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Marth looked up at the doors to the dormitory known as The Manse, named so for the sheer size of the building and the grandiosity that was said to be waiting for him inside--all of this, of course, was boasted about in the brochure given to him upon his acceptance to the Melee Academy of Higher Learning, located in the heart of Bainville. His luggage, which consisted of a single duffel bag and one medium sized wheeled suitcase, waited next to him somewhat haphazardly due to the Uber driver being in a very big hurry, according to him, and so he had just chucked it onto the porch instead of, perhaps, handing it to the incoming high school junior, which caused quite a ruckus.If Marth was honest, he didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be in Bainville, with its small town charm and big city industry, he didn't want to be at The Manse, he didn't want to be an incoming junior high schooler at the brilliant Academy of Higher Learning. He wanted to be home with his older sister and their guardian, Jagen, holed up in his room with the lights off and Linkin Park blaring through his headphones as he channeled his Inner Teenage Angst into, well, something.Marth was completely justified in having angst, after all, but Jagen had zero time for that and told his young charge that despite all the terrible circumstances, he should still go to school and make friends to replace the ones he had to leave behind in a hurry since Altea was, last he knew, on fire thanks to the riots and the coup. He wasn't even sure if his friends were still alive. His parents definitely weren't, swept up in the coup and made examples of as to "what was wrong with today's political climate". It's violence that's wrong with today's political climate, Marth thought. Not the peace my father believed in.After debating on whether to knock on the door or to trudge down to the nearest bus stop that would take him home, he lifted a trembling hand to the doorbell and jabbed the button, all the while swallowing the bitterness that lay thick and heavy on his tongue. A few moments passed and the door swung open on squeaky hinges, revealing a blonde headed young woman a few inches shorter than him, with bright blue eyes and lipstick the exact same shade of pink as the sundress she wore."Can I help you?" she asked, her voice full of the most sugary syrup."Ah, yes," Marth said, fumbling through his pockets for the brochure and his acceptance letter with his dorm information on it. "My name is Marth--Marth Lowell. I'm one of the new arrivals?" He flashed the letter with the signature of one M. Hand and an odd looking seal below it. "The letter told me to arrive here on this date for room placement."The young woman took the letter and skimmed the contents before handing it back to him with a smile. She gestured inside."Come on in! My name is Peach--it's nice to meet you!"Marth entered the very large foyer that was filled to the brim with houseplants of every colour and description. Directly across from the door was a grand staircase made of wood and what appeared to be marble, with a rather plush looking runner on the steps so one wouldn't slip on the marble should their footwear be wet. Doorways to other rooms sprouted off in different directions, and something really good smelling was wafting from one he presumed was the kitchen."The first door here is the kitchen," Peach explained, as she led Marth around the first floor. "Breakfast is served from six to nine in the morning on weekdays and seven to ten in the morning on weekends. Lunch is only served on weekends because you will be provided with one at school--or you can make your own to bring with whatever is in the kitchen. Dinner is from six to nine in the evening, and if you miss it or get hungry later than that, the kitchen is never closed, so help yourself!" She tapped the chalkboard right next to the door. "This shows the 'special' for the day."The door next to that was a recreation room filled with couches, overstuffed bookcases, a television with the latest gaming consoles, a billiards table, and a chess set, among other things. Right off of that was a washroom."All of the rooms on the first floor are common use, so feel free to poke around at your leisure whenever you feel the need."Marth nodded."Let's go upstairs, which is the start of residential areas." Peach placed a hand on the banister and took each step one at a time with the grace only a member of royalty could possess. The letter did mention that quite a few of his dorm mates could be the children of royalty or similar, and Marth wouldn't be shocked in the least since the Academy was geared towards the offspring of people who were well to do and important.Although Marth doubted they would have any objections to anyone who presented the people in charge with the proper amount of cash funding, well to do or otherwise...The residential area was just a hallway with a rather large amount of doors, each presumably leading to a room, that seemed to stretch into infinity. Marking each door was a number and a whiteboard, while a placard next to the door had the names of who resided inside and a place for what Marth assumed was mail underneath that."Your acceptance notice has the room you're to occupy during your stay here," Peach said. Marth looked at the letter, which he had accidentally crumpled in his hand from gripping it so hard between palm and luggage handle, trying to find his rooming assignment."Room 19," Marth said. "It says it's a double."Peach led him to the very end of the hallway and stopped in front of the last door on the right side."Your roommate is already settled in," she said. "Don't forget to introduce yourself as you put your things away."Marth nodded, though inside he dreaded meeting his roommate. He was never good with sharing rooms, even with close friends, but Melee Academy's dormitories offered no single rooms, and the commute from his new home in Seine, which was three towns away, to the school would be too long to be worth it.Plus there was also the fact that Jagen wanted Marth to get out and socialise, and how could he do that if he did nothing but stay home when not at school, which was a fact that Marth resented him for at the moment."Thank you, Peach," Marth said. She grinned."If you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask! I'd be more than happy to help, or find someone who can help you, at any rate." With that, she left him alone in the hallway with his luggage and his thoughts. Steeling himself for who his roommate could potentially be and the social interaction he would have to endure, he took a deep breath and opened the door.Marth sighed in relief when there was no one inside, though he could tell that there was definitely a Someone who had been in here recently, for the one bed was in complete disarray and there were clothes strewn about everywhere on top of the unmade bed linens. He closed the door and went over to the other bed, which was nicely made up, and tossed his duffel bag on top of it. Unzipping it, he dug inside and pulled out an assortment of personal effects: some books from home, a couple of notebooks, his writing utensils, and a couple of framed pictures of himself with his sister Elice, among other things. He didn't feel like unpacking all of it, so he zipped up the rest and stowed the bag under the bed for now.He was halfway through with unpacking his clothes from his suitcase when the door to his room swung open and a boy with striking red hair appeared in the doorway, happily munching away on a muffin, and startled Marth to the point where he dropped the shirt he was in the process of refolding."Hello," said the red head, after he swallowed the piece of muffin he had been chewing."H-Hello.""You're my roommate?"Marth nodded.The boy smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Roy, son of Marquess Pherae."Marth shook his hand. "I'm Marth..." He looked at Roy with confusion. "Marquess Pherae?"Roy's smile turned sheepish. "That's right.""I don't believe I've ever heard of the name.""Most...most haven't, to be honest." He sat on his bed. "My father is the marquess of a very small scrap of land that's been in the family for hundreds of years now. They keep trying to get him to sell it, but my father refuses.""I too am of noble descent," Marth said. "But it means nothing anymore, just some titles that give me nothing but pain and grief."Roy finished the muffin while Marth finished unpacking, and once Marth's suitcase was safely tucked away in a corner of the closet, he flopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling."Are you a sophomore or a junior?" Roy asked. "I know my rooming assignment said I could be matched with someone in my year or older.""Junior.""That's not too bad then," Roy said. "I'll be starting my sophomore year. I didn't place very well in the placement exam, and I expected my father to be upset about it, or have him worry that I wouldn't make it in." He toyed with the hem of his quilt."Was he?"Roy chuckled. "He was the opposite, actually. He was happy that I tried my best, and said that if I was meant to get in, that I would. And, well, here I am.""My father wouldn't be happy if I did poorly on a placement test that was for something so important," Marth said. "He always said that education is of the utmost importance if I wish to succeed in life."Cutting through the awkward tension was the sound of a rather generic sounding ringtone."Ah, sorry, that's probably my father." Roy fished his phone out of his pocket. "Do you mind?"Marth absently shook his head, as he pulled out his own phone and a pair of earbuds. "No. Go ahead.""Hey, Dad," Roy said shortly after tapping the answer button. Marth put the buds into his ears and got lost in the dulcet tones of Coldplay so as to not eavesdrop on Roy's conversation with his father.That and then Marth's heart couldn't hurt over the fact that he would never have phone conversations with his own father telling him to do his best at scholastics ever again.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Oh shit."School hadn't even started yet, and one of the students from The Manse was already in a panic fifteen minutes before the first bell was set to ring. The blond boy with elven looking features checked all of the pockets on his uniform and Roy watched as Marth checked the time on his phone."What's wrong, Link?"Link pulled notebooks and pens and various other school supplies out of his backpack, his brow furrowing further and further."I can't find my homeroom assignment paper, you know, the one we got in the mail last week?" He checked his notebooks next. "It was just here, I swear..."Marth stifled a yawn as he checked his own pockets for the letter printed on rather fancy stationery that proclaimed his homeroom assignment was in the gym, and that his teacher was a Ms Aran."You didn't leave it on the kitchen table at breakfast, did you?"Link shook his head rather vigourously. "I didn't even have it out then--"Marth cocked an eyebrow as Roy folded his arms."I left it on my dresser.""Aren't you and Roy in the same homeroom?"Link looked to Roy for confirmation. "Are we?""Mine's 217N," Roy answered. "Does that sound remotely familiar?"Link's brow furrowed to a degree Roy didn't think possible. "Maybe? I mean...I guess I'll find out. If they don't call my name for the attendance, then I don't belong there.""But then...where would you belong?" Roy asked."I've spent my whole life wondering that every now and then."The first bell rang, signaling Link was out of time to ponder further what number his homeroom was. Plenty of panicked freshmen scrambled in the hallways as Roy asked, "Which building is the 'N' building?""It stands for 'new building'. The new building that isn't really new, but is newer than the main one?" Link said. "We're standing in it."Roy looked at the cracking linoleum he was standing on. "Oh. How did you know that?"Link smiled. "This isn't my first year at the Academy, you know." He looked at Marth. "Where's your homeroom?""The gymnasium.""Take the back staircase over there," Link said, pointing down the hall and hooking his hand right, "and follow it all the way down, then it's pretty much straight on from there. You can't miss it."Marth followed Link's directions exactly, as Link steered Roy to room 217N, which just so happened to be on the same floor they used to enter the 'new' building, right down the corridor."Who decided to make a 'second' floor a ground entrance?" Roy asked."Don't question it," Link said. "This school makes less sense than they'd have you believe. The third floor of the main building? That's the ground floor too."Roy and Link sat together in the back corner of room 217N; Link rifled through his backpack, already filled with miscellaneous items and papers despite only being in class for a total of five minutes, still determined to find the paper with his homeroom assignment on it since he wasn't completely sure he left it on his dresser, either. Roy pondered the graffiti that littered his desk, most of which was just a bunch of acronyms that meant nothing to him, and things like "history sux" and "yo mama" and "does anyone know if Newgrounds is still around?"The teacher who stood at the head of the classroom was a rather short and squatty man with a very bushy mustache who introduced himself as Mr Mario. Why someone would have a last name that is a first name, Roy didn't know, but since names such as Taylor were now forenames, why the hell not? He dressed rather casually for a teacher, wearing a red button down covered with blue overalls, and Roy heard someone whisper about him being "like a farmer or plunger guy", which someone else replied to with, "I believe you're looking for the word 'plumber'."Mr Mario cleared his throat and all the whispering and chattering died down. Link groaned and let his backpack drop to the floor, clearly defeated."Good morning, class," Mr Mario said cheerfully, pausing to let the students greet him back, which most did in an admittedly half-hearted fashion. "Let me just take a moment to take the attendance and then I will pass out your important documentation. When I call your name, please raise your hand and say 'here'. Aachen, Phosphornio.""Here, teach!"After the first few names were marked down, Mr Mario scribbled something on his sheet of paper before looking up and saying, "Lowell, Marth."Roy and Link shared a look."Marth's not in our year...is he?" Link asked."He told me he was a junior," Roy answered. "We're...we're sophomores.""Marth?" Mr Mario repeated, looking around the room for someone, anyone, to raise their hand or say 'here!', to no avail. "Mama-mia, I hope he's not in any trouble...""But he said his homeroom was the gymnasium," Roy added. "So then...""Maybe he misread it. I did that my first year, too. Went to first period instead of homeroom. Admittedly, it was in tiny, tiny type, and it looks like they've increased the font size since."Mr Mario made a mark on his attendance sheet and scratched at his mustache before saying, "Mekkai, Link."Link jumped up from his desk as a choir of angels only he could hear sang their heavenly songs."Yes! I am supposed to be here! Salvation from the goddesses!"Mr Mario chuckled before marking Link as present. "A 'here' would've been okay too.""Are you gonna keep looking for that sheet of paper?" Roy asked, as Link took his seat."Yeah," Link said, like it was a no brainer at all. "I need to know what happened to it, or I will forever wonder."Roy sighed, shaking his head.Marth's morning wasn't going well.As it had turned out, his homeroom was not the gym, as he had thought; Marth had misread his schedule, for some reason thought that his locker assignment was his homeroom assignment, and to top it all off, he was marked as being an "unauthorised absence", which he then had to spend the remainder of the pre-first period time fighting the school office about.To put it simply, Marth was rather done with everything."Is that Marth Lowell?" a student asked, as Marth trudged down the hall from where the vice principal and head of discipline's office was to his first period of the day: Japanese 1."The 'Prince' of Altea?" asked another student. At least if you're going to gossip about me, try to keep your voices down so I can't hear it. Marth reasoned that he should be used to all of the chatter about him by now, since that was what made up all of the talk back home, back in Seine, anywhere he went where someone recognised his face from Facebook or the news or some Youtube video replaying the events of that day over, and over, and over ."Who expected to see him here of all places? I thought he was supposed to be hiding after what happened to his father--they wanted to make an example of the whole family."Roy cut through the crowd forming behind the teen, Link in tow."Alright, folks," Link yelled. "Nothing to see here, move along now before you're late for class!" He waved his arms around in an attempt to dispel the throng of people. "You! Put the smartphone away --you're not supposed to even have those in the building!""Marth?"Marth slid the door to the Japanese classroom open a little harder than he would have normally, for it bounced in its track and nearly shut again."Marth." Roy's voice was firm, but full of concern. "You okay?""I'm fine," Marth said, opening the door a bit gentler this time. "Absolutely fine."
Like hell am I going to show these people any weakness.
Roy looked back at Link, who cast a worried look over his shoulder as he struggled to contain the crowd of people wanting to know if that was, in fact, Marth Lowell, Exiled 'Prince' of Altea, before Roy followed Marth through the doorway and into the brightly lit classroom."I see they were expecting a lot of people in this class," Roy said, gesturing at all of the empty desks nearly filled all of the available space in the room."There were more last year," said a girl who was playing a rather bright pink 3DS, "but I'm sure most of the weebs dropped the class after it started going beyond basic vocabulary, so there might not be as many enrolling this year.""And you're in the beginning level class because...?" Marth asked."I failed it," the girl answered. "So I have to retake it again, because it's not like I would succeed at, say, Italian." She barely glanced at any of the arrivals to the classroom, too absorbed in her game to care. "Feel free to sit anywhere, Mewtwo-sensei doesn't really give a shit where anyone sits."Link took the seat closest to the door, with Roy to his left and Marth on the other side of Roy."I tried to keep people from Instagramming your face, but unfortunately I wasn't able to, so there might be some viral posts of you that show up on Facebook feeds eventually." Link smiled apologetically. "I don't know what that was all about anyway--""It's nothing," Marth said, in a tone of voice that said there was to be no further discussion. "I am here to receive an education, not listen to the idle gossip and prattle of the greater masses at large."Link blinked. "You sure did sound real fancy there, Marth. Clearly my bearing is not of the regal sorts that yours is."A large, rather purple sort of being wearing an oversized white button down and a slim black tie floated in through the doorway then, a tiny pair of spectacles perched on whatever he used for a nose, a binder tucked under his arm. He stood hovering over the ground behind a large podium as several students flooded in just before the late bell rang out through the halls. With a wave of his hand, the door slid closed with a slam, barring any late student from entering.The only noise in the room was the very faint sound of game music."Kiritsu!"No one said or did anything, although the game music finally cut out. The floating teacher cleared his throat, or at least made a sound like he had, and tried again."Kiritsu!"Still nothing."Good," the teacher said, though his mouth did not move at all. "I have none of those annoying 'weeaboos' in my class like I did last year. The first thing we will learn today is how you will greet me when class begins and ends." With another hand gesture, a dry erase marker wrote down, in both English and kana, Mewtwo-sensei on the dry erase board."My name is Mewtwo. You may address me as Mewtwo-sensei, or simply as 'sensei'. Wakarimasu ka?"Everyone nodded."When I say 'kiritsu', you are all to stand--tatte kudasai."No one in the class did anything at first. One of the boys looked around and slowly got to his feet, which led to the rest of the class doing the same, because someone had to be That Guy."Since you are my first period and it is morning, I will say 'ohayou gozaimasu', and you will repeat it. After that, I will say 'rei!' and you will bow to me." Roy swore he heard a slight chuckle after that statement. "Let's try it. Sit--suwatte kudasai."The class sat in unison."Kiritsu!"The class stood as one, some stumbling over their chair legs, others getting caught up on their backpacks or desks. Link nearly sent his own desk across the room and scuffed up the linoleum in the process."Ohayou gozaimasu."The students repeated it, some more enthusiastically than others, some more dead sounding."Rei!"No one was sure exactly how deep to bow. Some bowed so deep their foreheads touched the tops of their desks, others bowed a little too shallow, and some barely bowed at all. Mewtwo didn't seem to care as he crossed his arms and smirked a little."Suwatte kudasai," Mewtwo said, in a tone that suggested he was rather bored with this already. He didn't wait for them to seat themselves, because with a wave of a hand, everyone found themselves on their chairs, pushed in under their desks to an almost uncomfortable degree.Or, in one student's case, on the floor."I will be taking attendance, mostly because I am obligated to and not because I want to learn your names." He gave the class a look that said, I would rather be trapped in a cave for a hundred years than teach right now . "When I say your name, tell me 'hai'. Or don't, I don't really care either way, I am paid whether I have students in attendance or not."Someone snorted."Alvarez Stephanie-san."The girl with the 3DS raised her hand. "Hai.""Redfield Nicholas-kun."The boy who managed to get everyone standing the first time said, "Hai."Mewtwo continued down the list of names: Dean Caprio ("Hai, seeeeensei!"), Frankie Ngo ("...hai?"), Alexander Valdez ("Hai, but please call me 'Alex', sensei."), Stephen Kennedy ("Haaaaaaai!"), Kweenetra Carp ("Yes, hello, I'm present."), Janae Armstrong ("It's not Jane, sensei."), L'Andrea Kino ("Oh, uh, hai?"), Nestea Wyrmslayr ("It's not like the iced tea brand!"), Aras Namrekcid..."Who?" asked Kweenetra.Mewtwo marked her absent."Stu Gary-kun."Gary raised his hand from his place on the floor. "H-Hai, sensei."Mewtwo marked him as absent, despite knowing very well that Gary was there. He wasn't seated at a desk, and therefore didn't count."Mekkai Link-kun.""Yes--I mean, hai."Mewtwo rolled his eyes. "Pherae Roy-kun.""Hai, sensei.""And last and least: Lowell Marth-kun."Gary Stu looked up from his spot on the floor. Stephanie nearly dropped her 3DS. Dean outright gasped."H-Hai, Mewtwo-sensei."Link shot each and every one of them glares while Roy looked at Marth in complete and utter confusion.
Just what is it about this guy that everyone is so shocked about?
