The sky was black with glitters scattered all over it. A big round lantern was watching over four people in a forest. They were formed around a flame that gives them warmth to protect them in the cold.
"Waaaaah!" Lissa cried. "Isn't there anything else to eat?!"
"Sorry, Lissa, but no," Chrom answered.
"But I don't want bear meat!" Lissa complained. "It smells like old boots! Can't we just eat any normal meat, please?"
"You may not like it, milady," Frederick told her. "But you said that you would 'get used to it'. If we were in a real war, we could no longer afford to be picky."
"Oh yeah? I don't see you eating anything, Frederick," Lissa sarcastically told him.
"I had plenty of lunch today," Frederick defended himself.
"We had lunch together, Frederick," Chrom objected. "You didn't eat anything on this afternoon either."
Frederick remained silent.
"Sorry, June, I hope you'll be fine with bears because…" Lissa was talking to June before she realized that June was eating the bear meat like a wyvern starving.
"Whoa," Lissa was overwhelmed by who she was seeing. "June, you're… uh…"
"She hadn't eaten anything for like, days, after all," Chrom said to Lissa as if to justify June. "At least I think so."
"It's hard to believe that such a woman…" Frederick was overwhelmed as well.
"Haaaaah…" June exhaled. It was a relief of overcoming her mass hunger. Then, she switched her eyes to the three companions. They look, somehow, dumbfounded.
"What's wrong?" June asked them clueless.
"Er… uh…" they had no idea how to answer her. "It's just… you eat like that…"
"Is it wrong?" June asked again, still clueless.
"No, it's not wrong, it's just…" Lissa was confused. "It seems strange if a young woman like you eat bear meat that greedily."
"But I can see if you're starving," Chrom said. "You were probably unconscious in quite long time, so it's tolerable for you to eat that much."
"I don't think so, milord," Frederick objected. "Even a barbarian possessed by demon shall not eat bear meat that way."
"Possessed by demon?!" June was shocked hearing Frederick's description about her eating manner. "That's exaggerating! Now you're blasphemous!"
"It's alright, June," Chrom dismissed both of them as if to save June from further embarrassment. "Don't mind him."
"Do mind me," Frederick countered Chrom. "Your claim of losing your memories is just—"
"Blasphemous!" June cut him talking. "Yeah, okay, I get it! You also called me barbarian possessed by demon. That's very blasphemous of you, Frederick. Why, thank you!"
"Oh, come on, Fred," Chrom tried to act friendly to his lieutenant. "She's a good person. She helped us fighting those brigands to save villagers."
"You're so naïve, milord. I'm starting to think that anyone, even a Plegian criminal can join the Shepherds only by helping an elderly crossing the streets."
"Seriously, Frederick. I mean, where else can we get such an able tactician? It's actually good that June is on our side, not Plegia. She's a precious asset for any possible kingdoms. Why are you so distrustful to people?"
"I'm not merely distrustful, milord. I'm just staying wary and cautious."
"Okay, okay!" June tried to dismiss both of the young men. "I'm just going to sleep, then." June leaned her back to the ground and cuddled with a yarn-made human-shaped doll inside her grip.
"Uh, can I see that doll?" Lissa asked her.
"Doll?" June responded. "Oh, you mean this one? It's… uh…"
"Be careful, milady," Frederick warned her. "She might have stuffed some kind of peculiar weapon inside that doll."
"Why would she, Fred?!" Chrom protested. "Why would anyone, really? It's just a doll!"
"Yeah, Frederick! Why would she?!" Lissa agreed her brother.
"Well, you can search this doll if you want," June challenged Frederick. "I'm not hiding anything. As long as I can remember, at least."
"Which isn't very long time ago," Frederick replied. "You might have stuffed the weapon before you lost your memories. That if you actually lost it."
"Fine! Go ahead!"
Then, Frederick took the doll by force from June's grip and he already prepared his lance.
"Behold! Milord, milady," Frederick warned Chrom and Lissa as he stabbed right at the doll's chest—yes, he did—with his lance. Both Chrom and Lissa were astonished by what they just saw. However, their reactions were nothing compared to June's.
"NOOOOOO…!" June shrieked as she took the doll away from Frederick and back into her grip. "Just… what are you thinking?!"
Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa were only dumbfounded.
