FD: *over a TV screen projecting the letters FD* Hello, one and all. I am your host FD. Unfortunately, because I am in school again, beginning Grade 12, I have gotten busier, and currently I am in a… slight altercation that I'd prefer to avoid, so in order to continue this story, I have taken the liberty of doing the intro by audio.

Tychon: And by that, you mean you are beyond terrified of Cordelia because she is after you.

FD: It's not my fault the shit happened! I just write it… and screenplay it…. this argument sounded better in my head….

Lancer: *out of breath* Bad news! Saya fell asleep in Cordelia's lap, so she carried her to bed! Which means CORDELIA IS AT LARGE!

FD: Well. In the wise words of the internet: fuck this shit, I'm out. *TV turns off*

Tychon: Well, let's get chapter 5 on and hopefully Goodra-kun-I mean, FD doesn't get hunted down like cattle.

Fire Emblem is owned by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo. Not us.

*A spear runs through the screen, scaring everyone who bared witness*

The rays of early daylight seeped through the window of my room, prying me from the warm embrace of sleep. My eyes stung and my skull throbbed with a dull ripple of pain, consistent in all of its irritation and rhythm which definitely made me reconsider the idea of drinking so heavy. But to be fair, I needed the influence. It helped distract me from my previous thoughts from yesterday.

Speaking of, I could not recall completely what had happened the night before, only bits and pieces here and there. I remember writing down on paper to Raven, then I spoke to Say'ri. But then past that, it had been a complete blank. I clutched my head in pain, not keen on getting up, but the ever present sunlight had other plans. So naturally, my first idea was to try and get up, just so I could close the curtain and go back to sleep and wake up at a more favourable hour. Only to find that getting up was impossible.

There was pressure down on my body, my entire left side felt immobile. Well, if I couldn't get up to aid sleeping again, might as well just give up, I thought as I rubbed my eyes with my free/only hand. But not even that would prepare me for what I saw.

I pull my head up to meet a splayed out mat of chestnut coloured hair. The head that the dark silky strands were attached to laid still atop my rising and falling chest. I hadn't the slightest clue what even transpired, but the scattered clothes and smell of sweat gave me extremely big hints. I also felt something-two soft somethings-against the left side of my body, which made it even more evident.

After the initial shock set in and passed, reason took over to give me the conclusion.

I just slept with Say'ri. My childhood friend. After telling her my feelings towards her, or rather lack thereof.

"We were both drunk… ugh, what am I to do now…?" I sighed with a hand running over my eye. Then suddenly an epiphany came to me.

Chrom tells us that I have a mission in Chon'sin, roughly just a month after the Mad King is killed by me. In essence, plenty of time for the knowledge of my existence, specifically with the Shepherds. Fast forward, and Raven and I realize that she sent the request for aid despite knowing they have enough troops to handle it themselves. As if it was expected that I'd go to help.

"By Fenrir's mane…" I hissed to myself. "The woman planned this entire thing… and Chrom… oh, you'll get your punishment soon enough."

My body involuntarily jumps in reaction to the princess. She began to shuffle a bit, causing me to stop my outer monologuing and quell my thoughts before her own consciousness came to her. Deep, dark and tired orbs met my own once she lifted her face from my body, blinking out what little kept her asleep.

A smile graced her features, as if she knew why she and I shared the same bed.

"Mmm… good morning to you…" Say'ri began, placing a hand over her mouth to block the yawn coming from her lips. "I take it you slept well?"

At that moment, my previous anger redoubled as I looked at her: while I hardly thought that she staged the attack on Chon'sin with such a being like Alice, this woman planning to get me in her clutches was the sole reason I was sent here: taking down the mercenary band was only the coverup. And no matter what I do, whether blatant or subtle, Say'ri just can't comprehend that I don't feel the same way.

"I slept just fine," I hissed slightly.

The Chon'sinese princess propped herself up by her hands before she was sitting back on her heels and straddling my left leg, stretching her body to loosen everything up. Though this naturally exposed her body to my eyesight so I averted my gaze. ...What? Even though I had seen her the night before doesn't mean I was conscious of it all.

Say'ri laid her arms down before facing me again. "Don't attempt to play the gentleman now. Not after the past night," she said with a giggle.

