Chapter 1: A Choice

"Lady Emmeryn! Exalt!"

Still clothed in her formal green sage attire, the young blonde-haired girl rubbed her eyes and sat up straight. The hour was late, and the howling winds and pouring rain on the castle roof had put her to sleep. Despite her exhaustion, she was alert and focused as one of the Ylissean guards knelt before her. "What's wrong? Is it Chrom? Lissa?" she asked worriedly.

"N-no, Your Grace," the guard replied. "Both of them are asleep and guarded- you have no need to worry." She paused. "You do however have a guest. The night watch captured him and he demanded to speak with you himself. He appears to be wearing Plegian garb."

Immediately, Emmeryn was suspicious. It was late, she was relatively unarmed, and just as the riots against her were calming down would make for an excellent time for a Plegian assassin to infiltrate their borders and stir up conflict again. Having only been the exalt for four years, Emmeryn knew little of the struggles that went on behind the scenes for her life, but she was no fool. Standing from her throne, the girl straightened her hairpiece and grabbed her staff.

"I will not turn away someone in need," she declared softly. She couldn't help but wonder: was the declaration to her guard or to herself? Her voice had trembled. "Let him in. I want guards at the door, but do not let them any closer than that. Wait until I signal otherwise."

"My lady… Is that wise?"

Emmeryn sighed. "No, it is not, Phila. But if a stranger asks for the mercy of the Exalt herself, the odds are that he will not want our conversation to be overheard by others." Holding her head a little higher, the Ylissean monarch descended the steps and motioned for the guard to rise. "We must trust the people. Showing that we are overly suspicious of anyone goes against all that we've worked for these past few years. Plegia is not an inherent threat. Even if no one is watching, I want to hold ourselves to that standard. I know you agree with me."

A ghost of a smile crossed the guard's mouth. "It is why I requested to become your bodyguard. I admire that in you." She followed Emmeryn into the next room, which remained empty except for two lower ranking guards stationed there. Temporarily, the Exalt's personal guard left her side and whispered to the others. One left to go retrieve their visitor. "Your Grace, there is one more thing you should know," Phila said as she returned to the girl. "The man… He is not alone. There is a child with him."

"A child?" Emmeryn echoed softly. Before she even had time to process this piece of information, the doors opened, and the mystery man was escorted inside. His long, dark hair was stringy and slick from the downpour outside, and the bags under his eyes helped the girl realize this man had not slept in quite some time. He definitely looked Plegian; his skin was dark and his purple tactician's coat was adorned with Grimleal symbols on its sleeves. Emmeryn looked for the child Phila spoke of, but as the man turned towards her, she saw it was hiding behind his legs, gripping one of the man's hands tightly.

"Exalt," the man said as he knelt, keeping the child close to him, "thank you for allowing me to speak with you. I know the hour is late, but I have traveled far, and I need your help."

"Please," Emmeryn said, "stand. Phila, will you please fetch this man and his companion something warm to eat?" The light-haired teen looked at her Exalt in shock, but begrudgingly nodded and left them alone with the other guards at the door.

"Thank you, Your Grace. Your generosity is much appreciated." Despite Emmeryn's invitation to stand, the man continued to kneel. Though the child hid behind the coat he wore, she could see that the man was hugging the child to him ferociously. "My name… My name is Validar. I am a follower of the Grimleal religion and a tactician in King Gangrel's ranks. I am fleeing Plegia, and I seek asylum here for me and my son."

He failed to elaborate, and Emmeryn held her ground. "Validar, this request of yours is not one I can easily accept without further details. Why are you deserting Plegia?" The girl kept this to herself, but a request for temporary asylum was something almost any solider could grant. For this man to come directly to her instead suggested something dire, and Emmeryn would not endanger the capitol city if it could be helped.

Validar's gaze flicked to the soldiers by the door. "My situation is a complex one. Your Grace, this is something that will very much matter to you personally, and so I wish to share my information with you personally. Please." His tired, worried eyes showed her all she needed to see- there wasn't a hint of malice within them. This was a desperate man, a scared man.

A trustworthy man.

Emmeryn followed his gaze and motioned for her Ylissean soldiers to leave them be. Phila was coming back soon, so if anything went in a direction she did not expect, the girl would do her utmost to hold the attacker off until her bodyguard returned. Once her and the Plegian were alone, she stepped towards him. "Speak."

