FD: And we're back with yet another chapter of Decisions!
Deadpool: *wails loudly*
Saya: Hey, hey, it's okay, Wade. She'll never do it to you again.
Deadpool: ….insane…. she's insane….
FD: Still going through therapy with him, huh?
Lancer: Yeah, she'll be done this session in about an hour.
FD: Well, without any context, we shall go right in on the story!
We do not own anything.
The cries of war behind us, soldiers by the thousands fighting and dying, the clash of metal against metal were all drowned out by the crackle of electricity that flow through the bleach blonde's knuckle weapons. All three of us got into our respective fighting stances before I ditched my shield. The real wonder of it all was who would get to fight her first. Despite being fellow Shepherds who helped each other out, none of the three of us were too keen on double teaming the Plegian woman, preferring a one on one fight. I didn't want anyone getting in my way of a fun fight, Raven prefers to dispatch his foes swiftly and without interruption, and Vaike… he just thought he could take her on his own.
Alice herself was waiting, throwing a few stray punches to warm herself up. "So then, who's first?"
"Let's go blondie!" Vaike jumped at the chance, his muscular arm swinging his axe through the air. The weapon cut through the air like a buzz saw, but unfortunately did nothing once Alice knocked it away with her brass protected hand.
"Ah…" she sighed. "...a volunteer."
Vaike didn't even have the time to dodge or react as he was sent careening backwards, his form snapping a tree in two and skipping across the plateau.
"Vaike, are you alright?" Raven called. In immense pain and unable to move, the aforementioned fighter simply settled for an discomforted groan.
"Do you need medical assistance?" Another groan was his answer.
Raven shook his head. "True, that is a stupid question." Taking off to aid the poor axe wielding Shepherd, Raven left me to deal with the Plegian woman before me.
I stared her down as she and I circled each other, neither one's eyes leaving the other's form. "Looks like it's just you and me now, Mistress Misfortunate. Last chance to come peacefully, else I'd have to remove that pretty little head of yours."
"Aw, you called me pretty! Finally," she squealed. "It's too bad I have to kill you today, else this would have made such a tender moment. And by the way, you could make me come… just not peacefully."
I felt an involuntary shudder go down my back by instinct, as if something told me that had a different meaning to it. Some questions are better left unanswered.
"Let's go." Without warning, I dashed at her and threw the first punch, to which she evaded with a simple step back with her foot, although she was not prepared for the follow up kick that I made. Hitting dead centre in her chest, she staggered back.
Growling, she tried killing me with her stare for a brief second before starting up her own offensive. With charged knuckles, she ran towards with me with a roar and a cocked back fist. While they were well thought out attacks, I saw them all coming, weaving and dodging her fists until I tried a thrust with my blade. A stupid mistake on my part, as this left me open to a stunning punch to the ribs.
I grit my teeth, wincing through the painful shock before getting punched in the face by a rather explosive fist, getting launched back a respectable distance.
"Okay, so you've gotten stronger," I breathed out as I drew my sword once more. "And here I thought I wouldn't have fun with this."
"You don't even know the half of it, baby," Alice giggled, although it was far more sinister than it sounded.
A revitalized grin on my face, I flash step towards her, my sword making contact with her knuckles. Surprisingly, her melee weapons held up well in combat, and I was surprised her arm didn't break from the force of the strike. Despite this, I did see her flinch in pain, and I took the opportunity to land a kick on her exposed left side.
I soared backward to gain some distance, and when we stood still, I saw Alice's arm. The limb was partially disfigured, bent in an unnatural angle. Furthermore, her skin was pierced by white calcium and there were raised parts of blue and black on her skin. Her arm really had been broken. Or at least it was. In a short moment, the bones retracted and flesh mended with a series of cracks, pops, tears and rips before the limb was restored, good as new.
"What… what the hell is that?!" I growled.
"Oh… I suppose I left out a detail."
"Explain."
Alice simply giggled again. "Well, in my younger days, I used to be a cleric before I dabbled in the dark arts. My mother's studies of finding the key to immortality came from these elements, and by extension, her studies became my own. And while I haven't found immortality, I suppose regeneration is a close second."
I snorted indignantly. "So you can heal from any injury, no matter how intense?"
"More or less, sweetie," Alice hummed before taking a low stance. "But enough about me, let's kill you!"
