Normally, general Seth would not interrupt his training, nor that of the recruits he had taken under his wing. However, when one of those recruits told him that king Ephraim wished to urgently speak with him on an important matter, the red-haired Paladin remembered that he was supposed to act as an advisor as well as a knight. Leaving the recruits in the capable hands of Kyle and Forde, he had left the training grounds, but didn't bother to stop and take off his armor or set aside his lance. Both would be needed once he returned to the fields, after all, and the king would understand that. The door to Ephraim's chambers was wide open, and Seth heard his king arguing with one of his advisors. The Paladin couldn't decipher what they were going on about, but waited patiently in the hallway, a reasonable distance away from the door, until a middle-aged man came out, seething. The door remained open, but no more voices came from the room and so, Seth went in, knocking as he did so. "My lord. I was told you sent for me."

"Ah, Seth. Yes, I did." Ephraim looked about as angry as the advisor coming out had been, but was fortunately in the process of composing himself. Seth had seen the king put his hands in his hair at the top of his head like that often enough to know it was a sign that he was frustrated but dealing. "If you have a minute or two. Something came up just now that apparently required my immediate attention."

"Your marriage, I presume?" It was common knowledge that King Ephraim was bombed with marriage preparations and diplomatic responsibilities, all because he was marrying Frelia's princess. It was also rather common knowledge that the king held a severe hatred of these court matters, as he just wanted to marry his childhood friend and be done with it. Seth could understand- it were times like these that he was grateful for having been born a commoner and not a nobleman. "The good sir did seem upset at something."

"Oh, upset is the understatement of the year. And honestly, I wish it were my wedding they were bugging me about." He shook his head, his teal hair somewhat getting back into its usual form. "Then I could tell them off by reminding them it was my wedding, not theirs." Seth frowned. Ephraim elaborated. "It's been all about Eirika for a while now. They want her out of the castle and into the arms of some foreign noble as soon as they can." He grinned when Seth winced. "My feelings exactly, good general. Problem is, I can't tell them off for much longer. She's been of marital age for a few years now. I still think it wouldn't hurt for you to-"

"My lord, if this is what you wished to see me about, I humbly request to be excused." Seth shut his eyes. He and Ephraim had gone over this a time or three before, and he thought he had made himself clear the last time. "I will not marry princess Eirika. It isn't my place. I apologize for my rudeness. Now, if you don't need me anymore, I believe the recruits are-"

"Wait, Seth." Ephraim had raised both his hands. "I got carried away. This isn't the problem… well, not the problem I wanted to see you about anyway. Sit down." He gestured towards a seat near him. Seth frowned, but did as he was requested. "What I'm about to say might strike you as a little odd, but hear me out here. It's in your best interest to hear it." The general was now genuinely confused. Ephraim normally didn't make such a big deal out of things.

"Whatever is the matter? Did something happen to the princess?" It was probably telling that princess Eirika was the first thing Seth thought of. It bothered him that she was still this prominently in his mind, but if anyone, king Ephraim was a person to whom he could afford to show it. The king had always had his ways of knowing, to the point where Seth almost suspected him of sharing one mind with his sister.

"…not directly… but you could say that." Ephraim sat down opposing the general. "Seth… you're going to die." He allowed the knight a few seconds to take it in. Seth didn't need them. It was common sense that knights would die at an earlier age than other kinds of people did, and the general had always been prepared to die for his lieges. It was certainly not something that bothered him. "Someone has it in for you and will try to murder you on…" the king looked at the ceiling, apparently not remembering on how short a notice it would happen.

Seth used this opportunity. "Lord Ephraim, would you please be so kind to explain something to me?" Ephraim looked at him in silence, which Seth knew to be a sign that he was waiting for the question. "Where, when, and how have you obtained this information?" Dying was one thing. Being murdered, however, was something else. If Ephraim knew that someone was going to try to kill Seth because they had caught the would-be murderer, then there really was no need to warn them… but then how did they know this? Had hints been dropped?

