Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm not sure where else to put this, and I don't even know how many people look in this section, but that's part of why I'm asking.

I've been considering putting up one of my multi-chapter fanfics in this guild, and was wondering if anyone would even be interested in reading it. If no one would be, then I might as well not bother. Specifically, the one I'm thinking about is titled "Free to Sing", and I already have the entire thing posted on Fanfiction.net. All 24 chapters.

I would be posting at the most, one chapter every other day, and at least once a week unless I suddenly get kicked off the computer because of my parents. Oh, and here's the summary on FF.net:

A girl joins Ike's company after being freed from a prison. She acts happy enough on the outside, but is she really as content as she seems? There are many reasons why she hasn't sung in so long. multiple genres. romance in later chapters ReysonxOC

It's a humor story, but it has drama and romance and other genres mixed in. Oh, and just to forwarn you all, I write a lot of crack pairings. Particularly in this story.

I don't think it would be a problem if you started writing one.

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Disclaimer: I don't own fire emblem POR or any of it's characters, or its plotline. However, I do own Celeste, Ticara, Danny, Aiden, Rueben, and a few other OCs. I also own their pasts, and a few other story elements I added.

Author's note: The pairings for this story are Reyson x OC, Muarim x OC, Ilyana x Zihark, Tibarn x OC (sort of), and a surprise Mia pairing born of my own stupidity! There are a few other completely random pairings I have throughout as well. Oh, and I have a tendency to be kind of mean to the characters I don't like so much. But that's enough of that, and I'll let you read now.

The story starts in chapter ten of the game (Prisoner release).


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A young woman who was close to twenty years of age was sitting against a stone wall in a prison cell. She had long, forest green hair. Some of which was tied back in a small ponytail. She wore a grey leather skort (I think that's what it's called, you know, their shorts that look like skirts), and a loosely fitting off-white turtleneck blouse. She had a fairly large black belt around her waist, with an empty quiver hanging on her side. She also had brown boots that went to just below her knees. She was a mercenary hired by Crimea, but had been captured along with several other soldiers. They had been here for about a day or so, and she was already loosing her restlessness.

She glanced at her polite and surprisingly relaxed cellmate. She had no idea how old he was, but she figured he may be close to twice her age. He was standing stalk still in the middle of the cell with a calm expression plastered on his face. The girl's light green eyes glanced at the patrolling guard as he walked by, and then back at her companion.

"Not much of a talker, are you Sephiran," she muttered boredly. He turned his head and smiled at her.

"I already tried talking to you," he pointed out.

"Yeah but...that was all about religion...Not exactly my favorite subject..." she responded sheepishly. He chuckled warmly.

"I understand," he sighed, and returned to gazing out the prison door.

"How do you suppose the others are doing?" she asked after a long silence.

"I don't know. You've been around them longer than I," he sighed sadly at the thought of the Crimeans who were locked up elsewhere. Suddenly they heard one the guards shouting, followed closely by a sickening thud not too far away. The girl got up from her seated position to get a better look. They could both hear fighting coming from one of the entrances.

Then a small group of five came into view, and none of them were Daein. There was a blue-haired man holding a sword, next was a woman in white armor with red hair upon a white steed, next to her was a small girl in a yellow dress, and behind her was a boy who wasn't much taller with black hair and robes. The other man was some obviously shady character who was currently picking the lock.

Once he was finished, he spun on his heel and held out his hand, "Fifty gold" he demanded. The blue-haired man gave him a small bag, and entered the cell. Sephiran thoroughly thanked him, and then climbed on the paladin’s horse.

"Are you alright?" the stranger now turned to the girl in the corner.

"I've been better, but thanks anyways," she nodded, "Who are you again?"

"I'm Ike, commander of the Greil Mercenaries," he smiled.

"Huh. I'm Celeste, commander of nothing at all. Pleased to meet you. Can I leave now?" she wanted to get out of this cell as soon as possible.

"Of course..." Ike said, slightly surprised, "But I want you to stay back a ways. You're unarmed, and I wouldn't want you to get hurt right after being rescued."

"Actually," Celeste shrugged as she started to walk past him, "I'm not officially "rescued" until I get out of here, right?"

"I...uh," she left before he had a chance to continue. Not that she meant to be rude; he was just kind of dull to talk to.

Celeste strolled through the fort; the dead bodies of Daein's were all over the place. The feeling of battle around her was comforting...in a weird way. But that's because it was really the only place a mercenary could belong, in her opinion. So she was right at home.

She saw a knight slowly lumber toward a young boy who was trying to keep his aim steady as the monster approached. Some of her contentment faded as she realized he was too close to shoot his arrows, and began to look around frantically for someone to help him. Unfortunately the only person nearby was that lock picker, who was currently also picking the pockets of a dead Daein.

But he wasn't far away, so she quickly closed the distance between then, and coughed to get his attention. He glared at her, daggers ready. She nodded in the younger archer's direction, hoping the thief would do something. Instead, he just shrugged, and continued counting the coins in his hand. She glared, and slowly retrieved a dull knife from her boot. Before he realized that she was actually a threat, it was at his throat.

"Dull blades don't kill as fast, but hurt so much more when they cut you," she growled, "Now get over there, and help the poor boy!"

