Fire Emblem fanfic: "Honour Among Thieves" by Avi "What's this all about?" grumbled Lord Uther to Oswin, as the two heavily armoured men walked out of Castle Ostia, and into the courtyard. "As much as I appreciate the distraction, I do have some paperwork I need to be doing." "Well, I thought you might want to be present for this, sir," replied Oswin diffidently. "It seems that your younger brother, ah... 'requested' a duel between two of your spies." "He *what*?" exclaimed the lord, stopping in his tracks. "Why on earth would he do that?" "He said he wanted to deduce their tactics by watching them in combat," answered Oswin, shrugging helplessly. "Normally, I would encourage such creative thought, but..." "They're spies," replied Uther bluntly. "*And* thieves. And although I know for a fact that all my vassals serve Ostia faithfully, such folk have a strange sense of humour." The lord shook his head. "So, who agreed to this little farce?" "Matthew and Leila." Uther put a hand to his head. "Well, that's just perfect. I have no idea *what* my little brother was thinking..." "That's why I asked for your presence, milord. I thought your being there might curb any... Untoward actions directed at your lord brother." "In other words, they won't try anything on Hector while I'm there." Lord Uther grinned, and resumed walking. Oswin cast the lord a sidelong glance. "You shouldn't be so hard on Hector, sir. I recall you yourself being rather impulsive in your youth..." "Yeah, but never stupid," retorted Uther. "Not that my brother is, mind you, but..." "Yes, I know what you mean, milord. He could used better judgment on this matter." Uther sighed. "Well, it should be entertaining nonetheless." The two then met each other's gaze, and chuckled, as they walked out of the courtyard and into the palace gardens. *** Word of the duel must've spread, because there was quite a crowd gathered in the palace gardens when Lord Uther and Oswin arrived. Then again, it was not every day one got to see two thieves in combat, and within the castle, no less. Still, the crowd respectfully parted as Lord Uther walked past, revealing his younger brother, Lord Hector, leaning against a tree. However, the young lord straightened as he noticed his older sibling approaching. "Lord Brother, I wasn't expecting to see you here," said Hector, looking surprised, as he shook Uther's hand. "What brings you down here today?" "This duel apparently," replied the other lord, in amusement. "I needed a break from my paperwork, anyways." "And I believe we're just in time," commented Oswin. The two lords looked up at this, to see both thieves arrive. They then took positions on either side of a cleared area of the palace grounds. "Well, you called us out here to duel at sunset," Matthew called out to Hector, with a mocking bow. "What exactly would you like to see?" "Oh, I'll let you two sort it out amongst yourselves," replied the young lord, waving a dismissive hand; yet there was a smile on his face as he did so. "He's enjoying this," observed Oswin. "Oh, I'm sure he thinks he's taking Matthew down a peg," said Uther with a low chuckle, so Hector wouldn't overhear. "Goodness knows that thief has done his share of tormenting my little brother... But I suspect the poor boy is about to get his head handed over on a platter, yet again." The two then turned their attention back to the thieves, who were still discussing on how to resolve the duel. "So, how do you propose to settle this challenge, Matthew?" asked Leila, cocking her head to one side. "You know I don't really care for bloodshed." "Simple, really. We are thieves..." As she raised an eyebrow at him, he continued smoothly, "Pardon me... Spies, that is, so we will settle this as our profession dictates." Matthew held up a small leather pouch. "I hold here in my hand, a pouch containing fifty gold pieces." The crowd stirred for a moment, as a voice rang out. "Hey!" snapped Hector, in annoyance. "That's my purse!" The thief continued to speak, oblivious to his employer's complaint. "I will put half of its contents into another pouch, which I will then give to you." He did so, then tossed the other pouch to Leila, who caught it deftly. "We will then tie each pouch to our belts... Whoever retrieves the other person's purse first, wins." The girl nodded. "Sounds straightforward enough..." She tied the pouch to her belt, while across the field, Matthew did the same. "It is almost sunset, now... We will begin as soon as the sun touches the horizon." "Very well," she replied. Leila then flicked a pair of daggers out of her sheaths. To the untrained eye, it must've appeared as if she drew them out of midair. She then assumed a fighting stance, with both blades held out. Matthew on the other hand, stood facing her with his arms crossed, with the faint grin on his face that he knew others found infuriating. They both stood there patiently, waiting for the moment when the fight would begin. The sun sank lower and lower in the sky, drawing out the tension across the field... But finally, the edge of the setting sun met the horizon. At that moment, both thieves stepped back... And disappeared. Hector blinked. It took him a moment to figure out their position... He had always known thieves were fast, but both duellists were constantly moving... It was difficult to