The shepherds return to Ylisstol came soon after the recruitment of their newest member, Donnel the farm hand. Wasting no time in the city surrounding the castle the group quickly made its way back to the gates of Ylisstol Castle and just as quickly slipped inside to rest from the journey north. However for the royals Chrom and Lissa there was no time for rest. The two having quickly made their way to the back of the castle towards the throne room, where there big sister Emmeryn, the Exalt of Ylisse was most likely to be. Upon seeing her siblings enter the throne room Emmeryn simply gave them a gentle smile like always as she walked over to them, soon finding herself hugged by her little sister as she welcomed them back to their home. However royal duties had to come first before pleasantries and soon the three found themselves discussing what had happened during the journey to their northern neighbor Ferox. Upon hearing Chrom's success in the shepherds mission Emmeryn gave them an even greater angelic smile then before.
"Then Regna Ferox will support Ylisse…Thank you Chrom. I knew sending you was the right choice." Emmeryn spoke happily to her younger brother.
"You should see Ferox's warriors!" Chrom exclaimed with a gentle smile "Perhaps now our people will be safe from Plegia's actions" the young lord added.
"Yeah I bet they'll think twice about picking a fight with us now" Lissa exclaimed, her tone sounding a bit arrogant. Before any of the trio of royals could say another word however the doors to the throne room suddenly swung open loudly. Quickly turning their heads the three saw Phila, the head of Ylisse's Pegasus knight unit rush into the throne room, her face looking a tad pale as she quickly made her way towards them. Seeing her color and pace made their faces quickly lose the joy they had just a few moments ago as Phila opened her mouth to speak.
"Your Grace! M-milord! Forgive me, but I bring alarming news!" Phila said with an urgent tone.
"Phila! Slow down, please! What's happened?" The exalt asked, worry etched into her voice.
"Plegian soldiers have been sighted inside are southwest border! They attacked a village in Themis and abducted the duke's daughter." Upon hearing those words from Phila's lips Emmeryn and Chrom's eyes widened while Lissa let out a gasp in shock.
"B-but that would be Maribelle!" Lissa exclaimed looking towards her brother as she said that "Chrom, we have to do something!"
"There's more…" Phila continued "King Gangrel of Plegia claims Lady Maribelle invaded HIS country. He demands we pay reparations for this "insult"." Upon hearing those words Chrom balled his hands into fists, rage covering his entire face.
"And we're to believe a dastard like the Mad King of Plegia?" Chrom retorted, this being the final straw for him. However Emmeryn with a calm but serious look on her face turned to look at him.
"Peace, Chrom. We must keep our wits about us."
"We should put a sword in his gut and be done with it!" Chrom argued back "The Mad King has been trying to provoke war with Ylisse at every step! He won't stop until he drags this whole continent to hell with him!"
"Chrom…" Lissa said softly, rarely ever seeing her brother get this upset, while Emmeryn didn't make a rebuttal. After a few brief moments of silence Phila spoke again.
"I agree with the prince, Your Grace. We must demonstrate to Plegia that such actions have consequences."
A couple more seconds of silence passed after that before Emmeryn spoke, her face still calm despite the situation. "I understand your feelings, Chrom. Truly I do. But if we give him the war he wants, then we lose, no matter what the outcome. Our last conflict nearly ruined the Halidom. It left Ylisseans homeless and starving. We cannot repeat that mistake." With that said the exalt closed her eyes for a moment before speaking again.
"I will offer parley with King Gangrel."
Hearing the exalt speak those words the rest of group could not contain there shock.
"Emm, no! You can't!" Lissa shouted a bit.
"Please reconsider, Your Grace. He cannot be trusted to act in good faith!" Phila spoke out.
"So either we choose to march to war or leave Lady Maribelle to die?" Emmeryn questioned Phila before shaking her head "No. I will not accept that."
Seeing the exalts expression Phila balled her hands for a few seconds before relaxing them, a sign of her acceptance. "Forgive me, your Grace. I spoke out of turn. I know you will stand always by your own principles. Pray, allow the Pegasus knights to accompany you, though."
"Of course Phila" Emmeryn nodded, wanting to alleviate her subordinates concerns if only a little.
"I'm going, too." Chrom spoke up turning his older sisters attention to him "Someone has to save you from your good intentions."
"And I want to be there for you AND Maribelle!" Lissa added with a serious face. Seeing every was determined to aid her the exalt simply nodded.
"As you wish. Thank you all. Your strength will be mine." Emmeryn said as she quickly left the room to prepare, Phila following close behind her. As they left Chrom turned towards Lissa.
"Come on, we gotta let the other Shepherds know what's happened."
"Right" Lissa nodded in agreement, the two quickly leaving the room and heading towards the courtyard, knowing out of all the shepherds there was one in particular they needed rolling on this the most.
Xxx
"Going… to… die…" Ryan gasped with ragged breaths as he laid on the ground exhausted.
"Same… here…" Donnel managed to say as he was on the ground panting as well. The minute the group had returned to the castle Frederick had ordered the two into a training session. It had barely been an hour and already both young men were completely exhausted, though Frederick seemed to pay it little heed.
"Come now, we've only just begun training, we still have much to do before your done for the day." The knight coached the two.
"Remind me… why we're… doing this?" Ryan panted.
"As I recall you said you were going to get stronger, both of you. I couldn't helped but be moved by your words. As such I've taken it upon myself to train you both personally, no thanks are necessary" Frederick smiled, but all it did was cause Ryan to groan as Donnel tilted his head towards the tactician.
"Is he… always… like this?" Donnel panted.
"He only… smiles… when he brings… down… the axe" Ryan responded reciting Chrom's words to him back in Southtown.
"Hush now Ryan, we have no time for talk, we have much to do. Next we'll be running some laps around the castle, following that we will begin your sword practice today." Frederick spoke to the two young men on the ground with what the two considered as eagerness in his voice. As the knight started to turn around Ryan in desperation spoke up again.
"Frederick, we've been traveling all day… and we just got back… can't we take… a break first?" Ryan raised his voice to Frederick a bit as he took in breaths. Soaking in Ryan's words for a few seconds Frederick turned back to face them with an accepting look.
"Very well, but only for a short bit we mustn't waste the day" Frederick said. Hearing those words Ryan and Donnel breathed sighs of relief as if they had been given a non-guilty verdict in a court crime. As they rested on the ground Ryan suddenly saw Sully enter his vision with a smile on her face.
"How's it going boys?" Sully teased, earning her a slight glare from Ryan as Donnel did his best to sit up.
"Rough… I feel like… I've done a field… from front to back…maybe two" Donnel groaned.
"Well that's what happens when your trained by Frederick here, usually you have to ask for such hellish training. He must have really taken a shine to you both."
