Fire Emblem Fates

Chapter 8: The Savior

Lucina was carrying a sleepy Morgan down the hall and into her room. She had her child on one shoulder and her new intriguing book on the other. She walked into Morgan's room, which was an utter mess of books about dimensional travel and the like and tucked in her sleepy girl. Lucina kissed her forehead and got up and walked out of her room. She got out her book and began examining the cover. It depicted a picture a war between two armies, one army containing Pegasus knights, myrmidons and some guys who looked like they were fast carrying some type of throwing weapon, there opposition containing soldiers more familiar to Lucina, like cavaliers, knights and wyvern riders. But below the battlefield was some type of different earth, with floating islands and a desolated world. Lucina guessed they were each the three different civilizations on the books cover. She laid down on her bed and opened the book to the first page of the book. She saw a picture of a knight riding a powerful horse, wearing black armor and sporting curly blond hair. He carried what seemed to be a powerful sword, emanating dark energy. Lucina read,

'The Nohrian crown prince, Xander marched on forward. He was eager to meet up with his treacherous brother and bring him back home. Behind him stood his two trusty retainers; Laslow and Peri.'
"Hmm, how curious. Laslow resembles Inigo."

'Peri was pouting, upset Xander gave her the order of mercy unless ordered to kill. Laslow was bouncing every step, dancing his way through the road.'

"He even dances like Inigo. I'll show this to Mother later. Maybe it'll bring back happy memories of Inigo." Lucina thought. She read onward and learned that the kingdoms of Nohr and Hoshido were at war, and in between them was a young child, Corrin, who knew a deep dark secret about the events of the war. Corrin and his merry band of servants continued onward to Hoshido, in attempts to win over Corrin's Hoshidan family. But they were about to be caught in a pincer trap….

Back in Hoshido…

"Come on, Jakob, please! It's my turn to make the food!" Felicia pouted, upset Jakob wouldn't let her cook the meal.
"Felicia, trust me when I say that no one likes your cooking, and we have an important confrontation tomorrow. We need to be at our best which we certainly cannot be if you take the helm of the kitchen." Jakob said bluntly, causing Felicia storm off and sit with Azura and Corrin at the campfire. Gunter was out hunting for meat, and Jakob was in the process of cooking the fish. Azura was off humming her tune and Felicia was looking around the forest, like she was anticipating something. Corrin noticed her uneasiness and scooted over next to her asked,

"Is everything alright, Felicia?" She seemed really surprised to be shook out of wherever she was daydreaming.

"Oh yeah, yeah, just peachy." Felicia responded and continued to eye the trees.

"Yeah, you sure seem fine. Come on, what's wrong. You can trust me, Felicia." Corrin begged. Felicia smiled a little bit to herself as he had no idea what she was truly worried about, and how it related to him.

"No, truly. I'm fine Corrin, Please, don't worry about me. It's my job to worry about you." Felicia said.

"If you say so." Corrin frowned and walked up to ask Jakob to help him learn how to cook. Azura took this opportunity to get to know her teammate and sat next to Felicia.

"You hold feelings for Corrin, do you not?" Azura asked.

"What! Umm… No, no, no. I don't know where that even came from. Pfft, me holding feelings for Corrin. Preposterous!" Felicia scrambled, furthering Azura's interest.

"Please, I am known to be very perceptive. I can see the way you look and talk to him. Don't deny it. Love is nothing to be ashamed of." Azura complied. Felicia caved in, and admitted to her accusations.

"So what? It's not like it matters. A maid is prohibited from being in love with her sire. And regardless of that, Corrin will never reciprocate the feelings he has for me." Felicia admitted, relieved she could finally get it out of her chest.

"Well, you just have to give it time. Corrin is a young boy, and he has just been outcast by his two families. He is probably overwhelmed at the moment and struggling to keep his thoughts in line. So don't worry if he seems unattainable right now, because hope is never lost and if you truly care for him, then admitting your feelings to him may not be such a bad idea." Azura advised.

"Thank you, Azura. Your advice and help means a lot. I'll see what I can do." Felicia said, but she never planned to tell Corrin her feelings. She knew what the consequence was and she didn't want Flora to be hurt any longer.

"As for the sire and maid situation, I'd disregard it. Corrin doesn't seem the type that would obey to normal royalty rules." Azura joked, with a smile on her face, causing Felicia to smile too.

