Fire Emblem: The Unifying War
Again, I do not own Nintendo, Fire Emblem, or Intelligent Systems. Although that would be awesome.
Chapter 2 Bern Marches
The intrepid pair made their way down the road leading to Caelin. Along the way Mia kept asking Kratos all sorts of questions about his swordsmandship. Where did he learn, how long had he been at it, were you ever part of a mercenary troop? The questions seemed endless, and never having been one for small talk, he was beginning to regret his desicion to travel with her.
"Would you please just be quiet for a bit?" Kratos asked after about an hour. "I'm trying to think about our next course of action, and I'm finding it quite difficult with you constantly pestering me."
"Well, excuse me for trying to be friendly," she answered back bitterly. "I just figured since we were going to be traveling together we should probably know a bit more about one another. But I suppose it's your call Boss."
"That's another thing. Why do you keep calling me Boss? It's not like I'm in charge of you or anything. You're free to do whatever you want."
"Hmm..." Mia contemplated this for a bit. "I suppose it's just an old habit of mine back from my days with my old troop. I always used to call our leader Boss, so I guess I thought since I was following your lead I'd do the same."
"Well, if you insist, I suppose I can live with that at least. Although it'll take some getting used to..." No, Kratos was certainly not a leader. He figured it was hard enough taking care of your own hide out there on the battlefield, looking after others was not something he desired. After a bit of traveling, the duo eventually reached Caelin. "I suppose the first thing we should do is secure some lodgings," Kratos thought aloud. "Then, we should ask around and see if we can find out anything more about this invasion."
"Alright, sounds like as good a plan as any." The two arrived at the local inn and booked a room, then set out in search of information. There wasn't much the locals knew beyond their own limited knowledge, although one man did have an interesting tidbit.
'Don't know much about it beyond the fact it's happening," he told Kratos. "One thing I did hear though was that Bern had declared any citizen holding a weapon other than their soldiers in Lycian territory an enemy combatant and was to be locked up immediately. Speaking of which, why are you wearing that sword out so openly? If any of them saw you they'd arrest you for sure!"
"If it comes to that, I'll deal with it. No one's disarming me," Kratos said indignantly.
"Well, you certainly are brave. Elimine knows I wouldn't have the courage to stand up to them. Good luck to you sir, you'll need it in the days ahead."
"Same to you," Kratos said, departing. Hmm, so that was it. No wonder they'd been so quick to try and arrest him earlier. He certainly hoped Mia had come up with something better to report than he had.
Kratos decided to go back to the inn. Mia was waiting for him outside. The two exchanged the information they had gleaned from the citizenry. To his dismay, however, her search had been even more fruitless than his had. "Half the people I asked weren't even aware there WAS an invasion," she said. "It was all I could do not to incite a panic. So all we got is basically what we knew already: Bern won't listen to us."
"Well, we made the effort at least. Too bad we couldn't learn more, but really, nothing to be done about it. Tomorrow I say we leave as soon as possible, the sooner we can get out of Lycia the better."
"I agree. Don't know what we'll do from there though..." Mia trailed off. The pair made their way through the inn and to their room. Kratos opened the door and gave it a quick once over, only to be shocked when he realized there was only one bed.
'Uhh..." Kratos began hesitantly
"Well, isn't that interesting," Mia commented. "The innkeeper made a blunder.
"Or perhaps is making unwaranted assumptions. Either way..." Their eyes locked for a split second, then Kratos looked away quickly. "You take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor."
"You sure? You're the one that paid for this after all..."
"Yes, I'm sure. I've slept on far worse than an inn floor before, I'll be fine. I mean, you are..."
"I'm what?" she replied sharply. It was then Kratos realized he'd made a mistake.
"I just mean that it's usually common courtesey to treat women with discretion and..."
"Oh, I know exactly what you meant. You mean to say that because I'm a woman you don't think I'm tough enough to be without all the comforts. Well, fine then," she plopped down into one of the corners of the room. "I'm sleeping here."
"Really, you don't have to do that, I was just trying to..."
"Good night, BOSS," she snapped, extinguishing the lamp in the center of the room and returning to her corner.
"Demon King take my soul if I'm sleeping in that bed now," Kratos thought, moving into the opposite corner and propping against it. He looked across the darkened room at his companion. Still, he did find himself with a sort of twisted respect for her. She was just as stubborn as he was, a thing he hardly thought possible. Eventually he closed his eyes and let sleep take him. Tomorrow was going to be busy.
Kratos was always one to wake up early, so when he awoke and found the room empty he was surprised. He observed the position of the sun in the sky and knew it couldn't possible be more that half a mark past five, but still Mia was apparently awake and about. This irritated him slightly. He didn't need to give her another reason to taunt him. But at the same time this also made his respect for her grow, if only a little. He went to the lobby and found her waiting for him.
"Oh, hey there," He said. "Already up I see."
"Yeah," she replied. "It doesn't matter how late I go to sleep, I'm always up before danw. So, this place has free breakfast for all guests, you feel like partaking before heading out?"
"Sure, but let's find a place to sit as close to the door as we can. Never know when we might have to make a break for it." She nodded, and the pair began to enjoy their meal. A few minutes later, however, a very loud shout could be heard from outside.
"UNHAND ME, I SAID!" the voice shouted. "YOU'VE NO RIGHT TO ACCOST ME IN SUCH A MANNER!"
