Interlude

The Aspiring Sumia

It had been several days since they left Ylisstol to travel to Regna Ferox. This was her first mission ever, and she was filled with excitement as well as a little anxiety. Okay she was filled with a lot of anxiety; Sumia had always been around people of such prowess and talent that it became normal to find herself lacking.

Still, at the very least the rest of the Shepherds were nice to her even with her lacking in talent. It was little surprise that her favorite amongst the Shepherds was Chrom, the man was of course incredibly handsome, he was a prince, an exceptionally talented swordsman, but most of all was his personality. He was kind, caring, loyal to a near fault, but most of all he wanted to see people grow and find the strength within themselves, a strength he had told her that she had.

Sumia wanted to believe him, truly she did, but at times it simply felt like the prince was being nice to her and nothing more. She put down the small sketch she had done of the prince, that red-headed merchant from the square sold her several sticks of lead that were supposed to help with her drawings. Nodding at the completed sketch she had to admit she liked the finished product for reasons other than it being Chrom.

Picking up another piece of thick drawing paper Sumia had begun to sketch someone else. Someone with eyes like gold that contrasted with their hair which was so dark it looked like a splatter of black paint on a canvas. This second man had told her much the same as Chrom. It was odd how confident he was they both would get stronger together, especially when he was simply so much more gifted than her. There was also that aura of charisma that was similar to the blue-haired prince, yet different in a way she couldn't quite see.

Atris was his name and he, alongside Virion were the newest additions to the Shepherds. She wasn't exactly a big fan of Virion, the man had attempted to woo her, but thankfully Lissa was around to pull her from that situation. Honestly if he wasn't so loose with his poetry, he probably wouldn't be seen as such a womanizer.

The sketch was coming out very nicely, if there was one thing she'd never deny it was her ability to draw and paint. She liked to think she had talent in writing, but that... those writings definitely weren't meant to be read by most people. There was a growing heat in her as she focused more intently on the sketch, the thoughts of her writings spurring on the ever-growing burn.

The heat spread to her cheeks as she bit her lip, the memory of Chrom and Atris wrestling on the ground, the two red-faced and sweating. Her heart started to race as she recalled the grunting from the two as their bodies were locked and intermingled in a most compromising position. She started sketching Atris' face more intensely, the speed of her drawing matching her soaring heartbeat when a sudden knock on her tent pole caused her to squeak out and the drawing was flung from her hands.

"Sumia are you okay?" Atris called out with concern. She tried to calm herself, but she clearly still felt the flush on her cheeks.

"Y-yea, you can come in if you want." The onyx-haired man stepped into her tent, a strange look on his face in reaction to hers.

"I, uh, I just came by to give you back this book. Truly it was a wonderful read, you should give my thanks to erm..." Atris rubbed the back of his head clearly flustered at his loss of words. After a moment Sumia let out a small and soft laugh realizing what had Atris so stumped.

"Oh, silly me, you must be thinking of Cordelia from our earlier conversation. I talked of her as if you should know her, yet I don't think you two have even met. Still, I'm glad you liked the book! I know she'll be thrilled to hear someone else has similar tastes to us!" she said flashing a bright smile at the man who couldn't quite meet her gaze.

"Yea, I really enjoyed it all right. So, I'm assuming Cordelia is your friend than?"

"Best friend, we've known each other since we were children. Her family lived on land that was owned by mine. Yet, my parents thankfully did little to discourage me from playing with her."

She recounted with fondness the days when little blurs of light brown and scarlet red whipped through the fields playing tag, Sumia had much better footing then, but Cordelia still had poor stamina when it came to running. The memories of their awkward teenage years training to becoming pegasus knights, how her mother had thrown her weight around to secure the common born Cordelia a place amongst the knights. It had bothered Sumia to no end how anyone could reject her best friend, when she was easily the most gifted woman to ever join the order, why she was basically a genius! Darn the stupid rules on bloodlines, bunch of snooty rotten-.

"Sumia are you okay? You're staring off into space."

