Chapter 8) Princess Minerva

Diana POV

Despite our leaders agreeing, many in the army didn't believe Dame Catria's words. They were convinced it was a ruse, a trap, and it was hard to blame them. You really had to actually see Princess Minerva, talk to her even, to believe the words, and most only got close when she was attacking. But Prince Marth personally convinced the dissenters, and so, we land and march on Deil Castle.

...If we can rescue her, then maybe we could rescue the Grustian twins. It certainly made me a little more hopeful, at least.

"I wonder how Midia is." Nyna's voice was quiet as we wandered to the edge of our camp, a hill that overlooked all of Castle Deil, a veritable fortress. I'd always heard it had been one, during the War of Liberation. "I wish she could be here, to liberate her home," she continued to whisper, looking at the castle with sad eyes. "I hope she's okay…"

"There's been no news, and I imagine killing the sole heir, the Duchess of Deil, would cause a stir," I pointed out. I smiled reassuringly at her. "We also haven't heard much of Astram, and we both know he'd be tearing through them if something had happened."

"True." She laughed a bit, but it sounded hollow. "When I was last here, everything was peaceful. I complained about the cold. It hadn't even been that cold, but I was just irritable. Midia showed me the gardens to cheer me up." She sighed, pointing to where… the gardens must've been. "It's overgrown with weeds. I can see that from here."

"We can weed it."

"It also looks like some are dead."

"We can replant. Prettier ones. Healthier ones." I rested a hand on her shoulder. "We can make things better."

"I can only hope." She clasped her hands, like she was about to pray, but then she smiled ruefully. "I still don't know what to pray for. I'm still not even sure the gods hear me."

"Then make it defiant. I did that, once." I smiled wryly. "It seemed to have worked."

"When?"

"...It was shortly after I'd run away. I'd been injured, and thanks to the cold, I'd caught a fever." I remembered that day. It was always so vivid, as if it would always be seared into my heart. "I tripped and fell. I thought about just dying there. I thought I would." I could remember the rocks digging into my skin, the taste of the dirt and blood. "I remember thinking 'if I die, I will scream at all of you'. And, you know what? I didn't die. I was saved."

"Defiance, huh?" She laughed softly, and looked up at the sky again. "Well, gods… if we fail this, if Princess Maria is harmed, I will find some way to make you regret it, just as I will make you regret letting Medeus take my parents and home from me." Her eyes got a defiant, determined glint, and I was reminded of the day I became her bodyguard. "I will see this to the end. I will see Archanea rise to new glory, even if it's not under my rule when it happens. I will see this continent prosper, and I will not let anyone stop me." She paused and then glanced at me sheepishly. "I got… a little carried away."

"Nah, it's good. Practicing motivating speeches is good for a leader." I didn't have the heart to tease her. Not now, at least. "Anyway, though, the operation will start soon. We need to head back."

"Yes, we did." She sighed, but purposely turned away from the view. "We'll have a second War Meeting, to tell everyone. Will you attend that one? You missed the first one for… some reason?"

"I was mending some clothes, and fussing over Princess Caeda." I made a face as I remembered the dress she had been wearing. It had made her look sickly! "I need to give her color lessons. She's horrible at picking out colors that suit her."

"I thought she looked quite fetching in her armor."

"She does. It's everything else." I grimaced as I thought of other incidents. "Yeah, no, I'm just going to take her under my wing. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not. I adore her." Nyna giggled, perking up instantly. "So…" Both of us paused at a wyvern's cry, and looked up. From here, we could see the red hair of the wyvern rider, and the equally red armor. Princess Minerva was here. "We'll be starting very soon then." She gasped suddenly, and turned her attention back to me. "Ah, yes, I almost forgot. You know how we're sending an infiltration group to rescue Maria?"

"Yeah, I remember that." I nodded, giving her a curious look. "Jeorge suggested it."

"Might you join that group during the battle?" She looked at me pleadingly. "Princess Maria is very young. I think she's not even ten. I can think of few people who could reassure her as well as you." She smiled. "And I think Princess Minerva trusts you. She might feel better about it, if she saw you were with her. I'm sure it pains her to rely on others to save her sister."

"That… is true." I still hesitated before sighing. I didn't like leaving someone else to protect Nyna, but I couldn't deny that I was worried about Princess Maria. "Oh, very well. I'll learn to refuse you one of these days."

