Hello all! Sacred Stones was the first Fire Emblem game I ever played, and it still holds up really well, even after playing the newer ones. I'm in the middle of replaying it right now and got inspired :)

This story takes place after Ephraim and Erika meet and split up again, and is roughly based on Ephraim's storyline (although there aren't a lot of elements from the actual story).

If you haven't played the game, I hope you can still enjoy the story!

"General! Please wake up, sir! General Seth!"

Forde shook the general's arm with an air of urgency, trying to staunch the panic that threatened to overflow him. Thankfully, years of battle experience had trained Seth to be a light sleeper, and he was up and alert in an instant.

"What is it, Forde? Is something wrong?"

"Well sir, you know I was supposed to relieve Franz on watch duty tonight?"

Seth nodded.

"But, well, I can't find him!" Forde's throat constricted, and he struggled to speak around a rising pressure in his chest, "He isn't at his post, and I've looked all around the camp and into the woods, and I..." he paused to swallow heavily, "I'm afraid something's happened to him, sir."

Seth was already up and buckling on his weapons. "Wake up Kyle, I will speak with Prince Ephraim. We will find him."

Nodding, Forde knelt to wake Kyle and explained the situation to him. While Kyle readied himself– somewhat grudgingly, after being pulled prematurely from his slumber– Forde glanced across the smoldering fire to see Seth and Ephraim engaged in murmured conversation. Their voices were too low to distinguish their words, but the general's drawn features and the prince's concerned frown did nothing to quell the churning in his stomach. Since Grado's invasions, this area had been densely populated with bandits and gangs of fortune-seekers who would think nothing of killing a lone traveler just to see what he might have in his pockets. He knew Franz had been well trained and was able to put up a good fight, but the thought of his little brother at the lacking mercy of some group of renegades still made his stomach turn. What could have happened to pull the kid away from his post?

A few of the lighter sleepers in the group had woken at the disturbance of figures moving about camp, and Seth gathered them together along with Forde and Kyle to address them all at once. After explaining the situation, he designated Artur and Niemi to stay and watch the camp while the rest of them made a search for their missing companion.

"We'll head out in pairs and search the surrounding area," Seth instructed, his familiar, authoritative tone calming some of Forde's anxieties, "We have no way of knowing how long he's been gone, so it's impossible to tell how far off he may have gotten. Since his horse is also missing, he almost certainly left of his own volition; let's hope he is simply investigating something outside the normal perimeter, but we should endeavor to find him as quickly as possible."

He seemed to consider for a moment, then continued, "Colm and Joshua, you two search the woods as far as the river; Kyle and Forde, take your horses and look north across the plain to the old mines, then circle back along the Miners' Trail; Vanessa, I know it's dark, but I want you to see if you can spot anything from the sky; Prince Ephraim and I will head down the south road and search the Grey Canyons. Everyone, meet back here when you finish your search, and pray that no harm has come to Franz."

So, armed with torches, the pairs set out into the night to search their designated area for the missing knight.

Elsewhere, Franz squeezed himself back farther into the crevice of rock that had become his impromptu hiding place, pressing himself against the warm body of his horse, which occupied most of the cramped space. He slowly rubbed his hand along the horse's neck, hoping to heaven she would not snort or whinny, or make any sound that would betray his location.

On the canyon road, the sound of heavy stomping signaled the passing of a small group of Grado soldiers. Franz listened to them pass, barely breathing as their footsteps drew near, then stopped suddenly mere yards away from where he hid.

"Wait!" He heard a gruff voice hiss, "Do you hear that?"

All was silent for a moment, then Franz picked up the soft, rhythmic sound of distant hoofs.

"Riders approaching; quick, into the rocks!" The rough voice commanded, and there was a confused scrambling for a few moments before the air once again settled into stillness.

The riders came closer, seemingly in no hurry as their hooves clopped out a steady cantor and the soft glow of their torches grew steadily brighter. Franz's mind scrambled with what he should do: should he try to warn the travelers of the ambush? But then, he had no idea who they were, and more likely than not they were bandits who ought to be caught anyway. Coming out of hiding now would reveal his presence to the Grado soldiers, and thus endanger Prince Ephraim and the others back at camp. However, if they really were just travelers they would be at a severe disadvantage against what sounded to Franz like about a dozen Grado soldiers, while he heard the sound of only two approaching horses.

While he was stewing over what to do, he noticed that the cadence of the hooves had stopped. A moment later, there was a cry and a thump, and a jumble of scraping and clanging filled the night while the warm light of torches flickered irregularly against the canyon walls.

The din was over as quickly as it had started, and all at once the sound of a familiar voice sent both relief and dread jolting through Franz's mind.

"You there. We seek our companion: a young Frelian cavalier. Pray you are not the ones who stole him away from us?"

It was General Seth.

