Filling In The Blanks
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.
Chapter 86: Bermecia, City of Rain
Then suddenly a childish grin broke upon her face and she gave a slight bow to those in her presence. "We've been waiting for you for quite some time now."
"Waiting," Dagger breathed, shaking her head as traces of a smile began to lighten her face, "For us."
Dystria nodded and waltzed over to the cupboard, bringing down all of the extra blankets she had stored. "Please, take a little bit of time to rest. Many members of our company will be coming back soon, so you will have plenty of people to meet then!"
"Where have they gone?" Freya wondered as she sat rigidly in a chair.
"They went to get supplies. This chance that all of the soldiers have cleared from the shops is truly a treat. They said they must take advantage of it."
"Makes sense," Steiner nodded, removing his helmet and shaking out his wet hair. It drooped into his eyes and he pushed it back, irritated; he needed a haircut.
Their new friend stood, staring at them for a few moments without words. The others shifted under her delighted stare, not used to the looks. Beatrix ran her hand through her long, soaked locks before clearing her throat.
The Bermecian jumped a little, "Oh!" She shook her head, "I am sorry, it is just so astonishing to actually have you here! I will give you time to rest. You look exhausted."
Freya nodded her thanks and the girl took her leave. They were alone now, and each stared at each other in silent questioning. Could they entirely trust the story of this girl?
Before anyone could delve into the conversation, a groan came from the floor. Nearly everyone jumped, and Eiko flipped around in her chair to stare at the bundle on the floor. "We forgot about Amarant!"
Steiner swore under his breath before he got up and started unwrapping the dazed man from the blankets and clothes.
"What the hell…" He grumbled, his vision blurry and misleading. He swiped the air a couple of times before he came in contact with the knight's face. With a jolt, the redhead swung his other hand up in a tight fist, but it was weak and Steiner easily blocked it.
"Stop struggling you buffoon!" the knight rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to help you!"
"What happened?" he grunted; clearly their brooding friend didn't remember the first time he woke up.
"You were stabbed," Eiko told him matter of factly. "But we saved you."
He stared at her, his dark green eyes uncomprehending.
"You know…" She shrugged, "like stabbed? Ripped through your skin and bled all over and almost got all of us killed?"
"I know what stabbing means," he hissed at her, before moving to sit up. He groaned though, and Steiner had to catch him before he collapsed back to the floor.
"Really?" She tilted her head, purple hair falling to the side. "Cause you don't really look like you do." Once she knew the danger was over, Eiko had absolutely no problem joking about it; if nothing else, they were grateful for the way she tried to diffuse stressful situations. But it was still a little annoying.
"Give him a moment to breathe, Eiko," Freya advised with a sigh. She stood and crossed the room, trying hard to keep the creaking wood beneath her silent. "How do you feel, Amarant?"
"Like I got hit with a fucking chocobo!" He doubled over and pressed his arms against his stomach.
Dagger was already gathering energy to cast a cure spell. Unfortunately, it was weak, and Amarant had to bite his tongue in his cranky attitude. He assumed to get out of there alive, she had probably exerted herself awfully hard already.
Eiko tried then, and it was much stronger. She hadn't summoned anything and the girl didn't carry nearly as much stress as Dagger did on her shoulders, so her recovery time was much quicker.
"Thanks," he grunted to the two of them.
"You're lucky to be alive," Beatrix told him. "I knew it wasn't a good idea for you to go into town!"
"I would have been fine if it hadn't been for Lani," he growled, though it wasn't nearly as intimidating as he meant it to be. Not that it would really matter, he knew already that hardly anything daunted the woman.
"Things like that need to be taken into consideration," she bit out, her tone sharp. Steiner opened his mouth to stop her, but shut it again when Dagger shot a look in his direction; if they didn't want an argument to erupt in the middle of a foreign place, it was best just to let Beatrix talk. "You're part of a team now Amarant, you're looking out for more than number one!"
A bitter reply teetered on the tip of his tongue, but seeing Eiko's turquoise eyes staring down at him with a wide, curious expression, he shut his mouth again. "Yeah, whatever."
