"Surrender now and the kingdom of Nohr will do you no harm! Please settle down your weapons!" Corrin announced loudly without hesitations.
The announcement was all too clear for the liking of the second prince of Hoshido but he felt all too satisfied to see his lost brother standing right below him from where he stood.
"You heard my brother! Settle down your weapons and no one gets hurt!" Xander repeated sternly.
"As if that'll happen! My army will never surrender to the likes of you scums!" Takumi exclaimed furiously.
All the Hoshidan soldiers were stationed in front of the Great Wall of Suzanoh with their weapons in hand and ready under the name of the young prince.
"Please, Brother, I don't want to fight you..!" Corrin called out to him desperately. "We can stop this war peacefully and I know how to do just that..!"
"SHUT UP!"
Remaining quiet in response, the dragon decendant continued to look up at Takumi from below.
"I will KILL YOU, BROTHER! YOU DO REMEMBER THE PROMISE I LAST TOLD YOU DURING OUR ENCOUNTER AT CHEVE, CORRECT?"
Looking down with guilt and a hint of sadness, the white haired prince replied.
"That's right. I do remember," he said, looking back up.
Meanwhile, with the two princes exchanging their words, Sirena continuously glanced at the prince she sided with worriedly.
'Takumi...' she thought to herself. '... That doesn't sound like him anymore...'
The young woman could tell that he's changed. Even though he threw threats at her cousin and herself, he would never go as far as to scream a death sentence to others repetitively. It sickened and pained her to hear his yells drip with vile poison from each word he spewed out.
"I will... I WILL KILL YOU... I WILL ENJOY WATCHING YOU DRAW YOUR VERY LAST BREATH BEFORE ME!" the Hoshidan prince exclaimed as he forcefully swung his arm in front of himself. "I WON'T LOSE!"
'You really won't enjoy this...' Sirena thought, closing her eyes in order to keep herself from watching.
"Then that is that.." Corrin responded calmly. "We have no choice, but to take your army down!"
Sirena eventually opened her eyes back to reality, sighing when she realized she couldn't escape the field as per usual.
"Everyone, our target is right in front of your eyes... Strike them down WITHOUT MERCY..!" Takumi declared.
Upon the order of the prince, the army gripped their weapons and charged into battle. Archers controlling the ballista began to rain the silver tipped arrows over the Nohrian army before their comrades got into shooting range.
"FLIERS, GET OUT OF THE WAY, QUICKLY!" Camilla exclaimed as the arrows dropped.
The soldiers quickly scampered away and scattered across the field from each other as they quickly dodged the arrows.
"Hah! Shooting ballistae to separate us? That's just mere child's play..!" Leo claimed as he ran in behind his elder brother, Xander. "Such ruse won't throw us off our course!"
The two princes of Nohr were frighteningly powerful. Their immense strength was clearly displayed as they cut down the Hoshidan army's soldiers with their legendary weapons, Brynhilder and Siegfried.
"Quickly, we must act and protect the prince!" Hinata exclaimed angrily as he quickly ran in to help his comrades defend the Great Wall.
"Hinata, above you!" Sirena warned him quickly.
The samurai obliged and looked up as he stopped himself from suddenly taking off into battle. An ashy red wyvern was hovering right over him by now as his eyes widened from shock.
"What the-"
"Die," the light blue haired assassin said calmly.
With a full force swing to the head, Beruka aimed to kill him in one go; however, she failed to succeed. The brown haired young man managed to dive out of the way as she swung the heavy silver axe dangerously close.
"She appeared out of nowhere..?!" he asked himself.
"Hinata!" Oboro shouted in concern.
"No one will survive to stand before Lady Camilla," Beruka said coldly as her wyvern lunged at Hinata.
Takumi clicked his tongue in dismay as he watched the battle from where he was, often shooting the ballista in front of him at his target. Sirena ran over the closest archer possible and whispered a small request to help Hinata get out of his fight safely.
"Please, quickly.." she said as she ran off to join the skirmish.
The archer nodded as he complied to her request, sneaking off to gather a few others and hide. As he was doing that, Sirena decided to go ahead and hold back any incoming Nohrian soldiers. The archers were now in place, shooting arrows at Beruka and her wyvern while her attention was fully on Hinata.
