River of Time

by Mechtadyne

Like a river, time continues to flow. Even years after the fact, the backlash of his father's death still haunts Chrom and his country in more ways than one. While scouting the countryside in an attempt to maintain the peace, he finds a woman with no name among his fields. A complete novelisation of Fire Emblem: Awakening. Full summary within.

10. Blood of the Father

Blood of the Father

Azrynne

"Stahl, did you bring any vulnerary paste with you?" Azrynne called out to the green knight from across the yard. Azrynne had just returned from the markets with Faline, Kinley and William in tow. She crouched beside Faline, who sat in the grass, while Kinley and William stood awkwardly beside them.

Stahl shuffled through his duffel bag briefly before pulling out a small jar of the cream paste. He quickly jogged across the field to Azrynne, and passed her the bottle. Faline, the young blonde slum girl who they had become so acquainted with over the past two months, whined. Faline's normally happy and tender face, with eyes of emeralds and a smile that could melt any heart, was contorted into a frown of pain. She clutched her knee, where her skin was scraped aside and blood began to seep.

"What happened?" Stahl asked Azrynne, worried. He had been sitting and chatting with Sumia and Lavina, and the two women looked curiously at them from across the small front lawn of their run down home.

"Nothing major. Someone took a tumble," Azrynne said as she pulled the cork with a satisfying pop, "This is why we look where we're going before we start running."

Faline whined in reply as Azrynne began smoothing the paste over the wound. She hushed the slum girl gently.

"Now, now, dear. I know it stings, but it's only a graze," she said. Faline whimpered, and beside her, William frowned. The dark haired boy crossed his arms and huffed at Azrynne.

"I don't know why you just let him walk away," he said. Azrynne smoothed the paste over the entirety of the graze, hushing Faline occasionally as she spoke.

"It wasn't his fault. Faline was the one who ran into him," Azrynne said.

"He was the one who wasn't watching where he was going! He should have apologized, not Faline!" William argued, but Azrynne chastised him.

"Faline ran around that corner, not him. But it doesn't matter anymore. It was an accident, and life goes on," Azrynne said. William huffed and rolled his eyes, but said nothing more. Small tears began prickling at Faline's eyes, and she whimpered softly as Azrynne finished with her wound.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered, but Azrynne hushed her.

"It's okay dear, I'm not mad. You don't have to apologize anymore."

"But…we had to stop shopping because of me…" Faline said.

"Hey now, that's not your fault," Azrynne said, leaning towards the small girl and tilting her head up by her chin so she would look at Azrynne in the eye. "There will be more shopping days in the future."

"But—" Faline started, but Azrynne hushed her.

"You've got something on your nose," Azrynne said. With the remaining paste left on her fingertips, Azrynne tapped Faline's noise and smiled. The young girl squealed and rubbed at her nose, which only spread the paste further. Azrynne laughed as she returned the jar of vulnerary paste to Stahl, who smiled back at her.

"Thank you, Stahl."

"Don't mention it," he replied, then gestured to the single bag that William clutched in his fist. "Get anything nice at the market, Will?"

The boy, still bitter with his arms crossed, smiled when Stahl spoke to him. His disposition changed, and he very excitedly ran to Stahl and began shuffling through the bag, before he turned to Sumia and his sister and began dragging Stahl towards them.

"Wait, I want to show Vina and Mia too! Come on, Stahl!" he said as he began tugging on the knight's sleeve. Stahl smiled sheepishly and laughed.

"Alright, alright! I'm coming!" he smiled at Azrynne and she nodded, encouraging him to go ahead.

As Stahl and William conversed with Sumia and Lavina, Azrynne returned her attention back to Faline and Kinley. Faline was smiling now, still laughing and scoffing at the paste that Azrynne had smeared on her face. Beside her, Kinley now knelt and laughed as he teased the young girl.

"Lady Azrynne, you're so mean!" Faline complained. Azrynne only smiled in reply.

"You should duck next time," Kinley said. It only made Faline frown, and she stuck her tongue out and made a face at the young brunet boy.

Kinley didn't speak much. Azrynne learnt this quickly over the past two months. The boy had little to say, but he listened always, and spoke when it mattered. He was a sweet boy, Azrynne thought, and was it not for his unfortunate position in life, Azrynne thought he would excel in school. He was poor, though, and an orphan, and what little money he had went first to food and second to shelter. Education was far from his list of concerns.

Without thought, Azrynne reached out and pinched his cheek. He went red at her touch, and then whined at her treatment.

"Lady Azrynne!" he said timidly. "I'm not a child!"

"You are to me," Azrynne replied with a gentle smile. Faline laughed at him this time, and teased him relentlessly.

To anyone else, Faline had a shy and demure personality to match her small stature. To Azrynne, though, and Faline's small circle of friends, the girl was far from meek. She reminded Azrynne of Lissa, almost, except much, much younger. She was boisterous and often hyperactive, and around close company, Faline spoke near constantly. Around strangers, however, Faline transformed completely into a shy and timid young girl, too nervous to even look at a stranger's face, let alone speak with them.

Around William and Kinley though, Faline was almost a bully – while she was kind and gentle in intent, she often teased them over the smallest things. She was only seven, compared to Will and Kinley, who were sixteen and thirteen, respectively, yet still she acted ever the superior around them. The two boys adored her though. While no blood was shared between the three, they were near inseparable, and all of them lived under the same shaggy and dogged roof in the eastern slums with William's older sister, Lavina.

Tender and gentle, Lavina belonged to the same age group as Stahl and Sumia. Perhaps she was even Azrynne's age as well, she once wondered. While her clothes were ripped and old and she was sickly and fragile, Lavina still looked beautiful. Her long black hair was often disheveled, but paired with her modestly pretty face and her striking blue eyes, many eyes often wandered to her. Azrynne often wondered if, were Lavina not in the position she was, she'd be heavily courted or even married by now. She was a beautiful woman in both appearance and heart.

Lavina was a sickly young woman. Here, in the slums, she could not afford the care of a healer. It was a somber topic that neither she or William often spoke of, but one they faced every day. Azrynne was unsure exactly what sickness Lavina had. Several times Azrynne had offered to pay for Lavina to visit a healer at least one, so that they might determine exactly what ailed her, but she always refused. It was too grand an expense, she had told them. William resented her for it. Of course he would want his sister to be tended to – but he could neither convince nor force her.

"It doesn't matter," Lavina told them once. "I have my family. That's what matters."

In the eastern slums, everyone was poor, but Lavina at least was somewhat luckier in her position than her neighbours were. While many were homeless, Lavina at least had a home to return to. Small and broken as it was, with a roof that leaked and walls that swayed with the wind, it was enough for her small, makeshift family. She shared blood with only William, but loved Kinley and Faline just as much. While they were a frail and poor family in riches and belongings, they were strong in bonds and love.

"Oh no," Kinley said, breaking Azrynne away from her thoughts. "You've got blood on your dress, Faline."

Kinley gripped the hem of her white, knee-length dress, brushing his fingers against the reddish-brown stain. Faline gasped and pulled the hem away from him, fingers grasping at the stain.

"No!" she yelled. "This is my favourite dress!"

She frowned deeply, and tears began to prick at her eyes again. With one hand, Azrynne gently plucked the skirt of her dress from Faline's hands, and with the other, she cupped Faline's cheek. With her thumb, Azrynne brushed away Faline's tears and hushed her gently.

"It's okay, Faline," Azrynne said. "If we wash it now, the stain will go away. Let's get you into some new clothes and fix this one up, shall we?"

Azrynne stood and reached out for Faline's hand. The young girl immediately laced her fingers around Azrynne's, and the three strode across the lawn and towards the front door, where William, Lavina, Stahl and Sumia still sat and chatted.

"Faline? What's wrong?" Lavina asked as they approached, noticing the young girl's tears.

"Dress…" she said, pointing at her stain.

"We're going to wash it right away to fix it, though," Azrynne said.

"Oh no," Lavina said as she reached for the hem of the dress, examining it. "That's no good at all. Lady Azrynne is right though; let's wash this up straight away, hmm?"

With a heavy single nod, Faline said, "New dress!"

"Of course," Lavina said with a smile. She gestured to William and continued, "Will, why don't you go put away the things you got at the market and help Azrynne and Faline find some new clothes?"

William smiled and nodded. He happily obliged, and while Kinley took his place between Stahl and Sumia (who both immediately began to tease and hug the poor boy, to his embarrassment), William stood up and led the two girls into the home, bag in tow.

Their home was small and run down, yet Azrynne still like it. It was almost peaceful. The smell was familiar and the atmosphere was bold with the sense of home. The first room of the house connected immediately with the kitchen, and two mattresses were pressed against a far wall. On the far side of the kitchen, an open doorway led to an even smaller room where a large wooden tub of lukewarm water sat for their baths and a single chamber pot sat in the corner. There was a single counter top in the kitchen where the family shared their meals. William placed his bag there and led the two into the one other room of the house.

The single bedroom was even smaller than the living room. While Kinley and Faline slept in the living room, this was the room that Lavina shared with William. There was only one mattress here, only slightly large enough to fit the two. Some blankets were piled in the corner, where William often preferred to sleep so that he might give his sickly sister more room and comfort. A chest of drawers was located in one corner, where all of their clothes were stored, and several boxes covered the remaining space, containing what little precious belongings the family had left.

As Faline skipped to the mattress and sat down, making herself immediately comfortable, William began to sort through the chest of drawers. He pulled out a dirty red dress and held it up to Faline.

"This one?" he asked. Faline adamantly shook her head.

"No!" William sighed at her and returned it to the drawer. He pulled out a shirt this time.

"What about this? And some pants?"

"No!" Faline shook her head again. "I want a dress!"

"I gave you a red one…" William muttered.

"I don't want red!"

William rolled his eyes and sighed, beginning to rummage through the drawers again. From the doorway, Azrynne giggled.

"What kind of dress do you want, Faline?" she asked the girl. Faline pressed her index finger against her lips and tilted her head with a loud hmm.

"I want the pink one. It had white flowers on it," she said after a moment's pause.

William pulled out a pink dress. "This one?" he asked.

"No!" Faline whined. "The one with the flowers! Vina bought it for me!"

"Vina bought you this one too."

"But I want the one with the flowers!"

William groaned and rolled his eyes. Conceding, he returned the dress and closed the drawers.

"Fine," he said. "I think Vina put it in one of those boxes though."

"Let me help you, Will," Azrynne said. Together, they both began to sort through the boxes. While some held toys or blankets or pillows, a few here and there had some older clothes that the children had outgrown. Faline stood up from the bed and began looking through boxes as well.

