Interlude – To Altea

Kris POV

So, Khadein didn't yield what we wanted, but it was hard to call it a waste of time. Maybe because I've had to give examples for pretty boy, but… well, we liberated Khadein, adding their magical might to the army. We saved a few hostages, including Jubelo and Yuliya, who are adorable. We got a lot of supplies, including tomes and healing staves. And, perhaps most importantly, we actually know how to stop Gharnef, thanks to Gotoh somehow projecting himself and…

Yeah, I saw it and I'm still confused. But, point is, we got a lot from it. We just didn't get what we wanted: Falchion. But while we did need to search also for these precious spheres or whatever… Altea is too close. We can't leave it again. Altea… home… we're finally…

"You're lying!" I laughed, actually falling on my back as I cackled hard enough to make my stomach hurt. "There's no way!"

"In my defense, I didn't know that chemical was so explosive!" Merric defended, face red. But he was laughing too, barely sitting up straight. "And then I didn't want anyone to know it was my fault there was a hole in the wall, so…"

"So you just ran?" Linde asked. Her voice wobbled with her own laughter, and she shifted to tuck her legs a little better under her. "Seriously?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time!"

The three of us dissolved into more laughter, unable to do anything else. We were finally out of the damn desert, and technically speaking, we were in Altea. The cool wind and beautifully clean rivers led all of us to stop early for the day, and many jumped into said rivers for swimming and the like. I'd actually participated for a bit, but when I'd gotten out to dry off, Linde of all people snagged me and dragged me into a conversation with Merric. I'd panicked for a brief moment, but Linde launched into a ridiculous tale involving magical antics, and that prompted more, and more, and more, until we spent most of our time laughing because we barely had the breath to tell stories.

I managed to recover first, even if I was literally crying from laughing so hard, and I swung up to sit a little more properly. We were basically on the edge of the center, in a nice patch of cool green-green grass. It was a relief to be out of the desert, and I hoped dearly I wouldn't ever, ever, have to deal with one again. I swore I still had sand stuck in my underwear. But a quick glance at the others in camp hinted I wasn't the only one relieved. The whole camp was filled with laughter and shrieks.

Winces caught my attention and I focused on them instantly, worried. But I softened when I realized the sources were Jubelo and Yuliya. Well, I softened when I realized Diana was near. The Grustian Twins were fidgety and scared of everything still, but there had been some progress. They actually were willing to leave Diana's tent, and even spend a few moments away from her. But, inevitably, they'd panic and rush back to her, clinging tightly, as they did now.

Diana didn't seem to mind, though. She was mending one of Linde's dresses, based on how pink the cloth was at least, and she easily adapted to the two. She let them lean against her, and she actually set the mending to the side and pulled out a bit of balm from somewhere to rub on their arms and hands. She worked slowly and gently, talking to them, and when she finished, she gave them tiny slices of fresh cheese. I knew it was, because yesterday, she'd asked for my help to find a mild cheese that the two could stomach. The two had a bad habit of gobbling all the food they could, likely because they'd spent so long without, and it had led to messes when their stomachs couldn't take it.

"Looks like they're doing okay," Merric commented. He and Linde had finally calmed down enough, though their faces were still blotchy from the laughter. "Looks like they're gaining some weight."

"They are!" Linde happily confirmed. It didn't surprise me that she knew. She helped out in the infirmary a lot nowadays, doing extra chores. I was one of the only people who knew it was because she'd been assigned that as punishment for rushing ahead; I'd been one of the ones who'd weighed in on her punishment, actually. Marth had asked for my opinion. "So slowly though…"

"Well, rapid weight gain would be bad for them too."

"Mmm, true." Linde looked over and smiled at them. The two had squirmed their way into Diana's lap, and she was laughing, hugging them. When they settled, Minerva came by to chat with the three. "I hope they feel safer soon, at least."

"They're healing," I pointed out. Just days ago, the sight of Minerva made them shake. Now, though, they smiled at her, even if they still held themselves stiffly. "And I think they spend time with Wendell?"

