Fire Emblem: To Challenge Fates

by RobertHawkinz

Hoshido, Nohr, or Revelations? Three young friends debate on which is better, but when they are taken to the land itself, will their will remain strong enough to commit to their side? Can they solve the mystery behind a new malevolent force, or will they be swallowed up in the Outrealm's leaking darkness? As familiar old foes ravage the lands, the world needs a hero...

21. Robert, Chapter Four-The Yandere Queen

Robert-Chapter Four-The Yandere Queen-Divine Dragon's Forest

"What the hell do you mean I'm not going!?" Rinkah clamored at me, slamming her fists onto the table with such ferocity that the wood strained and groaned in response.

I stood my ground, "The Fire Tribe Village needs you right now, to consolidate its borders and wipe out the remnants of the Nohrian forces. If they attacked and you, their leadership, was away, and at such a tumultuous time for them..."

Rinkah bared her fangs at me, "You think my people insufficient to handle this task themselves!? You mock me to my face and dare act like it's for their good!"

"If you want to take it that way, I'll survive," I fired back, "Camilla and her forces are incredibly powerful, and if we fall, we need to keep the village sage. You staying behind is the only way I'll feel safe moving on."

Growling, Rinkah stomped out of the back of Moeru's former hut and walked off into the darkness.

I sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be easy. Rinkah was a proud warrior, and telling her she wasn't allowed to go to a major battle must have been hard for her.

Panne offered, "She reminds me of my people, manspawn. You must give her time."

"...I'm sorry, Panne. I don't... I can't deal with people too well," I admitted, scratching my head in confusion, "I could have worded this a lot better, huh?"

Panne didn't respond, and she sniffed the air, "I smell someone. A stranger. In the direction Rinkah left."

I stood up out of my chair, yawned, and stretched my arms out, "I'll go investigate, then. If you hear screaming, feel free to save me," I said it as a joke, mostly, as I opened the back door and walked into the beautiful summer night, the fireflies painting the sky a beautiful green colour as they occupied the skies above.

Transfixed by the beautiful sight, I heard an angry snarl, and when I casually trudged to where the noise had emanated from, I saws Rinkah grabbed from behind by a dark figure wearing a robe, "And Elfire..." I blasted fire from my fingertips and struck the man's back, searing through his clothes.

He let go of Rinkah and fell back, and she clubbed him once, ending his pitiful life, "This... bastard snuck up on me..."

I headed over to her, "You alright?" she nodded, so I set about inspecting the body, "Seems Nohrian, about what I expected. Hans left behind some men to harass the village, like I said."

Rinkah spat on the dead man and angrily replied, "Damn it... I lose my temper and walk into the very trap you warned me about. How am I fit to be their chieftain...?"

"Rinkah..." How would I say this right? "You're one of the strongest people I know. Not strength or fighting, but in willpower," she couldn't hide the small red tint to her cheeks, the way her lips urged to curl up in a bashful smile, or how her entire attitude had disappeared in that one moment, "You never say die or quit or give up, and despite your attitude, you're a friendly and loving person. You are more than worthy to lead them. Have confidence in yourself."

Rinkah looked away, asking in an angry tone, "What? Do you have confidence in me!?"

I nodded, and held my hand out to her, "Rinkah... Of course I do. You're a role model for me. That's why I trust you to handle this; I believe in you."

She shook her head and sighed, "Fine, if I must. But I had better be on the front lines for the rest of this war or you'll never hear the end of it."

Laughing, I shook her hand on it, "That's a promise, then."

And that was how I managed to convince Rinkah to stay behind as the rest of us made camp in the center of the Grass Tribe Village. I had a long and arduous time convincing them I meant no harm, but in the end, they refused to aid my cause. I thanked them for their time, regardless, and steeled myself for the offensive that would soon occur.

The Yandere Queen would be outside the town by morning. And I, who wanted to spare my friends the inevitable fate of death when she struck, had snuck out to battle them alone. Was it stupid? Of course, but without the aid of the Grass Tribe Healers, I couldn't send Lucina and the others to their deaths.

That was how I found myself in the center of the Divine Dragon's Forest, praying for protection as I made the final steps into the enemy camp.

My main objective was dealing with Mama Murder, Red Tsunday, and Silent Slayer. Code names for Camilla, Selena, and Beruka, obviously.

