Records of the Valiant

by Naryfiel Lilith

In the year 803, Grado destroyed Renais in a sneak attack. In the ashes, Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika vowed to end the war. During their battles, they discovered secrets kept quiet by pride and insecurity, and the past darkness that had become their present enemy. This is how they, and their comrades, rose to become the light that parted the darkness, once and for all. (FE8)

1. Prologue) The Fall

Prologue) The Fall

---

In an age long lost to time, darkness consumed the land, piece by piece. Demons rose from the shadows, twisted creatures of death and blood, and ran wild, pushing mankind to the brink of annihilation. Many tried to rise up, but each time, they were conquered. Again, and again, and again. In despairing desperation, mankind appealed to the heavens for help and guidance, and the gods answered their pleas by bestowing them with the Sacred Stones. Crystallized forms of divine might, these shining gems held the power to dispel the darkness strangling the world and allowed mankind to challenge the Demon King, the horror behind the horrors. Thus, the Five Heroes, led by Grado, rallied the dregs of humanity under one banner and, with Sacred Stones and Sacred Twin Weapons in hand, laid siege on the Black temple, the once sacred ground the Demon King had corrupted into the center of his domain. After a long and bloody battle where the corpses piled high enough to reach the very tips of the trees and the rivers threatened to forever remain red, the Demon King's soul was sealed within the Sacred Stone Grado carried, and his body was chained in the depths of the temple where none could reach. With the darkness finally imprisoned, light shone upon the world once more and peace slowly bloomed from the war-torn lands, as fragile yet strong as flowers blooming from winter's ice. For over 800 years, the Sacred Stones' light protected the continent of Magvel from the lingering shadows of the Demon King, and the descendants of the Heroes safeguarded and governed the people as they came together in great nations.

In the centermost part of Magvel, Urien, the Paladin of Storms, founded Renais. The only one of the countries to be completely landlocked, Renais is famous for its proud knightly order, with its cavalry being widely regarded as the most skilled in all the continent. The most skilled of all, of course, were the knights of the Crimson Flame Guard, the elite fighting force who answered to the ruler alone. In the present day, they answer to King Fado, the peerless Warrior King, a stern yet kind king who is well-regarded not only by his knights, but also by his people and, surprisingly, the royals of other nations.

To the northwest, amidst the forests filled with pegasi and vast plains that let all view the splendor of the sky, Valni, the Hurricane's Wings, founded Frelia. Famous for its efficient spy network, few things happen on the continent that Frelia is not aware of, or so the rumors go. It's hard to say if the rumors are true or not, however, because of how Frelia hides so much behind elegance and efficiency, from their foods that boast many subtle flavors to their tactics, which utilizes the mobility of the Argent Wings and the Verdant Corps to bewildered the enemy into traps. It's a reputation bolstered by Frelia's king, Hayden, the venerable Sage King who is equally known for his wisdom and his tactical ability.

To the east lies the desert, home of long hidden secrets of forgotten pasts and a people who live and breathe battle. Jehanna, founded by Kasimir, Magic's Executioner, is a nation with no standing army, or even 'knights' as defined by the other countries, even if they have the Knights of the Oasis. A country where one's word is their bond, and loyalty is earned and bought with coin, its people sell themselves as mercenaries to keep their country from starving. As a result, despite having nobility like most of the other countries, the true power in Jehanna's politics is the Guild, which coordinates contracts and payment for all mercenaries in Jehanna. The only one with more power that the Guild is the ruler of Jehanna, and in the present day, that is Queen Ismaire, Queen of the White Dunes and regent for her long missing son, who was once a talented mercenary in her own right.

In the northeast, nestled between the desert and the Darkling Woods, lies Rausten, founded by Saint Latona, the only theocracy of Magvel. Though in practice, its politics are the same as any other. A nation that prides itself on beauty, grace, and righteousness, it is a country where even weapons are crafted for efficient beauty and hidden dangers. Due to the constant demonic threats from the Darkling Woods, its army, the Radiant Guard, specializes in brutal light magic and powerful healing, and they take pride in being the shield against the darkness, and will boast about it to anyone who makes mention of it. In recent years, the country has been ruled by Mansel, the Divine Emperor, who is known for being far more moderate and accepting than his predecessors, ushering in a peace Rausten has not known in a long while.

To the south is the largest of the nations, Grado. Named for its first Emperor, its people are as strong and enduring as the Sacred Stone they guard, the Fire Emblem which contains the soul of the Demon King, and they are very proud of this trait. Its sheer size make it the most varied among the countries, and it has multiple schools and universities to encourage the meeting and collaborating of all of its scholars. The pursuit of knowledge leads it to be the forerunner in dark magic, with their dark magic (and magic in general) being as integral to their armies as the Scarlet Claws, filled with their wyvern knights, and the Order of the Aegis, their cavalry knights. Overseeing all of these intricate parts of the country is the Emperor, who is Vigarde in the present day, the stalwart Silent Emperor.

To the very north, cut off from the rest of the continent by thick woods and mountains that reach beyond the clouds, lies Carcino. The only nation that does not protect a Sacred Stone, it was originally founded by people who did not wish to swear fealty to the Five Heroes and, in the past, often acted as a mediator between nations, whenever tensions began to rise. However, the country was gutted by civil war some fifty years ago, leading to the destruction of its royal family. Now, it is known as the country of merchants, ruled by a council elected by the people. Currently, it is headed by Master Klimt, who is known for his keen mind and loyal heart.

All of this is more or less known by anyone who lives in Magvel, no matter the country. What details are emphasized depends on one's home, but the War of Demons was nothing but legend, something to pay respect to, and people's focus is on their everyday lives, striving to survive through the chaos that is life. There is no reason for any to look outside their borders, or so it was believed. In the year 803, that changed. Dramatically.

In an unexpected act of atrocity, Grado invaded Renais, without warning or mercy. It was an invasion that rocked the continent, with no one knowing why this would happen. King Fado and Emperor Vigarde had always regarded each other as friends, and as for their children… well, the deep friendship between Princess Eirika, Prince Ephraim, and Prince Lyon was as much of a simple fact of life as 'the sun rises in the east'. An attack from their greatest friend… not even a peerless warrior could counter a blow they did not see coming. Renais's prized knights rushed to the frontlines, but they could do nothing more than stall Grado's forces, and make Grado pay in blood for every strip of land they conquered.

Compounding King Fado's worries was his feckless son and heir, Prince Ephraim. Always known for seeking the glory of battle and abandoning responsibilities, he disappeared shortly after the initial assault with three knights, leaving his twin sister, Princess Eirika, alone to help evacuate the capital while their father desperately tried to buy as much time as possible for their people. Renais was falling. Its collapse was inevitable.

When it all started, I didn't care one bit. I only had one person to lose, and only one person who would miss me. But old ties dragged me back to a life I abandoned in grief, and so started the War with Grado, where the poison long festering in Magvel was purged at last...

---

The same day we first heard Ivroria was surrounded, it started to rain. At first, it was a drizzle, but as the siege drew longer and longer, the rain grew harder and harder. It made evacuations difficult for those who had places to go. And even those who didn't, but left anyway. We were near the Frelian and Carcinoan borders here in Rosewatch, and many were taking their chances in foreign countries. Before long, the only ones who remained were those who could not leave, for whatever reason. Them, the dead, and the rain that poured from the sky like blood from an open wound.

"Are you certain you don't wish to leave with us, Emma?" Victor asked as I helped him pack up his wares. He was a traveling merchant, part of a small group that purposely went to villages off the main road to bring them trinkets they'd have to travel a long way to get otherwise. He'd been coming here ever since he was an apprentice, shadowing an older merchant to learn the tricks of the trade. We were old friends and, between everything that happened in my life, he was my only childhood friend left living. "We certainly won't complain of one more."

"Thank you, Victor, but I'll remain here for now," I refused, just as I had the previous ten times. Victor and his group had arrived here in Rosewatch shortly before Grado's assault, and they'd been helping with evacuations and supplies. But now, the last of them would leave. "I'll leave later." I probably wouldn't leave at all. I was tired, and I felt closer to Monica here. She'd died here. She wasn't buried here, but this was where her spirit passed over. I wanted to stay with her a little longer. Everything was just so gray and dull…

"If you're sure…" Victor didn't look very convinced. I didn't blame him. "Ah, there it is!" He suddenly produced a small vial from his wares and handed it over to me. I knew even before opening it that it was susinum perfume; he always kept it in a special vial. "Why did I pack it over with these things? Must've been half asleep."

"Victor, I can't afford this." I tried to give it back, but he shook his head and kept on packing his things. "Victor."

"Well, you could think of it as a gift, since your birthday was recent." He grinned at me, and exasperation threaded its way through my exhaustion, enough for me to frown at him. While I liked gifts as much as the next person, susinum was expensive. Too expensive for a gift. Monica and I had never accepted a vial as a gift. "Fine, fine. We'll compromise by saying you'll pay me back later. Poor thing is probably going to get broken on the trip anyway."

"I highly doubt that." Still, I sighed and tucked it into my skirt's pocket. I'd been outside too long; I was too drained to do just about anything, much less argue. Besides, I knew why he'd sprung this on me suddenly. "I accept the compromise." It was his way of begging me to stay alive. "Think this is the last box, by the way."

