The next day, Chrom held a meeting with the whole Shepherds with a renewed spirit. "We cannot let the Mad King trample upon the halidom, thinking that by ending the Exalt's life, he has won," he threw his glance across the room, where everyone was staring intently at him. "Shepherds, warriors of Ylisse, would you lend me your hand to end this once and for all?"

Roxanne was the first to drop on her right knee, head bowed respectfully. "I will use whatever I have for the good of Ylisse," she vowed.

Frederick followed her, dropping to his knees with his lance lied on the ground. "I shall die before I let any more exalted blood to be spilled!"

One by one, every Shepherd followed their example, kneeling down and bowed to Chrom, proclaiming their fealty.

"Gladly would I fight and die for House Ylisse!" Stahl claimed.

"Gladly would I fight and KILL those dastards for House Ylisse!" Sully echoed with a more forceful tone.

"I will be the unbreakable shield by your side!" Sumia vowed.

"Our hearts echo your, sire…" Libra assured him.

Panne, not exactly a Shepherd, was among those who remained standing (another being Virion). However, a smile was formed on her face as she proclaimed: "Your sister earned my respect. The last taguel shall champion her."

Virion nodded approvingly at the prince. "It takes great courage and charisma to win the loyalty of these many people… I know I have such talents—but I acknowledge yours!"

Chrom was overcome by the tribute from this small group of soldiers. He knew they had come far from a simple squadron to subdue the bandits' attacks across the realm. Now, they were the finest champions of the Halidom of Yllise. He knew he really couldn't ask for any better soldiers than these people before him.

In both gratitude and respect, Chrom bowed his head—a gesture that shocked many of the Shepherds. "Thank you, everyone, for your fealty," his voice was sincere. He raised his head and looked at each one of them right in their eyes. "I vow that I shall be a leader worthy of your dedication."

Looking at the prince, Roxanne couldn't suppress her happiness. He was obviously different from the broken man she saw the previous night.

Just when they rose to their feet, the door was opened and the two khans walked in, together with a young lady who was foreign to Roxanne. The tactician immediately studied this new presence. Her most distinctive trait would be her pink hair—the same kind of pink with Roxanne's. It was tied into a ponytail at the back and braids at the sides with a white bandanna covering a portion of her head. Her white outfit was a body fit, while her limbs were covered with thin black loose sleeves. She wore dangling golden spikes at her wrists, where a scarf was tied across her back.

The young lady seemed to notice Roxanne's interest in her and she immediately brought her hands up to her lips, trembling slightly as a faint rosy blush spread across her cheeks.

"Ha! This's the time Gangrel get a dose of his vulnerary!" Flavia commented. "The whole Feroxi army is yours to send crashing against that madman!"

"Har! You youngsters—your passions run so hot!" Basilio joined in with a noisy laugh. "Count me in!"

"I'd like to go, too…" the young woman finally spoke. Her voice was so soft that it was barely audible—but it was enough to catch Chrom's attention. She blushed again when she met Chrom's eyes. "If I may… the Exalt did me a kindness once."

"She did?"

"Y-yes, Sire… it would honor me to be of part in giving her justice!" she nodded timidly, although her tone was one of conviction. "All I can do is to dance, though… and not very good at that, to be honest…"

A dancer, huh? Roxanne noted inwardly. That explains her outfit.

"Har! She's too modest!" Basilio patted her on her back, startling the dancer. "She's a Feroxi treasure! You won't find a finer dancer than she in the realm—her dances will make soldiers work twice as hard on the battlefield! You'll do good to bring her along, Commander!"

"Commander?" Chrom raised his eyebrow. "What happened to 'boy'?"

"You deserved that name… now where were we? Oh, yes, Flavia will lead me and the Feroxis against the dastard army. Should buy you enough time to take him down—hear that, boy? You get the fun part!"

Back to 'boy', I see… Chrom told himself, but not offended by it at all.

"You and Roxanne are a solid team," Basilio suddenly said, looking at both of them. "Still need some growing up to do, but I can see you growing tall!"

"Thanks, Basilio."

"Alright! Enough talk, let's smash some skulls!"

"Right."

The Plegian chief tactician, Aversa, walked towards her liege on his throne, "The enemy has taken field, milord," she reported calmly.

"Ha! Back already?" Gangrel shrill laughed filled the empty throne room. "It feels as if we just said our goodbye yesterday!"

"Reports showed they were in surprisingly high spirits," the Plegian tactician continued.

"Bah! Don't believe those reports!" He waved his hand dismissively, while propping his chin on the other palm, leaning against his throne. "They're weak as rags! I can break into their ranks easier than the wind would!"

Aversa offered him a smile on her darkened lips as she swept away her snow-white hair, a great contrast to her complexion. "I'd love to hear the songs bards make out of that."

