Chapter Two: Bonds
"Easy there, Red..." Gaius said, almost cooing. He really didn't want it to come to this. "I really don't desire any blood to be shed over this..." but he'd put a hand to the hilt of his own sword, just as precaution.
"You know!" was all that Anna said.
"I know? About this?" Gaius said, raising the diary up for emphasis. "Really, Red, after reading a small bit I think I totally know nothing and now I'm really, reaallly confused."
"Put it down!" Anna shouted, lunging after the diary, sword in hand. Gaius sidestepped quickly, causing Anna to stumble and lose balance. Out of reflex, he quickly grabbed at her, tugging at her cape and holding her in his arms to steady her.
"By Naga's scales, what is-" All of a sudden, Frederick and Robin had appeared, opening the tent flap and peeking in. Also awake for the night watch, they had heard Anna screaming, and quickly rushed to see what was the matter. They both stood there in shock, witnessing what looked like Gaius and Anna hugging, half of Anna's cape tugged down and rumpled into Gaius' fist.
Robin flushed scarlet, her brain jumping to conclusions. "Gaius?! Why are you in Anna's tent at this hour?"
'Cause I was trying to blackmail her and attempting to steal things from her? The truth was not a pretty excuse, and Gaius knew better to explain this whole blackmail-bribery contest of sorts that he'd gotten himself tangled in with the red haired merchant. Bubbles so wouldn't stand for that.
"Oh dear," Anna said, turning around to face Robin and Frederick, dramatically putting a hand to her face. "...It seems I've been caught... See, I called over Gaius here for a... private talk... if you know what I mean. I'd been so excited I'd forgotten to keep my voice down."
"What-" Gaius almost spoke up, but Frederick cut in. "I... I see," Frederick said. Gaius turned over to him and Robin, and found himself slightly humored to see Robin as red as a beet and Frederick looking awkward as hell like he'd just swallowed a huge rock. "Well, we'll leave you, I suppose. But... keep it down." And then Frederick and Robin quickly turned away and left, as if fleeing.
Oh gods. Frederick actually said that. Gaius didn't know if he was angry, frustrated, confused, or found the situation utterly hilarious. "I know an excuse was necessary and all, but, really, Red? You and me, like that? Just, whoah. Didn't know you could see me in that kind of light-"
"Would you rather I get back to slicing you in half?" Anna said, threatening. She'd bent over to pick up the diary, but Gaius noticed she had abandoned her sword and left it on the ground, making him sigh a sigh of relief. It seems no blood was going to be shed tonight.
"I'd rather resume to you and me having that... private talk," Gaius said, not able to stop himself from joking with her. This had been a really ridiculous experience overall, and he found he was too tired to do anything but joke about it. Anna, however, just glared at him. "I'm joking!" Gaius said.
Anna sighed, and just continued to pick up her papers and logs and sorting them in her chest. She'd held onto the diary though, hugging it as if it were a fragile child. Her face was tired and sad at the same time. Gaius' face fell just staring at her. He had a feeling she was going to burst into tears anytime.
"Hey, Red... I'm sorry about all this," Gaius said. "I couldn't stand for you bribing or blackmailing me so I did this stupid thing," he admitted. Anna just ignored him, pretending not to hear. Watching her made Gaius feel bad about how he'd perceived her. Seeing Anna looking so tired, so sad... so quiet... it really wasn't something he was used to. But he'd realized that perhaps-just perhaps-the money-hungry merchant who'd thought of nothing but making a profit had something dark and deep that she meant to guard.
He sighed, and slumped down to sit on her bedroll. "Hey, Anna..."
She looked up to him, if only because he didn't call her 'Red', for a change. Gaius let out a big sigh. "...Do you mind telling me about that diary?"
Her eyes narrowed at him sharply. "There are some things we're all better off not knowing about," she said.
He nodded, but then replied, "As well as there are some things that ought to be talked about because they weigh you down, so it's better to share 'em instead of locking them up... literally and figuratively." He said, glancing at the literal locked box. Anna rolled her eyes.
"C'mon, Red," Gaius said, "I promise I won't judge. I'm just gonna sit and listen." Gaius did agree that there were some secrets best not dug up, but she looked so tired and weighed down now that he'd thought perhaps some talking would do her better. That and he was really, really curious about Red now.
"As if I can trust you," Anna muttered.
Oohh boy. I guess i'mma have to borrow your trick now, Bubbles. Gaius sighed heavily, and started taking off his cape. Anna stared at him, shocked.
"What I told Robin and Frederick was a just an excuse, you know," she said.
Gaius grinned, enjoying the shocked look on her face. "Relax, Red. No need to go all... red. Heh," he chuckled at his own pun. But then he just proceeded to pull off his glove, and another kerchief underneath it, tied around his forearm. Anna looked on curiously. He offered her his arm and showed her the brand on it.
"It's the brand they give to convicted criminals..." she whispered, recognizing the mark.
"Got it covering for a mate," Gaius explained. "It's one thing to be a criminal-gods know I'm not the prime candidate for sainthood-but it's a dead serious thing to be a convicted criminal. I don't regret it-too late for regrets now-but it's not something I'm totally proud of either." And he pulled his arm away and covered the mark again hastily, tying the black kerchief over, as if making his point obvious. He was never proud of it, and liked to cover it even if it was already covered by his gloves. "Now only you and Bubbles know-although she kinda just found out by accident."
Anna was quiet, trying to process all this, images of Gaius locked up in prison flashing in her mind. But why did he tell her all that? She could sell that information for a few silver pieces. She could very well use it as further leverage to blackmail him. So why...
"So you mind telling me your about your own mark, Red?" Gaius finally said, and everything clicked into place for Anna.
"You can't bribe me," she said, raising her eyebrow at him.
"Tit for tat," Gaius said.
Anna shook her head. "Sorry, Gaius, but no," she said. She then got up, holding her wooden chest in her arms, taking it with her. "I'm gonna have to go back to Robin and Frederick. Can't slack of for the evening watch. My merchant's pride won't allow me to slack off about any work." She headed for the tent's entry, pulling open the flap. "You better not still be here when I get back. And you'd best forget about anything you read, okay?"
"If you keep my secret, I'll keep yours," was all he said, and she left.
Anna walked back to the campfire, seeing Robin and Frederick seated around it, the former looking like she was about to nod off and drop right into the fire, while the latter looked wide awake, sitting there solidly like a statue. Anna took a seat beside Robin, quietly whispering, "Sorry about all that noise."
"O-Oh!" Robin said, jerking up from her position, Anna's presence startling her and jolting her awake. As soon as the tactician saw Anna, she blushed, recalling what she just witnessed. "O-Oh, Anna. You and Gaius are... err... done?"
"I guess so," Anna said, knotting her eyebrows and pouting as she thought of the way Gaius acted. What was that all about, him trying to get her to talk, and even him sharing his dark past to her?
"You know, he may act like a scoundrel, but he'll look out for you too. You're in good hands," Robin said. Anna didn't know what to think of that.
"Hey, Bubbles, about last night..." Gaius walked up to Robin early next morning, while twirling a lollipop between his fingers. Robin quickly turned to him, and smiled.
"Oh, hey, Gaius," she said. "Don't worry about it. I totally understand. I even talked to Frederick about it and realized that bonds like these could strengthen the group. The more we trust each other, the more we can fight together as one. It's all good as long as you are... err... discreet about your activities."
"Oh gods," Gaius muttered, as he got the wrong image from Robin's words. Bonds like THAT could strengthen the group, huh... Gods. I wonder how many 'bonds' I should make then.
Gaius' train of thought was interrupted when he realized Robin had been staring up at him in a studying manner. "Perhaps I should pair you up with her then? Pairs are stronger when they have strong feelings for each other-that's a fact. Very well then-from now on, Anna's your buddy. Stick with her, okay? With any luck we may even run into your future children."
Children?! Gaius nearly choked on his lollipop. "Excuse me?! And Anna and I haven't-"
But before Gaius could explain everything, Chrom came from the corner, needing to speak urgently with Robin. Gaius gave a sigh of defeat. Fine. Who cares. They can think what they like, as long as I know the truth.
And he remembered Anna-her tattoo, her mysterious diary, and, when it crossed his mind, how mysterious she was overall. Sure, everybody knew who Anna was, she was Anna the Merchant, but apart from that, who else was Anna?
What was the truth?
Robin stuck true to her word, and from that day onward paired Gaius and Anna together in battles. Gaius didn't much mind. Anna was often flying off to somewhere by herself so someone had to keep an eye on her. Anna didn't mind much as well. She had to keep her eye on Gaius, lest he run off and start telling everyone her secrets. Reputation was a merchant's life after all.
There was one thing that Gaius found particularly amusing too. Sometimes-even in the middle of battles, Anna tended to walk off towards odd destinations. During these moments, he'd learned to just follow her wordlessly. He'd been in the thick off woods, underneath the tiles off castles, in an island in the center of a lake-all to see Anna walk off and meet with, well, another Anna. They walked into the far-off, often secluded, Anna Secret Shops.
It was always odd to see Anna right beside another Anna. The were downright identical—the way they looked down to the little mannerisms like the way they put a hand to their hip or idly placed a finger to their chin. Even their voices were downright the same, and if Gaius closed his eyes he could swear Anna, his Anna—no, their Anna—was just in a monologue with herself. But that was not the case. Everytime he happened into this scene, he'd stare at Anna, and the other Anna, wondering if there was any difference.
