Panic spread much faster through the crowd than Lucina thought it would. Panicked people pushed their way past her, toward the town hall. Lucina turned back and searched for Anna and her daughters in the crowd, but they had already been swept away.
Lucina looked back at the walls. The flames had begun to spread higher, painting streaks of orange against the sky. And through the mangled gates splattered over the road, Lucina saw bandits spill out, armed and with murder in their eyes.
It didn't take a genius to know she should probably get out of the street.
Lucina dashed ahead and inside the closest building; the inn.
As Lucina leaned back against the door, she prayed to Naga they hadn't seen her go inside.
Defending a village against an invasion? How did I end up back here? she thought, and she stumbled toward the stairs. If they didn't know she was here yet, perhaps she could sneak out onto the rooftops or a backdoor and make her way to the exit.
And leave the town to burn, like you left Ylisse to burn?
Lucina stopped. She hissed and ran a hand through her hair. No. No, she wasn't leaving Ylisse behind, she was going to return to save it.
But at the rate things were going, what would there be left to save? Ylisse would still be there, but would Emmeryn? Was it truly Ylisse if there was no Emmeryn? Why did she insist on running away when everything she touched went so horribly wrong?
I don't know! Lucina hissed at herself. I just don't know!
From outside, she heard voices. "Hey! I think I saw someone go inside!"
Lucina cast a look over her shoulder. Something slammed against the door. Cursing, she threw herself behind a nearby table.
She heard one slam, two, then a snap as the door came tumbling down. Three voices drifted in, laughing as she heard them overturn a few nearby tables.
"Aw, shucks. There's nobody here," one of the bandits said.
"Nobody here to stop us, you mean," another piped up. "Can you believe how easy these raids are? Like takin' apples from a baby."
"But that means there's no one here to kill, either," the third said. "After a whole day of dealing with Vincent's ranting, I was looking for someone to take my stress out on."
"Don't tell me about it," the first said. "If that stupid girl would just show up so he could kill her, maybe he'd stop being such a pain."
The second laughed. "You say that as if she is just going to come out of the–"
He stopped. So did she. Lucina glanced to her right. The bandit stared back.
Lucina moved first. She lunged, tackled him to the ground and her hands wrapped around his sword. She tried to wrest it away from his grip. The bandit tugged back. Lucina was only able to tug one more time before movement caught her eye. She ducked out of the way, and the second bandit's kick reached just an inch shy of her chest.
All eyes were on her now. Lucina, unarmed, against three bandits armed to the teeth. The first had a sword, and the second and third bore a pair of wicked-looking axes. Had she kept the javelin she'd stolen from the town guard, perhaps a fight would have been more enticing. As it was, there was only one thing she could do; Lucina turned and bolted up the stairs.
"She's getting away!" one of the bandits yelled. "After her!"
Running down the hall, Lucina caught one of the doors leaning slightly ajar, and she made the split second decision to barge inside. As soon she slammed the door behind her, she slid the bolt in place and turned to scan her new surroundings.
Immediately, she is struck by the strangest feeling of deja-vu. She had seen this room before; the crumpled bedsheets and weapons laid haphazardly over the floor look familiar. But the biggest giveaway is the man sitting on the bed, his arms bound behind him.
Lucina blinked. It took her a moment for the words to reach her lips, and when they did, they came out more clipped than she'd intended. "You're still here."
Geralt snorted. "How'd you figure that out?"
"I'd assumed you would have escaped by now."
"Yeah, well it turns out your red-headed friend knows how to tie a mean knot." Geralt wriggled around the bed, but from Lucina's perspective, it didn't look like he was going to get anywhere.
Picking up Geralt's sword lying on the ground, Lucina cleaved through his bonds with one swift swing. Geralt didn't hesitate to jump to his feet and wring his wrists, shooting her a sour look as he did so.
"You sure changed your tune real quick," he said.
"Circumstances have changed," Lucina shot back, and she made her way toward the window.
"Changed how?" Glancing back at the door, Lucina didn't miss how Geralt suddenly looked more nervous than he had before. "Was there a fight down there? What's going on?"
"You remember the three bandits we fought off yesterday? It turns out they brought a few friends."
"Like, a few friends? Or a few friends?"
Lucina tried to turn the latch on the window. It budged, but not quickly enough. The cold weather must have made the hinge stiffer than usual. Waving a hand over her shoulder, she said, "Depends on if you count a hundred as a few."
"Naga almighty, what did you do to get them this pissed off?"
