A Summoner's Journey

Paralogue 6: Bridal Blessings

Team for this chapter: Marth, Catria, Celica and Frederick

The month passed to June and I was organizing the order's mailbox in the afternoon as usual when another notice flew into the lobby. I picked it up and pulled another summoning postcard out of the envelope. Written on the top was "Bridal Blessings" with Caeda, Cordelia, Lyn and a unrecognized blond girl all wearing wedding dresses.

"This is one strange banner. How do you even fight in that…?" I murmured before hearing footsteps behind me. I turned and saw Alfonse, Sharena and Anna coming into the lobby from the castle's right wing, which contained the mess hall, Anna's office and the library.

"The month passes to June and I hear those wedding bells already. The summoning banner just flew it, didn't it?" Anna nabbed the card out of my hand and stared at it "Hmm… I see! The festival is being held in the World of Mystery. The root and origin of all the other worlds here. Fitting place!"

"Is Embla invading or do we have to fight these brides for a prize like in the Spring Festival?" I asked uneasily and Anna stared at me with a sly smile "Oh no, not this again…"

"Yep! Whoever wins the tournament in this festival gets a ceremonial wedding bouquet, which is rumored to guarantee a perfect and happy marriage!" Anna grinned "This is no stuffy ceremony. It's a winner-take-all battle of the brides!"

"I never knew you were so interested in marriage, Commander Anna!" Sharena clasped her hands together excitingly "Don't forget to invite me to the wedding!"

"Who's the lucky guy anyways?" I asked dryly and Anna balked, throwing the card in my face "Ow!"

"I'm not marrying anybody! Once we win, I'm taking that bouquet to the auction house and selling it off" Anna explained "A guaranteed happy marriage for the rich chap and I- We'll be swimming in cash. It's a win-win!"

Alfonse slapped his forehead "I thought you had a secret boyfriend or something but no. Money is your main and only concern, as usual"

"Oh come now Alfonse. She's your commander. Don't be so condescending" I said and Anna nodded.

"Yeah! Our coffers are running empty anyways, so I have the perfect reason to want to sell the bouquet" Anna grabbed the hilt of her Silver Axe "I'm coming with Lucian to the festival. You two coming?"

"I got training tower quests to lead, so I gotta go. Ursula, Narcian and Gordin! It's time to go!" Alfonse called and the prince left towards the training tower with his three heroes in tow.

"What about you Sharena?" Anna asked.

"I promised to play and "supervise" Nino and Maria today since Sophia's out in the market with Eliwood and Klein to buy food" Sharena replied "I'm sorry Commander Anna, but I promised!"

"Fine. Me, Lucian and four available heroes will go to the festival then" Anna turned to me as Sharena left "You got anyone in mind?"

"I thought you said that only four heroes were allowed in a battle" I said.

"Yes, in a BATTLE. By your command, I will fight or not fight. You can swap me out with one of the heroes if you want" Anna explained "Now who's the four coming with us?"

"I think Marth, Catria, Celica and Frederick are a good team. Good balance of sword, lance, axe and magic" I replied.

"Ooh… Marth and Catria in a festival about brides. Now that's drama if I've seen it" Anna grinned deviously "Especially since Caeda's here too"

I stared at her strangely "What's up with Marth and Catria? I know Marth and Caeda are more or less married, but how does Catria… Oh"

"It's a feeling you're familiar with. Unrequited love" Anna smiled darkly "Oh, the drama's going to be so good. Marth and Catria are coming to see lovely Caeda in a wedding dress and Catria herself has forbidden feelings for our married prince! I love this stuff!"

"First of all, how do you know about my unrequited love history? I only told that to Priscilla" I pointed my finger at Anna "And second of all, you're being cruel to Catria. You should be feeling bad for her, not reveling in the drama this'll create"

But Anna was lost in her own thoughts "I have to make myself some popcorn for this. Go get those four and have them meet us in the lobby in twenty minutes"

I sighed as Anna ran towards the kitchen "What have I gotten myself into…?"

An hour later, we arrived in the World of Mystery. The portal deposited us in the courtyard in front of a church. Two pegasus knights were tending to their mounts outside the hedges and nearby the church's entrance were Bride Caeda and Bride Lyn.

"Good afternoon!" Caeda waved at us "Have you joined us today because you wish to become brides?"

"First of all, there are three guys here. Second, we're here for-" I said, but Anna cut me off.

"We're absolutely here for the contest. Now let's go to it already!" The redhead called and the enemy pegasus knights stirred, grabbing their weapons.

