Anna
Five Months Later...

"We should rest here. Your leg is acting up again, I can tell."

Mom sighed, slinging her bag off her shoulders and onto the ground, trying to take as much weight off her right leg as possible. "You're right. It's almost nightfall, anyway."

I looked up at the sky and sunset was indeed almost over. "Should we start a campfire?" I asked, setting my own bag down and retrieving some supplies.

Mom sat down, releasing a breath. "No, it's already very warm, to begin with. We can just eat some dried meats and berries for dinner."

I nodded, putting away my flint and steel. We've hardly made any fires this summer! And August has proved that it won't let up! As I started rummaging through our packs for food, an unsettling sense of dread washed over me. "...Mom?"

"Yes, love?"

"D-do you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"It seems her connection to her true people is stronger than we thought..." A voice snarled.

I whirled around towards the source, quickly standing and placing a hand on my blade. Mom followed soon after. Out of the cover of the forest stepped five cloaked figures. Their robes were a mixture of colors ranging from red to black to purple. What made my heart even more at unease was the six-eyed pattern decorating them.

One of them stepped forward, a woman. "Long time no see, Evelina. How long has it been? Eighteen years?" She removed her hood, revealing a Plegian woman. "It's been so hard to count the years after you stole what was rightfully ours."

Mom stood in front of me, face twisted into a snarl. "What the hell are you doing here?! How did you find us?!"

The woman pretended to check her nails. "Sheer luck, you traitor. It has been so difficult for the Grimleal to enter Ylisse, you must understand. Search parties have been able to enter about once in a blue moon! Master Validar sent us here to look for you and what will you have it. After a month of blind searching, Grima has reunited us with his rightful heir."

Another person stepped forward, removing his hood. "Now, we can do this one of two ways: you submit to us and no one will be harmed - at least for now, Validar has a whole slew of punishments lined up for you - or we kill you where you stand and take the Fellblood with us by force."

"You will not lay a hand on my daughter. Not while I still draw breath," Mom growled, readying her tome.

I have such a sick feeling in my stomach right now. I swallowed, pulling out my own tome. "I'm not going anywhere!"

The woman's eyes flashed with anger. "Tch. Then the hard way it is! Attack!"

Two against five! I know we've fought against uneven odds before, but I'm not so sure about this one! Before I could think of a plan, I was rushed by two of the Grimleal soldiers. I shrieked, leaping back and shooting a bolt of lightning at them.

"Repent and submit, Fellblood! Claim what is rightfully yours!" One of the shouted while the other slashed at me with his blade.

"No! I'll never submit!" More magic flew from my hands. It only managed to graze them. How are they this strong?! We'll never win!

I spared a glance at Mother, hope rising in my heart as I saw she was fairing way better than me. One of the soldiers was already dead on the ground. Maybe there's some hope after all!

A stinging sensation crawled up my arm. I turned my attention back on my attackers; they were landing more than successful blows on me, one of them blasting a fire spell at my arm. Once the spell dissipated, I tried to get a distance away once more, panting heavily.

We continued this dance for a while, me avoiding their hits and me trying to land an attack on them. Over time, I noticed another soldier fell. Unfortunately, during the chaos, one of the soldiers set fire to our supplies. Oh, well. Those can be easily replaced. It's a good thing I keep everything valuable to me in my coat.

Eventually, I gave up with magic and unsheathed my sword. "You won't win this!" I snarled, preparing to strike. The soldiers were unprepared, as I was able to parry around them and slash at them.

"Gah! Why won't this brat settle!" One of them shouted.

I twirled my blade, smirking. "Not so confident now, are you-"

"AHH!" Mom screamed. The sound made my gut twist.

I turned around, watching as Mom landed on her ankle at a weird angle, and her attacker drove her blade through her stomach.

My blood stilled.

My heart stopped.

Everything was numb.

"MOTHER!"

Fire filled my veins. My vision went red. "How...why..." I began to tremble, tears filling my eyes. "You... You'll pay! You'll regret ever being born!"

The woman who stabbed Mom huffed, flicking the blood from her blade. "She knew the consequences of betraying us and has paid. You will understand and accept why we did this soon enough."

"You bastards..." My voice took on a whole new tone. "You'll have to kill me before any of that happens!"

One of my attackers tried to sneak up on me in my moment of distraction. Pitiful. He truly has a death wish. I whipped around with rapid speed, not giving him any time to react as I slashed my blade across his throat.

The man sputtered, blood rushing from his wound. Within seconds he was on the ground, convulsing. It didn't take that long for his movements to stop altogether.

I turned back to the other two, flames in my eyes. "Who's next?"

The two were taken aback for a moment, unsure how to proceed. The one who was closest to me drew a handaxe. "This must be only a fraction of the Fellblood's power... How interesting it must be to experience a part of it for myself."

My hand sparked with electricity as I switched weapons. "It's too bad it'll be the last thing you'll ever do."

And just like that, the Grimleal soldier's were on me again. I did not hesitate to stay in close combat, this primal rage taking control of all my senses. Lightning struck the man with the handaxe. In that spell, I channeled all of my power and rage, his cries of pain increasing. Soon, he was nothing but a sparking corpse on the ground.

You...you hurt my mother...you will pay!!! My last attacker deserved nothing but pain. She took everything from me. She will perish.

My magic struck her at every turn, my body not registering any of her attacks on myself. I clasped my hand around her throat. "You're finished!" I roared. With that, I unleashed my magic, tightening my grasp as magic flowed through my fingertips.

