Disclaimer: Fire Emblem doesn't belong to me, but to Intelligent Systems and Nintendo~


Of all the things Maribelle expected to miss from her days on the battlefield, wearing pants was not among them.

She had been reared to be as perfect of a lady as could be; she had grown comfortable walking and curtsying in gowns with too many layers to count before she had known how to write, even. She had thought it was all ingrained in her very nature.

And yet, here she was, fuming about the long, impractical train of her dress. She would have traded this monstrosity of lace and silk for her riding pants in a heartbeat. The ladies of the court had thought to celebrate the end of the war with a change in fashion. While the conflict with Plegia had forced every stratum of society to be as tightfisted as possible, now the lords's wives and daughters spent as much as they could on fabric and accessories in a lavish celebration of the newfound peace.

Perhaps the Maribelle of before would have done the same, but now it only made her want to gouge out her tailor's eyeballs with her staff. It was such a waste. Back in her father's dukedom, she had seen people driven to sell every possession they could find for a bit of bread to eat. And yet, here she was in Ylisstol, wearing that dreadful dress, watching the other nobles—her own peers, she had to remind herself, strangely enough—gorging themselves on the feast celebrating Prince Chrom's engagement, while a part of the halidom still starved.

Huffing, she clicked her fan, her eyes sweeping across the Great Hall of Castle Ylisstol. Near the orchestra, Sumia was sipping her drink, nodding, while a northern noblewoman talked about something that evidently did not catch her interest. Sumia glanced to her left, where Stahl was fumbling with his collar with a sheepish grin. A little further away, Virion was whispering something in a lady's ear, not realizing that his own fiancée was scowling and tapping her foot behind him.

Maribelle rolled her eyes. Men could sometimes be such wretched creatures! And indeed, not far from Virion a couple of older gentlemen were surrounding a mortified looking Olivia. The Feroxi dancer was quite possibly one of the most resplendent women tonight (the loveliest, of course, being Maribelle's own darling Lissa by a far margin). Evidently, she did not enjoy the attention it brought her.

Maribelle scrounged up her nose and moved to rescue poor Olivia, but she had not even took one step when Sully swept in next to the young performer. The female cavalier cut a rather dashing figure in the men's garb Sumia had suggested for her. The old men scattered at Sully's not so gentle urging, and Maribelle could not help but smile at this beautiful display of chivalry.

Satisfied, she resumed her observations of the crowd from her solitary spot. Frederick looked handsome as well tonight, even next to the equally comely Chrom. Maribelle smiled fondly at the sight of the prince; memories of nights spent whispering to Lissa in the dim light of the candles drifted back to her. The young princess would talk about a variety of topics, amongst them the many qualities of her brother's best friend. Maribelle listened rapturously, never quite finding the courage to tell Lissa that she herself nursed a crush on said older brother.

And now Chrom was getting married! The thought was still bewildering to Maribelle. How things have changed since then...! Her mood turned somber. They were no longer the sweet children who played knights and ladies without a worry about the future, the ones who dreamed to have adventures worthy of the Hero-King. Maribelle's life had been invariably set down the path to adulthood the moment she had walked into Plegia's trap to save her father's lands. And the instant Lady Emmeryn's feet had stopped touching that stone pillar, they had all left the safe confines of childhood forever.

For a reason she could not name, Maribelle's breath suddenly caught into her throat. Gathering her skirts in a manner that was unusually clumsy and graceless for her, she headed toward Chrom, her heels giving a rapid set of click-click-click as she went. She arrived at the prince's side not a moment later, and he noticeably startled when she cleared her throat.

"My lord, Sir Frederick" she began pleasantly, "I hope you both find the evening to your liking?"

Chrom eyed her almost warily, clearly surprised by her sudden appearance. "Why, um, I do, Maribelle. What about you? You seem a little subdued tonight. I haven't even seen you dance once."

Maribelle laughed, and she hoped her two comrades did not detect the strangely high-pitched note that had slipped in her chuckle.

"Well, so far no man was courteous enough to ask me for a dance," she replied. "And it would be unladylike for me to approach someone and do it myself."

