CHAPTER 7

The next day came along. The woman woke up after being unconscious for quite some time. She was suffering minor bleeding from scratches, but she was okay when Ike and his family checked on her. Greil later asked if she was feeling alright and if she needed anything from him or Mist.

"Thanks for the offer, mister." the woman said. "And you are…?" she later asked Greil.

"The name is Greil. I'm the commander of this mercenary company." Greil said as he introduced himself. "My son Ike was the one who came to your aid." When Ike heard his name mentioned by his father, he walked over to the green-haired and orange-dressed woman.

"My lord Ike… how ever can I thank you…" the green-haired woman said as she took a bow to Ike.

"Let's get down to the questions of the day." Greil said as he took a seat. "Tell me. Who are you? What were you doing in a place like that?

"My name is Elincia. Princess Elincia Ridell Crimea." the woman said as she revealed herself as Crimea's princess. "And… which place are you talking about? What kind of place was it?"

"The place where Ike found you is a place where Daein and Crimea clashed forces together." Greil explained. "Tell me what was going on with you there." Elincia then explained that she was traveling with some companions when a heavy falling tree branch killed one of them.

"Likely a self-explanatory story. I'll take your word for it." Greil said. "So, you say you are Princess Crimea, huh?" asked Greil.

"Yes I am. King Ramon was my father." Elincia stated.

"I see." Greil said. "But I never heard of stories about King Ramon fathering any children."

"Because my existence and heritage has never been made public." Elincia stated. "Ashnard, the thirteenth king of Daein, murdered my mother and father."

"King Ramon's dead?" asked Greil.

"Yes." said Elincia.

"I see, I see…" Greil said. "Any other news I should know from you, Your Highness?"

"Yes. I have never been made public because it's to avoid national turmoil." Elincia later said. "And my Uncle Renning… he's been battling Daein soldiers for… quite a while."

"I absolutely understand your pain." Greil said.

"And about me being in a place like that, there's more to it. We had to seek refuge in the beast laguz kingdom of Gallia." Elincia later said. "King Caineghis, I believe, was going to give me and my troops sanctuary in the castle. And since we were discovered by Daein troops, King Ashnard now knows of my existence…" Elincia later started to shed tears.

"It's alright." Ike said.

"We'll help you, Elincia." Greil said.

"Th-th-thank you…" Elincia said.

When Greil, Ike, and Elincia were about to sit down for a meal together, Ross and Samantha entered the room.

"I heard about your home, you two." said Greil.

"I know, Commander." said Ross. "Samantha and I wanted to tell you that our parents and sister are safely in Gallia."

"They told you?" asked Greil.

"Yes." Samantha said.

"What happened?" asked Kamaria. "...Oh, the house. Right. …Who's this? New mercenary?" she asked after noticing Elincia.

"No, she's the princess of Crimea." said Greil. "She was being escorted to the kingdom of Gallia when all of the sudden, one of her troops was crushed to death by a giant tree branch falling."

"Don't forget the fact that Daein soldiers spotted us too." Elincia said.

"Right." said Greil. Ike later turned around, got up out of his seat, and went into his room.

"What's wrong, Ike?" asked Greil.

"I'm checking on Mist." Ike said.

Meanwhile, with Daein forces, they were busy looking for Princess Elincia. Knights and soldiers on Wyverns were scouting the skies looking everywhere for Elincia, but to no avail. Then, one of the surviving soldiers Ike encountered earlier then informed another that a man that supposedly matched Ike's description took Princess Elincia. They attempted to follow the path to the fort of the Greil Mercenaries.

"Sir, was it this way?" asked a soldier to the general.

"Yes, sir!" responded the general. The soldiers later started to ride, fly, and march respectively depending on their fighting type.

Later that evening, the Daein forces finally reached the fort of the ragtag Greil Mercenaries. However, Kamaria the pegasus knight was the one who heard a wyvern's roar from the distance above. She immediately left her room, and left to get Commander Greil.

"What is it, Kamaria?" asked Greil.

"Commander Greil! Quick! Look outside!" Kamaria shouted in panic. Greil later went to see what was going on. When he opened the door in a quiet manner, Daein soldiers were talking privately.

"Ashnard's orders, capture Princess Elincia and bring her alive to him." said a cavalier wielding a sword. Greil later slammed the door.

"Damn Daein soldiers… looking for a piece of the Princess, I bet." said Greil as he was thinking to himself. He later called out for Titania, telling her to get the troops gathered for a pep talk.

Once all the troops were gathered for the pep talk, Greil stated that soldiers from Daein were looking for Princess Elincia and that the group was to take action quickly. When he later stated that the soldiers were outside the fort after being questioned by his son Ike, everyone questioned themselves about what to do.

"We are going to escort the princess to Gallia. But we have to get rid of the soldiers first before doing any other action." Greil said. "Ike, you're in charge of guarding the front entrance. I'll take the rear entrance. Remember: Don't let the soldiers capture the fort. We'll be toast if they do something like that."

"Yes, sir." said Ike.

"Good." Greil said. "Everyone, move out!" Everyone followed Greil's direct orders. The Greil Mercenaries' involvement in the Mad King's War was just about to begin.

When soldiers from Daein were discovered by Kamaria, she swooped down with her lance and did a jousting job on a sword knight. She picked up an elixir in the process. Shinon also made efforts on shooting down knights mounted on gray wyverns. However, when one soldier fell off his wyvern, Samantha casted Elwind, shooting up a tornado in the process that almost spooked the pegasus of Kamaria. That was when surviving Daein soldiers started to retreat.

"Are we seriously enemies of the Daein Kingdom now?" asked Ike.

"Kinda looks like it." Ross said.

"Such a shame that my homeland is seriously attacking Crimean territory… And it's all the fault of that wretched King Ashnard!" Kamaria said. "...Crusty old wyvern-riding bastard…"

"Everyone, pack your things! We're leaving before the enemy brings backup forces to the fort!" Greil exclaimed.

"I'll take care of food and water!" said Mist.

"I'm with you, Mist!" Rolf said.

"Sure don't want the Daein soldiers creating a tossed salad…" Rhys said.

"I'm burning non-essential documents and other paperwork." said Greil. "Ike, ready a horse for the princess."

"SIr, yes, sir!" Ike said.

"Elincia, wait for me!" Samantha said. "I want to sit with a real princess and chit-chat while Ike readies a horse!"

"Alright." said Elincia. "I'll play along."

"Remember, if you seriously have time to waste, you have time to work!" Greil quoted. Everyone later started to get to work. The flight to the Beast Laguz nation of Gallia was just about to begin. However, Soren and Shinon were going to have negative reactions, as they had strong hatred for the laguz changelings, calling them the racist term of "sub-human", which was the racist term for the laguz people. It was going to be a positive and negative reaction to two feuding races of people: the beorc and the laguz.