"YUNE!" Mist shouted as loud as she could, stretching her hand out as far as she could to grasp the hand of the younger girl. Except, the girl was no longer there. There was no tempest assaulting her with galeforce winds, no blackout impairing her vision, no field of daffodils or any mist of any kind. Certainly there wasn't any young brunette girl laying curiously in the middle of it all.

Mist wasn't at that curious place anymore. She was, in fact, in her own bed inside Gebal Castle. When clarity returned to her, she recognized it almost immediately.

'Yune…huh? I wonder…what made me scream out that name?' Mist thought she recalled her awakening. She had never heard the name before in her life, yet it somehow bore familiarity with Mist. As if she knew it for her entire life.

Mist raised her other arm, wincing in pain at the action. She studied her hand carefully. Clutched tightly within her palm…was her mother's keepsake. The bronze medallion radiated a gentle warmth, and Mist had found calmness gazing upon it. She lifted the medallion towards her chest, hugging it as if it were her own mother.

Mist wanted to set the medallion down, but she found herself unable to open her hand. In fact, a bit of blood was leaking out of the joint of her fingers. Apparently, she held onto the medallion tightly for so long that she was incapable of any other actions involving her hand.

As she wondered why that was the case, a flood of memories rushed into her mind. Rolf's departure, the three Daein soldier's attempt at raping her, the leader's decent into madness…all these horrific events assaulted her mind relentlessly, replaying over and over to torment her in her weakness and fatigue.

"KYAA!" She yelled, clutching her head with her hands to try and stave off the memories. No matter what she did, the memories continued to harass her mind. Her skin lit up with lines of goosebumps as she remember the disgusting hands of those inhuman soldiers. She hugged herself to try and remove the feelings she was receiving, shivering wildly and sobbing quietly.

Midst her plight, strange snoring noises could be heard relatively close to where Mist was. The snoring only got louder as her pain increased, and at some point the obnoxious noise was overriding the dark thoughts of her near-rape.

She turned to see what exactly was the source of the annoying sound. Sitting on the floor next to Mist's bed, was Mia. Her head was bobbing back and forth as she attempted to unconsciously keep it straight, failing over and over again in a humorous display of futility. The only constant was Mia's snoring, one that Mist found to be annoyingly familiar.

Be that as it may, she ultimately found comfort in the snores of the sleeping Mia. Even in sleep, Mia found ways to trouble her comrades, but this time, Mia had brought solace to Mist's troubled heart.

She remembered Mia's last second save. Mia was the one who slew the savage soldier when he tried to kill Mist. Despite everything that Mist had said to her, she still saved her life.

Shedding a few tears at the thought, Mist laid down on the bed, close to Mia's resting head, and wrapped her arms around her. Sniffling, Mist rested her head on Mia's shoulder, who unconsciously responded by rubbing her cheek on Mist's own, like a cat warming up to its owner.

"Mia…thank you…" She whispered at Mia's ear.

"One more fight boss…" Mia yawned sleepily. "I swear I'mma beat ya this time, so just give me another shot!"

Mist giggled quietly. Even in her dreams, the only thing Mia thought about was fighting and getting stronger. It was like Mist had thought before. That particular trait of Mia's was an incredible nuisance, but it was also one of the most endearing aspects of her personality. Mia wouldn't be Mia with her penchant for duels at dawn and challenging everyone, and for the first time since they met, Mist found herself okay with those eccentricities of the bubbly indigo haired myrmidon.

It took a while before Mia woke up. During her sleep, she was flailing her arms about wildly, as if she was actually engaged in a battle in her dreams. On the occasion she would spout out some nonsensical drivel, but for the most part it was entertaining to see Mia act so bizarrely even in her sleep.