That and the contingency of like twenty soldiers that they had brought. Nohrian dark mages, knights, some wyvern riders and Faceless. I should have expected no less; Garon really sought my death, I thought to myself. I'd just have to resist him in this one fight, and I'd be free to deal with Hoshido.

I held my tome to my chest and aimed my hand at one of the Faceless, but right before I could unleash the spell, I stumbled and fell from the branch, crashing through a couple more before finally collapsing onto the ground in a pile of dirt and grass.

I slowly rose to my feet only to find all of the soldiers had surrounded me, "H-hey, guys? Come here often?"

The dark mages launched a volley of fire magic as the Faceless charged in. Rising to my feet, I decapitated one of the Faceless. The monstrous freak continued moving towards me, forcing me to strike it down again.

The fire grazed my shoulders and singed the right side of my face. I yelped in pain and gripped my bag. Ripping out a vulnerary, I downed it, and scrunched up my face in disgust as the burn faded away. Now would be a good time for firebending, huh?

Weaving fire around myself and my sword, I fired it in all directions, striking down two of the mages. My flaming sword, my Shishkebab if you will, made it significantly easier to slice and cleave the multiple Faceless surrounding me. They were big, dumb, clumsy, and numerous; the best kind of random enemy mook to slay.

A knight tried to strike me down, and his lance knocked me off of my feet and into a tree trunk. As the bark cracked, a wyvern rider tried to pierce me. Dodging at the last second, I blasted him off of his steed with a wind spell and struck the wyvern's neck with Yato, cleaving through it like butter.

The wyvern stumbled and fell on top of the knight that had attacked me, crushing him. I sighed and thanked my lucky stars while drinking another vulnerary. I can do this; I can tank this.

"Oh my~..." I opened my eyes, and in the remains of the camp, where the remaining mages had lost control of the Faceless, who had begun killing them instead, a trio of fighters appeared on the ledge overlooking the camp. Two rode their mighty wyverns, the last tried to kill me from afar with just her angry glare.

Realizing the enemy commander had showed herself, I greeted her, "Welcome, Lady Camilla. Come to assassinate me, correct?"

Camilla turned to her silent retainer, "Deal with those rogue beasts, darling."

Beruka nodded, and swooped in on her wyvern, cleaving through the Faceless and mages alike. Brutally and efficiently did she slay the entire group, the blood covering her armor and ally. Wiping her face clean with her sleeve, she rejoined her master's side in a matter of moments, "Mission complete," she said without a hint of emotion.

"So this is the rogue lord that presented Daddy Dearest such trouble?" Camilla asked in that same, sinister tone when she would then threaten to rip Corrin a new one, "I was expecting something more... substantial."

Standing up and revealing Yato, I laughed off her attempt at prodding me, "I was chosen by the Blessed Yato, I'll have you know. I intend to save this world; and your crazy psychotic father is certainly not going to be spared in this new world," I tried to reason with her, "You must see it, too, don't you? Throwing away Corrin like garbage, ordering the deaths of innocents and even his own men... You must know your father has changed."

Selena defended her master, "Shut up! You don't know anything about Camilla or her family! Camilla, I'll take care of this guy myself!"

Selena jumped down from the ledge she was perched on and drew her blade, stepping towards me, "In Camilla's name, I will strike you down!"

"Really? But Severa," she gasped, "What would mother Cordelia say about that?"

"Wh-why do you know that name!?" Her voice cracked, and I could see her facade had been broken already, "How do you know who I am!?"

I stabbed Yato into the earthy ground before me, "Oh, you mean about Anankos sending you, Owain, and Inigo to infiltrate the Nohrian royal family to protect the royal, his child? Odin Dark, Lazlow, and Selena, right?"

Selena glared at me and stampeded, barreling down the path for me. Our swords clashed, and I smirked as her abilities had been hampered by my psychological warfare, "You don't know anything, idiot! I'm a loyal Nohrian!"

"Would it shake you to know Corrin is the child of Anankos?" Selena hesitated, and I continued, "You chose wrong," Covering myself in flames, I directed a single punch to her unprotected face, knocking her through the dirt and grass.

Groaning, she stood up, "Son of a... I won't be beaten by the likes of you!"

