Chapter 9: For the Good of Ylisse

Author's Note: Before I proceed with this chapter, I would like to apologize for the long delay for the release of this chapter. I had to deal with some personal issues and it cost me time. Now that they have been resolved, I had the time to focus on this. As such I tried my best to compensate for the delayed time and tried to bulk up the usual content of each chapter for this one. I hope you all enjoy it!

Nohr. The glory-seeking kingdom that thrives during war now prepares for a large-scale invasion. Their target for this invasion is the peace-loving kingdom of Hoshido. The Nohrian royal family awaits their father's order to deploy.

Elise poked Camilla and said "Camilla, you should really get up once in a while." Camilla did not respond at all and ignored Elise. "You've been on this bed for days now and you've missed training this whole week!"

"Leave her alone, Elise." said Leo. "Without her precious Corrin, she's like a person without a purpose. Only when we have word will she actually get up and be alive. Until then, she's just father's puppet just like the rest of us. We are forced to dance to his every whim."

Elise suddenly came up with an idea. She then told Leo and Camilla "what if…we actually followed Corrin?"

A confused Leo asked "What does that mean? You don't mean to actually…"

"If your question is going that far that means you know what I'm planning" replied a smiling Elise. "We can totally do it. We will be branded as traitors but it's the same for Corrin. I've noticed father hasn't been himself recently. I don't want to be his puppet anymore."

Camilla suddenly got up and said "Then together we ride."

On the borders of Ylisse and Regna-Ferox, the Shepherds take a break after a skirmish with the Risen, the monsters they've recently encountered.

An angered Chrom reprimands Vaike "Gods I swear, Vaike, every time we deploy you always forget your axe."

"No! Not this time!" replied a slightly frightened Vaike. "I actually brought it! I just dunno how it fell without me noticing."

A red-haired mage wearing glasses then told Vaike "Then pray that your eyes are sharper than the sword that kisses your neck the next time you forget your axe."

Vaike humbly replied "I-I will be sure to do that, Miriel."

"This isn't good, milord." said Frederick. "If the Risen have gotten this far…"

"Then they may have gotten into the lands of Regna-Ferox. Perhaps even further than that." said Robin. "Did you find out the origin of these fiends?"

"No." answered Frederick. "Our guess right now is that these are of Plegian origin. If we find these in either so small a number or in massive numbers in Plegia, then they just might be."

Chrom said "We press onward to Regna-Ferox then. Our borders cannot hold these fiends off once their numbers grow beyond ours."

The Shepherds continued to Regna-Ferox, a warrior kingdom where politics and war are not so different. It is a cold region in the eastern continent and is directly north of Ylisse. Ylisse and Regna-Ferox have no known alliance but have never seen each other as adversaries. Now that the Risen grow in number, Ylisse needs an alliance to fend off both Plegia and the Risen.

"Brrr-rrrr. It's so cold! How much longer until we are there?" said a shivering Lissa. "If I knew the climate here would be like this I'd have brought a thicker coat!"

Frederick laughed and said "Pray, stay behind my horse, milady. It should provide decent cover from the cold winds."

Lissa smiled and found some comfort behind Frederick's armored horse.

Robin briefly looked at Corrin then asked "Corrin, forgive me for asking this but why is it that you do not…er…wear any footwear?"

Felicia blushed as she tried to answer, but Corrin gave her the gesture not to. Corrin chuckled and answered "I do not find the ground troubling, and I generally fight better with no footwear."

"But what about rocks and sticks on the ground? Don't they hurt?" asked Chrom. "Surely you have some degree of scratches and wounds?"

Corrin raised her foot from the snowy ground and proved to them that there is nary a scratch, scar, or bruise on every inch of her foot.

Corrin blushed and said "Can we proceed to heading to Regna-Ferox? This is slightly embarrassing."

Miriel whispered "I find the properties of your body very intriguing. When the chance permits may I examine you?"

Corrin blushed once more and replied "As long as my integrity is untouched, I guess I can allow it."

