A/N: Well, here we go. My first foray into the world of Fire Emblem. This is post-Radiant Dawn, so there will be quite a few spoilers, as well as a few references to Radiant Dawn's prequel, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. If you aren't willing to have certain things ruined for you, then I'd highly suggest not reading this until you've finished the game or know how it ends. Anyway, many thanks go to ElaiaFlameWolf. If not for me finding her forum and community, I probably would never have tried my hand at Ike/Micaiah fanfiction. I know I can't be the only person in all of who likes this pairing besides my fellow Maiden-Savior fans. This fanfiction is un-beta'd, so any grammatical errors are mine and mine alone. Also, no flames, please. Constructive criticism is always welcome; bashing my fanfiction is not.

That being said, enjoy the story, and leave me some reviews, please! I want to know if I've done them (the characters)good.

Disclaimer: The fun about this sentence is that you don't realize it doesn't say anything until you've finished reading it. Also, I do not own Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn or Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Those belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Chapter 1 - You Do?

This - indicates emphasis, in place of CAPSLOCK.
This - indicates a memory/flashback.
"This" - indicates dialogue.
'This' - indicates thought.

It was a day like any other in Tellius. Birds were singing, and all was at peace among all the nations of Tellius. It had been in this peaceful state since the end of the war with Begnion, and then against Ashera. Daein was once again a nation with a good and just Queen, Crimea had her own great and wise Queen, Elincia. Goldoa was now ruled by Prince (now King)Kurthnaga, Gallia by King Skrimir, and Tibarn now ruled the combined Hawk, Raven, and Heron clans.

Micaiah, the new Queen of Daein, Maiden of Dawn, Light Priestess, General of the Daein Liberation Army, leader of the Dawn Brigade, and Lady of Many Many Honorifics, sat in her throne room, contemplating. The subject of her contemplation: the Savior of Tellius, the Leader of the Greil Mercenaries, the once Supreme Commander of the Crimean Liberation Army, the Vanguard, the Hero Ike. Why he was on her mind, she'd never guess. She was happy with where she was in her life.

It was odd, but she'd never given him much thought before. Sure, he was on her mind when they were fighting Begnion, and then Ashera, with Yune's help, but then he'd left with Soren and Ranulf to lands unknown. He hadn't been seen since. And it hadn't bothered her; she loved Sothe. He was a good man, her protector, and he made a wonderful King. He gave her all that she always wanted. He had a good head on his shoulders.

It took Micaiah a while before she realized that she'd gone from, in naming the many good qualities that Sothe possessed, a tone of admiration to a tone of resignation, as though she were reciting it from a biography. A very very dry biography.

Sothe was all those amazing things and more; yet, he was also boring. He'd let his duties get in the way of everything, including his personal life. In particular, the love life he had with the "woman he loves". At first, there had been love. Fire. Passion. Micaiah couldn't have wanted for anything more. But, eventually, over time Sothe became more interested in ruling Daein and ensuring its stability than ensuring the well-being of the Queen and the one who made him King.

Micaiah missed what she had. Where had she gone wrong? Had it even been her that had been the problem? No, it wasn't her. It had been the discovery she'd made not that long ago.

"Sothe?" Micaiah called out her husband's name, wondering where in the name of Tellius he could be. She'd checked everywhere; he hadn't been in the throne room, in the recreation chamber, the theater, the training grounds, or anywhere on the grounds, for that matter.

She finally checked the last place she'd expect him to be on such a gorgeous day: the royal bedchamber.

"Sothe…?" she asked quietly as she cracked open the door to hear grunts, pants, and creaking. Her heart in her throat, Micaiah opened the door fully to behold a sight that broke her heart.

There was her Sothe, her husband, her lover, her King…pounding Jill Fizzart of Talrega into the mattress. "Oh, Sothe!" Jill cried, moaning more and more loudly the faster Sothe moved. Micaiah watched with a kind of sick fascination, her mind stuck in a rut. 'He's cheating on me…With Haar's wife!' And he was really going at it, by the looks of it. She'd thought he lost his passion. But he hadn't; he just saved it for Jill.

Tears falling silently down her face, Micaiah slowly closed the door. Just when it was about to close, the door creaked and made the tiniest click as it shut. Micaiah froze, hoping to Ashera, Yune, and whatever gods and goddesses that existed that she hadn't been heard and discovered. She heard a loud female cry, and a low masculine moan, and the noises ceased, replaced only by heavy breathing. Micaiah hadn't been caught.

