Lady in Waiting
By psychored1911
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Awakening or Fire Emblem Fates
Chapter 2: Insomniac Butterfly
Effie did not expect much trouble tonight. It should have been a typical night in Windmire, with Lady Elise sleeping and Lord Leo studying in their respective quarters.
So when she opened the gates to the Royal Villa, she did not expect the two youngest Royals to be marched inside by a visibly upset Princess Camilla. Nor did she expect Selena, Laslow, and Odin to be following them back inside; she expected them to be catching up with some ale in Cassita's tavern. And she certainly did not expect Beruka and Niles to be carrying some disheveled woman bound by rope over their shoulders
Just what in the world happened in the past few hours?
"Leo, Elise, please go into Xander's office upstairs and tell him exactly what happened. I will be there shortly." Camilla told them, smiling frigidly.
The young Prince and Princess both visibly paled, exchanging terrified glances with one another. They were in deep trouble.
"B-But-"
"I promise we will hear you out as soon as I am done with those three. You two will be given the opportunity to make your case, and we will deal with any disciplinary action afterwards." Camilla reassured them, bringing her two terrified siblings close with a brief hug before turning them around and sending them on their way. Watching the two march their way upstairs. She then motioned the rest of the retainers to follow her to her own office on the other side of the Villa.
Once inside, she motioned for Beruka and Niles to leave the woman to rest on the sofa while Selena, Odin, and Laslow stood at attention before her desk.
Camilla sat upon her own chair with a sigh, crossing her legs and gently setting the sword that she confiscated down upon her desk. Looking up at the three in front of her, Camilla thought of the poor woman who owned the sword, bound by rope and prone on the sofa. There were two roguish retainers watching her, and it was a precaution that Camilla didn't fully think was necessary at the moment, but she appreciated their ready defense.
She truly had no idea who this woman was. Why would she need so many people to take her to a prone state? Camilla knew that she had to find out.
"...Who is she?" Camilla asked, almost offhandedly, as her gaze returned back to Selena. "Who is this woman, and how are three of Nohr's finest knights unable to best her?"
Selena gulped, folding her arms behind her back as she stepped forward. "...Her name is… Marth, Milady. Forgive us, but we were doing everything in our power not to significantly harm her."
Odin stepped forward next, clearing his throat. "She is family to us, Princess Camilla. In my case, literally so; she's actually my cousin. She basically took care of us on her own when we were younger."
Laslow stepped forward last. "We have nothing but the utmost respect for her, Princess; she practically raised us. Even in her crazed, presumably half-drunk state, we couldn't bear to hurt her."
"...So you were holding back?" Camilla inquired.
"Of course we were, Princess." Laslow affirmed. "...Though admittedly, she's also the one who taught us to fight in the first place. She could take us all on at her worst-" he glanced behind him at Lucina's unmoving form, "Well, I suppose she did… and come out victorious. At her best, I daresay that she could even give Prince Xander a run for his money."
"I see..." Camilla bit her lip, folding her arms as she processed what the three retainers told her. She did not expect this Marth woman to be their family. And their bold claims of her fighting ability was certainly intriguing, but she still has some more questions to ask them. "So what is she doing here? If she was in town, she would have at least sent for you, wouldn't she?"
Selena cleared her throat. "We did not know she was here at all; we stumbled upon her by chance. We've never even seen her in that state before. Something must have happened to her after we last met." She visibly hesitated, craning her head towards her unconscious friend, before returning to her respective liege. "With all due respect, we will do whatever it takes to ensure her wellbeing, no matter what sort of punishment you have planned for us."
Camilla couldn't help but find herself intrigued by their devotion to this 'Marth' woman. Selena spoke without her rapier wit, nor did Odin with his bombastic rhetoric, nor did Laslow even attempt to ogle her when he thought she wasn't looking. Whoever Marth was, she commanded a great amount of respect from the three.
Their clear loyalty to the woman almost made her jealous. Almost.
