Charlie: Hello y'all. Okay, I need to get something straightened out here. Ever since I've asked for pairings, I have gotten three different preferences for Florina… That's more than enough…WAY more than enough. Unfortunately for those who wanted something different…Wil/Florina was the first…and that's the pairing. And umm, no more suggestions for Florina pairings…PLEASE.

Erk: Yes… he finds it rather interesting that Florina received the most pairing suggestions, and yet she has the least pairings in the actual game out of the three Pegasus sisters.

Charlie: Yes…that is quite…interesting. Anyways. This is an early holiday special, and probably the last update of this year since I'm shoving off for Hawaii on the 21st. I will be updating my Halo fic soon, and getting a "real" holiday fic up. So, unless my teachers decide to give me no homework for the next week, this will be the last before 2005. Well, enjoy.

Erk: And he doesn't own FE or any of the Christmas songs he'll put in here.

Charlie: Quite true. Oh and by the way, I'm not an alcoholic. I'm only 16 years old…please, no misconceptions. Oh and because of the season…I'm err…making it Christmas in Lycia. Enjoy.


One Year Later…

It was a cool winter night in a small village just on the outskirts of Ostia. Everything was calm, peaceful. It was Christmas Eve, and the people were at home, done with the shopping and the rush. The streets were bare, except for one lone figure wobbling down the rode with a bottle of whiskey.

The man was young, just over eighteen. He wobbled down the street of this small village. He was clearly drunk. Taking swig after swig, the man hobbled towards an inn, singing a very popular Christmas song rather erratically because of his intoxicated state. But Christmas was here, and he was happy.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King,
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconcile.
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with the angelic host proclaim,
'Christ is born in Bethlehem'
Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King.

Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail, the incarnate deity,
pleased as Man with to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King.

Hail, the heaven-born Prince of peace!
Hail the Sun of righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that man no more may die,
born to raise the suns of earth,
born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King.

As he sang and drank without a worry or a care, he suddenly collided with a very fast moving object. Looking up, he saw an angelic face staring back at him. He had apparently collided into a beautiful young girl. Had he been sober, the man would've recognize the expression of fear in the girl's face. But the man has had one too many drinks. Not realizing that she paling from fear, he tried to start a conversation.

"Hello there, what is your name?" He asked.

The girl stood there looking back at him in silence, not daring to make a sound. She slowly started to move backwards and away from the drunk man. The man however, was too intoxicated to realize that. He continued the conversation as though nothing was wrong.

"My name is Charlie. I'm a, well, I was a tactician. Now I'm more of a 'wonderer' honing my skill. Say, why is a young girl like you doing outdoors on Christmas eve? Have you forgotten to buy a present? All the stores are closed now so you're a little bit too late."

With each passing word, the girl turned a paler shade of white. Before long, her skin color matched the hues of the falling snow. Her breaths came out in short, but soft gasps, as if she dared not to breathe, and her hands trembled ever so slightly. Slowly, uneasily, she edged away from the drunk, who continued to ramble. Finally, the man realized she was moving away, and took a step or two towards the girl. The girl then lost it. Abandoning all pretenses, she let out a frightful scream, turned around, and started running, heading towards Castle Ostia.

After she had ran nearly half a mile, she realized that no footsteps followed her. Turning her head, she found the man face down where he stood when had panicked. Coming to her senses she back towards him and felt for a pulse. Finding one, the girl took her scarf off and wrapped it around him. After making sure he was warm and could breathe, she dashed off towards the inn to get help.

The innkeeper was surprised at the young girl running in saying that a drunk man was unconscious outside. He decided to help her investigate. When the pair got the the fallen drunk, the innkeeper shook his head and sighed. He recognize the youth, barely over eighteen and already drinking more than people twice his age. Sighing, he and the girl moved the man inside and tucked him into his bed. The innkeeper thanked the girl for her troubles.

"You're welcome sir." She replied.

