Chapter 15) Star and Savior

We breached the main castle gates. It's been a long battle and, unfortunately, it's just going to keep on going. We're tired, but eager. This is Altea castle. This is something we need to recapture. This is what I had been fighting for, for two years. It was here. It was actually here.

That made no sense. My thoughts were so chaotic right now. I couldn't believe we made it. We actually did make it back.

Something was going to go wrong. Something was going to go very wrong, very fast. I knew that because everything had gone far too well during the battle. We even picked up a few new members! I had no idea what their names were, or where they were, but we had them. So, I was certain something was going to go very wrong, very fast. But if my companions had the same worries, they didn't show it on their faces. Instead, they ran and fought with grim determination.

As we got closer to the inner walls, though, we hit a bit of a hiccup. It wasn't 'wrong', since we'd anticipated guards for the inner gates. But there were more than we guessed. There were far more, actually.

"They must've taken some from other locations to reinforce here," Marth whispered as we peered around a corner of some statue. There was already fighting, of course, but Marth and I had lingered back. "We'll have to switch to plan B then."

"I think we're on plan C, pretty boy," I retorted. Still, I didn't mind. "Right, I'll take lead. I remember the ways inside. We'll split into groups."

"With someone taking command here, to continue serving as bait." Marth raised his hand and Cain appeared at his side. I tried to ignore him, pretending to be thinking about something. "Cain, can you hold here?"

"Of course, my prince," Cain replied. He didn't so much as glance at me as he bowed. Part of me felt irritated about that. "You will head inside, then?"

"Yes, tell the others to enter through the paths Kris explained earlier," Marth ordered. He smiled kindly. "Kris and I will go a different way, and head straight for the throne room."

"Well, not straight-straight," I half-protested. I looked out at… something instead of them. "We'll likely hide to give time for you all to lure more people from the throne room."

"Yes, that." Marth looked between Cain and me in slight confusion before shrugging. "We'll be leaving. Stay alive, Cain."

"Stay safe, you two." Cain left then, just before I realized he'd included me in that sentence. But there was no time, really, to… do much of anything besides the plan.

Battles really did move far, far too fast sometimes.

Marth and I darted around the battlefield, taking advantage of the shadows to pass mostly undetected. One or two caught us, but they didn't get to live to blab about it. As we ran, I found familiar landmarks, and could almost smile. They looked different in the daylight, but I knew this path. I knew this area. I could've laughed as we came under a window I knew very, very well.

"So, silly prince," I began. I couldn't suppress my grin as I looked at him. "You good at climbing?"

"Considering everything, I think I can be a fast study," Marth instantly replied. His own smile hinted he knew why I'd asked. "You'll definitely have to go first, though. I still don't know how you managed to climb this."

"Just do as I do." It had been a while since I had to actually sneak into a place, but as I began my climb, I found the old instincts hadn't died. It was easy and some part of me wanted to just scramble up like I used to, but I went slow until I got to the window ledge and pulled myself inside. When I turned and looked down, I saw him eyeing the wall dubiously. "Well, come on."

"I said it back then, and I'll say it again. You have high hopes for my flexibility." Still, Marth sighed and carefully began following my path. He slipped a couple of times, but he managed to catch himself and keep on going.

When he was close enough, I gave him my hand, and helped pull him inside. "You're still slower than a legless turtle."

"I made it this time!" Marth grinned, using his cape to wipe the sweat off. "Okay, where to… oh, Caeda!" Marth leaned out the window slightly as Caeda flew near. "I thought you were staying outside?"

"I am," Caeda replied. She frowned slightly, and I knew she wanted to come with us. But a pegasus was best suited for outdoor combat. "I was helping Minerva find you. She has a message from Diana, but I don't know what. Something that they learned from a prisoner about the palace?"

"In that case, see that Cain or Abel learns," Marth replied. I almost asked about Jagan, but then remembered that Jagan was actually staying outside to help Hardin with securing the lands around the castle. "Whatever it is, they're more likely to hit it than us."

