Chapter 9: Fate

Temple of Mila, The One Kingdom of Valentia, Valentia

Val. Year 403

Byleth's claim that they would "get a little wet " was, for all intents and purposes, a major understatement.

Walking through the mist was like diving face-first into a lake. As soon as Ashe passed through it, his entire body felt like it had been soaked to the bone. His clothes were drenched, his hair was plastered wildly around his face, his boots squelched with every stumbling step he took out of the mist.

He bent over and gasped for air, watching water droplets roll off his chin and plop onto the floor. The marble tiling—where the water hadn't touched, at least—was white and pristine. It extended out for several feet in all directions around him, ending at a grand staircase of at least one hundred steps. His eyes climbed the steep incline before settling on what was assuredly the focal point of the room: a throne, the one he had seen reflected in the mist.

The throne sat proudly above the rest of the chamber. Its backrest nearly touched the ceiling, its height only beat by the heavy columns lining the walls behind it. Despite the simplistic design, the throne had an aura of divinity about it that Ashe could only compare to the ambience of the Holy Tomb. Thick vines sprouted from the base of the throne, slithering across the marble, crawling over the staircase, wrapping up each column in a tight embrace. Long lines of fruit hung from the vines, all perfectly ripe and ready for picking.

It was as though he was standing before the center of nature itself. A part of Ashe felt compelled to bow his head, but…he wasn't sure if it would appreciate the reverence of a waterlogged outsider leaking puddles on the floor of its holy sanctuary.

"You damned liar," Felix growled at Byleth, interrupting the serene atmosphere. His ponytail sagged and his shoulders were hunched up to his ears. Combined with the scowl on his face, he was the spitting image of an angry wet cat. "A little wet? Really?"

"It's not that bad," Byleth said simply, wringing out the end of his mercenary coat.

Petra laughed, pushing back her thick hair. "I am agreeing with the professor. It was quite fun!" Kana joined in her merriment, giggling and splashing around in a particularly large puddle dripping off Petra's wyvern. Nearby, Sophie was trying to calm down her unruly horse, who was snorting and bucking at its wet state.

"I-I don't know if I'd call it fun…" Annette said, smacking the side of her head to chase out the water that had dripped into her ear. "But it was…an interesting experience, I guess."

"Yeah, it's not the most convenient way to travel." Alm chuckled and tried patting his armor dry. "But right now it's all we—"

"Holy Mother Mila!"

A woman with pink pigtails came bounding into the sanctuary, calling over her shoulder, "Hey, Gray! Tobin! We're gonna need some towels in here, prompto!"

Two men, one with a deep tan and swords strapped to his back, the other with a large bow and short chestnut hair, leaned their heads into the entryway. The former was rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Huh?" He blinked at them slowly, then his eyes shot wide open. "O-oh! Hey, Alm! H-how's it goin'?"

The archer sighed. "Just give us a sec."

As they disappeared from the entrance, Alm turned to the pink-haired girl, eyebrows furrowed. "Mae? What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Ha! I'm the one who should be asking the questions, buster." Mae jammed her finger into his chest. "You've got some major explaining to do!"

"Sorry, Alm," one of the men from the entryway said, dropping a heap of towels by the group. "I was keeping watch but…uh…"

"Someone fell asleep on the job," the archer snickered.

"Oh, shut up, Tobin."

"What are you talking…about…" Alm trailed off as another person strode into the sanctuary, red ringlets of hair bouncing with every step. The clicking of her boots on the polished marble echoed throughout the chamber, keeping a steady rhythm until she stopped right in front of Alm, lips pinched tightly together.

The room was quiet as the two stared at each other. Ashe slowly picked up a towel from the pile, swallowing against the thick tension in the air, then stepped back as quietly as his wet boots would allow to give the couple some space.

"C-Celica? You're…um…" Alm fumbled with his words. "I thought you were…at the castle…"

"I was," she said through a tight voice, fist clenching around a towel, "then I heard you had decided to chase those soldiers into another world. Alone. Without telling me or almost anyone else."

