Blargh, stupid FanFictionDOTnet delays.
Anyhow, here's a bit of a battle before I get into the nitty-gritty of Anna's backstory.
Chapter 78 – A Nighttime Strike (Ethereal Moon)
Freshly fallen snow covered a steep hill in northwestern Faerghus, the hillside marred by several smoking craters. It had been the result of the Church soldiers attempting to ascend the hill without waiting for the students and being sent into retreat by the thieves atop it.
Byleth looked up at Pallardó's hideout, though to her it looked more like a fortress. Though the hideout's walls were made from palisades, the high ground gave them a distinct advantage. Numerous archers and a ballista protected the position from aerial assault, while the hideout bristled with manpower. And despite that the hideout was surrounded, the students weren't equipped for a siege.
But that wasn't the biggest problem. According to the Church soldiers who had attempted to assault the hideout, the thieves had a considerable store of explosive powder at their disposal. They had rolled flaming carts filled with explosives at the soldiers, inflicting serious casualties.
"Jeez, Pallardó's really dug himself in," said Anna as she looked up at the hideout with her spyglass. "Never woulda guessed he had this much stuff."
"A frontal assault on that base is suicide," Shamir said tersely. "Professor, what do you think?"
"We're not going to be attacking that place now, are we?" Linhardt asked with a yawn. "I was hoping to get some shuteye."
"I agree with Linhardt," said Lysithea. "We just spent the whole day marching here."
"Aww, come on, you guys," said Balthus. "I'm still raring to go."
"Yeah, well, not all of us have your stamina, B," said Hapi.
"Professor, maybe we should wait until morning," said Edelgard. "It's getting late, and we could all use the rest."
"No. We need to strike as soon as possible," said Byleth, much to the surprise of the others.
"Wait, what?" Hilda asked incredulously. "Did you not hear us all saying we could use a breather?"
"Yeah, By, what gives?" asked Anna.
"If we wait until morning, the thieves will have time to reassemble their defenses," said Byleth. "If we try to face them then, it will be too dangerous to assault their position. We have to hit them while they're still recovering."
"A good point, but how do you plan to do it?" asked Shamir.
"We're going to attack them at night."
…
Byleth's plan was seen by some of the students as risky, but they had to agree that it was something the thieves wouldn't expect. She allowed the students to rest for a few hours before sending a small team to sneak into the hideout. The infiltration team consisted of Shamir, Anna, Claude, Leonie, Felix, Ashe, Petra, and Hubert. Their goal would be to neutralize the thieves' defenses and open the main gate so that the rest could storm in and clear the fort. Attacks at night were considered dangerous due to poor visibility and the odds of friendly fire, but it was their best chance at taking the fort with minimal losses.
The key to the plan was deception. Byleth knew Pallardó's thieves were watching them, so the students and soldiers had to make it look like they were settling in for the night and planning to attack in the morning. This would make them lower their guard and allow the infiltration team the opportunity to get into the fort. Of course, this meant leaving the others bored as they had to sit and wait.
Dorothea looked around at the others as they waited for their chance to strike. Constance and Ferdinand were, as usual, chatting over how they would easily win the battle themselves, much to the chagrin of those around them. Ingrid was tending to Celdia as Sylvain tried to chat with her, yet the blonde ignored him. Dedue was cooking some stew for the others, which Caspar and Raphael were wolfing down eagerly. Dimitri was having a discussion with Hapi, though the others couldn't hear what it was about. Lysithea, Annette and Linhardt were all napping next to each other, a sight Dorothea found adorable. Bernadetta let out a squeak as Ignatz spoke to her, startling the purple-haired recluse and prompting the bespectacled artist to retreat from her.
Dorothea then looked back up at the hill and her expression turned to one of worry. The others had been gone for over an hour, and they had seen no sign of them. She let out a shudder as the cold swept over her, prompting her to start rubbing her hands together.
"Here, this should help," said Byleth as she came up behind Dorothea, handing her a small cup of tea.
"Thank you, Professor," said Dorothea as she gingerly took the cup and had a sip of the Albinean Berry Blend. It was a little hotter than she expected.
"You should also rub your hands against your sides, not against each other. Your hands will warm themselves that way."
"Oh, I see."
Dorothea took another sip before staring back at the hill and letting out a sigh.
She then set the cup down on a nearby table as she said, "I'm worried about them."
"They won't let us down. Just have faith in them."
"I know, I know. It's just… faith isn't exactly something I've had too much of over my life. You know my life's not exactly a happy story and… well, I don't believe in the Goddess."
