Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.
Chapter 1: Questions and Answers
"Awwww, chestnuts!" Marcia groaned, seeing her Iron Lance shatter in her hands. The fight against the ravens was tough, and Marcia's lance took more than its fair share of beatings. I'm short on my dough, I can only buy one more…Marcia thought. So I'd better make the best of the best!
She headed down towards the merchant's hold at the lower deck of the ship. The Greil Mercenaries had enlisted help from another merchant named Nasir. "Excuse me, sir?" Marcia called to Daniel, the twin who specialized in custom weapons. Daniel looked up from his bellows and walked over to Marcia. "May I help you?" he asked. "Well, you see, I'd like to make a custom weapon right now, and…" "Well, today's your unlucky day, I guess." Daniel interrupted. "Huh? Why?" Marcia asked.
"Another person came by here and asked for a custom weapon, so please return tomorrow." Daniel said. Grrrr...Marcia seethed. Chestnuts! That only left her with her Javelin. What if other surprise attacks came? She sat fuming in a corner. The sound of footsteps made both Marcia and Daniel look up.
"Is my lance ready yet, Sir Daniel?" a voice asked.
"Ah, Miss Jill, here it is." Daniel replied, carefully lifting an intricately done lance from the red-hot bellows. "I made it as lightweight as I could, with maximum durability and higher critical rate." Jill caressed the black lance. "Perfect. Thank you, Daniel." "Anytime, miss."
Jill, eh? Marcia thought. Wasn't that the Daein wyvern rider who joined us this morning? Jill proceeded to climb back up the hold. "Hey, hold-up sister!" Marcia called, following her. Jill raised an eyebrow. "What do you need?" she asked. "You-you've got a pretty nice weapon in your hands." "This cost me a fortune." Jill replied. "Well, its custom made, right?" Marcia persisted.
"Didn't you see me go down and have it crafted?"
"Well yeah, anyway…"
"Why don't you just spit out what you're trying to ask, Crimean!"
Marcia frowned. She wasn't going to be intimidated by this wyvern babe. "Well, OK, what is your weapons' name?" she asked curtly. "Ah…uhm…" now it was Jill's turn to stutter. "So? What is it?" Marcia persisted, sensing victory. "It's…Marianne." Jill mumbled, then suddenly lost all bravado and walked off.
"Marianne, huh? Where did she get such a name?" Marcia asked.
Dinnertime was the usual noisy patter of the soldiers. Oscar was fortunate to find several edible things in the ship's storage area. "This is great, Oscar! I almost forgot what real food tasted like!" Ike said. "Yeah, it's really good! Hey, save that last piece of bread for me, Rolf."
Mist took several servings of food and served it to a solitary figure in another room. "Why don't you want to eat with us, Jill?" she asked. "No one wants a Daein soldier in the dinner table. It spoils the meal." Jill replied. Mist gave Jill a pitying look, and left.
Jill picked at her food, and suddenly felt someone sit beside her. "You again." She said, emotionlessly. "Uhm, I just wanted to ask again…" Marcia said. "Didn't you eat your dinner yet." Jill broke in, but she couldn't mask the obvious note of happiness for a companion. "Well, uh, yeah! But I wasn't very hungry. Anyway, I came by to ask why did you think of a name for your lance 'Marianne'? I mean, it looks so tough, and why does it have a feminine name of 'Marianne'?"
Marcia inched closer, reasoning (and hoping) to herself that Jill wasn't going to bite her. "Well…" Jill began, taking a piece of bread. "…I was inspired by a winged fighter." "Oh, and her name was Marianne?" Marcia asked. "You sure are kind of inquisitive." Jill sighed. "Sorry, but I can't help asking why!" Marcia whined.
Jill faced Marcia and almost lost it. There was the cutest expression on her face. Puppy-dog pout. "Uhm, quit making that face, please…!" she said. "C'mon, Jill! Tell me about this Marianne person!" "I…I…I think I'll retire to my bunk now…" Jill said, her face chalky white. "See you around."
Marcia watched her go. "I'm gonna find out who she is, Jill! And don't you think I'd give up, either!"
TBC
Sorry it's so short. Will Marcia find out the story behind Jill's black lance? Stay tuned for more!