Of Wyverns and Brands

Chapter 30

Sleep didn't really come for me that night. There was a moment when I fell into a bit of a light doze, but by then, dawn was already approaching. And from the looks of the others as we gathered once more, I'm not alone.

The bodies were piled in the corner as we gathered in the messed up common room, a gory scene that most of us were averting our gaze from. A few cushions were slashed, one of the vases was shattered in the corner, and there quite a lot of blood from those assassins around the room. The place was trashed worse than we left the hotel from my one school outing.

Mist sat balled up next to Titania on the untouched couch looking much more meek than usually. Elincia sat with them appearing to be ready to nod off at any moment. Sothe, apparently not as affected as much, was checking over the bodies, hopefully for clues or identities or something.

"So how do we proceed now," I ask, breaking the fragile silence.

"We'll have to inform the guard what happened last night, of course," Titania replies.

"Is that the best option, though?" Unable to sleep at all last night, I had had time to think about what to do. "This is going to cause quite a stir. 'Crimean Princess Attacked at Night'. 'Assassins Enter Empress' Tower'."

"But we have to tell them," Mist interjects. "What if this happens again? We need to find out who did this!"

"That's going to be difficult," Sothe says, coming back from his examination. "The bodies have no means of identification on them. Unless someone recognized them by face, it would be useless, and with none left to interrogate, we have no leads to go on…besides Drake's."

The others look at me expectantly. I sigh, personally hating conspiracy theories. "The Duke kept me for a long time to talk about history books before trying to get me to sign a contract to loan Crimea gold. He spoke under the assumption that Count Bastion had already passed and that I was potential the next-in-line for the throne. I think he may have set this all up to raise me up as the liberator while being a contractual slave to him."

Elincia and Titania look a bit surprised by this as they take this in. "I do not wish to think ill of Duke Gaddos, but such an idea would not be outside his grasp," Elincia states. "The House of Fayre has always had a close connection to the royal family. They're actually a minor House that sprung off of the royal family." And here I thought being a Count wasn't that bad. Wasn't I supposed to play as a minor noble?

"The unfortunate part is that we cannot try to pin this on the Duke," Titania adds, troubled. "With no proof, baseless accusations will only hurt our appeals for aid. In fact, Drake may be right. An investigation into a failed assassination would only delay our requests and put questions in the minds of the other nobles as to whether to help us at all."

"But- That is so not fair!" Mist says. "What if it happens again?"

"We just stay on guard and keep our eyes peeled," I answer, not liking the options. Plus, this is the likely route taken in the original timeline, since Ike is never told and it is never mentioned.

That is, if this even did happen. My presence may be the very thing that sparked this whole series of events. No one probably tried to pose as Bastion's brother originally, so my nonexistent claim to the throne could be the reason behind the attempts.

"It would probably be best not to mention this to Ike, either," I add, getting another incredulous look from Mist. "He wouldn't be able to stay silent and would probably charge straight to the Apostle to demand answers."

"Drake's right," Titania agrees, looking a bit impressed at my assessment.

"So now we're keeping secrets from Brother, too!?" Mist exclaims, getting up from the couch. "It's like we're letting them win."

"And that's why I hate politics," I reply. "You can't just hit everything with a sword and it work out."

Mist sits back down sulking, but nothing could be done. "At least you have the wisdom to understand that," Titania points out, wrapping an arm around Mist to console her. "Well, I guess we'll have to focus on turning this room around, then."

Well now I know how our morning is going to go.

-o-

We spent the rest of the morning attempting to turn the room into something resembling decent. We flipped the ruined cushions, hid the smashed vase, and tried our best to wash the blood off the walls and floor. And this without modern day cleaning chemicals to help.

Volke apparently took the bodies when we weren't paying attention. While I'm thankful we didn't have to take care of them ourselves, I'm still wondering how he managed to do that. And I still haven't seen him in the light yet.

After the cleanup, I excused myself to go practice. After a stressful day, followed by a more stressful night, I really wanted to whack something hard. Various weapons in hand, I start toward the practice ranges after asking for directions this time.

