When Kaetar was torn from her grip, Misha was ushered upstairs by a younger girl with blue-green hair that was tied back into a loose braid. "You look bigger than me but I have some long nightgowns that should fit. I mean, it'll be better than your wet clothes, right?" she asked quickly as she motioned Misha into her room. Misha wouldn't wear a gown if she had other options but in this case, she wasn't going to make a fuss. She needed to change out of the wet clothing and Misha was both taller and heavier than her host, so she had little choice in the matter. She was grateful for the dry clothing. The girl left for a moment so Misha could change.
The pale pink gown went a little past her knees and had short sleeves. She would have a preferred a a neck that went a little deeper but again, she wasn't going to argue. She also let her hair loose. It was like she was just simple girl again, a girl who didn't know the concept of hate or war. The only thing she had to worry about was chores. It was a nice change to be just a simple girl for once.
Her host took her wet clothing and she allowed down to see Kaetar, who looked no better fast asleep then he did when he was awake. Although his expression made him look to be at peace, he was still shivering quite violently under the sheets, not to mention that he somehow managed to lose even more colour. She just hoped that their trip through the rain didn't end up killing him. Gus was waiting for her in the room, wearing a black t-shirt and red baggy night pants. He held his sword in his hand, still in the sheath. "How is he?"
"It'll be hard," the woman answered. She had to be Andrew's mother and she looked a lot like the girl who gave her a change of clothes, only she was a lot heavier and her hair was a light green. Andrew had hair similar to his sister, so it was obvious that they didn't get that from her. "When did this start?"
"Just tonight. He was wounded earlier in the day," Gus answered. "Maybe it's poison?"
"He did ask for Nasir," Misha nodded. "If he is poisoned, can he recover from it on his own?"
"If we can keep his temperature low and keep him hydrated, he might be able to live long enough to get better but that's also assuming we don't get any surprises along the way. But what are your names? I'll have my family make sure you're comfortable while we help your friend out. I did raise my children to be hospitable."
"I'm Misha and this is Gus. Our sick friend here is Kaetar."
"You can call me Glenda. We'll have someone keep an eye on Kaetar then but for now, you two look don't look too much better than he does. Get some rest and then worry about him later or else you'll just end up sick too." That was probably true. They were also in the rain and Misha tried her best to shelter Kaetar without much success. It didn't mean well for them.
Gus hesitated, then rubbed the back of his neck. "Sure. Where do we sleep?"
"You'll find another door right across the room from this one. That's another guest bedroom. There should be a couple of cots in there," she answered. Gus led the way and they quickly located the room. He stood his sheathed sword up in the corner, then climbed into the cot.
"I hope Meagan's alright," he muttered.
"Why wouldn't she be?"
"I felt like she was hiding something from me and I was going to talk to her when the mission was done but that didn't happen," he said with a sigh. "I suppose there's whenever Kaetar gets better but I can't help but to be... antsy."
"What could she be hiding from you? I thought you two shared everything. I mean, that's the way it looks," Misha muttered. She didn't know the two of them extremely well, so she was always just looking in on their interactions and the two of them were lively. They looked to be in love. They were always sneaking kisses when they thought no one was looking and they were always together. It had to be hard for Gus to be laying down in a bed that he didn't share with his wife.
"I wouldn't know," he answered. "Something important." He fell asleep soon after that. She knew the feeling – both of them hauled Kaetar around because he was either too injured or too ill to get around on his own so that was understandable. He needed the help and if he could have run on his own he probably would have. She didn't mind moving him around, he was a friend, but he was heavier than he looked.
There was a small knock on the door sometime after Misha fell asleep. She usually slept well and deep, but she supposed she was on edge enough that the soft knocking did wake her. She opened the door to see Andrew. She was surprised that Gus didn't ask about him and how they met. Maybe he wanted to but just fell asleep before he could. "Were you sleeping?" he asked in a whisper.
"Not really," she answered. She would like to sleep but she didn't know if she could sleep peaceful at the moment, even if Andrew didn't knock on her door. "What are you doing?"
"We need to talk," he said. "Let's step outside."
She agreed and they set done at the table. "It's been a while," Misha started. "I thought you would still be serving in the Crimean army."
"Hah, about that," he said, rubbing the back of his beck nervously. "When you left our platoon to join the rebellion, you actually caused quite a stir. There are many of us who shared the same sentiment so when you left, it gave us the courage to speak up too. It caused enough trouble that Arkit decided to let us leave under the promise that we wouldn't help the rebellion."
"Huh, I thought that would be something we would hear about."
"Well, there weren't many of us who actually ended up leaving so I suppose nobody thought much of it. To Arkit, it was probably just another warning. He must give those out a lot, considering how kind he is."
