Iago, chief tactician and chief advisor to the King of Nohr, wanted to die. Or at least, he wanted someone to die and end his current suffering, and sadly he was the only current nominee.

It wasn't like he underperformed! He could brown nose with the best of them, even under current circumstances. So one day Garon wanted Corrin dead and the next he wanted the brat to sob into a pillow, very much alive? So his official assignments required some advanced planning that Iago was not fully informed on? So the King cackled like a madman while muttering something about fools?

That was all perfectly functional. Iago knew how to handle these things, and even when he couldn't, he knew the right words to set Garon at ease. But the man's children… they were a nightmare. Ever since they stopped killing each other, they had focused their ire on poor, innocent Iago, which really wasn't fair at all. So he burned a few towns? It was merely their father's wish! Even someone as naive as Xander would have to realize that a middleman like Iago would never set the larger agenda.

But no. Poor old Garon would never do such a thing, so Iago suffered all the blame. Typical nobles. No respect for those who earned their position. Iago gritted his teeth. Garon needed plans in the morning, and the fools had shot down every one so far for being "sickeningly immoral, crimes against man and the gods which no respectable soul would ever consider."

Small. Minded. Iago shuddered to think how he'd have to work at the tables to find something the brats would allow to reach King Garon, but he would make the brats pay for…

Iago paused. There was someone at the table already. A girl in a coat.

The girl looked up.

"Oh, hey! I'm… Fay. Yes. That is my name, introduced in the rhyming couplet that I use frequently and not made up just now as a mnemonic to make sure I don't mess up like certain people. The next thing you're going to say is 'What are you doing here', right?"

"What are you doing…"

Fay pumped her fist in triumph.

"Yesss! I never get that one right! Score one point for...Fay. Because that's my name."

Iago felt for a tome. It would be simple enough to end this interloper, and her corpse would give answers enough.

The girl raised a finger.

"Also, before you kill me, I probably should say I'm Elise's new retainer. Admittedly, it's kind of easy right now, because hey, looking after a toddler who already has a nurse, but I figure even here it's bad form to murder a coworker on her first day."

"Are you mocking me?"

"No, of course not. I mean, someone in your position has to be either a competent tactician or a really impressive sorceror. So, I'm totally sure you're a really, really impressive sorceror!"

Iago smiled.

"Good. At least you have a little respect for your betters."

"Always! Anyway, I broke into your house and started messing with all your strategies. They were meant as a joke, right?"

"A joke?!"

Fay shook her head.

"Well, that was my guess. Still have plenty to learn, after all. If you had something really next level clever… then it was really next level clever, but it's still about five revisions from working at all. I did my best?"

Iago knew he should just send the imbecile away, until Garon approved a more permanent removal. This was just another foolish youth, like that mage one of Garon's mistresses squirted onto the floor, Leo or something. She would never understand what she was talking about, never understand the true level of Iago's genius…

But she would be suitably impressed, in time, and you had to appreciate the chance for a good brag when it came. Usually you only had a chance with your enemies, and their responses were just so rote! "What are you doing to my family?" "The dragon will repay you for your sins!" and even the incredible mediocrity of a soft, sobbed "Why?". This girl was old enough to realize how brilliant he was. Why not give her a chance to revel in secondhand glory?

"Oh, you simple girl. How could you hope to understand what a real tactician's work is like? King Garon needed me to deal with a rebellion, so a horde of faceless will…"

Fay looked at the board.

"That's the big monster guys, right?"

"Yes. Obviously. Now, they will…"

"Muscle bulk doesn't seem built for explosive action. I'm guessing… not the fastest, right? Poor intelligence… gotta say, they do not seem like ideal counterinsurgency weapons. What's the real plan?"

"To send the faceless in to slaughter…"

Fay shook her head.

"See? We're off to a bad start already. This is a rebellion. Meaning your people. Meaning everything you destroy, you have to replace later. So. Minimum force! Just enough to get people back in line, without harming any loyal or loyalish subjects."

Iago smirked.