"Heh, yeah. That's true." At that point Gunter emerged from the trees holding a dead bear on his back. He plopped it down in front of Jakob and said,

"Dear gods, is it hard to catch food when you're my age." Gunter joked. In an hour the entirety of the food was finished cooking and the group was gathered around the campfire, eating their bear meat. Gunter began discussion.

"What's the plan tomorrow milord? I hope I'm not the only one worried for our confrontation with the Hoshidans." Gunter warned.

"Well, I was kind of hoping they would just listen to us, to be honest." Corrin said.

"Milord, if you would excuse me for saying this, but that is a horrid plan." Jakob disagreed.

"I must agree with Jakob on this one. We need to be prepared for the possibility that the Hoshidans will not want to hear our little tale, which is already hard to believe as is." Gunter said, and Azura nodded.

"As much as it pains me to say this, but I agree. We must prepare to fight our friends, Corrin." Azura agreed.

"It's just… We are in this situation because I wanted peace. And I know what we are doing will achieve peace. But if we fight to achieve peace, then what did we really accomplish?" Corrin asked, to no one in particular.

"It's not a question for us to ponder, Corrin. We must merely try to make do with the forces we can control. And unfortunately unrequited attention from our enemies is not something we can control." Azura spoke, calming Corrin down.

"Thank you Azura. I will try to do what we came to do." Corrin complied. Following their little 'war meeting', they all went to bed. Or at least, that's what most thought. Felicia rose from her sheets when she was certain everyone was asleep and snuck deep into the forest. She brought out a mystical horn, and blew it. Soon after, Iago appeared in a puff of purple smoke.

"When are the forces arriving?" Felicia asked, a bit angry.

"My, my. Is someone looking to poke their nose into matters that don't concern her." Iago laughed.

"When are the forces arriving?" Felicia grumbled, making Iago laugh even more.

"You're so adorable when you think you're being threatening. Little girl, why would it even matter? In a matter of hours, your little group will be all but forgotten. You're pathetic prince slaughtered by his own family. And you know what will be the epitome of his death, you my little maid. You will be the one to kill Corrin. The person you love. Heh, almost poetic. Power of Love, I guess" and with that, Iago disappeared. But little did he know, that Felicia got everything she needed from that conversation. Now she knew the forces would arrive in a couple of hours, and that someone from the Nohrian royal family would be among them. Felicia went walking back to the campsite, when she was surprised by someone calling her name.
"Felicia, what are you doing? Could you not sleep?" It was Corrin, rubbing his eyes out of exhaustion. Felicia turned around to see her prince, standing before her.

"Um, no. I mean, yes. It's just… I've never been in a war before. I've only ever done domestic bodyguarding for you. I'm just a bit nervous is all." Felicia lied, feeling a stab of pain for lying to Corrin.

"Yeah, I'm nervous too. I mean, battling my own family just feels wrong. We all want the same thing; peace. I just wish they knew what I knew." Corrin admitted.

"Corrin, remember that Azura warned us that knowledge is a trap. It'll be very hard to convince the entirety of the Hoshidan or Nohrian family to come with us. But we have to try." Felicia said.
"Thanks, Felicia. That's just what I needed to hear. Your a great friend." Corrin said, and he hugged her. Felicia felt a deeper wound form inside of her. The way he said 'friend' just made her feel upset. They both went back to camp and laid down to go back to sleep.

The next morning, the group stood up and prepared to eat breakfast. Jakob cooked some of the leftover meat from last night and served it for them. Once they finished dining, they began their march towards Fort Jinya. They had Gunter on point, with Felicia and Jakob behind him and Azura and Corrin in the rear.

"Corrin, may I ask you one question?" Azura asked.

"Of course, Azura. What is it?"

"Are you prepared to do what is necessary? Are you prepared to strike down innocent Hoshidans if it means to further our cause." Corrin gulped. "I assumed not."
"Azura, sorry. But I won't kill innocents. Even if it means them killing me, I won't do it." Corrin said, and caused Azura to smile.

