Chapter 19) Mease

Mease is free, and I talked to Galle, truly talked to him, for the first time since he changed. It was an enlightening conversation, and my resolve is all the stronger for it. This is a good thing, since the days after saving Mease are spent tending to the sick and wounded. The priests left their mark all too clearly here. This was why we had to change things, why we had to topple the Empire. I didn't want to see a world where babies were killed just to satisfy someone's lust for power. We had to make things better. We had to.

There was something strange about being able to wake up beside someone. There was also strange about being able to laze about in bed while someone slept next to you. But I had experienced the former over the past few days, and I experienced the latter now. For once, there were no early morning duties or chores for Hezul or me, but I had woken up at the same time as always. I had thought about simply getting up as usual, but instead chose to simply relax and take advantage of the free time.

"You must be very comfortable to still be sleeping when someone is awake in the room," I whispered, keeping quiet so that I didn't wake Hezul up. I had never known him to sleep in or be anything but alert when people were near. Yet here we were, both still in bed together, with him asleep while I was awake. "Perhaps you are simply used to me?" The thought made me smile, and blush. "I do wish I better understood those jokes everyone makes about us now." I had asked Vidar, but he had simply been angry and told them off for whatever reason. My family simply laughed when I had asked them. "Ah, I suppose that is neither here nor there." I brushed a kiss over his cheek and returned to what I had been doing, reading a book Skadi had found.

Since the city was completely theirs again, they decided to rummage through what was left behind in the hopes of finding information. While there was quite a bit, there was nothing about what exactly they had planned here, though there were copious amounts of books. This one in particular, Skadi had thought would be interesting for us, since it seemed to talk of the formation of the Loptyrian Empire, but not through the eyes of the victors. It was from the perspective of one of the civilians who fought and lost, a perspective I never would've truly learned about. The main 'problem' with the book, though, was that since it was so old, it was handwritten and written in an old dialect, one that only Vala, Hezul, and I knew. I had volunteered, curious about having more information, and thus, made my slow way through it. Handwritten books were so difficult to read...

"Though it seems as if they did have some sort of printing press, and the description is more advanced than ours," I murmured, reading through that paragraph again. I didn't even know what some of the terms were. "The First Emperor must have destroyed them to better control the information network." It wasn't something that continued, though many of the civilians didn't know how to read anything more than basic words and pictures. After all, you needed the time to learn, and the high taxes made certain that people had to choose between 'food' and 'education'. "I wonder if we can find some sort of information on that old one and recreate it. Though, perhaps such a thing should wait..."

Shaking my head, I flipped the page to continue reading through. Despite having been reading for a good couple of hours, I was perhaps only a few pages in. There were many words I could only figure out via context, and once or twice, I thought I might need paper and pen to actively write down translations to piece sentences together. It didn't help that the writer had been writing quickly, and that haste turned what might have been normally neat handwriting into a spidery scrawl, where some of the letters practically overlapped. It was certainly an exercise in patience and more than once, I wondered if I really should be reading this. There were other ways I could be spending my free morning, such as working on my weaponry training. But at the same time, I wanted to learn what tactics they had used against the First Emperor. I wanted to see if there were dark magic spells I didn't know of. I wanted to know if there was a way to kill Deadlords besides what I already knew. I also wanted to learn about life before the Loptyrian Empire, to have ideas for how we might rebuild things once this was all over.

So, I kept at it, reading each line slowly to make sure I didn't mistranslate anything. Absently, I thought about how determined I was nowadays. But making that promise with Galle seemed to simply… I wouldn't say it turned me into an 'optimist'. It seemed to firm my resolve and path. We would destroy the Empire. We would kill Galle. These things would happen, though how long it took… that I couldn't say. But it would happen. I knew it. I knew it as surely as I knew my own name.

Hezul stirred beside me, waking up at last. I turned to smile at him, amused at how confused he looked. He blinked blearily at me a few times, but instead of sitting up and starting a conversation as he normally would, he reached out and pulled me into his arms. I squeaked and blushed, but before I could ask him what he was doing, I discovered he was asleep again, this time with his head buried in the crook of my neck.

