Noelia raised her trembling hands to the chest. For the second time, she was witnessing the farewell of another person dear to her, as she watched Guts prepare the horse...he intended to follow your trail and get you back from wherever you were now and although the girl trusted in the black swordsman's tenacity, she couldn't help but be distressed.

Guts hadn't spoken to anyone the entire time, nor he had asked about your particular condition again...what if he didn't accept the fact you were pregnant and that was all a mistake?

«Calm down, Noelia.» Suddenly, Puck's touch on her shoulder made her breathe again «There's no way Guts can fail and Y/n is a strong woman, they will go home together!»

Noelia burst into tears at the little elf's smile, he was right and she hoped things would return to their place, in their right place. Before getting on the horse, Guts took another look at Noelia's crying, he wasn't the type to comfort people, but after he saw her and Y/n smile together often, he couldn't ignore that and just placed a palm on her red head to rub it gently.

«I'll bring her back to you, safe and sound.» He said sternly and Noelia stared silently, there was still something she needed to ask to chase away her bad thoughts.

«Will you tell her that you know?» Even without specifying it, Guts understood what she meant, but there was no expression on his face, nor he seemed annoyed by it.

«I'll talk to it after I find her.» He stated in a low voice, as if the topic hadn't slipped up on him and was waiting for the right moment to find out more, but now his only concern was to know where you had gotten yourself «But if what you said is true, then it might be too late...and maybe it's better this way.»

As she feared, Guts felt the same as you, however Noelia noticed the warrior's profile hiding a deep veil of pain; when Guts prepared to leave, the old man also came to say goodbye and thank him for everything he had done for their tavern...of course, Puck flew away with him and before everything was as silent as it once was, Noelia followed the horse to the gate, without crossing it.

«May God always be with you, Guts!!»

She screamed at the top of her lungs and Guts listened to her words without turning, though he didn't believe in any merciful deity, he accepted the girl's prayer as if it were a pledge that he could never free himself from...whatever plague would fall upon him, it wouldn't be enough to stop him from finding the woman he loved.

• • •

You woke up in a large, comfortable bed. Your body was devoid of armor, but you still wore your clothes under the covers which looked fit for a queen.

«Where I am?» You asked yourself as you moved your eyes left and right. You clearly remembered falling down the cliff, so someone had found you and taken you there «Is this the home of a rich man? I've never seen a bedroom as large as this one...»

You were about to move from the bed when your left leg started to hurt like hell. Judging by the pain, it appeared to be dislocated and there were no other injuries you could see, as it had been completely bandaged...whoever it was, he had been far too kind with a stranger.

There, you immediately looked towards the door when it opened, staring as a young girl, almost a teenager, entered the bedroom without making any noise.

«Oh, you're awake!» She said in a happy tone as she carried a tray with hot water and a towel inside, probably prepared for you «How do you feel? I hope the bandage isn't too tight–»

«Who are you, and what the hell is this place?» You hadn't even noticed what she asked, as you were more interested in knowing why you were there; maybe, she was the landlord's maid and was limited to saying and doing just a few things, but you narrowed your eyes when you saw her smile, accompanied by a look which was anything but genuine.

«Soon you'll be given the answers you're looking for...and my name is Sonia, I was the one who treated your leg before it could get worse.» She answered by simply placing the tray next to you. You didn't say anything and she continued, taking something out of her pocket.

«It's right I give this back to you.»

Your eyes widened when you saw the small, greenish stone again, at that point all the pieces started to fit together and before you could throw it to the ground, Sonia caught it in her hand.

«Get that shit away from me, it's that thing's fault if I'm in this state!»

By now, you believed the stone had cursed you and you weren't that wrong, but the blonde girl felt obliged to give you some explanations to appease your anger.

«I know you are confused, but you can't go against it. Beherit chose you, and won't let you go until you die...or until you use it.» She explained to you without stopping smiling at you, as if it helped to calm you down. This kid seemed to be well aware of it and as you observed that little monstrosity on your bed, Sonia took the opportunity to place the wet towel on your face.

«You have some bruises here, don't let them ruin your beautiful face.»

You didn't object when she did that with a gentle touch, ignoring her compliment. Apparently, you couldn't get rid of that "Behe-thing" and you wondered what it would be useful for, if not to break your other leg...on the other hand, she didn't seem to have noticed your pregnancy.

