A/N- This is my first Fire Emblem fic. I hope it's okay. I'm still trying to learn how to write these characters. This takes place after Book 2 of FE3 and has spoilers for that game and Shadow Dragon. Feedback is helpful, so all comments are welcome.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.
The wind tickled Catria's face as she and her large war dragon flew through the sky towards the capital of Altea. Leaning forward on her dragon's neck, she urged him faster. Flight was a sensation like no other and, no matter how many times she took to the sky; she never tired of the feeling.
Catria was quick to collect her thoughts as the castle came into sight. With mild reluctance, she tugged on the reins a bit to collect her dragon. It would not do to fly over in the castle in this manner. After two long, hard wars, many people were still very much on edge and a war dragon towering over the castle of the world's hero would likely set off a chain of events that might well end with her being shot out of the sky.
"No reason to give Palla another reason to grieve," Catria thought, a flash of pain ripped across her heart.
Although she missed her younger sister dearly, Catria didn't often allow herself to think of Est, who had vanished after the war had ended, and she wasn't completely sure why her sister had come to mind now. Perhaps it was because her sister had lived in this country until the second war had begun or perhaps it was the memory that her sister's husband, who had also vanished after the war, had been a knight of Altea. She knew well that, despite the brave face that Palla wore each day, she was deeply grieved by the loss of both of them.
Shaking her head softly, Catria forced these thoughts from her mind. There was too much work to be done for her to be lost in memories of the past. When Princess Minerva had stepped down from the Macedonian throne at the end of the war, Catria and her elder sister had found themselves put in charge of overseeing their country's reconstruction. She had come to Altea this day in answer to the summons of her new rulers, King Marth and Queen Caeda, who wanted a better idea of how Macedon was faring.
As she landed her dragon, a young woman came out to inform her that the king and queen awaited her in the Royal Audience Hall and quickly led her inside. A red haired man dressed in robes that matched his hair and, on closer inspection, his eyes, exited the room just as she arrived. Pleasure ran through her as recognition hit her. She and this man had become quite well acquainted over the past years and had struck up a strong friendship when they had fought side by side during the first war. It saddened her to remember how they had fallen out of touch after the second war had come to an end.
"It has been too long, Cain," she smiled, pleased when he returned the smile with one of his own. During the war, his smiles had been few in number, but again, on reflection, so had her own. War left little reason to smile.
"Indeed, Catria. How…"
"Dame Catria, you may enter now," the man at the door announced loudly, interrupting Cain's question.
"Yes, of course," Catria responded, shooting Cain an apologetic look, who simply nodded understandingly in response. She would simply have to seek him out later when her job here was complete. It was already starting to get dark out and His Majesty was unlikely to allow her to fly back to Macedon at night, for fear that something might happen to her in the darkness, so she would have time, assuming he could find time to spare from his own duties.
Following the man inside, Catria bowed before the pair on the large thrones before her.
The new king looked magnificent in the blue robes worn by Altean royalty, the halo-like crown that he normally wore shone brightly as the light in the room bounced off of it. The new queen too looked stunning, her dress a mix of blue and red, a silent tribute to both her new and old homelands. It had surprised many that the Talysian princess had fit into the Altean court so easily, but never Catria, who had had gotten the chance to see the princess's intelligence and charisma first hand during the wars. There was little doubt in her mind that Caeda would make a fine queen.
"It is good to see you again, Catria," the king said with a smile, rising from his throne to greet her. "How do you and your sister fare?"
"Well, my lord." The half-truth escaped her lips before she could stop it. Although it bothered her to be at all dishonest in her dealings with others, as she stared at her new sovereign and saw the exhaustion and sadness in his eyes, she could not bring herself to tell him that their hearts were still heavy over their own losses; not only for their lost sister, but also for their princess who had once led them so bravely and for the security that had vanished at the start of the war. He had losses enough of his own. She would not burden her king with her own.
Marth's face brightened some at her response. "I am pleased to hear that. And how is the reconstruction progressing?"
"As well as can be expected, my lord," she responded honestly this time. "We are starting to run low on supplies, but we have accomplished a great deal so far and we are far from ready to give up."
"What are you in need of?" the queen asked kindly, standing up beside her husband. "We will do all that we can to help."
After a productive couple of hours of discussion, Catria found herself dismissed. As she had expected, the king and queen had requested that she spend the night at the castle.
With her duty complete, Catria went to the stables. She had little doubt that she would be able to find Cain there somewhere. The new Commander of Altea's Royal Knights would not stray too far from his charges.
"May I help you, Dame Catria?" a young knight with brown hair and green armor asked as she entered the barn. Although he looked familiar to her and he seemed to know who she was, she had trouble recalling his name.
"Is Sir Cain available?" she asked him. "I'd like to see him if he isn't too busy."
