A/N: Forsaken Angel 13 here, back with another Ike/Elincia! Hmm... maybe I'll start kinda like a collection of these hmm...I REALLY hope you like this one. One- Shot.

PS. I still suck at titles.

Disclaimer: I do not, never has, or never will own anything that has even the slightest bit to do with "Fire Emblem" (Except the idea for this fic. But DEFINETLY not the characters!)

Please enjoy!

Ike and Elincia 2

Princess Elincia sat on her bed in her chambers in the Begnoin castle. Darkness surrounded her and she felt a chill as she pondered a question. What will the Greil Mercenaries do with me when we defeat King Ashnard? Will they simply leave me to rule Crimea and return to their old lives, the ones they loved, or will they stay and help to rebuild the country with me? I don't know and I'm terrified to rule alone. I never was taught what to do or how to react to things. What if I make a mistake? A sob interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to find the source of the noise and saw a figure in the doorway to her room. She lit the candle at her beside to shed light on the stooped form. The girl looked up at the Princess as a tear shimmered on her cheek. Oh Ashera! What happened to Mist?

"Mist! What is wrong? What happened! Are you okay!"

"Its I- I- I-Ike" The brown haired girl choked out the words through uncontrollable sobs. What? What is she talking about? What happened to Ike?

"Mist come here." Princess Elincia held out her hand to the whimpering girl. She hurried over and grabbed it. "You have to calm down." What in Ashera's name has her so upset!

Mist took a deep breath then said slowly, "It's Ike. He was hurt real bad in battle today. And they only just brought him back; Rhys wasn't with them because he's sick." Tears began to once more trickle down the frail girl's pale cheeks.

Oh Ashera! How could this have happened? "How is he?"

"I don't know. I wasn't allowed to see him. Rhys is tending to him now. But when they brought him in he was really pale and there was blood everywhere." Now the trickle of tears became a steady stream. "No one would tell me anything. Oh Elincia, will he be okay? He p- p- p- p- promised he w- w- wouldn't l- l- l- leave me. He promised!"

Oh no! This can't be happening. He can't- no don't think like that! He'll be fine. "Mist, I'm sure he will be fine. He has a contract with me and I'll make sure he fulfills it." Seeing the small girl wasn't comforted Princess Elincia pulled Mist's fragile form to her in an embrace. She held the wailing girl as sob after sob wracked her feeble frame. Princess Elincia rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe and calm her.

After a few minutes Mist had cried herself to sleep. Princess Elincia gently lifted the sleeping girl and tenderly laid her form on her bed. She draped a blanket over the slumbering body and suddenly her knees went weak and Princess Elincia collapsed onto the end of her bed. There she sat, head in her hands, and wept as disheartening 'what if' thoughts flooded through her head. What if Rhys can't heal him, there aren't any other healers here. What if the wound gets infected? What if Ike slips into a coma and doesn't wake up. What if... he... She didn't want to think about the last one. "I have to go see him now."

Being the time was nearly ten at night Princess Elincia had already put on a nightgown, but she didn't care she needed to see Ike now. On her way out the door she grabbed a robe hanging on a hook by the door. She flung it on over her nightgown and hastily made her way down the flickering corridor and around the corner. The halls were quiet as the castle was sleeping. She nearly tripped down a darkened flight of stone stairs and slowed her pace a bit thinking they didn't need another injury.

Princess Elincia finally reached the corridor with the hospital room. As she approached she heard the whispering voices of Titania, Soren, Oscar, and Boyd. She drew near to them and they immediately broke off their conversation and examined their boots. This scared her. Oh Ashera, this doesn't look good. They all look so grim. They won't even look at me. "What happened?"

At that moment the door opened and Rhys stepped out. Princess Elincia looked at him pleadingly. He just stared at the ground. "My Lord Rhys, how is he?"

"Not good. I tried to heal the wound but it got infected, and I can't do anything about that." Princess Elincia looked toward the door. "He's unconscious right now."

She asked again, "What happened?"

Titania looked up and answered her worried question, "We were on a mission for the Apostle and we got into a battle. Ike was fine one moment and when I looked back there was a soldier standing over him, ready to..."

"You should have brought Ike back here sooner. Now he's got an infection that I can't heal. I need stay in there with him in case something happens."

"I can watch him my Lord Rhys." Princess Elincia hoped he would let her. She needed to see Ike desperately. "You are still ill, are you not Lord Rhys? Go get more sleep so you are well rested for battle. If anything changes I will come get you right away.