"I must have angered their boss somehow. Perhaps Vincent was his brother."
"And what are you going to do about it?"
That gave Lucina some pause. What would she do about it? Fix it? Flee?
"I don't know," she finally replied.
"Well, you better figure it out fast, or we might be in for a whole host of troubles."
As if on cue, the door shudders, a loud banging coming from the other side. The bolt held, but with how quickly they had torn down the entrance, Lucina would not count on the rest of it to stay firm for any longer.
She raised the hilt of her sword, and with a shout, brought it down onto the glass. Cracks shot out like a web from the impact, but it wasn't enough to break through, and the pommel bounced back and smacked her on the nose. Cursing, Lucina raised the sword and tried again. This time, it broke through, sending shards down onto the ground. Lucina poked her head out, watching as they shattered against the cobblestone. She scanned the buildings around her, and her eyes caught on a nearby rooftop; a flat one, perhaps a shop of some sort.
She stepped out onto the ledge, then shot a look back to Geralt. "Are you coming?" she asked.
Geralt frowned. "You know, with how many people are out to kill you right now, I'm not sure I quite like the idea."
"You speak as if you have a choice. Don't forget, you helped me fight those three yesterday. Do you think that will endear you to the rest of them?"
"You make a strong point." Scowling, Geralt made to follow her, motioning out the window. "Take the lead, then, Princess."
Princess. Were the town not burning in the distance, she might have laughed. Gritting her teeth, Lucina tucked the sword under her arm, bunched her legs, and jumped.
The rooftop came toward her, then rose past her. Lucina threw out her arms. Her fingers caught the edge of the roof, and as she pulled herself up, Geralt caught the ledge next to her.
"I hope you don't plan on jumping off any more buildings," Geralt grumbles as Lucina helps drag him over the edge. "My arm's still a little stiff."
"I don't plan on making a habit of it," Lucina replied. She glanced back just in time to see the other bandits break down the door. She raised her sword and narrowed her eyes.
With no ranged weapons between them, taking the jump across would be suicidal. At least the bandits seemed smart enough to recognize this, and as she watched them back away from the door, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Come on, let's move," she said.
"Where?" Geralt crossed his arms.
Lucina opened her mouth to reply. She felt the heat before she saw it, and on instinct, she threw herself back. An Elfire spell soared over her head, singing the few strands of blue hair in front of her face. She glanced down.
A mage glared back, another spell curling around his fingertips.
"I don't know! Just move!" she hissed. Before he could say a word, she grabbed Geralt by the scruff and dragged him left. The Elfire spell that followed brushed against the side of his face. He hissed. "Watch the face!"
"Better half your face than all of it," Lucina snapped. She leaped onto the next roof, one not nearly as flat. Her feet caught onto the gutter, and she clawed up the shingles and over the top. Behind her, pieces of the roof splattered out into the air. She looked over her shoulder, and sure enough, Geralt scampered up the roof right behind her.
Lucina leapt off that roof onto another flat one. As soon as her feet touched solid ground, it trembled beneath her weight. The stench of smoke reached her nose, and when she looked down, she saw that the building was already ablaze.
Another tremor shook the building. Another Elfire spell wracked against the support beams. Lucina raced across it, listening for Geralt's footsteps behind as the building began to crumble. Bunching her legs, she leapt onto the next roof.
A straw roof. In hindsight, perhaps they'd meant to panic her into rushing a decision; not that any of it was on her mind as she broke through the flimsy straw roof and crashing onto the stack of hay nestled below.
She barely had time to gather her wits before she heard a second crash. Lucina looked up, cursed, and threw herself left as Geralt tumbled after her. A quick look around told her that they had landed in some kind of stable. It smelled strongly of hay and sweat, and a few horses stood in the stalls beside them.
Someone squeaked. Lucina snapped to attention and scanned the room. Four villagers were huddled on the opposite side of the stable, staring at her like she had just fallen from the sky.
For a moment, all they did was stare. A tense silence settled between them; one that was broken when the doors burst open.
"There they are!" someone shouted just outside.
Lucina froze.
One of the villagers screamed. They scattered in a rush of movement, and Lucina realized that, if there was any time to take advantage of the confusion, now would be it.
Grabbing Geralt's arm, she bolted deeper inside; perhaps there was a window that would let them sneak out through the back.
"In here!" Geralt hissed, and he yanked her behind a nearby trough. Lucina opened her mouth to ask what he was doing.
A bandit stormed through where they had been moments later, growling as he scanned the area. Lucina ducked low until she was sure her head was hidden by the top of the trough.
