Gemralts: I'm back peoples! *Silence* Sorry, for the long wait, but I had a lot of school work to do and such...

Prim: More like you procrastinated.

Gemralts: Better late than never! Some background information for ya, this story occurs during the Crusades if it were our world, or about 1000 CE. Without any further ado, here is the next chapter!

Edit: Fixed a little hiccup on my part.

Ch.7 Intermission

I wake up with a yip. I frantically turn my head to see Lawrence sleeping soundly next to me. Sigh, such a strange dream. Yet it seemed so real... and familiar... Lawrence is still asleep, I'll just watch him until he wakes. Even after all that has happened, he is still the same. Well, except, now, he has ears curled up on his head, and a slowly wagging tail. I give out a short laugh. Past that, he is still the man I fell in love with. Have I changed, though?

Lawrence stirs slightly and wakes up. "Good morning, Holo."

I kiss him. "Good morning, love."

He smiles, "You are not usually this affectionate."

"I know. Do not get used to it."

"And there is the Holo I know and love," he teases.

I hand him an apple. "Eat this."

"Hmm?"

"We would not want to attract any attention to ourselves."

"Because two wolf deities certainly do not attract any attention!"

"Just eat it."

There is a knock on the door and Lawrence goes to see who it is. In a shocked voice, he says, "Come in..."

A girl, and a dog, walk in. The girl has a staff with a bell on it. Suddenly, I realize who it is.

"H-hello," Norah says. Blind rage suddenly builds up in me. I try to suppress it, but a growl emits from my throat. As if by instinct, I pull Lawrence into a deep kiss.

Afterwards, I notice what I have done. I look down and say, "I'm sorry." What I have done surprises me. I should be more prideful than that!

"Oh... I see. I did not come here to..." Norah is at a loss with words.

Lawrence asks, "How did you get here and why?"

"Shortly after our smuggling adventure, I left the church."

"A given."

"I thought I could go and live a free life, but the church came after me. They discovered what we had done. My picture was in their possession, but not yours. I could have given them your description. Heading northwest, I went from town to town evading them while trying to escape to Pagan lands. As I was crossing the border, I saw an army behind me. They could be after me."

"We don't know that for sure; it could be many things."

I decide to speak, again. "You... are welcome to stay with us. You are our... friend."

Her eyes light up. "Thank you very much!" She hugs Lawrence, then, me.

I smile. I think I have made a new friend.

Or have you just discovered one you always had.

I am startled by this intrusion of my mind. Prim! Just because you can be in my mind, doesn't mean you should listen to my thoughts or surprise me like that!

You woke me up! I was having such a nice dream, too.

Sorry.

"Who are you" Norah asks Prim.

"I am who I am, an illusion taken physical form, a sprite from the past, and I'm also Prim!" she smiles.

Norah looks at her quizzically and offers her hand. "Norah, nice to meet you."

"No, the pleasure is all mine. To meet a person who was able to smuggle gold and escape the church for so long is an honor."

Allowing herself to enjoy a small bit of pride she says, "Thank you. Are you related to Holo?"

I notice Prim pause for an undetectable second. "I am Holo's sister, Primrose the Shaman-Wolf of Yoitsu."

"I think it is only fair that I tell you I am Norah the Shepherdess of Ruvinheigen, although I haven't had any sheep in a while," she laughs.

"I guess that makes you Norah the Lack-O'-Shepherdess," Prim jokes.

"Prim, I have a feeling we will get along."

"The feeling is mutual, Norah."

~S&W~

We are spending time catching up, when, suddenly, we hear the roar of a trumpet signifying an invading army.

I say grimly, "The Siege of Park has begun, a day before it was supposed to."

I run with Prim towards the citadel along the wall with Lawrence and Norah trailing behind. I can already hear the shouts of the enemy soldiers erecting the siege engines. The guards recognise me and let us pass. We go up the flights of stairs that lead to the war room at the top of the tower.

From the windows, I can see the empire's army pounding on the palisades.

"I know what you are thinking," says Iroh, "The walls will hold, they have never let us down before. They are only a minor nuisance."

"Sieges can last months," I comment.

"I intend to end the it by nightfall. Watch." Pillars of fire shoot out from the ground under the invaders, burning over half of them. "Gunpowder is very flammable."

