Weak To Fire

23

It took Mereoleona a while to wake up. Like, really wake up. She wasn't sure where she even was and what had happened, she just knew that she was in pain and that she was resting somewhere in bed. Her head hurt like hell and she tried to remember what the hell had happened and how she had even gotten here in the first place. It wasn't really the easiest thing to do for her, because for some reason her memory was failing her. Had she blacked out? But from what?

The last thing she remembered was Y/N in the bathtub. She was saying goodbye to her and then she left... where the hell did she go to? There was something really, really important... the mission! Of course. The mission of the Royal Knights. And she was their squad captain! How the hell had she forgotten about that? They were supposed to attack the Eye of the Midnight Sun's hideout. Mereoleona was sure that that had already happened at some point, she felt like she could remember something about a fight. She had definitely gone to the hideout with her squad...

And they did go in, they had a fight... She had gone in with Asta and Zora from the Black Bulls. There were some people there along the way that she had just incinerated... she remembered wanting to get revenge for Fuegoleon. For hurting him so much that he still hadn't woken up. That was the only thing in her head at that moment - that and keeping Y/N safe somehow. And then as they headed deeper into the dungeon... oh God. Mereoleona remembered.

There were two Astas... and she had just burned both of them to reveal the one that was a fake. She wondered if the real Asta was actually okay... but she knew she had no way to really find that out right now. He knew what he had been in for, anyway. One of them was Rhya... one of the most prominent members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, at least according to Mereo's intel. They had been fighting for a long time and he had kept retreating, trying to attack long range, but it was no use. Not if Mereo had already tasted some blood at some point.

But then... something happened... something with Asta, if she remembered correctly? She couldn't really think of what it was. Either way, they got into an argument when they really should have been focussing on the fight and what was going on right in front of them. And then Rhya was completely healed while they were exhausted and injured and Mereoleona thought that this was it. They were all going to die and it was Asta's fault, especially because Rhya was attacking with even more powerful magic now. It all seemed pretty hopeless at the time.

And then a lot happened... Rill Boismortier, the captain of the Aqua Deer, had come smashing through the ceiling, but he wasn't really Rill, he was someone else and it was all a big mess, as they finally all agreed to retreat... well, Mereoleona only agreed to get them out of there and face those two on her own. She remembered smashing a hole in the wall and then throwing them out, before fighting even more. Rill and Rhya and then there were more elves...

It was all a little foggy from there, and Mereoleona didn't bother trying to remember all the details of it. She was exhausted from fighting and a lot happened all at once and then her opponents were trying to make one final attack against her and then Zora and Asta showed up again, defending her. And that was when she blacked out - or at least she thought so. That was where she couldn't remember a single bit anymore. It was all a blur from that exact moment. She could remember some small bits and pieces, so she must have been at least half awake or something...

She remembered being dragged out of the dungeon and she remembered leaning against a tree and then... there was Nozel at some point and he used some magic on her. Mereo remembered seeing him, because his face looked so much softer than usual and it was almost like he was a kinder version of himself than the Nozel she knew. She remembered that his magic was slowly healing her over time, but then everything went completely black and now here she was, fully awake and her injuries healed, but her entire body still strained from being that hurt in the first place. All that magic in such a short time must have been draining on her body.

She sat up slowly, trying to figure out where she was now. Nozel must have brought her to a somewhat safe place. She recognized this room, even though it was taking her a while... this was her own house, one of the rooms near the door. Nozel probably had just dropped her off here and left. Why had he left again? Was there still a fight going on? They... They hadn't brought the fight to the capital, had they? If they had... Y/N was here. And Fuegoleon, too.

She got up, ignoring the pain in her limbs and her sore muscles as she made her way towards one of the windows. She needed to know what was going on, she needed to know whether there was anything she could do to help. If there was still a fight to be fought then she could help. Sure, she had been injured and everything, but Nozel had healed her, hadn't he? She was fine. She could go back and fight. She had to make sure that everyone she cared about was safe. She had to protect them, all of them. Especially Y/N and Fuegoleon and Leopold.

Mereoleona looked out of the window and could see that there were fights going on all over the place. It was a miracle that this place wasn't destroyed yet. Most of the fighting at this point seemed to be going on at Clover Castle... that was good to know. Mereoleona would have to go there immediately... but first she needed to make sure of something. Several things, actually. She needed to make sure that Y/N was still here and that she was okay and that she hadn't been made into one of those elf people. And then she had to make sure of the same for Fuegoleon.

She knew she didn't have to worry too much about Leopold, because he would probably be around his squad and Mereo was sure that they would make sure nothing was going to happen to him. Or at least she hoped so. They really should know better, because she would be mad if something happened to Leo. And no one wanted to have to deal with her when she was angry. The Crimson Lions knew that more than anyone else that they didn't want to piss her off.

Mereoleona took a deep breath and made her way out of the door and up the stairs to where she figured Y/N would be. She would probably be sleeping or in her room or taking her bath. If she stuck to her regular routine she'd be in the bath right now, but since there was a full on attack on the capital, Mereo wasn't so sure about whether the routine was still a thing or not. She wouldn't be surprised if some things had changed due to the current crisis. Mereo just hoped that Y/N hadn't gotten any notions and had gone out to try and fight. Sure, she could hold her own in a fight, Mereo knew that better than anyone, but she still didn't want her in any danger.

She quickly knocked on the door to Y/N's room and barely waited before she opened it. And there she was, pacing back and forth, before looking up at her as she opened the door. Mereoleona breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God, Y/N was still here. Thank God she was okay. She couldn't believe that she was still here, healthy and okay. She seemed a little shaken, but other than that she was fine.

Mereoleona walked up to her in a few long strides and wrapped her arms around Y/N, running her hand through her hair and kissing the top of her head. She felt like a million weights had been lifted off her chest. Y/N was okay. She was healthy, she was alive. Everything was going to be fine. She could finally breathe again and focus on whatever lay ahead of them.

"Mereo... Mereo, you're injured... are you okay?" Y/N asked quietly, brushing a few rogue strands of hair out of her face. Mereoleona just nodded.

"I'm okay. I'm okay now."