Upon reaching the Regna-Ferox side of the border, Frederick proceeded to scout ahead. The rest of the Shepherds took this opportunity to take a break after climbing the freezing mountains of Regna-Ferox.

"I wonder what Regna-Ferox is like" wondered Felicia. "Is it anything like Ylisse?"

Sully told Felicia "Not at all. Regna-Ferox thrives in battle, but doesn't seek conflict as Plegia does. They've never really invaded any territory, rather Regna-Ferox has no shortage of mercenaries."

Stahl continued "Compared to Ylisse, Regna-Ferox is definitely more prepared for any battle be it small or large. Some of the best weapon forgers actually learn a lot from Feroxi blacksmiths."

Frederick returned with haste with a worried look on his face. "Milord! The Feroxi Vanguard are at arms! We must prepare ourselves!"

Chrom replied "What?! Why?!"

"I have no idea." answered Frederick. "The moment I told them that I hailed from Ylisse, they readied their soldiers. Pray all of us come, especially you, milord. Perhaps you can convince them."

Everyone readied their weapons and equipment as they made their way towards the gates of Regna-Ferox. With Chrom in the front, they prepared for the worst.

Upon having sight of the Shepherds, a female knight exclaimed "Hold there! You will stop and turn back!"

Chrom calmly said "Wait, please! We seek no conflict, only your assistance. I am Prince Chrom of Ylisse!"

The female knight then scoffed and said "Please. You bandits come here saying that all the time. You come here every day and fail every attempt. Will you never learn?"

An angered Frederick then said "How dare you! Do you not know who you address? Prince Chrom is no bandit! He is the rightful Prince of Ylisse!"

"Enough!" shouted the female knight. "Words are of no use here. Fight or die!"

"Dammit." said Chrom. "We have no choice. We will disarm, not kill these men. We need any help we can get and I will not stain my sword with the blood of people I can call my allies."

The Shepherds agreed to the plan of Chrom. Frederick then said "She's a fine tactician. Loath I am to trust Robin, but perhaps she can choose who will fight and what resources we will use."

Robin smirked and said "No need for that. We have no time to plan at all. Our numbers will suffice and the Feroxi Vanguard are moving to their positions as we speak."

Chrom then smiled and said "Then we march on."

Chrom and the Shepherds were oblivious to the strategically placed Feroxi archers. The female knight gave them the signal to fire with their sights all trained on Chrom. Corrin was the only one to notice this.

"Chrom! Look out!" shouted Corrin.

A total of eight arrows were fired and not one met Chrom. They all instead met Corrin. She collapsed and bled profusely. All the Shepherds shouted Corrin's name with Felicia crying, fearing for the worst.

Robin, still keeping her calm, then gave orders. "Lissa, Felicia, both of you tend to Corrin. We will need your vulnerary for this fight. The rest of us will have to fight fast. Corrin will not last in this weather if we fight for too long."

"Let me help!" shouted a familiar voice.

Chrom looked to the skies and noticed that it was a pegasus knight. "Su-sumia?!"

"I'm sorry I'm late, milord. I was tending to the pegasus you saved earlier and I got lost." said Sumia. "I heard your voices and it led me here."

Upon seeing the collapsed and slightly pale body of Corrin, tears began to fall from her eyes but her sad face soon turned red with anger.

"We must make haste." said Frederick. "Sumia, watch out for the archers."

"I-I know, Sir Frederick. Phila told me as much." replied Sumia.

Despite being fewer in numbers, the Shepherds charged on to make haste with the battle. They could not afford to make the battle long because the Feroxi Vanguard are on their homeland, so they are used to the weather and footing of the land. Also the Shepherds are battling at their garrison, where the Feroxi Vanguard can easily resupply. Unfortunately for the Feroxi Vanguard, the Shepherds have Frederick, Sully, Stahl, and Sumia mounted on their steeds. This gives them the advantage over the Feroxi Vanguard who have no mounted units.