He glared up at her just as the kid screamed. The Daein knight readied his lance at the cornered boys heart. Suddenly, Celeste threw her hands in the air, as though releasing a caged animal. The thief quickly darted over, and stabbed the knight in the back of the neck. He backed away as the soldier fell dead, and turned to Celeste.

"Six-hundred gold," the thief muttered as he approached her. She was taken aback slightly, and glared at him.

"Sorry, but I was just in a prison cell. So I'm kinda broke," she snorted. He was now standing directly in front of her.

"Well that won't do..." he scratched his chin thoughtfully as a twisted smirk crossed his face, "But I do have another proposition..."

He then whispered something in her ear. She slapped him mid-sentence, and glared furiously. He just watched her in amusement.

"YOU are disgusting!!!" she shouted, "There is absolutely NO way I'm going to agree to that!"

"Well you have to pay me somehow," he shrugged, "So you really aren't in much of a position to refuse."

"Well I have a different idea," she sneered back haughtily, "Here, I'll overpay you. But you owe me now!"

She reached into a secret compartment in her quiver, and retrieved a ring with sapphire stones. Worth well over six hundred gold. He gave a surprisingly pleased grin, and stuck it in his pocket.

"Alright, deal," he sighed as he turned to leave, "But I do make a habit of knowing the names of my clients." He glanced over his shoulder.

"Celeste," she stated simply, "And you are?"

"Volke," he then left without another word. The green-haired girl shuttered at how creepy his tone was, before turning to the still shaken child.

"Are you going to be ok?" she asked sweetly, "My name is Celeste by the way."

"I-I'm Rolf," he stuttered, "And y-yes, I'm ok."

"That's good to hear," she smiled gently and extended her hand, "Let's go catch up with the others."

He nodded, and squeezed her hand tightly. Then they hurried to the exit as the boss was being finished in the next room. Soon they had escaped with everyone else.

"Yay!! We're free!" Celeste squealed as she skipped toward Brom and Nephenee.

"Celeste! You're alright!" the turquoise-haired girl smiled gratefully.

"Alright's a bit of an understatement..." the other girl sighed happily, "I'm EXTATIC!!!! I will never take sunshine for granted again! In fact, I feel so good right now...I'm going to join this mercenary company!!!"

"Really?" Brom beamed, "Ya' know. That's what we were plannin' on doin'. Did you know that girl in the orange dress is the Princess of Crimea?"

"Crimea's got a princess? Huh...Guess you learn something new everyday," she shrugged, but her face was glowing.

"We're gonna go see how Sephiran's doin'. See ya later," Nephenee waved at her growing-more-hyper-by-the-minute friend, who waved wildly back.

"Did being in prison do something to your head?" came a dull voice from behind her. Her huge grin rapidly transformed into a scowl, and she spun around. In front of her was that almost goth looking mage-boy.

"No!" she huffed, arms crossed, "Is there something wrong with my happiness?"

"I have nothing against happiness, you just go far beyond that," he sighed.

"Oh, is that it?" Celeste muttered, "Well my apologies if you somehow found me disturbing, weird, and/or frightening."

"Celeste, Brom just told me you were planning on joining our company," Ike approached cautiously, seeing the look on her face.

"If it's not too much trouble. I've nowhere else to go now that Crimea is under Daein's control," she spoke in a dejected tone.

"Don't worry. It's no trouble at all. We need all the help we can get," Ike reassured. Celeste's face immediately lit up with excitement.

"Thanks Commander," she saluted, "And now that I have plenty of new allies, I need to go and properly introduce myself...and go through my ritual for whenever I'm in a new group."

"What's your rit..." Ike stopped abruptly when Celeste gave him a peck on the cheek. Then she turned to the mage.

"I'm Celeste. Your name is?'

He eyed her suspiciously for a moment before replying, "Soren," and he, too, got a little kiss, before she went off looking for the rest of the group. Soren glared at her as she ran off.

"Well..." Ike finally managed to speak, but in a sheepish voice, "At least she's trying to be friendly."

Celeste next came to a small group that had Rolf, the paladin lady, and the little girl. Rolf waved at her as she approached.

"Hello again Rolf," she said sweetly before turning to the girls, "My name's Celeste. I'm new to your group."

"My name's Titania," the woman with thick red hair smiled warmly, "Pleased to meet you."

"And I'm Mist, Ike's little sister," the younger girl grinned happily as well.

"It's nice to meet you two," Celeste then gave Mist and Titania each a friendly squeeze, and Rolf a little kiss. The three of them looked at each other in confusion as he skipped away.

"She seems like a friendly person..." Mist broke the silence. The other two nodded slowly.

This is a summary of how her other greetings were received because I'm too lazy to type them out:

Rhys--blushed such a bright shade of red, he looked like he had been holding is breath for several minutes.

Elincia--was quite surprised, but took it well

Kieran, Nephenee, and Brom--she had already greeted them, she had been with their group when they were captured after all.

Boyd--blushed, but was a little jealous that his brother got a kiss too.

Oscar--blushed.

Mia--hugged her back.

Ilyana--smiled kindly, but was a little startled.

Mordicai--thought is was nice of her.

Lethe--growled and threatened her.

Marcia--called her weird.

Volke--hasn't found him yet.