And then he'd just feel Anna—their Anna—shoving rare weapon upon rare weapon onto his arms to carry and bring back to camp.
"So you're the almighty weapons goddess everyone keeps talking about," Gaius told her, when he first realized what this meant. In certain days, the camp would be abuzz with talk of some weapon spirit leaving rare, expensive weapons in their stocks. Sometimes they'd be left on the floor of the barracks randomly. Frederick would be caught scratching his head multiple times as he checked the inventory, wondering how the extras got there. Sometimes the weapons would have tags of who they meant to be for. Lon'qu had gotten a Killing Edge once. The quiet swordsman had been puzzled out of his wits about who could have left him such a gift.
Gaius himself found cupcakes and candies randomly left in the barracks. He'd always thought it was just some shy girl who'd been infatuated with him but was too shy to tell... but perhaps it was just Anna.
Red couldn't possibly like me, aye? She's the last gal to be into the romance thing. Heck, all she talks of is business and money.
"This secret doesn't leave between the two of us, okay?" Anna said.
Gaius just chuckled and elbowed her slightly. "Anna the Merchant who upsells her wares by three times their original price, actually has a noble streak and spends her private savings for the Shepherds? Heh. My lips are sealed."
"It's not three times!" Anna said. And then she smiled slyly. "...Sometimes it's four."
Gaius laughed at that. She was just incurable. "Well then, Red... Secret for secret. I restock the kitchen every now and then. Buy some flour and sugar and stuff and just leave them in the chef's cupboards. An army needs a good meal, y'know."
Anna laughed at that. "But you'll be the first one to eat all the sweet treats from the pies they make, anyway." Gaius was just as incurable as her.
It wasn't all good times though.
In the thick of battle as Gaius finished off another Risen—feeling quite smug of the victory—he'd turned to Anna, who he'd been used to being perpetually by his side now during battles. "Did you see that, Red? Damn, I'm one good—Red?!"
He saw her fallen on the ground, an arrow sticking right on her back. He felt a cold shiver run over him, as he rushed to her side. Anna was still alive—thank the gods—but he'd examined the arrow and worried. The damn thing was too near her spine for his comfort. He'd looked all around, wondering where the blasted arrow came from, but then decided to pour his attention back to the wounded merchant. "Can you move, Red?"
Anna said nothing, instead just moaning and grunting in pain. She clearly was in too much pain, so Gaius made a quick decision. He pulled her up onto his back, carrying her. "I got you," he said. "Let's get Lissa to take a look at this." He then quickly looked around, spotting Stahl and Sully, who had just finished off some Risen. "I'm pulling back! Anna needs a healer!" he said. Stahl and Sully just nodded, and immediately went off to their spots, covering for them.
"Oh dear, what happened?!" Lissa exclaimed in shock, as Gaius entered the healing tent, laying Anna down carefully at the nearest cot he saw. Lisa walked right over, examining the wound. She looked closely at where the arrow was stuck, and decided it was safe to pull it out. With one big heave and a loud scream from Anna, Lissa pulled the godsdamned arrow out.
"Oh, thank heavens," Lissa said, looking at the arrow and seeing the tip was intact. "I wouldn't know what to do if I left the arrow tip inside of her."
Gaius threw Lissa a bad glare. He might have yelled and become violent towards Princess if she'd left Anna with an arrow point permanently stuck in her back.
"Good Lord," Anna moaned, sweat matting her hair and trickling down her forehead. "That... bloody... hurt..."
Lissa then proceeded to use a healing spell on Anna, effectively shutting the wound. Nothing but a thin scar remained when it was done, and Lissa took a vulnerary from her bag. "I'd best put some salve on it to make sure the scar heals as well," she said. "Thank heavens it missed her spine by a few centimeters. It may have hit some bone inside though, so take it easy for a while, Anna. Try not to lift anything too heavy."
No shopping trips to suppliers for Red, then, Gaius thought. And then he realized Lissa was staring at him. "Hello?!" Lissa said. "I have to rub this onto her wound! Pull her shirt up, if you know what I mean!" she said. She'd been hearing rumors that Gaius and Anna were an item—and she'd even bugged Lucina if by instance there was some future child with ginger hair—but she didn't expect Gaius to be this thick.
"N-No!" to Gaius' surprise, Anna quickly objected, trying to get up from bed, only to flinch as she felt her back hurt.
"Whoah, Red, take it easy..." Gaius said, worried for her.
"I'll do it myself," Anna said, sounding determined and insistent. She tried to reach out for the vulnerary in Lissa's hands. "R-Really! I'm okay! I can do it."
She looked anything but okay. Her breathing was heavy and she was sweating and shaking in the slightest. "It's okay," Lissa said, trying to assure her. "It's just us girls here, no need to be shy... Gaius will you just go away already?"