"My, you're an… enthusiastic one. But alright" Lyn snatched up her staff that was leaning on a tree "Me, Caeda and these two Macedon pegasus knights will be in one team, while you five are on the other. Ready?"

"Yep. Let's do this!" Anna drew her Silver Axe, then turned to me as Caeda and Lyn ran to rejoin their allies at the entrance "Okay, so who's sitting out for this battle?"

"I suppose Frederick can rest for the time being. After all, both of you are axe units" I turned to the axe cavalier, who had a stone-solid expression as he gripped his Hammer "That okay with you Fred?"

"I have no objections. Place me in or out of battle by your command" Frederick nodded, then galloped behind me as Anna, Catria, Marth and Celica took their positions. Caeda and Lyn nodded to us and the battle begun.

"Celica, try to bait out Lyn, but avoid Caeda and the lance flier!" I called and the priestess moved a little bit forward, opening her Ragnarok tome. Lyn dashed forward with surprising speed despite her wedding dress and thrust her staff in the air. Bright flashes of light bombarded Celica, leaving her blindsided.

"Ah! I can't see!" Celica staggered around while wiping her eyes furiously "Someone help me!"

Caeda calmly strode forward and began to channel magic through her Blessed Bouquet to smote Celica, but Marth rushed ahead and intercepted her, cutting a powerful swath with his newly-acquired Falchion.

"Onward to victory!" Anna slid under Lyn's powerful flash magic and swiftly cut her down with her axe, dissolving her into a cloud of Hero Feathers. Marth took a hard blast of Caeda's Blessed Bouquet, but Celica took her down shortly after. Catria stabbed the lance flier through the chest, then focused on the sword flier swooping towards her.

"No matter the cost!" Catria rocketed towards the enemy pegasus knight, lance first as a bright silver moon blazed in the air above her. As she charged, dark yellow light surrounded her lance indicating Armored Blow. The two fliers collided in midair with Catria's lance spearing through the sword flier's neck while the sword flier's Killing Edge was inches before her face.

"Sorry it had to come to this" Catria withdrew her lance from the flier's corpse and the knight fell from her mount, disintegrating into feathers along the way. With the courtyard cleared, we moved into the church.

"Jeez, they want the wedding bouquet more than we do!" Lyn huffed in frustration after they reappeared in a flash of magic like usual "We need to rejoin with Charlotte and Cordelia at the banquet hall. We'll be at our strongest as a team"

"I completely agree Lyn. Let's hurry!" Caeda nodded and the two brides snuck off to the back of the church. Meanwhile, we made it into the lobby, where a Khadein fire mage, an Archanean axe warrior and the two brides, Cordelia and Charlotte were waiting.

"Oh, my word! What an absolute scoundrel you are, Mister Breeze!" Charlotte looked like she was teaching Cordelia how to sweet talk a man "See! The secret to wooing a man is to act like a distressed and helpless damsel. They'll come flocking to you right away!"

"But… nobody sees me that way Charlotte. If I act distressed and helpless, they'll know something's wrong" Cordelia protested.

"Pfft, they won't notice a thing. A man's heart instinctively wants to save the princess and be a hero, right?" Charlotte spread her hands "Why are you to skeptical today? Do you not want to get married?"

"Not… really?"

"Oh, look! Here comes a man with a royal bearing!" Charlotte pointed to Marth, who balked in shock "Put your heart into it! Give it all you've got! Dear me! Only the cruelest of fates would force us to fight…"

"Dear… me…" Cordelia sighed and nocked an arrow into her Cupid Arrow "What have I gotten myself into…?"

"You two! Challengers have arrived! Get ready to fight!" Charlotte shouted at the fire mage and axe fighter as she grabbed her weapon on the wall. That weapon was… a giant spoon. With a ribbon tied to the neck and frosting on it.

"Is she serious going to fight us with-" Catria was cut off when Charlotte stabbed her spoon straight into the ground, pulverizing the tiles beneath her "Whoa!"

"We should avoid one on one combat with her if we can" Marth agreed "I would hate to see any of us speared by a giant frost-covered spoon"

"What kind of weapon is that anyways? A lance? An axe?" I asked.

"I believe it's a lance. She stabbed it into the floor after all" Anna turned to me "Considering how strong she is, it would be a good idea to bomb her with Celica or use an axe hero to take her out"

"You're a little too physically frail to take on Charlotte, so I think Frederick should sub in" I said and Anna nodded, swapping places with Frederick in the chapel's lobby.

"So if you four are done talking, can we fight already?" Charlotte called and I nodded.

