Authors Note: Lo and Behold! I'm actually rewriting Years of Times after years of postponing it and procrastinating it. I've finally gotten back into Fire Emblem (thanks to the excite of waiting on the release of Awakening) and I am back and kicking in this fandom!

Disclaimer: No I don't own Fire Emblem for if I did I would be a very rich person and not a broke college kid TT_TT

Prologue

The child stumbled as she raced across the field her long locks caught in massive tangles. The light of fire burned brilliantly behind the small figure of the girl, casting everything in a deathly shadow. The screams of the dying echoed eerily around her as the stench of blood and rusted metal assaulted her nose. Jumping over a fallen cart the girl could hear nothing beyond the driving beat of her heart as it thundered in her chest.

The only thought that permeated the girls mind however was 'run, keep moving, don't stop.' For she knew if she stopped it would only mean one thing,

death.

Hell was the only way to described what had descended upon the village, and if the numerous corpses where any indication the situation only grew more dire as the seconds ticked past.

Tugging at her tattered skirt the panting girl took the final bounds into the woods of the Daien country side and felt for a moment as though her survival was possible. Suddenly though she let out a cry of frustration as she felt her foot snag on a branch and fell forward into the ashen earth.

Before she could stop herself tears welled up in her eyes as she let out one pain staking scream. Her turmoil, however fell on deaf ears as citizens raced around the fallen child paying her no heed, some being so careless as to even step on the grounded creature.

Curling up on her side the girl could do nothing more than grip her head in a vice lock and sob. Brother, she thought desperately, brother where are you? Why did you leave? BROTHER!

Chapter 1: So It Begins

Eyes fluttered open as the young woman pulled herself from the dream and shook her head, attempting to dislodged the fog that had consumed it in sleep. As her eyes took in the soft shades of brown and the sharp contrasts of green she immediately remembered where she was.

Blinking amethyst eyes against the bright rays of the sunlight the girl could do nothing more than hiss and throw her arm up over her face.

It was too damn bright.

Sliding down against the tree she contemplated returning to sleep but concluded quickly that wasn't a sound plan given where she was currently situated.

Grumbling loudly against the bonds of her exhausting the girl stretched her arms upward arching her back and earned herself a very satisfying pop as her spine realigned itself. Smirking the girl pushed herself up onto her feet and glanced above her, a long tan arm shading her eyes as she peered up towards the sun. The bright ball sat at a high peak in the sky signaling it was well past noon, which only further explained the horrid heat that had suddenly consumed her.

"Well shit," she groaned, as she realized how late she had slept, "now I'm going to be a day off schedule. Smooth move Destiny." She chided herself as an afterthought.

Turning on her heel Destiny quickly swiped her traveling pack up and across her back before securing the straps tightly around her mid section and pulling her loose ponytail tight against the base of her neck.

Stepping down from her resting spot and onto the thick grounds of the wood Destiny looked around herself once before darting off into the dense undergrowth of the Gallian forest.

Something about the lush nature and peace of Laguz territory always put Destiny at ease. Gently Destiny lifted the undergrowth from her path and made her way down further through the thick underbrush. It was relaxing, she mused, the sound of the nature soothed her into a continuous rhythm that gave her the energy to continue on her journey without tiring.

For several hours she had marched quietly taking in the beauty of her surroundings, and mulling over the thoughts that so restlessly danced through her mind.

Compared to the many places she had visited through the course of her travels the girl pleasantly noted that Gallia was among the most beautiful and peaceful. The sheer wilderness granted her a sense of home and familiarity and often put her in mind of her childhood as well as her bro-

She stopped herself. Shaking her head the girl cursed herself for allowing her mind to wander to such a subject, she knew better than to allow herself that.

Every time she allowed herself to muse over him she often found herself in a state of sorrow and frustration that were so contradictory towards her character.

Jumping up over a high rock the girl landed smoothly on her feet and pushed her matted hair behind her ears, scowling slightly at how sweat drenched it was. The heat of the day had matted her long red hair into a sticky mess against her neck and had tied it in never ending knots that would take the better part of a decade to work free.

"How in the goddess's name do the Laguz survive this torment with all that fur?" The girl grumbled as she fumbled for the water flask at her belt. Pulling the leather free the girl pushed the container to her lips and tilted backwards-

Nothing came.

Opening her eyes the girl tipped the container over and shook it.

It was empty.

"Oh bloody." The girl growled as she looped the leather flask back to her belt and murmured curse words against her own stupidity under her breath.