The brunette rolled her eyes and sunk back into her chair, crossing her legs and folding her arms over her chest. She didn't like being shrugged off, but nobody blamed her; everyone was stressed.
Dystria reentered the room then, poking her head in and staring at them all for a moment. Their gazes locked on her, and she blushed a little again, embarrassment creeping up her neck. Her long silver hair was dripping and tangled.
"Everyone is just starting to get back," she commented. "We will be coming up soon. I apologize that you did not get much time to rest."
"We will manage," Freya nodded to her, and the girl disappeared again.
They heard some rustling downstairs, and waited anxiously, wondering if they'd walked into a trap or not. The fireplace flickered long shadows across the room, stretched and sad.
Dagger wrung her hands together in quiet apprehension from her seat. She was grateful to these people for getting them off the streets, and though she didn't want to admit it, she would be grateful whether they walked into a bad situation or not. Light footsteps ascended the stairs, and the entire team snapped their eyes to the door where Dystria came back, a small faded basket in her arms.
People poured in after her, all frighteningly silent.
Steiner's hand was on the hilt of his sword even before all of the people pooled inside.
"There is no reason you need to fear," an older Bermecian stepped forward, and Dagger knew from the way that people parted around him that he was the leader.
He was tall, with emerald-tinted skin. His hair was just passed his shoulders, more grey than the silvery sheen of the others in the room and over his right eye there was a patch, though out from under the edges of the soft fabric, she spotted puckered, angry looking skin indicating that he'd lost his eye in some violent way. He wore a long cloak and it fell loosely around his body, covering him.
"I am Vadin," he said before anyone needed to ask. He pushed the cloak aside, back over his shoulders, revealing one missing arm, amputated just above the elbow, while he tucked the other on his abdomen when he gave a slight bow. "You have met Dystria, my daughter, and these are the people that we have worked hard and long to gather for you."
"Vadin," Freya said, her tone soft but strong all at once. His eyes snapped to her voice, as though he hadn't believed his daughter when she told him who was upstairs. "It has been a long time."
"Too long, my young friend," he grinned at her, and clasped her hand endearingly. "Tell me, where is Fratley? No one has spotted him with you since you have arrived in the city; is he alright?"
Freya's icy eyes clouded over, but she nodded anyways. "He is well. He is serving as a Cleyrian guard for a while; rumors are spreading about another attack on the city."
The man scoffed. "Cotex is weak. He plays neutrality when it really means he is succumbing to Kuja's demands. I presume he did not help you much?"
"He spared a few," she said with a wave of her hand, but Dagger couldn't pinpoint if her irritation was still about Fratley staying in Cleyra, or about Cotex himself. "They left for Qu's Marsh just before we departed the city. We have troops from Lindblum, the grotto, and hopefully from Treno soon too."
"So many!" He commented, his voice awe-stricken. "You all are truly an inspiration to us," he gestured to the small group behind him, doing their best to look orderly and aware, but fidgeting with anxiousness to meet the famed resistance members. "We are not large in numbers like you must be, and we do not have nearly as much experience, but we do what we can to stand against Kuja in any way that will not get people hurt."
"That's all we could ask for," Beatrix said, standing from the chair. She gave the slightest bow of apology for budding in on the conversation. "Beatrix Vaylor, Captain of the Rose Brigade."
He let out a small laugh. "We have heard many stories of your brigade, Beatrix. So, so young and yet, your courage and the influence had over your soldiers helped put out the burning of Qu's Marsh all those long years ago."
She blinked, clearly taken aback. "You remember?"
"Who could forget?"
"I thought Kuja didn't have an interest in the marshes," Dagger mumbled, her brow puckered in confusion.
"He does not now," Vadin began to explain. "Kuja realized quickly that the qus would not be of assistance to him in the war. What he believed was thoughtless oblivion was the silent and well-hidden resistance to his rule. Regardless, he thought if they were useless, they should be destroyed. He set the first one here on the mist continent ablaze, and soldiers from all around came to assist."
