Okay guys! Chapter 2 has arrived! I apologize if this one's a bit on the short side. I was debating if I wanted to add in another section, but decided to leave it for next chapter. Before I say my usual "follow, favorite, and review" line, I just want to clear something up: To those of you who are saying Mia seems OOC, I apologize. It's a little hard to make her chirpy and hyper when she's got a kid. Perhaps having a kid made her slightly more mature...? :P Haha I will try to make her more like herself in the next chapters to come, when she's not holding a baby. :) Okay, now that that's out of the way, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Follow, favorite, and review please!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. All characters you recognize belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.
"Erin?" Ike repeated the name, looking at the little child in Mia's arms. Soren had offered up his seat next to Ike, and Mia graciously accepted. She offered to let Ike hold his daughter, and carefully placed the tiny child in his arms. Her eyes were opened, and she was smiling up at him. Ike took note of her features. She had vibrant green eyes, like Mia's, and a head that was already full of deep sapphire hair. He couldn't help but smile at her. She was most definitely the product of their night together. "How old is she?" Ike asked, looking up at Mia.
"She's a little over a year," Mia answered. Erin made a gurgling noise then, causing Ike to chuckle a bit.
Titania stood up from the log she was sitting on . "Alright, troops," she said. "I think it's time we all got some sleep." The mercenaries agreed, some of them yawning. Titania ushered them inside the large, stone fort. "Get a good night's sleep, everyone. Tomorrow, we train hard."
Mia gently took the child from Ike's arms and stood. "Goodnight, Ike," she said, a smile on her face.
"Wait a minute, Mia," Ike grabbed her shoulder and stopped her before she could get any further. "Um..." he searched for the words he wanted to say. "What does this make us now?"
Mia was still smiling. "Well," she began, "you're the father of my child. And we're not married." She glanced down at the ground. "Maybe, we could fix that?" She looked back up at Ike hopefully.
Ike smiled at the woman he had always loved. "I think that would be a good idea. Where's the nearest church?" he laughed.
Mia also giggled, bouncing Erin up and down in her arms. "We'll talk about it more tomorrow," she said, grinning in that cute way she always did.
"Ah, come on, Neph!" A green-haired woman with a helmet on stepped out of the fort then, followed by a drunken Gatrie. Gatrie was the flirt of the mercenaries, never stopping his advances until he'd succeeded in wooing a lady. He had been targeting Nephenee, one of the mercenaries' top sentinels, for almost two weeks now.
"Gatrie, I said NO!" Nephenee yelled back. Then she turned to Ike, smiling brightly. "Oh, I heard you were here! Welcome back!" While she was speaking to Ike, Gatrie had come up from behind her and pinched her in a most unpleasant spot. "Hey!" she squeaked, turning to face Gatrie, who was simply smiling in satisfaction. Nephenee didn't waste any time in giving him a straight punch to the nose.
"Gatrie!" Ike shouted his name. "Have some manners, will you?" He turned to Mia and began to laugh. "He hasn't changed a bit."
"No, he hasn't," Mia agreed. Gatrie had retreated inside the fort now, groaning with pain and both hands covering his face. Nephenee waited until he was out of sight, then reluctantly followed after him, muttering curse words under her breath.
"Well," Ike sighed, yawning. "I'm pretty tired."
"Yeah, me too," Mia said. Then she got an idea. "Ike, you're welcome to stay in my room, you know."
"Really?" Ike asked. He liked the idea, but he didn't know what the others would think of it.
"Sure," Mia answered. "You do want to get married, don't you?" she laughed. "I mean, it only makes sense since we already have a child together."
Ike nodded his head. "Okay. Thank you, Mia."
"You're welcome," Mia said, taking Ike's hand in her own. She lead him into the fort, constantly looking back and smiling. "My room is on the third floor," she told him, beginning to walk up a large flight of stairs. Then she stopped suddenly, turning fully around. "Ike," she said softly. "I was wondering, if maybe we could-"
Ike pressed his lips against hers then, cutting her off. The sensation felt just like he remembered. Mia's lips were warm, and they tasted oddly sweet. They stayed locked for several seconds, and eventually it was Erin's crying that forced them to pull apart. They both were breathing heavily, gazing into each other's eyes. "We should get to bed now," Ike spoke after a while. "I think Erin is tired."
Mia nodded, still completely numb from the kiss. "Yeah," she managed to say. "We should."
The silver-haired queen of Daein sat alone in the throne room of her castle. She spoke silently to herself, as she often did when no one was around. Her husband was out at the moment, and he'd been gone all day. It was late at night now, and the queen was beginning to worry. "He never stays out this late," she said aloud to herself. She wrung her hands nervously, wondering if something happened to him. "No, this isn't right! I have to find him!" she said, getting up from her throne. She ran down a small set of steps, picking up the skirt of her long, maroon dress as she did so.
