Oh my goodness, chapter four and I did not see that coming! I'm serious! I did not see the ending coming as it did. Calm down, Ikey-poo!
Ahem, so things went alittle unexpectedly, but oh well, they wanted it. I hope that it won't mar the reading experience or the story. Enjoy.
And of course, disclaimers, Marth and Ike and Fire Emblem are not miiiiiiiiiine. And neither is Super Smash Bros Brawl, I'm very sure everyone already knows.
Ike frowned at his porridge in deep thought. How were they going to test him? For now they had only kept him in bed(bedroll) and continued caring for him, Lucina insisting that he was still weak from the Chimera's poison and needed more rest. That, however, was not sitting well with him. After three days he could stand no more. He was sick of rest, being treated like a colicky toddler.
"Do you not like your porridge?" Lucina's voice broke his thoughts.
Ike's frown deepened. "No, I told you it's this constant staying in bed and being treated like a camel with indigestion. I'm tired of it. I can't stay in bed any longer."
"But you haven't recovered fully. If you were to get up now you would possibly faint and worsen your condition."
"Condition!" Ike slapped his forehead in a loud facepalm. "Now you're acting like it's some disease!"
Lucina opened her mouth to protest.
"Oh, let him alone, Wycina," Chrom put a hand on her shoulder. "He's right. A bit of sunshine and fresh air will be good for the man. Meanwhile he can show me what his sword thinks of him."
"Sword?" Lucina sputtered and gaped. "Right now? With this state? Are you insane?"
"We certainly are!" Said Ike as he leapt up and followed Chrom out the door.
"But you haven't finished your porridge!" She wailed.
"It wasn't too tasty anyway, no offense."
"Thanks," Marth stared up at the ceiling.
"Me too, me too!" Lissa bounced out after the boys.
"I guess it's up to me to prepare lunch," Lucina eyed Marth. "Because you are a rotten cook. You should go on and join the others, your sword still needs more work."
"You're implying that that's the reason that I should take the throne, aren't you?" Marth gave her a sideways stare.
Lucina only smiled sweetly at him before turning around and jerking the apron strings tight behind her back. Marth chucked a dishcloth at the back of her head forcing her to turn around and shove him out the door saying, "Out, out! Out with you, no more being in my kitchen!" Marth stumbled outside into the sound of blades clashing against one another.
Ike looked to be being beaten sorely by Chrom. Chrom easily sidestepped Ike's strike and darted quickly behind him. Marth had to laugh. Chrom had used that one too many times on him and so he wasn't surprised at the grunt Ike gave out at being struck with the hilt of the sword in his back. He slipped and fell.
"There goes number four!" Lissa shouted. "Who's the man?" Chrom bowed, sliding his sword into its sheath.
Marth chuckled. He took some satisfaction in knowing that Ike was less skilled than himself. Ike picked himself up again and brushed the bottom of his tunic off, which had leaves and mud stuck to it from his falls. He was somewhat muddy in general by now. Marth strode forward into their midst.
"Care for a match?" He asked Ike.
"Sure," Ike wiped at his lip, which had cracked and was bleeding. Marth pulled his own sword from his belt.
During the match, Marth was careful to avoid blows and avoid injuring Ike. He took great pleasure in being able to slip away from the sword point. However, Ike wasn't like the stupid huge thugs that are at a miraculous disadvantage when faced with a smaller opponent. He quickly caught on to Marth's technique. Edging forward, pressing closer, giving Marth less space to run. And then, when he least expected it - Ike tackled the younger boy to the ground. That produced a very satisfying half yelp, half shriek from Marth. Ike grinned down at his captive.
"Very good sword work," he said. "But you'll have to be a little less predictable to win."
Marth looked very uncomfortable, and Ike had a hard time telling whether it was the fact that he had just been outwitted by someone with inferior combat skills or whether it was the fact that he was on top of Marth. Or both.
"Please get off." Marth said over his shoulder. Aha! So it was the latter. "You're kneeling on my hands." Or maybe not. Ike rolled off instantly, looking embarrassed. He stood and offered a hand to Marth. He took hold and Ike pulled the blue-haired prince to his feet. It felt strange, knowing that Marth was really the prince of Altea in hiding and knowing that he really was not supposed to know that.
"Come on, move along," Chrom waved Ike out of the way, checking him for injury. Seeing none, he moved on to Marth. He frowned. "You've somehow managed to scrape both of your knees and your forehead has a scratch on it."
"I'm alright," Marth smiled and wiped the blood and dirt from his face. "I can keep going. A little knock out isn't enough to stop me."
Chrom nodded and turned to Ike. "Shall we resume our lesson then? I can see Marth underestimated your abilities, thinking you less experienced than you are. He won't make that mistake twice, now will he?" He smiled meaningfully at Marth.
"And neither will you now, I hope." Marth returned the meaningful look. Ike felt inwardly glad that he understood their double-sided conversation.
