Hurray! Another chapter! And it's twice as long :) Enjoy, and don't hesitate to leave a review or PM me what you think!
Priam closed his third book. He was done reading. As he neatly stacked the books, he stood up and returned them to Miriel, who would put them back were they belonged. She nodded, accepting the books. No words were exchanged. As Priam walked out, he encountered Stahl in the hallway. "Hey Priam." Stahl started. Even though he could read people very well, he wasn't very good at hiding his intentions. Priam raised an eyebrow. The brown haired obviously wanted to ask him something. Before the blue haired man could reply, Stahl opened his mouth already. "Is it true? Lissa sai-"
"Not in the mood Stahl." Priam cut him off and walked away from the green armoured man.
"That's all I needed to know…." Stahl muttered. Even though people got used to Priam's behaviour, being cut off like that made no one happy.
Priam found himself out of balance. After the situation with Yuki, he felt agitated. Meditating didn't work and the quiet library didn't help at all. Frustrated, he decided to get some sleep. His room wasn't far away and maybe that helped. The wooden floor cracked under his feet as he made his way to his room, ignoring everyone he met on the way.
Chrom still stood frozen. She….. had just…. Kissed him. He didn't know how to feel about that at all. And as stupid as the prince was, he just blushed madly, turned around and ran to his room. Confused, he dropped his shoulder plate and laid on his bed. His shirt was still wrinkled from Yuki's grip. A sweet scent hang around his collar and Chrom sighed again. "Hope I'm not like that when I'm drunk….." He said to himself, confirming that it was just an accident. The prince stared at the ceiling of his room. It was painted navy blue and he could easily get lost in his thoughts just by staring at it. But not this time. His lips still tinged and he couldn't get it out of his head.
Priam walked past an open door and couldn't help but turn his head a little and looked inside as he wanted to pass by. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the brown haired girl he stabbed earlier this day laying on the ground. Was it his doing? Even though Priam was usually cold as steel, he couldn't help but walk inside and feel a little guilty. "Oi. What are you doing laying on the floor." Silence. Priam didn't like to be ignored. "OI." Yuki slowly sat up and looked him in the eyes with a big grin.
"Have you come to bring me more drinkies?" She shouted with her drunk mouth.
"Drinkies? The hell woman." The blue haired man was a little taken aback and couldn't help but think how Lon'qu would handle this situation. Sully got drunk once and chased after the woman-fearing man. His lips curled into a little smile. "Get up. You're drunk. It's not even funny if you're that weak."
"Nah." Priam didn't take no for an answer and scooped her up from the ground.
"You are a more annoying drunk person than Sully you know that." Priam had already noticed that she had finished 1 green bottle of booze. "And you got drunk after only one of those." He snorted. "You're like Gaius." He added, making sure to annoy the drunk woman.
"Don't bully candyman! And let me go you turd." Yuki murmured, but loud enough for Priam to her.
"Alright then." And he simply let her go. With a thud, Yuki fell on the floor.
"Gods! You fucking asshole!" Yuki ranted, going from mumbling drunk to an aggressive one.
"You amuse me." Priam replied with a grin. Yuki stumbled and got up, pointing her finger at Priam.
"You're awful! You're arrogant! Thinking you're the best and all! Just because you're nearly as strong as Chrom!" The brown haired girl ranted, hitting a nerve.
"Nearly as strong as Chrom?!" He parroted her. "Don't make me laugh! My goal is to become the strongest in this world and I will do anything to achieve that!"
"Don't make me laugh." She parroted him. Priam groaned. He fell right into her trap. He was arguing with a drunk woman. He scooped her up once again and shoved her onto the bed in a swift move grabbing the blankets.
"Woah. Priam. I didn't know you were the kind of man who would take advantage of drunk girls." A familiar voice said and Priam turned around.
"Gaius." The blue haired man shot him a glare, indicating that he was not 'taking advantage of drunk girls'.
"The one and only." The orange haired thief replied with a popsicle in his mouth.
"Candyman! Did you bring me more drinkies?" Yuki shouted, her eyes lighting up. Gaius snorted at his new acquired nickname.
"Be quiet. Go to sleep and thank me on your knees tomorrow." Priam interrupted. "You're embarrassing yourself idiot." He added. Gaius was a little taken aback because of his attitude change. Priam was normally the calm and composed kind of man. But now, he seemed like a completely different person.
"Bubbles! I've got something for you!" Yuki pushed Priam aside.
"Go away Indigo!" Yuki yelled, curious about what Gaius had for her.
"Indigo?" Priam grimaced. "Don't give me that nickname shit. It's awful. Just because my hair has an indigo colour." Yuki completely ignored him and Gaius tossed her a little black bottle.
