Part the Twelfth, or 'The Long Awaited Victory Soirée'

A few days after my science experiment with Miriel, I decided that it was finally time to make good on my promise of getting Ricken laid. Well, I had only promised to help him talk to girls, but in my mind it was better to be thrown in the deep end with these things. However, he had zero experience with women, so he'd need some hella-good wingmen. I alone wouldn't cut it. We needed a squad.

That was how I found myself knocking on Lucina's door at the inn early one afternoon, looking for Laurent.

"Yes?" she answered through the door.

"Silence is golden," I replied, smirking.

There was a sound like someone frustratedly beating their head against the door before it opened, revealing a familiar pretty, yet clearly irritated, face.

"Laurent in there?" I asked, pushing past her into the room.

I was pretty sure I could literally hear the sound of grinding teeth behind me, but ignored it as the mage in question looked up at me from the floor. He was sitting cross-legged beneath the window, pouring over some medieval-level books on astrology and physics as he tried to comprehend what I'd told him about the Earth rotating around the sun. It also looked like he'd barely slept in the last few days, he'd been so focused on this.

"C'mon, bro, break time!" I said cheerfully. "Think up an alias yet?"

Laurent blinked up at me before shaking his head and carefully closing his book.

"I have been otherwise occupied," he said. "You have need of me?"

"Kinda," I shrugged. "We're going drinking. I figured you'd like to get out of this room for a little while."

"I would not wish to interfere with the time-line-" Laurent started before I cut him off.

"You won't," I assured him. "When you lot came back in time you created a branching world-line, so you don't have to worry about magicking yourselves out of existence or any crap like that."

"You have proof?" Laurent asked.

"I have a gut feeling," I replied. "Besides, you need to get outside more. You're all pale and thin! Come drink with us, leave little-miss-sour-puss here and come have some fun with the boys!"

"I swear you merely exist to irritate me," Lucina sighed, perching on the edge of her bed.

Laurent looked to her questioningly, to which she simply sighed again and shrugged.

"Why not?" she said. "It cannot do any harm if you keep your identity secret."

"I will need an alias, then," Laurent said hesitantly.

We all stood or sat in silence for a moment, thinking. I hadn't paid a lot of attention in my Philosophy classes, which was probably why I'd failed the stupid fucker twice, but one great thinker had always intrigued me.

"Isaac," I said, breaking the silence.

Laurent and Lucina looked to me questioningly.

"That is a rather plain name," Lucina pointed out.

"Sir Isaac Newton was credited as one of the greatest thinkers and scientists of all time in my homeland," I explained. "The way Laurent was pouring over the books made me think of him."

"Adequate," Laurent nodded.

"Right-o, then," I said, clapping my hands. "Sorry, Princess, but you'll have to sit this one out. C'mon, Isaac! Let's go get fucked up."

We left a grouchy Lucina behind and headed back to the palace. Our next stop was the Shepherds' barracks. My plan here was simple. Coerce anyone with a penis inside to come and drink while we coached Ricken on picking up girls. Laurent, or 'Isaac', followed at my shoulder, fidgeting a little as he looked at the unfamiliar sights around him.

Without hesitating I threw the door to the barracks open and stepped in, taking the interior in in a single glance. I wasn't exactly experienced with picking up girls at bars; I had usually ended up getting laid at house parties when I was younger and single, and blind drunk, so we needed pick-up experts.

"Virion, Lon'qu, Vaike!" I called. "And Kellam, too, if you're here! Let's go drinking!"

We walked into some seedy tavern about an hour later, me leading a crazy-nervous Ricken with one hand on the shoulder while the others followed. 'Isaac' was, of course, rather interested in talking to his father, which was interesting because, unlike Miriel, it seemed he was actually capable of dumming-down his speech so that ordinary people could understand it. Lon'qu and Virion were arguing over the qualities of wine, and Kellam was silently bringing up the rear.

How that man moved so quietly in all that armor was still, to this day, beyond me…

We set up in a corner booth near the stairs to the rooms above, where we could scope out the entire bar, and ordered the first round. On me, because this was my idea and I'd finally gotten all my back-pay. As we drank from our apparently bottomless tankards, and Virion and Lon'qu continued arguing over the wine in their mugs, we scoped out the bar for any potential mates for young Ricken.

It was the after-dinner rush, so the place was packed. Bad music fought with the laughter and shouting of the patrons for the title of 'loudest thing in the bar' and serving girls ranging the gambit from moderately attractive to smokin' were running around with drinks. I was no pick-up artist, but I was thinking even I could get laid in this place.

