Morgan arrived at the outskirts of the village. He observed his surroundings, making sure that no one was there. Once he realized that he was completely alone, he placed his hands on his head.
"Damn it, what have I done?" he asked himself in frustration.
He released his head and started to walk in circles.
"You just started your trip and the first thing you do is the thing that your mother forbade you to do!" he stopped for a moment, and then he let himself fall in the grass.
Everything was in silence. Morgan was just watching the sky.
"I know you are there mother. I know you are mad at me" he said with melancholy.
Then he sat and watched the horizon, thinking.
"They want me to be their tactician. The Shepherd's tactician, just like you were, mother. I can be like you, as I always have wanted…" he smiled with illusion when he said that.
His smile was soon erased when he realized something. "But if they find who I really am, you won't ever forgive me."
Then he hugged his knees.
"What should I do?" he asked himself.
"MORGAN!" he heard a female voice calling him.
Morgan got up and searched for the voice. Not so far, he found Cynthia and Kjelle.
"Morgan!" Cynthia shouted again.
"Girls! I'm over here!" answered Morgan while waving his hand.
The girls spotted Morgan and walked towards him.
Morgan noticed that Kjelle wasn't wearing her armor anymore. "Moments ago she looked so sturdy, now she seems more like a girl" Morgan thought.
"Glad we found you! What are you doing here all alone?" asked Cynthia.
"I was just... relaxing?" answered Morgan a little nervous. The answer did not convince both girls, who looked at each other with confusion.
"Anyways, do you need something?" asked Morgan to dismiss the weird mood.
"Oh yes! We want to talk with you" said Cynthia with excitement.
"YOU want" interrupted Kjelle while looking at other side.
"Maybe if we get to know each other, we can convince you to join us" said Cynthia with a warm smile.
Morgan felt flattered and smiled back. "Do you really want me to join you?" he asked.
"Of course" answered Cynthia.
"I agree with her. It won't be a bad idea to have a tactician" Kjelle added, still serious.
"You see, the Shepherds are more than just a brigade. We are actually a family. And not anyone can join this family. So, if it happens that we like someone, we go for it. Do you understand?" Cynthia explained.
"I think I do. Well, we can talk, but I can't promise anything" answered Morgan.
"That's enough for me!" Cynthia said in celebration.
Then, Cynthia grabbed Morgan's arm. "The villagers said that we can take anything as a reward. I'm sure we can get some food and a good place to rest" she commented while making Morgan walk back to the village. Kjelle was following them.
On the opposite side of the village was a lake. A lake where the villagers go fishing and do laundry. But at that exact moment, nobody was doing any of that. In the lake just was Severa, sitting in the shore. Her sight was in the water, but actually, she was lost in thoughts.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. But it didn't matter to her.
"I finally find you, Severa the Moonborn. What are you doing here my fellow comrade? Maybe planning some special attacks?" Owain greeted his friend.
Without looking at her friend, Severa answered "Not now Owain, I'm not in the mood."
"Oh, I see. The spirit of despair is attacking your being and you are fighting it alone" said Owain.
"Owain..." Severa was getting angry.
"Okay, I'll drop it" Owain muttered while sitting at Severa's side.
"What's the matter?" he asked concerned.
Severa finally looked at her companion. "Well, it occurs that I suck at my job" she answered with sadness.
"Don't say that" Owain contradicted.
"Yes, I do. I was chosen to guard both princes of Ylisse because my father was a loyal retainer of the royal family and my mother an excellent pegasus knight. They trusted me with this task because they expect me to be just like my parents, even better. But I can't even get you two to listen to me!" when Severa said that some tears fell from her eyes.
"Hey, don't cry" said Owain while placing his hand in Severa's back. "I listen to you. I really think Morgan is suspicious."
"And why don't you say something?" she argued.
Owain got his hand back and placed on his knee, now he was looking at the lake. "What use? If he doesn't listen to you, the cleverest girl we know. What makes you think that he is going to listen to me? I am his weird cousin, who says weird stuff" he said.
"I don't know" said Severa while shaking her head. "But I can see it. He is going to get killed and then I will lose my head as a punishment" that statement made Owain laugh.
"And you call me dramatic… I don't think uncle Chrom will decapitate you just for losing his child" said Owain.
"Well he won't. But I certainly couldn't live with that shame" Severa expressed, now she was more relaxed.
"I don't think you will ever live that. Do you ever wonder why we run away from you?" Owain asked, now looking at Severa again.
"All the time" she answered.
"It's because we are not afraid to be without you. No matter where we are or if we get into problems, we know that you will always find us and save us" confessed Owain.
