Honesty Is (Not) The Best Policy

I do not own Fire Emblem or any of its characters.

Rated T for mature themes and violence.

Prologue

Linde's tattered trousers flapped around her ankles as she and her escort crept along the outskirts of Knorda. She'd dared to take her father's tome out of its hiding place, and the gilt on its binding shone whenever the sun broke through the high scrubby clouds. She had to hold the Aura tome carefully, so the reflected light didn't bring any attention their way, but she was afraid to hide it completely, in case they were suddenly attacked...

"So you've been masquerading as a boy since the fall of Pales?"

"Yes, sir."

"However did you manage it?" The Altean prince kept his eyes on the road ahead while he questioned her, but Linde could hear the curiosity in his voice.

"I had to," she said. Self-preservation was a good incentive to hide herself in the ragged clothes of a peasant youth. If she didn't survive, she couldn't have her vengeance on the man who'd taken her father...

"I understand that well enough," said Prince Marth, "but how did you get by undetected? You didn't even cut your hair."

As she clumped along in the borrowed boots that pained her feet, Linde explained as to how she'd managed to keep the slavers from noticing she was the most desirable commodity they knew- an untouched young woman. She'd watched the other boys and adopted their mannerisms and speech, she'd stayed with the smaller and younger boys to make herself appear more imposing, she'd claimed the head covering that concealed her hair was custom of her people.

"It helped that my captors weren't terribly bright," she concluded.

"I suppose it would," replied the prince. He looked sharply at her, and his long-lashed blue eyes seemed for a moment to hold another question. Whatever it was, he kept it to himself and changed the subject entirely. "We'll have you back with Princess Nyna soon."

"Yes, sir!"

As Linde followed Prince Marth and his guards to the main body of Nyna's army, something in the way the Altean moved struck her as... odd. A deeply strange thought formed in her head, but Linde pushed it away. This was no time to be silly.

-x-

"She's not even fifteen, Merric."

Merric wasn't entirely sorry that his lord wanted to discuss the Archanean mage-girl they'd found in Knorda's infamous market that afternoon.

"I want you to keep an eye on her," Prince Marth continued, in the same earnest tone.

"With pleasure. I'd like very much to have the chance to chat with the last pupil of the great Pontifex Miloah."

"It may be a sore topic with her, Merric. Given his demise..."

"Understood, sire."

And the conversation ended... yet didn't. The prince sat with closed eyes for a few moments, clearly mulling something over, while Merric watched the flickering shadows of lamp-light on the canvas walls of the pavilion. Light magic. A genuine student of light magic. What a unique opportunity-

"Merric?" The prince's voice was oddly soft. "Do you believe she'd make a convincing boy? Linde, I mean."

"Not the way she came into camp, sire. Not a chance, with all that chestnut hair streaming down around her."

"Well, she did have it tied up before." Marth frowned, and the softness, the hesitancy, crept back into his voice as he continued. "I didn't notice, Merric. I didn't realize what she was until we were speaking face-to-face, and even then it took a moment. Don't you think I ought to have... realized?"

The prince was looking at Merric directly now with eyes that seemed very large, very bright. Merric felt a sudden tension in the air of the pavilion, not unlike the feeling of the winds as they changed.

"I can't say for certain, sire, not having seen her." It was a dodge, a diplomat's answer, unworthy of their friendship.

Marth reached out then and clasped Merric by the arm. Merric looked down at the fingers that stood out against the azure fabric of his robes, tapering fingers with almond-shaped nails.

"Look after her, Merric. For me."

"Yes, sire."

He seemed to feel the imprint of Marth's fingers long after the prince had let him go.

Author's Notes: This is the result of a "genderbent Marth" prompt over on the FE kink meme on Livejournal. Something like this is probably NOT what the prompter expected, but I can't do any sort of story without overthinking and overplotting it, so instead of a cute little story featuring girl!Marth and Merric kissing in the hallway, you all get this sprawling thing.

So, yes. War of Darkness + War of Heroes featuring genderbent!Marth. Will include Merric/Marth and Marth/Caeda, possibly with some involvement from Xane along the line. Just so everyone knows what they're getting into.

Inspiration from the title comes from a piece of artwork on Deviant Art entitled "Honesty" that was the first non-comic treatment of genderbent!Marth that I'd ever seen. And from the NGE reboots. I'm weird that way.