Yay! An FE6 fic! Because there aren't enough of them...

Hello, everyone. As you can see, this is my first fic. I've been reading fanfiction on the site for quite a while, about three years, but I never thought I could actually contribute something worth reading until one of my friends read a little idea I had during school and thought it was great. So, here I go...

WARNING The main couple in this fic is boyxboy, yaoi, shonen ai, whatever you would like to call it. Therefore, if you take offense to such a thing, stop, click the back button at the top of the window, and move on your merry way to the next fic you so choose. There will eventually be a few het pairings, in fact, all the rest of the pairings will be het. But, the main couple, and therefore the emphasis of the story, is boyxboy, so leave now if you so desire. Please. If you must voice your opinion on the subject matter, do so nicely and with correct grammar, after all, this is a writing site. Thank you for your cooperation.END OF WARNING

Oh, and by the way, I don't own Fire Emblem. 'gasp' That's a shock...

Chapter 1

Just another day in Sacae...

The sun was just rising over the Sacaen horizon. Dawn was a peaceful time for the plains; a high contrast to the crimson fields that existed just a few days ago. I hadn't seen the sunrise in a long time. Either I was busy practicing or training at this hour, or, on very rare occasions, I slept in. However, my Sacaen bunkmate, Shin, and his friend Sue decided to get me up just for this moment. And, I must say that I needed it.

"Wolt, it's time to head back into camp. You need to rest so your arm can heal."

I absently held said arm as I silently followed my companions on Sue's horse as she guided her along. There was a large bandage covering the entire forearm. It was just a long scratch, but the healers wanted to be extra careful, since their magic had strangely little effect on it. Sister Ellen said she would stop by sometime this morning to see how it was doing.

Eventually, the grassy plains turned into a forest of canvas. Most of the camp had not yet awoken, seeing how today would be a rest day, but the first few risers could be seen around the camp tending to their various duties. Once we reached the magic user/archer area of camp, we came upon Clarine who was fussing over her brother who had a large burn on his back from an enemy's Elfire spell. Nearby, Rutger was cleaning and polishing his sword while looking up and making sure the blond Valkyrie wasn't going to chop of her brother's head for being so careless. Sue's grandfather, Dayan, was standing outside his tent. I met him last night. Shin told me that he met up with us at the battle in Bulgar, which is where I received this injury. Which tells you how long I've been unconscious. I first woke up last night, and Sister Ellen said that I was unconscious for a week. Anyway, he nodded his head to my nomad counterparts, and they proceeded to go with him into his tent after nodding good-bye to me. Roy requested that they go with him on a scouting mission today, so the three of them would be gone the whole day. I dismounted Sue's horse rather clumsily-my arm still seared with pain every time I moved it-and proceeded to tie her up next to the tent. I was now left with a screaming blond healer for company. I smartly decided not to let her see me out of bed, and made my way back into my tent to find Sister Ellen already there, sitting on my cot, waiting patiently for me.

"Er, good morning, Sister Ellen! Were you waiting long?"

"Wolt! You shouldn't be moving around, you might reopen the wound by accident. It took almost a whole mend staff to close it!"

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to see the sunrise. It's been a while, and I have some things I have to think over."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time for that. I am ordering you to stay in bed all day today. And the day after that! Here, let me check up on the arm..." She forcibly pulled me over to the bed and started to unwrap the bandages from my right arm. There was still a large gash along the length of my arm, though it wasn't spewing blood by the bucket loads like everyone said it was before. If I had only seen that Myrmidon sooner...

"Well, it's stopped bleeding. Your main artery seems to have closed up. That's a very good sign. I was panicking when my healing efforts weren't closing the vessel. It just kept spewing out blood. I thought you would run out any second! But, thank heavens the cut missed your main muscle tissue. If it was only a centimeter or two to the right, you would have never been able to shoot a bow ever again, much less hold it. Healing magic can only go so far..." She reached into her pouch and pulled out some kind of jar. She unscrewed the lid, poured some of the pale green cream that was inside onto her hand, and proceeded to apply it on my injury. The slight sting from the medicine, though uncomfortable, was a much needed relief from the now dull throb of the cut. "This cream is like a super-elixir. It's a concoction I made, with Father Saul's help, from the leaves of the Latona tree. It's a rare tree that only grows near Aqualeia, but it possesses very powerful healing powers. It's the wood of choice when making a powerful healing staff. In any case, it was blessing from God that I managed to pick up some leaves while we were in the area. This cream seems to be the only thing that will work on your cut. I'm very curious as to why our healing staves are not working effectively on it. There. Now, try to refrain from moving your arm at all, and one of us will come in later to see how you're doing. Meanwhile, I'm going to research this problem. I'll see if any of the tomes have information about a wound like yours. Light magic tomes in particular have much to say on the art of healing. Perhaps I can ask General Roy if I could borrow Aureola."

"May I help you perform your research, Sister Ellen? I don't think I'll have anything else to do today, anyway."

"Er... well... I don't know. Do you know how to read the characters?"

"A little. My mom had a good friend who was a wise and powerful sage. She taught my mom and me the basics of anima writing."