"Today, we will be going over some common phrases you will find in the Japanese language. You've probably heard these before if you've ever watched anime..." I'm gonna find out one way or another. Clearly Roy had some Googling to do when he had a spare moment.Second period led the trio to the "basement" of the Academy, to room 123 where their Geometry teacher, Miss Sarkofski, resided. She sat on a wooden chair, fingers laced together under her chin, wearing what appeared to be robes that, if there was suitable wind or movement, would billow. No one was sure why she wore robes straight out of some kind of wizarding world. Perhaps she was a Potterhead, or maybe she just liked the appearance of fabric billowing behind her as she walked around the campus."I have your names marked on your desks on a piece of parchment. You will sit in your assigned seats without any sort of fuss." She had a fake British accent. "Go now. Sit."Roy and Link headed to their seats, and when Marth went to join them, Miss Sarkofski stopped him by placing a delicate hand on his shoulder."You have a haunted look about you," she said, in hush hush tones. "There is something on your mind... Perhaps unburdening yourself and letting others share in your pain will help you move forward and cease being haunted by the ghosts of the past."Once released, Marth walked as fast as he could to his seat, which was behind Roy, thankfully."What was that all about?" Roy whispered."I have no idea," Marth replied. "She said I'm being haunted by my past's ghosts or something--bunch of nonsense if you ask me.""Maybe it's worth talking to someone about what you're going through.""I'm doing fine."Textbooks were handed out once everyone had arrived. Inside each one were a few sheets of paper with a syllabus printed on it."Let me go over the syllabus with you, shall we?"The syllabus was ten pages. The class groaned."I'd rather solve a million Geometry problems than deal with this shit," muttered one student."Why the fuck is this syllabus ten pages?!" said another.Marth looked over to where Link was sitting. The Hylian had his head against the back wall, and he appeared to be sleeping. Another student didn't make any show of hiding the fact that he was in a deep, deep slumber."Now... Let me test where you are in your Geometry learnings. That will determine if I need to start at the very beginning with the most basic of formulas, or if I can start out with a bit more intermediary math problems.""But none of us have taken Geometry before--""Hush! You don't know that! Someone could be here for a second time, having failed to acquire the knowledge they needed in order to pass this course." Ms Sarkofski kept her hands hidden up her sleeves, which is also where she pulled out half a ream's worth of worksheets from a few moments later. "We do not judge in this classroom, it is a safe space." She handed out a worksheet with a few problems on the front of it to each and every student, making exaggerated movements as she did so that her robes moved dramatically about her."See if you can solve these problems. If you can, then you are more advanced and we can start from there. If you fail to answer even these, then I will have to start from the very beginning."It wasn't Marth's first time taking Geometry--there were some courses on his current schedule he had taken at his previous school, but due to the course of events back home, he was unable to secure his transcripts and thus, had to retake them. However, staring at the paper and trying to figure out what went where in the formulas, he may as well have been trying to read a completely alien language.
I used to be really good at this, one of the best in my class. Now I feel completely incompetent, like I've never seen any kind of mathematics before in my life.
Turns out it didn't matter if Marth felt incompetent at maths or not, for no one else had a clue what to do either. Some attempts were made to solve angles of a shape, or to find the perimeter of a rectangle, but many students just left everything blank, pencils on their desks, without trying to solve. Link made a paper airplane out of his, whilst another created a very complex origami bird.Miss Sarkofski sighed heavily."I have no choice but to start from square one, an unsurprising result, but I had so much better hopes for this class period than my last. Ah well..." She pulled a piece of chalk out of the sleeve of her robes. "Today I will teach you the arcane knowledge of...line segments."Third period led them to the gym, with Marth heading on a detour to his locker nearby, where the bleachers were pulled out for everyone to sit on. Folding tables were in the middle of the gym floor with a mismatch of chairs pushed under them."So what do you think all that gossip's about?" Link asked, as he flopped down on the bottom most bleacher step. "People all, 'Oooh look, it's the Exiled Prince' or whatever, what does that even mean? Marth's not...Marth's not actual royalty, is he?"Roy shrugged as he sat down next to Link. "I have no idea. He told me he was nobility and that that means nothing anymore, but I have a feeling there's more to it than that."Link gave Roy a look. "He told you he was a junior, too, and he's not.""Who isn't a junior?"Marth looked from Roy to Link and back again, backpack half falling off his shoulder."You're in the same year as us, right?" Roy asked."I am a second year in this institution, yes.""Then you're a sophomore," Link said. "That's what we are. Not juniors.""At my other school," Marth began, as he sat down next to Roy, "it was divided into three levels, and the names of those levels translate into English as 'novice', 'intermediary', and 'expert', essentially. I figured, in this school, that senior was the equivalent to jartas, junior to kovetit, and sophomore to nybbe. Apparently I was wrong to assume this.""Ohhh," Link said. "So in your language it's basically something completely different. Like how our word for a smartphone translates to English as 'slate'.""What's your word for dumb phone?" Roy asked."Look, my Motorola Razr will never die," Link protested, as he adjusted his totally-not-dress-code green slouchy style beanie so it wasn't half slipping off. "I'm not getting another phone until this one dies.""No one's used that phone since 2007, it's been seven years, Link."The trio turned towards the new voice. A young woman with long blonde hair pulled back into a sort of half updo and similar elvish traits to Link made her way down the bleachers, textbooks in her arms."Oh hey, Zel," Link greeted, as he patted the space next to him. "How's life going for you?"She shrugged as she sat down. "I already have homework--AP Chemistry is going to be brutal."Link patted her shoulder. "You got this." He turned to Roy and Marth. "This is my best friend, Zelda. We grew up together."Zelda wiggled her fingers as a form of waving. "Friends of my parents adopted Link and his two siblings, we've been joined at the hip ever since."Roy grinned. "I'm Roy, it's nice to meet you.""I'm Marth," Marth said, albeit very quietly. Zelda smiled softly."You're the boy everyone is talking about like some kind of celebrity--and I thought I'd had it rough..."Marth cocked an eyebrow."I'm a bit of a...what's the word? Person of interest, where I'm from," Zelda said."She's from the family in charge of Hyrule," Link simplified. "She's not a princess or anything--""My father is the guija, the...mayor, I suppose is a good translation, yes." Her gaze fell to the textbooks on her lap. "My condolences, Marth, about what happened... It is an eventuality that even my father has us prepared for, though we hope it will never come to pass."Marth nodded. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone."A whistle blew throughout the gym and a hush fell over it as a result."Alright, listen up for your name as I do attendance!" a rather tall young woman shouted from the foot of the bleachers so that those sat at the top could hear her."I should probably go," Zelda whispered. "I don't want to miss my name being called, and my teacher is all the way over at the other end.""It's fine," Link said, giving her a smile. "Go on, don't get in trouble.""It was nice to meet you!" Zelda said to Roy and Marth, before sneaking back to her actual gym class."Gwinny Lebosa!"A hand shot up. "Present, ma'am!""Amazing how you can tell a lot about someone by how they talk," Link muttered."What?"Ms Aran kept going down the list of names as Link explained."She's got some kind of military background. Marth and Zelda have that ritzy vibe. Marc Livomora sounds like a pompous dick and he's got parents with wealth who got no idea what to do with it... You know. You come across all types of rich and maybe-famous at this school, as I learned last year." He wrapped an arm around Roy's shoulder and pulled him close, gesturing to each person whose name was called."Raimund Schindler? Supposedly his dad got rich by extorting millions of dollars from a company that ended up going bankrupt. He then bought the company for billions more, and sold that off, so they're sitting pretty now. He's usually avoided, though. And Sher Wilkinson? Her mom got married off to some rich guy, and now she's forgotten where she's come from, and her kid don't know any better.""And you know all of this how?" Roy asked, as Marth asked, "And this is any of your business why?""Do I look like the kind of guy who fits in with a crowd like this?"Roy shrugged. Marth folded his arms."I suppose you don't," Marth admitted."People think I'm dumber than I am, rumours were abound that I flunked out of the Academy and that my parents pulled some strings to get me back in, or something like that.""So then what is the truth of the matter?""My sister was really sick, and they needed me to come home for a while. Zelda too. They don't have those rumours about her, though." His eyes softened. "I dropped out so I could be with her, in case she...you know..."Roy swallowed the thick goop that formed suddenly in his throat as Marth averted his gaze."But she's all better now!" Link said, returning to his cheerful disposition."Link Mekkai!""Yeah, I'm here!""What kind of name is 'Link'?" someone said with a snicker."The name of a cool dude from The Matrix," Link retorted. "I don't know, my birth mother, before she died, allegedly said that I was some kind of link to heal the past or history or some shit, I don't know. She was on a lot of painkillers when she was near her end, and I was only seven, so I had no idea what she was talking about in the first place."Ms Aran crossed off several names on her list before calling out, "Marth Lowell!""Present.""I'm gonna end up fighting people today," Link said. His most likely empty threat did nothing to stop the whispers about Marth. He sighed."It was like this in Seine, too. I'm used to it at this point.""And Roy Pherae, are you here?"Roy raised his hand."Okay, we don't have that much time to talk, what with it being a half day and all. Bring your gym clothes on Monday, we'll start changing then, and I'll hand out locks for your gym lockers. Any questions?"No one said anything."Okay, good. As you were, then."The uptick in noise levels ended up almost deafening."Let's blow this popsicle stand," Link said, standing up from his spot. "Now that we're marked in, we can do whatever we want, pretty much, and I can't stand all this noise." He shouldered his backpack."We can't just go wherever we please," Marth said. "There are people patrolling the halls, aren't there?""Nah, it's not a prison, Marth." Link stretched before heading for the door. "Well? You guys coming?"Marth was inclined to say no, but then someone had the bright idea to start blasting some really bad dubstep using a bluetooth speaker with the bass all the way up."W-W-What's uuuuuup!" shrieked a chipmunk sounding voice. "It's the n-n-n-nightcore remiiiiiix!""We're coming," Roy said, as he and Marth high tailed it out of there, Link leading the way."So."Link hopped on the half wall at the very top of the school stadium's entrance, as Roy leaned against it. Marth stood around and toyed with his uniform tie, looking at everything with suspicious eyes."You're not gonna get attacked here, you know," Link reassured."After being attacked in my own home, I don't consider anywhere safe.""Is that why everyone is so interested in your life?" Link asked. "You survived some kind of attack?""It's all over the news." Marth didn't sound bitter in the least, no sir. "You can read up on it yourself, or watch some Youtube videos covering it, or 'share to save a life' it on Facebook."Link ran a hand through bright blond locks. "I don't do the social media thing except for a little bit of Instagram and Snapchat. I don't keep up with current events and shit unless people tell me things, which they usually don't go out of their way to do so.""Gossip and idle pratter is much more your style," Marth said."The kids here don't give a shit about anything but . You think they care what's happening outside their little safety net? That's adult problems.""My father always said that if we cast a blind eye towards the world's problems at large, they'll end up becoming our problems and by then it's too late to take preventative measures. Even in Pherae I heard the whispers in the halls and advisors wondering what should be done, but I didn't know that Marth was at the centre of it."Link pulled off his knit beanie and let the wind play with his hair."So then you know what's going on?""Not really, no.""And Marth won't say anything."Marth shook his head."Well, I hope you enjoy being a man of mystery.""At the very least," Roy interjected, "he can wait until everything's died down a bit. Right?"Marth flinched when the bell rang, and students filtered through the doors."If I'm going to say anything, I want to do so when there's no one around.""But don't you want people to get their shit straight?"Marth shook his head. "I don't really care about that.""Then what?"Marth headed for the doors. "It's none of anyone's business but mine and whomever I choose to make it their business. That's all." I don't want anyone to see me like this.The final bell of the day rang out, and Roy found Marth at his locker, sat on the floor, waiting."Marth?"Marth looked up at the mention of his name. "I hope you don't me waiting here."Roy shook his head as he approached. "I don't, but how did you know--"Marth chuckled a little. "I watched you exchanging things earlier as I walked to last period. Link mentioned wanting us to all walk together, so I made a mental note of your locker's location for later..."After third period let out, Link did mention wanting everyone to meet at Roy's locker so they could walk together. Roy was only expecting Link to be waiting for him."What?"Roy shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just...a little surprised.""To be honest...so am I." Marth stood then, and stepped aside so Roy had access to his locker. "But you're my roommate, and you and Link seem to be really...solid, so I figured that I should probably try this 'make friends' thing my guardian loves to harp on me about all the time."Roy unlocked his locker and dumped his newly acquired textbooks inside."I'm not gonna force you to become friends with me--""I want to. People my age have friends, right? So there's nothing unusual about this, is there?"Roy closed the door and locked it. "Well, no, there isn't.""And I'm not going to survive this place unless I have someone to survive it with, right? Besides... All of my friends are back home, and I've been cut off completely from them thanks to this whole mess I was dragged into. It'd be... It'd be nice. Jagen would be pleased and say that it's good for me."Roy grinned. "I agree. On both accounts." He added that last bit a little hastily.A loud noise that sounded like shoe soles sliding against linoleum came from the end of the hall, and Marth thought for a moment that he could smell burning rubber."Shit shit shit I'm so sorry!" It was Link, charging towards them now. "Mr Georgeston kept me after class to discuss something about our summer reading or whatever, and how I seemed to really understand the material, and we lost track of time and I didn't have the heart to tell him that I'd just used Spark Notes for everything...""It's okay," Roy said with a laugh. "It's only been what, five minutes?" He looked to Marth for confirmation, who looked at his phone for the time."Not even. Three at the most."Link looked from Marth to Roy and back. "Well okay then, I'm glad."Link wrapped one arm around Marth's shoulder and the other around Roy's, pulling them close as he began walking."So what're we up to now that school's out for the day?""I was thinking of food," Roy said. "I'm starving." As if to prove he wasn't lying, Roy's stomach growled threateningly."Well there's a lot of nice places to eat for quick and cheap on the Avenue," Link said. "Every type of cuisine and then some, although the Hylian place's stuff is a bit...ehhh."They made it off campus without much of a fuss, and headed left before taking a right at the light that changed every ten seconds it seemed. Link loosened his tie completely and shrugged off the aqua coloured blazer, while Roy just slung his over his shoulder, very casually. Marth threaded his blazer through one of the straps of his backpack so it was out of the way."I mean, it's good, but Zelda's aunt Impa makes the best Sheikah Stew in the world, and you haven't lived until you've had her Roast Cuccoo..."Link wasn't kidding when he said the Avenue had a lot of eateries--it seemed like every other building housed some kind of food to eat, or dessert to try."Maybe something that's not too heavy would be preferred," Marth said, a little overwhelmed by the options: Italian, Asian, Hylian, places that specialised in buffets, burger joints... And that was just as far as Marth could see on the one side of the street."There's a place called All Your Ruttin' Soups, and it serves absolutely every kind of soup and then some, from your regular broth to a hearty potato soup..."Marth smiled. "Soup sounds lovely."Link grinned, determination ablaze in his eyes. "To All Your Ruttin' Soups!"The interior was very rustic seeming, with booths that looked more like ripped apart picnic tables and benches turned into something presentable for a restaurant. There weren't many patrons, and only one person working behind the counter, who was filing her nails as she watched something on her tablet. One of the lightbulbs above table four flickered."This place looks like it's gotten a bit...rundown since I last came in here." Link dumped his things on one of the benches."Yeah, even the wallpaper is peeling," Roy said."Better than peeing," Link remarked."Are you sure you wanna eat here?" Roy asked. "There's no one even here..."Marth poked at a piece of cushion filler peeking out from a tear in the seat, a look of disdain clear as day on his face. "I'm not sure how comfortable I would feel sitting here."We can take our food to-go if you want, but I'm sure it's fine," Link said, as he approached the counter. "Excuse me, miss, could I have a menu--""Leave me alone," she said, "I'm watching the latest Rooster Teeth video."Roy scrolled through something on his phone. "The reviews for this place aren't even good, said they don't even get service--""Well, if the girl at the counter watched less Youtube and paid more attention to her job, maybe the reviews wouldn't suck," Link reasoned. The girl wasn't even paying attention to him. "Do you...want us to order something or not?""No," she said, without taking her eyes off the screen. "Go away.""So you don't care about the fact that we want to purchase goods from you? With actual cold hard curre--" Marth began to ask, but was interrupted by the girl."Oh my god, just leave me alone--""Marnie, what in tarnation is going on here?"A man with hair everywhere except for the top of his head came out from the back room, ladle in hand, apron around his waist."They--" the girl, whose name was clearly Marnie, pointed accusingly at the trio.  "--won't leave me alone."The man looked from Marnie to the trio and back. His face turned redder than the face of a person who just ate a ghost pepper for the first time."Why are you on that tablet thing again? I told you to play hostess! You're to take people's orders and give them to me and then give them the product that I've made for them. This isn't hard, Marnie!"Marnie pouted. "But Daddy, that's so boring.""That's what you said when I asked why you dropped out of school, that can't be your excuse for everything, you inconsiderate--"Link stepped away from the counter before grabbing his things. "Let's go, guys. I don't feel like getting involved in their father-daughter dispute. There's another soup joint two doors down from this one called Better Than Ruttin', and they have the better miso anyway.""Does it look like it's falling apart?" Marth asked."Oh, no, not that I know of? They have some really nice bohemian inspired decor, which you wouldn't expect in the least. Oh! And their seats are really comf, like, when I say comf, I mean comf.""Wait!" the man said. "Please don't go..."But they were already out the door, the bell above it announcing their exit."I think I'll sleep well tonight," Roy said, as he flopped onto his bed. He had changed into pajamas that looked like they were more for comfort and function than appearances. Marth had heard of clothing that functioned as regular clothes, but had the "aesthetics" of sleepwear, something he thought didn't make much sense. Pajamas were for sleeping, or maybe lounging around the house in on a weekend. They were not for leaving the house to run errands in."Today was certainly interesting, that's for sure," Marth said, turning in his computer chair. "Did you do the assignment Mewtwo-sensei asked us to do?"Roy sat up on his bed. "I started it. Kind of...stupid though. It's just memorising the most basic of vocab that anyone who doesn't speak Japanese would probably know, and using them in sentences that are otherwise in English." He grabbed his Japanese notebook and opened it to the first page. "Listen to this: 'Sumimasen, do you know which door is the oterai?'""I mean, on the one hand, it shows that you know what those words mean, but on the other hand...""Yeah, on the other hand, I sound like a weeb."Link barged into the room just then, the door smacking against the wall behind it with enough force that the door knob may or may not have gone through drywall."Link! Don't you know how to knock?" Roy covered his completely clothed self with his notebook, as if that would help any if he was, in fact, indecent.Link blinked. "Knock on the door? Why would I do that?""What do you mean 'why would I do that'?" Marth asked. "That's what you do to see if you can even come in.""Well, I've never knocked on any doors in my whole life, this is the first I've even heard of this. In fact, where I grew up, we didn't even have doors, just curtains that kind of covered the entrances."Marth and Roy shared a glance at each other."What?"Roy just shook his head. "Good night, Link.""But who's gonna help me with my Geometry homework?""Try asking Zelda," Marth said. "We'll see you in the morning."Link sighed. "You guys suck just as much as I do at maths, don't you.""Maybe." Roy reached over to his nightstand and turned out the light. "Night, Link.""Nighty night," Link said, sounding just a little put out before slamming the door shut. Clearly Link was not good at using doors."Marth." Roy blinked up at the ceiling, arms behind his head as he lay on the bed covers."Yes, Roy?""You gonna sign up for any clubs?"Marth leaned back in his computer chair. "Maybe. I haven't really thought about it.""Sign ups are tomorrow, they've got a whole bunch of things, so many more clubs than my old school has." Roy turned over on his bed. "So many choices, it's gonna be hard to choose to not do all of them..." He yawned as Marth turned out the light on his desk and wandered over to his bed."You can decide tomorrow." Marth pulled the covers back before sliding underneath them. "Until then... Good night, Roy."Roy yawned again. "Good night, Marth. Hopefully tomorrow's a better day."Sleep came all too quickly for the both of them.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

