A/N: FE9 PoR-based fic! Are stories like this okay? I mean it takes place in a future Crimea, and my characters talk about Ike and company because they're in the history books and stuff... um... I think it's okay. o.o; If not someone tell me! (flails) I changed some things in the history, don't kill me, kekeke. And I guessed Soren's age.
PAIRING WARNINGS! Ike x Soren, Geoffrey x Elincia, Zihark x Mia, and BONUS, Tibarn x Reyson! Lots of boy love goin' round here! Watch out!
And although these people aren't actually in it, they're being talked about, so it still counts, yes?
Anyway, wrote this about a month ago, decided to post it just now. I'd very much appreciate a review! Please:D;;
"I wonder..." Liana started quietly, looking around at her friends. "Did Princess Elincia and General Ike ever get together?"
"You'd think so, huh?" Robert laughed, looking down at his history books. "The Princess and the Hero. I wouldn't be surprised if they did."
"But then if they did, Ike would've been King of Crimea," Greg reasoned. "This says nothing about Elincia getting married, or there being any kind of King during her rule. Though there was Geoffrey, who assisted Elincia, but he was just a Knight..."
"I'd rather Elincia and Geoffrey be a couple," Julia giggled. "They're cuter that way." The other three sweatdropped.
Hundreds of years after the war with Ashnard and Crimea's restoration, four Crimean high school students were gathered after school in the school library. It was another one of their frequent study sessions, this time the subject being history, as the following day there would be a quiz. Yet the four were getting bored with numbers and data and were more curious in the private lives of General Ike and his troops.
"But that Ike guy..." Liana continued. "It really doesn't say a lot of personal things about him here. You think he had any lovers? Plus it doesn't say if he had kids or not..."
"Commander Ike never had kids."
The four students turned around at the new voice. The teacher smiling at them wasn't any of their teachers. From what they knew, he didn't teach any certain classes, just seen around. But that was a rare occurance; seeing him, that is. He'd be seen walking in the hallways or lounging around talking to other teachers, disappear for a few weeks, then pop up again...
Was he a counselor? Or he could be just one of those secretaries... or maybe he was a janitor.
Either way, he worked at the school. And they recognized him nonetheless. He was a rather young educator, at least younger than all the other instructors, looking to be not more than twenty four years. And he was handsome, to boot.
Julia and Liana swapped grins. Ooh, to have the most handsome instructor run into them! Robert and Greg exchanged exasperated looks.
But Robert quickly looked back at the instructor who seemed to pop up out of nowhere. "Mr. Cian?" he blinked.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," Cian laughed, walking over.
"You said Ike never had kids," Greg repeated. "It sounds like you know some things about him that's not in the books..."
"That is correct. If you would allow me to sit with you, I wouldn't mind telling the tale."
The four students nodded in agreement. Cian looked in a bookshelf first, seeing the copy of the history book the students were looking at. Picking it out of the shelf, he sat at the head of their and cracked it open. "Now, what page are you four looking at?"
"Two seventy-eight," Julia answered.
Cian nodded and turned to the page, then raised an eyebrow as he quickly took in the words on the paper. "... This... is what they teach you??"
Liana laughed at the teacher's (?) expression. "You look offended."
"Well, it's so... general." Cian chuckled to himself. "There's no detail in here at all about the actual events. It's all statistics, and as you all stated earlier, barely anything about personal life..." he looked up at the students. "History would be more interesting if that was included, don't you think?"
"You bet," Robert agreed.
"So anyway, you said you were going to tell us about Ike..." Liana reminded.
"Oh, that's right. Now, listen up kids, story time."
The four students sweatdropped.
He cleared his throat and began. "Elincia and Ike never had any romantic feelings for each other. It was strictly platonic. Elincia was actually in a relationship with the Knight Geoffrey and he assisted her in ruling Crimea, as the book says."
"YES!" Julia grinned. "I love that couple!"
Cian laughed as he turned a few pages back. "General Ike... yes, he had a lover. He actually knew his lover for a while, as they've known each other since childhood days. Ike fell in love with a mage."
"Ooh, romantic," Liana giggled. "What kind of mage? Fire?"
