I wake up to a sleeping Elise by my side, we are still cuddling next to each other, naked. I slowly remove my body from hers in an attempt to not wake her up. 'Scaled, disgusting . ' I successfully get up and grab my armor, then quickly putting it on, Yato goes on my back while my birthday sword attaches to my waist, I should really name it. When that is finished I go back to her, "...Hey, Elise? It's time to wake up." I gently nudge her.
"...Yasei?" Her eyes flutter open, "Oh, good morning." She yawns. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did. What about you?" I go over and get her dress for her.
"Probably one of the best ones yet… thank you." She gets up and accepts the dress before putting it on. "Shall we get ready to move?"
"It would be for the best." We begin to walk out and towards the small bath that will be drawn in a bit. Then I notice that she stops a few steps in, "Are you okay?"
She is blushing, "Could I have a quick kiss? No tongues or anything." I smile and bring her close, one quick tap. "Mmm, thanks." She purrs. "Okay! I am ready!"
I giggle and we walk out. The camp is in the process of taking down tents one at a time, the campfire has a pot over it and the small bath tent is still up, everything else is back in the convoy's cart. "Hello, Lady Yasei." Effie walks up, the ground seeming to give in to her steps, "Lady Elise. You two seem… happier than usual. Rested, even."
The youngest Nohrian princess's face blushes and my own follows, "Last night was peaceful." I say, "What about you?"
She rolls her shoulders, "I got in another hundred reps of most of my training while on watch, so pretty well."
"That's the strongest retainer ever for you!" Elise winks, "Where's Arthur?"
"Jakob is tending to him, the poor guy got food poisoning last night." She shrugs. Poor guy indeed. "Anyway, the scouts returned from their patrol, looks like there is going to be trouble at the Port."
I frown, "Is that so?" Why am I not surprised.
"A portion of the Hoshidan army was seen marching in its direction, if we hurry, we can use the town as a defensive foothold, we're going to be outnumbered." She does not sound worried in the slightest.
"Good idea." Then I raise my voice, "Double time! We need to get to Port Dia before the Hoshidans do!" A collection of 'Yes, Lady Yasei' follows. Within minutes everything is packed and ready to move. "Let's go." I nod at Elise and we start moving. "I suppose the bath will have to wait…" I mutter.
"Arthur should be fit to fight." Jakob comments, "I cannot fathom how he got food poisoning from thoroughly cooked meat."
The trip is largely quiet, a few conversations here and there but otherwise silent. However, I could not help but notice that Elise seems distracted. "You okay, sis?"
"Hmm?" She looks over her shoulder, "It's just the battle coming up."
'Lying like a sack of lemons' , but if she does not want to talk about it, "We'll be fine." I assure her.
A few more minutes pass in silence, the sun is already overhead. "I'm not weird, am I?" The question catches me completely off guard and I struggle to respond in a timely manner, "For what we did, I mean. I want to think of you as a sister, but after that..."
"Of course you are not weird, though I am curious at what we would be considered right now." Lovers? Definitely not, "Cot buddies?" I sheepishly smile.
She giggles, "Really? Cot buddies?" I giggle in response, "I suppose I am worrying about it too much. Yasei, I am glad we got to spend that time together." Her face goes red.
"Me too…"
Port Dia seems like a ghost town right now, everything looks to be abandoned, "Did something happen?" I ask aloud as I hone my senses… nothing, wait.
"M-more looters?" A voice squeaks from behind a barricade, "Please, th-there isn't anything worth selling left!" A person pops up, a man, and the poor guy looks deprived of food, his clothes are ragged and torn, face sunken from lack of sleep.
"We got any leftovers from last night? Give him some!" I command and the soldiers swiftly move, "Gods, what happened here?"
The man slowly inches closer, as if afraid we are about to strike, "H-Hoshidans came a week or two ago, demanding passage to Notre Sagre. They were nice about it, everything went smoothly. The trip was paid in a generous manner, but a few days later… we were atta- no, ransacked by a group of bandits." A soldier walks up and hands the man a bowl of stew and some of the bear meat that has been salted. The man graciously accepts it with generous amounts of praise.
I notice the stew is still cold, "Really, cold? The man deserves more than that! Er, what is your name?"
"Gonin. May I know yours? I have never met such a generous soul." A mage approaches him and holds a small fire ball in his palm, warming the stew.
"I am Yasei, this is Elise, Effie, Jakob… Arthur? Where is Arthur?" I hear someone relieving their stomach of its contents from behind a building, "Jakob… would you mind tending to our hero again?"
"Yes, Lady Yasei."
"Y-Yasei? Elise? As, as in the royal family?" Gonin places the food on the ground and immediately bows, "My apologies, I-I didn't…"
"Gonin, hey. Don't worry about it!" Elise cheerfully says, "Go on and eat, you look famished."
"Yes." I agree, "But you should consider finding a house to hole up in, there will be a battle coming soon, I wouldn't want you to be caught in the crossfire." I look my small army over, "You," I point at a bow wielder, "Find a good spot for him and keep him protected."