Her knuckles now blazed with a flame of raw power, twin fireballs enveloping her arms. Such an enrapturing vision, but I couldn't let it distract me or else I'd die. As it sat right now, I could not match her in raw power alone, and the battle would only get worse if I dragged it out. Her offense was not one I wanted to be hit by, so I made sure to dodge each one of her punches. Each missed by mere millimetres, which was all I needed to hit where she was open.
An uppercut of sheer power launched her up, sending her hurtling into the sky. Before she could recover, I flew up and chased her, the distance closing quickly. Alice's eyes widened when I made it right in front of her with flaming hands.
"Let's see what this does to your regen," I grinned as I placed my hands on her chest. "Bola de fuego(Fireball)."
All that was heard was a scream before a loud boom could be heard over the entire battlefield.
narrator!Tychon PoV
A loud explosion was both seen and heard over the screams and cries of war, attracting the attention of the Chon'sinese tactician. Overseeing this battle while Say'ri took her rest beside him, he could only figure that it had to be Eric, without a doubt.
"Damn… He does realize he's supposed to capture the woman, not kill her, right?" Lu'bei sighed.
Say'ri took a swig from her canteen of water. "Just be lucky he's still alive. That Alice woman is a wanted criminal almost as dangerous as he."
Lu'bei guffawed. "Ha! Worried about the Prince of War of all people? He's enjoying this if anything!"
Before Say'ri could retort, the Pandorian royal knight came to their side, Vaike splayed across his shoulders. As he laid him down, Say'ri and Lu'bei raised an eyebrow in confusion, no question wondering where Raven housed all of his strength.
"Get Sir Vaike some medical treatment, if you may. He's not heavily injured, though it's possible there is some form of concussion." Raven dusted his pants before continuing. "Naga knows he can't afford any further brain damage."
He donned an unnerving smirk of his own as he placed a hand on the hilt of Uramasa. "Meanwhile, I have my king to aid."
And before anyone could say anything else, Raven vanished into thin air, leaving Vaike in the care of the Chon'sinese princess. "No doubt he serves Eric… they both have that same insane addiction to combat."
Eric PoV
"Damn it… you just don't go down, do you?" I panted, with my arms at my sides, fists clenched. I thought for sure that a point blank explosion would have finished her for sure, but it turned out her regeneration proved to be more hardy than I thought. The blast did nothing more than singe her clothing, and thank Naga it didn't demolish it, else I'd have to deal with a topless Alice. No one wants to deal with a topless Alice.
No one.
Alice just huffed, "Come on now, don't act like you're having trouble."
I raised a brow. "Eh?"
"You know what I'm talking about. That blondie form of yours that took out Gangrel."
Upon realizing what she meant, I sighed and nodded. "The Mystic Fist transformation."
"Yes," Alice hissed. "Channel that Mystic Fist glow I hate so much."
"I would, but I don't wanna end the fight now, barely got to have any fun," I laughed.
That was part of the reason. The other part: when I transform into that form, it actually burns more power than my body can supply. Powerful as it may be, and I as well, I haven't been able to regulate it before now. As a result, the form, considering that Alice is my opponent, is very limited. I'd be lucky if I could hold it for ten minutes.
Oh well. With the power it gives, ten minutes is all I need.
"On second thought, Alice, I'll humour you." I took a deep breath, silencing all around me. I could feel the wind pushing my locks and hitting my clothes as it grew stronger and stronger. The awe in the Plegian's eyes was evident as my body began to glow, and with a final roar, my hair spiked up in all of its golden glory.
Crimson eyes glared at her with glee and anticipation that bordered on hysterics. "So… like what you see? The Mystic Fist makes its second coming onto the grand stage!" I gave her a bone-chilling smile as the glowing mana wisped and flew off my form. "And unfortunately, you're its next victim. Don't complain if I end up gutting you like a fish with my bare hands."
"Come then, the higher the stakes, the sweeter the reward!" Alice once again took her stance, beckoning me forward.
"Spoken like a true gambler." I moved towards her at much higher speeds now, going fast enough to look like a simple blur even to the trained eye. And Alice was no exception.
"Bastard. You think this is amusing? Zipping around me like a damn fly? I'll have your head for this."
With a chuckle of derision, I clapped her shoulder with my sword on my shoulder, a grin spread across my face. "You can't have my head. You can't even see me." In response to my words, she whipped around, only to see nothing in front of her. The only thing that alerted her of my location was my voice again.
