X-X-X-X

Chapter 6

X-X-X-X

At this rate, I might just forget the damn hostage and kill the mad king! I thought with a frown. The man took the noble girl, Maribelle, hostage in order to obtain the Fire Emblem. When it became clear that the exalt was unable to choose between giving up the treasure of her country for the life of a dear friend and noble...well, it seems that it's time for me to take action before the female noble ended up dead. I paused, the woman beside the mad king was approaching the hostage...well, no matter, I just have to prevent them from killing her. I produced a knife from my boot and I threw it with dead accuracy, embedding it into the back head of the one holding Maribelle. When both women stared at the now dead man in shock, I sprang into action. I launched myself out of my hiding spot, aiming for the other woman. Since she was distracted, it was rather easy to knock her out with a single kick to her gut that sent her flying back by a good dozen feet.

"That was a bit too easy..." I muttered glancing at the unconscious woman.

"W-Who are you, you insolent cur?!" Maribelle questioned in fear.

"An ally." I approached her and I cut her bindings. "Come, I shall act as your es-ah!" Some kind of magic hit me and I was thrown forward, hitting my head on the ground. I groaned, rolling onto my side as I held my forehead. "What the...hell...?!"

"Maribelle!"

"Ricken?! What are you doing here?"

"Forget about that! Let's go!"

"W-Wait a moment!"

"Come on!"

"Owowowow..."

I sat on the ground, holding my head. By the time I got my bearings, Maribelle was gone. I guess whoever thought I was a bad guy took her with him...great. I can just hear Chrom and Robin scolding me even though this isn't my fault! I tugged my hood down and I rubbed at my forehead...great, I'm bleeding too. Well, I guess I'll have to find Maribelle and her little 'hero' and protect them...from the shadows since I doubt I'll be able to get them to realize I am an ally.

X-X-X-X

I stayed back and hidden even when the battle was over and won. I leaned against a tree, shutting my eyes as I listened to everyone talk. When Lissa questioned Maribelle and a young mage by the name of Ricken about me...well they were both rather confused. I took pity on them and I came out from the shadows, gaining the young princess' attention.

"Morgiana!" Lissa rushed to my side and she paused, staring at my forehead. She quickly pulled my hood down and she brushed my bangs out of my forehead. "W-What happened to you?! What is with this nasty gash on your forehead?" Lissa questioned pulling out her staff.

"She's..." Maribelle stared at me with wide eyes. "The one who..."

"That...!" Ricken looked shocked and really guilty. "She isn't...she's an ally...?"

"It's nothing, Lissa. I guess it's my own fault." I pulled away after she finished healing my wound. I glanced at the two behind Lissa before turning away. "Thanks for healing me. I'm going to go bother someone else or something."

"Hold on, Morgiana!" I didn't bother to wait and I just left. "Really...Sorry, Maribelle. You just have had it difficult with Morgiana. She's a bit of a lone wolf."

"That..."

"Actually, you see..."

"What?! You mistook Morgiana for an enemy?!"

I was too far away to hear the rest of the conversation, but it's not like I care. It was rather understandable to think of me as the enemy...maybe I should change how I dress or maybe I should have left my hood down from the start. I tugged my scarf down and I ended up running into Lon'qu...or rather, I ran into him and he quickly moved out of arm's reach. The man and I stared at one another for a few seconds before going out separate ways. He has a very clear dislike of me for reasons unknown and made it a point to avoid me, which I didn't mind...but it made me curious as to why he acted in such a way.

"Morgiana?" I turned my head, staring at Sumia who gave me a concerned stare. "Is something wrong?" Sumia asked approaching me.

"Well-Sumia!" I saw the woman trip and I quickly rushed to her side. I offered her a hand. "Here, give me your hand."

"Sorry, thanks."

"Really, I think I should stick to your side if you're just going to make me worry like this."

"Ehehe, if you're by my side then I'll always feel safe."

"..." I stared at the woman, my cheeks heating up. "Sumia, if you were a man...that kind of sweet talk would not only be pathetic...but very misleading."

"Hm?"

"Nothing, looks like we're returning. I'll walk back with you."

"I'll be glad to have the company!"