She let out something between a sigh and a sob, before running off to her powder room to fix herself and make herself look presentable. No one must know of Sothe's affair with Jill. It would cast the pale light of doubt on the entire monarchy, possibly inviting a rebellion against the immoral rulers. No, for the sake of Daein, Micaiah had to make sure this secret remained just that.

But, here, she was alone. Here she could grieve.

She let out a strangled cry, and watched in her oversize mirror as tears leaked from her eyes and gushed down her face in a torrent of misery, betrayal, shock, and pain. "H-how…how c-c-could…how could h-he?" she managed in between sobs. Her heart felt like it was being torn in two. She couldn't help but remember all the betrayals she'd gone through since the end of the war.

First, it had been Leonardo and Edward who, surprisingly, were gay, lovers, and married. Upon making this announcement, Micaiah had only asked, "Why?" She meant, 'Why didn't you tell me sooner than this? Why did you pick now of all times to do this?' They had not only come out of the metaphorical closet to her when she hadn't the slightest inkling of what was going on, they had chosen to make their announcement at the anniversary party of King Sothe and Queen Micaiah.

Edward had taken her question the wrong way, however, and had yelled at her in front of the entire Court and most of Daein's citizenry. "How dare you be judgmental of us?! We are in love, Leo and I! We don't care if you don't accept us! We thought you'd be happy!"

"But…But I am…"

"Don't lie to us, Micaiah! You're disgusted with what we've told you, aren't you? You're a homophobic bitch, and we will be glad to vacate ourselves of your presence!" With that, Edward had stormed out, Leonardo close on his heels, throwing one last look back at the shocked Queen.

After Leonardo and Edward had come Nolan…He'd been using his position as one of the reinstated Four Riders and General of the Daein Royal Army to pass information to Begnion, the Laguz Nations, Crimea, and pretty much anyone on the continent who'd ask. He'd had the longest affiliation with Begnion, even before he was a Rider and General; he'd been the one who'd given them the location of the Dawn Brigade so many times, causing them to run themselves ragged over all of Daein trying to escape the seemingly omniscient Begnion Occupation Army. But they hadn't been all-knowing; they'd had an informant. He'd been discovered, and had confessed immediately, stating that, "I never liked being part of the Dawn Brigade, anyway. It was too hard of a living, always running around like that, following a young half-blood who didn't know what the hell she was doing half the time. If not for Sothe, we'd all be dead. I was protecting my livelihood."

She'd foolishly agreed with Nolan, believing that Sothe was her rock, her faithful rock. How wrong she was. He'd betrayed her as well. How could she trust anyone now?

It was in the midst of these miserable musings that there came a knock at her door. "Your Majesty?" a voice asked timidly; it was Ilyana. A girl. They'd never betrayed Micaiah yet. Wiping her eyes dry, Micaiah said in as steady a voice as she could manage,

"Yes, Ilyana. You may enter."

"Your Majesty," Ilyana said as she opened the powder room door to behold her Queen. She'd stayed with Micaiah and the King, along with Zihark - they'd actually gotten married, Zihark and Ilyana. They seemed to be happy, and Ilyana always gushed to Micaiah about how wonderful a husband Zihark was. It had never bothered Micaiah before now.

Ilyana took a noticeable inhale as she witnessed the rather wretched state of Micaiah. "Your Majesty, what's wrong?" she asked, shocked.

"It's nothing, Ilyana," Micaiah replied, wiping her eyes on her sleeve once more. "It's just…that time of the month, you know…" Ilyana gave a nod, understanding dawning in her eyes. Micaiah hated to tell a blatantly outright lie to Ilyana's face like that, but no one could know. Especially if Sothe found out that Micaiah knew. There would be no telling what he would do. She'd never seen Sothe as particularly violent, but mayhap his behaviors had changed like his preferences in women.

"Well, Your Highness," Ilyana said as she started to fix Micaiah's makeup, to make the sovereign lady look more like a Queen and less like a hurt, lost child. "I've received a message that Lord Ike shall make a return to Tellius."

"What?!" Micaiah asked, nearly falling off the stool she was sitting on. "How did you come to possess this information?"

