Author's Note: I wrote this a while ago, but didn't post it because I really wasn't sure if it was any good. Perhaps you guys could be the judge...?

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fire Emblem: Awakening nor William Blake's poem, The Shepherd.


• {The Shepherd} •

A single figure stood alone against the blue plate of the fragile sky. The wind blew lightly, playing with his dark hair and wiping his cape around his strong arms. A gentle smile crossed his face, as he looked down upon the village at the bottom of the grassy hill.

How sweet is the Shepherd's sweet lot!From the morn to the evening he strays;

He and his friends had been wandering the countryside for days, a merry band of child knights, searching out evil or letting it come to them. Like Robin Hood, he led his rogues into battle against anyone who dared to threaten the freedom and peace of his beloved flock.

He shall follow his sheep all the day,

His flock; his sheep; his people. He was their prince and their protector. It was his duty to keep the lusty lions at bay, the cunning wolves away from the innocent lambs. Wherever danger threatened, he would rush to be there and fight it back. If one of his sheep went missing he, like the Good Shepherd, would not rest until it was found again.

And his tongue shall be filled with praise.

How blessed he was. The fetters of royalty were loose upon his person, his elder sister holding most of their weight. Sometimes, he almost forgot himself to be a prince. He was more free than any gallant knight in a child's fairy tale; free to roam, to stay, to fight, to hope, to love. Standing and looking down at the happy scene of the village, with its smiling inhabitants and laughing children, his heart would swell with unspeakable thankfulness, threatening to smother him in the warm glow of reverence.

For he hears the lamb's innocent call,

"Mother! Mother!

And he hears the ewe's tender reply;

"Yes, darling, what is it?"

"I picked you this flower! Father says it is your favorite!"

He is watchful while they are in peace,For they know when their Shepherd is nigh.

The small boy beamed as his young mother hugged him for the pleasing gift. He loved to see his mother smile. Though he had never left his little village, nor seen much more gold than could keep his small household running, he firmly believed that there was nothing greater, nor more beautiful, than his mother's smile.

He knew that she did not always smile. Years ago, before he was born and his mother was but a little girl younger than himself, there was war and sorrow and tears; hunger and thirst; broken bodies and ruined spirits. There were no smiles back than.

But that was in the past. He was blessed, for he did not have to face such tragedy nor endure such hardship. He heard his parents pray every night that he never would. And the boy believed he wouldn't have to. Because...

For they know when their Shepherd is nigh.

He turned to look up, towards the hill that overshadowed their small village. Standing above them, watching them with a gentle smile, was their prince. His hero, his prince, his protector.

Their Shepherd.


• {The End} •

(: Thank you for reading! Please review! :)