"*Ahem* Is there a reason you're here Sully?" Frederick cleared his throat, reminding the cavalier he was here. Responding to his question Sully shook her head.
"No not really, thought I'd get a good show watching you work these twos, though if you want a reason I guess you could say it's because of ruffles."
"He's still… bothering you?" Ryan questioned, the young man forgetting how many times Virion had tried to flirt with her since he had first met them.
"Yeah, that man is as persistent as a fly" Sully sighed a bit "I think I'm going to have to leave him a lasting mark with my boot for him to finally get the point" the red headed cavalier grunted a bit.
"I'm sure he'll give up soon Sully… I think" Ryan said causing Sully to shake her head at his response. As Ryan and Donnel caught their breath and the group of four talked none of the group noticed that there was someone coming towards them until he was standing right next to them.
"Oh hey, so you all did come back today." A young male voice suddenly spoke up, alerting the group to the individual's presence. Turning to look at him Ryan saw that the owner of the voice belonged to a young boy with reddish brown hair, his clothing similar in appearance to Miriel's except it was mainly colored blue instead of black with a blue hat to go with it. Upon seeing the boy Sully let a smile cross her lips.
"Well look who decided to say hello, how's the magic practice going Ricken?"
"Great, I managed to learn this new magic today and I've been really coming along in my studies" The young mage dubbed Ricken smiled. Looking away from Sully a bit Ricken's eyes soon met with Ryan's "You must be the new shepherd I heard about, the one who can use magic and swords right?"
"Well I wouldn't call myself the newest addition but yeah, you've heard of me?" Ryan questioned.
"A few soldiers were talking about some guy Chrom brought back home with him, how he can use magic and swords at the same time even though he has amnesia. Oh yeah, I should formally introduce myself first!" The young mage said as he offered Ryan a hand to shake "My name is Ricken, I'm a fellow shepherd like you, nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too Ricken, my name is Ryan" The tactician said with a soft smile as he shook Ricken's hand "I'm surprised to see someone younger than Lissa or Donnel here a Shepherd" He said pointing to Donnel as he spoke the farmhand giving Ricken a short wave and smile as he was introduced.
"Hey I'm not that young" The young mage groaned a bit at Ryan's comment, apparently not fond of people treating him like a kid. However he quickly let it go as he spoke up again "I'd heard you all had gone to Ferox up in the north, wish I could have gone too."
"Well it wasn't like we were sightseeing" Sully remarked "There was plenty of fighting to do, even ended up in one of Ferox's tournaments, which by the way we won" she added at the end, the young mage seeming to get excited a bit by her words.
"Wow that's cool, now I really wish I had gone along, it would have been awesome to see Chrom in a battle competition."
"From the way you're talking it sounds like you're a big fan of Chrom's" Ryan commented.
"More than that, Chrom is my hero" Ricken said with a childlike smile plastered on his face "I've always looked up to him, which is why I've made my future goal to one day become one of Chrom's top advisors."
"Really that sounds like a nice goal" Ryan smiled towards the mage, however a quick clearing of the throat from Frederick stopped the conversation before it could continue.
"There will be time for talk later, I believe you both have had enough of a break for now, it's time to go back to training" The stern knight said to Ryan and Donnel, causing both young men to groan a bit.
"The training will have to wait" Another voice spoke out to the group, the group soon seeing their prince and princess coming towards them. As they did Ryan was mentally thanking Chrom for his timely entrance, but that quickly changed as he saw Chrom and Lissa's faces which were troubled looks to say the least. There expressions weren't lost on the others either, except for one young mage who after just seeing the young lord smiled with joy.
"Hey Chrom, welcome back"
"Hello Ricken" Chrom replied, though not in the way Ricken thought he would as the mage quickly noticed the seriousness on Chrom's face.
"Something happen milord?" Frederick questioned.
"It's Plegia" Chrom responded with anger in his voice, the mere mentioning of the neighboring country making everyone uneasy.
"They've made their next move?" Ryan questioned.
"It's worse than that" Lissa replied "According to Phila they not only attacked but kidnapped Maribelle as well."
"What Maribelle's been kidnapped?!" Ricken yelled a bit in shock, the mage's face turning a bit whiter at the news.
"Those dastards have crossed the line this time" Sully said as she clutched her fists tightly. Even Frederick showed signs of anger at this news too.
"So what's gonna happen?" Donnel asked, he and Ryan getting back on their feet despite their exhaustion. Chrom merely sighed in response to Donnel's question before he started talking.
"My sister is planning to offer parley with Gangrel for Maribelle's safe return."
"What?! That's far too dangerous!" Frederick spoke out.
"Believe me Frederick the wary I agree… but you know what my sister is like. Above all else she wants to avoid open conflict no matter what. That's why the shepherds are going to go with her."
"So where are they planning to meet for this parley?" Ryan asked.
"We won't know until the message gets through. Therefore I need you all prepared and ready at the drop of a hat, especially you Ryan." Chrom said as he addressed the tactician directly "If worst comes to worst were going to need a battle plan. I know it's a lot to lay in your lap but-
"It's alright Chrom, I understand" Ryan replied with a confident face, despite the fact he could feel the pressure sinking in a bit already. Still he knew Chrom and everyone else was depending on him and he wasn't going to let them down.
"Good" Chrom said, happy to hear Ryan's words.
"Right, then I'm going to go pack" Ricken said suddenly causing Chrom's head to snap towards his direction as the mage started to leave.
"Hold it Ricken, you and Donnel here aren't going" Chrom said with a stern parental tone, which in turn caused the young mage to turn in disbelief at Chrom's words.
"What why?!"
"You're too young, and this mission is too dangerous"
"But Chrom you know how good I am at magic! Besides Maribelle is one of my closest friends!" Ricken pleaded his case, but Chrom still shook his head gently.
"I know Ricken, but I'd feel much better with your magic protecting the garrison."
"How young do you think I am?!" Ricken pouted a bit with a hurt face. Without waiting for a reply from Chrom Ricken ran off, making the young lord sigh as he watched the mage go. Once Ricken disappeared from sight Chrom turned to look at Donnel.
"I trust you can understand my reasons?"
"Yeah I understand… I barely know how to swing a weapon; I'd be pretty darn useless in a battle right now." Donnel said, his face forming into a frown at his own uselessness right now. It was then that the young farmhand felt a hand pat him on the shoulder the boy quickly seeing it was Sully's.
"Don't get down in the dumps kid, you'll get your chance, until then just focus on getting stronger for that day, right Chrom?" Sully said with smile as she looked at Chrom, the lord nodding to her words. Seeing this Donnel nodded again, a more confident look on his face now.
"Alright, I'll do it then!" Donnel proclaimed, Sully's words giving him renewed resolve to get stronger.
