Chapter 7 Fun in the Snow
"Emmeryn?!" Both Khans voices rang throughout the throne room of Regna Ferox. They looked at the blonde exalt, completely flabbergasted at what they were seeing. The same exalt that they saw fall to her death back in the war with Plegia was standing before them. She didn't look like someone that had literally died 2 years ago, but a young woman who was still in her prime years.
"Where in Gods' name have you been these past 2 years?" Flavia asked, but more like demanded. The Khans tone and intimidating facial expression seemed to put fear in the former exalt's eyes. She stepped back behind her brother and used his back as a scapegoat. Flavia looked confused at the blonde exalt's actions.
"Umm, Chrom? Is this really the former exalt of Ylisse and not some doppelgänger? No offense, but she doesn't have the same fearless and powerful glow as she did 2 years ago."
Chrom shook his head. "This is definitely her. The brand on her forehead proves it. She doesn't remember much and she can barely put together a sentence. But her peaceful spirit still remains." Flavia looked at the former exalt that peeked back at her from behind her brother.
Emmeryn was a surprise, but what was even more of a surprise was the cause of her supposed "death" was standing behind her with a hand on his hip.
"Gangrel?!" Basilio howled then looked to Chrom with rage in his eyes. "Chrom what is the meaning of this? Why is Emmeryn still alive and why is this poor excuse for a king not gutted?!"
Gangrel put a hand over his heart and gasped; faking a hurt expression. "Such sour words toward me." he remarked sarcastically. "I'm so hurt!"
Basilio reached and grabbed a handful of the Mad King's shirt and pulled him in until he was inches away from the redhead's face. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't gut you open and hang you from your intestines!"
Gangrel put his index finger to chin and glanced up letting out a soft 'hmmm'. A few seconds later the Mad King shrugged his shoulders. "Nope! Can't think of any!" the Mad King guffawed.
"You little piece of-" Basilio was silenced by a masculine hand gripping his wrist. He turned his head and was now face-to-face with Chrom who shook his head at him.
"I understand how you feel Basilio. Trust me, I do, but now is not the time, or place, to dwell on the past. For now, he is nothing more than an extra sword that we are throwing toward our enemies."
"Ouch Prince. That was harsh even if it is directed towards me."
"Whether we like it or not," Chrom continued, ignoring Gangrel completely. "we need all the help we can get."
"Wise words indeed. Nothing I wouldn't expect from the Exalt of Ylisse." Chrom looked around to where the new voice entered. The voice came directly from behind Basilio. Behind him was a familiar sky blue-haired noble accompanied by a pink haired woman suited with wyvern armor.
"Virion?!"
The noble stopped in front the Chrom and bowed in respect. "Indeed it is I, my league. The man who strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies. The man who puts the 'arch' in archer! The man who has crossed the blue seas to present the dangers to-"
"I'm pleased to introduce the Duke of House Virion." the pink haired woman interrupted.
"W-Wait. I was in the middle of-"
"I think it would be faster if I try to explain the situation at hand milord. That is, if it's is okay with you milord."
Chrom nodded. "I do believe it would be faster, miss?"
"Cherche, milord." she relied, putting a hand to her heart and bowing.
"Oh Gods not again." Matthew said to the too familiar hallway. He's been walking in the warrior filled hallways of Regna Ferox for 30 minutes now and has yet to find the throne room. He could hear snickering from the men and women every time he passed the same area for a third or fourth time, but there was nothing he coud say ordo about it. He even asked for direction, but was unsuccessful in following the endless corridors and multiple turns of the castle. Walking through the halls was like a maze that showed no signs of progress. The purple carpet that went down every hallway, the stone walls, and the weapons hanging in an 'x''. Almost every meter of the walls made the castle look more like an arena than a castle.
But gazing at the scenery wasn't getting him anywhere. Matthew was getting frustrated and decided the best course of action was to ask one of the warriors to guide him there; in the nicest way possible, of course. The tactician looked around the hallway to pick out the least intimidating person he could find. Luckily, he found a soldier that was approaching him down the hallway. Matthew sighed in relief and whispered to himself "Thank Naga".
