Author's Notes at the end

Tharja had her expectations. The Shepherds- led by the Ylissean prince Chrom, seemed much like a ragtag group of idealists set out to secure the peace of the world and all that yackity-yack Tharja most definitely grew bored of hearing. The heat of war, along with the general air of unease bothered her most, especially as they were the reason the sweat stenched smell of unclean underwears would be apparent apparently everywhere.

She hated this war and fighting with a passion. She hated having to stay in this army she never felt she was truly a part of. Tharja could walk out, anytime she wanted- but, she had her expectations.

Tharja had taken an obsessive interest towards the tactician of the Shepherds, and she expected this… feeling to one day escalate to something more interesting.

She watched from her obscure hiding place behind the pile of crates at Robin and felt her heart throb strongly in her chest. A while ago, she was outside, minding her own business when the sound of footsteps arriving alerted her and she scrambled to find a place to hide only to be pleasantly surprised by Robin's appearance. In this little time, she learned that Robin was a pretty good singer and she sang some songs that Tharja could easily recognize and possibly hum to.

"So how fares the tactician at work, today?" the captain's voice suddenly spoke out and Tharja tensed up.

Prince Chrom walked to Robin's side and she gave him a kind smile.

"Just trying to clear some things off of the reading pile. Want some?" She plopped a cookie into her mouth and held the plate up.

Chrom took one and swiped his finger across the frosting to taste it before deciding he liked it and ate the whole thing. Robin watched her captain with warmth in her eyes and they both engaged themselves in a playful conversation.

Soon they were both on their feet, and when the skylight began to dim, he sweeped in, put his hands around her waist and twirled her in mid-air. Robin laughed and she continued playing the belle at the make-believe ball. They were soon absorbed in their own secretive world and each showed a side of themselves quite unknown to many, including Tharja herself.

Tharja had never seen either of them interact with anyone this way, and it took her by quite a surprise. The glorifying prince and the brilliant tactician… a union between them seemed so promising and possible. Tharja glowered in shame, repulsed by her own thoughts and strangely fazed by what was happening in front of her.

Tharja looked down at her chewed fingernails once before going back to giving Chrom the stink-eye. The gall he had! Her eyes darkened quite so suddenly, quite so eerily as it usually did when she felt some form of hatred pulsing. Now she really didn't hate Chrom in particular, but he was definitely working hard to get himself highlighted on her hate list. And by working, she meant that he was wooing Robin into loving him.

She scoffed at the thought. Robin and her were definitely bound by some tie, no one could deny that. Tharja's attention fell on the two again. She was becoming slowly agitated. Hmm, maybe a curse would do the trick…

"Woah," Chrom exclaimed suddenly and steadied to balance himself.

"Chrom?! Are you all right?" Robin grabbed his shoulder to hold him in place.

"Yeah, just felt a cold shiver down my spine." He looked about in confusion. He thought he felt a cold presence lurking in the corner, but he couldn't be too sure.

"Let's head inside and find a place to sit awhile, okay?"

Chrom took her by her offer and they both headed back inside the common room.

Tharja rubbed the bridge of her nose and leaned her head back against the bark of the cedar tree. A cool mid-winter breeze collected itself and blew through the tents. The evening bore on, and collectively all at once the lanterns placed outside on top of every tree stump lit up and Tharja found a quiet consolation in this sight. She twiddled with her thumbs uncharacteristically for a moment before being seized by the strange presence quietly watching her.

"You…" Tharja said while glancing up at the Ylissean thief, Gaius who had a knack for sneaking up on people.

She watched him with wary eyes as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He tilted his head at her. "Me?"

"Yes, you, what do you want?" Tharja questioned rather icily.

"Nothing. Just standing; I was admiring the young couple before you decided you had to shoo them away." Gaius shrugged and continued chewing on his lollipop stick.

Tharja considered sending him away with her one of her hexes, but instead she tiredly stated, "They are not a couple."

