Welp, didn't quite finish before my vacation ended, but it was pretty close! Have a chapter thingy, readers!
Chapter 8: Little Lady Genius
"You look terrible." Robin comments as I sit across from him during breakfast. "Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Muuhhh." I groan as I load my fork with sausage and egg.
"Oh dear, that's a bad sign." Sumia sighs and sets a bowl of diced fruit in front of me. "Here, you'll need this. If you can't sleep, a balanced breakfast should at least get you through the day."
"Sumia, if I didn't know it would get me kicked out of the kingdom, I could kiss you right now." I pop a strawberry in my mouth and groan at the taste. "Soooo goooooood."
"Oh, it wouldn't get you kicked out of the kingdom." Sumia chuckles. "I would have to hurt you though."
I grin and raise my cup to her in response, "Your mercy is truly a benefit to this great nation." Robin snorts and starts choking on his eggs, and I feel the general cheer of the conversation picking up my spirits and waking me up.
Time travel is the sort of thing many people dream about, but I've always been more of the opinion that it's the stuff of nightmares. Every good story about time travel comes with its fair share of trauma after all, and I seem destined to be no exception. I spent the whole night worrying about changing the future, until I came to the conclusion that any changes I might like to make aren't due for a very long time, and I should probably not worry about it.
I fell asleep fine once logic won out, but my brain never forgot how to wake up at the crack of dawn, so I'm running on like two hours right now. That's a lot worse to deal with after more than a month of getting a full night of rest. I used to spend all my time perpetually exhausted, but somehow training to join the personal army of a prince has led to me being better rested than I've ever been in my life.
It's the lack of internet, probably. Lord knows electronics have always kept me up. Blasted Pokémon, always keeping me from sleeping at night. How I miss you!
This is by no means the first time I've lamented my bad luck at ending up in this universe instead of the Pokémon one. So I actually manage to take my attention away from the idea and focus on breakfast for a change. It's unusual, but it does happen. Good thing too, because Chrom chooses that moment to walk into the room.
"Oh boy." Robin grimaces as Chrom walks in, and I can't help but pull a face as well. Chrom doesn't join us for breakfast. Like, ever. He never fails to eat with his sister, part of his princely duty I guess. Lissa usually does the same, though she at least sneaks over on occasion. So if he's here now, something big is happening.
"Shepherds!" Chrom calls loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Is everyone here? I don't see- ah, there you are, Kellam. I have an important announcement for you all."
He stands tall and looks grimly over everyone. "It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that our third envoy to Regna Ferox has been killed in action. Our scouts have reported that they were caught up in a clash between the Feroxi border guard and an unknown third party, and were killed to the last man."
The reaction is mixed, to say the least. Virion and I exchange a grimace between our tables, and I hear Sumia gasp in horror behind me. Sully and Vaike start raising their voices, yelling for more information. Robin, ever quick on the uptake, already seems to have figured out what this means and has pulled out a map from his bag. He seems to be plotting over the various roadways to Regna Ferox.
In the end it's Donnel who asks the most important question: "So, what d'you reckon we do now?"
There's a pause as everyone takes the question in, earning the kid an appreciative look from Chrom. "We're going ourselves. The Shepherds will be travelling to Regna Ferox, to serve as my honor guard as I negotiate a treaty with the Kahn of Regna Ferox myself. We will be leaving tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn. For this reason I have instructed Frederick to end all training early today, so that you may take the time to prepare yourselves."
He looks over us all sternly. "It is no exaggeration to say that this is the most important mission the Shepherds have undertaken since their inception. We will need to be at our best, every one of us, in order to secure this mission. For the safety of Ylisse, we must not fail." He smiles broadly at that. "I have the utmost confidence in all of you."
The room settles back into chatter at that, though with an excited buzz ringing through the air now. Chrom takes the chance to walk over to our table, giving me a friendly nod as he steps behind Robin to look at what he's doing.
"This is going to be dangerous." Robin mutters as he looks over his map. "I've heard Risen tend to prowl around the river crossings. And the Feroxi have the best border defences in the world. All records indicate that their wall is insurmountable. If they should prove hostile…"
"I'm sure you'll all be fine!" Sumia smiles reassuringly. "The Feroxi wouldn't dare act with hostility towards Chrom. That would be an act of war."
