A/N:

Wow... I haven't written in a LONG time. Well... I hope I'm not too rusty. And hey, if it wasn't for Fates, I don't know when I would have gotten back to writing this. But I am determined! Let the story commence! Anyway, sit back, R&R, and most importantly, enjoy! Word Count (1842)


The group marched ever onward on their path to the capital. Silence reigned, forcing an awkward rift between the princess and her subordinates. Kaiser never meant to bring such horrible news to the young woman, however, duty demanded it be done at all costs. The physical dangers were obvious, but the emotional weight could crush even the strongest of men.

"Lady Iris." Diane spoke up, managing to halt the group with the sudden interruption in their dreary march. The princess didn't speak, but acknowledged her guardian's presence. "We should prepare for the night. I know this road, and I know somewhere safe we can stay, sheltered from the elements. The skies are changing and I would hate for us to be caught in a storm."

The princess turned back to face the halberdier. Though she remained silent, one could feel the darkened aura emanating from within. She mumbled an answer, inaudible to even the best of hearing.

And hand found its way to the young one's shoulder, taking her by surprise. She reached to pull out her rapier, but was stopped as the other found its way to her belt and deftly undid the clasp, pulling it out of reach. She looked up to face her attacker, but it was none other than Kaiser, looking down with a concerned expression. "Look kid, she's right. Ya can't just retreat into a shell if things start headin' south." He looked up to the halberdier, who was merely observing, arms crossed. "So what's this place we're headed?"

While Iris grumbled, picking her belt off the ground, Diana directed everyone's attention to the East. "Up the road a few miles, we'll find a stone walkway. An old chapel. We used to stay there quite often when I was younger."

The hunter started to chuckle. "And here I had you pegged for a city gal. You're always so uptight, and that temper…"

Diana grunted, curling her hands into fists. She wouldn't hit the man. She knew that if she retaliated, that would only warrant and bring out more of his teasing. "Come on." She said, leading the group toward the path.

True to her word, the path appeared, and not far down, the old chapel stood out among the surrounding forest. Surprising how something so worn could withstand the test of time. Almost as if the gods of old had blessed this structure themselves.

Outside the building paced a young man, or was it a boy? He possessed a scruffy head of auburn hair and robes which seemed far too big for his short stature. He pounded frantically at the heavy door to his place of worship. "No, no, no!" The boy screeched.

Iris' expression picked up, her pace quickening as she hurried towards the one in need of her help. "Hey!" She called out.

The boy turned around, thankful to see some friendly-looking people for once. "Thank the gods you're-" His cherry eyes widened as he scanned Celeste hiding in the group. "What's she…?"

Diana blocked his view, towering above the boy. "You seem to have more important issues at the moment?"

The boy shook his head, trying to get his thoughts back on track. "Right! Bandits took the chapel. I-I don't know how many of us they have inside. Please, you have to save my teacher!"

Iris drew her rapier, pointing it towards the locked doors. "I've had a bad week… and oh I need something to take my sorrows out on!"

Diana growled. This girl was going to get herself killed if she kept rushing into battle. The tavern was one thing, but bandits? "Don't you dare charge those doors." The woman commanded. "They have hostages, and they could kill them if you just barged in. We need a plan…"

"Ooh! I know!" The boy shouted, waving his hand around in the air. "There's a door around back you guys could use!"

"Very well." Diana nodded. "Half of us can go around back. As for you, kid…"

"Hey, I'm not a kid, and the name's Abner, thank you so much for asking." The boy protested with a stomp of his foot. "I'm staying with you. I can heal." Just like that, he picked up a heal staff that had been propped against the stone wall. "I have been trained for most of my life, and it certainly seems like you could use a priest like me."

"Well would you look at our merry band of misfits." Iris interjected. "Alright, let's get kick some bandit butt and save those priests!"

Upon Diana's insistence, Algar, Rufus, and Kaiser headed round back. Upon his own insistence, so did young Abner. That left the three women of the group out front. Diana was rather wary of the situation, headed into a building that had probably been fortified with bandits of unknown numbers and no healer of her own. Not many vulneraries were left among their half after the previous days' battles, but they had to prevail.

Celeste started off by firing a dark spell against those heavy doors ahead of them. They shook from the impact, but still held up. Diana took her turn, jamming her silver lance between the doors, but still nothing. Celeste fired off one more spell, taking no mind that Diana was still in harm's way of the blast, but the doors shattered, filling the air with smoke. Iris took the moment to charge forth.

To her right, she spotted an easy target, a poor man taken off guard by the entry, not even having his iron axe in hand. "One."

