A/N: It's been a little while, hasn't it? Sorry about that. Pmmm and school have been distracting me lately. But I'll be more active once school is finally over this Thursday, and I'll do my best to update Burning Golden Petals more frequently.
"Are you sure you'll be okay without me, Owain?"
The boy grinned up at his mother. "Of course! With Missiletainn in my hand, I will vanquish all evil!" Lissa giggled and ruffled Owain's hair playfully, then turned to her husband.
"You'll make sure Owain and his sword hand won't cause any trouble, right?" Lon'qu gave a short nod, "Don't worry, Lissa. We'll still be here and waiting for your return. I can assure you this."
Lissa smiled and gave Lon'qu a peck on his cheek, and readjusted her cloak. "Alright, Lon'qu. I'll remember that." She hopped on her stallion (it had belonged to Frederick before, but they didn't like to bring that up) and grabbed a hold of the reins uneasily."Well, Ylisstol needs me. I'll be back home soon, I promise!" With a last glance at her family, the horse galloped off. Owain waved his sword in the air and shouted farewells into the cold Feroxi air.
Days had passed. The pigtailed princess was still away in her home kingdom, but both Lon'qu and Owain held faith that she would come home. The father and son were sparring, sweat forming on their foreheads despite the chilly air.
"Radiant... DAWN!" The ten year old shouted as loud as he could, barely managing to scratch his father. Still, Lon'qu let out a fake grunt of pain and fell into the snow. Owain laughed triumphantly and tackled the man,"Alas, I have defeated my father, the mighty Feroxi champion! Behold my power!" Lon'qu pushed his son off of him and stood. "Very well. Come, Owain. Let's write to your mother. She must be worried about you by now." Owain jumped enthusiastically and ran only steps ahead of his father.
"Owain, GET DOWN!"
The chorus of bow strings and a loud thud made his heart skip a beat. He turned, and stared in horror at his father, arrows sprouting from the myrimidon's back. His blood stained the once white snow around hima dark pink. Owain clutched his father's hand. Tears threatened to fall. "Father, hold on! I-i'll get you an elixir! Just don't... don't die! Please!"
"Go... Owain." Lon'qu muttered a low groan of pain. "No, dad! I'm not leaving you for dead!"
"Just... go!" Owain stood shakily, the cold nipping at him. He gazed at his father's dying state, and sprinted until he couldn't anymore.
"Dad..."
The twelve year old sat in the battlefield of Feroxi's arena. Flavia had allowed him to take refuge in the fort, but Owain had trudged off to the unoccupied arena to be left to his "what ifs". What if he convinced his mother to stay home instead? What if he had noticed the archers and taken the blow for his father? Each thought made him want to laugh bitterly. He gazed at the tattered walls of the arena with distaste, wondering if anyone bothered to at least fix the place.
Not like anyone really came to the arena anymore, after his uncle's Falchion was the only thing that was brought back to Lucina in one piece and everything went to hell. Fighting was more for survival than entertainment now. He remembered his father shaking his head somberly after Basilio's death. "What ifs are such silly things. Even if they would become apart of your history instead, you can't escape the clutches of an unavoidable fate."
After weeks of waiting for his mother to return,he barely had any hope to still cling to. Perhaps she was taken hostage? Killed? He didn't know what to expect but carnage.
Basilio was rotting in the ground after Walhart's quest of destruction. The cloaked woman- Robin, he recalled, had been lost to her lineage and was beginning to awaken as the entity of destruction. The images of his father lying motionless in the snowbank lurked in his dreams.
The sound of the arena's doors slowly opening jarred him from his thoughts. Flavia stood before him, with his mother's stave wrapped carefully in her bloodstained cloak. Her expression was unreadable, but Owain began to shed tears as he clutched the stave to his chest.
Silently he made an oath to the memory of his father and mother. He would train and become as strong as Basilio himself and cut the fell dragon into pieces. He swore it on his life.
"Hngh?! My sword hand... can't... control!" Owain shouted as he sliced and jabbed at ruffians, cutting them down with ease. The dark haired youth had grown into a strong myrimidon (even though his childlike side of him had shown itself once more), and was startled by a high pitched voice that he recognized. He turned and was greeting by a short blonde war cleric, and a dark haired assassin behind her. The matching golden bands they wore confirmed his assumption.
"Oh, hey! It's you. Thanks for helping-" She was cut off by Owain embracing the both of them, ignoring their mild surprise.
"Mom! Dad!"
He had his parents once more. He made another silent oath to himself: to protect his family with all of his strength.
A/N: Sorry if it seems a bit rushed. I had to finish it in under 45 minutes. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!