Fire Emblem: Children of Light

Chapter 6: Dying Fire

  The group walks steadily down a narrow dirt road, surrounded on all sides by thick forests. The tree canopies obscured the sun, covering the road in a speckled blanket of shadow. A brisk breeze whistled through the leaves, creating an almost frigid, eerie feel.

  "Are we there yet?" Aurelio asks.
  "Don't start with that." Alda scoffs. "I told you, it's a long way from Arqferi to Rexeus. Have some patience before I lose mine."
  "Geez..." Aurelio sighs, and just like that the group went quiet. Not long into the silence however, Aurelio begins to hum the song that he and Galatea sang.
  "A-Aurelio..." Galatea quietly says, nudging him.
  "Mm?"
  "T-That's our song..."
  "You sing Galatea?" Maude asks.
  "Singing?" Alda snickers. "I thought your whole schtick was that you didn't talk?"
  "You sing too Lord Aurelio?" Ian asks. "I didn't take you for a vocalist."
  "Wait, what do you mean our song?" Callista asks teasingly, leaning in towards Aurelio and Galatea.
  "I-It's not-" Galatea stammers, her face growing red.
  "What are you making a fuss about?" Aurelio says, a bit red himself. "All Galatea is doing is teaching me a bit of the Vibestian language, nothing to write home about. I'm training to be a tactician remember? I can't negotiate without learning a few languages. Isn't that right Galatea?"
  "Mm."
  "Is that not why we have a vernacular?" Maude says bluntly.
  "I- I suppose." Aurelio sighs. "But you guys really are getting worked up over nothing. Galatea sings, big deal, we all have our hobbies. I like studying the history of our continent for example."
  "Yeah, because you're a nerd." Callista chuckles.
  "Don't try to start stuff Callista." Aurelio grumbles, a bit annoyed. "But anyways, why don't we sing a bit Galatea? It's far too quiet."
  "I-I've never r-really had a-an audience..." Galatea shyly murmurs.
  "And you're not gonna have one." Alda scowls. "You all are already too loud as is. I can hardly hear myself think. You do want to get to Rexeus don't you?"
  "R-Right..." Galatea sighs.
  "What's got her so out of shape?" Aurelio asks.
  "She hasn't had her daily fix." Maude says, shaking her head. "Alda's a bit of an alcoholic I'm afraid, and she tends to be irritable before having a pint or two..."
  "And you all keep a drunkard in your army?"
  "Well, King Arturo kept my father around." Ian sighs. "But he eventually kicked his habits, so perhaps Alda can too."
  "That's the thing, Alda wasn't initially a part of our army." Maude says. "She's a rogue assassin, and she was on the run. One day she just happened to enter Vibestia and decided to lay low for a while. When Sieghild attacked, our forces needed as many soldiers as we could get, so she was roped in with Galatea and I."
  "Wait, you're an assassin Alda?"
  "Between my cowl and abundance of knives, I figured it was obvious." Alda sighs. "Aren't there assassins in Arqferian?"
  "No, none of our soldiers are trained in the rogue arts." Ian says.
  "Shame, any good army could use an assassin or two."
  "So wait, what did you do anyway?" Callista asks. "Maude said you were on the run."
  "I committed what's called a 'perfidy.'"
  "You switched sides in the middle of a battle?" Aurelio says.
  "Ha! I've never been one for sides, no, I always lean towards the highest bidder. So when I got a request to take out my old employer, of course I went for it. How was I supposed to know that his goons would chase me half way across the damn continent? I guess I got sloppy somewhere." Alda grumbles. "That's the only reason I'm here in the first place. The Vibestian Queen pays quite the pretty penny for her soldiers, and I can't have Sieghild going and messing that up, can I?"
  "So then how'd you get to Rexeus?"
  "I'm originally from Rexeus."
  "Really?"
  "Mm, any assassin worth their salt is from Rexeus."
  "To think we have such a hoodlum amongst our ranks..." Aurelio sighs.
  "Watch it." Alda retorts. "Just because you're a prince doesn't mean you can call me whatever you want. If you wanna be cocky, you have to earn it. If you wanna be an ass, learn how to kill someone first-"
  "Enough Alda." Maude interjects. "It's not that far until we reach Rexeus, correct? You can hold your tongue until then, can't you?"
  "Do you want to fight too?" Alda spits, drawing her knife. Sparks flew from the sheathe as she did so. "Little kiss-ups like you really piss me off-"