Firelight
A/N: Well. That was a...less-than-welcome reception. But, so it goes. Anyway, enjoy this next chapter! (I posted early for you, Griff!)
Chapter Two: Day Breaks
Seth sat in front of the fire, staring into it with customary focus but unusual intensity. Across from him, Forde wondered if he shouldn't point out that it was standard for heroic types who were deep in thought to be lost in the flames of a campfire. After repeating himself a few times, he figured Seth just wasn't listening.
Hearing soft footsteps, Forde looked up and saw Cormag and Gilliam approaching. Following even more silently behind them was Rennac, who took a seat to Forde's left and proceeded to eat a plate full of food. It reminded Forde of how hungry he was, but he was too tired to get up and eat.
Cormag sat on Forde's other side, with Gilliam beside him. "How's Genarog?" Forde asked, noting that the wyvern rider still limped and staggered. It was entirely too likely that the staves were out of charges, as they had been short on them when the battle began.
"Irritated," Cormag replied with a tired smile. "He didn't like that we couldn't redeem ourselves on that ranger. But he'll get over it." Beside him, Gilliam made a noise that was somewhere between a grunt and a sigh.
"They call you Gilliam the Silent, you know," Forde attempted. Gilliam turned to look at him.
"Mmm."
"…And I can see why. At least you live up to your title." Forde sighed again and went back to watching Seth watch the fire. He wondered what the Silver Knight was thinking about.
He didn't wonder at all, really. The only thing in recent days that put Seth in such strong moods was the princess. Neither heiress nor paladin thought it was noticeable, but they were certainly a conversation topic, at least among the cavaliers.
They were joined at the fire by Vanessa and Innes, both of whom looked like they'd rather be sleeping; there just wasn't room. The army, as they were, had taken shelter in an abandoned fortress, but the building was small, meant for protection more than comfort. Those in the worst conditions had been given the rooms that served best as bedrooms. The rest of them seemed to be slowly trickling out to the fire Franz and Ewan had started, out in the largest room.
"Prince Innes," said Gilliam formally. "Where is Princess Tana?"
Innes scowled, but it lasted only a second before his face resumed its usual slight frown. "With Ephraim."
"Ah." Gilliam paused for a very long moment. "How is he?"
"Last I checked…he was annoyed."
"He thinks we should leave for Renais now," Vanessa said, frowning at Innes' lack of elaboration. "He wants to go after Eirika. I think we all do." At the mention of Eirika, Seth had looked up from the fire, but he had almost immediately resumed his staring.
"It's not possible," Cormag argued, crossing his arms. "Half the army can't even stand, let alone make the trip to Renais."
"Present company included," Forde added, rather darkly. "I don't think I could take three steps without falling over."
"Half the army is around the fire," Innes returned sharply. "I don't know why some of us couldn't go, and wait for the rest."
"Valter is after the Sacred Stone of Renais." Seth's voice was low, almost a whisper. The fire crackled louder than he spoke. "In order to reach it, he needs the bracelets worn by both Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika. He has one. Any attempt on our part to rescue her will likely succeed, but it will be at the risk of losing the other bracelet to Grado."
"General Seth." Vanessa's tone asked for approval.
"Vanessa."
"Have you considered the possibility that once Valter has Eirika's bracelet, he will no longer have need of her?"
"It has. I doubt that will happen." Seth's face was grim, and the firelight didn't make it look much better. "If Ephraim doesn't have the emotional ties to draw him to Renais, he may make the rational choice and stay far away, out of Grado's reach. But Prince Ephraim isn't thinking rationally right now."
"The people of Renais have been through so much already," said Gilliam, almost sadly.
"Vanessa, did Natasha or L'Arachel say when they think we'll be able to leave?" Cormag asked. The Pegasus knight shrugged.
"If I know L'Arachel, and unfortunately I do, she's just as ready to go as Ephraim." Rennac grimaced, putting down his plate and shaking his head. "From a professional standpoint, we probably should wait another day or so."
