Beginning Commentary: HEY KIDDIES, ARE YOU TIRED OF THE EXCERPTS YET? *YES!* WELL TOO BAD, ONE MORE FOR YOU!
Excerpt Four: One Week
A good solid week had passed since the big revelation. Chrom decided to rest so that "healing would be faster", as he put it. Despite Emmeryn's wishes, Frederick went into full nursing mode and hovered around the poor prince like a guard dog. (Most likely to keep me as far away from him as possible). While Grima did pop up in my dreams every now and then, it was the usual "Succumb to the power" lecture all over again that I was really starting to get tired of. You would think I would be more terrified, and you would be right…if I were younger. See, threats can be seen as hollow when A, nothing that was threatened had occurred and/or B, they're just used to appease someone. But in any case, this was how the week played out on my side:
First day, I was fully questioned about my Grima powers. …Mainly by Ricken.
"Can you fly?"
No.
"Can you use dark magic like Tharja and Henry?"
Not really, no. And if I did, I would want to restrain it as much as possible just in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
"Can you control people's minds?"
Again, if I could, I'd restrain myself.
"Do you have the acquired taste for human flesh?"
Wha-? NO!
"Why can he only be powerful when you've got strong emotions?"
I… I don't know! Maybe it's me not being in full control or something…!
"Do you have to hibernate in the winter?"
"RICKEN!" I yelled.
"Yes?" He asked.
I took a deep breath, "I appreciate the concern, but I don't know everything, okay?!"
"I'm just curious, is all…"
Second day, Sully pulled me into her combat sessions so that I could get physical training. She told me to hit a bag filled with oats without the use of a weapon.
"That way, in case your magic runs out and you don't got a weapon on ya, then you can still fight," as she put it.
"But won't it be dangerous to teach the vessel of a deadly dragon how to fight?" I asked, mainly to get out of the training, but also to prove a point.
"Yeesh, if you're going to let that consume you for the rest of your life, then maybe you should go back home crying to whoever the hell takes care of ya!"
"Really, though!"
Sully slapped the back of my shoulders and I jumped a little.
"Anne, I say this because I know I'm right. You and Grima are completely different, and this will benefit you more than it will him. Hell, you might even use these skills to kick his ass someday, I don't know. But won't it be great to beat some scum up if he disables you and tries making a move on ya?"
The fear I felt from my first attack jumped right back into my heart and I clenched my fist.
"We gotta show men like them that they can't do whatever the hell they please, right?!" Sully exclaimed.
"Y-yeah!"
"C'mon, a little more confidence!"
"YEAH!"
"Now pretend that bag's one of those scumbags and give 'em hell!"
I punched the bag with first my right fist and then my left. This pattern continued. Right, left, right, left. Make that bastard pay! Left, right, left right. I'm not some play thing! Slowly I felt more and more proud and my punches seemed to show it.
…Or at least I wished they did.
I wanted to break the bag. I wanted to see an explosion of oats when I delivered the final blow. But no. The only things crushed were just some oats in the places where I punched along with my hopes and dreams.
"Maybe that's why you can't wield that fancy sword of yours, your arms are like jelly!" said Sully. Ugh, I hate words of discouragement like that.
"I'm a mage, so of course I'm not fit!" I moaned.
In my frustration, I decided to hit the bag again. However, I decided to kick and stomp at it instead of just punching it. It was like a ball game that I've seen some children play, but the ball was replaced with this bag.
Before I knew it, it had burst.
"Whoa! That was incredible! What, you got legs of steel or something?"
"No, but I do like to walk and run a lot…" I mean, that was the most fun I got back in Plegia when Henry and Tharja were busy and I was too scared to use magic.
"I'll keep that in mind for your training," Sully chuckled.
Third day, Maribelle had returned for a small visit. She said that she was getting the Ylissean castle ready for a big event.
"What event?" I asked.
