Everyone else is doing it so why not me? Lol. I love the game so, this is my attempt at writing the story for Final Fantasy Tactics. It'll be different from the others that are on here. How? For one... I won't be using the generics. Do Rad, Alicia, and Lavian count as generics though...? Anyway, I digress. Other than that... You'll have to see what else I've done differently I suppose. It may not be as good as the others, but I gave it my best shot. All I ask if that you enjoy it and possibly even write a small review or something. ^w^

I'll leave the intro at that. Please enjoy.

Final Fantasy Tactics and all characters associated belong to Squaresoft. This is just a fanfiction and is not meant to infringe on any laws or that kind of stuff.

Sword Song

Chapter 1: Chapel

Agrias Oaks tapped her foot impatiently as she stood outside the large oak doors of Orbonne Monastery with arms crossed and brows furrowed. The weather did little to help with her mood. Dark heavy clouds shadowed the sky hinting there would be heavy rain later during the day.

"Where are they…?" She mumbled her thoughts aloud. They were already an hour late. Surely the knights of the Hokuten should at least arrive at the designated area ahead of the agreed time. Her opinion for these men she would be working with was already low.

Why do I need help to protect the Princess? To request additional aid was like telling the Holy Knight that she and her knights were ill sufficient for the job. She scowled as she stared at the horizon for this aid she felt she would not need.

"What's the rush?" Her female knight says from her right side. She was a few years younger than herself, slim, but it was hard to tell over the armor she wore, and of average height. Her dark brown eyes shined brightly from her pretty face and long blond hair fell halfway down her back. One could easily tell this girl was very energetic with the way she fidgeted with her broadsword and how she constantly shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "It's not like the princess is ready to go any time soon."

"That's not the point." Agrias turned her scowl to Alicia who smiled sheepishly at her commander. "You want to make a good impression with your employer. Anyway, we have a full days travel. I would like to get to Dorter Trade City and find an inn before it starts raining."

"You're right." Alicia looked skyward at the dark clouds.

"So… What do you intend to do if they don't arrive Lady Agrias?" Lavian, her other knight asks softly next to Alicia. She was closer to Agrias's age and a little taller than Alicia. She wore soft shoulder length brown hair with emerald eyes that seemed flat. Her face rarely showed any type of emotion giving her a serious person type of feel, but Agrias knew better. She was the prankster of the group.

Agrias mused over the question for a few seconds before shrugging. "We'll just go without them and leave them a message. I'll just tell my superiors they never showed up."

"But we still have to wait for the princess." Lavian points out.

"Speak of the devil." Alicia points at a trio of men walking slowly towards them.

Agrias's lips thinned as she watched the knights. Their body language told her a lot. She cursed her superiors and the Hokuten for sending her these people. Their commander who stood in front probably was a great fighter and looked like he knew what he was doing, but the other two following him looked to be very suspect. This did not look well for her at all. These men would only slow her down.

When they were close enough Agrias got up and strode out to greet the trio. Her boots crunched on the dead leaves on the grey stone coinciding with the chink of her armor. "I assume you're sent by the Hokuten." She says coldly not even masking her feelings. She clearly did not want to work with these men, but she was a professional. She would just have to push aside her feelings and try to get along with these knights.

"We're the guards." The commander nodded arrogantly. He turned slightly to look at her two knights she commanded and smirked shaking his head slightly. Her brow furrowed deeply angered at this man's attitude toward her knights.

However, this was only for a split second, not enough for anyone to notice as she returned her face to her usual cold glaring self. "Agrias Oaks of St. Konoe Knights in Lesalia." She held out her hand. She hated how this man was taller than her by a good head. She was forced to look up at him.

The commander wearing full dark brown armor twirled his white mustache ignoring her hand completely. "Gaff Gafgarion." He then stabbed a thumb over his shoulder at his subordinates. "Rad Kercher and Ramza Ruglia." The one called Rad merely looked at her for a brief second while Ramza gave her a quick nod.

Agrias scowled at the man no longer going to pretend to show any kindness towards this group. She disliked them, but she especially hated this man named Gafgarion. She knew they would not get along no matter what they tried. Why bother?

She turned her gaze away from the Gafgarion to look at his followers. Rad wore plain brown clothes and light armor. His short dark hair was covered by a hood. He looked to be indifferent about everything making him seem older than he really was. Ramza donned a dark purple breast plate and silver greaves that covered up to his thighs. He wore short blond hair and was slightly taller than Agrias, but his blue eyes appeared hollow, lifeless. They were both probably around Alicia's age and both clearly did not want to be here. Fantastic… Not only did they send me the bottom of the barrel, they sent me unmotivated soldiers as well.

Agrias sighed at the help she received not even bothering to cover it up. She was clearly disappointed. She would just have to make do with what she had. Still, they could not be trusted. She did not know them. For all she knew, they could be assassins posing as the Hokuten knights.

