The Force's Shepherds

Chapter 22

Matters of Great Importance

Chrom squeezed his eyes tight. There was a lightness to his body. A feeling that could only be described as euphoric. Like he was floating on air. The mattress he lay on had managed to lull him into a deep sleep. One that was working wonders for his exhausted mind. And there was warmth. So much of it that it felt like summer in Ylisstol once again.

He uttered a happy sigh. Summer. It was a distant memory now. An almost forgotten reality. Those days were simpler. Even if they were only a few months ago. Chrom was just a soldier driving off bandits with Frederick and the other Shepherds. Emmeryn was safe in Ylisstol. His older sister working hard to keep the Halidom prosperous. Spirits had been high.

Now winter was coming to Ylisse. The cold winds had already started to sweep down from the frozen lands of Regna Ferox. Already, the Eastern Palace was experiencing frigid conditions.

Chrom's face fell. Why was he feeling warm when it was freezing outside of the Palace Walls? Had someone come into his room and stoked a fire? Was there an intruder!?

He shot up from his bed. His eyes were wide open.

Nothing in his chambers appeared out of place. But there was a fire burning in the fireplace. When he had finally laid down to get some sleep, the logs inside had been reduced to dying embers. Did a palace servant come in?

Chrom furrowed his brow. No, that could not be it. He had given strict instructions that only the Commander of the Eastern Palace, Robin, and Lissa could disturb him. And so far, those instructions had been followed to the letter. The only time anyone had disobeyed those orders was when Miriel had burst into his chambers in a panic. Telling him about how she saw Panne, Gaius, Marth, Cordelia, and Ben leaving the Eastern Palace and sprinting away along the road towards Ylisstol.

At the time he wanted to follow. He still wanted to follow them. Chrom already knew what those four were planning. He wanted to execute a similar plan. A rescue mission. One where the Shepherds would infiltrate Plegia and snatch Emmeryn from Gangrel's vile hands. He was sure that a majority of the Shepherds would follow him in such an endeavor. But before he could bring it up, Robin spoke to him.

It was one of the few conversations where he became irate with the tactician. His friend did not agree with his plan. In fact, he thought it was a terrible idea. One that was bound to fail. Chrom had almost knocked him out for saying that. But when he gave his reasons, Chrom found himself unable to thrust the Shepherds into such a risky situation. He could now count Robin skilled at three things. Tactics, magic, and debate. Chrom snorted to himself. Now he would never win an argument.

Despite his reluctant agreement, he did not like Robin's plan. How could they all just continue onto to Regna Ferox like originally planned? Everything about the situation had changed. Emmeryn was captured. Ylisstol was under direct threat. Commander Phila was dead along with all of the Pegasus Knights. The army would turn to him for leadership. How could he just leave them?

A frustrated snarl left his lips as he threw the covers from his body and placed his bare feet on the cold stone floor. Now he understood why Emm did not want to leave Ylisstol.

"You did not sleep very long."

Chrom twisted around. Sumia was sitting in a chair near the window.

If there was one piece of optimism during the disastrous past few days, it was Sumia's health. She was starting to get back to top form after taking a devastating injury defending the Palace back in Ylisstol. She had gone from needing help walking, to moving around on her own, to now trying to sneak out to the stables and ride her Pegasus when no one was watching. It was a lone bright spot that made Chrom smile just a little bit. He hated seeing his comrades put in harm's way, let alone wounded. It ate him alive when one of his soldiers was harmed on his orders.

The guilt was much greater with Sumia. It was one thing if someone like Frederick or Kellam were wounded in battle. They were soldiers. Those two had been training to fight, and possibly die in battle, since they were barely teenagers. Sumia was still… she was still so innocent. So new to the horrors of combat. She had not trained for battles like the one on the mountain road. She was not ready for the terrors of war. And yet, she gladly fought alongside Chrom and the Shepherds. And in a bid to protect Emmeryn, she was nearly killed.

"Don't give me that look." Sumia scolded as she got up from her seat. Her brown hair fell in lazy curls over her shoulders. And Chrom was suddenly mesmerized. He had forgotten how beautiful the pegasus rider actually was. She was so shy and quiet that many times she would fade into the background. But when she asserted herself like this, Chrom could not help but take notice.

