Fire Emblem: Awakening - Call of The Wild

Chapter 3: What I'm Supposed To Be

"Good morning, Father," I yawned as I entered the kitchen.

"Anna." He nodded at me and focused back on his report. He's always reading those...

I glanced at a basket full of pastries on the table. "Did Miss Ella drop those off?" I asked.

Father nodded. "Yes, she made them as a 'thank you' for when you helped her fill some orders."

I sat down at the table and took a croissant. "Ah, yes. That." I took a bite of the flaky pastry. "That was nice of her."

Father's glare already burned with annoyance. "It is improper to talk with your mouth full."

It's not even eight in the morning, and he's already complaining. Great. "Who cares? It's not like anyone else can see."

"Anna, you are going to need to start acting like a proper lady, soon."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

He sighed. "I've been putting it off, but we need to talk about when you are getting married."

My heart stopped. "... We don't have to talk about it at all," I choked.

"We do." His tone was impatient. "You're nineteen. It is time for you to marry."

"No!"

"Would you keep your mouth shut for five minutes, girl?" His blood-red eyes bored into my soul, making me want to quiver up and hide. "I refuse to let you become one of those women who lives alone her whole life and does nothing but brood."

I clenched my fists tightly. "I do not brood! And what is so wrong with being independent?" I've never seen this side of him before. Sure, he likes to spit on my dreams, but it's usually not this bad!

"Really? So then what is it you want to do with your life?"

My gaze wandered from his. "... Hunt. Explore. Anything that doesn't involve being stuck in one place." I loosened a breath. "My whole life, I've been asking questions. I want to find the answers to all of those questions. I want to see the world."

That mad Father even angrier. "I see... You want to become one of those nomadic philosophers, don't you?"

"...Maybe I do..."

His eye twitched. "Absolutely not. No daughter of mine will ever associate with one of those blasphemous fools," he declared.

I snapped my head up to him. "What's so bad about exploring and seeing the world?! What?!" My blood was boiling, tears welling up in my eyes.

"You would never be happy with that life, daughter," he said flatly. "What will make you happy is a home and family of your own. The world has plenty of explorers. You will not be one of them."

My tears fell freely. "But...I don't want to stay... I want to see-"

"Enough." He glanced at his pocket watch. "I need to get to work. You stay here and think about a life that doesn't involve seeing new things." He walked over to me and kissed the top of my head. "Trust me. Becoming what you want will lead you to heartbreak. It could even kill you. I don't want to see my little girl hurt."

Tears fell onto the backs of my palms. "Yes, Father..."

"I will see you tonight."

When the door closed and he was gone, I collapsed on the table and let my emotions go.

...

I was still crying hours later, confined to my bed and blankets pulled over my head; I was hiding from the world.

If I can't see the world, then it doesn't deserve to see me...

I felt like a lion trapped in a cage. The entire world was right in front of me but I couldn't get to it. I was trapped. I was trapped and I couldn't get out. My town may be busy, but it does not offer me what I truly wanted.

My town was not the biggest, but it certainly was not the smallest. It sat at the edge of the Ylissean Forest: the largest forest in the whole continent. It made up about 1/3 of the continent but no one dared to explore it fully. Legends say that it is where the supernatural and magic lived. Once you entered, you could never get out.

The small portion that my town is allowed to explore is safe, but it is a whole new world beyond the 10-mile-marker, according to some.

Thinking about the forest only made me long for it more.

"Ugghh... I can't do this." I got up from my bed. "I need to go hunting."

As I was changing into my brown hunting tunic, The Tales of The Luna - which was deposited on the floor - caught my eye. Even though they're not real, I am jealous of them. I bet they are free to do as they please. Go anywhere they want. I pulled on my boots and equipped my bow and arrows.

I just need some air... I don't care if I catch anything.

Draping my green cloak over my shoulders, I hopped out of my window and headed into the great unknown.

...

The sun was beginning to set when I reached the 10-mile-line. A spiked, wooden fence marked the limit and encouraged people to turn back.

Gods, have I really been out here this long? It'll take hours for me to get back home! All I managed to catch was a fat rabbit, but I didn't have much luck with anything else.

My stomach growled loudly. Sighing, I sat down and began cutting off parts of the rabbit. "Guess I'll be eating dinner alone, tonight."

I started a small fire and put some meat over it, its delicious scent filling my nose. I wasn't the cleanest with my work, evident by the rabbit blood everywhere, but I didn't care. It even got on my cloak!

Once it was done cooking, I took it off the spit and sunk my teeth into the meat. It has been way too long since I had a campfire meal...

When I finished, I cleaned myself off and buried the bones and whatever scraps were left. I stood up and prepared myself for the long, long journey home.

...But something stopped me.

I turned back and looked into the Ylissean Forest. Why do people say it's a whole different world? I've been in it before and it's exactly the same! The strong desire to feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins when hopping the fence and entering the woods coursed through me. It will only be for a minute...

As I was hoping the fence, my cloak snagged on a spike and tore off. "Ah, dammit!" I cursed as I landed on the ground. It was stuck on the other side. "Well, I'll get it when I go back."

I let out a deep breath and turned to see the mighty Ylissean Forest staring back at me.

*****
So now we're getting somewhere. Sorry this was posted a bit late, I woke up late and had to drive myself to the chiropractor. Yeah. So apparently this week is Chrobin Week 2019? 😂 I literally didn't know that until yesterday. But, I still delivered. In My Random Thoughts, I have posted the first prompt "Battle and War" so go and check that out! At the time I'm posting this chapter, today's prompt, "Flowers" has not been written, yet, but I hope to post it later today, so look out for that. Thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!

Link: https://youtu.be/YheL8e63Erc