I coated Yato and myself in more flames, the secret techniques passed down to me by Rinkah and the other Fire Tribe Elders. I thanked them silently as I moved with the burning force of a raging fire, clashing with Selena once more. She stumbled, and with another strike, I sent her crashing into the ground.

After a couple of flips, she finally landed in one of the tents, creaking out in pain, "Ch-cheater..."

I was going to pat myself on the back for that victory, but my gloating was cut short when Beruka's axe slammed right into the center of my back. With her wyvern's feet, she delivered a mighty kick, sending me flying into a nearby tree and slamming against the hardened bark.

Coughing up blood, I downed an elixir I had gotten from one of the more thankful villagers in the Fire Tribe, and turned my fiery blade on my new enemy, "Beruka, the silent assassin. A poor Nohrian child taken in by an experienced assassin," I didn't know as much about Beruka as Camilla or Selena, but I knew she was quite precious beneath that icy exterior, "Let our battle speak for itself."

Beruka grinned, just slightly, before her mask came back on, and she rampaged through the campsite, knocking away a couple of barely living Faceless as she felled them both in one strike. Damn, she looked majestic... As she came to kill me, I powered up the furnaces in my body and my soul. Moving in a circle, I created a spiral of flames and moved it in her direction.

Her wyvern braved the fires for her, and she struck out with her axe again. Jumping to strike her, I took the full brunt of her attack, but my blade managed to knock her off balance, and we both tumbled to the ground.

She jumped up to her feet at superhuman speeds and struck me with the axe again, knocking Yato from my hand. She struck me again in the chest, sending blood flying as I stumbled back, biting my lip to numb the pain. It didn't work.

Beruka reared her axe back, but in the last moment, she showed just the slightest bit of hesitation. That was enough for me; I decked her in the face. She fell to the ground and got up again, her fists raised. Right, an assassin knows unarmed combat, too...

Wiping my blood off on the grass, we met and fought. Every time I tried to punch her, she dodged and hit me, and for every time I did hit her, she hit me back harder. The one advantage I knew I had came up when she reared back to deliver a powerful uppercut. I opened my palm and blasted her entire body with as much thunder as my palms would allow before the burns hurt too much.

As she struggled to move her now paralyzed body, I punched her as hard as I possibly could imagine, so hard that it replayed it three different times.

As she crashed into the ground, her wyvern headed right for me, but I jumped out of its way, "...Gods... I'm not going to hurt her now..." I stumbled to Yato and grabbed my elixir, drinking the rest of the magical tonic in a single spurt of thirst.

Camilla, still riding her own wyvern, had been watching the battle with much disinterest at first, but now she was enthused by my performance, "It's been a long time since someone had ever defeated both of my retainers. You've intrigued me enough... Alright, I'll kill you myself."

"Let me guess... Garon threatened Corrin otherwise?" Camilla's eyes widened, and I nodded, knowingly, "I expected as much. Corrin's a loyal Hoshidan now, though. You know when Garon invades, he won't spare her. Do you want to have to watch her die anyway?"

"If I perform my best-"

I stopped her, "He would never spare her. He despises her. He only took her to use as a fucking pawn, Camilla! The dad who loved you is dead! And he'll order you to kill Corrin! What would you do, then!? Die for her? Kill her!? You love her, don't you!?"

Camilla grimaced, and in that moment, I saw true reluctance in her. That faded into the scariest scowl I'd ever seen, "I will not be talked down by an enemy of Nohr;" she grabbed her axe from her back and sliced through the air with great skill and speed, "Your death is my objective; then I'll save Corrin myself!"

She called her mighty ally, whom I would name Malvado, and the duo came down from the perch at high speeds. How could I beat a flying enemy?

Conjuring up the strongest wind storm I could, I filled it with thunder and fire. This was a magic I'd been working on, and with all of my magical prowess, I whipped it in her direction. Malvado attempted to protect its rider from the mighty storm, but the combination of wind and thunder crippled him, sending him crashing into the ground.

Camilla fell off of her steed, but landed on her heels, not skipping a beat. She dragged her axe through the dirt as she screamed, charging at me with every ounce of strength she had, "You won't... Defeat me!"

"I probably knew that coming into this..." I said to myself, "But to protect the village, to protect my friends... I'll try anyways!" And we struck each other. Camilla grabbed her side and slumped to the ground, coughing and gagging on spit and sweat that had coagulated in her mouth and nearly blocked her windpipe.