"Yes, Lady Yasei." He gently guides the man as he eats, looking over the various buildings for a decent one.
"The rest, take up positions. Move some barricades around and ready yourselves." They begin efficiently begin moving. 'I really wish Xander and Leo were here, they would know where to put everyone… I don't want to lead.'
In less than an hour, I hear numerous footsteps, the Hoshidan unit arrives, being led by… Takumi? "Here she is, the traitor." The prince calls out, "Good work there, Phoenix. We can take it from here."
I see a girl to his left, she cannot even be an adult yet, she looks way too young. Her hair is a verdant, forest green with matching eyes. A frankly over sized purple coat covers… no, consumes her body, there are these six eye models stitched into the collar and three more on each sleeves, she also has really long ear tips. She also has these thick black gloves over her hands. Her eyes scan over my people with the sort of look that says she is figuring us out. I can barely make out the hilt of a sword on each side of her hip and there are all of these pockets in her robe. "I am completely capable of fighting, Prince Takumi, I am not going to sit on the sidelines."
He sighs, "Very well, then take…"
Now she looks aggravated, so she adds silently, "I told you my skills, you even saw them, why won't you let me do what I do best?"
"Watch your tone with my liege, girl." A woman with a naginata and a scowl says.
"Phoenix, keep the mages safe, Oboro, Hinata with me, the rest of you, spread out." The young girl glares at him before complying. The other two, which I assume are his retainers, take point next to him. Oboro, the one with the scowl, has this battle/dress/garb thing on, and I can barely make out that she has a second sp… Beast Killer, she has a Beast Killer. Hinata has the standard armor of a Samurai, a katana on one side and a Wyrmslayer on the other.
"Gods…" Of course he has a Wyrmslayer, because why not?
"Hoshidans, ready yourselves, we have some Nohrians to take care of."
"Let's go everyone, defend this Port." and with those two commands shouted, the battle starts.
Takumi and his retainers get some distance between my troops and me, with Takumi opting to start off with his Fujin Yumi. Effie takes point in front of Elise, her massive shield blocking any direct line of fire from the Prince. Arthur and Jakob return and cover one side. I move to the other side, where the mages are, Elise and Effie staying next to me. "Careful sister, that armor is more enchanted for physical attacks, not magical."
"It'll be worth it, this 'Phoenix' has some bad blood with Takumi." My little sister seems surprised, "Let's see if we can get her on our side."
An arrow from Takumi bounces off of Effie's shield, "Wow, that was actually pretty tough. I should have reinforced this shield…" The retainer then readies a javelin and throws it at a mage, skewering the man.
I weave my way through the various spells being thrown at us. I can see Phoenix is wielding a yellow tome, Thunder? I am not sure exactly which one it is.
"That isn't some cheap tome, Mjolnir perhaps?" Elise points out.
The girl is looking us over, biding her time instead of throwing spells like the other two mages. She would not just refuse to fight, would she? I close in on a mage, I am about to strike him down when I felt a tingle, I leap to my right and a bolt of thunder slams the ground I was just on, the stone cracked underneath the shear force of the spell'Gods, that is just…' , the mage is left unharmed, until another Javelin finds its mark. Phoenix's tome is crackling with electricity and she holds off on casting again, that kind of magic must take a toll on her.
She tilts her head as she observes me, she is alone but seems completely calm. I approach and she does not bother casting again, the electricity fades and she puts the tome away, I respond in kind by sheathing Yato. "Hello." I smile.
She chooses to look me over again, "Hello." 'What is she looking for?' "You're Yasei, right? This 'traitor' Takumi keeps rambling out?" She scoffs at the Prince's name.
"Yes, I am Yasei." I ignore the other part, "You are Phoenix? It is a nice name."
"That is the name I have given myself, yes." Then she lazily glances over at the direction of the main area, "Look, I'm not built for front-line fighting, and that Archass Takumi is keeping me from my best talent, being a Tactician." She scowls, "Might as well be kicking my father in the shins while he is at it..." her attention returns to me, "Get me a spot as your Tactician and I'll join without a second thought."
'Honesty' , "Deal." I extend my hand, "Welcome to my small army, Phoenix."
She extends her own and shakes mine, "Thank the gods…" She is smiling again, "Now, I believe there is a fight to finish." She pulls out her tome again, "And I got some royal ass to fry."
She jogs off and for a moment I am left with Elise and Effie, "Good job, sister." The princess smiles.
"That was easier than I thought, er, shall we get back?" The two nod and we return to the main area. Jakob and Arthur have moved to the southern side, all the targets from east side have been taken out, that just leaves a dozen or so units and Takumi. Jakob and Arthur are showing some serious wear, how many did the two take out? 'They work really well together, I'll keep that in mind… and mention it to Phoenix.'
