AN: Let me start by saying that I really appreciate your guys' understanding. I did feel awful about making you guys wait so long, and I know I may have lost a few readers of this story because of the length of the break, but it does make me feel a whole lot better to see people encouraging me instead of being mad about it. That being said, I was very surprised to see this getting over 1k views in less than 24 hours after posting it. I was expecting a lot less than that, to be honest. So, to all of those new here, I bid you welcome! I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it. I would say you came in at a good time, since chapters will be posted a bit more frequently (not saying how often just because I don't want people holding that as a standard).
With Christmas around the corner also means I'm getting some time off of work. That'll help when it comes time to work on this story some more and to just relax for a while and not worry about anything else. I'm crossing my fingers so that I can get another chapter out sometime next week.
As I said before, here's the second half of what I'd been working on. I was originally going to post it later this week, but finished it yesterday. The only reason it didn't go out earlier is because I went over it to make sure everything seemed right. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some missing words here and there, though. Those keep waiting away from me. Even when I reread my own works, my brain fills those in automatically.
Enough about that. This chapter is long. 12k long after adding some stuff here and there. I didn't feel like cutting it again, so I'm just going to post the whole thing now so that I can move on to the next chapter, which is the one everyone's been waiting for. Wedding!
Anyways, let me know what you think by leaving a review on here. Also, if you really liked the story, remember to follow and/or favorite. You don't have to, but I do like getting those notifications on my phone when someone does. Enjoy~
Chapter 25: The story of many (part 2)
Lon'qu accepted Legault's deal of being a third in the dancing lesson in exchange for more tea leaves, but little did he know that he would be getting it from Panne and then be forced to dance with her. It all would've been fine if he hadn't noticed Legault practically laughing at them every time he turned the thief looking their way.
It mattered little now. Lon'qu got what he wanted. There was no need for him to go through the same humiliation again until Robin and Lyn's wedding. For now all he wanted to do was to let out his frustration. And what better way to do so than to go to the sparring yard and get some training done? Sword training had always been his way of clearing his mind. Usually for this he would get his own sword and swing freely, but at that moment he was not carrying it with him. A practice sword would have to suffice for now.
The area that had been set up for the members of the army to practice in was at one of the edges of the campsite. Not many would go there unless they wanted to do some work, which meant that the area saw few faces coming and going throughout the day, seeing as how the war was over. Lon'qu was a regular. Every morning and evening, without fail, he would show up to continue practicing, trying to perfect his own technique. He knew that there was always room for improvement, which he could only close up by training more rigorously.
At times, Chrom would be there practicing with Lyn, who, to Lon'qu's amazement, had the most precise technique he had ever seen. He felt jealous of the woman. They were close in age, and yet, there was a noticeable gap in their skill. One of the reasons he wanted to get his hands on more tea was because he wanted to ask Lyn to teach him whatever she could. But he'd gotten the tea too late. Lyn hadn't been to practice for days as she was preparing for her wedding. There was no nothing he could do about that but wait. He would be ready to face her by the time she returned. Or so he told himself.
Entering the area, he could see that the main section of the sparring grounds was in use. At the center of it where two fierce competitors. On one side stood Raimi, who Lon'qu knew enough about. The woman had made a name for herself by beating most every other lancer in Ferox and from her many accomplishments in battles throughout the years. It was rare to see the woman struggle in a fight, despite knowing that she had lost to the Shepherds in the days leading to the tournament of khans. Yet, that was the case that afternoon as she fought against one of the Ostian knights.
"Lon'qu, over here!"
The raven's focus wavered as he turned in the direction his name was being called. Across the fight, he spotted Chrom, who was waving him over. From the looks of the prince, he'd been training on his own for a while, as it was to be expected. The man was one Lon'qu admired the most out of the Shepherds—one of the only ones that he still had a hard time beating in one-to-one combat. Slowly, the myrmidon made his way around the fight towards the other man, making sure not to lose sight of any movement of the two lancers. Only then did he notice that Chrom was not standing by himself. Next to the prince stood Basilio, who, like Lon'qu, seemed to be hypnotized by the scene before him.
"I always prefered the sword over the lance, but I have to say I feel a little inspired to use a lance now," Chrom said as Lon'qu reached his side. Though he could see where Chrom was coming from, Lon'qu didn't feel the same way. The way of the sword was all he'd known his entire life. Going out to learn a new weapon would only serve as a distraction from his ultimate goal.
Raimi seemed to be reaching her limit, but not losing her stride, despite the heavy armor weighing her down. Her opponent seemed more focused, but equally tired. Both of them clashed over and over again in a sort of combat that would only be seen from two experts in their field. It was impossible to say that one style of combat was superior over the other with both contestants landing many hits on one another, though never losing their footing.
In the end it was all about endurance. After landing one more hit, Raimi was taken down by her opponent with a swift hit from his lance to her legs. Now victorious, he took the chance to take a knee and relax while Raimi breath heavily while laying down. From the corner of his eye, Lon'qu noticed a girl with pink, braided hair approach the Ostian knight, a cup in her hand.
"You did splendidly as always, dear," said Lady Serra as she offered the cup to the knight, who seemed surprised by her sudden appearance. Either way, he still accepted the drink before downing all its contents in one go. When he began coughing, the pinkette tried hit the knight on the back to no avail, for his armor would absorb most of her light hits. "Slow down, dear. There is water of plenty here. But wow! What a splendid fight that was! It's been quite some time since I last saw you push yourself so much during training."
"I feel rusty still. I may be getting too old," Lord Oswin said as he slowly picked himself up, his breathing still ragged. Lon'qu didn't put any weight on the statement. Basilio was older than the knight and was still able to beat all who he fought against. The knight went on to offer his hand to the fallen Raimi, who stared at him in return. "It was a good fight, Dame Raimi. I wasn't sure I would be able to come out of it victorious. I can only attribute my victory to the weather, knowing that you come from the cold north."
"Bah! A victory is a victory, and this time it's yours, milord," she said as she accepted his hand and was quickly pulled to her feet, armor and all. "In battle no one is going to go easy on you for not taking well to the weather. But knowing this, I hope we can spar again in Ferox some day, Lord Oswin."
"Perhaps we can make that happen," Basilio interjected as he approached the two fighters with a long stride. The mountain of a man easily caught everyone's attention, especially Lon'qu's, who had to wonder what the khan had in mind. Basilio rarely stood idle and watched, even when people trained. He had to been taken by the fight for something like that to happen. "The Tournament of Khans is the best place to display skills such as these. There will be not one in Arena Ferox that won't cheer for something like this, I tell you!"
"Won't the next tournament take place in a year's time?" Chrom asked as he too approached the center of the sparring grounds, Lon'qu following suit. The prince wasn't entirely correct. The tournament could be short of a year's time the soonest, but there had been times in the past when the tournament was held off for a year or two. Still, the question was a valid one. Was Basilio insinuating that he wanted the Ostian Knight to be one of his fighters for the tournament if not his own champion?
"A year is enough time to prepare!" Basilio responded in earnest. "What do you say, Lord Oswin? It'll give you and your lady wife a chance to visit Ferox. I'll even personally make sure you get to see the best sight."
"Oh! What a wonderful idea!" Serra cried in joy, turning to her husband. "Don't you think so too, Oswin? Imagine the places we could see! Oh, how wonderful it would be!"
