Rigged from the Start

Chapter 61

A Snowy Summer Wonderland

"It's gawds damned summertime and there are feet of snow outside!" Severa exclaimed as she wrapped a thick, wool blanket tighter around her. A harsh sneeze shot from her nose before she shivered. "How was this a good idea, Marth?"

I winced at the venom Severa said Lucina's code-name with. She glared daggers at Lucina as Anna's cart struggled through the large snowdrifts that covered the roads heading to the Feroxi ice fields.

Lucina did not react. She kept her eyes focused on the back of the cart, towards the snowstorm blasting this area of the country with tons of snow.

While I did think Lucina's muted response was best, that did not mean I disagreed with Severa. After spending a year in Plegia, I had grown used to the scorching desert heat. My blood had thinned. As a result, Regna Ferox's harsh weather cut into my skin like icy daggers. It made me shiver despite my cloak, the wool gloves I "bought" from Anna, and the blankets the merchant let me use to stay warm.

A frozen wind hammered the cart, pelting the canvass sides with ice and snow. As soon as the wind subsided, the cart jostled and jolted. My side of the cart fell as an enormous crack rang through the air.

I grasped the wooden railing I rested against tight to keep me from falling through the canvas. My side of the cart fell a little more before a wooden thunk sounded. As soon as that sound hit my ears, an enormous curse erupted from Anna. The cart ground to a halt.

Seconds later, Anna's boots crunched outside of the canvass walls. Lucina sat unmoved in her spot, a bit tense but not upset. Kushi snorted where he sat, eyes closed as he tried to sleep through the journey. Severa, meanwhile, looked at me wide-eyed and worried. Another loud curse shot from Anna, making Severa pucker her lips.

"That doesn't sound good," Severa muttered.

"You're right. It doesn't sound good at all, " I replied, gingerly rising to my feet and moving towards the rear of the cart. I did my best to not make the cart jostle as I moved, but it still tilted and groaned with each step.

I stepped over Lucina's legs then hopped out of the cart. My feet landed on a patch of ice, causing me to skid a few feet. I threw my arms out to the side, trying to catch my balance. My eyes bugged from my skull when I realized I was rushing right towards a large, frozen lake alongside the road.

I slowed down thanks to a snowdrift alongside the road. Once I stopped sliding, I drew in a deep breath, pivoted, and lost my footing. I landed on the ground hard. From the cart, I heard laughter come from Severa before I saw her head peek past Lucina.

"You alright?" She chuckled, causing one of Lucina's brows to rise.

I got onto my hands and knees, cautious with every movement. With a nervous breath, I got to my feet. "I'll be fine."

I took another step and almost fell on my ass again. Severa snorted. I shot her a glare.

"Sure you will," She said, "Move your legs, Marth. I'm getting out."

"I'll join you," Lucina said.

Severa maneuvered her way around Lucina and hopped out of the cart. When her feet touched down, she hit the same patch of ice as me, causing her to slide across the road. My eyes widened as she careened towards me.

"Whoa!"

She slammed into me, causing both of us to fall into one of the deep snowdrifts alongside the road. Snow did not blanket my sight though. Instead, I stared up at the gray sky through locks of red hair. I froze where I lay, my cheeks flushing.

"Uh… Severa?"

Severa gasped and shoved off of me, accidentally smacking my chest hard. A wheeze shot from my lungs.

"Oh gawds, uh, h-here," Severa held out her hand to me. "Would you take my hand, already! Gawds, don't just stare at it."

"R-right."

Once I grasped Severa's hand, she hauled me to my feet. I felt a little breathless as my chest ached. As I sucked wind, I froze when Severa started brushing snow off of me. She must have noticed how I stiffened, because she paused, blushed, then shook her head.

"Can't have you catching cold," She muttered. After flicking some snow from the top of my head, she snorted to herself. "Try to keep your footing next time."

I blinked. "N-next time?" She spun on her heel and marched towards the cart, where Anna fumed as she stared at a wheel lying a few feet behind the cart. "How was that my fault?"

Severa did not reply.

Since when was she so worried about me catching a cold?

