Chapter 14) The Battle for Altea

Diana POV

Altea was known for being beautiful. It was blessed with fertile soil and clear waters, meaning it was relatively easy for people to live there. There were problems, of course. Arrogant idiots for knights, blindly loyal fools. Lack of proper orphanages and help for those in poverty. It wasn't perfect. But it had, at least, been beautiful.

But as we tread deeper into Altea, it's easy to see that the beauty had fled. Barren farms, ruined villages, forlorn stares of people who had given up… There was no beauty here. There was no hope. Medy had wanted Altea to suffer, and it did. It had broken. Now, it was up to us to recover the pieces.

Altea would be freed today. That was the promise all swore.

"Yuliya, don't fuss so much," I chided gently. She immediately made a face. "I know it's bothersome, but you were lightheaded earlier today, so I'd rather you don't push yourself."

"I'm sorry," Yuliya muttered. She continued to sulk, but did her best to hold still. "I should just be happy that I have clean clothes to change into."

"It's so hard to be grateful when you're told, constantly, how grateful you should be." I winked and she giggled, relaxing. "Now, then, let me get these buttons…"

It was strangely quiet this morning, but that was to be expected. We had set up on the outskirts of Altea's capital, preparing to lay siege on it. Scouts had been running around the past two days to set everything up. It was the calm before the storm, and here I was, helping Yuliya and Jubelo change their clothes because some kindly soldier accidentally gave them food too rich for them and they got sick.

"Jubelo, how is your stomach, sweetie?" I asked as I worked on Yuliya's buttons. I glanced over to where he was curled up on my cot, nibbling on some ginger root Abel had scavenged for the healers. "Is it better?"

"A little," he murmured. He smiled sweetly, and sleepily. He'd been up a lot last night due to nightmares, so that didn't surprise me. "How is your back, Diana?"

"It's fine." Mostly. Though my other injuries healed up well thanks to healing magic, the wound on my back, where I'd taken a glancing blow from Imhullu, actually resisted healing magic, making it far, far less effective. Thankfully, between elixirs, vulneraries, and other herbal concoctions, it was healing very nicely. I just still did have the injury and I had to keep an eye on it. "It's sweet of you to ask, Jubelo."

"Master Wendell says that I'll be able to heal," Yuliya happily commented. Her eyes sparkled and I smiled, glad to see it. I'd been very hesitant at Wendell giving them lessons, mostly because I was worried they'd have a bad association with magic and mages thanks to Gharnef, but they blossomed under his gentle teachings. "When I learn, I'll be able to heal you!"

"And you are also sweet, Yuliya," I gently teased. She made a face, but smiled. She giggled when I leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I look forward to…" A gentle 'knock' on the front of my tent made me pause, and I glanced at it curiously. I wasn't expecting anyone. Nyna was talking with Marth, while Astram and Midia were cuddling a bit before battle. "Come in?"

"Sorry to bother." Minerva stepped inside and smiled softly. Yuliya and Jubelo smiled back, hesitant yet warm. She cut an intimidating figure, but they were quickly becoming friends with Maria. "I wanted to check in," she explained. "I was out scouting during the War Meeting."

"Oh, you want to know about where these two will go?" I asked. I almost sighed when she nodded. It had been quite the topic of debate the past few days. "They're going to be set up in a tent next to the infirmary, one with extra bandages and the like." I'd really wanted to leave him in a nearby village or fort for protection, but the two nearly had panic attacks when we tried something similar yesterday. "Do you have a suggestion?"

"There's a fort to the south that seems to be less guarded. Prince Marth remembered it because it's the fort where he briefly hid when Altea fell." Minerva crossed her arms and shifted all her weight to her left foot. "My thought was that I request we free it at once and move the infirmary within. Then these two won't necessarily have to be so close to the dead and dying."

"True." I finished buttoning Yuliya's dress and shifted so that I could look her and Jubelo in the eye. "Does that sound better to you? You won't necessarily be able to see me as easily, but you'll be within walls."

Yuliya and Jubelo looked at each other, silently conversing, before nodding. "We'd like to try it, at least," Yuliya said. She clasped her hands in front of her, almost hiding their shaking. "Being within walls sounds safer, at least, both for us and the injured."

"Well said," Minerva murmured. She leaned down and carefully ruffled Yuliya's hair. Yuliya giggled at the gesture, as she did with all gestures of affection. I wondered if it was because she rarely experienced them. "I'll leave to do that, then." She made a point to also ruffle Jubelo's hair before actually leaving, though. She was always careful to make sure she gave equal affection to both of them.