"Interesting. Unfortunately, light tomes are written very differently than anima tomes, so I doubt you could help much. But, you've given me an idea. I'm going to go ask Lady Lilina and Miss Sophia to help us. There could easily be something in the other tomes. I will be back." With that, she hurried out of the room with her white and light blue robes flowing behind her. With Miss Ellen gone, I now had nothing left to do for the time being. Knowing that Lady Lilina loved to sleep in on mornings such as this, and that Miss Sophia liked to take long walks around whatever area we were at, I decided there was enough time to take a quick nap before Sister Ellen returned. The injury, though not life-threatening anymore nor infected, must still be draining on my body's resources. I haven't felt this tired since... for a long time, anyway. So tired, in fact, that I remained completely unaware of the presence shadowing the tent flap, watching me as I fell asleep before vanishing into the mess of other tents.

-----

The rustling of my tent flaps jerked me back to the present world. Lady Lilina was at the opening. She looked slightly nervous, an expression that looked very strange on her. But, she suddenly burst into a wide smile upon seeing me. "Oh, you're finally awake. That's a good sign."

"Hello, Lady Lilina. How are feeling this morning? Is your face feeling better?"

"Hm? Oh, why, yes thank you, but my injury was nothing. The arrow only grazed my cheek. The important question is how are you feeling?"

"Well, it doesn't really hurt as much anymore. It's calmed down to a dull throb. Sister Ellen, though, seems to be very interested in why her healing magic doesn't work on it."

She started shaking her head at me while she sat down on the bed. "Wolt, why do you always address people so formally? We're all friends! I've known you for over ten years! Lilina is just fine!"

"I'm sorry Lad... Lilina. I'm supposed to. I'm not of royal blood."

"Well, you might as well be! If anyone has a problem with you calling Roy or me informally, tell them to see me and I'll set them straight. They'll never want to hear 'Aircalibur' ever again!"

I had to laugh at that statement. Ever since Lilina borrowed a copy of that spell book from General... er ... Cecilia, she's been infatuated with it. She's probably read the whole thing about five times. It never leaves her side.

"It's nice to see your sense of humor is back. Roy has been so worried about you that he can't sleep!"

Wait a minute... "Lord... um... Roy has been worried about me?"

She looked like I had just shot her with an arrow. "Are you crazy? Did you not forget that you're his BEST FRIEND? He was crying profusely when you came back from the battle bloody and unconscious! He's either been cooped up in his tent or in here sitting by your bed! I could barely get him to eat, and we've been having salmon from the rivers here! You know how much he loves salmon!"

Although, from her size, it doesn't seem like it, Lilina has one of the loudest voices in the world if you got her going. She's a really nice person, but... just what I need, a headache to add to my pains..."I know that, Lady Lilina! It's just I didn't realize how much..."

"Yes! He cares a lot for you! In fact, he..." She stopped quite suddenly and put her hands over her mouth. What...?

"He... what?"

"Never you mind! Anyway, you need to focus on recovering! We... um... really need to have our army at full strength as we're getting close to the Bern border!"

"Wow, we're that far already?"

"Yes! We engaged Lord Roartz at his castle two nights ago. We beat him, of course."

"You mean, you already had a battle? And, I wasn't able to participate..." Great. Not only did I fail to protect Master Roy properly, but now I'm also a liability.

"Yes, unfortunately, we've had to move on with you still in that condition. We had to place you in the supply convoy. Merlinus and Sister Ellen looked after you while we stormed General Roartz's castle. It almost killed Roy to go on fighting with you behind in such a vulnerable position, so he left the nomadic troopers to guard you. Speaking of which, I have to go see Roy. He wants me to go on a scouting mission with him today. He'll be so happy to hear that you're awake. Now, go to sleep and get better!" She raised the tent flap and turned to leave.

"Wait, Lilina!"

"What is it?"

"Master... er... sorry... Roy doesn't really like river salmon. He says it leaves a weird aftertaste. He loves ocean salmon. Just put some salt on the river salmon, and maybe a little bit of mint and berry juice and he won't taste the difference."

Lilina stared hard at me before stomping out of the tent with a huff. I thought I heard a faint "Boys!" as she left. What was that all about?

Well, this information put a new spin on things. Roy... was really worried about me? Wait, I'm putting him in great danger! He can't possibly focus on battle if... he's concerned about my welfare. His swordsmanship always suffers when he's thinking about something too much! He could be seriously injured! Some guardian you are, Wolt...

But, Roy was worried about me. He can't eat or sleep because he's too concerned for my well-being. I didn't know he cared so much about me... Now, Wolt, stop. You won't think about this again. This all started from that evil dream you had. That's right, it was an evil dream, caused by that druid's sleep staff. It was a dream! Master... Roy... doesn't feel that way about you. He likes Lilina. He told you so! You even walked in on their kissing! You will only hurt yourself if you keep thinking like this. You only had that one dream where the two of you were in... a compromising situation. That doesn't mean it's true; in fact, it will never be true. Stop now. Roy does not like you that way. Master Roy doesn't even like guys in general, so why would he pick you of all people? You're weak! You can't even properly defend him without becoming a bloody mess. I would... just be a burden...