I shoved my gloved hands into my pockets and, shivered, then marched towards Anna as well. The merchant scowled at her broken wheel as she muttered in a language I did not understand. When she noticed me, Severa, and Lucina standing behind her, she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Looks like we're stuck here, for now," She grumbled. "It's gonna take a few hours to fix this, and by the time it's fixed it will be dark." Anna looked to the sky as the snowstorm continued to rage. "It's going to be hell to start a fire in this weather, but we need it."

"I'll go find some firewood," Severa said.

"It won't be dry," Anna called after her as Severa marched away from the cart and off of the road.

"Unless you plan on burning your wheel, whatever I find will have to do!"

Anna's scowl deepened, but she did not respond to Severa. Instead, Anna huffed before turning her attention to me and Lucina.

Lucina coughed into her fist. "Shall I grab-"

"No!" Anna snapped, "No more soup! We have eaten way too much of the merchandise on this little journey," She wiped some hair from her brow, only for it to fall back over her face. An irritated puff shot the hair out of her eyes. "There's gotta be some game around here. I'll wake Kushi to help me out while you two go hunt something down. Feel free to use one of the bows in the cart."

"Wait, you mean we're gonna hunt?" I blinked.

Before Anna could reply, Lucina had already marched to the cart and grabbed a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Once out of the cart, she plucked the bowstring, nodded, then gestured at me with the bow.

"Come along, Samwise."

"I-"

"Get going already!" Anna hissed, "I'm already grumpy, and I get crankier when I'm hungry."

"R-right."

Lucina was already marching back down the road when I turned to rush after her. As I marched away, I heard Anna bark at Kushi to wake up, followed by some curses from the former Plegian scout and criminal.

Those two are going to have a splendid time. I followed Lucina off the road and into the snowdrifts, heading towards a small forest. Severa's gonna have to deal with them too. I grimaced. Maybe Lucina did me a favor by dragging me along to hunt?

Severa was right. The weather in Regna Ferox is complete and total bullshit. It's supposed to be summertime and somehow I am trudging through knee-deep snow while tracking down something Lucina can shoot for dinner. Not exactly my idea of a good time.

I huffed, my breath puffing out from my lips as more snow descended from above. It piled high on the eaves of the pine trees around us, making me worry that some of it would break a branch and fall on me.

I paused beside one tree for a moment, leaning against it as I took a deep breath.

"Find anything yet?" I huffed to Lucina, who was a few paces ahead of me and having no trouble at all marching through the snow.

"We'll find nothing if you keep being loud," Lucina whispered in reply. She paused by a tree a few feet away from me, peering around it into the white landscape around us. "Ever been hunting, Samwise? For that matter," She drew an arrow from her quiver and nocked it against her bowstring. "Does hunting even exist in your world?"

I followed Lucina's gaze. I saw nothing. What was she aiming at?

"Yeah, hunting exists where I'm from. It's more for sport than food anymore though. Never took part in it myself."

"That explains some things."

She let her arrow fly. My eyes whipped to follow it. The arrow slammed into a tree trunk, causing a snow-white stag to bolt from beside a tall snowdrift. I blinked, stunned.

"How did you see that?" I asked.

"I've hunted before," Lucina replied, a frown creasing her lips as she watched the stag scamper off. "That would've been a good one too, damn." She waved for me to follow her again.

We crept in the direction the stag ran off in. Instead of marching through the snow, we tiptoed, trying our best to not make any noise. Eventually, we came across a thicket with thick trees and plenty of snowy brush for us to hide behind.

Lucina crouched behind a bush, eyeing the forest beyond it. I crouched down beside her. Once I took cover, she nocked another arrow but did not aim right away.

"Since we have time now," Lucina breathed. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

Trepidation filled me. "Talk to me about what?"

Lucina's eyes flicked to me behind her mask. I grimaced.

"Look," I continued. "If you're expecting an apology for the decisions I made well… there's a bit of a laundry list to go through and not all of my decisions were dumb. I'll stand by most of them. Besides, it kept me and Severa alive."

"And, despite the pure idiocy involved with staying in Plegia, I am grateful you managed to do that," Lucina replied. "I know Severa would not have done well on her own there."

She raised her bow and aimed, spotting the stag that I once again failed to see. Its white fur blended in perfectly with the large snowdrifts dotting the forest. It knew it was being hunted now, so I was amazed Lucina managed to spot it again.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked Lucina as she focused down the bow's sights.