"What kind of professional standpoint, exactly?" Innes asked sourly.
"Mine."
"Yours!"
"Good, you're catching on." This was more sarcasm than usual for even Rennac, and he stood before he dug himself in any deeper with the Prince of Frelia. "Evening." He slipped away to one of the darker corners of the large room to sleep. Forde desperately wanted to follow him.
It wasn't long before the cavalier dropped off right there beside the fire.
Ephraim was awake again. He could tell mostly because being awake hurt more than being asleep. Still, there was light making its presence known through his closed eyes this time. Light meant the sun was up, and daybreak meant the possibility of leaving.
He opened one eye, looking around slowly. Natasha was asleep nearby, closer to the far wall, and Kyle and Tana were sitting on either side of the door, dead to the world. He noticed Knoll, too, curled up in a corner. Standing at the single small window of the room was a short, redheaded boy.
"Oh, hello," the boy said, noticing Ephraim was awake. "Should I wake Natasha?"
"No, let her sleep." Ephraim forced himself to half-sit up, ignoring the dizziness. "She probably needs it."
"Yeah. Everyone's tired, after yesterday." The boy sighed, rubbing his shoulder. "You hungry? Neimi, Franz and Dozla are making breakfast, and it smells wonderful from the hall."
Mildly surprised, Ephraim noticed he was hungry, and thirsty as well. "I would love some breakfast," he said, smiling at the thought. "I don't want to make you bring it to me, though. I'll go get it when it's ready."
"Ambitious of you, Prince." The sage, Saleh, stood in the doorway, the barest hint of a smile on his face. "I see Ewan's been…keeping you company."
"He only just woke up, Master Saleh. I didn't do it." The boy—Ewan—grinned and stepped back toward the window. "It does look like a beautiful day outside."
"Speak quietly, Ewan. Everyone else here is still sleeping." Saleh regarded Ephraim for a moment, then seemed to shrug. "If you want to join us for breakfast, you're welcome to, of course. If not, I'll send Ewan back with something for you. Let's go, Ewan." The little mage hurried out of the room ahead of Saleh, racing to get to the food first.
Ephraim sighed. He knew he could certainly try to get all the way to the fire, and breakfast. He just didn't know if he would succeed. He was mostly sitting up—and regretting it—when both Kyle and Tana stirred. Kyle was up first, though he looked around, once standing, like the room had perhaps deserted him in the middle of the night and become somewhere else. Tana spent a few seconds more on the ground, waiting to get to her feet until she remembered where she might be.
"Ephraim!" she said almost loudly. Kyle raised a hand in an attempt to get her to be quiet—he had seen Knoll and Natasha, still asleep—but she wasn't paying him any attention. "Why didn't you wake us?"
"I doubt he wanted to be shouted at this early," Kyle muttered, leaning back against the wall. "I'm certain the others don't." By this point, Tana had also seen the sleeping shaman and cleric, and her voice fell to a more normal level.
"I'm sorry. I was just…worried, I guess…"
"About Eirika?" Ephraim asked, effectively offering Tana a way out. In all honesty, he was worried about his sister, too. And he knew that the more he could keep Tana's mind away from him, the sooner she might leave and let him make his attempt on breakfast.
"Yes, of course, but she can take care of herself." Kyle raised an eyebrow at the note of uncertainty in the Pegasus knight's voice. "I was more worried about you."
Ephraim put all his effort into a smile. "Well, nothing to worry about. Saleh came in a little while ago to let me know there's breakfast waiting out at the fire for us." Kyle looked steadily at Ephraim for a few seconds, then nodded once, slowly. He walked out of the room, leaving Tana staring after him. She looked annoyed.
Ephraim sighed. He knew he had to think of something, especially before either Natasha or Knoll woke up, too. "You're not going to join him? You must be hungry."