keep track of either of them, let alone tell what was going on. However, it did seem that Leila had taken the offensive... As her daggers continuously slashed at Matthew, trying to find an opening, the dying light flickered off the metallic blades. The transformation was quite startling, actually... It was like watching a usually laid-back housecat suddenly hiss and show its claws. "Doesn't care for bloodshed, my eye," the young lord found himself muttering. Meanwhile, Matthew easily dodged every one of her attacks, still appearing to be completely relaxed... In fact, the other thief hadn't even bother to draw his own weapons, as far as Hector could see. "Leila seems to be expending way too much energy," he observed critically, to Lord Uther. "Matthew's going to tire her out, if she's not careful." "You may be mistaken there, sir." Hector turned to look at the speaker. "What do you mean, Oswin?" asked the young lord, his brow furrowing. "Leila isn't just stabbing at him randomly, you know," began the knight, without taking his eyes of the fight. "The daggers themselves are merely a distraction... Every slash she makes, is actually a snatch made at his pouch; Matthew's doing everything he can to avoid both attacks on himself." Hector stared at the older knight for a moment, then looked back to watch the duel more closely... Now that he was looking for it, Leila did seem to be targeting a lot of her attacks at her opponent's purse. "Still, both of them can't keep this up forever," insisted the young lord. "One of them is going to tire, or let their guard down, eventually." As soon as he said this, Leila seemed to pause for breath; it was a brief moment, almost unnoticable... But that was when Matthew finally made his move. Drawing a dagger from behind his back, he swiftly thrusted it at the other thief's pouch. But it seemed that Leila had been expecting this, after all... Using his momentum, she quickly flipped over Matthew's head, in an impressive feat. Now standing behind the other thief, she was able to make a snatch at his pouch, as well. However, her opponent was not so easily caught... Whirling around, Matthew leapt back, just avoiding Leila's outstretched fingers. She snapped her fingers in annoyance, as the other thief wagged his finger at her, like a mother to a naughty child. "Nice try, miss..." teased Matthew. "You aren't so bad yourself, boy," Leila shot back, with a grin. Matthew returned her grin with one of his own... Then, he turned tail and ran. Caught off guard, Leila blinked. But it was a only a momentary lapse; almost immediately, she continued in hot pursuit of the other thief. Suddenly the ground exploded beneath her, causing her to gasp... As Leila was flung into the air by the blast, the crowd watching reacted with shock. "What in the world was that?" exclaimed Hector. "A mine, I believe," replied Oswin, with raised eyebrows. "Matthew must've planted it earlier..." Hector turned to the older knight, with a frown. "That's a dirty trick, isn't it?" he asked. Matthew must've heard this, because the thief looked away from the battle for a moment, to glance at the young lord. "I'm afraid that there's no honour among thieves, young master," he replied cheerfully. "Leila knows that." He then turned his attention back to his opponent, as did everybody else. Fortunately, the girl appeared to have somersaulted away from the explosion... Landing neatly in the grass, she rolled into a defensive crouch. However, she did looked somewhat disoriented from the blast... Her cloak had also fallen open, revealing the pouch wide open at her side. Matthew had been waiting for this opportunity, and did not waste it. Pulling out his own throwing knives, he flung them at the dazed young woman, and towards her exposed purse. It didn't look as if Leila would be able to move away in time... She looked like a easy mark, sitting disoriented upon the grass. So everyone was shocked as the knives reached their target... And bounced off an invisible wall. Even Matthew was caught off guard. "What th...?" Leila looked up from her supposedly dazed state, and grinned at him. "You're not the only one with other tricks up their sleeve." She held up her hand, revealing a glowing, circular object in it. Hector recognized it immediately. "A light rune!" he exclaimed. The audience looked impressed... Even Matthew seemed somewhat surprised by his opponent's ingenuity. "Pretty sneaky, miss..." "Isn't it, though?" she replied, looking smug. Leila discarded the used light rune over her shoulder... She then suddenly ran out from behind the protection of the force field. Lifting an eyebrow at this, Matthew quickly followed her lead... They now ran side-by-side, occassionally thrusting a dagger at each other, hoping to get through one another's defenses. Just then, Matthew stopped in his tracks, causing Leila to run past him. As she turned around to look back at him in surprise, he stood stock still, with his daggers held at his sides... When he was certain he had the full attention of everyone watching, he casually tossed away his weapons. As his opponent raised an eyebrow at this, he swiftly drew his short sword from its scabbard, and began running towards her. Realizing this, the young woman narrowed her eyes... Drawing out her own steel sword, she quickly advanced upon the