He kept going even after he got shot in the shoulder..."
Priscilla's face paled.
"Sorry," Heath said. "You probably didn't want to hear that."
"No, it's all right," she said. "Heath, please still allow me to heal you...even if it is just cuts and bruises."
There was that worry for him again, he thought. He smiled at her. "Go ahead."
She raised her staff, and again Heath felt the healing energies course through him. All of the pain in his body disappeared as the healing light surrounded him.
"Thanks," Heath said. "Even if I wasn't really hurt—that still felt good."
The worried look stayed in Priscilla's eyes. "Heath," she said, "there's something I need to ask you."
"What is it?"
"Please...please come to me for healing even if you aren't really hurt. Don't just assume it will be fine..."
Once again Heath remarked at her worry for him. "All right," he said, smiling. "I will."
"Do you promise?"
"Yes, I promise."
"Thank you, Heath," she said, and went to her bed.
Heath then remembered his confrontation with Raven. "Wait," he said. "There's something I need to ask you as well."
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you tell me that you used to be in love with Raven?"
A confused look came over Priscilla's face. "What are you talking about?"
Heath was confused as well. "Raven talked to me earlier today," Heath explained. "He says...he doesn't want me around you."
Priscilla's confusion was replaced by slight anger. "Did he say why?"
"He says...you don't deserve someone like me. Do you know why he's so angry about this? He said you two used to have a relationship, but now you're saying you never did..."
"We never had a relationship," Priscilla stated flatly. "He's—" Suddenly realization came over her face. "—never mind."
"What is it?"
"It's nothing. Forget it."
She really doesn't seem to like talking about Raven, Heath thought.
"Would you believe he thought we were in love?" he asked, laughing.
Priscilla's face suddenly seemed saddened, but she tried to laugh. "That is strange," she said, and Heath noticed she seemed a bit downhearted. "We're just best friends, aren't we?" She looked at him as though she were pleading with him to say no.
Heath realized then that she definitely was in love with him. He didn't want to disappoint her, but some part of his mind told him they were still just friends. "Well, what do you think?" he said, trying to get out of the situation.
She seemed to be considering what to say. "I think...yes, we are just best friends." She smiled at him, but Heath could see it was taking her some effort. "I'm tired," she continued. "I'm going to sleep. Good night, Heath."
"Good night, Priscilla."
Heath lay back down on his bed. First Raven wanted to kill him, now he realized Priscilla was in love with him...
How did he get himself into this mess?
***
Another long chapter :D
For all of those in doubt, yes, Heath will end up in love with Priscilla, but you'll have to wait a couple more chapters for that :P
As for me, I have to get back to studying for mid-years *grumble grumble*
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT
Nobody seems to have any comments I can reply to this chapter, so...
Oh yeah, you'll notice Raven says some weird stuff about him and Priscilla in this chapter. Remember that he's trying to keep the fact that they're siblings secret...
One other warning: slight support conversation spoilers in this chapter.
Confrontations
"Heath."
Heath jumped. The group had now made it to Bern Castle to see if the royal family would help Eliwood and his group with their quest to find the Shrine of Seals. Heath and the rest of the group were waiting outside some distance away from the castle. Heath stayed away from the group, very nervous, as there were many wyvern riders making patrols on the castle, and he was worried someone might recognize him.
He was surprised when he turned around to find Raven glaring at him.
"What is it?" Heath asked.
Raven didn't waste any time. "What the hell do you think you've been doing, taking Priscilla away from me?" he said angrily.
The question caught him off guard. Heath knew Raven didn't want Priscilla with him, but he didn't think Raven cared so much about it. "Taking her away from you? I'm not—"
"Yes you are! You two have been spending so much time alone together it sickens me!"
"How am I 'taking her away from you'? What, is she supposed to be with you at all times?"
"She doesn't deserve someone like you," Raven spat.
He thinks we're more than just friends? he wondered. "Since when do you think there's something going on between us?"
Raven's eyes lost some of their fire. "What? You mean—you aren't—"
"We're not in love with each other, if that's what you're thinking."
