FicWad

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

Hope you enjoy the story so far!

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Chapter Three: Magic Seal

The army finally reached Nabata Desert. The sands were treacherous to anyone who travelled on horseback. The magic users, snipers and flyers had a difficuilt time in the heat, but they were generally better off than the mounted units.

Heath peacefully soared above sand dunes. He was on scouting duty, but his mind was on something else entirely. Rebecca.
He smiled as he thought of that day in the forest.

---FLASHBACK---

Hyperion dissapeared. Again! Heath was getting worried about his wyvern. One never could truly tame a wyvern and often they fell back on their wild instincts. Heath could only hope that Hyperion was not starting to become wild. He still needed his mount for the battles to come and for his safety.

He searched everywhere around the camp, including Merlinus's merchant wagon. Heath did not forget the time when his greedy wyvern gobbled down most of their supplies. Priscilla still kept his secret.
The corners of his mouth twitched upwards when he thought about her. Priscilla was a gentle soul, but not his type. The little Troubador would get flustered and blush when he talked to her. It was rather flattering and he enjoyed it, until he found out that she was nobility.
Heath drew the line right there. Deserters don't mix with nobles. Simple as that.
Oh, Pricsilla cried and tried to convince him that rank did not matter. However the simple truth was that he tought of her no more than their medic.

"Ah! Sir Heath, did you see lovely Rebecca?" Sain jerked the wyvern rider from his train of thought.

What would he want with Rebecca?

"No, did you see Hyperion?"

"Ah, alas! I did see your lumbering beast. He went into the forest. If you see Rebecca tell her I'm looking for her, won't you?"

"Of course," Heath replied ignoring the little green monster that suddenly reared his head.

Why on earth would I be jealous?, he scolded himself as he went into the forest to search for his troublesome wyvern.

After what seemed like hours of pointless searching Heath came to a small clearing in the forest. Cool grass gently swayed in the wind and the air felt considerably cooler here. He breathed the fresh air deeply, letting his muscles relax. The whole ordeal with Priscilla had left him tense. Shaking his head he quickly killed all thoughts of the Troubador.
He had to find Hyperion. He longed to be in the sky and feel the wind against his skin.

A random thought popped into his mind.

I wonder if Rebecca would like flying?

The thought made him smile. Funny, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately, especially when he thought of the green-haired sniper.

Don't fall for her. You are a hunted man, he warned himself. His mood instantly darkened at the thought. Bern's wyvern riders would kill him on sight. Thankfully he was far away from Bern. The King would not send his wyverns to look for him this far from Bern's borders.

He shook his head again and slowly walked across the clearing, not noticing anything and trapped deep within his troublesome thoughts.
A loud and familiar snoring caused Heath to stop in his tracks.
He knew THAT snore.
With a grin he turned to his left to see Hyperion fast asleep under a tree. His head rested on Rebecca's lap.

Wait...

Hyperion is sleeping on Rebecca?

Heath could not help but to smile gently at the sleeping duo. Hyperion's huge head rested on the sniper's lap, practically pinning her against the tree. Rebecca was slumped over the wyvern's head, her braided pigtails draped over the wyvern's muzzle. Close to them was Rebecca's backpack. From the looks of it Hyperion had torn it to get to whatever was inside.
Quietly he walked towards them and sat down close to Rebecca. He could not bring himself to rouse her from her sleep. She looked so peaceful, so vulnerable.
Heath had no idea how long he had been gazing at Rebecca's sleeping form. His grin grew wider when she strirred and groggily opened one eye.

"Sir Heath?" she asked sleepily as she straightened. The sniper winced slightly at the stiffness in her neck.

Heath only nodded. Not sure of what to say in these situations.

"What are you doing here?" she asked rubbing one eye. Her hair stood in all directions and her orange bandanna had slipped out of her hair. Heath thought the site incredibly cute.

"I was looking for Hyperion," he said with an amused grin.

Rebecca's palm connected with her forehead. "Of course! How silly of me!" Her wide smile quickly turned into a sheepish grin. "Can you get him off of me? My legs are numb."

Heath's grin never left his face as he bent over Rebecca. He reached out to lift his wyvern's head, noticing Rebecca blush as his fingertips accidentally brused against her leg. Heath easily lifted the slumbering beast's head while Rebecca dragged herself from underneath Hyperion.
The wyvern continued to snore peacefully after his master gently returned his head to the ground.

"Thanks," Rebecca said as she rubbed her legs to get the blood flowing in them again.

"No problem. How you end up like that anyway?"

"He snuck up on me, stole my bag, ate all the food and then used me as a pillow!" Rebecca pouted.
Heath laughed. Hard.

"Sounds just like him," he mused after his laughter died down. The grin on his face morphed into a gentle smile.

"I didn't mind...it's just he ate the fowl that I shot. I was going to roast it for you, like I said I would. Now I'm back to square one. It was bloody hard to get that fowl too!" Sudden realization clicked in her mind as she gasped in horror. "I sounded just like Serra!"

Heath swore he never laughed so much before.

