A/N: I haven't posted a story in a while, so I decided to post this little one-shot I made. The tactician, Jacquine, is the same tactician in my other one-shot, First Impressions. However, the stories aren't actually connected, as the one-shots stand on their own. But if you like this one, do have a look-see at my other story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.

Jacquine the tactician was a strange person. Her past was shrouded and unknown, but she was excellent at making people feel like they've known her for years. Eliwood had only set out on his quest and within two weeks he thought he knew her.

Well, he thought that.

Every few days she would surprise him with something new. First was that she was fantastic at chess. Then that she was relatively skilled at making game traps. She knew how to play cards, was fascinated with insects, and was scared of chickens.

Jacquine was a mystery, no doubt, so Eliwood would try to get to know her past a little better. Like how she couldn't remember any family or friends from home. Eliwood had gotten her to mention her homeland once, but it was in a tongue he didn't recognize. That was another surprise, Jacquine could fluently speak more languages than Eliwood knew existed.

Overtime, he had grown very accustomed to marching with her and Hector, simply talking and enjoying is two best friends.

Two? Well… yes, he supposed she was like a new best friend.

The attack on Caelin was a surprise. Eliwood had his group rush to the castle to aid the fight, but things looked bleak when they first arrived. When Florina appeared with her news, Eliwood saw a new look of determination flash in Jacquine's eyes. After a heartfelt hug for her missed friend, the tactician began to issue orders.

Slowly the fight turned tides. Their soldiers began to break the blockade around Castle Caelin, and just as Jacquine was about to order their troops forward, a shout let out from the front line.

Jacquine and Eliwood pushed past Oswin to see a lone cavalier approach form the south, clad in green and bearing the Caelin crest upon him armor.

Eliwood jumped as Jacquine shout with joy "Sain?!" He saw a grin break out on the knight's face as the tactician rushed forward, forgetting she ran in a battlefield. Or perhaps not, seeing as she had ordered the clearing of all the enemies in the area. The knight dismounted just in time to catch Jacquine, who had jumped and thrown her whole weight into the man. With her clinging to his neck and legs wrapped around him and his arms wrapped around her small frame, they spun, laughing joyously.

Eliwood didn't notice the small frown on his face, or how he clenched his teeth just slightly.

He approached as they stopped spinning and heard the man say "Fair Jacquine, as beautiful as ever! Do you lead this rescue mission here? I should have recognized the tactics!"

Jacquine grinned. "I learned a lot in the last year. I'm here with Lord Eliwood," She said, gesturing him while still clinging to Sain. Her expression hardened with concern. "Is Lyn alright? Florina said you were with her."

Sain nodded. "She, Kent and Will are to the south, past the village. She worried for Florina – we saw her go down."

"Florina's fine. We –" She was cut off as Eliwood cleared his throat.

"Sir Sain, was it?" He asked. Sain nodded respectfully, still supporting Jacquine. "It's nice to meet you. Can you fight?"

"Of course my lord!"

"Good. We still have much ground to cover. Jacquine?"

She nodded, the steely glint back in her gaze. She untangled herself from Sain and touched ground. She closed her eyes and thought for a mere second. "Sain, return to Lyn. Let her know all's well, then the four for you are to push north, through the forest. We'll head east. We should rendezvous there."

Sain clearly knew how Jacquine worked, seeing as he simply mounted his steed and took off. She continued to issue orders, which Eliwood's gang followed instantly. Finally she looked up. "Alright then, you and I will follow. You need more experience Eliwood, so we're going to the front. Eliwood?"

"Huh?" He turned to her, embarrassed that he hadn't noticed he was glaring after Sain. "Ah, right. Forward then."

After the battle at Caelin, the army marched towards Badon. Eliwood was keenly aware of the lack of Jacquine at his side. She was engrossed with talking to Lyn and Florina or riding with Sain and Kent. The former didn't bother him, since he could tell Lyn and Jacquine were very close. But the latter did bother him.