"Names? I need names." Phoenix says. "Who am I working with here?" I quickly go over everyone, "Jakob, Arthur back up, take a breather. My Butler looks hesitant but I nod my approval and they get to the back. "Effie, to the choke point south of here, Elise, keep her up. Yasei, with me, We're going to be pushing them back."
I startle, "With a dozen? You must have some serious confidence in my skill."
"Hm? Oh, you'll just be keeping them off of me. I got quite a bit of magic on my back burner." She smiles, then we move out. We are now out in the front, some of the soldiers break off of trying to take down the iron wall that is Effie and head towards us. Two of them drop before they even get a few steps in, their bodies scorched a sickening burning red and chunks of the flesh seemingly disintegrate on the spot… 'And that would have been me if I got struck earlier.'
"Phoenix? Gods, now we got two traitors…" Takumi sighs, "Hinata, push forward, Oboro, we're keeping behind him."
"Damn Wyrmslayers…" She shudders, I hear her put her tome back into a robe and she began chanting a language I could not understand. What I do know, however, is that it is sending this sense of dread throughout my body, "...Shatter." A shroud of dark energy surround his Wyrmslayer before it seems to solidify, giving the blade a black as midnight appearance, shortly after the blackness cracks and the blade shatters into hundreds of tiny shards, some of the shards embed themselves into his arm while the rest hit the ground.
The Samurai gasps, but otherwise refuses to back down and pulls out his second sword, a well-crafted Katana. An arrow from Takumi follows and Oboro makes a leaping blow, both of which I dodge. I attempt a slice at Oboro, but she easily sidesteps it and lands a strike on my armor, it does not cut through but the impact is felt, and arrow lands its mark on my left shoulder, the power of the Fujin Yumi is more than enough to pierce. I grit my teeth, Hinata follows up with his own sword, which I block. He attempts another strike but leaps back when another bolt strikes the spot he was occupying. I hear Phoenix swear and a ring of metal follows, she joins me with this sword that is crackling with electricity, the blade has this zig-zag design. Jeez, I can tell what her favorite element is.
Another arrow is dodged, while the two melee fighters come for the next round. Hinata focuses on me while Oboro takes on Phoenix. The Samurai's skill with his blade exceeds my own, though that is due to my preference of fighting as a dragon, and I find myself on the defensive. My arm is starting to feel the strain of extended blocking. Phoenix, even with the weapon disadvantage, is pushing Oboro back, streams of electricity following every strike, crackling to the ground and onto her opponent's weapon. Hinata connects another blow and my armor gives in, a gash on my side, opposite of the Wyrmslayer wound. I pay it back with a strike of my own, cutting into his other arm.
"Hold still you little…" I glance and see Effie engaged with Takumi the Knight is keeping him on the defensive so he can't pelt anyone with arrows. However, even with her incredible strength, she lacks speed, so the Prince is still able to get a few shots in, each one causing Elise's retainer to slow down.
"For Justice!" Arthur leaps in an brings his axe down on Takumi, before the Hoshidan does a back flip and hits the hero on axe-wielding arm, while upside down. Blood pools from his wound as the arrow vanishes, leaving Arthur with a nasty open gash. Takumi fires another arrow and it is only by the grace of Effie's shield that he still stands.
"Arthur, get back!" Phoenix calls without even sparing a glance, her attention solely focused on Oboro, who has managed to get a glancing blow on the Tactician.
I cry out in pain as Hinata lands another blow on me, 'Gods, these three are unbelievably tough!' I parry the next blow before countering with a thrust of my lance arm, only scraping into the Samurai's side.
"Gods, I thought those Nohrian scum would have taught you better, traitor!" Hinata taunts as another slash connects on the spot he hit earlier.
"Don't get cocky, they're the worst when they're cornered." Oboro scowls even as she gets her first actual hit in on Phoenix.
Out of all of us, Phoenix is the only one remaining relatively calm, even as Oboro starts to push her back. I feel a soothing wave of energy as Jakob weaves in and heals me, before landing a precise strike on Hinata and leaving just as fast.
"My liege, I can't…" Effie starts as an arrow pierces her armor, dangerously close to her heart.
"Bull…" Takumi starts, but is interrupted when I sense something just snatch him from his spot.
"Keaton!" I exclaim without even looking, the Archer is sent flying through the air with a single toss.
Oboro breaks off, Beast Killer in hand. "No no no, little girl." Phoenix chides Oboro as she lands a direct hit with her Mjolnir spell on the Spear fighter, somehow the woman can still stand, Phoenix must be tiring out. "Focus on me."
Hinata grunts in pain as I finally manage to land another strike, his counter failed as the ground shook and Keaton back-handed him, causing the man to slide against the stone. "P-Prince Takumi…" He gasps as he gets up.
I hear the youngest Hoshidan prince let out a small string of swears, "Retreat!" All that remains from his force is him and his retainers, all the other ones are dead.
I sigh in relief, "Thank the gods that's over with." 'Gods, I don't know if I can keep up if my enemies are this strong… I never realized how bad I am at combat.'