"I'll let her know." Caeda hesitated before reaching over and taking Marth's hands. "Be careful, Marth. Come back to me, okay?"

"Always." Marth smiled sweetly at her. "We'll be just fine."

"Okay." She smiled back and let her hands linger on his for a moment before taking off. Marth watched her leave, eyes filled with wonder.

I let him for longer than I probably should have before teasing. "That was so sappy," I joked. Marth instantly yelped. "I might stick to the wall from it."

"That doesn't make sense!" he snapped. I chuckled, covering my mouth to muffle the sound. "J-just get moving!"

"From this point, it's you pick where we're hiding for a short while, remember?"

"Oh, right." He coughed awkwardly, face turning beet red. "Well, we could try my room. It's not far from the throne room, truthfully."

"Let's go."

It was almost surprising how easily Marth and I made it to his room, considering everything. But, then again, this was his home. We actually went through a couple of secret passages to avoid some patrolling guards. So, we made it to his room fairly easily, and ducked inside, closing the door behind us.

The inside was dusty as all hell. The bed was only half-made, like someone had been sleeping in it, but had decided to get up. A book was on the desk, with a paper and pen next to it. A couple of shirts were thrown in the corner, though most were hung up neatly, but most had been chewed on, likely by rats or moths. Stubby, half-melted candles were scattered across the floor, knocked over by something. The window looking out over an overgrown garden was grimy.

"Wow, no one has been in here since then," Marth murmured. He carefully walked around, each step kicking up more dust. "And the garden…" He went to the window and scratched at the grime until he could actually see out. I winced when I noticed how many plants were dead. "Mother must not have been here since then. She never would've let the garden end up like that."

"Your mother, huh?" I asked. I leaned against the door, and coughed as I managed to stir up even more dust. "You haven't mentioned her a lot."

"I've been afraid to." He didn't look at me. He continued to stare out the window. "I know what happened to my father. There's rumors all over the place on Elice. I've heard nothing of Mother, though. I didn't even really get to see her, before I left."

"When did you?"

"Dinner. I happily told her about my day, she laughed, and wished me a good night. It was normal. Everything had been normal, until…" He sighed, wilting. "Well, I'm home. Yet, there is still no sign of her."

"No, there isn't." I didn't know what else to say. I didn't know much about the queen. Honesty, all I'd really known was that she'd been a quiet woman. "I'm going to listen until things quiet."

"I'll… look around here, I suppose." He twisted to give me a bitter smile. "I suppose I should be grateful that some of my old life remains."

There was really no replying to that, so I just crouched down and set myself up to listen. There wasn't anything else to do.

I waited as long as possible, to give Marth a chance to calm down. But eventually, I knew we had to move again, and so, we traveled down the hallways, straight for the throne room. We met other soldiers there, including Merric and Linde. Marth went to get reports; I went to check on them.

"You're both pale," I commented, frowning at them. They were also sweaty, and I used my cloak to try and get the worst off. "Linde, you want my cloak?"

"I'm already horribly sticky," she retorted. She glowered a little, but grimaced as she picked at her dress. "It's like being back at the desert."

"Including your dress clinging, which you don't seem to like normally."

"Huh? Oh." She whimpered and held her arms out. "I'm sorry. Please?"

"Here we go." I got my cloak around her, and smiled at Merric. "You didn't offer yours?"

"No offense, but I am so tired that I didn't even notice," Merric instantly replied. He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "But this is the last push, right?"

"Yes, it is," I confirmed. I studied them both, and tugged them towards me so that they could lean. "I know the half-thought plan was you two destroying the doors, but if you want me to take over…"

"No, no, Linde and I have been pacing ourselves. We've still got one or two big spells left." Merric glanced over at Linde, who nodded. "We'll be fine. Once we're done here, Altea will have been liberated. The last of the conquered countries will be freed, and we can grind away at the empire itself."

"Plus, we can deal with Gharnef," Linde added. Her eyes hardened at the name. "A bit more, and we can take the fight to them."

"Well, we want you to survive that 'bit more'," I grumbled. I shifted so that I could hold them up a little better. "One more, and then you two fall back with lighter stuff. Don't worry about Marth; he'd be horrified if you pushed yourselves."

