Chrom POV

I watch Becca walk out of the room, hair hiding her face but not her clenched hands, nor the fact that they are shaking. The others fall into silence as they watch her as well, and I feel something is off about her, but I just can't put my finger on it.

Phila clears her throat after a moment of the tense silence. "Was it something I said?" she asks, nervous.

"You never knew her from before, did you Phila?" Frederick asks her, to which she nods in confirmation. "The former Exalt, in the last months of the war, found her being chased by a platoon of Plegian soldiers, who wanted her alive for their king. Things happened, and he had to pull her away from a cliff, where she nearly jumped to her death at five years old. She was brought back here, with the promise to find a way to return her to her family, but the order died with the end of the war. Much of the court wanted to return her to a family they believed she was lying about not having run away from, even turn her out, and the Lord Chrom had to protect her from them for years before Lady Emmeryn was able to calm them and the rest of the people."

She shakes her head. "I do not quite follow how that would bring out such a reaction."

I shake my head and clear my throat. "She was ripped from her family soon after her grandfather's death, whom she loved deeply, and she wasn't able to have a real family life ever since she arrived in our world. She was hit pretty hard by our father's death, and where she should have been able to be a real family with us, she was under constant supervision and I always had to be armed to keep the nobles from bringing her any harm. She hardly even remembers her parents, hell anything of her home."

"Oh gods, I never…" she whispers, looking down in shame. "Is that why you are so close?"

"Yes, though we are all close because we were only able to trust each other for that time," Emm answers quietly. "We need to set this matter aside, and go to see the counsel. There are matters that need to be addressed before we can talk any further."

Lissa and Sully each take one of Robin's hands and charge out of the room, while Frederick and I follow Phila and Emm to the conference room.

A few hours later, meeting has ended

I walk to the Shepherds mess hall to find this was where Lissa, Sully, and Robin had escaped to, and find them talking to Vaike, Virion, Sumia, and Maribelle. It seems as though Maribelle is scolding Vaike yet again for doing something she deems disgusting, most likely due to the fact that Robin is laughing and Vaike looks as though he just burped. I look around the room, but find no trace of Becca anywhere.

"Captain Chrom, you're back!" Sumia yells, getting up from her seat to promptly fall flat on her face.

"Sumia! Are you okay?" I asks, offering her a hand up.

She accepts it and blushes as she brushes off the dirt on her front. "Yes, I'm alright Captain."

"So what news do you bring?" Maribelle asks, settling her parasol flat on the table in front of her.

I sigh and step away from Sumia. "We will be marching next week to Regna Ferox to ask for an alliance and soldiers to aid in the fight against the new threat. It will be strictly voluntary, so any who find themselves unable to make the trip are not obligated to change any personal plans."

"But Chrom, isn't this something Emm would typically take care of herself?" Lissa asks, a cute frown on her face.

"She doesn't want to make the people panic by taking a sudden trip for a month to go north, so she's asked that the Shepherds handle this." I take another look around the room. "While we were in the meeting, did any of you happen to pass by Becca anywhere?" Everyone shakes their heads in denial. "It's been several hours since we last saw her," I mutter to myself.

Vaike frowns and looks around the room. "The Vaike didn't know there was another girl in the Shepherds. Is she a new recruit?"

Frederick steps in behind me. "The guards say she went in the direction of the gallery when she left the throne room, milord. Maybe that is a good place to look?"

I nod in approval. "Thank you, Frederick. I'll go track her down, hopefully before dark." I jog out of the mess hall, heading to the throne room to follow her last known trail, knowing she is probably long gone from wherever she wound up.

I make it through several hallways before finding the tapestry hiding the entrance to her tower, finding it has been slightly disturbed since I was last up there. I push aside the heavy fabric to begin the trek up the long staircase, glancing out the windows on my way up to monitor the sun's location as it slowly sinks to the horizon.

When I finally reach the top of the stairs, I find the door to be slightly ajar, light from the sun peeking out from the room beyond into the dark stairwell. I push the door open slowly, a hand on Falchion as I step inside, examining the room, finding the object of my attention sprawled on her bed, back to the door and sheets a mess, her boots still on, though feet hanging off the edge. I walk around the bed, finding her face buried in a pillow, damp with tears as her hands cling loosely to the soaked mass.

