"Brr! F-F-Frebberick! I'm f-f-freebing!" Lissa barely managed to say as she shivered uncontrollably. Who could blame her though considering how the environment had changed from beautiful spring weather, to harsh winter. They had only traveled a short distance since there battle with the Risen and in no time at all, the group was traveling through a snowstorm. Needless to say it was taking its toll, especially on those not used to the weather, or dressed for it.
"Stand beside my horse milady, she'll shelter you from the wind" Frederick said, not showing any signs he was cold at all, when compared to Lissa. Then again he was a soldier, it's only natural he would have some experience with harsh environments, as part of his training.
"What about you Chrom… aren't you cold?" Ryan asked him. After all he had his cloak buttoned up to shield him from the frigid air, yet the prince had less on and didn't look cold at all.
"I've trained in winter weather before, so I'm used to these kinds of environments" he said smiling.
"R-right" Lissa shivered "C-Chroms s-such a b-blockhead he d-d-doesn't f-feel it" Lissa said, ignoring Chrom's stare in her direction in response to her comment.
"Oh come on girl, it's not that cold out, I could stay out here all day!" Vaike boasted.
"Really now, then I theorize your shivering legs are a sign of eagerness to reach our destination, and not of freezing?" Miriel questioned "If so, I'm quite curious what the frozen nose dripping represents."
"S-Shut up Miriel" Vaike barked at her, all the while his legs were shaking from the cold, despite his attempts to act tough.
"I just hope we get there soon, I could go for a nice warm meal instead of cold food" Stahl said.
"With a cup of hot tea as well" Virion said, his body shivering like Lissa and Vaike's "Maybe even a blanket for me and you my dear" he said looking towards Sully.
"How about I just knock the cold right outta you instead ruffles?" Sully glared.
"Come now my dear, why do you always refer to me by such a silly nickname?" Virion asked.
"Simple, cause you haven't earned the respect for it yet, besides it's easier" Sully said turning back towards the road leaving Virion sighing in displeasure a bit. Ignoring their banter Ryan turned back towards the path ahead, shivering despite his coat.
"Hope Sumia's faring better than us right now" Ryan muttered a bit.
"I'm sure she's fine Ryan, Sumia's tougher then she looks" Chrom said "Or were you not watching the battle with the Risen earlier?" he joked.
"I was watching, she nearly tripped at least twice" Ryan replied "Still she's not half bad with a lance."
"Yeah, that's always been Sumia's problem, ever since Chrom first brought her here to the shepherds she's been a bit of a klutz" Sully spoke up then looked at Chrom "Which reminds me, you never did tell us how you and her first met."
Hearing her say that suddenly caused Chrom to stiffen up a bit much to Ryan's surprised. Chrom didn't say anything for a minute, but it was clear that was not a subject he wanted to talk about. Slowly he turned towards her and replied "It's kinda… look it's not important Sully."
"Well it is now since you don't feel like sharing" Sully countered. She wasn't the only one now; others were starting to look at Chrom, curiosity all over their faces, especially Lissa since she was a huge fan of gossip. Chrom was starting to get nervous when all of a sudden Frederick stopped, and spoke out.
"Milord, I can see the Longfort, it's not much farther from here" He said turning back towards Chrom. Hearing him say that made Chrom sigh a bit in relief, glad he wouldn't have to tell them the tale.
"Alright people… double time" Chrom said as he took the lead, followed by Frederick. The others grunted a bit, seeing they lost the chance to hear his tale, but they followed the two towards the Longfort. About half an hour after that they were soon seeing it up close. The fort, which Frederick had dubbed the Longfort stretched across the land as far as the eye could see, the walls themselves looking able to withstand the strongest of assaults with ease. In the center of the massive walls stood a huge guard outpost that manned the huge gate attached to it. The only way to pass through and get to Ferox was to get permission from the guards, something that should be easy considering they were on royal business.
Looking at it Ryan turned towards Chrom "So… do we just shout for the guards, or wait?"
"The guards should notice us soon enough, just is patient" Chrom answered, looking back towards the fort.
