Chapter 24
As the Shepherds reached the top of the Mila tree, harsh sunlight and a beautiful open sanctuary in front of them greeted them. In the middle of the sanctuary, meditating, was Tiki, the 'Voice' they had come to liberate. Nathan quickly ordered the others to fan out and set up the camp for themselves. There was more than enough room for them at the top of the tree. He, Chrom, Lucina, Say'ri, Basilio and Flavia all made their way over to greet Tiki, who yawned loudly as they approached.
"Ah, my lady…it pleases me to see you alright." Say'ri stated, breathing a sigh of relief. Tiki rubbed her eyes before smiling tiredly at the swordswoman.
"So, you re lady Tiki? The one who speaks for the divine dragon?" Lucina asked. Tiki's pointy ears perked up at Lucina's voice, quickly turning in her direction.
"Marth? Oh, Mar-mar, is that you?" She cried out. Her smile quickly faded as she looked over to see Lucina with a confused look on her face.
"…My name is Lucina, Lady Tiki, although I did go by the name of Marth for quite some time. Have we met before?"
Tiki shook her head. "I'm sorry…you reminded me of a good friend I once knew. But he is gone now, lost during my endless slumber…"
Nathan nodded, rubbing his chin in thought as he listened to the exchange. Tiki was a member of the Hero-King Marth's army many ages ago, when he fought to save Ylisse. The tactician had read the stories of the many fights of the hero-king from eons past, and almost felt a bit star struck while meeting someone who had witnessed them firsthand.
Tiki then continued, addressing both Lucina and Chrom. "You and your father are of the exalted bloodline, are you not?" She asked them. Chrom quickly nodded.
"Do you possess the fire emblem? It should have been passed down through your family…"
Chrom quickly rummaged through his pack, before pulling out the mysterious shield-shaped artifact. "Yes, I have it."
Tiki smiled at the man, before peering at the fire emblem itself. "It has been ages since I have laid eyes on this…but where are the gemstones? I see only argent…"
"Gemstones?" Lucina inquired.
"Yes, there are five of them," Tiki explained, "Argent, Sable, Gules, Azure, and Vert. Each holds a portion of Naga's power. When gathered and placed on the emblem, they allow one to perform the Awakening."
"What's that?" Chrom asked.
"The divine right to channel Naga's power, first used bit the very first exalt himself…" Basilio muttered. The others turned to him with confused looks, and he glared at them, replying, "What? I know a thing or two about our country's history…"
They shared a laugh as Tiki continued explaining the gemstones. "With the Fire Emblem's power, the Exalt was able to defeat Grima. But such power was too much for men, and thus, the Gems were scattered. However, I've managed to keep Azure here with me."
"My kingdom had managed to safeguard Vert for generations, until it was recently stolen by Walhart's men," Say'ri added.
Lucina turned to Tiki once again, pressing for more answers. "Milady, do you know where the other two Gemstones might be?"
The green-haired Manakete shook her head. "Sable and Gules are lost to me. They were taken long ago, at the time of the Schism."
"The same time Regna Ferox was founded…" Flavia mused.
Nathan turned to her. "Does that mean you have one of the gemstones?"
Flavia scoffed, shaking her head. "If we did, I would know of it-"
"Actually, we do." Basilio interjected. "We have Gules…did I never inform you, Flavia?"
The gruff woman angrily shook her head. "You certainly did not!" She spat in reply.
"Hm…must've slipped my mind…" Basilio muttered, a smug grin on his face. "The West-Khans once safeguarded Gules, but it was lost long before my reign."
Tiki handed the blue gemstone she held to Chrom, who pressed it into the fire emblem in one of the empty round slots.
"Thank you, Lady Tiki." The Blue-haired Great Lord chided. The Manakete nodded, before turning back to the others.
"Now you possess two of the Gemstones. You must seek out the others and perform the Awakening. Our world must be defended from Grima at all costs!"
"But wasn't Grima's power sealed away?" Nathan interjected.
"Yes…but, ever since, there have been those who wish to change that. Grima's life force grows, even now, and with it, the long shadows of despair."
Tiki then turned to address Chrom. "The task is a heavy burden, but as one of exalted blood, the duty must fall to you."
The Exalt nodded. "I understand, and I will not fail. Thank you for your help."
"We owe you a great debt, Milady." Nathan quickly added. Tiki looked to him, giving him a slightly astonished look.
"You…you have…a power…like mine."
