The Gaiden Chapters

Chapter 50: At the Foot of the Tree (Basilio)

It had been a long, hard, three months for the army. The loss of Chrom had been a huge blow to their morale and as they tramped along they looked more like refugees than soldiers. It had taken the combined effort of Flavia, Frederick, Lino, and Basilio to keep the army from falling apart at the seams. Through sheer force of will they had managed to keep a steady pace as they retreated to the only sanctuary they had on this continent, the Mila Tree. At their back was the Daathian Army who had been chasing after them ever since they escaped the city. If nothing was done they would soon catch up and a battle was inevitable, a battle no one thought they could win.

Glancing back at the horizon behind them Basilio breathed a sigh of relief, they couldn't see any pursuers yet. Turning his attention back to the front he looked at one of the carriages. It had been a unanimous decision by all the leaders to put Ursula in chains. Despite her insistence that she had tried her best to avert Chrom's fate the fact that she had the blood of two Exalts on her hands made her extremely suspicious. Only Basilio knew that she was not at fault thanks to Tiki's warnings but he had no hard evidence to prove her innocence. Quietly he agreed with their plans to imprison Ursula out of necessity. If they began to argue amongst themselves that would be the end of their army.

Feebly attempting to find some way to improve their situation he racked his brain for some kind of idea but came up with nothing. If Tiki couldn't help them they were done for. In the distance he could see the great Mila Tree thrusting its branches proudly into the sky. 'The tree was planted by Mila herself to watch over the world,' he recalled remembering a few lines from the Sancta Draco 'It is considered sacred ground as well as a sovereign state ruled by Tiki, the Voice of Naga.' According to Say'ri there was a large town nestled within the roots of the Mila Tree that hosted thousands of pilgrims a year. On the boughs were temples, the higher you went the more sacred the ground you trotted on. Ordinary men could not climb up that far, priests and monks could climb up pretty far but were barred from the very top where the Voice resided. Only the high priests who attended her and a few special people had permission to ascend so high, the Exalt would be counted among them.

Thankfully they made it there just in time. If they had been two days slower the Daathian army would have caught up to them for sure. As they passed over the border the entire army seemed to sigh in relief. The town was more than willing to accept them, apparently they had been expected. As he opened the door to the room at the inn he was assigned and saw the bed Basilio came close to tears. The thought of a hot bath and a warm meal plus eight hours of solid sleep was all he ever wanted. Falling onto bed he savored the softness of the mattress which was lined with goose down but try as he might he couldn't get to sleep. The weight of what had happened the past few weeks hung heavy upon him and kept circling through his mind over and over. With a grunt he pushed himself out of bed and quietly padded out of the inn. Making sure to stay as inconspicuous as possible he made his way over to the wagon Ursula was in. Knocking on the canvas he whispered "Are you up?"

He heard her give an irritable sigh "I am now. Come in." Pushing back the curtain he stepped up into the wagon. The disgraced tactician gave him a wan smile "What brings you here? Your nice warm bed not comfy enough?" She bit as she gestured to her own bedding material, a thin layer of patchy straw.

Silently he bent down and unlocked the chain on her arms and legs "Come on, you can bunk with me tonight."

She sneered at him "Feeling guilty?"

"Yeah," he admitted "But I did what I had to do. You can hate me all you want but would you rather do out here with no food or warmth or in my room?"

She grimaced at him "Well if you put it like that." Grabbing two boxes that had been set beside her she tried to push herself up onto her feet but couldn't. Whenever she put any weight on her legs it was like stabbing fistfuls of pins and needles into her flesh. Biting back a scream she eased her way back into her sitting position "On second thought I'll stay out here."

Basilio knelt down next to her "How long were you sitting in this position?" he asked. She didn't say a word and refused to meet his eyes. "Hours?" No answer "Days?" Still no answer. He sighed "You are one stubborn idiot, you know that?" In one motion he swept her up into his arms bridal style and carried her out of the wagon.

Even the smallest touch on her legs set her nerves on fire. "Ow, ow, dammit!" she hissed clawing at his back "That hurts!"

"Well that's what you get for being stupid and not stretching." He lectured her "Now be quiet and hold still. I don't want to get caught." When he got back to his room he laid her down on the bed and fetched some skins of hot water. Grabbing some bandages out of his pack he tied them to her legs so that the heat would relax her muscles. "This is going to sting for a bit," he told her as he began to gently massage the backs of her knees.