When Azrynne came across several dresses that she and Sumia had bought for themselves but had given to Lavina, she smiled. They were folded neatly and packed preciously into their own chest, and Azrynne could see that Lavina cherished them greatly. While she often wore them when Azrynne, Stahl or Sumia visited, it was obvious that she kept them locked safely in her room at other times, not willing to stain or spoil the precious gifts the girls had given her. Azrynne neatly patted them flat and continued to a different box.

After several minutes of searching, Azrynne heard Faline's soft voice shouting 'Ah!' of success. As Azrynne turned to her though, she saw that Faline was stood upon several stacked boxes, and she reached for the hem of a pink dress that spilled from the edge of a box high upon a shelf two meters above her.

Azrynne felt her heart skip a beat when Faline slipped from the boxes. She took an extra step forward, grabbing the dress as she did before the boxes slid from beneath her and she lost her foothold. The box that sat upon the shelf fell as well, and both it and Faline fell to the ground. Azrynne rushed forward to catch the young girl, but before she could even take a step, William appeared instantly beside her, catching her before she hit to floor.

"Faline!" He chastised as he gripped onto her waist. She looked almost clueless at the events. "You need to be careful!"

Stepping over the spilled contents of the box, Azrynne approached them and chastised Faline as well.

"That's twice today you've taken a tumble, Faline," Azrynne said with a frown. "Please be more careful. For us?"

William placed Faline gently back onto her feet, and the girl looked down to the ground and shook her hips from side to side and she clutched onto the pink dress.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered.

"That's okay," Azrynne said with a sigh. "At least you aren't hurt. Is this the dress you wanted?"

Faline nodded as Azrynne reached for the dress. She gave Faline a light push and steered her to the living room.

"At least you've gotten your dress. Go change in the bathroom, then give your dress to Lavina so you can wash it. We'll fix this," Azrynne told her.

Faline nodded timidly. She apologized once again before making her way into the bathroom, leaving Azrynne and William to clean the assortment of items that had fallen from the shelf.

"She's clumsier than Mia is," William said as he shook his head. Azrynne giggled.

"Don't say that in front of Sumia, though," Azrynne warned. They shared a quick laugh before they began picking up the things that had fallen from the box. As William reached for an old teddy bear, his eyes widened.

"I didn't know Lavina kept this…" he muttered to himself as he stared at it.

Azrynne said nothing. She only smiled to herself, letting the teenager have the moment of nostalgia for himself. Several of the items Azrynne picked up were old and tattered. Most were worn out and unusable. There were worn out toys and old cutlery and even tattered books that Azrynne was positive have deep significance and meaning to Lavina. She piled them neatly into the box one by one.

As William stopped and stared at each item one by one, shocked that his sister had kept them and being knocked aside time and again by waves of memory and nostalgia, Azrynne silently organized the items. When almost all of them had been packed away, Azrynne scanned the room for any remaining items. In the center of the room, a book was laid half open. Azrynne walked over and reached for it, neatly closing the cover and dusting off the front cover.

As she did, though, her heart almost leaped from her chest. Golden eyes widening, her beating heart doubled in speed and thumped loudly and hard in her chest. Azrynne gripped the book with both hands, knotting her eyebrows together in confusion as she stared at the purple and gold cover.

The familiar markings of Plegia were etched with golden ink into the face of the book. Against purple fabric, Azrynne saw six golden eyes staring into her soul. Her breath caught in her throat, and she turned to William, unable to speak.

"William…" she managed to say.

The boy looked away from the figurine he held in his hands. At first, his expression was quizzical, but when Azrynne could not manage to say anything more and he glanced at the tome in her hands, his eyes widened.

With a shout, William dropped the stone figure onto his mattress and dashed towards Azrynne. He knocked the book out of her hands and onto the floor.

"Will! What—" Azrynne shouted, shocked. With wide eyes suddenly filled with the sparkling of tears, he knocked aside the book with his foot and looked at Azrynne. His striking blue eyes were clouded now, and he looked pain.

"Don't tell anyone," he begged her. Azrynne shook her head in confusion, eyes wide and brows knotted together. She glanced at the Plegian tome. The golden-inked eyes stared back at her uneasily. When she went to reach for it, William yelled and begged again.

"Don't!" he nearly screeched. Azrynne turned away from the book at back to William. Tears began to form at the ducts of his eyes, but he held them back as he bit his bottom lip so hard Azrynne was fearful that he'd bleed. She reached both hands out to his shoulders, then hushed him gently.

"It's okay, Will," she said. He shook his head, but said nothing. Azrynne stroked his hair and hugged him tightly.

"It's okay, William," she said gently. "It's okay."

William reached around Azrynne's waist. He gripped her tightly, burying his face into the fabric of her tunic. Azrynne shushed him gently. She ran her fingers through his hair and touched her lips to his forehead.

He was silent for several moments, crying gently. When he composed himself and pulled away from her though, Azrynne lead him to the mattress and sat him down. He drew the sleeve of his shirt across his eyes and nose, wiping away the tears. Tentatively, Azrynne reached for the tome. When William made no sudden movements of cries of protests, she picked it up and sat gingerly beside him. Azrynne nervously stroked the cover of the tome with her fingertips.

"William," she said gently, trying not to push him. "Why do you have this book?"

With a long, shaky breath, William exhaled and rubbed his eyes. He took a moment to compose himself, then spoke with a soft voice.

"I didn't know Lavina still had that," he said in a whisper. "I thought…I thought she threw it all out."

"All?" Azrynne asked. So there was more. William nodded solemnly, as if ashamed, but Azrynne did not judge him.

"It's okay, William," she said. "You don't have to tell me."

"No," he said immediately. "No. I want to. You deserve to know."

Azrynne sat on the mattress, quiet and patient. The tome she had placed on her lap was old and tattered. The edges of the book ripped, and when she had picked it up before, Azrynne saw that several pages were shredded or outright torn out. She traced her fingers around the golden marking of Grima and shuddered. Nervously, Azrynne quickly and silently double checked that her gloves securely hid her own tattoo.

"That book…" William started, bringing Azrynne's attention back to the boy. "It belongs to my father."

"Your father?" Azrynne repeated softly. Lavina and William were orphans, parents long dead. At least, Azrynne assumed. "So your father was…"

"Plegian," William finished softly for her. "He is Plegian."

Azrynne was silent for a moment. As she nodded to herself, she said, "And your mother…"

"She is Ylissean," Willian said, "Actually…she fought in the war eighteen years ago."

Azrynne felt her heart sink.

"Did she…" Azrynne started, then stopped immediately before she could bring any painful memories to the boy.

An Ylissean mother…and a Plegian father. Azrynne understood William's pain. Even though eighteen years had passed…many in Ylisse still hated Plegians. She couldn't imagine how strong and venomous that hatred must have been eighteen years ago, when the war was still fresh.

So he had lost both his parents to the war. Azrynne reached for William's hand. He held it for a moment, then sniffled, trying to hold back tears.

"I'm sorry. About your mother," Azrynne said. William shook his head though, and suddenly his face contorted into an expression of anger.

"Don't be," he spat. "She doesn't deserve your kindness. She's not even dead, but I wish she was!"

"What?" Azrynne asked, shocked. As her eyes widened, William let go of her hand and stood up suddenly. He kicked at the wall nearby and shouted.

"My father might have been a Plegian man," he said through tears. Azrynne sat quietly and listened. "And mother was Ylissean..but before the war, they were happy. It was just them and Lavina. But they were so happy. Everyone was good."

William closed his eyes. He looked pained.

"But then...we changed. Ylisse attacked Plegia out of nowhere. It wasn't even provoked! Mother…she was called to arms. She fought in the war. She killed…so many people. Father's people…but he forgave her. He loved her. He didn't care.

"Lavina told me…she told me that no one knew about father. No one knew he was Plegian. They didn't move to the capital until the war came, and they didn't tell anyone about father because…because of course they couldn't. When the war ended, it was okay. Father forgave her. He forgave mother. They were happy again…at least a little. But then…after they had me…someone found out about father.

"Everyone started to hate us. They started to hate mother for loving him, and they hated us because we had his blood. And Lavina said that they were ready to bring a torch to our family and that…that…one day, mother had enough. She left him. She kicked father out of home. And the next day, he…he was…they found him…"

Tears began to fall from the edges of William's eyes. He desperately wiped them away and kicked at the wall again.

"They killed him. No one knows who but…they found him the next day. And it was mother's fault. She was the one who kicked him out; she was the one who killed him! But she still wasn't happy. She still…hated him…and she started to hate us too.

"So she left. She just got up and left us. We were only kids and she left us! Lavina was six, I was one, and she just left us out in the streets to die! Her own children!"

William cried out again and punched both fists into the wall of the room. He cried loudly, pressing his face against the cold of the wall. Azrynne dropped the tome and immediately went to William's side. She tenderly pried him from the wall, and the boy immediately wrapped himself around her. Azrynne hugged him tightly and let him cry.

They stood like that for ages, it seemed. Azrynne gently hushed his cries. She stroked his hair again and rocked him gently side to side, like a child. Even at sixteen, he was almost as tall as Azrynne was. But at that moment, he was a child again, small and brittle. Azrynne kissed his forehead and whispered to him, comforting the boy as he wept into the folds of her clothing. It felt like an hour had passed before he spoke up again, but Azrynne knew it was only a few moments. He pulled away from her and rubbed his eyes and nose, sniffling.

"Do you hate me?" he asked her. Azrynne snapped at him, offended, but careful not to show too much anger.

"Of course not," she said. She cupper his cheeks with both her hands and wiped his tears with her thumbs. "You haven't done anything wrong."

"But I'm Plegian. I'm dirty," he said. Azrynne snapped at him again.

"You are not!" she yelled a bit too loudly. He flinched, and Azrynne adjusted her tone to a softer one.

"You are Plegian," she said to him. "But you are not dirty. You are sweet, and kind, and loving. I don't hate you for who your parents were or what kind of blood flows through your veins. You are you, and that is all that matters."

William was silent for a moment. He looked down at his feet. After a moment of contemplation, he looked up again and embraced Azrynne tightly. She squeezed him reassuringly in return.

"Do you hate yourself, William?" she asked him.

"No," Will replied after a moment. "I don't."

Azrynne smiled. "Good."

"My father might have been Plegian…but he loved us. He wasn't evil. He was a good dad. At least, that's what Lavina says. I was too young to remember. Mother, though…she abandoned us just because of our blood."

William squirmed. He knotted his fingers together nervously and looked to the ground.

"This isn't a popular opinion, especially here in the slums…" he started softly, "but I don't hate Plegia. I…don't think they did anything wrong. We were the ones who started the war, after all. They were just fighting back. But I guess it's a little different now. They really hate us. But I…I almost can't blame them. We killed their people and their whole royal family."