Sumia frowned, "You don't have to feel guilty for what happened, Chrom. None of it was your fault."

Chrom blinked. Snapping himself free from his stupor. He shook his head, "Sorry. Just-" He sighed, "I'm the one who gives the orders, Sumia. Me. That means the consequences of those orders fall squarely at my feet."

Sumia walked up to him and gently gripped his hand, "But that does not mean you need to feel guilty about all of those consequences. Some things are beyond your control. How could you know that I would get injured back in Ylisstol? Or Frederick would be wounded on the road? Or even Ben and Marth leaving with Gaius, Cordelia, and Panne to do Naga knows what?"

Chrom frowned.

"Hey," Sumia squeezed his hand, "We need you, Chrom. We don't need you to feel guilty for us. Every Shepherd knew exactly what they were getting into when they decided to follow you. We need you to lead us. To be there for us."

Chrom raised an eyebrow, "I get the feeling that you don't just mean the Shepherds?"

Sumia's cheeks turned red, "I- well- um- hey! I haven't tripped yet!"

Chrom chuckled, "I guess those boots finally fit your feet then."

Sumia uttered a nervous laugh, "Y-yeah. Um… so… in order to help your mood, and I hope you don't mind, but I-um- stoked a fire for you and I-um," Sumia rushed back over to her chair. She reached over to a table beside it and lifted up a- Chrom heard his stomach rumble, "I made you a pie."

"Pie?" Chrom said.

His stomach growled again. A nervous laugh left his lips. He had barely eaten over the past few days. His duties to the Shepherds and to Ylisse had kept him so busy that he did not even think to sit down and rest a moment and eat. Robin had the same problem. But he did not have as good of an excuse.

"Yeah it's-"

"A meat pie?" Chrom asked. He could feel his mouth starting to water.

"Er-" Sumia gave him a sheepish grin, "Rhubarb and fiddlehead pie?"

Chrom blinked.

"My mom used to make it for me whenever I was feeling down or unusually tired." Sumia said quickly, "It always perked me up."

"Oh! Well uh-" Chrom gingerly took the pie from Sumia's hands and looked down at it. Now that she mentioned it, Chrom did detect a faint scent of rhubarb coming from the pie. Instead of growling, his stomach churned, "Th-thanks Sumia."

"No problem." She smiled, "I um- I think I need to go brush down the horses. Frederick's still out of commission and Kellam can't really do it alone so…"

Sumia turned on her heel. Just as she started marching towards the door, her foot got caught on a crack in the floor. With a loud cry she fell and landed hard onto the stone tiles.

"Sumia!"

The pegasus rider scrambled to her feet. Her face was bright red.

"I'm fine! Really, totally fine!" She laughed then quickly retreated from Chrom's room. The door slammed loudly behind her.

Chrom stared after her in confusion, "I thought she said those boots were fixed?" He shrugged then grimaced as the scent of rhubarb and fiddlehead hit his nose again. His stomach rumbled. "Well," He set the pie down and grabbed a fork from a drawer, "Nothing else to eat. But gods, I hate rhubarb."

He took one hesitant bite. Flavor unlike any he had ever tasted before washed over his tongue and down his throat. He froze for a moment then stared stunned at the pie.

"It's actually good?" He took another bite, "It's really good!"

And Sumia was right. As he shoveled bite after bite into his mouth, he could feel his spirits slowly grow. Who knew food would be the thing that could make someone feel better about the day? Once he finished the last bite he gave his stomach a satisfied pat before setting the dish to the side.

His mind wandered once again to the Shepherds' next move. They would have to leave the Eastern Palace. Regardless of which direction they chose to go in. In the end though, now that Chrom's mind felt clearer, he found himself reluctantly agreeing with Robin.

A rescue mission right now, without any support, was suicidal. What Ben and Marth were doing was a risk that was too great to demand of the other Shepherds.

Chrom sighed and shook his head. Outside, the sun was beginning to rise over the mountains. The others would be awake soon. Chrom knew he'd find Robin either still asleep in his bunk, or asleep at a desk in the palace library.

He works way to hard. Chrom thought to himself with a light chuckle.

He would have to find Robin early. The road to Regna Ferox from the Eastern Palace was a difficult one. And with winter setting in to the north, it would be fraught with ice and cold. There was no time to linger in the Eastern Palace. The Khans had to be informed of the situation.

And they would have to march on Plegia. If Ben's company were to fail, then Chrom's next move would be the only thing that could save Emmeryn's life.

He took a deep breath and nodded.

"Right." Chrom said to himself, "Let's do this."

….

Ben tugged at the hood of his cloak. Trying his best to shelter his frozen form from the icy rain.

It had been raining non stop for the past three days. And for three straight days, and almost three straight nights, he, Gaius, Marth, Panne, and Cordelia had traveled across Ylisse towards the border with Plegia. Slogging through muck and mud in order to get to Plegia as quickly as possible.

Ben had suggested that they travel through the wilderness so they could avoid detection. The last thing their party needed was Plegian soldiers realizing who they were and attempting to arrest them. They could not afford to draw attention to themselves. A suggestion that Gaius had thrown out the window immediately.

"Do you think I slipped into Ylisstol with the assassins by walking through the country? No, no, no. We followed everyone else."

And by everyone else, Gaius meant the thousands of refugees that had been flocking to the roads of Ylisse, hoping to escape the front lines of the war. Originally, the refugees had fled towards Ylisstol. Now they ran away from it and back into Plegian controlled territory as the capital of the Halidom came under siege. And so, Ben and the others mingled in with the other refugees.

Loathe as he was to admit it, Gaius had been right. In fact, he had proven himself instrumental to the mission so far. He had managed to "find" a big enough hat to hide Panne's ears (much to her displeasure). He had procured them food by sweet talking a couple of bakers along the road. He had managed to keep Cordelia from attacking several groups of Plegian soldiers on sight. Although Ben and Marth helped in restraining the vengeful Pegasus Knight. And he managed to find a bunch inconspicuous peasant clothes that allowed all four to easily blend in with the refugees on the road.

The one major argument any of them had while traveling, other than how they would reach Plegia, involved something so trivial it boggled Ben's mind. And, he was ashamed to admit, was his own fault. Gaius insisted on shaving his beard. A prospect that Ben had adamantly opposed. In the end, it took Marth's words to convince him to let go of his precious beard once again. The Plegian's knew him as a bearded sword master. Shave the beard, and he looked like a completely different person.

Now they were within miles of the Plegian border. There were fewer refugees here. Those that shared the road with them now were actually Plegian traders trying to profit from the chaos that the war had created. And that was when Gaius came up with his most hare brained plan to date.

"Ok," Gaius sat them all down in the mud.

Ben rolled his eyes. But at this point, he was already soaked to the bone. What was a little mud on his pants going to affect? Cordelia was also hesitant to take a seat. The only ones comfortable with squatting down in the muck were Panne and Marth. Both women stared hard at Gaius. Waiting for his next plan.

"So, we are almost to the border," Gaius began, "And now, there are no more refugees."

"We've noticed." Ben deadpanned.

Gaius smirked at Ben, "I just love proving you wrong, bud."

"Is 'bud' my nickname?"

"No. Too generic." Gaius replied, "I'll think of something better later. But anyways, back to the topic at hand. We can no longer pose as refugees. We need to pose as something, valuable."

"We cannot become candy, Gaius." Panne frowned.

"I wasn't suggesting that, Whiskers." Gaius replied, "But a guy can dream can't he? And candy is not the only thing that is valuable in Plegia." He snapped his fingers, "Entertainment is too."

Marth raised an eyebrow, "How?"

Gaius rolled his eyes, "Have you ever lived in a desert wasteland before? There's not exactly a whole lot to do beyond sweltering in the damn heat all day long. Whenever an entertainer or," Gaius turned his gaze to Ben, "magician came into town. Well, they were second only to the king when it came to the commoner's opinion."

"Oh no!" Ben shook his head, "That is not happening!"

Gaius frowned, "I hate to break it to you, Benny. But if you want to save your girl, this is our best option for getting into Plegia without attracting the eye of the authorities. Besides, you're a mage. And a freaky one at that. I hear you've got some crazy magic that no one really knows about. And that is perfect for our plan. Unless you've got a better idea of course."

Ben frowned. Why was Gaius so good at sneaking into places?

"No."

"That's what I thought."

"What are our roles in this scheme of yours?" Cordelia asked.

"Well," Gaius grinned, "I am his er- boss." Ben's frown deepened, "I tell him where we are going to perform and set up transportation."

"You've done a wonderful job at that." Ben sassed. Beside him, Marth began to take a sip from her water skin.

"Thank you." Gaius beamed, "Now, Cordelia, you and Marth are going to be his beautiful assistants."

Marth choked on some water. A few loud coughs wracked her lungs before she finally caught her breath.

"I like the enthusiasm, Blue." Gaius said while Cordelia glared at him.

"And what is my role, man-spawn?" Panne asked as she sat beside him, arms folded over her chest.

Gaius gave her a mischievous grin, "Every magician needs a rabbit to pull out of a hat."

*WHACK*

"Panne!" Cordelia cried as Gaius spun around and fell unconscious in the mud. One blow from Panne's fist, and the thief was out cold.

"You can't kill him." Marth said. But there was not much conviction in her voice.

"Oh please, by all means do." Ben groaned, "Spare me from any future headaches."

"Ben!" Cordelia snapped, "Not helping!"

….

The rain finally stopped as night fell over the hills beyond Themis. The group was still a few miles from the border. And after Panne's wonderful left hook knocked out Gaius, Ben had been forced to haul the unconscious thief the rest of the day. When the night deepened, Marth had called a stop to their march. They needed to rest for a little bit. Once inside of Plegia, they would be surrounded by the enemy. It would do them no good if they were not fully focused on the mission.

Gaius was still sound asleep as Marth started a small fire at the center of their small campsite. Ben had wrapped his cloak tight over his body as he turned a spit over the crackling flames. Marth had managed to hunt down a pair of rabbits in the hills. A meager dinner. One that Panne was hesitant to partake in.

As the rabbits cooked over the flames, Ben glanced up. Cordelia was sitting alone. Her back to the fire. Knees tucked close to her chest. Ben frowned.

The pegasus knight had been a wreck for the entire journey. She had so far done an admirable job of trying to hide the turmoil she was feeling. But she could not hide the whirlwind of emotions from Ben. He could sense the sorrow and anger radiating in waves from the red head. They had been so busy traveling that she did not even have time to mourn her fallen comrades. And now, as the group rested near the Plegian boarder, Ben could see her shoulders shuddering as she sat alone.

"Marth."

"Hm?" The blue haired girl replied as she sat by the fire. She was busy polishing Falchion with an oiled rag.

"Can you watch the food?"

Marth glanced up at Ben. Her eyes then followed his own gaze over to Cordelia.

"Sure." She nodded.

Ben gave her a small nod as thanks. As he got up, he heard Panne grumbling to Marth.

"I still don't understand why we have to eat rabbits."

"There wasn't exactly any bears around."

Ben shook his head. As much as Panne hated others calling her a rabbit, she certainly cared about the small creatures that roamed the countryside.

He pushed the small amount of amusement he had to the side as he moved beside Cordelia. Ben took a breath then sat down beside her.

"Cordelia are-"

"I'm fine." Cordelia sniffled before turning her back to him, "Leave me alone."

Ben gulped. Maybe he should leave her alone? He shook his head. She had been alone in her thoughts for three days now. And all that had accomplished was her mood only growing worse.

"Cordelia if you need to talk about what happened-"

"I don't need to talk about what happened!" She snapped as she turned to glare at him.

Ben finally saw her face in the firelight. Her cheeks were stained by rivers of tears. Her brown eyes were bloodshot. She had been silently crying for a while now. And he had only noticed a few moments ago.

I've been so preoccupied with my own problems that I failed to notice everyone else's. Ben thought ruefully to himself.

"Besides," Cordelia sniffled, "How-how can I possibly talk about it? To anyone!?" She choked on her own words, "H-how can I- how can I talk about being a lone survivor? How can I talk about watching not just my comrades, but people I considered sisters, family, get cut to ribbons like that. Butchered by that-that monster!" She glared angrily at Ben, "And how could I talk about that to you!? How could you possibly understand any of that?"