Dagger shook her head. "I don't remember that…"
"We found out years later that it was Kuja behind the fires," Beatrix explained, "this was before he was in any sort of well-known power, just a year or two before you were born, Dagger. His plans for war were only for himself. He didn't have any hold over any place, save perhaps for his temples scattered around the continents, so we hadn't any idea who tried to burn the marsh."
"That's terrible…" She turned to the Bermecians. "So you know all about us, but we have no idea about you?"
"That is correct, young one," he nodded to her before motioning the others forward. "Farmar, Wheyly and Pretnia were the first to bring the resistance to my attention. We came up with the idea of recruiting in hopes that you would make it to Bermecia to give us further instruction." The three Bermecians he named smiled calmly and bowed slightly.
"This is perfect!" the raven haired girl laughed, clapping her hands together as she tapped her feet on the ground. "They have no idea about you! You're risking so much for us! How could we repay you?"
He shook his head and shifted his clawed feet against the wood, feeling it. Dystria wiggled next to him, shifting the basket in her arms in excitement. Something inside of it clinked together. "There is no need to repay us. Allowing us to be in your services would be enough, Princess Garnet."
She laughed uncomfortably and stood, giving her own courtesy-like bow. "Please, call me Dagger."
He grinned at her and flicked his wet hair from his dark eyes. They shone with a sense of humorous wisdom that reminded her a lot of Cid. "A clever alias."
Before she could answer, whispers rose at the back of the Bermecian crowd outside the door. The resistance members leaned this way and that, hoping to catch a glimpse through the door frame of what was causing such a commotion. The rat creatures began shifting, and soon a short Bermecian with red pants and a red cap waltzed in, confident in his entrance to the room.
Freya let out an audible gasp. "Puck! Prince Puck!" She dropped to her knees to bow before him, but he let out a laugh.
"I had to see it for myself!" his eyes glimmered with happiness as he stared at Freya's formal kneel. "Freya Cresecent…" He shook his head, "What has it been? Almost two years?"
She nodded to him, "I am relieved to see that you are safe."
He moved forward, taller than the last time she'd seen him. His dark eyes searched her face, hoping to find information she wouldn't willingly share out loud. She tried to keep her expression neutral, but it seemed he found what he was looking for. The younger Bermecian put a hand on her shoulder.
"Rise, Freya… You do not need to bow before me, you know that!" He laughed and gestured backwards. "Have we done well for you?"
"More than I could have asked," she said, rising to her full height again.
"I will not keep you long," he told them, proceeding to repeat having to 'see it for himself.'
He was introduced to the members of the resistance, and each gave a fumbled reply. They were shocked to see the Bermecian prince, so informal and so caring towards people. But his exterior was rough, and they knew there was something past this pleasant introduction that he had seen, that drove him to Bermecia and under the protection of Vadin's family.
His appearance really was brief. He was in and out after introductions, claiming that he wasn't actually supposed to come down in the first place, but he just had to see Freya. Nobody could blame him for that really, but everyone could feel the tension in the room from the Bermecian resistance. They didn't want Puck downstairs where soldiers could break in and find him.
He waved to the others, moving to leave on the silent command of his protective people, but stopped just before disappearing. "Freya."
"Yes?" she looked up, surprised that he was addressing her again.
"Congratulations on the engagement," he chuckled and then disappeared again, like he'd never come at all.
Freya's eyes dropped, partially embarrassed, to the ring glinting on her left hand. She placed her long, slender fingers over the ruby, trying to hide it from view.
Vadin let out a hearty laugh. "Fratley finally did it, did he?"
"Finally?" Freya questioned, narrowing her eyes. Just how many people from her past would comment on the notion of a marriage in the middle of a war?
"Fratley has been talking about it since you two were young." He rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders lightly. "I know this is not the time to jest, especially with Bermecia in such peril, but he had us all convinced even before he was accepted into the Dragon Knights that he would marry you someday, regardless of civil war, world war, or anything else that stood in his way."
Dagger had to smile. He was right, this was a completely inappropriate time to reflect on happier days, especially since the soldiers would come into town looking for them at any minute, but it was too sweet of a story not to enjoy. The others seemed to feel the same way, except maybe Amarant.