"Well, excuse my manners, but I'd rather not ogle at a woman unless I am betrothed to them. I'd rather not get thrown in a cell for it." I rose to a sitting position and stared her right in her eye. "Would you mind getting up?"

Doing what she was asked, she laid her feet on the cool wooden floor of her room, carrying the blanket with her to cover herself. A simple sigh leaving my mouth, I stand up away from the bed to gather my clothes, starting with my pants.

"Where are you going?" the princess inquired.

"To Ylisse," I replied curtly. "It is where I live currently, after all."

"You would leave so soon?" she asked in confused. "But why?"

Not even bothering to face her, I continued to put on my smallclothes and pants before gathering the rest of my things. "What do you mean "so soon"? If anything, I overstayed my welcome. I should have left yesterday but it was too late. And someone decided to occupy my night. So there's that."

I heard a click of the tongue as my response. "Same old Eric, I see. Oblivious to a fault."

I had all I needed tucked under my left arm before facing Say'ri. "Wrong. I was fully aware of what was going on. Though it's hard to say the same for you."

"Fie!" she barked. "Pray tell, what does that entail?"

"It means you can't take a damn message," I growled. "You know that we cannot happen. You know that. Hell, I've told you. But for some god forsaken reason, you don't seem to comprehend it. Need I speak the words in Chon'sinese for you?"

"You say that we cannot be," she began. "Then what do you call the previous night?"

"A mistake." I strode past her and stopped right in front of the door. "Both of us were intoxicated and not thinking straight. And you took advantage of that in the worst way possible."

I turned my head back to face her. "Why don't you get it that I don't love you? We are friends, yes, and I cherish that. But romance is a journey I can't see taking with you."

I reach for the doorknob and I twist the metal to open the door before I heard the phrase that made me snap. "You are truly selfish."

Without even thinking nor caring, I turned around and approached Say'ri, my open palm making contact with her cheek. The force made her lose grip of the sheet in favour of holding her now reddened cheek in pain.

"Let's get something straight," I began in a low voice. "It was YOU who sent the request to a foreign ruler to receive aid from one of Ylisse's guerrilla groups, despite having MORE than enough men of your own. You then take me in to recover, not to help out a friend in need, no. It was so that you could have a period to figure out what your game plan was to swoop in and try and take me. But then you get hit by the news that your love interest doesn't feel the same way, so what do you do? You realize that he's drunk out of his mind so you pounce on him like he's yours for the taking!"

Say'ri's eyes widened in shock and pain as she took an instinctive step back. "You deliberately try to take him for yourself, and you try even harder once you realize he's taken with someone else! And yet you dare say I'm selfish?!"

She hadn't the gall to respond, she simply trembled in her spot with tears welling in her eyes. With a shake of the head, I turn my back to her and grip the knob again. "I didn't come here for love. I came here for a mission I was requested to do. It is accomplished, I've done my job."

Still, I give her a nod of mutual respect. "Until we meet again."

I left her room in favour of going to mine, for I had left my sword in the guest room I was supposed to be sleeping in. Once I'd procured the weapon, I strolled down the torchlit castle hallway until I came face to face with Chon'sinese princess's right hand man in the main body of the first floor. "Going somewhere?"

"Well, hello to you too," I replied coolly.

"Is Lady Say'ri awake yet?"

"Yes," I hummed. "She's awake."

"I figured you'd know." he replied, giving me a narrow-eyed look.

I sighed a heavy one. "So is that to say you realize what happened?"

He held up two fingers, bringing them down with each reason he mentioned. "Your usual smell is tinged with her lavender fragrance. Secondly, she was far too loud," he deadpanned. "I could hear her throughout the entire wing of the castle."

I facepalmed. "What... I can't even..."

"There were many appeals to a certain deity, and I believe she was passionately screaming your na-"

"Alright, I get the picture!" I yelled before using a cough to regain composure. "Though you may need to give her some time on her own. If I had to guess, she is not taking the news rather well."

Lu'bei tilted his head. "News?"

"She confessed to me last night. And while I was charmed to know that, I don't hold the same feelings for her."

