Chapter 3
"Emm?" Lissa gasped. "Emm, is that really you?"
I turned away from the room for a moment, looking at a wide-eyed, stunned Cean.
"Secure the area," I said. "Try to block the entrance if you can. Buy us some time."
The marine nodded, not taking his eyes off the girls until he turned away to organize the others. The rest of the marines had made his job easy, crowding around the doorway to try and get a look.
"Right, you lot!" Cean shouted to get everyone's attention. "Grab anything not nailed down! Let's go!"
I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, giving him a vicious grin.
"If you find bottles of liquor, set them aside. We may need them," I instructed.
"Really, sir?" Cean quirked a brow. "We have ale on the Arturia."
"Not for drinking, dingus," I snapped. "Just do it."
"Right you are, General, sir," Cean grunted.
I let him go, and the marines swiftly set to grabbing every broken piece of furniture and piling it up in the doorways. I only watched a moment before I was satisfied that they would buy us the time we needed to get the girls moving.
Turning back to the prison room, Lissa was already crouched near the trio on the bed, but it appeared Emmeryn wasn't in the mood to listen. She wouldn't relinquish her protective hold on the two younger women, glaring protectively over their heads. Neither of them would look up from where their faces were pressed into Emmeryn's ratty dress, and Lissa was starting to look a little harried.
"Emm, please," Lissa urged. "It's okay! It's me and Chrom! You know us!"
Emmeryn looked up languidly, blinking a few times at Lissa before looking up at Chrom.
The Exalt had his fists clenched tightly, watching with a helpless expression. I stepped up to him, Archer on my heels, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Chrom looked down at me, a stricken expression on his face.
"Alright, ladies, listen up," I said evenly. "We're your rescue party. The faster you work with us, the faster we get you home. I need you up and moving, and I need it now. Are any of you injured?"
There was no answer at first aside from some sniffles, but Emmeryn did look up and blink owlishly at me.
"Ben?" she asked.
"Oh, so him you remember?" Lissa giggled.
"No… time to… turtle?" Emmeryn said slowly.
I smirked, grinning. She did remember me, apparently.
"Ben, what's she talking about?" Chrom asked desperately. "What's wrong with her? She doesn't…"
"Recognize you?" I sighed. "Look at her forehead. She… landed on her head, Chrom. I'm guessing there's some kind of trauma to her brain that's-"
"My sister is not simple!" Chrom snapped, rounding on me. "She… she can't be! After all this time!?"
One of the other girls wailed as Chrom raised his voice, and Emmeryn tightened her hold on them.
"Chrom!" she hissed admonishingly.
Lissa made a sound halfway between a laugh and a giggle, looking up at us with a watery smile.
"She definitely remembers you, too, Chrom," the younger princess said.
Archer gave a loud bark, making all three of us jump. I glanced over my shoulder at where the marines had made a decent sized barricade, the sounds of fighting closing in now.
"Puppy?" Emmeryn said hopefully.
An idea formed in my head, and I looked down at the dog. Archer looked back up at me, his muzzle still a gory mess, and smiled that doggy smile as he wagged his tail.
"Archer," I said, pointing at Emmeryn and the other two. "Watch."
The dog's tail stopped and his ears perked up at the command in my tone, and he trotted over to the bed expectantly. As we watched, Emmeryn slowly unfurled herself from around the other two and scooted to the edge of the bed. Archer cocked his head as he and Emmeryn made eye contact, and the former Exalt gave a wide smile as she began to pet him.
"Puppy," she repeated happily.
Archer wuffed contentedly as he leaned into Emmeryn's gentle ministrations, tail wagging again.
"Good dog," I nodded.
I turned to the other two girls, cowering against the wall now without Emmeryn to shield them.
"Ladies, we're here to help," I said. "My name's Ben, this is Chrom and Lissa. You've already met their sister, Emm. What are your names?"
One of the girls, one side of her face marred by dark bruises beneath a mop of filthy black hair, looked up.
"I… I'm… Hily…" she whimpered. "Th-this is… Jane."
I knelt down next to the bed, drawing curious looks from Emmeryn and Archer.
"Well, Hily, Jane, we're here to get you home. So, I need you to work with us here, okay? Are either of you injured?" I asked as gently as I could.
"Th-they… they beat us," Hily sobbed. "B-but I can walk. I think."
"M-my leg… hurts," the other girl, Jane, whimpered without looking up.
I grit my teeth, trying to project cold calm. Inside, though, I seethed. These two were barely more than girls, practically children.
A lot more pirates would be dying today, if I had my way.
"My friend here, Lissa, is a cleric," I told her. "Can you let her look you over while Chrom and I find us a way out?"
"I am not leaving my sister's-" Chrom started to say, before I cut him off.
"Let the girls get ready, big guy," I said, standing. "I need your help with our exit strategy. Archer. Stay."
The dog looked up at me and wuffed again as he parked his arse on Emmeryn's foot, earning a small giggle from her as she scratched behind his ears. I took Chrom by the arm and practically had to drag him out of the room, sighing once we were out of earshot.
"Cean! Progress!?" I called.
"Something's going on downstairs, sir!" the marine called back. "Scouts are checking it out, but sounds like one of the other teams hit some resistance getting out!"
"You, you and you," I said, singling out three of the marines. "Start tearing up rags and stuffing them into the tops of whatever bottles of grog you found. If you can't find rags use your shirts. I have a plan."
"You heard him, get to it!" Cean urged, limping over before adding "If you're thinking what I hope you are, we're a little short on fire, sir."
The three marines didn't hesitate to strip their shirts off and begin tearing them up to jam in the bottles. They clustered in a small knot over the intact bottles that the others had set aside and set to work as Cean and I watched. I just grinned and clicked my fingers, summoning a small wisp of flames over my hand as the marine Lieutenant looked back.
"I got it under control, Cean," I told him. "Man the barricades. We're gonna need to make a quick exit."
"Gonna be hard, sir," he said, voice low. "We're kinda trapped in here."
