Seeking Redemption

Lloyd

Ugh. I don't know where to go with this story. This is going to make no sense if you don't play Fire Emblem, and I don't know how else to do it. For those of you that do play Fire Emblem, this is post Path of Radiance, almost to Radiant Dawn. Ike is still a lord in Crimea. P.S. I ship IkeXElincia. I don't even know why I added Ike....anyway, here is the next chapter attempt. It is only chapter seven, but the storyline got away from me so this is going to be a really short book. Kudos to those of you still reading.

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"Lloyd!" Raine says, exasperated. "Wake up! We landed!"

"I'm up!" I say, my eyes snapping open. Colette is laying against me, both of us on our sides. I take a moment to stroke her hair before shaking her awake. "We need to go."

"If it is necessary." Colette says, her voice monotone. I frown. She is starting to speak like...well, like she did when she underwent the transformation. Colette gets to her feet, and helps me up as well. Seeing my expression, she panics. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's fine." I say, smiling.

"Well, if everyone is awake," Ike cuts in from across the ship, "My barracks in nearby, in Crimea's capital. Right now, we are here." He points to a map. Colette and I walk over in time to see where he is pointing. "It is a few day's ride to the capital, so I suggest..."

"A few days?!" Genis asks. "You could cross Sylvarant in that time!"

"It seems this world is much larger than ours, Genis." Raine says, a smile in her voice.

I watch with no comment. Presea asks the practical questions, such as if we will have horses and such,

"Will we have Rheiards?" Colette asks. At Ike's bewilderment, Raine cuts in, reminding everyone that this world is very different from ours.

We collect our things, and Ike exchanges the boat for money, which we use for horses and supplies. Then Ike takes the lead, and we leave for the capital.

Traveling with Ike is a learning experience. With my friends, I seem to somehow be the leader, though I do not have wisdom or experience. Ike, however, is the embodiment of a leader. All of his decisions are calculated, yet he still uses his heart, like I do. He definitely has the mind of a strategist, and has seen many full-out wars. At night, he tells us of his adventures. In all, he had 46 close friends that came at his beck and call. On top of that, he commanded an entire army for awhile. Yet he is still humble and kind. And my age at the time. I lack the wisdom, strength and courage to do anything like that.

Out of the 46, only 12 stayed with Ike. The others filter in and out. One of the later is actually the queen of Crimea. Imagine knowing a queen, nonetheless commanding her and knowing her as well as Ike seems to. If I didn't know better, I'd say Ike has a crush on her. But he can't, right?

Ugh. Professor would say, 'New world, new rules.'

I suppose she is right.

Even then, I can't help but idolize Ike.

Over the journeying time, he and I cross swords often in sport. He always wins, but I do manage to land blows on him every once in awhile. While he is built for strength, I am built for speed and agility. This means nothing to him, though. His large sword compensates when he cannot reach me, and his body rarely seems to hinder his movement.

And neither does his stupid cloak. I try to trip him up, but the cloak magically floats away from his feet when he seems to be about to trip.

We pass a town that is under attack only once. Ike frowns when he sees it. The colors and symbols of the armies mean nothing to me, but is seems to really trouble him. Under his instruction, the offending (and small) army is quickly apprehended. The townspeople clearly recognize Ike, and thank him enormously.

The rest of the trip goes without incident. We arrive in the capital within four days. Ike leads us through the busy city with ease. People part when they see him. When we approach what he claims is the barracks, a teenage girl runs out to hug him. After a long, warm hug, the girl steps away and whacks him with a staff.

"Ike! Where were you?!?! You've been gone for WEEKS!"

"Sorry, Mist. Needed some time away."

Mist seems about to punch him again, but another boy her age runs out.

"Mist!" His green hair falls in front of his eyes. "Why did you..." He freezes. "Ike!" His look is between relief, panic, and joy. The panic confuses me.

Mist smiles knowingly. "I came out to see my brother, Rolf."

Rolf, the green-haired boy, runs a hand through his hair nervously. He catches sight of us.

"You have new friends." He remarks. Mist pulls him forward, and continues to hold his hand. Ike smiles, finally understanding Rolf's embarrassment.

"These people helped me on my journey. They are going to stay with us for awhile." Ike answers.

"My name is Mist. Ike is my big brother." The girl says, smiling.

"I'm Lloyd." I smile. "This is Colette, Genis, Presea, and Raine." I gesture to each in turn.

"I'm Rolf." The green-haired boy says. Both Rolf and Mist seem to be slightly younger than me.

"Rolf! You can't just run off like that!" Two other green-haired men run out of the barracks. They both seem to be Ike's age, and the taller, thinner one seems to be older.

"I was looking for Mist, and she found Ike." Rolf explains. The two newcomers stop running. "These annoying brothers of mine are Oscar and Boyd." Rolf informs us.

"Hey!" The berserker-looking one complains. "I'll give my own introduction, thank you." He winks at Colette. "I'm Boyd."

Colette immediately hides behind me, one hand on her chakrams.

"Okay, she's taken then." Boyd laughs heartily, then turns to Ike. "You gave us quite the scare. Should have seen Mist. I told her you would be fine. You always are." He holds out his arm. Ike clasps it, and they nearly tear each other's arms off before letting go. Ike smiles slightly.

"Good to see you, too, Boyd."

"Should we escort the newcomers?" The other one, Oscar I would guess, asks.

"Yeah. I need to report to Elincia anyway. It's not the best thing for a noble to suddenly disappear."

Ike looks back at me and gives an encouraging nod before leaving. I take a deep breath, then follow Oscar into the barracks.

A/N: Ugh, I hate introducing mass characters. It always turns out rough and immature sounding. If you have any suggestions as to how to fix that, I'm all ears.