"It seems the king's whelps have made a habit of hiring people even more naive than they are. Examples must be made."

Fay smiled back. Somehow, it reminded Iago of Garon. Such an innocent rube should never have a smile that... Nohrian.

"Right. Which is why you should be so careful."

The girl swept her arm over the board knocking everything to the floor.

"It's time for the strategies that make father cry at night."

She rolled a few pieces out of her sleeve, ones that Iago would have sworn was on the floor a second ago.

"Right. First, we'll assume that we're dealing with people who have legitimate objections, and that there is no way we're going to give them what they want. Because, well, that's the smart way to handle things, and since we're escalating, that means the smart way isn't so smart. Otherwise, we'd have just done it in the beginning. So, how do we play it?"

The villages were the only figures on the table.

"Well, first, we should have set up an informant network earlier. Ideally, we'd kick off the rebellions in any provinces already on the edge, so we could control the whole process."

"Starting a rebellion? My, my. Won't Garon be happy to hear his daughter is in the hands of a traitor?"

Fay rolled her eyes.

"Starting it so we can end it on our terms. Really, it's basic. Set up the rebellion, it can be as horrible as you like, so people will think better of you in comparison! Then you run in, stop it with your unfair information advantage, and you buy more time to control the situation."

She plucked a figure off the table.

"But let's say you don't have spies because you're, um, kind of dumb. Or the guy before you was dumb. Either way, someone was dumb, and now you don't have everything you need. Battle's half lost before it starts."

A few wyvern riders joined the villagers on the table.

"Which means you need rapid, controllable force. You need to be overwhelming, but not brutal. Frankly, you have an empire, and they have a village. They have to know that you could wipe them all out. Force can remind them that there's worse than their current treatment, but if you press too hard, they'll be desperate."

Fay grimaced.

"Desperate people are stupid. Stupid people make mistakes you can't predict. Mistakes get people hurt in ways you can't ever really fix. People you can't get back. So, you don't let those mistakes happen. Instead, you use the minimum of force, kill the ringleaders, reward the loyal, and then set up spies so this doesn't happen again. I have some basic notes written up here..."

The girl reached into her sleeves and pulled out a few papers.

"Tadah! You probably should study them. You know. So you're less incompetent in the whole horrifically evil thing. Really, if you can't be a good person, you can at least be good at being a bad person, right? And part of that is not wasting resources."

The papers spread over the map like tiny fortifications, walls to shield Nohr from the perceived idiocy of her defenders.

"I've been away from the new boss for way too long now, so, uh… learn! Be good! I'll be around if you need a refresher, and I know politics will probably get worse, but trust me. Elise is off the target board until further notice."

And Fay was gone.

Iago's teeth rubbed against each other. How could such an… he would never… look at this…

He picked up a paper from the table.

"Maniacal laughter: An advanced guide."

"Gloating best practices: How to make your lessers really rue the day they dared to defy you!"

"So they escaped your deathtrap. How to pretend that was your plan all along!"

Well. It was obviously useless drivel. It had to be, from someone so soft and unaware of the ways of the world. And Iago would never credit her with any level of success, even if by some chance her writing was anything other than useless. Still. The girl's instructions might be… amusing.

Yes. Amusing. That was the word.

Iago picked up the papers. "An enthusiast's guide to villainy". Very well. If Fay could keep up this kind of drivel, it would be worth enduring a few more worthless giggles in the halls.

The girl and her charge would be gone soon enough. Until then, he could enjoy himself.

Five years later

Beruka looked down from the ceiling. It was a shame wyverns were so difficult to maneuver indoors. If she could have her mount inside, there would be less strain on her arms. If there was less strain on her arms, it would be easier to deliver the killing blow when the time came.

"If" the time came. Camilla said if. Beruka knew better.

She was watching an attendant of one of Camilla's enemies. The woman would act against Camilla or one of her servants soon. And then Beruka would kill her.

The woman (Fay?) held a picture book in her hands. Princess Elise was reading from it. Slowly.

