Chapter Twenty-One: Colm

(Frey's POV)

Ever since we had woken up, Omofrisit seemed a bit…off. He kept mumbling to himself and spacing out, and whenever he looked at me, he'd get this pained look on his face. To be honest, I was starting to be concerned for his mental health.

I tried proposing that we have breakfast, but he didn't respond, and merely continued his musings. I shook my head and decided to eat by myself.

As I walked down the ornately decorated halls of the palace, I couldn't help but think about Omofrisit. Even when I tried to listen to his mumbling, none of it made a lick of sense. But from what I could gather, he was talking about some catastrophe that involved Hershel and myself. He also kept saying that something was 'all his fault'. He was starting to worry me.

I ate my breakfast in silence, pausing occasionally to glance out the window.

I soon found myself walking back to my room. To be honest, I didn't have any idea what to do today. For the last little while, Omofrisit or Hershel has had our days planned out. But I hadn't seen Hershel since yesterday, and Omofrisit was just out of it. Hopefully he'd be a tad more normal by the time I got back.

As I neared the door to our room, I felt the ground shake slightly, followed by a loud noise. I rushed over and pulled open the door only to find the room completely empty.

However, on the floor, there was some kind of magical circle with a note sitting next to it.

Frey

I've had a vision of sorts. It would take me too long to explain it, but I can tell you that I have to find Chrom. I need you to find Hershel and keep an eye on him until I get back. This is of the utmost importance. Keep it to yourself.

-Omofrisit

What's going on? I thought we were finally safe. I thought we could all finally relax. I suppose I should have expected this though, knowing the two of them, I should have expected worse.

Well, I guess I should go find Hershel and try to keep him out of trouble.

Keyword: Try.

(Omofrisit's POV)

Ylisse. What a marvelous city. Nothing but clean streets and happy people. And yet, as I stared at it, I kept having flashes of my nightmare; the entire city burning, people screaming, and soldiers fighting desperately against those zombie-like creatures.

I shook it off and made my way towards the palace through the masses of people populating the streets.

Everyone seemed so happy. Completely unaware of the fate that would befall them. I almost felt sorry for them. But then again, my plan for world domination did involve setting a few major cities on fire, so I suppose it wasn't too bad.

I came to the palace gates only to be stopped by a couple of guards. One had a lance that was far longer than he was tall, and the other had a sword that was far too short for his towering height.

"And just where do you think you're going?" The short one asked.

"I need to speak with Chrom. It's a matter of dire importance." I said.

"The Exalt? I don't think we're supposed to let anyone in to see him right now. Isn't that right, Bob?" The tall one said.

"Right you are, Bill." Bob said.

"What were your exact instructions?" I asked.

"Let's see. They said 'No one is to see the Exalt unless they have knowledge pertaining to the location of the assassins who killed the previous Exalt.'" Bill said, obviously struggling with the big words. "Did I do good, Bob?"

"You did just fine, Bill."

"Well, if it makes any difference; I've met the Exalt on several occasions and I know where the assassins are hiding out." I said nonchalantly.

"Wha? Really?! Then right this way, sir." Bob said.

I followed Bob and Bill followed behind me. We entered the palace and I was reminded of the night in which Hershel killed the Exalt in cold blood. That was a good night.

We arrived at the double doors leading to the throne room and Bob grasped the handle of one of the doors. He gave a grunt and stopped pushing. He motioned for Bill to give him a hand. Together, they managed to push the door open.

Inside, I could see Chrom, Robin and Frederick huddled around a map with Lissa sitting in a nearby chair.

"Excuse me, milord-" Bob started.

"Not now! We are in the middle of devising a plan!" Chrom said angrily.

"But, sir!" Bill said.

"Leave me! Go back to your posts!" Chrom said.

I decided now was probably the time to say something.

"Good to see you again, Chrom." A wicked smirk made its way onto my face.

A look of recognition flashed on Chrom's face as he brought his head up to look at me.

"….You…" Chrom said in surprise.

Suddenly, Chrom's surprise morphed into anger. He leapt over the table in front of him and ran towards me, fists clenched. He swung his fist and it connected with my face. I fell to the ground but was immediately seized by my collar and pulled up.

"Give me on good reason why I shouldn't kill you here and now." Chrom said.

"Well, for one: You need my help. And two: I have important information relating to the safety of your kingdom." I smiled.

I felt kinda bad for the guy, I mean, we had just killed his sister. And then I came back, and he can't kill me? That doesn't seem very fair. But on the other hand, I hadn't had this much fun in a long time, and I couldn't wait to see what else would happen.

"…Explain."

"I know where Hershel is at. And…let's just say that there's a rather large threat hanging over your head, and over everyone else's heads for that matter."

"Guards, leave us!" Chrom barked.

Bob and Bill, startled by Chrom's command, scrambled to leave the room.

