A/N: I'm sure I've left a bunch of you in suspense for about a month waiting for this chapter! I'm really sorry it took so long! I've been busy writing one-shots, trying to scrounge up some more ideas for this story. Hopefully now I've got a better grasp on what I actually want to happen haha! I'm thinking that as of right now, this story will most likely end up being finished by late May/early June. Of course, that depends if my weekends are actually free. School has started again, and senior year is totally gonna kick my butt! :P But I hope I can stay on schedule as much as possible. I plan to continue with my one-shots, though, so stay tuned for those! Also, if you haven't voted on my recent poll, don't forget to do that! That's going to decide which one-shot I write next. The poll will be closed next Friday, August 30. Before I continue, I would just like to take a moment to thank my wonderful beta reader, Cormag Ravenstaff, who was so very kind to review all my work! Cormag, you are AWESOME! :D Alrighty guys, remember to follow, favorite, and review, and I'll see you all in chapter 9! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. All characters you recognize belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.
The carnage left in the banquet hall after the Laguz attack was catastrophic. The large table had been overturned and was charred a bit from the use of fire magic. Pieces of glass from shattered plates and goblets were strewn everywhere, as well as the silver. Broken chairs lay around the room in all sorts of different places. There were quite a few dead Laguz as well, leaking blood all over the pristine, white marble floor.
Elincia shielded her eyes from the sight as Geoffrey held her close to him. She had seen the aftermath of war before, but somehow, this was different. The surprise attack had really gotten to her. She wept openly into her husband's chest as he tightened his hold on her. Everywhere Geoffrey looked, he saw injured guests. No one was dead, thank the goddess, but still, the sight of so much blood in their palace was unnerving.
Ike looked around the room for his company. He saw Zihark cradling a disheveled Ilyana in a quiet corner of the room and briskly walked over to them. "Zihark!" he shouted, kneeling down on the floor next to him. "Is she-"
"No, Ike," Zihark cut him off. "She's not dead. She merely fainted, is all." Ike could tell from Zihark's tone that he was quite worried about her. He uttered a nervous laugh as he moved her lithe body closer to his. "But it wasn't from lack of food."
Ike smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder. "I trust you'll take good care of her until she wakes up then?"
Zihark returned the smile and nodded. "You can count on me, Ike." He looked down at Ilyana's doll-like face and his finger traced along her cheek. Ike then got up to leave and check on everyone else. Towards the center of the room, Rhys was tending to Oscar, who had received quite the gash across his abdomen from a tiger Laguz. Said paladin was writhing on the floor in pain, and Gatrie had to hold him down so he wouldn't run away.
"Ouch, Rhys! That hurts!" Oscar screamed. Gatrie pressed harder on him, making his face contort into a tight grimace.
"Oscar, stop moving!" Rhys scolded. "You're spilling blood all over!" Rhys' eyes drifted to the pool next to him, and he struggled to keep his dinner down. After hearing this, Oscar finally cooperated. Ike winced upon seeing him. He didn't think Oscar had ever been injured that badly before.
"Ike!" A familiar voice suddenly called out to him. He turned around swiftly to see Mia running towards him. She was not holding their daughter.
"Mia!" Ike said, rushing to meet her. "I'm so glad you're alright!" he said, throwing his strong arms around her. Then his face twisted into a look of horror and he pulled away from her. "But where's Erin?"
"Micaiah offered to tend to her while we sort things out here," Mia answered. "The poor girl. I think she was really shaken up by all this."
Ike breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as Erin is in good hands." He embraced his partner once again, and she in turn buried her face in his chest.
"Ike?" Mist said, tapping her brother on the shoulder. Ike let go of Mia and turned to face Mist.
"What is it?" he asked, concern on his face.
"Queen Elincia thinks you and a healer should go and check the streets for injured people," she informed. "I would go with you, but Rhys told me to stand by and help with Oscar."
