Chapter 8

Marc was a simple man with simple desires. Most would say that being raised in Plegia during the war was a rough childhood, and he couldn't blame them for thinking so. However, he still considered his life fairly normal until Ylisse had defeated his homeland. Now he was just a plain palace worker, with a very simple desire.

He smiled blankly at the woman who handed him the tray of treats to send to the Princess. It was strange living in Ylisse now, he'd come to realize that most of the commoners were just like the ones that lived in Plegia. People that were just trying their best to make it through their miserably short lives. He couldn't bring himself to fault them for their royalty's tyranny. He was a bit bitter though, if he was to be honest with himself. So many had been quick to forgive once Emmeryn had come into power, and even more had forgiven once she'd died. Even those in Plegia had their hearts warmed to the Ylissian side by her sacrifice.

It was disgusting if he was to be honest.

The past was the past however, and most of his countrymen who were quick to forgive had been killed in battle. When he'd moved to Ylisse, there had been no one to say goodbye. It was almost too easy to get a job in the castle. Ylisse, being the war hungry country it had always been had begun another cause two years after Plegia was defeated, and during that time the palace had been so understaffed he'd been hired with no concern to his background.

It was a blessing really, he'd been near starving when he'd come in. If one of the reasons he'd been hired was pity, Marc wasn't going to complain.

On his way to the Princess' room he paused with a frown, stooping into an alcove where he wouldn't be seen and poured a vial into the Princess' tea before resuming his path.

There was a twinge of guilt, small enough that he could easily squash it. Really, what he wanted was to go after the Exalt, but to complete his plans he had to make sure that the royal family was done away with. That meant Exalt Chrom, his Queen Sully, and the Princesses Lissa, Kjelle, and Lucina. It was a shame that such small children were being dragged into this, but that wasn't going to change his plans. He was being kind after all this wasn't going to hurt the Princess. She would become tired and would pass peacefully, it wasn't something that could be said about the others. He hadn't been able to quite perfect the dosage until recently. Quite a few had died terribly painful deaths.

That he did feel guilty about. That he had to take down commoners on his quest. It was for the best though, if he had shown his hand before now, he would have made a mistake, he knew it. Besides, once this was done the search for him would multiply in intensity many times over. It was one thing to kill someone who no one would miss, the heir to the throne was a different manner.

However, those before now had died giving aid to his cause, by throwing the scent off of his true plans. He would forever be grateful for their sacrifice. One thing that continued to tug at his heartstrings was the poor apothecary. That was not what he had wanted. He'd been a kindly old man who had looked after Marc when he'd been sick. To see him executed by hanging was quite painful. It was an honest mistake though, Marc hadn't thought about the possibility of someone else being blamed for what he was doing. He would be more careful now, to make sure that it wouldn't happen again. Lesson learned.

He smiled again as he passed into the Princess' chambers, setting the tray down on the table with an elegant bow. As he rose he saw the young princess giving him a grateful smile, and the twinge of guilt came back. There was the thought that he could knock over the tea, or remove it under some pretense. Surely some would argue it was the more moral course of action. After all, who would poison a child?

Marc steeled his resolve, this was something that needed to happen, no matter who had to fall. He gave one more bow, a lower one this time, and bade farewell to the Princess Lucina. One day history would justify his actions. For the time, Marc would just have to deal with the emotions on his own.