Chapter Three


Iago and I decided our best course of action for the time being was to find some kind of civilization to rest at and then figure out a more definitive plan from there. As we walked, Iago tried to make conversation.

"Do you mind if I ask where you're from?"

"I'm…from a country far away from here. And I'd rather leave it at that for now." Talking about Sirene, which had been viewed as an evil empire, probably wouldn't do me any favors at this point in time.

"Fair enough, I guess. But if you're from so far away, then what brings you all the way out to Hoshido?" He stared at me from the corner of his eye. "You never did tell me what it was you were trying to accomplish."

There was no way I could tell him the truth. I didn't trust him enough for that just yet, but I'd also have to give him the full story of everything that had happened to me up to that point, and frankly I didn't feel like he'd believe very much of it.

"I've just got a grudge, that's all." I answered nonchalantly, immediately biting my lip and hoping he'd buy it. He shrugged his shoulders but didn't say anything else on the matter. "What about you though? I mean, I know you said you can't remember anything, but is there really nothing that you remember?"

He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he looked to be thinking hard about his forgotten memories. "Come to think of it, I do recall one tiny detail. A name. Kamui, I think."

My eyes widened and I stopped walking. It took Iago a moment to notice I'd stopped, when he did he turned around and gave me a curious look.

"Kamui…as in the Queen of Valla?" I asked slowly, my fists clenching.

"Perhaps. I can't be quite sure it's her, but the name Kamui isn't very common." His brow furrowed. "And...I couldn't tell you why, but when I think of that name, I feel this…unquenchable, seething anger start bubbling to the surface."

Did he have something against the royal twins as well? Or was I just jumping to conclusions? For all I knew the Kamui he used to know could have been some random person in a tiny village or something. It didn't have to be the Vallite queen. Somehow though, I just knew it had to be. Iago and I meeting had to have been Varlent's doing, I was sure of it now. Varlent had a vendetta against the twins as well, so could it really be coincidence that Iago and just happened to meet and both of us just happened to have a connection to the twins? I don't think so.

"Iago, I need to tell you some things that have just now become clear to me. First off, I-" I was interrupted by a bolt of lightning striking the side of Iago's shoulder.

Iago made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a whimper as he quickly clapped a hand over the scorched portion of his shoulder. I quickly turned in the direction the bolt had come from and saw a mage, tome in hand as he readied another spell. I drew my Rapier and dashed towards him, briefly noticing how much lighter this new body of mine was and the speed that came with it. As I rapidly approached him, the mage started to chant faster in hopes of striking me before I reached. He didn't manage to chant fast enough however. In mere moments I was upon him, my Rapier lunging forward and through his chest. He coughed, blood spurting from his mouth before his body went limp. I used my foot to push his body off of my sword and causing a wet squelching sound in the process.

I stared at the body, bloodied and unmoving on the ground. His eyes still wide open in shock from the moment my blade ran him through. It had been only a short time since the war, but oh Naga how I'd missed this.

"You've got good aim, I'll give you that. Can't say the same for him though." I snapped out of my daze at the sound of Iago's voice. He had somehow made his way to my side without me noticing.

"Is your arm okay?" I asked, trying to get a better look at it.

"It's fine. Just a flesh wound is all." He bent down and picked up the mage's, now half blood soaked, tome and flipped through the pages. Finding it to his satisfaction, he snapped the book shut and made a quick glance at our surroundings. "Keep your eyes peeled; if there's one then there's bound to be more nearby. Wretched Hoshidans." He sneered.

I was about to ask how he knew that man had been a Hoshidan when I noticed the glaringly obvious Hoshidan symbol hanging on a chain around his neck. I made sure my sword was at the ready before casting my eyes upwards; Hoshidans were famous for their Sky Knights and I wouldn't have been surprised to find a couple of them watching us from above. I didn't see any at first, but as I watched, one came into view and started its descent to our position on the ground. Iago fired a few spells at it but it dodged nimbly and gracefully, not even seeming to be troubled by the attacks. The pegasus landed roughly fifteen feet from us and we were treated with a good look at its rider; a red-headed woman who currently wore a sour look on her face. Princess Hinoka of Hoshido.

"Iago Macbeth! You are wanted for murder, treason, torture of innocents, and many other crimes for which your penalty should be death. However, it has been decided that you will be given a fair trial and a chance to explain your actions." She scowled further as the words left her mouth. "I would recommend accepting Corrin and Kamui's mercy, because Naga knows you'll find no mercy should you reject their offer."

I slowly turned to look at Iago. He looked just as confused as I felt. I assumed he had equally no knowledge of what she was talking about. I stepped forward.

