Chapter 3! Just a heads up, I'll get at least one chapter out each week, possibly more depending on how inspired I am, but always one! I consider this a bit longer than usual but if you like the length I'll try to make more of them like this. Quick shout out to Youtube user AginoEvolutionHD, because I have been using his/her walkthrough to catch all the intricacies of the game. I'm far past the beginning of FE Awakening now in my own playthrough but tis not so in this story. I doubt that person is reading this fanfiction but if any of you want to like one of their videos for being such a great resource, that's awesome. Without further ado, enjoy!
Here was someone who knew her, who called out to her. With a smile that conveyed her unadulterated joy at the knowledge that she was known by someone, Ashe realized there was hope for her yet.
As the person drew closer, Ashe started to make out his features, namely the shock of wild blue hair that was plastered to his forehead with sweat from the heat of the fires. He did not mirror her smile. In fact, he looked quite irate with his lips pressed into a thin line and his blue eyes blazing.
Curious, Ashe ran to meet him, putting some distance between the townspeople and herself. It only took Chrom a few seconds more to reach the snowy-haired young woman and a mere second after that to catch his breath and begin yelling.
"Are you insane?" he demanded. Ashe, unprepared for his harsh tone, recoiled slightly. "I told you to stay put," he ranted, "and instead you ran in here, putting yourself in danger!" Ashe opened her mouth to disagree but Chrom fumed on, "not just yourself even! Endangering your own life is one thing, but you put an innocent woman in harm's way!"
Any argument she would've made died on her lips. Indeed it was foolish of her to run into a dangerous area alone when she had no knowledge of her own limits or abilities, but she couldn't just leave the mother there to possibly perish in the flames that devoured her house. She chose her words carefully, hoping to quell Chrom's rage, "I am sorry to have worried you. I will not act so irresponsibly again."
Chrom looked both placated and confused. With such a spirited younger sister, he wasn't used to hearing he was right often, even when he was undeniably right. Of course, this odd feeling of satisfaction did not last for long.
"So let me fight with you," Ashe continued, her stormy eyes flashing.
The blue-haired prince opened his mouth to refuse her. It was his immediate reaction, yet he said nothing, biting his tongue to keep from speaking. He took a long look at her, noting the way her jaw was set, her stance was firm, and her eyes shone with determination. She was serious, and unlike many of the young men and woman who came to him with dreams of glory, she understood the fatal nature of battle.
"Alright," he said at last, "I left Frederick and Lissa in the middle of town earlier fighting some stray bandits; if you prove that you can truly hold your own in that fight, then I'll make you a part of the Shepherds."
She smiled and nodded, thankful for the opportunity, and he felt compelled to smile back, though the small moment shared between the two was cut short by a sudden shriek. The voice was familiar, and as realization dawned on the pair, Ashe met Chrom's eyes, clouded with fear.
"Lissa!" he shouted before bolting off in the direction of the shriek with Ashe following close on his heels.
The two arrived in time to see Frederick gallop past in a flash of metallic blue to put his silver lance through the chest of an axe-wielding brigand, simultaneously ending his life and saving Lissa's.
The blonde princess stared up at her savior from her spot on the cobblestone road with wide, sky blue eyes. As a fairly new member of the Shepherds, Lissa hadn't seen much action until today. She watched her brother or Frederick stop a fight or two, but such squabbles were insignificant; this was her first real battle and the first time her life had been threatened. Shock and fear filled her mind in equal parts and she was overcome with the urge to cry. She wanted to run far away, back to her beloved sister, and never have to see someone killed or feel death's icy hands on her own body again.
Chrom was at her side before the bandit's corpse hit the ground, checking her for injuries and assuring her she was safe now. Frederick dismounted and knelt beside her as well, speaking in a calm, soothing voice that she was not used to hearing. As a knight, he'd seen many young men and women like Lissa narrowly escape death. Such experiences always managed to wake those involved as if from a dream, a dream that they were invincible. Others would die, but death could not touch them, of course. It only took one incident, one tiny brush with death, to change their minds and make them realize their young lives could truly end at any moment.
Frederick was wise enough to know that his lady's reaction would determine her future as a Shepherd. He'd seen greater women drop their weapons permanently when faced with their own mortality, and he vowed to respect the young healer's decision.
The amnesiac watched Chrom and Frederick flock to Lissa's side with great curiosity. Unlike the skilled rider, this was the first time Ashe had witnessed another encounter death for the first time. She was at a loss to remember her own experience in spite of her best efforts to recall some tiny bit of her past. Had she too quaked with fear? Had anyone cradled her shaking body to provide much needed solace?
