People stared. Not that they could really help it—it wasn't every day a large group of people-in-arms walked among their midst. To top it off, they didn't look like the usual army; they were diverse and cluttered. Each person was different from the next.

Whispers started to run amongst the commoners.

"Is that Lord Hector?"

"No, it can't be, he'd run off, remember?"

"But that can only be him! Who else has blue hair and is as big as him?"

"Why would all those people be with him, though? Is he starting some kind of army?"

"An army? For what?"

"I don't know! Why don't you go and ask him yourself?"

"Wha—you go and ask him!"

The army passed by the folk, a few offering smiles at the confused and dumbfounded commoners.

"Is that Lord Hector? Where has he been for the past few weeks?"

"Out and about, fooling around like the young child he is." The man's tone was bitter. "Not bothering to care for us, obviously. Does he not know how busy Marquess is? He should help his own brother, not prancing about with his friends! This worries me; what happens when the time comes for Lord Hector to become Marquess?"

"Shush, you moron! We don't want him to hear!"

"Let him hear! I care not for a person that does not watch after his own people!"

Lyn watched Hector's face harden. Then, without much a thought to it, she twirled around to face the man that had been talking bad about Hector and marched right up to him.

"Wait, Lyndis!" Eliwood had cried out, but it was too late. There was no stopping Lyn when she had something set on her mind. The marching army stopped and watched, curious and confused. Hector stared at her with wide eyes. Eliwood took a step forth but Marcus extended his arm, stopping him. When the redhead looked at his loyal paladin questioningly, he merely shook his head.

"Excuse me," Lyn said and the man turned to her, an eyebrow automatically rising.

"Yes?" He looked her up and down. He seemed unaware that he was speaking to the Lady of Caelin.

"I do not appreciate the way you speak about Hector. He is your own Lord; shouldn't you feel more respect toward him?"

"Respect?" the man scoffed. "Respect for an unruly lord that does nothing for his own people? I give no respect to those that do not deserve it, Lord or not."

Lyn's jaw tightened. "Hector is doing more than you'll ever know, so don't talk as if you know what's going on and the amount of pressure we're all under." Her tone was firm and there was more than a tinge of anger.

The man flustered. "Who are you to talk to me in such a way?" he demanded, pointing at her angrily. "You are a woman; do not talk to a man in such a tone! Know your place!"

Jasmine and Kent both made a move toward Lyn but were stopped by a shake of the head from Sain. Other members of the army fidgeted restlessly and others seemed not to care.

"It matters not whether I am a woman or a man; you should still be respectful, regardless of gender," Lyn said.

"Maybe that is the case in your silly land of Sacae, but not here, in Ostia, in Lycia!"

"Oh? People are respectful of one another in Caelin."

"And how would you know? You're from Sacae."

"Yes, but I'm also of Caelin."

The man's eyebrows furrowed. "How is that—" He stopped and stared at Lyn with wide, renewed eyes. "You're Lady Lyndis of Caelin, aren't you?"

"Yes."

His mouth opened slightly. Then, quickly regaining his composure, he said, "My apologies if I came off rude, milady, but I only speak of the truth. You are living proof of what I'm arguing! Lord Hector is prancing around with ladies leaving the Marquess to do all the work. Yes, it is the Marquess's job to care for us, but Lord Hector will eventually succeed Marquess Uther. What then? I do not want to be ruled by a man that does and knows nothing."

"You think that we know nothing?" She'd reached her breaking point. "You have no idea how hard we all work for the good of you people! We are working as we speak!"

"Hah! Yes, of course, your 'work' is to court Lord Hector? I bet this is all just a hoax to bond Ostia and Caelin!"

"Wha—first of all, Hector and I are not courting," she said firmly. "Secondly, Ostia and Caelin are already on firm ground; we have no need to bond."

"What would you know? You arrived to Caelin only a year ago—the rest of your life was spent in Sacae. You know nothing of went on in your city."

"I know more than you!" she snapped, growing increasingly aggravated. "You know nothing, based off the crude remarks on Hector."

"Hah! You think you're superior to me simply because you have Caelin blood? Just because you have the blood within you does not mean that you know of the politics, of the entire system that holds our lands together. No, no, you have the beastly Sacaen blood that dominates you, no matter what you say or do. You will always be a Sacaen."

