No Longer Alone


Do you have Etrian Odyssey yet? Buy it. Play it.

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The first, feeble rays of the morning sun were struggling to break their way through the fog-enshrouded landscape. Wrapped in a thick blanket of chilly mist, the fortress of Rigwald looked somewhat like an imposing, black giant, towering over and glaring at the denizens that covered the fields around it.

Several Frelian and Renaitian soldiers, up for duties, training, or whatever struck their fancies, wandered sleepily about the area. Several of them stepped past the shattered gates of the fortress, wandering into the sprawling courtyard area.

And it was through this courtyard that two figures ran, encircling the inner perimeter, their deep and steady breathing indication of the efforts they were expending on their training.

Franz looked over his shoulder, offering an encouraging look to the obviously struggling Ross. "Come on, keep it up! Just one and a half more rounds!"

"Hrrrhhh… hrrrhhh…" Ross stumbled in his gait, his face and neck coated in a thick sheen of sweat, even in the chilly morning air. Franz slowed the pace of his own jog, enough so that Ross could catch up with him.

"How… how do you do it?" Ross demanded, not without a fair bit of resentment. "I mean… you're not… that much older than me. And you're wearing armour too!"

Franz shrugged, feeling the heavy metal plates jangle against each other. "It's plain hard work." He said frankly. "Just keep at it, Ross, and you'll outpace me in no time."

The young axefighter let out a snort that was a mix between a chuckle and a groan. Nodding and urging his friend onward, Franz increased his pace.


"Hey, brother!" Forde raised his arm, beckoning to the young knight. "Saved you some bread if you want it."

Franz nodded gratefully and walking over, using a towel to wipe the sweat from his face as he did so. Settling himself onto a felled log, he extended his hand, taking the food offered from his brother.

As he bit down into the tough bread and chewed, his brother quirked an eyebrow at him. "So, need I ask where you were last night?"

"No." Franz swallowed his current bite. "You needn't."

"That's because I can guess, isn't it?" Forde tapped his chin, thoughtfully. "Let me see now. You wouldn't happen to have spent your time with… what was her name, again? Ah, yes, Amelia, wasn't it?"

"How much are you enjoying this?" Franz commented offhandedly as he tore off another chunk of bread.

"Oh, lots." Forde replied. "Anyway, am I right?"

Franz resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, you are."

"Hmph." Forde chuckled good-naturedly. "I can't believe I let my own brother get the drop on me on the romantic scene! I'm going to have to find a girlfriend, and fa-"

Franz rubbed his forehead. "Remind me again how you managed to become part of Lord Ephraim's personal retinue?"

"It's a mystery to everyone." Kyle said dryly as he walked up to the pair and folded his legs to sit down on a grassy patch.

"Well, I would say it has to do with my amazing physique and combat prowess." Forde shrugged. "And sorry, but there's no more food here. You're going to have to hunt it down yourself."

Kyle rolled his eyes and stood, walking off in search of sustenance.

Forde watched him for a moment before turning back to Franz. "Jokes aside, brother, I'm glad for both of you. You've managed to survive another fight."

"And another one's bound to be in wait for us before long." The young knight shook his head. "I wonder what's going to become of us before the war's over."

"Whatever happens, happens." Forde shrugged as he picked at the last of the bread, popping the crumbs into his mouth.

"Hard to believe you could be so flippant." Franz mumbled sourly.

"I'm being serious here." Forde replied. "I fight my best, and I hope to win." He nodded. "If the day comes that I'm outfought by my foe… then that day comes. Nothing I can do about that."

Franz's expression darkened. "I guess… I'm not like you. I can't be so carefree. I don't fight for my personal gain. For Renais, for General Seth, Prince Ephraim and the Princess… for you, too. That's what I fight for. I can't afford to lose."

Forde shook his head. "Just like Kyle." He said with an exaggerated sigh. "Take the battle too seriously, and you're sure to make a mistake." He grinned. "Why, there was this time where Kyle-"

"I'm sure taking nothing seriously isn't the best recipe for avoiding scrapes either." Franz glanced pointedly at the multitude of scars and nicks that adorned Forde's crimson armour. It was a well-known fact among the knights of Renais that for every battle-mark Crimson Rider Forde sustained in battle, he got another by doing something stupid like falling off his horse and onto a pile of weaponry, painting in the midst of battle and the like.

"Okay, so I'm not the poster boy for your exemplary knight." Forde shrugged sheepishly. "But still, there's more to life than being straight-laced and holier-than-thou."

Franz chuckled. "All right, all right. I know what you're saying."

"Uh-huh. I suppose your visit to Amelia is proof of you knowing how to take life lightly, eh?"

Franz let out an exasperated groan just as Kyle returned with his own food. Bidding his brother farewell, he stood, walking off in the direction of the fortress gates.


