Chapter 10 - A Divine Request

Valm, although fairly close to to continent of Ylisse, was still over a week away by ship, so there wasn't much for Nah to do but think about her feelings for Morgan. She greatly appreciated the talk she had with Cynthia, but she still had not come to a decision as to when, how, or even if she should tell him she loved him.

She could just confess her feeling to him, but she was afraid of how he would react. He probably would not outright reject her; that seemed too harsh for the kindhearted prince to do. However, he may still not feel the same way for Nah that she did for him. Would Morgan find it awkward that his friend had fallen in love with him?

It was true that Morgan had seen different, unflattering sides of Nah and took them in stride. Her surliness? He did not seem to notice. Her distance from their peers? He understood and even helped her indirectly. Her rampages? He thought they were amazing. None of those instances seemed to make him feel awkward around her. Yet telling Morgan she loved him was a different matter entirely, A part of her wanted to tell someone else about her and Morgan but that would involve, well, telling someone else she was in love with the boy. The more people who knew about it, the more likely it would be that Morgan would find out before she worked up the nerve to tell him.

If I just knew if he felt the same way, or could feel the same way, Nah thought as she stared out over the ship's side, but I guess it's never that easy, is it?

Romance never seemed to be on Morgan's mind. Although to be fair, it never seemed to be on any of the children's minds back in the future, except for Inigo's. Being in this much more peaceful world of the past had brought out hidden feelings in many of them. Would it bring them out in Morgan, too? Had they been brought out already? He did spend a lot of time with Nah, which she cherished. However, Morgan cared for all of his friends and family. He still acted like a child in many ways, even though he seemed to have matured a little since Nah really got to know him. Perhaps Morgan wasn't mentally ready for a relationship yet. There was also the possibility that he was in love with someone else, but that didn't seem likely to Nah.

I should just tell him, but... Nah punctuated her thought with a loud sigh. She had been turning this over in her head for days, ruminating on the same thoughts repeatedly, and she was no closer to coming to a decision.

The blonde let out another sigh. She then knelt on the deck of the ship and clasped her hands together in prayer. There was one person she felt she could turn to for help, or to at least lend a spiritual ear to listen to her.

"O great and wise Naga..." She began in a low voice.

I know this is a self-centered request but … I'm allowed a selfish prayer here and there, right?

I realized that I have fallen in love with my dear friend Morgan. I never imagined this would happen and now I don't know what to do. I care about him so much, but I don't know if he loves me in the same way or not. Please Naga, help me to find out what he really thinks of me. Of course, what I really want is for Morgan to love me back, but that's too much to ask. I couldn't ask you to change his heart.

Nah chastised herself in the back of her mind for even bringing up that last point in prayer. No, she didn't want to make Morgan love her, but she deeply wished for him to return her feelings. Naga did not have to change him, really. He could fall in love with her just as she did him.

Nah felt like sighing again. She probably should not worry about making selfish prayers. Naga would likely stay silent, just as she did when the young dragonkin prayed for peace and happiness for all.

"My beloved."

Nah gasped quietly as Naga's voice, her thoughts, flowed into Nah's heart and mind.

"If you wish to see your prayer granted, present to me an offering of a Naga's bell. Bring this flower to me and your heart will be at ease."

Does, does this mean you will answer my prayer? That Morgan will...?

The Divine Dragon's voice went silent once more. Of course she would not clarify. Even so, Nah did not expect a response at all.

More offerings? Nah thought. She still wasn't sure if Naga could hear thoughts that she did not intended to be part of a prayer, And a Naga's bell, at that? She might as well have asked to me find a Zunanma feather.

"She's hard at prayer again today."

"Oh !" Nah quietly exclaimed, "Hello, Morgan!" How did he keep surprising her like that? He sometimes even evaded her ability to sense intent, and that was before she told him about it. It was a fine time for him to find her, too. At least she could still act normal around the prince.

"Hey there. Any response from Naga today?"

What a question to ask, Nah grumbled in thought. Not wanting to lie to the boy, Nah replied, "Yes, but not exactly the revelation I was hoping for. She asked me for more offerings!"

"Oh?" Morgan asked, "hey, what do you offer a jealous god, anyway? Fatted calves and such?"

Nah frowned and replied, "Naga is not a jealous god! Where did you get an idea like that from, anyway?"

Morgan laughed sheepishly, "Maybe I shouldn't base Naga off of old pagan gods and deities from novels."

