Chapter 3

When Tana returned to Castle Frelia, she landed her Pegasus outside her bedroom window and then entered the castle through the main entrance. Her first destination was the throne room, where she intended to announce herself to her father, King Hayden. As she walked down the halls, though, she couldn't help but feel unnerved at the seeming emptiness of the castle.

"Hello...?" she called out lightly. "Father? I'm home..."

When no one came out, Tana continued on into the throne room, which was also completely empty.

Hmm, I guess Father must have gone somewhere, she thought.

She was about to turn to leave when two soldiers suddenly seized her by the arms.

"Intruders!" she gasped, struggling. "Father! FATHER!"

But then she got a good look at the soldiers, and they weren't intruders at all. They were Frelia's own soldiers.

"What are you doing!?" Tana cried out. "Unhand me this instant!"

The soldiers began to drag the struggling Frelian princess out of the throne room and into the hallway. The thought of being thrown into the dungeon by her own guards sent her into a frenzy. During her struggles, she stomped on one of the soldiers' feet. That was enough to break his hold on her. With one arm freed, Tana punched the other soldier in the face, breaking his hold as well. She wasted no time darting out of the throne room and scrambling down the hall. Only when she began to turn the next corner did she turn her head to see if the soldiers were following. But as she did so, she crashed into someone, namely Prince Innes.

"Ah...Innes!" Tana cried, throwing her arms around him, holding him tightly. "The soldiers in the throne room grabbed me! What's going on?"

Innes didn't make any effort to move, or even answer her. Sensing that something was wrong, Tana stepped back to look at him. He stared at her with an empty gaze.

Tana gulped. "Brother...? What's wrong? You look...different..."

Innes brought out his bow and arrow, loading it onto the string and pulling it back, aiming directly at her.

"No!" Tana screamed, ducking and recklessly moving forward to grab his arms, throwing off his aim. The arrow shot up, jamming into the ceiling. Innes threw Tana against the wall quite easily, aiming another arrow at her. Tana shrieked again, moving to dodge the arrow and run down the hall. Innes ran after her, stopping about halfway down, aiming yet another arrow. At the same time, Tana tripped over her own feet, falling face-first onto the carpeted floor. Innes's shot flew over her head, but Tana didn't even seem to notice as she scrambled to her feet and ran again. She ran through the door at the end of the hall, slamming it shut and pressing her back against it. Innes stopped about ten feet away, this time loading three arrows simultaneously onto the bow string, aiming at the door.

Tana kept her back pressed against the door, gasping to catch her breath. Her heart skipped a beat as the arrows pierced through the door, two on either side of her, and the third above her head.

"Aah!" Screaming once again, Tana threw herself from the door, running to her window and clumsily climbing out. She needed to get out fast, so she ran to her Pegasus, quickly mounting him and grabbing the lance that was strapped to his side.

"Fly, Achaeus!" she cried, flapping the reins. "Hurry!"

Achaeus neighed loudly, flapping his wings, taking off into the sky.

Innes climbed out through Tana's bedroom window and fired an arrow at the Pegasus. The arrow flew closely past their heads; Tana gasped as she clinged carefully to Achaeus's neck, so as not to hurt him.

Seconds later, Achaeus wailed in pain, flapping his wings awkwardly, swaying from side to side.

"Whoa! Achaeus! What's wrong!?" Tana cried out.

Achaeus could not keep up the altitude. Still moving at full speed, he gradually descended into the woods. Tana cringed as she felt the leaves and branches whipping across their bodies. With one more flap of his wings, Achaeus crashed onto the ground, throwing Tana forward. The Frelian princess herself crashed on the ground, tumbling forward a few feet with the momentum.

"Ow..." she sobbed, curling up on the ground in pain.

"Tana?" a woman's voice called, filled with concern.

Tana perked up to see Eirika and Ephraim up ahead, dismounting from their horses. Gasping, terrified, Tana scrambled to her feet, grabbing the lance that had fallen to the ground next to her and pointing it at them.

"St-Stay back!" she demanded. "Don't come any closer!"

"Tana, it's me, Eirika! And my brother, Ephraim!"

Tana's eyes widened as she slowly lowered her lance. She was relieved to see that they still appeared to be normal, but a part of her remained wary. "You're...you're all right?"

"Yes, we're fine," Ephraim said. "But are you all right?"

Dropping all of her defenses, Tana threw down her lance and ran straight into Ephraim's arms.

"Oh Ephraim...I don't know what's happening!" she sobbed. "I returned to Castle Frelia, and the soldiers tried to capture me! Even Innes tried to shoot me!"

"Oh no...Frelia, too?" Eirika asked.

Tana pulled back from Ephraim, turning to face Eirika. "What do you mean?"

"The same thing happened to us in Renais," Ephraim told her. "We were attacked by our own soldiers. That's why we're out here. We were heading to Frelia to explain the situation to King Hayden, but I suppose there's no sense in that now."

"I agree," Eirika said.

Tana shook her head, trying to hold back her tears. "How can this happen? Our own soldiers attacking us...even our own family? Innes even tried to shoot us down..."

Ephraim glanced over at the prone Pegasus on the ground. "And it looks like he succeeded."

"What...?"

The three approached Achaeus, seeing what Ephraim had pointed out, an arrow had pierced the Pegasus's side.

"Oh no, Achaeus!" Tana cried, stroking the animal's body.

