A/N: Sup peeps! So I've been working on this for at least six months now. I started it in like February-ish and basically forgot about it lol. Well, I shouldn't say that. I've just had other priorities to attend to. But the point is I just got around to finishing it up. I've had this idea ever since I wrote With Age Comes Wisdom, and then one day I got a PM from somebody that said "Hey, you should write another ShinonxTitania fic. I like that stuff" (or something like that) and I was like "Hey, I've actually got an idea for one". And thus, I began working on this story. So yeah, that's all I've got to say this time. CHAPTER 17 OF ToR IS WELL ON IT'S WAY! Mmmkay, that's everything. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. All characters belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.

Titania sighed quietly to herself when she had finally put the horses away for the night. Her white mare nickered and nipped gently at her long braid of red hair, wanting a bit more attention before she was left alone. The deputy commander gave a small, forced laugh, a smile only gracing her lips for a second. "Goodnight, Majesty," she said, trying to be stern with the animal. "I'll be back in the morning. You can count on that." Titania exhaled deeply once more. This was what her life had been reduced to as of late. Talking to her horse just to have someone to listen to her. She suddenly found herself wishing that Mist was just a little bit older, then perhaps she could vent her problems to her. Then again, no matter how old Mist was, the older woman would never want her to have to deal with something like this. Knowing that she had to retire before too long, Titania gave her horse one last pat on the nose and slowly made her way back from the stables to the fort.

Upon entering into the mess hall, she noticed the small form of Soren still sitting at the table, reading a magic tome of some sort. She knew that he had noticed her presence in the room, but it wasn't until she said something that he gave her his undivided attention. Had anyone else, save for Ike, engaged him in conversation, he probably would've just ignored them; that was how his personality worked. "Late night studying?" she asked, desperate for some human interaction. Well, as human as you could get with Soren.

"It's not so much studying as it is perfecting," came the reply. Soren was a perfectionist, everyone knew, but Titania still wished he wouldn't push himself so hard and just get some sleep for once. "Let me guess, you're here to play the role of mother and send me off to bed?"

Titania couldn't help but smile a little, though his comment was probably meant to be derisive. "No, nothing like that. I was just passing through on the way to my room. I'll see you in the morning, Soren." Titania turned to leave, but the mage suddenly called out to her.

"Titania, what happened to your eye?" he asked, though he didn't really sound curious at all. "I'm almost positive it didn't look like that earlier today."

Titania's face fell, her hand slowly making its way up to her face. In truth, she had almost completely forgotten about the black eye given to her just a few hours ago. She touched the area beneath her left eye, and all the pain came flooding back to her. Wincing, she pulled her hand away quickly. "I just...ran into some equipment in the stables. I'll be alright," she lied. She couldn't tell anyone how it really happened. It simply wasn't an option.

Soren eyed her suspiciously for a moment. "I don't believe you," he said coldly. "But you probably don't want to hear what I have to say about the matter." He stood up from the table then and began to leave the room. "Goodnight, Deputy Commander."

Actually, Titania did want to hear what was on his mind. What did he think was going on? She knew that he was the most perceptive out of all the mercenaries, but she honestly didn't think he would pick up on anything. If he knew, did they all know? Getting flustered, she quickly left the mess hall and went to her bedroom.

Locking the door, she stripped off her armor, followed by her outer clothes and finally her undergarments. She stood there naked, looking into her full length mirror. The black eye wasn't the only mar on her toned complexion. There were bruises all along her arms, going all the way up to her chest where they finally met her neck. Her legs felt like they were broken; she could almost collapse right where she stood. She stared at her sad green eyes in the mirror, wanting nothing more than to cry to her heart's content. And she did just that, watching helplessly as the tears slid down her ruddy cheeks. She didn't ask for any of this. She wasn't sure what she did to deserve it. But it happened, and there was no way to undo it. There was no way to control what he did while he was drunk.

Titania shook her head violently at the thought. Of course, it came as a shock to everyone in the mercenary group when she announced her courtship with Shinon. She just didn't seem like the kind of woman who could ever love someone like him. It all happened in one night, really. All of a sudden, they were attracted to each other. Titania wouldn't change a thing about what happened that night. She recalls it as being a fond memory, no matter how much things have changed. More importantly, she remembered how he had resolved to stop drinking his life away that night. Titania made a promise that she would always be there to catch him when he faltered. No matter what the circumstances were, she would help him become sober. But there were some nights when her methods of persuasion didn't work. There were some nights when the marksman drank himself into a stupor and couldn't remember what she had promised. Those nights were the hardest.

"Titania! Get yer sorry ass over here right now!" Shinon bellowed, calling to the deputy commander from her position in the stables. "I didn't say you could leave just yet!"

Titania stood her ground firmly, trying to show him that she was dominant in the situation. "Put the bottle down, Shinon," she warned, a stern expression on her face. "You've had far too much." She couldn't help but falter a bit in her tone. She knew what he was capable of while drunk. "Just drop the bottle and go back inside, alright?"

Shinon's face took on an enraged look, and he began stumbling toward the woman at a much faster pace than before. Titania took a timid step back out of habit. "What did ya just tell me? Huh, woman?" he slurred, getting closer and closer to the distressed paladin.

"Shinon, please, just stop," Titania was begging now, hoping he would have a sudden change of heart. "You're not you when you're like this. So please, just put the bottle down and come here." She held out her arms for him, but was rewarded with a slap across the face. The aftershock of the contact hurt much more than the initial hit. Titania could only stare at him, knowing already that she had lost this battle. But she couldn't give up that easily. If he wasn't willing to give her the bottle, she would have to take it by force. Desperately, she reached out and tried to wrestle the bottle from his hands. Unfortunately, Shinon's grip was also much stronger when he was intoxicated. They played tug-of-war for a moment, but then Titania's hands slipped. Shinon, now realizing he had full control over the situation, wasted no time in bludgeoning her eye with the almost empty bottle, causing her to fall to her knees in defeat.

