I would like to note that this takes place during the year between Lyn's story and Eliwood/Hector's story. This is my first time honestly writing anything for Fire Emblem 7. I'm not -as- familiar with the characters from it, so if you have any concerns about the characterization, feel free to tell me. I will gladly take any critiques. Right now, I'm working on my descriptions and characterization the most, so I would really appreciate it if you could tell me how I'm doing. Now, please enjoy!

This story arose out of my desire to write a story in which Lucius is portrayed in a more...masculine light, but not in a crack way. As beautiful as I think he is, I think that he could be a real man if he tried. I hope people appreciate a different take on him. He's one of my favorites.

~Zilver A. Hawk

I'll Make a Man Out of You

Chapter One: A Plea

It seemed too good to be true. Caelin had been peaceful for several months now ever since the return of Lady Lyndis. The land had been lulled into a peaceful sleep. Perhaps the arrival of even a half-Sacaean had been good for them even if they weren't willing to acknowledge that fact. A lady of the plains knew just how to keep Mother Earth happy. If it hadn't been for the tampering of mankind in the first place, perhaps things could have continued on in peace, but humans would never rest. It was not in their nature to leave well enough alone. They had to interfere with the natural order, and that was when darkness began to take root.

Mankind gave it another foothold with each selfish desire and sinful thought. With its feet in motion, it could easily worm its way into any being's heart or mind. It sought to destroy the peace. It did not take much, just one thing out of place to destroy the balance that had been so carefully, so desperately preserved. With order destroyed, chaos would ensue. Mankind seemed to think that the only way to restore balance was through chaos. With chaos came bloodshed, so many lives destroyed at the tip of a scale.

War was not unrealistic in this day and age, and with the balance teetering on the edge of a knife, it seemed all the more real with each passing hour. It only took one feather, one breath, one disruptive thought to throw Lycia into shadow.

The man before Lord Hausen had actually had the audacity to beg. The elderly noble had lived through quite a few things in his many years on earth, but an aristocrat begging on his knees had never been one of them. He was only a boy though. Even if he was tall, he wouldn't have placed his age above twenty at the most, and that was being gracious. He had a face that reminded him of a child; it hadn't been hardened from years of politics.

"Darien, you're making a fool of yourself. Get up. Your father wouldn't be pleased to see you like this."

The young man rose, his blue eyes filled with sorrow. "Forgive me," he said in a soft, deep voice. Lord Hausen finally placed him at about the same age as his granddaughter. He was a thin, gangly creature with nary a muscle on his body. A thin rapier hung at his side, but the elder man doubted his ability to wield it. He had the build of a mage or even a pegasus knight. "I honestly do not know who to turn to though. With Gregory gone, that leaves me in charge of the household affairs and I…I…simply cannot do it."

"Your brother is missing?" He had been friends with the boys' father a great deal of time ago. He had been a good man and had even helped him out of a jam once or twice; with his occupation, it was good to have allies. He also knew both of his boys were good as well. It seemed unlikely that the eldest would just up and leave.

"Gregory came to visit a noblewoman here… He's been searching for a wife so he can get father's blessing before his illness becomes too great. He left a fortnight ago and promised to send word of his arrival, but he never did. I tried to contact the Kincaids, but they merely told me how ashamed my family should be to toy with the heart of a young woman. He never arrived. You know Gregory just as well as I do. He would never do that. He's always been rather serious."

"Indeed," Hausen mused. "I hate to think that something unfortunate would have befallen him, but what would you have me do?"

"I…I just wish to cash in a favor," the boy answered sheepishly. "My father mentioned that you owed him a debt. He would consider it paid if you could find his son. Your family is much more capable of handling these…sorts of problems."

Hausen did his best to keep from swearing under his breath. He needed to be more careful about the promises he made. He couldn't turn down the gangly creature before him though. "Fine," he answered. "I will…see what I can do. In the meantime, return home. I will contact you if something comes up."

"Oh thank you, Sire!" The young man's face lit up in relief. After several more endearments and scrapings, he was ushered out of the room by his small company of knights so that he could return home.

Hausen could only sigh. He was getting too old to be cashing in favors made decades ago, but he could not refuse an old friend. "Please…Someone find, Lyndis. I should like to speak to her."

"First Lord Montis and now Lord Gregory… These men keep dropping like flies," a brunette cavalier said with a frown. "It just seems to me that Lady Kincaid's suitors are not lasting as long as they should. Perhaps they simply do not know how to treat a woman. They are delicate creatures that must be taken care of. You cannot simply thrust yourself upon and expect them to fall in love. She probably rejected them and sent them into bottomless depression. How could you show your face after that?"

Lyn could only roll her eyes. She trusted her sub-commander with her life, but he didn't know the first thing about women. Well, he certainly knew how to flirt, but he wasn't very good at wooing them. He shouldn't have been the one trying to analyze the disappearance of two young nobles. Even she had to admit it was suspicious. Both were seeking the hand of a Miss Elvira Kincaid. She was new to the area, but she still hadn't heard of her. Even her grandfather hadn't known the Kincaid family had a daughter. And now all at once her suitors were disappearing? Something was amiss.

