Cecil's sword clanged noisily against his back as all five of them rushed down the corridor toward the source of the commotion…There was no sign of the constable…He could have at least shown us where the trouble is, Cecil thought in dismay…

As they approached the courtyard, they discovered the source of the chaos…

There was a sea of people surging through the courtyard…it was difficult to maneuver through them as small children huddled close their mothers, clutching dolls or tattered plush animals…Soldiers were vainly trying to keep order as they herded the screaming and shouting people through the courtyard…there was little light aside from the flaring torches held by every other soldier…the rest stumbled blindly after the person ahead of them…

"What is the problem?!"

King Luarca's deep voice rang out over the tumultuous crowd. Around them burst the occasional cry of "Your Majesty!"

Wordlessly, Edward pointed toward a figure rapidly jostling his way through the mob of people.

"Your Highness!"

A strong familiar voice shouted over the hubbub…Yang, Cecil thought…he sounds…strange. People were shrieking and pushing their way away from the warrior…as he drew closer, he waved a hand and shouted frantically…

"King Luarca!"

The dark-skinned warrior's voice was strained from…What? Fear…? Apprehension…?

"Hurry, sir!"

They shouldered their way toward Yang where he stood near the great stone fountain in the courtyard...As Cecil approached the warrior, he saw, propped on Yang’s shoulder, being half-dragged and half-carried, the guard who had admitted them into the castle earlier. On his face was an anguished expression like one Cecil had never seen…he clutched his thread-bare tunic close to his stomach…the shirt was tattered and torn, blood-coated…dark red blood…it matted the tunic to the man’s dark skin so thickly that Cecil wondered if a human even had that much blood…the scarlet trail followed the man across the courtyard, darkening the stone ground even more than the night…

"What happened?!"

Cecil dropped to his knees beside the injured man, shouting to be heard in the crowd around them…King Luarca glanced at Yang, who had gently laid the injured guard onto the stones…

"Sir!"

The king grabbed Yang’s brawny arm earnestly.

"—What is happening?"

Yang shook his head; the thick black braid resembled a thrashing serpent in the darkness.

"You two!" he gestured hastily to Rosa and Rydia. "—Follow the chamberlain immediately!"

He pointed frantically in the direction of the masses of women and children. Rosa’s eyes opened in surprise.

"But –"

"You must go now!"

The warrior stood and motioned for her to leave, his face creased in a frown.

"What in God’s name?!"

Cecil leaped to his feet in surprise as the guard at Yang’s side began to choke and cough…blood spewed from his mouth and when he released his hand from the front of his shirt, Cecil turned away, his stomach suddenly turning…the man’s shirt fell open to expose his abdomen, torn so badly that the glistening white bone of his ribcage peeked through his muscles…

"Dear God!"

Edward staggered away, squeezing his eyes shut tightly to hide the grotesque sight.

"Master Yang!"

King Luarca clutched Yang’s arm and dragged him close to the ground where he still knelt.

"—What has –"

"Prince Edward!"

Yang cut off the king’s question to speak hastily to the young man who was staring senselessly down at the dying guard.

"Hurry to the weapons arsenal to equip yourself!"

Children wailed loudly around the warrior, drowning out his words…Edward still remained there, frozen in horror…Cecil watched the prince for a moment before turning back to Yang…

"What is going on?" Cecil screamed again to make his voice audible over the multitude.

Yang sprang to his feet toward the prince of Damcyan to repeat his message, but, at last, Edward tore his gaze from the mangled body in the courtyard and looked at Yang, his eyes wide and nearly mad…he nodded as if he were in a daze and whirled around, pushing his way through the tangled mass of bodies.

"Go to the weapons chamber, Prince Edward!" Yang commanded to the fleeing young man…Edward disappeared into the crowd…Cecil watched him leave with mixed feelings…God he’s going to break…he’s going to break…he shouldn’t be here…not after what happened…

"Master Yang!"

King Luarca dug his fingers into the warrior’s arm so he wouldn’t be dragged away in the surging crowd.