"W-well they better H-H-Hurry w-w-were f-freebing out here w-w-why'll they take t-there s-s-sweet t-time" Lissa shivered more, her hands wrapped around her, trying to get what little warmth she could from them.
"Milady please watch your tongue" Frederick said to her "Though the khans that rule Ferox have grown wary of foreigners don't mistake a lack of hospitality for open hostility. This simple calls for a bit of diplomacy" The knight said, causing Chrom to sigh a bit.
"Negotiations not my strong suit but I'll do my best" he said turning back to face the Shepherds "Remember everyone, your actions will reflect back upon Ylisse, so don't do anything rash."
As everyone nodded Ryan looked up and spotted someone, a soldier, looking down at them from the fort. Seeing him looking up everyone turned towards the soldier as well. However instead of shouting out towards them the soldier, after a few more seconds of staring turned around and left, leaving the group a tad confused. A few minutes of waiting passed soon after and the soldier still didn't return. Needless to say this was making some of the group get impatient with eagerness to get going, and get out of the cold for a bit.
"W-whats t-t-taking them?!" Lissa shouted a bit, almost biting her tongue as she talked.
"This is most unusual" Frederick agreed "Why haven't they addressed us yet?"
"Perhaps we should shout after all" Ryan commented.
"Wait… I think I see someone now" Chrom said looking back up towards the fort. Looking up everyone saw a women dressed in knight's armor, staring down at them. From what they could tell, she had blonde hair, and from the look on her face she wasn't pleased to see them. She wasn't alone either, standing on her left and right were knights as well, each one equipped, ready to battle. Seeing the Feroxi guard mobilizing filled the hearts of the shepherds with unease as the female knight spoke out.
"Who goes there?!" she barked, her tone cold as the wind that was gusting around them. Slowly Chrom took a step forward and opened his mouth.
"My name is Chrom, prince of Ylisse, and in the name of my house I seek audience with the Khans!" Chrom shouted to her taking a few more steps towards her. In response the commander of the guard raised her hand towards Chrom. This in turn made her knights respond by raising their lances into the air, poised to attack. Seeing this sudden action Chrom halted immediately, him and his entire group shocked by the open hostility to say the least.
"Not one more step my bold lad! I've lancers at the ready!" She shouted at him "Hear me, I Raimi, captain of the guard here order you to leave at once! If you do not comply, then your lives are forfeited" she yelled, her tone clearly proving this to be no mere threat.
"Wait Milady! We are not your enemy!" Frederick voiced to her "Exalt Emmeryn sent us to discuss matters of mutual interest."
"My only interest is keeping you outta this fortress, brigand!" the knight known as Raimi said, throwing the knight for a loop at being declared a brigand. Taking a few seconds to regain his composure Frederick tried to speak again, but Raimi cut him off "I know what you're going to say, but do you really think you're the first "Ylisseans" to try and cross are border? Think again, I suggest you drop the charade now, I have the authority to fell such imposters on sight!" she declared, the knights around her holding there lances tighter over there heads.
"How dare you!" Frederick barked, the stain on his charges name apparently one of his buttons "You are in the presence and Prince Chrom, the exalts own blood!"
"Yes indeed, and I'm the queen of Valm!" Raimi mocked, causing the knights blood to boil more. Seeing this Chrom knew he needed to resolve this quickly, if this continued it might spark a national incident between Ferox and Ylisse, or worse it may lead to open conflict between them, something Emmeryn would not like.
Taking another step forward, snapping Raimi's attention back towards him the young prince spoke up again "Please, good lady! If you just listened-
"I've heard enough!" Raimi shouted then with a swish of her hand downwards she called out "Attack!"
The minute that word left her mouth everyone's blood went cold, Chrom's especially, freezing his movement. The knights however weren't, with prefect aim they launched four spears directly at the young lord, who was too far away from the others for them to help. Chrom quickly reached for his Falchion on instinct, but he knew right then and there that he wouldn't make it in time. For a moment, time seemed to stop for all the shepherds as the spears flied towards Chrom, their eyes wide with shock as they could do nothing but watch as there prince was about to be killed.