As he neared the archway of Fort Rigwald, he saw Prince Ephraim surrounded by several advisors, obviously deep in though. As he neared, he could hear snippets of the conversation, and subconsciously he slowed his pace.

"…spring up all over the land…"

"…They say the Tower of Valni was overrun by these things."

"…We stand a risk of being waylaid by these creatures anywhere from here to the Capital."

Ephraim blew out a long sigh, and then he caught sight of Franz. Raising a hand, he beckoned the young knight over and hesitantly, he obeyed.

"Franz, while traveling with my sister, you ran into a pack of… otherworldly creatures, correct?"

"Ye-yes."

"Would you say there were a difficult foe?"

Franz frowned. "Well, they were rather weak individually. It's just that there were humongous numbers of them to make up for the lack in their individual strength."

Ephraim nodded. "Well, it'll be rather difficult to hide monsters who depend on overwhelming their foe with quantity." He signaled one of the nearby messengers. "Inform the Pegasus riders and scouts of this new threat, and get them to report back on any activity that may signal the approach of such beings."

"Yes, sire." The people started to disperse, and Franz was about to follow when he heard Ephraim's voice calling him.

"Franz? Stay for a while. I've got something to discuss with you." Ephraim said without looking up from the chart he was currently perusing.

Suppressing an urge to sigh, Franz nodded and stood at attention before his lord as Ephraim continued mapping out a course of action. Several minutes passed before the crown prince of Renais glanced up with a sigh.

"Franz. Concerning your actions last night…"

"Yes, milord?" Franz replied crisply.

There was another long moment of silence before Ephraim sighed and glanced up into the cavalier's eyes. "I've decided… that I will not impede you from meeting with the Grado prisoner."

It took Franz several long seconds before he comprehended the full meaning of the statement. "T- thank you, milord." He finally stammered.

Ephraim kept the stern countenance on his face. "This war has caused too much sorrow and grief already." The beginnings of a smile graced his features. "Do you consider that girl – Amelia – a friend?"

"…I do." He replied softly.

"Then who am I to prevent two friends from meeting?" Ephraim was smiling now. Then his expression hardened. "Although… I plan to set out the day after tomorrow. So if you wish to spend time with her…" He nodded. "Make good use of it."

"I will, milord."

Smiling, he turned to head for Amelia's room, until he noticed that he was still covered in sweat and grime for his morning workout. Not to mention the tunic he was wearing was hardly in a better shape.

"…" He paused and folded his arms, considering his options.


As he scrubbed at the dirt and grime on his arms, Franz reflected unhappily that the water was freezing.

Still, it probably wouldn't have done to have shown himself to Amelia the way he was. He wasn't sure about the sensibilities she possessed, but he had a feeling he couldn't use female soldiers like Vanessa as any sort of guideline.

As he continued his bath in the still river, he could hear the shouts and calls of Frelians at ease in the nearby forest. From what he could discern, a large amount of their conversation was focused on the Grado soldiers, and most of it was largely negative.

Franz sighed and shook his head. He supposed their unhappiness and anger was only natural, but it wasn't going to help matters any once the war ended. Their target was supposed to be Emperor Vigarde alone – once he and his madness was halted, well… hopefully things could return to the way they were before.

Stepping out of the water, he hastily dried himself and shrugged on a set of clean clothes. After pausing to stretch for a few moments, he headed back in the direction of the fortress.


Amelia lay on her bed, arms folded across her chest as she pondered what to do. Being cooped up in a room all day was, well, mind-numbingly boring, to put it mildly.

Of course, one alternative was carrying out the daily training regimen assigned to her by the officers of the Grado army, but somehow it seemed a bit redundant in this situation, not to mention that she had a hard time at carrying out these torturous exercises on a voluntary basis.

A soft knock sounded at the door. Amelia sat bolt upright.

"C-come in!"

The door swung open with a soft creak and Franz entered, smiling.

"How are you holding up?"

"Oh, fine." She lied. "Just fine." She frowned. There seemed to be something… different about him…

"I didn't bring in anything special for lunch today." He shrugged sheepishly. "Hope that's alright. Frankly, the rations we get are probably no more appealing than yours."

She chuckled. "It's alright. I'm just glad that you'd make time for me."

"Mm. How's that arm of yours?"

"Huh? Oh! It's just fine by now. Thanks for the treatment. I took the bandage off just now." Then she cocked her head to one side, her smile turning quizzical. "There's something different about you today, Franz. I can't place it, but… it's there."

Franz rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh. Well, I, uh, I took a bath before coming up."