"And the big mean dragon roared and roared. But the princess still wasn't afraid!"

If it was Beruka's decision, the young woman and her charge would be dead already. The nurse too, in the corner. She would be a witness, and witnesses always made more trouble later. But no. Camilla was acting in that odd way other people sometimes did after a death, and seemed not to want to repeat it.

Something to do with killing a brother of hers. Beruka had no brother. She did not feel it much of a loss.

The people below were still chattering about nothing. Inefficient.

"Wow. You're getting to be a really good reader, Elise."

"Uh-huh!"

"Suspiciously good. Are you getting lessons from someone else? Because if you did…"

Elise shook. Beruka seldom bothered with the fineries of social interaction, but fear? Fear she knew.

"No!"

"Oh, good. So, um… keep learning and being good. I have somewhere to go."

"Awww…"

"Yep! Sadly, not-your-aunt Fay can't just sit here forever. I'm being paid with big bags of gold to keep you safe, so… got to do the keeping you safe stuff. Not just the play substitute parent stuff, as much more fun as it it. So..."

Fay paused, and Beruka slid back. Fay was looking right where she was a second ago. More observant than most.

Dangerous woman. Camilla was right to distrust her. Wrong to force Beruka to wait to act.

Still. Fay smiled. Shook her head. And went out the door. Beruka followed in the shadows.

Fay whistled to herself as she walked. It made her easy to follow, even if Beruka hadn't known the routes. They were routes a royal wouldn't be expected to know. Places where you hid the bodies.

It was odd. As far as Beruka could trace, Fay came from the same streets she did. There was a trail, a very thorough trail. Fay had old friends. Fay had stories. Fay had all the details in place. But the details weren't in place when Beruka was first scrounging for contracts.

A few gold would buy a death in the undercities. A few more gold could make a life from the pieces. Basic tradecraft. And more proof, if any was needed, that 'Fay' was a threat. Any other client would have eliminated her already.

But Lady Camilla was the client. And Lady Camilla did not want Fay eliminated until more of her agenda was clear.

Beruka had only been working for Lady Camilla for a few short months, and she was already odd. It was something to investigate later. Odd usually meant trouble later. But Beruka's instincts…

Beruka shook her head. Loss of focus. Lethal in a crisis. Foolish outside of one. She followed Elise's retainer.

Anyone else would have been caught. The girl twitched every few steps, combat instinct disguised as childish fancy. A weapon trying to be a babysitter.

Beruka knew better. A weapon was a weapon, no matter how it tried to hide.

Fay reached her goal in an abandoned alleyway, closed off once for plague, and left closed for fear that the lower classes might make use of what they found to doubt their betters.

Beruka sat above. There was someone waiting already. A mercenary, judging from the silence. Someone comfortable with death.

The figure twitched, and Beruka could see her bright red hair. The mercenary. Camilla's most trusted retainer. Selena.

"Hmmph. Took you long enough."

"Sorry, sis. Had to shake a tail. Also read a story. Elise really hates it when I have to go."

Selena rolled her eyes.

"I had to get away from Camilla, and I still got here first."

"Yeah, but with Elise it's cute. With Camilla, it's more a tragic reminder that almost everyone here is even more horrifically traumatized than us. Err… you."

Selena sighed.

"Yeah, I get it. Everywhere we go, people gets more psychotic. Right now, I can count the people I trust on one hand, and I am counting Camilla. This is a mess. I shouldn't have let you come."

Fay shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure staying behind would mean letting mother and father kill me for letting you run away. This was just basic self preservation. By the way? That seems really unpopular around here."

"Tell me about it. I had to feed one of Camilla's cousins to the wyverns to hide the body. And it's only saying it to you that I realize just how messed up that sounds. Gods."

"Uh, yeah. Sounds like… fun. You alright?"

"We're fine. It doesn't look like anyone else is going to make any moves for a while, after how the last attempted fratricide ended."

