I was jamming out to some of my tunes that were downloaded onto my phone. I had managed to keep the darn thing charged by having one of the mages use low voltage thunder tomes on it. It was shocking to me that I hadn't overloaded the battery yet, but I was grateful nonetheless.
"I can't remember anything. I can't tell if this is true or dream. Deep down inside I feel to scream. This terrible silence stops me~" I sang along with the song.
I must admit that as a kid, whenever my dad came home from active duty, he would listen to heavy metal with me. It brought some nostalgic feelings for my childhood. I missed the times I would spend hours just listening to my dad's favorite songs with him. My mom didn't like it as much though, and preferred to listen to pop instead. I try to keep that kind of music to myself nowadays, since I didn't think any of the Heroes around the castle would appreciate it that much. I imagine that it would be too drastically different from the kind of music they probably listen to.
There was a knock on my bedroom door. I place my phone on a small end table next to my bed. I answer the door and found Marth. I was glad it wasn't Gustav or Henriette because otherwise it would have been even more awkward for me. I politely greeted him only for another part of of the song to play.
"Hold my breath as I wish for deeaathhhh! Oh please God wake meeeeeeeee!~"
Marth now looks like he's slightly uncomfortable and I honestly couldn't blame him. I smiled at him awkwardly. "Kiran…?"
"Oh… Sorry about that. My taste in music isn't to everyone's taste I guess. I have a device that lets me listen to lots of music. It does other stuff in my home world, but I mainly just listen to my favorite songs on it nowadays."
"I-I see… Anyways I was wondering if you were available to train with me today. I know you have been busy for the last few days but it's important to keep training your skill with a blade. We all worry about your safety."
"I agree that I should continue trying to find a fighting style that would work for me… However, I am waiting for His Highness' summons. I will contact you as soon as I'm available to spar with you."
Marth politely nodded in understanding. Marth was the type of guy who was super polite and probably wouldn't speak ill of any of his friends and allies, even if they deserved it. I honestly felt bad for basically blowing him off, but my dumbass miffed the King so now I've been running several campaigns under his watch. There was no end in sight either but I obeyed every order that was given to me. Needless to say, the knights regiment was suddenly more effective now. I was being tested to my limits, but I was curious to see what his ultimate goal was.
"My apologies for interrupting you. I wish you luck on your audience with King Gustav, Kiran."
"I'll need all the luck I can get. I've been running so many campaigns for him, that I could ask for a month's worth of vacation from Anna. Actually, that sounds kinda heavenly right now. I don't know when was the last time I actually had time off. That settles it! Alfonse and Anna owe me a vacation after all of this is sorted out."
Marth laughed in agreement. He then bid me farewell and left. I sat down on my bed and listened to the rest of One by Metallica. I really liked the song and the song sort of spoke to me in a way since it was about a man who loses their arms, their legs, and their ability to see and hear after being injured by a landmine. The man was basically living life as if he was already in hell and he wanted to die. As a child growing up around military vets, I knew several people who had lost a lot while 'fighting the good fight.' Some had lost one of their limbs, others lost comrades and now bear the trauma of watching someone's head explode. Quite literally, in fact.
Hell, while I haven't fought in the war myself, I still had to witness so much death… Gunthra's death still haunts me to this very day. It wasn't everyday that a person can get a front row seat to see a princess get burned alive. It wasn't even a seat that I had even wanted.
I sighed as the song changed to Face Down by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. I shook my head at myself. Apparently, today was the day that the shuffle function decided to revisit my emo goth phase. I definitely was the living breathing version of that edgy fourteen year old. It was kind of cringy in every sense of the word, but I still get a sense of nostalgia from some of the music. I then imagined showing Alfonse and Sharena my old photos and I giggled at how I imagined them to react. Though, I would never show it to Anna. It was already bad enough that they were floating around my facebook page back home, I didn't need Anna trying to sell photos of my awkward teenaged self dressed in full black complete with a spiked collar, black makeup, and belt chains to the rest of the Order. I literally looked like I was going to join the Black Parade or like I was pacing the pews in a church corridor ala Panic At the Disco back then.