"Tch...!"
The wyvern rider grunt and clicked her tongue from getting snucked on without knowing; she took quite a heavy hit.
"Damn you...!" she growled as she pulled back to get out of harms way.
Hinata sighed in relief as he looked around for other forms of danger nearby.
"Please forgive me for this...!" Sirena said just loud enough for her and the enemy to hear.
Her aim was to reach Kaze or Azura as quickly as possible; she couldn't wait any longer. With heavy swings of her naginata, the white haired girl knocked out the soldiers who went after her instead of killing on purpose.
"Don't come after me this instant..! This is important!"
"HRAGHH!"
The girl gasped and looked over to her left in time when a Nohrian merchant lept in to land a blow on her. Without thinking, Sirena used her lance to block herself, still getting herself injured by the steel blade.
"...!"
"Under the Prince, Corrin's order, I'll have to remove you from this battlefield!" the merchant claimed.
She was able to minimize the damage she took, but she was still quite injured from the attack. Sirena could no longer hold back, knowing she would get herself killed if she continued.
"This has gone long enough...!" she exclaimed, pushing the male merchant away from herself and injuring him with her blade. "I'll have you killed if you get in my way..!"
"I rather be killed than spared by the likes of you-"
He was quickly silenced as Sirena ran off again, blood trickling from her naginata's silver blade.
"My, my, darling...~ What a violent one you are...~" Camilla commented as she approached the spear fighter.
"The eldest princess of Nohr..." Sirena gasped, going pale.
The purple haired woman chuckled playfully as she leaned over on her black wyvern, her chest being completely distracting to anyone who dares to look.
"I'll have you sleeping in 'bed' soon. Now stay still..." she said as her wyvern suddenly lunged at the girl.
Sirena frowned a bit as she got out of the way and blocked the attacks of the Nohr princess.
"Please wait- Gah!" she yelled. "I need to see-"
"I'm not letting you near my dear Corrin even if you asked..!" she yelled.
Clicking her tongue, Sirena continued to dodge and back off before she got herself killed.
"Then give him a message," she stated as she lept back, pointing her weapon at Camilla. "I wasn't going to have this message passed onto him, but since you're already here.."
"I can have Marzia break that dangerous toy of yours if you like..." she hissed. "Put it down.."
Sirena glared and continued to do so.
"Tell your dear brother that I need help," the white pigtailed girl said shakily. "... Please..."
She was glancing back at Takumi once in a while to make sure he wasn't watching her, but indeed he was watching her closely. From behind, it looked as though Peri and Laslow had broke through the second line of defense with Effie knocking out her comrades constantly. It really scared her when she saw the three charging in.
"Princess of Nohr, spar with me or I'll have myself killed for nothing. Milord is watching me.. Make an act out if it, I don't care, just do it..!"
The princess rose a brow and brought up her axe anyways as the girl dashed into her with her weapon ready.
"Your master sure has treated you well..." she giggled. "He can't even get close to his retainers and she even comes to ask Nohr for help... Splendid..~"
Sirena frowned at her comments and thrusted the weapon faster than before, landing a few weak hits on the princess.
"I'm. Not. His. Retainer. And I'm not coming here to get Nohr's help, but to speak with Kaze and Princess Azura," she said sternly, fancily twirling the lance to block some hits. "I trust you'll send word to Prince Corrin now..?"
"Hm, you seem to be like a harmless little fly. Just maybe, you albino Hoshidan," replied Camilla.
"I must also ask you if you will not kill any of my comrades for once.."
The older woman swung the axe just enough to hurt the girl and knock her back away from herself, but not enough to kill her.
"AGHH!"
Being flung back by the heavy axe, Sirena bounced and rolled on the ground as if a skipping stone on water. Her naginata happened to land a few feet away from her as well.
"You said act or so, and I did~" Camilla stated before Sirena could say anything. "I can't keep such a promise with you, dear, and I have reasons if you understand...~ I held back for you there and if I didn't, your pretty little head would have been the thing bouncing on the field like that."
