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Amelia looked away from Castello, her expression darkening in frustration. They were being so unreasonable all of a sudden... and taking over her own home, and who knew what condition Fefga was in now, after trying to fight off that big monster? She found her hands tensing up again, gripping the hem of her skirt. She didn't relax until Rhys spoke up.

"Not to mention the person they're aiding. When I came back here, I found out Rei was gone. The one who took him away was Mika, too."

Amelia looked over to Rhys, eyes wide. Rei? What did she do to Rei? Even with the scars courtesy of him, spending so much time trying to drag that kid from the brink of destruction had sort of made Amelia attach herself to him. Not in a romantic way, no, as a sort of... protector, she supposed. She was one of his friends, and one she was willing to defend.

But now... what had happened to him while she was gone?

"What happened to him? Is... is he okay?" she asked. Her hands clenched into tight fists again. Her knuckles turned white under her gloves.

Amelia kept her facial expression the same as Rhys spoke. It was hard, but she didn't want to freak out, she had done enough of that already. "I don't know. When I got to the library, all I saw was overturned bookcases. Like a domino effect... I think they fought, but Mika must've won somehow. There was no trace of Rei... but there wasn't any blood, either."

Amelia looked back to her knees. She took in a deep breath and attempted to steady her nerves; it didn't work very well. She closed her eyes. If there was no blood, then Rei could not have been killed... right? If there was no sign of him, then anything could have happened, and right now, being optimistic didn't seem possible.

The General opened her eyes again, looking briefly to Rhys. She then leaned forward and, taking care to make sure her armor wouldn't crush him, hugged him. Her chin went against his shoulder, eyes closing. She didn't say anything. There wasn't anything to be said.

Amelia didn't move away from Rhys. The warmth and reassurance was enough for her, and at the moment, it was too nice to let go. At the sound of his breathing going slow and even, Amelia pulled away just a little. Fast asleep...

The General chuckled under her breath. Idiot... She smiled, though, carefully removing her gauntlets and putting them on the cushion next to her. If she was on house arrest, and she didn't have her weapon, they wouldn't hurt her, right? And it was uncomfortable to wear armor for too long. She slowly removed each piece of metal until she was left with the protective underclothing, her new cloak, red shirt, and white skirt. She leaned Rhys against her, letting him sleep. Her own head rested quietly against his, though she did not sleep; her eyes stayed trained on the room around them.

In the doorway of the room that Rhys and Amelia were in, Ledreak entered. He observed the room, took it into full spectral summary. A guy and girl were sitting on a couch, just hanging out. "You two gonna ********? Because, whatcha shoul' do is POP THAT p***y!"

He leaned against the door framed and propped his arm on the ground with his crowbar. If he were wearing something outrageously pink, he probably would look like a pimp.

((..... Somehow, seeing Ledreak's post made me want to sweatdrop and facepalm at the same time.... sweatdrop ))

Isadora saw a young woman stepped out from behind the horse, carrying a tome in her hand. She waited for the girl to reply but received no word from her. The paladin held her sword firmly. They always said that the silent type person was the deadliest to fight. So who knew how powerful could this girl be?

"Well?" Isadora questioned her again. "Are you going to tell me your purpose to this manor or do I have to force you to talk?"

Though the paladin wanted the peace and order into the country, the last thing she wanted was to slain her enemy..... if the girl choose to be her enemy. Isadora always hated taking the life of her enemies. It always made her feel guilty and sick. It was as if she was the villain who brought the wrath and destruction instead of the knight who brought justice and peace. Why must they fight and kill each other without solving it peacefully together?

With each life taken away by her hands, Isadora prayed to St. Elimine to lead the poor souls to a peaceful afterlife and prayed for forgiveness of taking the life. She had always felt that she was a sinner, despite how much she fought against the evil and how many she had fought for the good side.

That was why she had always tried to find solutions through negotiation without charging into the battle. With no suffering and slains, it would be more understanding and less violence. She would rather be the peace officer than an executioner. It calmed not only her nerves and emotions, but also her mind and soul. It had always made her feel like she was taking one step closer to the road of redemption.

Just then, she heard a voice answered. Looking up at the roof, she saw a bird laguz. Was it a hawk laguz like Tibarn?..... No, his wings are black. So it must be a raven laguz that Tibarn had told her about his world.

