Disclaimer: Fire Emblem doesn't belong to me- my OC's do

Prologue

Night settled over the continent of Tellius and across the lands beorc and laguz alike drifted off into a deep slumber, except for a few. On the outskirts of Begnion there was a village. A tiny collection of houses and fields that squatted on the edge of a intimidating forest. The trees stood together and the air was always heavy with some unknown threat. No-one went in it except for a couple of crazy, suicidal adventuring types who later turned up babbling about some monstrous creature attacking them.

The villagers were a close-minded and traditional people, change did not come easily to them and living so far away from everyone had turned them suspicious and harsh. It was from this isolated place that a woman was attempting to leave. Staying close to the shadows, she wove around the houses; jumping, sneaking, crouching. A thick brown cloak with a hood covered her face and figure. Her breath came out in short bursts and she gripped her hood with impressive force,

"Mother?" A tiny voice pierced through the night and the woman whirled around to silence it.

"Be quiet little ones, you mustn't make a sound." her voice was a whisper in the dark. Two children trailed after her. Their faces too were covered by cloaks but they were tiny, not any older than 5 or 6. Two heads bobbed and the children followed their mother through the darkened streets of the small town. One of the children sniffled and the woman could faintly see tears running down her daughters face. Quickly checking the area, she knelt down and embraced the girl in a hug.

"Please do not cry my little Thetia, it breaks my heart when you cry. Hold on a little longer and we will be safe." she comforted her daughter and the child wiped furiously at her tears.

"I won't fail you mother." her voice rang with all the conviction that her young age could summon. Her mother released her and they continued on their silent journey.

Thetia was confused, tired and upset but she would not let her mother down. Her twin sister, Sofia, was having no problem remaining quiet and calm but Thetia liked to be loud and active. This sneaking was difficult and frustrating. Her mother had woken them up in the middle of the night, she had been frantic and skittish the whole time and had given no explanation as to what they were doing. Keeping awake was hard work. Her eyes kept drooping and the cloak was warm on her skin. She clutched it round her and followed her mother obediently.

A dog barked somewhere behind them and her mother froze. Spinning round, Thetia gasped at the look on her mothers face, she was terrified. Fear. Thetia knew what fear was. Fear was when Sofia threatened to tell mum what she had done wrong, fear was climbing to the top of a tree then looking down and finding she couldn't move, the look on her mothers face however, was terror.

Glancing back she saw a faint glow appear from the other end of the street, squinting she could make out people, a lot of people. Before she was able to make out any faces her mother yanked on her hand and dragged her down the street as fast as her legs could carry her. Adrenaline and confusion pumped through her, but even then she and Sofia struggled to keep up with their agile mother.

The sound of her heart blocked out all other noises and her tunnel of vision narrowed so that she could only see the figure of her mother running ahead of her. Why were they running from the people? Sure the villagers weren't exactly the nicest in Begnion but they wouldn't hurt them right?

The stone path beneath her feet became grass as they sharply turned and sprinted off into the fields. Branches caught in her clothes and hair, she couldn't see a thing except the brown of her mothers cloak. The muscles in her legs started to cramp and the howls of dogs got closer and closer, now accompanied by the low hum of human voices. She couldn't bring herself to care, tiredness and hunger gnawed at her.

"Do not stop Thetia, you cannot let them catch you!" her mothers yelled out in a panic as she saw her slow down. Tears appeared in her eyes once again. She just wanted this awful night to be over. Sniffing she clenched her fists and forced her aching legs to move. One foot after the other, that's was all she focused on. The snarls of hounds got nearer and nearer pushing her onwards. Stones cut into her feet and branches snagged at her clothes. Branches? Surely they weren't..? She forced her head up and almost ran into a tree.

The cursed forest!! Why were they here? It would be better to face the angry dogs then this. She had heard about this place and did not like it. Her mothers hand dragged her behind a tree and finally she collapsed panting on the floor. She wiped at her face in an attempt to wake herself but it did little good.

"I think she ran in here!" A deep voice yelled above the dogs and the thump of footsteps got closer and closer. She cringed and tried to worm herself into the wood.

"Are you crazy! That forest is evil, if we go in there we won't come out." A second voice protested.

"That's nothing but a rumor and she couldn't have gotten far. Not with those two freaks for children she has." Sofia flinched and Thetia looked away. She ran her fingers over her mark. It was on her left shoulder; a series of red lines and circles forming an elegant pattern. Sofia had one just like it only on her right shoulder. Mother often told them to keep them hidden because the villagers didn't like them.

The voices were getting nearer and nearer. Her mother was looking desperate; turning her head left and right to find an escape. Suddenly she found herself being pushed up, high into the branches of the tree.

"What...?" she protested but a hand clamped over her mouth.

"Stay here. Be silent and whatever happens do not leave until you are sure there is no-one around. Do you understand?" Her voice was iron and her soft face was tense with stress and fear. The girls nodded. Marina allowed her shoulders to drop. They would be safe. She looked at them, perhaps for the last time and smiled. They were her whole world and as long as they survived she would be happy. Her hands fell to the necklace round her neck, she wouldn't need it any more but they would. Her hands yanked the cord over her head and forced it into Sofia's hand.

