prissy in pink

1: Cheek cut

2: Face stab

3: Arm broken

4: Leg broken

5: Spine kick

6: Disemboweled

7: Cheek kiss

8: Scalped

9: Decapitation

10: Both legs broken.

11: Impalement

12: Eyes ripped out

13: Stomach Punch

14: Any of the above

15: Violent kiss

16: Paralyzed

17: Kicked off a cliff.

18: Tortured

19: Left for dead.

20: Ignored.

"Watch out!"

"You could have been killed!"

"Run! Hurry up, go!"

"Save yourself, I’ll hold them back."

"Leave me here! Go! Hurry! I can handle it."

"I promise I’ll make sure they don’t hurt you."

"They better not have laid a damn finger on you or I’ll [insert threat]."

"I swear, if they so much as breathe next to you, I’ll knock them out.”

"I’m not leaving you here!"

"And let you get yourself killed?"

"Are you crazy?"

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I don’t trust him/her. They seem off."

"I’m saying this for your own good!"

"Don’t worry. I’ll protect you."

Wouldn’t this be against her morals? 

As Gaius opened his mouth to say a sarcastic remark, he stopped as he saw Maribelle shed the cloak and wear nothing but that lacy nightgown.

Almost immediately, Gaius felt his face burn up.

"Uh… Twinkles?! You feeling okay?! You need a healer or something?! You bang your head on a rock?! Mind explaining why you’re here and wearing hardly anything?!"

Usually, Gaius would welcome this sort of thing, but considering it was Twinkles of all people, he felt morbidly embarrassed and… strangely turned on.

Wait, that was it, wasn’t it? She was doing this to get the truth out of him!

Damn her, he knew exactly what she wanted now. And she was good at playing dirty.

"Alright, Twinkles. You can put your cloak back on, I know why you’re here, and I ain’t spilling any secrets!"

… There went his nose again.

"Shit!" he said, trying to stop the flow of blood. "This is pretty rotten of you, Twinkles! I’d expect this low ball out of Aversa, but not you! Kick a man when he’s least expecting it! Nice, who knew the prissy noblewoman played unfair?"

He almost felt improper about this. Hell, if it was Tharja doing this, he’d welcome it, and maybe let one thing lead to another. 

But since this was Maribelle, Gaius was a little more apprehensive about her flouncing into his tent wearing nothing but her little nightgown.

He tried to gain his clear head again, keeping his eyes on hers as he kept his sleeve over his nose.

He then tried to go back to his nonchalant self.

She let him do his thing, accuse her and clean himself up. Of course he was back to himself in a second and he was sure of himself that he would scare her off with his attitude.

But if Maribelle was anything at all it was stubborn as a mule and she was going nowhere. She came here to accomplish something and she was not going to leave without doing so.

With a sigh and a slight shake of her head, Maribelle sat down on the bed. She leaned over Gaius's thigh and looked up at him as if pleading his forgiveness.

"Do you really think that lowly of me?" Maribelle spoke as if upset, blinking her eyes up at him with the tiniest of pouts on her face.

"Maybe I felt that after I apologized I would spend some more time with you?" Maribelle did not know if she was lying about spending time or not.

"Ya know, Twinkles. Demanding things isn’t gonna make me talk. And have you considered that maybe I don’t want to tell you because, oh, I dunno, it might affect you pretty badly if the truth came out?"

Fiddling with the stem of his lollipop, Gaius looked up at the noblewoman with almost a bored expression, the other arm behind his head as he leaned against the tree lazily.

"As for getting it off my chest? I’ve seen some pretty messed up crap in my life, Twinkles. Keeping this on my chest isn’t gonna poison me, I’m used to the bad and the ugly. That’s the life of a thief. Life for me isn’t sunshine and daisies."

He grinned rather obnoxiously at her before standing.

He duh into his sack of candy, extracted a lollipop and suddenly shoved it into her mouth, giving her a sarcastic salute.

"Nice speaking to you as always, Twinkles. I told you all that you needed to know, the main reason I named your old man, and that’s all I’m gonna say."

