"Wake up… Naaalia… Wake up, sleepyhead!"
Nope.
"Come on, rise and shine!"
Nuh-uh.
"Alright, you leave me no choice. Wake UP!"
The comforting warmth vanished, replaced by chilly air.
"Whyyy…"
Nalia Tabris groaned, curling up in a desperate attempt to keep some of her previous warmth.
"Come on, Nalia, it's time to get up!"
Nalia opened her eyes to see her red-haired cousin scolding her, hands on her hips.
"But Shianni, I'm tired…"
The girl huffed in annoyance. "How can you be so lazy? It's the day of both your and Soris's weddings, you should be excited!" Nalia just groaned, earning herself another glare from Shianni. "Besides, your father wants to talk to you before your husband arrives."
"Not my husband yet," Nalia muttered, rolling out of bed reluctantly. With a yawn, she rubbed at her eyes, long blonde hair messily falling over her face.
Shianni giggled. "Better not let your future husband see you like this," she teased.
Rolling her eyes, Nalia didn't deign her cousin's comment with a response. Thankfully, the girl left and let Nalia get ready for the day in peace.
After she was dressed and prepared, Nalia shuffled out to the main area of the house. There, she found Cyrion sitting on a chair, calmly waiting. When her father realized she was ready, he stood to face her.
"Ah, my little girl." Nalia rolled her eyes, but still smiled. No matter how much she disliked being called that, it showed her father loved her.
Cyrion's smile became wistful. "It's… the last day I'll be able to call you that. Oh, how I wish your mother could have been here!"
At that, Nalia gave a sad smile. "I do too, Father."
"Ah, but that reminds me… I think it would be best not to mention your mother's training to your betrothed."
"Why not?" It burned her, the idea of purposely hiding something she was good at, the thing she was good at.
Or rather, the idea of hiding it from a fellow elf. The very reason that Nalia's training had been secret was due to the laws the forbid elves from carrying weapons. Despite that, her mother had taught her how to wield all variety of blades, using discarded swords and stolen knives. Swordplay, knife fighting, throwing knives – Nalia had learned them all from her mother's tutelage.
"Nalia…" Cyrion sighed. "I know you are proud of your talents. But we wouldn't want to cause trouble. Your mother made that mistake. And she paid for it with her life," he finished, voice having grown quiet and sad.
If it had been anyone else who had said those words, Nalia would have snapped at them with rage at bringing up her mother's memory in such a way. But the girl knew that her parents had loved each other dearly.
"I understand, Father." And Nalia did. As much pride as she took in her skills, her father just wanted her to be safe and happy. Revealing her talents with weapons to her fiancé would only complicate matters.
Cyrion reached out to Nalia and she hugged him, both holding each other tightly. "I love you, my daughter," he told her softly. As they separated, his mood seemed to brighten. "Now, go find Soris and make sure he's ready. That boy is almost more resistant to the idea of getting married than you!"
Rolling her eyes, Nalia gave a casual wave of acceptance and walked out of the house. Just before she left, the girl turned and gave Cyrion a loving smile.
Outside of the house, Nalia shifted uncomfortably in the dress she wore. The elven tailors did their best with what they had, but her wedding clothes were still tight and somewhat scratchy. Looking around, Nalia quickly found Soris standing near the Venedahl, the great tree in the Alienage.
The Venedahl was mostly kept around out of tradition, and even Nalia had no idea what it was truly supposed to signify, except possibly that all elves lived freely with nature at some point in the past. Regardless of the reason for its existence, the tree was a slice of nature and beauty in what was otherwise a slum, and for that, Nalia appreciated it.
"Soris!" Nalia waved, and her cousin turned to wave back with a nervous grin.
"Hey, cousin." Soris looked just as uncomfortable in his wedding clothes as Nalia did, tugging at his collar and attempting to smooth out wrinkles periodically. "You ready for… today?"
Nadia's happy demeanor faded slightly. "I guess so," she replied. "It is an important event."
"Yeah," Soris agreed. Despite their words, neither were particularly enthusiastic. They fell into an awkward silence until Shianni bounded over to them in excitement.
"What are you two doing?" Nalia and Soris exchanged confused glances. Shianni scoffed. "Your fiancés are already here, and you two are just standing around!"
Nalia gaped at her cousin, speechless.
"They- they're here already?" Soris was in a similar state, although he apparently was at least able to talk.
"Yes! The trip went smoother than expected, so they're here now!" Shianni grinned at the two, but the grin faded as they continued to stand there in shock. "What are you waiting for? Stop dilly dallying and go meet them!"
Not giving the pair any time to come up with excuses, Shianni planted one hand on each of her cousins' backs and propelled them towards the entrance to the Alienage. Before Nalia or Soris could realize what was happening, they were staring at a pair of elves standing in the middle of the path.
"Soris, Nalia, meet your fiancés, Valora and Nelaros!" Shianni introduced them, grinning in delight.
For a moment, the four of them stood there, looking at their respective future spouse. Before any of them said anything, Valora was roughly grabbed by the arm from behind.
"Ah!" The woman gasped out in pain, and Nalia saw the human who was holding Valora's arm in a vice grip.
"It's a party, isn't it? Grab a whore and have a good time," the blonde man sneered to the small group of other humans behind him. When Valora struggled and tried to escape, he let go of her. She staggered away, and he laughed, turning to face Shianni. "Savor the hunt boys. Take this little elven wench here – so young and vulnerable…"
"Touch me and I'll gut you, you pig!" Shianni spat, fists clenched at her sides.
Nelaros attempted to calm down the situation. "Please, sir! We're preparing for weddings!" The human didn't seem to even notice that Nelaros existed. Nalia stepped forward to try and intervene, and suddenly the man's attention was on her.
"What's this? Another lovely one to keep me company?" His leer made Nalia nauseous, but she knew better than to let it show.
"With respect, perhaps it would be better for you to leave, milord." Her anger, burning just beneath the surface, thankfully went unnoticed. Unfortunately, his reaction was less than accepting.
Arrogance seeping into every word he spoke, the human asked, "Do you have any idea who I am? You dirty knife-ears should know better than to-"
But they never heard what he thought about elves, because Shianni chose that moment to shatter a glass bottle over the intruder's head.
With a groan, the man collapsed to the ground, and his companions rushed over to where he lay unconscious in the dirt.
"Are you insane? This is Vaughan Kendells, the arl of Denerim's son!" One of the men yelled at them, and all of the elves' faces paled at the news.
Shianni stepped back in horror, hands raising up to grip her head. "W-what? Oh, Maker…" When Vaughan's group looked as if they were ready to attack the red-haired elf for her actions, Nalia stepped in.
"Look, things got out of hand, but it would be best for you to return home. We have no wish to cause trouble."
Her attempts at calming them down didn't seem to work. One of the other men replied, "You've got a lot of nerve, knife-ears. This'll go badly for you." Thankfully, despite their words, the humans just grabbed Vaughan and left without trying anything else.
"Oh, I really messed up this time," Shianni groaned, watching the men carry the noble out of the Alienage.
While Soris reassured Shianni, Nalia went over to the two new arrivals and made sure they were okay.
"We're fine," Valora smiled at her. "A bit shaken up, but… well, this kind of thing isn't too shocking. We just didn't quite expect it this soon."
Nelaros turned to face Nalia, and suddenly her stomach was tying itself into knots. "Thank you for helping to defuse the situation, Nalia."
For what felt like the first time in her life, Nalia stuttered her way through her words. "Ah, I- I didn't do much. If Shianni hadn't knocked that shem out, I don't know what would've happened."
"Well, however it happened, I'm glad he's gone. We wouldn't want him interrupting the big day, yes?" Nelaros smiled nervously at Nalia.
"Ah, yes…" She smiled back. Nalia looked away for a moment to regain her composure, and noticed that Valora had gone over to talk to Soris. The pair of them seemed just as nervous as Nalia and Nelaros were.
"Are you nervous?" The sudden question took Nalia by surprise, and it took her a moment to respond to the question.
"A little," she admitted shyly. "But… less so, now. After all, we got to bond over driving a rude shem away, didn't we?"
Her comment got a laugh out of Nelaros. "I guess we did. Hopefully after today, there's not much more bonding in that way, and more getting to know each other calmly."
"No promises," Nalia grinned at her husband-to-be. As she did, the girl realized that she was barely nervous for the upcoming marriage at all anymore.
A moment later, she was nervous about something else entirely.
"Nelaros," she said in a low voice. "Go warn my father or the Elder. If you don't know who they are, find Soris and tell him."
"Nalia?" He asked worriedly. "What's the matter?" Nelaros turned towards whatever Nalia was looking at and gasped.
"It's another human," she confirmed, "and this one is armed. I'm going to try and get him to leave… one way or another."
"But-!"
Nalia didn't let him argue. "Go get help! If things go bad, I'll need it." Not waiting for a response, she quickly walked over to where the unknown human was standing and looking around idly.