"But…!"

"She's right, Linde, and I'd rather not get a scolding from Master Wendell," Merric reluctantly agreed. He smiled, though. "Will we be under guard?"

"Of course," I replied. I looked around, frowning as I realized I didn't know a lot of these people. "Where the hell is Draug?"

"He got hit with a powerful thunder spell earlier, and I think he was put to defend the infirmary afterwards."

"Gordin is outside with Norne…" The archers were giving covering fire to lessen the chances of us getting struck from behind. "There's Abel, though." But there was no Cain. He must still be in the courtyard. "Abel, over here!"

"Everything okay?" Abel asked as he wove his way through. More and more people were gathering, and Marth was dealing with more and more reports. The throne room was isolated. "They're leaning."

"I want them under guard after they blow up the throne room," I explained. Both snickered in response. "I'm assuming that it's going to be blown up, at least. Remind me why we decided to throw Excalibur and Aura at it?"

"The doors are made to endure battering rams, just like the outer gates."

"Well, here's hoping Marth doesn't mind fixing the interior, and throne." I frowned as Marth caught my eye and nodded. "We're ready. Are you two?"

"We are," Linde confirmed. She shared a tired, but determined, look with Merric. "We'll start prepping."

"You two show me where to stand first," Abel requested. He passed his lance to his other hand, tensing. "I want to be able to guard you two as soon as possible."

"Um… I think over here. Merric?" Linde led the other two off, and I went to stand with Marth, one hand dropping to my pack where I had Thoron and the other pulling out my sword.

Marth gave me a wan smile, and the soldiers around us all shifted into 'ready' stances, prepared to dash through the walls. The air hummed as Merric and Linde concentrated, bits of wind and light dancing around us. I held my breath, watching the two of them closely. As their magic pulsed and glowed around them, I could see how pale they were. Sweat poured down their faces, and Linde actually began to sway. But the magic started to solidify in front of them, so I knew they just had to hold on for one more moment and…

"Wait!" Someone's desperate shout made me jump. "Don't use magic! Don't use magic!"

The words, however, came 'too late'. I was still turning to see who shouted when Merric and Linde unleashed their spells, sending the magic crashing into the doors. It actually went through the doors, as the supposedly strong doors didn't even hold up for a blink under the assault. We had to cover our ears when the walls of the room cracked and trembled. No few soldiers threw their shields up to protect us from splinters and shrapnel. A couple pieces of ripped tapestry floated above, dragged out of the room by the backlash of Excalibur.

Smoke and dust filled the air and we coughed and coughed, our eyes tearing up. I looked up to see Abel supporting Merric and Linde, and then looked to see just who had yelled. I was surprised to see it was Cain, red streaming down the side of his face and armor cracked. I was even more surprised to see him still running, little chips of his armor falling off in his wake.

"Get back! Get back!" Cain snapped. He snagged Merric and Linde by the collars and dragged them to the side. "Princess Minvera's message was information on the dragon here!" He snatched Abel's arm and yanked him back too. "It's immune to magic!"

I almost asked what the hell he meant. But then there was a low rumble and a wave of purple light suddenly erupted from the mangled doorway. It incinerated the dust in an instance, sucked the air out of our lungs. I gasped, choking, and struggled to keep my footing as a shockwave punched me in the chest. The people closest to the door were… well, the ones absolutely closest weren't much of anything but ash. Those unlucky enough to be close, but not too close, were bleeding profusely from where parts of them had been seared off. Some fell, dead instantly because half of their body had just disappeared. Others had time to scream and cry before they did, because while they died quickly, it was not instantaneous.

Then the ground trembled and we all looked inside the ruined throne room. Shredded rags and broken rubble littered the cracked floor, but that barely held my attention. Instead, it was the large draconic form, lither than the other dragons and colored purple-grey, that loomed over us. Despite the destruction in the room, there wasn't a single wound on it. Despite no doubt being hit, directly, by Excalibur and Aura, the most powerful spells of all humans, wielded by powerful mages who took the time to ensure it was as strong as they could cast… there wasn't a single scratch. It didn't even look tired.