"Right." Taking out his ornate turtle pipe, he stuffed the wide end before I lit the contents with a small fire spell for him. Nodding his thanks, he took a long drag of it and exhaled it all in one large puff. "Sad as it may be, no one can force that upon you."

The older man held out his hand. "Don't be a stranger, now. Come again another time."

I took his hand. "Sure thing."

With a grunt of effort, Lu'bei pushes open the large front doors for me and I walk out, my soles moving from smooth stone to the waves of irregular cobblestone. "Let's see if I can catch up to the others today." The ground beneath me began to glow a pale green before I crouched a little, and with enough wind magic beneath my feet, I shot off in the eastern direction like a rocket.

I looked down as I flew and even I had to admit the view was indeed breathtaking. Gazing upon the blood-soaked-both figuratively and literally-field of Pi Gua, I saw the remnants of the battle, decay and all, from this high up. If not for the corpses, one would believe that someone painted the battleground a gradient of black and red. Even from this high up, the land of Chon'sin was so vast, and the sea dividing the continents of Ylisse and Valm was even more expansive, as the coastline and horizon seemed to continue on indefinitely.

"Ahhh... The fresh sea air," I mused aloud. Despite not ever really being a pirate, I could never get enough of the sea when I got the chance to be around it. Maybe if I wasn't a vengeance-bent king, I'd probably sit comfortably as a naval officer. Ugh, but then that would mean I would have to change my style completely to adapt to boat setting rather than actual land. Either way, I simply shrugged.

Abandoning all cares I had going on in my life at that point, I nosedived down until I met the surface, pulling up and made my stomach face the waves. I plunged a hand into the water. The crystal clear liquid felt cool and rejuvenating against my palm, like one would feel when taking a dip into a stream. So it was only natural that I dunked my entire body underneath the surface and pulled back up, the water soaking my body and clothes. Fear not, however, for as I flew, the wind dried my clothes.

"I should fly more often," I thought aloud. "It's faster and more exhilarating than running, riding, and definitely walking." With that thought firmly in mind, I twirled a few times, doing some aileron rolls.

Deadpool: Don't you mean "barrel rolls?" Do a barrel roll, man.

Fell Dragonite: Oh. Good to see that therapy is doing well. But no, twirling in midair is not a barrel roll. It is an ail-

Tychon: I can't let you do that, Drago.

FD: Do what?

Tychon: Ruin the joke.

The wind blew in my face at high speeds, pushing my hair far back. My ears took in how loud the travel was as I couldn't even hear myself think, which is when I realized that I was moving so fast above the water, the wind I created pushed on the water's surface, causing the water to flare up on each side of myself. "I really hope Vaike didn't screw anything up."

Then my face adopted a sudden look of horror. "Oh, crap, what if he screwed anything up?" I kicked it up to the maximum, nearly tripling my flying speed. It wasn't even until Port Styx came into view that I remembered who it was I let guide them back home. "Oh wait, forgot that I left Raven in charge." I slapped my head in dumbfounded realization, shaking my head at my absent minded thinking.

Once I made it to the Feroxi coastline and past the port, I slowed down my charge and descended to the soft snow, preferring to walk a little bit. It wasn't before long that my stomach growled aggressively, telling me that I hadn't eaten since yesterday. Hell, I think I even may have skipped dinner. So hunting was definitely in order.

It doesn't take too long for me to set up a small campsite, someplace where the blasted snow wouldn't descend upon me, ruining my fire, and my breakfast. This was of course after I took down a snow rabbit for the next meal to grace my palette. Kneeling next to the flickering flame, I made sure to thank the animal, as I made it a habit of mine, for giving its life so that I could have something to fill my stomach.

Well, that is before an ornery wolf came and snatched my kill.

"Damn it!" I growled, swinging my hand to kill the fire. "That's mine, come back here!"

The damned wolf took off in the opposite direction with my rabbit in its maw, and I was on its tail for minutes on end through the snowy forest before the wolf ended its running near a specific tree, and sitting against the base of the tree was a man.