"And what's wrong with that?" a deep and rough voice came from behind Lyn, who turned to see a very dark-faced Hector. The man stiffened. "Sacaens are much more graceful, more peaceful, more honest—characteristics that all other regions of Elibe could use. People too," he added and narrowed his eyes at the stout man. Lyn raised her eyebrows.

The man seemed to be deciding whether or not to run for it. Seeming to decide that he would somewhat stand his ground, he said, "I-I didn't say it was bad—"

"You clearly implied it!" Hector roared. "Now why don't you learn some manners and respect? Your mother obviously failed to teach you so."

"At least my mother didn't mix with inferiors," he muttered, eyes darting to Lyn. Her jaw tightened and her eyes sharpened. Hector fired up in an instant. His hands curled into fists and he took a dangerous step toward the infuriating man.

"Shame on you!" he bellowed and jabbed his finger against the man's chest. "I'm gonna—" He raised his fists and the man quickly raised his hands in defense.

"Stop, Hector. It's okay."

Hector paused and quickly twisted his neck toward Lyn. "You're going to let this fool get away with insulting your mother?"

"My heritage has been insulted before," she replied calmly, but her sharp eyes gave away her anger. Her chin was held high. "I will not let it get to my head. I am proud of who I am, no matter what anyone says. Now let's go."

Hector wouldn't have followed had her tone not been so clear, so prideful. He glared at the cowardly man and stalked off, only after a gentle but firm push from Lyn. Everyone was staring at them but they paid no mind to them as they walked back to their patiently waiting army.

"That was very brave of you," Eliwood said. "Both of you."

Normally Hector would've snorted, but he was too irritated to do so. "I'm not scared of a silly old coop." He cracked his knuckles. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to punch him."

"Calm down, Hector," Lyn said gently and patted his arm. "It's all over now. Let's just move onward. We just entered Ostia, so it'll take a while to get to the castle."

"From the woman that started the argument? I don't think you should be lecturing me," Hector said, a small smirk tugging at his lips. Lyn smiled slightly in return.

"He said something bad about you, and I wasn't about to let him get away with it!" she huffed and he raised an eyebrow.

"Since when do you care when a person insults me? You'd usually join in."

"Not when a person insults you like that! It was rude and untrue!"

"So are all the insults you say to me."

Lyn flustered and threw up her hands. "I was just trying to help!"

Hector laughed heartily. "I was just kidding." He ruffled her hair, making a few green strands pop out of the ponytail. She swatted his hand away and tried to give him a dirty look but couldn't stop the giggle.

Eliwood smiled to himself as he marched beside the pair. At least they finally seemed to be getting along.

Before the army could advance any further into Hector's home city, a group of knights rode to them. They all wore matching clad uniforms and had a distinct grace about them. The commoners scattered upon their arrival, slamming doors shut and ushering their children back into their homes.

The army behind the three lords instantly was on their feet; hands went to weapons, smiles turned into straight lines. Lyn's hand also went to the hilt of her sword, but Hector grinned and Eliwood had a knowing yet confused look on his face.

One of the men on the horses jumped down from his black steed and took off his helmet. He had a sharp face and wrinkles and lines were on his forehead. Oswin chuckled and shook his head, Serra giggled, and Matthew tweaked an eyebrow.

"Lord Hector." The man bowed.

"Bah!" Hector said, waving him off. "After all these years and times I told you to stop doing that…you still do it."

The man grinned as he straightened up. "I cannot help it, my liege. It's an old habitat that will never be broken."

"It's a bad habit," Hector replied gruffly. "And this is how you greet me after my absence all these months?" He stuck out his gloved hand.

"Of course, how could I have forgotten?" The man laughed and firmly grasped Hector's hand using both of his own. "It's great to see you again, Lord Hector." The blue-headed lord grinned. "Lord Eliwood," the man said and nodded to the Pheraen lord, who smiled and nodded in turn. They shook hands. "Lady Lyndis, if I'm correct?"

"Yes," she said, releasing her grip on her sword.

"It is an honor, milady," he said and bowed deeply, which Hector snorted at.

"And who might you be?"

"I am Duncan, Marshal of the Ostian knights."

"Sir Duncan!" Serra shrieked as she pushed herself out of the crowd, "do you remember me?"

Duncan chuckled. "Of course. How could I forget?"

"It's impossible to," Hector grumbled, "unfortunately."

Serra pursed her lips up at the tall lord. "See how mean he is to mean, Sir Duncan? Can't you do something?" she whined.