She exhaled, then fired. A curse shot from her lips as the arrow sailed wide, missing the stag and sending it scampering deeper into the forest.

"What do I mean?" Lucina repeated, not bothering to sling her bow over her shoulder as we tracked the stag. "I thought the answer to that would be obvious."

She popped out of cover and darted towards a trio of pines growing so close together their branches tangled together in a mess of green needles. I followed her, pressing myself against the tree to the left of the middle one. Lucina hid behind the middle tree. She looked through the gap between the trunks, blue eyes scanning the area.

"Look, I know Severa can be… is very abrasive-"

"She's not just abrasive," Lucina muttered. "Severa is an incredibly skilled and capable warrior, but she does lack perspective, which causes her to act rashly on a lot of things."

"Like?"

"Like convincing my little sister, my cousin, and her sister to sneak into Anna's cart in order to rescue me in Port Ferox." Lucina deadpanned.

I pursed my lips. "Point taken. She can be rash, but she's also grown a lot over the past year."

"I can tell," Lucina replied, confusing me in the process.

"So," I furrowed my brow, "what is the issue?"

Lucina hissed, nocked an arrow, drew back on her bow, and fired. This time her eyes lit up as a sharp, pained whine shot through the air. The arrow hit its mark. Her lips twitched up into a triumphant smile. She slung her bow over her shoulder then returned her gaze to me.

"I haven't seen Severa smile like that in a long time."

I tilted my head, even more puzzled than before.

Lucina stepped around the trees and strolled towards a now dead, white stag lying in a small pool of its blood. Her arrow had burrowed into the stag's throat. A perfect shot that killed the beast almost instantly. As she approached the stag, she drew a knife from her belt. Once beside it, she drove the knife into the animal's throat, making certain it was dead.

"What do you mean you haven't seen Severa smile like that?" I asked.

Lucina wiped her knife off with a rag then sheathed it. "She lost that smile long ago. The only times I ever saw anything close was when she got drunk with the others, and that's only if she heard a good joke. Grab the hind legs."

"Grab the- o-oh! On it."

I reached for the stag's legs and picked them up. Lucina picked up the animal's front legs. A gasp shot from my lips as we lifted it off the ground.

"You couldn't have shot a rabbit?" I grunted, struggling to keep my end of the stag from falling to the ground.

"You don't shoot rabbits; you trap them," Lucina replied. "Last I checked, we don't have time to make snares and wait."

"How do we not have time?"

"Do you want to see a grumpy Anna?"

My lips puckered like I ate a lemon. "You know what, fair point." I adjusted the stag's legs to get a better grip. Then we started marching back towards the cart. "So, Severa is smiling. I didn't realize it was that rare."

"Exceedingly," Lucina remarked. "Any idea what's changed?"

I shrugged, nearly losing my grip on the stag. Once I got my grip again, I answered her.

"No clue. Maybe she's less stressed?"

Lucina paused and glanced over her shoulder at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Have you been giving her firewine?"

I blinked. "What? No! God, Severa can drink whenever the hell she wants, or never, for all I care. I don't control that."

"Then why else would she be-" Lucina trailed off and gave me a suspicious look. "Have you placed some sort of spell on her?"

"Really?" I shook my head as we kept walking. "Yes, Lucina. I am totally a dastardly mage hell-bent on ruining Severa's life by making her smile."

Lucina's eyes narrowed behind her mask. "Your sarcasm was obvious that time."

"How do you know it was sarcasm?" Lucina's mouth snapped closed. The serious nature of her gaze made me gulp. "Kidding," I said.

A huff left Lucina's lips. "Well, whatever you're doing, know this: it… it is appreciated as well. I'm not sure if Severa has said as much to you, but I can see that she is happier, even if it is only a little bit."

Now I felt even more confused. Why was Lucina so grateful for that? I thought making someone smile was part of being a decent friend. Keeping Severa's spirits up was something I was more than happy to do, and I did not care if anyone thanked me for it.

I debated asking Lucina why she thought that way but decided against it. After all, she doesn't know the answer either if she believed I put a spell on Severa.

My stomach growled. I gave Lucina a sheepish grin.

"Ever had deer before?" She asked.

"Would it surprise you if I said yes?"