Chrom looks over to Sumia with an unreadable expression. "Sumia's right. We'll be fine. Don't let that stop you from planning for the worst though, Robin."
"It never does." Robin chews thoughtfully on a piece of toast and pulls out his notebook, eyes not leaving the map.
"I don't know what we'd do without you." Chrom chuckles, before taking a brief look over the rest of the Shepherds in the room. He turns to me with a thoughtful look on his face. "Ben, could I speak with you alone for a moment?"
I blink in surprise, then hurriedly gulp down the mouthful of toast I was working on. "Uh, yeah man, lead the way." I get to my feet, and let Chrom lead me out into the main entrance. He stops for a moment and makes to speak, before eying the door and seemingly thinking better of it. Instead he leads me further, into a first floor room stacked high with crate upon crate of linens for the infirmary.
"This should do." Chrom looks around and nods to himself. "No prying ears here."
"You're worried of spies?" I look back to the door uneasily. "Plegian? Feroxi?"
"Ylissean." Chrom looks on me grimly.
I stare at him in surprise for a moment, before it suddenly clicks for me. "This is about Sumia, isn't it?"
"What?" Chrom stares on in shock. "How'd you know?"
"The way you were looking at her, mostly." I nod to myself. "But really, with us going on a trip to a different country I figured something would be going on with her. I don't know what her exact situation is, but I do know it's weird and dripping with political drama. If it wasn't political she wouldn't have so much trouble talking about it."
Chrom sighs at that. "What do you know about Sumia's situation, exactly?"
"Like I said, not much." I shrug. "I know it has to do with why she's always at the barracks. I know it also probably has to do with why she doesn't have a Pegasus anymore. She's very open about everything except for those two topics."
Chrom leans back against a crate and sighs. "You're very perceptive, you know that?"
"You only say that because you never met me as a teenager." I chuckle. "Believe me, I used to be denser than the average brick." My laughter hides my pain. Young Ben was a fucking train-wreck.
Chrom cracks a smile at that, but it vanishes quickly. He raises his head and looks up at me with an empty expression. "Almost a year ago now, a month after I announced that I was courting Sumia, she suffered a… training accident, of sorts. Sumia was still training as a Pegasus Knight at the time, on what was supposed to be a routine patrol, when she was ambushed. A couple of desperate bandits, or so they claimed."
"You suspect differently."
"Alas, suspicions are all I have." Chrom grips the edge of the crate he leans on, knuckles white. "Their story never changed, but they were too prepared, too well equipped. Sumia's Pegasus was killed immediately, and Sumia barely escaped with her life. If her friend hadn't also been patrolling nearby, she would be dead."
"Shit." I step back in shock. "That's… wait. You need the support of a noble family to become a Pegasus knight, don't you? So surely any bandit would know she's more valuable alive?"
"Yet another inconsistency, yes. Believe me, over the course of our investigation, we've found many more." Chrom glares at the far wall. "And most glaring of all is her instructor. The woman seemed all too eager to send Sumia out again, not long after the accident."
"You think she was bought."
"She's closely related to a noblewoman, one who has expressed a great deal of interest in introducing me to her daughter." Chrom's face twists in disgust. "One of many men and women who has shown such interests."
"So… they want Sumia out of the picture. That way you might consider one of their own girls. A free ticket into the royal family." I stare aside blankly. When the fuck did this video game turn into GAME OF FUCKING THRONES? What is my life even?
"The court of Ylisse is a den of vipers, to be sure." Chrom spits bitterly. "Of all the people in our nation, none are more entitled than the nobles. What they do not have, they see little issue with taking. My father's war has left a broad divide between the nobles and the common people. Even Maribelle, for all her many esteemed qualities, suffers from this. Hell, even Lissa and I feel the divide between us; it is part of why I formed the Shepherds. It's an effective way for me to bridge the gaps between our classes, and give due recognition to those who would normally be snubbed by the upper class."
"Also an effective place to protect somebody who is no longer safe in their current position!" I nod as the last piece of the puzzle falls into place for me. "Sumia was brought into the Shepherds for her own protection, wasn't she?"
"It's true." Chrom nods. "Sumia is from a noble family, one which has long been renowned for its military service. She is the daughter of two great politicians, but her father was also an esteemed warrior, one who died in service during the war. She took up the spear in order to honor him. And when she suffered her 'accident'… they used that against her. I was against her returning to her service as a knight, and she wasn't prepared either. She was still mourning the loss of her Pegasus, but there was a great deal of pressure for her to return to service. 'For the sake of your father's memory!' they would say."