"The only thing you'll get is killed." With a light-speed quick draw, I moved from in front of her to behind her, my sword arm outstretched behind me. A split second was an eternity to wait before Alice screamed in pain and a flower of blood bloomed from her shoulder. The detached limb fell to the ground, a trail of crimson following it.
"You shouldn't have gambled, Alice. Cause it seems to me you crapped out." I turned to face her, but I realized that what I said had no substance.
The stump that was her shoulder had bones extend from the wound, reforming the damaged skeleton. Next, with many rips and tearing sounds, pink and red muscle tissue grew and re-stitched itself onto the bone. Finally, her porcelain skin crawled its way from shoulder to her fingertips in mere seconds. The damage was almost completely reversed.
"Damn, that magic of yours ain't no one's fool," I laughed out.
"That's right, my king," Alice hummed. "As long as I have magic left in my reserves, I cannot sustain any damage that won't simply be repaired."
Alright, enough fooling around. My breaths were now a rhythmic series of heavy pants. My power would not last long, and in my base form, outlasting her is still a task. I have to come up with something to detain her, and fast. My mind starts running over different strategies and plans to create the fastest and safest outcome. I don't want to come back to Ylisse and let Cordelia see me in horrible shape.
Wait, back up.
Somehow, my mind drifted onto the topic of Cordelia, who I haven't seen since she and I went to that celebration Maribelle's folks were hosting. But why was she on my mind, and at a time like this? I tried pushing her from the inner confines of my mind so I could focus, but to no avail. The Knight Paragon would not leave my thoughts.
"Keep your eyes open!" Before I knew it, Alice was already in front on me, her lightning knuckles embedding themselves in my gut. The punch hit like a wyvern, so I couldn't help but hold my stomach in pain. Seeing her opportunity in my slight distraction, she grabbed hold of my neck with the grip of a vice, and held me aloft.
Alice laughed as she looked into my eyes. "Your thirst for battle and mayhem borders on the pathological! You're too strong for your own good, it's made you overconfident and arrogant!"
I coughed up what little air was in my lungs before letting out laughter of my own, which no doubt served to confuse the blonde. "This… is great. I was hoping… that I didn't just have… to lock you up or kill you so quickly. This… makes things… interesting."
"Come on, why aren't you wallowing?" Alice grimaced. "That's no fun."
Despite having my windpipe being crushed, I still mustered a powerful grin. "If I'm going to lose here… I'll make sure you don't enjoy it." At least if I died, she wouldn't smile from it. She growled one last time before trying to put more pressure on my throat.
"Time to die-" Her sentence never finished before she got a strict kick to the head, getting her to release her hold on my neck. Taken off guard, she had to flip backwards to recover, landing on her knees and right hand. Lifting her head, she took a good look at her assailant who had just landed at the scene. "Grr… you again…!"
It was Raven.
"Apologies, Miss Vega, but I cannot have you damaging and hurting milord," he said as he crossed his arms. "On an unrelated note, in anticipation of his words, ahem… "Nice. Being down on your knees really is a fitting look for you.""
The swordsman looked back towards me. "Was I accurate, milord?"
"Good work, Raven. But why'd you get involved, I had it!" I coughed out as I sat up. "Besides, it's not your turn yet!"
"Shut it, milord! You nearly had the literal life choked out of you!"
I snorted in-admittedly-ignorance. "I'll let you know when I'm finish-ooh, the grass is so soft… Second thought, Rave, I'll just chill here for a bit. Tag when you need help."
"Of course."
Alice shifted her weight onto her left leg. "Alright fine, Eric, I'll play along with this. But just know that while I'm busy pounding your charge, I'll be thinking of you the entire time."
"Is she always like this?" Raven sweatdropped.
"More or less," I replied.
With a nod, Raven turned his look onto the Plegian pest. "Now then, I don't believe we've finished our last skirmish."
After a long slumber, Uramasa was unsheathed at last, and a demonic grin befell Raven's previously borderline innocent features. "Uramasa here's been experiencing a bit of a… drought. She hasn't tasted a drop of blood for far too long."
A large torrent of lightning crackled and sparked brightly as Raven swung his awesome blade, pointing it at her. "And the blood of my king's assailant… yes, you'll do just fine."
