AUTHOR'S NOTES: A while ago I mentioned that I had at least one pairing confirmed, and after this chapter, I can't go back and change it, because there's a rather stark bit that happens which would prevent me from doing so. Chel might be bound to Valla for the time being, but this is not by any means the last we will see of her. She's also the harbinger of a certain mechanic that got a makeover in this story. But, no spoilers from me yet! In the meantime, Corrin's army grows as they hunt for a place to hide. "Revelations" is a very apt title for the name of this game in this story, because there are a lot of things that get revealed very soon or even in this chapter.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 38: Servants in Shadow

Sing with me a song of Prisoners and Dread…

Chel stood near the mouth of the canyon. "I take it you've all fought these bastards before, yeah?" she called over her shoulders.

"Aye," Zenzi nodded, "we need to hold the line against them."

"No," Chel asserted, pulling out a bow and nocking an arrow, "I'll guard the mouth of the canyon. Anything that tries to fly over will get shot down, and anything trying to get through will have to go through me, my bow, and my blades. The rest of you, get moving! If I can dispatch these invaders I'll catch up to you."

None of them wished to argue with Chel, and so they made their way through the maze-like canyons, trying both to stay alert and to not get lost. Roku and Zenzi led the main charge, venturing down the paths to ensure the safety of their liege, although a few had some unintended effects that caught them off-guard

"Kyaa!" Zenzi squealed as she ran past a wall and suddenly found herself warped back at Corrin's side. "There are traps down some of these paths."

"Not traps, Roku corrected her after racing in and testing the same tunnel Zenzi had tried going through, "warp sigils. Just... stay wary, Zenzi."

"Should we have left Marzichel back there all by herself?" Felicia looked concerned, although dispatched an enemy with her dagger so nonchalantly that one would almost think she was built for combat, "She's pretty vastly outnumbered."

"I'm having second thoughts, especially with how few soldiers we've run into thus far," Corrin pointed out, "but maybe she knows something we don't know?"

"Whoaa!" Felicia gasped, "Enemies ahead!"

Sure enough, as they rounded the corner, at least one or two dozen flame-cloaked soldiers awaited them, and immediately brandished their weapons upon noticing the intruders. Felicia wasted no time in starting the show by knifing one of them with surprising dexterity. Roku and Zenzi used their speed to their advantage, rushing in and handling the frontal assault while Corrin handled any that got past their defenses. The legion of enemies seemed to keep growing, using the shadows to their advantage, and nearly overwhelming the little group. The canyon maze grew larger, and at one point, they even found an abandoned fortress to hole themselves up in as they used the structure as a vantage point against the pursuing enemies. Luckily for them, they received aid a few moments later, as arrows began peppering the enemies. Zenzi glanced up towards the rims of the canyon and saw that Chel had returned.

"How much trouble did you guys get into?" she scowled, firing a trio of arrows into three separate enemies as she made her graceful landing, "they must really know you're here."

"Then it looks like we need to find a different place to lay low," Felicia pointed out the obvious, "Marzichel, do you know of anyone else here?"

"I know of a few people, but not many that aren't already from Valla," Chel explained, "I did see a couple of odd Nohrian figures in this canyon though, and that's part of why I'm here. If they've run into the same mess you all have, they're going to need help."

"By any chance…" Felicia piped up again, "did you see them? Do you know what they look like?"

"There was a man in black riding upon an armored horse," Chel began, "and another man dressed similarly to you, except with a suit instead of your frilly skirts. Both of them looked as lost as you, actually."

"So why did you pursue us instead?" Azura asked, "why not try to save them first?"

"I…" Chel stammered, glancing towards Azura and then away from her again, "I felt compelled to come for you first. I may have made a mistake…"

"Th-that sounds to me like Jakob and Gunter…" Felicia raised her eyebrows, "but Jakob said that Gunter had died after he fell…"

"There's one way to find out," Chel warned, "if we can fight our way through whatever else lurks in the shadows ahead, we might be able to rescue them."

"So…" Corrin turned to Felicia as they navigated the treacherous maze, "I take it you know both Jakob and Gunter, whoever they may be?"

"O-of course!" Felicia exclaimed, "they were Kamui's retainers. I'm one of them too, actually! I came this way after hearing that something had happened to Kamui's mother, and was originally going to offer condolences, but then the war broke out and, well… you know the rest."

"Then they're important, and we need to save them," Corrin asserted, "let's move out. Roku; Zenzi; you two scout ahead. Azura will stay between us, while Felicia and I will make sure nothing comes up from behind. Chel, did you dispatch all of the enemies at the canyon's mouth before you joined us?"

"I took out as many as I could see," she indicated, "although I'm not sure how many remain. I am pretty sure that those men you're looking for are up ahead though. Let's move out."

They had dispatched the enemies around the fortress, and knew that they couldn't just linger here, and so the six of them pressed forward into the shadows using Corrins' formations, where they made good progress. Eventually they came to a small clearing where true to Marzichel's word, a man dressed as a butler was holed up in a vantage point of a fortress, and fending off invaders trying to eviscerate him.

"That's Jakob," Felicia nodded, "L-let's help him out!"

Corrin, Roku, and Zenzi didn't need to even be told twice. Within less than a minute, the shadowy soldiers were dead, and it was only then that Jakob came down.

"Jakob!" Felicia was the first to speak, "what in oblivion are you doing out here?"

"Felicia!" Jakob retorted, "I suppose I could ask you the same thing. While you were off dillydallying, our lady Kamui ran off to the Bottomless Canyon. I was on my way to Hoshido when I heard of her mother's death, but was utterly baffled when she came at me before taking a sharp left and diving right off the bridge. So, I did what any other dutiful servant would do and pursued her. She was certainly not herself."

"Hold it," Corrin interrupted him, "Kamui's here?"

"Were she not here, I would not be here either," Jakob nodded, before realizing who he was speaking to. "You there… are you familiar with her?"

"I'm her brother," Corrin answered, "twin brother, actually. So you're telling me Kamui's here and that you came all this way just to find her?"

"I would be a subpar servant were I to do anything less," Jakob asserted, "though that begs the question of how Felicia here came to fall into your hands."

"I actually came to find Kamui," Felicia retorted, "and apparently got here before you."

"Well…" Jakob muttered, "How irksome."

"Hey," Chel interrupted all three of them, "I hate to interrupt this little family reunion and all, but can we get moving? I mean, if you would all rather stay here, I can let you guys do your own thing, but if you'd rather get back, I can help you there."

"In what ways?" Azura asked as the others quieted down and got moving again.

"My friends and I know of you," Chel replied, "and know of Corrin, Kamui, and the others. Don't worry about us though; our goal is to keep you lot safe. That's why I need you to listen to me so we can get you all out of here."

"I would listen to her," Zenzi agreed, "it doesn't' seem like we have much choice, and without her we've just been wandering circles around the maze."

"I concur," Corrin sighed, "this place is clearly not as safe as we had originally hoped."

Chel zigzagged through the winding canyon and soon they came across Gunter. Rather than fighting off soldiers, however, he looked more confused as if he was lost.

"Hold it!" Jakob gasped, "Do my eyes deceive me, or is this truly the same Gunter that we watched plunge to his death in the Bottomless Canyon?"

"Clearly if you plunged down the canyon and survived, odds are he could do the same." Roku quipped. "The canyon leads to Valla, as we all now know."

"Jakob!" Gunter exclaimed, "I see you're still alive and kicking. What happened to lady Kamui?"

"I was hoping you would be able to tell me," Jakob riposted, "I'm surprised you're not dead, old man. Can you give me back the time I spent grieving over your demise?"

"Good to know you're still the same asshole you've always been, Jakob" Gunter retorted, "It wouldn't hurt you to be kinder, but I digress. Why are you all here?"

"I came to find our lady Kamui, who came here clearly out of her mind." Jakob explained.

"I followed the others," Felicia added. "And we've got Kamui's twin brother."

"I brought them to Valla in the first place," Azura clarified.

"And I helped lead them thus far," Chel added as well.

"And who are you?" Gunter turned to Chel, "I remember the Nohrian princess Azura, but you… you bear a slight resemblance to her, although do not look familiar."

"I'm an agent of Valla," Chel explained, "my friends and I were here trying to find the Dawn and Dusk Dragons, although we were separated, and I fear many of them are trapped here now."

"We can help you find them," Corrin offered. "It's the least we can do to repay your kindness in helping all of us out."

"No," Chel shook her head, "your duties lie elsewhere. My friends and I will stay vigilant here to try and curb Valla's influence on Ferevs."

"So you're not coming with us then?" Azura turned to her.

"I… can't." Chel sighed, "I need to find my friends on my own, rather than distract the rest of you from your main goal."

She paused at the mouth of the canyon, and this opening looked different. Marzichel had indeed led them to safety.

