Just to get this out of the way ahead of time, in this story Marth and Caeda did not become a couple, and this is not a romance story, even if it centers on Marth and Catria.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Altea was ready to begin its long and doubtlessly difficult path to recovery. The nation had suffered two long, painful years of occupation by a nation that knew hatred of Altea almost as its sustenance. Dolhr, under Emperor Medeus, and under the occupation head, Morzas, had stopped at nothing to ravage and break the nation. They injured the nation enough but never too much, never to the point of offering it merciful death. All for the sake of forcing it to pay the price for being the nation that was founded by Anri.

Long ago, Anri had been the one to break Dolhr, sinking the Naga-blessed sword of Falchion into Medeus. Medeus returned eons later, and it was Marth, Anri's descendent, who slew Medeus with the same sword. Now that Medeus had departed this world once again for however long, Marth turned his attention to the devastated nation of Altea, which was his greatest responsibility now. The damage to the nation defied description, but Marth vowed that the nation would be restored before a year had passed.

Today was the day that the rebuilding was to begin, but the gods above them seemed content to bring rain, more accurately a strong relentless downpour, on this day. Catria bit back a sigh as she stayed within Castle Altea and heard the rains pick up, she had not brought a cloak with her. As hard as the rain seemed, she doubted that a cloak, or any kind of protection, would have kept her from becoming sopping wet.

She was privileged to be in the throne room of Altea right now, one of the soldiers of Marth's army that was here, and would likely linger in Altea for a few days. She and the other soldiers were here as escorts for Marth, but their presence was more ceremonial. She, along with many of the soldiers, did not actually swear loyalty to the Altean throne, and their presence as guards was a great gesture of goodwill and faith from allied nations. The army that Marth led against Dolhr had been comprised of far more then just Alteans. The army was also comprised of Talysians, Archaneans, Aurelians, and a few Macedonians and Grustians. Catria was an honored veteran, and had actually been named one of the greater soldiers of the war. It was praise that normally annoyed her, but she would instead flush when Marth said it.

She was a Macedonian knight, and Macedon had opposed Marth throughout the war that spread across the entire continent, but Catria had been a part of a small unit that had instead supported the Altean prince. At first she hadn't been sure how to feel in regards to taking orders from Marth, but it quickly became apparent that he was worthy of being her commanding officer and more. He actually proved even more worthy then her usual commander, Minerva. She never expected she would befriend a foreign prince, and feel so honored to fight for him. The soldier and commanding officer became close friends, and Catria had been burning for some time to take their relationship further.

Her head turned, and she saw Marth, Altea's prince, and the futureKing. He was engaged in conversation with several people, most likely for the purpose of negotiating a later date for the rebuilding. Nothing was going to be seriously built under such a heavy rain.

Though his attention was obviously on other things, Catria was focusing entirely on the prince. She could see no sign of stress or annoyance in the prince as the day of rebuilding began on such an irksome note, but it would only be a matter of time before it bubbled to the surface. Ruling a kingdom was a burden that would leave its mark on anyone, even one as capable as Marth. The life was filled with hundreds of decisions to make a day, some of them very difficult decisions, and there were so many plans he could make that could be frustrated too easily. It was made worse by the fact that he had no one to really confide in or seek support from. There was his older sister of course, but she wasn't really someone he could talk to about… so many things. And Catria wished, wished beyond wishing, that she could be the one Marth could turn to for comfort.

Marth wasn't even aware of it. At least, Catria hoped he wasn't. She stood silently, watching Marth with an intensity and interest she hoped was not absurdly apparent to any who by chance glanced at her. As she discovered toward the end of the war, she'd have wished to stay with Marth in Altea rather then return to Macedon with Minerva. She wanted to be with him, and not just as a knight or a bodyguard.

She never expected she would meet anyone who would set her heart aflame with intimate thoughts. Marth, with his dedication to his family heritage, his wanting to do the right thing even if his heart felt otherwise, and his gentleness… had become everything Catria could have wanted in a, life… partner. There could not have been a more ideal leader and man anywhere in the continent.

How desirable he was in her eyes… only made it more painful that she could never be the one with him. It wasn't that she lacked the courage to speak to him about it, though it would take every ounce of nerve in her to speak the words to him. It was… Catria was simply of the wrong birth. She was not a noble, she wasn't even Altean. The Altean nobility would doubtlessly protest if Marth began a relationship with a foreign girl of no meaningful standing. She silently wished Marth was just a commoner, and no one could draw so much attention to the relationship.

