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Eirika looked outside with worry, waiting for her brother to come home. The war continued to wage on, and today she was left at the base to defend it with another handful of troops as well. When she approached Seth about her worries, all Seth could say was to not worry.
“You know them well by now - they’ll surely not leave you hanging like so. I am confident that they will come back soon enough,” the knight reassured the teal-haired princess, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it tightly.
Eirika continued to look down, her eyes averted away from Seth’s. “Perhaps,” she started, voice shaky from distress, “but it has been such a long time since their departure. I worry the worst, Seth.”
Seth could only look at her with troubled eyes as well, for she had a point like no other. But the best he could do was stay by her side, and wait.
It was a while before they heard any news from Ephraim. The princess paced around the fort anxiously, her heels clacking against the hard, tiled floors emptily. There was not a moment to be wasted, she knew that Ephraim knew this - yet what took you all so long?
“Let the doors be open! Guards, Ephraim is here!” the knights called out, and Eirika immediately turned her head towards the shouts, bringing her attention to the lower floors. She rushed to the first floor, where Ephraim stood - the moon was tall today, but the stars were not present.
And Eirika noticed how her brother’s eyes were dull like the skies today.
“Brother!” She called out, as she ran towards Ephraim’s direction - she was so glad, so thankful that he was finally safe and back at camp at last. But strangely enough, Eirika’s delighted reaction did not pull out any emotion from her brother at all, his eyes like devoid of feeling as he looked down, eyes averted from his sister.
“Brother, what is the matter? Where’s [Name]?” She asked innocently, not knowing the full extent of what happened during the battlefield today, or what happened to you.
“They’re not coming home.”
In the cruel battlefield, you fiercely held your sword up in a stance where you defended yourself from your enemies, with the enemy clanging his axe against your weapon. With a loud noise, you quickly turn the tables and swing his axe back against him - with an adrenaline-filled push, you shoved him out of the way and pierced him with your sword.
Swiftly pulling your sword out from his body, you looked at the enemy with pained eyes. They were nothing more than pawns in a savage, bloody war, where victory seemed more like a defeat if one side won. There was nothing ceremonious about war - it took away loved ones and innocents caught up in this brutal setting. Your heart ached as you thought about the family he had, the dreams that he held to - your enemy was once human, too.
But a shout quickly snapped you away from your thoughts, before a shot of fire magic flew right past you. “[Name]!” Ephraim called out, struggling with his own battles. “Stop dazing out and focus on the battle!”
You shook your head a little, and furrowed your eyebrows. “Right, chief! You’ve got it!”
But there was something severely wrong when you looked at Ephraim. He was fighting another axe fighter in front of him, struggling to keep the power balance; the prince was about to be stabbed in the back with a lance-
You quickly rushed over to him, with no thoughts in your head except “protect him, protect him, protect him”. Tana was too busy avoiding archers, Forde was busy guarding against an armored knight, and you were running, and running, and running-
Until you felt something pierce through your stomach, with you finally turning around to notice that a bolt of thunder had gone through you.
“[Name]!” Ephraim noticed immediately the moment you got struck down, making quick work of the axe fighter and avoided the pegasus knight behind him, swiftly running to your side - he skidded through the wet grass, as the rain continued to pour down on your body. You looked at him with alarm, raising your hands and shaking them as you said:
“No, no- Prince Ephraim, please, don’t worry about me, I’m absolutely fine-”
And you collapsed immediately, coughing up blood as you could not withstand the attack.
With every fiber of his being, Ephraim screamed.
And he screamed so loud that everyone paused for a moment, listening to the grief of a prince as he saw the love of his life dying in front of him.
Quickly sprinting towards the mage’s direction, he used his lance to run through her, with no mercy whatsoever as he watched her collapse on the ground. He did not even bother to hear her cough or struggle to get the lance out of her body - there was a moment where even relished that, wanting nothing but suffering upon the mage who would dare to take your life.
But in Ephraim’s indulgence, came your suffering.
“Eph...raim,” you whimpered out, causing him to snap out of his stupor and rushing to your side immediately.
“Shhh, [Name], shh. It’s gonna be okay, I’m gonna call Natasha now, and get that out of you, okay?” There was a flurry of words coming out of Ephraim’s mouth at once, not knowing what to do to comfort you.
(he had always been a terrible comforter, as he realized with eirika. he was never able to help eirika stop crying - that was always lyon’s duty. but now that lyon was gone, he had no one to go to.)
“Eph… I don’t think… I’m gonna live through this,” you said through labored breaths, unable to get the electric bolt out of your body. “It just… hurts so much.”
There was even more panic coming from Ephraim’s side now, with him looking at you in such a pained manner. “No, you can’t just leave like this! Natasha! I need your assistance now!”
You hated seeing Ephraim like this, with him looking so utterly pathetic and needy right now. Your Ephraim was never like this, not in a million years - but here he was, reduced to nothing but pure adrenaline and panic. You hated being in this position. You hated dying. You hated everything about this.
But you were quickly losing consciousness, and it was starting to get harder to speak.
“Please… she won’t make it in time,” you coughed out, more blood splattering on the ground. The rain fell heavily against you, the pit-pattering rhythm somewhat soothing to you as it went by. Water mixed with your tears, you continued. “Ephraim, I won’t make it home today.”
“You will! Stop saying such things!” Your vision was starting to blur, but was that… tears that Ephraim was crying?
You squeezed tightly onto his hand as much as you could, holding onto it as if it was your last lifeline. “No… I have to say the truth,” you uttered out, slurring your words as you continued to look at him. “And please… tell Eirika that I loved her just as much as I love you.”
Ephraim refused. “No, no, no! You can’t!”
But the life from your hand went away, and you closed your eyes slowly.
And so, his childhood friend passed away, amidst this bitter, bitter war.
As Ephraim looked at his meal, he felt nothing but nausea upon looking at it. Eirika had gone away into her quarters now already, not feeling like eating at all. They were lucky that it would be a few more days until the next march. For now, they both could not feel like they were ready for battle at all.
Perhaps he could have done more. Or maybe he did all that he could at that moment, his head feeling like static as his thoughts droned and tormented his mind. He could not bear to face Eirika again for failing her as he had with Lyon.
And so, tonight, they all dined emptily, the atmosphere harrow and barren.