Camilla stood up, taking the confiscated sword. "Beruka, Niles. Be a dear and guard the room. Ensure that these four don't leave yet."
"Understood."
"As you wish, milady."
The two roguish retainers nodded and left the room, standing guard outside.
Selena gulped. "L-Lady Camilla?"
Camilla turned to the three retainers. "Take care of your friend, Selena. I'll need to consult with Xander before we can decide what to do with you all."
Xander buried his face in his hands, having heard his two youngest siblings give their testimony to their misadventure earlier this night. Coupled with the information Camilla got from the three retainers, and now he more or less now had the full picture to what had transpired in the past few hours.
Half of him felt relieved that they were safe from harm.
The other half wanted to strangle them.
"So, let me get this straight," Xander stated as he and Camilla paced around Leo and Elise's adjacent chairs, encircling them. "You two broke curfew and snuck out of the Royal Villa to get a birthday present and invite our old nursemaid to the Northern Fortress. Then, you put yourself in harm's way by throwing yourself in front of a mad swordswoman, one that couldn't be stopped by three of our finest knights."
Leo cleared his throat. "I mean, they were holding back-"
"I don't want to hear it." Xander declared, their father's malice beginning to lace his voice. His two youngest siblings shrunk into their chairs, only just starting to realize how much trouble they were truly in. "There was a reason I set up a curfew. A curfew that you two blatantly ignored. You put yourselves in danger just by doing so! Now I'm wondering what I'm supposed to do with you."
"You could just let us go since nobody was killed and…" Xander's stern gaze fell upon Elise before she could finish her suggestion. "I'm gonna shut up now and hope you have mercy on us?"
"Indeed you shall." Xander motioned to his violet-haired sister. "Camilla, a word?"
The two walked out of the room, out of earshot of the other two siblings, and Xander whispered into her ear. "Want to give them that punishment?"
Camilla raised a brow. "You don't think Corrin will be too lenient with them?"
"Gunter is there, remember? He'll make sure Corrin won't go too easy on the two."
"Hmm, that is fine and all. But…" Camilla's lips curled into a devilish grin. "There's also the Marth character we have to deal with. I suggest we…" she whispered into her brother's ear.
The two whispered for a few moments longer before returning to their two youngest siblings, with Camilla sitting by the side and Xander plopping down to his desk.
"Pack your bags. You two are going to the Northern Fortress."
Leo blinked. "Really?"
Elise lit up with a smile. "Oh, thank you-"
"Don't get too excited, you two." Xander shot them down. "We're not letting you get off that easy. We will be sending a messenger ahead. You two will be sentenced to labor in the Northern Fortress, where Corrin and Gunter will be overseeing your punishment, from this point onward up until Corrin's birthday in three and a half weeks. And no, Corrin will not be permitted to go easy on you."
Leo groaned. Elise visibly deflated.
"We expect the Fortress to be spotless by the time we arrive." Camilla clasped her hands together with a smile.
Xander nodded in agreement. "Go to your rooms. Dismissed."
The tension in the hallway was palpable as Niles and Beruka stood sentry outside Princess Camilla's quarters, with Effie having approached the two after the Princess headed over to Prince Xander's office.
Effie cleared her throat. "Erm, Beruka-"
The short wyvern rider glared gray daggers into her. She was clearly not in any mood to talk.
Knowing that getting a conversation out of her at the moment was a lost cause, Effie quickly shifted her attention to the thief. "Niles, do you know what happened?"
"Our three colleagues have just received a verbal beatdown from quite the beauty shortly after receiving a physical beatdown from another." Niles said with a wink.
Effie rolled her eyes, barely noticing Beruka pulled out her dagger in response. "Niles, you are not to refer to Princess Camilla in that fashion. Gods, you're as bad as Laslow sometimes."
Niles recoiled with a gasp. "You think I'm as bad as Laslow?! Perish the thought, my dear Effie! When it comes to looks, charm, and pure skill in and out of the bed, I outclass that fop a thousand fold!"
"*Gasp* WHAT?!"
