Finally, after months of wait, Come Back's sequel! This story takes place about six years after Come Back, so Clarine is 22 and Rutger is about 28. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or its characters.

Stay Forever

Tri17

Chapter One

Her eyes fluttered as she rolled over. But instead of hitting the muscular form of her husband, she hit the soft silk of sheets. Feeling around, still too tired to think, she grasped for her husband. Yet, everything she grasped were silk sheets. Cold silk sheets.

It caused the blonde haired woman to open her eyes, staring bleakly at the spot beside her. Where was he? Turning towards the large balcony window, she could see that the sky was black. It was late summer, though, so that meant that the sun would rise earlier. Sitting up, panic rising in her chest, she reached for her pocket watch, flipping it open, and seeing that it was only three hours past the new day. Closing the clock, she stepped out of her bed, her bare feet touching the cold, wooden floors.

As she stumbled towards her dresser, she saw what she feared most.

A letter.

With trembling hands, she picked it up, straining in the dim light to read what was written. But the moon couldn't cast enough glow inside, so instead, she retreated outside onto the balcony. There she could clearly see what was written.

Clarine,

I've left to seek some time for myself. I need to further train.

Short and simple.

But so confusing. It brought the woman to tears. They had been married for over six years and this wasn't the first time he had left her with a short, quick letter. A letter that would leave her emotionally unstable for months on end. Even after he returned, which he always did after two or three months, she was still shaken and would cling to him desperately during the night, in fear he would leave again.

When he had left the first time, shortly after they were married, Clarine was hysterical. She sobbed for weeks on end. Her father and mother and the prince and king sent troops to search for him, but as expected, he eluded them with ease. He returned after about three months, to find an emotionally-torn Clarine.

The next time he left, Clarine locked herself in her room for three days straight, refusing to eat, drink, or bathe. She slept all day long, refusing her duties as Sorcery General. Finally, one of the king's lock-picks had to unlock her door, letting her mother, sister-in-law, Lilina, and after awhile her father and brother coax her out. After he returned, a few weeks later, Clarine refused to speak to him.

After that, he remained at the palace for about a year, which by then, they were entering their third year of marriage.

Between their third and sixth years of marriage, he left more frequent, it seemed, leaving every few months. He claimed it was because of Etrurian Nobility, but Clarine often blamed herself. This was the third time he had left this year, and it seemed like he was leaving even more frequent. Last time he was gone, he didn't return for two months. And it had only been a month since he had left.

Clarine gripped the letter tighter in her baby-soft hand, tears shining in her eyes. Why couldn't their relationship be like her parents-- Sweet, loving, caring, exciting, and above all, romantic? Clarine could remember when he once told her that he would try to be more affectionate to her. But that promise had fallen through.

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Clarine leaned over the rail of the balcony. How often had she thought about jumping from this height? "Falling accidentally". It would be so easy to leave this nightmare. Her life was no longer that sweet and innocent dream. Her life was no longer happy and wonderful. She no longer looked forward to waking up each morning.

Being the Sorcery General was so horrid. The elders were rude and went out of their way to make her life miserable. They insulted her and never listened to her. She was no longer respected in any way, even though she held one of the highest positions in the Etrurian Government.

Everything had turned on her. Her marriage was miserable, her job was miserable, she had no friends in Etruria (besides her family and those from the war), and she had no husband (most of the time) to ever talk to.

Clarine realized she was leaning farther and farther over the edge of the balcony. If she wasn't careful, she really would fall.

Like it really mattered if she fell or not. Who would care? Her parents and brother. That's who. Lilina would care, Clarine supposed. And the prince, Percival, Cecilia, and some of her old friends from the war. But the nobles would rejoice if she died.

Her husband probably would, too. Then he would have no connections to the Etrurian Nobility. Then he really could disappear into thin air.

Sometimes she wondered if he actually loved her at all. She wondered if maybe her love was so great that it poured over to any feelings he had for her. And made him think that he loved her, but really, he didn't. Clarine often wondered if he actually married her because she loved him so much.

Her toes were barely touching the smooth marble of the balcony. She was leaning farther and farther.

And for all Clarine knew, he could have another family somewhere else. Maybe that's why he left so frequent. What if he was married to some beautiful Sacaen women? What if she had gorgeous black flowing hair, smooth tan skin, bright green eyes, and a figure to die for? What if she was an extremely powerful, and graceful, Swordmaster?

