Whew! Finally, I came around to writing this. I've just been so busy with Jealousy lately.
Sonia: Argh! Who cares about the fluxing pegasus knights?!
Miss Daisy: -.-;; -glares-
Quickening: -sweatdrop- I, ah, suggest you should leave, erm, uh, Lady Sonia?
Sonia: NEVER!
Miss Daisy: -unleashes super attack of Talking Pony Bucking Destruction-
Sonia: x.x
Nino: OO;;
Quickening: -relief- Well, at least the stupid authoress finally got around to writing. So for now, us muses are satisfied.
Miss Daisy: -.- NOT UNTIL YOU WRITE ANOTHER ONE-SIDED NINO X L-
Quickening: -clamps hand hurriedly over Daisy's mouth- Shh! Don't even mention that!!
Nino: -sniff-
Miss Daisy: -.- Mrmph! –bites-
Quickening: Ow! Anyway, review responses are at the bottom of the page!
I don't know how long I stood there, pondering what he'd said. It could have been only seconds, or minutes, or even hours...
A soft nicker from Taelia brought me back to reality. I started a bit, then reassured her with a pat on the neck. "Shh, it's okay," I whispered, perhaps more for my comfort than hers.
I wondered briefly how Lloyd was faring, combating the lordling Eliwood. I suddenly realized I didn't care at the moment. Yet I lingered, on the outskirts of the battlefield, hidden in the fog, watching the young red-haired lord fight the Black Fang. He was good, I would give him that, yet most of the group's orders seemed to come from a young, brown-haired man in a green cloak – the group's tactician, I presumed – that seemed rather scatterbrained for a planner of battles. But he was doing his job well; they seemed to be suffering little injuries.
Perhaps I should step in and help. My gloved hand tightened on the Elfire tome. But no, this was Lloyd's battle. Mine would come in its own good time, as would Linus's. Lord Eliwood's company was tough; they would surely return for more. Being the justice-obsessed valiant young people that they were, they would certainly want to set Prince Zephiel's coronation right.
I turned away from the battle, suddenly realizing I really didn't care what happened anymore. Gradually, the sounds of battle drifted away, and I realized the battle was probably ended. Had Lloyd survived? I turned back, and saw the elder Reed brother standing alone, looking off into the fog. Of course he had survived. He was a Four Fang, after all.
Perhaps I should talk to him. Or maybe he would just give me the same responses as his brother.
"I need to talk to Linus . . ." he said, softly, but audibly. Of course. Linus. It was always Linus.
I clenched my teeth, and turned Taelia, ready to squeeze her forwards, then froze.
Lloyd was standing alone, staring off into the distance. Oblivious to everything around him. Oblivious to Limstella sneaking silently up behind him.
I had no time for words. The morph was clearly intent on hurting Lloyd – not that he or his brother cared about me anymore, I thought bitterly – but I couldn't let it go unnoticed. Swiftly, I snatched up the tome of Elfire –
Nothing came.
No! I screamed silently as Limstella tucked her Silence staff away. Of all the things that could happen, this was the worst. She had caught me unawares, and I had had no chance.
Lloyd . . .
It was over in one swift stroke.
"Wha –" choked Lloyd, as he toppled and fell to the ground. "Impossible . . . not a sound . . . nothing . . ."
"Lloyd, the White Wolf," whispered Limstella in her odd, flat, emotionless voice, glittering golden eyes staring expressionlessly down at Lloyd's body. "Such wonderful quintessence."
She left Lloyd dead and teleported away swiftly, vanishing into the air with no trace left behind. I watched, helpless to act, then cursed myself for being so foolish. Lady Sonia would have never been caught off guard like that.
But Lady Sonia wouldn't have tried to save Lloyd, either, whispered a nagging voice in my head.
I brushed the thought away. The Silence spell was wearing off, and Eliwood's group was gone. Where had they gone?
No . . . If they were going to the royal palace, Vaida would be there.
Vaida. I clenched my teeth again at the name. I hated that woman. She thought she could take all the glory, just walking in like that. It wasn't fair. I was a much better fighter than she could ever hope to be.
