Hatred and Torment, a fire emblem fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu, or any of the characters in that game. They are the property of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Hatred and Torment

She always hated him. His simple presence set her nerves on end, and his voice grated against her ears. Her brother never seemed to mind. In time, she found out. However, she knew as a child there was something sinister... a part of his aura distressed her, and she remembered countless nightmares revolving around him. Her mother always comforted her, told her that she felt something strange about that man as well... and she felt safe with the silver-haired woman that gave birth to her. Her father on the other hand, welcomed the man's presence. He did not condone everything the man did, but he never acted to alleviate the girl's fears.

"Daddy, I... that man scares me," she cried, holding onto her father's regal robes. She only reached his torso, but it was enough to cause the older man to set a hand on his child's head.

"He is harmless, my dear. You will become accustomed to it," he said reassuringly, affectionately messing with her silver hair.

"But... I don't know, Daddy..."

This time, he pulled her hands from his robes, and knelt down to look in the eyes of his daughter. "Yuria, listen to me. There is no harm from him... we are safe. Your brother knows this, and has no issues with his presence."

"Yurius is... different. I don't know why, but..." she continued, feeling she lost the battle.

"Yurius is your brother. He does not feel any different when Manfroy is around, and you shouldn't either," Alvis said, a stern gaze in his crimson eyes.

"Yes, Daddy..."

Yuria sat on her four poster bed, pouting. Ever since speaking with her father, she held this expression to get back at him. So, Alvis sent her to her room... on the grounds of maintaining discipline. Granted, it was not a serious punishment, but to the young girl it seemed far more strict than what she thought was necessary. The door to her room opened, and the six-year-old child looked away. The door closed, and she heard someone step forward. However, it was not the sound of her father's footsteps. "Yuria," a soft feminine voice said. The girl looked back, seeing a woman in white-gold robes with semi-curly silver hair running down her back. Her face showed no sign of disapproval, but something the young girl did not understand.

"Mommy?" Yuria asked, her pout being replaced with a look of confusion. Diadora simply smiled gently, and walked over to her daughter. She placed an arm around Yuria, pulling her close.

"Yuria, please... don't speak of this to your father, alright?" She asked, a sad expression on her face. Yuria nodded slowly. "I don't feel comfortable around Manfroy either. Something always worries me, and I don't know why... when he is near, sometimes I will see an image of a toddler, in blue-white clothes and blue hair. I have never understood why, or what that is..." Diadora trailed off, sighing gently. "Honey, I guess I am trying to say that I feel scared too. Manfroy, he... he always makes me feel worried over nothing," she said, slightly moving away from Yuria to get a better look at her daughter. "Yuria, have you noticed me become stricter when Manfroy is in the castle?"

The princess thought for a moment. Then, "Mommy, I guess I have... you try to keep Yurius and me closer to you."

Diadora hugged her daughter. "Yuria, I am glad you understand... this will be our little secret, okay?" she asked, placing a kiss on the top of her child's head.

"Okay, Mommy..."

Yuria sighed. That was twelve years ago... and they kept the secret. She never told anyone else, not her father, not Yurius. Diadora would always help her daughter when something about Manfroy scared the girl. Slowly, the feeling of fear changed to one of hatred. She felt he was responsible for some of the changes in her brother. Yurius was a loving brother, who cared for his sister and his mother. He played with her, he listened to his sister, and he even helped her with some aspects of magic that were universal. However, he started to change. It may have been gradual, but she noticed.

Yuria walked into the Barhara training room. While she found it slightly annoying at times, she did enjoy learning to use magic. It allowed her to spend more time with her mother, and she felt that they had grown apart a little bit. The eleven-year-old was not supposed to be there, the girl had been given the day off because Diadora had come down with an illness. Yet, the shaman-in-training felt a need to continue her own studies... even if she could not perform very well without guidance.

The first thing she noticed were some voices in another area of the room. One she knew by heart—Yurius. The other was one that seemed calming... but it hurt her ears. Manfroy. Keeping quiet, the girl moved closer, trying to make out some sentences... but to no avail. However, what she saw terrified her to the bone. Yurius stood in the center of a small circle of dark black skulls, purple gas slowly emanating from the pitch-colored bones. She heard Manfroy speak, and the skulls vanished. Her brother responded, a sense of happiness in his voice. The black-robed man then warped away in a complex pattern of runes. Yurius turned around... his crimson hair cut to his shoulders with one strand past his shoulder that grew to his torso. He wore the standard imperial prince robes of red and gold, but a black cape was draped over his shoulders. Yuria felt a chill run down her spine when he noticed her... and she sensed something malicious in her brother's red eyes...

"Yuria?" he asked, walking towards his sister. His tone was one of surprise, and some other emotion she could not figure out. "You... you aren't supposed to be down here..."

"I... I wanted to practice, even if Mom is feeling sick..." she defended herself, all the while taking a few steps back to keep distance from the sibling that terrified her so.

"... I see..." he responded, stopping as Yuria felt herself back up against a wall. "I could help you if you wish, dear sister..."

