Chapter 17: Ruled by Madness     Chapter 19: Two Faces of Evil

 

Chapter 18: River of Regrets

    We passed back through Jehanna, heading east of the Hall, and turned north. We came to the one major river of the desert country: Narube River. Its sad brown waters flowed sluggishly through farmland and low mountains.

    “I sent the Frelian army ahead to clear a path for us,” Innes said as we paused next to the southern bank. Ephraim and I were riding our white horses.

    “Innes!” called Tana from high up. She sounded panicky. “They’ve been routed! I can only see Syrene’s regiment left! They’ve got civilians with them. Enemy forces are approaching!”

    “Calm down, little sister!” barked Innes. “We’ll have to join with Syrene as soon as possible…”

    A warp appeared right in front of Ephraim and myself. Lyon appeared.

    “Lyon!” I cried. He might help us save Lady Syrene and the Jehannian villagers. “Where have you been all this time? Are you well?”

    “Wait, Eirika,” Ephraim said, a stern note entering his voice. “Lyon, we met recently in Grado, remember? Do you remember what you told me then?” His voice was harsh, and I shuddered and Lyon flinched, a terrible hurt look on his face.

    “Ephraim… why are you so angry? I’ve so wanted to see you both… it’s been so long since I have…” His lovely soft violet eyes seemed to be filling with tears. “I saw Eirika in Jehanna, but I don’t remember meeting you…” He cowered away until my brother’s face changed to one of comprehension.

    “Ephraim-” I began, angry.

    “Eirika, I’m sorry. I thought- I thought- remember, we thought something was controlling Lyon when he told me he killed-”

    “Ephraim, there must be something wrong with you! Lyon is one of our dearest friends!” I didn’t want to reproach my brother like this, but he had picked the very worst time to push his hunch. “Right, Lyon?”

    “Yes, Eirika… Please-” I dismounted. “Thank you.” Suddenly pain seemed to wrack his body.

    “Lyon?” I cried, stepping forward in concern. Ephraim dismounted hurriedly and blocked me.

    “Eirika, wait!”

    “…Eirika… run… get away… quickly…” The words were gritted out between Lyon’s teeth as he writhed where he was standing. One hand clenched his long hair, the other stretched out in warning. “If you don’t… I… will surely… destroy you…”

    “Lyon! I need to help you!” I dimly heard Seth calling my name, and Ephraim grabbing me around my waist to keep me from running to Lyon’s side. I thought they were all crazy.

    “GO!!!” Lyon shouted, before giving the most horrible scream I had ever heard.

    When he straightened, even I could tell it was not Lyon who stood there anymore. “Hi, Ephraim, Eirika. Long time no see.” I gasped. What a voice. Deeper, gravelly, more nasal – it was another’s voice using Lyon’s mouth.

    “Who are you?” demanded my brother. “Because you’re not Lyon.”

    “Heh, I’m not Lyon?” the… thing answered, grinning grotesquely. “That’s rich.”

    “Lyon would never betray us,” we said, the twins of Renais, in unison. “Not in a million years.”

    The face that had once been the handsome, almost girlish face of my friend twisted. “Fine. I’ve had my fun pretending to be human, but now I can be normal.” It grinned again.

    “Who are you!” Ephraim shouted again.

    “Do you truly not know? What a poorly educated prince.” The awful voice tutted. “Think on the name of terror…”

    “No!” Ephraim.

    “Not…” “It can’t be…” Innes’ and L’Arachel’s words overlapped.

    “I guessed,” said I, just barely audible. “The Demon King…”

    “Full points, Princess,” the demon grinned at me. I noticed that the eyes were entirely black. “Oh, Lyon, Lyon… prince of misery… come out. Be not shy. I will make all of your darkest dreams come true. This body is mine to do what I please with… it is lost to you. I will kill Prince Ephraim and take Princess Eirika for my own.” Ephraim’s grip on my waist tightened protectively. “Is this not what you desire?”

    The face changed again. Some violet returned to the eyes. Lyon cringed away from us, shielding himself with his hands, crying “No! no!” in such a piteous tone… His face… so tormented, so anguished… And then the fleeting moment was gone, and the Demon King had control again.

    “Yes… you want this… I will accomplish it…” He warped away.

    “Come on!” Ephraim bellowed, waving Seigmund at the others. “We have to find the Demon King and destroy him! Free Lyon!”

    Tana flew ahead to where the Frelian commander, trying to shield a family of four, was fighting against three druids at once. The woman turned and nodded, and four of us – Tana, Syrene, Ephraim, and I – took one civilian each. Tana took the grandfather, Syrene the mother, Ephraim the little girl, and I the little boy. We brought them back to Danny and left Kyle and Forde to guard them. Our group looked to be spreading out very thin… but nothing mattered to me except Lyon. I was glad that Ephraim and Innes were now the commanders, and not myself and Seth. Oh, yes, Seth helped compose tactics with the other two, but not like when it was he and myself.

    Syrene dealt with a dozen druids by herself; Cormag dealt hits right and left to wyvern riders on the mountain, commencing a lightening-swift duel between himself and a wyvern knight, while Saleh and Myrrh dealt with four or five heroes on the southern flank.

    We came to the gate of a castle. The possessed Necromancer was standing quite straight – I almost thought it was Lyon again. His ragged robes swirled around him as he laughed at us. It was just the three of us in the castle gate…

    “Lyon! Please, come back to us!” I begged. “I don’t want to fight you!”

    “What have you done with our friend?” Ephraim roared, his tenor grinding in his throat. I was a bit afraid of him, he was so angry. “ANSWER ME!”

    The Demon King frowned. “Pitiful girl, wretched man, do you not realize? Lyon is dead. I ate his soul. Oh, it was tasty. I’m still saving the last bite.” He laughed. I turned away, sick.

    “Oh, Eirika!” Ephraim looked at me with sad eyes. Then he glared at the Demon King. “You filth! Stealing our friend! I know you are using his body, but I’ll kill you anyway! Come on, Eirika. If Lyon’s not there, then -”

    “No, I won’t kill him,” I rasped.

    “Lyon, is this truly the girl you loved? I shall tear her to pieces with my magic!”

    Riding swiftly forward, I drove Seiglinde into the Demon King’s shoulder. Fimbulvetr and Luna swirled around me. Ephraim’s Seigmund bit into his belly. I could not look at the demon’s face – possessed or not, it was too much like Lyon for me to maintain control if I saw it. The demon warped away.

    I heard someone shriek from behind a mountain on the island in the middle of the river. Amelia, I think. Ephraim and I rode back to the bridge as hard as we could.

    The Demon King was picking himself up from under a bush. Yes, it was Amelia, because her horse had thrown her. Franz looked grim as he brandished his sword, although what good would that do against a demon? The thing was growling, pouring blood, moving painfully, yet I was afraid of it. It cursed at us and warped again.

    “We’ll find you!” Ephraim vowed. “We won’t let you get away!” He turned to the army, no longer raging. “Everyone, find a partner and search everywhere! I cannot allow him to desecrate my friend’s body any longer!” He turned to ride off, and Innes came up to him, showing him a great bow and lance wrapped together in cloth. After short deliberation, Innes kept the bow, and gave the lance to Tana. The family we had saved came up to us also, thanking us with a magic staff. L’Arachel took charge of that.

    “Don’t thank me,” Syrene said to the woman. “We only prevailed with superior leadership,” she said, bowing to me, the closest noble.

    “Oh, please,” I smiled bashfully through my uncertainty, mounting Aureola. Syrene mounted Glindara, her pegasus; the family went into their house, and our cavalcade, lead by Innes’s best trackers, moved off on the trail of the Demon King.

