Chapter Three: Only One Me
Anna was dreaming.
Anna was never born well off... she remembered the small shack she lived in with her mother, with holes in the roof that leaked and sagged whenever it rained. They peddled trinkets and other things in the market to make ends meet. Her mother taught her how to sell. They were never rich, but they had enough, and when Anna grew up she found she had a big affinity for business. She started making thousands-and then ten thousands and hundred thousands. Anna was rich. Anna was someone.
But Anna was alone.
Her friends clung onto her for money, and repeatedly cheated money out of her. She'd learned that no one would ever love Anna for Anna-they'd always love Anna the Merchant. Her mother, who she used to draw strength from, had long passed away... Anna had no one and nothing but work. And money. And herself.
And Jake...
I'm right here, Anna, she heard a voice say. Just right here.
The fears drifted away, and Anna fell into peaceful sleep.
"Morning!" Anna rubbed her eyes, seeing Lissa looking down at her enthusiastically with a big smile. "You finally came to! How's your back?"
"My back...?" Anna asked, a little puzzled, the memory not yet resurfacing. She looked down under the covers and realized she was shirtless. And she remembered-she was hit by an arrow, and Gaius carried her here, and Gaius cared for her and...
She realized her teddy bear was beside her. Someone put it to her, giving her a companion for the night. Jake used to do that. Jake...
"Your fever's all gone now, too," Lissa brightly said, putting a hand to Anna's neck to check once more. "This is great news! Gaius will be tickled pink. He kept checking on you yesterday. I told him to give you some time but he wouldn't stop being a worrywart."
Gaius! "Where is he?"
Just as Anna asked that, the tent flap opened, and Gaius stepped in, with a small sack of goodies over his shoulder and a new lollipop in his mouth. He found Lissa grinning wide at him and turned and saw Anna up in bed, with terrible bedhead-her hair was loose and rumpled from its usual ponytail-and clutching the bedcovers to her chest. She looked ridiculous. In the good way. ...Very sexy, actually. I can imagine her waking up every morning looking like that... He broke into a wide smile. "Red. So good to have you back with us. How's the fever?"
"All gone," Lissa reported brightly. "It was all your fault! You didn't have to work her right after she was healed from a wound! No wonder she got sick!"
Work... me? Anna looked puzzled, but she realized what it meant when Gaius replied. "Whoah, Princess. Watch it. I told you I did no such thing. Wouldn't do that to a wounded gal-unless she wanted it of course." Obviously the camp was still under the impression that they... err... slept together.
"Gaius, you're hopeless!" Lissa shouted.
Gaius just chuckled. "If you say so, Princess." And then he turned back to Anna. "Wanna go for a walk, Red? You could do to stretch those muscles a bit."
"Sure," Anna said. "I'll see you around... after I freshen up that is."
Gaius laughed. "You look quite charming now, if I may say so. Later!" Gaius made as if to leave, but then he remembered something. He grabbed something from his pack, and left it by Anna's side. Chocolate coins. "Something sweet to start the day right." He gave her a wink, and with that, he left.
Anna smiled as she picked up the chocolates, until she heard Lissa give a long, dramatic sigh. "Isn't that sweeeeet? Gaius has it bad for you, if I may say so."
To Lissa's surprise, Anna actually looked puzzled. "Huh? Really?" Ridiculous. He just probably wants access to all my family's riches.
"Kept checking on you yesterday. I swear... If that isn't love right there, I don't know what it is."
Love, huh?
Anna's face fell to a frown. There was no 'love' of that sort for Anna. All Anna had was her money. And herself.
A week quickly passed with Anna dismissing the whole assumption that Gaius was in-love with her. A few women of the camp would tease her about it every once in a while-surely Lissa and Sumia had high hopes about it-but they were bumbling women who knew nothing but to chatter and didn't know how to work, Anna thought. Their opinions were worthless.
After a quick bath in the bathing tent, Anna passed by the tactician Robin's tent and heard the undoubted sound of clinking coins. She knew that sound from miles and miles away. She peeked into the tent, seeing Robin indeed counting gold and silver coins, sighing to herself.
"I've never seen someone look so down while counting riches," Anna told Robin, making her presence known. "...Unless the money wasn't enough."
Robin nearly shrieked from the surprise, but the recovered as she found Anna by the tent entryway. "Oh, Anna. It's you. You're actually correct... I've looked through the list of weapons and supplies everyone needed. It seems we don't have enough for all of it... there's food and other expenses to consider too."
