"*Huff* This sucks!" Roy said, slashing into an enemy lancer.

"Agreed...Careful Roy, these enemies are tougher than the bandits we encountered in Pherae." Lucina said, easily parrying a blow.

"Hah... I've noticed. Speaking of which, how many of them are there!?"

"I dunno Roy, why don't you ask them?" A voice said. Which Roy recognized was Wolt, sarcastic as ever.

"Wolt, Not now!" Roy's focus was waning as he dueled with a bandit.

"Lord Roy, I see someone fighting east of here. Should we assist?" Marcus asked while killing a soldier sneaking up on Wolt.

"Y-yeah. he may be part of the mercenaries my father hired. Wait a minute..."

Roy saw a pegasus knight fly towards him. He knew she wasn't an enemy though, her weapon was sheathed.

"Helloooo!" The rider yelled out.

"Wha-?" Roy barely jumped out of the way of a javelin thrown by an lancer while he was distracted. "Hey! Whoever you are, you should've picked a better time to talk with us!" Roy chastised the rider.

"Oops, my bad! So, are you the boss?" The blue haired pegasus knight asked as she took care of the threat.

"Yes, I suppose I am. What business do you have with me?" The young lord asked, aiming his sword downward.

"My name is Cynthia! I am travelling with this mercenary guy. Well, I'm not a mercenary per se. Temporary would be a better word." The young girl, Cynthia said.

"Ok...? So what is it you need?" Roy asked patiently.

"Right, so I was told to come to a red haired dude named Roy, so that must be you! Apparently us two work for you now, by the request of your father! Lucky you!" The rider grinned confidently.

"Right, I understand then, welcome aboa-" Roy almost finished but was cut off by an excited Lucina.

"Cynthia!? I-is that you!? Gods I can't believe it! You're safe!" Lucina ran over to Cynthia to give her a hug.

"Ack! Lucy, I missed you too! You didn't worry too much about us did ya?" Cynthia said, returning the hug."

"No, I knew you could take care of yourselves. Still though, I'm glad I see you're safe... Have you seen the others?" Lucina asked, slightly hopeful but knew the answer as soon as she saw Cynthia's frown.

"No... Sorry sis. I tried to look for them but I did not want to travel too far from Pherae. I only remembered some things from the books the stupid maids made us read."

"It is alright, I didn't remember much either. Now, we must be going, we have a battle to fight." Lucina said, returning to face the remaining enemies east of them.

"You mean a battle to win? Lets go Lucy!" Cynthia said, more confidence showing.

Roy ran up to Lucina. He was quite curious about that exchange between Cynthia and her.

"So.. I know this is a bad time, but-"

"Apologies, I must explain later."

"Right. Sorry. Well then, shall we?"

She nodded and they jumped back into the fray. She told Roy she would like Cynthia to be close to her, so the three lords worked together and they made quick work of the remainder of the soldiers. Rudy was the only one left.

"Damn it! I had it all planned out.."

"It's over! Uh... You! Sorry, what's your name?" Wolt asked.

"Stupid boy! My name is Rude. I will be the death of you! Begone!" Rude charged with a thrust of his lance.

"Whoa! You're quick on your feet for an old man!" Wolt said, narrowly dodging the attack and backpedaling.

At that point, Dieck, the leader of the mercenaries, decided to battle him.

"Hm? You're the boss? Forgive me, I pictured you being intimidating. It appears I was mistaken."

"You little..! I will end you! For Bern!"

Dieck initiated his attack, throwing his blade in the air, jumping to catch it, and fell with a strike at Rude's neck. When It connected, blood was seeping out of his wound. It was a fatal blow.

"Hah... Greed..Only brings you... an awful fate..." The lord of the castle weezed out before he died.

"Damn! That is some skill you have! Who are you?" Wolt said, surprised at this man who looked to be a battle hardened soldier.

"If you must know, my name is Dieck. I am joining the Pherae army. Now if you'll excuse me, I must speak with this... Roy person." Dieck said, already walking off.

"Right, sure sure. Catch you later?" Wolt said, even though the words didn't reach him.

"...I think we'll be good friends."

Meanwhile...

"Whew.. Hah... Oh man... Is that all of them?" Roy asked, completely out of breath. He was expending energy because his morale was boosted by having two other people fighting by his side.

"I believe so. Here, take a waterskin." Lucina offered.