"More drinkies!" He said, grinning. Priam tried grabbing it, but Yuki was first. Even in her drunk state. She opened the little bottle and sniffed its content.
"Is it good?" She asked. After Gaius his nod, she then shrugged and emptied the content in her mouth.
"Goodnight Bubbles!" And after a few blinks, the girl fell forward and Priam had to catch her before she fell on the ground. Gaius grinned. "You owe me one Indigo." He said, walking away.
"Don't give me that shit Gaius! I had nothing to do with this!" As he awkwardly put blankets over her, Priam found himself looking away from Yuki. Was he blushing? He waved his stupidity away and walked out of Yuki's room, closing the door behind him. He decided to try to delete this whole day from his brain. But the pounding in his heart proved otherwise. "Ridiculous."
Today, Yuki managed without knowing it herself, to confuse the two men that she met that fateful day. And boy, would she feel awful tomorrow.
The next day, Yuki woke up with a terrible headache. "Ugh…. Why is this happening…" She groaned, turning around to see the empty green bottle on her wooden table not far away from her bed. "You must be the reason of my misery…" She turned around and looked away from the haunted bottle. Yuki suddenly remembered her training with Chrom. Even though she didn't want to leave the bed, she forced herself to get out and got dressed. A plain navy blue pants with a white shirt. The shirt was short sleeved and had a little v-neck. Blue shoes fitted perfectly with her pants.
Yuki made her way to the barracks, hoping Chrom wouldn't be to mad because she was obviously late. It was mid-afternoon already. She started running through the hallway and met Sumia. "Where are you go-"
"Sorry have to hurry!" Yuki yelled as she ran past the surprised girl. Yuki cursed some more as her headache decided to get a little worse while running. As she arrived at the barracks, a brown haired man glared at her. Lon'qu stood up when he saw her. "Where's Chrom?" Yuki called after him.
"Not here." The brown haired man replied. He wore an emotionless expression and drew his katana. "He instructed me to fill in for him." Lon'qu continued, obviously not happy with the task at hand.
"Shouldn't we practise with wooden swords?"
"Priam told me you're better with real ones. You would take it more seriously he said." Yuki cursed. And then her stomach growled. "Did you skip breakfast." Lon'qu asked, lowering his weapon.
"J-just got out of bed…" Yuki replied embarrassed.
"You're also late." Lon'qu added, getting something out of his pocket. "Here." He threw something at her. Yuki caught it and looked puzzled.
"What's this?"
"Eat it."
"Oh, thanks Lon'qu." The man took a step back and grimaced when he heard his name called by a woman. Yuki munched down the food bar she got from the Myrmidon. "This is pretty good." She said.
"G-good. Grab a sword." Lon'qu replied.
"Can't we just use wooden ones?" Yuki pleaded. Lon'qu shook his head.
"Those are my orders."
"Where's Chrom?" The brown haired girl then asked.
"He's busy. He obviously doesn't have time to train someone like you."
"Someone like me…?"
"Question time is up. Let's get started. And don't get too close to me." Lon'qu said, raising his katana again. Yuki took a step forward, grabbing a steel sword from a crate. Lon'qu took a step back. Yuki raised her eyebrow and took one more step towards the man. He in return took a step back. This was repeated a few more times.
"How am I supposed to train if you keep a 2 meter distance from me." Yuki eventually asked.
"It seems I'm not the right person for this job." Lon'qu sighed, still keeping his distance.
"Are you afraid of me?"
"No." Yuki took some more steps forward until Lon'qu was cornered.
"Now you have nowhere to go." Yuki said, smiling.
"G-go away woman." The girl laid down her sword and got closer. "S-stay back." Lon'qu held up his sword.
The prince of Ylisse was wide awake for the last couple of hours but still laid on his royal bed. He still felt confused and didn't feel like doing anything today. Avoiding Yuki was top priority though. Luckily Lon'qu could help her further with her training. Chrom's older sister Emmeryn would come back today from Plegia. She was the Exhalt of Ylisse and everyone had been awaiting her return. Including Chrom. This would be the perfect situation to forget Yuki's drunk kiss. He blushed. "Gods! Why can't I just get it out of my head! It's not like I have that kind of feelings for her!" Was he sure about that? He sat up and decided to get dressed. He angrily put on his pants. It was unfair. It was her fault.
"I said stay back!" Lon'qu tried. The brown haired man had himself get cornered and tried to get away.
"I have to get better at sword fighting Lon'qu. If the Risen attack again…" Yuki said determined, looking him straight in his eyes.
"I'm trying to help, but you're getting too close woman."
