Chapter 20) A Knight-Filled Sky

Diana POV

The Macedon Minerva and Maria remembered was a peaceful country. But now, it's not. Their brother decided to throw his lot with Dolhr and now, we've come to battle. There's no way this is going to end without tears. Whoo boy...

The day we fought Michalis, Minerva was so distracted that she accidentally ripped her shirt because she managed to somehow pin it to her wyvern's saddle. She didn't want anyone to see she'd done that, so she came to me to get it fixed. I didn't ask how it all happened. I just smiled and began mending.

"So, you and Jeorge are together?" Minerva teased, sitting backwards in the chair. I looked up and grinned at her before returning to her shirt. "You know; I expected it to take longer."

"We're going slow. Ish," I explained quietly. I blushed when I thought of the lone kiss we had. That had definitely been too… forward. But I loved his hugs, and the kisses on the hand. Even if the thought alone turned me into a blushing mess. "We're making it work. It'll be a mess. But a fun one." I focused a bit on a difficult stitch before deciding to tease her. "What about you? Has anyone caught your eye in the army?"

"No, and considering the track record of…" She paused, debating something, before shrugging. "Palla and Catria have unrequited crushes. Est is going to leave service to be with the man she loves."

"Do they know it's unrequited?"

"Catria's in love with Marth." She smiled bitterly when I choked on a startled laugh. "Palla's in love with Est's new lover."

"Oh, shit." That had to be awkward. "That's some luck."

"Worst part is that Est has no idea. They're all sisters, but they're all bad at communicating with each other." She sighed, and her smile fell. "Not that I can talk, mind."

"How are you doing?" I paused in my mending and decided to switch to a different stitch for this next bit. "About Michalis?"

"Don't you normally call him 'Micky' or something?"

"I can if it'll make you laugh." But looking at how hard this was on Minerva and Maria? I just couldn't bring myself to use the nickname. Not now. Maybe never again. "So?" She was silent for a long while, but I waited patiently for her answer.

"Since I was little, I always chased after Michalis." Her voice was very quiet as she began explaining. "He was always one step ahead. Better, stronger, faster…"

"He's older, yes?"

"Yes, so he had more experience, but he also just had talent. He…" She sighed and rested her chin on the back of the chair. "He was my hero. Even now, some part of me loves him. So, I want to spare him a death on some stranger's blade. Let me be…"

"You're going to go right after him, are you?"

"Of course." She hesitated a moment and, in that moment, she looked strangely fragile. "Will you keep an eye on Maria during the battle? And after?" She laughed mirthlessly, looking down. "I'm not sure she'll want to see me, after this."

"Don't underestimate her love for you." Still, I did make sure to smile at her. "But yes, I'll keep an eye, if you promise you'll look after yourself. Take an evening off."

"That's… Michalis and I will never be siblings again." She smiled bitterly. "But I guess I could get drunk and mourn. I don't know what to do about Macedon, though." She drummed her fingers against the back of the chair. "I don't know how to rule. That was always Michalis's thing."

"I wish I knew how to help."

"Well, come save me if I manage to spark a revolt." She said it like it was a joke, but her eyes were too sad and serious for it. She was genuinely afraid, but couldn't show it.

Still, I'd play along. "I'm not much of the knight in shining armor. Might be better to get Prince Marth on the rescuing." I winked and held up her shirt, checking the stitching. "There we go. Good as new."

"Thanks for that." She took the shirt from me and pulled it on again. I checked to make sure the repair wasn't noticeable still and nodded. "Really, thanks."

She left then, without another word, and I slowly put up my sewing kit. Though, in the middle of that, someone hugged me from behind. I looked up to see it was Jeorge. "Everything okay?" he asked softly. I didn't know how to answer, so I just leaned into him and closed my eyes. "Minerva's hurting a lot, isn't she?"

"She is," I confirmed. I reached up to grip his arms. "I don't know what to do."