"RENA!" Hinata called when the girl weakly looked up at Camilla.
She now bore cuts on her body from the last hit; it looked as so Camilla decided to hit her with the center of her weapon instead of the blades.
"NOHRIAN MONSTER!" he exclaimed angrily, running up to attack.
"H-Hinata...! Don't! She'll kill you!" Sirena warned him, jolting up.
She flinched from the pain and dropped back to the ground, unable to move. Her white, green, and blue clothes were completely stained in red from the oozing blood on her body.
"I'll protect you," Hinata claimed, frowning at the princess. "I won't let any comrade of mine get hurt anymore."
"Quick, we're getting you to a healer..." Oboro told her once she got there.
"Oboro... But Hinata...! He'll-"
"We can't let his efforts go for naught. You need to retreat and get healed now," she said as she hulled the fellow spear fighter's arm over her shoulders.
Sirena quietly looked down as she was helped back to the Great Wall, hearing metal scratching and clanging with each other as the Nohrian princess and well-known samurai fought.
"He'll... be okay..." Oboro told her.
She didn't sound too confident with herself either, but she kept on a brave yet angry looking face. War... The cause of everything... Losses, victory, deaths, conquest... Was Hoshido "losing" or was the kingdom really losing?
"GAHHHH!"
The faint sound of body-to-ground contact and blood curdling yell immediately hit the escaping young women's ears, causing them to look back.
"H-Hinata..." Sirena said quietly, her eyes wide. "GODS, NO...! HINATA!"
"HINATA, YOU MORON! GET UP!" Oboro yelled to him, her eyes just as wide.
The young samurai, now lying in a puddle of his own blood, weakly looked over at them and smiled, reaching a single hand out towards the two.
"Master... Takumi... Protect him.."
He soon left his own body once his hand faltered and dropped to the ground limply. Sirena, completely horrified, stuttered quietly as she looked up at Camilla who smirked and swung her axe onto her shoulder. Oboro clung onto Sirena tighter and quickly brought her back to recover, a glower on her face.
"Sorry, dear...~ But I really can't keep that promise this time around..." she said to herself, her smirk leaving.
"All Nohrian scums deserve to die... They'll all die! THEY'LL DIE!" Oboro yelled once she got back to base safely.
Sirena covered her face in hopes of not letting any of her feelings show unlike Oboro who was completely furious. A priestess was busy healing the two quietly.
"Please stay strong..." the healer told Sirena softly, bending over to see her as she healed.
Sirena took a deep breath to calm herself down, but she was also angry with Camilla for killing Hinata right on the spot like that. Of course she wouldn't promise, what was she thinking about?
"Gods... Hinata, I'm sorry for being such a careless fool out there..." she agonizingly said.
"I'll kill them all for killing Hinata... I'll kill them in the name of our lord, Takumi, and to get revenge for everyone they've murdered..!" Oboro said ferociously.
She was now dashing away to kill more of the Nohrian army and going after the main units of their army.
"Oboro.. Not you too..." Sirena said, not able to move just yet. "Please be careful..."
The feeling of pain was finally gone, but she really didn't feel like rushing back in. Sirena just didn't have the usual motivation she had during a battle of some sort.
"I don't feel like hitting someone's head with a stick today or anytime soon..." she told herself quietly. "... Not after seeing Hinata leave this world in such a brutal way.."
One would normally hear the young woman scream and yell out threats and cocky sounding comments as she cut down her enemies, but there was something weighing down in her body at the moment. She no longer felt the same attitude.
"I should go see the prince..." she told herself in a choked manner.
The girl just happened to hear another scream as she said that and excused herself. It was none other than Oboro who close by.
"Nohrians are close...! BLOCK THE PATH!" she warned as loud as she could, but after that was mere silence from the dark blue haired soldier and the splattering of blood after harsh contact with a few sword slashes.
"Dear gods...!" Sirena sobbed to herself, quickly running to see how Takumi was as the army blocked the ways of the Nohrians.
One by one, Takumi silently watched his men fall in defeat out on the battlefield. A straight face was somehow remaining even though his anger was boiling into a heated rage from within.
