Alright let's get to work, I've started my vacation and nothing is more exciting and fun to me then getting back to work on this fic, just in a new location. Now my questionable taste in relaxation aside lets get back to the chapter.
The Prince's Future
Chapter 6: A Visit In The Night
Oracle cursed all his luck, he had known the city by heart. Or at least that was what he told himself, clearly his memory of Ylissetol had been overturned by it's ruined state. This lively image of the city was so disorientating.
"This is why you leave the scouting and raiding to us," a voice in his memories chimed in. He and Rex would have rolled their eyes but, perhaps there was some truth to that.
He finally managed to find a vantage point and once he was able to oversee the town he noticed exactly what he feared.
A neat row of royal soldiers were filing out of the castle town gates. Their numbers were small for the single carriage and the nobility it would be carrying. The supplies would last, although their numbers wouldn't be enough to protect Shulk from the fate that would befall him.
He let out a deep sigh, if he ran down the main road after them he might be able to catch up to them, but he doubted he'd be able to dissuade them from their current course at this point. He knew those people well, after all, but they wouldn't know him.
Besides he would no doubt be stopped by the cavalry soldiers that marched alongside the Exalt. Would it be enough to postpone the trip … no, a few soldiers would splinter off and drag him to the dungeons and thair Exalt would continue on.
He returned his gaze to the castle and a small blue figure stood at the castle gates no doubt watching his father's retreat.
Oracle's hand drifted along his own wrist to the joint that connected his metal arm to his body. The Exalt of his time had told many stories about everything that happened after Shulk had vanished.
He clenched his metal hand into a fist. He had made a promise long ago, and it was one he would keep, regardless if this was his own time or not.
Roy was thankful that he had traded in his quill for a metal cased pen that functioned similarly. He had been gripping it so tightly that it would have snapped, had it not had its tough casing. He was losing his temper.
"His Majesty has clearly lost his mind!" one of the older councilmen screeched. "To accept such a proposal without even consulting us."
"It must be that harlot at his side," another continued, "That war tactician is Plegian born."
"Who only knows what plot they have for his Grace," another hissed.
How many hours had this gone on, how many hours have they wasted like this? Roy was under the assumption that the Ylissean Court was better behaved then his own and yet here he was hearing more bassless drivel.
He could almost hear those comments directed at his mother all over again. But this wasn't his place to speak and yet he found himself biting his own tongue.
"The old king should have disposed of him-"
"Can you old coots stay on topic!" he found himself hissing through his clenched teeth. His pen rattled dangerously on the verge of breaking.
"I don't need to be lectured by some usurping little upstart." one of them snapped.
His pen made a concerning cracking noise as he locked eyes with the old man who spoke to him. "What did you say?" He didn't mean for there to be venom in his voice but that's the way it came out. "I don't think I heard you correctly."
"No one has seen or heard from Marquess Eliwood in quite a while." The man leaned forward, his gaze locked with Roy's and the taunting tone his voice carried made his pen make another cracking sound.
"Those are baseless rumors." Roy found that icy hatred bubbling up from his core and he found his fiery temper shooting up to meet it.
"Is that so~" the man leaned back showing off his house crest and Roy knew this man was a Duke, outranking him, but all this did was irritate him further. "Because I've heard otherwise."
Then the loud pounding of a gavel shattered the tension and drew all eyes to the head of the room. There the Crown Prince met their startled gazes with a cold and unamused stare. There was a chill it carried, the unnaturally calm expression on his face didn't help either. Then in an even and measured tone no louder than a casual tone he added. "That's enough."
"But your Highness." one of the other lords spoke up.
"The rumors about Marquess Eliwood are unfounded," Marth continued, "unless you are to imply Lady Lissa speaks lies about her patients."
That brought a chilling breeze into the room. "Furthermore, Acting Marquess Roy, has been holding Pheare in order."
Then his gaze fell on another council member when he spoke up again. "And I'm sure some of you would rather not talk about the way you keep your territories in order."
Some of the nobles actively shrank in their seats or tugged at their collars. "Now unless someone would like to throw the first stone from his glass castle, I recommend we return to the topic."
One of the other nobles opened his mouth to speak and Marth fixed his unnaturally composed gaze on him and added, "and my father made his choice, so that is the last this topic will be mentioned." Then he raised his gavel once and added, "Is that clear?"