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking of how long Cordelia, and I have been in each other's life. This is the first time we've been away from one another for an extended time. I thought I'd never see her again when I went off to join the Order of the Rainbow Zephyr and become a pegasus knight, but thankfully despite the odds she joined me there too."

"We'll be back in Ylisstol before too long, no need to worry about that," Atris said as if stating a fact. The tactician gestured to if he could sit, to which she gave him a short energetic nod. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you join the Shepherds instead of the order?"

"Wasn't much of a choice. I never bonded with any of the pegasai. I could ride the mounts of my fellow sisters, which is admittedly a rather weird thing, but I couldn't just be borrowing my fellow knight's steeds whenever battle was near."

"How's that an odd thing that you can ride someone else's pegasus? I mean aren't they pretty much winged horses?"

"Aside from looking like them, nope. They are some of the most intelligent animals in all Ylisse and have incredibly intricate bonds be it with their fellow pegasai or their rider. Um, back to the point though, the reason it's so odd is that usually when a pegasus and a rider bond, it's for life. The pegasus simply doesn't allow others to take the place of its chosen rider."

"That sounds like a pretty unique gift, Sumia." She did her best not to bite her lip at the statement. She sure didn't feel that way, all it meant was she wouldn't even stand on her own. All she could do was borrow from others be it a pegasus or her own confidence.

Anyway, Chrom offered me a spot on the Shepherds, pegasus or not he still felt I was impactful enough to be on the team..." Sumia trailing off at the end as she frowned. So distracted she was by her thoughts, she didn't even notice Atris' eyes fall on the sketch she made of him.

"What's this? Is that a drawing of me?" The man picked up her sketch and stared at it intently as her face became far more flushed than before.

"I-it is, but I- I mean"

"Sumia this is incredible! I need you to teach me to draw like this!"

"What?"

"I need you to teach me how to draw, do you have an idea how impactful the ability to sketch or draw out battle plans can be? Conveying the terrain, troops, their movements, as well as enemy fortifications properly. Learning to draw can really help me improve my ability to communicate my tactics." Atris boldly exclaimed as he stood up with an excitement that matched her own when it came to new books.

"Y-you really think it could help that much?"

"Of course, it will! How about this, you help me with my drawing, and I oversee your training? That way we're helping each other improve together." It was not long before Sumia's excitement matched the tactician's as she sprung up. Truly it was amazing how his energy simply swept her up.

"It's a deal! Together we'll overcome everything with tactics and artistry!" Sumia declared dramatically sweeping her arm. The two simply stared at each other for a time before they began to laugh, the cheesiness of their energy finally catching up to them.

However, all good things come to an end eventually, Atris soon bid her goodnight and departed for his own tent. Sumia was filled with so much energy she had trouble initially sleeping, but soon enough her dreams took her away to the land of the Aspiring Knight, Sumia who with lance and pegasus defended the world against darkness and evil, the pride of Ylisse and someone far more intimately familiar with the princely Chrom.

Sumia's training with Atris had proven a number of things, her thrust was a powerful force to be reckoned with, and that perhaps she wasn't as bad as she thought. Though, she felt a bit of guilt over knocking the wind out of Vaike. She wondered if these sessions were truly improving her, she felt no stronger or more talented than she had before. Yet, thoughts of self-doubt that had become ordinary seemed to stick out a bit more to her.

Perhaps Chrom was right, perhaps Atris was right with every session when he told her that the only thing holding her back was herself. It was still hard to believe that if she possessed such ability that the only thing was some weird mental block. If she really was great, or even just okay could something small truly have the power to impede her?

Her eyes fell onto the sparring area to see Atris was now engaged with Stahl while she rested for a bit and watched the two clash with blunted swords. She saw that no matter how many times he got beat down, Atris got back up with a confident smirk plastered on his face. Looking back down to the ground perhaps there was some merit to the two men's words.

Days passed by as she taught the basics of drawing and sketching to Atris, while he did his best to help her improve in combat. He was making some progress, but it was clear that this was his first foray into more artistic endeavors. Thankfully he had unusually steady hands that made the lessons far easier to teach.