I was turning Taelia to go when I heard footsteps.
Linus ran into the area, trying vainly to look through the fog. "Lloyd? Lloyd!" His foot caught on something, and he tripped. "Wha – Lloyd!"
For some reason, again I could only watch. This time it was of my own free will. Somehow, it just seemed wrong, to intrude between the two of them at this moment.
"Lloyd," whispered Linus, cradling his brother's body in his arms. "No . . . They did this to you! No!" He closed his eyes, and I was startled to see the faint glimmer of tears on his cheeks. "I will hunt them down! I will kill them all! I promise!"
Linus would go after Eliwood and his company? Disobey Lady Sonia's orders?
He would do that, argued my mind, remember what he said to you?
I made up my mind. Gently, I squeezed Taelia forwards. The pale grey mare stepped forwards quietly, through the fog.
"Linus," I whispered.
His head shot up, and he caught sight of me. "You!" His eyes flashed angrily. "You! This is your fault! Everything's your fault! Everything's wrong!"
"Linus, calm down," I began. "It wasn't my fault. It was –"
He cut me off before the word "Limstella" could pass my lips. "Go away! Just go! I never want to see you again! Ever!"
He closed his eyes, and bent his head again over Lloyd's body, sobbing softly.
Suddenly feeling alone and intrusive, I drew back. Taelia snorted softly, and I rubbed her neck absent-mindedly.
Everything's wrong. Linus's words echoed in my head. He was right, in a way. Everything was so mixed up and confused, I didn't know what to do. My thoughts whirled in turmoil inside my head.
In frustration, I kicked Taelia hard, harder than I had meant to, and she bolted forwards with a rush of energy. The wind blew hard in my face as she galloped away, far away. If only it could take me away from everything. If only everything could go back to how it used to be.
Again, I don't know how much time passed. I only knew that finally Taelia slowed to a walk, sides heaving, nostrils flaring. Her coat was matted with sweat, and she champed on her bit, foaming at the mouth.
"I'm sorry," I told her, closing my eyes. She was exhausted. I had acted stupidly again. Now it would be a while before I could work her hard again, and if Lady Sonia needed me for something . . .
I glanced around. Where were we? That was when I realized that Taelia's gallop had taken us to precisely the place I didn't want to be: the royal family of Bern's palace. Well, not exactly; but I could see the palace from my vantage point – farther south of the structure. The fog had cleared up; I could see an armored wyvern, resting upon a far mountain like it was its throne.
Vaida.
I screamed in anger and pent-up frustration, letting the wind take my cry and fling it far away. Taelia did not even start, too exhausted to even move forwards again.
And Eliwood was here. I glared at the small forms in the distance, led by a red-haired man. Eliwood of Pherae. How I had come to despise that name.
Out in the open here, they would certainly notice me, I thought suddenly. Painstakingly, I dismounted and led Taelia slowly to a neighboring village. People whispered as I came in; I glared at them, and they fell silent, and one by one, retreated into their houses, probably recognizing me as Black Fang.
I untacked Taelia and watched her amble off tiredly to graze, feeling tired and worn-out. I had to get back to the Black Fang fortress; yet I couldn't with my horse so exhausted. I would just have to wait.
What did I have? I checked my saddlebags. My magic tomes, of course, Elfire and Bolting. Some food. A Heal staff, the blue jewel on top dull-looking. I had probably used it too much. A – what? I pulled out the Hammerne staff, wondering when I had put that in here. I didn't even remember where I had gotten it; I had never used it either.
"Oh!" A surprised gasp startled me. I looked up quickly, still holding the staff.
The visitor was at the entrance to the village, blinking at me. It was an attractive young woman, slender, with cropped red hair and green eyes, mounted on a pony. A troubadour, I thought, but she looked to be quite experienced; perhaps she would be a valkyrie soon.
"Oh, my. It's you . . ." I murmured, suddenly recognizing her. She had been with Eliwood of Pherae's group.
"Me?" She blinked, looking confused, as if to say Do I know you?
