Mark woke up bleary eyed in a comfy bed he knew all too well. Drearily he sat up and looked out at the room he was in. A simple desk was nestled underneath a window, covered in book and papers untouched since he left. Despite nothing having moved, the desk was completely free of dust. The maids and butlers at his father's mansion were truly the best. In the corner was a training dummy, like his father had had in his study. Hanging from the ceiling was a chandelier of candles, for night studying. Finally, in the corner, were several magic tomes Mark had yet to study. Mark yawn,ed leaned back into his pillows again, and reflected on the previous day.
After punching him in the stomach and threatening him, Mark's father had gone back to his side of the desk and calmly asked Mark again to tell his tale of his journey in Lycia. Mark was in so much pain physically, and so confused and shocked mentally, he could think of nothing else to do other than give in and tell his story down to the tiniest detail. Saxton had calmly jotted down notes and never interrupted while Mark recounted his journey. At the end, he gently closed his journal and placed it in a drawer of his desk. After that, he told Mark he was glad that he was back and to go ahead and rest for the rest of the day. Mark couldn't think of anything else to do but shamble to his room. When he got there, he stared at the room for a moment before going to his personal bath, where as promised by Handel, a bath had been drawn for him. Sitting in the water, Mark gently rubbed the week old grime from his body as his stomach ached and threatened to make him vomit again. All while he did this, he stared sadly in one direction, unthinking. He was so overloaded with information and pain, he couldn't even begin to think of how to feel. With that punch from his father, a deep sadness had settled in his gut.
When he was done and had dried, he quickly looked out the window, saw the sunset, and fell asleep. And now, here he was, waking up but unwilling to leave his bed. Curling his blanket back up to his shoulders he laid down again and wondered how everyone he met was doing.
"W-well, I…" Lyn stammered to the high court of Lycia, elegantly dressed in a blue gown. "I'm not sure what to say, nobles of the court. If I were to grant you that land, our food supplies would plummet, and it is already low due to Lundgren's rule." Lyn concluded.
One of the nobles, Lady Gale, scoffed at Lyn and gently fanned herself with a paper fan. "That land was given to us by the late Lundgren. You cannot simply reclaim it because you don't like it."
"That's quite enough Lady Gale." Caelin's Chancellor, Carson said. "These matters you have brought to Lady Lyndis are hers to decide alone. It has always been a law in Caelin that any previous law set in place is forfeit to the will of the current Marquess. The current Marquess says you must give the land back to the farmers, and it is your duty as a noble to follow the Marquess's rulings." Carson nodded curtly at Lyn before returning the evil eye to Lady Gale and the other Lords and Ladies she had assembled to confront Lyn.
Lady Gale closed her fan and glared at the chancellor. Finally, she sighed and began to walk away. "Fine, have it your way. I suppose we will just have to make do. Come along everyone." Together, the crowd walked out. Lyn slumped on the throne, leaning back with a deep sigh and staring at the ceiling.
"Do not be concerned Lady Lyndis." Carson said, bowing. "They are trying to intimidate you in order to control you. While I'm sure they're upset about the land, it's in Caelin's best interest to return it to the farmers, as you say. The nobility must see that your will is iron, and soon they will work together with you. If not, I'll see to it that they do." He said bitterly, straightening up.
"...Thank you Chancellor. I wouldn't be able to do any of this without you. Please, take a break tonight. I'll see to the complaints of the people." Lyn said, standing up and stretching.
Carson nodded. "Thank you, my lady. Please do not overwork yourself. I will instruct a butler to bring you tea within the hour." He smiled gently and left the throne room. Now alone, Lyn looked out over the massive hall, which reminded her of the throne room in Araphen. She had received a letter from Marquess Araphen a few days prior explaining how remorseful he was that he could only give the gold in secret, and hoped she understood. In the weeks after that, soldiers from Araphen had come and helped rebuild the affected areas of Caelin. Lyn was grateful for his help. Other than Araphen, Pherae and Ostia had also pledged to help in the efforts, but they only sent gold. None of the Marquess's had come for a formal hearing with her yet. She was determined to make a good first impression with all of them, when they decided they would like to meet.
Deftly, so as not to wake anyone sleeping in the castle, she walked to her chambers and changed into a nightgown. Sitting at a grand oak desk that was too large for her, she set to work replying to the massive stack of letters from the people of Caelin. Regardless of her advisors saying it was a waste of time, it was important to Lyn that she personally reply to each one. As she silently wrote, which she was still learning how to do neatly considering she had little use for it on the plains, she found herself deeply saddened. This… isn't what I want. She thought to herself sadly. Everyone worked so hard to get me here and I thought it would mean something more to me but, with my grandfather gone… She sighed and wax sealed a letter, placing it to her right and grabbing the next. All she really wanted was to see her grandfather, because she felt alone without her family anymore. Now, still without family, she didn't even have her friends near her and was thrust into a position that by all accounts, she was not ready for. She shook her head, No, Lyn, don't think like that. So many people fought so hard to get you hear, Florina died so you could get here, you need to accept this new life and do your best. She nodded determined and picked up the pace of her writing. Eventually, there was a knock on her door.
