Lady in Waiting

By psychored1911

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Awakening or Fire Emblem Fates

Chapter 4: Collecting Dust

"Ah, this old place brings me back…" Cassita wistfully mused, clutching her bag as the trio escorted her to the Royal Villa. "I'm glad it didn't change too much."

"Whatever changes that were made were for the better." Laslow mused. "Lord Leo's magic improved to the point we have a proper courtyard now."

"Indeed." Odin beamed with pride. "He plans on making a garden large enough to sustain the population of Windmire, perhaps even all of Nohr one day."

"It's good to know Leo is still the kind-hearted young man I raised him to be." Cassita said mirthfully.

While Selena and Cassita marched onwards, Odin and Laslow slowly slipped back.

"...Do you think she got your note?" Laslow whispered.

Odin could only shrug. "We could only hope. If not, then we will have a lot of explaining to do."

"More than what we already have?"

"Yep."

The trio escorted her a bit further to the first carriage waiting by the front door, where Peri and Niles were waiting.

"Hey guys!" Peri chirped, waving them over and hopping off the carriage, before scowling at Laslow. "And you! How come we had to pack the carriage? I thought you guys were the ones that screwed up!"

"For the record, we did not 'screw up'." Laslow corrected. "And we had to go back and clean up the tavern after our little skirmish."

"You mean after your drunk friend Marth kicked your butts to the curb? Literally in Odin's case." Niles teased.

Selena rolled her eyes and glanced at Peri. "I take it Prince Xander told you to come with us?"

Peri blew a raspberry. "Nah, he told me he needed someone 'dependable' and 'reliable' by his side who 'doesn't suck' and 'won't get her butt kicked by a random drunk chick'!"

"Okay, Prince Xander did not say that! You just made that up!" Laslow accused.

"I did not! Those were his exact words!"

"You did so! You were making air quotes!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

While those two were bickering, Odin instead turned to Niles as the latter hopped off the carriage. "Dearest comrade. I hope that my cousin Marth has been treated well by the Prince."

"Indeed she has." Niles nodded. "I hear she has taken Prince Xander's plea deal and will be serving the Royal Family after basic training in the Northern Fortress. I believe they're having the traditional initiation duel as we speak-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa-" Odin frantically interrupted. "She's been hired by the Prince?"

"Yeah, I heard the same thing too." Peri added. "I mean, it's not like she has any other options. What's Prince Xander supposed to do, let her go? Heck no!"

"Indeed, that means I get to see more of that beautiful face of hers more often." Niles joked.

The second that slipped from his tongue, the thief noticed the trio glaring daggers at him.

"Don't you dare talk about her like that." Laslow warned. "Even I won't flirt with her."

Niles and Peri stared at the dancing mercenary as if he grew a third head.

"...You serious?" Peri hesitantly asked, tilting her head quizzically.

"Yes." Laslow said sincerely.

Peri immediately pointed at Laslow accusingly. "WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BEST FRIEND?!"

*smack*

"OWIE!"

Selena swatted Peri's head. "Calm down, you idiot! It's still us!" she waited for Peri to stop wincing before continuing. "Look, Marth means a lot to us, alright? If Prince Xander is going to show her mercy, then great! We can be together like old times."

Niles cupped his chin. "Now that you mention it, you three scarcely talk about your past at all."

Laslow shrugged. "Not much to tell except it was lousy."

Selena scoffed. "Lousy is an understatement."

Niles could tell the three were hiding something, but he let it pass with a smirk. After all, there was more magic in a mystery.

"I take it you're all done packing?"

All retainers stood to attention as Prince Xander and Princess Camilla approached the carriage.

Niles bowed. "Everything sans Prince Leo and Princess Elise have been accounted for, Milord."

"Good." Xander nodded, before turning to the trio and his former nursemaid behind them, a smile gracing his lips. "Ah, Cassita. I take it these three have cleaned up your inn."

"They sure did." Cassita smiled warmly. "I already billed them for all the damages. You needn't worry about a thing."

"That's good to hear." Camilla smiled and turned to the trio (and Niles). "I expect all of you to follow Corrin's orders to the letter once you get to the Northern Fortress. Understood?"

"Yes, Lady Camilla." Selena answered for the trio.

"Very well. I hope you have a safe trip."

