Alright, this is the first chapter I've written in the new year. Let's hope I can keep my regular upload schedule, with the exception of any surprise trips I go on. Still don't have a laptop so I can't work or post away from a workstation. Anyways on with the chapter.

Edit: I feel I jinxed myself. While I was working on this chapter, I was informed about a trip out of state I was going on. It was scheduled to overlap with my usual schedule. Sorry I missed the previous two cycles. Might end up going on another in March or April so … yeah.

The Prince's Future

Chapter 11: Sparring sessions

Pyra looked over the schedule over and over again. Shulk's handwriting was normally very neat and orderly, however the list he left her was a bit lacking in his usual finesse. She finally managed to parcel out a date and time for a meeting.

Then she stiffened, that was today, in a few hours, and there was no sign of the acting Exalt.

She started running, thankfully Mythra was a lot faster then she was and managed to get to the prince's door quickly. Switching back she knocked but received no answer.

She pushed open the prince's door and found him asleep at his desk. While that in itself wasn't too unusual she couldn't help but notice he was wearing a cloak. Had his room gotten that cold last night? Strange.

She entered and knocked on the wood of his personal desk. That startled him awake. They locked eyes for a long moment before he realized what was happening.

"Pyra?" he yawned and peered at the window behind him. A look of mortification crossed his features as he took note of the time of day. His cheeks flushed as he scratched the back of his head, there was a bit of ink on his chin. "Ah right, sorry, I'm guessing I'm needed for something."

"You have a meeting with the council today." She heard him curse under his breath and wipe his face, smearing the ink. "It's in half an hour." That made his eyes go wide and he made this little squeak that made her smile. "I'll go get you your breakfast, be ready by the time I get back."

She chose not to bring up his strange attire. Because now that she had gotten a closer look at him she realized it wasn't just his cloak, he had been dressed modestly, and that cloak wasn't just any cloak, it was the one he used exclusively to go out in. He had still been wearing his boots. There were twigs still clinging to the back of the cloak's hood.

She knew a runaway noble when she saw one. What Marth did late in the night wasn't any of her concern, clearly he had made it back safe enough he thought himself capable of getting more work done.

Shulk was surprised by the incredible taste of the sandwich he had just bought. The flavor was rich and surprisingly a bit spicy. The meat was tender and juicy, and for the price he would say it was an absolute steal.

His investigation into the day market had turned up more or less what he had expected. Most people didn't say a word about the Grimleal church and worse no one would go as far as to say anything that was related to the exchange of coin.

He had purchased a few more gifts, something for Dunban, Fiora, Lucina, Corrin and even something for his foster father. Although Shulk wasn't sure when he would see Dickson again but better to be safe.

He continued his investigation, when someone called out to him. He turned around to find a young woman at a nearby stall, she seemed to be selling books and magic tomes. They locked eyes and for a moment he wondered if he had made the painful mistake of assuming someone was calling out to him. "Yes you." she waved at him and it was obvious that her Ylissean was bad. "Come buy, very popular."

He wondered faintly if this was just a very enthusiastic saleswoman when he caught sight of something in her hands, a novel. He approached cautiously. She motioned to the rather sizable novel. Picking it up to show him, the letter peeking out ever so faintly behind it.

"I speak Plegian," he knew his accent was heavy and wavered faintly. "I understand, just not speak well."

She smiled and nodded. "Good." she continued in Plegian but in a hushed whisper. "Are you with the Ylisseans?"

Word gets around fast. He only gave her a guilty smile. "Is problem?"

"Careful when you leave town." she looked genuinely worried, "Grimleal are already waiting." she pushed the novel into his hands a little more forcefully. "Many of us don't want the war to start again but …"

He nodded and looked down at the large book in his hand, the letter having been tucked inside. It was a rather thick novel, assumably the letter wouldn't be able to distort the pages too badly. He looked down at the cover and realized he had seen that title somewhere before.

She continued in her broken Ylissean. "Very popular, you like."

He stared down at the cover art, a lone figure floating between two sides of a split ocean. There was something regal about the man on the cover. Something graceful yet powerful. Now that he thought about it perhaps he had seen this title before, the series logo at the least.

He reached into his coin purse and handed the woman a good number of coins. Before rushing off. He took a seat on a nearby curb and opened the book, making sure to study the letter first. It was instructions, and a copied portion of a map. Little xs indicated positions on a map. He tucked it inside the book jacket and rushed off to buy a map.

He felt a little at ease knowing that even the common folk of Plegia also didn't want another war. This was good, especially since Chrom and Robin were at the moment speaking with the Plegian Royalty, it would only mean that the hard part of the mission was over, now he just needed to warn them. Preferably in a way that didn't implicate Plegia.

Pyra shifted in her seat, Marth had mercifully given her the option to sit out of the latest council meeting, claiming Shulk normally didn't sit in. She wouldn't have blamed him. So here she was enjoying the weather from the serenity of the secret-not-so-secret garden. Zelda and Corrin were by her side enjoying a picnic Pyra had made.

