Fire Emblem: Realm of Darkness
Chapter 12
Disclaimer: I dun own FE.
Thanks to Daidairo for your awesome review. No offense to all my other wonderful readers out there but that was a review I was looking for that said the good and bad of the chapter and my writing style. Thankfully, they may drop by occasionally to review further chapters.
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Also, please excuse the past and present typos and all round grammar errors through the chapters so far. I've edited the first two and cleaned them up, along with having a beta look at them. Just know I'm slowing getting there. Ha ha!
Enjoy!
A red, intricate circle of light began to shine on a high snow covered cliff near the mountaintops as seven figures materialized instantly above the alchemy circle. While the red glow faded away, the smallest of the seven stepped forward only to turn around and face them. The strong winds of ice and snow kept his hood plastered to his scarf covered face but it did not matter if they could see him. It did matter if they could understand him.
He looked down over the ledge they were perched on and searched in the direction their informant gave them several hours ago. At first, he could barely see the small company through the thick veil of blowing snow but then he could make out a collection of dots that was slowly moving east. Smirking, he faced the group again and gestured down with a gloved finger, then clenched his hand and punched his clenched fist into the palm of his other hand. It was signal that meant for them to crush their enemies and hit them very hard. The group of six nodded in unison that they understood and ran past him, jumped over the cliff's edge and began falling down towards the company far below.
Pelleas watched their descent with a blank face. Stopping these mercenaries in their journey is of the utmost importance. He worked too hard and sacrificed far too much for Ike and his comrades to ruin his plans now. If they got even a whiff of what was to happen in the future, chances are the strength of a swordsman such as Ike would be a horrid wrench in his side along with interfering with his master's power. As a large cloud of snow exploded near the middle of the dots, he turned away from the faint sounds of battle that echoed back to his ears.
Summoning another transportation circle, he steeled himself for the long lecture that his mother was sure to give. Recently she had been asking where he was and what he was doing at all times. It was really annoying him but also knew if he lashed out at her to mind her business, she would only get angrier and demand more of him. Not that it would matter once he confronted her about the truth of their relationship. Once restoring his master's former power to him, he would make sure no one would lie to him ever again.
After all, he personally felt he had no mother anymore.
The light, now a pulsing white half moon shape, carved its symbols inches above the powdery snow. Once it was a complete circle, the young man stepped into the glowing light, closed his eyes, letting the alchemy envelope him, and take him back to the royal palace in Daein.
When he felt the energy fading once more, Pelleas opened his eyes to see the underground brick room in which he had marked in order to return when he wanted. Writing the marker symbol into the alchemy circle made sure he appeared in places he had been before. The opposite was trickier but possible to accomplish.
Shedding his winter wear and warming up by the dying fireplace he had stoked before he left, the prince made sure not a hair was out of place before entering the custom made tunnel he had commissioned for his personal use that led into the palace. It was twenty minutes later when he snuck his way into the one of the many underground cellars and dusted himself off. On his way out, Pelleas picked up a random wine bottle from one of the storage shelves he was walking by rather casually. Better to look calm and confident then obviously suspicious by fidgeting and rushing everywhere nervously. It was a lesson from his master that served him well.
Once inside his own chambers the prince sat down by another fireplace, although this one was large and roaring with warmth. Resting his weary head against the plush cushioned back of his chair, he breathed in through his nose then back out again through his mouth. Already he could feel his muscles relaxing and his mind become a little clearer. Transporting more than four people with alchemy didn't take up magic power as much as it did with concentration of the mind. The efforts were exhausting to his body either way.
Hearing the noticeable sounds of shuffling cloth along with the creak of wood behind him, he ignored the noises because he knows who it is.
"Ah, Prince Pelleas, you have returned," said a grating, smoky voice of his adviser who hobbled around the large armchair the young prince sat in to stand bent over at his left. A crystal wine glass clinked as it was set down slowly onto the table beside the prince's chair.
"Has anything interesting happened since I left, Izuka?"
"Your mother has been asking your whereabouts again."
Pelleas bit back a groan as he opened his eyes and turned his head to face the hunched over elderly man next to him. His wine glass was now in his hand as the mere mention of his mother instantly caused the start of a headache.
The advisor bobbed his head as an almost disturbing looking grin stretched his thin lips, "and there is someone who just arrived that will be a great interest to you."
"And who would that be?" Pelleas asked, the glass nearing his lips for a well-needed drink.
"It was with great fortune that I happened to glimpse his face when I was told the last Sanctear had arrived after all these years. He can cover himself with as many layers as he wants, but my genius mass of memory could never forget those red eyes. It seems we have Greil Mercenary as a guest, your highness."
The crystal glass filled with wine he held so steadily in his hand fell from his now limp grip to crash onto the rug under his feet, soaking and staining the thick wool as he stared with wide, shocked eyes at his adviser.
Strong winds of ice and snow blow harshly through the snow-covered mountains as the Greil Mercenaries trek further up the soft, snowy path. Ike was leading the company in the front, hunched over in his saddle to guide his mount along the snaking mountain trail. Titania and Oscar were on their horses trotting along behind him while the Begnion mages filled in the middle, all huddled together as they marched on. Mist had tucked the little laguz cub into her many layers of winter wear and cloaks to keep them both warm as she followed the mages. Boyd was trailing behind everyone, keeping a look out while everyone's back was turned. He held his large battle-axe comfortably at his side, the sharp edge facing backwards, lying against his thigh.
They entered the mountain entrance two days ago and made it maybe three miles since then. It grated on Ike's nerves that they were moving so slow because of the weather. If they had bird laguz of any tribe with them, the journey may be easier because they could just fly past all the accursed snow. The long winding path was also making their journey longer then it should be. Nevertheless, he knew it just was not that simple, despite how much he wanted it to be.
Mist leaned her head down to snuggle the wet nose of Syris' furry head peeking out from between the clasped edges of her wool jacket. She ignored the heavy weight across her thighs of the thirty-pound laguz cub in her lap since the extra body warmth was worth holding onto. Ever since Titania had eased away the cub's tension and stress from Soren's sudden departure, the siblings agreed not to mention their friend's name around her, as they didn't want to deal with a relapse of her attitude.