Alice ignored Raven's hiss, punching her fists together. Small purple orbs of ethereal black light flew off of her knuckles before she threw a punch in his direction. With her outstretched limb, a number of will-o'-the-wisps rushed towards the swordsmaster. Alert, the swordsman flash stepped to his right to avoid the attack, then leaped in the air to dodge again, a few of the orbs smashing into the ground where he stood for the first attack.
"So they have physical presence," Raven whispered, though I was able to pick up on it. He smirked as the second wave came from Alice's fists, dashing around her left flank to attack. A new movement of dark flames surged with the intent to hit his legs, but he saw this coming a mile away as he used his hand to push off the ground and out of the way of harm.
Alice started to become increasingly frustrated, as at his base, Raven moved faster than even I do unboosted. Unlike me, he doesn't need a Choice Scarf, but that's neither here nor there. So what would be her top tier solution to such a problem?
Punch more.
Wave after wave of ominous, fisticuff-born flames, I noticed that the movements became gradually faster. And with a glow of Alice's metal, I realized that she was actually in full control now. She was using her hands to make them go faster. It didn't go unnoticed by Raven, however, as he too picking up speed to avoid being hit. The skirmish of who would land or dodge the onslaught seemed like it would go on forever until Alice had the swordsman cornered in the air, blocking him from nearly all angles.
"I have you now!" Closing her hand into a fist, Alice brought the flames down on Raven's form, intent on consuming him.
To any untrained eye, and even to some trained eyes too, one would think surrounding Raven was simply a barrier of blades and lightning. But in reality what was going was that Raven was making his counterattack. With blinding speed, he moved his sword all around him, and in a matter of seconds, the wisps that numbered in the thousands were all destroyed.
Alice's eyes were wide with shock. "He… he sliced through… ALL of them…?!"
Fuck sitting down, it's my turn now. "And I'm back!" I shouted as I flew in her direction and swung my leg at her. A split second too late on that window, my attack missed, and she took advantage of it. Using her body weight, she grabbed my leg and slammed it to the ground. Not that it was broken, but it hurt like hell, and my snarl of pain reflected it. Now that she had her opportunity, she place her hand around my mouth as it began to glow.
"You want to know what death tastes like?" she whispered before receiving another kick in the face from Raven to get her off of me. I supposed my transformation was starting to take its toll on me, as now I started to lose track of Alice and Raven as they began to move at supersonic speeds.
"Where did you both-" A loud thud behind me was my answer as I saw Raven and Alice wrestling on the ground from top and bottom respectively. Standing to full height again, I pointed my hand out towards the two, aiming at Alice. "Raven, get out of the way! Llama Azul(Blue Flame)!" I yelled before launching a powerful blue fire at her, blowing up a large portion of the vicinity we were fighting in. I knew Raven got away, but I wasn't so sure with Alice.
My answer of Alice's fate came in the form of a harsh kick that would probably make procreation a huge challenge.
I screamed out in agonizing pain, and time seemed to slow before I was brought back to reality with a sharp punch to the jaw. The Plegian's attack sent me spiralling backwards before Raven caught me in his arms. "I pray for the future of the royal family," he deadpanned.
Some time later….
Laid beneath a pile of rubble on our knees, struggling to catch our breath, Raven and I spat at the vile woman, wondering if there would be an end to this all. Unlike the swordsmaster, however, I struggled more to get to my feet because of the pain that persisted.
"She keeps kicking me in the dick…" I groaned, trying to keep a hold onto consciousness. "Why…? Why does she keep kicking me in the dick?!"
"Who knows, milord…" Raven panted, more tired than hurt. "But… I may… have a way to beat her."
"If you say hit her really hard, or let you take over, I swear to Naga, I will kick YOU in the dick!"
"No, nothing of the sort." Instead, Raven shuffled over to me whilst holding his arm. From his fingertips, red drops fell to the ground. He was bleeding. Though he still ignored it, dealing with her was the priority. "Rather, that magic of hers, while vast it seems, is still limited. And she's been using up her reserves quite a lot since the battle began."
"So you're suggesting we overtax her regen," I stated more than asked.
"Yes," Raven nodded. "How much mana do you think you have left?"
I sighed as I tried getting to one knee. "Well, I only have enough to barely keep up the transformation as is. I can probably hit her with something strong, but I can only keep it up for about thirty seconds."
A confident grin spread across Raven's face. "That'll do."
"Hey!" Alice called. "You guys finished your nap?"
