Had she known this would've happened...
"Danchou, our left flank had been breached!"
"Hold, men! Hold!"
She would've eaten the biggest, meatiest, and fattest steak she can the day before.
"Danchou, our right flank had also fallen!"
"Tsk!"
She would've hugged her siblings a bit longer in her arms before she left for battle.
"Danchou, we need to retreat!"
"...retreat to the elven forest, Shirogane Knights!"
"But-danchou! We will be killed by the elves!"
"So will they!"
She would've never left for battle in the first place.
The final battle of Estalucia. This is what the head captain of Estalucia's knights called this expedition as he briefed Shirogane Noel. If victorious, it was said to deliver the most decisive blow that will decide the outcome of Estalucia's war against Favarro. This was said to be the clash that will spell the beginning of the end between the two empires that will end their long standing 30 year war.
Due to the gravity of such a mission, the head of the captains decided it'll be best to bring the best Order of Knights to accomplish the task, the Shirogane Knights, led by the Estalucia kingdom's most successful, most decorated, and most revered female knight in history, Shirogane Noel. Before leaving the kingdom, the royal family held a feast for the departing knights as a way to heighten their morale before riding into battle.
This was said to be their last mission...
...indeed it was.
Except this was the last battle that will decide the fate of the Estalucia kingdom, not the heated war between them and Favarro.
They were told to hike a mountain located far east deep inside enemy territory, camp there for 3 days, and as the empire's main army launch a siege to the western front, silently flank the eastern gates and hold camp there. After that, the Estalucian soldiers will have access inside the eastern region of the Favarro empire and will slowly branch off from there. The Shirogane Knights were a collection of the most elite knights of the kingdom, thus they number a measly 200.
But needless to say, they are the most lethal. Armed with minimal sustenance and equipment, they were sent there on a covert mission in an attempt to capture the mountainous lands of the eastern region of Favarro. Perfect for holding off sieges against the enemy.
If successful, they will build a temporary military camp in the mountains and slowly pour their soldiers from both the east and west to finally finish the war altogether.
That's what it was supposed to do.
Except the Favarro empire knew exactly what they will do. How?
The head captain of Estalucia's knights himself tipped them. The head captain betrayed the Shirogane Order...the head captain betrayed the Estalucia empire.
And so, here they are. The Shirogane Knights rapidly losing in numbers, spread razor thin, exhausted, and is about to be obliterated by the numerous enemy forces. With minimal sleep for days, plummeting levels of morale, and lingering hunger, Shirogane Noel made the hardest decision of her life.
"To the elven forest! There, we shall finish this!"
She had decided that she will accept her death.
From there, the rest of the Knights, now able to be counted with one's own fingers, forced themselves and mustered one last burst of strength to traverse to their final resting place. With only 9 of them, they ran.
And ran.
And ran.
Until they cannot run anymore.
Reaching a hundred meters into the forest, Noel and the remaining members of her order became were surrounded with nature. Trees, grass, flowers, dirt, and many more, they pushed through and into the forest for as far as they can until they hit their limit. With the sun falling and the sky dimming, it isn't long until the situation tips entirely into their favor. At least with the darkness, they could have a chance with their honed abilities as the fleet footed order of Estalucia.
Tired, Noel and the last of her knights slumped on the ground and leaned on each trees of their choosing, their breathing nearly audible as they draw their swords and held it with their hands. Noel estimated a number of around 70+ soldiers hunting them, now slowly flanking their sides to deliver their swift ends.
"Danchou..." One young knight of blonde hair, red eyes, and a striking beauty from within beside Noel's left called out to her, holding onto the arrow wound she received that hit her mid section. The remaining splint of the arrow still stuck in her stomach even as it was already bandaged. With baited breath, she smiled to Noel's position as her face grew increasingly pale, signifying her worsening condition.
"The arrow was poisoned, huh..."
Another knight, one with black hair and brown eyes looked at them and spoke, his tone meek and expression crestfallen as he gently caressed his bandaged left eye, one that he lost amidst battle a mere day before. He took his longsword from beside him, pulling it to his side before looking at its hilt.
"I-I promised I would return..."
Tears welled from his eyes as he gently touched the necklace wrapped around his sword's hilt, the necklace exquisitely designed with a small sapphire pendant as its highlight. The man took one more ragged breath, shaking his head off as he wiped the tear coming from his right eye. He was meant to be married after this mission.
Noel looked on the ground, her hair no longer showcasing the bright silver shine it once possessed, her face tainted with soot and blood as she looked to the sky. She pierced the ground with her sword and used it as a cane, taking one deep breath as she stood up anew. She knew the sorrow everyone around her felt. In mere days, they lost close friends, taken from them by the blade of the enemy...
...and the poisonous words of the ally.
But if this place is meant to be their final resting place, then so will their enemies.
Lingering dead bodies around, a single crow crawking directed Noel's attention to the serene blue sky turning a gentle shade of purple. The sky was dimming at every second, yet the enemies don't show any signs of retreating any time soon. Do they not know that beasts are at their most dangerous when cornered?
Their ignorance would bear some of Noel's older allies a laugh of two, but they're gone now for her to hear it, as much as it pains her heart.