Her eyes widened at that revelation, and almost instinctively she glanced down at herself. Born and raised in the countryside, she'd never seen bathing regularly as much of a necessity unless you'd done something to really mess yourself up, and regardless, the room she was holed up in didn't have much in the way of facilities. She'd had to find a guard to accompany her to the latrine every time she needed to relieve herself, something that caused her a great deal of embarrassment. That aside, in between not having the time to freshen herself up from the trek that had brought her to Fort Rigwald and participating (however briefly) in a bloody battle had the sum result of ensuring that she was… well, that she was absolutely filthy.

Franz had apparently noticed her expression, because he reached out and grasped her shoulder, causing her to look up into his encouraging smile.

"Anything the matter?"

"Oh, nothing." She said, trying to force a smile. You never realized how difficult it was to be a prisoner until you were a prisoner yourself. "Just… well, compared to how clean you are, I'm…" She shrugged, hoping that it was obvious enough that she wouldn't have to go deeper.

"Oh…" His voice was low, oddly muted. "I didn't realize..."

"Franz?"

"Yes?"

She sighed despondently. "When will… when will I be free?"

He started, obviously not expecting such a question. "Uh… I, t-that is…" He stammered. "Why?" He finally managed.

She shook her head. "I know you're all treating us Grads better than we deserve – we should be locked up in dungeons a thousand times worse than what we have. But I feel… I feel so helpless in here. Like I can't do anything at all."

"Amelia…"

"This probably sounds stupid, huh." She mumbled. "I'm complaining about this to you, and you – well, you've been nothing but great to me, Franz – from the moment that I met you on the battlefield."

She sat silent until she felt Franz's hand on her shoulder. At that, she glanced up a questioning look in her eyes.

"Come on then." He said softly.

"Huh?"


"All I know is that Prince Ephraim isn't going to be happy with this." The ponytailed knight that was apparently Franz's brother stated.

"Then let's hope he doesn't find out, huh?" Franz replied. The three of them were now making their way through the forested region towards a nearby river.

"Remind me again why I'm agreeing to help you on this?" Franz's brother asked good-naturedly – she was pretty sure his name had been Forde or something like that…

"Because you love your younger brother and you're willing to do him a favour?" Franz shot back.

"Hmm… nah. I think it's more to do with the fact that I want to make sure we don't get a runaway on our hands." Forde smirked at Amelia, and she could feel her face heating up rapidly.

"Forde!" Franz snapped.

"Hey, you can't blame me for this." Forde shrugged. "You may trust her, but all I have to go on is your word."

Franz let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead. "Could we not discuss this with her so close in the vicinity?"

"P-please stop." Amelia said hesitantly to Forde. "I haven't given anyone any reason to suspect me."

Forde shrugged elaborately. "Maybe. But you haven't exactly given anyone any reason to trust you either. Even your 'friendship' with my brother has largely been a zero-sum affair, hasn't it?"

It was true, Amelia reflected bitterly. Ever since she'd met him, Franz had been the one looking out for her, providing for her. Even now he was risking a severe punishment from his commander just for her sake.

Before she could continue her thoughts she was distracted by Franz quickening his pace to put himself in front of his brother.

"Enough, Forde." He said calmly, but Amelia could detect the steel in his voice. "I asked you to help me, true, but that does not give you the right to make disparaging comments about Amelia. If you're going to continue in this manner, then you might as well return to the camp."

There was an uncomfortable silence for several seconds before Forde turned to Amelia. "My apologies, fair maiden." He said crisply. "I didn't intend to cast any doubts upon your character."

Amelia merely nodded tightly and continued on towards the river.


The instant that he was sure that Amelia was out of hearing range, Franz turned on Forde. "What do you think you're doing?" He demanded angrily.

Forde raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the trunk of a tree. "Funny, brother. I was just about to ask you the same question. Sneaking a prisoner of war out into a forest? Ever since I knew you, you've always been one for the rulebook."

"Oh, as if you wouldn't do the same in my place." Franz muttered.

"Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't." Forde shrugged. "That's not the issue, however. I'm not in your place. You are. And what I want to know is why you're risking your good standing with the Prince for the sake of one girl."

"Because the only reason she's even considered our enemy is because of the country she was born in." Franz snapped. "She doesn't even have the ability to fight. She's not some enemy assassin or master spy – she's a scared girl that joined the army with dreams of glory and found the reality to be sorely lacking."

"Funny, I recall I once knew a young lad who had the exact same problems." The tone in Forde's voice made his intent plain.

Franz snorted. "Why do you think I empathize with her so much? I was just lucky enough to be on a team that won battles. She wasn't."

The older knight ducked his head, fiddling with several strands of his straw-coloured hair. "Fine. I'm not going to judge you. Or your actions. But I'm not going to stand in and take heat for you if things go amiss, okay?"

"I never asked you to." Franz folded his arms and looked off in the direction that Amelia had gone off to bath. "I made the decision, and I'll accept all blame that falls on me."


