Hey everyone, just like I promised, another full chapter. I've decided that 1st POV was too hard to write, so I'm switching to 3rd person POV for the rest of my chapters. If you really want 1st POV though, I'll try my best. But anyway, here we go!
"Well, you took longer than expected." Chrom said as he looked at Marcus, who was still trying to push out the stubborn horse from the stables.
"That's cause he wanted more apples! Greedy little bastard!" Marcus said as he finally was able push it out and bring it over.
"Well, he's certainly smarter than he looks, how about the little pup?" Chrom asked as he looked at the little pup in my pouch.
"He spent the rest of his time hiding from the overbearing servant girls, they just wouldn't leave him alone.
"Well, what else would you expect from girls and cute things?"
Marcus pondered on this for awhile, before admitting defeat.
"Touché."
They both chuckled a bit before being on their way.
Along the way, Marcus decided to ask Chrom.
"Could you tell me the exact nature of these 'Shepherds'?"
"What do you mean?" Chrom asked, as he tilted his head in confusion.
"Like, are they elite swordsmen? Shock cavalry? Heavy infantry?" Marcus said as he elaborated further on the question.
Chrom pondered on this question before answering.
"Let's just say they aren't your average military unit." he answered.
"So, what else is on the agenda other than pleasantries? I recall Emmeryn talking about some sort of diplomatic mission." Marcus said as he tried to think back to the meeting.
"Exactly, in times like these, it's not exactly safe for her to go out of Ylisstol."
"Smart move." Marcus thought as he continued walking.
They kept walking until we saw a strange building that looked more like a mead hall than an actual barracks. A few barrels were knocked over, which looked to have some mead left. The front looked more elegant, with a nice paint job and aesthetics. Marcus just never could understand the architecture of this place. Chrom gestures to the separate building.
"You can leave your horse here, just bring the pup inside with you."
Marcus leaves the horse in the stables.
"Be good steed okay? I'll be back before you know it."
The horse neighed in response. Marcus then exits the stables and follow Chrom to the main building.
They entered the main hall to hear Robin talk false modesty.
"Oh come on guys, all I did was get stepped on…"
Chrom and Marcus knew that was wrong.
"Don't sell yourself short. We would have died out there if it wasn't for you." Chrom said as he and Marcus walked into the room.
Marcus heard everyone shout in unison.
"Chrom!"
"Ah Captain Chrom! You're back! We were…" said a black-haired girl with a bow made in the fashion of a pair of wings.
Then the girl wearing a wing bow ran up to him before…
Thunk!
Falling face flat on the floor. She appeared to have tripped on some papers.
"Wait… Who the hell trips on pile of papers?" Marcus thought as he watched Chrom help her up.
"Are you okay Sumia? Is it those boots of yours again?" he said as he helped her dust herself.
Sumia nodded bashfully as Chrom got a bit close. The shirtless blond guy in the back made 'kissy-faces' at Chrom, who gave the man a subtle glare.
Marcus was watching the scene unfold.
"Could this lady be any more obvious right now?"
"Well, at least you're not hurt." Chrom gently said as he stroked her hair.
Now that all the attention on Chrom had died down, all eyes shifted to Marcus as he stood by the doorway awkwardly.
"Uh… Hi?" Marcus said hesitantly as he weakly attempted to wave his hand and smile.
Chrom suddenly remembered to be courteous.
"Ah yes! Everyone, meet Marcus! I'm sure you all heard of him from Lissa."
"Oh of course! Marcus was just totally amazing yesterday! He was nearly invulnerable to magic and he could deflect it too! You should've seen it, he sent so many fireballs flying!"
"And he totally rocked last night too! He was just kicking ass left and right alongside Robin and Chrom!" Sully said before she took another swig of mead.
"So, we got two new recruits for the Shepherds huh? The Vaike's impressed!" said the shirtless man who called himself 'Vaike'.
Marcus tries to raise his hand to correct Vaike, but Chrom chimes in instead.
"Sadly, no. Robin is our only new recruit. Marcus merely ended up here by coincidence, he intends on returning to his kingdom!"
"Whoah! Another kingdom? Since when did he tell you?" Lissa asked with much curiosity.
"He was really transparent in our meeting, so we were able to get the details of his nation. England was the name, I think."
"So what is England like?" Lissa asked as she turned to Marcus, her eyes beaming with excitement.
"It's not that great, couldn't possibly compare to your country's prowess."
"Yeah, but still…"
Marcus tries to quickly change the subject.
"Uh… This pup is getting a bit heavy, why don't you hold him?"
Lissa squeals as she forgets her previous question, excitedly grabbing the pup and cuddling it. Marcus takes advantage of the situation and announces.
"I believe Chrom has an announcement to make." Marcus said as he tried to change the subject.