She wondered about who Atris had been before he was with the Shepherds. She knew of his amnesia, but why was no one even looking for him? A person of his ability was surely valuable to his family or his people, he was certainly more valuable than she was after all. Her questions would ultimately have no answers whenever she pushed to try and understand the mysterious dark-haired amnesiac's past . Eventually she stopped asking him when she noticed the painful looks on his face from trying to remember.

Their march had started ordinarily but had come to be anything but that. The Shepherds had stumbled upon a deserted village. It was completely untouched; nothing had been looted. There were no sounds aside from their own feet crunching the loose stone and grit underneath them. It reminded her way too much of the books she had read with haunted manors and castles, especially given that the dead were actually walking amongst the living now.

She had been paired with Sully when the group split up to investigate further. Sully was amongst the toughest of them, so peace of mind was brought to her. Besides, despite her tough exterior Sully was a sweetheart when it came to animals, the two having bonded over their mutual interest in horse and pegasai care.

The two were approaching what must've been the town hall, as to be expected like everything else in the village it was untouched. However, upon entering the hall it was an absolute mess, as if a miniature tornado had ransacked that place. Yet, there was no blood, no signs of a fight. She then noticed Sully motioning for her to group up, something she did but not before a nervous gulp.

"Look at this, claw marks. Less the slashin' kind and more the draggin' kind. Whatever got em', got'em good and fast. No signs of blood either. Just like they all bloody vanished." Sully grunted out.

The two followed the claw marks until they came to a trap door, they had planned to investigate it when a foul odor struck their senses. Sully placed her ear to the door for several moments before letting out an agitated growl and turning to Sumia.

"Light your lantern and hand it to me."

"Y-you're actually going down there?"

"Pfft, like hells I am. Still, I have to at least take a look and see what's down there." Sumia fidgeted, looking at the trap door, a sharp whistle snapped her back to reality. "Look, Su, nothin' is gonna happen."

"How can you be so sure of that...?"

"Because I got you watchin' out for me. Now, quit makin' me be sappy and hand me your lantern." Sumia did so albeit with more speed than she thought. Deep within her was an internal battle, two voices screaming out for control. One which shouted down the cavalier's words as if she ever had the makings of being worthy of such praise. The other... the other shouted down the voice that sought to tear her down, it said she was more than she ever could believe.

Despite the struggle going on within her mind, she didn't fail to notice Sully's body suddenly seized up. Panicked, Sumia threw herself onto the woman and pulled with all her might. As Sumia pulled, she noticed far too late that there was no resistance on other woman's end, and with a loud crash both women were flung to the ground dazed and slightly confused. After several moments Sumia recovered and shook her head getting to both her knees, Sully meanwhile was standing, albeit shakingly.

"T-told you I had nothin' to worry about." Sully chuckled lightly rubbing her head. "Now I see how you knocked the air out of Vaike."

"Very funny..." Sumia pursed her lips and huffed at the cavalier whose chuckles only got louder. "Out of curiosity what was down there, you seemed so startled I thought something grabbed you." Sully's face hardened slightly as she shook her head.

"Animals, the remains of what was the town's livestock is down there." The knight paused briefly frowning. "Honestly even callin' them 'remains' is bleedin' generous. It's more like... parts, I'll be honest Su, I've no idea what to make of it."

Making their way back out, Sumia felt nauseous at the revelation, but a steady hand from her partner helped her find stability in her stomach. Chrom and Atris soon came out of one the houses, the prince explaining the tactician's theory on the risen being able to convert the living into their undead legion. It was a grim fact to swallow down but the Shepherds did so, and a good thing they had as they had barely left the outskirts of the village when confronted with a host of the dead lingering in the river land beyond their position.

As Atris was examining the situation, she thought she saw Miriel leave in the direction back to the village mumbling about an axe. It would not be long before Atris began drawing out his plans in the dirt, the absent Miriel and the weaponless Vaike left the man exasperated as he changed the battle formation one last time. Chrom for the second time issuing a battle cry to whip the Shepherds spirits up, the group charged in.

