Author's Note
Hey, so it's been a really long time, I know. Life has been crazy and is about to get crazier so I'm sorry, but future chapters will not be comming out as quickly as I had hoped, especially during the school year.
So this is, to start off anyway, kind of a fluff chapter. Please read and review, I could really use the feedback. Enjoy!
Chapter 6
A Safe Place to Camp
It had been two days since we released the prisonners, and this was our first stop. Two nights in a row we traveled through the night, getting as much distance between ourselves and the prison as possible. There was no doubt that Daein knew we had been there by now, but hopefully they thought we were just a remnant of the Crimean army taking one last shot at the invaders. If they had guessed our true purpose and destination... well, the sooner we got to Port Toha, the better. This night, though, the horses were simply too tired to continue.
Using an old road known to Nephenee and Brom we brought the wagons deep into the forest and made camp in a small clearing. Far from prying eyes, we felt safe starting a few campfires, which meant Oscar could finally cook us all a decent meal. I sat down near one of the outer fires, and began to idly poke a stick into the fire. Ike came over and sat down across from me, looking pretty serious. Not that that wasn't normal, he just looked extra serious this time.
"Commander," I greeted him. "What's up?"
"Port Toha; What do you know about it?"
"Far as I know it's not occupied yet, but that won't last long. Daein needs to move quickly to subjugate the country or they risk rebellion, even with the main army and militias crushed."
"I agree. If we can get there before the army though, the villagers might be willing to help us."
"I wouldn't count on that. The locals know the war is lost, and are gonna be looking out for themselves. In this case, that could mean turning us in if things go bad."
"Are you sure? I just can't believe that people would turn their backs on their country like that. They wouldn't betray their own princess, would they?"
"I could be wrong, but self-preservation is a powerful motivator. It's really in their best interests to side with the winners."
"The war's not lost yet, not as long as we have Elincia, but I guess the people might not see it that way. We'll keep a low profile while we look for a ship. Any other information you can think of?"
I paused for a moment. There was something nagging at the back of my mind, but I just couldn't quite recall it. Probably nothing important. "Nope, that's all I've got."
"Alright." An awkward silence followed as Ike made no move to leave, despite the conversation being finished. Finally, he spoke up again. "You've been acting strange lately, ever since the prison. You're quiet and withdrawn, and Mist says you haven't been eating much..."
"I'm fine, Commander. Just been doin' some thinking lately, about y'know... war and stuff." I had been doing a lot of thinking in the past few days about the men I had killed, and I wasn't sure that I could continue like this. I knew that they were my enemies, but for some reason killing them still just felt wrong.
Ike nodded in understanding. "Taking a life is never easy, Adam, and it shouldn't be. But we have to learn to live with it."
That was rather perceptive of him. He's a lot smarter than the game gives him credit for. "I know. Still bothers me though... I mean, those guys I killed, they didn't deserve to die any more than I do..."
"We're at war. You do your job, and worry about keeping yourself and your friends alive. The rest... well, that's out of your hands. Don't hold yourself responsible for your enemy's death, okay?"
I considered this for a moment, then nodded. "Thanks, Sir."
Ike got up to leave. "No problem. Just eat something and stop acting so gloomy, you've got Mist convinced you're sick and dying or something."
"I can do that," I said, finally cracking a smile. Such a caring kid, I hope Mist never has to kill anyone. Ike headed off to check on other people, offering a kind word, some advice or just friendly conversation to everyone in camp. Well, I thought, he's right. Sitting around moping won't help me. All this fighting has to be wearing on Ike as well, but he still powers through and works to keep everyone's spirits up.
I rose from my seat and headed into camp, intending to find a few of my friends to talk to and maybe get some food. As I passed one of the tents, I noticed Nephenee sitting alone and looking... well, much like I imagine I had looked a few minutes ago. It was obvious from the look on her face that her mind was elsewhere, and wherever that was it wasn't a nice place.
"Hey, you okay? You don't look so good, want me to get you some food or something...?" No response. Her eyes didn't even move. I'd call it daydreaming, but it looked more like a nightmare, no doubt related to the prison she'd been kept in. I moved closer. "Nephenee?" Still no reaction, so I reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. She reacted instantly, letting out a terrified cry and grabbing for her spear.
"WHOA JEEZ!" I stepped back, but still almost caught a spear with my gut before she snapped out of it.
