Ragna Ferox, Ylisse's northern neighbor, is known for it's intense cold and warriors. Due to the chilling climate, it hardly ever rains in the northern country, save for today. A terrible day for rain, after the loss of Ylisse's exalt and Lissa's older sister, Emmeryen. It's only been a few hours since the Shepherds were able to escape from Plegia after the failed rescue mission.
Lissa was currently in the infirmary, watching over her dear friend Marribelle, who received a grizzly wound from a Plegian archer as they were escaping. Luckily, the wound wasn't lethal, but it rendered her unconscious. Lissa put down her staff, after using it to check Marribelle's vitals. "Well Marribelle, you'll be just okay! Nothing can ever keep you down, you're one of the best healers we have in the Shepherds!" Lissa told Marribelle's unconscious body. Marribelle, as expected did not respond. "I wish I could talk to you right now… I really need the comfort of my best friend after everything that's happened. I've been trying my best to hold myself together, be tough, like… Emmeryen, but it's been so hard." Lissa looked over towards Marribelle, hoping that she would regain her consciousness, only to be met with more silence. Lissa took a deep sigh. Marribelle's hand twitched, causing Lissa to get hopeful that she was coming back to, only to be let down after waiting for her to regain consciousness. Lissa let out a small groan and looked at the peaceful resting face of her best friend. "You're right, I should try to talk to Chrom or Robin. Hopefully one of them will be willing to converse." Lissa smiled softly before patting Marribelle's hand. She soon left the infirmary, allowing Marribelle to recover.
Lissa wondered through the halls of the castle and came upon Robin's room. Her and Robin have shared a close bound, a bound akin to the one she shares with her brother Chrom, so perhaps Robin will be willing to hear her out. She knocks on his door, only to be met with silence. "Robin? Are you in there?" Lissa asked, trying to get Robin's attention. She knocks once more. "Robin? I'm coming in." Lissa announced before opening the oak door and stepping inside his room.
Presented in front of her, was the army's tactician, books thrown all over the desk, and floor. A mock battle sprawled out on his desk, with Robin looking down onto it. His eyes were strained red, and baggy. His normally well-kept white hair is currently a complete mess. He moves small little figures across the map and knocks down some other pieces. "If I were to have moved Virion this way, then we could have easily saved Emmeryen, but that would have put both him and Tharja in danger… gods dammit you worthless fool, there has to have been a strategy that would have resulted in no one in our ranks getting hurt while saving Emmeryen at the same time…" Robin mumbled to himself, completely ignoring the fact that Lissa has entered his room.
"R-robin? Have you been working this whole time?" Lissa asked, concern raising in her voice as she looked at the pathetic state of Ylisse's grandmaster tactician.
Robin paid Lissa no attention, moving a few more different pieces, continuing his mumbling. "Come on… think. There must be a winning strategy…" Robin picked up another book and flipped through it's pages, reading through it's contents rapidly. Robin slammed the book shut, seeing that it did not have the information he needed, and threw it across the room, almost hitting Lissa. "Oh! Lissa, I didn't notice you there." Robin commented, before diving his nose back into the simulation map.
Lissa picked up the book that Robin threw and placed it on a nearby bookshelf. "How long have you been looking at the simulation map Robin?" Lissa asked, picking up a few other books and cleaning his room.
"Only a few hours…" Robin commented in a monotone voice, distracted by the miniature map in front of him, moving more pieces before resetting the map once again and starting over.
Lissa picked up some of the books near Robin's desk. She accidentally took a whiff of his hair and instantly covered her nose. "The smell reeking off of you tells me you've been here for longer than that." She nasally replied, putting away the books she picked up.
"Ok." Robin replied quickly, his nails digging into the edge of the wooden desk as he continued to struggle coming up with a winning strategy.
"Come on Robin, take a break. Come get dinner with Chrom and me." Lissa asked, putting away the last of the books.
"Not right now Lissa." Robin told her, his eyes not moving from the map.
