A/n- Not much to say on this one, just a continuation of the story so far with a bit of change to FE8's script. One thing outside the story to note is that by the time I post this I'll also be posting this story along with most of my finished ones on my new Ao3 account. I won't stop posting here of course, it's just more of a back up and more visibility than anything.
The Commission Files- File #a1105 Luck and Thunder Part 4
Characters: Joshua, Selena, Ephraim, Duessel, Myrrh
Based on: a commission by LewdShock on Twitter
Selena was conflicted. On one hand she had her duty to Grado and to the Emperor who she cared about very much, and on the other she had the almost undisputable facts that the young looking dragon girl Myrrh had just told her about Magvel's slowly creeping darkness and what it could do to people. Adding on top of that was the fact that even through her best efforts she couldn't find a certain man she had been looking for ever since she had gotten back from the Kingdom of Askr, Joshua the Jehannan mercenary. Every day since they departed she thought about him, it was hard not to since she wore the shell bracelet that he made for her, even when she was sleeping or bathing, it was that important to her. She was even unconsciously moving her hand back and forth across it as she was thinking before one of the soldiers came up to her with news.
"General Selena! Prince Ephraim's army approaches from the north! What are our orders?" He asked, standing at the ready. If this were any other situation Selena would tell her men to form up and head out immediately, but something in her heart was telling her that wasn't the best idea. She thought about what she could do for a long while before looking and Myrrh and knowing she couldn't make a decision right here and now with her looking so distraught with the situation.
"Send a messenger to them, tell Prince Ephraim I wish to parlay with him. We might be able to end this without a battle." Selena ordered.
"Yes General, right away." The solider said before saluting and running off to go get a messenger.
"Myrrh, I'm going to give you back to Prince Ephraim, I have no qualms with you as a person." Selena stated after the solider was gone.
"And my dragonstone?" Myrrh asked.
"I don't know yet, I have to think about it more still."
A while later the messenger came up to Prince Ephraim's army and told them what General Selena had requested of them. This was a bit of a surprise to the prince since he was convinced they would have to fight.
"This certainly is a change to the script." He commented to himself, not knowing just how correct he was. "Stay here, I must talk to my advisors to make this decision, shouldn't take more than 10 minutes." The messenger nodded and Ephraim walked back to the camp to talk to Duessel the former Grado general. Since it was just his luck, Joshua was there as well to listen to the conversation.
"What's going on, are we going to have to fight?" Duessel asked.
"Perhaps not." Ephraim replied. "The enemy general, Selena, has asked to parlay with us. We might get through this without any losses on either side." Joshua perked up when he heard that Selena was on the other side of the battlefield.
"General Selena is a good woman, she wouldn't trick you to get you alone and ambush you." Duessel noted. "So I think it's pretty safe to parlay with her.
"I've heard good things about her as well." Joshua noted, which was a bit of an understatement. "And if you could do me a favor Prince, I think I might have a foolproof way to make certain we won't have to fight. I might even be able to get General Selena to join our side."
"Really? You think you can do that? That would be great Joshua." Ephraim commented. "What do you need me to do?"
"When you parlay with General Selena, pay attention to her wrists and see if she's wearing a shell bracelet. If she is I can put my plan into motion." Joshua explained.
"A bit cryptic, but when haven't you been?" Ephraim half joked. "But alright, I'll see what I can do. General Duessel, will you come with me to the parlay, just in case?"
"Of course, it would be an honor. It's been a while since I've seen Selena as well, so that will be nice." Duessel replied. So Ephraim went off to tell the messenger they'd be coming back to Selena's camp with him, but Duessel paused and turned to Joshua. "Do you know something I don't about Selena?"
"It's complicated and you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you straight out." Joshua started. "Honestly this is just a shot in the dark for me, but if I'm right your friend won't throw her life away and I think if she explains it to you then you'll believe it. You kind of have to trust me on this one."
