Chapter 5x) In War's Grip

Kris POV

Auelis Castle is ours. We've actually made it, and more importantly, we actually managed to free it. Macedon flees with its tail between its legs, and now, we rest. We recuperate. We sit here and go 'holy shit, we actually pulled this off'.

It's a really weird feeling. It's a really, really weird feeling.

"It looks stupid," I commented, poking the Fire Emblem. It was a simple gold thing with five holes like it was supposed to have gems in it. "It's like two gold in worth."

"I don't think you're supposed to appraise it," Marth pointed out with a little laugh. We were in his room, and he was looking through some paperwork while I poked the great treasure of Archanea in the corner. "It's a treasure."

"Treasures are supposed to be worth a lot, though." I pouted, studying the shield more. It had some weird bird on it, so that the five slots were positioned at its wings, talons, heart, and beak. "What's the story behind it?"

"Jagan told us."

"You think I remember stupid shit like treasures that aren't worth anything?"

"Point." He laughed when I twisted to glower at him. "Though, there isn't much. It's more of a showing of Archanea's trust in the wielder." He paused. "Though, it was last given during the previous war with Medeus. Specifically, Artemis gave it to Cartas."

"Didn't she end up marrying him, despite loving Anri?"

"Yes. The nobility would not allow Artemis and Anri to wed, since Anri was a commoner."

"He saved the world, and they wouldn't let him marry the woman he saved the world for, because he wasn't of a lofty lineage?" I scoffed. "Nobles are stupid."

"It does seem… petty." Marth sighed. "I wonder if Princess Nyna will face similar…"

"I'll punch them in the face is they try to force you. Hell, I'll punch them even if they try to force her. She's gone through hell. She should get to marry whoever she wants, damn the nobles who left her to rot."

"That's… venomous." He set his pen down. "Is there a personal reason or…?"

"Mmm…" I went back to poking the Fire Emblem. "I had a friend, once. She wasn't really a friend-friend or anything, but she kept an eye out for me. She worked as a flower seller, and always had a meal ready for me and a few other street kids. A nobleman took a liking to her, and he was a nice one. They chatted a lot, laughing. I remember thinking of how they suited each other, and wasn't really surprised they'd fallen in love."

"But his family didn't approve?"

"Nope. When he declared that he'd willingly be disowned, they shipped him off to some covenant or something as an 'insane' person, and beat her for being a 'witch'." I froze as I remembered. I'd followed them that day, absently curious as to how it would end up. I remembered his screaming as they dragged him away, remembered her shrieks as they kicked her. "She died from the beatings. They killed her for 'daring' to marry above her station, and they called him insane for wanting to marry below." I made myself poke the Fire Emblem again to focus on the present. "I robbed them blind over the next year. Every day, I stole a little more until they had nothing." I still wasn't quite sure why I had done it. It wasn't like it would have fixed what had happened. It didn't make me feel any better. I just… did.

"How old were you?"

"Twelve. So, it was about three years prior to Altea's fall." I shook my head. "But that's it, really. I'll punch them all in the face."

"I see." Marth laughed, and it sounded mostly happy. "Well, I hope that things will not come to face-punching."

"Well, if it does, I'm your girl." I twisted again and saw him looking thoughtfully. "What else is bothering you?"

"It's nothing too bad. It's just…" He trailed off a bit, clearly thinking too hard. "When Princess Nyna was giving me the Fire Emblem, it seemed like she was going to hand it to me herself, but then Diana did it instead." He frowned a bit. "I can't help but wonder… if there is something I'm missing."

"It's pretty damn clear that there's only one person in this whole group Nyna trusts completely and without hesitation, and that's Diana." I stood then and turned to properly face him. "I've seen them interact. She's much warmer around her. She's friendly enough, but when you see that, you know she's keeping her distance."

"So, Diana is to her as you are to me." Marth smiled sweetly. "A wondrous friend, and confidant."

"Guess so." I felt a little out of sorts, though. Merric and his magical prowess… I had to train. I had to do something to not be left behind. "The point I was going with is that there probably is something that you're missing. It's probably something only Diana knows."

"And, because she knows, she gave it to me instead." Marth frowned a little. "She's so melancholy… it makes sense, but I hope that I can befriend her and take up some of her burden…"

"...I hate to remind you, but you have your own burdens." I walked over and rested a hand on his shoulder. He sighed, and leaned back in his chair. "It might be better to leave befriending to Caeda. She's good at it."

"That's a good point. Still, I hope to become friends with her, in time." Marth tilted his head back and smiled. "Duke Hardin is amazing, though! I can't believe he managed to hold them off for so long. I have quite a bit to learn."