The fire in Raven's eyes returned. "I don't want you around her anymore then."
"What? Why not?"
"I told you. She doesn't deserve someone like you."
"And I suppose she deserves someone like you, huh?" Heath said, growing angry. "Why the hell do you care so much about this anyway?"
"Because I am not going to have Priscilla run off with some...fugitive!"
"And why do you care so much about what happens to her?"
Raven exploded. "Because I love her, that's why! I don't want her to end up with some idiot who thinks he can take her away from—"
"I am not taking her away from you!" Heath shouted. "She wants to come with me! And since when was she with you, huh? When she told me you two were old friends I didn't think she meant you used to have a relationship!"
Raven looked as though he was about to tell Heath they had never had a relationship, but he quickly stopped himself. "Well, we did, and—"
"Did is the key word there!" Heath interrupted him. "You used to have a relationship! You don't anymore! What, did she break up with you and you can't get over it?"
Raven's eyes narrowed to slits. "Listen, Heath. You—are—to—stay—away—from—Priscilla. If I see you near her again, I'll—"
"What'll you do, huh? In case you've forgotten, if you hurt me, Priscilla will be mad at you!"
"That doesn't matter! Priscilla needs—"
"IT SHOULD MATTER TO YOU!" It was Heath's turn to explode now. "If you love her as much as you say you do, why don't you take her feelings into account?!"
"I'm doing what's best for her!"
"What's best for her is that you stop interfering in her life! If she wants to be friends with me I don't see why you or anyone else has the authority to tell her she can't!"
Raven was about to reply, but he was suddenly cut off by a scream from the group. It sounded like a young boy. Raven's eyes widened. "Nils!" With one last glare at Heath with murder in his eyes, he ran back to the rest of the army.
Heath quickly followed.
When he got there, he was not prepared for what he saw.
A light-green-haired boy was being held captive by a tall blond woman. She had a scar down her left cheek—Heath recognized her. She had trained him...
"Vaida!"
Vaida looked up, then glared at Heath. "So," she said, her voice strangely low, "you've decided to join with this little group, huh?"
"What the hell are you doing with that boy?!"
"Don't you remember your original objective, idiot?! You were supposed to capture this boy!"
The boy looked at Heath in shock. "You joined this group...to capture—"
"No!" Heath cut him off. "I left the Bern army because of what they were doing to children like you!" He turned to Vaida. "Vaida, let him go!"
"Where are the leaders of this group?" she asked, but the three lords were already running back from the castle.
"What are you doing with Nils?" Eliwood asked.
"Well," Vaida said, "You want to protect this boy?"
"Let him go, or I'll rip your throat out!" Hector shouted.
Vaida smirked devilishly, and let Nils go. "I've been looking for someone to test my strength against," she said.
"You plan to take on all of us?" Eliwood asked.
"Of course not. Come on out, everyone!"
Several wyvern riders flew in from the castle, while cavaliers and mages came from the villages near it.
"If you survive, I'll consider letting you keep the boy," Vaida said, before mounting her own wyvern and flying off.
The army was in for a tough battle...
Heath swerved out of the way as another wyvern rider came for him, and plunged his new silver lance into its side. So far, he hadn't sustained any injuries besides small cuts and bruises. Many of the wyvern riders were unused to fighting, as they were meant to defend the castle and very few had been in an actual fight before.
Heath saw a mage on the ground trying to cast a spell, and he quickly flew down and thrust his lance into him. There were very few soldiers left, only a few wyvern riders and Vaida. Heath was about to fly to where Vaida was when a voice stopped him.
"Heath!"
Heath turned around. It was Nils.
"You cannot attack her! She is being powered by Nergal!"
"Isn't that more reason to attack her?" Heath asked.
"No! Nergal is making her more powerful—you can't hope to defeat her!"
Heath looked off in the distance, to where Vaida and two other wyvern riders were hovering. "She looks the same to me..."
"Don't attack her! Now that we've beaten most of her army she'll probably retreat and lead us to wherever Nergal is!"
Sure enough, after a short while, Vaida retreated, as she had no hope of taking on the entire group alone. Several of her soldiers retreated with her.