"Kamui is not far now," she warned, "but sadly, this is where I must part ways."

"How do you know?" Corrin asked, "And why do you have to leave? If your goal was to find the Dawn and Dusk Dragons, why leave when you're so close to getting them together."

"It's… Chel stammered, "It's complicated. It's not a curse or anything like the one surrounding Valla; you just need to trust me on this, okay? I… I got in way over my head and I just need some time to sort out my thoughts. Don't come looking for me though—I'm going to make sure that no reinforcements try to sneak through the canyon and ambush you as you pursue Kamui."

Corrin paused, almost seeming like he was about to question the story, but decided against it. Chel had kept them safe so far, and so he figured that she had some really good reasons why she could not stay with them.

"We should get moving," Azura suggested, before turning to Chel." but before we go… I just wanted to thank you, Marzichel. I know you're telling us the truth—and I know what it's like to have to hold all types of secrets in."

"Do you realize who I am?" she asked, for a second appearing hopeful.

"If I had to guess, I would say you were a fellow Vallite that escaped the curse," Azura admitted, "but other than that I cannot say I recognize you. I can tell that your heart is pure and so are your intentions, however. I wish you safety and fortune in your endeavours, whatever they may be."

"Thank you…" Chel sighed, and to Azura's surprise, she threw herself around her for a moment before pulling back.

"I… apologize. I got a little ahead of myself." she stared at the ground.

"It is nothing to stress about," Azura smiled, putting her hands on Marzichel's cheeks. "Stay strong. Whoever your friends are, they need you more than ever now."

Corrin called out for Azura, and Chel turned to her, nodding before taking off in the opposite direction. Azura rejoined her comrades, and Chel rounded a few corners before leaning back against a wall and slumping dejectedly into a sitting position, where she let out a groan that might have been loud enough to draw the attention of Corrin and the others had they not rapidly continued moving away from her location.

"They always called me the dreamer," she ruminated, "and the delusional one. Perhaps some of my fantasies are crazy, but who cares? A girl can dream, can't she? Still… shit. This is crazier than I thought, and I thought I was going to die. Corrin's as good-looking as I remember, and that Jakob fellow wasn't hard on the eyes… a shame he's an ass. Still… maybe Corrin could calm him down and… no. Stay focused. I can't be Nina in front of them yet. I can't come out and tell them who I am when there's still so much mistrust among everyone we need together. They can't know who I am; they can't know whose blood runs through my veins. If they knew who my parents were, there's a chance that the two would never even get together, and then where the hell does that leave me? Lost; lost in the plane of nonexistence. It hurt to say goodbye, mother… but more than anything, it was heartbreaking to feel your tender embrace and then be forced to say goodbye a second time…"

"I can't believe it…" Chel gasped as she returned to reality, her breathing slightly frenzied as if she had just run a race, "We made it…"

A gentle stream of tears flowed down the sides of her face. "Mother... you're still alive..."

AFTERTHOUGHTS: As her little rumination has indicated, Marzichel is in fact Nina (and her alias is a corruption of "marzyciel", which literally just means "dreamer"). A total of 25 child characters exist in this world at this point in time, and each of them has a different origin story as to how and why they are here. There's still a bit of reality-defying here, and while it's not time-warp-realms, it's also not quite the twist Awakening had, nor is Chel/Nina going to be the next Lucina or anything. No, she has a very special purpose in Valla. On that same note, Nina's reveal means that the pairing in question that is now officially "confirmed" is Niles/Azura, so I guess to those that hate it... so sorry mans? I have my reasons, part of which was based on Nina's appearance (also important for later) and for other reasons taht will be revealed in time.

CHARACTERS RECRUITED:

Jakob: A multitalented Nohrian butler who serves Kamui at home and on the battlefield. While he took a vow of loyalty towards Kamui and is nothing but polite and professional towards her, everyone else is fair game for his provocative and sarcastic quips and remarks. He makes a mean cup of coffee and has an uncanny talent for dealing cards-and winning when he plays them. Not a morning person. Born on 3 December (Age 24)
Class: Butler

Gunter: A Nohrian knight of middling birth who reached his rank on talent and discipline. He served as Kamui's retainer, and helped shape her into the seasoned warrior she is today. He is exceedingly hard on himself and others, which has tempered them for the best. He is the one responsible for Reina's facial scars, and she for his. Despite this, both see the other as a worthy enemy. Has no sense of humor. Born on 13 June (Age 52)
Class: Great Knight