The young woman was grateful that the cub was behaving and tried humming a tune, knowing no one could really hear it with the wind blowing snow past their ears. She paused after a moment when her lips felt too numb to move and lowered her head down to Syris' snout, pressing their noses together. The puffy white clouds from the laguz' breath warmed her eyes and forehead for a few moments only to fade away minutes later. While the young woman was glancing up to make sure her horse was walking in a straight line behind the mages, Syris' ears snapped up.
Noticing the cub stiffen in her arms, Mist looked down with a frown. The laguz was trying to push her way out of the jacket, sticking her nose higher into the air despite the cold. The blond haired female hissed as snow and icy winds drifted into her now open jacket. Reaching up with one hand, she attempted to push the cub back down against her chest. What she was not expecting was the sudden four sets of claws digging into her legs as the laguz in her arms let out a high-pitched shriek. Gasping in pain, Mist tugged hard on her reigns and her mount jerked to the left. Snorting hard, the horse turned halfway to its left and began counting in pace with panic.
Noticing the horse's behavior in front of him, Boyd paused to keep his distance from the legs of the animal, eying its rider as she jerked on the reigns.
"Hey Mist! What's the matter?" he yelled over the wind as some of the mages turned around, along with Oscar who had slowed his mount down a few paces.
She didn't have a chance to answer as the struggling laguz bumped up her chin, snapping the girl's head backwards. Grunting, Mist opened her eyes against the wind biting at her face since the action caused her hood to fall off her head. Eyes widening, she gasped again, but this time in horror.
Boyd was about to call out again, jogging forward to calm her mount down when she reached for her horse's right flank. In a lightning fast move, Mist drew her sword just in time to parry the downward strike of a blade twice as large as hers from above. He jerked his head up to look for her opponent, but was forced to jump away as the figure Mist was defending from landed where he just stood previously. Holding his arm in front of his face to keep the showering snow from hitting his face, Boyd saw several other bodies land along the company's straight-line formation.
Gritting his teeth, he jerked his axe out and sliced sideways with his weapon at the back of Mist's attacker, but met an obstruction mid-swing. His eyes narrowed on the long three and half foot blade that was keeping his axe from slicing the man in two. An impossible parry from behind to be sure but it would not hold for long. Adjusting the edge of his weapon so it was sliding up the sword's length in a shower of sparks, he lifted his axe's blade up at a slight angle near the hand guard at the last moment and slashed at the gloved hand holding the weapon. He may be weaker to blades of all sizes but was going to win as quickly as possible. The others need his help and he had to make sure Mist was okay!
Further up front, Ike turned around just in time to see his sister falling backwards from her horse before moving into action. Using one hand to push himself up onto his saddle until he crouched on both legs, he jumped from his mount's back. In mid air, he pulled his sword from the astral storage pocket Soren had taught him to use. The Ragnell blade appeared instantly in his sword hand and he sliced vertically downwards toward one of the figures wearing a striped cloak. The enemy had landed behind Oscar's mount in a shower of snow, poised to strike one of the mages down with a long, red tinted dagger.
He sliced at the arm holding the poisoned dagger, but the winds had altered his blades coarse and only made the tip of his blade cut a three-inch long gash. Landing next to the enemy, he switched his weapon to his other hand and slashed down at the bulky person again but only succeeding in burying his blade into the ground where his opponent had been seconds before. Clenching his teeth together, Ike jerked his weapon free and signaled the mages to attack with fire. Four large fireballs blasted out from the small group as Oscar, Titania and Ike moved to surround the magic users in order to protect them from close-range attacks.
"How many?" Ike called over to Oscar who was at his right, twirling his lance expertly while succeeding in slashing his opponent a few times.
"Six in all!" the green haired man answered back as he made way for one of the mages behind him to cast a wind spell over his shoulder, but their aim was off and it the missed its target.
"Mist!" the black haired man called out as he avoided a lunge from a red clothed man this time and slashing vertically at him in response. As he defended himself, he searched the area of wind filled with snow and running unmanned horses behind his opponent almost frantically for any sign of his sister.
"MIST! Where are you?" he screamed louder this time. Titania blocked an attack with her Golden Lance aimed at his shoulder by the guy in red while he ducked in order to lock blades with a green clothed man who was originally Titania's foe. Dark, endless black eyes stared back at him with a gleam of malice and glee. The cur was enjoying his panic over his only blood relative he had left!
If she was dead-he could not finish the thought for it disturbed him too badly. Screaming out his anger, Ike felt the blade he was holding pulse with power and instinctively swung in a long arc sideways. A wide semicircle of white and golden colored energy cut through the man in front of him and into the mountainside further back. Several layers of snow fell down from the uneven ledges above but the force wasn't enough to cause an avalanche. The two halves of the body fell apart in a pool of oozing blackish blood, the insides spilling out and the putrid smell blown away by the strong winds around them. Ike turned his face away from the body and raised his sword in time to absorb the fire attack of the green covered enemy that rushed towards him.
"They can use magic as well?" he exclaimed out aloud, jerking one hand around from his sword's handle since it was mildly burnt by some stray flames.
"Are they assassin mages?" Oscar asked while he lunged with his lance thrusting forward, trying to pierce at some part of his foe's body.
"It doesn't add up," Titania gritted out through clenched teeth, "they can use weapons as well."
With deadly and practiced precision, Titania pierced the flowing cloak of the stripe-clothed man, now an equipped silver axe pinning her enemy to the snowy ground.
"Why are you attacking us?" she demanded in a lethal tone, pressing the sharp edge of her double-sided weapon against the softness of his belly since none of their enemies wore armor of any kind. With a well-placed push of her lance arm, she could easily slice him open.
Sneering at her, the man slammed his hand against the flat side of her axe and a yellow light flashed so bright it blinded her temporarily, followed by her pain-filled screams. Seconds later, she slumped near her fallen weapon, breathing heavily. Forcing her head up, she realized that her enemy had used the metal of her axe to conduct his steady stream of thunder through her weapon and then into her armor in order to shock her. Not to mention it was a strong current for being used so briefly, which was a fact she found odd.