 

Chapter 17: Ruled by Madness     Chapter 19: Two Faces of Evil

Chapter 16: Scorched Sand     Chapter 18: River of Regrets

 

Chapter 17: Ruled by Madness

    We approached Castle Renais three days later. As soon as we passed into Renais from Jehanna, the difference became apparent. We could see destroyed villages, some of them still burning, in the distance. Only the ones beside the road were intact, and those housed a sullen, dispirited people who only reluctantly put us up for each night. The fields were abandoned; heaven knew how these people would survive through the winter. Several times, we saw unruly bands of unkempt men, probably brigands, but they always shied away from our large, well-armed group. We did have some run-ins with revenants and baels, mauthe doogs and even mogalls, though. And although the sun shone, there was an air of gloom over the land. Perhaps it was all in my head, but I suspected not.

    As we crossed a hill into the valley in which Castle Renais lay, the desolation was just as apparent. The castle town was paved with broken glass, and hardly a face showed at a shattered window in curiosity at our army, or to see the famed, and previously applauded Silver Knight, or at least the Prince and Princess of Renais, not to mention the other royalty. The roads stank.

    At last we were through the town and in the mile-long open ground between town and castle. Forests lined the eastern side; nearly two months before? – I lost count, so I was not certain – Seth, Franz and I had ridden in haste through the western side of the valley to escape from the late Valter and his cronies.

    The castle was in sad state, with its windows also missing, the white stones blackened by weather and perhaps wanton fire, the flags ragged and drooping at their staffs. The portcullis was sagging in the gate; apparently one of the chains was missing or broken. I shuddered to think what the interior might look like.

    Ephraim spoke first. “What has happened to our home? How did it come to be so ruined? So desolate?” His voice was high-pitched with shock and sadness.

    Seth, riding always behind us two, answered indirectly as best he could. “Spies have told me that the traitor Orson has taken up rule of Renais. He makes no move to govern; he does nothing to check the progress of brigands and monsters roaming… He sits alone in the King’s former bedchambers. No one is allowed to enter… he takes no meals…”

    “What could he be doing?” I murmered.

    Seth still heard me. “The spies had no insight into his behaviour…”

    “I realize, in retrospect, that he’d been acting rather odd for a while,” said Ephraim, his voice in his normal low tenor. “His wife died about six months back – do you remember that? I suspect the turmoil was too much for his mind to bear.”

    “Let’s go home,” I said, steeling myself and mastering my fear at last.

    “Yes. We’re going to the castle, Eirika,” answered my brother.

    We charged in, through the familiar corridors. Our army divided into groups, each led by a Renatian knight. Ephraim and Seth and I, of course, were in one group, along with Myrrh, whose draconic form was hugely startling every time she deemed it necessary to flame an enemy into ash, Saleh, Ewan, Cormag, Duessel, and Knoll. Kyle had the Raustenians and Jehannians, and Forde had the Frelians, and Franz guided the youngest soldiers – Amelia, Ross and Garcia, Lute, Artur, Neimi, and Colm.

    “Oh!” Seth startled me. “Look!”

    “What is it?” I asked, springing to him. “Are you hurt?”

    “No,” he answered, amused, I think, at my worry. “The man I just killed is wearing my helmet and carrying my shield. Dented, but not irrepairably.”

    “Oh, that’s right, you left the castle without them.” The paladin dismounted and stooped to pick up the equipment. “I had gotten used to seeing you without them.”

    In front of the throne, where I had left my dear father so long ago telling me – begging me – to escape to Frelia, Orson sat astride his horse.

    “Orson!” I called to him. I had not seen him since he led us into Renvall. Somehow, he had escaped before we did back then. “Why did you betray us?” I already knew, of course, but I wanted to hear what he had to say.

    “Princess Eirika,” he greeted me listlessly. “If anyone could understand how I feel, it might be you. For the one I love… I betrayed everything… My king… Everything…” He caught sight of the knight behind me. “Seth. …So you’ve come, have you?”

    “Sir Orson,” replied Seth, riding forward to challenge him.

    “You’re an impressive knight, Seth. Always dutiful, ready to sacrifice even your life for king and country… Without even a moment’s pause… I – could not do that. It’s an unrewarding life… For Monica, I left it.”

    “That life you speak of,” Seth said with some emotion, “it is my charge. My duty. It is my hope. Sir Orson… I do not wish to fight you, but… prepare yourself.”

    Again, again Seth was battling with sword against lance! Why had he not taken the horseslayer at the least? Oh, he had given it to Franz. What was that he was holding, then? A Zanbato? I breathed easier.

    Orson kept switching weapons, between spear and silver sword. Seth decided, to my relief, that the Zanbato was not working as well as he had hoped and took up his silver lance. The battle of paladins was brutal. I was shuddering in fear as the horses, Altha and Ron, circled each other, their riders stabbing and swiping at each other. Saleh hovered nearby with a staff, but Seth specifically asked not to be helped unless he was defeated. Orson was still a knight, and he would fight him as such.

    Tana landed beside me and gave me a hug of encouragement. Orson, at that moment, fell off his horse, and I flinched. Seth also dismounted, and Forde hurried to take Altha’s reins. On foot now, with swords, Orson’s silver against Seth’s steel. A hero-class snuck up on me and Tana and I both stabbed him with swords. I guessed I had to watch my back also.

    Somehow, Orson ran himself on the point of Seth’s sword. From the way the Silver Knight jerked away, it was clear that that had been unintentional.

    We all froze.

    “Monica…” sighed the dying man, with a smile on his face. It was eerie.

    After a moment, Seth turned to Ephraim and me and bowed, showing no sign of his weariness or pain. It wouldn’t be physical pain to bother him; Saleh had already used his staff. “Prince Ephraim, Princess Eirika, the castle has been secured.”

    “Let’s see what Orson was doing in my father’s bedroom,” Ephraim said.

    As we entered the uncleaned room, a strange smell met my nose. It smelled almost like… revenants?

    A woman with greenish-grey skin and dark hair that had lost all of its healthy, shimmering lustre ran in eagerly, but stopped at the sight of us. “Darling…”

    “What?!” the three of us exclaimed at once – we all recognized Monica, supposed to have been in her grave for six months.

    “…That’s… horrible…” Ephraim gasped.

    “Darling. Darling. Darling… darling… darling… darling…” chanted Monica’s corpse, monotonously. Her face still showed some emotion – it was disappointment now. Her voice was had been so gay when she was alive. It was still light and pretty, but it was somehow flat.

    “So this is what he was doing,” said Seth.

    “Eirika, you don’t have to look anymore,” Ephraim said, guiding me out of the room – which I was vastly willing to leave, accompanied by a repetition of “Darling… darling… darling…” And it was poor Monica’s birthday, too! She was dressed in forest green satin, bejeweled the way she had been before… I leaned against the wall.

    My brother and fiancé came out after a moment. They, too, looked rather ill. Ephraim shook himself. “Let’s go find that Sacred Stone.”

    Seth led us back to the throne room. “Your father said to me: ‘Raise the twins’ bracelets in the hall of kings. Then the hiding place of the Sacred Stone will be revealed.’”

    “So, over our heads, right?”

    “Let’s give it a try, Eirika.”

    “Ready when you are, Ephraim.”

    I lifted my left arm, and Ephraim his right. The bracelets flashed with a sudden bright light. I blinked reflexively.

    The throne of my father slowly slid to the right, revealing a dark stairway. No, not all dark…

    “Come on, Eirika,” my brother said softly. I followed him down the stairs, and Seth followed discreetly.

    We found ourselves in a small, arching room of white stone. At the back of the room was a small alcove, with a huge, red-hafted lance on one side of it and a long, gleaming golden sword on the other. But it was the thing in the alcove that fused our attention to itself. A small sphere, no larger than a clenched fist, translucent and radiating a clear, white light. Of course it was the Sacred Stone.