September 4th, 2014

"Elice! Elice, where are you?!"

The smoke was thick and choking him as he tried to find his sister in surroundings that felt both familiar and alien at the same time.

"Where's Mother and Father?" Glass shattered nearby as flames shot out of an adjacent room, causing him to jump back.

"Marth." It was Jagen's voice. "Is that you?"

"Jagen?" Marth reached out, groping along the walls in the direction of the voice. "Where is my sister?"

"She's outside--come towards me, we need to get out of here before this house becomes our grave."

Marth couldn't find Jagen, couldn't find anything as the smoke burned his lungs, choked him until he couldn't breathe at all, his throat stinging as he fought for air and found absolutely none. Faintly he could hear the voices of his cousins trying to usher him out.

"Jagen..." He could barely get the name out before his vision filled with black and all he could smell was fire and death--
Marth awoke soaked head to toe in sweat for what felt like the millionth time that night, panting almost too hard as he focused on the ceiling. A glance at his phone told him it was only going to be five in the morning, and he groaned as he threw an arm over his eyes before kicking the covers off so he could cool down. I'm tired of the nightmares. He could still taste the smoke, could feel it restrict his lungs, gather up in his throat...He left his bed and headed for the bathroom so he could wash the sweat from his face and cool off a bit faster. A glance in the mirror showed him just how exhausted he looked--and felt--as water droplets made paths down his face before he wiped them away. Gripping the porcelain of the sink, he willed his breathing to calm, willed his muscles to relax, and willed his mind to blank out. What would Father say if he saw me like this? He grabbed a hand towel from the rack by the sink and dried his face off. No son worthy of his legacy would be waking up in a cold sweat from nightmares induced by some traumatic event. Another glance in the mirror, his eyes startlingly blue in contrast to the hand towel.
Then again, I never was certain I was worthy of following in his footsteps to start with. The expectations he had of me would not meet the reality, that is for certain.
Marth sighed and left the bathroom. There was little point in going back to sleep for only another hour or so, so he left the room he shared with Roy and headed down the stairs to the kitchen, where breakfast was already being cooked by Peach. Peach looked like she hadn't been up for all that long herself, as she expertly diced up some onion to toss into the skillet with the bacon, peppers, and eggs."Good morning."Peach looked up from her cooking and smiled. "Good morning, Marth. I hope you slept well.""Like an infant," Marth lied, as he took a seat at the table. "What's on the breakfast menu today?"Peach plated up the scrambled omelete just as toast popped up from the toaster."Scrambled eggs with toast and your choice of butter or jam--or both, if you want. I'll have some orange juice out in a second, unless you'd prefer coffee or tea?""Coffee would be lovely." He needed something to keep him from falling asleep again.Peach set the coffeemaker up after she placed breakfast in front of Marth. "Would you like milk or sugar or cream?"Marth paused his jam spreading to ponder this. He wasn't really a huge coffee drinker--he preferred tea, really. But tea wouldn't wake him up like he needed to."Au lait with sugar," Marth said, before resuming the smothering-toast-in-jam method of spreading."You have another half day today. Do you want me to have lunch prepared for when you get home? I can always leave it in the fridge for you."Marth bit into his toast. It had just the perfect crunch to it. Peach knew what she was doing, it was hard to not make toast too hard or too soft."You can leave me something in the fridge," Marth said. "If it's not too much trouble, that is," he added.Peach waved dismissively. "Oh please. I'm here to make sure everyone is taken care of! They don't call me the 'Dorm Mother' for nothing, you know."In some weird way, Marth felt nostalgic. His mother had never set foot in a kitchen all her life except to eat dinner--they had always had a chef cook and prepare meals. But his sister Elice... She had learned through Youtube how to cook, and would often sneak into the kitchen late at night to prepare different meals, with him as the (very hungry) guinea pig.
Maybe I'll give her a call later today, see how she and Jagen are doing.
The weather had decided that, instead of the light rain showers the meteorologist had promised on the news last night, it would downpour. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, for there was adequate drainage to the sewers on the roads and pavements. However, due to the trees losing their leaves, and no one cleaning the drainage ditches of said leaves, the water had nowhere to go, and decided to pool at the sides of roads, take over a few pavements, and maybe even knock on a few doors and let itself into basements."Well this is a terrible time to have to walk to school," Link said, as he held a hand out from under the umbrella he was seeking shelter under. "The Academy should provide a shuttle service or something for inclement weather.""Just avoid the puddles," Roy said, dressed in 'throwaway' clothes, his uniform tucked away in his backpack in the hopes it would stay dry."Kinda hard when the roads have turned into Lake Hylia.""Wear rain boots and a poncho," Marth said, sporting both. "Have your uniform in something waterproof so it doesn't get wet, and then change at school.""You would own a rain poncho," Link muttered, as he headed down the front porch steps, and was subsequently splashed by a car going way too fast for the local speed limit.The entire walk to school, Link used his umbrella not as a shield against the rain, but as a shield against the water from the cars driving by. He still got wet, of course, but Link reasoned he was getting less wet from the "sky water", and more wet from the "car water". The trio trudged along the flooded out Avenue, where ducks were enjoying an impromptu swim amongst the leaves and empty plastic bottles. The rain showed no signs of stopping, and by the time they reached Melee Academy, even with umbrellas and rain ponchos, they could barely see their hand in front of their face, it was raining so hard."I feel like I just took a dip in Zora's Domain," Link said, his teeth chattering, as they entered the warm and much dryer academic building. "I'm soaked.""Had you listened to us, you would've had something to change into. Alas..." Marth clicked his tongue. "You have naught but the clothes on your back that are currently clinging to you like a second skin."Link headed to the bathroom, his socks making squelching noises with every step he took as they squeezed out and reabsorbed the water in his shoes."He's gonna have a hell of a date with the hand dryer," Roy said, as he shrugged his backpack off in front of his locker. "Be there for hours, probably. He could've at least brought dry socks. Wet socks are the worst ." He pulled off his sopping wet hoodie, which sounded like a wet paper towel hitting the floor when he dropped it, before removing his sweatpants. Marth's face burned as he averted his gaze."R-Roy, have you no shame? We're in the hallway--""Oh relax, Marth." Roy leaned against the locker so he could pull his rain boots off. "I have shorts on under them.""S-Still!"Roy shoved his wet clothes into a plastic bag and retrieved his mostly dry uniform from his backpack."It's nothing you haven't seen before."Marth's face was on fire now. "I beg your pardon?"Roy grinned. "I didn't know you got flustered so easy.""Flustered?" Marth scoffed, though he could tell his face was probably at least the same shade of red as Roy's hair. "W-Who's flustered? Not me. If anything you should be the flustered one, for you're stripping in the middle of the--""What's this about Marth seeing you naked?" It was Link, who was slightly less wet, but not by much. In his hands, he carried his shoes and socks."I have never seen anyone naked!" That came out a little louder than Marth had intended, but right now he didn't care, he had his reputation to protect, such as it was."Including yourself?" Link asked."I don't make it a habit of looking at myself without clothes on."Roy slipped his uniform pants on before shoving his feet into his dress code compliant shoes."Well maybe you should," Link said. "Everyone should be in tune with themselves.""I bet he looks good naked," Roy said with a wink."Roy Pherae, if you do not cease and desist right now--" Link looked from Roy's huge grin to Marth's tomato for a face and back."Sheesh, and I thought I was the terrible friend. I think if you don't stop, he's gonna combust."Roy buttoned up his dress shirt before pulling on his blazer."It was meant as a compliment, Marth," Roy explained, as he made sure he hadn't mismatched his buttons again."How is saying I might look good naked a compliment?!""It means he likes what he sees and wants to see more," Link said, which caused Roy to stammer and flush."W-What? N-No! It...It just kind of slipped out, that's all. No harm was meant by it." He laughed nervously, but Link's stare told him I'm not buying it.Marth and Roy gazed awkwardly at anything that wasn't the other. Link sighed and shook his head."What am I gonna do with the two of you if I'm the responsible friend in this sitch?""You're the one who started the naked thing," Marth accused, his eyes narrowed in Link's direction."So then I am absolutely not the responsible friend in the group?""Absolutely not," Marth said, as Roy shoved his plastic bag full of soggy clothing into the locker. "This whole mess was your fault. If anything, that is the only thing you're able to claim responsibility for."Link grinned. "I'm okay with this.""If anyone is going to be the adult here, it's likely going to be me." Marth said this with such confidence that Link snorted."Whatever you say, Marth."Mewtwo examined the sheet of paper floating inches from his face, eyes narrowed, three fingered hand stroking what Marth assumed was his chin as the thirteen members of his first period Japanese class sat quietly. Mewtwo made a sound of deep contemplation before the paper fell to the ground."There will be an assembly during this and the next period for first and second years," Mewtwo said at last. It still unnerved Marth to see Mewtwo's mouth remain closed as his voice reverberated in everyone's heads. "That doesn't mean we won't be doing work."Aras groaned."I will do as much instruction as I can in fifteen minutes, which will be homework collection for those of you who bothered."As everyone retrieved their homework from their backpacks, Mewtwo decided to do the attendance sheet. It was, after all, his teacherly duty, not that he cared overly much if everyone was present. Aras opened her backpack only for what looked like rain water to spill out from it and cover her skirt and the floor. Her desk mate, Gary Stu, was not amused in the least by the sudden development that was his wet socks and shoes."Mewtwo-sensei," Alex said, raising his hand, "I think Aras sprung a leak.""So go find some paper towels or a mop or something and clean it up," Mewtwo said. "What do I look like, the janitorial staff?"Alex trudged over to the box of tissues Mewtwo kept on his desk and grabbed a fistful of them, all the while Mewtwo waved his hand and collected the homework assignments without so much as blinking. Aras sat on her seat, completely paralysed."I think my underwear is wet," she said. "I daikirai this.""There's a joke I could make," Nicholas said, as he watched Alex try to mop up the water with something slightly thicker than 1-ply toilet paper, "but I won't.""Smart," Mewtwo said, his eyes scanning each assignment."There isn't anyone remotely attractive in this class to get that kind of reaction, Nick," Stephanie said, without looking up for a second from her 3DS."I wouldn't say that's exactly true," Kweenetra said, eying Stephanie. "It depends on what you're into."Mewtwo sighed. "Can we not discuss this in my classroom?""Mewtwo-sensei, can I go to my locker and retrieve extra clothes to change into?"Mewtwo gave her a look."Why do you even have extra clothes?" Alex asked."Because I'm a girl, you baka!""You never know when iced tea will gush down your thighs," Nestea said, nodding sagely."That is euphemism for something disgusting, isn't it," Marth muttered, just as Mewtwo said, "Can we not discuss this in my classroom for the love of Arceus?""I will never drink iced tea again," Stephen muttered.Before Nestea could explain how that was even possible, static came through the intercom speaker. One violent coughing fit later, the school's announcement administrator (which was his job title on paper, he carried it around to show people who didn't believe him) came booming over the loudspeaker, "Will all first and second years please come to the auditorium in an orderly fashion for your annual morning assembly?"Mewtwo couldn't even properly dismiss his class before everyone was gone. It was just Mewtwo, Alex (who was still trying to clean the floor with knockoff Kleenex aptly named CLEANUX), and Aras (who refused to move with her entire bottom half sopping from the lake that was contained in her bag)."No one respects their teachers these days," Mewtwo muttered, as he floated over to his desk chair, sitting on it sideways so he could sit on it without his tail interfering. "Damn Millennials.""Um, Sensei, we're actually the Centennials, also known as Gen Z--""I don't care. It's the Millennials who birthed you, therefore, it is their fault."Alex found himself unable to combat that.Marth sat as close to the doors as he possibly could; neither Roy nor Link had a problem with this, and happily sat with him. Most of the others tried to sit as close to the front as possible, with some even picking fights over it. It was just an assembly with the school's head as the main speaker, and he likely never had anything exciting to say anyway. It didn't take all that long for the auditorium to fill, both the main space on the third floor and the balcony one entered from the fourth. Some kid from the balcony decided it was a good idea to toss popcorn to those seated below, with one student catching some in his mouth. You don't know where that's been, Marth thought with a grimace. You don't know what he's done to it. "Are assemblies always like this?" Roy asked."More or less," Link said. "I know last year one guy created a flamethrower with a bunsen burner he took from a chemistry classroom.""What happened to him?"Link shrugged. "Probably got expelled. Mr Hand got so mad, he made an announcement over the intercom the next day about how the student who created the pyrotechnic display wasn't fit for Melee Academy, as it caused a great disturbance unbefitting of the institution..."A man appeared on stage dressed all in black, his face obscured by a black balaclava. In the dim lighting he would've been almost invisible, and with the lights off likely would've been completely blended into the background, had it not been for the bright white glove he wore on his right hand. The amount of bleach and starch likely used on those gloves to make them almost unnaturally white made Marth's hands itch."He was a magician at one point," Link whispered. "Did one of those TV shows revealing magician secrets or something, or at least that's what he told us. Someone said that it's more likely he ended up being a witness to some horrible crime and is now under witness protection, and dresses like this to avoid anyone possibly finding out his real identity.""But why the glove?" Marth asked."Dunno," Link answered. "He said it's the glove that touched the hand of God or something. Makes him feel powerful." Link shrugged again. "He's kind of a weird guy, but not as weird as his twin brother."A figure wearing an outfit identical to Mr Hand's, save for a white glove appearing on his left hand, appeared to his left."He was in a heavy metal band," Link continued. "Went by the stage name 'Crazy Hand', because he did absolutely mad stage stunts that would make Ozzy Osbourne look like a proper British gentleman. Now he's here so that Mr Hand can keep him in check."Crazy Hand growled at an unsuspecting student. The din of the auditorium faded to nothingness."Good morning, students!" Mr Hand sounded so cheerful it was most definitely fake.The assembled underclassmen all gave half-hearted greetings. Marth folded his arms over his chest and settled in for a long, drawn out assembly that would more than likely bore half the school's population to slumber, like all of those Archanean court meetings his father would drag him to. Roy was already trying to stifle a yawn."Good good morning!" Crazy Hand yelled."Yes," Mr Hand said, sounding slightly less enthusiastic now. "Yes, it is morning, and a good one at that, because it's a brand new school year! For those who are returning, welcome back!""Welcome welcome!" Crazy said."And for those who are completely new, welcome to the Melee Academy, where we cultivate the utmost potential and excellence in our students." Mr Hand sounded prim and proper and even regal . Crazy Hand stood ramrod straight, hand to his heart."Or figure out which ones will not be able to succeed," Crazy added, voice deep and sinister."I am your dean, the head of this fantastic institution, Mr Hand." The way he said 'mister' was more like 'master'."And I am the dean-to-the-second-power--" The microphone cut out for Crazy Hand before coming back in