As the striped assassin scrambled to his feet while preparing to throw another lightning bolt, a sudden burst of wind knocked the attacker backwards about ten feet. Looking over her shoulder, Titania saw the Begnion mage named Rieef shaking as he threw another haphazard gale of wind again followed by another and another. When he paused to catch his breath, his opponent shakily got to his feet again and pointed one finger towards them, the tip starting to turn a bright yellow. As if to make matters worse, a blue and black cloaked enemy appeared at the striped ones side, also raising one glowing finger.
The female paladin smirked grimly as she pushed herself slowly to her feet, ready to defend them both only to watch in surprised awe as a long stream of blood suddenly appeared behind the two men. The striped one twitched and fell forward, his ugly torn cloak falling over his head to reveal Mist in all her tussled and bloody glory. The other man in blue dropped to the ground beside his partner, a blackish pool soaking through the back of the bodies.
Wasting no time, the blue-eyed, blonde-haired woman sprinted to Oscar who already took an anima fireball to the chest from their last enemy who wore a black and white trimmed cloak. Twirling in the snow in order to add more force to her swing, Mist slashed at the man's arm with her red stained blade, cutting the limb clean off. His loud scream of pain was cut down to a hissing gurgle by two brown arrows embedding themselves into the bends of his knees. Boyd lowered his bow while leading three horses behind him that he tied the leading horse to the furry pelt at his hips.
"He's not goin' anywhere," the axe user murmured as he eyed the fourth horse near the farthest wall of the pass. He was sure that one was Titania's black stallion.
Ike took in his sister's injuries and sighed inwardly in relief when they appeared to be minor. She met his eyes as he gripped her elbow and gave a weak smile. He then walked past her to thrust Ragnell into the snow in front of the last surviving assassin. Crouching down to the man's level, he reached over to pull him up so they were face to face.
"Who sent you?" he growled with controlled vehemence, shaking the man awake since his injuries caused a lot of blood loss and the man was fading rather quickly.
Oscar, Titania and Boyd surrounded their commander as the mages were ordered by Mist to burn the rest of the fallen bodies. Even if the blood and skin froze due to the weather, animals would still gnaw and eat away at the carcasses, leading to possible attacks from stalking predators which they had no time for.
The dying man smirked at the swordsman despite the bright red blood flowing over his teeth from his mouth, "I aint talking so save your asking."
Pausing from the response, Ike inhaled and then punched the man right between the eyes, knuckles first. He was cold, tired, irritated that his group was attacked literally in the middle of nowhere and his sister was bleeding from several places on her body. This trip had not started out well at all and just seemed to be getting worse with the prospect that someone out there wanted them dead for reasons yet to be explained. He was not going headfirst into a fight blindly again.
Flexing his free hand to pop the joints, the swordsman glared into the man's dazed eyes, "I'm not asking."
Reeling from the punch, the man blinked slowly as his vision blurred, "I aint answer-"
The assassin was punched again, this time directly on the bridge of his nose. The force was so hard, it broke the cartilage instantly that could be heard by Boyd who was the farthest away. Wincing, his brain added the newer pain to the rest of his body and he groaned aloud.
The former general would have reeled back to hit the man again if his sister didn't press her damp, gloved hand against the exposed skin of his neck. Cringing from the wet cold, the older sibling turned to his sister who was shaking her head with a defeated expression.
"He'll be dead soon, brother. Wasting time here will only lose our daylight and we need to keep moving."
"She's right, Ike," Boyd said as he offered the reigns of Oscar's mount to him. His brother was rubbing his armored breastplate where he was burnt and smirked at little at his younger brother, shaking his head when the axe user gestured to help him mount up, "This is gonna sound heartless but if we just leave him here, he could still summon the strength to try something while we're gone. Its best to kill him now instead of waiting for the elements to do it later. "
Raising her eyebrows at this suggestion, Mist looked around to see everyone staring at the dying man in the snow with dismal gazes. She eyed Boyd who was leading the horses over to their respective riders, ignoring her glances as he offered the reigns to Titania next.
Sighing, Ike rose to his feet and pulled his golden sword out of the snow. Closing his eyes, he rolled his shoulders to get the blood flowing again. Standing in a minor blizzard with little movement tends to freeze one's limbs after a while.
"The Apostle's mission comes first. If whoever sent them is hell bent on offing us, then they'll just have to try again," he said after cracking his spine from stretching it. Meeting the gaze of his gathered company, he pointed in the direction they were heading before being attacked.
"Mount up and head out!" he ordered, causing some of the mages to jump where they stood then jog over to Mist who was remounting her horse again.
A furry orange head peeked out of one of her large saddlebags and then jumped into her lap. Wincing from the heavy weight on her wounded legs, Mist placed a comforting but tired hand on Syris' head as her horse trots after the others. The laguz looked up at her with an almost guilty expression that she ignored.
"Its not your fault," she whispered since her brain was too frazzled to bother switching to Ancient, "if anything, you saved me by trying to warn me when you did. They just didn't know we had the advantage of traveling with a laguz that could smell their scents from upwind."
As the cub settled back on her legs, Syris sniffed once and then leant down to lick at the bleeding holes that were caused by her own claws. Mist smiled down at the little laguz just as a large hand nudged her thigh. Looking over, she saw Boyd was walking along side her horse and looking over his shoulder to where Ike was currently standing, staring down at the unmoving body at his feet which was already half covered in new snow fall. Fresh blood was dripping from his sword as he dropped a flaming match on the now dead body before turning to walk away. As he walked towards his horse, the corpse started smoking despite the cold and harsh winds.
Gulping down some weird tasting saliva, Mist turned forward again. Glancing at Boyd out of the corner of her eye, she adjusted her grip on the laguz and pulled her heavy hood back over her head.
"That was quite a call you made back there," she said as he continued to walk beside her, axe propped across his shoulders.
Looking away, the Berserker snorted. Reaching into his long jacket, he held out a small Vulnerary bottle to her that she wordlessly accepted, "Yeah well I had a few lessons hammered into my thick head over the years."