"Maybe if you stopped whining, the young master would be a bit kinder...nah, that won't happen."

"You're so mean, Matthew!"

"Marshal," Matthew said, ignoring Serra, and nodded respectfully to the man. His neck was held up tensely. "It's been a while."

"Indeed it has," Duncan replied. "...How are you fairing?"

"I'm fine," the dirty blond replied stiffly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He smiled sadly and clamped a shoulder on the thief's shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss. Leila will be missed by us all."

Matthew didn't respond.

"Sir Duncan," Oswin spoke as he pushed himself to the front, "what are you doing here?" He walked up to the Marshal and firmly clamped onto Duncan's hand using both of his own, in the Ostian greeting.

"It's nice to see you too, Oswin," Duncan nodded to the knight. Hector chuckled. "But, yes, enough chit chatter. I see that you haven't received message from us."

"Message? No, I've received none," Oswin replied.

"I see that. Strange…ah well. I came to tell you that you cannot step any further into Ostia. It would create too much attraction, and we all surely know that we don't want that." His voice had grown quieter so that the lords and their retainers were to lean in closer.

"You could've told us sooner!" Hector said in an annoyed tone. "Now we have to walk back!"

"Hector," Lyn said sharply, "we just discussed that we didn't receive the message that would've told us this; don't blame anyone. If anything, it's your fault."

"My fault? How is it my fault?"

"If you paid attention to—"

"Stop it, you two," Eliwood interrupted firmly. "This is no time for your arguments. We must leave before we attract any more attention. Where to, Duncan?"

"A fortress on the Thria-Ostia border. Come, follow us, we will take you there." He walked back to his horse, put on his helmet, and rode off, his fellow knights following after him. Hector sighed and gestured for his army to follow.

"Great," he grumbled, "even more walking."

Eliwood chuckled and wasn't able to say anything because Lyn snapped something at the Ostian lord and he fired something back at her.

Eliwood sighed. "Not again."

Once situated at the fortress and the plans were discussed and how Lord Uther was to come, the army disengaged. They relaxed as the Ostian knights surveyed the perimeters of the fortress.

Raven cleaned his sword as others chatted around him. His eyes were sharp and aware of every movement that went about him. Lord Uther was to come here, and here he would be murdered. Raven had spent his time dwelling over how to kill Hector, but now an even closer heir that had destroyed House Cornwell was going to be within Raven's grasp. He wasn't going to let this opportunity slip from his fingers. He didn't care what would happen to him anymore; he just needed to see the blood spill from Uther. To avenge his parents. That was all he wanted to do.

And Lucius knew of his plans just by the look in his eyes. "Don't do it," the blond pleaded, "it's not what you truly want to do."

"It is," Raven responded, "I will not let my parents' death be forgotten."

"There is always another way!"

"No. I will do this. Nobody can stop me."

"That's where you are wrong, milord. I will stop you."

He snorted. "I know you all too well, Lucius. You won't stop me."

"Perhaps I can persuade you."

"You've been trying at it for years."

"And I will continue to try until you finally realize that this is not a way to avenge your parents."

The sword slipped from his hands and he turned dangerously to Lucius.

"They destroyed my home, Lucius, my home. Everything that mattered to me was destroyed, my parents killed, my sister taken away from me. All because of Ostia. You think that I'll stay here and pretend to let everything be okay? No, no, I will show Ostia the true power of House Cornwell."

"Revenge is not the way to show the true power of our home," a quiet voice came from behind Raven and he turned to see Priscilla. She looked sad and hopeless. "Do you know nothing, brother?"

"I know more than you! You are still a child!"

"A child that has let go of the past unlike her older sibling."

"A child that does not understand the past."

"I very well understand it!" she huffed. "And I find this attempt very pointless. It won't make our parents come back from the dead, Raymond," she said quietly and he stiffened. "It won't restore House Cornwell to its formal glory. This is simply your way of grieving for your loss."

He didn't respond. Instead, he stood up, face expressionless, and stalked off. Priscilla moved to walk after him but Lucius said, "Let him think. I believe your words have had quite an effect on him—I've never seen him like that."

She bit her lip. "I'm not sure if it was for the good or the bad."

"We'll just have to wait and see."

Raven was stalking off aimlessly, simply trying to get away from the two, angry and confused thoughts swarming his mind, when he was knocked over by an Ostian knight. He cursed and stood back up, glaring at the Ostian who was now speaking to that idiotic Hector.