"Good, now let's go people, we have to spread the word to the others" Chrom exclaimed. With that everyone scattered from the area to spread the news, unaware that Ricken was still there, as he watched them disperse from a hiding spot.
"He doesn't think I can do anything… well, I'll show him just how good I can be!" With that the mage quickly scurried off as well, a plan forming in his head.
Xxx
The day quickly came to an end after that, the message and preparations regarding the parley having caused hours to pass like minutes. As the moon illuminated the night sky that night the library found itself occupied by only one person the whole day, the shepherd's tactician Ryan. After having informed the rest of the shepherds regarding the parley he had retreated to the library and had spent the rest of the day reading up on tactics and preparing possible strategies. While it was true this was just a simple negotiation on paper there was no guarantee that Plegia's "Mad King" as Chrom called him wouldn't turn hostile against them in the middle. As such Ryan needed to be fully prepared to counter their assault. With a sudden yawn escaping from Ryan's mouth, the tactician suddenly realized just how tried he was, and it was getting pretty late. Rubbing his eyes a bit Ryan slowly walked outta the library, only to see someone he wasn't expecting to see this late at night. The princess of Ylisse, Lissa, needless to say she was surprised to see him too.
"You're still up Ryan?"
"I could ask the same of you" Ryan said as he slowly walked over to her "Knowing you I'd expect you to be asleep right now."
"I wish I could… but I can't" Lissa confessed with a worried expression. It didn't take long for Ryan to connect the dots.
"It's because of Maribelle right? You must be really worried about her."
"Of course I'm worried!" Lissa said a little loudly "Who knows what they could be doing to her, what if she's hurt, what if-
"Calm down Lissa" Ryan said putting his hands on her shoulders to try and calm her "You're not the only one who wants to rescue her, we all do, me included. But we need to stay calm and collected if were going to do that" he added. While it was true Maribelle and Ryan didn't really have a friendly relationship he knew Maribelle was a close friend to Lissa and that was more than enough reason he needed to save her.
"Your right…" Lissa sighed a bit "Ricken was just as worried, I hope he's not to upset with Chrom."
"I imagine he is, after all from what he told me he considers your brother a hero, sounds like he has a lot of respect and admiration for him. It can't be easy for him to just hear Chrom say no like that." Ryan commented.
"Chrom's just worried about him that's all" Lissa countered "Ricken's the youngest shepherd here and he always pushes himself hard. That's why we've got to rescue Maribelle, for his sake too."
"We will, Plegia won't get away with this. I still can't believe they'd do this though. They cause so much pain and suffering to Ylisse… what has it ever done to them?" Ryan pondered out loud to her. Hearing his words Lissa suddenly eyes widened a bit as she looked away from him, her face clearly showing unease.
"What's wrong Lissa?" Ryan asked at her sudden change in emotion.
"I forgot… you don't know" Lissa said softly as she looked at the ground a bit.
"Don't know what?" Ryan tilted his head a bit in confusion "Did I say something wrong?"
"Well, it's just… Plegia-
"Ryan, Lissa there you are" a familiar voice suddenly shouted out to them. Looking in the voices direction they both soon saw Chrom walk towards them, his expression serious. "We just received word back from Plegia, they've agreed to meet at the border pass west of here tomorrow. With that being the case were going to have to leave now if were going to make it by then."
"Plegia already sent a reply?" Ryan questioned, finding there reply a little too fast.
"They must have been expecting my sister to do this, regardless it doesn't change are plan, get equipped and meet up at the front gate." Chrom said with a commander like tone, already turning around to leave.
"Right, come on Ryan" Lissa said as she quickly followed her brother, thoughts of saving Maribelle on her mind now. Ryan's meanwhile were different as he watched the two go.
("Lissa… what were you going to say?") Ryan thought in his head, but quickly enough he soon followed them, those thoughts as well as thoughts of sleep leaving him quickly.
Xxx
With there backs to castle Ylisstol the shepherds accompanied by a group of Pegasus knights captained by Phila soon left the castle, taking an off the road path to avoid concerning the townspeople. From there they headed west towards the border pass near a mountainside, stopping only for a few hours to rest those that had been or hadn't gotten any rest since they left. It was now a little passed noon and the group was getting close to their destination, everyone feeling touches of anxiety as the hour of their confrontation with Plegia was close at hand.
All along the trip Ryan's thoughts however were more focused on what Lissa said about last night, that he didn't know something. Was there something about Plegia he wasn't aware of? Whatever it was Lissa seemed hesitate to talk about it, yet she didn't seem to have been trying to keep it from him either. Regardless he hadn't been able to ask her about it again so all he could do was ponder on it at the moment. It was then Ryan suddenly felt a butt of a lance tap him on the back, causing him to shift his glaze towards the one holding the lance, the Pegasus knight rookie Sumia.
"You okay Ryan?" she asked with a concerned look "Did you get enough rest earlier?"
"Well enough to keep me going, but no I'm just dealing with some thoughts. I'm sure we all are, some less than others" Ryan said as he looked back a bit at the three people behind him, Virion, Sully, and Kellam.
"Seriously Ruffles I'm really not in the mood for your games anymore." Sully exclaimed to the archer.
"Oh come now dear Sully, how many times must I say it before you find my words honest and true."
"That's not the point ruffles, the point I'm trying to get across is I'm not interested." She snapped a bit at Virion, her patience having evaporated a long time ago.
"Perhaps you should listen to her Virion" Kellam said to archer as well, yet his words like most of the time fell on deaf ears as the archer just gave Sully a boastful smile.
"Very well, you leave me no choice! I shall use actions rather than words to swoon you."
"Oh yeah, how?" Sully rolled her eyes a bit.
"Simple dear Sully, for now on consider me your protector from on high, as long as noble Virion draws breath no foe shall ever harm you." He declared to her, same noble smile as always. Sully said nothing at first as she looked at him, but then slowly she let a small chuckle escape her throat.
"Oh really… well then, let's see you put your money were your mouth is." She said accepting his proposal, which in turn made the archer give a grunt in happiness.
"Should you really egg him on like that Sully?" Kellam asked.
"What can I say Kellam I'm curious to see if he can actually do it, besides he's going to do it even if I argue back."
"Well I guess your right about that… wait you actually noticed me right away?" Kellam said, the knight having not expected Sully to say something back to him.
"Well someone has too, have to admit though I'm still working on it" The red haired knight replied, scratching her head a bit.
"Hmm, Kellam when did you get behind my noble self?" Virion questioned as he looked behind him to look at Kellam, apparently having not notice him behind him all this time until Sully mentioned him. All the armor knight did was sigh at his question.
Hearing the three's conversation Sumia had to nod to Ryan's words letting a slight giggle out as she turned back to look at the tactician "I guess you're right."
