A/N: Guess who's back? *points to self* This girl! I know, I don't need you guys telling me that I've been away for such a long time. Believe me, I know. :P So there's quite a bit happening in this chapter, which is good cause I didn't want to give you guys another filler chapter after you've been waiting so long. I hope it doesn't disappoint!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. All characters, settings, plot devices, etc, belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.
"Has she reported back, yet?" The King of Lions asked, growing impatient with how slowly things were progressing. Gallia had failed to crush Ike's army during the previous month's midnight ambush, which Skrimir had thought would've been an easy victory for Gallia. But seeing as the Crimeans were still standing and were now allied with Daein, he was apparently proven wrong.
"She'll be finished with her work soon, Your Majesty," a rather shaken Lethe replied in a voice that was a bit less confident than usual. "She's just taking her time to make sure the deed is done well." Skrimir's glare towards her hardened, and she shrunk back even more. "I'm sure His Majesty understands that one has to be thorough when dealing with this kind of thing."
The Lion King huffed and rested his chin in his palm. "Thorough is one thing. However, time is a more pressing factor at the moment." He stood from this thrown and took a few slow steps toward Lethe. The strong female cat did her best to appear unfazed by his anger. After all, she was the current commander of Gallia's forces. She had to look strong and unafraid every minute of every day. "Send word to her that she should hurry up and do what's been asked of her, or I'll personally tear her apart limb from limb." Skrimir bellowed.
Hearing this, Lethe noticeably flinched. "It shall be done at once, Your Majesty."
The Crimean forces came upon the Desert of Death rather quickly after leaving Nevassa. The temperature change was welcoming at first, but soon became a problem yet again. Despite their efforts to conserve as much water as possible, the group still found that their supply was dwindling very fast. Ike would've consulted Soren about how to better the situation, but the tactician had fainted from heat exhaustion a few hours earlier and was currently being carried in Gatrie's arms. Ike remembered Soren saying something about how the heat didn't faze him, but then he supposed Soren had never been to the desert before.
"How's he doing?" Ike asked the knight.
"Okay, I think. He's still breathing so that's probably a good sign." Gatrie chuckled then. "I never thought I'd say this, but he is starting to feel a bit heavy. Maybe we should make camp for the evening? I think we've covered a lot of ground today."
Ike nodded his agreement. "Yeah, that's a good idea." He gave the order to halt, and immediately, everyone who was traveling on foot crashed to the ground. Ike felt rather foolish. Clearly he had underestimated just how brutal the desert heat could be. He told his troops to make camp and they gratefully did so.
"I have so much sand in my boots!" Mist complained to Titania when they had begun pitching their tent. She was trying to toe off one of her boots while holding the tent rod, when she got out of step and the giant piece of canvas came crashing to the ground.
"Mist!" Titania scolded. "You can do that later. Right now, I'd appreciate it if you helped me with this."
"Sorry, Titania," Mist apologized, pulling her face into her trademark pout.
"Does anyone know if Oscar plans on making dinner anytime soon?" Ilyana asked as she walked by them. "I'm beginning to feel very faint." To emphasize this, her footing wobbled a bit.
"Very soon, Ilyana," Mia said, joining the three women. "We're all starving by now, I'm sure."
Mia and Ilyana both helped Mist and Titania pitch their tent while they waited for dinner. When Oscar finally called everyone, the troops barreled to the meal like starving wolves. Ike ate his own meal on the slower side, trying to savor as much as he could, when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Soren standing behind him. "Hey, you're up."
"For the moment," came Soren's exhausted reply. "The headaches haven't gone away yet, but I expect that will take a bit longer." He sat down next to Ike and looked at his food a bit longingly. "That smells very good."
"Do you want me to get you some?" Ike asked.
"No, I can do it myself," Soren replied, standing up and brushing the sand off of his robes. "And don't wait for me, either. Keep eating." Ike smiled, lifting another bite of Oscar's stew to his mouth. A few moments later, Soren returned with his own bowl.
"I don't think I've ever seen you this excited about food," Ike commented, shoveling another bite into his mouth. "I mean, not since the day we first met," he added as an afterthought. "You're far better off now then you were then."
"I know," Soren said, swallowing a mouthful of stew. "It's all thanks to you." Ike hummed his agreement, picking up his glass of wine. Soren did the same and took a small sip, making a bit of a face. "Does this taste strange to you?"
Ike looked at his own drink and shrugged his shoulders. "Tastes fine to me."
"Hmm, probably just me, then." Soren took a larger swig of the dark, berry-colored drink, hoping he would get used to the taste. "I don't think wine will ever be my choice beverage," he said once he'd finished it all.
Ike laughed, patting his friend lightly on the back. The two of them finished their meal together and talked for a while longer. After Ike said something that elicited a small laugh from his partner, he noticed that Soren winced and began to rub at his temples. "Headaches again?"
Soren nodded. "I think I'm going to retire for the night. I'll see you in the morning."
"I miss Erin," Mia said to Ike when they were huddled up in their shared tent that night. "It's already been too long, and we have no idea when this war will end. She needs her mother."
Ike pulled Mia even closer to him, running his fingers through her long indigo locks. "I know, I miss her too. And I've barely gotten to know her." There was brief moment of silence in which the only sounds that could be heard were the wind blowing and their slow breathing. "Mia," Ike said suddenly, "were you ever angry with me for leaving you?"
