Italics=character's thought

Warning! This chapter may contain spoilers of all three routes of Fire Emblem Fates + Awakening, just a heads up, okay? Good, on with the story.


Chapter four: A familiar face

Shepherd's POW

As Flavia ran off to make preparations to send troops to Ylisse, Chrom sighed in relieve. The shepherds had won the battle and got the East-Khan Flavia back in power. Chrom sensed someone behind him and turned to see a bald, dark skinned barbarian-looking man walking up to the group.
"Bah! Any excuse for a party and Flavia jumps on it." He sighed loudly.
"I'm sorry, have we met?" Chrom asked.
"I'm the West-Khan you so rudely removed from power!" He growled. "But you're handy with a sword, boy. I thought for sure I had picked the stronger woman."
"Who was that woman anyway?" Robin asked, joining in on the conversation.
"You mean Blake? Bah, I haven't the foggiest clue. I was about to go with a sellsword named Marth, when she suddenly showed up and beat him in a duel. Marth beat my previous champion with ease so when Blake beat him I thought the fight was a shoe in, and from the look of those three, it was pretty close." The man said pointing at Kellan, Sully and Virion, who were still being treated.
"Anyway, she's gone now, up and left soon as the battle ended." He continued.
"I would have liked to talk to her, there's something odd about her." Chrom said, rubbing his chin.
"Me too, she had that odd brand on her cheek, and her blood…" Robin trailed off as she looked over to the still wet blue tinted blood on the ground.
"Yeah, and when she looked at me, I saw her eyes were crimson red. They looked so cold and empty too, like there wasn't any life in them." Lissa added, walking over.
"Who was she...?" Chrom whispered to himself.

Blake's POW

Blake exited the colosseum and flew into the air. She still didn't know where to go. Seeing some ruins in the distance, Blake decided to fly there with no other direction having any landmark. As Blake began flying, she turned and saw Marth was looking up at her from the ground. She ignored him and kept flying. Blake reached the ruins in 3 hours and saw a lone woman surrounded by bandits. Looking closely, she saw that it looked like Anna, someone she had seen in the castle before. Finally finding someone she knew, Blake flew in to help Anne, catching some of the conversation she was having.
"Vector will be avenged today!" The leader said.
"Oh dear, have we met?" Anna replied, her smile unchanging.
"Playing dumb won't save you, girly. The gold you net from the slavers will-" But the bandit leader was cut of by one of his men yelling.
"Look out!"
Blake's wyvern landed hard on the man, crushing him to death as Blake used her steel axe to decapitate a mage next to her.
"Oh great, another one, well two girls means twice the gold." The leader said.
"Anna…!" Blake said looking at the woman.
That's when Blake noticed the differences this Anna had to the one she knew. She looked identical to Anna, but unlike the Anna from the castle, this woman wore a mostly red suit with a large yellow stripe down the middle instead of a white blouse and skirt. She also had a red cape but it lacked a hood. She was wielding a steel sword too, instead of a bow.
"Oh, do I know you?" Anna asked, finger on her chin.
Blake looked around and saw that the enemy had begun to close in on them.
"We should...finish this first…" Blake said in a low tone.
"Right, good idea, be careful people, prices aren't the only thing I can cut in two" Anna said smirking at the bandits.

Several fighters and mercenaries ran towards Blake and Anna, all brandishing weapons. Blake's wyvern did a quick spin, smacking one bandit square in the chest, sending him flying into a wall, causing it to collapse on him. Blake swung her axe down on another, the axe digging deep into his upper torso, not even reacting to the pain as he died instantly. One mercenary tries to attack from the side, but Blake's wyvern swiftly turned and bit the man's head off. Anna fared just as well. Wielding her sword in a reverse grip, Anna effortlessly dodged the bandits slow strikes. Delivering quick slashes to their stomachs and throats as well as fast jumping cuts, the number of living men quickly began to dwindle. Two mages and an archer rounded a corner and readied themselves. Blake put away her axe and drew her bolt naginata while Anna drew a levin sword. Blake fire two bolts of lightning at the archer which hit him in the head. His eyes rolled back in his head as he fell to the ground, foam bubbled in his mouth as Anna's sword began to crackle with electricity. Lifting it into the air, Anna shot to weak electric pulses into the air which turned into balls in the air before shooting a bolt at each mage. The electricity tore through them, leaving a burnt hole in their chests. Anna looked at Blake, smiling, before turning back to the leader of the group who was walking up to them. Blake finally got a chance to see him properly. His head was mostly shaved save a strip of short brown hair down the middle. He wore little clothes, just an animal skin kilt and his upper body only had to straps and animal skull shoulder plates. He was holding a pitch black axe with a red blade that Blake recognised as a killer axe. His face scrunched up into an angry smile.
"You stand no chance against me, Vincent! I'm a conqueror by name and by nature!" He yelled charging them.
Hmm, too easy Anna thought aiming her levin sword.

