Disclaimer: We do not own Fire Emblem or any of its characters (other than the ones we made up of course)
On the Island of Talis, the brave prince of Aritia, Marth, scoped out an empty beach for any signs of life. To his right was the calm blue ocean, and to his left, a forest of tall palm trees. The sun glinted off his silver armor as he wiped his forehead with his arm. The heat was tremendous and wearing all that armor didn't make things any easier.
Marth continued his trek through the sand, but he became aware of a second set of footsteps behind him; small, skittering footsteps. Marth smiled slyly, then turned around quickly. To his surprise, all he saw were his own footprints in the golden sand behind him. The confused lord scratched his head. Then, another noise behind him that sounded like a whisper. Once again, he whipped around, but to his disappointment, still nothing. Finally, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Oh well," he said loudly, pretending to be talking to himself. "I would've liked to meet some new friends and tell stories about my journeys but that's okay. Maybe I'll just go back to Aritia."
"No! No!" He heard the young voices from behind him. This time, when he turned around, he did see something; two young mages. They appeared to be twins and both girls. They had bouncy auburn hair and wore almost identical tunics, only one was white and the other, brown. They looked up at Marth with big, sparkling, green eyes and smiles from ear to ear. "Don't leave Prince Marth!" The one on the right said.
"We've heard soo many stories about you! What are you doing here in Talis?" the one on the left asked. Marth smiled.
"Well actually I thought I'd come here to, uh, who are you?" he asked, changing the subject. He thought it wouldn't be best to tell anyone what his business was, even if they were just young mages.
Not noticing the subject change, the one on the right answered first, "My name is Suki," she said, pointing to herself, "I'm the oldest." Her sister scowled.
"By four minutes!" she argued. Then she looked back up at Marth. "I'm Reiko." Marth nodded.
"I see. Well Suki, Reiko, you wouldn't perhaps know where I could find a village would you?" he asked. The two looked at each other and smiled brightly. They both grabbed his hands and began to drag him along.
"You can come to our village Prince Marth!" Suki said excitedly.
"Yeah! Everyone will want to meet you!" Reiko added with matching enthusiasm. Marth sighed. He loved to meet new people, but this trip was supposed to be purely business.
"Oh well," he thought. "I guess one side trip wouldn't hurt."
Soon Suki and Reiko led Marth into their village. It was filled with small brown huts topped with palm fronds for roofs. As they arrived, people stared at Marth in shock and awe. They stopped whatever they were doing, and emerged from their huts to see the great crusader they had heard so much about. Whispers arose from the gathering crowds that stood on either side of the rough dirt path through the middle of the village.
Suki and Reiko led Marth to a particular hut that appeared larger than the others. An old druid with a long white beard emerged from the hut. He was wearing a hooded cloak that reached down to his feet. Marth recognized that he was a respected leader, and he bowed his head in recognition. The old man smiled.
"Welcome to our village, friend," he said in a raspy, quivering voice. "Come in, if you please." Marth turned and looked back at the crowd that had gathered behind him and smiled, saluting them with two fingers before heading into the hut.
Inside the hut were a small wooden table and two bamboo chairs. There was a candle on the table and some incense which produced a calming aroma. The old man gestured for Marth to sit at one of the chairs. He then slowly lowered himself into the other chair with great effort. Once sitting, he sighed and folded his hands in his lap. He watched Marth to see what he would say, but the prince waited for the old druid to speak first.
"What brings you to the island of Talis, Prince Marth?" he asked without taking his eyes off him. Marth just returned a blank gaze.
"Business," he said simply. The druid nodded.
"Well, I can allow you to stay in my village for three days, but I am afraid no more. Having a man like yourself here may draw attention from Durhua's troops." He explained.
"Thank you for your kindness, but I will only need a night's stay," Marth told him. The druid nodded with a smile.
"I understand. Places to go, I suppose. Well, I will arrange somewhere for you to stay and you can be off in the morning. My name is Meldern and if you need to find me, my living quarters are the next hut over," he told him. "Now, I know just the hut for you to stay in. There is only one resident there and she tends to keep to herself." Marth nodded. With that, Meldern led him back outside where the crowd still waited and talked among themselves.
As the druid led Marth past them, one particular man caught his eye. He seemed to be staring straight back at him. The man gave Marth a bad feeling. Before he had time to give it any more thought, Meldern knocked on a door to a hut a few blocks away from the one they were just in. "This is where Kaori lives," he explained. "She's our village's greatest sniper so you should be safe with her. Not that you wouldn't be able to defend yourself." Marth smiled.
After several moments, the door opened. Another mage stood in the doorway. Ash blonde hair tumbled down her back to her waist while bangs were cut just above two inquisitive, crystal blue eyes that had a sort of childish youth to them against her sun soaked skin. She wore a faded brown sash and belt over a simple white tunic. On her feet were a pair of chestnut, knee-high moccasins. Marth guessed her to be a year younger than he.
A look of surprise crossed her face when she saw Marth. "Greetings Kaori," Meldern spoke. The girl turned her attention to him. "This is Prince Marth of Aritia. He requires a place to stay and I heard you have an extra room?" he inquired. Kaori tried to hide her excitement, but she could tell it showed when she heard Marth chuckle.
"Um, yes! Of course! Sure he can stay," Kaori answered. Meldern nudged Marth forward. "Oh, come in please," Kaori said in a somewhat small voice. He followed her inside where it was actually bigger than he had expected. They first walked into what looked like a meeting room with a large rug in the center. Next to that, he saw an open entrance that he supposed was the kitchen. Kaori led him to a door on the far right that slid open. "This is the guest bedroom," she explained. "You can stay here." Marth looked at her.
"Thank you for your kind hospitality. I hope I can repay you somehow," he said, gratefully. Kaori shook her head.
