Chris: Totally blame Writer Awakened for this one. Actually, blame his fic, Ilian Men's Knights Brigade. It made me think of mercenaries. Thanks a lot, WA. I'm going to hunt you down. Just kidding. I wouldn't do that. Anyway, read on!
Note: Don't own Fire Emblem. And there's a little part about the Men's Knights Brigade. It's not required reading, but read WA's fic anyway. It's freaking hilarious, even if it's a little…perverted.
Chapter 1: A Mercenary of Ilia
It was hard living in Ilia. Fierce blizzards and heavy snow all year round, with no sign of warmth or sun. The fields were choked with ice and sustained no life besides a hardy weed that was of no use whatsoever. Ilia was a farmer's nightmare, with only few areas suitable for growing some sort of food. It was a harsh land and its inhabitants were equally as harsh. Why they chose to make a life in the forsaken country, nobody knew, but Ilia was their home and its citizens would never abandon it.
'Why must we continue living here?' Rachel, a pegasus knight of Ilia stared out of the frosted window of the Knights' Headquarters. She gazed at the barren land, the perpetual frown on her face as she thought about why she and her friends were to suffer the harsh snows of Ilia. 'Is it our fate to be bound to this living hell?'
Rachel took a glance behind her to look at the other pegasus knights that were gathered around. They were having fun, playing a prank on one of the new girls to join their order. She stifled a sigh and brushed back her braided, wheat-blond hair. The only things that came out of Ilia were mercenaries, mercenaries who would fight for pretty much any cause as long as they were paid enough to send home to Ilia. It was a dirty trade, a trade in lives, but it was this trade that helped the villagers continue living. It was the only path that was open to them.
"Hey Rachel, why the gloomy face?" Callista, another pegasus knight and a good friend of Rachel's, stepped up and looked at her friend, smiling broadly. Rachel looked at her good-natured friend, a tall teenager with medium-length purple hair and sparkling brown eyes. "Don't worry. We'll bring back enough money to pay for your brother's healing."
"I know that…" Rachel whispered. Her brother had come down with a sickness a couple of days back and she had been scraping up every last coin she had to pay the clerics to heal him. She took in a deep breath and let it out in a deep sigh. "Callista, why do we have to continue living here? Why don't we move to somewhere else, like Bern or Sacae? It has to be better over there."
"Why? Well, this is our home." Callista responded, looking slightly confused. "And it's not like it'll be really easy to move. We might have to leave our pegasi behind."
'We'd have to leave everything behind. But it's not like we've ever had much…right?' Rachel thought.
"Besides, we should be grateful that we don't have to work with the Ilian Men's Knights Brigade. I heard that they have drawn pictures of pegasus knights and spend the whole day just dreaming about sex and food." Callista whispered, shuddering slightly. "It would be horrible to have to work with them. Can you imagine? Every day, they'd be trying to grope us."
Rachel managed a wan smile. "I don't doubt it. The Men's Brigade doesn't really have much to do, since they have nothing special to offer us. I don't think there's a single good warrior in the whole lot."
"There! That's the Rachel I know!" Callista grinned and hugged her friend quickly. "Anyway, I came to tell you that you have a mission today. I just received the message. Some sort of big shot druid on Dread Isle is asking for mercenaries to turn back an assault of some sort. You're going to be leaving with the rest of your wing. With enough luck, you'll get paid enough to have enough money to heal your brother!"
This time, Rachel's smile was pure. "Whew, that's good news to hear. Dread Isle, huh? Wasn't Fiora dispatched there earlier? At the request of some Lord Pent, right?"
"Yeah. I wonder how she's doing…" Callista was thoughtful, thinking about the teal-haired pegasus commander.
"Same here. She was one of the best here. When she returns, Ilia will prosper." Rachel said. "Still, I wish there was some way I could leave. I can't stand living like this anymore. We get no respect and live no better than the animals. It's hard enough trying to stay alive in this hell. How can we continue living like this?"
Callista's smile disappeared as she thought about her friend's words. "I don't like saying it, but you've got a point. We barely even eat, since all our food goes to sustain the villagers. Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I even envy the Men's Brigade. At least they seem happy."
"It doesn't take much to please a man." Rachel replied dryly and the two of them laughed. "Anyway, enough of this dreary talk. I'm set to fly. When I get back, we'll see what we can do about moving out of here."
"But what about our families?" Callista asked worriedly. "I don't think I can raise enough money to take my parents with me. And I don't want to leave them behind her. It would be the gravest dishonor to abandon one's parents. And what about your brother? He can barely move, let alone walk."
"Don't worry. I've been planning this for a while. I've managed to scrape enough money to get both of our families out of here." Rachel looked pained for a second. "And…if I don't come back, I've hidden the money at the back of my drawer. You know, where we keep our little mementos."
"Heh, show me when you come back. You're too good to die out there. I'll be waiting for you." Callista patted her friend on the back one last time before turning to leave. "Bring back lots of money! We're counting on you!"