"That's not—"

"Don't." She dabbed away at the water on his face. "We'll talk later, after you've introduced us to our new guests."

"Right…" Alm cleared his throat, turning around to face the group. He put on a smile, but it seemed pretty forced to Ashe, for obvious reasons. "Everyone, this is my wife, Celica. The Queen of Valentia."

"It's so nice to meet you all." Celica bowed her head, her stern expression from earlier softening. "Welcome to Valentia, and to the Temple of Mila. I hope your trip was a pleasant one."

"Pleasant isn't the word I would use," Felix muttered under his breath, earning a sharp elbow in the side from Annette.

"And these are some of our closest friends," Alm gestured to the three other Valentians in the room. "I grew up alongside Tobin and Gray here, and Mae—"

"Has been watching Celica's back since the first day we met," the pink-haired girl finished, still casting a stink eye at the king. "Making sure no one hurts her."

Celica sighed. "Mae, please…"

"A-anyway," Alm continued, "Celica, this is Byleth, the Archbishop of Fódlan's religious order, and his allies…"

Alm introduced them one-by-one. When it was Ashe's turn, he made sure to bow deeply at the waist and address the queen in a manner befitting her status, despite her insistence that they drop her title. It still felt so unnatural trying to call His Majesty just "Dimitri" back home; how could he refer to a queen he didn't even know so casually?

Byleth took on the task of explaining everything that had happened in Fódlan since the arrival of the invisible soldiers, from the attack in Gaspard, to the siege of Garreg Mach, to the formation of their current plan.

"I see…" Celica laced her hands together, frowning. "So we are dealing with dragons once again."

"Alm thought you might know something we don't. We have next to no information on dragons in Fódlan, beyond what's written in stories."

She closed her eyes and raised her clasped hands to her chin, as though she was offering a prayer. Her face scrunched up in deep thought. After a few moments, her arms fell to her side. "I'm sorry, but I don't recall ever learning about a 'silent' dragon. I'm not quite sure what that title even means."

"Maybe it can't roar like other dragons?" Gray suggested, rubbing the back of his head. "Or maybe it's trapped somewhere, where no one can hear it?"

"Those are possibilities..." Celica's eye drifted to Kana, who was swishing a puddle around with his foot. "Would you be willing to show us your dragon form, Kana? I might be able to recognize—"

"No!" The boy shook his head so hard that his hair sprayed them all with a new round of water, like a puppy after a bath. "I don't want to do bad things again. I don't want to hurt anyone!"

"He's not able to control the transformations, and he's not able to control himself once they happen," Byleth explained.

"That's one of the reasons we brought him here," Alm added. "A dragonstone should be able to help, right?"

"Yes…but a manakete without a dragonstone is…" Celica took a short, hesitant step back. "It's incredibly dangerous. It would be in our best interest to find him one as soon as possible."

Byleth cocked his head, running his towel over it one more time. "A 'manakete'?"

"That's what we call dragons that can take on human form."

"…it's the other way around…" Kana mumbled to himself, frowning down at the burn scars on his hand. Ashe tried to comfort him with a light pat on his back.

"I was thinking they could check a few marketplaces for one while we talked to Nomah," Alm said. "If anyone will have information on obscure dragons, it's the High Priest."

Celica nodded. "As it happens, Nomah decided to rest at the castle today as a break from his pilgrimage to Valentia's holy temples. It seems Mila's spirit has blessed us with fortune today." She put her hands together again, bowing before the throne, then turned to Mae. "Could you show our new friends the way to Zofia Harbor? With all the trading that happens there, it's probably the best place to start looking for something as rare as a dragonstone."

"If that's what you want me to do, Celica…" Mae rocked back on her feet. "But what about—"

"Don't worry about me." The queen offered her friend a soft smile. "Gray, Tobin, I would appreciate it if you would help them as well. Alm and I will work on cleaning the temple together while you search." Before they could protest, she added, "I have a lot to discuss with my husband—in private—before meeting with the High Priest."

