Chapter Text
“Pirates are coming! Get to the church and bar the doors!”
Ronan ran ahead of her, fear for his mother putting wings on his feet. Edelgard leaves that to him and splits off, hammering on every door she saw closed to pass the warning on. “Get up!” She shouted into shuttered windows, pitching her voice to carry. “Lithis's crew are on the horizon! They'll be here in minutes! To the church!”
Few people in the village were slow to rise. Lithis and his pirate crew, who had set up shop on islands off the coast, had been harassing them for a long time now. Edelgard had encountered a few of his grunts some time ago; they'd come into the tree grove where she and a few other girls had been picking apples and made a series of lecherous threats in exchange for leaving without 'causing a ruckus'.
Beating the three unconscious with a stepstool had been the only moment to burst through the dull apathy that choked her like a heavy cloak ever since she woke here.
Lithis hadn't sent raiders during the winter. Whether he'd had to divert his efforts into finding food for himself and his band of malcontents, or he'd wanted to lull them with a false hope that he had moved on to more fruitful shores, Edelgard wasn't sure; but the size of the boat she'd seen told her that this was bigger than any attack he'd made on them so far. He plans to wipe the village off the map, tear out everything he can sell, and take the women hostage no doubt, Edelgard thinks darkly. He needs to be taken out permanently. I can't permit him to continue like this.
Once everyone started pouring into the streets, babbling in confusion and fear, Edelgard instinctively reached for Amyr. Of course, her hand just grasps empty air; cursing herself, she ran as fast as she could to the woodcutter's yard. Thankfully, there were several axes left out from the morning's work.
They aren't designed for combat; Edelgard wrenches one out of the stump it had been stuck in and quickly examines it. The blade is chipped and showing its age. Yet its going to have to do; there are few weapons in Iz, only tools for hunting and fishing. There are no guards or local militia within shouting distance, even if they could be counted upon to show up. To call their situation dire is a massive understatement.
Edelgard turned on her heel and ran toward the tallish spire of Iz's church. Her lack of any kind of armour is a phantom feeling across her entire body; she pushes down her unease harshly, without it I'll be lighter on my feet and get more attacks in. Besides, these are bandits, cowards preying on people who can't fight back. If I needed the armour of an Emperor to beat them, I would be ashamed of myself!
She ran up the path, zig zagging around the children as their parents rushed to get them inside the most fortified building in their village. Ronan was standing outside the door, quiver strapped to his back and bow in hand, arguing heatedly with his mother.
“-n't do this. Ya can't leave your mother all alone in the world,” Contessa begged him, squeezing his arm. Immediately confirming Edelgard's suspicion, and an unexpected pit of unease opened up in her stomach. Ronan intended to fight.
“I won't die,” Ronan said with all the confidence of a person fired up with righteous anger. Edelgard slowed to a stop a few feet away, seeing how tightly he's clenching his fists. His bow is in hand; simple and cheap, but more than capable of ending a person's life with Ronan's sharp eyes guiding it. “Every battle is somebody's first, and I guess this is gonna be mine. He's not gonna stop, ma! Not unless we make him!”
“Contessa,” Edelgard cut into the argument, startling both of them. “I'll look after him. Between the two of us, we'll be able to keep the bandits at a distance.”
“El...” Contessa was trembling, shivers running across seemingly her entire body. Her fear was freezing her in place... Edelgard could hear a lot of raucous cheering from the beach area, carried by the wind. The pirates have made landing. “Please...why won't you two hide with me...?”
The lack of hope in her voice... it matched the faces of everyone she'd woken up with her warning yells, and it disturbed her how uniform it was. The defeatism. No one had any faith that the world would change or that they could push back the darkness facing them. They only prepared for impact in the hope that being yielding will please their attackers and prevent them from destroying everything, only most things.
It made her sick. And a familiar fire sparks in Edelgard's chest, for the first time in months not muted by self loathing or the black cloud that hung over her. “Contessa,” she said calmly. “I was an axe knight once. I haven't fought since I fled the cult, but I assure you, they've made a mistake if they think I'm too broken to fight back. I'll keep Ronan safe for you and drive these louts out.”
