DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem, nor do I own the characters in Fire Emblem. I do, however, own any characters I create for the purpose of this story.

When Swords Cross

CHAPTER NINE

Celice was in a meeting with the council when a guard entered. "Your Majesty, a messenger from the Kingdom of Agustria is at the front gate to the palace. He claims he has an urgent request."

Celice suppressed a smile. He was glad for the break. "Very well. I will meet him in the throne room."

-9-

The messenger walked in and kneeled. "Rise," Celice said. "What is it you wish to tell me?"

"Your Majesty, I bring a request from King Aless of Agustria himself," the messenger stated. "His Majesty is having trouble with bandit attacks, and due to Agustria's size, the Cross Knights cannot handle them all. Your Majesty is humbly requested to bring reinforcements to back up the Cross Knights."

"I see," Celice said. "Return to Agusty, and let King Aless know that I will assemble the Weissen Ritter and depart as soon as I can."

The messenger bowed and turned to leave. However, he came to a stop when someone said, "Just a moment, sir."

The messenger turned around. "What is it, milady?"

Nanna turned to Celice. "Your Majesty, I request that I accompany you on this trip. Agustria is my homeland, and King Aless is my cousin."

Celice thought for a moment. She makes a good point. I guess I can let her come along. "Very well," he said. "Let King Aless know that Nanna and myself will be leading the Weissen Ritter." The messenger bowed and left.

Celice then turned to the rest of the council. "I hope you don't mind my ending the council right now. After all, I need to prepare for this." He then let his gaze sweep slowly across the room. "I trust that no one objects to my actions?" He paused, but no one said a word. "Very well. I will see you all when I return from Agustria."

-9-

Celice rapped gently on Nanna's door. "Nanna? It's me," he said through the door.

"Come in," came Nanna's reply. Celice opened the door and walked into Nanna's room. "What is it?" Nanna asked.

Celice looked around, and saw that Nanna had been busy packing for the trip. He himself had just finished packing. "Before we go, I wanted to give you something."

"What is it that you want me to have?" Nanna asked.

Celice unhooked the scabbard from his belt and presented it and the sword it contained to Nanna. "I want you to have this."

Nanna appeared puzzled. "A sword? Celice, I have two swords already–a Prayer Sword and an Earth Sword."

"Yes, but this sword is just as special," Celice said. "As you already know, in the year Gran 757, the Verdane Army, led by Prince Gandolf, invaded southern Grandbell, took control of the Duchy of Jungby, and kidnaped Lady Aideen. My father led a successful counteroffensive to take Jungby back and rescue Aideen. When word of this reached the capital, my great-grandfather, King Azmur, sent Lord Alvis to deliver a silver sword to my father. This is that sword. It served him well, it served me well, and now it should serve you well."

Nanna's eyes widened at this. "Celice, I can't. This is the only thing you have to remember your father by. Besides, as you said, that was a gift from the king of Grandbell at that time. I can't accept this."

"This sword is not the only keepsake I have of my father," Celice replied. "Remember, my father used Tyrfing in his charge into Grandbell, and Tyrfing is in my possession now. At any rate, I no longer need this sword because of Tyrfing. However, to not use it would be a terrible waste of craftsmanship and a shame on my father's memory. That's why I want you to have it. You can put it to far better use than I can now."

Nanna looked at the sword, in thought. Now that I think about it, this sword does seem to be Celice's prized possession. He used it exclusively until he received Tyrfing, and he always took an extraordinary amount of care of it. For all that time, it was the sole memento he had of his father. To entrust it to me means that either he cares very greatly about me, or that he places an immense amount of trust in me. Maybe both. If that's the case, then I have no business refusing it. "Very well," she said. "Thank you, Celice. I promise I will take as good care of this sword as you have done."

-9-

Approximately a week later, Grandbell's forces arrived at the Agustrian capital of Agusty. Led by Celice and Nanna, they arrived at the front gate of the royal palace, where they were greeted by Aless. "Welcome, warriors of Grandbell," Aless said to them. "We thank you for your aid. The pioneer towns in the center of the kingdom have been suffering from bandit attacks, and my Cross Knights and I are outnumbered. With you, the Weissen Ritter, providing us support, we will be able to end this problem much more quickly than I had anticipated. We leave tomorrow morning, and I expect everyone here fully rested when we leave. I have made arrangements for all of you to stay in the town. See you all tomorrow." With that, the knights dispersed. Celice and Nanna turned to leave, but before they got too far, Aless said, "King Celice, Nanna, wait a moment. You two are to be my guests in the royal palace."

Celice smiled. "Ah, thank you! This should be nice." He and Nanna then followed Aless into the castle.

-9-

Celice, Nanna, and Aless sat down at a table, waiting for dinner to be served. As they waited, Nanna had noticed that Celice's head had not stopped moving for a second since they entered the palace. To her, it appeared that Celice was trying to take in everything around him. Suppressing a giggle, she asked, "Leaving no stone unturned in this castle, huh, Celice?"

Celice stopped looking around and turned to Nanna. "Huh? Oh, right. Well, keep in mind that I was born in this very castle."