"I'm working on it," I assured him.
"Right you are, sir," he nodded, limping away towards the barricades again. "Alright you lot! Let's make this as hard as we can for these swine! I want to see these barriers thicker than the hull of our darling Arturia!"
I grinned a little, watching the ex-pirate limp away for a moment before turning back to Chrom. The Exalt was watching me with an appraising look, and when I caught his eye he looked away.
"How did you do it?" he asked. "Those girls, they wouldn't even look at me. And now they're ready to move, and you're organizing our retreat? Are you really the same Ben I knew a year ago? How did you do it?"
"Because I don't have a personal stake in this, Chrom," I said bluntly. "Those girls could tell you and Lissa were both agitated. Me? Cold as ice. Easier to deal with. As for our retreat, ah… I wasn't lying when I said I wanted help on that."
"You mean we are actually trapped?" Chrom asked, eyes widening. "Oh, I take my second question back. You are definitely the same Ben."
"Hey, I prefer to think of it as having the enemy surrounded from the inside," I joked weakly.
"Ben, this is serious-" Chrom began with his teeth clenched.
I didn't even get the chance to cut him off myself this time. Instead, the Exalt stopped mid-sentence when a quartet of marines came barrelling through the way we had come in, vaulting over the barricade with laughs and whoops. I noticed that each man had his weapons away, and carried a terrified looking woman in their arms.
"Found some more downstairs, boss!" one of them shouted to me. "But they're right behind us!"
"Where's the third team?" I asked.
"Saw them running out the front door," another of the marines said over the head of a woman clinging to him for dear life.
The scouts followed next, one being carried by two of the others as he stumbled along between them, a line of blood running from a nasty-looking hit to the head.
"Medic!" One of the scouts shouted.
"Lissa, we need you!" I called. "Cean! Bottles! Now! Chrom, grab as many as you can carry!"
Chrom and I hurried over to where the three shirtless marines were just starting to pass out the bottles. Cean joined us, and we each hefted a bottle.
"What are we going to do with these!?" Chrom asked, concern beginning to tinge his voice. "How is this going to help!?"
"Oh, ye of little faith," I grinned, casting my fire spell again. "Chrom, allow me to introduce you to… the Molotov cocktail."
"Gods I love working for you, Boss," Cean chuckled. "Weird name for it, though…"
As we spoke, I lit the ends of all three rags at once. We looked up as the last of the second group came running around the barricade, a few sporting some minor cuts, but all present and accounted for. I gave a wide grin and drew back my arm.
"Fire in the hole!" I shouted.
Cean and I both threw our bottles high over the barricades, Chrom only hesitating for a moment before he added his own to the volley. The timing couldn't have been better, because all three improvised projectiles hit the front of the charging pirates and engulfed them in a cloud of flame and glass shards. The marines whooped and laughed, and Cean, Chrom and I grabbed more bottles from the waiting marines kneeling near the rest of the projectiles.
I lit up three more, but while Chrom and Cean added their bottles to the conflagration already burning in the hall, I threw mine short into the barricade.
The dry wood and whatever else the marines had stacked up caught almost instantly, and soon we had a mighty wall of flames between us and the pirates. Thanks to the broken windows, too, there was no risk of imminent death via smoke inhalation.
I had a lightbulb moment watching the smoke rush out the windows.
On a roll, I looked around with a wide grin.
"Marines! Ropes!" I shouted. "We go out the windows!"
"And do what?" Chrom asked.
"We could circle around back to the forest," Cean suggested. "Lose them in the underbrush?"
"I have a better plan," I said. "These men are all sailors, right?"
"You can't possibly be thinking…" Chrom trailed off.
"Here's the plan, boys!" I shouted. "We go out the windows! Those of you not wounded or carrying a VIP, go first and make for the pirate ships! We secure one and make our escape on that!"
My brazen plan was met with much laughter and great approval, if the uproar from the marines was any indication. I moved over to where Lissa was treating the wounded scout, a much larger knot of kidnapped women behind her now that the second squad had met up with us.
"Ladies, find a marine and pair up," I instructed. "We're going to rappel down the outside of the fortress and run for the dock. Can you all run?"
Most of the women nodded assent, although a few looked too shellshocked for even that much. Emmeryn knelt at the back of the group, her attention still on petting Archer. The dog himself was beginning to cast worried glances at the flames spreading along the barricade, but remained calm under Emmeryn's hands.
"Chrom, take Emmeryn. Cean, Lissa. The rest of you, find a partner and get ready to run," I instructed.
Chrom moved to Emmeryn as Lissa hopped up and came over to where Cean and I were waiting. The younger princess looked around as the women all hesitantly approached the marines. The men not carrying one of the kidnapped girls were already beginning to rappel down, laughing as they leapt daringly from the broken windows.
"What about you?" Lissa asked. "Not planning on playing hero?"
"That's your brother's job," I scoffed. "As for me… Archer! Up!"
Archer looked up excitedly, his tail wagging as he shot across the space between us and leapt up into my arms.
"I am not leaving my dog behind," I told Lissa around him.
We approached the windows, Emmeryn following Archer more than Chrom's direction at this point, and watched as the marines began to transport the very reluctant captives down. The scouts and marines that had been first out had done so with meticulously trained speed and precision; those men were already charging across the small patch of weedy field towards the pirate ships. Unfortunately, most of the captives were either afraid of the drop, or traumatized from the pirates and afraid of the marines.
"Cean, take Lissa," I instructed. "Hopefully if they see one pair going, the rest will follow."
Cean nodded, limping towards the window with Lissa in tow.
"Now, Princess, forgive my familiarity, but I'm going to need you to put your arms around my neck," Cean instructed. "Wouldn't hurt if you wrapped your legs around me, too."
"Why, Lieutenant, I'm shocked! I'm a married woman!" Lissa laughed, practically jumping on the man.
Once he had a firm grip on her, Cean barely hesitated to grab a rope and jump out the window. My fears that he would have trouble with this thanks to his peg-leg seemed unfounded, and he hopped down the side of the building with barely any effort at all.