Kent was alright. It was weird how casual he was with her, how he didn't seem to mind her impulsive hugs or friendly tackles from behind that hardly moved the stoic man. The knight openly smiled with her around, even laughing once or twice at her jabs at Sain. But despite how differently he acted around Jacquine, everyone could tell the man was devoted to his liege, in more ways than one. So Eliwood didn't mind when she rested in the front of the saddle and Kent didn't seem to care how close she was.

On the other hand, Eliwood bristled at the attention Sain got. In all honesty, Jacquine treated Sain the same as Kent, except maybe a touch closer. Like how she would go off and keep Sain company at his nightly watch post alone.

Eliwood didn't like it, but he didn't know why. After Hector made a snide comment about his glares at Sain, the young lord decided to peg his feelings on missing his friend and nothing more. After all, once one got past the knight's tendency to shamelessly flirt with any female, his was a good, loyal knight.

He still bit his cheek when Sain showered praises at his tactician.

Valor seemed to upset everyone. Kent was off because of Lyn's kidnapping, Hector and Mathew were upset over Liela's death, and Eliwood was confused. He had a lot going on, with the Black Fang and his father and all that. To top it off, he was confused about the dancer, Ninian. She seemed to capture his attention with her beauty and grace and he could not help the urge to protect her.

So he found himself near Ninian more and more. And Jacquine seemed to find Sain's company more. Eliwood told himself it was fine. Ninian had grace over Jacquine's fiery nature and beauty over the other's scruffy, slightly ambiguous appearance.

But found he missed talking to her outside of battle.

Eliwood found he cared for Ninian. He couldn't deny it – didn't want to deny it. Things were working out, finally. His friendship with Jacquine seemed to be back to normal. She marched with him and made silly conversation again, laughing and smiling together as they had before Caelin.

One day, they were marching along when Sain galloped past, laughing as Kent charged after him. The green knight called back "Glorious Battlemaiden! Have mercy and save me from evil!"

Kent roared something along the lines of "you blasted cur I'll have your hide" and a number of other choice words, even dipping into other languages to make his anger more colorful.

Eliwood's mouth twitched as she laughed back "You're on your own Sain!"

As the knights continued to circle to army, Eliwood commented as casually as he could "You and Sir Sain seem to be close."

She smiled. "Yup!"

"Forgive me for being blunt... but how do you put up with his flirting? All the other women find it disconcerting."

Jacquine clicked her tongue. "He's much more than that. He sees beauty, and can't help but let people know what they are. So many people think little of themselves, and he can't stand letting people lie to themselves like that. So I just deal with it. He's really good at listening though." She grinned up at Eliwood. "Before we met you at Khathelet, Sain and I had a heart-to-heart talk one night. Ever since we've been like siblings."

Eliwood almost tripped. "Really? I was under the impression…"

"That we were together?" She faked a gag. "Gosh, no! He's like, eight years older than me, and not my type. No, we're just…family." She gazed at the knights – Kent had caught Sain and was wrestling the poor knight into a choke hold. Sain was a shade blue. "Kent and Sain… are like brothers. I know that they'll always be there for me. Lyn and Florina, too. And I will be there for them, however they need it." She smiled at Eliwood, her eyes glittering beautifully. "Because I love them more than life."

The young lord smiled, trying to suppress the strange urge to cheer in relief or sweep her up into his arms and spin her around like Sain does. Suddenly Ninian's smile flashed in his mind - small, demure, pure. As Jacquine's bold grin turned away to help a purple Sain, Eliwood felt more confused than ever before.

After Ninian's death, Eliwood legitimately could not control his emotions. He had, after all, just killed the woman he cared for. He openly cried, became despondent, and proceeded through all the other stages of grief.

Including anger, which he regretted the most, because all his anger was directed at Jacquine.

He was sitting numbly by the fire a few nights after the event. Everything around him seemed to blur, being as it obviously wasn't important. Because the only important thing was Ninian...

He heard her approach, but only really noticed her when she murmured his name. Jacquine sat on the log next to him and wrapped an arm around him, trying to comfort him in any way.

Eliwood, moved by grief, slightly moaned "Why?"

