A/N: Alright, chapter 5 is done! Finally! Haha I stressed out a bit while writing this one cause I couldn't figure out what I wanted to happen. Eventually I was able to gather my thoughts and make a pretty decent chapter out of it, though. :P If you likey, remember to follow, favorite, and or review! Seriously, it makes my day when I get those emails! Yep, that's how pathetic my life is pretty much! :) Hope you enjoy this chapter. See ya in chapter 6!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. All characters you recognize belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.

"It's your move, Ike," Soren said. He and Ike were sitting beneath a shady tree outside the fort, locked in a rather strenuous battle of wits. They were playing Soren's favorite game: chess. Soren studied Ike's expression carefully as he pondered his next move. His face looked a bit shiny due to the fact that he was covered in sweat. Ike was usually not so competitive when it came to chess; that was Soren's job. But he had always wanted to beat Soren at his own game. He examined the board. Soren's bishop was very close to his queen, and in danger of being taken. Ike had one knight left, and decided he would move it to take one of Soren's rooks. He smiled boastingly as he knocked over the black tower-like piece.

"Well, you've got no rooks, one bishop, one knight, three pawns, your king, and your queen left, Soren," Ike gloated. "I think I'll beat you after all!"

Soren's face held a dire expression as he scanned the board, then twisted into a satisfied smile, which he quickly hid from his opponent. "I fear this move will be my last, Ike," Soren said in a defeated tone. Then his hand reached for his bishop. His smirk returned to his face. "You've left your king wide open. Checkmate."

Ike's eyes grew wide as he stared at the board. Soren's bishop stood right next to his king. "How did I miss that?" he asked incredulously. "That's not fair!" he pouted.

"All's far in love and war, Ike. You should know that by now," Soren said, still smiling.

"Gah! Well, I guess I'll never win a game against you," Ike sighed. He helped his friend pick up the pieces and put the board away. They were silent for a moment, then Ike decided to make conversation again. "It sure is a hot one today," he said.

Soren nodded. "Indeed." He put the last piece into the box and set the board inside as well. "Hopefully there will be some rain in the near future. There hasn't been since we returned, and that was nearly a month ago." He stood up and grabbed the chess box.

Ike stood as well and leaned back against the tree. He looked at Soren, dressed in his usual black robes on perhaps the hottest day in years. "Hey Soren?" he said.

Soren turned to look at him. "Hmm?"

"Aren't you a little warm? Maybe you want to take off your robes and change into something more comfortable?" Ike figured he would say no, but he still had to try.

Soren simply shook his head. "Ike, I'm fine. Heat like this does not bother me." He walked back into the fort then to put the game away.

"Come to think of it, I've never even seen Soren sweat before," Ike said aloud to himself. He walked to center of the camp where the fire pit was. He saw Boyd and Rolf sitting on one of the logs. Rolf was wrapped in his older brother's arms, sniffling. It's been almost a month. Ike thought to himself. He's still upset?

"Come on, Rolfie," Boyd said cheerfully, trying to comfort his brother. "You weren't this sad the first time he left."

Rolf raised his head to look at Boyd. "But that was before he was my teacher," he said. "I didn't really think too much of it then, because I didn't know him real well." His voice became quieter. "He's a good person, Boyd. No matter what people say."

Boyd sighed. "I know, I know." He patted Rolf's back, perhaps a little too hard. Ike was touched by the scene. Even though Shinon hated him, he still held a lot of respect for the archer.

"Hey guys," Ike said, taking a seat on the log next to them. "How are you today?"

"I'm alright," Boyd answered. "But this little twerp isn't."

"Hey!" Rolf whined, his tears subsiding. "You'd be sad too if your teacher just up and left!"

"At first!" Boyd countered. "But he's been gone for a while now, Rolf. It's time to get up the courage and accept that fact." He patted his brother's back again, softer this time.

Rolf breathed in deeply. "I know. It's just been so lonely without him. Target practice isn't the same." He wanted to cry again, but held back his tears.