My nostalgia trip didn't last very long however, and I got another knock on my door. It was Soren. Of. Freaking. Course. This guy… is like my arch rival and he can be extremely infuriating when he wants to be. Most of the time he acts like a jerk to me. In some weird twist of irony, I also respected him for his tactical prowess and for his loyalty and devotion to Ike. I'm dead serious, this guy knows everything about Ike. Ike probably doesn't even know Ike more than Soren does. He also likes shove the fact that he is the better tactician right to my face all the time.
"Hello, Soren. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" I asked as politely as I could while using my customer service voice.
"Kiran… what in the world are you listening to? It's so awful it's giving me a headache." he complained.
"Ugh… fine! Siri play 'Despacito' on ITunes" I barked at my Iphone. Siri, being my loyal assistant, obliged without a single complaint. The song starts and Soren just looks at me like he was in actual physical pain.
"Turn that damned thing off!" he snarled. I paused the song. I know it was petty of me to act like this, but damn.
"Alright. No music, no distractions. Im taking it that the purpose of your visit was not to talk about rainbows and kittens?" I ask semi seriously.
"You know exactly what I'm here for Kiran. Stop overworking Ike."
"Oh that's what's been bothering you? Dont worry about it. Ike is a good man and a good warrior so I'm giving him the week off. I might extend his offtime later, but for now I have a few heroes covering for him."
Soren looked at me like I had been possessed by the devil or something. He legitimately didn't believe the words that were coming out of my mouth. "But…when did you do that?"
"Well ever since I've started working with you, you've mentioned a few quirks Ike has and I've started to notice them too. Like that twitchy eye thing he does subconsciously when he is not feeling well. I may not be the best tactician, but I do my best to make sure that Heroes are well taken care of. I don't care how good Ike is. If he's not feeling well, I'm not going to field him."
"So you've actually paid attention? I'm almost impressed, Kiran."
"I'm not a monster, Soren. I respect Ike wholeheartedly. I respect your dedication to him. I still have a lot to learn, but I think I am much better than from when I started. I couldn't have done it without the support of my fellow tacticians. Mock me if you want, but I am going to be the best tactician in Askr. You cannot stop me" I say adamantly.
"You have a long journey ahead of you, then. I am the superior tactician here and I won't be weighed down by 'bonds'."
"I will reject that line of thinking, and substitute my own. Ike is a good example of how bonds can strengthen people. I doubt that you would think of him as weighing you down and yet, your relationship with Ike is stronger than steel."
Soren pauses for a moment and then he scowls at me. I smirked at him knowingly. I had won this round. I was about to gloat when Eír arrived at the scene with a sealed envelope in her hand.
"Kiran, King Gustav sent me to give you this. When you're finished with it, report directly to him"
"Ah yes, perfect timing Eír! I'm in a real bind but this should make things better… I think." I said optimistically as I slowly opened the letter.
Upon reading the letter, I could feel myself grow pale. The undead army had grown thrice in size, and a new plan needed to be drawn immediately. It was quite challenging to contain the enemy to the gateway while also trying keep the amount of allied deaths to a minimum, but I was doing everything I could. I quickly scrambled around my room grabbing various items like parchment paper, ink bottles, and feather pens. I honestly wish I still had my bic ballpoint pens, but I had ran out of ink in all of my pens and the technology to make the pens probably wouldn't be available until about a few centuries in the future. It's kind of crazy how much I took certain technologies for granted until I arrived in Askr.
Warm baths? Those had to be boiled in a cauldron over a roaring fire… and then dumped into the bathtub. Climate control? If your ass wasn't covered in blankets huddled next to a fireplace, then winter in the castle was freezing. In the summer? No air conditioning. I'm more used to the heat, but I would prefer to not die of heat stroke thank you very much. I've even tried to make my own food here on several occasions but the kitchens in the castle are completely different from home. I honestly missed my gas stove.
Anyway, I began to hastily draw the plans with my quill with varying results. There were areas were the ink would come out in splotches, but most of it was legible enough to understand. I then rushed to the barracks and grabbed my main cavalry team. I then grabbed a horse of my own and started to head out. Before I could leave, I could hear a voice calling out for me, followed by the sound of hooves head in my direction.
