HEELLOOOOO! I'm back on my bullsh*t! Instead of working some more on my thesis, or even going back to my other fics, my brain decided that this idea could absolutely not leave me alone until I published it! And here we are again with a new installment in Tales of the Emblem!

Cinderella has always been such a strange story: multiple versions of it are found across different cultures, even going back as far as Ancient Egypt, and yet the gist of the story and its elements have managed to stay true across time. It's one of the most well-known and beloved fairy tales, with Disney especially having made big bucks off adapting it into its princess line and practically immortalising pop culture's image of Cinderella as a blonde idealist who sings to mice and wears a beautiful silver-blue gown. I want to research as much as I can from as many versions as I can so I can create something familiar yet unique for everyone who's grown up with at least one version of Cinderella––including myself!

Before we dive in, I would just like to admit that I'm not as familiar with Elibe as I would like to be, but I definitely consider Blazing Blade to be one of the best games in the Fire Emblem series (along with Magvel and Tellius; I'd like to include Three Houses here because I've heard nothing but great things about it, but I haven't played it yet! Hopefully I can get my hands on a copy as well as a Switch by the end of the year…). It's got a strong narrative, beautiful art, interesting gameplay…and I hope I can do that justice here. Alternatively, feel free to correct me when I get anything wrong.

Many, many thanks to the unforgettable newmrsdewinter and Arihime for betaing this chapter and for being such a delight on Discord! Please read their fics too!

Robed people shuffled as quietly as they could into the room. As the hallway was lit only by a few dim torch lights, soft murmurs of apology were heard as the people jostled briefly at the doorway. With everyone finally inside, a cloaked head poked out into the hallway, cautiously, verifying the absence of any eavesdroppers. They nodded to the guards watching over them before closing the door with a low creak.

The sound of rustling cloth filled the room as the company disrobed and discarded their improvised disguises; burlap fell away to reveal men and women of all shapes and colours and sizes from across Elibe. They greeted each other and inquired after their health and families as they took their seats at a grand round table.

"Welcome, everyone!" A man with dark ginger hair and smiling blue eyes sat at the head of the table. He was flanked by a massive blue-haired man, strong and square of jaw, and a smaller, green-haired lady whose lithe build and broad face denoted her as a woman of the plains. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. I trust you all know why you were summoned here, so we can get to—"

He was interrupted by one of the men. "Pardon me, Eliwood, but in our case, we don't. I know we're supposed to be hush-hush about our activities, but Juno and I were literally summoned from our beds in the dead of night. We were thankfully able to leave the baby with her nurses."

A chorus murmured their sympathies. Despite their loyalty to the League and their work, it was rather disconcerting to travel so late in the night for a meeting. What could possibly be so urgent that the Earl of Pherae necessitated their immediate presence?

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Zelot," Eliwood said, bowing his head in contrition. "I understand the difficulty of answering our call, and I thank you all for heeding it regardless. However, we wouldn't have asked for you if we didn't have a good enough reason…I'm afraid that what we heard was convincing enough for us to organise an immediate session."

The mood turned sombre as the gathering whispered amongst themselves, leaning in towards Eliwood apprehensively.

"He's been found?"

"Not quite…we've received credible reports of threats being made against Prince Zephiel's life."

More whispering. The men and women frowned and shook their heads, puzzled and more than a little surprised. A young warrior with messy gray hair raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Look, I don't want to sound callous or anything, but what's so important about that to our mission? I've received dozens of death threats myself. I get piles of letters, read them at breakfast, and then use 'em as kindling."

The room shared a laugh at that, and the gathering swapped brief stories of similar incidents in their lives. Eliwood smiled tightly at the brief suspension of tension, glancing at his friends sitting on either side of him, but did not chuckle along with everyone else.