"Hmm, well you've been trustworthy so far Joshua, I see no reason to doubt you at the moment. But do know that Selena is a good friend of mine, if you hurt her then I'll be on you as quickly as I can, even if we are allies." Duessel warned him.
"Hey, I respect that, but you don't need to worry." Joshua confirmed.
"General Duessel! Come on!" Ephraim called out afterwards. Duessel gave one last stern look to Joshua before leaving with Ephraim.
About an hour later Selena saw her messenger coming back with two men, one she recognized right away as her friend and co-worker in the army so the other must have been Prince Ephraim.
"General Duessel, and Prince Ephraim I presume?" Selena said giving them a curt and polite bow as they came up to her.
"Yes, that is me." Ephraim confirmed. "We've come to accept your offer of parlay. Honestly, I was a bit surprised when it was offered but I'm willing to talk instead of fight if I can, even if my reputation says otherwise."
"Good, because I think we might be able to come to an agreement." Selena noted. "First off, you may take Myrrh back into your custody." She nodded to Myrrh and the dragon girl scurried over to Ephraim's side and stood behind him slightly.
"Did she do anything strange to you?" Ephraim asked the girl.
"No, General Selena was very polite to me." Myrrh replied. "But she didn't give my dragonstone back, I need that still."
"I see." Ephraim pondered. "Well, if we can just get that General Selena we'll just pass on by without a fuss." Selena knew that it would probably be that simple, but she was still conflicted. But she had a plan.
"I'm not quite sure if I feel ready to do that just yet." Selena told them. "I've sent a messenger to Grado to get more clear instructions and based on what they say and what Myrrh has told me I will make my decision then. They should be back by tomorrow, so why don't you and your soldiers take the day to rest and prepare if you feel it's needed, it's getting pretty late anyways and I would hate to have a battle take all night." Ephraim took a look at Duessel and he nodded quietly as if to say Selena's words could be trusted.
"Alright, that's fair." Ephraim stated. "Send us a messenger sometime after around noon tomorrow, otherwise we will prepare and march for battle, understood?"
"Crystal clear." Selena confirmed before moving her hand up closer to her mouth because she felt a yawn coming on from how tiring and stressful the last few days had been. That gave Ephraim the perfect opportunity to see the bracelet she was wearing. He wanted to know more since Joshua had been a bit cryptic about it so he decided to ask about it.
"That's a nice shell bracelet you've got there General Selena, where did you get it?" He asked.
"This?" Selena asked extending her arm to show it off. "Someone special gave it to me, but it's felt like forever since I've seen them. Maybe you would know Prince, have you or your army every come across a mercenary named Joshua? Long red hair, black hat, loves to gamble?"
Ephraim was now starting to piece together some of the puzzle, but he had a feeling if he told Selena straight out it would ruin Joshua's plan, so he decided to be vague with his answer.
"I think I've seen him a time or two before the war started when my father needed a bit of extra muscle, but no time recently. Sorry." He replied.
"Well, I appreciate you taking the time to answer me before things possibly start to heat up." Selena expressed. "Have a good night gentlemen, I'm sure you'll be getting a lot more sleep than I will be." And with that the parlay was over and Ephraim and Duessel began to walk back to their camp with Myrrh in tow.
"Did you know about General Selena and Joshua before this moment?" Ephraim asked Duessel once they were out of earshot.
"This is the first I'm hearing of it, but it's a bit of a change for her personality honestly." Duessel replied.
"Meaning?" Ephraim wondered.
"Well, not to be too much of a busybody, before the war started she had very deep feelings for Emperor Vigarde because of what he had done for her and her village when she was younger. I always thought that she was hoping one day she could somehow be involved with him, but honestly I'm glad she might have found someone else because those thoughts were beyond fantasy."
"Could that also be why she's still hanging onto Myrrh's dragonstone?" Ephraim pondered.
"I do believe that is the case." Myrrh chimed in. "I could feel her emotions, they were very conflicted. She really wants to help us, but she needs a bit more of a push to do it."
"Do you think if Joshua actually goes to her tonight like I think he's planning to that it would work?" Ephraim asked the dragon girl.