Something in his voice seemed off. A poisonous tone... one that caused Yuria to start breathing rapidly. "N-no, I... I need..." Yuria never finished her sentence, as she turned and fled from the training hall. She heard Yurius's voice, but it only caused her to run faster. That image... that petrifying image burned into her mind. Her mother, her mother would know what to do. She knew that Diadora could be trusted... her father would not protest any actions by Manfroy. This... this, thing that her brother had conjured wrought fear in her heart. Only Diadora could help her now...

The shaman looked down at her right hand. On her wrist, a golden circlet glinted in the sunlight from the window. Her father gave it to her... he said that it belonged to Diadora. She knew it did... an intricate carving of Narga was embedded on the back of the precious accessory. It also seemed to react to her, a sense of reassurance occasionally rushing through her body. It was the symbol of Saint Heim's direct descendant... one that she inherited through tragedy.

When she told her mother about what she had seen, Diadora at first refused to believe it. The horror in the woman's face could never be forgotten... Yuria spoke to her mother many times, but Diadora could not bring herself to accept what Yuria spoke. Only when she finally told her daughter what it was did Yuria understand. She never saw Yurius channeling dark magic again... he would always be practicing with a staff or fire magic. Even then, he could not use a staff very well, yet the element of flames responded to him. Yuria and Diadora thought it was a signal that he would one day wield the Fala Flame. Her father would always seem skeptical... and Yuria learned why many years later. When traveling with the Liberation Army, Prince Leaf spoke of a Bishop skilled in Light and Fire magic, who inspired those around him to gallant deeds in battle. She knew his name was Cyas. Only when she was forcibly returned to her Father's side did she learn who Cyas actually was. She could not hate her father. It happened before he met Diadora... but the implications were enormous. They finally struck her two years after she first saw dark magic... that one horrific day that was forever etched into her mind, now that she had recovered her repressed memories. All because of him. When she was thirteen, everything changed.

"Prince Yurius," the cold voice began, "It is time for you to receive your heritage," he said, his robes covering his head and something he held between his arms.

"My... heritage?" he asked, a curiosity overpowering any sense of unease. He and Yuria had been talking in the gardens... until Manfroy appeared.

"Yes, my prince. Your destiny... this is meant for you," Manfroy continued, his voice becoming quiet and smooth...

However, it rang as metal to Yuria's ears. "Yurius, I wouldn't..." she whispered to her brother. He said nothing, only taking a few steps towards the Lopt bishop. In response, Manfroy unveiled his gift. Immediately, Yuria felt her blood run cold. She recognized the book... as did her brother.

"Sister, he said this was meant for me," Yurius responded, a sense of awe in his voice. His eyes were transfixed on the tome... bound in red and gold. Emblems of flame were engraved into the cover, embroidered in four sections at each corner. "This is... Fala Flame, that Dad entrusted to Sir Manfroy," He whispered. The appearance matched... both had seen Alvis carry his sacred tome, and both knew how the Holy Spell of Fire gave off an aura of warmth. Yuria did not feel that, instead she only felt an ominous presence, one that spoke to her wishes of death and dismemberment. One that exclaimed how it would destroy her, and all those who opposed it. A sinister foreboding tore at her mind as Yurius reached for the sacred tome.

"Yurius!!" a woman screamed, pure terror in her voice. Yuria spun, seeing her mother dashing as fast as she could in her silver-gold robes. Her silver hair was not organized, instead showing the woman had been running for some time.

Yuria turned back to her brother. The imperial prince showed no response. His hand slowly extended towards the tome. "Brother, please!" Yuria cried, rushing towards her twin... but she was too late. The moment his hand touched the 'Fala Flame,' the red covering burned away. Underneath was a pitch black tome covered in ancient symbols of gray. A dark mist spread around the red-haired boy.

Diadora stopped dead in her tracks. Yuria turned to see her mother, and shock spread through her body as she saw the horror in Diadora's silver eyes. "Yuria, get behind me!" she ordered, a golden glow forming around her. The young princess fled behind her normally calm mother. "Manfroy... you will pay. I know what you are trying to do... and it ends now," she stated, venom in her words. Diadora raised her right arm above her head as the glow intensified. "Narga!!" she yelled. The shape of a golden dragon formed behind Diadora, its wings spread behind her. Scales alternating gold and white reflected off the beast's body. The dragon took to the sky, a war cry from the divine spell shaking the very ground beneath them. Diadora pointed at Manfroy, and the golden creature dove towards the Lopt Archbishop. A dark shape started to form behind Manfroy. The bishop began to laugh manically, and the shape moved to shield the man. A dark black dragon formed from the mist, scales devouring light like a black hole. Blood-red eyes opened as Narga slashed at the beast. The dark dragon caught its foe's claws. A sinister expression formed in the black creature's eyes. "No... Loptous should fall..." Diadora whispered in terror.

"You neglected your studies, Diadora..." the hooded man taunted inbetween laughs. "Narga has fallen."

