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Arianna: nurses bite wounds
Eliwood: What happened to you?
Arianna: I got in a fight with my sister over a bag of candy. She won.
Latisha: She bit you!?
Arianna: Uhhh…yep.
Latisha: O.O
Arianna: Okay, here it goes. I'm attempting to get through this whole chapter aided only by a cup of tea and a tootsie roll.
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ANNOUNCEMENT: the next chapter of 'Fire Emblem Idol' is up on my site!
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DISCLAIMER: The squeegee owns it, not me. The squeegee owns allllll.
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-: SERRA'S POV :-
As Wallace fought General Eagler my mind wandered. I know I should have been worried about whether or not Wallace would beat Eagler but it was axe against lance so I really wasn't too stressed. For some reason my thoughts turned to memories of the first romance novel I read. I was eight years old at the time and it fascinated me how two people could care for each other so much. I remember I ran around the convent the rest of the day telling all the other girls about this wonderful thing called 'love'. One of the older girls made me cry when she told me I would never be able to fall in love because I took a vow of chastity. I cried the rest of the evening. It wasn't until I was older I realized that I could fall in love, I just could never marry or…..you know.
"The final battle is approaching!" Lyn's voice suddenly rang out and I snapped back to reality in time to see Erk hit the ground. I shook my head. It's strange the things you remember at the weirdest times. I walked over to Erk and pulled him up. He mumbled a 'thanks' and walked over to some of the guys. He must've still been embarrassed about what happened earlier. I ignored the feeling I got when he just brushed me off and I looked ahead as we began our way on the final stretch to Caelin.
-: ERK'S POV :-
I did not do that on purpose! How could she not realize that!? Like I would do something like that on purpose! I've never been that type of guy. But because of our little 'collision', if you will, I couldn't even look her in the face. The legion had finally gotten to Caelin and we were remarkably silent as we mentally readied ourselves for the upcoming battle.
"Lady Lyndis, you should be able to see Castle Caelin once we pass these mountains." Kent stated, as if we didn't realize that. I prepared myself for the obviousness that was sure to come so I wouldn't be constantly falling down. And also so Serra wouldn't have to help me back up…..
"Grandfather….I'll be with you soon." Lyn said softly and looked wistfully towards the horizon.
"Everything rests on this next battle." Kent said gravely.
"Lundgren will not be receiving the reinforcements he expected. He'll move against us with everything he has soon." Sain warned. Lyn's face grew defiant.
"Let him come! Let them all come! I will not be turned away!" she declared. The general mood of the group was making me want to either hurl or crack a sarcastic remark. I decided on the sarcasm.
"Don't worry, if you lose, they won't turn you away, they'll kill you." I said and Lyn glared at me. She continued her speech with a little more aggression in her voice.
"I will see my grandfather…I've come too far to let anyone stand in my way! This is it, Arianna! This is our final test. My friends, for one last time, lend me your strength!" she said grandly and with that she strode forward, confidently, letting her little band of groupies follow behind, inspired by her pep talk. I trekked lazily along and thought of how Lord Pent was more likely to wear a chicken suit to an important dinner party before I would give Lyn my strength.
-: OUTER POV :-
Meanwhile, in Etruria….
"Are you sure it's a costume party, love?" Louise asked anxiously as she zipped up her husband's chicken suit. He nodded his feathered head.
"I'm positive! The invite said it was a dress up party!" he assured her. Louise checked her painted face in the mirror. She was in a mouse costume and the whiskers just weren't staying on right! Pent took her arm and they headed out the door. As they passed by a small table, a piece of paper fluttered off it and onto the ground. The paper read 'Formal Dress Up Party Invite'.
-: SERRA'S POV :-
"Those clouds look bad." Lyn said and I looked up at the bleak sky. "It's going to rain soon. Let's go, Arianna. We should press on while we're still able." I winced as a cold raindrop fell on my nose. This would so ruin my hair! I grumbled under my breath as we hurried towards our goal, trying to make it there before the rain fell hard. Of course, we didn't make it there in time and got hit full force by a downpour. The rain made it hard for the others to fight and difficult for all of us to move. I lost one of my lovely, trendy, in-fashion shoes to a particularly large mud hole. It became very difficult to keep up with the group hopping on one foot, so when Sain offered to let me ride on his horse, I gratefully accepted. As he hoisted me up with his usual charming grin in place I got a glimpse of Erk walking along with Lucius. He was glaring at Sain for some reason. I stuck out my tongue at him and settled in behind Sain, wrapping my arms around his waist as the horse began to trot. After a little while the rain let up and allowed us to move forward faster. The clouds were still gray so we practically ran the rest of the way to Castle Caelin. A few skirmishes later we were in front of the gate and Sain helped me slide off his horse. I looked up to see a vicious looking man in heavy armor facing off with Lady Lyndis.
