Yuugi tried not to stare at the pain in Atemu's eyes as they walked the line of the dead. The losses were larger than the Prince had anticipated.

"Two hundred," Atemu whispered for the fifth time. "Two hundred dead." He shook his head, his mouth groping for appropriate words, but he came up with nothing. That look in his eyes made Yuugi's heart clench, and a pain he never felt before squirmed down into his stomach and made him feel sick. He hated seeing his lover like this.

And it was even more heartbreaking to see Sacreds slumped on the ground, dead.

All dead.

Once their life had left them, their bodies returned back to their natural color. As their life force was gone, there was nothing to sustain the magick. It was a rainbow of colors on the ground. Everything from red to green and white and blue. Coats of metallic silver and gold and purple were splattered and splotched with dried, frozen blood. Dragon wings were placed next to the respective owners, as they had somehow been torn off during the battle. Some people were on the ground crying, their Sacred lifeless next to them. Even worse, there were some Sacreds standing vigilant guard over their dead Guardian.

And the cries of anguish. It was overwhelming. The Guardian/Sacred partnership was joined at something deeper than a mutual partnership. It was a bond that they shared, and even though no one had ever looked into it, it was believed that a magick stronger and more profound than any knew of linked the Guardians to their respective horse or dragon.

The army itself was silent, as most armies are that are victorious and standing in a pile of corpses. But the Guardians were in pain. All totaled, there were hundred and thirty four men and women from the army dead, and sixty six Guardians and Sacreds dead or grieving.

Kyehna walked up next to Yuugi and the Prince, her face somber. "You need to ride, your Highnesses," she spoke quietly. "We'll take care of the dead, and the grieving. Go to Turehnemay Hold. Keep this from happening to our kindred. They are a larger Hold than us, and will have more men and women to spare to fight."

Atemu nodded, forcing himself to ignore the pain in his heart. He'd deal with his emotions later. "Good luck. Contact the Divine City for help, if you need it. The Priestess will be able to make a portal for you, so it'll be easier to get the dead and wounded back."

The Head of Council nodded.

Yuugi followed the Prince's lead as they mounted their horses. Astarte was tense and fidgety, unable to stand still for too long. It sent a course of discord through his system, causing him to be nervous for what was to come. Animals had foresight, even if it was a minimal amount on a purely instinctual level. Yuugi knew that Astarte was sensing something, and he felt insane dread for the first time since coming up to Northern Reach.

"Jono," Atemu spoke up, seeing the Cavalry Captain next to him. "We need more men. Send word to the Priestess to send a thousand troops up, at least four hundred of them dragon riding Guardians. Have them meet us half way to Turehnemay Hold."

"Aye, Sir." The Captain and his horse rode off back into the Hold.

The Prince nudged his horse, who then started off at a fast trot to the Hold gates. Yuugi followed as well, Astarte glad that she could move some more. She was making Yuugi extremely tense, especially when she would whine every now and again very softly. "Shh," he soothed. "It'll be all right."

She snorted at him. He knew she wouldn't believe him, but he had to try, at least for himself.

Atemu rode up to the waiting soldiers and Guardians that were standing in line. There were only three hundred left. Just three... He shook his head. He couldn't sink to grief. He had to keep going. "Warriors!" he cried. "You have done well. Scouts report, however, that more of the enemy is on its way to Turehnemay Hold, the maternity house of Northern Reach! These men will slaughter children, both born and unborn! Women and men and families will be ripped apart! Will you let this happen?"

They rose their voices up in unison in anger. Yuugi was sure he could make out a few 'no's' and 'hell no's'. Their confidence helped ease his worried heart just a little.

"More shall join our ranks. We will not be outnumbered!"

Another cry, this time of relief and excitement. That seemed to put the drive back in the soldiers.