As soon as she heard his footsteps go past, she snuck a peek over. There, just across the aisle the bandit had passed through, was an open window.
"What are you doing?" Geralt growled as she slipped from their hiding place. She motioned for him to stay down and looked around.
The bandit who had passed them was still checking the aisle. On the other side, she could count the four villagers from before, pinned by the three bandits and the mage from the inn. And standing over them, his face twisted into a snarl, was a towering bandit in red.
"Victor?" Geralt muttered over her shoulder. "What's he doing here?"
"I thought I told you to stay back."
"You're no more better at staying hidden than I am. If you poke your head out here, you'll get us both killed." Grabbing her by the scruff, he pushed her back against the trough. Lucina grunted, displeased, but who was she to argue against a career criminal?
"You know him?" she said, pushing herself upright.
"Know him? There isn't a bandit this north of Ylisse who doesn't know him."
"Is he strong?"
"Nowhere near as strong as those Plegian bandits down south, but they've got many friends." Then, Geralt froze. Slowly, he turned his gaze to her. "That wasn't his brother you killed, was it?"
Lucina snuck another look. Now that he had mentioned it, this new, red bandit looked similar to Vincent.
"And what if I did?" she mumbled, sliding back against the trough.
Geralt groaned. "Oh Goddess."
A voice came from the back. "She's not here!"
Lucina and Geralt exchanged a look. In an instant, the two of them ducked behind the trough as the bandit walked past them again.
"I looked through the whole place, but she's gone. Maybe she might've jumped outta the window."
From around the corner, she heard the bandit leader snarl. A loud smack echoed through the room. Lucina winced.
"Where is she?" From the person spoke, it would have to be their leader speaking. Victor, if what Geralt said was right.
Another voice, one of the villagers from before, shakily replied, "I don't know! She disappeared, I didn't see where she went."
Another smack. "Liar! You know where she is! You think you can keep me from my rightful revenge?"
"Victor!" another voice spoke out.
There was a pause. One second, two.
"Victor, please. It's fine."
"Fine? My brother's killer escaped, and you think it's fine?"
"You think she's gonna escape? From us?" Laughter echoed among the other bandits.
"No girl's gonna get away from me!" one said.
"I want to see her bleed just as much as you!" said another.
The first bandit laughed. "Come on, Victor. She ain't getting away. Just you wait, we'll get you your revenge."
A heavy sigh heaved from the bandit leader. "You're right. I'm sorry, I lost myself. She's not getting out of here; not in one piece, anyway."
"And what do we do with the sheep?"
Lucina tensed. She clenched a fist, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Geralt shake his head.
Her father would have helped them. He wouldn't have stood by and let innocent people come to harm.
"This whole village will be nothing but ash by tomorrow morning. Make it quick, and we'll be on our way."
A woman screamed. From the shadows, she saw one of the bandits raise their sword.
Lucina closed her eyes.
But she was not her father.
Geralt breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, a roar ripped itself from her lips, and before she could think about what she was doing, she lunged out of the shadows and tackled the bandit to the ground.
Looking down on him, she could see his eyes wide, startled. Lucina took the chance to slam a knee into his throat. He gasped. A hand flew to his throat. A hand he wasn't using to hold his sword. Lucina's foot slipped under the hilt of his sword, and with a flick, kicked it out of his hand. The sword twirled in the air. Lucina's hand snapped out. Caught it. Lucina flourished it once, leveled it, and charged at Victor.
Fell the leader. Threaten the rest. It had worked with Vincent. No reason it wouldn't work with Victor.
Victor's axe swung up, catching Lucina's blade an inch from his face. Lucina grit her teeth and pushed. His axe buckled against her weight. The tip of her sword grazed against his forehead.
She would make this quick.
Lucina leaped away. Victor stumbled away. Before he could recover, she lunged again. Her sword would have pierced through his chest, straight through his heart, had one of the other bandits not pushed him away. Lucina's sword ran straight through him instead.
Victor stumbled against the wall next to her. He gazed at the bandit she'd skewered, then to her. His eyes narrowed.
Lucina barely had time to register that before two more bandits jumped in from the side, swinging for her head. She ducked, and their axes buried into the support beams above.
Her eye fell on the people, still huddled against the wall. "Go!" she screamed, and the villagers scrambled out the door. One of the bandits turned after them, but Victor caught him by the shoulder and flung him back. "No! They're not the real threat, she is!"
"But they'll–"
"Call for help? A lot of help that'll do her when she's dead!"