"Yeah, kind," Misha mumbled. It was hard to call the man who killed Duma nice but she knew Arkit. He really was a kind commander but he was trapped in it like most people were. "I'm surprised you let us in then. You obviously know."
"I couldn't let you guys get sick. I panicked when I saw your friend," he admitted sheepishly. She didn't know Andrew very well when they were together in the same platoon so she didn't know how shy he could be. It was weird – that was generally the first think people would pick up on. Maybe she was too distracted back then to really notice.
Distracted with Cameron, the guy she thought she knew but even she was surprised when he stabbed Kaetar. He just lost it. When she thought of it, she was horrified that her mother thought she was going to marry the man and she sort of considered it. They were good friends when they were younger and they practically grew up together. They grew up in the same village and they were pretty much the only ones close in age. The rest of the children tended to be older or way younger. When Misha decided to enlist, he joined her and they sparred all the time. Misha didn't mind if she did spend the rest of her life with him.
She didn't know what changed but she didn't care if she never saw the man again. She was done with him.
"I told my family when mom sent you guys to bed and they back you guys up. We became outsiders when I returned home so it's not like my family has any investment in whatever Crimea is doing. I knew we would be picking a side when we gave you and Gus a change of clothes, you know, when the panic wore off and everything," he said with a sigh. "That's not what I really wanted to talk about though."
Misha shot him a confused looked. "Then what?"
"It's about Cameron. The hard part about keeping you guys here is keeping you guys hidden from Cameron because he patrols around here, thinks he's all important when he does, but he's always harassing us. He may not come in but if there's the smallest sign of you guys being here, well, I don't know what will happen," Andrew said sadly. "He did get promoted, he has gotten stronger, so I don't know how you and Gus would fare against him and his crew. I know I can't do anything."
"It's not hard to stay put. Gus and I know what we're doing and if we keep Kaetar asleep, he wouldn't pull anything either," she said with a nod. "But if something happened... I would need to see Cameron on my own. He may have gotten stronger but so have I! I didn't just sit around in my time with the rebellion and I seen and learned from people who are a lot stronger than Cameron can hope to be."
Misha hoped anyway. She hasn't truly measured her abilities yet. The first time she faced Loiya, he really humbled her. She didn't want to believe that someone who was younger than her had so much more experience than her. Loiya was young, looked really young too, and fought like a true master, only to learn that just hours earlier that day he was holding himself back the entire time. If it was Loiya and Cameron, she supposed she might feel a little bad for Cameron. A little.
Ever since that first duel, she decided she would train. She didn't want to try to beat him and that wasn't her goal, but she wanted to be able to hold her own against him for a while. She wanted to be able to spar with him and give him a bit of trouble. She never wanted to go down so easily again and she wanted to be able to keep up with the others. She wanted to spar against him again but she never got the chance because if he was around, he just looked like he didn't want to be disturbed she let it be. She had to hope that one day, the opportunity arrived for that second duel.
"Like who? From what I've seen from Cameron, he looked pretty tough." Andrew frowned again.
"Try a soon to be royal laguz who doesn't even need to transform to fight. Try a dragon laguz. Try a bodyguard of a royal family member who is younger than we are and knows Impale and we have more people on top of that. We're small but we survive for a reason."
Andrew looked confused. "Really? Somebody younger than us knows Impale? But skills like that one take years to learn, don't they?"
"Then you can appreciate what kind of people I've met. I just hope I can make them proud. That's why I think I might be able to hold my own against Cameron, maybe even defeat him. I would have to see him though."
"Somebody needs to put him in his place, I don't really care who," Andrew said with a sigh. "I just feel like it would be fitting if you took care of him. It would be nice if he didn't have to die."
"If that's what it comes to, then that's what it comes to," Misha said sadly. That was just the way war worked. It wasn't the way it should be but she felt powerless to stop the process. If she didn't do anything when she was on the battlefield, then she would die. It was a kill or be killed situation and she had a feeling that Cameron would force that situation. He changed a lot.
Suddenly, Andrew stood up. "Yeah. It's unfortunate. I'm sure you want some sleep now though, so I'll leave you to it. Sorry to have waken you up but I needed to say something."
"I understand," she said as she stood up as well.
She woke up in the afternoon. When she looked towards Gus' bed, she found him still fast asleep, clutching a pillow to his chest. Gus didn't strike her as the type to sleep in so she slowly made her way over to him, giving herself a brief moment to shake off the grogginess in her head, and touched his forehead. She had to brush the hair out of the way, since he had most of it covering one eye. He didn't feel hot and to her surprise the covered eye looked normal. She didn't know what was expecting with his eye but there had to a reason he kept it covered.
He woke up. "Hmm? What's up?"
"I was just making sure you didn't get sick from last night."
"I'm fine. 'Sides, I'm over thirty, I can look after myself."
"Somewhat," she added. "Any reason you cover your eye like that?"
