As we marched ever closer to the gate to Hel, Anna gave us the current rundown of how things were going to be handled. The Knights were now under the command of Queen Henriette and the new captain of Royal Knights. The previous captain had been slain during the previous battle and was now likely fighting under Hel's side. It really was cruel. I had met the captain on a few occasions and he was a good man. He deserved a hero's death rather than the puppet he has surely become.
"What do plan on doing, Alfonse?" Sharena asked.
"Well, Kiran and I have agreed that our next course of action is to go through the gate"
"Are you both insane? We'd have to slip through thousands of undead troops! Do you really mean for us to scout the land of the dead?" Anna asked in disbelief.
"I mean… I might be slightly crazy since I'm the one who even agreed to go to war three times for a country that I wasn't born into in the first place… but I guarantee that this is the best way for us to move forward. It is highly plausible for us to slip through the gate if we are stealthy enough. The Order of Heroes is perfect for an operation like this, right Alfonse?"
"I agree. I have done some research in the library and while I found a few promising passages in the library, none of it was concrete. The best way we can learn about our enemy is to go into her territory."
"I must concede to Kiran's point. We are small enough to conduct an operation. I still don't like it though." Anna sighed in defeat.
"You'll get yourselves killed. Mother wants the annihilation of all life starting with Askr. If you march in there, you are essentially giving her exactly what she wants. She could kill you all as she pleases. She will not be defied." Eir warned
"I don't think that it's so simple. She can kill us all very easily, that much is certain. However, Alfonse and I believe that there's a weakness. Alfonse would you care to explain your hypothesis to everyone here to get them up to speed?" I grinned. My synergy with Al was extremely on point today.
"Gladly. If Hel had the power to wipe out life as we know it clean off the map, then it would be fair to assume that she would have succeeded by now. What this means is that there is a limit to her power. Hel's curse lasts nine days and she has to show her face to lay down the curse and to kill the recipient of said curse at the end of the nine day period. This, combined with the fact that she can only target one person at a time, has led me to believe that she has a weakness. It's only a matter of finding it. I know that this is a dangerous mission, and that we might not come back, but I'm more than confident that Kiran can help us get in and out safely. "
"I won't let you down Al. I will be carefully planning all of our moves and we have Eir. My tactics should at least help keep everyone from becoming shish kabobed by Hel's scythe."
"I think Kiran is right. If there is a good chance that we could defeat Hel, then I am ready to go. Let's go." Sharena said.
"Death can't be defied so easily. Are you sure you have thought this through?" Eir asked quietly.
"We have. If we continue to fight Hel from the outside, our numbers will continue to dwindle and her numbers will grow. The longer we engage her army, the chances of our survival grow ever slimmer." Al confirmed
" The best way to fix that is to infiltrate Hel with a small party of Heroes and avoid fighting her main force as much as possible. We'll be targeting Líf and Thrasir first. We can't kill what's already dead but we can still defeat them and try to get information from them. It's not much to go on but it's much better than continuing a battle of attrition that we obviously can't win" I explained to Eir.
"Do you not fear my mother?" Eir asked weakly.
"Quite the opposite. I'm very much afraid of Hel. But it's as Kiran has said many times before. We can't just sit and wait, cowering in fear. We would accomplish nothing by doing that. We must face the problem head on" Al answered her honestly
"And what about you Kiran? I have seen you struggle the most and yet… your actions from a few days suggest that you do not fear death." Eir said softly, referring to when I shielded Alfonse from Hel.
"Well, I believe that your observation is waaaaayy off. Your mom scares the heck out of me. Let me tell you something, Eir. You are talking to the girl who slept with a spiderman night light on in my bedroom until the age of eight. I was afraid that a monster was hiding under my bed and if I didn't have a light it would gobble me up alive. Your mom's like that except she is not a product of my childhood paranoia and if she wanted to, she could try to actually eat me alive. I don't know how, but she's a death goddess so I am not discounting the possibility. It's just that I've already come so far, it would be a shame if all my efforts went to waste before we had the chance to win"
"Heh… I also used to fear monsters when I was younger. Though I wasn't as dedicated to it as you were, Kiran. It's funny... the things that I have in common with you, I mean. Hel is no product of our imaginations, she is the real deal. We must defeat her and I know we can do it. There is always a thread. If you pull on it, unravels. We just need to find that thread." Al said with determination.