Jacquine tried to respond. "I...sometimes, things happen, and there's no way to know, no way to prepare..."

Eliwood missed the raw grief in her tone. He scoffed bitterly. "You mean like when the flank behind us the other day? Or where to send Lyn to pick up Nino?" He grit his teeth. "Because you seemed to know about those. You were prepared."

She stiffened. "T-that's different, Eliwood." She said as comforting as she could. "Those were battles, the environment I work in."

Eliwood's anger flared uncharacteristically. "You seem to know everything outside of battles too."

Jacquine removed her arm, feeling uncomfortable. "E-Eliwood, I…"

"You know everything! You always know how to move on a battlefield, who should go where, when we move with no knowledge of our enemies and terrain! There's nothing you don't know!"

Jacquine stood, her face a mix of shock and retaliating anger. "That's not true and you know it! It's my job to do that – to know and predict the tactics of others!"

"Shut up!" He yelled, jumping to his feet. The tactician froze as her color drained.

"You always know what's going to happen, how the world spins and whatever! It's because of you we've survived this far. So why," he hissed with a venom even the gods didn't know he possessed, "didn't so know about this? Why didn't you know Ninian was a dragon? How could you not see this play of events like you always do? Why didn't you save her?"

Jacquine stood like a statue, the firelight illuminating her white face. Her eyes were wide and hurt, and her lips pursed tightly, but Eliwood didn't care. He wanted an answer, something, a scapegoat to take the blame that his hands led the sword to Ninian's draconic flesh and split her blood that was still so fresh in both of their minds.

"Eliwood?" Someone called.

The young lord grit his teeth and whirled to face an extremely worried Hector. The lord of Ostia took a hesitant step towards his friend. Eliwood never, ever yelled like that. "A-are you alright?" He glanced over Eliwood's shoulder. "Who were you talking to?"

Eliwood turned again. The tactician was gone, without a trace. With a growl to suppress the bud of guilt within, he stormed past Hector, making sure to bump his shoulder roughly. Hector could only rub his shoulder and look after him in concern.

The next day they continued to march to Ostia. Eliwood still felt some anger, but it was beginning to fade away into gnawing guilt. By midday he was finally considering that he was too harsh on his loyal tactician and friend. Midafternoon came and went, and the guilt began to eat at his conscious. He tried to find her to apologize, but she seemed to have vanished – not marching with Lyn, not riding with Florina, not talking to Kent, not even laughing with Sain. This only made the guilt worse, paired with the still-fresh pain over Ninian's death. He tried to swallow it – she must be with someone else – and concluded to find her later. Maybe. He was still mad.

Nightfall descended and the army made camp. After a solemn meal, most of the army tended to their things or turned in early. Tents were erected as Lyn, Guy, and other Saceans concluded that rain was approaching.

Eliwood finally decided to confront Jacquine. He was feeling a little more stable, and he knew that it wasn't her fault. Knowing his tactician tented with Lyn, he made his way to her tent.

Kent was sitting at the closed tent flap, tending his sword. As Eliwood approached, the knight regarded him carefully, guarded even. He stood and blocked the tent flap. "Lord Eliwood." He greeted without inflection.

"Sir Kent. Is Jacquine in there? I need to speak with her."

"She wishes not to be disturbed, my lord."

Eliwood gaped, but shook the shock from his face. "Kent, this is important. Let me pass, please."

"I'm sorry, my lord, but I cannot."

Eliwood's irritation bubbled irrationally again. "Kent, that was an order. Move."

"No."

Eliwood balled his fists. He hardly noticed Kent's determined, even angry expression, or how the man placed a hand on his sheathed sword. "Kent, I am a lord of Lycia. As a knight, you are bound to obey me."

"You were clear that Lady Jacquine also held such authority. She has already overruled yours on this matter. Now, if you would please leave, Lord Eliwood…"

Eliwood didn't know what came over him. He suddenly made for the door, trying to push the man out of the way. Kent, being a trained knight, possessed more strength. He held his ground, grabbed Eliwood by the collar, and forced him back. When Eliwood tried to lunge, either at knight or the tent flap, Kent punched him solidly in the face.