Mere seconds from impact however, something zoomed in front of them, the object in question moving too fast to see accurately. But as it left everyone's sight they stared out in shock. Chrom had vanished. The spears impaling the ground where he had stood just a minute ago. For a few seconds no one, not even the Feroxi guard knew what had happened. It was only when a white feather dropped down from above did everyone look up to see a white Pegasus up in the sky, it's white body looking like it was glowing in the sky.
Chrom meanwhile was trying to figure out what had just happened. One minute he was facing certain death, the next he had been yanked by his shirt into the sky, and on to what he could only guess was a Pegasus. Quickly getting into a sitting position, his eyes caught the sight of another riding the Pegasus with him. The moment he got a glance at their green hair and sliver white armor he could guess immediately who it was that saved him.
"Sumia…?" Chrom spoke softly, the rider in front of him turning around to see his face, revealing herself as such.
"You alright captain?" she asked.
"Y-yeah…" Chrom said softly, a bit lost for words right now. However all Sumia did was giggle a bit and give him a smile that said simply "You'll be fine." Seeing that smile on her face, in that light, Chrom couldn't utter a word. All he could think at that moment was how Sumia looked… beautiful.
His trance ended when a faint clank sound entered his ear, turning his head in the direction of the fort he saw the knights preparing more spears.
"Sumia!" Chrom shouted, understanding Sumia quickly flew down towards the others. The moment they did they were swarmed by the others, all of who were concerned about Chrom's condition. A raise of his hand told them he was okay, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Damn, that was too close" Sully said out loud, looking at Sumia "Good thing you showed up when you did."
"I agree" Chrom said turning to face her and her mount "Is this the same ornery Pegasus we saw on the road?" he questioned.
"Oh, she's a sweetheart… once you get to know her" Sumia said, rubbing her Pegasus's mane a bit.
"Well I owe you both thanks" Chrom said smiling at Sumia.
"I hate to interrupt, but we still have a situation at hand!" Frederick spoke up, snapping everyone out of the moment and turning their attention to the Feroxi guard. Already having recovered from Sumia's surprise rescue they were rearmed and ready to let fly again at a moment's notice. The only thing keeping them at bay was Raimi, the captain of the guard, and she seemed ready for a fight.
"Your luck may have saved you there, but not this time" she shouted to them, the moment she finished her sentence the the knights were joined by at least four archers, the bane of Pegasus knights to say the least.
"This is bad…" Chrom thought, slowly moving to grab Falchion. However before anything else could happen a bolt of lightning shot up into the sky. Looking in the direction of the shot, Chrom saw that it had been Ryan who had fired it. Confusion spread quickly among the shepherds, as well as the Feroxi guard, the soldiers not sure what to make of this. Seeing he had everyone's attention Ryan quickly spoke up, not wanting to miss this chance to speak.
"Your name was Raimi yes?" He shouted to her "Well, if you give us one chance we can prove right here, right now, that prince Chrom is who he claims to be. If you don't believe us after that, we will leave" he said, praying that she would give them this last chance.
Nothing was said for a few minutes, but then, Raimi spoke up "Alright, I'll give you this one chance, fail and you won't get a second, now what's this proof of yours?" she asked coldly.
Seeing her comply Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, the others looking at him with hopeful looks. Not wanting to disappoint he spoke up again "Since you're the border guard, you must know about Ylisse somewhat, and about the brand of the exalt right?" he questioned. Not getting an answer he spoke again "The prince carries the brand of the exalt on his right shoulder, that should be more than enough to prove who we are."
Looking back at his shoulder Chrom couldn't believe he had not thought of that himself. Looking back at Ryan, he was glad to see that his friend was able to think clearly under pressure, a good thing to have when it came to planning strategy. He was becoming more of a golden egg then even Chrom had thought possible.
Those thoughts quickly subsided as he saw Raimi nod her head towards one of her soldiers, disappearing from view shortly after. A few moments later the gate in front of them slowly lifted upward, and with the clanking of armor, Raimi and a few of her knight guards walked up to the group. Stopping a few feet from them, Raimi spoke "All of you, stay where you are, as for you lad step forward" she said referring to Chrom.