"Get back in that saddle, so we can knock you out of it for good." I deadpan, before looking over at Chrom sheepishly. "Sorry, that was a thoughtless comment."
"True though." Chrom lets out a bitter smile. "Their intentions were clear. So in the end, I offered the only alternative available: The Shepherds. As a member, she could stay safely away from the machinations of the nobles, while still serving her country. The only way to refute it would be to insult a militia formed by the prince himself. It's kept her safe physically and politically, but at a cost. She had to abandon her dream of becoming a Pegasus Knight. I can't even get her a Pegasus as part of the Shepherds, since their use in military is so entangled with the nobility. Emmeryn could, but it would step on so many toes amongst the noble families…"
"See, this kind of shit is why I hate politicians." I roll my eyes. "Which begs the question why you're telling me all this. Why now?"
"The fact that you hate politicians is part of it, honestly." Chrom looks over at me and shrugs. "It means you're not likely to be bought by them. You have no ties to them, and you have no love for their bullshit. That means you can be trusted. As to your next question, I feel that this is the opportunity that many have been waiting for. We're not just going on a patrol, we're leaving the country. It could be months before we return. More than enough time for something to happen. I can't just hope that Cordelia will be around this time. I want you to be there instead."
"So you want me to stay with her." I frown. "In the capital."
"You wouldn't be alone in this, of course." Chrom gives me a reassuring smile. "I'd leave Severa and Donnel as well, they both seem to look up to you. Donnel's got a lot of potential, and Severa may be better with a sword than me." He stops and looks away thoughtfully at that. "She does battle like one who's known war her whole life."
"That she does." I frown. "Still, I can't help but think you're missing a rather obvious solution."
"Oh?" Chrom looks over at me curiously.
"If you're so worried, let her come with us. She's a trained soldier, and you can look after her far better if you two are together."
"That's every bit as risky." Chrom glares at me. "Do you think me so reckless as to put the woman I love in danger like that?"
"I fear trained assassins more than bandits or the walking dead any day." I shrug. "Even Frederick could fall behind an assassin's blade if it was so desired. I'm sure Robin would back me up on this. I'm a lot better than I used to be, but against a trained killer I wouldn't stand a chance. Not yet, at least."
Chrom scowls at me for a few long seconds, then sighs in defeat. "I was afraid you'd say that. Frederick had a similar opinion when I consulted him on the matter. He's shrewd, but overprotective. I thought he might just be acting paranoid, but you have no such tendencies."
"Does my word mean that much to you?" I blink in surprise.
"There is no member of the Shepherd who I do not trust." Chrom gives me a smile that I can only describe as 'noble'. "Though you have shown a certain sense of pragmatism and cleverness that I find valuable, yes."
"Huh." I continue to stare in shock. "I guess my years of schooling weren't for nothing after all."
"I should hope not." Chrom chuckles. "Education is a frightfully expensive thing, after all."
"Expensive and life ruining." I mutter darkly.
"What?" Chrom looks up in confusion.
"Nothing, not important!" I smile. "So, you're letting Sumia come along, then?"
"Honestly, I'm still against it." Chrom sighs. "But I suppose you've made your point. I'll have to talk to her about it."
"Cool, let's go then." I push the door open and nod towards the mess hall. "Sooner you talk to her the better, and I need to finish my breakfast before morning training begins."
"Ah yes!" Chrom chuckles at this and moves towards the door. "Frederick has something special planned for today, or so he tells me. An important lesson in spear-work."
"Oof." I grimace as we re-enter the mess hall. "My worst subject. I have better luck with magic."
"Miriel does have a great deal of praise for your grasp of the theory…" Chrom nods thoughtfully. "Even if your power is lacking."
"More like not worth mentioning." I grimace. "But something about spears… I don't know what it is, I just can't seem to get the footwork."
"Give it time, I'm sure it will come to you." Chrom claps a reassuring hand on my shoulder, then moves over to Sumia. I take my seat across from Robin and resume eating my now cold breakfast, as Chrom leads Sumia out of the room.
"Finally decided to bring her along, did he?" Robin comments, sending the two a brief glance between notes.