again with a staticy hiss. "--but I would absolutely love it if you called me 'Crazy Hand'!" He bowed."What the hell even is this," Roy whispered."He's always like this," Link said. "He's big into theatrics. They both are, but Crazy Hand is...a lot more theatrical, whereas Mr Hand is more dramatic.""These are the ones in charge of the school." Marth wasn't asking a question. If anything, it sounded like he was trying to convince himself of the fact that these two ex-metalheads were running a high class boarding school."Crazy Hand's fun," Stephanie chimed in from in front of them. "Overkills it sometimes, but still fun."Mr Hand cleared his throat. "I do have some announcements to make, which is why I called an assembly to order. Most of it is just reiterating policy for those who are returning, and making sure the newcomers know what we do and don't want when it comes to our students and their behaviour." Mr Hand produced from his suit jacket pocket a small pile of index cards. "There are a few other announcements as well, but all in due time!"Marth sighed. Link was already half asleep."No wonder Lord Hector always fell asleep in League meetings," Roy muttered. "Father always said Lord Erik of Laus was showoff-y like this whenever he opened with the minutes from the last meeting.""Perhaps you need a better minutes keeper," Marth said.As Mr Hand droned on about the dress code and how students could use the summer uniform if they so chose to, Link ended up faceplanting the chair in front of him, not caring who saw. How could he when he was asleep? Marth shook his head as Roy took notes."My father does this for Lord Hector," Roy explained, when he saw Marth look his way. "So I will do this for Link, so he doesn't miss anything.""I don't think he minds missing anything, to be quite honest.""We will be having a change in faculty this year..." Mr Hand tried to sound sad, maybe even disappointed. "Our dear head of discipline, Mr Coxburn, after dedicating forty years of his life to disciplining students of all ages at over twenty different secondary schools all over Nintendia, is finally retiring to Delfino Isle to live out his golden years stretched out on lovely beaches, toes in the sand..."A balding, hunched over, creaking looking fellow emerged from stage left, waving to the zero people who were rooting for him, before taking the microphone from Mr Hand. Crazy Hand clapped a little too loud."Thank you, thank you, for that moving introduction, Mr Hand." Mr Coxburn chuckled a little. "You know, I remember when this institution was just named The Academy, and started out with just twelve incredibly eager and talented students, many of whom came back as teachers and staff to the very building that laid down their foundations...""I'm going to go mad," Marth said. "Jagen will ask what broke me, and I will have to tell him that a man with the worst sounding surname in the English language bored me to such an extent, that my brain has ceased all function.""That's a bit melodramatic, don't you think?" Roy winced when Mr Coxburn's microphone gave feedback that rivaled a Voltorb's Screech attack in terms of eardrum destruction."Perhaps.""Just remember that even if the world goes mad, that you'll continue to fight and believe in yourself," Roy said."My world's already mad, and I'm done fighting."It started as a soft noise coming from the balcony, but soon erupted into something much more thunderous, a sound that signaled a storm was brewing above their heads, followed by someone gasping and shouting, "Oh my god, Eggie, are you okay?!" and, "Holy shit, Eggie just blacked out!" This of course started a bit of a commotion on the balcony, which Mr Coxburn ignored in favour of continuing his monologue about how only the most righteous and future oriented students succeed at Melee Academy, but Mr Hand mostly certainly glared with immense disapproval as two girls fanned the face of another sunk low in her theatre-style seat. Students in the area near Eggie Marsalla covered their faces with their hands, ties, blazer sleeves, or in one case another person's arm.It was so loud, Link startled awake and hit his nose against the seat he was using as a makeshift pillow."What was that?""I...don't know," Roy said, his voice trailing off as he tried to peer up into the balcony above. "I guess a girl passed out or something?""--and that is why I am so sad to leave you wonderful students, who I have helped mould into upstanding citizens of Nintendia," Mr Coxburn continued."Yes, that was lovely," Mr Hand interrupted, grabbing the microphone before Mr Coxburn could speak any further. "We are surely sad to see you go, but we must move on to the future." Mr Hand made a motion and Crazy escorted the retired disciplinarian off the stage."Our new head of discipline is none other than a former alumnus: Mr Ganondorf Dragmire!"Marth looked at Link in alarm when the Hylian growled. Roy moved away in surprise."Uh, Link? Are you...are you okay?" the redhead asked."Who the hell let him in?" Link's voice was low, dangerously so."Mr Hand, obviously," Marth said. "Are you...are you alright, Link?"There was a murmur throughout the crowd as tension rose in the air. Or perhaps that was something left over from Eggie Marsalla's surprise gastrointestinal emission. "Objection!" Link stood now, eyes narrowed, hands balled into fists at his sides. "I object to this faculty appointment!""Link, what are you doing?!" Roy tugged on Link's arm to try and get him to sit down."Have you completely lost your mind?" Marth said, more harshly than he intended."Ganondorf Dragmire is a murderer," Link continued. "He tried to assassinate the current monarch of Hyrule, he killed my parents--"Ganondorf laughed. "Sit down, boy. You're embarrassing yourself.""Those convictions were overturned due to a lack of evidence," Mr Hand said. "Rest assured, we run all sorts of background checks! You are all perfectly safe!""I watched him kill her," Link continued. "I know what I saw.""Sit down, Mr Mekkai," Mr Hand said, his voice tinged with a threat he didn't need to voice.Something on the back of Ganondorf's hand flashed, and the towering man hid his hands behind his back. Link made no move to hide the glowing triangle on the back of his."Link sure is the talk of the halls," Roy remarked, as he met Marth at 217N, where their Honours English class took place."It takes the pressure off of me," Marth said, "so I don't mind someone else being the centre of gossip.""Doesn't it make you wonder, though?"Marth pulled the door open. "No. I don't wonder about other people's lives when I have my own to worry over.""So you're not curious at all then?" Roy asked, as he followed Marth inside the classroom."No." Marth made his way to his seat towards the back of the room, right next to the window, which gave a lovely view of the breezeway below. "If Link wants to tell everyone his life story, he's more than welcome to do so. Until then, don't--""Encourage the spread of gossip, yes, Marth, I know." Roy sat next to him. "Is it really a bad thing that I'm interested, though? He tossed some pretty heavy accusations at Mr Dragmire, after all..."Marth dug through his backpack for his notebook and pen."I don't think it's a terrible thing to be interested in the life of someone you call a friend, no. Just keep in mind that all their life might offer is a lot of pain and turmoil."Roy's brow furrowed as he rested his cheek on his palm."Is that why you won't tell me anything about yourself? You have a sister, and a guardian, but that's all I know. And that your father--""Is deceased, yes," Marth said, his bitterness coming to the surface. "And we're going to leave it at that, son of Marquess Pherae."Mr Mario came into the classroom then, a stack of papers in his arms."I figured in lieu of making you carry around these really heavy books," he said, in his heavy Italian accent, "I would just make photocopies of the things I want you to read, since we won't really be using the textbooks that much anyway.""You're the best," L'Andrea said, giving Mr Mario a thumbs up. He flushed, which was mostly hidden underneath his thick mustache."So today, we will be reading an old story that details the exploits of one man who beat the odds and slayed an evil dragon...""The Hero's Way," Marth whispered, at the same time Mr Mario announced it."It is about the journey of Anri, Altea's first king, who had to go through many difficult trials in order to defeat the Earth Dragon known as Medeus," Mario explained, as he passed out rather thick packets stapled with an industrial stapler, or perhaps even a staple gun. Marth tried to ignore the stares. He made a point to find something interesting to look at through the window instead."Isn't Altea that kingdom that was burned to the ground a few months back?" Gary Stu asked, without raising his hand, because he felt he was too good to do so. "And whose prince is supposedly missing, possibly even dead?""Their prince isn't dead," Marth said. "He ran away with his tail between his legs, but he isn't dead."Gary Stu smirked. "And you know that on what authority, exactly?""He's Altean nobility," Roy said. "Stop trying to start a fight, Gary Stu.""I bet his prince is dead," Gary Stu continued. "I bet King Jiol grabbed him and chopped off his head--""Mama-mia!" Mario exclaimed, just as Marth cursed at Gary Stu with the foulest words he knew in his mother tongue. "Mr Stu, to Mr Dragmire's office, please!"Gary Stu looked shocked. "I get sent to the office, but Marth doesn't?""You started it," L'Andrea said. "You started it in the hopes of getting Marth going, you have no one to blame but yourself." Others chimed in in agreement."Office! Now!"Gary Stu picked up his books and stormed out of the classroom.Mario waited a minute or two before turning back to his textbook. "Where was I?""You were telling us about the journey Anri took," Dean said."Right! So anyway..."Without looking directly at Roy, Marth murmured a, "Thank you," before turning his attentions to the packet on his desk."One day he's gonna say the wrong thing to the wrong person and get his ass kicked," Roy whispered. "Or at least screamed at.""One can only hope," Marth said. He had the barest hint of a smile on his face.Link was waiting for Marth and Roy after eighth period concluded in his now usual spot at their locker. Marth couldn't even tell Link had had an outburst a few hours ago at the assembly, the blond was acting like nothing had happened at all, in fact. He grinned as they made their approach."So we're gonna have a mandatory admin station tomorrow morning," Link said, his voice incredibly cheerful."Let me guess," Roy said, as he pretended to be staring off into the future, "it's because of what you did at the assembly today.""Well that and about what happened to Eggie Marsalla." Link stepped aside as Roy unlocked the locker."Which was?"Link chuckled a little as he leaned against the adjacent locker. "So Eggie brought a sandwich with her right? Bologna and mustard with swiss cheese and pickles. It was in a ziplock that was kept in a fanny pack, yeah?"Roy dumped all of his books on the bottom shelf. "Yeah.""Well she nearly missed the assembly, and came in late. Flopped down onto her seat. Guess the ziplock had air in it or something, because the damn thing exploded. But that's not all!"Roy retrieved his still damp clothes. "It gets worse?" He ducked his head a little so Marth could reach over him."It scared her so much that she ended up farting. At least this is the story that Eggie's friends are telling, so who the heck knows. But that thunderous noise we heard was her fart. And it shook her with such force that she ended up passing out.""I don't think that's plausible," Marth said."I don't think it's the truth either," Link agreed. "This isn't the first time it's happened, and her brother Edgar has the same problem, guy can apparently fart on command, and did a similar thing at his fancy prep school.""Makes sense that her friends are covering for her though," Roy said, shutting and locking his locker. "That's what friends do.""I mean yeah... I'd save you guys from something potentially high school life ruining, that's for sure," Link said. "I'd expect you two to do the same thing for me."The trio headed for the exit that was only a short walk away."I saw Gary Stu fuming in Ganondorf's office," Link said. "Kept yelling about injustices and whatever.""He tried to start crap with Marth," Roy said, as they wove through the quickly thinning crowd to get to the main street. "We're reading The Hero's Way or whatever in English class, which is about some Altean hero, and Gary Stu took that as an opportunity to try and attack Marth since he's Altean nobility."Link sighed. "What does that guy have against Marth, anyway?""I believe he just has a chip on his shoulder in general," Marth said."Did he insult the guy the story's about or something?"Roy fell silent."He said that the Altean prince is dead," Marth said, his voice surprisingly steady to his ears."All the gossip and internet articles refer to you as the quote-unquote prince ," Link said. "And you are very obviously Not Dead. Unless, of course, you're a well behaved zombie, which means that Resident Evil was completely full of shit and not based on a true story like it proclaims--""I'm merely nobility within Altea, as I've said before," Marth interrupted. "They're misinformed about my social status." Except they're not, Marth thought. But neither was I. The Altean prince is a coward, and I am nothing more than a noble without a home to speak of. A prince of nothing but burned ruins and ruined lives. "Damn clickbait articles," Link muttered."That's the nature of them," Roy said. "To be intentionally misleading in the hopes people view them."As Roy and Link discussed how clickbait culture had evolved since the decade rolled over, Marth flipped through the literature he and Roy had been assigned, which was a legend he was all too intimately familiar with. Both Jagen and his father had drilled it into his head from a young age, because it was important for Anri's great-grand-nephew to know the origins of the kingdom and the family and so forth. His fingers traced the letters that formed the words printed on the page, but felt no comfort from them. He had never read an English translation of the story before, and some phrasings sounded stilted and not as poetic as they did in Altean. This copy also didn't have the beautiful illustrations that often adorned the more ornate editions of the book, which was something Marth missed terribly. He often found solace in tracing the lithographs as Elice would read the story to him and Merric during a time before Marth knew what the words even meant.This was the man whose legacy had been passed down from father to son over five generations. This was the man who had placed expectations upon Marth that he knew he couldn't live up to at all. Altea was a mess, the kingdom taken from his father by his own cousin, the king of Gra, who was hellbent at wiping out the rest of the family residing in Altea and Ylisse so he could rule.So long as Prince Marth Lowell of Altea and Princess Emmeryn Sheppard of Ylisse were alive, Jiol couldn't accomplish his "rule over everything" task without a lot of opposition, fighting, and bloodshed. Altea's castle may have fallen, but the people didn't fall with it. Not yet.Upon arrival back at the Manse, Marth fell away from Roy and Link, who were busy checking out the latest Buzzfeed quizzes, to make contact with his sister. She picked up after three rings."Marth." Her voice was soft and filled with such warmth that Marth sighed and genuinely smiled."Sister, it is good to hear your voice," he said, before switching over to Altean. "Have you heard anything from home?"There was a pause, a hesitation, that made Marth's heart leap against his ribs."I heard from Chrom," she said, her words slow as she carefully chose them. "He said they may have found Emmeryn, but they aren't sure. They're trying to find anyone in the area who has any information.""Is she..." Marth's throat constricted. "Is Cousin Emmeryn...?""I don't know. Chrom didn't ask them for any elaboration, he said he didn't want any speculation, but facts. They neglected to tell him anything until they are one hundred percent positive."Marth found himself on the staircase leading to the residential area. He sat down, head in his palm."Please give Cousin Chrom and Lissa my regards in this trying time," he said. "It isn't much, but that is all I can offer them at this time.""He told me to send his on to you," she said. "I'll tell you any information I have as soon as I hear it. The situation in Altea is dire, Marth. Those who rise up in your name are being slaughtered by Jiol and his army."Marth gripped his fringe now and tugged."That is unforgivable," he said through grit teeth. "If it will save lives, please inform Jiol and his ilk that I am dead.""Don't say such things!""It would solve a lot of problems, wouldn't it?" His voice rose as he stood from the stairs. "If I had died along with Mother and Father, more innocents wouldn't have to die--""The people would have risen up regardless to avenge you," Elice reasoned. "Marth, please... You have every right to be angry, but do not wish for your own death when you are all that I have left..."Marth sighed before swallowing down his own bitterness. "Forgive me and my foolishness, Sister.""You are no fool," she replied. "Please, take care, Marth. I worry for you."Marth felt even worse after he ended the phone call, his thoughts unsettled.
Emm... Please be safe.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