    Ephraim approached it reverently and picked it up. “This is what we have come to find.” The smile he turned on me was not his usual cocky grin, but a true smile of hope, of determination to see this through. I rested my hand on top of the Stone so it was secure between our grasps.

    Our bracelets flashed again. “What?” I blurted, startled. They flashed again, and again, pulsing ever quicker. I caught sight of Ephraim’s astonished green eyes before it became too bright for me to see.

    When I could see again, after a couple seconds for the purple spots to fade from my vision, I saw… I saw…

    “Aureola!” I cried. Ephraim put the Stone in a little soft satchel that looked to be of Franz’ workmanship. I threw my arms around the neck of my mare.

    “Lila!” Ephraim cried beside me, also embracing his stallion. “I thought you were dead, boy. We got separated in the swamps… but you found your way home.”

    Seth had been doing something in the back of the room, and now he came forward and knelt to us. “Here, Prince Ephraim, is the Sacred Twin Lance of Renais. Please take it.”

    “Sigmund, the Flame Lance,” Ephraim acknowledged, taking the red-hafted lance firmly.

    “And the Sacred Twin Sword of Renais, Princess Eirika.”

    “Sieglinde, the Thunder Blade. The ancient weapons of our ancestors… containing such power as… and yet we need them for peace to triumph in this dark time.”

    Innes and L’Arachel were waiting for us to emerge again in the hall. “Is that the Sacred Stone?” asked L’Arachel. “Wow! It truly is spectacular. Well, our course is, to me at least, clear. I must lead you to Rausten.”

    A corner of Innes’ mouth turned up. “Not till tomorrow, I hope.”

    “Naturally.”

    “Thank you, L’Arachel,” I said gratefully. With two stones, we would surely defeat Lyon’s Dark Stone.

    I was hunched in a corner of the throne room, thinking about the day’s events, when Tana found me. “Come on,” I croaked to her. “Let’s go and see what my room looks like. I don’t like the way Father’s is…”

    “What’s the matter?”

    “Oh… Monica’s corpse had been brought back to life. That’s why Orson betrayed us.” I hurried along with my friend, up the familiar stairs. They were bereft of their familiar warm red carpet, though.

    My room was cold and cheerless. A freezing draft blew through the window. I shivered and took some wood from the destroyed door to my study and tried to block the holes. It helped some. Tana pushed furniture around and tried to make my torn bedclothes neat on my battered bed. I put the rest of the wood in the fireplace and tried to light it with the matches still miraculously on the mantle.

    No luck.

    I put my head out of the door. “Ewan!” The boy from Jehanna stopped.

    “Yes, Princess?”

    I smiled at his use of the title. It sounded funny, spoken in his casual, chirpy way. “I need you to light a quick fire. In here.”

    With the fire going and a bucket of water warming, and two sponges nearby for the dirty floor, I talked animatedly with Tana, recovering some of my normal cheer. When we finished with the floor, I felt much better.

    “Now, all we need are two beds and sheets for same, and we’ll be set for tonight, at least…” said the pegasus princess.

    “No, we can use our sleeping bags,” I said. “I’ll go and get them.” That night was actually quite comfortable.

 

Chapter 16: Scorched Sand     Chapter 18: River of Regrets

Chapter 15: Queen of White Dunes     Chapter 17: Ruled by Madness

 

Chapter 16: Scorched Sand

    I stood at the edge of the ring of palm trees, watching the closer group of enemy soldiers as they watched us. Seth stood behind me. I was grateful the the red-haired paladin for his silent assistance and moral support, not to mention his…

    “Princess Eirika?” I groggily heard him say, as if at a distance. I stared through him.

    “Princess Eirika!” he cried sharply, shaking my shoulder almost roughly.

    I came out of my reverie, shaking my head to focus my thoughts. “Oh… Seth?”

    “Yes, it’s me,” he continued, still hurried and anxious. “Please, you must rest. If you continue like this, you’ll collapse in the heat…”

    “No… it’s all right. We’re all suffering…” Even with the water of the oasis, Neimi had already fainted three times and was now resting in Danny’s cart. I told her not to fight in this battle. “We’re still completely surrounded by Grado’s armies… We may all die at any moment…” Finished reciting the army’s tale of woes, I turned to Seth. “I can’t lose focus now. Has anything changed?”

    “Unfortunately, no. Our allies elsewhere meet defeat after defeat. Rausten’s knights, in particular, are scattered and worn. The enemy is closing in on them.” He prodded a booted toe at the desert floor. “And this accursed sand…” I guessed that if Seth hated anything, it was sand. “It’s slowing down all of our units; they can’t get good footing. Mounted units, especially. Princess Eirika… I must ask once again that you retreat to safety. We’ll hold the foe here with flying units and magic users.”

    “No,” I said adamantly. “I will not retreat. If I give up now, my brother would never forgive me. I’m the princess of Renais.” I straightened to my full height, looking out at the Grado army. “I will fight, to victory, or to death.”

    “This is why I love you,” Seth whispered almost silently. I pressed his hand gratefully, but my mind was on a different track already. Death. I nearly blanched. If the Grado army was here, if two of Grado’s generals were here, what could that mean but that my dear brother – Ephraim…

    I collected myself. My brother was too clever for them. He was alive. He had to be.

    Innes began ordering our forces towards the closer enemy group, the one led by the hero. Prince Joshua let out a wild war-cry and charged through the myrmidons and axe fighters and mages to the leader, assisted by Innes, Cormag, Tana, Seth, Artur, Lute and I – Saleh, Colm, and Gerik’s Mercenaries were on the other side of the palace, dealing with a few stray scouts. Natasha followed the swordmaster as fast as she could run, hindered as she was by her shining white robe, over the sandy dunes.

    When all the enemies were dead, Joshua sauntered up to the hero, who was relaxing in the shade of a large monument. “Caellach.”

    The hero spread his arms in friendly fashion. “Well, if it isn’t Joshua. How are you?”

    “I’ve been all right,” replied the red-head, leaning on Audhulma. “Still working as a mercenary. Hey, when did you get all respectable and join the Grado army?”

    “Didn’t I tell you? I didn’t want to waste away as a nameless soldier. Still, I think about the days we worked together a lot, lately. Your sword and my axe… we were a deadly pair, eh?”

    Joshua nodded slowly.

    “By the way,” continued Caellach accusingly, “I know all about you. Who you really are, I mean. Prince of Jehanna, huh? When did you plan on sharing the wealth, you lucky dog?”

    Joshua straightened abruptly. “Listen, buddy, you can’t just reduce a nation to loot waiting to be divided. More importantly, I made a vow to my mother. I’m going to continue like she did, succeed her as ruler of my homeland. Oh, by the way, Caellach… you’re the one who killed my mother, aren’t you?” A strange glint had appeared in his eye.

    Caellach stretched out his hands. “Yeah, sorry ’bout that. These things happen, you know? It’s war!” Joshua pulled the tip of his sword from the sand. “Besides, grudges get in the way of work, huh?”

    “Yeah…” Joshua agreed in a low voice, advancing slowly on the Tiger Eye general. “That’s true. Listen, Caellach, I’ve got to kill you now. Don’t hold it against me.” His tone was still amiable, but there was nothing amiable about the way his sword flashed in the sun as he darted forward.

    “You arrogant-” Caellach choked. “You haven’t changed at bit! I’ve always wanted to show you who’s stronger, Joshua. I’ll wipe that smug look of your face for good!” His huge axe swung through the air, thudding into the ground almost on Joshua’s toes. Natasha screamed.