Before she could answer, there was a loud pounding up the stairs, contrasting largely to the creeping way Puck had moved up and down the steps earlier.
"Vadin!" Someone yelped and weaseling their way to the front of the crowd, the Elite group spotted a small Bermecian child. Her hair was tinted red and her skin was a rosy color. She was peculiar, contrasting with both the Cleyrians and Bermecians alike; nevertheless, her tall ears and thin tail confirmed that she was indeed one of them. "The guards are coming back! They are not pleased! Weapons are drawn and they are shouting things! Mean, horrible things!"
His eyes turned serious again. "We must go now, while we still have a chance! Dystria, the potions!"
"What?" Steiner asked, suddenly interested at the mention of the troops. "What do you mean 'while we still have a chance'? And what potions do you speak of?!"
"Here is where you can repay us!"
"Didn't you just say we didn't –" Amarant didn't get to finish his thought as Eiko jumped down purposefully on his foot. She swung her arms innocently, not looking at him like it would lead the guilt to someone else. She was the only one sitting by him.
"Today is the day we hoped we would find you! This diversion has given us the time to regroup! If they are going to rampage innocent civilians, we are going to drive them from the city, if only for a little while."
"Kuja will come back in full force if you do that… He did the same to us in Dali!" Beatrix told him, a pleading tone in her voice. She didn't want the same thing to happen again. The brunette recalled her impending sense of doom (overdramatic or not) when she couldn't locate Steiner on the airships.
"If only for a little while, it will give us time to take back our ransacked city, and better defend. The new additions to the town – the woman with the axe – they are coming for our Prince. We would choose to defend him with or without your help!"
"We'd love to help!" Eiko piped up. But then she bit her lip and clasped her hands before her jumper, throwing her hips forward in a slight pout. "But look at us!"
"Take these potions," Dystria cut in then, setting the basket on the stand by the fireplace. The flames crackled with a sense of urgency. She handed the vials out to each member, and they peered at the murky pink liquid with suspicion. "Moogles gave these to us many years ago. They said that the high summoners of Madain Sari brewed them and gave them to the moogles as parting gifts from their lands. They brought them here in our time of need when Kuja's soldiers first entered the city, and told us to save them until the situation was dire."
"What do they do?" Dagger asked, interested in their origin.
"Many white magic spells were mixed into this liquid. It will give you the same effects, but without casting any spells."
Eiko stared at the glass container, squinting her eyes like it would help her see. "They're real?"
"What do you mean, Eiko?" Beatrix asked, turning towards the girl.
She pushed her messy purple hair behind her ear and shook the vial a little. Mostly everyone in the company ignored the reflex of the Bermecians, lurching forward like they would catch the liquid in their own mouths if she dropped it. "It's called an X-Potion. I read about it in my grandpa's journal before I left with you guys! I was studying them, hoping I could learn the spells so I could make my own! And then maybe I'd have some protection, you know, if Kuja ever came back to Madain Sari and found me there.
"They have all of these good spells," she laughed, "if you count berserk as a good spell!"
"Berserk?" Steiner seemed startled. "What kind of a potion could do this?"
"Oh that's not all!" She shook her head hastily, knowing that they had to leave. Most of the Bermecians from the other resistance had already filed out of the room. Dystria shifted from one foot to another, glancing quickly from speaker to speaker, hoping to speed up the conversation. "There's haste to make you quicker and give you energy, and shell to protect you from some magic, and protect to stop physical damage from killing you, and all other kinds of good things!" She let out a giggle. "I didn't even think I would see one in my lifetime!"
"It really does all that?"
"This is what we needed," Freya nodded, popping off her lid. She took only one hesitant gaze at the liquid before throwing it back like a stinging alcoholic shot. She scrunched her nose for a moment, before setting the empty vial back on the table. "We wanted to be reenergized like we were in Lindblum, and we have received our wish! Let us fight now!"
"Downstairs you shall still find my father pulling out the last stock of weapons!" Dystria cheered as she shot out the door, clanking heavily as she went down to meet the rest of her kin.