Jumping down from the rock the girl closed her eyes and listened carefully, she could have sworn she had heard running water earlier. It didn't take long to pinpoint the sound and with it came a grin on her face. The streams not far from here, the girl thought happily as she made her way down the mountain side.

She took the last few steps down the mountain side towards the billowing streaming dancing freely through the dense wood. At the sight of water the girl let out a low whistle of victory before pumping her fist into the air. However said action led the girl to miss step and sent herself tumbling towards the cool stream.

Rolling several times the girl could do nothing more than curse when she had finally ceased to roll any further.

"Rotten luck," She grumbled with annoyance as she glared at the canopy top of the woods, she forced herself onto her feet, "I bet you're laughing your ass off right about now aren't you dear Ashera?" Looking up towards the sky as though awaiting a response Destiny paused. No response came.

"Course not." The girl muttered darkly.

Kneeling next to the stream the girl pulled her flask free from her belt and gently dipped the edge of the cap into the water and waited patiently as the leather container filled. Letting her eyes wander about her she couldn't help but muse on how long she had led such a life. Nine, ten years? She shook her head, she really couldn't remember.

Ever since she had fled her burning village Destiny had taken it upon herself to travel across the land looking for the only family she had left. Unfortunately every lead she had ever had the fortune of finding had lead her to a dead end and she had began to feel as though she were grasping at straws.

Pulling herself from her musings and the flask free of the water Destiny quickly capped it off before straightening her lithe form once more. It was hard to keep track of time when you stayed to yourself and lived primarily away from other people.

Noting the fall of the sun on the horizon Destiny figured it might be best to set up camp early to ensure there was no conflict between herself and the natives per say. She knew the hatred of the Beorc ran deep within the Laguz and she preferred to avoid such conflict. Looking about her the girl quickly spotted a tall tree and let out a small 'ah hah' as she tucked her cantina away once more. Smirking the girl threw herself up onto the first limb and began her ascent towards the top.

Making her way to the highest possible branch that wouldn't falter with her weight the red tressed girl looped her pack around the branch above her and secured it with her leather strap, pulling several times to ensure the pack wasn't moving. Once she was sure of its security she withdrew a small patched blanket and spread it over her legs, the odd mismatched stars shimmering oddly in the moonlight.

Destiny settled back against the thick trunk of the tree and closed her eyes, willing sleep to consume her, it wasn't long before it came either.

Destiny awoke when a loud roar echoed across the plain scaring the girl from her wits. Jumping in shock Destiny had to reach out in break neck speed and grab hold of the branch she had just been sleeping on to prevent herself from tumbling from the great height of the tree. Grumbling about how irritating gravity could prove to be Destiny pulled herself back up on the branch before bowing her head and listening. No sound came for several moments before the roar echoed out again once more. Snapping her eyes open the girls stomach suddenly knotted.

That wasn't a howl of battle, but a howl of pain. Sighing in exasperation she began to weigh her options. Chances are the Laguz wouldn't want my help-

Another cry.

I mean I am just a human-

Another cry, this one almost scream like.

You owe them no favor-

The final cry is what final caught the girl. Sighing Destiny shoved her head in her hands, why in heavens name did she have an inability to leave things be? She quickly grabbed her pack and quickly slid down the tree before shooting off towards the sound.

Her old tattered blanket lying idly in the tree.

Her brother would have been so disappointed.

Screw him, she thought bitterly after a few moments, he ran off and left me on my own anyway. Who cares what he thinks.

Skipping over several rocks and fallen branches Destiny noted the screaming cry had faded into a dulled whisper now, sending the girls senses and panic into over drive. Jumping over several more obstacles in her path she dove through the last set of fallen branches before she came into a condensed area of limbs that appeared to be newly fallen.

There, in the dense underbrush stood numerous Daien soldiers laughing and shoving their spears at a large blue and yellow lump. Peering closer Destiny was quick to realize that they were not lumps but rather two large felines.

The blue panther growling menacingly as it dodged the spears that were shoved towards it, keeping itself locked securely between the metal spear and the smaller yellow feline backed up against the tree.

As the bigger blue animal made a dive for the left Destiny immediately noticed that the smaller creatures paw seemed to be caught in some odd metal trap, putting the creature at a great disadvantage.

Narrowing her eyes Destiny quickly withdrew two throwing knives from her belt before aiming carefully at the soldier at the lead of the pack who was shouting profanities at the two pinned creatures, a sick grin on his face.

"Sub human scum!" the man taunted as he thrust the spear once more at the growling panther who's anger was apparent. Barely having time deflect the blow from the smaller cat the spear slammed painfully into the feline's shoulder, drawing blood. It allowed only a small hiss to escape it's lips.

