Chapter 11:
To Ylisstol
"...Ugh, where's the mainland?" Aramis said impatiently, leaning against the side of the ship. They had been sailing for what seemed like weeks to them. None but Nathaniel, Clarisa, and Raphael had journeyed out of the dynast before. They were all thrilled to see a new and inviting landscape, but the wait to get there was unbearable for them. Unsurprisingly, Aramis cracked first. He whipped out his Arcwind tome and took aim at the ship's sail. "I'll just speed things along."
Raphael saw what Aramis was planning and immediately ran and pushed him down, "You moron!" Raphael scolded him, "You'll rip the sail! Sails like these aren't meant to withstand standard wind tomes, let alone Arcwind! We'd be going even slower without a sail!"
Aramis rubbed his head in pain. He had fallen on his face and he was a tiny bit angry at Raphael for roughly pushing him aside, "I'M the MORON?! You just shoved over the most important member of this team!" Aramis rose to his feet and pointed his finger, "If I had so much as broken something-"
"-I'm a little surprised you didn't, weakling." Raphael retorted with a smirk.
"WEAKLING?!" Aramis pulled out his Elthunder tome, "I'll not stand for such insults! Draw your blade, Raphael."
"I'd be glad to oblige you in a duel," he pulled out a steel sword, "just don't bleed all over the boat." The other Defenders stood and watched. Jack had nearly forgotten about the apple he was munching on when he saw Raph push down Aramis, but he had seen enough. Jack threw his apple behind him and stepped between them, holding both back with his unusually strong arms.
"Stop it, you two!" Jack commanded.
"Butt out, pony boy." Raphael said coldly.
"Yeah, why does it matter to you?" Helen asked. She was extremely bored since boarding this vessel and a good tussle was just what she wanted to watch.
"It matters to me because I don't want the boat to sink!" He pointed at the tome in Aramis's hand, "What if a stray thunderbolt hit the mast? We would have to row the rest of the way, and it is still a long haul."
"I...uhh..." Aramis stuttered, sheepishly.
Jack turned to Raphael, whom he had guessed would be the more responsible of the two, "What if Captain Priam found out about this little skirmish, hmm? We would be doing team exercises for the rest of the trip!"
"Huh..." Raphael stepped back, my old man might not be too proud of me for hurting a comrade over something that didn't matter. And he definitely WOULD make us do those exercises...
"You're right, Jack," he set a hand on his shoulder, "this is not worth ruining the time we have here."
"What's going on? I heard yelling."
The Defenders turned to see their fearless leader, Priam, standing at the steps to the bottom of the ship. Raphael scratched his head nervously, He'll want an explanation... he slowly moved toward his father, but Jack stepped in front of him
"Just a minor argument, Captain." Jack said with a salute. "We're all a little weary from the long voyage."
"It doesn't look like it was 'minor' to me," seeing the sword and tome that both young men held in their hands, "but it appears that you managed to settle your dispute without violence." He spoke up to address everyone, "Be patient, everyone. Plegia is not that far off. We'll most likely have a few Risen battles to face to get to Ylisse, but we'll come through with flying colors...diiiisMISSED" Priam saluted and walked back down below.
After Priam was out of sight, everyone let out a breath they were apparently holding in. All but Helen were relieved, "Aww, I was totally going to take bets for that fight..."
"We need to do something to calm us all down," Nathaniel said uneasily, "recently, even I'VE been on edge..."
"Trust me," Jack was stretching slightly, "we all know how you feel. Maybe we can find a way to get to the other boat." He pointed to the slightly smaller frigate used for transporting goods and livestock; specifically, the mounts.
"That is a wonderful idea!" Said Clarisa, "I would love to go for a flight on my pegasus, with the wind in my hair, and the ocean below..." her eyes glazed over as she continued to daydream. Her little brother shook his head at the sight, but he continued her thought. "She has a point. If someone wanted to, I could let them fly with me for a while so Ashnard can stretch his wings."
"Flying on a griffon would be the most greatestest thing ever!" Tia spoke excitedly.
"Then it's agreed," Jack stood straight, "We are going to find someone who can take us to the mounts' boat."
They all nodded and walked toward the stairs to the galley, all but Aramis, as Raphael noted. Raphael turned around to see Aramis still standing there. "Are you coming?"
"In a minute, but, I want to apologize." Aramis? Apologize? These words never went together, "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. 'Mages should keep sound minds to make the magic sound' or that's what Z'eldryn used to tell me."
"Bah," Raphael warded off his apology, "It was just as much my fault. I should have been calmer about the situation." He extended his hand, "Let's just forget it."
They shook hands and ran to find the rest of their comrades.
Finding someone to ferry them across to the other boat was a snap. The crew from the other ship was constantly traversing between the two and told them that the next boat could take them over.
Nathaniel and Jack were good friends, so they rode Ashnard first with Helen next in line. Clarisa offered to let Raphael ride with her. Raphael refused at first, "Uh, n-no thanks! Why don't you let Aramis go?" The Defenders still on the boat were slightly confused.