It hadn't quite been, but it had been close enough to work as a subject change. Before long, I was seeing him off with a couple of other merchants who had lingered with him, and those from the village that decided safety in numbers was worth risking bandits coming after merchants' wares. I saw them off with a wave, though I wasn't sure how good my smile was. It felt stiff, like my face was cracking to form the facsimile, but I couldn't bring myself to care enough to try and fix it. I did make sure to stay until they were out of sight. It didn't take long. The rain washed them from view as quickly as it muddied the ground.

As it began raining harder, I walked away from the main road, down the flooded side-path that actually led to my house. Just my house. Not my home. Not anymore. It once had been, though. Dad had built it a little away from the village, so that he and Mom could have peace and quiet, a rarity for both of them. After all, Mom had been the 'Daughter of Thunder', a well-known mercenary-sniper with arrows that struck as quickly and harshly as lightning itself, or so the stories went. Dad had been a knight of Renais, King Fado's 'Knight of the Sun', named not for any sort of sunny disposition, but how his bluntly honest words would warm or burn, always baring nothing but the truth (as he knew it). Never really heard the story of how they met. Only that Mom and Queen Ismaire (Mom's mercenary partner) had been hired by Queen Esther for some sort of job, and one thing led to another. So, Dad built a house for them to live in far away from the chaos of cities, and we all lived happily in the cheerful home filled with color and warmth.

Then Dad died while protecting King Fado from an assassin. From what King Fado had told me, the assassin had forced King Fado into being a shield for his twins, unable to move for fear of the assassin getting them. And that's when Dad appeared, killing the assassin and saving all three, but getting run through in the process. That had been the day the cheerful home began bleeding, all the warmth slowly seeping through the 'wound' Dad's absence left. We all had noticed, but we had tried to ignore it. Tried to keep on living. But the 'wound' remained and gradually grinded away at us. It widened when Mom died during a bad flood, saving some children who had slipped and fallen into the rushing rapids while evacuating to higher ground, and she took a lot of the cheer with her, because she had been so resilient and the like. In her honor, Monica, Orson, and I had made things work, and still somehow managed when illness took away half the village, including most of our friends. It had probably been hard, especially for Monica since she often stayed there alone since Orson and I had our duties to the royals, but we had made it work for us.

But then, seven months ago, Monica had coughed up blood and collapsed. She had been visiting Orson and me in Ivroria at the time, so we had rushed her to a doctor, but… gods, I would remember that horrible day for the rest of my life. I had been so sure it was just a simple illness; Monica had always been frail, always prone to colds and pneumonia and the like. I had been so certain it would be no different. But it had. Because it turned out that Monica had a tumor in her lungs. While the growth itself might've been benign, its placement had meant it partially obstructed her airway, and that was why she had always been so frail. Worse, her lungs had been scarred horribly by all the infections, and there had been fluid around her lungs making it even harder for them to work. They were giving out, and her chances of surviving surgery had been infinitesimally small. I had nearly screamed when the doctors informed us, but Monica had taken it with grace and dignity, choosing to live out her remaining life with a smile.

Six months ago, she died. And all the warmth and cheer of the house went with her, alongside the colors of the world and my ability to feel anything. I just had to close my eyes to remember those horrible last days, alone as I watched Monica deteriorate, helpless to do anything as I held her hand as it slowly grew weaker and colder. Helpless, useless, worthless… and I couldn't even apologize anymore...

"I really do wonder why I don't just find a cliff and walk off," I muttered to myself, navigating the path with ease, despite the ankle-deep puddles and the lack of visibility from the rain and fading daylight. After all, I had tread it so many times that I could be blind and deaf and still manage it. "Suppose I just don't care enough, huh?" It was too much effort to find a spot. Plus, there was Orson to think of. "I'm so tired…"

With those thoughts bouncing around through my empty skull, I made it to my darkened house and went through the front door, not bothering to take off my muddied boots and wondering if I wanted to bother eating or not. I had some fruit, maybe, so I wouldn't have to cook necessarily, but the idea of hunting down food was just… too much effort. However, just as I came to that conclusion, I noticed there two things in my house that had definitely not been there when I left earlier to help Victor. Two things (people, actually) who shouldn't be here at all, actually. Much less one collapsed in front of my fireplace, and the other trying and failing to start a fire.

"Emma…?" Eirika breathed, staring at me with wide eyes. The firestarter tumbled from her hands into the ash-filled fireplace. "Emma, what are you…? Wait, is this your home?"

"Princess Eirika?" I replied, mostly because I had to say her name to process that she really was in my house. I'd told her of the place, of course, but she'd never been near Rosewatch, much less here. "And that's Seth, isn't it?" Seth, Orson's dearest friend, leader of the Crimson Flames, the famous Silver Knight of Renais, and someone I always associated with 'invincibility'… he was unconscious, bleeding from numerous injuries. One injury on his arm looked particularly bad, actually. How…? "What are you two…?" No, not important. "Bath."

"Huh?"

"Bath, towels, dry clothes. And don't bother lighting a fire. The thing needs to be cleaned before that can be done." Despite the exhaustion, my mind began whirling with everything that needed to be done before they caught their deaths from pneumonia. "Come on. You can use some of my clothes. And we need to get him bandaged." And my mind whirled even more with everything that needed to be done before Seth bled out. Wasn't explaining to Orson that I let him die in our living room. "This way. Bathroom is in the back."

I got Eirika set up with a bath in the back, plus some of my clothes for her to change into, and then went to work on Seth. Thankfully for me, he half-woke up while I was trying to get him out of the wet clothes, not enough for conversation, but enough that I wasn't having to wrestle or anything. He blinked slowly as I got him bandaged as best as I could, but it was only around when I getting some of Orson's clothes on him that his eyes gained any sort of clarity. Still took him a moment to recognize me.

"Emma?" he rasped, frowning. His gaze was a bit hazy, and I noticed that not all of his paleness was from blood loss. The bags under his eyes hinted to exhaustion, and… well, his eyes weren't just red from the typical Jehannan coloring. They were bloodshot. Considering how far it was to here from Ivroria… if they had left shortly before Ivroria was surrounded, he had to have madly dashed the whole damn way! "Why are you…?"

"We can talk more when you're more coherent," I 'answered', a bit confused. Why would he be surprised to see me? Unlike Eirika, he knew the place. Orson had dragged him here during quite a few festivals over the years. "But right now, you're injured and you have a fever." He radiated more heat than fire, actually.

"Princess Eirika needs to…" He hissed in pain when I tried to help him up. That arm wound… it was really bad. Which surprised me because I honestly had never seen him get so much as a bruise. But now, he looked like some wild animal had savaged him.

"Seth, she's taking a bath to warm herself up. She's fine. Let's get you at least back up to seventy percent before you try protesting further, okay?" I swore I nearly pulled quite a few muscles hauling Seth onto his feet, but I managed and thankfully he didn't fight me once I confirmed Eirika was safe. "Come on. You can stay in the guest room, like usual. Think it has a few things you left behind last time, actually."

It was a testament to how worn Seth was that he just went along with what I said. In all honesty, I half-thought the pain from moving just sent him to near-consciousness again, so that he couldn't argue. After all, he sure as hell passed out quickly when I got him to bed, so quickly that I actually just pulled a spare blanket from the closet to drape over him instead of trying to pull the covers out from under him. I ducked into the bathroom to wet a rag to place on his forehead and then I returned to the living room to clean the fireplace and start a fire. By the time I got that done and things somewhat cleaned, Eirika returned from her bath, dressed in some of my clothes with her hair dripping wet. As usual.

"Honestly, you should at least put a towel over your shoulders to catch the water if you're not going to dry your hair properly," I scolded, getting her to sit in front of the fire. I left briefly to get a towel and then returned to dry her hair, wondering the entire time how she could deal with her hair dripping water everywhere. "You wear a cape most of the time anyway."

"It's not most of the time," Eirika protested, sounding a little tired. Her posture wasn't as perfect as normal either, which really highlighted how little she must've slept. "I'm sorry to just barge into your home. Even if it was on accident. Seth only rested long enough for his horse to not drop dead on us." So, I'd been right. ...And wondering where this horse was. Never mind, would worry later. "When he passed out, I was desperate for some shelter, and…"

"You're apologizing over silly things. Again. It's not like the place looks lived in or anything." It hadn't for a while. When Monica had been diagnosed, we had actually been moving things to the townhouse Orson owned in Ivroria. Monica had wanted to be closer to Orson and me, since our duties kept us there most of the time. After her funeral, neither Orson nor I had felt like moving anything back. Or moving anything to there either. I wasn't sure why Orson didn't, but it felt like looting a corpse to me. Of course, I was residing in said 'corpse', so… "Honestly, if you've the breath to waste, use it to warm your fingers or something. Even after that bath, you're more frozen than an icicle."

"Ah, I'm getting scolded!" She snickered, amused, and I relaxed without even thinking about it because… well, that was her usual response. It had been ever since the first time I scolded her four years ago, and it continued even… "It's been a while. Seven months? Eight?"

