So this is a Fire Emblem: Awakening fic, taking place after the ending of one of the best gosh-darn games I've ever played in my entire life ever. Seriously, it's freakin' amazing.
Anywho, this is the first chappy of Fire Emblem: Aftermath. Read and Review to your heart's content, and I hope you like it!
God, it's so… bright…
Wait… where am I?
I open my eyes, but the brilliance of the sun makes me wince. Am I… outside? Once my eyes adjust, I see blue, and a few scattered splotches of white. A warm breeze tickles my face, and a strand of hair flops down into my view. What on earth am I doing out here? I don't remember anything…
I lie in the grass for a few moments, allowing my thoughts to straighten themselves out. I'm painfully aware of the memories that soon start to realign themselves; I remember the war first. I close my eyes, my heart pounding as it all comes back in a rush, the war with Plegia and the Valmian Invasion crashing against my aching head. Wait, I thought those wars ended, I think to myself, and if that's the case, that still doesn't explain why I'm out in the middle of a field somewhere. Muscles straining, I struggle to sit up, my gloved hands sliding across the dirt.
"Chrom, I think I see him!"
My neck resists, but I manage to turn slightly, and I see someone running through the grass towards me. Though the haze is difficult to penetrate, it only takes a moment for me to recognize the young girl who is now mere steps away from-
"LUCAN!" I'm tackled to the ground by a riotous ball of squealing hysterics, and though the breath is knocked out of me and I think she might've cracked one of my ribs, I look up at her and manage a small smile.
"Hey, Lissa."
"HEY?! You disappear off the face of the earth, and the most you can manage is hey?!" Her curls bouncing as she hops back up to her feet, Lissa sniffs her nose and wipes what looks to be a tear from her eye. "I can't believe it… Chrom was right!"
"Please, little sister… give me a little more credit." A hand firmly grasps my wrist, and as I'm pulled to my feet I see Chrom, Prince of Ylisse, standing before me. He grins, then says, "I'm so glad we found you, Lucan."
I smile, and though I'm still a bit unsteady on my feet, I manage to say, "I… I'm confused. I remember you guys, and the wars, but… what am I doing here? And what does Lissa mean when she says disappear?"
"You don't remember?" I shake my head, and Chrom says, "You sacrificed yourself to kill the Fell Dragon, Grima. You just… faded into thin air." Chrom pauses. "You've been gone for almost two years, brother."
"Really?" Though I'm struck with disbelief for a moment, I can see the truth in Chrom's eyes, and snippets of the battle with Grima soon begin to flicker into view. Saying goodbye was the hardest part, and yet here I am, standing before my closest friends. I glance over Chrom's shoulder and see Frederick approaching, and I smile and shout, "Ho there, Frederick!"
"Lucan, my friend!" the Great Knight says, dismounting in one swift motion. Clapping a gauntleted hand onto my shoulder, he says, "It is so good to see you again, sir… the Shepherds haven't been the same without you."
"Thank you, Frederick," I say with a nod. I turn to Chrom, and he and Lissa are caught in an embrace, which puzzles me for a moment.
Releasing his sister, Chrom turns to me and I'm surprised to see a sheen in his eyes. Damn… the only time I ever saw him cry was when Emmeryn was lost… I cough nervously, and Chrom says, "We've all missed you, Lucan. You kept us all safe through all manners of strife, and you always put your brothers-in-arms before yourself."
Lissa then stepped forward with her arms out, and when I saw that she was desperately trying to hold back tears, my heart broke. Sweeping her fragile frame into my arms, I feel my throat tighten with emotion of my own. I take a deep breath, and I look over Lissa's head at Chrom and Frederick. "You're my family," I say, "and I'd do anything for you." And if I had to, I'd throw my life on the line a hundred more times. After all…
You're all that I have.
It's been two days since I woke up in that field; it was actually the same field that those three first found me in, oddly enough. It's a strange world we live in, I'd thought when I'd realized where I was.
As we make our way back to Ylisstol, Lissa takes the time to fill me in on what's happened since the defeat of Grima. "Well Chrom and Sumia are expecting a second baby, which is exciting… I'm glad, because Lucina seems to get quite lonely when her parents are busy, and Cherche and I can only entertain her for so long. Oh, and Vaike and Sully are together still!"