"You need to be more careful of where you're walking," a voice came from his left. Raven's hand went to his empty scabbard instinctively as he turned. Jasmine was standing there with a smirk on her content face. And it aggravated Raven even further.

"Shut up," he spat, "you good for nothing tactician."

The smirk swiped off her face and she was about to retort when Hector shouted, "To arms! The enemy has breached our walls!"

Jasmine's eyes widened and she ran passed Raven, toward the three lords. Raven stared after her for a moment before disappearing within the shouting crowd.

"What's going on?" Jasmine shouted over her noisy comrades as she stopped in front of the three lords and Duncan.

"Enemies have come from the eastern side of the fortress!" Duncan shouted back at her. He seemed especially aware of his surroundings. "Hurry and get your weapons!"

"Jasmine's the tactician!" Lyn said and Duncan's eyebrows rose. Jasmine saw the look he gave her and knew what went on in his mind—a girl this young?—and she looked away.

"Well, I've already devised a plan, but I suppose I should discuss it with you, yes?"

"That'd be nice."

"The enemy is coming in from the east, but I'm sure they're closing in on from the west and the south as we speak." He pointed in the directions as he spoke. "So, firstly, we have to keep a few men around to guard the boy." He jerked his head toward the fallen Nils. "Then we'll separate into three groups: one goes east, the other west, and the last one goes south. Does that sound good to you?"

"We should have you as our tactician," Hector joked and elbowed Duncan in his armored ribs. The Marshal laughed and shook his graying hair.

Jasmine cleared her throat. "Excellent plan, Sir Duncan, but we must remember our objective: kill the Commander. Once he's down, the rest of his army will most likely retreat, as we've seen this is many cases."

"How do we know where he's stationed?" questioned Duncan.

"Florina and Fiora will fly up for a scan," Jasmine said and nodded in the direction of the sisters. "But be careful; they might have ballistae."

The Pegasus knights nodded and mounted their Pegasi before flying up into the air. Meanwhile, Jasmine divided everybody up into groups, leaving a few behind to guard Nils and Ninian. The sisters returned and told the army of the news; the Commander was stationed outside, southeast.

"All right," Eliwood shouted. "Let's get a move on!"

Hector grinned as he shouldered his ax. "It's been too long since we've fought alongside each other, Duncan."

The aging man smirked as he unsheathed his silver sword. "Let's put your skills to the test, Lord Hector."

He smirked in return. "Game on."

"Are you trying to kill me, Serra?" Hector roared as he dodged a Shine from her. He glared back at her and she gave him an apologetic shrug.

"I'm still practicing!" she shouted back.

He rolled his eyes and turned back around to have blood spurt over his face. He watched a knight with his eyes lolled to the back of his head fall down to reveal a smiling Lyn. He immediately scowled. "I could've handled that on my own."

She rolled her eyes. "You were about to get stabbed in the neck. You should learn to thank people."

"I'd never thank you," he grumbled as he attempted to wipe the blood off his face with his clothed arm. It only smeared more and Lyn giggled.

"You want some help?"

"Not from you."

Her face darkened. "Fine. Smell like a dead man all day long, I don't care."

"W…wait up, Lyn! I was just kidding!"

Matthew ran passed the pair and stopped short, turning back around to face them. He grinned as he raised a heavy-looking sack. "Lady Lyndis, young master, loo—ah!"

The bag had vanished from his hand. He twirled around to face the suspect and his eyebrows rose when he saw Legault holding the bag. He was grinning slyly.

"Something wrong, kid?"

Matthew scowled and bounded toward the assassin. "That's my gold!"

"It's mine now."

"I knew you weren't to be trusted," Matthew growled lowly. Legault raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to answer but was unable to say anything as he dodged a dagger.

"Calm down. I was just kidding," Legault said and Matthew paused, hand midair, dagger still clenched in it. "Geez, take a joke, will yah, kid?"

"Don't call me kid," the dirty blond grumbled. Legault laughed and took a step forth to hand back the sack of gold when an enemy rammed into him from behind. The heavy sack went flying into the air and Matthew's quick eyes watched it travel. And he already knew where it was going to land; smack against Eliwood's head. That would probably knock him out.