"Good, I had hoped not. It is your innocence and charisma that is what made me follow you. And no doubt the people in front of us too. It is your characteristics that will win us the war, and I just hoped that our situation would not change that." Azura said, causing Corrin to get lost in his thoughts all alone.
"Wait!" Gunter showed his hand in the air to signify to wait. He looked around the surroundings to notice anything wrong. He noticed something move in the bushes and called back, "Ambush!" With that a group of cavaliers hopped out of the bushes and surrounded the group. Jakob was a bit uneasy, Gunter was ready to fight, Felicia seemed calm and prepared, and Corrin was protecting Azura from these new men. They had their lances and swords outstretched, ready to strike down any who hoped to escape. They paved the way for a man in a larger armored horse. Corrin recognized him immediately.

"Xander!"

"Hello, little brother. It seems my talent for finding you has not been lost in your betrayal. Now I will give you two options. You may come back to us in one piece, and thrown in jail until Father allows you to go. Or, me and my retainers will kill each and everyone of you." Xander threatened.

"Brother, please you don't understand. Father is not well, I'm not even sure he is your Father anymore." Corrin begged.

"Hmm, and what proof do you have of such claims?"

"None, I'm afraid. I wish I could tell you more but a curse is preventing me from telling you. Please, Xander you have to believe me."

"Brother, I hope you do not think of me as such a fool to believe your tale. And what do you hope of doing in Hoshido, huh? If you truly loved us and wanted us to believe in this dumb story, you would have gone to us first Corrin. We are your family. Those Hoshidans should be nothing but a lost relic to you. What drew you to them?" Xander asked. Corrin had had enough.
"My Mother! That monster you call a father killed my mother! My real mother! I tried to convince you to see his true shades, but you are too far into his clutches, Xander. If you cannot see the evil that posses him, then you are lost. And god forbid, I will defeat you if you continue to get in my way." Corrin screamed, shocking Azura and the others, as well as some of the Nohrians. But not Xander, he seemed completely unphased by the insult.

"My, you've grown into a strong boy, haven't you, Corrin. If only you were on my side, and believed in the good of father. You may see him as cruel, but he is not, he is my father. A man that I love and have known for my whole life. I wish things turned out differently." With that Xander gave the order for the cavaliers to back off, revealing a man in gray hair and another cavalier wearing a funky, blue and pink hair. "Your retainers vs mine. You vs me. Are you prepared to strike down your true brother, Corrin." Corrin unsheathed his sword, but looked uneasy. "Of course, you're not. That proves you choose wrong to side against your family Corrin. Know that I loved you to the end." Xander charged at Corrin and Corrin prepared his parry stance.

"STOP!" a voice shrieked through the air. And before he knew it, a person in pink, bulky armor stood in the way of Xander's siegfried striking Corrin. The person used her lance to disbalance the horse and caused Xander to fall.

"No, please not you too." Xander prayed, knowing what this meant. A blond haired man appeared from the shadows and struck down the blue- haired cavalier and began fighting the gray haired man. Corrin heard horse hooves coming towards him and assumed it was Xander's other cavaliers. But he was surprised when he found out who it was.
"Hey, big brother! Did ya miss me?" Corrin looked up to see those signature blond pigtails.

"Elise! What are you doing here?"
"I'm saving you big brother!" Elise said excitedly. She turned to Xander, who had a look of disbelief in his eyes. "Big brother, Corrins telling the truth. Our Father is evil and a big ol' meanie. I heard him give you the order of finding and killing Corrin in Hoshido. No father of mine will ever kill my big brother. How could you agree to that Xander! I thought you loved him."

"Elise, I do. But he is a traitor to Nohr. And as crown prince, it is my duty to represent my country. Even if it means killing my treacherous brother." Xander said.

"No, I can't believe that. You must love your family, and if it gets in the way of your duty, so what? They're your family Xander, and you don't ever give up on them." Elise said, and Corrin was so happy to have her as his little sister. The strong and brave Elise, willing to die in order to get in the way of our fighting. Elise's speech caused Xander to think things over and while he was doing that, Corrin examined where the other cavaliers were. He noticed they were gone, and the knight noticed this and explained,

"Before we left, Elise made sure the knights that went on this journey were her own, so she could stop Xander. I'm Effie. Happy to finally meet you." Effie greeted. He noticed she was a girl and looked real strong to carry that armor around. The two other boys had stopped fighting and were keeping an eye on their superiors. The blue haired cavalier even stood up and looked at Xander. Xander finally made his decision and stood up,

