Of Dawn and Mercenaries

Description: Now this one's probably going to surprise you a bit. Love triangle time: Pelleas/Micaiah/Sothe. I prefer Pelleas/Micaiah as a pairing, but unlike how I used to be I can actually tolerate Sothe/Micaiah - I just still don't like it very much because it's... too popular... and because I'm still in the firm belief that RD screwed around a bit with the canon.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem, Intelligent Systems, or Nintendo. If you claim I do, I have some Limburger cheese that I'd be perfectly willing to tape under your nose.

Another Disclaimer: I do not own anyone else mentioned in this series of fanfics. I promise. I'm just blabbing again.

abc -A New Outlook- cba

"...Your Majesty..."

The young man stood in the royal garden, only turning his head to listen to the words of his friend. With radiant silver hair blowing softly in the wind, she was a regal sight... and now that he knew the real reason behind her beauty, he decided he would accept beorc and laguz alike.

"Please, Micaiah. I'm not the king... you know that, right?"

"You may not be king by blood, but..." She stepped up to him, smiling. "...Please, don't forget... I still will always think of you as my king."

"Do away with formalities, please," he said quietly. "...I don't deserve them anymore."

"...But, Your Majesty..."

"I'm not the king. I would much rather usurp my position to someone like... you, who would be much more fit to rule a country. You were supposed to be the empress of Begnion, weren't you?"

"...P-Pelleas..." She hesitated, placing her arms around his neck. "...I'm sorry... you've been so depressed lately..."

"Would you be depressed if you found out that your entire existence was a lie, a fraud? You... can't even begin to imagine how I feel, Micaiah."

She closed her eyes, nestling her head against the back of his neck. "...I can feel the ebb and flow of your soul... I can feel your emotions clearer than ever now. You're sad... and it's because you think you're worthless, isn't it?"

"...That is correct," he said. "You... should've just killed me... back during the war..."

"I... I could never do that to a dear friend," she said. "...Pelleas... the reason I did so much for you was because... I believed in you..."

"Thank you..." he said quietly. "...Even though there was nothing to believe in... you still stuck by me. Micaiah... you are strong... stronger than I could ever hope to be."

Gently removing her arms from around his neck, he turned. "Micaiah... I also believed in you... as odd as it may sound. I couldn't even believe in myself... yet you were something else... something special... someone I could trust completely and utterly. My faith in you, that you would save Daein... was beyond merely faith. I knew you could do it."

"...You believed in me..." she repeated slowly. "...But... why?"

"Can you feel it in my heart? Why I desired to be by your side? Why I believed in you so strongly?... To me, you weren't just the savior of Daein. You were someone entirely different..."

"...You loved me?"

He closed his eyes. "...Yes. I loved you. However, I knew it was an unrequited love... you were still by Sothe's side, no matter what happened. It seems futile to love someone who will not love you back."

"...Yes... I did love him," she said. "...However... in my own way, I also loved you. And... I still do... both of you."

"You... love us? Both of us?"

"Yes... I do."

He frowned. "...That is an impossible claim. You cannot love both of us... you must pick one or the other."

"Pelleas, you don't understand," she said. "...Why do you think I stuck by you even when Sothe protected me? Is it not possible for someone to love more than one person at once?"

"...Micaiah..."

"...Please, Pelleas... believe in me... like you always did. You always believed in me... through thick and thin... even when you didn't trust yourself. You think I just love Sothe... have I not proven enough to you that I love you?"

"Micaiah, I..."

"All those times... even before I knew about the blood pact, I fought for what you believed in. Sothe didn't even agree with my claims... and yet, he and I, we fought for you... alongside each other. My affection for Sothe is very strong, but... more than anyone, I believed in you. So please... please, don't... disappoint me..."

He stepped closer, putting his arms around her. "Micaiah, please don't cry. I understand now... you truly do wish for perfection... but I will not get in the way of your wish. Rather... I will assist you in achieving it."

"P-Pelleas..."

Leaning into his chest, she began to cry. He didn't want it; however, she couldn't hold it back. Though she let her emotions flow unchecked, it was only for a short time.

"...Micaiah... please. I can't stand to see you so sad. It was your wish that I not die... I kept on living, for you. I didn't want you to be sad..."

"Pelleas, I'm... I'm not crying because..."

"You were... for a time. I know now, though... now your tears are those of joy."

"...Pelleas..."

She lifted her head, looking at him. He looked back, a gentle smile on his face.

"...Micaiah? Do you accept the offer to take the throne in my place?"

"...Not in your place... alongside you."

"Mm... yes, I understand. But... what of Sothe?"

"Like he's always been... he can be my bodyguard... and closest friend."

"...Splendid idea, Micaiah... you are still the intelligent girl I grew to love."

"Thank you... my king."

"You're welcome... my queen."

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Author's Note: The 'canon' ending for the second playthrough, if you don't kill Pelleas, is that he usurps his role as king of Daein and has Micaiah take his place. Obviously, if you kept the A support between Sothe and Micaiah for the entire game, they get married in the end... but I was thinking along different lines entirely. I know, it's weird, but screwing with canon is fun.

Also, a completely unrelated side note, but does anyone notice that according to the in-game face sprite, Ike is more muscular in RD than his father was? Just an odd observation, and more than likely me just seeing things. Other useless observations include... Zihark having longer hair, Ilyana looking considerably older, and one that's not really related to FE, but Raiden from Metal Gear Solid kind of resembles a blond version of Kingdom Hearts Riku/Zihark (I say this because Riku and Zihark look quite similar, and that was another resemblance I could've listed instead of Raiden, but Raiden is my new crush in spite of me probably never playing the game). And no, I'm not talking about cyberninja. D: Speaking of Riku, I also observed that Riku's Heartless form in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories reminds me very scarily of Barbatos from Tales of Destiny 2... I also keep hitting Caps Lock instead of Shift.

And yet another useless observation, I didn't even realize I'd typed "frim" instead of "from" until after I read the sentence over. Alright, now I'll shut up. Really.