"Ranulf of Gallia told me, just before he left again, back to accompany Ike across the border. The Savior of Tellius is finally returning." The smile on Ilyana's face was too pure to be faked. It was obvious she still cared deeply for the Vanguard, although it didn't hold a candle to her love for Zihark. Micaiah couldn't blame her. Ike was…truly, he was something else. He was strong, ruthless when he had to be, confident, decisive, intense…And he didn't care that Micaiah was a Branded. He'd treated her just the same as he treated anyone else who he'd felt earned his respect: like his equal.

Micaiah frowned. Apparently, she'd missed the blue-haired mercenary more than she'd previously thought. "When will Lord Ike arrive?" she asked.

"In two weeks' time, Your Majesty," Ilyana replied as she artfully placed the last bit of powder on Micaiah's face, brightening the Queen's eyes, virtually erasing all signs of her recent crying jag. "There, now that we've got you all beautified once more," Ilyana said, smiling at Micaiah and giving her a hug. Eventually (and much too soon for Micaiah; she needed comfort badly, so very badly), Ilyana pulled away and smiled once more. "That was all I needed to tell you, my Queen. By your leave." Micaiah nodded, and Ilyana curtsied before she retreated, leaving Micaiah alone in her powder room once more.

'Hm…Ike…'

He'd been on her mind since, the enigmatic, strong, captivating mercenary commander. Her fingers tapped against her chin as she thought. Sothe had proven himself an untrustworthy harlot-magnet, Nolan had betrayed her trust and placed the lives of thousands (and the hopes of those thousands)at risk because he didn't like sleeping in rundown buildings, and Edward and Leonardo had left simply because Micaiah had said one word to them.

Mayhap Ike would be the one that she could trust…?

She could trust him with her heritage, that much she knew. She already had. But could she trust him with her bleeding heart? That remained to be seen.

It had been two weeks since Ilyana had given her message. Ike was arriving today, and Daein would be his first stop on his travel through Tellius, every nation of which would undoubtedly rejoice to learn that their departed hero had returned once more.

The doors opened, and Micaiah was torn out of her thoughts, gasping involuntarily, albeit softly. There he was.

He'd gotten even broader and more muscular than she'd remembered, and he didn't dwarf Micaiah like he'd used to; she would now come to about his chin. His blue hair was just as unruly as ever, and he now had a cover of blue whiskers across his jaw; and his eyes…they pierced Micaiah's very soul. He walked with a powerful gait, as though he knew he were far more powerful than any other fighter on the continent. And very well he was. His was the gait of a predator, one who knew what he wanted and knew what he had to do to get it…and was willing to do whatever it took and more to get what he wanted.

She knew his gaze had always been that intense, but never had she found it so…alluring? She felt like she was seeing him for the first time. Everything about the man was drop. Dead. Gorgeous!! The decisive click of his steel-toed boots traveling in long strides across the floor, his hair that hung over his headband in front of his face. The way his muscles rippled and flexed under his sleeveless shirt as he moved methodically, confidently…almost seductively, had Micaiah been willing to believe that this man whom she'd disliked so much could look this good.

He stopped in front of her throne and knelt. When he spoke, it sent shivers down her spine.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." His voice was deeper than it had been, more forceful. It made Micaiah want to blush, and took a large amount of her self-control not to do so.

"…Greetings, and welcome, Hero of Tellius. Tell me, how went your adventures?"

"Adventurous." He raised his head and grinned, capturing Micaiah's eyes in that deep gaze. She was falling quickly in…affection? Lust? Whatever it was that was emanating from this man was compelling her, making her fall, and fall fast.

She smiled the smallest bit, then said, "Would you care to divulge in us any details of your adventures?"

Ike stood then, and it was unsettling just how big a man he was. Standing straight up, his head was nearly on level with Micaiah's, though she was sitting three steps above him. He could easily overpower anyone he chose to.

"I do indeed have details, Queen," Ike replied, before sending a look to Soren and Ranulf, who had accompanied him. Micaiah followed his gaze and smiled at the Cat Laguz and the Arch Sage, the former of whom gave a rather dapper bow, the latter of whom merely inclined his head. "However," Ike continued, and, just like that, Micaiah's attention was riveted back to this man who'd inserted himself into her life so suddenly…again. "Those details are…confidential." His voice lowered, and it was all Micaiah could do not to shudder. She hid her eyes, rolling back into her head, by closing her eyelids as though she were taking a very long blink.