Clawing at the sheets Ursula swallowed a shriek; she wanted to get through this with some haggard shred of dignity. It took an hour but eventually the pins and needles faded away and she could finally feel Basilio's finger's on her thighs. Taking short little gasps she savored his touch, she had missed him a lot more than she would have guessed. But it wasn't enough. Like a strike of lightning she grasped the fur collar of his cloak and brought him towards her. Smashing her lips against his she moaned in content as she kissed him. Basilio grunted in surprise but didn't resist and deepened the kiss; he had missed her just as much. Climbing up onto the bed with her he slipped off his shoes and pushed her up against the head board. Weaving his fingers in her golden hair he slid his other hand down her back and pressed her up against him. Completely overwhelmed by him Ursula sighed as they came up for breath. He began to kiss her face, her cheeks, the side of her chin, as he slowly made his way down her neck.

"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

With a jolt Ursula pushed him away from her as if he had undergone spontaneous combustion. Swiveling her head back and forth she found the intruder masking her grin with her hand like the polite lady she was. "Tiki!" she roared "What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk but…" the manakete giggled "It looks like you're busy right now."

Basilio sighed as he patted down his wrinkled clothes "You might as well stick around, the moment's gone." He glared at her "Nice cockblock, kid."

"Thanks," Tiki said dryly "I've had centuries of practice."

"I bet," Basilio grumbled before settling back on the bed "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"I wanted to know about what you're plans for the future are," she replied "And discuss some topics with you guys one on one."

"What kind of things?" Ursula growled feeling suspicious.

"Why don't we discuss it over tea tomorrow?" she offered "I'll invite the others too so we can plan our next move."

"Our?" Basilio repeated "What do you mean by 'our'?"

She smiled "That's for me to know and you to wonder about. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that she leapt back through the window she had climbed through before they could ask any more questions.

They sat there for a minute trying their hardest to think of some way to dispel the awkward tension that had formed between them. "Well, I guess we should go to bed." Basilio said after a long moment. Ursula just huffed; she was really ticked off at Tiki for dropping in at the worst moment possible. Amicably patting her on the back Basilio lowered himself onto the floor. "Good night."

"Woah, woah, woah, wait just a damn minute!" Ursula shouted poking her head over the side of the bed "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The khan gave a great big yawn "Going to bed?"

"On the floor? Like hell you are!" she smacked the mattress "Get back up here right this second."

He grinned at her "Nah, I don't think it's a good idea for us to sleep in the same bed yet." Reaching up he tweaked her on the nose "Besides the floor's pretty comfy." Basilio placed his hands under his head. Flabbergasted at his attitude Ursula briefly entertained smacking him but she suddenly had a much better idea. Chucking over a few blankets over the side of the bed she lowered herself onto his chest. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked.

Leaning forward so that their faces were inches away she smiled at him "Going to bed, good night." And with that she laid her head down on his chest and fell asleep like the cheeky bitch she was.

"Well played," Basilio muttered. She was so light that her weight on top of him was no hindrance at all. Curling an arm over her midsection he snuggled her close and followed her into dreamland.

They were rudely awoken the next morning by someone banging on the door. "Basilio, you up?" Flavia called to him "The Voice of Naga has invited us to breakfast with her."

Groggily Basilio woke up wondering why the hell he was on the floor. Looking down he saw that Ursula was there with him and he remembered what had happened last night. During the night they had gotten all tangled up with each other, currently he was spooning the tactician. If Flavia caught them in such a compromising situation there would be hell to pay. "Uh…yeah, I'm up!" he yelled back at her.

"Can I come in?" she asked "I need to discuss something with you." Even while she was asking for permission she was turning the door knob.

"W-wait!" he stuttered "Don't come in…I'm…uh… naked." He could practically see her face as she recoiled in horror.

"Well hurry up and get dressed!" his fellow khan snapped "I'll be waiting for you outside." With that she tramped back down the hall towards the door.

"Nice save," Ursula commented patting his arm "I liked that bit about the naked part. I don't suppose there's a remote chance of that coming true, would it?"

"You wish," he snorted as he untangled himself from her.

Sighing in disappointment Ursula headed for the window "Don't worry about me, I can find my way back to the wagon."

