A/N: Chapter 7 has arrived! Yay! This chapter was a lot of fun to write, but it was also very challenging! As I mentioned before, I'm not very good at writing action material, and this chapter has a lot of that! It took me forever to get this to turn out, but eventually it did! I hope everyone is pleased with it! If you do have anything to say to me in the form of constructive criticism, please feel free to critique me all you want! I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Follow, favorite, and review! See you in chapter 8! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. All characters you recognize belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.
"State your business, Ranulf," a gruff, Gallian jail guard inquired. He held in his giant hands a thick stack of papers, which contained the names of all those currently imprisoned. Besides Beorc, there were several Laguz of the beast tribe also being held prisoner, and Caineghis was one of them. "You know that no one is allowed to see the former king without permission from His Majesty."
"I only wish to speak with him for a moment," Ranulf said, his bi-colored eyes looking directly into the guard's own. "I will not be long at all. I swear."
The guard hesitated before opening the dungeon doors. "Alright, but I'll hold you to that." The large doors creaked open, revealing row after row of prison cells. Immediately to his right, Ranulf noticed a cell containing a young Beorc woman. She held a very small baby in her arms that looked only to be a few weeks old. The child's cries were faint, and the look on the woman's face was bleak as her eyes met Ranulf's. He gave her a pitying, sad smile, then kept on his way.
Such atrocity! He thought to himself. These poor people are not being fed! He clenched his fists in anger, hard enough so that his nails drew blood on his palms. He and the guard kept walking until they reached a larger cell at the end of the hall, the one that contained Caineghis.
"I will leave you here, then," the guard said. "I will come back for you in exactly five minutes." With that being said, the guard turned on his heel and headed back for the door.
Ranulf knelt down on the stone floor and placed his hands on the thick, metal bars. "Your Majesty," he said quietly, looking at the disheveled form of Caineghis that lie on a wooden surface that served as a bed. His back was to Ranulf, and his chest was heaving. Upon hearing his faithful servant's voice, the former lion king pulled himself up into a seated position on the bed.
"You should not address me in that way anymore, Ranulf," he said, staring down at the floor. "I am no longer Gallia's king." He hung his head in shame, sighing in disbelief.
"But you should be!" Ranulf said forcefully. "Everything that Skrimir has done and will continue to do." He tightened his grip on the bars. "It's not right!" Caineghis only shook his once proud head at this.
"I cannot do a thing about it, Ranulf," he sighed. "Even if you wanted to start a rebellion, you could not. Every Laguz who still possess morals is already here. Locked away."He turned his head in the direction of the cell adjacent to him. Ranulf followed his eyes, and was shocked to see his good, peace-loving friend Mordecai sitting in the corner. The large tiger Laguz was slowly rocking himself back and forth, his hands covering his ears.
"Mordecai!" he cried in horror. "He's here too?"
"Mmm," Caineghis nodded. "They brought him in just yesterday." He turned his head away. "He's the last of them. The ones who believe my nephew's ways are corrupt."
"I'm still here, Your Majesty," Ranulf assured. He could tell that Caineghis' eyes twitched upon being called royal again, even though his head was tilted down. "I will start a rebellion by myself, if I have to."
Caineghis could have laughed if the situation were not so dire. No one could match Skrimir's strength. It was unheard of. "You will surely be killed," he said. "Are there really no others? What about Lethe? And her twin sister, Lyre?"
Ranulf's eyes grew sad at the mention of those two names. "You know that Lethe has always possessed a strong dislike for the Beorc, Caineghis," he said. "And Lyre only aims to please her sister."
"So," Caineghis lifted his head once more to look at Ranulf. "They have accepted the mission?"
"Yes," Ranulf answered, his eyes drifting down to the floor. "There's a party for Queen Elincia going on in Crimea as we speak. Skrimir ordered Lethe and Lyre to capture Queen Crimea in an effort to get the country to wage war."