"Kiran! Waaaaaiiiittt! What's going on?" Alfonse shouted out as he rode up on his white horse. It was odd seeing him ride on it because the only time I've seen him ride a horse to battle was during the spring festival tournaments.
"Alfonse! Why are you following me? Shouldn't you be resting?" I was quite surprised that Alfonse even knew I was out mobilizing the Four Riders.
"I'm not going to watch as you go out on your own without protection, Kiran! Besides you haven't answered my question yet!"
"The gate needs reinforcements so I'm directing the cavalry to take on key areas and push the enemy back." I answered quickly
"Kiran please just go back! We need you to rest at the Order!" He pleaded
"I can't! My hands are tied on this. His Majesty's orders!" I replied
Alfonse didn't look too happy with the answer I gave him, but he knew I couldn't just ignore orders. His face was practically riddled with worry. I appreciated the sentiment, but I really wished he would just go back to his chambers and rest. I may be a big target without a weapon, but I could've just assigned someone else to be my guard.
"Darn it! Fine, but I'm not leaving you out there by yourself! I'm coming whether you want me to or not!"
I sighed as I realized that his stubborn streak was rearing its ugly head at me. There were times where his stubbornness was an asset, but other times it meant that I had to rein him in. Unfortunately, I knew there was no way he was going to listen to me this time.
"Alright… Fine. You can come but you can't join the fighting. You are to stick with me and basically be my prince charming in shining armor. Do not engage anyone unless they are attacking me, got it?"
"Alright, that's fair enough. I'll protect you with all I've got." Alfonse smiled
"You know, if you wanted an excuse to get out of the castle, just ask next time. Im sure I could arrange something for us to do." I lightly teased.
"T-that's not true! I just want to make sure that you stay safe, Kiran. You asked me to a few days ago! " Alfonse blushed
"Oh right… I guess I did say that. You have Folkvangr on you, right?"
"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I carry my sword with me?" Alfonse looked at me with exasperation.
"Last time I saw you on a horse, you were smacking people at the spring tournament around with a giant spoon. I just wanted to make sure you had the proper equipment on you." I joked.
"Kiran that was just one time. Sharena insisted that we use fake weapons instead, remember?"
"Yeah, that she did. Where is she anyway? She would love to stand on guard with us." I ask Alfonse.
"I… I am not sure. She sort of just ran off to one of the watchtowers and said she had something important she needed to do." Alfonse's face scrunched up as he said this
Sharena sneezed as she watched her brother and the Summoner. Alongside her was the resident yaoi fangirl and shipper Nina, who was furiously writing notes on everything they've been observing. Normally, she wasn't into watching a guy and girl interacting but this was one straight ship she definitely wanted to see set sail. Sharena also shared the sentiment and in fact had been the one nudging her brother to spend even more time with Kiran.
"When do you think they'll do it?" Nina asked dreamily
"Aren't we skipping the other steps? Obviously they will wait until marriage! Or at least I would hope so if they do finally get together. Not even my brother is reckless enough to do that sort of thing before getting married!"
"That's not as interesting though. Besides, I've been picking up on her body language and stuff. She is definitely into him and I'm putting my money on it." Nina grinned whilst still writing in her little black book.
"I don't wanna imagine them doing that though. Trust me, if you had a sibling, you wouldn't want to imagine them getting physical with anyone. It's kind of disturbing. I just think that they would be a cute couple and it would be cool to have Kiran as a sister-in-law." Sharena grimaced slight.
"You do know that even if Kiran wasn't interested in Alfonse, he is still the crown prince, right? He would still have to marry and have children eventually. The people are going to want to see him marry a princess right? Right now that leaves four, maybe five other people and all of them except Fjorm would be unrealistic. Two of them are or have been against Askr in the past and Ylgr… she is still a bit too young I think. Not to mention that Eír is currently our prisoner. That leaves Fjorm as the most likely candidate. But we both know that it wouldn't work between them."