"Probably eight." I didn't spend much time with her when Monica was diagnosed, and I left her service after Monica's death. "Is it just you and Seth or do I need to worry about more knights showing up?"

"Franz was with us, but Seth sent him ahead to let Frelia know what had happened. That was shortly before Seth and I got ambushed by…" She shuddered, hugging herself tightly. Whoever it was, I had a feeling they were why Seth was so hurt. And it explained the wounds a lot. Even the best warrior had difficulties when ambushed, especially when protecting someone. Dad's death proved that all too well… "Father stayed behind in the castle while we escaped, but… but I'm sure he's fine." Thinking of what I'd heard, I remained silent, focused on drying her hair. "You don't think so, do you?"

"I didn't say anything."

"That's how I know. Because you never lie to me." Well, that was true. Honesty was the truest way to show loyalty, and even if I left her service, I was still loyal. I only left because I was weak and just so tired… "That was your promise when you became my lady in waiting." It was. It had been the first thing I'd ever promised her. Before I had even pledged loyalty, I had pledged that.

"...I think that if anyone can, it's King Fado." That seemed safe enough to say, and I did believe it was true. I knew King Fado would fight tooth and nail to survive, and I knew how stubborn he was. And I also knew that there were many knights more than willing to die for his sake. "Might be better to treat that as an unexpected surprise, though. But, then again, you've always been the type to hold onto hope even when it scorches you."

"Oh, is that why my hand is burning?" The words were a little too dull to truly be a joke, but it was a good attempt. And a reminder of how cold she was. I'd need to get her a blanket once I was done. "Ah, before I forget. The circumstances aren't what I'd like, but…" She looked back at me and smiled. Worry and exhaustion dulled its normal brightness, but not its warmth. "I'm glad to see you again, Emma."

"...Good to see you too, Princess Eirika." And, surprisingly, it was. "Not sure I like you trying to emulate the looks of a drowned rat, though. Complete with a rat's nest in your hair. Hold still. This is going to take forever to fix."

I'd make her food once I was done with her hair. There was no way I could let her go to sleep with that tangled mess. She'd bruise herself if she tried.

---

Normally, it would be difficult to hide the fact that I had two more people in the house with me, especially in a small town that was slowly getting smaller and over the course of a few days. But since I had no appetite, I'd barely had been eating anything. So, Eirika and Seth made sure the food in the house didn't rot and grow stale, and when I got fresh fruit and vegetables from the stores? Well, those that remained just thought I'd gained the energy to eat. Which, to my surprise… seemed to make them happy?

"You need honey with the apples, little sun," Grandpapa James laughed, hunting through his cupboards for some. He wasn't my 'actual' grandfather, but all the children called him that anyway (same as a few of the other elderly folk in the village). As for the less-than-apt nickname… it came from Dad's epithet. According to everyone here, I was a lot like him. I doubted that, especially since he never left behind his lord, while I… "They're too sour this year without it."

"If you say so," I answered, shifting my basket to my other hand. It was heavy with all the apples I raided. We'd had a good crop, but with evacuations and all… well, it was just going to go bad. Probably why he hadn't scolded me when he caught me. "How are Lewis and Maddie holding up?"

"Their fevers finally broke last night." Grandpapa James finally found the honey, but then went to find something else. Probably a cloth to wrap it in. As he moved, the charms on his bracelet clinked and thunked together. All of them were handmade, made whenever the mood struck him. Not just for himself, but for others as well. I wore a bracelet of them myself. Monica had too; we buried her with it. "Need to see if they relapse or something, though."

"Of course." That was the only reason why he was still here. The rest of the family had already left, at his insistence, while he stayed with his two youngest grandchildren, who managed to get ill. "I hope they're better soon."

"As do I. They're both miserable being stuck in bed." He found that cloth and wrapped up the jar of honey, just as I'd suspected, before putting it in the basket for me. "Ah! Before I forget…" He darted up the stairs briefly, with such speed and agility that you'd think he was easily half his age. Not, you know, almost eighty. "Figured I'd give this to you now." He returned just as quickly as he'd left and took my left arm, the one I wore my bracelet on. Why? Well, to slip on another charm, of course. "A sun for the little sun."

"It's pretty." I held up my arm so that I could study it better, and looked at the others on it as well. A little dagger, for instance, made when I accepted King Fado's offer to be Eirika's lady in waiting. A heart, made after Mom's death as a reminder that I still had those who loved me. A single wing, given when I was sixteen and 'of age', symbolic of how I would stretch my own 'wings' to figure out what sort of adult I'd be. Things like that. "Just for my name?"

"And a reminder that there is always light in the dark." Grandpapa James ruffled my hair, a habit he'd had ever since I was very little. "Stop by Emilia's on your way back home, Emma. She's baked pies, and you could use the sweet."

"Okay." Once, I might have joked about how he was implying I was in a bad mood or was a sourpuss. Now, I just nodded. Eirika would like it, at least. Emilia was the one who taught me how to bake, and Eirika had always liked my sweets…

I lingered a little longer with Grandpapa James, mostly just to see if Lewis and Maddie were awake enough for a brief 'hello'. Then I headed down the street to Emilia's for the pie, knowing that Grandpapa Jason would ask. Emilia, as per usual, was more than happy to let me have some of the many, many, pies she had made. The number, and the amount of flour she was covered in, told me she was both trying to use up ingredients and that she was stress-baking again. Couldn't blame her. Not one bit.

"Ah, I'm so glad you're eating again!" Emilia gushed, skipping around her messy-messy-messy kitchen. There was no other way to describe the mess, unless I wanted to hunt down a thesaurus or something. Even then… well, aside from the more typical dirty dishes and cooking implements piled up everywhere, there was dried, flaking dough on the ceiling. And the walls. Plus flour scattered on the floor. And flour-water-mix gluing various things to the counters and tables, from napkins to underwear. "Let's see… you've got apples there, so let's get you a couple of different ones to complement them!"

"How much do you expect me to eat?" I asked, voice more tired than dry. She made a face at me anyway. "Also…" I nodded pointedly at the glued underwear, noticing it was rather… fancy. There were frills. And lace. "Someone took Granny Nora's suggestion, huh?" Shame I couldn't tell her. She had left in one of the first rounds of evacuation, with her husband and grandchildren.

"Oh, shush!" Emilia turned a rather brilliant red and snatched them up to throw them out of sight down the hall. "So, I forgot to move my laundry out of the kitchen before cooking!" Again. The actual basket of laundry was kicked over by her back door, the clothes strewn all over the floor. I hoped it was the dirty laundry this time. "Besides, I'm not discussing my… uh…"

"Sex life?"

"Emma!" And she turned an even darker red, sulking at me. You'd never guess she was a year older that me with her like this. "You're incorrigible. Hmph."

"Right, so, how did Daniel-"

"Lalalala! I can't hear you!" She covered her ears for emphasis, shaking flour out of her hair. She was seriously covered. Almost looked like a ghost, really. "I can't hear you~!"

"Of course." Even as tired as I was, she was so easy to tease. "By the way, you'll want to get the flour out of your hair before washing. It's as white as Grandpapa James's."

"Right, pies!" And she was back to the dining table, where all her pies were cooling. I didn't bother counting. The table was covered, after all. "Let's see…" While she hunted, I glanced at the only clean thing in the entire place, the portrait of her and Daniel that was hanging on the wall. Drawn to celebrate their engagement… guess it was close to ten months ago now. I knew he was major source of her stress at the moment. After all, not only was Daniel a soldier, but he'd been stationed near Serafew. Emilia hadn't left in the hopes that some letter would make it here; she'd leave with Grandpapa James, Lewis, and Maddie. "Yes, these two will be perfect!" Emilia picked a couple out and wrapped them in clean cloths (at least, I hoped they were clean, since they came from the closet) before setting them in a basket to make it easier for me to carry. "I'm particularly proud of these ones!" She handed the basket to me with a bright smile; her engagement ring caught the light and sparkled just as brightly. "Plus, one of them is Daniel's favorite, so you can boast about it when we hear from him and make him jealous!"

"We'll see." Neither of us mentioned the danger, and how unlikely that would be. I was positive he was dead, after all. But I wouldn't say that, because I wanted to be wrong. That and the fact that Orson was missing too, and if I said anything aloud… "Thank you." Hunting for a subject change, I found one easily. Too easily, really. "So, is that skirt supposed to be stuck up there?"

Emilia had panicked, and I'd set the baskets down to at least help her get her clothes in order. Then I left, returning to my house in record time. I made sure to take off my muddied boots before entering the house, and then I had to pause in the doorway due to a very strange sight. Eirika was… attempting… to sweep. A valiant attempt, I supposed. Except she held the broom stiffly and at a weird angle to her body. Meaning that all she really did was push dust and ash around, instead of getting it into a neat little pile. The sight was so ridiculous that a laugh bubbled to my throat unbidden. I choked on it, announcing my return with a cough, and tried to think of the last time I'd laughed. It was an answer that would require a lot more thinking than I was willing to do.

"Oh, ah, welcome back!" Eirika chirped when she noticed me, hiding the broom behind her back. As if that would actually hide it. Or the dust. "I was just… uh…"

"Cleaning, right?" I asked, face stretching with a smile. A wide smile. It hurt. I was tempted to reach up and see if my face cracked because it hurt so much. "Where's Seth?"

