Chapter 3: Princess Caeda
The sun was shining brighter than usual when I woke up. It effortlessly illuminated my room through the small window. It was oddly silent. Typically, there would be the sound of people knocking on doors and scattering to their destination. I prepared myself by grabbing my weapons and strapping my armor on. Slowly, I opened the door to find an empty corridor.
"Hmm, I must be early." I whispered to myself as I looked up and down the hallway. I quietly walked over to Katarina's door and knocked on it softly. A few minutes later, the door squeaked open.
"Wha… what is it? It's a bit early, don't you think?" She sleepily said, rubbing her eyes. Before I could apologize for waking her up a bit early, the hallway was suddenly filled with the sound of opening of doors. "Would you look at that… you were only a few minutes early." She gave me a sleepy smile before retreating into her room, "Since you're already ready, why don't you come in for a while?"
"Sure." I shut the door just as the usual commotion started. I made myself comfortable on her bed while she prepared for today's training. She grabbed books of different sizes and colors and put them into her bag. I noticed a distinctly purple book was left on her desk. It had odd patterns and designs on the cover. I also noticed it had multi-colored cloth bookmarks inserted in various places. "Uh, a little question. What's that book over there for?" I asked as I pointed towards the purple book.
"Oh. That's a special book that was given to me by someone who meant a lot to me. I keep a lot of personal stuff in there." She finished fixing her hair and picked up her book bag, "Let's go, we shouldn't be late to our first training session." I followed her out of the door and met up with the rest of our platoon.
"We've been told to meet in the forest just outside the castle gates." Rody informed us as we walked down the hallway.
"What will we be doing I wonder…" I thought out loud.
"Training of course! What else would it be?" Luke exclaimed in a joking manner, "Geez, you really are Glacia the Terrible." I glared at him, but decided that another lap around the castle wasn't worth it.
"Look, we're going to have to fight as a team or we're never going to get anywhere." Katarina broke the awkward silence that formed from Luke's comment. We all silently agreed and walked out of the gate. I led Blazemane into the forest alongside Luke and Rody. We walked for a few minutes before we saw Cain standing on the side of the path. He noticed us and started walking towards us.
"Today is your first day of training and I'm going to be monitoring all of you until you've completed all of your training." He said as he stopped in front of me, "Follow me, you'll be training in a forest clearing in this direction." He turned and walked into the forest. I walked beside Cain while everyone else trailed behind us.
"Who will we be fighting today?" I asked him. Blazemane paused for a second before continuing to follow me. He pulled out a small book and flipped through the pages.
"You're going up against Princess Caeda today." He closed the book as we approached the edge of the clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a small group of soldiers as well as a pegasus. "I'll be watching your battle from here. Give it your best shot." Our small group walked out into the bright sunlight and prepared for battle. I led the group to the center of the clearing where the pegasus stood. Princess Caeda was standing next to the pegasus, softly brushing its mane. Her long, blue hair floated in the calm breeze as it swept across the clearing. She was very lightly armored as many Pegasus Knights usually are. She noticed me as I stopped before her.
"These soldiers and I will serve as your first training session. The men and women behind me have many years of experience and will not hold back." She said before jumping onto the pegasus's back, "Get ready and good luck." She took off into the skies, leaving us with her small group of soldiers. They began to take their positions.
"Alright, I have a plan. Luke, Rody. You're going to be front and center." Katarina explained her positioning strategy, "Ryan, stay in the back. Glacia, go around the back and flank them."
"Are you sure I shouldn't be leading the charge?" I asked her.
"Trust me, this will minimize our injuries." She said as she pulled out a piece of paper from her book bag, "I've been working on a strategy for a simple battlefield like this one. I'm certain it will work out." I didn't question her judgment any further and took my position southeast from Luke's position. Rody stopped a few feet away from Luke's position while Ryan took his position behind me. He had an arrow nocked and ready to fire. I turned to face the enemy squad. They all wielded lances and none of them were mounted. Our group had three mounted units and an archer. I felt that we had the advantage against the foot soldiers, however Caeda was a different story. I looked up and saw her circling the battlefield. She seems to want to observe before she joins the fight.
I heard the sound of hooves on grass and I jumped into action. I held tight to Blazemane's neck as she blazed past the group of soldiers. Many of them noticed me and started to go after me. Blazemane showed no signs of slowing down. She ran until she was directly across from Luke and Rody's position. She stopped and turned towards our two cavaliers. I pulled out my lance and charged into the group. The soldiers were taken off guard and I was able to knock a few down with a swift movement of my lance. Blazemane kept running until we were near Ryan's position. He was taking aim at the soldiers who barely escaped Luke and Rody's attack. I heard the flapping of wings and turned to see Caeda lowering herself onto the battlefield. She pointed her iron lance at me and I immediately took it as a challenge. Luke and Rody were still occupied with the group of soldiers.