"Princess Hinoka, you must be mistaken. This man has not proved to be the kind of man you've specified in the time I've known him." Hinoka turned her gaze to me, although it was now softer, gentle even.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Iago has been lying to you and deceiving you. He's nothing more than a cowardly snake who seeks nothing more than the pain of others. Please, come with me and we'll take care of you." She smiled and extended her hand towards me. I took a slow step forward.

"L-Lillian…" Iago whispered, his tone panicked.

She looked so kind and beautiful, her smile warm and radiant. It made my blood boil. How dare she try to show mercy to me. Where was her mercy when she swooped down from above like an angel of death and slaughtered unfathomable numbers of my countrymen? No…no, no, no. She would die right here on the end of my blade, and I would make her regret ever making an enemy of me.

I placed myself between Hinoka and Iago, drew my sword, and pointed it up towards the princess. She seemed taken aback by my decision, causing her to change her expression to one of pity.

"I see. You've been ensnared by his awful magic already. Iago! You will not be allowed to roam free and do as you please!" Hinoka raised her arm and made a hand motion. It wasn't long before a number of soldiers came stampeding out from the trees, their weapons raised and ready. "Kill the Sorcerer and incapacitate the girl. She's under his control and not responsible for her actions. I'm going to report back to King Ryoma."

With that Hinoka took off back into the air. Cowardly princess. Making excuses to get herself off the battlefield. No matter, I'd deal with her in due time. For now, we needed to deal with the soldiers around us.

Iago and I stood back to back, each of us surveying the situation. A Dark Mage, two Diviners, an Archer, and three Spear Fighters.

"Got any ideas?" I asked, slightly nervous.

"If that mage from before was any indication, then these magic users have very little effect on me. Thus I believe our best option is to go after the mages first; you'll follow behind me and only duck out to strike them once we're close enough. We'll have to keep our eyes on the others at the same time though. I'll try my best to keep them at bay with some spell slinging, but what we'll really have to watch is that Archer. He'll be prowling around the edges of the battlefield looking for a clear shot at me."

"Why will he be focused on just you?"

"The princess said to merely incapacitate you and seeing as they have not a single healer with them, an arrow would be the same as a death sentence for you. They'll most likely try to kill me off first and then subdue you through sheer numbers."

"I'm…impressed. You seem like you've done this kind of thing before." I said I was impressed and I meant it. The man had thought of more details than I could be bothered to remember.

"Hah, perhaps. Based on what Princess Hinoka was saying, who knows what all I've done in my lifetime." He had a point there. "On three I'll start running towards the Diviner to my left. One…two…three. GO!"

Iago dashed off and I followed closely behind, trying not to get hit by any of the spells that were now whizzing by us. As Iago had suggested, I watched the other soldiers carefully; the Spear Fighters were keeping up with us but staying a fair distance away due to Iago's magic. Also as expected, the Archer had nocked an arrow and was slowly but surely sidestepping around the edge of the tree line like a predator that's spotted its prey.

"Lillian! Now!"

I snapped back to the situation in front of us to see the Diviner not even ten feet away. I leapt out from behind Iago and drove my Rapier towards the Diviner's heart, but just when I thought I had him, he managed to sidestep my blow. My sword blew past him and I was left vulnerable for the moment when his fist caught the side of my face. I staggered to the side from the force behind it, trying my best to regain my footing. Once I had, I glared over at the Diviner who was no longer paying me any mind as he was too busy trying to slow Iago, who I now noticed had multiple burn marks and bruises from the hits he'd taken during our advance. I took advantage of the Diviner's lack of attention and slowly stepped around behind him before making my second lunge. This time I was successful, my point of my sword entering the back of his neck and exiting just below his bottom jaw. I quickly retracted my sword and left him to gurgle and sputter in his last few moments of life.

Checking on Iago, he had managed to dispose of two of the Spear Fighters and the Dark Mage in the time that I had gotten rid of one measly Diviner. I inwardly reprimanded myself for being as slow and sloppy as I had been. I rushed forward and engaged the last Spear Fighter so Iago could focus on the second Diviner.

The Spear Fighter looked demoralized by the loss of his companions, but there was a fire in his eyes that told me he wanted nothing more than to avenge them right here and now. I pointed the tip of my Rapier in his direction and squared my feet up.

"En garde!"

