I changed the cover picture. The updated disclaimer is available in Chapter 1.

June 25th, 845 A.D.

"Brrrr… I thought… I thought it's summer now…" poor tactician girl was shivering. She rubbed her hands against each other and relentlessly blew them. She held her cloak tighter to prevent it from flying away due to the snow blowing. All she currently wanted was warmth, how her being in someone's protective arms, he said to her that she would be fine—

Ugh, what am I doing?! June quickly erased the preposterous thing from her head. Who on earth I'm thinking about, Jumpy?

Realizing her mentioning Jumpy, even in her own mind, the brunette's other side of persona said, Come on, June. It's not like you remember anything about him. Maybe his gender and name, but nothing else.

"Apparently it's always snowing in Regna Ferox," The Wary told her. "Even in summer."

"Huff… thanks for the information… Fred…" June replied, still shivering. Her answer somehow sounded sarcastic to Frederick—or maybe it's just his personal vendetta against her. Even after the things happened, he still doesn't believe in her as a friend.

"Brrrr…" the princess also shivered. "It's freezing out here..."

"I want a hot cream soup," the bed hair cavalier said. "Or maybe chicken curry... I don't know... I just want anything warm... Maybe the log from yesterday...can still do…"

"Stop whining, Stahl!" Sully protested. "You're not the only one freezing here!"

"Y, yeah, Stahl," Vaike added on. "Y, you shouldn't be... such a wimp...this weather...is nothing...for Teach...brrr..."

"Lol, Vaike," Sully replied the shirtless fighter. "You're not the one to say that."

"Sully is apparently correct, Vaike," Miriel told them. "Considering the fact that you aren't covering your body with appropriate clothing, you cannot speak about being resistant to this blizzard. Even June who is most likely wearing the clothing with most layers might still be hypothermic due to the not conducive surroundings."

"Ah, milady... You are freezing, are you not? Here, let me hold you..."

"NO!" Sully shouted as she kicked Virion's face. But when she realized it's getting colder, she wrapped her whole body again, still denying Virion's offer, "No, Ruffles… get outta here…"

"Stay calm, everyone," Chrom told the others. "We're going to find a shelter soon."

By time, the Shepherds had arrived at a fort.

"Excuse us!" Chrom said. "We would like your permission to enter Regna Ferox!"

"Go away!" said Raimi—the woman with [knight] armor.

"But we're from Ylisse!" Frederick justified the captain. "We're with Prince Chrom and we are here to meet the leader of Ferox in person! The exalt herself sent us here!"

"Oh yeah, and I'm the Queen of Valm!" Raimi sarcastically scolded them. "So what?! You think you're the first 'Ylisseans' to try to cross the boundary?! I'm pretty sure you are just one of those Plegian scoundrels!"

"What?!" Frederick couldn't believe what he clearly just heard. "But we are truly from Ylisse!"

"Negotiation don't work here! If you truly are Prince Chrom, you shall prove it with battle!"

"What?! B-battle?!" June couldn't believe what she clearly just heard. "But that's just—that's practically blasphemous!"

Too late, hordes of lances were already flying towards Chrom. Poorly, the prince wasn't fast enough to dodge the attack. But someone else had finally saved him quickly.

"S, Sumia?" Chrom was dumbfounded, realizing himself was already on a pegasus.

"Better hold on tight, Captain," the younger girl told him. "Could get bumpy."

"Oh, okay…" Chrom awkwardly responded.

"You'll be fine," Sumia smiled at him.

"Oh, okay…" Chrom awkwardly responded.

Just as Chrom realized they were outside the pack, he reminded Sumia to fly toward the others. Then, she landed Clair just at the spot of the other Shepherds were gathering.

"Whew, Captain, I'm so relieved," Sumia said. "I'm so glad that you're okay!"

"Thanks, Sumia," Chrom told her.

"Anytime," Sumia replied as she heard someone coughing. Then, she looked at the green cavalier.

"What? I can't cough?" Stahl responded with carefree voice.