But when she left, I noticed that Jubelo's smile had faded. "What's wrong, Jubelo?" I asked. I picked up Yuliya and set her on the cot next to him. Her own smile had faded. "Come now. Talk to me."

"Gharnef isn't going to get us again, right?" Jubelo asked. He sat up slowly and he scooted closer to Yuliya. "We're fighting people. But Gharnef won't…"

"Never," I told him firmly. I knelt down and took their hands, still so small and thin. "He'll never hurt you two again. I promise."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"…Okay…" He smiled tentatively, like he didn't quite believe me, but wanted to. Yuliya didn't even do that much. "Can I have my toy?"

"Of course." I stood up again and plucked their stuffed bear and cat from where I'd washed them. They were still a bit damp, but they were dry enough. "Here you go." I smiled as both took them quickly. "Now then…"

"Diana?" Hardin walked in then, but paused as the twins both squeaked and tried to duck behind me. "I need to remember they don't take sudden intrusions well," he sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, you two."

"You also keep forgetting that you're quite intimidating, Hardin," I gently teased. I turned away and worked on calming Jubelo and Yuliya down again. Luckily, it didn't take long. "Did you need something?"

"I was letting you know that Minerva got her permission, and went on ahead. The fort is close enough to the expected battles that the injured can be carried easily, but far enough away that they shouldn't notice immediately that it's been taken." Harden passed Jubelo and Yuliya pieces of cheese and, after a moment, they took it from him to nibble. "They look well."

"They're recovering." I stepped away from them then, and it didn't escape me that their eyes instantly followed me before they slowly relaxed. "I fear it will take years."

"It will. I remember helping Wolf and Sedgar recover. In many ways, I can still see the scars." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "And how are you doing, Diana?"

"I'm… doing." I smiled slightly and shrugged. "I'm here. I'm alive. I'm healing."

"You're not too tired?" He opened his eyes again to study my face. "You've been running around taking care of them, on top of your other duties."

"Linde assists me often, and honestly, taking care of them is more of a pleasure than a chore." I laughed softly, glancing over at them again. They were still just nibbling on their cheese, nudging each other shyly and playing with their toys. "But how are you? Are you not too tired?"

"No, I still hold onto my health, thankfully." He smiled slightly. "When things are calmer, though, there is something I wish to talk about."

"Certainly." A shout caught my attention, and I poked my head out of the tent to see the soldiers scrambling for final preparations. "It's time."

"It is." Hardin pushed aside the flap, eyes narrowed. "May luck be with us."

"May it, indeed."

Minerva got the fort with ease, and we'd just managed to set up the infirmary before the wounded came. Thanks to the fort, I didn't actually need to 'guard' so much as do triage and help direct victims. Unfortunately, though, it wasn't just soldiers coming in. Our enemy had no qualms in running down civilians to get to ours sooner and, worse, we actually had some… well, the new 'ruler' of Altea had encouraged violence against Alteans. We had quite a few who managed to survive and they came to us for aid.

"Ah, there's so much going on," I murmured, leaning briefly against the wall. I was almost stiff from the amount of blood covering me. I'd have to find a way to wash the worst off before I visited Yuliya, Jubelo, and Maria again. "Okay, break over." Sighing, I pushed myself off the wall and tried to take a step. But then I slipped on excess blood and nearly fell on my face.

I only didn't because someone caught me. "Easy, you must be exhausted." The someone helped me up and I looked up to see it was Jeorge, of all people. "That said, there is a lot of blood around," he murmured, frowning at the puddles on the floor. "The hell happened here?"

"Someone was carrying an injured soldier, but didn't secure the broken leg, so the tibia snapped and ruptured an artery. I think." I rattled it of automatically, looking away in a sudden and horribly pathetic bit of embarrassment. This was the first time we'd interacted since… "I'd been meeting them, so we struggled to get a tourniquet on the leg here."

"Did they make it?"

"No, they didn't. It hit one of those big arteries." They'd bled out before I could even make it over. "It took a while to convince their friend of it, though."

"I see." His hands lingered on my shoulders. "Where are the little ones?"

"Yuliya and Jubelo? They're helping Maria, actually. We're giving them to less injured ones to tend to, to free up space where Nyna, Lena, and Wrys are working."

"Poor Wrys. I always forget about him."