"I'm afraid I must decline." Serra turned to look at her husband in disbelief, as if the small dream she had just created was harshly shattered in front of her. In Lon'qu's opinion, she was being overly dramatic.
"Wait a moment, dear husband!" She placed a hand on the man's shoulder, the knight turning to look at her in turn. "Reconsider! One of the biggest figures of a foreign land has invited us himself! As representatives of Ostia, we can't just—"
"An offer that humbles me so, but I'm afraid that the answer is still no." The ironclad turned to look at Basilio, making a small bow to the man before going on to explain his reasoning. "Marquess Hector called his people to arms when it was clear that Lord Mark was in the middle of a war. We came here to help an old ally. And as the war is won, I believe we will be returning to Ostia sooner rather than later. We can not afford to stay any longer than we must. I hope you understand, Khan Basilio."
Frankly, the conversation was turning dull for Lon'qu. It seemed that the group would be talking more about politics than they would be discussing fighting. To him, that was not something that he cared to hear about. Without anyone noticing, perhaps because he never spoke up, the myrmidon snuck away to the other side of the area to get a hold of a practice sword.
He would go on to unleash a hail of hits on a poor, unsuspecting training dummy, which wobbled left and right for every hit that the raven landed. But hitting a dummy over and over again using the same technique would not yield improvement. For this, he mimicked the styles he'd seen the other Shepherds use since he'd joined them. It wasn't enough to mimic those of the other swordsmen in the group, like Lyn and Chrom. Lon'qu tried to land at least a few hits mimicking Stahl, Frederick, Isadora, and Sully. He even tried some of the tactician's moves, hoping to see if any movement would either ring true to him or simply inspire him to modify his style.
An hour went by, and then another. Finally, drenched in sweat, Lon'qu had enough. All his previous frustration from the "dance lesson" had vanished, leaving him tired and craving a warm meal. As luck would have it, it was time for supper to be served, guessing by the smell coming from the direction of the mess tent. With all that happened earlier that day, he'd forgotten to get his own meal earlier and would now be paying for that in full.
Dropping the sword off, he noticed that he was standing along in the training grounds. He'd been so focused on his task that he failed to notice the others leaving at some point during his training. It mattered not to him. He wasn't there to be distracted by the company of others anyway.
The mess tent was as busy as one would expect, with many of the Shepherds being present for the meal, though sitting spread out on the many tables along with the Feroxi and Ostian soldiers. It was then that he bumped onto one of said Shepherds, the man spilling some mead on the ground in turn.
"Woah! Sorry, Lon'qu," said the green armored knight as he turned from the ground to the swordsman, a few mugs mead on each hand. "I got distracted looking for the others and didn't notice you come in. The place got packed quickly!" Lon'qu said nothing, only staring at the man dismissively. "Hey, but now that you are here, how about sitting with us? We got a small group together and have one more spot, if you want it."
"There is no need," Lon'qu responded, his voice cold as it always seemed to be. "I am looking for Lyn and Robin."
"Oh! Well then, I won't take any more of your time," said Stahl, sporting a wide smile in return. He'd only taken one step towards his table when he turned back, remembering something. "I saw them eating somewhere in the back. They were talking with a couple of people, but I'm sure you can squeeze in there if you hurry."
Lon'qu looked at the cavalier for a second, as if studying him before he simply nodded and headed in the direction he'd been pointed towards. As for Stahl, he let out a content sigh. For quite some time he'd tried to get some words out of the swordsman, but it always felt like his words fell on deaf ears. Not that he minded. Stahl knew better from the get go that talking with Lon'qu would be more of a one sided conversation, so getting only a few words out of him was a win in his book. Remembering what he was supposed to be doing, he turned around and headed for the table where the people he'd been talking to before were still seated.
"...it pertains to social norms that one should attend to an event they've been invited to," came the voice of Miriel from his right as he took the open spot on the bench next to her. He was swift in handing out the drinks he'd been carrying to his other comrades, who acknowledged it with a nod his way, as they were still holding the same heated conversation they were before he left. "To my understanding, you were invited by the bride personally. While declining the invitation was a viable option at the time the invitation was given, you choose to not do so, hence why the lack of your presence would be disrespectful."
"Oh, here we go again with this." Sully all but rolled her eyes as she leaned forward on the table to take a closer look at the other redhead sitting across from her. It was odd how those two got so close and comfortable talking with one another in such a short time, despite how harsh Sully's words could often be. Stahl trained with Sully for years and not once did he hear her talk of or even mention Miriel. It was not like he minded. Sully didn't have many female friends back then to begin with. Now she would talk with Miriel, Sumia, and Isadora quite often. He would never let the red-armored woman know, but it made him happy to see that, for reasons he didn't know himself. "Social norms? What a pile of horse dung. Ya know there has to be more to it than that! I bet they're tryin' to get back at me for everything that happened, somehow."
"Still talking about Robin here?" Stahl asked, only to confirm to himself. Ever since Robin and Lyn had announced their engagement and imminent wedding—something he'd congratulated the tactician about almost every single day since—it seemed that not a day could go by without the topic coming up on their table. All the Shepherds were invited to come, to which Sully hadn't responded in kind. "Aren't you thinking too much about it? Why not go with it? There will be good food, drink, and even music!"
"Ya kiddin' me? After callin' him a traitor in front of everyone, the guy still wants me to see him get hitched. No matter which way ya look at it, it smells fishy to me." The redhead sat back, clearly frustrated that no one would see it her way. She took the mug in front of her in her hand and drank about half of its contents. Letting out a satisfied breath when she set it back down, she continued. "That or he's lost his mind. Either way, I'm not gonna be there."
"The Vaike says you should come too! Go, get some food, drink, and whatnot for free! Sounds like a great deal to pass up," the large man said as he grinned at Sully.
"Ya too now, Vaike? I thought ya couldn't stand the guy." She wasn't wrong. Ever since Sthal and Miriel caught up with the Shepherds, Vaike and Sully had both spoken ill of Robin whenever he wasn't nearby. The brunette had caught them even questioning the orders they'd received on a few occasions, though they carried them out nonetheless. That would have to do more with Chrom later reprimanding them rather than them knowing that their tactician's strategy had kept them alive.
"The guy's given us no reason to question his allegiance," Vaike said as he scratched the back of his head. It almost seemed as if he was surprised by the idea of him accepting Robin into the fold. It was true, too. It didn't happen often, but Stahl had seen Vaike and Robin talking normally together, with the larger man grinning or even laughing at times. "He's a good guy, he really is! And you know his story too. Kinda makes The Vike feel bad for everythin'...you know? He lost just as much in the war as we did, but he still helped us. I can't blame 'im for something he didn't do, even if he is Plegian."
"Not to mention he is the Tactician Mark," Stahl added when he noticed the sullen atmosphere that took over the table. "No matter which way you look at it, he's one of the good guys! He left Plegia in self exile to protect someone he didn't even know, and fought with us for peace when the Exalt was taken. How can a guy like that be evil?"
"Yes, I'm inclined to agree with this conclusion too." The bespectacled woman nodded as she adjusted her glasses. "Though, it is highly likely that there was once a time that was not true. As Canas has told me, to be able to use dark magic one must accept a darkness within them and learn to control it. Those that accept the darkness but can't learn to control it will soon find themselves in a comatose state or face death by their own doing."