The bandit frowned. He rolled his neck, hefted his axe, and turned to face Lucina. They all did.
Five on one. Not good odds.
No, she reminded herself. Not five on one. There's only one that matters.
Her eyes locked with Victor's. His lips peeled back into a snarl.
Lucina lunged. Her sword slipped through the air, aimed straight for his stomach. A bandit beside her stepped in and swung down. She danced to the side. An axe buried itself into the ground to her left.
A shadow. A hand. Lucina rolled forward. A second bandit buried his sword in the support beam above. The building trembled. Bits of straw rained down and stuck to her hair.
The bandit tore the sword out and swung again, roaring. Lucina stepped forward. The sword sliced through her side. Lucina grit her teeth, wrapped her arm around his, and grabbed his shoulder. The bandit grunted. He tried to pull away. Lucina pulled back and hurled him into the third bandit to her right, sending them both into the wall. More shaking. More dust.
She heard a foot slide against the ground behind her. Lucina turned, her sword already swinging out to catch the fourth sword before it could skewer her through the heart. She twisted. The bandit staggered away before she could wrench the sword out of his hand. She moved to chase after him, but a flash of silver caught her eye. She raised her hand. The first bandit's elbow slammed right into her grasp, axe hovering just above her head. The bandit grunted, pushing down on her with his whole weight.
Too close for a sword. Not close enough to protect him from harm. Lucina smashed her other elbow into his nose. He staggered back, hand to his face. Blood dribbled out between his fingers. He raised his axe, ready to block the counterattack.
An attack that never came.
Lucina took the chance to dash past him. She drew back her sword, and thrust forward, a straight line between the tip of her sword and Victor's neck.
Her sword ground against steel, digging into the support beam just to the left of Victor's head. Lucina turned to the right just in time to see the knee slam into her stomach. She gasped, clutching her stomach as she sucked in breath after breath. She ripped her sword out, holding it close as she stumbled back into the center of the five bandits.
"You idiots!" Victor snarled. "Don't just swing at her! Watch out for everyone around you!"
"Yes boss," one of the bandits replied.
"Ugh. Where would you be without me." Pointing to the bandits, he said, "You on the left, you on the right, don't get so close. One goes for the head, one for the feet."
The bandits nodded. Slowly, the approached her, one with an axe, one with a sword. With a cry, they swung at the same time. One high, one low, she couldn't hope to block both. Lucina jumped back, letting the blades cut through the air before her.
Into the axe swing of the third bandit behind her. Unprepared, Lucina wasn't able to brace herself for the heavy weight that slammed into her sword, driving her blade into the ground and nearly wrenching it from her hands. Lucina staggered back, then ducked as a fourth swing carved into the beam overhead, and rolled away as the first and second began their two-sided assault again.
"Yes, yes, that's it! Drive her into the corner, cut her off!"
Lucina's back slammed against the wall. She raised her sword to parry a thrust, but a kick forced her to the left before she could counter. An axe buried into the wall above. A sword cut through the wall beside.
It was like fighting a wall. Any attack she tried to make was cut off at the head. Make a move, lash out, and she risked taking a follow-up from any of the other bandits.
One of the bandits plunged his sword for her arm. Lucina twirled out of his reach.
It was a risk she was going to have to take.
Lucina flicked out. The tip of her sword nicked the bandit's shoulder. He cried out and stepped back.
Lucina only had the momentary satisfaction before a foot came down on her arm, dragging her to the floor. The bandit ground his heel into her, snarling and pressing until Lucina was pinned to the dirt. His eyes flashed. He grinned, raised his axe.
A wooden trough flew in from his left and smashed him into the wall. As chunks of straw came hailing down, Lucina glanced up to see Geralt swinging the trough into the head of a second. As the bandit crumpled to the floor, out, and food spilled out over the floor, Lucina nodded. "Thanks."
"You're not getting out of my questions by dying, you hear?" Geralt replied.
She glanced his way once, then back to the remaining four bandits. "Are you sure about helping me? You don't have a weapon."
"You don't brave it out in the wilderness without knowing how to handle yourself in a bar brawl. Or a stable brawl, for that matter."
One of the bandits charged with a roar. Geralt dropped the through and kicked it under the bandit's legs, and with a cry, the bandit fell flat on his face into the sludge of food waste pooling at their feet.
Lucina hummed, impressed. "You'd better be right about that."
Victor growled. "What are you waiting for? You, keep the girl busy so the other two can kill the thief! He's the weak link!"
"I'm flattered," Geralt sniped back.