"We're? Wow. I didn't think you were going that quick. I mean, she's a princess, and you're an attractive and brilliant foreign mercenary, but…"

Selena glared. Fay's mouth snapped shut. It took a moment before it opened again.

"So, uh, how's Corrin doing?"

"Alive, despite the best efforts of everyone involved. It's like I'm the only demon spawn with any kind of self preservation instinct."

Selena paused, waiting for a response. After a few seconds, she raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you even going to try to argue with me?"

"No, it's pretty much fair. Glad to see nothing's changed on that front, at least. Well, not glad about the tendency to do really stupid things, but the alive is nice. Since, you know…"

Selena rolled her eyes, like she'd heard the next line a thousand times.

"I know that our late, not very lamented, employer just told us to keep one of the Nohrian royals safe, because any details would make our jobs too easy. And yes, fine! It's probably the kidnapped Hoshidan with the pointy ears! But in case you've forgotten what your own face looks like, you should know it's not a guarantee."

"Fiiinnneee. But you know it's Corrin."

Severa shrugged. Someone better at reading emotions might have summed up the movement as "You're right, but I don't want to admit it, and we both know that's your problem.", if they cared. Beruka was too busy processing the implications of everything else to bother.

One of Camilla's most trusted bodyguards was conspiring with Elise's first retainer.

Even if you ignored all the other subjects discussed, that would be cause for reasonable concern. Camilla had said Elise was not an issue. That Garon's youngest child would not be likely to attempt any harm to her position. But Beruka knew better. Obviously, Camilla had made the assumption based on Selena's judgement. Obviously, Selena was not to be trusted. But killing her would be difficult to justify to Camilla, even if Beruka could accomplish it.

That was also difficult. Selena slept lightly, rendering most conventional approached mixed in value at best. A failed poisoning early in her tenure left her cautious around food and drink, which ruled out most indirect approaches, and those that remained usually had excessive fatalities.

Beruka considered this acceptable, but Lady Camilla would not. It only left the direct approach.

Camilla told Beruka that, shortly before she was hired, Selena tore through a dozen of Nohr's finest knights just to gain the honor of speaking with the royal family, and slaughtered so many faceless to prove her worth that the slums were clean of bodies for a month just to supply replacement corpses.

The direct approach was not a good approach.

That was the problem with the information Selena had an ally working for Elise, and possibly others. The other news was worse. Selena claimed dragon blood, as did Fay. Blood they concealed.

Royal coups were started from less firm foundations. And they wanted the Hoshidan hostage for something? Political.

Beruka only saw political from the bottom levels, the pattern of bodies left in its wake. But she knew Camilla would be better off without political. She had to report this.

Below, Selena was looking away from her sister. Beruka resumed listening to the discussion. It would be difficult for it to be more damning, but Selena might try.

"I have to tell Camilla something."

"Like a cover story? Because…"

"Like the truth! She trusts me, Morgan! Do you know who else she can count on?"

"Her…"

"No-one! Her second most reliable retainer is an assassin she just hired after she tried to stab her in the neck! Someone needs to watch out for her, and nobody else is going to try. You might not remember, but last time I was the only one looking after someone, you were pretty thankful for..."

Fay (Morgan?) looked down.

"I don't remember."

"Oh. Gods. Right. I'm…"

"No, you're sort of right here. Probably not good to breach trust like that. I'm just lucky Elise is too young to ask too many questions. Um, tell her as much of the truth as you feel like you can safely get away with. And... I'll make sure she's safe too. Heh. We are juggling a lot of things right now, eh?"

"Gods. Don't remind me. I'm starting to miss when the only thing I had to worry about was being torn apart by Risen."

"And, you know…"

"I didn't then!"

Fay shrugged.

"Everythings complicated once you know enough. It's just we didn't. Someone else had to handle it. Now everyone's counting on us, so we have to be perfect, brilliant, and generally us, so other people can just worry about what's in front of them."

"Perfect?"

"Uh, yeah. Mother's not here, so someone has to set the standard. It's not like there's anyone better than us, so… winners by default!"