"You see, dear, it's always difficult to keep the Shepard's birthdays in track. So, to make sure nobody feels excluded, I've decided to throw a grand birthday ball."
"But Maribelle, once we get the final load of crops from the farmers, we'll be too busy celebrating the Harvest Festival!" Virion gasped.
"Harvest Festival?" This intrigued me…
"Whenever we have a good harvest," Virion began before realizing I didn't really know what a harvest was.
"It's simply when the food crops farmers once planted have finally come into fruition," Maribelle explained.
"Ah," I said.
"Yes, when the farmers are successful with their crops, we praise Naga and celebrate in a grand fashion! There are games, plays, and we feast on the food!"
Oh my gods, that sounds amazing!
"But in any case, Virion, this ball will happen," Maribelle snapped as she closed her parasol at him.
The following fourth day, Lissa had finally told Maribelle my secret since she was not present during the grand reveal. As a response, Maribelle was…at least better at the response than Frederick or some of the soldiers.
"I, too, understand what it feels like to be trapped into responsibilities, as I'm to be the Duchess of Themis one day. However, this is quite cruel… You promise not to devour us like vermin?"
"I mean, I'll try, but-" I began.
"Splendid!" She began to walk off, but then turned around. "Oh, do the three of you have a birthday soon?"
She must've been talking about Henry and Tharja for the other two.
"Er, what month is it again?"
"It's November the twenty-seventh, dear," Maribelle sighed.
"Oh, Henry's was on the thirteenth, then."
"You didn't celebrate?"
"He didn't want anything this year…"
"Inexcusable!" Maribelle then hit my head with her parasol. "I will make sure that he will be a guest of honor for the ball, then!"
Henry and Tharja soon walked by as I rubbed my head from the pain.
"Now I understand why you two couldn't handle her…" I groaned.
"I'm surprised I haven't killed anyone yet," Tharja said in response.
"Maybe it's because we'd get thrown in jail or be executed if we did," Henry said. To which Tharja hit him with a book.
"It's called sarcasm."
"But you sound the exact same!"
Henry was hit once again.
"So apparently Maribelle's gonna throw a birthday ball for you," I explained to Henry to comfort him.
"Ugh, but she'll probably make it all proper… Can't I just get some bat blood instead?"
"Or dragon toenails…" Tharja sighed.
"Let's just endure through it until our time with the Shepards is up," I said.
"Fine," the two said unenthusiastically.
Nothing really interesting happened on the fifth day, but more among the lines of the fifth night. I decided to stay up a bit later to read the ending of The Figure in the Mirror. It was a mystery novel based around a Duke's sudden disappearance and his nephew Phillip beginning to see a strange shadow every time he looked into his reflection. Just as I was about to get to the final chapter where Joseph, Phillip's brother, was about to propose to his beloved Lynette, I heard crying. I walked out of the Barracks with a candle to see what was going on.
"Hello?" My voice echoed.
I walked down the cold, dark, and rather-isolated stone walls as the crying got louder. (More among the lines that I was getting closer to the source of the crying, not the actual crying getting louder). Eventually, I found little Laurent with his head ducked into his tiny legs. He was whimpering.
"Frederick? Miriel?" I shouted. I wanted to make sure I didn't get in trouble by suddenly confronting him, you see.
No response. So, I decided to walk up to the sad little toddler.
"What's wrong?" I asked in a higher tone than I would to a normal person.
"I…had a bad dream and—Daddy said I couldn't talk to him 'cause he was busy and Mommy's out on a trip!" Laurent cried. "I'm scared!"
"What was in the bad dream?"
"A big, mean giant that…that ate everybody! Even Mommy and Daddy!"
I decided to rub his back, to which Laurent immediately responded by wrapping his arms around my neck.
"Make it go away!"
Gods, he was heavier than I thought! Sully was right, my arms are like jelly. I struggled to pick him up.
"How about I tell you a bedtime story to help you calm down?" I said while restraining my grunts.
"You'd do that?"