"Yes, you. That's right," I continued, glancing past her. There were several Black Fang wyvern riders a distance away from the village; however, they were being taken care of by several other members of Eliwood's little entourage.
"You're with them, right?"
She only nodded mutely, and I could tell she was thinking about leaving.
"I know that this isn't what I'm supposed to do," I said. If Lady Sonia saw me fraternizing with the enemy . . .
"But I'll not hand glory over to that newcomer, Vaida," I said bitterly, glancing to the far mountain where she was waiting.
The girl was looking confused again. I blinked. "What? Oh, nothing, I'm talking to myself," I realized. I had been talking more to myself than to her.
"More importantly, I want to give you this," I said without thinking, holding out the Hammerne staff. "It's a hammerne staff. It repairs items. It can make most items like new again."
"Oh!" she exclaimed, leaning down from her pony to take it carefully from my hands and examine it. "But I – how could I ever thank you?"
She was polite, I'd have to give her that. Not many others would be so friendly to an enemy. Did she even know I was Black Fang? Never mind.
"Promise me you'll bring that wyvern-riding hag down," I said abruptly, eyes straying once again to Vaida, perched on the mountaintop.
"Wha –"
"I'll be seeing you again, I'm sure," I countered, smiling slightly.
"Oh!" Quickly, she turned, and trotted away.
What did I just do?
I had just given an expensive staff to someone I didn't even know – the enemy, to make matters worse.
What had come over me? Perhaps it was just because she had been a troubadour, like I once was . . . young, and innocent.
The old Black Fang would have done that, teased that nagging voice in my head. The old Black Fang would have been glad to help little lord Eliwood of Pherae dispense justice. After all, you're helping in the Fire Emblem plot now, aren't you? Just so that Desmond's bastard daughter will become heir, and not his son, the true heir. That's not what the old Black Fang would have done, is it?
I sighed, and covered my face with my hands, rocking back and forth gently. Taelia nickered supportively. What had I done?
My life in the past week or so had become such a twisted mess that I had been driven to the brink of mental and physical exhaustion. Everything I had done haunted me, persisting, asking whether it had been right or wrong.
Right or wrong . . .
What had I done?
And what could I do now?
What could I do?
A/N: Okay, I know Limstella doesn't have a Silence staff. It was merely an addition for the storyline. XD Okay, okay, on with the review responses! They're getting put down here because a) too many people are reviewing (no, jk! I like it when you review!) and b) because the muses take up too much space when they argue.
Miss Daisy: -.-;;
Van Thorn: Hey! Glad you got an account here. Yes, the candle metaphor was actually invented by my sister. X.x I will not take credit. XD And yeah, I've seen her fanlisting too...but there are zip fics about her. So I wrote one! –cheers-
elven-girl10: Thank you very much for reviewing!aviatrix8: I really don't think of Ursula as a villain; rather, I see her more as a relatively good person who just got mixed up in something bigger than her. :D Oh, and I really love your story Brotherly Love. There's a little homage to your fic in this chappie (innocent, young troubadours) XD Thanks!
Koriku: Heh heh...plot-ness...XD Don't you poke my fics! J/k. Floyd, Lloyd, grey-haired! ROFL! XD That's hilarious.
Genocideking Archfiend: Woah... How come I can never write long reviews like that? o.0 And yeah, I totally agree with your point about writing about less-used things like that. And yes, Ursula will die. :( : ( :( Heh. Yeah, and I agree, Sonia, Limstella, and Ephidel are very cool as well. Thank you for reviewing!
uber-kludge: Yes, aren't we all on the Lloyd bandwagon? XD As a pre-promote, he woulnd't have been THAT useful, but I'd have loved to see his SCs...pity. XD Thank you for reviewing!
Quickening and Nino: -have escaped from Miss Daisy-
Quickening: Next chapter coming...well, we don't exactly know. Hopefully by the end of this month.
Woodbark: te-te
Quickening: Woah, he's added a new word to his vocabulary. Not that we'll ever know what "te-te" means, but...it's a start.
Nino: -pokes- Review!