Matthew put a foot in front of him to walk, but was stopped by a force tugging on the back of his cloak. The tactician looked over his shoulder to see who, or what, had grabbed ahold of him. He was surprised to look slightly down and see two brown eyes staring back up at him. Behind him stood a young lady, somewhere between 15 and 16 years old, who was at least a foot shorter than him and had a blank stare. She wore a black cape similar to a certain dark mage he knew, and an all-black mage garb with gold outlining. What stood out the most was her thick, blonde, fire-like, afro hairstyle that added an extra 6 inches to her height. But that's not all that stood out. The young girl looked strangely familiar. Like he had seen her somewhere before, but no place came to mind.
"Ummm, sorry miss. I'm kinda in a rush. If there's something you need, do you mind asking later?" The young lady didn't reply. She continued the blank stare right into Matthew's eyes, causing him to look away rubbing his neck. "Ummm...well...I'm really sorry, but I can't help you right now. Please underst-"
"You are Matthew." he turned back around to the soft voice that spoke to him. "The tactician of the Shepherds and Grandmaster of Ylisse. Am I correct?"
Matthew nodded slowly. "Yes, milady. Is there something you need?" He asked while glancing back at the soldier down the hallway who stopped to talk to a shirtless warrior.
"...You're lost, aren't you?" The word 'lost' hit Matthew like a slap upside the head.
"Umm, I'm not really lost, I'm just-"
"No, you're lost. This is your fifth time coming down this hallway. Unless you like seeing topless men, then the only other conclusion would be that you're lost. Am I right?" Matthew had nothing to say to that. She was right on the mark. Matthew scratched the back of his head and chuckled.
"Alright, I AM lost, okay? I was just about to ask that soldier over there to guide me to my destination." The girl looked to where the tactician pointed, then back to him with her same expression.
"If you like, I can guide you to where you need to go."
Matthew shook his head in protest. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't want to waste any of your time."
"It's okay. I'm not doing anything but watching people come and go." There was a short pause before she continued with an annoyed look on her face. "And I'm tired of seeing a smart man like yourself stupidly walk down the same hallway for 30 minutes."
Matthew blushed and looked toward the ground in embarrassment.
"Where exactly are you trying to go anyway?" The woman asked.
"The throne room..." Matthew cooed.
The woman nodded and grabbed the tactician's sleeve. Matthew, not expecting the action, stumbled backwards at the un-welcomed force tugging at his cloak. "H-Hey! Hold up will ya?!" He pleaded, but was completely ignored as the blonde quickened her pace.
Chrom went over the situation in his head. He had found out that not only has a man called 'The Conqueror' Walhart has taken over the entire continent of Valm, but his army is on their way to take over their continent just 3 days away. They had just ended a war with Plegia 2 years ago, and now there's another one right at their door step. The thought of another war made Chrom feel uneasy. He was worried about the thought of putting his friends through another war. The family that Maribelle and himself had started. Lucina, his daughter, would have to go a while without her mother and father. What would happen to her future if we are not there for her? Chrom thought. He shook his head and clouded out that thought. It would be better to not dwell on the negative. At a time like this it was best to be strong so the moral of the army didn't fall.
"If this is the situation, then we must waste no time. Ylisse will lend its aid to defend the Halidom."
Everyone in the room nodded in approval. Basilio laughed like a mad sailor, while the others smiled at the Khan's carefree nature.
"If you lot are ready to throw yourself at this so-called 'Conquer', then you'll meet my brown arse before you can even glance at 'em!" Basilio pounded a fist into his hand making a loud 'smack'. "I'll have that dastards head before he even sees me bring down my axe!"
"Hey now," Flavian started. "Don't think too far ahead oaf. That overconfidence might cost you your life!"
"Ha! I plan to outlive all of you! Especially that tactician of yours, Chrom!"
Chrom let out a short chortle. "I'm sure Matthew is honored to hear that, right Matthew?" The question hung in the air for a short period of time. No one seemed to reply to the Exalt's question. Chrom looked around the room. The only people present were Emmeryn, Virion, Cherche, Basilio and Flavia, and Lissa. Gangrel, thankfully, had silently dismissed himself somewhere between the conversation.