"I'm starting to think he only limps for the image," I muttered to Chrom.
"Come on now, Emm, it's time to go," Chrom said gently, taking her by the elbow and leading her to the window.
"Puppy?" she asked plaintively.
"He'll meet you down there," I told her.
"Promise?" she asked.
"I promise," I smiled.
Emmeryn turned to Chrom and leapt up onto him, copying what Lissa had done to Cean. The Exalt, unprepared for the motion, teetered dangerously before he caught his balance and edged out of the window. Then he was over the lip and down the building, and I was left with six scared women and six very impatient looking marines.
"Alright ladies, it's us or the fire," I told them. "Now or never!"
To my surprise, it was Hily that moved to one of the marines first, tentatively wrapping her arms around his neck. The man smiled encouragingly, picking her up with one arm and practically leaping out the window. She screamed the whole way down, but waved from the bottom. This proved to be the push the others needed, and with little more fuss they began to exit the burning building.
I looked up as Archer licked the side of my face, eyes widening as the first of the pirates burst through the dying flames of the barricade.
We had taken too long.
"We're out of time! Go, now!" I shouted.
The last two of the marines didn't hesitate, bodily throwing the remaining girls over their shoulders and jumping out the windows. I followed with archer, gripping the rope one-handed as I held my dog to my chest with the other, letting myself slide down the rope and silently thanking whatever god was listening that I'd remembered to wear my gloves.
My heart almost stopped on the way down, and the descent took what felt like forever. By the time my feet hit dirt by arm was screaming in protest from the strain, and it felt like my shoulder had been dislocated, but Archer's barking as he got his paws on the ground made it worth the extra effort.
"Run for the ships!" I urged. "Chrom, with me! We're rearguard!"
I yelped and jumped into the air as another form hit the ground behind me, Su'ko dusting her hands off and looking up innocently.
"I cannot believe I forgot you were there the whole time," I commented. "Feel like helping with the rearguard?"
"By your will, milord," she said, bowing her head.
"Then start running," I said with a grin.
The sprint to the ships was uneventful. The pirates didn't start throwing shit out the windows at us until well after we were out of range of any serious harm, although that didn't stop them from trying.
By the time we made it to the docks, the marines and scouts that had gone on ahead had already cleared them and were well on their way to taking control of the more intact of the two ships moored there. What I had thought was a third ship when we had arrived was actually an old wreck, sunk at the ancient jetty and still comically tied to the pier.
"Alright, everybody on board!" I called. "Cean! Get us underway!"
"Aye, sir!" the Lieutenant responded, thumping up the gangplank. "You heard the General, ladies! All aboard!"
Chrom, Lissa and Emmeryn all joined me at the back of the press of bodies, and we formed an odd little rearguard to watch over the escapees. A few seemed reluctant to go back on board the ship, clearly having been taken on it against their will before, but the marines seemed less interested in them than in escaping, so they began to trickle aboard slowly.
"I cannot believe this worked," I admitted.
"But this was your plan!" Lissa said, aghast.
"That's why I can't believe it!" I laughed.
"It was a good plan," Chrom grinned, clapping me on the shoulder. "I should have known you would get us out of there."
Archer barked his agreement from my foot, Emmeryn kneeling down again to pet him. I glanced up at the other ship, frowning.
"I just wish there was something we could do to make sure they can't follow us," I said.
There was a small whisper at my side, which turned out to be Su'ko clearing her throat. I glanced over, the young ninja holding two of the Molotov's we'd made up to me.
"Su'ko, you really do fit right in, you know that?" I laughed.
I sat atop a box on the deck of the stolen pirate ship, swaying with the motion of the boat as I watched the sun sinking down towards the horizon. My head was blissfully empty, and I sat simply allowing myself to decompress.
Yemuel had been quietly furious when he had found out that pirates had been stealing the women-folk of these islands, and was personally leading the majority of the marines in a clean-up operation.
Lissa was spearheading the efforts to make the kidnapped women more comfortable until we got back to land, Chrom doing his best to help and be as friendly and unthreatening as possible.
Archer was off playing with Emmeryn among the knot of rescued prisoners, and I could occasionally hear a bark or giggle from the group. They all seemed to be put at ease by the presence of the (now clean) dog.
Su'ko was…
Well, knowing her, she was probably hovering right behind me.
But, for now I was as alone as I was likely to get, and I wanted to luxuriate in that feeling for as long as I could. I let out a long breath, letting myself just deflate and relax.
This whole op had been intense. What was initially supposed to be a quick snatch-and-grab with Chrom breathing down my neck the entire time had turned into an all-out assault on a major pirate stronghold... with Chrom breathing down my neck the entire time.
I mean, it would be great PR once we got back, but right now it was still kinda like 'holy shit did we really just do that?'
I say that the op had been 'intense', not 'a mess'. The marines and scouts had performed perfectly, acting as cohesive as had been possible. We'd rescued the women and were in the process of putting down a legitimate pirate threat, all without a single casualty. That I knew about, anyway. I should have felt proud, and probably would once I had time to come to terms with what had happened, but for now I just felt… nothing.
I glanced up as Chrom approached, an awkward set to his features that always meant he was trying to think of the right thing to say.
"What's up, your Exaltedness?" I asked, before blinking. "Is that how I'm supposed to address you? How does one address the Exalt?"
"Well, most people call me 'Your Grace'," Chrom said, relaxing a little. "But you… you have long since earned the right to just call me Chrom."
We sat and stood, respectively, in silence for a time, watching the sun sink lower and feeling the sea breeze in our hair. Eventually, without looking up, I spoke.
"It's nice out here, isn't it?" I asked softly.
"It's a little hot for my liking," Chrom grumbled.
"In all the time I've been in Ylisse, this is the first time I've found somewhere like my home," I admitted. "I didn't think it'd make me this homesick. Thought I was past this."
"Thinking of moving?" Chrom asked lightly.
"What, with the amount of crap I've accumulated over the last two years? I don't think so," I scoffed with a grin.