"Ryan! Focus on the soldiers. I'll be alright on my own." I shouted at Ryan. He nodded at me and moved away for a better shot at the soldiers. I held my lance tightly as I prepared to fight Princess Caeda of Talys. Her pegasus's wings startled Blazemane, but she calmed down almost instantly. Caeda took to the skies again and I prepared to counter any attack she may throw at me. I saw a shadow pass over me. I turned around and looked towards the sky. Caeda was swooping down towards me. I readied myself to attempt to block the attack as it was impossible to avoid it. I felt feathers brush against me as I blocked the force of a lance with my own. I thrust the lance's shaft outward and shoved Caeda away from me. She went around me for another attempt. I pulled on Blazemane's reins as she veered to the left. This was not enough, however, as I felt the tip of a lance drag across my side. As Blazemane rode away, I looked down to check on the newly acquired wound. It was minor, but the area was already soaked in blood. I had no choice but to ignore it. I saw her fly up for another attack and I attempted to ready myself for it.
I heard the sound of flapping feathers and I held my lance up high. Suddenly, an arrow whizzed by me and struck the pegasus. It whinnied in pain and changed its trajectory. It landed with an injured wing, inhibiting its ability to fly. I looked to my right to see Ryan there with his bow in hand. I smiled at him as a 'thank you' and continued my fight with Caeda. I charged in towards her as her pegasus was still in shock from Ryan's attack. She noticed me in time, however, and successfully defended against my attack. Her defenses are too good for me, I thought to myself, perhaps there's a way I can bypass her lance. I charged at her once again to try to land a direct blow on her. I swung my lance hard as it met with Caeda's. I was determined to push through her defensive strategy. I put all my strength into my arms and was able to push her lance down. Quickly, I swung my lance in her direction. I heard it clink off of her shoulder armor and I immediately stopped it. The battlefield suddenly went silent.
The only thing I could hear was the sound of my heavy breathing. My lance's tip was a few inches away from the side of Caeda's neck. I lowered it as I heard footsteps coming towards me. I turned to see everyone staring at me.
"That was… impressive." Caeda said as she slowly as she put her lance down, "You fight exceptionally well for a newcomer to the Altean army."
"Thank you, Princess Caeda." I slightly blushed at her compliment.
"I really do hope that you'll become strong enough to protect Marth." She said, "If you ever need my help during your training, don't hesitate to call for me." Afterward, her pegasus galloped away, towards the castle.
"Is that something we can do?" I asked as Cain approached me.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. It's not common for newcomers to be offered help from people like Princess Caeda." Cain admitted, "I'll have to ask Jagen about it." After assessing the damage from both sides of the fight and patching up the gash on my side, we started walking back towards the castle.
"Hey, Rody," I called, "How was your half of the battle?"
"It was quite chaotic. I had to manage to keep the many lances away from me as well as keeping my own away from Luke's face." He said.
"I was great!" Luke exclaimed out of nowhere, "I did most of the work. Rody just took out the ones I accidentally missed."
"I guess it was quite unfortunate that you missed more than half of your targets." Rody snickered.
"I-I was having an off day!" Luke countered. Ryan was trailing in the back, giggling to himself.
"The plan really did work out." I said as I turned to Katarina, who was walking to my right.
"Just as I had planned it too." She admitted, "Although, your injury was definitely not part of the plan…"
"I guess there are things we can't plan for." I said with a smile.
"Ha… I guess." Katarina laughed nervously. As we continued to walk back to Castle Altea, we talked about our little experiences during our training session.
"And then this guy almost hits me over the head!" Luke complained.
"I almost hit you because I was avoiding you." Rody calmly explained, "It was so hard avoiding you, too. You ran around like a headless chicken." Everyone but Luke laughed at that.
"Luke, you remind me of, well, me." Cain joined the conversation, "I'm still like that too. I like to rush in and think later. It helps if you're fearless, though, many of my fellow knights have worried about me."
"Worried?" Katarina asked softly.
"Yea. They worry I'll run off and get myself killed." He admitted, "My advice is to keep your recklessness controlled, Luke. It may mean life or death in the future."
"I'll try to keep that in mind." Luke said as we approached the path that led into Castle Altea.
"I still have work to do out here. You should get back inside and rest. I'll let you know about Caeda by tonight." He told us. Shortly afterward, he made his way to the stables and mounted his horse. As we walked through the large gates, Cain rode into the old training field.
"I wonder what he's up to." I said aloud.
"Must be important since he rode off so quickly." Katarina said, "I wouldn't worry about it too much, Glacia. Whatever it is, I'm sure Cain can handle it." For the next few hours, we rested in our own rooms and ate our dinner while waiting for Cain to get back to us with an answer. A few minutes after I was finished with my meal, I heard a strong knock on my door. I opened it to see Sir Jagen standing there.
"Commander of the 7th platoon, Glacia. I've been told that Princess Caeda wished to aid your platoon." He said.
"It's true, Sir Jagen." I admitted, "However, I was unsure if it would be allowed."
"Do you know how Prince Marth was able to overcome his enemies during the War of Shadows?"
"Of course. He fought with his many friends and allies."
"Precisely. He was able to achieve victory thanks to his many allies. No matter when they chose to join our fight, they could start fighting right away. Every ally is treated as an equal. That is how Prince Marth fights…" He seemed to get lost in thought for a while before continuing, "To put it simply, you are allowed to call for Princess Caeda's help during your training. Gaining allies is a very important part of being an Altean knight."
"Thank you, Sir Jagen." He nodded once before he walked away from my door. I was watching him walk down the hallway when I noticed Cain in the distance. Upon closer inspection, it seemed as if there were a few arrows protruding from his back. It might have been the darkness playing tricks on me, I thought as I closed the door and sat down at my desk. I spent an hour sharpening and polishing my weapons before I called it a day.