The thief dashed off toward the falling sack, pushed himself off the wall with one foot, and jumped with open arms. He snatched the bag mid-air and landed nimbly on the floor, on the balls of his feet. He grinned in triumph only to find Legault running toward him, a curved dagger in his hand, and had no time to react. He was only able to think of one thing, one person: Leila.

But the dagger didn't collide with his body. Instead, Legault jumped right over Matthew and delved his weapon into an ax man's chest. An ax man, that, by the way, had been about to chop Matthew's head off.

"You need to be a little more aware of your surroundings, young one," Legault smirked and waggled the bloody dagger in Matthew's face. Matthew blinked, too surprised to say anything. Why did he just save my life? "I'm part of your army now," Legault said as if he read Matthew's mind. "Not Black Fang. My loyalty lies here."

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "A thief isn't loyal to anybody."

Legault smirked widely. "Smart, but are you forgetting? I'm not a thief."

He disappeared before the spy had a chance to retort.

~-~-~-x-~-~-~

Raven left a blood-streaked floor from every slash of his sword. There was blood about him; his clothes were soaked in blood, his face was splattered with it, and even his red hair had traces of red droplets in them. Blood followed him everywhere, for every step he took it would leave a red footprint from his previous slaughter.

He was still fuming from what Lucius and Priscilla had said. Murder was one of his ways to release his stress, and what better time than a battle?

He heard the flapping of wings from overheard, and, thinking that it was one of the Pegasus knights, ignored it. Only did he realize that it was a Wyvern, a Wyvern that very well wasn't on his side, when one of the scaly wings slammed against his face.

He immediately jumped back and twirled the sword around his hand. He jumped up to meet his sword with the axereaver of the Wyvern rider. The rider twisted his axereaver so that Raven fell down to the floor. He rolled over when the Wyvern rider started to stab at him and continued to roll until the attacks stopped. He quickly stood up, sword still in hand, and ran toward the rider.

He ducked the attack from the strange-haired rider and jumped up, only to be hit in the chest from the butt of the axereaver. Raven fell to the ground again and scowled at the young man atop the Wyvern. The man jumped down from his Wyvern, which flicked its tongue, and ran toward the fallen mercenary, weapon raised high. Raven's eyes widened and he quickly twisted his body away, but it wasn't fast enough. Indeed he'd avoided the stab to a heart, but the point of the axereaver sliced through his clothes and skin on his upper arm.

His face screwed up in the shock of pain and blood dribbled down from his cut. It wasn't too bad a hit, but it had certainly been a while since he'd been injured. He quickly raised his sword with his uninjured arm to block the next attack. The enemy's eyebrows furrowed—it appeared as though he hadn't expected too much of a fight.

A hand ax flung past the Wyvern rider and crashed into the wall behind him. The green-and-white haired enemy jumped and quickly turned. There was Dart, scowling.

"Damn," he grumbled as he stared at his fallen weapon. "I really ain't that good with hand axes. I warned that blue-headed lord but he wouldn't listen, would he?"

Raven and the Wyvern rider stared at Dart. Then, coming to their senses, they quickly got to their fighting stances. Raven stood up, ignoring the numbed feeling in his arm, and gripped his sword with both hands, eyes locked on the rider's. The rider twirled his axereaver in his hand much like a baton and stared firmly at Raven. Dart, now weaponless, glanced at the two and lifted his fists.

The rider started the assault. He twirled his axereaver once more before aiming it at Raven, who ducked the attack, bending down and twirling his leg around, pulling it behind the rider's legs so that he fell flat on his back. Dart joined in on the battle—he ran toward him and sent a blow to the rider's stomach. The enemy lifted his head in pain and didn't allow another hit; he twisted over and kicked Dart in the side. The pirate tumbled to the floor and scrambled to get up. Raven, in the mean time, slashed his sword toward the Wyvern rider. He blocked the attack and whistled. Raven's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

His confusion was answered by a kick in the back from the Wyvern. He stumbled to the floor and the Wyvern's owner brought his axereaver down toward Raven. The redhead swiftly lifted his sword and let it collide with the rider's weapon. Each exerted force on their weapon, trying to get the other to budge. It only resulted in gritted teeth and furrowed eyebrows; neither would budge.

"You're good," the foe muttered. "And very"—He shoved his axereaver but Raven used the same amount of force to stop it—"stubborn."

Raven smirked. He opened his mouth to answer when Dart wrapped his muscular arms around the rider's neck and lifted him in the air. A choking sound emitted from the rider's lips and he struggled against the pirate as he lifted his feet off the floor. Raven got up and hastily adjusted the sword in his hand.

