The moment she regained consciousness, she felt a terrible, sharp pain on her side. It felt like everything inside her had been scrambled, her innards mixed together to create an unholy combination of pain and suffering.

She still could remember a single arrow piercing through her torso, and the moment before she lost her consciousness, she remembered the sensation of falling endlessly into a dark, cold abyss. She believed that she might have died due to the fall, if not due to the arrow. And she also remembered her beloved pegasus, the one whom she affectionately named Sophie, being shot down by a squad of Risen archers, moments after she was shot.

"Commander, please do not move," said a voice. The voice sounded familiar to her.

"T-that voice…" She tried to sit up, but the pain on the side of her torso prevented her from doing so. "C-Cordelia?"

Still lying on a hammock she was on, she could see the face of a young, red-haired woman. She looked somewhat concerned.

"Commander Phila," the red-haired Pegasus Knight smiled at her. "It's good to see you finally awake, but please don't move too much. You're injured."

"What happened to me?" She asked. "Where's everyone? Did we succeed? T-the Exalt… did we save her?"

Cordelia's smile faltered as she looked down. "Commander…" She began after a few moments of silence. "W-we… we failed. We lost." The normally-composed Pegasus Knight seemed to be trying hard to remain calm, with small success. "A-and… the Exalt, she… she's gone…"

"N-no… no way…" She couldn't believe what she heard. "P-please, Cordelia… please tell me the truth," she begged.

Cordelia, her lips visibly quivered, shook her head. "It is the truth, Commander. Her Grace Emmeryn gave up her life in order to release the Plegians from the Mad King's thralldom. S-she…" Her voice cracked as she continued. "S-she killed herself…"

"No…" She wanted to deny it. She desperately wanted to deny everything that Cordelia had told her, but she knew the Exalt well. Too well, in fact. After all, she was the Exalt's closest aide, just like Sir Frederick was to Prince Chrom. She knew how selfless Emmeryn was. She believed that the Exalt was willing to sacrifice herself not only for the lives of her subjects, but also for the lives of her enemies. "I-I… I failed her…"

She ignored the sharp throbbing pain on her torso as she wept for her failure, for the loss of the one she had sworn to protect. Cordelia just remained by her side, lowering her gaze, not saying anything.

"P-Prince Chrom…" She said between sobs. "D-did I… fail him too? D-did I fail Princess Lissa as well?"

Hearing that question, Cordelia closed her eyes for a moment, as if mulling over the question in order to come up with an answer. Then, she spoke, "They are unharmed, though they need some time to recover from the shock and trauma over losing their dear sister." Then, Cordelia leaned over and said, "Take a rest, Commander. We are currently on our way to Regna Ferox."

She noticed that the place they were in was shaking, indicating that they were currently in a moving caravan. She could also hear a few voices outside.

"Cordelia…" She said. "Why am I alive?" She asked the Pegasus Knight. Logically, she should have died at this point, after being shot by an arrow and falling down from a great height. If the former didn't kill her, the latter should have done the job.

Cordelia let out a sigh and spoke, "We also thought that you might have also perished alongside our sisters, but our tactician, Robin, decided to see whether there was any survivor among you or not," she smiled gratefully. "We had to drag your body over the mire while battling several Plegians that stood in our way, though they didn't seem to have any intention to fight. Her Grace Emmeryn's sacrifice was not in vain, after all…"

It seemed that the Plegians were profoundly affected by the Exalt's heroic suicide, but such a fact didn't make the whole thing any less tragic. Ylisse's beloved ruler, Emmeryn, had died. No matter what effect it brought to the Plegians, it did not change the fact that the Exalt had lost her life.

"The Mad King will pay…" She muttered. "He will answer for all his crimes he had done to the Exalt and all the Ylisseans. I will make sure of that…"

"We also wish for the same thing, Commander Phila. We all do." Cordelia said. "But please, have a rest…"

And Cordelia remained there by her side as the Shepherds made their way to Regna Ferox in order to regroup and plan for a counter to end the Mad King's reign once and for all.

And as the Commander of Ylisse's Pegasus Knight Squadron, Phila would make sure of that. As the one who served under the Exalted Blood, she would give the future Exalt, Prince Chrom, her eternal, undying loyalty.

Alright, this is me, Prince Arjuna. As you can see, I'm writing a Fire Emblem Awakening Fanfiction, this time starring Phila, a ridiculously-underused character in Fire Emblem Awakening Fanfiction. I have to remedy that. So, here we are, a fanfic that focuses on Phila. She has so much potential. But this fanfic won't explore her role in the story as a whole, but instead, focuses on her interactions with the rest of the Shepherds. This fanfic will show the support chains between Phila and the other Shepherds. Please keep in mind that this is just a 'what-if'. The first support chain of hers to be explored is with Robin (M), with its progression from C-rank to S-rank. Also, I've been thinking if she can be Chrom's potential wife (hehe). If Olivia can do that, why can't Phila? So, please look forward for the support chains, and stay tuned. Don't forget to give me reviews, 'kay?

Coming up next: Support with Robin (M)

Prince Arjuna (2016)