"Please Robin, you need to give your mind a break! Get some food in your stomach and take a bath before you stink up the whole castle! Afterwards you can go back to your tactics stuff and study until the cows come home." Lissa tried to compromise with the stubborn tactician.
"I'm not hungry Lissa. I won't eat, sleep, and bathe until I find the perfect strategy that could have saved her…" Robin muttered, loud enough for Lissa to hear, continuing to move the wooden pieces representing the Shepherds across the map before resetting once again.
"Robin please, you need to take a break, you're our tactician! You're one of the most important parts of our army!" Lissa told Robin, trying to at least get him to get out of his room for a few minutes.
"I am the tactician and that's why I want to make sure everyone is safe and gets out of every battle alive. That responsibility rests on my shoulders, which is why I'm sacrificing so much to make sure that we win every battle with as little casualties on both sides as possible. It's what Emm would have wanted…" Robin said, no hint of emotion in his voice as he used his magic to bring a book towards him and start flipping through the pages, before slamming it shut and throwing it behind causing the book to let out a loud "BAM" as it landed on the floor. "So I'm going to stay in here until further notice." Robin muttered, calling another book towards him and diving his nose inside of it.
Lissa let out a long sigh. "Fiiinnneee. Be that way. Just don't complain about being hungry, okay?"
"Ok" Robin replied, not looking up from the book.
Seeing that she'll get no more words out of the tactician, she left his room, leaving him alone with his thoughts to continue pondering strategies. "Ugh, I hope Chrom will want to talk, he would definitely want someone to talk to as well!" Lissa thought to herself as she went towards Chrom's room.
Once arriving, she knocked on the door to his room. "Chrom? Can I come in?" Silence only greeted her, so she decided to open the door to his room and walk in only to find it empty. "Huh, he must be out training." She told herself and left to go to the training field. After a brief walk to the training field, she encountered her older brother, hacking and slashing at training dummies. There was a decent sized pile of broken training dummies laid across the field.
Sweat was dripping from his forehead as he gave a strong vertical chop, cleaving the dummy and rendering it useless. He tossed it aside, and went to another training dummy, slicing and stabbing at it. "Bloody Plegians… they don't deserve mercy! I will avenge you sister!" Chrom rambled to himself, letting out an intense war cry and slicing the dummy in half. He kicked down the dummy and stabbed Falchion into the ground, going over to a nearby bench and taking a drink of water out of his canteen.
Lissa, horrified at the scene, froze in place for a moment before walking up towards her brother and called out to him. "C-chrom? Are you able to talk?"
"Huh? Oh, Lissa, I can talk for a moment, but after that I have to get back to training." Chrom replied, sitting down on the bench and patting the empty space next to him. Lissa went over to his side, sitting down next to him. "What did you want to talk about Lissa?" He asked with a smile.
"W-well how long do you plan on training? You must have gone through at least twenty dummies at this point. You must rest. I don't want you straining yourself." Lissa told her brother.
Chrom's smile turned into a scowl. "I can't stop training, until I'm strong enough. I don't want the same fate that befell to our sister happen to anyone else. That is why I must train." Chrom stood up and marched towards his Falchion, pulling it out of the ground and started slashing at a training dummy.
"But Chrom, you're the leader of this army, and now Ylisse! What are we to do if you were to pass out in the middle of a battle?" Lissa's voice raised out of concern of her brother.
"Remember what Father used to say? "Never think of an impossible situation." That is why I'm training, to make sure that situation never happens. The Plegians have taken our sister and they must pay for what they did. They deserve no mercy!" He shouted, decapitating the training dummy and stabbing the head with Falchion.
Lissa, startled at Chrom's outburst, stepped back and looked at him in fear. "C-Chrom! Snap out of it! You're behaving like Father!" Lissa cried out.
"So? Father was right about the Plegians, they don't deserve the lives they've been given. Emmeryen was too kind to them, and they took that kindness and used it as a weapon against her." Chrom said sharply. His grip on Falchion tightening, as he removed the dummy head from its blade, going over to another training dummy and attacking it with an unbridled rage, screaming out in rage and slicing it into fine pieces.