"The princess will be ready soon." Agrias turned her back to the proclaimed Hokuten knights as she headed into the monastery.

"Watch them closely." She whispered to Alicia and Lavian as she passed her two knights.

Gafgarion watched as the one named Agrias walked into the monastery. She wore a blue tunic under her plate armor with thick leather gloves protecting her hands. She walked in her dark brown trousers with metal knee guards and leather boots. Her tightly braided blond hair fell to the mid of her back and swayed as she walked. She shield she carried on her back was made of plain metal that carried the insignia of her knights. The scabbard on her left hip was blue he noted and carried a tuck sword. However, what made the biggest impression on him were those fierce blue eyes. She was a beautiful woman no doubt, but a very intimidating one. Still, she was a woman.

Gafgarion smirked as the doors closed behind the holy knight. He looked over his shoulder at the two squires and lifted his chin up. They gave a quick nod and followed the veteran mercenary.

"Princess Ovelia, let's go." Agrias says quietly to a figure kneeling by the altar. The princess, wearing a simple white dress and a red traveling cloak, had her hands together in prayer.

"Just a moment, Agrias…" She replies to her knight without looking up. Agrias shifted impatiently as she brushed her braided blond hair behind her. She realized her prayer was important, but they would not arrive to the next city if she waited any longer. They were already way behind schedule as it is.

"The guards have arrived." Distaste could clearly be heard in Agrias's voice and she made no effort to hide it.

"Princess, don't give Agrias trouble. Please hurry…" A priest dressed in yellow robes says beside Ovelia as he oversaw her prayer. Not even this pious, old man could move her. Agrias sighed lightly when the doors to the church burst open.

"What's going on?" The man dressed in full dark plate armor walked in followed by his two squires. "It's been nearly an hour!" He says loudly not caring that he stood within holy grounds.

"Don't be rude to the princess, Gafgarion." Agrias hissed at the man. They barely arrived and they have the gall to say it had been an hour! The sight of him and his men angered her. They not only barged into holy ground, not only lie, they had no manners to speak of. This was the princess! She is royalty! Treat her as such!

The two squires kneeled down while Gafgarion merely bowed his head. At least they showed some manners. "Is this going to be alright, Agrias? This is an urgent issue for us."

Agrias simply ignored the question angered by Gafgarion's attitude towards the princess. Why her superiors could not trust her alone with the princess's protection was beyond her. She did not need this man. She had obtained the rank of Holy Knight at an extremely young age. The lack of trust from her superiors angered her. She wouldn't have to deal with this man if they just given her the job and let her do things her way. "So there are rude knaves even among the Hokuten?"

"I'm being more than kind to the guard captains here." He shrugged at her angry glare. "Besides, we're mercenaries hired by the Hokuten. I'm not obliged to show respect to you."

"What?! How dare you!!" Agrias took a step forward as her hand reached to her side to grab her sword. Gafgarion himself crouched down as he did the same. They didn't send me knights, they sent me mercenaries. What were my superiors thinking!?

"Enough!" Princess Ovelia stood up from her prayer stopping the mild conflict before it could turn into something more. "Let's go."

The two squires previously kneeling stood up continuing to look down. Agrias turned her back to the trio of mercenaries and looks over to the princess as she maked her farewells with the priest.

Ovelia walked down from the altar and walked over to the old priest. "Go with God."

"You too, Simon." She smiled at the elderly priest giving him a hug.

However, the peaceful moment was broken by a loud bang from the monastery door as it slammed open.

"Lady Agrias!" An injured female knight staggered into the sacred area. Simon quickly ran to her side and offered her a shoulder as she had her hand pressed onto her wound. "The enemy!"

"Prince Goltana's men!?" Simon said shocked with a look at Ovelia. Before anyone else can say a thing, Agrias rushed out of the monastery in a blue blur.

"What one must do for money." Gafgarion smiled and shook his head. He turned to a squire who was staring at him. He had been staring at him for a while. "What, Ramza? You have a problem, too?"

The young man named Ramza quickly turned his lifeless blue eyes away from his leader. He was quiet for a few seconds only staring at the floor before he answered softly. "I'm no longer a knight, just a mercenary like you."

Gafgarion glared at the young man with short blond hair before starting towards the door. "That's right." He snorted. " Well then, let's go!" Gafgarion left followed by Rad then Ramza.

"Oh God…" Ovelia could be heard saying from inside. Blood would be shed here on these holy grounds.

"The crest of the Black Lion!?" Agrias said with shock in her voice. The knight that stood on the other end of the stone walkway wore the white cape with the black lion's crest clearly shown. It was also adorned on the shield he carried. "What's wrong with Prince Goltana!? He's such an idiot! Does he want to start a war!?"