"Ah! Right! At first light, we will march to Regna Ferox to petition the Khan for soldiers."
Everyone at the room nodded as they listened closely for any further instructions. Robin seemed to be confused with the mention of another strange nation.
"Uh.. Regna Ferox?" Robin asked
"Ylisse's northern neighbor. A unified nation of barbarian tribes that dwell its frosty tundras." Sumia said with utmost accuracy.
"Normally, the Exalt would go do it herself, but due to circumstances, we thought it best to leave her here."
Chrom coughs a bit before continuing.
"Now this mission is strictly voluntary. I will not force anyone…"
"I volunteer!" Lissa interrupted him.
"Me too!" Vaike added, flexing his arms. "Just try to ditch me again, I dare ya!"
"I'm in," Sully said simply from where she was inspecting the haft of her lance.
"I suppose I should accompany you," Virion said, finally putting down the teacup and saucer.
"I'm in, too!" Kellam said from the back of the room, making Robin jump; apparently no one else noticed the big soldier, despite the thick armour. Marcus noted on his seemingly undetectable presence, as he did not even notice such a heavily-armored man.
Robin just shrugged and said.
"I have no choice as your tactician now do I?"
Chrom's eyes lit up as he smiled an even bigger smile.
"I was hoping you'd accept my offer." he said as he put his hand on Robin's shoulder.
"I do not know what your definition of 'offer' is, but announcing your intentions in front of state officials is not one of them." Marcus deadpanned.
"Yeah, well let's just call it incentive." Chrom joked.
"I… I, um…" Sumia mumbled, wringing her hands together.
"Yes Sumia?" Chrom prompted, turning to face the woman.
"I'd like to come along, too. But I don't feel… I mean, I don't think I'm quite ready… for combat… yet… I'll probably just get in the way."
Sully snorted from the weapons rack, Lissa shooting the woman a rather withering glare for such a young lady.
"You can just keep to the rear and watch us," Chrom offered kindly.
"But there will come a time when you'll need to be ready to fight, Sumia. Just stay close to me and you'll be fine."
"Yes, of course!" she exclaimed happily, her whole countenance changing as she smiled. "I… I mean, yes Captain!"
Marcus rolls his eyes and quietly leaves the room while everyone else was busy talking amongst themselves. He walks outside and takes a breath before walking to the market. He searches his bag for anything valuable, he is able to pull out a pair of large ivory tusks, a horn from a ram, and crocodile hide. Very standard stuff he gained during his journey to Jerusalem.
"Shoot, I don't have anything valuable, guess I should have spent more time collecting gems."
"Marcus! What in the blazes are you doing!?" Julian shouted as he tried see what Marcus was up to
"I'm tanning this hide I got from the beast that attacked me!" Marcus said as he started putting the hide under the sun.
"You mean the one whose back you skinned after I killed it!?"
"Yes actually, this beast took multiple crossbow shots before finally dying, I want to test the strength of this hide."
"Don't be so damned reckless! That beast would surely have killed you had I not intervened!" Julian said as he walked away.
As Julian walked away, Marcus muttered to himself.
"I better not tell him that I've been hunting these all morning!"
"I collected about six clean skins that day, hopefully it was worth it."
He searches for the card that was given to him by the merchant Anna, or the "Secret Seller"
"Now where is that shop…"
Marcus pushes through the crowd in hopes of finding Anna, but instead, he is pulled into an alley. He prepares to defend himself but then he notices that the assailant was just a lady, with rich auburn hair.
The woman was beautiful, with purple eyes. Her hair was put in a braid. She herself wore a white, long-sleeved dress, with a brown corset sealing her upper body. She wore a hair band that had a flower on the side. Her height reached up to Marcus' chin. He asks her while she pulls him.
"Are you planning on taking me somewhere?"
She smiles.
"Why of course! Why else would I have pulled you out of the crowd?"
Marcus rolls his eyes at her peachy behavior.
"Where's your shop?" he asked.
"Follow me."
They walk through the alley until they came upon a strange wooden door. There was a sign outside the door saying 'Secret Seller'. The strange woman plays with the strange looking lock with inscriptions. She unlocks the door and brings Marcus inside. Marcus admires the inside of the shop. The merchandise itself looked expensive and exotic. The auburn-haired girl went behind the counter and asked Marcus.
"Hello I'm Mikah. What do you need?"
"I'm Marcus." he introduced. "I was actually wondering if I could sell some items."
Marcus puts the ram's horn on the counter. Mikah brings out some sort of lens and examines the horn.
"Hmmm… A ram's horn, not that much, it's been in pretty low demand this year, at best, twenty gold."
Marcus grimaced, it already wasn't looking good for him. He then brings out the two ivory tusks.
