A/N Yes, I know my story isn't the first one to try this type of story I know, but I hope to go somewhere different with it than others have gone. Anyways spoilers of FE9 and 10 abound. Also names will be stolen from other Fire Emblem games for OCs, surprise, surprise. Though if there is a canon character that works...
And no, I don't own Fire Emblem.
Soren nodded to the two guards standing outside his father's strategy room. Good, it was Amelia and Franz, which meant that his father did not have a surprise waiting for him. Otherwise it would have been one of the elite guards outside. These two He examined and took note of eight people in the room, his father's four strongest, the four riders, next to them was Izuka and his personal advisor, two other strategists, and his father all stood around a table with the Crimean map taking it up. His father looked up and smiled as he kept his face blank. The fact his father smiled gave credibleness to his thoughts on the matter. Now if he was right, it would go well, except if he would be ordered to kill the secret Crimea princess when they reached Melior, mostly because he would have help with it.
"So, my son, would you agree to this plan?" The king motioned to the drawings on the paper. It was a good plan, as it cut off any escape, which wasn't what he needed right now. He looked it over, why did one of the strategists actually think instead of leaving it to him? Giving the map another look over, he pondered his next move. Though the plan was sound, it still had some weaknesses, specifically how fast the net could form. It all falls on how much he wants the stronger first strike. He grimaced before adding,
"No, the plan gives them too much time to prepare Melior for defense, even with our initial strike at the borders, spreading our forces out into a partial net will give them a chance to notice our invasion. Remember, they do have a small force of Pegasus Knights, since the previous queen was a highly respected member of the Holy Guard. Besides Crowned Prince Ramon will be on the battlefield, which makes our reason for the net pointless. Marshalling our forces for a stronger initial strike will greatly enhance how it goes, and when they are caught off guard, they will have no time to escape. With the quick blow to Melior and its capture, Crimea will be broken, thus lessen our causalities, which will be needed for the next phase of the plan."
"We should capture more than enough of the sub-humans to defeat them." Izuka challenged as he glared at the prince.
"Those beastmen living in the trees believe that capture is more dishonorable then death, they are not like the ones that hide in Daein. Besides, we will need the men to hunt the ones that hide after they are routed. Besides if we are to drag the birdmen out of their caves on their islands, we need to show numbers, as the beastmen do not seem to strategize beyond hide in the forest."
"However, if they see our attack coming, they will have less difficulty escaping." Mark remarked as Soren pressed the edge of his fingers together.
"If they see our attack coming, either plan has problems. The net no longer works because if they know we are coming, they only need to remove a certain part of our forces to make it to the trees. To ensure the original plans can stand, I will lead a small contingency of Wyvern Riders to catch possible runners escaping south. If that is acceptable, of course." Ashnard smiled as he rested his hand on his son's shoulder.
"You have heard the sound reasoning of the prince, we will strike hard and strike fast, and Crimea shall fall for their alliance with the subhuman filth. Tell the troops to leave King Ramon and his wife to me."
Soren bowed to his father as the meeting came to an end, the strategists had fallen in the 'battle' to his hands. They were right, but he knew his father better, he wanted the riskier but bigger pay-off strategy. His father's lucky streak was odd at games of chance, he heard from his personal guards, he won a little bit more than he lost, but someone else got extremely lucky playing nearby. Which was a problem and opportunity for him, either the other chessmaster would get everything he wanted, or he himself would succeed. Fortunately, neither opponent had officially met in any capacity, and he held more of the hidden cards, especially since the other had no clue someone else knew the full extent of the game. It was official, he was getting nervous if he mixed his metaphors. His opponent's queen walked towards him, though the opponent hadn't learned quite yet he had painted the queen as black as his armor.
"My liege, the plans have been started, are you sure this is your wisest move?"
"Do not worry, we know what my father wishes, if he believes I will help draw in more for the flames of war, let him believe what he wants. Did you keep most of Daein's former Begnion Dracoknights near Talrega?" The man in black armor nodded as they continued down the hall. "Then all that is left is for me to lose my escorts at some point, and contact you. You will make sure he will be taken care of?"