"Knave!" The knight yelled out to her. "There's no point in resisting! Just give us the Princess, or that beautiful face of yours will be scarred forever!" Behind him, five other knights, three archers, and a chemist stood at the ready.

Agrias grounded her teeth as her mind raced to come up with a plan. It was obvious they were looking for the princess and with only Lavian and Alicia beside her, they were outmatched. However, she would find a way. She always did. She would defeat them no matter what, not to mention they showed Agrias and her knights little respect. She was a knight before she was a woman.

The black mercenary and the two squires appear from the monastery. Gafgarion quickly looked out at the knight who stood before them assessing the situation. "Fool!" He growled. "Only idiots attack head on!"

"Leave this to us!" Agrias took a step forward. She did not want any help from these jokes of warriors. They would only get in the way.

"We can't make money that way!" Gafgarion unsheathed his sword as he took a step forward. The knights across the walkway do the same, the archers notched arrows into their bows, and the enemy chemist had potions in both hands ready. "Rad, Ramza, Follow me!! Kill them all! Don't leave any survivors!"

"Nonsense!" Agrias turned to the black knight with a scowl. "There's not need to kill them! That's just what Goltana wants us to do! Just let them go!" They were just pawns used for some greater purpose and killing them here wasn't going to help the princess. They should just send them back to where they came from.

"That's impossible!" Gafgarion yells. This marks the battles beginning as the enemies start to charge.

The charge is quick and straightforward; Agrias barely has time to pull out her sword and shield to block the head knight's strong downward slash at her head. These men were clearly well trained as all Agrias can do is parry the attacks. She took a quick moment to stare past the knight she was engaged with and saw that Lavian and Alicia were as hard pressed as she was. What made it worse was whatever damage she was doing was being healed by that damn chemist sitting back there. The archer's weren't helping either. She had to be wary of the dancing blade and the flying arrows.

The knight finally was able to rend the Holy Knight of her shield as it clanged several paces away. However, this small moment left the knight's thigh wide open as she lunged forward bringing her sword down at the man's leg. However, the enemy saw this as he jumped backwards a couple paces. Agrias smiled knowing victory was hers.

"Life is short… Bury! Steady Sword! "She swung her sword down as her Holy Sword skills went to work. Shards of crystals began to appear above the unfortunate knight only to form into one giant one and fall crushing the man, all in less than a half second. A moment later, they disappeared as if never being there other than to have felled the enemy.

"Let's go Ramza." Rad mumbles as Gafgarion charged the chemist and Agrias engaged with the lead knight. He pulled out his large axe while Ramza unsheathe his claymore. The duo of squires charged at a group of three knights side by side. Pulling the large poled axe behind, Rad quickly brought the weapon overhead and brought it down on the enemy with great force. However, it split between two knights as they went separate ways to dodge the weapon. Using the momentum from the swing, he vaulted himself at the lagging knight and shouldered him pushing him back far enough to where Ramza leapt over the now crouching Rad and impaled the man through the neck before he knew what happened.

Ramza quickly turned around to see the other two enemy knights circle around aiming their thrusts at Rad who still had his back to them. Quickly reacting, he took Rad's wrist with his free hand and pulled him from harm as the slashes aimed for Rad's back. Using the pull, Ramza spun around and Rad pulled his axe as he spun the weapon into the shield on the enemy effectively crippling the defense and shattering bones with the heavy weapon. The man's pained screams resounded loudly across the field.

The last knight took this moment created at the expense of his partner to rush the unsteady pair of squires and aimed for Ramza's throat with a quick stab of his sword. Like Ramza before him, Rad gripped the mercenary's wrist and pulled Ramza away from harm. Dropping his weapon imbedded in the shield of his enemy, he pulled a dirk from his side and stabbed it through the neck of the lunging knight.

Ramza turned to watch the second knight writhing on the floor in pain, gripping his arm that now bent the wrong way with bones puncturing through his skin. Ramza mercifully put the man out of his misery and looked back to survey the battle. Agrias was still fighting that knight and Gafgarion was moving on to an archer. The knights under Agrias's command were having some difficulty with a couple of enemies.

"You go help those two." Ramza pointed at the two women to which Rad nodded. "I'll take the last archer."

Before she could celebrate her small triumph, a large force hit her shoulder causing her to take a few steps back just to stay on her feet. She instinctively reached at the wound pulling the arrow out. She winced at the pain, but it wasn't life threatening. She turned her gaze at the archer and glared at him only to see a long blade protruding from his front side. The one named Ramza appeared as the archer fell forward.

She turned her gaze towards the others and saw that they were fine. Rad was next to Lavian yanking his axe from the back of a knight. Gafgarion was already looting the fallen of their valuables at which she frowned at. She noticed that Rad and Ramza did the same. She soon found Alicia who had taken a cut on her forearm and thigh. Other than that and her own arrow wound, no one else was injured. These mercenaries were better than she first gave them credit for.

