Sometimes I feel like I only have a hand full of ideas about characters and possible storylines, and every new story I write is just me shaking my head around and shuffling all of them like small notes in a hat. One day I will come up with a different character arch idea, but that day is not today. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
The Princess's Dragon Bride
Chapter 26: Chipping Away
Chrom's eyes snapped open as a violent tremor shook the room he occupied in Bowser's ship. He had taken a short nap; the exhaustion from their endless interrogation of Eleven had given him a headache. He couldn't have been asleep for long as the sun had still not completely set.
As he opened the door to his room, he was nearly bowled over as a Koopa Troopa was sent flying past him.
That was enough to wake him up. He gathered himself and stood, rushing outside to see a mess of unconscious troops. Eleven lay at the center of it.
Bowser came rushing out of the Captain's quarters just as Chrom had. The Exalt approached the unconscious thief.
"How did he get out?" Bowser looked almost impressed.
Chrom grabbed the boy by the back of his tunic and hauled him over his shoulder. "It seems his magic has far more power than we assumed."
"It wasn't enough to save him." Bowser scoffed.
"This is one of the Phantom Thieves. We can't afford to be careless." He returned Eleven to his room and re-shackled him. "They're a crafty lot. "
The two walked out of the room, "I wouldn't put it past them to be plotting some kind of elaborate plan to retrieve their missing member as we speak."
Corrin had noticed the state of the horses far sooner than anyone else. Everyone else was fast asleep, and as the road continued, it became harder and harder to ignore. Until finally, she peeked her head out of the wagon, "Cloud, can we stop for tonight?"
Cloud only shrugged and moved the wagon to the side of the road. The sun was setting, but she was determined to get the horses taken care of.
Akira groggily poked his head out next, "Why'd we stop?"
Cloud again shrugged and motioned to the Koopa Princess before carrying a sleeping Byleth from the driver's coach to the back of the wagon.
Corrin, meanwhile, was trying to untie the horses. Lucina lept out of the wagon and followed her as she stretched her shoulders. "Need help?"
She nodded, and without explaining anything else, the princess took the horses off towards a nearby stream.
As they relaxed by the stream, Corrin began to groom one of the horses as it drank from the river. The other horse was grazed in the clearing. Lucina kneeled at her side down by the river.
Then a soft noise caught the attention of the Koopa Princess. "Luci?"
The blue-haired princess righted herself from refilling her waterskin. "Is something wrong?"
Corrin turned her attention toward the nearby woods. "Did any of the boys follow you?"
Lucina followed Corrin's line of sight. Her hand drifted towards the sword at her side. "They were all asleep for the most part."
Her hands began to tremble. I don't care for whatever dumb game Akira thinks he's playing. She was almost confident it was them. However, there was a loud ringing in her core, a deafening sensation begging her to flee.
"Come out, guys!" Then the horses began to startle. Corrin clenched her hands into fists. "This isn't funny."
The horses, too tired to run, settled for backing away from whatever was in the tree line.
Then she caught a glint of something metallic in the trees. Corrin reached into her bag and fished out one of her tomes.
"I mean it!" If Akira is being cute, I'll zap him good for this. Some part of her knew it wasn't Akira hiding in those trees.
"Well, look at what we've found." a figure skulked out of the darkened tree line. His smooth yet proper voice dripping with malice, sent shivers down Corrin's spine.
"A pair of lovely ladies unattended out the middle of the woods." A second figure stepped out behind the first, his rough and breathy voice carrying a different aura. "What sort of gentlemen would we be if we didn't offer our assistance?"
Lucina took a step in front of Corrin, her blade unsheathed and her expression intense. "Who are you two?"
They were bandits clear as day. From their attire to this underlying aura about them that told her they were in grave danger. The first was a lizard carrying a slew of knives, and the second was a large cat sporting a scar on his face.
The Panther extended a rose to them as he spoke. "Just a couple of friendly travelers passing through these dangerous woods." Corrin picked up the sound of combat, not too far from them but far too close not to be relevant. "Why don't you two come with us so we can escort you somewhere nice and safe?"
Corrin could feel her anger boiling, "You expect us to believe that you're just passers-by?" she conjured a bolt of lightning in the palm of her hand. "There's no way you didn't run into the rest of our traveling party from the direction you just came from."
"What you believe doesn't really matter. If you don't come with us quietly, we'll just have to do it the fun way." The lizard drew one of his many knives and eyed them up. "This is how I'd prefer to do it anyway. I think I'll torment the two of you a bit before we take you away."
The large cat shook his head. "Come now, Leon, have a little class, would you?" Corrin let her spell loose, sending a bolt of lightning between them. "Oh well, if this is the way we're doing this…." He unsheathed the weapon at his side, clearly, a lot less intimidated than Corrin would have liked. "I'm Panther of the Wolf Pack, and all who see my rose meet death."
"And I am the great Leon!" the lizard rushed for them. "You'll make a fine gift for Wolf once he and the others are done with your little friends!"
Lucina rushed to counter his blade as Corrin began conjuring another spell.
Marth recognized his mistake. He foolishly charged at Pyra and regretted it instantly as she grabbed him by the front of his tunic. She turned him skyward just in time for her blade to return to her.
He only had a second to pivot his body away from her powerful strike.
He landed and only had a second to recognize the bottom of Pyra's shoe as she sent him flying backward into another weapon rack.
Pyra winced and rushed to his side. He could tell by the look she was regretting insisting Shulk leave for lunch earlier into their training.
Thankfully her kick was softer than her throw. "I'll be fine."
She helped him to his feet, carrying him to a nearby bench. She started looking him over, inspecting his injuries.
Marth watched her work but couldn't help but notice something. "Is there something on your mind, Lady Pyra?"
She looked at him, amused for a moment. "I seem to keep forgetting my own strength."
Marth shook his head. "Is that all?"
The seer then took the seat beside him, and she seemed a bit reserved as she said, "It's Corrin. She's been gone quite a long time. If this continues, I'm worried something will happen."
Corrin dove away from another attack as Lucina countered the lizard's strike before jumping to protect the Koopa Princess from the other foe.
Corrin launched another bolt of lighting at the Panther before he sidestepped Lucina's strike.
Corrin's mind was racing as he could feel the world grow hotter. Panic raced through her mind and every fiber of her being. She was boiling from the inside out.
Suddenly every clash of scales, claws against steel rang in her mind like chapel bells ringing through her very bones. Everything was so unbearably loud.
She clung to her tome; her patience grew thin as the battle raged on. She flung the tome open. She found the most powerful spell she could, and as they were trapped between their foes, she began to conjure it.
She willed every ounce of magic in her blood through herself, "Rexaura!"
A magic circle appeared underneath their feet. Corrin could feel the winds carry her upward as what felt like fire was pulled from her body and flung down from the heavens as hundreds of bolts of lighting.
Their foes staggered backward, and as Corrin's feet touched the ground, she felt something in her very core snap.
Her knees gave out as Lucina's voice sounded so far away.
Marth nodded, he was worried about his sister, but he shoved those feelings aside. "Take heart. She isn't in this alone."
Pyra shook her head. It's not that I'm worried anyone will hurt her. I'm worried …."
Marth adjusted himself to face her better, trying to ignore the faint pain in his back. Pyra continued, "Corrin," She took a deep breath as if to steady herself. "Corrin is a dragon."
She looked away from him, "Whether half dragon or whole, we aren't entirely sure, but what we do know is that her power is incredible."
She brought a hand up to the cross-shaped emerald crystal on her chest. "Kamek and I placed a seal on her when she was very young."
"She doesn't know about it." Marth could already see where this was going, she continued. "I renew it while she sleeps so I don't scare her."
When she did meet his gaze again, he could see her absolute dread. "I'm afraid if we don't find her soon, then the seal will break, and there is no telling what will happen if she's under so much stress."
There was an oppressive air that filled the training area. Marth could feel the implications of her words weighing down his very soul.
Lucina rushed to Corrin's side as she fell to her knees. The bandits had run off to lick their wounds. But she could hear the sounds of more people approaching. Please, Nage, let that be Robin and the others.
She knelt beside her friend and reached out to see if she was okay. But her skin was burning, almost searing. "Corrin?"
Lucina was left watching as Corrin began to glow.
It reminded Lucina of the night after the ball. However, that night she was ethereal now; she reminded Lucina of molten metal. The look on her face was far from peaceful.
Lucina watched as Corrin sprouted a tail, wings, antlers, and claws. Slowly she was transforming in a clearly excruciating way.
"My blood-" Corrin gave an agonized cry, "-boils."
"Corrin," she reached out to touch her again, but the air around her was suffocating. She flinched away instinctively. But Corrin's cries were heartbreaking.
Lucina shook off her hesitation. She placed her hands on Corrin's shoulders, gripping her through the burning sensation. "Corrin!"
"Luci?" Lucina ignored everything else and embraced her dear friend.
"I'm here." The Koopa princess clung to her. Slowly Corrin's body returned to normal. Once her antlers were out of the way, Lucina guided Corrin to rest her head against her chest.
After what felt like forever, Corrin's eyes opened. "Feeling better?"
Corrin peeked at the other princess, and a small smile graced her features once again. "Yes, thank you."
Lucina gleaned behind her to see Robin standing at the treeline. He gave her a quick nod after they locked eyes.
She returned her attention to the other girl and smiled, "Rest. I'll carry you back to the wagon."
Corrin blushed faintly before nestling her face into Lucina's neck. "Okay."
Lucina scooped up the other girl and walked towards the other thief. In a whisper, she asked, "What happened?"
"Bandits."
"I got that much, yes." she adjusted her grip on Corrin.
"We were ambushed as well, but they made a run for it once Akira activated Arsen, and two of his men came rushing out of the woods with their tails between their legs."
Lucina walked past Byleth, healing Joker, while Cloud tried pulling his massive blade free from a tree. She tucked Corrin in the nest of blankets they shared.
She steered down at the sleeping princess and couldn't help the soft heat in her cheeks. I won't allow something like that to happen again, I promise.
AN/ Hey, sorry if I missed last week's upload. My family adopted a kitten recently, and I've been caring for her. So between feeding her and ensuring she doesn't get into too much trouble, I haven't been able to get work done. So again, I apologize for that. Also, the most challenging scene for this chapter wasn't any of the fights but the scene of Corrin and Luci running into the bandits …. Not sure why that gave me so much trouble, but it did. Anyways hope you all have a wonderful day.
~ (10/12/2022)