"Weapon?! What weapon?!" June showed the fillings of that doll—which was nothing except stuffed cottons. There was nothing sort of weapon like Frederick was thinking. "Does this look like a weapon to you?!"
"Well, you might just muffle milord with those cottons to suffocate him," Frederick cleverly, but not cleverly, assumed.
"Shut up, Fred the Wary. You're not helping," Chrom said to him. "Anyway, June, calm down. It's just a doll. Stop howling like you're attacked by wolves."
"No, it's not!" June protested. "It's not just a doll, it's…" June didn't continue her sentence. Her tongue felt like tied, somehow. "It's a…"
"What is it, then?" Chrom asked her.
However, the asked one remained silent. Same as the other three companions who were just looking at her.
"I… don't know…" June continued her sentence, but slowly, and with a small voice.
"Is the doll's name Jumpy?" Lissa asked her out of nowhere. June reacted with a simple, "Eh?"
"Or is Jumpy the one who gave you that doll as a keepsake?" Lissa asked again. "Maybe it's even both. That's why you remember Jumpy, and it's not just a doll to you. Because 'Jumpy' is your special someone and he gave that doll to you. Am I right?"
June looked down. She held the doll tighter and closer to her chest. She was silent for a while, and then she said, "I… don't remember…"
"It's alright, June," Lissa tried to comfort her. "Maybe you'll remember it someday."
"Crying over a mere doll," Frederick sneered. "What are you, nine?"
"No, I'm blasphemous!" June answered sarcastically, and then she ran away. "That's it! I'm out of here!"
"June, wait!" Chrom tried to chase her.
"Milord!" Frederick called him.
"No, Fred! You take care of the campfire! We go get June!" Lissa shouted at her bodyguard.
"'We'?" Chrom was confused.
"Come on, Chrom!"
"Hmph, call me blasphemous one more time!" June talked to no one as she was already far enough from the camping place. "How rude of him!"
She looked at the doll again. Its face looked sad to her, probably because Frederick hurt it badly. Seeing the sad doll, June was also sad. She hugged the doll tighter.
The doll was made of yarn. It looked like a human. Its eyes were two big blue buttons, stitched to the front part of its round head. A violet ribbon was tied around its neck. Its torso was originally fluffy and solid, but now it had a whole big wound with its internal cottons scattered due to the stabbing did by Frederick. Its limbs were weak and lifeless.
June held her doll even tighter, as if to comfort it. Or maybe it's just herself. She muffled her own cheeks so she looked like a blowfish.
"Waaah, where did she go?!" Lissa cried as she and Chrom were still searching the forest to look for June. "June! Where are you?!"
Suddenly they found something else up in the night sky. "Chrom, what is that?!" Lissa gasped and she was surprised. While Chrom remained silent. He was hypnotized before he realized several people came out from the giant glowing hole.
No… they aren't people… what are those…?
Two of those… things went to Chrom and Lissa. Both pulled out their axes. Chrom countered one of them with his Falchion. It was a critical hit that one shot the opponent.
While the other one walked to Lissa's place. "KYAAAAA!" Lissa screamed as she tried to defend herself with her staff. She blocked the axe with the staff.
In the other hand, a mysterious masked person also went out from the very current hole. He quickly managed to defend Lissa by blocking the opponent's second axe strike with his sword.
June was facing three people—no, things—that were getting close to her. One of them took its bow and shot an arrow towards her. She quickly dodged the arrow and countered the attack with her thunder. Her attack was a lethal bull's eye.
June drew her sword when suddenly her legs felt heavy. She could feel her whole body raising heat. Her head was throbbing. She had already fallen to the ground before she realized. She grunted in pain as her trembling hands lost their grip to her sword and held her head instead.
What is this… feeling…? She thought to herself. What is… happening… to me…? My body… hurts… why…? Why did this… happen?
"H, help me…" June's pale, drying lips begged as they were shaking because of whatever happened to her body. Her throat felt like tied by some kind of magic spell. Her breath raced faster than a wolf. Her eyesight was blurred, distorted her wet eyes and her consciousness about to lose. "Jumpy… help…"
"HELP!" the masked swordsperson begged Chrom who wasn't far from him and Lissa.