"Oh, Sain is looking for you," Heath said dryly. Rebecca looked like she swallowed a bitter herb.

"Not again! How many times must I tall that oaf to leave me alone?" she hissed and glared at her boots.

Heath felt a small wave of victory wash over him.

"Is he pestering you?" he carefully asked.

"'Pestering' is not the word! He's a bloody meanice! Next time I see him I swear I'll shoot him."

"Huh, so it IS a habbit of yours to shoot allies!" Heath teased. Rebecca blushed.

"Not always! Will deserved to be shot in the butt! Marcus was a training accident and you're a case of mistaken identity!"

Heath arched a brow. "That's quite a shortlist you got there. No wonder the medics are so experienced in arrow wounds."

"Shut up!" Rebecca grinned and tossed a handfull of grass in his hair.

"You did not do that," he teased as a sly grin crept onto his face.

Rebecca tossed more grass into his hair. "Whatcha gonna do about it?" she challenged grinning the same sly grin as him.

A warning clanked in Heath's brain. His sly grin dissapeared.

"Heath, what's wrong?" Rebecca asked. Her smile was replaced with worry and guilt.

"It's nothing. Don't worry Rebecca. It's not something that you did," he said reading her expression gently.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Oh, okay. But if you feel like talking I'll be here for you," Rebecca offered with a gentle smile. Heath smiled back at her.

"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer."


---END OF FLASHBACK---


The sparkle in her emerald eyes sent a warm feeling coarsing through Heath's heart. They wyvern rider knew that he was falling for the cheery sniper. However he would never act on his feelings. Doing that would place her in too much danger.

Besides this is war. I don't have the time for love... Heath reasoned.

A loud thunderclap yanked Heath from his daydreams. Scanning the ground below him he saw a Sage with silver hair being attacked by two warriors.
The warriors dressed disturbingly alike.

"Look, Paul! This man is gonna give us his treasure!" one of the warriors said.

"I believe you are right, Jerome." the other replied.

"I have searched long and hard to find this. I will not surrender it to the likes of you," the silver haired Sage replied coolly.

Heath watched in amazement as the Sage felled one of the warriors with Thunder. Quickly regaining his common sense Heath swept down and seized the Sage before the remaining warrior could bring his axe crashing down in the sand.

Quickly he steered his wyvern back to main body of their army. "How many of them are there?" he quickly asked the slightly dazed Sage.

"About thirty more. Thank you for back there. I am Pent."

"The Count of Regalay?!" Heath gasped, forgetting his manners. Of all the people to rescue in the world he had never expected to be the one who rescued a Mage General.

Pent chuckled. "Yes, I am." his eyes narrowed on Heath. "What is a wyvern rider of Bern doing in Nabata?"

Heath remained silent.

"You're a deserter, aren't you? It's not that difficuilt to see," he explained upon seeing Heath's confused look. "Your eyes gives you away."

"Ah! Here we are," Heath said, ignoring the count and proceeding to land Hyperion close to Eliwood.

"Who's that, Heath?" Eliwood asked upon seeing the silver-haired mage.

"Lord Pent?" Erk gasped.

"It's good to see you too, Erk," Pent replied and turned his attention to Hector, Lyn and Eliwood. Serra and Fiora was standing close by.
"I am Pent, Count of Regalay. I assume that you are Lords Eliwood, Hector and Lady Lyndis?"

"We are." Eliwood replied.

"May I ask your business here?"

"We seek the 'Living Legend' Uther told us about." Eliwood replied honestly.

Pent smiled. "'Living Legend'...well that's one way to put it. I will take you to him, but first we have to deal with these desert scum." the Sage said motioning over his shoulder. Sure enough an enemy druid was seen. The air around the druid glowed darkly as he gathered magical energy. Erk acted quickly and released an Elfire spell. The druid dodged the attack and dissapeared behind the dunes.

Hector quickly barked out orders to every one. "Defeat the enemy! And protect Count Regalay!"

"Flyers, Snipers and Mages to the front lines! The rest of you are the vanguard. Now go!" Eliwood added. Heath always found it a little strange how the two lords supplemented each other's orders. A chill ran down his spine as the image of Paul and Jerome popped into his mind. Creepy.

Rebecca and Erk fought together as usual. Serra lingered not too far behind them, ready to heal. The enemy dropped dead before their combined attacks and Heath found himself admiring her ferocity on the battlefield.
The enemy was effortlessly routed.

As the army marched on the the desert, with Pent leading the way, Heath decided to walk with Rebecca. Landing a small distance behind her the wyvern rider let out a cry of surprize when the ground below him gave way.
"Heath!" Rebecca screamed and mindlessly rushed towards him. She too sank into the ground.

"OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! REBECCA AND HEATH IS BEING EATEN BY THE DESERT!" Serra yelled loud enough for the entire army to hear. Unfortunately the sheer voloume of Serra's voice caused the ground beneath all of them to give way and swallow them whole.


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Soft fingers caressed his face, wiping the hair out of his face.

"Heath."