Rhys silently thanked her, then handed her a bottle of some disgusting smelling brown liquid. "Princess, you should give him this, I know it isn't pretty, but it will help reverse the effects of the infection. There is a basin of cool water in there, wet some of the cloths and put them on him if his fever rises. Give him some water too. You should also try talking to him to let him know he's not alone. And as soon as you see even the slightest change, better or worse, come wake me. My room is right down this hall."

"Thank you my Lord Rhys. But first could you go check on Mist. She is in my room. She was very upset when she saw Lord Ike come in." Rhys nodded in agreement.

Rhys walked away with the tiny group leaving Princess Elincia alone standing in the darkened hallway. She eased the door open so as not to make a sound and took in the sight of the esteemed commander lying loosely on the bed. His bare chest was gleaming with sweat. She approached the bed and saw his blue hair was drenched in sweat, yet he was shivering. His blue eyes were shut tight as was his mouth. Princess Elincia took a blanket from the bed and gently wrapped it around him. He took a shallow breath then relaxed and stopped shivering. Thoughts once again raced in Elincia's mind. What should I do if he gets worse? How will I call Rhys? What if Ike wakes up? What if he doesn't? What should I do now; Rhys said he can't hear me. But maybe he can, it's worth a try.

She bent low, her green hair falling in her face. She tucked it behind her delicate ears and whispered into Ike's, "My Lord Ike, it is me, Elincia. I don't know if you can hear me, Rhys said you probably can't, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm here." She straightened up to see his reaction. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Oh, Lord Ike! You can hear me! Thank Ashera! Well then, I'm going to stay here until you wake up, okay." She waited for the smile that soon followed.

For an hour and a half Princess Elincia sat next to Ike talking about her day, "Then the Apostle showed me the private gardens, they were beautiful. There were all kinds of flowers I had never seen before. And the colors were so- Ike!" She looked over at his unconscious body and saw he was drenched from and head to toe in sweat. In a flash she was up and pulling the soaked blanket from his scorching form. She reached out a hand to feel his forehead and quickly recoiled it. Ike was burning up! She looked around the tiny, dim room for a basin of cold water. Eyeing one she crossed the cold floor in two strides. Grabbing the basin and a cloth sitting beside it she returned to Ike's side. She rested the sloshing basin on the bed and dipped the cloth into the cool water. After ringing it out Elincia placed it on Ike's searing forehead. She took another cloth, wet it in the basin, and then drizzled the cold water on his sweltering chest. With yet another cloth she tenderly wiped the sweat from his weathered face and paused to look closer at it. His skin was tanned from being out in the sun for many years. His lips were dry and cracked from the weather. His eyes were shut as if in sleep, but behind those eyelids, she knew, were stunningly blue eyes. The ones that always filled her with hope when she felt despair, and filled her with strength and courage when she felt lost. But most of all, when she looked into his eyes, she felt that he truly cared for her.

Princess Elincia sat back to relax. Now is as good a time as ever to give Ike some of that tonic Rhys gave me. She decided to try. Her arm slid under Ike's back as she softly lifted his upper body off the bed. With her free hand she grasped the bottle and struggled to untwist the cap. With the bottle open she situated herself and Ike so he was leaning heavily against her. She brought the bottle to his dry, cracked lips and carefully tipped it back so a trickle of the brown liquid entered his mouth. Ike swallowed it, but immediately threw it back up. Elincia grabbed a cloth and canteen full of water from the table then focused on Ike again. She took the cloth and wiped his mouth off, then put the canteen to his lips. Ike drank a few mouthfuls of water before Elincia decided to try to give him more of the brown mixture. This time he took it without difficulty. Princess Elincia gave him some more water to wash down the medicine then laid Ike back down on the bed. She found a towel and cleaned up the mess.

For the time being everything was serene, Ike slumbered on, breathing calm and even. Princess Elincia was exhausted beyond belief; who knew caring for someone was so tiring. She rested her head on the bed and closed her eyes.

Princess Elincia didn't know how long she slept until Ike's moans and shivers awakened her. She flung her head up and cursed at herself for falling asleep. She placed a blanket over his legs and feet, grabbed another and wrapped it around his torso. All the while Ike continued to shiver from cold and infection. This time he didn't stop, instead he shivered harder and his breathing became shallow and strained. Oh Ashera! Please don't let this be happening! Oh what should I do? If I leave to get Rhys Ike might-, but if I don't he might-. Oh Ashera please give me the courage to go through with this. She decided it was too risky to leave Ike now; she would have to help him through this and pray to Ashera that he didn't leave her.

The first thing Elincia did was prop Ike up with pillows and rolled up blankets to relieve pressure on his chest. She then took all the blankets she could find and placed them on Ike's trembling frame. When none of this helped to stop the shivering or shallow breathing Elincia broke down and wept.