"Kill..." he suddenly muttered. "No one cares about me... I'm useless to their eyes.. I'll kill them all and show them..."
"For the last time, you aren't useless, sir.. Please don't say that..." Sirena told him when she entered. "I promise you we all care about you... You're more than useful... You're behavior has chan-"
"Shut up, you annoying faker...!" he growled, turning to glare at her.
Instead if her usual glares and rude replies back on the field she flinched and stared at him with worry and fear. Something about him was very off and she knew. He was much harsher.
"Lord, Taku-"
"I've never gave you the permission to call me that...!" Takumi cut in again. "Dare tell me something irrelevant again, I'll shoot you traitor down and your family!"
The girl looked down and stood there for a bit before she looked back at him sadly.
"Kill me then. Leave my father and Lana out of your list of targets however. If that helps clear my name as well as my father's, I'm more than willing to die. You'll just have to have an excuse for Lana if that does happen.."
"Annoying...!"
Before he shot her, Corrin jumped in and knocked his bow away quickly.
"Brother.. Please surrender yourself. This is now under the control of Nohr," he claimed sternly, blood stained on his armor sadly enough.
Takumi glared at him and rubbed his wrist.
"You... You dare tell me what to do...? Even after causing grief to my siblings, killing innocent lives, and even Mother...?! YOU'RE ABOUT TO DESTROY MY OWN BELOVED KINGDOM! WHAT RIGHTS DO YOU HAVE TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO?!"
The prince was suddenly sobbing by now, his eyes looking awfully abnormal.
"It's already too late... I can't forgive you..."
A dark aura of purple and black began resonating off his body as he stood there longer, his hair covering up his eyes as he looked down.
"It's... far.. too late..." Takumi sobbed, but he also happened to chuckle lowly as well.
"Lord Takumi..." Sirena called desperately, running over. "Please stop this, milord..."
"Rena... Stay away..." the young prince said worriedly, suddenly speaking more like himself.
It seems that he was desperately clinging onto his humanity, but was failing. She stopped a few feet away and blinked, a little surprised that he finally addressed her informally gentle for once, but she didn't want to listen to him this time around.
"Somethings already taken over him..." Azura said quietly. "When did this happen...?"
"I-I don't know... Just one day, I noticed his eyes becoming a blood shot red..." the spear fighter replied, running the rest of the way over to the young man.
"Please get back..!" he warned her once more, stepping back.
"Milord, Takumi... Let me help you..." she said, grabbing his hands tightly. "I'm not going to give up on you for the sake of your siblings, Hoshido, and yourself.."
He closed his eyes tightly with his brows slightly furrowed.
"It's already too late..." he told her again, looking up at her with his eyes suddenly flashing red. "This isn't me anymore..."
Sirena was slowly letting everyone in this specific army slip away from her without know. Her hands gently released and slipped off Takumi's.
"..."
Sighing, the prince walked off to the end of the wall and jumped onto the ledge after grabbing his divine weapon, Fujin Yumi.
"... This will be the second to last time I see you Nohrians..." he stated with a frown before softly looking at the spear fighter. "Mark my words... I'll obliterate you all..."
She was still looking at him with gentle, worried eyes, her mind becoming clouded with fear of what will happen.
"T-Takumi..?!" Corrin exclaimed. "Wait!"
The prince quickly let his body drop off the wall backwards, causing the two royals and Sirena to run over, frightened with his action.
"Oh gods...!" Azura panicked.
"Takumi! Gods... No...!" yelled the adopted Nohrian prince.
Sirena whimpered in shock as she looked around for him. He was nowhere to be seen.
"He's gone... But how..?" Corrin asked.
"It's impossible for him to survive from this height... Maybe someone or something dragged his body away after the fall..." the water maiden said.
That was until when Sirena backed away and dropped to her knees with a pale face, she noticed. There was no real evidence that Azura's guess could've happened. He just mysteriously left without a trace.
"I-I didn't hear him contact the ground..." she said nervously.
The two royals were also just as skeptical as she was.
"Sirena... You must go hide now.. King Garon and Iago will be here any moment..." Azura told her as she ran over and held her arms. "Have hope.. He must be out there somewhere.."