Chrom grinned, too, and we both lapsed into awkward silence. For my part, I just didn't know what to say. One of the upsides of the day's escapades seemed to be that I'd burned out my anxiety with adrenaline during all the fighting. I found myself thinking that maybe Valm would be tolerable if I could just keep doing that.
After a time just spent listening to the waves lapping at the side of the boat, I glanced up at Chrom to find him staring at Emmeryn. She was surrounded by the other rescued women and Lissa, and they were all talking and laughing loudly, drunk off their newfound freedom. Yet Emmeryn watched them silently, smiling slightly as she continued to pet Archer's head.
"Not the reunion you were hoping for?" I asked.
Chrom started, glancing back at me guiltily.
"She is… different," he said eventually. "She acts like she barely recognizes us. Barely knows Lissa and I. She has barely spoken a word since we left that fortress. I… don't know what to do."
"For now, do nothing," I shrugged. "Once we get back to the village and get the girls safe, we can have Lissa take a closer look at her."
"Back there you said something about this possibly being caused by trauma," Chrom said hopefully.
"I'm not doctor, Chrom," I sighed, looking back out to sea. "I just read a lot of books. I've read about people who go through seriously traumatic events and revert back to a childlike state as a coping mechanism, yes. I've also read about people with brain damage after severe head trauma being in a similar state. You have to admit, she ticks both boxes. And that's just with what we know. It's been years, Chrom. A lot can happen."
I glanced up at him, Chrom's jaw set and his fists clenched.
"My sister is not some… some… hysterical hospice case!" Chrom seethed. "She is not simple! She is scared, and confused, and… and…"
He trailed off, and I glanced back out at the ocean.
"And if, worst case scenario, she is?" I asked evenly.
"She is still my sister," Chrom said, his voice taking on a dangerous tone. "I will see that she is cared for."
"Hey, I'm not saying you shouldn't," I said quickly. "More power to you, man. I'm just saying, you need to start thinking contingencies."
Chrom let out a breath and seemed to deflate, his shoulders sagging and his gaze sinking to the deck between his feet.
"I… I thought I'd lost her, Ben," he said. "And now she's back! Really, truly alive! But…"
"Not quite the reunion you were hoping for," I finished.
"No," Chrom said softly, looking back up at Emmeryn. "Not at all."
"Don't start jumping to conclusions just yet," I said encouragingly. "There's still a long way to home. Personally, I'm more interested in how she got all the way out here."
Chrom froze at that, his face taking on an expression that can only be described as 'oh, right'.
"I didn't even think of that," he admitted after a moment. "I was so caught up in finding her that I… didn't think of how she might have gotten here."
I rolled my eyes to hide my smirk, shaking my head.
"Never change, Chrom," I said. "Never change."
When we arrived back in the village, the sun had set and the square was lit by a large bonfire. There was much happy crying and laughter as the womenfolk were returned home, and even the few from the other islands allowed themselves to be swept away with the flow.
Lissa bustled about, setting herself up in the village elder's home to see to any and all injuries. She had help from the corpsmen from the marine squads, as well as the unlimited use of their medical supplies, so that she wouldn't burn herself out trying to use healing magic on everyone. Emmeryn was with her, resting, and Chrom was watching over them like a worried gargoyle.
Cean had led the marines back along the beach, to ensure that no pirates had escaped the purge. They had returned not long after Yemuel had come aground in a small rowboat, looking noble and perfect with one foot on the prow of the little ship as they had come alongside the little wooden docks. He was off speaking with Cean near the fire, both of them enjoying the fruity, tropical wine that the locals had provided us as they discussed the day's events. As admiral, debriefing the squads was Yem's job, not mine. He'd give me his report when he was ready, and I was more than happy to let him do his thing.
For my part, I was loitering outside of the Elder's house, just kind of killing time and studying the surroundings as I perched on the edge of the boardwalk, my feet dangling off it.
The village, now that I took a closer look at it, wasn't anywhere near as ramshackle as I'd thought it was in the daylight. It resembled a tropical resort, in a way, with raised boardwalks and houses on stilts to keep the high tide out. The buildings themselves were a mixture of huts and cabanas, well-constructed despite being simple. Being this far south meant far milder winters than in Ylisse, which meant they could be built to be more open, but no doubt they got wicked hurricanes out here, too. I hadn't noticed many reefs on the way here, either. The village was built around a central spit of land that would be an island during high-tide, but was otherwise a sandy town square. A few of the houses, further inland, were built on the ground itself, but still retained lower stilts to raise them off the damp earth. Palm trees dotted the area, too, along with a few wisps of beach grasses here and there. In the distance, the rainforest loomed, dark and foreboding in the night, full of the trilling of insects and the calls of night birds.
The people laughed and danced regardless, only a couple of sombre faces along the outside mourning the few deaths from the previous day. Men wore shorts and sleeveless shirts, and women wore flowing dresses and skirts. Hardly the savages that the Ylissean nobility had them pegged as.
All in all, the mood was high, and I was content to simply sit and watch. Archer was curled up at my side, snoozing in the warmth of the nearby fire.
I smiled as some children ran past, laughing and screaming as they played on the boardwalk. Archer glanced up, but decided that he had better things to do and curled back against my side. I glanced back at the distinct thunk-thunk-thunk of Cean's gait, the marine Lieutenant offering me a lazy salute.
"Don't bother, I'm off duty," I told him.
"This seat taken?" he asked.
I indicated he go ahead, and he settled in next to me, Archer between us.
"Admiral's meeting with the town elder now," Cean said. "Figured you'd want to meet with him regarding the VIP. How is she?"
"Good, all things considered," I sighed. "Which is worrying. Something's wrong, and I don't think Chrom's taking it well. Good call with the Elder, though. I do want some answers."
"We all do," Cean grunted. "There's a lotta Plegians round here. More than just some coastal fishermen that migrated."
"Refugees," I said. "I'd spot them a mile away. Baham is full of them."
"Sorry to hear that," Cean said.