She was doing her best to not trip, despite her training with Atris she still got caught up on her darn boots, or perhaps it was her nerves she kept tripping over. A blast of crackling energy emitted from in front of her as Atris unleashed a furious thunder spell on the Risen. Did she belong here, could she do this? The internal doubts, that same voice filled her head. Her heartbeat quickened as another burst of energy came from the tactician striking down another monster.

"Sumia!" Her head shot up in the direction of Chrom. "Listen to me, Atris and I believe in you completely. If anyone can watch our back, it's you, I need you to know that!" His voice boomed with complete and utter confidence in her, Atris had the same confidence in her when he made the plan. Squeezing her eyes shut she felt a fire light up within her chest as she smothered the voice of her doubts within it. Opening them to see the two men in front of her, the two men who were putting their very lives in her hands, she would not, she could not fail either of them!

Gripping her lance tighter, she noticed Atris withdraw a green tome, a Risen approaching him as he dodged its strike with ease. She spun her lance and using the gathered speed and momentum smashed the shaft into the creature's skull knocking it low. The tactician shot her a thumbs up and unleashed a vicious wind spell that blasted the ranks of the enemy to the ground. Chrom and Atris drew their swords and stood their ground against the dead swarm that gathered before them

It was amazing to see the two fight side by side. The two covered each other, their blows and parries in sync with one another. They pushed back numbers greater than their own with sheer determination. Atris was a better fighter than he made himself out to be, and Chrom was exceptional, but together it was like watching the birth of a legend before her eyes. She felt the fire growing hotter in her as she charged forward, her lance would be their unseen shield as she struck true and another Risen was destroyed.

It had been a fight that had pushed the two men to their limit even if they didn't want to admit it. She was tending to Chrom's wound as Lissa was currently with Sully, the woman having suffered a nasty blow to the head. The painful removal of the spearhead was quicker than she thought, still she couldn't help but wince as the prince bit down on a piece of wood to stifle himself.

Sumia had been applying a paste of mixed herbs and honey meant to fight infection once the wound was healed by Lissa. Chrom winced at her touch, but he kept a stoic demeanor and if anything seemed a bit embarrassed. She fought down the anxiety building in her at the thought of her crush being flustered by her, his wounds needed to come before her fantasies.

"I... I don't know if I'm exactly worthy of this kind of attention Sumia. I know I'm a prince but-"

"You being a prince has nothing to do with this, I care about your well-being... ahem captain." She turned and blushed lightly as she couldn't meet the man's eyes. "Anyway, you and Atris were amazing on the bridge! You two were nearly holding off the entire Risen host by yourselves! It was like I was watching one of my stories unfold in real life."

"All of us were amazing Sumia. Don't deny your own part in this, your lance saved us both when I was struck by that spear." Chrom coughed as she turned up to see the man smiling down at her with pride. "I mean it, Sumia you're fighting was exceptional. It was just as I said if anyone could do this, it was you."

Thankfully, or perhaps not so thankfully due to the teasing that would certainly come later, Lissa had finally finished with Sully and set about healing her brother. A sly grin on the princess's face as she broke eye contact with a suddenly confused prince. With Chrom's wound healed and after a brief rest, the group moved onward and continued their mission to gain an audience with the khans.

The continued march had them encounter the gruesome remains of battle, to Sumia though it was more of a slaughtering ground than a battle. So many dead pegasai littered the field their bodies, Naga the things done to them. It made the woman sick to look upon the carnage, and it only worsened when she realized that she recognized several of the pegasai. The thoughts of her sisters being... being turned into...

She couldn't take it anymore; she rushed away from the Shepherds and threw up. She simply couldn't stomach her sisters being turned into those things; their steeds having been subjected to such savagery. Sumia willed herself to be strong and returned the group who started to make their way from the site. Turning back once more, she saw something that unnerved her. The pegasai wings that had been torn and hung in the trees, the way the breeze knocked against them. It almost looked like they were flapping in the wind.