He poked his naginata forward, hoping to catch me with a quick jab but to no avail. He swiped from the side but I moved forward to catch the shaft of his naginata on my hand guard. He pushed harder, attempting to force it but I had the advantage. I continued to move forward slowly as he kept pushing against me so as to not let my sword arm free. Soon we were face to face, both of us struggling for dominance. Realizing we were getting nowhere, I kicked one of his legs thinking he would falter, but I was mistaken; he held strong and merely smirked before kicking my own leg. His kick was strong and I was forced down onto one knee.

"Heh, things aren't looking good for you now, are they?" The Spear Fighter smiled smugly.

"I…wouldn't get cocky…just yet." I curled my free hand into a fist and brought it up hard into his crotch.

His eyes screwed shut and the weight behind his naginata lifted. I got back on my feet and stood over him as he fell to his knees before me. I leveled the tip of my sword at his throat and grinned.

"Things aren't looking good for you now, are they?" I said in a patronizing tone.

"I'm sorry…we couldn't save you…from him." The man was genuinely apologizing to me. He legitimately believed that Iago was using me like some puppet and I was really just an innocent girl in unfortunate circumstances. My grin quickly turned into a snarl as I thrust my sword forward and through his neck.

With my mood thoroughly soured, I turned around just in time to see Iago finish off the last Diviner. He smiled at me and let out a breath of relief. I was about to do the same when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. The Archer. He had drawn back his arrow and was getting ready to fire. Even if I warned Iago, there was a good chance he either wouldn't immediately understand or wouldn't react in time to dodge the arrow. I sprinted forward as fast as I could, hoping I could make it in time. The Archer released his arrow and I jumped forward, knocking Iago over and feeling a sharp pain in my side mere moments later.

I laid on the ground, blood running from my wound. I watched Iago cast spell after spell at the Archer until finally one hit the Hoshidan and he fell quickly, but Iago didn't stop there; he kept going until the body was smoking and burnt. Through my daze of pain and shock, I could tell that someone was picking me up; carrying me. I assumed it must have been Iago. Before long, my thoughts started to dim and I fell into the darkness of sleep.


I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry. I blinked, and then blinked again. I was lying on something…soft. My body hurt. I tried sitting up but it was hard; the pain in my side was unbearable. I laid back down and took in my surroundings. It looked like I was in someone's house, but…how had I gotten here? My head was still fuzzy and I couldn't quite think straight. I groaned. The more awake I became, the worse the pain got.

"Hey, finally awake?" A woman's voice. "That was a pretty nasty wound you had. Even my Bloom Festal couldn't heal it completely."

I looked over to my right to see a woman leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her…more than ample chest. My body may have been female, but my mind was still mostly male and I couldn't help but stare a little bit.

"See something you like, dear?" She asked with a giggle.

I blushed awkwardly and looked up at her face. She was beautiful. Porcelain skin and short black hair that only just barely reached her shoulders. And judging from her attire, she had to have been a Shrine Maiden.

"Where am I?" My voice sounded terrible and gravelly coming out of my throat. My mouth felt like it was filled with cotton.

She smiled and made a sweeping arm gesture.

"Welcome to the Yoka family shrine! My name is Rin and I happen to be the current shrine keeper." I nodded my acknowledgment.

"Where's Iago?"

"That creepy guy that brought you here? I told him to wait outside while I patched you up."

"Oh, okay."

I attempted to sit up again, this time with a little more determination. It took me a few minutes and a couple of snickers from Rin, but I did it.

Rin handed me a cup of water that I downed greedily. The cool freshness of the water washed away that cotton like feeling in my mouth and the roughness in my throat.

"What's your name, cutie?" Rin asked.

"Hm? Oh, uh, Lillian." I answered simply.

"Lillian, huh? That's a nice name. It fits a stunning girl like yourself, ya know?" I looked down, hoping she wouldn't notice the slight tinge of redness on my cheeks.

It was only then that I looked down at myself and realized I'd been stripped completely naked. My face turned very red and I pulled the blanket up to cover myself. Why was I getting so embarrassed all of a sudden? I mean, sure I was naked, but it wasn't the first time this had happened to me. Being a soldier, I got injured and wounded all the time, which meant the healers would end up stripping me down and fixing me up. So why was I so embarrassed that this woman had seen me naked? I couldn't fathom it. There was no reason I could think of.

"Why am I naked?!" I asked Rin, the pitch of my voice having risen significantly.

"Well, I had to get your shirt off in order to properly bandage your wound, ya know. You should be thanking me, by the way."

"O-oh, that makes sense. But I didn't have any wounds on my legs…so why are my pants missing too?"

"Oh, no reason really." She smirked and blush got worse. "But in any case, now that you're awake you should probably let that guy know you're okay."

"R-right. Um, where are my clothes?" I couldn't see them anywhere.

