No Longer Alone
Yes, I'm still alive.
In between mid-year exams and copious amounts of Ouendan 2, however, update times on my story have suffered. But I'm back, now. And hopefully I'll provide you with an enjoyable chapter to read.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
General Seth,
My greetings, General. Recently, the Frelian Army succeeded in their assault on Fort Rigwald. This led to the retreat of Grado forces along Frelia's border, and provided a starting point for our invasion of the Grado Empire.
We have not received word of you, or Princess Eirika, since you have began your mission. I trust that you are faring well. Sir Forde sends his regards.
Also, during the battle for Grado, I ended up meeting a Grado recruit by the name of Amelia. She ended up joining our army. She has a cheerful personality, even though her combat ability really isn't up to snuff. She's been assigned to my squad, and well, I'm actually pretty glad for that. Because, after all, it's pretty much because of me that she ended up joining in the first place.
I wish you succ
Franz crumpled up the paper into a ball and tossed it behind him. It flew, bounced once, twice, and rolled into a similar pile of several other similarly crumpled of pieces of paper.
He sighed. Getting the correct tone – just the correct amount of formality so it didn't sound like he was discussing the weather with an old friend, but with enough of a casual undertone that he had come to take with his mentor – was proving to be more of a headache than he had anticipated.
With a sigh, he pulled out another sheet, silently pondering how best to begin.
Amelia let her gaze slowly roam across the encampment.
After breaking camp from Fort Rigwald (and leaving the Grado prisoners to a Frelian detachment), they had journeyed a fair distance into Grado territory, and they were now setting up a temporary camp to spend the night in.
It was funny. Almost everything in the Frelian Army functioned the same way that the Grado army did. There were the daily exercises and drills, the same sort of tasteless rations she had come to expect of army food, the marches and the discipline.
And yet everything felt different. She felt…more comfortable, in a word. More accepted. Of course, a large part had to do with the rather personal note on which she had entered the Frelian Army, but the feeling persisted, all the same.
As she made her way through the camp, she caught sight of a flash of gleaming white. Natasha was busy tending to the wounds of a young axefighter. As she neared, she could hear her speaking in admonishing tones to him.
"Ross, honestly, what were you thinking, challenging someone like Sir Kyle to a duel? He's one of the best knights in the army!"
"That's the point!" The axefighter replied hotly. "I have to test myself against the best of the best – that's the fastest way to improve myself."
"Oh, really." Natasha shook her head. "Ross, what exactly did you learn from that duel which lasted all of seven seconds?"
Ross fell silent for a moment. "To protect my chin next time." He finally replied.
Natasha let out a tiny chuckle. "Right. Well, then, you're patched up, so off with you. Remember not to push yourself too hard."
As Ross departed the area, Amelia stepped up. "Sister Natasha?"
The cleric glanced up, an inquisitive smile on her face. Her gaze fell on the emblem of Grado embossed on the young girl's armour. "Ah, you would be Dame Amelia, correct? Franz told me about you."
Amelia quirked her head. "Oh, Franz knows you?"
Natasha's cheek turned just the slightest shade of pink. "Well, yes. He's been… my unofficial guardian, of sorts."
"Oh. I… I didn't see you with him during the battle at the fortress."
"Yes, I was usually at the back tending to the wounded." Natasha turned slightly. "I'm heading to the supply centre. Walk with me?"
"Sure." It was on her route anyway.
As the two of them walked side by side, Amelia noticed that Natasha kept sneaking glances at her, so the next time the cleric glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, Amelia stopped.
"What is it?" She inquired in what she hoped was a friendly tone. "Come on, you can tell me."
Natasha coughed. "W-well," she stammered. "I was just… I was just wondering what it's like."
"Hm? What's what like?"
"Being forced to take up arms… against your own country." Natasha swallowed. "At the end of the day, we're both deserters, Amelia. You and I. The only difference is… well, my job is to heal – to restore and sustain life. Once a battle is over, I can treat the soldiers of Grado with the same care and concern that I would treat any other wounded. But you… you're a soldier. Your job… is to fight the enemy. To fight Grado. Your country." She let her gaze fall to the ground. "I can't imagine it being at all pleasant."
Amelia herself was silent for a long while. Then she sighed and nodded. "Yeah. It's… I haven't had much chance to go against Grado soldiers… but I know if I want to be a soldier, I'm going to have to do it sooner or later."
She paused. "And when the time comes… I guess… I'll just have to deal with it."
Natasha smiled comfortingly. "Well, if you ever need anything, come to me. I'll do my best to help you."
"Thanks."