"Let us begin! Celica, bait the fire mage on the left, but watch out for Cordelia. Marth and Frederick, fight Charlotte and the axe fighter" I commanded "And Catria, stay in the air and swoop down to deliver sneak attacks whenever you can! Go!"

My heroes raced into action. Celica raised a crimson magical shield with Distant Defense to block the red mage's Rauðrblade and then retaliated with her Ragnarok. As the mage crumbled to the ground, Cordelia rushed forward and expertly fired an arrow from her bow. Despite the bow's flimsy-looking design, the Cupid Arrow was surprisingly effective and Celica got a hard shot to the waist, only surviving thanks to Distant Defense.

"I have your back Celica!" Marth jumped in front of the injured priestess, deflecting Cordelia's arrow with his Falchion. While the archer was nocking another arrow, Catria rocketed down and speared Cordelia through the chest with her Killer Lance, taking her out in one blow. The axe fighter brought his Silver Axe down on Catria's unguarded side, but Frederick bashed his Hammer into the warrior's ribs, sending him flying to the wall.

"Till death do us part!" Charlotte dashed towards Frederick with wind billowing under her feet, courtesy of Wind Boost and thrust her large spoon forward. The axe cavalier's armor and triangle advantage helped him survive, but Charlotte's strength was incredible. Her strike cracked Frederick's heavy great knight armor.

"Your last breath approaches!" Frederick's horse kicked Charlotte back with its hooves while the axe cavalier himself brought his Hammer onto Charlotte's head, powered by Luna. The bride crumbled to the ground instantly and faded into feathers.

"Well, that's that" I rubbed the ground with my boot, glad that the heroes we fought fade instantly instead of bleeding on the spot. Frederick would of made battles a LOT messier with his Hammer "Shall we move forward?"

Before we headed deeper into the church, Charlotte and Cordelia reappeared in front of us in a flash of light. Charlotte fell to her knees instantly and held out her hands like a beggar.

"You're so strong! No more, please, milord! Have mercy!" The bride begged and Cordelia huffed in frustration.

"No more, please... No, seriously. No more" Cordelia rubbed her temples "Please. I can't take this nonsense anymore! Retreat!"

Cordelia grabbed Charlotte by the arm and dragged her deeper into the chapel. We followed them and ended up in the main hall, with dozens of long benches and a plush red carpet leading up to the pavilion, where an oversized bouquet of flowers was on display. The flowers seemed to be pulsing with magic, making me feel overwhelmingly warm and content, like I was given the opportunity to spend the entire day with my loved one alone.

"There it is… the legendary wedding bouquet" Anna's mouth was watering "I can just smell the money I'll get once I sell this!"

"Where are Cordelia and Charlotte though? We followed them in, but they're nowhere to be found" I said as I looked around the empty room. The rest of my heroes looked around, but they came up short as well. Suddenly, we heard a door open and Caeda and Lyn strode into the main hall, taking their place in front of the legendary bouquet. Cordelia and Charlotte joined them on the dais, new weapons in hand.

"The festival is coming to a close" Caeda pointed to the sparkling bouquet "It's time to toss the bouquet!"

"Ladies… let's establish some ground rules first" Charlotte swung her spoon in an expansive gesture, making the other brides back away "One: No holding a grudge against the winner. Two: The last one standing gets the bouquet"

"But... I never said I even wanted to get married! I just…" Cordelia protested, but Lyn cut her off.

"To battle!" The Sacean noble shouted and the final brawl commenced. Charlotte charged ahead while Caeda, Lyn and Cordelia stayed close behind to provide backline support. A good strategy for something improvised on the fly. Or did they have time to make one? In any case, I put Frederick in the front to take on Charlotte while Celica stayed behind him to ambush Charlotte with Ragnarok.

"I don't think so!" Caeda employed the same strategy as us and invoked the spell of Blessed Bouquet onto Frederick. A dim blue spotlight shined on the axe cavalier and a wrapped present fell from the sky, knocking Frederick back. Charlotte took advantage of his flinch to get under his guard, denting his armor hard.

"It's over!" Suddenly, a ring of fiery wisps surrounded Charlotte and collided together, erupting in a infernal explosion that blasted the bride to a nearby bench, knocking her out cold. The explosion was tinged with the searing light of Blazing Light, blinding Lyn, Caeda and Cordelia temporarily.

"Take advantage of their blindness! Go!" I called to Marth and Catria and they rushed into action, taking down as many of the brides as they could before their vision returned. Marth defeated Lyn and Catria took down Caeda before Cordelia's blindness wore off and she aimed an arrow at Catria. Marth dashed in to intercept it, but Cordelia already fired her arrow. Catria has just finished killing Caeda and didn't see it coming until it struck hard in her neck.