"Are you saying that Robin could be evil because he is a dark mage?" Asking that left a bad taste in Stahl's mouth. It'd been something he'd thought about in the past, but not knowing anything about magic other than what he'd read in stories or told by magic users like Miriel and Ricken, he didn't put much thought into dark magic. That was not to mention that Robin could use blood magic, something which had been forbidden in Ylisse for much longer than dark magic had.
"The evidence shows otherwise, but the theory is still there. I, as a woman of science, can't dismiss this. However, if asked for my personal, biased opinion, I would deny any possibility."
"Can I say something?"
Stahl was startled enough by the voice to jump to his feet. He swore the voice had been directly behind him. He felt a chill go down his spine as the voice echoed in his head. When he turned, he noticed a suit of armor had taken his place. It took him a while to notice the face that belonged to the man in the suit. "Kellam? When did you get here?"
"I was sitting here before you left to get some drinks...remember?" Stahl couldn't, and judging from the faces of the others sitting there, no one had, not even Miriel, who looked intrigued at the man in the massive iron suit. "You were even sitting on me!"
That explains why I didn't feel so comfortable, Stahl thought as he rubbed his neck in embarrassment.
"Well? Out with it! What'ya got to say then?" Sully demanded after she was finally able to recover from the shock of the sudden appearance of what many in the army had dubbed as the "Ghost Armor Suit".
"Well… Em...yes. You see, I think the problem isn't so much Robin, who has clearly forgiven you for...all that. I think the problem is that you don't know what to think anymore," said Kellam, his voice wavering at the glare he received from the woman sitting across the table. Sully seemed like she was about to punch the guy when he quickly went on to explain. "You've hated Plegians because of what happened to your family during the war. Most Ylisseans do. I think you at one point opened up to the idea of Robin being one of us. I even remember you offering some of the food you cooked that one time long ago, though he did end up running away after taking a couple of spoonfuls…"
"What 'ya gettin' at?" Sully drummed her fingers on the table as she glared daggers at the knight.
"Well, it's clear that you changed back when we first saw the Ostian army. I think you felt betrayed—subconsciously—that he'd left out the information about Elibe since Lyn joined us back in Arena Ferox. Now, even if you don't want to, your brain is telling you that you can't trust him again because if he lied once, he must be hiding a lot more."
"If my brain's doin' all that without me wantin' it to, how am I supposed to do anythin' about it, huh?"
"I, um… I don't very well know… But I think going to the wedding would be a good start. It could help you see Robin in a new light...maybe?"
"Fascinating," was the only thing Miriel, not Sully, could say, gaining the attention from the others. She was staring at Kellam with her full attention, her eyes visibly analyzing everything the man had done since he'd first "appeared". "Simply fascinating. To have such an understanding about the human psyche and analyse in detail what the possible problems that could cause a case such as this by only a quick glance. Perhaps you would be willing to teach me some of this techniques, Kellam."
"O-oh, no, no. You give me too much credit," he said quickly, his cheeks showing a tinge of red. "I've been keeping an eye on this from the beginning."
"You've been watchin' me for how long now?" Sully asked as she scowled at the man. The woman always had a certain air around her that made men falter, but now that changed to a more threatening one. She went as far as cracking her knuckles to prove she wasn't pleased.
"Th-this is a misunderstanding!" Kellam protested, throwing his hands in the air. "I didn't mean it like that."
Luckily for him, Miriel gained everyone's attention when she suddenly stood up without a word and started walking away.
Noticing she left most of her food, Stahl turned to the retreating mage. "Miriel! Wait! You didn't even finish your food nor drink!" But his words fell on deaf ears. Vaike, however, wasn't as concerned, as he moved the mage's plate towards him.
"I must write down these findings. They will aid me in one of my current endeavours." She didn't bother looking back at the others when they said their farewells. Kellam's words were indeed of importance to her. Sully had come to her weeks before asking to have a personality analysis done. Miriel came to a clear conclusion of the woman's personality shortly after, labeling her as a foul mouthed, headstrong woman that cared little about femininity, though didn't see it as a hindrance. This new development meant that her work had reached a conclusion without all the data necessary. If she was to deliver a report to Sully on the subject, she needed to go back and look over everything from the beginning.
But before Miriel had the chance to enter her tent, she was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a young voice calling her name followed by some rushed steps. She turned in time to see young Ricken come to a halt in front of her, his face flushed from exerting himself, as was evident from his shallow and rapid breathing as well as his posture of leaning forward with his hands resting on his slightly bent knees.
"I've been… trying… to get… your attention… Miriel!" The young man said in between heavy breaths. Despite his youth, the young mage was still lacking in strength and stamina displayed by the other younger Shepherds, with Lissa being an exception, as the princess always tired quickly when walking long distances. With more oxygen rushing through him, it seemed that Ricken was faring much better. He straightened his back and turned up to face her. "You can't ignore me just like that, you know!"
Seeing the seriousness in the young man's face, Miriel assumed that there was only one logical course of action. "My apologies, Ricken. I was caught in my thoughts for a moment. I was on my way to do something important—"
"Yeah, I know!" Ricken interrupted as he pouted at her. "I've been looking for you for the same reason. We should hurry, we're already late as it is. Come on, let's go! If we hurry we can still make it before the others get things started without us."
What was he going refering to? Others? Were others interested in her study of Sully? She hadn't been informed of such changes to the agreement. Did Sully hold so little hope that— Ah! The meeting! She was quite glad she hadn't made a fool out of herself in having to ask what Ricken was referring to. Yes, she had a meeting to get to, which she had clearly forgotten. It was meant to be her second time participating in this "club". Normally she wasn't one to forget...anything. But time had escaped her when she got entangled with the others back in the mess tent and then learned about Sully's new traits.
"Then allow me to gather my things before we depart," she told him before entering her tent. Finding something in there was easier said than done. Too many scrolls, tomes, and equipment she used for experiments littered her whole tent, only leaving a small enough space for her bedroll to fit snugly against a corner. She made her way around the piles of precariously placed object towards said bedroll, knowing that what she was looking for was found there. How could she be so certain? Well, for one she had set it down there the night before when she was done with it. Second, it stuck out like a sore thumb in her tent. She picked it up, taking a close look at it as if to confirm that it was what she was looking for. The Dragon-Human War: An Annotated Chronicle was the title she held. With it in hand, she left the tent, finding Ricken outside still waiting for her.
Their meeting spot was by no means anything fancy—they took whatever they could find. This time, it was one of the many campfires that spread out across the camp that night. Around it sat some of the other members of the club. Sumia, Cordelia, and Canas were already talking, though not about the book they'd read. The trio were discussing the absence of the other two members of the club. They'd all known that Robin wouldn't be in attendance, but Tharja hadn't said anything about not showing.
"I found Miriel," Ricken said as he stuck out his chest before taking one of the empty spots. There was a quick exchange of greetings between everyone before Ricken pointed out the obvious. "Tharja isn't coming, then?"
"I doubt it," Sumia said with a quick shake of her head. "I think we all know why she joined in the first place." Were they all aware of this? Miriel couldn't wrap her head around the idea. It seemed that she had missed something in the sorceress' demeanor that put the mage at a disadvantage. "It's not that surprising. We'll see them both back here on the meeting the week after the wedding, I'm sure."