"How can you be so sure?" asked Severa.
"Because we know you, you are AWESOME!" Owain answered.
"You two are impossible" Severa said and again shook her head. Then, she let her head rest in Owain's shoulder.
"How is possible that a weirdo like you can actually cheer me up?" Severa asked.
"That's because I'm the chosen one" Owain answered, making Severa laugh a bit.
"Never change, please."
Both of them stayed watching the sunset.
Meanwhile, Morgan, Kjelle, and Cynthia were in a pub. They were having a good time, talking about their lives. Morgan learnt that Kjelle and Cynthia's parents used to be Shepherds and fought in the Great War. He was surprised because he already knew them, his mother had told him about them. He started to get worried. "Maybe all the Shepherds are children of my mother's comrades. What if I run into some of them and they recognize me? Nah, that would be impossible. It's not like that I have 'Robin's son' written all over my face" he thought.
The three guys were interrupted by Inigo and Laurent, who just entered in the pub.
"Oh, there you are girls. And you are with Morgan" Inigo noticed. He didn't seem happy.
"Something wrong?" asked Kjelle worried.
"Yeah, we have important stuff to do. And I couldn't find you, or Severa, or Owain" said Inigo a little irritated.
"What important stuff?" asked Cynthia.
"We have been researching about the earlier unfortunate event. The research led us to the subject's house" Laurent answered.
"I want us to go and check the sorcerer's house. I think with four people will be enough to do this fast. You can come with us if you want Morgan" said Inigo.
"I'd gladly go. I'm really intrigued by this situation" accepted Morgan.
"Then, let's go" ordered Inigo.
The five teenagers exited the pub. Outside, they noticed it was getting dark. Inigo started to walk, the others followed him. Inigo led them to a small house, far from the other houses. It was dark already, that made the environment tenebrous.
The teenagers started to get nervous, but they couldn't admit it. Inigo was the first one to enter the house, followed by Kjelle and Laurent. Cynthia had to pull Morgan into the house.
The house consisted in two rooms, the main room and the biggest was the kitchen, the other one was the bedroom. The kitchen was a disaster, the table was upside down, a chair was broken, and papers and cook utensils were all over the floor. Even though it was dark, Laurent managed to find some candles and light them up with fire magic.
Now with illumination, the guys started to inspect the room.
"The subject suffered maniac episodes. Something usual in this type of cases" noted Laurent.
"Was he a Plegian?" asked Kjelle. She was checking the cabinets.
"I think yes" answered Inigo. He was just standing up, watching the others work. "He had the same mark as the other Plegians. However, the villagers didn't know where he was from. They said he moved here ten years ago. He was a normal guy. He never got in problems. But the villagers never really accepted him for being a foreigner" he explained.
"That's so rude!" exclaimed Cynthia. She was checking the papers from the floor along with Morgan.
"It is, but that doesn't justify what he did" Kjelle stated.
"Indeed. Nobody in the village expected that from him, I guess no one would expect that from anyone. Yet, the people informed that he started to act weird months ago" Inigo finished his explanation.
"This is odd" Laurent spoke.
"What?" asked Inigo.
"With the previous subjects we usually found evidence of magic practicing. But here I just see common instruments and materials for daily life" Laurent sounded troubled.
"Hhmm… Let's check the other room" suggested Inigo.
The young inspectors entered the bedroom. It was a disaster too, lots of fabrics were all over the room. All the fabrics were different in color, pattern, material. It wasn't possible to see the furniture because everything was covered with the fabrics.
"Oh yeah, the villagers mentioned that he was crazy about cloths" commented Inigo.
"Be cautious with your candles. I don't want us to die in a fire" warned Kjelle.
The guys started to inspect the bedroom. Though, it was difficult for them to move with all the cloths.
Cynthia moved some fabrics and revealed a spinning wheel.
"Guys look! I bet he used to sew his own clothes" said Cynthia.
"He probably sewed his red robe" guessed Inigo.
While moving some fabrics, Morgan found a dresser. He opened a drawer and saw some books.
"There are some books over here" Morgan notified.
When Laurent heard that, he rushed to Morgan's said. Both of them started to check the books. The books they found were about history, math, novels, and sewing. One particular book caught Morgan's attention. A leather book without cover.
Morgan opened the book in the first page.
It was a diary. He read:
"I don't know if someone is actually going to read this, but I wanted to write because I'm not feeling well. Here I will write all my nightmares and visions, and of course what that frightening voice tells me. I hope this can help me a bit."
"Morgan, what did you find?" interrupted Laurent.