As soon as they were gone, I felt myself flying through the air. I collided with the wall and felt something crack. I managed to sit myself up and noticed that there was a sword at my throat.

"Talk." Chrom said simply.

"Well, I feel less inclined to give you the information while there's a sword point very near my neck. Perhaps we could discuss this over a cup of tea?" I suggested.

"Or, how about you tell me what I want to know, and I might spare your life."

Hmm, it seemed Chrom was nowhere near as trusting as he used to be.

"Right, well. In case you hadn't figured it out, Hershel is hiding out at the Plegian palace. And as for the imminent danger that you're in: It would seem that sometime in the semi-near future, a dragon by the name of Grima is going to lay waste to your precious kingdom." I added a smile at the end to improve my chances of survival.

Chrom's eyes went wide as he took a step back. But as soon as the surprise had come, it was gone.

"Are you sure?" Chrom asked.

"I'm fairly certain." I answered.

"If I may, how is it that you know this?" Frederick asked.

"Well, I had a, uh, dream about it. And the dream felt really real, so I came to tell you…"

Now that I had said it, it all sounded very silly. But I could feel that it was real, and that it would happen.

"Chrom, I'm of the opinion that he's either trying to distract us or he's just mad as a hatter." Robin chimed in.

"I think you may be right, Robin." Chrom said. "Frederick! Throw him in the dungeon."

"Yes, milord."

I was roughly seized by Frederick and dragged back out the door and down several hallways before finally arriving at a steel door.

Frederick unlocked the door and opened it wide. Inside, I could see nothing but darkness.

I was forced through the door and quickly discovered that there were stairs leading downward. Frederick ushered me down the stairs and past several cells.

Frederick stopped to unlock a cell and I was shoved inside.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you have an execution date within the next few days." Frederick said before slamming the door shut.

I heard the door lock and then footsteps walking away from the cell.

I sighed and sat down in a back corner of the room.

"Finally! Someone else is here!" A voice said.

I jumped up and looked around the room, not that I could see anything.

"Show yourself!" I said.

"Of course." The voice said.

A candle lit up in the other back corner. The voice was revealed to be a boy who looked vaguely familiar.

"Oh…It's you.." He said.

And then it hit me. It was the boy named Colm who had been one of the thieves at the Ylissean palace on the night of the assassination. But I felt like I had seen him somewhere even before that…

"Oh, Colm..was it?" I asked.

"...Yes. Do you remember me?"

"I remember you from that night when the Exalt was killed."

"Ah, I see." He said, seeming rather disappointed.

There was obviously something he wasn't telling me.

"Well, how did you end up here?" I asked.

"I was captured the night of the assassination and I've been here ever since." He said. "But that's beside the point. Since you're here, you can help me make my escape."

"And...how would I do that?" I asked skeptically.

"That guy said he would have your execution date set soon. That's when we'll have a chance to get out, but my plan involves two people." He answered.

"Sooo, we just have to wait until then?"

"Yep. In the meantime, we can make prison shanks…and I'll try to jog your memory." He added the last part under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing. Let's get to work on those shanks."

(Hershel's POV)

You know, once you get used to the solitude, silence, and lack of natural light, it's not so bad in here. I mean, I've got books to read. I've got candles. And I can at least talk to myself.

Bah, who am I kidding? It's miserable in here! There's no sunlight and the candles leave wax everywhere! The only thing I can actually enjoy is the books. And even then, only some of them. Most of the books are boring history books, but a few of them are books for learning magic.

In all, I've found books for wind, lightning, fire, dark and light magic…whatever the heck 'light magic' is.

I walked over to the shelves and picked out a book on the different types of magic.

I opened it up and began reading the introduction.

Light magic and Dark magic are similar and yet completely different. As its name implies, Light magic creates flashes of light when it's used, varying from dim to blinding, depending on the spell and the user's skill level. Dark magic on the other hand creates darkness.

Light magic and Dark magic are similar in the way that the power for the two types does not belong to the user, it is borrowed from a more powerful entity. For light magic, the power is borrowed from beings known as 'gods'. The gods told ancient man that man must believe in the gods in order to receive power.

Borrowing power for Dark magic is much more sinister. It was made apparent through much research that to use Dark magic, one must use the power for murder. To use it for anything else, one would have to make a pact with the being known as 'The Demon King', but this is extremely risky, it has only been known to work once. A man named Lyon made a pact with the Demon King in order to save his kingdom, but even this was only a half-success. (To read more about Lyon and the Demon King, consult 'Ancient history of Plegia')

The book went on to describe the other three types of magic.

But the part about Lyon was what caught my eye. Wasn't Lyon the name that Omofrisit said he had used long ago? And didn't he also say that he was a powerful sorcerer from the past?

Well, it seemed I would be reading the history books after all.

A/N: This chapter went on quite a bit longer than I expected it to.

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And as always, Thanks for Reading!