"Oh! The classic ivory! Please put them on the weighing scale." Mikah said while gesturing to the nearby scale.
Marcus carries them over and puts the tusks on the weighing scale and Mikah's eyes widen.
"Fourty pounds!? What kind of wild boar did you kill!?" Mikah asked in shock.
"So how much?" Marcus asked.
"So if we take the thirty gold per pound, this pair of tusks would cost about a thousand and two hundred gold." Mikah answered.
Marcus felt a bit better, he had something that actually had great value. He then brings out his last item, a crocodile skin.
"How much for these skins?"
Mikah didn't respond, she was admiring the scales and their patterns. She then tries to feel it and examines it even closer. Marcus waits as Mikah admires the skins.
"Where did you get this?" Mikah suddenly asked.
"Uh what?"
"WHERE!?" she stressed.
"I-I got them in my travels, I found these creatures in the river." Marcus stuttered out of shock.
"How many more do you have?"
"I have about five more skins left in my bag" Marcus answered while showing her his bag. "Why?"
Mikah then beamed at him.
"Cause I think I found the perfect material for my project!"
Marcus had the feeling that he shouldn't ask.
She holds the skin in the air like it was a treasure.
"This skin is a work of the gods! I need as much of it as possible!"
She then smashes down on the table and screams.
"I'll buy all your skins for three thousand gold!"
Marcus was shocked with how much money, he could earn from the skins alone. But he wasn't there for the money.
"I don't want your money."
"But—" Mikah tried to speak before Marcus interrupted.
"Instead, I want to buy some of your equipment and armor."
Mikah then smiles and gestures to another room.
"Right this way."
Marcus looks around to see many fancy pieces of armor and weaponry. He looked to see horned helmets, shiny colourful chest plates and the most elegant weapons. But he wan't looking for beauty, he was looking for practicality. He comes across a nostalgic piece of equipment, it was a steel armor set, with a great helm that covered the entire face and a shiny chest plate and pauldrons that come with it. It also came with a chainmail undershirt. It looked as if there was still blood left on the helmet as there was a shade of dark crimson on the helmet's visor. There was also a pair of plated leggings. It resembled the armor of the Feudal Knights back at home. It bore the crest of England in the back, which shocked Marcus even more. He immediately wonders how it got there.
"Where'd you get this?" Marcus asked.
"Anna said she found it while searching some ruins."
Marcus knew he had to get this armor.
"How much for these?" he asked, while holding the tag of his desired armor.
"That armor is probably the most average here, it's not that it's bad, it's just really standard equipment. That armor doesn't even match the beauty of the knights of Ylisstol, it has no enchantments, no special alloys, not even a cleaning job and my goodness, I need to clean the blood off that visor. "
"Nah, I'll keep it."
"And goodness gracious, I think the paint job is really tacky. I think I should—" Mikah elaborated before realizing what Marcus had said. "Wait, what?"
"I said I'm taking it."
"R-really!? I mean that only costs about one thousand gold, I can refer you to much better stocks."
"No, I'm good with this."
Marcus also notices a shield nearby, he sees that it's empty and lacking in design.
"How much is that shield?"
"It costs five hundred gold, well-made steel with a comfortable strap and lock to connect with your hands and gauntlets."
"Add that to my tab."
"What are you buying these for?" Mikah asked.
"A trip to Regna Ferox." Marcus replied while thinking.
"Oh okay, if you want I can help you get there."
"It's okay I'm joining the Shepherds on their journey."
Mikah seemed to perk up at the mention of the Shepherds.
Marcus then hears the sound of iron and furnace in another room.
Marcus asks Mikah.
"Do you have like a workshop here or something?"
"Yes, why?" she asked.
"I want to make some modifications to my equipment." Marcus answered.
" Really now?" Mikah questioned while folding her arms. "It's not cheap to use the furnace."
"Then add it to my tab too."
"What are you even planning to modify?"
Marcus carries his newly purchased shield and armor to the workshop.
"I may not be good at designing but when it comes to things like this, I plan on doing it right."
Marcus finally finishes and puts the equipment in a spare satchel. Before leaving he asks.
"Miss Mikah, do you know Anna?"
"Of course! She's my business partner, she just gave me instructions to expect a guy with your description. She's out doing errands and the like."
"So that's why you pulled me out of the crowd!"
"Yeah and do come back here. Preferably with those amazing skins!"
Marcus gave a nod before going back out with his equipment.
Once Marcus had left, Mikah goes into her room and immediately immediately opens a book and writes down.
"It was hard to believe, but I think I may have found a familiar face trapped in this strange world. He seems to be getting ready for a journey so I may have to follow him. If he can find a way back, maybe I can too."
