Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. End of story. No ifs ands or buts about it.

I thank Gunlord500 for Betaing this chapter.

Author's Note: I didn't leave Lloyd alive for nothing. Now you get to see why.

Author's Note 2: To keep better track of the passage of time, I'm going to start dating everything (in terms of days) as days from Kaila's ascension to the throne from now on. Chapter 6 takes place 13 days after Kaila's ascension to the throne.

A Whole New Tale: Kaila's Revenge

By Enilas

Chapter 6X: The Fang Returns

The mountains around a secluded valley in eastern Bern

Fifteen days after the Ascension of Queen Kaila III

The sharp mountain air hit the White Wolf's face as the wind screamed down from the high crags above him. He continued his descent, frost crystals collected on the edges of the heavy furs he was wearing, his breath nearly solid in the bitter cold. But compared to his old home twenty years ago, this was nothing.

Up ahead, there was a small stone hut built into the side of the mountain, test smoking chimney a testament to its current occupation. The last member of the family Reed knocked on the heavy oak door, and a moment later a lavender – with flecks of gray - haired man opened the door, a scar marring the area around one eye.

Once both were in the warm of the hut – a roaring fire burning brightly in its place, the newcomer spoke.

"They've got you on watch duty, Legault? Didn't you just finish serving it before I left?"

"What can I say? I drew the short straw."

"We don't draw straws for it. We all take turns."

Legault rolled his eyes. "I lost at poker to Jaffar. The 'Angel of Death' has an excellent poker face."

"He doesn't like being called that you know. He hasn't killed for over a decade."

"Nicknames stick. Speaking of nicknames, you seem to be starting to live up to yours." He said.

Lloyd scoffed. "So I have a few gray hairs. You have more."

"That's beside the point." He replied, removing a teapot from over the fire and pouring coffee into two cups. He handed one to Lloyd. "But moving on from that," He began, as the two of them sat at the small table in front of the fire, Lloyd removing his furs so he wouldn't boil in the heat of the fire. "You're back rather early. I expected you to be gone for a few months. It's barely been one."

Lloyd's countenance darkened. "Many things have happened while I was in the wider world. I quickly learned that here has been famine for several months now through much of eastern provinces due to drought. The peasants there were on the verge of revolting – though in some cases they already were. But for once, their noble overlords weren't the cause of their suffering. And in the chaos, many minor nobles in the east began to fight for the estates of their neighbors, and demagogues took root in the cities. Zephiel had sent in troops to oversee the proper distribution of grain, and contain the nobles' excesses as best as he could. He really was the best king Bern has had in over a century, at least. But the movement if troops from the south made Araphen starting thinking greedy thoughts. Araphen soldiers were poised to cross the border when he died."

"Wha-? How!" Legault exclaimed. "He is- was in the prime of his life. The people adore...adored him, the merchants practically worshiped him for organizing his throughly effective bandit purges, and not even the greediest of churchmen could fault his piety. Even the Council of Thirteen loved him for Elimine's sake! What on Elibe happened?"

"A fire. It consumed the entire Royal Palace a few days after I left here. I think he was murdered. Him, his half-sister, his wife and all three of his children.

"Who would-"

Lloyd held a hand up, cutting off the question. "Two weeks after his death, the Council of Thirteen assembled. As I understand it, most of them had decided that since they knew none of them would agree on who to make the new king quickly, and they had a crisis to deal with, the Council decided to govern the nation as 'regents' through the crisis at least, though possibly longer."

"But the meeting was interrupted." He continued. "By Kaila Synair."

"That's impossible!" The man once called 'The Hurricane' exclaimed. "I saw Castle Synair collapse with my very eyes. Lyn, Alkeni and the others barely got out alive as it is."

"Its Kaila Synair. I saw her with my own eyes. Older, even more insane looking, yes on both counts. But it's the same woman. And that same woman killed Baron Kixrell Synallias Ripped his heart out. Some say she even ate it right there. I'm not sure if I believe that one."

"In the fifteen days since she's taken the throne, she's started to turn Bern into a charnel house. She spent her first week burning down seventeen of the villages that rioted, and massacring all their inhabitants. And I think I know why – beyond her sheer insanity and as a way to intimidate the rest of the peasantry. She has Morphs serving her, like Nergal did."

"You can't possibly-" Legault had never interrupted someone this many times in a conversation, but there were so many impossible things he was hearing, and yet he knew that if Lloyd was telling him them, they were true.

"I saw a unit of them patrolling the streets of the capital. Golden eyes, blank expressions, the whole nine yards. And...I know how she has them. She is being advised by Ephidel."

"But-" Legault cut himself off this time. Impossible things came in fours, not threes, it seemed.

"The slimy bastard seems to have set himself up as her principal advisor. He's even been put in charge of a unit of the Royal Army fighting in the Center Mountains. And if some of the rumors leaking out of the newly refurbished Royal Palace are true, they're sleeping together too."

"Can morphs even-" Legault shook his head. "Of course they can. Sonia was a morph."

"I have no idea if it's true, but there are a hell of a lot of rumors to that effect. And on top of her massacres, she's mustered soldiers – Royal Troops, Major House troops and minor house troops alike – all against House Synallias and Tashka Province. And there's no doubt she'll win that."

"And all the deaths – on both sides – will give her even more quintessence to grow her morph army." Legault muttered. "Are we still safe here? Kaila would jump at the chance to get rid of us."

"As safe as we'd be anywhere. But I'm not staying here for long. Sooner or later Kaila's going to turn on Lycia, and Eliwood and Hector. I'm going there to join them. There's nothing that can be done to stop her her in Bern. She's too magically powerful for me, or any of us to simply assassinate, but her real power comes from her command of Bern's armies. Her armies need to be broken. Her generals and mages, they need to be killed. I can help stop her."

"If you're going, then I'm coming as well. And I've no doubt that Nino and Jaffar will as well."

::Linear Notes::

In the prologue of The Fourth Tale, Alkeni says: "You know, I never thought I'd actually enjoy tea, back when I left home, but nobody outside Bern ever drinks coffee, so I've grown to like it."

Since I am quite sure that Lloyd and Legault were born and bred in Bern, I have them as coffee drinkers. The coffee/tea thing is wholly my creation, and added mostly as a minor plot device in the prologue to have Alkeni reveal to Lyn and the reader that he is from Bern. Although to be fair, the coffee-tea thing was inspired by a scene in the second chapter of Rekka no Ken, Kaze no Makoto by Ray Venn Hakubi, involving coffee and tea.

I never did say exactly what happened to Guinevere. She died in the fire. If she hadn't, than legally, as a child of Desmond (even an illegitimate one), she would have automatically ascended to the throne. I realized, however, that I had not made that clear.

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