"Master Wendell is used to tending to scared children," Merric replied. His smile was sad now. "There's a few that come to Khadein terrified of their gifts. Not a lot, thankfully. But some."

"I guess the ability to conjure fire from squiggles on a page is frightening." I grinned as the other two laughed. I was far more relaxed than I thought they'd be around them. Perhaps I should've talked to them sooner. "Is he teaching them?"

"He is, actually. Both have a strong magic potential, though given their physical condition, it's entirely possibly…" Merric frowned. "Basically, their bodies are weak, and it's possible that they will never be able to reach their full potential because of it. They're still growing, after all, and they're dealing with so much."

"Well, given that no one has any significant resistance to magic, a little less power isn't going to bother much," Linde cheerfully pointed out. There was a flicker of pain in her eyes, but she smiled brightly, masking it. "Oh, but that reminds me. Nyna and Lena have been teaching me how to use healing staves."

"That's not a bad idea, actually," Merrick replied. His face lit up with a smile. "More healers can only be a boon, and the theories involved healing magic are fascinating."

"That's what I was thinking."

"Well, you two can enjoy that," I sighed. I smiled wryly as they both gave me a confused look. "I'm learning swords. I don't have the time to spare for a third weapon. Not yet, at least."

"Well, we can still show you the basics," Merric pointed out. He was back to smiling. "The three of us can coordinate and work on our own magical training schedule. That would free up Master Wendell to focus more on those two, and help wean them off their dependency to Diana."

"That… does sound interesting." I was surprised I said that. I never thought I'd do that. But both of them smiled, and I found myself smiling back. "Okay, let's try to figure out when the three of us have free time during a normal day."

The three of us… well, we did start it. But then someone started with another story and we were back to laughing far too hard. That was fine, though. That was fine. It was fun, and fun would be in short supply soon.

When Altea was free, we'd really be marching hard to end the war. We had to seize what bits of leisure we could.

"And, there!" Cain landed a pretty hard blow to my side, enough to make me gasp and stumble, nearly dropping the blade. "That's-"

"I'm not done yet!" I snapped, swinging for his face. He blocked it with his arm, and then aimed the point of his practice sword at my throat. "Grr… not fair. You can't block with your arm."

"Yes, I can. I wear armor," Cain pointed out. He stepped back, and very easily disarmed me as well. "You, however, don't. That blow to your side would've crippled you more if it was blades."

"Lame." I glowered, but I softened when he smiled and headed for the side of the practice area, where we had towels and water already set up. We hadn't really wanted to spar this morning, while we were still in the desert, so we were making up for it now that it was evening and everyone was settling in for the night. "Ah, I love having fresh water available regularly. I never want to deal with a desert again!"

"And just think, you didn't have to try and lead a horse through it." He shuddered and I laughed. It was easy to laugh about it now. When we were actually there, though? It had been terrifying, especially for us Alteans.

The horses we had… the horses Cain, Abel, and Jagan rode… They were the same ones from Altea's fall. It would've been heartbreaking if those beasts, much as I disliked them, couldn't make it home too. We were so close. I would've hated it. I was glad they'd made it.

"Well, we more or less made it through," I pointed out, forcing cheerfulness. I was well aware that some of our number died, despite the healers' best efforts, thanks to the battle. I knew because Marth had been crying over it. He hated it so much. "So, we're heading home."

"We are," Cain replied. He passed me a towel and wiped the sweat off his face. "We're almost back."

"Yeah…" It felt so long ago. It felt like lifetimes ago. "But we won't get to enjoy it much, will we?"

"I imagine we'll rest for a short while, but we'd have to march on Gharnef and Medeus." Cain sighed, and looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, casting everything in a red-pink hue. His hair was redder than normal in this light. "A shame. I'd rather stay. But there's no way I could face the fallen if I did. Like Frey."