"Looks that way." I reply, shovelling eggs in my mouth as I see Shepherds starting to trail out of the room.
"That's good!" Robin smiles to himself as he marks a few last words down and closes his notebook with a loud snap. "I've felt bad for her, always cooped up here. Hardly fitting for a former Pegasus knight in training."
"Yeah." I prod at my fruit bowl and allow myself a little grin. "Well, I'm sure she'll find her wings again soon."
I keep my face as straight as I can, as I stand in line with the other Shepherds. It's not an easy task. All around me others fail to do the same. Donnel looks awestruck. Vaike and Virion are practically drooling. Stahl seems fine, but on closer inspection is stopping to gulp every few seconds. Even Robin can't stop his eyes from wandering.
Such is the effect of one's first exposure to the legendary Cordelia of the Pegasus Knights. Even the women seem taken with her, though in Miriel's case she may be more interested in the effect the Pegasus Knight has on everyone else.
Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit here. She's extremely good looking, of course, but it's hardly hypnotic. Definitely getting some interesting responses from some of the Shepherds though.
Severa may have the most interesting reaction of all, though my knowledge of who Cordelia is to the girl is probably swaying my opinion. The kid is going bug eyed, her knuckles bulging white from the skin as she clutches her hands in fists at her sides.
"Pay close attention now, everyone." Frederick stands proudly at attention, possibly the only one in the group who seems unaffected by Cordelia's shining aura of perfection. "Cordelia is one of the finest of Ylisse's Pegasus Knights, and her talent with a spear is without peer. As such, I have asked her to take time from her busy schedule to give us a demonstration of her skills, that you may take inspiration and strive to better yourselves in this regard."
If Cordelia is uncomfortable at the praise, she doesn't show it, remaining perfectly poised, with a calm smile on her face. She stands at ease, with her spear held upright at her side, as Frederick sets up a straw dummy in front of her.
"We will begin with a demonstration, then I will have you commence training. Cordelia will remain during this time to give advice to those who need it." He stands back and bows deeply to Cordelia. "Whenever you are ready, milady."
Cordelia gives Frederick a soft smile in response, before turning to face the dummy. Her foot shifts subtly forward, and her spear blurs into a ready position with a slight turn of her wrist.
There's a moment of tense anticipation.
And with a sharp whistle of air, Cordelia lunges. It's so fast I can barely follow it, a swift succession of stabbing attacks. Two strikes to the chest and shoulder, then a twirl that brings the haft of the spear across the chin, which is concluded with two more blows to the throat and head.
She does all of this in under two seconds. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as she returns to her former stance. There's a scattering of appreciative murmuring. Sully lets out a low whistle of appreciation.
Cordelia is about to step forward again, but stops at a raised hand from Frederick. "A moment, please." Frederick looks over the Shepherds calmly. "I would ask you all a question. How many times do you think Cordelia struck the dummy just now?"
"Four." Vaike calls out after a moment, to nods of assent from most of the remaining Shepherds.
"I saw five." I feel compelled to call out. "She used the handle to hit the jaw when she spun." Robin and Virion nod along in agreement, and I feel a smug sense of pride as Vaike scowls over at me. I'm a gamer fool, my eyes are trained for higher fps than yours!
"Begging your pardon, Mister Benjamin, but it's actually six." Donnel pipes up.
There's a pause as everyone in the Shepherds turns to face him in confusion. He reddens under the attention, shuffling from foot to foot. "Oh golly, well I suppose I could be mistaken, but when Miss Cordelia did that pretty little twirl, I thought I saw her cut across the stomach."
I blink in surprise, and look back up to the dummy. I didn't see that spear go anywhere near the stomach, but if it did there will be damage. I frown as I examine it. Not a straw out of place. Yet Cordelia and Frederick both seem strangely pleased.
"Well spotted, Donnel." Frederick kneels next to the dummy, and runs a hand across the stomach. The straw parts easily across the stomach. "And well struck Cordelia. It was a very clean cut; even I almost missed it."
"It was nothing special." Cordelia preens.
"Holy shit, good eye kid." I nudge Donnel with an elbow, staring at the dummy in shock. "I didn't see a thing!"
"Let this be a lesson to all of you." Frederick gives a satisfied nod. "This is the pinnacle you must strive to one day reach. The first step is to watch closely. If you are to go on to greater heights, you must first see the path laid out in front of you."