The door slammed open, and an outraged Laslow, who apparently heard the whole exchange, stormed out and confronted the three.
"Slander! Slander, I say!" Laslow asserted, getting all up in Niles' face. "How dare you declare yourself the better charmer out of the two of us!"
Niles grinned deviously. "Much less of a declaration and more of an astute observation, if I do say so myself. After all, while women dance to the tune of my tongue, they tend to run off in disgust of yours."
Effie facepalmed. How did the conversation derail this quickly? She just wanted to know what happened.
"And now you insult my wonderful singing voice?!" Laslow barked. "I'll have you know my serenades can sweep the feet of many a beautiful woman-"
"And yet they all fall flat the moment you hint at an offer of a pleasant night." Niles leaned in with a smirk.
Selena audibly groaned from inside Lady Camilla's chambers. "Gawds, are you really doing this now? What next, you're going to yank down your pants and compare who's bigger?"
"I am! You think you're bigger than me?! Prove it, you one-eyed brute!"
"You want me to prove it? Oh, I'll prove it alright, you pompous, miserable, fop of a man!"
Beruka, just about done with their asinine behavior, stabbed her dagger right between the two bickering bullheads and into the doorframe, just about level with their respective crotches. Waiting a moment for the gesture to gain in gravitas, she dislodged the blade with a heavy downward yank before returning it to her sheath, her petite hand still tightly gripping its handle. All while not even dignifying their asshatery with a glance.
Laslow, who was just about ready to pull his trousers down in order to prove his superiority, visibly gulped, as did Niles just opposite him.
"Truce?"
"Truce."
While the two men took a step back and appreciated what they nearly lost (in Laslow's case, for the second time that evening), Effie looked over Niles' shoulder and noticed Odin, who didn't even seem to care about their situation, kneeling over the slumbering woman, tightly gripping her hands within his own with intense worry upon his face.
"Is that her? The woman who attacked you?" Effie pointed at the slumbering woman, only now drawing Odin's attention.
Selena reluctantly walked over, sighing. "Yeah, she's Odin's cousin… Marth." she furrowed her brows. "She's in a bad place as far as I can tell, to the point she barely even recognized us when we first saw her…" Selena massaged her temples. "Look, it's really complicated-"
"She matches our description for the armory arsonist." Beruka pointed out in a deadpan monotone.
Selena whipped her head towards her fellow retainer with one of the fiercest glares Effie has ever seen. "Don't even joke about that; it can't be her."
"She fits our witness statement to the letter." Beruka stated.
"IT. CAN'T. BE. HER." Selena punctuated whilst seething through her teeth, barely eliciting a raised brow from the shorter woman. Selena, however, realizing she was terrifying virtually everyone else, reeled herself back before continuing. "Cassita has seen her all throughout the last month, at least. The fire happened a week ago. It couldn't possibly be her."
"Is that so? Then we should cross her out as a potential suspect."
Every retainer present stood to attention, saluting the Crown Prince as he approached them. He eyed Selena and Laslow in particular, with Odin hastily scrambling over to the two with a salute of his own.
"Selena, Odin, Laslow." Xander stated curtly. "Have you finished with the repairs to Cassita's tavern?"
"No, sir." Laslow replied. "Princess Camilla ordered us to return with her to the Royal Villa before we could start. She said we may begin with the repairs once she was done with Prince Leo and Princess Elise."
"We have already made our decision regarding tonight's events." Xander frowned. "You three are to repair all damages sustained during your detention of the woman known as Marth. Any repairs that cannot be made by your hands will be deducted out of this month's wages and paid directly to her. Once you are finished, you are to return to the Northern Fortress immediately, where you will join Prince Leo and Princess Elise for further instruction. As for her," The trio visibly tensed as Xander motioned to Lucina. "Beruka, Niles. Bring her over to one of the guest rooms. Make sure it's comfortable, but keep it under lock and key."
"As you wish, milord."