"Oh...where is he?" Celeste growled bitterly as she looked for the elusive thief. She didn't really want to kiss him, but she wouldn't feel that she was really a part of the group if she didn't

"You know I'm not going to let you kiss me," someone grumbled from above. Celeste looked up to see Volke sitting in a tree, fingering the ring she had given him as payment.

"To late!" she smirked triumphantly. He gave her a strange look, "I blew you a kiss. It counts," she finished. He rolled his eyes, and went back to the jewelry.

"How'd you get this anyways?" Volke began, just as Celeste was walking away, "By the looks of you, I doubt you could have bought it yourself."

"I'm not a thief, so I didn't steal it!" the girl snapped defensively.

"Alright. All right. Let's not jump to conclusions..."

"You're the one jumping to conclusions!!" she cut him off and turned away, "Besides. How I got it is none of your business."

And with that, she left to join the rest of the company as they packed up camp. They were headed to a port town to catch a ship that would take them to Begneon. Celeste didn't really want to go there. That was where she was born and raised. Very few of her memories there were good ones. However, she wouldn't let anyone know. No one was worth telling at the moment. Maybe later, but not now. So instead, she pressed her discomfort to the back of her mind. After all, she was just a mercenary. She wasn't paid to worry about herself.


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Let me know what you think. My humor can be kind of quirky sometimes, so forgive me of that if you don't like it. And if you have any questions, just ask.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Fire Emblem POR.

A/N: Back again. I think the story starts to get better from here on. As far as originality and humor goes. I don't remember the exact script of the game, so if someone says something wrong, I'm sorry. That goes for all chapters. I hope you like this chapter.
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Celeste was sitting in her cabin, brushing her hair. They had been at sea for quite awhile now, but she hadn't really paid attention to how many days. Soon they would be turning East toward Begnion.

She looked quietly at herself in the aged mirror. She absentmindedly pulled the turtle-neck collar of her blouse, and looked at the blue-colored mark in the center of her neck. A sad sigh escaped her lips as she let go of the fabric.

"Celeste! What are you doing?!" Mia knocked on her door impatiently, "It's time for breakfast!"

"Hold on!" the green-haired girl called back. She emerged from the door a moment later just in time to see the myrmidon disappearing up the stairs to the dining room. She was just about to follow when she heard voices near one of the storage areas. Curiosity getting the better of her, she peaked around the corner. She saw Ike asking Volke to come and eat for Mist's sake.

"I guess I'll just have to tell Mist you're dead," Ike sighed as he turned to leave. He nodded to her as he walked by.

"If only it were true," she shook her head with a smirk. Volke gave her a deadly look, but she just shrugged and headed to the dining room.

A little later that day, she was in her cabin again when she heard a scuffle on deck. When she arrived, she saw Ike talking to a young boy she had never seen before.

"Who's that?" she asked Nasir, who was standing not far away.
"A stow-away," he muttered with a hint of bitterness, "I think he's going to join your company."

"Really?" Celeste smirked as she walked toward them, "Hello there, commander. Who's this kid?"

"I'm not a kid!" the boy snapped.

"Of course your not," Celeste cooed as she ruffled his hair. He growled as she did so, and crossed his arms.

"This is Sothe. He's joining our..." Ike abruptly stopped when he remembered her "ritual", but it was too late. She gave the boy a delicate little kiss, causing him to blush slightly.

"What was that for?!" he shouted after a moments hesitation.

"It's just a friendly gesture. You don't have to be so angry about it," the girl snorted, and left. It was nap time for her now.

However, she was rudely awakened when she was suddenly jolted out of her cot when the ship abruptly stopped. She sat up a little dazed, and then ran upstairs to complain to Nasir about his bad driving. But when she got there, she saw everyone preparing for battle. So much can happen if you choose to hide away in your room all day, and you don't even know it.

"Mia! What's happening!?!" Celeste stopped her friend as she was headed downstairs.

"Some crow laguz are attacking, and the boat's stuck in a reef! I'm going downstairs to protect the princess. I think you're going to stay up here," the myrmidon finished quickly and was on her way.

"Celeste!" Rolf called as he ran up to her, "We need to get into formation!"
She stood next to him in the middle of the group, and readied her ever-present bow. All around the ship, crows waited to attack. Celeste smirked pleasurably, and glanced at Rolf.

"Ready to shoot some birdies?" she snickered. Now, Celeste didn't actually have anything against raven laguz, but that's unimportant right now. The boy gulped.

"I-I'm not so sure. This is the first time I've shot aerial targets..." he answered sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it too much," the older archer reassured, "We're safe back here. And your brothers aren't half bad, so they aren't going to die if you miss your mark a time or too. And it isn't as hard as you think."

Rolf nodded nervously as the birds made their way toward the ship. The boy was actually quite surprised at how easy it was. The birds were weakened (and killed) by Lethe, Boyd, Ike, Oscer, Nephenee, and Zihark. Then, if they didn't die, Celeste, Rolf, or Soren would finished them off. Mist always had her heal and mend staves ready.

Partway through the battle, a wyvern knight flew over to Ike. Celeste could tell she was from Daein, despite the lack of black armor, and would have shot her down in an instant if the girl didn't start to attack their enemies. Much to the archer's disappointment.