"As my prince commands, though are you sure that Gawain's strength is enough? Are you willing to throw Crimea and the Daein soldiers to the grave but not your wyvern?"
"It is quite strong, though I doubt he is as strong as his namesake, but they will be suspicious if he was slain. Especially by only mere bandits. You know as well as I do what happens if we fail, it is a small price to pay. If my death could prevent [i]him[/i] from winning, then even that would be worth it."
"What I do not understand is why you do not order me to kill [i]him[/i]?" The knight reached for his golden sword, which was borrowed from the hidden Begnion treasury.
"And risk your hesitation or his ability to escape? Besides even with him removed, his pawns could easily accidentally trigger it. No, one does not win by knocking the board over, that just delays the game. He will be useful when we win, as he most likely wants to lose." He responded as the conversation was forced to an abrupt stop as they encountered more Daein soldiers.
"My prince, your mount is ready. What are our orders?"
"Cain, we will be following behind the main line, and once we cross the border, we will travel to the south a bit before heading toward the capital, hopefully we will catch any scouts that might have escaped that way." He quickly looked over the wyvern and smiled, his extra supplies were added.
"Of course, that's our prince, planning for everything." He sighed at the compliment. This squad would have been useful in taking his father down, but they were too loyal to his father to help. They believed his father would show mercy to him, the deluded fools. Of course, without their delusions, his other attempt would fail as well.
OoOoO
The journey continued on as the first attack in Crimea went well. His small force was not needed, which made it easy for him to be quite a bit higher than necessary. He was high enough that his men could not tell what he was doing, as they were instructed to stay a bit lower to be more appealing to archers.
Activating the magical stone he had been given by his mother, he contacted Zelgius, or rather as he was known, the Black Knight, "let me know if anything causes the plan to be in jeopardy, also remember to tell them not to let anyone else know about my death." There was no answer on the other side, but he did not expect any, unless the man was sure no one could overhear him. They were gambling with the very continent of Tellius, but they both understood it would be improbable to tell the truth to the rulers.
Besides, neither of them liked most of the Begnion senators, as it would be stupid to trust those that assassinated the previous apostle. Especially since it seemed obvious why they wanted her dead, if Zelgius's speculation was correct. He was surprised what could be learned if one was completely trusted, as long as he did not put the other player in danger, then he would not lose Zelgius. And he needed the man to believe his life was better spent not being thrown away, for if he lost that motivation, he would find himself dead with a sword sticking out of his back. He also could not hide, as Zelgius could use his sending stone to identify wherever he hid. He also knew that Zelgius would give him no warning if he felt that he was crossing that line.
He had been fortunate, it seems that his little message to Crimea had gotten through, as he was able to see the diversion the royal guards made allowed the Princess escape. The best part was that his father never actually had gotten to see the young woman. It helped the young sage when people followed his plan. His father's luck had struck again, and as he brought the wyvern closer to her path, as this was where his plan could fail. If his guards realized that none of them were actually guarding him before he was missing enough from his mount, or the Crimean Guards with the princess would refuse to let him come with them, he would have to fall to his secondary plan. Which would only be a stopgap measure at best. Fortunately, his men assumed he was still following, the wonders of trust sometimes. Either that or they are trying to see if he fell behind.
Putting his trusty spyglass away, he guided his mount to land. His mount stayed quiet as it landed near the forest area that the Crimean royal guards would have to travel through. He stumbled off as he disconnected his extra gear, and sent it off to head north, towards Melior. He found himself a tree to lean against as he rested, a small grin sneaking onto his face. He should be able to handle what he was carrying, and even if the worst-case scenario came up, he could survive a bit in hiding. Assuming that he did not miss his bed too much, this thought caused him to chuckle quietly. His father may never face him again, and he could start the real game with his opponent. It would drive his father into a rage to be considered a pawn, nothing more.