The foe gave a fight—with great effort, he managed to ram the butt of his axereaver against Dart's forehead. The pirate staggered back, holding the red circle on his temple from the attack. Raven moved forth to stab the rider from behind, only to have the butt of the axereaver ram into his stomach. He grunted and fell back only a step or two, but it gave the rider enough time to advance to Dart. He lifted his axereaver and brought it down toward Dart's chest—

A lance collided with the axereaver. Everybody looked up to see Florina on her Pegasus at a rather strange angle. She was paler and more nervous than usual, eyes wide. The hand that held her lance shook.

Raven found this opportune moment to strike. He advanced but stopped when he saw the rider lower his weapon. The only sound was Florina's heavy breathing.

The rider stared at her with a strange expression. It was both anxious and relieved at the same time.

"I don't wish to—"

His words were cut off when Dart's fist collided with his jaw. Florina squealed. Dart smirked and cracked his knuckles, starting to advance toward the young man.

"Please," the rider said and raised his hands in a symbol of peace, "let me speak!"

"There you are Dart!" a voice came from behind them. Everybody turned to see Rebecca racing up to them. "I told you that we have to stick together; Jas assigned us as partners, so we have to stay together at all times!" She stopped slowly and stared at the defenseless Wyvern rider. "Who's this?"

"I'm Heath," the man named Heath said. "And I mean no harm—"

Dart snorted loudly. "Ye already hurt Raven and me! 'Ow does that translate to no harm?"

"I mean no harm to—"

"Florina!" Fiora landed beside Florina, the air swooshing on everybody's faces as Makar landed. "You worried me so much! Why did you suddenly come down here without saying anything?" She held the tone of a scolding yet worried and caring mother.

"I saw Dart in trouble," Florina mumbled, not daring a glance at said pirate. "I thought I should've helped…"

"Aye, thanks Florina," Dart said and grinned at her. "I'd probably be dead if it weren't for ye. So don't be mean to her," he said and shook a finger at Fiora. "She saved me life, and I'm very grateful for it. So, thanks again."

Florina's cheeks turned a bright red. "Th-th-thank y-you f-for…" She stopped herself short when she noticed that Dart was no longer paying attention to her and was chatting to Rebecca instead. Florina hung her head. Fiora looked at her before at Dart, eyes sharpening.

"Excuse me," she snapped, "my sister's trying to tell you something!"

Dart looked up at the even redder Florina. "Aye?"

"I…I just…"

Heath sighed loudly. "Excuse me, but can we get back on topic please?"

Everybody stared at him.

"Thank you… I just wanted to say that I mean no harm to women and children."

Raven raised an eyebrow, Dart folded his arms, Rebecca's eyebrows furrowed, Florina looked confused, and Fiora looked surprised.

"I apologize for hurting the two of you, but when I saw these women…I just can't do it."

"Ye think ye can just—"

"Understood," Fiora interrupted with a nod. "I don't think I've ever met such a respectable enemy before. Not many men, either," she added and looked at Raven and Dart, both of whom glared at her in return.

"I wish to be your enemy no longer. I'm a soldier but…I'm trying to be human too," hei9 explained.

"You want to join our group?" Raven asked.

"Yes."

"After cutting me and nearly killing Dart?"

"…Yes."

Dart scowled. "That don't seem right."

"Please…I only ask of your forgiveness. I don't wish to inflict any more harm on good people."

"The decision doesn't rest with us," Fiora spoke. "It lies with Lord Hector. We must find him and question him, but perhaps after the battle. For now, you can fight with us."

Heath nodded dutifully. "Thank you."

"Let us fly," Fiora said and tugged on Makar's reigns. She swooshed up in the air and Florina followed her a moment later, after a quick glance at Dart. Heath grabbed his fallen weapon, thanked Raven, Dart, and Rebecca once more, before jumping on Hyperion and following after the Pegasus knights.

"Wait…did he refer to me as a child?" Rebecca frowned, apparently only focused on the part of women and children. Raven rolled his eyes and Dart laughed heartily, patting Rebecca on the shoulder.

"You still are a youngster. You have a lot to learn."

She pursed her lips. "I'm 15! I'm no kid!"

Dart laughed some more and Raven, tired and annoyed from all the banter, went through the doors that led to the main entrance.