"Is that so?" I ask, a wry smile crossing half of my lips. "I'm astounded she has yet to tear off his head…"
"Oh, don't you worry, sir," Frederick says over his shoulder, "He's gotten his share of beatings in the sparring ring from Miss Sully." I laugh, and Lissa chuckles behind her hands. "And Lissa, I believe Lucan was more looking to be caught up on how the Halidom has fared since his absence."
"Oh don't be such a bore, Freddy," Lissa says, to the Great Knight's displeasure and my amusement. "Well things are going quite well, I suppose," she says, her brow furrowing slightly. "The new King of Plegia has been very apologetic, and has been providing loads of relief to everyone Gangrel and Validar hurt. Oh, and Flavia's still in charge up in Ferox, 'cause there hasn't been another Khan appointed yet."
"And our Valmian neighbors?" I ask. "Have they been behaving themselves?"
"Actually," Chrom says, "Valm was eradicated almost entirely after we defeated them. Apparently, once we weakened their military, the conquered states rebelled and practically crushed them into the dirt."
"Serves them right!" Lissa says proudly, puffing out her chest. She then turns back to me and asks, "So are you excited to see everyone again, Lucan?"
I think for a moment. Well, it sounds like they really missed me… maybe they haven't totally forgotten me yet. I flash her a grin. "Damn right I am," I say, earning a laugh from Chrom and an energetic squeal from the ever-hyper Lissa. "Shouldn't we be there soon?"
"Yes, milord," Frederick says.
"You… you really don't have to call me that," I say, blushing slightly in embarassment. "I'm no royal like these two," I add with a gesture to Chrom and Lissa, the latter of whom giggles.
"Sire, you gave your life for ours," Frederick says sternly, and the others and I are silenced by his tone. "You are a hero, and that is enough for me."
We arrive after nightfall, and seeing as most of the others are either asleep or busy, Chrom lets me head straight to my old room. I walk down the hall, and I hear laughter on the other side of one of the walls; the barracks, I think with a smile. I pass by a few bedrooms, and then reach a flight of stairs to head to the next floor.
Though Chrom, Lissa and Frederick obviously have rooms in the Exalted Castle, they often prefer to stay here in the barracks so they can be closer to their fellow Shepherds. Their rooms are larger than those of the others, but not by much; they aren't the kind of people to be greedy, after all.
I pass by their rooms, and then I reach the door at the end of the hall: my room. I stand in silence, heart pounding as I try in vain to muster the courage to open the door, knowing that when I do, I'll be fully thrown back into my old life. I close my eyes, willing my breathing to slow down, the sounds of laughter and splintering wood from downstairs making me smile. Oh, who am I trying to kid, I think as I open my eyes. This is where I belong.
I open the door.
My room is the same as it was when I left it; larger than the others, more out of necessity than anything else. A large table dominates the first area, and it's still covered with maps and open books, a long scroll - A Treatise On Mounted Combat - dangling off one edge. I walk up to the table, and I cast a long look around as I wind the scroll back up. It's… clean, I realize. Running a finger along the desk, I feel my brows furrow in mild confusion. Someone's cleaned my room recently… but if they didn't know I'd be coming back… The implications of my realization come quickly, and I feel my throat tighten up again.
I walk around the desk, taking note of the packed bookshelves, the random trinkets from our past adventures. The memories are surreal in how long ago they took place… I was just a kid when Chrom and I saved that village, I think when I see the small wooden sculpture one of the townspeople gave me as a thank-you.
I drift across the worn wooden floor, avoiding the creaking board that always used to startle me late at night, and I feel as though I'm dreaming. The crack in the doorframe from when Frederick bashed the door open - fearing for my life when I'd actually just cut myself shaving, then let out an embarassingly loud yelp - is rough under my finger, and the armchair in front of the window is as melancholy as the day I fell into it and wept for Emmeryn's death. I swallow heavily, then move on.
My bed is as well-kempt as the rest of my little corner of the world, the sheets as tight as drums and the pillows recently fluffed. I open the wardrobe, and see my robes, and I reach forward and draw my sword, a broad-bladed schiavona, from its sheath hung on the wall. It feels warm in my hand, as though I'd only held it moments before, and I put it back in its place, a haze still dancing at the fringes of my mind. Lucan, Grandmaster of the Shepherds. I turn and meet the gaze of my reflection, and I watch the forest-green orbs soften.
I undress quickly, and I run a hand back through my long, brown hair, its range of colors matching those in my scruffy, sorry excuse for a beard. I look at myself in the mirror one last time, and I smile. Welcome home, old friend.
My head hits the pillow, and within moments, sleep takes me.