Ike nodded. "Alright. Soren?" he shouted, scanning the hall for his best friend. The loyal sage looked up from the opposite side of the room, and made his way over to Ike.
"Yes, Ike?" he asked. "What do you need?"
"Queen Elincia wants us to look for injured citizens in the streets." Ike told him. "Do you have your staff with you?"
"Yes, it's up in my stay room. I'll just go get it and meet you in the foyer." Soren said, and left the banquet hall to fetch the item.
Mia touched Ike's arm gently, causing the swordsman to flinch a little with surprise. "Please be careful. Some of them could still be wandering the streets," she warned. "You don't want to be caught off guard.
"Don't worry, I won't let my guard down," he assured her. "Besides, Soren will be with me. He has eyes in the back of his head."
Mia couldn't help but giggle. She stood on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on Ike's lips. Ike smiled when he noticed the gleam in her eyes was coming back.
"I'd better get going now," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. She nodded her head solemnly and reached up to entwine her fingers in his. He placed a delicate kiss on the tips of each of them, looking deeply into her eyes.
"Just remember what I said," Mia reminded. "I'm going to go see how Micaiah's doing." With that, she quickly left the room.
"It's terribly cold out here. And wet," Soren commented as he pulled his cloak tighter around his thin shoulders. The sky was black, but the outlines of thick cumulonimbus clouds could still be seen. Heavy drops of rain pelted the quiet and deserted streets of Melior. Soren shivered, clutching his staff tightly in his hand. He and Ike paved their way through the streets, looking around for any sign of life at all.
"Get some more meat on you, and you wouldn't be so cold," Ike pointed out, looking straight ahead of him. "That's why heat doesn't faze you. You've got no insulation." Ike could feel Soren's eyes burning into the back of his head, which caused him to crack a satisfied smile.
"I have enough meat on me to keep my body functioning properly, Ike," Soren retorted.
Ike chuckled lightly. "Then stop complaining." He heard Soren let out a low growl behind him, then the sound of his light footsteps padding along quickly. They both continued to scan the streets, not seeing a lone dead body or even an injured one. "They must've all heard the Laguz coming and ran for the safety of their homes," Ike said, his eyes constantly darting from side to side. "There's not a single person in sight."
"Or they've all been taken hostage by the Laguz," Soren put in. Ike shot Soren an adamant look, and the sage only shrugged his shoulders. He always did have a gift for seeing the glass half empty.
"Well, either way," Ike said. "You'd think there'd be at least a few wounded people." He turned a corner down a different street and Soren followed closely behind him. Just around the corner, stood a rundown weapons shop. The large display window in the front was shattered, and bits of glass were strewn all around it. "I don't think it was like that before," Ike said, turning around to face Soren. Soren shook his head, not breaking eye contact with the rather suspicious sight. His eyes drifted down to the ground, and widened at what they saw. "Soren?" Ike asked, noticing his friend's look of shock. "What's the matter?"
Soren timidly pointed to a spot on the cobblestone by the broken shop window. "Look," he said simply." Ike's eyes followed Soren's finger, and he gasped loudly. On the ground, were a set of large, cat paw prints, made with blood. Inside the shop, a single moan was heard.
"There's somebody in there!" Ike shouted, grabbing Soren's wrist and dragging him towards the door. Ike powerfully kicked open the bolted door and rushed inside. Swords and lances littered the floor, along with a few broken arrows. A large shelf lay overturned in the middle of the shop, and a hand jutted out from underneath it. "Help me move it, Soren!" Ike said, gripping the underside of the shelf.
"You want me to help you lift that?" Soren asked incredulously.
"Yes, Soren," Ike answered, slightly annoyed. "Every bit of strength counts, even if you don't have much."
Soren didn't press the issue any further. He set his staff down and assumed the same position as Ike, clenching his teeth. "Ready when you are," he said.
"Alright, on the count of three, pull up as hard as you can," Ike said. "But use your back instead of your arms, otherwise you might tear them out of their sockets."