Mayahp Ike had noticed, mayhap he hadn't. He gave no indication as to either. Soren and Ranult left, and Micaiah said, "I would that you leave us, please. You need not worry with the Savior of Tellius here to guard me from himself." She was focused on the servants who stood along one side of the throne room, and as such, she missed Ike's eyes darkening at the hidden connotations of her seemingly innocent statement. The servants nodded and bowed, and filed out one by one.

The door shut behind the last of them with a rather decisive thud. Micaiah turned her attention to Ike, whose eyes had returned to their normal shade of sapphire. "Well, what are these confidential details?" Micaiah asked, all formality dropped like her aloof, refined façade.

"Well…" Ike said, as he started to pace. He reminded Micaiah of a caged panther, the way he walked. He didn't take steps, he simply advanced his prowling stance forward, before turning around and advancing the other way. "During my adventurous adventures, I came to a rather…abrupt realization." Here, he stopped, and fixed Micaiah with a look so intense and brooding that she had to work to keep breathing normally.

"What…what realization was that?" she asked, almost as though she were afraid to know the answer.

"I came to the realization that…well, that I missed you." Micaiah could not have been more shocked had Ike said he had realized that he wanted to dance ballet professionally.

"You do…I mean, you did?" Micaiah asked, and Ike looked at her before nodding slowly.

"It's odd, Your Majesty. I hadn't really thought about you that much since the war. No offense meant." Micaiah couldn't very well take offense at that; she'd been the same way until two weeks ago. "And it didn't really bother me that I didn't have anyone I could call my own. I mean, I've always enjoyed being a single man, in charge of myself and no one else. I…I never really felt like I was ready to take command of the Greil Mercenaries." This also shocked Micaiah.

"But you did such a phenomenal job! They actually do jobs for us regularly. You're all they can talk about. Especially your sister, though I'm sure you've kept correspondence with her. Titania couldn't help but compare her leadership to yours, and Oscar became the new staff officer, since you took Soren with you. He and Titania are the strategists, and they oversee the Greil Mercenaries."

"They…they've kept his name after all this time…"

"Yes. They actually had a bit of controversy over whether or not to rename themselves the Ikan Mercenaries, in honor of you. They eventually decided to keep Greil's name, since it would be easier to maintain their reputation as mercenaries who are 'not your average mercenaries'." Ike smiled at Micaiah's quoting of who would no doubt be Titania. She knew better than anyone just what kind of reputation Ike's father had built for himself and his mercenaries.

"That's…interesting. But please, allow me to continue with my story," Ike said, and Micaiah nodded. Ike nodded in return, and started stalking back and forth again. "I've always enjoyed being single. I never wanted to live any other way. But then…" he trailed off, clearing his throat. Micaiah had never seen the Vanguard so flustered. "Then, I was invited to a wedding." Micaiah was burning to ask whose wedding, but she felt that Ike was in no condition to answer additional questions at present. "I agreed to go, said I'd be honored. The groom…he asked me to be his best man." Here, Ike sent an agitated glance at Micaiah, and the silver-haired maiden had the oddest, yet nearly uncontrollable urge to hug this wall of a man, to comfort him and try to make that agitation go away.

"I agreed to that as well; he and I had become rather close, and I was loathe to deny him any request he made of me. So I attended their wedding, not really knowing what to expect.

"…It was beautiful. To see the looks of happiness and love in the wedded couple's eyes as they looked at each other as the bishop went through the intonations. It made me ache in a way I never had before. I wanted that happiness. Soren and Ranulf were always content that it was just the three of us. But I wanted…something more. I wanted happiness like that newlywed couple.

"So my search began. Once word got out that I was looking for someone, people, man and woman alike, flocked to wherever I happened to be. They'd throw themselves at me, proclaim their eternal love for me. I quickly ascertained that I'm not gay, needless to say." Micaiah giggled in spite of herself, and Ike's face relaxed. She decided she liked him not quite so tense. "Anyway, after I'd narrowed it down to strictly females, it got a little…vicious. And competitive." Micaiah felt an odd twinge of jealousy at this remark; she didn't want women fighting over what could never be theirs. 'What? Where did that come from?' she thought as Ike continued.

"I realized that I wanted someone special. Someone unique, like me. Someone similar to me, who'd shared some of the same experiences I had, someone I could relate to. And guess who came to my mind once I'd set that criteria?" At this point, Ike flashed a smile at Micaiah that made her want to melt. Yet, he barely seemed to notice, as he was so determined to get this out.