I just hoped our princess here hadn't been moved to another castle. We were really only going to get one shot at this.

"No wonder Nyna insisted on me joining up. They were seriously only sending you three?" I sighed, shaking my head as we crept through a moldy path hidden in a side entrance, one that would take us straight to the dungeons. "Navarre alone will probably terrify her."

"Hey, I suggested you or Princess Caeda when they told me," Jeorge defended. He led us slowly and cautiously through the path. It, apparently, had always been the least used of all the secret passages in Deil, meaning it had the least chance of having guards. "Prince Marth was reluctant to ask Princess Caeda, and Duke Hardin was like 'Diana won't want to leave Princess Nyna'."

"Why would he be reluctant to ask his girlfriend?" Julian asked, eyes darting around. He and I walked side by side through this mess, while Navarre, silent as always, brought up the rear. "She's capable."

"It's probably a reassurance thing. He likes seeing her for courage. Love does that."

"...I can understand that." Julian smiled slightly before looking to me. "Why wouldn't you want to leave Princess Nyna?"

"Bodyguard."

"Ogma leaves Princess Caeda sometimes."

"On her orders."

"Oh."

"Must you keep chatting?" Navarre asked softly. He looked almost exasperated with us. "It's pointless nonsense."

"You're saying that because you have nothing to contribute," I teased. He scoffed and I snickered, unable to help it. "Hey, did you guys use a similar passage to sneak into the Millennium Palace?"

"...That one was cleaner."

"Oh, yeah, Ricard was telling me about that," Julian murmured. He grinned. "Then that Camus guy hired him and me to fetch some shield thing. Don't know what that was. Looks like that Fire Emblem thing Prince Marth carries, though."

"That's because it was the Fire Emblem," I explained. His jaw actually dropped. "Congratulations. You can honestly tell people you stole one of Archanea's greatest treasures from it's own vault."

"Holy shit." Julian then grimaced. "Which… I might have actually just stepped in. Dare I look down?"

"Don't," Navarre actually answered. He definitely looked exasperated now. "Then you'll ramble about it."

"Alright, quiet down, everyone," Jeorge called back. He looked deadly serious. "We're at the door." He pressed against the wall, and it slowly pushed in, revealing it to be a hidden door. "Step lightly."

Slowly, we walked through the door, tense with our hands hovering over our weapons. However, there wasn't signs of anyone, living or dead. It was just… a dank, dirty, and all together horrible set of dungeons.

"I doubt she is, but if Princess Maria's actually in these dungeons, I'm going to gut whoever was responsible for that stupid decision," I muttered. I wrinkled my nose at all the mold. It was everywhere. "Gods, she could get horrifically sick…"

"And here I thought you'd be more worried about her clothes getting stained," Jeorge murmured. He winced when I swatted his shoulder. "Not a priority right now?"

"One more word, and I swear, I'm destroying that scarf."

"Please don't." He sighed. "Okay. The stairs up should be over here. I also think they'd keep their hostage here. I think she'll be in one of the guest rooms, located in the center of the place. They're pretty comfortable, and if she died, they'd lose Princess Minerva."

"Assuming they don't simply hold the corpse hostage, pretending she's still alive."

"Or they could be horribly morbid and ruthless, yes, in which case, they all die. Win-win for us at this point, really." A slight calculating light flitted through his eyes, before he shrugged. "Up we go."

We moved quietly, twitching at every bit of noise. It got worse when we headed up the stairs and could hear the sound of fighting echoing down the halls. The others had begun their assault, meaning we now had a very limited time to find Princess Maria. They'd kill her, or use her as a shield, if we took too long, after all.

Jeorge led us through the halls, skirting the more heavily guarded areas. We had to ambush a few, of course, but they fell quickly and quietly enough. Navarre was particularly good at that, thankfully, so before long, we made it to the inner guest corridor and started checking the doors. Most were unlocked, but there was one, just one, that was suspiciously locked. Julian took point and after seconds that felt like hours, he got the door unlocked, and we all peered inside. No one was in the room, though. A second look, however, showed that someone had been in the room, and very recently too. Discarded dolls, messy bed… some half-eaten food on plates…

But no one we could see.