Azrynne said nothing for a moment. She knew little about the Plegia-Ylisse war, which would have surprised many people, had she admitted it. Even though eighteen years had passed, the pain was still strong, and the war was not often spoken of, which helped Azrynne disguise her lack of knowledge.

Despite being an amnesiac, Azrynne was surprisingly knowledgeable of the world. She spent almost every day in the Garrison library, and several times, upon request, she accompanied Chrom or Sumia to the castle itself and read books from its library as well. One of her closest friends was Miriel, and they often studied together and shared 'fun facts' of magic or history with one another. Azrynne particularly loved to read about history. Perhaps a part of her liked the ironic twist of knowing all about Ylisse's history but none of her own.

Despite all this though, she avoided reading or asking about the previous war. Azrynne was not stupid. It was obvious who instigated the conflict – but many history books did not report this correctly. Perhaps it was because it was still two decades too early, or perhaps it was something to do with pride, but it seemed that most Ylissean scholars neglected to write truthfully about the events of the war. In fact, it was difficult to find books on the subject in the first place – it was almost as if people were too ashamed to put the history to paper.

Azrynne didn't blame them. Ylisse instigated the war. It made sense that few Ylisseans would dare to admit their own fault. Azrynne avoided the topic when she researched, partly out of her scholarly desire to avoid bias or conjecture, but also mostly out of respect to her friends, for whom many still felt the sting of the war too keenly.

"You have a compassionate heart. I wish more were like you," Azrynne told him finally with a smile. Her love for William grew at his words. It was comforting to know that there were ones out there who did not hate her so keenly for her blood – even if William didn't know the truth of her.

William smiled sheepishly at her praise. He muttered a quick thank you and hugged Azrynne again, quickly and tightly, as if embarrassed. Azrynne smiled at this. She turned back to the mattress and picked up the tome once again, neatly and gently returning it to the box.

"Please don't tell anyone," William said again.

"I won't," Azrynne replied, raising her pinky towards him. "I promise."

William smiled and locked his own pinky around her's. As Azrynne returned the box to the shelf, William changed the topic of their conversation.

"Will you be doing anything for the celebrations next week?" he suddenly asked. Azrynne raised a brow.

"Celebrations?" she asked.

"Yeah, the birthday celebrations."

"Birthday? Whose birthday?"

William stared at for a moment before slapping his forehead and laughing to himself.

"I forgot you have amnesia. It's Prince Chrom's birthday next week. The whole city celebrates the day."

"Oh!" Azrynne said with a start. How had she not known that Chrom's birthday was so soon? How had she not heard anything? Azrynne mentally slapped herself. For all the research she did on magic and strategy and history, how could she have missed something as simple as the birthday of one of her dearest friends?

"I suppose I'd just do whatever everyone else does," Azrynne said nervously. "This is will my first birthday, technically. What do people normally do for Chrom's birthday?"

"Normally, there are several celebrations. All the taverns will be celebrating. There are a lot of toasts and feasts to his name and health. Each district normally has some kind of parade or festival as well, and the market district goes wild. Sometimes they organize some mages to light fireworks. There's also a huge party at the palace," William explained.

Azrynne nodded as he spoke. "I'll just do whatever you do."

He smiled at that, but then his expression changed as if he remembered something important.

"Wait!" he said. "You're Prince Chrom's friend, aren't you?"

"I like to think so," Azrynne said.

"You'll probably be invited to the ball at the palace! He always invites his battalion of Shepherds," William said excitedly.

"I don't know," Azrynne said slowly with a frown. "I'm technically not a Shepherd, William. And I'm not in Chrom's personal battalion either."

"But you're his friend!" William insisted. "I'm sure he'd invite you."

Azrynne only laughed at his insistence. "We'll see."

"Are you at least going to get him a present?" William asked.

Azrynne frowned. Should she get him a gift? Chrom was a prince, after all. Azrynne was positive there was nothing she could offer him that he didn't have already.

"What could I even get him?" she asked no one in particular.

"You have a week to figure it out," William said, smiling.

A knock sounded on the door as he spoke. Lavina's sweet voice called to them from behind the wood.

"William? Lady Azrynne?" she called.

"We're here," William said as he approached and opened the door.

"What are you two doing?" she asked. "You didn't come out with Faline."

"We were talking," Azrynne said simply.

"I told Azrynne about father and mother," William said softly. Lavina's eyes widened.

"You did?" she turned from William to Azrynne nervously.

"It's okay," Azrynne said quickly. "I won't tell anyone. It doesn't bother me."

"Really?" Lavina asked nervously. She bit her bottom lip, a habit shared between the siblings.

"Truly. It doesn't matter to me who your parents are. It doesn't change who you are."

Lavina smiled. Walking past William, she quickly and tenderly embraced Azrynne.

"You've been so kind to us," she said softly. Azrynne squeezed her back and smiled.

"You are my friends," Azrynne said simply.

Lavina smiled from ear to ear as she parted from Azrynne. The three shared a short but tender moment of silence together, before Lavina remembered the purpose of her visit.

"Dinner is ready," she told them. "Sir Stahl and Lady Sumia are joining us. Will you stay as well?"

"I see no reason to turn down a meal," Azrynne said with a smile.

As the three shuffled out from the room, Azrynne saw that the dining table was already tightly packed together. She found a seat between Stahl and William, and as Lavina began to divide their small and humble meal between all seven of them, Azrynne smiled at her fortune and the company of good friends.

---

The markets were just as busy as ever. Already, they had lost Lissa twice to the crowds, much to Alistair's panic. While normally Frederick would never allow the Princess to wander alone into the lower districts without him accompanying her, today, the knight was pre-occupied with meetings at the garrison with Chrom. Instead, Frederick the Wary had instead reluctantly sent Alistair to accompany the Princess on her shopping date with Stahl and Azrynne.

"Princess, please!" Alistair said, forcing his way through the crowd that slowly formed around her.

It was obvious how much the people adored Lissa. Countless had already approached her, some with kind words, others with well wishes, and some even with gifts. It didn't help that Lissa strayed from Azrynne and the two knights at every opportune moment. It also didn't help that she insisted on stopping at almost every stall, even the ones who tried to swindle her.

They were here only to procure supplies for Stahl's elixir and maybe scout an idea or two for another gift for Chrom. Yet with Lissa by their side, it became harder and harder to accomplish even the smallest of tasks.

When Azrynne had approached Stahl earlier this morning, pondering wildly for an appropriate gift for the Prince's upcoming birthday, he had suggested a date in the markets to gather ideas. Stahl himself already had the perfect gift idea. He wanted to brew Chrom a panacea tonic, a supposedly rare and expensive potion that was used to cure ailments and promote strong health.

"It can be a gift from both of us," he had told Azrynne, should she fail to find her own. She agreed to the offer – Azrynne hardly had any unique skills herself, unless Chrom wanted a long essay on the cultural evolution of Doluna's military before its dissolution as a nation. She assumed that he didn't. Should she be unable to find her own gift, Azrynne agreed to share the costs of the ingredients for the tonic Stahl would brew.

The Princess had overheard their conversation in the mess hall and insisted on joining. She insisted even more when it turned out that Frederick was unable to accompany them. Azrynne now understood why – without Frederick, Lissa was like a starving dog suddenly unchained. She flitted from stall to stall with such enthusiasm that Azrynne was already growing tired of her company, loathe she was to admit it.

"All I wanted was some ravensara oil…" Azrynne heard Stahl mutter as he watched Alistair pull Lissa away from another growing crowd.

"I suppose we should indulge her," Azrynne admitted. "She doesn't often get to be this free, does she?"

"I guess. Find anything nice yet?" Stahl asked.

As annoying as it was to stop at every single stall, at the very least, Azrynne had the opportunity to examine each and every item with intense care. It made searching for the perfect gift from Chrom that little bit easier – but still, she had found nothing. She picked up a quill from a nearby table and examined it.

"You don't suppose he'd like a nice quill, do you?" she asked.

"I can't imagine he has any already," Stahl quipped. Azrynne rolled her eyes and returned it to the table.

"This is impossible," she said with a groan. "He's a Prince. He already has everything!"

"What about a nice sword?" Stahl asked, pointing to the vendor across the street. Azrynne rolled her eyes and slapped his shoulder.

"He already has the most treasured sword in the world, Stahl," she said, chastising him. He only laughed nervously in reply. Azrynne was prepared to move on, however Lissa had other ideas. As if she had overheard them and deemed otherwise, she flitted from their current location to the weapons vendor that Stahl had just pointed out.

"Princess! Wait!" Alistair groaned as he chased after her. He shot a glance at Stahl and Azrynne as he ran past them, muttering something about babysitting. They shared a small laugh before following.

A young girl in her early twenties greeted them as they approached the vendor. Her curly red hair was tucked neatly into a high pony tail, and she greeted them with a smile. Her eyes, a bright red, seemed to glow as she welcomed them, and her words sounded practiced but sweet.

"Welcome! Take your time, look around!" she said. When she saw Lissa though, her eyes widened and she gasped, then bowed low to the blonde Princess, "Your highness! You honour me with you presence."

Lissa smiled and dismissed her, then complimented her wares.

"Thank you, your grace!" the merchant said. "Though I'm afraid I can't give you any discounts just because you're royal. A girl needs to make her coin, after all."

Lissa smiled and laughed. "Of course! I didn't expect anything."

"I do have a line of staves that I've recently lowered the price for, though," the red headed girl started. Lissa was already sold. As they made their way deeper into the vendor's tent, Alistair grimaced beside Azrynne.

"Lissa, remember the allowance Frederick gave you!" he said.

The red haired merchant turned to him and replied, "She's a princess! She can spend as much as she pleases."

"That's right!" Lissa agreed. The merchant smiled widely, and Azrynne laughed. She prayed that Lissa would not be so foolish and be swindled again.

"Women…" Alistair said exasperatedly.

"Hey," Azrynne complained, elbowing him in the side. "We're not that bad."

"Bah!" was all Alistair had to say, before he moved on to examine the various quivers that hung from the tent's walls.

Stahl had found himself lost within a rack of swords, leaving Azrynne to browse on her own. The tent was rather large, with various paper screen dividers separating each section of weaponry. An huge assortment of various weaponry was laid upon tables or hung against walls. Azrynne approached a particularly gorgeous sword with a long, curved blade.

A wo dao, she recognized from her studies. Dangerously sharp and polished to a blinding degree, the blade was longer than most katana and slightly curved. Some knew the blade as simple the Killing Sword, as the katana was infamously difficult to wield but deadly when done so correctly. Only the strongest and most skilled of sword masters ever drew the blade, and when they did, nary a soul ever lived from the encounter.

