Chapter 8:
What Do Women Want?
Priam wandered the camp pondering the events that transpired last night. Raphael revealed his true identity as his son, he shared dinner with Say'ri, she kissed him and left his tent making his heart beat erratically. It was now obvious how they felt for each other, and it would only be a matter of time before he had to make a move before she got upset with him. But he had no idea where to move from here. He had been having a lot of 'firsts' recently, and for the first time in his life, he had no idea what to do. He was confused.
A voice interrupted his thoughts and they were put on hold, "Sir Priam!" Priam recognized the voice, it was Yen'fay.
"Hey 'Fay, what can I do for you." he said, hoping that he could do something to distract himself from his thoughts.
"The Chon'sin War Council requests your presence immediately, your team's first mission has been issued." He responded, his face showed that it was not the only thing on his mind.
"Good, anything else?"
"Well, I..." Yen'fay stopped, contemplated for a few moments and smiled, "Nay, nothing. Fare thee well, sir."
As he walked away, Priam new he wanted to say something, but he put it to the back of his mind and headed to Youri'jik, the capital of Chon'sin. It was a short walk, and soon he had made it through the busy streets full of vendors and merchants.
But unfortunately, the last merchant would not let him pass by. She called out to him, "Priam! Just the hero I want to see!"
Priam identified the voice with a face and turned around to see Anna beaming at him.
"Anna, do you need something immediately from me?" he was slowly walking backwards toward the direction he was already headed, "Or can I come back after I have finished speaking with the Chon'sin War Counsel?"
She looked at him intently, as if staring into his thoughts. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable. She then let a smirk cover her face.
"Oh, it's nothing important... but you need to return after you're done to get my tips on romancing that girl who is on your mind!"
She chuckled at the sight of his surprised expression. He stopped in his tracks. He didn't know what to say. "How did you... who saw... he didn't... she was..."
She kept smiling at his discomfort, "Hm? The mighty descendant of Ike, dumbstruck?" She let out a laugh as she teased him.
He was done with this, he unsheathed Ragnell and put the point at her neck. She was shocked, to say the least. When she had stopped squirming, he calmly informed her, "If ANY of this where to suddenly be leaked, then your blood may follow suit." he then returned Ragnell to his side and continued, "but I do wish to speak with you on this matter more..." he was blushing slightly, and Anna could tell.
"U-understood..." she said as she grasped her throat from when the blade had rested on it.
"Then I shall see you in two to three hours, 'til then, good day." Priam bowed and walked toward the Dynast Hall where all the meetings for the realm where discussed.
After Priam was out of earshot, Anna groaned, "that man does NOT know how to treat a lady OR get a joke..." She continued to grumble until another customer appeared and her typical merchant demeanor returned, "Oh, come on in!"
Priam wandered the halls trying to find where the War Counsel was. He journeyed through several passages and hundreds of doors until finding a person to direct him to the room he wanted. Five minutes later, he entered the door to the War Counsel chambers, seeing Say'ri and three other men, one in a black cloak in the back, hood up so Priam couldn't identify the man, one clad in heavy armor with a mustache being the only hair on his head, and another wearing priestly garbs with red hair peaking out of his cap. As he entered, all turned to see him and the man in the armor greeted him with enthusiasm.
"G'day, sir! How did you find your journey?"
"Easily enough," he said, looking around the room at the strangers, "but enough about me, I believe we have some introductions that need to be made."
"But you already know two of us." Said a familiar voice coming from the cloak. The man lowered his hood to reveal it was Robin. Priam could have guessed that it was his old friend, but Say'ri still clouded his thoughts, making it impossible for his senses to work as hard as they normally do.
"Robin," he said, trying not to sound surprised, "what brings you down to Chon'sin?"
"A matter that we shall discuss shortly enough," said the priest in a calm manner, "but as you have mentioned before, we need to introduce ourselves." he gestured to the armor-clad man. "This man here is known as Cervantes, a former commander for the Valmese during Walhart's reign. He has offered his services for the betterment of this continent."
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, lad." as he held out his hand. "You took out a good number of our forces during the war, alone! I'm utterly baffled of how you managed to stay alive. Baffled!" He said with a smile, Priam shook his hand and returned the smile.
"I want to know how YOU stayed alive" Robin said under his breath, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. Robin remembered well when he struck down the mustached General with his Thoron, but here he stood before him, it made him testy.
"A story for another day, eh wot?" He turned to the tactician in the corner, giving him an uneasy smile.
"Let me introduce myself," the priest extended his hand, "they call me Martin, and I am a priest who led the Resistance during the final stretch of the war after the death of Yen'fay. I now rule the new, diplomatic Valm." Priam shook the leader of Valm's hand, "and now that the introductions are finished..." he turned to Robin to give him the floor.
"Thank you, Martin. Now, Priam, I have been informed that you are making an elite group of fighters as we speak, correct?"