She wasn't even sure how Marth thought of her. He regarded her as a trusted and valued friend, but that was all she knew for a fact. He might have been open to a relationship, or he might even already have some innocent crush on some girl.

Regardless of who he might of felt for, Marth would have to at least have children someday. The family lineage had to continue, there had to always be worthy wielders of Falchion, in case Dolhr should ever move again. Catria just hoped Marth wouldn't have to be forced into a false relationship just for the sake of producing an heir. Or worse, he might enter a relationship with some shallow noble girl who was only interested in using Marth as a stepping stone to increase her influence and power. He deserved someone who could truly share his life and his troubles with him.

Catria felt she could have easily been able to do all that. She could have, if only their births didn't leave them worlds apart. In time they would also be nations apart, within a few days Catria would be leaving Altea, which would signal the end of her time with Marth. She continued to watch the prince from a distance. The simple sight of him left her feeling at peace, but also incomplete and wanting.

The prince ended his discussion with the repairmen he was talking to. He turned around, shaking his head slightly. This was not the note he hoped for the first day of restoration to begin on, but nothing could be done about the downpour. The first real day of rebuilding would simply have to wait until conditions improved. Marth felt the irritation, but tamped it down. Getting frustrated and venting about the weather would not aid him in any manner. Still, he had been in such high spirits before the clouds had come overnight, this was a disheartening blow.

He began to walk, passing by some of the guards, including Catria. The girl bowed her head after he moved past her. One part of her was screaming for her to say something, anything, to Marth, but she couldn't, not now, especially not with a crowd present. She could cite various logical reasons why she couldn't say anything, but none of those were the reason no words dared to leave her.

In her core, in her bones, one of her deepest fears was that a relationship wouldn't be as true as she wanted it to be. A confession from her might guilt Marth into loving her just to make her happy. There were many things she was willing to do for the chance to have a relationship with Marth, but she would not manipulate his heart like that.

Marth took a seat on the throne. Though he was not crowned King just yet, the throne was already his and his alone. One of the knights, an elderly man Catria recognized as Jagen, whispered something inaudible to Catria into Marth's ear. Marth looked relieved, just slightly relieved, at whatever Jagen just told him. He got out of the throne almost immediately after sitting down and paced out of the room.

The foreign soldiers had been present as escorts, principally for the purpose of guarding Marth when he was traveling to oversee the first hours of construction. With that purpose dissolved, Jagen formally relieved them of that duty, promising them at least a night's stay in the castle. The group dispersed, Catria left the throne room, she already knew what she would be looking for.

It took some time, but Catria found Marth. He was standing in one of the castle halls, looking out one of the windows. The rain wasn't pelting the prince in the face, and instead was simply pitter-pattering on the glass. Taking a deep breath, Catria dared to approach him.

"Prince Marth." Catria said, wearing a face that would make it clear that this was only a friendly visit. "Did… Sir Jagen offer good news?"

"As good as could be expected." Marth answered. "The rain looks like it will break up by tonight. The repairs will begin on what could be called a swamp."

Catria looked at the window Marth had been looking at. The clouds showed no signs of breaking up, and it looked unnaturally dark for the morning, that would soon be the afternoon. The rain was coming hard enough that the other side of the window was a wet blur, it certainly did not look like a storm that was going to end anytime soon. At the same time, Catria was no expert on predicating how the weather could change, and decided to simply go with what Jagen reported.

"How are you holding up?" She asked, cutting straight to her biggest concern. "You've been ruling for a few weeks now, so…"

"I'm doing fine. Why do you ask?"

Catria didn't risk eye contact. She spoke after looking away. "I… was just wondering, as a friend. If there ever comes a time where the burden of ruling becomes hard to bear, you won't have anyone to seek help from."

Marth looked at Catria, who was still turned away. "I have advisors."

"I… meant on a more personal level. Someone you can get support from, someone who can act as a pillar for you when you need it."

He did not immediately respond, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "I'll manage without someone like that. I won't allow myself to be crushed by stress when Altea is counting on me."

His words were confident, but Catria suspected he was trying to side-step the issue. "Prince… are you sure you're content to do it that way?" Catria asked slowly. She took a deep breath before continuing what she felt were words with an obvious meaning. "There is no one you think you could rely on for… emotional problems? Someone you can confide your doubts into?"