"Where is Matthew anyway? He should have been here ages ago."
"He wasn't with you when you walked in?" Basilio asked.
"No, I asked him take care of room arrangements with the guards before we came here. But there's no reason he should be this late."
"Should I go look for him?" Lissa asked. Before Chrom could give an answer the door to the throne room creaked open. At the entrance was a short, young, female mage with an...interesting hairstyle, tugging along the tactician in question.
The mage stopped in front of Chrom, still holding onto Matthew's sleeve as if trying to prevent the tactician from escaping. "Is this your tactician milord?" Everyone looked to the tactician who nervously waved back at them. "I found him wandering the halls."
"Oh, ummm...thanks." Chrom said as the young mage let go of the tactician's arm.
"Ah! I see you've already met your new Shepherd!" Basilio's voice rung out behind the Exalt. Chrom looked to the bald warrior with a raised eyebrow.
"New Shepherd?" the Exalt questioned.
Basilio nodded and walked up to the black robed mage. "She came to Regna Ferox about 2 weeks ago and made our mages look like preschoolers!" Basilio guffawed and gave the mage a hard, friendly smack on the back. The blonde stumbled forward from the force of the hit and whispered a silent "ow" then looked to her attacker with nothing but rage.
"I've told you MANY times not to do that you impulsive bald oaf!" the mage roared with tears beginning to well in her eyes.
"Ha! AND she knows how to speak her mind! If I was a few decades younger I'd definitely have fallen for ya lass!" Before Basilio could cause any more damage to the mage, Chrom stepped forward and extended his hand.
"If you are willing to join our cause, then we would gladly accept your help, miss?"
"Naomi." The blonde said firmly while taking the Exalt's hand into her own with a firm grip.
Chrom smiled at the mage while returning the handshake. "Naomi, It's an honor to have you apart of the Shepherds. I'm sure you would fit in fine with our mages."
"Dark."
"Pardon?"
"I'm a dark mage milord." The Ylisseans stiffened at the mention of "dark mage". Everyone knew the question that was booming in their minds, but no one wanted to speak up in fear of being rude or starting a conflict.
"Is that a problem?" Naomi asked with a hint of anger in her voice.
Chrom shook his head and released the grip on her hand. "Not a problem at all. We accept anyone no matter their race or profession." Chrom reassured.
"Good. Then if there is nothing else, I will take my leave." Everyone watched as the young dark mage did a one-eighty and exited the room.
"BRRR!" Matthew shook at the sudden cold breeze from him opening the door to the roof of the Feroxian castle. Thankfully the roof had been shoveled out from most of the snow and was now empty aside from himself. After everything he had heard from the 'meeting' the only thing that occupied his mind was the thought of going into another war. Going back to the front lines sent an displeasing chill down his spine. Not only would he have to fight again, but he had to constantly worry about his friends all over again. Would they survive another day? Would they go home to their families again? Would we have to have a funeral for one of our own? These thoughts plagued his mind more than the purple mark on his right hand that was concealed behind his glove.
Matthew never told anyone the contents of the mark. Even if they asked, *he wouldn't know what to tell them exactly. The only thing he knew about the mark was the dark feeling he got every time he stared at it. Ever since the six eyes on the tattoo stared back at him he refused to look at it any longer.
Matthew got to the edge of the castle's roof and leaned forward on it using his crossed arms as leverage. His thoughts kept him so occupied that he didn't have time to worry about the cold wind and snow falling down on him. Before he could dwell on his thoughts any further he heard the familiar sound of a door creaking open and closing with a soft 'click'. Matthew peeked over his shoulder to see who, most likely, followed him to the roof. A smile grew on his face and his worries seemed to disappear as the former Exalt walked toward him.
"Hey there, Emm. Did you follow me up here?"
"Yes..." Emm confessed then looked up to the clouded sky quizzically. "Cloud is...falling?"
"Ah, you mean this?" Matthew let out his hand and caught the cold snow in his palm. "This is actually ice Emm, which is also known as snow. Is this your first time seeing snow?" Matthew asked while studying the blonde. She was wearing her regular exalted attire, aside from the obvious dark blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
"Yes...Where I...lived...it always...sunny." she replied while wrapping the blanket tighter around her shoulders and finally stopping on the left side of Matthew.
