Shining Star
Ayra POV - Gran 757
This was… well, it wasn't the worst. Unless you wanted to add it to the hell that was my life right now. That… that bastard Neria married killing innocent people in Darna… and then Grannvale just killing Father… now here I was, far from my home, in exile, under guard because I had stupidly let myself be baited away from the castle. My weapon had been confiscated, and there were too many for me to try and brute-force my way through all the knights and soldiers. Meaning all I could do was sit here, glaring, hunting for some sort of weakness that I could exploit to rush to Shanan's side and get him out of here. Marricle would be so disappointed in me. And the less I thought about Father's reaction, the better.
Ah, I should've run to Agustria. Or Thracia. Or even Miletos. But I had wanted to get as far away from Isaach, and the war, as possible, and Verdane was it, being in the southwest while Isaach was in the northeast. And after weeks hiding in a caravan under blankets and other bits of cargo (thanks to sympathetic merchants helping smuggle us through Yied and into Grannvale), the idea of trees and fresh air had been lovely. And while Verdane had a peace treaty with Grannvale, their king had been known as peaceful. I had thought we could hide. But I was wrong. We had arrived here within days of the first attack, and because we hadn't known of the tensions, I had been too relaxed and Shanan had been captured by Kinbaith, forcing me to work for him. Now, Kinbaith was dead, good riddance, but now I was captured by Grannvale knights. It was like I had jumped out of a burning building, only to fall into hell itself.
I shook my head and looked around again, wondering if there was a weakness now, since it had been… I wasn't even sure how long it had been. I knew people had infiltrated the castle before it officially fell. Was Shanan even here? Had he been shipped off to Grannvale as a hostage? Had he been killed? Marricle asked one thing of me, one thing, and I couldn't manage it. Couldn't save Rivough, couldn't save Galzus, couldn't save Father, couldn't save Marricle, couldn't keep Shanan safe, couldn't keep Isaach safe… gods, how Odo must be rolling in his grave at having a descendant like me… and how the Fairy of the Skies must weep to have blessed the royal line with Astra. I couldn't even use it against that green-haired knight!
Reminded of the fight, I twisted to glare at the two knights being tended by a pink-haired girl not far from me. The green-haired one with a towel wrapped around his head who had somehow disrupted all my attempts to use Astra, and the obnoxious blue-haired one who was arrogant enough to fight a sword with a damn axe… the ones who successfully baited me... I had almost gotten the blue-haired one's head, but he'd somehow blocked it with his arm and then began taunting me. Which, of course, just led me to be further and further baited… gods, I hated him. I hated both of them. Mostly because I couldn't hate myself more if I tried and that was my only other option.
Growling to myself, I glared at them one more time, just to please my own ego, and glanced around again, hoping that there was some sort of weakness this time. I got a bit hopeful when I saw a commotion near the entrance, but quickly dismissed it when I saw it was just someone arriving. Two people, a person I couldn't see well and a lady with deep-red hair, wearing a dress startlingly simple compared to everyone else's garb. A young boy wearing green and a startlingly solemn expression for his youthful face… he met her by the horse and quickly led her inside the castle, too fast for me to even think about studying either more.
"Your turn!" And then I had the girl with pink-hair and far too much energy right in my face. My life was complete. "Let's get you healed up!" she laughed, smiling brightly. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously and moved away as far as I could. "Hmm? What's wrong?"
"I'm your enemy!" I spat at her, venom creeping into it. I had just been trying to kill her comrades. Her comrades had tried to kill me. Her country was slaughtering my people right now! "The hell are you doing?"
"Er… making sure you don't have internal bleeding?" She huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "You were captured, you're a prisoner, and so, I need to make sure you don't die."
"If you want information, get from somewhere else because I won't know anything you want to know." I bristled at the word 'prisoner'. It just reminded me all too well just how bad my predicament was. "Where's Shanan?"
"Who?" She sighed, shaking her head. "Quan? Lex? Can you two help me?"