"I thought you weren't a hunter?" Lucina remarked.

I shrugged. My mouth started to salivate as I realized I was about to eat something other than soup for the first time in days. I adjusted my grip on stag's legs one more time, nearly tripping backward in the snow in the process.

"Doesn't mean I didn't mooch off other hunters."

Dinner was positively scrumptious. Me, Severa, and Lucina couldn't cook anything to save our lives. Hell, I could somehow manage to burn ice if I even attempted to cook. It's not like Anna would let me touch her pots and pans again though. Anna was also too grumpy and tired from repairing her cart to cook. So, Kushi did the honors, and I discovered the grouchy ex-thief possessed a hidden talent.

My teeth sank into the last bite of deer meat I had on my plate. Savory juices rushed over my palate, mixing with the smokey tenderness from the meat itself. It was enough to make me hum with delight. Once I swallowed, I smiled.

"Kushi, from now on, you are the permanent cook."

"I think I know why Gar never lost weight," Severa chuckled between her last few mouthfuls.

"Gar?" Lucina chimed as she nibbled on her dinner.

"Probably another one of their friends from Plegia, right?" Anna said.

I nodded. "Where do you think he ran off to after everything in Ylisstol?" I asked Kushi.

Kushi shrugged as he set his empty plate to the side. I placed my plate on top of his.

"Don't know," He mumbled, chewing quickly before swallowing his last bite. "I don't think he went running anywhere actually. We wore cowls and hoods, so it was hard to see who we were in the darkness. For all I know, he's still in Ylisstol. Maybe he's making due there."

Lucina stiffened while the rest of us remained relaxed. Severa spotted her worry and rolled her eyes.

"Gar's a big guy but he's got a soft heart," She reassured Lucina. "He wouldn't kill someone unless someone forced him to," Severa drew her lips into a thin line. She then set her plate to the side and uttered a melancholic sigh, her smile fading from her features.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Anna asked.

Severa waved off her concern. "Don't worry about it."

"You worried about the others?" Kushi asked. "Gaius, Eva, even Gar?"

Severa shot him a sharp look, making Kushi pale. He bowed his head, accepting that he would not receive an answer. I shook my head at the sight. Severa really knew how to shut down a conversation.

Anna let out a small yawn. She stretched her arms high over her head then smacked her lips.

"Cart's fixed for tomorrow. Hopefully, we won't have any more setbacks when we set out again." She rose to her feet and gestured at the rest of us. "I'm going to sleep. Make sure no bandits or nonsense sneak up on us."

"Will do," I said as I brought a partially frozen cup of water to my lips.

Kushi sighed and rubbed his neck. "I think I'll hit the sack too. Who's taking the first watch?"

Severa raised her hand, surprising me. If Kushi and Lucina were surprised, they didn't show it. In fact, Kushi uttered a grateful grunt. He gathered up all our plates and marched to the cart, not even bothering to say goodnight. That was just his nature, and I did not mind it.

Lucina brushed a lock of her blue hair out from the front of her mask. She cleared her throat, drawing both mine and Severa's attention.

"Make sure you two get some rest. Wake me for the next watch when you're ready."

I raised an eyebrow. "Both of us? Why would-"

"We all know you're staying up with her!" Kushi called from the cart. "Ya did it out in the wilds outside of Gra too. Now, be a little quiet. Some of us want to sleep."

Severa whipped her head around to glare at the cart. Meanwhile, my cheeks heated up. I scratched the back of my head while Lucina gave me a puzzled look.

"Right, right," I coughed into my hand. "I'll wake you when it's time for the next watch."

"Thank you."

Without another word, Lucina left the fire and entered the cart. Once she was gone, the campfire fell silent. Only the occasional crackle and pop from the burning wood echoed through the night. There were no chirps or chitters from bugs or birds. It was too cold for any of that.

It was a quiet, lonely night; with only the stars and a sliver of pale moonlight illuminating the world around the campfire. That starlight and moonlight sparkled off of the ice and snow, making it look like small, blue crystals littered the land around me.

A heavy breath left Severa's lips, drawing my attention and my concern.

"Now that the others are gone, are you okay?"