Nodding to her request Chrom slowly came forward, the rest of the group staying put, not wanting to ruin this chance Ryan had created. Stopping in front of Raimi Chrom slowly showed her the mark on his right shoulder, the brand of the exalt there, just like Ryan had said. After looking over it for a few minutes, Raimi spoke again "Your friend was correct, this truly is the mark of the exalted line."
"Then you believe us?" Chrom asked.
"Not just yet" Raimi said, shocking everyone as she turned around, taking a few steps back towards the fort "There's still one thing you need to prove to me" she said. Turning back around, she entered a combat stance "Prove your identity on the battlefield, beat me, and I will believe you, what do you say lad?"
"But that's not- Ryan started, but Chrom drew his sword.
"It's alright Ryan, I accept her challenge" he said
"But Chrom-
"If defeating her in a one on one fight is the quickest way to resolve this, then I'll do it" he said looking back at Ryan with a smile "Besides, I can't waste the opportunity you've given us, I won't lose" he added his voice filled with confidence.
"J-Just h-h-hurry Chrom" Lissa shivered "B-b-before I f-f-freeze to death" she said.
"Don't worry Lissa I'll make it quick" Chrom said, turning to face Raimi, who surprisingly was smiling.
"Such bold words lad, I hope you can back them up" she smirked.
"Don't worry, I won't disappoint you" Chrom said getting into a fighting stance, his white cape flowing in the wind as the two combatants stared each other down. For about a minute neither of them budged an inch, as if waiting for a signal to charge each other. Suddenly that signal was given, a lump of snow fell off a tree branch and the two warriors charged. Raimi was the slower, due to her armor, but she wasn't the least surprised at Chrom's speed. Within seconds, they were in attack range of each other, and Raimi made the first strike, lunging with her spear. Chrom however was prepared, using his Falchion to knock her lance aside. This left her wide open, or so Chrom thought because as he tried to slash her armor she bashed him off balance with her shield, taking the breath outta his lungs. However Chrom saw her lance out of the corner of his eye as she charged him again, rolling to the side to dodge her second thrust.
"A shield attack, that's an advance knight skill" Kellam said as they watched the fight unfold.
"A shield attack, that's an advance knight skill" Frederick said right after he did.
"Uh I just said… never mind" Kellam sighed, his lack of presence striking again as everyone paid heed to what Frederick said instead of him.
Chrom grunted as he got back on his feet, now starting to get more serious about this. He charged her again, Raimi readying to strike back as he did. As he drew close Raimi thrust her spear at him again, ready to use her shield should Chrom try to knock her weapon aside like before. However to her shock Chrom instead sidestepped, jumping backwards as she did. The moment his feet touched the ground Chrom suddenly dashed at her, giving no time for Raimi to ready her lance again. Raising her shield to him in a slight panic Chrom came within inches of her and slashed diagonally upward. The force of the swing knocked Raimi's shield out of her hand, as well as knocked her off her feet. Landing on the frozen ground with a huge metallic thud Raimi felt the air escape her lungs, her lance falling outta her hand. Chrom had won.
"Amazing…" Ryan said, shocked that Chrom had knocked an armor knight like Raimi off her feet like that, when she was weighed down by heavy armor.
"A fine example of the Ylissean houses swordsmanship" Frederick applauded "A blend of power and speed that, when mastered, has few equals."
"I'll say…" Ryan nodded as Chrom went over to Raimi; sheathing his weapon, he helped the knight to her feet. After she was on her feet Ryan could see that her face had turned to an apologetic look as she bowed slowly to Chrom.
"A thousand apologies, prince Chrom. I truly took you for brigand imposters, yet no fakes could ever wage a duel as you just have. I will send word of your arrival to the capital and escort you there personally. In the meantime you may warm up inside the fort." She said, her whole demeanor changing to that of a polite soldier.
"That would be most generous of you" Chrom said "Thank you for all the trouble."