"Now you better be running along now. It's almost Christmas!." The innkeeper said in a jolly voice.

To his surprise, the girl began to cry. Tears of sadness rolled down her flushed cheeks as she wept. The innkeeper was puzzled. No young girl ever cried on Christmas Eve.

"Miss? Are you okay?" He asked. "Where do you live?"

The girl wiped her tears and said softly, "Castle Ostia."

The innkeeper flinched. He did not realize that she was a princess. But as he thought more about it, he remembered that the Late Marquess and Marchioness of Ostia bore two sons, and the current Marquess did not have a daughter, nor a wife and neither did his brother. He took a closer look at the girl and decided she was too well dressed to be a servant girl and too young to be a mistress. So he scratched his head and asked her what's wrong.

"…I…I don't want to go back." She said.

"Okay okay…but may I ask you who you are?" The innkeeper asked nervously.

"My name is Melodie. I was… in love with one of the spies of Ostia, Matthew, but…uhh…he betrayed..me"

As soon as the last word left her mouth, she began to wept again. The innkeeper sighed, and walked over to comfort the girl. Everyone in Ostia knew Matthew was in love with his fellow spy Leila. He looked down at the girl. He knew she had to be from another city and had no family to return to here in Ostia.

Unfortunately, it was Christmas in Ostia, and all his rooms were filled. There was no possible way she could sleep here unless she slept in the cold lobby or shared a room with one of the single guests. He shuddered at the thought of letting the girl sleep with any of the single guests, since they were all male, and he did not want to let her be in the cold for the night. So he stood there, not knowing what to do or say.

"Umm…mister." The girl suddenly said, breaking from his fatherly embrace. "Could I rent a room?"

"I'm sorry…" the innkeeper said. "I'm all booked. And all the single guests are male. I couldn't possibly let you share a room with them alone."

"Umm, could I sleep in that extra bed in the drunk man's room?" She asked.

"Are you crazy?" The man said sharply. "Do you have any idea what drunk men are capable of? If I let you sleep in that bed, there's a good chance that…"

"Don't worry…" The girl said shyly. "I know him. He was our tactician when we…well, not me, but the other members of Lady Lyndis' army fought against that usurper Lundgren."

"Ahh, so he's the famed boy? How did he ever command an army being that drunk and all?"

"To tell the truth…I have absolutely no idea. But…umm, just let me spend this one night there. I'm sure I'll be fine sir. He may be an alcoholic, but he never took advantage of anyone before, even on his worst nights." The girl pleaded.

"All right," the innkeeper conceded. "You can stay in that bed. But just to tell you, if anything happens, I am going to personally rip the stuffing out of that drunkard. Understand?"

Melodie nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

The innkeeper gave her an extra key to the room and said good night to her. Melodie climbed the stairs towards Charlie's room. Entering the room, she shut the door discretely behind her and walked over to Charlie's bed. Curious, she leaned over to poke him. He felt warm, alive, and very drunk. Melodie stifled a laugh. She couldn't believe that she had thought he was a zombie earlier, but with what happened a year ago, she couldn't blame herself.

-FLASHBACK-

"I'm sorry milady," A knight of Caelin was saying. "But…we can't find him anywhere. "He's probably dead…"

"Have you checked the bars?" Lyn asked

"Yes, and the wineries and the breweries, and everywhere else where you can buy a decent drink. He's gone milady. I'm sorry."

Lyn nodded tearfully. "It's okay…not your fault. You may leave…"

-END FLASHBACK-

Melodie still remembers that day. It was nearly a week after Charlie's disappearance. Caelin had held a fine funeral for him, believing him to be dead. The girl still remembers the tears they all shed, and the look of sadness on Lady Lyndis' face…the look of sadness on Matthew's face.

