AN: Thank you for all reading! Reviews are always appreciated!
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Fire Emblem.
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The next few days were filled with more tension and confusion than Selena could ever remember witnessing. Peri had come and forced Selena from Laslow's room come morning, something she nearly strangled the cavalier for. Though unsuccessful on that front, she had managed to give a solid punch to her face before Benny pulled her back.
That appeared to have been one of the worst things she could've done, under the current circumstances.
She was on lockdown, holed up in her own chambers. While Peri and Effie were completely against her, ignoring her existence in any situation they might have seen her, Beruka, Charlotte, and Benny were more than keen to talk to her. Charlotte and Benny were now posted outside of her room, and would constantly let her know what they had seen in the halls during the day. Beruka, on the other hand, would swoop into her room in the darkest hours of the night, and tell Selena the more… grave situation she was in.
All three of them proved to be great assets and troves of information for her.
"It appears that you are under investigation for committing treason. Lady Camilla was the one that brought this to Lord Xander's attention."
"You left Prince Leo's side in battle, Selena! She sent you to him and us to Prince Xander! By turning back, you have broken one of the laws of retainers."
"The maids are gossiping, you know. Sounds like it's Lord Xander against Lady Camilla, a nasty spat if it gets worse. She's pressing that you, Laslow, and Odin are trying to take a hit on the royal family. Load of shit if you ask me. Lord Xander seems to want nothing but this to be over. You should see his eyes when he argues with her."
"Lord Xander wants to let you go but he can't. You have broken a rule. All this talk is… deciding whether you will be punished for treason alone, or for Lady Camilla's conspiracy theory."
"Don't worry about Laslow. The maids and butlers refuse to go near him, but I've… coerced Niles into attempting his work with staves. Prince Xander is also gentle on him."
"Peri's been damn furious lately! I heard from Arthur that she and Laslow got into a fight. Not a physical one, mind you, but a good verbal ass kickin' nonetheless. He wants to find you and Peri won't let him. Ha! Man can barely find the strength to stand for even a second, and all he thinks of is you."
"Niles dropped by today. I was going to let him in, but he didn't seem to want to. He… won't admit it, but he's worried over Odin's disappearance. He knows Odin wouldn't be part of a plot against the crown. He's been keeping up with Laslow, too, thanks to Beruka. He… he has an infection. It's not dangerous, but, uh…"
Selena loathed the reports she had gotten. Five days of nothing but her own room, nothing but her fellow retainer and guards to keep her company. She couldn't remember the last time she was without… them for so long.
She was surprised to hear Benny's voice past the castle curfew. Charlotte was more of one for night duty, after all.
"You… have guests. Can they come in?"
Cold fear gnawed in the pits of her stomach. She hadn't had anyone but Beruka visit her, and normally Beruka had a flair for coming in through her window.
"F-Fine. They can come in. Unless they're here to execute me on the spot, or something!"
The soft, nearly mumbled response from the other side of the door froze her blood entirely.
"Execute… perish the thought."
The door opened, and before her stood two men, one of which she was desperate to see.
Niles stood there, an arm around Laslow and a dark look on his face as he helped keep the flirt steady on his feet. Selena embraced her love swiftly, too eagerly, and within moments they had both toppled to the floor. Niles couldn't help but chuckle.
Selena frowned briefly at the heat from where Laslow pressed his face into her neck. "You're so… hot."
She knew she shouldn't have used those words specifically, especially at his murmured "I could be saying the same to you."
Niles acknowledged the worry on Selena's face with a dramatic sigh. "Yes, it appears my sprouting knowledge of healing magic just isn't enough for him. I presented my staff to him as he was helpless in bed numerous times, and yet…" he swallowed thickly at the intense glare from the redhead, "when one does not eat nor sleep, it can be difficult to stop infection from taking root. If it even is an infection. It could be an ordinary illness preying upon his weakness and I wouldn't have the foggiest. My expertise lies… elsewhere, as I'm sure you know. Unless you'd like a taste of that as well–?"
A barking "Leave us alone!" drove the outlaw away much more quickly than Selena had hoped. She refocused her attention on the man shivering in her arms.
She held him close to her, sitting up against the foot of her bed.
"I'm fine," were the first words out of his mouth, which earned him a sharp glare that he couldn't see. A wasted effort, truly.
"Fine?" Selena scolded, smoothing his hair, "Laslow, you have to eat. I can't blame you for not sleeping… I know it's hard, I haven't been either."
"I've tried," came the slow response, a deep sigh released into the room. "I've tried, but it just… makes me sick. How can I lie around and eat and drink and be merry if I know he's in danger? Don't tell me he's not. We both know better."
A groan. "Even so, you're not helping by doing this…"
They settled into silence, and by the steady rise and fall of his chest Selena nearly believed he had fallen asleep on her. Needless to say, she was startled when Laslow suddenly pulled back, biting a curse as he pressed an arm to his wound before meeting her eyes with his own.
His eyes were achingly tired, and she knew hers must have looked similar. Flinching in her vulnerability, she did not break eye contact as he cupped her face in his warm, rough hands.
"Lord Xander is ending your trial in two days. I've asked what I can of him and Peri. You will, at the very least, be thrown out of the castle. More likely… you'll be banished from Nohr. In worse case…" he grimaced, eyes filling with raw emotion, "he will execute you on the spot.
"If it comes to that… I will likely be killed as well. Either by his hand, or my own."