"Checking on his horse." She 'subtly' leaned the broom against the wall. I headed into the kitchen with the baskets and pretended she got away with it. "You said I could help today!"

"With the cleaning?"

"With the cooking!" Oh, that was right. It was something Eirika had always wanted to learn. Before Monica died, she and I had lessons with the palace cooks, but… "So, what are we making today?"

"A whole bunch of apples." I set the baskets on the table and pulled the honey out, along with the pies. "And we're having pie for dessert."

"Oh, looks good!" Eirika smiled, and it almost looked normal. She was doing her best to put on a brave face, but the lack of news had to be driving her mad. We didn't even know if Ivroria still held or not. "Oh, cherry…" Her smile wavered, struggling to stay in place, when she studied the pies. The cherry one was obvious because Emilia had filled it to bursting. "That's Ephraim's favorite."

"Is it?" I had to struggle to keep my voice even. Ephraim… he might be Eirika's twin, but I was… severely unimpressed with him. The number of times he skipped out on duties, snuck out of the palace, slept through lessons… it was enough to drive someone mad, really. Made worse, in my case at least, because of the number of times Orson had to cancel plans to hunt down his wayward prince and the number of times Eirika had been stuck in an awkward situation with the court or visiting nobles. And the whispers that had followed dogged our footsteps, mocking how little Ephraim must care to push all his work on his twin, how little he thought of his knights and their duties… one of the things that always baffled me was how Orson was so loyal to him. Orson always said I'd figure it out when I had a proper conversation with him… which would've been way easier if he didn't dodge events where I could do that! But he was only around Eirika during free/private time, and I never wanted to impose then because it was when Eirika relaxed! And I usually used that time to catch up on things I needed to do! ...Okay, and I never wanted to use what little free time I had just to satisfy a little bit of curiosity. So, I supposed I did avoid him a bit? Just a bit! Only because he was so aggravating and I hated how he made things harder for everyone around him and…!

"Something's upset you." Eirika frowned and leaned forward a little to study my expression. After a moment, she winced, like a thought occurred to her. "Ah, of course… you're upset about how Ephraim…"

"Disappeared, again?" I almost bristled as I thought about it. Not only had he disappeared, but he'd taken Orson with him! The only family I had left was…! "You would think that if there was going to be one time he'd be with you and your father, it would be now. Instead, he runs off for personal glory and…!" I shouldn't be saying any of this. I knew that. Yes, I was mad. Yes, I was upset. Yes, I assumed the worst with him. But there was being honest and there was being mean. Monica was always quick to scold me whenever I mixed the two up. So, seeing the pain on Eirika's face, I bit my tongue. Hard. Really hard. Tasted iron. Took a moment to realize why. "Am I bleeding?"

"How did you do that?!" Eirika rushed into the kitchen to get me some water. I went to the sink so that I could rinse my mouth. "Seriously…?!"

"Well, I literally bit my tongue?" This was so freaking ridiculous. If I remembered how, I'd probably be laughing. But I didn't, and the sound didn't 'helpfully' bubble up. "Freaking ow… can you get me a towel?"

"Yeah, here." Eirika handed me one and I pressed a corner to my tongue. Pressure was important for wounds. "How did you end up biting your tongue?"

"Because I was being mean." After all, no one knew where Ephraim and his knights were. Eirika knew just as much about where her twin was as I knew about Orson. For all any of us knew, they were dead. Probably were. "Of all the times for me to grumble, this isn't it." Even if I did severely question Orson's loyalty, or why Ephraim was still heir, this wasn't… "Ugh… I'm getting too worked up."

"You are." Still, Eirika muffled a giggle, her eyes dancing in quiet mirth. "But, it is nice to see."

"Princess Eirika, you don't have to placate me." I stopped bleeding, finally, so I rinsed my mouth again. "I just said horrible things. What's that thing we did when I first entered your service?"

"The question game. But no, we don't have to revive that. For one thing, grief is messy, right? That's what I was taught, when Mother died." She took the towel from me and folded it up before setting it aside. "Grief and pain aren't pretty. They can make you do things and say things that are hurtful to others. They can make you do hurtful things to yourself." That was… true. Orson, in his grief, nearly killed himself. I still wasn't sure if I'd done the right thing, stopping him, even if I was glad to not lose him. "And, well, even if I am worried, I can't say I'm not frustrated too. He didn't even tell me he was leaving. And I never really studied war. That was always his thing. So, I knew he could've been much more helpful than me…"

"Eirika…" Absently, I got the kettle and set about making tea. I knew I needed it, and I figured she would to.

"I'm sure once I know he's safe, the frustration will take over and I'll snap at him. He and I understand each other the best." She smiled wanly, and I felt horrible. I really should have bitten my tongue sooner… "However, though it's a bit of normality, you getting grumpy with Ephraim wasn't what I was referring to." This was a bit more than 'grumpy', but… "It was how lively you were." ...Ah. "That's what I was glad to see." Well, now I had no idea how to react or feel. But… but she was right. For the first time in months, I wasn't absolutely exhausted. I was irritated as all hell, but not exhausted.

"Why is there blood on the counter?" Of course, that's when Seth walked in from wherever his horse was hidden. I still had no idea where that was. "Is everything all right?" he asked, frowning as he scanned the room. I was glad he was up and about; his fever had only broken yesterday afternoon. "I didn't hear anything amiss?"

"I just bit my tongue, Seth," I answered, getting three mugs from the cupboard when the kettle began whistling. Finding the tea proved to be harder, but I managed. Via climbing onto the counter. The container with all the teas got shoved to the very back of the cupboard at some point. "Literally."

"I… I see." Seth still frowned, but he chose to not pursue the subject, thankfully. Just watch me warily as I balanced precariously. "Something tells me you're not supposed to do that."

"No, but that's never stopped me."

"Seth, how's your horse?" Eirika asked, switching the subject. When I glanced over at her, I saw her smiling innocently as Seth turned his frown to her. "Doing okay?"

"Yes, and I think I'll sneak one of these apples to Tyr," Seth answered, going along with the conversation change with only a little sigh. He still watched me warily until I was safely back on the floor with the container. "Weapons and supplies are more of my concern, but…" I caught his eye and pointed to the back wall, where some were hanging. And by 'some', I meant a lot. The thing was basically filled. "Yes, I know those are there. I wasn't going to just assume I could use them." Why not? They were up there for emergency weapons (for Mom and Dad when they were alive, and Orson when he was here). And because they were pretty.

"Surely not all of them are usable weapons anyway?" Eirika tiptoed over, poking at a few of the more ornamental ones. And she did have a bit of a point. Some were up there just becaue they were pretty. But not all. "I mean… there's a fan here!"

"Fans are dangerous. They make quite the crack when you get hit in the head." Seth finally smiled slightly, and I started rinsing the apples now that I had the tea steeping. "Regardless, we should be able to head for Frelia soon. I'm sure they're worried about how long we're taking and…" Seth tried to cross his arms, but flinched. A quick look showed crimson on his sleeve. "Damn."

"Hang on! I'll get the bandages!" And Eirika darted down the hall before anyone could stop her.

"I'm a bit worried that it keeps reopening," I murmured when Eirika left. Seth sighed and sat down at the table, resting his arm on it and rolling up his sleeve. The bandages were saturated. "Sorry that we don't have a doctor around here. The one we had evacuated a couple days before you two arrived." And I was sure he needed one.

"I'm fine," Seth countered firmly. In that tone that said that he would be fine, no matter what, because he could be no less. It was almost enough to make me roll my eyes. "Still, I am glad it was treated when it was."

"I'm sure." Eirika was taking a while. Did she forget which room the first aid kit was in? "Hey, Seth?"

"Hmm?"

"That first night, you seemed surprised to see me." I began cutting the apples, absently thinking of recipes. I saved a few for them to take with them, though. Apples traveled fairly well, or so I thought. "Why was that? I mean…"

"Truthfully, I hadn't planned on coming here." Seth chuckled and smiled ruefully. "I knew we had to get off the road. Princess Eirika needed the rest." So had he. "Around the time I came to that decision, I saw the turnoff to here. I knew the area, so I knew it would be safe to ride off the paths, even with the rain."

"And you…? What? Forgot that the house wasn't in the village proper?"

"I fell unconscious." That… right, I'd forgotten. He'd been out that night. "Princess Eirika is the one who found your home." That is, the one who had never been here before, had never even been near the area before. "Bit of a miracle, really."

"This is where people start grumbling-joking about the 'Jehannan luck', right?" I knew of it, thanks to Mom. In Jehanna, those with red hair and red eyes were considered 'lucky', particularly with the type of luck you wished you didn't need in the first place. It was considered to be one of the reasons why the coloring was common in Jehanna, and unusual anywhere else. Well, that and Jehannans rarely marrying foreigners. Seth and I were automatically oddballs because we were half.