"To be fair, he's quiet." I often forgot about him too, and I was often at the infirmary. Nyna, Lena, and Maria talked to me far more readily. "So, what brings you inside?" I looked up curiously, frowning as I caught sight of a bandage around his throat. "You're injured."

"Not badly. This was actually tended to in the field by Astram." He reached up to touch the bandage. "Draug nearly got electrocuted thanks to a mage, though. Prince Marth ordered him inside to get checked over, so Gordin asked if I'd help."

"I see." I hadn't seen any of them come in. "Well, um…"

"When things are calm, I'd like to continue that talk." His voice was soft and he smiled slightly as he looked at me. "If that is all right?"

"Yeah, sure, that's fine." Truthfully, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear, but I didn't want to run away again.

"Good." His smile grew. "Good."

"Oh, sorry!" The voice made both of us turn, and I frowned when I saw it was Nyna, a blood splattered Nyna with her hair falling slightly out of her bun. But there was something off about her. "I didn't mean to interrupt," she continued lightly, smiling slightly. But there was more cheer to the smile than I was used to. "There was a prisoner in the dungeons though, Diana." Her posture was not as refined. Her demeanor was not as tired or sad. "Can you go check on him?"

I studied her for a long while, noting those differences, and then noticing something else in particular. "…Who are you?" I whispered instead. 'Nyna's' face frowned for confusion, but even that frown was off. "First of all, Nyna wouldn't leave the infirmary just to tell me that. Second of all, Nyna would be far more exhausted from healing people. Third of all…" My eyes fell to her hands, and I noticed something else, far more telling. "Third of all, Nyna wouldn't have blood on her hands. She cleans them frequently because mixing blood can be very bad."

"Not to mention that Princess Nyna wouldn't ask Diana to check on the prisoner," Jeorge added. His eyes narrowed and he shifted, getting a hand over his quiver. "Diana has a bad habit of getting injured when sent off on missions, and that can't be afforded with something like this."

"True. I've actually been forbidden to do things like that." My own hand dropped to the hilt of my sword. "So, I ask again. Who the hell are you?"

"Wow, you two are good," 'Nyna' laughed. Her form shimmered briefly before revealing a pink-haired man with a feather tucked behind his ear. "Interesting, interesting. You two are-WHOA!" He ducked under the arrow Jeorge shot and then squeaked as I got a sword at his throat. "Ahaha… ha… this isn't a very friendly greeting, you know."

"You have three seconds to reassure me that Nyna is well," I informed him, smiling icily. Behind me, Jeorge drew another arrow. "Maybe less for him."

"She's fine; she's fine! My name is Xane, I can shapeshift into people I've seen, and I made the mistake of thinking this would be a good prank!" He smiled nervously, but there was a calculating glint to his eye. I didn't think he was lying, but he also wasn't as helpless as he was pretending. "So, if we can just…"

"Jeorge, go ahead and join the others." I stepped back, eyes and blade never leaving Xane. "I don't think he's lying, for now."

"…All right," Jeorge murmured. He eyed Xane warily, but nodded. "I'll return to the battle. Stay safe."

"And you," I murmured. I kept my attention firmly on Xane, barely hearing Jeorge walk away. "Now, then. I'm going to remove the blade and you and I will have a lovely conversation. But if any of the healers or children are harmed, I will chase you all the way to hell to kill you."

"I can't tell if you're a psycho or a mother," Xane muttered. He squeaked as I moved the blade closer. "Okay, okay! They're fine! Or were fine when I left!"

"Good." I brought my sword to my side, watching as he checked his neck for nicks. "Now. What were you doing?"

"I was freed, and I went to pay my respects, and this Nyna girl said 'find Diana and let her know', and so I was like 'sure' and decided to play a little prank!" He groaned, smoothing down his vest. "Which, apparently, was a really bad idea."

"Apparently so." I stepped back to give him a little more room. "So, why were you imprisoned?"

"Well, these Dolhr lovelies were very insistent of me wasting my considerable talents with them!" Xane shrugged and rested his arms behind his head. "I told them to screw themselves; the mage dragon in charge decided I'd 'face my doom' and threw me in here."

"If you don't wish to fight, why did you not simply flee when you were freed?"

"I want to meet Prince Marth, the supposed savior of the world." He flashed a smile, but it was worn and tired. "Humans are such fools, but I can't help but watch the madness unfold."

"…You…" I frowned, noticing the phrase. "Are you a manakete?"