Mist took a bit of comfort sitting next to the myrmidon. While she was waiting for the girl to wake up, she noticed that her clothing had been swapped during her sleep. Instead of her usual yellow blouse and skirt, Mist was outfitted with a white, sleeveless one-piece dress, with the skirt reaching slightly above her knees. The skirt was pretty loose, and she felt she could move around with ease, but she was a little upset at the choice of colors. White was the worst color to wear, especially if you wanted to travel around a lot. It was pretty easy to acquire stains, blood in particular, and it was pretty difficult to remove those stains…blood in particular.

Mist blushed deeply as she thought of who it was that could have changed her while she was unconscious, her bangs hanging over her clutched closed eyes, cheeks burning in embarrassment. She hoped it was either Titania or Mia that changed her. She would be okay if it was Rhys or Rolf, but if it was Boyd…Mist couldn't live with herself if it was Boyd.

The change was completely necessary, after all. Her blouse had been torn apart during the attack, and her undergarments and skirt had been defiled by her leaking urine. She still couldn't believe that she had wet herself during the whole ordeal, thinking herself to be far too old for such an accident to occur. But the attempted rape was such a terrifying point in her life. Even more so than the bandit kidnapping. The sudden transformation of that soldier from shameless pervert to psychotic murderer was further fuel to her fears.

She didn't know what would happen to her now. She didn't know how she would react around everybody else. She didn't know who knew about her ordeal. Mia certainly, but what about the other boys? How would Rolf be treated when they learn that he left Mist alone? How would Mist be punished when it comes to light that she didn't do enough to keep Rolf from running on his own?

She sat next to Mia on the floor as she thought about this. The uncertainty of what would come next unnerved Mist, so she decided to rest her head on Mia's resting shoulder. She wasn't wearing her pauldron, providing further comfort to Mist as she laid her head and focused on Mia's cyclic breathing.

The breathing was so rhythmic that Mist felt herself nodding off to sleep. It undoubtedly would have worked too, if the door did not suddenly open, knocking both Mia and Mist out of an unconscious state.

Immediately rising to her feet, and completely oblivious that Mist was resting on her shoulder, Mia looked frantically everywhere for the person or thing that riled her awareness. "Who's there, fiend?! Show yaself and prepare to be defeated!"

Mist, on the ground from Mia's sudden rising, rubbed her nose gently. She hoped it didn't get too hard when Mia's shoulder hit her. But she, too, was curious as to who came in the room. It was probably Titania or Rhys, trying to check up on Mist.

It was neither. Mist had never seen this new person before. She held a blank expression on her face as she witnessed Mia's eccentricities firsthand. Her eyes, devoid of life entirely, couldn't be determined whether it was annoyed, bored, or simply apathetic.

Her lavender hair was tied to twintails that hanged over her shoulder. She covered her shoulders with a short beige cloak, and she wore a rather simple light green blouse and violet skirt that matched her hair very well.

"Oh…was I interrupting something…" The young girl asked in a raspy voice. She sounded like she could just keel over at any given moment.

"Ah, Ilyana! It's just ya. Don't scare me like that, ya never know when I've got a blade in hand, amirite?"

"I'll…keep that in mind…"

"Mia…who is this person?" Mist asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Mist's voice completely caught Mia off-guard, prompting her to leap backwards towards Ilyana and the door. "Ah! I see these foul villains tried to sneak up from behind me! Well, ya won't get the best of me! I'm 100% alert at all times! And Ilyana is here with me! There's no way we're going to lose!"

"Hello…" Ilyana introduced herself, ignoring Mia's nonsensical shenanigans. "I'm…Ilyana. It's nice to meet you…" Ilyana's quiet voice and occasional pause in speaking left Mist incredibly worried for the girl. She seemed like she was sick and ready to collapse unless someone paid some medical attention to her.

"Hey Ilyana." Mist answered in a reassuring voice. "My name is Mist. The pleasure is all mine." Ilyana answered Mist's introduction with a soft nod.