It would not be too much longer until another tragedy struck the group. Another site, not as horrific as the last, perhaps the survivors of the initial conflict that succumbed to their wounds. Amongst the bodies was a lone pegasus that reared as the group approached. It's movements were the essence of madness and terror, without a doubt Sumia knew this animal was the lone survivor of the grisly and evil savagery inflicted on its flock, its rider, all it had ever known.

"Gods, the poor animal. Chrom what should we do?" Lissa's voice broke the silence as sniffling punctuated her words.

"Lissa...I..." was Chrom's only answer, but she could hear his leather glove tighten, no doubt around the hilt of Falchion.

Was this the answer to the question? To put this beautiful and majestic creature out of its misery? To continue the seemingly endless cruelty and evil that this day brought? No, even if it was naïve, even if it was childish to believe so she wouldn't abandon this creature! She wouldn't let such a being suffer such a low and ignoble death!

Sumia broke from the group, her hands outstretched and palms flat out. The crazed neighing and a thunderous slam of its hooves should've dissuaded her, but so should have her own feelings of her own inadequacy. Yet, Chrom and Atris placed their faith in her, no not just them all the Shepherds were willing to place that same faith in her. She wouldn't give up on the pegasus as she had so easily given up on herself time and time again!

"S-Sumia! It's-!"

"Captain, trust me." She spoke to him calmly and confidently. A shuffling from behind her told she was free to continue. She looked at the creature as it thrashed around in a panic. She closed her eyes and the words flowed through her, as she started to sing the lullaby her mother had done to her. "When the dark creeps near... filled with your biggest fear... be brave and shed not a single tear." She continued to approach humming the lullaby. The pegasus simply stared at her, fear deep within its silver eyes. Yet, she felt no resistance from the winged majesty and resumed her song. "I Shall be your knight... guard against what gives you fright... and guide your ascent to the light...go now, fly sweet Dove... as we banish the dark above...graced with instruments forged from pure love."

Sumia reached forth and took the face of the horse into her hands softly, caressing the creature's mane with her other. Slowly she rested his forehead upon the pegasus' brow, their eyes locked. She continued to hum the melody of her mother during her nights of terror. In time she watched the fear ebb away into sadness, a sorrowful and almost pitiful neigh coming from the animal.

"Captain, you and the rest should go. I'll stay here with her." She finally spoke barely above a whisper. Her hand continued to soothe the pegasus.

"Are you sure?"

"I've only been so sure of a couple of things; this is one of those. I'll be back soon, Captain."

"Then I trust you on this, Sumia." She smiled as there truly was trust in the sound of Chrom's voice.

The sound of the group marching away from her, she caught a hopeful, if desperate glimpse from Atris. They both were willing to put their faith in her, they both believed in her and not just with their lives, but to save the life of the beautiful creature before her. She leaned in and standing on her toes she whispered into the ear of the creature.

"Just as they believe in me, they believe in you as well. We'll prove their faith true, won't we...?" The two stood there for hours, the sun had since put itself to rest, the moon now shining down upon them as the stars twinkled in its light. She resumed the melody to the pegasus and slowly she saddled herself atop it. The creature gave a small snort in response and offered no resistance to her weight. "I think it's time we go home... don't you?"

Its wings stretched out and folded back almost enveloping her in a smooth and feathery hug. Sumia couldn't help but let out a giggle, a louder and more energetic snort that seemed to match her tone came from the winged beauty. Together they slowly made their way down the road and to the camp, the sun was soon to rise and bring back the light and them along with it.

She was surprised and overjoyed at the fanfare she received from her fellow Shepherds, although it had spooked her newest charge. Stabling her away from the other group's other horses, Sumia feared that they would upset the recently calmed pegasus. She was even more surprised and perhaps a bit flustered when Atris suggested she sleep in Chrom's tent for a bit, as they hadn't put up hers the night before.