Raven and I nodded at each other before I charged up fire in my hands. "Yeah, now it's time for yours!" Several flaming orbs flew from my hands, which Alice saw coming from a figurative mile away. In turn, she countered with dark blasts of her own which matched blow for blow, but each one she threw was weaker than the last. She was trying to compensate for low magic supply. Perfect.
"Feel the burn, baby!" Cupping my hands together, I unleash a torrent of flame big enough to put Inferno Overdrive to shame, intent on consuming Alice. Her scream of pain told me that she had been hit by the oncoming wave as she braced through the attack, her regeneration barely keeping up.
"Fool!" Alice cackled. "It'll take a lot more to defeat me than that!"
"That's the plan." I let up on the attack so that the next phase can occur, a phase that Alice never saw coming. On her left flank, appearing out of nowhere was Raven. He had jumped THROUGH the fire to get to her. With his cape and some parts of his body on fire, it made him look like the grim reaper himself. Something that instilled fear into Alice.
"Checkmate, brothel maiden. Estilo de Espada Blanca: Cientos Cortes(White Sword Style: 100 Cuts)!" In a flash, Raven stood behind the Plegian woman, who stood still in time herself. Slowly, he sheathed Uramasa in his ornate scabbard, and once it clicked in place, the damage was done.
Alice's body was contorting and tremoring as each and every one of Raven's attacks showed on her body, each wound bleeding profusely. Her body wouldn't scar most likely but she would definitely be out of the fight. The woman collapsed to the ground, slowly losing blood and panting heavily.
"That bounty's looking real nice," I exhaled, taking a knee myself. "Pesky woman."
I eyes down the female from where I stood, but something wasn't right. Raven must not have noticed, but from where I stood, I saw Alice reaching into her pocket for a dagger, the light reflecting off of it made little wonder. Without even thinking, I ran to make it to Raven's side. It wasn't before long until Alice made her move, getting up to her knees and she turned on the black-haired swordsmaster. "Die, you bastard!" She sent a limb flying with a swipe of her large utility knife. The blood flew from the metal as well as the wound. But the one thing: it was not Raven who suffered the attack.
It was me.
I winced in pain as the blood dripped from what used to be my arm, now cut from the upper forearm down.
"M-Milord!" Raven nearly cried. "You… your…"
"Cheap trick, Vega," I snarled, before pulling back my wounded arm. "You will not endanger his life… as long as I draw breath!"
Once I finished that sentence, I embedded my elbow in the Plegian's gut, knocking the wind and some blood out of her. Folding over my elbow, it set me up for the perfect opportunity to finish it with a single punch. And so my last attack was an uppercut that launched her, knocking her out cold before hitting the ground.
"Well, that about does it," I sighed as I channeled fire magic. Using the flames, I cauterized the wound the best I could to stop the bleeding before I could get real medical attention. The remainder I had left to use blasted the severed limb to ashes.
Raven, now trembling, hung his head in shame. "Milord… my deepest apologies! My carelessness and inability to see her deception caused you to be harmed!"
Without making eye contact, he withdrew Uramasa and held it out for me to take. "I shall receive any punishment you deem fit, even if death is that price."
I closed my eyes and shook my head. So I lost an arm, big deal. This is battle, men have lost worse. "Rise."
The swordsman's head shot up, finally meeting my gaze. "But, Lord Eric…"
"Rise to your feet, Gallo! That's an order!" I snapped. I hate having to use my position and power, especially having to bark orders simply because I'm blue blooded. However, this showed to be one of the few times my power would be for me to use with pleasure.
The swordsman in question stood to his feet, which I simply smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "These things happen. It's part of combat. Besides, I stepped in to defend you, it was my choice. Half an arm is well worth it if it means you didn't die from a strike you didn't see coming."
Raven had no words to combat my peace, so he simply settled for a nod. "Thank you, milord."
Once that conversation was finished with, Say'ri came to us to report. "Eric, most of the enemy had been dealt with and-" She must have stopped midway due to an unconscious Alice and/or my missing limb. "Good heavens, what happened to your arm?!"
"That woman happened." I pointed at the unconscious and bleeding Plegian, her breathing shallow and ragged.
Say'ri clicked her tongue as she approached the blonde. "I pray her blood won't stain…" The swordswoman lifted up Alice's body and draped her arm over her own shoulder, carrying the target back for questioning and imprisonment. She took a few steps closer to us first. "In any case, the survivors decided to surrender once they knew they were fighting a losing battle. I suppose once they knew of this woman's defeat, they headed for the hills."
