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 ELEVEN
Celice and Nanna led the Weissen Ritter up through the main street of the capital city of Barhara, and up to the front gate of the royal palace. Waiting for them was Julia, who ran up and gave Celice a hug after he dismounted from his horse.
"Welcome back!" Julia exclaimed when she broke apart from her half-brother. "How did it go?"
"There's not a bandit left free in Agustria," Celice replied. "All are either locked away or dead."
"So, mission accomplished?" Julia asked.
"You could say that," Nanna answered as she got off her own horse. "In more ways than one, as well."
This remark puzzled Julia. "What's that supposed to mean?"
However, at that moment, an entourage of some sort walked up to the gate. "We'll explain everything later," Celice said to Julia before turning to face the group before him.
Harman, the Chief Councilor, stepped forward. "Welcome back from Agustria, Your Majesty. I trust everything went well?"
"Very much so," Celice replied.
Harman then took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, the other councilors and I have decided that we have left you to your own devices concerning a bride long enough." He then motioned to the group of young women behind him. "We ask that you pick from among the girls here one to court and eventually marry."
"Sure, that's not a problem," Celice responded, much to Harman's surprise. He then turned to his side. "Nanna, if you will come here, please."
Nanna walked up to Celice and looked out among the group of councilors and their daughters. "Well, Your Majesty?" Harman prompted.
"Chief Councilor, I've already decided," Celice replied. "The girl I have chosen is standing next to me." He then turned to Nanna and kissed her. When they broke apart and Celice turned to the group before them, he could see shock on the faces of the councilors and death glares at Nanna from the councilors' daughters.
"Your Majesty, please be reasonable," Harman protested. "She's an Agustrian."
"So? Where do you think I just was, fighting bandits?" Celice shot back.
"And how do you know that she just doesn't want you for your wealth?" piped in another councilor.
"One, I've known Nanna since before we brought down the Empire," Celice said. "And two, if I'm concerned about anyone after my wealth, it would be your daughters, not the cousin of Agustria's king."
Harman's jaw dropped after Celice's last remark. "You . . . You . . . Your Majesty, you're making a grave mistake."
"You may think so, but do keep in mind that I am king here," Celice replied. "Therefore, I have final say. If I do live to regret it–and I doubt I will–then you can say, 'We told you so.' But until that happens, you'll just have to live with my decision."
One of the councilors opened his mouth to protest, but Harman held out a hand to him. "We understand, Your Majesty. If you will excuse us." The councilors then turned and left, taking their daughters with them.
Celice and Nanna then turned back toward the palace and Julia, who, much to their surprise, had a big smile on her face. "So that was what you meant by the comment 'in more ways than one,' huh, Nanna?" Nanna blushed in response.
"Yes, though it happened in a way neither of us would have imagined," Celice commented. He then launched into the story of how his confession came out.
"Well, at any rate, it's about time," Julia remarked.
"Eh? What do you mean by that?" Celice asked.
"Let's just say I picked up on it long ago, shall we?" Julia commented, with a smile.
-11-
For the next few days, the palace was relatively quiet. The councilors had not returned since Celice and Nanna's return from Agustria. However, Celice was not about to complain, as it not only meant less time dealing with their squabbling, but it also meant he could spend more time with Nanna. The two were almost inseparable; they ate together, they trained together, and every evening, they would take a walk around the palace grounds together. In fact, the only times that they were not by each other's sides were when they bathed and when they slept. The bandit attacks to the east had finally settled down, and the nation was at peace–or so it seemed, as a sudden, urgent message made its way to the capital.
"Your Majesty!" exclaimed the messenger as he entered the throne room where Celice, Nanna, and Julia stood. "Your Majesty, Edda is under attack!"
"What?!" Celice shouted in surprise. "By whom?"
"It's the private army of Councilor Brakiss, Your Majesty!" the messenger replied.
"Is he out of his mind?!" Celice exclaimed. "That's an act of outright treason!"
"Edda's forces have met his forces, but are struggling, and support is requested!" the messenger said.
Celice nodded, but before he could speak, another messenger entered the throne room.
"Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, but I bring urgent news! Freege is under attack by the private army of Councilor Morton!"
Celice fell back into his throne, and held his left hand to his forehead. "How could I have been so foolish? The councilors haven't come because they've been preparing for this! But I never thought they would stoop this low . . . How fares the Gelben Ritter?"
"They're holding off the councilor's army for the time being," the messenger replied. "It seems to be a stalemate."
This repeated itself four more times as messengers from Chalphy, Jungby, Dozel, and Velthomer arrived, all bearing similar news. However, Edda's forces were the only ones struggling.
"All right," Celice said. "I will lead a battalion to come to Edda's aid."
"Celice, wait." It was Julia. "Celice, let me go instead."
Celice looked at Julia. "But why?"