"Heh. You know how to drain all the compliment out of a compliment, don't you? Don't get killed. I'd miss it."

"Will do. Err… won't do. You know what I mean."

Fay left the room. Beruka considered following her. She did not.

Fay was a known quality. If Beruka failed, Camilla would know to dispatch another assassin. Beruka's death would change nothing.

If Selena was left alone, she would be able to maintain her secrets indefinitely. Beruka was unusually effective, and she only found the truth by chance. It was unlikely another would repeat her success.

Lady Camilla gave Selena her trust. Selena had failed her. Lady Camilla gave Beruka her trust. Beruka could not afford to fail her.

She would monitor until she had enough evidence. Then she would report the truth. It would be simple.

It would have been simple. If there was not a tile loose.

Beruka looked down as it fell. She knew it would end sooner or later. She would make a mistake, and then she would be killed. She had killed others. It seemed reasonable.

Selena heard the tile clatter to the floor. Looked up. Beruka considered her attacks in that half second.

She would have one. After that, she would be unbalanced and vulnerable. If Selena was still capable of movement, she would have victory.

She did not feel confident in the first strike. She did not feel confident in any strike. There was a chance she would win. There was a chance she would die. Neither was a chance worthy of attention.

Selena tilted her head.

"Like I needed an audience. Fine. Get down."

"Why?"

"Because I feel like an idiot yelling at the ceiling. Look, I know Camilla sent you. And I knew she'd ask where I was going some day, so I might as well explain my side of the story now, so she doesn't feel like I betrayed her more than I did."

"Oh."

"And you can keep the axe, if you're that worried."

"I am not worried."

She was merely cautious. Worried was an emotion. Cautious was a behavioral approach. One suited her far better than the other.

"Yeah, the axe really sells it. Let me guess. You heard everything."

"Yes."

"Just my luck. Ugh. Look, I already told Camilla I was going away some day. And that there was a lot about my past I couldn't tell her about. This is just… more of that."

"Like dragon's blood."

"And a sister, and knowing a few other people, and the fact I've been trying and mostly failing to keep everyone in her family from murdering each other since I got to Nohr. It's not easy to fit that in a casual conversation! 'Hey, my father's a dragon, my mother's perfect, my sister's insane, and it turns out you're not who I was hired to protect, but don't worry, as long as you don't kill Corrin I'll try to keep you safe too' isn't exactly going to fit with talk about how to dispose of a body!"

"Dragon's blood."

"You mentioned that! Ugh. Not exactly Ms. Personality, are you?"

"No. The body. Dragon's blood, dissolve it quickly. I have some. Reliable"

"Oh."

Beruka looked away.

"You have also been reliable. Lady Camilla trusts you. Prove her right."

She still did not trust Fay. But she could trust Selena. In spite of everything, she could try to trust Selena.

If she was wrong, there was always dragon's blood.

Ten years later

"Mate in five."

Fay was smiling. Leo couldn't even be bothered at this point. He wished he'd never learned this game in the first place. At first, it was an opportunity, practical considerations of the battlefield without having to bother with anything ...difficult to replace.

But soon, far too soon, it was a chore. He surpassed his teacher, and no-one else even came close. Iago, Xander, Odin, they didn't even qualify as distractions at this point. And now he was fighting a child's babysitter in the vain hopes that there was someone who could make the game interesting again.

A babysitter who didn't even have a response to the fact she was losing, judging by her smile.

"Five, right? Going to remember that one. Five turns. Hey, that's one for each of you. Nice! You, three sisters, and Xander. All royal and ready for action."

Fay moved her dragon out of the valley.

"Which might be four now. Less of a good match. I'm guessing you think five's a lot more stable than the last times you had to make a… cut. I've always thought five is just about right for a family. Buuutttt… that might be personal bias. Anyway. You like your family as it is, right."

"Perhaps."

Leo looked at the board. Everything seemed ready for an offensive. Everything seemed prepared to destroy the young woman's armies, to sweep the board clean, even at a cost.

