This is a good look at the aftermath and consequences of battle. However, I think NaNoWriMo must be getting to you, because you put "writing in agony" instead of "writhing in agony." Yay for Serra/Oswin, and yay for acknowledging Bartre as something beyond Karla's lover. I don't have much less to say beyond that this leans toward the kind of realism I've been clamoring for.

I like this. Serra and Priscilla together is always an interesting concept, considering they are the first two healers you get and all. You're right that in terms of the real world, getting all your units through every battle is extremely lucky (although we know it's just because you turned the GBA off every time someone died). I did find it strange that you didn't acknowledge magical healing, though. I mean, yeah, it kind of intrudes on the story's main theme (you should see D you gain more health in a few seconds of magical healing than you can with days of normal rest), but it's still there. I think if I were you, I would at least try to address why magical healing can't solve everything.

There was one spelling mistake I noticed: "...dying, writing and groaning as their wounds..." You're the one who's doing the writing here. I assume you meant "writhing?" You actually did that one twice. Still, it's the only one I spotted.

Near the end, things got a little confusing. When Serra and Priscilla are speaking in fragments, “If not for Sain’s flattery, I don’t…” “It’s always hard to—” I was just confused about what they were trying to say. Also, the last line: “What they don’t realize is that the real battle occurs right here in this tent.” I'm not saying the healers don't have a difficult lot in life, but saying the "real" battle happens in the tent kind of disparages the efforts of the people who need healing in the first place. At least, to me.

Sorry if I seem especially mean. I do like this chapter. It's a good concept, something usually glossed over in Fire Emblem, and it's neat to see it expanded upon. Good job, and good luck with the next one!

You've captured the friendship aspect betwixt Sain and Kent well.

[I thought to send you word just as quickly as I could, and I must apologize for the delay. I am certain that you expected to hear from me much sooner than this, but I did not think that the trip would be so long, nor so -hard-.] Sain would probably use 'arduous' instead. ^_^ (He likes words.)

[I can admit, grudgingly, that when I first arrived, I did not see the beauty in the endless fields of snow, nor the ice that formed everywhere—even on my nose! It grew on me, Kent, much like Lady Lyndis grew on you, to the point of wondering how I had gone all my life without ever knowing it, without ever seeing it.] Wonderful imagery! LOL at Sain with ice on his nose.

If he has a family, we all should hope that Sain has daughters. ^^

Good read!

Well, I have heard that people are more eloquent on paper than they are in speech so Sain's diction and vocabulary can be greater when he writes. Just a thought.

Again, your descriptions are wonderful, I could visually imagine the snowy, barren land of Ilia and all the other places Sain described in his letter to Kent. Marvelous job, I know every time I read something from you, I'm going to be reading some good.

~~SpeedDemon315

"far from eloquent?" On the contrary! Very well-written and in-character. Sain is a wonderful guy. I can really see him, sitting at a desk in a huddle of warm coats, writing this letter to Kent. Cute and realistic bits of fluff in there, too. Good job!

- Kitty

I loved 'Princess in a Tower', the title gave the impression of the classic or cliche weak Princess who is trapped in a tower. And the knight is the one who saves her and they get married.
So when I actually read the first few lines, I was surprised. In a very good way.
It was a very loving, sweet fic. I especially liked the line
'only she could heal it properly. Staves and magic aside, a few cuts and bruises could only get better if she kissed them and made them “all better”.' - it brings a sweet picture of a mother kissing her sons' legs all better. In fact, it's almost too sweet.
'if she could pick up a sword and charge into battle, she’d do so gladly. She’ll do anything to protect her son, the one who pretended to poke a wooden sword into the belly of a pony that he had declared was secretly a dragon out to keep her locked in a tower forever and ever and ever.' - very good, it conveys her angst very well and I can see Eliwood doing that.
'He’s her baby, her son, her little boy. He’s hardly a man.' - the overprotectiveness of Eleanora is clearly shown. And the reader feels sympathy towards her as a mother.

'Now she sits in the castle tower, not trapped, but merely waiting.' - nice piece of imagery, it clearly conveys angst and suspense.

Well done! I hope you'll make more family fics!

I'm going to review this chapter if it's the last stinking thing I do. 8|

I don't know how I missed this one, or why it kept slipping my mind. I loved it so much when you first posted it and I still love it now (no matter what you say about it :B) and I'm incredibly boggled that I never spammed you with squee.

I think first of all, I liked it because it was an isolated event. No back-knowledge, back-happenings, just what happened when they were in Nabata. That's it. It sort of grounds the ficlet, I think. Prevents it from seeming to detached or free-floating (an attribute which isn't necessarily bad, jut...more common, I think). I also like the detail you give on how the heat is taking it's toll on the people from WIl's condition [ his eyes dull, sweat trickling down his face only to be burned out of existence, leaving salty tracks behind] to the horse's inability to carry Kent, and the note that Kent's armor was hot enough to burn.

[ She liked the feel of his hand, the thought of him holding her hand. She could feel where the sun had blistered his skin, where calluses had formed from years of using weapons, and she could run the pads of her fingertips over the small raised bumps that were testimony to his determination to protect her with his life; it was almost like she could learn more about him from a simple touch than by asking any questions.] I like this. In addition to having details about Kent, it tells about Lyndis and how much having her hand in his affects her.