"Please, Celice. I have a bad feeling about this. We've heard nothing about Chief Councilor Harman. Let me go instead. You and Nanna stay here at the palace with the remainder of the knights."
Celice sighed. "Very well. Julia, you will take a battalion of my knights and rush to Edda's aid. May the crusaders smile upon you."
-11-
A day after Julia's departure, Celice paced the throne room in anxiety. Then, he heard a cry of "Your Majesty!"
A guard entered the throne room. "Your Majesty, we have a major problem! The city of Barhara has been surrounded by the private army of Chief Councilor Harman!"
Celice cursed. "How many men?"
"A large number, to be blunt," the guard replied. "An exact number is indeterminable at this point."
"All right," Celice said. "Alert the knights and tell them to prepare for battle. I will meet them at the gate."
The guard bowed and left. A minute later, Nanna ran up to the king. "Celice, what's going on?"
"Chief Councilor Harman has surrounded the city with his personal army," Celice replied. "I'm riding out with the troops to meet them head-on."
"Celice, let me come too," Nanna said. "I love you too much to risk losing you."
Celice wanted to say no, but he knew that Nanna would never listen. "All right. Meet up with the knights outside the palace. I'll be there shortly." He gave Nanna a quick kiss, then ran down to the armory.
-11-
"What's going on?" the old man in the armory asked.
"The councilors have rebelled," Celice said. "The chief councilor's private army has surrounded Barhara. I'm running out to meet them."
"They WHAT?" exclaimed the old man. "Hang on, I'll get your armor right away!" He disappeared for a moment and returned with Celice's armor. Celice grabbed it and began to assemble it when he noticed something different. Where the royal crest had once been was a new crest. This crest showed the sword Tyrfing, and behind it was the book of Narga. Also, between the sword and the tome was a white dragon, its neck wrapped around the hilt of the sword once and its tail wrapped around the blade. "What's this?" he asked.
"The new royal crest," the old man said. "The order came in a few days ago. I designed it myself. Your lady said you would like it."
"My lady," Celice said to himself as he studied the crest. He then put the armor on. "My lady." It took a moment for him to grasp the significance of that phrase. He now had a woman who he loved with all his heart, and he had a woman who loved him with all her heart. He decided he liked the phrase.
Celice turned to the man and smiled. "Tell her she was right the next time you see her. Oh, and hand me my sword. If the army is as big as I've heard it is, I'll definitely need it."
The old man quickly complied and procured the holy blade for the king. "May the crusader Baldo watch over you, Your Majesty," he said.
-11-
Celice led the charge out of the city and into the field surrounding the capital. However, he froze when he saw the enemy's forces.
The guard had been right when he had said that there was a large army outside the city. However, this army was by far larger than what he had expected. A movement to the right caught Celice's attention, and toward him rode Chief Councilor Harman.
"What is the meaning of this, Harman?" Celice demanded.
"I'm merely acting on behalf of the well-being of the kingdom, Your Majesty," Harman replied. "I'm rectifying your mistake."
"What you're doing is treason!" Celice exclaimed. "Regardless of whether it's on the battlefield here, or in the dungeon, you will pay for this crime with your life!"
"I'm aware of the laws, Your Majesty," Harman responded. "After all, I wrote several of them myself. Which is why you must die on this day."
Celice's eyes narrowed. "What is it you plan to do once you off me?"
"Simple, really," Harman replied. "As I'm sure you've heard by now, the other councilors have attacked the various duchies. I have no idea who will survive, but this matters not. The survivors will be considered members of a conspiracy to take the throne and will be executed. However, with you dead, I will be the king."
"That's where you're wrong," Celice shot back. "As things stand now, Julia is the heir to the throne."
Harman laughed. "Oh, I forgot to mention that she was the leader of the conspirators! Or that's what the general population will be told. She will die as well."
Celice's blood began to boil, but he put a harness on his anger. "Harman, you are an absolute fool, you know that? If you had just behaved, you'd have lived a while longer. As it is, you've signed your own death warrant. Even if you win today, you will likely die. The commoners may not know Julia personally enough to reject your cock-and-bull story, but I know of many people who will reject it. Among those people, five men stand out above all the rest: King Faval of Verdane, King Aless of Agustria, King Sety of Silesia, King Shanan of Isaac, and King Leaf of New Thracia. The moment you release this story and usurp the throne, all five of those nations will declare war. Grandbell is not equipped to fight a five-front war. It barely managed a two-front war when my father was a knight. Those five men will rip apart the army, capture and execute you, and expose your alibi for what it really is–a big, fat, LIE!" He then drew Tyrfing from its scabbard.
"Ah, yes, the holy sword of the crusader Baldo," Harman said, narrowing his eyes. "However, it will not save you today. My army far outnumbers yours. You may be able to take out an entire battalion on your own, but you'll fall under more than that. I hope you've enjoyed your life, Your Majesty." He then backed up, to the front of his army.