"—Tell me what is wrong!"

His gaze dropped briefly and fearfully to the man’s body lying at his feet. Yang gasped for breath and lifted a finger toward the south…

"The…scouting party…your Majesty!"

Cecil instantly spun around, straining to see into the darkness.

"What about the –"

"B-Baron, Sir!"

Yang gripped his knees tightly to his chest, drawing in deep breaths of air…Cecil froze…Baron…did he say Baron.? Yes…

"What are you saying?"

King Luarca turned to the south and scowled…a low, anguished moan from the guard at his feet turned his attention again…the man rolled over onto his side, groaning and coughing feverishly…

"What happened?!"

Cecil fell to his knees beside the wounded man…

"What’s going on?!"

The bloody hand reached out slowly and touched Cecil’s wrist…his fingers closed around Cecil’s wrist and left dark red streaks but Cecil didn’t care…I’ve had blood on my hands before, he reminded himself…It wasn’t mine either…Wild eyes stared upon Cecil’s youthful face…the guard’s hoarse voice rattled in his throat…

"R-red…W-wings…"

It wasn’t a man’s voice…it was more like the hiss of a serpent…sickening…blood dribbled from the side of the guard’s mouth…Yang grabbed both of Cecil’s shoulders and gazed intently into his eyes…

"They are…coming…"

King Luarca gasped and stared into the dark south sky…now stars were sprinkled throughout the blackness…misty clouds enveloped the area…

It was too late to see anything…

"Red Wings?!"

Cecil leaped to his feet, straining hard to see upon the battlements of the castle…

"Where in God’s name are the night-guards?!"

King Luarca spun around and squinted in the direction of the castle.

"—Are they not –"

"…The…airships --" the man on the ground moaned again, rolling onto his back. "—Your…M-majesty…"

Cecil lifted a hand to his eyes as if to shield the darkness in the south…

"Where did they go?!"

The people in the courtyard ran madly around them…

"How could they let this happen?!"

"We are not prepared, your Majesty!" Yang screamed into the king’s ear…He stood firm as the crowd swarmed past him…

"We must hurry to the stronghold!"

King Luarca drew a deep breath to reply when Cecil shouted: "Thousands of women and children are still out here, your Majesty!"

King Luarca nodded…

"We must propose another plan for protecting them!"

He frowned and pulled the warrior close.

"Make absolutely certain that all of the men are well-equipped and out of the weapons chamber!"

Yang nodded quickly as the king continued:

"--Instruct the chamberlain to direct the remaining people into the weapons chamber!"

The screams and cries of the people around them became deafening.

"—Into the weapons chamber, Sir!" King Luarca repeated loudly. "—Do you understand?!"

Yang seemed uncertain but he nodded resolutely and turned to leave…

"Make haste, Sir!" the King declared as Yang broke into the wall of women, children and soldiers…Cecil stared frantically around the courtyard…he wasn’t sure if the darkness of the night or if the mass of people was thicker…

"Your Majesty!"

He turned again to the king of Fabul…

"—Everyone needs to get inside!"

Cecil wildly gestured at the growing chaos in the courtyard…

"These people need to get to safety before the armies –"

"We must leave then, Sir Cecil!"

King Luarca nodded decisively and stood…Cecil followed quickly behind…Before they pressed their way into the swarm of bodies, Cecil felt a hand snatch his wrist and he impulsively whirled around…

"Rosa!"

He stared upon the face of Rosa Farrell…she supposedly had left with the chamberlain…now she stood beside him in the sea of people…she stared at him anxiously…but he glared at her, half-shocked, half-angry…

"Rosa! –" Cecil dragged her close to him and was forced to scream although she stood next to him… "—What are you doing here?!"

"Where’s Rydia?!" Rosa cried in a panic…

The question didn’t register for a moment…Cecil stared at her blankly…then her words struck him like a physical blow…Rydia…where is she…

"I thought she was with you!"

Cecil surveyed the crowd quickly…

"We must have been separated!"