"Nope! Not anymore, anyway. I've no idea what I am, anymore." He shrugged and leaned casually against the wall. Now I could see how old his eyes were. "I'm not as old as Bantu and Gotoh. But I'm quite old, yet things always remain the same. Humans are idiots."

"So, why do you want to see Prince Marth?"

"As I said, I can't help but watch the madness unfold. It's a strange fascination, like watching a building collapse in front of you." He laughed, but it sounded fake. "And, well, every once in a while, I get to see a human who surprises me. Not many can see through my disguises so quickly."

"Are you currently a friend or foe?"

"I'm looking at a girl who has made it clear, multiple times, that she will kill me." He gave me a droll look, and I had to fight off a squirm. It was an idiotic question. "I'm not stupid enough to announce 'foe'. That said…" He smiled slightly. "That said, while I sympathize with Medeus, my loyalty is, as normal, to Gotoh, and he's helping you lot. So, here I am. Came a bit early, though."

"…I see." I studied him for a long moment before sighing and sheathing my sword outright. "This way, please. Do you happen to copy people's abilities?"

"I can." He looked confused. "So, I just say that I'm loyal and you'll believe me?"

"You just admitted that you can take the abilities of people you've seen. You've clearly seen Medy, or Gotoh. You have seen soldiers and clearly you can change your clothes. If you wanted to kill us, you would've just done it." I glared at him, though. "If you abuse this trust, I will find a way to slaughter you, and I will find a way to make it as painful as possible. But I'm learning how to trust people. I might as well take the leap of faith. Nyna would want me to."

"…For the record, I can't actually copy manaketes." He started laughing, shaking his head. "Humans are such fools. But that's why Gotoh loves you lot, even when he tries to wash his hands of you."

"I'll simply take your word for it. Now, as I said, this way." I gestured down the hall. "You can help the healers. Please keep pranks to a minimum."

"As long as things are serious. I make no promises when things aren't."

"Very well. But if you try them on me, you will find the business end of my blade in a very uncomfortable spot."

"Noted!"

After dropping off Xane with the healers, I continued with my duties of helping the injured in and fighting off the few soldiers that decided to try to retake the fort. There weren't many, truthfully; the enemy had their hands full dealing with the bulk of the army. So, I spent my time mostly on the roof of the fort, helping the fliers ferry people within, and chatting with Minerva.

"So, there's almost a path to the castle?" I asked, not sure if I felt relieved or not. I simply leaned against the ramparts, watching the chaotic battle below. "Will there be a strike group like last time?"

"Well, last time, it was mostly to try and stop an execution," Minerva gently reminded. She actually sat on the ramparts, giving her wyvern a bit of a break. It rested behind us, breath still a bit ragged. "But likely, we'll do the same. The soldiers out here won't stop fighting simply because we secured the gates, after all."

"True." I couldn't help but smile bitterly, noting how distant the fighting felt. I normally stayed away from the thick of the fighting anyway, but up here, everything felt so strangely calm. "Well, I'm definitely remaining here. Last time I infiltrated a castle, I nearly died and broke my ankle."

"You also killed a dragon."

"With help, if you'll recall." I laughed, and she joined in after a moment. "We're so incredibly insane."

"We are." She laughed a little harder. "We're lowly humans fighting dragons and immortal sorcerers, on the way to find legendary weapons to actually kill them. It's like a story."

"It very much is." I let my laughter fade as I saw a particularly brutal thunder-spear crush through the enemy lines. Kris's Thoron. It was followed quickly by Merric's Excalibur and Linde's Aura. "They're at the doors, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but they still have to break through." She swung around and hopped down onto the roof, resting her hand on her wyvern. "I should probably head back."

"Probably." I needed to head back inside as well. I'd only come up here for a quick break. "Well, have fun conquering the castle and…" I trailed off, a horrified thought occurring to me. There was something Xane had said, and I stupidly let it pass, but now… "Minerva, wait here a moment."

"Sure?" She frowned, tilting her head slightly. "Why?"

"Just… wait here a moment, because I think there's a dragon inside the castle."

"We took that possibility in account, remember?"

"Yes, but…" I shook my head. "Just stay here for me to confirm something." And I took off, taking the stairs four at a time as I raced through the floors and halls, heading for the room with the 'less injured'.

I got lucky. Xane wasn't busy and actually near the door, so I could snatch his arm quickly and drag him down the hall.

"Hey, hey, hold on!" he yelped, trying to dig his heels. Despite him being taller, I actually had a strength advantage on him, and the advantage of him being bent awkwardly due to my dragging. "I've been behaving, damn it!"