The man was roughly my height if I had to guess, give or take a few inches. He definitely had the figure of a warrior, muscle covered his entire body with minimal fat on his frame. He had jet black hair that he had in a single shoulder length braid and two bangs that framed his face equally on either side. He wore black hakama pants with a white flame pattern that started at the opening at the ankle and ended at the knee. He wore an obi sash deep green in colour and his torso was wrapped in bandages. His lower torso was completely covered in bandages and a thick band of bandages went up his left shoulder, bringing attention to the large crossing scar on the lateral part of his right one. In his obi were two swords, one with a purple wrapping and one with a blue wrapping. He almost reminded me of Mitsurugi's second costume from Soulcalibur II.

"So, care to tell me why your mutt stole my breakfast?" I barked.

The wolf, as it could apparently understand human speech, suddenly growled in response to my remark, but hushed up once the man placed a hand on its head to calm the beast. "Apologies. My name is Kuro-ryu. I didn't expect Blaze here to steal your food."

The wolf, now named Blaze, took a sitting position and started to lick at its paw, as if nonchalantly and futilely trying to dodge the following course of action. It failed, however, as Kuro tapped Blaze lightly and gestured towards me, and with slight disappointment, grabs the small rodent and gives it backs to me in a small cloth.

"She can be a little impulsive sometimes," he laughed out weakly. "What's your name? I don't believe you told me."

"Oh, right. Well, my name's Eric Pandora," I said as I extended out my hand. "Nice to meet you."

The man's eyes widened greatly and he sat in the slightest bit of trancelike hesitance, before he grabbed my hand and shook it. "Your… your name…"

"What about it?"

His eyes fell to the side. "It's nothing. "Just… familiar, but I can't quite place it."

I raised a brow at the odd reaction, but simply shrugged in the end. "Well, now that I have my rabbit, I should probably head back."

I turned on my heel to go back to my fire before I heard a voice from over my shoulder. "Wait."

"Hm?"

I turned to face the warrior behind me, now standing up at his full height of six feet, with his fist out towards me. "Battle me."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Now I recognize you," Kuro exclaimed. "The Black Beast, Prince of War. You're considered to be one of the greatest warriors of your time, feared by many, virtually bested by none."

"Such a lengthy reputation," I sighed.

"It would be an honour to finally fight you on equal footing." The man grabbed the hilt of his blue blade and unleashed his steel. "Draw your sword."

I simply smiled and shook my head, he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Very well. I'll accept your challenge. But at least let me eat first."

After a few moments of me heartily dining on my breakfast bunny, I locked eyes with my opponent in the snowy forest setting, the wind howling furiously through the open ways of the forest trees. Fortunately, there weren't really any visible woodland creatures that we had to worry about in the area, so my only concern was the fight. All that was left was for him and I to draw our swords.

"I hope you realize that I'm no slouch underneath the blade," Kuro pointed out. "You better watch out or it could be your last fight."

"You don't need to remind me of the details," I replied. "I vow to bring you your defeat with honour."

"Hmm… such youthful arrogance. We'll see who will shame who!"

Kuro quickly disappeared out of view, though it didn't take a genius to know where he went. I pulled my sword over my shoulder to block his incoming attack, metal clashing violently against metal.

With a powerful grunt, I pulled my blade up from my back to push him off, quickly facing him to block another strike. His leg coming to hit my left side in my sights, I jumped over the limb just enough to throw a kick, pushing away his blade as I do so. His reaction just as swift as mine, he raises his right hand to block my foot, while he thrusts at my face once more. I barely manage to defend this attack with my blade, but this left me defenceless and off balance, something Kuro definitely took advantage of.

A sharp kick to the side sent me to the ground, and with quick recovery, I avoid being skewered by his sword. Each fighter fought with a tiger's ferocity, neither one letting up on their amazing offensive pressure. Still, despite this, being short of a hand leaves me at a disadvantage, forcing me to think in a more creative way to win the fight. Jumping over a slash, I soar over Kuro's form before attacking once again and clashing.

He was struggling beneath my pressure, until he reached back and pulled out a dagger, fighting with two weapons against my one. This battle immediately became a defensive game for me, until I can level the playing field once more, of course.

Blocking the sword and evading the knife, I avoided damage until I saw my opening; I kicked his knife up into the air before locking swords again. When the knife came down, a short burst of effort was all I needed to create space between Kuro and me, and with the space made, I flipped forward and kicked the dagger down, drawing a line of red on the swordsman's face.