Mikah then grabs the booklet and puts it in her satchel. She puts on her cloak and leaves a note at the counter.
"Hey Anna! I'll be taking a trip to Ferox so I may be gone for some time. Take care!"
On the way out, she puts on a belt and attaches a sheathe to her side, which contained a rapier.
Marcus comes back to Shepherd HQ with a heavy load on his back, he sneaks into the stables and stuffs his equipment in the dry hay pile of his horse.
"Make sure no one discovers this, okay?"
The horse nods in response, reassuring Marcus.
Marcus gives a smile before entering the hall, which gave off the smell of a brewing stew.
"Marcus! You're back!" Chrom said while putting his hand on his shoulder. "Where did you go?"
"Just went and looked around, get used to the view."
"Well. good to see that you're in time for dinner."
"Who's cooking?" Marcus asked.
"Lissa and Virion, Lissa wanted to be of some help." Chrom answered.
"It's rather strange for royalty to be doing work."
"Well, Lissa isn't your average princess." Chrom added. "Come! We'll eat together!"
Marcus arrives in the dining room to see the rest of the Shepherds admiring the wolf pup. Vaike, Sumia and Sully. Sumia was cradling it in her arms like a baby. Chrom seemed to had gone off and did his own thing.
"Aww what a cute doggy!" Sumia said while petting the nervous pup.
"Yeah, he looks pretty tough too! Wish I had a dog like him!" Sully added.
"I have half the mind to name him Vaike Jr.!"
"That won't be necessary." Marcus interrupted. "Hannibal, come here!"
The wolf pup escapes Sumia's grasp and immediately comes to Marcus. It sits down in anticipation. Marcus crouches down and tells the pup.
"You go to the stables and give Sir Julian's horse some company. There's a small crack by the door, use that to get out."
The pup barks in response and goes to the door and goes through the aforementioned crack.
Vaike and Sully both whistle with amazement while Sumia's eyes seemed to gleam.
"How did you do that?"
Marcus seemed to be confused.
"Do what?"
"Look, you literally just told your mutt complicated instructions and he followed it, to the last word."
"I don't know, I just found that pup today and it already seems to see me as its master."
"You have a natural talent with animals! Why don't you try and be a pegasus knight?" Sumia suddenly blurted out. "I mean, with your coordination with animals, you could be the best rider!"
This caught Marcus off-guard. It would definitely have been amazing if he could ride one of those. But he remembered that he still had to get home.
"Sorry, I have other priorities as of now."
This seemed to jolt Sumia.
"I forgot to feed the horses! Excuse me while I head to the stables."
Sumia runs out of the hall and accidentally falls over while doing so. Marcus couldn't help but snicker at the display, before he heard Sully call him.
"Oy."
"Yes?"
Vaike's face also turned serious.
"We heard that you beat Chrom pretty handily in a spar."
Marcus gulped as he remembered fighting the prince back at the barracks. He forgot how defeating a prince like that could lead to some rumours circulating about him.
"N-not really. I just kind of took advantage of his opening."
"Yes, we heard that you blocked his blow with your gauntlets." Vaike said.
"I was wearing steel gauntlets." Marcus retorted.
"He was using the unbreakable Falchion." Sully added.
Marcus felt even more scared. This 'Falchion' sword of Chrom was apparently comparable to the Excalibur of King Arthur. Which meant that any type of defence would have been useless against Chrom's assault. Hell, Marcus didn't even know how he beat Chrom.
"I was lucky?"
"No one is lucky enough to get their sword near Chrom's neck and tell the tale." Vaike said.
"How do we settle this?"
"We will spar with you."
"Why?"
"Defeating Chrom is my job, and it's hard enough with an axe, now I have to compete with you?"
"I just want to know how strong you are."
Marcus felt overwhelmed with the aura of the two jealous warriors, but he then hears a cry.
"EEEEEKKK!"
Marcus rushes to the stables to check for the source of the cry.
Marcus walks in the stables to see Sumia cowering near the doorway.
"Sumia! What happened!?"
"T-there's a demon i-in that stall!"
Marcus drew his sword to search for the demon, but he only saw Sir Julian's horse.
"I don't see it."
"It's right there! Big horns, and a bloodthirsty cry!" Sumia said while pointing at the horse.
Marcus realised that Sumia was just afraid of the horse.
"Geez, that's just my master's horse! He gave it some special armor to make it look scary."
"B-but why does it make such a horrifying growl?"
The horse then makes another loud neigh and makes Sumia cower on the floor. Marcus could actually hear a snicker from the horse. He then glares at the horse.
"You're enjoying this aren't you?"
The horse just neighed mischievously in response.
