Chris: Here's a new update! Now you'll be able to see what happens next between Fiora and Rachel! And what new plans Nergal has in store for everyone! Read on and enjoy!
Chapter 3: Mistaken
Callista paused outside of Rachel's house, her hand half-raised to knock on the door. The purple-haired knight lowered her hand slowly, scared to have to tell Rachel's brother that he was alone. Fear and uncertainty struck her and she was compelled to just turn around and let the kid discover Rachel's death by himself. But she couldn't turn around. It wouldn't be fair to Rachel or to her brother. Nervously, she knocked twice on the wooden door.
"Coming!" An enthusiastic voice answered her knock and Callista felt her stomach plummeting. How would be she be able to tell him? It was impossible. How could she ever explain that Rachel was dead?
"Hi Callista!" Rachel's younger brother, a bright-eyed youngster with a mat of blond hair that spiked all around his head opened the door. He peeked behind Callista and frowned slightly. "Where's Rachel?"
Callista ignored the question, instead bustling inside and shutting the door before any more of the chill wind could move inside. Taking off her woolen gloves, she mock glared at Rachel's brother. "Samuel! You should be in bed!"
"But being in bed is boring!" Samuel whined. "I can take care of myself!"
"Sure you can." Callista snorted and ruffled his spiky hair. "Get back into bed. That's the only way you'll be able to get better. You don't want to throw up again, do you?"
"No…" Samuel said. "It was disgusting."
"Good. Then get back in bed." Callista pushed the young boy back towards his room. When she heard the lock click, Callista immediately headed for Rachel's room and walked towards her dresser. Pulling out one of the drawers, Callista pried open a secret container that had been installed. She pawed through the various knick-knacks, things that the both of them had collected in their travelers. An interesting-looking rock from Bern, a bow crafted by the nomads of Sacae, a small medallion that they had found in the markets of Lycia. Callista pulled out another momento and her eyes misted over with tears. It was a simple, ink portrait that the two of them had obtained in Etruria. On the spur of the moment, after a successful mission, Rachel had suggested that they get a portrait of themselves done. Callista could still remember that moment, with all the sights and sounds. The sound of Rachel's cheery laughter as they strolled through the streets of Etruria's capital, the frantic chatter of various merchants and shopkeepers, the delightful smell of roasting meats.
"Callista? What are you doing?"
Callista turned around, clutching the portrait close to her chest. Samuel was standing there, sucking on his index finger (a bad habit he could never get rid of). He walked up to Callista and looked at her confusedly.
"What's wrong, Callista?" He cocked his head to the side.
"Oh…Oh Samuel…" Callista dropped the portrait and hugged Samuel tightly, tears falling out of her eyes. "Samuel…I'm so, so sorry."
---
"Rachel?"
Rachel stared at the woman in front of her, trying to place a face with a name. It was obvious that this person knew who she was, so they must've met somehow. A list of faces ran through her mind and she finally managed to remember who she was. "Fiora? Is that you?"
"Rachel! I thought…I thought you were dead!" Fiora gasped out, still stunned by the events.
"I thought I was dead myself. But Nergal saved me." Rachel replied.
"Nergal?" Fiora exchanged glances with a man that Rachel didn't know and another pegasus knight that Rachel immediately recognized as Fiora's younger sister.
"That can't be right. Nergal wouldn't save someone without some sort of purpose." The man said, shaking his head. "No, the Nergal we know would never save another's life. He is too ruthless for something such as that."
"What are you talking about? Nergal was nice enough to save my life and he also gave me these new clothes! I have no idea what you are talking about, but I won't let you insult my rescuer like that." Rachel picked up her lance and pointed it at Fiora. "Draw your blade, Fiora."
"Rachel, what are you doing?" Fiora asked frantically. "Don't you remember? Nergal was the person who hired you and your friends to die! Don't you know that?"
"I wouldn't have died if the mercenary's guild had decided to send more people to accompany me! The Guild sent me to die so that I would be a martyr for the other Ilian villagers! I will not die for some other person's sick reason!" Rachel retorted. "For all I know, you could be trying to use me for some ulterior motive!"
"W-What?" Fiora looked stunned, unable to reply to Rachel's statement.
"Rachel…?" Florina spoke up, her soft voice quivery in the silence.
"Shut up, Florina! You shouldn't even be here! You're only an apprentice knight! You're not qualified for regular missions!" Rachel pointed her lance at Florina and the shy pegasus knight froze. "Go back home and earn your right to fight with the best!"