"Okay, before we start here are the two golden rules," I said as we took our seats. "Keep your fluids up by drinking lots of water, because if this goes well you're gonna need them. And if when you're done she asks for coin, pay her because you don't need to get your legs broke by some angry pimp. But remember, if she asks to be paid, you've lost."

"Now then. You know what we need?" I suggested, clapping my hands and rubbing them together excitedly. "We need experience. See any older ladies that would rock the kid's world?"

"I believe that the barmaid over there might be 'experienced'…" Virion said.

The woman in question was slim to the point of being thin, and had clearly been doing this job for a long time. She was wearing her skirt a little lower than the younger girls, but still had a bounce in her step and a wiggle in her hips.

"Should we not aim for a girl closer to his age?" Laurent asked. "Her for example?"

I looked at another barmaid, wiping down a table in the back and clearly positioning herself to avoid getting slapped on the ass by some drunken tradesman. She was pretty enough, but from her body language I could tell Ricken didn't stand a chance.

"No, she's frigid as a stone," Virion said, echoing my thoughts. "Look at her posture; she stands like a man to dissuade the clientele from her."

"What about her?" Vaike asked, leaning forward and indicating another barmaid with his chin. "Teach likey what Teach see."

Next to him Laurent frowned a little, but otherwise remained silent. Vaike was clearly talking about the hottest piece of ass in this room, the serving girl with her skirt hiked up past her knees and her blouse unbuttoned to show a large amount of her ample cleavage. God, I ended up at half-mast just watching her for a few seconds as she clearly played the crowd for tips.

"Nah," I said, shifting my focus back to the table. "Hot girls like that are way too high-maintenance. Besides, when they know they're hot like her they get conceited. She probably wouldn't even glance at the kid. Too much effort."

"Besides," I laughed. "Everyone knows the song, right? 'If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife, so for my personal point of view, get an ugly girl to marry you!'"

The whole table burst out laughing as I was suddenly reminded that no, they most likely did not know that particular song. Too bad, it was a funny song.

"Good advice," Lon'qu chuckled.

"Ooh, Teach is gonna have to remember that one," Vaike added.

"Indeed," Laurent said with the first smile I'd seen on his thin face.

"But therein lies the issue," Virion said, leaning forward. "We do not want our boy's first to be with an 'ugly girl', correct? We wish him to experience the rush of the most beauteous of beauties becoming his! Right?"

"Er… I-I don't really…" Ricken mumbled into his mug.

"You know what I think? I think we need to be a little drunker first," I said, signaling for another round.

"Hi there," I said later to one of the middle-tier attractive barmaids, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Haaaaaave you met Ricken?"

She looked up at us and smiled, turning to Ricken. That was my cue, of course, to make myself scarce. As I disappeared around the barmaid I glanced back at Ricken's shocked, panicked face. I gave him the thumbs-up and kept going. Fortunately, I managed to hold it in until I got back to the booth with the others, and then I burst out laughing.

"That was cold," Vaike chuckled, craning his neck to watch.

"It works, trust me," I said, still snickering.

"Where's Virion?" I asked, suddenly realizing we were a man short.

"He said something about the bar being 'too quiet'," Laurent reported.

I shrugged, sipping from my tankard and watching Ricken's incredibly awkward courtship ritual. In the end we had wound up just drinking and unwinding half the night, mostly to try and help the kid relax a little. Then I'd decided that nothing was going to work better than the old 'Have You Met Ted?' pick up, so it was simply a matter of finding the right mark.

As we watched Ricken said something and the girl burst into a fit of giggles, reaching out to stroke his shoulder while she laughed.

"He's doing good!" I said, a smile breaking out on my face as I turned back to the table.

"Indeed," Lon'qu nodded with a grin of his own.

"A boy becomes a man…" Vaike said, a far-away look in his eye before he turned to Laurent. "Your turn now, right Isaac?"

The skinny mage spluttered into his mug of ale, coughing and beating his fist into his chest as the three of us started to laugh again.

"I… I should think not," he managed to groan, before coughing some more.

Seeing as it was later into the night now our table had acquired quite the collection of empty mugs and tankards. Fortunately, it appeared that the booze was quite watered down. Meaning that we still had most of our wits about us. Or we would, until I figured out the local equivalent of tequila…

The post-dinner rush had passed, and the mood had become more subdued as people relaxed. It was a good atmosphere, and I was actually really enjoying myself. And I'm really not one for going out like this.