"Gahh… Gurrghh…" Catria gurgled, clawing at her neck until she slumped forward on her pegasus and both of them faded into light. Marth backstabbed Cordelia, but the image of Catria choking on her own blood mentally scarred me.

"If you excuse me, I need to go outside for some fresh air" I swallowed, my face turning green "Congrats on winning the bouquet Anna"

Marth joined me as I made my way out of the chapel. Perhaps the bouquet's magic was influencing me, but I felt a sudden affection for Catria. Which was strange because I rarely talked to the pegasus knight one on one. But seeing Catria die in such a brutal way, even if she wasn't gone forever, was disturbing.

"I know how you feel Lucian. I've seen deaths all too similar to that back in my world" Marth put a hand on my shoulder "Feel free to cry on my shoulder if you need to. Deaths like that can't be taken lightly, even if it isn't permanent here"

"Now that we're alone Marth, I wanted to ask you something" I said as I pushed the prince's hand gently off my shoulder "Do you know that Catria has unrequited feelings for you?"

"I have been noticing it as of late" Marth admitted "The way she forlornly gazes at me during dinner, when she goes out of her way to guard me during battle… At first, I thought it was her knightly devotion to me, despite serving Princess Minerva. Only recently did I realize she has feelings for me"

"How do you feel about it?"

"Pity. I believe Catria knows I'm already betrothed to Caeda, so she's trying to be more subtle with her love as to not make it obvious. She's trying to bury her forbidden feelings" Marth sighed, resting a hand on his heart "I can't directly confront her about this Lucian. I would break her heart"

"What are you suggesting to help her?"

"She needs to put aside her feelings for me by finding love with another man. That's how she'll free herself from her own chains" Marth replied.

"Where are you getting all this advice from?" I marvelled.

"I talked with Cordelia about it not too long ago. She has a similar problem with Chrom" The prince smiled wanly, as if exasperated to be involved with two love problems "Caeda loves reading romantic novels, so I often hear her talking about them with me. I took the advice I learned from Caeda's books and passed them to Cordelia and now you. I believe you can help Catria"

"Why me?"

"You're a charismatic and smart leader, yet you're down to earth, speaking with your troops on a daily basis. It's inspiring" Marth smiled as bright as the sun above us "My bodyguard and best friend, Kris is just like you. His charisma allowed him to recruit even former enemies like his wife, Katarina. See where I'm getting at?"

"Oh, I get it. You think I have the best chance of resolving Catria's problem because I'm charismatic like Kris. People find me easy to talk to" I clasped my hands "Alright, I'll speak to Catria tonight"

"Good luck and thank you for doing it in my stead" The prince nodded.

"Thank you for talking with me Marth. I needed to clear my head after that… scene" I took a deep breath and steeled myself "Thank the gods heroes fade when they die instead of bleeding out on the floor"

"It would put a damper on the festival's mood" Marth agreed "Huh? They didn't even give the bouquet to Anna yet"

"Took you awhile to get back Lucian! We've been waiting for ages!" Anna wagged her finger at me "You know I'm not THAT greedy. I want you to bear witness to my claiming of the legendary bouquet!"

"Uhh… sure?" I shrugged "Go ahead and claim it"

Caeda did the honors and carefully picked the legendary bouquet from its vase and handed it to Anna. She stared at it like she was staring at a million dollars. If the bouquet really guaranteed a happy marriage, it may as well be a million dollars.

"The moment I've been waiting for! The prize is all mine! Ha!" Anna cheered, laughing "I can just smell the money I'll be getting for this!"

"About that… the bouquet's blessing goes to today's victor and no one else" Cordelia watched Anna's expression gradually turn from joy to shock to horror "That's you, Anna. You're the one who earned it"

"Are you kidding me? I don't plan on getting married anytime soon…" Anna's knuckles turned white on the bouquet's stems, like she was about to smash it. Celica politely took the bouquet from Anna before she could wreck the flowers. Meanwhile, all four brides approached me and Marth.

"The festival may be over, but if you propose it, we shall partner with you in battle, summoner of Askr" Caeda began, which made me wonder how these people knew of Askr and that I was a summoner "You'll know where to look to find us"

"But if you do, at least let us get changed first. Is that too much to ask?" Lyn gazed at her wedding dress and Candlelight staff in disgust "How did we even fight in this?"

"They may not look like it, but these outfits serve as fine battle dresses. We'll be ready" Cordelia reassured her.

"Do you think a man would find this outfit delightful? What do you think, summoner?" Charlotte asked me.