Dagger was the most faithful next to Freya. A shudder went down her entire body as she drank the dim concoction, but her posture seemed to get even straighter, and she stared down at her hands, feeling herself teem with protection and energy, even though there was no physical change.
Seeing that it was safe for the young girl to drink, the others followed suit. Quina had snuck his just before Freya, too tempted by the promise of a good snack to wait, but had been patient enough so he could follow behind the rest of his team. They hadn't felt this good in what seemed like forever.
"I wish you had learned how to make these, Eiko," Amarant said to her as they tramped into the streets again. "I feel better than I did before I got stabbed."
The girl sighed, and she looked briefly to the north, as though remembering something no one else could quite see. "Me too."
Dagger stumbled out into the muddy street to see a battle already started. It seemed Lani had followed their trail, some way or another, and knew they were in the inner city. She was wielding her axe violently at the Bermecian resistance members, but it was lucky they were so much faster than the human race, or the female warrior would have snagged them with the sharp weapon.
"Dagger! Over there!" Beatrix shouted at her, her sword already drawn and warding off one of Kuja's goons. The girl followed the jerk of the brunette's head and spotted a civilian, having been harassed by a soldier when he went to protect his family. His wife was kneeling, tears streaming down her face and mixing in with the rain.
The raven sent a cure spell to the man, who rose, as though it were a miracle, from his wife's lap and ushered her back into the shop. This was not their fight.
Having casted her first spell after the potion, she felt incredible, like she could take on an entire army. She knew it was just the difference between being exhilarated and exhausted, but it didn't ebb on her confidence any more or less. She scanned the crowd, watching as Steiner took on three soldiers at one time.
His eyes were narrowed, his helmet being forgotten inside of the shop. His dark hair was plastered to his pale face, but compared to earlier, it hardly even bothered him. His sword was gripped tightly in both hands, glinting in the rain as he swung it at the soldiers. They tried to circle around him, dancing as he eyed each of them, waiting on their movements. One tried to weasel in close, and Steiner ducked, the motion too big for the others to stay still. They leapt back, afraid of being stuck with his sword. Their comrade stumbled over the knight, and straight into the sword of one of his less brave companions. Blood oozed quickly out of his armor, watered down by the rain. It trickled into the dirt by Steiner's feet, making him all the more menacing.
The last of the three – one being dead and the other too shaken up by having killed his partner – lunged at the knight, and they clashed swords.
"How dare you show up in this city and fight like it is your fight!" the man bellowed at Steiner, taking a hand off of his own sword to try and grab at the ex-knight's face.
"Funny!" Steiner laughed before spatting at the man in front of him. He pushed harder on the man's sword and it buckled, leaving him defenseless. "I could say the same for you!" The cliché fit too perfectly to be chastised and he shoved the man back, into the wall of a shop where he hit his head and collapsed against the building.
The knight bit his lip and dropped down next to the man, giving him a quick, merciful death by breaking his neck. He stood, an unreadable expression on his face; he hated to kill – hated all of the lives pointlessly thrown away battle after battle, but it was what had to be done.
Snapping out of his reverie, he charged forward, seeing Quina having fallen in the mud, sticking in it because he just wasn't coordinated enough to get up. Soldiers were slashing him with a sword, creating diagonal cuts across his pink overcoat. He was throwing weak shots of blue magic at them, but it was doing minimal damage to them through their armor.
Steiner dove into a slide in the mud, coming between the qu and a damaging blow to the face. The protect spell was helping Quina, as he struggled to turn over and sit up, wiping the mud from his chef's hat and eyes. Dirt dripped off of his tongue too, but he didn't seem to mind.
The loud clank of metal on metal rang out, and Steiner kicked, hitting one guy in the knee cap with his metal armor, sending him spiraling down into the mud. The other leapt on top of the knight but Quina rolled over on him, clasping him against his chest as he rolled back off of the knight. Steiner flipped over and stabbed the man in the chest before Quina disposed of him on the ground.
"Are you alright?"
"Quina fine. Quina not feel so good though."
