Verdane's Hope

Jamke - Gran 757

"Father, you have to stop this madness!" I snapped, not sure if I wanted to scream or bawl. Just a few months ago, I never would've considered yelling at Father. We had always gotten along well, especially after Mother died. But, here I was, in his study, yelling at him. "My brothers have already fallen!" And it was surprising how much that actually hurt. We never really got along. They thought me 'soft' for being kind and a 'coward' for wielding a bow instead of an axe. I thought them both idiots with no impulse control and a childlike mentality. But it hurt. It hurt that they were dead. "It's only a matter of time before Grannvale comes here!"

"You do not need to yell, Jamke," Father sighed. He did his best to sit properly in his chair, but the recent events were taking their toll on him. Never the strongest health-wise, I half feared the stress was going to kill him. "I can hear you just fine."

"Are you sure? Because this is more or less the same damn thing I've been saying for the past few weeks, and you didn't hear me then!" And I was just… done with all of this. I'd promised Aideen and I owed it to my people to keep at it, but this was beyond aggravating. Far beyond. "Their leader, Sir Sigurd, is supposed to be a kind man, and we already know he's treated our people well." Certainly better than my brothers had. "Please, let us end this war before we are completely overrun! Our people don't need more deaths, and our soils don't need more blood and corpses!"

"Grannvale originally was preparing an assault on us. That's why I allowed…" Father closed his eyes, forcing back his own tears. "I didn't think…"

"Everyone stopped thinking when Sadima showed up!"

"Prince Jamke, such cold words…" And, of course, that's when Sadima showed up, a man with a heart as black as his robes. He'd protected Father from some 'Grannvale assassin' a few months ago, and thus earned a place here. I swore that he was the one who sent the assassin in the first place! "But that is neither here nor there, yes?" Sadima continued, voice mockingly polite. "I think that, as crown prince…" And he emphasized that word just to hurt Father and me more. "You have a duty to lead the forces against the enemy, yes?"

"...He's right, Jamke," Father whispered. I tried to not flinch at how he, once again, listened to Sadima over me. "Lead the troops."

"Are you serious?" I asked, letting my head fall. It hurt. He used to listen to me. He always said that I inherited Mother's wisdom. But ever since… "If you won't change your mind, even now, then… then I'll go. But please, Father, consider my words?" However, despite my hurt, I made sure to smile at him, because I knew there was a good chance I'd die before seeing him again, and I didn't want our final words to be so angry. "I'm not just asking as a prince. I'm also asking as a son who has always been proud of his father's path. Who adored the peaceful Verdane his father made. So please, consider it?"

I glared at Sadima one last time before striding out of the room with my head held high. As if I was perfectly certain of this path. As if my heart wasn't keening bitterly. What was I supposed to do? If I stayed true to my convictions… well, Mother always stated that when you had a difficult choice, you should follow your heart. Let it guide you, and it will find the path of least regrets. But if I followed it, then I'd go against Father and Verdane and...

Sadima, if I survived this, I swore I was going to put an arrow through your head. And I'd savor that moment every day for the rest of my life.

The attack on Marpha went… honestly, if someone had told me it, I would've laughed at how ridiculous and unbelievable the tale was and asked what sort of alcohol they'd been drinking. An army firing arrows at an unarmed woman (by accident… sort of) and yet, only one even grazed her? The leader of the enemy army welcoming all of us with open arms and a warm smile? Nonsense. Complete and utter nonsense. And yet, that was exactly what happened. I wouldn't say the rest of the army was quite so trusting; their Chief Healer's eyes had been cold enough to burn. But even then… even then, she had treated our wounds kindly. And Aideen had happily greeted me, even though she had a bandage on her cheek from my arrow. Dew had even given me a hug, and picked my pockets just because he could. And others had at least been polite to me. It was… what the hell was wrong with these people?!"

"They are the absolute weirdest, huh?" I looked up from tending to my bow to see a strange woman leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed, wearing armor unlike anyone else in the army. "I'm still convinced half of them were dropped on their heads as children," she continued with a sardonic smile. "Repeatedly."

"Certainly would explain a few things," I replied, trying to get a read on her. All I got was 'foreign'. "You are?"

"Ayra. Princess Ayra, of Isaach."

"...Isn't Grannvale at war with Isaach?"

"Yep. And yet, Sigurd has given me sanctuary. As well as my nephew, Shanan. The crown prince of Isaach." Her smile grew, and I sincerely began wondering if these people were just insane. "So, if it makes you feel better, this is Sigurd being himself. Or so I assume. His best friends, his sister, and his knights aren't surprised at all. By any of it."

"How has a madman completely decimated an army?" I tried to remember the counts my scouts had given. We'd outnumbered them. "Seriously, how?"

"I'd say that's my question, but he killed your brother in one strike. He's at least as strong as he is insane."

"Oh, great, that makes me feel so much better."

"Well…"

"So, I heard something about strong and insane, so are you two gossiping about me?" And there was Sigurd, laughing. Ayra jumped in surprise, but he rested a hand on her shoulder. "I am sorry, but I couldn't resist teasing," he explained, still laughing. "Shanan was asking for you, though. I think the fire made him nervous."

"Of course," Ayra murmured, bowing her head slightly. She then narrowed her eyes at me. "By the way, I am sparring you in revenge for the fire. Idiotic tactic."

"Now, now… we can just have him help in the infirmary."

"And spar." She smiled very slightly at him, though. "Thank you." She left quickly, not quite running, but definitely faster than a walk.

"The fire tactic seems to be a bit at odds with how you act," Sigurd noted, focusing on me. He actually stepped into the little room that had been marked off as my 'recovery' room, though he did keep his distance. Giving me room to breathe. "I guess you were really trying to close out your heart to do what you thought needed to be done for your people, huh?"

"Uh… that's…" I began, startled. I hadn't expected him to read me that well. "Um…"

"I'm a reckless idiot, but I do try to watch for people. How they act, and that sort of thing." He smiled. "It's not a 'perfect' ability by any means. My own assumptions color it. But I can often get close."

"Scarily close." I sighed and then made sure to look at him. "I mentioned it earlier, but my father is truly just trying to do what is best for his people. Sadima is the one who told him, and now, he let himself be blind to anything but Verdane."

"Of course." And, just as he had before, Sigurd simply accepted my words. How could he trust me so easily? I tried to kill him! He was alone with me right now, and there were a thousand and one ways I could kill him right now. I had my bow, damn it! Yet he smiled so kindly and gently. "So, we should shift our plan of attack to focus on this Sadima, as well as prioritize rescuing your father." He nodded, thoughtful now. "We'll do everything we can. I'd rather we end this as quickly as possible. But I'm sure you would like to rest. It's been a long day."

"It has, yes." And the next few days would be even longer. "Pleasant sleep?"

"To you as well."

He left as well, closing the door behind him. Curious, I actually opened it back up to peek outside, certain I'd see guards or something. But nope. No guards. Could literally just waltz right on out of here. He really was the most insane person. And yet, that bright kindness… it made me feel like matching it. To be a better version of myself to 'keep up' with him. So, I did leave my room, but it was to go talk to my soldiers and work on minimizing the number of fights in the coming days. Had to assume there would be some trouble, after all. It was two different armies integrating. But if I could keep it from getting violent, that would be good.

Author's notes: So, the first scene is based on the in-game scene, which leads to Jamke appearing on the field. The second scene is the "little talk" Sigurd mentioned having with Jamke during Chapter 5 of Memoirs of the Holy War.