"The Commander is in the office down the hall on your left," he told her, pointing the way. "He might be busy talking some sense into a couple new recruits though. Would you like me to take you there?"
"No, but thank you," she smiled at the knight, who nodded at her in response and left the barn, before making her way towards the office. She paused outside and waited as she could hear Cain's voice coming through the door while he spoke to someone and she didn't wish to disturb him.
It was another ten minutes before the lecture ended and the two young boys, who had been the subject of that lecture, emerged from the office, looking properly chastised.
Catria knocked on the door lightly and waited for a response before entering.
"Yes? Who is it?" Cain asked as he came to the door. She could see the surprise in his eyes when he saw her, but she could also see the pleasure in them. A surprising rush of excitement ran through her when she realized that he was as happy to see her as she was to see him. "Catria? What are you doing here? I figured that you'd already be on your way back home."
"His and Her Majesty didn't wish for me to leave while the sun was down, so I'll return tomorrow. I had hoped that we could use this opportunity to catch up. I meant it when I said that it had been far too long since we had last spoken and I'd like to remedy that if you have the time," Catria smiled at him.
"I still have a couple things that need to be done, but… perhaps we can catch up over dinner," he responded thoughtfully.
"Is there anything that I might be able to help you with?" Although she wanted to help, she rather expected the answer to be no. The continent might be united on paper, but it was not yet united in the minds of most of its citizens. She doubted that most people would be fond of the idea of a Macedonian knight sticking her nose into Altean business.
Cain paused thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "If you could keep an eye on those two boys who just left to make sure that they actually clean their tack and get it put away properly then that would allow me to get down to finishing up the last of the paperwork that needs to be done. I've already dismissed Cecil and Rody for the night, so they are unavailable or I'd have assigned one of them to keep an eye on those boys."
"They're troublemakers, I assume?" Catria asked sympathetically.
"Yes, very much so. They actually have a great deal of talent if either of them can ever manage to focus for more then a second, but in the meantime they seem to delight in disrupting everything." Cain sighed and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall with a frustrated sigh.
"I'll keep an eye on them then," Catria reassured him. He smiled at her gratefully, before she headed into the barn to find the boys.
Much to her pleasure, and she was sure it would be to Cain's as well, the lecture appeared to have actually had the desired effect, as the boys were hard at work scrubbing their tack clean when she found them. She decided that, at least for the moment, it would be best to simply watch quietly. If they should misbehave, then she would intervene, but discipline couldn't always come from an outside source. They would never succeed as knights if they didn't learn that self-discipline was an important part of knighthood.
The boys managed to finish without incident and Catria was able to head back to tell Cain, who looked extremely satisfied when he heard the news. With the last of his work complete, Cain suggested that they head out to a nice restaurant that he knew of in the city.
"You should see the capital when it hasn't been torn apart by war," he told her, his voice soft and serious.
And, indeed, the Altean capital was a sight to behold. The city was very much alive even at night. Lights emanating from all the open shops cut through the dark night, showing off a variety of breathtaking artwork and other goods for prospective customers to see. As they walked, Catria could hear the sounds of excited chatter and laughter. She caught Cain's eye and smiled at him.
Cain gripped her hand gently and led her down a nearby side street, which took them right to the restaurant.
Fortunately, the place that Cain had chosen was quiet enough that they could really talk. So, they spent the time catching up and getting to know each other again.
As they spoke, Catria was reminded by how easy she had always found it to talk to Cain. He understood her like few others and, in turn, she thought that he understood him just as well, although only he could tell her whether that was true with any type of certainty. She was pleased though that, at the very least, he seemed to be much more relaxed by this point then he had when the night had begun.
Dinner ended and they walked around the city some, with Cain showing off the high points to her. The night came to a halt all too soon for Catria's taste, but she was well aware that staying out any longer would be irresponsible. They would both need their rest for the next day and all the days that would follow. So, they said their good nights when they reached the palace and headed for their separate quarters.
Catria was surprised by the regret that gripped her heart as she watched Cain walk away, but even more surprised when he came to see her off the next morning.
"I'll come back to visit soon," Catria told him before mounting, knowing that it was easier for her to travel long distances then for him. "We shouldn't allow ourselves to fall out of touch like that again. I'd hate to lose another friend, particularly when such a lose is completely avoidable. Besides," she added with a smile, "Surely His Majesty will still need updates on Macedon's recovery. I'm sure that I'll be able to find the time."
"And I will come see you if the opportunity presents itself. My lord does not like to leave Altea if he can help it. There will hopefully be plenty more opportunities ahead for us to see one another," he told her softly. "Take care, Catria. I look forward to seeing you again. Tell Palla that I say hello."
"I shall. Thank you." Catria mounted her dragon and waved goodbye as Cain stepped out of the way.
She spared one last glance for Cain, renewing the determination in her heart to find the time to see him more often, and then turned her mind to the task at hand as she flew back to her country.