Excerpt Nine: The Start

When the crowd dispersed, I stomped my way to Chrom.

"How idiotic can you be?!" I yelled.

"I'm doing this to free your country from a madman!" Chrom responded.

"WITH VIOLENCE?! Did you space out during Emmeryn's speech or something?!" I thought for a moment. "Did you even listen to yourself? Plegia's handling this issue just fine without harm, just as you said!"

"That doesn't mean there's still not a problem at hand. If Plegia's unsupervised after Gangrel's overthrown, then it'll fall into complete chaos!"

"And you think us killing Gangrel's going to avert that?!"

"I…"

"Chrom, I appreciate the thought, really," I groaned, rubbing my brain temples out of frustration. "But…let's be honest, even with Gangrel dead, it'll take a miracle just to get Plegia fully functioning. Brigands are still a major problem, Risen might multiply, and many will continue living with poverty! This isn't going to fix itself in a short time!"

"I know that!" Chrom shouted. "But…the message will still ring clearly. This one act will save everyone. I just know it…"

He looked so determined, and he was being as stubborn as an ox.

"Alright," I sighed.

"You won't regret this," Chrom smiled.

He kissed my right cheek, to which I immediately responded by slapping him on the left cheek.

"What was that for?!"

"You don't randomly kiss ladies in Plegia!"

Some might take it as an endearing gesture, but it just flat out pissed me off. First Stahl says he hates me, then Chrom thinks he can just woo me like some kind of damsel in distress because he's a prince?!

Eh, whatever. I wanted to stay far away from anger as much as possible, even if annoyance had to be avoided as well.

Henry called me over to the animal stalls where the Taguel was sleeping.

"She didn't want to sleep in a human bed?" I asked.

"Nope, she said the ground was more comfortable," Henry laughed. "But I think I finally came up with a name for her!"

"Oh, that's awesome! What is it?"

"Panne."

"…Like the frying pan?"

"No, like your name with a P. She liked it a lot, but I knew it'd get confusing with you two having the same name and Anna, too. So, I came up with Panne!"

"Well, that's flattering, but why my name? It's really simple and not that unique."

"Exactly! It's easy for her to remember!"

…Ouch.

I was walking down to see Miriel when I soon felt a tug on my leg, looking down to realize Laurent was trying to get my attention. He looked like he wanted me to hold him, but he didn't really say anything.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Mommy…" he said. He then placed his head in my chest and gripped a part of my shirt. "Why's Mommy like she is?"

Oh no, oh no, OH NO! I can't make a three-year-old hate me, but I need to tell him sometime! Uh…

"Laurent, you know how I'm the dragon lady?"

"You mean the other dragon lady." Huh, he must've met the manakete girl.

"Well, the dragon in me got angry at bad people and…"

"Mommy's not bad!"

"No, I know! She's one of the nicest people ever! The dragon just got confused, is all…"

I couldn't really tell if Laurent bought that or not, but he immediately dropped the subject when he wanted down. He then ran off to Frederick.

Alright, I really needed to see Miriel now.

I entered her recovery room slowly, where I saw her in bed with bandages around her forehead and stomach, right where I hit her. It was also odd not seeing her with her hat or glasses on.

"Hey Miriel," I said quietly.

"Anne…?" She muttered. "You…almost killed me…"

"I didn't mean to. I just…anger took the better of me and I couldn't control myself. I can't tell you how guilty I feel."

"Does this happen…often?"

"No, it's been acting up since I came here. Maybe it's because I'm not used to it…How're you feeling, though?"

"Brain…hurts a lot."

Yeesh, the damage really was as bad as Frederick said it was. Guilt, don't drown me now!

"Anne…I want to ask you something."

"Which is?"

"Make sure…Laurent's okay. I can't…use magic. I can't…protect him…"

I gulped down any sense of crying I had. No more tears would be shed over this tragedy. So, I grabbed Miriel's hand.

"You have my word," I sighed.

"Thank you…"

With that, I allowed Miriel to rest.

But I had another vow I wanted to keep. Gangrel, you've done nothing but cause trouble and suffering to those you're supposed to take care of. If the good Plegian citizens haven't already attempted to do so, I'll bring you down with me to the mental hell I go through. You'll wish for death a million times over, but it'll never happen. Not. At. All. I swear it as the Fell Dragon and on my mother's grave.

Surprising how one's guilt can suddenly turn into rage for another person.

…

This must be a dream again. It was pitch black, but I felt…pure, eased at the mind, calm. The only thing that seemed to bother me was tingling sensation I got in my legs. I was covered in an ethereal blue light, my Grimleal mark didn't even appear.

Good day, my child, an indistinguishable voice echoed.

A human covered in the same light as me appeared. However, unlike me, they had butterfly wings on their back. They were knitting with red string.

"Who are you?" I asked.

I'm the Butterfly King, they replied. Their voice still sounded echo-y. Were we in a cave? But now that I think of it, it sounded a bit childish.

"Might I ask what you're knitting there?"

Your bonds.

Oh Gods, this was going to get weird fast.

A tree with no leaves appeared behind the Butterfly King, as red strings connected one branch to the other. It was a weak tree, to say the least. Soon, though, light golden spheres appeared on the branch tips.

"What are those?"

The people you forged bonds with.

THANK THE GODS IT WASN'T THE BONDS I WAS THINKING OF, THEN!

"May I…see one?"

Go ahead.

I walked over to the closest branch and reached for one of the spheres. Inside, there were times of me bonding with Virion over tactician training.

Amazing, isn't it? How something so simple can be the greatest treasure that humans share?

The Butterfly King allowed a blue-winged butterfly to perch on their finger.

The butterflies tell me you have so many more bonds to make.

"R-really?"

The Butterfly King nodded, looking directly at my left hand. Without me even knowing, a butterfly had finished tying a red knot around my ring finger.

You might not know this, but butterflies have always acted as messengers for those willing to listen. They also share the human's gift of relations, crafting these red strings as proof.

I looked over to where my red string lead itself to, and there were three figures. Judging by their builds, one was a woman's while the other two were men's. The tallest man was also quite buff. The shorter of the men (who was still taller than the woman) wore a high ponytail. I couldn't make anything else out.

"Why do you tell me this now?"

Your heart cried out when one admitted they hated you. I came here to show you that even with people who hate you, there will still be plenty of people to bond with. To care as friends, or to love. That is up to you.

I awoke after that by a knock on the door.

"Let's get moving!" Lissa shouted behind my door. "We're heading to Plegia!"

That dream, though… Maybe that was why Marth wore the butterfly shaped mask…