«How long have I been here?» You asked watching the smiling teen's movements, regardless of the fact that she had a stranger in front of her.

«Almost a day. It seems like you haven't been sleeping properly lately, are you a traveler?» She answered and asked at the same time, tilting her head towards you a little «Or maybe not. Judging by your supplies, you must be a mercenary...»

You didn't reply and Sonia understood you weren't a great speaker, but she was fine with it, it was clear you had your own business to attend to...well, that was before you were found unconscious and as soon as finished putting new bandaids, she brought you clean clothes to change yourself.

«I'm fine with mine–»

«Oh please, we don't want you to meet him dirty right?» Definitely, that fabric was of a high quality and she left it on the bed for you to wear, before leaving the room «I'll be outside, in case you need me. You don't have to fear anything.»

Who were you supposed to meet? Maybe the owner of the house, or whoever hadn't left you to die and most likely, he would have asked for something in return...you ignored the clothes and stood up, being careful not to strain your leg, instead you felt a strong pang in your belly.

You rubbed it at the thought of the inevitable, after all it was what you wanted to do...you stood still for a moment, before figuring out how to get out of that place quickly.

• • •

At the same time, on the other side of the military fortress a meeting had opened and the leaders of each squadron sat down around a long, rectangular table.

«Your call was sudden, what is the reason?» The captain of the army's lancers, Locus, asked at the head of the table with a quiet expression, but not really surprised.

«I'm aware of it. However, there's something you all need to know.» A man with long, silver hair and shining armor responded, eyes fixed on each of his men «A new Beherit has come to us...and the owner is a woman.»

A chilling silence accompanied the rigid posture of the knights, except for a few of them; the captain of the archers, Irvine, was the only one who wasn't completely surprised since he had found it with Sonia, while someone else was clearly hostile to the news and that was Rakshas, ​​a shady assassin covered in a cloak and with a disturbing mask on his unknown face. A thin scoff echoed in the room and that belonged to Zodd, a beastly and very powerful warrior who couldn't have reacted differently at the sound of a woman among them.

«Have you decided what to do about it? Where is now?» Locus intervened again, noticing a clear interest in the eyes of the leader, whatever decision he would make, he would support him if it was the right thing.

«Tsk, this is so ridiculous, how can an insignificant woman become an apostle?!» Rakshas barked from his seat, earning a glare from the knight who wanted to silence him, but the "Falcon" raised a hand to stop the argument between them.

«If the Beherit chose her, there must be a good reason. We'll soon see what she's capable of...»

He had just started talking when someone knocked on the door and when permission was granted, the small figure of Sonia appeared from behind it.

«Sonia, I hope you are here to give us some good news.» The silver-headed man stood with his arms outstretched, welcoming his favorite prophetess. Things got a little rowdy, but she never stopped smiling and let the others watch with their own eyes, as you were dragged into the room by two soldiers.

«G-get your fucking hands off me!» You growled, pushing one of them away, as the other hit you on your weak leg to bring you to your knees; they had intervened when you tried to escape and as promised, there you were, in the presence of the highest ranks and you realized too late this was a military base...

A military base of Falconia.

Before they could hit you again, you saw the man standing order them to leave, finally leaving you free. You slowly stood up, ignoring Sonia's help and started to study the environment around you, especially the group of individuals in the center of the room, apparently none of them seemed to have flinched at your spectacular entrance.

«It's a pleasure to have you among us. I'm Griffith and this is the Band of the Falcon. I give you a pleasant welcome.» The same man with wonderful, yet dangerous features greeted you with extreme kindness, introducing himself with a name you had never heard before «I hope you are recovering well from your wounds...I can feel your spirit is strong, may I know who you are?»

Honestly, you preferred to leave than have a conversation, but you had the feeling it was wise not to antagonize these people. The attention was focused on you and in particular, your gaze met that of a monstrously tall man, who was standing right next to the angel-type one, with a composure which undoubtedly reminded you of someone else.

«I was just passing through before coming across a cliff. About that, thanks for helping me, but I can't stay here any longer. I have some urgent things to take care of elsewhere–»

«Are you sure you can do that? Because I don't think so, not in those conditions.» Griffith's voice never stopped being calm and as you had noticed from the first moment you saw him, this guy was definitely to be avoided, grimacing in response.