The commanding note in her voice stops Contessa's shaking, either out of shock or simple instinct. She stared wide-eyed at her, then looked at Ronan, who's beaming at Edelgard. “We'll stick together, ma. Promise.” He adds, and this finally seems to break her resolve, because she nods reluctantly and allows the pastor to pull her inside the church.
The doors clicked shut, and Edelgard immediately turned to Ronan. “We have to find high ground for you. Now.” She said matter-of-factly.
Ronan's brow scrunched up as he thinks furiously. The cheering and laughter of the pirates is getting closer. “I'd say the hills above the beach, but I think they're past that already.” He said grimly. “Maybe if I could get on a rooftop, but-”
“It'll do,” Edelgard cut in, grabbing Ronan by the hand and pulling him along. With so little backup, they have to move quickly if they're going to do anything of value. “I'll hoist you up.”
“Ah – okay, okay.” Ronan glanced sideways at her as they ran down into the town square. Sure enough, a small horde of pirates were storming down the pathway from the beach; Edelgard squints in an effort to get their measure. They're all using axes... a few have different sizes, so some of them might have hand axes, and she thinks she spots a few bows – easily the most problematic for the two of them. Damn; it would be easier if they were locked to axes. It's doable, though; I'll have to try and take them out first. “What's the plan?”
They ran down the curve of the pathway to the church; Edelgard looked back and forth before spotting a house with a decently sized stone chimney. It wasn't much in the way of cover for Ronan, but it was better than nothing. “We hold this road,” She decided quickly, pulling Ronan towards the house. A few of the city men were standing by their houses, wielding pitchforks and cleavers, so they didn't have no backup, but Edelgard didn't trust that they'd be able to accomplish too much. “Our priority is defending the church and everyone inside.” Something I never thought I'd say. “Here, I'll boost you up. Kneel behind the chimney whenever you can, some of those fools have bows.”
Ronan looked a little uncertain about climbing her; he had good manners despite being from a poor village. Under Edelgard's exasperated look, however, he quickly puts his foot on her extended hands and yelps when she uses her strength to launch him directly onto the roof. “Woof!” He rolled onto his knee and stuck his head over the side.
“I'm going out to fight, you shoot down people to keep me from getting surrounded!” Edelgard instructed. Ah, we don't have a healer. The priest is inside the church, needs to be there to keep a panic from sparking. And I don't have the Crest of Flames anymore...
“Okay!” Ronan nodded sharply. “Be careful!”
That you care enough to say so... Edelgard gave him a salute in lieu of promising him anything. Then she runs toward the wave of pirates. Already Ronan was taking shots, arrows whisking through the air above her head and raining down around the pirates. His aim is hit and miss, mostly striking shoulders or legs when the arrows didn't wiff. He wasn't hesitating to aim for the kill, though.
It reminded her of Bernadetta, when they'd gone on their first church-sanctioned 'mission' – Edelgard shakes her head and notices one of the scouts she'd sent packing before. He recognizes her too. “You...! Bitch!” The man snarled, immediately breaking away to attack her.
“Is that the best you can come up with?” Edelgard inquired sarcastically. He swung wildly at her; she dodges between both his strikes and swings her axe up at his face. She slashes one of his eyes – good, she thinks as he screams in agony, this axe can at least cut the skin – and delivers a Crest-empowered kick to his stomach, sending him staggering backwards. Then she changed her hold and slammed the hilt of the axe into the man's bloody face, causing him to crumple like tin to the ground.
She doesn't get a second to appreciate the ease of that; both of his friends had zeroed in on her too. Ronan caught one of the men in the neck with a well-placed arrow, but the second one falls on her in a seething rage. “I'm going to tear you apart after I'm done with you!” The man raged, grabbing her by the hair.
Edelgard swore at the sudden pain, stumbling over her feet. She forced herself to relax so he could pull her closer, then delivered a vicious kick to the inside of his shin and slamming the hilt of the woodcutter's axe between his legs. The strangled noise he uttered before releasing her hair was very satisfying. “Hah,” Edelgard uttered scornfully as she whipped around and swung her axe at his neck.
