Fubuki no Kaen

Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: R

Warnings: One thing… Or, lot's of things: This is a story with yaoi/shounen ai/slash, whatever you want to call it. If that sort of stuff isn't your thing, then don't read it. But, we hope that you do…
Disclaimer: The characters Marth and Roy, plus "Altea", do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.
Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think!)
Notes: Vallen: In my opinion, I think this is one of the best chapters content-wise. Lots of good conversation between Marth and Roy. Read on!

Xan:  be thankful to vallen for this one! Ii was gone all weekend and I guess she typed it up out of boredom.  Or maybe because she loves y'all.  In any case, give her lots of presents.

Thank you to: Valamarit (Yes, they are going to kill Gaimen very soon… He shall die a suitable death), Ryuke-Naoe (Wow, I can't believe we have people recommending our fic… I feel special. And I'm sure Xan does too, but she's not here right now. Glad to have you with us!) Leera the Elemental Mage (You like the interaction bits? Well, then you should love this chapter. You're welcome for ch.16 as well), hooshi (Shizzled your nizzle? *blink* o.o Kinda ironic that it was on your b-day, but I must apologize. There is no lemon… .), Evil Anime Chick (Ohh, yes, we gotta love that boy-on-boy action. Well, at least I do), Evui (*giggles* Oh, that's great… I will accept laziness as an excuse, seeing as I am very lazy myself, but now that you've reviewed, you gotta keep on telling us what you think! *huggle* We love new (and returning) reviewers… Xan should be happy to hear that you liked the symbolism… That was her doing), YoshiMars (Haha, yes… I had a feeling that you guys would like a bath scene, seeing as we kinda brought it up in the group and all. We had that planned, so we were just playing with you… ^_^), RcA (^^ *smushes Marth and Roy plushies together* Oh! I love that! That's my favorite *action* of the week! Yes, the chapter was a little short- Sorry!), Belldandy (Ack, you get spring break NOW? We had it in March… Marth 11. From now on, Roy is nice to Marth, so you can breathe a sigh of relief), Sake Girl Duelist (hehe… I wouldn't burst in on them if I were you… Roy might burn you to a crisp), Spectrum (Great points! It seems that you, Xan and I are all happy to see them making progress… *gets all teary-eyed* But this also means the END too! Wai!! *cries*), pannybaby123 (Ah yes, the powers coolness factor. We tried to make them as real as possible… And cool at the same time), Spanish Ninja Sneasel (*continues for her* and the lips and the water and the- I'M RANTING AREN'T WE? *laughs nervously* You're right, Marth IS a very subtle person- At least, Xan has chosen him to make him that way. On the other hand, Roy is not…), klar (O.O Fanart instead of essay?! We're VERY flattered, but we don't want to get you into trouble… We'll just keep on making this more and more delicious- Make sure you read my author's note at the bottom), Dark Comet (Hee! I wish I was Marth AND Roy…), tikimoof (As far as power, Marth is stronger because he's been practicing magic longer. As far as Rowen, he is… a definite character for FnK2), GS Failure (Speaking of math, Xan and I are in the same math class and sit right next to each other… *sweatdrop* The teacher gets annoyed with Xan writing, but she never catches me. ^^ Thank you for the review!), Marth-Roy-Fan (So that means you love every single chapter? Aw, I think that's good… Thanks!), and Sinnatious (Tee-hee… Yes, I decided that I would not put you guys through another evil cliffhanger. Ha, it would be funny if he burned the whole town down… *cackles evilly* Or Altea for that matter).

Roy wandered through the town, trying to figure out where he was going. He would have stopped and asked for help, but that was useless. He finally found his way to a small dwelling, where a frail old man worked over a magnifying glass, carefully constructing jewelry.

"Excuse me?" He said, standing at the door. He saw the grey-haired man move his lips in what seemed to be a greeting, pausing in his craft.

"I am deaf, but not mute, so you'll have to forgive me," Roy started, stepping forward. He took out the stone that Marth had created for him and showed it to the artisan. "Could you put this on a chain? I'll pay whatever the fee."

The old man seemed to be sympathetic and took pity on Roy, a seemingly poof deaf boy who had been a victim of the fire. He motioned for Roy to give him the stone and wrote out on a piece of paper how much it would cost the teen and that he would do it quickly right now.