"Think they absconded with her already?" Julian asked. He walked in slowly, frowning. "Damn where could she-"

There was a little blur of movement, and a yelp of pain. Julian hit the floor, groaning and clutching the side of his head. A tiny little girl with Macedonian red hair and a staff stepped into view, glaring defiantly despite how much she trembled.

I could only really stare as I pieced it all together. Princess Maria had hidden herself from view upon hearing the door open, and then she'd jumped out and whacked Julian upside the head with her staff. She was definitely Macedonian, and definitely Princess Minerva's sister. That fire was clearly a family trait.

"Well, hello, there," I greeted, making sure to smile. Her only response was to glare. "My name is Diana. The one with the bad scarf is Jeorge, the glowering one is Navarre, and the one you rather rudely hit is named Julian." She remained silent. "We're rescuing you at Princess Minerva's request."

"...Minerva?" she finally whispered. Her glare softened slightly. "You're… not with Dolhr?"

"No, can't you tell by how pretty we all are?" My smile widened as she giggled. I glanced over to make sure someone was making sure Julian was alright (Jeorge), and then returned my focus to her. "I'm Princess Nyna's bodyguard, Jeorge is an Archanean knight, and Navarre and Julian are mercenaries employed by Prince Marth and Princess Caeda."

"Really?" Her glare disappeared entirely and she walked over to me, eyes filled with trust. "Then, you're… really here to get me out of here?"

"Yes, we are."

"Will it be okay, though?" Princess Maria looked up at me worriedly. "Michalis said that I needed to become a hostage to show Dolhr that we were committed to the alliance. He said it was the best way to keep our people safe, and that Minerva could fight more easily if I was safe here." She tugged the hem of my shirt, now looking pleading. "So, will it be okay if I leave? I hate it here, but I want to help Macedon for Michalis, and..."

"...Yes, it'll be fine." I crouched down and hugged her as I realized just what had happened. Micky has given Dolhr Princess Maria, to keep Princess Minerva in check. So she'd been alone, for so long, believing she was helping her country and her brother, but was really just...

Family using family… some things were constant about nobility, no matter…

"It'll be fine," I repeated, making my voice as firm as possible. She felt so small in my arms, and she shook, scared, but she leaned into me. How long had it been, since she'd gotten a hug? "Let's get you to your sister." I let go of her and gently nudged her out the door. She hesitated at the threshold, but she took a deep breath, nodded once, and took a deliberate step outside. She paused, as if expecting something, and then tentatively took a few more. Then, she smiled shyly, and turned to Julian, holding up her staff sheepishly.

I watched Julian crouch down and let her tend to the knot on his head, before I noticed something. Jeorge had stepped into the room, picking up a few things like clothes to tuck into his pack for her. But each movement was crisp, almost jerky, and that worried me. So, I stepped close and waited for an acknowledgement.

He glanced at me briefly, and sighed heavily. "Isn't this where you make some sort of witty callback to when I saw you wringing rags like necks?" he asked, half-smiling. I simply shrugged, and waited. "It's nothing much. Just what she said, what her brother did, sounds like my family." He glowered at the ceiling, tenser than his bowstring. "I can see my old man pulling that on my aunt. If, you know, they both weren't dead."

"...You okay?" I asked. Awkwardly, I rested a hand on his shoulder. "Do you need…?"

"Sure you should be leaving me with such an open ended question?" He tried to grin, but it looked stretched and strained, so he let it fall. "I'll be fine. I just have always hated my family. Not good for anything but intrigue. I get sour when reminded."

"I can understand that." I could understand that all too well. "We do need to escape, but…" I hesitated before sighing. "I'll probably regret this, but when we get out of here, why don't you and I have tea, just the two of us?"

"A date?" This time when he grinned, it looked real. "My, my. You certainly know how to motivate me." The grin fell as he jerked his head towards the door. "Something's wrong."

"Of course." I had a good idea what, but I still sighed when I stepped out and saw the two enemy soldiers on the floor. Navarre's sword was bloody, and Julian had Princess Maria's face turned away. "Time to go."

I made to pick up Princess Maria, but she shook her head and we didn't have time to argue, so I took her hand instead and helped her run with us, down the hall. Well, for us, it was more of a brisk walk. She wasn't very fast, and she simply couldn't run long. Her face would turn red, and her breath would become ragged enough to sincerely make me wonder if she was hyperventilating. She hadn't been allowed to run and play, so her stamina was low. Still, she had more than enough determination, and even when we paused to let her breath, she tugged me forward, insistent that we keep on going. But even that determination waned before long, since she struggled so much. We had to actually stop in front of stairs to the dungeon because she began coughing.