September 5th, 2014
It was the weekend, and for once, Marth slept in. Exhausted from spending all of last night composing an email to Elice and Chrom about what had been going on with him lately, only to delete it an hour later and write out a typo laden text document about how he really felt about life and the injustices against his family and home and how Jiol could burn in hell for what he had done--Marth had to admit, it felt good to lay everything out.He ended up deleting that, too, because despite everything that had happened, Jiol was still family , and Marth was supposed to handle all of this with grace and dignity he was pretty sure he didn't possess, calling men to arms to fight for Altea and bring this man to justice. Marth didn't want to bring this man to justice. He wanted him dead. Put to the sword. Dragged through the streets on the back of a carriage and made an example of like he did to his father, which he saw via a Facebook Live post by Jiol's second in command. He snapped his laptop closed and decided it was time to retire for the evening; it was well after midnight by now.As the morning sun burned bright in the sky, filtering through the curtains, Marth sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the heel of his palm, just as Roy emerged from the bathroom wearing his pajamas, a towel around his shoulders, his hair damp. The steam billowing out from behind him indicated to Marth that Roy had just finished showering, and Marth shut the thought that tried to follow down almost immediately. He most certainly did not want to imagine Roy naked.Or, at least, he thought he didn't. Was sure he didn't. And yet Marth couldn't look away, couldn't help but trace the droplets of water as they made their way down from Roy's hair and down his jawline with his eyes."Mornin'," Roy mumbled, as he headed for his computer, seemingly oblivious to Marth's stare."Good morning," Marth answered, remembering himself finally, as he reached for the robe draped across the foot of his bed."Have any neat dreams to share?" Roy leaned back in his chair as his laptop booted up. "I dreamed I was the lord of cheese, and there were Krabby Patties, and Father found out he was distantly related to King Neptune... It was quite odd."
That's what you get from watching a 24/7 livestream of Spongebob on Youtube while you sleep.
"I don't usually recall my dreams," Marth said. "The ones I do are ones I'd rather I didn't." Roy accessed his email on his computer while scrolling through Facebook on his phone."I was thinking of getting some breakfast from the kitchen before I start that current events project for Mr Mario."Marth pulled his robe on before completely exiting the warmth of his bed."I wasn't aware that our English teacher also taught History." He headed for the small bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face."Oh, he doesn't," Roy said, as he thumbed through his list of assignments. "It's his younger brother, Luigi, who teaches it. Naturally they have the same surname, so... Anyway, he gave us a list of topics that are 'current', and we have to do some article finding and then write a report on it. At least one page, double spaced, one inch margins all round... You know. Standard MLA stuff."When Marth emerged from the bathroom, he was greeted by a strange look."You're in my History class, so why don't you know this stuff?"Marth blinked. The past few days felt like a blur, all combining into one another."I must admit, my mind has been a bit preoccupied as of late."Roy's chair creaked as he shifted on it."Well, if it helps to unload it a little bit, I'm a great listener."Marth went over to his dresser, where he pulled out a plain blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans."I don't feel it's necessary to 'unload' anything." He heard Roy sigh."Come off it, Marth. There is obviously something bothering you, you're so tense you're a bow string pulled so taut that you're about to snap, or the wood is about to break, whichever happens first. Someone can get hurt from too much tension.""You sound like Jagen," Marth said, as he pulled on his shirt."Maybe he has a point," Roy said. "Your country was invaded and your family slaughtered." His words contained a heaviness Marth winced at. "Who the hell is 'fine' after that?""No one is," Marth admitted. "But I have no choice but to be. My duty dictates that my people, my kingdom, they all come before my own wellbeing."Marth spent an awfully long time folding up his sleepwear. His secret was out.
I should feel anxious, and yet at this moment I can't find it in me to care. I'm too tired to care at this point.
"So you are a bonafide actual royal."Marth chuckled. "At one point, maybe. But now I am not a prince of anything, least of all Altea." He placed his pajamas at the foot of his bed in a neat little square, his robe to the right of it. Marth pulled on his boots and pocketed his phone."I've seen what happens to royals who get inundated by tragedy," Roy said quietly. "The king of Bern, Desmond, tried to kill his son, Prince Zephiel. Prince Zephiel retaliated, killing him, and in the process he ended up losing himself. Never recovered. Tried to start a war, but the Marquess Ostia put a stop to that. His sister runs the country in his stead because they deemed him unfit to rule."Marth picked idly at his bedspread. "I must say, I didn't expect to have a discussion of this magnitude before I've had my morning tea and toast."Roy had such a severe look on his face, ill-suited for how boyish he appeared."You can confide in me, Marth. I don't want you to end up like Zephiel did."Marth shrugged. "Perhaps it would be best if I ended up 'unfit' to rule Altea. They could have someone much more suitable at her helm."Roy gave him a look that said, I don't believe you. Breakfast ended up being a quiet affair as Marth debated whether he should take Roy's advice and open up a little, loosen the iron grip he had on his own thoughts and feelings. But this would mean going against Jagen's advice, and Marth had never gone against his guardian in all his fifteen years, especially since everything he did, he did for Marth--but was it for Marth or was it for the Prince of Altea? Marth took a sip of tea. It was the first time he'd ever had a thought like that. If he was completely honest, he was afraid that if he opened up to Roy, that everything would come pouring out and scare Roy away entirely, and Marth didn't want that to happen either.Halfway through the serenity that was breakfast-but-almost-really-lunch, there was a loud noise from the direction of the recreation room, followed by a torrent of cursing and an, "Anaka, I'm going to throttle you!" Peach looked up from her newspaper and sighed as she shook her head."What was that?" Roy asked through a mouthful of eggs, something his best friend's mother would scold him for."It sounded like Link," Marth said."They've been playing video games since seven this morning," Peach remarked, as she turned a page. "Link got a new racing game, some Deep Space Racer Extravaganza or something, and I guess he's not good at losing." She giggled. "His younger brother and friends are pretty good at it, for something they haven't played before."Marth and Roy deposited their dishes in the sink and thanked Peach for breakfast before heading over to the rec room. There, seated on the couch, was Link and what appeared to be a younger version of himself, as well as a boy with a backwards red baseball cap, and a boy wearing a jacket that looked too warm for outside, let alone inside. Their eyes were glued to the action on the big screen TV mounted on the wall, and Link nearly tossed the Wiimote at it when his car rammed into a wall and exploded."What's going on in here?" Roy asked, his tone conversational as he approached the couch."Link's getting his ass kicked," said the younger Link. "It's about time I beat him at something.""Your ass is mine when this is over," Link growled, as the game announcer called the race's end."Ha! I won again!""I was a solid second," said the boy with the baseball cap and striped shirt."I did better than Link did, so I'm okay with that," said the parka wearing boy."I think anyone can do better than Link," the mini Link replied with a smirk. "I bet a brick can do better.""So..." Roy looked at the quartet. "Who...are these people?"Link dropped the Wiimote on the couch and sighed."You mean you haven't told your friends about me at all?" Young Link crossed his arms. "I'm hurt, Link. Hurt.""Cry me a river," Link retorted, as he stood from the couch to join his friends. "The blond with a smart mouth is my younger brother, Anaka.""Everyone calls me 'Little Link' though, because I'm apparently my brother's twin-born-three-years-later.""I didn't know you had siblings," Marth said."I'm...pretty sure I mentioned it at some point, but yeah, I have three younger siblings and only one of them is my least favourite." Link shot daggers at Anaka."Oh please.""This is Ness," Link said, gesturing to the kid in the striped shirt, "and this is Popo, who has such low blood pressure that he's constantly cold. Or something. They're my kid brother's kid friends or whatever you wanna call 'em.""Champions of Deep Space Sixing," Young Link said. Marth didn't understand why Link found that phrase scandalous, but chalked it up to Link not being over losing to his younger brother. Marth turned to Roy, who just shrugged."I need to get away from you," Link said. "Maybe...maybe I'll do my homework. You guys wanna have a study sesh or something?""Sure," Marth said, at the same time Roy said, "I guess.""This Japanese assignment from Mewtwo sucks." Link's voice echoed in the empty library located on The Manse's top floor. "Why does he want to know what we did over the weekend?""He probably doesn't care," Roy said. "It's language practise.""So I gotta write five sentences on what I did today and tomorrow? Using 'new vocabulary' that I already knew but never used because I heard it in an anime I watched Friday night?""At least you've done something worthwhile," Marth said. "So far I have that I slept in, ate breakfast, and did my Japanese homework. Roy's done research, played Bejeweled, wrote a blog post...""It was only three sentences," Roy admitted. "I don't think that really counts as much of a post."Link shut his notebook. "I'm just gonna make shit up and turn it in Monday, he probably doesn't even read any of it anyway." His chair scraped against the flooring as he stood up. "I'm gonna get some lunch, you two...?"Roy shook his head. "We had a late breakfast.""I've got a bunch of assignments still to go," Marth said. "Go on without me."Link shrugged. "Suit yourselves. It's Penne Vodka Saturday, so don't expect much left over." He left his school books on the table and walked out of the library, leaving Marth and Roy alone at the table."Please tell me I'm not the only one who finds The Hero's Way really boring," Roy said, as he flipped open his English notebook."It's a lot dryer in English than I had expected," Marth said. "The original is much more poetic and appealing and more meaningful than this. Compare homemade bread to something stale you bought from a store and is too hard to even be used as croutons.""So...how does Mr Mario want us to analyse something that's going to put everyone else to sleep?"Marth pulled out his own copy, which was highlighted and annotated all over the margins and in between lines."I'm already familiar with the story, so I know how it should be."A soft voice called out from behind a nearby bookcase, "Ah, you're reading the story of Anri, are you not?"The two boys looked up to see Zelda clutching a few books to her chest."You've read it before?" Marth asked.Zelda chuckled. "Last year in my English class, we had to do an entire performance of it. You are correct that in English it lacks a certain...punch. So I looked up in my own time the original Altean version and, using a dictionary, did my own translation." She took a seat across from Marth at the table. "Rudimentary though it may be, I did have a lot of fun learning a new language and seeing a folk legend in a new light.""It's a very important piece of work," Marth said. "As well as being extremely important to my own family, who are--"Marth clamped his mouth shut. Zelda gave him a confused look."Who are...?""Who are...very much interested in folk legends," Marth said, knowing that though he may have saved it in Zelda's eyes, Roy looked less convinced. "My sister read it to me when I was younger as a bedtime story. I always found comfort in stories about heroes slaying dragons and such.""It is an important story to the royal family of Altea as well," Zelda said. "It tells of the first king, after all. Their ancestor.""And like most origin stories," Marth said, "a lot of them are completely fabricated to make the originator look good."Zelda giggled. "Perhaps. Hyrule has a few tales itself that talk of heroes being reincarnated in a time of need, and goddesses blessing the lands and so forth. Some of them are rather...embarrassing to recite...and even more to believe.""Do people really believe such legends as facts?" Roy asked.Zelda nodded. "Certainly. Link's parents believe that he is a reincarnation of the first Hero of Hyrule. Link, of course, does not." Zelda studied Marth's copy of Anri's legend carefully. "You've made some rather detailed notes and comparisons, Marth...including corrections."Marth flushed. "Yes, well... I would rather there be a more accurate English translation, with a bit more zest to it."As Marth and Zelda chatted about The Hero's Way, Roy decided to start on a letter to his father. He wanted to tell him about the new friends he had made, how he was doing in school, how he had been sleeping... All of the things he knew his father would ask, or his retainer Marcus would be worried about. Marcus... Marth's guardian sounded a lot like him, the kind to always worry and overthink things, although Marcus didn't seem as strict as this Jagen fellow. Whilst Marcus knew that it was important that Roy knew how to be the Pheraean marquess when his time came, he let Roy experience so many different things, especially when it came to people. Marcus would accompany Roy to the market. To various school events. Hell, Roy wasn't even privately tutored like his grandfather had been, and didn't go to the same fancy school that his father had. And Marcus certainly didn't tell Roy to keep his lineage or the fact that he had noble blood a secret, even during feuds between various countries. Even if he did, it would be moot point, since everyone knew his face."I must excuse myself," Zelda said, as her mobile vibrated against the tabletop. "That's probably Impa. It was great talking to you, Marth, and I hope we have many conversations like this to come."Marth nodded with a smile. "The pleasure was mine, Zelda."Zelda left the library as she answered her mobile, and Marth's smile turned to a frown when he saw the look on Roy's face."What?""There's something I want to ask you, Marth."Marth shuffled through his school papers. "What would that be?""How do people not recognise you on the street as the Prince of Altea?"Marth opened his maths textbook to the page he had bookmarked with his pencil. "It's rare to see any of the royal family save for the currently reigning king and queen, so few have seen my face. And the names of the royal children are considered 'sacred', so no one really knows my name, just a nickname." He sighed. "Although I am...pretty sure half of the school already knows." He remembered the first day of school, and all of the whispers in the halls. "Either they know or they at least suspect. Perhaps Jiol himself has already outed me, in which case there's literally no point to anything, is there?""I'm sure there are dots that they can connect through other means, especially if you have relatives who are less private about things," Roy said."But Jagen reasons if I stick to my story, it casts a lot of doubt, doesn't it? Especially if all they do is read gimmicky clickbait articles that are full of mostly conspiracy theories. Jiol wants a completely positive identification on me before he makes his move."Roy set his pen down. "Surely he wouldn't come to a school and try to murder you, especially in a place where the rules are different and he could quickly be brought to justice."Marth tapped his phone screen as he checked his answers. "You do not know what King Jiol is capable of. If he finds out where I am, he could try to set up an ambush. He doesn't care if others get caught up in it, either. So please, keep this between us." He looked up at Roy."On my father's name, I promise," Roy said, as he tapped his fingers on the table. "But they announced your name in the halls, calling you Altea's prince. If this Jiol has spies in the school, surely he knows your name."Marth's face was grim. "He's family, so yes, he does. And to be honest, I feel this charade has been over for quite some time now, if Jagen's plan even worked at all." Marth had his doubts, though he went along with the plan anyway. He placed his hand on top of Roy's. "As my friend..."Roy placed his hand on top of Marth's. "I'm not going anywhere, Marth. You're not as helpless as they think. Maybe they think they've isolated you, pushed you into a corner and left you helpless. But all they've done is drive you into the arms of new allies."Marth's shoulders relaxed just a little. "I would hate to involve Pherae into this mess and cause trouble."Roy smiled. "My father is a great mediator, but he would send aid without hesitation, and convince the rest of the Lycian League to send reinforcements if so needed...and also provide shelter should you need it." He bit his lip. "If you and yours had reached out to us, perhaps we could've helped avoid--"Marth shook his head. "It would have made no difference. But I thank you regardless."In Marth's mind, nothing would have made a difference, the outcome would've been the same, and who would want to protect a prince that wasn't even theirs in the first place?"Do you...do you feel better?" Roy asked."I must admit, I do, even if it's only a little."They did not unclasp their hands right away.
My dear sister Elice,

