Chapter 1: A Fresh Start

"Pfft" I started spitting out dust. I don't remember how I got to be outside. I was playing a basketball game and went up for a lay-up. After that I landed on my stomach here. '…where is here?'

"Shink" something impaled itself right next to my head. I immediately jump up and back. The man who had stabbed his lance into the ground… wait lance. I look at the lance which had a metallic looking hilt, with a painted black shaft and two hand placement thingies. I look back at the man and my eyes popped out of there head.

It was Fredrick from Fire Emblem: Awakening standing in front of me with a mean scowl on his face. He was very physically intimidating in person. He stood at 6'5" and he held himself with a scary amount of poise. I guess being the trusted retainer of the Prince and Princess of Ylisse can do that. He glared at me with his dark eyes. I looked away because, jesus that's unnerving.

"Why were you just in a tree while milord and milady are walking down the very same path?" he asked very demandingly.

I looked up. "Huh… I guess I was in a tree." I quietly mumble to myself. I looked passed him. Neither Chrom nor Lissa were near him. They weren't down either side of the road either. "Where would they be exactly. I don't see them anywhere near here?" I ask.

"I am just scouting up ahead to check for any more Pleagian assassins. Which gives me my next question." He said as he pulls out his lance and points it directly in my face. I jump back right into the tree I apparently fell out of. He followed me until his lance was practically touching my nose. "Were you in this tree to ambush and kill Milord or Milady?"

I gulped nervously. "No no no. I wouldn't want to kill them at all. I don't even think I have any weapons on me." I had to open my goddamn mouth because a bow and a quiver of arrows fell from the tree and landed to the right of where I was standing. A belt with some knives, I think, fell to my left. We both watched them fall to the ground. 'that was too convenient for him to still suspect me but I highly doubt it.' I thought to myself as I look back at him. He looked back at me with an even more unnerving stare. "Well… apparently I do have weapons." I dead-panned

"Those are the most common weapons to be used by an assassin." He said. "I will not believe that those just happened to be in the same tree you had just fallen out of." Still giving me a stare down. I just sighed. This is going to be one tough son of a bitch to get out of.

"This looks really bad, I know, but you have to believe me I wouldn't do anything to hurt Chrom and Lissa. I…"

"I never said who milord and milady were." He interrupted. 'Shit' I thought. 'I am going to die today, and it's going to be by big bad Fredrick the weary.'

"Whelp… is there really no way I can convince you that I'm not an assassin?" I ask hopefully pleading. He glared even harder, which I wonder who that is possible, and shook his head. "That's what I thought. I am telling you the truth! I'm not an assassin, I was taking a nap in that tree because I haven't had much rest travelling around the continent." I spew out, hoping that any of that got through his head. I think back on what I said. 'Where did all of that come from? I know that wasn't the truth for me but that felt so natural coming out of my mouth.'

He stared at me but his expression changed from scolding mother to a contemplative one. "That is a very believable lie, but I am not an idiot who believes these lies so easily." He said. He shifted back to scolding mother. 'Whelp.' I thought. 'Was worth a shot.'

I eyeballed my weapons. Nothing big on my belt only knives and two front pouches that looked like some cards could be placed in there or something. If I have to I'll dive for my knives and make a sprint for it.

"Taking your eyes off the enemy in front of you speaks of your inexperience." Fredrick said sharply, bringing my attention back to him.

"Sorry." I say out of habit. 'Why the hell did I say that.' I berate myself. He seems surprised by this as well. He raised an eyebrow. His face softened as well. 'Please be thinking about that, no normal assassin would say that. Right.' He obviously was not thinking that as he pulled back his lance. My mind went blank besides the words 'dive to the left'. I got low and he seemed to notice that. He started to go for the kill.

"Fredrick! What is going on here?!" a masculine but young voice calls out. I heard I after I had dived towards my knives, and ate some more dust. I pulled one out and shifted around to see Chrom running towards us and Lissa was following him. There was a third person following behind but besides the purple coat I couldn't tell the gender. Chrom stopped in front of Fredrick and looked up at him. Fredrick immediately pulled his lance and arms behind his back and stood a little straighter.

Chrom was around 6'1" and was more defined than muscular but he still looked strong. His brand shown proudly on his shoulder and his chin length blue hair flowed a little with the small breeze that had just whipped up. Probably for dramatic effect, Lissa on the other had was around 5'3" and was pretty cute. She reminded me of my little sister just more mature. Her hair was like mine, a darker blonde. She looked around 16 while Chrom was around 20, I think, I'll ask later.