"This is a little embarrassing but..." Aramis put his hand behind his head, "I'm afraid of heights..."
"...Damn," Raphael cursed under his breath.
"Why don't you want to ride with me?" Clarisa queried, "I know it's not a griffon like Nate's, but it has just as much strength and agility!"
If only she knew, he thought, if only she knew how much of a coward I am around her and... how much I love her...
"You ain't afraid of heights either, are ya?" Helen questioned with a smirk, jabbing Aramis in the ribs. Aramis groaned.
"N-no, I'll join you, Clarisa." Raphael said, uneasily.
"Great!" She put both of her hands together and held them at her chest, "It's going to be so much fun, I promise, Raph!"
"Great..." Raphael repeated. She mounted the pegasus and held her hand out to lift Raphael up. After both were securely on the pegasus, they shot to the sky.
The air was, indeed, refreshing and probably what everyone needed a little of. Gliding across the ocean landscape gave them that sense of freedom that they seemed to lack in the confines of the boat, yet Raphael didn't feel free. He felt the exact opposite on the pegasus's back. "Doesn't this air feel liberating?" Clarisa asked to her passenger. He was silent. He knew if he said anything, it would most likely be full of stutters and 'um's.
She took note of his silence and turned to see if he even had acknowledged the question. "...Raph?"
He knew he couldn't remain silent to the pegasus knight forever, "...yeah...liberating..."
She smiled at him, "Huh, for a mercenary, you sure are melancholy!"
"Not melancholy… just…deep thinking…"
"Deep, huh? Well at least I know ONE thing about you. To be honest, no one in all of Chon'sin's army knows anything about you. Nothing! You are a huge mystery to the entire group."
Why was she saying these things? Was she implying that she didn't trust him?
"I mean, for all we know, you could be a Plegian spy!" Yep, no trust. She continued, "But Sir Priam trusts you, so we all should, really."
"So do I have your trust?" Raphael asked, ignoring the illness he felt in his stomach from being so close to her.
"Maybe if you opened up more, sure. I mean, I don't even know where you're from."
"Well," it was hard for him to describe where he was from (the future is a hard thing to explain), but he came up with something that could work, "A long time ago," (That was a true statement), "I was born to two Chon'sin residents. They disappeared and I was raised by my uncle. When Risen struck my home town, he took us to shelter in Ylisstol. When I was old enough to lift a sword, he returned to the remains of our home town and was never heard from again."
"Wow," She replied with a face of interest, "where did you live in Chon'sin?"
"I was too young to remember the name." Raphael replied. Memories of the horrid time he lived in flooded his thoughts. They brought him constant nightmares and plagued him even in the day. He shook his head to clear his thoughts in the presence of Clarisa. "But enough about me, I don't know anything about you, either."
She slid one hand off of the reigns to scratch at her face, "Well for starters... I-" She stopped mid-sentence. Movement on the main boat caught her attention. Her eyesight was keen compared to his. He squinted his eyes, trying to figure out who the person was she had been staring at. To his astonishment, it was his father, Priam.
"Why are you staring at Priam?"
"Don't say it so loudly!" she said while covering his mouth. He nearly fell off of the pegasus due to the force. "Can you keep a secret, Raph?" He simply nodded in reply, "...Well, I… kinda… have a crush on our commander." This was a slap to his face. A girl that he felt strongly for had fallen for his father. Time travel is a cruel and ironic concept.
"He's such a brave man! Have you heard the tales of his strength? About the army he commanded in The Garden of Giants? How he fought in the Fell-Dragon War?"
"Yeah, I know all of those things." He responded dryly
"...not to mention, he's easy on the eyes..." she was lost in another daydream. He couldn't believe it. He didn't know how to feel about it. He knew she didn't have a chance with him because Priam was nearly ten years older than her.
"Clarisa... I want to-" But then he saw it, it was foggy, but he saw it; land.
"Raph?" Clarisa was wondering why he had stopped.
"Clarisa! Look ahead!" he pointed forward and she turned to see what he had seen. She gave a squeal of joy.
"Land! Plegia... but still, land!" She steered her pegasus back to the mount's boat to inform the others.
The news spread like wildfire. The moral of the crew and army skyrocketed, and the entire fleet celebrated that night. They were still a couple days away thanks to the unfavoring wind, but they were excited, nonetheless. Jack and a couple members of the ship's crew volunteered to make a small feast to commemorate the arrival. Jack was an aspiring chef with a dream of opening the finest restaurant in all of Valm, maybe the world. His cooking was nothing but extraordinary. He truly was an excellent cook with anything he was given.
They all sat down in the ship's galley to eat. Raphael was talking to Priam and Nathaniel about supplies when he heard his name called. "Raphael!" He turned to see Clarisa with a half-smile on her face.
"Yeah? What."
"We need to find a time and place to talk. I still feel like I don't know enough. You choose the time, anytime." She waved at the people sitting next to him and left to rejoin Helen and Tia. He was beet red.
Priam chuckled, "What was that all about, Raph?"
"Yeah, my sister wouldn't stop talking about how you acted on your flight with her today." Nathaniel piped in.
