Chapter 1) The Thief and the Healer

Men and dragon used to live in peace. A peace forged in wisdom, that lasted many generations. But that's all gone, now. Humans suddenly declared war on the dragons, after the dragons slaughtered an entire human town, right down to the child.

It's been almost seven years since then, and there's no end to the Great War in sight. Countries have dissolved, every city for itself. The Church disappeared, scattered and gone, devoured by the war. Everywhere you turn, there is someone mourning, and someone dying.

They say humans are winning the war. But if this is winning, I'm not so sure if the end is going to be worth it.

"Hilda!" Not listening. "Hilda!" Still not listening. "Hilda, I know you can hear me!" Nope, I couldn't~ "Hildegard!"

"Don't call me that, Ely!" The retort was instant, as was my whirl and glare. Ely, somehow my best friend, was smirking smugly at me. "Ugh, why are you following me?" I complained, crossing my arms. The bustling market made my fingers twitch in anticipation. "You hate being in the market."

"I hate the wandering hands some of the shoppers have," she corrected instantly. I sighed at the reminder. Ely was beautiful, probably the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Long wavy blond hair, and kind blue eyes, with a gentle smile as her default expression. Today, she had a white dress Maron made for her, which just added to how ethereal she looked. "But I hate you stealing more." Ugh, not this lecture again!

"Ely, how do you expect the kids to eat?" She winced and her head drooped. Thanks to the Great War, food was scarce, even more so for orphans no one cared about. Honestly, they had been scavenging through garbage before Mika managed to fast-talk some people into giving us an abandoned farmhouse just outside the city. And there were more orphans every day, thanks to Sheryl actively making patrols to find them here. "I'd rather they not go back to starving."

"But the garden has been doing nicely." Yeah, it had. Surprisingly so, actually, considering none of us knew what we were doing.

Still. "It'll be a bit before that garden yields enough to feed everyone." She sighed heavily. "And some of that garden is medicinal herbs to help your staff-healing."

"I know that." She sighed a third time. I needed to keep a running count, one of these days. "I dislike that you have to break the law to protect us, though." The only reason there were laws still was because some fat pigs managed to hold on to a bit of coin and threw their girths about as if they were something important because of it. I didn't feel a shred of guilt breaking them. "And I really dislike how much danger you were in." Okay, now that I had to concede on. Stealing was a dangerous business when everyone was up in arms, ready for a fight to break out.

But, well… thieving was the only thing I could do. I couldn't really spin a tale like Alice, or make them toys like Martin. And, honestly, thieving was the only way we could make ends meet for now. No one paid enough. "Hey, I haven't gotten injured in a long while." She shuddered at the memory of the last one. I still bore the scars from the four arrows that had thudded into my back. I had, thankfully, passed out while Ely had removed them, and they hadn't been in any crucial-crucial spot. "So, come now. Give me a smile!"

"You're ridiculous, Hilda." But she smiled, just like I hoped. "Oh, is that thunder?" Mmm, yeah, there was rumbling, but there wasn't a cloud in the-

"DRAGONS!" I froze at someone's desperate shriek. "DRAGONS! GET TO THE SHELTERS!" Automatically, I snagged Ely's hand and pushed our way through the stampeding crowd. I focused on going forward; I knew she was checking to make sure no one was trampled. Again. "HURRY! HURRY!"

Some people grabbed our arms and tugged us inside one of the shelters as we almost passed, missing the entrance entirely because of the panicking crowd. Ely and I nodded our thanks to them, and pushed ourselves deeper into the overcrowded shelter, making sure we were behind the wards that made this place safe, even from a dragon's breath. A couple more people squeezed in, and it was hard to breath because of the lack of space and the fear crushing the air.

And everything froze, again, at the first dragon. Red-orange scales, flickering like fire. A wingspan that easily engulfed the city. Sharp, hard eyes that flicked over the emptying market. Gold claws the size of a person. It swooped down, cracking the ground with its landing, blood trickling out from under its claws because of the people its crushed. It turned its head slowly, eyeing everything closely, before lifting off again, the wind from its wings toppling buildings and homes.