Satisfied, Camilla grabbed Xander by the collar and together, they gave their old nursemaid a big hug. Well, Camilla started the hug, but she refused to let go until Xander eventually leaned into the hug himself.

Pleased that her brother showed affection to the woman who practically praised them, the two left and entered the Villa while Peri waved the Fortress-bound retainers goodbye and happily skipped behind the two Royals.

"Do you think she can do it?" Camilla asked, making herself comfortable in Xander's office.

"Elise has a heart of gold and the patience of a saint. If anyone can help that poor woman, it's probably her." Xander said, staring out the window.

"You have such high hopes for her." Camilla noted.

"I have high hopes for all of my siblings: you, Corrin, Leo, and Elise." Xander smiled gently before his face turned serious. "Where were you on your investigation?"

Camilla's smile faded, crossing her legs. "We couldn't salvage much. We could have most of the weapons reforged or refitted, but the rest of the other equipment has been damaged beyond repair. Any documents stored there are little more than ash now, so we can't even take proper inventory." she cupped her chin. "Curiously, the horses, wyverns and even the captured pegasi that were housed there were released from their pens and scattered into the wild. I sent men to search for them, but I doubt we'll be able to find too many of them."

Xander massaged his temples. "The armory fire is more of a mess than I anticipated. Anything else I should know?"

"Surprisingly enough, there were no casualties." Camilla told him. "Apparently our little arsonist somehow managed to trick our entire garrison into leaving the building before setting it ablaze."

"The arsonist sounds either brilliant or mad." Xander commented. "Do you have anything on her?"

"Witnesses stated a woman with blue hair and a sword." Camilla answered. "Marth fits our description, but she has a solid alibi provided by Cassita herself. I know of other blue-haired women who could fit the bill, but Flora and Lilith are too loyal to Corrin to commit treason, and Beruka was practically attached to my hip. That only leaves…"

Xander frowned, turning away from the window and back to his sister. "Don't say it, Camilla. It might not even be her. It could be some other blue-haired lass."

"But what if it could?" Camilla stood up, her voice steeled with anger and regret. "She was captured by Hoshido a long time ago. And we were both powerless to protect her not just from them, but the courts as well. She could-"

"You're assuming she's not kept in a cell or strung up in a tree."

"XANDER!"

Camilla stood up and slammed her hands upon the armrests of her chair, her eyes raging in fury.

The Crown Prince winced. He knew he crossed a line. "...Sorry. But you know how much of a longshot it is for her to be alive. And even if she was, she must hate us by now for not rescuing her."

"It's not like we didn't try." Camilla shot back.

"And it's not like we succeeded, either. Nor would she even know anything about our attempts." Xander countered. "I want to believe she's alive just as much as you do. I know for sure our other siblings would love to know their lost stepsister as well."

"..."

"..."

The Eldest Prince and Princess stared at each other, the air surrounding them growing tense and suffocating. The two stood there in silence, until Camilla leaned over and hugged her older brother, with Xander returning the hug.

"...I just don't want to fail any more of my siblings, Xander." Camilla lamented as she let go of her brother.

"We won't, I promise you that."

After the four remaining retainers helped Cassita settle onto the first carriage, they waited for the youngest Prince and Princess to arrive.

They did not wait long.

"Hey guys!" Elise waved to them as she walked over to one of the carriage, followed by her retainers, Prince Leo, and-

Marth… Odin's cousin and their closest friend, stopped upon seeing the trio once again, her eyes wide and almost vacant.

Caution overtook the three of them, but Odin swallowed his fear and approached her first.

"...Marth."

She blinked, and all color returned to her eyes. "...Ow- Odin?"

"DEAR COUSIN!"

Odin practically leapt forward and embraced the now-startled Marth, lifting her into the air with a massive hug. "Ah, it's so good to see you with your wits intact, my blood cousin! It brings us so much joy to see you're alright!"

A small smile formed on Marth's lips as she gently eased him off. "It's good to see you Ow… Odin…" her smile faded. "I… I'm sorry for-"

"It's all water under the bridge." Laslow chimed in, approaching the two cousins. "We have quite a lot to catch up on, don't we?"

"Agreed." Selena nodded, walking over to them before grabbing Marth by the collar. "And by the way, the next time you snap, we'd really appreciate it if you didn't beat us into the ground."