Such questions flooded her mind as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. Given her wealth of emotional knowledge, Ashe had very little difficulty empathizing with the other young woman, though as far as she knew, she no longer shared her feelings towards battle. In fact, unlike Lissa, she actually enjoyed the addictive thrill of a fight if her actions only minutes ago were any indication. Being brought so close to death made her feel more alive than ever, much to her horror. If she were not careful, she would quickly become obsessed with the feeling.
Ashe's cheeks colored with embarrassment when she realized how ridiculous her thoughts were. It was inhuman to revel in the feeling of taking another human's life, but she could not deny that the action of the moment, the necessary tactics, and the high stakes all resonated with the very core of her essence. As it were, some people are simply to test the limits of their existence on the battlefield, and whether she were conscious of it or not, Ashe was one of those rare entities.
While the amnesiac wrestled with her thoughts, the young princess broke from her terror-induced trance, suddenly desperate for air. After a few seconds of filling her previously useless lungs, Lissa reached out with a trembling hand for Frederick's armor-clad forearm. Frederick remained still as she used his arm as leverage to push herself onto her unsteady feet. Chrom shot up from his kneeling position and grabbed her shoulders to steady her, but Lissa shook him off.
Frederick slowly raised himself from the ground, and once he'd reached his full height, Lissa let her hand slip from his arm.
"Are you okay?' asked Chrom, shifting his weight from foot to foot. His sister was not prone to long bouts of silence and she was currently worrying him a fair amount. She had refused his help as well…all in all, he felt quite powerless.
Lissa took another deep breath to calm herself and then spoke. "I'm fine, just a little shaken. There are still some bandits in the town square; we ought to get over there before they're able to cause any more trouble."
"Lissa, I don't think-
"You are right, milady," said Frederick, interrupting a shocked Chrom, "if you'll allow me." The knight gestured to his horse. It wasn't often that he disobeyed the blue-haired lord, but on this particular occasion he would allow himself this tiny insubordination.
Lissa shot him a grateful smile and let herself be hoisted onto the back of the black mare. Frederick remained stoic as he mounted his horse as well but internally he was beaming with pride for his charge. It was his job to keep her out of harm's way and it would be much easier if she had decided to leave the Shepherds, but Frederick didn't find himself minding the extra challenge when he had such an admirable young woman to protect.
Chrom stood dumbfounded, watching his habitually obedient knight gallop off with his sister. Lissa was by no means a coward, but he hadn't expected her to recover so quickly from her shock and actually want to return to the fight. Like Frederick, he felt a certain amount of pride bubble up inside of him, but it was accompanied by a sense of dread and foreboding. Childlike, cheerful Lissa was rapidly changing before his eyes into a strong, young woman. Deep in his subconscious, he feared he would lose his innocent little sister in more ways than he thought possible before today.
A gentle hand on his shoulder roused him from his unhappy thoughts. He swiveled around, almost throwing the hand off in the process, and came face to face with the stormy-eyed amnesiac. She gave him an understanding smile and let her hand fall to grasp his own for a moment-just long enough to transfer some of her warmth-before she let it drop by his side.
"Come on, let's go help those two," she said, beckoning him to follow her as she dashed with lightning speed in the direction Frederick had galloped off in.
Chrom hesitated for a moment, wondering at the pleasant tingling in the hand Ashe had touched before he too took off to rejoin the fight. He was too proud to say anything, but he secretly wish she had lingered for a few seconds longer.
It would not due to dwell on such warm sentiments in the midst of battle, so he purged them from his mind, hoping to drown them in an ocean of other more pertinent thoughts and feelings. However, unbeknownst to the blue-haired prince, they would not remain submerged for long and would, in fact, rise to the surface on many occasions in the future.
It only took Chrom a few minutes to catch up with the three other Shepherds. Frederick was engaged with an axe-wielding bandit while Ashe stood off to the side fighting off two lance-wielding bandits with her small dagger. Before she'd had the element of surprise, but now she seemed to be having some difficulty. Without any concern for the danger, Chrom launched himself into the fight running one of the bandits through the stomach with Falchion and giving Ashe the chance to deftly slit the throat of the other.
Ashe was only given a few seconds of rest before she was filled with an odd sort of anxiety. "Chrom! Side-step to the left!" Ashe commanded. Without questioning, Chrom did as he was told just in time to dodge the axe that had come flying past where his head would have been. Its wielder had been crouched behind a pile of crates but now that his position had been given away, Chrom easily disposed of him. Ashe had sensed the axe-wielder long before he revealed himself.
"How did you know he was there?" asked Chrom, bewildered.
"I'm not sure…I feel like I can almost, I don't know, sense the flow of battle and the enemy's strength," she explained, though she was just as mystified as Chrom.
"Do you think you're getting more of your memories back?" he asked.