"Thanks...So what happened to the Lord of the castle?" Roy asked as he surveyed the castle and found it was uninhabited from the gates.

"I took care of him. He wasn't much trouble." A masculine voice said behind them.

"And you are?" Roy asked.

"My name is Dieck. I am the leader of the mercenary group your father sent for." He replied, voice unreadable.

"I see. But where are your comrades?" Roy looked around and saw only his troops around the village.

"They were killed in battle. The girl on the Pegasus, Cynthia, offered to join. So I Complied. End of story." Dieck said with contempt, but directed at himself.

"I will be joining you shortly, meet me at the village." He said bluntly.

He then walked away without another word. 'Yeah, he definitely needs some time.' Roy thought.

He shuddered. He didn't want to even imagine what losing a comrade would feel like.

"Master Roy! We have rescued a lady in the basement!" Merlinus said, gesturing to the castle.

"What!? Ah, That must be Ellen's mistress, call for Ellen and take us to her."

"Right, yes Master Roy."

"Lucina? Take Cynthia with the others, introduce her with everyone. And try to relax at the village. I'll be just a moment."

"Of course. Shall we be going Cynthia?"

"Yup! Lead the way!" The energetic pegasus knight gleefully replied.

Merlinus came back with Ellen then quickly led the way, where Wolt and Marcus were standing around.

"Roy! Good to see you. Come here, you're not gonna believe this!" Wolt said, somewhat awestruck.

"Believe what? Who is she?"

The girl released from the basement approached Roy and Ellen.

"Ah! Your highness!"

"Ellen? Is that you!? I'm so glad you are well!"

Ellen ran to her and gave the girl a hug.

"I did try my best to save you!"

"Thank you Ellen, I am safe because of you."

"Sister Ellen, I believe we should meet up with the others for now." Merlinus said, wanting Roy to hear the news.

"Right, we'll talk later your highness."

"Of course."

With that, only Wolt, Marcus, Roy, and the girl were left. Wolt and Marcus decided to take their leave. Roy was too until he was stopped by the mysterious young woman.

"May I ask your name? I am indebted to you."

"Roy. My name is Roy, son of Eliwood. And you are?"

"I...I am..." She hesitated slightly.

Now Roy was really curious.

"I am Guinevere."

"What!? What!? How?! Why?! That's impossible! You are the Princess of Bern!?"

She nodded her head. "Yes I am."

Roy took a second to gather his bearings. "So...First things first, you are indeed the Princess of Bern?"

"Yes. Though you may not believe me..."

"No, I think I'll take your word for it. Even if you weren't, I could tell from your dress and actions that you are someone of high social status..."

Roy paused, thinking of flaws in her statement of being the princess of Bern.

"What are your intentions? Ellen told us you were to meet with someone from the Lycia alliance, correct?" She nodded her head in confirmation. While Roy gave her a confused look.

"I want to find a peaceful way of ending the war. I wanted to speak with Lycia. I thought maybe I could find some solution."

"I see. But your brother started this war. Is it not in your power to stop it?"

Guinevere gave a frustrated sigh. "Gods I wish It was. I wouldn't care if he killed me for it, I just don't want anymore bloodshed!"

"..." Roy gave no response.

Guinevere spoke up again. "My apologies, I often let my emotions get the better of me..."

Roy cleared his throat. "No problem, but will you come with us to meet with the Lycia alliance Army? I want Lord Hector's opinion on this matter."

"You will take me? Truly?"

"Yes, of course. If there is a way to end this war without bloodshed, I think we should try, no matter how small the chance." Roy said confidently.

"Oh thank you! I am in your debt.

Roy waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. I think you should head with the others. Knowing Marcus, he will be right outside just in case." Roy said with a chuckle. "Go ahead and have him escort you."

"Of course. And thanks again."

With that, she took her leave while Roy processed this revelation.

Roy had to sit down for a moment.

o - o - o - o

Back at the village, there was absolute mayhem. This was due to two people: Wolt and Cynthia. When they were introduced, they found that they had a lot in common. They both loved justice, both acted childish, and both had antics like no other individual.

Except each other.

"Ha! It seems the mighty Wolt is too good for you Lady Cynthia!"

"No way! This time will be different!

They were competing based on the amount of times they did justice in 10 minutes and the person with the highest count wins.

"Crap... Only 234." Wolt said defeated.

"Serves you right! I got 562." Cynthia bragged.