"Well what about you?" Ryan questioned "I can't help but think you're a little nervous yourself?" he added at the end, knowing that as a Pegasus knight Sumia was still lacking in experience compared to her fellow sister knights.
"Well you are right, I am nervous" Sumia admitted with a uneasy face before making a determined one to replace it "But for the sake of Chrom and Ylisse I will stay strong" she said as she looked forward, her eyes falling on the young prince of the Halidom who was leading them as she said that.
"Speaking of Chrom you think he's going to be alright meeting with this King Gangrel?" Ryan asked "He seemed the most tense about all this" he added at the end as he looked at Chrom as well now, the prince having not spoken or shown much emotion since they had left. He hadn't even talked to anyone since then either, the same cold expression on his face. Though from how Chrom always spoke negatively about Plegia Ryan wasn't all that surprised by his friends sudden change in demeanor.
"I hope so, I'm worried about him too" Sumia nodded, her concerns matching Ryan's as the group pressed onward. It was then that a slight shadow suddenly fell over the two, looking up both stopped in their tracks which in turn caused everyone to stop as well. Looking up into the sky the group soon saw that a winged lizard was making a lazy circle above them in the sky. But that wasn't the main concern as from what everyone could tell there was someone riding it as well. As everyone studied it the person on the winged beast took noticed and within seconds flew away, leaving the group towards the direction they were heading disappearing from sight quickly.
"What was that?" Ryan questioned.
"A wyvern rider" Frederick stated "They are to Plegia what Pegasus knights are to Ylisse."
"Obviously that was a scout" Phila added "Which means were getting close" she added at the end. With that said the group continued on for a short time until finally reaching the border pass. The area consisted of several cliffs with several steep slopes being the only way to traverse the difficult mountain like terrain. Still a short distance away Phila ordered some of her Pegasus unit to take to the skies to perform recon as she refused to let exalt Emmeryn enter the area blind. After about fifteen minutes they returned with news that King Gangrel was indeed there, along with a platoon of his own troops at his side making no effort to hide at all. Hearing all this Chrom turned towards Ryan.
"So what's the plan?"
"Well because of that scout they know are numbers and who's with us, that eliminates any chance of surprise attacks" Ryan said. "They aren't even hiding their troops too, so that worries me" he added as he rubbed his chin a bit. No matter how strong the plegian's thought they were this seemed a little too arrogant and Ryan smelled a rat.
"Even so it's not like we have a choice, we must confront them" Chrom remarked.
"I know… alright since it's come to this the best we can do is show are hand as well, as for dealing with the foes I want all the fliers to keep their eyes on their range attackers, as well as their own fliers as well. Meanwhile the Shepherds will handle the ground troops…" Ryan began as he laid out the battle plans to everyone in the group. After five minutes everyone knew what their jobs were and who to set their weapons on in case this did turn into an open conflict. Now heading towards the steep slopes it didn't take long for them to establish contact with who Ryan could only guess was the mad king himself. Standing there in full glory the king of Plegia wore expensive looking clothing with a yellow cape draped around his shoulders, a gold crown on top his head. He was a skinny man, his skin pale grey in color with dull red hair and a goatee to go along with it. Also standing next to him was another, this one an older looking woman. Yet despite her age she still possessed feminine charm, her outfit being a black gown that showed off a ton of skin, mostly around the chest and stomach area with a pair of black semi-transparent leg stockings. The most important aspect of her attire however was a fin of black feathers that spread across the back of her dress. As the group came to a stop a short distance away from them the King of Plegia spoke up as Emmeryn Chrom and Lissa walked a few steps ahead of the rest of the group.
"What's this, then?" The exalt herself, in all her radiance? I fear I must shield my eyes! Bwa ha ha ha!" He declared, his tone clearly mocking Emmeryn much to the anger of everyone with her. Despite this Emmeryn remained calm and serious as she spoke up next.
"King Gangrel, I've come for the truth of this unfortunate incident between us."
Upon hearing this the women standing next to Gangrel giggled "The truth? I can give you the truth."
"Perhaps milady might first share her name?" Emmeryn asked.
"You may call me Aversa" the women said bowing to Emmeryn a bit as she did.
"Very well, Aversa. Is Maribelle unharmed?"
"Who?" Gangrel tilted his head a bit in supposed thought before smiling wickedly "Oh yes, the little blonde brat." With that said Gangrel gave a nudge of his head, and in less than a minute one of his soldiers stepped forward. More importantly though he wasn't alone, standing right next to him was the groups friend and comrade Maribelle whose hands were tied together as she was shoved forward for them to see like an animal on auction. All the while she was giving the man an earful of words as he did.
"Unhand me, you gutter-born troglodyte!"
"Maribelle!" Lissa cried out causing the blond girl to stop her ranting for a minute to finally notice the group standing a distance away from her.
"Lissa? Darling, is that you?" Maribelle questioned.
"Yes it is! Thank goodness you're okay" Lissa exclaimed a bit, happy to see her friend alive and in one piece. Not wasting any time however the women known as Aversa started to speak again.
"This girl crossed the Plegian border without our consent. And what's more… She wounded the brave Plegian soldiers who sought only to escort her safety home."
"LIES! You speak nothing but lies, hag! Did they not teach the meaning of the word "truth" in wretched-crone school?!" Maribelle snapped at Aversa's accusation. However all her outburst did was make Aversa shake her head with a wicked smile of her own.
"You see? No manners at all." Aversa smirked "Such a nasty little bird simply had to be caged."
"Indeed" Gangrel added "Such a violent temper speaks to her guilt. This will call for a weighty punishment. And if she were later to confess to being an Ylissean spy? My goodness!" It would take an act of CONSIDERABLE good faith to repair are relations." The mad king went on causing Maribelle to snap at his their remarks once again.
"I have done nothing wrong! It is they who should confess! They are the ones who invaded Ylisse. They razed an entire village! When I attempted to intervene, they took me and dragged me across the border. Let the plundered shops and charred homes of that village serve as my proof!"
"That would only prove Ylisse has a bandit problem something I hear oft of late… But indeed, tonight I shall weep salty tears into my pillow for your dead villagers." Gangrel countered, his tone anything but sincere as he appeared to be holding back a smirk upon saying that last sentence.
"Your Grace, please!"
"Peace Maribelle. I believe you." Emmeryn said to the young girl, seeing Maribelle was getting distressed from having everything she said countered or used against her. "King Gangrel, I request that you release this woman at once. Surely you and I can sort out these affairs without the need for hostages."
"Oh? Without so much as an apology? Why should I even bother with parley?" Gangrel frowned a bit as he pointed at Maribelle. "I'm within my rights to have her head this instant and be back in time for supper."
"No" Lissa muttered in horror at the kings words. Meanwhile Chrom looked ready to kill Plegia's ruler right there.