"I agree but it all depends on Alfonse. I've been keeping tabs on my brother and Kiran for years though and they fit each other like a glove. But if he doesn't like her in that way, then I- " Sharena stopped mid sentence when she noticed some enemy troops heading straight for her brother and her Summoner. "Nina! I need you to grab the nearest pegasus knight you can find and send them after Kiran! There is a troop of enemies headed their way and Kiran cant fight!"
"Alright, but the next meeting will be at the same time and place got it?"
"Ok, just hurry! We have no time to waste!"
Nina nodded and ran off to go harass as many fliers as she could find. It would all be worth it in the end in her mind. There was no way she was going to pass up this writing opportunity that Kiran and Alfonse presented to her unwittingly.
"Damn it! I'm doing all I can but I don't know if the knights can hold the line for much longer." I shouted over the sounds of swords clashing and magic… magicking. I instinctively pulled out Briedablik as I heard the sound of flapping wings heading right for us.
"Kiran! Prince Alfonse! Princess Sharena has sent us to aid you. There are enemies headed to your location right now." It was Catria of the Macedonian Whitewings. Her sisters Palla and Est were flying with her as well. I grimaced knowing that the enemy would show up in two short minutes if what they say was true.
"We'll have to stand our ground. There's no time to run and I have to stay put anyway. Alfonse stay with me. Palla, I need you to pick off anyone headed from the North. Catria, I want you to go south. Est, I want you to head east. I want all of you to be extra careful of the archers. There have been more of them lately, so exercise extreme caution as you move forward"
"No problem! We've got you covered, Summoner!" Est cheered before rushing towards her assigned post. Her two older sisters shouted out at her to not get over excited but before they knew it, she was gone.
"I'll send someone else after her in a bit. You guys go on ahead." I ordered.
Palla and Catria looked like they were about to protest, but they held their tongues and reluctantly went to the north and south respectively. Alfonse also seemed uncomfortable with my decision as well, but was looking at me to explain myself.
"Al, we can't hesitate right now. All we can do right now is summon someone to go after her. Cover me while I perform the rite" I said as I dismounted my horse and loaded Breidablik with colorless orbs. I was hoping to get a healer of some sort onto field. Preferably a troubadour, so that they can cover more ground and heal Est right away in case her over eagerness got herself hurt.
"Alright. I've got you covered." Alfonse said as he readied his blade.
I shoot the first orb out and a sudden gust of wind began to blow into my face. The wind knocks the hood off of me and my coat fluttered dramatically. Whatever I was summoning must have been a powerful hero. Or… so I had thought. Instead, I had managed to summon Mist. Mist, while a healer and generally a sweet girl, was not a very strong person even amongst other healers. However, I wasn't one to complain since I sort of did just get what I had wanted. I gave Mist the rundown of everything that has happened and pointed in the direction Est went. I lent her my horse so she could find Est faster. Mist then thanked me before she rode off to find the youngest whitewing.
"Kiran do you want to ride with me for the time being? I'd feel better if you'd stick close to me." Alfonse asked as I watched my horse disappear off to the distance. She was such a pretty horse too. She was white with brown spots speckled all over her body and it made me a bit sad to see her go. Unfortunately, this was war and I couldn't afford to be selfish when the lives of innocent Askrans were in danger. However, the thought of sharing a horse with Al and clinging onto him got me all fired up on the inside and suddenly, I wasn't as upset about seeing Slow Dancer leave. Don't get me wrong, I was still upset that I had to give her up, but I couldn't help but feel giddy when he offered. Though, there was one thing that slightly bothered me the more I thought about it…
"Alright, but can I ask you something Al?" I asked as I sat behind him on his white horse.
"What do you want to ask me, Kiran?"