"Milord, this boy fell out of a tree while I was inspecting the road ahead for Pleagiens, or ruffians. He claims to not be affiliated with either and that he was simply sleeping up in that tree and fell. He has a bow with quiver and a belt of knives which he is holding in his hands as we speak." Fredrick said. Chrom looked over at me not in a accusing way but in a curious way.

"Be at peace." He said calmly. "It is Fredrick's job to be suspicious of others. And your story doesn't help your case according to him." As he talked I felt my tension leave my body. 'No wonder he leads a country. He is more of a peacemaker than he thinks.' I gave a small chuckle.

"And I completely understand that. I wouldn't believe myself either, but I am telling the truth. I traveled from a small town named Meridian. I have been walking for a couple days now and decided to take a little break. Sometime while I was resting I must have fell asleep and with me being a deep sleeper I don't wake up very easily. I guess falling out of a tree and landing on my face isn't the best wake up call." That last comment got a little chuckle from Chrom and Lissa. A little humor never hurt anyone.

"I guess it isn't." Chrom said. "Robin what do you think?" He asked over his shoulder. Robin looked different than what the normal girl Robin's normally do. She had blonde hair and it was back in a ponytail with a braid roping into it. She was around 5'7"-5'8" with dark eyes, a light complexion, and a skinny build. 'She looks like the one from my playthrough' I thought then my mind exploded as I realized what I had just thought. 'What the fuu…'

"Fredrick?" she asked quietly. All the while interrupting my mental breakdown. "What was the first thing he did after you confronted him?" Fredrick looked a bit pissed and was about to reply in a rude way, but Chrom shut him up with a stern look.

Fredrick sighed and replied. "I had asked him what he was doing in a tree on the path that we were walking on. He looked up mumbled to himself something I couldn't quite hear and then looked up and down the path and asked where are milord and milady." Robin nodded and walked past were Chrom and Lissa were standing. She came to a stop in front of my bow and quiver and picked them up. She turned around with a smile.

"He's good. No assassin or ruffian would look up first. He did that as if he was questioning where he was. A deep sleep can make people confused after a rude awakening." She said. Fredrick was shocked.

"But he…" he tried but Chrom waved him off.

"If Robin says he is in the clear, then I trust her judgement." He said. I had been watching the whole time in disbelief that I had just witnessed a conversation about me by fictional video game characters. This looked real and that's what scared me. 'This is one hell of a dream' I think as I felt a nudge from the right. I look over to see Robin holding out my weapons.

"You might need these incase Fredrick decides that he's done listening to Chrom. But the day that happens hell will freeze over first." She said with a little laugh. I let out a little chuckle along with Lissa who I forgot was standing nearby. We got the stink eye from Fredrick, while Chrom was starting to go into leader mode as I call it. For myself and other people I have worked with before.

"Well friend if you don't mind I have a couple questions I would like to ask you, but we are on a tight schedule so I was wondering if you would like to walk with us for a little bit. I'm not forcing you to do so. It would be nice to know who Fredrick the weary has just threatened." He said adding on to the make fun of Fredrick day they had obviously started. Lissa went into quiet but full-blown laughter while Robin began giggling more than she already was. Fredrick just sighed and pushed his way forward to scout out the area.

"the things I do for Ylisse." He muttered to himself as he walked away. Chrom smiled as he watched him walk away.

"We poke fun at him but he means well. I apologize for what happened." He said with charm. 'Well damn no wonder he is a leader' I thought before responding.

"No, it's all good. I understand why he has to be suspicious, and even I have to admit that what had happened did look pretty fishy." I say. Chrom just nods, while Lissa gives another little chuckle. All she had done for this conversation is just laugh at the jokes Robin and I have been making.

"So…" Lissa starts. 'Of course. When I open my mouth' I thought. "Are you coming along or what?" It's an easy answer for me. But I have to think of a good lie because, I have nowhere else to go is when people start asking questions.

"Yea. But I need to head to Ylisse because the markets always have stuff on sale soon." I say and, again, it flows out so naturally.

"Well that's funny cause that's where we are headed so let's get going." Chrom said. I start walking forward. He waits till we are side by side and starts walking with Lissa and Robin in tow.

"So, Question one." Robin states as soon as Chrom opens his mouth. He shuts it abruptly and lets the lady talk first. "Who are you? We haven't even got your name yet." Chrom slaps his forehead and Lissa giggles a little. I snicker.