Before she could clamber out he grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a deep kiss "See you later," he said before heading after Flavia.

"You're going to drive me crazy!" she shouted after him feeling frustrated and horny.


As the sun rose in the east the leaders of the Resistance gathered at the foot of the Mila Tree dressed in their finest for breakfast with the Voice of Naga. One of the high priests met with them before guiding them up the roots. At first Basilio feared that they would have to scale the entire tree, his knees were still sore from running up the stairs at Flaybell Cathedral. Luckily the priests had found a way to tap into the life force of the tree itself. Using a special kind of magic the required neither tome nor stave they managed to manipulate the branches into platforms that lifted them up higher and higher into the canopy.

"A pity Miriel isn't here," Frederick remarked as he gazed out across the landscape. "She would have loved to learn more about this technique."

"Unfortunately she would not be able to learn much," one of the priests said as he channeled the magic "The magic we use is top secret, only a chosen few are permitted to learn the art for security's sake."

Flavia nodded "I can only imagine how hard it would be to try and capture the Voice without the ability to manipulate the branches."

"I guess that makes sense but who in the world would try something so foolhardy?" Lino asked scratching the back of his head "Even Plegians respect the Voice, her actions alone during the War of the Hero King has earned her the trust and love from every corner of the world."

"Normally I would agree with you but there is one exception," the priest replied.

"Walhart?"

The man nodded "We've recently been approached by one of his commanders, a man by the name of Cervantes. He came on behalf of the Emperor in order to court the Voice."

"Wait a minute," Basilio said completely flabbergasted "You mean to tell me the Emperor wants to marry Tiki?"

"The arrogance," Frederick commented rubbing his chin "Everyone knows that Tiki swore her life in service of Naga. To ask her to abandon that is nothing short of blasphemy."

"Not to mention the rumors that Tiki was in love with Marth," Lino pointed out.

The priest glared at him "Those are entirely unfounded, the fiction of bards looking for material to move the hearts of the ignorant. Walhart is powerful but he is human and all humans live in the shadow of death. Without an heir to inherit his kingdom what hope does his new empire stand when he succumbs to old age?"

"So he wants to add to his legacy by marrying the Voice," Flavia pondered aloud "Any offspring they have would be legendary from birth, half dragons birthed by the last Divine Dragon on earth and fathered by the man who conquered the world."

"Indeed but his ambitions will never come to fruition," the priest claimed with utter confidence "No one would dare to attack the Voice or the Mila Tree. All Cervantes has managed to accomplish is making a nuisance of himself with sonnets, flowers, and jewels meant to win my lady's heart. "

The khans exchanged glances, from what they had heard about Walhart he usually got what he wanted and was not shy in using force to obtain it. Was Tiki really safe even among the boughs of the holiest site in the entire world? They didn't have much time to wonder about that as they drew close to the top of the tree. Near the crown was a natural door that had been formed by the twisting branches and veiled by a tangle of vines. A small wave from the priest parted the green curtain aside allowing them to walk further inside. At the end of a small tunnel the room widened into a pseudo throne room. While castles of men were admired for their tapestries, pageantry, architecture, and material wealth the Mila Tree was awash in the splendors of nature. Above them was the roof where emerald green leaves danced and waved on the breeze. Every now and then a small breeze would sweep the branches aside opening a temporary window into the blue sky which was dotted with puffy white clouds. Orchids of many different colors hung down from the canopy scenting the summer air with a heady scent. From their perch they could see out onto the plains for miles. Just by standing there amidst this wonder of nature Basilio felt all the tension in his body that had been building up since Daath ebb away like a tide.

Seated in the middle of the tree on a throne of wood carved from the tree itself and festooned with flowers was Tiki. She wore neither silks nor jewelry but carried herself like a queen. Smiling at them as they approached she gestured to the table that had been placed out in front of her seat. "Please, won't you sit down?" Quickly they arranged around themselves around the table and not a second later several more priests arrived with trays laden with breakfast. It was nothing fancy; just fruit plucked from the tree itself, milk, porridge sweetened with honey, and some sausages. Even so it tasted amazing, whether it was because they had been subsisting on hard tack and gruel over the past several days or because it had all been grown near the Mila Tree Basilio couldn't say.