    “Oh, got yourself a girl, too, I see.” Caellach smirked, dropping the axe and ducking away, grabbing another axe from his back. “A real cute one at that! Hey, that’s the priestess girl who ran away from Grado!”

    Joshua made no answer, leaping lightly over the axehead, Audhulma glowing with a strange light. He grabbed Caellach’s collar with his left hand.

    I could see nothing more, for a large cloud of dust obscured both combatants for a few moments. When it settled, the red-haired prince stood above the prostrate form of the dead General Tiger Eye, holding some small talisman that seemingly, had belonged to Caellach but protected Joshua instead..

    Natasha ran to him and flung herself into his arms.

    I began to trek south towards a distant, intact village. We had to defeat Valter here too, I knew, and when we reached the village he would be directly to the east, but there was a plain of brown grass that would be much better for our cavalry to ride over. There were only two ways down off of the plateau the palace and oasis were perched on.

    As I plodded towards the top of a hill, someone with jade green hair and a dark cloak ran up the other side, knocking me over. “Eirika!” he exclaimed.

    I gasped and tried to untangle myself from under my brother. “Ephraim? Oh, Ephraim, is it really you?” My efforts were unsuccessful, as he sat up and hugged me to him gladly, stroking my face, then giving me a kiss on the cheek. He was quite carried away. “You’re not just some mirage, are you?” Of course, the way he was squeezing me ought to have told me he was not.

    “No, it’s really me,” he said, grinning at my astonishment. “Hold.” He stood abruptly. “Enemies approach.” He ran back down the gentle side of the dune, twirling his lance Reginleif, to where several cavaliers were closing around a Great Knight and a shaman.

    “Ephraim… even when we were little, you were always near to protect me…”

    On the back of the great knight’s horse…

    “Lady Myrrh!” Saleh’s clear voice rang out. The dragon-girl hopped off the horse and flew to him quickly, apologizing softly all the way. The young man smiled – for once – and restated his determination to serve her as long as her mission should last.

    An enemy paladin and his cohort challenged our passage to the firm ground south of the village, but strengthened as we were by Ephraim and his two allies – General Duessel the Obsidian, no less, and a man named Knoll – we put them down rather easily.

    We had fought our way over to another, destroyed and burning mud-brick village, and there were no Gradonians left, but there was no sign of Valter. I was suspicious. Saying nothing even to Ephraim or Seth, I set out to find him. I must have been mad with heat-stroke.

    I walked quickly and silently through the ruined village, checking each doorway for hidden, left-over enemies. I heard a whoosh, and whirled.

    A wyvern wing knocked me to the ground. I scrambled up in a flash, my rapier pointed at Valter. He dismounted, his lance directed at my heart.

    “Ah, the beautiful Princess of Renais. We meet again. How strong you are, to overcome all the hardships you’ve faced! Yes, very, very strong. I like you.” I didn’t like the way he said that. I backed away slightly, and then lunged fast. We settled into a more formal duel.

    I pricked him in the shoulder, and he seized my hand, twisting the wrist so I had to drop my rapier. I cried out and tried to wrench myself free. I kicked him in the shin and he flung me to the ground. His lance tip rested on my stomach.

    “You are strong and beautiful – the prey I’ve always dreamt of,” hissed Valter gleefully. I twisted aside, his lance slicing through the flesh on my thigh, and stood, glancing at my sword. He saw my look, picked it up, and bent the flexible metal out of shape with brute strength.

    I was afraid. I was terrified. I was alone, and Valter and his wyvern blocked my only escape route. He began to walk toward me, and as he came closer, I could feel an evil desire radiating off of him. I tried to run, but he anticipated me.

    “You are mine,” he whispered, backing me into a wall.

    I began to shriek. “NO! I WON’T! NO! N-” My last word was broken off as he kissed me. I tried to push him away, but terror made me weak.

    “EIRIKA!” screamed my brother. Oh, dear Ephraim, dear Seth, they had come. Valter hurled me down again, cursing, and vaulted onto his wyvern. Ephraim had a terrible look of rage on his face, and poor Seth looked almost as frightened as I did.

    Valter began to laugh. His laugh was insane, demented, nasal. “Three of my worst enemies in one place! Excellent! I can finish what I started! Yes, you, paladin of Renais, whom I failed to slay the day your pitiful castle fell, and the weak fool who refused to surrender!”

    “VALTER!” howled another voice. Wyvern wings covered the sun, and Valter looked up, uncertainty passing over his face.

    Cormag swooped in. “You killed my brother! Admit it!”

    “I do,” sneered the Wyvern Master snidely.

    “DIE!”

    A flicker of fear crossed Valter’s face, and he flew up. Cormag dropped in on his tail, chasing him relentlessly across the desert. Ephraim put his arms around me and held me close, comforting me. I leaned into him, quivering. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Ephraim… I’m so sorry…”

    High above, Valter faced Cormag, but he didn’t stand a chance. Cormag’s Dragonlance plunged through the Wyvern Master’s chest and into his wyvern. The whole dead mass crashed down into a building beside us.

    I happened to lock eyes with Seth and we traded mutual looks of relief, comfort, and love.

    “Brother…” I began again as we walked out of the village.

    He gave me a glowing smile. “I’m just glad I came in time.”

    I returned the smile tearfully. I was overwrought, I guessed. “Oh, Ephraim, I’ve missed you so.”

    “And I’ve missed you. I can’t tell you how happy I am, really, Eirika.” He signalled General Duessel. “Hey, I have something to add to your huge supply of weapons.”

    “How do you know how full our supply cart is?” I asked, regaining control of myself.

    “Oh, I had a look when I accidentally stumbled across a Swiftsole that I had no place to carry. Anyway, here’s Gleipnir, the Dark Tome of the Sacred Twins of Grado, and Garm, the Black Axe of same. I gave them to Duessel to carry because he could and I couldn’t.”

    “Does that mean that Grado Keep has fallen?” I asked.

    “Yes,” replied my brother. “I conquered the capital and defeated Emperor Vigarde…”

    “Eirika,” called L’Arachel, “may I make a suggestion? Why don’t we get into one of those out-fortresses and trade information? And then, we can stay the night there. I don’t think Prince Joshua would mind, would you?”

    Joshua shrugged carelessly, tossing his coin listlessly.

    We, princes and princesses and high-ranking knights and Myrrh and Saleh, all gathered in a small room in the fortress. Ephraim introduced himself quite well, considering his boredom with all things formal, and L’Arachel introduced herself to him in return. My brother gave us a short summary of his mission, finishing with: “Pockets of resistance still remain in the country of Grado in general, but the war itself is over.”

    “Is that so!” commented Innes wryly from his seat, tilted back thoughtfully against the wall.

    “However, something remains that is bothering me. A Grado man named Knoll – the one that Lute person is chasing up and down all the corridors – told me about something called a ‘Dark Stone’. Apparently, Grado researchers and magic users uncovered lore that led them to construct a powerful magic stone. This Dark Stone may have been the catalyst of Grado’s transformation. Also, it seems to be the source of the dark wave Myrrh felt, that led her to leave her home to look into it. Vigarde is now dead, but the power played him like a puppet. He had no control of his own will. The war and everything was planned by the Dark Stone’s master.”

    “Well?” Innes asked impatiently. “Who is it?”

    Ephraim gave me a glance. “I still can’t believe it myself, but I’ll tell you. It’s supposed to be Lyon. They said Lyon’s got the Dark Stone.”

    “Figures it’s Prince Lyon,” Innes muttered.

    “That doesn’t make any sense,” I objected in a small voice. “We know Lyon better than that. We’ve been friends for years. Lyon is not the sort of person who could start a war.”

    Once again, Innes spoke. “But Eirika…” He trailed off as I said something to back up my claim.

