Chapter 3 - A Light In The Dark
"Micaiah, what are we going to do about the Laguz Alliance? If the Senate sees us as passive when they're at their weakest, they're going to invoke the blood pact." Pelleas remarked, in a war meeting with Micaiah, Sothe, and Nailah. He eyed the map of Tellius, focusing on the Daein areas that the Laguz Alliance had incapacitated. Then, he tried to imagine the closest place that the Laguz Alliance would go to when they were retreating.
"Don't bother finding them, Pelleas. I know where they are." Sothe said, still thinking about Soren's word about betraying the Greil Mercenaries. The green-haired rogue sauntered over to the battle map, and put a finger on a single point; Palmeni Temple.
"Why would they stay at Palmeni Temple?"
"Pelleas, they would stay there because it holds some sentimental value to them. It was the site where Ike's mother, Elena, worked as a priest for the goddess Ashera. It was also where we found the cellar that contained the late Lillia, who was a heron." Sothe explained emotionlessly, stabbing a knife through the air straight through Palmeni Temple. Micaiah looked around at all of the faces in the room, but focused on Sothe. She could feel his thoughts of not being motivated enough to actually fight the mercenaries, as well as his desire of not fighting against his former friends. She moved over to where he was, and put a hand on his bare shoulder. Sothe turned to her, before cursing under his breath. Then, he left the tent where the meeting was taken place, going off to Ashera knows where. However, Micaiah stayed with the war meeting, understanding that this was where she was needed most.
"We should strike Palmeni Temple as quickly as possible, so that we can please the Senate and get them to not invoke the pact." Pelleas remarked, looking at Sothe's dagger through the thin sheet piece of paper. Nailah nodded her head before pitching in her own ideas.
"My wolves can assist in defending Daein while the main force is away. No one will get through them." Nailah grinned, but, on the inside, she felt bad about attacking the side that Reyson, Rafiel's brother, was on. She walked out of the tent, needing to send a message to Hatarians about needing to fight. She knew that this would disrupt the beorc-laguz relations, but also knew that her friends needed assistance, and that she needed to help them in any way she could. Now, only Micaiah and Pelleas remained in the room.
"I will assist you in our siege of Palmeni Temple." Pelleas said, with Micaiah's eyes widening at the thought of her king being on the battlefield. As a result, she tried to tell him to stay.
"King Pelleas, I can't ask you to do that! If you die, what will happen to Daein's rule?"
"Micaiah… the Daein citizens… they don't look up to me. They still look up to you; no matter what speeches I give. You are the Maiden of Dawn, the symbol of Daein's freedom and hope, and you can lead this nation better than I ever could…" As Pelleas kept on speaking, Micaiah's mouth was wide open in shock. She couldn't understand what Pelleas was saying; had he not had the confidence to rule as a leader to the Daein people?
"After this war, Micaiah… I'm going to resign. It's my fault that the blood pact was signed, and that we had gotten involved in the first place. The blood of all those innocent laguz is on my hands…" Pelleas firmly said, and Micaiah, reading his mind, could tell that he was not joking on the matter. He truly didn't have the confidence to rule, and he accepted the fact that his blunder cost the lives of so many Daein soldiers and laguz.
"I'm going to pass my kingship to you, Micaiah. You are going to be the Queen of Daein after this war…" Pelleas said, before leaving the tent and Micaiah all alone before the latter could respond to this news. Micaiah was so shocked at all the events that had just happened; was King Pelleas truly going to resign his position? She understood his reasons, but she still couldn't believe the news. Micaiah looked at the battle map, looking at the dagger that was cut across Palmeni Temple. She still remembered Palmeni Temple, even though it had been all those years ago when she had moved…
Micaiah looked back around her in the dead of night, making sure that no one was there. She entered the temple, careful to avoid the priests and saints dressed in white, armed with powerful light magic. Micaiah managed to avoid all of them, and managed to get upstairs. She found a room with a broken wooden door, entering without too much trouble. Micaiah looked at the room; there was a nice blue carpet, and a warm bed waiting for her. She let out a sigh of relief, and quickly moved over a cabinet to the wooden door, preventing anyone from getting in. Then, she put down her stuff, and got into bed, needing to rest after moving for so long without sleeping.