When it left, even the air waited in anticipation. Waiting to see if it would return. Waiting to see if more came. Unconsciously, I pried out my hand from the crush and gripped my pendant tightly. A protection charm, Mom had called it. Some jewel a dragon had given her in the past, which burned away the bad luck. I wasn't so sure if it worked, but it was comforting to think that she was keeping an eye on me.

Eventually, though, it became clear that the dragon had been alone, and wasn't going to return. A scout? A dragon that was flying far and decided our town made a convenient place to take a breather? I suppose it didn't matter. There was blood in the marketplace again, people screaming over the mangled, barely recognizable corpses. There were shopkeepers who lost their livelihoods, again, and had to shift through the rubble for anything to salvage. There were people who lost their homes, again, and would have to stay with friends or risk their lives on the cutthroat streets.

"Do you remember, Hilda?" Ely whispered. The crowd washed over us, and I felt like she and I were the only 'real' things in a dream. Everything was out of focus. "Do you remember that day?"

"It's hard to forget that day, Ely," I murmured. The sight of dragons causing terror instead of awe and glee was a relatively new feeling, but it was impossible to forget the first time. "We lost practically everything." The dragons slaughtered our home, reduced it to rubble. Some of us had been outside, doing chores in the fields or by the riverside. Ely and I, in fact, had been out collecting herbs for her mother, the town's apothecary. We had laughed, cheered, and waved at the dragons when we saw them. And then we had seen the smoke, heard the screams. We ran back home as fast as we could, but only a twisted ruin of charred corpses and gutted buildings had greeted us. The dragons we had been so happy to see… they had killed everyone.

"Seven years…" Seven years since the dragons attacked. Seven years since our town's destruction suddenly became a rallying cry for the continent. Seven years since humans declared war and attacked the dragons. Seven years since the Great War began. "It'll end someday, though. We must have faith."

"Every time you say that, I feel like punching something." She smiled sadly, and I shook my head. "Come on. I'll walk you home." Now wasn't a good time to go on a stealing spree, and I was worried about everyone. "Let's go."

"Okay."

I loved how everyone took pains to guard everything but the top windows of the house. Seriously, people, you had roofs. It wasn't that hard to climb.

Shaking my head, I slipped into the house of the 'mayor', some guy who had a lot of money, so he claimed he owned the city. And nearly killed everyone with the taxes he levied to support his lifestyle. His 'very glamorous', and very tacky lifestyle. I grimaced when I noticed the half-eaten, rotting food in the compost pile. Freaking hell, what a glutton. How much did he steal to buy all this? And then he went and wasted it.

Doing my best to emulate the light footsteps of a cat, I crept through the house, keeping to the shadows. I ducked into an alcove as a maid passed, and my eyes narrowed when I saw the bruises her dress didn't quite hide. I took stock of her coloring and face, and resolved to have Sheryl hunt her down and get some of this money I was stealing to her family. I tried to do that with the servants anyway of the houses I stole from, but I would make the extra effort for the battered girl.

After she passed, I slipped out and made my way to the 'treasury'. While there were tacky and obnoxious pieces, I focused on gold and jewels. They were much easier to sell, and more difficult to track. I didn't want to cause trouble for the shopkeepers, and the mayor was enough of an ass to ruin their lives completely and utterly just for buying the wrong thing. Besides, they were much easier to hide in my packs.

"Who's there?!" Oh, my, it looked like the semi-competent guards were on duty today. Mayor must have switched them in after the dragon landing earlier. "Hands up!" Only two of them for now. "Drop your packs!" This would be quick.

"Yeah, right," I scoffed. Well, I did drop the packs, but that was because I didn't want the clinking to give me away. "Say goodnight, little guards~" And let the battle begin.

Of course, they might be guards, with proper lances, but I had my daggers, and I was much better at throwing than they were at thrusting. Case in point? My first throw caught one in the leg. They were lightly armored, after all. Because it wasn't like Mayor was going to waste money getting them good equipment.

"Not this time!" one snarled, slashing the air. It scored a lucky hit on my side, and I winced at the pain. I wasn't armored at all, so that bit deeper than I would have liked. "You'll pay for your crimes today!"