"Wind," Cian answered. "A wind mage who specialized in dark magic. And all the others like Oscar, Boyd, Rhys, and even Ike's sister, Mist, were well aware of their affection for each other. They tried to... how do you say this? 'Push' them in the right direction, I suppose."
"Like trying to hook them up?" Greg laughed.
Cian nodded happily. "Ah, yes, exactly!"
"What the heck? That's like us these days," Julia sweatdropped.
"Well, don't forget, Ike and his mercenaries were actually pretty young, coming into the war. They had no idea they'd be the ones leading the way against Ashnard. Kids will be kids, hm?" The students laughed slightly, nodding in understanding. Cian continued. "Of course, Ike and his mage got together. They two were deeply in love, and nothing could split them apart. When the mage got hurt, Ike would drop whatever he was doing and rush to aid. And vice versa. It was a true bond that those two had. Like destiny, you could say."
"Wow..." Liana murmured.
"However there was one instance where the mage almost died but didn't, thanks to the mercenaries working together. And when Ike went to battle the Black Knight, he was badly injured, but the mage rushed in to help and he was saved."
"The mage was there in the room with the Black Knight, Ike, and Mist?" Robert asked in shock.
"As were the troops that were with Ike in the battle beforehand, yes. They couldn't allow their leader to go in by himself. So they went, despite Ike's commands to go in alone."
The four students exchanged looks. The history book missed out on some interesting details... "How are we sure you're not just making this up to amuse us?" Greg asked, raising a suspecting eyebrow.
Cian smiled. "Can you four keep a secret?" They nodded. Cian leaned in, causing the students to lean in too. "I am of Goldoan descent."
The four gasped dramatically.
"So you were alive during that time?" Julia questioned.
Cian shook his head. "Not I. My parents."
"Who... were your parents?"
"Ena and Rajion."
The four gasped again.
Cian sweatdropped. "Could you please not do that?"
Liana looked around, but then leaned in, whispering excitedly. "But wow, you're directly related to those in the war!"
"I am, and my mother told me the details. But this tale is not about me, it's about Ike."
"... Oh yeah. Sorry, continue."
"It's all right. Where was I..."
"The Black Knight, and everyone in the room with Ike..." Robert repeated.
"... Oh, that's right. Yes, they all joined him in the battle. Ultimately it was Ike who defeated the Black Knight, of course. It was pure luck, they say. He had ordered the others to stay back, and this time they listened and just watched from the side."
"Even the mage?"
"Even the mage. It hurt to watch, but the mage did stay put. Imagine all their relief when Ike was victorious!"
"That must've been awesome," Robert mused, grinning as he leaned back in his chair. "Finally getting vengeance for Greil."
"When the war ended..." Julia started. "The mage and Ike were still together... right?"
Cian let a small smile grace his lips. "But of course."
"Did they get married after?"
"Well, no. Marriage was..." the teacher stopped here, trying to phrase what he had in mind appropriately. "It wasn't really needed for their kind of relationship. They loved each other, and that was that."
"What happened to them?"
"What else? Crimea was restored, they lived out the rest of their lives, died, the cycle goes on..."
The four sweatdropped.
Greg looked at him. "What was her name?"
Cian blinked. "Who's name?"
"The mage!" Liana explained. "We've been referring to Ike's lover as 'the mage' the entire time; I'm sure she has a name. You said Ike's known her since childhood days, so she must've been a mercenary, right? Maybe her picture's in the back of the book, since it lists the mercenaries before they found Elincia..."
It was here that Cian smirked, and the four could definitely see the Goldoan ancestry from that one look alone. Dragons had a certain smirk that looked like none other. ... Wait, why did he have that expression?
"... So she doesn't have a name?" Julia sweatdropped. Robert, Liana and Greg had started flipping back in the textbook to the pages that listed and had portraits of the Greil Mercenaries.
Then Cian spoke. "Whoever said the mage was a girl?"
The four froze.
"... So Ike was gay?" Greg laughed sheepishly.
"When you say it like that," Cian sweatdropped. "Oh children, love is love! Learn that now!"
"We know that!" Liana sweatdropped as well. "But... okay fine, so what was... his... name?"
Cian smiled here again. "Soren."
"SOREN!?" the four yelled at the same time.
