Chapter 10

Barley dragged Donny across the shelf, scrambling for a point where there was actually brush enough to conceal them. One of the remaining wyverns split off to assist their downed companion, the other two ascending to the higher shelves, scanning for who or what had caused the explosion.

Thankfully, the men seemed anxious to get close to the cliffside, and the wyverns seemed even less fond of the idea than they were. They bucked and thrashed, fighting every order, eliciting foul strings of oaths from their riders.

But as nothing more happened, they began to grow bold.

Barley and Donny wedged themselves into a shrub shadowed crevice as the the riders swept over their position. They were so close to the cliff their mount's wings beat the shrubbery; the two could hear the creature's breath as they passed. It was only a matter of time before they were searched out by smell.

Then suddenly, they jerked away, flying back towards the bottom of the canyon.

Barley's stomach turned over; she knew only one reason why the riders would abandon their quarry like that. She scrambled out of the crevasse and to the edge of the crag, peering down after them, Donny poking his head out of the bush behind her.

Below, the wyverns were gliding along the floor of the canyon, their pace rapidly increasing, as they took up the chase of their new quarry: Liz's group.

"That's really not good," said Donny.

Barley didn't waste a second, she tore forward across the shelf; Donny scrambling behind her as fast as he could, nearly tripping and falling several times as they went tier to tier down the canyon.

But there was no way they would be able to catch up, not in time to do anything useful.

"Barley?! What are we gonna do! Think of somethin! Get your fangly gadget out, make it go boom again!" Shouted Donny.

"I can't, They're too far away now." Gasped Barley.

The wyverns were getting precariously close to Liz by now. The panicked group had nearly reached the capital. They were almost among the farthest buildings, but at the rate the riders were gaining, it wouldn't matter. They had discarded any attempt at stealth, ripping right over the open field; somebody in the capitol had to be noticing the situation.

There was a roar above them, and Donny looked up to see the third rider barreling overhead, racing towards the rest of his group. The sound was echoed back from further in the canyon as more riders cropped up across the sky. There were at least seven of them, rising out of other places in the canyon. The newcomers were too late to get in on the action of hunting Liz; the situation would pan out one way or another long before they would be close enough to change the outcome, but they could still get at the two stragglers only just reaching the field…

Barley and Donny redoubled their pace, running as fast as their legs would carry them; it was pretty obvious that they had also been spotted, and the wyverns behind them were gaining quickly.

"Are you going to use that contraption of yours again Barley? Because it would be really useful about now." Said Donny, on the verge of panic.
"Not unless I have to."

"How does this not count as 'have to'?! How close do you want 'em to be!"

Barley didn't bother to answer. In all earnesty, she doubted she would be able to hit their pursuers if she tried, not running like this, and she didn't have the ammo to be taking pot shots.

Liz's group were in among the buildings now, ducking among the the structures as the two wyverns dove at them. Further in the capitol, bells begain to ring as shouts and screams rang out from the civilians.

Barley and Donny's own position was fast deteriorating. Neither of them dared to look back at their pursuers for fear of losing their footing, but they could hear wingbeats dangerously close behind. There was a clatter as the first barrage of arrows landed near them; they ducked their heads, Donny clinging to his pot.

A trumpet call rang out from the capital, and a hand full of white shapes took to the air.

Donny let out a triumphant, unfortunately accented shout, punching the air as he ran.
"The pegasus knights are here!"

First two, then four, then a dozen pegasus knights emerged from the capitol, brandishing lances and bows. They dove straight for the wyverns, driving away the group pursuing Liz mere moments before she would have been taken. A few stayed behind as a guard, the rest hurling forward to confront the pack chasing Barley and Donny. And it was a good thing they did.

The two were in rough shape now, their pace slackening by the second, but the line of wyverns chasing them, only four strong, didn't seem to deem Donny and Barley worth engaging the full Ylissen royal guard over. They swerved off, swinging back to rally with the other of their number still streaming in from behind.