Matthew… just the sound of his name brought tears to her eyes. The bastard had tricked her. Melodie had come to Ostia with him, believing that he was hers. But when they arrived, she had found out Matthew already had a girl. That other spy, Leila. Melodie felt betrayed, and without a word to anyone, she ran from the castle, not knowing where she was going, but only wanting to get as far away as she possibly can from Matthew.

Charlie woke to the sound of Melodie's sobbing. Stirring gently, he instinctively brought a hand to his pounding head. He wonders why he likes to drink so much, since the damn hang-overs are killers. He laid there for a few minutes, letting his head clear, but as soon as he could think clearly again, he picked up a sobbing sound near him. Sitting up on the bed, he found a young brown-haired girl kneeling near his bed weeping.

"Umm miss?" Charlie asked slowly, not sure who she was and how she got into his room. "Excuse me, but how-"

Charlie's sentence was cut short when Melodie raised her head. Melodie looked when she heard Charlie's voice. Realizing that she had woken him, she quickly tried to apologize.

"Ahh, stop apologizing…but what are you doing here Melodie?" Charlie asked.

"…crying, what does it look like I'm doing?" Melodie snapped back.

"Well, go cry somewhere else. This is my room." Charlie said coldly. He still remembers the shaky feelings between him and Melodie. The two had been at odds ever since Charlie attempted to separate the two at the battle in the fog. He wasn't about to forget the bites and scratches he received during that little escapade.

Melodie however cried harder at his harsh words. Charlie's frown softened. He wondered why the girl was so upset. Was it because he yelled at her? Was it because he disappeared? No, none of it made sense to him, and his hang-over wasn't helping one bit. However, after a minute, it came to him. Melodie had never listened when Matthew told her that he already had Leila. And seeing as to how they were in Ostia right now, Charlie put two and two together and realized Melodie must have finally found out about Leila.

Hesitantly, Charlie sat up on his bed and leaned over to place a hand on Melodie's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Melodie…" Charlie said softly.

Melodie continued weeping, but she nodded softly and scooted close to Charlie for warmth. The ex-tactician scooped her onto the bed and hugged her lightly, letting the girl cry on his shoulder. He had no words he could say, and no way to express his feelings. In the pale moonlight, he saw how beautiful Melodie really was. Wondering if he was actually falling in love, or if it was just the booze, Charlie pulled her closer and comforted the distraught girl.

--

Matthew tore from the castle, leaving deep tracks in the snow. He realized Melodie had ran away just moments ago. Knowing that she has no family in Ostia and no home either, he ran off looking for her. As he wondered the streets, he cursed himself for not being more careful. In hindsight, he knew he should've saw this coming. Melodie had refused to believe in Leila, and now that the girl had confronted the real Leila, her heart had shattered.

The thief searched the city high and low, finding not even a single footprint. He was getting desperate when he came upon the inn. Smacking himself for being so damn stupid, he walked into the inn, knowing it was the only place Melodie could find shelter short of begging the populace.

The innkeeper saw the thief step into his inn, and he knew why he was here.

"Son, why the HELL did you have to decieve that girl?" He said softly but threatening.

"I'm sorry dad, but she refused to listen!" Matthew snapped back.

"What do you mean son?"

"Everytime I would try to bring up Leila, Melodie would just cover her ears and pretend not to listen. What was I supposed to do?"

The innkeeper looked sternly at the thief. "Sigh…I suppose you're right. But now what are you going to do? She's sleeping right now."

"What room?"

"She's up in room 243 with that drunk tactician of yours."

Matthew froze. "Did you say drunk…tactician?"

"Yeah," the innkeeper said inpatiently. "You know, that eighteen-year-old with the whiskey. Tall guy, can't miss him. Here's the key, now go!"

Matthew thanked his father silently and rushed up the stairs towards the room. Reaching the door, he fumbled with the key and created quite a racket trying to open the door. Finally, after unlocking the door correctly, Matthew swung it open, walked in, and promptly blacked out.

--

Charlie stood over Matthew's unconscious form, the chair which he smashed over his head lay in pieces on the ground next to the sprawled man. Melodie peeked her head out from behind him, holding onto Charlie's cloak.