"I'll wait and eat with you, Ephraim," Tana replied, still glaring at Kyle's retreating back. "You're probably hungry too." She looked at him, her expression softening. "I'll go get it for you if you want."
"Oh, no, that's…I mean…I'm not really hungry right now, Tana." Inwardly, he groaned at his words. Still, it was the best he could come up with. He was growing steadily more distracted by the effort of sitting up. "You go ahead and eat. I'll let someone know if I get hungry."
"…Are you sure?" Tana looked down the narrow hall, then back at Ephraim.
"Of course I'm sure. You go eat…" Ephraim's smile widened a bit. He had found his solution. "Achaeus is probably hungry, too, isn't he? He worked just as hard as we did yesterday."
"Oh! You're right!" She practically flew down the hall, towards the fire and her Pegasus. Ephraim laughed quietly for a second, stopping when it started to hurt. It didn't seem fair to use Tana's Pegasus against her, but he was losing precious time. Between Knoll being a rather light sleeper and Ephraim himself losing energy by the second, he didn't know how much luck he was going to have.
Still, he had to try it. He sat up the rest of the way, waiting a long moment for the dizziness to fade. He took a quick look at the two who slept across the room. Satisfied that they were still asleep, he shifted to his knees.
Sharp pain caught him in the stomach, and he fell back again, hoping his sudden gasp hadn't woken anyone. When the pain had diminished enough for him to look around the room, he sighed in relief. They both slept still.
He hadn't gone unnoticed, however. "Prince Ephraim," said a low, worn voice. He looked to the doorway; Duessel nearly filled it. "A valiant attempt."
"You wouldn't expect anything less of me," Ephraim replied, quite content to just sit now. Here was perhaps the one person he wouldn't mind asking to bring him breakfast.
"No, though I do expect a bit more common sense." Duessel's smile belied the tone of his words, and Ephraim grinned. "Vanessa flew out again about an hour ago, to see if she could find anything. Is he truly after the Stone of Renais?"
"Yes," Ephraim said darkly, his face hardening into a scowl. "I heard a little more about what he's put Eirika and her army here through, while the three of us were wandering around. Kyle was more than happy to supply me with the information."
"And?"
"He's inhuman."
"I assume you don't mean Sir Kyle."
"No, I don't, but don't let him hear you call him Sir anything. He'll start in again with how I shouldn't be on the front line in a battle, the way he did last night." Ephraim shook his head. "I honestly don't care right now whether Vanessa finds anything or not. We need to get to Renais."
"You know that. I know that. The girl out there waving the staff around and ranting about vanquishing certainly knows it. But the rest of your sister's army…"
"Isn't so certain we should leave just yet," finished Saleh from the doorway. "Good morning again, Prince."
"Please, just Ephraim. You don't go around calling Eirika 'Princess,' do you?" Ephraim almost regretted asking that. He was afraid the answer might be yes.
"Not many of us, no." Saleh slipped past Duessel, looking once around the room before returning his gaze to Ephraim. "Decided not to join us after all?" The shadow of a smirk appeared on his face. "I asked Ewan to bring you a plate."
"Good. I'm famished." Ephraim turned back to Duessel, recounting for him bits and pieces of what Kyle had told him about Valter. Saleh listened for a moment or two before crossing the room to Natasha and Knoll. He knelt and gently shook the cleric's shoulder. When he was certain she was awake, he did the same for the shaman, who woke with a start. He let out a quick breath when he recognized Saleh.
"Don't do that," Knoll grumbled irritably.
"He's just not a morning person," Ephraim called. Ewan had run in only seconds before with a plate full of food and some water. He had run out again immediately, looking almost relieved. Ephraim would have said something, but he was too busy eating.
"You're awake, Prince Ephraim?" Natasha asked sleepily. "How do you feel?"
"Hungry," he said between bites. Duessel laughed heartily, heading out the door again with a wave. "I missed most of the action last night, I presume. Everyone else is standing but me?"
