Chapter 8: Snow, Stone, and Steel

Despite my prior reservations of the Khan—which themselves I could never voice in fear of retribution from her champion—the duel I witnessed this day was capable of dispelling them wholeheartedly. I even felt foolish for having considered them in the first place after the display. Khan Styvert, a woman I assumed was weak compared to her predecessors, had easily proven herself in the frigid heat of battle over her champion, though Maktal himself was nothing to scoff at. Their own battle had, as well, proven a sentiment I had originally discarded upon my first meeting of the Mage Khan. That weakness and strength were themselves part of Feroxi honor, and only provable in battle, not by any first glance at one's appearance.

Though, regardless of my ideological musings, it was a wonderful display nonetheless, including the food afterward. A delicious banquet I'd been pursuing for far longer than I'd have hoped, including the famed drink, "Breath of Drag—"

Chris stumbled, nearly dropping the book in his hands as he tried to steady himself. Instead, he landed in the soft snow under him in a light fump, quickly picking himself up and catching up with the rest of the Shepherds. He let a breath of cold, wintery air fill him, taking a quick glance back to see what he'd tripped on.

The thickening blanket of snow, something he'd secretly been looking forward to, now proved to be more annoying than he'd have originally liked. Another frigid wind stormed through him, forcing Chris to quickly turn his back to it and walk backwards, letting his new, thick winter coat block most of its bite while he huddled for whatever warmth he could find.

Noticing his hands had gone cold again, he shoved them into his pockets with the book he'd been reading. Even though it passed the time, and was more interesting than he'd have assumed for a book on Feroxian food, it also left his uncovered hands exposed to the cold. The thoughts of a nice pair of gloves filling his head again before he decided that thinking like that wouldn't help him much. At least, not until he got to the next town.

"Chris!" he heard Chrom call from in front of him, noticing he was waving for him to catch up to the front of their group.

He pushed himself a little further, breathing into his hands before sticking them back into his pockets. "Y-yeah," he steadied his chattering "what's up?"

"I needed to talk to you—about the battle with those Risen." Chris' heart sank, but he pushed himself to not show it as Chrom continued, "I'd have talked with you sooner about it, but with the celebrations after the battle, as well as Robin rescheduling a supply trip earlier, there wasn't a good time until now."

He paused, giving him a smile before he asked, "Though first, how are you? I know we had to gather up your new clothes quickly for this storm, but are they working well enough?"

"Yeah, they're fine," Chris mumbled. The new, thicker, brown fur coat and grey pants he was wearing were warmer than he expected when he'd first put them on, but that was back before the snowstorm from last night. "It doesn't really matter too much, the walk is kinda boring though."

"I'd say it does matter, but if you say you're fine, I'll believe you." He looked down at Chris's book poking out of his pocket, smirking. "You know, I'd assume that book you've had your nose in all week would keep you occupied, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, but I can't really read it for too long," he said.

"Oh?" Chrom straightened up a bit, giving him a concerned look. "And why would that be?"

"Well, my ha—" he stopped himself, forcing a cough off to the side as he thought through his next answer. "I mean, I get… hungry. Yeah, I get hungry from reading it. Since it's about food and all that."

"Really? Why are you reading about food? Are you interested in helping Stahl out more," another smirk crossed his face, "or maybe you're hoping to prevent last night from happening again—"

Chris stumbled, eyes shooting wide. "Oh god. Look I'm still sorry about that, I just tripped a little when I was moving dinner I swear I didn't mean to—"

"Peace, Chris!" Chrom quickly said, raising his hands. "I was joking, though now I can see why Lissa likes talking with you so much." His smile dropped for a second. "Though I think you're far too quick to judge yourself, which brings me back to why I wanted to talk in the first place."

He cleared his throat, giving Chris enough time to remember what they'd been talking about before he continued, "As I said, back after the battle with those Risen, Maribelle told me what you, well, almost did. I can't fault you for being eager to fight with us, but do you truly feel like you aren't doing enough?"

Chris winced, his thoughts on that battle coming back to him again. "I-I already told Maribelle, but I'm barely doing anything back behind you guys. Like, I can heal, but so could anyone else if they put in a bit of time. Even then, I'm still way behind Lissa and Maribelle with healing anyways. I just—"

"Is that why you were so eager to heal everyone from the battle? Gods, and that's why you were willing to just rush off to us." Chris hesitated, a small nod answering the question. He brought his glove up to his head, shaking it with a sigh.

He looked down at Chris, a firm, but soft look in his eyes. "Chris, there's no need to push yourself so hard. You've already helped more than you can imagine with what you've told us, and as well you're contributing to our fights with healing. I understand how you feel that you need to contribute more, gods do I know, but still, you're already doing better than you think you are."