Chrom was dumbfounded in a split second, and then he realized he had to help the mysterious individual who was currently in stake. He drew his Falchion to attack the thing that was trying to attack his sister and whoever on earth was trying to protect her. The Falchion was glowing, but its wielder didn't seem to care. Then, both Chrom and the masked person slashed their swords each. The thing then was down in one shot.
A person with black hooded robe and bandage all over his face slashed the other two things before they could lay their weapons on June, who was already in bad circumstances. Despite of him helping June by knocking the enemies out, his presence made June's condition even worse instead. She cried as her head starting to hurt much more than it already had. That individual then took a bottle of [elixir] from his pocket and forced the poor girl to gulp a dose of it. He dropped the bottle as she coughed due to her speed of drinking.
June's breath started to stabilize. Her previously heated body cooled down. Her shaking hands were now steady. The elixir had taken away whatever the pain that was consuming her body. Then, she noticed the individual who gave hand to her to evade her possible death at that time.
"Who are you?" she asked. "Why did you help me?"
Instead of giving the answer June expected, the shrouded person pulled over the glove on his right hand, simply to check her forehead. Then, he got up and walked away from her.
"Wait, where are you going?!"
Ignoring June's question, he stopped at a particular tree. He bent down and took something that was lying on the ground.
"Oh, my doll?" June asked that shrouded person who gave it to her. "I accidentally dropped it? Well, thanks."
June accidentally smiled to him. She took the doll back and held it in her arms. Before she realized, the shrouded person's right hand already touched her cheek as if he was about to kiss her. June was dazed. Her face turned pink like a bon-bon.
"Milord! Milady!" Frederick called Chrom and Lissa as he ran to them. "Are both of you alright?!"
"We're fine!" Chrom answered his lieutenant.
"Where's June?!" Lissa asked to no one particular as if only to remind her original objective with Chrom. "Where is she?!"
"June!" Chrom called her as he continued searching the forest.
Then, June heard Chrom yelling her name. His voice was loud enough to bring her right back into reality. She looked away from the shrouded man as if to find where the voice source was. She answered half-shouting, "I'm here!"
"Are you okay?!" Chrom asked her again.
"I'm fine!" the younger lass answered. "I'll go get you guys!"
Then, she took her doll, moved on to catch up with Chrom's group, completely forgetting about the shrouded man and left him behind, and found out that more of those things, the same kind of her assailants, were also around there.
She looked up to the sky. The giant glowing hole where they came from was already gone.
Battle Area: [West of Ylisstol]
Victory: Rout the enemy
June switched her eyes. She saw two peculiar buildings not that far from her standing spot.
"Are those abandoned forts?" June asked to herself.
"Yes, June," Frederick answered, somewhat he heard her.
"Oh, well then," June said as she moved to one of the forts. She was about to attack the enemy that was quite far, but still in her range. She pulled out her Thunder, but then she complained, "77 percents?! Really?"
Realizing bad accuracy for using tome, she went out of the fort to attack the enemy with sword instead. The damage was quite big, but her opponent hadn't just been knocked out yet. It could still counter-attack her.
"Chrom! You go inside the fort!" June commanded. Chrom went to another fort that was closer from him as the tactician told him to.
"How about me?" Lissa asked June.
"You stay over there, that's the outside zone," June told the cleric as she pointed at a peculiar spot. "Frederick, you go with Chrom! I'm fine on my own!"
Frederick went to Chrom's spot, as he lethally attacked an enemy that was close to him and Chrom.
"Captain Chrom!" someone who just came by called Chrom's name. It was a woman—she may not really look like one, but really, it's a woman. Her hair was red with a manly cut—this is why she doesn't really look like a woman. She came with a horse; apparently she was a [cavalier]. "Sorry if I'm late!"
"Why, greetings, ladies and gentlemen," said someone else not too far from them who had just come too. His signature was the ruffles on his neck. "I had come to offer hand to you in this very battle. May I ask the name of yours, milady?"
"The name's Sully," the woman—yes, the woman, answered his question. "Who the hell are you?"
"Ah, Sully. What a beautiful name of yours," he was amazed by Sully's 'beauty'. "It is a perfect picture of your angelic look. It is I, Duke Virion. Now, will you marry me?"
"Will I what?" Sully didn't really get Virion's request, but then she got it and replied, "Oh, that. Of course not. Gotta go, Ruffles!"