Nanna rode up to Celice. "Do you think we'll get through this?"
"I don't know," Celice said. "I honestly don't know. We've faced larger armies than this, but that was with larger numbers ourselves." He then looked Nanna in the eyes and forced himself to smile. "I love you," he said, with a slight hint of defiance in his voice.
"And I love you," Nanna replied with the same air of defiance. They then faced their enemy and waited for the charge. However, it never happened. Instead, an uproar came from the rear of Harman's army.
"What in blazes is going on back there?" Harman bellowed. Celice was surprised that they were still in earshot of him.
"Sir!" a soldier called. "We're being attacked from the rear! Reinforcements suddenly came out of nowhere!"
"What kind of reinforcements?" Harman shouted. "I want numbers, too!"
"It's a battalion of dragon knights, sir!" the soldier replied.
This caught Harman, as well as Celice and Nanna, by surprise. "That's impossible! There's no way His Majesty would have gotten word to New Thracia so quickly for their Princess Altenna to show up with--"
"They're not New Thracian troops, sir! They seem to be mercenaries, and their leader is a man! He has long brown hair, and is carrying some sort of unusual lance!"
Celice and Nanna looked at each other. "It can't be who I think it is, can it?" Celice asked Nanna.
"I have no idea," Nanna replied. "However, this is our chance. They're in disarray due to the sneak attack from the rear. We should strike now."
Celice nodded. "I was thinking along those lines myself. All right, men, charge! Give them everything you've got!"
-11-
The fight was all over in about half an hour. Celice's troops had won. The sole survivor was Chief Councilor Harman himself, who had been taken into custody and brought before Celice. Meanwhile, the mysterious reinforcements circled overhead.
"I don't believe you," Celice said. "I think I know why you did this. And don't respond–I don't want to listen to you talk. You wanted me to marry your daughter, didn't you? You thought it would give you more power. But when I announced that I was in love with Nanna, you couldn't take it, so you staged a rebellion to gain more power. Now, you're nothing more than a traitor. Men, take him to the dungeon now!" The knights who held Harman took him back to the palace, where he would be incarcerated for the short remainder of his life.
Celice then looked up. "I wish they'd land. I want to talk to them."
As if on cue, one of the dragon knights landed. "Your Majesty, our leader requests an audience with you," he said.
"Let him speak to me," Celice said. "I was about to call him down myself."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the dragon knight replied and flew back up into the sky. A few moments later, a second dragon knight landed. However, this one had a much more commanding and regal bearing about him.
The leader of the knights dismounted from his dragon. "So we finally meet again," he said.
"Yes . . . Prince Arion," Celice replied.
"Please, Your Majesty, I'm no longer a prince," Arion replied. "The Kingdom of Thracia is dead, and there is no place there for a man like me. I am merely Commander Arion now."
"Very well," Celice said. "Why did you come to our aid? I'm the man who led the army that destroyed your kingdom."
"That is true," Arion responded. "However, I merely did the job I was asked to do. Also . . . I want to thank you. Because of you and King Leaf, the Thracian Peninsula has been united after decades of strife. It was not as my father had wished, but I'm not as blinded by pride as he was. At this point, I'm willing to accept the descendants of the crusader Noba ruling the peninsula.
"Furthermore, it's because of you that Altenna is alive and well and knows who her true family is. Altenna grew up believing she was my sister, and that is how I view her. If anything, I'm actually in your debt."
"I see," Celice said. "If that is the case, I would ask you to stay here, in Grandbell, and receive peerage."
"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Your Majesty," Arion answered. "You see, Altenna needs to have no idea where I am. She's too attached to me, and I cannot bring her happiness. She needs to move on. However, I do have another proposal. You grant me peerage, and I will serve Grandbell exclusively. However, we can operate in secrecy. No one needs know we exist. In the case of another war, we can launch surprise attacks like we did here."
"You know, that's a good idea," Celice remarked. "Let's do that. Also, Arion, you don't need to address me by my title outside of court–in fact, I'd prefer you didn't."
Arion nodded. "Understood."
"Tell me just one more thing, though," Celice said. "Who sent you?"
"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to disclose that information," Arion said. "The person who asked us to do this job has sworn us to secrecy about it."
"I see." Celice then turned to head back to town. "Meet me at the palace later." He and his troops then rode off.
Arion walked into a nearby thicket, and waited. Eventually, someone else joined him. "Our mission is accomplished," he said.
"So I saw," Levin remarked. He then procured a bag of gold. "Here is your payment, as promised."
"Thank you." Arion accepted the gold. "Are you sure you don't want Celice knowing that you were the one who hired us?"
"Absolutely certain," Levin answered. "I don't want him relying on me for the rest of his life. He needs to walk on his own two feet." He then stared in the direction of Barhara. "And judging from what I've seen, he is on the right track."