SOS: Ok, here is my first (and rather pathetic) attempt to write a romance fic. So yeah, it will be very lousy, but it's a first. It's Harken/Isadora (did I spell that right?) and I really am surprised there aren't more of these on this site. It confuses me. Also, for once, Erk, Lucius, or Canas don't play a big role in a fanfic of mine.

Erk: Thank god.

SOS: Quiet Erky.

Lucius: Sauce.

SOS: GAHH! They've been stuck on that ever since they read "Emblem Quest"

Canas: :-)

Erk: Sauce

Sauce, I mean, SOS: AAAAAH!

Canas: I always seem to end up doing the disclaimer. Sauce (SOS: GAH!) does not own Fire Emblem, Harken, Isadora, or Castle Pherae, but he does own a Nintendo Wavebird wireless controller. Ok, start the fanfic. Oh, and sauce (SOS: AAH!) would like to thank SkyFireZero for the encouragement while writing this.

A Rose
Chapter 1: Bandit and Knight

A young girl, barely 14 years old, walked over to the rack of swords that was for the knights of Pherae. The girl had always dreamed of becoming a knight, but they never wanted a woman. The only reason she got drafted was that the knights' strength was declining and they needed more soldiers fast. She had distinctive blue hair and clear blue eyes. She was also wearing white armor. She saw a silver sword that just seemed to stand out and tried to lift it off the rack. The girl tugged valiantly at the weapon, but it would barely budge. At this point, three soldiers were now watching her and her pitiful efforts. He heard the soldiers laughing and jeering at the pathetic sight. He flushed with anger and fought the tears that threatened to unleash.

"Hey hey! What do we have here? Pherae's greatest knight! Oh, I would hate to be an enemy right now! Hahaha!"

"Look at that! He can't lift that silver sword! She should stick with helping mommy in the kitchen!"

"Or picking flowers! Hahaha!"

"What's all this racket!" came a commanding voice. The three soldiers looked around and immediately quieted down. The voice came from General Marcus, the commander of the knights of Pherae. He was extremely strict, and did not tolerate soldiers making fun of the young knight-in-training. Marcus glared at the three soldiers with extreme distaste. They cowered under his glare and walked away without a word. Marcus then looked at her. His expression softened and he sighed. "Isadora." The girl looked up. "You know that I won't be there for you forever. You must be able to take care of yourself."

"I'm sorry Lord Marcus. I'll do better next time. Please, just don't give up on me. I'll be the best knight you'll have!"

Marcus resisted the urge to smile at the girl's confidence and admired her courage. "I won't, Isadora. I won't. And soon, you'll be the knight you want to be." Then, he turned and left. Isadora smiled. Thank you Lord Marcus. Then she lifted the sword up without a problem and practiced. They'll see. I'll be better than anyone! She then placed a wooden barrel on the floor and swung with all of her might. It was cut cleanly in two even halves. Isadora smiled. That's definitely a good start.

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"Harken! Over here now!" A large bandit called towards a rather young blonde boy with an iron sword. "Come on kid! We're attacking a Pheraen village today! Don't blow it, or it will cost you at least a month's salary. The boy grunted in response, but obeyed anyways. The only reason he had joined this band of bandits from Bern was because he needed money to live off of. Nobody wanted a poor orphan boy with no skills but with the sword. This was the only available work, and no matter how much he despised it, it was the only way to keep living. Harken was always mistreated and was beat often because of his hesitance to hurt innocents. But that was what being a bandit was all about, hurting innocent people and taking their valuables. The world never has mercy, and Harken learned that the hard way.

"Come on, boy! Move faster! At this rate, the knights of Pherae will get to the village before us! We can't afford to face them!"

"Alright, I'm coming," Harken replied as he broke into a jog. He decided that he did not want to meet the knights in combat.

Little did he know.

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"Assemble now! All available soldiers, meet Commander Marcus at the gate! The village will be attacked soon by a group of bandits from Bern! I repeat, meet Commander Marcus at the gate!"

Soldiers bustled through the corridors of Castle Pherae to meet the commander at the gate, hoping not to be late and face the wrath of the strict paladin. Isadora had been practicing since morning with an iron sword instead of the silver one. She had become quite good, considering the short amount of time she had. She hurried with the other knights and soldiers, hoping that this would be her chance to prove her worth. This is it, she told herself. No turning back now.