Sully left Virion all disappointed, dumbfounded, and shocked in one. "Wait, milady! Are you not charmed with my perfection of vanity?"
"Shut up, will ya?!" Sully scolded him. "Seriously, who the hell are you?!"
"Frederick, do you know that man?" Chrom asked his lieutenant as he was still fighting the enemies.
"I'm afraid that I don't, milord," Frederick answered.
"How about you, June?" Chrom asked again.
"You ask me? Really?" June responded him sarcastically.
"Who the hell is that?!" Sully asked the same thing again, this time she was pointing at June.
"That's June, our new tactician," Chrom answered.
"Yes, a random stranger who we found in the middle of nowhere just this afternoon," Frederick continued. "And she blasphemously claimed that she lost her memories. Despite of that, she helped us fighting brigands, then milord decided to keep her with us."
"Ah… a tactician woman, is she not?" Virion seemed like charmed by Frederick's description. "She must have astonishing wisdom and deep knowledge along with her gorgeous face figure."
"Are you hitting on her?" Lissa asked confusedly. "I mean, you were just hitting on Sully few moments ago, and now it's June. That's just kinda… uh…"
"I'll go get Lissa!" June interrupted as if to stop the others from arguing about such pointless stuff. "Sully, take my place! Ruffles, stick with Chrom and Fred!"
"Did you just call me Fred?!" Frederick protested.
"Did milady mean myself when she called Ruffles?" Virion complained as well.
June went to Lissa's spot. Then, Lissa used her staff to heal June's wounds. Lissa asked June, "How about Chrom? Is he gonna be okay?"
"So far, yeah," June answered calmly. "He's still in the fort right now. He should be recovering by himself now."
"Good!" Lissa smiled.
But now she saw an [archer] was coming right after them. "Yup, I just put Lissa in enemy's range," June spoke out her inner voice. "Let's kill that one, Sully!"
"Ditto!" Sully confirmed.
"Let's attack it from close range," June gave her strategy. "Archers can only work on long range, right? Then, I'll counter that one with Thunder, and you can help me with your lance."
June then prepared her tome to attack the enemy with it. She didn't forget to check the accuracy first. "86? I guess I can live with it." She attacked the enemy with Thunder, and then Sully drove her—yeah, her [bronze lance] right into that thing's chest. "Go to hell!" Sully swore as she critically knocked out her opponent.
"I am Virion, the archest of the archers," Virion started bluffing again. "I am the man who puts 'arch' in 'archer'. I am myth and legend! I am he who strides large across history's greatest stage!"
"Okay, okay, I get it!" June dismissed him. "Go get the one with axe over there! Chrom will cover you!"
"I shall do as you request, milady," Virion obeyed the tactician. He took his bow and shot an arrow to the axe wielding opponent. Chrom who was quite close from him used his Falchion to slashed the very opponent. But the enemy could still stand such damage, and it chose to attack Virion because he wouldn't be able to counter close-range attacks.
"Virion, you go get Lissa!" June told him. "Frederick, take care of Chrom!"
"Don't you dare to speak as if milord is merely a young child who can't help himself!" Frederick protested again as he finally killed the axe user with his lance.
"Well, what is such a young dear delicate lady like you doing in the middle of battlefield?" Virion asked Lissa who was outside the enemy's range after she healed his wounds.
"I'm a healer," Lissa answered. "I can't really fight, but I'm the one who heal the others with my staff when they're wounded. But hey, I'm not delicate!"
"You do not have to deny, milady," Virion told her. "I am the very man who shall be protecting you. I shall not let a delicate lady like you bear any wounds."
"I SAID I'M NOT DELICATE!"
Meanwhile, Sully just found something on the ground. She said, "Hey! Who left this crap lying around?!"
Sully found a [Glass Sword].
"Try to use it! Try to use it!" said June cutely and impatiently. "It's quite powerful. But it's also fragile. You can only do three strikes with it, and it'll break."
"Heh," Sully replied sarcastically. "Why not?"
Sully quickly slashed the newly found sword at another enemy. As June said, the sword was powerful enough to make a one shot on the enemy.
While there are still another one who was already getting towards Lissa and Virion's spot. The masked person who previously defended Lissa appeared again, and killed the monster before it could lay a finger on Lissa.