"Over there!" We all whirled as people in heavy armor started running down the hall for us. Princess Maria had only just recovered from her coughing fit. "Capture them!"

"Go," Navarre whispered. He nudged Jeorge and me towards the stairs. "Take her and go." He smiled slightly at my incredulous look. "The girl is clinging to your hand, and he's the only one who knows the path. The thief is the only backup I'll need for weaklings like this."

"...If you end up dying, I'll laugh at your grave," I informed him seriously. Then I tightened my grip on Princess Maria's hand and headed down the stairs. Jeorge followed, slipping past me to take lead. "And Julian, if you get hurt, you'll make Lena cry! So stay alive!"

We took the stairs two at a time. Princess Maria tripped at the bottom, and I bent down to just pick her up. This time, she didn't protest, and just clung to me tightly as we continued to run through the molded dungeons and through the dank path that would take us out of her. She was much lighter than I would've thought, and I tightened my hold on her, determined to not let her fall.

I nearly gasped as we made it outside, bright sunlight stabbing my eyes and making them water. Princess Maria whimpered, curling into me. Jeorge was completely unaffected, though, and he fired two arrows in quick succession before using some sort of trick with his firestarter to set a third arrow on fire without having an open flame, some trick used by the knights. Two normal and one fire, our arranged signal that we had succeeded, a common one about the Arcanean knights. Assuming they'd been paying attention, they would know that things were clear.

But it seemed that someone else had also been watching for a signal.

"A moment, please." Wind blasted the three of us as a wyvern swooped down and landed in front of us. Jeorge moved protectively and I shifted Princess Maria to try and reach my sword. But I paused, and simply nudged Jeorge instead when I realized just who was here. "Is that Maria?" Princess Minerva asked softly. She smiled as Princess Maria hesitantly lifted her head, and she laughed as Princess Maria squeaked and beamed, wriggling to free up one of her hands and wave. "You did it. You actually did it."

"We'll get her back to camp," I reassured her, smiling back. She was right. We did do it. "It's my job to keep princesses safe, after all."

"So it is." Her smile grew. "I'll inform Prince Marth, and cover your escape. Thank you, both of you." She took off then, with her eyes shining and a determined glare. As she flew off, dozens of pegasus knights fell in with her, all knights who would defect to join us.

Well, things got interesting.

"You shouldn't move so much," I chided, reaching down to tap Princess Maria's shoulder. She sulked, using the mirror on the vanity to make sure I could see it. "Your hair is quite tangled." I sighed, reaching for my bowl of water to flick a bit more water on the tangles. If they weren't brushed out now, we'd have to cut them out. "Those soldiers sucked at taking care of little girls."

"Is it normal for her to fuss like this?" Princess Minerva asked Nyna, smiling slightly as she watched me brush Princess Maria's hair, and generally try to fix her appearance. "It seems so strange, considering how she fights."

"The soldiers have taken to describing her as 'mother and murder'," Nyna laughed, sipping her tea. She'd invited Princess Minerva for some evening tea in the rooms given to her at Castle Deil. We were going to stay and recuperate here for a few days before pressing forward to Knorda, and the castle. "It's spread quite a bit." I groaned at the reminder, already tired of the description. "Diana doesn't like how overused it is." Nyna stood, refilling Princess Minerva's cup. "So, Princess Minerva-"

"Minerva, please, Princess Nyna." She glanced at me. "That goes for you as well, Dame Diana. I'm more of a general than a princess anyway." She smiled slightly, but it faded quickly. "Now, Maria-"

"I'm helping the army!" Princess Maria insisted. She pouted. "No protesting! I wish to help!"

"What am I going to do with you?" Pri… Minerva sighed. "Why must you share my stubbornness? Real war is nothing like your stories of princes and damsels."

"No protesting! I'm not being locked away again. And I'm tired of being helpless!" She sniffed, eyes filling with tears. "S-so…"

"Ah, please don't cry!" Minerva got to her feet and came over to Princess Maria, dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve. "You can stay here. Just… be careful. Don't overwork yourself. If you need help, ask immediately."