Marth giggled wearily. "I'll be sure to keep that in…"

Marth stopped mid-sentence. Rather than finish her thought, her eyes began to scan the three in front of her, over and over again.

Laslow gulped. "M-Marth? Are you okay-"

Marth's hands quickly snaked up to Odin's head and firmly grasped his hair, pulling it down to eye level. "What did you three do to your hair?!"

"OWOWOWOWOWOW!?" Odin visibly struggled under her grip, but was unable to do much aside from flail ineffectually. "OW! L-Leggo, Marth! That hurts!"

Unsatisfied, Marth almost casually tossed Odin aside and grasped Laslow's hair before the latter could react. "And what happened to your hair?"

"Ow, Marth! Please let me go! The ladies love the hair!" Laslow pleaded, rendered immobile at risk of Marth inadvertently turning him bald.

"You and I both know that's not the case." Marth curtly answered before her eyes wandered back over to Selena.

Selena immediately started backing away, grasping hers protectively. "Nope. No way. Nuh-uh! Absolutely not! There's no way you're touching my hair."

"But I was certain you took after your father in that regard, not your mother." Marth shuffled forward and let go of Laslow's head.

"Don't bring my mother into this!" Selena barked back, a bit more loudly than intended, before taking another step back.

"Come here."

"No!"

Marth gave chase with a blunt, straightforward look on her face, while Selena ran away with a yelp in hopes of escaping her friends' (albeit brief) fates. Marth chased Selena around the carriage, drawing humored laughs from Elise and Niles, inquisitive (and in the former case, exasperated) stares from Leo and Effie, an outright confused look from Arthur, and expectant sighs from Odin and Laslow.

"Well she sounds like she's in a better mood." Laslow uttered as he picked himself up.

"She certainly has more mirth than she had the previous night." Odin nodded as he rubbed his throbbing hand. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Elise approach the duo with a staff in hand. "We don't need healing, Princess. We're quite alright."

"Okay. If you say so." Elise put her staff away and helped Odin up. "So, what did you guys do to your hair?"

"And more importantly," Niles chimed in with a teasing smirk. "Why didn't you two tell me Selena had mommy issues?"

Selena skidded to a halt and glared at Niles indignantly. "I do not have mommy is-OOF?!"

By the time she realized her folly, Marth had tackled Selena to the ground and started reaching for her head, with the latter struggling to free herself and swat Marth's hands away.

"Hold still."

"No! Don't you dare touch my hair!"

"Enough." With a point and a whistle, Leo ordered Arthur and Effie to pull Marth off Selena. "Marth, cut it out. You four can catch up when we're on the carriage. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir."

Leo massaged his temples as the two saluted and stepped away from him. "This is gonna be a long ride, isn't it?"

"Ah, don't think about it too much, Leo!" Elise playfully slapped his back. "Variety's the spice of life, after all! Now come on! Road trip! Woohoo!"

As everyone began filing into the carriage, Marth paused. "Ah, damn. I left my pack at the tavern."

Selena snorted and elbowed Odin. "Told you we should've grabbed it."

Odin rolled his eyes. "I can go back and get it."

"Ooh!" Elise hopped off the carriage before Arthur and Effie could help her up. "I wanna come too!"

"I wouldn't want to be a bother, milady. I can retrieve it myself." Lucina offered.

"Nonsense, it will take us thirty minutes at most." Elise took Lucina by the arm while waving over Effie and Arthur to follow.

Leo leaned over from inside the carriage. "Really? You do realize Xander and Camilla won't like us delaying our departure."

"Ah, don't worry about it. We'll be back before you know it. They'll probably never realize we haven't left yet."

She dragged Marth by her arm out the gate, with Odin, Arthur and Effie following shortly behind.

"Where is she going?"

"She does realize we can see her from out here, right?" They were currently watching them from an upstairs window, leaving. Without the carriage.

"...Shall I send Beruka to retrieve her?"

"No, she knows better than to push her luck when she's already in trouble. If she's going somewhere, it has to be important."

"If you say so."

"Besides, what is she going to do? Run away?"

"...Good point."

After a short walk to the tavern, Elise and her retinue arrived at Cassita's tavern, currently being run by one of her sons in her absence.