"We need to have a proper funeral for him." The thought hurt. So, I switched to another one. "There's no way we can leave our silly prince, either." I wouldn't want to. He needed a place to hide, especially since the battles would only get bigger from here. "We can liberate it, but it'll still be a while until we're home-home, huh?"

"Yeah." He glanced at me. "What will you do?"

"…I have no idea, actually." I patted my face with the towel, mostly to buy me time to think of an answer. "I haven't had a home since Grandfather passed. I just stayed wherever."

"Well, I imagine you'd be welcomed in the palace." He smiled warmly. "In fact, I think… most of us were kind of assuming you'd live there with us. It's hard to imagine life without you, you know."

"I suppose." My face prickled with heat. Blushing. I was blushing. "I also suppose I'll have to think on what I'll do, even if I have free board." I grinned at him, hoping the fading light hid how red my face was becoming. "I have to make myself useful, after all."

"Considering this war, I think you'd earn a spoiled, restful life."

"Well, maybe I will, if you do as well." …That came out weird. "I mean; Jagan looks like he'll never retire!" That made it… little better. "Whatever. You know what I mean. You're going to keep being the proper knight, right?"

"Well, of course. Abel's debating retiring, though." Cain's expression fell at that. "He's as loyal as ever, but the constant battles are starting to wear on him. But Draug will stay. Jagan, Gordin, me… we'll all stay, likely."

"See? I need to keep up!" My grin widened. "After all, I still need to make you regret giving me these lessons."

"I maintain that I would never regret spending time with you." He paused. My face went redder. "There is no way to say that without…"

"Right, I know. It's fine." Still, I felt fidgety. Awkward. I had to fight to keep still. This just… felt weird. "Um…" I glanced to the side, an impulse suddenly filling me. And my impulse control was bad. "So, Cain?"

"Yes?"

"Um…" I leaned up and I kissed him on the cheek. "For luck, or something. You see it a lot."

And I bolted before he could react, because I wasn't quite sure what was going on. I mean; was it a crush? I've experienced crushes in the past. But this was a bit… warmer. Bigger. It was also a hell of a lot more awkward!

"Kris?" A voice startled me, and I skidded to a stop just before I completely passed Caeda. She looked at me curiously, and a quick look showed that I was in front of our tent and she had no guests. "Kris, is everything okay?" she asked, frowning slightly. She bent down to peer at me. "You're… quite red."

"Is it that noticeable?!" I squeaked. I pressed a hand to my face, and winced when I felt how warm it was. "Uh…"

"Do you have a fever?" She rested a hand on my forehead. "Mmm… maybe…? I'll go get-"

"I'm not sick!" I scowled, now just feeling unreasonably annoyed. "I'm just… um…"

"Well, if you're not sick, then you're horribly embarrassed. Or overheating. You were having an evening training session with…" She trailed off, eyes becoming thoughtful. And then she smirked. She smirked like a damn cat and she wrapped her arms around mine, tugging me inside her tent. "Sooooo, you're crushing on Cain?"

"Hell if I know!" But my face did go redder. "That's… um… okay, look, I've had crushes in the past, but this just feels bigger or…"

"You're in love~" She giggled and sat me down. "Oh, this is wonderful! Let's gossip!"

"You're getting me back for all the times I've teased you about Marth, aren't you?"

"Yep!" She grinned, unrepentant, and I groaned, finding a random pillow to just attempt to hide behind. "I'll make some tea!"

The worst part was that I knew I wouldn't be able to get away. So, I suffered through her teasing and advice, while plotting my own plan: just plain avoid Cain until I had time to hide better. I wasn't sure how much of a success it would be, but it was certainly preferable than dealing with the aftermath of me kissing him!

Author's note: Cheese is often recommended to help malnourished children regain essential nutrients, though of course, it can vary wildly depending on circumstances. Just a bit of a break given everything that happened last chapter.

Next Chapter – Battle for Altea (Fun fact, we're about fifteen chapters from the end, including Interludes, give or take)