"Well um… Is there a reason why you are being a bit… more protective of me than usual today? I mean I appreciate the concern, but now I am worried that your worried. I know that the battles have been rough, but I'm taking every precaution necessary to stay as safe as I can. I'm not going to do anything too crazy"
"I know you won't, Kiran. It's just that I… I only have one day left to live and I just want to spend it being useful. You made the Order what it is today, and if you died we wouldn't have just lost a Summoner. Everyone would lose their friend. I want you to continue running the Order without me should the curse come to pass." Alfonse paled
"I'm afraid that I will have to disincline to acquiesce to your request, Your Highness. It means no. I won't sit and watch you die like that! I cant run the Order like that… it would be too much for me to handle and I…" I couldn't bring myself to finish my sentence. If I did, then I doubt that he would able to die with no regrets. I wanted him to die blissfully unaware of how I truly felt about him. It would only serve to distract him from our goal. I mean, I don't want him dead but if I can't manage to save him, then I didn't want to unnecessarily worry him more than I already did.
"Kiran I know it's cruel of me to ask so much from you when you've done so much for me already, but I believe that the Order would be best under your leadersh-" Alfonse stopped mid sentence and his posture exuded caution.
Four enemies have arrived at the scene. A lance cavalier, a bow knight, a green mage knight and a blue refrigerator were all coming for us. I began to worry about the Whitewings because they were supposed to pick off the enemy. But the bow knight was probably the reason that some of them made their way to my location. I had another problem though. If I tried to summon another team of four, Briedablik would be pushed to the breaking point. That meant that I was stuck with only Alfonse until I could signal the cavalry team to come aid us. Alfonse was a good swordsman, but a lot of these enemy units were terrible matchups for him. Especially the blue armored knight. It was at that moment that I regretted giving his sword a triangle adept refine. I quickly changed the sacred seal he was using from brash assault 3 to brazen atk/def 3. It wasn't much, but it was something. I really needed to upgrade his toolkit to something more substantial, but it would take too long to fix at the moment.
"Alfonse I want you to avoid the blue refrigerator and lance cavalier for now. I'm going to signal for backup but in the meantime, we'll have to fend for ourselves. Do as I say and we'll live to see tomorrow. Do we have an accord Highness?" I said while lowering my own voice to avoid having the enemy hear what I'm saying.
"Sounds like a perfect plan to me, Summoner." He smiles and gives me the thumbs up.
"Good. Then lets send them back six feet under where they belong, shall we?" I grinned at him knowingly. The prince saw the glint of mischief in my eyes and he knew that this meant things were going to get interesting very quickly.
I loaded some blank orbs that I had Anna make for me specifically into Briedablik. These particular orbs were not meant for summoning heroes, but instead were designed to emit a strong burst of light. While there are few other useful applications for these specific orbs, its main purpose was to act like a Askran equivalent of an emergency signal flare. Anna charged me up the ass to make them too. Practically ate up all of my gold for an entire month. I shot one of the orbs up into the air. The resulting beam of light that was emitting from Briedablik was quite unmissable and to anyone in the Order, it was a signal for help.
I then directed Alfonse to give the green mage knight the stabby stab treatment. Even though she was probably the easiest one to go after, the green mage knight was actually quite tanky for her class and sported close counter, cancel affinity, and hone cavalry as her skills. Her gronserpent tome and her Ignis special was nothing to sneeze at either. Although Alfonse was more than able to cut her down to size, I knew that she could take a few hits before she could 'die' so to speak.
The mage charged her tome and shot a spell at us. The spectral snake form that the magic took swirled around us and bit me. It fucking bit me in the damn shoulder. It hurt like hell, but thanks to my magic training, I had built up a small resistance to magic attacks.
"KIRAN! Are you alright?"
"'Tis but a flesh wound, Milord." I said while clenching my teeth.
"We'll need to tread more carefully Kiran! That dastard…" Alfonse cursed
"Al… I'll be fine for now, but I need you to focus. The only way we are both getting out of here alive is if you listen to me, ok? I promise… I won't let go. So don't do anything rash, got it?" I said as I held onto him tighter. He still felt rather cold to the touch, but being able to hold onto him while I'm riding with him was still comforting to me. It was mildly amusing how I had two puncture wounds in my shoulder but still managed to find it in me to tell Askr's Crown Prince not to do anything stupid. For a man who seems to be so academically smart, he does stupid things that make me want to smack him at times. He's reckless to a fault and everyone in Askr knew it. His intentions are pure and genuine which is why I continued to serve under him even before I became aware of my attraction towards him.