"Danchou..."
The blonde haired girl called out to her once again, her breathing slowly going more and more faint as she held onto the wound.
"It was an honor fighting with you all..."
Noel suddenly spoke with a powerful voice. All of them knew. They were already surrounded. There were little, if any chance of survival at all. All their arms now feel weary, their legs limp, their body barely summoning the strength to put themselves above their feet once more. All hope they had were crushed, and they know for sure that even if they were at prime condition, they will not get out of this alive. All odds were stacked against them, but if anyone knew the Shirogane Knights the best, it's the captain herself.
"...training with you all, drinking with you all, talking, sleeping, laughing with you all..."
Shirogane Noel knew.
But this isn't the first time that all odds were stacked against them. Many times, they lost people. Many times, they pulled through seemingly impossible tasks. Many times they failed...
Many times they won.
And in all of these times only one person led them through it all, and that's her.
Shirogane Noel.
"...eating with you all..."
So if anyone would have the qualification to rally them all for one last clash, it'd be her.
Slowly, with the sun setting at it's lowest, each knight started to remove one part of their armor after another, setting them free from it's weight and allowing them to move freely again. With the luminescence of the night creeping and the light sounds of critters in the surroundings, Noel slowly stood up, along with the rest of them, even the girl with the arrow on her stomach was now exception. They all stood high up and projected one last salute, inhaled one last breath, and prepared for their one last hurrah.
Slowly, with Noel's leadership, they prepare for the last fight of their lives.
"...so will you give me the honor...?"
This was their last stand.
"...give me the pleasure..."
Their last dance.
Their last show.
Their last performance.
And if it truly is...
"...to die with you all...?"
...then they'll go out with a bang.
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'It hurts...'
She heard a voice. She knew exactly whose it was.
'It hurts...it hurts...it hurts...'
It was her own voice. Her voice, her final words before she was slain by one of the enemies. It was foolish of her to hope they had a chance, but she's not ashamed of their futile attempt.
She felt it again. The stinging sensation of her right hand being severed clean, the back of her head bashed by the hilt of a sword, and the kick that ravaged her mid section. She still feels it all.
It was excruciating...
...so why...?
Why does she feel safe for some reason? Why does she feel calm?
Her consciousness adrift, Noel found herself in the middle of nowhere. A place that one could poetically call "nothingness". It was dark, it was painful, it was mysterious. Noel felt terrified, her senses overwhelmed by the darkness of the scenario.
She didn't feel her own body, but she felt something else. Like a pair of ruby eyes intently staring at her. Is this death? Is she finally dying?
She heaved a sigh...so she really did die, huh...
Wait...heave a sigh? Suddenly, Noel felt her entire body. It was dark, yet she can see her own body. Slowly, she tried to move her fingers, to her arms, to her head...
It truly is her body! But...where is she? And how could she see her body in a place of pitch black darkness? There was nothing else in the place...just nothing...
In a feat of horror, a skeletal hand that come out of nowhere from under her moved closer to her, its fingers stretched wide as if it wanted to hold Noel. The skeletal hand was small, but as it flew closer to her, she soon realized it was big as a house. Like her own body, she was able to see what it is clearly even without any light.
Scared, she tried to move but was met with failure. Her body was floating in place, and there were nothing for her limbs to step or hold onto for her to move her body. In a last desperate attempt, she tried to shield her body with her arms, her mind plagued by the fear of the unknown.
It flew nearer and nearer to her, and all she was able to do was wait until it grabbed her body. With expectations at record low, she thought that she will finally be brought to hell, where she will serve the punishment for all the lives she claimed.
But a small figure of green hair suddenly appeared in front of her, as if protecting her from the skeletal hand. With a single swipe of her hand, the skeletal hand flew away farther than from where it came from.
Along with that, a dim, but progressively shining light from behind her started to illuminate the place. She was unable to move, but at that moment, she wanted to run to that light.
Unable to, it was the small figure with a dark green dress, green hair, and luminescent green butterflies flocking around her pushed her to that light. With a small, and gentle push, she flew back to the light.
The last remaining scene that she witnessed before she was swallowed by the light was the figure's gentle red eyes, crinkling delightfully as if finding bliss in her salvation.
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Care. Relief. Comfort.
Noel felt as if a terrible nightmare washed up her body, the once mighty knight unable to give strength to her whole body. Wait...again?
Waking up abruptly as her eyes jolted awake, she was met with the figure of a tan, blonde haired elf...?
"Don't move yet. Your body is badly beaten."
Confusion claimed all of Noel's mind as she tried to think of what might've happened to her before she lost consciousness. On the corner of her eye, a rather beautiful elf with the smile of a goddess was washing a cloth with water. She took that cloth and wrung all the excess water out of it, then walked back to Noel.
"My name is Shiranui Flare..."
She folded the cloth and laid it on Noel's forehead. Was she sick? Slowly, Noel realized her entire body feels hot. It was a fever, without a doubt.
With the grace of a princess from a far away land, the elf who introduced herself as Shiranui Flare smiled at Noel as she sat beside her body.
"How about you? What's your name?"
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