A while later, Amelia emerged from the river, feeling far more refreshed and energetic than she had an hour prior.

Slipping into her new tunic and skirt, she caught sight of her reflection in the still water. Nervously, she ran a hand through her still damp hair, trying to arrange it into a more presentable form than the tangled sprawl it had ended up in.

Standing and smoothing her skirt out, she turned and headed back to the clearing where Franz was waiting.

As he caught sight of her approaching, the cavalier broke into a smile. "Feel better?"

"Oh, yes. Lots!" She grinned. Then her expression faded into a curious look. "Franz? Where's your brother?"

"He decided to head back first. He was never much for patience anyway."

"Oh…"

Franz sighed and rubbed the back of his neck before venturing a question. "Amelia… are you ready to go back? Or would you prefer to stay out here a bit longer?"

Amelia bit her lip, unsure of how to answer. Her entire being would prefer it if she never returned to that room again – but she knew that Franz was responsible for her, and every extra second she spent out here increased the chances of her being missing, and him being punished for her sake.

Finally, her sense of honour won out, and she shook her head. "Thanks, but I guess we should be heading back."

"All right, then." Franz nodded easily. "Back to the fort it is."


Amelia had once again donned a heavy robe that obscured most of her features, allowing her to walk beside Franz as they threaded their way through the camp. So long as she didn't act too out of place, or they didn't run into any unfortunate encounters, no one would've thought to pay them a second glance.

They were almost within a fortress when Amelia heard someone calling Franz's name. Surreptitiously, she turned, catching sight of a woman clad almost entirely in white robes that bore the symbols of the holy men. She was fast approaching the both of them.

"Natasha?" She heard Franz respond. "What is it?"

"Prince Ephraim's calling all the knights of Renais for some sort of council. They've been looking for you."

"Oh." Franz nodded. "Thanks for the heads up. I'll be there shortly." Natasha nodded, smiled, and walked back off.

They quickly found their way back to her room, and as Franz ushered her inside, he smiled at her, promising that he'd be back later tonight.

Amelia managed to keep the smile on her face until Franz was gone. Then, as she turned to gaze at her cage, it crumpled back into a mask of sorrow and frustration.


The council with Ephraim took longer than expected – he had been detailing and outlining plans for their continued incursion deeper into Grado territory – and thus far reports of the strange monsters had been increasing.

The basic overview was that there was going to be a push southwards to Bethroen. Then, depending on the feasibility of things, they'd probably try for sea route to Taizel, which would provide a more direct route to the Capital.

Also, there had been the reports of the number of monsters increasing, and strategies and steps had to be taken in order to plan for the eventuality that the army would face these creatures in combat. The strategists gave suggestions for their overviews and battle plans, while the knights offered their views on how the battle would likely play out on the field.

In the end, between one thing and another, it was near sundown when the meeting broke up, and dinner was being dutifully doled out to the knights.

Franz had planned to join Amelia for dinner, but a bunch of Frelian knights had somehow roped him into some game involving a cup and several dice, and he was trapped for the better part of an hour.

By the time he was able to break free and head back to the fort itself, the stars had begun to dot the night sky.


As she heard the door knocking softly, Amelia raised her head once more. "Come in." She said softly.

Franz opened the door and stepped inside. As soon as he caught sight of her, his smile turned into a look of concern. "Hey. How are you?"

"Feeling cooped up." Amelia chuckled.

It wasn't so much staying in this cage. It was with her being all alone. She always felt better when Franz was around – although the endless reminders that he would have to leave again put a damper on her mood.

"Oh, that's…" Franz sighed. "I wish I could do something to help."

If only there was some way to stay with him – if he didn't need to go away again. I know, I know, this is selfish of me. But… I just can't help it, can I?

"…Franz? Could I ask you something?"

Well, there's no way that he can stay. I mean, he's a soldier and a knight. He's got to follow his lord into battle. Even I wouldn't be so selfish to demand that he stay with me.

"What is it?"

And so… so, if there's no way that he can stay with me…

"That cleric that we bumped to earlier, in the afternoon... I thought I heard her speaking with a Grad accent…"

"Oh, yes. Natasha was a cleric in the Imperial Temple." He smiled slightly. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it just makes me feel better…" She shook her head, the ghost of a smile appearing on her face. "That there's a precedent for this and everything?"

"Hm? Amelia, what are you talking about?"

Then I guess the only way…

She looked up, gazing into his eyes. She'd spent the better part of the afternoon thinking about this, and, well, she was pretty sure of this. There was always the chance of rejection, of being turned down, but… she was sure. She wanted to do this.

Is to go with him.

"Franz." She said softly. "I want to fight alongside you. Even if it means defecting from Grado. I want… I want to join the Frelian Army."

(X)

End Chapter

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