    “I saw Lyon recently – just today. You might know this already, Ephraim, but the sea route didn’t work out so I travelled overland with Prince Innes to here. I chanced upon Lyon. He didn’t share the details of his situation with me, but he said he was on our side. That he was still our friend.”

    Ephraim sighed heavily. “Eirika, I too saw Lyon. In the Imperial capital. He was like a completely different person.”

    “What?” I exclaimed.

    “My whole impression… well, he didn’t even seem to be completely human.”

    “What!?” exclaimed more people than one.

    “Ephraim… What are you saying?” I whispered.

    “He said he was behind this war, directly to me,” Ephraim plowed on relentlessly, almost, I thought, hysterically. “He said he befriended us solely so that one day he could invade Renais. He told me he killed… he killed our father…”

    “That… That can’t…” I tried to say something, anything, to deny it. “Lyon is our friend!” I grabbed his hands and let go again, distraught and hysteric myself. This was the closest we’d gotten to a fight in a long time.

    My brother nodded glumly, his most drastic news imparted. “I know. I can’t believe it either. I refuse to believe it.” He hammered his fist on a table. “How could he have planned all this since he was a child – it just doesn’t make sense. I can’t fathom it.”

    After a pause, he began again. This twin of mine was full of words today. “I’ve heard that Lyon changed when he acquired the Dark Stone. I’ve no interest in magic, but there was definitely something uncanny about him. It seemed… it seemed almost as if he was being controlled himself.”

    “You might find this hard to accept, but – really – the state of Prince Lyon’s heart matters little.” Innes spoke gravely. “That rock is the source of all these troubles. We need to stop him, and it.”

    “Not exactly,” said L’Arachel, a look on her face that suggested she had a complete plan all ready to go in her head. I asked her to explain. “Well, Prince Ephraim, you must have felt it… The Dark Stone exudes a malefic miasma. We might be able to handle Prince Lyon by ourselves, but that stone,” shaking her head wisely, “is beyond our ken.”

    “Then what do you suggest?”

    “The Sacred Stones.”

    “The Sacred Stones?” asked several people.

    “Oh, come on!” L’Arachel exclaimed, exasperated with our obtuseness. “We’ve all heard the legend. They alone possessed the power to seal away the Demon King. So, of course, to counter this dark magic, we must use the Sacred Stones!”

    Innes snorted. “You want us to pin the hopes, the outcome of this entire war on some fool legend?”

    Tana opened her mouth.

    “Not just the legend,” Ephraim was quick to counter. “We also have hope. Three of the stones have been destroyed, so our choices are few. But we can still do it.”

    “That explains something even more clearly,” I added. “The Grado army has chased me solely, I see now, for the purpose of destroying the Stone of Renais. If they chose to invade Renais because of that… The power of the Sacred Stones may be greater than we’d ever known.”

    “Yes, exactly!” agreed L’Arachel excitedly.

    “But we’re down three out of five,” Innes objected. “And do you think that during the invasion of Renais…”

    “No. The stone is hidden, and only Eirika’s and my bracelets can unlock it. I doubt the enemy will have been able to get to it, where ever it is,” Ephraim stated. “We need to verify that, of course… We’ve defeated Grado. Eirika, it’s time to go home for a bit.”

    It was still only early evening – the sun had not yet set – and we removed into Jehanna Hall, which had stopped smoking. The rest of Ephraim’s Frelian army had finally arrived and was reporting to Prince Innes. I wandered, as I had a knack to, into the palace garden. The library and the garden: those were my two favorite places to be in castles.

    There Seth found me, and we rushed to each other. Wearing no armour, we had rather a more comfortable embrace than in the morning.

    “I was so foolish, entering the village alone…”

    “That is all past. Please, Eirika, don’t pain yourself thinking about what might have been.”

    “I was terrified. I was so happy to see you and Ephraim.”

    “Your brother was the first to notice, and Neimi showed us the way. I was terribly afraid, also…” With a start, I realized that he was young. Five years older than I, yes, but twenty-two was extremely young for the Commander of Renais, and though mature and wise beyond his years, he was still entitled to a young man’s heart and feelings.

    Locking eyes with me, he tightened his arms until I protested, then dropped his beautiful brown gaze. Before I could react, he knelt at my feet, his fingers stroking my arms as he took my hands in his. “I must make this certain. Princess Eirika, if the world does not protest, will you marry me?” The deepest blush appeared on both our faces.

    My heart was flip-flopping again. “Dear Seth, it would be an honour and my greatest pleasure.” My voice trembled. He carefully slipped on a ring, then stood again and kissed me tenderly.

    “The ring is from my mother – I though you might like it.”

    “I do, oh, I do.” It was a simple thin circlet of gold with a single white pearl set in it.

    “I love you with all my heart, dearest Eirika… my princess… I will die for you. You know that.”

    “What I don’t like is that I am not allowed to show you that I would die for you. I love you so much… Did I tell you yet that Prince Innes proposed to me earlier today?”

    Seth’s eyebrow twitched. “Did he really?”

    “Yes. I felt bad for him, but…” I buried my face in his shoulder, inhaling the scents that were infused in his shirt – horses, sweat, metal. We sat on a bench.

    “Today was grueling. I hope we don’t have too many more days with multiple battles.”

    “I do too. When should I tell my brother?”

    Seth smiled. I loved his smile – it was so warm, so rare to see. “Well, he’s just behind that bush, trying not to see us…” I jumped up in consternation.

    Ephraim came striding out from behind a large rosebush, smiling himself. “Well, Seth, you’re a very lucky man.”

    “I know, sir. Thank you, sir.”

    “Um… Ephraim…”

    “Hey, sister, it’s perfectly fine! Seth is the best man in Renais. You deserve each other,” my brother insisted. Seth and I looked at each other – I hadn’t expected my twin to be so overwhelmingly approving.

    “So, I’ll just leave you again… I’ve been chatting with Kyle and Forde. Thanks so much for the loan of the soldiers you sent me, by the way.”

    “Please, Ephraim, don’t tell anyone just yet…”

    “I understand.” He touched my face fondly. “I think you’ll be happy together.”

 

Chapter 15: Queen of White Dunes     Chapter 17: Ruled by Madness

Chapter 14: Hamill Canyon     Chapter 16: Scorched Sand

 

Chapter 15: Queen of White Dunes

    We hurried over the dunes. The great brown stone ziggurat that was Jehanna Hall drew closer steadily, though seemingly infinitesimally. The soft sand squished under our feet and the horses’ hooves. Seth and the other knights had dismounted as it was actually faster to go on foot over or around the great dunes. It was hot.

    “This isn’t the hottest it gets sometimes,” Ewan said cheerfully. “Sometimes it’s even hotter. Good job we have lots of water.” We did. Besides the water in Danny’s cart, Cormag had generously taken several large waterskins onto Genarog, who carried them without trouble, the rider only warning that someone better take them off if fighting came about.

    We paused for only a moment to rest at one of the springs in the oasis surrounding the palace. I was slightly ahead of the other royals, wanting to get inside and find out the worst. Seth moved over to me, looking through the desert palms to the great double doors, and I glanced up at his handsome face.

    He returned my gaze, brown eyes meeting blue. “Please, do not overexert yourself, Princess. I cannot have you fainting away in the midst of battle.” His hand brushed mine, as if by accident, but I caught a faint pulse of colour in his face and felt an answering rush in mine.

    I smiled. “I will not faint. And I will be careful.”

    My thoughts turned to Lyon. He was such a gentle person… The most I could ever persuade him to do was to practice fencing with me, and I always won. He believed he was weak, pathetic, and unwanted, but I always assured him his compassion would, someday, save us all.

    Seth noticed my quiet, looking down at me in concern, and though he apparently had news, hesitated to speak.