It promptly got stuck an inch or so in his flesh, forcing her to waste precious seconds wrenching it free to some truly disgusting gurgling sounds. The next pirate was after her right away, and the man she'd hit wasn't quite dead yet; he grabbed onto her leg, tripping her up a little and messing up her dodge so the axe swing slashes her arm. Edelgard shut her eyes against the sudden pain and ducks, twisting to stomp on the man's hand and free herself. Again Ronan came to her aid, his arrows whistling through the air between them and hitting her assailant's shoulder and side. Edelgard took advantage of the man's stagger and cry of pain to put some distance between them, get her bearings again.
Arm wound... ugh, largely superficial, but that bleeding will get to me if I let it go on for too long. No time to tear up something for a tourniquet, though. Maybe one of these pirates has a vulnerary on them that I can grab...? Her arm throbbed in protest of being ignored as Edelgard slammed her axe into the pirate's chest. She has to do it three times before she hears his death gurgle. She hurriedly goes through his pockets, but there's no healing vials on him.
She heard the next attacker running straight at her, and cursed quietly. She grabbed the fallen man's axe off the ground and threw it at her newest attacker; it doesn't land blade in, but the impact slowed him down enough for her to straighten up and meet him axe to axe. Her improvised weapon buckles at the impact; while the pirate's equipment is hardly much better, it's at least an axe meant for battle rather than tree cutting, and the difference matters in a fight.
Edelgard pivots and lashed out with her foot, driving a kick into the man's side to force him back. Taking the pressure off of her weapon, an arrow then slams into the guy's neck, dropping him. Ronan has good aim, she can't help but think admiringly. He's doing well, despite having no proper training.
A horrible dying scream from a voice she recognizes distracts her completely from that thought; Edelgard snapped her head to the right and saw one of the village men being brutally hacked to pieces by a couple of pirates. Ronan cried out in distress and sent his arrows that way; Edelgard ran that way despite knowing the man was not going to survive that.
At least she could behead one of his murderers by channelling the Crest of Serios through the axe, allowing it to cut straight through the flesh and bone. Unfortunately, immediately afterwards the axe head snapped off completely and went flying into the grass. Edelgard cursed and was immediately forced to use the hilt as an impromptu gauntlet when the next pirate turned on her and attacked. She laid into his face with punches, while Ronan kept firing arrows.
It's not enough, though. Evidently whoever was directing this attack – Lithis rarely bothered to appear himself, instead content to send his minions to fight without ever risking himself – had decided that she was the biggest (and likely only) threat, because pirates were beginning to swarm in her direction. Edelgard knocked down her opponent and grimaced, turning around...
...And that's when she saw the paladin.
His blue hair made him stand out, even in the middle of a fight; he'd be easily noticeable even without the horse he was astride upon. The man easily closed the distance between himself and her, his lance impaling one of her approaching enemies from behind. It was a brave lance, Edelgard realized with a start; aged slightly, but very well maintained, and an unarmoured ruffian had no chance against it.
There was someone sitting behind him on his horse, too; as the knight trotted in an arc around her, he hopped off and drew a long, golden blade that glittered with light. It – had slightly similar characteristics to the Levin sword, but it was a completely different shape and the magic didn't smell of the ozone before a storm.
“Are you alright?” The man – no, the boy asked her. He was tallish for his age, spiky brown hair messy and falling around his face framing his dark blue eyes, but looking at his face immediately reminded Edelgard of Lysithea; a matured child who knew from experience that the world is not fair or just by nature.
“Aside from my arm? I can still fight,” Edelgard responded, caught off guard. “Who are you people?” Looking back where they'd come from, they weren't the only new arrivals – several axe men, an archer, and a swordsmen were barrelling into the village, falling on the pirates with reckless abandon.
The brown haired boy gives her a fierce look that's probably intended to be reassuring. “I'm Prince Leif of Leonster,” he told her fearlessly, leaving her almost open-mouthed because what were the chances-. “I and the Fiana Freeblades are here to help you.” He raised his sword above his head, and a beam of holy magic bursts from the tip and flies like an arrow to pierce the shoulder of the nearest pirate that the paladin hadn't dealt with.
“Prince Leif?” Edelgard parroted, before shaking her head. She can question his willingness to give up his name later, if this is truly who he is. “I need an axe; the head snapped off my only weapon.”