"Are you substituting for Kaetar since he's sick?" Gus asked with a grin as he slowly rose out of his bed and replaced the hair over his eye. "It's not a big deal. I can't see very well out of that eye – just basic colours and shapes... can't remember what sort of accident I had when I was younger. Meagan likes my hair like this so I thought I would keep it this way."
"You have vision troubles? I would have never have guessed," she said. "And I mean that. You don't miss a beat in battle."
"I had a long time to adjust so it's not a big deal," he answered with a yawn. "We should probably go check on Kaetar and see if our gamble paid off."
Misha nodded. She doubted he would be better but she would be happy to see that he was still fighting whatever it was ailing him. Just as they approached the closed door that led to his room, Kaetar suddenly screamed. Gus threw the door open and rushed to his side where he immediately grabbed his wrists. Kaetar was still laying down, since he was pretty much constrained by Gus and Andrew. His eyes were open but he didn't seem very aware and didn't seem to recognize Gus. "What's going on?"
"He's been fighting us all afternoon. I'm surprised you only woke up now!" Andrew said as he fought to restraint Kaetar's feet. Kaetar thrashed.
"Let me go!" he screamed.
"He did calm down for a while though. I can't believe he got my eye," a young man mumbled as he sat down in a chair, supporting a black eye. He had to be Andrew's brother but she couldn't tell if he was an older brother or a younger one. His hair was like his mother's and wavy and his build was on the heavier side.
"It's just a black eye, Brady, it'll go away," their mother muttered.
Kaetar thrashed again, his back arcing off the bed. Misha never saw him act like this before and she was in the rebellion for a long time. She liked to think she knew him. Even injured, Kaetar was relatively calm but he was freaking out for some reason and that wasn't like him. "Is this from the fever?" she asked as Glenda tried to wipe the sweat from his face with a wet cloth.
"I think he's hallucinating, or dreaming," she answered. "Fighting something only he can see. He doesn't know it's us."
"If he keeps screaming like that though, he'll get Cameron's attention," Andrew mumbled. "Are you sure we can't gag him?"
"Unless it's edible, I'm not putting anything in his mouth," Glenda mumbled. "And he might bite when he's in a fit like this."
"So the only thing we can do is wait for it pass?" Gus asked.
"Unfortunately."
"Don't worry," Gus mumbled as Kaetar tried to wrestle out of Gus' grip with another scream. He managed to slip out of Andrew's grip and sat up. "If he makes it out, you'll be compensated quite nicely one way or another."
"Mom doesn't charge," Brady muttered. "She's a healer because she likes to heal people. Grandma did that too. It's something her family's always done and they never charged. If we didn't we become outcasts because of the whole thing with the rebellion then she would helping out villagers now but everybody's afraid of coming."
"You guys don't know who you're helping here," Misha said nervously. Gus was about to talk but she waved him off. "You concentrate on making sure Kaetar doesn't get your eye too. You only have one that's good." She put her hand down when she realized she was pointing at him. "What I mean is that this is the crowned prince of Daein. If he survives this poison because you took a risk and let the rebellion in when we knocked, there's no way his father won't return the favour somehow. He's the only prince."
Andrew looked horrified. "So if we offend him then we're goners."
"We've worked together for a while so I know that he's hard to offend. I don't know his father but he should be grateful for Kaetar's well being."
Glenda smiled. "My family always took people in because we never knew who we would end up helping."
"Really? You'll take compensation?" Brady asked. "I just got done saying how we've never done that!"
"I wouldn't ask for monetary compensation. I think it would be nice if, as a family, that we could spend some time together somewhere else! Oh! Maybe our patient's wedding! We don't need any gold but if he could pay for a family outing, that would be nice, don't you think?"
"Actually, that does sound nice," Misha offered. Kaetar seemed to calm down and his face relaxed but Andrew and Gus looked conflicted, like they didn't know if it was the calm before a storm or if he was done. Andrew in particular seemed hesitant to go after his feet again because Kaetar definitely had an advantage in that regard. Misha examined him closely, noting his lack of colour, the sweat, and his somewhat erratic breathing. His chest and arms seemed more toned than she remembered him being but he was an archer and he spent time with Zara so muscle tone was bound to happen eventually. What caught her eye was how his neck was free of his necklace.
She didn't know anything about it, just that it was a pretty necklace and that it was special to Kaetar. Perhaps deep down, if Kaetar knew it was nearby, maybe it will help him calm down. It may not stop the hallucinations, but maybe he wouldn't have to be restrained. She found the necklace on the desk on the other side from the bed and retrieved it. "Here, maybe this will help. It's special to him so maybe he'll calm down a bit with it on."