His eyes widened once he turned to see my sword at eye level to him and a glare to match. "Yield."

Kuro simply sighed with a grin. "I can see why you're named the Prince of War. You certainly hold up to your reputation. Only one other has been able to defeat me."

"Is that so?" I sheathed my blade and threw my cloak over my body. "Well, it is time for me to take my leave. Have to make it back to Ylisstol."

"You're going back to Ylisstol?" he asked. Earning a nod, he walked towards me and requested for me to hold out my hand, and once I did, he placed inside it a red garnet ring with crescents on the edges of the jewel. I was astonished.

"Wh-what?" I gasped. "How do you have that ring?!"

"Give this to the woman you hold dear," he said, dodging my question. "She will love it." Without even giving me a chance to ask him anything more, Kuro raised his hand and threw down a flash bomb, and once the quick flash died down, he vanished.

My mouth flattened. "I bet our paths will cross again anyway." And with a sigh, I continue my stroll back to Ylisse.

Two days had passed before I made it back to the capital, and it had seemed that Raven had handled things very well. The trainees, who were brought to the garrison from the time they arrived from the trip victorious, were reported to have been in high spirits, only two casualties out of one hundred, and Raven and Frederick had been alternating between each other to continue training them in my absence. With some inferencing, it didn't take a genius to figure that they would have done it with… conflicting opinions. Anyone with eyes could see that Frederick and Raven had an unspoken rivalry going between them, what it was based on, I don't know. But after such a time away from Ylisse, I made all due haste toward Ylisstol Castle, and notify Chrom of my return.

"Chrom!" I called once I got inside the castle. "You here?"

After several attempts, instead of Chrom answering the call, another man in blue armour came to greet me, a stoic expression accompanying him as always. "Oh, you're back, Eric," Frederick said, standing at attention like he usually does. "I assume the mission went well?"

"You could say that," I said with a fake smile and a twitching brow. "Is Chrom here?"

"Yes, milord is here. I will see to it that he is aware of your return." The great knight spun on his heel, making his way to the prince's office.

I would make sure the blunette got the tongue-lashing he very well deserved. And so he arrived. The prince in question arrived in the front entrance where I had been. He came towards me with a smile on his face. "Eric, you're back," he exclaimed. "I thought you would have come back at the same time with Raven and the others."

"Cut the crap, Chrom," I growled, his smile dropping quickly. "You and your bullshit missions..."

"Wait, I-"

"Say'ri basically paid you to bring me to Chon'sin so she could sink her teeth into me!" I barked. "You sent me for her to enjoy like a common whore!"

Chrom threw a defensive finger at me. "I did no such thing! She asked me for assistance to take down Alice because we're the ones who know what Alice was capable of! I didn't know she'd do that!"

"Wait… that WASN'T why you sent me?" I asked. "But then why did you allow it? They had their own men to deal with Alice and company."

"My thoughts exactly," he breathed. "But she made it a point that our intelligence was key in taking Alice down. She further pointed out that in this instance, we may as well send the one most capable of beating her."

"She played the both of us…" I slammed my fist into my palm in slight anger.

"Oh well, at least the deed is done," Chrom coughed. "Where is Alice? I assume they have her?"

"That's right." I scratched the back of my head absent of thought. "And she took this with it."

I lifted my left arm to show Chrom what happened. "Good Naga, she took your arm?"

He placed a palm on his head. "I apologize, Eric."

"I can deal, don't worry about it," I laughed. "Is there any good news to come from this?"

Chrom cupped his chin with his hand. "Well, we found that Ylisstol's crime rate dropped by 14% in the last few months. Uh, Sumia and I are engaged, and Miriel discovered-"

"Whoa, take a step back," I interrupted. "You really think you can slip that by?"

"What?"

"You."

Chrom nodded with a smirk.

"And Sumia..."

"Uh-huh."

"You proposed to..."

"Yep."

I crossed my arms with a ghost of a smile on my face. "Every time I'm gone, I miss all the good stuff…"

"Go to hell." The prince replied before he and I shared a laugh for a brief moment.