Sirena slowly looked up at the songstress and looked back down before she stood up to look for an escape route.
"Please, stay safe.. I don't want to kill anyone else.." Corrin told the young woman as she left the field.
Shock was still lingering all over her as she ran off and hid as fast as she could. King Garon's troops were near, but she was able to make it in time to take an escape route and head back to Hoshido after he's passed. It'll take days for her to get back to Hoshido's capital, but she had to return immediately or she'll get killed. Her travel calculations? Non-stop traveling knowing that the Nohrian army would stop and take breaks once in a while as well as overnight.
"Traveling back without any rest... I hope nothing happens along the way..." she muttered to herself. "Or that King Garon will catch up..."
Upon return within more than a few days later, Lana looked over to Sirena who was completely exhausted and limping back by now, breathing heavily.
"Rena..?! Are you okay? What happened?" she called, running over quickly.
Princess Hinoka who happened to be there with her followed just as quick and held her up before she fell over.
"The army..? My brother? You need to tell me everything that happened..!" Hinoka said desperately.
Sirena closed her eyes and continued to pant to catch her breath.
"I... Milady, I apologize, but we've lost.. the Great Wall of Suzanoh to Nohr.." she replied breathlessly, nearly passing out. "Lord Takumi... I don't know where he is, but I'm sure he hasn't died... I just don't know where he is..!"
The girl rose her voice and clung onto Hinoka's arms in a desperate manner, shaking.
"S-Sirena, calm down... Please.. Breathe slowly," the princess said slightly with fear.
".. He purposely dropped off the wall as if he committed suicide... But his body was nowhere to be found a second later..! I didn't even hear him make contact with the ground, milady! He just disappeared into thin air!"
"He's gone...?" she asked quietly.
"I'm sorry, Lady Hinoka, but I don't know how to answer that..." Sirena told her.
The princess frowned to herself and gritted her teeth, biting back tears as she stood back up and helped her cousin bring her to her room for mending.
"Thank you for telling me..." she said. "Let's get you cared for... Lana?"
The shorter young woman with even whiter hair than her cousin nodded and began healing Sirena as she walked back into Castle Shirasagi.
"I suppose the wounds opened up from constant traveling..." Sirena said, completely exhausted.
"You mean you never stopped walking?" the eldest princess questioned.
"You've gone mad...!" Lana added with a frown. "You know if you gotten sick, you'd be walking blind for who knows how long you've been walking for!"
Sirena smiled a little and hung her head low. She couldn't hold it up any longer.
"I know, I know.. But King Garon was at the Wall of Suzanoh, I can't bear to waste any time... He would've killed me before I returned with the news even if I got sick..."
"I see... Please rest up today.. If he does get here while you're at rest, we'll hold him back," the princess told her, smiling a bit.
"But I-"
"No 'buts,' Sirena. Conserve your energy. That is an order."
"Yes, milady... As you wish..."
The girl sighed as she was lugged back to her room gently, a few healers being called to come along to help as well. Sirena was settled down in her room after the long walk back with the few people surrounding her to check and feed her.
"Please keep an eye on her, Lana.." Hinoka requested as she turned to leave. "Ryoma must be too busy.. But I need to inform him.."
"M-milady... Please stay safe.. and don't kill Corrin..." Sirena spoke nervously earning a small frown. "He and Princess Azura warned me to escape before the king of Nohr spotted me.."
The older girl just sighed in response and left, unsure of what to do once again. Sirena just silently closed her eyes and hung her head low as if she was bowing to the princess as she left, believing that she shouldn't have spoken up. Lana sat down and continued to heal her cousin, beginning to tire herself out as she continued to heal nonstop.
"Lana, your beginning to sweat... You should rest.." Sirena suggested, gently grabbing her wrist.
Her cousin's violet orbs met with her gold ones worriedly, but she nodded in response and halted her magic. The other priestess were getting her clothes and food ready so that she could get comfortable and out of her bloody crusty clothes.
"Okay..." she replied. "But you need to get cleaned up and some rest.."