Glenda looked from Kaetar to the necklace. "I took it off 'cause I thought it would make him uncomfortable but it's worth a try," she mumbled as she held her hand out for him. She quickly placed it around his neck, then dipped the cloth she had before into a bucket near her feet. Kaetar pulled against Gus' grip, a final and weak struggle, then suddenly collapsed back into his bed with his eyes closed.
"I guess he exhausted himself," Andrew mumbled as he slowly weakened his grip on Kaetar's feet before letting them go completely. He looked like he wasn't sure if that was something he should have done but when Kaetar didn't make a move to kick him, he let out a long sigh and let his shoulders fall. "Thank goodness he's done. For now, I guess."
"Don't say things like that, Andrew, you'll encourage him," Brady muttered.
"Now now, he's asleep. Andrew, Brady, I need you both to go help Rina prepare a small lunch so Gus and Misha can have something to eat. You two must be starving. Andrew, I need you bring me a small glass of water as well."
Her two boys left the room quickly. Misha had brothers and her experience with them was that they were only super motivated to do chores when they getting out of a situation they didn't like or if they were getting something out of it, so she figured that after the deal with Kaetar, they just wanted out of the room. They didn't care what they had to do. Andrew dropped off the water by handing it to Gus before leaving again.
"Bring that here. Misha, help me sit him up. He might be asleep but if we don't keep him hydrated, we're going to have problems," Glenda mumbled. Misha did as she told, going to the other side of the bed to lift his arm and shoulder as Glenda did. Gus came around and brought the drink to Kaetar's lips, then tipped it forward. Water dribbled down Kaetar's neck but Misha was impressed with the fact that Kaetar did seem to be drinking most of the water, even though he was totally out of it. "That's it, good boy."
"Is there anymore we can do for him?" Gus asked as Misha and Gus lowered him back into the bed.
Glenda shook her head as she wiped away the sweat from his forehead, then dipped the cloth in again to settle it on his forehead. "For now, not much. We have water for him to drink and to keep him cooler, but aside from seeing if he'll take soup and try to regain some energy, we have to wait for him. I don't know if it will work but it's all we do without our supplies. All I got is old fashioned medicine, kinda lost access to the staves and the vulnerary and what have you when Andrew left the army."
So not only did it leave their family out on their own, but Andrew's decision also effected the care people were getting. If they had a restore staff or maybe an antitoxin, then Kaetar would be up regaining his strength, not using every ounce of it to fight off whatever poison that dragon had on her claws. She thought back to what Andrew said about Cameron.
Perhaps if Cameron was gone, then they could find a restore staff for Kaetar. Maybe it was the case that his patrol had one handy and if they didn't, then they didn't have to walk on eggshells to find one. If she had to choose between Kaetar or Cameron, it was definitely Kaetar, but she didn't know why she felt so hesitant about the fact that she may have kill him. In actuality, it didn't bother her too much that she did fight against fellow Crimeans. She had a harder time when it was a face she recognized but when that happened, another rebel usually incapacitated them before she really had to. When it came to other people she didn't know, she killed them or incapacitated them without much of a thought.
Cameron was a face Misha knew but it wasn't a face she liked. He was more than a familiar face though, he was a childhood friend. He was a good guy but she was pretty sure that the part of him was dead. She had to make a decision.
After lunch, Andrew showed Misha the basement, where his father disappeared to after lunch. Gus opted to stay around Kaetar, just in case something happened and they needed his strength again. Andrew also had something he wanted to show her and Misha was curious about it. "I thought we would spar for a bit in the backyard behind the house... if someone keeps an eye out for Cameron that is."
"You want to spar? Really?"
"Hey, don't look at me like that. I kind of miss the friendly fighting. Dad studies weapons and stuff but he can't use any of them. Training on your own is kind of boring but if you're over the whole friendly part, I understand," Andrew said nervously.
"Nah, I like sparing too. We train but it's a more serious type of training since we have a serious leader."
When they reached the basement, she saw his father, a heavy man with hair like Andrew's, though it was going grey. He had a pair of glasses on his face and he was bending down over a fancy looking lance. "Wow, what's that one called?" Misha asked. It had to be a custom lance. She never saw one like it and during her time with lances, she figured she saw all of them, except for the one Andrew's father held in his hands. It was very long, decorated with dark blue, with the hilt and some of the metal being stained with the colour. There was two pieces of sharped metal coming from the side, almost like an axe but oddly shaped.
The basement itself was dark, lit with lanterns. Weapon racks lined the walls and there was a table in the middle of the room with books stacked on one side of it. It reminded her a bit of the fort that her and Ema affectionately called home because it was the closest thing either one of them had to a home in a long time. Before she joined the rebellion herself, she couldn't leave her position behind in the Crimean army for a short visit home so the last time she saw her family was when she left to join the army. Ema seemed to have been out of longer, saying that she was doing odd jobs at the Gallian capital city for the king before being sent out by her king to observe the rebellion with Darius. They ended up being the first to actually join Syrin officially, then Kaetar and Loiya followed.