"There's no need for thanks, this is the least I can do after all the trouble I've put you through" she said heading back inside the fort, along with her guards. Soon enough the shepherds followed her inside, happy to finally get outta the cold for a bit. About an hour later they were all sitting down, relaxing by a fire as Raimi sent word to the capital. Meanwhile, other guards were providing hot drinks for everyone as they waited, there demeanors seemingly changed as well after Chrom had bested there captain. Seeing this sudden change from cold hostility to guests of honor was a bit unnerving for Ryan to say the least as he drank from his cup.
"I have to admit, I'm amazed how there demeanors have changed so suddenly" Ryan said out loud to everyone.
"That's because in Ferox strength speaks louder than words, I should have known better than to overestimate the value of diplomacy here" Frederick said taking a gulp of his drink. "But enough about that, what I want to know now, is how you knew about the brand of the exalt."
"Hey, yeah, I don't remember us telling you about that" Lissa questioned "So how did you know?"
"I didn't just take tactical books from the library" Ryan answered "I also took a few other books about Ylisse too, thought it might be good to know a bit about Ylisse and there exalted. That's when I learned about the brand of the exalt, also known as the mark of Naga the divine dragon, and the tale behind it."
"Indeed" Frederick nodded "Long ago the fell dragon known as Grima tried to destroy the world, but the first exalt made a pact with the divine dragon, and laid the beast low. The brand of the exalt is a symbol of that ancient pact, and proves, that the blood of the divine dragon Naga courses through them."
"Well it's a good thing you knew about that" Stahl said "After all, if you hadn't, we might have had to battle are way out of that mess."
"I just wish I had remembered it sooner, after all, if it hadn't been for Sumia, Chrom would have died back there" Ryan said.
"That is true, I can't thank you enough for that Sumia" Chrom smiled at her, causing the Pegasus knight to blush a bit.
"No, you don't need to thank me captain" Sumia said softly "It's the role of a Pegasus knight to protect the exalt line."
"Even so, that doesn't mean I can't be grateful… also Sumia, may I make a request of you?" he asked, looking into her eyes a bit causing her to blush a bit more.
"O-of course captain, I'd-
"Would it be alright for you just to call me Chrom and not captain?" he asked softly. Hearing him ask that caused Sumia to not speak for a minute, but slowly she nodded.
"S-sure cap- I mean… Chrom" she said smiling softly, looking away a bit. Chrom smiled back as well, happy to hear her say that. However a chuckle from Virion snap the two outta the moment.
"Oh ho, can it be, do I see love blossoming between the young prince, and the young maiden of the skies?" he asked. Hearing him say that caused both Chrom and Sumia to turn bright red with embarrassment.
"What no that's not it at all!" Sumia shouted at him.
"Where did you get that idea?!" Chrom shouted as well. This in turn caused Virion to chuckle a bit more.
"Come now, my noble eyes can't be deceived that easily, I know loves flower when it blooms" he said about to take a sip of his drink when a fist connected with his stomach, producing a high pitch groan of pain. Watching the cup fall on the floor and break, he looked up to see Sully had done it.
"How about working on keeping your opinions to yourself" she grunted, going back to sit down next to Kellam, while Virion clutched his stomach a bit. Looking at Sumia Sully gave a wink to her friend, making Sumia smile back towards her, glad to know she had her back. After that the group quieted down a bit, time slowly passing by until a soldier suddenly came into the room.
"We just received word back, the Khan is waiting for you in the capital milord" the soldier said.
"Alright then, time to get back on the road" Chrom said to everyone, receiving nods from them all.
With that the group got up, grabbed their stuff, and reported outside on the other side of the Longfort. Only this time they were better dressed for the trip, the troops offering them spare jackets, which Lissa and Vaike especially were truly grateful for. True to her word Raimi was there waiting for them outside. After asking if they were ready, getting nods from everyone she turned around and started to take the lead, the group following close behind her as they took their first steps into Regna Ferox.
Been a while hasn't it, well college and work will do that to you. Plus it's always best to write when you feel like writing, otherwise this feels like a chore rather then an activity.
In any case here's the next chapter, hopefully it keeps you interested in this fanfic. :)