"Don't be," I scoffed. "They're hard workers and good people. And good cooks. They brought a lot to the region. I'm just good at spotting them now."
"Gotta say, that's not a normal noble mindset on 'em," Cean commented.
"I'm hardly a normal nobleman," I shrugged.
"Well, 'your lordship', if you wanted answers," Cean grinned, "I'd be heading over to where the Admiral is holding court on the other side of the fire. He's got the Elder and the head of the refugees with him now."
"Why didn't you lead with that?" I huffed.
"And miss out on all this bonding?" Cean laughed.
I went to rise, intending to fetch Chrom and find the people in charge of this village, but a thought occurred to me when Archer glanced up and yawned. With a grin of my own I looked at Cean.
"Wanna see something cool?" I asked. "Archer. Fetch Chrom."
The big dog looked up at me, as if checking that he had heard right, tail starting to wag.
"You heard me," I laughed. "Fetch Chrom. Go!"
The dog was up and running like a shot, tail flapping back and forth as he bolted into the elder's house. There were some screams and laughter, then much more laughter, and Cean gave me an odd look. I just sat there, grinning smugly, as Archer reappeared, dragging Chrom by the bottom of his tunic. Of course, Chrom had no idea what was going on, and was pulling back against the dog, making for quite the spectacle.
"What are you doing!?" the Exalt bawled. "Get off me! What are… Ben! Ben!? Get this mutt off me! Argh, no, stop, I like this tunic!"
By now, Cean was roaring with laughter, the ex-pirate holding his stomach and rocking back and forth. The villagers that were in the vicinity stopped to watch, too, some offering advice while others just smiled and laughed. Chrom looked up, an expression of complete and utter confusion on his face until he saw the grin on mine.
"Archer, heel!" I called.
The dog immediately released Chrom and came to my side, drooling and tail-wagging as he sat right in front of me. I used his shoulder to push myself up, Archer giving a playful lick at my face as Chrom stomped over, trying to straighten his tunic and wipe the dog slobber off.
"You couldn't just send the pirate?" he growled.
"Ah, that's 'ex-pirate', milord," Cean corrected. "Important distinction. If you wanted to label me as anything, I'd say I'm closer to a corsair now."
"What's the difference?" Chrom asked, exasperated.
"Corsairs are basically pirates that work for a country," I explained, brushing at the seat of my pants. "Archer, go watch Emmeryn."
The dog barked happily, taking off into the house again. Judging by the happy squeal of, "Puppy!" he'd found his mark very quickly.
"Now that I have your attention," I said to Chrom, with a sly grin. "I was going to talk to the leaders of the town. Care to join me?"
Chrom's frown faded into a look of indecision, and he glanced back at the elder's house.
"I don't know," he said slowly. "I think I should stay-"
"Lieutenant, guard this house and the people inside with your life until we return," I said with a sigh.
"Right, sure thing, boss," Cean said absently, fiddling with the catch to his leg. "I'll watch it and whatever."
"Not confidence inspiring," Chrom deadpanned.
"Come on, they're not going anywhere," I urged. "This town is crawling with marines and scouts right now. They'll be fine. Besides, don't you want to know how she ended up out here to begin with?"
Chrom pursed his lips, before nodding as his curiosity won out over his protective urges. We followed the boardwalk around the fire, before taking a small staircase down to the beach level. I spotted Yemuel almost immediately, sitting with two other men in the shadows of the boardwalk in front of the fire.
The Elder was easy to spot, and not just because we had dealt with him when we passed through before. Clearly local, his skin had the texture of old boot-leather from too many years at sea. He wore an open shirt that framed his broad chest and pot-belly, and smiled appreciatively as we approached.
The other man, though, the leader of the refugees, was a surprise. He was young, perhaps only my age. Tall and broad-shouldered, he bowed his head respectfully as we approached. His beard was neatly trimmed, and his long hair was tied back from his face with a simple leather cord. He wore clothes similar to the locals, his own open shirt showing thick, corded muscle under a veritable forest of body hair, and he openly wore a Plegian scimitar at his hip.
His bearing struck me immediately as familiar. I was around men and women that held themselves the same way all day, every day. He was ex-military, and not a conscript; he had training.
The elder rose shakily to his feet, Yemuel and the refugee doing the same.
"I must thank you again for saving our people milords," he said, bowing his head.
"Don't," I said. "They had one of ours."
"Ben," Chrom hissed, elbowing me.
The refugee leader laughed, a harsh and dry sound, as he smiled.
"Your man's candour is refreshing, Exalt Chrom," he said, his voice thickly accented in Plegian.
"We were happy to help," Chrom said, shooting me a dirty look. "But I'm afraid you have us at a disadvantage."
"Forgive me, milord," the refugee said. "My name is Amir, and I lead these refugees. You are known among us for your fair handling of the Plegian people after the war."
We all took seats in a rough circle, the trio of men resuming their original spots as I dragged a box over to perch on. Chrom sat on a large stone, shifting a little to get comfortable.
I decided it would probably be best to just remain silent and let Chrom do the talking here. Honestly, after a year of yelling at recruits and otherwise hiding away from people, my own language skills had atrophied a little. Besides, Chrom was good at this kind of crap. I was just here to watch my boys in action, and cross a little more red out of my leger by rescuing Emm early.
"I only regret that the war was necessary in the first place," Chrom said honestly.
"It was only necessary because of King Gangrel's madness," Amir said, looking off into the fire for a moment before shaking his head. "No. He does not deserve that title. Gangrel was the cause of the war, and we all suffered for it."
"No love lost between you and the crown, huh?" I asked.
"No," Amir chuckled. "It is why we are here."
"There does seem to be a lot of dissatisfaction with the ruling parties of our nations going around," Yemuel drawled, before grinning at Chrom. "Present company excluded, of course."
"I find myself curious as to how you all came to be here," I said.
"Ben, you are utterly tactless," Chrom groaned.