We lapsed into silence after that, each nursing our own drinks as we became lost in our thoughts. Personally, I wondered if I'd be able to get the 'Have you met Ted?' trick to work twice… I think Vaike would screw it up by not subtly disappearing, and Lon'qu couldn't get that close to women… Just as I was preparing to ask Laurent to help me out, a shadow passed over our table as the waitress led Ricken towards the stairs by the hand.

"Holy crap that was fast," Vaike commented, eyes wide. "The kid is good."

"I told him to use the 'I'm shipping out back to the border tomorrow, so we may never get this chance again' line," I chuckled.

Ricken gave us a nervous look as they got onto the stairs, and we all gave him silent gestures of encouragement. Again, I can't believe a line as clichéd and outdated as 'I'm shipping out' worked here, but the people here seemed to be rather naive…

However, and with almost comically good timing, before I could order us a victory round the doors to the tavern swung wide as a large group came tromping in, a very satisfied Virion and a very pissed looking Sully at their head.

"Right, you lot!" she practically snarled as she stomped over to our table. "Who said you could celebrate without us!?"

She punctuated her question by snatching the half-full mug out of my hand and downing the contents in one go as Chrom led the rest of the Shepherds into the tavern.

"I decided to move the party up a little," he said with an apologetic shrug.

I looked at them for a moment, standing expectantly at the entrance to the bar clearly waiting for me to say something. With a shrug I turned to the bar and shouted;

"Barkeep! Hope you've got a lotta booze and a lotta mugs, cause we're gonna get plastered and probably break shit! Holy fuck, it'll be like my high-school graduation all over again…"

"You know, you're like a brother to me…"

"That right, Chrom?"

"You bet your hind-quarters! I never… *hic* had a brother… so when you came along I was… *hic* like 'oh look! I can have a brother now'! Sisters, man…"

I snickered a little as Chrom leaned on me, spilling half of his ale all over the floor. It had been a few hours now since everyone else had shown up, and the party was in full swing. Eating, drinking, dancing, cards, arm-wrestling, hooking up… Yup, it was like the myriad of post-high school parties all over again.

"You have to be my best man!" Chrom slurred.

"Alright, alright! Ease up on the threads, dude!" I laughed.

Chrom was hanging on me like I was Sumia, who was unfortunately busy giggling like a harpy with Cordelia, Lissa and Maribelle. Sully had cornered Frederick, too, so here I was stuck alone with drunken Chrom, who had apparently never drank before in his life. I was on my ninth tankard of the watery ale. He was only on his third. I mean, I am Germanic in origin, so beer held no power over me, but still…

"Isn't this grand?" Chrom asked, flopping back in his chair.

"What? Us making an ungodly mess of this bar?" I laughed.

"No, genius," Chrom slurred. "I mean all of us here to celebrate! Where is Ricken, anyway?"

"Upstairs," I said without preamble. "He's been up there for a while, too. Must be having a lot of fun."

"If it's fun upstairs I must try it!" Chrom declared, sitting up straighter.

"Sure, but take Sumia with you or it'll just be boring," I laughed, slapping him on the back.

I looked around the bar as Chrom fumbled with his mug, spilling even more of his ale. Everyone was here, and everyone was having fun. I was over the first major hurdle, which was Plegia and Gangrel. With a strange feeling of guilt I realized, as my gaze settled on Laurent drinking with both of his parents, that not all of us were here.

"Chrom, I'll be right back," I said, standing.

I swayed a little, the nine ales making my head swim, but I managed to steady myself. Without a further word I walked out, oblivious in my drunken single-mindedness to whether or not the others even noticed me leaving. I wobbled my way through the Ylisstol streets, mercifully quiet this late at night, to Lucina's inn. The tavern we were wrecking was actually quite close to the inn, which worked out well for me because I was a lot drunker than I realized. I, again, managed to stumble up the stairs without breaking anything, and slumped against Lucina's door.

My face rested against the warm, untreated timber, and I had to close my eyes to collect my thoughts. The night air was supposed to be good for clearing your head while you'd been drinking, making me wonder just how drunk I had been before I stood up.

I knocked a few times, ending up slapping the door with the back of my hand instead of my knuckles.

"Golden is silence," I stage-whispered through the door.

There was a sound from within, but I couldn't place it. I waited patiently for a few moments before knocking again.

"C'mon, Princess, I know you're in there!" I said, my drunken mouth mangling the sentence. "Come drinking with us! We're all waiting on you! C'mon! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! I'll sing! Don't think I won't!"