"Come in." She said simply. A maid entered with a tray carrying a pot of tea and a cup. She smiled gently and placed the tray on the desk.
"Hello my lady, still up I see?" She said, mocking disapproval.
Lyn smiled and leaned back against her simple wooden chair. "Yes, I plan to get through at least ten more letters before I go to sleep." She said, beginning to write again.
The maid smiled brightly. "I figured, my lady. You are an inspiration to us all. I'm so glad you are our new Marquess!" She said happily, pulling the lid off the teapot. A familiar aroma enshrouded Lyn.
She went wide eyed and turned to the maid excitedly. "Is this tea made with Tralia plan from Sacae?" She breathed in deeply, instantly relaxing. "But this only grows on the plains! How did you-"
The maid chuckled and curtseyed. "It is a gift from the staff, my lady. We all see how hard you work, even if the people do not. We wanted to give you something nice. Please do not worry about the details. Have a good night my lady." The maid left Lyn's chambers quietly, locking the door behind her. Lyn put down her quill and poured herself a cup of the perfectly made tea. She moved her chair to the window, brought her knees to her chest, and sipped the tea slowly, looking at the night sky. Without even realizing it, she soon fell asleep leaning against the wall, content for the first time since she'd arrived in Caelin.
Matthew was recounting his tale to Leila. "So essentially, if I'm getting this right, according to you, you are the sole reason Lyndis is on the throne of Caelin and Lord Hector is home safe?" Leila said with a playful smile as the two waited for their food to arrive. Matthew nodded heroically and smirked.
"Pretty much. Without me the whole thing would have fallen apart. I've got to say, I was not expecting Lord Hector to be in that bar. I had to sneak into the back, without Lyn or Mark seeing me, it was a whole mess." He said. Leila giggled to herself over Matthew's joking nature. "Well, what about you, what's your next job?" He asked, leaning his elbows on the table and resting his head in his hands.
Leila shook a finger. "Come on Matthew, you know we can't talk about that until after the job is complete."
"My least favorite rule about being a spy." Matthew said mock bitterly.
Leila laughed and punched his arm. "But it's an important one! No one should know my job but me." She said.
Matthew protested. "Come on, I told you mine last time we met like this, the least you could do is tell me back!" He said.
"I got mad at you when you told me!" Leila countered. "I asked you not to and you just went ahead and did anyway." She held a palm to her forehead and shook her head. "I just don't get you Matthew. For one of the best spies in Ostia, you're awfully carefree."
"Eh, keeps me sane." Matthew said. "Besides, I'm pretty easy to understand. I like fun, I like messing with people, I like living in general. I also like you." He said, winking. Leila blushed, laughed and looked away.
"I hate you." She said unconvincingly. Matthew laughed heartily as the food arrived.
"That's alright, I like me enough for the both of us." Matthew said. He raised his cup of tea. Leila did the same. "To Ostia, and to your next mission, Leila!" He said happily. He'd been waiting for this lunch date for months. He was glad it was finally happening.
Leila grabbed her cup and raised it into his. "Of course, but also to another successful mission under your belt." Together the two took a sip.
Erk was walking through Nabata, using his cape as a headscarf to ward off the heat. A sandstorm cut away at his skin, as if trying to chisel some sculpture out of him. Brow furrowed and eyes aflame in anger, he continued deeper and deeper in to the vast desert. After several hours of walking, and when he couldn't even see more than a few feet in front of him, he called out.
"Teacher! It's me!" Erk yelled. Soon, the sand in front of him faded away revealing a staircase made of marbled sapphire. Erk wasted no time in descending the steps, undoing his cape and moving down and down. Eventually, he reached his teacher's door. He was told never to go further down the stairs, as there was a great evil there according to his teacher. Whenever Erk came to this place, he could feel immense magical energy coming from the ground floors, so he took his teacher's word for it. Erk burst through the door, surprising Pent Reglay into dropping his book from the sudden shock. Pent was floating in a sitting position a few feet above the ground, but having dropped the book he was reading deftly came back to the floor. His wife, Louise, was sitting in a comfortable chair and polishing her bow. Her face lit up.
"Erk!" She said happily, "So good to see you, please, sit down, I was just planning to make desserts!" She got up giddily and skipped over to the kitchen area of the massive room. Pent walked up to Erk and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Erk, how was your first escort job?" Pent asked excitedly, motioning for Erk to sit. Ekr didn't move. When Pent looked a little closer, he saw the anger in Erk's eyes and his face turned more serious. He gestured for Erk to sit down across from him again and this time Erk sat, recounting his journey. Pent nodded sagely throughout. "...So Saxton has control over my nephew again, it would seem." Pent said calmly.
"Unfortunately sir, that appears to be the case." Erk said. "I already have plans right after meeting with you to go and rescue him." Erk said steely. Pent held up a hand.
"That's a terrible idea. You'll be killed on the spot." Pent said, thinking.
"Well, what else am I supposed to do?!" Erk said, heart sinking. His breathing quickened. "I've learned a lot from you, I can at least distract long enough to-"
"No you can't." Pent said simply.