Validar exhaled a breath of relief. "Thank you," he said once more. "Now I… I cannot reveal much, because I'm a fairly low-ranking mage within the Grimleal, but I know things about what they are planning. Ever since you called off the war between Ylisse and Plegia, Gangrel has gotten restless and irritable. He desires the Fire Emblem, but he's not the only one. The Grimleal planted that desire into his head because that relic holds the key to unlocking the very god we worship from his slumber, and nothing will stop them from making that a reality." He paused and looked up at Emmeryn's face. He expected her to be confused, expected her to think he was delusional, but he saw no expression indicating either.

"Go on."

"As you know, the blood of the Exalted Dragon, Naga, runs in your family's bloodline. In the Grimleal order, a sacred family has had the responsibility of passing down the blood of the Fell Dragon, Grima. Like you know from firsthand experience, it can take time for a mark of this heritage to appear. Your family bears the Brand of the Exalt, but in the Fell bloodline, it is the Mark of Grima that manifests. While the Brand does not allow for any special gifts, one who bears the Mark becomes a candidate to be Grima's vessel. His resurrection, as it were." Slowly, Validar urged the child with him forward and into the light. He was small, maybe a year or so younger than Emmeryn's own brother. Like Validar, the boy had long, black hair and dark skin, but there was something off about him. For one thing, a single streak of white ran through his hair, and his dull eyes seemed to change color as he moved in the light. Though she knew what was coming, the Exalt still found herself surprised when the mage before her removed the boy's right glove from his hand.

The Mark of Grima.

"You see, I wed the woman who carries the Fell bloodline. I was a young, devoted follower, and I didn't think about the future I had in front of me. Soon, she gave birth to a son- my son- and for the past seven years of his life, I have only laid eyes on him seven times. She was not born with the full Mark of Grima, and she was hungry for him to be. For seven years… For seven years this woman has groomed my son to invite a bloodthirsty dragon into his soul, and just a few days ago, it seemed everything finally paid off. She got her wish. The boy… My child is to be Grima's vessel. He is to be the end of the world as we know it."

Emmeryn inhaled deeply, letting her eyes rest on the boy. The more Validar had spoken, the more she could see how different he appeared. The child hardly blinked, his gaze was empty and distant, and there were signs of bruising and abuse on his wrists and neck. Looking at the patterns… Had this boy been shackled? "Validar, I don't understand. Why have you brought this boy here? Why do you seek asylum here? If what you say is true and the Grimleal are controlling Gangrel, then what is to stop them from sending soldiers into the Halidom and hunting you down to get him back?"

The child retreated towards Validar again, and the man slipped his glove back on to cover the Mark. "Your Grace, I am begging you to help me and my son disappear. Give us a life here! After seeing the things that were done to him, the kinds of methods they used to teach him the dark arts…" He stopped, taking his son's hand in his own. "I may not be part of a religion that you understand, but you understand love. You are a kind, benevolent Exalt who is setting her war-torn Halidom on the path to peace after fifteen years. I am simply asking you to believe in the love I have for my son. After everything that happened, I lost my faith. No child, regardless of their importance deserves to be hurt like they hurt him. I risked my life to cross the desert and bring us here, all because I knew you were the only one that would show mercy. This boy may have been born with Fell blood inside him, but if I can raise him away from that, then it doesn't have to define him. The century could pass and Grima would never have to come forward and threaten the world."

"…You do understand that if I called upon the actions of my bloodline, I could find a way to strike this child down now? I too could ensure that Grima does not rise in this century, and it would be in a much more guaranteed way. Have you not considered that?"

Validar's desperation only heightened, and his fear danced in his crimson eyes like flame. "Exalt… Please…"

Emmeryn shook her head. "Keeping you both here is a risk I cannot take. You are a well-recognized mage in the Grimleal order, and that boy is their dragon reincarnated. I feel your pain, but I have to protect my people. As you said, I have worked hard to bring us out of war, and I do not intend for one simple mistake to throw us back into it. I must repair the damage my father did to this land and its people." She paused. "I am only thirteen. I am not what the rulers of other lands would call "experienced," and if I make a choice that could severely impact our future like this one, I will be called too naïve and too young. I will be called weak and a poor leader. If I am to lead my people into an era of peace, how can I be seen as a poor leader? I have to be strong. I have to be smart."

