Not going to lie. This chapter originally had more parts to it, but after going over the timeline with my editor, he told me just to skip some segments, so … this chapter ended up being a bit shorter scene-wise. So what remanded was this. It's now the dedicated Marth chapter. Have fun.

The Princess's Dragon Bride

Chapter 34: A Royal Favor

Marth managed to leap out of Mythra's immediate range. He had gotten a lot better at dodging her strikes. Reading her movements had become easier.

He spun out of the way of another croma-dust blast—his mind racing yet strangely still all at once.

He was on her in an instant, taking the opportunity as she touched the ground again. Delivering strike after strike, only a few actually managed to get past her lighting-fast counters.

He backstepped out of her range again. He made sure to keep in step with her. He relied more on parrying than actually dodging.

Then he rushed her, spotting an opening. His blade was an expedition of his arm now, cleaving gracefully through the air as he managed to land a critical strike.

He could have sworn he had hit her as she seemed to be just a hair out of place. Then, with great speed, she spun and slammed her blade into him. Sending him skidding backward.

The pain was immense, but he was still on his feet when the dust settled. Trying to regain his breathing, he raised his blade, still not ready to stand down.

She, however, dismissed her blade and crossed her arms, an amused yet still smug grin on her face.

Marth wasn't quite able to lower his own blade, having fallen for this trick a few times already. "Are we done?"

She seemed to be deep in thought. Perhaps she and Pyra were conversing. "Yeah."

That had caught him by surprise. He still had time to kill before his meeting with the council. "Are you sure? I'm not that badly injured."

She shook her head, and then she was gone, Pyra taking her place, a big grin on her face. "She says you're ready."

Marth's eyes widened. "What?" He still had yet to beat her. How could he be ready?

"She said you have no chance of beating her," it was as if Pra could read his mind, "but she thinks you can handle yourself well enough."

"I'll get a ship set up," she gave him a bright smile before she turned to leave. "Pack light, we'll have you ready to leave after your meeting."

Marth watched her leave and then rested his hand on his chest. Naga, please. He tightened his grip on the fabric covering his brand. I pray I'm not too late.

Marth's leg had been bouncing the entire meeting. The moment the meeting was dismissed, he was the first to his feet and out the door. He had better things to worry about than keeping his political mask on right now.

He almost tripped over the fluffy Exalt robe he was forced to wear for meetings. He finally understood his sister's insistence on yanking the door to her room open and letting it slam behind her as he did the same to his own door, quickly changing into his travel gear.

As he fixed his armor, he began to mentally go over everything in that meeting. And to his dismay, it was the same monotonous things they have been arguing since his father left. He suspects they see him as weaker-willed than his father.

He shoved that thought to the back of his mind as he grabbed his rapier and rushed to the treasury. Out of everything, he couldn't forget to bring the key to a council with Naga.

As he opened the treasury, he found the Fire Emblem lying on a pedestal. Strange, I thought it was mounted on the back wall. He shrugged it off and was thankful out of all the things the Phantom Thieves stole from the castle, the Fire Emblem wasn't one of them. It felt almost surreal holding such a valuable relic in his hands.

He clenched his fist and swallowed his resolve. Then he quickly rushed towards the gardens, where one of the airships was waiting. It was a lot smaller than he was expecting, but he assumed it would work all the same.

As he approached, he noticed an argument happening by the airship. "It's not fair!" He recognized the voice of the young Koopa Prince.

"Your father told you to stay here." The next speaker was clearly Pyra.

"But I wanna help Big Sis!" The young Koopa King was pouting as Pyra stood in front of him to block him from boarding the airship.

"Actually," Marth had an idea, and part of him felt a morbid curiosity mixed with dread fill his gut. "I have a favor to ask of you, Prince Bowser Jr."t

"What?"

"You said you're talented at disguises, yes?"

"Yeah?" the young prince scratched his head, clearly confused by the question.

Marth feigned caution, looking around before whispering conspiratorially, "I've been watching the council carefully. I don't really trust them at present." He smirked as he added, "I'd like you to disguise yourself as me and take my place in the council room until I return."

"I'm giving you full access to look into them." Marth started to doubt the legitimacy of this plan when he saw a mischievous grin overtake the young Koopas's face.

He didn't need further persuasion because, within seconds, the prince produced a giant paintbrush. Then, with one powerful swipe of it, Marth found himself looking in a mirror.

Marth never thought he could look so mischievous. "Take as long as you need." He couldn't help the chill that ran down his spine at hearing his own voice speak to him.

"That's amazing." Undoubtedly, in the most horrifying way possible. He stared at his doppelganger for a long moment before deciding to walk past him. Gripping the rope ladder that was hanging out of the airship.

"Good Luck!" he smiled as Pyra's voice reached him, cutting through the fog of fear. It'll be fine. Pyra will keep him in check … I hope.

When he pulled himself into the aircraft, he found Shulk at the helm. His excitement was evident as he inspected different magical contractions that allowed it to float the way it did. "Shulk?"

The seer peeked over his shoulder and pulled his goggles off his face. "Ready to go?"

Marth smiled. "Let's go."

AN/ Short, I know, but I can't stress that I didn't want to cut into the other big chapters. Anyway, I like to imagine that the weird, funny-looking paint that allows Bowser Jr. to transform is actually really good and convincing. I refuse to believe that everyone in Sunshine is an absolute idiot. I was also informed by my editor that that isn't how the paintbrush works … but I'm not changing it. And don't worry if this chapter was a little short. The next one will be longer, I promise. Well, with that said, I'll see you all in two weeks for the next chapter.

~ (9/14/2023)