"Are you alright Agrias?" She looks up to find the one called Ramza in front of her. She glares at the young man. But his eyes showed genuine concern, nothing like the lifelessness they had before.

"I'm fine." She quickly uses her white magic to knit the wound. The bleeding is stopped, but it'll be a while before it truly is healed.

"Alicia, Lav-"Her yells to her knights are cut off by a loud scream emanating from the monastery.

"Let go of me!" Ovelia's yell could be heard loudly.

"Damn!" Agrias quickly runs to the monastery followed closely by Ramza. She hastily makes her way to the altar where the princess should be, but she's gone. There's no sign of Simon either. The only option left is to check out back. She turns around to find Ramza no longer with her. Clucking her tongue, she races to the back exit to find a man with golden armor holding onto the gasping Princess Ovelia. It looked like she was barely conscious.

"Wait!!" Agrias yelled as the man mounted his chocobo continuing to run towards him. However, she was no match for the chocobo's speed as it started to trot.

"Tough." He says. "Don't blame us. Blame yourself or God." The feathered mount picks up speed and Agrias realizing she can no longer catch up slumps to her knees and slams her hands forcefully at the ground. She was tricked. She should not have left the one she was to guard alone. Oh how she wanted to blame the mercenaries, always chasing money, but it wasn't their fault. It was hers. She should have never left Princess Ovelia's side.

"Oh god…." She prays the princess will be alright. Mother Nature only added salt to her wound as the heavens starting to pour.

"Delita?" She turns to see Ramza back at the front of the monastery voicing his thoughts. "You're alive Delita? But why are you in Goltana's troops? Why…?" She can sense the confusion in his voice, but it doesn't matter. He knows something about the man who kidnapped her. She was going to grill the mercenary for answers later.

"So, Ramza, you know who kidnapped her?" Gafgarion asked the young squire. Ramza merely stood there looking down. He shifted his feet around uneasily. Gafgarion sighed and shrugged his shoulder not pressing any further. The squire can be very stubborn at times.

"He's taken Princess Ovelia with him." Agrias steps from the monastery. She joins everyone in that small group. "Can't be that far."

"Are you going after him?" Gafgarion says in a mocking tone. He had his arms folded across his chest with a relaxed look. Rad behind him looked the same as before and Ramza continued to look down.

"Of course!" She says like it's obvious. "I couldn't face the royal family unless I do!"

"We won't help you." Gafgarion shrugs. He seemed to be rather happy about the events that just occurred. Oh how she wanted so much to punch this guy in the face, but she had to keep things professional. He didn't even bother hiding his glee. He was baiting her and she wouldn't fall for it. "It's not in the contract."

"We don't need help from one who's not even a knight!" She looks at the mercenary coldly. She can finally be rid of him and he gave her an excuse to do so. "A knight must fix his own mistakes. This is our responsibilities as guards!" She turns to Lavian and Alicia and jerks her head towards the road. "Lavian, Alicia, let's go!"

Just as the trio was about to walk, the old priest comes out. Agrias turned to the holy man and quickly bowed.

"The Princess… How is she?" Simon asked concerned. Agrias only shook her head.

"I'm very sorry. I swear I'll get her back!" To this Gafgarion only snorted getting a death glare from Alicia.

"No. You'd be in danger…" Simon says weakly. It almost felt half hearted.

"Don't worry." She reassures the priest. "I swear on my knight's honor, I'll save her!" She raised a fist in determination causing Gafgarion to cough loudly trying to hold back his laughter. Why are you still here?

"I'll go too! I won't be a burden!" The squire named Ramza steps forward and takes her hands. Agrias tried to free herself. She didn't want to be touched by this uncouth man, but his grip is strong. She reluctantly stared into his eyes and found there was a fire that he lacked before. She was taken by the force with which he stared at her. He really wanted to come along.

Gafgarion coughs loudly in surprise. "Are you crazy!? This is none of your business!" He then growls at Ramza.

"I have to know!" He says determined to his commander. "I must see it with my own eyes!"

Gafgarion took a step back at the drive with which he said this. He sighed loudly and rubbed his temples. He had rarely seen Ramza act this way in all the time he had been with him, half a year. He was usually quiet and obedient never wanting anything, but when he wanted something, he is usually very stubborn about it. "You mean that boy you saw?"

Ramza only nodded. Gafgarion looked into his eyes. They were different from the lifeless walking corpse he once was. He sighed again. "You're stubborn as a mule. Don't cry to me for help if something happens!"

Agrias watched the exchange with tight lips holding in her frustration. She had already had the princess kidnapped before her eyes, and now these people whom she did not like an ounce wanted to join her? "You make it sound like I'll let you come with us."