"Hah! No problem. I think I can handle this." Rachel responded, laughing. She walked towards the stables to saddle her pegasus, thinking of when she would be able to return and leave Ilia forever. But…things never work out how they're supposed to, especially when left in the hands of chance.
---
Rachel shuddered briefly as she envisioned her employer in her mind. The man who had hired them, Nergal, was, to put it simply, hideous. A worn, black turban was wrapped around the greater portion of his hair, with only a small shock of green to show that he actually possessed hair. The turban dipped over his right eye and she could see the veins that throbbed around the eye, pulsing with some sort of magic. She would have sworn that he was insane, except he sounded like he was in the right state of mind when he commanded him to kill Eliwood, a lordling of Lycia, and his companions.
'Killing a noble…For some sort of madman. How low have the knights sunk? We can't refuse the job because he offered such a humongous sum and already paid most of it in advance. So we're duty-bound to follow his orders. That's it. After this, I'm leaving the mercenary life forever.' Rachel thought determinedly as she grasped the leather reins she held in her hand. Nergal had sent her little troop to a couple of ruins near the center of Dread Isle, where she was to be commanded by a Sage named Aion, who looked just as ugly as Nergal. She was currently hovering behind a small range of mountains, gripping her lance tightly in her hand.
Her pegasus let out a nervous whinny and she stroked his head reassuringly. "It's okay, Thyme. Don't worry. We'll be okay."
"Here they come!"
"Let's go!" Rachel spurred her pegasus onward, waving her lance at the other pegasus knights. They followed her lead, flying over the mountains and bursting upon small army that had materialized beneath. She dived downwards on the unsuspecting soldiers, intent on following her orders, no matter how repulsive she found them to be. As she was diving, however, an arrow nicked the side of her face and she quickly reversed her dive to get out of range. "Alert! Archers!"
Two of the other pegasus knights heard her warning and managed to halt their dive before they could be attacked. However, the third pegasus knight didn't manage to adjust and an arrow struck her mount, sending the both of them in a long plummet to the rocky hills below them.
"Dammit!" Rachel always hated losing a fellow soldier, especially one that had been following her orders. It made her feel incompetent and weak. She never liked feeling incompetent and weak. "Knights! Regroup!"
The remaining two pegasus knights joined up with her. 'This is stupid. My group is too small for a job like this. Why did Nergal hire us? Surely he knew the size o f Eliwood's army. It's as if he hired us so that we would lose…Maybe he wanted us to coordinate with the rest of his army.'
She looked at the point where Aion's mages were to attack. No one was there. She could only see empty grassland and plains in front of her. A sharp lance of fear stabbed in her heart and she felt like turning tail. Only the thought of her brother stopped her from fleeing the battlefield. 'No way. Why hire soldiers just so they can die? That can't be right.'
"Rachel, what do we do?" One of her fellow knights yelled at her.
"Uh…" Rachel's legs felt weak and she had to grip extra tightly on Thyme's reins. "H-Hold steady! They can't attack us from the air! We still retain the high ground if we stay up here. Pick your fights carefully and make sure you win! Remember, we are Knights of Ilia! Our families are counting on us!"
Rachel looked down at Eliwood's army. After the initial surprise of the attack, his army had quickly gotten organized and a man she recognized as a tactician had split up the army into two groups. The main group, the one that contained Eliwood, was to move south around the mountains to tackle those soldiers. The secondary force, a small group containing at least one archer, would keep an eye on the pegasus knights.
'Tall odds. Too tall.' Rachel thought to herself. 'But maybe…'
"Opposing pegasus knights!"
'What?' Rachel's head snapped up as she spotted a familiar-looking girl heading towards her on a pegasus. One of her own soldiers moved forward to deal with the newcomer, yelling a battle oath. Rachel squinted, trying to spot the identity of this pegasus knight. 'It's Florina! But what's she doing here? She's only an apprentice knight! She isn't even qualified for regular missions yet! Dammit, why?'
She motioned to the other pegasus knight and the two of them charged at Florina, who was, amazingly enough, beating back her opponent. As she reached the orchid-haired knight, Florina defeated her opponent with a quick thrust through the stomach.
"Go after Eliwood! I'll handle Florina!" Rachel's remaining companion charged straight at Florina, her lance positioned for a killing strike. Rachel wanted nothing more to stop her, but all she could do is watch as Florina barely managed to dodge the attack. "Go, Rachel! Remember our families in Ilia!"
Rachel nodded, turning her pegasus around and heading for the main attack force that was moving on Aion. The blond-haired knight gulped and refused to turn around, knowing that if she did, she wouldn't be able to turn back. 'We're fighting our own people. Our friends. How did it ever come to this? Why must we live like this? Why can't we be free of this curse? Why do we have to fight?'
"Rachel?"