"Witless humans…" A deep, mocking voice echoed through my head. "None defy a mage dragon and live to tell about it." Then it breathed its magic-fire-breath-whatever on us again.

We shrieked and dodged, and I rolled to the side, just barely avoiding the blast. The shockwave knocked me off my balance, though, so I ended up rolling straight into the wall. I tugged Thoron out of my pack when I saw the dragon, the mage dragon, bearing down on some screaming soldiers, but it did nothing. The thunder spear crashed into its side, but it didn't even react. It just leaned down and snapped up a soldier in its jaws. Half of them fell shortly afterwards, blood seeping down.

"Cain!" Marth yelled. I looked around wildly and saw him not far from me. His arm was scraped up, and his clothes were ripped, but otherwise, he looked fine. "Cain, what was the message?"

"I think the exact message was 'magic bounces off the scales'!" Cain shouted back. I couldn't even see him thanks to the dragon. I had no idea who was hurt and who wasn't. It seemed like there was blood everywhere, seeping into the cracks in the stone. "I'm not sure! She talked in a hurry when she learned we were already deep inside the castle. I don't even know how she knows yet!"

"Then we go after them in blades! Cain, Abel, guard Merric and Linde!" Marth led the charge. I tucked my Thoron tome back in my pack and followed him. "We killed one dragon! We can kill another!"

"You can try, human prince." The voice echoed through again, and the dragon turned its head our way. "But you will fail, as the others have."

Marth didn't even bother to reply. He just lunged for the dragon, and managed to actually slip his rapier into a soft spot at a joint. It seemed like enough of an answer. Of course, the dragon's response was to nearly snap his head off, so I wasn't sure how effective of an answer it was.

But then there wasn't time to think about that. It took all my focus to not die. Forget about damaging the dragon, because the dragon was killing soldiers with ease. It wasn't even relying on the breath attack a third time. While we desperately tried to fight back, managing to draw some blood at the joints, it just casually clawed and bit people to death. It even moved slowly! It was playing with us! It could kill us, but it decided to show us, exactly, how outmatched we were.

I tried to reassure myself by remembering that we had killed a dragon before. But that knowledge fell flat when I remembered all those who'd previously fought a dragon simply weren't here, and that group had a healer. We didn't. All of the healers were outside, because the battle had been just brutal enough to keep them bogged down. We could send, but there was no way it would be fast enough.

A fire spell flew and I wondered if it was Merric or Linde who threw it. I barely saw it as I rolled under a claw and had to quickly scramble up to avoid being stepped on. But I did see something very interesting. The fireball hit the thin skin of the wing and the dragon immediately retracted the wing, and that was weird as all hell, because it was the first time it had reacted, really, to any hit. As the wing stretched out again, I saw it moved slowly and there was actually a faint burn mark.

I wondered why, but then I thought of what Cain had said. A very crazy thought wormed its way into my head. It was a very crazy, very insane, would-probably-get-me-killed though, but it would not let me be. It simply wouldn't leave me alone.

"Lady Kris!" I whirled at the voice, just in time to get shoved back. I slid in blood, nearly fell, but when I looked back, I saw nothing but the dragon's claw, and a bloody arm sticking out between the claws. I went cold when I realized just what happened. A soldier died for me. A soldier, someone I didn't know, probably could've never recognized… they died getting me out of the way. They died… for me…

With a shaking hand, I reached into my pack and tore out a page from Thoron, carefully folding it into my hand. My hand buzzed from the power sleeping in it, and I had to take a deep breath to steady my nerves. If I was wrong… well, if I was wrong, I was going to die. But, we were already dying, and there was one other thing I remembered. That other group had only killed the dragon by gambling and doing some out of the box thinking. They took advantage of the dragon's arrogance, and did something it never expected. If I did the same, we could do this. I was certain of it.