She wouldn't have doubted it. He was a capable warrior of ruthlessness and savage battle prowess. Her shoulders started shaking as she remembered her own battle earlier. The fingers in her thick gloves were sticky with sweat and clenched closed to keep her hands from shaking the reigns so her state wasn't visible. Ducking her head, she pressed her mouth into the folds of her jackets as the memories still played themselves in her mind.
After she fended off her attacker with only three thrusts of her blade, she ordered Syris to hide and the man turned around to start hacking away at Boyd whom was trying to strike from behind. The open wounds on her legs were leaking blood and without Syris' bulk to block the wind, they were starting to turn numb. Due to her horse panicking, the force of the animal suddenly jerking from side to side caused the reigns to slip from her fingers and leave her unbalanced. Eventually if she fell with the state her horse was in, chances were high that she would be trampled. Therefore, as she was slipping off her saddle, she slapped at her horse's flank and it darted from her side, leaving her lying there in the snow as Boyd kept their foe's attention away from her fallen form.
Struggling to sit up, Mist searched around for her blade through the loose snow and keeping an eye on the enemy swordsman who was getting the upper hand in the battle with Boyd. Her friend was able to get a few lucky hits in but the man was just too fast as was the advantage of the weapon trinity. Her legs were starting to tingle which she knew was not good and needed to heal herself fast, but also needed to help out Boyd since she was a swordswoman herself. Growling low, Mist bit out a curse word in Ancient and thrust her hand into the astral storage pocket, curling her fingers around the length of her healing staff. Jerking it out of thin air, she summoned enough magic from the staff to mute her feelings of exhaustion and pain, deciding to fully heal herself until after the enemy was taken care of.
Throwing her staff back, she concentrated on the pocket that held her weapons and summoned her lost sword back into the astral space. When icy cold metal met her shaking fingers, she starting to pull the blade out into the cold air again.
"Mist! Roll to your left!" Boyd's voice yelled out just as a sharp whistling sound got fainter above her. She knew the blade was getting closer as the noise it made through the air was growing less and less.
Gritting her teeth, she throws herself to her left and a loud thunk sounded to her right where a long sword embedded itself. Their enemy had now noticed her. Narrowing her eyes, she parried a long mid-slash from the long sword as she lurched to her feet, ignoring the downward strokes as the man tried to land a hit on her wounded legs.
"Get back!" Boyd yelled out as he moved closer to her opponent's side to attempt cutting at him with his axe again, but she didn't need help. Reversing the grip she had on her sword so her hand was on the bottom, she stepped father away from the long sword's range and hold her weapon out away from her body. Locking eyes with the man, she glared as he tilted his head to the side.
"Come," he said, grinning sadistically at her. Boyd called for her but she ignored him. And come she did, watching as the large blade was descending towards her again while she ran at her opponent.
A large snow cloud went up as the man's sword met snow and earth. Boyd came to a stop as his eyes widened in shock while watching the blow. Did it connect? Was she dead? Where was the blood? Where was Mist?
Suddenly the young woman appeared on top of the long blade as the snow settled, one boot propped on the dull edge of the weapon peaking out of its embedded position in the snow. The assassin froze as he saw her and then began yanking on the sword handle just as she started moving. Boyd watched in shock as she ran up the length of the sword in slow motion and thrust her own blade forward, piercing completely through the flesh of the taller man's shoulder all the way to the hilt. Using her body weight, she let gravity pull her down and they both fell backwards into the snow, throwing up more loose white flakes.
"Mist!" her brother's voice called out from somewhere.
Shaking himself from his stupor, Boyd ran forward with his axe ready. Mist had rolled away from the man as soon as she let go of her weapon when they fell and he thrust down with his own. Blood sprayed out in all directions as he beheaded the man, ignoring the sticky splatters on his arms and torso. Looking up, he noticed Mist was already up and moving again. She wordlessly pulled her weapon from the body's shoulder and was sprinting through the snow at an impressive speed. Watching as the young woman flicked the blood off her blade while darting through the veil of snow, he cleaned his axe as well and spotted his brother's horse a few feet from him.
"MIST! Where are you?" Ike's voice yelled out again from somewhere in the direction Boyd saw her run to.
'She is fierce,' Boyd thought as he jumped over the dead body near his boots to round up the horses,' I better tread lightly around her when she's angry. Damn…'
Blinking back to the present, Mist closed her eyes and tried to wish away the images of the cut up bodies. She didn't enjoy taking lives and couldn't take feeling of the muscles and bones giving way to her blade through the vibrations of the sword handle. It was a battlefield and she couldn't hesitate when someone was trying to take her life or that of her friends. There was no way to justify the actions of either side since it would only lead to headaches, so she just wished them away. She really didn't want to think about it.
"Mist," came her brother's voice into her thoughts and she snapped her eyes open, jerking her head to look past Boyd to her brother who was now riding his horse. His eyes had shadows underneath them and his face looked haggard from the battle, but his posture was straight and confident.
Their eyes met and she reached for him. Their hands held onto each other in the air in front of Boyd who glanced at them for a moment and respectfully kept his silence.
"You're still shaking," Ike murmured as he rubbed his fingers over the knuckles he could faintly feel through her gloves, "will you be alright?"
Nodding, she gripped her brother's hand tighter for a few moments longer, then she let out a breath and let go. Clutching the laguz to her, she smiled weakly at Boyd and then nudged her mount into a trot in order to stay close to the mages in front of her. Summoning her healing staff again, she raised it above her head and healed the wounds she was able with that energy she had. Despite her efforts to control herself, the two men behind her saw the staff visibly shaking.
Boyd watched her then clenched his hands at his sides since buckling his axe to his hip earlier freed his fingers.
"She starts shaking after the battle fog in her mind clears, " Ike said as he and his horse walked beside the Berserker this time, "it's disturbing to her that she can move like that with a weapon in hand, capable of killing people with little reaction."