"You black-hearted devil!" He snapped.
"Control your dog, my dear, before he gets someone hurt." Gangrel ordered as the guard who was standing next to Maribelle shoved the young girl unto her knees. Upon seeing this the rage on Chrom's face diminished a bit seeing Maribelle would be the one to pay for his remarks if he didn't watch his tongue. But who could blame him, Gangrel was clearly trying to push them past the breaking point no matter who he had to hurt. And while Chrom was the most vocal about his hatred towards Plegia's king he wasn't the only one ready to retaliate. Ryan was ready to fight too his hands balled into fists right now as Gangrel started to talk again.
"Now then, Your Graceliness. Perhaps we can arrange a trade?" he petition all of a sudden to the group. "You give me the Fire Emblem, and I return Mari Contrary here in one piece." Hearing the terms of his offer everyone turned wide eyed.
"He can't be serious?!" Phila proclaimed
"It appears he can" Frederick remarked his eyes narrowing as he stared at the mad king as if he was truly mad.
("The Fire Emblem?") Ryan pondered in his head, having recognizing the name from the same text he had read regarding the legend of the first exalt, the text describing it as a golden shield. It also mentioned that the Fire Emblem was a symbol or proof of the pact between Naga the divine dragon and the exalted family. But why on earth would Plegia's ruler want that?
"You would ask for Ylisse's royal treasure? But why?" Emmeryn questioned.
"Because I know the legend!" Gangrel exclaimed "The Fire Emblem is the key to having all one's wishes realized. I have desired it for years. YEARS! Yet my birthday comes and goes each year, and nothing from Ylisse." He explained with a quiet chuckle at the end.
Hearing his words Ryan's eyes got a bit wider ("All one's wishes realized? Does the Fire Emblem truly possess such an incredible power?") The tactician thought in shock. However exalt Emmeryn's face meanwhile had turned into a more serious frown, apparently not amused with Gangrel's little speech just now.
"The Emblem's power is meant for a single purpose, King Gangrel: to save the world and its people at their hour of most desperate need. Would you claim a more noble wish?" Emmeryn questioned the ruler of Plegia. Gangrel at first said nothing in rebuttal as he held his head low, but slowly a tiny chuckle escaped his throat followed by maniacal laughter.
"I want what every Plegian wants—a grisly end for every last Ylissean!" Gangrel stated loudly with an evil smile plastered all over his face. "What could be more noble then that?"
"What?" Emmeryn said in slight shock as Gangrels words took root in her ears, even the others were shocked by this statement. But the most shocked was the tactician Ryan, he knew Gangrel was trying to create a war between the two countries but this… suddenly shock turned to anger as Ryan glared at the Mad King of Plegia.
"Noble?! There's nothing noble about genocide! Your sick!" Ryan shouted a bit shocking everyone a bit at his outburst, him being the last one anyone expected to lose their cool right now. For a moment the cliff side grew as silent as a graveyard as Ryan soon found himself being stared at by King Gangrel, the plegian's eyes narrowing at his words, the tactician now feeling like a big weight had been dropped on top of him.
"Really that's it? That's all you have to say boy?" Gangrel questioned in a low tone "I'm the sick one?"
"I suppose you think the former exalt was any better?" Aversa suddenly added with a giggle throw in at the end "Perhaps because he worded it better as a "crusade"?"
"Crusade?" Ryan questioned in total confusion. It clearly wasn't the reaction Aversa was expecting as she blinked in puzzlement for a moment.
"Oh dear, you didn't know?... What a shame, and here I thought you were one of the smarter ones" she said with a unamused look as she played with a lock of her white hair.
"Quiet my dear" Gangrel hushed her as he looked at the boy again "You boy! Since your clearly in need of a history lesson allow me to shed a little light for you. You see Ylisse's pervious Exalt, Emmeryn's father named us Plegian's heathens!"
"Heathens?" Ryan questioned.
"Yes, and his "crusade" across Plegia butchered countless of my subjects and my kin! No better then what I'm wishing to do to you now, and I'm not even trying to hide it behind pretty words. And yet you have the nerve to call me the sick one? Such conceit you Ylisseans have!" Gangrel glared with hatred at the tactician. Ryan meanwhile couldn't make any remark back at Gangrels words. How could he? He had no memory and no knowledge of the past. There was no way he could tell if Gangrel was lying or not. Suddenly recalling Lissa's words to him last night the tactician turned to look at the two royals. Meeting his gaze Lissa held her head low while Chrom just balled his fist a bit as he looked at his friend. Seeing them like this Ryan knew without a doubt now that Gangrels words were true. Chrom and Lissa's father, the pervious exalt had drawn the blade against Plegia first and yet he had passed judgment on them without all the facts and in turn made things worst then they already were. He felt like such a fool now. Yet before any other thoughts could surface he heard Emmeryn speak up,
"It's alright Ryan don't blame yourself for not knowing the truth."
"Exalt Emmeryn…" Ryan muttered softly as Emmeryn turned back towards Gangrel taking a few steps forward as she did.
"King Gangrel… I have never denied Ylisse's past wrongdoings. But I have sworn to never repeat those mistakes. Ours is now a realm of peace."
"Yours is now a haven of hypocrisy!" Gangrel snapped back "Now give me the Fire Emblem!"
"No, Your Grace!" Maribelle's voice suddenly rang out to the exalt making her and everyone else turn to look at her "I'd sooner die than act as a bargaining chip for this filthy reprobate!" she shouted out.
"No one was asking for yer opinion lass, so shut it!" the brute of a soldier monitoring her barked, grabbing her by the hair as he did forcing her back on her feet.
"No, Maribelle…" Emmeryn began to say but then a loud sigh from Gangrel suddenly brought her attention back to him.
"Ugh… Taaaaaalk talk-talk-talk-talk." He muttered to himself with a hand on his head "It's time to speak louder than words! This negotiation is over, Your Luminosity! I shall have the Emblem if I have to pry it from your shiny dead hands!"
With that the king of Plegia snapped his fingers, and in the blink of an eye three of the soldiers on the cliff in front of the group jumped down and advanced towards the exalt. Seeing this as a threat to the exalt everyone prepared to charge towards Emmeryn's defense. Before any could however Chrom to their shock drew his blade as he got in front of his sister. But he didn't stop there as all of a sudden Chrom advanced towards the first Plegia he could get to and with a single slash of his Falchion downed the Plegian soldier. Leaving him down on the ground Chrom fixed his gaze on the other two who had retreated a bit after seeing their comrade fall so easy to Chrom's blade.
"Stay back! Or you all suffer the same fate!" Chrom yelled to them, his tone and face showing he wasn't afraid to back up his threat. However instead of backing down or showing nervousness at this King Gangrel instead looked pleased letting a huge wicked grin spread across his face.