*nod*
Odin frantically stepped forward. "M-My Prince-"
"I heard everything from Camilla; I assure you no harm will come to your cousin as of this moment… so long as she doesn't end up going on a rampage upon awakening." Xander maintained. "However, she still has to answer for her involvement in tonight's events." He then motioned to Effie. "Where is Arthur?"
Effie saluted. "He's at home, milord."
"Summon him and prepare a caravan to the Northern Fortress. You will embark on my order." Xander commanded.
"Yes, sir."
"Yes, sir."
"Yes, sir."
The three saluted and reluctantly left, just as Niles and Beruka entered the room and hoisted Marth over their shoulders and brought her out of Lady Camilla's quarters.
Looks like Effie wasn't going to get any answers right now.
"Well, this is a mess…" Laslow groaned as the trio walked out of the villa. "But, at least she's not wearing the mask."
"How are we getting out of this?" Odin sighed.
"There is no 'getting out of this'." Selena retorted. "Let's just fix up Cassita's tavern so we can go back to… Marth, as soon as possible. Ugh, gawds, that's gonna take a while to get used to again."
"We're fortunate that Prince Xander likes us enough that he didn't just have her jailed or executed on the spot." Odin retorted. "It'll haunt me forever if we fail to save her after all she's done for us."
"Do you think those ropes will hold her?" Laslow pointed out.
"Not a chance." Selena shook her head. "She'll probably free herself as soon as-"
"Psst, Guys."
The trio paused, turning to the side as they noticed a pair of blonde pigtails overtly sticking out of the shrubbery.
"What is Lady Elise doing?" Laslow whispered into Odin's ear.
"How in the hells did she get out of her room? She sleeps on the third floor." Selena pointed out.
Odin shrugged. "I dunno. I'm betting Niles just loans her grappling hooks just so she could sneak out whenever she wants."
"...She should get caught way more often." Selena noted.
"Oh, she does. Peri and I usually tail her whenever she leaves without an escort." Laslow affirmed. "She's way worse at it than she thinks she is."
"Hey!" Elise stuck her head out from the shrubbery indignantly, only to double back behind as soon as she noticed the three were staring right at her.
"Oh, for…" Selena marched over and dragged Elise out of hiding and right before the trio. "Can we help you, Princess?"
"Just Elise will do, Selena. No need to stand on ceremony with me in private." Elise offered, dusting herself off. "I just want you guys to tell me about Marth before you go."
"Marth?" Laslow folded his arms. "Why are you asking?"
Elise shrugged. "I can't be curious when three of Nohr's knights get a total smackdown by a mystery woman and still jump to her defense right after?"
"She's got a point." Odin conceded. "Well, for starters-"
"Yeah, she's your cousin. I heard from Xander." Elise waved him off. "Skip ahead. I wanna know why you're so willing to risk your lives and careers, all for her."
Laslow spoke first, beating the others to the punch, but he spoke with a somber voice. "She raised us. She was an older sister, a teacher, a warrior; everything we needed her to be. She had to be." Laslow chuckled lightly to himself at the memory of countless practice battles he had once had with Lucina which ended with him prone on the floor.
"If you were so important to each other, why did she attack you?"
As Laslow hesitated, Odin took over. "...Fate hasn't been too kind to us when we were growing up, least of all to her. I could barely fathom the kind of stress she endured over the years. After all, she shouldered the burden of leadership at such a young age, faced so much loss. It was a miracle she didn't snap under the pressure."
"She did snap…" Selena reluctantly corrected, staring down at her boots. "...And we weren't there for her when she needed it the most." she bit her lip in distaste, feeling nothing but contempt for herself for letting her sister in all but blood and name down. "Hell, we didn't even realize she snapped, did we?"
"Would it be rude of me to ask what happened?" Elise asked innocently.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The three said nothing, exchanging worried, tense looks with one another, unwilling to look the youngest Royal in the eye. Their silence spoke volumes to the young Princess.
"...That bad, huh?" Elise smiled sadly, before perking up. "Y'know what? Cheer up! You found her, you're here for her now, and that's all that matters, right? Whatever she's been through, there's nothing that a bunch of friends giving their all for her wellbeing can't fix."