The green haired man scowled at the mounted swordsman beside him, "I don't like how she is losing her innocence in such a way. Couldn't you have-"
"No," Ike interrupted quickly, cutting his friend off, "she wanted to get stronger and sadly, this is a phase we both know she has to go through. Whatever reasons she gives herself, it will be up to her how she handles taking another life. It's a right of passage anyone living by a weapon faces."
Boyd knew this was true but it left a bitter taste in his mouth when it had concerned the young girl he grew up with who back then, didn't know anything about blood besides paper cuts and scraps from falling down. She was Greil's daughter and he felt it was cruel that her father's legacy had to rope her in too. He could argue with her brother all he wanted but it would be pointless since he knew Ike was hurting even more inside from seeing her like this.
"Damnit," he whispered angerily to himself as Ike trotted past him to take his place at the front of the company again.
She was gone. If he could bring himself to curse the heart wrenching worry that paralyzed him, he would let several long strings of words leave his pale lips. He couldn't bring himself to do because the various voices in the room distracted him from thinking clearly.
Prince Reyson discovered his sister missing after forcing his way into her room earlier this evening. He had tried knocking on her door several times during the day after she slammed it closed the afternoon before. He had assumed she was just sleeping off her tears but when no one answered later that evening, he started to get suspicious. With the help of Tibarn and Janaff, they broke the door open only to find a deserted room with the blankets on the dusky bed slightly rumpled.
The Hawk King barked orders for every fledgling that could fly to search the entire area around the hall. It was no use though as Reyson could not sense her mind's presence anywhere near them. When an emergency meeting was called, Reyson had punched a fist hard into the brick wall that only resulted in hurting his knuckles. As he healed himself, he listened bitterly to the various arguing voices.
"I bet that old guy tricked her into leaving!" snarled Naesala as he flexed his dark wings in agitation and fury.
"He probably wants the medallion," murmured Tibarn as he held his chin while staring in deep though at the floor.
"Could she be influenced by the medallion or controlled by some sort of magic?" asked Ulki, standing over by Janaff who was crouched near the floor, hugging his knees to his chest with a troubled frown. Once discovering the Heron princess gone, he had flew up high to find any mere sight of her but he turned up with nothing. It hurt his ego that he could not spot the Heron princess anywhere.
The raven snorted rudely at the thin Hawk, "Yeah, like Leanne could really be taken over by the stupid medallion!"
Getting tired of hearing the useless arguing, Reyson stepped into the center of the gathered birds and thrust out his wings, "This is pointless and getting us nowhere! Listen up, laguz! Send a messenger to all our allies in each country and give orders to search for her. Tibarn, you are coming with me to Serenes Forest."
Blinking from his charge's sudden outburst, the King stood up to his full height, "But Reyson-"
The prince's eyes turned flinty with contained anger and the Hawk closed his mouth
"Make the preparations."
Naesala stepped forward, resting a hand on the Heron's tense shoulder, "I am coming too."
Ignoring him, Reyson turned on his heels and stalked out of the room. No one argued and listened to Tibarn as he issued orders for a nationwide search. Once messengers and scout parties were sent out, the Hawks and Ravens joined the prince as he stood out on the enlarged ledge that was the departure point for most of the Hawk laguz in Phoencias Hall.
In the half an hour it took Tibarn to prepare, Reyson was changing his appearance entirely. Instead of his typical white robes, he instead wore golden robes with orange-reddish trimming and dark red vine-like patterns along his arms and side flaps that rested against the length of his legs. His long blond hair was pulled back into a tightly bound braid and around his forehead was a two-inch woven band of cloth. The clothes were made to keep his Beorc form warm in the chilly weather that was sure to be present in his home forest.
Reaching back under his hair, the Prince fingered the hood that was folded against the back of his shoulders. Leanne had made this outfit after learning how to sew from some of her Beorc friends that she had made in Begnion. It took her more than two hundred tries to get the piece of clothing the way she wanted it which made him smile at the thought of her endearing affection for him.
Clutching tightly onto the material over his chest with both hands, Reyson glared into the space in front of him. His baby sister had made this for him, and it was all he had of her now besides memories. Whatever made her leave without a word to anyone, even him, seemed very strange and made him think all sorts of questions as to why. In addition, Naesala's comment about the strange old man who appeared the other made him wonder if the eccentric old beorc had anything to do with Leanne's sudden disappearance.
"Rey," his Raven friend murmured behind him and nudged his arm gently with a hesitant hand, "We're ready to leave when you are."
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Tibarn nod his agreement behind Naesala, flanked by his two hawks. Janaff and Ulki were sent to help with the search parties as their abilities were more use there.
"I want to know what you have planned at the forest, Reyson," the Hawk King said aloud as he crossed his arms over his powerful and well-muscled chest. Laguz kings had to be the strongest of all their people in order to lead and Tibarn was very strong, and has been for several centuries now. Despite the intimidating gesture, Reyson was not quelled in obedience. Closing his eyes briefly to collect himself and ease his frazzled nerves, the Heron Prince faced the other laguz fully. The determined look in his eyes caused everyone to stand a little straighter.
"I can't explain it in great detail right now, but know I fully intend to use the galldr. Please everyone, trust me. I will stay true to my word, Tibarn. No one, beorc or laguz, will be harmed in my actions."
The two laguz Kings frowned at these words since they sounded ominous. Just how was heading to the Ancient Forest helping to find Leanne?
Forcing his face to show no emotion, the Heron spread his arms out away from his body and morph into his laguz form. When everyone was transformed, the Heron took to the sky followed by a Raven, and a large green tinted Hawk flanked by two smaller hawks.
It has been two days since he left Ike and Mist. Forty-eight hours and counting since he had been in their presence. Soren knew they would be separated for various lengths of time during their travels. He was prepared for it, yet it still bugged him that they were not near him at all.
Now as he rode towards the all too familiar gates of Nevassa Castle with Tyna leading the way, he could not help feeling a sense of déjà vu. Tyna gave him the option of returning without her but he couldn't leave her alone and he was suspicious of her still. For all he knew, she could be poisoning the Apostle or selling captured laguz cubs and he wouldn't even know it. He was confident Ike and Mist could take care of themselves and he wanted to solve Tyna's strange behavior to laguz that she kept secret so strongly.