"And you won't?" Gafgarion raised an eyebrow at her direction.

"We don't need you." Agrias turned her back and started to walk the muddy path into the rain towards Dorter to the north where she'll then head eastwards. Lavian and Alicia looked between the mercenaries and their leader with hesitation before trotting to quickly follow her. Ramza without thinking followed behind the two female knights. Gafgarion looked at Rad and shrugged following his stubborn underling.

Agrias scowled as she stopped and turned to the mercenaries. "Stop following us."

"We're not following you." Mock hurt in Gafgarion's voice could be heard. "We just happen to be heading this way."

"Why don't you wait here for an hour or so?" Agrias steps forward at the veteran. "Then come this way? I really don't want to see your ugly mug."

"Why should we wait in the rain while it becomes dark?"

Agrias sighed frustrated. She had no right to hold these men. They were free to do what they wanted. However, it appeared they were doing it to annoy her and it was working.

"Besides, I saw how you fought back there." Gafgarion starts to jab at her skills as a knight. "You and your knights were hard pressed against those soldiers. If we weren't there, you would be dead." He carried a large smirk on his face. The arrogance of this man knew no bounds. However, she did have to admit what he just said was true. If not for his men, she, Lavian, and Alicia would probably be in a ditch. It was also likely that they would meet more enemies along the way. It appeared Goltana was set on taking the princess. She greatly needed help, even if it was from these vagabonds.

"Do what you will." She muttered and turned. Still, she wasn't going to admit she needed the help.

"That's what I intend to do without you telling me." He says arrogantly as he walked past her. He turns back to Rad and Ramza and jerked his head down the road. "Come on."

The two squire mercenary nod, but only Rad follows. Agrias shakes her head and follows the two with Lavian walking beside her. Alicia trots after the two knights with Ramza taking the rear.

"Any idea where we're going woman?" Gafgarion continues to walk without looking behind. Her silence draws a smirk to his face. She didn't know where she was going. She's just following him blindly.

He laughs mockingly. "On a blind chase then?" He knew exactly where the kidnapper went, but he wasn't going to give that piece of information out so easily.

"You sound like you know." Alicia takes the bait. Gafgarion smiles widely.

"Of course." He turns his head back. "What do you take me for?"

"A jerk?" Alicia answers his rhetorical question.

"You shouldn't say that even if it's true." Lavian tells the younger knight. "You have to make it politically correct. It would be something like..." She ponders for a moment trying to find the right words. "No, a jerk is fine." She shrugs.

Gafgarion frowns at this. "Guess you won't get it from me then."

"What?" Alicia's surprise shows. Agrias scowls at her knight. Keep the emotion out of your voice! We don't want to give this bastard the satisfaction of knowing we don't know.

"I'll tell you" Gafgarion's eyes roam over the young knight's face and figure. "If you join me in bed tonight." He wears that smug look freely.

In an instant, Gafgarion quickly ducks as a blade is swung over his head. He eyes Agrias coolly as she wielded her sword against him. She ground her teeth in anger glaring at the older man. It was a mistake to go along with these mercenaries.

"I will not tolerate such insults to my knights!" She brandished her sword menacingly. However, the intimidation had little effect on the veteran as he shrugged her off.

"I guess that's that then." He turns and walks on. Rad who was eyeing the exchange quietly gives Agrias a small bow which surprised her. Was he apologizing on behalf of his commander? No, that couldn't be it… She stood there rubbing her temples as Lavian and Alicia walked on.

"Are you alright Lady Agrias?" She turns to the voice which addressed her. It was the other young squire.

"I'm quite alright, just wet." She sighs. She was sighing a lot today. All this stress is not good for her. She'll tire out at this rate. She can't afford to let Gafgarion get under her skin.

Ramza opens his mouth as if to say something, but closes it as he thought better of it. With nothing to say, Agrias jogs back to her knights and Ramza quietly follows as the rain continued to pour.

"Lady Agrias." Alicia comes back to the group from her quick scouting mission. "There's a good place to camp about a twenty minute walk ahead. It offer good shelter from the rain and offers good defense in case of an attack."

The group had made good time and would arrive at Dorter late afternoon or early evening the next day. Agrias noted that Gafgarion was strangely quiet during the trek. Perhaps he found it less enjoyable to joke with the girls. Whatever the reason, she was grateful for the silence. She prayed it would continue tomorrow.

"Lead us to it Alicia." Agrias nods at the young knight. She leads the group through the night to a small cluster of trees some fifty paces off the road. She quickly notices that only Alicia was showing signs of fatigue. That was a given as she was sent as a scout, but she thought these mercenaries would be more tired. She really didn't give them enough credit, especially Rad who carried around that large axe around. Gafgarion was a veteran, it was expected, but Ramza wasn't a slouch either.