The Grado soldier responded brusquely, "The only Frelians we've seen foolish enough to be wandering around these parts are you two."

"I hope you are not lying to me," Seth's icy tone sent a shiver down Franz's spine. He could well imagine the iron glare the soldier was currently receiving, and almost felt sorry for him.

"What good would it do me to lie?" His tone was still resentful, though perhaps a bit less bold than before, "I'm miles away from any help. We were just scouts trying to get a feel for the area."

"Is it customary for Grado scouting parties to attack travelers on the road?" A second familiar voice questioned: Prince Ephraim. The soldier was silent.

Franz's mind scrambled with a whirlwind of reactions. Part of him breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar presence, but trepidation kept him frozen in place, hidden from view. The prince and general were out here looking for him. With a sinking feeling in his stomach Franz glanced up and noticed that the sky was beginning to take on a dusky hue, and the stars were significantly faded. It was almost daylight; he had been gone even longer than he realized.

"Where-" Ephraim's question broke off abruptly, drowned out in an ensuing scuffle that lasted only a matter of seconds and ended with a heavy groan and thump.

"I- Thank you, Seth. I'm afraid he caught me off guard," Ephraim stuttered, sounding somewhat shaken, "What on earth made him throw himself at me so suddenly? He cannot possibly have hoped to survive against both of us."

"If I had to hazard a guess, I would say he did not expect to survive," Seth responded gravely, "Did you notice the look that came over him as we were talking? I believe he recognized you, your highness. I expect there are urgent demands for your death, whatever the cost."

A breath of silence passed before Seth continued, "Come, we should finish our search quickly. I am inclined to believe that soldier that they were the only Grado troops in the area, but I would rather not trust to chance."

"You're right. I hope one of the others have found him by now."

As their horses clattered away up the winding canyon path, Franz came very close to stepping out and revealing his presence to them. They were looking for him, after all, and they were clearly worried. However, he knew the fact that he had willingly abandoned his post would not go over well with his superiors, and he needed some time to consider a good explanation to take the edge off the trouble he was sure to be in. Once he could no longer hear their rhythmic hoof falls, he eased himself out of the cliff side and headed back to camp as quickly as his horse could carry him.

As he rode, he silently cursed the winding, criss-crossed roads of Ulpho that had consumed so much time to navigate. The ruined walls of ancient buildings created a veritable maze of narrow alleyways that all looked practically the same, and he had lost track of the time he spent wandering those dark passages.

In fact, it had been that very maze-like quality that drew Franz to the ruined city in the first place. The legends of Ulpho and its mysterious ruins had fascinated him since his childhood, and when their party approached it the preceding day he had tried to convince them of the strategic advantage of making camp inside the crumbling city itself. This idea, however, was quickly dismissed. General Seth had insisted that they had no need of a fortified encampment since their main goal was to pass through the plains as quickly and unobtrusively as possible, and the day's travel could still carry them far beyond the ruined city. Besides, given the disreputable nature of the area, there was no way to know who else might be using the ancient buildings as their hideout, and there would be no point in wasting their time and effort to chase squatters and bandits through the twisting ruins.

So they circumnavigated Ulpho, but it did not leave Franz's mind. Curiosity burned in him as he wondered what mysteries might lie in those ancient streets, his imagination fueled by the myths and legends from his youth concerning Ulpho's history. Finally, his chance had come to satisfy that curiosity: a shift at the night watch, when everyone else would be asleep. With his horse, he could travel the distance much more quickly than their group had done earlier, hampered as it was by those traveling on foot.

Now, he traveled that same distance in the opposite direction, scrambling through his thoughts as he tried to piece together a passable explanation. He knew leaving his post unattended was wrong, that it left the whole party vulnerable to attack, but somehow he had managed to convince himself it would be okay. After all, they had seen no sign of bandits or enemy troops as they traveled, and the rumors said that most of them were pulling out to follow the fighting eastward towards the mountains, anyway. He knew, however, that this reasoning would do him no good when facing his angry general. In hindsight, and without the pang of curiosity gnawing at his mind, even he failed to be convinced by the flimsy argument that had justified his departure only hours earlier.

By the time he approached the camp, the sunrise was glowing on the eastern horizon, and he still had no decent excuse for what had pulled him away from his post. He slowed his horse to a walk as he drew closer, trying to make as unobtrusive an entrance as possible. As he walked into the circle of warm fire light, Artur, Colm, and Joshua turned from their murmured conversation, their mouths dropping open for a moment when they caught sight of him.

"You're alright!" Artur exclaimed after a moment of surprised silence.

"Where have you been?" Joshua demanded, "We've been looking all over for you."

Franz made an effort to keep his tone nonchalant as he replied, "I'm sorry I put you to all that effort, but you really shouldn't have worried. I was investigating something, and it took me longer than expected, that's all."