The elderly artisan squinted his aged brown eyes at Roy's stone, but did not question as to what kind it was. He worked diligently with his tools on it, selecting a fine silver chain.

The boy-general paid the fine worker in gold pieces left over from Trave and slipped it around his neck. It was comforting, a mixture between hot and cold, and also a reminder of Marth. The stone was very peculiar indeed, portraying a still-burning flame carefully and intricately encased in ice.

He walked out of the store, wandering around the village. It was then that his senses were bombarded by the smell of burnt flesh and death. He approached the church-turned-infirmary, walking inside slowly. Around him was a picture of chaos and sickness. A few dozen (at least) people were confined to makeshift sickbeds while the unhurt scrambled around to care for them. It was obvious that these were the seriously injured victims of the fire and Roy had to force himself to stand back and look at it all.

'This is what fire does… How could I ever learn to harness it to my advantage?' The teen walked around the area, blending in perfectly with his burnt clothes and hair. He looked down upon a small, unattended girl.

She wore a charred and ripped blue dress and obviously hadn't been helped yet. Her lips were dried and cracked from inhaling too much smoke and one could tell that her throat was damaged as well from the way she was breathing. A raw, open wound on her upper chest around the collarbone was the worst thing ailing her.

The town hadn't been prepared for a fire like this in the winter, so they were probably going to lose a few people. Roy bit his lip and looked around, making sure that no one was looking. If it worked for Marth, it could work for this girl, right?

He touched the wound softly and immediately the orange light began streaming from his fingers and the girl's wound started to heal. The pus dried up and the injury started to close from the outside edges in. The teen pulled away right after it had closed and was merely a scar.

He stared at her and his hand in disbelief, not conceiving what he had just seen to be true. But it was.

Roy tore away from the infirmary and sprinted to the site of the fire. Standing before it, he clenched his fists and cursed it for all he was worth. He remembered something and got down on his knees, rifling through the ashes and debris.

There! Roy's hands found the hilt of Marth's sword- He had been smart enough to grab his own in the pandemonium, but Marth had not. The teen knew that the weapon was special to the exiled prince, so perhaps he was doing him a favor. He clutched the sword in one hand and the stone through the fabric of his shirt in the other, trudging back to the stable.

Marth sat in the water, stirring it idly. Once Roy had left, he had decreased the temperature dramatically so that the water was now at a level most people could not tolerate. He made sure to melt the ice back and pay for the two of them before going back to the stable.

"Hello boy. I'm sorry I left you for so long." He murmured, stroking his stallion's neck softly. Cloud nickered and lipped Marth's hair. Marth tugged on his forelock.

"You stupid horse." He patted Roy's mare as well. "Roy'll be back soon, girl."

Roy walked in silently, not bothering to hide Marth's sword as a surprise. There was a certain scared and confused look in his blue eyes, but he tried to hide it as best he could.

"For you." The teen held the special blade out for Marth to grasp.

Marth's eyes widened slightly and he took the sword from Roy, clasping the soot-blackened hilt tightly. He ran his fingers over the Altean crest inscribed in the gold and the ice-blue jewel set there. He and Falcion had been through much, ever since he had picked it from the armory as a child.

'Thank you…' He said to Roy, looking up at the ex-general. Then he frowned.

'What's the matter?'

There was a long silence as Roy turned his face away from Marth's.

"Marth… Is it possible for one person to heal another?"

Marth was silent for a moment, considering Roy's question.

'Rowen told me once that there were healers- people whose magic could heal other people but that they were exceptionally rare. Did you see one or something?"

"Maybe- In the infirmary. There were many injured people in there, too many for the town to take care of, and suddenly one just got better… Is that healing?" Roy questioned, choosing his words carefully so not to make the ex-prince suspicious of anything.

'Possibly. I've never seen it done.'

Roy nodded his assent and turned to his horse, checking her stall, making sure that everything was in order. He grabbed a brush and began to brush the black mare fervently, putting his concentration into it.

Cloud snorted and looked at Roy with puzzlement before going to nuzzle to the mare.

'Roy,' Marth said sharply, 'What's wrong?'

The auburn-haired teen ceased his brushing and stared into Marth's eyes, grasping the stone underneath his shirt tightly. He couldn't keep this a secret from his prince.