After a moment of shock, I slowly relaxed and laughed softly. "Am I now a security blanket?" I teased, speaking quietly so that I wouldn't wake him. Hesitantly, I ran my fingers through his hair, playing with the strands. "I should ask when you are properly awake, if only for your blush." It truly was fun to make him blush. "Hee… I can't wait."

I suppose this was another way to spend the earlier hours of the morning, and it was one that I could get very used to, very quickly.

Eventually, it was time to properly get up and go about our day. Hezul left first, partly because he had to help train people in swordsmanship and partly to escape my teasing, since he had barely been awake when he had pulled me close. Giggling still, I left not long afterwards to meet with Vala and Dain to go herb picking. We needed herbs for both cooking and medicine, since we were tragically low on both. However, it did mean that I became the target of teasing, namely Vala's.

"So, how do you two handle changing clothes?" Vala asked, grinning broadly. I tried to hide my blush at her implication, and failed miserably. "Oh, now that is a blush~!"

"You talk as if I haven't seen him shirtless before!" I protested, sulking at her. Dain, meanwhile, was actually gathering herbs, unlike Vala and I. She was too busy teasing me, and I was too busy trying to defend myself. "B-besides, there is a connecting bathroom."

"Aw, that's a boring answer." She stuck her tongue out at me, and I huffed, barely checking the urge to stomp my foot. "Well, does he at least take your hair down?" At the reminder, my blush darkened, and she laughed and laughed. "Oh my gods, he does! Yes~!"

"Vala!"

"And now I'm completely lost," Dain sighed, giving up on herb gathering and standing to face us. It was hard to tell if his expression was more confused or exasperated. "What does hair have to do with anything?"

"Well, in Belhalla, only one's maids, or one's betrothed, may help a lady take down her hair~!" Vala explained with a cat's grin. My blush somehow managed to burn further, to the point of being painful truthfully. "Yay~! Engagement, engagement~!"

"That is…" Dain smiled briefly before going right back to being confused. "Do people in Belhalla not have rings?"

"Well, sure, but rings don't mean much. It's a noble thing, and there's lots of arranged marriages. Even I had one, though since Thrud didn't bring it up, I am going to happily ignore it." She giggled, and now Dain and I gave her a weird look. "Meh, I didn't care about it. Wasn't friends with him and only met him in formal settings. Arranged marriages and all. I'm glad to pretend it never existed, though I guess I should confirm that with him."

"Maybe just a little?" Dain's voice actually went a little squeaky, for some reason, and then he glowered. "And if he intends on pushing it when you don't want…"

"You'll feed him to Freya?"

"Freya doesn't eat people. She just rips them apart or chars them. But otherwise, yes." His gaze hardened, and Vala laughed again, though there was a bit of sadness to it. "I mean it."

"I know you do!" She kept on laughing. "I can handle myself, though."

"Let me be prideful here. You can pick what parts Freya chars."

"Deal." Vala kept on giggling, clutching her stomach from laughing so hard. I resolved to ask Noba later. "Anyway, the answer is 'yes', but the whole 'letting hair down' thing is a subtle way a proper lady may let her betrothed know that she looks forward to the marriage. There's lots of subtleties, like flower language, or how one holds a fan..."

"...I'm going to just focus on how we have Hezul and Gwyneth unofficially engaged and ignore the rest of the nonsense." Dain smiled at me, and I looked down, embarrassed. "Or is it official? I don't know."

"Th-there hasn't been a question or anything, if that is what you are asking!" I managed to squeak. This wasn't how I expected today to go at all! "So… ah…"

"Unofficial then. Much as I like Hezul, he has to be proper and get you a ring." Dain now grinned and I turned away because it was the only way I was hiding my blush. "Ah, but there has been too much teasing of Gwyneth. Before she dies of a blush, let's switch targets. So, Vala…"

"Oh no, if we're switching targets, we're switching to you!" Vala protested, pointed dramatically at him. She almost turned her basket upside down from the movement. "I'm the youngest! I'm required to be the annoying one!"