Anyways, Elise and Marth went up to her room to retrieve her belongings, while Odin joined Effie and Arthur on the first floor with the rest of the patrons, seating themselves close to the staircase.

"I love what Cassita has done with the place." Arthur complimented, taking a glance around. "It looks as good as new."

"Arthur, I'm pretty sure that was just Odin and the others cleaning the place up." Effie pointed out.

Odin cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Erm, yes. Our mess was much larger than we anticipated."

"I also heard you were thrown out of a window." Effie added.

"Yes, that happened too." Odin reluctantly confirmed. "I fear that it doesn't just happen to Arthur. No offense, my friend."

Arthur shrugged. "The trick is to bend your knees and roll upon landing. Spares you from the worst of injuries."

Odin laughed. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, friend."

"Odin, may I ask you a question?" Effie asked.

Odin lit up. "Ah, you wish to listen to some of my tales? Ask away! What would you like to hear? Perhaps I can regale you with how I found the legendary Mystletainn-"

"What happened to that woman- er, your cousin Marth?"

Effie had never seen the color in Odin's face drain so quickly. "Ah, you wish to ask about that…"

"One minute she's about to un-man Arthur with his own axe, the next she can go toe-to-toe with Lord Xander, and then freezes in place moments afterwards." Effie stated. "Is it wrong for us to be concerned about this woman?"

"She is working directly under Lady Elise, and will be working with us all; we should at least get to know who we're dealing with." Arthur added.

"Then perhaps you two should ask her yourself." Odin said, clearly uncomfortable.

Effie shook her head. "Look, we don't want to dig up anything too personal, but clearly there's something wrong with your cousin. And I'm getting more than a bit frustrated that nobody's telling us anything. Is there anything you can tell us about her?"

Effie clearly said something that struck a chord with him. Odin seemed to be frozen in melancholy, sadness, and regret. "...I can assure you she's a good person underneath all her flaws… and I can assure you that the greatest of tragedies occur to the ones that deserve it the least."

"A tragedy?" Arthur inquired. "What do you mean by that?"

"Out of all of us, she suffered the most burdens and the most hardship. And the moment she finally found her greatest happiness, it was snatched away from her at what should have been her greatest triumph." Odin said solemnly. "She was never the same, and in our absence, she would have only gotten worse."

"Greatest happiness?" Arthur gasped, horrified. "My gods, did-"

"No, that was only the straw that broke the horse's back. I really wish it was only that. Things were bad for us, period. And hopefully things will be looking up for her sooner or later." Odin corrected, clearly feeling uncomfortable with having laid all of that bare.

"...Thank you for sharing that with us, Odin." Arthur said. "I understand how hard it must've been to reveal all of that… sensitive information."

Odin snorted. "If you really want to thank me, you could never bring it up with her and open up a tab. I need a drink after all that."

While the other three retainers stayed downstairs, Elise and Marth went upstairs to retrieve Marth's belongings.

"Huh…" Marth slightly tilted her head in confusion as she entered the room.

"What is it?" Elise asked.

"It's cleaner than I remember…" Marth answered.

Elise shrugged. "Well, yeah. Xander told the trio to clean up after the mess you guys made."

Marth winced, hoping not to remember the events of last night. She bit back her shame and instead began searching for her bag.

While she was looking, Elise checked out the room, hoping to gain new insight to her new retainer. "So, how long did you have this room rented out?"

"I put down enough to last me for a few months, provided that Miss Cassita doesn't kick me out."

"No, I mean how long you've been here." Elise clarified.

"Oh, erm, perhaps a few months, I think?"

Marth eventually stumbled upon her bag by the table, and upon checking its contents, started putting stuff from around the room back inside.

As for Elise, she plopped on the table, watching as Marth put away some books and tucked them into her bag. "How did you and Cassita meet?"

"...I don't really remember." Marth admitted.

Elise blinked. "Really?"

"It may be hard to believe, but lately my memory has been… fuzzy at best. I have absolutely no idea how I even ended up in this city." Marth stated as she put some books away. "One moment, I was stumbling into the tavern, looking for a place to rest, and the next… I had my sword drawn, and these scoundrels were sprawled upon the floor, begging me for mercy." Marth shuddered. "After that, I woke up on the bed, and Miss Cassita began talking to me as if we were already acquainted with one another."

