Ahhh, it's good to be back to my usual rate of updating. That, and the fact that I actually got some sleep.
More responses to reviews! More!
Millenium Slinky: I don't like the Rath/Lyn A conversation because Rath doesn't seem to acknowledge anything Lyn is saying. It seems more like Lyn has a crush on him than the two are in love with each other. But hey, that's just me.
Same problem with me, I made Priscilla a Valkyrie on the second to last chapter because of that extra Earth Seal the game gives you...and she couldn't use any good spells. Oh well.
khmerboi919: Thanks for the review!
KingKazul400: AHHHH HOW did you find AP US history easy?! *fuming* I hate you.
And of course I'm twisting the game script around. This story would be rather boring if I didn't :P
Phoenix Dagger: Well, actually, my normal rate for updating is every 1-2 days; I just had mid-year exams this week. Expect faster updates from now on. I'm sure that will make you happy :)
Chapter Seven
Savior
"Heath."
Heath lay on his bed in the tent, resting after a long day of traveling. The group was close to Bern Castle now, and Heath realized he might have to stay up the next night to prevent the assassination. He still was unable to stop thinking about Priscilla, much to his disappointment. Even if he tried to think about something else he still ended up thinking about her...
"Heath? Are you awake?" Priscilla's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"What? Oh, yeah, I am." Heath replied. He sat up. "What is it?"
"Well," she said, looking away from him nervously, "I was wondering if...tomorrow...you could let me ride with you again. We—I haven't flown with you...in some time." She looked up at him, her face pink. "I-if you do not mind, that is..."
Heath smiled at her. "Actually, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come flying with me again."
"So...you do not mind?"
"Of course not. Why would I?"
Priscilla smiled. "Thank you, Heath."
Raven, however, was not happy with this idea. When Priscilla asked him if he wanted to ride her horse, Raven refused.
"What?" Priscilla asked him. "Why not?"
"Because I already told him—" he gestured at Heath, flying by Priscilla, "—that he is to stay away from you."
"And I told you that I don't care what you think," Heath retorted. "Besides, isn't it her decision?"
Raven looked at Priscilla.
"I want to go with him," she said, a trace of annoyance in her voice.
Raven thought for a moment, then said, "I am not riding your horse then."
Priscilla glared at him, but Heath simply chuckled and said, "Your loss. Why don't you just ask someone else, Priscilla?"
"I think I will," she said as she directed her horse to another person in the group. Heath smirked triumphantly at Raven, who glared at him with loathing.
Moments later, Priscilla came back, now on her feet. Riding her horse was a long-blond-haired man wearing light blue robes.
Raven looked at the man in shock. "Lucius, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
Lucius gave Raven an innocent look. "Priscilla asked me if I wanted to ride her horse. I have been walking for some time; I could use a rest."
Raven said something in reply, but Heath didn't hear him. Priscilla had already climbed onto Hyperion and they had flown off into the clear day's sky. Heath quickly ascended until he was again ten feet above the group, then stopped and looked at Priscilla.
"What is wrong with him?" he asked her.
"What do you mean?"
"Why is he so...well, against me?"
Priscilla looked away from him. "I...I don't want to talk about it."
"Priscilla," he said, "why don't you ever want to talk about Raven?"
"I can't," she said simply. "Please, can we stop talking about this?"
"All right," he replied, but he still wondered why she couldn't talk about him.
They flew in silence for some time, until Priscilla asked, "Heath?"
Heath looked back at her and replied, "What is it?"
"I...I want to try going higher."
Heath grinned at her. "You sure?"
"I...think so..."
"Well, okay. Tell me when you want to stop," he said, and directed Hyperion slowly upwards.
He felt Priscilla's hands dig into his shoulders as he ascended, but she said nothing.
"Remember, don't look down," Heath told her.
"I-It's hard not to," she said weakly.
Hyperion continued to rise.
They were at least fifty feet above the army when Priscilla told him to stop.