The commander of the ravens approached when he seemed to be getting frustrated. More crows also appeared from the mountains and farther out at sea. Celeste looked down at her steal bow. It was on the verge of shattering, but she could tell there was at least one more good shot left in it.

She released her arrow in Seeker's direction. It badly wounded his wing, but didn't kill him. With the rest of his group laying in bloody piles on the ship's deck and floating motionlessly in the water, it obviously would have been wiser to retreat. However, as we all know, enemy generals rarely do that. Not to mention, he wouldn't be very welcome in Goldoa, and it was probably too far to fly back to Kilvas with and arrow in his wing. So he dove at Nephenee who almost fell off the boat, but managed to stab the bird with her iron lance, killing him.

"I'm glad that's over with," Boyd sighed and gave his little brother a slap on the back, "Good shooting."

"Thanks..." Rolf winced as he rubbed his now even soarer shoulder. Celeste walked passed them to the wyvern rider, who was currently talking to Ike. The brothers looked at each other and sighed.

"Excuse me but...aren't you a Daein soldier?" Celeste asked skeptically. The other girl glared at her.

"You two have fun. I'm going to shore," Ike sighed. Some people who heard him began to argue, but he was determined.

"So...how long are you staying?" Celeste asked the Daein after he left.

"I'm going to stay until my wyvern rests up, and to make sure you guys don't have any more trouble with sub-humans," the girl spoke in a way that suggested they should be thankful to her.

"They're called laguz. Not sub-humans," Celeste growled, but tried to keep her temper in check. She hated it when one race disrespected the other. The girl looked absolutely shocked to hear her say that. She was about to change the subject when a group of dragon laguz yelling at Ike caught their attention. After a little while, a child and a big guy came and greeted him.

"Aw. He's so cute," Celeste crooned when she saw the dragon boy. The wyvern knight just looked at her like she was from some other world. Soon afterwards, the boat was unstuck, and they were once again headed to Begnion.

"Hey. Sorry if we got off on the wrong start," Celeste apologized to the Daein girl, "My name is Celeste.”

"I'm Jill," she said in a mildly arrogant tone. Despite this, the green-haired archer hugged her anyways. Jill blinked several times as Celeste waved and left.

"Nice meeting you," she called as before returning to her cabin.
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A/N: That's that. I think Kurthnaga looks so adorable. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them. Bye!

Yeah, I know. It just didn't really seem like anyone was reading. But I'm glad that at least one person seems to have done so.

Chapter 4:

Disclaimer: I own my OCs, a few plot points, and nothing else.

A/N: I hope people like this so far. This chapter is longer than the last one. And I made some stuff up about the Branded in this chapter. And I have my reasons for it. First of all, I heard somewhere that Perine is supposedly a Branded, but she doesn't have a mark on her forhead. It appears to be...somewhere else. And you can't see Stefan's forhead or neck, so it could be in either place. This was written before I even knew about FE10. Enough of my rambling explanations though. Oh, and just so you know, Ilyana is going to act a bit OOC in this chapter. My mind gets a little strange sometimes. I couldn't help myself. Sorry. On with the story now.


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Celeste was zoning out as she sat on her cot. She wasn't thinking about anything in particular, and was mostly waiting for someone to knock on her door. Soon she was greeted by the desired noise.
"Who is it?" she called childishly from where she sat. The door opened, revealing a disgruntled looking mage-boy.

"Soren," her visitor hissed, "Now where's my cape! I know you stole it!"

"How do you knowit was me?" she asked innocently, "There's more than one thief aboard after all."

"For one thing, it's under your hand," the mage was clearly not amused.

"Oh! Well so it is," Celeste acted surprised, but put it behind her back when Soren reached for it. He rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"Alright Celeste. What do you want?" he grumbled, just wanting to get whatever this was over with. She motioned for the teen to sit on the bench across from her. Then she regarded him quietly for a minute.

"Why do you hate me so much?" she finally asked. Genuine sadness present in her voice. Soren seemed taken aback by the statment.

"Because you are loud and annoying," the boy stated bluntly, "Why do you care what I think about you? You don't care how anyone else sees you."

A soft chuckle was his only answer at first. But it wasn't how she normally laughed. This was gentle and solumn. It almost sounded pained.

"I don't care what you think of me, truethfully. I suppose we Branded aren't normally even accepted by our own kind either though," Celeste murmered more to herself than to her guest. He gave her a confused look.

"But you aren't a Branded," he pointed out, "You have no mark."

"Not all branded have marks on thier forheads. Only ones who are half dragon do. Branded who are half beast laguz have marks around their collar bone, or on their shoulder. Branded of the bird tribes," she pulled down her collar, showing the blue marking, "have them on their neck."

They sat there in silence after that. Soren was looking at the floor, a bit ashamed. He wasn't sure if he felt bad, or just embarassed that he hadn't known that. After awhile, Celeste handed him his cape, and left with a final word.

"Just thought you should know. So you know that someone understands."

She went on deck to get some fresh air. It was so peaceful out here in the middle of the ocean. However, it was also incredibly boring. Ike was asking Jill why she was still here, and Boyd, Rolf, and Oscer were plotting something near the ship's bow. Celeste was about to go see exactly what that was, when her best friend, Mia, stopped her.