"Master? We're here," Tyna sage looked up to see they had passed through the front gates and were heading up the road that led towards the large castle. The fortress looked completely different than its predecessor with grey walls instead of dark black bricks. Nevassa cast a shadow as far as the other did and made him frown at the brighter picture it gave. New management, maybe?
Before he could ask, Tyna suddenly snapped her reigns and bolted forward towards the castle's entrance where three well-dressed men were standing. He followed at a slower pace as he watched her hurriedly dismount from her still galloping horse only to touch down and run the rest of the way. When he was near enough to collect her horse's reigns so it would not stray, Soren watched as his student was enveloped in arms of the tall man in front whose face was covered with a few scars and dressed in a Daein's solider outfit. His eyes were a gentle purple and his hair was a long, curly mass of black that was pulled into a loose ponytail.
Tyna held onto her eldest brother in a tight embrace, pressing her face into his woven jacket as she fought back tears. It was just like when she was leaving that morning all those years ago to Crimea. Her mother was still asleep and her father was off attending another meeting with the King. When she had decided to leave in order to study anima, her eldest brother Torin had supported her decision in leaving and convinced the rest of their siblings to trust her too. He now held her closely to him, his face tucked into her hair. Those years apart from her family, missing them and wanting them by her side when she was so alone in another country overwhelmed her and she broke down crying.
"I missed you all so much, my brothers! I wanted to come back so many times. Torin…..I…unh…"
Smoothing a large, rough hand over her damn hair, Torin smiled down at his sister as she cried. It was good to have her home. Pulling away a little to stand at his full height, his gesture broke the group hug. The three brothers took turns wiping away her tears as they tugged her inside out of the cold, completely ignoring the ruby-eyed young man that had dismounted, signaling a guard to take their horses and was now silently following them. After several minutes of climbing stairs and weaving through long hallways listening to Tyna tearfully struggle to collect herself, the light blue haired man who was the same height as Torin pushed a door open and walked in, his other siblings trailing behind. However, when Soren moved to follow them, the door was closed in his face and twin lances were crossed a breaths length from his nose. Frowning, he glared at the guard to his right.
"What's going on?"
The guards simply stared ahead but neither moved their weapons from the doorway," Only family can be permitted here, not servants."
Glancing down at his traveling attire, he figured he did look more like a servant than a powerful arcane user all because he lacked the pristine appearance of a man in mage robes. Deciding that his student's family matters did not concern him, he backed away from the door and headed down the hallway. He could give her some time to get reacquainted while he looked around to kill some time.
Looking up, he noticed two female servants walking down a narrow hallway, nodding to each other at the same time. Following them and their scent, he weaved through several turns and descended a couple flights of stairs only to find himself in the castle kitchen. Suddenly as he neared the bottom, a worn basket full of bulky food was thrust against his chest and he was then shoved further into the kitchen. Taking the incentive that he was to work, he looked around the kitchen and followed the girl in front of him who was carrying a similar basket. As he walked and took the entire room in, he heard a certain conversation that made him pause a step.
A castle solider was leaning his hip against one of the wooden tables where a busty woman was standing, chopping vegetables with a heavy cleaver.
"It seems the Prince returned."
"Oh?" the woman replied, scooting the chopped bits aside with the flat side of her blade, only to pull another large root onto the makeshift cutting board.
"Yeah, a friend of mine who was standing outside his chambers before he left said the prince was going pay the Sanctears a visit. Said something bout some mercenary he wanted to see for himself."
"Really?" the woman replied again, but only seemed to be half listening as she chopped with a disinterested look on her face. The soldier seemed put off by her response and mumbled something, only to be pummeled with the large root a second later.
"You do NOT use that kind of language around your mother, understand? You may use it all you want in the barracks but us real busy folk don't bother with it!"
Smirking, Soren turned away from the complaining solider towards the hallway that led outside. Glancing over his shoulder, he set his basket down where he saw the girl also put hers down, then slipped through the door as the kitchen got moving from a mass order of food. Pulling the thin flaps of his jacket higher around his exposed throat, Soren stepped further out into the courtyard that from the looks of it, was reserved for servant use. Children with common looking outerwear were running around the entire length of the yard, snow flying as their feet crunched forward. As he watched the first three races of the children, some mostly older boys who were running circles around the younger ones trailing behind them, the dark haired sage noticed over near the far eastern wall, sitting around a small fire were five bulky men.
Narrowing his eyes further, he noticed all of them had pointed ears and wore less clothing than the children did. Some of them even had wings and tails. Laguz. As one of them looked up, he realized Soren and raised his head higher to show he noticed him staring in their direction. Nodding to him slowly to show he acknowledged him back, Soren made sure the kids were on the father side of the yard before he decided to cross. Halfway towards the group, he heard several simultaneous yells along with a high-pitched squeal that could only mean trouble. Jerking his head back to the kids, he noticed a little girl was running in front of the herding pack of older boys, heading straight for him. From the peripheral vision of his right eye, he noticed three of the five laguz had stood to their feet and were now moving towards the herding pack.
'So they are babysitting,' Soren thought wryly as he lowered himself to the snow as the little girl raced nearer to him, her legs shoving themselves desperately through the snow. Making sure his knees didn't fully touch the cold ground, he lashed out at the child and jerked them both out of the way of the parading boys and threw up a thin wall of snow while he skidded around in a semicircle. As the snow settled from his movements, the boys saw the newcomer had bent his body almost completely around the little girl they were chasing, his long arms held protectively around her body.
"Hey, you!" yelled the boy in the front, "She hit my nose! Let her go!"
Soren raised his head and looked down at the sneezing girl as she noisily cleared her snow packed nostrils. When she looked up at him through snow-covered eyelashes with large, beautiful blue eyes, he immediately thought of Mist but dismissed it. His Mist had darker blonde hair and chubbier cheeks when she was around this little girl's age. The boy and two others took several threatening steps closer only to stop when the Soren and girl were surrounded by three large men.
The man in the middle with scarred arms, narrowed green pupils and a long, furry green striped tail crossed his arms with a menacing scowl.