Azrynne checked the price of the blade and whistled low to herself, retracting her fingers and quickly shuffling away.

Eventually, on the far back wall of the tent, Azrynne found a table lined with an assortment of magical tomes. Interest piqued; she quickly approached and began to sort through the books.

Azrynne still had yet to replace her old tome. After returning from the Farfort, Azrynne had all but retired the book. It was too valuable and precious to use anymore. The more pages she drew power from, the more quickly hints to her past disappeared forever. It would be nice if she could find a new tome. Azrynne missed practicing with her magic, as she had instead resigned herself to training with her blade alone. It helped that more of the training routines she ran under Chrom's supervision was done with recruits that lacked magical talent.

Memories of her previous two training sessions returned to her, and Azrynne smiled. It was kind of Chrom to offer her the opportunity – kinder still to offer it twice. She thought she did well. Her sessions were short but sweet, and even Frederick had praised her on her success. It made her search for a precious gift for Chrom all the more pertinent to Azrynne. He had already given her so much – she wanted nothing more than to give something worthy in return.

A familiar voice broke her train of thought as she browsed through the tomes.

"Can I help you?" the red-haired merchant asked. Azrynne quickly looked around her, but saw no trace of Lissa. Wasn't she tending to the princess? Azrynne shrugged the thought from her mind.

"I'm looking for a tome. Particularly something with many languages of elements written within," Azrynne told the merchant.

"Those are rare and expensive finds," the merchant told her.

"They are, which is why I've yet to find one to replace my own. I suppose I'll keep searching, then," Azrynne replied.

"Hold on!" the merchant stopped Azrynne as she thanked her and bowed. "I said they were rare, not that I didn't have any."

"Oh! If you have any, please, I would love to see them!" Azrynne said with an excited smile. The merchant obliged and took Azrynne to the far corner of the tent, towards another table lined with books. As she sorted through tomes, mumbling about how she swore it was 'right here' the last time she checked, Azrynne idly parsed through the tomes herself.

As her fingers brushed from cover to cover, Azrynne could feel the chill of magic at her fingertips. Without even a glance at the title, Azrynne knew immediately which tomes were worth her investment and which weren't. Some were weak, filled with simple fire spells, while others were grander, but spoke only one language of elements. As her fingers slid from cover to cover though, an unspeakable chill shot through her arm, and Azrynne recoiled in shock.

One black tome in particular caught her attention. It felt…heavy. Not in weight, but in power. What immense power, Azrynne thought. She reached for the tome again, and her hand tingled as it brushed against the spine. A sudden and strong feeling of emptiness and power shocked Azrynne to the core. With a gasp, Azrynne suddenly realized the manner of tome she touched, and withdrew her hand quickly. At that very instead, the red haired merchant bolted to her side and snatched the tome away from her.

"Whoops!" the merchant said, "That's not for sale."

Azrynne widened her eyes at the woman's casual response.

"It certainly should not be," Azrynne said softly, looking around them fearfully. "Why do you have a tome of dark magic? The dark arts are illegal in Ylisse."

"I know this looks bad, this never should have been out here," the merchant said with genuine remorse. "I'm a travelling merchant. I occasionally sell in Plegian towns. I'm sorry, I should have been more careful with my wares."

"That's okay," Azrynne said softly, massaging the tips of her fingers. "I won't tell. Just don't let it happen again. You're lucky it was me and not a knight or a sage."

"Thank you. This means a lot to me and my business," the merchant said, bowing to Azrynne.

After she tucked the tome into her side satchel, she handed Azrynne a large tome, purple in colour with various golden decals and patterns laced into the cover.

"This is the only multi-elemental tome we have," the merchant told Azrynne.

As Azrynne reached for the tome, her fingertips tingled once again. A similar feeling of immense power radiated through her body, but this was different from the dark tome she had touched before. While the previous tome seemed to almost drain her of strength, this tome filled Azrynne with a surge of energy. Lightning, wind, fire…Azrynne felt the spirits call to her as she held the tome. She nodded to herself and smiled.

"I'll take it," she told the merchant, who looked at her with surprise.

"Just like that?" she asked. "It's quite expensive, you know."

"Quite the lucky sale for you, then," Azrynne replied with a smile, and the merchant laughed.

"That, it is," the ginger merchant said, smiling. "You are quite the talented mage."

"Oh?" Azrynne said, taken by surprise from the sudden compliment.

"Recognizing a dark tome from touch alone, channeling the magics of a tome book before you even open it…Even the way you handle that tome in your hand is impressive."

"Thank you," Azrynne said after a moment. "You must be familiar with magic yourself?"

The merchant shrugged and muttered, "You could say that."

Azrynne returned the tome to the merchant, ready to make her purchase. It wasn't a gift for Chrom, but it was a worthwhile investment for herself. As she was lead back to the front of the tent, however, an assortment of gems and totems on a nearby table caught her eye, and as she moved towards them, the merchant instinctively followed.

"How beautiful," Azrynne said, marveling at them.

"Quite beautiful indeed, and they're a little more than meets the eye," The merchant said.

Reaching for a brilliant talisman embedded with a ruby, the merchant raised it to eye level and began explaining.

"This is a special magical talisman. The ruby is made from earths and soils rich in spiritual energy, so it actually possesses strong magical properties itself. In particular, it acts as a deterrent to magical forces. It's a valuable resistive asset on the battlefield."

Azrynne reached out for the talisman, and the merchant handed it to her happily. It was rather large, more the size of a brooch than a ring or pendant. It fit neatly into Azrynne's palm, but felt no different from a regular jewel.

"Try channeling your magic into it," the merchant said, as if reading her thoughts.

Azrynne nodded and concentrated her energy to the gem. As warmth began to bubble from her chest, she envisioned the pool of energy flowing up her torso and through her arms. As her life energy reached the port of her palm, however, Azrynne found trouble in trying to summon the familiar orb of golden light she usually did. It was almost as if her palm resisted and pushed against her energy as she tried to channel it outwards. She took a breath and concentrated, and only with effort could she summon her magic beyond the talisman. She dismissed the globe and smiled.

"That is incredibly impressive," Azrynne told the merchant.

"It can be quite the life saver on the field."

Azrynne nodded and passed the talisman back to the merchant.

"I'll take it as well. It would make a perfect gift."

With a smile, the merchant took the talisman and nodded. She led Azrynne back to the front of the tent, where Stahl, Lissa and Alistair awaited.

"Find something nice?" Alistair asked.

"I did," she said, then said with shock. "I'm sorry! Did I keep you all waiting?"

"No, we just finished up," Stahl replied as he waved a bag around with two staves sticking out from the top. "The Princess is satisfied."

"That, she is," Lissa said with a smug smile.

As the merchant went through her books, no doubt taking stock of the things she sold, Azrynne prepared her wallet.

"The total comes to two-hundred-and-twenty gold cobras." The merchant said. Beside her, Stahl sputtered.

"Two-hundred?" he shouted. "What on earth did you buy?"

"A tome," Azrynne said, "and a talisman."

"Two hundred gold cobras for a book and a brooch? Princess Lissa's two staves only cost her eighty cobras!" Alistair said in disbelief.

"Hey, magic isn't cheap, you know!" Azrynne said, sticking her tongue out at the handsome red-haired knight.

"Actually, that's just for the tome. The talisman's for free," the merchant interrupted.

"What?" Azrynne asked. "Free?"

"From one mage to another!" she said with a wink. "Think of it as a thank you for our little secret."

"Secret?" Lissa asked curiously, but the merchant chastised her.

"It's not a secret if you asked, milady!"

"That's no fun, though!" Lissa whined.

Despite Azrynne's insistence, the merchant refused to charge her for the price of the talisman as well. It was only reluctantly that Azrynne conceded to her decision. Reaching through her wallet for the 220 golden cobras she owed, which was practically all Azrynne had saved over the past two months, Azrynne paid the merchant and the group began to head off to gather Stahl's potion ingredients.

"Thanks again!" the red haired merchant called after them, waving. "If you ever see Anna's Wares out on the road, be sure to come say 'hello'!"

As the group made their way through the markets, Lissa once again flitted between tents. It was only after they wasted another half an hour that Alistair stopped her.

"The sun's already going down and Stahl hasn't even gotten his things yet!" The knight chastised.

With a frown and a look of sudden realization, Lissa apologized wholeheartedly to Stahl. The knight waved her off though, never one to hold grudges for meaningless things. Finally, after several hours since they first left the garrison, Stahl finally returned to the same merchant stand they arrived at the first day Stahl and Sumia had taken Azrynne to the district.

The same woman who greeted them the first time manned the stall today. She smiled as Stahl approached, recognizing him.

"Why, hello there again, panacea boy!" she said. Stahl laughed at his nickname.

"Hello again, apothecary girl," he replied. The merchant smiled widely at him.

"My name's Vivienne, sir."

"Stahl," Stahl said, extending a hand. She shook it with vigor, happen to see his return.

"How can I help you today, Sir Stahl?"

"I was actually looking for some ingredients for panacea tonics," he explained. The merchant girl raised one finger, asking for their patience, and she rummaged through a chest at her feet, beneath the stall of potions and tonics that stood before them. She pulled out a vial of green liquid.

"Actually, I was hoping to brew the potion myself. It's a gift for the Prince's birthday," Stahl explained when she gave him the panacea tonic.

"Really!" she exclaimed, returning the vial to the chest. "In that case, I have most of the ingredients you'll need. I just ran out of elderberry juice is all, but you can get some from Charlotte's stall down there by the river."

She quickly disappeared under the table again, rummaging through multiple chests and bags before she returned with several bags and vials of ingredients.

"How much you planning on brewing?" she asked.

"A jar's worth, about this big," Stahl said, pointing to a bottle. "Maybe ten uses?"

The girl began dividing the ingredients appropriately. When she finished, she placed them all gently into a bag and handed them to Stahl.

"32 cobras and 5 vipers, sir." She said.

Stahl turned to Azrynne.

"Did you end up finding a present for Chrom?" he asked her, to which Azrynne nodded.

"That talisman I got, actually," she told him. "Sorry to abandon ship on your gift, Stahl."

"Bah!" he said, dismissing her. "I can claim all the credit to myself, then. Now Chrom will love me even more."

Azrynne punched his shoulder affectionately as he paid Vivienne. He took the bag of ingredients from her and bowed, thanking her.

"It was really nice to see you again, Vivienne," Stahl said, the she returned a wide, toothy grin.

"Likewise, Stahl. Always nice to see another apothecary around."