A smile crossed his face again as he put a hand on Chris' shoulder. "Besides, you'll get better over time. Just remember not to try and push yourself like that again, alright? You need experience off the battlefield before you can put yourself on it again."

Chris looked up at him, thinking back to what he'd done at that battle. It'd gone smoothly enough without his help after that, with only a few injuries up front that he could've helped with.

But still, he couldn't help the bitter feeling in his chest he had. He might've almost made a mistake there, but he could've also helped out with those injuries before that, maybe even prevented them. No, he'd help if he could, he had to.

"Chris?" Chrom asked, snapping him out of his thoughts again.

"R-right, right, yeah. Got it," he said, seeing Chrom nod before he caught up with Frederick, who was picking up… something? Chris couldn't see what it was, but it probably didn't matter. Though he could faintly catch something about "early camp" from Frederick, which Chrom nodded to.

He ignored the rest, taking out his book again, he still felt the previous biting cold from before, but now it felt more manageable, some small thing he could ignore as he kept up with the rest of the Shepherds.

Stretching as far as he could see, a mass of rough, grey stone bricks stood high above Chris, even from how far away from it he was. All around it, fires blazed on top and below its thick walls, making him wish they could just run up and ask to be taken in. Despite that, Robin had asked them to get ready for combat, the reason he had his staff in hand. But the fact that its handle was metal was just another reason he wanted to hurry up and get there.

Or it was another reason he wished he had gloves.

Either way, Chris pushed himself closer to the front. Even though he wanted to warm himself up in whatever form of heating they had there, he also had something else he needed to do. Robin said they might have to fight, and he wasn't going to stay behind this time if it happened.

He heard Robin bark out an order at someone as he passed Sully, who herself shot him a confused look before shrugging and going towards the weapons cart.

"HALT!"

At least, until a booming voice rang out, silencing what everyone was doing in an instant as it continued, "Whoever you are, come up to the wall right now or we won't hesitate to make a fine example of you for other brigands!"

The first to move were Chrom and Robin, who carefully walked up towards the fort. After a moment, Frederick and Maribelle joined them, and then everyone else followed, with Chris trying to quietly sneak around the bulk of them and behind a nearby tree. Another fierce wind blew past, sending Lissa shivering as she quickly walked up to Frederick, said something, and shrank behind his horse. Fiona, if he remembered its name right.

Chrom took a step forward, looking up at the person yelling down at them. "I am Prince Chrom Lowell! And beside me is my tactician Robin, as well as my knight, Frederick. We seek audience with the Eastern Khan, and were sent by Exalt Ememryn."

From the tree he was at, Chris couldn't see whoever was talking from the wall, but the loud laugh they bellowed sounded feminine. That, and a lot louder than he'd expect from how high up it was. "And you wish to speak to Khan Flavia, just the same as those brigands last week, I assume." A few mounds of what looked like metal popped up around the edge of the wall, reflecting the firelight from what Chris could now see were massive torches.

Robin subtly waved her hands a bit at the Shepherds as Frederick took a step forward. "We mean you and the Khan no harm," he stated. "Our only aim is to speak with them on matters pertaining to both of our securities."

"Oh, we have no concerns when it comes to security," the woman responded. "Unless, of course, we open our gates for an openly armed force at our doorstep."

Chris saw Robin freeze in place, along with most of the other Shepherds. Though he'd already turned back up to the wall, noticing a few pointed objects held over the mounds from before, and realizing exactly what those mounds were. That, and what they were planning to do.

"I've had enough of this farce," she shouted, "Lancer—!"

"WAIT!" Chris yelled out.

Everyone turned to the source of the sound, all except for Chris, who himself didn't realize that he'd already taken multiple steps away from the tree he'd been hiding behind. Slowly, he glanced at the other Shepherds, seeing the shocked looks coming from them for a second before he looked up at the wall, finally taking in who was speaking to them.

A massive suit of dark grey armor stood far above everything, with only a small mound of short, blonde hair sticking out of the top to show that a person was actually inside it. After a second of glaring at him, one that was almost as terrifying as Frederick's, she spoke.

"Who the hells are you?"

Quickly, he took another look at the 'lancers' on top of the wall. Their javelins still held high above their heads, ready to throw at the drop of the hat. Chris slowly realized that now they were only half focused on Chrom and Robin, with the others now looking down directly at him.

It was an improvement, at least.

"I-I'm," he paused, looking back at the Shepherds staring at him. He realized he needed to do something, at least until something else could happen. He brought up whatever confidence he could in the second he still had, thought through what he'd say next, and let it out. "I'm Chris, but who I am isn't important."

"Then I guess whatever that was doesn't matter, lanc—"

"But!" he interrupted, pointing at Chrom, "he is! Now, before you say he isn't the prince again…"

He took another breath. Thinking through what he was going to say next again, thinking of how Robin and Chrom were probably still where they were before he continued.