"No, but seriously, Chrom, congrats," I said. I swung my arms back and forth nonchalantly, as if digging into my mind for words. "I guess a lot has happened over the past two months, huh?" Chrom nodded. It wasn't too long before he proceeded in giving me a recap of what interesting things happened over the two-month period I was gone.

Cordelia PoV

Drops of sweat, worked up from hard work and training, rolled off of my skin and hit the dirt ground. I had laid in front of a spear I'd used in training earlier, doing push-ups in my light sleeveless leather tunic. My face and arms were becoming as red as my hair with all of the work I had been doing.

"48..." My arms were close to giving out, but I wouldn't have it. "49... 50." I finished finally, reaching my goal at last.

Deadpool: Holy shit, she can do more pushups than I can!

FD: She's a soldier and warrior, what else do you expect?

Deadpool: Well, so am I!

FD: Not one that takes his job seriously. She's out of your league, in more ways than one. Just stop trying.

I finished my exercises at last with that final repetition, and decided to go home for the day to get some rest and wash up. I took my towel and wiped off the sweat that blanketed my skin. As much as I enjoyed my training, I enjoyed being clean much more. Making my way through a few corridors, I was about to enter the front foyer until I heard voices. Not one to eavesdrop, I took a step further, ready to go home.

"Anyway… I have to tell you something Chrom."

That made me stop entirely. 'E-Eric?! He-he's back?" I hid myself back in the hallway. I couldn't hear it all clearly, but it was enough for me to make out the conversation.

"Does it involve the mission?"

"Yeah," the young king answered back. "See… you know how I said you basically sent me to Chon'sin so Say'ri could sink her teeth into me?"

"Yeah."

This caused me to raise a brow. Who is this Say'ri? And what does he mean by what he said?

"Well… she may have actually succeeded."

"Wait…" As if the gears were turning, Chrom's mind was processing through that sentence before exclaiming, "You mean she had sex with you?!"

I think I felt my heart drop cliffs down. It hurt me deep in my heart to know that he did that when he was gone. I mean, I know that he and I weren't exactly promised to each other, but I was in disbelief nonetheless. Tears quickly welled up in my eyes and no matter how much I tried to hold them back, they flowed down my face just as strong.

"It was a mistake, man. I was drunk out of my mind when it happened," I heard Eric say.

"Drunk?" Chrom continued. "That's not like you."

"I needed the influence. When I was sober, everything I did, I was distracted. Work, training. I nearly died down in Chon'sin cause I couldn't focus. I was wrestling with some thoughts."

At this point, I thought about just making a beeline for the door and heading home in despair.

"Did those thoughts involve your fancy for a certain redhead?" Chrom asked.

"You knew?" Eric asked in what sounded like shock. "How did you know?!"

"How did I know?" Chrom laughed out. "Name a Shepherd who doesn't know by now! You guys make it so painfully obvious, it's a large wonder how you guys aren't together yet."

I stood there, completely frozen in space. The pain in my chest subsided altogether. That can't be right. Did he just say that... Does Eric truly love me?

"Really though, all my life, I've been forced to live a life of solitude. From the day I left my halidom, I was always alone until I found the Shepherds. And every time I was injured, she'd be there to make sure I was in the best condition. Every time I was in trouble, she'd help me without even thinking. Hell, even against Gangrel, Cordelia knew she was fighting a losing battle, yet she stood her ground just to defend me. She cares for me a lot, and I care for her too."

A pause made its presence known before he finished. "And when Cordelia and I went to that thing in Themis, that's when I realized the feelings were there."

The prince understood as Eric continued. "Though I don't know what will happen now."

"What are you talking about?" Chrom questioned.

"I want Cordelia and I to be on a clean slate from the gate. I'd have to tell her that it happened. And if she comes to hate me or not like me because of it… then so be it."

Tears freely flowed down my face in double the intensity, but not of sadness of grief like before. Instead, they were tears of elation and pure happiness. 'Oh, Eric... You truly don't know the half of it. Of course I love you. For the longest time, I have,' I thought to myself.

Chrom sighed a little in a tone of slight disappointment. "You really don't know how much Cordelia loves you then!"