Ben's jaw hardened. Yes, how could he understand any of that? He folded his hands into his cloak and cleared his throat.

"I understand." Ben muttered as he sat beside Cordelia. The redhead had turned away from him once again. But despite that, Ben still spoke, "More than you realize. I understand the pain that comes with that kind of loss."

"I don't believe you." Cordelia snapped. Her voice was harsh and shaky.

Ben sighed. He got up and moved so that he would face Cordelia. The red head tried to spin away from him again. But this time, Ben used the Force to spin her back around so that she faced him.

Cordelia's anger filled glare only grew, "That's not fair." She grumbled.

"But it's for your own good." Ben replied.

Cordelia took a deep breath. Her hand reached up and wiped at the tears that were still falling down her face. She sniffed hard then stared hard at Ben.

"Fine." She leaned forward, "Tell me how you could possibly understand how I feel right now?"

Ben pressed his lips into a thin line.

"You can't. Can you?" Cordelia accused, "You claim to be able to understand. To be able to offer comfort to me even though you have no idea the-the horror that replays over and over in my mind and-"

"My home was a Temple." Ben interrupted, "I was a monk once. There were… thousands of us at one point. We were charged with," Ben hesitated, "We were charged with keeping the peace in the republic I called home. Impartial mediators." Ben swallowed hard, "We failed in that mission. And as a result, civil war broke out. The Republic split in two. And we fought to restore it. Little did anyone in my order realize, all of us, Republic loyalist and Separatist alike, were pawns in a grander plan. An evil stroke of genius that had been simmering on the fringes of our knowledge for generations."

Cordelia stared spellbound as Ben spoke. She wanted to ask him to get to the point. She was not in the mood to talk about any of this. To anyone. But as Ben spoke, she could see the pain in his eyes. She heard the slight hesitation in his words. As if he was struggling to even describe the horrors that he had witnessed.

"Our own allies turned against us." Ben finally said, "Our own soldiers, men that we trusted and who trusted us, cut us down." Ben bowed his head, "Butchered everyone I considered family."

Cordelia's eyes widened.

"In the end, as far as I am aware, only myself and the Grandmaster of my order survived. Even then, we were found and-" Ben swallowed hard and shook his head, "I don't know if I'm the only one alive or not."

Ben raised his eyes to meet Cordelia's.

"I have not told anyone this. But I am telling you. Why?" Ben trailed off for a moment, "Why? I'm not sure why. Maybe because I want you to understand that I know exactly how you feel. Or maybe there is another reason that even I don't know yet." Ben leaned forward in his seat, "The point is, we are not alone in this anymore." Ben rose and adjusted his cloak, "I'm going to keep cooking dinner. I'll make sure to save some for you."

Ben turned to walk back to the fire.

"Ben!" Cordelia called.

Ben turned back to her.

"I'm… I'm sorry."

Ben gave her a sad smile, "You have nothing to be sorry about. Now come, enjoy some dinner with us." In the background, Gaius groaned. Ben laughed, "Our lovely boss is starting to wake up."

Cordelia uttered a quiet laugh as Gaius struggled to sit upright. As he got up, Ben pulled the rabbits off of the spit and began to butcher them with a small knife.

The red haired pegasus knight took a deep breath. Somehow, Ben's story comforted her. There was still a lot of pain in her heart. The loss of her sisters would never be healed. It would always be a raw wound that would never close as long as she lived.

At least she had someone to share the pain with.

….

The fire had died down to just embers. Every few moments, a small crackle of sparks spat out from the dying coals and ash. Marth sat vigilante near the dying flames. She had volunteered for first watch. Ben had protested. He felt strongly about letting everyone else resting before him. But she had insisted. Eventually, Ben relented and fell into a rough sleep in the mud. His body wrapped tight in his brown, dirty cloak.

Panne was curled up close to the fire too. She was sleeping the best out of the group. Her chest rose and fell in a steady, comfortable rhythm. Marth was a tad envious. She would not be that fortunate tonight. In fact, she had been unable to get a full night's rest for weeks. Her nights had been plagued by visions of her past, her future, and the possibilities of the new, terrifying future she may have unwittingly created.

But it was not just the visions that would keep her up at night. There was also the worrying prospect that Kage was a traitor among the Shepherds. Her fist balled up in her lap.