In the morning, Micaiah quickly heard the knocking of the priests against the wooden door that was blocked by the cabinet. Knowing that her sleeping time was up, she quickly armed herself with a Light magic tome, and moved towards the door. She took out her white light magic tome, and began to read the incantations of the ancient language
"Let the light blind my enemies, so Ican escape for a brighter future! " Micaiah spoke the words. She could hear the priests scream behind them, as the intense light blinded them. Then, she moved the wooden cabinet, and ran from the room, careful not to step on the priests that were on the floor. Micaiah went down the stairs, only to meet more priests and clerics that were on the ground floor, hearing the commotion. Micaiah huffed, sighing in annoyance. She quickly jumped off the stars, reading the incantations again. This caused a white light to blind the other priests, as she made a quick escape. Before she left however, she ran toward the kitchen, and took a few rolls of bread, as well as some fruit.
Despite feeling guilty about stealing food from the temple, Micaiah knew she had to survive. She put the food into a bag, and quickly escaped from the kitchen out the window, before running out into the forest near the temple.
The memory was still fresh in her mind, as she imagined about how she didn't need to steal food from the temples anymore. She knew that she had to survive, but she still felt guilty about doing so. Micaiah sighed, before leaving the war tent, making it empty for the time being. Now, she had to find Sothe, and speak to him about Pelleas' news.
She found him in a nearby forest, sitting down on a tree stump, armed just in case there was an attack. However, Micaiah, and probably Sothe, too, knew that no such assault was going to happen near Nox Castle, since the news had spread about the Greil Mercenaries' defeat at the hands of the Daein Army and the Dawn Brigade.
"I know you don't want to fight them, Sothe…"
"Why should we even fight this war?"
"Because, we have to… the Senate will invoke the blood pact, and the Daein people would die…"
"That's on Pelleas' hands, not ours…" Micaiah gulped when he mentioned Pelleas, reminding her about what the king said about his resigning, and Micaiah becoming the new queen of Daein.
"Sothe…" When Micaiah spoke in her quiet voice, Sothe knew that something was wrong. He got up from the tree stump, and stood up, taller than her. Micaiah now knew that she had to tell, since Sothe was pretty good at guessing people that lie.
"Pelleas wants to resign after the war... and he wants me to be the new Queen of Daein… He doesn't want to lead the nation, since he made the blunder with signing the blood pact with the Begnion Senate." Hearing this news, Sothe surprisingly began to lose his cool. He sat down, with his eyes wide open at this news, before smirking. However, he managed to smirk in a moment before Micaiah noticed him.
"Micaiah, I understand Pelleas' reasons of wanting to resign… but, to have you as Queen? That'll make you the prime target of the Begnion senators' assault of the Daein people, and the person that's going to have to fix the mess with the blood pact." Sothe explained what Micaiah already knew, as she thought about her position as queen of Daein with Pelleas' resignation.
"Sothe, regardless of what I say, Pelleas is going to resign, and he wants me to be Queen of Daein." Micaiah explained. For some reason, she felt tears form in the corners of her eyes. Why was she crying? Was this the result of her guilt from killing all of those laguz, using horrible tactics against the Begnion Pegasus Knights, or everything else had done? Maybe, this was the point that had set her off. Micaiah's world was falling apart all around her, and she couldn't find herself anymore.
Sothe opened his arms, waiting for embrace. Micaiah saw the chance and took it, hugging the other tightly, wanting at least some support for what she was going through. Sothe knew that she was so strong for even putting through with this, and knew that even he probably wouldn't be so calm under the pressure. He didn't blame Micaiah for crying; in fact, he was surprised that she was bottling up all of her emotions, when she had always been an advocator for honesty.
