Hey everyone! Thanks for stopping by. This is the first story the factory is submitting and I really hope you enjoy it.

Info about this story:

Title: Lehran's manor

Parings: Ike/Soren mainly

FE10

AU (XIX century-ish)

Rating: T, probably

Without, further ado, here it is!

It is said that there is uniqueness in every single being. There will never be two of the same, no matter how similar or how much in common they might have; there will never be someone who shares the same traits as you. It was all a plain lie, of course. No matter how original one may think they are, it had been proven there is always someone who is just like you.

But then again, no one seemed to be like Soren. He was so different that his family decided that leaving him would be for the best. That's how he ended up on a carriage with his custodian as they were taken towards the mansion of the one person who was surprisingly interested in him; yet Soren didn't really know him.

The carriage stopped in front of the Lehran's manor gate but the doorman didn't seem to want to open it.

"Aren't we going to be taken all the way to the main door?" Soren asked, not looking at the woman who was his keeper, but staring at the large front yard that lead to the mansion's main entrance.

"I'm afraid this is about as far as we can take you" The woman stated without a trace of remorse.

"Fine" Soren replied grabbing his suitcase and opening the door.

Once out of the carriage, he turned towards his keeper. She smiled at him slightly but didn't seem to crumble in the least bit; rather at peace, actually.

"Goodbye" It stung to say the words, it stung to know that his caretaker was so willing to sell him off to a complete stranger, yet he managed to keep his usual stoic self and not let the pain show.

She stared at him a few moments without saying anything.

"Good luck, Soren" She finally said.

Soren nodded and the carriage took off, leaving him standing there; alone with only a suitcase to hold onto.

"Are you here to see the master?" The doorman suddenly asked getting Soren's attention. He was an aged man, considerably pale and with very light eyes.

"Yes" Soren answered "He is expecting me, I believe"

The man nodded and unlocked the chain to let him through.

X

The mansion seemed to be in perfect conditions. The yard was well mowed; the plants all seemed to be taken care of. The mansion looked as good as new. And who knows, maybe it was new. But the fact that it gave off some sort of ancient aura made him think it had seen many years pass through.

"Name, please?" Once he entered the foyer, he was greeted by a young woman, with short brown hair and hazel eyes with a list in her hands. Soren quickly read the tag on her uniform which said 'Tanith'.

"Soren. No last name"

She nodded and quickly read the sheet of paper on her hands.

"Coming all the way from Daein, huh?" She gave him a small smile which quickly faded "The master has been waiting for at least an hour now" She frowned, pointing at a huge, old oak clock near the door.

"I- yes, I'm sorry. The trip was a bit rough"

She eyed him up and down "This way. Follow me, please"

He nodded and walked behind her through the halls of the mansion.

Everything seemed very elegant and expensive. Was he supposed to think of this place as his home now? No, he knew better than that. People like him didn't have a home.

"Here you go. The master is behind that door. Please, make sure to apologize for your tardiness" And with that, Tanith quickly left.

Soren turned to the huge wooden door in front of him. Well, then, it was time to meet the man who bought him.

He raised his gloved fist to knock, but a voice inside the room prevented him from doing so

"Come on in"

Soren blinked. How did he know he was outside?

He didn't dwell on it, though, and promptly entered the room.

"Ah! Soren, finally!" The man before him looked much younger than he had expected. He was very pale, had incredibly long-even longer than his own-black hair and dark eyes. Soren bowed his head politely.

"I apologize for being late"

"It's alright" The man stood up from his desk and quickly went to meet Soren. "What matters is that you're already here. My name is Lehran, duke of Persis, a pleasure to meet you"

Soren shook his hand but didn't say anything; he looked quiet confused, though.

"Don't be shy, boy" Lehran smiled "This is your home now. Think of us as your family" He spoke in a very low, serene voice.

Soren squinted, "I appreciate your kindness, lord Lehran. But, I'm curious to know-"

"Oh, right" Lehran interrupted "I never told you why I summoned you here"

First of all, it really annoyed him when people cut him off. And also, was this man a psychic or something? This was the second time Lehran seemed to have read his mind.

Not that Soren believed in psychics…

"You see, Soren, you are very special"

…Right, try to make him feel better about himself.

"You have the ability to cast spells, do you not?"

Soren looked at him with distrust. Where was he getting at? "I do" He nodded simply.

"In these times, that isn't common at all" Lehran seemed to ignore the look Soren gave him and kept smiling kindly at him "Also, your blood is very rare as well, is it not?"

Soren's eyes widened.

"No need to be alarmed, child" Lehran kept that suspiciously calm expression. Soren wasn't buying it "This is a haven for people like you"

Soren raised his brow "….people like me?" was this a manor full of branded? No, it couldn't be, he would have noticed, right?

"Not just hybrids like you, my boy. This haven houses special, extraordinary people with plenty of different abilities that are either not understood by the rest of the world, or simply not taken to its full potential"

Soren stared at him for what seemed to be an eternity. Was this man serious?

"So you collect….rare people?" freaks was what he actually wanted to say, but settled for rare instead. He squinted; more like glared, actually.

Lehran raised his index finger "I don't collect, Soren" he stared at him firmly "I protect and aid"

And that was a yes.

X

As things turned out, living there wouldn't be so bad after all. They had an amazingly big library which they told him he could make use of whenever he pleased. They'd provide him with three meals a day and not charge him a single gald. And they even would provide him of a bed and clothing.