After receiving an introduction from the laguz, Isadora worn a stone look. Castello the Crestbearer?...... Isn't he one of the Nine Heroes that Ganon told the story earlier?....... Then..... How can it be? These heroes were gone and dead hundreds of years ago. How are they alive and breathing like us? Isadora thought calculating.

Could it be Mika, having the same power as Madriana when she came to Eyris with her morphs?....... No. These weren't morphs. They supposed to have pale skin with black hair and yellow eyes. But the people before her were normal. There was no way Mika would have the power to bring normal people to life..... Unless she had the same power as Athos or Bramimond to bring back the dead like how Ninian was.... So many questions and so little answers. The paladin was unsure how it happened.

"Yes, I have heard of you earlier from a bard." Isadora answered. It would be rude of her for not giving the proper respect, whether the person be foe or ally. "And I am Isadora the Dame Knight. A noble Pharaen knight from the world where the continent Elibe was born and crewmember of the Fire Emblem Forever guild."

She held her sword and rein firmly as she watched Castello approached her. The paladin was unsure what he was doing. Probably checking her to see if she had any secret weapons on her. She didn't blame him of trying to be cautious. She too would do the same if some suspicious stranger came to Eyris and approached her.

When she heard Castello giving her a suggestion, alert sprung up in her body. Gave up her sword and became a hostage? To what were they planning? Not liking where this was going, she moved her horse away from him.

"As much as I like to settle things peacefully between us, I's afraid I have to decline your offer. To what are you and your comrades planning?" She frowned. Becoming a hostage in order to bring peace was not the answer she liked to negotiate. Speaking about hostages.... "In addition, have you seen a young woman in the pink armor along with a young man in white robes?"

Isadora wondered what had happened to them. The last she had seen them was when they were with these heroes before the battle erupted. She prayed that they were somewhere safe and had not fallen into their hands.

Nino had been wandering around at the castle for a time. Still extremely lonely without Rath, she felt all day as if she was in a trance. At a certain time, she found herself staring towards FEFGA's house out a window. She squinted as she saw something big and black... Her eyes widened. "What the heck is THAT?!" She yelled. She un-leaned from the window and had begun to make her way to the mansion. She ran through the trees, hoping she wouldn't be too late to do something.

When she got there, she was, in fact, too late. The black thing was gone. The mansion looked... dead. It didn't have that same faint glow, that same shine to it. Something was missing in there... and in Nino herself. "What... Happened?" She wondered aloud. She got closer to the mansion. There was a magic missing. She couldn't put her finger on it... What is it... What's gone? Something very important...

She looked around and noticed Isadora talking to the raven laguz from before. She walked closer to them, still stunned. "Isadora...? What happened? Something happened, didn't it?"

Nino looked up at Isadora and listened to what she had to say. At hearing that Rhys and Amelia were captured, she shook her head. "No." She said quietly. "Mika? Those new guys were all with Mika and she broke the barrier...?"

She looked toward Castello. "Who are you people? What do you want?"
Realizing that Isadora was trying to protect her, she backed away a little. Maybe she should run. "Isadora... If I need to get away, you do too..."

Isadora bit the inside of the lips. This was not what she had have in mind. So far, like herself, it seemed that the raven laguz didn't wish to fight unless it was necessarily. Not wanting to put Nino in danger, Isadora spoke to the captain in a low tone.

"Nino, I'll try and hold him off. In the meantime, you should get away as fast as possible. This Castello is not one to be messed with."

She wasn't sure how strong she could be to give Nino a chance to escape. After all, she had never fought a laguz before. Remembering what Tibarn had told her about his world, she remembered that the bird laguz were weak against wind magic and bow. However, Nino didn't have a wind tome with her and Isadora wasn't sure if she could use wind. In addition, Rath wasn't around to protect Nino and to take down the bird laguz. This was not she had hoped for.

"I apologize if I'm not strong enough." Isadora spoke softly to Nino. "I'm not sure if I will be able to make it alive or not, but I insist that you escape immediately. The people are looking up to you and we can't lose you again to be the hostage. Please....... for the sake of our people."

Isadora ignored what Nino was about to say to her as she trotted to the raven. She still hadn't lowered her weapon...... Not yet. Not until Nino escaped. She looked at Castello with a hard look and repeated the questions. "Where is Amelia and Rhys? And what do you want with the manor?"

The paladin knew that battling would not help. However, she was unsure if talking would help stalled the time for Nino to run.