Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem

A/N: Hi everybody. Or nobody. Who ever reads this. Here's the next installment. I apologize for any grammatical mistakes or plot holes. I proof-read this twice, but if you find something, please tell me so that I can fix it.

Chapter 1- A little flat where it counts, but...

Ursula stared into the fire cackling in the fireplace. It radiated enough heat to keep the small room at a temperature only slightly below what she would rather it be. She pulled her cloak around her tighter, and breathed in the scent of the fabric. It still smelled of home. No. What had been her home. She could never return.

Now she lay on the wooden planks before the fire in a small cottage. This cottage lay on the outskirts of Jimson, a briskly growing trade city. Ursula had not considered where she would live once she had contacted the Black Fang; she had saved that problem for later. Now it was later. Lloyd, the young man who had interrogated her, had been assigned by Brendan Reed to train her in the basic life of an assassin. She had never really thought on how the Black Fang's members lived.

She knew now. Ursula had been given a week: a week in which to find a place to call her own and quietly insert herself into the normal flow of society. The Black Fang assassins were so effective due to their extensive network of spies. All of the assassins lived as ordinary citizens, only dropping the guise when they were called on to kill. Ursula had not known what she had expected them to live like. Nomadic bandits? A castle full of assassins? Her naivety frightened her. For the first time, she was realizing just how sheltered her life at court had been. All she had been taught were things that proper ladies did. How to sing, dance, sew, and heal, all of which were equally dainty things. All were sure to help her catch the eye of a rich, powerful lord. And all were completely useless.

Healing was the exception. Ursula believed that was the sole thing that could help her now. Though aside from that, she had absolutely no battlefield skills. She could not handle any weapons. Doubts swam malevolently inside of her. The blazing fire in front of her grew blurry from the tears that threatened to fall. What had she done? She knew full well know what she had done; it was just that she didn't know why.

Once more, as she had done for every night since she had killed her own father, Ursula hugged her legs to her chest, and cried herself to sleep, loathing the fact that she could not control the tears of regret that refused to be held back.

Lloyd woke instinctively as the sky tinged pink with the valiant sun on the rise. He quickly jumped out of bed and landed without a sound. His sword was, as always, on the small table next to his bed. He ignored it. Instead, Lloyd reached for a twin set of daggers. Today he could not openly wear a sword, but he'd be dammed if he wasn't armed.

Ursula was sleeping on the ground by the fireplace, just where he had sent her to bed. And she slept deeply, from what he could tell. She did not stir when he walked into the room, and he had walked in loudly. That was the first thing he would have to train out of her.

He watched her for a moment. She was the first he had ever trained before. Lloyd knew that his father trusted him, but never had he felt experienced enough to teach another. This would be a learning experience for the both of them. After some deliberation on how to start about teaching her first lesson, Lloyd walked out to the well and filled two buckets full of water-water that was guaranteed to be freezing. His father had done this to only once, but he had never forgotten the technique.

"Ursula," He said. That was her chance to save herself from the unpleasant thing that was going to happen next. Ursula's eyelids didn't even twitch. Amazing. He wondered when the last time he had ever slept like that was. In sleep, she looked even younger than she had the previous night. He shrugged. She had had her chance. Lloyd then nonchalantly dumped one of the buckets of water over the girl.

She gasped, effectively forcing a good deal of water down her nose. Ursula sat there choking for a moment, only to be assaulted with the second bucket of water. This time she jumped up, staring wild-eyed at Lloyd. He straightened his shoulders, and stood firmly. She was the student now; he had to be the master.

"I expect you to get up next time," He reprimanded. Ursula looked like she was going cry for a moment, then looked up at him. Lloyd hated the fact that she wasn't all that much shorter than he. Though between the two of them, it was obvious he was the elder. His body no longer had the gangly appearance of a growing boy. Ursula was still in transition between girl and woman; her body was lean, but hinted at the metamorphosis to come.

Ursula considered glaring at him for a moment. Then she reconsidered. "I'm sorry, Master Lloyd." It was easy for her to pretend that he was a wealthy lord that she was talking too, and all she had to do was substitute "lord" for "master." He had not asked that she call him anything of that sort, but the name felt right, and unless he opposed it, she would continue the habit.

"Now. Get out of those clothes. You look like an idiot," Lloyd observed mercilessly. She could not go out in that. Lloyd, to the inhabitants of Jimson, was a mediocre wood-worker and laborer. If he were to take her around town, which he had to, she would have to fit the description for someone he could be seen around with. That did not include a noble woman.

She stared at him. He took the hint and left the room, to return quickly with a cheap skirt and tunic.

"And take out those earrings. We do not need to attract more thieves that necessary. Or any people who may be searching for the 'missing' Lady Ursula." With those words he left the room.

Ursula waited until she was sure that he was gone. Then, against all of her will, her teeth started chattering. That water had been cold, and the autumn draft that was coming from the window, although closed, made a tortuous combination. She was thankful for his excuse to change into dry clothes.

The clothes were far made of rougher material than she was used to. Ursula hoped that she would get used to them quickly. When she took her earrings out, she wasn't sure where to put them. Maybe she could just leave them here...

Lloyd returned without a warning. He came up behind and startled her. Ursula knew that he was trying to teach her to pay more attention to her surroundings. A lifetime of comfort in a castle would be hard to break.

"Master, where should I leave the earrings?" Ursula asked humbly. Lloyd snatched the earrings from her and examined them for a moment. "Sell them," he suggested. "You will need no ties to your past. And they will fetch enough to get you a fair start on your new life." He dropped them back into her outstretched palms. Ursula stared at them. They were the last thing she had from home.