"I don't know if I can do this, Sothe."
"Micaiah, you can do this. I've known you longer than anyone else here, and I know that you're so strong. You've managed to pull us through since then, and I know that you're going to get us a way to destroy the blood pact. Lekain will pay for this, and you and I are going to make that happen." Sothe comforted Micaiah, while the latter maintained wordless. Together, they just stayed there for a few hours, whispering thoughts to each other.
It was time for the assault on Palmeni Temple, since Sothe's gambit proved correct. Pelleas had sent a scout group to check on Palmeni Temple. They ended up successfully spying on the Greil Mercenaries, stating that they were still at the temple, but they had healed relatively quickly. The scouts also mentioned that the Crimean Army was now involved in the war, taking the side of the Laguz Alliance. This meant that the future battle would be just as hard as the last battle at Fort Nox. Micaiah sighed when hearing the news, praying to the goddess that she wouldn't have to kill as many laguz. The Black Knight comforted her, telling her that he would be her shadow, and that, if she was in danger, the Black Knight would keep her safe.
"I will be as close to you as your blue cloak, and, if you need assistance, I will be there for you…" The Black Knight told Micaiah in secret, as they neared Palmeni Temple. Micaiah could see the tower in the distance, as she reminisced about her memories as a former runaway. She closed her eyes, and the same memory flashed back. When she opened them, she knew that the Black Knight wasn't there, as he had a habit of making strange appearances.
Micaiah readied her belongings. She put a couple of concoctions, and vulneraries in her blue cloak, as well as packing her most powerful tomes. When the time had come for the Daein army to strike, Micaiah looked on, grouped with the Dawn Brigade. She marched forward, with her friends at her side, into the temple, prepared to strike.
"Ike, Ike!" Ranulf ran towards the blue-haired mercenary, who was currently speaking with Soren and Titania about future battle plans. The blue cat laguz immediately interrupted the conversation, alerting them about a certain change that had happened at Palmeni Temple.
"The Daein Army has followed us! They're in the temple!" Ranulf yelled at the commander, whose eyes went wide at hearing the news. Ike looked over at Titania and Soren, who prepared for battle. Ike ran across one of the rooms, now facing at the back of the temple where the carpet ended, standing in the same place where Schaeffer, during his first meeting here, once stood. He found that the Greil Mercenaries were already alerted to the news, and he grinned, seeing that the interior wasn't infiltrated yet. This meant that Ike was given time to organize positions.
Near Ike at the end of the temple were Titania, Mist, and Ranulf. All four of the mercenaries were armed, and ready to battle. Laguz soldiers surrounded them, but Ike only knew that this would halt them if they were as strong as before. In one room to the side of him was Rhys, who was going to be used for his staff abilities. He was now better equipped for this battle, as opposed to what he was doing at Nox Castle. In the other room directly to the side of Ike, Soren stood, with his wind tome to be used for long range attacks against the Daein forces. Now, the main forces were prepared. The main forces were in the largest rooms, directly at the sides of the center of the temple where the red carpet began. Gatrie and Shinon were located at the left side of the carpet, while Rolf and Boyd were located at the other side. They were located in such a position that the close-range attackers would be able to fight with support from the marksman. At the front lines, where the rooms ended where the carpet began, there was Mia on the left side. On the right side, there was Oscar, ready to fight with his Silver Lance in hand. The Crimean Royal Knights were also positioned where the carpet began, with each of their horses lined up in a formation to prevent anyone from crossing through without a fight. Ike smirked; he knew that they were ready.
Micaiah knew that she had to take the interior of the temple, as she felt Ike's presence in the far back of the temple. When she reached the interior, she saw each of the Greil Mercenaries and the Crimean Royal Knights organized in perfect formation. She turned to Sothe worriedly, who gave her a look of reassurance. Then, she turned back, and gave a deep breath.