As they made their final stop to Charlotte's stall to pick up the elderberry juice Stahl lacked, Alistair stretched and yawned loudly.

"Are we done yet, ladies?" he asked.

"You really dislike shopping, don't you, Alistair?" Azrynne asked.

He scoffed in reply.

"I don't need to look at ten thousand things I can't afford."

"But that's the fun part!" Lissa said. "Then you can save up for something you really want!"

"What I truly want cannot be bought, dear Princess," Alistair said dramatically.

"What do you truly want?" Azrynne asked, but Stahl interrupted her.

"Don't ask him, Azrynne! You don't want to get him started."

It was too late though, it seemed.

"What I want, my dear Azrynne, is to find true beauty," Alistair said, reaching for Azrynne's hand.

She made a face as he grabbed it, but Alistair went on regardless.

"True beauty that persists beyond life and death! Beauty that pierces even the strongest of armour; that dazzles men and women everywhere!"

Azrynne retracted her hand.

"Have you been spending too much time with Virion?" she asked.

Alistair made a face in response.

"Please, don't compare me to that womanizer," he scoffed. "He lacks the finesse and poise that I have."

"You're both terribly lackluster to me," Stahl quipped, making Azrynne giggle.

"I am clearly superior in both charisma and charm," Alistair sneered. "Isn't that right, ladies?"

"I don't know…" Lissa said with a pout.

"It is a close competition between who is the most obnoxious," Azrynne concluded, which earned a chuckle from all but Alistair.

Despite the teasing, though, it was clear both men were rather popular. It was Alistair, though, who found success. While both were handsome and charismatic in appearance, it was Alistair who had the charming personality to match. While Virion was very much a gentleman himself, he lacked the composure and eloquence that Alistair possessed, which made the red haired knight the more popular choice for women.

Azrynne had to admit, he was quite attractive. While she felt no infatuation with the man beyond a bond of friendship, she could see why women everywhere seemed to fall for his charms. Like brother like sister, Azrynne thought, as while Alistair had women swooning over him wherever he walked, Cordelia had an equal number of male suitors pursuing her. Though while Cordelia abhorred the attention and Alistair adored it, neither ever pursued any romantic relationships. Cordelia never showed interest in her suitors, and for all his talk of searching for true beauty or love, Alistair himself never courted a woman either. Their business was their own though, Azrynne thought with a shrug.

With Stahl's final purchase complete, the group finally began to return to the docks to board a boat that sailed them back to the garrison. After a long an eventful day at the markets, Azrynne looked forward to an hour or two to study in the library before she attended dinner at the mess hall with the others.

As they found themselves seated comfortably on the ship that sailed up the Auteaul River, Azrynne found herself admiring the orange and golden sparkles that the sky reflected upon the water's surface from the edge of the boat.

"You love the Auteaul River, don't you?" Alistair said as he approached to stand beside her.

"It's beautiful," she said. Alistair smiled.

"It certainly is," he replied, leaning over the edge of the railing. "Sometimes it's easy to forget the beauty of nature. When you surround yourself so actively in all that Naga made for us, the simple highlights of the world seem to pass us by without notice. It's good to stop, now and then, and admire the sights of the world. Naga sowed the seeds of our world, but we tend to her growth. We should always reflect on the garden we've nurtured and give thanks for Naga's blessings."

"Charismatic and insightful," Azrynne said with a smile. "How very poetic of you, Alistair."

"Ah, so you admit I'm charismatic," he said with a laugh.

Azrynne laughed and hung her head in defeat.

"You have charm, I will admit it."

"Try not to fall for me," he said, and Azrynne shoved him aside.

"And just like that, the charm is gone."

Some time later when they finally returned to the garrison docks and dismounted the ship, the group parted ways. As Alistair returned to report to Frederick, and Stahl retired to his quarters, Lissa decided to accompany Azrynne to the library, which surprised her.

"I hardly thought you one for books, Lissa," she said as the entered the library building.

"Hey! I don't mind a good read every now and then."

Azrynne smiled at her reply as they descended one floor and into the historical section of the library.

"You read a lot about history, huh?" Lissa said, reaching for a book.

She flipped through it idly before returning it to the shelf. Azrynne chuckled at the sight, and waded through the spines of each book until she found the one she had picked up previously; The Memoirs of Warrior King Fado.

"It's calming to know about the past," Azrynne admitted.

Lissa went quiet as Azrynne sat her at a nearby table, adjusting a nearby lantern to comfortably brighten her reading area. Returning another book she had picked up and haphazardly flipped through, Lissa sat adjacent to Azrynne.

"How much do you know about Ylisse?" Lissa asked quietly.

"Quite a bit, I'd like to think," Azrynne said as she skimmed through the pages of her book. "But not all. You likely know more than I do,"

"Do you ever read about my ancestors?" Lissa asked.

"Sometimes. Exalt King Marth is a particularly fascinating read. He accomplished so much. Exalt Queen Dionia was also quite the interesting read – to think she alone stopped the potential of continent wide war twice in her reign. A powerful woman."

Lissa played with her fingers as Azrynne continued to read. It was nice to have company – Azrynne often read in silence with Miriel, or occasionally even Sumia. Lissa read nothing though, and in fact looked quite conflicted.

"Lissa," Azrynne said, looking up from her book. "You don't have to be here if you don't want you. You look quite bored."

"I'm not bored! I'm just…" Lissa grasped for words, but found none.

Azrynne stared at her patiently.

"It's just that…Emmeryn studies every night. She knows everything about our history. She can list every single one of our ancestors up to the past thirty generations. She knows everything about Ylisstol, Baiyon, Farfort, Prism Mountain…She's the Queen, and she's the Exalt. She knows about our nation's history and she's our religious figurehead. She…she knows everything."

"She's the Exalt, Lissa. She has to know these things."

"I know. But so do I! I'm the Princess, and I could be Exalt one day, or maybe Queen, or both…but I don't know anything."

"That's not true," Azrynne said softly with a slight frown.

"It might as well be," Lissa said as she threw her hands up. "I just thought watching you study could motivate me to read some things as well. I just want to be a good princess."

"You are a good princess, Lissa! You are a wonderful princess." Azrynne said as she smiled and squeezed Lissa's shoulder. "Didn't you see how much all those people loved you at the markets? The people adore you Lissa. You are a very, very good princess."

Lissa smiled at Azrynne's praise.

"Sometimes it just feels like I can't live up to what Emmeryn is," she said.

Azrynne shook her head.

"You are not Emmeryn, Lissa. You don't need to live up to her. You are Princess Lissa Ylisse, you are your own person. You're a great princess and you'll be a great Exalt one day as well, just like Emmeryn and just like your father."

Azrynne smiled at Lissa. Lissa stared blankly at the wood of the desk though, and frowned slightly. Her brows knit together in confusion, and she almost looked angry. She turned to Azrynne and stared at her, long and hard. Azrynne couldn't tell if she looked angry, hurt, confused or all three. Taken aback, she stared at the Princess silently.

"I don't want to be anything like my father," Lissa said softly after several minutes pause.

Azrynne said nothing, not sure what exactly to say.

"Do you know anything about my father? You haven't read about him?" Lissa asked.

Azrynne closed her book and retracted her hands to her lap. She leant back and frowned, grasping for words. The atmosphere around them felt tense, and Azrynne felt her heart beat rapidly from her nerves. Her gut twisted into guilt, and Azrynne wanted to simply get up and avoid this awkward conversation all together.

"I have not," Azrynne finally admitted after a pause.

"Do you know anything about the war eighteen years ago?" Lissa asked softly.

Azrynne sighed in defeat and shook her head.

"Beyond the fact that the war even existed, not truly," she admitted. "Books on the topic are… sporadic and difficult to find. Much of the information seems very biased, and I can't seem to find any facts that truly align with each other. I-I'm sorry Lissa, I've upset you. I should have tried harder."

Lissa bit the inside of her cheek. She gripped at the fabric of her skirt, balling it into bunches in her hands. She clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles turned a sheer white, and her blue eyes slowly began to cloud over with the threatening glisten of tears. She chocked back a sob, and Azrynne reached out to her and held her shoulder.

"Lissa…" Azrynne murmured, "Lissa, I'm sorry. That was careless of me. I should have done my research. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Holding back a sob, Lissa shook her head briskly. She drew her sleeve across her eyes to wipe away the tears and took several deep breaths to compose herself before speaking.

"You shouldn't be sorry," she said between breaths. "You weren't the one that hurt me."

After a few strained moments of tears and shaky breaths, Lissa composed herself enough to contain the tears.

"My father was a warlord. He was a terrible man. He's dead, and I'm glad," she told Azrynne.

Azrynne reached for Lissa's shaky hands, stilled clenched tight, and spoke softly.

"You don't have to do this, Lissa," Azrynne told her. "I will read about it. Save yourself this pain."

But Lissa shook her head, holding back more tears.

"No. I want to tell you. I have to tell you. You're right, you won't get the truth from any history book here," she said.

Azrynne gently patted Lissa's shoulder and back. She pushed aside stray hairs from Lissa's face, tucking them behind her ear as she embraced the blonde girl. Take your time she softly and repeatedly whispered to Lissa. The princess took several heavy and shaky breaths, composing herself as no doubt many painful memories returned to her.

Perhaps a half an hour had passed before Lissa had managed to compose herself well enough to speak. Azrynne remained silent, a stalwart pillar of support as Lissa retold the pain that her father wrought upon their halidom eighteen years ago.

---

Arlen Ylisse was not born a warlord.

Ascending to the throne at the age of twenty-four, Exalt King Arlen was well loved by his people. He ruled with a gentle and loving hand that rarely, if ever, balled into an iron fist to defend his people. The Halidom revered him as not only a religious figure and the reigning monarch, but as a friend to the people. Perhaps it also helped that his wife was the eternally beautiful Maya Lemaire.

The Lemaire family was one of old wealth and power, but well loved by the people. While many upper class noble houses tended to seclude themselves to the affairs of their social ring only, the Lemaire family was known for its generosity. They had a gentle touch with common roots, building themselves into noble status over centuries of dedication and fortitude. Their wealth was never hoarded for personal gains though – it was always returned to the people, and for that, the house was adored just as much as the royal family.

For a time, their reign was calm and happy. The people mourned when the previous Exalt died, but celebrated for months at Arlen's ascension. The announcement of the birth of his first child not even a year later threw the entire continent into a long, eight year period of joy and festivity. While the Khans, the ruling monarchs Regna Ferox, sent elaborate gifts of such grand measure that the streets of Ylisstol seemed almost constantly laced with the cheers and festivities of their northern neighbours, Plegia's gifts were modest, yet loving.