Patiently waiting until her guests had eaten their fill Tiki launched into why she had called them all here "First of all I wanted to offer my condolences, I only met Chrom once but he struck me as an amazing man. I wish I could have known him." They had a moment of silence in honor of the dead Exalt before she continued "I also need to apologize to you. It was my fault that the Exalt was killed."

Frederick looked at her in utter shock "Could you explain yourself, milady?"

"A few days before you arrived in Daath I had a vision of Chrom in danger," she explained "I rushed to Daath and warned Khan Basilio and Lady Ursula but I was too late. Despite their best efforts they could not save him. If I had been quicker things might have been different…" She looked away and clasped her hands "I am so sorry."

Flavia glanced at her fellow khan "Is she telling the truth?"

He nodded "Yeah." He noted the accusing look in Flavia's eyes "Would it have mattered if I had told you right after what had happened in Daath? We had more pressing issues to attend to."

Seeing the wisdom in his words she nodded "You're right, I'll have to apologize to Ursula later." She gestured to the Voice "Surely you've called us here for more than that."

Clasping her hands in her lap Tiki nodded "I was wondering what was your next course of action would be."

Say'ri sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose "Aye, we've been wondering that as well. Now that we have a moment to ourselves it would be wise to discuss it at length."

"Thankfully all of our army is still intact." Cherche pointed out "Chrom was our only casualty thanks to Ursula's quick thinking."

"But morale is abysmally low," Lino countered "Everyone realizes that we've bitten off more than we can chew and we have not even met Walhart's army upon the battlefield."

"Daath is still on our tail," Frederick said pointing out towards the horizon. In the distance they could see the Daathian army camped outside, from their lofty perspective they looked like a shapeless, dark shadow upon a field of emerald green. "When we leave the sovereignty of the Mila Tree we'll be forced to fight them."

"We should have brought Ursula with us," Flavia commented wistfully "Now would be a perfect chance to start formulating a plan."

"We can get into the nitty gritty later, right now we need to focus on what to do afterward." Lino chipped in "We've destroyed Fort Steiger, what's our next objective?"

"If I may be so bold," Tiki interrupted. Clapping her hands she summoned forth a priest who bore a large piece of parchment. With a flourish he tossed it across the table unraveling a large map of the continent of Valm. "We need to start liberating areas from under Walhart's control." She pointed to the southern end of Valm "Chon'Sin was the last country to fall under his influence and put up the best fight. If we could free it and add their legions to our army it would be a massive boon."

"Aye milady, that is would." Say'ri sighed "But you forget, my brother has sworn allegiance to Walhart after being bested in one on one combat. As the strongest warrior within the Chon'Sin army he commanded a large amount of respect and because of that many defected to Valm with him. He has been promoted a general by Walhart himself, a large part of the Valmese army is now under his control and is stationed in Chon'Sin with him. To attack him on his home turf would be nothing short of suicide. My lady, I beg of you to reconsider."

Tiki frowned "I hadn't realized that, forgive my shortsightedness."

"I think that Rosanne would be a better target." Cherche suggested "The high mountains and narrow pathways made Walhart's army, which is composed largely of cavalry, difficult to invade us. Out of all the other countries we were able to hold out the longest."

"I'm worried about how close Rosanne's proximity to Valm is." Flavia replied "If it takes us too long to reclaim your country we'd risk being flanked by the core of his army." She pointed to all the pathways that snaked their way through Rosanne. "All of these roads have forts at critical chokepoints; our window of opportunity would be very, very small."

"How about the east coast where we landed?" Lino suggested. "With Fort Steiger gone it's open to attack. All that stands between us are a few measly, undermanned forts."

"You forget that the same holds true for Walhart. Most of the land around here is flat meaning his cavalry will have the advantage is he decides to engage us." Frederick pointed out. Considering the map for a second he pointed towards the southeast near Chon'Sin "What's this country here?"

"That would be Kartia," Tiki explained "It's a fairly small kingdom dependent on its mining operations. The land around it craggy with several excellent fortifications, if the army had been bigger they might have been able to hold out to this day."

"Do you know how many of Walhart's forces are stationed there?" Flavia asked staring at the country with an intense look "Did any of the Kartian army survive? What about the royal line?"

"I am not sure but I could find out," Tiki said "I can send a few of my people to scout out the situation."