"Well, maybe Ilyana could practice with you?" Ike suggested. She wasn't an archer, but mages needed practice with hitting their targets, too.

Boyd chuckled a bit then. "Yeah, if she ever stops stuffing her face!" Ike and Rolf couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I heard that!" a certain lavender-haired mage said from behind them. "Did you not see me talking to Zihark less than ten feet away?"

Boyd suddenly found himself at a loss for words. "N-no!" he sputtered. "I mean, I was only joking, Ilyana!"

"Right," she huffed, then turned to walk away. Boyd couldn't help but stare at her long, slender legs. It was a wonder how she could eat so much yet still be so thin.

"Dang," he said. "She's a catch."

Ike laughed. "Well, why don't you go after her? You two have a lot in common, after all. You both live to eat."

Boyd shook his head. "Nah. Zihark can have her. Besides, I don't think I'm financially stable enough to support her, with all the food she eats," he laughed.

"Boyd! Rolf!" Oscar's voice called from inside the fort. "Come help me with dinner!"

"What? Why us?" Rolf complained. "Can't you find anyone else?"

"No. Mist is watching Erin. Mia and Neph are sparring. Gatrie's...actually, I'm not sure what Gatrie's doing. Titania went to Melior to pick up Rhys, and I'm not even going to bother with asking Soren."

"What's Rhys doing in Melior?" Ike asked. He had barely seen the group's primary healer since he came back, only a few times to say hi and bye.

"He's receiving a special invitation from Queen Elincia," Oscar answered. "We won't know what it's about until he returns."

"Ah," Ike said, nodding his head. He also hadn't seen Elincia since he'd returned, and wondered if she even knew he was here.

"Now come on, you two! Get in here!" Oscar called. "Or I'll make you wash dishes tonight as well!"

At that comment, Boyd and Rolf both scrambled to their feet. "Coming!" they shouted simultaneously.

"Hurry!" Ike said, laughing. Boyd and Rolf tried knocking each other over as they raced into the fort. "I really missed those three."

Dinner was delicious that night. Oscar prepared his legendary beef stew, which had always been Ike's favorite. All of them sat around the table, chatting with each other and enjoying the meal. Everyone except for Soren, who only stirred his stew with his spoon. But this was to be expected since Soren was almost never hungry, and no one found it out of the ordinary.

"If I could have everyone's attention please?" Titania's strong voice rang out above all the conversations that were taking place. She looked over at the orange-haired priest that was sitting next to her. "Rhys would like to make the announcement now."

Rhys stood up from his seat. "Thank you, Titania. As you all know, I've recently traveled to Melior," he began. "Elincia sent us a letter a while back saying she requested an audience with one of us, and all of you, well, aside from Ike and Soren, voted that I should be the one to go. Although, I'm not quite sure why," he said, giving his head a timid scratch. "Anyway, the Queen informed me that the nobles of Crimea are hosting a celebration for her twenty-fifth birthday, and she would like for us to come."

"We're going to a party?" Rolf asked, his childish demeanor betraying him. "That's awesome!"

The rest of the mercenaries reacted with just as much enthusiasm, save for Soren, once again. Social gatherings were not really his thing, and he actually pondered asking Ike if he could stay at the fort.

"When is the party?" Mia asked, clearly giddy at the idea. She held Erin in her arms and bounced her up and down on her knee, causing the small child to giggle.

"It's tomorrow night," Rhys answered. "We'll have to leave tomorrow morning to get there on time."

Soren sighed angrily, perhaps a little bit too loud. He hoped no one heard it. Well, screw that idea. He thought. "Excuse me," he said aloud, leaving the table. The rest of them just stared after him as he walked up the stairs to his room.

"Huh," Gatrie said. "Wonder what his problem is?"

"What isn't his problem?" Boyd asked, earning a slap from Oscar. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?" He rubbed the back of his head, glaring daggers at his older brother.