X-X Sumia C Support X-X

I was messing with my knives as I sat in my tent. I only had the bare necessities, a bed, desk and chair, but that's it. The rest of my tent is basically empty...so it was the main reason why I let Frederick and Robin store most of the weapons that cannot fit in the weapon tent. Since I had nothing better to do...I ended up sharping the weapons.

"Morgiana?"

"Hm? Sumia? Come on in."

"Yes." Sumia entered and she stared at the pile of weapons with wide eyes. "I heard that you were storing some of the excess weapons, but..."

"Oh, yeah. I don't really see the point of carrying a lot all the time so I only keep the necessities."

"Is that so...Are you sharpening the weapons?"

"Of course. As my master said, a dull blade is a rusty one." I checked the spear and I put it down in the pile of finished weapons. "I always sharpen my weapons before bed and I check them again in the morning, even before going into battle."

"That's quite impressive. Oh, ow!"

"Sumia?!"

"Sorry, I touched this one and the blade was really sharp."

"Give me a second." I dug through one of my pouches, pulling out a thin cloth. "Here, give me your hand."

"Okay..." I placed her bleeding finger in my mouth, to her surprise. "Mo-Mor-Morgiana...?!"

"..." I pulled her finger out of my mouth and I checked her finger, I proceeded to then wrap it with the cloth before it starts bleeding again. "Okay, that should do it."

"W-why-y-you...!"

"Hm?" I realized what I just did and I felt my cheeks heating up. "I-I'm sorry! I-It's a bit of a habit of mine! W-Whenever I cut my finger I tend to stick it in my mouth and-and...! I'm sorry! My master said I should really stop that bad habit..."

"I-I see..."

"..."

"..."

"..." The two of us stared at one another in awkward silence. "I'm...really sorry..."

"N-No, it's okay. Just a bit of a surprise really."

"I'll...be a bit more considerate..."

"Your master must have been quite worried about you whenever you did stuff like that. I-I mean...you mean must have hurt yourself a lot and you did say he called it a bad habit, right? He must have been worried every time he saw you get hurt."

"I-I...suppose so..."

"Then you two must have been really close."

"Close..."

"Morgiana?"

"Hm?" Oh, Sumia looks concerned. "Don't worry about it. I'm...a little tired so is it alright if you leave for now?"

"Yes, of course. Excuse me..."

"...I kind of want to see him...I wonder if I can after I die..."

X-X-X-X

I stared at Frederick and I was very...very unsure how I feel about Robin pairing myself up with the man. After the events with the Plegian king, the Shepherds are doing a bit of patrolling throughout the land, mostly as a precaution against the Plegian acting as bandits. I felt it would be rather...awkward fighting beside the man considering I felt he was scrutinizing me.

"Your combat style is very strange." Frederick brought up out of the blue.

"Yes, my master said the same when he trained me." I stated glancing at him.

"You not only use your weapons, but your entire body as well. If I had to say, your style is more reckless than useful, but I was proven wrong the more I see you fight."

"Thank you?"

"It's not a compliment. I'm surprised you have yet to die with your reckless fighting style."

"Understandable. If not for my armor, I would have surely died."

"Armor?" Frederick stared at my corset with a raised brow. I felt a bit embarrassed since it...is pushes up my breasts. Noticing my discomfort, the male quickly looked away which I am more than grateful for. "I do not see how that qualifies as armor."

"It has three layers. Between the layers of leather is chainmail. I'm not sure what kind of metal my master requested, but no one has ever cut through the metal."

"No one?"

"Un. One time, someone actually aimed for my heart and while I ended up with sore ribs, the blade didn't pierce my skin."

"If someone got that close to hit you, I'm amazed you survived to this day. A piss poor Assassin aren't you?"

"You still don't think I haven't killed for pay..."

"You're an Assassin. You are clearly talented as well."

"...I suppose so..."

Frederick raised a brow at my actions, but didn't question my behavior seeing as we would soon be entering battle. A young boy with a pot on his head came this way, informing Chrom about bandits in his village. I tugged my hood up, unsheathing my tanto in preparation for the coming battle. It wasn't all that difficult of a fight...although Frederick and I were going to have a very serious talk about our rather...difficult effort of working together in battle. My sudden movements often spooked Frederick's horse and that threw the man off more than once. While it had no problems with me outside of battle...well, it seems he and I will need to deal with this problem. Well, aside from that, we gained a new ally named Donnel, affectionately nicknamed Donny.