"Now that's a declaration of war if I've ever heard one… A big, messy war that will bleed you Ylisseans dry. Bwa ha ha!" Gangrel laughed out in triumph as Chrom turned wide eyed realizing what he had just done. "And to start off I think it's only fair to kill someone on your side now that you've killed one of my men, an eye for and eye so they say!"
"Maribelle no!" Chrom shouted out as tried to rush forward only to find himself staring down multiple soldiers with their weapons drawn and pointed towards him. Meanwhile everyone watched as Aversa walked over to Maribelle.
"They're going to kill her!" Lissa cried out in horror.
"Damnit!" Ryan cursed as his eyes shifted to Virion "Virion you're going to be the signal for everyone to charge, get your arrow ready to fire on my mark" Ryan said softly so that no one else could hear.
"Leave it to me" Virion said as he reached for one in his quiver. While he did Aversa stared down Maribelle with an evil smirk on her face, the soldier behind her preparing his axe.
"Poor, stupid girl… Are you really worth fighting a war over?" Aversa grinned evilly "Years from now, you'll be remembered only as she who destroyed House Ylisse" she added, getting a kick out of tormenting the poor girl with these revelations.
"No… that's not… oh Lissa… please no" Maribelle muttered, looking like she was on the verge of crying in despair. Seeing no more reason to prolong her suffering Aversa looked back up at the soldier.
"Do it."
With that said the soldier raised his weapon ready to deliver Maribelle an untimely demise. Seeing this Ryan was just about to order Virion to fire when all of a sudden the guard was suddenly blasted off his feet landing on the ground with a plop. For a moment Ryan thought Virion had fired before he ordered him too, until he suddenly noticed the gale of wind right next to Maribelle that had been responsible. Shocked Aversa took a step back as suddenly another set of wind suddenly cut the ropes holding Maribelle's hands together.
"Maribelle, Go! Your free!" a young male voice sounded out to the confused blond, a voice that sounded highly familiar to Chrom and Ryan. Looking in its direction both saw it was exactly who they thought it was. Standing on the same ledge as Maribelle and Aversa was Ricken the young mage in blue. He had followed along in secret and during all the commotion had managed to sneak up to where the hostage, Maribelle was.
"RICKEN?! What are you doing here?" Maribelle shouted in shock.
"Just run! We can talk about it later!" Ricken said with a goofy smile as he stared down Aversa who had regained her calm demeanor seeing it was nothing but a kid.
"Oh, is this your boyfriend? Isn't he just precious?"
"Don't talk down to me, witch!" Ricken barked, refusing to be mocked. Raising his hand at her a green tome suddenly glowed in his other hand and a huge blade of wind suddenly shot forward at Aversa. However to Chrom and everyone else's shock Aversa raised her hand and suddenly some kind of blast of dark energy intercepted his attack and canceled it out.
"What?!"
"It's you who shouldn't underestimate me" Aversa said coldly with a smile on her face, revealing a dark purple tome on her person. Seeing she was a magic user herself Ricken started to get a little scared, his confidence wavering. Yet despite this he raised his hand again to oppose her.
"Ricken no! Retreat!" Chrom barked an order at him, but Ricken wasn't listening Aversa's cold eyes being the only thing he could focus on as he started to shake a bit. Letting out a shout the young red haired mage fired another blast of wind at Aversa, but like before Aversa showed no fear. Raising her hand again her purple tome glowed brightly and suddenly a huge blast of dark energy shot forward. Colliding with the wind it only took a few seconds for Ricken's spell to flicker out, letting the rest of Aversa's blast through towards the mage. Ricken turned wide eyed in horror as he suddenly jumped away, but the blast was too quick. Colliding with the ground where he had been standing Ricken was partially hit by the blast the right side of his body looking like it had been mildly burned. Maribelle shouted out his name as the young mage's body blasted off the cliff, the boy unconscious as he fell. Thankfully Chrom was fast and with adrenaline pumping through his body right now the young lord managed to position himself to catch Ricken before he hit the ground.
As everyone focused on Chrom's quick rescue Ryan's eyes darted back towards Maribelle. She hadn't moved since Ricken was beaten and right now nobody was focusing on her. Seeing this as his chance Ryan immediately reacted.
"Maribelle! JUMP!" he shouted as he charged forward towards the cliff. Hearing Ryan's sudden shout Maribelle snapped out of her shock and without thinking twice she did exactly as he told her and ran away before Aversa or any other soldier there could react. As for Ryan he got into position quickly and as Maribelle jumped he spread his arms and managed to grab her, sadly though he wasn't as good as Chrom, falling over with her on top of him as he caught her.
Seeing this Gangrel made a grunt of irritation "Men, kill them all!" He ordered. Within seconds of his command the Plegian troops began charging forward weapons drawn and ready to spill blood. The same could be said for there fliers stationed on the higher cliffs as they flew into the sky, there axes raised. However the shepherds and Phila's Pegasus knights were already advancing as well the two groups soon colliding and beginning to clash. As they did Chrom along with Ryan raced to the back of the group, the prince carrying Ricken while Ryan rushed Maribelle, telling her to hurry as Frederick Phila and the Exalt came up to them.
"Frederick, Phila, get these two and my sister somewhere safe!" Chrom ordered.
"Yes my lord" Frederick said quickly scooping the unconscious mage out of his liege's arms while Maribelle climbed onto his horse. Phila meanwhile ushered the exalt on her mount as ordered. Now seated on the Pegasus Emmeryn turned to look at her younger brother with worry as Phila started to take off.
"Please, be careful"
"Don't worry about us we'll be fine, now go" Chrom said in reassurance to his older sister. As Frederick and Phila took off Chrom and Ryan turned their attention back towards the fighting which for the moment was in there favor thanks to the strategic plans Ryan had given beforehand. For the ground battle Kellam was playing the lead man using his armor and huge size to block most of the frontal assault taking place. Meanwhile Lon'qu and Vaike took to his sides, using their strength and speed to prevent others from getting behind the knight and cornering him. Directly behind the knight stood Lissa, ready to use her heal staff at any time one of the three in front of her got hurt. Also directly behind them was Miriel and Virion as they rained fire and arrows down on the Plegian soldiers as well. Not to be outdone Sully and Stahl were using their mounts to attack and then retreat in a repeating loop allowing the shepherds to drop more of their foes as they concentrated on the five foot units in front of them. As for the air battle the Pegasus knights traded blows in the sky with the plegian's wyverns using their speed to overcome their physically stronger opponents. Wasting no time Chrom and Ryan joined their friends in combat, Chrom joining the front guard, cutting down foes as they came while Ryan joined with Miriel and Virion to cover their allies with indirect attacks.