"Oh, Mist! Ya shoulda told me ya where here!" Mia spoke, finally recognizing Mist's presence in the room. Mist would have normally been surprised at the indigo-haired woman's behavior, but such a thing was expected of Mia. Mist would have been more worried if Mia was acting normally. "Ha! Sneaking up behind me like that! Ya a crafty one! This is why ya gotta be my eternal rival. Uh-huh!"

"Mia…I just woke up…" Mist said in a tired voice. "I couldn't possibly have sneaked up behind you."

"Uh-uh, no way! Ya did sneaked up behind me! How else could ya have gotten past my amazing guard?"

"I don't know. By the way, thanks for sleeping next to me while I was sleeping. It made me feel safe."

Mia scratched the back of her head. "Hey, its no problem! Anytime boss!"

'She…still doesn't know that she was sleeping like a rock right next to me? Why can't she link those two things together?' Mist thought flabbergasted.

"By the way, do you…um…do you know…" Mist was a little nervous asking the question she was about to. She wanted to know who it was that changed her clothing while she rested.

"Speak up Boss! Don't be shy!" Mia encouraged.

"Well…umm…who was it…that undressed me…oh, goodness this is embarrassing…"

"What's so embarrassing about being naked? Doesn't it feel amazing and uplifting to be in the nude? Ya could feel the wind blow across your skin, and its like nothing gets to ya, ya feelin'?"

"C'mon Mia…you're a girl! Don't you have any shame? Doesn't these things…you know…aren't these things at least embarrassing to you?"

"Nope. Why would they be? It's just my body. What's so embarrassing about your body? Ya should have pride in what ya have!"

Mist's cheeks flushed a deep red. "M-Mia…you idiot!" She turned away from Mia. She couldn't understand how Mia could be so lackadaisical on so many topics. She knew she shouldn't think too deeply into these things, since Mia didn't bother to think too ahead with anything, but she couldn't help but worry about these issues.

"So yeah. I kinda sorta changed ya when ya where sleeping, just to answer ya question." Mia responded, bringing the topic back to the point.

She couldn't feel it, but Mist's cheeks brightened upon hearing the revelation. "But…where did you get the outfit? I don't remember ever owning a white blouse."

"Oh, that's one of my outfits! I was preparing it just in case I met my rival. I also have an outfit for males too, if that's what ya thinking."

"B-but this is a perfect fit…" Mist's cheeks flushed harder. The implications that Mia possibly…She couldn't even finish that train of thought, as the embarrassment threatened to shut her brain down.

"Ya never know who ya rival might be, so I bought like a bunch of different outfits. Took a while to find out which one fit ya."

"And…and my…underpants…"

"Oh, those are one of yours. I'm not about to give ya one of my panties, ya perv!"

'She went through my…my…oh goodness…' Mia's density was bound to melt Mist into a liquid goo on the floor. Yet, it was incredibly endearing, at least to Mist. But Mia's obliviousness only served to remind Mist of Ike's own density. With the thought of her brother in her mind now, Mist couldn't help but lower her gaze to the floor.

"What's…wrong, Mist…?" Ilyana asked, noticing the shift in Mist's behavior immediately. "Are…you alright…?"

"Yeah boss! Can't have my rival feeling down, now can we?"

"Rival?" Mist asked.

"Yeah! A met a fortune-teller on my way to the Gallian border, at Port Toha, and she said that I'd meet my rival, clad with white robes, and we'd have our destined duel at the onset of dawn! How dreamy…"

"Is…is that why I'm dressed in all white?"

"Ya really smart Boss! That fortune-teller, the one with silver hair and golden eyes, she looked like she was absolutely right! So I figured, If I can't find my rival, I might as well make one, ya feelin'?"

Mist simply stared at Mia with a deadpan plastered on her face.

"Speaking of feeling, what's got ya so cheerless?" Mia asked again.

'You're only saying that because Ilyana brought it up!' Mist thought. "Oh…I-it's nothing. I must still be sleepy. I've slept a long while after all. So…you're new, Ilyana. I haven't seen you before."