"But you vowed to yourself that you would never be like Father, that you'll treat everyone equally and fairly! Even our enemies!" Lissa exclaimed, trying to reach out of Chrom and snap him out of his current state of mind.
"I was foolish to think that, and now I see the truth. This world is unkind to those who dare defy their fate, this is proof of it. That Marth fellow is in for a rude awakening when she realizes that fate cannot be changed. Now leave me be." Chrom ordered, his words stinging Lissa's heart. This isn't the brother she grew up with and loved. The goofy, lovable, and brave man that leads the Shepherds must be in there somewhere.
"Chrom, this isn't what Emmeryen would…"
"I said leave me!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice ringing through the training field. Lissa looked at him in fear before running away. "Hmph, she'll see that I'm right… she always does."
Lissa ran through the castle, her brother's fearsome, revenge filled expression planted in her brain. She started to slow down through the halls, passing a few other Shepherds who are grieving in their own ways. Lissa soon became lost in thought as she wandered the castle absentmindedly. "Chrom… someone needs to knock some since into you. Maybe Sumia can! Yeah I should ask her to slap him right across that big dumb face!" Lissa smiled to herself, imaging the sight of Chrom getting slapped by the timid Pegasus knight.
Lissa continued to roam through the halls and wondered into the Colosseum. She looked around the empty area and saw a familiar figure sitting alone in one of the seats. "Oh, it's Lon'qu! He did say that we could talk last time. I'm certain he'll be a good person to vent to!" Lissa than proceeded to enter the stands of the huge arena and walked up to Lon'qu. "Hey Lon'qu, may I talk to you?" She asked the silent swordsman.
The stoic man nodded, saying "Very well. I promised to chat with you last time, and I'm a man of my word, so I see no problem." Seeing that she has his permission, Lissa sits down next to him. "So, what is it?" He asked.
"Well, it's just that the last two battles… especially the one at the courtyard…" Lissa trailed off, remembering the image of her fallen sister lying lifelessly on the hot sandstone of the Plegia Courtyard.
"I see, I'm sorry for your lost." Lon'qu replied, his voice showing a small sign of sympathy.
"Thank you Lon'qu, but I just came back from talking to Chrom… and I'm very concerned about him." Lissa admitted, playing around with the small apron on her bird cage dress.
"About his rage as we were escaping?"
"You noticed it too?"
"Yes, his rage surprised me to say the least. Cutting down everyone that stood in his path, bathing in the blood of his enemies. Not offering mercy to those who begged for it. This was not the man I promised to serve." Lon'qu said monotonously, masking how he truly felt about the current situation.
"He was behaving a lot like how our father did." Lissa admitted. Lon'qu gave the cleric a sideglance, almost as if he's asking her to continue. "Our father was… not the best. While I don't remember most of it due to how young I was at the time, from what Emmeryen and later Chrom told me, he was not only a terrible father, but a terrible ruler. He was responsible for the crusade against Plegia afterall." Lissa paused, looking at Lon'qu to see if he wanted to know more. The swordsman gave the young cleric his attention and nodded at her to continue. "Well, from what I was told, the reason for the crusade was to eradicate all the Grimleal, after all they were the ones that assassinated our mother, however, Father didn't stop at the Grimleal, he killed innocent civilians that were forced to house the Grimleal in Plegia, causing a massive war to take place against Plegia. This war brought destruction and famine to both countries. It was a terrible time to live in. Chrom and I were too young to fully understand what was going on, but we could tell that what father was doing, wasn't good for Ylisse. After several years into the war, our father was killed by one of Ylisse's own soldiers, causing Emmeryen to take up the throne." Lissa told Lon'qu, still playing with her dress as she told about her father.
"The path of vengeance is a road that should be avoided, for it leads down to corruption. I know this all to well." Lon'qu admitted, closing his eyes and going silent for a moment.