"Alright, but on one condition… never call me Your Highness or Milord again. It sounds weird coming from you. I actually like it better when you call me by that nickname you gave me." Alfonse said while deflecting a blast of gronserpent with his sword.
"A-Al! Now's not the time for banter! Watch out for that lance cavalier!" I stuttered as I yell out.
Alfonse managed to snap out of it and he dodged the attack from the lance cavalier just in time. I ordered him to rush down the green mage so we could turn our focus to the bow cavalier. The bow cavalier was also quite tenacious with his brave bow, firing arrows faster than most archers I have been up against before. Any faster, and he could actually be an undead machine gun.
I was beginning to wish I had my actual gun, but it was at home locked in a safe. Ironically enough, the one weapon I had actually knew how to use properly is at my apartment. I can't use sword or a tome good enough to save myself but using a gun was natural for me. Not that I had ever used a gun to actually defend myself, but being a 'military brat', my father decided that it was important to teach me how to use one. I guess that's one reason that Briedablik felt so… right in my hands. It felt the same as shooting one at a shooting range, but with a few key differences. Briedablik didn't have much recoil to it and it wasn't as loud as my 9mm handgun. I only had a few hypotheses as to why it was like that, though my main guess was that less force was being applied when shooting Breidablik. Perhaps the inner firing mechanisms were different from what a conventional gun would have. I was pretty sure there was magic involved in it somehow… but that gave me more questions as to how it was made, and why it was made using this particular design.
Alfonse struck the green mage knight with his Folkvangr several times. Her left arm was severed after he had landed a successful blow on her using his special Ignis, but no blood came out. It was just lopped off of her body. The mage simply held onto her tome like it was no big deal to her. There was no blood curdling scream, just a stoic stone cold look on her face. It became quite clear to me that the bodies fighting on Hel's behalf were just empty husks. Or at they very least, not in control of their own bodies. It was kinda more disturbing to look at than when I had seen living people getting their various limbs cut off.
The green mage then retaliated against us and the spectral serpent tried to bite Alfonse. Luckily for him, his weapon type and his armor kept him safe and unharmed. The mage shot out another serpent at us powered up by a fully charged Ignis which barely missed us. Alfonse finished the job and I praised him for his work.
"Now all we need is to defeat that archer and then avoid the lance cavalier and the refrigerator."
"Tell me why do you even call them refrigerators again?" Alphonse asked me whilst fighting the bow cavalier.
"I'll tell you later! Right now you should try luring him over through the trenches over there! That should slow them down!" I pointed at the trenches that were over to the east. They looked old as if they were dug there years ago in a different war and were left largely unused afterwards. It was funny to think that trench warfare could be an actual tactic used in this world. In my world, trench warfare was commonly used in World War I when modern warfare was still in its infancy.
"Right! Got it!" Alfonse replied as he directed the horse to move towards the trenches.
"Just be careful, Al. The trenches will slow us down too since we are on a horse."
"Agreed. It seems a bit dangerous to try to maneuver in the trenches by horse though. Do we have any better options?"
"Not really, unless you want to go through the trenches by foot." I scoffed.
"Then that's what we'll do! Kiran, when we get to the the trenches, we will run through them by foot!" Alfonse declared
"Alfonse have you gone insane? They will catch up to us eventually if we do that!"
"No I've got this just trust me!"
"You better have something cooking in that brain of yours then! If I die, I'll become a general for Hel just to spite you! Make it count!" I yelled as we went straight into the trenches.
"Don't worry! I'll open the way!" He shouted as he intercepted the bow knight and began slashing at him.
I was now hiding myself in the trenches, holding onto my shoulder with my other arm. "Damn it where is Veronica and the others?" I cursed to myself.
The bow knight began to volley more arrows at me. And I managed to to dodge all but one which grazed my right ear. Great. I was still bleeding from my shoulders and the bow cav almost gave me a new ear piercing. I never thought there would be a worse way to get an ear piercing than with a piercing gun at a Claire's store. I was incorrect. I've always wanted one of those earring cuff things, but not like this. I could feel warm blood oozing down my earlobe as I gripped Briedablik in my hands. Perhaps I could've pistol whipped them back to death, but being put in a situation where people are trying to kill you while you're practically unarmed does things to you.