"Oh yeah?" he asked before continuing, "Why'd you curse him?"

"Mind your own business," she huffed at him from her sitting position. A leaf from above fell on her kneecap and she busied herself with it.

"Is it the lad you're after? ...Or is it the lady?" Gaius's face contorted into a lopsided grin and she carefully regarded his stupid question. His really stupid question.

His hands went up in the air just then as a gesture to show he just understood the obvious.

"Of course it's Robin you're after. Huh, who knew?" Gaius gave her another shrug before looking through his sack and finding another candy to chew upon. "Maybe you should tell her, you know, just in case you were wondering what to do next."

The dark mage quietly whispered a mantra directed at this oblivious man standing before her. He was definitely bothering her and she needed a guinea pig to practice her hexes upon anyway, so why not on him and why not now?

"Look, I know I'm unbelievably sexy, but you don't have to stare so hard," Gaius informed Tharja who was staring intently at him.

"Do you feel any… different?" she inquired and hoped for a good-enough answer.

"What do you mean?"

Tharja raised her eyebrow and rubbed her cloak. "I cursed you. Just now."

"Well damn that's a bummer 'cause I feel as right as rain. Although now that you do mention it, I do feel a bit weird. Oh, my head is spinning and I can see purple dots everywhere." Gaius got to his knees and began squirming, possibly due to pain, much to Tharja's satisfaction.

She chuckled, and began to laugh when he painfully locked eyes with her and asked, "What did you do?"

"I cursed you into becoming a toad!"

Gaius seemed to suffer under her curse and his groans were quite convincing before Tharja's smile faltered when she realised his actions were purely intentional (as the spell was taking an unbelievably long time to actually transform him) and she glared at him while he made a big show of it.

"Stop," she urged him while he continued his drama and what she first mistook as a cry turned out to be his laugh and he playfully teased her, saying that he'll only stop if she begged him to.

"People are watching… Gaius, stop!" Tharja called out to him in mild panic even though there was no one around. In response, Gaius pretended to not hear her and continued his drama.

"Okay, okay, stop! I know I failed in cursing you, just stop with the teasing!" she held up her hands in resignation and he stopped fooling around and instead switched to openly laughing at her. He should've made her angry just then, but she sensed a sort of innocent playfulness in his actions, and she let out a quiet laugh. Her thoughts turned to Robin and Chrom as she did so.

Tharja's face flushed with realization at the thought of Robin and she began twiddling her thumbs in nervousness again. Gaius stopped laughing and his expression softened when he caught the look on her face.

"You like her, don't you?"

The delicious smell of peas and gravy infused with the fresh scent of pines wafted through the air. It was a casual day at camp- they had no run-in with brigands or enemies of any kind and everyone got a chance to kick back and relax. Tharja tried to distract herself with these unfamiliar feelings before turning to question at hand. Her voice escaped her and eventually she nodded.

Tharja had never admitted to liking Robin to anyone before, and although a few people were aware of her obsession with Robin, no one knew that she actually genuinely had been crushing on her. She felt strange having to admit it to anyone, it made her feel vulnerable but at the same time it felt nice having someone to confide into. It felt almost as if though a knot in her stomach had been untied.

"It's a secret then," he smiled and held out his pinky finger. She didn't take it but instead got up and smiled amusingly. "Don't tell anyone," she told him.

"And if I do, then what? You'll curse me?" he grinned as they both began to walk together towards the dining area.

Tharja couldn't help but smile as she muttered, "Fuck you."

Author's Notes: You earned 24 exp. for making it to the end of the chapter!

You all could probably tell this is the first time I've published a fanfiction online. Anywho, I apologize if the characters seem 'out-of-character' (It's a fanfiction so… it doesn't necessarily have to be perfect?) But! I will appreciate any and all reviews of criticism or praise so if you can take a little time to leave a review, I'll be really thankful! Adios~