Man, I can't seem to catch a break.

Joshua sighed as he contemplated the situation he was in. Having received a contract from the Grado Empire, he figured it would be an easy way to get some money, since he had recently lost some at the local arena. What he didn't count on was having to be hired to kill a cleric, and a downright gorgeous one at that. She had been trying to tell him something about the Emperor of Grado, but he had been too distracted by her beauty to care about what she was saying. Of course, that was before he got the contract, and now that she was before him once again, he really felt conflicted about the whole situation.

"You…you're that man I met…Are you here to capture me? You've been hired to silence me haven't you…"

With her golden blonde hair and sapphire eyes, Joshua was almost convinced there was some divine power at work to have met her in a small town like Serafew.

"Yeah, Grado's paying the bill. They want you dead, you know? But don't feel bad, it's not personal," Joshua shrugged, feeling drawn in by the depth in her gaze.

"Wait, please…It doesn't matter what happens to me, but you must hear my words," the cleric pleaded, her desperation clear on her face. "The emperor of Grado has changed. He is not the man he once was. The other nations must be warned before he extinguishes all light from our lands."

"Hey, no offense, but I'm just a mercenary," Joshua replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I don't care about Grado or its emperor. Everything you say may be true, or it may be lies. I don't care either way."

"But that's…" seeing the despair starting to settle on her face helped Joshua make up his mind.

"Even so…killing a beautiful lady like you would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Tell me, do you like to gamble?"

"What?!" The look of shock she showed would have been hilarious if the situation hadn't been so serious.

"Gambling's what I live for," Joshua explained, a grin spreading across his face. "Even when I lose, I never want to stop. Let's have us a little wager. If you win, I'll believe you. Heads or tails, you call it."

"You can't…this is no time for games…" Joshua thought she looked adorable with that flustered expression on her face.

"Would you rather I get on with the job I was hired for?" Joshua hefted the killing edge he was carrying for good measure.

The cleric hesitated, a note of panic entering her voice. "…Um, heads…No! Tails!"

"All right, so I'm heads, and you're tails. Here we go," Joshua declared, pulling out his favorite coin and flipping it in his free hand, catching it before she could see the result.

"…Which…which is it?" she asked nervously, glancing at his closed fist.

Even though he knew what it was, Joshua mocked surprise as he opened his hand. "What do you know?! It's tails, you win. Figures, I haven't won anything all day. Well, Lady Luck has spoken. Guess I'm on your side now."

"Are you serious?" It appeared as though disbelief and relief were fighting for dominion on the cleric's face.

"Yeah. Sure, I might cheat, but I never worm out of a bet. It's a rule of mine," Joshua promised, putting his favorite coin back in his pocket.

"Oh, thank you heaven! Thank you, blessed light, for your protection!" Her joy made her positively radiant, confirming for Joshua that his choice was worth it.

"I got nothing against heaven, but I'm right here if you want someone to thank," Joshua teased, finding her jubilation to be infectious. "I'm Joshua, by the way. What's your name, gorgeous?"

"N-Natasha…" she replied, a small blush crossing her face.

"Well, get behind me then Natasha," Joshua said, turning towards some Grado soldiers heading their way. "I've got to take care of these fools."

Hey everyone Paragon here, and boy has it been a long time. Between school and work, I'm amazed I get enough sleep to function properly. I haven't had many opportunities to work on my writing, but I'm not planning on stopping anytime soon. I figured I post a little something to end the drought of content, and this is another fire emblem fanfic, featuring one of my favorite pairings in sacred stones, joshua and natasha. I plan on filling in multiple chapters to show how their relationship blossoms during the game, at least the way I see it. As always, reviews are welcome, and I will keep trying to post more chapters here and for my other stories as soon as I can.