"Well, it's better than some other phrases." Seth said the words lightly, too lightly, and refused to elaborate. He didn't need to. Because the coloring was unusual in most of Magvel, all the countries had some sort of saying about them. Renais mentioned they were born with 'war in their blood' and were always strong warriors (which Seth, at least, proved true). Frelia said that they were undying, rising from death to continue to do battle. Grado would whisper 'red eyes, take warning' because they were beloved by the Queen Goddess of the Dead and She would smite all those who angered Her beloved. And Rausten screamed 'burn the children of demons!'. I'd heard all of them during my time at court, and Seth had heard them even more than me.

"Carcino is the only one without a phrase, right?" I remembered asking Victor about it, out of curiosity. "Probably because of money."

"They do make good coin off of Jehannan perfumes, from my understanding." Pounding footsteps heralded Eirika's return. "I insist on helping with cooking prep when my arm is bandaged."

"Sure." I knew better than to argue with Seth. His near-invincibility wasn't limited to only battles, after all. "What all do we have anyway?"

Almost hard to believe that Grado was devouring Renais, with evenings like this. Almost.

---

The stores were almost empty. It made sense. After all, everyone who evacuated made sure to take some. Plus there were those of us who still stayed. It made sense for them to be so bare. But it still took me aback, because I had never seen them so low before. Rosewatch might've been out of the way, but it had always been blessed with fertile fields and good hunting. Even during bad years, we never went hungry. Our main problems came from floods and illnesses, with the occasional bandits who managed to stumble down the path to here.

"Really shows how it's dying, huh?" I whispered, shutting the door. The building looked almost lonely in the long shadows of the sunset. "Does this mean I'm looting a corpse?" I wasn't sure what was more troubling: the thought or how little I cared. Probably the latter, since the same thought had bothered me when it was the house. "Ah, well…" Shaking my head, I turned away to return to the house. I was careful to walk along the outer boundary of the village, so that no one stopped me. Not that there were many who would. Honestly, including myself, there were maybe… six people left? No, five. Just me, Emilia, Grandpapa James, Lewis, and Maddie. Everyone else had left this morning. I wondered how long it would be until no one but the dead remained. What would I do then? I had no idea. None at all…

I grimaced when I heard the rumble of thunder, thinking another storm was on the way. The ground was still really soft and muddy from the last one, so I feared we might have some trouble if more rain came. But even as scenarios spun through my head, I realized something. It didn't sound right. And it was very… long. Too long for thunder. And through it, I heard something 'clanging'.

With my blood freezing in terror, I slowly turned towards the sound and my worst fears were confirmed. This was no thunder. Thunder didn't approach through the trees, uncaring of all it trampled. Thunder didn't charge under a crimson flag bearing a black wyvern rampant. Only Grado did.

Filled with a burst of energy that pierced through all the exhaustion, I dropped the basket and bolted for the house, desperately hoping I'd get there before the soldiers did. It would be difficult, and I'd only succeed if they focused on the main village and ignore the side path to the house. And I… I couldn't even hope for that. Not really. Because if they focused on the village, then those few still here would… they'd… ah, I couldn't even think on it. Trying to just led to me nearly slipping and falling, losing precious seconds to desperate flailing. So, I just ran. As fast as I could. Until my legs were numb. Until my chest went cold. All just so that I could get that extra little second that could maybe make a difference…!

"You two have to get out of here!" I shouted as I crashed through my door. I kicked it shut behind me, just out of habit, and yanked a startled Eirika up from her seat by the fire. She stumbled, not quite able to get her feet under her. "Now! Grado is here!" I shoved Eirika towards the back door, which led straight to the woods. Seth, meanwhile, had scrambled up to quickly pack whatever they'd need. "Go!"

"Wait, Emma!" Eirika protested, grabbing my sleeves. I pulled myself away and quickly banked the fire to hide any presence of life. "Emma, come with-!"

"You can't get caught, damn it!" And then I was right back to pushing her. Distantly, I thought I could just leave with her. But… "I need to hide that you two were here!" That was more of an excuse. Really, I just didn't want to slow them down. "Go!"

"But-!"

"She's right, Princess Eirika," Seth interrupted, appearing next to us. He packed quick. He had three or four packs on him, all near bursting. "This way. Hurry."

Eirika kept on trying to protest, even as Seth dragged her out. I closed the door behind them and leaned against it, desperately trying to get my breathing under control. My legs throbbed in pain. My chest ached. My heart was pounding so loud that I could barely hear anything. But I grit my teeth and pushed myself off the door. And then staggered, because what energy I'd had disappeared as soon as they were out of sight. As soon as they were safe. I half thought about collapsing and just… see what happened. I was curious, even if I didn't find myself caring.

But then someone kicked in the front door, knocking it off its hinges. "Pardon the intrusion," they began, laughing like this was all one big game. As I faced them, I noticed the blood. Some bits encrusted on the armor, like they hadn't bothered to clean it in a while. Some fresh bits dripping down to dot the floor. More matting their stringy teal hair. Blood slipping down the lance they held. Where had all the blood come from? There weren't enough people here for that much, right? "I fear some prey I'm hunting got away from me."

"And you thought you would find it here, in my house, after such a rude entrance?" I retorted, raising my head slightly so that I could stare them in the eye. Well, I had energy again, somehow, but it felt frozen like the rest of me. I was scared. Whoever this person was, they were no friend. I'd… I might've been trained for situations like this, but I'd never actually faced an 'enemy' before. Not one with weapons and an intent to kill. "Who are you?"

"My, my… a pretty little thing with such a defiant light to her…" They chuckled lowly, darkly, and my skin crawled at the sound. It crawled even more, somehow, at the glint in their eyes as they stepped closer. Feral. Rabid. That's what the glint reminded me of. "You are interesting. Hair of blood and eyes to match…"

"I don't know why I expected manners, given your entrance, but you have yet to answer my question." Fear kept me rooted to the floor, so I could only continue staring coldly at the person as they walked right on up to me. But even through that fear, I realized that if I could keep them busy talking, Eirika and Seth would have more time. So, the fear made me brave too. "So, I ask again. Who are you?"

"Valter, the Moonstone, Grado's finest general." ...I knew him. Oh, I definitely knew him. His rampant slaughter of friend and foe alike was infamous for its sheer brutality. And the way he had ripped civilians apart… witness testimonies claimed that they'd seen rabid beasts do less damage. Guess I knew who mauled Seth now. I'd always wondered why he'd only been imprisoned instead of executed. Now I wondered if Emperor Vigarde had simply been waiting to unleash a mad dog for the war. "As for my prey… well, that clever corpse took the darling princess off road, using the rains to mask the trail."

"And you think that means they appeared here?" I didn't move. I didn't twitch. I couldn't, really. Not even as he ran his gauntleted hand through my hair, twisting the locks around his fingers to tug slightly. "That's quite the leap of logic. The village isn't even well known or anything."

"No, and it's been most vexing to find. But…" He smirked, pulling harder on my hair. I was so cold with fear that I might as well be nothing but ice. I wished I'd tied my hair up or something, just to give him less to grab onto, but I hadn't cared about whatever tangles it picked up, despite the length. "Curiously, while we were hunting for clues, we came across a group of people. They were quite… informative."

"Were they?" And somehow, I became even colder. The ones who evacuated this morning… or maybe the ones who evacuated yesterday… had… had he…? "I somehow doubt they gave the information willingly."

"Oh, they were quite willing. Desperate to survive, they babbled anything they thought would please me." He bared his teeth in a sickening grin, and my eyes darted to the blood in his hair. No, not enough for the few here. But for those on the road…? "They also mentioned something interesting. A former lady in waiting to Princess Eirika, who lived just outside this little village. The sister to one of Prince Ephraim's personal knights, and the daughter of one of King Fado's. Just the sort of person to provide sanctuary, yes?"

"Oh, yes, that's certainly an obvious conclusion. Too obvious, really." I scoffed and rolled my eyes. His grin grew and he leaned in even closer. I felt his too hot breath on my face and only didn't squirm because I couldn't move at all. "Yes, if they were here, I would give them shelter. But they're not. Seems to me that you wasted your time, really."

"Oh, not at all…!" He chuckled again, but this time, it sounded deranged. His eyes were alight with gleeful madness. "After all…" He jerked my head to the side, yanking my hair so hard that I staggered. He used that opportunity to knock my feet out from under me and pinned me to the floor, one hand on my throat to choke me. He was outright laughing now, and whatever resolve my fear had given me wavered as I remembered the other parts of the report on Valter's rampage. What he'd done to the women. "I have found such lovely prey right in front of me, enough to sate my appetite until I find that defiantly lovely corpse and the princess with brightly fierce eyes…!"

In that moment, what training I had surged to the forefront and I quickly found a key weakness. My hands were free. So, despite him pressing on my throat and the dots turning my vision fuzzy, I managed to claw at his eyes and when he jerked back and screamed, I rolled out from under him to escape. My first attempt to scramble to my feet just sent me crashing right back to the floor, bruising my elbows. The second attempt was a bit better, but I had to quickly dodge as Valter screamed in fury and swung at me with his lance. It caught my skirt and ripped through the bottom easily, unsteadying me again and left me with no time to make it to the back door (much less open it and run out). But I could make it to the wall with the weapons, so as Valter charged for me, I grabbed the first one I could. It happened to be the fan and I just barely managed to unfurl it before he struck. There was a deafening 'clang' that made my ears ring, and the blow knocked me off my feet. But the fan had held, and Valter was surprised enough to actually pause, instead of following through to kill me.