I nodded. "Can I put you down now?"
"NO! The giant turned the floor into lava!" He then clutched one of his small hands onto my robe and buried his face in my chest.
"Alright, let the dragon lady get you through this, then!"
I walked to where Laurent lead me, since I forgot where Miriel and Frederick slept. During this time, I wondered which story I would tell him to get him to sleep. Obviously The Figure in the Mirror wouldn't work because that had some rather…adult scenes that shouldn't be told to a three-year-old. Maybe I could teach him some history with the story of Anri… Nah. I want him to sleep, but not by boring him.
"Here," Laurent squeaked as he pointed to the tent on my left.
Crap, looks like I'll have to improvise. I set him down on his small bed and crawled under the blanket. I put the candle down on the table nearby and sat in a provided chair.
"Let's see…" I began. I dug in my mind to find a good children's story. "How about the story of…Morgan the Magician?"
"Ooh, yeah!" Laurent exclaimed.
"Once upon a time, there was an ooooooooooold man. His name was Morgan, and he was the greatest magician in all of the land."
"What land?"
"Um…" I looked around the room for help. "Ceiling…Candle…no."
"How about Kerfuffle? I always like that word."
"Alright, the land of Kerfuffle. So-"
"Is he King of Kerfuffle?"
"I…don't know."
"Let's make him King of Kerfuffle. OH, and have a cool sidekick named Scruffy!"
"Scruffy?" I chuckled.
"Yeah, and the main export of Kerfuffle is strawberries. Oh, and it's underwater! With a bunch of books that Mommy lets me read and-" Laurent was getting really excited, so I had to cut him off to make sure he'd actually sleep.
"Okay, okay, let's just focus on Morgan now."
"Aww…"
"So, one day in Kerfuffle, Scruffy told Morgan about a mean people-eating giant…" As I said that, Laurent began to hide under his covers.
"'Don't worry!' Morgan said (I was using an old man voice since I know little children like it when stories are acted out) 'I'll make sure to stop that mean people-eating giant!'" He decided to get the help of his noble steed-"
"Scruffy." Laurent interrupted.
"Scruffy?"
"Yeah, Scruffy's a unicorn."
"Oh, okay. So the two left Kerfuffle to confront the mean people-eating giant…" I paused to think. Should I just get to the giant or should I add more plot elements? Hmm… Well, he is three and needs to go to bed…
"Con…confront?" Laurent asked.
"It means go up against or face."
"Ooooh…"
"The two entered a big, dark cave. Scruffy was starting to get a bit scared, because he didn't like the dark. But Morgan told him to imagine that the cave was filled with his favorite food."
"Strawberries!?"
"Tons of them!"
"Lucky!"
"Scruffy did as Morgan told him and they got to the giant. 'Hey, Mr. Giant!' Morgan said to the big guy. 'Stop eating people! It's not nice!'" For the giant's voice, I decided to go deeper and use the Pirate King's as inspiration. 'But I'm hungry!' the mean giant yelled. His breath smelled terrible!" Laurent started laughing. "Scruffy wanted to fight the giant to make him go away, but Morgan had a better idea."
"He eats the giant!"
"I don't think that's possible…"
"Really? Daddy eats giants all the time, though…" Oh Gods, who told him that?
"But Morgan was more tricky than he was hungry, so he decided to pull a prank on the giant. 'Hey giant, I bet you can't pick yourself up!' 'Yeah I can!' The giant pulled on the top of his head and lifted himself up for a small moment. 'I bet you can't throw really hard!' 'Yeah I can!' The giant picked up a boulder and threw it, where it reached the outside of the cave. 'In that case, I bet you can't throw yourself really hard!' And you know what the giant said?"
"YEAH I CAN!"
"That's right! So the giant picked himself up again and used his arm to throw him outside of the cave. He hit a big tree and got a bad headache, causing him to cry and run far away from Kerfuffle. The people of Kerfuffle celebrated Morgan for how smart he was and lived happily ever after."