"They're in the basket at the end of the bed." She walked over, picking them up from said basket and placing them next to me. "Do you need any help getting dressed?"

"A-ah, no, I think I'll be fine. Could you just wait outside, please?" I asked. She let out a disappointed sigh.

"Yeah, sure. But just so you know, we'll be talking about your payment for my services once you're done." She bit her bottom lip and eyed me up and down through the blanket before walking out with a grin.

A chill ran down my spine and I waited a few minutes to make sure she was gone. Once I was sure she was gone, I got up from the bed shakily and started redressing myself, quickly noticing that Rin must have mended my shirt and vest at some point as well.

Now dressed, I took a deep breath and stepped outside to see both Iago and Rin had been waiting. Iago was the first to speak.

"Are you alright? She didn't do anything questionable did she? I saw her staring at you lecherously as she took you inside to treat you." He was sending a sideways glare at Rin who simply rolled her eyes.

"Look, weirdo, I'm not the type of person to do something like that without consent. You, on the other hand, I might wonder about. In fact, what were you doing traveling with a girl of such a tender age like her?"

Tender age? She couldn't have been much older than I was. The two of them continued to argue for a while longer before I interrupted, having grown tired of their bickering.

"Rin! You said you wanted to discuss payment?" That caught her attention right away.

"Ooh, getting impatient, lovely?" She smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Well, if you were hoping for what I think you were, then I'll have to disappoint you."

"I really doubt I was hoping for you thought I was." I said with a grimace. She shrugged.

"Can't blame a girl for having a little imagination. Regardless, I want you to take me with you to…wherever it is you're going." I raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. "I'm tired of staying in this tiny town; I've been here my whole life and my ancestors have all stayed here their entire lives without ever leaving, but I don't want to do that. I want to go places, I wanna be someone, is that too much to ask?"

"Rin, I don't think this is the kind of trip you should be going on though. We're not just tourists passing through. I have a goal in mind that I'm working towards and Iago can't remember his past but from what we've heard it may have been a pretty dark past."

"I don't care! Please, just take me with you. I can use staves and rods. You'll need someone like me around if you ever get hurt again." She was begging at this point, but she did have a good point. It would be useful to have a healer around.

"What do you think, Iago?" I turned to look at him. He looked at Rin and made a sour face.

"As much as I'd like to say we should leave her behind, she would be incredibly useful to us during our travels."

Rin clapped her hands.

"It's decided then! I'll go pack my things and then we'll be off! I'm so excited!" She dashed into the house quicker than I'd seen any human being move.

"Um, thanks, Iago." I said.

He looked at me quizzically. "For what?"

"For, well, saving my life. You carried me here, right? I really appreciate that."

He nodded but didn't say anything else for a moment.

"Lillian. There was something you were going to tell me before that mage attacked us. What was it?" He asked curiously.

I had nearly forgotten in all the madness that ensued, but I had planned to tell him something.

"Let's see…I really don't know how to say this without sounding like a lunatic, but…my goal it's…to dethrone and execute all of the royals of Hoshido, Nohr, and Valla. They've wronged me in a way that they can never hope to repay."

Shock was written on his face clear as day and his mouth hung open. Slowly he closed his mouth and gulped nervously.

"I can't say you don't sound insane, but for what it's worth, I'll be supporting you as far as I can. While you were out, I regained some of my memories, and they cleared up some of why I feel such an unrivaled hatred for Kamui and Corrin." He chuckled darkly. "I can't see us getting very far against three kingdoms just with us three though."

"You're right. But we'll just have to find some more allies. That's all." It was a shoddy plan that sounded far too childish and naïve, and we both knew it, but it was all we had for the time being.

Suddenly, Rin burst out of the shrine, travel bag in hand and out of breath.

"What are we waiting for, guys? Let's go!"

And so, with Rin in the lead, we headed out of the village and on to our next destination, wherever that may be.


A/N: Chapter Three in a timely manner?! What kind of witchcraft is this?! But seriously, I'm really happy I managed to get this done so fast. You guys have been giving me awesome feedback and I appreciate every single one of you that has read, reviewed, or submitted a character (OC submissions are still open, btw. I could use some female characters though.)

Rin is an OC I made up myself because I needed a healer character and hadn't gotten any submissions with one, so I just figured I'd throw in one extra OC of mine. And I know she's kinda reminiscent of certain characters *Cough*Camilla*Cough*, but her personality just kinda seemed to fit for what I wanted.

Anyways, as always, thank you so much for reading! And feel free to submit an OC via PM if you want to. The template is at the end of Chapter One.

Farvel!