"It's very possible, you should let him try at least." Myrrh replied.
"Very well, let's tell him what happened." So they made it back to the camp and Joshua was waiting for them when they got there.
"So, how did it go?" Joshua asked straight away.
"Like you knew what was going to happen when we got there." Ephraim noted with a tinge of suspicion. "General Selena was wearing a shell bracelet and she even asked us if we knew you, saying you were someone special to her."
"Really? That's great. What did you tell her?" Joshua wondered.
"I lied and said that we hadn't seen you in a while, I figured that's what you wanted, an element of surprise?" Ephraim told him.
"Yeah, pretty much." Joshua confirmed. "Well, this is perfect! I'll go and sneak over to her camp around sunset and we'll get to talking and if things go right we both might be back here before breakfast."
"For all of our sakes I hope your confidence is well founded." Ephraim stated.
"And I hope for yours that you don't bring any harm to my friend." Duessel threatened lightly.
"Oh, I'm sure everything will work out just fine." Joshua said confidently. So he ate dinner with the camp and after he was done he did his best sneaking job as he made his way into the Grado camp. Once he was in the main force he didn't really need to sneak around since he could just state he was a mercenary who wanted to see if he could get hired. Luckily no one stopped him and he looked at the tents at the back of the camp with one further back than the rest. It wasn't super big compared to the others, but he had a feeling that was the one he was looking for. As he got closer to it he saw a guard defending it and cleared his throat before coming up to him and speaking.
"Hello good sir, I am a travelling mercenary and I've heard that their is the possibility of a battle tomorrow. Do you think you ask your commanding officer if they need any extra muscle for hire? I come at a very reasonable rate." With another stroke of luck on his side the soldier taking guard of Selena's tent was the same one she told to be on the lookout for a mercenary with Joshua's description right before the war started, and he took one look at Joshua and made a connection.
"Sure, I think she probably has some time. Just one question though, can I get your name and nationality so I can describe you better to her?" The guard asked.
"Of course. My name is Joshua and I'm from Jehanna, I'm sure my reputation probably precedes me." Joshua stated, that last part coming out because he saw the guards eyes open a bit when he said his name.
"Very well, wait right here." The guard told him before peeking into Selena's tent and stepping in. It wasn't long before he came back out and told Joshua the news.
"General Selena wishes to invite you into her tent for some negotiations, she's actually been looking for you specifically for a while now." The guard stated. Joshua just smirked at him as he nodded and made his way into the tent.
Selena didn't know how she was going to react, but once she saw a hand connected to a black outfit peek through the tent flaps she grabbed it and pulled it's owner inside. Then she started to quickly search on the wrists for a bracelet like her own and it didn't take long for her to find it. After that she finally looked up and confirmed that it was in fact Joshua, her Joshua, that had come to visit her.
"What an invitation, if I didn't know better I would say you missed me or something." Joshua teased her.
"You better not be me dreaming or hallucinating or some sort of magic trick, because I don't think I can handle that at the moment, I've got enough stress on me already." Selena told him in response, making it so Joshua would take the conversation a bit more seriously.
"Oh, I'm for real Selena, no tricks or anything. Well, one I guess but I didn't tell Prince Ephraim to make something up."
"What do you mean?" Selena wondered.
"I'll explain everything, promise. But you do look stressed, why don't we talk over some nice calming tea? I brought some Jehannan tea leaves with me." Joshua said doing his best to bring the energy down slightly.
"That sounds nice, let's do that." Selena agreed. So they made the tea together and Joshua explained everything from the moment he got back from Askr and then Selena did the same for him. They had some laughs and some tender moments, and Selena was a bit surprised that she hadn't heard that he had been hired by Grado earlier in the war. Either way it was a nice way to catch up with each other and get on the same page for the present.
"But yeah, what really has gotten me through everything is the thought of seeing you again Selena. I figured I would have to wait until the end of the war, but seeing you here, I just had to take my chances and see if it was really you."