»»««»»
Marth was sitting beside the fireplace, tending his scraped knees. It was already dark outside and he had neglected to do it earlier. He wiped at the half-dried blood on his knees with a damp cloth, painfully, but effectively cleaning the wounds. Disinfectant was hard to come by and they only used it in serious cases. He set to wrapping them carefully in strips of long white bandaging. Marth was too busy biting his lip at the pain and bandaging to take much notice in Ike's approaching footsteps or his boots come to a stop in front of him. Ike looked down on the damage he had caused. Marth still had some blood smeared on his forehead from that scratch, peaking out from under his fringe(Ike immediately imagined the word fringe in that funny "r"-rolling accent Mist used every time she said it). And of course his knees were a bloody, raw-looking mess. Ike crouched down by Marth.
"Let me help you with this." He said, taking hold of Marth's right knee and snatching the bandaging from his hand.
"Thank you." Marth cringed.
"It was my fault," Ike shrugged. "Maybe I shouldn't have tackled you like that."
"I'm not too fragile for that." Marth frowned ever so slightly at the insult, looking as if he was considering pulling his knees out of Ike's reach. Ike tightened his hold on the right knee and continued to work at it.
"Just take an apology for once as what it is instead of a put-down, will you?" Ike muttered at Marth's knee.
Marth blinked in surprise. "So you weren't just calling me weak?"
"No."
"Oh."
"Right."
Marth considered Ike. He was definitely a good choice to take with them. Strong, quick-witted, honest. He hated to admit to the others that he was unstable and felt need for such support. He felt he was too weak, too much of a coward to look the false king in the face and firmly reclaim his throne. His throne. The throne he didn't even want. It was true. Marth did not want to rule. He was afraid of it, terrified of it. He was afraid that he would make all the wrong choices and not be strong where it was needed and eventually break beneath all of that weight and bring the kingdom into chaos once more. He would let everyone down who was close to him, everyone who had tried so hard for him. A perfect waste. Why couldn't Lucina be the older of the two? She was strong. Marth sighed.
Ike cleared his throat.
Marth jumped.
"I said, and say again for the third or fourth time," Ike said looking faintly amused. "What happened to Variag?"
"Who's that?" Marth questioned, looking disoriented.
"A horse," Ike laughed. "My horse."
"Oh," said Marth, understanding. "She's in the shed."
"Thank the goddesses," Ike said, tying a knot to hold the bandages in place. "And here I was, afraid that you where so lost in lala land that I would never learn her fate." Marth sheepishly realized that Ike was finishing his left knee.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Don't worry about it. It was amusing at any rate." Ike tweaked Marth's nose, making him yelp and hide the offended feature with his hands. "Do you mind if I.." Ike waved a hand as if to indicate Marth's still-dirty face.
"Oh, um, if you like," Marth shrugged. "I guess I don't mind. Lucina has done it plenty of times for me."
"Should I assume then that you get your face dirty often?" Ike raised an eyebrow.
"More often as a child. Not much now."
"But you are still a child even now." Ike had taken the damp cloth in his right hand, the side of Marth's face in the left, and was washing off the dirt carefully, as he had once done for Mist.
Marth sighed heavily. "So I am."
"You blew in my face just now. I'm so glad you brush your teeth."
Marth could not fight the hollow laugh that made its way up into his throat.
"Heavy thoughts?"
"Yes."
"I see."
"Do you?"
"More or less."
"I have a question for you, Ike."
"Fire ahead."
"Chrom and Lucina and I are leaving. Will you come with me?"
Ahh, he knew what this was. But he must pretend that he did not. "Where to?" He lifted Marth's "fringe" from his forehead and worked at cleaning his scratch.
"You know where." Was Marth's response.
Ike felt cold down his spine and his mouth went dry.
"You haven't questioned the oddity of blue blood dried on my forehead and knees." Marth stared straight into Ike's eyes, and he found he was incapable of looking away, locked in place by those eyes, instantly willing to obey any order that would fall from Marth's lips. "I know you were listening in that night."
Ike felt as if lightning were burning him all over. This shouldn't be happening. Soren should have been the only person who could make him feel this way, feel so aflame, like there was nothing but the two of them in the moment, like as if he wanted nothing more than to kiss his lips and melt away into nothing. It was wrong. He should not. He knew he shouldn't. And yet. The hand that was holding the side of Marth's face trailed down to Marth's chin, taking hold. The other hand found its way down to the hollow of Marth's back. And before Marth understood what was happening Ike kissed him deeply, pressing his lips to Marth's, kissing him the way he had kissed Soren, the way lovers kiss. And both Ike and Marth were powerless to stop it.
Ahhh! Chapter four, end! Seriously, Ike, did you want a kiss that bad? You could'ah said something, some warning at least. Maybe I could have given you one instead to make the wait alittle more bearable, okay?
Anyway, hope you liked, please stay tuned for chapter five! Bye bye~