Caineghis sighed and nodded again, processing Ranulf's words. "It would be useless in attempting to put a stop to it," he said. "We can only hope and pray that Lethe and Lyre will not succeed in their task." He raised his head, a glimpse of determination in his eyes. "Ranulf, I want you to find a way to get Mordecai and the others out of here," he said, looking Ranulf in the eyes. "Once you have done so, go and find the Greil Mercenaries. I'm sure they would be more than willing to help our situation."
Ranulf gave Caineghis a curt nod before standing up. "I promise I will obey, Your Majesty." He saluted the lion and bowed his head slightly. "You have my word, as your loyal servant and former commander of your forces." Ranulf turned to walk away, but Caineghis' voice stopped him in his tracks.
"I only wanted peace among the Laguz and the Beorc," he said softly. "It seems that we are once again far away from that."
"Caineghis-" Ranulf began to speak, but Caineghis cut him off.
"Go now, Ranulf. Think of a plan. I'm counting on you to restore Gallia to its former glory." Caineghis lied down on the hard wooden surface once again, groaning in discomfort.
"I will not disappoint you, Your Majesty," Ranulf promised. Then he turned to leave the dungeons, his mind reeling with thoughts of how to liberate his fellow Gallians.
Rhys stared at the glass of wine that a young female server had put on the table in front of him. He was tempted to just grab it and chug the whole thing down, but he knew he would pay for it later. He and alcohol didn't exactly mix. In fact, he remembered a time when Shinon dared him to drink a shot of whiskey. Needless to say, he was drunk beyond words after that. He realized that it didn't take much to get himself completely zonked, and swore he would never drink again. He continued to gaze upon the glass of wine though, ever so longingly.
"Um...are you gonna drink that, Rhys?" Gatrie asked from across the table. Rhys was immediately torn out of his trance. He blinked at Gatrie several times before his brain actually processed what was said to him.
"Oh! No, you can have it," he answered, handing the glass to the cheerful-looking lance user.
"I'm telling you, Empress Sanaki. Red wine comes right out!" The priest turned his attention down the table a ways, where Edward was rubbing a wet napkin furiously over the sleeve of the Empress of Begnion's beautiful, white gown.
"Edward, I understand you're trying to help," Sanaki began, looking rather annoyed. "But you're only making it worse." In response, she sharply pulled her arm away. "Sigrun," she said, turning to the aqua-haired woman sitting beside her. "When we get home to Sienne, this will need to be soaked in vinegar." She gestured to her sleeve, and Sigrun nodded.
Edward blushed and looked away, feeling ashamed of his actions. Rolf was watching the whole thing, and he comfortingly patted the swordsman on the shoulder.
Queen Elincia tapped her silver goblet with her spoon then, and stood up from her seat at the head of the table. "If I may have everyone's attention, please?" she spoke in a loud voice. The crowd of people at the table immediately quieted down. "First of all, I would just like to thank all of you for attending tonight. Your presence here makes this event all the more joyous." Her statement was met with thunderous applause and she waited to continue, smiling brightly at all the happy faces. "Thank you. I would especially like to thank a select few of you now, because you have truly bettered my life and made me who I am today. First, is Empress Sanaki, the Holy Apostle of Begnion." The crowd clapped and cheered again. "Empress, I hope you continue to rule over Begnion in the kind and just way that you always have." More applause filled the hall. Elincia cleared her throat. "Next, I would like to thank King Sothe and his beloved Queen Micaiah, of Daein. May the both of you always know the love your people have for you. And I wish you the best of luck as you await the arrival of your little one." This comment earned a few different reactions from the crowd. Most people just clapped again, but several 'awwed' and congratulated them.
"Micaiah, that's wonderful!" said Ike, who was sitting across from her. He gave her a genuine smile.
"Thank you, Ike," Micaiah said, smiling back. Her smile quickly faded, however, and she looked down at her lap.