I know Jagen recommended we not send written correspondence, but it feels wrong for me to be away from you and not send you a letter. I suppose one could blame my upbringing for that. I know we spoke on the phone yesterday, but there isn't a way to relive phone conversations and relish them, unless one records them. Regardless, it wasn't a conversation I would wish to remember, if only because the news you brought was rather disconcerting in nature.

Salutations out of the way... Life here at The Manse isn't terrible, though I've only been here for not even a week, I've quickly settled into a routine. I have a roommate, a lord from Pherae named Elroy Pherae, although he prefers to be called Roy. He's been great company, and I deeply value his company and our budding friendship. There is also another boy whom I've befriended by the name of Link Mekkai, all the way from Hyrule. I know you've talked of going there to trawl through the Royal Library and their selection of magic tomes. By meeting him I also met Hyrule's princess, Zelda, who is as knowledgeable as the people claim, if not moreso. I feel you and her would get along splendidly. Perhaps one day I can introduce the two of you.

How are things with you and Jagen? Please don't worry overmuch about me--I eat three meals a day, I'm doing well in school, I'm making friends, I try to get my required nightly rest, and I've even joined the fencing club so I can keep my skills sharp. I know Father would be pleased; I hope you are as well. After all, I need to excel if I hope to become king someday.
The rest of the sentence was covered in ink splotches from Marth tossing his fountain pen down, but he didn't care. He knew his words, though encouraging, were actually quite hollow, and who was he kidding with that last sentence? Elice would never buy it. Marth didn't even buy it, and he wrote it. There was no guarantee Altea would even exist by then.
Please give Jagen my regards.
He wanted to write about how Jagen's plan was flawed. That everyone pretty much knew who he was. That people mocked him, whispered about him, scorned him, acted like he was a pariah. Marth could deny all he wanted, could lie all he wanted, but everyone knew. It was an open secret at this point. He knew better than to do so, however. He wanted to paint a picture for his sister that he was fine, that everything was going great, that his heart wasn't so overly full of grief and pain that it sagged heavily against his ribs. That he often thought of handing himself over to Jiol personally so the misery could end and he could die with a smile on his face knowing Altea's people were safe, albeit now ruled by a tyrant consumed by jealousy and anger. And continue to pray for Cousin Emmeryn. The cousin who had last been seen running from Jiol's men, drawing them away from him so that they could escape. If anything happened to her... Marth would end up blaming himself. He knew that.
Love always, your brother,

Marth
Marth sighed as he folded up his letter and placed it in the envelope. He looked over to the other side of the room, where Roy was hunched over his desk, penning his own letter to his family. Marth left the envelope on his desk and crossed over to his bed where his pajamas were."I'll be heading off," Marth said, grabbing the sleepwear before heading to the bathroom to change."I probably will be too," Roy said. "I can finish up the rest of my homework tomorrow, it's almost midnight."Marth came back out and tossed his dirty clothes in the hamper just inside the bathroom door."Are there ever things you want to tell in your letters home, but you find yourself unable to write them out for fear of upsetting the person who will read it?"Roy swiveled around in his chair. "I've never been able to not tell my father something, but I know I can be candid with him and feel no judgment." Roy headed for his bed, already clad in his sleepwear. "Maybe that's what you're afraid of? Judgment?"Marth shrugged as he climbed into bed. "I don't like to upset my sister, but she's really the only one in my family I can be open with.. I don't want to burden her with my thoughts when she has her own to deal with.""Marth, you're not a burden," Roy said, trying to stifle a yawn.Marth felt the complete opposite. Besides, there was more important things in his life than dealing with his feelings. He knew that sooner or later, he would have to set aside time to sort them out properly, but now was not the time to do so.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

