The Trueblades
A/N: This chapter was inspired by one of my FE 10 file, where I had Mia and Edward support each other (don't ask why).
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.
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Their first encounter had been during the battle at Ribahn River.
Well, not exactly. They never fought then. Edward had wanted to leap into the fray, to fight for his country, but the others – namely Micaiah, Leonardo, and Nolan – had told him to stay put. And so he stayed on the opposite side of the river, away from the heart of the battlefield. Mia, like the rest of her troop, had never actually made it all the way across the river. The waters and the Daein soldiers made advancing at a normal rate impossible for anyone other than a flier. If she had more time, Mia could have made it across the river. But her role was done, and there was no more reason to fight.
Edward had seen her cut down numerous Daein soldiers, even from where he was standing. He was impressed beyond words when she took down Zihark, the Daein army's swordmaster, without much difficulty. Zihark was the best swordmaster Edward had ever met, and had hoped to learn from him one day. To see him defeated by this other swordmaster …
After the battle, when the Daein army retreated from their post at the Ribahn, Edward asked Zihark about the female swordswoman he had fought.
"I suppose you could call her … an old acquaintance of mine. We fought together during the Mad King's War. Her name is Mia."
"Mia, huh?" Edward wanted a chance to fight her. Maybe not in the near future, but someday. She was a master sword wielder. He wanted a chance to test his skills.
That chance came a little sooner than Edward wanted it to. The confrontation came after the battle at Nox. The combined forces of the Greil Mercenaries, the Gallian army, and the Phoenician army against the Daein army, even with greater numbers Daein was no match. Edward had been holding his line of defense with the second group of swordmasters – the first line headed by Zihark, closer to the front, and having already been defeated – when Mia appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. She cut down the two swordmasters by Edward's side with ease, and then took him out with one blow.
Not too long after his defeat came a whirl of confusion. There was a large blast of light, and then blinding heat. He couldn't see anything. And when it cleared, Edward found himself standing mostly amongst an army of statues.
Some others hadn't been turned to stone. Edward was relieved to find that the Dawn Brigade had escaped petrifaction as well; his relief turned to worry once he saw that Greil Mercenaries had also been spared.
And then came Micaiah – or Yune, was it? – who spoke of a covenant made with Ashera and the continuous wars between beorc and laguz. To be honest, Edward didn't understand every word of it. But what he did know was that Micaiah believed in Yune and that he believed in Micaiah. If defeating Ashera was the only way to save the petrified people … well, so be it.
Yune proceeded to split the survivors into three teams as to decrease suspicion. Edward hadn't realized it at first, but Mia had been placed on Micaiah's team, along with him. That was odd, he thought, because he expected Mia to be with her mercenary group. Although not everyone was with their originally designated group. Nolan was going with the Greil Mercenaries, for example. And Zihark would be traveling with King Tibarn and Queen Elincia's party.
Micaiah's Silver Army hadn't gone far in their journey when the Disciples of Order started popping out of, well, nowhere. Mia and Edward, both in a similar state of mind, ran toward the right entrance of the base they were resting at to fight off the enemies trying to make entrance. Mia's strikes were swift and true, always hitting their mark, swishing through the air with such grace! Edward felt that his swings, although packed with more power, were sloppier and less disciplined. Sure, he held his own and managed to survive to the end. But he wasn't satisfied with his performance.
Their next battle came at the Grann Desert. The Disciples of Order had popped out from out of nowhere, again, and they were led by none other than Senator Numida, the scoundrel who had been in charge of Daein during its occupation. Edward wanted to cut the man to pieces with his sword. The fight was on!
The Daein swordfighter trudged his way through the sand, to where Mia was cutting down enemy swordsmen. As the last Disciple of Order fell, Edward took a deep breath and said, "Mia … I-I wish to learn from you. I … I'll do my best!"