Priam nodded, "And I have finally come up with a name: 'Greil's Defenders'."
"Named after the Greil Mercenaries? Greil as in Ike's father?"
"The very same." Priam replied with a smile.
"Excellent. Now, on to business..." Robin shuffled through the papers that were set on the table in front of him, finding a couple of pages that seemed like letters. "These here are letters from citizens of Valm, Regna Ferox, and Ylisse, showing where Risen have attacked. Each of these letters say that the Risen were being ordered by the Grimleal, the same ones you had a confrontation with on the Long Sea."
"The Risen are more prominent in the continent of Ylisse ," Martin informed Priam, "the Chon'sinians, Rosanneans and Valmese have been successful in fending for themselves. But as Ylisse is our most stalwart ally-"
"-we've agreed to assist them by sending our most elite force to help quell the epidemic." Say'ri spoke up. "We know that your unit just assembled a couple nights ago, but mayhaps if you can handle yourselves-"
"The Defenders will be thrilled to hear this news!" Priam said excitedly, "We shall call a meeting at once to announce our first mission."
"Smashing good, sir Priam!" Cervantes put a hand on Priam's shoulder, "I daresay I like you already!"
There was something about Cervantes that didn't sit well with Priam. He didn't know what it was, but he knew it was nothing villainous or even foul. Maybe it was the way is armor looked? But he put the thought out of his mind to focus on the matter at hand.
"Then it is agreed," Say'ri said in a diplomatic tone, turning to Ylisse's highest ranking tactician, "Ylisse are to receive our elite unit, 'Greil's Defenders', and Cervantes shall lead our forces here in Valm to stop the Grimleal menace."
"Sounds like a strategy." Robin said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Mobilize your troops, Priam. We head to Port Valm at dawn in two days."
"Excellent. This meeting is adjourned." Say'ri said, "Thank you all for coming." with that, she left the room with Priam watching her leave.
Martin and Cervantes also left the room, but Robin stayed behind, wishing to talk to Priam.
"Priam, why are you staring at the door?" Priam paid his old comrade no attention, still staring at the door where Say'ri left.
"PRIAM!" Robin shouted, Priam spun around in shock.
"Robin, what are you still doing here?"
"I was going to talk to you about this fog your head is in." Robin knocked on Priam's head. "It's not like you to be in a daze. What is on your mind?"
Priam sighed, rubbing his head in pain, and sat down at the paper-filled table. "Well, a new emotion has found its way into my heart: love."
"I see," Robin said with a smirk as he sat down next to his friend. "please continue."
Priam went on to explain how the different feelings changed his mood, about the night he sacrificed himself for Say'ri, and the night they kissed.
Robin was smiling, "I didn't think someone like you would ever need love, but I appear to be wrong."
"I am not finished..." Priam let out a large breath of air before continuing, "I... I have a child ...with Say'ri."
Robin became alarmed, "B-but you just found out your feelings for her! I thought you just kissed! Why would you-"
"Calm down, friend..." Priam said in a soft tone and setting a hand on Robin's shoulder, "I speak of a child from the future."
Robin's eyes widened, "But I thought we met all of the children." Robin was now being his usually skeptical self, "Are you sure this person isn't faking?"
"He has Ragnell, Robin. He got it from Yen'fay as a child. There is no way you're telling me that more than one Ragnell exists in this time and dimension."
"...Astounding...Why would Lucina not mention him?"
"He was going to sacrifice himself so the other children would escape. Maybe Lucina didn't want us to be saddened by this thought."
"...Hm," Priam could practically hear the gears turning in Robin's head. "Oh, well... this isn't as important as you and Say'ri's relationship."
Priam blushed, "Well, that is the problem, where do I go from here? What do women want?"
"Well for starters I-" Robin was interrupted by a knocking on the door-frame, a red-headed pegasus knight entered the room.
"Are you ready to go, Robin?" Cordelia asked as she stood in the doorway with a smile on her face. "I want to see the cherry trees bloom before we head back to the inn."
Robin returned the smile, "In a minute, Cordelia. Priam is having woman problems."
"Oh?" Cordelia chuckled, Priam rested his elbow on the table with his head resting in his hand, he grumbled, "...Oh great." She looked at him quizzically, but she continued, "I just had a conversation with a woman with MAN problems."
"Priam needs some ideas for a date, and I'm sure that you have some." Robin said to his wife, knowing full well how much of a romanticist she was.
"of COURSE I do!" Cordelia turned to Priam and put an arm on his shoulder, "Pull out a paper and pencil, this will be on the final test." she said with a chuckle.
"I don't like the sound of this..." Priam groaned.
Priam again was in the market area of Youri'jik, looking for Anna. While he no longer needed her help, thanks to Cordelia and Robin, he still promised her that he would see her and he was not one to go against his word, even once.