Leif nodded in understanding and yelled, “Halvin!” One of the axe men broke away from the fight and hurried over to him; Edelgard's eyebrows shoot up when she sees multiple weapons somewhat awkwardly strapped to his sides, like he was acting as a human mule. “Those weapons we've been pilfering, she needs one.”
“No prob',” the older boy says with a heavy drawl. He plucks one of his axes from its holding spot and hands it to Edelgard; she sighs in relief to have a proper weapon. “Nice to meet ya, lady. Anything we need to know?”
“We must defend the church,” Edelgard said, snapping out of her surprise. “The citizens are taking shelter there. I'm not sure who's leading the attack, but I suspect they're in the process of sacking the mayor's house.”
Leif nodded and waved at the paladin. “Finn! Go and guard the church entrance with Dagdar!” The blue-haired man raises his lance in acceptance and wheels around to do so, trampling a pirate foolish enough not to get out of his way. “Halvin, tell Tanya to coordinate with the other archer here-”
“Ronan,” Edelgard put in.
“Ronan,” Leif corrected himself without losing stride. “Tell her to back up Ronin and keep up the pressure. You and Osian, protect the two of them.” His brows furrow tightly, showing both nervousness and determination. Relatively untested, most likely. Nevertheless Halvin nodded sharply and rushed off to his task. There must be some loyalty there, though to the crown or to Leif himself? “Think... have to think... Eyvel?”
“I'm right here, little lord.” The swordswoman – tall, blonde and noticeably older than Leif, experience radiating off even her casual walk – comes up to them as if his thoughts had summoned her. Her face is slightly weathered, prematurely aged but not nearly to the same extent as Contessa, and she smiles when she stops in front of the two of them. Leif visibly straightens up a little. “Do you have orders for me?”
Leif briefly looked surprised, then visibly shakes it off. “We're going to the mayor's apartment and doing something about the leader.” He said with confidence. “Without him, the others should either scatter or flee.”
“I'm going with you,” Edelgard said, wanting some time to get Leif's measure. She hadn't thought that the mysterious prince would still be a child; was that magic sword a relic? ...No, it doesn't have the same aura of power as the ones she knew. It must just be the work of a very talented smith.
“Are you sure?” Leif hedged; when she gave him an assured look, he nodded after a brief hesitation. “Alright; please point the way.”
Edelgard nodded and ran ahead. As she went, she glanced over her shoulder and was impressed to see that despite their limited numbers, the Freeblades were easily fending off the invading pirates and putting them on the back foot. Especially since she didn't see a healer among them either. They're very bold to be charging into battle without one. Is that confidence, or arrogance? Ronan and the other archer were working together quite well, and the church hasn't suffered any damage. All good signs.
The mayor's mansion was the tallest building in town, set slightly away from the other houses – creating an invisible separation between the man with power and those without. Standing outside the front door with a bag full of what few valuables the man had and looking furious at the situation was a very large slightly hunched back warrior with a massive axe. “This is bullshit!” The man bellowed, swinging his head to glare into the house. “August, you bastard, you said nothing about there being militias in the area!”
Eyvel snorted and darted forward, drawing...a flame sword from her side. Edelgard jolted, the memory of the renegade Agarthan who wielded such a blade jumping out at her at the unexpected sight. If it isn't Thales's favorite pet. She shook her head hard to chase the old observation away, setting her jaw as Leif rushed to keep up, circling around the other side that Eyvel wasn't covering. I should have asked for a hand axe. Nevertheless she charged herself, coming up the middle.
Eyvel swung her sword out, blades of fire flying across the ground; the pirate uttered a string of foul obscenities and scrambled to get out of the way. Leif was prepared, though, and his magic sword fires a few of those light blades with a few of them striking home with the man unable to dodge both. Edelgard dived forward and swung her axe; the man blocked with his own, and managed to push her back with the flat of the blade, but that left him vulnerable to Eyvel when she appeared in a blink and drove her burning sword into his side.
The man screamed in agony, and Edelgard reared back and slammed her axe into his skull. This kills him more or less instantly, crumbling his body like a puppet with its strings cut. “Ugh,” she wiped the blood that sprayed from him off of her face. “I should be able to cut his head off; if we have it, the rest will know the jig is up.”