I knocked again, with a specific pattern this time.

"Do you want to build a snowman? C'mon let's go and play! I never see you any more, come out the door, it's like you've gone away! We used to be best buddies, now we're not. I wish you would tell me why. Do you want to build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman…"

Just as I went to knock again to start the second verse the door opened. Of course, I was still resting my face with most of my body-weight against the door, so I fell through it. Right on top of a pissed-off Lucina. Now, usually I would have been able to catch myself in a situation like this. I may be an uncoordinated mother-fucker with no concept of the word 'grace' unless we're talking the Lamb of God song, but I'm not that bad. However, as anyone who's ever ingested nine big fuck-off mugs of beer will tell you, you will fall down. A lot. And I was honestly surprised I hadn't fallen down yet.

Clearly my Germanic origins had failed me.

And now here we were, with me falling on top of a surprised and still clearly pissed off Lucina like some cheap anime trope. She didn't even have time to step back. As soon as the door opened, I went down like a sack of potatoes. Usually, I would have found this unbearably funny. It still kinda was, but I wasn't so drunk I had no concept of the danger I was in.

"Whoa-shit…"

"What are you- EEK!"

I groaned, rising up on my hands and knees and shaking the stars out of my head. As I opened my eyes, the first stars were replaced by more when Lucina blindsided me and punched me in the head.

"GET OFF, YOU PERVERT!"

I rolled to one side, blinking as the room spun from more than the effects of the alcohol now.

Why I had thought this was a good idea in the first place…

I sat up, doing my best not to puke in her room and further anger the goddess of pain that was Lucina any further. She had retreated across the room, and only then did I realize she was already in her night-clothes. A plain white chemise being held down over her thighs with one hand and not a whole helluva-lot else. No wonder she was pissed. She probably wouldn't have even let me in.

It was good to see she was filling out, though. With enough food to go around now she was starting to look a little less like a skinny kid, and a little more like an actual woman. Or so my drunken brain thought, anyway.

"Get dressed! We're going drinking!" I said, clearly oblivious to the danger I was in.

"Get! Out!" Lucina screamed at me.

"Okay, okay, I can wait," I sighed, rolling again and crawling out of the room.

I sat with my back against the door for I don't even know how long. The innkeeper on duty stuck his head up the stairs at one point, and I smiled and waved before he shook his head and left us to our own devices.

When Lucina finally opened the door again she was back in her regular clothes. I noticed all of this as I fell backwards in a heap, ending up doing the dead-starfish in the middle of her doorway.

"You have one opportunity to explain yourself," Lucina ground out.

It was at that point I realized she'd pulled her parallel Falchion out from under her bed, and was pointing it at me.

"You were here," I said.

"Of course I was! Where else would I be!?"

"You weren't at the bar."

"You told me to- what is your point!?"

"Everyone else is at the bar," I said, matter of factly. "Except you. Everyone else showed up. Except you. And it's not right. We need you there."

Lucina continued to glare at me for a moment before she sighed and lowered her sword.

"I would not want to spoil everyone else's fun," she said in a tired voice.

"Which is exactly what you're doing sitting here alone," I pointed out, still prone on the floor.

"They do not wish to revel with me," Lucina sighed. "I am a stranger to them."

"Yet Laurent's the life of the party," I chuckled. "Kid's a lot more social than his mother. Must get it from his dad's side."

Lucina froze, a confused look crossing her features.

"Laurent is… enjoying himself?" she asked hesitantly.

"Drinking like a fish, swearing like a sailor, and I'm pretty sure some of the guys were talking about getting him laid, too. Life of the party."

"I… do not think I…" Lucina began to say.

I cut her off with a theatrical sigh, sitting up and swaying a little.

"Look, either you come and drink with us, or I go downstairs, swipe the innkeeper's wine and we drink up here."

"I do not even know how to begin to-" she started, pushing my last little button.

"Right, here it is. Give me a minute."

I practically jumped to my feet and almost fell down before Lucina stopped me.

"W-wait!" she cried.

I glanced over my shoulder, a grin starting to form on my face.

"I… I will accompany you to the tavern," she said slowly.

"Fuck yeah you will."

I stepped back into the familiar scene at the tavern, everyone looking up as I screeched at the top of my lungs.

"MY CABBAGES!"

"I brought Marth!" I added, swaying a little as I stepped into the tavern proper. "Someone reward me with more liquor!"