"Your Grace, please… We have nowhere else to go. She will find us in Regna Ferox, she will find us in your rural lands to the south. I am well aware of the fact that the most proactive option is to kill the child now when he is weak and vulnerable, but I'm here because I know that. If I fail to raise the boy the right way, his demise is right here, in this very castle. He can be struck down in an instant. Please, I… I don't believe he is the monster his blood says he has to be. He is my child, and I believe in him. The moment his actions say otherwise, I am giving you permission to end him with the Falchion. But please, please… Allow me to try."

Emmeryn hesitated. She weighed a thousand options in her head. This was a moment that she knew would define her and Ylisse's future, no matter what choice she made.

Instead of giving the man an answer, the Exalt knelt before the pair, now on eye-level with the child. "What is your name?" she asked softly. "My name is Emmeryn, but my brother and sister call me Emm."

The boy did not respond. He appeared to study her face and the mark on her forehead, but he did not speak. Validar instead replied. "He has no name. Until a child of the Fell bloodline has been confirmed or denied as His vessel, they are named Grima."

The dark-haired child seemed to respond slightly to that, but it was as if his reactions were delayed or he somehow was blocking their conversation out. He had truly been hurt, Emm realized. "Grima?" she echoed. "That's not a very good name to use while you're hiding. If you are to stay here, you'll have to change it." The Exalt nodded. "Yes, you'll both have to."

"Does that mean...?"

Emmeryn shook her head. "Not officially, no. This is a decision I cannot make by myself, but I will allow you both to stay here in the castle until my council has said otherwise. I will keep as much of the Grimleal and his heritage out of this as possible, but I make no guarantees."

Validar's eyes quivered as if he were on the verge of tears. "Thank you, Your Grace, thank you. Whatever you need in return, I promise I will do my best to provide it. If you need tactical advice, I am glad to supply it to you. Even if we are denied… I want you to know how much this means to me."

She smiled. "Of course. But I am adamant about your names. I cannot go to my council requesting I give asylum to Grima himself. Do you have another name for the boy?"

"I do not," Validar admitted. His eyes wandered the room, hoping some kind of parental inspiration would dawn on him. Though warmly lit, the only thing that adorned the walls were artists' renditions of Ylisstol's castle during the four seasons. Each season was graced by a different kind of bird in the image, ranging from a dove in the summer to a robin in the spring.

Following his eyes once more, Emmeryn stood and rested a hand on the paintings. "These represent how our Halidom changes between the seasons. Many things stay the same, like the castle and the tree line, but the visitors we receive change. Like the robins in the spring? They're here all year, but they tend to appear more frequently in the sunshine. Their presence ushers in the bright new season and the hope that comes with it. I think that for you and your son, hope is something you need to hold onto tightly for your future."

He listened to her words intently, but just before he could speak, her personal bodyguard returned with blankets and what smelled like warm stew in hand. His son seemed more alert now that he smelled food, and Validar felt relief in his chest. It had been days since they'd eaten full meals.

"My lady, shall I escort them to our guest quarters?" Phila asked. "It is very late, and you need to retire. If you have not finished this meeting, we can continue in the morning."

The Exalt nodded, taking her hand off the glossy and textured canvas that hung on the wall. "Yes, please. Make sure that they are comfortable, and as soon as they are situated, please send word to the Hierarch and council that I wish to meet tomorrow at noon."

"Of course, my lady," Phila said. She dipped her head and turned to the two Plegians. "Please, follow me. I'm sure you're both exhausted, so let's get you situated as soon as possible." Validar nodded his agreement and stood, taking his son's hand in his own. The man walked with a slight limp, as if he were injured, but Emmeryn said nothing. She should not treat this man unless he was a known, welcome guest here, and it was her hope that would be the case soon enough.

"May you both rest well," Emmeryn said as the pair started to follow Phila into the halls of the castle.

"You as well, Your Grace," Validar replied. His son seemed to just inch along with his father's guidance, but soon, he was stopped dead in his tracks. Validar turned back towards the girl, his eyes lingering on the painting a moment more before he spoke. "…Robin," he finally said. "My son's name is Robin. Please share that with the council tomorrow when you speak of us."

Emmeryn did her best to hide her smile. "Of course. I will tell them Robin and his father mean us no harm. I will do my best to keep you safe here," she promised. This seemed to satisfy the man, and with that sad look in his eye, he nodded and edged the boy forward, holding his hand tightly all the while.

"Robin…" the Exalt repeated to herself once they had left. "May you be a bright and hopeful spirit for Ylisse…"

[ Thank you for reading! If you have feedback or comments, please leave a review! I hope to continue this soon. ]