"Remember that, if he actually is the prince, which he is, then impaling him with javelins—!" He stopped again as he waved his hand at Robin. She started moving a bit, but not for long as he turned back up to the wall.

"—would be a terrible decision. But if you leave him alive down here, then even if he's a bandit, nothing changes!"

He paused and took another small glance at the Shepherds again, now seeing Chrom and Robin further back from the wall than they were before. Maribelle was next to them, giving Chris a concerned look as she mouthed something, but Chris couldn't figure out what she meant. That, and Sumia was there now, on a winged horse as well—

The leader of the wall—who he still didn't know the name of—interrupted his thoughts. "Well, what does change is that you all can keep getting into battle formation, as you are clearly doing in front of my very eyes."

Panic shot through Chris as he sputtered out, "W-well… how can we prove that we're telling the truth? How can we prove that he's the prince?"

"If you need my answer to that, then I cannot see how you imagined yourselves speaking with the Khan. Allow me to teach you a short lesson on our own diplomacy." She raised her lance above her head, bellowing, "If you wish to prove your words, show me your honor through combat. Prove the strength of your words by the strength of your arms!"

"Do tell me what honor is there to be found in your actions!" Maribelle stated. Chris turned back, now seeing she'd taken a step forward. "I've no knowledge of your definitions of honor, I will admit, but surely they would find the petty display of casting your javelins at an unprepared diplomat to be repulsive."

"Unprepared? Your men were armed and ready to storm the fort!" the wall's leader said.

"We were prepared for a battle, yes." Now Frederick stepped closer. "Though our intent was never to attack, simply in preparation to defend ourselves if need be. Surely, a commander such as yourself would understand being prepared for combat, would you not?"

She took a step back. "O-of course, just as much as I know you could easily have another force just behind you, or simply be waiting to attack until after we open our gates. You speak to criticize my own honor, but I've yet to see proof of yours."

Chris thought back to… something in the back of his mind. Every time they mentioned 'proving honor' he felt like he was remembering something—

"That weakness and strength were themselves part of Feroxi honor, and only provable in battle."

"What about a duel," he mumbled to himself, eyes wide in realization. He took a quick glance at Chrom, noticing his gloved hands grabbed into tight fists at his side.

He took a step forward, actual confidence filling him as he shouted, "What about a duel?"

Maribelle and Frederick turned to him, eyes widening before the wall's leader laughed loud and hard. "You? A healer, from what I can see." She was looking straight down at him. "You want a duel?"

"I… No, I don't." He nodded over to Chrom, forcing down a grin. "But he's the prince of Ylisse, and I'd say the best fighter from there too. I bet he could beat you."

Behind him, he heard Vaike shout something before a soft thud cut him off, but he ignored it. Instead, Chris glanced over at Chrom, seeing him blink before nodding. "Y-yes. If it lets us through, then I challenge you to a duel!"

Chris glanced back up at the wall, waiting for any response and hoping it wasn't a bunch of thrown javelins. After another moment, she walked back up to the edge. "And how can we be certain you won't attack us during the duel? You're still armed enough to do so, with or without your leader."

Chrom paused, glancing at Robin. She thought for a moment, about to perk up before Chris stepped forward and cut her off.

"What if you had a hostage?" he shouted up, stopping Robin in her tracks. "I'm, um, a healer as well, would that be enough? I could even heal you after the duel, just in case! We couldn't attack you guys without our best fighter and one of our healers."

Another moment passed, until, finally, she called out, "Fine, you'll have your duel. But I want all of you within sight of the wall and with your weapons dropped. Only your 'prince' and your healer come up. If even one of my knights catch anything suspicious this duel will become an execution, understood."

Chris swallowed, but nodded. He gripped his staff tight as he walked forward, and saw Chrom do the same, with his hand tight on Falchion. Slowly, the massive gate opened up, four knights behind it as they slowly walked closer towards the massive wall.

The gate crashed down behind them, Chris wincing at the sound as Chrom just glanced at it for a moment before moving forward. They made their way through the small passage, and were almost out into what looked like a patted-down snow clearing when Chrom interrupted the tense silence around them.

"Where did you even get the idea for this?" Chrom whispered, leaning slightly closer to him.

Chris winced, trying to think of a better answer than what he remembered. "Uh, from that book I was reading a bit ago."

"Oh, I see, it's a good thing you're reading it then—" He paused, face turning down to him now. "Wait, didn't you say it was a cookbook."

"No, I mean…" he sputtered, trying to shake off the blush on his cheeks before letting out a sigh. "It's a book on food in Ferox," he muttered, quickly adding, "but it had this one section on duels and stuff. And that's kinda been a common thing in most of what I've been reading."