"Leave."
The boys didn't need to be told twice. Wincing as one creature, the pack scurried off to the far side of courtyard but this time kept their backs to them. As if denying they could be seen would erase their existence. Soren rolled his eyes as he stood up and helped the little girl up as well.
"Thankies," she murmured while rubbing a wet glove across her drooling nose.
"Your welcome," Soren replied while gently brushing some snow from her pale hair. Looking over to the laguz, he bowed his head to them again.
"Ukihsoroy," he greeted them gently, keeping his head bowed as he added a soft growl as he pronounced the "oi" at the end of the word. At once they looked surprised but then smiled big, growled as a reply and gestured him to follow them to their fire pit. The little girl was scooped up into the arms of the green one who spoke before and was immediately groomed of snow. She giggled as he did so, keeping her eyes on Soren while she was carried .
"I'm Zephyrine, whats your name?" she asked, crawling up the laguz shoulder to look down at him.
"My name is Soren," he replied and smiled again at her. For some reason, she reminded him of a certain little boy who used to smile like that.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Zephyrine."
Frowning down at him, she shook her pale haired head," Call my Zeph!"
Nodding to her, he stood over the fire once they reached it, lifting his arms out to let the snow melt away. He could use his arcane skills to dry him faster but this wasn't the time or place to be showing off. The green one lowered Zeph to his lap and gently engulfed her in one arm while pointing to himself.
"Griffeth," he said then pointed the others around the fire for a simplistic introduction, "Orias, Furios, Vurch and Sentiel. I thank you for saving this little one."
The sage nodded as Griffeth began scolding the little girl on picking fights. She nodded but her eyes clearly spoke that she wasn't listening. Patting the strong arm that was holding her, she was lowered to the ground and she made her way over to Soren. Not bothering to ask, she crawled into his lap and snuggled against his chest.
The green laguz snuffed air out his nostrils in typical Gallian fashion of showing frustration. Soren simply shrugged and set his hands on his knees to keep the little girl from falling.
"Sorry that she has no manners," he said then looked at Soren who again shrugged to show he wasn't bothered with it, "She is only five years and is struggling to learn to be obedient without being so headstrong."
"Oyadii, Griffeth," the sage reassured the large Gallian that it was all right since he was used to a certain Gallian cube crawling all over him without his permission.
Sentiel, the Raven laguz who had stayed behind, leaned forward on his bent knees while his ink colored wings twitched to his movements.
"You speak our language. Where did you learn? Not many beorc want to speak our words."
Shaking the water from his sleeves, Soren gave the raven a tired smile," I learned mainly in Gallia but took up separate studies in Begnion. I also know a few chants of the galldr, but not as well versed as the prince."
Several of the gathered laguz eyes widened and leaned closer to him but it was Furios who spoke. From what Soren could make out, he had similar features to the other Raven that could only prove he was related to Sentinel.
"You know Prince Reyson?"
Checking to see if Zeph was still awake in his arms due to her giggles having gone quiet, the sage nodded absently, "I was part of the group who helped in protecting Princess Leanne, actually."
At the mention of the name, the two Ravens closed their eyes and bowed their heads. The Gallian laguz however were staring at the sage with looks of impression. Immediately, he sensed their faint scents of worry and sat up higher. His arms wrapped loosely around Zeph as she had fallen asleep in his arms and to make sure she would not slump off lap.
"What's the matter? What's wrong?"
Sighing heavily as if his lungs were slowly being held of air, Sentinel stretched his wings then flapped them twice to show he wasn't happy at all.
"The Heron Princess was reported missing yesterday evening from Phonecias Hall. Word reached us just this morning from one of the scouting party who were sent to search the entire northern area by King Tibarn. We were told to keep an eye out if we see her but so far, nothing."
"Does the Apostle or Queen Crimea know of this?"
"It was in laguz confidence only." So beorc leaders were not be alerted of matters that were clearly laguz issues. It was within their right to do so, after all.
"Who leads the northern scouting party?"
"I believe it is Janaff, the King's eyes."
Furios seemed to be bothered by his brother and leaned over to slap at his wing, "Should you even be telling him this? It isn't his problem!"
"He is clearly a friend of the Prince if he helped in the fiasco all those years ago concerning the Forest. Why not?"
Soren's mind was whirling from this information. Leanne was missing and it had almost been a full day since her last known location. That was a small window to consider if there was little to no trail left.
Jerking to his feet, Soren leaned over to hand the little girl over to Griffeth's hold. She shifted a little but snuggled back into the Gallian cat's arms as he engulfed her gently. That gesture alone told Soren that the cat cared much for this little girl.
"Enamus, my friends," he said as he whirled around to leave," I have to get back to my-"
"OOF!" was all he could manage next,
"Ow!" cried out a female voice as their bodies crashed together. Soren looked down as he rubbed at his chest to see a blonde haired woman sprawled onto her back with several packages of meat littered around her fallen form.
"Sorry, I'm in a hurry," the sage said as he reached down to jerk the woman to her feet. He hurriedly helped in brushing her arms free of snow when she looked up at him, mouth open to give him a good lashing when they both froze in place. Blood red eyes met wide bright eyes. Her scent of fear hit him out of nowhere and he wondered why he of all people she would be afraid of. What was even stranger to him even more was that he recognized her.
"You used to work in Melior Castle," he murmured as he looked her up and down. Her long blonde hair was shinier than it was all those years ago, but yes, he knew her. She used to work as a servant in the Crimea capital not long after Elincia was crowned Queen. Out of nowhere, Griffeth appeared at her side and pushed her behind him while still holding Zephyrine with one arm, her head lying limp against the laguz' bulging bicep. His first couple flashes of fang clearly told Soren to back off.
"I did, Master Soren but that was years ago. I have some family here and decided to move. Now if you'll excuse us," she said and jerked hurriedly on Griffeth's arm, trying to tug him away while her eyes jumped from between the mage and the little girl in the laguz arms. Narrowing his eyes, he looked down at the little girl and wondered how the little girl could be of any importance to him. She was only five years old, younger than when he had met Ike all those years ago and…..yet…..