For the birth of the beautiful Emmeryn Ylisse, Plegia sent roses, tomes, old wines and fine spices. They sent her their grandest painters and sculptors so that her beauty might be even slightly captured into pigments or stone. They sent ambassadors of all rank and social status, filling the palace for months on end with the light of festivities, fine foods, love, and genuine adoration.

They sent her the son of their most ancient and noble house, and with great joy, both countries celebrated the new engagement between the Princess of Ylisse and son of the Plegian nobleman.

And when five years after the birth of their Princess came a second child – a young prince of bright blue hair that matched his fathers and enchanting eyes of ocean water that mirrored his mother's – Ylisse could hardly bear the eruption of a second round of celebration

Arlen Ylisse's reign was not supposed to be one remembered for bloodshed and tears. It was not supposed to be one that ripped husbands from wives and daughters from fathers. It was not supposed to tear apart centuries of good will and the strong alliance between its neighbours.

Arlen Ylisse was not born a warlord, but he died as one all the same.

It happened on the eve of Princess Emmeryn's birth. At first it was soft; a gentle stirring sound that could be passed aside as the wind. But when it came again and again with growing frequency and volume that it seemed to gnaw away at his mind with blunt fangs, the Exalt could ignore it no longer.

Some say it was age; some say it was greed. But when Exalt King Arlen declared war on Plegia, it was not in the name of age or power. It was in Naga's name that he struck down the long held allegiance between their two countries with one simple strike.

He claimed it was Naga who spoke to him - their goddess and creator, the glorious and reverent lady Naga, the Divine Dragon who shaped the earth and birthed the first humans thousands of years ago. He said it was by her order that he carried his sword, by her word that he struck down that Plegian ambassador, by her law that he began that two year conflict.

Despite their alliance, Ylisse's religion was fundamentally different from Plegia's. While to the Ylisseans Grima was known as the Fell Dragon, to the Plegians, he was the Earth Father. The scriptures say that after Grima cultivated the earth, shaping mountains with fire and filling oceans with blood, he turned to Naga to fill his land with life. His eternal partner looked upon his work, and with a single breath, she covered his lands with the very essence of life, filling his creation with children of her image.

Where Naga was chaos, freedom and passion, Grima was order, justice and amity. Some say he grew jealous that Naga's children were the ones who filled his lands – others say that their careless disregard for the earth angered him. When Grima turned upon his timeless partner though, fangs bared and claws outstretched, the two would be engulfed in an eternal war over the state of their newly made world. With a single strike, Naga banished her lifelong friend to the other world – another plane of existence where he could harm no one and live in solitude for eternity.

As a member of the royal Ylissean family, the Exalt King had the very blood of Naga herself in his veins. Old magic laced with blood surfaced as a brand, and the Exalt King used this fact to prove that he truly could hear the voice of the Divine Dragon.

"I am her agent," he told the people with the ancient sword, Falchion, in hand. "I am her chosen. My word is hers, and my actions are her will!"

The people so loved their Exalt. They loved him and respected him so much that for two years, they blindly believed him, following his orders as they believed themselves to be acting upon the will of the Divine Dragon. Trade between the two countries ceased overnight. Soldiers were sent to the border pass, and the peaceful villages that lined the border of the countries became military holds. Plegians were driven out of Ylissean lands, and those who refused to leave were struck down without remorse.

Unclean, he called them. Worshippers of the Fell Dragon; they were sinful, foul and corrupt. None deserved to live in this world. While Grima had created the land, he sought also too to destroy it, and any who followed his teachings of 'rebirth' were nothing more than vulgar fanatics who deserved death. The world needed to be cleansed if it were to survive, less the Grimleal unite and succeed in summoning their God from the outrealm and back into their world.

Cities were lit aflame and sacked. Villages were raided and torn to the ground. Plegian soldiers were massacred en masse with no mercy, and even villagers who dared stand up against the Ylissean army were cut down and strewn across the land.

Thousands upon thousands of men died in the Exalt King's two year campaign. It was a bloodbath of not only Plegian, but Ylissean lives as well. As soldiers fell to battle, Exalt Arlen replaced them with city militia men. And when they fell too, he drafted the common people, and farmers who had never lifted more than a pitchfork were conscripted to the front of their assault on Plegia.

From the very start, Regna Ferox would have no part in Ylisse and Plegia's affair. Trades and communications all but ceased within a week of the war, and the country secluded itself to the north, and neither Ylisse nor Plegia heard a single word from their former neighbouring ally for the duration of the war.

How could the benevolent Naga order such travesty and genocide? The people began to question their King. While some lost faith in their religion, others began to see the delusion and insanity in their monarch's eyes – but all were too fearful to oppose their leader. Those who held power held strong belief in their Exalt's vision, and those who were weak were force to follow.

The war raged on for two years. Two whole years of bloodshed and fear that ended the night of the Princess Lissa's birth.

Some say that Maya Lemaire was the one thing that kept the common people from all out civil revolt. While they many questioned their leader and others blindly devoted themselves to him, all the people adored their Queen Consort. But the Queen was tired. She was hurt and abused by the war, and her pregnancy made her weak both physically and mentally. When she gave birth to the young princess, a frail and small thing brought to the world two weeks too early, Maya gave her final breath to ensure her newborn daughter would be able to draw her first.

The healers wept and the servant men mourned. The royal guards cried in their armour and the Generals laid down their swords in her memory that night. The palace was flooded with sorrow and tears, but one man instead felt nothing but anger.

When the Exalt heard of his wife's departure from their world, he said nothing. He marched to Eastern wing, silent but with vigor, and when he threw open the doors of the nursing room, it was not the body of his deceased wife he strode to, but the crumpled shapes of his two eldest children, huddled together with their wet nurse as she cared for his newborn daughter.

She was the very image of her mother. While Emmeryn had her mother's golden hair and her father's emerald green eyes, and Chrom shared his father's blue hair but his mother's blue eyes, the young Princess bore no resemblance to her father. Her hair was a fair and soft gold, with eyes that sparkled blue as she stared up at her approaching father.

The brand, the Exalt demanded. The Brand of the Exalt. An ancient magic weaved from the very blood of the Divine Dragon Naga herself, which manifests with each birth of a child of her blood. Arlen bore it upon his chest, just as Emmeryn bore hers on her forehead and Chrom on his shoulder.

But no matter where the nurses looked, the newborn princess bore no such brand.

The fact dawned on the Exalt like no other. No one but the nurses and the Princess Emmeryn and Prince Chrom saw what happened to their once beloved King that night, but all refuse to speak of the event in detail. Some say the former Exalt cursed his dead wife – that he posthumously renounced her of her titles and that he spat on her corpse. Others say he grew eerily silent as his eyes faded to a blank state and he edged away from his children. But many agree on one true fact. When asked to hold his newborn daughter, the Exalt had only one thing to say.

She is no daughter of mine.

Alone in the room he once shared with his Queen, the Exalt locked himself away. All night the palace heard his whispers. They heard the scratching of the walls and the creaking of wooden chairs dragged across floorboards. Some heard the Exalt scream, others heard nothing but the sound of shattering glass and broken wood. No one dared approach his room though.

When morning came though and the Exalt's chambers grew silent, one knight tentatively came to his King's aid. When a tentative knock went unanswered, followed by a query, a shout, and bang against a wooden frame as the door refused to open, Frederick Galaborne knocked down the doors to Exalt Arlen's chambers himself.

The room was torn apart, as if a tornado had run through it. Sheets from the bed were torn and tattered, no chair or table stood upright, and there wasn't a single mirror or shard of glass in the room that remained intact enough to gleam even a fraction of a reflection. Upon the walls were dark writings made of ink and blood; crazed recollections of the past two years that became illegible as they went on.

And in the centre of the room hung former Exalt Arlen Ylisse, strung upon red sheets by the neck with a broken chair at his feet.

The council of advisors crowned Emmeryn as Exalt Queen that very day. She was a gentle girl of the tender age of ten; eldest sister of a five year old boy and a newborn baby sister; barely fit to care for herself let alone an entire country. At least, that was what the council thought. There was no one truly fit to rule their broken country and to crown anyone Exalt and Queen but the crown princess herself would be sacrilegious. Perhaps they hoped to control the tide of the war through Emmeryn's figurehead, or perhaps they had all but given up hope and want to pass responsibility to the young girl for her to suffer. But the last thing they had expected was for Emmeryn to rule for herself.

The Exalt Queen withdrew her soldiers from Plegia the very next day. Upon the brink of invasion of Plegia's capital city of Vertomin, it was a move that both confused and enraged half of the council and most of the people. Two years of war upon the brink of utter victory, only for Emmeryn to withdraw her soldiers before the final strike? Ylisse became divided at Emmeryn's rule.

Every piece of land her father had dominated and claimed in Naga's name was ceded back to Plegia. Every war prisoner held captive in war camps were released and escorted back to their country. Every body of every Plegian soldier who had died upon Ylissean soil was immediately returned to their homeland in caskets.

Exalt Emmeryn dug into Ylisse's treasury and sent to Plegia thousands upon thousands of golden cobras to assist them in the reparation of their home. She sent them stone, clay, wood, bread, meat, milk, and water. She sent Plegia as many resources that Ylisse could spare, and as she did the people cried and grew angry at her actions. And perhaps in a combination of both pride and spite, Plegia sent back all her gifts without a word or action in retaliation.

The war is over, the young girl told her people as she addressed them from a palace balcony. Some cheered. Some jeered. But most were silent and fearful of their new monarch, worried that like her father, she would change from beloved to warlord within the span of only a few years.

Though her steadfast Generals pleaded her to reconsider, Emmeryn often walked amongst the people. She addressed them daily and walked the streets with a smile upon her face that never wavered, even as some spat or recoiled as she approached. Some threw food and rocks at her wherever she walked, but none were punished as she smiled the attack off and gentle pleaded for her attendants to return to her side.

She went to each and every district and fed as many people as she could. She spent thousands of golden cobras from the country's treasury to rebuild her homeland. And while her council of advisors begged her not to mingle among the commoners, Emmeryn never once conceded. She listened not to them, but to her heart.

It happened slowly. As the years rolled by, Ylisse began to slowly recover from the effects of the war and its suffering economy as trades from both Plegia and Regna Ferox refused to restart. At first it was the lack of shouts and hisses. Then it was the withdrawal of stone and food to be thrown, followed by frowns or looks of indifference slowly being replaced by warm and welcome smiles as the Exalt Queen came once again to the lower district orphanage to feed the children.

It took years before the people started to trust again and even longer before they started to love. But in time, they did, and where once the feared the warlord's children, they began to love her instead.