"Oh, s-sorry... Ye startled me..." she said, so quietly I almost didn't hear.
"I'll say," Note to self, don't surprise an armed and slightly traumatized person you just broke out of jail... kinda obvious when you think about it. Stupid me. "You wanna, um, put that down? Please?"
"Oh, yeah this," she said, finally realizing that she still had me nearly impaled. She set the spear down, and I let out the breath I'd been holding. "Did I...?"
"I'm fine just... don't do that again," What the hell happened in that prison that's got her so freaked out? Suddenly, I didn't feel so bad for killing the prison guards.
"Sorry... I'm still gettin' used to not bein' in that horrible place," she shuddered at the mention of it. Yeah, I don't feel so guilty now. In fact, I think those guards might have actually deserved it. "So, ummm... what did you want?"
"Well before you went all psycho on me I was askin' if you wanted any food so... You hungry?" She nodded. "Well c'mon let's see if Oscar's done cooking." I made sure to stay a few feet to the side of her as we headed for the central campfire where Oscar was cooking, just to be safe. When we reached the center of the camp, a heavenly and familliar cheesy aroma greeted me. It almost smelled like... no, it couldn't be.
"Hey Adam. The food'll be a few minutes yet if that's what you're here for," Oscar said as I approached.
"Whatcha cookin'?" Nephenee asked.
"Nothing special, just pasta in a cheese sauce," Oscar replied. Oh sweet cheesy awesomeness, it really was KD.
"You mean mac'n'cheese?!" I moved closer to get a look in the pot. Yes, it's totaly KD, just as if it were fresh out of the box. So. Happy!
"What? No, there's no 'mac' in this. At least, not as far as I know... Anyway, it's pretty well done cooking, just let me taste the cheese sauce..." Oscar dipped a spoon into the pot.
"Oooh, dibs on tasting!" I cried, but I was too late. Oscar took one taste and recoiled.
"Ugh it's all wrong, not properly seasoned at all, the flavours just aren't... I can't serve this!"
"It looks fine why don't you let me try it-" It smelled pretty delicious.
"No! I will not serve sub-par food. I just need some herbs, but which one?" He trailed off, deep in thought. By now a few others had gathered, drawn by Oscar's strange outburst.
"Hey Boyd, why's he acting so wierd? He's usually so mild-mannered..." I asked.
"Don't mind him, he gets like this when he cooks. The food's probably fine, but he won't let anyone eat until he's convinced it's perfect," Boyd explained in a tone that told me this was a common occurence.
"I have it! I need a few sprigs of thyme!" Oscar declared.
"We're out of thyme. You used it all last night, remember?" Boyd reminded him, exasperated.
"Ah right. Hmm what else could I use..."
"T-that plant grows in these parts. I bet I could find some for ya..." Nephenee said.
"Brilliant! Go get it then, but take Adam with you; The Commander says it's best not go out alone while we're in enemy territory."
"Alright, we shouldn't be long. C'mon, let's go," Nephenee said.
-half an hour later-
Well, it turned out thyme is really hard to find in the dark, and it didn't help that I had no idea what it looked like. Even worse, I got nervous being alone with a pretty girl and Nephenee never said much, so the conversation was pretty much non-existant. Oh yeah, and it started raining lightly about ten minutes after we left camp, just enough to make me really cold. For probably the billionth time I tried to say something to break the awkward silence.
"Hey Nephenee, so, umm... how's the..." Dammit, I still can't think of anything to say.
"Hmm?"
"Nuthin'..." I continued along silently until I saw a plant that looked promising. "Hey, is this it?"
She looked at what I was pointing at, and her eyes went wide. She pushed me away from the plant. "Don't touch that, or you'll itch for days!"
"Sooo... not edible?"
"No!" Shit, I was sure that was it. Aaaaannnnd back to awkward silence. Double shit. We walked in silence for a few more minutes before Nephenee unexpectedly spoke up.
"Hey, you're a professional mercenary or somethin', right?"
"Umm, something like that I guess." Mercenary, yes. Professional? Not so much.
"So ye fought in lotsa battles, right?"
"...I survived a few." My contributions to those battles were limited at best, but I see no need to tell her that. Wouldn't want her to think I'm a coward.
"How do ye handle, y'know, killing an' all that?"
