No Longer Alone
Nothing much to say, except the deluge of videogames is taking away writing time.
This puts my story at 30 chapters, on par with my other longest story in terms of chapters, which I already beat in terms of words. One can only wonder how much longer this thing has to go…
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Amelia emerged from the medical tent, one arm wrapped around a makeshift crutch for support.
"Who knew walking with a stiff leg could be such a bother?" She mumbled to herself as she hobbled down towards the campfire.
The flurry of activity around the entire campsite was unmistakable – shouts to get into formation, the hurried saddling of the warhorses, the atmosphere of mixed fear and anticipation that flowed through the area.
There was going to be a battle soon.
"Amelia!" Franz was already walking up to her, in the process of buckling his sword to his side. "There's been a sighting of a large group of the monsters heading this way. So, well, we're heading out to fight them."
"Oh." She nodded. Then she frowned. If there had been a large monster group in the vicinity, then why hadn't General Selena commandeered them as part of the defensive force? It would have certainly helped them stave off the Frelian Army…
Returning to the present, she gazed down at her bandaged leg. "…Well, I guess I could sit at the sidelines and cheer you on." She raised an eyebrow as she returned her gaze to Franz.
The young knight chuckled at that. "Sister Natasha's heading out with the task force – she told me to tell you to get some rest while we're away."
Amelia sighed. "If it wasn't for this stupid injury-"
"If you push yourself too hard now, you won't even have healed by the time we're fighting to take the capital itself. Don't worry – you know we won't let ourselves get beaten by some monsters."
"Yeah, I know." Amelia's smile was crooked. "After all, the Frelian Army has Sir Franz, brave defender of justice and truth. How could they lose?"
Franz grinned slightly at that before turning away. Amelia watched him take two steps before she called out.
"Franz!"
Halting in midstep, he turned back to face her.
She bit her lip. "Stay safe."
He nodded once. "I will."
And then he was gone.
After getting some rest, Amelia came to the decision that she wanted a bit more fresh air than the interior of the med tent was able to provide, and so she gamely hobbled out into the sunlight, noting that a sizable number of the soldiers were still in camp.
"Guess they don't consider the monster swarm that big a threat." She mumbled to herself as she settled herself down on a bench.
"That, or they'd prefer to leave a vanguard behind so the base of operations isn't entirely defenceless should a surprise attack occur."
Amelia wasn't quite sure how she'd managed to jump from a sitting position, but clearly she'd done it somehow, because she was now standing and saluting the Obsidian. A distant part of her mind wondered how it was possible for him to be able to sneak up on her – and in full body armour, no less!
"At ease." Duessel nodded as he strode past her. "How is your leg feeling?"
"Much better, sir." It was actually starting to get very itchy, but the general didn't need to know that.
"Ah. Well, you'd best be prepared. Your skin should start itching soon – that's one of the signs that it's healing itself, which is good, but it's nigh unbearable while it lasts." Duessel said in a matter of fact tone as he settled himself onto the bench.
"Uh… Oh. T- thank you for telling me that, sir." How many times had the General initiated a conversation with her? And up until now, she still got tongue-tied in his presence, at least for a while.
After a momentary pause, she looked up again. "General, I'm sorry if this is out of bounds, but… what are you doing here? Shouldn't… shouldn't you be out there at the front."
"Hrmph. Well, as I was saying, Prince Ephraim decided to exercise caution," he paused. "For once. Anyway, he left half the standing army back here to keep watch, because, after all, we rushed straight out to marshlands without first ensuring that there wasn't any hostile Grad forces outside of general Selena's troops." Amelia frowned. For a moment, the general's face had shown… well, not frustration, exactly. More like puzzlement, as if there were some issue nagging at him he just couldn't quite figure out…
"And," Duessel shrugged. "He appointed me nominal commander of the base camp until he returns. As a matter of fact, I've just finished a tour and review of our base camp." His aged face creased into a smile. "Managed to find and fix three issues with out defensive perimeter already, too."
"That's… uh, that's good, sir. General." Amelia cast her gaze down.
Another silence followed, until the Obsidian spoke up again. "Amelia… I hesitate to pry, but… do you have something against me?"
"Huh? Wha – I, NO!" Amelia sputtered. "Of course not! Why would you even think that?"