I felt her axe cleave my body in two, or so it felt like it. Blood erupted from the giant gashes in my shoulders, and with no vulnerary or elixir left, I fell to my knees, "...Yeah, about what I expected..." I wiped the blood off of my lip and cursed to myself, "I'm a damn fool..."

I heard Camilla struggle to her feet, using her own weapon as a walking stick so she could limp her way over to me, "You didn't hit me as hard as you could have. Could have killed me... But you didn't."

"No shit," I shot back, turning to face my beautiful executioner. Even soaked in her own blood mixed with mine was she a ravishing sight, "I never wanted to kill you. I want you to live for Corrin, not die for her..." I felt pain surge through my arm and I doubled over, face against the ground to take the pain of keeping myself up away, "I..."

A lot of memories came to mind as Camilla slowly dragged herself in a desperate bid to finish her mission. Memories of myself with Magnus and Chester, and with her... I promised her a long time ago that I'd never throw my life away.

That was how I had made it this far, and it was all for naught. I smiled, knowing my impending death was imminent. I didn't just give up and die... I fought to live. I fought for a future I wanted. Isn't that what you wanted...? Josie?

Camilla raised her axe, "You were... a worthy opponent, Robert. I'll remember this fight."

"Glad...to have left an impression," I chuckled, one of my eyes closed due to blood leaking from my cut forehead, "Let's cut this short..."

"Agreed," Camilla brought the axe down into my thigh with a sick thud, and as I screamed out in pain, she sighed, "...Damn... I can't... Move my..."

Camilla fell over onto the ground next to me, and I could tell she was still breathing, but she'd fallen unconscious. Hey, that means I won by knockout, right?

Her axe was still halfway into my thigh, though, and with how badly I was bleeding, i could feel my consciousness dimming. I heard a noise, and when I finally fell onto my back, I saw Beruka approach me, bleeding and bruised, her axe over her shoulder.

As her shadow crept over me, and she stared down at me, I smiled, "Hey... Guess this is goodbye, Beruka... Do me a favor," she eyed me, tilting her head slightly, "Smile more, huh? You're cute when you..." My eyes closed just as I saw her lower her axe and moved it upwards in an arc.

Hey, I tried, right?

Lucina cursed to herself as she ran down the stairwell and shouted to her comrades, "That stupid bastard left without us!"

"What!?" Maribelle shot up from her seat, "Of all the nerve, he would leave us behind like this. What should I have anticipated from a commoner..."

Panne smelled the air, "I can track him easily, but... I don't like it. The scent is tainted, it smells of iron. Blood."

"Gods... How stupid can he be!?" Lucina was still in shock. In a fit of anger, she cut through his favorite table with Falchion, shouting in anger.

Shade came out of her room, yawning, "In the middle of my nap and all, how inconvenient. I'll make him pay for this one."

Nyx dryly commented, "Pay what? Your fee?"

"Ohoho, I see," Shade glared at her, "Maybe we can afford the surgery for you. Since, you know... You look like a prepubescent boy and all. We could fix that," She grinned as Nyx glared at her, shade covering her eyes.

"Enough with the arguing..." Emma said, readying up her pegasus, "We have our leader to save."

Nyx frowned, "I can't see why we should. He wanted to handle this himself; let's let him do what he wants."

Lucina quickly got into her face, "Are you that selfish? He saved your life, and you won't even-"

"He left us here to protect us, didn't he?" Felicia, who had remained quiet, said her piece, "Would we make a difference? Probably, but if a single one of us died, he'd never live it down."

"That's stupid! This is war! People die!" Lucina exclaimed, "That's no way for a team leader to behave!"

Panne deadpanned, "So you never did brash shit? Like going back in time and potentially destroying the universe?"

Lucina winced, but stood her ground, "I was young once, I know that. What choice did I have!?"

"And how do you think he felt about this?" Felicia shot back, "Getting us killed because of his own mistakes... Wouldn't that be close to how you felt? Letting your father down?"

Oh, dear. That one stung, Panne knew it by the smell. Anger had a palpable scent to it.

"Whatever..." Lucina shook her head, "It's... We should go find him, regardless. I won't let him die if I can help it!"

"Suddenly you care?" Maribelle teased, "Aren't you the one always bringing his mood down?"

She sighed and walked to the edge of camp, "Would you all get yourselves focused on the task at hand? I don't have time for rumours."

