Pacing back and forth, Marth and Ellis' father was anxiously waiting for the arrival of Eliwood and Roy. He was nicely dressed in a suit and blue cloak. When Ellis entered the beautifully decorated living room, her father turned his head and looked at her.

"There you are, Ellis!" he said cheerfully. "You look really nice for our guests!"

"Thank you, Dad", she replied. "When do you think that Lord Eliwood'll arrive?"

"Hmm, I'd say in about a few minutes" her father answered back. He resumed his pacing while Ellis threw him a confused look. It's been long since her father and Eliwood came together and it's no wonder why he felt a bit nervous.

"Dad, I think that you should relax a little bit! Just sit down, ok?" Ellis told him in a very concerned tone.

"Nah, it's alright! I'm quite fine! By the way... where's your brother at? Is he still getting ready?" he asked.

"Marthy locked himself in his room again. He kinda panicked when I told him how long they'll be staying..." her voice trailed off as Marth entered the room. His pallor was even more noticeable than earlier, as if he just saw a ghost while coming over to the living room. Marth headed over to a couch and flopped down on it then he let out a heavy sigh.

"Son... what's wrong? Are you ok?" his father asked Marth.

"I... I... I saw something... outside the castle... " Marth seemed to be deathly afraid of what was awaiting outside. He was trembling with fright and he kept looking around as if a madman was lurking nearby.

Jeigan approached Marth with a glass of water for him. Jeigan is an elderly man who takes care of Marth from time to time. In a way, he's like a grandfather to Marth. The aghast prince immediately took long, deep drinks of the water. He mumbled a "Thank you", feeling relaxed and no longer afraid.

Inside the carriage, Roy was snacking on some cookies that he got at the pit stop while Eliwood was going over some last-minute details.

"Now remember, Roy. Be on your best behavior! Don't talk back and don't act up, got it?" Eliwood said sternly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever...", Roy groaned while rolling his eyes. He ate another cookie, showing indifference about the rules.

"Well, if that's how you're going to act... maybe you should be sent back home", said Eliwood. He folded his arms and glared at Roy sternly.

"WHAT?! NO WAY! It was so BORING coming over here! There's NO WAY I'm going to be sent back home!" Roy cried. He looked up at Eliwood with pleading eyes, hoping that he'd change his mind.

They exited the carriage and walked up to the entrance of the castle. Jeigan opened the door for them and lead them into the living room. Ellis, her father, and Marth looked up at the guests.

"Eliwood! It's so good to see you again, buddy!"

"Corneilius! Been a while since we've met!"

Both men ran up to each other and gave each other a great bear hug. Roy just looked over at Ellis and Marth (who was hidden by the couch).

"This is my son, Roy. C'mon over here... This is my friend Corneilius. Show some respect, ok Roy?" Eliwood told Roy. Roy shook Corneilius' hand and smiled at him.

"Hello, there", Roy told Corneilius.

"It's nice to finally meet you", he replied. He then turned towards Eliwood. "Your son's very polite. I'd like you to meet my daughter, Ellis. Ellis, can you come over here?"

Ellis walked over to Eliwood and Roy, bowing her head. "Hello, Lord Eliwood. Hello, Roy."

"What's up?" Roy replied. He grasped Ellis' hand and shook it.

"Also, I'd like you to meet my son. Marth, can you come over here?" Corneilius continued. He looked over towards Marth and noticed that he was trying to keep himself out of view. "Sorry, he's a very shy boy."

"It's ok. I'm sure that he'll grow to like us", Eliwood answered.

Roy headed over to Marth, who tensed up. The timid prince tried to hide, hoping that Roy wouldn't see him. Roy just looked at Marth with a confused expression on his face.

"Are you Marth?" Roy asked him.

"Um... uh... " Marth replied.

"Well, ARE you?"

"Y-yeah, I am"

"Huh... That's kinda... Um, how should I say this? You don't look like a 'Marth' to me", said Roy.

"I don't? W-w-what do you mean by that?" Marth asked.

"It's just kinda odd... A girl named 'Marth', how funny is THAT?" said Roy.

"I-I-I look like a... a GIRL?!" Marth said out loud. He dashed out of the room, crying.

"ROY!" Eliwood shouted.

"Whoops. I uh... didn't mean to say that out loud...", Roy answered.

"It's not your fault, Roy", said Ellis. "Marthy gets upset when people say something about the way he looks. It's not a real big deal or anything"