And then he began laughing again, that horribly deranged laugh that made me nauseous and my skin crawl. "You are so beautiful, so tempting…" he hissed, stepping towards me again. I managed to get onto my feet and held the fan in front of me as a shield, but… but my wrist throbbed in pain. It wasn't broken, but the previous strike had probably sprained it. "Oh, how I want to break you, master you, make you scream…!"

"Sorry, but I have to refuse," I replied, forcing myself to step back towards the door. It was hard. My feet felt heavy. "I'm not much of a screamer."

"I'm sure I can change that." His sickening, feral smile nearly made me freeze, again, but I was… I was almost at the door… "Ah, it will be so much fun to-!"

The door burst open. It took a couple of blinks to realize that, and by the time I had processed it, Seth had already disarmed Valter and sent him flying back by the fireplace. Then, quickly and calmly, he grabbed a few of the non-ornamental weapons from the wall, took my free arm, and dragged me outside. Valter's screams of rage followed us, but were quickly swallowed by the trees as we disappeared among them.

"Seth, what are you…?" I tried to ask, while also trying to keep up. And trying to not throw up. Wasn't doing that great of a job with anything but the last one. I figured it was because my stomach was in too many knots. "Eirika?"

"She is safely hidden, with our things and my horse," Seth answered easily. We made it to the river, swollen from the recent rains, and he helped me across. And I had to admit that just being in the woods was quite the shield. Fliers were horrible with flying through, and the river would make any on foot hesitate. "So, I came to retrieve you."

"Why?" I didn't understand. He had to protect Eirika, after all.

"I may have my duty as a knight, but I have a duty as a friend as well." He smiled very, very slightly and I could only sigh. In retrospect, this should've been obvious. "I'm not telling Orson I left his sister behind." Speaking of Orson, he was going to have a fit when he heard about this. "And besides, I packed a bag for you as well." Of course he had. "I didn't expect them to track us here."

"They didn't. They just knew I was here, and around where they lost your trail." I wasn't going to mention how Valter had gotten the information. The dark look in Seth's eyes hinted he had an idea anyway. "Thank you."

Seth didn't reply, save for his smile growing just a little bit. Instead, he focused on where we were going, following some sort of invisible (to me) trail. I half-wondered if we were just wandering around in random directions, but before long, we found Eirika, standing near Seth's horse with the packs tucked neatly at her feet.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Eirika breathed, smiling shakily at us. She clung to the horse's reins tightly, so tightly that her knuckles were white. "I'm so glad…"

"Reminder, Princess Eirika, that this is precisely the sort of situation being your lady in waiting entailed," I pointed out dryly. Like I wasn't nearly sick, and still bone-cold with fear. Seth briefly made sure I was steady enough to stand on my own before doing some last minute checks with his saddlebags. "It was part of the job, alongside everything else."

"Well, yes, but it hadn't happened before!" She had a point there. "Also, why are you holding that fan?"

"Hmm? Ah." Noticing I still had the fan unfurled, I flicked it so that Eirika could hear the distinct 'ping' of metal before seeing if it still folded properly. Thankfully, it did. "I wonder how they make these things. Magic?" I glanced at Eirika and had to smile at her dumbfounded look. Her jaw was dropped and everything! "Yes, everything on that wall was, in fact, a weapon."

"Uh… how?" Eirika almost poked it, but I stopped her. And plucked a strand of hair from my head to cut it and demonstrate the sharpness. "Tana would love this. But seriously, how?"

"Rausten specializes in hidden weapons, just as Frelia does. But they prefer the 'hide in plain sight' tactic," Seth explained, tightening his saddle. He then nodded to the fan for a bit of emphasis. "Things like that, or hair decorations. I've heard that even their tomes are disguised to look like normal religious texts." He fixed the bridle, frowning about something. "That said, I had always thought Raustenians didn't sell their war-fans?"

"Mom got it as a gift from a friend," I explained, shrugging. Never heard anything else, like how her friend got it in the first place. Sure, they could've just been from Rausten, but that would've been weird. Jehanna and Rausten hadn't gotten along in decades. Or so I picked up from Mom's grumblings and the pointed comments from visiting Raustenian diplomats in the court. "There's a few variations, from my understanding. This one is a bit of a jack of all trades, I think?" Sharp ribbing for stabbing, metal plates for shielding, and if worse came to worse, you could always just fold it up to whack someone over the head with it. "That's about the extent of my knowledge, save for knowing somewhat how to use one." 'Somewhat' being key.

"Which reminds me." Seth focused on me, stepping away from his horse. Eirika was still studying the fan. "Orson taught you, right? Weapons, I mean."

"Well, yes." Of course he had. It had been my job. After all, Renais had very few female knights, and there were some situations where males just could not attend to a noblewoman. So, the problem was 'solved' by noblewomen having at least one 'lady in waiting', a trusted companion who handled things from wardrobe and jewelry to schedules and assisting to duties to… well, knowing how to fight in order to protect their mistress. "I'm not very good, but he taught me a little of everything?"

"Right, he wanted you to not be in a situation where you couldn't defend yourself or Princess Eirika." He looked through the weapons he'd snatched and passed me a lance. Eirika got a rapier. Monica had told me it had been a wedding gift to our parents. "I remember Orson saying you were best with lances? Or was it bows?"

"I had the best luck with lances, bows, and daggers." I hesitated at calling myself 'good' at any of them, though. Honestly, my priority in training had always been to try and keep sharp things from stabbing Eirika or me. "I highly doubt I'm lasting against a trained soldier, though."

"It's just in case." Seth picked up one of the packs and strapped it onto his saddle. His horse danced a little from the unexpected weight, but Seth quieted it with practiced ease. "Now then…"

"Wait, we can't leave!" Eirika protested, snapping back to reality. Seth closed his eyes briefly, and I knew he was asking for strength. "Not yet!" She gripped the rapier tightly, and it trembled slightly. "We have to help the village!" And there was that stubborn light in her eyes, the one that always made me sigh. "We're not leaving them behind!"

"There's four people there, Princess Eirika. At most," I countered tiredly. I was starting to ache. My wrist really freaking hurt. My stomach was churning. While I was worried about the four, I also… I also didn't want to risk seeing Valter again. I didn't want Eirika anywhere near him. "Everyone else already left."

"Then that's four people we need to save." Her voice was hard. Yep, not winning this. I knew that tone too well. And I couldn't really find an argument that I agreed with. Saying that I was okay with it would be a horrific lie. "So, let's move! The quicker we do this, the quicker we can leave."

"Things like this really highlight the similarities between you and your twin." I looked up at Seth, who was already heading back towards the village, not bothering to protest. He knew even better than me how pointless it would be. "Putting it to record that I'm fairly sure they're capable of running and escaping? Maybe not as fast, but there's been quite a bit of time." She just scowled, so I sighed. Yep, pointless. Hell, that explanation didn't even convince me. "Fine. Stay near me, okay?" I tucked the fan into one of the packs and gripped the lance tightly. My wrist throbbed, but I ignored it. Just a little more… just a little more, and then I could collapse, sleep, and maybe just not wake up. "Seth can kill people better without having to worry about us damsels being in distress."

Eirika and I made sure to keep our distance from Seth, mostly just to give him plenty of room to maneuver if need be. And for reasons he didn't explain, he actually took a completely different path once we were across the river. Though we were tempted to follow, Eirika and I continued our walk through the dark woods alone, like this was some silly little ghost-walk thing. Not us walking right back to a village under assault. And it was completely under attack. For gods' sakes, the place was on fire.

"Why are they burning the buildings?" I whispered, once we were near the edge of the woods and could properly see the flames slowly turning Rosewatch to ruins. Next to me, Eirika tensed and used her free hand to grip my sleeve. "Do they think people are hiding? Seriously?" Or were they just trying to make sure no one could come back? Or was this revenge for escaping Valter? This was my fault no matter what, though… "Biggest house is Grandpapa James's. If anyone is in the village still here, that's my guess." It was one of the few with two floors and it was also the one least on fire. For now. "Still say that they've run already. Grandpapa James could run circles around half the Renaisi knights."

"Let's make sure," Eirika replied softly. She was still tense, and her rapier trembled. But her eyes were fierce and stubborn. "I don't want to assume." Of course she didn't. Well, couldn't blame her for that. "Do you hear that?" It took a moment to hear anything past the crackling of the flames, but I did eventually hear the sounds of metal on metal, and screams of 'the Silver Knight!'. "Seth… that's why he split off. He's distracting them so we can look." She shakily took a deep breath, and nodded. "We can't waste this chance." She was right.

So, I nodded and led the way again, keeping to the woods as much as possible in order to reach Grandpapa James's home. As we got close, I noticed the window on the second floor was open and that was unusual enough to shake me. No one left the windows open at night, especially at this time of year. Bugs were a pain in the neck. Not to mention how you'd get terrible wakeup calls in the form of terrified birds who accidentally flew in and couldn't figure out how to escape again. So, the fact that it was open was… well, it made me hurry my pace. And not keep focused on hiding. Which turned out to be bad, because not every Grado soldier had gone after Seth. At least one had been near the house, and they heard the noise I was making (and forced Eirika to make) and came to investigate. They opened their mouth to shout, but they barely got the sound out before something very heavy hit them in the head. Without thinking about it, I whipped my lance around and skewered them through the throat, just as Orson had taught me, and only then thought to look at just what the object had been. The answer was a book. A very thick, very heavy book. A very thick, very heavy cookbook.