"Then why don't we start?" Cordelia asked, her book laid on her lap with a few bookmarks appearing from the top. It seemed that she was eager to discuss the book, despite it not being something that she would usually read, as she had confessed when it was decided they would be reading it. To be fair, Miriel herself wasn't interested in books that did not hold any significance to her expertise, which meant that deciding on a book that everyone could agree on was no simple task. It was Canas who finally found the solution when he proposed the book they ended up reading, saying it had everything one could expect from a tale of fiction, except all the events depicted in the tome were accounts of real events. Miriel finally sat herself down on the last open spot, allowing for the discussion to begin.
"I wish that the author had talked more about what caused the war in the first place," Ricken said as he frowned at the copy of the book he was holding. "It's hard to understand some of the feelings of the people mentioned when we don't know why they are fighting in the first place other than to survive."
"Yeah, I was disappointed about that too," Sumia agreed. "From other books I've read, The Scourging is always referred to in passing as if it was something that everyone just knew about, but it's never said what the cause for it was."
"Unfortunately, the reason for the war has been lost to time," Canas interjected. From anyone there, he would be the only one to know, as he hailed from the world that had fought against dragons. "Dragons and humans lived in peace for millennia before humans struck the first blow. Many say the blame lays on the dragons, trying to argue that without feeling threatened, humans wouldn't attack. But there has never been any evidence of that being the case. Most of what we know comes from books that compile tales that took place during the event, much as this one, as well as the legends of the Eight Heroes. Whatever the original reason that started the conflict was, I would say it changed to vengeance after that first generation of soldiers died were slaughtered by the dragons."
"But the lack of texts for the cause is still intriguing," said Miriel. "Tomes and scrolls decay over time, but that does not justify the lack of these. They can be rewritten to be passed on. It is common practice done here by many scholar-mages."
"So I've been told. But where this world has vast amounts of magic that allow their users more flexibility in its use, like copying entire tomes in a few hours. Elibe lost most of its magic when the Eight Heroes gathered their weapons together. The legend goes that their weapons were so powerful that it sucked the magic out of the air all across the known world and forced the dragons to seal their powers away. What's more, most of the surviving dragons were forced through the Dragon's Gate in exile when they found that they couldn't find conduits for their power to flow through.
"But I digress. As I was saying, with the lack of magic in our world, scribes need to rewrite books by hand, often taking weeks or months to finish a single one without a single grammatical error, not to mention the process of translating them from the old common tongue to the one we use today. I suppose that in this transition, if text was lost, then the scribes would try to fill it in to the best of their ability. It is also thought that during the war, most men of fourteen and older were drafted into the war, be they nobles or peasants. On a side note, this is also why books are not readily available at a reasonable price in Elibe. And with the lack of magic in the world, the affinity for it was also reduced amongst humans. The arts are not lost yet, and they are even slowly recovering, but you would never see it so widely used as you do here. Furthermore, there was a decline in birthrates that we haven't recovered from since. It is uncommon for a family to have more than a single child to the point that having more than that is seen as a blessing."
"It goes to show how different things are here than they are in Elibe," Cordelia mused sadly. "Carrying on the jobs of their fathers for generations, the lack of support for women in other posts outside housewives and maids, and arranged marriages. When I read about that, I never thought much of it. It all seems so odd to me when I try to think of a place being like that outside of fiction."
"Oh, do not worry so, Dame Cordelia. Times have changed greatly in Elibe as a whole. You must remember that the stories on this book were written around a thousand years ago. Except for Berne, most of these traditions have been shed. Arranged marriages amongst nobility is still a common practice to this day, as it helps keep the peace between the many houses within a nation and even between nations as a whole. Only those in high enough power have the opportunity to choose their bride or groom, like was the case with Marquess Hector and Marquess Eliwood, though not without resistance of other lords and their counselors. The fact that Dame Isadora was able to reach the rank of Knight and then Paladin also marks a welcome change for Lycia as a whole."
"That makes me happy to hear," said Sumia with a wide smile. "Though, now I think I'll never be able to read any other books from Elibe if they cost as much as you say…"
Canas sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "It is precisely how I feel… During my time traveling with the Lycian League, one of our companions, a woman by the name of Vaida, kept feeding her wyvern my books whenever she caught me reading. It pains me to think about that time. Then there was Bartre, who insisted I lend him one of my books… I hope he's finished it by now. It was a rather small book, but he wasn't the sharpest of men."
This type of conversation, excluding Canas' last comment, made Miriel glad she'd agreed to join the club. She'd never cared for fiction. The probability of her enjoying one of those types of books was null, as she'd shot down all the other books that were suggested just like all her suggestions had been. They had compromised with Canas' choice, as it would satisfy Sumia's and Ricken's taste for fictional theme, Cordelia's inclination towards romance, and still give the mage knowledge of the socio-economical situation in Elibe as well as a small history lesson of an extinction-level event.
After the misunderstanding that happened of her having a love affair with Canas, the Druid suggested that they should reduce their research time to the bare minimum and have her interact more with the rest of the army. Overall, the experience had been pleasant so far, though there was always that itch that came to her whenever she found herself wanting nothing more than going back to her tent and continuing on one of her many projects.
They continued their discussion of the book for another hour. They stopped only when Cordelia pointed out how late it already was. The moon was high in the sky, with its light as well as the fire in the center being the only sources of light. It was decided that they would conclude the activities for the day and reconvene the coming week with suggestions for their next book.
From all those present, Ricken had been the most excited about the discussion. He'd been hanging on the edge of his seat at every word spoken. Elibe seemed to be a very interesting place. He was determined to go there someday. If he was lucky, maybe he would be able to convince Lord Hector to take him back with him, although that would be difficult. The mountain-of-a-man was… He wasn't scary, no. Only a child would be scared of another man. Ricken was no child! He was just nervous around the Great Lord, that was all. Who didn't get nervous from time to time?
He would need to go talk about it with Lissa again. The brave mage knew that the princess was of the same mind as him. The two had both been outspoken about their desire of visiting Elibe, no matter the cost. Lissa's reasons were...well, he couldn't judge her that hard. If she really wanted to meet the legendary Lords of Pherae, who was he to stop her? However, he had to remind the girl that Roy would be a toddler and Lord Eliwood was already a married man. She kicked him on the shin for that one.
He would have gone directly to Lissa's tent if it weren't already so late. A man visiting a woman's tent, alone, at night? That's how rumors got started, and he knew well enough how that turned out for Canas and Miriel. And if the rumor included Lissa, that meant that Maribelle would be on the case. Ricken really didn't want to be on the bad side of Maribelle's wrath.
Left with no other choice, he decided to hit the hay. Why risk getting into trouble when he could wait until the next day and be free of consequences?
The next morning couldn't come fast enough. With little sleep but with a great deal of energy, Ricken started his day as a man on a mission. During the little sleep he got, a brilliant plan came to him. If things kept going the way they were, they would need to send an emissary to Ostia to keep it that way. All he had to do was convince the Captain and/or the Exalt that he was the best choice for that and he would be there. But he couldn't convince them alone, especially not Lady Emmeryn. For that, he would need to make use of Lissa.