"That's comforting," Soren muttered. Ike ignored the comment, however, and began counting.
"One...two...THREE!" With a single thrust, and not much help from Soren, Ike lifted the shelf into the air. "Okay, now let's push it over there!" Slowly, the shelf began to slide across the floor, revealing the body that lie underneath. Soren's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw just who it was, and he almost let go of the shelf, not that it would've made much of a difference. When they had pushed the shelf off of the body completely, the moan was heard again. Soren gave Ike a grim look, and when the commander turned around and got a good view of the man in question, the figurative dam that was holding back his tears nearly burst.
"Shinon!" he shrieked, rushing toward the red haired archer. Shinon had numerous lacerations across his chest and abdomen, no doubt the work of a cat Laguz, and they were bleeding profusely. Ike knelt down beside the man, and tried to staunch the bleeding as best he could. "Soren, your staff!"
Soren nodded sharply and picked up his heal staff. The glow from the orb was cast down onto Shinon's face, and he opened his eyes ever so slightly. "Ah...I-Ike?" he spoke through clenched teeth.
"Shinon, can you hear me?" Ike turned Shinon's face towards his, and immediately, the marksman scowled.
"Damn...sub-humans..." he managed to spit out. He then began to cough uncontrollably, spewing blood from his mouth.
"Keep him under control, Ike," Soren warned. "Otherwise I won't be able to heal him properly." Ike complied, moving his hand to hold Shinon's head down.
"Ike," Shinon began speaking again. "I never thought I'd say this...but, thanks..." Shinon looked directly into Ike's eyes, not breaking contact for a second.
Ike gave him a stern look. "You can cut that out, Shinon," he said. "You're not going to die here."
"I mean it, Ike!" Shinon yelled, causing him to erupt in another coughing fit. This time, Soren took the initiative to rest his free hand on Shinon's heaving chest.
"Be still, your beating heart," he mumbled in the ancient tongue. Shinon continued to cry out in pain for the entirety of the healing process. When Soren had finished, he set his staff aside and took Shinon's wrist in his hand, resting his thumb upon the veins. "His pulse seems to be normal now," he said after about a minute. "We should get him back to the palace."
Ike nodded, then looked down at Shinon. "Do you think you can stand up on your own?"
Shinon was about to open his mouth, when Soren spoke for him. "Stand, yes. But he'll probably need to lean on you." Shinon uttered something under his breath, and Soren gave him a warning glance. " And before you call me a whelp, Shinon, I suggest you think about who it was that saved your life."
Shinon glared daggers at the wise little tactician, but kept his mouth shut. Ike helped him get to his feet, and they hobbled out of the shop, with Soren leading the way.
"So, Shinon," Ike tried to start a conversation. "What have you been doing for the last month?"
Shinon was clearly amused by the question, but he didn't dare laugh. "I've been here in Melior," he said. "That little shop you found me in? I've been working there, making bows for the guy who owns it." Shinon stumbled over a large rock that he didn't see on the ground, but Ike caught him before he could fall. "Thanks," he said, rather monotonously.
A few painful minutes passed before Ike spoke again. "Rolf's been really worried about you." This comment caused Shinon to jerk his head up.
"That's weird," he said, trying to hide the obvious pained expression on his face. Damn. He thought to himself. The last thing I wanted to do was upset Rolf.
"Shinon, we all know what's been going on between you two," Ike said. "And that was even before Rolf accidentally spilled the beans." Ike could feel Shinon grow rigid against his side.
"Well, I guess the secret's out then," Shinon said. "I'm gonna need a cold beer to wash this down."
"Not until you're fully recovered," Soren's stern voice penetrated the air. "In your current state, even the smallest glass of ale will give your mind delusions."
Shinon growled softly, but kept on walking without another word passing his lips. Ike let an inaudible chuckle escape from his throat. Soren and Shinon had never really gotten along in the past, but he hoped that someday they would.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully it won't be another month before I update again! :P