Disclaimer: Fire Emblem doesn't belong to me - my OC's do

Chapter 2

Thetia was going to kill Tormod. The annoying, hyperactive mage had not stopped talking for the past few days but luckily the end was in sight. The border to Daein was only a few miles away, still her hands itched to stab him with with something...an arrow, her hunting knife, her fingernails...something painful. Seriously, how did Muarim and Vika stand the incessant noise.

Despite the irritating noise maker, who spent most of the time speaking to Sofi, the trip was one of the better ones. The group didn't sneer or insult them and best of all they didn't complain. She had no patience for whiners or complainers.

"Muarim my feet hurt." That's it she was going to kill him.

"Patience little one, I'm sure we will be there soon." Goddess bless you Muarim, she thought and turned her attention back to the path. So far they had encountered nothing that dangerous, a bear and a couple of wolves but they had been scared off by Muarim. Thetia was unsure what to make of the green Laguz, he was so different form the people she was used to. He had stayed calm and clear-minded, Vika seemed to avoid them as if she was wary of them. The raven stayed close to Tormod but Thetia caught her staring at her and Sofia a couple of times.

The world was changing again, from Muarim and Tormod they had learnt of the conflicting powers in the world and how the unrest Daein was growing. They were going to help an old friend. That was all that they had told them and Thetia had asked no more. The fighting in Daein did not concern her and she respected peoples privacy as long as they respected hers. She could hear Sofi and Tormod speaking in the back.

"So you've lived here all your lives." Sofi smiled at the shock in his voice.

"Yes Tia and I grew up here. It is our home and provides most of what we need."

"So you never leave here!" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes this was our first venture into the civilised world." Thetia called back. Tormod looked awestruck and Sofi shook her head.

"My sister only jests, we occasionally go to the villages on the outskirts of the forest for supplies." Thetia just smiled at the boys naïvety. Tormod glared at the archer, then turned back to her.

"You must get pretty lonely out here, just you and your sister."

"We are fine just by ourselves." she said

"But every creature needs some form of contact, no-one wants to be truly alone." Sofi turned to face Tormod, there was a surprising amount of wisdom on his face. Before she could answer her sister turned back.

"Look, Sofi and I are fine on our own we don't need your sympathy or pity!" her voice was harsh and the whole group stopped. Tia was shaking and clenching her bow. Muarim put a hand on her shoulder.

"No-one was pitying you, we are just surprised by your lifestyle. I've never heard of people living in the forest by themselves. It is your choice in life and we respect that."

Thetia bit her tongue, it hadn't been their choice to come here. They were forced to. She shrugged off his hand. "Let's just keep going. The edge of the forest is near and you should be in Daein soon." The party began to move again although in a more sombre mood. Sofi just watched her sister march on. There was a lot of anger in her sister and she could only hope it would pass with time.

An hour later

"There it is, the border to Daein." she pointed to the row of towers that littered the countryside. "Carry on north and you should reach the closest town to the edge." Muarim nodded and Tormod jumped in the air.

"We're almost there. Hold on Sothe we'll be there soon." She had hoped he would have calmed down by now. Vika turned to them.

"Thank you for your assistance . Here is the pay for your services." Thetia smiled and accepted the gold.

"Hey I've got a great idea." Oh no thought Thetia. "Why don't you two come with us, we could always use another fighter or two."

Sofia held up her hands and smiled apologetically. "We can't I'm afraid. Affairs outside the forest do not concern us. It'd be better if we left matters outside alone." Tormod was about to complain when Muarim clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Very well. I hope we meet again. There's something different about you two and you have been good companions these past few days." he said and the sisters nodded.

"I suppose you weren't the worst travellers we've had. The little monkey needs some more training though." Tormod glared at her and Sofi rolled her eyes.

"Good luck on whatever you are doing. I hope you find your friend." she said and the sisters turned to re-enter the forest. As soon as they had gone Muarim turned to Vika.

"Is something the matter. You didn't speak much during the journey." Vika met his gaze.

"There is something strange about those two. I felt nervous whenever they were near but I don't know why." She sighed. Tormod shrugged his shoulders.

"Sofia seemed pretty nice but Tia has anger issues."

"That's not what we meant little one."

