(IMPORTANT NOTICE: So I've been forced to re-upload this story because some person claiming to be close in connection with the admins carded me for my use of song lyrics. Boo. Which I mean, yeah, that's all well and good because I can see where copyright issues might be. The thing that's sort of pissing me off though is that I have read countless other songfics, and NONE of them that I have read had that message from this particular person in the reviews. So I just don't understand why I was picked on all of a sudden, seeing as this is my very first songfic. But anyway, due to this unfortunate incident, I've had to remove the song lyrics from the story (which totally defeats the purpose of it being a 'songfic' but I can't do anything about it). Sorry about that. :( But I still want you to listen to the song while reading the story, even if you can't see the lyrics. The song is called Sound the Bugle by Bryan Adams. Okay, thanks for putting up with this, guys! I know it's terribly frustrating.)
A/N: Hello readers! Yeah, I know. I've really been slacking off on my stories recently. I was planning to get a few more chapters up over Christmas break, but obviously that didn't happen. :P However, the good news is I've got this new one-shot for you to read! Also it's a songfic and I've never done one of these before. So I recently re-watched the movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron again and the song Sound the Bugle really struck a chord in me. I think back when I used to watch it I was too little to really comprehend the meaning of it, but now that I'm a lot older it just speaks volumes to me! So of course, I immediately thought of a few Fire Emblem characters that the song might heavily apply to, and I wrote this one-shot in response to that. I've actually found that the song applies to me as well, especially at the present time. I'm obviously not a solider or in the military or anything, but I realize now that the song isn't necessarily just speaking about the military. I think that we are all soldiers fighting our own battles, and the battle that I'm fighting right now happens to be depression. Yeah, I hate to say that, but it's true. But listening to this song gives me so much hope. The phrase "remember who you are" is so powerful, it gives me a really warm feeling inside. I highly encourage you to listen to the song as you read this, because it will really enhance the story itself. So with all that being said, I'll let you read now. Hope you enjoy, and remember to favorite and review! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. All characters belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.
Here's a link to the song: watch?v=P6Qc7eOiqtI, or you can just look it up on youtube if the link doesn't work :)
The Tactician's Gambit
He knows that the lives of good men and women rest in his hands. Of course he knows that. It's something that every tactician should know. And yet, he can't bring himself to care. He has seen many soldiers die. It used to eat away at his soul, tear apart his very being. But over the years, it has hardened his heart. Death has become a sort of routine part of his job. And of course, this is what he considers "normal."
Even now, as he plans a new battle strategy, he is blatantly aware of how many lives it will cost on his account. In a way, he feels as though he is playing the role of a god or goddess, deciding who will live and who will die. It's a feeling he can't simply cast aside. Of course, he has never really believed in any sort of higher power. He's faced too many hardships in order for one to exist. And if they do exist, he thinks, they're doing a terrible job. Where were they when he needed them the most? Why didn't they help him at all? When he was grabbing at straws trying to survive, why didn't they extend a hand towards him?
He knows, however, that there are some people in the world who are god-like. People who are so selfless that they will risk their own lives in order to save the life of another. He knows this is legitimate, because he has met someone like this. In fact, this person just so happens to be his only true friend. The only person who cares about him at all, he believes. The only person with whom he has shared his deepest, darkest secret, and the only person who still loved him afterwards.
But he still thinks he doesn't deserve love. He believes he isn't worthy of such a genuine emotion. He is nothing but an abomination, a hideous creature walking this earth. He was not made to be loved, but rather scorned. A mark forever stains his skin, reminding him each and every day of what he is, and what he can never hope to undo.
He, like many others, realizes that war is an awful thing, but he also knows that Beorc and Laguz alike are simplistic beings. They are black and white creatures. Either something is or it isn't, there is no middle ground. Negotiation is not an option. It never has been and it never will. And as long as that statute stands, he will be the one sending people to their deaths.
The Cleric's Cry
She is entirely too young for war. A girl her age should be worrying about boys, not about finding her wounded comrades on the battlefield so she can heal them. At the tender age of fourteen, she is doing what many girls her age would never be allowed to do. Though she hardly thinks of it as a privilege. It is a choice that she has made completely on her own. She didn't make this choice blindly, however. She is fully aware of the things that can happen in the blink of an eye; an arrow straight to the heart or a sword shoved clean through the gut. She has made this choice because she wants to protect everyone she loves. No matter what, she will not let them die. She knows all too well that death is real, and it will take hold of you when least expected.
She doesn't have many memories of her mother, if any at all. Her father used to tell her stories of her mother, and she would always laugh when he told her the one about how they fell in love. The only thing she has of her mother's is a medallion that she keeps with her at all times. Growing up without a mother, she was already deprived of the love that only a mother can give. She knows she turned out alright, though. She has a kindred spirit, and without even realizing it, she is the light of so many lives.
Even without a mother, she thought her life was perfect. But alas, it couldn't remain that way forever. This was proven when her father, the love of her life, was rudely taken away from her. She can still remember how she felt that cold and rainy night. She can still feel the tears she cried sometimes, like little phantom droplets of water running down her face. She was often accused of being a cry baby when she was little, but suddenly after her father's death, people stopped making fun of her for crying, almost as if they thought she actually had a reason to cry now. Of course she hates them for thinking that. She knows she has never cried without a reason. Each of her tears meant something back then, and they mean a whole lot more now.
She knows that war is no place for her, but what choice does she have?
The General's Retribution
He is a boy who was forced to become a man too fast. Forced to follow in his father's footsteps without enough time to learn all there was to know from him. Time and time again he has realized that he has much more to learn, and he's more than willing to learn it, but at the same time it feels like the rest of the world is against him. In actuality, it is the exact opposite. There are more people depending on him then he even knows exist in the world.
He wants nothing more than to honor the memory of his father. He is the man who taught him everything he knows, and he is responsible for the person that he has become. Without his father's teachings, he is certain that he wouldn't be alive today.
He may be the general of an army now, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's ready for that. He should have had years of extensive military training prior to becoming a general, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and he was thrust into it without even a single warning. Leading his late father's mercenary group was one thing, but being the commander of an entire army? That's simply too much pressure for a mere boy of seventeen.
But he knows that despite all the odds that are working against him, he has to do this and do it right. He must be the one to prevail in the end, because if he isn't then all that he has worked for is lost. Commanding the Crimean Army is something that must be done, but he also seeks something else. After watching his father die in his arms, he knew from that moment on that he needed to find and kill his father's murderer, the Black Knight. He will not rest until he sees the notorious knight draw his last breath. He has been called crazy for wanting to exact revenge, but he knows better. Fighting and winning against the Black Knight will be the only way to prove his strength. He wants to make sure that his father's death wasn't for nothing. He wants to make his father proud.
He drops his quill in defiance, no longer wishing to play god. He clenches his fists and states in a clear, strong voice: "I remember who I am."
She holds her mother's medallion close to her, running a finger across the intricate pattern. In a quiet and loving tone, she whispers, smiling to herself: "I remember who I am."
He silently looks upon his father's grave, wielding the sacred blade given to him by the Apostle. He gets down on one knee, digging the sword into the ground for support. With a determined expression and a fist over his chest, he says to the grave: "I remember who I am."
A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading! I really hope you liked it! As I've said many times before, I love doing one-shots. They are such great stress relievers! Welp, I guess I'll see you guys later then! Buh-bye for now! :)