Meanwhile, Lucina and Roy were currently enthralled in a powerful clash. It had been hilarious at first, seeing Lucina actively throwing Roy around. However it seemed Roy began to understand Luci's strengths.

Soon Roy began to strategize, Lucina was unsurprisingly stronger, and while Roy was pretty strong in his own right, it wasn't enough to overpower Lucina. Her mastery in distributing her strength through every part of the blade in her hands proved to outreach him. So he began to try and outmaneuver her.

He shifted his focus, dodging as opposed to countering and he found a hint of success in it. But it seemed she noticed the shift herself.

He rushed her way, darting past her and in a powerful show of strength he shifted the power within himself into a powerful attack that resulted in a magical burst.

However when the smoke cleared, Lucina stood unaffected just outside the affected area. Then in a flash of movement she was instantly in front of him and delivered a counter attack. He was blasted backward, sending him hurtling into the embrace of a training dummy. Both of them hit the ground with a loud thud.

"You okay?" Lucina scratched the back of her head in embarrassment as a groan sounded in response.

In that instant Roy's squire appeared, "I've got this." he moved so swiftly Pyra assumed he was floating, as he rushed to his lord's side.

She watched him raise his blade, and in that instant she could feel the ether in the air shift. Magic congealed around the simple training sword in his hand, shifting it and changing it for only a second. Then soft light delicately spun around him and flew towards Roy.

She was confident that it wasn't Ether magic, it was very close but it wasn't quite right. It shifted the ether in the air, the magic was pulled from Sora himself as opposed to the world around him.

Even more curious was the fact that the sword Sora had used wasn't magical in nature, it was as if he could just force his mana into anything as if it was made to be a conduit. He has an incredible mastery, he's still so young.

"I wouldn't call it a mastery, kid's still really awkward at controlling it." She could hear Mythra pipe up. "Although he's got the basics It's obvious he's an amateur."

I suppose, although you saw it too, that summon.

"Yeah," she scoffed. "And he couldn't maintain the form long enough to use it properly. He's hesitating, and that's keeping his magic from reaching its true potential."

"Better?" Sora offered Roy his hand

The redhead took it and was pulled to his feet. "Better."

Lucina had left the two the moment Sora appeared, she instead decided to take a seat at the picnic with all the girls. As she sat down and started eating, Corrin fixed her with this excited yet playful stare. "So Luci~" she leaned against her wife with this mischievous grin. "Can we continue our lessons?"

Lucina had a sandwich half way in her mouth when she met Corrin's eyes, she sighed, and put it down. "You will focus this time, right?"

"Mmmmm, maybe~" Corrin leaned away but the faint blush on her face betrayed her words.

"Lessons?" Zelda raised an eyebrow.

Lucina smiled. "While we were kidnapped and Corrin's seal started showing signs of breaking, I tried teaching her swordplay." her brows furrowed but her smile only grew. "We've tried keeping up with those lessons now that she's moved in but she has been using those sessions to flirt with me."

"And you fall for it every time." Corrin teased, kissing her wife on the cheek. Lucina lowered her gaze away from her wife but the growing pink on her face was proof enough of her racing mind.

Zelda shifted a bit awkwardly. "I'm a bit of a novice swordswoman myself, how about a spar, Corrin?"

Lucina raised an eyebrow. "You've taken up swordplay?"

Zelda blushed lightly. "I insisted Link teach me. After all, Hyrule has seen an influx of monsters lately and I figured it would help."

The friendly spar between the budding swordswomen resulted in a surprisingly smooth victory for Zelda. It was evident that she wasn't quite on par with Lucina but her skill was passable, clearly she had seen a fight or two. Meanwhile Corrin seemed to take the loss in stride. Corrin's footwork needed a lot of work. Lucina shook her head as Zelda helped Corrin to her feet. "This is how I know you weren't paying attention during our lessons." Corrin gave her wife a playful shove. Lucina laughed. "Actually, Zel, do you mind being Corrin's training partner? Maybe that way she'll actually pay attention."

"Sure," she gave the married couple this eager smile as if she had her own agenda, although Pyra could have sworn she heard her mumbling something about surprising someone with her improved skill.

Pyra took her gaze off the three noblewomen and looked back into the training area to find Roy and his retainer deeply engaged in a fierce but friendly spar.

Sora seemed to pose a similar challenge that Lucina did. He was far too nimble for Roy to swing his blade wildly. Sora's control of wind magic made him move and float along the ground and even in the air as effortlessly as if he were weightless. But Roy seemed to be prepared for his opponent's floaty nature. It seemed that whenever Roy would be close enough to close the gap, Sora would effortlessly cartwheel away, and just out of his reach.

He would sidestep any attacks of Fire and Ice magic, and would barrel through blasts of lightning that Sora seemed to summon from the sky.

But Roy seemed to have a very intimate understanding of Sora's fighting style, because while Roy wasn't able to land a hit on the younger man most of the time, the few times he did, they struck true. Roy's raw persistence seemed to outlast Sora. and by the start of Corrin and Zelda's second match, Roy had finally managed to press Sora into the wall, his blade at his throat.