"That's no way to treat a fellow mercenary!" Oscar scolded. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"Well, it's true!" Boyd snapped. "He looks at the whole world like it's...pointless or something!"

"Boyd, that's enough!" Mist said sternly. Boyd spun his head around to look at her. She wore an expression that was nothing less than aggravated. "It's not his fault."

Little did they know, Soren had stopped at the top of the stairs, listening to the entire conversation. "Mist," he whispered. "I..." He couldn't finish what he was about to say, even though it was only to himself. He took off running to his room, slamming the door shut with more strength than he knew he had. He leaned up against it on the other side, slowly sinking down to the floor as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

"Elincia, thank you so much for letting us stay here," Micaiah told the fellow queen as they sipped tea in Elincia's private quarters. Micaiah, Sothe, and the rest of their group had arrived in Crimea earlier that day for Elincia's party on the day that would follow, and she had kindly offered for them stay in Melior for a few days.

"It's really no trouble at all," Elincia assured her. "It's nice to talk with another queen." She took a sip of her tea, then she changed the subject. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but Laura told me you're pregnant. Is that true?" she asked, a genuine smile on her face.

Micaiah nodded, grinning also. "Yes, that's correct."

"Oh! How exciting! I couldn't help but notice something different about you when you walked in, even before she told me. You're absolutely glowing with good health," Elincia beamed

"Thank you, Elincia," Micaiah said, giggling. One of her hands involuntarily moved down to her stomach, which was only slightly showing signs of pregnancy.

"Geoffrey and I have been trying as well, but we haven't had any luck," Elincia said sadly. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, and looked up at Micaiah's face.

"I'm sure it will happen," she said. "Just give it time."

Elincia nodded and her face brightened. "Thank you, Micaiah. Daein is quite lucky to have you as their queen."

"I could say the same for Crimea," Micaiah said. "And Geoffrey is a very lucky man."

Elincia chuckled. "As is Sothe. We could go on like this all night." She and Micaiah both shared a heartfelt laugh. "Well, it's late," Elincia said after the laughter had died down. "You should be getting to bed now. A woman in your condition needs proper rest."

"I am a little tired," Micaiah agreed. "Goodnight, Elincia." She gave Elincia a friendly hug before she left the room and walked down the hall to her and Sothe's stay room. Sothe was waiting for her at the door.

"I was wondering when all your girl talk in there would be finished," he said, giving her a kiss on her cheek. "I've been waiting for almost an hour."

Micaiah returned the peck he'd given her, but instead placing it on his lips. "I figured I'd enjoy it while I could." She walked inside the room then and began to untie the back of her dress. Sothe closed the door idly, not really knowing what she meant. He moved towards her and placed his hands on hers, which were intently fiddling with the strings of her dress. They immediately stopped moving at his touch.

"What's troubling you, dear?" he asked. "Besides this whole thing with the Laguz."

Micaiah sighed and her hands dropped down to her sides. "That's pretty much it," she responded. She turned around and rested her head upon Sothe's chest. "I just hope the Greil Mercenaries come to the party tomorrow. They need to know about this."

"Did you inform Elincia?" Sothe asked.

Micaiah shook her head. "No. I didn't bring it up. We were having such a nice chat. I didn't want to ruin it," she confessed. Sothe felt Micaiah begin to shake in his arms, and he knew she was about to cry.

"I understand, Micaiah," Sothe said. "Another war is the last thing anyone wants to talk about." He lifted her chin up so she could look into his eyes. "For now, though, let's just get a good night's rest."

Micaiah nodded, smiling ever so slightly. She turned away and began untying her dress once more, allowing Sothe to help her. She reached in her bag for her nightgown and slipped the silken fabric over her body. Sothe turned down the bed and crawled inside, sighing contently at the softness of it.

"We need a bed like this back home," he said, making Micaiah giggle. She finished untying her hair and slid in next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Micaiah."

"Mmm, goodnight," she moaned, nestling her head in the crook of his neck. They were both asleep before they even knew it.