Cian looked around, nodding his head awkwardly at the librarians while waving his hands at the students. "Please, we're in a library..." They sent a sheepish look at the librarian too, apologizing.
"The tactician..." Liana laughed quietly. "Actually... I'm not surprised."
Robert had reached the back of the textbook first, looking through the portraits of the mercenaries until he reached Soren's portrait. "There he is. Page four sixty-two." The other three flipped there as well.
Julia stared at the book. "You know what I don't get? It says here that Soren was seventeen during the war, but he looks younger, which is unusual cuz back then people usually looked older than their age..."
"Maybe he just has good genes," Robert cackled.
"Laguz genes, if that's what you mean." Cian smiled.
The four gawked at him again.
Cian blinked. "... They seriously don't say these things in the book?" he grumbled, flipping through the textbook's pages. "I mean I understand Ike and Soren because of the obvious, but they don't even say Soren's background..."
Robert looked down at the book. "'Soren was Ike's tactician along with Titania, guidance to the young General. After studying elsewhere, Soren returned to the mercenaries not long before they first left with Princess Elincia. His past is shrouded, and not much is known about this young magician.'"
The teacher stared. "Is that what it says?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"... That's it?"
"... Well, yeah."
Liana nodded. "If you look at the other mercenary profiles, they really don't say anything much. As if everyone in this war was a big mystery."
"I presume it kind of was that way. The way everything was going... do you four remember the Myrmidon mercenary, Mia?" They nodded. "And the other Myrmidon who joined during the Battle of Toha, Zihark?" They nodded again. "Yes... those two were lovers as well."
"Really?! I didn't even know they knew each other! How cute!" Julia giggled.
"Yes, and Titania secretly held feelings for Greil."
"Okay, I could have guessed that," Greg laughed.
"Oh, and Prince Reyson of Serenes. He was with Tibarn."
The four gawked again.
"... King Tibarn?" Robert managed. "The King of Phoenicis?"
Cian nodded. "Love is love, children! No matter what gender!"
They almost fell over.
"So that's why Leanne continued the bloodline, and not Reyson..." Greg murmured.
"And I thought all those rumors about Reyson going for his own team were just jokes..." Robert commented, laughing slightly.
"Ha ha, whoever made those up were closer to the truth than these old books!" Cian cackled in all hilarity.
Liana laughed a little at how amused the teacher was. She poked the book. "Homosexual relationships weren't uncommon in the old days, huh?"
"You say that as if they do not exist nowadays."
"I don't mean it like that but I'm... just making an observation," she sweatdropped.
She exchanged glances with Robert, Greg and Julia. Oh, the information that was just fed to them now. Who knew the textbooks would be so inaccurate?
Cian laughed at their expressions, standing up and closing the textbook. "I believe I have leaked out more information than I intended. If you please, keep this information to yourself. I'm sure not everyone needs to know that Ike, Soren, Prince Reyson and King Tibarn were all in the same category, if you... get my drift." he coughed here.
The four sweatdropped. "Yes, sir. We appreciate you telling us all this," Robert nodded.
"Which we all hope is true," Greg sighed.
Cian laughed once more. "Doubting me, eh? Believe what you will, I only speak the truth. Now, if you four would excuse me. I've got duties to attend to. Until our next encounter." He smiled and nodded at them a final time before turning and leaving their table.
The students paused a little, letting the information sink in more.
"... Do you really believe him?" Greg asked.
"Of course!" Julia said, leaning back. "You seriously don't? Cian's been here for a while. I remember he looks exactly like he does now when I was still in 1st grade. Is that normal? I think not. You'd think someone would show signs of aging after almost ten years."
"I'm not saying I don't believe him," Greg retorted. "I just wondered if you guys did."
"We do, don't worry," Robert laughed.
"Maybe if we ask him next time, he'll tell us more," Liana suggested, now thoroughly interested.
"All right, let's jump him the next time we see him!" Julia cackled. "That session alone was so much better than all my history classes in past years combined!"
The other three laughed, sharing her sentiment. But it was certain, they'd find out more juicy details about the war.
They'd just have to find Cian first.
... If that was possible.
(cheers) Wooo! Na, don't hesitate to tell me if you see mistakes. (flails some more) :D;;;;
- naGami c.