"We ride!"

xxx

Yuugi sat in his saddle, looking at the shimmering icy gates of the next Hold they had come to. Turehnemay was huge, possibly four times the size of Ice Ridge. According to Atemu, this Hold held the largest concentration of Healers, and therefore most women traveled to this Hold when they were ready to give birth. The maternity ward had its own very large building, which was quite an honor in a place with limited supplies.

The new troops from the Divine City did indeed meet up with them half way to the Hold. They now had thirteen hundred fighters, a thousand of them fresh.

Yuugi just hoped that they wouldn't be outnumbered.

There was a lot of noise just inside of the gates. Yuugi wondered what was going on, as he could just see a throng of people between the gates. "What's going on?" he asked the Prince.

"I'm not sure..."

Trumpets sounded their arrival. "Welcome, my Lords!" An ice Guardian ran up to them on his horse, calling out the greeting. "We have been expecting you! I bid you welcome to Turehnemay Hold. I am Aerune, Deputy Head of Council. I'm afraid that the Mrs. is busy right now with a delivery. She'll be here to meet you soon."

Yuugi took note of the man's appearance. He had long, pale blonde hair, sparkling green eyes, and wore flowing capes and garments of silver. Yuugi marveled at how fine his features were on his face, and his smile was astonishingly bright. And if he was only the Deputy Head of Council, then the Head of Council must have been the 'Mrs.' he was referring to. Basically, his wife. He's married to the Head of Council. And apparently, she's helping a woman to give birth at the moment.

"We are glad to be here," Atemu replied.

"We do have a bit of a surprise for you," the ice Guardian went on. He moved out of the way, and the opening in the gate revealed the throng of people that had been behind him.

Guardians. Soldiers. Hundreds of them. They cheered loudly, raising swords and fists into the air.

"They're all ice Gifted," Aerune stated proudly. "We recruited as many as we could. These mongrels after our women will get nothing put pain."

"Recruited?" someone behind him bellowed. "We couldn't sign up fast enough!" A few people chuckled richly.

"A surprise indeed!" Atemu bellowed. "Every hand helps! Now let's not stand around like a bunch of ginny-wits, we've got work to do!"

And with that, they all walked inside the gates and began to work, and to plot, for the battle ahead.

xxx

Yuugi sat next to Atemu in the Hold Hall, holding his hand as they waited for the Head of Council to make her appearance. Aerune, Jono, and a few other Turehnemay officials had already taken their seat, and were lightly conversing with one another. The mood at this Hold was significantly lighter than the last one, even though a battle was on the horizon. Quickly, the doors burst open and a women came rushing in, hastily pulling on pale gold robes and a white sash.

"Well!" The woman declared, closing the door behind her and fixing her pale gold hair. "Fashionably late, I see. Forgive my tardiness, my Lords. I am Ariehnna, the Head of Council of Turehnemay Hold. On behalf of all of the people here, you are humbly welcomed. I hope the extra fighters we have will help in the fight to come."

Atemu nodded his reply as Ariehnna took her seat next to her husband. "We are glad to be here. How much information have you been given from messengers from Ice Ridge?"

"Only that some anonymous enemy has targeted the women of Northern Reach, and has been attacking Hold after Hold," Aerune stated. His wife nodded in concurrence. "How this was figured out, though we are unsure."

"I can fill you in on that," Yuugi stated. "When the map was displayed to us by the ice Guardians that came to us for help." At this, Jono removed the map from a pouch that he was carrying, and displayed it on the table for all to see. A few gasps went around the table, as the penciled outline of the partially finished symbol was still on the map. "On top of this information, the casualties are astronomical in women compared to men."

"Do we know who is behind this?" Ariehnna asked.

"No idea at all," Atemu conceded. "And the scouts haven't been able to find out who's giving who directions in the enemy lines. All that we do know is that they're on their way here, and will reach the Hold gates by morning."

The Head of Council shook her head. "Very well. We'll get our intelligence on it as soon as possible. Ice Guardians are harder to spot up here than anyone else, even when they're right next to you. We'll see what we can find out. The only thing I'm worried about is the battle leaking into the Hold walls itself. There are too many mothers and babies within our perimeters to allow that."