"Cormag won't be getting off the ground for a while."
"I'm not sure you could call what he was doing 'standing,' either." This voice was Franz's. "No, I'm not coming in, just passing by. I feel bad for Amelia, all beat up and having to spend the night with L'Arachel." He left with a grin.
"Colm and Ross aren't much better off than Amelia," Saleh added, shaking his head. "You aren't the only reason we're averse to leaving."
"We have to." Ephraim was finished eating, and all he really wanted to do next was sleep, but this was more important. "I don't want that scum anywhere near my sister."
"You shouldn't go anywhere." Natasha's voice was soft, almost as though she didn't want to be heard, and yet she did.
"It's obvious what your wishes are," Knoll argued, a hard edge in his voice. "I vote with you, Ephraim. We should head to Renais."
"If it's a vote…everyone should. Vote, I mean." Ephraim could feel the fog of sleep fighting its way into his head again. He knew he wasn't making much audible sense. "So…go ask."
"Of course." With a nod, Saleh walked through the doorway, leaving Knoll and Natasha—now openly on opposing sides of the debate—with Ephraim. The two of them began a heated, if quiet, discussion, and Ephraim found he couldn't pick up much of it, hard as he tried.
"How early is it, anyway?" he heard Knoll ask.
"Just after sunrise, it looks like," Natasha answered quietly. Ephraim heard her soft footsteps, thought she said something else, and heard her leave. After that, he was asleep.
On the western side of the fortress, the shadows were still long. Fog was still clinging in places, and it was chilly. Artur actually had to put on his extra robe to sit outside. Lute, beside him, didn't seem to be bothered by the cold at all. She was just staring straight ahead, toward the lightening horizon.
Marisa was several yards away, also in shadow, practicing with her sword. This fascinated Artur, who considered himself rather bright for knowing which end of the sword one was supposed to hold on to. Artur had watched her for a while, but guilt had led him back to watching Lute again.
She stared at nothing, really. Just off into the distance, which he might have considered typical of Lute if it hadn't gone on all the previous night and continued from when she woke up an hour or so ago.
"Lute, come on. At least say something. I feel bad enough already." And it was true. Artur felt terrible about being happy someone had finally shut the mage up, and he felt even worse now that it was lasting longer than it should have.
"Artur," Lute said in reply, lightly, as though they were starting a new conversation.
"What is it?" He smiled expectantly as she turned to look at him.
"Hi."
This, of course, made the monk worry even more.
"Artur!" said a cheery voice behind him. He looked over his shoulder and suppressed a sigh as Tethys sat fluidly on his other side. "What a pleasant surprise." The dancer raised an eyebrow in what Artur strongly suspected was a suggestive manner. "Admiring Marisa's…swordplay, are you?"
"Gerik had no more duties for you?" Artur returned politely, not mentioning that it was her fault Lute wasn't herself.
"That rogue is on the other side of the fortress, curled up in the sun like a satisfied cat!" Tethys sounded indignant. "He ate early and just up and went outside to nap. Again."
"I'm not sure Rennac would appreciate—"
"Artur!" Lute was looking at him again, and this time she sounded urgent.
"What is it, Lute?" he asked. Tethys pouted at being ignored.
"You have to know!" This wasn't the Lute he knew, certainly. She rarely if ever spoke with this much turbulent emotion.
"Know what?"
"Eirika's in danger!"
Artur sighed. "Yes, we know that. You were there yesterday when Valter carried her off."
"That's not it! She—" Lute stopped, blinked a few times, and resumed staring off into the distance.
"She what, Lute? Come on, tell me!" But there was no reply from the mage.
"Wonder what's bothering her," Tethys said from his other side. Artur sighed yet again, then got up, pulling Lute with him. "Where are you going?"
"Inside." Half-dragging Lute behind him, Artur did his best to storm back into the fortress. There wasn't much spirit in it, though.