The room fell silent and quietly every noble who had spoken up gave quiet nods. When Marth's gaze met Roy's again, the implication fell on him too.
Roy gave a single quick nod and with that the gavel came down as Marth returned the meeting to its original course. Roy returned his gaze at the notation papers. There was something so familiar about that look Marth gave him.
That was the Marth he remembered, composed and regal, his manner and composure were that of an experienced king.
Roy envied him for that, his composure was perfect. After yesterday, Roy knew it was a mask. Had the Marth from his memories been wearing a mask too? He wondered faintly about the past with Marth, had his cold and distant behavior from before been a mask?
Perhaps he should speak to his childhood friend a bit more after the meeting was done. After all it was evident that Marth's calm demeanor was incredible, maybe he could help teach Roy how to keep his temper in check, help him keep from letting these other lords from riling him up.
Zelda had just finished another chapter of that adventure novel she was so enthralled with when there was a rapid knocking on her door. One she was all too familiar wit. And good thing too, she had finally caught up to Marth and was eager to discuss her thoughts.
However when she opened the door to greet her good friend the look he gave her told her that he wasn't in a good place to discuss their new favorite series. She didn't mean to wince when she said, "you look terrible."
He gave her a half-hearted smile. "Tea?"
She let out a relieved sigh, and stepped aside to let him in. "I can brew a quick cup, what's got you like …" how could she put this delicately? "…this?"
The second she closed the door he sprawled himself on the plush couch in her room. "The meeting was hell."
She didn't envy him, she was able to dodge this particular meeting thanks to Link returning to give her a detailed recounting of his latest adventure. She excused herself on the grounds of it being an intelligence briefing with her lead guard.
She had spent a few hours with Link before he excused himself to go off and get more adventuring done. She was slightly concerned he had taken to smashing pots or opening random chests that didn't belong to him, but he hadn't mentioned it so she assumed he was on his best behavior. After he had left she decided to return to her book and was thankful for it.
She retrieved the kettle she had hanging in the fireplace. "Do you want to talk about it?"
He righted himself as she poured him a nice warm cup of tea. "Honestly it was simply annoying how they wouldn't drop the Plegia stuff, completely derailing the conversation." he took a sip from his tea before pulling it back sharply.
She fixed him with a half-lidded stare, "Be careful it's hot."
"Yeah," he lightly blew on his tea, his face pinkening in embarrassment, "I figured that out."
She poured herself a cup of tea and stared into its soft honey color before returning her gaze to him, "Are they always like this?"
"Not usually," he sipped his tea softly, making sure to blow on it before taking another sip. "Dad is normally good at keeping them in line, and ever since Robin showed up he's been quicker on the draw to shoot down any pointless tangents."
She watched him put his half empty cup on the table before leaning back into the soft sofa."I feel like they don't take me seriously," he raised his gaze to meet her's. "They always patronized me before but now they are particularly irritating, as if I'm not acting Exalt."
"Do you think they're testing you?"
He scoffed "Testing my patience, more like," he closed his eyes in frustration, "I wish it was something that simple." he sighed. "It's gotten worse since Lucina got married, and don't even get me started on the bachelor talks."
"Oh." she could sympathize with him there, it hadn't lasted long but for a while after Hyrule had finally started getting its bearings there were people who started asking her about who she planned to marry, as if she wasn't capable of ruling. Granted this was a tiny minority that one glare from Link was able to get them to shut up. But Marth was different. He was the crown prince, and with his sister married to a woman the task of heirs fell on him.
She didn't bring it up, she knew he had most likely put that together and it no doubt brought him endless distress. "So what would you normally do to get your mind off it?" She needed to distract him somehow.
He crossed his arms, and tilted his head ever so slightly as he contemplated deeply. "Well, normally Shulk would have something ready." he opened his eyes and she could tell there was a soft and wistful look in them. "He always knew just what would bother me and just how to make it all melt away." She didn't miss the dust of pink to his cheeks at that last part.
"Ah," his expression shifted again, "but he isn't here presently, he left with my father to Plegia, and I can't shake this unease whenever I think about it."
"Right, I think you mentioned he was a seer." Uh oh, did she just make it worse?
"Yes," he looked so crestfallen then, "he saw something and I wanted him to go with Dad to make sure everything would be okay."