"Sadly, I don't think there is anything to do, but give her the support she'll need when she inevitably buckles."

"I suppose." I sighed and shook my head. "Are you busy?"

"Nope. Not until the battle. You?"

"Same." I looked up and smiled at him. "How lucky."

"Lucky indeed." Carefully, he kissed my cheek and my face burned with a blush. "Very lucky."

Jeorge and I spent the rest of the morning cuddling, talking of nothing. It was a good way to distract ourselves.

The battle was gruesome. Attacks from above, from all sides… the infirmary was overflowing within seconds of combat. I was afraid of the number of dead. Macedon was going to leave its mark, and I was genuinely worried that we might not have enough to fight Dolhr. But, as it was, I had my hands full keeping an eye on the healers, doing triage, dealing with a couple of fliers that made it past the defensive line, and… well, trying to keep Maria from breaking down.

"Diana?" During one of my few breathers, Maria tugged on my shirt to catch my attention. She was splattered with blood, and it was going to take quite a bit of scrubbing to clean her dress. "Lena and Nyna won't answer my question," she complained, pouting slightly. I wondered briefly where Wrys was, but decided to not focus on it. My charges were the ones in this tent and that was Nyna, Lena, and Maria. Unless Wrys was the champion of hide and seek and I needed to find him, he was not my problem. "Why are Minerva and Michalis fighting?"

"Well, that's…" I began. I could see why Nyna and Lena refused to answer. It was a complicated question. "They disagree."

"But they've argued in the past and always made up!" She rested her forehead against me. "I don't understand."

"...I don't know how to answer you, Maria." I ruffled her hair, wishing I could take away the pain. "I'm sorry." Desperate to do something, I wetted some towels and crouched in front of her. "Hold still. Let me clean your face."

"Okay…" She closed her eyes to make it easier on me. "Back to work?"

"Back to work." I finished up and hugged her briefly. "Go on."

She nodded and darted over to some badly bleeding soldiers to get back to work. I winced when some of the blood spurted over her face again, but shook my head and took another of the wet towels to Lena and Nyna. They would need to clean up soon, after all. It was dangerous for a healer to be dirty.

"I'm tempted to send Maria into a different tent for lesser wounded," Lena murmured when I came close to where she was sitting and working. She gladly took the wet towel I passed her and sat still as I braided her hair back. Her earlier braid had fallen out. "Or just have her rest. This has been horribly hard on her."

"How are you doing?" I asked quietly. When she finished cleaning her hands and face, I took her used towel to get the worst out of her hair and off her neck. Her dress was going to be a pain to clean later. "I know you're not as close to Macedon, but…"

"The only family I have is Matthias, and he's with us." She tilted her head back to look at me. "I'm okay. Well, as okay as a healer can be, during a war."

"Of course." I used the only clean bit of the towel to get a few patches of blood that she had missed. "Need anything?"

"No, not right now." She smiled warmly. "Thank you." And she leaned forward to work again on whatever was wrong with the soldier on the cot in front of her.

I tossed her used towel into the corner with the other soiled clothing and carried my remaining wet towel over to Nyna's work station. She didn't react when I approached, focused on stitching a soldier's arm up. I didn't know who they were, but I did notice they were rather young. I had a bad feeling they were one of the many who claimed to be older than they were, so that they could volunteer for the army.

"I wish we would have a moment to breathe," she sighed when she finished, taking the towel from me as she sat back in her chair. After cleaning her hands, she reached up to undo her bun, shaking out her hair to try and avoid it matting from the blood. I took over to pin it up again, to get it off her neck. "I'd love to just tease you or something."

"Careful, I tease back," I joked. I kissed the top of her head as I finished up with her hair and gave her a hug. "We'll tease each other in the morning. I'm sure you'll pass out before you can even give Camus a victory kiss."

"Diana!" She managed a tired laugh and worked on wiping the blood off her. "How's Maria?"

