Chapter 26

The next day, the shepherds gathered their things and prepared to head once again through Valamese territory. Chrom and Nathan met up with Basilio, Flavia, and Say'ri, to plan out where to plan their next strike on Walhart's forces.

"So, let's go over what we know about the enemy so far." Flavia decreed. The group turned to Say'ri.

"Well…the Valamese army is comprised of three main divisions: One to the north, to the south, and a third in the lands in between," The swordswoman explained. "Emperor Walhart commands the northern forces, and the south is controlled by my brother, Yen'fay. Each of these has the manpower to easily overwhelm our warriors."

Nathan crossed his arms, deep in thought. "I would assume you didn't lump the middle division in with the others for a reason…"

"Aye, tactician." Say'ri responded. "They are based at fort Steiger, not far from here. We might stand a chance against them, but it would take speed and luck. If we attack, the other divisions are sure to notice and follow quickly behind."

"So we send the bulk of our army towards the northern and southern divisions, in order to mask our true play," Basilio muttered. "The boy (He nodded to Chrom) and his merry band should be more than strong enough to face these Valamese scum."

Chrom nodded in agreement. "I think we can handle that. Any other thoughts, Nathan?"

The tactician scratched his head, deep in concentration. "With such a great number in their force, word of us being able to defeat a general in the Valamese army would certainly travel quickly, and plant a seed of doubt. We have a big opening here, let's put it to good use."

"Let's get moving then, time is of the essence." Flavia declared. "I'll alert the others of our plan, and Basilio here will organize our groups to send towards the north and south divisions."

The large warrior groaned. "I'll do no such thing, woman! I don't have to listen to you!"

Flavia sneered. "Well, as the reigning Khan, I'd say you do, old fart. Just be happy I'll be helping out as well."

Nathan and the others laughed as they dispersed to prepare for the march.

As Nathan helped the rest of his family pack up their tent, he was also jotting down notes in his strategy book, anything he thought could be useful for the upcoming battle. As he went to put the book back, he felt it nudge another object in his cloak. He pulled it out to see it was Owain's 'Manual of Justice'. The tactician grinned, remembering he still had to read his son's book from the future.

The son in question noticed Nathan holding his text, anxiously yelling to his father, "Have you finished it yet?"

Nathan smiled at the boy. "I haven't had the time to read it yet…soon, though. Sorry for keeping it for so long."

Owain squinted suspiciously at the man. "Hm…for now, that response will appease me…but soon, father, your eyes will be opened once you have read the sacred 'Manual of Justice'!"

The tactician grinned. "I'm looking forward to it, Owain."

He then walked over to Lissa, who was busy telling Morgan a story about another prank she had pulled on Nathan long ago.

"…So then, while he had fallen asleep, I went outside and grabbed a big handful of snow, and dumped it all down his collar!" Morgan roared in laughter.

"…You should've seen the look on his face when he was rolling around on the ground, trying to get all the snow out! It was priceless!" Lissa told her daughter while she giggled, thinking about the fond memory.

Nathan smiled at Morgan as he crept up behind Lissa. The princess had yet to notice his presence, and Morgan smartly avoided eye contact with her father to do her best not to alert Lissa that he was there.

The tactician thought for a moment, not wanting to pass up this golden opportunity, but as he took another step forward, he felt the weight of the ground underneath him begin to weaken. Nathan quickly hopped out of the way as it collapsed, revealing a hole that had been dug there earlier that was covered up.

"Whaaaat?" Morgan whined. "You were supposed to fall in, dad!"

Nathan laughed. "You nearly had me there, I'll admit…"

Lissa turned to him, grinning widely. "We thought that would work for sure! After all, there was no way you'd pass up on me just standing out in the open!"

The tactician sheepishly scratched his head. "Guess you know my weakness…"

"Oh, Flavia came by earlier. Told us about where we're going." Lissa informed her husband. "No doubt that's why you've been scribbling in your book while we were trying to pack…"

Nathan nodded. "The generals of the Valamese army are central pieces in this war. If we can beat even one, we'll deal a huge blow to the enemy."

As they talked, Morgan decided to walk off to find Owain, leaving the two alone. The tactician and Princess watched as their daughter playfully jumped on Owain's back when she found him, getting a good laugh out of the two.

"So, how have you been doing?" Nathan asked. "Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure our last private conversation was way back at Carrion Isle…"

The happy look on Lissa's face quickly faded to sadness. "Yeah…war does that, I suppose…"

"Well, war and having a family now."

Lissa giggled. "Yeah, but those two are adorable! I mean, sometimes it feels like they're acting like they're kids!"

Nathan smirked. "That's true…oh, also, this is payback for trying to prank me with Morgan."

Lissa turned to the man as Nathan quickly stuffed something down the Princess' dress. "What is - AAAHH! IT'S SLIMY AND GROSS!"

Nathan laughed as Lissa shook violently before a frog finally hopped out of her sleeve.

"By the gods, I swear…that frog summoning spell…best money I ever spent…" Nathan wheezed in between laughs.

Lissa grinned at her husband. "Nice to see you staying loose…even if that is the oldest trick in the book."

The tactician shrugged. "Just because it's old, doesn't mean it won't work. And I think we both know that one always works."

Just then, they heard Frederick calling from far away. "Time to move, everyone! Grab your things and start heading down this tree; we're off to Fort Steiger! Ready your weapons!"

Nathan offered Lissa his hand. "I think you drooled on this last night, but it's clean now, I promise," He teased.

Lissa took his hand and squeezed it tightly. "Hey, you've bled on my hands before, Mister, and that's way worse than drool!"

The tactician made a mock pouting face as the two walked to the Mila tree staircase together. "Fine then, maybe next time I get hurt in battle, I'll just get Maribelle to heal me…"

"Or you could get Libra, he's pretty good too. Or Ricken. Or Sumia, even…basically, you could get nearly half of the army to do my job for you. I'm not really sure why I'm still around at this point."

Nathan laughed, slipping his hand out of Lissa's grip and instead wrapping it around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. "I could…but I prefer attractive blonde princesses healing my boo boos, thanks."

"Eww, way too much sappy talk, Dad!" Morgan called from nearby. "Tone down the lovey-dovey stuff, there are children nearby!"

Lissa and Nathan both shared a laugh, with Lissa waving off her daughter. "Oh, you'll be saying that until you find a man who'll sweep you off your feet!"

"As long as I approve of this mystery man!" Nathan quickly added. "Any guy who wants to date my daughter is going to have to go through me first!"

Morgan giggled, waving to her parents before she walked off.

Nathan turned back to Lissa, muttering, "Geez, before you know it, we'll have to worry about our kids dating too…"

The tactician, princess and the others were so focused on each other they failed to notice a single risen creature, hiding among the many branches of the Mila tree. It's dark purple eyes could be seen to have a murky mist about them as it silently looked on, eyes focused solely on Nathan.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, back in Plegia, Validar, Aversa, and the 'other' Nathan gathered around a dark mystical orb, watching Nathan and Lissa laugh and walk within it, through the eyes of their deployed risen.

"You two boys really look like you have something up your sleeves…" Aversa chuckled. Validar laughed in response, sneering at the girl.

"I think it's time we entered the fray once again. We must ensure that Nathan realizes his true destiny…"