"Okay…" Princess Maria sniffed again, but she smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Minerva…"

"I'm bad at disciplining you." Minerva sighed, and went back to her chair. "I'm sorry about this, Princess Nyna."

"No, no, it's fine," Nyna reassured. She smiled warmly. "I don't have siblings. Diana's the closest I've got, and I'm the younger one in that scenario."

"That's right; you're an only child," Minvera murmured. She smiled slightly. "I'm the middle child. I got both kinds of interactions. Duke Hardin is the younger brother, and Prince Marth has an older sister, yes?"

"Yes, he does, and Princess Caeda is an only child."

"I'm amazed that there are non-Macedonians who ride pegasi. It's impressive."

"It is, isn't it?"

"But far more impressive is how dashing Prince Marth is!" Princess Maria laughed, all traces of tears gone save for the redness in her eyes. Nyna and I exchanged a worried look over her head, though. "Does he have a girlfriend?"

"From what I hear, Maria, Prince Marth is courting Princess Caeda," Minerva instantly replied. Princess Maria sighed gustily. "It would be best not to interfere."

"What about helping them?"

"Well, we can work through that."

"Yay~!" Princess Maria giggled, but then suddenly yawned. "Oh…" She yawned a few more times, and then curled up in the chair. "Zzzz…"

"Today must've exhausted her," I murmured. I picked her up from the chair and moved her to the bed, tucking her in. "So, if you two want to talk serious matters, now's a good time."

"Is she alright, though?" Nyna asked. She frowned worriedly. "I mean… she just…"

"She's always done that," Minerva reassured. She didn't look quite as worried. "I wouldn't mind her getting checked over, later, but this doesn't startle me."

"If you say so…" Nyna still looked unsure, and so I sat on the bed by Princess Maria, keeping an eye on her. Nyna smiled in silent thanks. "Well, serious matters…"

"Everything about this war is 'serious'." Minerva sighed. "The whole world has gone mad…"

"Perhaps it might not have gone quite as mad if my father actually honored his promises." Nyna gave Minerva a mournful look. "I know he didn't help Macedon. I learned that, during my… imprisonment." She bowed her head. "I am… so sorry for him…"

"Not all good people are good rulers. He was clearly a good father, though." Minerva waved off the apology. "Truth be told, though, Princess Nyna, your father's only crime was… negligence. The lower nobles of Archanea would interfere with our lives constantly, and no matter how many times we asked for assistance, we were ignored." She sipped her tea calmly, as if she was just… reciting from a book. "We had no freedom, it felt, and we were… annoyed. Our country had been founded by former slaves. Iote fought and freed himself. It bothered us that we were being treated as slaves again."

"...I imagine it more than 'bothered' many."

"It did. But I fear I do not have the words for that intense anxiety, that horrible feeling of frustration." Her voice was so even, though. It was something she had long accepted. "Of course, as I got older, I found myself used to it. Where there is power, there is corruption. I saw it within my own people, so it didn't surprise me to see it elsewhere. So, I calmed. But Michalis grew angrier and angrier. His ambitions grew, and it bothered him that Macedon was not more prosperous. Archanea's quite… enslavement… angered him further, and fed into everything. Then the rumors came…"

"Rumors?"

"...Rumors that my father planned to remove him from succession." Minerva set her teacup down and clasped her hands in her lap. "In Macedon, you only remove the heir… if you are planning to execute them. Our father was a loyal man, a kind father, but he was conniving enough to fake something. Perhaps he wouldn't have even had to fake anything." Minerva sighed. "I heard about the rumors and took them to Michalis, wondering what was going on. He had no idea either, and went off to confront our father. He told me not to follow, and I didn't. Then, a few days later, our father was dead, by an 'Archanean' assassin."

"A… what?" Nyna let her perfect stoic mask fall for shock. "I… that's not…"

"Forgive me, but I knew it was nonsense because your father never cared enough, and someone who could kill a Macedonian king in his own bedroom would've been too expensive for a lesser noble to buy." She leaned back in her chair, and looked up at the ceiling. "With that as justification, Michalis declared that Macedon would side with Dolhr."

"And the people… accepted that?"

