"A Friend in Hardship"
By: Ostia's Spy
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem, its characters, or story plots. But I do happen to own the game.
Slowly the spy of Ostia opened his tear-stained eyes. He did not move from the bedroll on which he had slept, but laid there in anguish. Leila was dead. She had made a mistake- in the line of work as a thief and spy, the first mistake is often the last mistake.
"I should have never let her go... How could I ever have been so daft!" he said so himself, not caring if he was over heard. "She would not have died if I stopped her. I should have went with her!"
"-and what, died yourself?"
Mattew lept to his feet, knife in hand, ready to fight- only to crumple into himself when he saw Hector, the young lord of Ostia.
"No... No, I would have killed them... They-"
"-are trained to kill. If they could kill Leila, they would have been able to kill you as well. Ostia would have lost two good spies; She knew the risk when she..."
Pain was evident in Matthew's eyes, and Hector stopped talking, seeing that what he had to say would do no good. He looked into the grieving man's face for a moment, and said "I'm sorry... For your loss." He turned an left the tent, letting a flash of the early sun's light onto the hard dirt floor through the opening. Matthew, racketed with heartache and agony, stood there, lost in his emotions.
No one saw him leave, Serra found the tent empty of both the theif and his effects an hour later when she went in to bring him food. It was not much of a surprise to the rest of Eliwood's army that he should be gone, but it did not stop them from worrying about him.
Mattew walked through the forest reminiscing over his times with Leila and how he was going to propose to her after he talked her out of the business of spying. He thought back to how much he loved it when she smiled, and how he could not help but to be happy when she laughed. But now she was gone. He would never heard her laugh or see her smile again... Matthew knew deep in his heart that he could not have changed what had came to pass, but this did not stop his grieving.
As he walked, he came to a moss-covered tree that had fallen ages ago, and he sat upon it to rest. A dark thought that was always there came to him stronger than it ever was. He wanted the blood of her killers. He knew that Hector, though young and foolish had a point. If they had killed Leila already, they could kill him as well. He was not wishing his own death, for he knew that he would be of no use to anyone, if he was dead. It would be best if he where to continue as a spy for Ostia, and not to give up.
Later that night he found Serra asleep on the ground outside of his tent, with a meal that was apparently meant for him. He noticed how cold it was beginning to be. Gently as he could, he picked up her sleeping form and brought he to her own tent, and laid her down in her bed. He put a blanket over her, and as quietly as a theif, left to his own tent. Before he entered, he noticed the meal again, and took it inside with him. He tasted the soup and found it to be very good, and he also found that he was quite hungry. He ate the rest of the soup, and went to bed. As he was drifting off to the world of dreams, he thought of how glad he was to have friends who cared for was drifting off to the world of dreams, he thought of how glad he was to have friends who cared for him.