"Celeste! You've got to help me! Ilyana's found where they store the food, and even three members of Nasir's crew are having trouble getting her out!"

They were below deck in an instant. Sure enough, the lilac-haired mage was hungily devouring everything in reach. The three crew members Mia mentioned were having trouble mostly because they were all big men, and didn't want to hurt her. One of them was cradling his bleeding thumb, that Celeste could only guess had been bitten by mistake.

Celeste stood there for a moment, scratching her head. This wasn't going to be easy. Mia looked more than a little disgusted by the sight. Then the lamps went on over both of their heads. They turned and grinned at each other.

"Ilyana hurry!!" Mia shouted.

"There's a cheesecake upstairs!!" Celeste continued.

"If you don't go now; Boyd, Oscer, and Rolf will eat it all!!"

They had her at cheesecake. By the time Mia had finished her second line, the mage was already gone. The group let out a collective sigh of relief, and locked the doors tightly. Then Mia and Celeste headed to the deck to see the final result of their brilliance.

Upon arriving, they saw a very angry Ilyana chasing the three green-haired brothers around, yelling things like "Why did you eat all the cheesecake!?!". And them trying to explain thatn they didn't know what she was talking about, while avoiding bolts of lightning.

"What's going on here?" Zihark asked in curiously, randomly appearing next to the two ladies (if they can even be called that). Just then, the group ran past. Ilyana stopped midstride, and smiled brightly at the myrmidon.

"Hi, Zihark. How are you?" the cheesecake completely forgotten.

Mia and Celeste shared a glance as the other two conversed. There was something Ilyana liked more than food? Possibly? They made a mental note of this.

Suddenly Ike appeared, and ordered everyone to prepare for battle. Celeste wasn't entirely sure why they had to protect the Apostle, but didn't care to ask. All she knew was that she would far rather be on land. Partially now because they had to walk across planks with no railings. And she was deathly afraid of hights. Even with bird laguz blood in her veins.

For this battle, there would be Ike, Mist, Celeste, Mia, Boyd, Oscer, Rolf, Lethe, Mordicai, Soren, Sothe, and Nephenee. They got into what Ike called a formation. Then the battle began, and the group ran aboard the Apostle's ship.

Out of the corner of her eye, Celeste say more ravens, and couldn't help but smirk. She liked to shoot birdies. She had no idea why.

During the course of the battle, they recruited a cute little bow knight, and a big fat regular knight. There were also several treasure chests, but they didn't have enough keys. That was where Sothe came in (who just so happened to do everything for free. How nice of him). Celeste killed off another of the unmarked enemy soldiers, and Mia spun around to give her a high-five.

"We make the best team ever!!!" she squealed. Lethe ( who was in her regular form at the time) rolled her eyes. How did she get stuck with these two. Celeste turned to the side, and got a wild look in her eyes.

"I see more birdies," she spoke creepily. The cat laguz was sure the girl was foaming at the mouth.

"I'd be careful if I were you, though," she warned, "I wouldn't want to give them extremely violent deaths in front of their king."

"The King of Kilvas is here too!! Where, where?!" Celeste was jumping up and down. She actually did seem to have a whole cheesecake earlier today. Lethe was tempted to push her just a little closer to the edge, so she would jump off. However, her lust for battle at the moment did add more energy to the area, and she may actually get to transform sooner.

"Over there," she pointed lamely. Celeste immedietly spun around and shaded her eyes as Lethe continued, "But I wouldn't try to attack him. First of all, he's strong enough to kill everyone on these ships from what I've heard. Second reason is that he's beyond the reach of even a long bow."

Celeste seemed, for the most part, to be ignoring her, "He's HOT!!!"

"Really?!" Mia copied her friends position.

"Oh brother..." Lethe muttered. Suddenly Mia took off across the ramp, and passed the boss with something in her hand. Then she wound up, and threw a rock at the King of Kilvas. It just barely missed his ear. He turned and looked at her startled.

"Ha! Ha!" she yelled, pointing at him mockingly before spinning around, just barely missing one of the bosses arrows, and back across the plank to her two companions. They both blinked uncertainly at the beaming girl.


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meanwhile:
Someone seriously just called Naesala HOT!!!" a young blonde hawk shouted with disgust.

His companion with brown hair and an even more disgusted expression nodded. The young hawk and another, much bigger hawk with near black hair both shuddered.

"May we leave now? I'd rather not risk hearing anything else," the brown-haired hawk spoke again. The other two quickly agreed and they flew away as fast as they could.


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back on the ship
"What was that all about?!" Celeste's mouth was having trouble closing.

"Oh. I always do that to boys I like. Throwing rocks is a great way to get their attention!" Mia grinned stupidly. Lethe just shook her head, and her best friend glared at her a little.

"Yeah. Get their attention alright, but that's not the right way to tell a guy you like him. Honestly, he's going to think you're a psycho or something," the archer scolded.

"She is a psycho," Lethe muttered.

"What was that!?!" the myrmidon growled. But just as she did so, the laguz transformed, and took off toward the boss, Norris.

"Should we let her get all the glory?" Celeste asked boredly.

"Are you kidding!?!" Mia shouted, "She's already stronger than both of us put together!! She doesn't need anymore experience!"