"Come on teacher, you know how much I've learned under you, surely I can-"
"Have I ever told you my record for how long until I gave up in a magical duel with my brother?" Pent said calmly. Erk slowly shook his head. Pent leaned in. "...fifteen seconds." Pent said sadly. "You're not going to 'distract' him Erk, you'd be burned to ash before you could cast a simple fireball, which Saxton would bat away like a fly anyway. Trust me here. Do not go rushing in."
Erk punched his thigh in anger and felt his face contort in sadness. His entire life he'd watched his best friend get tortured in front of him, and now he'd just let him slip away again for the same thing. He was free, finally, and Erk didn't keep close enough watch. Growing up, Erk had always been slightly jealous of how quickly Mark grew in the magic arts compared to himself. Due to their young age, he never fully realized how much pain Mark was going through to achieve that growth, and how much Mark despised it as a result. Still, regardless of the method, Mark had truly become a force to be reckoned with. It was only during this trip, with a free Mark, that Erk began to realize how much his friend had actually suffered being son of the Mage General. Never before had he seen such a carefree and happy Mark, and Mark had been depressed since he found out his father knew where he was. Even then, he was happier than Erk had ever seen him, or be able to make him. Erk felt a tear running down his face.
"This isn't fair…" He said, standing up. "This isn't fair!" He shouted. Louise came in with a worried look and a tray of tea and cookies. "Y-You're his uncle, do something for the poor guy!" Erk begged. Pent merely stared him back into his seat.
"...I can't do anything against Saxton, Erk. He is far beyond me." Pent said. He grabbed a cup of tea and raised it. "But, I do know my nephew. He'll get out eventually. For now, why don't we continue your training." Pent said, raising his cup to Erk. "Maybe you can surprise Mark when he gets out again."
Erk slowly nodded… "Y-Yeah…" He said, picking up a cup of tea and taking a slow sip to calm himself. "...Yeah. You're right." He said sadly.
Mark soon heard a knocking on his door. He woke with a start and realized he had slept in until sunset. Anxiously, he got out of bed, ready to see his father upset that he hadn't trained that day. He opened the door in a rush. "I-I'm sorry, father, I am just so exhausted that-" He began, but instead, he saw a mop of green silky hair. Looking down, he saw the smiling face of his little sister, Cecilia. Mark immediately smiled. "...Hey, I got your letter." He said, moving aside to let her in. Cecelia giggled and set the tray she was carrying, tea and cookies, down on Mark's desk. As soon as she did, she took off and tackle-hugged Mark into the wall.
"Hi Mark!" She said happily, squeezing him tight. "I missed you!" She said.
Mark laughed heartily, to his own surprise and ruffled Cecilia's hair. "I missed you too, sister." He said. He opened his mouth to speak but Cecilia cut him off.
"You said you got the letter! Did it help?" She said, wide-eyed and practically shooting off sparks of enthusiasm.
"It helped a lot Cecilia. Really kept me going to know things were alright with you!" Mark said. Together the two walked over to Mark's desk, Mark sitting at his chair and Cecilia sitting on the corner of his desk, kicking her feet happily as her brother started preparing the tea and cookies she had brought.
"Well good, that was the plan!" She said. Leaning in, she whispered. "Don't worry, there are already other 'plans' in motion now that you're back. Ursula and I will get you out of here again, don't worry about it at all!" She said happily. Mark froze for a moment, remembering that his last escape was all just what his father wanted. He quickly regained his composure.
"I-I see." He said, clearing his throat. "Well, it'll be harder the second time. We can… Put it on the books for now."
"What?! No! We need to get you out of here right away!" Cecilia said angrily. "It's not fair that dad treats you so rough in comparison to us!" She insisted.
"Ursula is an assassin now. You don't think that's rough treatment?" Mark asked curiously.
"Well… that's a fair point…" She said, huffing.
Mark couldn't help but laugh at his little sister. He offered her a cup of tea which she accepted. "...Lia," He said, calling his sister by her nickname, "Before we eat can I ask… what happened to mother?" He said, recalling what Ursula had informed him of the day before.
"Mom? She's on a mission that dad doesn't want to deal with. Same as usual!" She said, holding her hands of dramatically and spilling some tea on Mark's floor. "And that's why I'm here right now!" She said happily.
Mark forced himself to smile, even though he felt cold. "Right. I'll see her when she comes home then." Mark said. ...Please, please be alive mom. The way Ursula said it, it sounds like… He stopped himself and shook his head. He raised his cup to Cecilia. "Shall we?" He asked.
Cecilia clicked his cup and drank her tea. Mark smiled contentedly, regaining some of the life that had gone out of him the previous day, and took a sip of his tea.
A/N: There will probably be a few more chapters focused on Mark in this one year in-between of the story arcs, but expect at least one more cut to each of the characters in this chapter before Eliwood's tale begins. Expect one for several other characters as well, but these being the bigger players in Mark's life I figured we would start with them. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter, we'll get some more Mark life at the mansion, a few weeks into his return, and get to see some more Saxton in action. Pce!
-Matt
Edit: I spelled Cecilia, "Cecelia" like a dumbass. It's been fixed, lol