"Oh, so it never rained?"
"Rained?" Emmeryn asked tilting her head to the side in confusion.
"Ummm, you know, when it's dark and cloudy and water falls from the sky. You've never seen that?" Matthew asked feeling a little sorry for the former Exalt. Emmeryn put her index finger to her chin and looked to the ground in deep thought. A time came to mind when she use to live with the old man. They were walking back to their house from a short walk when the sky turned black and little droplets of water fell from the clouds. Whenever this happened the old man would always tell her, "Looks like the sky is sad again, Emm." Knowing her answer the blonde looked up to the tactician who patiently waited for her reply.
"Is it when...the sky is...crying?" Matthew looked into Emmeryn's soft grey eyes as they showed she was being completely serious with her answer.
Matthew let out a soft chuckle. "Yes, something like that Emm." Emmeryn smiled at the tactician then looked to the brick edge covered in snow in front of her. She cupped her hand onto the surface and swept the ice slush into her right hand.
"Cold..." she mumbled audibly. Matthew looked at the ball of snow in the former Exalt's hand and a switch went off in his head.
"Hey Emm, did you know you can make things with snow?" Emmeryn quickly looked to the tactician with glittered eyes, ignoring the frosty snow in her hand.
"Really?"
"Sure can! Here, let me show you." Emmeryn watched as Matthew turned around and walked to the entrance of the roof; he stopped halfway and kneeled down in the snow. She watched as the tactician spread his arms wide in an arc and pulled in a large pile of snow. He then patted the snow into a large sphere that stopped at his hips. When he felt as though the sphere was big enough he stopped, then walked over to another vacant area and made two more sphere. He picked up the first one, which was slightly smaller than the original, and stacked it onto the bigger one. Then he got the last one that was 2 times smaller and placed it at the top. Adding the finishing touches he reached into his cloak and pulled out two black buttons and placed it in the middle of the smallest sphere at the top; which looked like eyes. With his finger he drew an arc underneath the 'eyes' making a smile. Finally, he made two arcs over the eyes which symbolized as the eyebrows.
"All done!" Matthew declared. While backing up to examine his work.
"...What is it?" Emmeryn asked as she marveled at the creation before her.
"It's a snowman!" Matthew said ecstatically.
"Snow...man?"
Matthew nodded. "Yea! It's a man made out of snow!" Emmeryn looked to the 'snowman' that looked back at her with a huge grin across its face. But something about the snowman felt...wrong. Whenever she looked at its face it was as if the snowman glared back at her.
"Is there something wrong Emm?" Matthew asked in concern.
Emmeryn lifted her arm and pointed at the snowman's face. "It's...scary." Matthew raised an eyebrow and examined the snowman once more. An "oh" escaped his mouth when he found out the cause of Emmeryn's sudden fear. The snowman's brows were too close to the eyes, which made the snowman look like it was making an evil smile. It didn't make it any better with the wide smile stretching across its face which made the snowman look more like a devil claiming victory than an innocent snowman.
"Looks like I made a mistake." Matthew admitted while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Hehe! Just a little..." Watching Emmeryn suddenly smile made the tacticians heart skip a beat. Her rich blonde hair blew in the cold Feroxian wind and her smooth, milky skin showed a light pink; most likely because of the cold weather. But her smile warmed his heart faster than any fire ever could. It was...nice. Not even 5 minutes ago he was grimacing about the past and current events, but just looking at the former Exalt made him feel at ease in a matter of seconds. It was as if she was a bright light that shine ever so brightly in his clouded mind. But, for some reason, he didn't mind at all. If only things could stay like this. Matthew thought. If only I could see that smile everyday...if only we could be like we use to be-
"Matthew...are you...ok?" Hearing her voice made the tactician blush furiously and nearly jump out of his skin.
"Ah! Wha?" the tactician stumbled.
"Are you...cold?"
"Ah! No! I mean YES! Wait no, I meant-" Matthew looked to his surrounding to desperately try to change the subject. "Hey! I have an idea! Let's have a snowball fight!" Emmeryn pondered about the tactician's weird behavior, but ignored it all together at the mention of whatever a 'snowball fight' was.
