Act 4: Reality Betrayed

Princess Lena never knew sleep was such a good thing before, but at this moment, she realized how heavenly it was. As she lay in the bed, watching the sun rise, Lena felt so refreshed from yesterday's brutal battle. But she did feel guilty as well. Should she be so peaceful while her people suffered under the waves of such turmoil?

After breakfast, Lena and her party prepared to leave for Wellest. After some discussions, Ronald also persuaded his grandfather to let him go with his new liege. Now, he happily stood, with his backpack and his bow. Lester accompanied as well, since the cathedral which he worked in was in Wellest.

The village elder has prepared much provisions and supplies for their gratitude. Even though Lena assured him that they would fare well without them, the elder insisted on.

"One more thing, milady. Please, take this item with you. I had it since when I was young, but now, I think it should belong to you."

"What is it?"

"This is called "Ivory Arrow." It is a magical item which would imbue a power to anyone who excels in bows."

Lena could do nothing but to thank.

"Please, it is just a trifling sum compared to what you have done for us last night. May your journey be well and safe, milady."

Lena set out once again to her wandering with a lighter heart. At least, she knew that many people still believed in her.

The walk to Wellest was not as boring or arduous as it has been before. Joined by two more companions, Lena found that she finally had some new people to talk to. Evan was always poking fun at Alyce, who would retaliate with flurry of punches, and it was true that that was not really fun to look at. She instead had an interesting conversation with Lester, who turned out to be a serene and gentle man. The subject was mostly about what he did and about Wellest.

"…and so that's why I first came to the cathedral and began to work as a healer. Of course, people were always kind to me whenever I visited their houses for medical or spiritual aid. This life surely is a blessing from the light."

Lester dreamily said, as he walked down the road next to Lena.

"That sounds so wonderful! Wellest must be a great place to live. Do all people believe in the graces of the light?"

"Almost all of them do. In fact, they all take great interest in my sermons, which I make every once or so. You will definitely find them charming, milady. The mayor will provide with a safe place to recollect your thoughts."

Lester smiled peacefully. Lena felt happy that at least someone was peaceful in mind, and be perfectly happy. Perhaps, the revolution had not taken everything yet, she thought.

Couple of hours later, the party came to a hill that led them upwards.

"Ah! This is it, milady. Over this hill is Wellest. The cathedral I work for is considered rather sacred, so why don't we-"

All of a sudden, the healer's face paled into the look of utmost horror. The party stared at their destination, which was engulfed by flame and smoke. Chaotic screams issued from everywhere.

"No! Wellest must be under attack!"

Lester frantically shouted, and before anyone could stop him, ran towards the city.

"Come on!"

Another battle seemed to await them, yet again.

As the party rushed through the broken city gates, Lena was stunned. Was it a de'ja vu? She was reminded of Salone, in a smaller version. Yet, what made her really surprised was that some of the attackers, who were running about unchecked, were in Metician Army uniforms. They were making havoc, along with the militia.

"You! Soldier! Name your position and rank!"

Evan shouted at the nearby Guard, who was torching a house. He turned, and a look of a horrifying zeal came upon his face.

"For Lord Merovine! For Rionism!"

With that, he lunged at Evan with his lance, catching him off guard. Alyce quickly threw a javelin, knocking him down.

"What the HELL! Why…they belonged to our national army! What's going on? Why are they…?"

Evan shouted panicked, steadying his horse.

Lena felt dizzy. Was this the trick of Rionism again? She calmed herself, and took her sword out.

"Let us find out later after we calm this riot down. For Meticia! Yaahh!"

The last army of Meticia charged into the fray.

Meanwhile…in another part of Wellest….

The fury of the mob was raging in the northern streets. Everywhere, men were killing, laughing, and screaming, wreaking havoc. Only one person was unaffected, though. In front of a cathedral, a young woman in a clergy's robe was trying to talk to one of the rioters. She had a long, indigo hair and orange eyes, and held a tome in her hands. Currently, a look of great despair and pleading was upon her beautiful face.

"Please…listen to me! This is not the way of the light! All you are doing is causing more evil in this world, and-"

The man snarled.

"Listen, lady. What have you done to us, heh? Have you promised us better lives? Have you promised my starving children food? All you have done is to talk! Nothing came from the light!"

"But I did-"

"Forget that religion! Now die!"

The man tried to swing his sword. The woman, startled, quickly muttered an incantation with her hands on her shining tome.

"In the name of the light…Ray!"

A sparkle of light burst in front of the man, incinerating his body. He fell slowly onto the road. Choking a sob, the woman ran into the cathedral and closed its doors. She sank onto the floor, and began to cry.