Severa rose to her feet as a bitter wind swept by us. Wordlessly, she marched away from the campfire towards the edge of the road. She wrapped her arms tight around her, occasionally attempting to wrap her brown cloak tighter around her frame. Her red hair swayed in the wind behind her as she stared out at the frozen lake beside the road.

My concern grew. It wasn't like her to walk away without answering that question. Even if she didn't actually give me an answer, Severa would give an abrasive response that would at least make me shut up. That abrasive reply also let me know that she was actually okay, or just a tad upset.

But, whenever Severa was silent, I knew she was truly bothered by something. So, I rose to my feet. My feet crunched in the ice and snow as I moved towards her.

Every breath I took puffed out in a white mist. I reached her side and pulled my dark cloak tighter over my shoulders.

"Damn Lake Effect," I grumbled, making Severa snort.

"What's that?"

I blinked. "What's Lake Effect? Ever notice how it gets colder in wintertime near lakes?" She nodded. "Well, I don't exactly know why it does that. I just know that it gets colder because of the lakes."

Severa let out an amused scoff. "I thought you were about to say some otherworldly knowledge there."

"Well, I can do that if you want," I smirked. "But, I doubt you're interested in hearing a bunch of fun facts."

"No, no," Severa quickly replied. "It's… go for it. It'll get my mind off everything else."

"Okay," I put a hand to my chin, rubbing my thickening whiskers for a moment. "Well, did you know that where I'm from there are a series of five massive lakes nearby?"

"Oh really? Is that why you know about this 'Lake Effect'?" Severa asked, a hint of joking in her voice that I failed to pick up.

"You betcha," I replied. "The biggest lake was to the north of where I lived. Maybe three or four hours by car. Never went there myself, but I always heard it was neat to see. Now, the lake I'm more familiar with, other than Lake Winnebago- which is much smaller- is Lake Michigan," I let out a low whistle. "That lake could whip up some frigid temperatures in a hurry."

"How cold?"

"Cold enough to freeze your toes off if you weren't careful," I replied.

Severa snorted in disbelief. "You really did live in Regna Ferox before you came here, didn't you?"

"I did say Wisconsin was similar," I pointed out with a chuckle. "Hey," I nudged her arm. "What do you like to do when it snows like this?"

"What?" Severa remarked with a confused smile.

"You know; when you were a kid, did you ever go out and make snow angels? Build a snowman? Pelt Owain in the face with snowballs?"

That got a genuine laugh from Severa. "The latter yes. And, that happened more recently than you would think."

I laughed with her, then I glanced out to the lake, seeing the ice shimmer in the moonlight. As I looked out at it, an idea hit my mind. I cast Severa a mischievous glance.

"What?" She asked.

"You want to get your mind off of whatever's going on up there?"

Severa gave me an uncertain look. "Yeah?"

With a smile, I marched over the snowbank right up to the edge of the lake. I eyed the ice, pursed my lips, and placed a tentative foot on top. When I didn't hear any blood-chilling creaks or cracks, I relaxed and glanced back at Severa.

"C'mon!" I waved.

"Sam?"

"Never been ice skating before?" I placed both feet on the ice, slipping a couple of steps away from the shore.

"Not really," Severa replied a little nervous as she tiptoed to the edge.

With a shake of my head, I skated to her and held out a hand. "How about we change that. I'm warning you though, I don't have the best balance."

She eyed my hand for a second, trying to decide whether she should join me or not. My smile broadened when her fingers wrapped around my hand. With great caution, she stepped out onto the ice, her legs wobbling with each movement as her feet threatened to slip out from under her.

Her hand squeezed mine tight as we turned and started to skate along the edges of the lake. Every couple of steps, Severa would skid and slip, but always managed to keep her balance. That is, until I gave her a devious grin and picked up the pace.

"Whoa!" She exclaimed, not bothering to step and instead letting me pull her along.

A loud, thrilled laugh jumped from her lips as I pulled her along. After going a few more feet, I spun around and started pulling her in the other direction, this time skating backward so I faced her. That's when I took her other hand in mine without even thinking about it.

"How are you skating backward?" Severa asked with a snicker.

"It's all in the hips. Also, dumb luck helps," I replied. "Honestly, I'm amazed that I haven't slipped yeeeeet!"

My foot caught on a patch of snow, and I fell back, taking Severa with me.