I began fighting again, but this time, I was weaker. I was looking for an opening, some way I could test my theory. But, unfortunately, I couldn't find one. The dragon was careful to keep its wings tight against it, careful to not bend down, except to bite, and it was always so damn quick. I'd try to get the spell off but I wouldn't even be halfway through invoking the spell before it was out of range again, more limbs and blood dripping down.

"Kris, watch your footing!" I wasn't quite sure who shouted that. I thought it might've been Abel, but it could've been someone else. All I knew, really, was that at that exact moment, I slipped in some blood, and the dragon's maw loomed in my vision.

In desperation, I lashed out with my sword, wincing as I felt the teeth pierce my arm. But it didn't quite close down, and I wondered why until I realized what it was. I'd managed to wedge my sword between its upper and lower jaw, and at first, I couldn't believe it wasn't just snapping it down. Then I realized the pointy end was actually under some of the teeth, and that bought me a precious few seconds.

Ignoring the pain ricocheting up my arm, I thrust my other hand inside the dragon's mouth, wincing at how horrific its breath smelled. Blood and rot nearly made me vomit, but I managed to focus long enough to call upon the power of Thoron. "Let's see if this works…" I hissed. Lightning crackled and burned my palm, but the pain didn't matter. I was already in a lot of pain, so what was a little more? "Please work…!"

A Thoron bolt shot from my hand, straight down its gullet. I could see the blood and burns it left behind, and that, and the choked roar of pain, still loud enough to make my ears ring, told me I was right. Magic bounced off the scales, but that was it. It was still vulnerable where there were no scales, like its wings and insides, and if there was one thing I knew, it was that thunder magic and water made for very dead things.

Of course, this was a dragon, and it still had enough life in it to throw me up in the air in protest. I hissed and nearly blacked out as the teeth ripped out of my arm, blood streaming down, but I managed to flip around and land on its back instead of the floor. I nearly fell off, but my instinctive 'climb to survive and steal things' skill helped me scrabble along the back until I found the wing joints to rest against. Its wings were still pressed tightly against its sides, so I could actually brace myself with my feet, freeing up my arm to snatch out Thoron. My sword was gone; for all I knew, the dragon had swallowed it. But I had my magic still, and I had a clear shot on its wing, even folded up as it was.

So, I loosed another Thoron, nearly yelping as the force actually knocked me back, sliding across the scales and this time, falling straight off, though thankfully mostly on my feet. The dragon, however, shrieked in pain and its ruined wing stretched out, showcasing the lovely, bloody path I carved through it. I almost grinned, except I was in a lot of pain, and my vision was blurring. I was barely standing up.

The dragon roared, purple magic-flames licking at its bloody jaw, prepping another breath attack. My sword was jutting out awkwardly, replacing a couple of teeth that had fallen to the floor, and I focused on it, shooting out a third Thoron. My footing slipped, so I fell flat on my ass, but while most of the spell was ineffective, the part that hit my sword managed to conduct inside the mouth. The dragon roared yet again, the purple magic-flames disappearing, and it twisted towards me. My vision was mostly patches at this point, but luckily the dragon was huge and I could make out 'dull white' patches for teeth and 'darker patches for mouth', so I fired off a fourth Thoron.

It wasn't a perfect shot, only half got in the mouth, but that had been enough for it to stumble back, hacking up blood. It managed two steps before falling to its knees, and then falling to its side. Not even a dragon could take lightning bouncing three times through its insides, I guessed. And if I was wrong, well, it wasn't moving, so someone else could ensure the job.

I let Thoron fall from my hands, splashing in the blood nearby, and I debated just falling backwards. Someone, however, supported my back and actually picked me up. All I saw was red, but that told me who it was: Cain. I managed to grin up at him, or what I thought was him through the blurs, and then closed my eyes to fight off dizziness. A small bit of healing magic washed over me, and I spared a thought of 'where the hell did that come from' before just focusing on breathing.

I couldn't believe Diana did stupid this like this multiple times. No wonder she was forbidden to do much of anything. She needed to get treated for insanity. I definitely needed to. But hey, it worked, so yay?

There was something very strange at watching a needle go into your arm multiple times, yet not feel a damn thing. There was something very, very strange.