Marisa's eyes flickered in their direction, but her series of strikes and parries didn't miss a beat.
He put his hand on the rough wall. It felt warm, despite the cold of a typical desert night. His fingers traced the bumps and dents of the wall, ran over ragged edges of what had once been fine drapery, and stopped when they were blocked by another wall, by the corner.
He couldn't believe they had raced all the way here, only too arrive too late. The palace was in ruins, the Stone was destroyed…and the Queen was dead. And now…his shoulders felt heavier. He knew he could have—should have—done something. Acted faster.
Never left.
The sound of something quiet made him look up, and he turned slightly toward the sound, just enough to make out Natasha standing there, the light of sunrise slanting onto her face and robes.
"Joshua?" she asked, not to confirm that it was him, but to make sure it was all right for her to be there. He wanted to tell her to leave him be, that he needed some time by himself, here in his old home. The home he should never have left.
But he couldn't. Not to Natasha.
"Do you ever wonder what became of your family when you left Grado?" he asked. The cleric looked taken aback, but she came farther inside the ruined palace, considering her answer.
"I haven't seen my family…since joining my order. I hadn't heard from them in months when…when I left. But I'm sure they're…well, as good as I can expect."
Joshua turned back to the wall again, leaning his head against it this time. This had been the entrance hall. How often had he run through here, as a child, against his mother's wishes but in perfect agreement with his own? How many people had passed through here on the way into the palace itself?
And now, it was ruined and burnt. His home and what remained of his family…all of it was gone.
"Natasha?"
"Yes, Joshua?"
The myrmidon's hands were clenched into fists, and his eyes were closed. He didn't turn away from the wall as he spoke. "How…how could I have…left her? How can I have just walked out on my only family? I…I could have been here…"
Warm arms wrapped around him, and he opened his eyes, startled. "You could have."
"But I wasn't. The Queen…my mother…she…"
"You could have been here. But what if you had stayed? I would most certainly be dead by now. Eirika might have failed in her quest long ago, if you weren't there that day in Serafew. …You would have burned here with the rest of the palace."
"No. I would have fought!"
"Your mother must have fought, too, if she's anything like you."
"One person can't possibly be so important to the world. My presence hasn't changed a thing about Eirika's journey." Joshua couldn't decide between being angry or crying, both of which were relatively uncommon for him.
"…It's…it's not fair, is it."
He let out a long breath, turning around and returning Natasha's embrace. "No. It isn't."
Neither knew how long they stood like that. The sun had risen considerably higher by the time both of them finally let go.
"Don't you have a prince to be hovering around?" Joshua asked, trying to give her a playful smile.
"You mean besides you?" she replied with an equal attempt. "…Oh! Ephraim! I…well, I didn't forget, but…oh, who knows what ideas…"
"Come on. Let's go head him off before he moves the army out without us."
"What do you think?"
"I think it's beyond me. Don't give me that look! You know full well my limitations."
"I don't want to hear any more about your limitations! I want results!"
"You know very well we can't have one without the other." This…was a third voice. Calm. Direct. "Stop yelling."
"I'm not yelling!" The first voice. Yelling.
"Yes you are!" The second voice. Yelling, too.
"I will not take any more of this!"
"You're a fool, Valter! Even more of a fool for going after them directly!"
"It worked, didn't it!"
"Blind luck and idiocy saved you."
"That's it!"
"Don't you raise your lance at me!" It sounded deafening now.
"Both of you are imbeciles." That calm voice again. Then another sound.
"Now look what you've done! He's gone!"
"What I've done? One of these days, Valter!"
"One of these days what?
"You'll find out." There was grumbling, and the sound of someone walking away very loudly.
For a long time, there was silence. She waited until she thought she was alone to open her eyes.
"Well, well, well." Riev's unsightly face smirked down at her. "What have we here."
Eirika scowled. She wanted very badly to spit at him, or perhaps to draw her sword and run him through. Entertaining these thoughts almost made her smile.