But Gaius stood there, trying to figure why Anna was so insistent about the vulnerary. And then it crossed his mind.
There was that damned tattoo.
"Princess, I think..." Gaius said, walking towards Lissa and grabbing the vulnerary from her hand, "I think you ought to leave me and Red to do this, hmm?"
"W-What?!" Lissa exclaimed, blushing. Gods. He really was a pervert.
"Just give us a moment, okay?" Gaius said.
With a pout, Lissa finally mumbled 'fine' and walked out of the tent.
"I knew what you were trying to do," Gaius said, to Anna. The red-haired merchant just lay there and said nothing. Gaius sat next to her, and lay a light hand to the hem of her shirt. "Well? Will you let me?"
Anna grunted, but blushed red as well. "F-Fine," she said. "But don't get any ideas."
"None whatsoever," Gaius said, closing his eyes even, to say that he won't peek.
Anna proceeded to shift and pull her shirt up over her head, and then laid back down. Gaius eventually opened his eyes, seeing Red lying there with her bare back turned towards him. Despite himself, he blushed. He never denied that Red was a sexy little vixen.
There were traces of blood left where the arrow had been stuck. Gaius took a damp cloth from the healing tent, gently rubbing the blood away. He then poured the vulnerary onto his fingers, gently rubbing it onto the light scar that was left on her back. His eyes travelled upward to her butterfly tattoo. She'd obviously tried to hide it from Lisa. It held a secret, and he knew it.
Suddenly he felt her shudder and moan underneath him. Gods, that was hot. Perhaps I'd been rubbing a little too good for her tastes... "Hey, Red? You okay there?"
He quickly looked at her face. She obviously wasn't okay. Her face was scrunched up in an expression of pain, and he quickly held a hand to her forehead. "Godsdamn," Gaius muttered. "You're burning in fever. I'm going to get Lissa." He quickly threw the blankets and her cape over her to cover her, and went back out to look for Princess.
Anna fell into deep sleep, and hadn't come to for the rest of the day. Gaius was worried. He'd ate through half his stash of candies that day, trying to relieve the stress. It was my fault. Should have seen the damned archer. He paced for the rest of the day and frequently dropped in on the healing tent, trying to check if Anna had come to. Everytime he came back, Lissa would just give him a sad look at and shake her head. No progress.
Gaius dropped by soon after dinner. This time, it wasn't Lissa that was there. "Oi, Padre," Gaius said, seeing Libra.
"Gaius," Libra said, and then quickly he glanced down at Anna, still sleeping. "...She hasn't woken up yet." Lissa had told Libra all about Gaius dropping in for Anna. "Her fever hasn't improved..."
"Oh..." Gaius said, tone clear with disappointment and worry.
"Would you like to watch her for a bit?" Libra offered. "I'd like to go get a quick dinner and then be right back."
"Sure," Gaius quickly said. "No problem, Padre. Eat well." Libra then left the tent, leaving Gaius there.
The thief gave a heavy sigh, and sat down next to Anna. She looked in pain, even when she was asleep. He wasn't used to seeing her like that. Anna was always clever and smart, always with that ridiculous grin that suggested she knew something that you didn't (probably the total net worth of everything you were wearing). Pain looked uncharacteristic on her face. He held a hand out to her forehead, to check her temperature. No improvement. He sighed, and took another lollipop from his pocket. That was his last grape-flavored sucker now. All this really stressed him out.
"D-Don't leave..." Gaius nearly jumped, hearing Anna speak. He'd turned to her, and saw that she was mumbling in her sleep. "Don't... leave..." she said. She stretched her hands out a fair bit, as if reaching out to something... someone...
"I'm right here, Anna," he said softly to her, gently patting her hair. "Just right here." He then noticed her sword laying on the ground from the corners of his eyes. It had that silly, childish looking teddy bear plushie hanging from it's handle. He'd teased her about the stuffed toy once or twice, but now he took it from her sword, dusted it a bit, and offered it to her. "Here you go, Red. Mr. Teddy Bear's here to keep you warm." He'd placed it on Anna's hand, and he watched as Anna took it and hugged it. She was smiling now. Gaius felt himself smile as well. She was gonna be okay.
"Thanks..." Anna mumbled in her sleep. "Thanks... Jake..."
Gaius' face fell. He sat there, shocked silent, and then he got up and stormed out of the tent.
Who in the seven hells of Ylisse is this 'Jake'?!
End of Chapter Two.
Author's Note:
This fanfic was written with no specific time in the game in mind, that's why such details are purposely kept vague. If you've played Blazing Sword or Shadow Dragon, earlier games in the Fire Emblem series, it's obvious who Jake is. xD
Thanks to Le Red Head Merchant for the review and thanks for everyone who read, faved, and followed! I should have the next chapter up pretty soon too.