Though Ema did admit that a few years to her was not the same as a few years to Misha.
"Ah, it's a special one! Made in Daein, I reckon," he stated. "Your name is Misha, correct? My name is Daniel." He placed the lance down carefully and then held his hand out. Misha took it quickly and nodded.
"Yeah, that's my name."
"Andrew used to talk a lot about you."
Andrew turned red in the face. "Nothing important, I promise."
"Yes, yes, anyway, this one is called Wishblade. I believe the first time it was seen in writing was through a soldier's journal," he said as he placed a hand on one of the books on his desk. "It was wielded by General Bryce himself! He was a rider for Ashnard and his father, in case you're not too caught up in Daein history."
If only Kaetar was actually alert and could speak. Was it weird to travel with a Daein prince and then still not know a heck of a lot about what it's like over there? It probably was. Kaetar was always asking questions but he didn't babble as much about history as Daniel did, but she supposed if he was asked, she would see Kaetar being similar.
"And then it was seen in Levail's hands, probably when Daein was occupied by Begnion. He was a Begnion sentinel, serving under General Zelgius. I don't know how it switch hands to our ancestor but I guess she won a fight against him and she took it instead. It's been passed down in my family ever since under the hopes that we would never have to use it. I dunno why it was passed down though, if she intended it or if one her kids took it as a memento. That's how I use it anyway."
"So if this was used by Ashnard's rider, then that means it's pretty old," she muttered. It looked like something that would be on display for the public, not something that was being stored in a dark basement. It also looked very good for a lance so old. It might been the bad lighting but she couldn't seen any signs of damage like she would see in a lance she used for a month. Weapons naturally started to break down and wear out after a lot of use and for a weapon to be used by at least three people and still look fine more than a century later? That was both amazing and strange.
It reminded her of Syrin's tome. Perhaps Wishblade was a weapon that was also blessed.
"It is pretty old and it's in perfect condition! It only gets a bit dusty," his father said as he picked it up to admire it again. Andrew coughed into his fist, then glanced around the room.
"Well anyway, Misha and I came down to grab some practice weapons. You still have plenty of those, right?"
"Yeah, you know where they are."
Andrew sighed, then made his way to one of the weapons rack. He weighed the weapons, then picked out two and handed one to Misha on his way back up the stairs. Misha followed him closely, waving to Daniel before shed disappeared to the top. "Do you not like it down there?"
"It's just so dusty down there. It always makes me cough when I spend too much time down there. Here's the back door." He opened the door that was closest to them, set back beside their fireplace. In the back, there were stables with a couple of unimpressed horses standing inside. Somehow, they reminded her of Joel and his horse, which also seemed to adopt Joel's general attitude to make a sour pair. A few brown cows were outside, grazing quietly on the grass that surrounded the farm. There were also vegetable fields, though it looked like that for the most part, the vegetables were harvested already and the plants were left to wither until the weather turned. She knew that Andrew's family had a farm, and they would have been doomed if they didn't grow their own food, but this was the first time she truly got to see it. It made her yearn for her real home.
"We got some time before Cameron starts poking his head around, so show me how strong you got!"
Andrew positioned himself across from Misha, his knees slightly bent as he prepared for his attack. He charged at her and swung but she sidestepped it easily and jabbed at his side. While Andrew's skills were above the average beginner's, Misha thought him to be slow and unprepared in comparison to what she saw in her time in the rebellion. If he went against somebody like Loiya, he would have been dead before he could take his first swing. He grunted when the flat end of her lance hit him but he wasn't deterred. His second attack was better than the first – it was faster, propelled by a quick spun to get himself in position and instead of dodging, she could only block by holding her lance in front of herself, catching Andrew's lance.
Misha swung a leg out, catching both of his feet and throwing him to the ground. He rolled, found his lance, then jumped to his feet with his back turned towards her. With the flat end of her lance, Misha hit him in the back, sending him back to the ground with her lance touching the back of his neck. "Well, damn," he muttered.
"See, told you I got strong too. When you're surrounded by strong people, you gotta step up your game and become strong too," she said, taking her lance off of his neck and stabbing it into the ground.
"Yeah, you said something about a guy knowing Impale, right?" Andrew picked himself off the ground and attempted to dust himself off but stopped when he saw the mud running down the side of his pant leg. He probably would have made it worse that way.
"Yeah, he's Kaetar bodyguard actually. We got separated so I don't know where he's at right now."
"That stinks. I would have liked to spar against him."
"He kicked my butt pretty good so I doubt you have a chance against him."