And with that, the myrmidon took off toward the enemy ship once again with sword in hand. Zihark's killing edge to be exact. Celeste didn't know why he had been stupid enough to actually let her hold the thing, let alone borrow it. And somehow she managed to get two critical hits in a row, and Norris was dead.

When the mystery oponents had lost, King Kilvas took his people out of there. Mia watched them go sadly, so Celeste decided that her friend was more important than finding the missing Apostle. She didn't really want to look for the Empress anyways.

"Something wrong?" the green-haired girl asked as she approached Mia slowly.

"Celeste, is throwing rocks really a bad way to tell a guy you like him?" she asked worriedly.

"Girl, you need a new way of expressing your emmotions," the archer sighed, "Wait...You don't actually have a crush on him do you?"

Mia didn't seem to hear the question, however. Instead, she rested her elbows on the ship's railing, and let out a dreamy sigh. Thus, basically answering Celeste's question. Said archer slapped her forehead.

"Mia!" she yelled to get the girl's attention, "Why on Tellius do you have a crush on the King of Kilvas?!"

The myrmidon sighed even more dreamily than before, "He's sooo handsom, and has such a wonderful voice." Meanwhile, Celeste was wondering which spirit or god controlled love at first sight, so she could curse them.

"Seriously, Mia. Do you really think you stand a chance? He is a king, and from what I've heard, a vain one at that. Not to mention, he's also a laguz."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Mia murmered dejectedly, "Doesn't hurt to dream though."

"I suppose that's true," Celeste smiled to herself. The two girl's stood there for a few more minutes, deep in thought. Then the archer left to go find their two newest members. By now, the Apostle had been found (joy), but Celeste still didn't care. She went below deck in search of the big guy and little girl. She found them in the dining hall.

"Uh-oh. Here she comes," Boyd muttered with a chuckle. The archer strutted into the room beaming, and stood before the new people.

"Hi! I'm Celeste! Welcome to our group!" she stated proudly.

"Actually, Celeste, Gatrie here used to be a part of our company, but left before you came along," Oscer explained kindly.

"Oh. Ok then, welcome back," she gave him a small peck on the cheek as she always did.

"Hee hee. It's nice to meet you too," he grinned warmly. Celeste did a good job of hiding the creeped out feeling she got from his laugh.

"I am Astrid, of House..." the ebony-haired girl began, but was cut off with surprise when she was given a friendly hug from her fellow archer.

"It's nice to meet you guys!" she grinned as she backed away, "See you 'round!"

Then she ran off to go gossip with her friends since there was really nothing else to do. Soon they would be arriving in Begnion. And Celeste would be haunted by her past.


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A/N: I hope the characters weren't too OOC for you. And yes, that is going to be Mia's pairing. Don't ask me why, it just sort of turned out that way when I was writing this. Please review. Bye!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem stuff.

A/N: Here I am again. This chapter is longer than I thought it was going to be, but it's interesting I hope. More OCs will be brought up in this chapter.

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Celeste awoke the next morning to the sounds of birds outside the window. Her face and pillow were wet from tears. She stared thoughtfully at the sunlight streaming through the open window. It had been so many years since that day.

A light knock was heard at the door. Actually it was more of a tap, so she guessed it was one of the servants. She tiredly rose, and opened the door.

"Your group has another job, miss," the maid bowed. The girl's eyes shifted curiously to the blue spot on Celeste's neck, which she promptly covered with her collar. Then she headed out the doorway without a word.

"What's going on?" she asked Mia casually. Ike was talking with Soren and Titania at the moment.

"We have to go to a desert, and take care of some thieves by the sounds of things," the myrmidon sighed, "Problem is, horses and the heavily armored are going to have trouble traveling the unsteady desert sands. Are you ok?"

"Huh?"

"You look like you've been crying," Mia cocked her head in concern for her friend.

"It's nothing," Celeste murmered, rubbing one of her eyes.

"Celeste? Are you alright?" this time it was Ike who was asking.

"I'm fine," the archer replied, getting a little irritated now.

"Would you like to sit this next battle out?"

She paused, "Will I be needed?"

"We can make due," Ike assured, "You stay here, and rest this time."

"Thank you," Celeste smiled sincerely, and took a step back from the group.

"Ok. The participants for the next battle are as follows: Soren, Ilyana, Lethe, Mordicai, Rolf, Mist, Marcia, Jill, Nephenee, Mia, Sothe, Boyd, and Volke," Ike stated. The said soldiers then started to get ready.

"Good luck," Celeste smiled, and waved goodbye to Mia, Rolf, and Ilyana, before heading back to the room she was staying in. There was really nothing else to do but sleep, so that's what she did. But little did she know, her memories weren't done haunting her just yet.

She found herself in the little cottage she visited the night before. The heron woman was reading her daughter a story. It was getting late and her husbend and son were yet to return. The three of them (the mother, daughter, and their "guest") looked up when they heard someone knock loudly at the door.

Her mother debated on whether or not she should answer. It was a bit eery. How much Celeste looked like her, with the exception of their hair. It was almost like looking in a mirror other than that.