"Kiran… I have a question. Who is Spiderman and why did you have a nightlight of him?" Sharena asked
"He's a comic book hero with super powers that are spider themed. He has super strength equal to that of a spider, he can climb walls and shoot spider webs to fight crime. I can't go into further details, because we're about to head into enemy territory. Just in case you haven't noticed already"
Eir sighed to herself in defeat. I guess she knew all too well that when both Al and I were set in our plans and ideas, there was no use in arguing. Our stubborn streaks were definitely coming out in full force.
We continued to slowly make our way through the onslaught of the undead soldiers while we made our journey to the gate. Some of them were heroes that were contracted to serve Hel. I had been wondering who was contracting these heroes because it sure as heck wasn't me or Veronica. Perhaps… Líf was the first king of Askr, so it's possible that along with creating the aether castles and being able to open up gates to other worlds, he would be able to forge contracts using some kind of ancient rite bullshit that I am not aware of? Honestly, it's a bit of a stretch though. Something was off about this whole thing, but I didn't know what yet. There was very little that I actually knew about Líf and Thrasir. Thrasir less so, since Veronica wasn't exactly the friendliest of lolis. Alfonse, on the other hand, would be more than happy to supply more info on his ancestor. I made a mental note to ask him about Líf later.
When we finally managed to go through the gate however, I was greeted by more undead and- "Alfonse! Alfonse! L-look over there… Is that F-Father?" Sharena's face became extremely pallid as she pointed at something, or rather, someone.
When I saw him, I felt all of the color leave my face. It was the late King. His skin was now a dull lifeless ashy color and his eyes were red. But why was he here at the gate? I took a moment to collect myself. My guess was that Hel wanted to scare Alfonse away or for him to falter and make a fatal error. Psychological warfare essentially. It was too cruel and I was the one who put King Gustav in this situation. Now we must fight him and his battalion of undead soldiers.
"Father… but why?" Alfonse nearly whispered.
"Those who are slain by Mother's curse become fodder for her army. Mother… this is too cruel!" Eir somehow also seemed distressed by the sight of the dead king.
"Alfonse! I have become Hel's puppet. Even now my body ignores my will. You must strike me down."
Alfonse hesitated. It was as if he had suffered from an invisible wound. One that was nearly fatal. I could feel it too but in a different way from him. It was his emotional heart that was wounded, only now it was festering and the stitches from yesterday's momentary reprieve had dehisced. For me it was a wound of the soul… well I'm not sure if that was an accurate way to describe it but looking at His Highness made me feel acutely aware of the sins crawling on my back. It was an albatross hanging around my neck, the guilt that I felt. If the Christian god and the Devil existed, then surely I would not be welcomed by angels at the pearly gates of Heaven. I did help to kill him after all. To paraphrase from Shakespeare's play Macbeth: "Out, damned spot! Out I say!- Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him"
Yes… the scene kept replaying in my mind over and over again. There really was a lot of blood that had spilled from his body. The sound of Hel's scythe piercing flesh in metal had always stuck with me. The thane of Fife had a wife… but I knew where Henriette was. The knowledge that at least one other person knew what had happened behind the scenes was only a small comfort to me, but I felt like the stains on my hand will never be clean again. It felt rather silly to compare myself to Lady Macbeth though… she and her husband killed Duncan for her own ambition and I… killed Gustav so that his son could continue living. It was still a bitter pill for me to swallow.
"Father I…" Alfonse was choking back his own tears.
"Alfonse, you must listen. If you waver now, then you lack the fortitude to become King of Askr. Show Hel that you will not flinch! Even if she makes an enemy of your own blood. You must be the shield that protects your friends and family. Never forget that."