"Excellent, based on what they find out it may be the best place to start our war. We should discuss this with Ursula as well once the scouts return." Flavia said

Tiki stood up "A wise decision but in the meantime we should focus on the Daathian army. If we can't burst through them then all out ambitions will come to naught."

Everyone looked at the voice in alarm "We?" Frederick asked.

"Indeed, I have decided to join you in your war." Tiki announced placing her hands on her hips.

Cherche and Say'ri exchanged glances "Forgive me my lady but is that wise?" the swordswoman asked "Surely you have more important matters to attend to here. Should you decide to aid us Walhart may take offence and from we know of his hubris he would be brash enough to assault this sanctuary. Not to mention how valuable you are to the populace, if you were to be killed upon the field of battle-"

The divine dragon giggled "I assure you this is not the first war I have fought." Say'ri blushed a bit; she had forgotten that Tiki had fought against Medeus and Gharnef alongside the Hero King Marth long ago. "I for one have had enough of standing by twiddling my fingers atop this tree while the world goes to hell all around me."

Frederick nodded in approval "Your help will be most welcome." He looked around the table "If we are done here I believe it would be prudent to consult Lady Ursula and begin to formulate a plan." Everyone got up from the table except for Tiki.

"Khan Basilio, may I speak with you privately for a second?" she asked "It won't take more than a moment."

He shrugged "Sure, we'll meet the rest of you guys down at the base of the Mila Tree."

Flavia nodded and walked off. Once they were gone Tiki dismissed the other priests insuring that no one would be able to hear their conversation. Basilio quirked an eyebrow "So what did you want to talk about?"

"I hate to put you on the spot but I need you answer this question as honestly as you can." Tiki took a deep breath, paused, and then asked "Do you love Ursula?"

The khan blushed "I-uh…um…" He looked utterly adorable as he stood there completely flustered. "Wh-why do you ask?"

"It's a yes or no question," the Voice shot back. The cheery attitude she had exhibited that morning sharpened into a penetrating look.

"W-well, I-I guess I…" Basilio crossed his arms and looked away as he really considered the question. After a long moment he glanced back at Tiki "Yeah, I do." On reflection he had been in love with her since the beginning. She had been such an amusing person, she tried to be cool and mysterious but he had managed to break away at that façade piece by piece. There were still things he didn't know about her, secrets that she hid vehemently and refused to share with him. His head told him not to trust her but his heart was utterly taken with her and the heart wants what it wants.

Tiki sighed and sank back into her chair "Thank Mila," she breathed as she closed her eyes "We still have a chance."

"A chance for what?" Basilio asked.

Instead of answering him Tiki looked out at the view. "Everything is so much easier when you're younger. You don't realize there are consequences to our actions so you tackle the problem in front of you without so much as a thought of how it will affect the big picture." She looked at him "Long ago I made a mistake, a big mistake, one that I can't undo."

"And you need my help? Does it have to do with Ursula?" the khan presumed.

The divine dragon nodded "I can tell you everything but I warn you, you will be burdened by what you learn. Sometimes knowledge can harm those how seek it and the truth can shatter those who pursue it." She rose up out of her chair and offered a hand to him "Basilio, will you bear the weight of my words, my sins? How you choose to react to what I will tell you will decide the very fate of the word itself."

Her words seemed to roar in his ears and for a second Basilio stood there frozen. Maybe he didn't want to know. Right now things were good between him and Ursula, did he really want to sunder their relationship over this? He could still feel the weight of her pressed up against him, the way her smell lingered on her body, and how her hair had felt between his fingers. He yearned for her, a deep passionate hunger for her both physically and spiritually. Even so he knew that he had to know, what relationship could be built upon the shifty foundations of secrets and half truths. Ever so slowly he made his way up to the Voice and when he stood in front of her he grasped her tiny hand in his massive one. "Tell me," he whispered feeling like he was betraying Ursula's trust.

"You're a brave soul." She said with a small smile "Now, where to begin?"

"Maybe at the beginning?" Basilio offered.

Giggling Tiki tapped her forehead "I suppose so but that would take us back quite a ways. This might take more time then I thought."

Nodding the khan sat down at the foot of her throne like a student before a teacher "I've got nothing but time right now."

Following his lead she sat back down and clasped her fingers in her lap "Very well then. It all began at the dawn of creation…"