Lyndis, with her superior tracking skills, decided to follow them to wherever they were hiding. The rest of the army followed close behind, but Lyndis moved quickly, as the soldiers had not thought to cover their path. After following the tracks for some time, Lyndis and Eliwood decided it was time to set up camp and rest.
Heath lay on his bed, thinking about his confrontation with Raven earlier that day.
She doesn't deserve someone like you...
Did they really spend that much time alone together? Enough to make Raven think they were in love?
You are to stay away from Priscilla...
How could he do that? Priscilla would be heartbroken...
Heath suddenly had a thought. Priscilla didn't want to him to leave...was she in love with him?
It made sense, he thought. Priscilla looked to him for comfort, she called him her best friend, and she was so worried that Heath might leave her...
Was that why Raven thought they were in love? Because Priscilla was in love with him?
An even bigger question formed in his mind: was he in love with her? He did think she was a very nice girl, and she was his best friend, but...love?
Heath's train of thought was cut off as Priscilla came into the tent.
"Heath," she said, with a worried look in her eyes, "you weren't injured in the battle today, were you?"
"Not really," Heath replied. "A couple bruises and scratches won't kill me. It's like my former captain used to say: 'If you can feel the pain, you're not badly wounded.'"
"Really?"
"Yeah. He was a great man...he once charged the enemy archers so they'd shoot him instead of us. He kept going even after he got shot in the shoulder..."
Priscilla's face paled.
"Sorry," Heath said. "You probably didn't want to hear that."
"No, it's all right," she said. "Heath, please still allow me to heal you...even if it is just cuts and bruises."
There was that worry for him again, he thought. He smiled at her. "Go ahead."
She raised her staff, and again Heath felt the healing energies course through him. All of the pain in his body disappeared as the healing light surrounded him.
"Thanks," Heath said. "Even if I wasn't really hurt—that still felt good."
The worried look stayed in Priscilla's eyes. "Heath," she said, "there's something I need to ask you."
"What is it?"
"Please...please come to me for healing even if you aren't really hurt. Don't just assume it will be fine..."
Once again Heath remarked at her worry for him. "All right," he said, smiling. "I will."
"Do you promise?"
"Yes, I promise."
"Thank you, Heath," she said, and went to her bed.
Heath then remembered his confrontation with Raven. "Wait," he said. "There's something I need to ask you as well."
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you tell me that you used to be in love with Raven?"
A confused look came over Priscilla's face. "What are you talking about?"
Heath was confused as well. "Raven talked to me earlier today," Heath explained. "He says...he doesn't want me around you."
Priscilla's confusion was replaced by slight anger. "Did he say why?"
"He says...you don't deserve someone like me. Do you know why he's so angry about this? He said you two used to have a relationship, but now you're saying you never did..."
"We never had a relationship," Priscilla stated flatly. "He's—" Suddenly realization came over her face. "—never mind."
"What is it?"
"It's nothing. Forget it."
She really doesn't seem to like talking about Raven, Heath thought.
"Would you believe he thought we were in love?" he asked, laughing.
Priscilla's face suddenly seemed saddened, but she tried to laugh. "That is strange," she said, and Heath noticed she seemed a bit downhearted. "We're just best friends, aren't we?" She looked at him as though she were pleading with him to say no.
Heath realized then that she definitely was in love with him. He didn't want to disappoint her, but some part of his mind told him they were still just friends. "Well, what do you think?" he said, trying to get out of the situation.
She seemed to be considering what to say. "I think...yes, we are just best friends." She smiled at him, but Heath could see it was taking her some effort. "I'm tired," she continued. "I'm going to sleep. Good night, Heath."
"Good night, Priscilla."
Heath lay back down on his bed. First Raven wanted to kill him, now he realized Priscilla was in love with him...
How did he get himself into this mess?
Another long chapter :D
For all of those in doubt, yes, Heath will end up in love with Priscilla, but you'll have to wait a couple more chapters for that :P
As for me, I have to get back to studying for mid-years *grumble grumble*
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT
