Ambivalence.

While Chrom and the rest were busy with the ships, Siegfried and Cordelia had been busy gathering some supplies. They were nearing a village, which looked like it was in trouble.

"Something is amiss here. The village looks like it's been bled dry" Siegfried said.

"I see what you mean. We should see what's wrong, but we also need to regroup with Chrom" Cordelia reminded.

"Chrom can hold out without us for a while longer. With Cassandra and Robin on his side, he'll be fine. We would be mad at us if we just abandoned a village to die" Siegfried said.

Cordelia nods in agreement "Yes, you are right. We need to help them".

In the village an Villager was speaking to the elder "This can't go on, Elder! We barely have enough to get us by as it is!".

"Their leader is a former Valmese general! We'll be crushed if we resist..." The Elder said in hoplessness.

"What about Valm?" Siegfried asked as he approached.

The Villager looked at him "Who are you?".

"My name is Siegfried. I'm currently in the service of Chrom" Siegfried answered.

The Elder looked surprised "You serve The ruler of Ylisse?!".

"Elder! He may be able to help us!" The Villager said.

"That's why we came here in the first place. Explain what's going on and we'll see what we can do" Siegfried said.

"Oh, thank you, sir! A cruel man named Nelson has been robbing us of our possessions. We will never survive without them, but Nelson would kill us if we try to fight back" The Elder said.

"I see. Tell me where he is and we'll take care of them" Siegfried said.


Meanwhile a soldier approached Nelson.

"Urgent news, sir! Armed soldiers approach! Their leader claims to serve Chrom of Ylisse!" The soldier said.

Nelson growls "Dammit! Why would he come here? Well, if they insist on dogging me, I've got hounds of my own to welcome them with".

A red haired girl glares at him "I'm not your dog, scum!".

Nelson only smirked "No, only a stray mutt that refuses to stop yapping. But you'll be a good dog and do as I say if you ever want-".

"Yes, yes, if I ever want to see it again. I'm well aware" The girl said, sounding annoyed.

"I trust you're equally aware of your position, Holland?" Nelson asked a man who said nothing "Loquacious as ever, I see. You'll fight for me, or I'll have that lazy tongue pried from your head. Now, then, Chrom's dogs will try to stop us, but if we kill them, maybe we can provoke Chrom himself to come after us, with the Fire Emblem in his possession. And if I claim that, I've practically claimed the throne. So go out there, kill anything that moves!".


Siegfried and his allies arrived at the Mercenary Fortress "This must be where those rats are hiding. The plan is simple: Defeat them and reclaim the villages possession".

Nearby the red haired girl looked at them "All this grief over something so small... Once I get what I came for, I'm out of here. Maybe I can convince Holland to come with me" Suddenly Cordelia landed near her "...Oh, gods. It's you".

"Have we met? If so, I'm afraid I've quite forgotten" Cordelia said.

The girl glares "Well, excuse me for being so forgettable!".

"Look, there's no time for this. If you're a friend, speak now. If not, then stay out of our way or I'll have to cut you down" Cordelia warned.

"And now you're threatening me... Do you care at all!?" The girl demanded.

Cordelia looked confused "...I'm sorry?".

"You should be! But never mind that now, I don't care about Nelson ...I only want to talk to Holland" The girl said.

"Holland?" Cordelia asked.

"Yes, Holland! That sad sack over there. Watch my back so I can get to him safely, and then I'll help your stupid army!" The girl said.

"O...okay?" Cordelia said, she was confused on why this girl was so mad at her.

"Oh, and Holland's not here of his own will, so don't you dare hurt him!" The girl warned.

"What is going on here?" Siegfried asked as he approached.

The girl's demeanor suddenly changed "Oh... you".

"Do I know you? You look familiar... almost frighteningly familiar" Siegfried said.

"Gods! I will explain later ok, right now I need to get to Holland and make him leave" The Girl said.

"And you're sure he'll listen?" Siegfried asked.

"He will if I talk to him. He listens to pretty much whatever I say. Don't worry, he hates Nelson, too. Just be sure not to hurt him" The Girl answered.

"Very well. We'll keep the rats away from you and you'll take care of your friend" Siegfried said.

The girl nods and began moving towards Holland while Siegfried and Cordelia took care of the enemies. The girl looked at them fight together in perfect sync. Working of each other's strengths, while making up for their weaknesses... They really were perfect for each other. She almost smiled but reminded herself that she needed to focus.

She finally reached her friend "Holland!".

Holland looks at her "Severa! What are you doing here? If he knows you left your post...".

The girl who name was Severa stopped him "I'm leaving, Holland, and you're coming with me".

Holland shook his head "Severa, I... I can't. You know I can't. I have a wife. If I don't earn Nelson's coin, she'll starve. I know it's blood money, but-".

Severa stops him again "Your wife is PREGNANT, Holland! You know that, don't you?!".

"Of course I know that! And it's none of your concern!" Holland shouted back.

"Do you love your child, Holland? Do you love your wife?" Severa asked.

"Of course I do!" Holland answered.

"Then stop making excuses! I know that parents will do anything for their children... But I also know how it feels when a child loses her parents. This world's got far too many kids who've gone through that. If you stay, you'll be killed or worse. And your child deserves better!" Severa said.

Holland was silent for a moment "Severa, I... I'm sorry. I didn't know. That must have been hard for you. ... You're right. My child deserves better. Let's get out of here".

Severa smiled "Really?!".

"Yes, really. But we have to hurry!" Holland said before he hurried to leave before any of the enemy soldiers could stop him.

With her friend safe, Severa could help the rest take down Nelson and reclaim what belongs to her. Joining Siegfried and Cordelia, she cut down one enemy after the other with swift and strong blows. Siegfried watched her for a few seconds... The way she fights was very familiar. He began having suspicions of who she could be, but he had to make sure. They fought their way to Nelson who glared at Severa.

"Traitorous wench!" He snarled.

"You've got to be loyal before you can be a traitor, you idiot! And you're one to talk, extorting a poor innocent girl like me...it's time you learned just how deadly this innocent girl can be!" Severa declared.

"Severa! Crushing slash!" Siegfried called out.

Severa gasped when he said that, a clear sign she knew exactly what he meant. They charged at Nelson who unleashed a magical attack, which Siegfried blocked with his blade. This allowed Severa to use his shoulder as a jumping board, as she leaps through the air with her blade raised high. Before Nelson could prepare another spell, Severa slashed him through the chest, making him fall to the ground.

"My throne… My…empire…" He said as he bled out.

Once the battle was over, the village Elder approached them

"You've saved the village from starvation! You're a true hero of the people, sir" He said in joy.

"It was my honor. Reclaim everything they stole. I need to talk to someone" Siegfried said.

Meanwhile Severa was looking through some stuff until she finally found what she was looking for "Yes, here it is!".

"A ring?" Siegfried asked as he approached.

"It's my ring, and I'll thank you to stop staring so lustily at it! It's worth more to me than anything in the world to me... That rat Nelson stole it one night while I was sleeping" Severa said.

"A cowardly act from a cowardly man" Siegfried said.

"You got that right" Severa agreed.

Cordelia appears "Oh. ...You".

"Wh-what do you want?!" Severa demanded.

"Just to thank you for helping us. You fought bravely, er..." Cordelia trailed of.

"Severa. ...My name's Severa" Severa said.

Cordelia smiled "It suits you somehow. Oh, and my name-".

"Cordelia. I know" Severa said.

"Er, yes, that's... But how did you...? I'm sorry, did I introduce myself before?" Cordelia asked, she was certain she didn't mention her name when they spoke earlier.

"I guess you must have if I know your name. Gods..." Severa said.

"Or it's because of something else" Siegfried said making Severa look at him "The Crushing Slash. It a maneuver me and my father came up with together. Only I know of it... Unless I taught to you".

Severa looked away "You... you did...".

"That ring... Oh, goodness. It looks exactly like... Ah I see. That would explain how you know my name. You're a friend of Lucina's, aren't you? ...And you're our child. Isn't that right?" Cordelia asked.

Severa muttered and grumble "...Lonely...".

"What was that?" Cordelia asked.

"I SAID, I thought you'd might be lonely, so I came here to see you! ...You're welcome" Severa said, clearly trying to save face.

"That's very sweet" Cordelia said with a smile.

"D-don't mock me! You don't care! You don't care at all!" Severa almost shouted.

Cordelia looked confused "How could you possibly think that? I'm thrilled beyond words to meet you".

"...Then why'd you leave me? After father vanished you said you had to go off to fight for what really mattered, and you never came back! You picked Chrom over me!" Severa said, looking ready to cry.

"You have me at a disadvantage, Severa. I can't answer for my future self. But when I said I was fighting for what mattered, I probably meant you. I'd want nothing more than to build a world where you could grow up happy and strong. At least, that's what I want right now" Cordelia said.

"You think I don't know that...? I mean, I DO know that, but..." Severa said as she began shaking, her emotions were starting to come out.

"I'm sorry I wasn't a better mother to you" Cordelia said.

"And looks like I wasn't a good father is I just up and vanished on you" Siegfried said.

"Well, you're still MY parents, which makes you the best parents in the world" Severa said as her tears finally began to spill.

Cordelia smiled as she gave Severa a hug "And the luckiest, it seems".

Severa hugged her back "Oh, Mom, I missed you so much! I... I'm sorry I was so mean... I just... I didn't want to lose you again... Promise you won't leave, okay? Promise!".

"I promise" Cordelia said.

Severa turned to Siegfried "And that goes double for you! Don't you dare vanish on us again!".

Siegfried smiled and almost chuckled "Understood. I'm not going anywhere. I'd rather not risk your wrath".

"You better not!" Severa said before she got a hug from her father as well.


Later that night, Severa enjoyed sleeping in a nice tent for a change. While she did, Siegfried and Cordelia were standing outside.

"So... our daughter" Siegfried said.

"She has your eyes" Cordelia noted.

"And your hair. So, you and I will have a daughter soon. Got to say, I can't think of anyone I'd rather have a child with than you" Siegfried said.

Cordelia giggled a little "Well, I guess we need to start looking for a chance to make sure we have her".

"Once things calm down a little... Cordelia, I... Well, I..." Siegfried began but he was feeling awkward.

Cordelia laughed softly "Still struggling with the words. Well, actions speaks louder than words".

Siegfried smiled as her pulled Cordelia close and kissed her. Cordelia eagerly returned the kiss, even deepening it. Their kiss was one of pure passion, and there was no doubt they would have a child one day soon...

But while they were lost in their passion... Severa was blushing bright red while covering her ears with her pillow... couldn't they have found a better spot for that!? Now she'll never sleep!

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I will confess... I completely forgot the other child characters shows up in Paralogues which takes place before the previous chapter. And by the time I realized it, it was far to late to change it. So now I will have to rewrite the paralogues a bit and figure out who will be the father/mother of who.

And I'm sorry if Siegfried and Cordelia's love feels rushed. Since I mainly focused on Chrom and Cassandra, it left little time for the others. I will see if I can change that in future chapters.

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Tell me what you think.