"Not until your fat pig of an employer does," I growled. I feinted a kick to the right, and switched it up to axe-kick his shoulder. I felt it break under my foot and whirled, slamming a punch into his nose before knocking him to the ground with another kick. He gasped and pain and writhed, and I turned to his fellow, the one who still had a dagger in his leg. He still tried to lunge, but I rolled over him, and pinned him down. I slammed a dagger into his hand, keeping him from moving, and then got off and picked up my packs, pulling out a bandage to tie on my side.

Then, after checking that they were still breathing, I knocked over a statue outside of the treasury to make sure someone would come investigate, snickering as the statue shattered. Served him right.

I waited until I heard footsteps and then ran the other way, stuffing cloth in the packs to minimize the clinking sound. Ely was going to be mad at my injury, especially since I had bragged earlier about not getting hurt, but there was enough here to keep us going for at least a month.

Heeheehee~ What a good day. Now…

Footsteps caught my attention. Footsteps that were coming for me, in a deserted hallway away from the treasury. I whirled at the sound, knives out and ready to bite. It was a good thing, considering the two men who approached were also ready to fight. Both had swords. My eyes flicked over them. One, with blue hair and eyes, was short and sturdy, with a good-natured smile on his face, more 'cute' than 'handsome'. The other one was larger, just as sturdy, with long blonde hair and amber eyes. Both were only lightly armored, but something told me a hit from either of them would put me down for the count. Particularly if it came from the blonde's sword. While the blue-haired guy had a normal sword, the blonde… not so much. It looked normal on the surface, but a lifetime with Ely made me a bit sensitive to magic and that sword was magic.

"You know; I didn't expect the thief that has the whole city up in arms to be a really pretty girl." The blue-haired man actually seemed amused. "Don't you agree?" he asked, nudging his friend. Despite the cheer, he never relaxed. Neither did I. "Pretty and skilled."

"You can flirt later, when she's in prison," the blonde-haired man deadpanned. My eyes flicked around, looking for an escape route. I also noted they two had their coin-pouches in an obvious spot: their left pockets. Hmm… "Miss, you're under arrest."

"Oh, I am so sorry, dear gentlemen," I replied sweetly, smiling wide. Okay, I had an escape route set, and if this worked out like I wanted… "But I'm in the mood for a game of tag." I feinted to the left, and then to the right. Blue-haired fell for the first. Blonde-haired fell for the second. I used their confusion to leapfrog over their heads, knocking them to the ground, and snagged their coin-purses before climbing up and out the window and onto the roof. From there, I walked the roofs, careful to not make too much noise.

Well, that was an unexpected bonus, but I would definitely have to lie low for a while. But the biggest question I had was… who the hell were those two? I knew all the guards in the city, and they were strangers.

"I'm back, everyone!" I called as I walked in. Instantly, I was swarmed by children, all laughing and giggling, clawing for my bags. "Hey, hey, hey! Let me set everything down." Two children hung back, eyeing me warily. Sheryl must've found them hiding in the inn's stables again. I swear; she took that job just to make it easier to find people. "I'm home!"

"Welcome back, Hilda!" Alice came to greet me, wiping her hands clean on her apron as she came out. "Sheryl is in the middle of cleaning the kitchens, and I'm not letting her out until she's done," she told me with a smile. I snickered. Alice was very keen on the idea of 'cleaning up your own messes', and while Sheryl was an amazing cook, she was also a messy one. "Are you okay?"

"I did take an injury, but it's not bad."

She sighed, shaking her head. But she smiled when I tugged out a ball and threw it to the kids for them to play. "Well, at least they're happy." She laughed a little as the kids easily dragged the two new ones into the game. "Elimine is going to be mad, though."

"She still here?"

"Yes, but she is tending to one of the children's injuries." I nodded, accepting that. "Maron said she would be late today. One of the rich ladies in the city put in an emergency commission." I gave her a skeptical look, but Alice smiled. "Her sister is getting married, and she's paying extra because it was so last minute." Oh. Well, then. Things would probably be okay for longer than a month, then. "Martin is teaching Emma and Lori something in the forge." She made a face and I laughed. Martin and Alice's twin girls loved watching their dad turn hunks of metal into weapons and works of art. "Vash and Kim are with them." Like usual. Mika's nephew and Sheyrl's niece loved spending time with Emma and Lori.