"Last but not least," Elincia started speaking again. "I would like to thank my Lord Ike." Ike looked up at her, surprised that she acknowledged him. "Ike, you have been there to aid this country during two dreadful wars. I am more than happy that you've chosen to return. You are a hero, whether you like to admit it or not," she laughed. "And all of Tellius needs your strength and courage." She sat back down and everyone applauded once again.
"If I may," Geoffrey announced, standing up. "I would like to make a toast to my lovely wife, Queen Elincia. May she have a very happy birthday." He smiled adoringly at Elincia, then raised his glass in the air. "To Queen Elincia!"
"To Queen Elincia!" Everyone else echoed, picking up their glasses as well. After the toast, they all returned to eating and chatting merrily amongst themselves. Soren reached for his wine glass to take a sip, but noticed the liquid inside was swirling about in a rather strange manner. He looked at everyone else's glasses, and saw they were doing the same. Glasses that were empty were even bouncing up and down on the table ever so slightly.
"Ike," Soren said, turning to his friend. "Do you sense something...odd?" Not long after he had said this, Micaiah dropped her fork. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she slid out of her chair. Several people around them gasped, letting everyone else know that something was terribly wrong.
"Micaiah!" Sothe cried, rushing to kneel down beside her. "What's wrong?" He took her hand in his and ran his thumb over it rapidly. "Something is about to happen?" Micaiah's eyes were wide open and fixed on the ceiling, not blinking at all. Slowly, she nodded her head.
"What's the matter with her?" Ike asked, joining Sothe on the floor. Many others were now crowded around them as well.
"She has seen something," Sothe answered, breathing hard. "And from what it looks like, something horrible."
Loud cries and gasps were heard from the crowd. Mist ran towards the fallen queen, a look of shock on her face. "Does she need to be healed?" she asked. "Hang on! I'll go get a staff from my room."
"No, Mist," Soren said, grabbing her wrist. They looked into each other's eyes, and the contact was a little uncomfortable. "I can feel vibrations on the floor. Can't you?" Soren said, breaking the awkwardness. Mist seemed to steady herself, trying to pick up any movement.
"They're...coming..." Micaiah murmured, and everyone's attention turned to her. "Many...of them..."
"Many of what? Who?" Ike asked. Mia had joined him at his side, cradling Erin in her arms. She gently put a hand on his shoulder.
"Laguz...of the beast tribe..." Micaiah's words seemed to linger in the air as everyone in the room tried to digest them. Her breathing picked up then, and Sothe moved to hold her trembling body in his arms.
"Beast Laguz?" Mia asked. "Why would they want to attack us?"
"They're coming!" Micaiah was screaming now as Sothe hugged her even closer to him. Just then, the doors to the banquet hall burst open, revealing a large quantity of Laguz warriors, with two orange cat Laguz at the front.
"Is that...Lethe?" Titania asked, squinting her eyes. "And her sister?"
The two cats at the front shifted into their human forms, revealing their identities. "Well, well," Lethe said, coming closer to the frightened crowd of people. "Sorry to crash the party."
"Lethe?" Ike said, standing up. "What are you doing? Why have you come here?" His questions were met with a sharp hiss.
"Just like the Beorc to immediately question our presence somewhere!" Lethe spat. "As it so happens," she continued. "My sister and I were sent here by our King." She motioned for Lyre to join her. "We hope you don't mind that we've brought some other guests as well." The army of cat and tiger Laguz alike growled and hissed, preparing themselves for a fight. The two sisters transformed again, low growls escaping their throats.
"Everyone, get yourselves out of here now!" Ike shouted at the top of his lungs. The hall was then consumed with fighting, as angry Laguz charged towards the crowd. "Mia!" Ike said, grabbing his partner's arm. "Find Boyd and tell him to get you and Erin to safety!"