Rosa clutched his hand…she sounded as if she was on the verge of crying…

Cecil swore furiously to himself…

"Rydia!!" he roared vainly…Rosa’s fingers tightened around his hand…

"She can’t hear you in this noise, Cecil!" she shook her head hopelessly. Her damp hair clung to her forehead as she looked left and right for the little girl…

"Rydia!!"

Cecil screamed once more then he grabbed Rosa by both shoulders and stared into her eyes…

"Listen!"

He drew her very close so he wouldn't have to scream so loudly…

"--Go back into the castle with the chamberlain!"

Rosa started to object but Cecil shook his head vigorously…

"--I'm going to find her! Go now!"

"But Cecil --"

"Hurry!"

He embraced her swiftly and stepped back…people instantly closed the gap between them and Rosa gazed at him helplessly, biting her lower lip to keep herself from crying…

"Cecil --" she began, her voice quivering. "--If anything happens --"

"I'll find her!" Cecil promised, pressing his way toward her again and brushing aside strands of her golden hair. "--I'll find her…"

She backed away but didn't release his hands for several moments…Cecil didn't want her to have to leave but it was for her own good...my God she can't just stay around here in danger…The motion of the crowd nearly dragged her down but she gripped his hand firmly…

"Cecil --" she stepped even closer to him…her white robes pressed against his dark armor…an unlikely combination…

"--You know…that…no matter what happens…"

A tear had escaped from the corner of her eye and trickled slowly down her cheek…

"I love you, Rosa…"

Cecil gazed into her eyes…they sparkled in the moonlight…

"Oh, Cecil!"

She flung her arms around his neck, tears flowing down her cheeks…

"I love you too!"

He held her tenderly for a moment longer then he released her saying softly:

"You have to go now…before it's too late!"

Rosa blinked away tears and nodded, loosening her grip from his hand…

"I'll…pray…for you…" she offered with a weak smile…the crowd swept through them…separating them…

"Save your prayers for everyone else --"

Cecil adjusted his helmet and shouted toward her…she was being pushed away in the direction of the sweeping crowd…

"--This is just the beginning…"

Rosa disappeared in the frenzied crowd…Cecil caught one final glimpse of her golden hair in the moonlight… then he plunged into the sea of bodies, desperately searching for Rydia…

* * * * * *

The last of the warriors were scurrying from the weapons chamber as Edward stood alone quietly, scanning the rows of slender rapiers…they dangled from hooks on the stone walls…two torches lit the chamber, casting a dull orange glow through the cracks and ridges in the stones but doing little to brighten the entire chamber…It was a very dark and morbid scene in the room…Edward was oblivious to the screaming and shouting and wailing of the hysterical crowd outside…he heaved a gusty sigh and slowly pulled one of the rapiers from the wall…He ran his fingers up and down the etched scabbard and felt the smooth cold steel of the unmarred hilt…Examining the thin sharp blade of the sword, Edward noticed in the orangish firelight that the sword must have never been used…

He dropped the sword to the floor in disgust…the metal clang reverberated in the chamber…

"I don't deserve…such a weapon…" he whispered, scanning the wall for another…At last his hand rested on another sword…this one notched and bent and dulled by many years of use…Edward nodded decisively and retrieved it, turning it over and over in his hand…After a moment he sighed and began to speak aloud…

"Anna…what is wrong?"

He drew the rapier from the sheath and stared at it gloomily.

"What have I done so wrong…Anna…?"

Edward turned his gaze to the dancing flame of the torch then he laughed weakly to himself…

"I know that something isn't right when a prince who disguises himself as a bard must carry a sword instead of --"

An unusually loud scream from outside caught his attention…he froze, straining to hear if there were any voices approaching…

…He was still alone…

Edward breathed deeply and drew the rapier completely from its sheath as he stood in the semi-darkness…his eyes gazed sadly at the shadow against the wall…the specter with an arm poised bravely at its side…the hand clutched a narrow sword…the specter appeared to be quite a formidable figure…

"Anna –"

The prince spun around quickly and pushed the sword back into the sheath.

"—I can't do this!"