"I could've told you that, pretty boy." I laughed as he made a face. "I can drop that nickname if you don't like it."

"By this point, it feels strange to not hear that, or 'silly prince'." He smiled. "I like them. I like that you'll tease me. No one else seems to."

"Oh, they will. We're all just a little tired, but sarcasm is my first language, so I default to it." I grinned. "But speaking of teasing, and Caeda…" Rapid footsteps caught my attention and I turned towards the open door. "Oh, great, now what?"

The answer came quickly. "P-please help!" A child suddenly stumbled into the room, followed by a very harried Abel. "Prince Marth, our village…!" the child began, racing right for Marth and grabbing his shirt. "Pirates came and abducted most of my friends! Please, help!"

Here we go again.

After some debate, Hardin and Marth decided to lead a small group to route the pirates while Nyna stayed with the bulk of the army. I was chosen, and I was quite smug that Merric was not. The smugness died when I noticed Wolf came along. I really didn't like that snob.

"Why did the pirates strike?" I complained, riding with Cain. Caeda had opted to stay back with Nyna, just in case they'd need a fast escape. "What's the point? There's nothing here. Why are they such jerks?"

"Well, maybe they think they can ransom the children," Cain suggested lightly. His eyes narrowed and a growl entered his voice. "But we won't let them."

"If you charge headfirst into them while I'm riding with you, I will kill you."

"Oh, no, don't worry. That's why Jagan put you with me anyway."

"He what." I didn't much like being used as a shield! "Ugh… lame."

"I apparently charge too much, and Abel stayed back to protect the castle." His expression became grim. "I'm going to stop and have you dismount."

"Why?" I yelped as an arrow suddenly flew past my face. It would've hit me if Cain hadn't pulled me into his chest. "Okaynevermindgetmedownnowplease."

Cain got me down as two more arrows splintered off his armor. Then he charged off, leaving me behind, and it took a couple of blinks to realize what all had happened. We'd been ambushed by the pirates. Clearly, this was a trap. I wondered why for a brief moment, and then facepalmed when I remembered the pirates at Talys and the pirates at Galder had been on Dolhr's employ. It was pretty easy to connect the dots from there.

"If this ends up being a distraction, and the castle is attacked while we're gone, I will scream," I muttered before shaking my head and pulling out my thunder tome. My hands shook slightly and I thought briefly of the wyvern riders I'd shot down a few days ago and of the one I'd pulled out of the fight and given to the infirmary. I didn't know about them. I was too afraid to go to the infirmary to ask, even though it had been a few days.

An arrow clipped my cheek, though, and dragged me out of my fear and nerves. I refused to freeze on the field again, for the sake of everyone. So, I had to just… deal with all of this.

I casted spells at various enemies, noticing that I was running low on pages as I made my way through the field to find Marth. It wasn't particularly difficult, especially when compared to what we fought before. I even heard Ogma and Navarre casually start a 'kill count competition' thing as I passed them by. When I found Marth, though, I had to pause as I saw him talking with a very… strange looking woman. She glowered at him and he flailed, before she went off and started fighting the pirates.

"Soooo…" I began slowly, walking over to him. When I got there, I casually leaned my arm against his shoulder, staring after the woman. "What sort of nutcase did we pick up this time?"

"I… I think she's just foreign, Kris," he squeaked. He pointed to where she was rather easily going through the pirates. "I think she can handle herself, though."

"Mostly." I shot off a thunder spell to catch a pirate going for her back. "She doesn't exactly watch her back."

"We'll watch it for her then." He tossed his sword up in the air and caught it with a flourish. "Onward."

"Quite so, Prince Dramatic." I grinned as he rolled his eyes. "Let's go!"

The battle went off without a hitch, and thankfully, the children were all safe. I would've thought the pirates would have killed the children, but it appeared that despite all their crimes, actually killing kids was a line they didn't cross, or they were too stupid and brash to go back and kill them, instead suiciding on us. Either way, the kids were safe. It all felt a little surreal.

"Here, miss!" A little kid ran up and handed me a bouquet of wildflowers. "Thank you~!" they cheered, smiling brightly before racing off to give flowers to the others. I stared after them, still not quite feeling like this was real. It felt a little too easy, like this was a distraction, but there seemed to be nothing unusual.

"Those are called Rose Angels." Hardin walked over to me, smiling slightly. He wasn't wearing his turban, as he had given it to some of the kids who were happily pretending to be… well, us. They were reenacting the battle, with much more dramatics. I was touched, and a little unnerved, that one little girl pretended to be me. "Dame Kris?"

"Sorry, what?" I asked, looked up to him. I blinked slowly, remembering he was by me. "What's a rosy angel?"