Eighteen long, hard years passed, but the Halidom once again found peace.

But between the cracks hidden amongst the shadows of their country, Ylisse was still a broken land. Even almost two decades after the fact, Arlen Ylisse's genocide still haunted the people. His name was spoken only in whispers, and many refused to acknowledge his tyranny. History books remained unwritten for the most part, some skewed with the bias of Arlen's former stalwart followers, others hidden between two decades worth of dust as no one wanted to admit the fault of their monarch.

And while with time Ylisse learned of peace, compassion and love once again from the example of their beloved Exalt Queen, Emmeryn know that past the western deserts, Plegia grew bitter and cold with resentment, and the new King Gangrel hid in the shadows, silent, but ever ready to stake his revenge.

---

"I don't know what to say," Azrynne whispered softly to Lissa once her story concluded.

"You don't have to say anything," Lissa said.

Azrynne reach for the young blonde girls hands and laced her fingers around hers.

"I'm so sorry, Lissa," Azrynne whispered.

Lissa sniffled and drew the sleeve of her blouse across her nose.

"Thank you, Azrynne," she replied.

She squeezed Azrynne's fingers then turned to embrace her. Azrynne hugged her back, squeezing her reassuringly. When they parted, Lissa smiled at Azrynne.

"I've never really talked to this with anyone," Lissa admitted. "People either really know what happened, or… Well, it's not exactly dinner conversation. It helps to get it all out."

"Good. Thank you for telling me. I'm sorry I didn't educate myself earlier… I didn't mean to liken you or Emmeryn to your father."

"I know," Lissa said with a sheepish smile. "Sometimes I just wonder though…"

"You can't change the past," Azrynne said with a slight frown. "What's done is done. We can't change that."

"I know. I still can't help but wonder though, you know? Mother and father… they passed away right after I was born. They didn't even give me a name. Emmeryn was the one who named me. And there have always been rumors about me and my… my brand… It upset the council for years after I was born and… and I-I just wonder sometimes if I'm even really… part of the family…"

Azrynne grabbed Lissa by the shoulders and looked her in the eye as she spoke.

"You are more a part of the royal family than I am Plegian. It doesn't matter what's in your blood, what matters is who you are."

Lissa smiled at that, giggling softly to herself. She placed a hand over Azrynne's fingers and squeezed them. With tears threatening to prickle at her eyes once again, Lissa only muttered a silent word of thanks as the two women hugged each other.

"Have you remembered anything?" Lissa whispered to Azrynne after several moments of silence.

Her voice was so soft that Azrynne almost missed the question in its entirety. She parted from Lissa's embrace, lips pressed together in a line. Azrynne had not yet regained any memory from her former life, and at this point, she was ready to resign to the fact that she never would. Almost three months had passed since Azrynne arrived in Ylisstol - from mid-spring and now into the beginning weeks of winter, Azrynne had made her home within Ylisse for a whole season. The dull, aching feeling of nothing had left her now. She no longer longed for memories that weren't there – rather, she had replaced them with new ones. They were not perfect, but they were something.

"No," Azrynne replied after a long pause.

Lissa nodded to herself.

"Do you ever wonder if there's someone searching for you?"

"Not really," Azrynne admitted. "I think… It would hurt too much – the thought that someone would still be searching for me."

"What if you have family, though?" Lissa asked. "Don't you ever wonder what your parents are like? Or your siblings? If you had any, that is?"

Azrynne frowned and knotted her brows together. She shook at her head at the thought – not to dismiss Lissa's questions, but rather to dismiss the thought of family altogether. Admittedly there were times were such questions swirled into Azrynne's mind – but those thoughts all but stopped when she reached Ylisstol, where Azrynne all but beat such fleeting moments of pain out of her.

"I don't like to think about this, Lissa," Azrynne told the Princess.

Seeing her discomfort, Lissa apologized.

"I'm sorry, Azrynne, I didn't mean to upset you!" she said. "I just… I just try to put myself into your shoes. When I was a kid, sometimes I wished that I could be anyone else but me. I wanted to be a normal person. I didn't want anything to do with my father… but then I remember Chrom and Emmeryn, and Frederick and Vaike, Stahl, Mari, Sumia… I couldn't bear the thought of forgetting them… but when I think about my father and all he's done, I just… Maybe a part of me envies you."

Azrynne was taken aback. Though speechless for a moment, she managed to muster a reply.

"Don't envy me, Lissa," Azrynne said. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone. To think that I may have had friends or family in my previous life… people who are waiting for me, or who think that I'm dead…. If I had to imagine waking up one day and knowing that you or Chrom had simply disappeared, without a clue if you still lived or… Don't envy me, Lissa."

Lissa hugged Azrynne once more, apologizing.

"I am thankful for my life now, though," Azrynne said with a smile though, desperate to lift the somber atmosphere. "I have wonderful friends. It's only been three months, but I already feel like I've found a new family. When I think of home, I think of the garrison. I think of Sumia, Calla, and Susanna and our cramped little room. I think about studying and practicing magic with Miriel and Ricken, and training and shopping with Stahl and Kellam. And I think about you, and about Chrom, and…

"I'm so thankful for your family, Lissa. You treated me with kindness and respect despite who I was. Your sister took me into her city when I thought I had nowhere else to go. And your brother, he… he…"

Azrynne felt her voice falter as she thought of Chrom. A distant smile lit her lips as she thought about the blue haired Prince and his smile.

She had a lot to say about Chrom, yet no words to say them with. It was Chrom who first extended his hand to her. It was Chrom who reached for her when no one else did; who took her in and sheltered her when others would have cast her aside for her blood and a past she had no knowledge or control over. While Azrynne gave him her trust and her loyalty, Chrom gave her so much more. He gave her home. He gave her a family. He gave her a chance.

"Chrom has given me back my life," Azrynne finished. "I wish I could give him something more in return than some silly little trinket and just a word of thanks."

"Your present is not silly!" Lissa said with a frown.

Azrynne scoffed and reached for her satchel. She retrieved the ruby talisman she had received from the merchant and cupped it in her hands.

"Chrom is a prince," Azrynne said as she examined the jewel. "He could have a thousand of these with a single command."

"He could get a thousand rubies," Lissa started, clasping her hands over Azrynne's. "But none of them would be from you."

Azrynne smiled at that. She returned the talisman gently to the pocket of her satchel, rubbing her thumb against the face of the gem. Azrynne doubted the value of her gift in gold, but was reassured by its sentimentality.

It's the thought that counts, or at least that's how the saying goes, she told herself.

"Maybe I should give it to him tonight," Azrynne said. "I can't imagine I'll be seeing him at the garrison for dinner for the whole week of this city wide celebration."

"You're not going to the ball?" Lissa asked, deflating.

She frowned as she stared at Azrynne, a look of genuine disappointment painting her features.

"Well, I'm not exactly invited," Azrynne said.

"Who said that?" Lissa asked, shocked.

"Well I… haven't exactly received any kind of invitation or information about the whole event," Azrynne said.

"That idiot," Lissa hissed under her breath. "He just forgot. We'll find him right now. He's probably already at the mess hall, it about time for dinner anyway."

"Oh no, Lissa," Azrynne said slowly, "This isn't a big deal. I don't have any place at the palace. I barely even get to go there without an escort, and I'm no Shepherd nor am I a noble or even remotely part of Chrom's battalion."

"But you're our friend! You have to come!" Lissa exclaimed.

Admittedly, Azrynne did want to go. As juvenile as it was, she did find amusement in the thought of dressing up and dancing at the palace, and to spend an evening in celebration for one of her dearest friends was an event she'd never turn down; were she actually invited, that is.

"It's okay, Lissa, I don't want to be any trouble," Azrynne said.

Lissa would heard no more, though.

"You're not the trouble, he's the trouble! Come on, let's find him."

Before Azrynne could protest, Lissa launched herself from the chair and pulled Azrynne along behind her. The auburn-haired women bare had a the chance to even retrieve her satchel as Lissa dragged her along, deaf to all he protests.

"Lissa, stop – Lissa, wait! At least let me – Lissa!"

Azrynne received at least a few curious stares and hushes from the librarians as she was dragged through the library halls. Lissa practically ran hand in hand with Azrynne, making a beeline straight for the mess hall as Azrynne gripped onto her satchel, desperate not to drop and lose her newly bought things.

When Lissa barged through the front doors of the mess hall, banging the door loudly against its wooden frame, most people ignored her antics. It wasn't uncommon to see an unwilling victim dragged after behind the Princess for whatever she had planned. The building was only just beginning to fill with the first few eager soldiers awaiting the start of dinner. Azrynne bumped hard into Lissa's back as the young girl scanned the room for her blue haired brother.

"Lissa, this really isn't –" Azrynne barely had a chance to adjust her satchel around her shoulder before Lissa dragged her by the hand once again.

At the far end of the mess hall, Chrom sat and chatted lively to Sully and Frederick.

It was odd to see Frederick in the mess hall, for the knight often preferred to eat on his own and well after the others once all his other duties were attended to. Though almost a whole season had passed, Azrynne was still under Frederick's surveillance. They never spoke except when they absolutely needed to, and while Frederick was not necessarily cold towards her, he was also not warm. It was a begrudging relationship that did not lack respect (far from it, in fact, as Frederick spoke to her with utmost politeness on most days), but rather any form of friendship or acceptance.

Despite being the Prince, Azrynne saw Chrom more often than she thought. Though he hardly ever stayed the night at the garrison, he visited almost every day, and most nights insisted on dining with his soldiers. The moments they shared were far and few between – though she considered him to be a dear friend, his attention was split across all his Shepherds, and outside of meals at the mess hall and the morning rounds that he supervised, Azrynne barely had the chance to speak with him.

As they approached, it was actually Sully who looked up and waved. Though they seldom ever spoke, Sully's disposition towards Azrynne had taking a drastically positive turn since their return from the march to the Farfort. It was a small a subtle change of atmosphere, but it was a change that Azrynne welcomed with opened arms.

"Howdy," Sully said as the approached. While Frederick mustered a nod of acknowledgement, Chrom turned from his chair and smiled at Azrynne.

"Good evening, Azrynne! It's been a while since we –" Lissa released Azrynne and smacked her palms against the table space in front of her brother.

"I can't believe you!" Lissa said angrily.

"W-what did I do?" Chrom said nervously as his attention snapped away from Azrynne to Lissa.

"Aren't you," Lissa gestured towards her brother, "forgetting about something?" then gestured to Azrynne.

Chrom glanced at Azrynne, whose brows knotted together in sympathy as she shook her head and mouthed, 'I'm sorry!'

"I can't say I know exactly what you're talking about, Lissa." Chrom replied.