"Sounds like Cassita. She always looked out for those in need." Elise beamed.

She then quietly surveyed the room, observing the clothes Marth was putting into her bag, besides from a couple of books, weird maps, and such, she saw Marth put away what looked like a board game (how was she supposed to play that alone?), a stuffed toy that looked like a bear in faux plate armor, and what looked like a well-worn diary of sorts. All of them looked pretty well-used, but somehow also seemed like they haven't been touched in a while. And it seemed pretty clear she had no intention of bringing it with her to the Northern Fortress. Perhaps she rented this room for the long term.

Once she was done, Marth slung her pack over her back. "I'm finished, Milady. Shall we go?"

Elise hopped over and plucked a board game from the pile, "Do you mind if you bring this along?"

"...I don't see why not. Why? Do you want it?"

Elise shook her head. "Nah, I just want you to play it with me later."

"...I see." Marth reluctantly put the box into her bag. "Is that all?"

"Do you wanna be friends?"

That caught Marth off-guard. "Am I not one of your retainers?"

"Not that." Elise pouted. "I want to be friends with you."

"What brought this about? I'm nothing special."

At this point, Elise was wondering if Marth was either too modest or just plain dense. "Well, you don't have to be special. I just want to be friends with you, if you'll have me."

"..." A small graced Marth's lips, and she bowed. "Alright, I accept, Milady-"

"Just Elise will do, at least in private." Elise told her. "And no bowing in private either! I get enough of that from two-faced nobles!"

"O-Okay, Elise then."

"There you go!"

Elise suddenly hugged Marth, nuzzling her cheek against Marth's chest, before holding onto her arm and bringing the older woman out of her arm.

Something about that made Marth smile a little bit. But only a little.

Shortly after they returned, the caravan departed.

The first carriage was driven by Odin and Niles, with Laslow, Leo, and Cassita inside. The second carriage was being driven by Effie and Selena, while the passengers were Marth, Arthur (who, for some reason, was completely barred from driving the carriage for reasons unknown to Marth), and a slumbering Elise.

Their destination was the elusive Northern Fortress.

Lucina had heard many rumors about it during her time in Windmire. Supposedly, the Fortress' location is known only to the Royal Family and the military, and its current purpose was to protect another child of King Garon's. Corrin, that was their name. The third eldest child of Garon and the second child of Queen Katerina. Apparently Corrin was spirited away to the Northern Fortress at a young age due to an infamous historical incident known as 'The Queens' Massacre' and kept there in case of an unexpected succession crisis.

That was just one rumor, unfortunately. Another rumor suggested that Corrin is the child of another queen and was kept in the Northern Fortress due to poor health.

A third rumor implied that Corrin was born feral and kept in the Northern Fortress due to being an embarrassment to the Royal family. Lady Elise quickly disabused that last one, though.

There was very little certainty surrounding this 'Third child of Nohr' that was known to the Nohrian public save for their location, existence, and name. Even their gender had been kept under wraps. In fact, the only time Lucina even heard of their name was in a passing conversation with Cassita.

She'd probably meet the good prince/princess in due time, once they arrived at the fortress. For now, she would have to wait.

Instead of pondering about the mysterious Corrin, she turned her attention to the muscular knight sitting opposite of her, seemingly doing his darndest not to initiate eye contact with her. Come to think of it, she hasn't exactly apologized earlier. She should amend that. "Your name is… Arthur, correct?"

"Ah… yes."

"...I'm terribly sorry for what happened earlier." she said with her head down.

He looked at her uncomfortably. "Ah, apology accepted. I assumed you were under incredible duress at the time."

"Duress?"

"Well… I already assume so. In fact you've been sitting there motionless for most of the trip. We're probably an hour away."

...Most of the trip? She hadn't even noticed much time had passed. Were they really almost there?

The carriage suddenly began to slow, before stopping altogether.

"...I take it we have arrived?" Lucina guessed, ready to leave the carriage.

Arthur shook his head, furrowing his brows as he rose to his feet. "No, that can't be right. We're not that close to it. Something's wrong."

Marth looked outside and tried to scan the surroundings, but found herself unable to see.

It was dark.

...Okay, this was Nohr. It was always dark. But now it has been especially dark. One could not see too far out into the distance, but there was still something that drew the eye.