"I understand, Father. I will do what must be done." Alfonse steeled himself for battle, taking Folkvanger out of its sheath and pointed it at his own father. The sadness that he had shown earlier was replaced with a look of determination in his eyes. I knew that he was still deeply saddened by his father's death and fighting him was never something that he had wanted. However, the flames of determination still grew ever hotter now that he knew what had to be done. Just looking at him… it didn't necessarily assuage my guilt but it gave me a small amount of hope. It reminded me of what I must do too.
"Alfonse, it looks like your father only has a few other soldiers with him. I think that reinforcements are highly likely so be on your guard. I also don't know how strong he is, so we're going to have to be extra cautious in handling him."
"Understood. I'll be awaiting your orders, Kiran." Alfonse said.
"Eir, would you be so kind as to dispatch that mage over there? The sooner we get rid of them, the safer it will be for us to handle the others. Avoid that bow cavalier though, she looks strong."
Eir simply nodded and flew over to the northwest of the battleground to execute my orders. I knew that she would be able to weaken them enough for Sharena to finish them off with Fensalir. "Sharena would you kindly follow Eir and help her fight off that pegasus knight?"
"You got it! I'm on it!" Sharena then followed Eir.
"Anna, I want you to go after that bow cavalier. She is potentially the biggest threat to us besides His Highness so she must be eliminated. I suspect that she is a hero placed under contract. That pegasus knight also looks like she is under Hel's contract. She reminds me of Shanna a little bit."
"I believe they are Sue and Thea from the world of Binding. Thea is Shanna's older sister."
"All the more reason why we need to end this battle quickly before reinforcements arrive. I'll send Alfonse with you to take care of Sue. Sue is green haired bow cav right?"
"Affirmati- but wait! Who is going to guard you from the enemy?" Anna asked
"I can summon a hero for me if things get dire. Not to mention, I can call on you for help and you can use Noátun to teleport to me. And if that doesn't work…I brought my dagger with me. Admittedly I'm still not great with a throwing knife, but it's still better than nothing."
"Kiran I don't feel comfortable with leaving you by yourself I really think you shou-" Alfonse said.
I interrupted him, my patience was running out. "We have no time to argue over this! Just go before someone on our side gets killed!" I nearly screeched out.
Both of them looked like they were frustrated and defeated but they both eventually left to carry out my orders. I hid myself somewhere in the shadows where I had hoped to be less visible to the enemy. Though… I wasn't so sure that it would be a viable strategy, since it was the land of the dead and it was covered in darkness. I then quietly began the summoning rite. Summoning heroes in places other than the summoning ruins were not as good for summoning super powerful heroes but I just needed one hero who could help me in case of a surprise attack.
I loaded a red orb into Briedablik and pulled the trigger. With a flash of light, Chrom was summoned while riding atop a horse. But as soon as he appeared I felt a terrible wave of pain coursing through my body. Just moving my legs was a chore and I had the ultimate migraine of migraines.
"Are you alright Summoner?"
"We're in Hel, Chrom. I feel like I am in Hell too. Ugh… my head…" I said massaging the top of my head and then my temples.
"I see that now. What is your name? I would feel more comfortable if I can call you by your name. I'm not much for formalities."
"You and all the other princes I have met as a Summoner… but I guess that makes you a different Chrom from the one I summoned a while ago. Would make sense since you don't remember me. My name is Kiran. Im am the summoner and tactician of Order of Heroes. It's sort of like the Shepherds but for the kingdom of Askr. I can give you more details, but as you can see, that'll have to wait until after His Highness isn't trying to kill us."
Chrom looked at me with a look of slight confusion but I knew that he would agree to help me if I was in trouble. Robin told me that Chrom was the one that had found him sleeping on the ground in Ylisse and trusted him despite having only just met him. The other Robin told me the exact same thing happened to her too.