His thoughts were interrupted by a couple of dying shrieks as he cautiously moved through the forest. The princess needed to be alive, he needed someone willing to engage Ashnard, and he couldn't trust the laguz to care enough until it was too late. They could not fight an offensive war with any finesse. He did not have enough pull at home to successfully run a civil war. He gazed over the area, the only moving soldiers were garbed in black armor. He silently cursed as his hands ball up. I guess it is time for plan B-
Wait, looking closer, he noticed that they were marching someone in red armor, his hands tied in front of him. He kept his head raised high, which pointed to the Princess still being alive. The soldiers marched off and once they were gone, he smiled. Now he would just have to find whoever was guarding the Princess. However, it seemed more likely the Princess was separated from her guards. With this in mind he took off to the first group of trees that could conceivable hide someone. He looked around them, checking to make sure she was not hiding behind tree trunks, unfortunately, it seems that he would have to look a bit harder.
He finally had found the girl, asleep, after searching at least five different groups of trees, at least he had been right about the area. Shaking her awake, he kept looking around the area. The girl stirred as she brushed her green hair out of her face as she watched him carefully.
"Princess Elincia, we need to move now. I'll explain on the way." He grabbed one of the two spare cloaks and threw it over her. He grabbed the other cloak and slung it over himself.
"Who are you?" She stayed on the ground as she asked her question.
"I'll explain more later, but there is a mercenary group nearby that can get us to Gallia."
"How did you know that?" She started to fidget with the robe, which he noticed had covered a staff.
"Because you are south of Melior and Gallia is the obvious choice unless you were trying to sneak into Begnion, which would be highly foolish as King Ashnard already has forces guarding that route." His gaze froze at the sight to his right. A very short wall of black was approaching, easily seen against the backdrop of trees they were passing between. "They're coming." He gently tugged for her to follow him. Fortunately, she complied as she put on the cloak as they started to move quickly. And unless the group had a dedicated scout, they should be fine.
Upon noticing a particular set of bushes, which seemed to be sufficient for his purposes, he slowed them down.
"I thought we want to reach the mercenaries as soon as possible." She questioned as he shifted his hand to putting his arm interlocking with hers.
"Come on, we're going into the underbrush over there. They won't expect you to be masquerading as a commoner on a tryst with her lover." He actually had another reason, he needed to know where they were traveling. If they were just scouting the area for the princess or did they have another objective? It was odd for them to be scouting without wyverns, even if all had been assigned to other duties. But it was possible that the capital fell too fast.
Finding the best place to sit in the brushes, the two sat down as he positioned them so he could see them marching by. "Don't move until I say otherwise." Silence was the only response he got as the moving wall continued on. It seems those looking were far too use to hunting laguz, who could not sit still very long, if the stories were true. Even if he could have found a use in it, he could not exactly condone the hunts, specifically because he would have to go after his mother.
Eventually, the column moved on, which was still a worry for him. If they hired the mercenaries to hunt her, as long as they aren't paid to kill her, they should be fine. But if Gawain believed it better for his group to work with his father's forces, they would be in trouble, since Gawain was supposed to be his queen in the game, and he did not think the trade for Zelgius was worth it. Since even with his incredible skill, Zelgius did not believe he could defeat him. And if Zelgius could not, there was no way he could either.
"Have they gone yet?" Elincia whispered as he finally paid attention to the person next to him. He noticed she was blushing, and moved a bit back as she started breathing rapidly. It is quite a good thing she follows orders well. Make it easier later.
"Yes, we should make it to the mercenaries' fort without worry." No sense to worry her. He had them walk slowly through the underbrush, some of the guard might double back. Especially since he did not recognize the leader of the bunch, they would have likely just assumed he was lying, if he claimed his title, especially since he was now with the Princess and not escorting her to his father. Though since they did not know, he might be able to try another web of lies.
His eyes bulged as his thoughts quickly changed at the sight at the mercenary base, the soldiers were attacking the base. Looking over the combatants, it seems that the paladin wearing silver armor and her long red hair in tresses was the reason for the attack. If the leader assumed she was a fugitive Crimean Knight, he would believe himself duty bound to remove her. This meant they were here to hire mercenaries just to add forces that knew the area. He spied a blue armored knight that was pushing back two others with a steel lance while a sniper was ensuring that neither one of the combatants would be harmed. Both melee combatants used the walls of their base to keep the enemy from approaching.