Fueled by anger and the sacrifice of Corrin, the Shepherds split to two small groups to approach the west and east entrance of the border of Regna-Ferox. Stahl and Sully were quick to disarm the warriors of Regna-Ferox simply by using their horses as a battering ram. Frederick and Sumia did the same. The rest of the Shepherds made sure the archers wouldn't be able to retaliate and especially for Sumia's sake.

In a matter of minutes, all but the female knight were disarmed. Chrom, red with anger, recklessly charged.

"Chrom! Wait!" exclaimed Robin.

Chrom however couldn't hear Robin's cries as he fought the female knight. Her armor was extremely thick and her shield was taller than her body. Chrom's attacks were completely in effective. She saw an opening and hit Chrom with her shield.

"Years too young, my "prince". Just like the other bandits, you will die here." said the female knight.

As the killing strike was done, a voice broke out and said "Don't forget me!"

A knight shoved Chrom out of the way to block the strike completely.

"Kellam?! When did you get here?!" said a shocked Chrom.

"I was with you the whole time." replied Kellam. "Then again people tend to forget that I'm here."

"Stop talking and face me!" yelled the female knight. "While I breathe none will set foot past this gate!"

Robin smirked and said "I wonder how an armor that thick can block magicks?"

The female knight's face suddenly showed fear. She realized the next incoming attack is something her armor cannot block.

A thunderbolt from Robin's tome travelled swiftly towards the female knight. It broke her shield and threw her straight to the ground. She groaned and put her lance down, signaling her surrender.

"Bandits could not have fought as well as you have." said the female knight. "I guess that means you really are the Prince of Ylisse."

"Pray, we have a critically wounded ally of ours, could you perhaps help us tend to her." interrupted Frederick.

"Allow me to do so, sir. I, Raimi, the Head of the Feroxi Border Vanguard shall assist you." replied Raimi. "Also we shall show you to the Kahn of Regna-Ferox."

Frederick sighed and apologized to Chrom. "I'm sorry, milord. I should have known better than to overestimate the power of words in the system of diplomacy in Regna-Ferox."

Chrom shook his head and replied "No apologies today, Frederick. We must apologize to Corrin when she is better. If not for her, my body would resemble a pin cushion, and I would not be standing here right now."

The Feroxi soldiers as well as Lissa and Felicia brought Corrin's dreadfully pale body to the hold of the Kahn of Regna-Ferox. Although the Shepherds were victorious, their morale is low and the atmosphere around them very gloomy. Corrin's sacrifice and her critical status could not give them the feeling of a good victory.

"Enough with gloomy faces, Ylisseans." said a woman in red armor.

The woman continued "Your heroine is being tended to now, her aide, Felicia if I am not mistaken, is by her side right now. You can ask your princess here for any more details. That aside kindly tell me what bring you to my territory?"

Chrom approached her and said "We request soldiers and your assistance to help us fend off the Plegian invasion and the fiends that have been appearing in the nearby area."

The woman crossed her arms and replied "Well that is a simple request. First off, I am Flavia, the reigning East-Kahn of Regna-Ferox. I would also like to express my gratitude for not seriously wounding any of my soldiers. I can provide you the soldiers, but I may not."

A confused Robin asked "Why not? Are you not the Kahn of Regna-Ferox?"

Flavia replied "Indeed I am, but I am the East-Kahn of Regna-Ferox. Every year the East and West Kahns have a tournament to decide who rules over the whole land of Regna-Ferox. Unfortunately my company lost the previous one."

Chrom sighed and said "Does this mean we have come this way for nothing?"

Flavia chuckled and said "Not with that kind of thinking! Lucky for you, this year's tournament is just around the corner and we need a group to represent me. Raimi told me of your prowess in battle, and compliments from her come rarely, so you all have my confidence. If you bring me this victory, I'll send you my finest soldiers."

"We have no choice then." replied Frederick. "For the sake of Corrin's sacrifice we have to go along with what we have. Also for the sake of Ylisse, we need these soldiers."