"She's as to be expected." I leaned down to hug her and she leaned back into me, taking the comfort. "I'm far more worried for after the battle." In the worst case scenario, Maria would lose both her siblings. "You need anything?"

"Some more thread. I used my last."

"Got it."

I got Nyna her thread, as well as some water for all three of them, before stepping outside to get some sunlight and fresh air and to make sure no enemies had gotten through our defensive back line. I could see Ser Lorenz, Draug, Roger, and… those Archanean knights I could never remember the name of… regardless, I could see all of them were holding strong in the distance, so I looked up to make sure that no fliers had escaped our archers. They hadn't, but I did see two fliers not all that far away, all things considered. Close enough to hear and close enough to figure out small details. One was Minerva, with her red armor glittering in the sunlight. The other was a man with impossibly long red hair, dressed in black. Michalis. Minerva had found him.

"Here you are, Michalis," Minerva began. Her voice was soft, carried more by the wind than anything. "I've been wondering where you were."

"And I've missed you, Minerva," Michalis replied, barely loud enough for me to hear. I could hear the pride in his words and I almost thought he was mocking her, but somehow, it also seemed genuine. "Let us embrace one last time, yes?"

"Michalis…" Minerva, for her part, was hesitant. No matter how much she braced herself, this was her brother and she had loved him. "You…"

"Well? Strike!" Michalis glared and his wyvern growled under him. "A moment's hesitation spells death on the battlefield. I know I taught you better."

"Will you not just set down your lance and walk the right path?" Minerva leaned forward slightly. I half-thought she'd hold out her hand to him, but she didn't. She just gripped her reins and weapon as tightly as possible. "I know Father's death weighs heavily on you, but…"

"Don't speak of that fool. He would've let us all starve by honoring oaths to those who do not care." He scoffed and shook his head. "There is no 'right' path. We are not children. There is only my path and yours, and this is where we part."

"...So it is." Minerva settled back and brought Hauteclere up. "Very well. Embrace you, I shall!"

They crashed into each other and all I saw was the blood. Blood was just… everywhere. Streaming down their armor, dripping off their wyverns, flying off their weapons… every movement just resulted in more and more blood. If I were a more poetic person, I might have described it as rose petals or some nonsense. But I wasn't, and all I saw was pain.

A tiny gasp made me whirl and, to my absolute horror, I saw Maria. She'd stepped out for whatever reason and now could only stare, wide eyed and pale, while her two siblings, the siblings she loved and adored beyond anything, did their level best to slaughter each other.

"Michalis!" she screamed, running forward. I had to catch her to make sure she didn't go too far. "Minerva!" Her voice cracked and broke at the force of her screams. Her siblings, though, continued fighting. "Stop! Stop this! Why are you…?!" She tried to escape my grasp, but I picked her up and carried her back towards the tent. "Why…?!"

"They disagree on the best path for Macedon," I whispered. I set her down again and turned her to face me, doing my level best to shield her from the fight. "That's all."

"So?! They've disagreed in the past! Why can't they…? Why do they have to…?" Maria broke down in tears, clinging to me. "Why?" She continued asking and crying, and I had no answer, so I continued holding her, letting her cry and preventing her from seeing the fight.

I didn't look up until I heard heart wrenching screams and victorious cheers. I didn't see Michalis. All I could see was Minerva, dripping with blood, flying alone in the skies. Even from here, I could see she was on the verge of a breakdown. But I knew, by the time she landed, she would've hidden all the pain. She would be the stoic victor. Because it was her duty.

I hated all of this.

"Cider and whiskey?" Hardin noted, sipping the drink. Camus and I were settled in, drinking our own drinks. Camus made sure mine was way more cider than whiskey, because of my lack of alcohol tolerance. "It's good. Never had it before."

"It's a popular Grustian drink," Camus explained, downing the last of his easily. He set about making himself more. "So, of course, we've got plenty of both in our supplies. What do you drink typically in Aurelis?"