"And Mika?"

"Mika just got off work," Mika answered for himself, stepping out of the house. He was toweling his hair dry, telling me he'd taken a quick shower after getting home. "So, am I going to have to give you a false alibi again, Hilda?" He groaned when I grinned. "Damn it, Hilda. The guys at work already suspect something!"

"I told you that there would be trouble if you joined the city guard," I retorted easily. "I was a thief first."

"I took the job so that you didn't have to be a thief." Of course, at the time, none of us had really realized just how many orphans there were just in this one city. Even though everyone but me had honest livings, I still had to steal to make ends meet. And we were only getting more every day.

"Dears, dears, let's stop fighting," Alice gently chided. Both of us rolled our eyes and she laughed. "I'll need your help getting everyone cleaned up for dinner."

"And it looks like I have to deal with some scrapes," Ely laughed, stepping out of the house with her staff. "Welcome back, Hilda." She smiled, coming to stand next to me and Mika. It faded when she saw my side. "You got injuried."

"Yeah, he switched the guards," I replied. Mika and Alice sighed. "Hey, he didn't the last time dragons flew overheard." But the reminder of the switch also reminded me of those strange two guys. "Also, he might have news ones? I don't know, but I ran into two strangers. Stole their coinpurses, but I'll have to hide out here for a bit." I shrugged as they groaned, and pointed to the laughing children. "Hey, they're happy. That's a pretty big deal, considering they only have a bunch of young adults who don't know what they're doing taking care of them."

"I wish there was a church that could take care of everyone." Yeah, the church we had before kind of fell apart when the war started. You sometimes had people swear by the old curses, but a lot of people just gave up on the idea of gods and prayer. It was hard to believe in a church that abandoned you, after all. "I wish there was also a place that trained healers." Healers were rare, because no one knew how to use staves.

"Well, maybe you should make one." I grinned teasingly. "A church of your own, with clerics, priests, and bishops who all know how to heal."

"I'm being serious!" She scowled and I laughed. "Oh, whatever. Tell me about the two you encountered so that I know to widen my eyes all innocent when I'm questioned."

"Love you too, Ely."

"You better." Still, she laughed, and took my hand to drag me inside while Alice and Mika went to round up the kids. "I need help chopping up the veggies for a salad to go with whatever masterpiece Sheryl made today. We want to make sure they all grow up big and strong." I was honestly just hoping they grew up. Period.

I remembered the dragons, after all, and whenever dragons showed up, there was always destruction to follow. No exceptions.

Impressions on Elimine:

Ely has insisted I start keeping a journal and writing down what I think, so I'm going to at least try for her sake. Sort of. I'll just be writing little things about the people I meet and know, I think. Easier.

· Anyway, Ely's real name is Elimine, but that's a mouthful, so I just call her Ely.

· She learned how to heal through trial and error, more trial and less error. She has a natural gift for it.

· She's pretty big on 'having faith', and detests Elder Magic users for how focused on logic and pragmatism many seem to be.

Author's Notes: Welcome to A Thief's Legacy, a story of the Scouring. I'll be using what bits of canon there are, but since it's basically a giant blank spot, even for the personality of the heroes, I'll be filling in the gaps as needed. Meet Hildegard, nicknamed Hilda, a thief who steals to feed the orphans she and her friends take care of. She learned her trade through trial and error, so she has a few warrants for her arrest. And, keep in mind, since she's living the war, there are many, many things she does not yet know about the conflict later called the Scouring. We also get Elimine, who later wields the Saint's Staff and Aureola, and later finds the St. Elimine Church that is prevalent in FE6 and FE7. I am using a bit of the Fire Emblem Fates weapon triangle here, with Hilda wielding 'hidden weapons' (which were in the same 'block' of the triangle as lances). (Does this mean she's a ninja~? xD)

Yes, there are planned pairings for this fic. If you are curious, please feel free to message me. I'm just not going to announce it.

Next Chapter – Heroes and Nomads