The site offered protection against the steady rainfall, but also provided enough cover to hide in the darkness. There was also enough brush and plantation that it was hard to approach without making a sound. Agrias nodded her approval as she kicked wet twigs away for her bedding of leaves and needles.

"Same as always." Agrias said to her knights. She was talking about the watch. She would take the first, Alicia the second, and Lavian would take the last.

"Get some tinder Ramza. Bigger wood Rad."

Ramza nodded at his commander's orders as he started to gather wood around the site.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Agrias asked already knowing full well what they were doing.

"Can't you tell?" Gafgarion was crouching in an area where he was making a small clearing for the fire he was about to make.

"We don't want a fire. It'll practically send a signal to everyone we're here." Agrias crossed her arms across her chest and glared at the man.

"Yeah well… I really don't want to go to sleep sopping wet." Ramza had returned and dropped the pile of wood into the small pit surrounded by stones Gafgarion had prepared. "And I don't want to get trench foot, really painful to walk on later. You'll thank me later."

Gafgarion got up and winked at the Holy Knight before quickly chanting a spell. Soon a small flame arose from the damp wood. Agrias's wore a grim look at what this old veteran said. He was right. What was the likelihood that anyone was moving in this weather anyway? They needed to get dry or risk illness or hypothermia.

"Oh, a fire." Alicia joined the small group. Gafgarion already had his boots off as he dried his feet next to the small fire. Ramza was starting to do the same when Rad joined and dropped a small log near the fire which he sat on and threw several large branches in the growing flame. Soon everyone was around the happily burning blaze.

The group sat around the blaze for the next hour in silence as they enjoyed its warmth. Agrias had to admit that a fire made the night more comfortable. Sleeping in wet clothes would not have been very healthy. She would be no help to the princess if she were sick or dead. What was worse is how she neglected the wellbeing on Alicia and Lavian. Gafgarion was already affecting her judgment, but she couldn't blame him for her negligence. She should not have let him get under her skin. That was her fault and hers alone.

"You take first watch Ramza. Wake Rad for the next one." Gafgarion started to make his bedding near the fire. "Keep it going." He nodded at the blaze. Ramza nodded as he looked around the fire. Alicia was already asleep, Lavian just stared at the blaze, and Agrias was polishing her sword.

He turned to Rad who caught his gaze and nodded. He got into his own bedding he had prepared earlier and went to sleep soon after. He returned his eyes to Agrias who had sheathed her blade and nudged Lavian lightly. "Get some sleep. We're in for a long day tomorrow."

"Yeah." Lavian muttered as she joined Alicia in slumber.

Agrias grabbed a stick on the ground and threw it into the cackling fire as her watch started. The flames beautifully danced upwards towards the foliage. She watched the flames as they flickered when she heard light footsteps. She knew it could only be him. She really did not want company at this time.

"Can I sit here?" Ramza asked the holy knight nervously.

Agrias took a deep breath and rubbed her temples. "Do as you like."

"Thank you." Agrias wished that he would keep quiet. She dearly did not wish to have a conversation with this young man. When he sat down next to her, she prepared for the worst, but he did not say anything. She turned to study the young man. He was looking over the group with those blue eyes. He watched them a little fondly which she found a little strange. Somehow, this man's behavior intrigued her. She only caught a glimpse of his fighting style, but he watched over his partner. He kept Rad safe. She knew this young man was not any ordinary mercenary. He was probably a knight, must have been a fine one at that.

"Were you a noble?" She suddenly asked. The manner with which he spoke and carried himself added to her suspicions.

Ramza's face contorts as the question sinks in.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to ask something difficult." She looks down. His silence probably meant he did not want to answer. What was this squire's past?

"No. It's alright." He leans back and stares up at the sky. "Yes. I was a noble."

"Where are you from?" She continues the conversation. If he was going to answer her, she would get as much as she could out of him.

"…Galionne." He says this slowly. He was choosing his words carefully.

"Where in Galionne?" She prodded deeper.

He fidgeted uncomfortably at the question. "Igros…"

"So you were a prominent noble." Agrias concluded. Those who came from Igros were famous nobles. It made sense that this man fought like a knight. Igros was famous for its military prowess. However, something wasn't right. "I've never heard of the Ruglia name."

"We were not prominent like you make us to be." He squirms uncomfortably.

"Is that right…?" She asks suspiciously.

"What about you?" He turns the questions back to her. "Where are you from?"

Agrias was taken by surprise. She did not expect the timid Ramza, from her first impression of him, to ask her questions. But, it was only fair to answer him after she asked him all these questions. "I'm from Lesalia. My family is renowned for training knights and so I grew up learning the sword from my father much to my mother's disappointment."

Agrias's brow furrowed deeply as she realized what she said. Why did I tell him that much about me?

"You speak fondly of them." Ramza takes note the way Agrias spoke of her family. "I'm sure they would be proud of you."