"Let that be a lesson for ya, woman. Don't ya ever tell me what to do ever again, ya hear?" He gave her one last kick to the gut, then began to walk back to the fort, nearly falling over a few times in the process. Titania didn't look at him as he walked away; she kept her eyes locked firmly on the ground, watching the small pool of her blood increase in size with each tear that left her eye.

Titania knew that in the morning, Shinon wouldn't have any recollection of what he did. He never seemed to remember the instances in which he went berserk. And whenever Titania mentioned the things he did, he would profess a heartfelt apology and promise to never let them happen again. She wanted to believe him when he said that, but his later actions always prevented her from doing so. She allowed herself one last look at her abused body. Despite what everyone said about her being so strong on the battlefield, she was still a woman. A woman with emotions who cries when she is hurt.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on her door. She quickly dressed herself, wiped her eyes and took some deep breaths, desperately trying to hide the fact that she'd been crying. Once she was sure she looked presentable, she opened the door, revealing Ike on the other side. "Commander," she said softly. "Please, come in."

Ike nodded, then walked in slowly. Titania noticed that he looked much more dour than usual, but didn't say anything. "Evening, Titania," Ike greeted once he was inside. Titania closed the door gently behind him. "If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with you about something."

"Of course, anything," Titania agreed, taking a seat on her bed.

"Soren told me that he's concerned about you. I only want to know why he feels that way," Ike explained as if it were the simplest matter in the world.

Titania's breath hitched a bit in her throat. "He's concerned about me?" That was that, then. The persnickety little mage knew what was going on.

Ike sighed. "Yes. And I'm sure the rest of us would also like to know why bruises have been popping up all over you lately." Titania's gaze trailed down to the floor. "Not to mention that eye of yours."

"Why don't you just tell everyone then and make short work of me?" Titania suggested bitterly, instantly regretting it as soon as it came out of her mouth. "Ike, I-"

"Titania," Ike interrupted her. "Tell me, what's going on with you?"

"It's not his fault," Titania said softly, beginning to cry once more. "He doesn't know what he's doing." She buried her face in her hands. "It's not his fault."

Ike's hand found her shoulder and he patted it gently. "You may think that, Titania, but he still chooses to drink." He paused for a moment. "If he can't get his act together, then I've got no other choice but to let him go."

Titania looked up at her commander, shocked. "What?"

"Look, Titania. I can't stand to see you like this anymore. None of us can. Not to mention it's a horrible example for Mist and Rolf to be around this kind of thing all the time," Ike told her.

"But you can't make him leave!" Titania begged. "Please, Ike. I...I love him."

Ike looked her firmly in the eyes. "Then I suggest you do something about his behavior. If I see you battered up one more time, I will not hesitate to relieve Shinon of his service to the company."

Titania wiped her eye before another tear fell. "Yes, I promise. I'll straighten him out once and for all." Ike nodded, then without another word, left Titania to her own thoughts. "Shinon," she whispered to herself. "I know this won't be easy for you. But it's our last chance."

In the morning, Titania woke up with a painful feeling in her chest. Today she would have to talk to Shinon for what seemed like the millionth time about his drinking. In her heart, she believed he had the potential to change. But her mind kept telling her that it would be a wasted effort. Why would this time be any different than the others?

Gathering up all her courage, she went to Shinon's room and knocked quietly on his door. In all honesty, she was expecting him to have a severe hangover and to just have to go in without his approval like usual, but he surprised her when he opened the door. Miraculously, it looked like last night's escapades had no effect on him at all. "Titania?" he said, surprised that she was standing at his door so early in the morning. "Are you okay?"

Titania nodded, then let herself in. "I'm fine." She didn't get more than three steps into his room when he grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him.

"Babe, what happened to your eye?" he asked, then began looking around for some rubbing alcohol. "You had to have had a pretty bad accident to get a shiner like that." He retrieved the alcohol and a small cloth from a drawer and set to work gently dabbing it onto Titania's swollen, bruised eye. When Titania said nothing and he felt hot tears against his hand, he finally came to the grim realization. "I did this, didn't I?" Titania merely looked up at him sadly and nodded her head. She noticed his eyes beginning to water, and quickly wrapped her arms around him. "Why?" he asked, his voice trembling. "Why am I such a monster?"

"Shinon, listen to me." Titania pulled away from him and grabbed his face in her hands. "You are no monster. You have to believe that."

Shinon let out a choked sob. "I can't live with myself any longer, knowing that I hurt you so much. I'm sorry...I'm so sorry."

Titania hugged him again. "We can get through this, Shinon," she reassured. "I know we can. I'll do anything and everything in my power to help you." Shinon looked at her through sad, drooping eyes, but found it in himself to smile a little. "But," she continued. "You have to really try this time. You can't keep relapsing into your old ways."

Shinon pulled her in for a kiss, and she was relieved the taste of alcohol didn't linger on his tongue. "I promise, Titania. This time will be different, I swear to the goddess. I'd rather die than hurt you again."

Titania admitted that she was more swayed by his apology this time than the times before. He spoke with much more fervor and his words seemed to hold more meaning. She could only hope and pray to the goddess that this time really would be different. But there was one thing she was absolutely certain of: Shinon needed her to carry on. And she also needed him. They were alike in that way, dependent on each other for most things. But even more than that, they would do anything to keep their relationship strong.

A/N: ...You have no idea how much I wanted to turn this into a tragedy. I just...GAHHH! I hate how I ended this! It just doesn't seem right to me! Ah well...lol. I hope you guys liked it anyway! :)