"It's probably all of the mud you're eating… Keep out of the dirt and please be careful!" He didn't wait around for the qu to answer; he only had to have faith in his ally's ability to follow orders. They had to leap away from each other to miss a stray lightning bolt, having broken free from Beatrix's spell. Steiner watched on for a moment, silently cheering her on. He hadn't seen her looking so powerful since Dali where she was very able to defend against a small scouting party without any help.
She shot off spells left and right, feeling too energized to stop with just one. She hadn't even needed her sword, though she clutched it faithfully in one hand, helping all of her new Bermecian allies as much as she could. They danced around her, their spears flying, sending swords off course or being broken by them. Though she felt she could continue battling forever, she noticed the slowing of both parties.
Those she had just met were tired, and their movements weren't as swift as they were before. But Kuja's men were going down slowly as well, simply too tired to continue defending themselves against the relentless power of the Elite group after their potions.
She spotted Lani fighting a reenergized Amarant not too far away, and could hear her yelling. She went to move to his aid, hoping to help him end the fight simply because she was screaming at him more than she was swinging her axe, but a cry for help carried her the opposite direction.
"It seems like I have better friends than you think," Amarant commented to the raging brunette in front of him.
She had swung her axe at him a couple of times. It was easy to dodge, but he could tell it was wearing her out. She put her whole weight into it, using the heavy weapon to keep her stabilized as she leaned back and swiped, and he could tell her frustration was rising because she couldn't land a hit.
"You should be dead!" She screeched at him. "Why aren't you dead?! Why aren't you so I can just remember you the way I want to remember you?!"
"It's over Lani!" He yelled back at her, his voice almost pleading. "Don't you understand, that maybe in some strange past life we could have had something together –" that was the first time he admitted that the two of them had had the beginnings of a relationship before he abandoned his post at that prison, "- but it was just distracting me from my journey!"
"What journey?!" She yelled, frustrated and angry and hurt all at once. She wasn't keeping her usual composure, and that made the redhead more nervous than her strength did. "Your sister is probably dead! If she is anything like you, she's probably been hunted down and executed!" She screamed at him. "Wake up! This war is never ending! It'll end in the death of you just like it did her! And it'll probably end in the death of me and them and everyone!"
"Listen to yourself! Then why are you still fighting it?!" He insisted as he jumped away from another swing. She was such a hassle – he hated fighting.
Lani's eyes were wide with anger that couldn't be quelled, and her hair stuck to her shoulders and her neck as she furiously tried to flick it from her face. Her hands were bloody – raw from the cold and fighting and the rub of her gloves and weapon. She was a mess, and Amarant's points weren't getting through to her like they would if she was composed.
"Who do you think will ultimately win this war, Red? Kuja! Kuja will win! I don't want to be on the losing side of things!"
"You fight for the wrong reasons," he insisted calmly, before moving forward and throwing his pinwheels at her. She was too riled up to dodge, though she tried lamely to throw up her weapons. It stuck her in the arm and she shrieked. "That pinwheel was edged with poison; I suggest you get it checked out before it kills you!"
Just as she looked up with a fearful glance, a second wave of Bermecians flared, civilians recently hiding in their shops and homes. If their brethren were going to fight, so were they. They carried spears (every Bermecian generally had a couple in their homes for defense) and charged fearlessly into the crowd.
Lani scrambled up, and Amarant watched her scan the crowd fretfully. She recognized none of her own soldiers. Stumbling as she backed up, her brown eyes fell on the redhead in front of her again. He shook his head.
"Just go Lani."
He let her leave because he cared for her. No matter how crazy and power-hungry she got, Amarant wouldn't forget when she let him into her past, how her parents gave her up to fight for Kuja so that she could live, and how she didn't know that until after they were killed. And he wouldn't forget when he let her in, sharing with her the tragic story of his parents, and how searching for his sister (half or not) was the only light left in his life because he wanted to know that he was related to someone who maybe wasn't a monster. They shared deep conversations and silent conversations in the midst of other soldiers when they all gathered to eat, and one time, just a few days before he left, Lani kissed him, but then denied it ever happened even though they both had blushed and smiled.