Ursula shook her head to clear those thoughts away. Now was not the time to travel down that road of thoughts that would surely lead to tears. She dropped the earrings in pocket on her skirt. This was a novelty. The gowns that she had worn at court had been too fancy for such conveniences. Though this skirt of hers was far higher than she would have preferred, it offered freedom that she was unaccustomed to, but could be very soon.

"Right. Ursula. Now, you and I are going to the market place. I need to buy some wood, and you need to be introduced. You are going as my lover. You might be a little flat where it counts, but no one will question me. What ever you do, don't stand out in the crowd. People have a way of noticing anything out of the ordinary, especially in a town like Jimson. You mess up, just one slip of the word, and people will talk about it.

"Spies do not have the liberty of being well-known. Since you are going to be connected to me, anything you screw up will screw me up too. Keep that in mind. No 'masters.' You will walk close to me, speak little, and giggle when appropriate. Do not act smart or sophisticated. The less people think of you, the better. If I think you are being too much or too little, I'll let you know." As soon as Lloyd finished informing her, her grabbed her by the arm and took her out of the cottage.

After they had walked a short distance of the mile to Jimson, Lloyd realized that Ursula's hair was still wet, and she was shivering. She had tried to dry it, but with so much of it, her attempts had not been very successful. As much as he wanted her to suffer to pound his lesson into her head, Lloyd knew he could not walk into the village with a girl whose lips were blue from the cold. Just because it was autumn did not justify that extreme of a reaction. He had her go back to the cottage and get a light cloak to hide some of the hair down her back, as well as provide some protection from the cold.

Ursula returned, but Lloyd could hear her coming long before she actually arrived. How could someone be so loud? Lloyd cursed lightly under his breath. He had much to teach her in so short of time. It would be mostly up to Ursula to make sure she kept herself alive, he would give her only the basic framework.

They walked the remainder of the way in silence. Ursula was fairly confident that she had a general idea of how to act in mind. She had seen enough mindless women at court whose only tricks were a large chest and air-headed giggles. Before they entered the town, Ursula made a conscious effort to walk closer to Lloyd. It made them awkward, but then, weren't young lovers supposed to be a little shy around each other, at least in public?

He led her into Jimson, and they were soon immersed in the crowd. Ursula felt that something was different. A moment of thought revealed what it was. No one was looking at her. When she was in court, or outside, someone was always watching her. She had to live under the constant watch of the eyes of people she did not know. Everyone had always looked at her, for she was an unwedded daughter of a wealthy lord.

Now no one paid the slightest bit of attention to her. She was just like everyone else. Ursula had never realized the strain it had been to act constantly, never showing her true self, for fear that someone would see. She had to admit, she felt free.

"Whoa! Lloyd!" exclaimed a rather scruffy looking man who appeared out of the crowd. Ursula drew in a breath. She had to play the part. Lloyd grinned, "Tye! How goes the black-business?"

Tye was a tall thin man with a scraggly black beard, beady eyes, and very dark skin. When he returned Lloyd's grin, Tye revealed a large gap in between his front teeth. Ursula figured she had to start acting like she was with Lloyd. She stood so close to him that their sides touched, and asked in a cheerful voice, "Who's this, Lloyd?" Ursula emphasized his name, adding a little bit of seductive tone to it. Tye looked at her, then Lloyd, then back to her. Then he winked at Lloyd, "Finally got ye'self a woman, eh?" He looked her over.

"Pretty, pretty. It's a pleasure to meet ye'..." He waited for her to insert her name.

"Ursula," She said, and giggled shyly, as she had seen far too many do before her. Ursula watched Tye's reaction to see if he took her word or not. Tye, after he heard her name, proceeded to ignore her. Lloyd and Tye became immersed in a conversation dealing with Tye's "black-business", which turned out to be blacksmithing. Apparently it was a standing joke between the two of them. Ursula was relieved. From what she knew, women were meant to be pretty little ornaments to a man's world, pleasurable to look at and then be ignored. She was obviously so normal that Tye did not spare her a second glace. Ursula did, though, pay attention to the conversation. The reason Black Fang members lived like citizens was to gather information.

Lloyd finally ended the conversation by reminding Tye that he had to buy some wood and then return home to work on his current job. Tye left, but not before a few inappropriate comments directed to Ursula and Lloyd as a couple.

Then they continued on. Lloyd passed up the vendors whose wares were sure to be overpriced at best; most were probably frauds. Things of that quality by rule did not make it to villages like this. After a while, Lloyd pulled her off to the side of the road, and took her behind a tree.

"Now," he started quietly, "You and I are going to a side of village-life that I'm sure that you are not well-acquainted with. That is the reason why I had you wear that skirt. Where we are going, no respectable woman would ever go." Ursula looked at him with horror.

"You-" She gasped, realizing that Lloyd had lied and said that they were simply going to market so that she wouldn't have time to bolt. Lloyd interrupted her, "I have a contact down there. He is a member, don't worry. You need to be on your guard, though. Down there, the only women are whores...but the men should leave you alone. You don't have enough of what most men want...but there are some whose tastes are not normal."

Ursula wondered for a moment if she detected a hidden insult. Then she let it go. He was just being brutally honest. She really did have a small chest. Oh, how her older sisters had teased her...but that was not the point. Here she was, being asked by an assassin to go to a horrible place as his whore!

"Your performance for Tye was good," Lloyd commented. "But you have to act a bit more...touchy when we get there. No shy, giggly girl then. Got it?"

He didn't give her a chance to respond. Lloyd grabbed her by the arm and drug her off.

A/N: This chapter was fun to write. I think it's kind of funny that Ursula has to act like Lloyd's whore! Anyway, please review!