"No…what have I not done? Have I wronged them? Could I have done anything better? Oh, light, please tell me what this means…"

The woman's wails echoed in the empty church.

Unknown to the woman, however, there was another soul who was not being affected by the ongoing chaos, either. Now, this woman was in another building, surrounded by her former men. She was wearing cavalry armor, though she couldn't get to her horse yet. She had a green hair with one ponytail tied with a hair-band and red eyes. Gripping her steel sword, the commander glared at the traitors. Soldiers were currently trying to persuade her.

"Please, commander. You must see the wisdom in this revolution! This is a great chance to rebuild our nation, a paradise where no person is inferior any other! Please, lead us in this cause."

One soldier pleaded, while other men nodded.

But the commander's indignant face was unchanged.

"You traitors! All you are doing is to destroy everything we have built in our lives! Can't you see this is not the paradise you speak of, you MORONS!"

She spat, and soldiers sighed.

"Very well, commander. You leave us no choice."

A scuffle followed, and though the commander fought valiantly, she was outnumbered, and soon was overpowered. Now, lying on the floor, all tied up and gagged, she was struggling all her might to get free. The traitors left her in the stable, with the door locked. Perhaps, though unlikely, her former comrades like that irresponsible Evan might come to help, she thought. But that would be really unlikely. She continued to struggle, but without avail.

Lena's party came to a crossroad. In both paths, they could see havoc being wreaked.

"We have no choice, but to split up. Ronald and Lester, follow me! Evan, will you take the other path with Alyce?"

Lena shouted as she took off one path with the said people. Evan sighed, and kicked his stirrups.

"All right, fat-face, it's you and me. Try not to fall behind."

"I'll be right behind you, asshole."

Alyce gritted her teeth as she charged.

The first party-Lena, Ronald, and Lester came to a crowd of men in Imperial uniforms. Glee was on their faces, as they plundered and burned. Lena could not see anything; burning with anger, and despair, she swung her sword into the back of a Militia, his spine snapping in two. Two guards turned, and with a cry of rage, thrust their spears in. Ronald put an arrow in one's head, but the other Guard managed to stab Lena's stomach. The princess fell with a sharp pain, and was immediately rewarded with another as the Guard smacked her head with the butt of his spear.

"Princess! Use this sword that I found in the chest!"

Looking up, Lena saw Lester poking his head out of a nearby house, and he threw a heavy-looking sword. Lena caught it, and without moment's hesitation, swung it at the guard. Surprisingly, it not only cut through a sturdy armor, but also snapped the lance in two. Lena looked down to see that she had an armorslayer. Lester quickly stepped out, and healed her wounds.

"Are you all right, princess?"

"I am. Thank you so much for the sword."

With a renewed vigor, she charged once more. This time, she saw a mob besieging a cathedral. Every once and then, a strange sparkle of light would burst in front of them, hurting them constantly. (A light magic attacking through the wall…)

"NOOOO! That is the cathedral I am working for!"

Lester paled in absolute horror, and forgetting that he could not fight, he charged at the men, who were now ramming the door with heavy furniture. Whacking his staff, Lester tried to bat away the surprised crowd, who had never seen a healer attack with a staff. Rushing to his aid, Lena and Ronald easily dispatched the panicked mob, which scattered.

Lester banged at the cathedral door frantically.

"Sister Celine! Are you not harmed!"

"Brother Lester? Is that you?'

The door cautiously opened, and a frightened and worn face appeared. Its owner-Sister Celine (Acolyte, Lv. 5)- was trembling badly. Lester smiled.

"Thank the light you are safe!"

"Brother Lester…I…I…"

With that, Celine broke into another sob.

"Our neighbors, Lester…They all turned against us…"

"It's all right now…"

Lena and Ronald watched sympathetically. Will another suffer from this revolution?

Meanwhile, on the other part of the street, Alyce and Evan were back-to-back, fighting off the mob. With a new heavy spear he found, Evan stabbed a guard in the chest, and swerved around to trample a soldier trying to stab his horse. All the while, Alyce was swinging her lance, occasionally punching those who came too close.

"Your fists have gotten fatter, Alyce. Or are my eyes deceived?"

Evan snickered. Alyce couldn't believe he could come up with a crude joke at a time like this.

"They have grown stronger from punching you all the time, idiot!"

Alyce's lance suddenly snapped, and she went for an instant headlock and flipped over a militia. He went flying, screaming, into a nearby garbage can.

Evan gulped, and edged away from Alyce until he was galloping away.

"Hmm, chicken."

Alyce smirked as she delivered an uppercut into another enemy's chin. Strangely, she didn't really hate Evan's teasing. Has she gotten use to it? Or was it just her mind playing trick on her?