From there things continue in much the same regard. Cordelia performs jaw-dropping feats of spear wielding, the rest of us fail to keep up. By the end of the demonstration, the only people who have a proper grasp of Cordelia's movements are Donnel, Robin, and to a slightly lesser extent, Sully.
Then comes the actual practise, which goes about as poorly for me as I expect it to. Spears do not seem to be something I'll get the grasp of anytime soon, to Frederick's immense frustration. Despite my best efforts I can't seem to get my footwork squared properly, and my lunges continue to miss the mark as a result. I can tell that I'm close, and so can Frederick, but there's something that I'm just not getting a handle on. My inability to figure out what this something is and make the necessary final correction leads to a rather bitter argument with Frederick that we both agree to call off before it slips into incivility.
By the time Frederick and I finally agree to come back to things another day I discover that everyone else has left, including Cordelia. The two of us spent more time working on it than we were supposed to, but neither of us has much difficulty packing, so we took the risk.
It's with a slightly bitter heart that I trek over to the bathhouses, still going over my steps in my head. It's really quite annoying to me, my situation is not like say, Miriel or Vaike, who just don't seem to grasp the concepts at all. I can tell I'm close to figuring things out. But for whatever the reason, no matter how much I correct my stance, things seem to keep falling apart at the last second.
"Am I leaning forward too much or something?" I muse. "I need to figure this out soon before I spend too much time obsessing over it."
"What's this? Finally decided to join us, did you?"
I come to a stop outside of the bathhouse in surprise. A woman's voice, but not one I recognize. Must be one of the Pegasus Knights, I know the women's side of the bathhouse is primarily built for their benefit.
"Don't be silly, Little Lady Genius has far better things to do than to train with her elder knights, doesn't she?"
"There is hardly a cause to take offense, I received Lady Phila's blessing to miss training today." I recognize Cordelia's voice, but it sounds… unusually sullen.
"Oh, of course you did!" The first voice reacts in mock sarcasm. "Little Lady Genius is so important, after all! Off to run errands for a Royal Knight! Don't you feel special!"
"Not like she needed to attend training in the first place, after all!" The second voice pipes up in a sing-song voice. "Little Lady Genius is so smart and clever that she can keep up just fine even if she takes a day off from training."
"Oh yes, we all need a day off from time to time. Little Lady Genius looks very well rested. Not a hair out of place, as always."
"Every day is a vacation when you're Little Lady Genius. Always so capable, and you don't even work up a sweat to do so! It almost makes me wonder why you're over here. If Little Lady Genius is so above it all that she doesn't even sweat, does she really need a bath?"
"Are you quite finished?" Cordelia responds quietly.
"Oh yes, Little Lady Genius, I think we're done here. We need to go get our rest, we were very busy today, actually doing our jobs." I consider retreating as I hear the voices near the door, but there's nowhere to hide without noisily sprinting around the side of the building. So I just settle for standing back from the entrance as the two Pegasus Knights walk outside.
The girls pause for a second as they see me, their smug smiles fading into scowls. "Got a problem?" One of them snaps at me irritably.
I raise an eyebrow slowly and straighten up, making use of my height to literally look down on the two. "Who the fuck wouldn't?"
To their credit the girls aren't intimidated at all, despite not being aware that they could easily kick my ass. That said, nobody likes being called out like that, so while not scared they certainly don't seem comfortable with the situation. The same one that snapped at me growls out a quick "Mind your own business." And with that they both stride away towards their barracks.
I watch them leave with a clinical detachment, trying to avoid thinking about how much I'm freaking out internally at the brief confrontation. "They'd be rather pretty if they weren't such bitches." I mutter under my breath. The comment, while crass, lets me feel just a little more in control, and I feel my heart rate slow into something less intense.
If that conversation had stretched into more than three sentences I would have cracked under the pressure. I do not deal well with aggressive conversations like that, holy fuck!
I take a couple more deep breaths to relax myself and walk into the bathhouse, ready to soak that whole situation into a vague memory. And when I do I find myself suddenly freezing again as Cordelia's eyes meet me across the room. She's standing listlessly near the entrance to the girl's side, staring blankly at me.
"How much of that did you hear?" She asks in a monotone.