    “My lady? Is there something wrong?”

    “It’s nothing…”

    “I’ve had word.” From where, I did not ask. I wasn’t supposed to. “Jehanna Hall is crawling with enemy soldiers. Of the queen, there is no word.”

    Innes heard us and stepped in. “And Crown Prince Lyon is commanding the troops? I’ve heard that the prince is a student of dark magic. Approaching him will not be easy. I’ve also heard that he dislikes violence. However, it could all have been a ruse.”

    I paled. I knew Lyon better than that.

    “What is there to give us pause?” L’Arachel asked, watching my face anxiously. “Let us charge in and retake the palace by strength of arms!”

    Innes stated the obvious: “We must rescue the queen, regardless of the cost.”

    I nodded. Lyon might not even be in there. “I agree. Let’s go!”

    As we had all been refreshed, our army rushed through the outer gate into the castle. Inside, there was a small, sandy courtyard where we quickly marshelled our forces.

    “Seth and I will go that way,” I said, pointing to a side door.

    “But…” protested several people: Seth, Innes, Tana, L’Arachel.

    “We’ll be all right,” I said, dragging Altha off to the door. I could hear Innes barking orders to the others already.

    I took a second for our eyes to adjust to the unblinding light of the indoors. An armour knight materialized, followed by five magic users. I ducked.

    “I wanted some time alone with you,” I said, my rapier seeking a gap in the knight’s armour. Seth didn’t answer for a moment, and then we were both engulfed in a firestorm of magic.

    “Princess – I mean, Eirika,” Seth answered after we both emerged, pretty much unscathed; he had broken his lance on two shamans and had his sword out; “do you think this appropriate? This is a battle.”

    ”No time is truly appropriate, I think, but this is better than much else. I have faith in our fighting skill, and it will be like old times – I mean, at the start of our journey.” I blushed some more, as we wandered deeper into the heart of the palace, thinking of that moonlit ride to Frelia in his arms.

    “Although, Eirika, we will probably only be minutes away from the others. You know that.”

    In a small square room, three more armour knights awaited us. Seth grabbed his spare lance. I leapt lightly aside of one questing spear and stabbed the knight. Altha’s hooves and Seth’s powerful thrust finished another. I wondered how much his wound was protesting. I decapitated the last knight.

    There was a closed door into another room. I laid my head on the door. I could hear two mercenary class soldiers and an axeman arguing.

    “There are three enemies in there,” I told Seth softly, detailing their weapons to him. “Maybe we should wait for a moment and surprise them?”

    Seth smiled, dismounting from Altha. “I think that is acceptable.” He took my waist in his strong hands and pulled me close for a kiss. Our armour clanked together as I wrapped my arms around him. How I loved this man…

    “How is your wound doing?” I asked when he released me.

    His eyebrow quirked in surprise. “It’s fine. Why ask now?”

    I shrugged, smiling embarrassedly. “I remembered it, that is all.”

    Seth smiled back so beautifully…

    I pulled away and went to the door.

    I flung it open and Seth charged in. His sword hit the axe fighter and a mercenary, and I took down the other mercenary.

    “Hey! Princess!” yelled young Ewan. “Watch out for these archers!” I heard a thunderbolt in the room next to me. A corridor stretched from our room to the foyer of the courtyard, and the others were crammed into it. Cormag’s wyvern yowled, clearly ill at ease in the confined space. Innes leapt out of my sight through another door, his silver bow twanging.

    “Got that archer, Tana!” his baritone called back to us. “You can come forward now!” Then, he turned back to Joshua and continued to flip coins as they ran together. From what I saw, Innes was constantly losing, and from their behaviour, they were the exact same age. I smiled to myself. An unlikely friendship.

    All was confusion, not least of which was L’Arachel rounding a corner and running straight into Rennac. The most I heard of it was Rennac shouting petulantly: “NO! I said I don’t want to!” But L’Arachel was already riding away, and he had no choice but to follow, grumbling under his breath.

    We fought to the throne room. Somehow, only Innes and I entered. The rest were elsewhere; Seth was arguing with Sir Garcia and Kyle on some military subject that seemed far too technical for me. Kyle was, at the same time, reprimanding Forde’s habit of painting during a battle. I believed Rennac and Colm were ransacking, judging from Neimi’s gentle protests…

    The only one in the throne room was a swordmaster. The two of us sprang aside. Innes notched an arrow, but his leap and subsequent ungraceful tumble to the floor made his aim off. The man advanced on the prince, his sword glowing with wind magic. A bloody scratch appeared on Innes’s cheek, and I threw myself at the swordmaster, forcing his aim off as well. Somehow, I managed to get away from him without being hit by the Wind Sword. I was tiring quickly. Innes came up on one knee and fired.

    This arrow hit the swordmaster in the stomach. Somehow, he stayed upright, muttering to himself about – about Ismaire! Everything came to me in a rush. The poor man had betrayed his entire country because he loved his queen. While that made no sense logically, I could dimly feel what he must be thinking.

    Joshua, a swordmaster from Jehanna himself, dashed into the room. “Carlyle!” he cried with a voice of anguish. “Why did you betray us?”

    “Joshua… Why did you come back?” murmured the traitor.

    “You who taught me first how to hold a sword…” the red-haired man stuttered bleakly, and then rushed out of the room as fast as he had come in.

    Innes fired again and the swordmaster toppled to the ground. I gasped, but had no time to rationalize or mourn, or do any of those things that the Princess of Renais ought to do, because Innes, the Prince of Frelia -  really rather resplendant in sky blue silk, with gold edging the hems and his darker blue leather quiver straps, grey hair, his white pants and blue boots – seized my hands, his gleaming deepset grey eyes fixed on mine.

    “Eirika, I must tell you, I quite love you.”

    I pulled away in confusion at this abrupt proposal. “Prince Innes! … This is no time for jokes…”

    “This is not a joke. I’m quite serious, and just as surprised as you. Fighting at your side… I love you. I could not bear to see you in the arms of another.”

    “I – I’m sorry, Innes… I – I love someone else-” I stopped, feeling dizzy. Innes, though, would not take no for an answer.

    “But you could love me,” he persisted, trying to embrace me.

    “No! Oh, I’m terribly sorry, Innes-” and I dropped away into a dead faint.

    When I came to a couple of seconds later, L’Arachel was dripping water on my face. I sat up slowly. “Are you all right, Eirika?” she asked solicitously.

    “I’m fine…” I answered, my eyes wandering to Innes. He was acting like nothing had happened, but I could tell he was angry inside. I pitied him.

    “The queen was supposed to be here, but she isn’t. And there’s no sign of the Sacred Stone, either,” he said gruffly.

    Young Ross came running as fast as his heavy new axe would let him. “Prince, Princesses! The queen has been found!” L’Arachel helped me up, and Innes gave me one last disappointed look before vanishing down the hallway after the boy. L’Arachel followed.

    I began to move after them, but a warp appeared and a robed youth with long hair materialized.

    “L-L-L-Lyon!” I stammered. He gave a sharp cry and turned to escape down the hallway in the other direction.

    “Wait!” I cried. “Lyon, don’t run away! My brother and I, we’ve been so worried about you.” I grasped his hands tightly. “Please, Lyon, tell me: your father is deranged, isn’t he? That’s why he ordered the invasion of Renais, isn’t it?”

    “I’m sorry, Eirika…” he said in his soft voice. “I – I can’t talk about that just yet…”

    “You have your reasons, don’t you.” He nodded his lavender head. “Well, I can’t tell you how relieved I am about you,” said I. “I was a little afraid you’d gone like your poor father… I’m glad you haven’t changed.”