Chrom opened his mouth, and Maribelle was sure he was about to do the gentlemanly thing and ask her himself, but she cut him off before he could place a word. "Lissa, on the other hand, caught the eyes of many fine young men tonight. She grows more and more popular as the years go by, does she not?"

Chrom blinked dumbly, but Frederick—bless his heart—instantly grasped her meaning.

"Do not worry, Lady Maribelle," he said, "I will not allow them to take advantage of our dear princess. I'll look into the background of each and every of her suitors if need be. We can then dress a list according to their personalities to see if any of them is compatible with—"

"Uh, Frederick, isn't that a bit too much?" Chrom said. "My sister is quite capable of taking care of herself."

Maribelle smiled, rolling her eyes heavenwards. Chrom could be so adorably naive sometimes.

"Of course, she can," she said, "I did not mean to insult her capacities. Only..."

Maribelle's eyes bore into Chrom's, and he drew back. Good, she thought. The man needed to understand the severity of the situation.

"Only, many ruffians would jump on the opportunity to win the hand of the sister of our Exalt—"

"I'm not the Exalt," Chrom murmured.

Maribelle ignored his protest with a swat of the hand, unwilling to think about the circumstances behind Chrom's refusal of the ancient title, "—as I said, many of her suitors might have darker designs. We must work together to keep the worse from happening."

"I agree," the ever-loyal Frederick said.

"I still think she can do this by herself," Chrom muttered. "I only want her to marry for love."

"As do we!" Maribelle said indignantly. "We all want her happiness, after all! Although... where is she, anyway?"

"She's at the mess hall eating with the other Shepherds," a female voice chimed in from behind.

The three of them turned to find Robin standing behind them. She was chewing a mouthful of something in a decidedly unladylike manner.

"Oh," Maribelle simply said, trying not to show her horror at the lack of manner of the royal tactician. Already, she could feel the eyes of all the other nobles following the young woman. She felt a twinge of annoyance; could these miscreants be any more ungrateful towards someone who, in a way, was responsible for the realm's continued existence?

Robin, fortunately, did not appear to feel the disdain emitted in her direction. "Yeah. You know how she is. In fact, I'm surprised she was patient enough to deal with all those fancy schmucks."

"Hmph," Maribelle said, "the mess hall... I believe she had the right idea. Perhaps I ought to join her."

"A sound plan," Robin said, slurping down her drink noisily. Frederick shot her a dark look, and she blushed. "All the others down there must have a lot more fun than us. I might join you a little later." She scratched her head, appearing rather shy all of a sudden. "It's like I'm in an all new world now, rubbing shoulders with nobility and all. I feel like I'm not in my element."

Chrom clapped her on the back.

"Don't worry. We'll show you all the things to do—and all the things not to do—step by step."

"By the time we are finished with you," Frederick continued, "you will be able to give a course on etiquette and high society on your own."

"Oh, uh, thanks I guess," Robin stuttered, turning frightened eyes to Maribelle. Help me! she seemed to say.

"Well, I'll be off, then," Maribelle said, ignoring Robin's wordless plea. "Do have a pleasant evening on my behalf."

She curtsied and left as quickly as she could. Soon, she had managed to get to her destination, an amazing feat considering that awful dress of hers. As she approached the mess hall, the sounds of booming laughter and shouts floated back to her ears.

"You cheating bastard!" she could hear Vaike yell. "There has to be a trick! You switched cards or somethin'!"

"Face it," Ricken's voice piped up. She nearly jumped at this. Ricken, sweet little Ricken, gambling?! "Gregor is just that good at hiding his game."

"Best pokerface in ancient mercenary squad, yeah?" the man in question laughed. "Your face is like child's: everything moves, you hide nothing."

The mess hall came into Maribelle's view as Vaike roared his response. "Oh yeah?! How come I never lost at this before your cranky old ass came along?"

"Do not say 'old'," Gregor said, sounding like a pouting child.

"That's because you always played against me and Sully and Captain Chrom before!" Ricken replied. "They're terrible at it!"

"Captain Chrom and me," Maribelle felt herself mechanically correct Ricken. She nudged herself between the young mage and Lon'qu, and the swordsman immediately slipped out of his seat and escaped as he caught sight of her. The rest of the table looked on with blank stares. Maribelle sighed. Mad... all mad, the lot of them...

