Disclaimer: Fire Emblem series is copyrighted by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo.
Title: Your Guardian Angel
Chapter 01: Unexpected Turn of Events
It was four years after the end of the battle with Ashera, where she and Yune went to rest with Lehran in the Serenes Forest, watching over Tellius. Peace was generally all-around, with a few small disputes and outbreaks of rebellions, but nothing that will cause a national strife. In the kingdom of Crimea, Queen Elincia gained a stronger rule over her people with her Crimean Royal Knights patrolling the castle and cities as well as mercenaries for the farther towns.
On a particular sunny day, Marcia was on patrol duty over the Crimean skies during the early afternoon. The skies were clear with few clouds overhead in Ohma, where Nephenee and Brom lived with their families. The Pegasus Royal Knight flew around the skies, basking in the sun when she glanced below to see that the town she was patrolling was the home of two of her old friends from the war days. Guiding her winged horse downwards, Marcia suddenly felt a dizzying spell beginning and gripped the reins tighter. As an experienced Pegasus rider, she knew the altitudes that was safe for landing and where she was in midair was definitely not safe. Marcia could only hope she could trust her Pegasus to land as she started to lose consciousness.
Down below, Nephenee was harvesting corn on her family's plots when she noticed something was coming down. Though she was a country girl, being in the army gave her enough experience to know that it was a Pegasus that seemed to be attempting to land. Pulling the last straws of corn, the young girl walked towards where she believed the Pegasus was to land. As Nephenee got closer, she saw the rider and immediately recognized her to be the Crimean Royal Knight Marcia, and one of her old friends from the war four years ago.
Nephenee cupped her hands together and called out, "Marcia! What are ya doin' here?"
When Marcia did not respond while her horse was landing, she was afraid something was amiss. The young country girl ran quickly to where the winged horse was standing. As Nephenee approached closer, she noticed that Marcia had fainted on her horse. Her face was flushed visibly, leaning weakly against the neck of the Pegasus and her hands gripping the reins.
Nephenee started to reach for her friend when the Pegasus started to back away from her out of fright and then neighed loudly. Startled by the sudden movement, Nephenee nearly fell on her behind but quickly regained her balance. Thinking of what she should do to let Marcia's horse know that she wasn't going to harm it, her hand reached for the neck and started to stroke its silky, white mane.
Gradually with each petting, the Pegasus started to calm down and allowed Nephenee to get Marcia down. Nephenee reached toward Marcia and wrapped her arms around, pulling the pink-haired girl with her gently to the ground. Sighing in relief, she peered around for any passersby who might be able to help her. Fortunately for her, Brom was passing by with a basket of apples.
"Heya, Brom! Little help here?!" Nephenee called out to her fellow country friend.
Brom turned toward her friend and immediately saw a fainted girl by her side. He ran as fast as his body could while balancing the apples. When he arrived, he was panting with his hands resting on his thighs and the basket on the floor in front of him.
"Is that Marcia I see?"
Nephenee nodded. "Ya, she just fainted and I just got her horse to settle down."
"What are ya goin' to do now, Neph'?"
"Aw man, I'm not sure. I know I gotta tell those Royal Knights about this for sure."
As the two discussed what to do with Marcia and how to contact the Royal Knights, an arrow flew in and landed in front of Nephenee. Scanning the area quickly, Brom and Nephenee noticed a group of bandits approaching their way from the northeast direction.
"This isn't lookin' good at all, Neph'," sighed Brom.
"You take Marcia to your place, Brom and I'll deal with them!" Nephenee replied. As soon as those words came out of her mouth, Nephenee ran quickly to her place and changed into her armor. Grabbing her spear, she stepped out and intercepted the group of bandits outside the village. Her armor and spear glimmered in the sun dangerously as she stood defiantly at the gate of her home.
"Hold it right there, fellas. What business you have here?" Nephenee demanded.
One of the gruff-looking bandits stepped up, possibly the ringleader of this group, holding his axe behind him. "Step aside, lass, we're looking for a Pegasus rider. You hand over the rider and we won't harm no one."
"Sorry but that Pegasus rider is my friend, and you're not welcome here," Nephenee said defiantly without a hint of fear in her voice.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, little lady. You leave us no choice." The bandit turned his head away and toward his group and shouted, "BURN THE PLACE DOWN, BOYS!!! Kill everyone but the Pegasus girl!! We need her alive for the ransom!"
As soon as the command was issued, the whole group of bandits rushed toward Nephenee with their axes raised over their heads and voices booming loudly overhead. Nephenee took a deep breath and readied her spear in front of her when she noticed one of the bandits was too close to properly guard against. Bracing for the impact, she had closed her eyes and then heard a slight whooshing sound passed her. She opened her eyes and blinked surprisingly as she saw the bandit that rushed toward her fall backwards, with a javelin through his body. Nephenee quickly turned around to see her old friend Brom approaching with his armor on and a tall silver lance in his hand.
"Just like old times," he smiles, standing next to Nephenee and his silver lance readied for the impending attack.