"Kiran! Look out!" Chrom then raced to block an attack that was meant for me with his Exalted Falchion. My attacker was none other than the Late King himself. I was honestly shocked because I thought Hel would make him attack his own son first for her own sick and twisted amusement. I jumped out of the way in an attempt to avoid an early grave and actual damnation. Albeit a damnation the was definitely different from the kind of damnation that was often mentioned by the priest of the church my mother went to, but a damnation all the same.
For whatever reason, Hel was hellbent (pun mostly unintended) on having Gustav murder me. How rude. Well to be fair, I knew it wasn't his fault, but I'm not even the biggest threat to Hel at the moment. I can barely fight for my own life so I am probably the furthest from killing Hel, if that was even possible to begin with. Chrom tries to get in a few stabs but Gustav had managed to ignore all of it and went straight for me again. This was utter madness! I know I told her that she would have to pry Al from my cold dead hands but I don't think that would've caused her to have some weird hate boner for me.
In the meantime, I had to put the Five D's of dodgeball into good use. Duck, Dodge, Dive, Dip and… Dodge. In that exact order. Except instead of a ball, it was a very sharp axe. If you can dodge a dodgeball, you can dodge an axe trying to cleave into your skull.
"You have improved. My apologies… I do not wish to raise my axe against you but Hel has full control over me. You must… call for my son." Gustav said almost apologetically. Well, he was apologizing for his lack of control over his body but he still very much kept his commanding presence, even in death. It was then that I knew what I had to do. It was extremely risky but I promised him that I would keep Al on the right path. I pulled out my silver dagger and ordered Chrom to leave me and fetch Alfonse to come fight against his father. While Chrom could theoretically defeat him as he was just as skilled as Gustav but I'm already neck deep in an ocean of shit when it comes to my reluctant partnership with the King, so I decided to honor his wishes.
It was tempting to pull out another orb and summon another healer but… It made me feel apprehensive. The pain from the last summoning was still lingering in my body. If the pain was caused by summoning then… I wasn't sure if summoning another hero would affect me adversely. Well I could certainly withstand it again if absolutely necessary but… God I am an idiot. I could die here and I am throwing my life away out of a gross sense of sentimentality. All for a dumb promise I made to a dead man that's swinging an axe at me currently.
I barely managed to block another attack with my dagger. I was still feeling weak from summoning Chrom but I knew I couldn't let up, even if my body wanted to do just that. I cannot die here! However, I wasn't strong enough… none of my attacks actually did anything to him. I was barely trained with my dagger and he had many years of fighting and training under his belt. I needed to think of something to do that could turn the fight around in my favor. If brute force and speed wasn't going to cut it, then I needed to outsmart the puppeteer that was controlling His Majesty. But… how? My mind was coming up with several scenarios as I continued to dodge his attacks. I had one idea that didn't end up with dying right away.
It was time to use the Knight family secret technique. One that I intend to pass down to my children one day… "Run away!!!!" I shouted before turning tail and sprinting away as fast as I could. Of course this wasn't going to last long since he was on a horse but I have a plan… I think. Think Kiran, Think!
That's when it occurred to me. I could use Hel against Hel. More specifically the surroundings of Hel. I was going to turn the geography of Hel into a weapon of my own making. A weapon that could throw her off of me long enough for the prince to save my dumb ass. A cursory glance would tell most people that there isn't much to the terrain here except for some cracks and holes in the ground and some crumbled down pillars. There was also a large pit of darkness in the center of the area, which was probably most likely bottomless. It would absolutely kill me if I fell in it... but perhaps I could lure Gustav into falling in there. Just the thought of actually doing the killing with my own hands made me feel queasy. I had to tell myself that Gustav was already dead and that there was no sense in weeping over pushing a corpse into the pit. I wouldn't survive the rest of the campaign into Hel if I got emotional over killing people who were technically already dead. I wondered if these kinds of thoughts were similar to what went through Dad's mind when he was deployed in Afghanistan. All I knew was that he came out of it a different man.
In order to slow down Gustav, I decided to make it as hard as possible for him to chase me down on his mount. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest at a rapid pace. I didn't go directly for the pit either, since I needed the element of unpredictability on my side. If Hel can't predict my next move, then I can slow down Gustav just enough for me to not die before I can enact my grand plan.