"Don't touch me!" Seeing the blue-haired knight moving towards me, as well as a man with brown hair, I tried to get up, but couldn't. My legs hurt. I had overdone it, trying to keep up with damn horses. I'd been played so easily, damn it all, and now… and now…! "I refuse your healing, you-!"
"Ethlyn, are you being pushy again?" A gentle voice chided the pink-haired girl, and all three turned to face the… well, he had blue hair, but a different shade of blue, and he wore white and had a sword at his hip. "You do have a bad habit of 'I am doing what is best and I won't explain it to you'," he teased, smiling at the girl. The girl smiled back sheepishly. "What is the issue?"
"Well, she's no doubt got muscle strain and it looked like she had a hard fall when Lex knocked her off her feet," the pink-haired girl explained. I glared, remembering that. I had sincerely thought I'd spit up blood from the blow, especially since he'd gotten my unarmored abdomen. "And since last time Lex did that, the person was puking blood…" She sighed. "I suppose I should've explained before asking for help. I'm tired."
"And you're always cranky and bossy when tired. Well, you're always bossy." The man in white grinned and the girl swatted at his shoulder. My heart keened because it reminded me of how I was with Marricle and Neria, before Neria died years ago and before Marricle... "But I'm being rude." He turned to face me, back to smiling warmly. Startling warm. "You are Ayra, yes?" I froze, wondering how he knew my name. "I am Sigurd, the leader of this army. I'm assuming you're worried about your nephew?" The words made me freeze again, this time for an entirely different reason. Shanan. He knew Shanan. He had Shanan. "He's being treated right now by Miss Alicia."
"How can I trust that?!" I immediately snapped, all my rage and desperation bleeding through. It was embarrassing, really. I should keep calm. You had to be calm, and skillful, to call upon Astra's power. Father was always scolding me for my anger. "After everything…!" Even worse was the pricking and burning in my eyes. I refused to cry in front of these people, but everything was just too much! Why was this happening to my family, my people? What did we do?!
"You've clearly been through a trying time." And the man in white just let me yell. When I looked at the others, the pink-haired girl and brown-haired man both seemed fondly exasperated. The obnoxious blue-haired one facepalmed. "Let's see… ah, I know!" Then the man-in-white did something completely and utterly unexpected. He unbuckled his own sword from his belt and handed it to me. "Here, you can hold onto this." All of my own thoughts stopped. Again. Giving me a weapon… when he had no idea if I was friend or foe…? Not only that, but giving me his own weapon, leaving him unarmed? Even if he was surrounded by friends, I was fast. I was desperate. What sort of naive idiot was this man? How had he won so many victories with a mentality like this? "Does that help?"
"Well, now I'm wondering how many times you were dropped on your head as a child!" The sword had a good weight. I popped it out of the sheathe briefly and saw it was a silver sword. Expensive, even for a noble. "I could kill you, you know."
"You can. However, I'd rather choose to be kind and to trust. The world has enough cruelty." He still continued to smile. Maybe he was insane. "If you're feeling better, though, I'd like to make sure Miss Alicia has everything she needs for your nephew and reassure him that you are, in fact, alive and well. My bossy sister here will tend to you. She only seems mean and bratty."
And then he left. He just freaking left. And while that could've been to avoid the pink-haired girl's protests, I was so startled by it all that I ended up holding still as the pink-haired girl tending to me, laughing and chatting with the nearby soldiers. I clutched the sword tightly, debating. I had to get Shanan. I had to protect Shanan. I could kill the people here. Get to him. Escape. I could. Yet, at the very thought, what was left of my pride keened and what remained of my honor screamed. I had damaged both already. It wouldn't take much more to shatter them. To protect Shanan… I could… I should… and yet, I couldn't. I wouldn't. Because my honor and pride were intrinsic parts of me, and how could I protect Shanan if I lost myself? Besides, it wasn't some random, strong, pragmatic swordsman who Marricle entrusted. It was me. For whatever reason.
"Alicia," I whispered. The pink-haired girl jumped at my voice; I'd startled her. "Who is this Alicia?"
