A/N- This was written as a request for friend. I'm ignoring FE12 for the purposes of this fic. I hope that you enjoy it.
Linde turned another page of the tome in front of her, clenching her teeth in frustrating and starring intently at the pages as though she could change what she saw through sheer will. But, to her disappointment, it didn't matter how many times she went through the pages of the magic book. Excalibur refused to reveal its secrets to her.
The fact that she could not use the tome stung, despite the fact that Linde knew intellectually that it shouldn't matter. She had continued to master one tome after another during their journey, some more powerful then Excalibur, so why should she be so bothered that she couldn't use this one spell book? A memory of the way her father had smiled the first time she used Aura popped into her mind without permission. He had always been so proud of her...
Linde shook her head firmly, forcing her mind back to the task at hand. It would not do to dwell in the past.
"Linde," a familiar voice called from outside her tent. "Linde, are you there?"
The young mage's head spun to face the entrance of her tent, recognizing the voice almost immediately. "Yes, I'm here. You can come in, Merric."
With permission granted, the green haired mage walked inside, a pleasant smile on his face. Much to her own surprise, she found herself smiling back at him.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Linde asked softly, walking forward to greet him. She was surprised by how pleased she was to see him.
"I came to retrieve my tome as long as you don't mind," Merric told her, still smiling. "Prince Marth wishes to move out first thing in the morning and I don't like traveling without it. You never know when it will be needed. Are you through with it?"
Linde hesitated a moment, a disappointed look spreading across her face, although she was quick to attempt to cover it by forcing a smile back on to her face. She retrieved the tome and handed it to him. "Of course, Merric. Thank you for letting me borrow it."
Merric watched her carefully. The forced smile on her face did not cover the pain in her eyes. He reached out and accepted the book hesitantly. "Are you sure that you're okay with returning it?"
"Of course," she responded with false brightness. Seeing the doubt and concern on Merric's face, Linde found herself unable to continue her charade any longer. She added, "I've done as much as I can for now anyway."
"Still no luck in using it then?" Merric asked sympathetically. He had undergone some of the same frustration not long before while struggling with Aura. It was both vexing and fascinating that the tome would not respond to him as it did to Linde. It appeared that whatever magical mechanism caused this also affected Excalibur as Linde didn't appear to be having any more luck with it. He wondered if perhaps the tomes were locked to those who had rightfully inherited them, but... he could still remember a time when Ellerean had taken the tome from him, in an attempt to prove that he was truly the better choice for it, and used it even though he had not been chosen to wield it. Admittedly though, while Ellerean had been able to activate the magic, he hadn't been able to use it very effectively...
Linde shook her head. "I just don't understand it. I've never been completely unable to learn how to use a tome. Some are more difficult then others, but all can be mastered with enough effort."
"I know what you mean," Merric agreed. "Aura and Excalibur both seem to be very picky about who wields them." The incident with Ellerean still on his mind, Merric added, "It's also interesting that it appears to be easier for you and me to wield our respective tomes then for others."
"That is true," Linde agreed, starring off towards the entrance of her tent as she thought. "Lena asked to borrow Aura the other day. Now that she can use tomes as well as staffs, she wanted to test her limits a bit. It was strange. The spell book reacted to her, but she had a great deal of trouble summoning Aura's magic. I wonder why. I've never had such problems with it."
"I had a similar experience once and, like you, using Excalibur has always felt so natural to me," Merric mused, his eyes closed. "Perhaps the ease of use does have to do with rightful inheritance, although that cannot be the reason as to why we cannot use one another's tomes. For that though, I still have no answer."
Linde sighed softly, still disappointed. "I wish we understood more about this. It feels so odd to use the magic without knowing the way that it works. I understand the way most of the other magic tomes function."
Merric smiled at her encouragingly. "Then we'll just have to keep searching. When this war ends, I plan to return to Khadein to complete my education. If the answer is anywhere, it is likely there and I promise you that I will search for it. Perhaps... you can even go there with me. It would be easier to search for the answers together and you would get to meet other people who share our interest in magic."
"Depending on how the war ends, it might not be possible for me to go with you, although I would like to see Khadein when we are not at war. With the way you describe it, it sounds like such a wonderful place," Linde said, matching his smile with one of her own.
"It is," Merric assured. "I think that you would be happy there." Merric did not add that he was pretty certain that he would miss her dearly if she was not there. He did not understand why it hurt to think of them being separated. They were no more than friends after all and he already had feelings for another, but there was no mistaking that his heart ached to think of not being able to see her and speak to her regularly as he did now. He shook his head. "I should head to bed. It's getting late."
Linde nodded. "Of course. I'm sorry for keeping you and thank you for allowing me to borrow Excalibur and for talking with me for so long. I always enjoy our conversations and this one particularly helped me. Good night."
"Please don't apologize. I liked our conversation too. We'll have to continue it another day. Good night, Linde." With that, Merric took his leave.
Linde took a shuddering breath as she watched Merric leave, uncertain about what to make of the pang of loneliness and regret that ripped through her heart at his departure. She didn't understand why she reacted to him as she did. His presence tended to make her happy, but being without him was hard. Harder than it should have been given that she did not feel this way with the other friends that she'd made in the army.
As Linde readied herself for bed, she forced her thoughts about Merric away so that she could sleep. If the prince intended to get them moving early tomorrow then she would need her rest. Her last thought before sleep finally found her was that she had more mysteries to consider then just the one surrounded Excalibur. Clearly, she needed to put some more thought into her feelings for the tome's owner as well.