"Hey, you never know! Maybe he'll be sick or something," he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Even then, you wouldn't be much of a challenge. C'mon, let's go back inside. I don't want to rick seeing Cameron right now." She didn't any doubts about seeing Cameron while she was here and that may be with some backup or she may be on her own. She didn't know and she didn't even know if she should be worried about confront Cameron on her own. A lot of the Crimean soldiers as of late would be soldiers that Andrew, somebody with skills that rusted significantly over time, could hold his own against. She wasn't worried about them.
It was Cameron she was worried about. Just as she had time to interact with the other rebels and become stronger as they did, he also had time to improve himself beyond the skills of a new soldier who had no idea what they were doing. He could be somebody that gave her trouble, especially if revenge was still on his mind like it was when he went after Kaetar. People like that were unpredictable and may do anything to get their revenge.
Andrew's look told her that he understood her worries and silently, they grabbed their lances and retreated back into the house. Misha decided she would be the one to take the lances back to Daniel, not just because Andrew didn't like all the dust, but because an idea crept into her mind and she needed a lance. Something that was better than an iron lance. Even an steel lace would be better if she needed it.
"I brought the lances back," she said as she dashed down the stairs.
"Ah! How did it go?"
"He's rusty," she answered. "I was wondering if you had an extra lance that I could keep. I lost mine and I just have a hard time feeling safe if I don't have one in my reach." She needed the lance but that wasn't a totally lie. She always had her lance in reach while she slept, almost as if it slept in the bedroll next to her, or it would just beside her cot on the floor or leaning against her the wall. Even Ema was so used to it that she would give Misha a weird look if she was prepared to sleep without the lance in sight.
She wasn't going to go in for a second night without a lance – the one night was one night too long and she couldn't go outside and investigate Cameron if she didn't have something to defend herself with.
Daniel looked strangely sympathetic, almost downright sad for her as he slowly reached forward, then placed that lance he was so proud of in her hands. It must have felt like he was arming his daughter for war, felt that her fight was one that she shouldn't have to be in and by all means, it would have been nice if the peace continued. "You have to make two promises though. I haven't known you for long but you made an impression on Andrew. When he got home, he talked a lot about you, so don't disappoint him by dying. If you plan on sneaking around tonight then come back safely before he realizes you're gone. That's the first one."
"How did you know?"
"I had a feeling you rebels couldn't sit here comfortably. If I was younger and could use that lance," he picked up Wishblade, "then I would to make my ancestor, Nephenee, proud. As it is, I can't do anything here and it feels like a waste to have it here when it could be making a difference out there. I would like it back when you're done – that's the second promise – but I hope it serves you well."
"Thanks. With a lance like this, I will be alright."
She went back upstairs, somehow sneaked the lance past everybody, and placed it under her bed.
When night fell and she was sure that there was only one person who was awake for Kaetar's sake, she shook Gus until he woke up. He first seemed alarmed but when he was fully awake, he seemed not entirely impressed that Misha woke him up so rudely. "What the heck is going on?" he asked in a whisper as he put one of his pillows back in it's proper place. Misha could only guess that the pillow was a poor substitute for Meagan and perhaps he no recollection of reaching for the pillow since he seemed mildly surprised by its presence.
"I'm going out. I thought you would like to come with me," Misha stated as she dug her lance out from under the bed. "You would feel better knowing you were with me, right? I can go alone if you want more sleep."
"You're not going alone," he said as he collected his sword. Misha looked away when he saw his hands trailing to the hem of his pants. Misha found her own clothing at the end of her bed, so while Gus was changing, she manage to slip out of the nightgown and throw on her pants, though she took her timing putting her tunic on, figuring that Gus wasn't the type to try to sneak a peek when he was married and on a mission. "What's your plan though? This is sudden."
She sighed as she tightened the sash around her waist and tied it off. It felt good to be back into the clothing Nicholas picked out so long ago – it was familiar and easy to fight in. "I know but Andrew was talking about Cameron when were alone. I grew up with the guy and he's changed a lot, so I just wanted to scout him out and see for myself what he's like since I last saw him. It's worth knowing that he didn't a good impression the last time."
"I see," he muttered quietly. "How are we getting out without being seen? The window?"
"Looks like." She didn't think that far. She wanted to use one of the doors, but she supposed the window would work too. It was close enough to the ground and they were both tall enough to reach it easily. Gus opened the window, tossed it sword out, then quickly pulled himself up and out. Misha passed the lance over and repeated the process.
"Did you borrow this? Looks fancy."
"Yeah, he said we can have it until the rebellion is over."
It didn't take long for them to reach the actual village, which they realized was more like a town, and as soon as they did, they darted behind the buildings and behind anything they could. It was easy when the houses had a yard behind them, but some houses had roads in front and behind their homes, so they had to try to stay within the shadows of the homes. It happened to be a great night for scouting, since the moon was bright but in a position that could still cast long shadows, so they could see where they were going and at the same time, people would hopefully not see them. They were outside for what Misha guessed to be an hour when they first heard the noises of a patrol. She first heard their voices, so she motioned for Gus to flatten himself against the wall as she did. Since they knew where they were, it was safe to hide behind the buildings, assuming they were the only patrol.