"I think I healed a little girl…" He said softly.

Marth's mouth fell open slightly and he stared at Roy.

'Are you positive?' He asked faintly.

"I'm pretty sure… I mean, I touched her and there was this light. The next thing I knew was that the burn wound was simply a scar," Roy answered shakily, burying his face in his horse's black, fleshy neck as if he was embarrassed.

Marth stepped over to Roy and placed a hand on his shoulder.

'You healed me too, didn't you?'

"I didn't mean to! I'm sorry," the teen apologized, lifting his head.

'Roy, don't apologize. What you have been given is a great gift and I can only wish that Rowen was here to teach you properly. But I will try the best I can alone. You just need to have faith.'

They were on the road the next day, only a week away from the capital. Roy was uncomfortable with Marth giving him impromptu lessons from the saddle, but that was the way it had to be. A feeling of nervous anxiety fell upon them as they worked, but the two young men tried their best to keep calm.

"Good, but you came close to catching your horse on fire. Power is not what we want here, you're learning control." Marth told Roy, who was practicing with his fire magic from his mare's back.

"Damn." Roy answered, looking at Marth attentively. The boy-general had regained his hearing suddenly one day when they had been practicing intensely. There had been a loud roar of fire that only he heard and a force that had knocked him off his horse. The teen was quite stunned at the time, but hearing Marth's voice and the sounds around them changed that to happiness.

Marth was in truth a bit of a martinet and he tried to help Roy to the best of his abilities, but as a novice mage himself, there was only so much he could do.

"Try again and aim carefully. Force it to go where you want it to."

"At this rate, I'll set the entire castle on fire…" Roy grumbled, clenching his fists. They erupted in flames and he held them there.

"If you kill Gaimen in the process it will be worth it," Marth replied. "Castles can be rebuilt. Now control it."

"Fire is so destructive… I took a look around at the village and all I saw were people in pain, pain that the fire had caused. How can I control that?"

"A sword is a destructive force, is it not? It can't be used for anything but causing pain and yet you control it. You control your power like a sword- use it as a weapon for good and not destruction."

A light began to brighten Roy's eyes as a small smile appeared upon his face.

"And with sword fighting comes skill and talent…" He added, raising one fiery fist.

The auburn-haired teen slowly unclenched his hand and arched it over his head, creating an artful half-circle of fire. Roy stared at the fingertips, creating a flame sphere and moving it around in the air with his mind. He had felt this awesome feeling before, when he had defeated his first opponent.

The ex-prince turned Roy's sphere into a ball of ice, causing it to fall to the ground and shatter.

"Talent you undoubtedly have, skill you do not. Not yet. But if you keep improving by this much, by the time we get to the capital, you'll be as good as Rowen." Marth paused. "Roy, have you given any though as to how we're going to get in? We're still in exile."

Roy's face fell as he watched his first sphere drop and break, but tried not to look too disappointed. This was no time to act like a child who had just had his bubble burst.

"No, I hadn't though about it. The only plausibly way to get in would be under some sort of disguise…" Roy thought logically, switching to general mode.

"A disguise…" Marth mused. "I suppose we'll think of one when we get there."

"I'll think about it… I'll have to try and remember stuff from espionage training. Something that they would never recognize you as." Roy fell silent.

"Like a woman?"

The boy-general gave a start, almost dropping the reins.

"I guess you could say that…"

"There was an assassination attempt on my parents and I once when I was younger and we had to go into hiding. They dressed me in girl's clothing and passed me off as one. It worked." Marth bit his lip. "I can always do that again."

"No one's forcing you, so it's your choice… Now I just have to think of something for myself," Roy answered.

"Do you think your voice is going to change anytime soon?"

To be continued…

Vallen: Ah, that was a fun chapter. I wrote most of the beginning with Roy, so I was hoping all you Roy-fans would appreciate that, aaaannnd… Cross-dressing is so much fun. ^_^ *evil* Now, who dares to oppose the great, almighty, awesome power of cross-dressing?! *crickets chirp* *tumbleweeds roll by* That's what I thought.

Xan: *snickers evilly* oh, fun fun fun fun...  it takes a rather... gender-bending turn at this point, so enjoy...

Important Question: Are any of you anime fans going to A-Kon?