So, they prepared in time for us… Micaiah thought. Suddenly, a current of cold air hit her, as she turned to the source. Next to her was the man holding the legendary blade of Alondite, the Black Knight. He held the legendary blade that was the sister to Ike's Ragnell firmly, waiting for Micaiah's orders. She felt a wave of reassurance as her knight was there, giving her support in the troubling time. Then, she organized the Dawn Brigade.
Knowing the outcomes of the previous battles against the Greil Mercenaries, she set up her troops accordingly. Edward was to take on the left side of the first room, facing off against Mia once more. The purple-haired trueblade smirked, as she knew that a rematch between the two was imminent. Leonardo was placed in support behind him, as Micaiah knew that they had wonderful chemistry with each other (both on and off the battlefield). She placed Fiona in charge of taking out the Greil Mercenaries' silver knight, Oscar. The blue silver knight knew she had to come back from the loss that she suffered from last time. Micaiah knew that Tauroneo was out directing the battle from outside the temple, so she was forced to put Meg at the front lines to dispatch of Gatrie. Pelleas joined behind her, providing magic support against Shinon's bow. Pelleas had been training under Tauroneo, who had enlisted powerful magic users to teach him. As a result, he was now a powerful archsage, capable of wielding many powerful dark magic tomes. Micaiah also told Nolan to go handle the other team's reaver, Finally, she organized Zihark, Jill, Aran, Laura, Kurthnaga, Nailah, and Rafiel in fighting positions. However, the Black Knight insisted on being close to her, which Micaiah had no choice but to agree with. Finally, the preparations were ready for the battle.
The battle had begun, as the sounds of war rallied about the temple, which used to be a place of peace and worship. Now, it was the sight where many bodies of the laguz would fall, and the start of a new era in bloodshed. Edward rushed forward, jumping up before attacking Mia with Caladbolg. Mia managed to parry swiftly, trying to slice the boy on the shoulder. However, Edward managed to roll backwards, allowing him to dodge the attack. Micaiah looked to her right, and saw Fiona fight intensely with Oscar, with the two lances releasing clangs as they hit against each other. The main group, including her, had begun to move forward. Their main opposition was the Crimean Royal Knights, as they had blocked the way to the Commander, Ike.
"Why do you fight in this pointless war? You're only going to get hurt again like the last one!" Geoffrey said, holding his lance high. Kieran, Makalov, and Astrid readied their weapons as well. Micaiah paid no heed to their words, blocking everything out except the sight of victory that she needed to get to. She equipped her light tome, prepared to speak the ancient language.
"Let the light strike my enemy, so that I may cross the path of destiny!"" Micaiah spoke, as she read the incantations from her Ellight tome. A ball of light formed above Geoffrey, the leader of the Crimean Royal Knights with distinguished blue hair. Multiple tendrils of white light began to encircle the leader, as they struck him repeatedly. Geoffrey winced in pain, but knew he had to keep his defense up for as long as possible. Now, it was his turn to attack. While Micaiah wasn't paying attention, Geoffrey's horse galloped at an alarming rate towards her. Finally, as she turned around at the last moment, she closed her golden eyes, realizing that she would die if the lance hit. As the moments lingered on, Micaiah realized that she was not dead. When she looked up, she received the answer as to why.
The lance was stuck against the Black Knight's Alondite, as it was being parried. With a quick slash, the Black Knight spun his heavy blade around, disarming Geoffrey as the lance clanged when it hit the floor. This put Geoffrey in a very bad position, as he tried to retreat; however, this was futile. Within a matter of moments, the Black Knight took the opportunity to strike in a stunning display of swordplay. The Black Knight managed to position the blade where it would reach through the chinks of Geoffrey's armor, giving a clean swipe of his blade. This caused Geoffrey's breastplate to fall off, and some of his underclothing to tear. Geoffrey winced in pain, as he felt the blade cut some of his chest. He felt blood ooze out of his wounds at an alarming rate. His vision began to darken as the corner of his eyes began to fill with darkness. Geoffrey looked up at the top of the temple, before passing out. Micaiah looked worriedly at the blue-haired silver knight, but the Black Knight caused her to focus on the large scope.