While I was very curious about what Dain's reply would have been, I heard the 'snap' of a branch nearby and frowned. While it was probably an animal, I knew nowadays that most animals avoided loud humans for their own safety, and we were being very loud. So, instead, I moved towards the sound, gathering a couple of herbs along the way to make it seem like I was just looking for more things to put in my basket. Vala and Dain continued to banter, but I saw Dain's eyes dart towards where the noise had come from, showing he had heard it too. Vala didn't react, so I wondered if she had.

But then that didn't matter, because the source of the noise was a young girl with a knife, a knife she held at Vala's throat when she grabbed her.

"Well, that is certainly a way to make an entrance," Dain noted dryly, dropping his basket to hover a hand over the sword on his belt. I began slowly moving to where my staff was resting against a tree, just in case. "Not a very smart way, mind."

"I don't think you get to say that when I succeeded," the girl snapped. She bristled, but I got the impression of a cat trying to pretend it was bigger than it truly was. Her red-gold hair was falling out of its braid, and her brown-black eyes were almost wild and puffy. She had scratches and bruises all over her arms, face, and neck, and what bits I could see of her clothes were caked with mud. "So, listen-"

"Actually, I would advise you to let go of her for your own safety." Dain appeared calm, but I knew it was the calm before the storm. "By which I mean with one call, I can have you ripped apart. Why did you grab her anyway?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Oh, fuck you!" Vala snapped before igniting the air around her. The flames swirled about her like a tornado, and she snarled at the woman, who was clutching her now-blackened arm. "I can't believe…! Using me against my family?" The fire raged and I glanced worriedly at the trees. "That's an expensive mistake, and I'm claiming the price now!"

"Vala, please, hold on a moment," I requested. Vala turned her glare to me. "Let your magic abate."

"She held a knife to my throat!"

"She did, yes, and I am quite angered over it as well, but I would like to not have the forest resemble the girl's arm, especially while we are in it." I pointed first to the large scorch mark on a nearby tree, and then at the girl's arm, which oozed puss. "Please?" Vala continued to glare, but she nodded sharply and dispeled her magic. "Thank you kindly."

"So, let's focus on the person desperate enough to take a hostage," Dain murmured, focusing on the girl again. She continued clutching her arm, her dagger on the ground now, and she looked at us wildly. There was genuine fear there. I hadn't seen someone look at me with fear in quite a while, and it made my stomach turn. "...Relax. So long as you're not Loptyrian, and don't attack our family, we won't hurt you. Further."

"In fact, if you give us an explanation, I can even heal your arm," I offered, smiling kindly. Vala opened her mouth to snap, but Dain covered it, so she settled for a muffled, frustrated scream. "You don't seem to be Loptyrian, and I promise we aren't either. Why did you attempt to take a hostage?"

"You… you're not with them?" the girl asked, voice tiny. She still looked about wildly, desperately. "Really?"

"Of course. The fact that you are not dead proves that. Believe me, no priest would hesitate to attack because there is a hostage." I kept up the kind smile. "So, please, can you tell us why you are here? What is your name? My name is Gwyneth."

"...Artemisia. I'm… I'm part of Manster's Resistance. Or what's left." Her voice shook. All of her shook. Even Vala calmed when she saw how badly the girl was shaking. "Hell, even what's left of Manster. I don't know… I don't…"

"Vala, can you check the area with the pixies?" Dain asked. Vala nodded and closed her eyes, a gentle red light surrounding her as she 'reached' for them. "Artemisia, was it? I am Dain, and this is Vala. We are… we're part of a crazy group that's gathering people for a rebellion. Mease was recently liberated."

"I-is Sk-Skadi here?" Artemisia asked. Even her words were trembling. "Vidar?"

"Both are in the city. You know them?"

"Yes, I do. Gaia said to…" She started teetering. "Ah…!"

