Yo, well here I am in a different video game category. I wrote a sort of crack fic for Fire Emblem before, which was just for a joke and to share a little cautionary tale. But this story will be my first of hopefully a few fully-fledged Fire Emblem stories, based on a pairing in which I have only seen one other fanfic written about. I think the pairing can definitely work, so here I go, I hope you enjoy!

P.S I'm not 100% sure of the chronology and proceedings of certain events in FE7, so there may be some inaccuracies. Feel free to correct me where I go wrong. Ta!

Bergamot and Vetiver

Chapter 1: Poison

Dead of night. The world outside was completely and utterly still. The sound of an owl could be heard, quietly piercing the tranquility.

There was a discomfort in the air. Setting his books in order for the long journey ahead, he arranged them into alphabetical order before readying his satchel. He didn't know how long he would be travelling for, but he knew his business with the group wasn't finished yet.

The books were in order. Moving to the window, he knelt onto his knees and brought his hands together. He began to pray.

"St Elimine, I thank you for allowing my soul to remain clean amidst this conflict that we are under. I have aided the graceful Lord Eliwood in his task and I pray that you continue to watch over him as he grieves through this very hard time. I also pray that you shine your light of hope and peace on each and every companion, whom all fight for the same cause that peace will return to the land…"

There was a knock on the door. He quickly cut his prayer short and stood up to address the opening door.

"Come in" he said quietly. A dark robed figure walked through the door, adjusting his monocle.

"Oh…I'm sorry Father Lucius" the man said.

"Please, don't worry" Lucius answered. "And…there's no need to call me Father. We're close enough as companions to address each other by first names, if that's okay?"

The figure chuckled.

"Okay" he said kindly.

"Thanks, Canas" Lucius replied. "In any case, how can I help you?" He watched as Canas released a soft sigh, looking out to the window, administering the silent town around them.

"I was just checking to see if everyone's alright…" Canas explained.

"It's terrible, isn't it?" Lucius replied. "It must be so awful for Lord Eliwood. To fight so hard to see his father, only to cradle him in his…dying moments…"

Lucius shuddered at the thought. The morale around the group was extremely damp since the disaster as Dread Isle. Everybody was exhausted from what felt like a wasted effort. They may have stopped Nergal, but he wasn't dead. Only wounded. Everybody knew that he would return, and they were forced to wait in anticipation for the moment when that dreaded day would arrive.

"It is an awful feeling…" Canas explained, looking towards Lucius. "Everybody feels so drained by it all. Me included"

"I know…I pray that things do become smoother for us in the future" Lucius sighed. The two stood still, taking in the air of quiet grief around them.

"…Well, I suppose I'd better be going to bed" Canas explained. "Lord Eliwood decided that an early start tomorrow would be best. No rest for the weary, hm?"

"Lord Eliwood wants this?" Lucius asked. "…He's strong of soul, that's for sure"

As Canas smiled, he turned around, only to see Dorcas almost bursting through the door. He looked tired and flustered.

"What's wrong?" Canas asked.

"Enemies are approaching us" Dorcas revealed quickly. "Grab your weapons and take some torches from Merlinus, there's a lot of them coming"

The feeling was familiar. The calm suddenly being overtaken by a storm. As Lucius shot a glance outside his window, he could see torches in the distance. A night attack. Their vision was to be hindered by the darkness. Quickly grabbing his tomes, and pulling his new bishop's robe on, he clutched his staff and uttered a swift prayer before moving out of the room and to the outside, where the rest of the group waited.

As Lucius walked out, he could see the rest of the group preparing their weapons for battle. Eliwood and the other lords, Lyn and Hector, were in the middle of the group, comforting Eliwood. He was dressed and ready to fight as if nothing had happened to him but one glance at his reddened eyes and his exhausted expression showed that he had been grieving. Ninian was also stood next to him, offering her comfort.

Looking to his left, he saw Oswin talking quickly with Mark, the silent, reserved tactician. It appeared that Oswin was to take the lead, seeming his armor was the toughest. Marcus and Kent would back up, and the rest of the group would split up into three to cover the entire town, ready to face the advancing enemy.

As the battle begun, Lucius moved into his group and split towards the center of town, shielded behind Oswin and the two paladins. He prepared his Shine tome to battle anything that tried to flank them, creating a near perfect defense around the weakened Eliwood, who remained at the center to fight anything that slipped through for him. They advanced through the middle of the town and made their way for the gate, where Oleg, the leader of the group, was waiting for them, flanked by two knights.