"Ashera please forgive me for not going to wake Rhys. I made the wrong decision. I'm sorry." Tears rolled openly down her cheeks and dripped to wet the stone beneath her kneeling legs. She turned to Ike hoping he could still hear her. "Ike. I can't believe you would go like this. You would leave your mercenary company without a leader, what would they say to that? And you still have a contract with me. I won't let you go until you have fulfilled it!" By this time she was screaming at the unconscious Ike who was still shivering and breathing shallow. "AND WHAT ABOUT MIST! YOU MADE A PROMISE TO HER! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE HER! YOU EVEN MADE A PROMISE TO ME! YOU SAID YOU WE WOULD DEFEAT KING ASHNARD TOGETHER! ARE YOU WILLING TO BREAK THAT PROMISE?" Seeing no reaction she leaned her head on his bed and covered it with her hands. She sat on the cold hard ground as sob after wracked her exhausted body. As she cried she didn't notice that Ike's breathing had calmed. His blue eyes opened and looked at her questioningly.

"I'm not planning on breaking that promise, or any others anytime soon."

Princess Elincia looked up at him with tears still shining in her eyes. "Oh thank Ashera you're okay Ike!" She jumped up and leaned down to embrace him. "For a minute... I thought… I was going to lose you." She whispered in his ear.

"You should know I would never break my promises." Ike tried to sit up, his arms wavered from the weight and they gave way, and he fell back on to the cushioning heavily.

"Easy my Lord Ike. You must conserve your strength. Allow me to help you up." Elincia bent down and their eyes met. They both blushed, but leaned in closer. Their eyes closed and their lips met. The kiss lasted only a moment, until Princess Elincia stood back up and turned scarlet. That was amazing.

Wow. "Alright, I'll take it easy. Do you have any more water? I'm really thirsty."

"I have some right here." She handed over the canteen. When Ike had had enough Elincia took the canteen away to set it on the table once more.

"I guess I will go tell Lord Rhys that you are awake. I can also bring Lady Mist. She was so worried about you. But I really shouldn't leave you alone."

"Princess, I'll be fine. Go, bring them."

"My Lord Ike, I will be back a soon as I can. Please try not to move so as not to hurt yourself."

Ike laughed gently and smiled at her. "Alright I won't move a muscle. Now go, I'm sure they would love to know I'm alive and well."

"I'll be back soon." Princess Elincia looked back at Ike and they caught each other's gaze. Princess Elincia blushed as they both smiled. Then she turned and walked out the door.

After Princess Elincia had left Ike thought to himself, she worries way too much. But I like it. That kiss was amazing.

Princess Elincia hurried along the corridor and stopped when she reached Rhys' door. She knocked softly and pushed open the door hearing a muffled reply from inside. "My Lord Rhys, you must come quickly!"

"What happened! Is Ike okay?"

"Lord Ike is fine! He awakened earlier this morning! Come Lord Rhys you must see him!"

Rhys grabbed his robe on the way out of his room. Princess Elincia remembered Mist lying on her bed and turned to face Rhys. "My Lord Rhys, please go on ahead I must awaken Lady Mist she will be jubilant when she hears the news." "Alright."

When Princess Elincia entered her darkened room she found that Mist was still deep in sleep. She crossed the room to Mist's side. She bent down to whisper in her ear. "Lady Mist, please wake up I have good news for you."

Mist rolled over and opened her bright aqua eyes. "What is it Princess?"

"Lord Ike! He is fine and awakened earlier."

"Really! Can we go see him now?"

"Of course!"

When they arrived at the hospital room Rhys had just finished checking up on Ike. "His fever is completely gone and the infection seems to have dissipated. In other words he's fine. But needs to rest for a few hours."

Mist couldn't wait any longer; she raced from behind Elincia and jumped on top of Ike to give him a tremendous hug. "Ike I'm so happy you're okay! I was so worried when I saw everyone carrying you in. Why didn't you have a vulnerary with you? Oh it doesn't matter you're okay!"

"Mist! Okay, okay I'm alright already. You can stop strangling me now." Ike said laughing.

Mist sat up and yelled at Ike, "DON'T EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN! I was so scared you were going to...!"

"Mist, you should know I would never break any of my promises" As Ike said this he looked up at Princess Elincia and smiled. She smiled back and looked out the window to see the first hint of light that was dawn break through the darkness of night.

So?

Did you like it?

If you did, and even if you didn't, please review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated!

So, again, please review!

The button is right down here...

That's it...

Riiiiiight here...

Now click the button that says "Review"!