The sisters retreated further into the forest, a comfortable silence between them. It was late afternoon and the forest was alive with noise and sights. A glint of red caught her eye and she froze grabbing Sofi's hand. The glint was off armour; soldier armour. She dragged Sofi into the trees and became immobile. Being spotted by Begnion soldiers was not high on their to-do list. Sure enough the noise of footsteps got closer and closer, they could hear the loud voices of the soldiers echoing in the clearing.

There was a horde of soldiers marching through the forest. Sofi clutched Thetia's hand and the sisters remained frozen. She craned her neck to get a better view. Soldiers made Thetia nervous, they could hurt her and her sister. At least with normal villagers they had more skill with a weapon here they were outnumbered. Their only hope was to remain still and pray they move on.

The soldiers were in a foul mood, their commander Jarod had ordered them out here as punishment for letting the silver haired maiden escape and the afternoon sun wasn't helping anything. The sisters watched with growing tension and fear as the group stopped and began to argue, the tree which they were hiding in wasn't strong and they could hear the wood starting to give way. Sofi closed her eyes and began mumbling a quick prayer under her breath.

Fate seemed to really hate them. The tree split with a massive crack and Sofi was sent sprawling on the ground, Thetia got off slightly better and landed on her feet. Every single eye turned towards them and for a few seconds there was a tense silence. Then...

"It's the silver haired maiden!"

Sofi's eyes widened. Where they talking about her? But they hadn't done anything in Daein. Chaos broke out as all of the soldiers seemed to lunge for her at once. Her sister grabbed her hand and shot into the woods, hoping to lose them in the trees. Panic and adrenaline was pumping through her veins. This was what they had always feared; discovery. Thetia was running on instinct, her feet knew the trails and she could run for quite a while. Sofia could not, her endurance was poor and she was getting short of breath.

The forest floor was not smooth, there were leaves, branches, tree roots, the land wasn't flat either and Sofi couldn't avoid it all. Her foot caught on something and she collapsed on the floor, her hand yanked out of her sisters. She pushed herself up but it was too late. One of the quicker soldiers grabbed her waste and held a sword at her throat.

"I've caught her captain!"

"Tia!" she yelled out and her sister spun around.

Fear gripped her and she pulled out her bow. Her eyes locked on the soldier and she released an arrow. It hit him in the shoulder and he yelled in pain but somehow managed to keep a grip on her sister. No. Desperate she reached for another arrow but it was too late. The rest of the men had turned up. She saw them dragging Sofi away and she shot the arrow. It missed. Her eyes were so focused on her sister that she didn't see the soldiers circle behind her.

There was a painful blow to her head and she fell to the ground. Fighting against the darkness, she saw her sister being carried away reaching back for her. Trying to stand was impossible and eventually her eyes shut. The soldiers stared at the strange wild woman who had fought them.

"Sir, what should we do with her?" The captain examined the woman with cold eyes.

"Leave her here, our main concern is to get the girl back to commander Jarod."

"Yes sir."

The soldiers marched away, eager to return to the civilised world and pleased with their captive. Surely they would be rewarded. Little did they know that their actions would alter the fate of the land.

Some time later

Why did her head hurt? Slowly she opened her eyes, the sun had long since set and there was almost no light at all. She frowned. They would have to find shelter soon. Why hadn't Sofi-. Her eyes widened and she shot up straight.

"Sofi!" she span around, eyes darting frantically for any sign of her sister. She grabbed her bow and called out to her sister. There was no answer. She felt tears prick at her eyes. The silence of the forest was no comfort now. Her sister was gone, her closest and only friend. She was supposed to protect Sofi she was older and the strongest of the two. How could this have happened.

Anger rose up inside of her. This was why they didn't deal with people. They hurt you, took everything and gave nothing. Laguz or beorc it didn't matter, they were shunned by both. Shunned for something that wasn't even their fault. They couldn't choose who their parents were, yet they were blamed, treated as abominations. Was this their fate, to be victims of a prejudiced society that would never accept them.

She had to rescue Sofi. Resolve shone in her eyes. Nothing would stop her from finding her sister. To do that she would have to leave the forest and she was going to need some supplies. The gold from the recent trip was in her cloak and she was sure that one of her safe places was here. Her eyes turned to the horizon. She was going to take her first steps out into a world that had taken everything away from her and it was going to be terrifying.

AN: So sorry for the late update. Do you think that I write the characters well or are they OCC? So the next few chapters are going to be following Thetia and her journey and then switch back to Sofia. Anyway I'm not sure who to pair with Sofia. I've done a poll on my account so could you tell me who you think she should be with please. Please review