A short sigh escaped my mouth as I tighten my grip on the javelin. Anora, my Pegasus, slightly widen her eyes and neighed out of concern. I snapped out of my trance and faced my mount. Gently, I reached out my left hand and patted her on her head. "Sorry for worrying you Anora, I'm fine...I'm used to this kind of treatment." I whispered. Anora's nicker, followed by another one of my sighs, filled the unfamiliar training ground.

Ah, I did it again, why can't I just stop sighing… Leaning onto Anora's soft, feathery back, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, slipping into another deep thought. No matter where I go, no one really accepts me huh… A mild wind breezed through us, bringing in the scent of the irises that the Ylisse Kingdom is proud for. I opened my eyes and scanned the whole area – full of training dummies made of straws in the shape of scarecrows and no sign of anyone else. So this is the Ylissetol training ground… Using my javelin for support, I stood upright.

I had recently joined the Ylisse Pegasus Knight squad and I had to say, their welcome was not really welcoming. Commander Phila had introduced me to the rest a few hours ago. My comrades were all veterans and I was the youngest among all of them; this earned me the title 'Little Lady Genius'. I was not quite fond of that… They teased and taunted me... They mocked me, too... My appearance and my javelin technique... All of that in just a few hours! How am I going to survive through the rest of my life? Instead of an answer, another sigh made its way out of my mouth again. And to think Sumia, my silly childhood friend, dreamt of being into this squad…

I shook my head in disbelief. Mopping around won't get me anywhere. Even though it was break time, I should start on my practice. After all, effort is the start of excellence. I readied myself, standing about eighteen meters in front of a dummy. Taking a deep breath, I lifted up the javelin above my right shoulder, parallel to the ground, and took two strides forward. Calmly, I shifted body to the right with my right foot behind my left, keeping my eye on the target. I threw my right arm down back for the maximum stretch, then I leaned forward and released the weapon from my grip as I swung my arm forward. It flew towards the pitiful target, not wavering its course even with the slightly strong wind and eventually it pierce through the center of the training dummy.

Out of the blue, two different kinds of high pitch screaming from behind had caught my attention. Frantically, I turned with precaution, only to see my Pegasus biting a man's white long cloak – wait! I know that man… Navy short hair with long bangs, a Naga tattoo marked onto his right shoulder and holding the holy sword that had been passed down the royal exalt's blood line, Falchion. There is no mistake! That is Prince Chrom!

" Down girl down! Bad girl," I hurried to Prince Chrom's aid, pushing Anora away from him to give him some space. "I'm sorry Prince Chrom, she is usually well behaved, I don't know what has gotten into her…"

"Phew…For a moment I thought I was going to be Pegasus's food." The Prince heaved a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his face with his bare hands.

I looked down at his pathetic cloak in shame. Luckily the cloak was still in one piece! I shot a glare at Anora, and she whined as she knows she would get a stern scolding later on. Bringing back my attention to the Prince, the thought of why he was here came into mind.

"Prince Chrom, may I help you?" I asked politely and coolly. Maybe Commander Phila summoned him to pick me up … I certainly hope not.

"Peace friend, I was just walking around when I saw your javelin throw. It certainly caught off guard!" Prince Chrom chuckled as he noticed my uneasiness. Oh no, did I scare him? Urgh why is today so-

"It was spectacular! One of a kind! Oh yeah I have not seen your face here before. Are you perhaps the new recruit?" He tilted his head as he examined me like a creature he had never seen me before, causing my face to heat up.

"Uh…Yes I am. My name is Cordelia and I have been assigned to the Pegasus Knight squad as of today sir!" Stay calm Cordelia… Don't embarrass yourself in front of the Prince.

"Cordelia, ,mind if we have a chat then? It won't take long. You don't have to force yourself to say yes." An invitation by the Prince himself? A chance like this is so rare. It would be rude to decline anyway… I gave him a nod which he returned with a smile. Anora however seemed to disapprove as she snorted. Chrom noticed and sighed.

"Looks like I have to deal with your guardian first? Gods, I can't seem to have a nice conversation with animals…" He joked as he scratched his head. Anora grunted once more before she finally agreed to give Prince Chrom and I some space.

An awkward smile was on my face as the Prince shrugged. Prince Chrom lead me to an area full of hays sacks which were neatly tied up. He sat down on one of them and patted on the sack that was next to him, engaging me to sit down with him. I took up his offer and soon we were in uncomfortable silence.

"Ahem… Well then, you see," Prince Chrom coughed to grab my attention. "your display of strength earlier was truly inspiring… Not just physical strength, but mental as well. I am sure that throw was no easy matter but you did it! Phila had told me about a genius had just joined her squad and I don't really believe her, not that I think she is joking. After I saw your throw, I still don't believe her because what I believe is that you had worked very hard on that throw, all based on effort, not talent. You, Cordelia, have such strength and I want you to be proud of it. I envy you. I want to have that kind of strength too- to protect my family and friends. Especially my eldest sister, Emm. She has that heavy burden of being the exalt ever since she was nine… I was not able to support her. My age has nothing to do with it, I was useless. But now, I'm fighting to get stronger to help her. However it can't be just me, I need everyone else's help as well, even you Cordelia. With our strength combined together, surely... Surely we can lift the burden of my sister and protect our city with pride."

I was speechless. Before I could respond, Prince Chrom stood up.

"Let's do our best together, Cordelia. Also, you can just call me Chrom." He smiled genuinely and left, not before waving goodbye at Anora which earned him a growl from her. I stared at his back. My mind was drawing to a blank. His praises were so...sincere. The words 'work together' did not seem to register at all. In fact no one has ever said that to me other than Sumia… My vision was getting blurry and I bit my lips. I shivered, squeezed my eyes shut and tried to control my breathing but made no progress on stopping the wheezing. I was always alone. Always. Maybe, this time… this time will be different.

"Thank you Chrom," I whimpered. "let's do our best together."


A/N: This is for Bubbles who wanted angst on Chrom x Cordelia but I decided on writing about how Cordelia fell for Chrom instead. I doubt this is good. The ending displease me very much D:. One day I will write your desired angst okay *runs away*.