This caught Nanna by surprise. "You were?"

"Yes," Celice replied. "I was born during Grandbell's occupation of southern Agustria, before Manfloy abducted my mother and my father was declared a traitor. The first three or so months of my life were spent in this building."

"I see," was all Nanna could say. She then turned to her cousin. "Did you know this?"

Aless nodded. "My father saw Celice with his own two eyes. In fact, that's part of the reason why I invited Celice to stay in the palace with me."

"Only part?" Nanna asked. "What else factored into your decision?"

"Two other things," Aless replied. "First of all, Celice is my friend, and secondly, it wouldn't exactly be good for diplomacy if I made the king of the nation I asked to aid me quarter in town.

"Anyway, how have you been? Has the council been the same as always?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Celice replied. "Well, there has been one change. They're being more secretive than they used to be. I don't like it. I have Julia in charge of the palace guard, and have asked for some backup from the various dukes. Each has supplied one squad from their armies. I've also given the council members strict orders to not enter the palace until my return."

"All the more reason to get this over with quickly," Aless said. "Celice, if something happens in Grandbell, just let me know and I'll ride out immediately."

"Thank you, Aless," Celice said. "That means a lot to me."

-9-

After dinner, Aless pulled Celice aside under the pretense of discussing strategy. When he opened his mouth, however, he said, "So, how have you and Nanna been getting along?"

"Uh, fine," Celice said.

"Anything else happen between the two of you since your birthday celebration?" Aless asked.

"I gave her my father's old sword," Celice replied.

"The silver sword your father got from your great-grandfather via Lord Alvis? I remember that sword," Aless commented. "Did anything result from that?"

"Not really," Celice said.

Aless sighed and shook his head. "Celice, Celice, Celice. Sometimes you really worry me. You need to make a move, or you're never going to get anywhere. Look, promise me this. By the time you leave Agustria, you will tell Nanna how you feel."

"Why?" Celice asked.

"Because, Celice, you need to take action if you want this to go anywhere," Aless said. "Just promise me."

Celice sighed. "Okay, okay, fine. I promise."

-9-

Two days later, and the Cross Knights and the Weissen Ritter were in the field, fighting bandits. The two forces had split up to handle the bandits more quickly. The Cross Knights were fighting the bandits to the south, while the Weissen Ritter were battling the bandits in the north. They had then planned to rendezvous after they reduced the bandits' numbers, and the Weissen Ritter were on their way to the rendezvous point.

"Hey, wait a second," Nanna said. "I thought I saw someone in those woods over there."

"Huh?" Celice followed her gaze. "All right, I'll go check it out. Everyone else, stay here."

"Celice, you didn't see anything," Nanna said. "I did. I'm going with you."

Celice sighed. "All right, let's go." The two dismounted from their horses and walked into the woods. However, the next thing they knew, they had both been grabbed from behind. Celice spun his head around and caught sight of a large, muscular man in tan garments before he took a blow to the head. A similar blow to Nanna knocked her out. Celice found himself reeling, but still conscious. He feigned unconsciousness for the moment and marked the path on which they were being taken. Several minutes later, he and Nanna were unceremoniously dumped on the ground.

"Boss, take a look at what we caught!" said the bandit that had carried Celice.

"Are these the leaders of the knights that've been killin' our men?" another bandit, likely the leader, asked.

"That they are," the first bandit said.

"Hm, we've got a rare catch, here," the leader commented. "I think I'll keep her for myself!"

Celice felt his anger build, but he quickly got it under control. He could not afford to abandon his act just yet. "And what do we do with the other one?"

"Kill him," the leader said. "We've got no use for him. Actually, I think I'll do it myself–with his own sword. Grab it off him!"

Celice felt himself rolled onto his side. He could feel a tug, but nothing happened. "Boss, the sword ain't comin' out of its scabbard!"

"Eh? Why would that be?" the boss wondered.

Celice decided that this was his time to act. He suddenly shot his right arm into the air and grabbed the bandit by the arm. With one swift move, he pulled the bandit to the ground and drove his left elbow into the center of his forearm, breaking it. He then leaped up and drew Tyrfing from its scabbard. "You want to know why? This is a holy weapon. Tyrfing, to be specific."

"Wha–? Tyrfing?" The boss, to Celice's surprise, grinned. "Yer King Celice, then! You'll demand a hefty ransom from Grandbell!"

"That's not going to happen," Celice replied. "At least one person here is going to die–even if it's me."

The boss broke out in laughter. "You think you can handle twenty of us on yer own? You must be nuts!"

"I take it you're not familiar with the properties of holy weapons," Celice replied. "I've faced even greater odds before and walked out alive and in good shape."

"And he's not alone, either." Nanna climbed to her feet and drew her own sword.

"Fine!" the boss shouted. "Everyone, attack!"