"Emma! Thank goodness!" Emilia's breathless voice drew my attention upwards, and I saw her leaning out the open window. Maddie was right next to her, staring at the corpse with terrified eyes. "Grandpapa James tried to get to your house to make sure you were okay, but he got injured," she explained shakily. For the upteenth time that time, I went cold with terror, with a spike of confusion holding the chill in place. Why had he'd done that? Even if he was in good shape, he was still elderly. The body couldn't heal as well at that age, even with healing magic. Which we had none of. Gods, did we even have basic first aid? "Uh… okay, how to get…"

I was moving. I didn't even really process I was moving until I heard Emilia yelp and Eirika calling for me to wait for her. I just ran, darting for the front, so frozen that I was completely numb to whatever pain or nausea or anything I'd been feeling before. Which was good, because when I made it there, I found two soldiers trying to push their way inside, perhaps hoping for hostages or something to make Seth falter, wherever he was. But I wasn't having it.

Using my lance, I tripped one so that they fell face first in the flames and then stabbed them through the back to keep them there. However, I didn't manage to disable the second one before they tried to strike. Not that it mattered, because Eirika was there, killing the soldier with a well-placed thrust to the eye. She stared at the two bodies, her face simultaneously pale and green. Me? Distantly, I knew I should be the same, and that I would be the same, but I had things to do. Which meant I was running inside the burning building and cutting through the more fiery parts to make it up to where I'd seen Emilia and Maddie. I burned my hand opening the door, the knob was heated thanks to the flames, but I made it there. Not only that, but Lewis and a bleeding Grandpapa James were with them.

"We're running. It's bad." I could've almost hit myself for just how stupid I sounded then. The place was under attack and on fire. Of course it was bad. "Come on," I whispered, pulling Grandpapa James up so that I could carry him out. He wheezed and coughed in pain, and I winced when I saw how much he was bleeding. Worse, it was his abdomen. "Princess Eirika?"

"I'm here!" Eirika replied, appearing in the doorway. She had a few burns, and she was covered in soot and ash, but she smiled warmly as she held out a hand. "This way!" She ushered Lewis, Maddie, and Emilia out the door. I followed with Grandpapa James, barely able to keep upright due to his weight. "It's… it's going to be okay…"

"I can't believe you did something this stupid," I grumbled to Grandpapa James, mostly to help myself keep my focus as we walked through the increasingly unstable house. I was half-carrying him, mostly because I just couldn't fully carry him. Meaning we had to deal with him not being able to get his feet quite under him, along with all the smoke. Couldn't even crawl. It hurt to breathe. "I seriously can't believe it. My house was probably the safest place." I wouldn't mention Valter, or the very real danger I'd been in. "Since it's so far from the village and all."

"I figured… they were here because... they knew you were, little sun…" Grandpapa James protested with a terrible wheeze, using what strength he had to lean on me and press against the worst of his wounds. His blood seeped through his fingers and dripped on me; I swore it burned more than the fire. "So, I had to make sure…" He laughed. He actually laughed. It was more of a cough, and it sounded wet, but it was still recognizable as a laugh. "Even the toughest can be killed, little sun."

"Ignoring how I'm not tough at all, I had time to run." Though, explaining the last few days was going to be very interesting. Later. Much later. "We're at the steps. Just a little more to the door." I could see Emilia and Eirika waiting at the bottom, no doubt to help if needed. "We're almost out. We're almost safe."

"Good…" This time, he just coughed. His lips and chin were speckled with blood. I could only hope… that the cough hadn't caused that. "Good…"

Eirika had to dart up to catch us when I slipped on one of the stairs, but thanks to her, none of us fell and Emilia go us steady once we were safely on the floor. Then we headed outside where Maddie and Lewis were waiting. And where Seth was waiting as well, showing why the two were allowed outside in the first place. He said nothing as we joined him, and seemed completely impassive about everything, even the fact that he was splattered with enough blood to fill at least two tubs. He just nodded and picked up Maddie, carrying her in one arm while holding onto his lance with the other. Emilia picked up Lewis, since he was the smallest, and we escaped into the woods, hoping the trees and shadows would hide our flight. Behind us, Rosewatch burned, filled with corpses that would join the rest.

Orson was seriously going to have a fit when he heard about this.

---

We made it to Seth's horse and the packs. We headed deeper into the woods, far beyond where any of us would've normally gone. The whole thing was a blur to me, though. I was tired. I ached. My wrist throbbed. My palm was blistered, raw and burning. My legs could barely bear my weight. It hurt to breathe. The only reason I hadn't puked my guts out was because I was simply too exhausted. I really just wanted to collapse and not move. But I kept moving. I kept moving. Because I had to. Meaning that was all I really focused on. That, keeping up with everyone, and not dropping Grandpapa James. Not until we were 'safe' and camped for the night. Day. Honestly had no idea what time it was.

Maddie and Lewis curled up to nap by the packs as soon as we stopped. Seth got a fire started and then left briefly, perhaps to patrol or something. Eirika and Emilia frantically rummaged through the packs until they brought out every shred of potential medical supplies we had. I set Grandpapa James down as gently as I could, using one of the packs to help elevate his feet because… because. It seemed like some first-aid-basic, even if I couldn't really piece together why that was. And it distracted me, briefly, by how… Grandpapa James was breathing, yes, but it was just barely. And it was more of a 'rattle' than a 'breath'. And his eyes were closed, and sunken. His skin was waxy-pale. And he was getting colder by the breath.

While Eirika attempted to get things organized, Emilia pulled up Grandpapa Jame's shirt to undo whatever bandage they'd put on before. When she pulled away the saturated mess of cloth, I… I could only stare in horror as I finally figured out why there had been fresh blood on Valter's lance and armor. Because the wound was vicious, like something had torn out a chunk of his side, and it looked similar to the ones Seth had suffered. Automatically, I covered the wound with my hands, putting pressure, but in what felt like a handful of heartbeats, my hands were swimming in the blood. And more coated them with each pulse.

"Ah, I wish I studied more first aid…" Eirika whispered, placing her hands on mine to help apply pressure. Emilia was looking frantically between what we had and the wound, piecing together the same thing I was. That nothing we had… nothing we had was going to… "But here, I can at least help with this? Sir, I'm so sorry, but try to hold..."

"Oh, we stopped moving?" Grandpapa James wheezed, coughing hard enough to force more blood out of his wound. Or maybe it was just the way he jerked. Either way, his eyes fluttered open, and his gaze was surprisingly clear for all the pain he was in. "Ah, you must be Princess Eirika." He reached up with a shaking, bloody hand and patted her on the head. "The best friend to our little sun. Good to finally meet you. She always brought back such fun stories when she visited."

"You sure now is the time to be saying anything?" I asked dryly, poking his cheek like he was just being stubborn about going to bed after a night of celebrating the harvest and my hands were sticky from candy. Not… not bleeding from a really bad injury and my hands were sticky from his blood. "Especially something like that?"

"This is precisely the time to talk, little sun." He continued patting Eirika on the head, and Eirika closed her eyes, willing back tears. She was piecing it together too. Emilia began hunting through the packs again, looking for anything that might help. But he'd been bleeding too long. We all knew it. "This isn't your fault, your highness." No, it was mine. Mine, because I'd selfishly returned to the house. "But if you feel it is, then I do have a request."

"Of course!" Eirika replied instantly, opening her eyes again. They wavered with the tears she held back, but she made sure to smile. She smiled, and when Grandpapa James pulled his hand away, she grasped it gently between both of hers, no longer trying to prevent the inevitable. "What is it?"

"I'd like it if you survived. You and Prince Ephraim, so that you can save Renais." He smiled at her so kindly. "I want my grandchildren to know peace again."

"I will. They will." Eirika's voice cracked, but she still didn't cry. She just kept up the warm, reassuring smile. "My brother and I will restore Renais and help it prosper again. I promise."

"Good." He turned his attention to me then and reached up with his free hand. It shook so badly that he almost hit my eye, but instead, he brushed my cheeks, like he was wiping away tears. Tears that weren't there. "And you, little sun…" He then ruffled my hair, like he always did. "I'd like it if you remembered how to shine again. So, you have to live a little longer for that."

"That doesn't sound fair," I muttered. I caught his hand and held it, feeling the warmth slowly fade away. The charm bracelet he wore, and the one I wore… they trembled, but I didn't know if it was his fault, or mine. Both were bloody, though. "Really doesn't." I sighed and held on tighter, like I could will my warmth into him to replace what was leaving. I doubted it would work; it hadn't with Monica, after all. "Can't believe you're being mean right now."

"Humor an old man, little sun," Grandpapa James joked, even somehow laughing. Beside me, Emilia hung her head in defeat. The wound was bleeding sluggishly. I could feel the flow stopping with the hand I still pressed to it. "So?"