"Huh?"

"You of all people know she would not hate you because of a mistake you did. Would she be mad? Yes, most likely. But not forever."

"You're right, Chrom," he nodded. "I can do this. The moment I see her, I'll tell her."

I decided that it was finally time to muster up the courage to turn around the corner and face him. "How about now?" I asked, making the two royal men turn their attention in my direction. I was nervous beyond imagination, but I was put at slight ease when I saw him tripping over his words like a fool.

Eric PoV

I was trying to form a coherent sentence, but the fact that she possibly heard the entire conversation made me unable to stop stuttering like a helpless idiot. And her beautiful presence didn't help the situation at all. Her soft facial features, her long flowing crimson hair that extended to her hips and framed her face. Gods damn me, this was not going to be easy. Not by a long shot. But this point in, there was no turning back.

I was so lost in thought, apparently, that I didn't even notice her approach me, or that Chrom left the two of us alone. "Eric?" she called. "Are you there?"

I took a deep breath. "Cordelia...we've only known each other for roughly a year, and yet I feel as if we've been side by side for an eternity. You are my will and my energy. You keep me going," I said with a short shaky laugh. I tried to keep myself together, whereas Cordelia didn't care at this point. She now freely and profusely cried with a smile on her face. "I love you, Cordelia."

My eyes fell to the side, my bangs doing very little to hide them. "But…"

"But what?" she whispered.

I had to bite the bullet. "I couldn't imagine you actually wanting much to do with me after what happened in Chon'sin. Whether you choose to forgive me or not, Cordelia is your choice, though I don't expect you to. I guess I'm trying to say I'm sorry."

I barely got the last sentence in before she kissed me passionately, wrapping her arms around my neck. Not with a lustful essence behind it, but with love. What was only a few seconds felt like forever, as if time itself stopped. The feeling of her lips against mine was something that I would savour as if it were the last time. "I'm sorry, Eric." she cried once she came out of the kiss, placing a hand over her mouth for a moment. "I cannot help it. I can't help but love you. I never have to be the perfect Cordelia around you. I can be comfortable with myself. You don't attack me when I make mistakes."

She then cupped my face with a tender hand. "How can I hate you for yours?"

The only response she got was a sudden hug. I couldn't process anything else, all I wanted was her next to me. "Whether you try or not, you're always perfect in my eyes." I whispered.

We stayed together like that for a while, we didn't know how long we stayed and we didn't care. Eventually, she pulled out of the hug and was quite reluctant to do so, and with a kiss and a salutation, she headed towards the door slowly. "Wait, Cordelia!" I stopped her.

She turned around gracefully, her hair twirling with her. "Yes, Eric?"

I had no damn clue why I stopped her, or what to say now that she stopped. I just didn't want her to leave. And her fluttering hair… it all just left me speechless. So I had nothing i could form except, "I… I love you, Cordelia."

"I love you, too, Eric."

FD: Chapter 5, status complete!

Tychon: I'm glad and all, but… do you really think it was a good idea to come out in person?

FD: Well, the monitor is broken. I have no choice. Besides, what's the big deal?

*a sense of foreboding grows drastically with every second*

FD: Does anyone feel heavy?

Cordelia: DRAGOOOOO!

Lancer, Tychon, and Deadpool: I suggest you run.

FD: Gah! C-C-Cordelia!

Cordelia: THERE YOU ARE! I HAVE SOME BUSINESS WITH YOU! JUST BECAUSE I HAVE FORGIVEN ERIC DOES NOT MEAN I HAVE FORGIVEN YOU!

FD: W-What do you expect me t-t-to do?! I wanted to have tension in the story!

Cordelia: REPENT FOR YOUR SINS!

*flames erupt behind Cordelia and her hair flares up menacingly*

FD: What are you gonna do?! Break my arms?!

Cordelia: Falcon…

FD: Naga, why…

Cordelia: PUNCH!

*the author was launched into the wall behind the stage, shattering it to pieces*

Deadpool: Anyone mind if I guide us out?

Lancer/Tychon: No./Go right ahead.

Deadpool: Until next time, everyone! Fell Dragons out! ...Cordelia, stop kicking him, he's down already!