Chapter Six

Early the next morning, Lissa scrambled to get dressed, annoyed with herself for oversleeping and praying to Naga that Robin and the others hadn't left yet. She tripped over a tome lying haphazardly at the entrance to her quarters and swore under her breath, glad that her brother was nowhere within earshot.

She sprinted past soldiers who were busy breaking down tents and carrying supplies to the convoy, mumbling "good morning" and "excuse me" as she went. Thankfully, everyone passing by cleared the way for her, both out of respect and a fear of being trampled. It was one of the few times she was grateful for being treated like royalty.

As she was getting close to the back entrance of the encampment from which the unit was to depart, she saw a familiar mop of dark blue hair in the small crowd of soldiers headed in the same direction.

"Chrom! Have they left yet?"

Her elder brother looked over his shoulder at the sound of her voice and stopped to wait for her to catch up. "Good morning, Lissa. No, they haven't left yet, but they will be in a few minutes. Come on."

The siblings, followed by the ever diligent Frederick, hurried on. Lissa studied Chrom's face from the side and noticed that he looked unusually tired. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so well."

He yawned loudly and rubbed one of his eyes with a gloved hand. Then he scowled, clearly cranky. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I was up late. Gaius woke me out of nowhere just after I finally fell asleep. For some weird reason, he wanted to look at the brand on my shoulder. I think he even sketched it. But he refused to tell me why." Suddenly, he halted as something occurred to him. "I don't look bad, do I?" He ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his clothes.

Lissa stifled a snort, remembering what Gaius said about Chrom's secret affection for Robin and knowing that he wouldn't see her for at least two weeks, maybe more depending on the weather. The same was true of her though, and rather than answer, she started checking herself over. If the thief thought of her at all while he was gone, she didn't want to be pictured as the slob who just woke up.

"Milord? We should hurry. Robin and the others are waiting," Frederick pressed them.

"Right." They resumed walking and found that the unit was just completing their last preparations.

Five thief and mage class warriors (plus one taguel) were gathered around, stretching, yawning and chewing on a light breakfast. Except for Panne, whose own fur was quite sufficient, all had been supplied with heavy but warm cloaks and long poncho style outerwear, courtesy of Flavia and Basilio, to protect them from the icy mountain air. They had travel packs hoisted on their shoulders and were armed with as many weapons as they could bear.

Chrom and Frederick approached Robin and began conversing in hushed voices. Lissa intended to say goodbye to Maribelle first, but she was preoccupied with Donnel at the moment. The princess smiled as she watched them, truly happy for her best friend and thinking that they made for an adorable couple.

"Yo, Lissa!" Gaius waved her over from his position near the trees lining the path on which they would embark.

She glanced over at her brother warily to make sure he wasn't looking, since he was already annoyed with the Trickster, and jogged over. "Hey there! I almost didn't make it up this morning!"

He grinned as he looked over her wrinkled clothes and messy hair. "I can see that."

Lissa tilted her head curiously. "What's up with you? Did you stay up late or something?" she asked, taking in his blood-shot eyes and likewise disheveled appearance. "And what the heck did you bother Chrom for last night?"

"It's a surprise," Gaius replied slyly. He kneeled down and quickly pulled something out of the travel pack lying at his feet, taking care to hide whatever it was behind his back before she could see what it was. "I stayed up almost all night working on it. Now close your eyes and hold out both of your hands."

The blonde quirked an eyebrow warily. "What are you going to do?"

The criminal rolled his eyes at her apprehension. "Just trust me, will you? And hurry; Robin looks like she wants to leave soon."

Lissa glared at him a second more, but eventually did as she was told. She shut her eyes tightly and held out both of her hands, palms up, expecting him to place something in them.

"No peeking!"

She flinched when she sensed him step closer and take one hand. She felt him push up the sleeves of her Valkyrie uniform. He then placed some kind of light, but warm cloth around her fingertips, and pulled it down past her palm and up a little past her elbow. He adjusted the material around her knuckles, and repeated the process with her other hand.

"Done. Take a look."