Alfonse quickly took Folkvangr and slashed the bow cavalier several times while he was distracted by the weaponless girl. However, the bow knight left Alfonse a parting shot that buried itself into his sword arm. Alfonse switched hands and killed the bow cavalier. It was rather clumsy, but he managed somehow. I then heard the clopping sounds of hooves headed towards us.
"MAGIC IS EVERYTHING!"
Then I hear the crackling sound of Dire Thunder exterminate the unlife of the refrigerator. This was then followed by Fredrick who told the lance cavalier to "Pick a god and pray".
"Kiran! Are you alright?" Lyn shouted as she arrived at the scene.
"Nah don't worry about me right now. Alfonse is in more need of a healer's attention than I am. He has an arrow stuck in his arm. Where is Veronica anyway?"
"Don't worry about me. If something bad happens to Kiran, then it'll be bad news for everyone. Fix her up first instead" Alfonse said as his stubborn streak rears its head.
"I'm not that important. I'm just the tactician you're the Crown Prince. Your safety is more important!"
Brave Veronica then showed up out of nowhere and used Hliđsjálf to bonk both me and Alfonse in the head. She then rips the arrow straight out of Al's arm and heals the both of us. I guess she just wanted to get straight to the point.
"Princess Veronica is right, you were both being over zealous. It's important to care for each other, but arguing over who should get healed first is ridiculous." Lyn said while still on her horse.
"I'm just trying to make sure Al is well taken care of and protected. I know that I am being a bit selfish but I…" I stopped myself from finishing the sentence. I was just three words away from admitting to everyone that I am in love with the dying prince. It was best that no one knew since Hel was going to collect him tomorrow.
"Kiran? Is there something you're not telling us?" Freddy Bear asked
"It's not important right now. My goal is to keep Hel's army contained. How is everything on that front?"
The Four Riders grimaced. Partly because I didn't answer the question, but mostly because the answer to my question wasn't all too positive. Reinhardt cleared his throat and then he spoke.
"Lady Kiran, we are currently at a stalemate but the defensive line is going to burst at any moment. Thanks to your plans, the knights are suffering less casualties than before. However, the enemy army is still rapidly expanding and there's only so much we can do. We have been taking out hundreds of enemies between the four us and while it seems to relieve some of the pressure we need more Heroes on the field."
"Thank you for the information, Reinhardt. I think we should keep our forces mobile for now and strike where they are weakest. I will focus on forming a brigade of Heroes to send in the meantime."
I then quickly wrote down my next set of orders for the knights captains to follow on a paper, using Al's back as a solid writing surface. I then waited for the ink to dry before rolling it up into a scroll and handing to them Frederick. The White Wings regrouped back and brought Mist and Slow Dancer back with them. Mist gave her back to me and Est thanked me for sending Mist to help her. Things were not great, but it was little things like this that made me glad to serve in the Order. I motioned for Alfonse to head back to Order to help me make preparations for the next battle.
A/N: Hi guys, it's me again. I would like to thank those of you that have been patient with me for the past two weeks. I usually update on Mondays late at night, but since I had actually ran out of prewritten chapters, I've been trying to write more of them so I can go back a semi regular upload schedule. I wont strictly stick a schedule, since I prefer quality to quantity in my writing, and the schedule exists more to keep me from procrastinating too much. Anyway I may start updating every other Monday instead to give me much more time to write. Also, if there is anything I wrote in this chapter that is wrong about stuff like modern warfare, trench warfare, and just the inner workings of guns in general, just give me a polite critique in the review section and I'll try to fix it. I'm not an expert in these subjects and doing google searches can only do so much for you. Think book knowledge vs practical knowledge. Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed everything so far. Also I would like to thank my boyfriend Mellodic Mellodi for unofficially beta reading these for me and helping me come up with stuff whenever I get stuck. Also...Pugi pugi pugi pugi pugi