At those words, Loptous struck. The beast's tail slashed Narga, a gash opening on the holy dragon's neck. Loptous continued, its' free claw cutting the right wing of Narga in half. Diadora staggered backwards, thoughts frozen as the Holy Spell of Light vanished beneath the cursed tome, Loptous. Behind her, the young girl clung to her mother's waist. "Mommy... s-stop, Yurius will be--"

Yuria's words were cut off by a familiar voice... that should have been familiar. "My dear sister worries for me?" it asked, the kind harmonies gone. Only malice remained... warped, twisted, vile. "I care for you too dear Yuria, so I will forbid the desecration of your corpse," he spoke in a calm voice. Yurius turned around. Yuria felt her heart stop. Her brother's previously gentle expressions no longer existed. Instead, a mask of sadistic glee remained. "That woman on the other hand..."

"Enough!" Diadora yelled. "Yurius, this is not a game! Stop!"

The imperial prince laughed. The sounds were even more insane than Manfroy's laugh... coming from the mouth of a boy that five minutes before would have never dared to disobey his mother. "Yes, it is not. Farewell, Diadora. I thank you for never hindering my destiny," he spoke, the mask changing into the expression of an executioner. "Loptous," he commanded. The black dragon flew forward, its mouth emitting a soul-piercing screech.

Diadora set a hand on her daughter's head. "I'm sorry, Yuria," she whispered. The empress turned, acting as a human shield for Loptous's fury. The dragon struck, the spell tearing through the silver-haired shaman's body. Diadora tried to scream, but even her voice was ripped from her body. Loptous circled, waiting at its master's side.

Yuria fell backwards, as the full weight of her mother pushed on her body. "Mommy... are," she whispered, stunned by the sudden attack. Her sentence stopped as she saw her mother's face; eyes closed, pale, and a black aura seeping into the woman's features. Yuria shook her head in disbelief as tears formed in her eyes—this could not be happening...

Diadora forced open her eyes, gazing wistfully at her desperate child. A look of revelation appeared in her silver orbs... one that suspended all hope of safety in her daughter. Her mouth opened, and a sore rasping sound escaped her throat. "Be safe... find Celice..." she managed to say. Diadora's hand fell on Yuria's shoulder. "Warp," she whispered as Yurius spoke once again.

"Loptous!" Yurius cried, realizing the goal of his mother. His arm flashed towards Diadora, the black dragon soaring towards his mother for the last time.

Brother, what happened to you? Yuria thought as golden runes enveloped her body. She saw the dragon roaring triumphantly, just before it dove to feast on its victim's soul. Yuria's vision went black... she felt her feet hit soft grass. Only then did the girl fall over, unconscious.

Yuria lay down on the four-poster bed, her silver hair sprawled around her lithe figure. Her silver eyes closed. Yuria shivered, feeling an evil presence near her room. Even as a young girl, she could feel Manfroy's energies whenever he was near. However, it was always faint. Now, the evil aura pervaded her very senses, forcing the girl to constantly channel a Lighting spell around her body simply to maintain motor controls of her body. The doorknob creaked as it spun. Yuria felt her hair stand on end, and her eyes wrenched even tighter in an attempt to block out Manfroy's presence. Slowly, the door opened. Footsteps rang in the bedroom.

"Wake up, dear Yuria," his silky voice caressed. It felt like a dragon's cry of pain. She knew people could be controlled by his words alone, but she would not submit. To this scum... never. "It is time for you to fight..."

"My father is dead, isn't he?" she asked, a hint of fear in her tone.

A low chuckle came from the Lopt Archbishop's lips. "Killed by your bastard sibling."

Celice... I know you had no choice. Father knew as well...

"Yurius would have killed him anyway," she retorted. "Father wanted to die an honorable death."

Manfroy started laughing. "You do not know that, dear child..."

Then why are you laughing?!

"However, now is the time for you to join Yurius in battle."

"No," she responded, defiance evident in her soft voice.

Manfroy was undeterred. "Come Yuria," he said, his tone changing to be soft and coercing. "Help your dear sibling."

"I refuse," Yuria countered. She heard the man approach the bed. "I will not fight alongside Yurius."

The Lopt Archbishop scoffed. "As stubborn as she was..." he said, voice no longer kind, instead laced with venom.

Yuria's eyes shot open, a chill running down her spine. "Mother..." she whispered. Suddenly, her bed was thrown open. Yuria turned instantly... only to look directly into the hated man's eyes. Her body froze instantly, and sense of rational thought slowly faded from her mind.

"You fight for Lord Loputousu... you will fight the Liberation Army... you live to serve and die for the Lopt Empire..." Manfroy spoke, as his eyes burned into Yuria's consciousness.

Yuria felt her mouth moving, but could not hear the words. One thought trickled through her mind before she fell into sweet oblivion: Celice... I'm sorry...

Author's Note:

That is the last one-shot I have right now. Idea stemmed from wanting to do the Diadora/Yurius scene, and kind of added on from there. Also, completely non-canon that Diadora remembers her past right before she dies. ;-)

Also did not want to detail the rescuing of Yuria later in the chapter... it just didn't seem like a great ending when compared to Yuria getting brainwashed.

While I'm working on Legend of Celice, you can probably expect maybe 1-2 one-shot stories in between chapters. I hope you enjoyed this.