The Exalt Bride
FE:A Adaptation of The Princess Bride
I do not own FE:A, The Princess Bride, either of their characters, or the cover image.
Please enjoy the following story and leave any reviews you think of.
Robin had led the Shepherds through three wars and had found companionship in every single one of his comrades. One particular comrade brought him more than simple friendship though. Ever since the start of the war in Valm, Robin found that he would spend the marches talking with the daughter of his best friend, Lucina. She had long, flowing blue hair that shined in the sunlight. Her eyes were a deep blue that would enchant any and all who looked into them. Her left eye held the mark of the Exalt, proving her bloodline. Robin had white hair that had grown long and messy, almost to the point of having to be tied back. He was skinny in frame, but muscular all around from his fighting experiences and training. Together, the two were an unstoppable duo, both inside and outside the battlefield. During their marches, she would tell him of her time in the dark future, about all her fears and failures as an Exalt. Robin did his best to console her, while she returned the favor whenever he doubted if he was a good person before he had lost his memory. Slowly over time, the two began to realize their true feelings for each other.
"Robin?" Lucina called out to the tactician as he entered his tent for the night. The white haired man turned and stared deep into her eyes with his own dark brown eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as she glanced around, trying to find an excuse for her sudden calling to him.
"C-can you help me back to my tent? It is rather dark out"
Robin stood still for a second, then gave a soft smile and stepped forward, offering his arm to her.
"As you wish"
The two made their way back to Lucina's tent, where they both stopped to stare at each other. The light of the lanterns around her tent reflected off of both their eyes. Moments went by without any words between them, until finally they both leaned in and embraced with a deep kiss. Their moment of passion expressed all the words on their heart without any actual words needing to be said. They had found a type of true love between them that came maybe once a century.
Months passed while the two courted each other. Lucina's father and Robin's best friend, Chrom, approved of their relationship and welcomed it with open arms. The two lovers decided it was best to wait until after the Fell Dragon Grima's defeat until they married, putting Lucina's original mission before themselves. They both knew that the dragon must be stopped. When they found out that Grima would never truly be vanquished unless Robin sacrificed himself, Lucina and Chrom were adamant that Chrom would simply seal the Dragon away with Falchion. Robin begrudgingly agreed, though in his heart he knew this would never do. When they had climbed the back of the Fell Dragon and had slowly weakened the Avatar, Robin pushed Chrom out of the way and sent a blast of dark energy to defeat the Fell Dragon. As he began to fade away, he found Lucina had run into his arms with plenty of tears in her eyes. Robin tilted her head up with one hand and stared into her eyes.
"It will be okay, my dear"
Lucina stifled back a few more tears until she could make coherent words.
"I fear I will never see you again"
Robin gave her a soft smile and shook his head.
"I promise, I will come back for you. True love finds a way. We have something special, and nothing in this world can tear us apart. Please just wait for me, I will return soon"
The two shared one final kiss before Robin disappeared for good. Lucina spent many of her days after this locked up in her room, finding her heart dead inside. The more days that passed, the more she found the hope inside her was dying. She knew she would never love another for the rest of her life, and could only hope that her dearest love would come back to her. Unfortunately, the years continued to tick by with no sign of him. To make matters worse, a number of strange things began to occur in the land of Ylisse. Grima's dark magic seemed to still inhabit the world, as three key players suddenly arose in the world. Gangrel and Validar were resurrected through some form of dark magic and began to rule the country of Plegia again. With their combined strength and the absence of the master tactician, Ylisse fell in three short years to the Plegain forces. Eventually Regna Ferox would fall as well to the risen duo, though they held off for five years until this happened. In this time, Gangrel and Validar hunted each original Shepherd that had been so troublesome to them and executed them. They left the children alive as a form of punishment for interfering in this world, forcing them to see their parents die a second time. Lucina was captured and brought back to the Plegian capital, where she was kept as a prisoner while the Regna Ferox war ended. She tried multiple times to escape, but the guards were always too powerful for her and eventually her spirit was broken until she was but a husk of the woman she was. Her sleek hair had turned frizzled and the life seemed to be drained out of her. Shortly after the conquering of Regna Ferox and thus the whole continent of Ylisse, word reached King Gangrel that the Avatar of Grima had been seen sailing the sea between Valm and Ylisse, wreaking havoc on any ships that dared cross its own. The notoriety of the Pirate Grima spread quickly and many looked to Gangrel to send forces to stop him, though he did no such thing as he loved the chaos it caused. With all of Ylisse conquered, Gangrel decided it was time to call forth a meeting of the people of Plegia to continue his plan of world domination.
Gangrel stepped out onto the balcony that overlooked the square in front of his castle at the masses that had gathered. His golden cape billowed behind him as he looked out with a wicked grin. He cleared his throat and began to speak to his citizens.
"Plegians! We have conquered all the lands that opposed us, and now stand as the dominant force in the world. I have come to the decision that it is time to marry, and what better way to show this land's unity than to marry a former Ylissean! You may remember her face, but please welcome her as your new queen. Allow me to introduce to you, Princess Lucina!"