The two slowed as the pegasi flew over them, charging headlong towards the uneasy pack of wyverns. Liz ran back to meet them, her protectors still hangin in the air above her.

"You guys are okay! I was so worried." She choked, grabbing the both of them in a hug.

She held them there for a good moment, making it reasonably difficult for them to catch their breath. She finally let go though, as the rest of the group caught up to them. Barley slumped to the ground, discreetly slipping her gun back into her boot holster and pulling the leg of her pants back over it.

Liz gave a happy sigh. As far as this adventure went, they were safe.

The fighting in the air looked to be going reasonably well; about a dozen wyverns had congregated from around the canyon, but most had taken one look at the knights flooding out of the capital, and turned tail right then. The rest were fleeing just ahead of the knights, exchanging an occasional blow, but mostly channeling their efforts into leaving the area as quickly as possible.

One particular knight flew down beside Liz's group. The rider's long, strikingly red hair struck a shocking contrast to the white feathers of her pegasus. She jumped off her mount, walking past everyone else and coming straight to Liz, her expression somewhere between worried and scolding.

"Princess Elizabeth. We have been beside ourselves with worry. Chrom got back not but half an hour ago and told us what was going on; I'm so so glad you're safe."

Liz gave a nervous, embarrassed chuckle.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about worrying everyone miss Cordelia. But everything's fine, now that you're here. You sure saved us."

Cordelia gave a frazzled sigh.
"I'm sure your sister will have a word with you later. For now, get back to the castle. Everyone will want to know that you've made it back. My knights and I will take care of these Plegians. Now off with you."

Cordelia shooed them away, jumped back on her pegasus, and took back to the air.

Liz gave an uneasy, undecided turn, trying to pick a road, before walking away briskly. Barley stood up immediately and started to shadow her; deciding it was probably best she not go alone. If she was going to stay with the group, she would need to report to somebody at the castle anyways. Slowly, Donny, Rick, and Mary headed back to the Shepherds barracks. They needed to rest, collect themselves, and inform the other Shepherds, if they were still there, about what was going on.

Barley hoped to herself that Donny would have the foresight to not mention her weapon, or at least not telling ridiculous stories.

• • •

Liz walked quickly, an anxious trip in her step, mumbling over the report she was going to give to her siblings. She had quite the story to tell them, and things were not looking pretty.

Before long, the two of them made it to the castle gates. A figure was pacing around incessantly in front of them. It was Chrom. Despite how exhausted she was, Liz broke into a sprint when she saw him; Barley hung back as they collided into a hug.

The two had their bit of emotional meeting; bubbling over thanks that the other was okay. After they had enjoyed their reunion, Chrom stood up and walked over to Barley. There was something in the look on his face that did not feel was very safe. She stood to attention, ready for the worst.

The Prince glared down at Barley for a minute, tempering his words for the stiff little thing in front of him.

"We are going to have some questions. Again. For now, we're meeting with my sister and her council." he said simply, and turned away.
Barley felt a shiver run down her spine; this was not going to end well. You could only take so many questionable instances to one's name before it became generally unsafe to be around.

Chrom took his sister's hand, and began to walk into the castle. Barley was at a loss, not sure whether she was expected to follow or not. The two didn't make it that far though before Liz turned around and waved for her to follow.

Barley adjusted her bag on her shoulders and trailed after.

She quickly recognized the rout they were taking as that to the throne room. Sure enough, it wasn't long before the group found themselves once again in front of the ornate double doors.

Chrom walked in first, he hadn't seem particularly inclined to let go of Liz's hand through this whole walk, and this was no exception. Barley followed in last, after Chrom and Liz had made it a significant distance into the room.

Emmeryn was already there, waiting patiently for their arrival, flanked by a pair of guards on either of her sides. Upon seeing everyone, she waved her hand, dismissing the men around her.

"Liz, I'm relieved to see you safe, we feared the worst." she said, stepping forward and clasping her little sister in an embrace. Liz just buried herself in the folds of Emmeryn's robes.

