I do not own Fire Emblem or any of its characters.
Kjelle gulped. The portal Lucina had wished for had been opened and the others had already gone through. She turned around to see an army of Risen approaching. Normally, Kjelle would never turn away from a challenge, but she knew that accepting this one meant death. The warm glow given off by the portal was both captivating and inviting, but there was something off-putting about it. It made Kjelle feel weird, she had never felt something like this before, or at least not for a long time. She felt a strong sickness in her stomach that was reaching up to her chest and wrapping her heart. She found it hard to breathe, her armor seemed to lock into place and trap her in place.
Could she be scared?
No. Kjelle reassured herself, nothing could scare her as long as she wore her armor, and had her mother's ring. Her breath flowed back into lungs and her armor grew lighter than it ever had before. She let out a primal battle cry and dove headfirst into the portal. She was wrapped by the warm light and felt as though she was being pulled by the very fiber of her being to her destination. The past.
Kjelle opened her eyes. She stared up at the ceiling of her tent. It had been a while since she dreamed of that night. This time felt different however, she didn't know what it was, but she knew something bad was going to happen, and soon. She attempted to dismiss the thought and looked over to the cot next her, it was empty. She rubbed her eyes.
Was she seeing right? Was it possible that Morgan had actually woken up before her?
There was two possibilities. One, her sister had managed to wake up before her for whatever reason. Or two, she had overslept and was missing out on valuable training time. Based on the astronomically low chance Morgan had woken up that early, even her antics weren't important enough for her to get up, Kjelle assumed the latter option was the correct one. She flew out of her cot and stretched. She quickly changed into suitable clothes that would fit under training gear which consisted of a light tunic, pants that were a bit snug for her liking, and a slender pair of leather boots. She made her way out of the tent and hoped there was some food left over, she needed to fuel up for the day.
As she made her way through the rows of tents she was stopped by a gray-haired mercenary.
"Ah, it appears that my sleeping beauty is finally awake." He stepped in front of her and struck a pose. "How about that date now?"
Kjelle rolled her eyes and forced her way through. "Inigo, I don't have time for this. I'm already late on my regiment, and you aren't helping."
"Kjelle don't be like that. I know you'll say yes eventually. So why not save both of us the trouble, and just go out with me, just once?" Inigo, asked jogging in order to catch up to her, then slowing down to match her pace.
"Inigo, if it really means that much to you, I'll go out with you if you can beat me in a sparring match. Otherwise, get out of my way."
"Oh you ARE ON!" Inigo exclaimed with glee. He gave a smirk as he continued to walk parallel to Kjelle, he had never lost a fight before, he wasn't too sure how it worked himself, but he seemed to have inherited his father's luck. Knowing someone as tactic-minded as Kjelle would have trouble fighting an unpredictable enemy gave him the advantage.
"I wouldn't be so confident." Kjelle gave a smirk back. "You know, some people say my father was just as lucky as yours."
Inigo's smirk disappeared, it was true, he had seen Robin pull off some miraculous dodges, and always seemed to take down the enemy with single full-force strikes, and he had never seen Robin break a weapon he was using. He shrugged off the thought. "Well, at the very least, allow me to eat with you in the mess hall, it's about time for our lunch hour."
"Lunch hour?" Kjelle let out a sigh of defeat and slowed her pace. "My whole regiment is off now. I might as well start again tomorrow, and just do standard training for today."
"Well, how about after we eat, we can have that spar?" Inigo suggested, very eager to win Kjelle's favor.
"Normally I would wholeheartedly accept any challenge, but now that I think about it a bit more, I think I'll use today to learn some more battle tactics from my father. Next time, however, I will gladly sweep the floor with you."
"I look forward to it very much." Inigo said with a smile.
"Good. You'd best prepare yourself."
Kjelle wandered around the camp looking for her father, Robin. She had checked him and his mother's tent, but neither of them were there. She had asked around but no one had seemed to have seen him. She was concerned until she had discovered what he was doing. She looked at a fairly large tree that was near the camp. Underneath, was Robin and her uncle Stahl, both peacefully sleeping being supported by both the tree and each other, there was crumbs all over both of them. Seeing them like this sparked a particular flame inside of her. Especially seeing her father "the fabled tactician" lazing about, when he could be preparing for the next battle, and this wasn't the first time she had found him like this. The foreboding feeling of negativity wasn't helping either.
"AHEM!" Kjelle cleared her throat with such sharpness, that both Robin and Stahl jerked back knocking their heads together.
"Ow-ow, oh hey sweetie, what seems to be the problem?" Robin rubbed his head, ruffling his white hair in the process. Stahl was still a bit disoriented and merely held his head between his knees.
"Father, I want you to spar with me. Uncle Stahl, you are exempt from this duty. You may leave, we will see you later today."
"Th-thank youuuuu." Stahl was able to mutter with his head still between his knees, he did not make any attempt to move and allowed himself to slouch back onto the floor.
"Uh, why do you want to spar? You usually follow your own training schedule."
"Long story short, I wanted to discuss tactics with you, but instead I found you laying down on the job. Father this is happening too often, I'm beginning to doubt if you even train yourself. Someone of your position should be in top physical form and alert at all times, it is too dangerous to take naps outside of the camp."
"So you doubt my strength?" Robin laughed. "I never thought the day that you would think I wasn't strong enough, knowing that your mother is my wife. Believe me Kjelle as long as you or Sully are around I have a reason to stay strong."
Kjelle blushed, she still wasn't used to having her father around, and he had been gone for so long. "Father please, I must spar with you because I'm worried. You weren't really around when I was growing up, and today I just have this feeling that something is about to go terribly wrong."
"Aww, you care about me. If that's the case I guess I have to spar with you, but I can guarantee my loss already."
"Why do you say that?" Kjelle was astonished.
"It's easily said. Kjelle you are by far one our most powerful soldiers. And you come from a future where you've trained with your mother for a majority of your life. Sully knows all my moves, therefore you know my moves. You have a massive advantage."
"Then use all of your strength this time father! I know you hold back whenever you sparred with either me or mother. So this time, don't hold back, I won't hold back either." Kjelle's eyes were full of a passion Robin had never seen before.
"Oh man, Kjelle's getting serious, I'm out of here for right now. I'll see you two later." Stahl managed to stand up and walk away holding the back of his head.
"Alright then, my dear daughter." Robin gave her a soft smile. His eyes however, reflected the passion in Kjelle's. "One time only, you get Robin at his finest. First person to hit the ground loses. First things first we have to make this fair." Robin took of his grandmaster cloak and chest plate, leaving just a matching set of a white shirt and pants. He had two blades attached to his hips. On one side a Brave Sword, on the other a Levin Sword. He unhooked the Levin sword from his hip and put it on the floor. He unsheathed his Brave Sword and settled into a fencing position. Kjelle unsheathed her own blade, a gift from her father, it was modeled after the hero Alm's own blade. She too achieved a fencing stance.
"Enguarde." Both of them said in unison, then leapt forward.
Hi guys, maybe a bit lackluster for a first chapter, but that's okay. I feel like Kjelle doesn't get nearly enough love, so I decided to take it upon myself to do it. Hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading. Please review, so I can make it better, thank you again.