Their conversation was interrupted by an incoming soldier. The sound of his metal boots beating against the ceramic floor echoed in an unsteady rhythm. "S-Sire!" he panted as he stopped next to Aversa. "Dire news!"

"Oh? Speak."

"Our troops are deserting en masse!"

The muscles around Gangrel's eyes twitched and his mouth curled downwards. The soldier noticed the change in expression and turned pale. "P-please sir, have mercy… I am just a messenger…"

"…outside of those serving him directly, his army has all but collapsed," Frederick finished his reports of how Plegian troops were in chaotic situation due to the en masse desertion.

"This is great… but how?" Chrom could only think of one thing. "Emm…"

"Yes, milord," the knight replied. "They chant Her Grace's name as they lay down their weapons. She is a folk hero among the Plegians."

Chrom brought his hand to his mouth. "Right…" he muttered. "How could I not understand? She knew… that all people wanted peace… even the Plegians…" he sighed heavily as he closed his eyes. "It just took her to bring that to the surface."

Roxanne, who was standing next to Chrom, put a comforting hand on the prince's tense shoulder. She then turned to Frederick. "If that's the case, ask Khan Flavia and Khan Basilio to draw out as many Plegian troops as possible and offer them the option to surrender," she explained further. "This will force Gangrel's more loyal men to come out—but their troops will have collapsed by then."

"I know Flavia and Basilio might be upset since they will not get the skirmish they seek, but assure them that they will have their share of fray once these men come out from their cocoons."

Frederick nodded. "Right away."

Thanks to Roxanne's ingenuity, the first day of the war was not really a war since all the Feroxi-Ylisse alliance did was to prompt as many Plegians as possible to surrender. Majority of them was held until the war was over as 'prisoners' but Chrom ensured that they were treated respectfully—that these were not imprisonment but simply a temporary holding. Chrom even invited these men to attend the celebration of the relatively scathe-less first day of war—a modest feast by peaceful standard but a banquet during wartime. Roxanne thought this would boost the morale of the current troops, as well as to gain the trust of the Plegian men who had surrendered.

Roxanne sat next to Chrom as Olivia took the center spot and began dancing, with Cordelia and Stahl providing the music. The scarf across her back apparently didn't hinder her movements; instead it accentuated her steps as it wrapped her body in its soft embrace. The golden bangles around her wrist made a clicking sound when it hit her metal armguards as she rotated them, giving a harmonic accent to the music. The body-fit attire exposed the smooth curves of her body for the weary men. They cheered loudly, putting up their glasses of wines as she twisted, twirled, and did a smooth pirouette. Her shy blush, instead of being a demerit, added on to her charms. Even Frederick had troubles to keep his act together in front of this dancer.

No question why she could boost the soldiers' morale.

Roxanne glanced aside. Chrom's eyes had not left the dancer ever since the latter took on the stage. He laughed merrily as he drank his wine.

The noise level of the room had made Roxanne uneasy enough, and somehow listening to Chrom's laughter—while usually would boost her spirits up—had the opposite effect today. She felt weary.

Roxanne stood up and slipped away from the party tent. She was sure that no one noticed, since they were too busy watching Olivia dancing. She flipped open the flap to her tent and threw herself to the solitary bed there.

Even from there, she could still hear the music.

Perhaps a party was not so wise, after all… she lamented.

She was jolted up from her sleep when she felt something was pressed against her mouth. When Roxanne opened her eyes, Aversa's face was already looking down at her—her dark brown eyes against her grey.

Roxanne was immediately alarmed. She tried to scream, but couldn't since Aversa's palm was blocking her mouth. All she could produce was a muffled grunt, "Mmmph! Mmmph!"

She couldn't even open her lips to bite Aversa's hand.

"Shhh… shh… calm down…" Aversa cooed. "They will not hear you, anyway… listen? They're still partying."

Roxanne indeed could still hear the music playing faintly. She presumed that it hadn't been long since she fell asleep. Roxanne surreptitiously attempted to reach for her sword, but Aversa held her wrist.

"No, no—no violence," she chided her as if she was her mother. "Be a good girl and I shall not harm you."

She casted a small lightning spell on Roxanne's hand, burning it slightly. Roxanne screamed in pain, but the Dark Flier held her down even harder.

Aversa smirked as she saw how helpless Roxanne was. "I wonder how my master would be so pleased when he learns that I got you…"

What will happen next?

Stay tuned for the next update!

Thanks for reading! Please rate and review! ^^

A/N: I know that there are many retellings of the FE plot, and I hope my story does not come out as a simple retelling of the game's script. Any suggestions on how to improve this story? Reviews are always welcomed! ^^