"What happened?" asked Chrom, obviously trying to weed the sharpness from his voice, and generally failing.

Liz tensed, and even from within the fabric, everyone heard the breath she took. Emmeryn placed a hand on her head.

Chrom took a breath himself, his agitation liquefying at Liz's distress. He looked like he may speak again, but Emmeryn raised her hand.

"Neither your brother nor I are upset with you, Elisabeth." she said softly, "Merely concerned for your wellbeing. There's no need for a report now. Go with your brother, rest, this evening you will be able to tell us everything that's passed."

"Okay," said Liz softly, though she still didn't seem terribly interested in letting go.

"The council will also be meeting this evening." said Emmeryn, moving her attention to Chrom. "You should rest as well. The future of this country, of all we have tried to accomplish since the war will rest on its conclusion, and I will need your assistance."

Chrom nodded. As the prince, he understood these things. He was no good at them, but he understood it. He had preparing to do, and if possible, rest to take. He sorely needed it.

Gently, he took Liz's hand again, leading her from the room. Barley turned to leave as well.

"Barley, come here for a moment, I would wish to speak with you."
Barley flinched horribly at the sound of her name. She turned slowly, placing her hands behind her back.
"Yes?"

Emmeryn gave a small laugh.
"Worry not child; I hold no anger towards you, and you are not in any trouble. But, if you would not mind, I would like your account of things."

Barley hesitated.

"You were one of the few to accompany my sister, and since you are a foreigner, you hold a unique position as an unbiased witness."

Barley nodded slowly, then hesitated again, not sure where to start.

"There isn't a whole lot to tell, at least as far as the 'meeting' goes. I'm not sure how things were expected to go; but Liz and I were cornered as soon as we walked into that room."

"But wasn't your whole group present at the meeting?"

"No, Liz and I were the only ones."

Emmeryn gave her a curious look.

"They didn't want anyone but Liz to go." Said Barley quickly "But I- I posed as a personal attendant. The whole thing seemed off, I just didn't want her to go alone-"

"And you did right." said the exalt gently.

Barley took a slow breath and continued.

"We were taken to a room where the king was waiting-"

"King Gangrel was there?" said Emmeryn, eyes darting to Barley's face.

Barley felt the urge once again to not hold her gaze, an urge she forcibly squelched.

"Yes, he lead the meeting. I got the feeling that that wasn't part of the plan."

Emmeryn held her for a moment longer, then released her and nodded.

"Continue."

"The King obviously had no interest in talking about what Liz went there for, the second the conversation began, he started twisting things in the direction of the treaty. He wanted something-"

Barley stuttered over her words, trying her best to explain something she didn't fully understand.

"He wanted something impossible; something you couldn't give. A Fire Emblem? He tried to get some sort of assurance out of Liz; and when he couldn't, he ordered us arrested for trespassing."

Emmeryn gave a tired sigh.

"That is consistent with what Chrom has already told me. But then, how did you escape Gangrel's custody?" she asked, after a moment of quiet.

Barley looked confused. "We didn't. We- they never caught us, we escaped the fort."

The Exalt's expression clouded again.

"I see." she said softly, and turned away.

"I am afraid that, for all the danger you were put through, Liz was correct. The Fire Emblem is not something that can be given, or taken. The ramification of such a thing would have consequences on the entire world."

Emmeryn looked towards the throne in the back of the room; above it, hung a golden crest, a immoderate sized, ornately carved shield inlaid with five sockets. Barley didn't need someone to tell her what it was. The Exalt stood there for a long while, thinking deeply, almost seeming to have forgotten that she was there. Barley waited patiently for her to speak again.

When she did, it was quickly.

"Thank you for your time Barley, you may retire to the shepherds garrison, where I hear you've been staying."

"Thank you," said Barley, giving a quick salute.

"Barley?" said the Exalt again.

Barley stopped and looked back.

"Thank you for accompanying my sister."