She shrugged, as she executed a half-nelson and a knee-drop at the same time.

Evan galloped until he came to a stable on the corner of the street. He was quite freaked out indeed. How was he supposed to know Alyce could wrestle? Perhaps he made a dire mistake for picking on her from the first time. Will he survive afterwards? He didn't know. Evan saw a soldier standing guard at the stable, and charged. His lance punctured his heart, instantly killing the soldier. But at the same time, his lance snagged something.

"Hmmm, a door key. Perhaps, something is inside in this stable."

Evan dismounted, and opened the door cautiously. The light fell upon a young woman, who was straining against her bonds.

"Ah! A damsel in distress! I must be in luck!"

But taking a closer look, Evan gasped.

"Sasha? Is that you?"

"Mmmmph!"

The ex-commander struggled, and Evan quickly undid her bonds, only to receive a slap.

"That's a really quick way to untie me, Evan. It took ten seconds. You could've done it under five."

Sasha snapped, as she jumped up and grabbed her sword and javelin which were lying on the high shelf nearby. Evan looked flustered.

"Gee, Sasha. Aren't you at least glad to see your former squad-mate?"

"After all that trouble you caused to me? You have no idea what you are missing."

Quickly, Sasha (Dragoon, Lv. 5) jumped on her horse and galloped out of the stable. Evan just stood, stupefied.

"Great. Just great. Now, not only Alyce is going to pay me back, but that Sasha will also get me, too. Boo-Hoo!"

Alyce meanwhile ran up the street, trying to look for that moron Evan. But hearing a scuffle in the nearby block, she stopped to have a look.

It was a female Dragoon, fighting a band of rioters. Unlike Evan, who relied much on power, she instead seemed more agile, using such trait to her advantage. Sasha casually thrust her sword into a militia's head, while she held a javelin in her other hand to plunge it into another enemy. An archer tried to shoot at her, notching an arrow in his bow. Yet, Sasha leapt from the horse and did a summersault, while the arrow whizzed straight below her. Landing back on the saddle, she simply trampled the pathetic man with her horse. Watching all this, Alyce stood awed, while Sasha rode by.

"Are you with them, or with me?"

"Oh, I'm with the princess. She is here personally, and I am her escort."

Alyce responded proudly.

"Princess? Here? I must get to her and inform the situation! Do you need a ride?"

"Sure."

Alyce scrambled behind Sasha, and they took off down the street.

Soon, the pair approached a worn-looking princess, who was covered in soot and blood. Ronald, Lester, and Celine followed her, looking quite exhausted. Alyce dismounted, while Sasha saluted.

"Princess! Sasha Levine of the Wellest City Guards reporting in! Current situation seems under control, and the rebels have been subdued for the moment."

Lena wearily nodded.

"At ease, commander. What happened here? Was this an attack from outside?"

Sasha's face fell.

"No milady. There was a large mutiny in Wellest. Militia and even my men rose up against the authorities, and…most of us who resisted were killed."

Lena stood silently for a moment. She found nothing to say. But she knew she had mistaken. The reality was much graver than she had thought.

"We should've seen this coming, milady. Even the soldiers were affected by Rionism. They are, after all, people like us."

Evan said, trotting up the street. Ronald suddenly cut in.

"But given such effect, there is no saying how much of the Metician army has defected to the rebels. The other cities could've have fallen already."

"I...I can't believe it. I always thought people held their beliefs most sacred. But in one promise to change their lives, all things overturned…"

Celine said gravely. All said nothing, lost in their thoughts.

Alyce spoke up suddenly.

"What shall we do now, milady? We are all at your command, but we cannot stay here. The rebels will certainly return, in greater numbers."

"Ay. But we cannot guarantee our safety in any part of Meticia now, can we?"

Ronald asked. Lena seemed thoughtful.

"We shall head south."

"South?"

"South, milady?"

Lena nodded.

"We shall try to cross the border into Terabius. Duke Larson was most helpful to our cause in the past years, and I will try to get help from him."

"The most direct path will take about two days, milady. We shall be with you to the very end."

Sasha said. All others nodded in grim assent

As sun set behind them, Lena's entourage slowly headed south, away from the city. Lena looked back to see Wellest for the last time. Amongst the ruins, charred my smoke and fire, she could almost hear the cries of those lost, and sorrows of those who suffered. Holding back her tears, the princess continued on, vowing herself that one day, she shall return to restore peace in her land.

This was a bit longer than the former chapters…

I think some parts in this story was a bit weak, but nevertheless, I tried to make it as exciting as possible…

And two new chicks, Sasha (Cross Kent with Kyle) and Celine (A bit like Natasha from FE:SS)

R&R!