"My name is Yuki." Lon'qu refused to call her by her name. "You're useless if you're afraid of me." She stated, touching his arm. The man flinched.
"I'll never be useless….. Not after that…" Lon'qu said, staring at the ground.
"So you're done avoiding me?" Lon'qu hesitated, but nodded.
"Don't get too close." He added.
"Yeah yeah. Get over that fear already." The man didn't reply. They both took their swords and practised basic drills. Vaike and Stahl had joined the training halfway. It was much easier to practise with Stahl than Lon'qu.
"Emm! You're back!" Chrom exclaimed when Emmeryn and her batch of soldiers appeared on horse. She quickly got off her white horse and her lime green cloak waved in the wind. "Chrom! Lissa!" Emmeryn ran to her siblings and the three hugged.
"I missed you so much Emm!" Lissa said, tears glistering in her eyes.
"I have so much to tell you two." Emmeryn smiled at her siblings. She was glad she was home again.
Priam was meditating in the rose garden again. Funny thing was, a bottle of liquor stood next to him. The indigo haired man was a typical silent drinker. He could handle the alcohol better than Yuki though. "Pfff that lightweight." Priam huffed, taking a chug from the bottle. His eyes glowed red. They lit up when the alcohol travelled down his body.
"You were calling me asshole?" Priam quickly turned his head, seeing Yuki with her hands resting on her hips.
"Gods woman." Yuki sat down next to him.
"Who said you could sit there."
"Nobody, but I'm doing it anyway." Priam sighed.
"Done with training?" He then asked, taking a sip of his bottle. His cheeks were slightly red.
"Yeah. Lon'qu isn't the easiest teacher, but I'll manage." She then looked at him. "Thanks for telling him to use a real sword. It actually helped. Kinda came to thank you for it." She added, scratching her head.
"You're kidding me right. It was a joke." Priam replied giving a little grin. "Glad you managed." He looked her in her eyes. Her brown ones widened when Priam still had his glowing red eyes. "Do you remember anything from yesterday?" He asked.
"Uhm yeah you stabbed me in the leg. You tied me up to a chair. And you're acting like nothing happened. You're expecting me to forget that?" Yuki hissed, but kept sitting next to him.
"No. The part where you got drunk in your room and I found you laying on the floor."
"Huh." Priam's eyes returned to normal and he handed her the half full bottle.
"Here. Might as well learn to drink."
"What. Happened." Yuki replied, ignoring the bottle Priam was trying to hand over to her.
"You shouted a lot. I tried to get you to bed. Then Gaius drugged you."
"WHAT." Priam laughed.
"It was pretty funny actually. You swore a lot. You're a pain in the ass." The indigo haired man continued.
"That's not funny at all!" Yuki exclaimed, punching the man on his shoulder.
"Woah easy there princess." Priam replied looking into her glowing red eyes. She was angry. Priam took another chug from the bottle. "Want to take that rage out on me? Chrom isn't here to help you." He said, his eyes glowing again.
"You bet your ass I am." They both stood up, Yuki angry, Priam grinning.
"Let's see if you're a little good at hand to hand combat Princess."
"Stop calling me that!" Yuki shouted raising her fist and charging at the laughing man.
"It's really funny how you can change moods." Priam said, catching her fist with no effort. "First you come to me to actually thank me. And know look at that little angry face. You amuse me woman." That sentence. It drove Yuki mad. "Also funny to see that you control your chi when you're angry." Priam continued, catching her other fist.
"Chi…." The word triggered a headache.
"What do you do when your sword is thrown away by your enemy?"
"Run away!"
"Wrong."
"But…. Yen'fay….."
"You fight with your hands Yuki." The Valmese army general replied, interrupting the muttering of the princess. "So put away your sword. Repeat after me." The man had his grey hair into a long ponytail and wore general worthy armour. Yuki looked admiring at him. He seemed kind. "No not like that, shift your weight to your right leg. Balance is important." She did basic drills. He sometimes adjusted her stance. "Very good." The praise of Yen'fay made her smile.
"What's the matter Princess?" Priam frowned when she stood still, groaning.
"I…."
"Lost your temper?" Yuki looked up, the glow in her eyes had a fierce aura. "Woah. Very nice Princess, now come at me with a little more strength. You're making it too easy for me."
"Very well." Yuki withdrew and inhaled. She jumped up raising her fist. Priam focused on her attack, but Yuki changed direction. She landed. Ducked and with the power of her legs, she charged upwards, uppercutting Priam full in his stomach.
"Ugh!" He took a few steps backwards and spat in the grass. "Now that's a surprise. Seems like the Princess remembered how to fight."