"It's just Matt." Charlie said, letting out a sigh of relief.

Melodie walked out from behind him and looked at Matthew. Charlie saw tears welling up in her eyes. Moving over, he gently placed his arms around her.

"It's alright…" he whispered. "Come on, get some sleep, it'll be a while before our buddy here wakes up."

Melodie nodded gently, walked over to her bed and climbed in. In the darkness, she heard Charlie drag Matthew's body into his bed, and tuck the unconscious man in. Sighing, and supressing a few tears, Melodie sank back into the pillows and fell into a deep sleep.

--

A few hours later, Melodie woke up, refreshed. He saw Charlie sitting in a chair next to Matthew's bed. Leila was next to him. Melodie stiffened. Seeing Matthew was bad enough, but the last thing she needed was to see that woman.

Charlie noticed Melodie stirring, and walked over.

"Feeling better?"

"A little…" She mumbled. "What's Leila doing here."

"What do you think? She and Matt have been together for years. She was worried about him and came looking. Lets just say she wasn't happy about me knocking him out." Charlie smiled sheepishly. Melodie noticed the slight outline of a hand on his cheek and giggled a bit.

Leila watched Charlie talk to the girl for a bit before deciding to join in. She walked over with a pleasant smile and greeted the young girl.

"Hey, morning."

"Morning…" Melodie managed to mumble back.

Leila knew why Melodie was feeling hostile. They both loved the same man, although Leila was positive that Melodie's love was mere infatuation. The girl knew nothing of true love, she was sure of it.

"Melodie…look, I'm sorry but…"

"but what?"

"…but I love him too…and I've been with him longer…"

"So?"

Leila sighed. "Melodie…you're a girl."

"I'm fifteen." Melodie huffed indignantly.

"But you're still a girl. You don't know the true meaning of love."

"…"

"Please listen to me. You're still young, there will be plenty of boys lining up for you. You are quite the stunning young lady, but please don't ruin your life like I did by going after Matt. He's a living nightmare."

Melodie smiled for the first time since meeting Leila. "He is?"

Leila could sense the hostility melting. "Oh yeah… He's…well, lets just say he's a complete enigma. Can't figure him out, probably never will figure him out."

Melodie laughed lightly. It was a true laugh, pure, clean. Leila and Charlie smiled. The young girl's Christmas may be saved yet. Just then, Matthew stirred.

"Ugh…what happened?"

Leila rushed over to Matthew.

"It's alright…I'm here…

Charlie and Melodie decided to leave the lovebirds alone.

"Umm, you want breakfast?" Charlie asked.

"Sure!"

The two walked out of the room, leaving Leila to explain to Matthew how he became unconscious. Charlie took Melodie to a nearby café and bought breakfast for the two of them. Melodie obviously didn't eat the night before. She tore through her breakfast like a starved animal, cleaning her plate clean before Charlie even got halfway though.

"Wow…you're hungry. What did they feed you back at the castle?" He asked

"Erm…well, I was a bit…busy to eat." Melodie replied.

"Uh huh…I see." Charlie said, smiling.

"Hey, shut up!" Melodie said indignantly before tossing a packet of sugar at Charlie.

"Ow! Hey, watch it." Charlie laughed before tossing the packet back. Soon, the two had a war going on. The manager of the café had no choice but to toss the pair out.

Charlie and Melodie walked back to the inn laughing. On their way back, they saw Leila heading back to the castle. She received orders to see the Marquess for briefing on a new assignment. Apologizing to the pair, Leila told Charlie that Matthew wanted a few words with him. Then she handed the two each a gift and sped off towards the castle.

Charlie smiled and placed the sword-shaped packet in his bag. Then he looked down at Melodie. She had already opened her gift and was wearing it. Leila had given her a shiny bracelet, and Melodie absolutely loved it. Charlie smiled at the child-like behavior of the squealing girl next to him. Then, blushing, he reached into his bag and pulled out a beautiful necklace.

