Five years of peace had done Ylisstol many favors.
The city's structure had been rebuilt completely from the Second and Third Plegian wars. The rubble had long since been cleared, abandoned buildings long since returned to. Life poured from the city, be it through shops or music or pedestrians. Horses carrying goods and children running about playing amongst themselves. Gendarmes stood at the gates, doing their sentry and speaking with the populace.
Safety and prosperity came back to the people, ushered on by the royals now at the helm of the Halidom. The memories of Grima were just that; memories. Cautionary tales and bedtime terrors told to young ones to not commit bad deeds. The only scars left of the war itself were the memories that it's veterans held onto. The destruction, the death, the devastation. It wasn't the reality anymore, and it was something all were thankful for.
Those memories drove it's people to better their homes, and to better what surrounded them. Ylisse had become far more involved in the world than it had under Emmeryn, keeping up diplomatic channels with nations not only on Archenea, but even as far as Valm, Jugdral and Elibe.
Chrom rebuilt the nation's military from the ground up, turning it into a modern force and quadruple the size that his sister ever allowed. Full divisions, garrisons and even expeditionary groups. Sumia handled the economic side of things, overseeing the rebuilding of roads, farms, mines and towns. The seven duchies within the Halidom all tied to the central heart of the nation; Ylisstol. The shining city that gave life to it all.
But nothing is always happily ever after.
"I should keelhaul you both." Natalia growled out, marching through the courtyard of the barracks at a swift and enraged pace. Coils of smoke could be imagined puffing from her ears, the hands she held behind her back clenched behind her length of steel colored hair. Bronze colored iron armor encased her upper body, a similar colored open-topped helm and visor resting on her head.
Two girls followed behind her, making a stubby 'V' as they stomped upon the grass. One was a brown haired girl, spectacles framing her small and plain features as panic presented itself. The other's hair was a jet black, her skin tone and temperament far darker and subdued. Both wore steel-grey armor and closed off helmet topping their own heads.
"Sergeant, in our defense-" One of the girls behind her began, stuttering out loud as her glasses nearly slipped down her nose. The things would've fallen to the ground if she didn't catch them, squeaking meekly as they fell into her grasp.
"Your defense is moot." The Falcon Knight roared back, not even bothering to look at the two behind her as they pressed on. A few heads from the windows above them popped to see what the ruckus was about, followed by a few giggles as the spectators caught onto the premise of the show.
"Great. Now the whole Squadron's going to know." The other knight grumbled, shooting a glare upwards to the peanut gallery. It didn't help any, the observers merely waved back with a pleased grin shared between them all..
"The Squadron? I'm about to drag you in front of the Knight-Captain, and you're worried about the Squadron?" Natalia continued, lifting a hand and snapping her fingers to focus the pair's attention forwards once more. "Should I even bother asking what in the hell you two were thinking?"
"W-we were just trying to do the right thing." The glasses toting girl stammered, cowed by the clear and present rage.
As they passed under an archway that opened up an entrance back into the interior of the complex, their senior stopped and turned around. Both her boots clicking loudly, an echo shaking the room. For the two troopers it felt like reality itself bent as the sound crashed around them. The start of the end of their worlds.
"You let a thief escape. After the Gendarmes contracted us to assist them." Natalie chastised, tone as sharp and cold as a sword's blade. Again one of the knights attempted to speak, again the Sergeant cut her off. "Do you realize even the damage you two have caused? You made the law keepers of the city lose their faith in us. When our aid is requested, we do not make hairbrained decisions like this."
"He stole a loaf of bread and they were gonna take his hand for it, Sarge." The darker trooper grumbled defensively, hand resting on her hip. "We're supposed to be protecting people, not crippling'em."
Her compatriot nodded in agreement, glasses sliding down her nose once more. "He didn't even hurt anyone! When we showed up he didn't even try to fight us off!"
"Maybe because you're two soldiers in armor on mounts." Natalia deadpanned, sighing in defeat as her shoulders slumped. Her eyes at that moment may have betrayed her true feelings on the matter, but she had her own duties to fulfill. "It doesn't matter. We're wasting time."
Down another hall and up another flight of stairs, the trio found themselves standing in front of a large oak door, a pair of ornate golden wings framed upon it. With a rap of the knuckles, Natalia called into the room and awaited a response.
Surprisingly, all that happened was the door slowly opened to reveal an empty office. Not a soul resided inside it's walls. Three chairs sat unused in front of a grand redwood desk, a chair cut from the same tree resting behind it. Stacks of paperwork rested on the right side, each neatly set up into prim and straight towers. An unlit candle rested in front of the open window, natural light beaming around it. The walls were lined with shelves of books; tactical treatise, movement plans, logs, rosters and a few casual page-turners.
"Captain Volkner?" The Sergeant called in, doing a simple sweep of the room with her eyes. Pondering for a moment, she simply slipped inside and allowed the two women to follow her. "Sit down, both of you. She'll return soon enough."
"I-is it wise to go inside without the Commander's permission?" The brunette trooper questioned, her compatriot not showing a similar hesitation as she moved inside and sat herself in the nearest chair.
"You're not getting out of this that easy, MacIntyre. Now get in here." Natalia barked, jutting a finger to the empty chair.
More afraid of her present company then reprimand from their leader, the meek girl compiled at speed. Rushing from the doorframe to the designated seating at a speed that would make most myrmidons blush.
Grunting in approval, their senior began to pace back and forth behind the two as they waited for their audience to begin. Both girls just melted into their chairs, the finality of their situation sinking into both all at once.
"If it was up to me-" Natalia began, keeping up her strides. "I'd have you both sent north to Friga so you can send the next year freezing about what you've done. The Feroxi need more help watching the Longfort."
"You mean they need more punching bags for their border guards." The stoic girl quipped.
The falcon knight paused, leveling a malicious glare at the back of her subordinate's head. "Fairfield, has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?"
Her subordinate snorted. "My entire family did. Why do you think I got stuck with this job?"
"Maybe opening the ranks to commoners was a mistake." Natalia grumbled, giving the chair a swift kick in the rear as it's occupant jutted upwards. "You still have a shopkeeper's glib. I thought I trained you better."
"You did, but I'm prolly about to be discharged anyhow." Fairfield answered, removing her helmet and running a hand through her dark-as-night hair. "No real point in keeping up appearances."
"D-don't say that!" MacIntyre interjected, snapping out of her pool of self-loathing for only a moment. "We can still get out of this! I-I'm sure the Commander will hear us out."
"Oh, I will now?"
The trio turned about in their respective positions to see two new women standing in the entrance of the office. One, a red-haired dark flier with a blue and black uniform, silver pauldrons resting on her shoulders. Two white wing-clips distinctly stood out from the waves of crimson. To her side was a woman wearing golden falcon knight gear, her tunic underneath the armor shimmering with a deep purple and pink trousers. Her greyish-brown hair had it's own wing-clip, resting at the rear.
It took a moment for the three to realize exactly who was with their commander, but once it clicked they all scrambled. The three knights quickly formed up in the foreground of the chairs, each going down onto a knee and bowing their heads.
"Your Majesty! A thousand apologies!" Natalia muttered at once, eyes directed at the riding boots of the royal in question. "We didn't know you were in the compound."
"I didn't want you all making a big deal over it." Sumia mused, a bit pleased regardless of the presentation that lay before her. "We didn't expect anyone to be in here, actually. Is something the matter? Why are you all in full combat gear?"
"And why are two of you wearing your helmets indoors?" Cordelia questioned, eyes floating over the trio. Three of her troopers in her office unannounced, this already sounded like she had even more work to do. "On your feet, all of you."
The three stood upwards, taking proper stance in view of their leaders. The remaining removed their helmets and slipped them in the crook of their arms, eyes forward.
Pleased, Cordelia sighed as she slipped into the room. Sumia followed suit, standing at the flank of her friend's desk. "Well? Don't leave us hanging in suspense."
The three soldiers presenting themselves spun about to face Cordelia, sitting down in her ornate office chair and resting her nose atop her interlaced fingers. Every day she had a new crisis to deal with, it seemed. She'd spent too many nights asleep in this room instead of her proper home, and that annoyance leaked into the aura that permeated about her.
An aura that the Sergeant keyed in on quickly. Grimacing at the situation, Natalia began her speech. "Commander. I'm here to report that both of these troopers have commited dereliction of duty." She rattled off, internally panicking as she saw Cordelia's mood blacken even more. "They were tasked by myself to assist the Gendarmes in apprehending a thief from the market. However when they happened upon the hooligan, they let him go instead of dragging him to the jailhouse."
"You obviously know what happened, Sergeant. Were you present and allowed this?" Cordelia growled, the two knights in question now being lined up in her crosshairs. On the surface they seemed unphased by their current situation, but time in leadership had taught her how to read people. Fairfield, the knight on the left, had developed a reputation as being a loudmouth. She also tended to rattle her teeth together when afraid. MacIntyre, the girl with the glasses, was your typical bookworm and wasn't someone you'd expect much from. Her eyes seemed to flick about the entire room, trying to find something to focus on and use as an anchor.
Natalia shook her head. "No ma'am. They were confronted by the Gendarmes, and I requested I bring them here to be punished instead of dragged in front of the city's magistrate." She explained calmly. In truth, it was to avoid both of them being assaulted by the six officers of the law they had managed to enrage. And to hopefully avoid seeing two of her troopers spend a night in shackles.
Cordelia sighed through her nose, knowing the Falcon Knight as well as the two accused behind her. She knew did it to save them, she just knew she couldn't admit it. Sumia remained silent, worry creasing her brow.
"Fairfield, MacIntyre. Explain yourselves." Cordelia commanded.
Surprisingly, MacIntyre was the first person to come forward, sucking in the air around her before she unleashed a torrent of words. "Weweregoingtobringhimtothejailhousebutthenhetolduswhathappenedandthenwesawthebreadhehadonhimthenthegendiesshowedupandweregonnastabhimsowestoppedthemandlethimrunbeforeheendedupgettinghu-"
"Stop, for Naga's sake." Cordelia moaned, palming her face and groaning loudly. She lifted her other hand, pointing towards the still silent soldier. "Fairfield, explain in a language we can understand."
Grunting, Fairfield stepped forwards as MacIntyre's head bowed down in embarrassment. "He stole a loaf of bread and they wanted to lop his hand off. We made a judgement call and let'im run while we distracted the Gendarmes. He just didn't wanna starve, ma'am." She explained clearly and concisely. "I don't regret it for a moment. Even if I get stripped of my armor, ma'am, I know I made the right choice."
Her partner in crime nodded along with her words. Behind them, their Sergeant's mouth curled up into a smile reflecting some level of pride. The expression disappeared rather quickly as the Captain's gaze leveled on her once more.
"...Sergeant, stay. The two of you, your bunks. Now." Cordelia ordered.
The two saluted their commander, slipped their helmets back on, and marched back out from whence they came. Their metal footsteps slowly dying off and replaced with the piercing silence after the door was shut behind them.
"You taught them well Natalia." Cordelia mused, dropping her angered facade as her lips curled into a smirk. "Only one month in service and they're already thinking for themselves."
"I've only taught them what you both taught me when I was in their position." The Sergeant answered with a soft bow at the waist. "But they still broke the law, noble as it was."
"They did. But last I checked the penalty for theft hasn't been mutilation for decades." Cordelia commented, glancing to her friend at her flank before standing up and moving to open her window.
"It isn't. Emmeryn got rid of that law ages before Chrom took over." Sumia affirmed herself, t
Natalia stood there, confused. "Then… why would they…? I don't understand."
"Gaius. Care to explain?" Sumia chimed, calling out to the now open window.
With that, a ginger topped head popped through and scanned the room. A black bandana hung from his head, along with a sack resting on his back. The new arrival whistled loudly as he inspected the room. "Woah. Didn't know Stumbles set you up with a room this nice, Red."
"If only I spent less time in it." Cordelia sighed as her old friend slipped inside. She paced back over to her desk, opening it and pulling out a small package before setting it on top.
"I'm still at a complete loss here." Natalia stated once more. "Can someone please pass me the memo?"
"Oh. Well, ya see-" Gaius started, digging about in his sack before pulling out a large loaf of raisin bread. "-does this help?"
The Sergeant's jaw dropped then and there, all the while Sumia giggled from her position resting against the shelves. "Told you she'd react like that."
"I think we both would've in her shoes." Cordelia noted as Gaius slipped the loaf back into his sack. The Captain then tossed him the envelope, which he caught and bounced in his hand. "Took far more effort then it should have to find that. I think you owe me now."
The thief opened the package up to look inside, eyes glistening as he stared at its contents. He nodded at once, gingerly slipping it next to the bread and going back over towards the window. "You got it, Red! Now I gotta move, Missus'll get antsy if I don't make it home with this."
With that, the sticky-fingered felon hopped back out and disappeared.
Natalia's shock finally subsided, unamused at the whole affair. "You hired a thief to steal bread and nearly give me a heart attack, why?"
"To test how all of you would react." Cordelia answered, grinning rather evilly. "I wanted to see how the new members of the Guard company would act in a morally dubious situation. And how you would respond respectively. You were only recently promoted to falcon knight after all."
Sputtering and fuming, Natalia didn't seem to be able to compute what had just happened.
"It was on my request, Nat." Sumia slipped in, nervously twiddling her thumbs. "I like knowing how the people who guard my family would… you know, act on the job?"
"You all acted as we hoped." Cordelia added.
"But-! I-! There were-!" The grey haired soldier continued, giving up and slumping into one of the chairs. "Just… please, please never do that again." She pleaded.
"No need to perform the same test twice." Cordelia conceded. "What did you think I was going to do?"
Natalia shrugged. "Make me run them through drills for the rest of the week. Yell at them until you were blue in the face. Maybe do that thing with a fire tome you showed me when I first joined the Regiment."
"I like that first one. Do that, add latrine duty too it as well. I'd rather they didn't catch on."
Her former student rolled her eyes. "Wonderful. Of course, Captain. Anything else?"
"I just received a letter. The situation in Valm's apparently gotten worse." Cordelia explained, shaking her head. "We'll be escorting Her Majesty for a diplomatic trip to Chon'sin. Get the girls ready to trip to Port Ferox."
Natalia nodded, standing back to her feet and mounting her own helmet back on. With a salute of her own, and a returned gesture by her commander, the woman slipped out of the office. Soon her footsteps disappeared as well.
"You know you don't have to bring a full Troop." Sumia murmured once the two were finally alone, taking a seat in one of the chairs that hadn't been used during the whole interaction. "I'll be fine, Cynthia said she'll come down from Wyvern Valley to keep me safe."
"Sumia, dear. I say this with respect as your friend and your bodyguard, but that's not going to happen." Cordelia affirmed, finally relaxing into her chair. "I can't just let the Queen of the Halidom go to a continent at war without some kind of escort."
"Maybe, but…" Sumia paused, drumming her hands on her lap. "Cordelia, you need a vacation. A proper one."
"Hm? No I don't, I'm fine." Cordelia dismissed immediately. "Never been better, really. It's nice having something to do."
"...How long has it been since you went home to little Severa and Morgan?" Sumia asked.
"Two days ago." Cordelia answered. Truthfully as well, she'd left the office to spend some time with her two young daughters. Severa was a few years off from reaching double digits, meanwhile Morgan was still trying to understand the finer-points of tying laces and putting her own dresses on. "It's been hard, but Miriel and Lissa make time to help."
"And it'll be even harder when you're on the other side of the world guarding me." Sumia pointed out. "Cordelia, you need a vacation. A real one, not a day or two off once in a while. For the past five years I don't think I've ever seen you leave the city unless it was on-mission."
"Never thought I'd hear the day when my boss complains that I'm too dedicated to my work." The red haired rider muttered darkly.
"I'm grateful, you know that. But…" Again, Sumia sighed. "You've been through a lot. Too much for most people to handle."
"I've handled myself well enough" Cordelia affirmed, the same certainty as always. "As you said. It's been years. Life goes on."
"Cordelia. Please, I know I'm a bit all over the place, but don't think I can't tell when my best friend's in a rut." The royal noted, frowning at her oldest friend. Sorrow was never something Cordelia knew how to process well, and experience hadn't helped her much in this regard.
Now it was Cordelia's turn to sigh once more, shaking her head at the silliness of the whole situation. "...I miss them. But I don't mourn them for a reason."
"Cordelia, we've searched up and d-"
"He isn't dead. I can feel it." The woman affirmed once more. "Neither is Severa. This isn't denial, Sumia. I'm not wishfully thinking with my head in the clouds. My husband and my daughter are alive out there."
"For someone who scolds me over my 'silly little flower fortunes', I find it funny how I'm trying to be the voice of reason here." Sumia chimed. "...How do you know for sure? Everyone looked. For both of them."
"Lucina's been in Regina Ferox for two months now without a word. You haven't seen Cynthia in an entire year." Cordelia pointed out. "You feel it too. That cord we have with our families, we've had it since we reunited with them. Tell me, are they safe?"
"Yeah… I guess I can understand that." Sumia conceded, deciding it was best to not push the subject even further forward. "I'm worried about Lucina. It's been too long since we've gotten a report, and the succession crisis is only getting worse. Flavia still can't intervene."
"Lon'qu and Olivia are there to keep her safe, remember?"
Sumia rolled her eyes. "We sent her up there so she keep them safe, not the other way around. Besides, with Basilio's recent passing, the throne of the West Khan's devolving into a free-for-all. At this rate we might need to send troops up north as well as across the sea."
Cordelia shook her head. "We already have forces in Roseanne and Plegia. The cost of sending another expedition north would be madness. The people aren't going to tolerate another tax hike."
The Queen tutted. "I know. Themis said their harvest might not reach the quota. Friga almost refused the last levy. Tuscana's slipping, so are Taylis and Pyrathi. The only Duchy that isn't reporting problems is Archenea Prime."
"They're the largest territory outside of Ylisstol. If they were having problems, we the entire Halidom has a problem.." Cordelia muttered darkly.
"And guess who they're blaming for all of this?" Sumia sang bitterly, "I should've known this would happen. Chrom and I never had a head for economy, Emmeryn always knew better than us."
"Last I checked you're the one who basically rebuilt the country's economy from scratch after Grima nearly burned it all down." Cordelia pointed out. "People have food in their stomachs, even if their purse-strings are tight."
"I guess all of those tutors mother sent me through paid off after all. Though I doubt she ever expected her middle-child to end up Queen of the nation." She reminisced fondly. "Do you really think we've done a good job?"
"Have I ever sugar-coated my opinions?" Was Cordelia's reply. Sumia chuckled, drawing a letter out from under her armor and passing it across. The Captain snatched it up quickly, inspecting the thing for a moment before removing the parchment from the letter she had already read earlier. "At least our information network's working without a hitch."
"Those new outposts we set up on those islands between the continents made transporting letters quicker." Sumia noted "Instead of relying on something as slow as Wyvern, a Pegasus can actually make a flight over the ocean without risking the mount or the flier passing out. Thank the Gods."
As her eyes read the letter, a smile came across Cordelia's face once more. Even with droll reports and boring messages, any letter from her daughter was one she was happy to read. Though this one was a bit darker than the ones that came before. It confirmed what Virion was worried about, his country was in the crosshairs once more. A pang of sorrow hung for Cordelia over her old friend's plight, but she'd already done what she could. Besides, Morgan was a good warrior and a better tactician. Short of her father, she wouldn't run into much issue.
"Roseanne's going to be attacked soon, but Morgan thinks they'll be fine. Apparently there's a scouting force that she was going to assault the day after she wrote this."
"I'm guessing she wanted to make a show of force?"
"Either that or she wanted to see what Virion's new army can do."
Sumia shrugged. "Either way, she probably routed them. Anything else of note?"
"She's guessing it's a smaller force then whatever they've thrown at Chon'sin. At least this time Dynasts are working together instead of letting each one die on their own."
"Maybe they learned a lesson from how our alliance with Ferox made us stronger with numbers."
"Or maybe they're desperate enough to wait until after the dust has settled to go for 'reunification' themselves."
"Well, you're the Commander here. Do you think she needs help?"
Cordelia paused, pondering the situation. Even if Morgan could handle the first force the enemy threw at Roseanne, they still had other men they could probably fling at the Duchy. The Valentians had numbers, and attrition won wars. Still, she didn't have any authority over the normal Army. She could ask some of the former Shepherds to come along, but the only one she could think would be willing to help was Stahl. If he came, Lissa would try to join them after hearing about it from him. If Lissa came, Chrom would want to come along to protect his younger sibling. Henry would also swoop in to keep an eye on Lissa. And suddenly, she would have to protect almost all of the leaders of the Halidom in a warzone.
Still, she needed the help. And the knight turned Paladin had turned into a rather capable Commander. Stahl enjoys that Colonel position plenty. Think he'd be willing to take his unit over without his brother in law coming along for the ride?"
"I'll keep Chrom in the city, I promise." Sumia stated, grinning at her husband's tendency to follow where the fight was. "I'll just tell him I need Lissa's help, and you can get his Division commander to approve of him coming along."
Cordelia nodded, agreeing with the plan. It'd be a little while. Hopefully they'd be able to move within the month, providing bureaucracy didn't get in the way.
Or at the very least, keep her daughter alive.
And so ends the first Xenologue, hopefully conveying the state of the world after Grima got murdered.
What was that thing Loptus told Seliph at the end of 776? 'So long as avarice lurks still in the hearts of men, I will return'?
Either way, new fires start even when you put the old ones out. Life goes on, and you roll with the punches.
Sorry for the long break again, I'm actually on vacation right now. Come next week I'll hopefully get chapters 10 and 11 out rather quickly
o/