"Well, all's well that ends well, or whatever," I replied. "Let's head back." I took a single step towards Say'ri, only to lose all feeling in my legs as I fell to the ground.
"You've completely exhausted your reserves, milord," Raven pointed out. "It may be days before you can even walk again, weeks before you fully recover."
"Gods damn it," I cursed. "Say'ri, you wouldn't mind if I stayed a couple weeks, would you?"
The swordswoman shook her head. "Not at all. T'would be a pleasure for an old friend to visit, even if it not by choice," she giggled.
"Alright. Raven, after resting up and getting everything organized, I want you to lead the men back to Ylisse. Naga know I can't leave them in anyone else's care."
Raven slung my form over him, carrying me the same way he had with Vaike earlier. "Of course, sire."
"I've been meaning to ask," Say'ri began with a perplexed expression as we headed back. "Where do you house your strength, Raven? Earlier, you carried that musclehead with no problem, and even injured as you are now, you carry Eric's weight as well."
"I get that a lot," Raven sheepishly answered.
After making it back to Chon'sin, I let Raven get to the final duties before marching back east to Ylisse. Say'ri had signed a handful of documents that she gave to Raven, which would ultimately be submitted to Chrom. One of which being the completion of the mission and subsequently, the bounty on Alice. I figured there would be an additional note stating my setback due to rest and recuperation somewhere in there as well. Speaking of which, once the Ylissean squadron had been sent home, and I got my arm patched up, I made my way through the left wing of the castle on the second floor, where Say'ri had my room prepared.
The little bit of strength in my legs barely kept me standing, so I needed to use my sheathed sword as a cane to help me walk. After what seemed like an eternity of hobbling through the halls, I made it to my room, marked with a red tie on the bronze knob. I reached out for the the doorknob with my free hand only to realize. I only had the ONE hand, holding me up.
"Life is really cruel sometimes," I sighed. Slowly and carefully, I placed my sword beneath my left elbow so I could open the door, but before I could touch the doorknob, the sword came from beneath me, and I came crashing down to the carpeted floor.
"My, my, Eric, do you need a hand?" Say'ri giggled as she came down the hall. "Surely you know that's not the best place to take a nap."
I grimaced with distaste. "You have a sick sense of humour at times." I tried to get up, using my sword and the walls to pull me up, but once I got up to shaky feet, I simply stumbled again. Instead of hitting the ground again, Say'ri caught my falling form.
"Let me take care of you," she whispered as she held me closer to her chest. A little too close for specifics, and I would have protested, but considering that I'm only a couple steps away from being labelled crippled, I conceded and let Say'ri help me into my room.
Over the next week of my recovery, Say'ri would be in and out of my room, personally catering to my essential needs until I was able to walk by myself, however my reserves weren't fully replenished and would take much longer to fully recover due to me burning out my supply. So naturally, if I wasn't eating, sleeping, meditating or writing report updates out to Raven, I'd be training my body to make up for a week of rest.
Today in particular was a training day.
Enjoying the early October late afternoon weather, I took to the training grounds for some martial arts practice. One of the dummies on the grounds had been decorated with a burlap sack filled with hay, and facial features just for shits and giggles I suppose. Practicing many different stances and techniques, I hit the wooden figure in many places vulnerable on a human being, such as the face, neck, abdomen, and joint areas. Drawing my sword, I go to attack another one, but this one had grown hair. Long red hair, which was not too weird.
Then it took on the facial features of a certain pegasus knight I knew, which was extremely weird.
"What the hell…?" I shook my head to try and stop whatever this was, but the vision still persisted. Stabbing the ground with my sword, I clutched my head, praying that the hallucinations would stop.
"Thought I would find you here," a familiar feminine voice lilted. I turned my head to see the Princess of Blades once again.
"Oh, hey, Say'ri," I greeted her. "What brings you here?"
She pushed a strand of her hair out of the way. "I came to your room to check up on you again, but you were already gone. Knowing you, this was the next best guess."
"Gee, thank you, Mother." I sarcastically replied as I removed my sword and put it back into the scabbard. "Good to know I always have you to check up on me."
That gave me a playful punch to the shoulder. "Strike me down if I simply wanted to make sure you were recovering fine."