They stayed like that, gazes locked and their expressions unreadable at this distance, but very soon one of them started chuckling and they backed off from each other, a good natured smile on both of their faces. "Let's call it for today." Roy sighed as Sora handed him something to drink.

Pyra watched the two begin idle chatter, and so she turned her attention to the three women still training. "Do you think they would let me join?"

After what you did to Marth last year, let's not.

Marth knew that he should have headed to bed a few hours ago. He knew that he had a lot of paperwork waiting for him on his desk. He knew that Shulk would have protested to a late night training session. But he was too worked up from today's meeting. Granted, it wasn't as bad as the recent outbursts from the council, but somehow he felt far too restless, the kind of restless that could only be solved by letting his energy out.

As he moved with swift and precise motions, he wondered if this would become his new normal. Waking early, suffering through council meetings, burning through document after document and then when his frustration would run too high he would find himself out here, letting his pent up feelings out the way his father was prone to do.

Then he thought about his father, he had once commended him for putting up with the council, but that feeling was made tenfold recently. He couldn't imagine the amount of grief the council would have given him to remarry. It was a subtle strength that Marth hadn't really noticed until now.

He paused to catch his breath. The most recent victim of his ire was tossed upon a pile with the other broken training dummies. He let out another huff and looked around, he could feel it. That all too familiar feeling of being watched, perhaps it was just his late night anxiety turned paranoia again but it could now just easily be eyes on him.

He took a deep breath and let it out in a slow exhale. "Oracle?"

The shadows shifted and the older blonde emerged from behind the wall separating the training grounds from the garden. Marth almost squeeked, thankfully he had been expecting it, he still flinched though, clearly not expecting his hunch to be right.

The blonde stepped into the training grounds and approached the prince, before in an all too familiar voice answered. "What troubles you?"

Marth eased his nerves, before offering Oracle his training sword. Oracle examined the offer before taking it. "I need to clear my head." was what he decided to say.

"Very well." Marth and him began a sparring match. But it was even more evident the difference between their skill levels. Oracle's stance was laxed and he blocked and countered all of Marth's attacks effortlessly. It almost irritated Marth more.

At one point Marth put all of his strength behind a particularly powerful strike, only for Oracle to counter it one handed. They locked eyes then and Marth felt his face heat up at the small smirk on the other's face. A silent question, Is that all?

Then effortlessly he was pushed back with a swipe of a blade. When Marth fell backward he couldn't help but feel far too embarrassed. He sat there staring up at the older Shulk for a long period of time.

He could see it now, the faint muscles that were quietly hidden by the weight of his cloak and jacket. Marth found himself staring at the arm again. Clearly it was no gauntlet, it was metal, there was no doubt in his mind now, Shulk had lost his arm. And the ease of which he moved that arm, it was one he had lost long ago, clearly adapting to his new prosthetic amazingly. "How long have you been this powerful?"

Oracle only tilted his head to the side. "It's hard to say," he knelt down by the prince's side. Marth only crossed his legs, clearly content to sit there and stew in his humiliating loss. "I've been fighting for my life for many years now. When you are put in situations like mine you don't have any other option than to improve."

Fighting for his life? Marth peered back up at Oracle, locking his gaze with the time traveler's. "What hells have you seen, Shulk?"

"Ones, that if I do my job," he stared down at his metal hand, "you will never have to witness."

"No." Marth clenched his fist. "I want you to prepare me for them," and in a softer voice he added. "Just in case."

He didn't want Shulk to go through the pain that Oracle has, and maybe just maybe, if he becomes stronger he'll be able to protect the seer from whatever horrible fate has changed him so drastically.

Oracle stood up and loomed over Marth for a long moment before the prince realized he wanted him to stand. And so he stumbled to stand, taking Oracle's offered hand to get to his feet. "Very well." the hand holding Marth's squeezed ever so gently, "but know it will not be easy."

"Good." Training with Mythra hadn't been easy, but her lack of holding back was the only reason he was able to improve so quickly. "Don't hold back, I can handle it."

There was a fond smile on Oracle's face as he let Marth's hand go and handed him the training sword. "Oh I am well aware, now, show me your resolve."

The difference in Oracle's demeanor was night and day. His stance now was ironclad, and before Marth could recognize it he rushed forward, snatching Marth's discarded training blade from the floor before attacking. The movement was so swift that Marth only had time to react to the last strike.

His strikes were relentless and Marth couldn't tell if it was fear, adrenaline, or excitement overtaking his brain. Either way he prepared himself to battle.

AN/ Can you tell i've gotten rusty with my fight scenes. Le sigh, it's very evident that i've been out of practice, let's hope I fix that soon. Anyways getting back to this story seems to be getting harder and harder, or maybe i've just been overworking myself, who knows. Anyways lets hope the next chapter comes easier. Anyways see you all later.

~ (2/7/2025)