A/N: HOLY ASHERA! Surprisingly, I am not dead! :P I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter written! I've been suffering from severe writer's block for the last couple months. :( Also, I just had no motivation to continue on with this, as sad as that is. But hopefully, something like that will never happen again! I've got some more ideas now, so they should get me through to the end! :)
It's January 1st, 2014! Happy New Year, everybody! Do you have resolutions for this coming year? I've got a few myself, but one of them, and I'm really gonna work hard at this one, is to finish this story by the end of May. Maybe even earlier, if I really can get my act together! :P I really want to finish this one so I can start on my new FE multi-chapter fic, and hopefully get that one finished before I go off to college in August. I think I'll still be writing some one-shots on the side as well, just cause they're so much fun and a great way to relieve stress! :) So with all that being said, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I'll try to update again as soon as possible!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. All characters you recognize belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.
Over the next couple of weeks, Melior's city borders became heavily guarded. No one was allowed into or out of the city without being thoroughly frisked by the guards. Queen Elincia thought this course of action was a little excessive, but Empress Sanaki insisted that it would be the best way to keep any Beast Laguz out of the city. Their ears and tails could be easily hidden by a hooded cloak, after all. Sanaki said that one could never be too cautious in affairs such as these.
The common citizens of Melior grew more apprehensive with each day that passed. Some people only left their houses when they needed to go to the market. Others holed themselves up in their homes altogether. Less and less children played in the streets; their small voices were almost never heard. The whole city seemed to have gone silent with an ill-boding fear.
Mia looked out the window of her and Ike's stay room, shaking her head solemnly at the sight of the distressed people. She held Erin in her arms and rocked her back and forth slowly, trying to get the child to take her afternoon nap. She exhaled as she gently stroked her daughter's tufts of hair. "What's become of this place?"
Ike opened the door then, hanging his cape on the doorknob. "I'm sorry," he apologized, realizing his daughter was nestled in Mia's arms. "Did I wake her?" He sat down on the bed next to Mia.
"No, she's not asleep yet," Mia answered him, putting her free hand over his. She breathed deeply once more and dropped her head down. "Hard to believe we're at war again, hmm?"
Ike put his hand on Mia's back and began rubbing it slightly. "Well, we're not officially at war yet. Neither side has declared it, and I don't want us to be the ones to do that." He looked down at his lap. "We'll just have to hold out for as long as we can, I suppose. Besides, if Skrimir truly does have a bee in his bonnet, then Gallia will declare war on us soon enough." Ike shuddered a little at that thought. Gallia had never declared war on any other country before, at least not by their own accord. To fight against the whole Beast Tribe would be a challenge indeed.
Just then, a loud scream was heard from outside, followed by several others echoing it. "Beasts!" A man's voice shouted. "Raise your weapons, men!"
"Oh no!" Ike breathed quickly. He sprung up from the bed and ran out of the castle as fast as he could, picking up his sword on the way out of his room. When he got to the main gate of the city, he saw two familiar faces looking at him, along with several others he didn't recognize. "Ranulf! Mordecai!" he called, approaching them hurriedly. "Hold your weapons for a moment!" he commanded the guards. They reluctantly did as they were told. "You two should explain yourselves, and make haste about it," Ike said, addressing Ranulf and Mordecai. "The people here have grown uneasy about your kind." Ike noticed the ice on the edge of his voice and drew back a bit, mentally cursing himself. He was starting to sound like Soren. These two Laguz had been his dear friends during the last two wars, after all. But he couldn't be sure that they didn't have an order from their king.
Ranulf sighed. "You have every right to scorn the Best Tribe, Ike. But you should know that Mordecai and the others behind me have spent the last few months in prison." Ike gasped slightly, and Ranulf continued to explain. "I was able to liberate them, at King Caineghis's request."
"King Caineghis?" Ike asked, remembering the strong Lion King that, last he heard, had abdicated his thrown willingly. "What has become of him?"
Ranulf looked down at the ground uncomfortably. "He was also imprisoned. After Skrimir changed his ways all of a sudden, King Caineghis greatly disapproved. He expressed his feelings openly, so Skrimir had him thrown in the dungeon." Ranulf's eyes met Ike's again. "He was the first of many others to become prisoners in their own country." The two just looked at each other for a moment, not saying a word. Finally, Ranulf spoke again. "I stood by Skrimir once, but I could never do it again. Mordecai and the others share my feelings."
"You would betray your own countrymen?" Ike asked. He couldn't help but still be a little skeptical.
"I would," Ranulf answered. "It pains me to unsheathe my claws against my own kind, but I must do what is right. That is what I have always believed."
Ike bowed his head slightly. "I see. And you Mordecai?"