"What do you mean?" Lissa asked, looking towards the swordsman in curiosity.
"It is none of your concern." Lon'qu replied shortly.
Lissa took this as a sign of him not wanting to talk about it yet and decided to continue venting to him. "Well, when Chrom was finally old enough to learn what Father truly did, he vowed to never end up like him, using his sword to protect, not for revenge. But he's broken this vow, refusing to leave a single Plegian alive. It… horrifies me. I don't want my brother to succumb to the same rage that took over our Father. The look of him showing no remorse towards a Plegian surrendering his life just so he can live to see his family. It's scarred into my brain." Lissa confessed, resting her head in her hands while rubbing her temples.
"He may be like this right now, but I know he'll come around and realize the errors he's made. He has family and friends to help him realize that." Lon'qu comforted the young cleric.
Lissa smiled softly at the silent swordsman. "Thank you Lon'qu, all he needs is a good slap to the face and I'm certain he'll come around to his senses!"
The swordsman of blue gave a small smirk at Lissa's statement. However as soon as it appeared, it disappeared. "What was she like?" Lon'qu asked out of nowhere.
"Huh?" Lissa replied, caught off-guard by his sudden question.
"Your sister, Emmeryen, what was she like?"
"Oh Emm, that's right you never had a good opportunity to meet her! Well she was the complete opposite of our Father. She was peaceful and treated our people equally and fairly. However, for a moment, the people hated her. It took her so long to gain the trust of the people that our Father lost. I remember one time that a villager threw a rock at her during one of her visits on the streets, but instead of getting mad, she just smiled softly at the villager, and continued her visit. Emmeryen made a lot of sacrifices for Ylisse, spending a lot on repairing the damages from the war, and providing food for the poor. Eventually, she gained the trust of the people and it felt like peace has finally returned to the kingdom. The rate of crime has even gone down due to Emm's peaceful philosophy." Lissa told Lon'qu, smiling softly, remembering the peaceful atmosphere that Emmeryen gave off.
"She sounded like a good ruler. A ruler that's for the common people is bound to have brought peace. I'm certain she was an excellent sister as well." Lon'qu smiled tenderly, feeling at peace after hearing about Emmeryen.
"Oh, Emmeryen was the best sister ever! She taught me healing magic after all! She even tried to teach Chrom how to use healing magic, but the big doof didn't have a single magical bone in his body! I remember the first wound I ever healed using my staff, the smile on Emm's face, how she always believed in me, saying that someday I would bring peace with my staff, healing the wounds of both allies and foes alike. Her words made me believe that everyone could be a friend, even if they're you're enemy." Lissa reminisced, sighing at the happy memory.
"A dangerous belief to have, yet, not a foolish one." Lon'qu commented. "Though was she hesitant in having Chrom learn the art of the sword?"
"Actually, not at all! She knew that Chrom would use Falchion to help bring peace, and while she opposed violence, she knew that the people had to be protected. "The people are our sheep, and we are the shepherds that watch over them and keep them safe." She used to say. This actually inspired us to form the Shepherds. With her approval we started touring the country side, checking in on villages and making sure the people are safe from bandits as well as having full bellies and smiling faces." Lissa told to Lon'qu, straightening her dress and standing up to stretch before sitting back down on the wooden chair. "A little-known fact, Emmeryen was actually able to wield the Falchion! But she much preferred to use magic so she passed the Falchion down to Chrom and allowed him to pursue swordsmanship, a skill that he excelled in." Lissa revealed nonchalantly, like it was no big secret.
"Interesting… do you have any other memories of her?" Lon'qu queried, curious to know more about the late Exalt.
"Oh, I have a whole bunch more memoires! I remember when Emmeryen first introduced me to Marribelle. She knew that we would be best friends, even though when we first met, we didn't get along that well. However, once we both realized that we had a common interest in healing magic, our friendship took sail! We sadly weren't able to meet very often while we were young due to us living quite a distance away, but whenever we did, we made the most of it. When Marribelle caught word of Chrom and I forming the Shepherds, she was the first person to sign up and join us." Lissa smiled fondly.