"Probably not," the half-manakete deadpanned, "In any case, I was told to bring a flower."

"Oh? Any particular kind?"

Nah sighed. She was doing that a lot today, "Naga's bell. It blooms once every 200 years, and only beneath a full moon. ...That's what the legends say, at least. I've never seen one myself. They only grow in remote, craggy terrain far removed from human settlement."

"Wow. That's a pretty tall order. Very specific, too," Morgan said, "I guess she doesn't normally ask for something that rare-sounding?"

"No. It's not common for Naga to ask for offerings in the first place. I mean, I rarely heard her voice at all, but the few times she did ask for offering, they were for very common things. Other times, they're non-specific items, like when she told me to find the prettiest stone I could."

"Huh, interesting. And does she answer your prayers when you do bring her an offering?"

Nah paused to think on that, " Well … so far yes, but they've been in ways I don't expect."

"Oh? Such as?" Morgan inquired.

Nah could have told Morgan about the gemstones of the Fire Emblem in the future. Naga told her to offer the four remaining stones to her when she finally answered Nah's prayers about stopping Grima. They were a vital part of the ritual that sent the children to this world of the past. Instead, Nah decided to share a more personal story with the boy.

"The pretty stone I mentioned? Naga requested it when I prayed for help to leave my foster family."

Morgan blinked inquisitively, "Foster family?"

Nah looked down at the deck of the ship. This was a part of her past she never thought to share with the others. She did not like to think about those people who took her in, no doubt reluctantly, as a child. She also hadn't felt comfortable enough around anyone else to tell them the story, other than her parents. Morgan was someone she trusted that much; enough to confide with him some of her most painful memories.

"You know how I never grew up with you or the others?" Nah asked. The boy nodded and she continued, "Well, that's because my mother and father both died during the same battle. I was only a baby at the time, so I don't have any memories of them. I did have some family portraits my father painted. I wish I hadn't lost them when Naga sent us to the past."

"Your dad paints?"

"Mm-hmm. I should show you some. He's pretty good.

"Anyway, there were no next-of-kin, so I was sent to live with the family of one of my father's army friends. They never liked me and I was never accepted by them."

Morgan looked aghast as he asked, "What? But how could they dislike you?"

Nah's own eyes hardened as she said, "I think they were afraid of me, of my ability to transform. They didn't want to be around me when I was in dragon form, or even right after I shifted back. I would overhear them arguing about whether or not they should take my dragonstones away. Even as I diligently kept Risen away from the house, they whispered that I might someday kill them all."

"Why? Just because you can turn into a dragon? You're not some kind of cursed monster; it's a special and amazing power!" Morgan exclaimed.

"Well, they never saw it that way. I did things to try and make them less fearful of me. I worked hard, doing extra chores and such so they would stop seeing me as some kind of terrible beast. I just wanted them to stop … hating me, but it never worked …"

The blond girl's voice cracked at the end and she felt teardrops fall from her eyes despite her best efforts to hold them back. She should not have been surprised at how emotional she became after talking about her foster family. What did surprise her was to feel Morgan's arms wrap around her.

"I'm so sorry, Nah! I had no idea you went through something like that. They shunned you even though you never hurt them and never would have," Morgan said as he embraced her. His youthful voice was full of concern and uncharacteristically somber. That voice, the warmth of his embrace, and his strong intention to comfort her made her tears flow more freely.

"Nah...?" Morgan asked out of worry from seeing her cry more.

The little dragonkin didn't respond. A part of Nah felt self-conscious about crying in front of Morgan, but she soon felt a great deal of relief.

"I'm okay, Morgan, really," Nah finally said, sniffling a little, "There's nothing to apologize for. It just … hurts to think about when I was younger."

"You don't have to worry about anyone thinking you're a monster anymore. You have your friends and your parents. You have me."

"I … I know that," Nah replied, blushing a little and hoping Morgan didn't notice. She had stopped crying, at least. She then rested her head on the blue-haired boy's shoulder. "But thank you for saying that."

"Was that why you used to keep to yourself? Did you think other people would be like your foster family?" Morgan asked as she released Nah from the hug.

"I … suppose. I did think at first that many people would fear and resent me. It wasn't just that I was a newcomer to the group. It took me a long time to realize that I had nothing to worry about."

"Well, I'm glad you did realize it," Morgan said with a kind smile that made Nah's heart skip a beat. With the flood of emotions within her subsiding, Nah was left feeling a little flustered. She had just shared something very personal with the young man she loved, after all.