"Keep this with you, it will bring you luck." She whispered.

"I think I see something over there!" Her head whipped round at the voice. It was time to go. She kissed her daughters once on their forehead.

"I love you both so much. Keep safe and look after each other. Grow up and show the world how special you really are." She blinked away tears as she said her final goodbye to them. Letting go of their hands was the hardest thing she had to do. She smiled again then bolted away from them, and out into the fields again.

"There she is!" She ran faster, she had to draw them far away from where her daughters were hiding. Something hard struck the back of her leg and she tumbled to the floor. Cheers sounded from behind her and ropes were soon tied around her hands. Kneeling on the floor she raised her head to meet the man she hated most, Clark the leader of this hate-filled mob.

Back in the tree Thetia squirmed and wriggled to get a better view of what was happening. "What are you doing?" her sister whispered.

"Mother told us to stay still and silent." she hissed and attempted to drag her back down.

"I just want to see." Thetia protested. Something felt very, very wrong to her. She knew that something bad was going to happen. Her eyes found her mother being pulled along by a rope to the center of the people. She could hear some of the things they were yelling.

"Sub-human lover!"

"Traitor."

"Witch!"

"Where is your beloved bird now Marina?"

Thetia wanted to cover her ears and block out the taunts but she couldn't move. Her eyes fixed on the horrible scene in front of her. Her mother didn't say a word; just stood there in the grass staring blankly ahead. A figure stepped out of the crowd, it was Clark. Thetia hated him; he was ugly, mean and smelled really bad. He held up a hand and the crowd was silenced.

"Marina Bawulan, for the past few years you have been polluting our village with your evil magic and half-breed children. We have been extremely forgiving but recently you have gone too far." His voice was slimy and sent shivers down Thetia's spine.

"Your daughters, Thetia and Sofia have been seen cursing and assaulting innocent children with magic. You must have taught them evil spells and led them away from the teachings of the goddess Ashera. How do you plea?" Thetia frowned. Magic? They had no idea how to use magic. They're mother could but she only used it for small things. The only child they had harmed had been bullying Sofia and she had pushed him off her. Why was he lying?

Marina raised her head to meet his eyes. "My children have done nothing wrong. The only thing they did was push your son in the mud for attacking them. But then again he is like his father. Crying at the first sign of danger and running away like a coward." Her voice was filled with contempt. Clark's pudgy face became red with anger.

"Lies." he roared "Your cursed brats attacked him with black magic. You have embraced the dark god and are evil. You plan to take control of this village."

Marina took off her hood, letting her red hair fall past her shoulders. "We both know that I've done no such thing. This is a result of your prejudice and stupidity." her voice was calm and quiet vastly opposite to the angry yelling of Clark.

"Of course you have turned to the dark god! Why else would you have had two children with a sub-human? The branded are monstrosities, they don't belong anywhere!" Thetia winced at the fury in his voice. Branded? So that's what they were. Marina had told them little about their father. Only that she loved him completely and that he had been killed in a battle before they were born.

Marina refused to answer, instead she let her eyes travel over the mob; they turned away from her gaze whether with shame or fear she did not know. Flapping wings could be heard overhead and she looked up in time to see a flock of hawks pass over them. Turning away from the sky she saw Clark unsheathe his sword. A grim smile appeared on her face.

"You always were an impatient one." she mused her blue eyes dull in the light of the torches.

"Silence wench! For your crimes against this village and the goddess Ashera, you are sentenced to death." Thetia's heart stopped. Surely she had misheard. She felt Sofia freeze and the hand on her leg went limp. No.

A glint of silver. The sword thrust forward in a deadly strike and she stared unable to tear her eyes away. She watched as the blade passed through her mothers chest. Oblivious to the cheers of the crowd, she saw her mother fall to the ground, one hand on her chest and the other by her side. The sword shone red in the darkness. Blood. Marina's blood. Still she couldn't move, but she wanted to. Dimly, she heard her sister crying softly but all she could focus on was the figure of her mother falling to the ground with a final sickening thud.

"The witch is dead!" The cry was taken up and they started hugging and patting each other on the back. A dark angry feeling rose up inside of her, she couldn't name it but it was ugly. It got stronger as she stared at the villagers. What had they done wrong? Why did they kill her mother? She looked down at her crying sister. They were alone now. She looked behind her at the forest. It was dark and mysterious no-one really knew it well and lost travelers were common. But it was their only chance to survive. Shooting one last glance at the cheering villagers she nudged her sister.

"Sofi, come on. We can't stay here long. They'll find us." Her sister didn't move. "Come on Sofi move. Mother wanted us to live." she urged and her twin seemed to snap out of it. She clutched the necklace and nodded.

"We will live, for her." An understanding passed between the two siblings and they slowly began to edge themselves down the tree as the mob dispersed. Their feet hit the floor with a soft thump and they began to move deeper into the forest. It was a strange new world but they would survive, they had to.

AN: This is my first fire-emblem fanfic so please tell me what you think. This fic is going to be set in Radiant Dawn.