A covered wagon not too far up the road. It was seemingly abandoned, and had one wheel broken off of its axle. Only the sounds of whinnying horses and a dimly lit lantern leftover served as proof of life.

Effie and Arthur stepped out of their carriage, while Selena, Niles, and Odin stayed on theirs, observing the wagon up ahead cautiously.

Marth stared at it, confounded by her comrades' hesitance. "It's... It's just a wagon. Just go around it."

Arthur shook his head, "You don't find it odd that such a vehicle would be left abandoned in the middle of nowhere, without anyone attending to it?"

"They could just be trying to get help." Marth offered.

Effie shook her head. "The closest settlement here would be the Northern Fortress, and it would be too far away to march from here at this hour. Odds are, it's probably a trap set up by thieves to ambush unsuspecting travelers."

Arthur stated. "There may be more hiding between the trees, waiting to spring a trap on the unexpecting."

"Uh, guys?" The two turn to Elise, who was barely awake, stumbling out of her carriage with a yawn. "Where did Marth go?"

"Uwaaah… just my luck…"

Felicia couldn't help but think her penchant for breaking things extended to vehicles now.

It should have been such a smooth ride back to the Fortress. She should have been home by now… but noooooooo… she just had to hit the one, little, innocent-looking bump in the road, and the next thing she knew, her stupid wheel had to break off beyond repair. She could've just let the usual garrison pick up the order, but she just had to let Jakob rile her up about being unreliable and volunteer to pick it up herself.

Burying her face in her palms, she considered taking one of the horses and coming back for the wagon with more help, but had the gnawing feeling that it would somehow get looted in her absence, and Jakob wouldn't let her live that down-

...Oh, who was she kidding? Jakob would 100% hang this over her head no matter what she did here.

Her other option was to wait until Corrin noticed she was missing for a while and sent the garrison to come find her… but it was a mystery for when they would arrive.

"Oh… what to do… what to do…"

As she began weighing her options, Felicia jumped with a light yelp, drawing her knife as she heard footsteps approach.

"WHO'S THERE?!" She called out, panic overcame her.

"Are you okay?" a kindly voice asked.

"AAAAAAAAHHH!"

Felicia swung wildly, only to find her knife suddenly flying out of her grasp and a scary woman pointing a sword at her throat.

The scary woman bored her gaze into her, her blue eyes dilated and her breath slow and deliberate. Whatever kindness she had was gone the moment Felicia panicked and dared draw her blade against her.

"P-Please don't kill me!" Felicia begged, backing up against the wagon as the woman stepped forward."I-I'm just a humble young maid who wanted to prove herself to her jerk friend and not die…!"

For a moment, it looked like color had returned to the scary woman's eyes, and then-

She lunged.

Felicia screamed, shutting her eyes and preparing for the worst.

"..."

"..."

"...Are you okay?"

Felicia trembled, hesitantly opening her eyes. The scary woman closed the distance between them, far too close for comfort, with one hand against the wagon, right next to Felicia's head, and the other one held above it, holding onto the knife that had been parried out of Felicia's grasp and into the air.

"That was close… If I had been a moment slower, you would've been slain by your own knife." The scary woman said with an almost calming gaze, taking a step back and returning Felicia's knife handle-first.

"Awawawawawa…"

The frightened Felicia hesitantly took her knife back, sliding down against the wagon as her legs gave way from shock. That had to be the most terrifying moment in her life.

"Felicia?"

She whipped her head to the left, finding Lady Elise, Lord Leo, and their retainers running towards them, and couldn't help but feel a wave of relief wash over her.

"Oh, gods! Felicia!" Elise gasped. "Marth! Stand down! She's cool!"

The scary woman, Marth, stepped back and picked up her sword, which had been dropped on the ground in the chaos while Lady Elise scrambled over to her side.

"Sorry about her, Felicia. She uh… needs some getting used to." Elise chuckled sheepishly, motioning to the nearby Effie to grab her staff. "Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?"

"I-I'm fine, Milady…" Felicia took a moment to catch her breath, her eyes wandering over to this Marth woman who went from trying to kill her to saving her life at the drop of a pin.