"I agree with Echidna, Eliwood," Juno said. She tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "Though, out of curiosity, I have to ask; why? What on earth could young Zephiel have done to warrant such things? It's not as though he's particularly politically powerful…"

Discussion broke out amongst the assembly as they wondered. "Yes, Desmond rules Bern, not him—"

"And Zephiel's so popular with the people. Beloved, in fact—"

"Desmond has made quite sure to not yield a single inch to his poor son—"

"Who on earth could hate Zephiel of all people? Why would anyone want him dead?"

Eliwood's green-haired companion rapped her knuckles sharply against the table and cleared her throat to regain their attention.

"Thank you, Lyn," Eliwood murmured gratefully. He too cleared his throat. "As you all know, Zephiel has requested that we grant him a membership in the League despite the difficulty of achieving it, and added to the fact that he wants to hide it from his father. It was during one of our conversations that he swore me to secrecy in exchange for revealing the true nature of the Fire Emblem."

It fell so silent that a pin drop could be heard.

"W…what do you mean, 'the true nature of the Fire Emblem?'" Echidna whispered.

The people turned their collective attention to one of their members: an old man of imposing height and a long, venerable white beard and mane.

"Athos…?" a woman prompted timidly.

Athos moved slowly, mountain-like, as he rested his chin between his forefinger and thumb, deep in thought. The room waited with bated breath to hear his wisdom.

"We had our suspicions," he finally spoke in that deep, gravelly voice of his. "Hartmut told us that he created the Emblem for purely symbolic reasons…to atone for our role in the Ending Winter. We never questioned him for it, especially after Melita…we left him to it in spite of ourselves."

"So he lied to you and the others?" a silver-haired man queried.

"Not quite. He simply omitted some pertinent details. We never pressed the matter due to his grief."

"So you have an idea of what this 'true nature' is."

"Somewhat." Athos leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard. "I would rather Eliwood explain it to you all in my stead."

Eliwood bowed his head respectfully to the elder. "I'll try as best as I can." He cleared his throat again. "Zephiel said that the Fire Emblem's true purpose is tied to the Shrine of Seals. Upon a king of Bern's coronation, the Emblem, should it choose to give its blessings, reveals the Shrine's location to him, as well as that of the Dragon Temple."

An instant uproar was raised over the news, voices tumbling over another in a frenzy as the full weight of the news hit them.

"The Shrine of Seals?! But I thought that was a myth!" an old healer cried.

"We were told there are only eight hiding places—"

"Athos, you knew about this and never told us?" a priestess of St. Elimine said, sounding concerned and more than a little wounded.

The sage's hulking, tattooed bodyguard, a desert warrior, answered for him. "He has his reasons," he growled.

Lyn added her own thoughts. "The less people knew about it, the better. Only these are special circumstances that forced our hand and require the League's full attention. With Nergal's goal being to seek out the dragons—"

"Knowing of the Shrine and Temple could lead him to the Dragon's Gate and Arcadia," Echidna finished for her soberly.

The room fell into silence once more, only this time, it was far more protracted and tense.

"Has Nergal caught wind of this?" a burly Bernese chieftain demanded.

"We're afraid so," Eliwood's male companion replied, his jaw tight. "Hence the death threats…he's trying to find a way to the Emblem through Zephiel."

"But Hector, Desmond is king, not Zephiel. Why would Nergal target the prince instead?"

"That's part of what we're trying to find out."

Zelot hummed, his brow screwed up in deep concentration as he processed the information. "Not to be rude…but is there any proof of this? Nergal is cunning and wily; he's led us on more than one wild goose chase before. With so many dead ends, false leads, and inconclusive hints, how can you three be so sure that this is what he's planning? How will this help us finally catch him?"

Hector raised his hand and opened his mouth to say something, but, frowning, realised that someone was missing. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Of all the times to be pulling this," he grumbled under his breath. He leaned far back in his chair. "MATTHEW!" he bellowed.

One of the tapestries decorating the tower room rustled and shifted, to the surprise of many, and a lean young man with sandy brown hair emerged from behind it with a scowl. "Would it kill you to let me have my moment?" he whined.