She stumbled away then, fully believing his story about the poison, though it wasn't true. He didn't have access to those sorts of things. But the fight had left him, and he turned as he slouched, returning to his regular brooding attitude and theory that helping others in a fight was a hassle.
Dagger continued to heal people as she had done the entire battle. She knew that though she was brimming with energy, the others relied on her for a source of healing and not a powerful striker. She took her time at the back of the company, trying to stay out of sight from the enemy. Eiko scrambled around, throwing out spells at people when she could, but otherwise, had picked a small dagger up off of a fallen soldier and helped as well as she could in her short height. She commended the girl; she knew when she was seven years old, she wouldn't have been having to go around slicing people wherever she could and courageously knocking weapons out of their hands.
But Kuja's soldiers noticed her now, and despite Steiner's best efforts to protect her, they were getting around him to try and take her down now. She backed up, and deflected blows with her staff as often as she could. The rain pelted her, and she could feel the icy chill of them now, distracting not only her, but the rest of the fighters as well. The cold was stifling their power, and she prayed the battle was over soon as she shook with the vibrations of a sword in her staff.
The metal slowly chipped away at her weapon, and one shattering blow broke the wood in half and sliced her arm. She maneuvered out of the way quick enough to not let it cut her up too badly, but caked with grime and soaked to the bone, she stood defenseless against the soldier.
He looked like he'd been in Bermecia a long time. He wore thicker clothing under his armor that puffed out around the edges of the chain mail. He was accustomed to the rain, and he didn't look as clean as the ones who followed Lani around. So he was more well-equipped than Dagger, and she was suffering because of that now.
He swung at her a few more times, his sword making a whoosh in the air. Each time she leapt back, trying to ignore how her blouse was stained red down one arm, or that her yellow jumper didn't deflect water like she wanted it to. It lagged her down, sucking her into the ever-growing mud as her dodges became slower and slower.
"Come back here you little runt!" He boomed at her, stepping up his game. His boots were big, and he was a lot stronger – he didn't get bogged down quite like the petite girl. Her hair caught in her eyes, and she lost her balance, falling back into the mud. "Kuja will ever-reign over Alexandria… You could never be called a ruler even if you had a kingdom! You are weak!"
She flinched back at his words, and they stung more than either of them thought they might. He was right. She didn't have a lot of time to reflect, but – how did she know she could rule a kingdom? All she had ever done was stand on the sidelines and throw a cure here or there every once in a while. She was hardly someone who could lead – Beatrix and Steiner and Cid made her decisions for her all the time.
As he was throwing his sword down on her again, something pounded through the puddles and mucky road and flung himself in front of Dagger. Her eyes, filled with doubt, snapped up in front of her, locking onto the brightly colored hat and pants that she had just seen.
"Puck?!" She gasped, and he kicked with his large clawed foot at the man's stomach. He stumbled back, unprepared for a counterattack.
"At your service, M'lady!" He grinned. "I could not let you have all the fun!" He turned and extended a hand to help her up. "You are too important to perish in front of a single blade!"
She grabbed his hand and let on a grateful smile as he hoisted her up.
It was a short-lived grace.
A blade thick with blood squelched through his stomach. It pierced Dagger lightly in her own abdomen and her eyes locked with Puck's for just a moment before the sword was yanked out again. Dagger stumbled forward. She had never felt the sting of a stab before; she fell on top of Puck when the sword was completely removed.
"Do not take advantage of me; Kuja will always prevail!" The man yelled, having bounced back from the kick to his abdomen far faster than either of the two could have predicted.
"The prince is dead! The princess has been stabbed! We are victorious!" He bounded away then, angry and embarrassed but satisfied that he had probably killed the two royals in the city.
People looked around, hoping to find their fallen friends. They were confused. They were dreading the truth in the man's statement. It had been so sudden, what in the world had just happened? Freya whipped around, searching for Puck's bright red cap, or Dagger's yellow jumpsuit.
Steiner shouted, having found them first. He raced backwards, towards the shop they had first come out of to join the fight, and slid on his knees towards the heap on the ground. Freya had beat him there by just a second, and rolled the girl off of Puck. Dagger sucked in a breath, and tried to flip back over, but Steiner grabbed her shoulders.