"Maribelle," Ricken croaked, turning scarlet red for some strange reason. "H-Hi..."

"Good evening, Ricken, everyone," she said, twirling her fan in her hands. "Does any of you gentlemen know where I could find Lissa?"

"Lady lost her girly friend?" Gregor said.

Maribelle rolled her eyes yet again. "I just want to make everything is going along well for her. It is her own brother's engagement party after all. Everything should be perfect."

"She's spendin' some time with Gaius over there," Donnel said, pointing to another table not far away.

Indeed, Lissa and Gaius were seated next to one another—very close to one another, in fact—and they seemed to be in deep conversation. Maribelle's blood turned to ice in her veins.

"Gaius?" she repeated, her voice cracking in disbelief.

"She likes spending time with Gaius," Nowi said. The manakete was making castles out of her own cards instead of playing with the others. "He's really a fun guy!"

"Hah! Granny girl likes the thief, now?"

"I don't like him." Nowi glowered at Gregor. "Well, I like him, but not, like, like him!"

"Good thing, too" Maribelle blurted out. All the others turned towards her, and she had to look away, suddenly mindful of their gazes. "He's a thief, a crook, a brigand of the worst kind. By all mean, Chrom should never have let him in our ranks."

Donnel blinked. "But the Captain trusts him, right? Chrom always gives second chances to people. That's jus' the kind of guy he is." The others seemed to agree.

Maribelle gave a huff. Her cheeks were heating up, and by all the gods she did not want the rest of her comrades to see her in this state.

"By all means, I will let you go back to your game," she said, closing her fan with a flick of the wrist. "Goodbye." She gathered her skirts again and left, still feeling the heavy gazes of the others on her. How could they defend such a villain? she thought bitterly. After all he's done...

"Look, Gaius!" the sweet tones of Lissa's voice rang out from across the mess hall, "I finally did! A ladder stitch!"

Maribelle could not make out Gaius' response, but when Lissa giggled, she quickened her pace. In a matter of seconds, she had crossed the space between the two tables, placing herself behind the thief and the young princess.

"Oh! Maribelle!" Lissa said, her face breaking in a smile Maribelle could not help but mirror. "You've finally had enough of all the smarmy bootlickers back upstairs at the Great Hall, huh?"

"Good evening to you too, my dear," Maribelle cooed. "And by the gods, don't say such things; they are your brother's subjects after all."

"I know, I know," Lissa said, grinning.

Maribelle's eyes fell upon Gaius. The thief raised his brows as greeting.

"Hiya, Twinkles," he said.

Maribelle was so infuriated by his nonchalance she nearly broke her fan in two. "Gaius," she said, her voice as smooth and cold as ice, "what a pleasure to see you. I hope you are enjoying your evening?"

"Yep."

"Of course, this is all thanks to the charming company of my dearest darling." She gave Lissa a simpering smile. "Your brother was calling for you, Lissa."

"Was he now?" Lissa said. "I guess I'll take the opportunity to go fetch the other plush I made earlier with Gaius. I left it in my room. I didn't show it to you, did I?"

"Another plush doll?" Maribelle replied, voice tight.

"Yes! Gaius's been teaching me!"

Maribelle's head was swimming. "Lissa, how long has he been teaching you?"

"I don't know," Lissa said. "Do you remember, Gaius?"

"Nope." Gaius shrugged. "You just came to me one day with something that needed repairing, and that was it."

Lissa giggled. "I've made some huge progress since then. Anyway, I have to go to Chrom, now, do I?" Lissa stood on wobbly feet. "Oof! Curse this poofy dress! I can't walk in that thing! See you later, Gaius, Maribelle!" She flashed a grin to Gaius and Maribelle and then she was gone.

A tense silence followed. Gaius's fingers drummed on the table as Maribelle continued her scrutiny.

"Do I have something on my face?" the thief asked. "A bit of cake around the mouth, maybe?"

"No," Maribelle answered. "Nothing of the sort." She lowered her voice. "May I talk to you for a moment? Alone?"

Gaius glanced to the others. "Yeah, sure." He followed her to a corner of the mess hall without another word.

Maribelle jabbed a finger at him. "Just what game are you playing, you hoodlum?" she hissed.