"How can they be proud of me?" She says angrily. "I allowed the princess to be kidnapped then I neglected the health of my Knights. Not only did I fail the royal crown, I'm not fit to lead."

"I thought you were an excellent captain. That was my impression. And the kidnapping could not be helped." He tried to cheer her up. "It wasn't you fault. At any rate, you'll get the princess back."

"I don't even know where they are." She mutters sadly. Why am I sharing these thoughts with this stranger? She frowns confused at her thoughts combined with her worry for the princess.

"You'll figure it out." Ramza reassures her. "I'll lend you my blade until you get the princess back."

She turns to face the strange mercenary. Even thought the dark night, she could tell he was smiling kindly at her. He had such a soft wonderful smile. Somehow, this made her feel a little better. "Thank you Ramza."

The remainder of the watch passed in silence. When the time came, Agrias walked to where Alicia slept. She quietly prodded her. Alicia groaned softly as she got up slowly staring at her commander sleepily.

"My turn already…?" She mumbles.

"Yes." Agrias hands the young knight her water skin from which she took a quick drink from. "Get that sleep out of your head."

"Sorry." Alicia mumbled as she looked over at Rad who was already standing looking over the camp. Ramza was already quickly asleep. "Sorry." She mumbles again as she stands.

"There's a warm spot over there." Agrias points to where she sat just a while ago. "It's a good spot to watch from."

"Thank you Lady Agrias." She softly heads to the indicated plot as Agrias prepares herself for sleep.

When she got there, Rad was already sitting there with his chin in his hands staring at the trees in front of him with his back to the fire.

"Mind if I sit here…?" She asks quietly. Something about this man intimidated her. He gave off a fierce aura which made her extremely uncomfortable. He just sat there peacefully, but she still felt scared of him.

Rad continues to look on as if not hearing her. Alicia shrugs to herself. Taking a deep breath, she inches towards him and sits next to Rad. She watched for his reaction, but he says nothing. He must not care if she sat her. She lets out the breath she held and stares at the nothingness Rad was staring at. She shivered as a gust blew through the camp. She wrapped her arms around herself to gather a little warmth. This night was a cold one.

"Turn around."

"Excuse me?" Alicia looked at Rad. She thought he said something, but he looked the same as always. Perhaps she heard it in her head. She needed more rest.

"Turn around." Alicia looks at Rad oddly. She really did hear Rad.

"What do you mean?"

"So we don't look the same way." Rad reasons. "I watch this side. You watch the other in case someone comes from that side."

"Oh…" She says of his suggestion. "That makes sense." She quickly turned and stared at the small blaze. Immediately, the warm glow was a welcome to her. Perhaps this man was nicer than he seemed.

Rad sighs and shakes his head at the young knight. She was too green. He knew she was eager and willing to do anything to become better, even from the short time he was with the knights, but should she really be working on this important task, this mission to escort the princess?

"I'm sorry." Alicia apologizes to Rad.

"For what?" Rad's brow furrowed. She had done nothing wrong.

"I thought you were a scary person." She tells him truthfully. "You just had this aura about you, but I realize you're a very nice person."

Rad turns his head slightly using his peripherals to look at the girl smiling at him. He raised an eyebrow at her in comment. She merely kept her smile. He turned back to his nothingness and shrugged. He didn't care what she thought.

"Are you uncomfortable having a conversation with me?" Alicia asks in a worried tone.

"Not really." He replies indifferently.

"Then… Why don't you tell me about yourself?" This man peaked her interest. Alicia wanted to know a little more about him.

"Like what?"

"I don't know…. Anything."

"I'm nineteen."

"That's three years older than me."

"That explains a lot."

"What do you mean?" She turns her head quizzically.

"Why you're so green."

"Oh." Alicia was barely out of the academy. Sixteen was the youngest age a person can obtain knighthood, but she strived to be like the Lady Agrias Oaks of the St. Konoe Knights. Agrias was her role model, and to be assigned to her knights was a great honor for her. She didn't have the talent or natural skills, but she worked hard. She wanted to protect the people who meant the most to her. She wanted to fight for justice. She wanted to be like Agrias.

"Then, how long have you been a mercenary?"

"About three quarters of a year."

"That's not very long." She comments. He grows silent once again. Alicia picks up a couple of twigs and lazily tosses them into the fire as she pondered her next question.

"What's Gafgarion like?" She wonders. Perhaps she misunderstood the grizzled veteran. Maybe he was like Rad, a nice person carrying a façade.

Rad shrugs. "He's like what you saw earlier."

"So he's a jerk." She remembered the way he acted towards Agrias and herself.

"To put it bluntly."

"You're answering all my questions." He turns to the man who had hardly moved an inch. He probably took the watch very seriously.

"Why not?"