What if he and this woman had children? A lot of children? What if he told them he couldn't come home to them every night because he was being held captive at the Etrurian mansion? What if he told them that he was forced to marry this Etrurian woman who he didn't have feelings for? What if they told him to stay there forever and never come back to Etruria?

Maybe that would be for the best. If he was truly happy with a drop-dead gorgeous Sacaen woman and had beautiful little Sacaen children, then he should just stay there with them. He should be a good father to them. It's not like he had any reason to come back to Etruria where there were stuck-up, old, crusty nobles who hated him; where there was stiff clothing to wear and formalities to keep; where there was a foolish 22 year old woman waiting after him, who couldn't understand what she had done wrong to drive away the love of her life.

Clarine's feet were off the ground now, which caused her to snap back into the present, as she began to fall face-first towards the ground.

But suddenly, she didn't have the strength to fight gravity and push herself back onto the balcony. It felt so much better to fall into the cool breeze of the night air. It felt so nice to feel the wind lift under her light pink nightgown, cooling her sweaty body off. Her blonde hair spewed out, as it fell out of the pinned up braid one of her maids had done before she had retired to bed.

When she opened her violet eyes, the ground was approaching at a dangerous rate. But she couldn't stop her fall. She was freely falling, the wind whipping around her.

Instantly, she was sick. The wind was much too cold, much too hard. It was hurting her. The ground was approaching too fast. She didn't want to hit it. She wanted to float. Not hit the ground. Her voice began to bubble in her throat, ready to be released at any second. But Clarine clamped her mouth shut, not letting out the ear-piercing scream that was sure to be heard.

Instead she closed her eyes, feeling the impact of the ground. She heard a sickening snap, a raging pain spreading throughout her body. Her head dropped listlessly, slumping onto the grass.

Tightly clenched in her hand was Rutger's note.

Pent and Louise were sleeping peacefully, not ready to face the day yet. So when a maid burst into their room, they were less then happy.

"Lady Clarine is in critical condition!" the maid exclaimed. "She fell off her balcony!" Pent and Louise shot up out of their bed, rushing out of the room, even though they weren't dressed properly.

When they found their daughter, she was laying on the ground, looking as if she had died. Her legs and arms were twisted at odd angles, bones jutting out. It turned their stomachs to see their daughter twisted and warped like she was.

"Where are the healers?!" Pent exclaimed, panic rising in his voice. His wife was leaning beside their daughter, calling her name.

"Rutger..." Clarine mumbled, coughing a bit. Louise looked hysterical, sobbing and clutching her daughter.

"Where is her husband?!" Pent asked a nearby maid. He was panicking, but he couldn't control his emotions. He couldn't help the fear the grasped his heart when he saw his daughter and her lack of husband. Rutger would always be by Clarine's side if she were injured and if he wasn't with her...

"We don't know! We've yelled for Lord Rutger often, but he has yet to be found!"

"...Louise..." Pent began, his voice strained. Louise looked at him, her own eyes clouded in anger.

"He... he left again," she whispered harshly. That's when she noticed Clarine's hand clutching something. Prying it away from her, she straightened the letter out, her facial features becoming darker and darker as she read and re-read it again and again. Wordlessly, she handed it to Pent.

"...Why does he do this to her?" Pent asked Louise, angry and saddened at the same time. "I'm sure this is why she is in this state! He's leaving more and more frequent. It's not right." Louise nodded.

"Did you notice that he didn't put anything reassuring in the letter? Not an, "I love you," or an, "I'll be back soon," or anything of the sort. Of course she is miserable. But her own love has blinded her to what is happening."

"That he seems to no longer care for her." Louise nodded, stroking her daughter's hand.

"Exactly."

When Clarine finally opened her eyes, everything was blurry. Her head pounded and her limbs ached. She could feel soft hands holding one of hers.

"Clarine, are you alright?" It was Lilina's hand. Clarine closed her eyes, groaning. Why was she in so much pain?

Swallowing, Clarine tried to speak. Her throat was too dry, though. So what she spoke came out as a croak.

"Water? Here." A male voice spoke. A cup was put to her lips and she drank greedily. Who was the male, though? Her mind was too fuzzy to think.