Eyes widening, Soren jerked his head up to meet the frightened eyes of the woman and she jerked backward from his stare. Growling, Griffeth raised a single paw of a beorc hand with claws extended. Ignoring him, Soren swallowed and took a few steps towards the little girl.
"She's-"
He never got the chance to voice the truth that just slammed him in the forehead from his epiphany. His ears picked up marching footsteps coming closer from the kitchens. Wincing as his emotions had sharpened his other senses, he looked back towards the castle with a dark scowl. Moments later, a troop of soldiers began filing out onto the courtyard. The leader and one of the guards who denied him access earlier pointed over to him and began making their way in his back to meet the woman's stare, she turned away from him with her eyes clenched shut. She knew that he knew now.
"Griffeth, I need you to take this woman and this little girl to Crimea as soon as you have the chance."
Tyna had thought her family reunion would go a bit smoother, but her own mother could just not let it happen that way. Not long after stepping into the drawing room, Lady Lhygaia Olpaine-Sanctear stood up from the expensive looking couch she had been sitting on. Her wavy, silver hair was pulled tightly into a bun and her gown was the color of blue and brown, asserting her station in society. Once glimpsing the woman who birthed her and the circumstances under which she returned by, Tyna was gripped with a deep wave of anger. From there, in front of her three brothers, the catfight began.
"You don't threaten to disown me from this family! EVER!"
"You left this family without so much as a word to even your own father who has every right to detain you at your age!"
"You just say that cause you wish you had that right!"
"My own daughter abandoning her own parents. I had to work hard to smooth over that to-"
"I do not care! If leaving meant getting away from you, I took the chance!"
"Ha! Proof you hate your own mother!"
"You just wanted me to be another you! I didn't want that and I'm sure father couldn't stand having two uptight women to order him around. He'd kill himself!"
"Well if you would just join your sister in court, I feel less disappointed in my own daughter!"
"No, you just keep doting on Pantera! I don't want your overbearing attention!
"DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT-" the mother tried to say
"DON'T YOU EVER THINK TO-" the daughter screamed back at the same time.
Meanwhile, sitting on the four-seated couch in front of the two women, was the current male generation of the Sanctear family. From right to left, the age descended in order. Torin Kronos was the eldest, having had the wondrous duty of being the first-born and was constantly reminded to set a perfect example. The second eldest, was Urbayne who was slouched with his arms hung over the back of the couch. His glasses threatened to slip past his nose as he looked through them with a tangible look of complete boredom on his face. To his left sat their youngest and shortest brother, Calix Verterus who wore the robes of a young priest with his lengthy mass of hair pulled back into a half braided ponytail.
Leaning over to his older brother, Urbayne pulled out a coin and began flipping it across his knuckles.
"Wanna make a bet who is going to win?"
Torin only glared at him then set his gaze back on his sister fighting with their mother. It seemed like she never left since this was pretty much the basis of their relationship. Fighting.
It would have continued for their wonderful enjoyment had something just now decided to answer his silent pleas for a disruption. The twin doors of the room opened to reveal Prince Pelleas and his personal entourage of soldiers. Immediately, the young men on the couch stood up to stand at attention while the two women snapped their spines forward in a curtsy, their family squabble forgotten in the place of formality. Tyna was not wearing an elegant gown like her mother but she made due with her mage robes and traveling boots.
"Ah, Miss Sanctear, you have returned I see. I hope you had a pleasant journey home," the Prince said as he glided into the room while slowly folded his arms behind his back. As the two lines of lance soldiers behind him formed ranks, the prince paused to stand right in front of the purple and blue haired young woman.
Motioning with one hand, he urged her up, "Please, stand up my dear. I would like to see your face when I ask you a most important question."
Frowning at this strange hint to his forthcoming question, Tyna straightened her spine to stand up one more. Meeting the dark blue eyes of Daein royalty, she gulped and slowly stood back up.
"Yes, your Highness?"
Smiling down at her, the prince leaned forward and came close to pressing his forehead against hers. Their similar shades of hair mixed together as the young woman fought the urge to move her head away. This was informal to the highest degree but he could do what he wanted and she had no authority to tell him otherwise.
"The man who arrived with you, where is he?"
Her blue eyes widened, and she almost choked on the next breath she took. Tyna was aware Soren was not allowed in the room since her mother was extremely strict about servants and their place. What started to worry her was the serious but interested look in the prince's eyes as they stared into, waiting for her reply. Was her master in trouble? Why was the prince so interested? She could not shake the uneasy tingle at the base of her spine that something didn't feel right about this whole situation.
"I-I beg your pardon, your Highness?" Lady Sanctear stuttered as she looked up from her curtsy, but with one hand the prince motioned for silence from that woman.
"I believe you heard me, Miss Sanctear. I'm waiting for an answer. I received clear reports of a young man accompanying you through the front gates but he is not with you now. I simply want to speak with him."
"A lowly servant?" Tyna replied with a shaky smile, trying to improvise in hoping to buy some time, "What could you possibly want with my escort? He was given to me by Lady Fizzart to-"
"Miss Sanctear, we are clearly too old to be playing such games. Lady Fizzart was part of a certain group opposing my father that is sure to ring a few bells. How about naming the country you took up residence in these past few years? Crimea."
She wanted to disappear, she wanted to ignore her mother's disappointed scowl from the corner of her eyes or her brothers' anxious movements behind her by the sounds of their boots scuffing the floor. What she wanted to ignore the most was the clear and cruel accusation in the prince's eyes that made her want to scream in denial.
"You think I'm one of them," she whispered for just him to hear, her eyes full of confusion at the prince that was this country's current hope in being a great leader and future king.
"Oh it isn't that I simply think you are, Miss Sanctear," the Prince said loudly for all to hear, straightening his back and cocking his head to the side with a slight mocking smile.
"I know you are."
TO BE CONTINUED
Are these chapters getting longer? What is Pelleas after? What happened to Leanne and the mysterious guy whom is connected to the prince somehow? Just who is the true antagonist here?
Please review! Thanks!