All This Time

To The Rescue

"So, your Majesty, how does it feel to be a king? Strange?"

"Not really," Claude said from atop his wyvern. They had set off from Almyra last night, with the estimated arrival time for Fódlan around afternoon. He had wanted to surprise his Teach; no way did she expect him to be coming back so quickly. He smiled slightly at the thought.

Finally, he'd be back. He didn't know how long it had been, but it had been far too long. He looked forward to seeing her.

"Really? Not weird?" Nader questioned, yelling so that Claude could hear him over the grueling wind. Nader and Nader had come along so that the King wouldn't be traveling alone. "Ah, I guess you're used to it. You would have been King of Fódlan already."

"Will be," Claude corrected with a knowing smirk. "Oh, Nader, Nadia? You don't have to call me Your Majesty. You know that, right?"

"Yes, Your Majest...Er..." Nadia struggled around it, laughing. She had come because she insisted that she had a bad feeling about something. "Sorry, I'm used to your father. He always adored being called Your Majesty."

"Well, I'm different."

"I'm aware. But it's funny to mess with ya," Nader grinned mischievously. "You never were one for nicknames."

"Well, Your Majesty is just far too formal for me," Claude winced. "Even the thought of having villagers call me Your Majesty is hard to believe. I've always just been Claude."

Well, and 'my love' by his Teach. Somehow, that title was far greater than any royal accomplishment that was bestowed to him.

"I suppose that's true," Nader chuckled. "Or 'boy'. I should have know that if you don't like being called 'Master Tactician' you wouldn't like being called 'Your Majesty'."

"Of course."

Claude patted Skye on the head gently, beginning to fantasize about his Teach's reaction. It was still quite a long journey until they were there...How would she react? Would she be happy-Wait, no. That's the wrong question. Claude knew she'd be happy. But what would she do?

Hopefully she'd run up to him, kiss him and hold him as they finally reunited. Claude couldn't wait for the moment to become reality. It was only a little longer, and then he'd be there...

"Hey, wait," Claude squinted from where they were flying, making out a large blob of dark shapes from very far away. "What is that? Up ahead?"

"That definitely looks like people marching," Nadia frowned deeply, and they all glanced at each other in worry. "It looks like they're headed towards Fódlan..."

"Let's hurry," Claude grimaced, and the two started to fly faster. The wind picked up, blowing them further in the direction of Fódlan. Claude could begin to see the amorphous form begin to run faster toward Fódlan, specifically toward...toward Garreg Mach.

Towards Teach.

Claude gripped his reins tighter, thankful that the wind continued to push them closer onward. The blob had disappeared from their sight, sinking into Fódlan. Claude just hoped they wouldn't be too late...

No. Teach could handle herself. Who could these people even be? Claude thought they had taken out those who slithered in the dark already. Another army, perhaps? It couldn't be Dagda, that nation had sworn peace. So who could it be?

Please, let us make it there in time.

The rest of the trip was silent, as Claude could only focus on the prospect of his Teach being in danger. Fódlan was still new, so...were people rioting? Was that what it was? No, they had all seemed pleased when he left, and he knew his Teach wouldn't have messed anything up. So then it had to be those who slithered in the dark...

Claude cursed under his breath. He would destroy them if it was the very last thing he did.

After the long trip, they finally made it back to Fódlan. They soared toward Garreg Mach, where Claude could clearly make out a flag with the Crest of Flames within the army attacking the monastery. His expression darkened upon seeing the bodies laying around, the Fódlan soldiers dropping like flies. A woman with wavy pink hair was commanding them.

Cornelia..?

Claude knew it had to be her. So, she'd been turned to the dark side. Made thing easier for Claude; he'd never liked her leading the Holy Kingdom. As Claude squinted into the fog, he could see the Golden Deer fighting. Hilda's long pink hair was visible from worlds away and he could see Raphael's large form attacking anyone who stood in his way. But where was...?

Ah. There she was.

His Teach.

She was swinging her sword with grace like always, taking down another soldier. She clutched at her stomach, and Claude frowned at this action. The situation must truly be dire if she herself was fighting. The situation did indeed look grim as those who slithered in the dark continued to march toward the gates...

But that was all about to change.

Claude swooped down into Fódlan at breakneck speed, Nader and Nadia following closely behind him. He armed his Failnaught with multiple arrows, spraying them into the mass of soldiers. He watched his Teach get approached by an armored general, and she held her sword with a pale expression on her face. Claude flew downward toward her, a determined look on his face.

No one was going to ruin what he had worked for, and certainly no one was going to hurt his Teach.