Allowing a breath to escape between her lips Destiny aligned the edge of her blade with the artery in the man's neck, one swift motion she reminded herself, no hesitation. In a flash she released the blades and watched as they struck true.

Gasps echoed throughout the troupe as they watched their leaders eyes widen and slowly glaze over as blood spurted from his neck in excess amounts, his taunts now silent. The man soon fell over, his huge body hitting the ground with a sickening thud. He was dead as a doornail.

A brief silence fell as the situation soaked in.

"T-the Captain!" One soldier yelled his voice wavering as he carelessly dropped his spear and backed away in terror. Soon mass panic took over the group as they searched valiantly for the source from which the knife came.

Noting the sudden distraction the blue panther found an opening and roared before pouncing and pushing the soldiers deep into the thick tangle of roots and away from the injured cub. The cat and soldiers soon disappeared in a mess of screams and limbs leaving the smaller cub sitting idly whimpering in both agony and terror.

Wasting no time Destiny threw herself through the thicket she had been hidden in and began to approach the young cat her careless foot placement causing twigs to snap loudly. Upon seeing her, the young cat began to cry in panic pushing itself further against the tree, its eyes wide in fear.

"Shhh," Destiny whispered, holding her palms out flat towards the creature, demonstrating she was no threat, " I mean you no harm I assure you." The cat looked far from convinced but immediately stopped it's howling, it's wide blue eyes brimming with tears.

"Y-you're one of those humans!" The creature suddenly wailed, it's voice obviously male and young, catching Destiny off guard and leaving her dumbstruck. It was a Laguz. Not that it was that surprising given it was Gallia but still-

"You'll kill me!"

Destiny shook her head, clearing her head of her momentary shock. She had never seen a Laguz before and it the initial contact and proven to stun her more than expected.

"I may be a beorc," She explained gently as she trailed closer towards the young cub, "But I do not hate the Laguz and in no way align myself with those monsters." Closing the last of the distance between herself and the cub Destiny held out her hand with great care. "Will you trust me to get you loose?"

The cat looked at its trapped paw then back at the woman's outstretched hand obviously weighing his options.

"My companion will set me-" The boys voice was cut off however as the trap suddenly tightened and made a sickening snapping noise as it torqued the cubs paw. Destiny hissed in annoyance, count on Daien to create traps that did more than just trap the Laguz, no they had to make sure they caused damage and obvious pain. Sick bastards.

Jumping forward without warning Destiny kneeled before the panicking creature.

She knew she had to act fast.

"Sorry," She said, pulling the satchel on her belt open, "There's no time for that." Moving forward Destiny quickly caught the panicking Laguz's trapped paw in her hands and grasp the base of the metal trap.

More tears welled in the cats eyes, "Please," He begged, "Make it stop."

"It's okay," Destiny tried to comforted as she braced herself against a branch, her gloved hands gripping the trap tightly around its hinges "I'm going to make it stop, but it's going to hurt like hell for just a brief second." The cats blue eyes widened in fear.

"I'm right here," She continued to comfort as she pushed her fingers into the tightening pins of the trap, "Now you're going to count with me to three. Ready?"

The cat nodded, flinching in pain.

"One." She dug her finger into the tightening pin's base.

"Two." Destiny made sure her grip was tight. The boy whimpered in anxious panic.

"Three." Destiny pulled her hands in opposite directions snapping the trap in half and releasing the cubs paw. Yet upon his release a scream of agony ripped from the boys throat. Immediately dropping the metal trap Destiny quickly grabbed the boys paw and dumped the vulnerary she had pulled from her pack over the cubs wound. The boy hissed in pain at first, but as the potion worked it's powerful magic the whimpering subsided leaving the cub sighing in relief.

"See?" Destiny said with a grin once the wound had healed, "I'm not so ba-" Her sentence was cut short though as she felt a strong force hit her suddenly in the side and was sent tumbling over branches.

'Oofing' loudly Destiny immediately rolled into a kneeling position and lifted her eyes, come face to face with the menacing blue panther from earlier.

Way to go Destiny, she could hear her brother chiding in the back of her mind, look what you've gotten yourself into now. She groaned in response. Why did his nagging memory chose such awful moments to make itself known?

Growling the cat lowered itself, oddly colored eyes flickering in the bright moonlight, ready to pounce at the girl and tear her to shreds.

Destiny didn't even bothering raising a weapon.

Preparing for the onslaught that she knew was inevitable the red haired girl was surprised when the child cried out suddenly halting his companions action.