And with that Marth was swallowed up, a terrified look on her face, as the myriad drunken Shepherds latched onto her. Sumia was first, though, so it appeared that there would be some happy family time or some shit while I punished my liver for existing.

"I was wondering where you went," Chrom laughed as I returned to my spot at the table.

"Wasn't quite right without all of us here," I shrugged.

Chrom nodded, slapping me on the shoulder. Only then did I realize that Ricken was slumped with his face on the table behind me, grinning into space with a few empty cups near him.

"Heya kid, how was it?" I asked, turning a little.

"I can die now," Ricken said. "I am okay with dying now. I have no more regrets."

"That good?" I laughed.

"She did this thing where she put her ankles behind her head and… just… wow," he sighed into the tabletop. "I didn't know that two human bodies could bend like that, but we did it…"

"Feeling more confident yet?"

"Fuck. Yes," Ricken said, his voice firm.

"Why are you slouched like that anyway?" Chrom asked.

"My abs are killing me," Ricken moaned. "If I try to move I'm going to puke."

"I am so proud of you," I said, pretending to wipe a tear away. "Let this be a lesson to you. The quiet ones are usually the freakiest."

"This has been the best night of my life," Ricken said, wincing as he sat up. "And it's all thanks to you, master. You are the best friend I've ever had."

"Aw, shucks, kid," I chuckled, imitating Goofy.

The young mage downed the remainder of his cup, water I was pleased to see, before standing.

"Now, if you'll all excuse me my darling Amy is waiting for me upstairs."

"Go get her, tiger!" I urged, slapping him on the back. "Time for round two! Fuck her brains out!"

"What?" Chrom asked, quirking his head before comprehension dawned on his drunken face. "Oh. Oh! That's why you told me to take Sumia… Ben!"

I burst out laughing so hard I rocked back and forth in my chair as Ricken scooted up the stairs, Vaike, Laurent, Kellam and Lon'qu all cheering him on as the rest of the Shepherds watched with confused, but ultimately uncaring, expressions.

"That is the future queen of Ylisse you're talking about!" Chrom continued to hiss. "Show some respect and- damn you stop laughing!"

I howled with the annoying 'hyena-laugh' I'd inherited from my mother, my face going red as Chrom huffed and crossed his arms, waiting for me to finish.

"You're still thinking about it, aren't you?" I asked between gasping breaths.

"No!" he half-shouted. "Maybe! Is there a way to reserve a room!?"

"Ask the innkeeper," I laughed.

I swear to god I stopped breathing, I was laughing so hard when Chrom blushed, nodded and rose on unsteady legs, offering me a muttered thanks as he went to speak to the innkeeper behind the bar.

And I was finally left alone again, watching the Shepherds from the outside as they celebrated their victory over Plegia. They deserved the break. After everything we'd been through…

With a sigh, it hit me all at once again. I was here, away from home. A long-ass-fucking way from home. Different dimension. I thought for a while there that I was over the homesickness, but in the end I guess you never get over something like that.

The worst part was I still wasn't even sure I wanted to go home. A very large part of me wanted to stay here, in Ylisse, and just leech off my knowledge of Fire Emblem for the rest of my life. But a voice in the back of my head kept whispering 'you don't belong here', and I couldn't ignore it. I couldn't shake the feeling that just by being here with my prior knowledge I was cheating, and it was killing me.

Just as I drained the remainder of Chrom's drink to try and silence that little voice, and the other one crying from my abdomen 'please, no more!', I felt someone rest themselves against my back and wrap their arms around me.

"Hello, dearest," Maribelle whispered in my ear.

Clearly, if her breath was anything to go by, she and the other girls had been hitting the wine pretty hard. Meaning that I was in for some no-doubt inescapable grinding. Which, given my previous train of thought, made me feel even worse.

"Oh I am so not in the mood for this," I muttered, reaching for the next half-full cup on the table.

"I haven't seen you at all yet this evening," she said, moving around to my front. "And it just wouldn't be a celebration if I couldn't spend it with you…"

"Okay, off," I groaned. "I'm in a bad mood, and I'm still actually rather miffed with you."

Maribelle actually reeled back, a shocked look on her face. I was probably being too harsh, not to mention about to make a huge fucking mistake, but I was drunk. That what I like to tell myself, anyway. Drunk Ben was definitely not the best man for this conversation, but he was the first one up to the plate, and Maribelle had the sad misfortune of running afoul Drunk Ben.

"Why, whatever is the matter, dear?" she asked, serious concern in her voice now.

