A Fire Emblem Story-Prologue

As Roy walked down the dirt path, he was completely unaware of the fighters in the brush.  They were bloodthirsty, unruly bandits, and as far as they were concerned, it was as if a whole banquet had been laid out for them. The bag that was slung over his shoulder must’ve been filled with gold.  The youngest bandit, who was only 15, rubbed his hands together just thinking about it.  You can't go yet, he remembered, calming himself.  To distract himself, he tried to point out all the features about the boy that he could. 

First, there was his hair.  The shade of black was so matte that it looked fake.  They can do that these days, he reminded himself, smiling.  The boy's pallid skin totally opposites his hair, being almost completely untanned.  His eyes, an eerie blue-green, were pointed down to the ground, watching his booted feet slightly dodge pebbles.  The bandit eyed his boss warily-Can we ambush him yet?  His boss, who was apparently watching him, nodded.  The boy silently stood and raised his ax.  He no longer thought of Roy as another human; Roy to him was now just a target.  That was it.  Without hesitation, the bandit swung his ax at point blank.

There was no way he would miss.

Except, of course, if Roy had been followed.

Which he had.

Right before the blade drove into Roy's shoulder, a knife appeared, holding off the steel ax.  The bandit stared at the wielder, a girl with the same color hair as Roy, although she was dressed poorly and her face was scarred terribly.  Her eyes, a deep purple, showed no emotion as she lashed out a foot and spun around, driving her knife into his heart.  The rest of the bandits showed themselves; a large crowd of dogs armed with axes.

Roy turned to the girl, registering her quickly.

"Cassandra!  What are you doing here?" He demanded, reaching for his magic books.  The girl, Cassandra, turned and grinned wholeheartedly at him.

"What am I doing?  I'm saving you, that's what," she retorted, stabbing another. 

"By yourself?!?  We'll never make it through this mess!" Roy exclaimed, frying the bandit behind her.

"I have help, don't worry." She rolled her eyes and titled her head up. "Klein!  Now!" There was a slight pause before another swordsman leapt from the shadows and slayed two bandits. 

When the skirmish was over, the only injury was with Cassandra.  A bandit had caught her sleeping and tried to stab her in the stomach.  Luckily, Klein caught him in time to lessen the wound to a small scratch. 

"What are you doing here?  I thought you were in Patroclus, studying to become a better thief." Roy asked Cassandra, warming his hands next to the fire he'd started.

"I was," Cassandra answered, examining her wound. "That's where I met Klein.  He's not so bad, once you get past his tendency to lie,"

"Thanks!" Klein said, wiping his sword in a bush. "Like you should talk.  The teachers kicked you out."

"They what?" Roy asked, leaning forward.  Cassandra rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, Klein.  Remind me never to feed you again." She said sarcastically, stretching.  Seeing Roy's face, she sighed. "Okay, yeah, I told a little white lie and-,"

"A little white lie?  You told the whole staff that you were the prince’s sister!  I would've thrown you out, too!" Klein laughed, shaking his head, his red hair shaking with him.  Cassandra, now completely angry, threw a flaming twig at him.

"The prince's sister?  Cassandra, I can't believe you!" Roy sighed, exasperated. "How many times have I told you to not do that?"

Cassandra clicked her tongue before answering, "I don't know, you tell me.  I stopped counting after the thousandth time." Klein, tired from the fight, sat down and held his hands out to the fire.

"So tell me again how you two are related," he announced, changing the subject.

"Our mothers are twins," Cassandra reminded him. "But, as usual, Roy's mother married into royalty, so now I'm the one with the short stick."

"It's not my fault that I'm luckier than you," Roy answered, smiling. 

"Oh." Klein sighed and sat back. "You two are the weirdest cousins I've met in my life."

"You hear that, Roy?" Cassandra asked with mock enthusiasm, "We're weird!"

"Speak for yourself," Roy grunted, turning to lay on his side. "So you were coming to see me, is that it?"

"Don't take it personally," Cassandra started, looking up to the sky. "But I have more important people to see than you."

"Like who?" Roy snorted.

"My mother, for one,"

"Is there anyone else?"

Cassandra hesitated.

"No, not really."

"Exactly."

"But I wasn’t going to see you," she insisted.

"Really?  Klein, was it?  Who was she going to see?"

"Well, not really 'who', more like 'where.'" Klein answered thoughtfully. 

"Okay, where was she going?"

"The cemetery, I think,"

"Klein!" Cassandra exploded, suddenly sitting straight up.

"What?"

"You weren't supposed to tell him!  Next time, I'm leaving you in Patroclus."

Klein's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't."

"Try me!"

"The cemetery?  What's so bad about that?" Roy asked, sitting up again.

"See what you did?  You made him curious." Cassandra groaned, rolling her whole head.  Her neck took a few loud cracks. "I was going to see my father," she admitted, looking away.  Her father had been killed when she was four by a group of bandits right before her eyes.  Both Roy and Klein understood what she meant by that, and didn't push it. "Where were you going, Roy?"

"Hm?"

"I asked, where were you going?"

Roy, caught off guard, just gave her a blank look.

"You don't remember, do you?" Cassandra assumed.

"No, I remember perfectly," he insisted, rubbing his eyes. "It's just not important."

"You made me tell you!" Cassandra exclaimed.

"You didn’t have to.  It was Klein that told me."

"Hey, don’t bring me into this," Klein said, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Fine.  I was going to see your mother, Cassandra." Roy said, rolling his eyes.

"You what?  Why?" Cassandra demanded, on the verge of exploding. "Is she hurt?"

"No!  No, she's just lonely without you there," Roy covered, smiling.

"Well, we'll just have to see her tomorrow." Cassandra announced. "Well, Klein?  Are you up to meeting my mother?"

"Is she as crazy as you?" Klein asked.

"I had to get it from somewhere, she pointed out. 

"Ugh, fine.  Just let me get some sleep, please."

"A capital idea!” Roy said, smiling and turning over.  Klein did the same, leaving only Cassandra awake. 

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