It was dinner time and everyone was enjoying their stew and eating at the same table. All except for Marcus who was eating by himself outside. He looked through the window and noticed one thing he really did not like. Virion and another lady, Maribelle wearing their fancy looking clothes. Seeing their gesture and attire could only bring one word to Marcus' mind.
Nobles.
How he hated that name. A name so repulsive to hear. And he wasn't going to eat with them any time soon.
Chrom, Lissa and Robin notice Marcus eating by himself and go outside to join with him. Marcus ignores them, even when Robin clears his throat.
"Why aren't you eating with the rest? The more the merrier!" Chrom said.
"I don't want to."
"Why?" Robin asked.
Marcus sighed.
"It's something I don't feel like telling."
"Come on, you can tell us!"
Marcus sighed. They weren't giving up, so he decided to be blunt.
"I have something against nobles. There, now quit asking."
"But why? Because they're richer?" Lissa asked bluntly.
"That's not nice Lissa." Chrom said.
Marcus groaned and decided to tell his whole story.
"Okay, look, to understand my views of the world, you need to understand how I came to be, I'll just treat you with my parent's story"
They all leaned in closer to listen.
"Before I was born, my mother was an extremely beautiful noblewoman."
"Why would you hate nobles if your mom was a noble?"
"Lissa, let him talk." Chrom reprimanded.
"As I was saying, my mother was an extremely beautiful noblewoman, with smooth, black hair. She made every man look her way, high or lowborn. Peasants and nobles would even stop their tasks just to get a glimpse of her beauty."
Lissa looked really amazed by the beauty of Marcus' mother.
"She was used to it, she shunned many suitors from many places. She always knew that men would just look at her whenever she came. She was used to the attention and that made her indifferent to any proposals."
"That was until that day. She went out for a stroll around town and she got everyone's attention as usual. But she noticed something was off. She noticed that one man wasn't looking her way. It was just a butcher's boy, still working his master's shop. Now she initially assumed that she didn't make her presence known to everyone so she tried to signal one of her escorts to attract everyone."
"And she made the correct assumption. She was able to catch the attention of the butcher's boy, but to her shock, he just went right back to his task. My mother took this as an insult, that she would be ignored by a mere peasant. So she tried to visit another day, wearing her best make-up. She went to the butcher under the impression that she was buying meat, but in reality, she just wanted to catch the young man's attention."
"What sort of boor would ignore such beauty!?"
Marcus saw Virion suddenly chime in on the conversation.
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Are we not talking about the sad story of a beautiful maiden who couldn't find her love?"
"No. No we're not."
Virion just walks back inside the building dejectedly.
Chrom then gives Marcus the signal to continue.
"So, she wore her best make-up and dressed herself to look more appealing. The butcher's boy took a look at her. She thought she had already won him over, but to her shock. The boy turns around like nothing had happened. She gets even angrier that he would dare turn his back in her presence. She tries a different tactic, she uses her best perfume. To her shock, he even covers his nose to avoid the stench of her supposedly heavenly perfume."
Lissa and Chrom chuckle at the comedic story of his mother. Robin listens more intently.
"One day, my mother was passing by the butcher's place to try and win over the butcher's boy. According to the butcher, his apprentice went out for the day. Since she had nothing else to do, she just wandered around the town, attracting admirers as she went. She comes across the butcher's boy, who was scurrying around the ground, as if he was looking for something. He notices someone bring a colourful stone inside the shop. The butcher's boy follows the person inside the shop while my mother stayed outside and watched."
Marcus takes a sip of water from his flask before continuing.
"It turns out the colourful stone was something of great importance to the butcher's boy and that random stranger just sold it for a high price. The butcher's boy tried to beg for it, but the shop owner chased him out."
"That's mean! Why would he do that!?"
"He was a peasant, why would they listen to him?" Marcus stated.
Lissa stayed quiet at this.
"My mother went inside and hesitantly bought the stone. She then had it secretly delivered to the butcher's boy."
"Awww, that's sweet!"
"Then one day, my mother was riding in her carriage, but it broke down and she needed to take a ride back home. Coincidentally, the butcher's boy was coming back to town on his ox, with a full load of firewood from the forest. My mother saw him and thought that he would just ignore her like last time. But to her surprise, he gets off, dumps some firewood from the ox to make room for my mother. He pulls her up and let's her ride right behind him. She had to hold on to him to make sure she didn't fall off."
"He dropped her off outside the butcher's shop, where he also carried the firewood inside the shop. Before my mother left, she could hear the butcher yell at the young man. The young man got sent outside and before my mother could leave, the butcher's boy said those words my mother would never forget."
"Now we're even."
"My mother was even more shocked, the butcher's boy actually knew that she was the one who helped him get his precious stone back. And apparently, he wanted to return the favor.