"Elise, I'm truly sorry, but I cannot follow you. It is my birthright and duty to do what is best for Nohr. As far as the state knows, you two will become traitors and I can't denounce myself a traitor to Nohr. So I will go back to Nohr, and I promise you, next time we meet, there will be interruptions. I will fight you Corrin, and make you pay for treachery. Come on Laslow and Peri. He signaled his retainers to come back with him. Once they were out of sight, Elise looked upset, probably because her plan failed. Corrin came up to Elise, and said,

"Elise, thanks for the save back there. If not for you, Xander would have slain me." he thanked, and Elise looked at him and smiled her big smile.
"No problem, I can't have my family killing my family can I? And now I'm back with you big brother! We can work together to reunite the countries."
"How did you know that was my plan?" Corrin asked.

"Because I'm smart, and I deciphered your reasoning for leaving us. It was because you didn't want to fight us or your other family so you wanted peace." Corrin rubbed her tiny head.
"I love you, Elise. Your so darn cute." Corrin said and tickled her armpits.

"Stop! You know I hate being tickled." Elise giggled.

"But your laugh is just too adorable for me to stop." Corrin laughed along with her. The blond haired man approached them and asked,
"Lady Elise, is it okay if I go and fetch our stashed supplies? Effie is hungry again." the man asked.

"Yes of course, Arthur. You better bring me my blankie and my snacks. I can't go a day without them." Elise said, and Arthur went away, muttering something about a grand adventure on the horizon for his ragtag team of misfits.

"Are they your retainers?" Corrin asked.

"Yep, the best retainers ever! They made sure I am always safe. Arthur and Effie are the best." Elise said, and she performed her signature wink. "So what's our plan, big brother? What are we going to do next?" Corrin stared off into the distance, and saw Fort Jinya and pointed there.

"We are going there, to see if more people will join our cause." Corrin signaled, and Elise gave a thumbs up."

"Okie dokie. I can't wait to meet some Hoshidans. Maybe they'll play games with me!" Elise laughed.

"I'm not sure that's how it works Elise." Corrin said with a smile on his face. Azura approached them and greeted Elise.

"Hello, Lady Elise. Or would you prefer I call you sister." Azura said, and Elise stared her eyes in shock.

"What do you mean? My only sister is Camilla!"
"I know it's much to take in, but just like your brother I was kidnapped and taken away from home, most likely before you would've heard of me." Azura explained. Elise was still in shock.

"WOW! I can't believe I have another sister! And beautiful no less. Come on, let's go play some games and talk about boys and do our makeup!" She screamed in glee, until she remembered something. "Grrh, Arthur still hasn't come back with our supplies. Guess makeup will have to wait." She still grabbed Azura's hand and dragged her over to her tent to catch up. Corrin just smiled at Azura's fleeing figure, as she turned around to see him, and Corrin saw a smile spread across her face.

Back in Nohr…

"Whatever, who cares. That brat was annoying anyways. Even if my plan failed, I have others. No doubt they won't fail." Iago said, a bit aggravated. Garon just stared at him, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Elise…" He mumbled. "I'm sorry…"
"Ugh, don't tell me I have to do this again. First Corrin now Elise. Hopefully I won't have to reapply the duration everytime something goes wrong." Iago said in annoyance, and he brought out his tome and began chanting an incantation. He then surrounded Garon in purple energy and using it, caused Garon even more pain. This spell was made to weaken the spirit of someone. Using this spell allowed Anankos to remain in control of Garon. A mindless puppet to be used at whim. Robin sensed the dark magic at play here and walked through the halls, undetected, until he came across the room and saw the king being tortured by a mage.
"How, intriguing…" Robin said, and he remained watching until Iago stopped, and he went back to his room.

So, my reasoning for having Elise join at this point was because in Revelations, she joined way too late. Beyond the point of really usable. This also helps me introduce conflict within Garon and Iago, Iago and Felicia, Robin and this whole world and the Nohrian siblings. Don't worry Hoshidans, your time will come soon. The book Lucina has will become a way of bridging these two worlds together. Also, just for clarification, assume all of the kids have their default hair color. Like Severa always having red and Nina for example grey. That was the reason why Robin didn't notice the hair change of Odin and Selena. I'm gonna try to come out with chapters on a consistent basis, maybe one every weekend, with some having two, based upon how school goes.