"...Why in the world is he wearing a pot on his head?" I asked Frederick.

"It seems it is quite common in this area." Frederick said, but gave no actual answer.

"..."

"..."

"Do you wish to speak about what we did wrong today?"

"Yes, it would be best to deal with this now rather than later."

Frederick and I traveled side-by-side, throwing ideas about what we were doing wrong. Well, we have no idea what to do, but I suppose we'll have to figure it out as we go. It's best to deal with this now instead of in the middle of war. That's probably why Robin is pairing up the Shepherds randomly and making sure that we had a chance to fight with someone else so that we're somewhat used to it and to avoid any conflicts in battle.

X-X Frederick C Support X-X

I stared at the bane of my existence...bear meat. I could eat just about anything, but bear was one of the few things I couldn't stomach. It's really gamey and it has the taste and smell of an old leather boot! I wasn't even sure who the heck brought it since I specifically made sure not to have it whenever I cook! Claude was bad enough with forcing me to eat it, I don't want to eat it anymore!

"Morgiana, are you here?"

"Frederick...do you really hate me?"

"What in the blazes are you talking about?"

"Someone gave me bear meat to cook with today...!" I felt like crying, I hate bear! I hate it, I hate it, I absolutely hate it! "I can cook decently, but when it comes to bear I can't stand it!"

"Bear..." The man grimaced. "I'll...speak to whoever was in charge of hunting today."

"You hate it too?"

"It's not that I hate it...but I find all wild game difficult to choke down."

"Huh, I can't stand wild pig either..."

"Yes..."

"..." Wow, I had no idea the two of us were so alike. "...How...exactly do I cook bear?"

"Can you not cook it like you usually do?"

"With wild game, there is a special method of getting rid of the gamey taste it has...but I can't remember too well."

"Hm."

"...Plus..."

"Plus?"

"I don't want to touch it...I hate bear that much."

"It's already dead."

"I'm traumatized by bears! I still remember the one time I got cornered by one when I first started training." I hugged myself, shivering at the thought. "It was my first time seeing one so I tried to get away, but it chased me for a good three hours before my teacher caught up to us and killed it! He even made me eat it afterwards!"

"I...see..."

"With bears, I would sooner turn tail and run than to fight it!" I pointed at the slab of bear meat. "I don't want to touch it so you deal with it!"

"You are the one on cooking duty. Also, if you don't touch it, how do you expect to cook it?"

"Please, Frederick! I'll do whatever you ask, but I refuse to eat it and I refuse to touch it!"

"Stop being a child."

"I don't care! Besides, aside from Ricken and Donny, I'm one of the younger members of the army!"

"You're exaggerating."

"I'm 19, Frederick. I'm the third youngest in this army. Lissa is older than me by a year."

"...I had no idea you were that young."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing."

"So, are you going to help me or not?"

"Only if you get rid of your irrational fear of bears."

"...I'm not eating it if that's what you're saying."

"..."

I could tell the man was exasperated with me, but helped me all the same...in doing everything from the cutting to the cooking. I only added a few spices here and there...but I was so not eating it. I am traumatized by bear...do you know how gross and scary it is to learn to clean and dress a wild animal that was chasing you for food?!

X-X-X-X

Chapter 6 Ends

Slightly yuri with Sumia~! Each character will have a set of supports with Morgiana, if there is anyone you want specifically then just ask. As for her husband, that, my dears, is already chosen so I'm afraid no choice on that. Now then, let's talk about Morgiana's fear of bears. A modern city girl who has no experience with wild game...Yeah, I suppose it would be slightly torturous to the taste buds. I can handle deer myself, but I only had bear once and it wasn't exactly pleasant. Morgiana has a problem with wild bears...first wild creature she knew she couldn't exactly handle and it did try to kill her...it got killed instead and turned into dinner...yeah, very traumatizing. Nothing else so that's it for now! Bye-bye~!