"And I'm glad you did, because I've felt the same about you. I know I said I was okay with whatever may have come, but I really did miss you and wanted to see you again, even if it wasn't really you." Selena stated. "Besides now, maybe you can help me with something."
"Of course, what is it?" Joshua wondered.
"Well, obviously, I'm standing in the way of Prince Ephraim's army and I don't know what to do. You've met Myrrh the dragon girl right?" Selena asked.
"Yeah, she's a bit closed off but she's trustworthy." Joshua stated.
"Well, she told me that because of this war, because of what's happening to the Sacred Stones and the darkness that's overtaking Magvel that people are changing. People that I really trust and care about. People that give me my orders." Selena continued.
"People like Emperor Vigarde right?" Joshua asked.
"Precisely. He wants me to send him Myrrh's dragonstone for some reason. I have no idea what he would want with it other than to destroy it at this point, and that's just cruel and unreasonable since Myrrh would be the next in line to protect the Darkling Woods once her father eventually passes away and she couldn't do that without her dragonstone." Selena pondered.
"Yeah, that doesn't really sound like him." Joshua noted.
"Not to be rude Joshua, but how would you know, you've only met him once you said." Selena retorted. Joshua took a moment to think about what to say next, he could make a huge power move and make it so Selena made the right decision but it could also cost him the trust of their relationship. But it didn't take him too long to realize that he'd rather see her alive and mad at him than dead without the truth. So he stood up and started going into the pockets of his outfit.
"Because Selena, I haven't been completely honest with you about who I am." Joshua started. "I've actually met Emperor Vigarde multiple times. And before you ask why the Emperor would visit some random kid and his mother from Jehanna, well we weren't very random." After that he slipped a ring onto his finger and showed it to Selena. "The reason I first met Emperor Vigarde was because he was comforting me and my mother because my father, the King of Jehanna, had just died. And this ring is proof that I am the heir to the Jehannan throne. So when I say that I know that he's changed, it's from a place of knowing him and my mother knowing him well enough to know that something is wrong."
There was a long silence between the two of them after that, long enough that Joshua felt the need to sit back down to not seem awkward. For Selena, this recontextualized a lot of the things that Joshua had said to her in the past that didn't quite make sense to her or felt a bit grandiose for a mercenary to reach for. But when she really got down to it, everything else Joshua ever said to her didn't seem fake or that he was lying about it, but of course she still felt the need to ask about it.
"Is that the only thing you've lied to me about? That and all the fake stories connected to it I mean?" She asked him softly.
"Yes, that is the only thing I've ever lied to you about Selena. I felt I needed to for whatever reason. Back in Askr everyone was so worried about letting secrets go and changing things that I felt pressured to do so as well. And I'll be honest, if we would have met here in Magvel in different circumstances I would have kept it up until after the war because I wouldn't want you to have to deal with the chaos that is being around missing royalty. The reason why I decided to tell you now is because I felt that if I did I could help you make the best decision for everyone, I'd rather you be alive and mad at me then dead and not knowing the full truth. Other than that everything else was the truth. I fell so deeply in love with you Selena and it burnt me up inside every time I had to make something up about my childhood and parents. There were many times I wanted to tell you but felt I couldn't. I just hope you can understand why I did it."
Selena could tell by the tone in Joshua's voice that he was telling her the truth, and she could feel that he was truly sorry for leading her on like had. Honestly she had a nagging feeling something was up ever since they first met, but knowing it was something like this and not something horrible like he was a serial killer or something was a relief. She wasn't even that concerned about still having feelings for him because of his station, in the past she had been dreaming of being with the Emperor so this wasn't much different. The one question she had to ask herself was if she was willing to forgive Joshua for lying to her for so long. Very quickly she reached the answer of yes, Joshua had his reasons and while lying wasn't a great way to act in a relationship she had the feeling that he was done with it and wouldn't be doing it again any time soon. She even mentally chuckled to herself thinking that she would be able to ask him all over again about his real childhood and relationship with his parents, though she figured it would be somewhat similar to the stories he fed her. Eventually she realized that the tent was growing silent again and she moved closer to Joshua and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I understand, and I forgive you. As long as you promise not to lie to me about anything that important again." She told him softly.