The nerve of that guy. To claim that he had no idea where Maul was. That he had no contact with him whatsoever. How else could the Plegians have found the Exalt? How else could they have known she was going to seek shelter in the Eastern Palace?

It worried her that Kage was alone with the Shepherds now. She was not there to watch him. The decision on whether or not to stay and keep tabs on her old friend or to go rescue Exalt Emmeryn was a difficult one. In the end, she decided on the latter. The survival of the Exalt was crucial to preventing the nightmare that was the future. She would have to risk Kage being unsupervised. Trust that Robin, Chrom, and the others would be able to handle him should his true colors show.

And when they did show, when he finally revealed his evil intentions, Marth hoped she would be there. She wanted to deal with him personally. After everything that had happened between him, her, Maul, and her old master, she wanted to be the one to finally confront the dark side user.

A small pang hit her heart. There it was. The small part of her that feared confronting Kage. Not because he was powerful. She already knew that. They had dueled before. Not seriously of course. Their arguments never went that far.

No, she feared confronting him because of the friendship they once shared. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She needed to meditate. Clear her mind and refocus. The mission was the most important thing right now. Any other distractions had to wait.

She heard a body flop down beside her. One of her eyes cracked open.

"So Blue," Gaius said as he leaned back on his side, "What's rustling your feathers?"

Marth took and deep breath and kept her eyes closed, "Nothing."

"Bullshit." Gaius scoffed, "I know what you're doing right now. I've seen Benny do it whenever he gets super stressed out. So obviously something's bothering you."

Marth sighed. She opened one eye and stared at Gaius. The thief remained where he was, a lollipop dangling from the corner of his mouth.

"You are not going to leave me alone until I answer, are you?"

Gaius popped the lollipop from his mouth and smirked, "Not a chance."

Marth sighed. Just her luck. Not only did Gaius invite himself onto this mission, now he was trying to butt into her personal life.

"C'mon," Gaius waved a candy bar in front of her nose, "I'll give you some of my candy."

"There's no need for that."

"Really?" Gaius blinked, "Well… good, I didn't want to give it up anyways."

"It's Kage."

Gaius shoved the candy bar back in his pocket and nodded, "What about the kid?" He leaned closer to Marth, "You got a crush on him or something?"

Marth's cheeks turned red.

"Ah! You do!"

"I most certainly do not!" Marth cried angrily.

"Liar liar-"

"I hate his guts!"

Gaius's smirk fell from his face, "Isn't it kind of hard to hate someone you just met?"

Marth sighed, "We haven't just met."

Gaius nodded, "I see. So you two know each other from before? Damn. You must be really well traveled, Blue."

Marth uttered a small laugh, "Yeah, you could say that."

Gaius adjusted in his spot, "So?"

"So?"

"Come on," Gaius encouraged, "Open up to Gaius."

Marth frowned, "And if I say no."

Gaius shrugged, "That's no skin off of my back. I'm just trying to be helpful." He got to his feet and brushed some dirt from the back of his pants, "Before you go off and make up your mind about hating the Kid, I'd encourage you not to." Marth raised her eyebrow as he spoke, "Kage's a good kid. Whatever he was mixed up in when you met him, he's not tangled up in anymore. He's with us. And I'm sure whatever delinquencies he may have will get sorted out by Chrom or Frederick."

"And if they don't?" Marth asked.

Gaius shrugged, "At worst, he'll end up like me."

He glanced over at Marth and saw her serious glare.

"What? I'm not that bad."

Marth shook her head and closed her eyes again, "Just go to sleep and let me meditate."

She heard Gaius utter a long sigh, "Alright Blue. I'll wake you when your watch is done."

Marth nodded her thanks. She heard the Thief slide away, quiet as a mouse. The only way she knew he had left her completely alone, was because she sensed his presence drift away from her.

What Gaius said lingered in her mind.

Kage a good kid? Marth's frown deepened, Sure… and Banthas can fly.

And chapter! A slower, smaller chapter this time. More of a character and relationship development one than action packed and plot pushing. I don't want to move things along to fast. Short author's note today! Let me know what you all think of this chapter! As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Have a nice day!