"Yes," Hector deadpanned. "Now is not the time for dramatic entrances."

"Aw, come on! Any time can be a good time. A little razzle-dazzle is great for lightening the mood."

"Just get to your report and be done with it."

Matthew, pouting, exhaled through his nose dramatically. "Killjoy," he muttered.

The room, baffled, watched the display in stunned silence. It was a complete change of mood from their previously serious discussion. Lyn and Eliwood were doing a poor job of hiding their smiles behind their hands.

"Anyways," Matthew started. "Though I may not look like it, I'm great at my job. And part of that includes knowing how to create a tight and well-oiled informant system. Ladies and gents, consider this your lucky day, because I managed to plant a mole within the Black Fang."

Whispers and murmurs broke out incredulously. Confused glances were exchanged. "What exactly does the Black Fang have to do with Nergal and Zephiel?" A blonde Etrurian ventured bluntly.

Her silver-haired partner nodded in agreement. "They only go after corrupt nobility, yes? Zephiel is most certainly not corrupt. And what interest would they have in the Fire Emblem?"

"Now this is where things get interesting." Matthew grinned, rubbing his hands together. He produced a sheaf of papers from the depths of his bright scarlet cloak and fanned them out on the table. "My source tells me that Nergal has managed to take control of the Black Fang from within. He accomplished this by having his subordinates gain the trust of the Fang's leadership, allowing them to become members, and they quickly climbed the ranks to positions of authority. How they got this far with such an infamously mistrusting bunch, we're not sure yet—but we're working on it, rest assured. Whoever Nergal has in there is pretty damn good, as they seem to have changed the Fang's entire business model in one fell swoop."

"What do you mean?" Juno knitted her brows in confusion.

"Remember what we said about the Black Fang attacking corrupt nobility? Doesn't seem to be the case anymore; they're taking contracts from them instead, and even employing them. Does the name 'Count Landskron' ring any bells?"

The expressions of the Bernese amongst them turned instantly thunderous and dark. "Yes," the headman from before snarled. "Is that murderous scum one of theirs now?"

"Correct. In fact, my source's original mission was tracking him down for a Bernese client as a favour to Lord Hector, but once he was found…the trail led to Nergal."

Matthew distributed the documents around the table, waiting patiently by Hector's seat as the crisp sound of paper brushing against skin and cloth filled the silence. The company talked quietly to each other as they compared the notes and shared their concerns.

"Eliwood, Lyndis, and Hector," Athos pronounced. "You have done well. Your findings have brought us a great deal closer to capturing Nergal and finally bringing him to face justice. What you have presented to us is very grave news indeed. The results of Nergal gaining access to the Emblem will be absolutely catastrophic. We must not let that come to pass under any circumstance."

Echidna, growling, brought down her closed fist on the table. "But I don't understand! How could Nergal have gotten wind of the Fire Emblem in the first place?"

A clamour of agreements rose to meet her frustrations.

"Why did Nergal choose the Black Fang to do his bidding?"

"And how could he have gained control over them so easily?"

Lyn restored order by pounding the butt of her sword strongly against the table, lest she be forced to shout them down. "Please, everyone, calm yourselves!"

"Lyn, it's all right," Eliwood reassured. "I know everyone here feels very strongly about Landskron and Nergal—" he was briefly interrupted before Hector shot the assembly a sharp look, "—but we have to go about this with extreme care. He's slipped out of our fingers before, and he can do it again. Now that we have a solid lead, we must take as many precautions as we can to avoid a repeat of our past mistakes. And whatever it is we don't know yet will be revealed in due time. But mark my words, we will capture Nergal. I swear it."

WOOOOO! Finally got this chapter out! I'm amazed at how short it is compared to my other Fire Emblem fic chapters so far…but that might change in the future! And that's still not counting in my thesis hours and all that other stuff, hahaha…but I do feel a sense of relief that I'm not bottling this story up anymore.

Now if only I had more time to the billion other ones I want to start now too…