Morgan closed the book quickly. "Nothing important. Just a book with the history of Ylisse" he answered. "I think I'm going to keep it. If I'm going to travel across Ylisse, I should know important things about the country" Morgan saved the diary in his robe's pocket.
"I agree with you. Having a previous knowledge about the territory you are going to explore can be helpful. I can recommend more books, who is the author of that book?" asked Laurent.
"I think… I don't…" Morgan was suddenly interrupted.
"Guys! Focus!" shouted Kjelle.
The two young men returned to their task and didn't touch the subject again. One hour later, the Shepherds and Morgan exited the house.
"Morgan, the villagers offered a place for us to rest, you can come with us if you want" Inigo invited him.
"Sure! That would be great" accepted Morgan.
Then, the guys went to a big house. Outside was a blonde woman, who immediately greeted them.
"Prince Inigo, you are finally here. Prince Owain is already in, your other friend too. I have prepared a delicious stew for all of you" she said.
"Thank you, Ma'am. We all appreciate it" Inigo spoke for everyone.
Everyone entered the house. Inside, they found Owain and Severa having dinner in the dining room.
"There you are! My fellow comrades! In which class of amazing adventures have you been into?" greeted Owain.
"Owain, we were apart just a couple of hours" mentioned Kjelle a bit irritated.
"And we were working, unlike you two, lovebirds" Inigo complained.
"What!?" exclaimed Severa with indignation.
Owain gazed at his cousin, his glance said "not now, please". Inigo understood and just emitted a tiny laugh while taking a seat. The others imitated Inigo's action.
"I'll serve the meal" said the women while walking towards the kitchen.
"Let me help!" Cynthia that had just sit, got up and followed the women.
"I'll help them too" Kjelle announced before getting up too.
"Did you find something relevant?" asked Severa.
"We inspected the sorcerer's house" answered Inigo.
"And?" asked Severa again.
"The case is getting more complicate" answered Laurent.
"Why do you say so?" asked Owain.
"We could not find any evidence of him practicing magic. I know he was practicing dark magic, but there was not a single clue of where he got that kind of spell" explained Laurent.
"And also, not evidence of him being a Plegian, just the mark on his neck" added Inigo.
"This case it's so different from the others" commented Severa, she was impressed.
"How many cases are until now? And why is this one different?" Morgan finally spoke.
"This is the fourth, the previous three confirmed to be Plegians, and most important, Grimleals" Laurent said.
"Grimleals, those are the ones who worship Grima, right?" asked Morgan with anguish.
"Right. Now that I remember, the sorcerer told us something about Grima. He said that we can't stop it" said Inigo.
"That has no sense, Grima was destroyed years ago" commented Severa.
"Of course, that statement lacks of sense, but we have to remind that the subject was suffering of dementia" Laurent said.
"What if this guy was a Grimleal and sorcerer before arriving, maybe he wanted to leave behind that ridiculous life. And then, he went nuts and tried to revive his past" Severa shared her thoughts.
"A good theory. But the important thing is to identify the spell. I think the primordial task here is to find the origin of the spell and to assure that no one else knows it" Laurent said.
"Yeah, but now, I think the best course of action is to return to Ylisstol Castle. I have to report this to my father" Inigo announced.
Morgan opened his eyes wide at the mention of his father. "Jeez, I totally forgot who Inigo was" he thought.
"We'll leave tomorrow morning. So, Morgan, you have until then to take your decision" Inigo told him.
"Right" was Morgan's answer.
The rest of the night was peaceful. They have a good meal and share an interesting conversation. Once finished, each one went to their assigned room. The house didn't have enough rooms for everyone, so Morgan had to share with Laurent.
Morgan was already lying on his bed. He was just gazing at the roof in total darkness. He couldn't believe what day he just had, and he had to take a decision.
"The chances of encountering him were low, and yet, it happened. This can't be just a mere coincidence. It has to be fate. No, it can't be fate. Mother told me that there are invisible bonds that link us with the people to whom we belong. I should be with Inigo because he is my half-brother, and he needs me. And who knows? Maybe I find with him the answers that I'm seeking. And maybe I get to know my father. That would be great, even if he doesn't know who I am. And I won't never let them know who I am. I won't disappoint mother. So, that's it. Decision taken."
Hello everyone! Thanks for reading, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter.
Speciall thanks to:
-Mysterious guest: Thanks four your comment. Yes, I have plenty chapters in mind.
-Deuce: I'm glad that you liked it. I'll try to update at least two chapters per week.
-Littleleine: Thank you so much for your support 3 you are really a great friend.
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