"Erm…hey Mel," He said shyly. "My mom gave this to me…and well, I don't really have any use for necklaces. So umm, Merry Christmas."

Melodie stared at Charlie and the necklace. Then, blushing she accepted the gift with a blush. After putting it on, she turned to Charlie and gave him a quick peck on the cheak.

"Thanks…" She whispered.

Charlie stared at the girl, rubbing the spot she kissed. He knew his face was as red as a tomato's right now, and he could find no words to say.

To his relief, the pair rounded the next corner and ran into Matthew. The thief glared at Charlie.

"You…ass. You disappear, make us think you're dead, and whack me over the head with a chair?!"

Charlie grinned sheepishly. "Eheh…sorry."

Then the two friends exchanged warm hugs and slapped each other's backs raw. Matthew looked at Melodie with an apology ready. To his surprise, Melodie smiled and shook her head.

"It's okay Matt…"

Matthew was shocked, and stood there speechless for a while. Melodie giggled at Matthew's antics and snuggled herself against Charlie's body, causing the man to turn completely red.

It only took Matthew a second then to figure it out. He gave Charlie a sly smile, before running off laughing his head off. Charlie shook loose from Melodie, ripped the new sword Leila gave him for Christmas out, and chased the laughing thief half-way across the city with a laughing Melodie at his heels.

--

A while later, Charlie, Matthew and Melodie were walking back to the castle, laughing and talking like old friends. After a bout of silence, Charlie remembered Leila's words.

"Erm, Matt. Leila said you needed to talk to me."

Matthew nodded "Yeah, it's about Marquess Pherae. He disappeared a while ago and now his son is planning to go out looking for him."

Charlie sighed. "Let me guess, Hector plans to join them, and you want me to be the tactician."

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Matthew smiled "So, will you do it?"

Charlie looked at Matthew and smiled. "What do you think I'm in Ostia for?"

"Heh, thanks buddy."

"Anytime."

With that settled, the trio walked towards the castle. After a while, Charlie and Melodie found themselves behind the agile thief by a quite the distance. Smiling, Melodie snuggled closer to Charlie, knowing that Matthew wouldn't abandon them.

Charlie smiled and put an arm around the girl. Without thinking, he leaned down to kiss her, lightly at first, but growing in passion as the couple stopped walking and faced each other to deepen the kiss. In the distance, Matthew saw the two making out and smiled to himself.

'Heh…Merry Christmas Charlie.' Matthew thought.

The thief then sat down in the soft snow and waited for the couple to finish. He was in no hurry. He knew Eliwood wouldn't abandon his family on Christmas, so he had time, and right now, as he looked at the clear sky above and the kissing couple below, it seemed like he had all the time in the word.


Charlie: …wow…that was sappy.

Leila: …

Charlie: What's wrong with her now?

Erk: Indecision. She can't decide whether to kill you for smashing Matthew's skull in, or hug you for getting Melodie off her man.

Charlie: Erm…okay, as long as she doesn't hurt me, I'm fine.

Erk: …yes…we all know. And what's with the song?

Charlie: It's my favorite Christmas song!

Erk: ...right...

Charlie: Okay… a twist for all you guys. The tactician and Melodie fall in love. Okay, I know Tactician/Lyn is popular. I am planning to put that in, but it's gonna be at the end. I won't say what happens to Melodie, but she and Charlie will NOT stay together. So don't worry

Erk: …trust him…Melodie is based off his Ex…who he has developed some chilly feelings for.

Charlie: …yes…well anyways, please review. Remember I'm accepting requests for couples.

Current couples:

Lyn/Tactician

Florina/Wil

Guy/Priscilla

Erk/Serra

PLEASE for the love of god do not request new pairings for these guys. Well, Merry Christmas Y'all. Have a happy holiday season. See you all next year.