"Wait! Wait!" Franz called out to the Pegasus rider just before she took off. Glancing curiously at the knight, she accepted the sealed scroll from Franz.
She would ride through the night before reaching Castle Frelia. Assuming there wasn't a breakdown in logistics, another Pegasus Rider would sooner or later be dispatched to Eirika's troupe, carrying with her the letter he had just finished penning.
The rider looked around one last time to ascertain that no other last-minute requests were forthcoming, and with a word of command the Pegasus Knight took to the sky, legs kicking wildly against the air.
She was just on the verge of becoming little more than speck in the graying sky when he heard the sound of footfalls behind him. Turning, he broke into a smile as he caught sight of Amelia. "How are things?" He questioned.
"Oh, they're – fine. Just fine." He caught the slight hesitation in her voice, along with the shadow of discomfort that passed across her face. For a brief moment, he considered probing deeper but decided against it – he trusted Amelia to come to him if it were truly something she couldn't handle.
Apparently eager to change subjects, Amelia looked at him. "So! What were you doing?"
"Nothing much." Franz replied easily. "I was just giving the letter I wrote to the courier-"
"Letter?"
"Yeah, to General Seth. You know about Princess Eirika, right? General Seth, the Silver Knight, is traveling with her. He's the one who taught me everything I know about-"
"No, no, wait, you mean you can write?"
Franz blinked. "Well, yeah. Most of the knights of Renais are taught basic reading and writing skills. Of course, General Seth made me go a bit deeper than that, but…" He shrugged. "You mean you can't?"
Amelia flushed slightly. "Well, no. I grew up in a rural village, and most of my education involved the stuff you'd learn in a blacksmith's shop."
"Oh." Franz rubbed the back of his head. "Well…" He began. "If you'd like, I could teach you some of the basics. Nothing too fancy – the alphabet, and some of the simpler words."
"Thanks, but…" Amelia rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Training's already taking up most of my free time. Maybe when, you know, things have calmed down a bit."
"Sure, the offer's open for as long as you need it." Franz gazed up at the evening sky, slowly fading into dusk. "Come on, we've got some drills scheduled."
"Right with you."
"So, as it turned out, Ephraim had attacked Renvall and got away once reinforcements arrived, but then we showed up at Renvall and invaded it instead. Once Ephraim heard about the attack he turned around and headed back to the fortress – just in time to rescue us from the trap they had set." Franz shook his head. "It's a good thing he did, too. I don't think we'd have gotten away with our lives if it weren't for Ephraim."
Amelia looked at the leader of the army, who was currently engaged in conversation with several of the tacticians. "He really is unstoppable on the battlefield, isn't he?" She murmured softly.
"Well, he's the prince of Renais, so naturally he's been brought up under the tutelage of the best of Renais' combat instructors. And he also trained under Grado's General Duessel for a long period of time – so he's incorporated the absolute best of both country's fighting styles."
Amelia's smile grew wistful. "There's such a gap between us and… well, people like them, isn't there."
"Yeah, I guess there is." Franz chuckled. "But if I keep comparing myself to the best of the bunch like General Seth and Lord Ephraim and my brother… I'm just going to end up feeling depressed. I prefer to challenge… well, to challenge myself. To see how strong I can grow. And if one day, I can stand on the same level as them, then…" He paused. "Speaking of which, Amelia…"
"Hm?" She turned to him, but before he could continue, the ground roiled under his feet.
"Whoa!" Caught off guard, Franz was sent sprawling onto the grass. After ascertaining that he hadn't injured anything, he picked himself up, wiping away some of the wet blades of grass that had gotten stuck onto his face. Amelia, meanwhile, had kept her footing, and was now giggling merrily at his misfortune.
"Here," she said, offering a helping hand. Once he had gotten back onto his feet, she winked at him. "In Grado, tiny quakes like these are really common. Either you get used to it soon, or you're going to spend a lot of the time on the ground."
"Yeah, yeah." Franz mumbled as he dusted the rest of himself off. "It caught me by surprise, that's all."
"Anyway, you were saying?"
"Right, where was I… oh, yeah!" Franz turned to Amelia, a smile on his face. "Amelia… do you want to be my rival?"
That caught her by surprise. She blinked twice in rapid succession. "R-rival?" She blurted out. "I don't – I mean –" She hesitated. "I don't want to have to fight you…"
Now it was Franz's turn to blink in shock. "What?" Then comprehension dawned. "Oh, no, no, no. It's not like that. It's more of a competition. See, I'll try to be better than you, and you try to be better than me. We'll try to outmatch each other, that's all."