The battle raged on as the group attempted to take Oleg down. Lucius found himself trying to defend and flank that was being constantly exploited by wyvern riders. Lucius was quick on his feet and was able to dodge the somewhat clumsy lances of the wyvern riders, uttering the phrases of his tome book, creating bolts of white lighting that struck the wyverns right down.

The battle neared its end. Oleg was on the ropes, facing a fierce battle with Lyn, axe versus sword. The large axe couldn't hit its target as Lyn waved around it, laying cut after cut on Oleg's skin, slowing his attacks even further. The wyverns had stopped attacking and it appeared as if Oleg was about to die. Lucius became a spectator as he watched the battle between the two.

With a set of swift strokes, Lyn cut a cross on Oleg's chest, ripping his armor open and cutting his flesh deeply. His bow arm as already damaged from Marcus's sword and he was bleeding heavily from his mouth. He fell onto his knees, dropping his axe as Lyn wiped the blood of her blade in the grass before sheathing it.

"In defeat…there is only death…urgh…" Oleg uttered, before finally collapsing, dead. Lyn took a few steps back, trying to catch her breath. She set her ruffled hair back into place, smoothing it out with her hands.

"Oleg…he was tough" Lyn sighed, catching her breath. "Had I failed to dodge but one axe strike, I would be dead"

"Fantastic, Lyn!" Hector congratulated. "Although I could have worked my way around that axe with less problems"

"You keep talking…" Lyn taunted playfully. But the small respite after the battle wouldn't last long.

Huffing and panting, Oswin appeared from the north of town, appearing very flustered.

"Serra, hurry!" he yelled to Serra, who quickly turned around in concern.

"What, who's hurt?" she asked quickly.

"It's Florina…" Oswin panted. "She's been hit by a poison arrow"

Everybody in the group gasped at the revelation. Members of the group suddenly rushed up to the north where they saw a very unwelcoming sight. They caught sight of Huey, Florina's Pegasus, who appeared to be unhurt. But her saddle and part of her wing was covered in blood, and on the floor beside her hooves was Florina, who was crying weakly in pain. She lay clutching her chest, gasping and crying out to the sky in a slow gathering pool of her own blood. There was an arrow lodged through her shoulder.

Lucius joined the group who ran to her aid to be greeted by the sickly sight. Everybody knelt by her as she wheezed her breaths, struggling to remain alive.

"Serra, can you heal her?" Oswin asked quickly, kneeling to her knee. Lyn quickly cradled her head and whispered to her quietly. Fiora, Florina's sister, had also ran to the scene, kneeling next to Lyn, staining her knees with blood and trying to remain calm amidst the horrifying image in front of her. Lucius took the time to examine the wound; the arrow head had been stuck right in. He realized at that moment that Florina was in fatal danger. The stalk of the arrow was drenched in purple liquid. Poison.

"She's been poisoned" Lucius said calmly, trying not to stir any attention. Serra looked up, preparing her staff.

"Poison?" she exclaimed. Her staff begun to glow as it covered Florina in a glowing light. To everybody's horror, it had little effect.

"The wound….I don't think it's healing!" Serra stuttered, fearful of watching Florina die right before her eyes. Eliwood looked up, trying to address anyone in the group.

"What do we do?" he called. Lucius found his opportunity to heed the call. Recently completing his promotion into a bishop, he had learnt quite a bit about first aid, although he wasn't very good with the actual use of staves.

"Okay, everyone stay calm!" Lucius ordered. "We need to get her inside and remove the arrow head from her chest"

Eliwood nodded and turned to Hector.

"Hector, Oswin!" he called. "Carry her into the inn!"

As Florina was rushed into the inn, the sheets on her bed were stripped as her damaged body was laid on the bare mattress. The arrow hadn't impaled her, but the blood that dripped from her chest stained the mattress. Lucius stood at the back of the room as he watched the town surgeon walk into the room, preparing his medical kit. The procedure was gruesome; Lucius watched as the surgeon dislodged the arrow intact from her chest, causing her to scream and yell in utter agony. Serra had pulled out her most potent staff and used it to try and not only alleviate the pain but also keep Florina alive. Her armor was removed to her bare shirt as they removed the arrow, revealing the wound that resembled a bloody chasm below her shoulder.

Eventually, Lucius was told to leave the room by the surgeon, who had finished his procedure. Serra was to stay up all night and use her staff to close Florina's wound before it was to be bandaged. As Lucius inquired about the antitoxin whilst being hushed out of the room, he was met with grievous response.

"They didn't have any at the store, and my surgery is all out of it"

"But when does your next shipment arrive?"

"Not in a week or so. The vendor's out of them too, we're waiting for the next batch to arrive…"

And for those who are wondering, I consider Huey to be a female…squeep?