"She's the chief healer for the army!" the pink-haired girl explained with a bright smile and peppy voice. She was entirely too cheerful. "She's better trained than me, and more like a healer-healer. You'll meet her later and she'll be very visible since she's got red hair and all. You're all clear, by the way, so-"
Those were the magic words. I tossed the silver sword at her and rushed off, pushing straight through the soldiers as I made my way inside the castle. I found that young solemn boy from before and demanded to know where Shanan was. The boy looked at me in confusion, but upon confirming my identity as 'Ayra', he directed me to where 'Lord Sigurd' and 'Miss Alicia' were. And as soon as I learned, I turned the air blue with the most vile and vicious curses I could think of, straight from the little old women who gossiped in the market. Because Shanan was in the dungeons. The dungeons. Marricle entrusted Shanan's safety to me, and where did I get him? A damn dungeon! I told him I was the worst person for the job, damn it!
I jumped down the steps, nearly falling flat on my face when I caught the edge of one, but managing to catch myself in time. From there, I ran again, this time hunting for a cell that was occupied. A handy torch down the way gave me a clue as to where they were, and when I swung around that corner and into the cell itself, I saw that I was right. I also saw a few other things. One, there was blood. Two, Shanan had been crying. Three, Shanan are horribly thin. Four, his Holy Mark was visible. But I would deal with the last two at a later time. Instead, I fell to my knees, hard enough to bruise, and pulled him into my arms, reassuring myself that he was still here, still alive. Almost immediately, he began crying again, and I struggled to think of what to do. I didn't really know what to do when people cried, except hold them, and I didn't know how to make anything of this situation. How did I fix it? How did I protect him? I had no idea. I was lost. I wanted to go home. I wanted my father back. I wanted my brother. I wanted them to hug me and tell me things would be okay, like when Sophara fell and Holyn was lost along with his family.
But that would never happen again. Father was dead. Marricle would be dead before long. As far as I knew, Shanan and I were the last members of Isaach's royal family, and the last of Odo's lineage. We only had each other. And I couldn't take care of him. But a quick check of Shanan's injuries showed that he had been tended to with care. So, I glanced back at the other two, seeing them in conversation. And, then I turned to face them fully, because if they had done this much… and if this man really was so insane… then maybe, just maybe...
"My name is Ayra," I began, speaking as clearly as I could. I would not show my fear. I would not. "I am Shanan's aunt, Minor Odo." I almost winced at the phrasing, because it sounded like 'Minor Odo' was my name, but neither reacted. They both just watched me closely. "What do you plan on doing with us?"
"My plan is to either grant you sanctuary among my army, or to help you to a place you believe is safe, Princess Ayra," Sigurd answered without a single moment of hesitation. He even bowed respectfully to me. "Whichever you wish."
"Is that so?" I couldn't believe it. After everything I had suffered, everything my people and my family had suffered… it was hard to believe it. Yet there was something unbelievable about the man anyway. And he had already been kind… Shanan… I needed to only look at him to know that Shanan couldn't take this pace much longer. "You." I focused on the red-haired woman, this 'Alicia'. "You're a healer, yes? The pink-haired girl said you were."
"I am," she confirmed, expression both serene and impassive. She crossed her arms, studying me just as I studied her. "I'm assuming you wish for a healer's opinion on your nephew's condition?"
"Yes." I clung a little to Shanan, who watched us all curiously. It had been a while since he'd seen people be cordial to us. "Things were rough before…" I struggled for the words I wanted and came up vague. "All of this."
"He is in very bad shape." Her expression didn't change, and they gave a strange sort of… well, it wasn't gentleness, because it was still no-nonsense. But they didn't feel like a slap to the face or anything, and they should've. Maybe that was the exhaustion creeping in. "He's underfed, so much so that I hesitate at giving him solid foods for some time." That made sense. I didn't know how to cook, and I didn't know how to forage. And while I had brought some things to sell, it never seemed to be enough. "He is suffering from injuries, both physical and mental." That didn't surprise me, given the blood I saw and given what we endured. However, I hadn't met a healer who focused on mental health before. You had to go to someone special for that, in Isaach. "It would not surprise me if he caught some sort of illness from all the mold around here."