I reach over and pull her feet onto the bed and remove her boots, easily undoing the simple knots and setting them on the floor before walking around behind her once more, lifting her in my arms and pulling back the light blankets, settling her down with a dry pillow under her head as I pull away the soaked one, which I place on the small table in front of the fireplace.

That done, I pull off my own boots and stretch out next to her on top of the blankets, and wrap an arm over her, pulling her close to my chest. She snuggles closer as I wipe away the last traces of her tears, sighing as she settles once more. "Becca…" I whisper lowly to her, kissing her forehead.

Her eyes flutter open as I pull away from her, red rimmed and dull with sadness. "Chrom?" she asks in a small voice.

I rub her back in small circles the way it would always calm her down before, clearly still something that helps her to relax. "I'm right here for you, Becca. Tell me what's wrong."

She buries her face in my shoulder and lets out a shuddering breath, as she clearly tries to hold back tears. "It's stupid, Chrom."

I shake my head and bury my nose in her hair, which smells somehow sugary and sweet. "I know you, and I know it would not be stupid if it affects you so."

I feel her smile as she pulls her arms out from under the blanket to wrap around my neck. "Thank you Chrom."

I move down the bed until our eyes are level, and I rest my forehead against hers, moving my nose next to hers. "You have nothing to thank me for, Becca," I whisper, moving my face forward as she shifts her face closer to mine, our lips brushing against each other's.

Becca POV

"I have everything to thank you for, you silly prince," I whisper, my eyes fluttering shut as he presses our lips together in a delicate kiss, then both of us slowly pull back as I feel my face burn in embarrassment.

He chuckles at me, eyes filled with amusement. "Is that a blush I see?"

I smile and give a small laugh, burying my fingers in his hair and pulling him in close for another kiss, which he takes without complaint. A small giggle bubbles up in my throat as his fingers glide along my side, tickling me with his feather-light touch. I squirm away from him, only to find a devilish smirk on his face. "Chrom, don't you dare-"

"Too late," he whispers as he rolls over the top of me, pinning me down and attacking my sides with his fingers, the light sensations making me laugh so much I feel the tears cascading down my cheeks once again, but this time in endless mirth at the torture he puts me through. I hardly notice when he stops tickling me while I try to catch my breath. He wipes away the fresh tears with a sad look in his eyes as he whispers, "You aren't getting off that easily, Becca. You need to tell me what happened back there. Was it something Phila said?"

The smile falls from my face as I look pointedly away from him. "Yes and no," I whisper, and he leans in a bit closer to hear me better. "While I was gone… the curse was removed, but it left enough damage to make my depression worse. I've tried almost everything to make it better, and I found that avoiding any talk of family made the whole problem vanish. When we learned that a few years ago, I never heard that word again while I recovered, and it did wonders. Today was the first time anyone's spoken about it around me, and I thought I was ready to hear it, but I was wrong."

He shoves his arms under me and lifts me up to him once more. "You don't need to feel sad or guilty about any of this, I promise you. We are your family now, and that's all that really matters, even though the rest of the world doesn't want it to be so." Without any restraint, he bends his head down to rest on my shoulder, his breath on my neck making me shiver helplessly. "I'd never understood how much you meant to me all that time until I nearly lost you that day, and now that I do, I will never let you go again."

I turn my head to the side to press my lips against his forehead, humming slightly to myself. "I refuse to vanish from your life again so easily."

He sighs before moving back to sitting by my side, looking out the window to the setting sun. "The others will be wondering where we are, if Frederick hasn't begun to search for us as well."

I shake my head and sit upright, leaning slightly against his shoulder with Naga's brand. "He's become quite the worrywart, hasn't he?"

"Indeed he has. But regardless of whatever he may or may not be doing, we ought to head down for dinner soon, lest Stahl get into an eating competition with Vaike again."