"Mia!" June called the pegasus knight as she ran to hug her. "Where have you been?"

"I was kind of late when you guys had departed," Sumia answered the tactician. "Oh, I found this axe lying on the ground back at the camp, too. I'm pretty sure this belongs to Vaike."

"Gee… thanks, Sumia," Vaike told her. "Uh… for the axe… anyway…"

Teach didn't realized that several pairs of eyes were glaring at him. "Hey Miriel," Sully—one of the owner of the eyes pair—asked the spectacle-wearing mage.

"Yes?" Miriel responded the hothead woman. "What is it you would like to speak of?"

"Remind me to teach him some stuff when we're done," Sully said. "I just wanna kick his butt."

"Milady, be not such an impatient woman. I suppose that Sir Vaike has his own conditions."

"Shut up Ruffles, no one likes you."

"Vaike, you blasphemous!" Lissa cursed. "When will you learn?!"

"Sully said that she's going to teach him later," June continued. "Anyway, can we just continue? You know, since that armor lady asked for battle. We can just, uh, 'convince' her that we're actual Ylisseans."

Battle Area: [The Longfort]

Victory: Defeat commander

"So, there are guards at each eastern and western gate," June started talking about her plan. "They consist of archers, soldiers, and fighters."

"Speaking of archers," Sumia added. "Captain Phila told that pegasi are fragile to bow attacks and wind magic."

"Well, then," the brunette concluded. "Mia's going to the east with me, since both of the archers are on the west. Vaike and Mira are coming, too."

"Mira… like, Miriel?" Vaike asked her.

"Yup. Chrom, Fred, Sully, Stahl, you guys go to the west, then."

"Alright."

"We shall do."

"Gotcha!"

"Ditto!"

"How about me?" the cleric asked.

"You can stay here for a while, Liz. As usual, we're going to suppress the enemy away from you. Then, you can heal us when I already call you."

"Got it!"

"I suppose I shall company Lady Lissa. She is such a delicate lady. I cannot leave her alone unprotected."

"I'M NOT DELICATE! Seriously, how many times I have to tell you?!"

"Now, what are we waitin' for?!" Vaike exclaimed passionately. "Let's go! The Vaike is ready! The ol' Vaike Colasour was born ready!"

"Oh, speaking of super effective," June said again. Chrom's Rapier will do against the armor lady."

As planned, each of the Shepherds went to where they were supposed to be. At the west, Chrom sensed someone particular.

Hmmm, why do I feel like I'm being watched? Chrom thought.

"Excuse me, Captain…" someone suddenly spoke to him. "I'm right here…"

"Wha—Kellam?!" Chrom almost jumped seeing the tall knight. "How long have you been here?!"

"Quite long time, I would say…" Kellam talked again. "I've even already waved my hands to everyone. Uh, I'm still a Shepherd… right?"

"Uh, yeah, you still are… I'm sorry about it."

"It's okay, Captain… I'm fine… In fact, I'm still glad that you actually notice me…"

"Oh right, Kellam. You may join us here. Besides, your stealth ability can give us a huge advantage."

"Thanks…"

Kellam then attacked one of the archers over there—without being noticed, of course. Not just the archer himself, but also three other Shepherds who were also around.

"Hey, Sully, did you hear something?" Stahl asked the other cavalier.

"Nah, it's just you," Sully answered.

Meanwhile, the other four at the east side were fighting as well. Sumia struck a soldier with her [javelin], helped by June's thunder. As the soldier passed out, Sumia apologized to him, while June took a [door key] from the soldier. Miriel and Vaike were working together too, as the scatterbrain was distracted by something. "Huh? A present from one of ol' Vaike's fans? How thoughtful!"

Vaike found a [Tree Branch].

"This tree branch, uh, guess I'll just give it to Stahl," Vaike muttered. "I'm quite sure that he'd really love it."

"Yup, very thoughtful," June giggled at Teach. Then, she switched to the pegasus knight. She and Sumia continued fighting together, as the guards fell one by one. After they finished—Vaike and Miriel too—they took some rest as June called Lissa to heal them each.