And with that, the small group trudged out to find their leader, but the camp was abandoned when they arrived. They found the many bodies of Faceless, Nohrians, and the stains of battle, but the Lord and the three commanders were no longer there.

The Grass Tribe was said to be an ancient village, one that participated in a great war three thousand years ago, back when only the Nature Tribes existed. Back then, seven countries, each a land of magic, fought for control. The Nature Tribe, which eventually renamed itself the more peaceful Grass Tribe; the Water Tribe, the Wind Tribe, the Fire Tribe, the Earth Tribe, the Ice Tribe, and the Dark Tribe.

No one knows the exact results of the war, but the end saw the rise of Nohr in the lands scarred by the Dark Tribe's many conquests. The Grass Tribe had severed communications with the other Tribes long ago, and had developed an isolationist stance to life.

That was until the country of Nohr slaughtered half of the village in the western half of the forest for the sake of expansion; in truth, Garon had them killed just to force the Ice Tribe to capitulate in fear and sorrow.

That was why, when three incredibly wounded Nohrian royals entered the village, with the body of a fallen warrior on the wyverns they once rode, they were suspicious. However, one of the village's new shamans was one of the few willing to speak with them.

She had darker skin than the Nohrians, a nice, deep tan, red eyes, and short blonde hair with extended bangs that covered her right eye. She was as tall as Selena, though she was built more like Camilla and Beruka, with her fit body covered by an armor made of tree bark and metal woven together through ancient magicks, "What is it that the strangers want? Have you come to burn our village again?"

She didn't say it with a layer of hostility, but as if it was factual and accurate; no inflection in her words or sign of emotion.

"We... My retainers told me that this village has developed some intriguing medicines and magical skills. While our vulneraries were sufficient for the wounds of my retainers and I... Our opponent, he's too far gone for that. If you can't do anything, he'll die."

The girl approached the barely breathing man, "He's been gratuitously wounded. I assume this is the work of you Nohrians?"

Camilla nodded, "Fathe... Garon ordered us to kill him, or he would have my sister killed. We fought, but in the end, he convinced my retainers to spare him. I don't know if it's the right thing to do, but... I know Corrin wouldn't want me to kill innocents like this."

"Nohrians!" Camilla turned to be greeted by Lucina and the rest of Robert's team, "So you captured him! What, do you intend to attack this peaceful village!? Or worse, to hold it hostage!?" Felicia was surprised by Lucina's brazen accusations, but she smiled, knowing the truth of the situation.

"That is not-" Camilla tried to defend herself, but the man of the hour spoke up.

"L... Leave her... alone..." I strained with all of my might to speak, feeling my entire body shutting down, "I..."

Selena stepped up to the shaman, "So, whatever your name is. Can you save him or not? We don't have all the time in the world to argue about it."

"I don't..." She felt a tap on her shoulder, and her village's elder was there, his face more mustache and beard than actual skin by that point. He whispered to her, and she nodded, "The Elder has decided. Due to the actions committed both by Nohr to our village in the past, and to the ambitions of this young man... The Grass Tribe will..."

Medicine, even super magical Yggdrasil medicine, tasted profoundly disgusting. I thought of voicing this thought aloud, but Felicia's kind smile told me she'd panic if I did. So instead, I shut my mouth.

Apparently, my performance somehow moved Beruka to join my team. Selena, meanwhile, had nothing better to do, especially since her past had been revealed to her teammates. She eventually decided to stay with Camilla out of loyalty.

As for Camilla, she decided to continue life as my 'captive', though what it really meant was an excuse for her to quit Nohr's overbearing bullshit. I promised that we'd protect Corrin from Garon's wrath, and that was nearly enough to convince her to join me.

Why only nearly? Well...

"Dear, are you certain? I could give him the medicine myself," Camilla pleaded with Felicia, "I can just imagine how soothed he'd be to sit on my lap as I bottle fed him the herbal doses myself..."

I felt my heartbeat pick up just then, "Oh, gods..."

Camilla forced her way past Felicia, much to her chagrin, as she pouted at her, "But Lucina asked me to do it..." She reluctantly handed Camilla the small bottle of herbs that the shaman girl had prepared for me.