"This is my realm, and you've entered without my permission. You will not leave these lands alive!" he shouted at all of us. I assumed he was Lundgren, the evil great-uncle. Everyone readied for battle. Sain raised his lance as I prepared to do a lot of healing. I watched as Erk made the first move. He attacked with a strong Thunder attack that barely scratched Lundgren. As Lundgren retaliated with a javelin my heart raced. Erk dodged cleanly, though, and slowly my heart returned to normal speed. Kent made the next move and after that the battle blended into a mix of fighting and my healing until the last attack. Lady Lyn gave a loud battle cry and charged her uncle with a Lancereaver. He shifted to block himself but his armor slowed his movements and the quick Lyn stabbed him in the neck.
"Is it…over?" I asked quietly. Matthew, who had at some point moved up beside of me, gave a short nod and then moved forward to watch Lundgren's last moments.
"That annoying little girl…nothing but a savage from Sacae…. The Caelin throne…should be…mine…" he managed to rasp out and then the great general fell. Lyn checked his pulse.
"We've won…." she whispered in disbelief as she withdrew her hand from Lundgren's neck and wiped the blood off on her dress. "At last, I can see my grandfather."
"You are Lady Lyndis, are you not?" a voice said and I suddenly noticed a man approached Lyn. Lyn regarded him with caution, hand on sword.
"Who are you?" she demanded of the man. He gave a bow.
"I am Reissmann, the chancellor-" he said and then I immediately lost interest. Middle aged men who had professions that were big words like 'chancellor' were not too much to listen to. Besides, he had a goofy name. I surveyed the legion critically to check for any injuries I might have missed during the battle. Everyone was a little tired, but there were no gaping wounds in anyone. I nodded slightly in satisfaction and then suddenly tuned back into the Reissmann channel as he mentioned something that actually had to do with me.
"While the lady visits with her grandfather, I shall show you all to your rooms for the night." he said and then bowed to us, although not as low as he had for Lyn, which kinda offended me. I mean, we'd fought (well, I healed) right beside Lyn, didn't we deserve the same amount of respect? I stuffed my indignant thoughts back to whatever part of my mind they'd come from when I realized how exhausted I was. And if I was exhausted, then the others were probably wiped and would not appreciate me holding them all up from their comfy beds to argue about bows. We were led to rooms and as soon as I got in mine and the door was closed I collapsed on my bed and everything went black.
-: OUTER POV :-
Serra was stumbling, half-asleep, down a dark corridor, trying desperately to find the latrines. She wasn't sure of the time but it had to be at least two in the morning. She stopped and while she was trying to remember if she'd spotted any bathrooms on the walk to her room when she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. She whirled around to see Sain's grinning face.
"My dear Lady Serra, this evening a party is being held in honor of our victorious legion and I would be overjoyed if you would attend as my, how should I say, guest." he said in his suave way. I smiled back. A party sounded like a fun sendoff. I was about to reply 'Sure, sounds fun!' when a hand gripped my right shoulder and a rich voice that had become very familiar to me began to speak.
"While that sounds delightful, Sir Sain, I'm afraid Serra and I must decline. We are setting out at first dawn for Ostia in hopes to make it there by sunset. I'm sure the people waiting for her must be very worried by now and I'd hate to make them fret any longer. So, if you'll excuse us, we need to go get our sleep." Erk said in one large breath and then steered a protesting Serra forcefully back to her room leaving Sain to gape speechlessly after them. Once the pair arrived in front of Serra's door she slapped his hand and pulled herself out of his grip.
"What was that for, Erk!?" she screeched and then quickly covered her mouth as she heard her voice echo down the sleeping hallway. She glared at the young mage as he narrowed his eyes.