There were plenty of bodies about him and their blood drenched the once white floor. He glanced around and saw that the majority of his comrades (he had nothing else to call them) were fighting outside. There were only a select few left, all of which Jasmine appeared to be commanding. They departed after a brief talk.

Raven started to walk toward Jasmine, the sole of his boots turning red from the blood that he stepped in. He froze when he saw a lone archer aiming at Jasmine.

"Jasmine!" Raven shouted as he burst out in a frenzy run. "Look out!"

The tactician looked back at him with a confused expression.

The arrow flung when the archer released it from its constraints and it headed straight for Jasmine's head. Raven's heart beat fast and he raised his sword, already knowing he was too late—

There was a blur of brown and the tactician was gone. The arrow clinked against the wall and the archer had no time to run or hide; Raven's sword pierced him the same time an arrow lodged into his throat.

Raven pivoted to face Jasmine on a stranger's horse. The man had a stoic face, much like Raven's, except his lips were in a straight line and weren't scowling. Most of his dark green hair was hidden underneath a red bandana.

"Who are you?" Raven asked with narrowed eyes.

"I am Rath." Everything about this man screamed Sacaen; his traditional outfit, his accent, even his horse.

"Rath?" a female voice came from behind him on the horse. Raven saw Jasmine's face poke out from behind Rath, who twisted his neck toward the tactician. "It really is you! What are you doing here?"

"…After our departure, I started to work for Ostia as a mercenary. We came as reinforcements. I saw Lyndis and she persuaded me to join."

"That's awesome!" Jasmine smiled. "You always come at the right times, don't you?"

There was a shadow of a smile. "A chance of luck, I suppose."

"More like destiny. Like you're destined to come and save us."

A flicker of annoyance passed Raven's face. "And you're destined to be an idiot." The two looked down at him. "You should've been checking your surroundings at all times! If this man—Rath—hadn't come along, you'd be dead!"

"I bet that's what you wanted!" Jasmine snapped back at him. She lost her balance and yelped, clutching onto Rath's waist to stop her from falling. She quickly let go of him and placed her hands on her lap.

"I really want to get down now," she murmured, her eyes darting from side to side.

"Scared of a horse?" Raven snorted. "And you call yourself a war tactician."

"Shut up!" she snapped. "Not all tacticians ride horses!"

"How would you know? Have you seen one in action before?"

"Yes, actually, I have! And he didn't ride a horse! So get your facts straight before accusing people of things!"

"I haven't accused you of anything!"

"Yes you did!"

"Jas!" a shout came from the left and interrupted the argument. Rath tugged on his horse to twirl it around. There was Wil sitting behind Kent, the pair of them riding on Kent's horse, and Sain rode beside them.

"What's wrong?"

"Serra and Priscilla ran out of healing staffs!" Wil cried.

"Both of them?" she said in disbelief. The three on horses nodded. "Let's hurry on back to Merlinus's tent. I'm positive he has staffs."

"We'll go," Kent said and Wil nodded in agreement. He tugged on the reigns of his horse and dashed off, nodding to Rath respectively on the way. Rath nodded in turn.

"Lady Lyndis told me that she'd gotten hold of you," Sain said to Rath and trotted beside him. "Well met, Rath."

Rath nodded. "An honor."

Sain smiled and leaned over his horse. He clasped Rath firmly on the shoulder, in a Caelin greeting.

"It'd be nice to have another familiar face around."

"Tell me about it," Jasmine smiled.

"I'm sure you all would love to catch up," Raven spoke for the first time since Wil and the two Caelin knights had interrupted him. "However, we have a battle to win, correct?"

"Ah, right, how could I forget?" Sain said. "Thanks for the reminder, Raven!" Raven simply scowled. "I suppose your beauty took all my attention, winter flower," Sain said to Jasmine. She rolled her eyes but smiled playfully. Rath chuckled quietly. "Something funny, Rath?"

The nomad shook his head, smiling slightly. "You haven't changed a bit, Sain, knight of Caelin."

"Sub Commander, now, actually," he said and puffed out his chest. Jasmine giggled. "Thank you either way, Rath—you haven't changed either."

"I'm not sure if he was complimenting you," Jasmine giggled and Sain looked aghast.

"Of course he was. Right, Rath?"

Rath didn't respond, though he still smiled.

"That was a yes," Sain said to Jasmine, who smiled and shook her head. "By the way, darling Jasmine, I see that you're on a horse. For the first time." He grinned. "How is it fairing you?"