"Kiran! What are you doing?" Alfonse shouted from the across the battlefield just after he had defeated Sue.
"Giving your father a run for his money! Outta my way!" I shouted as I jumped over a knocked over pillar. I quietly thanked myself for enduring the daily exercise drills Fredrick puts everyone through. I doubt I would have had the endurance for all of this running I'm doing otherwise.
"Kiran, Stop!" Anna frantically held out Noátun to teleport to me.
"I can't stop. I need to keep running!" I shouted back at her.
I was almost at the pit of darkness. Anna arrived right on cue as I approached the pit. "Anna could you keep him busy for me while I think of my next move?"
"You're insane! Why did you send Chrom over our way? Why didn't you call for me like you said you would?"
"Change of plans. I made a promise and I intend to keep it!"
"I understand what Kiran is trying to do, Anna. I do not doubt that she knows what she is doing. I believe that she knows what must be done. The only question that remains is if she will falter and hesitate. For my son, she must stand on top. I cannot control myself so my only option is to trust that Kiran and Alfonse will find a way together." Gustav said clearly struggling to take back control of himself. He wasn't succeeding but I appreciate his attempts at not murdering me all the same. I'm honestly surprised that he was willing to put his trust in me like that.
"You may be my enemy now, but I'll be damned if I lose. I promised that I will help Alfonse become king…" I then stabbed his mount with my dagger. Gustav swung his axe at me once more, seemingly completely disinterested with Anna's attacks. I wrenched my dagger out of his mount and stabbed it again. I just needed to knock his horse down. But the horse did not cry out in pain or even flinch. It was like that mage knight we fought a few days before Gustav died. It was rather unnerving but… I couldn't afford to think about it much. After all, I am going to be fighting a lot more dead people in the future. I was literally in Hel, after all.
"Anna! I need you to help me out. I need you to attack the horse first."
"I'm not sure what you are trying to do, but… o.k. I'll do it." She then nodded at me and started attacking Gustav's horse.
"Aim for the knees, slowly move forward. I'll give further instructions when the timing is right"
"Come on… fall over already you stupid horse zombie!" I angrily thought to myself.
After much effort, we had managed immobilized Gustav's horse. Technically Anna did most of the work but together, we pushed Gustav off of his horse all the same. While he was slightly less threatening on a horse, Gustav was no slouch and was not any less dangerous on foot. Removing his horse simply restricted his movement. I just now needed to push him into the pit… It felt terrible that I would feel happy about killing him again but my will to live is strong and so… I would be glad if I came out of this alive.
In the distance, I could hear the flapping of pegasus wings. I hoped it was Eir and Sherena because I spotted reinforcements earlier and among them was a flying archer. Even if Eir was their princess, I knew that the dead would not hesitate to kill her if Hel commanded it.
"Kiran! Watch out!" Sharena cried out as Gustav took another swing at me. I dodged, but only just barely. I was real close to getting my head chopped off. I made a mental note to spoil her relentlessly when the war is over. She did save my life, after all. A gust of wind hit Gustav hard enough to make him flinch. Don't tell me...
"Wait... are you telling me that the smell of rotten eggs that I smelled while marching here was you?" I screeched at Sharena who was still flying on Lyfja's back with Eir. I tried to focus on weakening Gustav with my throwing dagger since I really didn't want to think about how Sharena managed to bring Munin's Egg into Helheim.
"Why not? It's good for weakening enemies, you know!"
"Nevermind that! Don't let up on him even if he is… j-just keep firing!" I decided not to remind her that she was fighting her own late father.
Chrom then rode in with Alfonse riding with him. Alfonse jumped off of Chrom's horse and joined the fight against his father. Slowly but surely, we pushed the fight back even closer to the pit. Blades clashed against each other. I was certain that Alfonse could win against his father for sure since the effect Munin's Egg severely weakened His Majesty enough for even me to cut him. There was also the fact that Alfonse had an advantage with his sword and the fact that they were nearly evenly matched in skill. I sent Anna to deal with the rest of the reinforcements of which there we were few thanks to Eir's chillingly precise use of her daggers.