Yet the Plegian's weren't stupid like brigands. With their brawlers toe to toe with the Ylisseans a group of what appeared to be mages lined up on one of the higher cliffs. Raising their arms they started to let loss blasts dark energy like Aversa did earlier only in their case they were much weaker. None the less there combined magic attack forced the Shepherds to retreat a bit, Kellam's armor worth nothing against magical attacks.
"What type of magic is that Miriel?" Ryan questioned the mage, having never seen this type of magic before, the spots where the attacks connected with looking like they were burned or melted like with fire.
"It is known as dark magic, and it is most foul indeed, acting like venom more than anything else" she explained as she readjusted her glasses. "And Plegia is the head of all dark magic research, which makes it highly feasible that they have many dark mages over general mages in there army."
"Dark magic huh, in that case you me and Virion will be focusing on them" Ryan stated.
"While I have no problem with your plan my good sir that will make it harder for me to guard my beloved Sully" Virion spoke out as he took aim and fired at another foot soldier near Sully, one which Sully had been well prepared to handle.
"You can't be so narrow sighted Virion if we don't deal with the mages now we risk getting impeded by their magic spells." The tactician stated logically as he focused his attacks on the mages, managing to hit one of them as he talked. Suddenly though a shriek from above caught his attention. Looking up Ryan saw that a group of wyvern riders had broken away from the battle in the sky and were now swooping down straight towards them.
"Watch out everyone from above!" Ryan shouted to the group. Hearing Ryan's warning most of the group was able to dodge the wyverns as they swung there weapons, except Sully who had no choice but to block. However with the force from his dive behind him the wyvern rider managed to knock Sully off her horse and unto the ground on her back. Quickly trying to get up the cavalier saw to her shock that another axe wielder had come up to her, axe at the ready to chop her in half. And thanks to the sudden aerial attack the group was scattered a bit, trying to avoid getting surrounded.
"Sully dearest!" Virion shouted as he prepared to fire an arrow, but he wouldn't get the chance as the group of dark mages opened fire at him at that moment, making him dodge on instinct. Panicked the archer knew he wouldn't make it as the axe man swung his axe up.
However just before Sully took the hit the axe suddenly connected with something else, the armor knight Kellam. Despite being weighed down by his armor the knight had managed to get between the two combatants just in time to block his strike. But it wasn't without cost as to his bad luck the axe man's axe had managed to get through Kellam's armor a bit making the knight let out a grunt of pain as he shield bashed the soldier away, knocking him off balance. Not missing her chance Sully quickly got back on her feet and impaled the man with her lance dropping him in seconds. As Sully went to check on Kellam's injury one of the wyverns came swooping back it to attack them while they were down. Yet as he neared them the rider was suddenly shot outta the sky, an arrow sticking out from his neck as he hit the ground, his mount in disarray without its rider. Looking towards the direction of the shot Sully saw Virion staring at her a few feet away a sorrowful look over his usually charming demeanor. Quickly though he looked away from her as he readied another arrow towards the mages.
By now the Plegian's ground forces had suffered a major blow and the sky battle was going well too. But thanks to the dark mages who were aiming high and low and the wyverns managing to sneak away to the ground battle the Ylisseans were now trapped between a rock and a hard place. Dealing with attacks from multiple directions was taking its toll and they were starting to take injuries as well as fatigue. If Ryan didn't think of a plan soon someone here would end up dead, and he wasn't going to let that happen. As he racked his brain for idea's he soon found himself back to back with Chrom, both young men being cornered by lance soldiers. As there foes readied to charge them both turned their heads to look at each other.
"As one"
"Right"
After saying that to each other the soldiers made their move, charging forward to impale the two with their lances. As they drew close however Chrom suddenly flipped around Ryan while the tactician turned around. With a raise of his hand a blast of thunder zapped the soldier who had charged at Chrom, frying him to a crisp. While at the same time Chrom blocked the other soldiers lance with his sword. Without a moment's hesitation Ryan drew his own blade and before the remaining soldier could react he impaled him in the stomach, the soldier falling off his blade quickly as he hit the ground dead.
With the immediate threat over Chrom turned to face Ryan again "You alright?"
"For now" Ryan said "But we won't be if- look out!" Ryan shouted as he and Chrom were attacked by another blast of dark magic, the attack barely missing a direct hit. Ryan had managed to escaped unscathed, but when the tactician turned to look at Chrom he saw Chrom hadn't been so lucky, the young lord having taken a slight hit to his leg.
"Damnit!" Chrom cursed his leg stinging a bit as he used his Falchion to help support him a bit. As Ryan tried to see how bad it was neither male noticed that one of the wyverns riders had used his friends attack as a distraction to dive at the two undetected. Taking aim at Chrom the axe wielder drew in close and swung.
Yet his attack didn't make it as suddenly a lance had dug into his side, knocking him off his mount on unto the ground. Looking up Chrom and Ryan saw that Sumia had rescued them having managed to get away from the battle in the sky.
"Chrom are you okay?" Sumia asked with concern as she landed her mount right next to them.
"I'm alright… but I've taken a hit" Chrom said as he looked down at it again. Seeing it Ryan knew immediately that Chrom wouldn't be able to fight well now that his leg had been injured.
"Chrom you should fall back-
"I refuse, it's my fault this fight's even happening, I can't back down while the rest of you put your lives on the line" The lord said to his tactician
"But Chrom your leg" Sumia said softly.
"Damnit…" Chrom cursed again. As he looked back at his leg Ryan turned to look at the battle still going on. This was quickly becoming a stalemate, and if they wanted to win they needed an ace in the hole now. It was then that Ryan suddenly remembered something, how Sumia had saved Chrom from the attack at the Longfort by putting him on her mount. Looking back at the two Ryan spoke up.
"Chrom, Sumia, I have a plan that can solve this problem and help turn the tide" He said, causing both to look at him as he quickly started talking again.
Meanwhile the rest of the group was continuing the battle against the remaining Plegian soldiers. Right now Stahl and Vaike were holding the front while Miriel and Virion were doing their best to take out the wyvern knights and mages that were plaguing them all. While they were doing that Lissa was working on Kellam's injury, Sully and Lon'qu being there protection while she worked.
"I'm good Lissa, you can stop now." Kellam said moving his arm and shoulder a bit to prove it.
"That's a relief" Lissa replied.
"Get down" Lon'qu suddenly shouted as he suddenly shoved Lissa and himself to the ground, a wyvern rider's axe missing Lissa's head by a few inches. Sully tried to hit the rider with her lance as he passed but he managed to dodge her and fly outta reach much to her annoyance.
"You okay?" Sully shouted to them a bit as she watched for any more attacks aimed at them.
"Were fine" Lon'qu replied with a stern expression.