"Here." Dain, however, caught her and helped her limp over to me, so that I could tend to her arm. "Vala?"

"We've got people all over the place, running this way and that," Vala murmured, opening her eyes again. Though there was still irritation, it had mostly faded, masked by confusion and worry. "Girl. What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," Artemisia answered honestly. Silent tears slipped down her face. "I don't know. There was some sort of massive ritual or something. I think. I don't know what, exactly. We were just on a mission, to head inside the castle to liberate some children, but then the air began to hum and Gaia suddenly screamed for all of us to run and we did because she rarely screams, so we all ran and ran and there was a light and I looked back and thought I saw statues, but I don't know and-"

"Breathe." Vala held up her hand to stop her ramble. "Remember to breathe. Did your whole group… no, never mind. In a mad dash like that, you wouldn't have been able to tell." She looked to Dain and me. "Well, I'm still pissed off, but some of the wanderers are wounded and they might do more stupid things, so we should warn the others. Maybe we'll get more information about..." She trailed off, the silence heavy on us.

We had known there was a 'sister ritual' to whatever the priests had planned here. It seemed we would learn just what it was, in one of the worst of ways.

After we brought Artemisia into the city, Vidar sent patrols out to look for the wandering members of Manster's Resistance. I spent my time tending to Artemisia's arm, healing it up as best as I was able, and then my day was eaten up by treating to the Resistance members, as none had escaped injury. Many of the survivors were very young, and very scared, rambling and babbling much as Artemisia had. They all said the same thing, though. A ritual had occurred in Manster, and they had been told to run.

"I wonder what's going on," Noba murmured, folding some blankets in the corner. Since Vala was out assisting the patrols, Noba had decided to help me as much as she could. I appreciated more than words could say, since I was feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the numbers. "Did another Sorrow occur?"

"It is possible, but I am not so certain," I murmured, stitching a person's eye shut. They had lost the eye completely. "Given the range of ages found here…"

"Oh, right. This has to be the sister-ritual or whatever." Finished with folding, she started patrolling the room we used for the infirmary to make sure no one was bleeding through their bandages. I truly felt my lack of experience during things like this. "I always knew the Empire was horrible, but things like this remind me of how lucky I've been."

"Sadly, it will likely only get worse." I tied off the stitching and bandaged the area up before moving to work on their neighbor. But I sighed, because while I had been stitching, their neighbor had died. "Noba?"

"Another dead?" Noba jogged over and scooped them up. "Damn it. Is there even going to be anything to save once this is over?"

"Yes, there will be." I made sure my voice was as firm as possible, and that I held myself with all the dignity of a 'proper lady'. "There will be the people who still live, and their futures. There will be the children who are not yet born."

"I…" Noba started laughing suddenly. Surprisingly, it didn't sound weird, considering she was laughing while cradling a corpse. "Well, damn, it used to be me cheering you up! Talk about a role reversal!"

"I am only applying the lessons I learned from you." I grinned and she just laughed more. "I am a very good student!"

"Seems so! Though, you probably learned more from Baldur than me."

"Speaking of Baldur, where is he? I haven't seen him all-"

"Well, it's more cheerful in here than I thought it would be." An unknown woman stepped into the infirmary then, one who wore power like a well-worn cloak. Copper-red hair was braided back, falling to her knees, and her eyes were a similar color, burning with a quiet light. Her armor was heavier than I was used to seeing, but what truly held my attention was the twisted scar curving from the bottom of her jaw, across her neck, and to the opposite shoulder. "I'm glad, since cheer proves a better medicine than somber quiet," the woman continued, setting her lance against the wall. Her eyes fell on Noba briefly before she 'unfocused' her attention to look at us both. "I thank you for taking care of them. My name is Gaia."

"Oh, so you're Gaia," Noba replied. She awkwardly walked around Gaia and set the corpse down in the next room, to be prepared for burial later. "Nice to meet you. I-"

"I know who you are. Neit sent me a message, telling me that you would likely be near soon. I half-wish it had been sooner, but you have done far too much good for me to truly be upset or anything." She smiled slightly at Noba's shock. "Is it so surprising? I am the one who contacted them, truthfully. The people need more help than I can give."