"From that day on, my mother was dead-set on making the butcher's boy hers. She visited daily, flirting and making advances towards him. She liked the young man, he wasn't predictable like most men she met. He was pure, sincere, and he didn't make his intentions clear. Even when she didn't flirt with him, she would just pass the time watching him work. She was completely in love and it was surprisingly one-sided for her."
"Now this activity attracted the attention of my mother's suitors, and they were obviously nobles. They were so jealous and so angry at the butcher's boy, they made many attempts on his life."
"Is that why you hate nobles?" Lissa suddenly asked.
"I'm not finished."
Lissa covers her mouth before nodding at Marcus to go on. But Chrom stops this.
"Pardon the interruption, but I find it hard to believe that there is beauty really worth killing for."
"Really now, cause I have a picture of her right now, a small painting in fact."
"Let's see it then."
"Nope, I'm showing it to Virion." Marcus said.
"Why?"
"Because Virion is a skirt-chasing noble like all the nobles I've met so far, he has more experience." Marcus replied.
Chrom just raises his eyebrow at this. Marcus peers into the window and shouts.
"Hey Virion, I got something for you!"
Virion walks to the window and leans out.
"What do you have for me?" Virion asked.
Marcus brings out a picture of a beautiful woman. Her black flowing hair, with the radiant glow of her skin. Her rosy cheeks that blush pink. Chrom could honestly see why those suitors got so riled up. But Virion, he was awestruck and lovestruck.
"My gods! What beauty! This painting reflects the light of heaven itself."
Marcus gives Chrom the 'I told you so' look. But Chrom brushes it off. Marcus continued.
"The butcher's boy had to stay with my mother until the whole thing blew over, while my mother's parents weren't happy with her choice of husband, her grandfather approved of it and had the marriage protected. So the butcher's boy was officially my father. And soon enough, I was in the picture. I grew up a happy child, even with all those noblemen and noblewomen mocking my father for his status."
Marcus wore a grim expression.
"That was until, that day…"
"What happened?"
"My great-grandfather died, meaning that his protection over my parent's marriage was null and void. My grandfather had prepared for this day, gathering the angry and disgruntled suitors of my mother. He marched over to my house and attempted to kill my father. My father locked the door and barricaded it, preventing any entry. They did the next worst thing. They set the house on fire.
Lissa gasped in horror while Robin and Chrom's eyes widened at the revelation.
"They all thought it was only my father in the house. They were wrong. My mother and I were also inside, I was five years old that time. The house was burning up in flames, there was no escape. Except for a child-sized hole that only I could fit in. My parents were willing to sacrifice themselves to save me, pushing me through the hole and saving me from the fire."
Lissa gave a look of pity.
"I was cast out to the streets, still hiding from the men who killed my parents. Cause apparently, I'm the 'symbol' of the marriage between my father and mother and that I needed to be destroyed. I was five years old and I had no food, no shelter, no family, so I had to resort to one thing, stealing. I roamed the streets of Canterbury to search for anything to steal."
They gasped in shock.
"A child of a noblewoman, a thief? That's rather shocking!"
"I had no choice. It was either that or starve to death. First, I only stole from the street markets, sneaking my hand in to try and get any lucky bites. Sometimes, I fail and I have to run or outpace my pursuers, which is how I developed my athletic skill at an early age."
"When I was eight, I was able to steal from the pantries of nobles. I would often sneak at night to try and find any morsel or any food that would sustain me. And often times, I would have run-ins with guards. And sometimes, I would have no choice but to fight."
"You!? Fight against guards!? At eight!? I was barely getting through my etiquette lessons!" Lissa asked in shock.
"I was playing with my rapier, but my gods Marcus, you already fought trained guards!?" Chrom asked in shock.
"To be fair, I only stalled them, until such time that I can disappear into the night. When I turned ten, there was one pantry that I regularly raided since the guards were very inattentive. That was until one night, I came to the pantry to steal more food, but it turns out, someone was already waiting for me. A soon-to-be knight was the only one who noticed the missing food and tried to investigate. He tried to attack me, but I was able to keep him at a distance. But soon enough, I was defeated and I awaited my death. But the knight was so impressed by my ability that he wanted me to be his apprentice as soon as he became a knight."
"Naturally, I refused, since I didn't want to associate myself with someone of noble blood. But he drove the deal home. He offered me a home and free food, so naturally, I accepted. He gave me his name, Julian of Canterbury."
"For six years, I have been training under his tutelage as his squire. I trained with utmost discipline and determination. He was so pleased with my performance, he asked me if I wanted anything."
"What did you tell him?
"I want to get away with murder."
The three get visibly shocked by this.
"Why would you want to kill someone in the first place!?"
"You think after eleven years, that I would forget what my grandfather did to me and my parents?"