    “Me too,” said Lyon, smiling a little. “But – no, Eirika, you have changed. You’re… even more beautiful than you were…”

    I blushed. “Lyon…”

    He recovered himself. “I’m sorry, Eirika,” he said again. “Truly sorry about the invasion of Renais and the death of your good father… This war came about because I was too weak to stop it, but please, please remember… I’ll always be your friend.”

    “I know…” He dropped my hands and warped away hastily, just in time as L’Arachel came back to find what was taking me so long.

    “Come on, Eirika! It’s not like you to be tardy!”

    “I’m coming!” I replied, hurrying after her.

    In the castle chapel, Queen Ismaire was lying sprawled in a pool of her own blood, which was slightly darker than her crimson hair. Seth supported her head on his shoulder.

    “She will not last much longer,” the Silver Knight was saying to Innes, apparently in response to a question.

    The queen’s eyes flickered. “Jo- Joshua…” Natasha, who had just entered, flitted out again. “Joshua… Oh, where is that boy?”

    As if on cue, the Jehannian swordsman ran in, panting heavily, followed by the reappearence of Natasha. Joshua knelt by Ismaire, who continued talking obliviously. “Forgive me, Joshua… I tried to be queen so hard I left no time to be your mother… Forgive your foolish mother…”

    “No, Mother, forgive me!” cried the prince, taking her hands in his big, rough ones. “I wanted to be worthy… I wanted to see the world as a man, not a prince… If I had been here, perhaps…”

    “Oh, Joshua, it really is you… No, that is all past.” The queen took a deep breath. “Th-the Sacred Stone… has been destroyed. The one… who tempted Carlyle is responsible. Also… under the altar, what I have guarded since your father died… They should now be yours. Joshua… my darling son…” Her eyes closed.

    Innes brought the items, the Sacred Twins of Jehanna, and held them out silently to the prince. The man was lost to all else; grief racked his body as he took his lovely mother from Seth and cradled her.

    Later, L’Arachel, Innes, Tana, Seth, and I met Joshua in the hall just outside of the throne room, buckling on Audhulma the Ice Blade. Excalibur the Wind Tome was tucked in his belt, waiting for someone suitable to give it to. The gambling prince was red-eyed.

    “I’m not going to give up,” he said firmly. “So long ago… I wrote a farewell and left the palace, taking nothing with me. I wanted to learn about our people up close. I- Was I simply rebelling against my mother? Punishing her for doing her duty?” He nearly shouted in anguish. “Gods! What a child I was!”

    We were all silent. “I did learn about our people. I learnt their hearts, how they need to be governed… But I have lost much more – Mother…”

    Innes cleared his throat. “On behalf of my father, the King of Frelia, I travelled here bearing a message for the ruler of Jehanna. I give it to you,” and he matched action to words, pulling the letter from his belt pouch. Joshua glanced at it, and then pocketed it.

    “I will continue as my mother did,” he said. “I know what changes I need to make, what reforms to institute… I will be worthy, worthy of succeeding my mother’s rule, and before that my father’s…”

    A soldier came marching swiftly up to the King of Jehanna. “Sire! Sire! Fires have broken out all through the hall!”

    “What!?” exclaimed Joshua, a new trouble adding itself to the ones already thrust so suddenly upon his shoulders.

    “Someone soaked the wall hangings in oil and set fire to them! It’s a deathtrap!”

    “We must get out!” cried Innes. Seth was murmuring the same thing to me as flames appeared in the corridor the soldier had hastened from. Smoke curled around us. I nodded and mounted behind L’Arachel, pushing Joshua at Seth, as propriety dictated.

    “Mother… no… I will return…” Joshua cried. Innes mounted Dancla behind Tana.

    We alerted the others in the army and we all fled with the best of speed out of the gate and into the oasis.

    “Is everyone safe?” I asked, sliding off of L’Arachel’s horse. Franz approached Seth, and they both came towards me. Franz saluted me smartly.

    “It’s hard to tell at first, Princess, but all of us got out safely and unburnt,” he reported.

    “What a cowardly act, setting fire to the hall,” L’Arachel sniffed.

    “That was a strange thing. Why would they force us into the desert?” asked Tana. Her brother stiffened.

    “Ready the troops,” Innes commanded. “The enemy is coming. An ambush. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

    “Yes, I’ve been notified that two of Grado’s generals are heading this way,” Seth said urgently.

    “What? Two generals? Bah…” Innes growled. “What could be happening in their capital? What about Ephraim?” I gave a silent prayer for my brother.

    “And we cannot dig in for a seige with the Hall burning,” Seth muttered. “Princesses, you should leave now for safety.”

    “What?” exclaimed L’Arachel and Tana. I did not cry out, but stared at him with equal surprise and, dare I say it, indignation.

    “Seth,” I said, “there is no where for us to go, not to mention the fact that we none of us will leave our friends in danger…” I wondered what was going on in his mind as I told him that.

    The General of Renais pulled me aside slightly. “Princess Eirika, it’s going to be very difficult for us to continue. One of Grado’s generals alone is more than a match for us-”

    Enemy troops appeared over the dunes in two directions. One group, to the north, led from the back by a hero-class man. The other…

    To the southeast, a very familiar-coloured, lilac wyvern swooped on a village. I could not see his troops, but the sight told me all I needed to know. I had seen that wyvern so often in nightmares since we fled from Castle Renais… I grasped Seth’s arm with a trembling hand. “It’s him…”

 

Chapter 14: Hamill Canyon     Chapter 16: Scorched Sand

Chapter 13: Village of Silence     Chapter 15: Queen of White Dunes

 

Chapter 14: Hamill Canyon

    Today, we were descending through a dry canyon as we ascended previously through a wet one. Saleh led us swiftly and surely down the way, choosing always the smoothest paths for the horses. Below us was a green haze, and beyond that was a blinding golden plain: the desert of Jehanna. Innes, with his archer’s eyes, could pick out the palace, no more than a distant speck.

    Soon, we passed higher cliffs and could not see our destination any more. We took two days on that downwards road, seeing no other moving things than birds and gophers and the occasional squirrel.

    As we found ourselves in a broad valley with worn brown mountains on either side of us, here called Hamill Canyon, Tana pointed at something small, white, and fast behind us.

    “Look!” she said. “There’s Julia again!” A Frelian messenger on a pegasus dropped out of the air skilfully beside us.

    “What is your news?” Innes asked, interrupting the rider’s raptures at finding her prince and princess alive and well.

    “Frelia has invaded Carcino and engaged the traitor Pablo’s mercenary army. With aid from Elder Klimt, we are crushing the foe where we find them. Pablo’s faction is retreating southward, toward Jehanna,” the girl said in one long breath. Tana giggled. Innes frowned at her as he considered his reply.

    “Towards Jehanna? They must be planning to join the Grado forces there.”

    “Pardon me,” I broke in, “but I must know… is there any word of my brother?”

    “Yes. Prince Ephraim has forced the surrender of Grado’s fortress at Rigwald. He is now marching toward the imperial capital.”

    I thanked her and withdrew a few paces.

    “That fool…” Innes remarked to me. “Emperor Vigarde himself and his imperial guard are in the capital. It’s too strong a force, even for Ephraim.”

    “No, I have faith in my brother,” I replied. “He can do anything. I know he fights still.”

    “I think part of what you’re saying is we’re all stubborn fools, so why should Ephraim be different and give up? Still… Duessel – Ephraim never managed to best his teacher, did he? And Selena, and Caellach, and this Riev I’ve heard of, and that Glen we met a few days ago, and Valter… so many, and Ephraim’s only one, brilliant though he may be.” I looked in surprise at Innes, who was far more generous than usual. I said nothing, and Innes sent the messenger back to Frelia, beginning the organization of our next march.