Leif looked faintly sickened at the idea. “Is that necessary? We can just proclaim him dead.”
“These men are hardened by a lack of consequences for their actions,” Edelgard told him. “There has been no one here to defend this village before, so they feel invincible. Breaking them of that notion will likely take more than a few words, Prince Leif.”
“She's likely right, little lord.” Eyvel said grimly. Something about the tone of her voice suggested experience with that. “I'm not fond of such gruesome gestures, but unfortunately, they have their place.”
Leif grimaced at the body, but accepted that with surprising speed – she'd expected him to stall or waver. “Very well.” Surprising her further, he shifted his grip on his sword and prepared to do the deed himself.
She reached out and touched his arm, stopping him. “An axe will do the job cleaner,” she said. “It would be a shame to chip that sword.” Hoisting the axe, she brings it down on the dead man's neck a few times, cutting it loose. Eyvel grabbed the head herself, before Leif could bend down to do so, and headed for the hill overlooking where the pirates were herded off to by the Freeblades.
Ronan was out of arrows when they approached, and climbing down from the roof with the help of the other archer – a dark haired girl with a confident disposition, dressed in boyish whites and browns. He huffed when his boots hit the ground, and she's pleased to see that he looks completely uninjured. Good. Very good...
“Edelgard!” He called, running toward her. The girl followed along in his wake, adjusting her mostly empty quiver. “I can't believe it; somebody actually came! Are you okay?” He skidded to a halt and put his hands on her shoulders, checking her over for any signs of harm. “Ah! Your arm...!”
“It's a scratch,” Edelgard reassured him. Ronan stared blandly at the blood staining her sleeve and gave her an incredulous look.
“A scratch that'll cost you your arm if you keep lettin' it bleed like that,” The girl observed, before holding out two vulneraries to her. “Here, these'll fix that up fully.”
“My thanks,” Edelgard said, holding in her relief. She quickly takes the two vials and downs them one at a time, sighing when the wound in her arm healed up.
“Not much is saving that shirt, though.” The girl said apologetically. “My name's Tanya; I'm one of the Freeblades. Glad we were able to help; we were travellin' along these roads to get to the Kerberos Gate, so it was by chance that we showed up just when things were gettin' bad here.” Her country accent is stronger than Lief's, rather like Ronan himself.
“Happenstance is our good fortune, then.” Edelgard decided.
Shouts of victory and horror both echoed from the west; Edelgard glanced to the side to see Eyvel holding up the head of Lifthis's thug for the rest to see. Cries of 'they got Bucks!' and 'fuck me, run!' echoed scattered from the crew, who all took off back toward the beach where their boat had docked. The Freeblades don't pursue, instead watching them leave before turning to head to the church.
Tanya snorted in disdain. “Cowards,” she muttered. “I better go find that oaf Osian and make sure he isn't ignoring bleeding wounds of his own; the fool would forget about his own head if it wasn't attached to his shoulders...” she hurries off towards the younger pair of axe men, who seem to be having a spirited discussion.
“They're gone... we've routed them!” Ronan said enthusiastically. “C'mon, let's go tell ma that we're both in one piece.”
Edelgard nodded, following sedately behind him as he runs up the path to church. As she went, she looked for Leif in the crowd; he was speaking to one of the older axe men and Eyvel, gesturing toward the church. He wore authority like a heavy coat, as someone unused to it and mostly acting on instinct. Strong instinct, it seemed, but still... They must be desperate if they're having him take command now, rather than wait until he's an adult to press his claim.
Or they know that any hope of escaping the clutches of the Empire is fading fast, a voice in her mind observed pointedly. Despite the warmth of the day, Edelgard shivered. What are you thinking? Planning to bolt yourself onto another righteous cause? A failed conqueror and queen of delusion; oh yes, that's exactly what that boy needs.
She balled her fists up, the black thoughts were impossible to escape on the best of days, and yet... Ronan would join the instant Leif gave his name. The situation of Iz was so dire that absolutely anything would improve it. And... he saved her life, showed her kindness. The least she could do...was go and make sure he got out of this alive.