"Fine, I promise." As if I even knew what he meant. "...You should've just stayed at your house… I was fine…" I should've told him that Eirika and Seth were with me. If I had, he wouldn't have worried… why had he worried? "I…"

"It's the privilege of the old to worry about the young, even when they're old enough to fly on their own." Grandpapa James closed his eyes. His grip loosened. "So, live. Live, and fly." And two breaths later, two terribly painful breaths later, he was gone. And it… it felt so unreal. Just like when Monica died. It just… with all the death I'd experienced, you'd think I'd get used to how people were there one second, and gone the next. But I didn't. I couldn't.

At some point in that unreal haze, Seth rejoined us. He rested a muddy hand on my shoulder, and I realized he hadn't just been patrolling. Seeing the inevitable before the rest of us, he'd been digging a grave. Probably a shallow one, but one nonetheless. Because we couldn't take Grandpapa James with us. Much as we wanted to, Frelia was days away still. We couldn't carry a corpse for that long. So, I shuffled back, giving Seth the room he needed to pick up Grandpapa James. I thought about following him when he walked away, to watch him be buried, but I couldn't move my legs. I tried, but they had no strength to hold me up.

"Emma?" Emilia called shakily. She was still by the medical supplies, not looking at anyone. Eirika moved away to give us privacy, and… and I saw that Maddie and Lewis were awake again, so she was with them. Briefly. Before Maddie chased after Seth. "Emma, your wrist is swollen." It took a couple of blinks to register what she said, and then another few more to look down and confirm it. Took a while to remember that I'd sprained it earlier. I was numb. I didn't feel anything. "Let me brace it."

"Sure," I whispered, dragging myself over to her. She found some bandages to wrap around my wrist, and I found a small towel I could use to clean my bracelet when she was done. It was probably silly, since the rest of me was such a mess, but I… I wanted the blood off of it, at least. "So, I'm guessing he said some words to you, back at his house."

"Yes. I snapped at him for saying things like last words. He'd just laughed. He'd known…" He had to have known as soon as it hit. But he'd struggled to stay alive, long enough to see that we made it out safely. Long enough to say the words he wanted to say. "He more or less told me the same thing he told you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, though he added that I should give Daniel a good scolding for making us all worry so much." She tried to smile, but it cracked like her voice and dissolved into tears. "Why is this all happening? Why did Grado attack? Why…?"

There was no answer. I certainly didn't know. So all I could do was sit there and let her cry into my shoulder when she finished wrapping my wrist up (and bandaging my palm because I'd forgotten about those blisters). Then she crawled over to Lewis, to fuss over him, and I pushed myself a bit away to wipe the blood off the charms, hoping I could get all of it. Or even most of it. Eirika sat beside me, watching me work, and staying silent. All of us were silent. We were silent even when Seth returned with Maddie, both stained with mud. Not even the forest made a noise.

So, it was a surprise when Maddie broke the silence. "Princess Eirika?" she whispered, sitting in front of her. Her voice was thick and raspy, cracking a bit. I wondered if she'd been screaming before our escape. She and Lewis had been absolutely silent otherwise, but now she spoke, whispering earnestly. "Here." She handed Eirika something. It took a few seconds to realize it was Grandpapa James's charm bracelet, carefully wiped clean. "I want you to hold onto this."

"I… of course," Eirika agreed, probably automatically. She was slumped too much to be anything but tired, and she was always extra agreeable when she was worked to the bone and beyond. "But may I ask why?"

"So that you don't forget the promise. I want it back when things are peaceful again." She looked right at Eirika, her eyes wavering with tears she didn't know how to cry. It hurt too much. "Hold onto it, until then."

"...Okay." Eirika clutched it to her chest, and used her free hand to stroke Maddie's hair. "I'll keep it safe until then."

"Thank you." Maddie tried to smile, but it was too broken to be any sort of smile at all. And then she crawled over to Emilia and Lewis, getting hugs from both of them.

"So that's why she insisted on removing it," Seth whispered softly. He had stood behind Eirika and me, probably for protection, but now he knelt, studying Eirika's face. "You're pale, your highness. Did you suffer injuries?"

"No, I'm fine," she reassured quickly. So quickly that both Seth and I looked at her suspiciously, if only out of habit. "It's just… it really just hit me, that's all." Eirika cradled the charm bracelet in her hands, as if it was the most precious thing in the world. "This is war, isn't it? It's not something read in a history book, or some silly game played by children. This is real war." She laughed bitterly, smiling painfully at the bracelet. "Words are meaningless, aren't they? All that matters is strength, and if you have none, you're cut down without so much as a second thought. And I am not strong. Not in the way war requires."

"Princess Eirika…"

"But… but I promised. I promised, so I won't give in to the despair in my heart." She slipped the charm bracelet on, right above the one she always wore, the gold one with a blue gem. Ephraim had a matching one. "I'll be okay, Seth. I won't break. Right now, I'm only strong enough to hold the hand of a dying man, but I'll become stronger. Until I've fulfilled my promise, I won't give up." The words might've been more believable if she didn't look like hell, or if she could sit up straight, but they were still enough. Enough for me, at least. "So, we head to Frelia, yes?"

"Yes, and we're not too far. A few more days from the border." He glanced at Emilia, Maddie, and Lewis. "We'll drop the three off at a village as soon as we can after crossing, before heading for the border fort, Mulan." He looked to me, waiting until I looked back at him before continuing. It took a bit. Mostly because I tried to remember where Maddie and Lewis's parents and siblings had gone, but I couldn't remember at all. "Emma, what will you do?"

"That's…" I began, but I ran out of words quickly. I didn't know what to do. I really didn't. I… honestly, I hadn't 'planned' for more than a couple hours ahead since Monica died. So now, I had no idea how to do that. "I suppose I'll stay with you two. At least until we're in Serton. If that's okay."

"It's more than okay," Eirika immediately reassured, smiling at me. It was that tired, worn, but still warm smile that was becoming her 'normal'. I wished Grandpapa James had at least gotten to see her 'real' smile. "I'm glad to travel with you again, even if circumstances are… not the best."

"There's that diplomacy and tact kicking in." The teasing dryness was completely automatic. I didn't even register saying the words until after I said them. "So, do we do watches or something?"

"I will take first watch," Seth stated firmly, standing back up. The look in his eyes made me think that was 'first and only' watch. "You two rest. We may be close, but it is still a hard journey ahead."

I didn't even pretend to protest, and Eirika only made a token one. The idea of finally being able to rest was just too much of a blessing. We didn't try to pull blankets or whatever out of the packs, just used the packs themselves as pillows and huddled all together for warmth. I only woke up once during the night, when Maddie squirmed her way over to me, trembling from a nightmare. I made sure to hold her tightly until she fell back asleep, glad to at least be able to give her some sort of comfort.

Gods, what was going on? I had no idea. About any of this, really. One day at a time. One step at a time. Too tired for more. Far, far too tired for more.

---

Emma

Younger daughter of one of King Fado's personal knights and a famous Jehannan mercenary, she's been a casual acquaintance of the royal family for years, due to her parents' friendship with the king and queen, and later due to Orson being assigned as one of Prince Ephraim's personal knights. It's because of this that four years ago King Fado asked her to become Princess Eirika's lady in waiting, a task she was eager to take up because she wanted to keep Renais safe, just as her father did

As a lady in waiting, she was expected to have basic weaponry skills, though unlike others, she didn't truly specialize in one weapon. Instead, she was trained to know a little bit of anything that could be used, to lessen the chances of her being unable to protect Princess Eirika. Thanks to how peaceful everything was in recent years, though, she's never had to use the training prior to the war

Death has, sadly, been very common in her life. Despite being seventeen, she's lost her parents, her sister, and most of her friends. Until her sister's death, however, she did her best to keep resilient, shining like the sun. Monica's death broke her, though, and she isolated herself in grief and slowly wasting away.

---

Author's notes: ...Yeah, okay, I'm sure people are confused. Basically, I had a problem with the original version. Multiple problems. Now, granted, normally when I have problems with my novelizations, I just push through and keep going. Learning process and all. But for Fe8's? It wasn't just bugging me. It was actively bothering me, to the point where not only was I dreading having to write the next chapters (despite being almost done), it was draining me of wanting to write other things as well (not helped by life being super busy). So, I did what I don't normally do; start over. Many details will be the same; all pairings will be the same. But not everything. For one thing, Emma's background is slightly different. For another, there are relationships that I want/wanted to explore more. And build up Magvel's world more evenly. And some other stuff. Thus, here we are, back at the beginning again. Think of it like starting a new playthrough in a game where you know more about what you're doing. And, for emphasis, this is NOT something I do normally. Normally, I'd finish and then, if I want to revist a game to novelize it, I do a completely different one (did this for Dragon Age: Origins, actually). Meaning that this will probably be a one-time thing. (So, please don't go requesting me to 'start over' any other novelizations. Not only am I happy with most of them, but I've enough projects as is! ...And I'm tentatively planning details for Three Houses, meaning I REALLY have enough projects)

Now that that's out of the way… uh… welcome back? For neatness sake, we're doing one bio per thing instead of 'bio appears on recruitment' thing. To lessen the chances of me forgetting people. That's… about all I have to say, really.

Next Chapter - Escape