"Typically ale, truthfully. We're a simple people." Hardin glanced at me. "You okay?"

"I'm totally fine," I reassured. I'd been surprised when they'd invited me, but I had to admit this was nice. "Completely. No need to worry."

The three of us were settled in some unused room in some abandoned manor. There had been talk of using the castle, but the servants' cold reception told us that it would be easier, on everyone, if we just took advantage of the empty houses. Michalis had, apparently, ordered the evacuation of the entire city, so there were plenty of places to pick. And now, the three of us were drinking because that's what most of the soldiers were doing.

"How's Princess Minerva doing?" Camus asked, settling back against the pillows. All of us decided against chairs and just cobbled together some comfy mess of pillows and blankets so that we could sprawl out and stretch our legs. "Is she okay?"

"Last I checked, she was drinking with her Whitewings," I replied, swirling my drink in my glass to mix it a little better before sipping it again. "Maria's with Lena." Nyna was handling the infirmary with Wrys and Wendell.

"I am a bit surprised it came to this." Camus frowned thoughtfully. "He was always the 'odd' one in the group. He was never on anyone's side and never cared who knew it. He aligned himself with people who could help him further his goals."

"I wonder what made him decide Dolhr was still the better option," Hardin murmured, finishing his drink off. Camus made him another one. I was still nursing my first. "Could it have been magic?"

"I think Gotoh would've dispelled it, if so," Camus pointed out. He passed Hardin the new drink and shook his head. "No, I think it is just a very good play of the board, so to speak. Gharnef is a master manipulator."

"That's true." Hardin took a large gulp of the new drink. I eyed him warily, and a bit enviously. I wished I could handle my alcohol that well. "But we'll be dealing with him soon, yes?"

"That's what I heard from Kris," I answered. Gotoh had appeared while I was helping in the infirmary, so I got it all secondhand. "We've got Starlight. Though, I have no idea why that spell would be any different from, say, Aura."

"How's the scar on your back?" Hardin asked, gesturing vaguely towards his own back for emphasis. At Camus's frown, he shrugged. "Did she not tell you about how she got hit with Imhullu?"

"Grazed. I got grazed." I maintained perfect dignity while Camus choked on a yelp, and his drink. "Wouldn't have happened if people thought to watch out for the girl who lost her father violently. Why was that? I never got an answer."

"I think it was a case of everyone thought someone else was doing it and then no one actually was. In my case, I assumed Wendell was. I think he assumed Princess Nyna was." Hardin smiled as Camus finally stopped coughing. "Recovered? I'm guessing she didn't."

"Diana never talks about her injuries," Camus explained. I smiled innocently and he rolled his eyes. "During one of our sparring matches, she got a bruise the size of her fist and didn't mention it once. And then I accidentally hit it a second time."

"You're making it worse than it is," I complained. I scowled when Hardin and Camus exchanged an exasperated look. "Oh, whatever. So, we have Starlight." Though, apparently, the Starsphere shattered because of it. Hell if I knew why that happened, though.

"So, in the morning, a small group will be warped to Thabes to deal with him."

"And the rest of us will stick around to finalize preparations into Dolhr." I drank the last of my drink and grimaced when my vision spun a little. "Ugh… I think I'm tipsy."

"From so little?" Hardin laughed, far too amused. He patted my back sympathetically and I sulked. "Here, we should probably get water anyway to work. Let me help you to your room. Camus?"

"I'm pulling a shift in the infirmary," Camus explained. He smiled apologetically, probably for putting 'too much' alcohol in the drink. "I'll walk with you until then."

"Sounds good." Hardin helped me up and my vision spun again. I felt very, very floaty. Ugh… "This way, Diana. I'm sure you'll be fine with a bit of sleep."

