A/N: It's been a little while since I updated, but I should be getting back into the swing of things. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Fire Emblem rights, not I.
The sun streams through the open windows, touching Alita's face and warming it. The heat of the rays brings her out of the dense fog of exhausted sleep enough to hear a bird singing. The moment is peaceful and relaxing, practically urging Alita to return to her dreams. She almost succumbs to the temptation, and instead snaps her eyes open to look around. Surveying her surroundings, Alita finds that she is in a large, decently furnished room with matching pieces. She is currently occupying the large bed, pillows and feather comforters strewn about from her sleep. Sitting up, Alita is able to move out of the ray of the sun, coming from one of the windows with the drapes pulled back. Outside is the view of a town, and across the room through the other window Alita can see a range of mountains.
Staring at the mountains, Alita pushes her mind into gear to figure out where she is. Based on the map she remembers, and where Kilvas is located, she would have to guess Begnion. Yet, she concedes that it's possible the currents of the ocean pushed her farther off course than she realized. She could have washed up anywhere along the Begnion border.
Deciding to find out for herself, Alita throws the covers aside, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed to have her feet melt into the plush carpet of the room. As soon as she stands up, she notices she has been changed into a nightgown and immediately looks around the room for her belongings. She spots them on a chair, then does a quick inspection to make sure everything is accounted for. Everything is, except for her clothes. Frowning harder, Alita searches the room for something to wear other than the nightgown. If she was in Begnion, she needed to leave immediately before one of the beorcs instigated something they would regret.
"Ah you're awake. Are you feeling well?"
Alita turns to the source of the voice to find a young man with cropped hair down to his chin and gentle red eyes in the doorway. She takes note of the style of dress and the partially hidden mark on his forehead returning his smile with a slight quirk of her lips. Alita nods in response to his previous question before asking, "Where am I?"
"You're in the palace. Of Goldoa" the young man clarifies upon seeing the blank look from Alita. She takes a moment to digest the information, wondering just how far off course she swam. "How...did I get here?" Alita hesitantly questions, having been under the assumption that the dragons did not care for visitors.
"One of our patrols found you washed up on the shore at the Begnion border. They brought you back here." He tilts his head in question as he looks at Alita. "What happened to you?"
Alita opens her mouth to answer but pauses. Before she was perceived to be a boy and a thief, but since she ripped her mask off, everyone can tell she is a girl. For that matter, as a girl she wouldn't know anything about her previous activities should she encounter anyone, so he best option is to pretend like she knows nothing.
"I...I'm not sure," she frowns for effect, as if she were trying to recall a memory, "I can't seem to remember anything..."
The boy nods and smiles in reassurance. "No matter, that should come in time. However, my father wishes to speak with you."
Alita nods before glancing down at her attire and grimaces. "Like this?"
"As soon as you woke up."
Sighing, Alita nods and follows the boy out of the room. He leads her down several hallways, where any servants present would stop what they were doing and bow to him as he strode by. Alita watches this, wondering if he might be royalty. And then if that was so, that would mean his father is royalty...probably the king.
The king.
The king of dragons!
"Don't worry, my father isn't a terrible person. Sometimes he can be pretty blunt though" the boy fills the silence, as if sensing Alita's inner turmoil over meeting the Dragon King. "Your father is the king then?"
"Ah, yes forgive me. My name is Kurthnaga, prince of Goldoa. My father is King Dheginsea. I'm sorry I didn't properly introduce myself before." He gives a little laugh turning a corner and heads over to two very large doors. On the doors there are massive carvings of dragons depicted in a multitude of battles and even peace. Alita concludes that it must be a history of sorts, and can only guess at the time period the carvings indicate.
The prince effortlessly pushes open one of the doors, leading Alita through. Their footsteps are muffles by a walk-worn carpet that leads all the way to the dais. On the dais sits a throne where a man is just standing up from. Kurthnaga leads Alita all the way to the steps of the dais where she stops. Going up those steps without permission would be a sign of disrespect, and Alita has no intention of pissing off one of the most powerful beings she has ever met.
While she waits, the king greets his son, exchanging a few hushed words. It seems to be a heated discussion, which Alita is tempted to listen in to fully. She caught bits and pieces that referred to her specifically, and then tuned out. She figures she might as well begin practicing her new guise.
As soon as the king finishes talking with Kurthnaga, he turns his attention on Alita. His face reveals nothing, set in straight lines. "Welcome to Goldoa." Alita bows her head, "Thank you."
"Goldoa rarely gets visitors. And in this time of war we believe said visitors are a breach upon our neutrality." Alita bites the inside of her cheek, wondering what the king is going to do with her for trespassing. "However, it appears that you were stranded in our land unknowingly. Due to this circumstance, I am prepared to make an exception." He watches Alita for a moment then nods, "Come here child."
Alita looks between the king and prince before walking up the steps to the throne, once she is standing before the king, he brings his hands down to rest upon her shoulders. "Kurthnaga tells me you have lost your memory, so this is probably all very new and disorienting for you. For that matter, I will allow you to stay here for as long as you need." Alita nods her understanding, feeling the warmth dissipate from her shoulders as the king takes his hands back, sitting back down.
"I will be keeping a close eye on you, as well as my son to monitor your improvement. And for that, I will be taking you with me to the meeting that will be held today." Alita bristles slightly at having to be watched all the time, but takes a breath to steady herself. "I wouldn't want to impose on your meeting..." she replies instead.