"You should be more appreciative. I just saved you from getting yourself involved in a relationship that would never work out." he said calmly.
"It was just a party! I wasn't agreeing to marry him!" she whispered and yet still managed to sound shrilly. He eyed her in a cocky manner that made her want to smack him.
"Parties can lead to other things…" he practically sniffed and Serra threw up her hands, gave a wordless exclamation, and walked into her room, slamming the door in Erk's face. His face turned a color close to the hue of his hair.
"There's a saying in the teachings of Elimine that says 'Blesseth thou with patience'." Lucius' said softly and Erk turned to see Lucius walking towards him in the dimly lit hallway. His golden hair was glittering in the torchlight and his blue eyes gleamed with something close to mischief. Erk was not in the mood for the monk's mind games.
"Oh yeah? Well Elimine can kisseth my asseth." Erk snapped and stormed back to his room. Lucius, far from growing irritated or angry, just shook his head.
"Another saying in the preachings of Elimine is…" Lucius murmured to himself. "Love can fill thy mind and drain thou of common sense." He padded quietly to his room and wondered why Elimine was so against true love.
-: ERK'S POV :-
The grass was wet with morning dew and my socks were soaked as we walked through fields. The goodbyes at the castle had taken a good lifetime and a half and all the girls had been weepy. I had now been walking with Serra for about twenty minutes. Serra had not said a word to me all morning and the only thing I'd said to her was 'Let's go.' This was all fine by me. It was nice to not have constant chattering in my ear while we traveled. It also gave me time to ponder things. In a few short hours the two of us would be parting, probably for good. In the beginning I would have been thrilled about this. Now, though, as I glanced at her candy pink hair and her bright blue eyes, I felt a sadness and dread fill me. This loud, often obnoxious, spunky cleric had become a part of my life these last couple weeks. And now we were going separate ways and I would be returning to my dull life of tomes and studying. I decided quickly what I had to do. I would have to be so mean and rude that she would fight back with the same and we would say our goodbyes hating each other. It was the only way I could see that would ease the pain. And I sound like some guy in one of those sappy novels Lady Louise reads. It's just not like me to talk about emotional things. But as long as I wasn't talking, I could think of emotional things, right? So we continued on in silence. We passed through forest, river, plain and just about every stinkin' landform that could be fit in between Caelin and Ostia before we finally arrived at the gates. We just stood there for a moment staring up at its tall walls.
"So…" I started awkwardly and Serra glanced over at me. I swallowed and decided it was now or never. "Aren't you glad we didn't stay for that party now?" I said in my best snobby voice. Serra gaped at me for a second as if she was trying to figure out who I was and what I had done with Erk and then her demeanor grew mean. Her eyes closed to furious slits.
"No, I'm NOT! I know you don't like anyone and didn't have any friends in that group but I sure did and I wanted to actually have some fun for once! It would've been nice to talk to them with no fighting going on!" she snapped hotly. My face grew red with the embarrassment of being such a jerk but I changed my expression so the red looked like it derived from anger.
"Friends? Who in that group were your friends? Matthew, the one who avoided you? Or how about Lady Lyndis, the one who ignored you?" I drawled and she flinched. I continued on with my best impression of that grouchy guy that works at the meat counter back in Etruria. "Oh, I know, it was your lover Sain, wasn't it?" I said. "You're probably just regretting that you didn't get to visit his room and-"I never got to finish my sentence because just then she slapped me across the face with all the might she had in those thin arms.
"Don't insult my honor as a cleric and a noble servant of Elimine like that!!! I would never do anything along the lines of what you were suggesting! I bid you good day, sir, and if you happen to get eaten by a bear on your way back to Etruria it would be all the better for me!" she screamed and then ran through the gates into Ostia. I stared at the ground where she had been standing. Spots of moisture littered the ground. I sighed deeply, reminding myself that it was for her own good. As I turned and started the long journey home I hoped I would never see her again and never have again the feelings I was beginning to feel for her.
-: SERRA'S POV :-
What happened to him!? Where did the Erk I'd come to know gone? That was certainly not the charming Erk I knew saying such rude things to me! Even when Erk did insult somebody he at least did it in a subtle way! He had to be possessed…or hit his head…or…
I stopped and ducked into an alleyway where I couldn't be seen by the crowds bustling by. I put my face in my hands and cried, and as I cried I realized that that had, after all, been Erk. 'I hate him! I hope I never see him again!'
