Chapter 3x: The Truth
As of now, I stand before my father Eliwood, the Marquess of Pherae, explaining the situation about Idoun. In fact, I'm almost begging to be allowed to stay in Arcadia until the situation is resolved; that's how strongly I feel about it, and since my father hasn't said anything yet, I wonder what he's thinking about. Am I merely being foolish and selfish with my request?
"Roy... do you really believe that this is the right choice?"
Bowing, I reply, "yes, father."
"Then wait here."
My father reaches behind his throne and pushes a small button, causing the throne to lower into the ground; the throne's actually a barricade, blocking access to a secret room. As he walks down a hidden staircase, I watch in surprise until my father's retainer, Marcus, pushes another secret button on the wall to close the entranceway.
"It's been a while, Prince Roy," Marcus says to me. Marcus has been a soldier, advisor, and close friend of my family for many years, and he's fought with both my father and I in the last two major wars. He's a wizened old man, and his light purple hair is turning a shade of grey, yet he possesses strength of character and physicality beyond his age. I give a look of admiration to the man; there's a good chance that the world would be a different place if not for Marcus' advice and prowess on the battlefield, as well as his kind heart. Even though he's slowed down with age, he can still defeat many of the other soldiers in spars solely because of his experience.
"Yes, it has." Walking closer to him, I continue, "Marcus, you've known my father your entire life... you must have known about the secret room before he did. What's down there?"
"Well, your grandfather, Elbert, who was also a dear friend of mine, had it installed months before his death. He meant for it to be a place of seclusion and meditation, but also a holding area for his most prized possessions. For example, your grandfather kept love letters to his wife that he wrote in his youth, among other things. In fact, after your grandfather died, your father took your grandfather's wedding ring and put it in this room. And now, your father uses it for his valuables, which will one day be passed to you."
Swallowing nervously, I ask, "what does... my father keep in this room?"
"Only a few things... his very first rapier, old portraits of his parents, and most recently..."
A low rumbling interrupts Marcus, and within a few seconds, the throne lowers into the ground once more before my father emerges from the depths of the secret room below. As Marcus presses the hidden button on the wall to close the entranceway, my father motions me closer to him and encloses his hands over mine.
"Roy, take this..." he says, releasing a small object into my hands. "It belonged to your mother."
I examine the small object in my hand. It appears to be a stone of some sort, shining a brilliant turquoise blue in the sunlight beaming from the window. As I hold the stone, I notice a warm, familiar feeling of calmness envelop me, the likes of which I haven't experienced in years, and before I can help myself, tears begin developing in my eyes for unknown reasons, but I quickly wipe them away before anyone can notice.
"Father, what is this?"
"This is... your mother's dragonstone."
My... my mother's dragonstone? My mother, she was...
"Yes Roy, Ninian was a dragon." Sighing, my father continues, "or should I say half-dragon half-human. You know the story of the war, right? I've told you it many times before. However, I didn't disclose the fact that your mother was, in fact, one of the dragons from the story..."
I remember the story well. My grandfather, Elbert, went missing, and so my father adventured out to find him. Along the way, he met a dancer named Ninian, and although that was only their second meeting, they shared a special connection with each other throughout the rest of the war.
Near the climax of the war, my father accidentally killed a dragon on their side, and Ninian was killed in the aftermath of the battle, but by the help of one of the few remaining heroes of legend from the Scouring, Bramimond, Ninian was raised back to life, and she weakened the dragon that my father and his army had to defeat to end the war for good. In the end, instead of returning to her homeland, my mother stayed with my father to marry him, but when I was only eight, she died of an incurable disease.
Or at least, that's the story I was told.
Taking a deep breath, my father begins disclosing some of the unknown facts of the story to me: my mother was actually the dragon that my father accidentally killed, which grieves him horrendously down to this day, and in the end, she died not by illness, but because of the fact that she couldn't survive in the atmosphere of Elibe; her actual home was beyond a portal called The Dragon's Gate, but she gave up a nearly immortal life to live a few precious years with the man she loved... my father.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you this earlier... but I didn't know how you would react. Ninian said only to tell you when you were ready to hear it, and I believe that because of the situation at hand, now is the perfect time."