It was so strange, almost like the person she was back in Ylisstol was another one entirely. There had been a time she would've compared the bedroll to the Chrom's arms wrapped around her, and honestly she did still feel that way. However, there was something else at the forefront of her mind that far exceeded even that thought. Nestling into the fabric of the bedroll a few tears streamed down her face as the words triumphantly trumpeted in her head. They had been right about her; they had been right.

It had been decided to spend the day recuperating. The good weather had allowed them a good march to Regna Ferox, and they were ahead of schedule. Of course, no one could predict when it would take a turn for the worse. Vegetables raining from the sky? Whoever heard of such a thing, still she was delighted by the small bit of theater from Chrom and Atris. Truly those two were definitely a duo that brought her no small delight, even if it was incidentally. She felt even her newest charge had found the veggie rains funny. She was brushing the mane of the mare when she pursed her lips, a thought coming to her.

"I don't even know your name, nor you mine. Gosh, when did I ever become so improper? I'm Sumia." She spoke to the pegasus as she continued to brush her mane. "I know you really can't make introductions, but I'm pretty sure you still understand what I'm saying." Her hand slipped over the ears of the creature massaging them slowly as she smiled warmly at it. "Truth be told I don't even know if it's something I should even consider, you know giving you a name. That said I know just the perfect one to give you, should you ever give me that honor..."

It had been several days since their return and since she took in her latest charge. Most of her time spent caring for and trying to help rehabilitate the lone pegasus. A pegasus that had in so many ways told her that it needed a new life, a new chance to begin again. So it was Sumia named her charge, Lilianna, or Lily for short. Reborn from a previous life of grief to one of love.

The long-awaited day of the Longfort was here. Still, she didn't feel comfortable venturing forth with Lily, her recovery had been remarkable, but... it was simply too soon. It did nothing to quell the anxiety she had; her friends were out there. It was the first time she had ever felt such a thing, before she always felt she'd get in the way or hinder them somehow. However, now that she stayed behind all she could do was think of how she could aid them, how in her absence someone could... no, she couldn't think thoughts like that.

As Sumia paced back and forth Lily neighed with her own anxiety, with Sumia rushing to calm her down. Yet, the pegasus did not calm, if anything she became more energetic and reared, but were as last time it had been the sorrowful lashings of a terrified creature. Lily was a towering and majestic steed, her hooves slamming to the ground with a fire that matched her eyes.

Staring into those eyes was all she needed to know. Even if Lily still carried lingering remnants of fear, the pegasus would not have Sumia abandon those she cared about. With a nod the woman mounted her steed lance in hand, and with a series of long and powerful flaps the two shot into the sky.

The air was riddled with frost and a cutting wind, but one could not deny just how breathless the experience was to soar through the clouds. Sumia could see the Longfort, Chrom was at the front of the group, and she could see movement atop the walls. The Feroxi were clearly agitated, gods were they going to attack the Shepherds!?

She trusted her instincts and dove from the blue to the land of white. She saw them, soldiers armed with javelins as they hurled them at Chrom, Atris rushing forth with a tome to save their captain. He would be too late, but she wouldn't be as she grabbed the prince and whipped away from the ground, the javelins striking where he stood mere seconds later.

"Best climb up, Captain. Lily still needs to find her wings." Sumia looked down at the stunned prince she snagged from the ground. Chrom snapped out of his daze and climbed atop saddling himself behind her.

"L-Lily?" he asked with still a degree of shock that happened. Lily neighed in response to his query. "Sumia, we need to regroup with the others." With a quick and firm nod, she directed her steed back to the rest of the Shepherds. Atris laid out his plan, most of the Shepherds would hit one side, while he led a smaller group to repel attackers from the other. She felt her heart gripped with more than a little fear at the risk of him leading such a small group, but battle lay ahead, and she needed to focus on doing her best.

Chrom had saddled himself again behind her as she and him led the charge on the Feroxi's. Once reaching the point, she dived down and Chrom leapt from her saddle bringing the flat of his blade down on the nearest Feroxi. She followed suit, smashing the shaft of her lance into her own foe knocking them to the ground.