The General blinked, sat back, and shrugged, a wry smile on his face. "Well, it's just that whenever I happen to strike up a conversation with you, you always seem… withdrawn. Yet with most anyone else – take that Renaitian knight, for example, you're always lively and outgoing. Now, I may be rather off base here, I'm really not very good at talking to people, but it just seems like… well, you're distancing yourself from me."
Amelia sighed and rubbed the back of her head. "But… you're a general. I'm just a recruit, sir. It's… I shouldn't behave casually around you. I need to respect your rank, don't I?"
He ran a hand through his hair. "Well, technically I really don't have a rank anymore. I'm no longer a part of the Grado army, and while I've been accepted into the Frelian army on at least a temporary basis, Prince Ephraim really doesn't have the authority to make me a general – not without King Hayden or at least Prince Innes present. It is their army, after all."
"But still…"
"And furthermore, even if I were to accept the premise of one needing to show respect to one's superiors, many of the other soldiers are able to display the proper decorum without being as withdrawn as you are."
She looked away, eyes downcast. "General, I… When I was young, I always loved to hear stories about the legendary Obsidian. Stories of you stopping bandit raids, facing down evil… the knight in shining armour, as it were. So well, meeting you in person… I was a little overwhelmed. I still am, I guess."
She wasn't sure what she'd expected his response to be, but it probably wasn't a long sigh escaping the aged warrior's throat. After settling down somewhat, Duessel shook his head.
"Lass, I don't want to destroy any illusions of yours, but… well, I'm still human. I make mistakes. I've had failures. I've led my men wrongly, made the wrong call, gave the wrong order... good men have died in times and places where I could've done something to prevent it."
"But… but you've still done so much! More than I could ever hope to achieve. And you're one of the best warriors on the continent! That's got to count for something. Doesn't it?"
"Perhaps." A tiny smile graced his face. "Perhaps."
A silence fell upon the two of them until Amelia spoke up hesitantly again. "General… you once told me that you'd be willing to teach me more about lancework?"
"Well, I do recall something to that effect." The general said with a wry smile on his face.
The cyclop's axe crashed down onto the muddy earth with a resounding thud, about a foot ahead of where Franz now was, and where he would have been had he not jerked Neige to a halt.
The muscles on the lumbering beast's arm tensed as it prepared to lift the axe from the ground and try again, but urging Neige forward, Franz managed to get within reach of its belly.
The creature's hide was tough, hardened from years living in the wilderness, grey-green and knobbed with swathes of calluses, but the knight's blade was sharp and the tip plunged deep, earning a roar of protest and a jerk that nearly yanked the handle right out of Franz's arms.
As he yanked the sword out of the wound, dark blood gushed forth, spattering the young knight. The weakened creature stumbled, one arm instinctively going to its belly to clutch protectively at the stab wound.
Glancing up, its singular eye narrowed in fury as it spied the one that had attacked him. With a roar of rage, it began to struggle to its feet – until a lightning bolt seared deep into the beast's eye. The creature jerked back, screaming in pain, until several more blasts of magic silenced it for good.
Franz nudged Neige back and glanced at Ewan. "Nice one. Thanks."
"Not too difficult to line up my shots when you keep running ahead on your noble warhorse and distracting them. Any way, that's one more of those things down – their numbers are thinning."
"It took long enough too." Franz murmured softly as he cracked Neige's reins, heading once more into the thick of the melee at a fast trot. Slightly behind him, Ewan broke into a jog, the young mage's short legs insufficient to let him keep up with the soldier.
A revenant lurched up at Franz, trying to slash at the young knight with its claws. With a quick backswing he cut the creature's head clean off, barely even slowing down. Up ahead, more of the monstrosities surged forward, trying to batter their way through a phalanx of knights holding their ground.
As he neared them, a roar broke out from the back of the lines. Franz glanced up in time to see a what appeared to be a group of centaurs charging the knights. And apparently he was sufficiently close that two of them had decided to change their paths to intercept him…
As the first of the centaurs got within striking range, Franz slashed out with his sword, cutting deep into his opponent's shoulder. There was a shout of rage and the swing from its axe went wide.
The second one was also almost upon him, rearing back on its hind legs so as to give its axe-swing more weight. Neige was barely able to avoid the blow, and only Franz's quick slashes was enough to force the creature back. After collecting itself, the creature charged again, but Franz was prepared this time, and the centaur fell away, mortally wounded.