In the other hand, June could still handle one-two enemies that were surrounding her. However, she got quite damage from the battle. Then, she quickly ran towards Lissa's place. But suddenly another of the enemy blocked her way.
This thing was kind of different from the other ones. It looked more ferocious. Its hair was very long and voluminous. "Urgh… aaaargh…" it roared.
June was shocked seeing that monster right in front of her. The monster flew its [hand axe] all sudden towards her. Fortunately she was quick enough to block the attack with her sword. But her dropping stamina that time was also reducing her energy. She almost let go off her sword and let the axe chopped her until something else happened.
The shrouded man suddenly came out of nowhere and slashed the monster with his sword before it could land its axe on June. When the enemy was about to strike again, he quickly pulled June into his arms that she couldn't react much but gasped. Then he stabbed his enemy with his sword.
Sully who wasn't far from them quickly drew her glass sword and slashed the final monster. As the monster died to the attack, it was the final strike for the sword. The glass blade then broke.
STAGE COMPLETE!
June went back to her consciousness. She found out that her head and her hand was already lying on a man's chest—it couldn't be a woman after all. Her body was inside his arms. She looked up to figure out who was holding her that close. Then she knew that it was the shrouded man who was previously around there.
"T, thanks…" June thanked him nervously. Her face turned red like an apple. Neither her breath nor her heartbeat was under her control. "Thanks for… saving me… the others too…"
The shrouded man looked back at June—that if his eyes could see a thing through those bandages. He uncovered his bandages—only the part that covered his mouth and didn't particularly reveal his face, as he slowly, softly pressed his lips right onto hers.
The kiss tingled June's nerves, despite of the fact that her kisser was merely a stranger with shrouded face. Before she realized, her whole body was already moving on its own. She couldn't help but closed her eyes, and kissed him back. Her left hand was still holding her doll. Her free right hand was put on his neck. The shrouded man himself who was glad that his hands were free held June's slender waist and pressed her body closer to his, so they could deepen the kiss. Their bodies were so close with each other. There was nothing between them that night, except the doll June was holding close to her chest so she wouldn't drop it accidentally. June could feel his lips were cold. The summer breeze was still warm that night but their kiss just felt… cold.
"Hey there!" Lissa called the masked swordsperson. "Thanks for saving me!"
"Can I know your name?" Chrom asked him.
"You can call me Marth," the masked person answered.
"Marth? Like, the Hero-King?" Chrom asked again. "Anyway, thank you for helping us fighting the enemies. Also for saving my sister."
"You are welcome," Marth answered. "It is an honor to help you."
Marth then left Chrom and the others. Frederick asked Chrom, "Milord, are you sure we can just let him leave like that?"
"It's alright, Frederick," Chrom told him calmly. "He helped us fighting whatever those things were. It's enough for me to believe him."
"But that doesn't mean you can just let your guard down, milord," Frederick said again. "This is exactly how you act towards June, too."
"Are you saying I have to suspect that either you or Lissa may harm me in the future?"
"No, milord. I'm just saying that you have to be aware when it comes to strangers. For example, the turquoise-haired man who suddenly appeared and help us."
"The turquoise-haired man? Oh yeah, him. What's his name again, uh…?"
"Virion it is, my dear sir," Virion suddenly came out of nowhere and answered Chrom. "And you must be Sir Chrom of Ylisse, if I am not wrong."
"Well, you're not."
"Yes, Sir Chrom. I would like to stay with your army, if you do not mind."
"I don't have any problem about having you being one of the Shepherds. So you can stay."
"Shepherds? Are we tending sheep here?"
"Well, yes."
"Milord, what did I just tell you about countering strangers?" Frederick objected Chrom.
"Calm down, Fred," Chrom eased him. "He's a decent archer. I think we should keep him."
"And should we keep June too?"
"Sure."
"June? Ah yes, the tactician lady, is she not? She is very skillful at making strategies during a war. She has also an intriguing beauty, I may say. In fact, she is probably the most beautiful woman of the three women I just met tonight in this very battlefield. Keeping both of us with Sir Chrom here will sure make the army stronger."
"Shut up Ruffles, no one likes you," Sully sarcastically told him.