"Snowball...fight?"
"Yea, a snowball fight! It's when you get a ball of snow and hit some else with it!" Matthew bent down and quickly swiped up a handful of snow. "You make a ball of snow like this." He explained while rolling the ice in his hand into a sphere. "Then you throw it at someone like this!" Matthew got into a pitching stance and launched the snowball at the 'devilish' snowman; hitting it in the center of the head and making it slide back slightly.
"Wow!...Can I try?" Emmeryn begged with sparkling eyes that made Matthew only think of one word. 'Cute'.
"Um, sure." Matthew bent over and swiped up another handful of snow and handed it to the former Exalt. Emmeryn accepted the snowball and looked back to the snowman with one eye closed. When she was done calculating her target she lifted her forearm up and tossed the snowball at the tower of ice; hitting it in the same area as Matthew's, but knocking the rest of the head clean off.
Matthew raised his eyebrows at the headless snowman. "Impressive." Before he could go and celebrate with the former Exalt she was already bending down to get another handful of snow. "Oh? Are you gonna try again?" Before he could get an answer from the blonde he only watched as she quickly stood and threw a snowball that hit him in his forehead.
"Hehe! This is fun!" cried Emmeryn. Matthew shook his head to free it from snow, then looked back to the Exalt with an evil smirk.
"You just started a war, sister!" They both looked to each other with smirks on their faces before bolting away to get some distance from one another.
Emmeryn jumped behind the snowman and quickly started making piles of snowballs, while the tactician was left in the open with nothing but wind and the snow on the ground. Snowballs went flying through the air one by one. Matthew's snowballs were fast and powerful, but they were mostly blocked by the snow-shield, or he missed completely. Emmeryn, on the other hand, almost always hit the defenseless tactician. She would always hear a playful "no fare" from the brunette, but never let up on her assault.
"I...will win!"
"You wish!"
Both stopped at the sound of a door swinging open. They looked to the entrance of the roof revealing an angry blonde princess.
"Here you guys are!" Lissa roared. "Do you guys have ANY idea how long I've been looking for you?! I've searched this castle top to bottom at LEAST 3 times! What are you guys even doing up here anyways?!" Lissa slowed down and evaluated the situation. Emmeryn and Matthew were both holding a pile of snowballs in their arms. In the princess's mind there was only one thing they could be doing. Lissa's anger quickly faded and excitement took over the tomboyish princess.
"Hey! Why didn't yall tell me we were having a snowball fight? Let me join! Let me join!" Matthew and Emmeryn looked to each other, then smirked evilly as the same idea came to both of their minds. They grabbed a snowball in one hand and looked toward their new enemy. Lissa, catching on, quickly raised her hands in protest and backed up slowly.
"H-Hold up guys. You can't be serio-EEEEKK!" Lissa screeched as an endless wave of snowballs went flying her direction and hit her multiple times all over her body. After being hit mercilessly by her sister and friend, Lissa wiped off the snow from her body and bent down to cup a ball of snow of her own in her hand. Anger and determination clouded her mind as she ran toward her enemies.
"You guys are SO dead!"
A/N: If you want an idea of what Naomi's hair looks like, go to your Fire Emblem: Awakening copy, press 'new game', when it gets to character select go to the female unit, give her the 2nd build and the 5th hairstyle. That was just in case no one knew what I meant when I explained it :/.
On other news we are now 6 chapters away from being on track with the story. What I mean by that is up to chapter 13 is where I was before I posted this story! Know that this means there will be slower updates and chapters might not appear for like once a week or every 2 weeks. But! I plan to finish this story before the year ends so I can begin my Robin/Samus fic and also be prepared for when Fire Emblem: Fates and FE X Shinigami Tensei comes out! I'm pumped up are you pumped up?!
I'm also debating on whether or I should post my Avatar/Sumia fic. It was a good idea I came up with and is a more serious story than this one. Eh, I guess it will all depend on how close I am to the end of this story before I post any other.
Anyways, like always, thank you for the reviews, favs and follows and hope to see you next chapter!