His sparkling eyes fell hopelessly to the floor.

"This can't be…me..."

He spoke aloud…his voice trembled…

"—I need you to be here…Anna…"

Edward glanced at the sword in his hand.

"I need you to be my strength…"

His voice echoed through the chamber for a long time…each time ‘strength’ mocked him as it rang in his ears…the noise outside was deafening…but Edward paid no attention…

"You…can't…be here…Anna –" he stated finally. "—I now have to do this alone…"

Once more his eyes fell to the rapier in his hand…even it seemed to mock him…You are weak, it said…but he drew it half-way out again…then shoved it back in with a loud scraping…he flung the sword to the ground as if it burned his fingers…

"Why must I be here, Anna?"

Edward looked around the chamber…he expected an answer…one that would not come…

"I don’t deserve to be here, Anna, when you're not!" He shouted, careless of the echoes of his voice…

"I should be where you are! You deserve to be in my place! You are the one who should be alive!"

Edward’s voice reverberated through the dark chamber…who cares? No one is here anyway…they are all leaving to…die…

"Anna –"

He closed his eyes, bowing his head in despair…

"—Give me strength –"

Slowly slowly his eyes opened…

"—Give me courage –"

His eyes drifted to the torch on the wall…

"—Please guide me and show me courage, Anna!"

Edward was on the verge of screaming as he knelt and snatched the rapier from the floor…

"—And I promise –"

He eased the sword from the sheath…

"—I will not let you down..."

Edward gently kissed the hilt of the rapier and the cold metal stung his lips but all he felt was a warm tear trickle down his cheek…

The prince of Damcyan remained there for a long time until he finally heaved a deep sigh and began buckling the rapier around his waist…

As he reached to retrieve a shirt of chain mail, a slight rustling drifted in from the darkness behind him…

Edward froze…cold sweat broke out on his forehead…He held his breath for several minutes…his ears seemed to prickle with the slightest hint of sound…the crackling of the torches...his heartbeat…the heartbeats of those outside…

He turned around silently, peering into the dark corner of the chamber…the flames of torches danced crazily left and right…each shadow groped desperately for another…Edward's hair clung damply to his neck…suddenly the weapons chamber seemed very small…cramped…oppressive…

"Who's there…?" Edward whispered cautiously, his voice strained as his heart thudded heavily in his chest…he wondered why he even spoke at all…

There was a small intake of breath…a rustle…Edward froze…the flames continued to sway back and forth…

"Is…someone…there…?" Edward risked speaking again…he gazed into the black shadows…

"…It's…me…"

A meek voice spoke at last…Edward instantly recognized it as the unmistakable voice of

"Rydia!"

His voice was strangely high-pitched from fear, surprise, and above all…anger…

Immediately after he said her name, Rydia stepped timidly from the corner of the weapons chamber. Her face was not clearly visible in the chamber, but the orange glow of the torchlight attached to her hair and glimmered eerily throughout the chamber.

Edward took a step toward her angrily.

"What are you doing here?!"

His voice was so choked with rage that he could barely speak.

"You are supposed to be with Rosa!"

He stepped closer.

She was clutching her bow tightly in one hand, and her hazel eyes sparkled in the torchlight. Edward glared at her, too appalled to say anything, until she finally declared in a defiant tone:

"I’m coming with you!"

She started to walk toward him, but in one angry stride Edward was next to her.

"You are not coming with me!

He clutched her arm viciously and pulled her face close to his.

"Did you --"

"Ow!" she squealed as his fingers dug into her upper arm.

"Do you understand?!" he shouted harshly at her, and she appeared terrified. "You can't --"

"Ouch! Edward!" She jerked her arm loose from his claw-like grip. "You’re hurting me!"

Rydia backed away until she was beside the firelight; it spilled over the childish features of her face and traced the pained and shocked expression, but for a moment Edward didn’t care.

"You can't come with me, Rydia!" he repeated fiercely, glaring at her where she stood near the torch. Her lower lip quivered as she stared up at him, and the air of defiance about her was extinguished into nothing but shame.