"I don't know… I just thought you would be more secretive. Mercenaries are usually ones with some type of past." She thought about the stories she had heard from her fellow cadets back at the academy.

"I don't know what sort of preconceptions you have about mercenaries, but we're all different." Rad leans back and looks up towards the heavens reminiscing about how he got to the point. "Mine isn't that big a deal though. It doesn't really need any hiding."

"Then, what's your past like? Where are you from? How did you become a mercenary? That kind of stuff." If he was going to let her, she was going to prod as deeply as she could. It's always a good thing to know if these people could truly be trusted and he looked to be a good person.

Rad gave a quick shrug as he shifted his gaze towards the ground in front of him. He remained silent for several minutes as his feet poked a small rock. He would prod it then roll it back towards himself repeating the process several times as he kept his silence.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to ask you something personal." Alicia apologized to the squire. "Even if it's not hidden, it's still something you can't share with a stranger."

Rad for the first time turns to look at the young Knight. She was looking at the fire with bright eyes. She radiated youthful energy, an eagerness to do her best. She was a very cute girl. Rad wondered what a girl like this could be doing here on the field of battle. She really would be better suited as a scholar.

"That's not it." Rad said slowly. "Just choosing my words."

"So it really is personal."

"No… That's not it." He sighed. "I… grew up in the streets of Gariland."

"In the streets?"

"Yeah. I was an orphan of the 50 year war."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's nothing. There were many orphans. I was just one in tens of thousands."

Alicia carried a sad expression. She really wasn't aware of what went on around the world… "It must have been tough."

"Not really… Anyway, I tried to rob Gafgarion of his money, but he caught me. Who knew it was THE Gafgarion." Rad picked up a small stone and threw it into the trees. "He saw my skills and decided to employ me."

"Why did you join him?"

"Why not? Got me out of that dump."

"Don't you hate him?"

"Not really. He's just someone else to take advantage of. Well, we're using each other…"

"That's not a very good way to live." Alicia looks down at the ground in front of her. "You're a good person Rad. You shouldn't be following Gafgarion."

Rad quickly stands up at the comment startling Alicia. She turned her head and looked up at Rad. His face now showed anger. "Don't tell me what I can and can't do! I don't want to hear it! Not from you! Not from a damn ignorant noble!" He didn't try to control his voice. He didn't try to control his emotion. He was letting out his frustration for the past several years. "What do you know!? You sat in your comfortable homes eating your luxurious meals with your little servants knowing nothing of the world talking about justice! You don't know what it was like! What it's like to go day after day looking for food, robbing, murdering, being chased just to try and live for the next day! Don't talk like you know me!"

"Rad, I'm s—"

"Don't talk to me." He cut her off. He turned and stormed off leaving a shocked Alicia to stare at the back of the squire as he walked into the trees. She turned back to the blaze as tears streamed down her face. She tightly hugged herself as she sobbed into her knees.

"I'm so sorry Rad…" She mumbled. "I'm sorry…" She couldn't say anything. She was exactly what Rad said. She was an ignorant noble. She didn't know people had it that rough. She grew up in a comfortable home with loving parents. She never had to worry about food, about clothes, about anything. She wanted to become a knight to protect people, but who would she protect? What was the meaning in becoming a knight if she couldn't protect everyone?

"You okay?" Alicia jerks her head at the sudden voice. She felt a hand rubbing her back. She turned to look at his friendly face.

"Ramza…" She quickly wiped her tears from her face. "I'm sorry. You should be sleeping. That must have woken you up."

He reached his arm out and pulled the young girl closer rubbing her forearm.

"It's alright. I'm a light sleeper." He looked at Alicia who has silent tears streaming down her face. "He wasn't angry at you." He tries to cheer her up.

"Yes he was…" She mumbles.

"He knows it's not your fault. You're young and innocent."

"Ignorance is a sin."

"Alicia…" Ramza pats the young girls head. "Not everything is your fault. It's not your fault Rad grew up in such a state. However, what you can do is try to understand where he's coming from."

"I guess…" She wipes her tears and takes the handkerchief Ramza offered to her. She blew her nose and shook her head. "Thanks you Ramza… You're a nice guy too…"

"Not really…"

"You are." Alicia insisted as she stood up. "I'm feeling better now. You should get some rest Ramza."

"Why don't you rest? I'll take over your watch." Ramza offered. He couldn't let a lady take over such a job after crying her heart out moment ago.

Alicia only smiled. It was a sincere one. "I'm fine. Besides, I'm a knight. What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger."

To this Ramza could only chuckle. "Alright Alicia." He slowly got up wiping this brush from his pants. "Rad will probably apologize to you tomorrow."

"You two seem to be good friends."

"Maybe…" Ramza looked up for a brief second before turning his gaze back to the young girl.

"Good night Alicia."

"G'night Ramza."