However hard their battle was, the battle Atris was engaged in must've been that much harder. With every explosion and every thunderous crack that came from his side, it spurred not only her but the other Shepherds to fight even harder. With victory at hand as the last Feroxi fell to them they regrouped as one force and made their way to the commander, who would challenge their captain to a duel. Chrom, eager to accept, engaged the commander in a fierce duel, but as to be expected no one could stand up to their captain!

With the final victory thrown to them, the Shepherds had a moment to breathe. Sumia finally noticing the blood splattered all over Atris' forehead and hair panicked. Shouting over to Lissa who now noticed the bloodied tactician also joined in, frantically searching over through the onyx-haired man's scalp for injuries before he finally managed to get their attention.

Apparently, the blood came from a Feroxi berserker he headbutted, an act which got a laugh out of several of the Shepherds that heard him. Sumia was a bit flustered he hadn't spoken up earlier, but she really hadn't given him the chance. Still, she was happy to know her friend was okay.

It had been a tiring day, even with the fighting their work was still not done. They had either been gathering the wounded soldiers for healing or putting out a fire that Atris had started during the battle. Either way she was dead tired after a hearty dinner courtesy of their new... friends? She didn't quite understand the Feroxi, but they were impressed by the Shepherds at the very least.

She had just finished checking on Lily who was coming to know her new friends amongst the Shepherd's horses. Lily was adapting well enough to being around the other's, Sumia didn't even bother hiding her pride in the pegasus as she planted several kisses on the mare's face. With that done she was making her way back to her room when she saw Chrom waiting for her with a nervous look on his face. The two stared at one another for a moment, Sumia eventually breaking the gaze feeling a bit embarrassed. Suddenly the prince let out a long breath, as if he was trying to calm himself.

"Sumia... I need to tell you something."

"Y-Yes, Captain?"

"I... I was wrong about you." Were the words he spoke, her mind racing trying to make sense of what he could possibly mean. How was he wrong about her? It didn't make any sense. Chrom seemingly couldn't meet her eyes as he let out a small sigh.

"When I invited you to the Shepherds, I saw what a great warrior you could become. The problem is that was all I saw. Seeing you fly Lily today; it showed me that the potential that's within you far exceeds something to be summed up as simple as martial skill."

A moment of silence followed as the prince bit his lip and finally met her eyes. "When Lily was taken by despair, all I could think of... all I could do was continue a tragedy, where you sought to stop it. You accomplished something that couldn't have been solved with a sword, even one as great as Falchion. It defies conventional strength... and it's a path I couldn't see before, but perhaps... I could walk it with you, see the Sumia who is far greater than what I saw before. I-if you'll continue being a Shepherd that is, I'm sure-"

She didn't know what came over her, but she found herself closing the distance between them. Her hand extended to him as Chrom looked at her, taken by surprise at the gesture. A small smile was how she greeted the confused look of the man before her. Slowly Chrom smiled in return and took her hand into his own. It was like a mixture of a handshake and as if they were about to dance.

"I'm a Shepherd through and through, Captain. It might be a long journey down that path though. Are you sure you have the patience to walk it with me?" Sumia asked, the warmth of Chrom's hand contrasting with the chilled air of the frigid north.

"I've still time to grow, perhaps walking down it will be just what teaches me it." Chrom joked to her. The two stood there staring in each other's eyes. It was funny, this was unlike any of her romance stories, there was no embrace, no kiss, yet it was all the same perfect to her. They would walk this path together side by side as equals, and by the end of this journey perhaps there would something else waiting for them.

Author's note

Phew, I'm surprised how long this was, almost turned into a fall chapter. Anyway this is the start of the interlude chapters. Since the story is largely told from Atris' pov this is how I plan to tell a fuller story and explore the themes I want to, while keeping a tighter narrative over the main chapters. Anyway I hope any lovers of Sumia enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Next chapter will be a bit long, and quite a bit of lore building around the Feroxi as well as a few other things. Anyway see you all next week, friends and readers!