The king waves his hand dismissively. "You won't be imposing. But you will need a name. Do you have one?" Alita shakes her head, keeping up the pretense that she has lost all memory. "Then I will call you Nesela, is that satisfactory?" Alita notes that it's very similar to the raven king's name, finding it ironic under the circumstances. She nods anyway, deciding to use it. "Yes your majesty, that works."
"The meeting will be soon, but I want you to get something to eat and get dressed before hand. There should be clothing for you to wear back in your room." "Thank you Your Majesty" Alita nods, heading down the steps and to the doors. Outside the throne room, there is a servant waiting patiently for Alita. He motions for her to follow him, then begins leading her back to the room she woke up in. She takes this time to look around the hallways, taking note of everything that she passes and where it's located, creating an internal map should she ever need it.
Recognizing the door to her room, Alita moves past the servant and goes in. He indicates that he will be back later to show her back to the king, then leaves her to her own devices. Alita rolls her eyes a bit, moving to the covered tray sitting on one of the window ledges. She forgets everything but her stomach when she lifts the lid off the tray. Waiting for her to devour is a platter of food, boasting items that she has never seen before. Regardless of what it's supposed to be, Alita eats it all. A much better fare than the bread and cheese she had brought.
After her stomach had been satisfied, Alita washes up to get all the dirt and grime off of her before slipping into the dress that had been laid out for her. She curls her lip at having to wear a dress. First thing I do when we get back, find where my clothes went. Controlling her ire, Alita smooths the dress down once it's on, then takes care to braid her hair so its out of her way. The dress is sleeveless for the warmer climate, but has thick straps that converge into a modest cut. Alita finds that there is enough room for her to run in the dress if need be, and that the shimmering silver blends with her hair. She briefly wonders if the color choice was on purpose.
She finds her shoes, pulling those on instead of the slippers left out for her, then picks up the knife that was left with her belongings. Instead of strapping it to her thigh like she previously did, she fashions the strap into a belt, wrapping it around her waist and lets the knife hang behind one of her hips. Satisfied, Alita heads out of the room, greeted by the servant from before.
True to his word, he leads her back to the throne room, pushing the door open for her to enter. Alita makes her way back to the throne where the king and prince are already standing. They both turn to acknowledge her as she walks up, the prince motioning her to follow as they lead her through another doorway. This leads out into a courtyard that stretches roughly the same length of the throne room.
"You look great by the way" Kurthnaga smiles at Alita, coming to a stop with his father. Alita blinks in surprise from the compliment, but nods her thanks with a smile. The smile feels weird, alien. A gesture that Alita is no longer used to, but feels good about being able to use it again. She keeps it, questioning the distance.
"It's not far for us, so you will have to be carried." Staying true to her act, Alita visibly swallows. "Carried?"
By then the king and the prince are already transforming. A wash of purple, black and white light consumes the courtyard, encasing Alita in the glow of the transformation. The light spreads outward, stretching in tendrils before being pulled back to the center with a snap, accompanied by a flash of white and tremors through the ground.
Alita removes her arm that protected her eyes from the flash only to have them widen in awe. Two massive, ebony dragons have replaced the prince and king. A crown of horns circle their heads, each one tipped in gold to represent their royal lineage. The intricacy and amount of the gold lets Alita know which is the prince and which is the king. Both are standing on their hind-legs in the now overcrowded courtyard with their tails curled around their feet and their wings pressed against their backs. Alita has to crane her neck to be able to look up at them.
One of the towering beasts, the king, snaps his wings open and gives a powerful downward flap to lift into the air, giving Kurthnaga more room to move. At the sudden rush of wind, Alita is thrown backwards, tumbling head over heels at the force. She comes to a stop against the warm scales of Kurthnaga's tail, which he had curled around to halt her backward motion. Steadying herself against the appendage, Alita stands to face the prince. He has lowered himself to all fours, tilting his head back in an indication that she should climb on.
Alita gives the prince a skeptical look. "I'm pretty sure riding a laguz is rude..." He watches her with a patient, unwavering gaze, tilting his head back again. Alita sighs and walks over, checking once more to be sure before clambering up his shoulder onto his back. Mindful of the dress and the spikes along his spine, Alita manages to situate herself comfortably above his shoulders where she can hold onto said spikes.
Feeling Alita settle in, Kurthnaga rises up on his hind-legs before spreading his wings to push him into the air to join his father. Alita's stomach tumbles and drops, causing her to hold on tighter as Kurthnaga gains altitude. Once satisfied, he and the king turn towards their object and begin flying.
Alita's initial wariness wears off to the point where she is able to sit up and look about. She is exhilarated she can see for miles in every direction, locating towns and hamlets scattered through the country. The wind tugs and pushes at her based on the beat of Kurthnaga's wings, keeping her focused. She is also overcome with a sense of freedom and a sense of home, as if she were meant to be in the sky. The feeling stays with her, opening her up to the sensations around. She is so overcome with it that she closes her eyes and spreads her arms out, anchoring herself to Kurthnaga with only the strength in her legs.
Coming back to herself, Alita opens her eyes as the dragons bank to the right. They begin circling above a mass of ruins, some of the structures still intact, preparing for a landing. The king and prince pick separate areas to land, giving them enough space to do so. Kurthnaga leans down for Alita to slide off his back, transforming the moment shes off. She stands to the side and watches the transformation, rubbing the soreness she already feels in her thighs.
Back in his human form, the prince sends Alita a smile, then waves for her to follow. They both head over to where the king is standing on a raised platform. Kurthnaga stands to the left of his father, indicating that Alita should stand to his left in turn. Both of them look towards the entrance expectantly. Alita frowns in thought but turns to look through the archway as well. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up as roar reverberates across the plains.