"In short, suck up my pride or he will die." I sighed, grinding my teeth. Gods, I needed to expand my vocabulary in order to properly convey how much I'd messed up. And now I was in the worst of positions. Not only did I have to plead, but I had to plead to someone from Grannvale. The very nation that caused all this… trouble. "I was tasked with keeping him safe and, more to the point, he is my nephew and the only family I have left." Unless Galzus survived, but considering everything, I doubted that. "So, please… I know Gran-"
"I am a healer, my lady." Her words were quietly fierce, like a fire that warmed from afar. "I heal people. I leave the politics to the politicians and the fighting to the soldiers." She looked up at Sigurd, leaving me free to gawk. I was so certain… so certain that I would've had to have said more. Certain I would've had to bargain, plea… "The first order of business is to get him out of this cell. I want to give him a bath, and a good scrubbing." But, instead, they simply… they simply helped…? "I thought I saw signs of lice, and I was not kidding when I said I think he might've caught something from the mold."
"Of course," Sigurd replied, with a slight, easy smile. He offered his hand to me, and I had to stare. These people couldn't be real. This had to be some fever dream. That was the only explanation I had… except his hand was solid, warm, and callused when I eventually took it. Too solid for a dream. "It is an honor to meet you. I shall do everything in my power to ensure you're both safe. You have my word."
"...I'm not sure how much I trust that word…" I mumbled, mostly because I almost felt dizzy from this. So, I used his hand as a lever to pull both Shanan and myself up and I tucked Shanan against my side. Then I bowed, to hide how confused I felt. "However, you didn't slay Shanan out of hand. For that kindness alone, I will take that leap of faith."
"And I shall endeavor to never prove unworthy of that faith." His voice was warm, and when I glanced up, I saw that his smile was even warmer. "Miss Alicia? Should he get a bath in… whatever room best serves as an infirmary? Or a place he can use as his room?"
"For the time being, his room is going to be the infirmary," Alicia replied, in a voice that said she would be obeyed. I almost bristled, automatic reaction, but her smile was kind when she looked at Shanan. "I'm afraid it won't be the most relaxing bath, but you can have a relaxing one once I'm sure you don't have lice."
"Might need to check the rest of the army. Lice are annoying. We had an infestation at the academy and it was a nightmare."
"Your soldiers can bathe themselves, Lord Sigurd."
The two began discussing treatment options for both Shanan and the army, and they led Shanan and I out of the cells, and the dungeons. With each step, more and more exhaustion fogged my mind and more and more pain spiked through my arms, legs, and back. Both told me that this really was no dream. These people… these very weird people were equally real. And, for the first time since Marricle and I saw Father's corpse… for the first time, I didn't feel like the world was dark. I felt like there was a glimmer of light. Just a glimmer. But it was enough. It would be enough to get me through this.
I promised Marricle, after all. Until Shanan could stand on his own, I had to guard him. Shanan was Isaach's future, and my precious nephew. I would… I would make it. And I would see where this light took me.
Author's Notes: And here's Ayra. There's nothing in-game about how exactly Ayra ended up in Verdane (which literally is on the other side of the map, and meant she and Shanan traveled through Yied and all of Grannvale, and in Kinbaith's service, so I made something up. This is Ayra's POV of the final scene of Chapter 3 in Memoirs of the Holy War, her recruitment and all. Felt like it was important. Also, Alec is actually a decent person to use to bait Ayra away from the castle, because Alec's Nihil prevents Ayra from activating Astra (meaning he can actually survive a couple of hits, but only a couple). Lex also being there is based off the Oosawa Manga. I don't think I ever used Ayra's sister's name before this point. She's not named in canon, so I went with 'Neria'. Galzus, briefly mentioned here, is a char from FE5. The 'Fairy' thing is from something very briefly mentioned in Memoirs of the Holy War (Chapter 7, I want to say?).