"Uh, sir, why are we here and not by the capital like everybody else? Weren't we told that we have another way to fight?" the soldier asked nervously. Misha could hear a slight quiver in his voice.
"I don't see anybody else patrolling! Relying on spies to find the rebel scum isn't enough, and it takes military presence for these people to stay obedient. I heard the rebellion has a fort not even a day away from here, so it's only a matter of time before they begin trying to influence the people around them."
"But nothing happens! Nothing changes! I think these people get it. Even those people outside of the village get it!"
"And as soon as we leave, that's when they'll start to change, believe me! You can't trust these people, especially somebody who left the Crimean army! Trust me, I know best."
"What a brat," Gus said in a quiet whisper. Misha nodded.
"Do we even have proof that guy is up to something?"
"Actually, I heard from a little birdy that they might be harbouring somebody. They heard screaming when they walked by that home. I think that's reason enough to search the home."
"Shit," Misha whispered. "The only one back there who can do something is Andrew."
"If you want to concentrate on the special one, I'll take care of everybody else."
"Sounds like a plan."
Gus nodded, then unsheathed his sword and ran out. Misha went the other direction. She saw Gus sneak up from behind and quickly stabbed his sword through the leg of one of the soldiers. He wanted to incapacitate, not kill. The patrol was immediately startled and sprang into action. There was a mage, a healer, a couple of lance users, and a myrmidon. Cameron was the only one in a higher tier, so of coursed they listened to him. "Get him!" Cameron said with a growl.
"Over here, Cameron!" Misha shouted as she twirled the lance in her hands. She wasn't used to its weight, so she wasn't confident in her ability to use it. However, if she failed, Kaetar was in trouble.
"Misha... it's been a long time, hasn't it? I don't suppose you want to come back with your tail between your legs?"
"I can't believe you're still trying to be a tough guy. Who the heck are you trying to impress here?" she asked as she sidestepped a direct attack to her head. Clearly, Cameron wanted to kill her and kill her quick. When she got a good look at him, she realized that she didn't recognize him. He put on weight in the form of muscle but it was crazed look that got her. He grinned from ear to ear, one that made her immediately think of the grin Liam had on his face when he beat Rylar with his bow, the same grin he had when he chased them into the forest – the look of a predator who hunted for the sheer joy of it.
"Trying? Oh, Misha, you misunderstand. You could be as strong as I am if you had only stayed! But no, you turned your back on us and joined those bloodthirsty freaks!" He surged forward, bring his lance up again, forcing Misha to block with Wishblade, trapping his lance in the crook of her lance. She pushed him away.
"I don't need to gain strength like that. You just get a kick from being able to boss others around, whatever way makes you feel powerful," she muttered. She still found herself hesitant to attack him. She had a hard time shedding the last image of a kind Cameron in her mind, even though he was giving the same look Liam gave Kaetar.
The Cameron she knew was nothing but a memory.
"Aren't you going to attack me, Misha? One of us is going to die tonight and I won't let it be me!"
"I got too much to lose by dying tonight," Misha growled. "You know, real friends."
"That fucking fleabag of a cat? The other rat with wings? That little runt who can't defend himself? How dare you call those people your friends? I thought there was still something redeemable about you but you're just as twisted as the rest of them!"
"They have names you know!" she growled, then let a deep breath as she dodged another one of Cameron's frenzied attack. She had to be the one who kept a steady head on her shoulders, especially if Cameron was going to the one to freak out. He tossed away his lance, then tackled her the ground, knocking Wishblade out of her hands. He drew a knife and set his knees down on either side of her waist in one fluid motion, directing the knife down on her neck. It was a bad thing that he was on top of her but she wasn't going to give in so easily. She held his wrist with her left had, then punched him with her right while sending one of her knees into his groin.
With him distracted from that, she managed to roll and flip their positions. She pushed herself to her feet, grabbed Wishblade from the ground. "I don't know what happened to you, Cameron, but I'll pray to the real goddess to spare some mercy on you," she said, voice cracking as she stabbed Wishblade down on his neck. It went through rather easily but not without a distinctive crack. Unfortunately, the attack did not kill him right away. Wide-eyed, he still tried to draw breath but there was a strange gurgling noise as he did and in a panic, Misha struck again with her eyes closed, sending it through his chest and hopefully through his heart. He took one more strained breath, then smiled as his eyes closed.
The fighting around her stopped as she stabbed her lance into the ground, attempting to calm her shaking hands and steady her breathing. Gus more or less incapacitated everybody, or at least made them drop their weapons. They watched as Gus placed a hand on her shoulder. "Relax. It was his choice to turn it into something like that."