"I promise, I never wanted to do it in the first place Selena." Joshua said leaning his head onto Selena's in a soft gesture. "So, you'll give Myrrh back her dragonstone?"
"Yes, in the morning." Selena confirmed.
"And you'll join me and Prince Ephraim in trying to save what's left of Grado and Magvel before the darkness consumes it?" Joshua continued.
"I will." Selena confirmed again. "I mean General Duessel already defected to your side and I trust his judgement, so I figure you all must be on the right side of this war morally."
"Well, I'm sure the history books will say more about that then anyone in this time will." Joshua assured her as a way to give her some comfort. "But I'm glad, I wouldn't want to face you in battle, you're scary when you fight. In a good way of course." Selena finally cracked a laugh at that one and that allowed Joshua to laugh as well.
"Thank you Joshua, that means a lot, though I wouldn't want to fight you either, I've seen your skill with a sword, you're probably better than anyone in this camp to be honest." Selena noted after the laughing ended.
"Yeah, probably." Joshua said with a confident smirk. Something about how he said that just sent shivers down Selena's spine and suddenly she was really in the mood for some loving, probably since it had been quite a while and she had missed that part of their relationship as well.
"Though I do wonder, have your 'other' sword skills decayed at all." She teased him. "You must be a bit rusty. Maybe we can dust each other off a bit?"
"You sure you want to do this here and now?" Joshua wondered. "I mean I'm up for it if you are, I just don't want to have your soldiers running in here because of how loud I'm gonna make you scream."
"Oh, you're on!" And with that the couple had a long and hot night of reunion sex. They missed each other's touch so much they went at it multiple times and in multiple positions. They even tried out a new one where Selena laid on her stomach while Joshua got on top of her and took her from behind. All in all they were at it for hours and when they were all tired out they could barely get out 'I love you' to each other before they cuddled and slept for the night.
The next morning Selena was escorted by Joshua to Prince Ephraim's camp and when she was safely there she made an announcement to her soldiers that she was defecting to Renais' side of the war and that anyone who wanted to join her were free to do so and that anyone who wanted to stay with Grado should go back an regroup with the next camp. In a surprising move to Ephraim, but not to Selena or Duessel, about 90% of Selena's soldiers joined with them with the other 10% being men who felt they couldn't fight any more or who were too scared to go against their former general.
"You really seem to have the trust and admiration of your soldiers General Selena." Ephraim commented. "That's rare to see, even in our army."
"Well, if your soldiers trust you and believe in what you do they will fight harder for you. Doubly so if you really care about them an their wellbeing like I do." Selena replied. "And I guess you can just call me Selena now since I'm not a general anymore."
"Well, seeing as I'm technically the co-ruler of Renais', I think I could give you an emergency commission as an army General. We did just get a lot of new recruits and if you're the one leading them I think that would work out pretty well." Ephraim noted.
"I would be honored. But if I could request one thing, could I have Joshua as my sub-commander if that isn't too much trouble?" Selena asked.
"I don't see why not, and I'm sure he's gonna come over soon and ask for the same thing." Ephraim confirmed. "But first, get acquainted with everyone here, we're taking another rest day since we didn't have to fight you."
"Very well, thank you Prince Ephraim, you are very reasonable. I hope to serve you well in battle." Selena said with a nod before walking a bit deeper into the camp. Soon enough she met with Joshua and the two shared another embrace and a quick kiss, but before anything else could happen they were met with General Duessel.
"Alright you two, you've got some explaining to do about this whole relationship thing, and we've got all the time today to be doing it, so let's hear it." Duessel told them.
"I told him he would believe it more if you were here to help me tell it." Joshua explained.
"Very well then." Selena confirmed. "It started during my last vacation when a large portal appeared in front of me and sucked me through it..."