As she said that, one of the priestess near her walked over with a gentle smile on her face, helping Sirena up just to do that.
"I'll help you in place of your cousin.. She's been practicing magic nonstop today.." she said bringing her off as she healed her in place of Lana.
"Magic practice..? Does that..?" the spear fighter questioned curiously.
The priestess nodded and stopped smiling a bit as she picked up a set of clothes for the spear fighter.
"I'm aware that you don't want your cousin to fight, but being honest, she's been fighting with the army when she goes off with the army Lady Hinoka leads.."
Sirena smiled softly and pinched the bridge of her nose tiredly, dropping her arm back down to her side. Her cousin has been class changing constantly in her blind spot to help others and she didn't want her to know in order to not get her to worry.
"I see... I suppose I'll just accept it," she said as she got herself to the bath house. Thank you for telling me.. Please give me some space as I bathe."
The priestess chuckled and stepped back understandingly after she handed over her clothes she'll be wearing temporarily.
"Of course, but call me if you need any help."
Sirena smiled and nodded as she gave a small, "Yes, of course.." before she walked in to get herself cleaned. Sighing in relief that she was finally in the safe zone, the girl slipped off her ripped up and bloody clothes , untying her hair right after. She quietly slipped into the bath and let the sound of the warm water calm her down, soaking it up in her skin.
"... Takumi..." she said quietly, closing her eyes and tilting it back a little. "Where are you...?"
She was now wondering whether she should also do a class change just like Lana did, but she was unsure if it'll help the army since she couldn't do much. Takumi has been training her with the bow for quite some time already in hopes of having her change her class. To him, he thought it was going to benefit the army, but she never tried to class change even after a few months of training with him.
"If only I had class changed sooner..."
She covered her face with her hands and sighed, keeping her feelings to herself. The sound of water and her breathing was the only audible thing right now. At first, she only thought of Takumi as an arrogantly rude prince who'd only insult her and her family for the hell of it, but soon after as they finally got closer, she accepted him as a comrade and friend. Long after that, it became platonic love for her or so she thought.
"Jeez... I'm a failure to everything..." she sighed, swallowing hard.
Her throat felt dry, as she swallowed and breathed calmly.
"God damn..."
After the bath, the young woman returned with the priestess who had been waiting for her from outside.
"Feeling better?"
Sirena smiled softly and nodded, but it felt like a lie. She wasn't feeling all too okay now that she's noticed, again, she's fallen for the prince who just suddenly disappeared from her sight. What great timing she had in this.
"Then I'll help you back to your room. I hope the Nohrian army doesn't get here today or ever..."
"I believe they won't.. They must've made stops along the way to rest up unlike me," Sirena chuckled. "... Hey... do we have another heart seal..?"
Blinking, the priestess nodded quietly.
"Are you going to class change as well..?"
Smiling, Sirena looked down quietly; the smile looked genuine, but it felt... distanced somehow..
"Yes.. I'll class change and help hold back Garon's army.. There is no point in sitting here anymore.." she replied. "I'll allow Lana to class change as well.."
The priestess smiled back and walked her back to her room where Lana waited blankly for her cousin's return. There was a tray of food waiting for Sirena to touch.
"I'll go get the seal right away for you.. Please rest up."
Sirena bowed a bit and quickly headed over to her cousin as the doors to her own room closed.
"Lana.. Lana, snap out of it.. I'm right here.." Sirena called to the blanked out young woman.
"... Left... There's... no one... left..." she continued to whisper quietly.
"Oh, Lana..." her cousin said, pulling her to a hug. "I'm still here with you... I'll try not to leave you, but.. there are some times where I can't keep promises.."
"Leave..." she said, beginning to sound more desperate. "Everyone has left...!"
The young woman was now beginning to grip her bare arms, clawing at herself. Her cousin prevented it from happening and held her wrists, pulling her arms apart.
"Not a single soul has left you, sweet Lana.. Please snap out of it...!" she called out to the now sobbing girl.
Color returned to her face and her eyes grew less cloudy as she came to out of her limbo.
"R-Rena...?" Lana asked in a hushed shaky tone.