But he soon found out it was too good to be true. As Sigrun-another girl who seemed to be in Lehran's staff-showed him to the dorms, she gave him the bad news.

"Here's your room"

It was fairly big, bigger than he had expected. It had its own bathroom, a desk, several bookshelves, a window that lead to one of the gardens….and two beds.

"Your roommate is currently training, but he should be back soon to welcome you"

Soren froze.

"A roommate?" He stared at Sigrun as if she had offended him somehow.

She blinked confusedly "Yes, didn't lord Lehran tell you? Everyone is assigned to a roommate to save up space" She frowned in concentration "Well, almost everyone. Yours didn't have one until now" She pointed at the other bed.

Soren's brow twitched "And who is he, may I ask?"

"Oh! Ike? He's a very nice guy, you two will get along just fine"

"I doubt it" Soren muttered but Sigrun didn't seem to have heard him "Isn't there an unoccupied room for me? I'd prefer some privacy" He gave Sigrun a hopeful glance-as well as he could manage- and held tightly to his suitcase.

"Sorry, Soren" She smiled apologetically "But the master already gave his orders. Besides, I'm sure you two will become good friends. Just give him a chance"

Soren stared at the other bed darkly.

"I'll leave you so that you can unpack at ease"

Soren growled in irritation once he heard the door close.

X

As weird as it may be, he had spent the whole afternoon trying to figure out what kind of a weirdo his roommate was. He easily spotted which bed he used, since it was very badly made. Also, the blankets had noticeable stains of food here and there.

The closet didn't have many clothes inside; but the few garments were very sloppily hung. Some even were almost falling to the floor. Apparently, he only had a single pair of brown boots; other than whatever he was wearing right now if he wasn't a barefoot lunatic, of course. On closer inspection, it'd seem his roommate didn't care for cleanness. There were bits of…stuff and dirt in every corner; as if that was about how best he could sweep. A quick look under his roommate's bed revealed everything else; like socks, papers, dirty plates and other stuff that had been hidden there.

He didn't even dare go inside their now shared bathroom.

X

Soren had made himself busy trying to accommodate his belongings. He hung the few clothes he had on the other side of the closet. He set his undergarments and sleepwear on the nightstand next to his bed… and placed a few books on the empty shelves.

He sat in his bed nervously, waiting for this Ike person to show up.

How was he like? He wondered. Was he actually nice like Sigrun had said? What sort of rarity did he posses to have his parents dump him here? Will the two of them actually be able to get along?

Soren knew it was inane to be having these thoughts; but he couldn't help it. It didn't matter of course if he was nice or not. The only thing that mattered was if he would respect Soren's personal space or not…and if he could manage to clean up once in a while.

The doorknob turned and he heard the door creaking.

X

It was a man around his age, incredibly tall-much taller than Soren- and well toned. He had broad shoulders a thick neck and brawny arms. His hair was blue, just like his eyes.

"Uh" The stranger said looking at Soren with a surprised expression. He even stepped back and checked the dorm's number just to make sure he had the right room. Soren mentally face-palmed.

"Oh, hey" He said finally, closing the door behind him. "I'm Ike"

He wore what seemed to be the manor's uniform: Simple blue pants, a matching blazer, and a white-in heavy need of an iron- button shirt; the uniform was supposed to have a vest but this… Ike had apparently discarded it.

"My name is Soren" He said coldly narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah, I know" Ike sat in his own bed across Soren.

Soren's glared intensified. Was everyone here aspiring telepaths?

"Do you?" He replied.

"Yeah" Ike smiled "I was waiting for you. I even tried to tidy up a bit"

Soren stared at him in disbelief. So this was how the room looked when Ike tried to 'tidy up'?

"Honestly, I was kind of nervous. I've never had a roommate before so I wasn't sure what to expect" Ike looked at him a bit more intensely, making Soren involuntarily blush "But you seem like a pretty nice guy" He smiled widely.

Soren pursed his lips "You shouldn't assume, though"

"Huh?" Ike inquired.

"You just met me. For all you know, I might as well be a killer or a psychopath" Soren looked anywhere but Ike, trying to ignore his quickly beating heart. What had gotten into him? It was very unlike him to feel like this.

"But you're not"

"How can you be so sure?" Soren looked at him curiously.

Ike shrugged "I can tell"

"Is that your…'special gift'?" Soren asked frowning.

"Huh?" Ike blinked "Special gift…? Oh! You mean-no, not at all" He chuckled "It's just that, believe me, I've met all kinds of crazy people and you don't fit the psychopath type at all"

"Mm" Soren squinted

"I'm a swordsman, by the way" Soren blinked confusedly.

"A swordsman?" He repeated "That's it?"

Ike scratched the nape of his neck "Yeah, that's about it. I would like to say I'm a magical something, but really I'm just a swordsman"

"Well…" Soren gulped "I'm a wind sage" He said, not revealing what was probably the true trait which caught Lehran's attention.

"Really? That's cool" Ike grinned "So you can create tornados and stuff like that?"

"Among other things, yes" Ike kept looking at Soren with that intense stare; it only deepened the rosiness in his cheeks.

"Well, then" Ike stood up and walked towards Soren. "Nice to meet you, Soren" He smiled and extended his hand.

Soren looked at him with caution"…Nice to meet you as well, Ike" Soren took his hand unsurely.

He was pleased to have found that his partner wasn't a weirdo or a lunatic, like he had expected; at least he didn't seem to be. And who knows, maybe Sigrun was right and they could actually get along

...as roommates.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!

I really hope you enjoyed it. See you next Tuesday!