The trio seemed to smile, however briefly, at Princess Elise's infectious cheerfulness. The three bowed respectfully, and Odin spoke for the three. "Thank you, Elise. We truly appreciate your kind words."
"Don't mention it." Elise grinned, replying to their bows with a polite curtsy of her own. "Now, go spruce up Cassita's place and come back ASAP! You three are dismissed."
The trio promptly saluted and left shortly thereafter, leaving Elise to turn back to the villa with a satisfied grin, "Now, time to get back in…"
An endless field.
An ocean of grass and grain.
Countless stalks of grain as far as the eye could see, the silver moonlight and the countless stars brilliantly reflecting off the endless golden waves.
Lucina sat up, unsure of how or why she arrived there.
She just started walking, aimlessly, the crunching of the amber stalks and the whistling of the wind breaking the silence that surrounded her.
…
…
She did not know how long she was walking, it could have been minutes or hours for all she knew, but eventually her stamina gave out, her feet buckled from her and she fell upon the ground, exhaustion enveloping her, her breath hitching, her eyelids flickering open and closed...
Was this where everything was going to end? Is this where she was going to meet her demise?
...Perhaps this was okay.
She will end her journey the same way Robin began his.
…
…
"Is this really how you want it to end?"
Lucina looked up, finding what looked like a little girl, with her straight, blue hair cut to her shoulders, crouching over her, looking over her with a smile.
"...Why not?" Lucina lamented. "At least I'll join my husband this way…"
"You think he's gone?" The younger girl asked.
"He has to be. He disappeared along with Grima years ago..."
"Is that what you think?" The little girl smiled playfully. "Well then, maybe he still has yet to be found. And you're not gonna meet him if you die out here."
"...You're annoying." Lucina groaned.
"So I've been told." The girl giggled as she stood up, paced around Lucina's prone form and crouched behind her back, just out of sight. "Do you think he would want you to act like this?"
Lucina turned her head to her side. "Act like what?"
"Oh, I dunno, acting like you have a foot in the grave already. Y'know, the drinking, fighting, leaving everything you knew and loved behind. Oh, and the long, long series of poor decisions that ended with you so far from what you once called home. That kind of thing."
"...You're REALLY annoying." Lucina complained.
"Is this what you really want to do?" The girl ignored her and sat down upon the amber grain, resting her cheeks in her palms. "You went through a lifetime's worth of nightmares, just to live like this?"
"..."
"Don't give up." she said encouragingly. "Stand up, walk, and go back and live a life worth living."
Waking up hadn't been easy for Lucina, not for a long time.
...That's a bit misleading. The waking up part was honestly easy for her. It just wasn't pleasant. More often than not, her nightmares became too much to bear that it catapulted her out of her sleep and robbed her of whatever rest she was meant to have.
However, this was different. For once, she felt refreshed, relaxed even. It was the first time she had any proper rest in quite a while. She almost missed it.
"W-What the?!"
Of course, that pleasant feeling was immediately robbed from her upon realizing three things:
One: she was sitting upright, in an unknown, luxurious bedroom, only illuminated with the hanging candles by the walls.
Two: her arms and legs were bound in rope.
Three: her sword, the Falchion, was taken from her, missing from her hip.
…
She didn't know who brought her here and restrained her.
But she did know that someone would be getting punched.
Hard. VERY, VERY HARD.
A/N: Alright, another one done. Again, shoutout to my friend SK for helping me write and edit this chapter. Hope you all stick with this story, because I'm having a lot of fun writing this one.
In all seriousness, when I was writing this chapter, I got stuck on one scene in particular. I know other authors know the feeling: you plan a chapter in and out, making major or minor edits to the grand plan as you go along… and then you end up at that one scene that is incredibly difficult to translate from plan to actual text, and then you have to literally chip away at it, piece by piece, for days to weeks, until you come up with something that fits. Ugh, seriously, that's a writer's worst nightmare.
As always, please review!