Love Can Save {An Aphmau Fanfiction}

Dante

Chattering voices filled the air before the gate, but the words were nonsense. They drifted in and out of my ears as I paced in front of the gates, heart hammering and chest heaving. We had maybe fifty guards milling around, but that number did nothing to calm my fears. The scene Laurance and Emma had so briefly described gave enough evidence that there was a great host approaching, and a few dozen village guards would do little to hold them off. But we had to try. We had to win.

"Dante!" My name managed to cut through the noise in my head, and I turned, trying to focus on the awful situation at hand. Running down the path, bundled tightly in a black cloak, was Garroth. Emma was a few steps behind, black hair streaming in waves. "Dante!"

"Garroth!" I almost sighed in relief, fully facing him as he joined me at the front of the group. "Thank Irene you're here. Has Emma filled you in on what's happening?" He nodded, pulling the winter cloak from his shoulders to free his arms to fight.

"She told me everything on the way over. Do we have everyone here?"

"We're missing a few, but a lot of people from the Island already made it over. Mainly we're just missing those with Aphmau, like Laurance and Katelyn and-" My words stopped all at once as I took in what he was wearing. "By the Six, Garroth, where is your armor?!" For under his winter cloak, Garroth was only wearing jeans and an old green jacket, nothing at all like his everyday armor that would have been perfect for the battle we were about to fight.

Garroth sighed, running a hand through his scraggly blonde hair. My concentration wavered just long enough to think that he was way overdue for a haircut. "You do realize that when I left this morning, I had no intention to fight in a war, right?"

"But that's no excuse! You always wear your armor, even on your days of-"

"I was visiting her grave." His whispered sentence was enough to stop my heart. His gaze had already dropped to our feet, and his entire body shuddered. "I didn't think it would hurt so much; it's been almost two years and this was the first time I've been..." He took a shaky breath, hands balling up into fists. As I watched him, I noticed the sword still hanging from his hip and was comforted ever so slightly.

"Garroth, I know you're hurting, and I'm sorry that this is happening right now. But there is no way in hell that I am going to allow you to fight in this war without your armor."

He lifted his head defiantly, eyes blazing. "You truly can't expect me to just sit back and watch as my friends put their lives on the line for the village I've called home for the past twenty years!"

"You missed fifteen of those years. I'm the one who's been here the longest, and I want you to accept my decision!"

"You do not get to pull that on me!" Garroth kept his voice low, knowing as well as I that we couldn't let the others know that we were fighting. All the same, his voice carried every trace of passion and fury he had inside. "I remember this village when it was just twenty people, struggling after the death of their lord. If I sit back and watch my people die, I will be no better than the Tulian soldiers killing them!"

"Garroth, Nana and Laurance would never be the same if you got yourself killed because you were too pigheaded to think straight! Aphmau would be devastated! Everyone would! Please," I grabbed his forearm and pulled him closer to me, trying to make him understand. "This is not because I don't think you can defend yourself. This isn't because I think you would be better off sitting this one out. This is because you are my brother. And I would rather walk through hell and wait another fifteen years than know that I had the chance to save you and I let you just walk right into the fray."

"Dante, I am going to do this whether or not you agree with me." He was deadly serious, the former fury drained out of his voice. "We take an oath when we become a guard. We swear to protect our village and our lord. The lives of the people we serve are held above our own, and we must do all we can to keep those safe who cannot fight for themselves. What kind of guard would I be if I turned my back on this village?"

"You'd be safe," I whispered, and he gave me a sad smile.

"There's fifty of us against an entire army. We have no choice but to use every guard we have in order to fight them off. There is a huge chance that none of us make it out of here alive Dante. So if it is to be death, then I will die protecting the village I love so much."

"Garroth..." He pulled me close, and I wrapped an arm around him, fear for my brother leaving my mouth dry. "There's nothing I can say?"

"I won't let you and the others die while I stand back. If there is no chance for any of us, I may as well give it my all. I am going to fight by your side Dante."

"At least take a shield or something."

"I'm wearing my chainmail under this. And without my armor, my greatest asset is speed. A shield would only slow me down. Trust me Dante, I don't plan on taking unnecessary risks."

I laughed, squeezing him tightly before letting go. "The day you don't take risks will be a rare one indeed." I stared into his eyes, making sure he understood how serious I was. "I will see you on the other side, won't I?"

He dipped his head, taking a step backwards with a gentle smile. "I'll see you again Dante. I swear it." With that, he vanished into the crowd, taking with him my fears and worries.

I turned to face the crowd, drawing my sword and raising it above my head to gather the attention of our guards. "Guards! Let us face the enemy together! Let us face them head on! Let us show them what it means to be an enemy of Phoenix Drop! Let us fight!" My cries rallied the crowd, my voice rising above the chatter in waves. A roar answered me, and I pointed my sword towards the gate. "We will fight to the end of the line to keep them out of our home! Let's go!" I could see several of my friends in the crowd, Dale and Alexis, Kyle and Corey, Richard, Evelyn, and Emma. The faces of young guards I had helped to train reflected up at me, and I shoved the fear and bile down. We would do what we must to keep Tu'la at bay. Squaring my shoulders, I lifted my sword even higher. "Charge!"