"Don't worry," Atemu said. "The battle will not, under any circumstances, be allowed in here. The gates are to be locked until a member of your own council, the one person you trust the most, gives the signal to open the gates after the battle is over. If, in the unlikely event that we should fail, and the enemy remains outside your walls, you are to contact the Divine City immediately, and the Magistrate will give the okay to send as many more soldiers and Guardians as you need."

The council all nodded their heads solemnly, understanding what to do in the event of disaster.

The Prince nodded, too. "It is settled, then. We will make strategies till sundown, then get some rest in preparation for morning. In the mean time, there is a lot of preparing to do. With your leave," he gestured, and Ariehnna and Aerune stood, bowed, and the rest of the council stood as well and went about their business.

By the time night fell, Yuugi's head hurt from thinking too much. They thought and created strategies and plotted and planned and did every little devious addition they could think of to their battle plan. By the time they were 'mostly' done, Yuugi felt that they had already fought and perhaps even lost the battle. He was grateful when he was finally allowed to let his head hit the pillow. He was even more grateful when Atemu's head hit the pillow next to his, and felt arms wrap warmly and lovingly around him.

Sadly, he knew his sleep wouldn't last too long.

And he was right, too. Just as it seemed that he could sleep forever in the sweet warmth, their door burst open with a burst, and a frantic voice called into the darkness of their room. "Sires! You must wake! The enemy is getting close!"

The Prince sat bolt upright in his bed. Yuugi followed nearly as fast, his breath startled out of him. Yuugi got a glimpse of Jono as he left from their doorway, off to get the lines ready.

They dressed in a blur, hardly having time to greet one another after their sleep. Clothed and still harnessing their sword holsters to their waists, they ran out into the hall and then out into the frigid winter air. Astarte and Senke barreled up to them, already saddled and harnessed themselves. Goddess, these horses are smart. Yuugi and Atemu mounted without even blinking, and headed to the gates.

"Jono!" Atemu yelled. "Where are the lines?"

"In formation!" the Captain's voice called back from up ahead. "We're just waiting for your call!"

"Good! Get in line yourself. You know what to do. Sweetheart-"

Yuugi stopped and looked at Atemu, who's eyes were now locked onto his.

"Be careful, love. You know the plan."

With a nod, they nudged their Sacreds gently in the sides, and ran out of the gates to opposite directions.

The land around Turehnemay was flat, unlike Ice Ridge. There were no hills for them to hide behind, but there was foliage, and plenty of dense brush to hide in. They would remain unseen until the enemy was right under their noses. Once again, though, they framed the area, so once they closed in on the enemy, they enemy would be pinned against the Hold walls.

Astarte bounded into the brush and trees, more high strung than before their arrival. Her eyes looked almost wild, and she had an even harder time standing still. "Astarte," Yuugi whispered above her ear. "You must be still, love. We can't give away our position. I know you sense something but...but we'll have to pull through no matter what."

She bobbed her head, and stilled a little, but her eyes betrayed her worried state.

Silence. The troops had filed in behind him minutes ago, and now not a peep could be hear, aside from the howl of the blowing wind. The snow was heavier today than it had been the day before. It was nearly white-out conditions. If the enemy wasn't frozen by now, they would be soon.

Again, it was nerve-wracking. Again, he felt like he would suffocate with the tension.

He saw them before he heard them. For all of their girth and they size, they were surprisingly silent. The big burly men that were all brown and black and dirty trudged up towards Turehnemay's walls, their eyes dead and their hands barring arms.

A white stallion stormed up to meet them, neighing loudly and rearing to full height. "Leave this place!" Atemu yelled. "And no harm shall befall you!"

They didn't seem to hear him. They kept walking, the weapons getting raised even higher. Yuugi watched as Atemu raised his hand, and shot a blast of black energy into the sky once again.