I landed with a hard thud on the ice. Severa landed on top of me with a yelp, her breath whooshing from her mouth in one sharp gasp. The two of us slid a little further, sliding back to where we stepped out onto the lake, before coming to a stop.

I held my breath and my eyes squeezed shut as I braced myself for any sharp cracks to sound around me. When none came, I let out a relieved breath.

Then, I felt another relieved breath on top of me. My cheeks burned. I opened my eyes. Severa's crimson gaze greeted me. My arms were wrapped tight around her, keeping her from falling over onto the ice.

My throat tightened. My heart raced inside of my chest. And, for some reason, my head felt really warm despite the freezing air.

"Um…" I croaked as Severa remained still as stone on top of me, her face as red as her hair.

"Uh," She mumbled in reply.

I swallowed hard. "I um-"

"Oh gawds, you can't breath, can you?" Severa gasped, pushing herself up so that she simply straddled me. That only made the tightness in my chest worse. "Shit!"

She scrambled off of me, stammering incoherently as her cheeks turned a deeper shade of scarlet. Once she was on her feet, she took a deep breath, then held her hand out to me.

"C'mon already," She said, her voice lacking any abrasiveness as she took a deep breath.

Was she holding her breath too?

I gulped, then took her hand. With strength that always surprised me, Severa pulled me up. Both of my feet threatened to slip out from under me again, but this time Severa managed to catch me.

"C-crap!" I hissed, feeling Severa's arms hook under my shoulders.

Severa snickered as I got my balance again. "You really don't have any balance, do you?"

"Apparently not," I breathed.

Neither of us realized we were still holding on to each other. Despite Severa no longer being on top of me, the tightness in my chest remained. For some reason, I felt nervous around her. Not a bad kind of nervous. I don't know what kind of nervous it was.

Severa's eyes locked with mine for a moment before flicking away. She shivered and let her arms fall to her side.

"We um… we've got a watch to keep."

"Yeah!" A third voice called, making both of us freeze. Our gazes trembled to the road. Anna stood on a snowbank, arms folded and one foot tapping against the ground. A lopsided smirk sat on her lips. "I'm all for ice skating you two, but these roads are thick with bandits and I'd rather not get robbed."

"R-right!" I stammered, "Um, Severa-"

"Beat you back to the fire, Samwise."

Severa pushed herself forward, nearly falling face-first onto the ice before reaching the lake's edge. She scrambled up the snowbank, leaving me out on the lake. Quiet laughter spilled from my lips when she looked back and gave me a victorious smirk.

Everything's always a competition.

I shook my head and made my way back towards camp. By the time I reached the snowbank, Severa was already by the fire, waiting. Instead of looking sad, she looked content as her hands hovered near the fire.

That was more than enough for me to be fine with losing the race.

It took us another three days to reach the ice fields in the northernmost regions of Regna Ferox. Once there, the snowfall became torrential and the cold biting. Anna allowed us to use some coats she still had in stock to keep warm. After all, Lucina wouldn't be able to pay her if we froze to death.

The ice fields were a vast plain of tundra leading up to an ocean riddled with sheets of cracked ice and icebergs disguised as snow-covered mountains. If it wasn't so damn cold and gray in this section of the world, I would have considered it a pretty place with an impressive view.

Small waves lapped against the frozen shoreline that we stood on. In the distance, on a large patch of ice in the water, I could see seals lounging in what little sunlight pierced the gray blanket over my head.

A biting wind whipped against the coast, making me shiver. Boots crunched against the rocky beach nearby, drawing my attention. I turned to my right, getting a face-full of frozen wind in the process. Severa drew up alongside me, her hands tucked into her armpits as she tried to stay warm.

I hissed, stamped my feet, and tucked my chin as the wind blasted against me again. "Marth!" I hollered, "What are we doing out here?"

"I would like to know the same thing," Severa grumbled, looking a bit further down the beach towards Lucina. The Princess was busy scanning the horizon, searching for something.

Anna stood with Kushi on top of a series of grassy bluffs behind us. I glanced over my shoulder at the merchant and saw her brushing her horse, trying her best to scrape bits of ice from the beast's fur.

"Marth!" I called again.

"The rumors said it was here," Lucina said just loud enough for me and Severa to hear her.