"It looks great on you. Although, I think most people will find it odd that you're wearing a wedding dress on your first date" I replied and Charlotte gasped, fretting on her appearance with Lyn and Cordelia.

"I hope we'll cross paths again" Caeda nodded to Marth, who blushed "May you be blessed with love and joy"

"Thank you. Let's go Anna!" I called, but the axe fighter didn't move. Her hands were shaking with rage and they looked like she was still holding the bouquet, even after Celica took it "Uh oh"

"Milady Anna, if you don't mind…" Frederick hoisted Anna onto his horse and quickly bolted out of the chapel, saving us from an infernal outburst from the commander. We said our goodbyes to the brides, hopped through the portal and returned back to Askr.

Lucian and Catria's C support:

During dinner, I saw Catria leave early and head off towards the gardens. Marth nodded to me and I quickly wrapped up the rest of my food and followed her out, ready for the conversation Marth goaded me to initiate. The pegasus knight was sitting on a bench, wringing her hands while she gazed at the full moon passing the sky.

"Catria, do you have a moment?" I asked as I sat down next to the Archanean pegasus knight, marvelling at her slim, but athletic body and short blue hair.

"Is this about what happened in the bride battle? Forgive me Lucian. I wasn't paying enough attention" Catria hung her head in shame "Punish me in any way you like for my failure"

"Raise your head Catria. I didn't come here to talk about that" I said and the pegasus knight stared at me in confusion "Marth swiftly took down Cordelia after you were shot down and we still won the battle. There is nothing to be ashamed of"

"If you didn't come to talk to me about that, then what is it?"

"Marth is aware of… you know"

Catria sighed, slapping her forehead "I guess I was too obvious, huh? Believe me Lucian. I tried to suppress it. I tried all I can to act like a normal soldier around Prince Marth. But he still sees through me regardless"

"He says that he feels pity that you're chained by your feelings like this. He wanted me to come and talk to you about it because I'm similar to another guy from your world. Kris, was it?" I put my hand on Catria's shoulder just like Marth did and she smiled lightly at the gesture.

"I can see the resemblance. Although Kris is leagues more dense than you are" Catria smiled fondly at the memory "He couldn't even tell I was in love with Marth even when I threw the clues at his face"

I laughed "But still, he comforted you about this situation, right? Helped you get the weight off your chest?"

"He did. We talked often together and developed a strong friendship. Slowly, I didn't feel like I was trapped under the shadow of Prince Marth as much" Catria slumped "Then Kris married Katarina at the end of the war"

"How does that make a differen- Oh" I nodded "You began to fall in love with Kris and that pushed aside your feelings for Marth. Then that avenue was shut off when Kris married Katarina"

"I don't hold any contempt for Katarina. She and Kris make a cute couple" Catria sighed "I just wish that my heart wasn't getting twisted all over the place all the time…"

"If I could help you in any way, I'd be happy to. You're a good person Catria" I smiled at Catria's surprised expression "You're dutiful, reliable and relaxing to talk to. You're also a pretty sight for any kind of eyes, sore or not"

Catria blushed "Did Charlotte teach you how to sweet talk a woman? Because that seems a little excessive for our first real conversation together"

"Ah… sorry about that"

"That's alright. You're just trying to ease my eternally aching heart, like Kris has done for me before" The pegasus knight smiled "I appreciate the gesture. Perhaps we can talk again sometime? I feel that me and you can make good friends"

"I'd like that. Come to me whenever you'd like" I nodded "I'll have to be free though first"

Catria laughed "Naturally. I'm sorry we can't talk more today. I'm just tired from all the fighting we had to do"

"Of course. Go get some rest if you need it" I took Catria's hand and helped her off the bench, like a gentleman should "Have a good sleep Catria"

"You as well Lucian. Good luck with your summoning" The pegasus knight gave me one last smile before reentering the castle and heading towards the barracks. While the entire conversation made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, I wondered how Saria would feel if I started a real relationship with another hero. We rarely saw each other because of the Voting Gauntlets, but I felt we had something forming between us. Hopefully, Saria felt the same way that I did so both of us can move away and spend time with the heroes we saw every day.

"Guess I'll talk to her about it when the next Voting Gauntlet comes" I shrugged and headed back into the castle "It's been a while since the last Voting Gauntlet hasn't it…?"

Nothing much except for fighting in wedding dresses, resolving love triangles and beginning support conversations. Coming up next is the Camus Grand Hero Battle (I'll be on a vacation for the next three weeks, so it'll be a while before that comes) If you want to be notified of when a new chapter comes out, favorite and follow the story! If you want to give me constructive criticism or praise, leave a review! Until next time summoners!