"The tournament is not until five days." said Flavia. "You can use this time to train, prepare, rest, and I'm sure you would like to see your ally being tended to. For now, I will take my leave."

The Shepherds swiftly asked Lissa the condition of Corrin.

"Earlier on in the battle Felicia and I did our best to tend to her wounds. For the first two minutes she was bleeding profusely to the point that she became pale. Oddly enough her wounds sealed up just seconds after we carefully pulled out the arrows. She lost consciousness afterwards."

Stahl then asked "But is she alright now? How bad is her condition at the moment?"

"She's fine." said Lissa. "She just needs proper treatment and rest to recuperate. Felicia told me to tell you all not to worry too much as she will not leave Corrin's side."

A sigh of relief came from all the Shepherds when they heard the news about Corrin's current condition. Sumia herself finally stopped crying while Stahl and Sully smirked as to express that they knew she was fine all along.

"If you will all excuse me, I will assist Felicia in tending to Corrin." said Miriel. "There are things I must know, but I will handle her with care."

Chrom gave Miriel permission to leave while he asked Robin "Robin, I need you and Frederick to talk with Flavia regarding the current matters and gather more information regarding the upcoming tournament."

Robin and Frederick left as well.

The rest of the Shepherds went to Corrin's bed to see for themselves how she is doing. A focused but tearful Felicia was cleaning the blood of Corrin's armor and tending to her remaining minor wounds. Felicia told the Shepherds that there is no longer need to worry and that Corrin is merely asleep.

Meanwhile, in Hoshido, Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura are training for the rumors of an upcoming invasion from Nohr when suddenly a scout returns and brings them a prisoner.

"Princess Hinoka, we bring forth this man. Judging by his armor, he must be Nohrian. We found him just a day's ride away from Hoshido."

Takumi readied his bow but Sakura gestured him to stand down. Hinoka on the other hand held her spear, but in a defensive stance, as she approached the prisoner.

"So what does brings a Nohrian soldier to the lands of Hoshido?" asked Hinoka.

"I bring a warning." the prisoner replied.

"What warning do you bring, Nohrian scum?" asked an angered Hinoka.

"I am not scum. I am Silas. A large Nohrian army approaches Hoshido. They will be here in a few days. I estimate the numbers in thousands if not tens of thousands." replied Silas.

Hinoka noticed that neither the scout nor Silas had a wound or mark of any skirmish. Hinoka asked the scout "Did he resist?"

The scout answered "Surprisingly no. Once we pointed our swords to him, he immediately dismounted and surrendered his sword and lance."

"Please leave us." said Hinoka.

The scouts immediately left. Hinoka then asked "Why are you really here, Silas?"

"Corrin." said Silas. "I care not for this war or what purpose my King is fighting. I just want my friend back."

Sakura then approached him and asked "Do you have any news regarding Corrin?!"

"Sadly no." answered Silas. "I plan to search for Aqua since she was with Corrin before she disappeared. She is the one who most likely knows where Corrin ended up and where she was last before we lost sight of her."

"Takumi." said Hinoka. "You are going to go for a scouting mission, but you will actually assist Silas with this. Sakura, bring Subaki and Hana. Takumi bring Oboro and Hinata with you."

Takumi replied "Ryouma will find it suspicious. I suggest you ask Sakura to go."

"I will worry too much." said Hinoka. "We'll have to wait for Suzukaze and Rinka to come back."

"How about this Nohrian?" asked Takumi.

"Let him go and give him his weapons back as well as supplies, food, and water." answered Hinoka. "Pray I hope the next time I meet is when I get to see Corrin once again."

Silas bowed as he galloped away from Hoshido.

"Tell Ryouma I'm doing my scouting rounds." said Hinoka. "I'm going to make sure Silas is not going to do anything against us."

Meanwhile, back in Regna-Ferox, the West-Kahn and Marth are preparing for the tournament.

"I hear the East-Kahn has a band of Ylissean soldiers to represent her this year." said the West-Kahn.

Marth sheathed his sword and said "Not to worry. I'll bring you the good news."