"I'm Jordan, the Hunter around these parts." I tell them, just letting the words flow out of my mouth. "A hunter is like a mercenary but more skilled and deadly. Luckily for most people I'm a pretty nice guy and like to help so dealing with ruffians and bandits are what I do most. Pleagia has tried to hire me every now and then but their jobs are usually to assassinate a politician or something like that. I don't attack someone without a good reason to do so. A defenseless politician, yea that's a no go there.

"I used to live in the town of Defore but after that got raided and destroyed I grabbed my two sisters and we ran. We moved from town to town in Ylisse looking for, well anything really. Food clothes, a job for a thirteen-year-old, and the basic necessities. We finally found the town of Meridian where a kind man took us in along with his four kids and helped us get back on our feet. He was an ex-hunter himself so he trained me along with his son. We stayed there for around 4 years until the same bandits that attacked Defore attacked Meridian. They came in and killed Mike's, the man we were staying with, wife and his son, who died right next to me while we were defending the town. They took my sisters and ran.

'I was so angry I forgot all about Mike and the pain he was dealing with, I ran after them. I ran and I ran trying to chase them. But in the end, all I found was two corpses along the side of the road, with clothes torn and askew. I just fell to my knees and cried." By this time there were tears in my eyes even though I know that my sisters were alive in a different place. They were at my game. But why did these words evoke such emotion. It's like these feelings were real. Like the events were real and that scares me.

Chrom had a hand on my shoulder but he was looking away, most likely thinking about how he would react if his sisters ended up like mine. Robin was looking away but you can tell she has tears in her eyes and a hand up to her mouth. Lissa was just shaking in silence, but she had tears streaming down her face. In a sudden burst of action Lissa burst threw her brothers arm on my shoulder and hugged me, burying her face in my shirt which I know realized was white and skin tight, so her tears hit practically skin.

"I'm so, so sorry Jordan." She said, threw blubbering cries. I was surprised, we had barely talked and she still hugged me. It didn't help that she was a video game character, but this hug, it felt so real. I might have to admit that it was real, that this was real. I wrap my arms around her and just hold her while she cries. I stop my tears so I can be there for her even though it was my pain. Chrom didn't look surprised at all while Robin was a little shocked.

"You didn't have to be sorry but thank you for the support." I say and mean.

"No person should have to go through what you went through." Chrom says. "If you do not feel like continuing that is completely fine."

"I think your sister has shed more tears than I have, so I think I will be fine enough to continue." I joke hopefully bringing the mode up. Which it only half did. Robin just gave me a stern stare while Chrom gave a half laugh, he was then stared down by Robin. I look up and realize it is soon sundown which means camp, which most likely mean Risen, if I was right with my guess.

Lissa let go and gave me a stare down, or at least tried to. She just looked cute. I laugh, ruffle her hair, and start walking on by. Chrom, Lissa and Robin followed. When they had caught up I continued my thoughtless back story.

"By the time I regained my senses I realized two things. One: I need to bury my sisters. And two: I can't go back to Meridian because I had ignored the feelings of my best friend and mentor to pursue in a selfish fit of rage that ended up in failure. After I buried them I traveled across Ylisse for around six months. I was had just left Dryden, and was headed to Ylisstol when I had dumbly decided that a midday nap was in order. Then I fell out of a tree. And now I'm here with you."

When I finish Chrom looked contemplative off into the distance, while Robin was looking at me, like she was analyzing me. Lissa had dried her tears but still had a sad expression on her face. Chrom then perked up as Fredrick finally walked back into view.

"Milord, it is getting dark out, we should make camp soon." He said while sideballing me the entire time. I just sigh and stretch my back.

"He is right. Chrom said stopping and turning back towards the girls. "Jordan and I will go hunt for some food while the rest of you should go find firewood and start a fire and fill in Fredrick on our new friend here." He said while clapping me on the shoulder. I gave him a look that said what the hell are you doing. He just smiled on back.

"Milord, I must object." Fredrick tried to start but Chrom cut him off.

"Fredrick, just listen to Lissa and Robin say." he said in an authoritative voice. Fredrick looked hesitant but nodded all the same. Lissa had been complaining about bugs to Robin who just listened and laughed. "We'll be back." He said walking into the woods. They all looked at me. I just shrug and follow Chrom.

AN: SO this is the first story for me. So I'm excited. Please let me know if I am doing anything wrong or if I need to fix a thing or two. Hopefully I can come out with chapter 2 soon. See you next time.