He rounded a corner and found Anna closing up her stall. Why is she closing shop? He pondered. He then tapped her on the shoulder to notify his arrival.
She spun around, startled, and let out a faint squeak. Seeing who it was, she put a hand on her chest to slow her heart rate.
"D-don't you know it isn't polite to sneak up on a lady? I'm still a little jumpy from when a sword was at my THROAT!" She said with a growl.
Priam chuckled, "I only wished to inform you that I no longer need your assistance."
She raised an eyebrow, "Hm? But I haven't even helped you yet!"
"Well I don't need it." he showed her a small parcel of paper with several scribbles of writings and sketches. "I have all the ideas I need to make this a stable relationship, got it from a couple of friends." He patted the papers and grinned.
"Did you get that from Robin and Cordelia?" Anna asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, they told me... wait... how did you know-"
Anna put a finger up to silence him, "I know what every facial expression and emotion stands for in a person, its all part of being a successful merchant. Besides," she said with a wink, "I saw Cordelia speaking with Say'ri outside Dynast Hall, and I saw Robin enter it earlier. Everyone came out except you two."
"Huh..." Priam thought aloud, "you are clever. Why have YOU never found a man and settled down."
"Mua?" Anna spoke, looking aghast, "'settle down'? I don't know the meaning of the sentence! But still..." She then blushed a little, and spoke quieter so that only Priam could hear, "...The only man that I was ever interested in is flying away on his wife's pegasus as we speak." she pointed at Robin, who was preparing to mount Cordelia's pegasus. The two kissed, exchanged a few words, and flew off. Anna watched as they left, "I'm not the type to be envious;" she continued, still staring at the dot in the distance, "'If you want something, work to get it' my mother used to tell me and my sisters. But with Robin, I was too slow, and he found a better wife than I could have been. But I still find it oddly ironic that little miss 'swoon-for-Chrom' got the only man to make ME swoon..."
Priam patted her on the shoulder with a smile on his face, "Be brave, merchant. You have a thief problem with your stall, right? Well someone is bound to steal your heart, as you steal his."
"...Wow," Anna said, turning to Priam after the pegasus was no longer in sight, "You are a very great friend... But enough about me, let's talk about YOUR love life."
"Ugh." he was sick of talking about his love life. He appreciated everyone's help, but he felt like it should be between him and Say'ri; not the rest of the world.
"I know where she stands on the subject, I overheard her talking to Cordelia after all."
"So you know it is Say'ri who has possession of my heart."
"Absolutely! You should have heard her talk about you! But why haven't you asked her to spend some time with you? I mean, you guys already kissed!"
"Ah yes," Priam was sent back into the cloud which fogged his thoughts and started to think of that kiss...
"Earth to Priam! Can you hear me?" she said loudly, snapping her fingers in front of his face. She laughed as he snapped out of it, it was funny to see his face contort in confusion.
"Er, yes... well, anyway, I plan on having a picnic with her in the woods behind the barracks. No one will see us, and we can be perfectly alone. We can discuss what is on our hearts, and try to understand each other better. At least, that is what I was told..." He looked down on the papers, trying to remember the full plan.
"Sounds like an excellent idea! Call me for the wedding, I'm an excellent caterer!" She said as she put her finger on her chin. "Well, I'm going to rest up, I have a long journey tomorrow."
Priam was confused, "The march is in two days, not tomorrow."
"I'm not going with you guys, silly!" She said with a smile, "I need to be there early to set up shop for everyone! 'til then, may the gods of the open road find you!" she then entered her tent, and was out of sight.
I can't believe she had a crush on Robin, he thought. He chuckled slightly at the image of Robin trying to help Anna with the business, trying to sell Elixirs and Concoctions tactically, and getting scolded by Anna for not arranging the merchandise right. She'll find someone if she keeps looking... He soon rounded a corner and changed his thoughts to Tanuitia's tests for becoming a myrmidon.
HEY!...Shoutout to my betareader, he really helped me correct most of the mistakes I made, and I thank him for that.
Yes, Cervantes is back! I love this NPC boss, so I was like, "I'm sure I can use him down the line..." so expect to see him reappear (with bountiful mustache jokes.)
I placed Anna in the story because of Cormag Ravenstaff, he gave me the idea for the next pairing I am going to write, which includes Anna (duh). I was originally planning on having Robin married to Anna in this book, but I like the CordeliaxRobin marriage more and I found it gave Robin more mobility with his wife's pegasus.
So there you have it, Chapter 8. Now that I look at it, I don't think it was as good as I thought it was... But I'll let you decide. Leave a review, criticize my writing styles, praise my works, ANYTHING! PM me anytime, I'll talk to anyone without gills... (Still not on speaking terms...)
Thanks again for staying with the story this long, because it will get MUCH longer!
~TheSearcherer