Ahh, right

Hmm…Last chapter had a lot of spelling mistakes. Then again, I did write it at four in the morning…Please forgive those.

Disclaimer: Must I say it again? I must?! Ah curses…I don't own Fire Emblem. You couldn't figure that out on your own, could you?

"Four rules." Isaac stated, gently brushing some dust off the wyverns scales, "Rule number one. Do not tease her ever. Ever. I mean it." I quirked an eye.

"Her? She doesn't have a name?" He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Her name is Magdalene." Without giving me time to respond, he continued. "Rule number two. Never approach her, touch her or climb on her unless I permit it. Rule number three. Obey the rules. Rule number four. Don't question the rules." He said. I shook my head. Perhaps this man really thought I was as inexperienced as I may look.

"Right. Let's take inventory then." Isaac gave me a blank stare. "Hm? You have no inventory? Ah…it doesn't matter. So. What shall we do now?"

"We wait."

I didn't bother asking for what. It was fairly easy to guess what he was waiting on. I slumped against the stable wall. Stretching my legs and arms, I reached into my pack. Pulling out an old journal, I smiled softly. It looked like the one I had kept during my time with 'Lyndis's Legion'. Flipping it open to a random page, I stared at strange little doodles. Scratchy mountains, floppy leaved trees, lakes that looked like loaves of bread and even a sketch of Florina and Lyn. Those I had obviously taken more time on than anything else in the book. Florina looked on the verge of tiny pear-shaped tears, and Lyn appeared to be laughing. I closed my eyes with a smile. When I was in 'Lyndis's Legion' everything seemed happier. We seemed to laugh a lot more then. Then again, before that, we had no idea there was a crazy, impossibly powerful mad-man out there who wanted to bring back the dragons.

Flipping the page, I found ludicrously messy writing. Struggling to make out the words, I quickly realized it was the final entry in the book. I had ended it with such simple words.

'Lyn is reunited with her grandfather. While his condition is severe, Lord Hausen will recover. I will take my leave shortly.'

There had been no emotion in the passage. No sign of the sadness I held.

Closing the cover, I reached into the pack once more. Bringing out a slightly more worn book, I sighed. This book, despite being more worn, was the one I had kept and completed recently. Briefly, I considered opening it. A smile twitched across my face. Reminiscing at this point in time was a dumb idea. Of course, I was all about dumb ideas. Several times I had come up with completely preposterous tactics no one (including myself) thought would work.

I placed my thumb on a random place on the book. Digging my nail into the slim crack between the pages, I thrust the book open. Or I would have, if I hadn't been interrupted by a terribly chilling voice.

"Good morning, Isaac. I trust you are ready to depart?" Looking up from the book, I saw Isaac nod briefly. Groaning, I thrust both books back into my pack. The newcomer didn't seem surprised to see me. I watched his eyes come around to stare at me.

"Tactician…Evangeline." Right then…I was pretty sure I looked as dumb as ever. The man smirked at my face. I wanted to speak. To ask him how he knew this. I couldn't. "What's wrong, Eva? Confused?" He paused to give a simple laugh. "I'm afraid I know all about you. Enough of you though. I am called Bryugen. All you need to know is that I am the head of this company." He turned toward Isaac once more. "We leave to Bern." Isaac froze.

"Bern? You can't mean… Did Fier fail?" Bryugen continued, ignoring Isaac.

"Come. Ostia has its hands full at the moment. Let's not…trouble the enforcement any longer."

Perhaps I should have left. Perhaps I should never have followed them. Perhaps I should have gone back to find Hector and accept his offer of staying a bit longer. Perhaps I should have followed Guy, or Legault, or Nino, or maybe even Karel if I was feeling particularly crazy. Perhaps. The truth is though, that's not what I did. I chose to follow strangers. Mercenaries. Of all groups I could have joined, I chose mercenaries. I've never had much luck with mercenaries. Or bandits. Or pirates. Or thieves. I've only had luck with small armies gathered by young lord's to defeat an insanely powerful enemy and stop dragons from being brought back into the world. It's very hard to find those. Very, very, very hard.

Several hours after our departure from Ostia, I began finding it hard to stay focused. I had grown used to a much larger group and a much louder group. I couldn't hear the clanking of Hectors' heavy armor, Hyperion's occasional screech, or the clatter of pans as Nino dropped something from Merlinus' tent. I tried to focus on my surroundings, with no avail. Without the noise, I could not observe, listen, or hear well. I may have been losing my sense of smell as well.

Ignoring my lose of senses, I observed my new comrades positions. Isaac led the group, with Magdalene trailing behind him. He had previously explained to me about the risk of archers, saying that he preferred to stay grounded. Bryugen had shaken his head and called him a paranoid fool. I turned my head to look behind me, where I had previously seen Bryugen. I almost stopped when I found he was not behind me. Turning my head frantically from side to side, I searched for the thin man. I opened my mouth to ask Isaac where he was.

"Where's-"

"What? Concerned?" The sound of his voice shocked me so much I nearly fell over. I felt something in the back of my head click when I saw him smile. I found myself instantly reminded of the man I had fought not long ago with 'Hector's Horde'. Oh what was his name? Lyle? Klive? Lucifer?

"Hey! Are you guys coming?" Isaac shouted over his shoulder. This made me realized I had stopped walking. Bryugen's smile had disappeared just like the thought of that man. It was all gone.

I gave a weary sigh, before nodding. Bryugen began walking just in front of me. This gave me the first chance I had to observe what he looked like-at least from behind. He didn't wear too much armor, unlike Isaac. A shoulder pad here. A gauntlet there. His cloak was fastened tightly at the neck, but the rest of the straps remained unattended to. The colors were bland. Nothing flashy of course. A simple, smart move. His hair was shorter than Fiora's, yet longer than Raven's. It held a pale red color to it that made me think of Priscilla.

I was growing tired of analyzing. Actually, I was just growing tired. I didn't speak up though. This was a mistake. A large one, at that.

Several hours later, my legs were aching, my head was throbbing, and my eyes were sagging. By an estimate from my scrambled brain, I guessed we weren't far from the Ostian border. Of course, my estimates were usually off when my brain was perfectly fine. I found myself wishing I had never asked Isaac that question. I just wanted to go back to Castle Ostia, accept Hector's offer, and lie down in a nice, soft bed. Too late for that now though. If I turned back, I would regret it. Mainly because my legs would probably give out half-way back.

"Isaac. Over there." I almost didn't hear Bryugen speak. He was pointing towards a small area of land. A large forest was not far from it, and in the distance I swear I could see a lake. Silently, I wished for him to say 'We make camp over there.'

"We'll set camp up over there," He turned toward me. "Isaac and I will go hunting when the camp is up. I hope you can manage with just a knife." He said in his chilling tone. I gave a tiny nod. A small smirk leapt onto his face.

"Good." He then motioned for Isaac to follow him. Out of habit, I followed, coming to an even pace with Magdalene. She proceeded to shoot me a look that I took as an okay sign. With a tiny smile, I thought;

'At least someone doesn't mind me.'

And that's number two. Whoo. This took a while, for some reason. I mean, it took a really long time! Anyway, that's It for now. Later.