Gaius frowned. "Wait, what—?"

"Oh, don't play the innocent, I know the foul depths of your heart. If you ever think of harming a single hair on Lissa's head—"

"So that's what it's about? Twinkles, if I ever wanted to hurt the kid, I would have done it ages ago. Hell, do you think I'd be here if it was the case? I don't want any trouble with the royal family. Not anymore." He had murmured the latter so low Maribelle was not even sure it was intended for her ears.

"Is that so?" Maribelle said, nostrils flaring. "I believe I have evidence to the contrary."

Gaius' face darkened. "Listen, if you're talking about what I'm thinking about, then… well, I told ya, I'm not the same guy anymore."

"Truly? Must I remind you just what you were doing when the Prince brought you into his service?" Maribelle saw Gaius swallow nervously. "You were helping a group of Plegian assassins into the palace!"

"I didn't know that part!" Gaius countered. "Really, they didn't tell me that's why they wanted to break in. Else, d'you think I would have helped them? I may be just a thief with Pegasus dung for honour, but I'm from Ylisse too. I wouldn't have stooped that low."

"Liar," Maribelle said through grit teeth. She wanted to scream. "You filthy, sorry excuse for a—"

"Is there something wrong?" someone interrupted her.

Maribelle and Gaius turned to face Ricken. The young man looked sheepish and a little worried. The others had stopped their game and were staring in their direction as well. And by the stairs was a sight that raised the hair on Maribelle's arms. Lissa stood limply, head tilted to the side. She walked over to Maribelle and Gaius, hands tightly clutching at her puffy skirt.

"I met Robin in the stairs and she told me Chrom wasn't looking for me," Lissa said. "What was that all about, Maribelle?"

Maribelle gathered her breath. "I needed to speak to Gaius in private." She was intensely aware that everyone was looking at her.

"Speak to him? Why?"

"Lissa, my dear, he's—" Maribelle shook her head, cursing under her breath that she could not find the proper words. "He's a crook and a liar and at the first opportunity he will throw us out to the wolves for his own gain!"

"What?" Lissa said dimly. Gaius' expression was unreadable.

"Believe me, Lissa, he is amongst the worst of scums! Please, for my sake, don't associate with him any further!" Maribelle broke eye contact with Lissa and stared stubbornly at her feet.

"You…" Lissa began, her voice blank with disbelief, "you're… you're so mean, Maribelle!"

Maribelle's eyes snapped to Lissa's face.

"You can't say that! He's our comrade! Our friend!" Lissa stomped on the ground. "My friend!"

Maribelle's hand went to her chest. Her gaze went from Lissa's face to Gaius's to Ricken's; further away, her other comrades were also frowning. She was starting to feel dizzy and slightly out-of-breath.

"It's for your own good," Maribelle argued weakly. Their stares were too much, and she did not want to tell Lissa the real reason why she did not trust Gaius. The event in question had already wrecked so much of her life. "I just want you to be safe and happy, Lissa." The thought of something happening to her friend was too horrible for words, and for a reason Maribelle could not even begin to understand the dreadful image of the Exalt plummeting to her death crept into her mind. She tried to shoo the memory away, but to no avail. Her hands were shaking.

What is wrong with me?

Lissa's features softened slightly. "I know. You should still apologize to Gaius."

Maribelle looked into the thief's green eyes. This time, he held onto her gaze, silently chewing on some sweet. She was suddenly filled with revulsion and spite.

Maribelle choked down a sob and whirled on her feet, ignoring Lissa as she called out her name. She ran, stumbling her way through the crowd of bewildered guests, and reached the castle courtyard. Maribelle found a deserted corner of the gardens, sat down on the cold ground and hugged her knees, her body racked by silent tears.


A/N I've been meaning to write this little fic for a while now. In my game, I married Lissa to Gaius and didn't think much of it (although red-haired Owain was rather cute). It's only after that I got Maribelle and Gaius' supports that I realized just the amount of potential that was waiting to be tapped! And so this fic was born.

This story takes place before their B-support. I'll include some parts of their B and A supports, actually. The pairings are up to you, dear readers, since this really is more about the friendship between Maribelle, Lissa and Gaius. Anyway, thank you for reading! Leave a review if you can!