"Oh…It's-"

"Yeah! I recruited her myself! Ya won't believe how it happened!" Mia began her story. "So I'm surrounded by these two Daein lancers right? And they're thinking that they got me beat! Cuz lances beat swords, that's how it usually is right? So they both charge at me with their lances, but I twist away so elegantly! Like a cherry blossom petal in the wind! It was incredibly graceful, let me tell ya! So now these two Daein soldiers are all disoriented because their plan failed completely. So I take my chance to strike! SWOOSH! KAPOW! I sliced both of them up with one fell swoop! It was kind of impressive, let me tell ya! So, I'm readying up for the next batch of mooks, and Ilyana comes into my vision. To me, she looked like the kind of girl who would put up an amazing challenge, so I pounced on her with my trusty sword in hand! I'm getting ready to cut her up, but she completely dodges my attack! I was in shock! The normal mooks woulda died with that one sword swing! They kinda are a little dumb when it comes to dodging, but it's whatever. So, I'm getting pumped now, since Ilyana was the first in the battle to actually dodge one of my attacks. I feel the adrenaline pumping and I'm all excited to go and fight a worthy opponent! But then I couldn't find her! I looked all over, but she vanished! Like the wind! I couldn't help but have this big, stupid smile on my face! She was so good! Then there was this other mook that tried to sneak up on me, but he was super clumsy and very loud, and I dealt with him pretty quickly. So I'm searching around for my newfound rival, but I couldn't find her! When all my hopes seemed dashed, I heard a loud grumbling noise. It was the loudest grumbling noise I've ever heard! Even louder than my own stomach! I couldn't believe it! On the ground, was Ilyana. She looked like she was gonna die. I couldn't let that happen to my new rival, so I run up to her and check on her. She places her hand on my cheeks, coughing harshly and stuff, and tells me that she hasn't eaten breakfast. That was the most depressing story I've ever heard. Going to battle, and ya haven't even eaten breakfast yet…It's hard to fight on an empty stomach, believe me. She told me they could didn't feed her, and had her form up with the other soldiers, despite the fact that she wasn't even a combatant! But then her stomach growled again, and she had another coughing fit! I reached into my satchel in panic and pulled out a nice little biscuit I was holding onto for myself, just in case. And I offer it to her, asking her to fight me fair and square once she's feeling better. She gives me a nod and takes the biscuit and eats it in one go. All of a sudden, she's up and about! Like she was never even weak in the first place! I was so happy! I could feel it right there, the imminent battle between me and my one true rival, a life and death confrontation that would bring out only the best in both of us! So I have my sword ready, about to strike when I hear thunder clap on the battlefield. Turning towards Ilyana, I see her using a Thunder tome to bring down three Daein soldiers trying to rush up on us. She then turns towards me, tells me I'm a good person, and that she would fight for me. Biggest disappointment in my life, not even gonna lie. Plus, she was a mage, not a swordswoman. That was doubly disappointed. So, I decided to take her in as my protege, and teach her the arts of sword combat! Since I see so much unrivalled potential in her. There's no way she couldn't be an amazing swordswoman! By the way, after she joined up with us, we ended up taking out like 15 to 20 soldiers together. I don't really know, I lost count with all the blood pumping up to my brain and my sword. But it was exhilarating for sure! And that's how I ended up meeting Ilyana."

"Oh, so you were travelling with Guston's caravan for a while, huh?" Mist verified Ilyana's statement.

"Uh-huh!" Ilyana replied, munching on a biscuit that Mist had given her once Ilyana explained her fatigue was due to hunger. She had made a remarkable turnaround immediately after receiving that sustenance. Ilyana had become attached to Mist instantly upon her offering of the biscuit. "The people in the caravan are very nice. They always feed me with wonderful food. You're a nice girl too, Mist. Thanks again for the food."