"I'm still trying to figure that one out myself. I guess we just get used to it with time... maybe." Even I could tell it didn't sound very convincing. "I thought those guards killed your friends, though. Why do you feel bad about killing them?"
"It's not that I feel bad about them, it's just that... in the battle where I got taken, a lot 'o them Daeins looked like simple country folk, like Brom and me, who got recruited for the war. It just don't feel right killin' em. I mean, it's that horrible Daein king an' his generals an' those evil prison guards who do the torturin' that deserve to die, not us simple farmers an' peasants."
Those were my thoughts exactly. "Well, I don't know how much help it is, but Ike told me these things are out of our hands. We gotta look after each other and not worry about the enemy." It sounded better when the Commander said it.
"Still, it just don't seem right," Nephenee continued stubbornly.
"Nothing about war is right, that's the whole point. Look I got no more answers than you, all I know is that I intend to look after my friends just like the Commander said. These people have been good to me, so if helping them means killing Daeins then I guess I'll learn to live with it."
"I guess..." she echoed. She considered this in silence for a few moments as we walked along. "Ah! Found some!" She knelt down and began to stuff sprigs of thyme into her satchel. Seeing another bush of the same type, I started gathering as much as I could.
"Make sure to get extra, just to be sure Oscar doesn't run out of this stuff again." I don't like my food being delayed. Especially when it's mac'n'cheese.
We had just started jogging back to camp when Nephenee came to a dead stop in front of me. With my typical grace, I crashed into her and nearly knocked us both over.
"Dude what the hell?"
"Shht!" Did she just shush me? I think she did... but why?
"Why did you stop?" I asked quietly.
"D'ye smell that?" she asked.
Kind of a wierd question, but I sniffed anyway. I smelled burning wood. "It's a fire, you may have noticed we have several going in the camp. Now c'mon let's go I want my mac'n'cheese."
"We're upwind of our camp, which means somebody else is nearby."
"...That's not good. We'd better check it out." I hoped it would just turn out to be some travelers or merchants.
We could just see a flickering light through the trees, so we crept as close as we dared and behind a few dense bushes. Sure enough, it was a camp much the same as our own. The big difference was that this one was crawling with soldiers in black armor bearing Daein's red crest.
"There's at least two dozen of them," I whispered after doing a hasty count. This was bad; Their camp was less than a kilometer from our own, which meant discovery was a very real possibility.
"At least," Nephenee agreed. "There's room in those tents for a lot more."
"We need to warn the others. You go back, I'll stay and keep an eye on them. With luck, we can get everyone here and catch them by surprise."
"Even if we bring all of 'em, we'll be outnumbered. They don't know we're here, so we should just leave'em."
"We're gonna have to get by them to reach- Wait, I got movement on the left." We paused our argument and watched as a Daein scout ran into the camp. He spoke quickly to one of the sentries, then ran into the camp. A soldier, obviously the one in charge, stepped out of one of the tents to greet him. I couldn't make out their conversation, so I crept closer, crawling on my belly until I was nearly in the light. From there, I could just barely hear them.
"-sure about this?" the commander was saying.
"Yessir, they're Crimeans, heavily armed. And there's a girl with them; I don't know if she's the one General Petrine wants, but she's dressed all rich and has green hair."
"The Princess..." the commander muttered. He turned to another man. "You! Get on your horse and go to General Petrine. Tell her we may have found the Princess, and request that she send reinforcements." He turned back to the scout. "Can you lead us to this camp?"
"Yessir!"
"Good. Men, ready your weapons! We'll catch these Crimean bastards at unawares!"
That was all I needed to hear. I shuffled back to where Nephenee was hiding and filled her in.
"We have to stop that rider," I said, indicating the man saddling a horse. "If Petrine hears of this we're in trouble."
"I can do that," Nephenee said, taking out the javelin she wore on her back. "I just have to wait until the others are gone..." As she spoke the last of the Daeins left the clearing, moving slowly to avoid making noise. The rider had finished saddling his horse by then and mounted, moving off at a trot in the opposite direction. He had almost out of the clearing before Nephenee moved, taking a few running steps before snapping her whole body forward, launching the javelin in a throw worthy of the olympics. The man slumped in the saddle, then fell off. His horse, terrified, galloped off into the night.
"Nice throw," I managed. I will never make another 'throws like a girl' joke in my life.
"Thanks."