Finally the laguz woman rose to her feet, telling her daughter to stay put. She opened the door a crack, and both Celestes poked their heads around the corner. Niether of them could catch the words being exchanged. But suddenly the heron shrieked, and tried to close the door. The intruders pushed their way in anyways, and grabbed her. Young Celeste screamed as one to the men snatched her up roughly. The two were hastily taken outside and shoved inside a crate. Celeste could hear her younger self crying, or so she thought, until she looked down and saw that the tears were hers.

The scene then shifted to a dark room, with a single, tiny window and about ten beds. Celeste was three or four years older now. She was sewing a torn hem on an extravagent dress. A beorc guard stood waiting for her to finish. Once she had, she handed it to him, never making eye contact, and he left.

A few minutes later, the door opened again. Another guard knelt, and removed the shackle's from her mother's bruised ankles. Celeste hurried to her side, and helped her mother to a chair in the last rays of the setting sun. The door locked behind them. Celeste was wearing a worn out tunic, apron, and pants that went just below her knees. Her mother was wearing a royal blue dress with white trim. They didn't speak at first.

"How are you feeling?" her mother asked weakly. Celeste shrugged, but gave her a smile of reassurance. The door opened again, this time revealing two guards restraining a cat laguz and a crow. The cat was the normal pale brown color, and looked old and worn. The crow was also fairly normal looking, though a little small, and its beak and talons looked dark metalic red when the light hit them just right. The guards shoved the two laguz inside, after removing their Demi bands.

"Are you ok, Bran?" Celeste asked worriedly as she helped the old cat laguz to his feet.

"I'm fine, child," but he started coughing violently, suggesting otherwise.

"What did they have you two do today?" Celeste's mother, Ivel, asked softly, still seated.

The crow with the appearence of a fifteen-year-old beorc answered, "We had to plow the vegetable garden. Maria, Danny, and Kylie are doing the planting right now. They probably won't be back until late tonight. Tanner and Muarim have been in the workshop since this afternoon, and I don't know when we'll see them next. And Ticara...no one's seen her since they took her away to get whipped..."

"Oh dear..." Ivel sighed sadly.

"Do you think she's..." Celeste couldn't bring herself to say "dead". It was too heavy a word, and few slaves ever uttered it. One may think that it was taboo.

"We don't know that," Bran murmered reasuringly. He coughed again, and the crow, Rueben, got him a glass of water from the vat in the corner. No one knew how long it had been since the cup was last washed. Every bedroom contained only one for all of its occupants to share. And the water in the vats was never very clear. Celeste had seen guards go out of their way to dump a handful of dirt in them sometimes.

Bran drank the water anyways, and sighed tiredly, "You know...sometimes I wish that I would be taken away to recieve the final punishment."

"Don't say that!" Celeste whimpered, "There's still hope that we'll be set free...somehow...please don't give up yet..."

Bran chuckled softly, "Alright," he whispered gently as he laid down. Rueben pulled the blanked up over him.

"Come on Celeste, let's let him sleep," he smiled, and sat down on a bed near Ivel. Celeste sat next to her best friend as he slid a pad of paper and some charcoal out from under his pillow. She watched silently as he continued on a scene he had been working on for a few days. It was simply a picture of the clouds floating lazily through the sky. To most, this would seem like a dull thing to sketch, but to a bird laguz trapped in slavery, there was nothing more beautiful.

"Do you truly believe we'll get out of here someday?" he asked suddenly, and in a voice so soft she barely heard him. She looked at his face. He looked so much older and more mature than someone his age should be. His eyes were almost empty as he stared at his artwork.

"I do," she murmered in a gental whisper, "I can tell."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked, now facing her. She was silent for a moment.

"I'm not...but I won't loose hope just yet..."

He smiled softly, and let out a small chuckle, "I wish I was still that innocent..." he said, shaking his head of messy black hair.

"Actually," Ivel murmered as she sat down next to them, "I think we all are...We just need to remember how," the children both nodded in agreement, "And Celeste, I believe it's time for you to be getting to bed."

"Yes mother," Celeste obediently got into her bed on the other side of the room. Her mother tucked her in, and tenderly kissed her cheek. The older version of the girl stared at her innocent sleeping self. She smiled sadly as the scene faded into black.

She woke up again, feeling more refreshed. It was getting close to noon now, so she decided to go see if there was anything to eat. After brushing her matted hair, and washing her face, she headed to the room that the mercenaries were eating in. Everyone else that wasn't in the desert appeared to be there already.

"Hello Celeste," Oscar greeted with a smile, "Haven't seen much of you this morning."

"Yeah," she yawned, "I was a little tired is all. What's for lunch?"

"Goddess knows," Kieran muttered with distaste. Celeste giggled softly, and took a seat between Oscar and Brom. She listened quietly to the conversations going about the table. This was the first time she had stayed behind for a major battle, and it was actually quite peaceful. Lunch was served no more than twenty minutes later. It wasn't too bad.

"Excuse me," she stood from the table when she was finished, "Hey, miss Tanith?"

"Yes?" the pegasus knight captain in charge of "babysitting" them looked at her boredly.

"Is there a nobleman by the name of Tarence?"

"Yes, actually...he was arrested a few months ago for laguz enslavement. He had been on the run for maybe a year before that. Why?"