Why wouldn't he talk? Was it so hard? She paced around the tree for a few moments, angry at the whole situation before taking herself back to her tent.

She paced around her tent for a while, trying to figure out a way to make Gaius talk. Maribelle thought first to ask Tharja to hex him to only tell the truth or something of that sort but figured that would not work out how she would want to. 

Then she though, he had gotten a nosebleed from seeing her in her nightclothes, maybe she could use something like that to her advantage? Men were despicable creatures who were wooed and distracted easily so she thought maybe it would work to use her womanly charm on him. Though it was something she would normally disgrace doing, under these circumstances she felt it necessary,

After waiting a few hours to let him cool down, Maribelle changed into one of her nicer nightgowns and wrapped herself in a cloak. The sun was fully set and the sky cloudy so she was sure she could sneak into Gaius's tent without notice.

Maribelle walked silently to his tent before letting herself in. Gaius was on his bed eating candy, of course. Turning around, she tied the tent entrance shut before removing the cloak and walking up to Gaius in his bed. Her night gown was white and lacy, almost see through and stopped just above her knee.

He sighed loudly, knowing what she wanted before she even asked.

"Look, does it really matter? Let bygones be bygones." he said as Maribelle asked her question.

Crossing his arms, the thief closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the tree. “Talking about it opens a new can of worms for me. Believe it or not, Twinkles, I do have a conscience, even if you don’t believe it yourself.”

"Just know that your old man had to be named in order to save this girl’s life. She was too young to die, had her whole life ahead of her still."

So it was a girl based on what Gaius was saying.

Putting his hands behind his head, he kept his eyes closed as he sunbathed, expecting her to drop it, but he knew her too well to hope for that.

"… You still here? So what exactly do I have to do to make you leave? I already told you the incriminating details, they wanted to kill this girl, and they’d avoid doing it completely if I named your old man. End of story."

He had half a mind to get up and leave, himself.

Just being around Maribelle was hard enough for him, for she was a glaring reminder of what he did in his past.

He’d gladly accept the insults she threw at him on a daily basis if it just meant protecting her from the truth. He didn’t know how noble society worked, but if she knew the names of the schemers, then what would that mean for her if she sought out justice after learning the truth?

"My father almost died for someone else, I want to know who!" She put her hands on her hips and stared down at Gaius, trying not to get too stern with him as she did not want to annoy him to the point of leaving.

So it was a girl? A young girl at the time? Maribelle's eyebrows stitched together as she tried to figure out who this young girl could have been. It obviously was not anyone she knew, or maybe...?

Quickly, he nocked an arrow, and with fast reflexes, began to let loose the volley of arrows upon the Risen.

Some stopped, others continued, as if his arrows did little.

"Crap…!" he hissed, and he began to back up with Maribelle behind him.

He soon ran out of arrows, and seeing he had no choice in the matter now, Gaius charged headfirst into battle, brandishing his Steel Sword, cutting down as many Risen as he could.

"Maribelle! RUN!" he shouted at her as he tried to fend off the swarm of the undead. "RUN, DAMN IT! THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GO!!"

The Assassin tried as best as he could to ward off the advancing Risen, occasionally getting cut here and there until he felt fatigue begin to settle into his bones.

Panting and spitting out blood, the thief glanced behind him again, seeing Maribelle standing there, as if she was contemplating leaving him on his own or not.

"YOU WANT US BOTH TO DIE?! GET OUT OF HERE, DAMN IT!" 

As he had taken his eyes off the enemy, a hard blow to the side of his head knocked Gaius down.

A splitting headache followed, and he tried to focus his vision again, focusing it long enough to block an attack from an advancing Risen who tried to impale him with its axe.

She was barely aware of Gaius screaming at her to run, the only thing she knew was that Brady was clutched to her chest. Maribelle registered Gaius telling her to run and finally began to move but it was too late.

The Risen had cornered them into the cavern, the only choice she had was to cower back into the cave and put Brady behind her. She rested a shaking hand on her abdomen, wondering what would happen to the tiny life growing in her if she were to die.

Maribelle screamed for Gaius to move before a Risen hit him but it was too late, they smacked him on the head so hard he fell. Everything was happening in slow motion.

