Famberge: Hey, Everyone! It's time for a story!
Reed: …
Flamberge: I own nothing! There, happy now?
Flamberge: This is set on the road between chapters 28 and 29. Harken might not be quite this angsty, but I've had this fic in the depths of my mind for a while, so here goes nothing! Oh, it's HarkenIsadora, if you must know.
Harken bolted upright, awakening from another of his odd recurring dreams. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead and pulled back the covers of the old bed in the room he shared with a youth named Raven. The cot creaked as he got out, his feet sliding into his leather boots silently. He got out of bed and kneeled down; tightening the steel clips that took the place of the laces he was so accustomed to. In all, he wore his boots, a light pair of shorts and a pale, long-sleeved nightshirt. He moved over to the peg with his coat hanging from it, creeping past Raven along the way. The coat had been given to him by Isadora a few years back and, despite various holes in the stitching, he still wore it whenever possible. As he buttoned up the front of the jacket, he glanced over at the sleeping form of Raven. The young mercenary had been through plenty, but had a long way to go. Harken smiled as he looked at the young man, still adopting a solemn expression in his dreams.
He still has traveling companions, Harken thought, and soon, I'll be with mine.
He slipped out of the room, only opening his door enough to let himself through so as not to alert Raven. He snuck silently through the halls of the inn, careful not to alert any other members of the group. He heard a thundering noise and thought that he had been found. He threw himself to the side of the corridor, clutching the wall. His tensed body relaxed as he recognized the thief Legault snoring. The man was an oddball, to be sure. No matter how many times someone threatened to cut his arm off for stealing something, he came swinging back again. If he and Matthew were put together in a room of the leaders of the world, it could spell the financial end of the continent. Harken remembered that his favorite target was Wallace. The old general most likely hadn't the faintest idea where his wallets kept disappearing to. Harken moved back to the middle of the hallway and moved on.
Lost in thought, Harken kept wandering down the hallway. He was so entirely lost in his mind that he ran into Lady Lyndis, as her knights called her. Eliwood was sure spending a lot of time with her on the battlefield, and, if he were in his lord's place, he'd see the death of the dragon girl as an Emiline-given sign to start courting Lyndis. But alas, Lord Eliwood spent his time grieving for the dragon girl. "I'm so sorry, Harken! I didn't see you there!" Lyn piped up, interrupting Harken's thoughts.
"Not a problem, m'lady. I'm the one who blundered into you!" Harken said, trying to adopt a cheerful expression.
"What's on your mind" Lyn asked. Harken assumed that he had not put on a cheerful expression, despite his efforts. He sighed and, saluting, continued his march.
Harken drifted slowly down the stairs, unsure how to proceed with his plan. When he reached the bottom he saw Eliwood in the lobby of the inn, slowly sipping a glass of a transparent orange liquid. Harken was immediately concerned that the young lord was up at this time of night. To make it worse, he was drinking alcohol! The innkeeper stood behind the bar. He was half-asleep and it appeared that Eliwood had awoken him. Harken saw Eliwood set the glass down and slowly trudge up the staircase on the other side of the lobby. Harken waited for the innkeeper to go back to sleep and finally walked through to the middle of the room. He plopped down on one of the leather chairs and rubbed his temples.
Harken, old boy, you can't do this to them. Half of his mind said.
You know what; this isn't something I can just quit. I set my mind on it, and it will happen, whether you like it or not. His other half replied.
You only made up half of your mind.
Just be quiet, okay? Harken looked up from his mental brawl to see that the son was starting to rise. If he didn't do it soon, he'd have to wait another painstaking day.
Harken stood up and marched out, quickening his pace with each step. He threw open the door and stepped out, closing the door behind him. He saw a light go on in the innkeeper's room, but by the time the old man learned that someone had indeed left, Harken would be done and over with his mission.
Harken walked slowly over to the bridge across the half-frozen river. When he jumped off, he would instinctively struggle for a few seconds, and then it would all be over. He stepped up onto the stone wall that guarded against falling into the river below and braced himself for the jump. Sweat plastered his hair to his face. He pushed his blonde hair back and licked his lips. He closed his eyes tightly, took a deep breath and… he was interrupted.
"Harken, is that you?" Isadora asked from behind him. Before she could see what he was doing, Harken sat down on the wall.
"Hi, Isadora! W-What're you doing here this early in the morning?" Harken replied, turning his head around.
Isadora shook her head, "Harken, you know as well as I do that you don't have what it takes to commit suicide. Now, get on Naiga's back and let's go Eliwood is ready to move."
Harken smiled, "Fine, you win." He got off the wall and onto Isadora's horse. She kicked it into motion and the galloped off to join the rest of the army,
Flamberge: Well, I hope you liked it. Leave a review, constructive criticism is welcomed!
Reed: Luzr.
Flamberge: You wanna run that by me again?