    L’Arachel walked gracefully over to me. “Is it time to go already, Eirika?”

    “We’re going to break through the Grado lines Tana and Julia say are just around the bend, and then we’ll join the army of Jehanna. You should keep behind us, where it’s safe…”

    “No, I will stay with you. Confronting evil boldy is the sworn duty of any ally of justice,” said she, combining theatrical words with a plain, stated delivery, “and I cannot allow the Sacred Stone of Jehanna to fall into danger,” added the troubadour, petting her mare.

    I drew in my breath sharply. “How… how do you know of the threat to the Sacred Stones?” I gasped.

    “Hm? Oh! Oh…” L’Arachel cast around for a suitable answer. “That… uh, well… the… wind whispered to me in the night.”

    “The wind?” I asked blankly.

    In that short time, L’Arachel completely recovered her aplomb. “Yes. And, according to that gentle breeze, there are Knights of Rausten heading to meet us at this very moment. Come, Eirika, let us be on our way,” and she mounted and rode away to where Innes, Seth, Tana, and Saleh were conferring.

    “L’Arachel?” I asked cautiously of no one. “Who are you?”

    I walked over to my crimson-haired paladin, who was now looking far ahead. “There,” Seth said suddenly, pointing. I looked hard in the direction he gave, and saw a distant sparkle of sun on metal. “Soldiers. I think we have been anticipated.”

    “And Pablo, fleeing, will fall upon us from the rear,” mused Innes.

    “Princess Eirika, the enemy is arrayed before us,” Seth bowed. “What are our orders?” His gaze flickered back and forth from me to Innes.

    “All we have to do is hold out until the Knights of Rausten arrive,” L’Arachel said for the second time. “Well, Eirika, shall we meet the enemy?”

    “Indeed!” I responded, smiling.

    Barely half an hour later, the enemy had almost all fallen ahead of us, only a few more caveliers and a great knight stood between us and the Jehanna desert. Innes and Tana were bickering to the south, Innes commandeering a ballista he had found. Tana was spotting for him. Saleh and Ewan stood to the north. Behind us, to the west and a bit north, Franz and Amelia, now confidently riding her own firey stallion, guarded our backs. Artur was to my left and Seth was to my right. The others, including Danny, clustered in the centre.

    Abruptly, from behind us to the southwest, I heard a bellow.

    “You! You’re Eirika, aren’t you?”

    I turned to confront the youth on his dark grey-blue wyvern. The man had bleached yellow hair and brown eyes, with blue armour, and seemed furious at something. “Yes, I am. And you are…”

    “You don’t know me, but you know my brother well enough,” said the rider grimly. “I’m Cormag, brother to Glen, Wyvern General of the Grado army, whom you killed.”

    “What!?” I gasped.

    “This is no longer war, and this is not a battlefield. This is a duel, and I fight to avenge my brother.” His voice cracked with barely controlled anger. Seth moved up beside me, frowning at the man.

    “Wait! Glen… Do you mean to say that General Glen is dead?” I exclaimed.

    “Do not play me for a fool!” cried the blonde man desperately. “You will not…” he faltered. “I will have vengeance…”

    “You’re making a mistake!” I cried. “Your brother and I never fought. He lowered his lance and left us to confront your emperor.”

    “My brother? Truly? … You lie! Where is your proof?”

    “I’ve no proof. But… He said to me… He told me that he believed I possessed a gentle heart when we met before, some years ago…”

    Cormag stared at me. Different emotions flickered through his eyes. “Yes… those are indeed my brother’s words…” Grief spilled across his face, to be replaced by suspicion. “But then, who would profit by – Ah!”

    “What is it, Sir Cormag?”

    He shrugged that off. “Just Cormag… I’m a deserter, no rank… Princess Eirika, I would travel with you. I don’t care why you’re fighting, but I will find and slay the scum who killed my brother. If I can kill Valter with these two hands, I will be content.” He mounted his wyvern, and with a “let’s fly, Genarog,” to his wyvern, he swooped off to join Tana.

    Another shout distracted me. Pablo and his army had come around a bend in the road from Carcino, and Franz and Amelia were looking apprehensive. We rushed to their aid, leaving the Gradonians to wait for our return.

    Innes soon came face to face with Pablo while the rest of us took care of his axe-wielding mercenaries. “You again!” he snapped.

    “Heh… I’ve got more gold than you’ve ever dreamed of,” Pablo snarled.

    “Want to bet?” Innes drawled.

    “Join me and be rich!”

    Innes laughed in his face.

    Pablo rolled up the sleeves of his robes and cast Shine on Innes, who ducked neatly and nocked an arrow to his Silver bow. It hit Pablo in the shoulder, and the prince frowned. The merchant Sage switched books and cast Elfire on… the bush beside Innes. I stared. I never knew he could move so fast. I knew Tana could duck like lightening, but…

    Innes’ next shot distracted me. It hit Pablo in the stomach, and he began to grate fiercely about this: “You’ll never get my gold! It’s mine… all… mine…” He coughed and flopped on his back.

    “I don’t want your gold,” Innes remarked smugly, walking away with a proud straight back.

    Just then, paladins a-plenty rode over a hill to the north-east. L’Arachel rode to meet them, heedless of the few caveliers that stood between her and them. The newcomers fell upon the remnants with vigour. Only the Great Knight managed to ride away with his life, and Colm took something from him first.

    ”The Knights of Rausten!” I cried as I saw them.

    “What I’d like to know is what took them so long!” L’Arachel commented cheerfully by my side. The chief knight rode up to us and saluted.

    “Princess, we are delighted to see you safe again. Second Battalion of Rausten, reporting for duty.” I blinked and looked at L’Arachel. The knight had not been speaking to me.

    “Well done, Commander,” she replied. “You may lift your eyes.”

    “L’Arachel?” I asked.

    Dozla, nearby, spoke up. “It seems your disguise has been penetrated, m’lady.”

    “Oh, what a shame. Ah well, now you know, Eirika: the beauteous wanderer who’s been your boon companion is none other than the… What’s that?”

    “I beg your pardon, Princess, but one of my men bears tactical news. To whom should he impart this information?”

    “Oh, give it to the Silver Knight over there. As I was saying, she is none other than the jewel of the Theocracy of Rausten, Princess L’Arachel herself!”

    “I’m pleased to finally know who you are, but what are you doing here?”

    “I am working on a divine mission…”

    “The truth of that matter is, Princess Eirika, is that the Princess was enflamed by the tales of the court bard, Saaga,” said the Commander of Rausten with a smile. “She forced us to let her journey anonymously through the land on a quest for justice. Oh, and this is from Pontifax Mansel.” He passed L’Arachel a small, heavy bag.

    “What’s this?” said L’Arachel, weighing it in her hand. “War funds? Oh, what a grand, thoughtful uncle!”

    Seth walked over to us, leading Altha, his face grave. “Princess Eirika, Princess L’Arachel, Princess Tana, Prince Innes,” he recited, “I have had grave news. Jehanna Palace is under attack and has surrendered to the Grado Army.” The redheaded swordfighter, Joshua, whom we met in Serafew – it took me a minute to remember – leapt up from where he had been sitting, but said nothing.

    Seth continued. “They say the army is led by Crown Prince Lyon.”

    “Lyon!?”

    “Is something wrong?” L’Arachel asked with concern.

    “No, nothing…” I thought about Lyon. He must be at the least, very uncomfortable. He hated hurting things. He was so gentle, such low self-confidence…

    “And the Queen?” asked Innes.

    Seth shook his head. “There is no other word.”

    “We must hurry!” exclaimed Tana.

    “I second that,” said L’Arachel. We set off with all the speed we could make.

 

Chapter 13: Village of Silence     Chapter 15: Queen of White Dunes