Eliwood flew back and sprawled in the grass. He sat up, nursing his broken, bleeding nose, glaring at Kent with disbelief. This was Kent, the knight with loyalty and honor like a mountain! Yet the man straightened and held his head up without remorse in his unusually cold brown eyes.

"Kent?" Sain came out of the tent. With a glance at Eliwood, his face hardened and twisted. With a growl, the green knight lunged for the lord, only to have Kent hold him back.

"Sain, calm down." Kent said, hold back the flailing man.

He stopped flailing, but protested "But Kent, you heard Jac-"

"Sain? Kent? What is going on here?"

All three men looked over to see Lyn, hair wet from bathing in the nearby stream, staring at them with disbelief.

"Lyn," Eliwood stated almost blankly. "Your knight accosted me."

Lyn turned sharply to her knights. "Sain? Is this true?"

Kent stepped forward. "Milady, this was not Sain's doing."

Lyn's eyes widened. "Kent? Why did you hit Eliwood?"

"If I may speak privately…" Kent gestured the tent. Lyn nodded and walked, instructing Sain to refrain from beating up the lord any more. Sain grumbled and sat where Kent had been and took up his duty.

Eliwood gathered himself together as he waited. His nose really was broken. Damn. Well, Priscilla could fix it in a jiffy. He just had to hope Hector wouldn't see it, or he'd never hear the end of it.

What was he thinking, trying to get past Kent? Of all people, Kent would be the one to keep an order to the point of refusing another. Obviously, he was not in control of himself as he had thought.

Lyn came out of the tent flap, looking…shocked? Angry? Confused? Eliwood couldn't tell. Lyn took a deep breath and stated calmly "Eliwood, I am sorry Kent punched you in the face. I will deal with him appropriately."

Eliwood closed his eyes. She wouldn't fire the man because Eliwood had been stupid, would she? It was normal protocol, but Lady Lyndis of Caelin was anything but a normal lady. Opening his eyes he nodded. "Very well. May I speak to Jacquine now?"

"No, I don't think that's a good idea."

There went his temper again. "Why the bloody hell not?!"

Lyn narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Eliwood, you need to control yourself. I understand you are in pain, truly, I do. But you need to consider what you've done, and stop lashing out at everyone."

Eliwood wanted to protest, but held his tongue when he saw her face. She was serious. And pushing Lyn's buttons would be far worse than pushing Kent. He clenched his fists and walked away.

Lyn turned to Sain. "You'd best go to bed. I need to talk to Kent first. I'll take care of Jacquine."

With a dejected nod, the Green Lance wandered away to set up his own tent to share with his boon companion.

Lyn walked back into the tent. Kent sat next to Jacquine on her bedroll, holding her closely. She hung her head into his chest. The man looked up at his liege, ready to take whatever she dished out to him. "Milady, I am truly sorry to cause you such trouble. I deserve nothing more than to be forced out of my service… but if I may?"

Lyn nodded and Kent tightened his hold on the girl in his arms. "I would certainly do it again."

Lyn smiled sadly and sat with them. "I know you would Kent. I might have as well. You are forgiven."

Kent raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Milady? But I ought to be punished. I attacked a lord."

Lyn smiled. "And so you shall." Before he could respond, she leaned over and kissed him. As he flushed bright red, Lyn whispered "There you go. Your punishment. Now off to bed. I'll take care of Jacquine."

His embarrassment faded away as he returned his attention to the tactician. Kent carefully laid the girl's figure across her bedroll and pulled the blanket over her. Gently brushing her hair from her face, he confessed quietly "Jacquine told us the moment he yelled at her. She was so distraught, and I thought Sain might have murdered Eliwood that instant. I confess I hardly held myself back. But she was clear we were not to harm him. But she didn't want to see him, and gave me an official order to stop anyone from bothering her. So when Eliwood tried to force his way past I…" His jaw clenched.

Lyn placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just looking out for little sister, huh?" She said with a teasing smile. "Go on. Get some sleep." With a gentle squeeze to her hand, Kent left, sneaking one last look at both women.