"I did not kill that knight, Maiden. That slash was only enough to incapacitate him for a few weeks."
"Sir Knight, thank you for protecting me…" Micaiah spoke, before seeing a pink-haired gold knight run toward the Black Knight. With the visible danger to the Black Knight present, Micaiah felt a surge of energy as she gathered all of her magic skills to perform a powerful spell.
"Let the light protect my knight, and make the aggressor pay!" Micaiah spoke the words in the ancient language, uttering them with such seriousness. The same ball of light directed at Geoffrey formed over the gold knight, but it was amplified. This blinded the sword knight, as the thicker tendrils began to mercilessly attack the gold knight. When the blinding critical hit had finished, Micaiah could see that the other knight was now passed out as well. The Black Knight turned behind him, and saw the unconscious Makalov. Then, he faced forward, as clearing away Geoffrey and Makalov managed to get them a small spot to break through the Royal Knights. Micaiah and the Black Knight sauntered through the commotion, and ran up the stairs to the next level of the temple. Now, Micaiah could see Ike in clear view, albeit he was far away. Ike focused his gaze on Micaiah and the Black Knight, as he watched the two fight as if a symphony was being conducted; the two fought as if they were notes on a page, all lined up with perfect harmony. With a few quick slashes, and blinding light, an entire flank of laguz was taken out. This left Boyd, Shinon, Gatrie, and Rolf to defend their designated section.
Edward crossed blades with the trueblade once more, but this time, Leonardo was with him. He managed to slice at the girl's shoulder, causing some blood to stain her clothing. While she recovered from that, Leonardo nocked an arrow, and fired it at her from a long range. This managed to pierce the trueblade's leg, causing her to fall to the ground. Edward saw the moment to strike once more to incapacitate her, and he took it. He quickly slashed at Mia's wrist that held the Wo Dao, as he managed to slice the side of her arms. This caused Mia to yelp in pain, as she released her sword since the pain was too great. She saw blood ooze out of her arm, and felt the arrow stuck in her leg.
Nngh…not again… Mia spoke, as she felt her vision darken looking up at the top of the temple. Her eyes slowly closed, rendering her unconscious.
Arrows were being shot at from both sides, but the Black Knight was quite capable of defending against them. To protect Micaiah, he guarded her blindside, cutting away the arrows with Alondite's ranged attack. Sothe watched as the two performed a chorus of attacks, symphonically dodging and attacking the opponents. He sliced a tiger laguz in the leg, before quickly catching up to Micaiah. He tried to intervene, but he could tell that he was disrupting the two's rhythm.
Eventually, they had managed to avoid enough of the four Greil Mercenaries' attacks to progress further, as they reached the same level as Ike, Titania, Ranulf, and Mist. Near the sides, Micaiah could see that there were two of the archsages, Rhys, and Soren, delivering healing support and magic support from far away. She knew that, in order to defeat Ike and the rest of the mercenaries, she needed to finish them. As if reading her mind, the Black Knight teleported to Rhys, as the man dressed in white cowered. With the blade's property of being unable to kill someone that could not defend themselves, the Black Knight swiped at Rhys' legs, causing the latter to fall onto the ground in a lot of pain. He dropped his staff, and, when he tried to reach it, the Black Knight stepped on the orb, crushing it with his heel. With the broken Physic staff, Rhys knew that he was essentially incapacitated, as he did not have any long-range tomes. The Black Knight then teleported back to Micaiah, who was now watching as Sothe was sent to dispatch Soren.