Diana rushed to the princess' side, eyes scanning for the trapped priests. What she did see though was a determined mercenary, headed right towards the princess while her back was turned. "Iris, focus on the enemy!" She shouted, running towards the man in an attempt to intercept him.

What the royal guard couldn't account for though was being intercepted herself as something blurred by, inches from taking her head off. In the direction of the object was the form of a man, hiding behind a pillar. Though worried about the princess' safety, the older woman couldn't allow this man to threaten her group from afar. Besides, she could see a certain dark mage rushing in to support the reckless princess from afar.

"Two."

Still no priests in sight. At this point, a knot started to form in the stomach of the halberdier. Her training pushed her past this. She had gotten in close with that man throwing axes at her. A few even hit, though barely. Difficult as it was to see, the man had moved from cover at just the wrong time. Diana charged, burying her spear deep into his exposed chest. As he collapsed, she glanced back towards her princess, continuing that spree of destruction. "Iris, be careful." She whispered to herself.

Iris didn't care how many wounds she had taken, she still had a vulnerary left, one she was saving for the thug in charge of this raid here. Out of the corner of her left eye, she could see a dark mist envelope the figure of some poor man carrying a sword. He dropped to his knees, and the girl took her chance to release him from this hell. "Three."

A glint caught the girl's attention before she turned away. A small key hung from a ring on his belt. Iris picked it up, hoping she could find these priests they locked away. Free them and all that rubbish. In the distance, she could see the group of men finishing their work with these bandits, but there was one more left in her sights. He looked easy enough, and she wanted to see how high this count could go.

Without help from the others, she rushed towards the man, rapier in hand, but oh, had she underestimated him. Her attacks grew more and more wild as her frustrations mounted. She left her guard wide open, allowing for a quick thrust into her abdomen. She drank her potion as quickly as she could, but knew it wasn't enough to completely stifle the bleeding, but… she was surrounded by a warm light, watching in awe as the wound closed up. She'd have to thank Abner for that later.

The man was distracted by Algar as he had closed the gap between them. Though she was still sore and worn out, Iris joined the attack anyway. That man couldn't hold out against this many opponents at once, and Iris was able to take her revenge. "Four."

She knew that wasn't the last of them though. No leader in sight. They were too organized to be without one. Her key though, odds were, the bandit leader held up with those missing priests. The group scanned around and found the locked door without much difficulty. Upon the opening of that freed door, the group found no moment of rest as the bandit leader tossed an axe right past the princess' shoulder.

Headband covering a long scar across his forehead, and a thick, black beard, the man quickly moved into the passageway, allowing no warrior access to the priests inside. "This woulda been the perfect heist, but you all had to go and ruin my day!"

Iris huffed, "You're not the only one who's been having a bad time lately. Ready to add to my count?"

The man bellowed in rage, determined to rid these pests from his presence. The first in his path, Princess Iris of Archanea. He swung his axe forth with all his might, the princess rolling out of the way just in time.

She was tired and slowed from the wound earlier, and her breathing showed it. There wasn't enough room in these tight corridors for her allies to assist, and so she was on her own for this one. One lunge forward, it merely grazed the man's shoulder, but he was able to follow up with no problem at all. This one much closer, backing the princess against a wall which she hit hard.

Iris clenched her teeth; she wouldn't allow this to end right here. She struck once, her blade managing to bury itself into the man's forearm. He screamed, swinging around to attack with his opposite arm. A blow the princess could not manage to escape this time. The pain caused the girl's vision to flash white. When she looked over what she managed to see was her left arm hanging limp at her side, the axe buried in the wall, but also deep into her shoulder.

The man was close enough now for Iris to bury her blade into his heart. "F-Five…" She whimpered out.

Diana managed to make her way up to the conflict, followed close behind by their newest friend and the other priests. "My Lady…"

"You know… Y-You're always… late." Iris painfully retorted.

Abner rushed up to the princess, taking a look at her wound. "Hey, you're going to be just fine. We'll get you patched up in no time."

"P-Please do…" Iris chuckled.


A/N:

It's not a Squish story without the protag being in pain, and trust me, there's a lot more in store for our dear Iris. After all, most of you should be familiar with the vague-ass stories they tell of the first Exalt defeating a certain dragon.

Ah, but anyway, I hope I wasn't too rusty. And I went through a couple different designs for Abner here. At first he was gonna be a she, then he was gonna be a bit of an older guy, finally I settled with young and inexperienced.

And if any of you were wondering about Iris' count, heh, next chapter's gonna be a special one. Ah, you know what happens in certain games when certain requirements are met. I know it's kinda early in the story, but this one I feel would be good for early in the story, yeah.

Anywho, thanks for the read. Leave a review, favorite, follow. Any of the above is fine.

This is your lovely Squishy bidding you all a grand day!