Lissa suddenly remembered but Chrom still looked disturbed.
"You wanted to kill him?"
"Yes, and my master arranged some sort of purge. I would name the nobles behind the death of my parents and Sir Julian would have them publicly executed. Call me sadistic, but I wore a smile seeing all those who mocked and spited my parents, getting what they deserved."
Lissa and Chrom are visibly disturbed by this.
"Are you crazy!?"
Marcus then laughs.
"All those years without family has made me a bit… eccentric. I admit."
Lissa and Chrom give a look of pity.
"Sir Julian gave me the benefit of killing my grandfather. My grandfather looked me in the eyes. He was too old to even speak, but I could tell that he was sorry. I told him these words. 'I forgive you', I then plunged my sword into him and killed him. I gave him a proper burial and prayed for his soul."
Lissa looked so close to tears.
"Why are you so open with us about this? Most people would even to struggle to talk about this.
"I already put that behind me a long time ago, it never bothered me to talk about this kind of stuff. The only thing of the past that stuck with me was my hatred for nobles. No matter what kind of noble, I always seemed to be wary and distrustful towards them. So, for the rest of my life, I only trained as a knight and never involved myself with those rich braggarts. The only nobles that I would answer to would be the king himself and my master, Sir Julian."
The trio stay quiet at this. Marcus was still confused at their stares.
"What? I gave you your story, now don't ask me again."
"But who knew that nobles could be so cruel?" Chrom asked with a horrified look on his face.
"Look, Chrom. I don't blame you for not seeing things in my perspective. You're royalty, you got more important things to do. I'm not saying that nobles are bad in general, I'm just explaining my somewhat irrational dislike for nobles."
Chrom and Lissa quietly went back inside while Robin still stayed behind.
"You need anything?" Marcus asked.
"Well, to be honest, I don't really have much to do inside, so I'll just stay out here."
Both stayed quiet while eating their meal. Marcus tries to break the awkward silence.
"So… How is it being the tactician for the Shepherds?"
"I only became tactician today, what do you think?" Robin deadpanned.
Both laughed at this.
"Yeah, you know, that prince is really interesting and so is that princess." Marcus commented.
"You don't seem to like them very much." Robin added.
"It's not that I don't like them, I'm just being wary." Marcus stated.
"Please don't. Gods know we don't need another Frederick." Robin joked, prompting another laugh from both.
"But seriously, are you up for the task?"
"I'm kind of scared to be honest, it's a pretty big task but I'm sure I'm up for it."
Marcus sees the moon reach its height and decides to call it a day.
"Anyway, it's time to hit the hay. See ya Robin." Marcus saluted as we walked to the stables.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"The stables of course, I'm going to lie in the hay."
"Don't you want to come inside?" Robin asked.
"Nah, I'm used to hay, I'll just sleep with horses." Marcus replied. "Besides, I have a feeling that the stables will be a bit more tranquil."
"Suit yourself." Robin said before entering.
Marcus enters the stables and lies down on the hay and think about what happened.
"I'm coming with these guys to Regna Ferox, if it's somewhere up north, I may find something I need there."
His thought process was interrupted by Robin who had entered the stables with his own pillow and blanket.
"What brings you here?"
"You're right, the noise of the stables couldn't compare to Vaike's snoring." Robin said while rubbing his eyes.
Marcus chuckles while Robin walks to the far corner and immediately sleeps.
Marcus clicks his tongue as he eyes close.
"I really hope Jerusalem hasn't fallen."
The wolf pup walked up to him and laid beside him as Marcus fell asleep.
That night, Marcus had a vision.
Marcus was waiting in the shadows while watching an ensuing fight. Seeing Chrom and Robin fight a mysterious wizard. As the battle grew more intense, the wizard was seemingly defeated. But to Marcus' shock, Robin impales Chrom with a thunderbolt. Marcus immediately rushes out of the shadows and impales the wizard before tending to the dying prince.
"Chrom! Chrom are you okay!?"
"Please… Don't bother with me, make sure Robin gets out of here…"
"But Chrom—"
Chrom pulls Marcus closer to him.
"Please, listen to me! Promise me, you never let anything happen to Robin. Even if the whole continent tries to find him… Please protect him."
"But—"
"PROMISE ME!" Chrom shouted.
Marcus was taken aback by this but relented.
"I promise."
"Then I die with a clear conscience…"
Marcus could only watch as Chrom's life slowly left him.
Marcus woke up from the shock of the vision.
"What the hell was that!?"
However, Marcus easily brushes it off as a simple dream. He then looks outside to see that it was barely sunrise, with both Robin and the horses still fast asleep. He gets up and goes outside to bathe. Keeping his clothes on, he dumps cold water on his head and cleans himself with a brush.