Heath looked back at her and smiled. "You're definitely getting over your fear of heights," he said. "I thought you'd tell me to stop long before now."
Priscilla smiled weakly at him. She was trembling. "I-I'm afraid...I'm g-going to fall..."
"You won't," Heath reassured her. "Just hold on tight."
Priscilla moved her hands from his shoulders to around his waist, and held on tightly.
"Not that tight," Heath said, his voice a bit strained.
Priscilla laughed nervously, and weakened her grip a little. "S-sorry." She looked down, and tried her hardest to control her fear. "I-it's beautiful..." she commented.
"It really is, isn't it?"
Heath looked into the distance, and far away he could see the enormous Bern Castle. If the army kept going at this rate, they would reach the castle a little after nightfall. Perfect timing.
As he thought about the planned assassination, he didn't notice when Priscilla rested her head on his shoulder. When he did notice her, he wasn't surprised. He just smiled at nothing in particular.
The army reached Bern Castle later than expected, arriving well after night had fallen. As he landed, Heath looked back at Priscilla only to find she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. While she did look rather cute, this would not be good if they had to fight anyone in the castle. Heath gently roused her awake.
"Getting a little comfortable there, huh?" he asked her, smiling.
Priscilla's face turned bright red. "I—no—I didn't mean—"
Heath laughed. "Don't worry about it," he said.
Priscilla, however, looked ready to burst into tears of embarrassment. She looked away from him, still blushing.
Heath placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's all right," he continued. "It's not like I'm going to tell anyone about this."
She looked up at him. "Heath..."
"Yeah?"
She opened her mouth to speak, but before she was able to say anything, they heard a shout.
"DAMMIT!"
It was Hector.
"We're too late!" he shouted. "I can already hear fighting inside!"
"Then come on, everyone!" Eliwood shouted. "We've got to help the guards!"
There were two gates into the castle, so Eliwood divided the army into two groups and sent them in. Priscilla retrieved her horse from Lucius and came with Heath.
Heath was having trouble. He couldn't maneuver well in the closed spaces of the castle, and there were several mages striking from out of his reach. Priscilla healed any injuries he received, but it was annoying not being able to help out.
He was finally defeating his first soldier of the battle when it happened.
Far away from the group, a sage lit up the area around him with a magic symbol. Heath noticed him and wondered what was going on. None of the army was near the sage, and the only magic symbols Heath had ever seen came from attack spells...
The sage pointed his hand at Heath's group.
Heath followed the direction he was pointing, and wound up staring directly at Priscilla. His eyes widened.
Several sparks appeared in the air above her, but she wasn't looking up and didn't notice.
In a flash, Heath knew what was going to happen.
"PRISCILLA!"
Priscilla looked at Heath to find Hyperion charging at her at top speed.
"AH!"
She screamed as Hyperion knocked her off her horse and she landed on her back. She looked up at Heath, her eyes blazing with anger.
"Heath! What do you think you're—"
She didn't have time to finish her sentence as a massive lightning bolt struck Heath down.
As he fell to the ground, Priscilla's voice reverberated in his head.
Y-you pushed me o-out of the way, a-and st-stood in my p-place...and...and...
Heath saw Priscilla pull out another staff. Compared to her normal one, the sapphire at the tip was enormous. The last thing Heath saw before falling unconscious was a blinding white light...
Heath opened his eyes to find himself in his tent.
Strangely enough, he felt no pain. He felt a strange tingling sensation in his back, but he seemed to be unharmed.
What the hell was I thinking? he cursed himself.
Heath didn't understand why he had just saved Priscilla like that. He could have been killed, and yet...
And yet he was willing to put his life on the line for her...
But why?
Because...
I love her...
He finally recognized it.
He did love her, and he didn't want to see her die...
It was then that he heard voices outside the tent. The first was Priscilla's, which he could hear clearly. The other voice belonged to Raven, but due to his gruff voice Heath couldn't make out the words he was saying.
"I don't care!" Priscilla was shouting.