"Don't worry about it!" Mist smiled. "If you're gonna be travelling with us, then you're gonna have a lot of opportunities to taste my cooking. Just think of this as an appetizer for the future…even though this is just…well…stale biscuits…"

"I still appreciate it Mist." She took another bite of the biscuit. "Thank you so much!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Whatcha guys doin' over there? I thought ya where listening to my cool story?"

"Huh? You were taking too long to get to the point." Mist answered. "So I asked Ilyana directly. She was straight to the point, so we talked a bit more while you were rambling on."

"B-b-b-b-b-but…my story…t-t-the kapow sounds…and the swoosh…" Mia looked like she was about to cry, but such a display didn't fool Mist in the slightest. There was no way Mia would get depressed over something as trivial as this.

"So, what are you doing over here, Ilyana?" Mist asked, getting back to the original topic at hand.

"The commander asked me to check up on you." Ilyana spoke normally, without any stuttering or nervousness. It was surprising how easily Ilyana could bounce back from the verge of starvation.

"Oh, is that all?" Mist asked. "Well, I'm doing…doing…huh?" Unbeknownst to Mist, tears streaked down her eyes. She didn't know why at first, but the reason dawned on her quickly enough.

She was alive. They all were alive.

She had been speaking so nonchalantly with Mia and Ilyana that she had almost completely forgotten that just a day ago they entire company risked complete annihilation from a Daein Legion. They all put everything on the line, against considerable odds, just so that they could live to fight another day. Even Mist, who was told to wait inside in relative safety, had her own ordeals to work against in the form of her attempted rape.

And they did. They all survived the night. She was alive.

Wiping her tears at the realization, all she told Ilyana was "I'm alive…"

"Of course we are, Boss! Ya didn't think we'd kick the bucket that easily, didya?" Slicing through the tension with her endearing obliviousness was Mia's retort to Mist's response.

Mist smiled, and opted to playfully answer in kind. "You didn't think we'd survive that, did you?" She asked, softly punching Mia's arm.

"Of course I did! There was no way I was gonna die here! I mean, I haven't had my climactic battle against my chosen rival yet!" Mia's grin was wide and toothy, displaying all the confidence she had in her belief. "Then again, ya'll are pretty amazing, as a company I mean. Even without the two veterans, that bookworm raven and the Bosses, ya'll fought like demons! It pumped me up so much! Made me feel like I had to work twice as hard just to keep up, I'll tell ya!"

Mist giggled. Hearing Mia's praise of the Greil Mercenaries only helped to bolster her own confidence in the team. A sad smile on her face reminded her that this was the family that her father worked so hard to build. She was immensely grateful that she was alive to continue to travel with the company still. After all, it was all the legacy her father and brother had left. She needed to work hard, so that she, too, could be a part of that legacy.

"Shame, really. 'Bout the runt. He killed a couple of Daeins, but he wasn't looking out for himself."

With that statement, time slowed down for Mist. Her heart-rate spiked instantly, and her breathing increased subtly.

"T…The runt? Heh…which runt?"

"I don't remember his name, but he had light-green hair. He had this bow with him, and he certainly knew how to use it, credit to him."

Mist held her palms over her mouth in an effort to control her breathing. There was no she could be talking about Rolf, could there?

"He came out of the front door of the castle and immediately sniped a soldier that was trying to sneak up on me! I was pretty grateful for the timely help, that's for sure. In battle, of course, things are constantly changing, so ya gotta change with the things, ya know what I mean. Especially with so many soldiers in such a small area like the courtyard of the castle. Ya couldn't stick to just focusing on one guy at a time, ya always needed to move on to the next after striking down ya opponent. No time for calculatin' nothing. I guess he wasn't fast enough. I didn't see what happened, but I couldn't hear the sound of a bowstring letting loose on our side anymore, so I guessed he got killed. Kinda sad really, I didn't get a chance to thank him for saving my life!"

Mia was so preoccupied with telling her story once again, that she failed to notice the horror apparent on Mist's face as the consequences of her actions dawned on her. Ilyana, astute as she was, immediately provided comfort to the troubled young girl, who was working through the realization that she didn't do enough to stop Rolf from getting himself killed.