"Mordecai will stand by Ike," the large tiger said proudly. "Ike has a good heart."
Ike couldn't help but let a small smile grace his features. These two certainly were not tainted like so many other Gallians. "I'm sorry for doubting you. I just had to be sure, you know?"
Ranulf smiled and nodded his head. "We understand, Ike. After Lethe's ambush, it's only natural that you should be skeptical of us." Behind them, they heard soft cries. The delicate, silver-haired cat, Zeyd, had her face buried in her hands. Her shoulders were heaving slightly.
"Who is she?" Ike asked softly, not wanting to offend her in any way.
"Her name is Zeyd," Ranulf replied in the same tone of voice. "She and Lethe used to be very good friends. I'm sure the mention of Lethe's name just brought back some painful memories." Ranulf silently cursed himself. He didn't mean to upset the poor girl. He added in a very quiet whisper into Ike's ear, "Lethe was the one who turned her in."
"Oh, how awful," Ike whispered, his eyes darting toward her again. She had stopped crying now, but there were shiny streaks on her face where the tears had been. "Alright, you and your group should recuperate in the palace for a while."
"I should mention one more thing, Ike," Ranulf said quickly. "There's more than likely a scouting party that was sent out to search for us. If they have any sense at all, they'll choose to look here first." Ike's face took on a worried look. "I'd say that you have at most a day to prepare your army."
"We didn't want to come here, but Ranulf said we didn't have anywhere else to go." Ike and Ranulf both looked behind them, surprised at who had just spoken. Zeyd stood just a few feet away, her fingers lacing themselves in her long hair. "We're so very sorry that we've led them to the humble city of Melior once again."
Ike gave the girl a sympathetic look. "Don't be sorry. Any of you." He looked to the rest of the refugees. They all nodded their heads slowly. "Get yourselves inside now. I should call a strategy meeting if what you say is indeed true."
"I would never lie to you, Ike," Ranulf said. "You know that." Ike nodded his head and turned back toward the palace, with the Laguz following after him. Ranulf smiled and chuckled a bit when he heard some of them whispering about how they were going to get a good meal tonight.
Elincia's already porcelain face paled when she heard the troubling news. "A day? That's all the time we have to prepare?"
"I'm afraid so. I believe every word Ranulf spoke. It's highly plausible that Skrimir sent out a search party to catch them, kill them, even," Ike said, his eyes staring down at the table. Beside him, Soren drew in a deep breath.
"I don't believe we should take this news lightly," the sage said. "Scouting parties are often small, but this is Skrimir we're talking about. There's probably a hundred of them, maybe more."
"Come what may, I'll tear those beasts to shreds with my talons!" Tibarn growled from across the table. A pale hand rested itself on the Hawk King's shoulder.
"Calm yourself, Tibarn," Rafiel spoke out softly. "There shouldn't be any bloodshed. If we can just-"
"Diplomacy is gone, Rafiel!" Reyson raised his voice at his brother. "We have no other option than to fight!" His eyes calmed then, and he glanced down at the floor. "I'm not even sure that diplomacy ever existed. Has this continent ever been at peace for more than ten years at a time?"
Reyson's question went unanswered, as everyone in the room tried to comprehend the situation the best they could. "Whether there are one hundred of them or one thousand, I believe our army is well-prepared," Soren said after a while. "We are capable of dealing with them swiftly."
"I agree whole-heartedly," Empress Sanaki said. "Beast Laguz are weak to fire magic, are they not? If so, then we have several competent mages who are skilled in that area, myself included."
"We have all kinds of Laguz weapons in the armory as well," Geoffrey added. "Though I'm not sure how they got there. Crimea was never a nation to take arms against the Laguz."
"Then it's settled, I suppose," Ike said, after another poignant pause. "We will ready ourselves at the crack of dawn tomorrow."
"Of course, Ike," Elincia agreed. "Everyone should go back to their quarters now and rest. This battle will prove to be one of the most challenging we've ever faced." Everyone obeyed Queen Crimea's orders and filed out of the room one by one. Sothe and Micaiah walked out the door hand in hand. Neither of them had said a word during the meeting. As they walked back to their room, they didn't notice they were being followed.
"You two were real quiet," Ike said, catching up to them. They both turned around swiftly. "How do you feel about all this?"
Micaiah sighed. "I apologize if we seem distant as of late. I just haven't been able to shake this strange fear that's taken hold of me since the attack." Sothe's hand tightened around hers. "I just...I feel that something terrible will happen tomorrow."
"Then we will all try our best to make sure nothing bad happens," Ike reassured her, looking directly into her golden orbs. "You should get some rest now. Both of you." Ike turned around and headed back to his stay room. After he had turned the corner down the hall, Sothe scooped up his wife in his arms and proceeded to carry her. Micaiah squirmed a little in protest.
