Hero: I have a lot to explain. I've had the most serious case of writer's block yet. But this time, I forced it upon myself. I spent a month going over who I want to be with Orpheus. I may have mentioned this already, but I was torn between a few candidates. But now, I've already decided on one and it shall stay that way. I will have no more doubts. I ask that you respect who is chosen. But you won't know who for a while. Anyway, classes have started and as you may or may not be aware... I'm a full-time student. So yeah, I've been very busy. But this chapter is somewhat short, just falling out of my 2500+ words quota, but it shall be interesting all the same. I made a tease to some interesting things that will be appearing in the short Arc II of this story. Anyway, Chapter 11 will be the Chapter where the Action gets REALLY good. For now. It gets even better at around Chapter 13 or 14, depending on when I place the true final battle with Gangrel. Anyway, I've kept you waiting longer than need be. "Resolve of a Family" is back and this time, now locked on a love interest. Please Enjoy the newest Chapter 10!
Chapter 10
The room was dark; eerie; and too quiet. The only source of light was a small lit candle. In that small amount of sight was a book, held by a slender hand. It seemed this person was studying magic. Though the content seemed a bit too familiar, it was still being read thoroughly. As if in on queue, the door creaked, the person turned their head with no shock nor fear.
"Henry, is that you?" The person asked.
"Nya ha! You bet! I have news! We found him!" The boy named Henry, with only a tome and candle in hand, cheerfully cut the pleasantries and moved on to his report.
"Oh, really? Where is he now?"
"Marching here right this way!"
"Oh, does he already know?"
"It doesn't seem so. He did kill Validar though! Nya ha ha!" Henry laughed with no care at all.
"Is that so? Well, good riddance I suppose. The fool had it coming. What has happened since then aside from Gangrel declaring war?" The person asked Henry, in which he gave details about Gangrel capturing Emmeryn and planning to execute her in less than 3 weeks.
"Based on what intel I got from the Grimleal… It seems he's near the border. Should we go and say hello?"
"...I don't think so. Not yet, at least. If we play our hand in the war like this, no doubt the Grimleal will see our attempt to turn against them. I sense that our time is coming soon. Maybe after this war."
"What if things don't go well for him? He might need you and your power." Henry suggested.
"I have faith in him, he's smart enough to figure out how to beat Gangrel. And I doubt that Aversa will get involved in the fighting unless they literally force her too. She'll just escape as always. But even so…" The person pondered. "If it comes down to it, we'll lend our assistance. As subtle as we can. But I believe it will not be necessary. I believe in him."
"If you say so. Need anything else?"
"No. Thank you Henry, but please shut the door on your way out."
"Okay then! See you later!" Henry then took his exit, carefully shutting the door.
Then all was quiet again.
Chrom had ordered the march to stop for the night. But where it was stationed at was exactly as predicted. The fort that Cordelia stayed at. Orpheus had suggested they check the inside for either any survivors or anything of importance. While searching, most of the place was ransacked, anything that might have had some valuable things were either destroyed or taken from their place. Frederick however, found something worth looking at. It was a note placed on a table. It was addressed to the Shepherds specifically.
"Milord, this note was likely placed recently. And it doesn't seem to be dangerous." The ever wary Frederick described.
Chrom grabbed the paper from Frederick and read it aloud:
"To Lord Chrom & the Shepherds,
We have heard of Lady Emmeryn's kidnapping and planned execution and we, the Priests of Naga shall advance ahead to see if there is perhaps a chance to negotiate this peacefully. All of the soldiers who served in this fortress have been slaughtered. We took the liberty of properly burying and mourning their now lost lives. Their graves can be found near the top of the hill north of here. By the will of Naga, stay safe.
Libra"
"Well that at least explains the lack of any dead bodies." Orpheus commented.
"Shall I inform Cordelia?" Frederick suggested.
"No, Frederick; I will. I don't think you would handle how she reacts to this." Orpheus took the ordeal on himself and simply walked out. On his way out, he grabbed a lantern due to the sun already setting. He had no idea how long this would take. It was as he left the fortress, he spotted Sumia getting off her pegasus.
"Oh, Sumia! Are you done patrolling around the area?" Orpheus questioned.
"I've been done for about thirty minutes now, but I went to see the graves of our sisters with Cordelia." Sumia explained as she pointed towards the area.
"Oh, so you read the note then?"
"Note? We found them on our own. Cordelia hasn't been… taking it well. Even worse than I did." Sumia sighed.
"Not surprised one bit. Where is she now?"
"Still there, I'm afraid. I can take you there if you want." Sumia offered.
"I appreciate it, but thanks. I'd rather see this one alone. Wish me luck." Orpheus waved as he moved on.
"Alright, Orpheus. Just be careful when climbing up." Sumia waved back as he left.
Orpheus began his ascent. It was large enough to be considered a miniature mountain. But he scaled it anyway with little trouble and as he moved his lamp forward, he saw her. She was next to her pegasus, Ai, and still, there were tears in her eyes. It seems the trauma had dissipated for now, but the other emotions were still running their course. When she locked eyes with him, they widened and she instantly looked away.
"Orpheus, no! Please look away! I don't want you to see me like this again!" Cordelia shouted, hoping to scare Orpheus away.
"I already had a feeling you would be feeling like this. Cordelia, please; it's fine, I'm not judging you for what happened here."
"But, this was all caused by me! If I had just stayed, we might've had a chance. Some of them might still be here!"
"Cordelia, you might've actually been killed if you did stay. You saved many of the citizens from certain death by fleeing to warn us."
"Was it worth the cost though? Did everyone here need to die for everyone's sakes? Were they in vain!?"