Finding the princess was easy as pie. She sat on a log as she ate...a slice of pie with some of the other Shepherds. Strangely enough, the only one not having any of it was the sugar-loving thief, Gaius, who instead sat on bended knees on the dirt with Nowi scowling at him as she herself ate mouthfuls of the pie. Approaching cautiously, the mage neared the newest recruit of the Shepherds.
"Hey, Libra. What's going on here? Some sort of punishment game?" Ricken asked in a whisper. If it was a punishment, then it would all make sense. But then he wondered what the game had been in the first place and how Gaius had found himself losing it.
The blonde turned towards Ricken with grace enough to be confused for a woman's, as many of the soldiers in the army had done before, much to their horror. To be fair, Libra had been a good sport about it and laughed it off, throwing a comment that lessened the awkwardness every time it happened. "Ah, good morning, Ricken. I am not sure myself. I was only passing by when Nowi offered me a plate with pie, saying that I should eat it."
And you just took it? Ricken looked at the pretty man with an eyebrow raised. Weren't you worried that she was making you test it in case it had been tampered with?
From the other side, a pot-helmet-wearing boy raised the pot(helm) slightly to take a better look at Ricken. He looked like he wanted to say something, but the food he was furiously chewing on prevented him to do so. Finally, after he was able to swallow the mouthful, he spoke up. "Gaius tricked Nowi into playin' one of them pranks on Canas and Gregor last night."
"Tricked?" Ricken repeated. He wasn't sure how someone could be tricked into pulling a prank, or why they would be so mad at the result afterwards. Wouldn't that on itself be a prank? And more curiously, why would Gaius trick Nowi into doing that? If asked, Ricken would say that Lissa was more likely to pull pranks, especially one on that level. Did Lissa trick Gaius into then tricking Nowi? Women are sc-...formidable. "Was it that bad?"
"It's much, much worse!" Nowi stood up on the trunk as she turned her attention to Ricken. Though her eyes had been on Gaius at all times, it seemed that she was still aware of the others talking around her. The manakete, due to her size, looked nothing but adorable, despite trying to look fierce. Her hands were at her hips and she was pouting and scowling, but none of these helped her look as angry as she probably thought she looked. "So now he has to be punished!"
"And Gaius is just letting you do so?" Ricken asked with an arched eyebrow. There had to be more to it. No man with all his senses would allow himself to be punished that easily and readily unless they were masochists. And from the time the young mage had spent talking with the thief in the past, Gaius was not like that… probably.
"Kid stole my stash," Gaius said under his breath, equal parts fearful, cold, and angry. If Ricken knew there was something that would force Gaius to take any punishment it would be his sack of sweets. How Nowi was able to steal from the thief in the first place, well, that would remain a mystery. "Not only that, but she's eating from it too and giving it away like it's nothing!"
"I think you got what you deserved, Gaius," Lissa said with a sly grin before she took another mouthful of the pie. "You reap what you sow and all that."
"Me?! Princess, you-"
"Yeah, yeah. We heard everything that you have to say for yourself. Stop lying and admit to it already! I don't know how much more pie I can take!"
"Admitting your guilt could lessen your burden," Libra added. "A clean conscious will do you good, Gaius."
"I'm as much of a victim as she is!" He pointed a finger at Nowi, who quickly swatted it away.
"Anyways, what's up, Ricken?" Lissa asked as she turned her attention to the young Shepherd that had just arrived. "Are you looking for Chrom again? I think he's either sleeping, training, or having breakfast with Robin at the mess tent."
"Not this time," Ricken said as he shook his head. "I was looking for you, actually."
"Little ol' me?"
"Yeah. I wanted to know…" He looked around at the others, not sure if he should right out say it. "...If you've checked on that thing we talked about the other day."
"What thing?" Lissa asked, a little too loudly for Ricken's taste.
"You know… That thing!"
Lissa looked thoughtful for a long moment, as if she was searching the depths of her own mind to trying to figure out what it was he was talking about. When she turned to look at him again, it was clear that she knew what he was talking about. "Oh, you mean the whole going to Elibe thing?"
"Lissa!"
"What's this~ What's this!~" Nowi looked at both of them with excitement, losing all interest in the pie and Gaius. "What are you guy's planning? Whatever it is, I want in!"
"W-wait a second…" Ricken pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Things could get out of control if he didn't do something quickly. But before he even had the chance to think of a way to dissuade the manakete from the conversation, Lissa was already giving her the whole truth.
"We'd been talking about going to Elibe with the Lord Hector and his army once they head back," Lissa admitted with excitement. "It would probably be just for a little bit, but I really want to go there and explore!"
Nowi's eyes sparkled, and Ricken had a good idea as to why. Being over a thousand years old, she would have explored most, if not all, of their world already at least once. Going to a new world would mean that she would get a chance to experience a lot of new things. It would be like being reborn, in a way. "That would be amazing! I wanna go too!"
"Well, you are welcome to tag along if you want," Lissa said too easily. "But before you get too excited about it, I haven't mentioned it to Emm yet. Something tells me it won't be easy either. Once we get back to Ylisse, she'll be dragged around to 'fulfill her duty as Exalt'. And even if I can convince her, we would have to talk with Lord Hector about it too."
Nowi puffed out her chest as she smiled. "Leave Lord Hector to me. I will charm him with—"
"No, no. That wouldn't work," Ricken quickly dismissed. Nowi was cute. Child cute. The mage was sure that she was referring to charm him in a way a grown woman would. That seemed unlikely, especially considering that the Marquess was a married man and didn't seemed interested in other women that with "better"...assets.
"That's mean, Ricken." Nowi pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I can be very charming when I want to be, you know?"
"The bottleneck right now is convincing the Exalt, really. Ostia doesn't hold all of Elibe, which means that Lord Hector wouldn't be able to outright refuse. Lissa being a princess works for our advantage too, since there would be more reason for them to let her go because of it. But it's also the reason why it's so hard for us to go, since it could be dangerous."
"Gosh, that sounds like a pickle," Donnel chimed in as he finished his portion of the pie. "Why not go there with the Shepherds?"
"The Shepherds need to be here. Just because the war is over doesn't mean that we're out of danger. There's still the Risen to take care of, remember? The Feroxi will only stay for so long to help us too, so the Shepherds will have to go around helping against any attacks that happen and train an army of our own."
"Ricken's right," Lissa quickly backed up. "The people Khan Flavia sent us are already training people all around Ylisse. Soon enough we'll have something that feels like an army, even though it'll be tiny. I also heard Frederick and Chrom talking about training more people, just in case. That means we can't exactly have everyone leave without a second thought."
"That means that if it's a small enough group, we would be fine, right?" Nowi asked as she swayed from side to side.
"Huh…" Gaius now, for once, looked thoughtful. He rubbed his chin for some time in silence until he suddenly raise his gaze to meet Lissa's all the while grinning. "Then how about this. I'll help you convince Blue that you should go to Elibe. In return, you take the kid with you."
"And what are you getting out of his exactly?" Once again, Nowi eyed the sugar-thief suspiciously, as everyone should. "I doubt you are doing this out of the goodness of your heart…"
"If you give me my stash back—"
"No," the manakete deadpanned.
"Why not come to a compromise?" The sudden voice of Libra, who'd remained out of the conversation for its entirety, surprised the rest. The monk stood up, brushing the dust from his trousers, as he went on to explain. "If the stash is returned in its entirety from the start, it would allow Gaius to run away without having to fill his part of the deal. But if he is given half of it now, as a sign of good faith, and the rest once his task is fulfilled, then it would secure his help."