"Not why I'm dragging you," I explained, turning a corner. "I just wanted to keep away from those who might panic." I turned to face him, tightening my grip on his arm. "Earlier, you mentioned a 'mage dragon'."

"Yes, I did?" He frowned. "You didn't react."

"I was distracted. Now I'm not." I scowled, but my frustration was mostly at myself. "They're almost inside. What is the difference between a 'mage dragon' and the dragon we killed in Archanea? Anything?"

"Oh, likely a lot of things. Mage dragons are rarer, so Medeus keeps them close. One is here because that's how much Medeus hates Altea." Xane glanced up at the ceiling, free hand sketching out thoughts. "What was the dragon you fought in Archanea like?"

"Arrogant, large, breathed fire?"

"Fire dragon then, like Bantu." He looked down at me again. "Mage dragons, though? Their breaths are pure magic, and they are also incredibly resistant to magic. Doesn't matter what spells you use. It will bounce off their scales."

"So, it's effectively immune to magic." I bit my lip. "Thank you. I'm sorry for dragging you. But they're literally…"

"Certainly." Xane sighed. "Sadly, this is actually a reason why Gotoh wanted me with you guys. He didn't know if Bantu were with you lot, or if you'd bother him."

"Clearly, we should've." But Bantu had taken so much damage in Archanea that we simply let him be, forgetting he was more than a kindly old man. "Thank you."

I left him then, returning to the roof with Minerva. I quickly told her what I knew, and she'd taken off to get that knowledge to Prince Marth as soon as possible. I watched her leave, and I remained above, watching the waters turn red-pink-yellow from all the injuries. Watching the corpses of soldiers, horses, and pegasi bob awkwardly in the waters. Watching the churned and bloody mud slowly coat the shattered armor and broken weapons of even more dead.

"Diana." Nyna appeared next to me, and this time, I knew it was her. She was far too tired and sad to be Xane. "Lena is making me take a break," she murmured, brushing back some strands that clung to her sweaty face. Her hands, of course, were clean. "They're almost inside."

"Yeah, they are," I confirmed, turning my attention back to the battlefield. Two ballistae bolts flew over the soldiers' heads and a loud crunching-crack told me that they'd destroyed the front gates. "Should we send some healers down for a secondary infirmary?"

"I'll ask Lena, but honestly, there are so many wounded that I don't think we can spare any." She smiled bitterly. "We simply must choose between whether we write these out to die to maybe save those still fighting, or risk those still fighting to maybe save those we have."

"Quite the choice."

"Isn't it?" She glanced at me before looking up at the sky. It was a strangely cloudless day, with the sun all-but-sparkling. "Do you think, if I pray, the gods will finally hear me?"

"I don't know, Nyna." I looked up as well before turning my attention back to the field. "But hey, you're on break. What can it hurt?"

Maybe we all needed to pray for this to work. Everything would ride on this next battle.

Notes on Linde:

Daughter of Pontifex Miloah, wielder of the powerful Aura spell, a kind girl at heart who desperately wants to be useful.

A powerful magic user, and her power is only increased thanks to Aura, and she's quite speedy as well. However, because she doesn't wear armor and doesn't have a lot of stamina, she always has to have a guard on the field.

While outwardly confident, she does hold some insecurities and every once in a while, you're reminded that she's only fifteen. She struggles to maintain maturity, though.

Notes on Jake:

A ballistician Caeda recruited while fighting in Archanea, he joined because his girlfriend, Anna, requested it.

Though ballista are very situational, he's capable of holding his own. He's particularly useful for dealing with flying units and destroying walls.

Not very military minded, and seems to have a keen eye for finding hidden shops in a market.

Author's notes: Xane is very interesting as he's the only character in the entire series who can copy another unit's abilities. It's revealed in FE3/12 that he's actually a former divine dragon who lost his ability to transform, and that he's old enough to remember how humanity treated the manaketes. He also mentions a few times in those games that while he likes Marth, he's not fond of humanity as a whole, though there's some implication that he's actually just keeping his distance because humans are gone too soon. He is also a very noted prankster, but it's not the sort of prank Diana would take kindly to. Her and Jeorge seeing through his disguise pretty quickly is mostly based on how Xane doesn't actually know Nyna that well, so it's not a 'perfect' imitation.

As for the fort Xane is in being the same from the prologue? I looked at the maps and happened to notice the similarity between them.

Next Chapter – Star and Savior