Oh, great, now I can't fall asleep! Where's a good staff user when you need one? A sleep staff is the only way I could possibly fall asleep and get all these thoughts out of my head.

'I bet Roy could help you get to sleep, a nice warm body curled up against yours, a gentle wave of kisses against your neck. You should know all about it, sneaking into your mom's romance novel collection...'

"AAH! STOP IT! STOP!"

"Ah! I'm sorry! Are you changing?"

"Huh?" It took a while before I saw the silhouette of a bishop against the tent. "Oh! I'm so so sorry, Sister Ellen! I... wasn't talking to you! I was... talking to myself."

Sister Ellen seemed a bit frazzled as she entered the tent. Did I really say it that loud? "Screaming to yourself is more like it. What exactly were you talking to yourself about? And why is your face so flushed? Don't tell me you have a fever!"

"Uh... no, I'm not sick, and I... was just talking about... stuff... you know... a lion was climbing into my bed... I think it might have been a bad dream..."

"Uhuh." I doubt she believed me. I can't evade the truth very well... "Anyway, completely ignoring your little outburst, I managed to talk with Merlinus and he let me borrow Aureola for the day!" She pulled out of her satchel an ornately decorated book that looked very heavy. The moment it popped free from her bag, it took on an unearthly glow that lit up the tent. She then sat on a chair next to my cot, which I just realized was there, and promptly flipped to the first page. "Wow! I've never seen anything like this! Some of these things are just... 'How to Extend the Maximum Range for your Torch Staff: Great for Blinding Foes and Peeping Toms'... 'How to Make Your Lightning Even More Shocking'... She even has the documentation of how she figured out the Aureola spell! Amazing! Though, I can barely read it... Some of these symbols, I have never seen in my life!"

"Sister Ellen?"

"Oh? Ah, yes! Let's see... 'Techniques for Proper Removal of Arrow Wounds from the Softer Areas,' 'Wounds of the Heart: Hint, Have a Soft Shoulder!' ... Ahah! 'Mysterious Wounds that Require More... Oomph.'"

"Are those really the article titles?"

"St. Elimine is known for her... shall we say... uncommon word choice." Did she just wink at me? "Let's see, page 447, page 447... Here we go, page 447. Oh... what rotten luck..."

"What's the matter? Are the pages missing?"

"No, they are there all right, but the document is flooded with symbols that I don't know! I can't read it!"

I leaned over to look at the book. Wow. So complex and intricate... "Oh..." It just figures that something like this would happen to me. I leaned back against my pillow. Strange, I think my wish is coming true... I think I'm falling asleep... I feel funny at least... like I'm floating away like a balloon...

"No need to be discouraged, I'm sure Father Saul would know some of these symbols."

"Are... are the symbols just too 'yawn' hard?" My brain is going all tingly... so very tired...

"Hm? Oh, no, it's just that different areas and schools teach different characters. In Bern... we focus more on the symbols that are associated with attacking. I don't think it's the same in Lycia... Are you feeling alright, Wolt?"

-----

Ellen looked down at the snoozing sniper. 'He's still too weak to stay awake for long. My rambling must have put him to sleep!' She chuckled to herself before looking at the passage. 'I'd better go get Father Saul to give me a crash course in healing symbols. The whole army could depend on what's in this book. I don't think Roy could bear it if Wolt doesn't make it. He's spent almost this whole week at his bedside. I wonder... could there be something there?' Ellen closed the book and made her way out of the tent. 'Now, stop! Since when are you such the busybody? Stop poking into other people's love lives. Things will work out how they were meant to work out without your prying. And, besides, it's perfectly normal behavior for good friends, anyway!' She continued on her way down the row of tents toward Father Saul's tent. Strangely, there weren't any people or even sounds anywhere to be seen. It was rather scary, actually...

"It sure is quiet around here. I wonder where everyone is?"

"Ellen! Ellen!"

The bishop looked around to see who was calling her before she heard the unmistakable flapping of wyvern wings. She looked up to see Miredy landing her steed a few meters in front of her and performing a graceful flip for a dismount. "Lady Miredy! What is the big hurry?"
"I was with Master Roy on his scouting mission. However, we met up with some enemies. They don't appear to be too difficult, but he sent me back here to get another healer just in case. He doesn't think Lady Lilina can handle a full-fledged healing position yet, and we'll need one if the battle escalates farther. Please, come with me!"

"Alright, alright. Just, stop by on Merlinus's convoy on the way. I'm afraid that I've used up all my healing staves from the last two battles."

"Sure thing!" The two of them mounted Trifynne and sped off toward the impending battle, with a certain bishop hanging on with her dear life.

"They really should implement a safety device on these things!"

Ehehe... I'm so sorry about the spacing issue. I thought I could get my indentations to stay this time... I don't like the space between paragraphs, but I guess I'll just have to live with it... Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. This is just the beginning, setting the scene and all, so the real part is coming...hopefully. Constructive criticism would be most appreciated (emphasis on constructive)! If you couldn't tell, this is just after Ch. 20 of the Sacae route in the game.