Before Maribelle could think to call for Gaius a Risen was before her. She yelped and pushed Brady further behind her to protect him. Maribelle knew these creatures were dead but did they have any humanity?

"Please Gods, I am pregnant! You cannot be this cruel!" She sobbed up to the approaching Risen, who did not seem to understand a word as it made its way closer to her.

Maribelle felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and a warm sensation on her hands, she looked up at the Risen that had closed in and down at the gash across her stomach. Falling to her knees she called out to Gaius.

"I'm so sorry! Save Brady!" Maribelle looked down at her hands, holding herself together she sobbed for the life that could have been, for the sibling Brady would have had, "I'm so sorry."

She looked to Gaius, hoping he would grab Brady and run as fast as he could. Her hands her weak and her skin felt cold as she dropped to the cold stone floor of the cavern.

He watched as Maribelle set him down, but then turned away when Brady inquired about where his father was heading off to. 

Absently, Gaius ruffled Brady’s hair again, unable to seem to bring himself to lie to his son outright. And lying usually came easy to the thief.

"Don’t worry about it, son. I’m not going anywhere. At least not for a while." was all he said. 

He then turned his attention to Maribelle, who had her face buried in his cloak as she sobbed. 

Wrapping his arms tightly around his wife, Gaius simply stood there, occasionally rubbing her back. When she said this, however, he sighed and tilted her chin up to meet her eyes with his.

"Hey, no use in thinking about the ugly stuff, alright, Maribelle? I gotta do something. The future I fight for, it’s for you and Brady, you understand that much, right?" he clenched his teeth at the grimness of the whole situation. 

Gaius placed his lips on her pale forehead, seeming to try and comfort her over his decision before he let her go, intending on this being their goodbye for the moment.

And just as he was about to say something else, he heard the slam come from below, his son scream in fright, and immediately, Gaius felt his blood turn ice-cold.

Cursing, he sped out of the room, down to where Brady was, and horrified, he watched as the Risen began to tear down the door.

Looking to Maribelle as she wrapped a cloak around them, Gaius equipped himself with his weapons before running to her and grabbing her arm.

"COME ON! MOVE! GET A MOVE ON!" he shouted, dragging Maribelle and Brady after him as the Risen finally broke down the door, racing after them.

This was their life. This was everyone’s life. Living in frightened huddles and fleeing from the undead.

"Where will we go?" Maribelle shouted as she ran. How far would the risen follow them? Sooner or later they would have to stop and cut them all down. Maribelle could heal Gaius as he fought but how long could that last?

She ran, gritting her teeth as the Risen approached her ever closer. Maribelle tried to keep up with Gaius but holding Brady was slowing her down. She feared the Risen would catch up with her and descend upon her and her son.

Maribelle found herself praying to Naga as she ran, though it did not seem Naga could save them from this. She could hear Brady whimpering under the cloak, the poor child only knew strife and death.

What would become of them? Maribelle's legs began to weaken as she ran, up ahead she could see something that looked like it could provide shelter, but they would have to kill the Risen that chased them.

She ran and ran until they stopped in the cavern, the Risen approaching quickly.

He couldn’t leave his son, he couldn’t leave Maribelle…

He watched as Maribelle scooped Brady up into her arms before he pulled her and his son into his grip.

"It’s gotta be done, Maribelle. If I don’t fight and protect you two, who’s gonna do it? We’re already splitting hairs with Chrom gone, the whole situation’s hell. Hell on earth."

The brigand wrapped his arms around his sobbing wife, giving a heavy sigh.

"Look, Twinkles," he said after a long moment of silence. There was his nickname for her. He seldom used it anymore unless he was trying to make light of a situation, "Things’ll look up. Don’t worry about it. You’ll see, we’ll drive these dastards back to hell and we’ll have control over our lives again, you’ll see."

He tilted his wife’s chin up, then gave her a cocky smirk… but the gesture felt hollow.

He was trying to be strong for her, for Brady.

"It’s not gonna be easy, but it’s gotta be done. Sitting here like ducks and waiting for the Risen to attack ain’t gonna help us any."