"Shut up!" Selena whined desperately, unable to bear the way he was speaking. "We've got to do something, then! We've gotta – we need to find a way back! We could use our–"
"No, we can't. We don't know what those stones will do. We could be sent back to the very second we left. How would that help Odin? We need to get to him now, in this time."
He was right, and dammit she hated it when he was right. Laslow must have sensed her impending meltdown, for he took her hands in his own.
"I have a plan."
Despite the glaze of fever across his face, she could feel his earnest sincerity. She gave a slow nod, waiting for him to continue.
His face turned dark. "A long while back, I heard of an outrealm mission that was slightly curious. Jakob and Felicia were speaking of how they and their liege had seen Vallite warriors go through a portal, and they had given chase with a few others. Silas, I believe, as well as Kaze and Mozu. They had joined forces with locals to keep the Vallites from interfering with their realm."
He had slowed suddenly, rosy-brown eyes averting his gaze towards where their hands embraced. "They mentioned two men and a woman. One was clearly some sort of knight, and the other two were siblings." He paused, giving Selena a careful look.
"The siblings were polite and courteous, they said. Jakob had not gotten along well with the knight. Said he was disturbingly wary over his companions. Selena…"
She couldn't break her stare as he trailed off. Three figures were painted painfully in her mind. Slowly, the male mercenary gathered his thoughts and took a deep breath.
"Felicia said that they called themselves Shepherds."
Selena tried to mask the sob escaping from her throat, yanking back her hands and scrubbing her eyes. "Gods, then… then they saw Daddy…"
"Yes," Laslow soothed. He didn't dare actually speak their names. "And if there's a portal that leads to our homeland, we can find it."
Selena still wasn't convinced, he could tell. "Lady Azura is going to be at the castle tomorrow. She knows all sorts of things about the different outrealms. I'll ask her. That gives us a day to plan before we get you out preceding Lord Xander's decision."
There was still something that didn't quite connect with perfection-seeking redhead. It only hit her when she saw Laslow shudder, coughing into his hands.
They were speckled in blood.
"How the…" words were hard to grasp at the moment, and Selena didn't know whether to yell or scream, her emotions were too confused, "Laslow. How are you going to… Gods, how will you manage to get to…"
"I'm fine!" he quickly rasped, wiping his hands on his pants before beginning to cough again. Something spooked Selena: he couldn't seem to breathe properly. Her momentary panic faded quickly, and with one hand on his shoulder she looked up to her door.
"Niles, get your ass back in here!" she called, and within seconds a soft green light was filling the dimly lit room. Only relaxing when she felt his breathing even, she let herself become lost in the healing glow.
Warm, gentle light… the same light she felt envelop her in softness at the shrine of Naga.
The shrine that sent them back to a world untainted.
A location that was both divine and yet simple, a landmark overgrown with nature that most today, she knew, would overlook. It had been their rendezvous point in the bad timeline, when all of her friends inevitably got lost or splintered in fights. She remembered holding the last pegasus knight in her arms after a terrible fight and praying to Naga for their lone healer to arrive quickly. Another moment when her fellow retainer was sprinting to the shrine, shouting that In– that Laslow had been downed by a Risen berserker. Or when the infamous sword-hand had stopped twitching for a few seconds too long.
There were better times, as well. In the good timeline, they all still managed to wind up there, feeling secure and safe nestled in the soft light of the holy place. Something about the soothing nature always sent the princess and princes to a sound sleep. They would all fall into a heap, exhausted, shortly after the noble three did. She still recalled what they would all say to each other when they went their separate ways, both a farewell and until next time, when they would rejoin with Naga's shrine again.
The soft, fluttery "I'm sorry," barely hit her ears before her eyes narrowed. A slow sigh that she knew he'd hear as reassurance left her lungs, and she returned her attention to Niles.
"Take him back to his quarters," her arms folded tightly, concealing her vulnerability in the dim room. Her look shut down Laslow's protest before it had even begun, and shortly, the men were nearly out of her room.
She paused at the last second. How to confirm with Laslow what they were going to do without letting Niles know something was afoot? The ghost of the long-silenced saying danced across her lips.
"Hey," she stalled them, standing up without meeting any eyes. "Take that day you spoke of to talk to her. Maybe… you two will hit it off." Laslow's face carefully changed to one of both surprise and understanding, a small nod given in return. Selena fidgeted briefly, removing her hair ties as she feigned getting ready for sleep.
"It was nice to see you, in this place of joined hearts," the start was slow and rough, it had been some time indeed, "until we see Her light again, we may only know each other in our troubled dreams."
Laslow's demeanor softened, becoming more serious. He spared her but one last look before Niles took him out of the room.
"Indeed," he murmured, a phantom of a smile flashing to her, understanding and raw emotion frank in his eyes, "until Her light blesses the land…"
"We'll travel apart together," she finished, "hand in hand." The faintest of gestures, and he was gone.
Selena fell to her bed, not even attempting to wipe the smile off her face at the familiar saying, and ignoring the tears stinging her eyes from memories.
Only the first sentence was constantly shared between the lost children she knew. Nonetheless, she knew Laslow would recall what came next, usually shouted to the rest after its only speaker disappeared into the trees. None of them had ever really acknowledged in out loud before now.
The last part had always been Odin's addition. For now, they would speak for him.
xxx
AN: If you're at all curious about the magnitude of pairings for this story, lemme know and I'll either answer you directly or put them in an AN!
