A Maiden's Star

Minutes before, the battle in the outside world was still raging on.

Charles grunted and huffed in exertion as he swung with the Champion, who met every desperate strike with a composed parry.

“Fall before me, agent of the mad god!” The Knight Captain declared.

Holy light flared from his blade, and he made two successive strikes at his foe. First a horizontal, then a downward slash. His magic flared with each hit, forming a cross that shined bright amidst the dark storm.

“HEAVEN’S CROSS!”

However, the Champion had caught the blade with one hand on the second strike. Chaos emanated from his palm, and quickly spread along the sword and snuffed out the light, then crumbled it into ash.

Charles stepped back with eyes bloodshot in horror, while the Champion flicked his dark blade and muttered in a cold manner.

“You should have stayed down while you had the chance.”

At the same time, Rosaline and Lilian were dancing together as they fought off the Champion’s copies. With graceful maneuvering, as if in sync, they dodged every strike thrown at them, however narrowly.

Each time, Lilian took a quick shot to try piercing through the weak points in their armor. Likewise, Rosaline used her pair of hunting knives to swiftly slice under their guards.

One by one, they disappeared into puffs of smoke, until finally Rosaline and Lilian were left panting from exhaustion. However, they barely had time to catch their breath as they heard a scream of agony from Captain Charles.

They turned in shock to see him being raised to the air on the Champion’s blade, which had been stabbed through his gut. The black knight tossed the man away in a callous manner, then flicked the blood off his sword as he turned to the fae.

“One last chance…Stay out of my way.” He warned with a hint of anger.

Lilian gulped and shook slightly, as she remembered how much of a monster the Champion was.

‘Only those chosen by Lumina have the power to kill him. Even then…Anne and Jen were barely a match. Even so, I can’t let him kill Sir Edward!’

She shook her head as she calmed herself, then drew her bowstring and charged an arrow.

“Never…I won’t let you through!” She said with a steady tone. “Rosaline, I’ll cover you!”

Rosaline narrowed her eyes. “Yes, milady!”

The Champion shook his head. “...So you wish to keep suffering. In that case…I will oblige.”

The fae became confused as he disappeared in a puff of smoke, then flinched as he reappeared with his clones to surround them.

They all attacked at once, doing wide swings at blinding speed. Rosaline and Lilian split up and barely rolled away in time, but their foes were upon them once again as they got back up.

Rosaline managed to block an incoming strike from the Champion himself, though it made her slide back and stagger. However, before she could recover, his copy came around to slice her back.

Lilian glanced aside as she heard Rosaline’s cry of pain, and saw her fall to the ground. Worry and dread filled the Princess’s heart, and she made a dash towards her friend.

“Rosaline!” She exclaimed in her panic.

She yelped as a second copy darted past to block her path. Before she could do anything, it grabbed her throat with enough force to constrict her airway.

It raised her high while she gasped for air and flailed her legs. It raised its blade in preparation to finish her, which made her kick with even more desperation.

‘Not…like this!’ She screamed in her head. ‘Not when my friends and comrades still need me! I still…need to finish…’

Her vision flickered as she continued to struggle for air, though by now her legs had stopped kicking. Her head lowered, bringing her darkening gaze to the Champion’s clone. It stared up at her with no light in its helmet, like an empty shell that only did its master’s bidding.

‘Anne…Jen…’ Lilian thought with resignation. ‘Will I…see you again?’

She closed her eyes, now ready to accept her fate…but the final blow didn’t come.

Instead, the grip on her neck was released, allowing life to flow through her once again as she fell. The Princess wheezed for air while she got on her knees , confused about what had transpired.

The Champion himself came to stand in front of her, and she looked up to see there was no glow from his eyes.

“...It’s over, anyway.” He muttered, though more to himself.

He kicked Lilian in the face with enough strength to break her nose, which caused her to shriek from the painful agony.

She laid there in a daze for a minute, with her body shivering from weakness. Eventually, she managed to find the strength to lift herself to her knees again. She wiped some of the blood from her nose, the most of it was rinsed by the rain.

The Champion and his clones were gone, and fear settled in as she realized where he had gone. With wide tearful eyes, she looked to where she had left the unconscious Edward.

There, she saw him being raised by the Champion, who had his sword prepared to stab him. Though for just a little bit, the black knight stared at the Hero as if waiting for him to wake up and say any last words.

Lilian did her best to stand, but her legs quickly gave out and made her collapse in complete defeat. With no strength left to fight, the only thing she could do…was make a plea from the depths of her heart.

“SIR EDWARD!”