When all was said and done I had once again heard the familiar sound of a blade going through armor and flesh. It was then time seemed to slow down around me, as if I was aware of every millisecond that had passed by me. Folkvanger was sticking of the late king's chest but… there was no blood this time. The sight of it was even more chilling than the first time but… I knew that we must move onwards. War does not wait to claim it's next victim, afterall.
"This is as it should be. You did well... my son."
"Father! No please don't go!" Sharena cried out. Alfonse clenched his teeth together trying to stay strong for all of us.
"Alfonse… Sharena… I love you both. Never forget that."
More tears fell from Sharena's eyes. Watching this scene unfold before me… it was almost surreal to me. The adrenaline flowing through my system made it feel like I was experiencing a fever dream. Slowly I could feel the pain from the summoning return to me and I was again reminded that this was real. It was then that I could feel Gustav's eyes bore right through me. His soul piercing gaze still hasn't changed.
"Kiran… the decisions you have made… the promise... never regret it…"
"You are asking a lot for a dead man, Your Highness. Very well… I will carry it out just like I promised. I'll carry it to my grave if I must. With that said… you know what I must do now…"
"Do what you must. I've made my peace."
"You… you… I find that hard to believe. I… never wanted any of this! Im sorry!" Tears welled up in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks as I ripped out Folkvanger and pushed him into the pit. Everyone around me stared at me in shock. My head began to throb like crazy and I just wanted to collapse right then and there.
"Kiran… what's going on? Are you alright?" Sharena asks
"No… I don't think I am… I…"
"Kiran… what was Father talking about? He mentioned a promise you've made." Alfonse looked at me solemnly.
"I'm afraid… I cannot tell you any of the details. He made me promise not to tell you or Sharena anything. Or to be more precise, there are things that he wanted me to keep a tight lid on. I don't wholly agree with his wish for me remain silent since it involves you in particular but… I understand why. Before he died, there were a few things he asked me to do in case he was ever killed in action. The first thing was the thing I can't talk about, but he also made me promise him that I would protect you and Sharena and to help you in any way I can. I agreed to that almost without a second thought. I suppose it's a bit silly to ask the girl who can't even swing a weapon properly to protect the son who has been trained to do exactly that for most of his life. Either way… I will do as he wishes because I want to help, even if it means getting a little blood on my hands." I sighed at the bit about getting my hands dirty and bloody. I never wanted to kill him… especially not twice. This time, I did it with my own two hands.
My legs felt like jelly and they were shaking uncontrollably. I then fell down to the ground onto my knees. I simply didn't have any strength left in me to stand on my own. I rubbed my temples, trying to massage the pain away. Sharena and Eir rushed to my aid while Alfonse glared at me. I wasn't sure why he was glaring at me, I just knew that he wasn't pleased with me.
"That's odd…" Eir said as she took a closer look at me. While she didnt use staves, Eir had some knowledge in first aid. A skill that she must've learned for herself, being the only denizen of Hel that was still alive.
"Is something wrong with Kiran?" Anna asked
"I'm fine… I'm just exhausted from all of the running I was doing." I denied.
"I don't think so. I'm going to need a healer to confirm this but you seem to be experiencing some form of magical exhaustion."
"That shouldn't be possible. I haven't brought my thunder tome with me."
"Well… maybe we can summon a healer to take a look at her! We can't have our friend die on us already." Sharena said
"I don't need a healer I'm fine. I just need some rest."
"No. You are going to get it looked at. Sharena is right. We cannot afford to lose you…" Alfonse looked at me dead straight in the eye. He was definitely upset with me.
I winced at the thought of doing another summoning. I was still recovering from the pain of the first one. I continued to protest but Al was being stubborn again and was continuing to push for me to summon for a healer.
"Excuse me… Prince Alfonse was it? I have something to say" Chrom interrupted us mid argument.