Soon after, he gets back into the stables and looks for his stuffed armor. He finds it in the pile of hay and puts it on to get ready for the day. He then goes out and does some exercises
Chrom goes to the stables to wake up Robin and Marcus to only find Robin snoozing in the hay.
"Hey Robin!"
Robin immediately jolts up.
"We're getting ready to leave! Have you seen Marcus?"
"Er, no. I believe he might have went somewhere. He left his horse here so he shouldn't be far."
"Actually, I'm right here."
Chrom and Robin peer outside the stables to see a fully armoured man wearing chainmail and plate armor. The man himself wore a shield on his back, which contained a strange and foreign coat-of-arms.
"My gods, Marcus is that you?"
"Of course it is, I just got myself some new armor!"
Chrom eyed him with an impressed look. Chrom was particularly interested in Marcus' shield design.
"What is that on your shield?"
"It's the English coat-of-arms. Just to clarify that I am not a warrior of this kingdom." Marcus answered.
"Must you be so insistent of your origins?" Robin asked.
"I'm that patriotic." Marcus said before passing Chrom and entering the stall.
Marcus enters the stables and gets everything ready. He packs his things, brings out his horse and holds the pup. Marcus noticed a stranger in the group, an olive haired man to be rest of the Shepherds had a good look at Marcus and had mixed reactions.
"Marcus! You look so cool in that armor!" Lissa praised.
"I don't know, it looks rather tacky with that visor and is that blood? It lacks the elegance and design of our armor." Frederick commented.
"Don't be so uptight Fred! The blood adds personality!" Sully stated.
"He doesn't really look like a knight though." the man with the olive hair commented.
"But he looks cool enough Stahl! I mean I personally think he looks fine!" Sumia added.
The Shepherds had a brief discussion among themselves before Chrom stopped it.
"Now, now. That's enough, we still have work to do. Got it?"
"Yes sir!" they all shouted, except for Marcus.
The Shepherds have already organised their convoy. Chrom would lead the party together with Robin. Sully, Stahl, Vaike, Lissa and Virion stay in the middle, with Lissa riding with Sully. And lastly, Marcus, Sumia and Frederick would stay at the back, with Sumia riding with Frederick. Marcus ultimately decided that Sumia would be under pup duty, much to Sumia's delight and Lissa's disappointment. Sumia also kept a considerable distance from Marcus and his horse. With the horse still being as terrifying as ever.
"So, is it time to head out?" Chrom asked.
"Waaiiit!" shouted a familiar voice.
Marcus looked to see Mikah shouting as she ran over to them.
"What do you want villager?" Frederick bluntly asked.
Mikah scoffed at this.
"Villager? I'm no villager, I'm a saleswoman and I need to get to Regna Ferox as well." she said with a huff.
Chrom and the others seemed to have a difficult time trying not to stare at her face, which was rather beautiful considering that she was just a mere saleswoman. But Frederick was not swayed.
"Then take a cart. Civilians are not welcome in this convoy."
"Carts are not taking any passengers due to fear of bandits and I need to get to Ferox as soon as possible."
"But we're not going to protect a helpless—"
Frederick's words were interrupted by a swift movement. He looked to see a rapier almost poking at his neck.
"I'm not helpless." she growled, giving him withering glare.
Chrom and the others were dumbstruck by the movement of her blade, too fast to even perceive. Chrom decided to break the tension.
"Well, she's certainly not weak, and we could definitely use more skilled warriors." Chrom said before giving Frederick a glare. "So let her be Frederick."
Frederick begrudgingly turns away and Mikah triumphantly joins with Marcus. She then climbs onto Marcus' horse. Marcus tries to ignore her but she calls his attention.
"Hey Marcus! You seem to be enjoying the armor I sold you!"
"Hello Mikah."
Everyone seems visibly surprised by this.
"You know her?"
"Yes, I met her while I was roaming around the city." Marcus said while sighing. "Don't ask."
Their conversation is interrupted by Chrom signalling them to march. Mikah holds on to Marcus tightly, almost hugging him. If Marcus wasn't wearing armor, he would have been feeling her breasts against his back. Vaike and Virion get visibly jealous but Marcus brushes it off as he thinks to himself.
"I really hope that I can get some answers from Regna Ferox."
And that's the third chapter, you thought this story was dead? Of course not! i just need some inspiration once in a while, so I'll be updating this monthly I guess. Why? Cause I'm hooked onto my RWBY fanfic, "Adjusted for Inflation: Remnant" so check that out. And here are my questions:
Who exactly is Mikah?
How did she get her hands on a set of Feudal Knight Armor
And who do you think is a good pairing for Marcus? (This isn't a deciding vote or anything, I just wanted to know what you think)