"People look to Michalis as the second coming of Iote, and everyone chafed under Archanea's…" She paused, struggling for a word, before shrugging, giving up. "We were the frontline, yet no one came to help. We fell, broken and bloody, and no one picked us up. Macedon would've been like Archanea if Michalis hadn't sided with Dolhr. He, with his pride, with his ambitions, couldn't abide that. Macedon was to be the strongest, even if it meant pretending to grovel while plotting how best to hamstring the leg."

"I see." Nyna looked saddened. "I wonder if I can reason with him-"

"No." Minerva shook her head. "No, not at this point. At this point…" She sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. Her eyes unfocused, and I wondered what she was actually seeing. "At this point, Michalis and I… we will fight. We will fight each other, and then…" She glanced at Maria, curled up asleep. "Well, Maria will only have one sibling after that."

"Minerva…"

"It's fine. I've made my resolution. He and I walk separate paths now." Minerva sighed once more and settled back in her chair, sipping the now cold tea. "This is a good blend. Citrus?"

"...Yes, it's something I got from Port Warren." Nyna gradually turned the conversation to lighter things, and I kept watch over all three of them.

I wondered if Minerva could keep her resolve when she actually fought her brother. Maybe she could. But I wondered anyway.

Jeorge took me up on my offer for tea after he finished his patrol. I left Nyna with Princess Caeda, and the two of us went up onto the roof, with me carrying some mugs of tea I'd made in the kitchens.

"Sorry it's not alcohol," I joked, passing him one. The two of us stretched out on the roof, with the stars overhead. "I can't handle that."

"I've heard many stories of how much of a lightweight you are," Jeorge teased right back. He smiled as he sipped the tea. "Ah, chamomile… what's this other bit?"

"Orange blossoms. It's pretty common in Aurelis."

"Really?"

"Yes?" I frowned. "Did you think I would lie about this?"

"Charles used to make up outrageous things to see if we'd believe them. Funnily enough, Astram is the one who tended to fall for them."

"Once he gets an idea in his head, it takes forever for him to calm down enough to make him listen." I giggled, unable to help it. "That does sound like Charles, though."

"He was always pulling tricks. I tended to play along, while Astram was fooled." He laughed too, but it was a much sadder sound than mine. "Those days were fun. We'd fight off bandits, then lounge and chat."

"Midia would cautiously step into the conversations, right? I'd watch her. She always looked so hesitant."

"She didn't want to seem like a clingy girlfriend, but she also didn't want to be excluded. Typically, Charles and I would just start teasing the hell out of her and Astram. I did that even when we were dating, actually." He snickered. "Astram did his best to not be obvious, but I could always see. And I could always see how her eyes were drawn to him."

"Did it bother you?"

"Not really. Midia and I were both pretty certain that our relationship wouldn't really last long. It was more of a 'try and see because our families are bothering the hell out of us'." He shrugged. "Besides, I was easily the warier of us too. She was very romantic, while I was more cautious, pragmatic. I was very much aware that our families just wanted to use the both of us." He smiled slightly. "You know the story of how they got together?"

"You pushed them in a lake, told them to stop being damned noble-minded, and just confess, all while laughing to reassure them that you were actually happy about the idea. Charles told me. He's the one who got Astram there."

"Yep. And, after some more yelling and laughing, they became lovers that day. Our families were livid, but…" He shrugged. "Of course, now I'm single, oh woe is me."

"Oh please. If you were really wanting company, you could just smile at a maid and she'd jump your bones." I frowned as he rolled his eye and muttered something I couldn't quite catch. "What was that?"

"It's nothing important." He smiled innocently when I scowled. "Now, then, what were we talking about?"

"You were reminiscing."

"That's right." He looked curiously at me. "You never did jump into those conversations, even when we invited you."

"I was content in seeing you guys having fun." I shrugged, not really sure how to explain it.

"...You didn't want to feel like Charles was 'making room' for you." Jeorge, of course, saw right to the core of it, damn him. "He mentioned he worried about that. You always looked like you were trying to find a place you could belong, while staying close to him."

"..." I wished I could deny it. But I couldn't. Regardless of how much I'd loved the Wolf Pack, I had always felt out of place. I'd never quite felt 'right'. "Well, it was the place that kept me safe when my previous one had betrayed me." My voice softened with each word, and I gulped my cooling tea to try and hide it. "I know about family using family. My parents tried to sell me to settle a debt."