Both Blake and Anna fired their electric weapons at him thinking it would stop him in his tracks, but the bandit took the bolts of lightning like they were nothing and rushed the both of them. Anna jumped to the left as Blake flew up into the air as Vincent swung a heavy slash that felled the tree that had been behind them in one stroke. Blake drew her sword-catcher and flew down on Vincent, her wyvern's tail dealing a hard blow to his head, knocking him to the ground as Blake impaled him. Vincent began laughing as he suddenly jumped to his feet, shocking Blake and flinging her off her wyvern as she still held onto her sword-catcher. Losing her grip on the weapon's shaft, Blake was thrown into a stone wall. Anna ran straight at Vincent and slashed at him, leaving deep cuts on his body. Still smiling Vincent began his assault, swinging fast and powerful as Anna barely avoided the killer axe. Blake staggered to her feet and without taking out a weapon ran at Vincent. He turned just in time for Blake to deliver a strong punch to his gut, cracking a rib or two and winding him. Anna, seeing her chance slashed his neck, slitting his throat. Vincent staggered back, clutching his neck as all he could do was gargle blood as he fell to the ground and died. Blake flipped him onto his front and pull the sword-catcher out of him.

"Ahh, that was the last of them, thanks for the help." Anna sighed in relief as she turned to Blake
Blake looked at Anna for a few seconds before speaking.
"Do you...know me? Have you...met anyone from...Nohr or Hoshido?" Blake asked.
"Emm...no…? Aren't those the mythical kingdoms of old or something like that from fairy tales people tell each other?" Anna replied, confused.
Blake looked down at the ground.
Mythical kingdoms...where...am I Blake thought before Anna spoke up again.
"Hey, what's wrong, are you lost? Or delusional?" Anna asked.
"I...don't know where to go now…" Blake said, still looking down.
Anna looked at Blake, then to her wyvern and back to Blake before smiling deviously.
"Hey, I have an idea. Since you seem lost and don't know what to do, how about this? You come with me and help guard me and my merchandise and fly me to where I need to go. Flight is muuuuch faster than walking and I'll pay for your food and lodgings. Then you'll have something to do and from the sound of it when you arrived, you've met one of my many sisters, so you're with someone you kind of know. Me and my sisters are vvvvvery alike. So, does that sound good?" Anna asked.
"Okay…" Blake answered in her monotone voice.
"Good! Now give me a minute, these bandits probably have quite a bit of treasure that now no one'll miss." Anna said running off into the ruins.
Blake looked around for a second before walking over to Vincent's body. She picked up the killer axe and looked at it. The axe looked new, only being used to cut the tree down. Anna came running out of the ruins with a katana like sword, some gold bars and a book in her arms. She ran over to a large person-size backpack that was lying against one of the ruins walls and stuffed everything inside.
"You want that axe?" She asked.
"No…" just as Blake said that Anna quickly grabbed axe and shoved it into the bag too.
Throwing it over her shoulder, Anna nodded and both mounted Blake's wyvern and flew off.
Less travel time means more selling time, which means more money! Anna, you are a genius Anna thought as she pointed to a village nearby that she wanted Blake to stop at.


AN: One thing I did in the story is I kind of butchered the paralogue's timeline. Not that it makes much of a difference. Although one is repurposed a bit next chapter.
Anyway, enjoy