"It doesn't matter." He said in an undertone. Nathaniel and Priam looked at each other, shrugged, and continued eating.
After the feasting had ended, Priam stood and addressed the group, "Tomorrow, we begin our march through Plegian territory. They are without a ruler and they have no honor, summoning Risen when needed. This will be our first mission."
"Priam is correct." Robin stood from his seat next to Cordelia. "This will test the strength of Greil's Defenders. Walking through Plegian sand will be no easy task for ground-based soldiers with the exception of mages," Aramis let out a 'woohoo!' before being glared at by Priam. Robin continued, "Lady Cordelia and I shall scout the landscape one day ahead of you all. If we spot anything out of the ordinary, we shall fly back as fast as possible."
"Forgive me, milord," Helen spoke up, trying to sound like a noble like her parents had told her to, "but why must we arrive in Plegia? Surely we can travel through Regna Ferox safely."
Priam spoke in Robin's stead, "Ylisse is desperate for assistance. Their army is spread thin this very moment because they still have had no time to reinforce since the Fell-Dragon War. That is why we take the quickest route, be it a little dangerous."
"But why not sail around Plegia?" Tanuitia asked, "We wouldn't have to face Plegia and we would get there faster."
The captain of the vessel now spoke to answer her question, "That path through the sea is forbidden unless you are traveling to the Outrealms. If you sail within that vicinity, you go to an Outrealm, whether you wanted to or not."
"I advise all of you to get to sleep early tonight; we have a long day ahead of us." Priam said.
"And with that, Cordelia and I make our leave for the mainland on her pegasus. Farewell." Robin waved his hand and rose from his seat to prepare for their journey. He did the gentlemanly thing and held his hand out for Cordelia. The two walked hand-in-hand up to the deck. Raphael heard Clarisa sigh again.
"Again," Priam reminded, "Get to bed early. Sleep well, everyone." he glanced across the room to make sure everyone was paying attention, when he noticed that Clarisa was blushing again. Why? Hmm... I must intimidate her... Oh well, I don't go easy on anyone.
He saluted, which was returned with salutes from his troops, and then he went topside to get some training in before bed.
Clarisa sighed after Priam had left. She had a faint smirk on her lips and glazed-over eyes. She was obviously daydreaming about Priam again. Raphael had seen all of these things and he wondered if he had the strength and charisma to knock his own father out of her heart, it would be the hardest challenge he had ever faced. He sighed as well, but his was more audible, and Nathaniel had heard it.
"What's wrong, Raph?" He asked with a hint of worry.
Realizing his blunder of making his sigh loud enough for others to hear, he tried to change the subject, "Oh-er-nothing... How is Ashnard?"
"Oh... Fine, thanks for asking. Jack and I saw some crazy stuff while we were up there, riding, but we..." Raphael was no longer listening to him. He continued to talk, but it fell on deaf ears as Raphael's attention had changed to the new and troublesome land he would venture to the next day. The land is where Grima was resurrected and caused the horrible future he lived in for most of his life. He began to remember the Risen destroying towns, the friends he lost, the constant fire from charred houses, the empty landscapes, His friends who traveled to the past, and the castle. I wonder what the castle looks like knowing that Grima didn't touch this one.
"Hey Raph!"
"muh?"
"Sorry Raph," Nathaniel said narrowing his eyes at the mercenary, "but it looks like you need sleep a.s.a.p. before you pass out on this table. Your eyes were glazed over and everything."
"You're right," Raphael said, slowly getting up, "I just need a little shut-eye. Goodnight, Nate…"
"Sleep well, Raph."
They both headed to the hammocks they had been assigned for the voyage. Raphael didn't fall asleep immediately, he was thinking of meeting his old friends in Ylisstol: Owain, Aaron, Gerome, Lucina… He was really too excited to sleep that night.
HEY!... Before you start shouting, "WHO THE F*** IS AARON?!" He is the son of one of the PPs in one of my next stories. So there. And on a side note, I do not know why most of my chapters include insomnia… Maybe it's just my psyche…
Originally, this chapter had love-lives being pried into like my brother looking for Oreos. My Beta-reader pal, Viral020 (Whose story rocks, so you should all check it out), suggested that I don't do this for obvious reasons. He's also given me several ideas for chapters later down the road.
Good news! Fish are off the hook for the murder of the late Rev. William James. As it turns out, it was some dolphins… And you can't really hate dolphins unless they are a football team :P. But in my defense, the fin-prints were confusing…
My poll on which PPP I should do next will be closed on Tuesday, so vote if you haven't. As of today, The Anna x Gaius story is ahead by one vote (And any fan-art would be appreciated for both stories as cover photos. I promise that you will get credited for it in the story description). Feel free to leave a review on what you liked or disliked in this chapter or the entire story. PM me anytime, I check Fanfiction via mobile, so I can check PMs frequently.
Disclaimer: I do not own Oreos, which makes me sad. Can you imagine owning your own Oreo plant and just living off of Oreos the rest of your life?! THAT, sir, is the American Dream… Oh, and I don't own Fire Emblem…
~TheSearcherer