"I'm not sure. I suppose I must've learned this sort of sixth sense somewhere but it just feels instinctual right now," said Ashe with a sad shake of her head.
Chrom clapped her on the shoulder. "You'll get your memories back," he said with an encouraging smile, "just give it time. Until then, let's put that sixth sense of yours to work!"
Ashe nodded enthusiastically and helped Chrom fight through the rest of the bandits to a man named Garrick, who claimed to be their leader. He was a vile man with greasy orange hair, pulled back in a lopsided ponytail. His cheeks were covered with garish red war paint and the animal pelts draped over his shoulders reeked of death and fire. Barbaric as he seemed, he was still much stronger than the rest of his fellow bandits and Chrom sustained a few shallow gashes on his left side before Ashe ended the brigand's life with a well-timed thunder spell.
Lissa jumped off the back of Frederick's horse the moment the man hit the ground to heal her brother's minor wounds. "Wow Ashe! You were amazing out there! You're such a good fighter…er, sorcerer…wait, tactician? I guess you're all three, huh?" she gushed.
"Thank you, but without you and your staff I would probably be just a puddle of blood on the ground by now," said Ashe with a smile.
"It's a good thing you're not; the Shepherds don't have much for dead bodies," said Chrom. Ashe's smile grew wider when she picked up on the implication of the prince's words. Lissa beamed and even Frederick smiled a bit, or at least he did not protest quite so much as she might have expected.
"I won't let you down!" she vowed.
The joyful atmosphere only lasted for a bit until Frederick cleared his throat to gain the small group's attention. "Those brigands spoke with a Plegian accent," he said, his tone grave.
Chrom nodded, "so long as we can continue to beat them back we will avoid war, but we can't keep allowing them to terrorize towns like this." He gestured to the charred buildings around them. The flames had died down now without stimulation from the bandits, but most of the damage was already done.
"It's not fair at all!" Lissa complained, stomping her leather-clad foot, "I hate those dirty, rotten Plegians!"
"Um, excuse me, what are 'Plegians'?" asked Ashe.
"Plegia is Ylisse's neighbor to the west; they continually attempt to start wars with us, though they've been unsuccessful so far," explained Chrom, "and Lissa, not all of Plegia is at fault; you should not speak so generally of them.
"I know," Lissa muttered, stubbornly refusing to meet her brother's eyes. Chrom chuckled at her childishness and Frederick grinned as well, infuriating the young princess further.
"Milord," said a villager, whom Ashe recognized as one of the men that had stood by the river, "we thank you for saving our village and would be honored if you stayed and dined with us tonight. We don't have much, but we would gladly-
"Thank you for your kindness," interrupted Frederick, "but had we arrived sooner, we might have prevented this in the first place. Please, if you have any further trouble, contact the Shepherds immediately."
"R-right! We will! Thank you again," said the villager before running off once more.
"That was rude," Lissa said, crossing her arms, "it's getting dark; I don't see what the harm is in staying the night."
"We still have an hour or two of daylight. The closer we are to Ylisstol, the better. Besides, we can make camp as soon as the sun sets and continue traveling once it rises. Our journey will be much more efficient this way," Frederick reasoned.
Lissa pouted but knew it would be useless to argue with the rigid knight. Chrom laughed and Ashe found herself laughing as well. The journey was unlikely to be very pleasant with Frederick in charge, but they would definitely reach home quickly.
"You know Frederick, sometimes I hate you," complained Lissa.
"And I, you, milady." Lissa stared indignantly at the knight for a few soundless seconds before breaking out in a fit of giggles. Frederick joined in and Ashe looked on in confusion.
Noticing her bewilderment, Chrom leaned over and whispered in her ear, "this happens often. I believe it's their way of flirting." Ashe's cheeks turned a deep cherry red and the blue-haired lord found himself laughing heartily at the sight.
Ah, I couldn't help putting some Frederick x Lissa in there. Like I said, I am definitely listening to what you guys say, but if I just immediately gave you what you wanted, well, where 's the fun in that? Huge thank you to Knowledgeseeker66 for your wonderfully detailed and thoughtful review. It truly made my day! I can't promise all the pairings you suggested will be fulfilled but, I will definitely get some of them in this story!
On a separate note, I'm pretty excited to finally bring some new characters into the story. I do adore these four but personally I'd like some more variety. I'm sure Sully and Virion will bring that.
Also, question of the day (not gonna be a regular thing): what is that song played during the cutscene in which the avatar wakes up? I know it's not serenity though it sounds like it, so what is it? Or is it not a full song? I have not found an answer thus far so I am turning to you, my dear readers!
Thank you for reading! Please review, because I love hearing back from you all, and have a great Sunday/rest of week!