Ephraim peered at the wound. "That's Innes's shot all right. I recognize the arrow. Let me see if I can get it out."

Gripping the arrow, he attempted to pull it out carefully. This only resulted in more blood trickling from the wound, and the Pegasus wailing in agony.

"You're making it worse!" Tana cried.

"Sorry..." Ephraim released the arrow, leaving it in the Pegasus's body. "But we can't leave it like this..."

"We should try to find a healer," Eirika suggested.

"With this situation, it won't be easy, or even possible," Ephraim said.

He looked up through the trees, studying the sunlight that filtered through the leaves. "It's getting late. We'd better find a safe place to crash for the night."

"But what about Achaeus?" Tana asked. "We can't leave him here."

"Can he move?" Eirika asked. "If not, how are we going to carry him?"

"Hmm..." Ephraim glanced around at his surroundings until his gaze fell onto the horses that he and Eirika were riding. "The horses."

"The horses?" Eirika looked at them as well, unsure of the idea. "Will Achaeus be too heavy for them?"

"If we line the horses side by side and place Achaeus across both of them, they should be able to handle it," Ephraim said. "It'll be awkward, but it's the best we can do under these circumstances."

"You have a point, Brother. Let's go."

The twins led the horses to where the Pegasus lay. With Tana's help, they carefully helped him climb up onto their backs. They paused, making sure that Achaeus was as comfortable as possible.

"All right, let's get moving," Ephraim said.

He and Eirika led the horses by the reins, making sure they remained aligned as they moved. They moved slowly, but surely, as Tana walked alongside them, watching Achaeus carefully and petting his head.

"Hold on, Achaeus. We'll get you some help."

Saleh, Gerik, and Ewan had fled quite a distance from Jehanna, but unfortunately, they had been steered in the opposite direction from Darkling Woods, thanks to the citizens hindering their journey. Now they were taking a rest in a clearing of a thick forest. They sat quietly, not quite in a mood to socialize, but Gerik always tried regardless. He glanced over at Saleh, who sat quite still, even for an average person. However, Gerik knew that Saleh was far from the average person, and thus knew exactly what he was doing.

Gerik let out an exasperated sigh. "Sometimes I envy that man. He can just be off in his own little world anytime he wants to."

"That's not what Valega's about," Ewan told him. "It's about being at peace with the world you're in, even a big scary world like this one."

"Ha ha ha! I wonder..." Gerik wondered which scary world he was referring to. Was he referring to the situation that they were currently embroiled in, or was it an exaggeration of the everyday challenges of a peaceful world? Gerik quickly shook off the thought in favor of calling out to the sage. "Hey, Saleh! What are you contemplating over there?"

"Hmm?" Saleh broke his contemplation and glanced at his friend. "Oh...I was just thinking about what happened in the marketplace."

"I'm sorry, Teacher..." Ewan said, on the verge of tears.

"You don't have to apologize, Ewan," Saleh said. "But Marisa..."

Gerik sat nearby, shaking his head. 'That girl's gone crazy. I mean, she's always had a bit of a temper, but she's never drawn her blade on an ally."

"It wasn't just Marisa!" Ewan added. "Even Tethys tried to strangle me! And Saleh, too!"

"Seriously!?" Gerik's eyes widened, genuinely surprised. He'd never imagine Tethys hurting anyone, least of all her own brother, whom she'd raised since he was a baby. Especially since Tethys was a noncombatant. "Then something really weird is happening around here."

"Hmm..." Saleh fell silent, contemplating about the fog they had seen from the mountains. There had been something eerie about it.

Gerik glanced over at the sage, seemingly reading his thoughts. "Do you think that strange fog had something to do with it?"

"It's too coincidental," Saleh said. "Everything was fine beforehand, and now..."

"So if that fog was everywhere, does that mean that everyone is going to attack us?" Ewan asked. "If so, then we're in big trouble."

"That's the understatement of the year," Gerik remarked.

"If the fog has spread everywhere, then the people of Caer Pelyn may very well be the only ones who were unaffected," Saleh continued. "Even with the knowledge that the fog is responsible for the change in demeanor, we have no course of action before us. Darkling Woods will be much harder to reach with the population attacking us..."

Suddenly, the nearby bushes began to rustle, as though an animal were running through them. The three jumped to their feet, assuming their defensive stances.

Ewan gulped. "Uh-oh..."

A small, indigo-haired girl burst out from the bushes, running straight towards Saleh. She ran right into him and embraced him, panting to catch her breath.

Saleh's eyes widened as he placed an arm around her. "Lady Myrrh!"

Myrrh pulled back to look at him. "Saleh! I'm glad I found you!"

"But why are you out here?"

"I was on my way to find you! I must warn you! Something is happening! Something terrible!"

Saleh and Gerik exchanged concerned glances. It was just as Saleh had feared; if the Great Dragon had to get involved, it could only mean one thing.

"What is it?" Saleh asked, returning his attention to the girl.

"There's...no time to explain," Myrrh said. "People are after me. They're coming this way with torches and pitchforks."

Saleh and Gerik glanced at each other again.

"We'd better get out of here and find some shelter," Gerik said.

Saleh looked around, just now noticing that the sunlight was quickly fading. "You're right. It's getting dark. We should leave quickly but quietly."

Gerik and Ewan nodded silently. Together, the foursome began to sneak out of the clearing.