Nowi and Lissa turned to each other, speaking to one another solely with their eyes, an unspoken language that Ricken had seen many use, but hadn't ever used himself. It was interesting. Slight eye movements were enough for both girls to understand what was on the other's mind. In unison, both of them smiled and then nodded before agreeing to Libra's terms.
"Fine, that's gonna have to do for now," Lissa said. "We can talk about the details later. I have something I have to do right now."
"Busy life, princess?" Gaius asked, curiosity clearly taking over him.
"I promised Maribelle that I would have brunch with her. Maybe, if you don't watch yourself, I'll ask Nowi to given me some of your sweets for us to have." Gaius gritted his teeth and grunted in defeat. With no one else stopping her, she made to leave. "I thought so! I'll see you guys later!"
Truth be told, she didn't actually have plans with Maribelle. She just wanted to get out of there before Gaius asked any more questions. Who knew a small prank on Nowi would get the little manakete in such a foul mood? It did make Lissa feel terrible about it, but eating from Gaius' stash made it all better… somewhat. As long as Nowi didn't find out the truth everything would be okay. It wasn't as if Canas could be mad forever. Lissa already knew that from reading the stories that he'd forgiven Nino for a bad prank too. And with all the similarities Nowi shared with his niece, Canas would make peace with it all soon enough. And as for Gregor, well, it was hard to even imagine the mercenary being anything but jolly. He would surely come around in time too.
In the past, when Lissa had pranked Gregor, he'd laughed it off, sometimes offering pointers, which was why he was so high up in her list of people to prank, second only to Robin. This on itself piqued her interest. She'd already excused herself for some time, so she had to make herself scarce to avoid Gaius from seeing her for the time being, and since she didn't know where Maribelle was, checking on Gregor was perfect. So, with nothing better to do, Lissa went on to search for the mercenary.
Luckily, finding Gregor was pretty darn easy. All she had to do was follow loudest voice around camp—maybe even the area that encompassed the nearby village. The man was having an animated conversation with Lord Kent, who nodded along as Gregor told one of his many stories, sometimes chuckling to something the older man said or saying something the princess couldn't quite make out. Lissa had always thought that Kent was much like Frederick from what she'd read of him—stern to the point of annoyance—but to see him there laughing, or as close to laughing as she would probably see him, made him seem very approachable. He also had a nice smile. Already she could see why Maribelle was crushing so hard of the red knight, even if she would never admit to it—less so since the whole fiasco last time she brought up the topic.
As if through magic, the mere thought of her best friend seem to be enough to invoke the parasol-wielding blonde, who surprised Lissa by tapping her shoulder.
"Darling, how wonderful to see you! I was on my way to your tent, but it seems I was in luck," Maribelle said with a soft smile. Maybe it was because of the weird location they found themselves in, but Maribelle quickly arched one of her eyebrows as she eyed the princess. "And what, pray tell, where you doing all the way out here? I thought you would be with the Exalt or perhaps your brother."
Though she knew she wasn't doing anything wrong, Lissa, for her part, tried not to look suspicious. If only she could whistle… But her attempt at seeming inconspicuous would never fool Maribelle of all people. Maribelle knew her better than anyone else, after all. And while Lissa tried to hide away the sweat forming on her brow with an uneasy smile, Maribelle's eyes narrowed.
"Could it be you were spying on someone again?" Maribelle guessed correctly. "Darling, I thought we all agreed not to do such a thing after what happened last time."
"N-no, no. Nothing like that," Lissa tried to cover, but her stuttering gave her away instantly; even she knew the whole thing was up. All she could do was try and convince Maribelle that she wasn't doing anything bad. "You know, Maribelle, sometimes taking a walk around is kinda fun. It can be very relaxing too! It's just that I was around here, looking for Gregor, and lo and behold," she moved to a side to allow Maribelle to get a better view, "there he is!"
"You were looking for that man?" Maribelle questioned, clearly unconvinced. Lissa didn't fail to notice that her friend hadn't even made a mention of Lord Kent.
"Yeah! You see, Nowi played a prank on him and she said that Gregor was kinda mad at her for it."
"He was mad at her? Is she sure? I don't think I've ever seen Gregor mad before…" Maribelle took another glance at the man in question. "He seems doesn't seem bothered to me."
"Right?! I was just about to go ask him what happened when you called out to me. Let's go check," Lissa said as she was already making her way towards Gregor and Lord Kent, leaving Maribelle to catch up to her, which was no problem as Maribelle wore riding trousers instead of a constricting dress the pig-tailed blond was used to, though she hardly could say she enjoyed wearing it all that much when traveling all around the continent. As the two approached, Lissa called out to the two men, waving her hand enthusiastically. "Gregor, Lord Kent! Fancy meeting you here!"
"Good morning, Lady Lissa, Lady Maribelle," Lord Kent said as he gave a short bow to each of them. So formal, like one would expect from a knight. Lissa would've prefered if the redhead would relax some more around them and drop so many formalities. Then again, even amongst the people of Elibe, it was common to be more formal even when speaking casually, always bringing up titles and such. That had to be part of the reason Maribelle liked Kent so much. Her friend was always one to remind people that they were speaking with someone of nobility, which always made Lissa somewhat uncomfortable. "Indeed. May I ask, what brings you here?"
"Weeelll, I was actually looking for Gregor."
"Ah, Little Princess been looking for Gregor?" The mercenary asked as he half turned her way and waved back, a smile on his face like there usually was. "Had Gregor known this, Gregor would be doing the running around! Conversation with Kent made Gregor forget about the time. What can this one do for you?"
"I heard from someone that Nowi pulled a prank on you and Canas, but that the two of you didn't take it too well…?" Gregor's face darken, sending a shiver down Lissa's back. Never had she seen him pull that expression before. It wasn't a nice one, like Robin's rubbery-face (patent pending). This one was more like someone that would rather not speak about something like it was taboo. "W-was it really that bad?"
"Gregor has seen many things during travels. Beasts attacking villages. Bandits looting innocent. Babies left in the woods. Nothing compares to Nowi's 'prank'. First time Gregor's seen Professor's ears red like apples too, and we be doing the traveling for some time. We be patient men, but Nowi did the pushing too far this time."
"That explains why Canas was in such a foul mood when I went to see him this morning," Kent put in as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I can't say I personally spent that much time with the man during our travels with Lord Mark, but nonetheless, it is astounding to see him like that. Even when dealing with the likes of Bartre, he would be patient to a fault."
"What could that girl possibly have done that you would say it's worse than an infant being abandoned in the woods?" Maribelle asked, clearly interested in the subject some more now that she'd heard Gregor talk about it. He, did not respond, instead opting to cross his arms, grit his teeth, and look up at the sky, as if the mere thought was enough to take him back to the time the prank took place. Maribelle, Lissa, and Lord Kent exchanged looks, all likely still trying to put the puzzle together.
Lissa still had a few questions when two more joined in on their group. Florina and Phila walked over in a pair, Phila looking as composed as ever, while Florina seemed to look more meek the closer she got to their group. If she could, Lissa had no doubt that she would hide behind Phila or someone else. The Pegasus Knight of Ilia had confessed to them before that she felt intimidated by men, finding it hard to speak to them, especially so when they were loud, which meant that Gregor wasn't the best person for her to be approaching.