"Good day," the dark-haired man greeted her. As she watched him suspiciously, the armored man continued. "I understand congratulations are in order for your impending wedding."
Shock, fear and anger all sprung up within her, but Nalia didn't let any of those emotions show. "What business do you have here, human, and how do you know of my wedding?"
The man smiled.
Hours later, Nalia was walking up to the wooden stage built specifically for the weddings.
The human she had confronted hadn't come into the Alienage to cause problems the way Vaughan and his men had before him. Nalia had never figured out what Duncan, the armored man who was apparently a Grey Warden, wanted in the Alienage, but when Soris and Nelaros had arrived with Elder Valendrian, the elven leader had vouched for the human.
Duncan had gone off with Valendrian to talk, and Nalia had been swept away by Shianni and the other women in order to get prepared for the wedding.
Now, though, Nalia was thinking of nothing but Nelaros and the wedding that was about to occur.
She stood next to Nelaros, and the pair of Soris and Valora stood on the other side of the Revered Mother who was officiating the ceremony. Revered Mother Boann was human, of course, as all members of the clergy were, but she came down to the Alienage anytime a wedding was planned and performed the ceremony for elven couples.
As Valendrian gave a speech before the weddings truly began, Nelaros leaned towards Nalia.
"I know we just met," he whispered, "but I promise that I'll spend every waking moment learning to make you happy."
Tears sprung to Nalia's eyes, and she had to focus on not letting herself start crying at her own wedding. Nelaros had said it himself – they had just met – but Nalia felt that she truly would be able to come to love this man and spend her life with him.
"And I you," she whispered back.
Valendrian's short speech came to a close, and Mother Boann began the service.
"In the name of the Maker, who brought us this world, and in whose name we say the Chant of Light, I-"
A gasp from Soris cut her off, and when he shakily pointed to someone behind her, the Revered Mother quickly turned. Nalia looked as well, and her insides turned to ice.
It was Vaughan, the human from earlier, and his expression didn't bode well.
"Sorry to interrupt, Mother, but I'm having a party and we're dreadfully short of female guests." The noble let out an ugly laugh, walking up to Valora.
"Milord!" Mother Boann's voice was full of disapproval. "This is a wedding!"
Vaughan let out a bark of laughter. "If you want to dress up your pets and have tea parties, that's your business," he sneered, placing a hand threateningly on Valora's shoulder. "But don't pretend this is a proper wedding."
Everyone present was staring at the noble with some combination of fear and anger at this point, but Vaughan seemed unfazed. "Now, we're here for a good time, aren't we boys?"
His men snickered, and Nalia was terrified to see that one of them had gotten behind the bridesmaids. "Just a good time with the ladies, that's all."
"Now, let's take those two," Vaughan waved a hand at the bridesmaids, "this one in the tight dress," his grip on Valora's shoulder tightened, "and… where's the bitch that bottled me?"
"Right here, milord!" Another one of the humans had gotten to Shianni, and was twisting her arm behind her.
Over the sound of her swearing protests, Vaughan gave an ugly laugh again. "Oh, I'll enjoy taming her. And let's see the other pretty bride…"
Nelaros stepped in front of Nalia. "I won't let them take you," he told her, but Nalia was more scared for him than herself.
"Now, I'm sure we all want to avoid further unpleasantness," Vaughan said with a smirk, turning to Nalia.
Ignoring Nelaros's hissed insults, Nalia stepped past him. "I won't let you hurt anyone."
"Oh, I don't plan to hurt anyone. After all, this is a party, isn't it?" Vaughan snorted. "We're just going to have some fun."
Nalia was so busy staring Vaughan down that she didn't notice where his other men were.
The last thing she heard was Nelaros calling out for her, and then everything went black.
Sorry for the late chapter again!
Fire Emblem Fates was (is) still something that I'm a little obsessed with, but I've now finished both of the main paths, and the third path won't be available for me until Thursday. That gives me a bit of time between now and then to put in a good amount of work on the next chapter after this, and hopefully I'll make some time to ensure I get the next chapter finished ahead of time. After next week, I swear I'll get back to having these done ahead of time and up when I actually want them to be.
Also, this chapter gave me some trouble. The Nalia that I have in my head is all post-Origin, so writing her this way feels weird. Plus, the City Elf origin's first half just feels awkward for me to write for some reason, so I had to work to try and not let that seep into my writing.
Regardless, I hope this chapter is still a good read.