Rachel looked up from her reverie and felt her heart stick in her throat. Flying in front of her was Fiora, the commander of the 5th Wing of pegasus knights. Fiora had been her friends and one of the main reasons that Rachel herself had become a knight. She had never held any motivations for being a knight, but Fiora had convinced her. And now she was going to have to fight against her. It was so sick. They were fighting for the same reason, yet they were fated to face each other in combat.
"Hello Fiora." Rachel nodded, tightening her grip on her lance. "I guess…this is it, huh? For Ilia…"
"Rachel, please, we don't have to fight. Throw down your weapon. I can get Eliwood to pardon you. You can join our army." Fiora said, her lance pointed to the ground.
Rachel laughed humorlessly. "Listen to you, Fiora. You of all people should know better. If I were to surrender, what would that say to the rest of the world? That the Knights of Ilia are cowards? We wouldn't get hired. Our reputation would plunge. All because I wanted to continue living. What is more important? One life? Or the life of a whole country?" She pointed her lance at Fiora's heart. "Well? No matter the circumstances, we are mercenaries of Ilia and our number one loyalty is to our employers. Raise your weapon, Fiora."
"Very well, then." Fiora nodded, flicking a strand of hair out of her eyes. "For Ilia."
"For Ilia." Rachel nodded, before spurring her pegasus onwards. Fiora met her charge and deflected Rachel's thrust with a quick parry move that put Rachel's lance out of line. As quick as lightning, Fiora followed up with a sweep of her lance, smacking Rachel's back with the wooden haft of the lance. Rachel coughed and quickly turned to get ready for another round.
"Hyah!" Rachel screamed as she charged at Fiora again, aiming her lance to the right of Fiora's heart. Fiora once again met her attack and repulsed it, scoring a heavy gash across Rachel's side. Rachel gasped in pain but didn't let the wound distract her. Halting her pegasus, she swept her lance in a wide-angle arc, colliding against Fiora's weapon. Rachel grimaced and recovered, turning her body out of the way of Fiora's next thrust.
"You've gotten better." Fiora commented quickly as she brought her lance back close to her body.
"I had to." Rachel replied, watching Fiora warily. "There was no choice." She immediately dived under Fiora, intent on distracting Fiora by getting out of her line of sight. However, she never got that chance. As she was diving, an arrow flew out of nowhere and struck her pegasus's left.
'A second archer?' Rachel thought frantically as Thyme let out a great whinny of pain. She tried to help her mount get steady, but another arrow flew up from the ground and lodged firmly in her side. She bit her lip to restrain from screaming and she struggled with the reins. Dimly, she was aware that Fiora was at her side, trying to help her remain in flight.
However, all of her efforts were in vain as Thyme crashed into the ground and Rachel was tossed off of him. She flew in the air momentarily before crashing onto the hard earth, hearing the familiar snap of cracking bones. The arrow in her side snapped and Rachel winced as more pain flooded her as the remaining stub of wood was driven deeper into her body. She stopped rolling and faced at the sky, breathing shallowly. The pain in her side was excruciating and she couldn't seem to move her arms.
Rachel closed her eyes, accepting her fate. Still, a few tears couldn't help falling from her eyes as she thought of her family back home. 'Brother…Caroline…I'm sorry…'
There was movement at her side, but Rachel didn't feel like opening her eyes. In fact, she didn't feel like doing much of anything…
---
Nergal smiled to himself as he walked down the bloody battlefield. "Certainly not the results I wanted, but fruitful nonetheless. Some of these fighters have great quintessence. Perfect for creating my morphs."
He stopped in front of the body of a pegasus knight, her blond hair matted with blood. The druid kneeled down next to her and lifted her wrist, feeling for a pulse. His eyebrow rose and he regarded the fallen pegasus knight with a small measure of respect. "Still alive. A strong spark of life. I wonder if she will be usuable…"
Nergal lifted the bloodstained body off of the ground. "There is always a chance. And if she should die, then I will just use her remaining life essence to craft myself a Morph. Certainly not a high-caliber morph, but an acceptable one at least."
The pegasus knight's chest rose by a miniscule fraction, still breathing after all of the wounds that her body had suffered. Nergal smirked and examined the most dangerous of the wounds, a broken half of an arrow that had entered her side. It wouldn't be too hard to cure, but it would require some work. Nergal quickly used his powers to warp back into his castle, where he laid the body on a cold, stone table.
"Now, my dear…Tell me…What binds you to life?"
Rachel's lips moved. "For Ilia…"
Chris: Stupid story idea. I swear. I planned on making this a one-shot, with Nergal killing Rachel and taking her quintessence. However, now it's something totally different and now I'm totally motivated to update except I don't think I'll update that fast and now I'm totally confused and stuff. Oh well. It was awesome writing it, because it seemed like my fingers were moving of their own volition. Like they were sentient beings…OMFG.
Drop a review please and tell me what you think! Hopefully, I'll keep this short. (Yeah right.) And chances are I'm going to make Rachel the person that does all my disclaimer stuff, because I'm tired of saying it myself. I'm lazy.