"…Why…not?" she asked weakly, her voice trembling as if she were on the verge of crying.

Edward continued to glare at her, but as her disheveled hair fell over her face, all he could see in her was a small, frightened

(vulnerable)

child. He was forced to turn away as he stared into her eyes and noticed the sad glimmer in them that reminded him so much of…someone else…

He could not speak for a long time.

Rydia continued to gaze at him with the sorrowful expression and repeated:

"Why can’t I come with you…?"

Edward didn’t look at her, but he kneeled down and stared at the floor. He could almost feel her eyes…they seemed to physically pierce him…and he wished desperately that she would turn away. Finally he spun around, replying urgently:

"…Because…you…will…get hurt!"

She gazed at him, a tear trickling down her cheek.

"Won’t…you?"

Edward froze.

"Won’t you get…hurt…Edward…?" she repeated innocently, her voice quivering.

He couldn’t look at her; without warning she burst into tears and flung her small arms around his neck, sobbing pitifully:

"Edward…I’m sorry!"

Suddenly a lump had risen in his throat, and he could not swallow to speak. He had to blink away tears as he thought of what she had said. How innocent and sweet…her asking for his forgiveness when he was the one who should have apologized. She was sobbing against his shoulder, and after a moment she declared through the tears:

"I just wanted to be with you to make sure you were okay!"

A tear rolled down Edward’s cheek now, and he bit hard into his lip to prevent others from falling. He pressed his hands into her hair and held her head against his shoulder as she cried…she cried…so upset now...not because she could not be with him…but because she could not be sure that he would be okay.

A sob escaped from his lips. "...Oh God…"

He gently lifted her head from his shoulder and stared intently into her tear-stained eyes.

"Rydia…I will!" he assured her, breathless from the sorrow in his heart. He brushed away strands of her hair, now glowing with an orangish tint in the firelight, and he drew her head close to his shoulder tenderly and whispered:

"I …will be…okay..."

His heart suddenly welled with anger…anger aimed at himself…anger that was on the brink of hatred…at himself…for not showing sympathy to this small girl who was now far away from her home…far away...without her mother or her father…so young and innocent now, but who would one day come to the haunting realization that she was, undeniably, despite all of the events of the day or week or year...she would discover the awful truth that she was…alone…

…But the only thing that she cared about was whether or not Edward would be okay…

"You were talking to Anna, weren’t you?"

Rydia’s voice came without warning into his ear, and he was startled.

"You asked her to protect you, didn’t you?"

Edward was paralyzed with…well…he didn’t know why he was suddenly still, his body was shuddering violently only on the inside. He nearly lied and said No I was not speaking to her is that not silly? But he could not do it again. He had lied over and over yet he felt there was no reason for it anymore.

He would not lie to himself again.

Rydia lifted her head from his shoulder and gazed into his eyes, her own eyes shimmering excitedly in the firelight. There were still tears clinging to her eyelashes, and Edward brushed them away gently.

"Anna’s an angel now, isn’t she, Edward?"

It was an innocent question but a lump rose in Edward’s throat and his heart pounded. He could not speak as tears welled in his eyes.

"She’s your guardian angel, isn’t she?"

Rydia stared at him intently; he had to look down at the floor when tears began to roll down his cheeks. Everything was a dream…everything had to be a dream…the kind of dream where you cannot scream or move or breathe.

With a sob Edward clutched Rydia’s head in both hands and pressed her forehead against his.

"Y-yes! Yes… she is!" He gasped breathlessly, almost shouting the words very close to her tear stained face. "She is!"

He released Rydia and sprang to his feet, his hands over his face.

"Yes Rydia!" he shouted passionately. "She is!"

A slight trembling of the ground and another hysterical uproar from the multitude of people outside startled them and reminded Edward of …everything…

He spun around in a flash and looked at Rydia, who was staring anxiously around the dark chamber. He then snatched a shirt of chain mail from the wall and knelt quickly at Rydia’s side.

