My apologies for the long hiatus between chapters. My computer broke just as I was finishing up the next chapter, and it took a while to afford a new one. Thank you everyone for your support and helpful critiques.
By the time Tanith and Volke had opened the doors, the fighting had already mostly settled down. Ilyana, Sanaki, and Pelleas had left the infamous Goldoan army in shock as the mages disposed of the dragons with their lightning magic. Dheginsea himself was more competent than his soldiers, but even he was no match for Ike and his allies. Volke even caught a glimpse of Sothe expertly timing his blade to slash the jugular of a large white dragon. Everyone in the group seemed to be on par or better than the laguz they faced. In contrast, Volke and Tanith, working together, had barely managed to escape death at the hands of a white dragon before the beast was sniped by Shinon. The battle was over before Volke and Tanith had even managed to get back on their feet, and the two, the infamous Fireman and the 2nd Lieutenant of the Holy Guard, suddenly found themselves incompetent to a motley crew of street mercenaries. As they stood up, they received the rare privilege of hearing Shinon speak loudly.
"What the hell are you two doing here!? I'm not saving your dumb asses again," the archer yelled before walking off.
"Shinon…" Ike sighed, turning around, "Nothing's going to get him to loosen up. Anyways, what are you two doing here?"
"Well," Tanith replied, "I see it as my duty to protect the Empress, no matter the circumstances. I could not live with myself if something were to happen to her majesty. That is the reason I am here."
Sanaki piped in, "Tanith, thank you, but, there's no need…"
"I understand," Ike cut in, "I expected as much. But what about you, Volke? Why have you come?"
It dawned upon Volke that he himself had no idea why he had come. Certainly, if he had caught any other person attempting to enter the tower, he would have either stopped or ignored the perpetrator. Yet, for whatever reason, he could not imagine himself letting Tanith go into the tower alone.
"I felt like I was getting paid too much to sit on guard duty," Volke replied. The excuse would convince everyone else, but he knew he could not fool Ike. The mercenary stared at Volke.
"Whatever you say," Ike said, walking away, leaving Volke and Tanith alone.
"Why did you come along?" Tanith said, continuing to look straight ahead. Volke paused.
"I don't know. I just felt that…" He felt what? Tanith felt anticipation for his answer, but had no idea what answer she wanted to hear.
"…I don't know. Just a whim, I guess." Tanith did not know why she felt disappointed at his reply, but she had no time to think about it, as Micaiah appeared at that moment.
"Well, I guess having two more fleshbags can't hurt. You might have noticed that fighting ability of the others was better than normal. That's because I gave them my blessing, which I will now be giving to you two. But before that, Sanaki said she wanted to bring you something. Here she comes now." Sanaki walked towards them, holding a sword and a knife. She took out the sword and handed it to Tanith.
"This," the Empress said, "is Alondite, one of Begnion's holy relics. I trust that you will wield it well."
"Thank you," Tanith replied, taking the sword.
"And this," Sanaki continued, "is for you, Volke. It's Baselard, a powerful dagger."
"Thank you, Empress."
"Now that you have weapons worthy of your skill," Yune spoke through Micaiah, "I will give you my blessing."
Volke felt a rush of power course through his body. In an instant he felt that he could take on the world, with nothing but the dagger in his hand. He looked to his side, and saw that Tanith was feeling the same way.
"Well, now that that's done, you two should start getting prepared. Our next foe will be more formidable than the last," Yune said as she and Sanaki walked off. The two waited until she was out of earshot. Tanith held up the sword, a smile creeping up one side of her otherwise stoic face.
"Volke, are you feeling like I'm feeling right now?"
"Yeah. I don't care who's in this next room. I'm going to tear right through him."
"I have to control myself," Tanith said, stepping forward as her brief smile disappeared, "I have to remember why I came here. I will protect the Empress."
"Then I will protect you." Tanith froze.
"That's the reason I came here," Volke continued, "Remember what we told each other the first night we spoke?"
Tanith nodded, "That I could see you laugh and smile and you could see me laugh and smile."
"That's right. I want to smile and laugh with you again."
"Volke…" Tanith looked at the assassin. He looked back with soft eyes. Tanith thought he looked almost scared, but she understood what he felt. For a brief moment, Tanith felt as if she and Volke were the only people in the world.
"Sorry, this isn't the right time," Volke said, his eyes hardening, "We'll talk after all this is over. Let's just kill this bastard."
Tanith sighed, returning to her usual serious self.
"Right. It's time to fight."