"Stay out of sight, I am going to help them." She nodded, though he noticed her gripping the staff she carried. It would be doubtful they would need it now, especially if the rest of the mercenaries returned, if Zelgius's spies are to be believed. He reached into his cloak as he snuck towards the soldiers' rearguard, while slipping out an Elthunder tome from his pack. Typical for most Daein squad leaders, they stayed in the back while letting the rest of the men fight. The noise of the actual fight covered his approach upon him. He guessed they were like many novice Daein soldiers, who would run if their leader was struck down. Muttering the words of power, he was able to pull off two casts as the bolts of lightning struck at the man. While the rearguard quickly turned towards him, the death yell from their leader broke their formation, as the men started to panic and run off. He smirked as he kept his eyes on the retreating soldiers. If Petrine was in command, they might as well have fallen upon their weapons, it would have hurt less and taken less time.
Once assured they had not stumbled upon the princess or would be returning to avenge their commander, he turned back to the mercenary fort. He caught the sniper's gaze who tsked and looked away, before walking towards the red-haired paladin.
"Thank you, stranger, may I ask what bring you to our fort, are you looking for work? And do you have news as to why Daein soldiers are in Crimea?" She questioned as she moved to clean her weapon.
"My name is Soren," he paused and enjoyed the moment that no one connected him to his rank before continuing, "actually, I have a job proposal for the Greil Mercenaries, I am here asking for aid in escorting someone to Gallia." The sniper quickly glared as he continued to check the enemy soldiers for usable weapons. "And Daein soldiers are here because they have invaded Crimea. Melior has most likely fallen, do you know when the rest of your team will return?"
"Shortly, do you or your companion need anything right now?" Soren turned and noticed that the princess had left on the underbrush while they were talking. "My name is Titania, may I ask why you are heading to Gallia?" Elincia was about to respond before being cut off,
"I assume your leader is missing and it would be easier for her not to have to repeat the story multiple times."
"What, so that your lies are easier to keep track off?" The sniper sneered at him.
"Shinon, if they were really attempting to betray us, wouldn't they have helped against us earlier?" The blue armored knight questioned. The comment did not seem to persuade the sniper, but he expected that, besides just because he helped out does not mean anything. The three could have most likely handled the fight without help. The two took the offered drinks as Soren explained to the best of his ability what had happened. He noticed how the paladin was watching him while attempting to hide it as just idle curiosity. Fortunately, it seems she wanted reinforcements before speaking up.
The discussion of Daein's movements ended as the three shifted in their seats, Titania and the blue knight Gatrie, relaxed their posture, while Shinon moved to a more aggressive posture.
"Titania, who are these two?" They both turned as Soren had to correct Zelgius's description with the man in front of him. The brown haired man gave them both a look over, while revealing nothing on his thoughts about them.
"Soren wishes to hire us to escort the young woman, Elincia, and himself to Gallia. They supposedly have quite the story to tell us." She finished with a smile. He nodded to the two as Soren looked at Elincia and waved her on.
Soren enjoyed watching those that were around, as the rest of the force seemed to have trickled in, though the two youngest seemed to not have fought yet, though the boy definitely practiced archery, as he could see the calluses on the boy's hands. Gawain, or as he now called himself Greil, seemed neutral, while the rest of the group seemed incredulous.
"So, we have heard her story, but what about yours?" The man asked as he placed his axe on the table.
"I am a traitor to Ashnard, once I learned of this invasion planned, I realized that the only way to hinder him would be to ensure that Princess Elincia escaped to Gallia, safely. Once I made my plans, I faked my death and found her on the most probably route she could have taken there. I also have enough to pay you for the escort mission. I am able to defend myself with magic, as your subordinates can attest to and I do have limited abilities with a healing staff."
"Very well, we have heard you case, now Mist, Rolf, please escort this two outside." The younger ones grabbed Elincia's hands and helped her up as they walked outside, the young woman following her eyes wide. Soren nodded and followed. Once outside he walked towards another building and leaned against it as Mist started to bombard the Princess with questions. He smirked at how Elincia was unable to answer the questions the girl had. Since she had not lived like most people would expect of a child of royalty. Rolf seemed to be watching him, but was unable to ask the question he had.
