Secrets to an Enchanted Life
Chapter I

The arrow embedded itself deep within the last of the Faceless' chest and it dropped to the ground like a ton of bricks, never to stand again. Questions from his comrades flew everywhere, all of them filled with genuine concern. A lot of them had wounds that needed tended to, but none of them were life threatening. Niles's eyes slowly moved over to where their princess, Corrin, was currently standing. The raven haired woman was staring solemnly at the last remaining villager. Their mission was to save a village, but they only ended up saving one person, a feeble farm girl. Niles quietly and contemplatively inspected the grave expression crawling around Corrin's facial features. All of it was entirely negative. There was nothing pleasant about it. In addition to that, the farm girl's cries of anguish was making everything worse. Niles thought it was both sad and annoying.

Still silently observing, Niles watched as Corrin confidently approached the weeping farmer. When she reached her, she knelt beside the girl in the grass and pressed a gentle hand into the middle of her back. "Are you okay?" questioned Corrin, her tone colored with sadness.

"Waugh!" wept the girl, body trembling with uncontrollable sorrow. "No! My mother…My friends…!"

That's right. Niles thought, listening in on their conversation and mostly focusing on the girl's broken words. Her entire village is dead. Her mother died right in front of her. Huh. I wonder how the princess is going to handle this one.

"It'll be alright," muttered Corrin, pulling the female into a tight embrace. "It'll be fine. I promise you, Mozu."

The farmer, Mozu, released a muffled cry into Corrin's neck. Her tears continued to roll down her cheeks and she stayed that way for several minutes, completely unresponsive. Niles wondered how long she would be bawling, wondered how long she would suffer. For some reason, though, he couldn't bring himself to care all that much. All he did was watch and say nothing. From the looks of things, it appeared as though Corrin had it all under control. Niles was about to turn away from the unfortunate scene, but someone suddenly clamped a hand down onto his shoulder, stopping his movements. Raising an eyebrow, Niles turned his head slightly and was able to see that it was Effie.

"It's sad, isn't it?" asked Effie, eyes glued to the scene in front of them. "That poor girl lost her entire family…and her whole village is completely destroyed." From Niles's point of view, it seemed as though the incredibly strong woman was angry with herself. "I wish there was something more we could have done before any of this happened. The girl looks so broken."

"Yeah," murmured Niles, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Effie?" Silas approached them on his horse, looking down at his wife. "Sophie wants to speak with you about something."

Effie removed her attention from the scene, giving her husband a small smile. "Well, alright. I wonder what the girl wants." Effie scratched the back of her head and then started walking away from them in her pink armor. "Alright then!"

"Wait for me!" caterwauled Silas, hurrying after her on his steed.

Niles shrugged and brought his attention back to the scene. Mozu and Corrin were now standing up and Corrin had her hands on Mozu's shoulders, a small smile on her face.

"Um, but what do I do now?" queried Mozu with a deep frown decorating her freckled face. "They took my mother…my life."

"You must have some family near here," commented Corrin, voice full of sadness. "We'll be glad to take you there."

Mozu clutched the front of her shirt, eyes lowering to the grassy ground. A shaky sigh escaped her mouth and it looked as though she might burst into tears again. Her thin lips trembled and her entire body language made Niles frown. "There's no one," she responded softly, her words choppy and broken. She swallowed thickly and shook her head slowly, refusing to meet Corrin's gaze. "I couldn't even start over here by myself. All the homes, fields…" She shook her head again. "It's all destroyed. But I wouldn't want to stay here even if it wasn't. Everyone I called family is dead. Every house…a grave."

As Niles listened to the villager lament remorsefully, he couldn't help but think that her words were poetic, and still, for some unfathomable reason, he could not bring himself to care all that much. In addition to that, he still had no idea why he was even watching and listening to begin with. It wasn't any of his business and it was just too sad to witness. Niles didn't like to deal with situations like this and he definitely didn't know how to console someone. Sighing deeply, Niles ran a hand through his snow white hair, the frown on his face deepening.

"Listen," spoke Corrin, tucking a strand of white colored hair behind her ear. "We'll take you in. We can't replace all those you've lost. But we'll take care of you."

Surprise jumped onto Mozu's features. "I can join your group?"

"Yes, but only until we find you a safe place to call home," answered the princess of Nohr, a small smile stretching her lips. "Our group…a family of sorts…is bound by a dangerous cause. We go from one battle to the next, ever in peril. That's no life for you."

Niles agreed with Corrin's words completely. That kind of life was no life for a measly villager girl. The girl looked absolutely weak and it appeared as though she might break at any moment. Her limbs were very thin and frail and she was a small thing. Anyone could have taken her down, and it certainly didn't look like she could fight. Niles was sure that Mozu would decline Corrin's offer. The thought of the farmer girl joining their group was completely absurd. She would be killed in an instant and Niles wasn't looking forward to be playing babysit.

Mozu pursed her lips and moved her eyes so that she was staring Corrin straight in the face. Right then and there it was clear that Mozu had come to an important decision, a decision that Niles was not expecting. "I'm not afraid," she said, tone firm. "I can help. I might even save you or your friends. Let me join your cause, whatever it is. I'll keep your family alive."

"Oh? Will you?" Words poured out of Niles's mouth without his consent. As soon as those three words exited his mouth, the two females turned to face him, wondering what he was going on about. Niles didn't feel any embarrassment. It was unfortunate that his words came out, but he was a very blunt person. He didn't sugarcoat anything and he always spoke his mind, even if it was brutally honest. Niles didn't care if he hurt someone's feelings.

"H-Huh…?" squeaked Mozu, startled. Her eyes got incredibly huge and Niles thought that they would pop right out of her head. It was quite comical.

"Niles? What did you say?" questioned Corrin, raising an eyebrow.

Niles shook his head. "I'm just throwing in my own opinion on the matter. I mean, do you really expect someone as feeble as her to keep us all alive? I highly doubt that."

"What?" Mozu squeaked again, obviously offended. She dropped her hands to her sides and balled her hands into tight fists. "Who…who asked you?! Who are you anyway?" The girl looked like she wasn't having any of his crap, which was fine with Niles. It only amused him even more.

"You can call me Niles," replied Niles, shrugging while keeping his arms folded across his chest. "Mozu, right?"

Mozu was quiet for a moment, but then opened her mouth and mumbled, "Yeah."

"Well, Mozu, I don't think for a second that you can keep us alive," retorted the outlaw, using every shred of his honesty. "I mean, look around you." Niles gestured to the destroyed village and all of the bodies that were sprawled across the grass around them. It was a gruesome sight to behold and the rest of their comrades were currently burying all of the bodies, even the bodies of the enemies that were slain that day. "Were you able to keep them alive?"

"Niles!" yipped Corrin, appalled by his blunt behavior.

Niles, however, kept going. "So, don't stand there and make empty promises. You just make yourself look bad."

Tears of ire filled Mozu's eyes and she brought her gaze to the ground, her whole body shaking tremendously. Corrin's arms were around her in a few seconds and that was when Corrin shot Niles a furious expression. "Niles, that is enough. Now, go help the others."

"As you wish," answered Niles coolly, turning around and walking off. He was partially saying that to be mean, but the most of it was just him speaking his mind. All he did was voice his opinions on the matter, and his opinions always ended up being facts. Still, he couldn't get her eyes out of his mind and the way she looked at him.

Her eyes were painted with despair.

It reminded him of someone he used to be.