"Oh." Noba glanced at me, and I shrugged, not truly understanding it. "So… uh… cool scar?"

"My thanks. I am rather fond of it, though I dislike the circumstances."

"How did you get it, then?" Noba grimaced a bit, likely because of how awkwardly rude the question was. "Er… I mean…"

"I attempted to assassinate the Emperor. I failed." She shrugged, but my jaw dropped. "Such poor children, doomed by one man's ambition for power and one parasite's lust for destruction."

"Oh." Noba squirmed a bit before pointing to the door. "I'm going to let Vidar and Skadi know that you're here. They're been waiting for you." Then Noba was out of the room in an instance, seizing the convenient escape.

Gaia, however, simply laughed, softly. "What an amusing child." Her attention focused solely on me, then, and I felt like I was bearing the full force of a landslide. It was an odd feeling, since I had never even seen a landslide. "But you know what I speak of, don't you? She didn't, but you do. Of the change inflicted on those who inherit the crown."

"...I think I am more surprised you know of it," I whispered after a moment. My throat was very dry. "Most seem to think…"

"I know quite a bit. More than I want to." She shrugged, a very fluid motion. "You must be close to the current one. Or were, at one point."

"I was Galle's fiance, but how did you…?"

"You know the change, you have your morals, and you live. All of that hints to someone the emperor loved dearly prior to their shift. If you look at history, you will see that every Galle had someone like that. Something that holds through the darkness." She smiled kindly, yet sadly, and I thought of what Galle had said. "I have some magical power, not of a 'usual' kind. Because of that 'hold', I had hoped that power could reverse and save them. It isn't right, after all, for children to suffer for their parents' sins." She sighed, though, and rolled her shoulder. "I failed. It wasn't possible with my power. Based on what I have heard from my friends, I do not think it is possible at all. The only way to save them without killing them seems to be turning back time itself."

"You can turn back time?" I focused on that, instead of the horrible gnawing in my stomach at the reminder that Galle was lost, and had always been lost. "That seems like it should be impossible."

"If you're willing to make the sacrifice, anything is possible. But the loftier the goal, the higher the price. You see it now, where the goal of changing the continent costs you the lives of those who fight." She gestured at everyone in the infirmary, her eyes sad. "Turning back time… well, that would cost you the world. So, you had best risk it only if there is no hope for the world at all."

Gaia stopped talking after that somber note, instead walking to the wounded and talking to them. She named each one, and had brief, but warm, conversations with the conscious. She whispered prayers and praises to the unconscious, and when she walked into the room with each of the dead, she made promises to each of the corpses, not only to see things through, but to tell their loved ones. She knew each of the loved ones by name as well. She knew each and every one of her people personally, and I wondered how she could lead, knowing that. Battles scared me silly, knowing only a handful.

But she did, and she showed no hesitations. When Vidar came by to ask her to attend an emergency War Meeting, she left with her head held high, as if she had no hesitations. I wished I could feel the same. While I knew this was the 'right path', I couldn't hold myself as such when surrounded by the wounded. Worse was that until Vala returned, I was the only one here. Being the only one who used healing staves was certainly draining and I couldn't truly teach anyone as we only had my staves. I hoped that there were some healers in the north. I also hoped Blaggi was doing well and that he wasn't in the same position as I was.

I missed everyone. I couldn't wait to reunite with them.

Our Family

Gwyneth

21 years old

Class: Shaman; Weapons: Fire - B, Thunder - B, Wind - B, Light - A, Staves - A; (Axes - C, Swords - C, Lances - C, Bows - C)

Skills: Paragon, Critical

Has found it odd that she's become the 'positive one' in the group, and isn't sure how to feel about it. Still, she's determined to do what she can

Slowly but surely, she is mastering all of the weapons, with Gaia giving her tips for some of her weaker weapons. She still thinks she's insane for even trying it.

