Author's Notes: This is actually a chapter that's not been modified that much to accomodate Eliwood's gender surgery, it's just something I wanted to write and I took Ellie/Hector as an excuse to do so. Sorry, guys. More woman stuff in the next installment, promise.


100,000 gold. The number still rang in Hector's ears when he and Ellie left the tavern. They couldn't cough that up. Ellie had NOT brought that much money from Pherae and Hector had forgone getting any war funds in Ositia due to the short notice on which he had had to leave. When he looked at his friend, he expected to see her bite her lip, as she always did when she didn't know what to do about a bad situation she was in. However, what he saw was determination as Ellie unsheathed her rapier, checking the thin blade for nicks and other signs of wear.

"…are you going to assassinate the captain and the crew, and then hijack the ship?" he asked, half-joking but not knowing what she WAS preparing the sword for.

"Heavens no," Ellie said, putting the weapon back in its sheath and looking at him. "The port town has an arena, as I recall. If we send in the best amongst us, bet high, and build up a winning streak, we can have the money before the day is over." Hector needed a few seconds to let her words sink in before he could think anything else than 'whoa' at this sudden change in the redhead's demeanour. She hated violence. It was well-known that she'd shut down all arenas in Pherae (and there weren't many in the border territory to begin with) if she could, and now she suddenly wanted to use their services?

"Don't look at me like that, Hector." His stupefaction must have been visible on his face. "At least the captain seems willing to sail to Valor. No one else will take us, regardless of gold…" This was true. They could search all over town, but they wouldn't find anyone willing to take them to their destination. "If my father is on the Dread Isle, then I have to go there. Even if it means sailing with pirates, and if it means using an arena to raise the fee they demand."

"Holy Elimine's…" he couldn't finish that sentence without offending the more religious amongst them. "Ellie, I know you want to find him, but could you stop and think for a second? You're not cut out for the arena. Trust me on this one." He'd done his fair share of ringfighting, both when he was younger and just recently. Ellie's gentle nature and hatred of killing would get HER killed. "Ringfighters aren't like knights! They won't hesitate to cut down a noble if that's their opponent, and they certainly don't care that they're facing a woman!"

"Well, how do you suggest we go about raising the money, then?" Ellie asked, frowning. "We can't exactly sell our spare weapons and supplies. And even if we could, that wouldn't raise us the gold we need." Hector had no answer. No, he didn't know either… "Unless you wanted to return to Ositia and petition Lord Uther for the money."

Those words snapped him back into reality. "Whoa. Not happening." She didn't know he'd left Ositia without Uther's permission and knowledge, although his brother was not so slow that he wouldn't have noticed by now. If he went back home now, his brother would not loan him money; he'd ensure Hector didn't get out a second time, especially not with possible conspirators still on the loose with the desire to kill him. Besides, there was something else stopping him from going back. "I have my pride. I will not grovel at my brother's feet for something as stupid as money. The arena sounds good." He took his axe to hand. "I'll go. You make the bet."

"Hold up!" Hector had expected Marcus or Oswin to object, but the voice that stopped him and Ellie in their tracks didn't belong to either's babysitter. Upon looking in the direction of the inn, Hector saw the pirates slowly streaming out of it, with one man walking in their direction. He was most likely the one who had spoken.

"What do you want?" he asked, "We don't have your money yet."

"We know that! The captain changed his mind." To Hector's side, Ellie perked, and Hector himself was, frankly, relieved that he wouldn't have to show her how used he was to the arena. "All of my mates in this town are gonna attack ya'll." Well, that was hardly an improvement in their situation! Did everyone want them dead nowadays?! "If ye can make it to the captain, he'll give ye free passage."

Ellie sighed in what had to be relief, and yet Hector saw puzzlement on her face. "But… why?" she asked, to which the pirate shrugged.

"The captain's an odd bird. He'd rather have a bit o' fun with ye than take yer gold." The pirate drew two axes, to which Hector quickly grabbed his own and he saw Ellie reaching for her sword, but instead of attacking them right away, he ran off. "Smooth sailing to ye!"

"Is this guy for real?" Hector asked, looking over at Ellie.

She seemed about as confused as he was, but drew her sword, looking hopeful. "It seems like it. Let's go!"


He had to admit, this was a lot more entertaining than fighting Lahus' soldiers had been. The pirates were brawlers, unrefined warriors much like himself, and some actually put up a pretty good fight even against the knights of Pherae and Ositia. Further adding to the almost laid-back mindset in which he fought this challenge was the fact that they were hesitant to attack Lyn and Ellie. It was a first for him, seeing pirates who had the honor to leave women alone.