__________________________________________

In Edward’s mind, Princess Jenette was staring up at the Champion with arms crossed in authority.

“Have you no pride, dog of chaos?” She said with an edge. “Killing a Hero when he has yet to put up a fight against you. It’s so…disappointing, don’t you think?”

The Champion huffed and shook his head. “Even so…nothing can change his fate. Not even you can stop me, Star Maiden of the past.”

“Hmph…I know that all too well. Still, I won’t let you have his soul so easily. You’ll have to fight him to the death if you want it so badly. And you want him to be strong enough for a proper duel, am I right?”

With a more melancholic expression, Jenette put a hand over her heart.

“And…it’s the least you can do, for the last one you fought.”

Nocturne’s Champion inclined his head and hummed in thought. After a few seconds, he turned around with a sweep of his cape and began to walk away.

“If you can live through the dragon’s storm, I shall await you in Drakonburg. Do not disappoint me…Hero of Worlds.”

With those parting words, he vanished into thin air.

Now that the threat had passed, Edward slowly got up to look down at the twintailed royal before him.

“You…saved me.” He said aloud in confusion. “Princess Jenette…is it actually you? But how?”

She put her hands on her hips and sighed. “How clueless…even moreso than my beloved. Oh well, I guess I can’t blame you.”

She looked around at the burning environment with a grimace.

“Wow, you really are a hopeless man with a death wish. Why did Lumina choose you?”

Edward shook his head with a frown. “I want to know that myself. I mean, I don’t even believe in heroes…Anyway, how are you here? You…passed away, didn’t you?”

Jenette looked aside in thought. “So I did…but the Goddess left you more than just a sword.”

She summoned the World Sword in her hand, and held it up so he could see the stars along its blade. One of them was now glowing bright, and she looked at it with a wistful expression.

“These are the Sacred Stars, what we Star Maidens give the Hero at the end of each journey. This one is mine, what I gave to Anne after she…saved Solaris.”

Edward looked at the shining star in awe. “What does it do?”

Jenette brought a hand to her heart. “They’re  crystallizations of our powers, and they carry our memories as well. That’s why you’ve been dreaming of my time with Anne…and why I’m here.”

“...You mean you’re made from those memories?”

After a slight nod, the small princess put on a more stern frown and spoke in a bossy manner.

“Listen up, you have to become the Hero! Save this world that Anne and I loved so much! If you have any sort of heroic will in your heart, then show it!”

She looked up at the sky, and her expression turned solemn as Lilian’s soft cries echoed throughout the burning field.

“Sir Edward…wake up…”

“And…Lil needs you too. They all do.” Jenette murmured.

For a moment, Edward followed her gaze with an uncertain sadness, then looked at the World Sword again with a headshake.

“...Anastasia was more of a Hero than I ever could be.” He said quietly. “I learned a long time ago…that was but a child’s wish, something only found in fairy tales. There’s no peace or happy endings where I come from.”

Jenette nodded slowly. “Yes…Anne told me something similar. And yet, she still had the heart to try. And I followed her…all the way to the end.”

With a more resolute gaze, she brought the sword closer to Edward and offered the handle to him.

“If you can’t believe in yourself, then believe in us and let our memories guide you. Put your faith in those who choose to fight at your side, even now. And never forget the courage you used to have.”

Edward closed his eyes as he once again recalled Tom’s last words to him.

‘You…were always my hero, Ed. So…stay alive. You have to…for Fran, and everyone else.’

He brought a hand to his heart and shed a tear as he recalled even older words. Something his father had said to him when he was a child.

‘Heroes aren’t born, they’re made. So keep working hard, and I’m sure you’ll become one someday.’

Finally, Edward opened his eyes and looked at Fran with a solemn face.

“I’m no hero…but I’ll try my best to be the one you all need. If I work hard enough, maybe one day I’ll become worthy of this sword. I want to live, for everyone’s sake. So please…guide me, Princess Jenette.”

Jenette smirked and chuckled. “Look at you, being so respectful. So, are you ready to truly wield this blade?”

Edward nodded and turned his gaze to the World Sword.

‘Tom…I will stay alive.’ He thought with a determined frown.

He took the sword from Jenette with a firm grip, and it glowed bright for a second before releasing an explosion of golden light.

Jenette’s memories flashed through his mind. A sparring session with Anne, Anne’s carefree laugh and charming smile, and Jenette scolding her in embarrassment.

As well, there were memories of Lilian. The first time Jenette met her in the forest. A night where Jenette braided the fae’s hair. A time where all three girls laughed and hugged each other.

Then the final memory…a tender kiss shared between Anne and Jenette, on a night filled with stars.