"Well, that's odd to hear from you," I scoffed, grinning self-depreciatingly. "Although I should apologize. I'm still in mission-mode. Forgive me."
"You refer to the 'late' Exalt, correct?" Amir nodded. "I have no shame in telling the story. When she fell, Gangrel was so consumed with pursuing the rest of you that he left her there to rot. As the majority of his forces withdrew, my squad decided that she deserved a proper burial for her sacrifice. We… found her alive."
Chrom gave a long sigh, placing his face in his hands.
"I knew we shouldn't have just left her," he said brokenly.
"To be fair, there were a lot of arrows pointed at us at the time," I reminded him.
"You made the right decision, Exalt Chrom," Yemuel soothed.
"Please, continue," Chrom said, sitting up again.
"We could not turn Lady Emmeryn over to Gangrel, though," Amir continued with a nod. "So, my squad bore her away to safety, under cover of darkness. We had intended to return her to Ylisse, but we had no way to get there, so we joined a group of refugees heading south, away from the fighting. She remained unconscious for the entire journey. We tended her wounds as best as we could, but we were a front-line unit. We had no medical knowledge. When we came to the sea, we boarded the trading vessel that brought us here, hoping we could eventually return to Ylisse on another. And then… she woke up."
When Amir didn't continue I leaned forward, quirking a brow.
"And?" I asked. "You just decided to bring her here?"
"You have seen her, yes?" Amir sighed. "Spoken to her? Gone is that gentle glory that moved us to abandon our lives in Plegia. It… didn't feel right to bring her back, a shadow of the woman she was. So, we brought her here, where she might live out her remaining days."
"That wasn't your decision to make," Chrom growled.
"Nor yours, Exalt," Amir said evenly. "I am no simple foot soldier. I was Royal Guard. I understand politics. I understand, as I'm sure you do, that to see her back in Ylisse in her current state would be… problematic."
"We do understand that," I cut in, placing a hand on Chrom's shoulder. "And we're working on it. But we think it might help her recover to be with her family."
Chrom deflated as I dropped my hand, the Exalt looking studiously at the ground between his boots.
"Thank you," he said after a moment, before looking up again. "Thank you for saving my sister."
Amir blinked a few times, taken aback.
"It… was my honor, your grace," the Plegian man said.
"And you?" I said, looking at the local islander. "How do you factor into all this? Your people were just fine with letting a bunch of refugees make themselves at home?"
The village elder started, as if not having expected being called on. He cleared his throat, nervously wiping his palms on his shorts.
"If you had seen the village before they arrived, you would understand," the elder said slowly. "We were a dying people. Too few of us left to fish. Too few to tend the fruit groves in the forest. The refugees were eager to learn. They saved us from extinction. Not just this village, but all the villages on the island."
I nodded, having suspected as much. Still, even though I'd suspected it, I was surprised that the locals had been so progressive about it.
"Well, I guess that about wraps things up?" Yemuel asked, clapping his hands together.
"I suppose it does," Chrom said, standing.
"Yem, I'm leaving the clean-up to you," I groaned, pushing myself up. "I'm going to find a nice quiet corner on that ship we stole and curl up for some sleep."
"Please, milords, use my house," the elder said hurriedly. "I insist! I have children in the village that I can stay with, it will be no imposition."
I exchanged a glance with Chrom, before shrugging.
"Sure, if you don't mind," I said.
"Will you be staying long?" Amir asked.
"Lissa, my sister, the cleric, said she wanted to keep a few of the wounded under observation for at least a night," Chrom said. "After that, some of the girls we rescued came from other islands. I would see them safely home."
"Nothing would bring me greater joy," Yemuel nodded. "The Arturia and Asuna are at your service, milord."
"I should hope so, he paid for them," I muttered.
"I heard that," Chrom chuckled.
The next morning, I rose early, stretching sore muscles and yawning as I stepped out of the elder's house into the pre-dawn light. I winced and stopped mid-stretch, feeling my shoulder pop painfully, and cursed under my breath. The elder hadn't mentioned it at the time, but the beds in his 'house' were all hammocks. Lissa had been thrilled, and Emmeryn hadn't seemed to mind either way, but Chrom had taken one look at the expression on my face and sighed in resignation.
I don't know if you've ever tried to spend a night sleeping in a hammock, but it's damned uncomfortable after a few hours. Hard to get comfortable in, too, if you toss and turn like I do.
So, instead of struggling to get a few more hours rest, I'd risen early. Sure, this was technically 'down time' for me, but I was hardwired to get up this early now.
I glanced up, spotting Su'ko lingering in the shadow cast by the elder's house, just on the edge of the boardwalk. She looked as implacable as always, and I smiled a little at her. She stepped forward and bowed the way she always did when I made eye contact, refusing to meet my gaze again even once she had risen from her customary bow.
"Good morning, Su'ko," I said in Chon'sinian.
"Good morning, milord," she responded softly. "I trust you slept well?"
"Well, I slept," I said, smirking at my own dumb wordplay.
Su'ko just nodded. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, instead turning back to look out over the village that was just now beginning to come awake with the new day.
"So, what do you think?" I asked.
"About what, milord?" she asked blandly.
"The clouds," I deadpanned, quirking a brow.
"They are very fluffy, milord," she said, deadpan as ever.
This time I did sigh, running a hand down my face. I swore, then and there, that I would eventually figure out how to get a rise out of this girl, even if I had to hold her down and tickle her with a feather to do it.
"I meant, what do you think about our performance yesterday?" I said.
"Ah," Su'ko nodded. "It was… satisfactory. There were no friendly casualties. The objectives were achieved."
"How would you rate the performance of the men?" I asked.
Su'ko tilted her head a little, as if unsure how to answer.
"You're from a crazy-scary tribe of shadow warriors," I explained with a small grin. "I'd like to know your opinion. How did we stack up compared to your tribesmen? Speak freely."
Su'ko seemed to consider this for a moment, a very quick glimmer of doubt passing over her expression before it went back to its usual neutrality. "I believe that the marines and scouts performed satisfactorily. The scouts were of my people, and were therefore not a worry. However, I admit to being… impressed by the professionalism of the marines. I had not expected such from former pirates."