His surprise was great when he saw a small group of cavaliers enter town, armed to the teeth and not particularly appearing to be with the pirates. Roughly shoving his current opponent into the wall to their side, he freed up his attention so he could get a better look at them. The way they were dressed and armed reminded him of something… They were looking around for something or someone, but after a few seconds the man in front, with a nose not unlike a beak, spurred his horse forward, the others following him.

"You've no need to know, little Lord Hector. A fool like you, sneaking out of the country alone... You'll go missing, never to return. Your body will never be found. Tidy story, eh?"

Hector snapped back into reality. Of course! The horseman leading the newcomers looked very similar to the leader of the assassins that had tried to get rid of him back when he left Ositia! And the armor of the other men… They were with the same organisation! Were they still looking for him? If that was the case, best to lure them somewhere the women would be safe from their lances and he could run them through quickly and silently.

However, they seemed to be focused on someone else altogether. And that could only mean two things. Either their target was Lyn, or it was Ellie. Either way, Hector would renounce arena fighting before he allowed anything to happen to them! Knowing he could never catch up to the galloping horses, he saw to his relief that both noblewomen were close together and hurried across the small woods behind the village's residential district. It was a shorter way, and while not the easiest, would buy him some time. With insane luck, he'd reach the women before the assassins did, but more likely, he would arrive in time to help fight them back.

When he emerged from the grove, he saw that the beak-nosed man had his lance pointed at Ellie's throat. She'd dropped her sword, potentially in an attempt to walk away with her life or as a result from a struggle. Lyn, in the meanwhile, was kept occupied by the remaining cavalier, while forced to dodge bowfire from the third assassin. The last one was a young woman with a staff, who was most likely the reason Ellie and Lyn hadn't been able to drive the assassins away.

Hector did not like that lance at Ellie's throat. Nor the words the attacker spoke around the moment he came within hearing range. "You're about to die, Ellie of Pherae. Scream if you must."

The next sound to be heard in that general vicinity was not the scream the horseman had demanded from Ellie, but a battle cry from Hector as he came rushing in and attacked the man, throwing his smaller, lighter axe in his direction. He wasn't hoping to hit him- just to distract him so he'd leave Ellie alone. She didn't have the raw power nor the range that could give her the edge over the lancer, Hector was much more suitable to fight him. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ellie putting a hand over he throat before picking up her sword and running to Lyn, and he hoped that it would be a minor injury and that he'd prevented worse. If she was ready to attack the archer, surely she wasn't in too bad a state.

Unlike the one he had killed on his way out of the castle, this assassin didn't utter a word and didn't try to taunt Hector. It didn't matter to the noble. He was enraged at the gall the horseman had to attack Ellie in a moment of unawareness, moreso because if Lyn hadn't been with her it would have been a four-on-one fight, which would have spelt death for the redhead. Taking his Wolf Beil to hand instead of picking up the smaller axe he had thrown earlier, Hector didn't even bother trying to find an opening in the horseman's defense. He simply took a blind swing, putting more strength behind it than even he was used to. He heard a loud neighing indicating he had hit the horse, and sure enough, the animal fell over, an enormous gash in its shoulder.

It was a shame, but at least it bought Hector time to attack the rider. He'd gotten his leg stuck under his fallen steed, and needed some time to get out from under it. By that time it was far too late, as Hector this time did succeed in burying his axe in the man's side. His armor saved him from certain death, but the impact knocked him on his back, where the noble quickly struck downward.

"Lady Ellie!" Just as Hector pulled his axe out of the horseman's chest, he heard galloping horses approach. When he looked, he recognized both the Pheraen cavalry and the Caelin one. None of the four stopped when they saw the situation, quickly subduing the remaining three would-have-been-assassins. As it turned out, Marcus had reached the pirate captain, thus completing his challenge, and the four horsemen had become worried when their lieges had not shown up when they were supposed to.

Hector left it to Marcus to convince Ellie to see Serra or Priscilla so she could be inspected for injuries- he certainly wasn't going to check, himself. Instead, he placed his axe in a comfortable position over his shoulder and walked off, joining Oswin. The knight gave him an odd look when he didn't speak, but left him to his thoughts. First the assassins in Ositia, Hector thought, then the goons targeting Ellie near Santaruz, and now these guys. He didn't imagine it was a coincidence that they popped up wherever he was. Nor did he imagine they'd stop showing up as they left for Valor. If anything, Valor was the entire reason they were being targeted. His shoulders slumped, prompting a worried 'My lord?' from Oswin. What the hell has Ellie's blasted father gotten himself caught up in?!