The two men glanced at Alm, who simply nodded his assent.

"All righty, everyone!" Mae pulled Gray and Tobin to the entryway, then waved over the rest of the group. "Off to Zofia Harbor we go!"

The towel sat awkwardly in Ashe's hand as he looked between the royals and their friends. It would be improper for him not to help the king and queen get started on cleaning up the temple; they really shouldn't have to clean up after them at all.

He started folding his towel. "Let me at least—"

"Please, just let us handle it…Ashe, was it?" Celica held out her hand, and Ashe hesitantly gave it to her. "A little laundry and mopping is nothing we haven't done before."

"If that's what you wish, Your Majesty, but—"

Felix grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the exit before his inner knight could find another way to protest. He sighed, glancing back at the throne one more time, then followed them out of the temple.

—

Once the others were out of sight, Celica turned her scarlet gaze on Alm, jaw tightening. Somehow, the hurt and anger in her eyes stung harder now that they were alone.

"You should have told me you were leaving."

"There wasn't enough time," Alm said, turning from her to start wiping away at a puddle. "And I didn't go alone, either, if that's what you're concerned about."

"Bringing only your niece as backup is not what I would consider proper protection." Her hands moved sharply around the edges of the towel in her grasp, folding it down. "You both could have been killed by those invisible soldiers."

"But we weren't."

"But what if you had been?" She snatched up another towel from the pile like she was cracking a whip. "Mila have mercy, Alm, but your sense of self-preservation can be extremely lacking sometimes."

Alm scrunched his fingers into the around his makeshift mop, cold water running up through his fist. "What was I supposed to do, then? Sit around uselessly in the castle, waiting for our councilors and generals to stop bickering for long enough to make a damned decision for once?"

"No, but—"

"But nothing!" His hand scrubbed at the puddle so hard that his nails scratched against the marble. "I know, I know, I was being reckless, and kings can't afford to be reckless in such dangerous times. You've said as much before." He jutted his thumb towards the entryway. "But it was necessary! We've got new allies now, and we've figured out what the enemy is after. That's more progress than I would've made wasting my time navigating all the petty political drama of the court, trying to please everyone with my actions as king."

"And I agree with you!"

"Then why are we arguing?!"

"Because you scared me, Alm! You scared all of us!" Her towel slipped from her fingers as she buried her face into her hands. "After everything that happened with the dead…I was scared you wouldn't come back…"

Alm's face softened. "Celica…"

"You're the type to dive right into the middle of danger to protect others, I know that," she said quietly, slowly lowering herself to her knees, "and part of me loves you for that selflessness. But now that you're king, your life doesn't only belong to you anymore. Our people need you alive—you're the single thread that ties Rigel and Zofia together. Without you…I'm afraid the unstable unity we have now would completely crumble."

"I…I understand that." Alm frowned and knelt beside her. "But even if something were to happen to me, they'd still have you—"

"The people chose you to lead them, Alm, not me. And the Rigelians think I'm too soft as it is, they wouldn't follow me alone."

"You don't give yourself enough credit." Alm took her hand and brushed his thumb over her knuckles. "Valentia would have fallen apart months ago if I didn't have you by my side. My humble farm boy education didn't really cover drafting tax codes and legislation."

A smile broke through her despondent face, a smile he could gaze upon for eternity. He pressed a kiss to her fingers. "But you're right. I guess I've been more…rash lately, than I really should be. I'll be more careful from now on, I promise."

"Thank you…" She squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry, too. I should have been more grateful for everything you were able to accomplish in Fódlan before getting so angry." With a short sigh, she rose from the ground and pulled him up with her, her radiant smile faltering. "I think the stress of ruling has been getting to me more than I'd like to admit."

Alm scooped up the remaining towels and folded them. "Did something happen while I was gone?"