Nothing seemed to go right in the slightest for the Greil Mercenaries. Since achieving their objective, which was to escort Princess Elincia to Gallia for safe keeping, Greil and Ike were both slain by an as of yet unknown assailant, and Soren, the tactician for the company, attempted suicide and was currently incapacitated.

Now, the youngest member of the mercenary company, Rolf, was joining Greil and Ike on the cliffside gravesite overlooking the ocean. It was yet another funeral that Mist had to attend: yet another death that she failed to prevent.

Mist couldn't help but blame herself. It was questionable in her mind whether or not she was at fault for the deaths of Ike and Greil (she heavily believed herself to be), but it was undeniable that she was left in charge of the rambunctious young boy who sought to prove himself and died trying. Granted, the entire situation they were in was impossible and they surely should have perished. It was a miracle that almost everyone in the company was alive, and that they were not holding a funeral for more of their members.

Still, Mist devastated herself with her constant, self-defeating thoughts. Yet, she could not bring herself to cry. Perhaps, she didn't feel as much for the boy as she liked to admit. The thought frightened her; Rolf was the closest thing to a friend that Mist had in the mercenary company, and when she wasn't spending time with her family or performing chores for the group, she was playing around with Rolf.

Their childish, innocent relationship was the only facet of normalcy within the group. Whenever anybody saw the two play around, it reminded them that not everything was about saving villages from bandits or stopping pirates or ruffians from attacking coastal towns. The mercenaries could rest assured that not everything in their lives needed to relate to violence.

Here they were. Another member lost before his time had even came. And the only thing that swallowed Mist's thoughts were how weak she was. How she was unable to prevent anything. How she couldn't protect anyone. So many people that she held dear have already died before her, while she did nothing but stand in the sidelines, safe and sound and incapable of even remotely changing any outcome.

Boyd and Oscar, Rolf's only family remaining, stood grim and silent, staring emptily at Rolf's gravestone. He was buried right next to Ike, his bow, crafted with some assistance from Shinon, standing right next to it. Each gravestone held something of importance to the person buried beneath it: Greil's axe Urvan, Ike's broken Regal Sword and his headband tied directly to the gravestone, and Rolf's Bow, strung over the gravestone. It served as a reminder to the world that these people once lived. That they fought and that they died fighting.

Was this the end that all mercenaries where fated to succumb to? Mist shuddered at the thought. She looked around at everyone. Titania, Rhys, Boyd, Oscar, and Mia. Were they all going to die in battle? Just some nameless sellsword with no honor or glory to hold their names in high regard? Will she die fighting too?

Somehow, the thought of her death in combat comforted her. If that were to be the case, she took solace in knowing that she would die in the exact same way that her entire family did.

Ilyana and the rest of the merchant caravan were not there. They did offer their condolences to Rolf's brothers as well as Titania, but they reasoned that it would be awkward to be at a funeral for someone they hardly knew.

The laguz who had just saved them, Mist had learned a little while earlier, also did not attend. They were in an incredible hurry to return back to the capital, but they were gently convinced by Titania and Rhys to allow them to finish the burial and mourning procedures.

Soren was still recovering from his attempt, and couldn't leave from his bed anytime soon, so he also couldn't make the funeral. The only people in the funeral right now were the able-bodied members of the mercenaries, which, tragically, continued to decline day after day.

Mist stepped forward from the crowd. As Rolf's best friend, she felt obligated to provide an obituary for the fallen young boy. The atmosphere was solemn beyond words. Even Mia stood silent, although that was mostly because Mist goaded Mia to reluctantly stay silent throughout the funeral, claiming she might cause a situation to arise from the grieving brothers if she were to say something inappropriate. Of course, Mia objected to the claim, but Mist still managed to silence Mia for the event.