"Best story ever!" Laurent exclaimed.
"Really?" I laughed.
"Yeah!" Well, I guess it was kind of easy to entertain a toddler, but still, I blushed from the praise.
"Do you think you can go to sleep now?"
Laurent nodded, "I'm gonna be like Morgan and trick the giant!"
"Awesome." I stood up and grabbed my candle, but before I headed out, Laurent called me.
"Can you tell me another story soon?"
"Um, sure, if your parents are okay with it…"
"Okay!" With that, Laurent immediately turned around to show that he was done talking.
"Good night, I guess…"
The sixth day, Sumia told my fortune through her flowers.
"They're saying you're going to be healthy for a while, but watch out for any signs of danger," she said.
"Sumia, I'm flattered you'd tell me this, but Tharja can tell fortunes as well…" I responded.
"Really? Oh, but that's probably with black magic…"
"Yeah…"
"Did she tell you if Grima would…you know…"
"No, because I didn't want her to…"
"Oh…Sorry."
"No, you didn't know…"
Awkward… Until I pulled out The Figure in the Mirror
"Oh, I love that book!"
"Really? You read, too?"
"Of course! Mainly about Pegasi, though. But whenever I have free time, I always look at what interests me."
"Well, if you loved this book, there's a sequel called A Day I Can't Remember."
"Oh, I need to find that! Along with The Scorpion Queen!"
"What's that?"
"It's about how a girl discovers an ancient tomb and-"
"Agh, don't spoil it!" I covered my ears. Sumia laughed and I laughed in response.
And finally, the seventh day, I saw more couples arise from the seas of the Shepards. …Or at least I think I did. Stahl asked Cordelia to accompany him to the ball Maribelle was arranging, to which she half-heartedly agreed.
"She really wanted Chrom to ask her," Lissa sighed.
"I didn't know she had a crush on Chrom," I replied.
"Oh, it's bad. The girl can't go a day without seeing him!"
Virion asked Olivia and she said yes. The two were getting really close since their first encounter, even to where Olivia would ask for dance lessons from him. That got in the way of my tactician training, but I couldn't help but giggle like an idiot; they were so cute together!
And finally, Cherche said she would help Lon'qu get over his shyness as I walked around in the castle garden.
"He's apparently a gynophobe," she explained to me.
"Afraid of women?" I asked. …Wow, that would explain why he didn't want my help back at the Arena… "That won't work, at least half of the Shepards are women…"
"Exactly. I think this might have to do with a murder I heard about long ago, but I'll need time to make sure. Would it be possible for me to take him and Minerva on a small trip?"
"Well, that's really up to Chrom, not me…"
"Yes, but part of being tactician is making sure all your units are in check. Virion once told me that."
"I see… Well, as long as you're back by the time of the Harvest Festival…"
"Alright, thank you!"
"Wait!"
She walked off and I felt like I'd be digging myself in my grave for causing this. I sighed, and sat down, slouching. From the corner of my eye, I saw someone sit beside me. I turned, it was Lady Emmeryn!
"How do you like being a Shepard so far, Anne?" she asked with a warm smile.
"Um…it's better than I thought it would be…" I replied nervously. "I just thought Frederick would throw me into brutal training and Henry, Tharja, and I would be outcasts… Especially me…"
"Oh, don't worry, some are just taking longer to warm up to you." The Exalt rubbed the space between my shoulders. It was…nice. "I remember how long it took everyone to get used to each other. You just need to be a little more patient and then before you know it, you'll be having the time of your life in Chon'sin."
I smiled a bit and turned to face her. "Thank you."
"M-milady! Milady!"
A soldier came running up to us (mainly Emmeryn) and huffed.
"Yes, what is it?"
"F-Farfort! Under siege!"
"Calm down and catch your breath, please."
The soldier did as such and started again, "Brigands have taken control of the Farfort just as it was about to ship out the final crops!"