But…

But only a fool took victory for granted. Leo moved his mages back.

"I apologize for my error. Five turns now, I believe."

"Maybe. Of course…"

Fay was still smiling.

"We are alone."

Oh, gods, no. He had enough of that already. Nohr's minor nobility seemed to have settled on their target, and he didn't need Nohr's teeming lower classes to decide his generosity meant he was willing to elevate them as well. Nothing against them, but he spent enough time fending off advances already.

"I'm…"

"Oh. Err… not that. Definitely nothing that bad."

Thank the dragon.

"I was just about to suggest a little high treason."

"What did you say?"

"Oh, you're right. It's more like a lot of high treason. Maybe all of it. Hooboy, we would be committing all the treason. I think we're already knee deep in treason. You're knee deep, I mean. Some serious treason, but nothing you can't clean up later. I'm more swimming in it."

"You are seriously suggesting that I risk my father's disfavor to remove…"

Fay shook her head.

"Not disfavor. That implies he's… okay, I'll skip ahead. We're going to remove him from the throne, or maybe kill him. A lot's up in the air right now."

"You're going to try to kill King Garon."

Leo was disturbed at the suggestions of treason. Disturbed enough this was a relief. It was going from someone pulling out a knife to promising you that it would allow them to devour the sun. Or, put another way, it was going from a threat from Niles to a threat from Odin.

Leo smiled.

"I suppose now, you're going to explain how you intend to produce an army, arm them with weapons fit to kill a chosen of the dragon, and deliver it all without being detected."

He looked down at the board.

"Perhaps the same way you intend to prevent your army's destruction in this game."

He moved a formation of archers to tear into her vulnerable wyverns.

"Four now, I think."

Fay shook her head.

"Different strategies, my dear Leo. The board has far more soldiers than I'd ever trust with a conspiracy. I'm feeling this is well into chancy territory with just the six of us."

"Six. You're intending… six. Against King Garon."

"Well, you can leave it at five if you want. But I'll have to stuff you into a broom closet or something until we're done. Which won't be any more fun for you than it is for us."

"Have you… met King Garon?"

Fay frowned.

"You're right. I haven't got everything mapped out perfectly quite yet. We might have to do it with four. Could you not leave it at that? I'd really appreciate it if you could chip in."

"On your collective suicide attempt."

Fay nodded.

"If you want to think of it that way, sure? I mean, I've done things that probably would lead to even more of a disaster, but this one is definitely collective."

She paused.

"THIS might be collective suicide, though."

Her pegasi charged into Leo's archers. The die clattered across the table, ripping into their ranks. Fay winced as they fell.

"Three?"

"Three. I can't believe I'm asking about this, but… who was insane enough to agree with your plan? If that wouldn't force you to kill me, of course."

Leo slid his paladins in for a coup d'grace.

Fay waved her hand up and down for a moment.

"Wellll… okay. Since you're probably ending the game in two turns, why not? You, me, Laslow, Selena, and Odin. Maybe probably Camilla, if Selena's managed to get things to go through as well as she probably can."

"Odin. You're… oh, gods. He would try."

Fay nodded.

"He's done stupider."

She paused.

"Oh, and, this is my last move, right? I mean, by both of our estimates. Game's pretty much ending with your next call."

"I think so."

Fay's smile started to show traces of fangs. Her sorcerers moved out of cover. Then she slowly reached for a panel on the board where she'd managed to down a few mercenaries before. A monster spawned in place of the corpses.

Then another.

Then another.

Leo's generals were cut off. His lord was about to be devoured. Everything he had won, every inch earned in blood, was now a debt.

He had to admit, it was a clever play.

Fay looked down at the board.

"I think we agreed this was the last turn?"

"It appears it is. I don't seem to have many moves open."

"Weird. It's almost like you're up against a master strategist who's exceptionally good at either playing dumb or turning her mistakes into later success."

"One willing to take insane, and even suicidal plans to their brutal conclusion when they come to her attention."