Hezul

23 years old

Class: Paladin (dismounted); Weapons: Sword - A, Lances - B

Skills: Pursuit, Ambush, Wrath

Terribly embarrassed by how clingy he's become with Gwyneth, but at the same time, he likes how she squeaks and giggles. And she's warm.

Takes it as a matter of course that whenever they stay in a place for more than a couple of days, he will be teaching people swords and lances.

Noba

20 years old

Class: Soldier; Weapons: Lance - A

Skills: Adept, Nihil

Finds her confidence shaking more and more, even though she's certain this is what they need to do. Realizes now the stories of heroes never mentioned how the heroes kept themselves going and wishes they had, just so that she doesn't feel so lost

Enjoys doing simple chores like laundry and folding clothes because they remind her of simpler times. Hopes that when all this is over, she can go back to those simple things.

Baldur

22 years old

Class: Mercenary; Weapons: Swords - A

Skills: Pursuit, Charisma

Spent most of his morning visiting the people they saved from the temple, doing his best to cheer them up and help them with their rehabilitation. He feels like if he can help them smile, he can do just about anything.

Pretty startled to leave their special room and find themselves in the middle of yet another situation. Already started packing because he knows they'll be the ones moving to solve it. It's what they do.

Dain (and Freya)

23 years old

Class: Dragon Lord; Weapons: Lances - A, Swords - C

Skills: Pursuit, Adept, Nihil

Has discovered that no matter where the hell he is, if he shouts for Freya, she is there within seconds, making him think she just follows him around. Out of sight. Somehow.

Feels bad about threatening Artemisia, since she was traumatized, but at the same time, she threatened one of his 'little sisters'. That doesn't get off easily, even for the frightened.

Vala; Fjalar

18 years old

Class: Fire Mage; Weapons: Fire - A; (Swords - B, Thunder - C, Wind - D)

Skills: Wrath, Miracle

Can't decide if she's more irritated at being taken hostage or at having to be nice to the person who took her hostage. Either way, the incident pisses her off and she's determined to make Artemisia as uncomfortable as possible to make up for it. Even if she understands how fear can make you do super stupid things

While touched and delighted by Dain's 'older brother protectiveness' thing, it also made her sad because it reminded her of her birth family.

Our Allies

Vidar

22 years old

Class: Dragon Lord; Weapons: Lances - B, Swords - B

Wonders what the hell is going on and what they got themselves into. Also feels like the world is going crazy… or that it was always crazy and he's just now learning how insane everything actually is.

Skadi

Unknown Age; Appears 30

Class: Sniper; Weapons: Bows - A

Startled and frightened by what she's heard of the Ritual, and confers with Gaia often about it. Her fear fuels the fear of others, as she is normally unshakeable and calm, like ice or the mountains.

Artemisia

17 years old

Reckless and often leaps before she thinks, leading to awkward incidents that she has to struggle to try and explain and apologize for. This trait of hers is only worsened when she's stressed, which can lead to extremely stupid ideas she runs with

Feels bad about simply attacking, and can't even remember what justification she told herself to make it 'make sense'. She hopes to make it up to everyone.

Gaia

Unknown age; appears mid-twenties

Class: General; Weapons: Swords - A, Lances - A, Axes - B, Bows - B

The first, and only, leader of the Manster Resistance, a powerful soldier with equally powerful defenses. Like her friends Skadi and Neit, she carries a strange stone with her, one of glittering and rich amber, wearing it on her belt

Despite her appearances, she has been around for a very long time. According to Artemisia, there's rumors that Gaia was the one who encouraged Lord Maera to resist, but that would put her over a hundred, easily...

Author's notes: Bit of a break chapter, given how dramatic the last one got. Well, 'break'. I suppose. Maybe. Okay, probably not, but no fighting or anything, yay? Yes, Generals in FE4 wield all four weapons (and I think those might be the bases, but can't remember atm), but they're still bad because of the low movement. Great for defending castles, though!

Next Chapter - Frozen