The woman trembled, backing away once I released her. The collapsed, struggling to say her last words. "You...this... Gr-Grima..." I drew my sword and planted it in her chest before she could finish. In death, she gaped up at me with glazed eyes. Never again... You will never hurt another individual in your life again...

As the killing rage began to settle, reality smacked me in the face. I whirled around to see Mom's limp body, blood pooling beneath her. "MAMA!!!"

I rushed over to her, taking her into my arms and laying her on my lap. "Mama, wake up. Please wake up. Everything is going to be ok!" I sobbed, shaking her desperately.

Her eyes fluttered opened, gaze cloudy. She looked up at me. "Anna...? Are you...all right...?"

I nodded, tears overflowing. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Don't worry, I can save you! You're going to be ok!" I reached into my pocket and pulled out what was left of a vulnerary. "C'mon, we're going to fix this."

As I tried putting the bottle to her lips, she stopped me. "My - my dear, stop." She swallowed. "I-I don't... It's... I think we both know what this means..."

A choked cry escaped my throat as I began to tremble. "I do...but I really want to be wrong... Maybe I can find help! I can-"

She shook her head, coughing up some blood. "It's too late for that, too. I can feel my life slip away as we speak. I don't have much time..."

I pressed my forehead against hers. "You need more time...you deserve more time..."

She reached up, running a shaky hand through my hair. "As long as I was able to give you more time, I have no regrets." She winced in pain. "I love you, Anna. Never forget that for a single moment."

"Mama..."

"Every single choice in my life had led me somewhere new. Led me to new things and new people," she breathed. "But all of those choices gave me you. I regret none of my mistakes because they allowed me to have you. My clever, beautiful Little Bird."

My tears mingled with hers as I felt her grow limper by the second. "I don't want to let go, Mama... I love you too much to let go!"

She smiled. "And neither do I..."

I brought my sleeve to my eyes, clearing away the tears so I could see Mama clearly in her last moments. "You have given me the best life anyone could ever ask for. I know you doubt that, but it's true. All I cared about is that we were together! Mama, what am I going to do when you're gone?!"

She patted my head. "Shh...calm yourself, my child. Everything will be all right." Her voice was faint. "You will be just fine on your own. You will figure things out. I am so sorry that I am leaving you so early, a month before eighteen, nonetheless..." She gently encouraged me down so she could kiss my forehead. "Just remember, my Anna, if ever you feel lonely, look to the stars. I will be watching over you every step of your journey."

I clasped one of my hands with her. "And I will be with you as you leave. I won't leave you."

Her eyes fell shut, a tired smile ghosting her lips. "Thank you, Anna... I love you."

"I love you."

...

I patted down the last pile of dirt with care, standing to reflect over my work. I chose a spot next to a large, ancient tree with healthy branches that overlooked the entire forest. Almost like it was the guardian of all the flora and fauna. Now, Mama can help this guardian overlook its domain and it can watch over her.

I searched around, returning to the grave only when I had a bouquet of freshly picked flowers in my hands. I laid them on the mound of dirt, reaching over for the stone I had chosen and carved into. It's not exactly a tombstone, but it will have to do...

Sketched into the stone read: "Evelina: Warrior, Tactician, and Mother. " There was so much more that I wanted to say, but my limited space and being unable to write more without breaking down stopped me from doing so. I don't even know if the sketchings will stay... All I can do is hope...

I set the stone at the head of the grave, the sinking feeling of completion washing over me. "I'm so sorry, I couldn't do anymore, Mama. While you were both alive and dead. I know you wouldn't care how I...I can't even say it..." Tears welled up in my eyes. "S-sorry... I'm sorry."

I reached into my coat, pulling out a tome. "Th-this is the first tome you ever gave me. I kept it after all these years," I breathed, setting it down. The yellow cover was withered and speckled with dust. I patted a pocket in my coat where another tome was resting. "I-I still have one of your tomes with me. I thought I would give you one of mine to remember me by, and I would keep one of yours for the same reason. I'm sure the wisdom you've put into these notes will help me along my new journey, along with your strategy books and notes..."

I sniffled, running a hand over the tome. "I love you, Mama. I really hope I said that enough when you were here. I will miss you every single day of my life. I will cherish the memories we've made together."

Looking up at the night sky, I could've sworn I saw a star twinkling more than the others. "Are...are you watching me right now? Are you with your family?" My tears fell freely. "I hope that wherever you are, you are happy. That's all I can wish."

I kissed the palm of my hand, laying it over the grave one last time. "I will make you proud, Mama. I will help this world in any way I can. The darkness within it stands no chance."

I stood, hesitant resolve flooding me. "This is the start of my new journey. One that I know will be full of twists and turns. You may not be here to help me directly, but," a comforting breeze blew by, "your spirit will be here to guide me. I can already feel it."

My eyes fluttered shut, the tightness in my heart being replaced by some emotion I couldn't name. "I love you, Mom. Your Little Bird has spread her wings and is ready to fly."

*****
............ahhhhhHHHHHHH. Holy cow, I am crying. I'm crying a lot. I cannot tell you how much I'll miss Evelina. She has been a huge part of this series since the very beginning, even personally. I will miss her a whole heck ton. And now I'm getting more sad. However, this isn't the end for Anna. She still has one more chapter left. Will she sink or swim? Read and you'll find out. So for those of you who don't know, my March Prompts are starting up in a few days. I would really appreciate if you checked it out. Anyway, thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more. ❤❤❤