"It was you, Micaiah. You alone had risen from who-knows-where to become a general of a country's liberation army. You allied yourself with the Laguz…eventually. You were a commander. You were different. Special. Unique. Just like me." He stopped talking again, and this time he stopped stalking as well, and knelt in front of the Queen, who hadn't moved at all during this exchange.

"Micaiah…I…" he paused, as though he were unsure of how to proceed. Micaiah watched his throat as he swallowed, unwillingly (or mayhap willingly, only she could tell)following the movement of his Adam's apple as it moved up and down slowly. "I…want you to be my someone special. I want you to be the one to make me truly happy." Micaiah gasped and shot up out of her throne, causing Ike to back away, alarmed. At his frightened reaction, Micaiah formed a bit of an idea...a bit of a test.

"Ike…" Micaiah said in what she hoped was a sultry voice. It had its desired effect. Micaiah smiled at Ike, who had gone stock still. She decided she would take this a bit farther, see where it went. She walked over to him, swaying her hips, delighting in how Ike's blue eyes instantly fixated on them. Yes, this could be interesting, indeed…

Ike watched as Micaiah moved sensuously toward him, backing up involuntarily. It scared him, how powerfully he'd been hit with a desire to kiss this woman. 'That isn't all you want to do…' a voice told him in a mocking sort of voice, but Ike ignored it. Micaiah had moved closer. He noticed that she had gotten a lot taller; he now had only a head over her, as opposed to his entire torso.

She laid a hand palm-flat on his chest, and his resolve set itself. His hands cupped her face of their own accord, and he placed his mouth over hers.

Micaiah opened her mouth as Ike's face moved closer, intending to gasp, mayhap to push herself away. But before she could, his lips touched hers, and she was gone. His mouth moved softly across hers, hesitant yet still so tempting. He tasted like mint, and he smelled clean, and like leather. His scent overwhelmed her senses, and it took a second for her brain to kick back into action, but it did finally, and she found her arms wrapping themselves around his shoulders. Ike responded by moving his hands from her face to her back, threading his calloused fingers through her silver hair.

Micaiah's hands did the same with Ike's hair, undoing his headband and allowing his hair to fall across his forehead and down the sides of his face, where Micaiah's fingers could work through his thick tresses. She pressed closer to him, wanting him to take the hint. He did, to her happiness, and crushed her to him as their kiss deepened.

She wanted so badly to lose herself in this for time without end, in this man that she felt was the only one who hadn't betrayed her in some way. But, the need for oxygen eventually demanded that they separate. They did so slowly, breaths mingling in the air. Ike's eyes were lidded, two shades deeper than they had been. Micaiah's eyes, in contrast, shone so brightly it was hard to look her straight in the eye without wanting to flinch. Ike managed it, however, and his fogged brain slowly cleared as he realized Micaiah had moved away from him. His arms moved of their own accord, trying to pull her back to him, but he stopped himself and watched as Micaiah picked up his headband from where it had fallen on the floor.

She grabbed it and held it out to him. He took it, one end in each hand, and made to tie it back around his head, but stopped when Micaiah held her arm out. He raised an eyebrow, and Micaiah said, "I want to wear that."

"You do?"

She nodded. She couldn't fathom why she wanted to wear Ike's headband around her arm, but her heart had taken over her mind, and she couldn't summon the wherewithal to question it.

Ike said, "Okay…", and tied his headband to Micaiah's upper arm, gently tying the knot tight enough so that it wouldn't slip. He cupped her face again, running a thumb along one of her cheeks. She closed her eyes and turned her face into his palm, and Ike hugged her close, nuzzling her in the joint where her neck met her shoulder. She could feel his shadowed beard as he did so, and shivered.

They eventually pulled apart, and Ike said, "I think I've made the right choice."

"You do?" she asked, pleased, as another voice cut in,

"You do? For what?" Ike and Micaiah jumped apart, startled by the clearly masculine voice that was currently dripping with suspicion.

They both turned to see King Sothe striding toward where they stood, emerald eyes blazing. In this heat, Micaiah was reminded of why she had been attracted to him in the first place. He held such a fire, such a zest for life…But he didn't feel the need to show that side of himself to her any more, and that quashed any attraction Micaiah felt.