"Oh, okay…" She said hesitantly. "But… Franz. You're already so much better than me at… at… well, everything!" She chuckled nervously. "There's no way I could be your rival."
"Not everything." He shifted his gaze to the lance strapped to Amelia's pack, it's head carefully wrapped to ensure it wouldn't accidentally hurt someone. "I'm really lousy at using a lance. Let's start there, okay? We'll each practice our lancework, and we'll see how well we do."
She frowned. "Alright, if you insist. But why the whole 'rivals' thing?"
Franz coughed nervously. "Yes, well… you remember how I was talking about challenging yourself? Well, that was actually something my brother told me a long time ago, when he was just a junior knight too. And then he met Sir Kyle – the two of them argue and bicker over nearly everything – but their rivalry and friendship helped spur them on to greater heights. They may argue a lot, but they respect each other, and they grow together, too." He gazed out into the horizon. "I always… I always wanted a relationship like that."
Amelia swallowed. "W-well, I'm not sure I'm up to the task, but… I'll try my best!"
Franz chuckled. "Trying your best is all that's needed in the end." He turned around, raising his arm. "Let's work together, Amelia."
She grinned and nodded, raising her own arm so that it hooked around his. "All right! I won't let you down, Franz!"
He smiled gently back in return. "Neither will I, Amelia."
"I have it on good authority that once we reach Bethroen, Prince Ephraim is going to give the soldiers leave to buy some food from the town." Forde said.
"The poor fishmongers." Kyle replied. "They'll be stripped off their stock before an hour is out."
Behind the two of them, Amelia traded a look with Franz, he shrugged, a resigned grin on their faces. It was only natural that, given half the chance to taste real food again, soldiers would leap at it.
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot!" Forde frowned. "We got a message about Princess Eirika. Apparently she had to forsake the sea route to Rausten due to some trouble in the seas. Seems there's a 'ghost ship' of some sort causing trouble for seafarers."
"Ghost ship. Right." Kyle muttered.
"Anyway, Eirika's taking the land route to Carcino, and apparently Carcino's currently embroiled in a civil war. So the situation there is rather sticky."
Kyle groaned aloud. "And you neglected to tell us this sooner, why?"
Forde shrugged. "Hey, it wouldn't have done much good either way, right? We can't do anything about it back here in Grado – short of ending the war quickly, of course. Oh, and before I forget again," Forde reached into his doublet and pulled out a couple of sheets of paper. "The General sent you a letter, Franz. Know anything about it?"
"Y-yes. Thanks." Relieving Forde of the letter, he was about to peruse its contents when there was suddenly the distant roar of confused voices.
Franz's gaze went up as he hastily stuffed the letter into his satchel. It could wait until later…
Amelia gazed uncertainly around. They were near the head of the entire procession, but there were enough soldiers in the way between her and the front lines that she couldn't get a good view of anything – save that they were near the outskirts of Bethroen.
"Over here!" Forde called out, standing atop a rise. Franz hurried there, Amelia close behind, and they gazed out over the quiet seaside town.
Well, it wasn't very quiet now, that was for sure. There were two sides engaged in a conflict here – with one having the obvious advantage in numbers. Amelia quickly scanned the crowd. Grado soldiers made up the majority, and they were facing off against –
No. She squinted, rubbed her eyes. It had to be a trick of the light. There was absolutely no way that Grado soldiers would be bringing their weapons to bear against…
"General Duessel." She breathed, shocked. How in the world…? But it was indeed the legendary Obsidian, and his personal retinue, being slowly but surely backed into a corner by the relentless wave of Grado knights. She took a half-step backwards, shell-shocked. Had the whole world gone insane?
A sudden roar swept back from the front of the army, and all around her she saw the Frelian army mobilizing for battle.
"We rescue Duessel! MOVE!" Ephraim's bellow rent the air, and Amelia turned towards the front. She had to do something-
A sharp whistle distracted her as Franz called for his steed. An instant later, Neige was at his side, Franz hurriedly mounting him.
"I'm going on ahead, Amelia." He called to her. "You-"
"No!" She shook her head. "I'm coming with you!"
"Wha- But…" Franz gazed down at her, clearly unsure about what to do.
"I have to…" She swallowed hard. "I have to help Duessel. Please."
"…Alright. Just don't - don't do anything stupid." Franz nodded. "Come on up."
Clambering atop Neige, she sat behind Franz, one arm curled tightly around his torso.
Silently, he drew his blade, gleaming in the afternoon sun. Turning in his seat, he gave her a confident smile, and she returned it.
"Ready?" She nodded in response.
"Let's go."
End Chapter
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