Gangrel pointed to the doors that sat below the balcony, which slowly opened to reveal the former Ylissean princess in a flowing white dress. Her hair had been neatened and she was no kept in a palace room as opposed to a cell, though she was still kept under intense guard. Her eyes were dead, none of the former light existed in them. They were nothing but cold blue abysses. She no longer smiled and all love in her heart had been snuffed out. Gangrel had broken her, and with the upcoming marriage he would use and break her all over again. His plan called for her to be used to start a war, but that certainly wouldn't be until he got everything he desired of her. She was a beautiful creature, after all. When she had been all used up, her death would mark the beginning of a Plegian ruled world. Now, at the sight of the future queen, the crowd burst into cheers. Lucina looked out among them, seeing nothing but strangers as she marched through her dreadful life. The one light she had ever had in her life had disappeared and left his promise unanswered.
The only joy Lucina ever found in life were the few times Gangrel would allow her to take horseback rides through the Plegian desert, though she always had a guard with her. She was allowed no weapons, and frequently found the guards were more than a little "hands-on" whenever they were out in the country in the woods alone. She cared not, however, any pain or anger she might have felt before was gone, along with her will to fight. She knew the guards would never go any further than getting a few feels on her, as Gangrel's wrath knew no bounds. If she was deflowered before Gangrel got to her, the man responsible would suffer a fate worse than death.
One particular afternoon while Lucina was riding towards the Plegian coast, the guard that was with her told her to go on ahead as he stopped at a nearby tavern. He said he would catch up to her, and if she disappeared then Gangrel would find her and cause her great suffering. He also felt the need to mention that should she choose to end her life, they had her sister under close watch and would easily replace her. Lucina never wanted Cynthia to be ripped away from her life in the country and placed into her spot, so she complied with just riding further on. As she rode through the forest, she saw three figures waiting ahead near the coastline. Getting closer, she immediately recognized one of them.
"Owain!" She yelled out, a small drop of hope growing in her heart. Sure enough, at the coast stood three men. One was a little short with balding hair and wore a tattered black cloak. Another was a giant of a man with muscles that would cause even Walhart to feel threatened. He had long messy blue hair held back by a brown headband. He wore white armor with a red scarf wrapped around his torso. The middle man was Lucina's cousin, Owain. His black hair had grown long and he was now wearing a torn yellow tunic. He also had a small beard growing. Like her own eyes, his were dead as well, just like they were since his father, Lon'qu, was executed. His mother Lissa had managed to convince Gangrel to spare her life, under the condition that she would serve as a medic in the army.
Owain looked up at his cousin, though he made no sign of being happy to see her. In truth, he hated the sight of her, under the false impression that she had willingly gone to Gangrel after the original Shepherds were executed. He looked away from her as the balding man spoke.
"Hello there! We are traveling mercenaries looking for work! I see you already know one of my associates, so maybe you could help us out and tell us if there are any villagers nearby?" He asked. Lucina stared at Owain for a few more seconds, hurt that he seemed like he didn't want to see her. Finally, she turned back to the balding man.
"Uh, no sir. The nearest village is a few miles back."
At this, the man smiled a wicked smile and looked over to the giant of the group.
"Good, then nobody will hear you scream" The balding man spoke. Lucina stiffened as the giant walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders, putting pressure in a special section at the base of her neck that caused her to pass out. The giant slung the unconscious princess over his shoulder and looked back at the balding man. He walked back towards the ship that was hidden behind a few trees with the princess. The balding man began to cut some cloth that he had been keeping inside of his cloak. Owain looked over to him and cocked his head slightly.
"Tybalt, what are you doing?" The bald man continued cutting and answered without looking up.
"This is a uniform from the imperial army of Valm, when this horse is found to have bits of the cloth on it, they will believe Valm kidnapped the princess. It is simple deception, really. This is a tradition of starting wars for people. Once we get to Valm, we will leave the princess tied up by some rocks with a few dead guards around her, so Gangrel will have proof of a Valmese attack."
Owain nodded slowly and went to catch back up with the giant that was now on board the ship. Lucina had been slumped against the side of the boat and didn't show any signs of waking up.
"Priam, what do you make of all this?" Owain asked the giant, who was now working on raising their sails.
"Hmm. I don't exactly like using weak tactics like this to start a war. But I'm no politician."
"I think so as well. Although she was a traitor, Lucina is still my cousin. I don't like using her like this. But I need money to help continue my quest to quell my sword hand."
"And I need money to continue my journey to find the strongest fighter in the land"
"I guess we have just found ourselves at an impasse."
"It seems the only way out is to continue to kidnap the lass"
Owain began to crack a smile, along with Priam.
"You certainly have a gift for rhyme that would cause any maiden in Ylisse to swoon for you, my friend."
Tybalt now walked onto the ship and looked at the two with a great anger in the short man's eyes.
"Quit with the rhyming! We need to get out of here, I didn't hire you two to joke around like this! Come on, let's get going already!"
Owain shared a glance with Priam and both men shrugged, deciding to set sail for Valm. They got out into the open sea and continued pushing forward, not taking notice of the black ship that was beginning to follow them.