"That was a very brave, but very foolish thing to do, you know," Nyna murmured. She was apparently the best at stitching up injuries, and so, she was tasked with piecing together the mangled skin of my left arm. "But, I suppose that was needed in a situation like that."

"Yeah, we were all dying," I replied. I held myself stiffly, remembering the one that had died for me. We'd lost fifty people in that assault, all those I'd never know. I felt sick over it. "Though, to be fair, while I'd planned for it, I didn't… wait, hang on…"

"Easy, you are still on pain medications."

"They taste horrible, by the way." They also made it feel like my thoughts were drowning in syrup. "Is there a way to sweeten them up?"

"Not that we have on hand, and we make them taste bad in the hopes of staving off addictions." Nyna tied off the thread and began bandaging up my arm. "You'll have to rest the arm, but providing you do, you should make a full recovery, thanks to Linde."

"Where did she even find the staff anyway?" That had been the source of healing magic I'd sensed. Linde didn't know enough to heal me, but she had known enough to keep me stable until they could get me to a 'proper' healer.

"Linde had run into the throne room to try and keep herself out of the way, and found one near the shattered throne." Nyna smiled slightly, smoothing out the bandages as she went. "Marth mentioned that his mother and sister were trained in healing arts, and the townsfolk remember how Princess Elice had healed the soldiers in that throne room until they were overrun."

"So, it was likely a staff stashed there, or the staff Elice left behind."

"More likely the latter, in my opinion." She tied off the bandages and set her hands in her lap. Her hair was falling out of its bun, and her dress was ruined, but she still gave me a kind, if tired, smile. "Regardless, thanks to prompt medical treatment, some powerful staves, and very skilled healers, so long as you listen and rest, you should retain full movement of the arm."

"And have some cool scars with it?" I laughed awkwardly. I was keenly aware that I should've lost the arm. Lena had told me the possibility of having my arm amputated was still there, depending on how these wounds healed. "So, am I clear?"

"You are. After all…" Nyna's smile warmed. It still had a sadness to it, but it was as genuine of a smile as I'd ever seen. "The battle for Altea is over."

"We did it!" I grinned, elated. Finally, finally… it had take two years, but we were finally back. "Yay~!" Though, there was a bit of sadness to it. I did wish Frey could see this moment. I wondered what happened to his body. But that would be a thought for another day.

I left the infirmary, and wandered through the castle. It was still bloody, broken, and a general mess, but everyone had been eager to move into the place as soon as possible. As I walked through the halls, I heard laughter and general merriment. People were drinking and having fun already, and I couldn't help but smile at it. I even had a skip to my step, or I did until I started asking around and no one seemed to know where Marth was. I wandered and wandered, smile fading with each step, until I made it to his old room.

I found Marth curled up in the corner, clutching something in his hand. He jumped when I opened the door, though, so it rolled through the dust. I picked it up to see it was a ring, a very pretty diamond ring, with blood caked over it, deep in the tiny grooves. I wasn't sure if it would ever be clean again.

"That's my mother's wedding ring," Marth whispered. His eyes wavered with tears and his voice shook. His tone, however, was dull, like it was too much to emote. "One of the servants managed to salvage it."

"Salvage?" I repeated, stepping closer. He flinched, though, so I paused. "So, she is dead, isn't she?"

"The dragon you killed ate her." He smiled bitterly. "She's gone. There's not even a body. Most of the servants I knew, actually, are gone too. The one who saved her ring was a new one, a stable boy just hired on."

"Marth…"

"So, we did it. We're home." He laughed mirthlessly, looking to the side. "But there's none of my old life here. Dolhr slaughtered it all, and Elice, if she still lives, is captive somewhere else."

"…You can cry, you know." I nudged the door shut behind me and leaned against it. "You're allowed to cry."

"I need to put on an appearance soon, for the people." He tried to smile again. It was horribly broken. "I am a prince before I am a son."

"You're a person before you're a prince, you idiot."

"Not to them, especially now."