"*cough* *cough* Speak for yourself I got a mouthful of dirt!" Lissa grunted a bit coughing a bit.
"That's the least of are worries" Lon'qu retorted "Unless we can gain some sort of edge were stuck" he said, looking back up to see another wyvern knight coming towards the group of four. Just as Lon'qu raised his sword to counter the sound of flapping wings entered his and everyone else's ears. Then all of a sudden a Pegasus knight entered there vision, speeding towards the incoming attacker. As it drew close the Pegasus knight jerked to the side and suddenly the four shepherds saw the swinging of steel followed by the wyvern's rider going down. Taking a closer look they saw that the Pegasus knight was Sumia, and sitting right next to her on her mount was the young prince Chrom himself, his blade drawn.
"Good that's one down" Chrom said as he stared down at the fallen rider before looking back at Sumia "Focus on the flying Sumia I'll handle the foes as they come!"
"Right, hold on tight!" Sumia said as she commanded her mount to fly forward towards more of their airborne foes. As they did Ryan came up to the group.
"You guys alright?"
"Yeah, was that your latest idea?" Sully asked looking at Chrom and Sumia paired up. Using her speed Sumia was able to dodge the fliers and mages attacks aimed at them, at the same time Chrom used his sword to drop foes as Sumia flew past them. It was a simply strategy, but it was already proving highly effective as the wyverns dropped quickly and the remaining ground forces were losing a huge advantage.
"Well there's no rule saying soldiers have to fight alone. Now come on, let's back them up!" Ryan said. With that the group of five regrouped with their comrades at the front. United the group started to make a final push, downing the remaining foes in front of them. Meanwhile Sumia and Chrom continued there attacked from the air, preventing any wyverns from going after the shepherds on the ground. At the same time they also managed to harry the remaining mages, preventing them from casting spells effectively. Adding on to that was that the Pegasus knights that had been fighting the wyverns all this time had almost routed there enemy and were now coming down to assist the shepherds unimpeded. It wasn't long after that the Plegian's were finally routed, the entire soldier battalion wiped out and now lying dead on the cliffs.
With only the wind now blowing across the cliff side everyone quickly scanned the area searching for King Gangrel or his aid Aversa. Seeing no sign of them it became clear that they had slipped away doing all the fighting, leaving all there men behind to cover there escape. While the thought of trying to pursue them was tempting the group was in no condition to continue fighting, and there more pressing issues at the moment.
"There Chrom, how's that feel?" Lissa asked as she healed Chrom's leg with her staff. The shepherds and the Pegasus knights resting themselves after a hard fought victory.
"Much better, thanks Lissa" Chrom smiled softly to his sister the prince moving his leg a bit to test the waters.
"That's a relief to hear" Sumia nodded as she smiled softly to Chrom, the young lord's cheeks turning a tad rosy seeing her smile.
"Well I have you to thank for that, it's because of you that we won this battle without any casualties" Chrom praised causing Sumia's cheeks to turn rosy this time.
"You really think so?"
"I know so" Chrom stated, causing Sumia to turn away a bit in embarrassment. As they did Lissa and Ryan who were right next to them looked at each other and smirk a bit. The two having the same thought as to what was going on in Chrom and Sumia's heads right now.
As they rested everyone soon noticed someone coming towards them from the direction they had come from, the people being Emmeryn, Frederick, and Phila along with Maribelle and Ricken. The minute Frederick stopped his horse Maribelle quickly hopped off and raced towards Lissa, who did the same the minute she saw her friend.
"Maribelle! Are you hurt?!" Lissa asked with great concern as she studied her friend a bit, looking for signs of injury.
"Nothing I didn't return twofold, darling." Maribelle replied with a soft expression, glad to see that Lissa herself was okay. As Lissa gave a sigh of relief and a smile of her own Ryan walked over.
"I'm glad your safe" He said with a soft smile causing Maribelle to look at him.
"Who…? Oh. It's you" She replied, quickly remembering the tactician from back at the shepherds barracks. The one she bad mouthed shortly after meeting.
"Yeah, I know your not fond of me, but it's a relief none the less to see you safe."
"Oh, it's not a question of fondness." Maribelle shook her head "I am simply protective of Lissa. My treasure is very sensitive, and… Wait. Am I really justifying myself to a commoner? Gods…"
"Come on Maribelle" Lissa said to her friend in a displeased tone "Ryan did help save you, you know…"
"Yes, well, I do…apologize for being curt. And… And… And you have my thanks for your part in the rescue. There, I said it!" Maribelle said as she bowed a bit in courtesy to Ryan. The act causing Ryan to scratched his head a bit in embarrassment, but soon enough he nodded and smiled to her, glad to see she was starting to warm up to him. As this was happening Chrom meanwhile came up to Frederick who still had Ricken in his lap, still unconscious from Aversa's attack.
"How is he?" Chrom asked with concern.
"He has suffered magical burns that should be treated quickly, but his life is still his own milord."
"Good… that's good." Chrom breathed a sigh of relief as he stared at the young mages face which had been burned as well. "This is why I didn't want you to come Ricken, because I was afraid something like this would happen"
"Chrom" a gentle voice spoke out to the young lord. Looking to his right Chrom turned to see his older sister Emm standing right next to him. Chrom tensed a bit at seeing his older sister again, disappointment written all over his face due to his actions form earlier.
"Forgive me, Emm. I acted rashly" Chrom said with his hung low. While it may have been Gangrel who provoked the incident it had been Chrom who lashed out first. It was safe to say that was Gangrel's plan the entire time, the soldiers in full sight meant to stir up tension while Gangrel battered them emotionally, causing someone on there side to eventually lash out and trigger an excuse for war.
"It's alright Chrom. King Gangrel is the one at fault here. You were only protecting me." Emmeryn said in reassurance to Chrom, even though it was evident to everyone that she was greatly disheartened by all of this.
"The Mad King will be rallying his forces, if they have not mobilized already. I suggest we make haste back to Ylisstol and discuss are strategy." Frederick pointed out, understanding what was going through there heads at the moment. But now wasn't the time for such thoughts, not with war coming to knock on there door.
"Of course, Frederick. It seems war is upon us" Emmeryn said as her expression turned into a serious calm one again. "We must protect the Ylissean people at all costs."
"We will sister, that I promise" Chrom vowed softly to Emmeryn. After gathering everyone together the Ylisseans slowly made their way outta the border pass and back to Ylisstol to rest and heal. While they may have won the battle today, they now had to win the war, and it was only going to get harder from here.
Here it is folks this stories now hit double digits in chapter count. I seriously don't know why it took so long though to finish this chapter so I apologize to those of you who read this for the long wait. Enjoy and if you want to comment.
Hyperdimension Neptunia chapter 4 is next so if you read that story stay tuned.