Noticing Felicia's gaze, Elise cleared her throat. "Oh, I almost forgot to introduce her. Felicia, meet Marth. She's our newest knight." Elise then motioned to the aforementioned Marth. "Marth, this is Felicia. She's one of Corrin's maids. Marth, please try not to scare her like that again."

Marth awkwardly bowed. "...I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no! I thought you were a scary brigand or something! Please, let me make it up to you with some tea-" Felica turned, looked around, and realized she was still stuck on the side of the road. "Right. Middle of nowhere. No tea."

Elise chortled, patting Felicia on the back. "Eh, don't worry about it. We'll have some tea once we get back to the-"

"Felicia."

Leo, who had been checking out the contents of the wagon while the others were attending to the aforementioned.

Leo took a deep breath. "Felicia, I want to preface my next sentence by saying that we appreciate your service to Corrin and everything you've done for the Royal Family."

"Aww-"

"Let me finish." Leo cut her off. "So, I must ask this with all seriousness." he took another deep breath, as if trying to formulate the words, before ultimately settling with: "What the heck did you break?"

Well… The young maid certainly didn't expect that. "I… beg your pardon, milord?"

"Yeah, what the heck, Leo?" Elise frowned. "Knowing Corrin, it's probably another order of dinnerware to replace the stuff Felicia usually breaks."

"Milady, I don't break plates that-"

"Nope, that's not what I'm talking about. Look." Leo motioned for Elise to come over, so the Youngest Princess hopped over the back and saw…

Lumber, stone, and iron. Plus a lot of stuff crated off and left to the imagination.

The kind of stuff one needed to replace foundations and not ruined cutlery.

Elise was baffled. "Felicia, what the heck did you break?!"

"W-What?!" Felicia was taken aback by the accusation. "Milady, I didn't break anything! I was just picking up an order for the Fortress!"

"..."

"..."

The Youngest Prince and Princess eyed her suspiciously, as had most of their retainers.

Marth, on the other hand, had no idea what their suspicions were about, checking the wagon herself and coming to her own conclusion, having heard similar stories about her own father from Robin.

"Did you destroy a wall with a siege engine?"

Felicia balked at the bizarre accusation, as had all others present. "W-What?! Siege eng- no!"

"Then I don't understand the fuss." Marth said with a straight face. "She doesn't look like someone who would break something on purpose and it's not like she has a reason to lie. I doubt anyone would really want to be out here without much of a good reason."

Leo wanted to retort, but… "That… makes sense. Corrin's not the type to spend frivolously."

"Well, yeah, but..." Elise looked over at the broken wagon. "What do you suppose we do about this? We can't just leave this stuff here."

"Indeed." Leo agreed. "Would anyone like to volunteer to stay while we go to the Northern Fortress and send somebody else with a not broken wagon to come pick this up?"

Felicia raised her hand. "I'll stay, milord. It was my responsibility in the first place."

"I'll stay with her." Marth volunteered. "If I'm here, nobody else will be needed." The blunt statement caused Felicia to stare at her incredulously.

Elise whispered into Felicia's ear. "Don't worry, she's scary, but she's also strong and really nice. Just… give her a little nudge if she looks like she's zoning out."

"Then it's settled." Leo affirmed. "Felicia, Marth. Stay here and wait for us to send help.

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir."

A/N: And another one done. Wow. These are coming out relatively quickly. So this is what it feels like to have a plan written down in advance. Huh. Beats making it up as you go along, though I had to tell my brother to be more flexible when something doesn't fit or there will be problems.

Again, thanks to SK for editing this chapter for me. Couldn't do it without you!

On another note, what was your first experience with Fire Emblem? My first experience was back when I was a kid. I was being babysat by my cousin and her boyfriend (now husband) at her boyfriend's apartment. I was getting restless while they were watching TV (I wanna say Dragon Ball Z?) and I was digging through his stuff and picked up his cartridge for Blazing Sword. He was apparently stuck at the level where you recruit Lucius during Lyn's tale, so after a few attempts, I beat the level despite having absolutely no context or clue in what I was doing and showed it to them. The boyfriend was so impressed that he just gave me the game and let me keep it. Then I lost the cartridge and couldn't find it ever again. Still, it was an incredibly memorable part of my childhood that I cherish to this day. So, what's your story? I'd like to hear it.

As always, please review!