I say, "I detest the use of fire in such a way. Fire is an evil entity. It destroys forests, foes, and friends alike."

"There is no worry, really. There is nothing flammable there except the soldiers." I am barely encouraged by his statement.

Their morale has dropped significantly. I can hear many of the soldiers muttering, "Black magic." With half of the invaders burned to a crisp and another quarter deserting, our victory is obvious.

Our "archers", using the newly developed "guns", destroy anyone still surviving.

"And so ends the Siege of Park, with 100% casualties on one side and zero on the other."

Iroh is filled with glee. "It is time to march into the Holy Roman Empire," he says.

~S&W~

"I want to come with Lawrence," says Norah, "I have nothing here, and I want revenge on the people who brought pain to me."

"There is nothing you can do for us," Iroh explains, again, "You will just be another mouth to feed. Stay at Park."

"I can do something if you teach me, like a gun."

"No time."

"There must be at least one job not filled!"

"Everything is accounted for."

She finally admits defeat. "Thank you for your time."

Lawrence tries to comfort her. He wraps an arm around Norah and says, "You wouldn't like it. If we weren't needed, we would leave in an instant. War isn't kind to its participants."

"But you are going! I should be there supporting my friends when they are out fighting."

"Just try not thinking about it. Let's go eat, you can have anything you want."

"That definitely would cheer me up, if I was Holo the Gluttonous Wolf." I glare at her jokingly.

Unlike Norah, I am overjoyed by the large selection of food this night. Maybe I am a little gluttonous... look at that pig! There is a large assortment of meats. There are birds like duck and turkey. There is also veal. Although I'd prefer catching it and eating it raw, it still pleases me to see lamb. The centerpiece is a nice, fat pig with an apple in its mouth.

"Holo, you're drooling," Prim half-whispers. I blush and quickly wipe my mouth. I start to get some food. "I also suggest you use a fork." I redden even deeper.

Living up to my name, I maul and completely destroy the banquet of food. The waiter looks to Lawrence and simply says, "I pity you."

It slowly dawns upon me that meals like this will not exist during the march to Rome. We will likely have small rations allotted to us. On top of that, there will probably no fresh meet available. Any food we bring with us will be preserved to a point of chewiness that even discourages a wolf. It is customary for invading armies to pillage any farms or cities they come across, but those will be few and far between. In theory, we could bring live animals with us. In practice, however, we would need someone skilled in leading animals, not just any soldier or chef. If this town were more south, we could get a shepherd, but we are too far north. I sigh.

"What is wrong, Holo?" Norah asks, "I should be the one that is sad. I had to leave my internship as a seamstress to come here. Now, I will have to find someone to hire me as a shepherdess."

"Looks like we both have problems." It finally struck me.

I give Norah a toothy smile. She asks carefully, "What is it, Holo?"

"Come with me." I drag her strait towards the tower, leaving behind a dumbfounded Lawrence and Prim looking at eachother, then me.

~S&W~

I did it! Norah has a job, and I have meat! It took a lot of convincing, and underhanded tactics, but Norah gets to shepherd a flock of livestock for the army. The departure isn't delayed, though. We will still leave break of dawn tomorrow.

Gemralts: And now, the review responces.

Prim: Don't you think you are begging for reviews?

Gemralts: Oh Prim, I crossed that line long ago.

Prim: *Facepalm*

Gemralts: To EXSUNA, I didn't like the ending either, but it is crucial for the plot.

Prim: But it is probably not.

Gemralts: If you are talking about the writing style, I was going for a dream-like state. Also, I always use first-person, present-tense by Holo. Of course, I will try harder to make sure there aren't any slip-ups in tenses.

Prim: It is not always that easy, sometimes, it just sounds weird in present tense. Next reviewer, He Who Tells the Truth. I'm sorry you think my author's story is terrible... you didn't really point out why, though.

Gemralts: I guess I'll try not to be too "terrible", then. Moving forward, I have a question for you guys. In a review, tell me if I should keep going with the long authors notes, or should I just give you the story.

Prim: *Hushed Voice* This is just a clever ruse to get more reviews.

Gemralts: Read & review & review & review some more! Mwahahahaha!