[Damn this desert, she inwardly moaned. If they had been anywhere else—anywhere at all—she wouldn’t have let him have his hand back for anything.] Cute fluff that makes my teeth rot from happy. Also I like the emotional weight of the sentence.

Then the detail about the change in temperature and how that affected characters. Another potentially overlooked aspect which added to the depth of the piece. That she was frigid and couldn't quite go to sleep was a nice touch as well.

[She knew who it was who had given her their blanket. It was always the same person, the same exact person who cared more than he should—or so he claimed—and gave up far more than necessary—or so she claimed—to ensure her safety and comfort and happiness every single day.] Baww~

[Maybe if she just hugged him he would know everything—that she appreciated the fact that he cared, though he shouldn’t sacrifice his own comforts for her—but he was just out of her reach.] *additional coo of happy*

Serra using Lucius as a pillow is so sweet~ Poor fellow. I wonder how it happened outside his notice. Hee~

[ut she still didn’t feel right taking it from him, so she closed the distance between them and lifted the edge of the blanket, draping it over him as she scooted closer, clutching the front of his shirt firmly to keep him from getting away. “We can share it, then,” she smiled, her lips hurting from being stretched.] Aw. The sweetness of the act plus the detail in the pain of smiling.

[and Hector was trouncing all over the little piles of sand, wiggling around as if he had gone insane.] But didn't you know? Hector /is/ insane/ It's just now that the knowledge has caught up to her--*shot*

[“You…” He glared and then gave up, stomping off somewhere else.] I dunno, but this is just terribly amusing. xD I can picture it perfectly.

[Kent dusted himself off, and Lyn reached over to brush some sand out of his bright hair. His face was terribly burned, and she could almost make out freckles on the bridge of his nose. Maybe as a child he had had them, and they had faded as he had aged. Smiling, she entertained the thought.] Oh~ I like this too. Freckled Kent could have been cute, hee. Also! Random note, I've been told that red-headed people don't tan. They're always fair-skinned and that, rather than tanning, they tend to freckle. Interesting, hmm? c:

[Lucius sat up and noticed Serra using his stomach as a pillow, her hands fisted in the material of his robes. “D-Dear Elimine!” he squeaked, his face heating up quickly as he tried to jump away from her with absolutely no luck. Just then, he stopped, blinked, and shuddered. “I-I think I have sand in…” He trailed off, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.] This is both amusing and, unsurprisingly, very cute. Lucius's uncomfort at finding Serra attached to his front and sand in places he'd rather not think about is so charming, the poor man.

Again~ I absolutely love this chapter~~ Hee~

~Qieru

I always like how you focus on some characters that never seem to get much attention, like this chapter and the one before. And you're right, they should get some more fanfic time--that's why I always wanted to write an oneshot about Orson's fall from grace because he'll be such a complex, intriguing character to write.

Keep up the great writing! Godspeed!

Aw. This was such a sweet chapter~ :D And you're right, Eleanora does tend to get shafted pretty often, on anything, really.

[“I’ll protect you, Princess!” he had declared. And he had. He’d protected her from the loneliness that being the wife of a marquess was. (How could she have realized how busy Elbert would be?)

He’d given her so much laughter and joy.

She wants to give that back to him.] This was so sweet. And rather than a child wanting to give back to their parent, she wants to give to her son because of the joy and love he has been to her.

:3

~Qieru

Not logged in but it's kittykatloren all the same :) Very sweet story. I love how you characterized their relationship - and even more so, how you managed to express Eleanora's relationship with Elbert as well. I particularly like "She’s already lost his father. " - it's perfect how she doesn't think of Elbert as "her husband, her love" - because you're right, Elbert would be busy so often.

Also, I love her jealousy and longing for Lyndis' and Louise's skills. Very realistic and touching. If only she could fight beside her son!

Nicely written and a great, adorable, and meaningful story :)

- Kitty

I absolutely loved this...you write Marcus in such a wonderful way. I was literally grinning by the end.

Very well thought and written. It was lovely!

Very nice. Eliwood's words are perfectly in character - children often say the truest things in their hearts. And Marcus's thoughts are very well done too. Good one!

- Kitty

Those what-if scenarios are always fun to explore, even in the tragic domain. I too like Pent and Louise and him getting consumed in his own work is realistic, I can see this happening if he were to ever go down that slippery slope.

The two last sentences were a killer:
"In the end, he wanted only five more minutes.

With her."

They really struck home with Pent realizing how much time he wasted with his work when he could have spend it with his family and the realization of it brutally hits him and it's too late to go back and fix all the mistakes. Wonderful job, you always know how to produce some great pieces here!

So sad, but dangerously realistic too. The ending, though a little bit predictable, is nonetheless moving. It's all too plausible a scenario. Very well written, keep it up :)

- Kitty

Very sweet chapter. Your writing is concise yet descriptive, which is hard to pull off. Unfortunately, I'm a die-hard Hector/Lyn chapter, so I've been skipping around - but that doesn't mean I can't recognize great writing when I see it! Keep up the wonderful work.