I don't even get outside, though, before Elincia stops me and pulls me aside. I groan as I realize she's alone. Did she already forget last night? "Why are you walking around alone, Princess Elincia? What if something happened?"

Elincia looks a bit guilty at the questions, but says, "I have something that I wished to speak with you alone, my lord Drake, if I might steal some of your time." A movement behind her catches my eye, and I catch just the slightest glimpse of Volke in the shadows. With his track record so far, he probably did that intentionally to let me know he was watching.

"Go ahead," I prompt, even though we weren't technically alone.

Elincia looks around at the large hall we're in a bit worriedly. "If we might speak elsewhere?" Elincia asks.

I simply nod and lead her outside, now equal parts curious and worried. Things usually didn't bode well for me when women wanted to 'talk alone'. Leading her to a bench just off the path with a clear view to see anyone who would approach, I sit and gesture for her to as well.

Elincia sits and takes a moment to think before finally beginning. "How do you keep such a posture, my lord Drake?"

Uh… What? "Posture?" I repeat, sitting a bit more upright as I realize I'm slouching. Gotta act the noble for the moment.

Elincia thinks a bit longer, hopefully thinking of an easier wording. "Composure may be a better word. You seem to always be confident, facing each trial head on, and always having an answer to each situation. How are you able to keep such a control over things?"

Where in the world is all this coming from? Confidence? Having all the answers? What? "I apologize, but I don't understand," I honestly answer. "I've felt a bit like a chicken with its head about to be cut off, running from one end of the yard to the next. I have in no way felt 'in-control' of my situation. I'm mostly making things up as I go."

"But…my lord Drake, can that really be true? You immediately took to being a nobleman despite being a commoner. You never waver in your decisions. You even had an answer to what happened last night." Elincia is staring at me in earnest, seriously looking for an answer to her earlier question.

Is this how she really sees me? I scratch my head, a bit out of sorts now. "Well, I'm not that way really. I mean, I simply acted as you instructed to simulate a noble. And I had a whole sleepless night to meditate on the…issue." I look around again just to make sure the few passersby aren't too close.

Elincia sighs as I apparently fail to give her the answer she wanted. "I feel that I may not be suited for such a position as I have. I was raised my whole life in training for such situations, and yet I cannot seem to adapt to them such as you or the others. Even when it comes to straightforward decisions, I fail to take the initiative and let others make the calls, when I know that I, as the person of authority, should be taking the responsibility of such choices.

"I'm constantly allowing others to direct me and take the lead in discussions here. Even when my country is on the line, I cannot even step out and make the firm decisions to help. Even the Duke Gaddos was able to take action for his own plans. I fear that I am a failure as a princess of Crimea."

So you're just insecure at the moment. That was a lot to dump on a guy who has to clue how to encourage others. And I can't take this lightly either. I take a few moments to think on what to say to such an honest confession. "Fake it."

Elincia looks at me confused as I try to expound on that.

"That's what I do. Act like a noble? I fake it as best I can. Knowing how to fight? I fake it even in the moment. Just act like how you think a princess of Crimea should act, even if you think you can't.

"The truth is, you look at me and see all those things you listed, but I don't feel like I have any of those things," I continue. "Confidence? Action? I just go with the moment, and apparently it appears like a passingly good job from an outside perspective. But the same goes for you. Before you spoke, I didn't think you had any doubts at all. And you might not be the one to come up with the final answer, but that's what councilors are for, to help brainstorm ideas.

"So just keep doing what you're doing. You've gotten some results already, and I'm sure you'll produce a lot more. And I'd rather you not be able to make as cruel plans as Duke Gaddos anyway. Your people will appreciate the kind and loving queen you'll become for them without you changing anything. So keep your head up, and believe in your charges belief in you, even if you don't believe in you yourself." Not the best of arguments, and I stole some at the end, but eh.

Elincia stares at her hands for a bit, taking in my words. "Do you truly believe I can ever measure up to being queen like this?"

"I know so," I retort. …I better add a reason onto there, shouldn't I? "After all, I already know how great you are as a princess."