"I think that's the most I've ever heard you speak," I chuckled.
Su'ko made an almost imperceptible huff, her bottom lip protruding just the tiniest bit. On anyone else, this would have been unnoticeable, but I had been carefully watching my bodyguard for nearly a year now, and I caught these little flashes of expression.
She was pouting.
"I appreciate your appraisal, Master Su'ko," I said playfully.
She just bowed again, refusing to rise to the bait.
"As you will, milord," she said.
"I swear, one of these days I'm going to have to get you drunk or something," I sighed, running a hand over the stubble atop my head.
"I am as yet not old enough to consume alcohol by my tribe's laws," she said without skipping a beat.
"Su'ko, as your Lord and commanding officer I'm ordering you to go have fun," I deadpanned.
"I cannot comply," she said. "As that would interfere with my duty to protect you."
I threw my hands up, shaking my head at my latest failure to get her to open up.
"I give up, you win," I sighed.
I glanced back at her just in time to catch the tiny grin she was wiping off her face.
"Oh my god you're messing with me," I said aghast.
"I would never presume, milord," she said with a bow.
"You're just bowing to hide your grin!" I accused.
When Su'ko didn't respond I let out a low growl, crossing my arms.
"Fine, you win this round," I pouted. "Dismissed."
When I glanced back again, she was gone. I shook my head, internally congratulating myself for running the entire conversation in Chon'sinian. Yu'tsun would be proud. Or, well, as close to proud as the miserable old bitch was liable to get, which meant she would probably have only smacked me with her walking stick a few times for mangling the accent.
And I say 'miserable old bitch' with nothing but the upmost respect.
I yawned again, wondering who I could see about getting some breakfast. The marines and scouts that hadn't returned to the ships were camping at the edge of the rainforest, and would probably have a cooking fire set up by now, so I started walking in that general direction.
I found Cean and a few other bleary looking marines sitting around a small cooking fire at the edge of the rainforest, toasting some local bread over the coals as they waited for their oatmeal to warm in the communal pot.
"Room for one more?" I asked.
"For our boss? Always," Cean grinned, scooting aside and making room for me. "You're up early."
"And you're sitting awfully close to that fire for a man with a wooden leg, what's your point?" I deadpanned.
"Touchy," Cean said, holding up his hands.
"Sorry," I groaned, running a hand down his face. "I slept like shit. Should have just pitched a tent with you lot."
"What, the elder's beds full of fleas?" Cean asked.
As he spoke, he went about preparing a few more slices of bread in a toaster. The marines had portable 'toasters', which was a little cage-like contraption on the end of a short steel pole that held a piece of bread over a heat-source to crisp it up nicely. Took a little longer than the old electric toaster, but I wasn't about to be picky. Funnily enough, this was one piece of tech I hadn't had to introduce to them. I just added it to the company mess gear lists.
"Hammocks," I growled. "The whole house was full of hammocks. I'd have preferred a bedroll."
"Well, nothing another week or so at sea won't make you forget," Cean shrugged.
"You get used to the hammocks," one of the other marines said with a grin. "We use 'em all the time on the ships."
"No space for beds, you see," the other marine said. "Only Cap'n Yemuel has a bed, and it's a damn pain to keep clean out at sea. All them sheets and what-not."
Cean handed me a lump of slightly-charred bread, which I bit into with relish. You don't really know how much you miss the little luxuries until they're gone, and as nice as fresh bread rolls are, nothing beats a nice slice of toast in the morning.
Well, okay, a cup of decent coffee beats literally anything else, but I was still working on that one.
The marines all helped themselves to a bowl of the oatmeal next, leaving a generous helping for me to split with those men still waking up, and we continued to speak as we ate.
"Any plans for today, sir?" Cean asked.
"Not really," I shrugged. "You're handling getting the girls back to the other villages, so I'm kinda out of stuff to do. I'll probably see if anyone needs any help rebuilding around town. The pirates didn't do much damage, but there's enough."
Cean nodded, before sighing.
"Honestly, I think I'd prefer a little carpentry to wandering around the forest again," he admitted.
"I don't blame you," I smirked. "I grew up in a place like this. It was nice to be back again for about twenty minutes before I got sick of it."
"You grew up in a dinky little village like this?" Cean asked.
I shook my head. "Think Southtown, but on an island like this one. That's like where I grew up."
"Huh. Had you figured as more of a city boy, sir," one of the marines said. "No offense."
"None taken," I sighed. "While I grew up in a small town, I've always been a city boy."
"Grew up in Valm's capital, myself," Cean said. "Plenty of maritime trade in Mila before the Conqueror cracked down on it all."
"Huh, so that's what it's called," I noted absently. "Figured it'd be Rigel, or something with 'Alm' in it. Rigelam?"
"Huh, that actually does sound better," Cean chuckled. "But yeah, that's what it's called."
"Give it another few years, it'll be called Walhart," one of the other marines muttered darkly.
"Fuck that," I scoffed. "The city of Benville has a much nicer ring to it, don't you think?"
This earned a round of snickers and eye-rolling, exactly as I'd hoped it would.
We continued to eat and just shoot the shit, and I found myself seriously missing coffee when one of the other marines brought out a tea kettle, passing out some battered tin cups to everyone. It was better than nothing, though, and the warmth helped me wake up that last little bit.
After breakfast, a few of the marines not going with Cean as escort for the girls opted to join me in helping the rebuilding efforts.
Not a lot of damage had been done, as I noted before, but a few sections of the houses on the northern end of the village needed replacing. So, it was I found myself playing lumberjack, cutting down some trees and trying to figure out the archaic, winch-operated saws that the Plegians had imported to help in building the new houses they needed. I figured it out soon enough, and just as lunch was approaching, we had managed a decent sized pile of timber to use on repairs.