"I don't know what's going on here, but I'd like it a lot if you would calm down for a while." The man stepped out, his hands palm forward in a gesture of peace. "Maybe we can resolve this in a peaceful manner. It wouldn't do to have more bloodshed."
"Maybe…" Rachel lowered her lance, gazing suspiciously at him.
"Good!" He clapped his hands cheerfully. "Now, how about we get our facts straight. Let's start at the beginning. Rachel, which I assume is you," He motioned towards Rachel, who nodded, "was hired by Nergal to eliminate Eliwood and his army, correct?"
"Yeah…"
"I believe you tried a surprise attack on the army when one of our archers spotted your descent and fired at your troops, correct? And then you retreated."
"After losing one of my fellow knights." Rachel said angrily, glaring at the man.
He looked pained. "I'm sorry, but that is the law of battle. People are going to die. Anyway, afterwards, Florina rose up to challenge your group and you, Rachel, left to take on Eliwood. That is where you met Fiora. You and Fiora fought for a while before an archer shot you down. You crashed into the ground and we believed you were dead. Apparently, we weren't correct in our assumption." He shrugged slightly and looked at Rachel. "Is that what you remember?"
"…" Rachel closed her eyes to recollect her thoughts. Her blurred memories of the battle were starting to become clearer and it seemed as if the man had been correct. As the vision of the battle sharpened, Rachel realized that their mediator had been the tactician that had ordered Eliwood's troops in battle. Her eyes snapped open and she took a step forward towards him, half-raising her lance again. "You…You were the tactician that was leading Eliwood's troops!"
He backed away, staring warily at Rachel's upraised lance. Fiora and Florina quickly stepped in front of him, blocking Rachel's progress. The tactician sighed and tapped Fiora on the shoulder. "It's okay. I don't believe she's actually going to kill me. You remember your thoughts easier now. Do you remember anything else about that day?"
"I remember…that our reinforcements never came…" Rachel offered unconsciously, speaking slowly. "I remember feeling that I was betrayed, that I had been ordered into battle to die. I…I remember seeing my friends dying all around me." Her mind snapped out of its dazed state and suddenly everything came rushing back into her mind. "I remember seeing Nergal's grin as he watched us go! I can see his smirk, laughing at us! As if he knew we were going to die out there!" She clutched her head in torment and staggered backwards, her lance dropping out of her hands.
"Rachel?" Fiora stepped forwards, but the tactician restrained her, shaking his head.
"Don't. This is her time."
"But…" Fiora looked at Rachel, who was shaking her head furiously, trying to clear out her mind from the cobwebs that had been haunting her for the past day.
"Agh!" Rachel fell to her knees, letting out a harsh scream. Her hands slipped off of her head and fell to the ground, hanging limply. "…I remember everything now."
Fiora cast a worried look at the tactician. He nodded wordlessly and she immediately dashed to Rachel's side, Florina in tow. Fiora put her arms around the younger girl, shaking her slightly. "Rachel? Rachel? Are you okay?"
"Yeah…" Rachel's hands balled into fists and she looked upwards, her green eyes blazing with anger and rage. "I'm perfectly fine." She shrugged Fiora off of her and stood up, grabbing her lance.
"Hold it. What are you doing?" The tactician stepped forward, his eyes narrowed with concern. "Stick with us. If you confront Nergal, I have no doubt that he will kill you. We can make everything work out. Let me just bring you to Eliwood and Hector and I'm certain they will accept you as a new soldier to our ranks. You'll be given enough money for anything you need."
"…" Rachel paused, remembering her younger brother at home. However, for the same reasons as earlier, she shook her head. "No. I can't do that. If people ever hear that I joined Eliwood's army, they will believe that I am a traitor. I cannot sacrifice the reputation of Ilia's knights for my own sake."
"To the abyss with reputation!" The tactician cursed. "Don't be an idiot! We can always change your name! Don't throw away your life! You owe everyone in Ilia that much! Which do you think they would prefer? A living soldier? Or a dead one?"
"In my case…" Rachel paused, not looking at him. "A dead one. I better leave right now. Just one question. What is your name?"
"My name?" He looked slightly outraged at the seemingly purposeless question. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Tell me." Rachel said. "I need to know."
"It's Theo." The tactician replied.
"Thank you." Rachel bowed briefly before turning to leave.
"Hey! Wait!" Theo yelled.