Elincia sighs and thankfully looks relieved. Looks like I managed to do my part. "Thank you, my lord Drake, for your kind words. I apologize you for burdening you with such worries when you have your own share of them," she says, standing up.

"No problem. Volke will watch over you as you return, I'm sure, so you better head back to the others so they can stop panicking. I'm surprised you managed to evade them in the first place."

"I can get around when I want," Elincia replies mysteriously as she walks back to the Apostle's tower.

Well, maybe I can finally get some training in. While the training grounds is a bit removed from the rest of the buildings, I still manage to find it more quickly than the stables yesterday. Several outlined fields fill the area, probably marked out for different training regime. A squadron of archers are practicing on an archery range, while several foot soldiers are practicing their sword work nearby.

Unsure of where to stand, I head to the edge of the practice fields far away from the others and set down my equipment. My armor was still with Midnight's luggage, though I'm planning on grabbing it on the way back for my watch tonight. Without an actual sparring partner, I'll just be running through some drills, so it won't be needed.

My drills for using a lance are quite dull. Using a haystack nearby, I simply attempted to stab a succession of five points as quick as possible without missing. Not easy by any means, but boring all the same. My swordplay gives more variation with several stances and guards, but without a sparring partner, it's just not working up the sweat I wanted it to.

But once I finish those, I turn to the main reason I came out here. The glaive. Not quite a lance, a curved blade would mean adjusting how to stab, as well as learning the timing of slashing with a sharp edge of only eighteen inches. A fraction of a second off would mean hitting the target with only wood or whiffing entirely. So the glaive probably won't be easy to learn, especially without a teacher.

I hesitate to pick it up at first, though, which is quite silly since I just lugged it out here by hand in the first place. As far as I know, there are no such things as cursed weapons. Then again, there are blessed weapons…but a cursed weapon would imply a being that would curse it. With only Ashera and Yune in this world, who both bless weapons, that would entail that such a weapon could not be cursed since there is no one to curse it.

I let out a large breath as I finish my mental probability of it being cursed. "Alright," I say to the weapon in front of me. "Let's see what you can do."

Taking a tight hold of the weapon, I lunge forward, attempting to stab like I do with a lance. The weapon moves awkwardly with the motion, without the smooth forward motion of the lance. Trying to adjust, I thrust forward once more with a slight curve to it following the curve of the blade. Not great, but better.

This is a pretty good weapon, though. I'm not sure why I felt so uneasy before. A weapon is a weapon like I thought. As I loosen up my tense shoulders, my movements gain a little freedom as I begin to swing the weapon through the air. With the right hold and angle of the blade, it swings through the air easily, but even a bit off provides took much resistance to ever make contact with a target.

But I can make do with this. I'll have this weapon for good, so I'll be able to develop my own technique with time. And then won't I be the envy of everyone. Charging into glorious battle with this weapon at my side. No one would be able to stand before me. I could become the strongest of the mercenaries. Stronger than Greil or Ike, even. And I even have a name for this magnificent weapon I shall be known for: Lunaris.

My swings become faster as I imagine such scenes, my actual swings not quite as elegant or dangerous as the images in my head, but thrill inducing all the same even as I begin to work up a sweat. I'm feeling invincible right now. I bet I could best even Ike right now! Bring it on, Tellius!

As if in response to my taunt, I feel a strange sensation behind me growing steadily stronger. A familiar one at that. I turn around and see none other than General Zelgius, aka Black Knight, watching me. Though I know he can feel my Branded presence as well, I'm unsure if he knows we've met before since I'm wearing Begnion clothes and it's actually daylight out now. He stops at a distance to observe, one eyebrow ever so slightly quirked, but not any readily apparent signs of recognition.

"Interested, are we?" I ask boldly, pausing in my workout. Normally, I think I wouldn't dare to do much of anything right now, especially if he doesn't recognize me, but I don't feel even a twinge of fear as I stare right back at him. I'm feeling pretty tough right now, and he's not wearing his impervious armor either.