"Queen Micaiah! Where are you going?" one of the guards asked her once she got to the large castle door. "You can't wander the city this late at night!"
"Sothe is still out there!" she retorted. "I'm going to look for him." Without their permission, she pushed open the door and ran outside into the night.
"Queen Micaiah!" both guards shouted in unison, but she was too far away now.
Micaiah wandered the dark streets of Nevassa, Daein's capital city, anxiously looking around for her husband. She kept hearing shuffling noises behind her, and was constantly glancing over her shoulder. Her breathing picked up as she walked down a dark alley. She had checked almost every corner of the city, and this alley was one of the last places she had to look. Micaiah couldn't help but feel a strange presence about it, and then she realized why. It was the very same alley where she had met Sothe so many years ago. "Sothe?" she called out, though softly. "Sothe, are you back here?" She walked down the alley slowly, listening carefully for the slightest sound. A faint cough was heard from around the corner, and Micaiah ran towards it.
"Mi-Micaiah?" a low, gruff voice asked. Micaiah swiftly turned the corner, and there was Sothe, lying on the cold ground. His right hand was clutching his dagger, while his left hand covered a spot on his side. He coughed again, and Micaiah could see a small pool of blood trickle from of his mouth.
"Sothe!" she burst out, sprinting towards her husband. She knelt down beside him and lifted him onto her lap. His hand momentarily fell from his side, revealing a deep gash. "Oh goddesses!" Micaiah gasped, immediately putting her own hand over the wound. "What's happened to you?"
Sothe took in large, painful gulps of air. "I...I was..." he began to speak, but erupted into coughing once more. Micaiah pushed his hair back so she could look into his eyes. "I was attacked," he finally managed to choke out.
"By who?" Micaiah inquired. She cradled Sothe in her arms much like she had done when he was younger. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't bear to see him in this much pain.
"By a...a beast laguz," Sothe uttered through gritted teeth. "He knocked me over...and tore me up pretty bad." When he said this, Micaiah noticed another gash on his arm, but it obviously didn't hurt as much as his side.
Micaiah saw the impending danger in the situation, but she didn't have to time to question it. Not now. Right now, she needed to help Sothe. "Lie back and be still," she told him calmly. Sothe obeyed, knowing she was going to use her Sacrifice ability to heal him. She placed her hands on both wounds, and a soft blue light emanated from them. Sothe relaxed his muscles as he felt her gentle healing powers at work. Within a matter of seconds, he felt better than he ever had.
"Thank...goodnesss...Sothe..." Micaiah's voice trailed off as she collapsed on top of her husband. Sacrifice was an incredible blessing, but it left her so weak. She was giving up her own health in the process, after all.
Sothe scooped her delicate body up in his arms and got to his feet. "Let's get you home now," he whispered to her, running his finger along her youthful, flawless face.
Once Sothe returned to the castle with Micaiah in his arms, he brought her straight up to their bedroom. He laid her down gently on their bed, pulling the covers up around her. He changed into his nightclothes, then quietly joined her. He had just settled in for sleep, when he heard her voice next to him.
"Sothe?" she asked, though her speech was rather slurred. She turned to face him, putting her hand on his arm.
"What is it, Micaiah?" Sothe asked in return. He moved in closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Why aren't you sleeping?"
Micaiah yawned and shook her head as if it would make her tiredness go away. "I wanted to tell you something when you came home today," she said, still a bit lethargic. "It's kind of important."
"Alright," Sothe nodded. "What is it?" He sat up against the headboard of the bed, and Micaiah scooted herself onto his lap.
"I saw something today," she told him. "With my foresight, I mean." Sothe nodded his head again, and she smiled at him. "Remember how I told you I wasn't feeling so well the other day?"
"Yes," Sothe replied, wondering where this was going.
"Well, this afternoon I received an image in my head. It was of you and I. We were standing in the hall just outside this room. And we were...holding a child," Micaiah said softly.
Sothe just stared at her for a moment, trying to make sense of what he heard. "Micaiah," he gasped. "Are you saying...that we're having a baby?" Micaiah nodded, and she swore she'd never seen Sothe smile so big.
"A boy," she added, laughing tenderly. "We're having a boy."
"Oh, Micaiah!" Sothe beamed, embracing her warmly. "This is wonderful news!" He pulled her face towards his, and kissed her devotedly. She threw her arms around him in response, and ran her fingers through his hair. They pulled away reluctantly, knowing they both needed rest.
"Goodnight, Sothe," Micaiah whispered, lying down in the bed again. She closed her eyes and was immediately welcomed by sleep.
Sothe smiled at his wife, and bent down to kiss her forehead. "Goodnight, Micaiah." He adjusted his pillow and laid his head upon it. It took him a little longer to fall asleep, but he eventually did.