Rachel paused. "What?"
"Why are you doing this? Surely the decisions of one mercenary don't determine the decisions of every mercenary."
"In my case, it does. Now, let me go. I have no further words to discuss with you." Rachel left, leaving everyone else behind. Theo was about to chase after her when Fiora took him by the shoulder. He spun on her, his hazel eyes burning with confused anger.
"Please don't stop her. You're not from Ilia. You don't understand the situation she's in. If she were to join us, no matter what we could do, Nergal would certainly report this breach in her contract. Word would spread across Elibe and it wouldn't be long before everyone believed that Ilia's mercenaries don't honor their contracts. Her name would become reviled across Ilia. By going forward to die, Rachel is doing what she believes is best for Ilia, no matter how much it may hurt herself." Fiora threw a compassionate glance at the tactician.
"The best for Ilia, huh?" Theo spat on the ground. "Come on, Fiora, Florina. We can't do anything else here. Let's get back to camp. Just one thing, though…" He turned to face the two Ilians. "If I ever catch any of you trying to throw your life away for the 'good of Ilia', I swear, I will do everything in my power to stop you. I never liked seeing my friends die and I won't start liking it now."
---
Rachel sped towards Nergal's ruins, pushing her pegasus as fast as he could go. Her lance was gripped so tightly in her hands that her knuckles were white with strain and her eyes still smoldered as she remembered the treachery that had been wrought upon her by Nergal. Her earlier thoughts of gratitude towards the druid had vanished completely, replaced by a burning hatred that could only be appeased when he was dead.
When she arrived at Nergal's ruins, the druid himself was waiting for her, a knowing smirk on his face. Rachel immediately changed her course, aiming for the druid with a fierce expression of glee on her face as her lance plunged closer his heart. At the last second, however, her pegasus came to a complete stop, jolting Rachel off the reins and catapulting her off onto the hard stones. She used her momentum to get into a quick roll that enabled her to get back on her feet, albeit a bit unsteadily.
"Thyme? Why?" Rachel gasped, looking at her pegasus, who was now nuzzling Nergal's shoulder.
"Your pegasus is just grateful to me for saving his life. Don't worry. He's still your mount. He just won't attack me, that's all." Nergal said, smiling. "I see that you've remembered. Took long enough for your addled mind to get back on track."
Rachel said nothing as she charged at Nergal. However, she was unused to ground combat and Nergal was able to disarm her with a quick move that left Rachel stunned. Nergal snapped the lance in two and threw the broken pieces at her. "Silly girl. Don't think a weakling like you will be able to kill me. The only reason you're alive today is because I found your will to live very strong. I could just as easily kill you. And then your quintessence would be mine, easy to craft into a being who would follow my every command." He smiled wickedly and looked at Rachel appraisingly. "Of course, I find deceiving people much more satisfying. Don't you?"
Rachel screamed angrily and ran at Nergal again, swinging a fist as she tried to punch him. Nergal only laughed and grabbed Rachel's arm, planting a palm on Rachel's stomach. "Flux."
Rachel was immediately blasted away by the magic, crashing down hard on the stones. She spun to a stop, panting heavily as blood leaked out of an unseen wound on her stomach. The rest of her body was nicked with numerous scratches and cuts and her skin was growing a dangerously pale color. Nergal walked up to her, kneeling down and smirking. "You're fun to play with. I think I'll enjoy using you for a little bit longer."
He planted his palm on Rachel's stomach again, smiling pleasurably as he saw Rachel squirm under his grip. A golden light flowed out of his fingertips and slowly filtered into Rachel's body. Rachel quieted and lay still as the light continued to flow into her. Nergal removed his palm when he was done and smirked. "It certainly isn't as satisfying as before, but I think this will do. Rachel, arise."
Rachel's eyes snapped open and she slowly picked herself off of the ground. The wounds on her body had disappeared and her skin had regained its normal, healthy tone. The only difference was that her eyes, which normally shone with a vibrant, emerald color, were now duller, as if a transparent curtain covered them. Rachel licked her lips before looking at Nergal.
She bowed deeply, looking submissively at the druid. "I am at your command, Lord Nergal."
Chris: What will happen to Rachel next? And how will Fiora, Florina, and Theo cope with seeing Rachel under Nergal's control once again? And what about Callista and Samuel? You'll just have to wait until I update this again! Which shouldn't be long, actually…
Leave a review please! Tell me whatcha think!
