Fire Emblem: "To Catch a Thief"
Chapter 2: A Dagger in the Dark
The invasion of Lord Eliwood's company of soldiers into Laus turned out to be successful; there were few injuries among them, and no casualties, either. This was due mostly to the skill of the troops, but partially to the tactician's skill, as well... She managed to plot out their course of action thanks to a brand-new map of the area she purchased, just before they had reached Castle Laus.
However, in the taking of the castle, the lords had learned some vital, if disturbing information about the treacherous Marquess of Laus's whereabouts.
So, Lord Eliwood's troops hurried towards their latest challenge... But as night had fell upon them, they had stopped to set up camp, for the army was still weary from their campaign in Laus.
It was almost midnight now, and all was quiet within the forest of pitched tents... Even the tactician, who was usually up late into the night, poring over battle strategies, was fast asleep in her bed.
Suddenly, from inside her tent, a shadow separated from one of the corners... Slowly, it stealthily headed towards the camp cot, upon which the young woman lay.
As it reached the side of the bed, it looked down silently at her sleeping form... The girl's eyes were closed; her breathing, slow and even. Satisfied, the figure pulled an item out of its cloak... As the dim light that filtered through the cracks of the tent touched it, it glinted off a metallic edge.
The dark figure slowly lowered its dagger, to lay it upon the young woman's throat.
Just when the knife was about to reach its mark, however, the tactician immediately rolled over, causing the blade to stick into her pillow instead... Her assailant leapt back, startled.
Meanwhile, the young woman had rolled off the cot onto the floor, obviously still wide awake. Gripping the bedclothes that were still wrapped around her, she quickly grabbed a sheet, and flung it over her assailant. The dark figure easily swept the fabric away with its dagger, but it was enough of a distraction for the tactician to release her own knives from her arm sheathes.
Noticing his target was now armed, the two opponents eyed each other warily, each waiting for the other to make their move... Then, all of a sudden, they both lunged at each other, weapons outstretched.
It was a silent, vicious struggle... As the two fought, each one found it difficult to get the upper hand in the small, cramped tent, and harder still to keep their footing... And even though each opponent appeared to have excellent night vision, both of them kept on running into objects in the darkness, causing muffled curses from each of them.
Finally, the tactician's assailant seemed to tire of the fight... Unexpectedly, he dove on the young woman, who was caught off guard. The momentum of his leap sent both of them hurtling towards the tactician's camp desk, causing it to overturn with a loud crash...
&&&
Meanwhile, Hector was walking across the darkened encampment, carrying a lantern to guide his way, when suddenly, he heard a loud noise from inside of one of the tents. Curiousity aroused, he ran towards the still-dark tent, recognizing it as the tactician's.
The lord warily opened the flap of the tent, holding the lantern up before him... It shed its light upon an overturned camp desk, pieces of parchment still floating in the air... And to one side, the tactician herself, sitting on the ground, looking rather dishevelled. Realizing this, the young woman stood up, and straightened her nightgown self-consciously.
"What's going on in here?" enquired Hector, warily. The tactician shifted uneasily under the light of the lantern.
"Um... Sorry about the commotion, your Lordship... I was... Er... Looking for one of my maps, just now..." At this, the lord shot her a suspicious look.
"In the dark?" The tactician looked embarassed.
"Uh... I suppose I should've lit a lamp first, before looking for it, huh?" She laughed weakly at this, while Hector stared at her, unconvinced... At last, he sighed.
"Very well. Carry on then..."
He then left the tent, muttering something under his breath about tacticians and their strange habits.
After the young lord's departure, the tactician paused for a moment, to make sure that he was out of earshot... Then she turned to glare at a particularly dark patch of shadow, to one side of her tent.
"Thanks a lot!" she snapped, seemingly to thin air. "What's the big idea, diving at me like that? Now, Lord Hector's going to think I'm crazy or something!"
"He will, if you keep on talking to the dark like this," replied the shadow.
As the young woman continued to glare, a figure stepped out from the darkness, revealing it to be Matthew. He shrugged.
"You know, you could've told Lord Hector that you were fighting off an assailant..." he remarked, in a reasonable tone. The tactician shot the thief a dirty look.
"Maybe I should have! What would his Lordship think, I wonder... You, sneaking into a helpless woman's tent at night, and attacking her in their sleep?" Matthew raised an eyebrow at her choice of words.
"Helpless?" he pointed out.
"Well... Supposedly helpless," she admitted. The thief shrugged again.
"He'd know I was just doing my job... The young master knows I would never attack someone without reason to."
"Really...?" commented the tactician, ironically. "So, is that why you hid away from him, just now...?"
Matthew grinned unabashedly in reply. A sly smile then spread across the young woman's face.
"I wonder if you would feel so lightly about this, if I decided to switch tents with Serra, one night..." she said pointedly. At this, the thief wore a pained expression.
"Now miss, that's just cruel and unusual punishment..." The tactician wagged a finger at him.
"Remember the old saying, 'No honour among thieves'?"
Matthew arched an eyebrow at her. "Even former ones?"
"Especially former ones... Especially if they happen to be tacticians, now."
The young woman then sighed, and sat heavily on her sleeping cot.
"I must confess though, Matthew... I wished you hadn't decided to spar with me, tonight... I really could use the sleep, since we're heading into Caelin tommorrow..." The young thief sat beside her.
"You're worried about Lady Lyndis, aren't you?" he asked quietly. She nodded, a look of worry crossing her face.
"As soon as we heard about the attack on Caelin, I wanted to head straight over there, just like Lord Eliwood did. But I had to insist that we not travel through the night, since the army was still tired from the last battle... As the company's tactician, it was duty to do so." Matthew nodded sympathetically.
"I can understand your concern for our old friends," mused the thief. His expression then turned serious. "However, that doesn't excuse you from sparring with me... Just because you're a tactician now, doesn't mean you couldn't be attacked, as well." The young woman looked at him wearily.
"Who would want to attack me, anyways?" she retorted. "They'd be much more likely to try and attack one of the lords."
"Don't sell yourself so short, miss," warned Matthew, with a frown. "Their Lordships have their vassals to protect them: Lord Eliwood has Marcus and Lowen, Hector has Oswin and myself... Even Lady Lyndis had those two knights of hers, to guard her... You, on the other hand, are relatively unprotected." The tactician raised an eyebrow at his words.
"I can't exactly see Lord Hector trusting his safety and well-being to you, Matthew," she commented. The thief pointedly ignored her remark, and continued.
"You shouldn't grow complacent just because you're a non-combatant now, Lady Tactician... You're just as valuable a member as any soldier in this army... And just as much of a target, as well."
The young woman looked surprised at his words. "Matthew..."
The thief continued to speak seriously. "I realize that you don't care for bloodshed, especially caused by yourself..." He then turned, to stare the tactician directly in the eyes.
"Although you may not want to face this fact, miss... One of these days you're going to have to make the choice of taking a life, to save another... And you'd best be prepared for it."
The thief then stood up and silently left the tent, leaving the young woman to dwell upon his words.
TO BE CONTINUED...
&&&&&
As you can see, I've decided to add on to this story, since I've come up with ideas on how continue it... (And I did take up Scarabsi's suggestion that I keep the tactician anonymous.)
Chapter 2: A Dagger in the Dark
The invasion of Lord Eliwood's company of soldiers into Laus turned out to be successful; there were few injuries among them, and no casualties, either. This was due mostly to the skill of the troops, but partially to the tactician's skill, as well... She managed to plot out their course of action thanks to a brand-new map of the area she purchased, just before they had reached Castle Laus.
However, in the taking of the castle, the lords had learned some vital, if disturbing information about the treacherous Marquess of Laus's whereabouts.
So, Lord Eliwood's troops hurried towards their latest challenge... But as night had fell upon them, they had stopped to set up camp, for the army was still weary from their campaign in Laus.
It was almost midnight now, and all was quiet within the forest of pitched tents... Even the tactician, who was usually up late into the night, poring over battle strategies, was fast asleep in her bed.
Suddenly, from inside her tent, a shadow separated from one of the corners... Slowly, it stealthily headed towards the camp cot, upon which the young woman lay.
As it reached the side of the bed, it looked down silently at her sleeping form... The girl's eyes were closed; her breathing, slow and even. Satisfied, the figure pulled an item out of its cloak... As the dim light that filtered through the cracks of the tent touched it, it glinted off a metallic edge.
The dark figure slowly lowered its dagger, to lay it upon the young woman's throat.
Just when the knife was about to reach its mark, however, the tactician immediately rolled over, causing the blade to stick into her pillow instead... Her assailant leapt back, startled.
Meanwhile, the young woman had rolled off the cot onto the floor, obviously still wide awake. Gripping the bedclothes that were still wrapped around her, she quickly grabbed a sheet, and flung it over her assailant. The dark figure easily swept the fabric away with its dagger, but it was enough of a distraction for the tactician to release her own knives from her arm sheathes.
Noticing his target was now armed, the two opponents eyed each other warily, each waiting for the other to make their move... Then, all of a sudden, they both lunged at each other, weapons outstretched.
It was a silent, vicious struggle... As the two fought, each one found it difficult to get the upper hand in the small, cramped tent, and harder still to keep their footing... And even though each opponent appeared to have excellent night vision, both of them kept on running into objects in the darkness, causing muffled curses from each of them.
Finally, the tactician's assailant seemed to tire of the fight... Unexpectedly, he dove on the young woman, who was caught off guard. The momentum of his leap sent both of them hurtling towards the tactician's camp desk, causing it to overturn with a loud crash...