"What do we do with him? What do we do with everybody else?" Misha asked.
"I... don't know."
"We'll go back to Melior on our own, we swear, we won't do anything crazy. We wanted to go back anyway but he kept us here so we had no choice." She looked back to see who said that, but she couldn't tell. They were down on the ground or down on their knees with their hands up. "We'll take him with us, just please, don't do anymore."
"Healer," Gus murmured with his sword sheathed. "You may heal everybody."
"Is that a second staff you have there?"
"Uh... a mend and a restore staff."
"We'll take the restore, then we'll leave you here." The healer nodded eagerly.
The return was awkward. Neither of them spoke, which was fine for Misha because she still wanted to sort out her feelings. She didn't know what she was feeling. Part of her felt terrible for killing a childhood friend but part of her also told her that he was no friend of hers anymore, that he forced it on himself, that she was just defending herself from him. She was scared of him and she reacted accordingly. There was no easy way to go about it. She missed Ema – she didn't have much to offer with advice sometimes but she was type to at least listen to everything when someone wanted to talk.
At least Kaetar would be fine. Just as they left the town, somebody managed to grab them both by the shoulders. Misha spun around with her lance up, then realized that she knew the reddish beard anywhere and put it down just as Gus sheathed his own sword. "Chibuike, what the heck?" she asked.
"That was a good show, you know."
"You... you were the one that told him!"
"Honestly, I didn't like the guy. If he had that knife any closer to your throat then this one," he pulled out a gleaming blade, "would have gone through his head. I wasn't going to put you in any real danger but it was sure fun to watch." He shrugged at that.
She knew there was something she didn't like about the guy. "Seriously? I don't think I'll even be able to sleep for the next three nights thanks to something like that!"
"Awww, did you still have feelings for him? Just relax a bit and put it behind you. Really, it's something when a guy rubs me the wrong way," he chuckled as he tucked his blade somewhere. When they reached the house, Chibuike held his hand out. "Now lets go in and heal Kaetar why don't we? Here, give me the staff, go get changed and pretend you were here the whole time."
When she and Gus entered through the door, they found everybody still asleep. Whoever was watching Kaetar didn't hear them come in, so Gus and Misha changed quickly, Misha wiped Wishblade down with a handkerchief Gus had on him, Gus closed the window and both of them settled in their beds. Chibuike knocked.
"Excuse me, who are you?" It was Rina's voice.
"My name is Volke," Chibuike said. "I'm with the rebellion. We've been looking for our dear friends since they got separated and I tracked them all the way down here. I'm not wrong, am I?"
Rina hesitated. "Yes, they're here. Come in, you must be an expert tracker."
"Yes, yes... I was also sent with this staff. One of us got poisoned and he said Kaetar was hit with the same thing."
"Yes, he is suffering from a fever right now. I'll go wake up my mother."
Misha had to admit that she was at least a little impressed with how easily he could lie. There was no hesitation, no hint of deceit in his voice or manner, though he failed to tell them his real name. Though she didn't think she could sleep, she found herself slowly drifting off, probably due to sheer exhaustion. She didn't fight it.
When she woke up, Chibuike was animated, talking about stories over lunch that she was sure were all fake. Gus seemed to have wake up with her, again with the pillow in his arms, both of them smiled when saw Kaetar awake and at the table. Though he still looked pretty bad, some colour returned to his face and he was slurping on soup while everybody else ate fruit and bread. He smiled when saw Misha and Gus. "Hey you two," he said weakly. "Apparently, uh, Volke came in the middle of the night with a restore staff. I feel a lot better."
"It's no problem, kiddo," Chibuike said, patting his back. "We should make our return soon though, so eat up!"
Misha sighed. She was going to tell Kaetar the truth but at least he already seemed somewhat suspicious. At least he was feeling well. She needed that smile.
Wow, this is definitely one of the longer chapters! Cheers! I wasn't quite sure about some of the terminology in the chapter - being a former Air Cadet, I want to call everything 'flight' or 'squadron' but I don't know as much about land based armies. I think platoon is right but I'm not sure!
Gus' vision trouble is something I made up. It wasn't in the information I was provided when he was submitted but I thought it was a nice way to add a little bit more detail to him.
But I really want to take the time to say something about my plans for future works. There will most likely be a sequel here but if you submitted a character and you don't want them in the sequel for whatever reason, say so now. If you say nothing, I will continue to use them. I plan on going with true Tellius fashion here in terms. The other idea that won't stop kicking around is the idea of an original Fire Emblem world where characters can be submitted. I like the challenge but I think there's a reason why I don't see a lot of them make it an end because it sounds like a huge undertaking. Either way, Silver Memories is the priority but I may try out that original story alongside Silver Memories and the possible sequel. I hope you guys join me then!