I stretched my arms and chest out, a popping sound racing across my sternum. "I'm doing good, in fact, I think I'd be able to leave by tomorrow morning."
The princess nodded, her smile making its way into a neutral expression. "If that's the case, I have something important to speak to you about."
"Fire away."
"Well, to begin, I wanted to address your battle with that Plegian female," Say'ri began, placing a hand on her hip casually. "Your retainer gave me a report in your stead of the altercation, he stated that he approached you in the battle being overwhelmed by her."
"You mean when she was strangling me?" My hand instinctively reached up to nurse my neck, thinking back to the choking incident. "I can recall."
"How did that even happen? That's not like you," Say'ri deduced. "Was your mind elsewhere?"
She hit nail on the head. "Well… as awkward is this may seem… I've been a little distracted lately. For the past month, I haven't been able to focus because my mind continues to lurk back to one particular thought."
"Understood. And pray tell, what would that thought be?"
I sighed with a shadow of a grin on my face. "A woman I know named Cordelia."
"Oh." Say'ri said flatly, though it was rather subtle. "I see."
"You can't miss her by her scarlet hair that she pins with opal hair clips shaped like wings." I said as I put my hands behind my head. "She's kind, considerate, powerful. And quite the good looking individual, to be honest."
"You speak highly of her," Say'ri began. "Almost… almost as if you love her," she surmised.
I craned my head in surprise. "Love her?"
"What else could it be?" She put on a smile. "You have nothing but praise for her, she never seems to leave your mind. The signs lead to that fact."
I couldn't believe what I was beginning to put together. She was right that she never left my mind; her reaction to seeing me hurt or dead, the hallucinations about her, even her distraction when I fought Alice. Cordelia was the cause of all of them. And though I knew about Cordelia's flaws, she'd told me her vulnerabilities herself, I always painted her as someone who'd be considered no less than the definition of perfection.
By the gods, Say'ri was right. I think I love Cordelia.
"I didn't… I mean…" As much as I tried, I could not come up with a sentence without stumbling over my words, let alone an argument against this. "Excuse me. I have a report request for my charge to fill out."
narrator!Tychon PoV
As Eric excused himself hastily to distract himself with work, as he'd been hit with conflicting news, he left Say'ri alone on the training grounds. The princess stood still in her spot, not a word breaking the silence for a few moments.
Suddenly, the blade princess dropped to her knees and wracked out a heavy sob, trembling as she held her shoulders to futilely keep herself together.
"Why… after not seeing you for ten years… ten years of holding these feelings back… why does your heart belong to another…"
She took in a shaky breath, trying to compose herself. "You're right, Eric. Life truly is cruel."
Eric PoV, later into the evening
The setting sun leaked through the window, lighting the room a pale orange. I took the quill from the inkwell before writing another sentence on the parchment I would send later on to Raven. But like everything else, this task too came with the same distraction that everything else I do does.
Putting down the pen to the side of the desk, I look at the sight of the bottles on the table. Many of them were scattered across the surface, small and big alike. They were all half finished or completely empty, particularly the Feroxi Dragon's Fire and Ku'bota sake.
Looking at the parchment, then the alcohol and back to the paper, I shook myself out of my daze. "Not enough." I grabbed the bottle of Dragon's Fire and swallowed the remainder of the liquor, a bitter taste left in my mouth. With a belch, I chucked the bottle to the side, the container clinking against the wall and ground. After I gave it time for it to seep through my system, I got back to finishing up the parchment, the alcohol doing the job of getting me to focus somehow.
With the message finished, I rolled it up and put it in a tube fit for a messenger bird to send it off. Now all I needed was to ask Say'ri where they kept the birds. I got out of my seat, when I suddenly heard the sound of something falling to the ground the next room over. It was Say'ri's room.
Leaving my room, I walked next door, but once I got to it, I heard her voice. It sounded like… crying.
"Say'ri?" I called, knocking on her door. "May I come in?"
A long silence followed my question before I heard a series of clicks that came from the other side. The door swung open and on the other side was the Chon'sinese princess, though she was certainly not… herself.
"Good evening Eric! How do you do," she said with a little bit of a slur in her words. Her face was flush with the lightest tint of red and judging by the light bit of sweat on her face and the collection of empty bottles that littered her own desk, she's definitely drunk. I made a little side note that the amount she had finished trumped mine twice over easily. Hell, if I didn't know any better, I'd say she could drink the old man under the table.
