Fire Emblem: The Dark King

Chapter 13

The sun sank into the horizon, and the trees lost their leaves to the ground. A cold mist crept into the valley, clouding out Jira's view of her instructor, the legendary Fiora. Wake up, wake up child… A metallic voice called out to Jira in her dreams, interrupting her pegasus knight training. The training had been a part of her dreams ever since she was about three years old, even though Jira had never tried it before… in fact she had never even thought of bringing a pegasus knight; it just didn't seem like something she would be good at, and plus Jira preferred knives and swords to lances in any case.

It's time to wake up! The voice felt and sounded like sharp fingernails against a chalkboard, and Jira winced as she felt herself being jerked from her sleep and into consciousness once again. She blinked, and felt a warmth on one of her breasts, and immediately she was wide awake. "Eh….!!!!" She screeched, and sat up quickly, her long red hair plastered to her body. She was soaked in sweat, and breathing hard. Suddenly she felt dizzy, and her vision blurred. I sat up too fast… she thought faintly, and collapsed back onto the ground.

Taking a few deep breathes, Jira pushed herself up to a sitting position and leaned on a tree trunk, which was conveniently right behind her. One of its branches stretched out, as if offering an arm to her to lean on. She accepted the offer and leaned back into the tree's embrace, resting her head against the branch. Collecting her scattered thoughts, Jira smoothed her short green kimono out and straightened her obi, secretly checking to make sure that all of her hidden knives were in place. Her traditional Japanese fan stuck out of her obi, distracting her opponents' view towards it and helping to hide the slight rises that the knives made in the folds of the silk wrapped around her waist.

Hazel eyes narrowed and Jira quickly looked around her, eyes darting around like dragonflies on water. She spotted her slim sword right beside her hand and relaxed. She may be a tactician, but before she set off from home she had been taught how to fight, even if it was just a little. Jira always took comfort in knowing that she somehow could defend herself.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jira turned her attention back to her current problem: The boy whose hand just a few seconds before had been resting on her breast. She blinked, and relaxed. It was just Max. A scowl crept onto her face once again: even if it was Max, he really didn't have a right to start "feeling her up", as some would call it, while she was sleeping.

"Explanation?" She managed to croak out. Her throat was dry, her tongue parched from lack of water. She raised one of her eyebrows as she waited for him to speak, in the meantime accepting the flask he handed to her.

Max cleared his throat uncomfortably and fidgeted on the ground where he was sitting, a blush creeping across his face. "Uh… Sorry?"

Jira raised her eyebrow even higher, but accepted the answer as she realized that it was probably the best she was going to get. She took another swig of water and then handed the flask back to him as she wiped her mouth across the back of her hand. Making sure her voice was low, for the others in their little band of mercenaries were fast asleep, "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" she asked him, changing the subject. His figure was illuminated by the moonlight creeping through the roof of the cabin, and Jira smirked as she saw him relax visibly from the change of subject. He actually doesn't look half bad…she thought, tipping her head to the side to get a better look. She watched the moonlight play across him, illuminating his features. Almost instinctively, Jira's eyes moved down to rest on his lips, which were moving…

"What?" She blinked, snapping out of her reverie and blushed, turning away to busy her eyes on the sleeping forms of her friends. She couldn't help it, and her naughty eyes found their way to her male companions, covered only by blankets brought from their homes. Jira blushed an even deeper shade of red and then looked back to Max. She blinked again, "Ehhh?!" She screeched. Max covered her mouth with his hand quickly before anyone awoke. Jira cursed as she felt her face grow even hotter than before. She brought her hand up and took Max's hand away from her face.

Confused and desperately needing some fresh air, Jira stood abruptly and walked out of the little shelter. As she stepped out of the doorway, Jira took a deep breath and sighed with relief as she felt herself cool down. What's this feeling, damnit?! She thought desperately, and walked further away from the cabin. She sat on the bank of the river at the edge of the island, but made sure the wooden shelter was still in sight. No need to get lost. Jira looked around to her side, inspecting the landscape and saw…. Max.

"Holy shit, what the fuck are you thinking creeping up on me in the middle of the night?!" She screamed, thankful that her voice was lost to the wind, preventing her sleeping friends from waking.

"Ssshhh, just didn't want you to get lost." He murmered softly. He cupped her face in his palm and turned it towards him. Jira gasped, her eyes widening in surprise. Closer, closer… Suddenly she felt a pressure in her chest. It was the same thing that she had felt building up within her all that night. That's why she had wanted to go swimming earlier. The pressure built up untill the pain was unbearable, and Jira screamed, bringing her hands up to clutch her chest. Then the pain exploded, and everything fell away from her grasp. What's wrong with me?