-: OUTER POV :-
Days passed slowly, morphing into weeks and then on to months. Erk had made it home safely and was once again caught up in his Anima studies. Serra had returned to Ostia Castle and was greeted by smiles and a few disappointed looks. The latter she ignored and she went about her days as an Ostian cleric with a renewed vigor. Only at night when she was almost fast asleep did she see a handsome face framed by purple hair. And only when Erk's eyes began to close, as he fell asleep on his many tomes while studying late into the night, did he remember a cheerful girl with the loud voice and sparkling eyes. They both would then fall into the comfort of sleep, ignoring the pang in their hearts.
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Arianna: YAY! I'm done! I know this chapter had more drama then humor but it was a chapter with a lot of goodbyes, so it was necessary. Incase anyone is wondering there will be a bit of a love complication. Besides each other Erk will have his moments with Priscilla and Nino and Serra will have all the guys she can have support convos with. But since this is a Serk story Erk and Serra have to end up together…right? Well, we'll see. :D
Erk: Can we stop discussing my love life and just do the review responses already?
Arianna: Alrighty. Here's your favorite question answerer ever, Canas!
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Q&A
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Canas: Hello, here I am again to answer your questions.
:Ragnarok-legend: Oh, and why was there a fluffy teddy as a memory?
Canas: I asked Erk about that and he said he'd rather not comment.
:Inferno-Hero: Why is hard mode called hard mode...it isn't that hard. Are you gonna include any PriscillaXErk moments in this story at all? Have you ever been to MT? Are you ever going to do a RavenXRebecca story? HarkenXIsadora...ERKXPRISCILLA!?!??! Aren't you the author of dads and darlings?
Canas: In order: It made the mode feel special. There will be PriscillaxErk moments for the sake of suspense, rivalry, jealousy and such. Yes, the authoress has been to MT and would like to comment that Dorcas' journal is very funny. The first two are possibilities but Arianna is strongly for Serk so an ErkxPriscilla story is doubtful. Yes, our authoress doubles as the writer of 'Dads and Darlings'.
:potter29vo: Why are my muses even in this review?
Canas: I have no idea. Sounds like a personal problem to me.
:Merkiel: "Q&A with Canas" needs to be a story in it's own right.
Canas: The authoress would like to comment that if anyone wants to use that for a fanfic they are welcome to it.
:Genocide Archfiend: My goodness, don't tell me all Saceans are that clueless? How in the heck can you miss hitting a tent? The carriage is a little more understandable, but a tent? One thing, though. I thought the fog came in after the first few turns not right off the start? Canas does realize he's a Lycian too, right? Or is he from Bern or some other place? Was he thrown out of his house?
Canas: Most Sacaens are rather aware, but Lyn is only half Sacaen so there is some allowance for her lapses in attention. Whenever the enemy gets near Merlinus sprays stuff in their eyes to make them miss his tent. A few turns had already passed before Erk ran into Serra in the fog. I am proudly not a Lycian. We moved to Lycia when I was four from Caledonia. No, I decided to move out when I was 17.
:dustin pollock: in 5. chapter four green,red,&yellow lucas is a boy the light magic user so please correct that thanks
Canas: The authoress is well aware that Lucius is a guy, but for the plot and such she has to make Serra think he's a girl.
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BIG THANKS TO: Ryzuki, Ragnarok-legend, Firelien, Inferno-Hero, potter29vo, Merkiel, Illusi0n, BloodStained, Genocide Archfiend, dustin pollock, KrbKkes, Nocturna-Fire-Demoness, Dove-chan, timmycheese, and all readers! THANK YOU!
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CHARACTER NOTES
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Wallace: He's Mr. Clean with a lot of armor on.
Reissmann: A boring old guy.
Erk: He had to do it! He was just trying to make saying goodbye easier.
Serra: She's very confused and upset at his behavior before they said goodbye, but she still misses him for some reason.
Sain: He may flirt with Serra a lot, but he doesn't have any more interest in her then any other girl he flirts with…or does he? DA NA NAAA
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AU REVOIR!
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