• • •

It took a bit of wandering to find the shepherds barracks again; but when she finally did reach it, she suddenly felt unsure as to whether on not she should enter. She decided against it and sat down quietly in the doorway, opting to rest some before meeting an onslaught of hostility or questions.

Regrettably she didn't get much time to herself, as the door decided opened on it's own. The person coming out gave a yelp and whipped around to see what they had tripped on. It was Donny.

"Oh! Hey there Barley, where have you been? I heard the prince was looking for ya." he said with his usual cheeriness.
Barley's expression instantly twisted, apparently trying to imitate the knot in her stomach.
"Ehhhh... Are you okay Barley, you ain't looking so good.
"I'm, fine."

"Ahhhh, you sure? You're looking a little under the weather. Maybe I could get something for ya."
"I'll be fine," repeated Barley, this time with a slightly better hold on her tone.
"Ya sure? Kellum's got some soup on the brew."
"I'll eat when everyone else does."
"Well everyone else is just getting ready to eat now, if you want you could come on and sit down with the rest of us."

Barley hesitated, then sighed.
"Alright."

Donny offered her a hand; she let him help her up, and they walked into the barrack.

The two made their way back to the dining hall, where all the shepherds had already gathered. They were going about their usual brand of idle conversation, collecting their meal in their, usual, disorderly manner. No one seemed particularly worried or stressed or even slightly tensed. In the sparring room down the hall, Chrom and Vake could be heard dueling.

Barley took a quiet seat in the far corner of the room, not particularly interested in mingling, an unfortunate habit she seemed to be developing of late; though her eyes did instinctively searched the room for Liz.

Donny walked off, heading towards where Kellum was working, his usual suit of armor replaced by an apron that read "kiss the cook", Miriel at his side, systematically filling the bowls of all who approached.

Shortly after, Liz popped up beside Barley with her own half finished bowl of soup, looking kind of nervous. She rocked back and forth on her heels a bit, looking like she may say something, but never did. After a few moments of awkward nothing, she just took a seat on the bench next to Barley.

Donny eventually came back, dropping a bowl, a slice of bread, and a spoon in front of Barley before taking a seat himself.
"Thanks," said Barley.

There were a few moments of tense silence.

Finally, Barley turned to to Liz. "You know, if there's bad news, It just makes it worse not saying it."

Liz started rocking her feet under the table again.
"Nothing's wrong really... Chrom's, upset. He's taking his frustration out in the sparring room. And Frederick's missing..."

"What?"

"Frederick left Ferox before everyone else to tell Emmeryn that we were missing. He… never arrived. His horse showed up outside the stables, but he never did."

"Well I hope he's alright..." said Donny.

"I do too." said Barley quietly.

There was a stuffy silence.

"And if you're wondering," said Liz softly, giving another poke at her food. "It's not you Chrom's mad at... although he'll probably take some of his frustrations out on you anyways, Chrom get's frustrated, it's not very pretty. Though he's already heard it from me. And, I know that, sometimes people don't think I'm.. The best judge of character. Chrom's not going to hurt you. Or kick you out or anything."

"Did either of you tell anyone about the wyvern incident?" asked Barley quietly.

Liz just looked confused, Donny however, squirmed uncomfortably.

"Uhhh, I just uhh... They asked for a mission report see, so I ahh... I told it like I saw you know?"
Barley stared back down into her soup.

Donny trailed off, looking like a kicked puppy dog. Liz withered herself, looking more like a lost puppy dog. Barley, well, she just looked exhausted.

"I'm going to go to bed." Said Barley, pushing her bowl back.
"Where's- where are the cots?"
"You can find the bunks ahh, go back to the entry room, just stay along the right wall, and it will take you too the bunks. If there's not something on it or under it, you can just take that one." said Liz
"Thank you," said Barley, standing up.

Barley made her way back to the bunk room. It was a long, low room, filled with two rows of, well, bunks along each wall. There was an assortment of random personal junk, ranging from dirty laundry to spare weaponry, on and around each bed. Some were more readily taken care of than others, Barley figured they belonged to the Ladies. And probably Kellam and Frederick.