Sothe was tall, but Micaiah came up to his nose nevertheless. "What is going on here? What were you doing with my wife?"

Ike raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "So, not going to talk, eh?" Sothe said, snorting. "Be that way. I shall assume the worst: That you have raped the Queen of Daein! Guards!" Ike's eyes widened, and Micaiah's flared. She stepped forward, hair flying out behind her as she did so.

"Be gone!" she said in a commanding voice to the guards, who froze in indecision.

"Don't listen to her," Sothe mandated. "I am your King."

"You would do well to remember who made you King, Your Majesty," Micaiah replied, and Sothe fixed her with a poisonous look, one that she returned fully. Things were finally coming to a head. Their relationship had been extremely strained of late, and Sothe hadn't been able to figure out why. He'd made sure to dote on her, given her all that she'd asked for, no matter how trivial. 'She didn't find out about…No, she couldn't have,' Sothe thought, and laid that worry to rest.

"Fine," he said. "Stand down, and fall out." The guards looked at one another, confused, but complied, and left the two monarchs and the Vanguard alone once more in the throne room. "So, Micaiah, would you care to tell me what you were doing with Ike?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business, Your Majesty." The way she said "Your Majesty" made it sound like an insult, and even Ike flinched at the venom that infused her tone whenever she used the term. "What I do is none of your concern. This I know."

'You do?' Ike thought. 'How?' As he thought this, Sothe got an ugly look on his face and changed his tactics to target Ike. "Well then, Mister Savior and Hero of Tellius, I'll ask you, since my wife is apparently uncooperative. What were you doing with my wife?"

"Oh, please, Sothe, it isn't as if I'm some helpless girl who can't look after herself," Micaiah cut in, but Ike shook his head. He leveled a glare at Sothe that made the King want to flinch. Yet he remained steady as Ike approached.

"You want to know the truth, Sothe? Fine. I love Micaiah."

"You do?!" Sothe nearly yelled.

"You do?" Micaiah asked in a much softer tone.

"I do indeed," Ike said. "Which is more than can be said for you, Sothe."

"What are you talking about?" Sothe shot back, instantly haughty. "I love Micaiah dearly, with all my heart. I have been nothing but a model husband and lover to her." He smirked as Ike growled at his use of the term "lover". "I am deeply in love with Micaiah, and --"

"I beg to differ," Ike interrupted.

"Oh, you do?" Sothe asked coolly, a challenge evident in his voice.

"Yes," Ike replied forcefully. "If you loved Micaiah half as much as you proclaim, you wouldn't attempt to belittle her authority in front of her guards. You would support her, not try to break her down to save face."

"Oh, and you would do that?"

"I would, if she'd let me." At this, Ike turned to Micaiah, and instead of the defiant look she'd expected, she saw despair and uncertainty in his eyes. His eyes burned her in their needy gaze. "Please," it said. "Please." That was all, and that was all Micaiah needed.

She turned to Sothe and said, "I would let him do just that." Sothe looked gob smacked, while Ike looked extremely happy. To know that she was the cause of such happiness on his part…It made Micaiah smile as well. She couldn't help it.

"You're a fool," Sothe said, and Micaiah's smile vanished, as did Ike's look of happiness. In seconds, he'd backed Sothe up against a wall, holding him their with one hand and covering his mouth with the other.

"Don't insult her," Ike snarled in Sothe's face, his blazing eyes inches away from Sothe's fearful ones. No matter whether Sothe was King of Daein or Ruler of all of Tellius, Ike was still stronger than he was. He would do well not to forget that. Sothe nodded, and Ike released him, watching with stone like features as Sothe regained his composure.

"Fine," Sothe said. "Have it your way. For your betrayal of us, we banish you from Daein." His triumphant grin was knocked off his face as Micaiah slapped him hard enough to make him twirl before falling to the ground rather ungracefully.

"I don't need Daein to make me happy," Micaiah hissed. "You won't hold your country over my head any more. Have fun ruling…with Lady Fizzart." She grinned as Sothe's face paled. "Oh yes, I know all about your little affair. I actually saw you. In our bedchamber. Bedding that whore. Well. You can have her. Just be prepared to fight her husband, the Dragonmaster." With that, she turned her back on Sothe and her country, though it was her country no longer.