"Sothe, I can walk!" she snapped. Sothe only smiled at her and continued down the hall.
"I know you can, but I wanted to carry you," he insisted. Micaiah frowned slightly, but allowed him to do as he pleased. There were some arguments that she knew she couldn't win.
Soren coughed as he scribbled down the current numbers in their army. It was late at night, and everyone else in the castle was sleeping. But not Soren. He had work to do before the morning came. He coughed again, harder this time. "Damn," he cursed. "I must be coming down with something." But as was only customary for Soren, he didn't let it come between him and his work. After a moment, there was a soft knock on his door.
"Soren? It's me. Can I come in?" Soren stiffened a little in his chair. Mist was at the door. He hurriedly put his papers and quill into the drawers of the desk and nearly dove onto his bed. He didn't pretend to be asleep. She obviously already knew that he wasn't. So he just grabbed the nearest book that was sitting on the nightstand and opened it up to a random page. Once he was settled, he answered her call.
"Yes, you may," he said, just loud enough for her to hear on the other side of the door. Not a moment too soon before Soren had finished speaking, the door slowly opened, revealing Mist. She held a silver tray in her hands with a small cup on it.
"I brought you some tea," she said, making her way across the room to the bed and placing the tray on the nightstand. Soren looked up from his book, a little confused.
"What made you decide to do that at this late hour?" he asked. "You need your rest for the battle tomorrow."
"As do you," Mist said sharply, snatching the book out of his hands. "What's this? Sword fighting for Beginners?" She read the title of the book aloud. Soren winced. He should've paid more attention to that. Of course he would never read a book about sword fighting. Mist gave him a look that could kill. "You were working again, weren't you?"
"You shouldn't worry yourself over me, Mist," Soren murmured. "I'll be just fine." But as he said this, he burst out into a coughing fit that was far stronger than the one he had just moments ago.
"You're making yourself sick!" Mist countered, the coughing only proving her point further. She sat down on the bed next to him, causing Soren to sit up straighter. "Goodness, Ike told me you often stayed up till the wee hours of the morning working, but I never suspected it was this bad." She lowered her head and sighed. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you, Soren," she said, not pausing long enough to give him a chance to speak. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay, you know? I care about you too much to lose you to some illness." Mist caught her error and tried to backtrack in the conversation. "I just don't want to see you waste away, I mean." She quickly looked down and folded her hands in her lap, fidgeting uncomfortably on the bed.
Soren looked long and hard at her. She had come so close to revealing how she truly felt about him, but he decided not to push her any farther. But he did, however, reach out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Sometimes I wish I could be more like you, Mist," he said, choosing his words carefully. "I'm a selfish being, and I know that, but I rarely make an effort to change my ways. But you..." Soren trailed off, gazing into her eyes as she looked at him. They were glassy and starting to well up with tears. "You give all that you have so unselfishly to help others. It's a quality that I really..." he paused, searching for the right word, "admire about you." He allowed a short and bitter laugh to escape him. "I'm all brains and no heart."
Mist smiled at him, then timidly put her hand over his chest, causing his whole body to tense up. "That's not true, Soren," she said, staring at her hand. "You do have a heart. Granted, it's buried in there a ways, but you do have one." Her eyes looked back up at him, and he met them with his own. "I know you do." Mist moved her hand to his forehead and gasped when she made contact with it. "Oh Soren, you've got a fever!" Soren realized then just how warm he was. He could feel a thin layer of sweat accumulating on his skin. Mist took his hands in her own and gave them a tender squeeze, much like a mother would do to her child. Then she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead. When she at last pulled away, Soren's heart was beating a mile a minute. "Drink your tea and go straight to sleep, you hear?" Mist said. Her tone of voice didn't entail it, but Soren knew this was a command that he didn't dare disobey.
"I promise I will. You needn't worry," Soren told her, reaching for the cup that sat on his nightstand. Mist smiled as he put it to his lips and began to drink. "Thank you, Mist," he said once he had finished. "Thank you for everything."
Mist stood and began walking toward the door. "Do I have your permission to come check up on you in the morning?" she asked before putting her hand on the knob. Soren smiled at her as he nestled himself into his bed.
"If you feel that it's absolutely necessary, then yes," he said, closing his eyes. As soon as he had done so, sleep overtook him. The last sound he heard was Mist's spirited laugh as she closed the door behind her.
A/N: Once again guys, thank you so much for putting up with my laziness! I'll try my hardest to update more often in the future! So until the next chapter, I hope you all have a great day, and good luck in the new year! Hugs! :)