"Not everyone does."
"But… I do believe in you." Dorothea turned with a smile as she said, "You've taught us all so much, Professor. You've even taught me to have faith."
Byleth couldn't find a response to this, stunned by Dorothea's sincerity.
"So, if you say this plan will work, I'll have faith in you that it'll work."
Again speechless, Byleth replied to Dorothea's words with a smile.
Then, as if to break up the moment, the students heard a loud shout coming from the thieves' hideout. It wasn't a voice they recognized.
"Oh no…" Dorothea said with worry.
Just then, the sound of an explosion roared from the hideout as fire and sparks burst from the fort's eastern wall. The thieves' powder stores had been set off.
Byleth shouted, "Everyone, move out! Assault the thieves' hideout and help the others!"
Dorothea watched as the others sprang into action immediately. Ingrid deftly leapt up onto Celdia's back and spurred the Pegasus into the air as Sylvain ran for his horse. Constance and Ferdinand did the same, respectively, while Dedue quickly covered the pot of his stew before grabbing his axe and shield. Linhardt, Lysithea and Annette, all jolted awake by the sound of the explosion, scrambled to follow the others. Bernadetta had initially been terrified by the explosion, but then she began yelping as Caspar hoisted her onto his shoulder and carried her toward the fort. The others, quickly setting aside their meals and board games, followed suit.
Dorothea then felt Byleth grab her by the wrist and, just as she realized how she had been standing around doing nothing, the singer made a yelp as Byleth pulled her along behind her.
…
Shamir jerked her head back behind a wall as an arrow struck the wood. She would have immediately fired back at her attacker, but she knew better; she was pinned down by at least three archers. Instead, she grabbed a smoke bomb from her belt and chucked it out, blinding the three archers and making them cough loudly at the distraction. She then whirled out of cover, grabbing the arrow that had struck the wall and drawing it to her bow, shooting the first archer in the forehead with it. The other two let out loud cries of pain as Petra dashed in and cut them down before retreating to cover.
Leonie let out a surprised yelp as an axe from one of the bandits broke her bow in two. Throwing the bow aside as the bandit raised his axe for another strike, Leonie drew a dagger and quickly stabbed the bandit in his knee. The axe fighter howled in pain just before the Sauin girl made another quick strike, this time into the nape of the bandit's neck. She then took the bandit's axe as he fell, deciding to use it to replace her bow for the moment.
Hubert let out a sinister laugh as he sent a Swarm Z spell at two of the bandits, reveling as they cried out in agony from being bitten to death by magical insects. To his side, Felix scoffed at Hubert before countering two blows from a lance fighter and then lopping off both the man's arms at his elbows. The bandit would've been screaming at the loss of his limbs, but Felix ended the man's life as he removed his head from his neck.
As Claude and Ashe fired down at more of the bandits from atop the fort's palisade wall, they heard the rapidly approaching trample of footsteps and turned to see the Church soldiers and their classmates rushing in to attack the fort. The gate had already been opened, allowing the soldiers to pour into the fort unimpeded.
"Wow, would you look at that?" Ashe said to Claude. "The Professor's plan is working perfectly!
"I'll be honest with you, Ashe, I couldn't have done better myself," said Claude. "She really came through with–"
Suddenly, Ashe shouted in alarm, "Watch out!"
The grey-haired archer moved to ready an arrow, having seen another bandit lining up a shot on Claude. But before he could pull his bowstring, the bandit changed his target and fired, and Ashe let out a cry of pain as the arrow struck him just above his collarbone.
"ASHE!"
Claude whipped around and swiftly fired a shot at the archer, hitting him right through his right cheekbone. The archer fell dead to the ground as Claude dropped his bow and began to assess Ashe's injury.
"Hey, you alright?" Claude said in concern.
"G-Gah… I-It hurts…" Ashe whimpered.
"Hang on, lemme get this out."
Claude grabbed the arrow and was about to pull out, but stopped as Mercedes said, "Wait! Don't pull it out yet!"
"Mercedes!"
The blonde healer rushed up to Claude and Ashe with Dedue and two Church soldiers behind her. The Duscuri man positioned himself to protect the others while Mercedes assessed Ashe's injury.
"Hurry, we have to bring him back to camp so I can treat him!" said Mercedes.
"M-Mercedes…" Ashe moaned as he was lifted by the Church soldiers.
"Shh, shh, it's going to be okay…"
As Ashe was carried off with Mercedes in tow, Claude let out a scowl and said, "Dammit, that was on me. I should've been paying attention."