"The floor is yours, Chrom." Alfonse said slightly taken aback by Chrom's interruption.
"When Kiran summoned me she seemed to be in a lot of pain. She had no physical wounds on her but she was complaining about having a headache. I don't think she is in a state to be summoning anything right now."
"Kiran… why haven't you told me this sooner?"
"I didnt want to slow everyone down. So many people are counting on us to defeat Hel and I… I just hope that this just a fluke but there were way too many things that point to Hel actively trying to make me suffer if not outright kill me. I knew going in that I would eventually get targeted as I am the weakest link of the army but… I'm not sure why Hel would single me out like this."
"What makes you think she's singling you out, Kiran?"
"Up until I entered the realm of the dead, I had no problems summoning. I summoned Chrom here and suddenly I was in such agony… my whole body was in pain. Never once have I had this problem in the two and a half years that I have been in the Order until today. After that, your father went straight for me. We both know he wasn't in full control of his own body. Who else would be puppeteering your father but the goddess of death herself? I just don't understand why…"
"I'm not sure Kiran. For now just stay close to me. When we find a proper place to set up camp, I want you to rest. We'll have to keep summoning down to a minimum for now. I refuse to let you overexert yourself."
"I… Understood. I cannot fulfill my promise to you if I'm dead. There's a high chance that someone will die in our bid to defeat Hel, but I want to do the impossible and get all of us out alive. I was always going to be by your side. I care about everyone here. You and I.. we're a team. It's going to take a lot to convince me to leave you."
"In that case… can you stand now? It's going to be a long time before we can go back home."
"I think I might need some assistance. Could you help me stand up, please?" I asked
Alfonse then offered his hand and I took ahold of it. He pulled me up but when I stood up, my legs began to shake and I found myself leaning against him. My face flushed immediately and I mentally cursed myself. Now is not the time for love. But his hands were warm… and I could hear his heart beating at a steady pace. It was comforting in a way, but I needed to focus on moving to somewhere that was safer.
"Don't worry. You can lean on me for now, until you regain your strength."
"T-thank you. I appreciate your help."
After that, there was barely a word exchanged between us. It was just us and the rest of the Order walking deeper and deeper into Hel. We eventually set up camp inside an abandoned fort hours later. It was hard to tell if was day or night so when we found the fort, we decided to get some rest and recuperate our strength while we still could. When everyone fell asleep, I decided to secretly try to summon a cleric. I succeeded in doing so, but the price of the recoil caused me to fall down and hit the ground once more. The last thing I could remember before I blacked out was a sweet and gentle sounding blonde girl wearing a shawl and had her hair tied up into a side ponytail.
A/N:I finally got my grubby hands on Fire Emblem Three Heroe- I mean Fire Emblem Three Houses (Lame joke I know, but I am Ferdiand von Aegir). The only thing stopping me from letting the game consume me in it's entirety is Joycon drift and the whole thing where my boyfriend and I are sharing custody of the switch he bought last winter. We live a few towns away from each other so gas is really expensive and only get to see each other once a month. Anyway, Three Houses gave me a few ideas for a spin off fic but I am going to wait a while because ADHD makes it hard for me to focus on more than one project. I have already finished Crimon Flower Route and Im almost at the timeskip point for the Golden Deer. According to my BF Feer the Dear and Blue Cinnamon rolls are longer than Crimson flower and Golden deer get Atar Shattering Star amd a dubstep song. I feel slightly ripped off for choosing Edelgard first now. Also, Mercedes is in here now even though she doesnt show up in Heroes cannon untill much later. Luckily I'm not going to to completely stick with the cannon of Heroes .Also, the idea of Sharena carrying a rotten egg just to give herself triangle advantage over blue units is vaguely funny enough to me for me to decide to put it in. Of course I couldnt help but make a Jojo reference. I guess for all intents and purposes, Kiran's last name is going to be Knight. It's not a hugely important detail but I still intend on using it unless I find something more... fitting? I tried to channel Joeseph Joestar a bit for this chapter but i dont know if I executed that very well.