Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: Awakening.
• {Lissa} •
It would seem, journal, that I have some news to share - unpleasant, yes, but news all the same. After only two years of peace, Ylisse has once again been dragged into war. The Halidom, as well as all other kingdoms on this continent, have been threatened by a foreign power, the grand, wealthy Valmnese Empire, recently united by the ruthless dictator, Walhart. They have a superior navy and soldiers who destroy without thought nor mercy; thus, Chrom has decided the Shepherds must take the offensive and attack the unstable empire and pray for its collapse - perhaps it is our only chance of success.
The troops received this information with what can only be described as a brave front. Sigh, I can't say that I blame them. It's not fair that any of us should be thrown into another bloody mess! We have had our share of battle, all we want now is to settle down and be with our families. According to Valm, that is simply too much to ask.
Speaking of families, I guess I might as well report on Lissa who, despite being one of the last of the single Shepherds, is taking the impeding battle the worst. And I thought it would be unbearable for those of my friends who have married in the past two years, as they now have the lives of not only themselves and friends to fear for, but also their beloved spouse (so far we have had but one confrontation with the Valmnese, yet I can already predict by my own overwhelmed emotions that this war shall be far harder than the last). I tried to talk to Lissa and reassure her in some respects, but that's when things got strange...
"Come on, Lissa, why are you acting like this?" I asked quietly, rubbing soothing circles on the younger girl's back. Her body twisted and convulsed under my hands, as great sobs shook her delicate frame. "I have never known you to be frightened, before. In fact, I always considered you one of our bravest soldiers, an especially commendable quality, considering you are a healer."
"Don't patronize me, Robin," Lissa's quavering voice echoed somewhere beneath the covers of her bedsheets. "I know I'm acting like a two year old throwing a temper tantrum, but I can't help it. You wouldn't understand, because you've got Chrom and Maribelle's got her husband and Gaius has his wife. Sniff, even that warthog Sully got someone to marry her!"
I decided not to comment on that fatal adjective Lissa had attached to our violent friend's name, but dove straight into the heart of the problem.
"You don't want to go to war because you haven't married, yet?"
"Of course! For all we know, this year could be my last and I'll die never having had the experience of being a normal, loving wife."
"Oh, Lissa, that won't happen - Chrom and I won't let that happen!"
"Well what if there's some foreign sickness over in that country and it kills all single guys? Then, even if I do survive, there won't be any male Shepherds left for me."
"What are the chances of that?"
"I read it in a book, once." She maturely stuck her tongue out at me, so that I had to resist the urge to get up and leave her to her mourning. I sighed heavily.
"Well then, why not make the most of things? Live the next few weeks as if they are your last. Do whatever you what, so that you can one day die peacefully, content with knowingly you have had the experience."
Lissa stared at me, her bright eyes wide with awe and perhaps a little admiration. Then her usual grin slipped into place and she jumped up from her bed. "You're right, Robin! There's no way I'm sitting around here when there's a ton of stuff I could be having fun with! I'm off! I shall walk out that door and enjoy my life! Thanks a lot!"
She was gone in an instant. "You're welcome, Lissa. You go enjoy life while I prepare an army for war..." I glared at the rumbled covers which the girl had been hiding under. I glanced around the room and after making sure I was alone, ducked under and took a turn wallowing in self-pity.
If you're smart, journal, then you would realize that giving Lissa royal permission to do whatever she pleased is, in hindsight, the stupidest thing I have ever done...
I didn't see Lissa for the whole two weeks we were in Regina Ferox. It wasn't until we were leaving for Plegia (I'll tell you about it in the next entry) that Chrom and I finally caught sight of her; she was sort of hard to miss, what with the two wagons full of jewels and dresses and her hobbling about on crutches.
"Lissa!" Chrom screamed, his mouth falling open as he took in the massive carts filled to the brim with courtly goods. His hands flailed for a few moments, before catching a string of oaths and questions. "What happened?"
"Hm? What do you mean?" The princess asked, partially concealed as she sat atop her mountain of loot. "Oh, you mean my new things? Yeah, I decided to raid the shops and get everything I ever saw and wanted at some point in my life. This isn't everything, of course, just my favorites. The rest I sent home to Ylisstol."
Chrom paled while I toyed with the image of our royal guard being suffocated under a pile of Lissa's dresses. The prince quickly recovered. "Where did you get the gold for all of this stuff?"
"Robin gave it to me!" I stiffened. "She said I should make the most of my last days by living life to the fullest, whatever the cost! So I borrowed a couple million gold from the treasury."
"She's lying!" I shouted wildly. "She's paraphrasing my words and twisting them to perform at her bidding!"
"What... treasury?" Chrom asked slowly.
"Ours, silly!"
My husband fell backwards, stumbling dangerously. I thought he might faint, but he shook the surprise and horror off and strengthened himself with rage. Thankfully, he focused his new found energy on his sister, rather than his poor, fragile wife who spent fourteen hours in labor, trying to give birth to his child so he better not yell- oh, they're talking again.
"Lissa," Is that steam coming out of his ears? "Get down here so I can properly punish you and your banker together." Oh no he isn't! I'm out of here- wait what?!
"What on earth happened to you?" The question left both our mouths at once as Lissa emerged from the top of the pile covered with nicks and bandages. She had a crutch under her left arm, her right in a cast and a helmet of cloth circling her forehead. She looked like a child in a mummy costume, who had partially unwrapped themselves after trick-or-treating.
"What did you do? Get stuck under your shopping bags?" Chrom demanded, thoroughly exasperated with his womenfolk. Lissa snorted.
"Of course not! Why would I carry those things when I have a whole army of muscular guys around me? Speaking of which, how is Vaike's wrist?" Chrom's eyes narrowed even further. "Er, never mind. Anyway, I sprang my ankle when I skydived off a griffon (the pack worked just fine, I just need more practice at landing), I got a concussion while taking fencing lessons with Frederick, broke my arm while cooking (that's a long story) and got all these cuts when looking for a pet!"
"A... pet...?" I repeated slowly.
"Yeah, turns out I'm not an animal person."
Lissa smiled, Chrom finally passed out and I ran and hid from my vengeful husband. That's where I am now, journal, paying Anna one hundred gold an hour to hide beneath all the extra armor pieces in our supply wagons (wait a minute, why do I have to pay her... What is she doing in here?!). I'll tell you when I get out.
"ROBIN!"
... IF I get out...
Ending Note: Sorry about the delayed update; seriously, though, it wasn't my fault! The site just won't work properly on my KindleFire. It's so unpredictable... Anyway, I want to thank verifiaman for inspiring me to write this chapter about our fair princess Lissa. Sadly, I couldn't fit in her falling in love with Basilio (I didn't want Chrom to have a heart-attack). I hope I didn't disappoint!
Also, about the time skip: I changed my mind, I really don't want to do that. So I erased Cordelia's chapter and inserted Lissa's. Eventually, I shall repost our pessimistic Pegasus Knight's chapter when it comes up in the timeline. I know most of you can't leave another review for Chapter 6, but how about a quick PM to tell me if it's okay...?