"Good morning, miladies, milord, and… Ser Gregor," Phila greeted as she came to a stop, her posture as stiff as always, though it suited her well enough, or at least Lissa was so used to it that it seemed like there was no other pose the woman could strike that would seem natural. Florina greeted them aswell, though her voice was barely audible.
"What is this? More pretty ladies come looking for Gregor?" The mercenary nudged Kent with a smirk. "Gregor is being popular with the ladies, you see? Just like Gregor's been telling you!"
"It would appear so," Lord Kent said with a bit of a knowing smirk.
"It would appear not," Phila quickly corrected after glaring at Lord Kent as if he should know better or at least not indulge the old man with his fantasies. "I came here looking for Lady Lissa, not you, Ser Gregor."
"Gregor is no 'Ser'. Gregor is Gregor! Much better than some knight, yes?" Gregor said. "And why is pretty lady being mean to poor old Gregor? Has this one done something to, eeeeh... How do you say? Tsun-tsun?"
"Tsun-tsun?" Maribelle repeated, looking baffled for a moment. "I don't know if that is an insult or not—it's not a word I've heard before—but it certainly doesn't sound good to call someone that! I expect you to apologize to Phila, Gregor!"
"Relax, Maribelle. I don't think that means anything mean," said Lissa, who wasn't entirely wrong, but not entirely right either. "Don't worry, Gregor, I'm sure you didn't do anything wrong," Lissa reassured him. "Phila isn't so trusting of mercenary, it's all. But you said something about looking for me, Phila? What's up?"
"Of course, milady," Phila took a small bow. "The Exalt has requested you join her for breakfast. She wished to discuss a few things of importance with the two of you, if possible."
That was a surprise. Emm didn't exactly hide away the politics of running the Halidom from her or Chrom, but it was rare that she would want to discuss that with both of them. If it was important, that was the only thing it could be about, right? Or maybe she just wanted to catch up with her siblings? It was a while ago that they rescued her and yet, they hadn't spent as much time as a family—all three of them—as they used to before the Risen first showed up. Lissa liked the idea better the more she thought about it. Finding out what happened to Gregor and Canas could wait for now. It wasn't as if the two of them would be going anywhere any time soon anyways.
"Okay! Sorry guys," she turned to Gregor, Maribelle, and Lord Kent, looking apologetic, but not holding back her smile. "I'm gonna go see Emm. We can talk later! Phila, could you show me the way?"
Phila rarely smiled like that other than those times when Lissa cooperated with her without asking too many questions. It was an added bonus to make Phila happy by going to see her sister. The pegasus knight nodded and the three of them (Lissa, Phila, and Florina) excused themselves. It seemed that Florina had been running some training with the Ylissean Pegasus Knights as a favor to Phila, who complimented the shorter girl's prowess in the field. Lissa had seen Florina fight in Plegia. Though the girl would shy away from men, she had no problem fighting against them. It was like a mouse suddenly turned into a fierce lion. An amusing comparison, in Lissa's mind, but a fitting one.
"I thought you would be a bit better talking with men now, Florina, especially with the likes of Lord Kent," Lissa commented once the conversation started winding down. "I mean, you travelled with him and others for so long! Wouldn't you get used to them?"
Florina looked down at the ground in shame, pouting. "I-It's not that I don't like them," she said. "I know they are all good people. Whenever I try to approach men to talk, my throat closes up just as I reach them. They must think of me as nothing but a silly girl, wasting their time. I thought that practicing with my good-brothers would help, and it did! But I can only talk with Lord Hector and Ser Sain a bit more than any other man…"
"But before I asked you to train with us, Florina, you'd been having a conversation with Lady Lyndis and Lord Robin, weren't you?" Phila asked. Lissa had seen Florina talking with Robin a few times before too. She still looked very nervous, but she was always able to get her words out without much of a problem. At least, that's how it seemed to the princess.
"That's only because of Lyn always having been close to him…" Florina admitted, though she looked as if she hadn't given it much thought before. "Lord Mark has been by Lyn's side for a long time. And he's protected us all during our time of need, always making sure none of us were too injured and got rest when needed. I-I think that makes him more approachable than most other men..."
"That reminds me," Phila said, her eyebrows. "Weren't you looking for Lady Lyndis, Florina? You said you would come with me in case she was in this direction."
Florina gasped, her cheeks heating up. How could she have forgotten about it! How embarrassing! She could only be thankful that Lyn wasn't there to see her make such a mistake. The Ilian had lost track of time with the conversations she had with the other two that she'd pushed aside her original goal. "Ah! I should be going! I'm so sorry! Thank you for reminding me, Damn Phila!"
With a quick wave goodbye, Florina rushed as fast as her legs would take her. Finding Lyn before they went to the dress shop was mostly an excuse to spend some alone time with her friend. With the war going on and then all the planning, though the two did spend more time together than Lyn and her husband-to-be had in the past two weeks, there were always others around, which made it a little hard for the Pegasus Knight to get used to, especially with the likes of Virion, who happened to have a good eye for color coordination.
Guessing by the position of the sun, it would be noon soon, which meant she could be late for the original meeting time if she didn't hurry. Riding her pegasus would be faster, but then she wouldn't know where to leave him while they were in the store. Were there any posts that she could tie— No, that would be too cruel. She would need to run and make it on her own, even if she did break into a sweat.
As she'd expected and already berated herself for, Florina as the last to arrive. She was out of breath, but she was there just in time! Their group consisted of her sister Fiora, Isadora, the merchant Anna, herself, and of course, the most important of them all, Lyn, who greeted her with a warm hug and thanked her for coming.
"I'm happy to be here!" Florina said enthusiastically. "I wouldn't want to miss it for the world."
Lyn smiled at that, which was a relief. Having Lyn mad at her would be horrible. Not that she expected the greenette to actually be mad about something so trivial, but it was an important event in Lyn's life, so Florina really wanted to be there for her.
"Should we head in then?" Anna asked, a coy smile on her lips as well as a finger on her chin. Anna had been the one to recommend the place they were outside of. According to her, they owed her a few favors, which would help them lower the prices and allowed them to cut a long waiting list they had, which was surprising when thinking about it. It was a small place, so could they really have that much of a clientele?
The four entered the building without further ado. Once inside, they were quickly ushered into a room without a second thought. There two comfortable looking loveseats, carved to perfection. Florina sat with her sister on one while Anna and Isadora sat on the one opposite of theirs. Inbetween them was a small raised platform big enough for someone to stand on and to the other side of the room, opposite of the door, was a curtain. Florina's heart was racing from how nervous she was. So nervous in fact that she failed to notice Lyn disappearing.
"I must admit, I am rather excited about this," said Isadora, breaking the silence that had fallen in the group while they waited. "It has been quite some time since I had the chance to experience something like this. I believe the last time was with your wedding, Fiora."
Fiora's natural smile grew wider, likely from reminiscing about it. Florina could remember that day too. Much like this one, she'd been very nervous about it, almost as if she was to be the center of attention. "That feels like a lifetime away now," Fiora said. "Mine was more traditional than this, however. I am very eager to see how things vary between Ilian and Sacaean culture."