«It won't be some more scars scaring me, and my leg will heal soon–»

«I'm not talking about it.» He stopped you again, this time in a lower tone and you didn't understand what he was talking about, if he had never seen you before «Maybe I didn't explain myself...or maybe you have forgotten what you are carrying within you.»

Some of the warriors looked at Griffith in confusion, but you clenched your fists nervously. Without hesitation, you looked towards the girl and her sick smile confirmed this little bitch knew and had told him too.

«My horse died during the fall and I was about to be killed too...there's no way it survived!»

«Wait, this woman is pregnant?» The black-haired knight asked and at Locus's word, the group broke up further; the giant beast burst into healthy laughter, surely the day was turning out to be unexpectedly fun for him...meanwhile, the assassin had suddenly disappeared next to him and a tall, black shadow appeared behind you.

«Shit!»

Sonia just backed away from you when Rakshas attempted to attack you defenseless. But there, a blade flew past your head and tore the creature's mask, causing him to back away from you.

«You...how can you do this to me, Grunbeld!» The assassin burst out towards the giant knight, who had attacked his companion after seeing him secretly crawl towards you. Griffith said nothing, instead he watched carefully after he had sat comfortably in his chair again.

The leader of the Band of the Falcon giants didn't dare to say a word, but he reacted because he didn't like the assassin's petty free will, especially after he had just heard that woman over there was carrying a child; you seized the opportunity of that moment and without wasting time, you grabbed the blade for yourself.

«Look, I don't know who the hell you are or what you want, but since my presence is as disturbing as yours, I'm going to get out of this place now.»

You gripped the new weapon in your palm and were about to open the door when Sonia grabbed your arm.

«Please, don't waste your chance and listen to what he has to offer you. Or it will be too late.» Sonia said loudly, getting in the way and pretending to care, but you didn't want to have anything to do with any of them; leaving was the only solution to this unpleasant situation, not caring about both the stone and your leg...

But suddenly, the same pain of earlier made you lose your grip on the dagger and fall to the floor.

«I-I'm out of breath...what's happening to me...?»

The silence of the room was broken by the sudden echo of you starting to vomit, under the impassive eyes of the present. You felt dizzy and threw it out until you felt better.

«This happened again, don't tell me that...!»

«I'm really curious to know who put you in this state, considering your nice temper, but we can discuss this later.» The silver-haired guy said ironically as he folded his hands over the table, clearly amused «I know it may seem hasty, but I would like you to stay here, with us...in this way, you can recover and learn more about the true power your Beherit can give you.»

Seriously, the more he talked, the more he annoyed you, because you felt there was something disturbing about him. There was a time when Guts told you something about an angel being defined as the worst demon and casually, it came to your mind after meeting this man...

Of course, he could charm whoever he wanted with his appearance. But not a bastard like you and he had noticed it by looking into your eyes...

The same ones as him, long time ago.

You wanted to say something, but every time you tried to open your mouth, you felt a sense of disgust coming out and so, Griffith ordered Sonia to take you to your room to rest. Despite the fall, you couldn't believe you were still pregnant.

«A girl full of surprises, don't you think?» Griffith smiled at the thought of your hostile, but distressing behavior, no way your presence triggered different reactions in each of his men «She's still running in, though. I want someone to keep an eye on her and I already know who...»

His crystalline eyes stared at one of the apostles around him and his choice was somewhat unexpected, when he named "The Great Flame Dragon" as your guardian.

«...I want it to be you, Grunbeld.»

«Isn't Sonia good for that? I think she can adapt better, if there's another female in this place...or maybe Locus.» This time it was Irvine who spoke, though he couldn't see, he had clearly seen his little friend was more capable, thanks to her mental skills and the knight was most patient of all the apostles of the Band. But Griffith's silence was enough to understand what his answer was.

«You're right, but I want to know what he thinks...are you okay with that, Grunbeld?»

He hadn't made much of a statement about it, but for certain reasons, Griffith knew he was the right person to watch over you.

The giant man stood up and bowed solemnly to his leader, vowing to fulfill his new assignment honorably.

«...I will, if that's what my master wants.»

He had asked for it after all, after intervening to save your skin from the clutches of Rakshas...and if that meant babysitting a stray girl now, he would do it without any complaints.