thief, as well. As their weapons clashed, the last of the light gleamed off their blades... By the time the flash of light had faded, both thieves had already sped past each other, and stopped in their tracks. A hush fell over the field, as a passing breeze ruffled their cloaks. Still caught in their attack positions, Matthew and Leila stood stock-still, with their swords held out before them; the only movement was the rise and fall of their chests, as they breathed heavily. Then, suddenly... Leila sank to one knee. Matthew straightened up then, holding up cut purse in triumph. A collective sigh echoed across the field. He then turned to face Leila. "No hard feelings, miss?" grinned Matthew, as he jingled the stolen pouch at her. Leila slowly stood up, and turned to face him. "None taken," she replied, in a calm voice. Then a slow smile spread across her face, as she pulled out a cut purse, as well. There were a couple of gasps. Matthew immediately reached for his belt, for a pouch that was no longer there... He then shook his head, in amazement. "I should've known better," he commented, but with a smile. Leila merely grinned back at him. Those watching began to applaud, as both thieves approached each other to shake hands, in a good-natured manner. It was then that Hector finally stepped forward. "All right, all right. Now that all that's been resolved... Can I please have my purse back, now?" asked the young lord, irritably. "What purse?" enquired Matthew innocently. As he held up his hands, he turned around, revealing that the pouch was nowhere on his person. Hector growled to himself... He then sighed, and turned to the other thief. "I assume that at least you have the decency to return my money to me, Leila..." "Certainly, Lord Hector," she replied. Tugging at her collar slightly, she pulled the pouch out of her tunic, just enough to hold the drawstring between her fingers. "Take it, if you wish," she continued, in a casual tone. Hector made a move to take it from her... But it seemed that taking an item out from a woman's cleavage was something that he wasn't willing to do... The young lord's hand dropped to his side. "Ah... On second thought, you can keep it," he muttered, under his breath. "As you wish." Leila's eyes sparkled with mirth. Hector turned stiffly around, trying to avoid the amused looks of the audience, and headed back towards his elder brother and his vassal. "They're laughing at me!" Hector growled. Oswin patted the young lord on the shoulder reassuringly, although he was trying to conceal a smile. "Don't worry about it, Lord Hector," he told him. "They were just teasing you, that's all." "Besides, it serves you right for forcing them to fight each other," added Lord Uther, with a grin. "Why is this all my fault?" complained Hector. "They agreed to it, after all..." "Well, you did say you wanted to learn something about the nature of thieves," pointed out Oswin. "I'm certain he's learned at least one thing..." The young lord turned to look at his brother. "And that would be..?" asked Hector grumpily. "Not to trifle with thieves... Especially with more than one," said Lord Uther, sagely. The young lord groaned aloud as the two older men chuckled at him. *** As the lords headed back into the castle, and the rest of the crowd dispersed, Matthew strolled up to his fellow thief. "Nice duel," he commented to Leila, in a casual tone. "Thanks, you weren't so bad yourself," she said, smiling. Then she held out a hand, halting him in his tracks. "By the way, don't even think about it," said Leila, with a raised eyebrow. "Of what?" asked Matthew innocently. Leila pointed at her bodice, where the pouch was still safely tucked away. "Taking back the gold." "Wouldn't dream of it, miss," replied Matthew airly. Leila met his gaze. "Liar," she said, in an amused tone. Matthew grinned. "Heh, you know me too well." Walking together in the darkening twillight for a moment, he then leaned over to whisper in her ear. "You know... It wouldn't be the gold I was after..." said the thief, in a low, seductive voice. Leila shook her head. "You're incorrigable, you know that?" she commented, but with a smile. Matthew straightened up, back to his usual impish self. "And you love me for it," he replied, grinning. With a flick of her index finger, Leila tugged the pouch out of her tunic by the drawstring, and twirled it around. "C'mon, boy. Drinks are on me." She looked smug. "Or rather, on Lord Hector..." "I'll drink to that!" And with that, Matthew placed a companionable arm around her shoulders, as the two thieves walked into the night. END ***** I hope I got everything right in the story... (I'm also worried about the plausibility of the whole scenario, but this story has been nearly completed for months now, and I just wanted to finish it. -_-;) Oh, and I know daggers and knives aren't weapons used in the game, but I thought it would make for a more interesting duel (although the Assassin sprite carries twin daggers, which seems odd, since thieves can only equip swords in the game). I'm also not sure I used the Mine and the Light Rune correctly in this story, since I never actually use them, myself... *** Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2007. Fire Emblem and all related characters are property of Nintendo et al., and are used without permission.