"You can learn about this world from a pegasus's back. I see new things every day," Sumia said.

"Is that why you like flying on a pegasus?" June asked her.

"Yes," the pegasus knight smiled. "You should try it sometimes."

"Okay. Hey, will you go out with me? You know, hanging around together after the battle. Since we're girls around the same age, right? So maybe we have a lot of things in common, also I may get some information about whoever I was."

"Good then. I'll help you. I think we might even find anything about Jumpy."

"Eh?!"

"Hey, if you girls are done gossiping, can we go on?" Vaike interrupted.

"Oh yeah, after Liz heals the others at the western side, we'll continue."

"Yosh, I got the key!" Sully proclaimed.

"Be careful not to misplace it, Sully!" Stahl warned her, half-joking.

"Of course not! What am I, Vaike?!"

"No, Vaike's over there."

"Anyway, just open the gate, Sully," Chrom said.

"You betcha!"

Sully then opened the gate. June who was on the eastern already prepared herself as well. She looked back at Vaike, Miriel, and Sumia, and then unlocked the gate too.

There were already more guards over there, including Raimi.

Kellam launched his sneak attack first. He didn't really intend to sneak attack, but the enemy didn't notice him somehow.

"What the—who—" the brunette tactician who didn't notice him either jumped when he came out of nowhere.

"…Who are you?" the armored stealth knight asked back.

"Who are you?"

"Chit-chat later, help us first!" Sully warned those two.

Came back to reality, June attacked the other enemies round her. Her sword clashed with the soldier's lance, not that she cared about it. Covering Sumia from another archer nearby, her Thunder snapped on more Feroxi troops.

Meanwhile Chrom and Raimi were already face to face. As June told him earlier, he decided to use the Rapier because it is stronger against armored units. He attacked Raimi in one-shot —not that lethal, but enough to knock her out.

"It was true… you are… the real prince Chrom…"

STAGE COMPLETE!

"Liz! Lissa!" Where are you?" June frantically called the cleric. "We need first aid here!"

Lissa came to the source of the voice. Seeing the armored woman covered in wounds, she used her Heal staff.

After being healed by the young cleric, Raimi went back to her consciousness. She looked around people who were staring at her. The first was Prince Chrom—the real one, apparently. There was also a teenage girl with cage-skirted yellow dress—most likely the Lissa girl who was called by the other woman who was wearing purple cloak with brunette shoulder-length hair and currently glaring and pouting at her.

"What was that?" June scolded Raimi with hands on her waists, still pouting. "That's not how you're supposed to treat guests! It was totally blasphemous!"

"Forgive me, sir, milady," the knight apologized. "Apparently brigands from Plegia have been attacking Regna Ferox. They pretend to be Shepherds from Ylisse, especially Sir Chrom."

"And you just easily suspect everyone passing by?" Lissa objected. "I mean, don't you know how Chrom looks like? He's a prince, right? Isn't he supposed to be famous or what?"

"Anyway, I apologized about the misunderstanding. And now, I would like to take you to the Khan."

June was dumbfounded seeing Raimi's demeanor was a complete opposite from the knight they previously fought. She mumbled, "Why is she acting different all sudden?"

"Apparently we managed to prove that we're true Ylisseans," Frederick answered the curious girl.

"By simply defeating her?"

"By showing milord's true combat style. Apparently, milord has a distinguished fighting style and movements in battle."

The brunette girl's mouth formed an O, followed by a voice of understanding. Then she asked again, "Is it really necessary to battle?"

"People in Ferox prefer battle to politics. Or should I say, battle is their politics."

The tactician's mouth pursed again.

"Finally, it's warm!" Vaike exclaimed as he and the others entered the Castle Ferox. "Anyway, Stahl, I found this tree branch back at the fort. Teach reckons that you'd like it."

"I sure would!" the green cavalier accepted with all his heart as he took the branch of the tree. "Thanks Vaike, you're a true friend. Sumia, you want to try some?"