"That is such bullshit, and you-" A knock startled both him and me, and I carefully opened the door, wondering what the hell. To my surprise, though, Caeda was standing there, fidgeting. "Hi?"

"Hi," Caeda murmured. She smiled shyly. "I'm sorry. I was looking for Marth, and I asked where his room was, since I thought he might be here, and-"

"Your timing is magnificent," I replied, tugging her inside and pushing her towards Marth. "Make sure he has a good cry, because freaking hell, he needs one, and I'm going to find some way to make it look like he hasn't bawled by the time he absolutely needs to appear, okay?" I wondered for a split-second how I was going to do that, but then I thought of the obvious solution. "There's still time before you have to be their star and savior, or whatever the hell they're going to throw on you, Marth. So, cuddle with Caeda."

I left them then, mostly because I wasn't sure how much time I did have. I didn't know anything about public appearances, but I knew someone who was probably the damn expert in it. So, I asked around, and was quickly directed to a side room not far from the infirmary. It made sense, though, since Diana was rarely far from the healers during and after battles. At the moment, though, she was helping Maria, Yuliya, and Jubelo organize things for the infirmary, along with some pink haired man I didn't know at all.

"Diana?" I called, knocking on the doorframe. She turned to me curiously, folding a blanket. "I need help. What's a good way to hide someone has been crying?"

"I tend to use cold water, and…" she began. Then she smiled and set the blanket down, gently ruffling Maria's hair, and kissing Yuliya and Jubelo on the cheek. "Here, let me just help. It's Marth, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I smiled back, relieved. I knew she'd know. "Thanks."

"I am an expert on getting the royals to public appearances with all their dignity." She winked to show she was teasing. "Here, let me arrange. You go be the friend."

"I've Caeda-"

"Never mind, you can help me gather things and people." She paused and glared at the new one. "And no, you're staying right here. You don't know how Marth acts to imitate him."

I wanted to ask, but Diana expertly asked the three little royals to assist, and then it was getting things ready for a 'proper public appearance'. I'd ask later.

Diana orchestrated everything so that Marth only had to appear for a very brief moment and wave to the gathered crowds. She'd fixed up his face expertly, with barely a trace of redness and puffiness to show he'd been crying at all. She also set the rumor up that Marth got some dust in his eyes to help explain away the bits that remained. From there, she got Nyna and Hardin to step out too, and… basically, she just arranged everything so that no one felt cheated, but no one felt pushed. I was so glad I asked her.

"That worked out so much better than I hoped," I whispered, walking the halls. It was sunset now, so the whole hall was awash in golden-red light. "So much better." What I liked most, though, was how Nyna had hugged Marth shortly before they all went out, and how Hardin had snagged Marth afterwards to help him hide for a time. They knew well just how much he was hurting.

I smiled, resisting the urge to giggle, and continued down my way. Before long, though, I'd reached my destination: that window. I rested my hands on the ledge and looked out, noticing how, from here, everything looked rather peaceful. Then I found myself laughing, thinking about how, when I first climbed through this window, I was just a thief. Now, I was… well, not a thief.

"Kris!" Caeda ran up then, smiling. Her eyes were a bit puffy, hinting she'd been crying earlier too, but for the most part, her smile was genuine. "What are you doing here?" she asked curiously, peeking out the window. "Oh, pretty."

"It is, isn't it?" I murmured. "But that's not why I'm here." I smiled at her, feeling the overwhelming urge to laugh. "This is where it all began for me."

"Was it?"

"Yeah, I'd snuck in with a few other thieves to steal from the palace, and ended up saving Marth's life."

"Ah, I know that story. Marth told me of it." She giggled, looking out over everything again. "Altea is as beautiful as he described."

"Do you miss Talys?"

"A little. Well, more than a little." Her smile became nostalgic. "But, when this is over, I can go back."

"But maybe live here with Marth~?" I grinned and she blushed madly. "Come on. You had to have thought about it."

"Don't be mean!" She sulked and I snickered. "We'll see what happens." Her eyes lit up suddenly, and she smiled brightly. "But that is neither here nor there! I'm supposed to meet Nyna for sweets! Bye~!" She scampered off and I stared after her, horribly confused by the suddenly change in demeanor.

