Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, or Fire Emblem for that matter.

Chapter 3

Murderer

"Kishuna!"

"Ren…ault, this is…not your fault."

"NO! I won't let you die!"

"Renault, these…last few years have been…the best of my life."

"Oh no you don't! No giving up on me!"

"Th…ank you."

"KISHUNAAAAAAA!"

Renault sat bolt upright in his small bed within the tent.

Murderer…

"I'm nothing but a murderer…" Renault muttered to himself.

He put on his bishop attire in a vain effort to banish the dream from his mind. The worst part about nightmares was when they actually had happened in the past.

"Bishop Renault...?" came a voice from outside of his tent.

Renault stepped outside and looked at the speaker, "Lucius." He could not keep the emotion out of his voice.

"...Did I do something? Something...to...to... Have I angered you? If that were so... I would truly... Please... Forgive me..." Lucius said, getting paler by the second.

"Lucius! ...Control yourself!" Renault reached out and grabbed the man's shoulders.

"Yes... I am...sorry," Lucius nodded, regaining some of his color.

Renault mentally swore, "Ah, your affliction... ...Forgive me..."

Murderer…

"...Bishop Renault... Why should you...apologize? This scourge upon my soul... It is my own doing..." Lucius said bitterly.

"Do not speak... It will exhaust you," ordered the Bishop.

"...Ah... Sorry..." Lucius said before he passed out. Renault set him carefully on the ground.

"...He is asleep..." Renault took a deep breath and spoke quietly, whether to Elimine or Lucius, he did not know." Forgive me. In those days... I only thought of myself... I trespassed against many in my singular drive to regain the friend I lost...and to satiate my own...monstrous greed. I even sacrificed... the lives of others... Forgive me... Please...forgive...me..."

"I forgive you..." Lucius said, his soft tone matching Renault's.

"You-" started Renault.

"I forgive you," Lucius said firmly, slowly getting up from the ground.

"But you... You cannot know the evil I have wrought... I did it! I killed your father..." Renault cried out.

Murderer…

"Even so, I feel your grief, and it feels like my own..." Lucius said.

"Lucius..." began Renault before he turned and walked away.

Nothing but a murderer. You don't deserve his forgiveness.

As Renault left, Lucius followed him.

"Your Excellency!"

Renault cursed as he turned around.

Lucius stood, slightly out of breath from keeping up with Renault's long strides. "Your Excellency, surely you're not leaving!?"

Renault didn't meet Lucius' eyes, "I'm just a murderer. I have sins to atone for, I have no place in your company."

"Bishop…no one is perfect. Not everyone in the company has a clean perfect record," Lucius said.

Renault shrugged, "Maybe so, but a useless murderer deserves solitude. I couldn't even save my best friend when he was dying."

"What happened?"

"I…he and me, we were mercenaries. Very good ones, some of the best. And of course, we were hired into a war. An assassin came after the man we were charged to protect. We stopped him, but…Kishuna took a lethal blow. There weren't any healers around, the attempt was well planned.

"Kishuna didn't make it. And I was without a friend that was a brother to me. I looked for every possible way to bring him back. And that was how I found Nergal. I helped him create Morphs . The reason he got so powerful is because of me. I'm the reason he murdered all those people.

"Eventually, Nergal betrayed me and I saw the light. That's why I turned to the faith. It offered me the only answers I desired." Renault involuntarily shuddered, he wasn't comfortable with others knowing how old he was and what he'd been through. But he felt like he could trust Lucius.

"Your Excellency…I can't imagine that happening to me…but you're not a useless murderer. You recognized the error in your ways, you turned to the faith. And you helped stop Nergal as well, that can't be ignored. Even though I don't know him…I think Kishuna would be proud," Lucius said slowly.

Renault thought for a long moment. Had he really atoned for his sins? Lucius didn't know everything he had done, but the Monk believed in him.

Kishuna would have liked him.

That thought struck him like a thunder spell. Lucius was the man Renault had been before he became a mercenary, a believer.

"…Perhaps you're right. Perhaps I have made up for my sins. But I must leave none the less," Renault said, feeling as if a huge weight had shifted off his shoulders.

"Where?"

"I think I'll visit Kishuna's grave once more before heading on a new path. Could you do me a favor Lucius?" Renault asked.

"What, Your Excellency?"

"Tell Sir Wallace that his teacher is proud of him," Renault said. Confusion crossed Lucius' eyes, but he nodded.

"I am sorry for having ruined your childhood, Lucius. I wish there was something I could do but…" Renault trailed off.

Lucius shook his head, "I forgive you Bishop Renault, and don't forget that."

Renault nodded, then turned his back on Lucius and walked away into the sunset.

No longer was he a murderer.

Nor was he a burdened Bishop any longer.

Fin

Author Notes: Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone!

On a side note, did you guys watch Nintendo's E3 show? Because if you didn't, go look up the newest trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles X. It looks so cool. But sadly there was no FExSMT at E3 this year.

"My body is ready."

-Reggie Fils-Aime