"Why is it that everyone, Chrom included, seems to think we're getting married?" I asked with a deepening frown. "Didn't I say that I wouldn't do anything until I could talk to the head of my family?"

Maribelle nodded quickly, smiling weakly.

"Why, I may have mentioned it to my darling Lissa-"

"And it got back to Chrom," I cut her off. "Which then led to it getting to everyone. The Ylissean court included. And I'm not happy. Let me be clear. I have no intention of getting married."

I stood, my chair scraping across the floor with the motion.

"Just leave me alone," I growled, stepping past the stunned woman.

"Darling, wait!" Maribelle pleaded, grabbing my arm.

"I said fuck off!" I snapped, yanking my arm free.

I ignored the hurt look from her and the curious gazes of a few of the closer Shepherds as I stomped out towards the back door, gnashing my teeth and setting my shoulders. Fortunately the kitchen staff of the tavern clearly took the hint and left me alone as I passed through, emerging behind the wooden building in the dark alleyway. I took a deep breath of the cool night air, sinking into a sitting position against the closest wall as I tried to catch my breath. With a snarl I violently grabbed a vulenary, upended the little vial into my mouth and then smashed the empty glass against the wall opposite me.

Well, I had well and truly burned that bridge to the fucking ground. Not the first time I'd done something stupid and irreparable while I'd been drinking. Honestly, I should have known better by now.

Yup. I'd been a grade-a ass hole. With a capital A.

This was another thing I was beginning to notice lately. My modern personality wasn't quite compatible with the medieval-level ones here in Ylisse. I just wasn't meshing properly, and it was starting to cause friction now. Not just with the other Ylissean nobles, but with the other Shepherds now, too. Maribelle had just been the unlucky one to push me over the edge first. It could have easily been Tharja or Lissa, or even Chrom or Virion.

The combination of booze and homesickness wasn't helping.

"Well, that was a little harsh."

I sighed, glancing up at Cordelia leaning in the door and looking down at me with a worried expression.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," I lied. "I assume I just killed the mood inside?"

She shook her head, smiling a little.

"You were quite quiet," she said. "Only those of us closest to your table noticed, and then Lady Maribelle laughed and played it off before ordering the largest size of wine she could get. She is very concerned with her social standing's appearance."

"Well, at least I didn't ruin the party," I sighed, resting my forehead on my knees.

"I have honestly never seen Tharja smile like that, though," Cordelia added. "It was… terrifying."

I laughed at that, and the Pegasus Knight smiled again as she sunk to sit in the dirt next to me, our shoulders touching.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

"I'm just homesick," I sighed again. "It's nothing worth talking about."

"You know, I have this friend," she said, leaning her head on my shoulder. "He's strange, and rough around the edges, but he gives good advice, and he told me that it helps to talk about it."

"Sounds like a real jackass," I scoffed.

"Oh, he is," Cordelia chuckled. "But he is a good friend, and I worry about him."

I sighed again. I'd honestly never told anyone this before, but if she was offering…

"I got hurt real bad by my last girlfriend," I admitted. "It ended badly. But… I hurt her, too. It was brutal, and both of us walked away broken people. Afterwards I said I'd rather be alone than let it happen again. I don't… ever want that kind of shit on my karma again, and it makes trying to be in another relationship… hard. Complicated."

"It doesn't have to be," Cordelia muttered after a moment.

"Well, this is real life and it is," I sighed. "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing anymore."

Cordelia rose up, moving to look me in the eyes.

"I think you know what you have to do," she said. "You're just too scared to admit it."

I took a moment to digest her words, looking down at the ground as she stood and brushed herself off. With a smile, she held out her hand to help me up, too.

She was right. I did know what I had to do. And I needed to start doing it now, not later.

I didn't take her hand, pushing myself up off the wall instead.

"Go back inside and enjoy the party, Cordelia," I said, turning away. "I think I've had enough to drink for one night. I'm going home."

I don't really recall the journey back to the palace, but when I returned to my room I began to make plans. Plans for the army and their training, plans for building a fleet of warships, plans for my own training, plans for everything. Two years was a long, long time. I had work to do, and I wouldn't waste time drinking anymore.

I wasn't about to die before I could figure out whether or not I wanted to stay in Ylisse or not.

And now I had two whole years to grind.

~ to be continued in Book 2: 'The Redux'…

AN: Yes, this is where the first part of the Self Insert Adventure ends! The story continues, though, in Metallover's Self Insert Book 2: The Redux! Find it on my profile page!

Thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

ONWARDS TO BOOK TWO!