"I saw someone. I recognize him but don't know who he is. But I remembered everything he taught me. Good thing Chrom isn't here!" Yuki said charging at Priam again. The man's eyes glowed as he sidestepped and kneed Yuki in her stomach. "Damn." Yuki grunted as she recoiled and kicked him in his family jewels. Priam's eyes widened. He cried it out as he fell on his knees, grabbing between his legs. "Revenge!" Yuki shouted, pulling a victory pose.
"You think this is over Princess?!" Priam shouted, jumping up and grabbing Yuki by her waist. He gave a firm push with his shoulder and they both fell down in the grass. Priam got on top and tried to punch her, but she evaded, moving her head to the left. The punch crated the ground next to the girl's head. Yuki thrusted her hips upward, flinging Priam to the side.
This time she kicked him in his side, not wanting to get on top of that terrible man. But he grinned. Priam jumped up again. Higher this time and raised his fist. "You better dodge this Princess!" But it was too late, he punched her full on her jaw. Yuki felt the taste of blood coming up in her mouth. It wasn't dislocated, but hell it hurt. However, she didn't have any time to think about it. She sidestepped and punched him in his liver, right under his ribcage. Priam coughed, but quickly turned to her. He tried punching her stomach but Yuki blocked with her arm, punching his arm downwards, making him fall forward. But Priam recovered, regaining his balance. He stepped forward and moved in for an uppercut. It scraped Yuki, who could barely evade. "How convenient… for you…. To suddenly remember… fighting." Priam huffed kicking her side. She flew a few meters sideways and landed in the grass.
"Indeed." She replied quickly recovering and going for another round.
Half an hour later, both Priam and Yuki sat in the emergency room where Lissa attended their wounds. "You know, I'm getting really tired of this." Lissa said irritated.
"Yuki started it." Priam chuckled.
"Shut up." Yuki replied, punching him on his shoulder. They were both covered in bruises and had a couple of head wounds.
"We should do that again sometime." Priam continued, smiling satisfied.
"No you don't." Lissa interrupted, poking Priam with her staff on one of his bruised ribs.
"Ouch!" Yuki hid a grin. But she got a poke as well.
"Chrom and Emmeryn will hear of this." She stated, but healed the two.
"Emmeryn?" Yuki asked.
"Oh yeah, Emmeryn, the Exalt of Ylisse and my older sister has returned from Plegia today. Honouring the peace or something like that."
"Oh okay." Lissa sighed.
"You all wear me out. First Vaike. Then Vaike again. Stahl, Sully and now you two." Priam and Yuki sat on the table with an ashamed look. Then Vaike entered the room. "GET OUT." Lissa shouted at Vaike.
"But the teach needs healing!"
"Come back tomorrow you idiot!" Lissa said frustrated. The axe user didn't need to be told that twice and quickly scurried off.
Chrom just caught up with his older sister and they finished their meetings with the Dukes of Ylisse. It seemed like the Risen popped up in more places and something needed to be done. Preparations were planned, but not carried out. The Dukes could handle the Risen for now. Ylisstol, the capital of Ylisse, was targeted the most apparently. And Chrom could dispatch parties to fend the Risen off. The castle was conveniently located in Ylisstol. Emmeryn went to her room to rest after the tiresome meetings. But not before she had a little chat with her younger brother. "I heard from Lissa that there's a new girl in the castle." Emmeryn started.
"Y-yeah." Chrom nodded. The Exalt raised her eyebrow when she heard her brothers weird reply.
"Lissa told me she's a Valmese Princess."
"Yeah." Emmeryn sighed.
"Are you going to tell me more about her or do I have to go to her myself?!" She exclaimed.
"OH. She's just staying here for a while. We just found out that she's Valmese actually." Chrom replied. Emmeryn nodded.
"And? Can we trust her? Or maybe you're going to marry her? Is that it?" Emmeryn curiously asked.
"N-no!" Chrom blushed and shook his head. "She's here to train and I think she wants to join our army." Chrom continued, regaining his cool.
"Aha. I'll go see her tomorrow. Maybe I can set you two up." Emmeryn grinned slightly. She turned around and went to her room, leaving Chrom a little dumbfounded. Her remarks always caught him off guard.
"Emm don't you dare!" Chrom called after her. He heard her chuckle. "Gods! I swear to Naga…."
That's it for this week! Thanks again for reading :) I really appreciate it, and please let me know what you thought of this chapter! I won't bite ;p
PS: The holidays are coming, and I don't know if I can keep up the regular update on Wednesday. Maybe it's a day early, maybe a few days later. Or maybe I need to skip a week. Just check here regularly (or follow) to see if there's a new update :)