Sirena smiled and pulled her into another hug, completely relieved to see her back. If she didn't return, she would have needed to resort to knocking her out by force.
"It happened again, didn't it...?" she whispered. "I'm sorry... I tried not to let it bother me..."
"Hush, cousin... It's alright..." she replied. "We'll be sure to win this war.. Well, I hope..."
The priestess returned with the said heart seal and smiled a bit. She could tell what had just happened by looking at the two.
"I must have returned at the wrong time.. My mistake..." she said.
"It's alright..."
A few more days have passed ever since Sirena returned. It seems as though Garon's forces have finally made it to Castle Shirasagi as Corrin's army was now fighting against Hinoka's face-to-face.
"Please, Sister! I don't want to fight you!" he said just as desperate as before as he fought her.
Corrin was able to knock the naginata out of his Hoshidan sister's hands and away from her as Elise knocked her off her mount with a quick and inaccurate ember.
"... I just want... to be a family again..." Hinoka said weakly, tearing up.
"Sister... Then please keep believing... We'll be a family again... I promise... Everyone will be together again..."
A yell could be heard nearby, but it wasn't as brutal as what the army of Nohr heard before at the Great Wall. Sirena was now back on the ground after having a hit land on her; she still didn't have enough rest after losing so much sleep and not having enough food to eat before returning.
"Rena...!" Lana called, quickly healing her and her kite.
The girl who was now clad in the kinshi warrior's uniform groaned and pushed herself back up to mount her kite once again.
"Don't you dare hurt my cousin...!" she growled relentlessly.
"Stubborn..!" Leo replied, breathing hard.
He was also clearly hurt, attacking the two in order to drain anything he could to recover. He continued to attack though Sirena kept blocking him away from Lana and dodging any direct hits. Obviously not looking for any fights for much longer, the younger girl re-changed her class again and ran over to heal the mounted prince.
"Lana..! Not again... Don't.. He's dangerous..." Sirena said, nearly collapsing.
Lana stopped in front of him with a soft look on her face. His last encounter with the girl was the same where she always had a soft and gentle composure mixed with her sullen expression.
"Sir, please don't hurt my cousin..." she said quietly, looking up.
The prince sighed and stopped his attacks to get off his horse; he still needed to look down on her since she was still so short. Lana felt intimidated around him and looked down at her feet as she healed him a bit so that no one got suspicious later on.
"... It's not like I want to kill anyways..." he said with a softer expression. "Please accept my apology, but I'm only doing what my father forced us to do. It's not what I want to do."
"I understand..." Lana said quietly as she stopped healing him.
She looked back up and smiled gently as Sirena sighed in relief while she rested on her Kite weakly, needing healing attention again. She decided to use a bottle of her father's homemade concoction to keep herself recovered and relieved from pain.
"I hope this war ends soon... Maybe.. we can talk to each other outside of the battlefield.." the priestess said, running back to Sirena to heal and help her back to the Hinoka.
Leo nodded and got back onto his horse, following them from a distance to get to Corrin who happened to be talking to Hinoka at the moment.
"I hope it'll be soon then, miss.." he said, making his horse go faster and passing them.
Lana blinked and nodded as she continued to walk over with the kite following her. It seems that Sirena was too tired to move by now and continued to lay on her bird mount.
"Thanks, Lana..." she said, muffled.
"...ter, escape now before it's too late. I promise you that I won't kill Ryoma and will find a way to save everyone," Corrin told his Hoshidan sister, his conversation becoming more audible as they got closer.
"You heard my brother, dear...~" Camilla said, her axe being retracted from Hinoka's neck. "My brother. NOT yours."
Hinoka remained silent and backed away from Camilla.
"Fine... I'll escape..." she agreed, looking at her retainers.
"Milady... Thank the gods you're safe..." Asama said with relief, frowning at the Nohrian army a bit.
"We must go now?" Setsuna asked, earning a nod from her mistress.
The three quickly gathered the survivors together and escaped the area before Garon could get there, but Sirena and Lana weren't sure what just happened between the siblings as they were quickly asked to escape with them safely. They decided not to ask in the end.
"It'll be a long travel, but we must survive..." Hinoka announced as they fled.