"Let's make sure their camp is clear. Wouldn't want any stragglers getting away."
We did a quick search of their camp, not wanting to lose too much time. It was empty, but when I looked in the commander's tent I noticed a few documents sitting out along with a bag of coins, left there carelessly in the rush to leave. There was no time to read them, so I just stuffed the papers and coins in my bag with the thyme. With the enemy camp cleared, we set off at a run for our camp. Fortunately, the Daeins was still moving slowly and we were able to catch up long before they reached our friends. As soon as the campfires came into sight, they spread out, with a long line of infantry hunkering down fifty meters or so from the edge of the clearing while a group of about ten archers moved up the left flank.
"Let's hit the archers while they're moving," Nephenee suggested.
"Good idea, we can at least distract them and prevent the flank attack. Make lots of noise when we attack, so the others will be alerted," I agreed as we moved up.
We ran as silently as we could behind the bowmen, but just as I got close to the rearmost man a twig snapped under my foot. He spun, saw me and started to bring his bow around.
"Shit!" I cursed as I knocked the bow aside with my sword. He loosed the arrow anyways, but it went harmlessly to the right. I reversed the swing and cut him down. Beside me, Nephene impaled the first man then spun around the corpse and smashed her shield into the next archer's throat. The other archer near me had no arrow nocked, so he swung his bow like a staff. I missed the block and it cracked down onto my shoulder, jolting me and stopping my attack. I countered with a weak backhanded strike, gashing his arm and making him drop the weapon before regaining control of my sword. With no way for him to block, I simply ran him through.
An arrow thudded into a tree not two feet to my right as the archers ahead joined the battle. I scrambled for cover, getting behind a tree trunk. A few meters to the left, Nephenee had also made it to cover. The last archer in our vicinity was not so lucky, however, and caught a stray arrow in the back as he was trying to ready his bow.
Pinned down, I had an opportunity to see how the rest of the mercenaries were doing. Sure enough, the sounds of battle had alerted them and several were already armed and ready. Knowing that the element of surprise was gone the Daeins charged, the leading line of twenty warriors letting out a fearsome battlecry as they entered the clearing with yet more soldiers coming behind. Soren must have been quick on the draw because a blast of wind magic came out of the camp and hit the center of that line, wounding and staggering the Daeins and ruining their charge. Then battle was joined, the Greil mercenaries meeting the disorganized charge with typical ferocity. They were outnumbered though, and the archers on the flank could still do some serious damage unless Nephenee and I could keep their attention on us.
"You ready?" I called.
"For our friends!" Nephenee replied grimly.
As one we broke from cover, moving quickly from tree to tree so the archers couldn't get a clear shot. They fired anyway, and one arrow thudded into Nephenee's shield while another grazed my arm. We were pumped full of adrenaline though, and didn't slow. I crashed into the first archer, screaming like a maniac as I cut him down. The next one pulled a sword though, and met me blade to blade.
"Fucking crimean pig!" he spat as he bashed away at my defences.
I was on slightly higher ground and easily blocked the first few strikes, then locked blades and pushed him back. I took a high guard and let him come to me, the terrain giving me a strong position. He was no swordsman, and after a short exchange of blows I was able to knock his weapon aside. I struck fast at the opening in his defences. He reacted just as quickly, spinning into my swing and accepting a gash on the shoulder as he caught my arms and used my momentum to throw me. My back smacked painfully into a tree and I lost my sword. The archer was on me in an instant, both hands at my throat in a vicious choke hold. My sword was out of reach, but as my vision started to tunnel in instinct took over. I freed up one arm, pulled my dagger from its sheath and drove it through his eye.
A booted foot rolled the corpse off of me, and as everything came back into focus I saw a hand extended towards me. I grabbed it and was hauled to my feet, my disorientation fading quickly.
"-elp the others! C'mon!" Nephenee was yelling as she handed me my sword. I hadn't quite caught my breath and not moving too quickly, so she dragged me for the first few steps.
The fight in the clearing had started to go against Daein, despite their advantage in numbers. Even Elincia was armed and fighting, Ike had bodies piled around him, and Rolf was dropping soldiers as fast as he could nock arrows. I even caught the occasional glimpse of Volke whenever he slit a soldiers throat. Still, one group of soldiers stood fast around their commander and the mercenaries, who clould only attack from the front, were making little headway against their shield wall. Nephenee charged into that wall from the side and tore a hole through their ranks. Only a few steps behind her I sprinted through that breach, shouldering one wounded man aside and charging at the back of the enemy commander. I knew that he was holding these men together, and his loss would ruin their cohesion. I aimed a thrust at his chest, but he saw me as I came in and bashed his shield right into my face.