How did he know that Jasmine didn't ride horses? Something about it bothered Raven.

"Horrible," she grumbled. "I think I'm going to get off. If I can."

"Allow me, sweet butterfly," Sain said and jumped off his horse, outstretching his arms toward her. Raven scowled as he watched the tactician jump down with the help of the knight. Was that really necessary? It couldn't have possibly been so hard for her to jump down on her own.

Kent and Wil dashed back to the three. "We got the staffs. Let's hurry and hope that the injuries are healing."

Sain, Rath, and Jasmine nodded. The three horses galloped off, leaving behind a standing Raven and Jasmine.

"So you're really that scared to ride a horse?" Raven asked Jasmine with a raised eyebrow. She glared at him and looked away, starting to walk off toward the battle outside. "Ignoring me won't help you."

"We should be helping our comrades right now, Raven—not chatting about horses."

Raven smirked slightly. "You're a bit of a coward."

She stopped dead in her tracks and twirled around to face him, brown curls spiraling. "Just because I don't want to ride a horse doesn't make me a coward!"

"Considering that you've never rode one before, it does make you one."

"How? I just didn't want to ride a horse. Is it really that complicated?"

"You were scared to ever try, weren't you?" Her eyes darted. "How would you know if you wouldn't like it if you never tried? Only cowards think that way."

"I'm not really into the 'trying new things'. Becoming a tactician was already big enough; now it's necessary for me to ride a horse or fight? Hah, I think not! And if you're so into the 'trying new things' idea, how about you try to be nice for once?"

"How about you try not to talk back for once?" he snapped.

"How about you stop being such a jerk so I wouldn't have to talk back?"

"What are you going to do about it, huh? Go cry to your darling green idiotic knight? I'm sure you'd like that!"

"Wha—Sain has nothing to do with his! I can stand up on my own, thank you very much!"

"Hah! Barely! You always have that Lady Lyndis on your side. She's the one with the real guts and strength!"

"Yes, Lyn is always on my side, but she's never here whenever I'm arguing with you! I'm always standing up to you on my own!"

"But without that Lady Lyndis you wouldn't be here, now would you? Yeah, I know all about your 'wonderful adventure' to Caelin. I've heard it around. Had you never met her, you wouldn't have ever been able to get to this point in your life!"

"I'm trying my best, Pops! I always try my best, but it's NEVER good enough for you!" she shouted suddenly. She looked about ready to cry, but no tears accumulated in her eyes. Her eyes widened suddenly as she realized what she said. She staggered back and covered her mouth with a hand, eyes still wide in horror.

Raven's eyebrows furrowed. What did she just call him…?

"Are you alright, Miss?"

Jasmine looked at somebody behind Raven. He turned around.

And there was Lord Uther.

Raven knew him right off the bat. The shoulder-length blue hair, his Hector-like size, his clothes—it was Lord Uther of Ostia, the oldest son of the dead Marquess Ostia, man who had ordered for House Cornwell's destruction. The man that Raven dreamed of murdering. The man that he could simply kill right this instant. Raven grasped onto his sword.

"I'm fine," Jasmine said from behind Raven. "You must be Lord Uther."

As the two spoke, Raven's heart raced and he felt sweat on the back of his neck. The tactician would be the only one to see him murder Uther. Then he could threaten the tactician to never tell. Even if she did tell, per say, by that time Raven would be long gone.

But Raven suddenly thought back to the facial expression that Jasmine had worn only seconds ago. And that made him think back to Priscilla, and her expression. She would undoubtedly cry. Then there was Lucius. Raven just knew what he would say and do. He would shake his head in disappointment and say something about St. Elimine. Not that Raven would care.

However, the thoughts of his sister and Lucius made him release his grip on his sword. He would resist. For now.

But tonight, no matter what, he would strike.

How long has it been since I last updated? 2 months, I think? I do have an excuse though, so haha! I had my finals so I had to study a lot...so yeah. But now that I'm on summer vacation, I should (hopefully) work on this story more often! :D

So I tried to incorporate more cultural things in this chapter. I do feel like there's some sexism, especially considering the time period, and it has been sorta hinted at throughout the game. Little things, like how when Kent said that bandits shouldn't gang up on a woman. And I thought there ought to be a few disrespectful people—aren't there always?—that just hated Hector. I mean, he is Hector, after all! :P