She scanned the corners, looking for a bunk that appeared to be uninhabited; the barracks clearly had enough room to house more than twice the current number. Many of the beds in the back were still untouched. Barley picked one as close to a window as she could get, took her bags off, slid them underneath, and tumbled on top of the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable. Though, when she thought about it, not that surprising given the fact that the leader of the group was the prince.

"Why, hello there."
Barley froze, taking a took a long, preparatory breath. Slowly, she turned around to see, in a bunk in on the opposite wall of the room, the blue haired archer. He was reading a book, or, more specifically, peering at her over the top of it.

Barley nodded in his general direction, before returning to what she had been doing.
"Ooh, cold little flower. What a terrible way to greet a gentleman." He said, setting his book down on the bed. "Could this last battle have left your tiny heart scarred? Do tell."

"I'm sure you've already been briefed." Said Barley flatly.
"Ohh, yes I have, but those reports are so drab. It is much more exciting to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, as it were."
"I'm not really up for retelling it right now."
"Ahh, fair enough. I'd hate to pressure you. You've been through so much since you joined us."

Barley stood on top of the bed and started pulling at the window, trying to pry it open. It didn't appear to have been used since it had been turned into the bunk room.
"Here, let me help you with that..."
"I've got it," said Barley.
"No, you see, really, it would be my pleasure and you seem to have a little bit of trouble with it."
Barley gave it one good yank and the window came open with a snap.
"I'm good, thank you." Said Barley.
"Very well. So cold."

Barley sighed, starting to feel a bit guilty.
"I'm sorry. I'm not in a great mood this evening."
"That is fine. So long as this is not your normal demeanor. To grow into a woman of the same icy heart would be a… Cruel, cruel fate."

Barley shrugged, guilt fast replacing with annoyance.
This was not a conversation she was going to have with him, of all people. She lugged her sleeping bag out of her backpack and laid it across the bunk, and crawled in.

"If you don't mind me asking one last question of you?"
Barley poked her head back out.
"What was that fantastic weapon that you had with you, that could fell such a mighty beast as that faceless."
Barley dove back in her sleeping bag; that was the exact question she was wanting to avoid.
"No no no, you can not, please. I demand, or at least.. No, not demand, it is unbecoming of a gentleman. I kindly request the answering of my query."

"That's.. It's..."

"it is rather unbecoming of a young lady to act so coldly to a simple man as I."

Barley didn't answer, just stayed wedged in the toe of her sleeping bag. She didn't know quite how to answer; if she refused to tell him, that would get around fairly quickly, and it would not look good at all; but she still wasn't keen on everyone here knowing the details of her personal armory.
"It's kind of like magic from where I come from."

"Some kind of magic? That's interesting to say. You don't strike me as quite the mage."

Barley shrugged, though, he couldn't see her as she was still inside her sleeping bag.

"You are not much of a conversationalist are you?"
Barley laughed quietly.
"Hmm, there we go, I knew you could laugh. Though I shudder to think what your friends go through. Do you even have friends?"
Barley ignored him.

There were a few moments of relished silence.

"I do hope Chris is okay." said Virion after a while, more than to himself that anything. " We left Farox in such a rush that he was left behind. I'm sure that the Khans are treating him well. He's quite the fighter after all."
Barley raised an eyebrow at this; it seemed like the team is falling apart.

Without Virion pressuring her with more questions, and the rest of the Shepherds occupied elsewhere, Barley quickly fell into a slightly restful nap.

Notes:

Just so we all are on the same page, yes I know wyvern and pegasus knights do not carry bows in game. Allowing those units to use that weapon in this story was a conscious, calculated decision.

It's kind of like shrinking Liz's ridiculous hoop skirt, and breaking Falchion, I just can't see how you could have a flying unit in your ranks and not give them some sort of ranged weapon. Yes, Dark fliers do get tomes, but when you really think about it, how far do you expect a loose burst of magic to fly and still remain accurate? So the flying units get bows. Just a little something I felt was worth sharing.