Anna took a quick peek at the lists and papers by Robin's lap. True enough, they were shopping lists, and then accounts of their money. She knew Chrom and the Shepherds had their own fund and money to provide for the entire army but she never much cared for it. She bought her own weapons and anything she might need. No need to rely on the Shepherd's money when she can provide for herself fine, thank you. But not everyone here was as well-off as her, that was for sure... Others relied on this gold.
"I have a confession to make," Robin said, with a deep sigh. "I... I'm actually terrible with money."
"W-What?!" Anna was shocked. Robin managed the funds of all the Shepherds. Surely she had skills for handling the money. "It shouldn't be too hard. Don't you keep logs and inventory of what was bought, how much was bought, how much it cost, and when it was bought and all that?"
Robin shook her head. "Err, no. Which is how we all just end up with ten crates of eggs in the kitchen but forget to buy any cooking oil, I guess..."
"Oh dear," Anna said, frowning. Such wrong management and use of funds upset her. Something had to be done about it. She reached for Robin's weapon shopping list, and looked at the budget for all of it. Cripes. I'd be lucky enough to buy just half of everything in this list with this sum. But Robin wouldn't do any better.
"May I take this off your shoulders?" Anna said, glancing at the list and the funds set aside for it. "I know a few suppliers in the area."
Robin's face lightened up. Anna was well-known for her haggling skills and if she couldn't do it, nobody could. "Thanks, Anna!" she gave the merchant a hug. "It's so nice to have you around."
"Going shopping?" A voice greeted as soon as Anna stepped out of Robin's tent. Anna made a surprised little jump and saw that it was just Gaius, leaning against a nearby tree.
"Stalker!" Anna told him, making her shock clear. But the word was fitting, now that she thought of it. Ever since Gaius had run into her bathing, he'd stuck close to her as if she was made of honey. Well, there were Robin's official orders to consider, but outside of battle, he tended to gravitate towards her, too.
But Anna didn't mind too much. With him, she didn't feel so... alone.
Gaius just laughed at her quip, and said, "Sorry, I overheard. Need an extra pair of arms? Can't have you overexerting that back too much."
"Oh dear, don't make me sound like an old lady," Anna said. "But fine, tag along. But keep information about my suppliers a secret, you hear?"
Anna had been wandering in the town marketplace for a few good minutes, pouting and making puzzled faces as she walked around town, muttering about suppliers. Gaius followed her closely behind, unwrapping a candied fig.
Anna's face lit up, spotting what she was looking for. Gaius followed her curiously to a home that had various charms and amulets hanging by the door and windows. The windows were all shut close and the place had no signs-Gaius felt inclined to think that a witch lived inside.
Anna knocked at the door, but was greeted with a "We don't open until dark!" Anna simply laughed, and said, "It's Anna!"
There was a long silence. And then the door was opened, a woman with stark black long hair and tons of jewels greeting Anna with a smile. "Well why didn't you say so? Welcome."
Gaius walked into the shop, looking at the place lined with shelves stacked with books, potions, and magical artifacts all over. There were even rare, gross odd things-eyeballs and skulls and frog legs and strands of hair sealed shut in gel-like substance inside bottles. Gaius shuddered. Note to self-never tell Tharja or Henry about this place.
"So is this Anna my acquaintance from the Tellian wars, or my Anna from the Hero King's time? Or another Anna? I can never really tell with you sisters," the shopkeep with a ridiculous amount of jewelry on said. Gaius took a good look at all the gold around her arms and her neck and her fingers, assessing their value. If he took all that and sold it, he'd have a full candy stock for two months tops.
He barely noticed the way Anna's smile fell for a second, as she answered, "Unfortunately I am none of those acquaintances of yours. I'm... Anna. Just... Anna."
Gaius put a hand to Anna's shoulder. "You're our Anna. Anna of the Shepherds."
Anna didn't know how to feel about that.
"Well, that Anna or this Anna, it hardly matters, you're all one and the same. Feel free to look around and tell me what you've decided on. I also have weapons and armor from Muston in the back, if you'd like to check it," the shopgirl said.
Anna simply nodded and walked to one end of the store, toward the shelves lined with tomes, looking down at Robin's list. Gaius stood his position for a while, thoughtfully chewing on his fig. "Hey, Jewels," he called on the shopkeep. The woman didn't know he was talking to her, until he spoke on. "You've known Anna for a while?"
The shopgirl turned to Gaius, a little surprised as if she'd just then noticed his existence. But then she answered him anyway. "I suppose. The Annas and I go way back. We both run shops, but consider ourselves partners. Some friendly competition does one good after all."