"Um…" For a second, Catria wondered if she had put her foot squarely on one of Marth's private concerns. He was clearly having trouble coming up with an answer to that, or was perhaps too nervous to name anyone in particular.

"…Prince, Marth." Catria began to walk forward without being entirely aware of it. Her eyes were riveted on Marth's, her head neared his, and…

No, what am I thinking?

Catria turned her head and took a step away. She had been an inch away of trying to kiss Marth. A sense of, perhaps a feeling of shame, was in her. Her hands moved to her breastplate, she could feel her heart through the armor, beating hard enough it may have only been a second away from bursting. Slowly, she risked looking back at Marth. He looked more confused then anything else. Catria doubted he realized what she had almost done. She knew him well enough to know that if he knew what had almost happened, he would be as red as Minerva's Wyvern right now.

"I… I'm sorry." Catria said in a voice she couldn't keep from trembling. "It's not my place to ask you these sort of questions. I'll be going, please excuse me." She turned away, trying to leave with an obvious haste.

Marth reached out a hand, but Catria moved past his reach. Something about Catria's departure made him feel like he had just failed in some way, but he did not pursue her. Marth stood where he was, his feet feeling nailed to the ground as he watched Catria until she slipped out of sight, and his only company was the repetitive sound of rain on the windows.

The day progressed. The contract with the workers was still in effect, but they were paid entirely by their work, and thus received nothing today since no work could be done. At the very least, the contract prevented anyone from being able to line their pockets because a day was impractical to work on. For someone who had not ruled long, Marth was already surprisingly shrewd with these sort of situations.

He may still have to spend additional money if the storm damaged anything and allowed the repairmen to work longer. On top of that, work would again be postponed if there was flooding, but the terrain of the land would prevent that unless it was a particularly extreme case of rainwater.

All the tools necessary were already collected safely, they wouldn't have to worry about poor supplies for the rebuilding. From the looks of it, rebuilding just started on a minor hiccup, and things would begin in earnest tomorrow. The escorts would likely be able to begin their assigned duty at that time. Marth would have been just fine with an Altean escort, but when the proposition was offered by Aurelis, and then supported by Archanea, Talys, and Macedon, he hadn't argued.

Among the escorts, his thoughts trailed to Catria. He still didn't understand exactly what happened in the hall. He hoped to talk to her again, but she had seemingly vanished, most likely to whatever room in the castle had been provided for her. He felt, for a moment, that Catria's feelings deserved great priority, but with his duties taking precedence he could not even take the time to go searching for her.

Catria sat in her provided room. It wasn't far from the barracks that was the dwelling place for the Altean knights. She sighed as she sat on the bed, the sheets as soft as feathers. Her hands moved across the sheets to her lap.

It wasn't meant to be. It wasn't her place, and she knew that. Marth's position had to always be considered, even if it meant denying Catria the one thing she wanted the most in life. The thought of being able to hold Marth close, a reality that might very well never come to pass, pierced her soul.

Maybe it would happen someday, maybe the thoughts of the other nobles would not weigh so heavily on Marth on such a matter. Yet, if it ever did happen, it would have to be Marth who approached her, she… likely would never have the confidence to speak to him of it. She couldn't bring herself to risk making their interaction grow awkward. How he might notice her in a 'more then friend' manner, she didn't know. She didn't know how anything she could do could possibly enrapture the prince like that.

She was already one of the most dependable people Marth knew, that was an utterly frank fact. Was there a point where the woman he could depend on would become the woman he desired the company of? Maybe if she proved herself over and over again, she might-

She blinked, then shook her head. Wishful thinking. Marth was forever out of her reach. She would return to Macedon once her time as an escort was over, she had no chance to be seen by Marth as someone he could desire the company of. He would rule by himself, perhaps not understanding how cold that life would be. If only their duties didn't force her to leave and him to stay…

She bowed her head. The knowing of the futility was a scar that time would never heal. The bed sagged under her, and she spent a long moment in a silent mourning for a future with Marth that would never belong to her.

I'm normally one who tries to let the story write itself, but I think I may have forced this a bit. Hm.

Catria is honestly the first girl I'd pair up with Marth. With the exception of Sacred Stones, I've always had sort of an unwritten noble/commoner rule with pairing up the main Lord of a title. But I don't believe that taking Caeda out of the picture would magically make MarthxCatria happen. I didn't write this for the purpose of pushing some point, but it does contain some of my general views on the Catria issue.

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