Nathan shot the manakete back a confused look. "I do?"
Realizing what she had said, Tiki shook her head tiredly at the tactician. "I…forgive me…I am still groggy from my slumber. My words outpace my thoughts."
Nathan nodded skeptically as Tiki yawned loudly.
"I am…very tired…I'm afraid I don't have the strength to join you in the fray." The lady explained. "But I will call the people together, in prayer, for an end to this horrible conflict, and for your divine protection."
"Thank you, that would be much appreciated," Flavia told her, but Tiki was already fast asleep yet again, sitting upright in her meditative position, but snoring loudly.
Nathan smiled, motioning to the others. "We'll stay up here for the night, before heading out tomorrow," He whispered to them, trying not to wake the snoring half-dragon. The others nodded as they all split off and walked off to start setting up the camp…all except for Nathan and Chrom, who quickly dashed off together to find Lissa and Sumia, and begin their plans for Frederick's 'date'.
After gathering up Sumia and Lissa, along with Lon'qu, the group picked out a nice part of the camp, next to the cooking tents, clearing out the area and setting up a single table and two chairs in the center, complete with a single candle in the middle.
"This looks fancy, I think." Nathan declared. Just then, Donnel walked over to the group of shepherds standing together, eagerly waving to them.
"Hey gang, what's all goin' down?" The village boy asked eagerly.
"It's for Frederick's date tonight, we're all cooking for him!" Sumia explained.
Donnel's eyes lit up. "Yer cookin? Can I help? Er…uh…well, I'm not very good, but I mean, if y'all need an extra set of hands…"
Nathan laughed. "Yes please, Donny, any help we can get would be nice." He told the man. Donnel cheered in excitement.
"Whoo-ee!" He hollered. "I won't let ye down, Nater and gang!"
The group then discussed the exact plan for the night. Owain, Lucina, Cynthia and Morgan would bring Frederick and Cherche to their private date, and get them seated. Upon drawing the short straw, it was determined Lissa would provide entertainment for a while along with the children to allow for time to prepare the appetizer dish. Afterwards, with all hands on deck, minus Sumia, who would be hard at work on the desert (Rhubarb and Fiddlehead pie of course), would prepare the main course and serve it up for the couple, with the Frederick planning to propose as soon as the meal was finished.
Once the children had been gathered up and sent off to find Frederick and 'his lover', as Morgan called Cherche, Nathan and the others got to work within the Kitchen. Nathan, Chrom and Donnel watched in amazement as Lon'qu tossed up a potato, and, in one fell swipe of his blade, sliced the skin off it neatly. The now naked potato fell onto the cutting board, with the peels slowly drifting down beside it. Chrom, Nathan and Donnel clapped and cheered, in apparent awe.
"Really? He just peeled a potato…" Lissa scoffed. Nathan turned to his wife, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, he 'just peeled a potato', but did you not see how cool that looked?" The tactician retorted, before turning back to Lon'qu. "You sir, are definitely in charge of preparing the appetizers!"
"But I-" Lon'qu began in his gruff voice, before he was cut off by Chrom, who agreed with Nathan. "Any man who can cut potatoes like that could cook me a meal any day!" The Exalt declared, getting a high-five from Nathan for his comment.
Lissa sighed, slightly giggling at the men. "I really hope you're exaggerating…"
Nathan gave the princess a wink. "Well…mostly."
As the others dispersed, Lissa changed the subject. "Now then, what am I supposed to do to entertain Freddy and Cherche? I can't exactly pull a prank on them, and that's my ace in the hole when it comes to being entertained!"
The tactician thought for a moment, before his eyes lit up. "Wasn't Owain writing some sort of play over this past week?"
Lissa nodded. "It's hard enough to sleep when you're up late writing strategy notes, but with Owain up too, scribbling away and yelling every time he gets a good idea? I feel like I haven't had a good night's sleep in ages…"
Nathan laughed sheepishly. "We'll talk to Mr. Sword hand about that later…and I promise I'll try to get to bed at a kinda-sorta-maybe-half decent time. No guarantees."
The Princess smirked at her husband. "I'll hold you to that." She replied. "So the play, then?"
"It's worth a shot…"
Owain then burst into the tent, panting. "Father! The Great Frederick the wary and Dragon-Rider Cherche approach!"
Nathan nodded to his son, taking Lissa's hand as they walked over to him. "Get Lucina to buy us some time…we're going to need some quick help from 'your' Justice Cabal."