"What, so you got identical sisters and a long family line of merchants, too?" Gaius asked, puzzled. Why were these merchants such puzzling creatures?
"No, no," the shopgirl said. "Unlike Anna, there's only one me."
He was completely startled by the answer that he took a step back to look at the shopgirl who was now smiling at him slyly. She said she'd been around since the time of King Marth. "Jewels, you'd have to be over thousands of years-"
The shopgirl smiled wider and raised a brow at him. Gaius felt a chill run down his spine and an eerie gut feel kick into him. Higher magics were at work here-and the frog legs and skulls hanging all over the place made it feel worse. He decided not to press on the question of age any further.
But Gaius had another question.
"You ever know some lad named Jake?" He said, trying to sound casual about it, but the truth was the question ate him from the insides, and he had been trying to gather the guts to ask Anna herself the question for a week. He worried what she would say—but knowing Anna she would probably just evade the question.
The shopgirl's eyes twinkled. She knew something.
"You mean Anna's lover?"
Anna's lover. Gaius felt his chest hurt. Lover, huh... "So is he some dude with hundreds of identical brothers and such as well?"
The shopgirl shook her head. "Jake? No. They're never the same. But somehow, someway, there's always a Jake for an Anna. Whether he's a pirate, or a soldier, or a ballistician... There's always a Jake together with an Anna in any point in time. It's like... destiny, I suppose. One of the pre-written dictates of fate."
Destiny and fate, huh. Gaius was frowning now. I should have never asked. The truth was, he'd taken a seat with Owain one lunch and asked if there was a kid—some kid out there in the future—who had red or ginger hair and a terrifying obsession for money or sweets. He didn't know how he'd feel if there was one—but he definitely felt worse when Owain said, after much dramatic prose, that they knew no one like that. Perhaps this wasn't fated? I wasn't written into her destiny and all that crap?
All this was made worse when the shopgirl suddenly asked:
"Are you her Jake?"
"No," Gaius quickly responded, then choosing to walk away and help out Anna, who had pulled out a stack of tomes as tall as her.
I'm Gaius. And there's only one me.
The shopping trip ended a success, thanks to Anna having some odd silver-colored card that made the shopgirl groan in defeat as if she'd just seen terrible evidence against her existence. The price was slashed at half off. And then Anna went even further by presenting the shopgirl with information about a certain swordsman with blue hair who supposedly descended from the line of the Tellian Hero, Ike. The price was slashed to three-quarters in total, under the condition that Anna and Gaius could borrow the shop's cart to load all the items on, and later the shopgirl could go to the Shepherd's camp to retrieve it and have an 'accidental' run-in with said swordsman...
Note to self-warn Priam against black-haired witch who probably has an obsession as bad as Tharja's.
Anna and Gaius finally reached the camp, and headed straight to the supplies tent. No one else was there, so they took it upon themselves to unload the weapons and sort them all nicely.
"So that woman in the shop is..." Gaius began, in an attempt to start a conversation.
"Probably immortal," Anna said, much to Gaius' surprise. "She's been around since forever, according to my sisters and ancestors. Hardly ages as well."
Gaius has guessed as much, but frowned a bit. He wanted to hear that Jewels was a liar, a really chronic liar, and that Anna wasn't destined to find some guy named Jake and fall in-love with him.
Heck, maybe there already was some Jake out there who had her heart.
"Gaius?" Anna turned to the thief, noticing he had fallen silent.
Gaius shrugged and shook his head, as if to say it was nothing. And then he asked, "...You're not immortal too, are you, Red?"
Anna laughed. "Of course not. I age pretty normally, thank you very much. If there was a fountain of youth or miracle youth tonic, I'd have invested my coins in that and sold it long ago."
Well, at least that was a relief.
End of Chapter 3.
Author's Notes:
This chapter was relatively shorter than the last, sorry it's sorta slow and uneventful? For those who hadn't played earlier FE games like Path of Radiance or Radiant Dawn, the shopgirl is Aimee, a recurring FE merchant that has also been in almost all the games. She has a strong obsession over Ike, Priam's ancestor. Instead of multiple Aimees over the course of time, I like to think Aimee instead just has a long lifespan. Jake is a recurring FE character who's always in a relationship with Anna. However, Jake is never the same person.
This fanfic has really been destressing me from work, so I may extend it beyond my original plans. Just. Gaius x Anna OTP. So many scenes that I wish could have happened! It may take me a day or two (or not) for me to post the next chapter because my work has piled up again lately. D:
Thanks for reading!