"And that worries you?" I shouldn't have said that.
"He's a dear friend and very smart but he's also a loyal retainer," Marth drank from his tea again, this time it was clear he was trying to steady his nerves, "sometimes to a fault, you see when we traveled a while ago he threw himself into the line of fire just to make sure I made it out okay, I'm worried he'll get himself injured or … worse."
I thought getting him to talk about his obvious crush would cheer him up but it seems I've just traded his anger for worry. She needed to think fast. "Do you know what helps with stress?" she flashed him this bright smile she knew wasn't the slightest bit convincing. "Cake, and it goes great with tea too."
He must have pitted her because he gave her this small soft smile. "That sounds nice."
Roy couldn't help but take the wrong turn, he had walked the halls of Ylisstol castle so many times in his childhood and yet it all felt so different now. Everything wasn't as massive, and he couldn't help but notice all the new tapestries that adorned the walls. The nostalgia of this place was overwhelming. He hadn't walked the halls of this place since he was so much younger.
"Are you sure you know where we are?" Sora's voice snapped him out of his reminiscing.
He cast his squire a playful smile. "Yes, Sora, I've been here many times." Although he couldn't deny he was a little turned around. "I just wanted to look around."
Sora gave him that all knowing smile and in a playful tone of his own added, "if you say so, Sire."
The use of his title tempted Roy to put his retainer in a headlock. "I know exactly where we are." he lied, "we're …" he faked contemplation and focused on his senses. The smell of food was rich, but the sounds of people working were faint. "We're in the dining hall."
Sora looked behind him into the hall they were headed in, "lets just ask for help." he then sprinted past Roy, "Excuse me!"
Roy walked after him, smiling faintly as Sora bounded forward with all the excitement of an energetic puppy. Then when he came to a stop Roy took in the sight of the two individuals Sora was speaking to. "Would you by any chance know where we are?"
Marth and Zelda exchanged a look before the prince responded with a smile, "oh sure, you're in the east wing," he then pointed to the large double doors, "we were headed to the kitchen."
Sora then flashed Roy an all too familiar raised eyebrow. Roy only shrugged, flashing him another playful smile, a smaller one this time. "Close enough."
He turned to face the other two nobles, "so what brings you to the kitchens? Dinner was a while ago."
"Mar-Mar wants to destress so we came here to snag some sweets." Zelda motioned to the prince. Marth let out a deep sigh at that.
Roy nodded, the meeting from this morning was a nightmare. In truth he was on the verge of losing it himself when he left the meeting room, thankfully Sora had managed to lift his spirits. "Hey," he gave Marth his best charming smile. "If you wanna blow off some steam, why not a quick spar?"
Marth raised his head, then placed a hand under his chin, looking as if deep in thought, his head tilted ever so slightly. "Sure, why not, it's been a while since we've sparred."
Roy flashed him a grin then, "I'll warn you, I haven't been slacking in my training."
Marth returned his gaze, an intensity burning in his eyes, "I'm no slouch either."
"Then to the Training Grounds." Roy turned to leave before Sora placed a hand on his shoulder.
Then to the other two he added, "can you show us the way there?" Roy only let out a sigh.
Valkyrie could have sworn they had been falling for hours. Eventually she started to pass the time by doing cool flips in the timeless void. Then the strange multicolored void tore open revealing a quickly approaching green floor.
She prepped herself and when she hit the ground she did so in a roll before landing in a cool kneeling position, just like she was taught.
She righted herself and turned to face the spiraling portal in the sky that soon spit out her team. Tempest landed in the kneeling position without fanfare. But the cracks that formed in the ground beneath her made Valkyrie whistle in astonishment. Forge was a little less graceful when he hit the ground. He managed to land in a roll and despite his backpack he managed to make it pretty far. He came to a stop against a tree, thankfully he got back up. Sparkle, the showoff, came down in a graceful float, her staff giving off a pretty glow as she landed without issue.
Seeing her team in one piece gave Valkyrie the peace she needed to finally assess their environment. There were a lot of colors, mostly greens. The trees, at least she thought they were trees, were plenty green too. It reminded her of the Last Bastion, except there was a lot more than a single green tree and plenty of other plants, at least she assumed they were plants, everywhere.
She took off her glove and ran her fingers along the green plants on the floor. Strange. She picked one off the floor and inspected it.