Lyn sighed and tucked the blanket around Jacquine. The tactician was assumed to be asleep, as she was completely unresponsive. According to Sain, she had been like that since noon. With a frown, Lyn whispered "You can't hide forever, Jacquine. We still need you."

Eliwood saw Jacquine riding with Sain the next day. From a distance, she seemed to be extremely fatigued, only staring vacantly and occasionally cracking a tiny, tired smile when Sain popped a terrible joke. However, Eliwood did not dare come nearer, seeing as both Sain and Kent would glare at the lord – the former seemingly almost daring him to come within range.

Eliwood felt awful. So much so that he began to forget to mourn over Ninian. He knew what he had said was wrong and stupid and desperately wanted to apologize. So the more he spared glances at his despondent friend (and earning sharp looks from two protective knights) the worse he felt over snapping at his close friend. She had always looked out for him.

About lunchtime, however, he had other things to worry about. They had arrived at Castle Ostia. The army spread apart to find rest.

Eliwood was listening to Athos's story with Hector and Lyn when a soldier burst in. "L-Lord Hector! The castle is under attack!"

"What?!" Hector roared.

"They appeared out of nowhere! The guards have been annihilated!"

Hector swore loudly. "I'm not going to let Ostia fall while Uther's away. Lyn, go get Jacquine! We need her!"

Lyn's face contorted in worry. "But she's…"

"I am here."

All of the lords turned to the tactician. She still looked tired and vacant, and didn't seem to really see any of them except Athos, to whom she turned to. "Lord Athos, please find some cover. We can handle this."

Athos smiled knowingly and left. Lyn frowned. "Jacquine, are you…?"

"Get Sain, Kent, and Oswin. They are to take the south. Nino and Priscilla behind them. Lyn and Hector, find and take Serra, Erk, Guy and any other foot soldier you find with you to the east corridor. Anyone who can fly is to go outside and keep reinforcements at bay. Archers to walls to help them. Anyone else is to take the west corridor. They won't be met with much force there." The tactician rattled off monotonously. Hector and Lyn hesitated before running off to follow instructions. Jacquine began to leave.

"Wait," Eliwood called.

She stopped, but did not turn.

"You…I…Jacquine I'm sorry." He blurted desperately. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I was wrong. I'm so sorry!" He didn't notice how his voice had wavered and rose a few timbers.

Jacquine turned sharply. Eliwood sucked in breath – her gaze had purpose again, but it was flickering dangerously at him. She closed the gap between them and slapped him hard across the face.

The sound echoed in the hall, and somewhere Hector cheered.

Eliwood blinked, completely unsure of what to do. Jacquine jabbed his chest with her finger and growled "Don't you ever yell at me again!" Her tone was harsh, but her eyes glittered with joy again, showing that he was forgiven. She turned on her foot and walked away. "Now go get your horse."

Eliwood blinked. "What?"

Jacquine turned yet again and placed her hands on her hips. "We're going to the front line buddy." She said with amusement. "Now go get your horse, because you'll need it."

She was beautiful.

As soon as Eliwood had thought that, the thought was gone. He grinned and grabbed her hand as they ran to the stables. The fighting was starting, and they didn't want to miss it.

The dragons were loose. In a blaze of fire and fury, the three dragons emerged from the gate. Eliwood stared dumbly as they rampaged, and just barely found the sense to pull Athos back. The next thing he knew, Brammimond was there and there was a flash of light and…

Ninian.

He watched with amazement as she repelled the dragons, sending all but one back. He didn't know what to think, how to feel. He had cared for Ninian before but now, he thought as he watched her collapse from fatigue, he…didn't. She was just like another comrade. And then Brammimond took her away, and Athos was instructing them to finish the dragon. Naturally, the crew present all turned to Jacquine for orders.

She was as white as a sheet, her lips moving soundlessly.