Mia clicked her tongue. "You know me. I don't hold grudges." She glided her hand over the bare skin of Ike's bicep. "I was upset at first, but Titania and the others were very understanding. My biggest fear at the time was that they would toss me out into the cold when they found out I was pregnant, but they helped me in every possible way they could. I think I almost scared poor Rhys to death when I went into labor three weeks early, though."
Ike gave a content sigh, grateful that his company was such a close-knit family. "I don't regret that we have Erin, but I do regret being so intimate with you and then taking off right after. If there's any way you can forgive me-"
"Ike," Mia interrupted, looking into his eyes. "I'm not angry with you. I never was. What's important is that you're here now, and Erin has a father." She gave Ike a small peck on the lips. "I love you."
Ike smiled and returned the kiss. "I love you, too."
Just then, Ike could hear Mist faintly shouting his name from outside. Her cries became louder as she grew closer to the tent. He sprang up from the bedroll and grabbed his sword, preparing for a battle. When Mist finally reached the tent, her eyes were huge with worry, not to mention surprise from seeing Ike's blade so close to her face. "We're not under attack," she quickly explained, short of breath.
"Then what's the matter?" Ike asked, leaning Ragnell back against the side of the tent.
"It's Soren," Mist said, her voice cracking. "There's something wrong with him, he's not well!"
Ike followed Mist to the tactician's tent as fast as the sand would allow him. When they at last arrived, Ike couldn't possibly have been prepared for the sight that awaited him. Soren was convulsing on his bedroll, coughing and dry-heaving. His arms were wrapped tightly around his abdomen and his face was shiny from sweat. His hair was also damp, causing it to stick to his face. Upon closer examination, Ike noticed that his pupils were dilated so much, the brilliant red irises could barely be seen.
Mist had gotten Rhys first when she heard Soren's distress, and the priest was frantically searching in his bag for something. "Hurry up and find it, Rhys!" Mist cried, attempting to hold one of Soren's hands to try and calm him, but he wouldn't stop clutching his stomach. "We can't let him lose consciousness!"
"Rhys, what's happened?" Ike asked, trying to remain as calm as possible outwardly. But on the inside, his blood was boiling with worry.
"He's been poisoned somehow," Rhys answered, still rummaging in the bag. "From the symptoms he's showing, it looks like nightshade."
Soren gave an agonizing whimper of pain, then dry-heaved yet again. "Hurry!" Mist wailed.
"Why isn't he saying anything?" Ike asked, putting a hand behind Soren's head.
"His mouth is too dry, he can't speak," Rhys said. "It's one of the signs of nightshade poisoning."
Something clicked in Ike's mind all of a sudden. "The wine," he said. "Soren said at dinner that his wine tasted strange."
Rhys appeared at their side holding a small vial. "Alright, I found the correct antidote. Unfortunately, it needs to be administered orally, and I'm not sure how to go about calming him down."
"Soren, listen to me," Mist pleaded, taking Soren's face in her hands. He continued to cough and gag, though he looked at her. "You need to calm down just for a second so Rhys can give you the antidote." Soren moaned loudly then, as another sharp pain ripped through his abdomen and he tore his face away from Mist. "It's not working!" she cried.
"Move aside, please," a much calmer voice spoke. All four, including Soren, turned to the entrance of the tent to see Almedha standing there. Ike, Mist, and Rhys did what she asked, out of sheer confusion more than anything. Almedha knelt down beside Soren, whispered something into his ear, then put one hand on his forehead. She closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate about something. When she opened them, Soren had stopped coughing, and was now only staring into the red eyes that mirrored his own. "You may give him the antidote now. He will not fight it." She backed away from Soren to let Rhys near again. The befuddled priest lingered for a moment, then approached the now placid Soren. Almedha had nearly lulled him to sleep with what she'd done. Rhys carefully emptied the vial into Soren's mouth, and the sage swallowed with no further qualms. In another minute, he was fast asleep, all traces of poisoning gone.
"Lady Almedha," Mist began. "How...what did you...?"
"You've probably already guessed this, but Soren and I share a special kind of bond," Almedha informed them. "A bond that can only be shared between a mother and her son. What I did just now was an old Goldoan trick that mothers use to put their children to sleep."
Ike wanted to be surprised, he really did. But something in the way Soren had acted when Almedha showed up seemed to offer a hint to him. Suddenly, it all made sense. The uncanny resemblance that Soren shared with the Goldoan royal family, how his personality was a lot like King Dheginsea's, and even how uneasy Soren had been when they first encountered the dragon tribe all those years ago. It all made perfect sense now.
"I don't believe it," Mist said, her hands covering her mouth. Small tears of relief were forming at the corners of her eyes.
"I've known this for the past two years, and I've wanted nothing more than to tell him," Almedha looked longingly at her son. "But he knows now. I made my message to him quite clear." She knelt beside Soren again and rested the palm of hand against his sallow cheek.
"Come, you too," Rhys said, wrapping his arms around Ike and Mist. "He's in good care."
The three of them shuffled quietly out of the tent, and Almedha was finally left alone with her son. She carefully took his small hand in hers, and closed her eyes. Visions of the past danced through her mind, and she remembered everything. She saw the image of Soren's tiny infant hand curling around her finger, and she heard herself humming a gentle lullaby. Silently, she began to weep.
A/N: Okay, it finally happened. The moment that a lot us probably wish happened in the games. I hope it wasn't too touchy-feely for the moment. Bear in mind, we haven't seen Soren's reaction yet! Hopefully I won't keep you guys waiting for too long so you can see how things turn out. Peace!