Fay sadly picked up the pieces for a few of her fallen knights.

"If she has to. Really, haven't had to in a really long time. Congratulations?"

Leo tipped his lord.

"I think the loser is intended to offer the gesture first. Not that I've learned firsthand, not with every opponent I've had storming off rather than admit defeat, but the etiquette books seem to think it's the preferred method."

"Oh, no. I wasn't offering them. I was begging for them. I'm pretty shameless in my bids for attention. You can ask anyone."

"Well. Congratulations. I misjudged you, and my troops paid the price. And the talk of treason was an excellent distraction."

"And a good sales pitch?"

"What?"

Fay's head bobbled enthusiastically.

"Kind of want you on board! Look, we need as much legitimacy as we can get to disable and/or kill which hopefully we won't have to and we'll have to less with more help from people like you, your evil and obviously crazy father."

"And how do you expect to defeat him?"

"Tactics."

Fay swept her hand over the board.

"They've been good enough so far."

"The best strategy in the world can't save an army without soldiers capable of..."

A sword flicked out from under Fay's sleeve. At first, it seemed a holy weapon, a lost treasure of Nohr. The blade glowed with blue flame, tempered in blood but unscarred by war. Then Leo looked closer.

The glow came from the woman's hand. Magic pulsed through her body in time to hymns to an unseen god, the screaming wrath of a creature that should have been long dead. Leo had doubted the gods, doubted the old legends, but now they were here in the flesh, crying for blood.

"I think we might be able to work something out. As I said, it would help a lot if we could make sure this looks like legitimate succession. So. Are you in?"

Leo opened his mouth. Closed it.

The dragons only knew how any of this came about. Why monsters in human flesh arrived out of thin air to rip into Nohr after serving it for so long. But now he stood in a blind corner, all his learning useless. Now, there was nothing but a choice. Between his father and a madwoman. Between…

Between two forms of madness.

Leo sighed.

One of the two was staring him in the face.

"I'll see what I can do."

Fay smiled.

"I wouldn't ask for anything more!"

Somehow, Leo knew she was lying.

(Author's notes: And here we go. The conclusion to another chapter. Sorry it took so long. Sorrier still for the next bit.

This is probably it. Like, I may reopen this someday, if I come up with an absolutely perfect idea that pretty much writes itself, but for now, I'm done. Worn out. It's...

Gah. Okay, backing up for a second. Just as a personal thing, one of the worst things a fanfiction can do, in my book, is think of itself as 'better' than the source material. Not that the source is perfect, not that you're not going to try to address what you don't like (even if it's just a certain character probably having some fun off screen adventures that you want to write up), hell, not even that it's impossible for some rare chance to line up producing something that, on some level, is genuinely better than what inspired it. But generally, fanfiction should start from a place of "I like this thing. Here is a response generated from that fondness."

And, writing for Awakening, that came easily. I really liked Fire Emblem Awakening. And writing about it even lead me to like it more. Believe it or not, first runthrough, I actively loathed Severa. Funny how these things work out.

I didn't have quite the same affection for Fates at first, but I figured it was just a slight adjustment period. But then I kept playing. Reading about it. Trying to write. Fates...

didn't follow the same arc as Awakening, for me. Every time I poked, I liked it less. Every time I came up with an idea I thought I could do something really fun with, the game had details that undermined it, sometimes even contradicting itself in the process. And every time, I got more tired of the whole process, and every time I tried to find some detail in Fates I liked enough to expand, it fell apart.

I'm blathering. What it adds up to is, the writing came slower and less... reliably of any kind of quality. You all deserve better. So, yeah. Wrapup.

Not even sure how good this one is, but I figured I owed something of a finale for all your patience. Because you've been a great audience, even when I've been a lousy performer, and because I felt like just putting up a chapter saying "Hey, done!" and nothing else would be a poor way to repay everything I've gotten.

Don't know if I'm going to start anything else, who knows what the future holds, but for the moment, this is farewell.

Or at least, until we meet again.

Thanks for everything.)