His expression then hardened as he locked eyes with Maribelle.

"In the meantime, I’m gonna do everything I can to keep you and Brady safe. I swear my life on it. In return, I just want you to be there for him if things get ugly, can I rely on you for that much, Twinkles?"

He hated seeing her cry, but these days, that’s all anyone ever did…

"You are protecting us here, you will be nothing to us dead," she choked on her tears, burying her face in his cloak. She remembered when she was happy but it was distant and fading fast.

Maribelle looked up at her husband, hurt that he would think that she needed to be told to be there for Brady. She understood his worry but at the same time she felt like it did not need to be said. Maribelle would do anything for her family.

"What do you plan on doing?" Maribelle asked, still holding Brady, "do you plan on storming the Risen? Do you really think you can take on an entire world of undead when all the armies of the world couldn't fight them off?"

She set Brady down before telling him to go back to bed, he hesitated but began walking down the stairs. Just as Maribelle was about to turn and talk to Gaius once again she heard a slam and her son scream.

"Brady?!" Maribelle shrieked, turning and flying down the stairs. She scooped Brady up in her arms before looking up at Gaius, fear in her eyes.

"They're here!" She shouted, Maribelle could not fight like the others could, she was a healer. She threw a cloak over herself and wrapped it around Brady, knowing that the only thing they could do at this point was run.

The sound of a large box being pushed around in the upper levels was heard in the house, despite how quiet Gaius tried to be.

He didn’t wish to alert his wife about his plans, how he intended to fight. 

Any chance to protect her and his son was one he would take… even if the odds were not in his favor.

Throwing open the chest, Gaius seemed to mull over the situation at hand as his eyes settled on his weapons and Assassin’s outfit.

The thief grit his teeth, clenching his fists.

Damn it all, they were supposed to stop this from ever happening…! How did the Shepherds end up in such a lousy situation?!

Pulling out the scarf first, Gaius set it aside, then the knives, daggers, arrows…

His mind found his child and wife.

Brady… Maribelle… 

He had to protect them. They were the only family he ever had.

He saved her once, he would do it again, even if it meant his own life was null. 

The thief heaved a sigh, thinking of this grim turn of events again.

He remembered his son’s first steps, he remembered when Brady had first called Gaius “pa”.

He remembered Maribelle in her wedding gown, how she had stolen his breath away on that day.

He remembered even before that, how nervous the two were to gaining her father’s approval, considering his past, considering what had nearly happened all because of him… even if the ugly situation was all cleared up.

Gaius pushed these thoughts out of his mind and began to undress, intending to put on the old threads once more. If he could forget the good memories, then it wouldn’t be so hard to go back onto the battlefield and join his comrades once more.

But again, his mind found unpleasant thoughts and his resolve wavered.

They had already lost Chrom… Among others like Miriel and Panne…

Just who else would they lose to those infernal Risen?!

He wouldn’t let it happen. He’d make sure his family at the very least survived this… the odds weren’t in their favor, but damn it, he had to at least try!

Pulling his thoughts back together, Gaius extracted the toothpick in his mouth and went back to equipping himself until he was fully dressed in his war uniform.

Candy didn’t exist in this time, not any more. Food itself was scarce, and Gaius had taken to thieving once more to make sure his family had at least a loaf of bread everyday.

Examining himself in the mirror, Gaius’ expression hardened with resolve.

The only thing that mattered to Maribelle now was Brady and Gaius. They were it. Chrom was gone, Panne...with the thought of all of their fallen comrades Maribelle felt tears sting at the corners of her eyes as she laid in bed.

Gaius was spending more and more time out of bed at night. Maribelle missed his warmth but she was also relieved because it gave her alone time to cry. That was all she did anymore. The once proud noblewoman was reduced to crying herself to sleep every night to the sound of the Risen skulking outside waiting to attack.

She did not understand how this could be happening, they were supposed to save the future not destroy it further. The memories of their happy past made their bleak present just that much more painful to endure.

Just as she was about to drift off to sleep she heard something rustling upstairs. Maribelle shot up out of her bed, she took Brady in her arms who woke when she did and walked up the stairs carefully.

