"I really don't understand why Alfonse and the others put so much faith in my tactics… All I really can do is summon Heroes with this… gun," I thought to myself.
I was sitting in the Askran castle library planning for the next battle against Embla. I really couldn't make heads or tails of this at all. I wasn't a military genius, just a college freshman.
"Perhaps I could pay one of the Robins a visit. They know how to plan a battle better than I can. It can't hurt to ask for advice from someone more experienced than I am…" I muttered to myself.
I closed the copy of "Basic Battle Strategies And Tactics For Dummies" that I was reading and placed it back on it's spot on the shelf. I thought that maybe it was time to take a break from studying and summon some Heros in the summoning chamber. I turned around to leave the library and that was when I saw Ephraim enter the room.
Ephraim was one of the heroes I had summoned a few months ago. Ephraim had become a huge asset to the team I placed him in. It was impressive, really.
"Hello, Kiran. Looks like Lissa was right," Ephraim greeted me.
"What do you mean?"
"She said I should check the library if I wanted to find you"
I chuckled a little. "I suppose Lissa wants candy for telling you where to find me huh?"
Ephraim raised an eyebrow at me "I supposed she did mention something like that but I never paid too much thought to it"
I opened a book bag and pulled out a large bag of jelly beans. "Here, next time you see her, give her these. At this rate if I have to keep giving her my candy, it'll be gone before I get to enjoy it. Hell, I would have to steal some of Gaius's candy."
Ephraim chuckled "Stealing from Gaius's personal sweets stash is not very wise. Why do you have so much candy anyway?"
I lightly blushed in embarrassment "I have a weakness for sweets ok? I already know where Gaius hides his candy too. It would be a perfect opportunity to test out my tactician skills. I still have much to learn about the battlefield."
"You could ask Gaius to make some candy for you instead. You shouldn't fight battles you can not win" Ephraim lectured.
"Stop being such a sour puss Ephraim! You're starting to sound like my older brother" I pouted.
"You do remind me of Eirika, Kiran. I can't help it." Ephraim chuckled.
"Well siblings aside, I think we should move on to the summoning chamber. Im hoping to recruit some more powerful heroes to help us. The current summoning forecast is telling me that we have a chance of summoning some heroes from the World of Shadows. Hopefully we'll summon Alm or maybe Celica"
"I suppose I should go. If something were to happen to you if you were out by yourself, I'm sure Alfonse and Sharena would become depressed. The Emblian forces are likely to try to target the area again and if I'm there, at least you have some protection."
"Oh… I guess I never thought of it like that… Crap! What kind of tactician forgets something like that! Of course that place is a major target! Hell! I'm a major target! I'm such a big part of the Order and yet I'm defenseless! I'm an idiot!" I began to panic
"That's not true, Kiran. You are among the brightest of us. You are far from an idiot. More importantly, you are a person who makes mistakes just like everyone else. No one is going to hold it against you." Ephraim said.
"I agree with Ephraim. You underestimate yourself too much Kiran." A familiar voice said.
"Alfonse!" I uttered out in shock.
"Sorry to drop in like this, Kiran. I came here to check up on you. Lissa said you'd be here."
"Geez, since when did she become the authority on my location? I bet she's doing this for more of my candy!" I pouted
"Hehehe… you both do love your sweets. But Kiran if you need help don't be afraid to ask. You've been skipping meals and sleep so I wanted to make sure you were ok," Alfonse looked concerned.
"I have n-no idea what you are talking about… I had five cups of coffee earlier this morning… I c-can pull an all nighter if it means that all the worlds stay s-safe!" I say as my eyes begin to twitch from the excessive amounts of caffeine in my body running its course.
Alfonse just stared at me in shock. "This is unacceptable, Kiran. You shouldn't risk your health like this! It's dangerous!"
"Whatever, if you say so 'Dad'. I'm gonna… grab a mocha frap light whip with chocolate sprinkles and then I'm gonna summon some heros while contemplating the meaning of life or something…" I mumbled as I shakily grabbed Breidablik and walked out of the castle library.