I felt my feet go out from under me, then a vicious impact on the back of my head as I crashed to the ground. Above me, I saw Nephenee attack the commander as well. He sidestepped her charge, and though she managed to partially block his sword he just kicked her legs out. She dropped out of my sight. I tried to stand and get back in the fight, but my head was spinning and I couldn't seem to get my feet under me. I managed to draw my dagger, but his boot pinned that hand to the ground before I could use it. I looked up to see the commander aiming a sword at my chest.
"Goddess, you people just won't d-" He was interupted as a bolt of lightning struck him. It stunned for a few seconds, and Boyd jumped over me and buried his axe deep into the commander's chest. The sounds of battle faded quickly after that, the Daeins routing quickly with their commander dead.
By the time I was able to stand up, the battle was finished. Ike led a few of the mercenaries out to chase down any Daeins who escaped while Mist, Rhys and Elincia tended the wounded. Next to me, Nephenee was bleeding heavily from her fight with the commander, but Rhys was treating her wounds and she looked like she would be okay. A hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. It was Ilyana and Boyd, who had once again saved my life.
"Hey guys," I said. My nose felt wierd when I breathed...
"What kind of crazy, reckless move was that, Adam?!" Boyd asked.
"I dunno, but it must've been pretty bad if you're calling me out on it."
"Damn right!" Ilyana snapped.
"Ah, I knew you guys would save my ass," I tried to joke. Yeah, my nose feels really wierd. "Thanks."
"You owe me food. Lots of food," Ilyana replied.
"When we get to the port, I'll buy you guys dinner." I looked over my shoulder to check on Nephenee. Much to my relief, she was sitting up, looking a bit pale but otherwise okay. I smiled, but cringed when my nose began to hurt. What the hell was wrong with it?
"Aw, did that guy break your nose?" Boyd asked mockingly.
I reached up and felt it. Yup, broken, very broken indeed. "Owww. Yep."
"Hurts, don't it?" Boyd asked, grinning. He grabbed my nose. "Hold still, this will only hurt a little bit... for me."
"You're enjoying this, aren't you," I accused. Not that I didn't kinda deserve it for breaking his nose a few times...
"You bet." He twisted the nose back into the proper shape.
-a few hours later-
Tired horses or no, we packed up camp and left that clearing as soon as Ike and the others got back. According to the Daein orders, that force had been sent ahead of the main army to secure the roads and bridges around Port Toha. A much larger force was only a day's march behind them, and it seemed that Toha's city guard had been bought off by Daein. The good news was that they seemed to have no idea where we were, but even so there would be little rest for us or the horses until we got a ship to take us out of Ashnard's reach.
I was in the back of the wagon with Boyd, eating cold mac'n'cheese spiced with fresh thyme. It was nice and nostalgic, reminding me a bit of home. I had killed again, and Ike was right; I didn't like it any more than I had the first time. Still, the knowledge that I was fighting for my friends kept me from feeling any guilt over those deaths. I had no doubt that I would still have a few nightmares, but I could live with it. This was war, I was just another soldier, and I knew where my loyalties lay. The rest, as Ike said, was out of my hands.
Author's Note
Did I say fluff chapter? Well, I lied. That'll teach you not to listen to me;) Anyway, thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review and let me know what you think. I know I've said it before, but I could really use the feedback, good or bad.
I'm gonna be taking a week or so off from writing to attend Star Wars Celebration VI (so excited, best convention ever!), and after that I will be starting my second year of college. Between my classes, martial arts, work and travel I'm not sure how much time I will be able to devote to writing, so I have no idea when the next chapter will be out. I'm sorry, but it could be quite a long time. I will continue to write, I just won't be getting a lot of chapters done during the school year. Before I go, I guess I'd just like to say thank you all for reading, reviewing and supporting this story despite my rusty writing skills and erratic update schedule. You guys are awesome, and there is no way I would have stuck with writing this long without your encouragement. I look forward to posting more chapters once things calm down IRL. Anyway, seeya later!