"Those flowers are called Rose Angels," he explained, perfectly patient. He pointed to them for emphasis. "They're quite a popular flower around here. They grow well during the spring and summer months."

"Oh." I looked down at them, and smiled slightly. I'd never thought pink suited me, but these were cute. "It's nice of her to give them to me."

"They are flowers given here often to show great appreciation." Hardin laughed a little. "Traditionally, though, they'd be woven into a crown for you."

"Crowns don't suit people like me." I brought the bouquet up to my face and smelled the flowers. "Sweet." My smile grew a bit more. "It doesn't suit me either."

"Flowers suit all people."

"Even Medeus and Gharnef?"

"Maybe wilted flowers for them." He smiled as I laughed. "There. Prince Marth was worried because of how dazed you were."

"I just…" I hesitated before sighing. "I feel like this was too easy."

"You're not the only one." He crossed his arms, and his expression turned serious. "I sent Wolf off to the Castle as soon as the battle ended. I got a messenger bird back that told me everything was fine."

"Then why the trap?"

"They could've been overconfident, or they could've been used to cover the Macedonian retreat." He patted my shoulder and smiled again. "For now, though, don't worry so much. You did well. There will be plenty to worry about in the coming days."

He walked off then, apparently having taken time from talking to the leaders of the village to reassure me. I smiled slightly, wondering if that was what having a dad, or a even an older brother. Then I shook my head, laughing a little. I had no idea. I didn't know my parents. I only knew Grandfather, who found me as a toddler. My first memory was sitting in the rain, staring at a ruined, burnt building, and Grandfather offering me his hand.

I tucked the flowers into my pack, wondering if there was a way I could preserve them, and wandered, looking for Marth. I saw Cain playing with some children, letting them ride on their shoulders, and laughed as a couple more jumped up on him, and he started spinning around. I moved past them, glancing around, and soon found Marth on the edge of town, looking rather frantic as he spoke once again to the strange woman.

"Marth, ve are Athena," the woman explained. She had a rather unnerving stare. "Ve have decided to join you."

"Y-you have?" Marth yelped. He looked so adorably confused. "Really?"

"It is the least ve can do. Vhat sort of selfish creature do you take us for?" She glowered. "Ve will help, and you will be grateful. Yes?"

"Y-yes, perfectly clear." Marth smiled nervously. "Your swordsmanship will turn the tides for many battles to come?" He pointed to the right. "Talk to Ogma and Navarre. You'll probably be paired with them a lot?"

"Ve shall." She walked off then, steps determined and quick.

Marth breathed a noticeable sigh of relief as she left, and waved awkwardly when he saw me. "Hi?" he squeaked. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was looking for you, again," I answered. I walked to his side, and watched as Navarre and Ogma both looked a little bewildered, dealing with Athena. "Well, that's another one for the crazy boat. We have quite the collection coming along."

"We're not a crazy boat."

"We're a group of humans rallying a fallen continent to fight an army led by a dragon and a sorcerer." I gave him a look and he squirmed. "I think there's a definition of crazy and that is it."

"...Maybe." He sounded so sullen that I laughed again. "But we saved some kids, and freed Aurelis." He smiled and looked out to the horizon, the wind whipping his cape about. "Maybe we're not so crazy."

"Maybe." I grinned. "But, come on, you're more worried about looking cool for Caeda, right?"

"Do you have to ruin every heroic moment?" He groaned as I simply laughed. "Let's head back to Duke Hardin. He promised to teach me some of the plants of the Lea, and you're going to learn with me."

No amount of groaning got me out of it, the meanie. But Duke Hardin got quite a few laughs out of our bickering, at least.

Notes on Wrys:

A 40 year old curate from Talys. A kind and gentle man, and very humble.

Runs the orphanage for Talys's main island.

Offers to shave people's heads with alarming frequency

Notes on Darros:

A 30 year old former pirate. Joined us at Galder, and has quite a bit of knowledge of the tides and fishing.

Seems like a simple man, fairly skilled with an axe. Uncomfortable with himself, though.

Can be obsessive when it comes to completing tasks. Spots he's assigned to clean literally sparkle.

Notes on Castor:

An 18 year old hunter, wielding a bow. Has a very large family, with seven or eight siblings.

Fell in with the Galder pirates in order to pay for medicine for his mother.

Faint hearted, but rather perceptive and opportunistic. It can't be coincidence that in the chaos of our first battle at Galder that Castor found the one person in the army who would be willing to listen to his plight in the middle of a battle.

Author's notes: So, this is the first of the infamous Gaiden chapters of Shadow Dragon, where you had to kill off units in order to access them. Athena is often considered the only one worth using, outside of Norne. Also, have a little more backstory for Kris.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Aurelis