"Rolf…Oh Rolf…" Mist began, unsure of how, exactly, to start the obituary. "Rolf…we've been through so much together. Ever since you and your brothers arrived at our small headquarters all those years ago, we've been pretty much inseparable. You were the youngest out of all of us, and the most shy. I remember Boyd often made fun of you for how timid you were."

"But then, we were kidnapped by bandits. All you could do was cry, and I had to be the shoulder you cried on. When we were saved, you came to me and told me that you were tired of feeling weak. That you were tired of letting others protect you. That you wanted to become stronger, just like your brothers."

"And so, you secretly went to Shinon, the man who saved you, and then you pleaded with him to teach you archery. You never once relented, going to him day in and day out until he finally gave up and started teaching you. I watched you from the sidelines as you became more and more determined with each failure. At the time, I felt nothing but pride when you finally got what you wanted."

"But now…now…I can't help but be jealous of you. How…? What made you never give up? What was it that pushed you to try and become stronger? You went out of your way to want to help everybody secretly, while I decided to be content with just…just…"

Mist took a moment to herself. Now wasn't the time to berate herself on her own weakness. That would be completely selfish of her, considering that this was the time to honor Rolf's memories.

"I'm sorry, Rolf. You may have been the youngest of all of us, but you had more heart than any of us ever did. You didn't want to stay in the sidelines, crying to yourself and waiting to be rescued. No. You wanted to be a man, just like your brothers. To fight by their sides, and to protect them just like they did for you."

'Just like I should have done for my own family…'

"I should have done more to stop you! I knew where you were after Shinon left us! I knew you weren't ready for real fights yet…But I didn't do anything. Your words…they got to me. And even though I knew you weren't strong enough…I let you go. I didn't stop you. You just…walked away towards the fighting, while I just stood there and…and…and cursed my own weakness!"

"I'm sorry Rolf! It was my fault you died! I was the one who killed you! I…I…I couldn't protect you…"

Mist stood in front of Rolf's grave, hands balled into fists that shook nervously at her own admittance of guilt. There was no denying it. She really was the one who killed Rolf.

"Mist no, that's not true!" Boyd answered Mist, slowly approaching her. "Mist…you didn't do nothing. Don't blame yourself for what happened."

"Boyd…" Mist whimpered, turning to face the older boy.

"Rolf wouldn't want this from you. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself. He…he chose this for himself. He…It's just like you said. He wanted to protect us. Using his own strength. If there's anything we brothers inherited from our father, it was his bull-headness, that's for sure!"

Mist understood that Boyd was trying to reassure her. But she couldn't accept it. She had managed to convince her own mind that she was the reason that Rolf had died. She refused to make eye contact with Boyd in his futile attempt to comfort her, opting instead to stare directly at the ground where Ike was laid to rest.

"Mist…please…" Boyd tried again to reassure her, this time gently placing a hand on her shoulder. Immediately, Mist stiffened. She stopped moving completely. She stopped breathing completely.

That single touch from Boyd froze her over entirely. She clutched onto her medallion tightly for support, but the memories of the rape attempt flushed her mind all at once. The men holding onto her arm tightly, causing her skin to redden and bruise grotesquely. The man defiling her innocence by touching her all over, while she was helpless to stop him. The disgusting, slimy feeling of his tongue feeling all over her body like a leech sucking her blood. All those sensations rushed at her at once, forcing goosebumps all over her arms and sending shivers of fear down her spine.

Instantly, Boyd felt something was off with Mist. "Mist…Mist is everything? What's going on? Mist?" He placed his other hand on her other shoulder and softly shook her. Mist responded by hyperventilating uncontrollably. She couldn't even scream, the flashbacks of the rape attempt and her hyperventilation blocking all sensible responses other panic.

Soon, the other mercenaries found themselves worried for the young Mist. Oscar and Rhys did not fully understand what was ailing the girl, and Boyd was at a complete loss of what was wrong at the moment.