Raven's voice. He sounded furious.
"Why?"
Raven's voice.
"Why do you want me to stay away from him?"
Heath scowled. So Raven was now trying to get Priscilla away from him instead of the other way around...
Raven's voice.
"He would never do that!"
Raven's voice.
"What do you mean, 'his kind'?"
Raven's voice, even angrier than before.
"I don't care! Don't you get it?!"
Raven's voice.
"So what?! I love him! Nothing you do or say is going to change that!"
Heath smiled at that comment. She did love him...
Raven's voice, Heath could tell from his tone it was a question.
"I...I don't know! I think so..."
Raven's voice.
"That's not true! Even if he doesn't, we're still friends!"
Raven's voice.
"No! Raymond, why—"
There was a rustle, and Heath could hear Raven shouting, loud enough for him to make out the words.
"My name is not Raymond! I am Raven now, and we are not brother and sister! Do you understand?"
Silence.
"I said do you understand?!"
"No," Priscilla replied, and Heath could hear her voice shaking with rage. "No, I do not. It doesn't matter what you say. You are my brother. You are Raymond. Why must you hide it?"
Well, that certainly cleared up a lot of things, Heath thought.
Raven's voice, Heath couldn't make out his words anymore.
"I am finished talking to you. I no longer care what you have to say!"
Priscilla stormed into the tent, eyes blazing. When she saw that Heath was awake, however, the fire quickly left her eyes and her face became very nervous.
"Y-You're awake..." she stammered.
"Yeah," Heath replied, unable to think of anything else to say.
"D-did you hear..."
"Sort of," Heath said. "Why didn't you just tell me Raven was your brother?"
"He...he asked me to keep our relationship secret. I do not know why," she added before Heath could ask.
She was silent for a few seconds, then she suddenly dashed at Heath and flung her arms around him.
"Heath...I was so worried..."
Heath put his arms around her waist. "It's all right now," he said.
She began to cry.
He didn't know what to say. All he could do was hold her...
***
There you go. Heath realizes his feelings, more fluff. I think that's all that needs to be said.
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT
More responses to reviews! More!
Millenium Slinky: I don't like the Rath/Lyn A conversation because Rath doesn't seem to acknowledge anything Lyn is saying. It seems more like Lyn has a crush on him than the two are in love with each other. But hey, that's just me.
Same problem with me, I made Priscilla a Valkyrie on the second to last chapter because of that extra Earth Seal the game gives you...and she couldn't use any good spells. Oh well.
khmerboi919: Thanks for the review!
KingKazul400: AHHHH HOW did you find AP US history easy?! *fuming* I hate you.
And of course I'm twisting the game script around. This story would be rather boring if I didn't :P
Phoenix Dagger: Well, actually, my normal rate for updating is every 1-2 days; I just had mid-year exams this week. Expect faster updates from now on. I'm sure that will make you happy :)
Savior
Heath lay on his bed in the tent, resting after a long day of traveling. The group was close to Bern Castle now, and Heath realized he might have to stay up the next night to prevent the assassination. He still was unable to stop thinking about Priscilla, much to his disappointment. Even if he tried to think about something else he still ended up thinking about her...
"Heath? Are you awake?" Priscilla's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"What? Oh, yeah, I am." Heath replied. He sat up. "What is it?"
"Well," she said, looking away from him nervously, "I was wondering if...tomorrow...you could let me ride with you again. We—I haven't flown with you...in some time." She looked up at him, her face pink. "I-if you do not mind, that is..."
Heath smiled at her. "Actually, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come flying with me again."
"So...you do not mind?"
"Of course not. Why would I?"
Priscilla smiled. "Thank you, Heath."
Raven, however, was not happy with this idea. When Priscilla asked him if he wanted to ride her horse, Raven refused.
"What?" Priscilla asked him. "Why not?"
"Because I already told him—" he gestured at Heath, flying by Priscilla, "—that he is to stay away from you."