Zelgius nods, expression stoic. "My men told me of some man randomly swinging a deformed lance around in the air, so I decided to come see. You might want to get a better lance before you go and learn the wrong movements."

I smirk at the comment. "Is that so? Would you care for a spar, then, Sir Zelgius, to show me the error of my ways?" I goad with a grin. A few of the others soldiers have already abandoned their training at the moment to see what was going on. It wouldn't be long before they came over and a crowd began. This would be perfect. I would get a chance to put him in his place after last time and show off how well my weapon worked on an actual opponent at the same time.

"So you know who I am, then? I do not recall your face, but I would not use such a tone with the general of Begnion's armies," Zelgius warns, displeased.

"I would that you would simply back your words up with some action, Sir," I reply, with a showy half-bow. "And it seems we already have a crowd to cheer us on, anyhow."

Zelgius gives me a long stare. As even more of the soldiers reach us to find out what was going on, he finally relents. "Fine. I accept. I would not wish to let a fellow one to fight so haphazardly. First to a good blow, then?"

I nod in agreement.

General Zelgius turns to the one of the approaching soldiers. "I will require your sword, and we will need a cleric on hand should something happen."

The expected crowd didn't take long to form when the soldiers realize there was going to be a duel between their general and some stranger in commoner's clothing. Our difference in appearance was vast between my small, unarmored frame and his bulky, armored mass, but I wasn't concerned.

As Zelgius sees the healer finally making their way toward the field, he turns to me and readies himself. "Then let's get this started, rookie."

We start off circling each other for a moment, Lunaris held lightly in my hands as I wait for Zelgius to make the first move. After a few moments, he charges in with a careful swipe, but I move off to the side, keeping Lunaris at the ready. Just like with any boss-fight, I knew if I was patient enough, I would win, armor or not.

Zelgius comes forward again, but a swing of my glaive keeps the distance as we continue to circle. The crowd adjusts their distance as we move, giving us a constant space to fight within. They cheer as Zelgius charges forward once, his massive armor not impeding him at all. I swing out to force him back again, but he catches the glaive on his sword and slides it forward along the shaft, still coming straight for me. He swings for my head as he closes the distance, no hesitation before making such a deadly blow. I manage to pivot the glaive to block the blow with the blunt end and use the massive force to fall into an admittedly clumsy roll.

I manage to get up on one knee just in time to bring Lunaris up to knock away an incoming lunge, the metal clanging loudly and rousing the crowd around us. The lunge was heavy and hard to block, but not quite as fast as I remembered it. Despite our position, I know I can take him for sure if he tries to hold back now.

Zelgius presses his advantage even as I try to gain my footing once more. My glaive's long shaft allows me to block the quick strokes, his speed still much faster than I'm used too. My weapon has now become more of a staff than a glaive from my lack of using its blade.

After spending quite too long backpedaling, I push forward on one of his blows, attempting to break his momentum, but he holds firm. He puts extra force into the next blow though, and my attempt to block it throws me off my feet and onto my back at least five feet away and his real strength starts to emerge.

Okay, I'm confused. This…isn't going as planned.

Without halting, Zelgius strides forward and brings his sword down at my prone form. I swing Lunaris up and across me, blocking the blade with everything I've got. Zelgius looks impassive as he adds pressure, slowly pushing my glaive toward my chest. It won't be long before I actually lose at this rate. How did it end up like this?

There's a snapping sound, and for half a moment, I expect that my wonderful Lunaris is no more, only for the top half of Zelgius' sword to go flying off out of sight, my glaive free once more. With a grin, I lean forward to swing Lunaris right at his head, only to feel a sharp pressure right on my stomach before I can even start.

"Match," Zelgius calls, even as I look down to see the still sharp fragment of a broken sword held against my midsection.

What!? How!? Why!? I almost had him, too!

The crowd's cheering jeers me out of my thoughts and Zelgius unceremoniously lifts me to my feet. His gaze and stoic expression is unwavering as he says, "Even a broken weapon in the hand of a trained soldier can defeat a kid with a toy. That cockiness of yours will get you killed, boy. Learn to fight before you talk next time, or your lack of skill might be the only thing people find out about you." And with that, he walks off toward where the others had been drilling, waving the soldiers off and back to their training.