Forge got up and ran over to the rest of them screaming something at her but before he could say anything too loud she had already popped it into her mouth. "Val don't-"
Sparkle's staff made a bonking noise as she let it fall on Val's head. "Don't eat the grass."
"The what?" she thought they were brightly colored weeds, and she could have sworn those were the ones that were edible.
"The grass." Tempest sighed. "It grows on the floor and it's not poisonous but it's not for people to eat."
Huh, she learns something new everyday. "Oh." she spat it out, reluctantly. "So that aside, where are we?"
"With all the plant life," Tempest looked around, "could we be in Aionios?"
"I don't think so," Forge shook his head, he then pulled his goggles over his eyes and started fidgeting with the small dials on it. "The Ether level's aren't high enough for that. Perhaps the Mushroom Kingdom?"
Sparkle and Tempest shook their heads, before Tempest spoke up, "nuh uh, the plants don't match up."
"What other kingdoms survived again?" Valkyrie frowned
"Uh guys." Forge interrupted before pulling his goggles up.
At that they heard a loud crashing noise as the ground trembled with the force of something landing behind them. "Oi, what do you brats think you're doing!"
"Tempest do the thing!" Valkyrie screamed as she turned to make a run for it.
Tempest raised her arms suddenly, her mask summoning itself as she did so. Then a wall of ice pillars appeared. Then she heard the sounds of Sparkle and Forge making a run for the treeline.
"Book It, And Don't Look Back!" Valkyrie called and as if to answer her call a heavy fog overtook the area, covering their escape into the heavy line of green trees.
"You Can't Run Forever!" she heard Driver call from somewhere beyond the mist as the sound of shattering glass told her he smashed the ice wall.
"We Can Try!" she called, trying her best to throw her voice to somewhere far away, hoping he'll take the bait. She wasn't about to face the consequences of her actions, not this early into their adventure.
Marth grinned as Roy dragged his blade along the ground. Watching him carefully Marth and him circled each other waiting for the first strike.
It was Roy who moved first. He darted towards Marth the second the prince entered his peripheral.
Marth blocked, surprised by the heavy force behind it. So Roy is stronger, noted.
He lept backwards as Roy went in for another strike. His stance seemed so familiar and yet Marth couldn't quite place it.
He rolled out of the way of Roy's powerful strikes, when he spotted an opening he rushed Roy.
Roy managed to counter and with a powerful slash he managed to knock Marth off his feet. He's more dangerous the closer I am, noted.
When Marth rushed him with a flurry of attacks Roy stood his ground and guarded all of them. Then he reached out and yanked the prince by the front of his tunic.
Then with a strength he didn't know Roy had, he was tossed over his shoulder and slammed onto his back. I should have seen that coming.
He was forced to stare up at Roy's all to a pleased smirk. Cheeky, little so and so. Framed by the fading light of the sun, Marth couldn't help but flush. He didn't know quite how to feel about being manhandled so easily.
Marth managed to regain his wits and rolled out of his range and tried to refocus his stance. Alright keep my distance, I can do that.
He refocused and decided to try something new. He had still yet to perfect his technique but Roy felt like the right opponent. He adjusted his hold on the practice sword.
He rushed in but made sure to keep Roy at the very edge of his range. His feet moved in a practiced and graceful manner.
He managed to land a lot more hits on Roy and with his range advantage whenever Roy countered he had managed to step out of the way.
He cursed as this made Roy go on the offensive. Marth just barely managed to keep his distance. But Roy was making things difficult as he was able to turn on a dime and retaliate with brutal force.
He managed to roll behind Roy and with a hard yank on the back of his tunic, slicking his foot behind Roy's ankle he managed to bring him to the ground. Roy let out a faint curse as Marth was quick to roll out of the way.
While Roy was picking himself up, Marth prepared his final strike. And when Roy came to his feet Marth thrust forward putting all his force into his strike.
But Roy was quick enough to raise his counter.
Roy retaliated with a lot more force then Marth was expecting and that had brought Marth to the ground, his blade shattered between them.
Roy's eyes widened as he stared down at Marth. Then a powerful feeling overpowered Marth's core. And he found himself laughing.
"Are you alright?" Roy offered him his hand and Marth took it gladly.