"Warriors! We fight!" He rode quickly, and heard the pounding of hooves behind him as he raced onto the battle field, his sword swinging. Blood began flying up all around him once again. The jar he felt was odd, but he hardly noticed it just the same, every time Astarte's hooves made contact with a body. The crunching of bones became background noises, right along with the screams.

Out of the corner of his eye, a streak of brown caught his vision, and right after a sharp pain he saw black, then new no more.

xxx

Atemu finally allowed himself to catch his breath, sheathing his sword and taking the reins with both hands. The battlefield was littered with bodies, and thankfully most of them were enemy bodies. Steam rose in abundance into the air, both from sweat and cooling bodies. Senke was covered in blood from head to hoof, but he surprisingly wasn't winded. "Well, another battle down, Yuugi." He turned for a response, not expecting to see no one behind him. "Yuugi?" His partner had met up with him the last time the battle was over. Where was he now? "Yuugi?" He asked a little louder. No one else left on the battlefield responded to him. "Yuugi!"

Panic started to rise in his throat. No, oh Holy Goddess no. No, no, no! "Yuugi? YUUGI!" Senke sensed his panic, and started to race around the field, looking for a body. "Yuugi!"

Jono looked up from recovering bodies, noticing the Prince racing around and calling for the Betrothed. Oh, no...

Atemu felt tears sting at his eyes. "Yuugi, answer me!"

Suddenly, a white horse sat up from laying down on the ground with a grunt. He recognized those aloof green eyes. Astarte... He directed Senke in her direction, dismounting before his horse was even done running. He fell to the ground where the Sacred had just been resting on, finding Yuugi's body resting peacefully. Blood lightly stained his hood. Without even thinking, he ripped the hood off, seeing the blood oozed out of Yuugi's skull. He leaned over and listened for breath, a pulse, anything.

Thump...thump...thump...

"Thank Eternity," he choked out, holding the limp body close. Yuugi was alive. He looked up at those green eyes that were starring at him. Smart girl. She played dead and laid down over his body, keeping him warm and protected from danger.

Jono bounded up on his Sacred. "Healers are on the way."

xxx

Yuugi blinked his eyes open slowly, his head feeling like it was swimming in a fish bowl. "Uuugh," he groaned, feeling drained.

"You're awake."

He blinked again, turning his head ever so slowly. "Atemu?" He asked groggily. He could just make out a smile.

"Yes, love. How are you feeling?"

"Dead."

"But you're not. That's the important thing."

"What happened?"

"You took a blow to the head from a club. It gave you a pretty bad concussion. The Healers said you'll be fine, though."

"How long have I been out?"

"Four days."

"Ugh, Good god. No wonder I'm tired. Who one?"

"We did. Twice."

Yuugi looked back up at those warm crimson eyes. "What do you mean?"

"We're at Hold Forescythe. There was a fight here last night. There is only one fight left, and that's Kyanah's Hold."

Yuugi attempted to sit up, but thought better of it, as the fish bowl his head was in started to swish and sway. "I slept through a whole battle?"

Atemu got up from his seat and sat next to Yuugi on his bed, putting his hands on Yuugi's shoulders. "It's all right, love. We were fine. The Guardians have all been worried about you, as have the soldiers. We're just glad you're okay."

Yuugi finally enjoyed the feeling of his eyes clearing a bit, and saw how Atemu looked at him differently. He looked...older. "You've changed," he said softly.

The Prince looked at him oddly. "What do you mean, Yuugi?"

"Your eyes look different. What happened?"

Atemu sighed. "Receptive, aren't you?" Yuugi was silent as he waited for the continuation. "I thought you had died at Turehnemay. My whole world started to crumble, Yuugi."

"And then you had to fight in a battle without me."

The Prince brushed a stray bang behind Yuugi's ear. "The Healer's don't want you to fight at Kyanah's. They say you could seriously injure yourself, even if you never take a hit."

"What if something happens to you?"

"We'll have to deal with things one crisis at a time." A weak smile. "Like assuring Astarte that you are indeed still alive. She's been hell for days now."