Three bandits leaped at Celice. However, Celice leaped backwards and avoided their axes. One bandit threw his axe, but Celice ducked, ran forward, and dodged to the side at the last moment. Celice sliced through one bandit's arm, forcing him to scream out in pain and drop his axe. A second bandit leaped over his fallen comrade but stopped short when Celice impaled him through the stomach with his blade. He then leaped over the fallen bandit and caught the third bandit in the chest with his sword. As he pulled his sword from the bandit's corpse, he heard a piercing cry: "CELICE!!"

Celice spun around and saw the bandit he had previously wounded, his axe in his intact arm, swing at Celice. However, before he could react, he found himself knocked sideways. He could do nothing but look on in horror and feel the color drain from his face as the bandit's swing sliced a gaping wound across Nanna's midsection. Nanna hit the ground with a sickening thud, and blood began to flow from the wound.

Celice climbed to his feet and saw his vision turn red. The sword in his right hand seemed to tingle with energy as he charged at the bandit that had wounded Nanna and drove Tyrfing into his neck. Two more bandits appeared to the sides of the bandit Celice had just killed, but Celice cut them down almost instantly. The other bandits swarmed him en masse, but Celice showed no fatigue or hesitation as he effortlessly slaughtered each individual. In less than a minute, all of the bandits were dead. His eyes then came to rest on Nanna, who was still lying on the ground.

Celice's vision cleared in an instant, and the severity of the situation hit him. Nanna lay dying, and he was the only one who could save her. He dashed over and gingerly scooped her into his arms. He then glanced around, to get his bearings, and the severity of what he had just done hit him hard. All around him were the bodies of bandits, several of which were in more than one piece. Normally, this would not have upset him, because he could justify it by the fact that he was acting in self-defense, but this time, he knew that it was a result of rage. Horror and shame flooded his mind, as he realized that he had betrayed one of Shanan's fundamental teachings when wielding a sword. His eyes then shifted to Nanna, and he reminded himself of what he needed to do. There was going to be plenty of time to reflect on what he had done after Nanna was safe. He got his bearings and ran at top speed.

"Celice . . ." came a voice from near his left shoulder.

"Nanna, it's all right," Celice said, his voice shaky. "Everything will be all right."

"Celice . . ." Nanna said softly. "Don't bother . . . Leave me . . ."

"No, Nanna," Celice replied. "Nanna, I'm going to save you."

"It's too late for that . . ." Nanna responded. "Just leave me . . ."

"No!" Celice responded, growing ever more panicked. "I'm not going to abandon you!"

"Celice, I'm not going to live . . ." Nanna said. "Just save yourself the trouble and leave me . . ."

Around that point in time, Celice emerged from the forest, Nanna in his arms. "Look, Nanna, there's a town! Where there's a town, there are priests! You're going to be all right!"

"I'm not going to make it . . ." Nanna replied.

Celice continued to run, but he was growing more and more fatigued. His legs began to tire out, his arms grew sore, and his vision began to swim. "No . . . no, Nanna! I will get you there in time to save you!"

"Celice, you're tired . . ." Nanna said.

"So? You passed out when you saved my life back in Velthomer!" Celice shot back. "I can take a little . . . fatigue . . ."

"Why . . . ?"

"Why . . . why what?" Celice asked, puzzled.

"Why are you doing this . . . ? Why do you refuse . . . ?"

Tears began to well in Celice's face. "Nanna, I . . ." Suddenly, something snapped in his mind. He could take it no longer. He squeezed his eyes shut and practically shouted, "Nanna, I love you! I am absolutely crazy for you! You want to know why I'm not listening to your protests? Because I don't want to live a life without you in it! I want you with me, at my side, forever!" Unfortunately, at this point, Celice was exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally, and he could continue no longer. His knees buckled, his arms gave out, dumping Nanna unceremoniously on the ground, and he hit the ground himself a second later. His vision faded to black, and the sounds around him faded into nothingness.

-9-

Nanna looked on at Celice. Her eyes, which were half-closed for most of the past several minutes, were wide open now. She then looked to the town. They were roughly a hundred steps from the town's entrance. She then looked back at Celice. Celice . . . I was such a fool. I thought I was thinking of you, but I was wrong. And now I know why . . . you love me. You gave everything you had for my sake, and all I did to repay you was tell you to leave me behind. Thank you for showing me I was wrong. She then made her way over to the unconscious king and draped his arm around her shoulders. Consider this my way of returning your feelings. Running on sheer willpower and adrenaline, Nanna climbed to her feet and began to walk toward the town, with Celice on her back. However, she was simultaneously losing blood, and losing strength with it. Nanna fell to her knees, but she refused to stop. She fell to her hands, Celice still on her back, and crawled. She crawled until she reached the town and fell flat on her chest. "Help . . . Help!" she shouted. "Help! Help us!"

A villager walked out of his house and saw the scene. "Oh my God!" he shouted. "Are you all right?"

"I . . . we need help!" Nanna shouted in response.

"I-I'll go get the priest!" the villager shouted. With that he ran off, and he appeared a minute later with a priest.

The priest kneeled on the ground next to Nanna. "All right, I'll get right to work." However, Nanna had used the last of her strength, and she lost consciousness as the healing magic began to enter her body.