&&&
Meanwhile, Hector was walking across the darkened encampment, carrying a lantern to guide his way, when suddenly, he heard a loud noise from inside of one of the tents. Curiousity aroused, he ran towards the still-dark tent, recognizing it as the tactician's.
The lord warily opened the flap of the tent, holding the lantern up before him... It shed its light upon an overturned camp desk, pieces of parchment still floating in the air... And to one side, the tactician herself, sitting on the ground, looking rather dishevelled. Realizing this, the young woman stood up, and straightened her nightgown self-consciously.
"What's going on in here?" enquired Hector, warily. The tactician shifted uneasily under the light of the lantern.
"Um... Sorry about the commotion, your Lordship... I was... Er... Looking for one of my maps, just now..." At this, the lord shot her a suspicious look.
"In the dark?" The tactician looked embarassed.
"Uh... I suppose I should've lit a lamp first, before looking for it, huh?" She laughed weakly at this, while Hector stared at her, unconvinced... At last, he sighed.
"Very well. Carry on then..."
He then left the tent, muttering something under his breath about tacticians and their strange habits.
After the young lord's departure, the tactician paused for a moment, to make sure that he was out of earshot... Then she turned to glare at a particularly dark patch of shadow, to one side of her tent.
"Thanks a lot!" she snapped, seemingly to thin air. "What's the big idea, diving at me like that? Now, Lord Hector's going to think I'm crazy or something!"
"He will, if you keep on talking to the dark like this," replied the shadow.
As the young woman continued to glare, a figure stepped out from the darkness, revealing it to be Matthew. He shrugged.
"You know, you could've told Lord Hector that you were fighting off an assailant..." he remarked, in a reasonable tone. The tactician shot the thief a dirty look.
"Maybe I should have! What would his Lordship think, I wonder... You, sneaking into a helpless woman's tent at night, and attacking her in their sleep?" Matthew raised an eyebrow at her choice of words.
"Helpless?" he pointed out.
"Well... Supposedly helpless," she admitted. The thief shrugged again.
"He'd know I was just doing my job... The young master knows I would never attack someone without reason to."
"Really...?" commented the tactician, ironically. "So, is that why you hid away from him, just now...?"
Matthew grinned unabashedly in reply. A sly smile then spread across the young woman's face.
"I wonder if you would feel so lightly about this, if I decided to switch tents with Serra, one night..." she said pointedly. At this, the thief wore a pained expression.
"Now miss, that's just cruel and unusual punishment..." The tactician wagged a finger at him.
"Remember the old saying, 'No honour among thieves'?"
Matthew arched an eyebrow at her. "Even former ones?"
"Especially former ones... Especially if they happen to be tacticians, now."
The young woman then sighed, and sat heavily on her sleeping cot.
"I must confess though, Matthew... I wished you hadn't decided to spar with me, tonight... I really could use the sleep, since we're heading into Caelin tommorrow..." The young thief sat beside her.
"You're worried about Lady Lyndis, aren't you?" he asked quietly. She nodded, a look of worry crossing her face.
"As soon as we heard about the attack on Caelin, I wanted to head straight over there, just like Lord Eliwood did. But I had to insist that we not travel through the night, since the army was still tired from the last battle... As the company's tactician, it was duty to do so." Matthew nodded sympathetically.
"I can understand your concern for our old friends," mused the thief. His expression then turned serious. "However, that doesn't excuse you from sparring with me... Just because you're a tactician now, doesn't mean you couldn't be attacked, as well." The young woman looked at him wearily.
"Who would want to attack me, anyways?" she retorted. "They'd be much more likely to try and attack one of the lords."
"Don't sell yourself so short, miss," warned Matthew, with a frown. "Their Lordships have their vassals to protect them: Lord Eliwood has Marcus and Lowen, Hector has Oswin and myself... Even Lady Lyndis had those two knights of hers, to guard her... You, on the other hand, are relatively unprotected." The tactician raised an eyebrow at his words.
"I can't exactly see Lord Hector trusting his safety and well-being to you, Matthew," she commented. The thief pointedly ignored her remark, and continued.
"You shouldn't grow complacent just because you're a non-combatant now, Lady Tactician... You're just as valuable a member as any soldier in this army... And just as much of a target, as well."
The young woman looked surprised at his words. "Matthew..."
The thief continued to speak seriously. "I realize that you don't care for bloodshed, especially caused by yourself..." He then turned, to stare the tactician directly in the eyes.
"Although you may not want to face this fact, miss... One of these days you're going to have to make the choice of taking a life, to save another... And you'd best be prepared for it."
The thief then stood up and silently left the tent, leaving the young woman to dwell upon his words.
TO BE CONTINUED...
&&&&&
As you can see, I've decided to add on to this story, since I've come up with ideas on how continue it... (And I did take up Scarabsi's suggestion that I keep the tactician anonymous.)