Fire Emblem: Children of Light

Chapter 16: An Old Relative

  Alda jolts awake, her fists clenched. Despite the harsh cold of their makeshift fort, beads of perspiration roll down her forehead. She pants, her breath bated. Maude wakes and looks over, placing her hand on Alda's.

  "Are you alright?" She asks.
  "No, but I imagine I'll manage..."
  "What ails you Alda? You're sweaty and cold, was it a night terror?"
  "You could say that..." She lets out a long sigh, her fists unclenching slowly. "An event from my past, something I'd rather not think about..."

  Now that Maude had thought of it, neither she nor no one else in the Vibestian army knew where Alda came from. They knew nothing of her age or her upbringing, her morals or which side she even truly fought for, they only knew that she was an excellent assassin. Why did she serve the queen? Was it for the pay, or was there an ulterior motive? Maude had never taken a moment to truly think about how much of an enigma Alda really was. The only ones that seemed to know anything at all about Alda's past were herself and Casey, though neither one of them seemed to want to open up about it. Alda mumbles something to herself and sighs.

  "Do you want to talk about it?"
  "Not particularly."

  Alda stands and looks outside. The square was a dreary and desolate as it was when they first arrived. She reaches for her knife, her fingers twitching.

  "Wake the others. It's morning."

  Maude nods and head off into the other room, returning with Arcelia. The two nudge the others awake, much to their groggy dismay.

  "What is it?" Aurelio asks, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
  "Go time." Maude says. "Today's the day we take down Sieghild. What's the plan Arcelia?"
  "I'll lead you all towards Sieghild's location whenever you're ready." Arcelia loads her crossbow. "There's no turning back once we start this, are you all really ready?"
  "We've come this far, no sense in turning back now." Casey says.
  "Indeed, quitting now would make our journey all for naught." Ian slides his armor into place. "Let's make our efforts count."

  Arcelia leads them out of the building and down of series of dark alleyways across the square. Crossing from alley to alley, the outline of smoldering ruin comes into a view, a single, ravaged white tower standing tall like a beacon.

  "Why, that looks like the castle." Maude says. "Don't tell me Sieghild's holed herself up in there."
  "Mm, she and the turncoats have been living in what's left of it while the rest of us have been barely hanging on out here in the debris. A lot has changed while you were gone Maude." Arcelia sighs.
  "Surely the queen's not in there with them, right? You wouldn't be down here if she wasn't safe somewhere else."
  "There isn't a queen left to protect. She's dead Maude."

  Silence befalls them as the reach a bridge leading up to the remnants of the castle. Arcelia takes her crossbow and fires, taking out the two guards standing before them.

  "Come on, it won't take them long to notice that the bridge has now been left unguarded."
  "Queen Alwine can't really be dead, can she?" Maude asks as they cross the bridge. "If she's dead then Sieghild's won..."
  "Sieghild hasn't won anything." Arcelia says, her voice cold. "Queen Alwine was a great woman but queens come and go, it was only a matter of time. No, Sieghild wins if she takes our land, and that's the last thing we're gonna let her do."

  Arcelia leads the group up to a small terraced courtyard, hiding them amongst the shadows of fallen parapets. She sighs.

  "Follow that path there through to the central courtyard. You'll be able to get to the central tower from there, and that's where you'll find Sieghild. Getting up there will be woolly, so be careful."
  "Are you not coming with us?" Aurelio asks.
  Arcelia shakes her head. "I'm taking a different route. Sieghild will likely be in the throne room. When you all get there and start fighting her, keep her distracted. I'll take my crossbow here and fire a bolt between her eyes. If I can get a good shot in, it'll make things easier for the all of us."
  "I like your style." Alda smiles. "But why don't you wait and shoot her after we've roughed her up a bit? She got me good a while back and I'd like to return the favor."
  "And I'd like to avenge Queen Alwine." Maude says.
  "Very well." Arcelia nods. "Just don't get yourselves killed in the process."
  "I don't plan on it." Maude says with fervor. "I refuse to let myself die to a wretch like her, especially after what happened to the queen. C'mon lot, I know this castle better than anyone else here, I'll take you all to the tower."