Hello, everyone! This is my first fanfic ever, so I hope you all enjoy it. Reviews are much appreciated, and critique is most welcome.
The idea for this fic came after I read a story by IVIaedhros that centered around Eliwood and Limstella. I've no idea how that relates to this story, but plot bunnies are weird anyways.
Now, on to the story!
Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I do not own Fire Emblem or any of the characters. Only thing I do own is a couple of rabid plot bunnies at the moment.
Too Late For Apologies
Chapter One: The Half Reunion
What was she to call this feeling? She had never been able to feel before; that ability, if you could call it that, had been erased from her very soul years and years ago, at her birth. So why was she now suddenly able to feel?
She stood at the edge of a dense forest, looking up at Castle Pherae. Seated on horses and ready to set off were a man and a woman. The woman's bright green hair was an interesting contrast to the man's blood red hair, which was half hidden by the way his cloak came up to wrap around his head. The woman's laughter carried down the hill, smiles appearing on the faces of those surrounding the pair on horseback. Even the mounted red head managed a small grin.
The woman in the forest turned, hiding behind a tree as the mounted pair finally started their journey away from Castle Pherae, returning home. When they passed the woman's hiding place, the woman was careful not to let them see her. With a slight shock, she noticed that the smiling green haired girl was expecting, looking to be at least three or four months along. This was probably the last long ride she would be able to take before the birth of her child.
Drawing her black cloak tighter around her, the woman followed the two riders, staying just close enough to keep them in sight, but not so close that they would see her.
She seems happy, the woman noticed as she continued to gaze at the green haired woman. Why am I glad that she is happy? I didn't used to be this way. And she's grown up, too. She's changed, but she's still the girl I knew all those years ago.
When the riders stopped for the night, the black cloaked woman hid in the trees within hearing distance, using as much of her magic as she dared to shield herself from the other two. The last thing she wanted was to be found out after all this time.
The girl busied herself by making a simple dinner while the man pitched a tent after tying the horses' rein securely to a nearby tree. The girl fed the horses while the soup cooked over the small fire, and by the time it was done, the man had finished his chore.
The two sat side by side in front of the fire, neither speaking. The man seemed to be on edge, and the girl seemed to be thinking about something very hard.
"Um . . . Jaffar?" she asked hesitantly after a long moment.
"What is it, Nino?" the man said quietly, giving the girl his full attention.
She hesitated again, toying with the gold band on her left ring finger.
"Do you . . . do you think I'll be a good mother?" she finally said.
It was obvious that she had asked this question before, judging by Jaffar's slight smile.
"Yes, I do," he assured her. "You are a kind person. Our children will be happy, starting with this one." He gently placed a hand on the slight swell of her belly.
Nino blushed slightly, smiling at her husband. "I know, I know; I've asked that before. But what if I turn out like Moth— I mean, Sonia?"
The woman hiding felt a stab of pain in her heart. Clutching it, she tried to understand what this feeling was, but she was not yet used to having feelings, and she had never learned the names of any sort of feeling except fear, which was something she had certainly never shown before. That emotion was reserved for the people she had killed.
Trying to clear her head, she turned her attention back to Nino and Jaffar, who was adamantly telling his young wife that she could never be like "that evil woman."
"She was never your real mother. She only raised you, if you could call it that. More like abused you." His voice was bitter, full of the malice one would expect from an assassin.
"I— I know," Nino said sadly. "But she didn't kill me, even if she threatened to more than once; even though she could've easily done it."
Jaffar just shook his head. "It's late," he told her after a moment. "You need your rest, and we've a long way to go tomorrow."
"You're right as usual, Jaffar," Nino smiled. Rising, the two went into their tent, Jaffar following Nino after he had put out the fire.
The night was quiet, leaving the hidden woman to think in peace.
So they finally married then? And Nino's going to be a mother. She'll be a much better mother than I ever could have been. I'm glad that she's finally happy. She deserves to be happy. How could I even think to ruin that happiness?
Things have changed so much in such a short time. I can't believe how much she's grown up. It seems like only yesterday she was just a child trying to say her first words. Why did I never notice? Why did I never pay attention? How foolish of me.
The woman thought back to those long years spent in disgust. She had traveled across most of Elibe, mostly Valor and Bern, but it was in Etruria that she had first met Nino when Nino was just a baby. Her master had ordered her to keep the little girl, saying that "she may prove to be useful." Grudgingly, she had done that, but she had loathed the child that had turned out to be so pathetic. Only now did she realize how truly special Nino had been. A weaker person would have been broken had they gone through what Nino had, but Nino had not only endured the torture, but she had endured it with a smile on her face and the hope for a better tomorrow.
Nino had had everything taken away from her by this woman, and yet somehow, impossibly, Nino still loved the woman, and had even called her 'mother.' How could someone like that exist? And how could Nino still remember her? She could have easily forgotten about the woman that 'raised' her, but she hadn't. At that thought, warmth came to the woman's heart, giving her a sense of— what was the word? — oh yes— comfort.
Maybe I have a chance after all . . . .
Well, that's it for the first chapter! I'm sorry if it's not very good, and I know it's rather short. Please be kind, and review? Please?
That's all for now! Sayonara!
Cryssy