Marcus looked about the group of knights and soldiers that gathered before him. He gave them the briefing. "Our scouts have spotted a group of bandits moving westbound towards Pherae. By tonight, they will have reached the village on the most western point of Pherae. We, however, will ride towards the village quickly so we can intercept their band before they reach Pherae itself. That way, we can keep the village safe during battle and, if the battle goes poorly, we can retreat towards the village and use that to cover us. But, that must only be done as a last resort and only if we are losing extremely badly. We must be able to drive back the bandits away from Pherae. Any questions?" Marcus' question was answered with silence. "Good. We leave in 5 minutes. Get yourself some water. It's going to be a long march." With that, they were dismissed. Isadora ran back to her dorm to get her water bottle and filled it up with water. She put on her light, white colored armor and ran back to the gate. She was very nervous, of course, but also very excited to be able to prove her worth to the other soldiers. They won't be making fun of her much longer.

The gate eventually got crowded again with the other soldiers and Marcus ordered them into their ranks. "We march! Now!" With that, the ranks began a quick march towards the beleaguered village.

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Now, the bandits had broken into a disorganized, frantic run. They had heard about the march of the Pheraen knights and were frightened. Harken kept up with them, preying for more time to get to the village. The other bandits had told him what Pheraen knights do towards bandits like them. First, they wound you, they said. Then they cut off all of your limbs, one by one, and when you start bleeding to death, they will put you in the cells and wait for you to die, slowly and surely. Harken knew that this was exaggerated deeply, but being as naïve as he was, it certainly scared him quite a bit.

"Run faster! They might beat us to the village! If we get to the village first, we can use that as cover and kill the knights! Hurry up!"

Harken didn't need a second bidding.

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The Pheraen knights marched like none of them had marched before. Even the ones with horses were getting tired. Isadora was especially tired. Only the excitement of battle kept her going. She popped the lid off of the water bottle and peered inside. Empty, except for a few drops. She sighed. Marcus seemed to notice this, and rode beside her and gave her some of his own water. She accepted it gratefully and soon was replenished.

"Thank you, Lord Marcus," She said and marched off with a new vigor. Marcus smiled to himself. He wasn't known for kindness towards anybody except for the royal family, but Isadora was different. Marcus knew she had the potential of becoming one of Pherae's best. He didn't hear the whispering of the other soldiers whose resentment of Isadora grew.

Soon, they reached the village, and thankfully, it was unharmed. Most of the soldiers fell flat on their backs and panted with exhaustion. Marcus looked around and noticed that they were all weary. "Ok everyone, great job of getting here. Now, you have a 10-minute break. Get some water and some rest from the villagers."

Isadora received some help from a young boy and his mother. He appeared to be about seven years old. He offered her water.

"Here you go," The boy offered.

"Thank you, young sir. What's your name?" she replied

"It's Lowen. And I greatly appreciate you coming to help the village. Someday, I'll be a great knight, just like you!"

Isadora smiled at the child and had memories of her own childhood. Soon, Marcus had everybody re-organized again.

"Now, you know the plan, let's march again! Now!" The rejuvenated army marched towards the enemy.

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Meanwhile, the bandits had almost made it to the village. Harken was dead tired. But fear over fatigue carried him. All of the bandits were tired.

"Come on everyone! The village is just over that hill!" The leader spoke. Harken sighed with relief. The bandits then sped up, believing they could actually make it. When they finally got over the hill, the sight that greeted them nearly made Harken's heart stop. Pheraen knights, at least a 150, were lined up about 70 yards from them. His eyes grew wide and so did the bandits. But their leader believed they actually could win. "I over estimated them. We can take them! Charge!" The bandits, following their leader, also charged. Harken unsheathed his sword, and charged as well, fear and fatigue forgotten in the roaring melee.

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Isadora was also very frightened. There were a lot more bandits then Marcus anticipated. But Marcus did not order a retreat. "Steady the ranks! Now! Charge!" The ranks seemed to move as one, and roared towards the advancing bandits. Isadora withdrew her sword and followed as well.

SOS: That was not that bad, was it? I've been meaning to write this for a while now. Please R&R! Till next time, Goodbye!

Sword of Seals