"And I told you that I don't care what you think," Heath retorted. "Besides, isn't it her decision?"
Raven looked at Priscilla.
"I want to go with him," she said, a trace of annoyance in her voice.
Raven thought for a moment, then said, "I am not riding your horse then."
Priscilla glared at him, but Heath simply chuckled and said, "Your loss. Why don't you just ask someone else, Priscilla?"
"I think I will," she said as she directed her horse to another person in the group. Heath smirked triumphantly at Raven, who glared at him with loathing.
Moments later, Priscilla came back, now on her feet. Riding her horse was a long-blond-haired man wearing light blue robes.
Raven looked at the man in shock. "Lucius, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
Lucius gave Raven an innocent look. "Priscilla asked me if I wanted to ride her horse. I have been walking for some time; I could use a rest."
Raven said something in reply, but Heath didn't hear him. Priscilla had already climbed onto Hyperion and they had flown off into the clear day's sky. Heath quickly ascended until he was again ten feet above the group, then stopped and looked at Priscilla.
"What is wrong with him?" he asked her.
"What do you mean?"
"Why is he so...well, against me?"
Priscilla looked away from him. "I...I don't want to talk about it."
"Priscilla," he said, "why don't you ever want to talk about Raven?"
"I can't," she said simply. "Please, can we stop talking about this?"
"All right," he replied, but he still wondered why she couldn't talk about him.
They flew in silence for some time, until Priscilla asked, "Heath?"
Heath looked back at her and replied, "What is it?"
"I...I want to try going higher."
Heath grinned at her. "You sure?"
"I...think so..."
"Well, okay. Tell me when you want to stop," he said, and directed Hyperion slowly upwards.
He felt Priscilla's hands dig into his shoulders as he ascended, but she said nothing.
"Remember, don't look down," Heath told her.
"I-It's hard not to," she said weakly.
Hyperion continued to rise.
They were at least fifty feet above the army when Priscilla told him to stop.
Heath looked back at her and smiled. "You're definitely getting over your fear of heights," he said. "I thought you'd tell me to stop long before now."
Priscilla smiled weakly at him. She was trembling. "I-I'm afraid...I'm g-going to fall..."
"You won't," Heath reassured her. "Just hold on tight."
Priscilla moved her hands from his shoulders to around his waist, and held on tightly.
"Not that tight," Heath said, his voice a bit strained.
Priscilla laughed nervously, and weakened her grip a little. "S-sorry." She looked down, and tried her hardest to control her fear. "I-it's beautiful..." she commented.
"It really is, isn't it?"
Heath looked into the distance, and far away he could see the enormous Bern Castle. If the army kept going at this rate, they would reach the castle a little after nightfall. Perfect timing.
As he thought about the planned assassination, he didn't notice when Priscilla rested her head on his shoulder. When he did notice her, he wasn't surprised. He just smiled at nothing in particular.
The army reached Bern Castle later than expected, arriving well after night had fallen. As he landed, Heath looked back at Priscilla only to find she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. While she did look rather cute, this would not be good if they had to fight anyone in the castle. Heath gently roused her awake.
"Getting a little comfortable there, huh?" he asked her, smiling.
Priscilla's face turned bright red. "I—no—I didn't mean—"
Heath laughed. "Don't worry about it," he said.
Priscilla, however, looked ready to burst into tears of embarrassment. She looked away from him, still blushing.
Heath placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's all right," he continued. "It's not like I'm going to tell anyone about this."
She looked up at him. "Heath..."
"Yeah?"
She opened her mouth to speak, but before she was able to say anything, they heard a shout.
"DAMMIT!"
It was Hector.
"We're too late!" he shouted. "I can already hear fighting inside!"
"Then come on, everyone!" Eliwood shouted. "We've got to help the guards!"
There were two gates into the castle, so Eliwood divided the army into two groups and sent them in. Priscilla retrieved her horse from Lucius and came with Heath.