September 26th, 2014
"So today is a...pep rally," Roy said, as he browsed the calendar of events on the Academy's official Facebook page on his phone. It was a sunny, warm day, perfect weather for walking to school before it turned too humid to function. "What exactly is a pep rally?"Marth shrugged. His mood had been steadily improving over the past few weeks thanks to some talks with Roy, combined with finally acclimating to school life and a sense of normalcy. Marth wouldn't call himself 'okay', but 'better relatively speaking' worked just fine for him."It sounds like what one does when rallying the troops for some sort of pep talk," Marth said."Don't think too hard about it," Link said, thumbs hooking through the straps of his backpack. "It's just a boring event where we miss the last two periods of the day to sit in the bleachers outside and listen to people talking about how awesome our sports teams are, even though the football team hasn't won a game in...ten years I think Falcon said. And don't even get him started on the state of our soccer teams...""What about the fact that they play a sport here called 'football' that is played with their hands," Marth said, to which Link shrugged. "Perhaps they would have better luck if they played it correctly."A truck roared past, the back wheel of the trailer jumping the curb as it took a wide right turn even wider than it should have, nearly careening into a parked car and flipping over. There was yelling that other passersby paid no mind to, as if this happened all the time."But it's an excuse to not be in class, so most people don't care, they'll half-heartedly cheer and whatever. Most people just get their attendance taken and then skip out to eat at different places."The fence surrounding the school campus was decorated with balloons in the school colours of black, white, and orange, and handmade banners and posters with way too much glitter were tied to it to show support for the Melee Academy Smashers, which was the name of all the sports teams at the Academy. Poorly made stuffed versions of the school mascot, the Sandbag Smasher, were tied to the tips of the posts. Many students, in lieu of their white button down shirts and bright blue blazers, wore their sports jerseys or uniforms with their dress slacks. A line of cheerleaders, all dressed in their summer cheer uniforms that, to Marth's surprise, didn't show any midriffs or too much leg, gathered by the entrance and did a cheer whenever someone wearing one went by. Some did cartwheels at such speed around the bottom step that they looked like a white, black, and orange blur."Guess we won't see much of Zel today," Link said with a sigh. "She's gonna be cheering all day.""I didn't know she was part of the cheering squad," Marth said, as they walked past the main walkway and instead went through the doors of their usual entrance, that of the new-but-not-really-new building."She's the head cheerleader," Link said, sounding proud. "She takes it pretty seriously, but that's to be expected as a leader, I reckon."The hallway was pretty empty, much to Marth's surprise, but figured those involved in the pep rally were off preparing for it. Roy made quick work of the lock as everyone got their things together for the day."Attention students!""What now?" Marth asked, wincing a little at the too high pitched voice that came booming from the intercom."Due to the pep rally, uniform dress code has been relaxed! If you have any clothing showcasing your school pride, feel free to wear it!"Roy shook his head as he shoved his biology textbook in his bag."Why say that now instead of, I dunno, the days leading up to it?"Link shrugged. "I think people bring that stuff but aren't sure if they can wear it. Zelda has friends who always keep their 'spirit gear' in their lockers just in case." He shut the locker and secured the lock."Do you have spirit gear or whatever?" Roy asked, reshouldering his bag as they headed for the second floor of the main building.Link laughed. "No. Pretty much the only ones who do are either involved in the sport or whatever already, or they're like, dating someone involved, or just wanna support a friend. Zelda's tried to get me involved in that kind of stuff but I find a forty dollar sweatshirt I can only wear during high school a bit...much."Outside of room 221, Aras stood in a hoodie and sweats emblazoned with Sandbag Smasher's likeness, face paint in the school colours all over her face. Alex stood proudly in his male cheerleading uniform, the barest hint of glitter gracing the area under his right eye. Even Stephen's emo fringe was temporarily dyed bright orange with streaks of black. The one who would've won a School Spirit Contest, if Melee Academy bothered with such a thing, would've been Stephanie, with her cute Sandbag inspired outfit covered in glitter and plenty of tulle."We're locked out," Frankie said from the floor, his dress shirt mostly unbuttoned, revealing a band tee with Japanese writing on it. His Japanese textbook was precariously perched on top of his knees, notebook open on top of it. "Mewtwo-sensei is in there sipping a cup of coffee, blaring the 2BA Master CD--don't ask me how I know that, by the way--and burning holes with his eyes into the back wall."Marth peered into the window of the door, and sure enough, there were two rather sizable burn holes in the back wall, where at one point there were some cheap calligraphy paintings hanging from a nail embedded in the drywall."Is he... Is Mewtwo-sensei gonna be daijoubu?" Aras asked, having no concept of an indoor voice at all."When has Sensei ever been okay?" Dean asked from his place on the floor next to Frankie.The door shot open then, causing Dean to spill his handful of Doritos all over the floor. A voice bid them to enter, which could barely be heard over the dulcet tones of Together Forever. Aras couldn't hear it over the music blaring from her headphones, something about a farewell to Mars, because someone shot their pigs. Aras' brow furrowed before she switched the song to something that maybe made sense, with lines such as "can't you hear my happy" and "I don't need your awesome". "This. Is. a bop desu!" she yelled out. "Too bad it's in Eigo, the original Nihongo was so sugoi and kanpeki desu, and then they had to take it and ruin it with English kotoba! What bakas. I should korosu them."Alex was the lucky one subjected to Aras' rant about how NAKED DANCE was definitely better in Japanese than in English, and how Japanese was the superior language in all things anime, due to being across the aisle from her."You know, Aras, not all dubs are bad," Alex said, as Mewtwo turned his music off and poured himself another cup of coffee. "Some of them aren't really bad. Things have changed in like, ten years...""Urusai!" she yelled. "Or else."Alex squared his shoulders. "Or else what?""Or else omae wo korosu."Dean turned around in his seat to look at them both, offering Alex a bag of Doritos."What the hell does that even mean?"Aras shrugged before making a little hmph! noise, arms folded."Why should I tell you bakas anyway?""Where did you learn a phrase like that, Aras-san?" Mewtwo asked, as he went about getting his attendance book in order."From anime, sensei. It's educational!"Stephanie snorted, tapping away at her 3DS, whilst Stephen just shook his head at the cringe."In this, the tee why oh oh ehl 2014, we have someone quoting an anime from the 90s that no one's given a shit about since like 2003."Alex tapped his fingers on his desk. "I...still watch it from time to time, you know."Stephen rolled his eyes."What? It's like comfort food! It's not great but it makes you feel good inside."Mewtwo marked everyone in as present except for one Gary Stu, whose seat was occupied instead by Aras' Sailor Moon themed backpack."Enough about old anime," Mewtwo said, trying to bring the class to order. "Kiritsu!"Everyone stood except Aras, who was now listening to something else on her iPod. She bopped her head happily until she ended up forced to her feet by Mewtwo's telekinesis."This class is a disaster," Marth muttered."There's always one in every Japanese class," Link said. "Just roll with it, she'll either drop after this year, or grow out of her weeaboo ways and grow actual respect for Japanese.""Ohayou gozaimasu, minna-san," Mewtwo said in his usual monotone."Ohayou gozaimasu, sensei," said the class, except Aras who was busy mouthing along with Moonlight Densetsu."Rei!" Mewtwo barely bowed, whilst the rest bowed deep enough to be considered somewhat respectful to their teacher. Except Aras. With a simple hand movement, Aras's forehead connected with the desktop as he forced her to bow."I hope you've all done your homework," Mewtwo said, as everyone sat down as one. "It doesn't affect me regardless of whether you did or not, it's easier for me to write a zero than an actual letter grade anyway."Marth pulled out the hiragana packet Mewtwo had assigned as a "long term homework assignment". His of course was impeccably neat, his strokes almost flawless. Roy's was decent, with most things filled in, many of the kanji glossed over. Link's, on the other hand..."I'm...finding it hard to adjust to hiragana," Link confessed, his hiragana looking more like hangul. "It's nothing like Hylian script, that's for sure." Many of the answer lines were blank."Maybe you should've taken Hylian instead," Roy said."Yeah, but I feel like that wouldn't have offered me any challenge."Mewtwo grabbed the packets without leaving the comfort of his desk. All of them were filled out, but one was missing."Aras-san, kimi no shukudai ga arimasu ka.""Nani?"Mewtwo sighed. "Do you have your homework?""We had homework?!"Mewtwo wrote a zero next to her name. "Why should I even be shocked at this point at your blatant disregard for your coursework here, Aras-san? Why do you even take this class?"Aras pulled out a picture of a rather generic looking anime bishounen."I came here to see if I could find some kawaii boifurendo who loves all my fave animes and thinks all my anime boifurendos are sugoi."After another gulp of coffee, Mewtwo said, "Perhaps you should find a different language class to take if that's your goal.""Yeah, there's a dating site now called 'Weebs4Weebs'," Frankie said. "Not that...I've had personal experience for anything with it! But it's out there.""Can I find a real life Tamahome there?""As someone who has used the site," L'Andrea chimed in, "no. You can't find a real life Tamahome, but I did find a cute Duo Maxwell. We've been dating for two months. His name is Tom.""I thought Heero was your ichiban," Aras said. "That's a top ten anime betrayal, L'Andrea-chan. Dame desu. You are a warui person, cheating on your anime koibito like that."Marth felt a headache coming on as L'Andrea and Aras got into an argument about whether one could date multiple "bishies" or if L'Andrea was, in fact, a dirty cheater. "What are they even blabbering about?"Roy shrugged. "I'm not really up on my anime stuff, but Aras sounds really serious about this Heero Yuy guy.""The part I'm struggling with is the fact that they're talking about fictional characters like they can actually marry them." Marth winced when Aras shrieked, "Yatsu! How dare you betray your husbando!  Tsuki ni kawatte, oshiokiyo!"Link laughed. "Man, do I have some shit to show y'all on the internet later."Marth didn't want to know. He just wanted the day to be over already."Turn your textbooks to page 364," Mewtwo said."Sensei, this is all in Japanese, none of us can really read it," Dean remarked. "Did you mean page 64?"Mewtwo gave him a look. "Dean-san, omae wa Nihongo no sensei da ka."Dean backed up in his seat a little as Mewtwo came towards him. "Um... Ch-Chigaimasu, boku wa Nihongo no sensei...nai yo?""Then turn to the page I told you to and be quiet."Dean gulped. "H-Hai, sensei..."Marth had to give Mewtwo kudos for trying to teach a lesson on how to address family members as L'Andrea and Aras bickered about whether this Heero Yuy guy would be attracted to either of them.Marth tugged at his one size too large gym uniform as he watched one of the other classes play a rather aggressive version of volleyball."Fuck you, Wilson!" yelled a boy, who nailed the volleyball over the net with such force that the ball ended up with a dent on one side."Do you think we'll actually be firing arrows today?" Roy asked. "Or will there be more excuses as to why it's not a good idea to let a group of fifteen year olds fire sharp pointy things?"Marth shrugged as Ms Aran wheeled out a bunch of equipment."Okay, gather 'round." She gestured to the display stand full of bows. "Today...we will be holding bows. If you behave, we might fire off some arrows."Link vibrated against Marth's side."We have approximately two left handed bows for those who need one."Link held up one. Marth had no idea when Link managed to even grab one."First, everyone grab a bow. I'll need to teach you proper technique.""We've been over proper techniques already, Ms Aran!" yelled Nicholas. "Can't we just shoot already? It's been almost a week.""Yeah, if you don't trust us, then maybe they should get rid of archery as a thing that is taught," said another student, whose name Marth didn't know or care to know anyway. Ms Aran held up a fistful of arrows. "You know what? Knock yourselves out. But if you forget any basic safety rules, you'll be out of archery for the rest of the marking period.""It's never a good sign when your teacher is just. Done with everyone and we're not even through one full month of school yet," Link said, nocking an arrow. He pulled back on the bowstring, took aim, and let it loose, hitting the target dead in the centre. Bullseye."You've done this before," Roy said, as he sent an arrow through the air that almost missed the target completely.Link grinned. "It's one of my favourite things to do for stress relief back home. What about you?""I've done this maybe a handful of times at most. My wet nurse was an accomplished archer, and she tried to teach me when she was teaching her son... I didn't pick it up all that well, but Wolt's a natural for it."Marth looked at the bow in his hand and then at the targets."What's wrong, Marth?" Link asked, as he fired his last arrow. "You have long sleeves on, gives you an advantage since they don't give us gauntlets here, so it won't sting so much."
Maybe if I run out in front of the targets, I'll get hit by multiple arrows. Maybe fatally--
"Marth?" Roy gave him a look of concern. "Are you okay?"Marth grabbed an arrow and nocked it, his hands trembling slightly as the urge to play the role of an archery target threatened to take complete hold of him. "Hm? Oh, I'm fine, Roy.""You were looking dreamily at the targets," Link added. "Almost...longingly." Link lowered his bow to his side, clapping a hand on Marth's shoulder. "I don't think you want these guys trying to like, shoot an apple off your head or something."The arrow Roy shot pierced through one of the award banners hanging from the ceiling."Especially not Roy.""Kusoyarou!" Aras cried, as L'Andrea stuck her tongue out. "Get out of my way, baka!"L'Andrea kept her feet firmly planted in front of Aras' target. "Jama shinai yo, anta."Aras nocked an arrow and aimed right for L'Andrea's head. "Oh, so you want me to korosu you then? Maa, so be it then, ama. Shine!" She let the arrow fly, and it ended up embedded in the gym floor about a meter away from where she stood. L'Andrea stared at it for a brief moment before laughing."Omae no archery wa totemo heta da na," L'Andrea said, taunting Aras' archery skill, or rather, her lack thereof.There was no time for anyone to gloat, for Ms Aran grabbed the two of them by the arm and dragged them off to the athletics office just off the gym. Even with the door closed, the class could hear Ms Aran laying into the both of them for their display of stupidity."I think I can get behind her reluctance to let any of us use live weaponry," Marth said, finally loosing his arrow. It hit the wall behind the target and broke in two."I think Aras would be dangerous even with a spoon," Link remarked, as the other gym classes headed for the locker rooms. "Like, is she still salty because oh no, someone insulted her anime boyfriend or whatever?""She seems like the type to keep a grudge," Roy said, as everyone dropped their bows and arrows and made their way to the locker rooms. "But then again I guess L'Andrea doesn't seem like she wants to drop it."Once inside the locker room, Link unabashedly shed his shirt like many of his classmates as they headed towards their respective gym lockers. They weren't all that large, barely big enough to fit a pair of shoes, pants, shirt, and whatever else a student usually carried around. There were temporary use ones that were a lot bigger, similar to the ones that lined many of the school's halls, but there weren't enough of them to go around (Mr Hand was notoriously stingy), so many had to share one.Link, clad in only his skivvies, jammed his gym clothes into a school branded tote bag Zelda had gifted him the previous year before locking his assigned locker, now devoid of anything useful except his tennis shoes. He sat on one of the benches as Roy fumbled with the lock on