"I'm thinking a lot of color," Anna put in. "Then again, I do have an advantage, since I was the one that brought Lyn here in the first place."
Their discussion was cut short when the curtain was opened, revealing Lyn wearing something nothing like Florina had ever seen before. Who knew a wedding dress could be anything other than white? The dress was crafted with a beautiful cyan silk that had a natural shine to it. Embroidered all over the fabric where intricate red flower patterns ranging in size from that of a golden coin to the size of a fist. There were gold accents to it too, mostly in the form of the stitching and built into the patterns as to break up the monotony of the color combination. A puffy white fur had been worked onto the edges of the dress, sleeves, and neck too. The dress went all the way down to her ankles, where formal black boots peeked out. Draped over her shoulders wa a white shawl, which had no pattern to it other than a stripe of cyan running through its edges as well as some more puffy white fur. Wrapped around her midsection was a golden fabric to make the dress be more form fitting. Finally, she wore a matching golden headband with flower designs on it, from which small breeds hung from. And finally, although this wasn't part of the dress, Lyn wore her hair up, which would be the first time Florina had ever seen her like that.
"You look beautiful, Lyn!" Fiora was the first to comment, bringing her hands together and giving a few approving claps. "It really suits you!"
"Lord Robin will be left breathless," Isadora jested. "He take his eyes off of you for the whole wedding!"
"You know, for someone that always shows off a lot of leg, I wasn't expecting something like this to be your wedding dress," said Ana with a pout. "You have more fabric on you than you do on a day-to-day basis!" Every giggled at the comment, no doubt having had similar thoughts. "All jokes aside, you look stunning!"
It was now time for Florina to say anything, but she couldn't think of much else to add! It was as if they'd taken the words right out of her mouth before she had the chance to get one in. Fortunately, she still had a few encouraging words for her friend. "Lord Robin will fall in love with you all over again, Lyn. I'm so happy for you."
She meant those words, but somehow, it hurt to say them. She knew it was silly, but part of her felt that once Lyn married, she would lose her best friend forever. Husband and wife were meant to be best friends. Would there be any room left for her there with Lyn? They'd been through so much together. What if after the wedding, they couldn't meet like they used to back in Elibe? Lyn had spent so much time looking for Lord Robin… And she found him. But…
She squeaked when arms wrapped around her. She looked up to see that Lyn had kneeled besides her and was hugging her tightly. Only then did she noticed the tears going down her cheeks. How silly. It was meant to be a nice memory, and there she was, crying over her own insecurities…
"It warms my heart to hear you say those words, Florina," Lyn said, still having a firm grip around her. "Even after I told you that Robin and I were in courtship, you never talked about it much with me. I wasn't sure if you approved of our relationship. You are my best friend, Florina. You gave me the courage to look for Robin after so many had tried and failed to find him. You told me to follow my heart, and so I did. It was the only push I needed. And now look at where we are! I'm about to marry the man I've loved for my entire adult life, after so long being apart. And it's all because of you. Thank you, Florina. For being there and pushing me when no one else would."
And just like that, all those worries Florina had vanished. She hugged Lyn back like she never had done so before. Those words were what she needed to hear. With those words, it cemented the bond she knew always existed between them. No matter if they both married and ended up living far apart, they would always have a friend in each other.
AN: Like I said on the previous chapter, the whole idea behind this was to see what every single character were up to. I know I glaze over a few of them, obviously focusing more heavily on others. That was inevitable, unfortunately. Mostly has to do with the flow of things or me simply not knowing how to integrate a character better into conversations, Robin being the exception (small role completely intentional.)
I also decided to go over the description of Lyn's dress here to avoid cluttering the next chapter. There are a few things that Robin will notice there that weren't pointed out by Florina, but for the most part, this description should give a decent idea of what the dress is like. I was torn between making it be a traditional wedding kimono (found a couple of picture of Lyn wearing a kimono and thought she looked good in it), but opted for something that would go more with what I picture for the Lorca.
Poll on my profile: Someone suggested on the reviews that I should write a piece of what Lyn and Robin's first time (yes, sex). Now, it would be published as a standalone story because I don't want someone reporting my story for a single M rated chapter. What I want to see is who else would be interested in that? I think a poll is the best way to go about it because I know that not everyone will want to leave a comment saying they are interested. Just head over to my profile and check out the poll. Should take you no longer than a minute or two. Let me know what you guys think. (if you are reading this at the time of publishing, it may take a bit before the poll shows up on my profile.)
Reviews:
XenoEmblem4TW —Alive and kicking! Robin would be upset about it, but there isn't much he can personally do about it. That's if he even finds out in time.
Greyjedi449t —Gears are turning over there, but the effects of that will take some (in story) time to show. I mean, in the original game it took two years for anyone to know who the new King of Plegia was. What? Can't they just ask or something? Crazy people, leaving a place a mess...
potatoman098 —I appreciate your understanding. I hope I can start posting more frequently now to make up for it. I like writing about Panne and Legault just because the setups are so easy and fun to work with. You could be on to something with there being repercussions to Panne overhearing that conversation.
Whatstoknow —My siblings and I all started playing it at the same time on Sunday. I played it for maybe 10 minutes today before my battery died, so next time I'll make sure it's charged before I play. It does seem interesting, if nothing else, but I just reached the whole thing about the school where you have to battle a few people before moving on, so pretty much right at the start.
JP I'm Italian —I appreciate you still checking it out. This story did pretty well for it being inactive, actually. Even after a couple of months, views didn't drop bellow 40 a day, which I found interesting. Don't get me started about grammar in my native language (Spanish) cus I'm terrible at it. I've been learning/practicing English for about 20 years and even lived in the US for a while until recently, so I do have that bit of an advantage. I don't like reading in anywhere that has too many people around either. Can't concentrate like that, so I end up missing a few points of a story when I do try to do so. There will be a few more characters that have the possibility of marrying someone from another game, just gotta introduce more characters first! Legault and Panne? Possible because of how I'm going to play out the idea of different timelines in the future. It was inevitable Lyn would see Plegia, really. Robin didn't think he would be ever going back there if he could avoid it. Though they did visit, it's not as if he took her to the places he grew up in. After the wedding, there will be a mix. Some characters will stay in Ylisse, others will go to Elibe (note that I'm not saying "returning"). No comment on the whole Lorca thing mainly because I don't want to spoil anything that might be coming soon. For your idea with Tharja, Defcon Deceiver suggested a similar thing a while back. It's a good idea that I'll be using to explain Noir from Lucina's world, but I don't see the Tharja from the current timeline pulling off something like that. As for me, I recently moved back home, so I'm living with my siblings and my parents right now. Not married, not even dating atm, mostly because I don't get many chances to meet new people around here. I checked out the pictures (nice art!) If enough people are interested, I'll do it for sure, though I do already have a few images lined up that I can use. Thanks though!
SirGregSloth —Thank you for your kind words and taking your time to read through this whole story, I really appreciate it. It's interesting to have the perspective from someone that hasn't played Awakening for a change. Usually it's the other way around. I used to really ship Lyndis with Hector before because of the lack of interactions with Mark, but then I read a story (can't remember the name of it) and from then on Lyn x Mark became my OTP. That's a lot of high praise. Don't know what to say other than thank you and I hope you stick around form here on!