He tried smearing the mud and blood off of her, trying to find where she had been injured so he could see the damage, and she kept trying to bat him away, too flustered and shocked to tell him why she was rejecting his help.
Freya pulled Puck onto her lap, watching the blood leave him. She hadn't seen it happen, but she knew it was bad. The brown of the mud around them was tinted red; too much crimson had been spilt.
"Puck," she shuttered, feeling the dread of failing a mission. She had been assigned to keep Puck safe so many years ago, and now, she was holding him as he bled to death.
His eyes fluttered open and he took in a sharp breath. Dagger fell forward on her hands and scampered away from Steiner, coming to his side.
"Let me heal you!" She cried, and Freya looked up to see the girl's chocolate eyes filling with fat tears. Her hands shook as she tried to conjure energy, but Puck clasped her wrist with enough surprising strength to make her stop.
"Princess Garnet," he coughed and blood trickled out of his mouth. His eyes were dim, but he still seemed to have something to say. This was all happening so fast, none of them sitting there could hardly comprehend what was happening.
The battle raged on in front of them, and briefly, Steiner noted that the others had stayed forward to fight, seeing that two had already gone to Dagger and Puck's aid. Somewhere in the back of his mind comprehended that their own side was pushing back Kuja's soldiers.
"Princess Garnet," Puck started again, smiling vaguely. "Do not listen to Kuja's men."
"What are you saying? Let me heal you!" She cried, sobs wracking her words and shaking her shoulders. What was going on? Was Puck, the prince she had just met, really going to die?
"There is no time," he told her, "I – I am a-alright with…" he swallowed heavily, "dying to p-pro-protect such a beacon of… hope."
"What?" She cried.
"Just let her heal you, Puck, and you can tell us after –"
"Y-you think you are an inspiration as a… leader to just… humans! No… y-you are wrong." He let out a little laugh that turned into a coughing spasm. Freya wiped his mouth of the blood. "You are a…. b-beacon of hope to everyone, Garnet… Alexandros…"
She tried to start a cure again, but he squeezed her wrist, weaker this time.
"It is m-my time to move on… M-maybe in the afterlife, wherever… I go… I can c-console the others…" He coughed again, but a sharp look from his dark eyes told Dagger to stop insisting that she heal him. Steiner had turned away from the scene a moment ago, and Freya's face was crumpled with an unfamiliar emotion.
"I can tell those who died… I can tell them that there are s-still… people fighting. Lots of people… I can tell my dad."
Freya's eyes snapped to his face as he closed his eyes and sucked in a gurgling breath. "Your father? What has happened to the King, Puck?"
He shook his head, never bothering to open his eyes. "H-he's gone, Freya… I was t-told if I saw Fratley when I left… I was to t-tell him that m-my dad leaves Bermecia in… his hands i-if something was to happen... to me."
"What…?"
He opened his eyes then. "Do not blame yourself… I – I wanted to protect Dagger. She is m-more important to the resistance, to the war, than I am. But I-I am sorry I did not get to… talk with… you more."
"Don't apologize," Dagger choked out on behalf of Freya. "Please don't."
"I'm… going to… rest now."
Neither of the three knew what to say as he closed his eyes, and let out one more breath. But this one seemed smoother, like a blissful sigh as he was brought away from the pain of the fatal stab wound that shot straight through his back and out of his stomach. His chest seemed to deflate more than it had when he was still taking in shaky breaths, and his head lulled to the side in Freya's lap.
Prince Puck of Bermecia whom they had only just met, and whom Freya had sworn to protect, had died honorably in that battle.
One horrible, heart-breaking sob ripped from Freya's throat as she collapsed onto his lifeless body, crying out in anguish they'd never seen in her before.
A/N: So… wow. That was very hard to write. I didn't want to do it, but you'll see why I did in the next chapter. I know it might have been a little shaky, but you don't need to know a lot about this Bermecian-resistance, so I didn't want to spend a lot of time developing them as characters.
I hope it was okay… Let me know what you think!
-zesty-