"Um, a-anyway, I should finish the story," She said, doing her best to hide her slight embarrassment, "I used to pray to Naga for my parents to return, even though I knew that they had died. She never responded to those, so I started to pray to take me away from my foster family. I thought about leaving on my own, but where would I go? I didn't know where the nearest settlement was and I was afraid of how other people would react to me. At least I knew my foster parents and their children. That's not even considering all of the Risen.

"One day, Naga answered my prayers. When I found a very beautiful stone made of quartz for the offering, I came across a party of soldiers. They were lead by Lucina."

"Ah."

"Laurent, Inigo, and Kjelle were with her as well. They were searching for isolated settlements and asking anyone who lived there to move to the capital, where it would be safer. My foster family jumped at the chance, since there would be soldiers to protect them on the trip.

"As we traveled to Ylisstol, I told Lucina that I wanted to join her in fighting the Risen and Grima. I was apprehensive about asking, but I thought 'if Naga guided me to them, maybe they aren't as bad as my foster family.' Of course, Lucina thought I was just a little kid and said that I was brave, but too young to help. I then transformed in front of them. I scared some of the soldiers, but Lucina and the others were in awe. They were even more amazed when I told them my mother was Nowi. They knew her as one of the last known manaketes and a friend to the late Exalt and queen."

"Oh, so that how you join us!"

"That's right. I was so grateful that Lucina let me join in the fight, even if it seemed to be a hopeless war. I was glad to be away from that house, and you treated me much better than my foster family. I suppose that's why even when I kept my distance from you all, I still spoke with and admired Lucina. She looked after me and I looked up to her like an older sister."

Nah winced at that. If she thought of Lucina as a sister, Morgan might believe that she thought of him as a brother. She definitely did not want him to see their relationship like that.

The prince just chuckled and said, "Yep, that sounds like Lucina, all right."

"A-anyway, whether or not Naga answers my prayer, I can't ignore a direct request from a deity," Nah said, hastily changing the subject, "Still, I don't know where to begin looking for the Naga's bell. I doubt I can just check the nearest mountain range or cliffs for them."

Morgan hummed in through, then said, "Say, do you want help looking for it? I might be able to find something about the flower in a book."

Nah smiled and said, "That would be great, Morgan. I suppose as long as we're on this ship, we can search through the books here. We'll probably have better luck in Ylisstol, or even Port Ferox, but it wouldn't hurt to try."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," the prince agreed, "Should we start now?"

"Now? It's late already" Nah pointed out, "We still have a few days until we reach Port Ferox. It can wait until tomorrow."

"Heh, I guess you're right."

"Anyway, I should get going," Nah replied, finding herself smiling.

"Yeah, me too."

"Oh, Morgan?"

"Yes, Nah?"

"Thank you. Not just for helping me to look for the Naga's bell, but for listening to my story. It really does mean a lot to me."

The blue-haired prince smiled warmly. When did his smiles start to make her want to go weak in the knees?

" You're welcome! I'm glad I could of some help."

As the two walked away from each other and Nah headed to her cabin, she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her. Oh, there were still things she did not dare tell the prince yet: her true feelings for him being chief among them, as well as her anxiety over the degeneration of her ancestors. Even so, she was elated that she could put this much trust in Morgan. She even wept in front of him, but he was only concerned for her feelings. He did not at all seem to find it awkward, and Nah herself was astonished that she did not feel mortified. He was still a bit immature in some ways, but she had not fully realized how considerate and sweet he could be. She found herself feeling even more affection for the boy.

Another matter on Nah's mind was Naga's intention. Just what was the Divine Dragon planning? Nah imagined that it would be for the best, but just what would that entail? She almost wanted to ask Naga, but she doubted the deity would tell her in straightforward manner.

Even though Nah was not praying, she thought she could almost hear a faint, kindly chuckle from somewhere far way.

AN: And here we have an altered B support! I drew inspiration for this chapter from a re-watch of Princess Tutu and listening to the Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon OST while typing and during revisions. So if you find this chapter particularly sappy, you can blame those. XD Actually, out of Fragile Dreams' OST, I think the most fitting piece for this chapter is "Something Called Trust" (or alternatively translated, "A Thing Called Trust"). It particularly fits when Nah started telling Morgan about her past with her foster parents.

I think I'm getting better at this whole romance thing? Maybe? At least I might actually be able to keep my promise of finishing this story before 2018, ah ha (famous last words?). As always, please review, and let me know what you think. :)