Her voice was so soft. He wished for it to never stop.

"Hey, c'mon wake up." the voice was not accompanied with a gentle nudge to his ribs.

Slowly Heath opened his eyes to find Rebecca staring worriedly down at him. A small smile crept to his lips. I can wake up like this every day... he thought, but quickly reprimanded himself. Now was not the time to think such things!

"Are you okay?" her voice was laced with worry. Heath nodded as he sat up.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure...we're separated from the rest...and this place..." Rebecca swallowed hard. Heath noticed that her eyes were wide with fright. Impulsively he wrapped his arms round her. She stiffened at the sudden closeness but relaxed when he spoke to her.

"We'll be fine. The others can't be far away," he gently said as he released her.

Rebecca nodded. Instantly feeling better. "S-Sorry about that..." she mumbled and looked away in embarassment.

"It's only natural to get scared sometimes."

Rebecca was surprized. He did not judge her or belittle her. If it was Will or Raven or even Lowen with her right now she would have heard something along the lines of: "You're a mercenary. Mercenaries don't get paid to stand around and be afraid," was what Will would have said.
Raven already told her that she was still a child.
Lowen...well he's too wrapped up in duty to even care.
But Heath simply accepted her.
She smiled brightly at the wyvern rider. "Let's go find the others. I heard Serra screeching not too long ago."

They wandered in the underground building for a long time, breaking through brittle walls with Hyperion's help. The air inside was stuffy and made them irratable. Up ahead the sounds of battle could be heard.
"It's coming from behind this door," Rebecca announced, pressing her ear against the solid wood to listen to the sound of steel grinding against steel.
Heath nodded and proceeded to knock down the dooor as Rebecca readied her bow. Within moments they were through the door and fighting the enemy.
A Swordmaster, Hero and Sniper targeted Heath. He was an easy target since the ceiling of the building was too low to allow Hyperion to fly. That did not stop the wyvern from joining the fight, though.
The General targeted Rebecca with his javelen, but the young sniper's speed saved her life. Side-stepping the projectile Rebecca shot the enemy sniper, allowing Hyperion to finish him with a cruel bite to the head.
The General targeted Rebecca again, this time with a handaxe. Again Rebecca managed to dodge the weapon, but only barely. Fatigue was settling heavily on her. She knew she could not keep this up any longer. Reaching for her sliver-tipped arrow she twirled it dangerously before shooting the Swordmaster. The Swordmaster looked dumbstruck as he slumped to the ground with an arrow through his neck.
Heath quickly finished off the Hero, sidestepping the swordstroke and slashing his enemy's throat open with the sharp tip of his lance. That only left the General.
Rebecca was desparately dodging the handaxe, but Heath saw that she would not last long. He was afraid for her as he quickly jumped in and blocked a glancing blow. Heath's arms trembled as he tried to defend himself against the General. He was at a point beyond exhuastion. If breathing did not occur automatically Heath would have been too tired to do even that.
His movements became slower and slower by the second. The General saw his fatigue and planned to exploit it fully, but Hyperion would not allow his master to be harmed. The wyvern jumped on the General and bit furiously at the enemy. Somehow he managed to toss Hyperion aside, but not without having sustained heavy damage. With a final desparate flick of his wrist the General sent the handaxe hurtling towards Heath. The latter was too exhuasted to move.

"Heath!" Rebecca yelled and dove into the wyvern rider, knocking him off balance and causing the handaxe to miss its intended target. Rebecca watched in horror as the General suddenly exploded in flames. Then Erk came into view.

"Thanks to you two the Magic Seal has fled," he stated dryly. "I'll get Serra to heal your wounds." Erk turned on his heel and quickly left the room.

"You okay?" Rebecca asked shifting her emerald gaze to Heath. She was too worried to feel embarassed about their current position. She was laying flat on Heath, elbows resting on his chest.

"I'm fine," Heath replied. His hands slipped to her waist, Rebecca blushed a little at the guesture.
"Thanks for the save."

"No problem. I'd do anything to help a friend." Rebecca responded with a bright smile. "I should probably get off you before Serra sees us."

Heath laughed. It never failed to amaze him how easily he laughed and smiled around Rebecca.
She's something else... he thought as he helped her to her feet. Moments later Serra rushed in. After her babble of the desert swallowing them whole and the appearance of the Magic Seal, she finally remembered that she was supposed to heal their wounds.

"All fixed up! You should praise my unequalled skill with healing!" Serra anounced as she healed Heath's and Rebecca's cuts and bruises.
The pair glanced at each other and grinned.

"Come on you two! Lord Eliwood is this way," Erk announced dryly as he turned on his heel and led the way back to the army.

As they were walking back to the army Rebecca kept stealing peeps at Heath. She could not shake the giddy feeling when he helped her gently to her feet. She could not forget how good his hands felt on her waist or how safe she felt when he hugged her earlier that day.


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And that is the end of chapter 3.
It was a bit fluffy, but hopefully not tacky.
As always Read, Rate and Comment!
I'll update soon!
^_^;