"Hmm I'm surprised, I'd expected her to have been one of the last people to sign up considering how she acts around the camp." Lon'qu huffed, a small hint of curiosity hidden in his voice.
"Hey! Just because she's a noble, that doesn't mean she's like all the other nobles! She cares for the common people and wants to see them thrive! Heck, she told me that she wanted to be a magistrate, so she can defend for the common person and make sure that they have the person that will defend them when no one else will." Lissa told off to the swordsman.
"A magistrate? I appreciate what she wants to do. A lot of common folk and people on the street can get blamed for the crimes of other people very easily. With her helping the common man, the innocent can live in peace." Lon'qu smiled softly, appreciating the effort of the young noble.
"Yep! She's always wanted to do this, and she'll win the cases without having to lie and cheat, like every other noble and magistrates! In fact, that's why there's no one that I would trust more with secrets than Marribelle! Well except for Chrom and Emm!" Lissa beamed before saying under her breathe. "And you."
"Hmm?" Lon'qu raised his eyebrow in question, at hearing her mumbling.
"Oh! It was nothing!" Lissa shrugged off, blushing softly before going back to the topic at hand. "I'm just so glad that Marribelle will make a full recovery. I was really worried about her for a moment. The Shepherds just wouldn't be the same without her attitude." Lissa remarked, fidgeting with her dress. Lon'qu stood silent, allowing Lissa to continue telling more stories. "Another story that I have is the one time I put on Emmeryen's robes! This actually happened a few weeks before we met Robin. I was walking through the halls and noticed that the door to Emmeryen's room was opened, so I wondered in and noticed one of her robes was placed on her bed. Soon I became very curious and decided to try it on!" Lissa smirked mischievously, as she recalled the memory.
"Why would you want to try on other people's clothes? It seems foolish and immature to me." Lon'qu huffed, not batting an eye at the younger cleric.
"Oh, hush it you. You just don't know how to have fun!" Lissa told the mature myrmidon. Lon'qu responded with a quiet grumble, looking away from Lissa as she continued the story. "Anyways, I put on her robes, and looked at myself in the mirror. Personally, I think the outfit looked amazing on me! However, Emmeryen soon walked into her room and saw me in her robes. I was so embarrassed, but Emmeryen giggled and stated that I looked so regal. She then came over behind me and untied my pigtails and put her little crown thingamajig on me. I looked almost exactly like her. That just really inspired me and fastened my resolution to bring peace by healing friends and foes alike. Though, the fact that I was missing the brand did bring me down a bit. However, Emm was quick to make my doubts disappear. She said, "Lissa, the brand of the exalt doesn't define who we are. What defines us is the actions we make, and the bonds that we share with others. You are my younger sister, brand or no brand, nothing will change that fact. The love I, and the love that Chrom gives you should be evidence enough that you're a part of our family, and always will be." Emmeryen's was always talented with her words, always being able to move people's hearts and make them feel reassured about themselves. I even believe that she was able to convince some of the Plegians with her final speech on top of that spire." Lissa rambled, a small tear starting to roll down the side of her face.
"Words are the most powerful weapon in the world, they can be used to bring peace and happiness, but they can also be used for destruction. Your sister knew how to use her words and never gave up on her ideals… even in her last moments…" Lon'qu trailed off, going silent for a moment.
Lissa's eyes started to tear up more, now remembering that her dear sister is gone forever. "S-she always believed in the best of people, no matter who they are or what they did in their life. I just… can't believe that she's gone now." Lissa started to weep softly, tears running down her cheeks and dripping onto the stone floor of the Colosseum.
"She was your sister. Losing someone dear to you hurts…" Lon'qu replied, trying his best to comfort the young woman with his words.