Joshua looked like he was about to say something further, but at that moment Vanessa landed at the edge of camp.

"Franz! You found him!"

"Actually, he returned on his own," Colm retorted.

"Is there any way to let the others know?" Niemi questioned, "Or should we just wait until they return from their search?"

"I can find them from the sky. They might already be on their way back, but they should know he's safe." Vanessa kicked her heels into her pegasus's sides and launched into the air.

By now, most of the camp was awake or stirring, and Franz felt their questioning gazes directed at him. His heart sunk into his stomach as he thought about the disruption his midnight escapade had caused, and how much trouble he had created for everyone. They would all expect an explanation, but for now everyone seemed content to wait for the others' return to hear the full story. In the meantime, breakfast preparations were being made, and the camp hummed with a relaxed, leisurely energy as they waited for their leaders to return.

Forde and Kyle were the first to make it back to camp, not long after Franz's own return. Upon spotting his little brother sitting unharmed by the campfire, Forde threw himself from his horse and stalked across the camp.

"What happened? Where were you?" He demanded, then continued before Franz had a chance to reply, "Are you hurt anywhere? Who found you?"

As he spoke, he began checking the younger man over for signs of injury, ignoring Franz's repeated protests that he was fine. Once he was satisfied that his little brother did not appear to be harmed, Forde gripped both of the younger man's shoulders and gave him a firm shake.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You scared me half to death! Why did you leave your post?"

Franz shrunk back from his brother's intense stare. Up to this point, he had hardly been allowed to get a word in edgewise, and now suddenly Forde was looking at him with such anger and expectancy he found it difficult to piece together a coherent thought. Guilt was stirring in his stomach at the worry he could see peeking out behind the edges of his brother's anger, but his impulse to apologize was still tempered by his desire to downplay the event as much as possible to avoid unpleasant consequences.

"I'm sorry I worried you, but it really wasn't a big deal," he glanced off to the side and shrugged, "I was just investigating some things."

"What kind of things?" Forde questioned with a raised brow, clearly unconvinced.

Franz was saved from answering when the clatter of hooves signaled Seth and Ephraim's return to camp, followed by Vanessa landing her Pegasus smoothly behind. Forde released his grip on his brother's shoulders, turning to face the party's leaders as they dismounted and approached the pair of brothers.

Franz's relief at being rescued from his brother's scrutiny lasted only a moment before he met the stern gaze of his general, and his stomach dropped.

"Franz, we've been looking for you. Where have you been?"

It was such a simple question, asked in such a calm, unwavering tone; all at once the thought of telling anything but the absolute truth seemed ludicrous.

"I-I was in Ulpho, sir…"

Forde turned to shoot him an incredulous look, but remained silent. He would not dare to interrupt the general, even when his anger was not directed at him.

Seth's brows rose ever so slightly and his glare bore into the young cavalier, "And what were you doing all the way back there, instead of at your post?"

"I was just… I wanted to see it, to-to see if it was really… really like the stories I'd heard…" his voice faded as the absurdity of his own words grated against his ears.

There was a beat of silence, and Franz felt every eye on him with various degrees of incredulity. After what felt like ages, but was in reality only a few seconds, Seth spoke again, his voice still perfectly controlled but edged with a steely glint.

"It sounds like what you're telling me is that you abandoned your post and left the entire party vulnerable so you could satisfy your childish curiosity about a fairytale city." His features might as well have been chiseled out of stone as he glared down the cowed young man before him, "Is that correct?"

Silence once again stretched out for a moment as Franz tried and failed to refute the statement in his mind. Looking back at it clearly, that was exactly what he had done. Hanging his head, he murmured out a tiny "Yes sir…"

Everyone seemed to be watching with bated breath, waiting to see what Seth would do. Even Ephraim did not interfere; he would leave the matter in his general's capable hands.

Seth sighed deeply before speaking again, "Franz… I'm disappointed. You know better than to leave your post for any reason, let alone for something so trivial."

Franz grimaced and bit his lip. As always happened when being scolded by his general, the reprimand cut straight through him. The older man seemed to have a particular way of making him feel like a naughty schoolboy who had been caught doing something utterly foolish, and he hated the disapproval he could feel radiating from this man who had not only been his mentor for many years, but had practically become his living idol. He simply hung his head and waited for the scolding to continue, knowing this ordeal was not going to end well for him.

Seth stood with head tilted and eyes narrowed, seeming to consider his young protege for a moment. He then lifted his head and addressed a commanding statement to the party in general, "Alright everyone, since our night was disrupted, we will delay our departure. Take some rest if you need it; you may not get another chance until tonight."

Taking that as their que to disperse, everyone returned to their own business, some collapsing back into their beds while others returned to breakfast preparations. Forde was the last to leave, placing a hand on Franz's shoulder with a quiet "I'm glad you're safe," before leaving him to face his angry general alone.