Author's Note - All fates are written. Some are literally. I'm positive if one were to play enough Awakening, one would be able to place the death of at least one Shepherd far before it happens. I'm also positive that one could correct me on many errors made within the story, game wise. As always, Follow/Favorite to be instantly updated when I update (Whenever the website does register this.) Review if you would like to. Also. Regardless of the day of the week, I will only be updating once per day now, with this story. People are skipping reading chapters, chapter 5 in particular. If you want to do that, go for it, but that chapter in particular is both important plot wise and my favorite chapter as an author, so I hope some people reconsider. No pressure though, fam. - 1%
It was taking much too long. Lissa was terrified. For herself, for her husband, for her friends, all of them. It seemed almost as if this could be the end. Hell, if Chrom could die, what could possibly be protecting the rest of the world? What really got to her though, was the waiting. It was evident on the faces of all present in the room, too. Ricken was trying to fight back tears, she could tell. He wasn't doing a good job of it. Donnel had taken off his pot, and was running his hand through his extremely unkempt hair. Tharja... Well, she was acting normal, for her. It occurred to Lissa that she might not actually care. After all, they were fighting forces that belonged to Robin now. Frederick seemed unchanged as well, to the untrained eye. But Lissa knew him better than anyone else alive. His stance, his posture, his breathing, it was plain to her. Her husband was terrified.
They all stood there, Donnel and Frederick directly in front of the door, with Ricken and Tharja behind the two of them, for what seemed like an eternity. Perhaps it was. Lissa herself was furthest from the door. She was confident that this didn't save her life, but at the very least, it prevented her from being injured. Without warning, the door burst open. No, that was an understatement. The door exploded. Literally. Shards of wood flew all over the room, taking the 5 Shepherds by surprise. Luckily, none of them were injured by this. Lissa would later reflect that if they had been, it may well have been the end for all 5 of them right there.
The Risen flooded into the room almost immediately. They came in great numbers, and the Shepherds were forced to pull back. Frederick, Donnel, Tharja, and Ricken all fought the hardest they ever had. Frederick especially hadn't thought of himself capable of such butchery. And still, it was not enough. The room was filled by the undead, and Lissa was forced to abandon her staff, and draw her axe.
Ricken had always been in over his head. From the moment he had joined the Shepherds' on queue party members, he had been in too deep. The difference between previous times and now, however, was that there was always someone to cover for him. There was no such person now. His friends were to busy defending themselves to pay the young mage any mind at all. All four of them would later think that if they had, they might have been able to save his life. However, deep down, they all knew that if they had so much as tried too, they would have been overwhelmed as well. The Risen flooded over Ricken. The others wouldn't even know he had fallen until after the battle, so heavy were the enemy forces.
Eventually, the Risen began depleting. That is to say, the defenders of the throne room were able to see through the carnage once again.
"Do not falter!" Frederick called over the din of battle. "These enemies do not appear to want to kill us. If they wanted that, we would be dead. Nay, as we are being engaged one on one, it appears to me that they merely wish to stall us. That being said, they will still-oof" Here, he was slashed across the chest. As he was wearing his armor, it proved to only wind him, and annoy him. He loped off the head of the offender, and continued with his cry. "They will still try to harm you, Shepherds. Be wary."
Lissa had to laugh. If there was one person who could manage to tell people to be careful in battle - something any seasoned warrior already knew - it was her husband, she thought fondly as she fought for her life against a particularly swift Risen. Eventually, her axe caught it in the chest, and it disappeared within a cloud of purple smoke.
Lissa faced what would appear to be her next opponent, waiting to deflect their inevitable blow. However, that blow never came. As quickly as they came, theRisen flooded from the throne room, revealing the Shepherds to one another, once again. Lissa looked at her husband, quizzically. If the Risen weren't trying to kill them, which they obviously weren't, then what would they attack a castle for? It didn't add up, and the four remaining Shepherds were confused. Suddenly, it hit Lissa.
"The children!" She cried "They came for the children!"
Tharja, Donnel, Frederick, and Lissa all bolted from the room, praying to Naga that it wasn't too late.
Before the attack had begun, Miriel had bolted to the gym, and, much like Lissa said she would, found Stahl and Sully training within it.
"I lack the time to properly explain my reasons. I suppose I must simplify this as much as possible. The Risen are here. I suspect they are after the children, mayhaps Lucina in particular. Come. We must defend them."
Stahl and Sully dropped everything, and each grabbed a sword as fast as they could. When they were ready, Miriel led them from the room."H-hey Miriel... What can we do? How can the 3 of us defend 12 different kids? That just... It doesn't seem possible." Stahl panted at her side
"You buffoon. Do you know nothing of the layout of the castle? No, I suppose not. You always were average in every possible way. The children have their own wing of the castle, and to get to it, one must traverse a lone staircase up. This particular stair case cannot be more than 2 people wide. We shall hold them there. If they push through, we shall fall back to Lucina and Inigo's room. When we are in position, I shall go to inform the young. Is that clear?"
"Hell yes!" Sully sounded particularly excited. "I'm itchin' for a rematch against these Risen! No one defeats the Shepherds twice!"
Miriel forced herself not to inform her of the deaths of Gaius and Sumia. It would almost certainly cause a blow that would, at nothing else, distract the two knights from performing their best. She would need them at their best now more than ever, and she was still worried it would fail to be enough. Mathematically, the odds were strongly against them. Miriel, for the first time in a very long time, found herself silently praying to the gods.