"Nah, that's not necessary. It's my pleasure," she assured him. Marth smiled at her. She smiled back. "So, Prince Marth of Aritia?" she asked. He nodded. "Cool."
With that, Marth went into the room and looked around. There really wasn't much to see. Windows covered as much of the wall as possible while on the floor laid a large blanket that appeared to be the bed. Well one sleepless night on the ground didn't seem that bad. At least he had good company. Kaori seemed like a nice girl.
That night, as he lay in the bed of Kaori's hut, Marth couldn't help thinking about the man that had been staring at him as he left Meldern's hut. He seemed different from everyone else, and Marth didn't like it.
After about an hour of tossing and turning, Marth got up. He couldn't sleep, for the thought of the man kept coming back into his head. He walked into the kitchen to see if a midnight snack would help him to fall asleep. As he looked around the room for something to eat, he noticed a large sack of flour sitting on the floor. Suddenly, he had an idea. Marth grabbed the sac and dragged it back into his room. He put it on the bed and threw a blanket over it, making it look like a sleeping person. Smiling, Marth left the hut.
A few hours later, the man that had been staring at Marth earlier in the day snuck out of his hut. He jumped from shadow to shadow and quietly made his way to Kaori's hut. He snuck into Marth's room and pulled out a large knife. He stabbed it into the flour sac, which he thought was Marth, and then made an escape back to his hut.
The next morning, Kaori woke up in her room, excited to spend another day with the hero that everyone was talking about. She skipped down the hallway, and knocked on the door of Marth's room. "Are you awake?" she called. There was no answer.
"Well, I should probably wake him so he can get an early start on his way," she thought. Kaori pushed open the door and froze with dread at the sight inside.
After a few moments of shock, Kaori was able to come to her senses, and she rushed screaming out the door of the hut, right into Marth. Kaori backed away from him in confusion. "Wh-What are you doing here?" she stammered.
"Um...I was staying in your hut, I believe," he answered her.
"But-but-but you're dead! I saw it all! The knife! And the you! And the bed! And-and-and-"
"That wasn't me," he said putting his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. He led her back into the room and pulled off the blanket revealing the stabbed flour sac.
"Oh," she said looking down, a little embarrassed that she had gotten so worked up. This was Prince Marth. There was no way some no-named sniper could've taken him so easily.
"It's okay," he said chuckling. "Anyone would've done the same thing. I hope I didn't scare you too badly."
"No, I'm okay," she said smiling. "Just tell me next time you want to use my flour sacs to fake your death."
"Well hopefully there won't be a next time," he said, the smile fading from his face. "I should be going now." He walked out of the hut, leaving her in silence. Kaori dashed into her room and grabbed a rather large cross bow. None to Marth's surprise, she chased after him.
"Wait! Marth! Let me come with you. I can help!" she pleaded, slinging the weapon over her shoulder and harnessing it to her sash. Marth continued to walk.
"You can't come with me. It's too dangerous," he said simply like he had said it a million times before.
"No really! I'm an excellent sniper and I need to get away from this village! I'm sooo bored!" she continued. Marth just sighed and kept up his pace. By now, the village was hidden behind the trees.
"It isn't safe Kaori. You witnessed it first hand. That guy last night tried to kill me! People will try to kill me everywhere, and anyone associated with me. Plus, you've got a fine life here, and you're still very young. You don't want to give that up to come with me. Battle after battle, running from one country to the next, why would you want that?" he asked. Kaori thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Why would you?" she asked, wittily. Marth shook his head.
"It's my duty. I'm the ruler of Artita. I don't have the choice. But you do, and you have to make that choice wisely." he retorted.
"You're right; it is my choice to make. I choose to fight. Listen princy, I know the countries are in jeopardy. There are already several wars among them and soon, I know the rest of them will join those wars. Including Talis. So it's my duty too," she told him. Then, her eyes sparkled with mischievousness. "Besides, this is my choice, and I've made it!" she declared crossing her arms. Marth smiled at her foolishness.
"Is that so?" he asked. "Well then, as much as I would like you to stay here, you give me no choice but to take you with me. But I must warn you, once we leave, you may never come back, and it's a sacrifice you must be willing to make," he said with a certain seriousness to his voice. Kaori nodded again. Marth sighed. "Then you may come with me, foolish girl," he said with a smile. Kaori chuckled and shoved him gently.
"Hey, I'm not the one who uses other people's flour to disguise my own murder!" she teased.
"It worked, didn't it?" he defended himself. She rolled her eyes.
Back in the village, the residents had gathered in the village square and were all murmuring to one another. The question on all of their minds was, where was Prince Marth? They had all been waiting for hours in hopes of catching a glimpse of him. A few of Kaori's friends had let themselves into her hut to look around. Moments later, they emerged and shook their heads. "He's not there," a shaman stated, "Neither is Kaori!" At this, Meldern looked up, knowing exactly what had happened.
"Listen up," he commanded to the villagers. "They've gone now. No need to look for them, I assure you Prince Marth will take good care of our young friend Kaori. Now, back to you're usual business, the fun is over," he ordered. With a few disappointed sighs and moans, the crowd began to disperse and nothing seemed different other than the absence of the village's greatest sniper, Kaori.
Princess Sheeda waited impatiently back at her castle in Talis for Marth to come back from his journey. He had gone to make sure none of the pirates had gotten away after they had been defeated at her city. It had already been two days now, and she couldn't help worrying about him. "Princess, please stop worrying so much. You've been looking out the window all day," Cain, one of the Aritian knights said coming into the room. She didn't answer, and Cain sighed. "Well, lunch is ready if you want to come down," he grumbled, leaving the room. Sheeda rested her head on her hand. Marth would be back for her soon enough.