"Something funny, Princess?" he asked mockingly. "I find it very funny that we have you and your little bracelet, and your brother will be coming for you, wearing his."
Eirika desperately wanted to laugh now, but she didn't dare. Still, she fought to sit up and look at her wrists—if they'd taken it, things would end far sooner than she thought.
Pain exploded in her left side, and Riev laughed when she cried out and fell back down. The long scratch on her face began to sting, too, and her head was throbbing.
"Poor little Princess. That's what happens when you take on the Moonstone, girl." He laughed some more, the end of his staff striking the ground. She scowled at that, too; Riev was just as vile as Valter. Staves didn't suit evil people.
"I trust I'll be able to leave you here. You don't look like you'll be going anywhere anytime soon." Still chuckling to himself, Riev walked out of the room.
Eirika sighed, then winced when that hurt, too. She had no idea where she was, only that Valter and Riev must have taken here somewhere far from Ephraim and the others.
So it was those two yelling at each other, before. I wish I could remember more of what they said…my head's killing me. Eirika's thoughts wandered once again to where she might be. What little she could see of the room she was in spoke of luxury, and whatever sort of bed she was on was very soft.
She looked around as much as she could without moving. There was a low, dusty end table beside her. The only thing it held was a small painting of two children. The boy was drawing on the ground with a stick; the girl was standing next to him, flowers in her arms, watching him draw.
Eirika's eyes widened. She knew that picture—Forde had given it to Ephraim several years ago. He had given her one as well, of the two of them wading in the river.
"I'm in Renais castle," she whispered, looking back up at the ceiling of her brother's room.
After a while, she tried getting up again. She did her absolute best to ignore the stabbing pain in her side, and was most of the way standing before it became too much for her. She sank to her knees on the floor, holding her side with both hands.
Glass clinked together, and quick footsteps retreated from the room. Eirika looked up fast enough to see a greenish blur round the corner; there was a silver tray holding a pitcher of water and a plate of food on the floor just inside the door.
This brought to her attention the fact that she was, in fact, very thirsty, if not all that hungry. Somehow she managed to reach the food, though she nearly blacked out more than once on the way.
I'll eat first. Then I'll think about what I should do. This is…this is home, after all. I know it better than Valter ever could.
"We're going." Ephraim's voice made it clear that he would accept no more arguments. It was already afternoon and, in his mind, nothing had been done. He didn't care if they had to travel through the night and for several afterward. They had to get to Renais.
"What are we going to do with Amelia, Colm, Ross and Cormag?" Forde asked, his last attempt at getting Ephraim to change his mind. "We can't just leave them here, but they can't walk or ride."
"Sure they can," Ewan offered brightly. "They can ride with the supply convoy."
"An excellent idea," Ephraim agreed, and the mage grinned at the praise.
"Only if Prince Ephraim accompanies them," said Seth with the shadow of a smile. Ephraim sighed. It was bad enough having to conduct this conversation while holding himself up between Kyle and Saleh.
"I can walk myself," he insisted stubbornly.
"Ephraim." Innes' voice was less steely than Ephraim had ever heard before—directed at him, anyway—and the sniper met his rival's eyes stonily. "I despise you. That doesn't mean you get to overwork yourself so I can't ever beat you."
Ephraim just stared. This was Innes, being…concerned? Well, now I've seen everything. Eirika must have been having quite a trip. With another soft sigh, he agreed, very reluctantly, to ride with the others.
"So we're going?" Franz asked hopefully.
"We're going," Duessel confirmed. "To Renais."
Everything was loaded and readied as quickly as they all were able. Ephraim stared out at the desert, at the ruins of Jehanna Hall, and then in the direction of Renais.
"Do us the honors, your highness," Forde said with a smirk. Ephraim smiled back; with one hand on his lance and the other in the air, he motioned forward.
"Move out!"
That's the second chapter. Any thoughts?