Shepherds Mess Hall

Chrom holds the door to the mess hall open for me, being a perfect gentleman as he allows me inside. A blonde man I don't recognize sits across from Stahl, who both have plates piled high with mashed potatoes and some type of stir fry, along with full tankards of what I hope is not anything with alcohol. Maribelle, Lissa, Sully, Sumia, Robin, Virion, Frederick, Ricken, Miriel, and Kellam all wave to me, and I wave back in greeting as I eye the two eaters warily.

"Are they seriously having an eating competition?" I ask Maribelle as I pass her.

She nods, a look of disgust marring her face. "Yes they are, the uncivil scoundrels that they are. Must they seriously do this before the rest of us have even had a chance to eat our own fill first? That way they would at least ensure none of the spare food goes to waste."

I nod in agreement as I hurry off with Chrom to get a plate of the delicious smelling food. "So Chrom, who's the current chef?"

"Nobody's really taken on that role in particular since nobody could read your handwriting except for Sully, and she is never allowed in the kitchen," he mutters as he serves us both a serving of the mashed potatoes, putting a little bit more on my plate before we move on to the stir fry. "Sumia still bakes her pies fairly often, so we get to have that regularly, and the rest of us take turns with the kitchen duty."

"Good to know I might get to do some form of cooking regularly then, if you all don't mind me taking over the kitchen again?" I ask him, though it sounds more like a statement even to me than a question.

He raises his plate and walks us back to the table, sitting us across from Robin and Frederick. "I think it could be managed, although some of us do have special dishes associated with our turns."

I take my fork and stab a piece of chicken on my plate, dipping it into the mashed potatoes before taking a bite out of it. I swallow the rich food and hum slightly in delight. "Well, I think I'd be more than willing to share the kitchen if whoever cooked this cooks again."

"Um, who's the girl? A new recruit for Teach to train?" the new blonde person almost shouts down the table, rising from his seat on the bench to get a good look at me.

I raise an eyebrow at his outfit, leaving little armor on his body and no shirt anywhere in any form on his torso. "I'm gonna guess you're Vaike, then?"

"Yup, that's me! The Vaike's rep has already spread through to the recruits!" he cheers, as I just look at him and blink. "So, you ready for a spar yet, Chrom?"

He groans next to me. "Vaike, we just got back, so maybe tomorrow

"Is that a confession that you can't face the Vaike? Instant victory!"

"I never said that Vaike." He looks at me, and I instantly frown. "But maybe Becca could be my stand-in?"

I roll my eyes at him and sigh. "Gods, Chrom! Do you want him hurt that bad?"

"Ha! The Vaike has no fear! Does the lady accept the challenge?" he asks, totally oblivious to my comment.

I take one last bite of my meal and rise slowly from my seat. "I accept the challenge. If anyone wants to place bets, now's the time while I turn a blind eye to it." I look Vaike straight in the eyes. "Practice weapons or live?"

"Live, first to draw blood without major injury wins unless the other yields before that happens," he answers, a grin growing on his face.

I chuckle lightly to myself as I lock my eyes on him. "Then I hope you remember how to yield while still having some dignity."

"Let's take this outside," Frederick mutters, rising with everyone else following suite. "The practice court will work for a fight of this nature."

Chrom holds my hand and intertwines our fingers. "Are you sure about using live weapons? He uses an axe, by the gods! Is that something you are seriously willing to risk?"

I turn to him with a delicate smile. "I prefer the real weapons, and I can use swords, knives, and a bow pretty well."

He frowns at me. "Have you gotten assassin training while you were gone?"

"Yup, though I am working on how to use tomes still. But for this fight, I'll stick to my sword and knives."

"That implies you expect to be disarmed somehow or other," Robin states from right behind me.

I shrug, answering, "Just an extra precaution. You never know when a backup weapon will come in handy."

"You know, that's tactically advantageous…" she mutters to herself, following us outside to the darkened practice court.

"Alright, first blood drawn or a yield from either party will end the match," Stahl states as I take a silver sword from the rack as Vaike takes an iron axe from another. I check my knives in my boots before I pull off my cloak, getting a whistle out of Chrom and a blush from everyone else. I toss the cloak off to the side and steady myself. "Do you both swear to fight honorably and by these rules?"

"Yes," we both mutter at the same time, eyes locking onto each other.

"Then begin on my command." He steps back to the rest of the group. "Begin!"