The green-haired rogue held a silver knife, while aiming for the hole to the other room. He threw the knife at the hole, but only managed to get it stuck in the hole. Soren now knew that Sothe was around him, and quickly read the incantations. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large ice bolt was thrown at Sothe from the sky, with Sothe managing to get scraped by the ice. He held his cold leg, as he managed to stand up. As he did, however, he saw the Black Knight attack Soren, quickly disarming him and incapacitating him with a few slashes of Alondite. He saw Soren fall to his knees, with his hands on the floor as he felt blood ooze out of the sides of his arms. Then, the Black Knight teleported once again to Micaiah's side, leaving Titania, Ranulf, Mist, and Ike.
"Micaiah, the forces have been broken at the front and middle sections! The Greil Mercenaries have been incapacitated with the help of the laguz!" Micaiah heard Edward shout, as she turned around. She noticed the flooding of the wolves of Hatari into the castle, as the laguz were slaughtered when the wolves were released. Nailah herself was taken down some generals, and now, Micaiah could focus on defeating Ike. It was now her, the Black Knight, Sothe, and Pelleas against the two. However, the events that transpired after were ones that she couldn't predict.
The Black Knight charged after Ike, as the two were engaged in a harsh battle. Micaiah could hear the Black Knight remarking that Ike had grown weaker than when they had last met, since the Black Knight hadn't used all of his power. Micaiah focused on taking down the others, which was not too hard. Suddenly, a white wolf by the name of Nailah rushed by her, and started to viciously bite at Titania. Nailah managed to bite the leg of Titania's horse, causing the red-haired gold knight to fall onto the ground with her horse. She tried to get up, but she knew that she was useless without her horse. An ebony dragon breath crossed by Micaiah next, aimed at Mist. The young girl fell off her horse, as Kurthnaga tried to prevent her from getting too many injuries. Her staff shattered as the orb hit the ground, causing Mist to be incapacitated. Ranulf was now trying to fight Sothe, but the two were engaged in each other to care about anything else.
Micaiah saw the perfect opportunity to strike Ike while he was busy engaged in the fight with the Black Knight. However, before she read the incantation, she was enchanted by the battle of sword that was going on.
"You've grown weaker since the Ribahn River, son of Gawain…"
"Regardless of my strength, I will win this battle!"
"Your friends are nearly incapacitated. They are getting decimated as we speak."
"I don't care!" Ike said the words, before he could catch them. The Black Knight capitalized on this hesitation, maneuvering his blade to strike the other's hand. While the blade was moving towards Ragnell, the Black Knight initiated another conversation.
"You are not your father's son. Your father would've focused on caring for the injured regardless of victory. You have failed Gawain." Those last words hit Ike where it hurt, as he felt his wrist get scraped. This caused him to drop Ragnell, as the blade penetrated the ground of the temple. Ike held onto his hand, trying to stop the bleeding from his arms to occur. He tried to grip Ragnell, but the Black Knight kicked the blade away from him. However, as he prepared for the finishing blow, he heard a scream that came from the Maiden. He turned around, and saw what had happened.
Sothe saw the arrow, right before it could hit his mark. He saw Rolf nock the arrow, managing to fire one last one before succumbing to his pain from the wolves. The arrow whizzed by at blurred speeds, aimed straight at Micaiah's heart, and in that moment, Sothe knew.
Micaiah was the most important person to him, but he knew that the feeling wasn't reciprocated. He saw the almost elegant dance the two did, symphonically fighting and killing the laguz with a combination of sword and magic. Sothe saw Micaiah truly smile, as she fought with the Black Knight's protection. The green-haired rogue knew his place, and wished his greatest friend the best of luck. Now, he could see that the Black Knight cared about Micaiah, regardless of the cold, emotional attitude the knight had given off. It almost made Sothe want to forgive him; almost.
He also realized that Micaiah was the true hope of Daein for the war, and that she was the one way that the Senate could be defeated. And in that moment, Sothe knew that what he was about to do was for the good of Daein and for the good of Micaiah.
