Chapter 26

The shepherds felt renewed with confidence once they saw Chrom and Lissa join them yet again at dinner. Nathan slipped in through the back of the dining hall as the other shepherds gathered around the two, elated to see them up and about again. Nathan grabbed a plate and loaded up on the food set out by the castle chefs before taking a seat at an empty table. After the crowd around the prince and princess of Ylisse dispersed, Chrom came over to sit with Nathan.

"We'll have to hold a mini war-council later, probably with just you, me, Frederick, Basilio and Flavia later on tonight," the prince explained. Nathan nodded in agreement, not being able to answer as he stuffed another piece of bread into his mouth.

"Heh…I'm sure Lissa will want you to work on your table manners…" Chrom joked to his friend.

Nathan's face turned red at the mention of the princess as he coughed up some of his bread in surprise. "B-bwhath?! Er…Litha and I awen't even dating or anathing Chwom…" He sputtered, slurring his words, before swallowing the rest of his bread and continuing. "W-where did you get such an idea?"

Chrom raised an eyebrow at the tactician. "I…didn't say you were dating…" He replied slowly. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Nathan's mind frantically mulled through ideas for an excuse, before remembering the perfect one was sitting right in his coat pocket, one that would be beneficial for Chrom, but also him as well.

"Well, there is, but…" He leaned across the table, checking to make sure no one was watching them, and slowly opening his cloak to reveal the book he had gotten from Sumia. Chrom read the title and his eyes widened.

"When did you…"

"Sumia had it. I borrowed it from her."

"Won't she notice?"

"I have a plan for that."

Chrom grinned. "You saying that is music to my ears."

Nathan winked at the man. "I'm always three steps ahead," He joked.

Chrom then peeked around the room. "Should we let anyone else in on this?" He asked his tactician.

Nathan nodded. "I can think of a few people…" He muttered.

Chrom nodded. "So, tonight, after the war council. In the Feroxi Library."

Much later, once everyone else had headed to bed, Nathan crept out of his room and tiptoed down the hall to Ricken's room, quickly sneaking inside and waking the young mage.

"…Nathan? What is it? …Is something wrong?" Ricken yawned.

Nathan simply motioned for him to get up. The boy shrugged before slowly sitting up, throwing on his mage robes, and following Nathan out of the room. The two made their way to the room next to them, housing Donnel. The tactician and mage shook Donnel awake, causing him to scramble awake, trying to grab his sword.

"EEYARGH! Ya done right scared me there, Ricky and Nater!" Donnel cried out, before the two silenced him. Donnel raised an eyebrow, before whispering, "What's goin on?"

"Can't explain now," The tactician muttered, "But it's good."

On the way down, the trio spotted Lon'qu, who was training in the castle courtyard.

"He should see this too," Ricken concluded. "This concerns him as well, probably more than the rest of us." Nathan nodded, before waving over the man, talking to him for a bit before convincing him to join them.

The group then made their way to the Feroxi library, where Chrom sat at a small table, dimly lit by the torches nearby.

"You DO still have it, right?" Chrom questioned impatiently, and Nathan nodded. As the three walked over, Nathan tossed the copy of 'How to make him fall for you in a fortnight' onto the table. The other's eyes widened as they saw the book.

"Heh. Perhaps this will be the key to curing my fear of women…" Lon'qu mused. Chrom and the others nodded in agreement.

Ricken then raised an eyebrow at Nathan. "Wait a second, how did you get your hands on this?" The young mage inquired. "I thought it was Cordelia's?"

Nathan informed the group of his encounter with Sumia, seeing this book in her pile, and borrowing it from her.

Lon'qu's brow furrowed. "Doesn't that sound…suspicious?" The swordsman mused. "No doubt this is Cordelia's copy, borrowed by Sumia, but why would she simply let you take it? And also, what happens when she notices that it's missing?"

"I think it'll be believable enough if I bring it back to her tomorrow, telling her I grabbed the wrong book." Nathan told the man. "However, you may be right about them simply having it there to set us up with taking it…"

"Eeyargh! What if it's cursed?" Donnel cried, stepping back slightly from the table.

Nathan looked over to Ricken. "Can you check? I'm not as good with magic as you are…" He asked. Ricken nodded, before closing his eyes and placing one hand over the book. The group stood in silence, before Ricken moved his hand back to his side, sighing and shaking his head.

"I can't…tell." The mage muttered in frustration. "From what I can tell, Tharja borrowed it, but it's impossible to say whether or not she put a curse on it."

Nathan frowned. He then turned to Chrom, who stood in silence, pondering. "…Well, there's only one way to find out." He muttered.

Nathan and Chrom stood over the book, Chrom with his sword drawn. Ricken held gripped his elwind tome tightly behind them, with Donnel holding his bronze sword, and Lon'qu standing next to them, his hand on the hilt of his blade. Chrom held out falchion, nudging it underneath the cover of the book. Nathan readied his tome, fire pulsating on his fingers, just in case.

The five held their breath as Chrom gently inched his sword upward, flipping open the cover. Donnel ducked out of reflex, whimpering slightly, his sword scraping against the stone floor. With the others so on edge, Lon'qu cried out in surprise, drawing his sword, and swiping at the air, Ricken cried out and launched a blast of Elwind at the ceiling and bringing down a nearby chandelier.

"Blast!" Chrom cried out, tripping over Donnel, who was ducked behind him, and falling onto the floor.

"EEYAH!" Nathan screamed, launching a heavy blast of fire at the text, still lying on the table, completely incinerating it, along with creating a large hole in the middle of the table.

The five simply sat in an awkward silence for a moment, before breaking out in laughter.

"O-oh gods…" Chrom laughed, rubbing his eyes. "We really got carried away there, didn't we?"

Lon'qu grinned. "That was…quite the experience. I don't feel as though it helped me with my phobia of women, however…" The swordsman confessed.

"I have to admit, that was pretty fun!" Nathan joked. "We should hang out more often, preferably somewhere that we can't mess up, though…" He looked around at the library, now scattered with glass from the broken chandelier.

"…Can we agree to keep this between us?" Ricken eagerly inquired. The group nodded.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO OUR LIBRARY!"

Nathan and the others turned to see Flavia and Basilio rushing into the room.

"Well, so much for keeping this a secret…" Chrom muttered.