A roar of rage and pain erupted from behind him and he caught sight of the second centaur collapsing to the ground, burn marks all over its body. Behind it, Ewan tucked away his tome once more.
"Just when you think you've got their number, they toss another one into the works. What's next? Evil snakes?" Ewan muttered.
The fiends, appearing to be largely mindless, didn't hold much to traditional army tactics such as 'regrouping', 'reforming the line', or the ever-popular 'retreat'. As such, they continued to simply swarm forward in an endless wave of darkness. While rather intimidating to look upon, it had the disadvantage of being rather predictable and with easily exploitable flaws.
As such, despite the large numbers of the enemy the tide of battle was turning in their favour. Shaking his head, Franz willed Neige back towards the action, Ewan once more following closely behind.
Just then, he caught sight of Forde and Kyle, both facing off against a group of skeletons. Without a second thought, he set out to aid them. Surprised and unprepared for the newcomer, the skeletons were quickly decimated, leaving the two senior knights wiping away sweat from their bodies.
"More of them than we anticipated, huh." Frode sighed theatrically as he yanked on the reins of his own steed.
"Still, we appear to be prevailing." Kyle noted. "It's a good thing this group hadn't been with General Selena when we arrived at the marshes. The fight would've been far more problematic in that scenario."
"Yeah…" Franz noted the frown that passed over his brother's face. "But why wasn't this group of monsters at Za'Albul Marsh? Taizel showed that these monsters are… well, at the least they're a whole lot more likely to be targeting us than Grads."
"Maybe they were trying to bring these guys over as reinforcements, but they just arrived too late?" Ewan suggested that he blasted a Mogall out of the sky.
"I doubt it." Franz shook his head. "They should've had plenty of time to fortify the place – including bringing up any units they wanted for the fight."
"Maybe General Selena just didn't want to be commanding monsters." Forde opined. "I met her before during one of the diplomatic missions to Grado – she always struck me as a decent, honourable sort." He paused. "Maybe a little too honourable, though."
"Even if we accept that, another problem presents itself." Kyle said. "The forces arrayed there, although formidable, was not on the level one would expect of a general of the Grado Empire. For one thing, the amount of soldiers assigned to the area was nowhere near what a Grad general should have under ones command."
"So tally the damages and we've got a fighting force that simply wasn't up to par, could have been made a lot stronger but wasn't, and in an area where it should have been made stronger since this is pretty much the most direct route to the capital." Forde frowned. "It doesn't add up."
Franz ran a hand through his hair. 'Well, maybe the troops are needed someplace else?"
"Where else could they possibly be needed? We're the main front of the Frelian army, we're driving deep into Grad territory, and the only thing that could even approach this front in importance would be an invasion of Jehenna."
"And even so, why would they abandon their homeland's defenses in order to overthrow another nation? All of this just doesn't make any sense."
Forde threw his hands up into the air. "You know what? I'm gonna go with the 'Emperor Vigarde has gone completely insane' theory. That would explain a whole lot."
Not everything, though. Franz thought to himself. It might explain why he'd be willing to use monsters, but it doesn't explain how he was able to get control of them. His thoughts were interrupted by a distant roar – the monsters had resumed the offensive.
Nodding to each other, the four warriors prepared to re-enter the fray once more.
With a sigh, Amelia settled herself heavily down by the clear river. Owing to her current disability, she obviously wasn't going to be able to put any of General Duessel's advice into physical practice for a while now, but it couldn't hurt for her to go through them in her mind…
Right step, left step, thrust… Three basic steps from which practically all of lancefighting flowed. Easy to learn, nigh impossible to master…
She was so deep in thought she didn't hear Neimi's approach until her friend called her name. Giving a start and half-turning, she smiled as she saw the pink haired archer approaching.
"What are you doing?" The archer questioned as she sat down beside Amelia, placing a small pail down by her side.
"Hm? Oh… I was, uh, thinking of taking a bath." Amelia shrugged. "Haven't had one for some time."
"Oh? Me too!" Neimi's smile of amusement quickly faded. "But your leg…"
"The bandages are supposed to be changed soon anyway," Amelia shrugged. "Natasha said she'd help me with it once I headed back."