Seeing Gaius in his old fighting clothes made her heart lodge into her throat painfully, she set Brady down who ran to his father calling 'pa!' the whole way. Brady loved Gaius, sometimes Maribelle felt that Brady liked the company of Gaius more but she knew that was false.

"Honey, please tell me you are not going out there!" Maribelle pleaded, watching Brady cling to his father like that was making her heart break. Gaius was her everything, he kept them fed and Maribelle found her only solace in Gaius when he would lay with her at night. He was the only thing, other than Brady, keeping her strong.

"… Look, Twinkles. I won’t tell all of it to you, I’d rather spare you the gory details but…" 

He grit his teeth, this was harder than expected.

"Look, they told me to name your father and I did it. End of story."

It was very obvious Gaius was hiding the most incriminating piece of information from Maribelle, and uncomfortable with the situation, Gaius grabbed his breakfast again and ate slowly this time, keeping his eyes trained off of her.

He indeed looked uncomfortable. 

But finally… even though he insisted that he wouldn’t list any more details, he found the words slowly pouring out of his mouth.

"There’s never a day I don’t regret what I did, Twinkles. But… In a way, I don’t regret it. Naming your father was… the best option at that time. If I didn’t those blackguard nobles would have… Look, they wouldn’t have killed me, they knew my life was worthless, but they did threaten someone else. Someone who was worth more than I was. Naming your father for my crime would have saved that person."

He sighed again loudly before he stood.

Looking down to her, he seemed to teeter on the edge of speech before turning on his heel and leaving his uneaten breakfast and her on her own.

His thoughts were a mess, he wasn’t sure if he could divulge the full truth. He still felt immense guilt over it.

But knowing her, she would give chase.

But he hoped she wouldn’t, he needed time to sort out his own thoughts. It has happened just a few years ago, and he didn’t expect Maribelle to drop it so easily.

She was going to speak again, and tell him to give her more details or else she would never believe him but he continued talking. Still he refused to tell her why he had named her father, especially if they did not threaten to kill him. Maribelle's eyebrows stitched together and she tried to think of what to say.

Before she knew it he was up and walking away, briskly. Maribelle thought to chase him but decided she should give him some time, just a little. She got herself a small breakfast of tea and biscuits.

After eating, Maribelle walked out of the mess hall to find Gaius. It took a minuted but she found him snoozing under a tree. She thought about poking him with her parasol but decided against it.

Maribelle leaned down and shook his shoulder gently, attempting to wake him.

"… Well hello to you, too. I dunno about you, Twinkles, but usually, most people say ‘hello’ before grabbing another’s face."

There was his sarcastic nature again.

Pushing her hands from his face, Gaius rubbed a finger under his nose.

"My nose? Yeah, what about it? It’s nothing big, I’m a little surprised you care at all, Twinkles. But no sweat, they happen often enough, I just learn to deal with them."

Half-mindedly picking up and dropping the bacon on his plate, Gaius finally lifted it, biting it before choking and coughing as she mentioned her father… she was right on the dot, someone had made him name her father.

"So uh… What makes you say that? About someone telling me to name your old man?" he said, not meeting her eye as he dislodged the food from his windpipe.

Carefully taking another bite, Gaius kept his eyes trained on the canvas of the tent in the far corner.

She was close. How did she know? Was she really that sharp?

Maybe he let on too much.

"…" he sighed dropping the bacon in his plate before scratching his nose.

"Alright, so what if someone did tell me to name your pop? What then? It was still a pretty cowardly thing I did, Twinkles."

He glanced at the noblewoman from the corner of his eye, wondering just what exactly was cooking in her mind. 

"Your breakfast can wait, I would like to speak without you coughing up your food, if you please," Maribelle's voice was irritated but she tried to tone it down a notch.

She thought carefully about what had made her say such a thing, and what she had realized was that Gaius was rarely caught doing anything even when he was not innocent. So for him to name her father because his hands were tied must have meant there was something more to it.

"Call it a hunch. But if someone did ask you to name my father, what did they threaten you with? Why would you agree to it?" Maribelle was half speaking to herself though she expected answers from him as well.