Titania, however, knew exactly what Mist was responding to. She had guessed what happened to her when Mia approached Titania with an unconscious Mist, her clothing tattered and ripped. But this response from Boyd was undoubtedly a panic attack caused by a reaction to her memories. Titania had seen girls just like Mist succumb to repressed fears after horrible attacks, and she cursed herself for not seeing the signs for what they truly were.

"Boyd. Step away from Mist, now." Titania commanded.

"But ma'am-"

"Now!" She yelled, surprising nearly everyone there. Boyd answered with an uneasy nod and let go of Mist, who didn't seem to register the fact that Boyd wasn't even touching her anymore.

"Mia, take Mist back to her room and give her some water. When she gets better, tell her to come and meet with me. We are going to need to talk."

Mia, the only person in the group who kept her calm in the face of Mist's panic attack, simply nodded.

The feel of Mia's long, slim, feminine fingers, brought some semblance of ease to Mist's unconscious mind, and she slowed her convulsions slightly. Her breathing, however, remained erratic and uncontrollable, enough to the point where she actually couldn't breath properly. Still, Mia's close presence calmed Mist unconsciously, allowing her to cooperate smoothly as they returned to the Castle.

When Mist was finally brought to her bed, she regained alertness and had a little understanding of what just happened to her. She remembered suddenly freezing up and breathing uncontrollably, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was that caused her attack to occur. She was so distraught with her own self-pity that she couldn't really factor much of anything that happened.

All she knew was that Mia was with her, sitting by her side as she found herself laying on her bed. Mia had said some words to her that she couldn't really understand before standing up and walking away.

A fear of being alone gripped Mist all at once, and she desperately reached out to grab Mia's retreating arm.

"Don't leave me Mia!" She screamed with all her heart. "Please…just for tonight…"

Mia stood there, her back facing the fragile girl, before answering her with a nod. Sitting back next to Mist, who rested in a fetal position, she gently stroked Mist's hair, an act that both surprised Mist, due to the gentle and caring nature of it, and composed her. Mia, despite her eccentricities, was more of a motherly figure to Mist, comforting her enough to allow the brunette to open up to her.

"I…I don't want to feel like this anymore…" She confessed. "I'm tired of feeling weak and useless. Mia…tell me…what should I do?"

Mia stood silent for a moment, gauging what it was that she should do in this moment. Mist took the moment to grab the hand that was stroking her hair and hold it softly.

That was the catalyst Mia needed to push forward. She felt like she was being a little selfish, given the situation, but it certainly was the only answer she could actually provide for Mist.

"If ya don't wanna be weak, Boss, then ya need to get stronger. It's as simple as that."

"Then…then how? How can I get stronger?"

"Ya don't need me to tell ya that, do ya?"

Mist looked down on her clothing. The sleeveless white blouse and skirt that Mia had dressed her in when she was unconscious. She knew what the color symbolized for Mia, and she knew now what meant for her. The answer was as simple as Mia said it.

To get stronger, she needed to learn how to fight. And what better way to learn than to be a rival to someone who walks the path of the sword?

With a small nod to herself, Mist became Mia's rival.

Well. I tried to cut the tension. It didn't work...

Next chapter will be the first Gaiden Chapter. It will be in the perspective of Ike as he approaches his untimely demise.

Gaidens will be written in First-Person, and will always feature a perspective that is not Mist's own. Gaidens will provide more insight on events that occur in the story that cannot reasonably be provided by Mist's PoV. Gaidens will also provide more detailed information on Tellian lore, as well as answer some plot holes left behind by the duology of games. What kind of plot holes, you may ask? Ha, like I'd give that information to you right now, you sneaky rascal!

Finally, I have commissioned a Book Cover for this story! It's gonna be $60 USD, so this is now a story I've invested in. That means that I cannot drop this story at all, otherwise I would have wasted $60. Good news for everyone but me!

So join me next time as we walk through Ike's deathly path against the insidious Black Knight.

PS: YAY FOR 5 CHAPTERS! LET'S KEEP THIS GOOD THING GOING!