Alfonse's brows furrowed a bit. Partly due to concern for his tactician but also because he was confused about what Kiran had said earlier. He followed her to the summoning chamber. Ephraim soon followed suit and headed to the chamber.
Upon arrival, Kiran produced a few orbs from her robe pockets and begun the summoning rite. The two princes watched her summon Catria, Henry, Sheena and Jakob before moving on to using her fifth and final orb. With a flash, Celica had appeared in the summoning chamber. With that Kiran's body finally buckled from it's sleep deprived induced stress. Kiran blacks out and falls to the ground.
The newly summoned heroes looked at the scene with a mix of horror and concern for the summoner… though with Henry it was hard to tell since he smiled all the time. Alfonse looked at Kiran's body frustrated that he couldnt convince her to get some sleep earlier. He clears his throat.
"My apologies… Kiran has a tendency to overwork herself unnecessarily. I will see to it that she is taken care of" Alfonse said after clearing his throat.
I woke up in an unfamiliar room that was not my own. It was too grand to be my quarters in the order of heroes castle. That's when I remembered… I passed out in front of a bunch of people.
"Kiran! Thank goodness you're awake!" Alfonse cheered.
"Ugh… Alfonse… where am I?" I muttered.
"We're in my room, Kiran. I had one of the heroes help carry you here so I could keep an eye on you." Alfonse said with a straight face.
"Then why not do that at the infirmary? Aren't you worried how people will see this? Carrying an unconscious girl to your room seems like a dangerous faux pas for a prince to commit"
"Oh… right. But you know I wouldn't take advantage of you right?"
"O-of course not! I didn't mean to make it sound like I thought you would… It's just that I worry about the message this would send to people."
"Yeah… I didn't think that part through. It's a consequence I'm willing to take for a friend. I cannot lose another friend and especially not when they are as brilliant as you"
"I'm sorry I made you worry… I… just got so worked up about the war and before I knew it I was five cups of coffee in while studying battle strategies. I… no… it's not just that. I haven't been honest with you."
"What do you mean Kiran?"
"D-do you really think I'm a good tactician?"
"Of course, Kiran. I really wouldn't know what we'd do without you. But why?"
"Well, lately I have been feeling like… I'm not good enough as a tactician. So much depends on my ability to make the right calls. I'm not some military genius or a capable fighter, why did Breidablik call me? I'm not some war hero like my older brother! I'm just some kid in college."
"You sell yourself too short Kiran. You are more than I could hope for in a tactician and a summoner"
Alfonse hugged me. I was a little shocked and embarrassed but I hugged back. The hug felt warm gentle and warm… and he smelled nice. Yeah I know it is a little weird to take notice of, but I never been this close to him before so I never noticed before. I blushed a little.
"Are you alright? Your face is turning red."
"I'm fine…" I mumbled
"It's almost dinner time Kiran. Would you come with me?"
"Yeah. I'm sure the others are concerned about their tactician. I'll go with you."
I then quietly followed Alfonse to the dining hall. I felt more at peace than I have ever had before.
A/N:Hey there guys it's me, Megzarie. So normally I don't like putting down Authors Notes often but I feel like I have a bit of explaining to do in regards to the first two chapters in this fic. So backstory: basically I started to write this fic around the time the first SoV banners but I didn't finish chapter one until much later due to me being the master of procrastination. And by much later, I mean One year later. So due to that and then me being dummy where I decided to write chapter 2 when it was only three quarters of the way finished, there is some time skip shenanigans happening because I started writing chapter 2 during book 2 and I didn't finish writing that until recently. So Chapter one happens during book 1, chapter 2 happens in book 2 and the rest will probably be book three. I may come in to patch in the time gaps later and the reorder the chapters or write in some flashback chapters every now and then to make it less weird? Idk how I am going to fix that but for now that is what's going to go down. Sorry for the weirdness i guess