What she didn't know was that they were seen by Iago's troop from afar.
"Hm... Sneaky brats..." Iago said as he was reported by one of his black mages.
The travel was longer than expected and the sun was slowly going back down once again. It has been several days already since they escaped from King Garon's forces.
"Milady... I need to get back there and help your brother... Please.." Sirena asked after a while longer.
Hinoka didn't reply, but looked over at her sadly for the request had been brought up many times. Sirena was pained to see the look on her face, but she still wanted to head back to help.
"... I won't forgive you if you don't return..." she said quietly.
"Milady, Hinoka... I don't know if I can keep that promise, but I'll try my best.." replied the younger girl. "Thank you.."
Apparently, Lana fought with her cousin in order to be brought back with her. She didn't want to be away from Sirena any longer.
"I'm sorry, Rena..." she said quietly. "I just can't bear to stay away from you much longer.."
"It's okay.. I can't really do anything about it.. You're old enough to take care of yourself after all."
Traveling back felt much longer than when they made their escape. The sun, the very same sun kept going down and back up as they headed back. Finally making it to the castle within a few more days, the girls looked around to see bodies of both Nohrian and Hoshidan soldiers. The entire place was like a graveyard.
"Oh gods..." Sirena whispered, quickly busting into the closed doors.
Lana slightly whimpered and looked around as they quickly glided through the castle. It took a while to get to the throne room, but when they passed by..
"L-LORD RYOMA!" Lana exclaimed, completely frightened. "H-he's dead...!"
Sirena stared with wide eyes and held her cousin close.
"H-he must've passed away quite some time ago... How long did it take to get here...? Even I lost track..." she said, making her kite fly faster to the throne room.
They eventually made it to see the remaining Nohrians breathing heavily around a weak moving body. Oh so familiar looking to the girls...
"..."
Corrin looked over and saw that the two girls had returned to the castle, but it wasn't the right time to be back.
"T-Takumi...?" she called softly, her voice still loud enough to hear.
"... Rena... So you did live.." he replied weakily.
The girl jumped off her mount and scampered over quickly to see him, but he was already nearly dead. More like he was already dead due to that strange corruption that happened in his body. The prince was given the chance to return to his body for a short period of time however.
"Takumi..." she said, holding back tears and his hand.
He smiled a bit and allowed her to.
"It's hard seeing everyone you were closed to die..." he said, passing away.
Sirena leaned over onto his body and remained silent as she soaked his clothes with her tears she bottled up for so many years.
"Milord... It is hard..."
"We'll give you some space..." Corrin said, stepping away from her with everyone following him closely.
Lana was also just as depressed as her cousin was after seeing so many deaths on the battlefield. She was one who hated violence in the first place, but she was also the one who suggested to follow her cousin into the army. It was a mistake, but a blessing.
".."
Sirena lifted herself up to see Takumi for the last time, but soon after with the lance she had with her...
"Rena..?!" Lana exclaimed with shock.
"The war has been won... Peace has finally been restored..." Corrin said in a choked manner, letting out everything he kept back.
The prince cried for all the deaths of his close comrades and those her killed, the loss of Lillith and brother, Ryoma, as well as the most recent death of his younger brother, Takumi. And now, Azura was nowhere to be seen strangely enough.
"You've done a good job, Little Prince... Keeping a strong face out there for us all.." Xander told him, patting his back.
"Did you hear something, Marzia..?" Silas asked curiously as he and Camilla looked at the Wyvern.
She was now staring at the closed door a few feet away from them, sniffing a bit.
"... Something must've happened.." Camilla said, frowning.
The rest of the group looked over as well and cautiously decided to check the door, Corrin wiping his face to clear his tears. Behind the very doors they left earlier were the same two girls, but this time, dead near each other and the prince. Red was pooling all around them and the single naginata that caused the death embedded in Lana's stomach. The white kite that once belonged to Sirena sat near her rider's corpse, feathers stained red.
Sirena and Lana belong to me! Just a one-shot I made on April 14 ^^" Didn't get to post it on Fanfiction and totally forgot until today whoops. Anywayas, R&R and enjoy!
~stormy003