"…that's the crazy part. The part I'm sure you'll find strange." He seemed to hesitate, leaning forward with his forearms resting on his upper legs, his hands clasped. "That's where Eirika comes in, you see." If Seth hadn't given his king his full attention before, he would have now. Had something happened to Eirika? Surely he would have known… "My sister… it's a little hard to explain without sounding crazy, but I assure you, it's real. Eirika is what some people would call clairvoyant."

"She claims to foresee the future."

"She does. And over the years I've learned to at least give some credibility to the things she predicts." Ephraim was actually serious about this.

"My lord." Seth rubbed his hands together, unsure what to think. "I bear no ill will towards the princess. But predicting the future is something that… well, can't be done. After the things that happened during the War of the Stones, I'm almost inclined to believe there are people who see and know more than others. But the future?" He shook his head. "The future is something that is determined by the actions of humans."

"We're well aware of that. But I can't disregard Eirika's past… 'successes,' shall we say. She pretty much predicted that the War of the Stones would occur, and that we would lose a dear friend to it. Unfortunately there was nothing we could do to save Lyon… but Seth, if I were to allow you to die, she would never forgive me." The king shook his head. "I don't know who wants you dead, or for what reason. But please stay alert." He looked at the general, smiling. "You're like an older brother to me, Seth. Losing you would be quite devastating."

"You think too highly of me." Seth bowed his head. "I thank you for the warning, my lord. I will keep it in mind." He still wasn't sure what to think of this supposed clairvoyance of the princess, but Ephraim seemed to take it very seriously. He could at least keep it all in the back of his head. "Was that all?"

Ephraim got up, nodding. "It was. Thank you, Seth. You're excused."

Not too long after that, an already extremely battered training dummy took the brunt of the frustration Seth never showed in any other way, thanks to an equally battered sword. No use wasting a perfectly good weapon on a training dummy, after all. If he saw Forde and Kyle, he could always use his own lance to spar against them. The problem was that if he took them on frustrated, that sparring match would not end well for them. The dummy, weighted in its rounded foot, slung backwards and Seth raised his sword to block the impact of the thing swinging back forward before it would hit him.

Death. Seth had never really put a lot of thought into it. He was the last of his family, unwed and childless. If he were to die before he became a father, his bloodline would be gone. But that was not something that had ever bothered him. He was a commoner. Commoner's bloodlines disappeared daily. It was Ephraim's words that bothered him. Both the twins acted so out of line when it came to their relationship with him. King Ephraim had just admitted to considering him an older brother, and Seth knew princess Eirika was very far from over her romantic feelings for him. Then again, they weren't the first ones. The late king Fado, their father, had treated Seth like a second son. While Seth didn't have a blood-related family, the knowledge that there were people out there who would miss him if he died made his feelings on his own death so much more complicated than they should be for a knight.

It might also explain why princess Eirika had foreseen his demise… if he had to name the person who would be the most pained by his passing, that would without a doubt be…

"Seth, do you have a little time?" He didn't have to turn around to recognize that voice. That voice that had haunted his mind for a long time now, the owner of which wouldn't leave his dreams, could only belong to princess Eirika. He used his sword to stop the dummy from swinging back and forth violently (it wouldn't do anyone any good if it swung into his head- those things were heavy, as he had discovered in his days as a recruit) and turned to the princess, who had approached him with a sword of her own in hand, although hers was finer and clearly lighter.

"Princess… I assume you're here to request a sparring match." It was routine by now- Seth didn't need clairvoyance to predict that Eirika would come to train her sword arm with him at least once a week. And he, fool that he was, had never been able to refuse it. His attempts to dissuade her were flimsy at best, mostly because he had to admit he rather enjoyed their weekly sessions. Even now that it was no longer necessary, the princess' sword arm continued to improve with leaps and bounds. The Paladin had the vague idea that king Fado would have been proud.

She smiled at him. Gods, why did she have to smile at every opportunity? It looked like he was going to be dreaming again tonight. "Only if you're available and willing, general. I wouldn't dare detain you from your duties."