The young half-Sacaean woman leaned across the mahogany table they usually used for urgent meetings. Her most trusted knights sat with her of course. She wouldn't dare make a move without their consent of course. She needed them for whatever was going to happen. "Lord Gregory's young brother asked for our assistance, or rather, my grandfather's, but we'll be working in his stead." Apparently it was an old favor that needed to be repaid. She was happy to help after all. She was ready to build a name for herself in Caelin. She wanted the people to be fond of her, not necessarily because she wanted a suitor like other noblewomen, but because she felt like nobles should be loved and not feared.

"So are we going to be looking for corpses or are these guys alive?" a brunette archer asked. Wil leaned back in his set and propped his feet up on the table. It seemed to him that the best way to keep kidnapped nobles quiet was to kill them. If they had been missing for a while, the odds of them being alive were pretty slim.

"I'm…not sure myself…" Lyn replied with a frown. She honestly didn't know much about the situation herself. Just what Lord Gregory's brother had told her grandfather.

"Then I believe it would be fortuitous to look more into the situation at hand," a straight faced cavalier in red remarked. His thoughtful gaze graced the map lying on the table for a moment before he returned his gaze to Lyn. "I do not know much about Lord Kincaid myself, only what he allows the public eye to see. He's painted himself to be a kind, scholarly man. He spends a great deal of time at orphanages and churches, though a lot of his fortune comes from investments his father made. I do not know a single person that would have a quarrel with him. Though, that does not mean he did not have enemies though."

"Unless it's all a ruse, eh Kent?" Sain offered with a cheeky grin. "I bet that's what you're getting at."

"Perhaps," the red cavalier replied. "It seems to me that many nobles are notorious for wearing masks in the eye of the public. There may be more to him that meets the eye. How he would benefit from preying on young lords, I know not, but I have recently become skeptical of coincidences. If this is the work of mere kidnappers or brigands, I would be surprised."

Lyn had to admit, Kent had a point. In their line of work, the word "coincidence" had no place whatsoever. If one young noble had gone missing, it would seem likely that it was the work of brigands. But two missing, no ransom notes whatsoever, it seemed too strange. Neither of the young men seemed like the type to run away. They were in line to inherit their household. She hadn't met many nobles who would be willing to give that up.

"Then we should call on the Kincaids and try to arrange a meeting," she replied.

Next to her, a pale girl with wildly curly lavender hair raised her hand just high enough that it barely peeked out from underneath the table. Lyn managed to catch sight of it though and was quick to acknowledge the girl. "Yes, Florina?"

"I-I thought the Kincaids were not taking visitors…" the girl said softly. The sudden attention on her caused her to flush a bit, and caused her to add a soft, "…or perhaps not."

A look of realization appeared on Kent's face, and he audibly sighed. "Ah yes… Lord Kincaid has…become a bit of a recluse since the death of his wife. We tried to call on him when your grandfather was ill, but he refused to even see our messenger. He does things on his own terms, not at the will of others."

"Then this could prove to be troublesome." Lyn leaned across the table and rubbed her cheek. It was times like this that she was her good friend Mark was still around. He had a brilliant mind when it came to these situations, but he had left weeks ago. "We need to find a way to speak to them one way or another." She wouldn't have a problem trying to befriend the young girl, but she doubted Lord Kincaid would let her. He only seemed interested in suitors…

"That's it!" Sain exclaimed, as if reading her mind. He rose from the table and cleared his throat in a dignified manner. "It seems to me that Lord Kincaid would very much so like to marry off his daughter. Perhaps we should offer him a suitor."

"I'm sure you would love to volunteer," Kent muttered, his brow furrowed in disapproval.

"I would be more than willing to sacrifice myself for the cause if there were no more volunteers."

Lyn chuckled and motioned for him to sit down. "It's…a brilliant idea actually, but wouldn't he recognize you? You're quite popular around these parts." Especially with the village women, she mentally added. And she was certain that Lord Kincaid wouldn't want to marry his daughter off to a commoner. It had to be a nobleman…

"Maybe…Lord Eliwood…" Florina offered, but Lyn only shook her head again.

"It would take much too long to contact him."

"With all due respect, milady, it would take a long time to contact anyone who I would trust," Kent said. "Our options are limited as it is."

"What if we made up a noble?" Wil asked. He rarely contributed to these conversations. He let knights be knights, and if they needed an archer, he would help, but occasionally he could pipe in with some words of wisdom. "We could make a big deal about some distant second cousin visiting Lord Hausen. Make him rich, famous, handsome… He doesn't even have to be from here. If Kincaid takes the bait, we'll have an inside man."

"We would need a man," Kent said. He felt as if no one was listening to him. On top of that, it was trickery. That was not chivalrous in the least, and it could get them into some serious trouble.

"You may be onto something," Lyn said. "But Kent is right." A few faces flashed in her mind. Matthew would have been an amazing choice. He seemed like the type of person who could fit into any situation, but he had left them a long time ago. Both Kent and Sain were handsome in their own right, though she trusted Kent to mind his manners more, but the face of the commander of Lord Hausen's knights was much too recognizable as well. Then it hit her.

"I…may know of one person," she said. "I trust him; it's just a matter of finding him. I hope he's still here…"

"Who?" Kent asked with a frown.

"You'll see," the green haired swordsman said. She rose from her seat at the mahogany desk and quickly headed for the door. She had a few letters to write.