The Second Princess [indefinite hiatus.]

Dark Heart | 9

I don't own Fire Emblem.

Heads up to everyone that this entire chapter is set shortly in the past. Just to clear up confusion! And it's also very lengthy this time (16K) so remember to sit down when you have time to read.

(Oh, and minor language warning. Only once or twice this time, I swear!)

...

"Acadia, the passageways are much more longer than you think," Diana smirked, stepping through the debris from the explosion. "But I'm here now."

She tossed Diana the Kyuseishu, who caught it gracefully. "This belongs to you. Please never let me wield it again, that thing is terrible."

"Thank you very much," Diana grinned, brandishing the sword with her hand. Her eyes flitted to the Exalt and the Queen for a moment, then they went over to the king, who looked like his entire blood had gone cold. "And now, why don't we turn out attention to the man who had the audacity to make my family suffer?"

...

30 hours before the Battle of Mirrored Kingdoms

Diana trudged to her bedroom, desperate to get a quick wash and go straight to bed. Stopping the assault on Frederick had made her exhausted, and all she wanted to do was rest in the meantime. Especially after that info dump that she had just figured out with the rest a few minutes ago.

She rubbed her eyes, feeling waves of exhaustion roll over her. Lissa's healing staff had patched her bruises and exhaustion all up, but she still felt like death, if she was being honest.

And...Diana had died once already.

She was thinking about a good night's sleep, finally settling with the idea that she might be able to sleep peacefully that night. She turned a corner to finally find her bedroom, and gradually breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, sweet rest.

Diana ran a hand through her messy head of hair as she opened the door, slipped in quietly, and shut it. The room was utterly quiet and dark, which was a contrast to the situation earlier.

Her only thoughts at the moment were to fall straight into bed. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to change into her nightgown.

And then multiple candles in her room burst to life.

The sudden shift of light blinded Diana's eyes for a moment, and she would have fallen had she had grabbed onto her nightstand. She shielded her eyes for a moment with her hand, trying to recover her sight.

Before she could get a complete grasp on what was happening, something stopped her.

"Welcome back," a voice said, soft and welcoming yet firm and cold at the same time. "You certainly took your sweet time coming back."

It was as if everything had suddenly lit up in her too. All of a sudden her vision cleared, her body was alert, and all the thoughts of getting a good sleep had ultimately been thrown out of the window.

Diana whipped around to find Acadia Dolus standing in front of her, a hand on her hip, and a demure yet somehow intelligent smile on her face. The woman carried no weapons, but Diana knew better - she was a sorceress, the same one in liege with the man who was trying to kill and take over her family, the same one who had interrupted her confrontation between her attempted murderer, the same one who was a threat.

"You." Diana hissed, and almost immediately did a light burst from her hand. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Man, she was pissed. All the anger that had been pent up in her ever since discovering the other Chrom's plot was coming all out in the form of her magic. This woman was a threat to her and the ones she loved, and had caused Raven great pain.