"It was not your fault," said Dedue. "Focus on the battle for now."
"Yeah, I just… Argh, I thought this was going to be a breeze and then this happens. I just hope the others will be alright."
…
Ingrid was sure someone had just jinxed her. She let out a loud scream as Celdia was hit in her left wing by an arrow, which sent the Pegasus tumbling out of the air and crashing to the ground. Fortunately, she hadn't been that high up, but it was enough to leave her right leg trapped underneath her steed's unconscious body.
As the blonde tried to push Celdia off her leg, she saw another bandit emerge from the smoke with an axe, the female brigand smirking loudly at seeing the defenseless Pegasus Knight. In alarm, Ingrid tried to ready Luin, but it too was trapped under Celdia's heavy weight.
Ingrid looked up in horror as the bandit raised her axe to strike her.
The bandit then let out a loud, shuddering gasp as Joyeuse impaled her through her back, the Mythril blade skewering her like a fish on a spear. The brigand dropped her axe before letting out a final gasp and slumping forward, revealing Dorothea behind her.
"Ingrid, are you okay?" Dorothea asked as she knelt beside the blonde.
"Th-Thanks for the save," said Ingrid.
The two then worked to try and get Celdia off Ingrid's leg.
…
Balthus let out a loud howl of pain as he was hit by a shallow sword slash to his back. Gritting his teeth, he spun around and punched the woman responsible between her ample breasts, sending the bandit crashing into a wall with a broken ribcage.
Grunting from pain, Balthus said, "Sh-Shame to have to punch out such a babe."
"Baltie, you're hurt!" said Hilda as she ran up to Balthus.
"It's just a scratch, Hilda. I've had worse than… oogh…"
Balthus then started to wobble where he stood as nausea filled his body. His face started to become pale as he fell forward, almost flattening Hilda before Raphael rushed up and grabbed him.
"Whoa, easy there, Balthus," said Raphael. "You don't look so good."
"Ugh, y-you're telling me…"
"Let me have a look," said Linhardt as he came to assist.
"Linhardt, what's wrong with him?" asked Hilda. "That cut doesn't look that bad."
After a second to inspect the wound, Linhardt said, "I thought so. Poison. How bothersome."
"Bothersome?! Linhardt, you have to do something!"
"I was about to, Hilda. Please have some patience."
As he finished preparing his spell, Linhardt said, "Esuna!" as he purged the poison from Balthus' body. Balthus let out a gasp for breath as the nausea passed, but he still felt weaker than usual.
"T-Thanks, pal," said Balthus.
"You should probably take a seat for now," said Linhardt. "I still need to treat that wound."
"Hey, has anyone seen Anna?" asked Hilda.
"Th-Think I saw her chasing after one of the thieves," said Balthus. "Maybe it was that Pallardó guy."
…
Pallardó realized he was trapped. The nighttime attack had caught him and his gang completely off guard, allowing the Church to all but rout his forces. Now he was standing at a cliff with a very ticked off redhead brandishing her Levin Sword at him and a bluette with what looked like a Heroes' Relic behind her.
"To think you'd go to all this trouble, Anna," said Pallardó.
"When people go stealing my stuff, I tend to take offense to it, Pallardó," said Anna.
"Well, I'm about to take much more than just your merchandise, Anna. I was thinking… your life instead!"
Pallardó rushed forward with his poisoned blade as he said this, taking multiple fast swings at Anna. The redhead deftly blocked each strike as she and Pallardó fought it out. Byleth chose to stand back and let her friend handle the thief, knowing from what she saw that Pallardó didn't stand a chance.
Anna then made a loud "HA!" as she thrust her hand out and produced a magical flash of light from her palm, blinding Pallardó for an instant. It was enough to allow her to strike the thief's blade from his hand.
"Time to PAY!" Anna shouted as she then spun around and delivered a swift kick to Pallardó's chest, one that sent him off the side of the cliff.
Pallardó let out a scream of terror as he fell into the forest below, a drop more than fifty feet, and disappeared from their sight.
Anna took a deep breath before she said, "And that's that. Thanks for the help, By."
Byleth smiled as she and Anna sheathed their blades, and then they went back to the fort, which had been all but conquered by the students and soldiers.
Not much to say about this one; it's really meant to be a build-up for the next chapter.
After the next chapter, I plan to do some more slice-of-life stuff related to the ball and the White Heron Cup. We've had a lot of action over the past many chapters, so it's a good chance for some more fluffy stuff.