Wrong answer. Lissa groaned and rolled her eyes, slapping her brother on the shoulder.

"After all that effort we went to today, all those hours going through all those vendors in the market, spending all that gold, all for you! And she even found you such a lovely gift!" Lissa ranted.

While Frederick had completely tuned out of Lissa's tirades, Sully stifled a laugh at Chrom's expense.

"W-what are you talking about?" Chrom asked between Lissa's ranting.

"Your birthday ball! At the palace! You forgot to invite someone!" Lissa said with exasperation.

While Azrynne had covered her entire face in embarrassment, she could see through the gaps of her fingers that Chrom tentatively turned to her with a look of confusion before he understood.

"Gods," he muttered. "You could have just said that to begin with, Lissa!"

Lissa huffed as her brother stood from the table. He approached Azrynne and placed a hand on her shoulder. Azrynne uncovered her face with her hands, her cheeks burning red at Lissa's antics. She looked at Chrom nervously and began to shake her head in desperation.

"I really don't care," Azrynne said quickly as she tripped over her words. "It's really no big deal – I'm hardly a noble. I'm not at all, actually. I'm not even a citizen. I didn't even want to ask. This was Lissa's idea. I don't actually care. Not to say I don't care about your birthday, of course! But I don't care about the ball – or rather, not going to the ball, or rather –"

Chrom laughed and shook his hand, silencing her.

"It was my mistake, Azrynne," Chrom said. "Of course you're invited to the palace."

"You don't have to say that just because Lissa made it awkward," Azrynne said nervously.

"I'm not! You really are invited! I never prepare these things, you see, I thought you were going in the first place!"

"Well, truth be told, I didn't even know about it until yesterday. You really are bad at publicizing these events," Azrynne quipped at the Prince with a small smile.

"I'll have to speak to my people about that," Chrom laughed. "It's happening though, and you're coming!"

"Well, no one really invited me."

"Well, I'm inviting you. Officially. Azrynne, won't you please come to my birthday ball at the palace next week? Please?"

Azrynne threw her hands up into the air in exasperation. She shrugged and said, "If you're going to beg, then I suppose I could find the time."

Chrom laughed that that. He squeeze her shoulder as he ushered her towards the table, encouraging her to sit next to him for dinner. As she nestled comfortably between Chrom and Lissa, who now beamed with a look of satisfaction, Chrom turned to Azrynne sheepishly.

"I really am sorry for not telling you about this sooner," he said to her.

She dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

"It really wasn't a big deal..." Azrynne started, but Chrom smirked at her and leant his elbow on the table.

"Oh really?" he asked slyly, "I remember hearing Lissa mention something about spending hours at the market looking for a gift…"

Azrynne clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes.

"It was hardly hours," she said, but Chrom laughed.

"So what did you get me?" he asked but Sully berated him.

"You can't ask about your birthday present before your birthday!" she yelled.

"Yeah!" Lissa agreed. "That's not how it works!"

"You can't fault a man for being curious!" he said, "After all, apparently it's a lovely gift!"

Azrynne covered her face and groaned.

She turned to Lissa and said, "Now look at what you've done. You've gotten his hopes up!"

Lissa crossed her arms and scoffed in reply, "Well I thought it was lovely!"

"Which only makes me wonder even more what it is!" Chrom interjected.

"Stop asking!" Azrynne said with a laughing as she slapped at his hands, "You're like a child, honestly!"

"I can hardly argue with that," Sully quipped, to which Chrom could only muster a weak retort of 'Hey!'

"Now, now, Sully…" Frederick spoke for the first time since Azrynne seated herself. "There's no need to bully our little Prince. It is his birthday soon, after all."

"Hey!" Chrom said again, clearly stuck for words for any other kind of retort.

It only earned a collection of laughs from the group at the table, most of which though came from genuine surprise from Frederick's sudden lighthearted remark. Even Frederick himself mustered a thin smile, with an almost smug look of pride at his collection of laughs. As Azrynne giggled and looked to Frederick, his chocolate eyes locked to hers for only a second. While his glance stopped Azrynne's giggle for only a moment, it was the subtle glint in his eye and the gentle curve of his smile as he turned back to Chrom that spoke louder than any word the knight had ever said to her before.

For the first time, Azrynne smiled at Frederick. It was no sign of outright or complete acceptance… but it was a subtle gesture that warmed Azrynne's heart more than she expected. As the laughter died though, Frederick turned to Azrynne.

"I heard the most curious rumor the other day, Azrynne," he said to her.

Azrynne raised a brow in reply.

"Oh?"

"Something about you and our dearest Vaike that immediately caught my attention…" he continued.

"Oh no," Lissa said quickly and softly.

As Azrynne's face contorted with confusion, she could only barely understand Frederick as he describe a rather detailed account of events between her, Vaike, several litres of alcohol and a broken bedframe that left her cheeks redder than the sun. When she turned to Lissa, who avoided her gaze as she whimpered in guilt, Azrynne screamed.

"LISSA!" Azrynne shouted in absolute disgust.

Azrynne's face changed to an expression caught somewhere between disgusted and furious, and as the Princess dashed from her seat screeching, Azrynne furiously chased after her. From the table, Frederick said nothing, his face blank as Sully laughed and Chrom looked almost nauseous at the discussion.

"It was Lilya!" Lissa screamed as she bolted across the mess hall, catching everyone's attention as Azrynne ran after her. "I swear, it was Lilya!"

It was only when Lilya herself walked into the mess hall that Azrynne stopped. As Lissa begged to Lilya, the peach haired Pegasus knight only shrugged as she admitted to being the source of the outlandish rumor.

"I believe it would be Maribelle who spread my words, however. I've not spoken to a soul on the matter," Lilya said.

Azrynne wanted to rip her hair out and stuff it down both their throats. Lissa's only saving grace was the call of chefs from the kitchen as food began to pile at the tables. She ducked between the growing crowds of people and disappeared into the shadows of the mess hall, and when Azrynne found her a few minutes later hiding behind Frederick, it was only at his reassurance that he'd dispel the unruly rumor that Azrynne begrudgingly ended her hunt.

"I can't believe this. I hate your sister," Azrynne said to Chrom as she seated herself next to him again.

Lissa took it upon herself to sit with someone else for the night.

"I've spent the last eighteen years of my life with her," Chrom said. "It's me you should pity."

Azrynne groaned and placed her elbows against the table, covering her face with her hands. Chrom chortled to himself as he began to eat. The incentive of food was too great to ignore any longer, though, and soon Azrynne pushed the nauseating thoughts to the back of her mind and focused solely on her dinner.

When the activity of dinner began to diminish and people began to file out and return to their rooms, Lissa tentatively approached them once again. Frederick had since moved away from the table to speak with Alistair, and Sully had dismissed herself just moments before hand, leaving Azrynne alone with the two royal Ylisseans.

"I really am sorry," Lissa said as she sat beside Azrynne.

At her words, Azrynne immediately slapped her forehead with her hands and dragged her fingers across her face.

"Please stop talking about it," she said through her fingers.

She elbowed Chrom when he laughed at her.

"How cruel! It's my birthday!" he said to her.

"Not for a week!" Azrynne said exasperatedly.

"There's no difference when you're the Prince. I could have you arrested for that! You can't assault royalty!" Chrom said as he feigned hurt.

Azrynne made a face and stuck her tongue out at Chrom.

"Are you five?" Chrom joked, and Azrynne stood from her seat and pointed her finger to his chest.

"You're the one who keeps pestering me about your gift!" she said, and three of them shared a laugh at that.

They joked like that for the rest of the night, and hours seemed to pass as the three spoke. It was only when the chefs were beginning to dissipate from the mess hall that Frederick finally bid Alistair good night and approached the three. As Frederick readied himself to escort the royal pair back to the palace for the evening, Azrynne realized that she too should return to her quarters at the garrison. At the front door of the mess hall, she parted with Chrom.

"I probably won't see you again until the ball at the palace," Chrom told Azrynne before they left.

"Too busy preparing your extravagantly large birthday celebration?" Azrynne asked. "What I'd give to be royalty."

"You'd think it'd be a grand time, but I don't even get to go into the city for the celebrations!" Chrom laughed and shook his head. "I'm stuck in the castle up to my neck in paperwork and the only people I get to see are the visiting dignitaries. It's not until the ball that I actually get to have my share of fun."

"Well then I'm glad I'll be attending," Azrynne said, smiling. "If I could share with you even some joy on your birthday, then I'd be glad."

"And that alone would be more than enough to make a lovely gift, Azrynne."

When Chrom turned to her and locked her gaze with his own, Azrynne couldn't help but feel her cheeks grow warm. They shared a short pause of silence as Azrynne smiled. It was strange how naturally at home she felt around Chrom. She broke her glance away from his blue eyes and coughed.

"I'll see you in a week," Azrynne said.

Before she could dismiss herself though, Lissa loudly emerged from the mess hall doors.

"You're not planning on going without saying good night to me, are you?" she said with a smile.

Azrynne laughed and shook her head.

"Of course not," she said.

Lissa bounded towards Azrynne and jumped at her, wrapping her arms around Azrynne. Her embrace caught Azrynne by surprise, and she faltered oh her two feet before Chrom quickly place his hand on the small of her back to steady her. Azrynne grounded herself and hugged Lissa tightly.

"I'm really glad we found you on that field, Azrynne," Lissa said to her through her hair.

"I am as well," Azrynne said with a gentle smile. From behind her, Chrom's hand did not leave her back.

"As am I," he said to her.

Azrynne turned her head and smiled at Chrom. He returned it, and as she broke apart from Lissa's hug, Frederick finally returned. As the knight began to lead them towards the garrison docks, Azrynne stood at the door of the mess hall and waved them goodbye.

With a smile and a heart filled with warmth, Azrynne skipped back to her quarters and slept well that night.

---

Author's Notes

This chapter was edited by R. Moonstalker and metallover. Thanks for the hard work, you guys.

A longer chapter, this one, building up to a big party! I hear you all saying, 'But Mechta, there was never a ball in the story. When are we going to get back to the plot?' - to which I have this to say: This is the plot. I believe I mentioned it earlier but I'd like to re-iterate that this is a retelling/novelisation of Awakening but with my own additions. As such you should consider it Alternate Universe - the backstory on Arlen Ylisse we got this chapter proved as much. Don't worry though, we won't go full AU. After the next few chapters we'll be back on track with the event of the game - but these coming chapters are still vitally important.

Reviews are greatly appreciated, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the direction of the story so far. I try to focus a lot on character and relationship building but rest assured there will be a large amount of story and plot content coming. Thanks for your continued support everyone.