A Force I Can't Run From (A Fire Emblem Twisted Tale)

Chapter 7: The One-Eyed and Ashen Demons

A/N: Oh my god it's been a while. I'm so sorry for having this take 3 and a half months >.<. Basically, what happened was exams for school, followed by laptops being taken up so I didn't have much motivation to work on it on my phone, then vacation hit, then summer got busy, and now here I am, finally free for a while. Well, enough with my lame excuses for a long overdue chapter and let's get to it! And in case ya missed it, above is a promo drawing for the story!

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Chapter summary: Byleth and Dimitri are now on the run, but adjusting will be harder than it seems. Meanwhile, while gathering intel, a familiar face starts to formulate a grand plan. 

Keep moving forward, don't look back. Byleth repeated to herself as she and Dimitri were blazing through the forrest of Faerghus. Although it was the fourth moon of the year and spring is well underway, snow still dusted the ground and the wind still chilled anyone with exposed skin.

Byleth never minded the cold nature of Faerghus since she preferred the cold to the heat, but having her shoulders exposed and the metal armor pads also being chilled made the journey much worse.

The horses started to slow down. It's been almost half a day since they escaped since the sun was at the apex of the sky. Byleth padded the side of the horse's muzzle to signal it to slow down. Her horse slowed down and eventually stopped. Dimitri's horse followed. Byleth slid off and took the supply bag off of the saddle.

"We'll take it from here." Byleth said to the horse. "Now return back. We'll be fine." The horse was hesitant, but Byleth nodded in insistence. Once Dimitri was off his, the two horses ran off back towards Castle Blaiddyd.

The two silently settled in a small clearing. Byleth attempted to start a campfire using sticks and fire magic, however since the sticks were wet from the snow, the fire wouldn't light. Dimitri sat on the edge of the clearing, staring out into the distance. He grazed his hand over his injured side of his face. Oh how much could change in a matter of hours.

A king without his kingdom, a commander without an army. All lost and nearly alone. Part of him fears what would've happened if Byleth wasn't there to support him. If it wasn't for her support, he would've been a lost cause.

Byleth finally managed to get a fire going. She huddled as close as she could without burning herself. Dimitri immediately noticed her shivering and walked closer to her. He swung his heavy cape off of himself and gently placed it on Byleth to give her extra warmth.

"Thank you." Byleth whispered. She leaned in to Dimitri. Dimitri held her close since she was the last person he hasn't lost. Everything else was gone.

"A king and queen one moment, exiles the next." Byleth remarked. "It's not supposed to be this way..." Her voice trailed off at the end. Her mind wandered back to the Holy Tomb incident, to the attack on Garreg Mach, to when they were framed and sentenced to death. What did they all have in common?

The Empire.

Of course! Why didn't she see that before! Edelgard was the direct cause of the former two events and Cornelia was a sellout to the Empire. It was all their doing! Getting rid of the source would rid of the problems itself!

"We must defeat the Empire at all costs, even if the price is our lives." Byleth said suddenly.

Dimitri looked up. "Are you crazy?" He countered. "Look at us! We are stranded in the wild while the kingdom thinks we're dead! Even if they don't, there is a bounty on our heads that would kill us before we even get the chance to attack!"