"Eh?" the pegasus knight responded. "No, thanks. I—"

"Come on, Sumia. It's very tasty, trust me!"

Curious about the snack, Sumia took a bit of it. Then, she drove that little piece of wood into her mouth. She let her tongue to get the peculiar taste of menthol.

"Hmmm, you're right. It's quite tasty," the girl said.

"So Fred said that battle is politics in Ferox, hmmm?" June was talking to herself. "I wonder if the khan is some kind of big bald man, with a really thick chest hair…"

"Oh really? Do I look like one?" a woman suddenly responded almost out of nowhere that June almost jumped from her current place.

"No, no. Sorry, Your Highness, I—"

"Ha ha ha, don't worry! I forgive you!" the woman told her. "By the way, I'm Flavia, the East-Khan of Regna Ferox."

"Greetings, milady," Chrom politely greeted the khan. June bowed to Flavia, as she previously did to Emmeryn few days ago.

"Well, well, if it isn't Ylisse's very own prince," Flavia said. "What is it you want me to do?"

"I would like to ask you some favor. I see that Plegian brigands have been attacking both Ylisse and Regna Ferox. What I want to ask is we would like to form an alliance together. We would need some reinforcements, if you may."

"Sorry, but… I can't."

"But, you're the khan, right?"

"I am one of the khans, apparently. I'm not the one who's reigning by now."

"What do you mean?"

"The reigning khan is determined by Regna Ferox Annual Warfield. It is a tournament held every year when each East-Khan and West-Khan sends their representative warriors to fight each other in a duel. The reigning Khan for next year is the one whose team wins. So, can you Shepherds be my representative warriors?"

"Wait. You use outsiders for this? You don't fight by yourself?"

"Well of course I use outsiders for this. If the khans fight by themselves, this nation will be full of dead khans everywhere!"

"Oh, fine then."

"Hey, you guys have a tactician, don't you? That must be an advantage, because I'm pretty sure the West-Khan will still use the usual."

"'The usual'?"

"Yeah. He's a prodigy swordsman raised by the West-Khan himself. He's so good, that the West-Khan has been winning in consecutive five years."

"Whoa…" June was awed.

"Which is why, if you want me to give you reinforcements, you have to win the tournament for my sake."

"Uh, we don't really have to kill the opponents, do we?" June asked. "I mean, you said that the tournament is every year, so I can't really imagine so many people die annually for the khans' sake."

"Huh, I thought that any of the Shepherds might ask that. We may use battle for politics, but we're not that cruel, really. We have our own team of healers, in case anything happens."

"Well, anything will happen…"

"So, when will the tournament be held?" Chrom asked.

"It's still in five days. The tournament is always held in June 30th every year."

"Good, then," Frederick said. "We still have time to practice."

"Right," Chrom added on.

A hooded figure was seeing through the Castle Ferox's window. His eyes focused solely on June. Not that he was stunned by the tactician's beauty like Virion was, but he was up to something else. It was as if June and he had known each other before.

"A tournament, huh?" he mumbled. I'm sure your team will win that one. You're a gifted tactician, after all. Although I don't really think you've used your 'gift'… not in front of your new friends at least… I wish you good luck for now…

"See you later at the tournament…" he said again. "…Kanny…"

Can you tell me more about weather in Ferox? I mean, is it like North Pole in reality? You know, snow and stuff, that always happen, doesn't it?

I earlier wanted to make June 'kinda' sense someone at the west—if you know who I mean, so she would tell Chrom to check out. But a friend of mine told me that she's supposed to plan the whole thing before going to battlefield, so the battle scene can be more legit.

Okay, okay. Sorry for June's personality, even if I don't really intend to make her OOC, or idk, whatever. I'm exploring more of her being Junpei-complex, not being a soft and kind girl—we already have Sumia for that. I don't pick her as a tactician for no reason, though *spoiler-related*.

Up next is just a filler chapter. You know, the outside battle moments before 'The Regna Ferox Annual Warfield'. Featuring support conversations, mostly C Ranks, though. The story is kinda new. Anyhow, have a nice day!