"Jacquine?" Eliwood reached for her and brushed her arm. When she didn't respond, he came closer to her and discovered that she was whispering a mile a minute. He vaguely caught a string of numbers, and a few names. Her head twitched and she started over, faster than before. Worry lined Eliwood's face. "Jacquine? Jacquine are you all right?"

She gasped like she had been submerged in water and looked at him, shaking. "I-I don't know what to do! I don't know its weakness, a way to flank it. I don't know its defense or resistance or hit points! I don't know how to proceed without the possibility that anything I do will send someone to their death!"

The dragon roared behind them, and a few of their fighters swore. Eliwood stole a glance at the beast – it wasn't moving, thank Elimine – and placed his hands on her arms. "I don't know what you're talking about exactly, but we need your help. Just trust us, it'll be alright. We know the risk."

She mumbled more numbers and figures. The only number Eliwood caught was thirty seven, whatever significance it had. Finally, she looked up helplessly. "All I can come up with is attacking all at once. Healers keep back. If anyone gets hurt, get out right away. It seems like Ninian immobilized it, at least."

Eliwood smiled. "Got it." He turned and relayed the instructions to the grim team. One minute later, and the dragon was suddenly assaulted. Eliwood turned back to his tactician. "I want you to stay back. I don't want you to get hurt."

Her eyes widened as she nodded. She gave a shaky smile to hide her mounting fear. "Don't-don't die, okay?" She whispered.

The dragon roared, pulling at Eliwood's attention. He could possibly die, couldn't he? Before he could stop himself, he gripped Jacquine's arms and yanked her towards him, meeting her lips with his own. The first instant she froze. The second instant she was kissing back and felt like he was engulfed with the dragon's fiery breath. The third instant he broke away.

With a weak smile, he said "I'll try not to."

She scanned his face before squeezing her eyes shut. He mounted his horse and charged, trying not to think too hard about his fate. And she could only place her hands over her face and pray that her friends would all be okay.

After the dragon was slain, Ninian and Nils both returned to their world. Athos passed away peacefully, but nobody grieved, seeing as the archsage had, indeed, lived a long and fruitful life.

The army left the ruins, blinking at the morning sunlight. People began to let go and relax quickly. Some people laughed for no reason, others simply enjoyed the air with newfound appreciation for life. Quite a number made for a sweetheart that they may or may not have confessed to, but did not stop from embracing and kissing with reckless courage.

"There seems to be a lot of that." Jacqine noted with vapid amusement as she watched Priscilla practically pounce on Heath. "I didn't even know she had a thing for him."

Eliwood glanced at the couple before staring at his friend. She seemed to glow in the pure morning light, her green eyes laughing as they observed Hector and Farina half-arguing half-snogging. "Those two, however, I saw happening a mile away."

Eliwood arched an eyebrow coyly. "What about me? Any idea for me?"

She lit up like a fire and stammered "I-I don't know."

He laughed and slid his arms around her waist. "But I thought you knew everything?"

Whatever her hot retort was, it was interrupted by Sain. "Lord Eliwood?"

He tore himself away from Jacquine and faced the oddly serious Caelin knight. "Yes Sain?"

"May I speak plainly?"

"Yes, of course."

And then Sain's fist made contact with Eliwood's face. The lord recoiled, then threw a punch right back at the knight, landing solidly on his left eye, sending the man stumbling a bit.

After a tense staring match, Sain broke into a grin. "Very well my lord. You be careful with her." he said, and walked away.

Eliwood sighed and turned to Jacquine. She had a fist in her mouth, trying not to laugh. "I'm sorry." She said, fighting her strong desire to let loose peals of laughter.

"Brothers" He said with a shrug. "At least it wasn't Kent. I think his arm is stronger."

Jacquine barked out a laugh. "He's a little busy with Lyn right now."

"He can slug me later then." Eliwood said before leaning over to kiss his beautiful tactician.

Yay, happy endings! A few of the characters may be a little OOC *coughcoughKentcough* but I think it's still a decent story. Mostly because I love how Eliwood becomes everyone's punching bag. He's such a pansy.

Eliwood: Am not!

Jacquine: Are too.

Anyway, reviews would be awesome! Thanks for reading!