I wasn't the only one who ended up drinking too much. Minerva ended up passing out from the amount she had and I assisted Palla in carrying her to her rooms. Palla remained to fuss over Minerva, and I went to check on Catria and Est. Catria was in the stables, tending to all the pegasi and wyverns, though it took longer to find Est. She was curled up in Abel's room, crying into his chest while he comforted her. I lingered only long enough to catch his eye and confirm she was okay before leaving to go check in on Maria. According to Lena, she had cried herself to sleep, so she should've been in bed. In her room. Turned out she was neither. So, that was how I ended up racing about the city at a far too late hour, trying to find a little princess.

"Okay, this is the last place," I whispered, wandering into the church. It probably should've been one of the first places I checked, except it was a good distance away from where we'd been staying. "Maria? Maria, are you in here?" If she wasn't, and I didn't find her on the way back, I'd have to recruit people to try and find her. "Maria?" My voice echoed in the empty halls, and I had to fight back a groan. "Gods damn it all." I brushed my hair out of my face and looked down. Then paused when I noticed something. Blood. Quite a bit, and leaving a definitive trail.

Slowly, I followed the trail, noticing how odd it was. A lot of smearing, like something was dragged, but also with large droplets, like something was walking slowly. Had someone wounded been carried-dragged here? Why, though? Why not just come to…? Well, if it was a Macedon soldier, they just might've decided that death was preferable to our help. It wasn't the most logical, but they hated us. They hated us for killing Michalis and they hated us for 'invading' their country. They might hate us enough to be illogical about injuries.

I followed the trail to a back room and pushed open the half-closed door. To my surprise, I found Maria there, tending to someone's injuries. A someone wearing rich, black clothing that was ripped to reveal gaping wounds. A someone with impossibly long red hair, still long even when matted with blood. A someone whose face bore a strong resemblance to Minerva's…

It took all of that to finally process that she was tending to Michalis. A still breathing Michalis, despite all the wounds and despite the fall from a no doubt great height. And when I realized that, I had to stagger back a bit and accidentally bumped the door frame.

"Who's there?!" Maria gasped, whirling towards me. She blinked slowly when she saw me. I just stared back, noticing how red and puffy her eyes were. "Diana…" Michalis coughed wetly and she briefly returned her attention to him before coming back to me. "I…" She hesitated and, after a moment of looking between Michalis and me, finally just… "Please?"

"...Let me make sure I shut the front door," I whispered. This was stupid. This was beyond stupid. But I couldn't say no. Not when she looked like that. "This is a church. There should be medical supplies. I'll hunt it down."

"Thank you!" She beamed at me, and a few more tears slipped down her face. "Thank you!"

"I'll be right back."

I made sure to actually bar the doors from the inside, just in case, before scouring the entire building for every trace of medicinal thing I could find. Then I carried it all back to Maria, and then set up a little cleaning station for her. I tried to keep away from the blood, only helping when she directly asked. I knew triage and basics, but he was definitely beyond basics. I honestly couldn't believe he was alive at all.

"What were you even doing out?" I asked quietly after a while of working. It was late. I was exhausted. But she worked feverishly, never faltering once. "You were supposed to be asleep."

"I woke up and looked out the window to see if seeing the city would help me calm down," she murmured. Her staff flickered a bit, a sign that it was losing strength. " And I saw Michalis's wyvern flying about and I just…" She shrugged. "I went. And I found him. His wyvern helped me get him inside, but he's bleeding so much…"

"I see." I wiped off some blood from her face and made her pause so that I could clean her hands. I glanced at Michalis and I gasped when I noticed he was stirring. "What the…?"

"Michalis?" Maria leaned over him, frowning worriedly. Michalis stirred a little more and I ducked back to not be seen. I already felt awkward about this. "Oh, gods, please…"

"Mar… Maria…?" Michalis finally coughed, his eyes fluttering open. He squinted at her, like he couldn't quite see her or like she was just too bright to look at. "Why…?"

"It's okay, big brother!" Maria chirped, smiling brightly at him. It didn't really hide her tears of relief. "You'll be okay. I'll make it better!"