"I see you two are getting along well." Roy said, approaching them.

"Well look who it is! Roy my boy! How's it going?" Wolt said.

Roy raised an eyebrow at that. "Anyway, its good you two are having fun. I just wanted to let you guys know we leave tomorrow. So enjoy yourselves."

Wolt was ecstatic. "Really!? That is awesome! You're the best!"

Cynthia was also elated. "You are quite heroic Roy! Wolt! let's go again!"

"You bet! See ya Roy!"

"Later you two!" Roy yelled back as they ran back to the town square.

Afterwards, Roy decided to look for the mercenary named Dieck.

o - o - o - o

After a little searching, he found Dieck at the fountain in the central area.

"Ah, you must be Dieck."

"Correct."

There was an awkward silence. Despite the tension, Roy decided to speak.

"Ahem.. Um, so can you tell me about yourself?" Roy asked.

"I was a pit-fighter a time ago."

Another awkward silence. This time, Roy decided to cut to the chase.

"Look, we will never make any progress if you don't try. I need to know if you're capable of following orders on the battlefield." Roy said courageously.

"I have nothing to say to you besides 'yes I will.'" Dieck responded.

"Ok, let me rephrase that. Can I trust you?"

"Your father hired me. If I wasn't trustworthy, he wouldn't have. "

"A fair point. I know you blame yourself for their deaths. I will give you some time to yourself to mourn."

"..." Dieck said nothing as Roy walked away.

Roy wanted to turn in but he really wanted to talk with Lucina.

o - o - o - o

Lucina was taking a walk around the village. Looking in wonder at the prosperous area. She had not seen such a place before. The people were happy, merchants were selling wares, and she heard men singing songs in the taverns. To her, it was one of the most amazing places she had ever laid eyes upon.

Eventually, she sat down on a hill, looking at the sunset and reveling at the sight.

She heard footsteps behind her, she made to stand and reach for her sword, but the voice made her stop.

"No worries, its just me." Roy said, knowing she hated surprises.

"Ah, Roy." Lucina said, sitting back down.

"Yep...How are you doing Lucina?"

"Fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Knowing this was going nowhere, Roy decided to change topics.

"So, Cynthia is your sister, correct?"

"Correct."

"...Ok, Lucina. What is the matter?"

"What?"

"You are not very talkative, you refuse to look at me, and you seem sad.. Like something is eating at you. Do you want to talk about it? You can tell me anything Lucina."

"..." Lucina was lost in thought. She was actually quite comfortable around Roy. She was thinking of what to tell him.

"Listen, I'm alright with you not telling me, but please don't keep this bottled up for a long time. You have been through so much in so little time that you need all of the support you can get." Roy said worried.

Lucina's breath hitched, nearly sobbing.

"...I keep having nightmares about my past, and the present. My friends... We all got separated. If they died, I would never... I-I would never forgive myself." Lucina said, on the verge of tears.

"I miss my parents, my home, my life...Grima took that away from me. I hate him more than anything else. When he took away our ability to time travel, I realize that I will never have any of that back." Lucina said, tears falling from her cheeks.

"..." Roy said nothing, and took a seat next to her on the grass.

Lucina was now crying. She took him into an embrace and held on to him for dear life.

Roy had no other response but to hug back. No words needed to be spoken. He looked at the sunset. A pang of sympathy struck him hard.

Eventually, after a while, Lucina stopped crying and found solace in his arms. She somehow managed to fall asleep.

Roy, realizing this, decided to take her to her room in an inn the army was staying at. He carried her bridal style, trying his hardest not to wake her.

o - o - o - o

When they reached her room, he gently set her on her bed. It wasn't too cold, so there was no need to put on a blanket. He also did not want to attempt to remove her armor for obvious reasons.

Roy glanced at Lucina's face. What was usually stoic and serious was now calm and peaceful. His heart skipped a beat. 'She looks kinda... Cute.' Immediately he stopped himself from continuing that thought any further.

'I wish there was someway I could help her. Someway I could tell her that everything is ok, And tell her that everything will be ok.' Roy walked to his room, exhausted from today's events.

He instantly fell asleep.

o - o - o - o

A/N: I'm so sorry. I cannot write fluff.

Everyone I talked to said I was crazy for liking LucinaxRoy. To that I say: Blasphemy! Yeah, sorry, but that is what this is now. NO REGRETS.

UNTIL NEXT TIME