Micaiah, please be happy, and bring hope to Daein always… Sothe said, jumping forward. He felt his heart rate increase, his breathing increase, and then, it all stopped. The rogue fell to the ground, with an arrow impaling straight into his heart. He was dead before he even hit the ground, and he was motionless. The blood oozed out of his impalement, as the arrow was stuck inside him, all bloodstained at the sharp tip. Micaiah's eyes widened as she saw one of her greatest friends fall to the ground, with an arrow sticking out where his heart would be. She kneeled down, immediately putting her hands on him to heal him with her gift. Micaiah put all her energy into her hands, trying to get something done, to get Sothe to live, but she drained herself. She fell to the ground unconscious, lying next to her dead friend.
Pelleas saw this, and was distracted by this, while fighting against Shinon. Meg tried to block the arrow, but it flew at a high enough speed to not reach her in time. The arrow puncture Pelleas from the back, into the heart; unlike Sothe, however, he began to smile. Maybe Daein would receive a better queen in Micaiah…
"I-If there's an afterlife… may A-Ashera forgive me…." Pelleas spoke his last words, stuttering as he did so. He fell on his knees, as blood pooled around him. His dark magic tomes fell out from his cape, and he fell to the floor in finality, dying as the hope of Daein was lifted onto Micaiah's shoulders.
Just then, Micaiah awoke to the sight of the Black Knight using an elixir on her. She was awoken, but remembered why she fell unconscious. She saw Sothe, and Pelleas on the ground. Tears formed in Micaiah's eyes as she realized that Sothe was gone.
Sothe was gone, and there was nothing that she could do about it.
All around, she noticed the assault stop. All the fighting seemed to cease as Ike noticed Micaiah crying. He ordered the laguz to stop, for everything to stop around him. The Dawn Brigade crowded around her, as they realized what happened. Laura began to cry, with Aran comforting her. Leonardo wrapped his hands around his nose and mouth, trying not to cry as Edward held onto him, sobbing uncontrollably. The laguz had stopped, while the Daein soldiers let go of their weapons.
Sothe and Pelleas were dead. It almost seemed as if the event was surreal; Sothe seemed to have the most experience out of all of them, but the arrow had hit him straight in the heart. He never had a chance of living. Pelleas was the king, and now he was dethroned. Micaiah couldn't stop crying, as she tearfully ordered all forces to retreat. Ike did the same, as he saw his former comrade lie dead on the floor. He ordered all of the Greil Mercenaries to retreat, as well as the laguz forces. The Black Knight held the dead prince and rogue, as the Dawn Brigade walked out of the interior of the castle. The laguz cleared a path for them out of respect for a former comrade that had treated them so well. They all walked out, not looking back at any of the soldiers behind them.
When they had reached the tents, Micaiah, Edward, and Leonardo dug out burial sites. As the two men were lowered into their graves, all of them felt emotional during the funeral. Micaiah still felt hot tears pricking at the corner of his eyes, and she let them fall without resistance. Laura was reading the words of Ashera, as custom for a Daein funeral. However, she couldn't go long without bursting into tears again.
"A-And with this burial…we s-signify that they are now going t-to meet Ashera…" Laura finished, closing her book that was given to her when she became a priest. She held the book against her chest, sobbing as Aran tried to comfort her. Edward was crying on Leonardo's shoulder, while the latter pat the back of the other.
However, none of the reactions could compare to Micaiah. She was done crying; she simply went on her legs, sitting down as if she had given up. Her best friend was now dead, buried deep within the ground at the hands of the other side. Her king was next to him, who was going to resign already after the war; the time had come too fast, however. Micaiah knew that Lady Almedha would be so sorrowful at the death of her son, while the Begnion Senate would rejoice. Thinking about this, she got up, and turned to her friends and the rest of the camp.
"One of these men was my best friend, ever since we were younger. I looked after him, and he did the same for me. He died, protecting me like we always did." Micaiah gathered boxes, and stood on top of them, similar to Pelleas when Daein was first getting liberated. She tried to make her voice as loud as possible, so that the entire camp could hear her speech.