Celeste sighed, wondering if she should tell someone from Begnion about her past, "Let's just say I know someone who used to be one of his slaves. They aren't here right now, but when I see them again, I'd like to be able to tell them if I know what's become of their companions."

"I wish I could help you," Tanith sighed, "But he said he sold most of them when a warrant went out for his arrest, and he even turned some loose in the countryside. None of his servants know who they were sold to, though we do have some ideas."

"Alright," Celeste sighed heavily, "Thanks anyways..."

"I'll let you know if something else comes up," the woman offered.

She nodded, and returned to where everyone else was still feasting. There she continued to listen to the stories, jokes, and arguments."

"Well would you look who's back," Gatrie beamed as Boyd entered the room. He was dripping wet, and the room started to smell of sweat the moment he came in. The archer wrinkled her nose.

"Where's Ike?" Titania asked worriedly, as he was normally the first to get back.

"He had a bone to pick with the Apostle," Boyd sighed, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm about ready to take a bath in that fountain."

"Great. You go do that," Celeste grimaced. Other people began to file into the room. Most of them said a quick "hello" before running off to take a bath. Soren was the only one who stopped, to give them the details on the battle. Then he left too. A man with green hair, and something akin to a bathrobe entered the room. How he managed to wear long sleeves and a turtle-neck in the desert was beyond everyone. Celeste rose to her feet. Various forms of the phrase "Oh no" were heard throughout the room.

"Hey there," she greeted warmly, "My name is Celeste. I take it you're new to our company?"

"Yes I am. My name is Stefan. It's and honor to meet you," he bowed. She smiled and lightly kissed his cheek. He just smiled back.

"What was that all about?" Makalov blurted.

"She does that to everyone when they first join our company," Brom explained, not really paying attention to who he was talking to.

"I never got a kiss," the ugly pink-headed guy complained.

"That's because your sister wouldn't let me. She said that she'd hurt me if I did. And I bruise easily, "Celeste lied, but knew that if Marcia were here, she would back her up on this.

"But she's not here right now."

"Makalov..." she sighed deeply, "Just look at the people around you. Do you really think that this group would refrain from telling her? Trust me, we will both be better off if I don't."

"You're probably right," the sword knight muttered bitterly, turning back toward the table.

"Celeste? Is-is that you?" came an oddly familiar voice. She turned her head to see a tall, well built tiger laguz with bushy green hair tied back in a pony tail and bandana.

"Muarim!!" she squealed, jumping up onto him, "I can't believe it's you!!!"

He chuckled, and set her down, "You certainly have grown these past few years."

"You two...know each other?" Astrid asked kindly. Celeste glanced nervously at Tanith. She could tell by the look of the falcoknight's face that she must have known she was lieing about that "friend" of hers. The branded girl couldn't help but wonder if her mark had been showing.

"It's a long story," she sighed, "So...have you seen any of the others?"

He shook his head sadly, "But I know who most of them were sold to," he spoke quietly, glancing at the crowd at the table, "May we...step outside to talk about this?"

Celeste nodded, "Tanith, would you come too?" the knight followed them out.

Muarim sighed heavily when they got outside, "I don't know the name, but most everyone was sold to a man from Daein," Celeste's expression turned pained, and she tried not to imagine what they must be going through, "And Danny was sold to a man named Tanas or something of the sort...he thought she was half heron."

Celeste remebered Danny vividly. She was probably the most beautiful woman she had ever met other than her mother, and had a very nurturing/motherly personality. She had been a member of the raven laguz tribe with glossy, jet black hair and deep violet eyes. However, she had unusual markings on her wings. In the middle of each was a solid white patch. Like a magpie, which was what she looked like in her second form, complete with a white vest. Celeste wasn't surprised that someone who knew little about laguz would think her to be half heron.

"Excuse me, but...did you say Tanas?" Tanith (they have eerily similar names) asked skeptically. Muarim nodded, and the falcoknight left without another word.

"Was mother...sent to Daein?" the branded girl could barely bring herself to ask the question. He looked at her sadly.

"She...died a few months after you left..." he told her softly, "You had been all she was holding onto..."

Celeste fought back her tears, and nodded solumnly. Muarim patted her shoulder compassionatly before heading back inside. She needed time to herself. Not that Volke cared.

"So you were a slave once, were you?" he asked casually from a nearby tree. She glared up at him.

"Perhaps. Why?"

"How did you manage to leave?" Celeste wasn't in the mood to argue with him, and she had a feeling that this would only come up later anyways, so she answered his question.

"I was forced to leave," she spat, "As far as most of the other servants were concerned, I was just another beorc, but was treated like a laguz. And rumors were starting to circulate. So Tarence made me go, and paid me to keep quiet."

"Is that how you got that ring?" Volke cocked an eyebrow. She nodded slowly.

"Not that it did any good," she snorted, "I still made a habit of dropping his name when it was convenient before I left Begnion...Happy now?"

He just shrugged, so she left. Once in her room, she fell on her bed and began to cry freely. Eventually, she exausted herself, and fell asleep. That night was not but a void, however, and she was still tired come morning.


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A/N:: All done. I know it wasn't as funny as some, but it had some important information on her past. Reyson comes in next chapter, although there's no interaction between him and Celeste yet. And as always, please comment if you have anything to say. Bye!