"W..." Clarine took another drink. "What happ...happened?" she croaked out.

"You fell off your balcony," Lilina told her. "We came here as quickly as possible. Well, at least I did to help heal you." Clarine nodded slightly. "We've been so worried. I mean, you've been in a coma for almost three weeks."

"Three weeks?" Clarine asked, hoarsely.

"Yeah. Well, I suppose coma is a bad word for it. Here and there you would wake up, typically muttering something about Rutger." Clarine clenched her eyes tighter, hearing his name.

"He's not back," she told them. Lilina and the male made sounds of agreement.

"No. He isn't," the male answered her.

"Where is mother? Where is Tate?" Clarine asked them, beginning to go back to sleep.

"They are resting right now. They've been up with you all night." Clarine nodded.

"I'm... going back... to sleep." She could barely finish her sentence before she was asleep again.

Clarine woke up a few hours later to see someones head laying beside her. She touched it gently, realizing it was her brother. His hair was always so soft and silky.

"Mmm... Clarine?" Klein sat up, looking tiredly at his sister. "How are you feeling?" Clarine wordlessly nodded.

"Better." Klein nodded, rubbing his eyes. He looked so tired. His pale face was even paler than usual. His bright violet eyes were dull, masked with stress and sleep. There were large circles under his eyes. His face was worn and ragged, his cheek bones beginning to become visible. Clarine could even spot a bit of blonde facial hair, which was odd, because Klein was always so meticulous about shaving every single day.

Klein lit a candle, as it was well into the night, and Clarine could see that she was in her old bedroom. The one she stayed in before she was married.

"What happened?" Clarine finally asked him, reaching up to brush a piece of her blonde hair back.

"You fell."

"Fell?"

"Off your balcony." Clarine nodded, remembering.

"Right. I remember." She fidgeted, wondering what she should ask about next. "How long have I been asleep?"

"About three weeks." Three weeks! Oh, wow.

"What's happened? How are my wounds?"

"Nothing important has happened. And the healers did a pretty good job of fixing you up. Especially Lilina. She worked her butt off to help you." Clarine smiled. She was glad to have such a good friend like Lilina, even if they didn't see each other often.

"Where is mother?"

"She's sleeping. She and father have been with you all day long. Except for a few hours where they slept. But when Lilina and Roy told them you had woken up, they stayed with you for the rest of the day and most of the night. I took over when father began to doze off." Clarine nodded.

"May I get out of bed?" Klein chewed on his lip, thinking about it. "I feel so cramped. I really must stretch."

"I'm not sure. I don't want you to re-injure yourself." Clarine scowled slightly and threw her legs over the side of the bed. "Clarine!" Clarine hesitantly put a foot on the ground, beginning to stand. She could. She could even walk.

"Lilina did a good job," Clarine muttered. "But, I am so tired, now." She yawned to make her point. "If you do not mind, I'd like to go to bed. I'd appreciate that you would return to bed with your own wife, as well." Klein hesitantly nodded, leaving her room.

Clarine crawled back into her bed, blowing out the candle that Klein had lit. But she didn't fall asleep. Instead she stared up at her bed roof (since her bed was a four-poster bed) and blinked.

"Rutger... do you miss me?" she whispered. "Do you regret marrying me?" Clutching her sheets, she closed her eyes, finally making up her mind. They needed to talk. They needed to agree on what to do. Because enough was enough.

Clarine was tired of being pulled through this emotional wave, one second being the perfect, happy couple that she wanted, and the next being a crying, broken wife because her husband had abandoned her. Clarine would no longer tolerate it. She loved Rutger with all her heart. And she wanted nothing more than to be with him forever.

But if he no longer loved her, then she would be a good wife. She would let him go.

No matter how much it would hurt.

End Chapter

I hope this is worth the wait, at least so far. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, as school did just start for me, but I hope soon. :D

Here's a preview!

"Clarine, she doesn't have it," Mildain told her softly. Clarine shook her head.

"She does. I can see it." Clarine smiled softly, taking Lillie's hand. "It's not very strong, but she has traces of it." Clare looked at Clarine, shocked, but then smiled.

"Then that means she needs a teacher," Mildain told Clarine. "Or else her magic will never get stronger." Clarine smiled at Clare and Lillie.

"I want to train her."

I can't wait! Thanks for reading!