Lissa opened her eyes to see the she was now wearing long, fingerless gloves that fit surprisingly well. They were similar in style to the ones Gaius wore in his initial thief garb, but these were skillfully handmade, feminine, and much lighter in color. They almost looked white, but when she moved her hands, the material seemed to change color: yellow to pale blue, pink to flesh tone.

They were wonderfully made and beautiful, but she was a little confused at the odd choice of gifts. It must have shown on her face, because Gaius laughed at her expression.

"Take a closer look at the inside of the forearms," he instructed.

She rotated her arms inward and moved them closer to her face, squinting. Stitched on the surface at the wrist with a very light blue thread was the Mark of the Exalt. It was quite cleverly done, so that depending on the angle one looked, the mark could very well be resting on her skin and not on a glove.

"I know it's not the same thing as a real birthmark, but it's the best I could come up with. Although considering I did it all in one night, I think it looks pretty good," Gaius boasted with a smirk. "In fact, I'd guess that if anyone just took a quite glance, they'd never know the difference. As far as I'm concerned, you're branded just the same as Blue over there."

Lissa continued to stare at the exquisite marks, struck speechless as tears gathered in her eyes. She'd been crying a lot the last few days, but these were of pure joy. "Wow! Gaius… I don't know what to say." Without thinking, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Thank you. Thank you so much!" she managed to choke out.

Clearly he wasn't quite expecting such a physical reaction, because he just stood there as stiff as a board. When he didn't immediately move to embrace her, she let go and stepped back sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Uh, no problem." He was blushing like mad.

A loud whistle resounded in the crisp morning air. "Time to go! Shepherds, move out!" Robin called, waving for the others to follow and heading in their direction.

"Be careful, yeah?" Lissa whispered.

"Don't worry about me," the Trickster replied. He'd already recovered and was now sucking on some sort of hard candy. "The others too. Bubbles' got us covered."

She nodded. "Okay. See you soon!"

Gaius glanced around to make sure Chrom wasn't looking in their direction, but their leader was focused on Robin's retreating figure, smiling and waving but with a conflicted look in his eyes.

Taking the chance, he took Lissa's hand. "Hey, just so you know, I don't care what anyone says. Brand or no Brand, you're still my Princess." He knelt down on one knee and kissed her hand. He was not a knight or a noble, but he was well aware of their customs and had seen this simple act done many times.

Her whole form turned cherry red and she said nothing. When he released her hand and stood, she clasped it with the other, cradling it as though it had been injured.

Gaius shouldered his pack and smirked. "Later… Princess!" He winked, gave a single quick wave, and then fell in step behind Miriel. He threw an arm around Lon'qu teasingly as they walked.

"Later," Lissa whispered to his fading form.

"Looks like someone's in love!" someone whispered.

Lissa squealed and jumped. She whirled around to see Maribelle smiling coyly.

"Farewell, dear. Take care while I'm gone. And do look after Donnel for me, won't you?" The duchess gave her friend a quick hug and followed after the others.

The princess returned to her tent in a daze. Her face continued to glow a healthy shade of pink. She sat down on her bed spread slowly and stared at the Marks on her gloved arms.

Maribelle was right all along. She had fallen in love with Gaius. It had been a long time coming, and in truth, she had known it for some time. She was just so caught up in her own fear and doubt that she'd refused to acknowledge it fully. But she could deny it no longer.

And Gaius seemed to have no problem with her perceived shortcomings. He was always reassuring or soothing her uncertainties and more than willing to patiently teach her new things. He inspired her and he cared for her. Thief or not, he was exactly what she wanted and needed. Nothing else mattered.

Now that she was sure of her own heart, Lissa was ready to move forward. But what to do?

"Oh, Lissa… there's really no need to make it so difficult. You are the princess of the Ylisse. You simply order him to marry you."

Well, Maribelle had been right about her feelings to begin with. Perhaps she was right about the proposal process.

Lissa ran her fingers over the elaborate stitching on the Brand. An idea popped in her head, and she grinned excitedly. She jumped up and rummaged through her own travel chest, pulling out her needlework kit. She hadn't reached the same level of skill as Gaius, but she would give it her all. She'd work until her finger bled if she had to.

After all, if she was going to propose, she might as well have some sort of homemade gift to help it along.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!