Heath was having trouble. He couldn't maneuver well in the closed spaces of the castle, and there were several mages striking from out of his reach. Priscilla healed any injuries he received, but it was annoying not being able to help out.
He was finally defeating his first soldier of the battle when it happened.
Far away from the group, a sage lit up the area around him with a magic symbol. Heath noticed him and wondered what was going on. None of the army was near the sage, and the only magic symbols Heath had ever seen came from attack spells...
The sage pointed his hand at Heath's group.
Heath followed the direction he was pointing, and wound up staring directly at Priscilla. His eyes widened.
Several sparks appeared in the air above her, but she wasn't looking up and didn't notice.
In a flash, Heath knew what was going to happen.
"PRISCILLA!"
Priscilla looked at Heath to find Hyperion charging at her at top speed.
"AH!"
She screamed as Hyperion knocked her off her horse and she landed on her back. She looked up at Heath, her eyes blazing with anger.
"Heath! What do you think you're—"
She didn't have time to finish her sentence as a massive lightning bolt struck Heath down.
As he fell to the ground, Priscilla's voice reverberated in his head.
Y-you pushed me o-out of the way, a-and st-stood in my p-place...and...and...
Heath saw Priscilla pull out another staff. Compared to her normal one, the sapphire at the tip was enormous. The last thing Heath saw before falling unconscious was a blinding white light...
Heath opened his eyes to find himself in his tent.
Strangely enough, he felt no pain. He felt a strange tingling sensation in his back, but he seemed to be unharmed.
What the hell was I thinking? he cursed himself.
Heath didn't understand why he had just saved Priscilla like that. He could have been killed, and yet...
And yet he was willing to put his life on the line for her...
But why?
Because...
I love her...
He finally recognized it.
He did love her, and he didn't want to see her die...
It was then that he heard voices outside the tent. The first was Priscilla's, which he could hear clearly. The other voice belonged to Raven, but due to his gruff voice Heath couldn't make out the words he was saying.
"I don't care!" Priscilla was shouting.
Raven's voice. He sounded furious.
"Why?"
Raven's voice.
"Why do you want me to stay away from him?"
Heath scowled. So Raven was now trying to get Priscilla away from him instead of the other way around...
Raven's voice.
"He would never do that!"
Raven's voice.
"What do you mean, 'his kind'?"
Raven's voice, even angrier than before.
"I don't care! Don't you get it?!"
Raven's voice.
"So what?! I love him! Nothing you do or say is going to change that!"
Heath smiled at that comment. She did love him...
Raven's voice, Heath could tell from his tone it was a question.
"I...I don't know! I think so..."
Raven's voice.
"That's not true! Even if he doesn't, we're still friends!"
Raven's voice.
"No! Raymond, why—"
There was a rustle, and Heath could hear Raven shouting, loud enough for him to make out the words.
"My name is not Raymond! I am Raven now, and we are not brother and sister! Do you understand?"
Silence.
"I said do you understand?!"
"No," Priscilla replied, and Heath could hear her voice shaking with rage. "No, I do not. It doesn't matter what you say. You are my brother. You are Raymond. Why must you hide it?"
Well, that certainly cleared up a lot of things, Heath thought.
Raven's voice, Heath couldn't make out his words anymore.
"I am finished talking to you. I no longer care what you have to say!"
Priscilla stormed into the tent, eyes blazing. When she saw that Heath was awake, however, the fire quickly left her eyes and her face became very nervous.
"Y-You're awake..." she stammered.
"Yeah," Heath replied, unable to think of anything else to say.
"D-did you hear..."
"Sort of," Heath said. "Why didn't you just tell me Raven was your brother?"
"He...he asked me to keep our relationship secret. I do not know why," she added before Heath could ask.
She was silent for a few seconds, then she suddenly dashed at Heath and flung her arms around him.
"Heath...I was so worried..."
Heath put his arms around her waist. "It's all right now," he said.
She began to cry.
He didn't know what to say. All he could do was hold her...
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT
