The meeting felt like a saving grace. Our little band of soldiers was to be split up; it seemed that there was trouble in small towns a little ways from the capital. Most of the force was going to go and help, while a small portion of us; being myself, Maribelle, Miriel, Virion, Vaike and Emmeryn, including her royal guard. I was kind of looking forward to more time by myself here; I could get to know their customs better, explore the city, find out if my other clothes behaved like my sweater, heal, and just think things through. Thankfully, there was enough time to do all of that, but not as much as I would like. The short trip back provided some thinking and healing time, though the latter was filled with a bit too much Maribelle. She must have wanted to repay a debt that didn't need repaying.

When we did arrive at Ylisstol, the downtime was appreciated by all. Miriel went into what I liked to call 'study hibernation' where she disappeared into her room, not to be seen for days; Vaike challenged as many people as he could to duels; Virion flirted with just about every woman he came across; Maribelle relaxed slightly; and I managed to explore the city. The first place I went to find was an instrument shop, looking for a guitar. I was distraught to find out that this world didn't have my instrument, which was soon rectified when the store owner told me he could make one… so long as I could give him a basic plan. I crudely drew one up, and within an astounding three days, I had a new acoustic guitar; though I had to paint it myself. And had to make the pick. When not waiting for my new guitar or failing at making a pick for it, I spent a lot of time in the library, trying to read up on the Outrealm Gate. There was surprisingly little on it despite the number of books that mentioned how things happened 'in an Outrealm'. It was starting to feel like a fairytale. That is, until everyone came back.

About a week and a half after we got back to Ylisstol, I was busy trying, again, to make a pick in my room, when there was a knock at the door.

"Yes?" It opened to reveal the soldier that had been practically assigned to me standing at attention.

"I have a message for you, sir!" I sighed.

"What did I tell you about the salute?"

"Sorry, sir!"

"It's okay; your own force of habit, I suppose. What's the message?"

"The Shepherds have returned to Ylisstol, and are arriving at the palace as we speak, sir!"

"That's great! I'll be down in a minute."

"Sir!" He left the room, though probably not too far. I left what may have been my best attempt yet, which was still pretty far off, and charged through the halls. I made my way around the twists and turns of the enormous building's many hallways, until I arrived at the front door. Chrom was the first one in, waving to me as he entered the building. He was followed by every remaining Shepherd, including two new people: a boy with a pot on his head, presumably some kind of farm boy; and a girl with bright red hair tied into a ponytail. She was carrying all kinds of goods with her, trying to pawn a tome off on-

"Robin," Chrom turned back to face her, freeing her from the saleswoman, "I think someone's waiting for you." What?! Did she tell him about our thing that isn't even officially a thing yet? He gestured to me. Robin looked, blushed, then walked over.

"Feeling better?"

"Huh? Oh, the axe. Still a bit sore, but Maribelle works some mean magic."

"Good." She blushed again. "We need to talk, right?"

"Y-yeah. Hey, why don't I show you my new instrument while we do? Gotta be careful, though; paint's still drying."

"Sure." We walked in almost complete silence toward the courtyard, both of us trying to think of something to say. "So, um…" She spoke up first. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For trying to make you go into something that you didn't really want to."

"It's-"

"If you want to call it off, then we can never speak of it again."

"Look, it's okay. I've been thinking about it a lot and… I'm willing."

"You are?"

"I have no idea how long I'm going to be here; it could be the next few days or the rest of my life, and I don't want to spend any of that by myself. If you want to be there, then I'm not going to resist."

"You sure?"

"I said I gave it a lot of thought, didn't I? Plus, I've never been asked out before."

"You haven't?"

"Nope. Actually, that's a point: why do you like me?"

"What?"

"I'm an ugly, lanky, weak nerd who doesn't even belong here; what is there to like?"

"Well… you're caring, you have a good sense of humor, despite what you think you're not weak… and you did take an axe for me."

"You've done the same for me."

"An arrow to the shoulder doesn't exactly equal an axe to the chest!"

"Ye-"

"Look, that's enough talk of 'why'; now we just need to focus on the 'how'." I sighed. "Now, what's this new instrument of yours?"

"Right this way." I gestured to the courtyard entrance, pushing aside my doubts. "It's leaning up against the closest tree. Are you very interested in music, then?"

"A bit. Oh, neat!" Robin leaned down to inspect the unstrung guitar leaning up against the tree. I had managed to find a darkened cyan to paint the instrument with, however terribly. "So how do you play it?"

"Well, I haven't strung it yet, but when I do I'll show you. You're really that interested in music?"

"I'd like to give it a try, yes." Just then she gave a huge yawn. "Especially if you're into it."

"You sound tired."

"A little."

"Then go take a nap. We'd all be glad to see a refreshed Robin as opposed to a drowsy one."

"Well…"

"If we're going to be dating, trust is imperative, right? So, you trust me when I say you need a nap."

"Okay." To my utter surprise, she got up and gave me a quick hug before waving and walking out of the courtyard.

"Hugger. Okay." I followed her example, leaving the courtyard to go to my room and relax; though my relaxing involved trying to make a pick.

Before I knew it, night had come. When I noticed it seemed to be the right time to go and check if the paint was dry. I wasn't exactly expecting Chrom to be there, though. The blue-haired man was merely standing there, staring up at the night sky. I was about to say something when Robin walked in on the other side, beating me to the punch.

"Chrom? What are you doing out so late?"

"And stealing my thing, no less."

"Oh. Hello Robin; Zack. Stealing your thing?"

"Yeah; staring up at the stars."

"I'm just… duelling with some unpleasant thoughts… Tomorrow we leave for Regna Ferox again to request additional soldiers… but there's something I should tell you two first. Not everything Gangrel said was a lie. My father waged a war with them that was not kind to either side. Commonfolk were conscripted and sent to their deaths on our side, leaving nobody to feed the country. The kingdom started collapsing, and Plegia ingrained hatred of us into their citizens until the war ended fifteen years ago with my father's death. I was only young, so I didn't realize the full effects… but Emmeryn did. She was only ten when our father passed, and all the blame was shifted to her. Our own people started throwing insults and stones… she still has scars."

"That must have been hard."

"No kidding…"

"Honestly, I don't know how she does it. She's always hidden her pain under a smile; reached out a helping hand to those who mocked and shamed her; brought soldiers home; ended the war. And when it was all over, and the people 'forgave' her? She never resented them for it. She represents everything good in this kingdom; the things worth protecting. She IS peace. But so many would take advantage of her… people like Gangrel. She would never order him killed, and I wouldn't want her to. I may have to be death's messenger for all the lives that need saving…"

"Well spoken, sir." A masked figure emerged from the shadows.

"Marth…"

"Marth?!" Is this girl following us around, or what?

"Good evening to you all."

"How did you get here?"

"Through the cleft in the castle wall, behind the maple grove."

"There? But how would you… ugh."

"Would this happen to be the same place Lissa told you to go fix, Chrom?" Robin gave him a smirk.

"Yes…"

"I did not come here for idle chat; I came with a warning."

"Warning?"

"The Exalt's life is in danger."

"Emm? How? She's surrounded by guards at all hours of the day."

"What if…" Marth took a deep breath, "what if I told you I have seen the future? Would you believe me? A future where Emmeryn is killed. Here. Tonight."

"What, you think me a fool? How could I believe such a claim?"

"He believes that I'm from a different world, yet he can't accept psychics or time travel?" I whispered under my breath.

"I expected as much. Allow me to prove it." Marth drew her sword, prompting Chrom to place a hand on his own. "I'm about to save your life… from him." An assassin leapt out of the bushes, making me jump. Marth sidestepped him and sliced her sword down his back, killing him. She stood up straight and looked at Chrom. "I trust this proof will suffice?"

"Yeah…" Chrom seemed to be in disbelief despite his statement. Just then, another assassin came down from the tree, startling Marth. The assassin swung his sword at Marth, who stepped back in time to avoid being hit but slipped on the previous assassin's sword, allowing her mask to be sliced in half. Chrom ran up and slashed the assassin across the chest, ending his life. Chrom turned to look at her, disbelief still on his face.

"You… you're a woman?"

"And quite the actress, too. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't figure it out sooner."

"I thought it was quite obvious." Everyone looked at me. "What? I did." A small explosion came from within the palace, calling us to action. We all ran to the throne room only to see a multitude of assassins and mages lining the halls.

"Emm!"

"Chrom!" Emmeryn poked her head out of her room, looking very distressed. "Take Lissa and flee while you still have time!"

"No! We're not leaving; just stay where you are and we'll fend them off!"

"They should scatter if we defeat their leader." Robin turned to me. "Go stay with Emmeryn; keep her safe."

"On it." I ran into her room, managing to keep a smile on my face. "Don't worry; it'll be over soon."

"I hope so." We stood in relative silence for the next few minutes, the sounds of battle faintly echoing around the room. At some point, my wound started acting up again, and I had to clutch my side. "Are you alright?"

"I'm… fine. It's not that bad." She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Are you certain?"

"Ye-" I was interrupted by an orange-haired man with a lollipop in his mouth arriving at the door. I immediately went into my stance, ready to fight. He just smirked.

"Calm down, kid; I'm not here to fight."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Blue paid me off; I'm here to help." He pulled out an unmistakable bag of Lissa's homemade candy. "Looks like you could use it."

"Blue?"

"Yeah, guy with blue hair, has a fancy sword?"

"...You mean Chrom?"

"Yep."

"Then why didn't-" I was interrupted yet again by someone at the door, this time an assassin. A swift kick by me and a slice from the newcomer stopped him.

"Not bad, kid."

"Thanks. And it's not kid; it's Zack."

"Nice to meet you. Name's Gaius."

"Pardon me," we both turned to face a concerned Emmeryn, "but how is Chrom doing?"

"And you must be the queen or whatever." Gaius smiled and gave a small mock bow. "Well, your highness, last I saw he was doing alright. The other guys running the other way was a good sign." Emmeryn gave a small sigh of relief.

"That is… calming to hear."

"Funny way of wording it, but sure." He turned back to me. "So you were the only one left here to guard her?"

"Yeah…?"

"I might be new, but I can think of several reasons why that's a stupid idea."

"What's that supp-"

"Emm," a blue-haired individual appeared at the door, sweat covering his face. "There's someone here you should meet." I turned to look at Emmeryn, who took a deep breath, smiled, and stepped out the door in Chrom's wake.

"Guess the fighting's done." The lollipop in Gaius' mouth changed sides as he walked to the door. "That was fast." He followed them out, leaving me alone in Emmeryn's room. Well, today sure took a turn. I walked out and almost collided with Stahl, who merely smiled at me.

"Oh! Hey, Stahl."

"Perfect; just the man I was looking for."

"R...really?"

"Yeah. Lissa told me that you might want to meet Panne."

"Who?"

"Panne; she showed up during our fight. Emmeryn's talking to her right now." Raising and eyebrow, I followed Stahl to the meeting of Emmeryn and… woman? There was something very off about the figure standing not too far from the Exalt. She had very disjointed armour, as if it was meant to stretch out much farther than her somewhat spindly frame. She was also extremely hairy, often filling up so much room that it looked more like brown fur. Then my eyes fell on her strangest feature: her ears. Or, rather, ear-like appendages. She had two enormous rabbit-like ears sticking out of the top of her head. And since her conversation had seemingly ended between her and Emmeryn, she was staring at me staring at her.

"You." Our eyes were locked, making me feel very uncomfortable. "Why do you look at me like that?"

"S-sorry. Didn't mean to stare. It's just… I've never seen anyone quite like you."

"I am not surprised. Your kind drove mine to near extinction."

"...Oh. Sorry about that."

"Do not apologize. Words cannot mend the destruction your people have brought upon mine." I'll tell her later. "However, your leader's words have convinced me that there are still some of you worth saving. I am joining your quest."

"Um… great!" I turned to Stahl and lowered my voice to a whisper. "Why did Lissa want me to meet her?"

"Oh! Guess I forgot to mention it. She can turn into an enormous rabbit."

"Yep!" Lissa had appeared from out of nowhere, making both me and Stahl jump. "It's amazing!"

"That... actually sounds pretty awesome."

"You got that right!" A sly smile crossed her face. Oh, no. I dread that look. "So… I've been hearing some rumours."

"Hearing them or spreading them?"

"Little bit of both."

"Of course. And these rumours would be…?"

"That you and Robin are a thing now. Are they true?!" I took a deep breath.

"Dunno."

"Wh… what?"

"I'm not sure. You'll have to ask Robin."

"Wh… bu…"

"Also, do you know how much time I've spent with Maribelle recently? Man, does she have some interesting things to talk about; most of them centering around you." Lissa's face turned from a somewhat confident smirk to a look of absolute horror, eyes darting from me to Stahl and back again. "She seems to be on the lookout for potential suitors for you. She said that there are a few people she had in mind, one of them being a man in gr- mmmph." Lissa had shoved her hand over my mouth, giving me a death stare. I smiled under her grip, satisfied at a job well done.

"Well, she's certainly full of surprises." Chrom walked in, gave our strange scene nothing more than an odd look, and turned to Emmeryn. "And you need to get ready."

"Ready?"

"Emm, you can't stay here! This attack was made by Plegians, I'm sure of it, and there's nothing that's going to stop them trying again."

"What would you have me do, then? Leave and let my citizens go undefended? We are on the borders of war, Chrom. The people must know their Exalt stands with them."

"But if you don't come with us to Ferox, you might die here! If something like that happens to you, what then?"

"Your Grace," Frederick stepped forward, "perhaps you might consider relocating to the Eastern Palace for the time being? The other kingdoms would know nothing of it, and the people would still know you are with them."

"Yes, Emm; at least that."

"...Hm. Very well."

"Thank you. We'll give you an escort before going north to the border." With that, most of the Shepherds, and Emmeryn, dispersed, leaving myself, Lissa, and Robin standing alone in the hall.

"Well… that happened." I began to move too, wanting to get at least one string on my guitar before bed. As I passed by Robin, I quickly whispered to her. "Hey, you might get some trouble from Lissa. Don't know what you want to do about it, but I'm behind you whatever you decide." She gave a nod, and I saw the briefest smile cross her face. "Well, goodnight you two."

"'Night!"

"Goodnight." With that I was off to my room, detouring to the courtyard along the way. Things were going… differently. But it seemed like a good kind of different.

A/N: Now we can really get the ball rolling! Some great character interactions have been opened up, ideas are flowing, and I'm having a lot of fun. Oh, and before I forget, I have to mention that updates will probably start to become more infrequent because I've caught up to where I'm writing and have some new responsibilities. I'll still try to be regular, but I can't guarantee anything. With that said, if you have any questions, concerns or comments, feel free to give me a review or PM. Until the next chapter!