"Alright!" Mia replied, a tear rolling down her cheek. Mia was not one to cry, so Ike knew she was scared for her life and the lives of those she loved. "Please be careful, Ike," she said, giving him a quick kiss. Then she ran off, their child her in arms, to find the green-haired axe wielder.
It was truly a scene of terror. The rampaging Laguz did not seem to be thinking twice about what they were doing. The party guests found that they were outnumbered, but they did not lose hope. Those who could defend themselves did so to their best of their ability, and protected those who could not.
"Mommy!" a little girl shouted from the far side of the room. She was up against the wall, cornered by a brown tiger Laguz. The beast raised its paw to strike at her, but a sudden wave of flames engulfed it, sending it to its death.
"Calill!" a burly man known as Largo shouted to the mage who had cast the fire spell. "I'm going to help hold them off on this side! Protect Amy!" Largo ran off to join Oscar and Gatire, who had their hands full at the moment.
"It's alright, Amy," Calill whispered to her foster daughter. "Mommy's here now." She enveloped the small girl in her arms, hugging her tight.
Mist held her sword out in front of her, ready to strike the next Laguz who crossed her path. She was not looking behind her, however, and a gray cat prepared itself to pounce at her. Before it even knew what hit it, it was knocked away by a strong gust of wind. Mist whipped her head around to see what happened. The cat's body was covered in deep gashes, blood seeping from its wounds. Mist knew this could've only been the work of one sage.
"Get behind me, Mist!" Soren ordered. "Ike wouldn't want his baby sister to die here!"
Mist did as she was told, and the two of them fought off the oncoming Laguz back to back. Once there were no more coming their way, they turned to face each other. They were both out of breath, and gasping for air.
"Good work, Mist," Soren said casually, but Mist swore she saw a hint of a smile grace his lips.
"You too, Soren," Mist said. She, on the other hand, was not afraid to smile at him. Then they both turned their attention to the center of the room, where Ike was preparing to fight Lethe.
"Lethe, why are you doing this?" Ike asked. "What is your reasoning?"
Lethe uttered a low growl. "Our King feels that Beorc and Laguz can no longer coexist," she snarled. "One must rule over the other."
Ike was stunned with what she told him. "Why has Skrimir done this? Why does he suddenly have so much hatred towards Beorc?"
"He has always hated the Beorc!" Lethe hissed. "And so have I. Which is why I intend to kill you right now..." She transformed and readied herself to jump at Ike, but her sister's voice interrupted her.
"Lethe!" Lyre called from across the room. "Our numbers are too few! We have to get out of here!"
Lethe gave Ike one last look of sheer hatred, then shifted back and ordered her forces to retreat. "We will be back, Ike," she snarled. "And then no one shall be left alive!" The beast Laguz gathered their wounded and fled the palace just as fast as they had come.
"Ike!" Mist shouted, running towards her brother. "Thank the Goddesses you're okay!" She wrapped him in a warm hug.
"You too, Mist," Ike said, squeezing his sister tightly. "I was hoping you'd be alright."
"Well, you can thank Soren for that," Mist said, gesturing toward the sage who stood beside them. "Otherwise, I'd be a goner!"
Ike turned to look at his best friend. "Thank you, Soren."
Soren gave Ike a half smile, then bowed his head. Micaiah and Sothe joined them then, followed by Titania, Ilyana, and Nephenee. "Is everyone alright?" Micaiah asked.
"We're fine," Ike answered, then the look on his face became more serious. "This is what you wanted to tell me, wasn't it, Micaiah?"
Micaiah nodded her head. "A while back, Skrimir ordered Sothe and I to be killed," she said softly. "Kyza and Giffca were the ones he appointed. When we asked Kyza why, he responded only that Skrimir would have his vengeance."
"But what could he possibly mean by that?" Ike asked.
"Heaven knows what, Ike," Soren said. "But one thing is for sure." He lowered his voice so not everyone in the room could hear. "War is evident at this point."