Well, I only have four reviews so far, but here it is. This fanfic is also part romance, and it will be somewhere between five to ten chapters total. I realize the last chapter was way too short, and I am sorry. You're not listening anymore, are you? Everyone, please review! When a story's hits outnumber its reviews thirteen to one, you know something is screwy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem seven or eight. Crap.

Dance

Chapter Two: Ewan

When will it end? was Ewan's only thought as he allowed the calming warmth of the campfire to wash over his fatigued body. Admiral Cormag, General Vanessa, Colonel Tana, and Lieutenant Syrene had returned to that there were no rivers nearby, so the entire camp would reek of gorgon blood until they could bathe. Ewan loved magic with all his heart, but he abhorred war. Knowing that every spell, every summoning, every motion, brought some poor creature closer to its demise. Being constantly sprayed with blood, gore, organs, and flesh every day. Walking toward a group of soldiers who had hopes, dreams, and lovers and leaving nothing but blackened corpses. It was terrible.

But as much as he hated the atrocities of war, he knew his sister was even more affected by the horrors around them. Ewan had always wondered why someone who loathed violence so much joined a mercenary guild. But he thought he knew the reason. It was a young man with green hair who wore purple. His thoughts were put on hold, however, as said person sat down by him. This surprised Ewan for two reasons. It appeared as though Gerik had read Ewan's thoughts, first of all. And generally, Gerik was a serious man who had no time for playful banter when there was a war going on around them. Ever since Ewan's, Amelia's, Ross's, and Cormag's promotions to Admirals of the new Renais army, Ewan had noticed that some people actually treated him with… respect. People still joked about having three fifteen-year-old officers in the army, but following his promotion, he had been showered with praise and advice. He wondered if this was one of those occasions.

"Ewan." Gerik said sharply.

"Hiya, Gerik! What's up?" the Summoner answered goofily. Gerik rolled his eyes. Ewan may have been a dangerous warrior with incredible power and an endless supply of phantoms, but he was still a child.

"Is something wrong with Tethys? She's been acting a little… odd lately."

"It's this war. She hates all the violence and blood."

"She's a mercenary! Well, anyway, maybe she should sit out the next battle. She looked really distraught when I saw her earlier. I asked her about it, but she just claimed she was fine. It was quite clear that she was lying, but it wasn't my business, so I didn't ask about it anymore. But she's looked really sickly lately, and I'm worried about her health.

"Any particular reason that you're worried about her health?"

"Uh, no. What are you implying?"

"Oh, it's just that you always seem so concerned about her health. Very concerned.

"So? I like her. I really care about her."

"You mean you love her?"

"What? No way! Ewan!"

"You wanna hold her!"

"Stop!"

"Kiss her!"

"No!"

"You wanna bring her into your tent, take off your clothes, and-"

"EWAN!"

By now, Gerik's face was the shade of a ripe apple, but both young men were nearly crying with laughter. But it only lasted a few moments, as does happiness during a funeral. War had that grim effect on people, no matter what you were killing.

"So what was so funny?" a whimsical voice asked. Gerik and Ewan shot upright in surprise, and the owner of the voice appeared from the shadow of a tent and began laughing goofily.

"Joshua!" shouted Gerik angrily, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Commander," another voice said, one again scaring the young Jehanna warriors.

Marisa stepped out of the same shadow that Joshua had been hiding in, to his amazement and embarrassment, and strode toward Gerik.

"I have come to deliver a message. We renew our march at dawn tomorrow. We can't afford any delays on our way to Rausten Court. That is all." With that, the swordmaster spun around nimbly and disappeared into the shadows.

Joshua, who had just gotten over Marissa's stealthy approach, replied, "Well, that was fast."

"Always business and training, that's what Marissa is about. No time for people," claimed Ewan, imitating his teacher Saleh perfectly in both accent and manner.

As the mercenaries tiredly departed for their tents, they did not notice the redheaded woman hiding in the tent near which Joshua and Marissa had appeared. No one noticed the tears in her eyes. No one noticed the expression she had on her tired, sad face. And no one noticed her say, "He really does care about me. More than anyone has in my entire life…"

And there you have it, chapter two! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while, and to tell you the truth, I have no excuse for not doing so. I would like to thank Sara Jaye, Kusabi Makabe, Chaos Knight Malik, and Ted Toss64 for their inspiring reviews. I would also like to thank Brendan2k5, because from my profile I can see that my story is in your favorites, and there is no greater joy for me than seeing that people like my work. I take reasonable requests, too. I have lots of free time.