"What's near here?" Severa asked. When Lucina didn't answer, Severa huffed, gave me a frustrated look, then marched over to Lucina. Water kissed the toes of her boots when she reached Lucina's side. "Marth, there's nothing out here."

"There is," Lucina argued. "We just need to… to..." She snapped her fingers. "I forgot the Big Rock."

I blinked, "Big rock?"

"Great, we came out here looking for a big rock," Severa groaned. Lucina rushed back to the bluffs while Severa stomped to my side. "I'm freezing my ass off because Lucy wants a rock. Fucking picked up someone's rock collecting habit for some gawds forsaken reason."

"It's cold," I nodded in agreement.

"Basically, yes," Severa grumbled. "Never thought I'd be wishing for the desert heat, but I am."

I snorted out a laugh. "Don't worry. I'm right there with you," I brought my gloved hand up to my mouth and wiped away bits of ice from my scraggly goatee. Right as I was about to say something else to Severa, Lucina shoved past us, a map in her hands. Anna came tearing after her, furious.

"Be careful with the map!" Anna barked.

Lucina ignored her as she scanned the map, then looked up at the ice fields again. She frowned, muttered something under her breath, then peered at the map again.

Anna placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. "She didn't even bother to ask if she could use my map."

"I'm paying you for your services, so I can use this map if I want to," Lucina remarked, making me pucker my lips and brace myself for Anna's fury.

"You- the deal was you paid me to transport you, not use my stuff!" Anna snarled.

"We're already using your stuff," Lucina replied, puzzled by Anna's anger. She glanced over her shoulder at a fuming Anna. "Figured you were fine with it."

"I'm fine- no! No! No! I am close to having it with this venture!" Anna jabbed an accusatory finger at Lucina. "You told me there would be a solid reward if I took you to the ice fields. Well, here we are! Where is the reward?"

Lucina gasped, looked up, and trained her gaze on an iceberg in the distance. A pit formed in my gut when Lucina took a step into the water, not caring that she might freeze her toes off.

"The big rock," Lucina muttered.

"That's an iceberg, Lucina," Severa deadpanned.

Lucina held the map up for Severa to see. "Not according to this map."

Severa arched an eyebrow. "That map still has Valm labeled as Valentia. How old is that thing?"

"You'd be surprised how good the old cartographers were at charting things," Anna sniffed. "Besides, new maps are pricey, and it's not like I need one when the roads don't change all that much. Anyways, why are we interested in an iceberg?"

Lucina rolled up the map, stepped out of the ankle-deep water, then handed the map back to Anna. "That iceberg is a rocky outcropping from an old peninsula. That's also where the Thabes Tower might be."

"Thabes?" I wondered.

Anna put a finger to her chin. "So, you're looking for a ruin?"

"Yes," Lucina nodded.

"Ruins typically mean treasure," Anna muttered. She rubbed her chin and nodded. "Someone's gonna have to stay here with the cart while the rest of us cross the ice."

"Wait, ruins!?" Severa exclaimed. "What are we- Marth, what is going on?"

"We're following a rumor and hoping it's true," Lucina replied.

Severa started interrogating her, but I tuned it out. All of my attention focused on the "big rock" in the distance, sticking up like a white shard among the cold water and ice sheets.

Thabes Tower sounded familiar, but I couldn't place what it meant. I did recall a part of the Awakening story where the Shepherds went this far north while hunting down a rumor about a powerful artifact, but Lucina did not appear interested in any artifacts. She wanted to come to Regna Ferox in search of the rest of our comrades.

What happened during that… chapter…

My heart stopped in my chest. I swallowed hard. The Big Rock loomed larger on the horizon as fear settled into my gut. Absentmindedly, I drew my kukri and carefully finger along the edge. When my finger reached the tip, the blade pricked me, telling me it was sharp.

I brought my finger to my mouth, winced, then sheathed my kukri. A shaky breath left my lips. We were going to have to fight Risen. Why? Because there was someone in those ruins.

Morgan.

And chapter! Finally, we have some good FLUFF! This was so much fun to write! But, you know me, it's not gonna last forever. There's some big time fun awaiting our heroes as they go the iceberg (or the Big Rock, as Lucina insists). Sam knows what's coming, and hopefully he is prepared for it. Anyways, let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed it! Have a nice day!

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