"Stop!" The boy pleaded, suddenly turning into his humanoid form, his small frame bounding over towards the larger creature, "She freed me! Don't hurt her!" At this the blue cats form lowered immediately as it looked curiously at the girl for several moments.

"Hi there." Destiny offered awkwardly as she held up two fingers and waved sheepishly.

"You helped this child?" The blue cat asked, his voice obviously male, as he sat back on his hind legs and watched Destiny carefully. Dumbfounded at the notion of having two Laguz before her, Destiny could only nod dumbly.

"Then I assume you were also the one who threw the knife." The cat stated more that questioned.

"Yes," Destiny said suddenly, having found her voice again. She watched the blue cat with wide eyes, startled by how striking his mismatched eyes were.

"Why do you help us?" The cat questioned, still wary of the girl that sat before him.

"Because no one deserves to be pinned against a tree," Destiny answered automatically without thinking, "Beorc or Laguz, cruelty is unacceptable. Besides Daien soldiers aren't exactly renowned for their kindness."

An awkward silence fell.

After several moment Destiny began to think she had once again said something entirely idiotic when the blue cat suddenly let out a laugh and smiled at the girl.

"You're something else," He said with a chuckled as he straightened his back and began to morph into his humanoid form. After several moments a young man with blue hair and a cheeky grin stood before her, his odd eyes still twinkling in the moonlight. "Stupid for a human if you ask me."

Destiny felt her face flush, "What was that?" She yelped in annoyance as she jumped up from her kneeling position, annoyance running through her system, "What right do you have to call me stupid? You're the dumbass that caught in this situation! Had I not come to save your sorry ass-"

Another bout of laughter escaped the man's lips as he threw his head back and rested his hands against his abdomen, amusement obvious in his presence. He was laughing at her, Destiny realized in disbelief, that blue headed jackass was laughing at her-

Just as Destiny was about to tell him where he could shove it she noticed him suddenly flinch and grip his shoulder in pain. Immediately all thoughts of pummeling the blue headed bastard were pushed aside as she quickly made her way over to him and grabbed his arm, causing the blue headed man's eyes to widen.

"Fool!" Destiny hissed as she slammed her hand across the man's head causing him to yelp out in disdain, "Standing there laughing like a moron when your injured." Pressing at the wound with nimble fingers Destiny realized it was a decently deep wound and would need more than a vulnerary to close it. With great strength she forced to man down onto the ground.

"Sit." Turning on heel she raced towards her pack and pulled a needle, thread and her only elixir free before making her way back over towards the shocked man. "Give me your arm."

Too shell shocked to say anything the Laguz allowed the odd beorc to grab his arm and begin cleaning it. The young cub, also startled by the woman's behavior sat down beside the duo and watched the woman as she quickly worked on closing the wound.
"Stupid men, you're all the same," Destiny grumbled, "too hard headed to do anything with sense..." Still grumbling under her breath the red headed girl continued to run the needle through the Laguz's skin, pouring the elixir as she went.

The Laguz finally found his voice, "W-what are you doing?" He said in more shock that anger as he watched the woman. Looking up through dirty red bangs Destiny sent him an incredulous look.

"I'm swimming," She drew sarcastically, "can't you tell?"

Several moments of silence fell between them.

"What's your name beorc?" the man asked breaking the silence, too startled by the woman's strange behavior to do anything else.

"Destiny," she said with no hesitation, "Orphan and renowned hermit. I'd say a pleasure to meet you but these circumstances aren't exactly ideal." Finishing up her stitching Destiny quickly tied off her string and bit the thread lose. Inspecting her handy work she nodded her head in approval, it would hold.

Standing up from her kneeling position Destiny brushed her hands against her shorts and was about to address the duo when a realization suddenly hit her.

"Aw fuck!" She yelped in disdain and shook her head in disbelief.

"What?" The man questioned, jumping slightly from the girls sudden outburst. The younger Laguz watched the woman in bewilderment as she turned on her heel suddenly muttering profanities.

Paying neither of the Laguz any heed Destiny shot off towards the edge of the woods, grabbed her pack and slid it carelessly on her back, "How'd I forget that? Damnation!" Without a moment's hesitation she had disappeared into the thick undergrowth.

"HEY! WAIT!" The man yelled towards the retreating woman, thoroughly taken aback by the strange string of occurrences that had just played out. "What in Ashera's name just happened?"

The young child shrugged his shoulders as he rose into a standing position, "I don't know Ranulf but we should be getting back the sun is rising."

Ranulf sighed but nodded in agreement, his mind still locked on that strange beorc woman.