Roy caught him as he struggled to stand on his own feet. "That was amazing!" he found the smile hard to keep from his face. "And I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Roy winced as he adjusted Marth so the prince was learning more of his weight on him.
"Trust me, I've been through worse." he pointed with his thumb to the white stone arch at the far wall of the training area, "there used to be a wall over there until my training instructor kicked me though it."
The look Roy gave him only made him laugh harder. "I'll be fine." to prove his point he leaned his weight off Roy, and found his balance. "See?"
"Well, if you say so." but the look Roy gave him told him he wasn't too sure.
Marth flashed him another smile, "I am and thank you."
"Hmm?" then his face eased, "oh, right, i'm glad I was able to help."
Marth picked up the remnants of the sword and tossed them into a pile of discarded and destroyed practice dummies, "Trust me it was a big help. It definitely helped me destress."
Roy smiled, "Well that's enough excitement for me for one day." He handed his blade to Marth, probably to put it back.
Marth spun it in his grip, "well, sleep well, I think I'll get some training done," he laughed, "clearly I haven't been training hard enough."
Marth moved gracefully, the measured strikes of his blade danced through the air. His movements were mesmerizing, if not a bit slow. They continued to slow until he stopped all together and turned his gaze towards the forest behind the castle.
He returned to the weapons' rack and retrieved a steel sword. Then he returned, gaze fixed on the arch separating the training grounds and the Gazebo's Garden.
"Show yourself," he made sure to keep his voice steady, but there was a faint waver to it. "I know you're there!" Ever observant.
Oracle chuckled softly and jumped down into the garden, as expected the Young Exalt followed him into the serene space.
The prince made sure to keep his distance, as Oracle himself took a seat on the old stone steps. "I mean you no harm."
"Then why were you watching me?" There must have been something in his voice that gave him away because the prince lowered his sword, his stance more relaxed now.
"I was simply doing my job." when the prince raised an eyebrow again he found himself chuckling again.
The prince raised his sword again but there was a bit of hesitation in the way he held it. "If you truly mean me no harm then reveal yourself!"
He let out a sigh, perhaps he would be giving himself away but would it matter at this point? Shulk was on his way to Plegia and from the way things panned out in his time, he wouldn't be coming back. "Very well."
He reached up and pulled his hood down revealing his long silvery blond hair, letting it tumble free from his red hood, his eyes still the same shade of blue as his younger self perhaps the few wrinkles he carried wouldn't change his visage too much.
Marth's eyes widened, "Shulk?" He recognizes me, even like this? He smiled, of course he would. "But how?" he looked him over and his eyes seemed to hold this understanding, as if he knew what he's been through, "I saw you leave, and now you're …"
"I am not the Shulk you know." He tried not to let the fondness and relief bleed too much into his voice, "I come from a time many years into the future."
"Then why are you here?" Oracle didn't miss the confused and weary look in his eyes as he studied him.
How could he explain this? "There is a dangerous fiend that fled into this time, I have no doubt that its target is your family." even to his own ears it sounded deranged, "I chased after it and ended up in this time, however I have lost track of it, so I have returned to you, knowing that I will run into it again."
"I see," Marth's gaze met his and Oracle knew he was judging his character. So he didn't back down, he peered into those bright blue eyes as he used to, keen on showing his unwavering spirit. Then he closed his eyes and lowered his blade completely, "I trust you, I can't explain it but somehow," he met his gaze again but there was a softness to it again, "I can tell you're sincere."
"You may call me Oracle," somehow he knew Marth would lose sleep over his past, and the future that spelled for Shulk. "If it's easier." Maybe if he thought of him as someone else it would ease the pain and worry.
"Very well," that seemed to ease the sudden tension in his soldiers, "do you mind," he shifted slightly, "this is a lot to take in, I think i'll head to bed now."
Oracle nodded, this would definitely be a lot to take in, "Sleep well, your Grace." He watched the prince leave and leaned against the old gazebo.
Marth would be okay, nothing too dangerous would await him, as long as he stayed in the castle. And for everything else Oracle would be there to keep him safe, the way he knows his younger self would have wanted.
AN/ I like working while i'm in a new environment, it really helps the creative juices flow. Anyways hope you enjoyed that little chapter, i feel it was slow in places but i am a bit rusty, anyways hope you have a good day.
~ (10/19/2024)