"Just the usual territorial disputes." Celica added them to her pile, stacking them neatly into a small tower. "After the invisible soldiers disappeared, House Drummond marched into House Mowbray's territory and tried occupying their farmland, saying they had a right to it since their own had become barren…"

They both glanced up to the empty throne. Ever since Mila's passing, more and more of Zofia's once-arable land had grown infertile. The lands that had remained productive had become more difficult to till, and were yielding less harvest than the southern part of the country had been accustomed to in years past. Her spirit seemed to live on here in the temple; it was the only explanation for all the flora growing around the chamber. The rest of Valentia had not been so lucky.

But that was the price they had to pay to ensure humanity's future. Valentia could no longer rely on the whims of the gods for survival, not when said gods had succumbed to madness.

"…I was able to placate their conflict by offering House Drummond subsidies to cover their losses until we can find a more permanent solution."

Alm grinned and bumped her side. "See? What would I do without your incredible diplomatic skills?"

"I suppose…" Celica's smile returned, warming his heart. "We also received a wedding invitation from Archanea, sent by the Whitewing Sisters on behalf of their friends back home."

"A wedding, huh?" Alm scratched his head. "That sounds nice, but I'm not sure now's the best time for a wedding, with everything going on…"

Celica sighed. "I know, but it was sent to us before the invisible soldiers attacked. I didn't get to open it until now." She set down the last towel. "I wrote to them about our situation, in hopes of forging an alliance with them. Catria had a lot of nice things to say about the groom—that his bravery and leadership on the battlefield is unmatched."

"Sounds like the kind of person we need in this fight."

"Certainly," she agreed, wiping her hands off on her dress. "I'm still waiting for a response, but hopefully it will come soon."

Alm nodded, scanning the rest of the wet chamber floor below the wall of mist. There were still many, many puddles in need of mopping. "I guess we can finish cleaning all this while we wait—"

"That won't be necessary." With a snap of her fingers, she summoned a circle of small flames. They danced above each puddle, causing the water to evaporate under the intense heat. "There, that should do it."

Alm's jaw dropped. "Why didn't you just do that before?"

The only answer he received was a sly smirk. He chuckled, wrapping her in a quick hug before picking up the towel pile. He hadn't forgotten his promise to Marianne. "You can be devious sometimes, you know that?"

"I know." She giggled and kissed his cheek. "Come now, I think it's time we did our part in stopping the return of the dead, wouldn't you say?"

He laced their fingers together. "I thought you'd never ask."

Character Bios:

Celica: Rigain

-The first queen of the One Kingdom of Valentia and a prophesied "Child of Destiny." Born as Princess Anthiese of Zofia, she was one of the only survivors of a fire that killed most of the king's children. A kind-hearted and pious woman who spent her formative years as a student at the priory of Novis, before embarking on a pilgrimage to the Temple of Mila to help save her people and find her lost childhood love. Although she prefers to avoid violence whenever possible, she will not hesitate to take up arms to defend her friends and her people should she receive the call.

-Bearer of Mila's Brand.

-Relations: Daughter of Lima IV and Liprica (both deceased). Half-sister of Conrad. Wife of Alm.

Gray: Dread Fighter

-A member of the One Kingdom's Brotherhood of Knights and childhood friend of Alm. A laid-back man from Ram Village, who joined the Deliverance with Alm and his friends to defend Zofia from Rigelian invasion, winning the heart of a noblewoman during their journey.

-Relations: Son of merchants. Fiancé of Clair.

Mae: Priestess

-Priestess of the priory in Novis and childhood friend of Celica. An energetic and excitable woman who specializes in thunder magic, who has protected Celica through thick and thin on their many adventures on both land and sea.

-Relations: Fiancée of Boey.

Tobin: Bow Knight

-A member of the One Kingdom's Brotherhood of Knights and childhood friend of Alm. A plain-spoken man from Ram Village, who joined the Deliverance with Alm and his friends to defend Zofia from Rigelian invasion, who works hard every day to support his many siblings back home.

-Relations: The eldest in a large family of brothers and sisters.

Next chapter: The Blue Lions search for a dragonstone and encounter a strangely familiar merchant.