"Yes, Rolf, what is it you want to know?" The boy ducked his head before responding,
"If Daein's King was wrong why didn't you stop him?" He asked.
"Rolf, do you think you could beat Titania in a fight if she was serious?" He shook his head at that. "That is the difference in ability between Ashnard and I."
"You could have gotten that close to him?" Elincia wondered as the two broke off their conversation.
"Yes, how else do you expect I knew about you, he didn't go around telling everyone about you. Though now that you have escaped, I won't be surprised if all of the Daein forces were to find out about you." She nodded as the green-armored rider walked out.
"Soren, Princess Elincia, Greil wishes to finalize the contract." They nodded as they walk back in as Soren walked over to see a parchment written up. Reading the parchment and frowning, he commented,
"I doubt we need a formal contract, though the sum is reasonable for who is being guarded." He shuffled through his supplies, and upon reaching the largest pouch he had, tossed it on the table. "We accept." The blue-haired boy's eyes bulged as Greil inspected the heavy bag. He nodded as he handed it to Titania before grabbing his axe as quite a few of the mercenaries broke away to start packing. Elincia volunteered herself to help with the food gathering as Soren followed Greil and the red-haired man named Rhys. They entered a different building with many, many stacks of papers and books, the two mercenaries started pulling documents and sorting them into two piles.
"Excuse me, do you have a map of Tellius that will be burnt?" Greil paused his sorting as he watched him, as Soren continued, his two hands meeting at the fingertips, "I was hoping to draw on the map a fake route that would be taken to get to Begnion, using Flaguerre as our destination. A fake burned map should be enough that the soldiers might consider it the truth." Greil tossed him a map that did not show anything more than physical traits of the continent, but with his understanding of the area, the route he drew should suffice.
He waited until the two lit the mount on fire before using the flames very calmly. Though the grimace he had as he smacked the fire on the paper out revealed he was not as insulated as his mother and her relatives might have been. The paper was close enough that it looked like it was hastily thrown and far enough away that the mostly damaged paper would look decent enough. Even if they determined it was a fake or ignore it, any more confusion would be useful. Returning to the main area, he noticed that the rest of the group seemed ready, sans Titania, Gatrie, and Shinon, who were not there. Then again, they most likely had them scouting ahead. Unless one of the wyvern brigades were sent south, they should be fine. The sounds of pounding hooves drew his attention to Titania's approach.
"Commander, the path looks clear for now."
"Very well, everyone, move out." With that, Titania took the lead as Greil formed the rear guard. Elincia seemed to stay in the middle with Mist and the blue-haired swordsman. Soren moved closer to the green armored rider, and asked,
"Pardon me for asking, but you used to be a Crimean Knight at one time?" The man gripped his reins tighter as he responded,
"Yes, I used to be, what made you guess that though?"
"How well your horse is kept, and the fact you see to be much more structured in your posture and movements. I'm sorry but I did not get your name."
"Oscar, and my brother over there is Boyd and you have already been introduced to Rolf. It is a pleasure to be formally introduced, Soren." He nodded as he noticed that Elincia was increasing her pace to reach them.
"I apologize for interrupting, but when you found me, did you see any royal guards?" She fidgeted with her hands as the question came out.
"Only one, a red-armored knight, he was taken captive. It seems that he was the only one, and since I saw no others, it is doubtful any others were slain." She smiled at that, though he did not add that her family was dead, well Renning might have been forced to fight in Ashnard's pits, but he would not do it willingly. If Izuka got his hands on him though, Soren shuddered. As he looked over the group, he made his decision, once they were in Gallia proper, he would reveal the truth to Gawain and then see how he reacted. If he could not secure his help, then it would be up to him, Zelgius, and Elincia, who still had no clue she would be apart of this plan. However, he believed she would be able to handle it, since she was not a wreck like he was worried about upon being rescued, nor was she demanding impossibilities. Now the hard part, surviving in Gallia long enough to convince Gawain to take back his old name.
Well, let me know what you think. Also the story will start to break even more with FE 9 canon as the story continues, and 10, well let's just say not a chance.