Chrom let out a soft chuckle before his smile flattened away. The two stepped out into the fort, or what Chris thought was the fort anyways. Really, it was just a big courtyard and a building behind the wall. A massive fortress of stone, ice, and blazing fires, but it was just that fort. Everything else was the packed down snow under them which reminded him of the Shepherd's training yard back in Ylisstol, with a few dozen weapon racks and some targets and dummies scattered around the area.

Right in front of them, only a short distance away, was the wall's commander. Closer now, Chris could easily see that she was even taller than Chrom was, closer to either Robin or Frederick. That, and she was stepping towards them in the same massive suit of dark grey, polished, armor, almost completely ignoring the frigid conditions of where they were.

She snorted loudly. "Well then, I see no reason to put this off, whenever the 'prince' is ready we can begin."

Chrom glanced quickly at Chris, who shot back a slow, half nod before taking a step back. His hands gripped his staff even tighter than before, latching onto the cold metal of it as hard as he could, trying to push down his nervousness at the situation.

Chrom stepped forward, hand still held on Falchion's pommel as he asked, "Before we get started, you already know my name, but you haven't introduced yourself yet."

"I know what you claim your name is, but fair enough." She clashed the end of her lance with the face of her shield, a loud clang echoing out as she yelled, "On this day, you face Raimi! Champion of Khan Flavia, captain of the eastern longfort, and proven strongest of East Ferox!" She took a step forward, knees bent down as she slammed her shield into the ground.

"Come test your might, 'Chrom of Ylisse', let our battle sound out the truth of your words!"

Chrom simply responded with a nod. He drew Falchion, and by the next moment he was dashing forward, sword held close to the ground in both hands as he charged at her.

Raimi stepped forward, crashing her shield to block Chrom's initial swing. A loud crash rang out, his sword pressing against the tall shield until Raimi took a step back, thrusting her lance as Chrom just barely weaved out of the way. Instantly, he met her shield again, forcing her to take another step back as he pushed forward again.

This continued, Falchion meeting Raimi's shield, over and over, forcing her back as Chrom kept up his assault until eventually, she pushed back. Her lance swiped at where Chrom had been pushing against her a moment ago, only for him to have already ducked under, going for a wide swing right at her side, looking ready to break through her guard. At least, until a wide grin crossed her face and she parried it upwards into the air, opening up his side.

Within a second, Chrom jumped back from her, but it wasn't enough as the side of her shield slammed into his chest, sending him back and allowing her to follow up by thrusting forward with her lance. An attack he barely avoided.

"This is the best imposter you could find for the prince of Ylisse?" Raimi laughed, watching as Chrom rolled back onto his knees, "I'd have rather it ended there, but it seems you're at least better than those brigands from yesterday."

Falchion slammed into the ground, Chrom snarling before he picked himself back up, charging at her again with a leap into the air, one way higher than Chris thought was possible. Raimi didn't even hesitate to bring her shield up, the metal plate taking the entire, crashing blow as she countered again with her lance.

Chrom jumped back, charging again and bashing Falchion into the shield's side, its face, its top, the loud cracking of metal against metal sounding out from them as Raimi let out another laugh.

"You might be able to dodge a lance, but I wonder how you expected to beat me if you can't even get through my—"

An ear-shattering crack interrupted her, echoing through the makeshift arena. Many of the surrounding Feroxi soldiers' mouths were open in shock nearby Chris as they gawked at Raimi's shield.

And the pieces of it as they fell into the snow.

Immediately Chrom crashed his blade down on her, Raimi only managing to dodge the first strike as she stumbled back, throwing the leftover half of her shield away. She grabbed her lance in both hands, face in a confused, angry snarl as she tried to thrust forward, lance pointed right at his chest. In an instant, he ducked under and slammed Falchion's pommel directly into her side, cracking her armor and sending her to the ground in a loud crash.

She immediately tried to swing her lance up at Chrom, only for him to catch it in his glove, responding by pointing the tip of Falchion near her neck.

"Yield," he demanded.

A second passed, all of the soldiers around Chris staring at the two as they waited for what felt like forever. Until, with her lance dropping to the ground, she answered.

"I yield."

And while shorter than usual, that's another chapter!

As always, I want to thank Bunni (aka Sushion) as well as my newer beta, Ghep, for their help with making this chapter as good as it turned out. Or at least decent, fight scenes are a true pain to write, but I'm getting there.

If you want to ask any questions, or simply chat with some other writers and shitposters, the Fanfiction Treehouse discord (Discord Code 9XG3U7a) is a place where I am almost constantly, and easily the best place to contact me with anything.

With that out of the way, my writing has actually fallen behind a little bit, though for you guys that means pretty much nothing unless it gets worse. What can I say, college is a chore. With that though, I'd like to suggest my new Beta's work "Detachment" as a work to read if you need something. It's quite well written—far better than my own, in my opinion—and decidedly exciting to read. So check that one out in the meantime. And with that until next time!