"Come on in, Eric! Have a drink with your old friend!" I tried to protest but before I could, Say'ri pulled me into her room and closed the door behind me. I had to try and calm her down, her drunken stupor causing her to throw caution to the wind as she stumbled through the room before finally making it to her bed.
Patting and smoothing out imaginary wrinkles, she gestured towards a spot next to her. "Come sit a spell. I won't bite."
Against my own better judgement, which I blamed on the distraction booze myself, I walked over to sit next to the inebriated princess. I could smell the spirits surfing on her breath and her body temperature was slightly higher than the norm.
"It's been a long while since, uh, since I spoke to you in person, Errrric," Say'ri began. Sorta glad she was the one to break the ice. "Care to share your tales over the years? I'd *hic* love to hear them." As the evening turned to night, I told Say'ri of my adventures the best I could. Not that she would remember it anyway the next morning.
Finally, once I finished, she decided to pop a question I never expected her to. "So, eh, what's this Cordelia look like?"
I whipped my head to my left where she sat. "What?"
"You heard me, what's she look like? Is she pretty?" she said, the slur still going strong in her speech.
"Well, yes, she's gorgeous to be honest-"
"Is *hic* is she more beautiful than I am?"
I raised my brows at that question. "That's not a fair-"
"Is she prettier than me?" Say'ri inquired, her determination for answers redoubled, as well as her sternness.
Silence was my answer, I had a feeling where this was going.
"Answer me!" she demanded again. "Is she prettier than me?! Stronger?! Smarter?! What is it?!"
Something inside me snapped. "Why does she matter to you so much?!"
"Because I want to know why she has hold on your heart and I don't!"
A tense silence followed that outburst before both parties realized what was said. My eyes widened in surprise, nearly vacating their sockets. On the other hand, Say'ri averted her gaze, her cheeks soon marked with fresh tears that raced down her face. Shoulders trembling and breaths uneven, all of her bottled up emotions had finally overflowed and overwhelmed her.
"It's been so long… ten long years before I could tell you this…" She took my hands into hers while looking into my eyes with conviction masked by contentment, yet sadness as well. "I love you, Eric Pandora. From our adolescent years up until now, my heart held these feelings so closely."
Needless to say, being run over by a wyvern would be less painful than this situation. I couldn't possibly think of anything worse than what had been going on now. This woman I had known from the time I could walk, and having grown up with her more or less, I'd grown a very strong bond with her, one that has proven to last longer and stand stronger than any steel ever to grace a battlefield.
Despite my bond with her, I just didn't feel the same way towards her.
"Say'ri… words cannot express how sweet and how amazing it is think it is that you… have these feelings for me… but…"
"But…?"
"My heart is with Cordelia. For the last year and a half, it has been."
I had never seen anyone else that deflated than when I said those words. Not even the time when Gaius was forced to give away all of his "loot" to kids on Halloween. It looked like tears would threaten to fall once again, but those tears never fell.
Suddenly, that sadness turned into rage. Tossing her sake bottle aside, she looked me dead in the eye. "Then perhaps this will change your mind."
In a single moment, she grabbed the back of my head and forced us close, my lips coming into contact with her own. The first few seconds that the kiss persisted, I was unable to even process what had happened. Countless voices told me either to stop here and now or to end up ravishing her, the latter being the more primal thoughts, no doubt, I only thought of one thing.
Nothing at all.
I let go of everything that held me back and against everything advising me not to, I fell under the princess's spell, going with the kiss with mutual enthusiasm. The clash would continue until our forms hit the soft mattress, a simple taste of what was to transpire that night.
FD: Yay! Another chapter out!
Tychon: *dangling from ledge* Ugh, I hate this!
FD: Hate what?
Tychon: *gestures to Lancer, Deadpool, and Saya hanging as well* The bullshit you're putting us through with that ending.
FD: Wha- ohhhhh, I see what you did there. Clever.
*black wormhole opens up* Midna: Well, well, would any of you guys need rescu-
Deadpool: NO! NOT YOU AGAIN! LEAVE ME BE!
*climbs up from ledge to run away* I AM AN INNOCENT SOUL!
FD: ….how do I still run this with any sanity left…
Lancer: In all fairness, you have us to curb it.
Saya: Next chapter: we return back to Ylisstol! ...what? I didn't get to speak in this outro yet.
FD: Fell Dragos out!