"Uh-oh," Kratos said. "That can't be good..."
"You're right, Mia replied. "Let's go see what's happening."
"Wait a minute!" Kratos pleaded, but to no avail. She was already up and out the door. "By Jehanna's sands this is is a nightmare." He had no choice but to follow her out. The scene that lay outside was much as he'd feared. Another troop of Bern soldiers were outside, their attention focused on the apparent owner of the voice. She was a young girl with shoulder length purple hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a purple shirt and skirt, and was also adorned with a blue cape.
"We don't have the right, you say? T" One of the soldiers sneered."Then how do you explain this?" He held a book aloft.
"Since when was it a crime for a mage to carry a tome?" She answered defiantly. "You, sir, would do well to research local laws and statues as you are in violation of several in this underhanded scheme!"
"Guess you haven't heard, missy. We ARE the law." He pushed her down violently and tossed the tome to one of his companions. "Make sure she keeps quiet. I've had about enough of her incessant chatter."
"That a fact?" Mia challenged, drawing her sword. "Maybe I've had enough of you picking on a defenseless person. Why don't you try that with me and we'll see what happens." Kratos quickly joined her.
"Is this really how the great Bern empire operates? Preying on those too weak to help themselves? You disgust me," Kratos said, and meant it. He spat on the ground for emphasis.
"Well, I had no idea Lycians were so suicidal," the soldier scoffed. "Don't bother arresting these idiots, just kill 'em." Three of the enemies moved forward, two of them lancers and the other a swordsman. Kratos ducked under the first strike and sidestepped the second, getting in close enough to seperate the man's head from his shoulders. He cast a sideways glance at Mia, who had already dispatched the swordsman and was turning her attention to the remainingni lanceman, who found himself caught between two enemies. They finished him quickly and turned to the rest of the troops.
"Alright, who's next?" Mia taunted. The pair stood shoulder to shoulder, ready to face the next threat.
"Enough of this," a slightly muffled voice said from the back of the group. The enemy formation parted as a knight in heavy armor strode forward. "I'll deal with this." He started slowly towards them He hefted a very large lance.
"I'll take this one!" Mia shouted, rushing forward.
"Wait! Mia!" The heavily armored knight had a huge advantage over her, but she didn't seem to care. His strikes were slow but measued. Mia was able to evade them swiftly and get into stirking distance. Faster than he had let on, however, he swung his large shield and bashed Mia acorss the face, sending her off her feet and into the air. She landed with a sharp "Ugh," the wind knocked out of her. Gasping to catch her breath, she found herself staring up and the hulking figure.
"Farewell, girl," he said, raising his lance and preparing to plunge it into her chest. Kratos found himself completly helpless, he knew there was know way he would get there quickly enough to help her. All he could do was watch as...
...a bright flash appeared from overhead and a large fire plume struck the knight. Smoke poured from his armor and the scent of charred flesh filled the air as he collapsed lifelessly. Kratos looked around quickly, trying to find the source of the blast. He was surprised to find another of the soldiers laying dead, a small dagger sticking out of his throat. The young girl they had been pushing around earlier had apparently gotten free and was seeking revenge. "Well, enemy of my enemy..." Kratos thought. He rushed over to where Mia lay and helped her to her feet. "You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," she replied, wiping a bit of blood from her lip. "That was stupid."
"No time to worry about that now, we've still got to finish these guys," Kratos said. She nodded, tightening her grip on her weapon. The enemy, apparently shellshocked from the loss of their knight, hadn't even began to move against the young mage until she had started chanting her spell again. Two of them rushed towards her, axes drawn. This time, however, her spell split in two and struck both men. While with its power halved it wasn't fatal, it stopped them in their tracks as they rolled around trying to put themselves out. The two swordsmen and already defeated two more opponents, making their way quickly towards the girl. The only two who stood between them now were the two who she had struck earlier, and with a pair of swift sword strokes the battle was over.
"Whew...that was a close one," Kratos sighed, staying his sword. "Those guys were a bit tougher than the ones we fought yesterday."
"You mean to say you've encountered more of these brutes?" The mage asked him.
"Yes, they're spread all over. Have you not heard of the Bern invasion?" Mia responded.
"No, I'm usually much too busy with research to deal with the trifles of politics. An invasion? To what end?"
"That is a question I cannot answer." Kratos said truthfully. "All I can say is that is not safe to be traveling Lycia anymore, especially being armed."
"Hmm...this means that returning to Renais just got a bit more complicated..." the mage said.
"Yeah, it's probably not good to be on your own...hey, I have an idea!" Mia exclaimed. " We're heading to Renais too. Why don't you travel with us? You'd definately be better off traveling in a group than alone."
"Wait a minute, I don't think..." Kratos protested.
"Well, what do you say?" Mia continued, ignoring him.
"I suppose that logically there is safety in numbers. Not that I require assisstance. My power would have been sufficient to dispatch them all. I suppose I shall accept your offer."
"Great!" Mia cried. "I'm Mia, and the stoic one is Kratos."
"I am Lute, genius mage extrordinaire," she introduced herself. "You can call me Lute."
"Alright! I just know we're gonna have fun together!" Mia said excitedly.
Kratos let out a huge sigh. This journey was getting more and more complicated with each passing day...
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And that's all till next time! Hooray for character development! Reviews would be much appreciated.