"No one needs to die, Cordelia. But it's because of Gangrel, they died. Over his grudge. And now he wants us to harbor one too. If we don't save Emmeryn and kill Gangrel, then their lives will be in vain." Orpheus moved closer to her, in which she showed no signs of backing away. "If we're to make their lives truly worth it, and for their families to have some peace, we have to end this war. So no one else has to feel the pain you feel. I don't understand what you're going through, but it's something I just know you can work through. I need you to believe in me, not just as a Tactician, but as a person."
"O-Orpheus, I…" Cordelia tried to express herself, but she was still caught up in the moment. Tears still rolled down her eyes. She visualized everything he said, and tried to see things in another perspective. It then began clicking. "Orpheus, I'm sorry… Sorry that I've been so selfish. I was putting my feelings above my sisters feelings. I… I think I might be seeing why they let me leave on my own."
"Cordelia…" Orpheus was speechless for a moment, but then spoke again. "You aren't selfish. It's completely understandable on how you feel, but…" Orpheus noticed a Silver Lance, and upon looking at the grave with a set of Falcon Knight armor near it, he pieced together the rest. He then grabbed the Lance and showed it to Cordelia. "This belonged to your captain, didn't it?"
"Y-Yes, it did…" Cordelia answered as her tears began to ease up. Orpheus then placed it in her hands. "Orpheus! I'm not trained enough in the Lance to properly wield this. Why did you…?"
"I know you aren't ready to use it, but I want you to hold on to it. Remember what they did for you, and use that as motivation to fight. And one day, when you finally can wield that Lance, they'll be fighting with you."
"I… I do want to use it now that you put it that way, but…"
"But?"
"I want the Lance to be here for now. I want to come back to it to pay my respects to my sisters and when I know I've grown strong enough to earn it. I hope that makes some sense."
"No, I understand. Then how about after this war, we both come here? To see them again?"
"Yes, I think they would like that."
"Great to hear; shall we head back? The sun has already set and it's going to be hard to get back the longer we stay here."
"Right. Do you want to ride with me back to the fort? You'll be there quicker than on foot."
"Sure, whatever's easier." Orpheus said as he was helped on to Cordelia's pegasus, Ai.
It took off with relative ease despite carrying two people. As they grew closer to the fortress, Cordelia spoke and tried to ask Orpheus a question.
"Orpheus, you won't tell anyone about…"
"No, I won't."
"On, thank you. I fear being mocked for what has happened."
"If anyone does mock you, I'll see to it they will do the hardest of chores for quite some time. Even Chrom counts on this."
"I see. You don't need to go that far. I think a scolding is simple enough."
"Yeah, but I'm a bit unorthodox." Orpheus laughed to himself. "Oh, and speaking of Chrom. How do you feel about him?"
"Do you mean in general or… my other feelings?" Cordelia awkwardly answered.
"The… other feelings. You know which ones I'm referring to."
"I had a feeling that was what you were talking about. I... don't know anymore… Ever since of when I eavesdropped on you and him, I think it became pretty apparent that he had no interest in me. I've been trying to put it past me since then. I think it's been easier than I thought because of what happened with my sisters and this war. It's gotten my mind off of him ironically." Cordelia forced herself to laugh.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure romance is the least of his interests right now. I know Gaius tried showing him to some women while we were in Regna Ferox, but he was dense as a rock. It was quite an embarrassing show from him; Ylisse's prince." Orpheus remarked as it made Cordelia laugh; naturally, this time.
"Well, when you put it that way, I'm kind of glad I know that he's not really interested in me. We probably wouldn't have worked out."
"Well, I guess it was good that you eavesdropped then." Orpheus gave one last laugh before changing subjects. "So, Cordelia… What do you plan to do now?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that now that you've begun to have some closure with this, what's next for you? Do you think this will hinder yourself as a unit?"
"I don't believe so. I've made up my mind on what I want to do. Though… I don't think I want to share it just yet."
"That's fine. I wanted to ask earlier, but I thought that was a bit too soon to ask in that moment."
"I understand. You don't need to worry about me."
"Good. So can I count on you for support in the battle against Gangrel?"
"...Of course you can. I'll help you save the Lady Exalt." Cordelia smiled in agreement. She had ordered her pegasus to descend to the edge of the Fortress. "I'm going to put Ai inside so she can rest. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Alright. Good night Cordelia." Orpheus said as he got off the Pegasus and began to head back to the main entrance of the fort.
"Oh, and Orpheus…!" Cordelia stopped him one last time, and after a moment's silence, she continued. "Thank you."
Hero: Well, I hope you enjoyed more issues with Cordelia's traumatization. But on the bright side, we've gotten past the worst of it. Sumia's case is slowly working itself out on its own, but Orpheus shall help with the final moments of hers when we get there. Anyway, here's the final piece of Orpheus trivia for now! It's time for the best part, the critical hit lines!
I've been waiting for this!
It is useless to resist!
I'll even the odds!
I've seen better!
You're mine!
So yeah, I hope you liked the beginning and that it re-ignited your curiosity with the story. I can assure you, I have great plans for where I want this fic to go and elaborate on FE:A's story better than the game did. And despite how short Arc II will be, I think the backstory it will provide for some characters will be interesting. So yeah, spring break is approaching so I may work on this depending on if I'm not shoved homework to do while I'm on break. And the other factor is that I need to really work on the P4 fanfic too. Anyway, I'll be excited for the next chapter as we delve into more action. One final note, once we're through a certain point, I'm changing the genre of writing from Romance to Adventure since there's no Action genre(Get on that FF staff). I realized this fic is going to be focused on more action and overall plot that fluff or angst romance than I originally conceived. I hope you all are okay with that change. Anyway, I'll let you go. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the chapter and I'll see you again.(No, you won't know who that person in the teaser section will be. You won't even get it right the first time. And no it's not Tharja.)