"You're still not supposed to get bandages wet." Neimi said in an authoritative tone of voice. "It's not good for the skin underneath." She paused, cupping one hand under her chin. "Well, I've got an idea."
"Thanks, Neimi." Amelia said softly as she felt another dash of water against her bare back, quickly followed by her friend's washcloth cleaning her gently but firmly.
"It's no problem, really." The archer chuckled. "It's actually kind of fun. Here, lift that arm – that's right."
Amelia smiled to herself as her friend continued to help wash her. "Neimi, someday you're going to make some lucky guy very happy."
This statement was obviously unexpected enough that Neimi dropped the washcloth. "Wha – I, er… w – what are you talking about, Amelia?"
Amelia shrugged. "Well, think about it. You're sweet, gentle, caring… You'd make a great wife, Neimi."
After a moment, she heard Neimi chuckle. "Well, what about you, huh? You're pretty sweet and nice too, you know." Her friend paused for a while. "So, do you have anyone you like?"
Amelia nearly choked, despite not actually having anything in her throat. "Me? I … uh… well, what about you? Why are you asking me this all of a sudden? Do you have someone you like?" She stammered, trying to buy herself some time.
Neimi was silent for several seconds. When she spoke again, it was in an odd, almost dreamy tone. "I do. He's… well, he can be a bit mean and bossy sometimes, but… well, he's always been by my side. He was always there when I needed him, always lent a shoulder when I needed to cry – even when he was the one who made me cry sometimes." Somehow, Amelia could tell by her tone of voice that Neimi was smiling. "He can be a bit aloof, but I… I love him."
Amelia almost turned around to look her friend in the eye. Was that really Neimi speaking? She sounded so different… It wasn't a big secret that she was talking about Colm – the thief could be abrasive in nature, but his relationship with the pink-haired girl was well known to everyone… except maybe himself. "Have you told him yet?"
She heard a soft sigh from Neimi. "No, not yet. But I will. Someday." A note of apprehension crept into her friend's voice. "Not today. But someday I will."
"Good for you."
Then her friend's voice switched back to having a slightly teasing quality about it. "You still haven't answered my question, you know. Do you have someone you like?"
Again Amelia was struck by the inexplicable constriction in her throat. "Um, uh… I, uh, never really paid any attention to the guys back in Grado." She said quickly, knowing that it was a futile gesture.
"Amelia…" Nevermind teasing, Neimi was downright purring now as she leaned forward, her chin almost resting on the lancer's shoulder. "You're not in Grado anymore, are you? What about now?"
"I…" Amelia glanced at the ground. "I'm… not sure…" She finally managed. Even she could tell how feeble it sounded.
And apparently so could Neimi. "HA!" She laughed. "You do, don't you? Now, let's just see if I can guess who it is…"
Amelia couldn't see her own face, but she was certain that she was doing an excellent imitation of a tomato at this point. "Neimi, I… I'm really not sure."
"Not sure?" The archer could apparently sense the apprehension in her friend's voice. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that I… I'm not like you Neimi. I care about Franz a lot, but… I'm not sure if what I feel is love, or some stupid crush, or, or, well, even just ordinary friendship. And I don't know how he feels about me at all."
"Amelia…" Neimi's voice was gentle. "You really haven't noticed? Franz is crazy about you. I'm not sure if he's even aware of it, but, well, it's really pretty obvious."
"You… you really think so?" Amelia said softly.
"Well, I don't know for sure, but all the signs are there." Neimi sighed. "I'd tell you to go ask him yourself, but I know what you'd to that."
"…" Amelia hung her head. After a long while, she spoke up again. "Hey, Neimi?"
"Hm?"
"She finally turned around and gave her friend a grateful smile. "Thanks."
The archer chuckled. "No problem. We've both got a guy we like whom we haven't confessed to yet. We're in this together, aren't we?"
"Hmm… I guess we are."
"Well, that's over and done with." Franz said to himself as the army started to head back. The battle had been a tiring one, but happily casualties were minimal and the group was in rather high spirits.
Right now he wanted nothing more than to enter his tent and sleep until dawn…
"Hey, Franz?"
"Hm?" Turning, he caught sight of a flash of red hair. "Oh, Ewan. What's up."
"Nothing much. I just, uh, wanted to talk."
The young knight raised an eyebrow. "Oh? About what?"
Chapter End
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