"One of my duties is to see to your safety, milady. In fact, it is my most cumbersome duty and the only one for which I would be willing to drop all others." That was no lie, although it was true in a slightly different manner than Seth would have liked. "In a sense, helping you develop your ability to defend yourself makes that duty a little lighter on me and could be seen as an extension of it." So now he was making her excuses for her? Shameful. "You've already brought your own sword, so if you so wish, we can begin right away."

"I wish so," Eirika said, laughing. She wasted no time in taking a combat stance, from which Seth could immediately tell she had been practicing it. The flaws he had pointed out last time were gone. He knew the princess had always had issues with her stance- her frail form had led her towards a preference for dodging rather than enduring attacks, but being ready to dodge at all times made her stance a little unstable. Every time Seth saw her, something was wrong with it- nothing glaring, and sometimes he wouldn't have seen them if he hadn't been looking for them. It was understandable, anyway. It was a difficult balance to find.

"You're out of balance," he said, "If I make you dodge to the left, you'll fall over, or you'd have to take the hit. Put more weight on your left leg." That was a beginner's mistake. That wasn't like her…

Eirika hesitated. "I- I can't. I fell on my left knee this morning." She avoided to look at him, knowing he hated excuses. "I've been advised not to strain it."

And despite that she had made the decision to spar? Seth sighed. "Well, I suppose… we've seen enough battle to know you can get hurt." He took his own stance. "This should make for good practice in that regard…" He waited a few seconds, partially so that Eirika could prepare herself for the blow and partially for an element of surprise when he would strike, before lunging to her left side. He'd go easy on her for a few minutes before really taking advantage of her injury.

While he was at it, he could probably ask her a few questions. "His Majesty had disturbing news for me." As expected, Eirika managed to jump to the right, causing his sword to miss her. "Do you know more about that, princess?"

"I do." She thrust her rapier forwards, an attack easily seen through that Seth blocked effortlessly. "I'm the one who told him. Please believe it, Seth. I have my sources."

"The powers that be, I would assume." The Paladin stepped back, consciously showing her an opening in his defense. She was wise enough not to invite his counter by taking advantage of it. "Your lord brother said you have had past successes." He shook his head, tapping her shoulder with his sword when she lunged. She ended up slightly curving to the side while he stepped out of her way. "Watch your momentum when you do that. Too much, and you risk…" she fell forward on the grass where he had been standing, "…a fall, leaving you extremely vulnerable to counters." He sheathed his own sword, reaching his hand out to help her up. "I think we should stop. You need to rest your leg, I don't think you're ready for this sort of training yet."

Eirika took his hand, but much to his surprise started to tug on it. She wasn't much stronger than he was, but he was hunched over and she had both gravity and the element of surprise on her side. Within seconds, he felt his shoulder hitting the ground and found the tip of Eirika's rapier on his chin. "Touché, general. I believe that puts the score on 5-2."

"I let you win that," Seth protested, "So in return, I want an answer. How can you be sure your prophecy -if that's what it will turn out to be- is accurate?" He sat up, Eirika letting go of his wrist. He was impressed that she had remembered that grip. He'd shown her that, what, once or twice?

Her glee over her victory had been short-lived, though. "….frankly, I can't." Seth regretted asking his question when he saw the tears forming at her eyes. "But Seth… that's what I thought when I foresaw Lyon's death, too. I thought 'it's probably just a dream' and… I've watched him die twice." She put her hand on his. "Please, Seth. Believe me. Don't make me see that again."

This time Seth was the one who hesitated. "Very well. I'll believe in your gift. But don't worry about me, I've always been a vigilant man." The look in Eirika's eyes gave him the feeling he would eat those words sooner or later.


Author's Notes: You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get Seth right D: he's like somewhere between 'inhumanly business-like' and 'warm-hearted but stoic'. Kudos to Nintendo on that one. Also more thanks to Josh for proofreading this chapter.