"She was more than my sister, she was an inspiration to me! She made me want to be the best princess in the realm, to heal and protect the people of our country, and to pursue her perfect world of peace. Heck, in some ways, she was like a mother to both Chrom and I. The amounts of love and care she put into the both of us, how she would often sacrifice her own meals so that we can eat during the famine when she first became Exalt. She cared so deeply for us, and for the people. Putting everyone before herself." Lissa sobbed, wiping her eyes from the tears that are building up. "B-but now…" She sniffed. "But now… she's gone, and I will never be able to experience her love again, never see her soft and gentle smile, hear her soothing voice telling me words of inspiration, and feel her warm embrace."
Lissa stood up out of her seat and walked towards Lon'qu, arms open wide, needing a shoulder to cry on. However, Lon'qu instinctively stood up and backed away from the cleric. "Don't touch me woman!" He hissed, crossing his arms.
Lissa stumbled at the absent presence of Lon'qu and looked up towards the swordsman. Her face soon grew red with rage, standing straight up, with a scowl on her face. "Are you freaking serious right now?! Are you serious?! You just can't get over your fear of woman for one minute, ONE MINUTE!" Lissa shouted at the swordsman, who reeled back in slight fear at the outburst of the normally sweet cleric. "How can such a big and tough stoic man be scared of a woman, a person mind you that is half the world's population!"
"I-I'm still…"
"Oh, I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear any of your sorry excuses! I came to you, so I can confide in you. Tell you everything that was bothering me and open my heart to you! I trusted you, so much! But you won't get over your fear of women just to help comfort a friend!" Lissa screamed, tears streaming down her face.
"Lisssa I… let me explain…" Lon'qu tried to say.
"Oh? What's your explanation then?" Lissa asked, hands on her hips, face still red with rage. However, Lon'qu only responded with silence. "That's what I thought. Until you get over your fear of women, you'll never, EVER, be a true man!" Lissa scolded before storming off, letting out a few sobs along the way. "The big dumb idiot… I don't know why I ever had feelings for him… it's clear to me that he'll never get over his fear." Lissa muttered to herself as she entered her room and slammed the door shut before throwing herself on her bed and sobbing into the pillow. "Oh Emm… I wish you were here right now… I just want to hear your voice, feel your comforting hand, see your gentle smile… You would know exactly what to do, and exactly what to say about the current situation. But now I can never get your advice ever again…" Lissa looked up the ceiling, hands folded, praying to the heavens that she'll get some kind of revelation from her late sister. She soon threw her head back into her pillow and let loose all the tears that she has built up ever since Plegia and cried.
Lon'qu, after watching her storm away and when she was out of sight, he punched one of the benches, breaking it in half and causing his hand to bleed as well. "You fool… YOU DAMNED FOOL!" Lon'qu scolded at himself. "She's right, I can never be a true man with this fear of mine…" Lon'qu then punched another bench, breaking it in half as well. He gripped his bleeding hand and took a handkerchief, wiping all the blood off of his hand. "The one woman… The one woman that made you comfortable to be around ever since Kay'ri passed, and now you've gone and pushed her away. In her time of need, when she needed a shoulder to cry on, a set of ears to vent, someone that can tell her that everything will be okay… and you pushed her away, forcing her to dwell on her emotions… you damned idiot." In that moment, a look of realization came across his face along with a small blush. "N-no… this feeling… I haven't felt it in a long time…" Lon'qu sat down on the bench, planting his face in his hand and groaning softly at the pain in his hand. Lon'qu realized, that he hates himself more now, due to letting Lissa down, like how he let Kay'ri down. This self-hate made Lon'qu realize his feelings for the young cleric. "I can't let her escape me… I must tell her how I feel about her, before something happens to her. I don't want a repeat like with Kay'ri… I must… no I will tell her how I feel about her." Lon'qu stood up, a determined look on his face. "I will protect her, no matter what. Even if it means sacrificing my life to protect her from archers. I will protect this woman. The woman… that I love…" Lon'qu then walked out of the Colosseum, to try to find Lissa and apologize for his foolish fear and give her the comfort that she needs.