"Forgive me, milady!" Virion begged. "Be not jealous! Both Lady June and you are beautiful women. I sure cannot deny the beauty of the youngest and most delicate lady too!"
"How many times I have to tell you?!" Lissa was pissed off. "I'M NOT DELICATE!"
"Speaking about June, where is she?!" Chrom asked everyone else to dismiss the arguing.
The shrouded man slowly took off his lips from June's. He let his arms off of her. He stepped backward from where June was standing. June who was still dazed nervously asked him, "Who… who are you…? What are you doing here…?"
Her voice was small, shaking. The shrouded man could hear her. He only glanced at her, and then he walked away, leaving her alone. Just like that.
June remained silent. She didn't move any slight from there, as if she was under a magic spell that held her right in her place.
Who was he?
How could he immobilize and possess her with merely a kiss on lips?
Why was his face shrouded with bandages? What would happen if anyone sees his face?
But without finding out the answers from her questions, Chrom's voice already broke her subconscious side. He apparently came with the others.
"June! Here you are!" Chrom said. "Are you alright?"
June simply nodded.
"You look tired," Lissa commented about how her face looked like. "I guess you need some rest."
"Rest?" June's mind was still wandering in her fantasy world, but then she went back into reality and said, "Oh yeah. You're right, Lissa. I guess I do need some rest. A lady needs her beauty sleep after all. Hahaha…"
"Eh? Lady?" Chrom was dumfounded hearing June's sentence.
"What is it, Chrom?" June asked him. "Did I say anything wrong?"
"No, no, it's just, uh…" Chrom didn't know how to answer June. "You don't seem like a lady to me."
"Wha—what do you mean?!"
"I, uh, don't really see you as a 'lady'. A 'lady' to me is prim, proper, perfume… pretty too… uh, nothing like you at all. It's just…"
Chrom wasn't finished yet until he saw June acting different. "Uh, June? What are you doing with that rock?"
"I guess you need some rest too, Chrom!" June replied angrily. "How about a head shot?! Maybe it'll fix your eyesight!"
"No, June, wait! I was just joking! Hahahahahaha…ha?"
"Keep your hands away from milord!" Frederick commanded the angry girl.
"But, but," June who still had her common sense lowered the rock. "Okay…"
"Let's just continue sleeping here, everyone!" Frederick then changed the topic. "It's already safe here!"
"Okay…" Lissa dismissed.
As everyone else already went to sleep, something else kept June awake. Her mind was still stuck in that night. The cold night that she swore that she would tell no one ever.
She kissed someone's cold lips. And she liked it.
"Hey, Bubbles, can I see that notebook?" A man asked another man next to him.
"You mean this?" the second man who was reading a notebook responded, but he realized, "Hey, did you just call me Bubbles?!"
"Yup," the first man answered care freely. "So what?"
"Uh… I'm not sure if I can actually let you read it. I don't think you'd believe the contents either."
"It's just a notebook, right? Come on…"
"*sigh*…" he just gave that notebook to him. He couldn't see why not, though.
The other man took the notebook. He lifted the brown leather-made cover. He traced page by page flipped one after another. When he arrived at a peculiar page, he reacted, "…Wut?"
I don't exactly know about the real definition of 'shroud'. I only conclude it as 'bandage all over face'. It's not Funyarinpa, so it's still tolerable for me not to know the definition, right? I'm kinda OU-ing the word 'blasphemous' now. Thanks to Funyarinpa lol.
Anyway, the meteor shower in Chapter 1 cut scene wasn't really explained, now that I think about it._. Because after that it's just Risen came out, and then there's 'Marth', nothing actually relevant. See? A plot hole!
Since battle scene is kinda hard to portray—although I'm still forcing myself anyway, it may not seem legit to you and you're like "Is this a battle or what?" I'm not sure about the real number of the enemies, what their classes are, and how a battle goes. Turns? Screw it. Real-time wars don't take turns. As if I care about something such as 'procedural game logic'.
Snake and Virion are kinda radiating the same aura, somehow. Of course Snake is the better version, because he keeps himself poised and low-profile instead of shamelessly hitting on any passing by females. Am I the only one who thinks so? Nope, I don't really hate Virion, don't get me wrong. He's kinda laughable actually. Despite of my Virion ended up forever alone, though. Oh, R & R if you may :)