The Grass Tribe had long isolated itself from the outside world, but the Elder saw this as an inevitable decay. As such, once he heard of my defense of my friends, and of the village, he threw in his lot with us. He was helping establish communication lines with the Fire Tribe, and with his aid, Rinkah would be back in our group in a day or two.

More than that, Kyouko, the shaman that had given Camilla a chance, was assigned to me as the Grass Tribe's contribution to the main war party (outside of the village's defenders, of course). Kyouko was an experienced shaman, which meant she knew a variety of incredible long-lost magic and fighting techniques, despite her young age.

Camilla finally moved me, picking me up by the back of my shirt and lifting me up onto her lap. Her plump thighs and bountiful harvest (ahem) pressed against me as she put the bottle to my mouth, "I'll take care of everything, Robert. Until we find Corrin... Then I can have you both sit on my lap and-"

"I don't know if she'll agree to that," I joked, but Camilla ignored me.

"It's been a long time since I've felt... at peace with Father," she admitted, talking freely for once, "What you said resonated with me... I just wish my brothers would see it that way..."

I shook my head, giving her a confident smile, "It's alright if you're scared, Camilla. We're going to save Nohr; your family included."

Camilla sat back against the chair she was in, her eyes closed as she thought about it, peacefully content, "I don't know if we'll survive this war. But I know I won't regret leaving..." she pulled me closer to her for a hug, and I was thankful I wasn't Magnus or I'd have bled a bit from my nose.

Eventually, I managed to convince her to let me visit some of the others before I went to bed. Knocking on her door gently, I heard her call me inside.

"How'd you know it was me?" I asked, noticing Lucina was sitting on the edge of her bed, her armor off. She wore a simple white shirt underneath it all, and it looked quite comfortable.

"You're the only one who would come in uninvited. Everyone else interacts during normal hours," she harshly reprimanded me, "They also don't run into a trap alone."

That reminds me, I'd have to recruit Setsuna later, "...Yeah, I... I screwed up. Even if it did work out, I did something wrong. I should be able to trust you guys more."

She got up off of the bed and approached me, "You guys? You're the only one."

"Oh, right," I laughed at that, "I didn't notice that... No wonder I'm the weak link of the team," I joked, "I mean... Shit. I didn't mean-"

"I know what you meant," She stopped me in my tracks and put her hand on my shoulder, "Just... Don't go rushing in like that anymore. Okay?"

I nodded, staring back into her eyes, noticing the emblem within, "I promise you, I won't. And I mean it this time."

She nodded, "Better not. Next time, I might not forgive you."

I bid her goodnight and headed to my room only to find the door was ajar, When I stepped inside, I noticed that there was someone inside. I couldn't tell where immediately, and that set off my paranoid anxiety levels to skyrocketing.

Who was in my room? I felt a sudden chill when the door behind me closed, and by the time I turned around, it was too late.

Felicia was in my room, and she had hidden behind my door, "...Um, Robert. I wanted to come talk to you about something. Not when everyone else was around."

"Embarrassed about something? You know you can be honest with me; I don't judge." Unless you like, kill puppies and revel in it. But I'd not suggest that. Not out loud, anyways.

"I know you talked to Lucy about this already, but..." Lucy? "I wanted to know why you... went off alone. Is it because of me?"

I should have expected that my plan wouldn't have been taken well. Thank God Rinkah hadn't been here, "What? Why would you think that?" I walked up to her and placed my hand on my hip, "What's wrong?"

Felicia teared up a little, "It's just... I'm no good at being a maid. All I'm really good at is fighting, and if you won't let me do even that... What good am I to you...?"

"Felicia, a maid is not defined by what duties they perform," I spoke with confidence, for I had read this once, "A maid is defined by their loyalty, their eagerness to better themselves, and their commitment to bettering the lives of others. I'd say you have all that."

"But..." she stopped herself, "No... I know what you'll say already..." She wiped her eye clean, "You remind me of Lady Corrin. You're always so kind to me, whether I deserve it or not..."

I brought her in for a hug, bringing her close to me, "And you deserve it, Felicia. You don't understand how much I value my friends. You've been with me since the start, and I... I'm only still here thanks to you."

Felicia looked into my eyes, biting her lip and straining for her voice to be heard. Whatever was on her mind, she ignored it, "I'll continue to be there for you, milord..." She smiled up at me, and in that moment i felt something in my heart. Indecision. What was this feeling welling up in me?