"Ah, one of those." He gave me a sympathetic smile. He could put pieces together from there, since he had to know how young I was. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." I shook my head and looked out over everything. From here, we didn't really have a good view of anything but other parts of the castle, but it was still quite a sight. "Well, Midia can go home, when all of this is over."

"Very true." He accepted the change in subject easily. "Midia should be happy about that."

"Do you want to reclaim your home castle?"

"That near impossible place to reach in the mountains?" Jeorge scoffed and knocked back his own tea, like it was a shot. "No thanks. If our enemy has it, they can hold onto it until we have more than one aerial unit. Assuming they decided it was worth it. It's out of the way, after all, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the servants still hold it. It's easy to defend."

"As can be expected for your house."

"Calculating bastards, every last one of them. Well, not my sister, but she committed suicide because of our father's manipulations." He got a thoughtful look on his face. "The anniversary is coming up, now that I think about it."

"How long has it been?"

"Now? Three years. Archanea fell shortly after the first anniversary." He looked up at the stars, studying them closely. "She used to always tell me how the dead would look upon the world through stars, as a means of comforting me after Mother passed. I wonder which one she is."

"Mmm…" I knew that story. It was a pretty common in Archanea. They had numerous ones that tied the stars to the dead. "I bet… that one." I pointed to a particularly bright one nearby. "See? Its trying to catch your attention."

"...Maybe so." He smiled slowly, and it was a soft, bittersweet smile. "Well, hey there, sis. I miss you, but you're free, so I'm sure you're happy." His eyes sharpened, and he nudged me, pointing to another bright one. "I bet that's Charles. He was always fretting over you."

"Maybe…" Still, I smiled, and the two of us continued to simply stargaze until someone called that the 'second watch' was over. "We should head in."

"Yeah." He stretched a bit, and stood up slowly. "I must say; I quite enjoyed this evening." He smiled as he held out his hand. Rolling my eyes, I let him help me up, but he didn't let go of my hand. "I enjoyed it quite a bit." Then, watching me the whole time, he gently kissed my hand, and his smile grew as I gave him an incredulous look. "I'll take the mugs to the kitchen. I'm sure Princess Nyna is missing you." Without waiting for a reply, he did just that, whistling a happy little tune. It was only after he disappeared down the stairs that I brought my hand up, and touched the spot he'd kissed.

My hand… felt strangely warm from it, and I wasn't sure I liked what that hinted to.

Notes on Hardin:

The 27 year old Prince of Aurelis, heir to the throne.

Lovingly called 'the Coyote' by the people of the Lea, who look up and admire him for ending their enslavement. The people of Aurelis also seem to look to them as their hope.

Despite this, seems rather content in not being the figurehead. Jealous a bit, but that seems more because of his hidden feelings for Nyna, and not because he wants the fame.

A skilled warrior, he specializes in both swords and lances.

Notes on Wolf:

A 20 year old knight of Aurelis

Specializes in mounted archery, a signature style for those from the Lea.

Though he seems stoic, he's actually hotheaded and passionate. Because he was subjected to some of the worst of slavery, due to his pretty face, he is almost fanatically loyal to Hardin.

Notes on Sedgar:

A 21 year old knight of Aurelis

Specializes in mounted archery, a signature style for those from the Lea

The one normally in charge of reining in Wolf's temper, and who quietly takes care of everyone. Since he'd been thrown into fighting pits, he's very good at maintaining armor and weapons.

Notes on Vyland:

A 18 year old knight of Aurelis

Specializes in the same fighting style as Hardin

Seems close to Roshea, since the two have known each other since they were children, and trusts his judgement over his own.

Notes on Roshea:

A 15 year old knight of Aurelis

Specializes in the same fighting style as Hardin

A former slave, but perhaps because he was so young and sheltered from the worst of it, he is not as blindingly loyal to Hardin as the other four

Author's Notes: Now we have Minerva, who actually started her own Archetype of sympathetic wyvern riders who defect to your side (an example of the Archetype is Miredy, from FE6), and Maria, who… might have her own Archetype, actually? Not so certain on that one.

A lot of what Minerva talks about comes from the manga, but I cannot remember where I read about the rumors that her dad was going to remove Michalis from the throne (and, by their laws, basically execute him). I certainly can't find it again, so it might've been a fanfiction or something. Maria hitting Julian in the head with her staff upon being rescued also comes from the manga.

Next Chapter - Knorda Market