"Sothe was one of the bravest men I knew. He always spoke about Ike, who a lot of you call our enemy. I now know that Ike is not the beast I once thought he was, and that Sothe was never lying about what he said. In fact, it was horrible for me to even doubt him. Ike let us go after seeing his former friend dead on the ground. The laguz cleared a path for us, while the Greil Mercenaries retreated their forces. They know that we do not wish to fight them." Micaiah continued, as more and more Daein soldiers flooded the funeral area. The Dawn Brigade looked up at her, listening the most out of everyone else.
"Pelleas told me that he wished for me to be the Queen of Daein, saying that after the war, he would resign as king. As Queen, I know that my strength is only as powerful as our weakest link. However, together, we make miracles happen. I will be your guiding light in this time of darkness, and I will make sure to serve you all as much as you serve me. We will destroy the blood pact, and end the suffering that Daein has to go through to avoid this war!" With her final words, Micaiah raised a fist in the air. Numerous applause and cheers began from the Daein soldiers, as they rallied by putting their weapons in the air. Though one couldn't see it, the Black Knight was grinning, seeing the Maiden take charge of the situation quickly. It was obvious to see that she was hurting, but one could also see that she wasn't going to make their deaths meaningless. With that, he teleported elsewhere, but near the Daein camp to keep the Maiden safe.
Edward and Leonardo were getting ready for a night's rest after a tragic battle. They set up the beds wordlessly, as they thought about what had transpired at today's battle. Sothe, one of their best friends, was now dead, because of the Senate forcing Daein to be involved in a war it had no place being in. Eventually, the two had set up everything, and blew out the candles.
No matter what he did, all Edward could do was toss and turn. He couldn't fall asleep, as he thought about what had happened. He felt his heart rate increase, as well as his mind flash to horrible thoughts about each of his friends. Suddenly, it wasn't a game anymore. Sothe's death had proved that. Giving up, Edward got up, and exited the tent. Leonardo heard this, and got out of bed as well.
"Stargazing?" Leonardo asked the brunette, as the blonde saw him sit outside in the grass. The brunette was looking at the stars with his hazel eyes, as if it would distract him from all the troubles that were happening today. Leonardo sat next to him, gripping the other's hand, telling him that he'll support him.
"Sothe's death…"
"Edward…"
"That could happen to any one of us, Leo, at any time!"
"Yes, bu-"
"What if it happens to you?" Edward interrupted. After the question was asked, a long pause of silence passed between the two. Edward couldn't bear thinking about his best friend dying like Sothe did, and he couldn't even imagine him dying before.
"I won't let it happen to me." Edward said, quietly, but loud enough for Leonardo to hear him.
"Ed, how will you know?"
"I won't let it happen to me, because I know how much you're going to hate me for leaving you alone…"
"I wouldn't hate you… I just don't want you to get hurt, or worse… I don't know if I would be able to live without you, Ed…" Leonardo stated, bringing his knees to his head. He felt tears start to prick the corners of his eyes, and he worried that Edward would laugh at him. Instead, he felt the gentle caress of Edward's handon his cheek. Not being used to sensation, Leonardo jumped, but Edward grinned. He adjusted himself to face Leo, who was now sitting cross-legged facing the brunette.
"Leo, I'm going to make sure you live, okay? I will keep you safe… Because, even if the whole world turns against you, I'll be by your side…" Edward grinned, wiping away some of Leonardo's tears. Then, Edward cupped the other's cheeks, pulling them in as they inched closer together. Soon, the distance between them was only a few centimeters.
"I love you…" Edward finally said, before closing the distance and letting his lips make contact with Leo's soft ones. The two kissed ever so innocently, lasting for about a minute, until the need for air caused them to break apart. Edward licked his lips; Leonardo's lips were so sweet, like candy. Leonardo stopped crying, but then he was tackle-hugged by Edward, as they kissed and laughed together through the night.
AN: Aww, cute EdLeo fluff at the end :3. That's always been one of my couples, especially since their A-Support level is at the peak level of canonicity.