"You…" Michalis lifted a bloody hand to stroke her hair before passing out again. Just a brief bit of stirring. Just a little bit to show that he was alive.

"That's a good sign!" Still, Maria had renewed hope and energy and she went right back to work. "Let's see…"

"Well, that was unexpected." I walked over again and, after a moment, decided to just clean the cuts on his face. "So, what's the verdict, miss healer?"

"I think he'll recover!" She giggled, delighted, though she did become sad very quickly. "But after what happened…"

"You and Michalis decide whatever you need on that." There was no way I was offering advice. "Do you still need my help?"

"Mmm… no, from here, I think I can handle it…" She looked up at me pleadingly. "Would it be okay if I stay here for the night?"

"...Yeah, I'll tell them you're praying for Michalis." It wasn't a lie, after all. "I'll come get you in the morning."

"Thank you!" She paused to take my hands. "Really… I…"

"You're fine." It wasn't like you could order a healer to not heal someone. It was kind of their job. So, I just smiled and kissed her forehead. "In the morning."

"Okay." She went back to work, and I tidied up the area and myself before leaving the church entirely. I still wasn't all that comfortable with any of this, but what else was I supposed to do?

Still, I did feel a moment of panic when I saw Jeorge resting against one of the buildings across from the church, clearly waiting. When he noticed me, he walked over. I made sure to shut the door behind me, just in case he saw the blood trail. "You're not the praying sort normally," he murmured. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and we walked down the road, back to the manor. "Did you make an exception?"

"No, Maria is there," I explained. I pulled my cloak a little more firmly around me, to hide whatever blood I might've gotten on me. I couldn't tell anyone this. I really couldn't. Nice way to start a relationship, keeping secrets. But this wasn't mine to tell. "She's praying for Michalis."

"Must be hard. They say his body wasn't found."

"Maybe his wyvern took it off somewhere." I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know what to do. I just..." I went looking for her and then I helped her because I couldn't… "This is all a mess."

"It is." He tightened his hug on me briefly, and I knew he knew I was talking around something. But he wouldn't push. I was so grateful for that. "Astram and I are still awake. Want to share stories and gossip?"

"Sure." I made sure to smile. "But no alcohol."

"Of course." He kissed my temple and I went bright red, as per usual. "Astram and I aren't really drinking either. Too tired for it."

"I see." I tugged on his scarf, frowning. "You're in the group that will go after Gharnef, yes?"

"Parthia is good at combating mages." So, yes, he was. "I'll be fine."

"Of course. I'll steal your scarf if you don't." I grinned and he laughed. "To stories, then. Let's figure out how we'll tease Astram."

"Sounds good to me." He caught my hand and kissed it, lingering a bit. I could've practically lit up the night with how brightly I was blushing. "Let's try to have a bit of fun after a long day, yes?"

No one joined. Macedon's soldiers give us cold glares, so I'm not sure any will actually help us. They loved Michalis and we're the 'villains' in their eyes. We're Archanea, who ignored them, and we slayed their hope for the future. The coming years are going to be rough for Macedon, no doubt about that.

Author's notes: FE3/FE12 reveal that Michalis actually survives this battle, due to Maria's kindness. Since this is actually a pretty important plot point (as in, this tiny act actually helps the heroes win in FE3/FE12), I wanted to make sure it was shown. Similarly, FE3/12 revealed that the Starsphere broke into twelve star shards (which boost growths in FE3 and boosts stats in FE12, providing they're in the char's inventory).

Minerva's talk of always chasing after Michalis comes from in-game dialogue, as well as her Heroes dialogue. The talk she and Michalis have is based on their battle dialogue (funnily enough, Michalis has the most boss dialogue out of anyone in the game, though only one will trigger during the chapter apparently; but he has his normal dialogue, plus Minerva, Marth, Maria, and the three Whitewings).

Next Chapter - Dark Pontifex