Ike's eyes sparkled as he looked at her as she walked back over to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, fingers playing in his hair again. He let out a contented sigh, and glared at Sothe. "How you could be willing to give someone as priceless as Micaiah up, I will never guess." That was all he said, before he took Micaiah's hands and led her out of the throne room.

-Fin-

A/N II: Well, what do you think? :D;; Remember, no flames, please. I can be quite pleasant, but I won't be if you aren't.

Review responses:
Even though this isn't a oneshot anymore, I'm still keeping these, and will just modify the chapters to include whatever reviews I get on separate chapters.

TheSilverandGoldDragons - I'm glad you like my writing style. I've always been a fan of it myself. :P I'm also happy that you saw Ike the way I wanted to portray him. Dude is HAWT. Sothe is indeed a bastard, Edward is just overexcitable, and Nolan...I'm rather surprised at myself for thinking up Nolan's betrayal. He definitely wouldn't be one of the first people I'd pick out of a crowd to betray Micaiah and the Dawn Brigade...and the nation of Daein... Anyway, I was making myself smile the entire time I wrote this, and I'm glad it made you smile, too. :)
Little Liger - I'm glad you liked it. :) I really am. As to continuing the oneshots...Well, I'm currently in the throes of writer's block, but, if it lets up, will be the first to know. :P
Han-Ko - Thank you very much. I'm glad you think so.
ElaiaFlameWolf - You're in awe? That's...well. That makes me glow like a megawatt lightbulb, actually. :D You have a sequel already, and I'd like to finish it up, but, as I said to LiLi, writer's block has me in its clutches, and I literally can't write a story without asphyxiating. So. Oh, also, if you'd like, I can look over your things for grammar mistakes. If you'd like. I have the time.
MangaMan3000 - And here I thought your review was going to be one of the shortest ones. But no, it turned out to be the longest I've gotten on this oneshot so far. :P That's all right, it gives me more to talk about. XD I've always been a very descriptive person, and, sometimes, my fingers can't quite convey what my mind is conjuring. This wasn't one of those times. :D I'm also very character-oriented, and try to include lots of dialogue when I can. I find it gives more depth to the characters, and, personally, I love me some character development. Like hardcore. As to killing Sothe...Well. Have at it. Haar will call you and let you know when he's finished. :D And as for knowing the stuff about my stories, if you look at my profile page, I have all that information there for every story I've yet posted. Genre, relationships, setting, domain (what the fanfic is based on), rating, a summary...It's all there. I'm extremely glad you liked my oneshot enough to give it a lengthier review. Really, I'm immensely grateful. :))
Malistroph - One of the best? You flatter me beyond what I deserve. :D Which man are you talking about, though? If you can let me know which man you're referring to, mayhap I can clear that up. And if Haar had shown up...? Oh, things would have gotten very ugly had he shown up when Micaiah revealed that she knew. They would've gotten very ugly, very quickly. I don't know how well a Whisper-turned-King would stand up against a Dragonmaster. I'm glad you liked it, though. It's always nice to know I didn't botch things up too badly.
Ethereally - Firstly, thank you for reviewing. Now then. This fanfiction was in no way meant to bash the Dawn Brigade. I am a huge Dawn Brigade fan and, were this a story that followed the canon, I would never ever have Sothe, Nolan, Edward, and Leonardo do what they did. However, because this is a fanship-centric fanfiction, changes had to be made. I am perfectly aware that I threw away the Dawn Brigade's friendship so that Ike/Micaiah could actually work. It would never work otherwise, not following the canon. I know what changes I made, and I made them intentionally. I'm sorry if that offends you, but Ike/Micaiah would never work otherwise. I'm too much of a fan of the game to change it around any other way. Besides, what happened isn't permanent, at least, not between Edward, Leonardo, and Micaiah. (Oops, that was a spoiler.) Anyway, Micaiah is not homophobic; Edward misconstrued her shock in reaction to his rather unfortunate timing to be that way. She isn't a homophobe, I promise. I refuse to write homophobic characters, unless it was to get a point across, but since there is no such point to be made, Micaiah isn't homophobic. I'm sorry you don't seem to like my fanfiction, but I do hope you'll read the rest of it once I get around to writing it. I'll make things better between the members of the Dawn Brigade; I promise. I'm not that cruel. But I do thank you for reviewing nevertheless, even if it was a negative sort of review. I will work on my characterization, and I'd like to thank you for being as civil about your bone to pick with my fanfiction. :]

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