"Kris?" However, Cain's voice was very close behind me, and I turned to confirm that, yes, he really was walking up. "There you are," he murmured. I had to fight off the urge to glower. This was definitely Caeda's revenge for the teasing. Definitely. "I thought you would've been in the infirmary?"

"I'm cleared," I replied. I gestured at my left arm, covered in bandages still. "I'd hold it up for inspection, but I'm really supposed to keep it as unmoving as possible."

"I see." He stopped right in front of me, and rested a hand gently on my upper arm. I winced from the pain, and he pulled back. "Sorry. That bad?"

"Yeah, they're still not quite sure if they'll have to amputate it or not, though they do think I'll make a full recovery, at this point." I smiled awkwardly, trying not to fidget. He and I hadn't had a conversation since I accidentally impulsively kissed his cheek. "So, I'm on bedrest for… however long they say."

"Well, we'll be lingering in Altea for a few days. There are some stragglers, after all." Cain glanced out the window, before looking back to me. "You should have the time to rest."

"I hope we all do." A thought occurred to me and I made sure to smile. "Thank you for catching me, by the way. Well, sort of catching?" I grimaced, not quite sure what to call 'preventing me from curling up on the bloody floor'. "Whatever. Thanks."

"I'm glad I could reach." He studied me for a long moment before leaning down and, very deliberately, kissing me on the forehead. Then he walked away, leaving me staring after him, blushing madly. I almost wanted to snap at him for it, but I couldn't. It was very similar to what I'd done, and I was a little too surprised to form coherent noises anyway.

What the hell did that mean? I had no clue. But I had a feeling that things were going to be awkward for a while longer yet.

Notes on Midia:

A knight of Archanea, and the technical Marchioness of Deil, since her father was killed during Archanea's fall. A passionate woman who sticks to her path.

A skilled knight, though she's rusty due to two years of imprisonment, especially thanks to the harsh treatment after Camus was relieved of his control of Archanea.

She's the lover of Astram and an old friend (and former girlfriend) of Jeorge, so she's often seen with them when not on duty.

Notes on Dolph:

A knight of Archanea, quiet and apparently not related to Macellan.

Heavily armored, he takes pride in being a living shield, basically. He frequently protects his comrades in battle.

A bit of a glutton, he loves a good meal, possibly because of the poor food they got as prisoners.

Notes on Macellan

A knight of Archanea, stoic and apparently not related to Dolph.

Heavily armored, he takes his job as a defender seriously, frequently holding lines to allow the wounded to fall back.

Enjoys cooking and is responsible for most of the food the army eats.

Notes on Tomas:

An archer of Archanea, who is very quiet and loves his craft.

Like most of the archers, he's best suited to covering fire.

Doesn't get along with Jeorge, but Jeorge never seems to notice.

Notes on Boah:

A former advisor of the royal family, who takes up the role again with Nyna. However, he focuses more on Archanea and not enough on Nyna, perhaps as penance for letting her father be selfish.

He helps Wendell on the field as a back-up healer, and rarely speaks with anyone that isn't Archanean.

When he's not pressuring her, he actually does dote on Nyna.

Author's note: So, mage dragons are known for being one of the only enemies in the early fire emblem games that can't be easily destroyed by magic (resistance sucks for everyone, ally and foe alike). How that works depends on the game. FE1/FE11 outright made them immune, while FE3 just gave them a ridiculously high resistance stat, one that could eventually be overcome. I merged the two to make it where the dragon's scales were impervious to magic, but it was still vulnerable if you struck an area not covered in scales. Which, of course, then made it the perfect dragon for Kris to kill. Mage dragons don't appear to have wings in their battle models in FE3/FE11/FE12, but they do the TCG, FE1, and in an illustration from The Making of Fire Emblem 25th Anniversary book (though that picture admittedly looks a lot like Idenn from FE6). However, I went with wings to make this a little easier to pull off.

Next Chapter – Prisoner of Helena (Shadow Dragon Paralogue)