"Uhh… fuck. The whole thing, I think?" I grimace and break eye contact. "Sorry, didn't mean to eavesdrop. In my defense, this is a pretty public location."
"They don't really care much. It's just hazing, after all, it's nothing unusual."
"Glad Sumia never picked that trick up before leaving." I shrug and give Cordelia a bitter smirk. "If not for her hospitality I'd have been kicked out of the Shepherds within a day."
"Sumia's doing alright then?" Cordelia brightens up a bit at the mention of her friend.
"She's okay." I shrug again. "Leaving with us tomorrow. You should talk to her before she leaves, I'm sure she'd like to hear from you. She talks about you a lot."
"I'd like that a great deal." Cordelia goes quiet, seemingly pondering the idea.
"Cool. You go do that then. You seem like you could use a friend."
"Am I that obvious?" She frowns as she looks up at me.
"Kinda, yeah." I shrug again, then scowl as I realize just how much I've done that during this conversation. "Not a hair out of place the whole practise, but those girls definitely did a number on you."
"You're imagining things. As I said, it's a simple hazing, nothing I can't handle."
I stare blankly at her for a few long seconds. "Okay, we're both going to pretend I believe that. But before I do, let me just give you a quick word of advice."
Cordelia gives no response, save to raise a single eyebrow.
"Don't go telling Sumia anything like that." I give Cordelia a hard look. "I wasn't kidding when I said she talks about you a lot, she's worried sick about you. Don't repay that by lying to her face. You can do that to me, that's cool, I don't know you for shit. But talk to your friend about it if nobody else."
She pauses, taken aback at that. I decide to take advantage of the fact that she's still not speaking to escape before I say too much (as if I haven't already). "Alright! Well I'm glad to hear you're alright. Anyways, I'm going to go wash up, that practise was brutal and we gotta be on the road bright and early tomorrow. Thanks for the demonstration!"
I've almost escaped into the men's bath when Cordelia stops me. "Your name is… Ben, right?"
"Uhh, yeah. Surprised you knew that, honestly." I look back over my shoulder.
"Thank you. For speaking up to them." She gives me a small smile. "And for your advice, unsolicited though it may have been."
"Uhh… Right! Yeah, okay. Glad to help!" I blink as I realize how much I'm starting to stammer. "Okay, I still have to pack for the big trip tomorrow, so I'm gonna go. Nice talking to you!" I duck behind the curtain and swiftly walk down the hall towards the changing room. I vaguely hear Cordelia chuckle behind me, and slap a hand to my head in embarrassment.
I don't know what I expected, honestly, talking to what may very well be the most attractive woman I've ever met one on one like that. It's honestly shocking that I didn't make more of an idiot of myself. Lucky me, I guess.
"Eight goddamn years since I graduated, and yet I still can't talk to a pretty girl without reverting to a fucking high-schooler." I grumble to myself.
Perhaps the one and only mercy is that it will likely be months before I see her again. Lots of time for me to forget the awkward turn that conversation took. Or to die!
I'll take what I can get right now, honestly.
Alright, so here's a little bit of payoff to something I've been bouncing around in my headcanon for a while now. I'm... honestly not sure how Sumia's lack of Pegasus has been explained by other writers, but since she's basically the canon waifu for Chrom, I figured a bit of political intrigue fleshes her situation out quite nicely. This would be the main reason I decided to have the two start in a relationship. Hopefully I'll be able to use this to flesh out an actual romance between the two, but I'm honestly crap at writing that sort of thing, so it'll be relegated strictly to the background.
As to the whole sequence with Cordelia, it's primarily a reference to her support with Frederick, where she gives a similar presentation at his request. Of course, going by the actual dialogue their support doesn't start chronologically until after Phila's death, but fuck it, I wanted to introduce her early. Since I already fucked around with things in regards to Severa, it seemed appropriate.
The name Cordelia's fellow knights call her, 'Little Lady Genius' is pulled directly from her support with Robin. Showing the hazing is another reason I wanted to bump Cordelia's appearance forward a bit, since in game you don't get to know her until all her fellow Pegasus Knights are dead. I hope I hit the right tone with them, Cordelia's bitterness in regards to the way she's treated by her peers is the most interesting part of her character to me, probably because I can identify with it a lot.
Anyways, next time, we finally start Chapter 2. Boy did that take a long fucking time, huh?