"She is going to protect me…" He laid his hand on Rydia’s thin shoulder and added: "She is going to protect everyone!"

Another tremor nearly threw Rydia to the stone floor and Edward grabbed her hand to steady her…

"What's…happening…Edward?"

She sounded very small and very frightened…Edward leaped to his feet and gazed at her intently…

"I have…to leave…now…"

He started to pull the chain mail over his head….

"Wait!"

He whirled around to the little girl again…

"Here --"

He watched her as she hastily reached to her neck and produced a pendant…something he had never noticed before…she drew it away from the front of her tattered shirt…It was a simple leather band…worn smooth from years of her wearing it…dangling at the end of the crude band was a small, rough-cut crystal…it glinted pale blue in the torchlight as she offered the necklace to him…

"Mommy gave this to me a long time ago…and said she'd always be with me whenever I wear it…"

Edward knelt in front of the little girl…

"Rydia…I can't --"

"Please wear it, Edward --" she stated softly. "--Then you'll know I'm with you!"

Edward closed his eyes and looked away to hide the tears that made their way to his cheeks…God how sweet…he looked into her eyes with a weak smile…

"Yes…I --"

She smiled and placed the pendant over Edward's bowed head…

"--I would like…for you…to be with…me…."

Rydia stepped back, surveying Edward thoughtfully…He stood and tucked the crystal into his collar and patted it thoughtfully against his chest…

"Thank you…Rydia --"

Outside the noise of the swarm of people was growing louder…

"--Now I must --"

Without warning the ground started quaking so violently that stones from the ceiling of the chamber shook loose, sending dust clouds throughout the room and rocks skittering across the floor…Edward nearly toppled off-balance and his eyes darted left and right through the weapons chamber...

"What…is…happening?"

He shouted, startled and confused, but the roaring outside made it impossible for him to hear his own question…chunks of stone collapsed from the ceiling again, and Rydia squealed as she tumbled backwards…Edward staggered toward her and her snatched her into both arms, holding her close to his own body…He fell to the ground with her small body shielded from the cascade of stones and billowing clouds of dust…sections of the ceiling caved in around them…swords crashed to the floor on every side…iron shields were jarred loose from the pegs on the walls and clanged to the ground…the piercing noise echoed through the chamber…Even the torches quivered and broke from the sconces, lying desperately amid the rubble…

"Edward!" the little girl shrieked in his ear. "What's happening?!"

The thick dust in the room set Edward into a fit of coughing and choking so he couldn't begin to explain to her…He actually didn't know what he could say when he didn't know what happened himself…Tears poured from his eyes…his eyes burned from the oppressive dust…

As quickly as it had come, the violent trembling stopped…

Edward laid on the floor, breathing heavily and glancing in apprehension toward the ceiling, hoping the destruction was at last over…Rydia squirmed beneath him so he propped upon one arm and climbed uneasily to his feet, staring in shock at the ruined weapons chamber…

"…Edward?"

Rydia also scanned the dark chamber in awe.

"…What happened?"

The entrance to the weapons chamber was all but concealed by a mass of rocks and mortar and swords and shields…Edward sprang over the stones and kicked aside the debris to locate the door…or what was left of it…

"We can still leave…" he sighed with relief as he pounded at the wooden door with a fist…it grinded loudly against the door-jamb but opened slightly…enough for someone to leave…

Rydia started toward the prince but he spun around hurriedly and leaped to her side…

"--Rydia…stay here!"

He scooped a rapier from the floor and buckled it frantically around his waist. Rydia gazed at him in fear…

"What if --"

"Others will join you…soon!" Edward promised, dashing to the door again…He couldn't stay there any longer…he knew Rydia would be safe…the others would come soon…

"Edward!"

Rydia shouted over the noise of the chaotic crowds outside…

"Be careful!"

He nodded hastily and kicked the door further open…then he was gone…he disappeared down the dark hall…Rydia watched him leave, wide-eyed, then she sank down wearily in the darkest corner of the ruined weapons chamber, alone and afraid…

Suddenly she wanted her mother, and she started to cry…