I don't get it. Why couldn't I win? As I put Lunaris down to take a short rest, a sudden chill goes down my spine.

WHAT IN THE WORLD DID I JUST DO!?

I start to almost hyperventilate as I suddenly reflect on my actions. In what world did I ever think I could beat the Black Knight? I should have been shivering in my boots the moment I saw him! I'm shivering in them now! What if he had realized who I was?

I feel a bit dizzy.

I spend the next ten minutes freaking out before slowing slinking my way back to the tower, no closer to finding an answer to my own odd behavior. The more I try to think about it, the more of a fog it becomes. And Elincia thinks I've got composure. Is this fate's idea of irony? Well, it's not funny at all!

I don't mention my stupidity to the others as I return. All I know is, I'm not gracing the training grounds here ever again.

-o-

The next few days went by without much incident. No more attempts were made on Elincia, at least any we know of with Volke hovering nearby out of sight. Duke Gaddos seems content with not bringing the contract back up now that Elincia is completely fine on the few occasions we saw each other. I even managed to survive a few more 'tea parties', though I didn't go back to the field to train. Instead, I spent time having Sothe teach me a few pointers on knife combat in our room, both to get used to using a knife if need be and fighting in close quarters. At least no one mentions the rumor of a strange man challenging Zelgius.

But when the mercenaries finally returned, I couldn't be happier. They had completed their first task without trouble, and that meant our stay was hopefully halfway over. I could only hope that the mission to the desert would be just as fast.

What I wasn't expecting, though, was for the others to all seriously push for me to go talk to Ike. Finally, they almost trap me in a hall with him, and the look he gives me as he notices my presence is almost as uneasy as I feel.

"Ike," I state, swallowing nervously. I am so not good with confrontations like this. I just want to disappear right now.

Ike sighs and looks away toward some point in the air, scratching the back of his head. This is actually a bit encouraging, since he would usually just walk away.

I still am unsure what to say, though. No clue, really. After a moment of awkward silence, I finally just try and force something out. "Look, I apologize for what happened. If I could change things, I would. But I can't. And we may never be friends, but I think we need to at least be able to work with each other, at least until Elincia is crowned queen." This is so awkward. If only the ground would open up and swallow me right now.

Ike sighs again, still not making eye contact for a few silent moments. When he does, though, he gives me a solid, emotionless wall of a face, the usual stoic expression when talking to people outside the mercenaries. But at least he was looking at me. "Titania just lectured on that, really. Everyone makes mistakes, I guess, and I would rather not let something else go wrong by harboring something during a fight."

We both just stood there for a moment, silence filling the hall once more. Is that it? Was it really that simple? "So…we can stop awkwardly avoiding each other, at least?" I pose, uncertain.

"I guess?" Ike replies, sounding just as uncertain.

Another, admittedly less, awkward silence fills the hall for a moment. What do we do now? Are we supposed to bro hug or something? Man, I actually didn't think this would work out so quickly.

Ike finally breaks the silence. "So why is my sister telling the others that you rejected my confession?"

-o-

AN: I'm ba-aaack! So yeah, longer break than I anticipated. Long story short, rl kind of came unraveled, and I'm finally getting things sorted back out. Good news: I'm able to update.

I haven't been able to write throughout the entire break, since I found out that the Word App requires an internet connection to sign in or you can't use it. And this apparently is required every single time your phone turns off. Seriously people? For a text editor?

I do have a few long chapters readied, though, before Word died on me, but I don't want to throw them all up at once, and I have more than enough time now that I'm getting my feet back under me. And now I can use Word once more, though finding a non-internet-necessary alternate might be for the best, just in case.

I have decided to change the title, for those of you who haven't noticed. I'll be updating the older chapters with error corrections as well soon.

Anyway, enjoy as Drake's journey continues! Oh, and thanks for all the reviews and pm's since I was gone! Quite an encouragement to come back to. I can't wait to show you guys the next chapter~! Ciao!