You may not think it, but most sailors, and by extension pirates both of the current and former variety, are good carpenters. They have to be, living on floating tubs of wood for as long as they do. Sometimes repairs can't wait for a dock, and very few places on the eastern continent have dry-docks, apparently, so running repairs are a must.
That, coupled with my own, admittedly sub-par, knowledge of the craft, thanks to growing up around carpenters, made things progress fairly smoothly. By mid-afternoon, we were almost done.
It was also mid-afternoon that my man-whore of a dog, Archer, came and found me. He was barking and hopping around like a dog half his age as I carefully sawed at the planks I'd need to mend a hole in the last of the houses. Chrom and Emmeryn followed him, the Exalt watching as his sister followed the dog with a small smile on her face.
I glanced up as they approached, nudging Archer away from the rotary saw with my boot and wiping a streak of sawdust across my forehead.
"Get lost, ya mutt," I groaned, looking up at Chrom and nodding to Emmeryn. "Keep an eye on her, I don't want her to lose a finger here."
Emmeryn just waved a little, before going back to following Archer around.
She was surprisingly mobile, given her condition, but on second thought that wasn't all that surprising. I hadn't known what to expect, really, but I'd been prepared for her to be a vegetable since we were so early. Instead, we'd found a woman who, while a little slow, seemed genuinely happy and healthy.
I stepped, carefully, away from the saw and up to Chrom.
"You look busy," he commented.
"I like to keep busy, yeah," I nodded.
As I spoke, I patted myself down a little, giving off a cloud of sawdust. Chrom chuckled, waving a hand through the cloud to try and keep it from settling on his nice training gear.
"If you're coming to help, you're a little late," I went on.
"Emmeryn wanted to get out of the house," Chrom said, seemingly savouring getting to refer to his sister in the present tense again. "I thought I would join her on a walk."
I nodded, watching her squat down in front of Archer and place her hands on either side of his face. The dog just let his tongue loll out over her hand, and she giggled. Chrom and I both smiled a little at the sight.
"Guess it was a good thing I brought the old mutt after all," I said.
"Indeed," Chrom nodded.
"So, it seems I live to piss off your court another day, then," I commented.
Chrom looked down at me, a blank look of confusion on his features.
"You threatened to kill me if I was wrong about Emmeryn being here, remember?" I said slowly.
"Kill you?" Chrom scoffed. "I wasn't going to kill you! I was going to make you my ambassador to Regna Ferox to get rid of you! I wouldn't kill you!"
"Sure sounded like you were threatening me!" I insisted.
"Well, I was in the middle of my daily petitioner audience, and I do really hate them…" Chrom mumbled awkwardly.
"Oh thank god I managed to dodge more responsibility," I sighed in genuine relief.
"You complain, but I know you've taken to your role as Duke with little trouble," Chrom smirked.
"Because I make Helman do all the work," I deadpanned. "I just train the army."
Chrom cleared his throat, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
"Whaaaaaaaaat?" I asked slowly.
"It, ah, appears that the situation in Valm is worsening," Chrom said awkwardly. "We may… end up needing your army after all."
I nodded, eyes narrowing.
"One, it's your army, not mine," I said. "And two, wait for it…"
Chrom blinked at me as I closed my eyes took a big breath in. When I opened them, I jabbed my finger into Chrom's chest, the movement kicking up another cloud of sawdust off my arm.
"I. Told. You. So," jabbing him in the sternum to punctuate each word.
"Ow, you did, I'm sorry!" Chrom laughed. "I'll be sure to listen to your sage advice next time, stop poking me!"
We grinned a little, before awkwardly clearing our throats and moving away from each other.
I hadn't forgotten that neither of us had apologized for how things had gone before I'd relocated to Baham, but being around him again like this was reminding me that I had actually once been friends with the younger man. It was easy to fall back into old habits, clearly for both of us.
"Alright, I gotta get this done," I said, turning away.
"I should probably take Emmeryn out of your way, then," Chrom agreed.
"Take Archer, too," I grunted.
As I spoke, I bent down to heft a small pile of planks; they were about six feet long, so a decent pile balanced easily on my shoulder. I settled them in place with a small sigh, turning to face Chrom again-
"Chrom, puppy- EEK!"
I froze as something walked straight into the back of the pile of boards as I turned, hitting them hard enough to knock me a few steps away.
"Emmeryn!" Chrom cried in panic.
"Hoh shit!" I yelped, dropping the pile of wood. "I didn't see her!"
Chrom and I both knelt at Emmeryn's side at the same time, Archer sitting obliviously on her feet as she groaned on the ground. She'd fallen flat, and a small pool of red was already beginning to matt her hair to the side of her head. I'd ended up whanging her good, no doubt.
I felt terrible about it. Instantly, I was on the verge of panic.
"Lissa! I'll get Lissa!" Chrom said quickly.
"Oh my god, please tell me I didn't just kill the whole reason we came out here," I practically sobbed.
Between us, Emmeryn stirred, moaning and bringing her fingertips to the bloody welt on the side of her head.
"Ugh. Chrom? Ben?" she groaned, eyes fluttering open.
"Emmeryn!" Chrom asked, taking her hand in his. "Can you hear me? Are you okay?"
"Stop shouting," she groaned. "Ow. What hit me? Wait…"
Chrom and I both exchanged a wide-eyed glance, our breath stopping in our chests as Emmeryn sat bolt-upright.
"Gangrel! He's… I…" Emmeryn gasped.
She stopped, looking around before looking down at herself, and finally looking back up at us.
"Why am I not in Plegia?" she asked. "Where are we? What… what has happened? Why don't I remember anything?"
AN: Ha ha! The plot thickens! No, this arc is most assuredly not over yet. Did you think it would be that easy? I have plans! Plans for days! HA HA HA HA HA! Real talk, though, this is probably the biggest deviation I've made yet. So I'm kinda worried about squeezing such an important character back into the mix when so much shit with Valm is about to go down. But, ya know what? It's fine. Everything is fine. I can figure this out.
No Blazing Trinity in December, I didn't get it done, but look forward to a new Self Insert chapter in January!
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