Lucina would have replied, had she not had to suddenly deal with an axe swinging for her face. Lucina stepped forward and braced her blade against the hilt. The bandit tried to drag it down, tried to force his weight upon her. So Lucina let him, stepping into his right and letting his full weight crash down into the wall. As he tried to yank it out, Lucina slipped by, spun, and smashed her heel into the face of a second bandit creeping up behind Geralt.
Geralt, busy wrestling the axe away from the third bandit, nodded, and ducked under a swing meant to decapitate him. Lucina heard footsteps behind her. She ducked. An axe sailed over her head. The bandit reversed his swing, and Lucina rolled away from the follow-up.
He wasn't going to be enough to keep her busy. She knew that. He knew that.
The man roared and charged at her, axe swinging in from his left. It was a fast swing. A wild swing. One she couldn't hope to block.
Instead, she jumped under it, and kicked him in the back. The bandit gasped and stumbled forward. His feet caught on the body of the second bandit as he was getting up, and with a cry, he flew forward and slammed into the ground, digging into the dirt with his teeth.
Two on two. Lucina found the odds to her taste. As the second bandit dragged himself to his feet, Lucina found her lips turning up. Over the bandit's shoulder, she saw the bandit wrench his axe away and swing for Geralt's head. Geralt ducked under it, then lunged and grabbed the man by the waist and slammed him against a stable gate.
Her eyes fell back to the second bandit just as he sprung up, his sword curved upward to cut straight through her chin. Lucina jumped back, and the tip brushed against her chest. Her feet had barely touched the ground before the bandit was charging at her, sword raised.
Lucina stepped aside, the bandit staggered back. She swung for his side, but his sword was already raised to block it. The bandit caught himself on a nearby wall before he could run into it, pushed off, and charged again.
"Geralt!" Lucina said.
"Yeah!" he replied.
The bandit swung for her stomach. Lucina brought her sword up to parry. Before he could pull away, Lucina grabbed him by the arm, turned, and hurled him away as Geralt did the same.
Both bandits crashed into each other, back to back, their heads knocking against each other. They stumbled away, dazed. Lucina's bandit barely had time to look up, barely had time to see her coming as, with a shout, she thrust her sword through them both.
Lucina tore her sword free, and as the last two bandits slumped to the ground, her narrowed eyes fell on Victor.
He'd done nothing the whole fight. Nothing except watch through narrowed eyes. Now that his men were dead, his lips curled into a snarl.
"Dammit," he hissed. "Dammit dammit dammit!"
Maybe it was the blood rushing through her ears, or the adrenaline that made her hands feel so light, but Lucina raised her sword to them and hissed, "Would you like to join them? I can arrange that if you'd like."
"I've got to decline," Victor replied. "Things to do, gold to spend."
"Just because you didn't pitch in, don't think that'll spare you your end."
Laughing, Victor waved a hand over his shoulder. "Darling, dying is what the help is for. Good men they may have been, but we leaders should never step in unless necessary. It's what my brother Vincent should have learned, if he weren't so petty."
Lucina glanced at Geralt, who nodded back, his jaw set in a line. Attempt on her life forgotten, they turned back to Victor and readied themselves. "You think you can take us two?" she said.
"Strong as you and your brother may have been, you're no monsters. I'd bet good coin a single Pegasus Knight could take you, barehanded."
Victor's grin widened. "Why do you think I've never fought one, then? It's not just sheer luck, darling. A rat always knows when to slip away, what ways there are to escape traps. And," he added, a finger raised, "speaking of traps, you're not very clever rats if you can't recognize the one you've set for yourselves."
With that, he raised a foot and kicked the doorway beside him–and now that Lucina had a moment to think, they'd done an awful lot of damage to the stable, hadn't they?
Her eyes widened, and she looked up just in time to see the roof come down on her.
Hey. Been a while. Took some time off fanfic to wrap up one of my original projects, because juggling that between my two other fanfic projects was taking forever. I thought I'd only need two weeks to do it, but then I started writing more and more and got a little carried away.
Anyway, you didn't come here to hear my lame excuses. Sometimes, taking a break from a story is fine, because whenever I take a break from this one and return, somehow it gets a lot more fun than I remembered. I'm going to try to make that final push in one go and finally wrap up this whole arc. Between coursework and original work, it's not been super easy, but I don't plan on stopping until I finish.
Until then, feel free to leave a review. It helps keep this story fresh on my mind, and motivates me to write faster. Remember to take care of yourselves out there, and stay safe!