"Father, did you think that I would be ashamed?" Clutching my mother's stone tighter in my hand, I continue, "I loved mother... how could I be ashamed of her?"
About ten years ago, at the age of five...
I run down the darkened halls of Castle Pherae, tears streaming down my face. Every couple of seconds, a large blast of lightning brightens up the room, followed by a horribly loud crack of thunder so intense that the walls shake from the impact. Thankfully, I eventually reach my destination; my parent's bedroom.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
Jumping onto the bed in one leap, I crawl under the covers and squeeze myself between my parents, waking them up with a start.
"Roy..." my father says groggily, "again? Why are there so many thunderstorms this week?"
"Please, dear, he's still so young. I'll take care of him. I know you have a lot to do in the morning..."
My mother calmly removes her covers, and taking my hand, she picks me up and carries me outside the room, where the storm still rages all around us. After she sits down on a small rocking chair, I immediately push my face into her chest, crying shamelessly as she gives me a kiss on his head and holds me in her arms. As I cry, I can feel my mother's steady heartbeat, and I begin to calm down, that is, until another crack of thunder causes me to start crying again. Soon, however, my mother begins to sing a soothing lullaby...
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."
Hearing my mother's voice, as well as feeling the light thumping of her heartbeat and the sensation of the slow, steady rocking of the chair are enough to finally calm me down, and eventually, I begin to fall asleep in my mother's arms despite the roaring storm just outside the building.
"Goodnight, Roy. I love you..."
I smile happily before finally submitting to the sleep that's been eluding me...
A tear slowly falls down my face at the memory, but I quickly wipe it away as I try to regain my composure.
"Roy," my father says, "times were different twenty or so years ago..."
"That's right, Roy," Marcus interjects; up until now, Marcus has been keeping quiet, simply allowing the two of us some time to speak to each other. "Many people were suspicious enough of Lady Ninian when she came home with Eliwood to be his wife. There was no real reasonable explanation as to where she came from, not to mention the fact that she was a dancer. Rumours abounded that she wasn't a real person, and while everyone from the army knew Ninian and thought it was completely unfair, the two of them decided that it would be the best decision not for anyone else to know."
I mull over Marcus' reasoning. Sure, people can't handle issues that take them off-guard, such as the fact that Pherae's future ruler is, in fact, blood related to the very enemy that Bern took advantage of just recently. But everybody knows who I am; wouldn't that be enough to change their minds for the better? Or will that merely fuel their fire instead? 'The dragons have corrupted our rulers!' they may declare. It is sobering to think about, really.
"Either way, Roy," my father says, "if you believe that going on this trip is the right thing to do, I'm not stopping you. Your... mother..." he continues, choking somewhat on his words, "she cared deeply for people. So do I, but I believe you inherited that more from her. Now go, pack your things. Even though I may not see you again for a long time... I'm proud of you, son."
Gaining a newfound respect for my father within the time period of just this conversation, I give my father a hug, and as we embrace, I can feel the dragonstone in my hand becoming warm, and the soothing calming feeling from years ago envelops the two of us like a blanket.
"Thanks dad..."
Author's Notes
Can you understand why I made this a gaiden chapter? It's certainly different than the other ones. Generally, the content of gaiden chapters is not necessary to the story, but it helps you get a better sense of things. Now you know some back-story!
'You Are My Sunshine' is a song my mom sang to me when I was younger; well actually, just the chorus. The chorus is very heartfelt, happy, and cute, plus it fits perfectly with the circumstance of the story. The rest of the song... not so much. :p Look up the lyrics!
It took a lot of thinking and double-checking of information to make sure I got the details right with this one, but I think it's about right. Hopefully I didn't forget some important canon detail. One note I should point out, however: the exact words in Eliwood and Ninian's ending states that she led a "brief life" with Eliwood. "Brief" varies; in human years, 13 years (which I think my story calculation ends up as, unless my math sucks; I'd like someone to confirm that) is a long time, but in dragon years, 13 years is squat. So once again, I've taken advantage of a loophole for the sake of the story.
Oh yeah, if you think the end of the chapter is foreshadowing of Eliwood getting killed off, then you're quite wrong. :p Non-canon death is not tolerated in my universe. And apparently, canon death is sometimes ignored as well. :D
Let's get back to the actual story, shall we?