the blue stand locker. Marth's eyes darted around the room, trying to find a 'safe' place to undress, but all of the curtained changing areas were occupied already."Just take it off, Marth," Link said. "No one's looking, we all have the same parts--""I beg pardon?""Okay, okay, not all of us have the same parts," Link amended, "but I'm not gonna get into a complicated discussion about gender versus biology, okay?"Roy pulled off his uniform, revealing that he decided against wearing an undershirt this morning. Marth sucked in a breath as his eyes focused on every inch of skin on Roy's torso. Shoulders a little on the broad side, some muscle on his abdomen... Roy's build was similar to his own."Wow," Link exhaled. "I had no idea you were quite ripped."Roy's cheeks turned pink. "Link, please."Link held up his hands in defence. "Listen, I've never seen you without a shirt on before, I am genuinely shook, okay? But uh..." He grinned. "Marth here looks just as shook as I am, and you two room together." Link pushed up on Marth's chin, closing his mouth. When had it fallen open?Marth's cheeks blazed just as Roy's deepened in colour."Hurry up and change," Link said, playfully pushing Marth's shoulder. "Otherwise you're gonna be stuck in this uniform where your pants are too big for your waist."Reluctantly, under the harsh light of the overhead lamps, Marth pulled his shirt off, revealing a light blue undershirt. It clung to his gym shirt, not wanting to let it go, so Marth accidentally flashed Roy and Link a nice view of his own muscled torso. Once the uniform shirt was off, Marth quickly pulled his undershirt down, instantly making himself decent again."Just great," Link muttered, as Marth and Roy swapped out their sweats for their dress slacks. "I'm surrounded by hot guys. I feel so...inadequate.""Says the guy who's still in his underwear," Marth retorted, tucking in his dress shirt before doing up his belt."Well y'all are in my way, so I can't even get my shit--"The bell cut Link off. A flood of students exited out the single exit, leaving Marth fumbling with his shoelaces, Roy trying to lock up his actual locker, and Link fighting to retrieve his actual clothes."I hope everyone has their lab reports completed." No greetings, no beating around the bush trying to get the class settled, Mrs Fujimoto was no nonsense as she ambled around the front of the classroom, looking at each and every student over the tops of her glasses, which were a vibrant yellow today, matching the yellow, sunflower patterned pantsuit she wore under a stiff white lab coat. "If you don't, you'll get ten points off your final lab report grade for every day it's late."Link shifted on his seat at the lab table, leaning over to Roy."You've got it, right?"Roy nodded, pulling the stabled sheets of paper out of his biology binder. "I haven't missed a report yet.""I can't even remember which one this is for," Link said. "Is this the lima bean one?"Roy shook his head. "It's the one where we ID'd things in food, remember?""Nope.""Well just take my word for it, it's done." He got up from his seat and handed it to Mrs Fujimoto."Well, Elroy--""Please call me Roy, ma'am.""I look forward to reading another exceptionally worded lab report from you," she said with a smile, before Roy gave a sheepish little grin and returned to his place at the table.Meanwhile, in room 415, Marth struggled to pay any attention to his chemistry teacher, Mr Bell. The words went in one ear and out the other, and nothing on the Smart Board made any sense to him, it may as well have been written in another language."So this is how you balance an equation..."Marth sighed. I don't really care about making sure equations are balanced, I'm never going to need this. "So to balance this equation, what would you do, Mr Lowell?"Marth looked at the equation, N2 + H2 = NH3."Put a two in front of the NH3," Marth said, "because you need to give the nitrogen two to match the one side."Mr Bell wrote a 2 on the right side of the equals sign."We have to balance the other side now because we have six hydrogen on the other side, so we need six total on the first side. Put a 3 in front of the H2."Mr Bell did so."See, our equation is now balanced." Mr Bell took a sip of coffee. "You have to get one side to balance, and in the process throw things back out of balance, in order to get the whole thing right. Once you get the hang of it, it's not that difficult!" He ignored the groans. "Let's try another equation."Marth's phone buzzed twice in his pocket. He pulled it out and discovered a picture message in the group text chat he was part of with Roy and Link. It was a picture of an open textbook on a lab table. <Roy:> We're learning about water and carbon and how you need that for life. What're you learning?<Link:> roy u better let me read ur notes and copy ur homework laterMarth:> Balancing chemical equations.<Roy:> Is it hard?<Link:> sounds rly boringMarth:> It's not the most exciting thing I've ever dealt with, no. Most people are texting or asleep. I'd rather be doing anything else. Like jumping out a window.In room 420, Mrs Fujimoto scribbled on the Smart Board notes about covalent bonds and how they worked and their function, and a chart of single, double, and triple bonded atoms."For our next little lab, we're going to be building ball and stick models of molecules. I want everyone to pick a molecule they would like to model... Starting with you, Elroy."Roy sighed. She was never going to call him his preferred name."Um. Methane?"Mrs Fujimoto smiled. "Methane is a good one... What about you, Purification?"Purification grinned. "The oxygen molecule is my choice, Mrs Fujimoto."<Marth:> I'm falling asleep myself.Marth sent Roy a selfie with his head propped up by his hand, looking more bored than bored.Roy:> At least class lets out in a couple of minutes.<Link:> y did i get the shitty molecule for something i cant even spell :(<Link:> mrs fujimoto hates meRoy:> She'd like you more if you paid attention more.<Link:> itd help if she actually taught us things instead of just talking to the ones sitting in the front row obviously sucking up to herIn room 302, Marth was one of five students in his study hall. Normally there were ten, but with the pep rally going on, half of the class was likely involved in preparations. Or maybe they skipped the class altogether. His teacher, Ms Kaminsky, didn't seem to care whether students showed up or not--she was often too busy watching videos on her laptop whilst binge eating Corn Flakes at her desk. Marth signed himself into the logbook Ms Kaminsky left on the desk nearest the door before grabbing a library pass and heading towards the fourth floor. The other four students who showed up seemed to follow suit. They all left without being noticed.Unlike the rest of the students in his study hall, who merely took the passes so they had some kind of "get out of jail free card" with the hall monitors, Marth was actually headed for the library, where he spent most study halls either reading for leisure, doing homework, or reading for one of his classes. In other words, Marth used the study period as it was intended to be used. He grabbed an empty table and retrieved the needed items from his bag so he could get started on the next section of Anri's Way . He flipped open to the page he had dog-eared, removed the cap from his highlighter, and got to reading and highlighting different sections. His copy was a bilingual one, with the original Altean on the left hand pages, and the English translation on the right hand pages. Scribbled in the margins were Marth's attempts at retranslating different bits of text.Marth's phone buzzed against the tabletop as he scribbled more notes. He glanced over to it and saw it was a message from his sister.<Elice:> They found Emmeryn.Marth dropped his pen and picked up his phone in its place, tapping a response out with his thumbs.Marth:> Is she okay? Where was she found?<Elice:> I don't have any more news at this time, just that she's been found. I don't know if she's alive and well, but I pray that she is.A cold feeling washed over him then.
If something did happen to her...there could be a catastrophic chain reaction.
In room 304N, Roy positioned and repositioned a wooden hand model situated on his desk. He picked up his pencil and made some preliminary strokes on a fresh, clean paper in his sketchbook. His teacher, Mr Tzezekev, spent an entire week on hands study alone, and that was before they could even pick up a pencil and sketch what they observed. The girl next to him wasn't sketching a hand at all, but was doodling something else that Roy couldn't make out."You must make the hand look as if it's going to reach out from the paper and grab you!" he said, his voice filled with such conviction and emotion that one boy gasped."I don't think anyone's capable of that yet," murmured another."Not with that attitude they aren't!"Roy had to admit that this wasn't exactly what he was expecting when it came to Introduction to Drawing I. The teacher expected everyone to have a basic grasp already of various artistic processes, to be able to draw still life and such. Many had barely picked up a pencil but wanted to start learning, and Mr Tzezekev had expectations set too high."That hand looks like a wilted flower! Jason! You must become the hand!""I don't want to become the hand," Jason retorted."Then you will never become an artist!" Tzezekev yelled in a rather strong Russo-Germanic accent. "And if that is the case, then get out of my class!"Next door, in room 306N, Link and his classmates were invited to take pictures of mundane classroom objects at "interesting" angles to make them more "inspiring"."Yes, yes, work it! You're doing great!" Link said, his finger on the camera shutter, taking picture after picture of a box of chalk. "You could be the best box of chalk on the market with these photos!"Naturally, everyone gave Link wide berth, afraid to mess up his "picture vibe".The bell for seventh period rang out, and immediately after, some music with the gain set way too high blared out, some generic sounding pop tune no one seemed to care about as everyone ducked into their respective classrooms. Roy and Link's Chorus teacher was strangely absent, and no substitute was anywhere in sight. All there was was a note on the piano asking students to sign in and to enjoy the pep rally. Roy and Link shared a look before shrugging and doing as the note said before heading down to the stadium.In the main building, Marth took his seat in his Introduction to Creative Writing class, where Ms Kaminsky still sat at her desk, another bowl of Corn Flakes in her hand. She didn't address the class, but the chalkboard had all of the information the students needed. The bell rang again and the music cut off abruptly. If Marth was honest, he didn't know why this class was even offered when there was a grand total of three students in it, and the teacher didn't even teach anything at all. In fact the only thing she did was stare at them for a moment before, mouth full of milk and cereal, she asked, "Why are you guy still here? Go to the pep rally."Marth contemplated not bothering with the pep rally at all and instead using his library pass to sit there and study or do anything remotely more useful or enjoyable. His legs took him to the fourth floor where the library was located, only to be confronted with a sign on the closed and locked doors stating that Due to the pep rally, all library functions are suspended until tomorrow at 8:00 AM. Go Smashers! Because of course, Marth thought, before he turned on his heel and headed to the stadium, one of the few students still inside the building proper.The sun hit him as soon as he opened the doors leading to the breezeway, and it was a rather lovely day out, too lovely to spend cooped up in a school stadium cheering and hollering for sport teams he couldn't care less about. He could go anywhere in town if he chose, to a cafe or a park to read or write. He didn't have to spend it here. And with his mind running in absolute circles, perhaps a walk would help clear his head.The gates leading out of campus from the breezeway were closed. Marth sighed, feeling incredibly put out by all these barriers like it was some kind of video game. He headed for the stadium, that being the only place he could feasibly go, and made sure to stay as far away from the crowds as possible as he carefully navigated the rather steep bleacher steps. Marth just wanted solitude, wanted time to process what his sister had told him.They found Emmeryn. Who was "they"? Where was she found? Was she found alive, or was it her body that was found? Likely Elice didn't know the answers to these questions, but they nagged at him."Oi! Marth!"Walking up the bleacher steps were Roy and Link; it was Link who waved his arms trying to get his attention. Roy looked like Link was dragging him along somewhat against his will."How did you find me?"Link stopped on the step leading to the bleacher row Marth was in."Well, you're kinda out in the middle of nowhere." Link gestured behind him. "Everyone else is over there and here you are sitting in the shadows.""I don't want to be here," Marth said."Think most people don't," Link said, sitting down next to Marth. Roy slid in on Marth's other side. "But they've got nothing better to do, so why not?"In the middle of the football field were cheerleaders doing their routine to some peppy music. Marth didn't pay much attention to it, and Roy seemed to be focused more on him than the field."You okay?" Roy asked."Yeah... Yeah." Marth didn't sound convinced of himself. "I got news from home during fifth period, while I was studying, and I must admit it's been preoccupying my thoughts as of late."Roy leaned closer. "Good news?"Marth tilted his head a little. "Well...they... They supposedly found my cousin, Emmeryn."Roy smiled a little. "That's great news.""I suppose under these circumstances, when I know so little about the situation at home these days, something like this is 'good'. However...it's... I'm not sure if I should be seeing it as good news." Marth didn't know how he wanted to express his thoughts."No?""It's the wording of my sister's text," he said, pulling out his phone. "She wrote that they found her. Granted, Emmeryn's been missing, but the feeling I get from that word, 'found', is just..." He sighed."Unsettling?"Marth hummed a little. "Perhaps. Most likely, yes.""So what are you expecting to hear next?" Roy asked, as the student body cheered, and in some instances, whistled for the cheerleaders."Hopefully something good." Marth watched Captain Falcon take center field, at the podium set up for speech making purposes. "I don't know if I could take another misfortune in my family."The microphone gave a screech of feedback before Captain Falcon's voice boomed over the field."Welcome to another Melee Academy pep rally!" He paused for cheering, but the only response he got came from the cheerleaders. "I guess everyone's tired after their lunch periods... Wake up, everyone, and help us cheer on and support our sports teams!"A half hearted cheer came from the crowd. Marth shook his head. Why bother with a pep rally if no one cared?"We have our football team!""They suck!" yelled someone from the crowd. "They haven't won a game ever!""They haven't won a game in ten years," Link corrected. "And if you look at the team...you'll see why."The Football Smashers consisted of the scrawniest members Marth had ever seen, so much so that the weight of their gear nearly crumpled them to the astroturf."I can't ever imagine how they've failed to lead their teammates to victory," Marth said, in the dryest tone possible. Link laughed."The Football Smashers would like to put on a demonstration to get you ramped! up! to the clouds!"Roy groaned. Captain Falcon left the podium, and the Football Smashers filtered out onto the field, taking places as if in an actual game of doesn't-use-feet-Football was about to begin."Hike!"They charged at each other, which only ended in the footballers falling to the ground in a mess. The ball fell to the ground."That was even worse than I'd imagined," Roy said. Captain Falcon clapped a little too enthusiastically."Wasn't that great?" he asked. "Doesn't that get you pumped up for our team?"No one cheered."And now for a performance from our marching band!"Marth stood. "I'm leaving."Link looked up in alarm as Roy grabbed Marth's arm."You can't just leave," Roy said."Sure I can," Marth answered."They have everything blocked off," Link said. "Do you know how many people were grumpy they couldn't get a jump on the Chinese buffet that goes on every Friday? A lot of people.""I'll just leave through the front doors, or hop the fence... Whatever I have to do to get out of here."Other students seemed to be filtering out of the stands."It wasn't this bad last year," Link said. "Campy, yeah, but it wasn't... It wasn't this bad."Marth walked up the bleacher steps, Roy and Link not far behind him. He didn't have an exact destination in mind, but he needed to leave. He needed to process. He needed to prepare.
What if Emmeryn isn't alive?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

6th October 2014
Flyers advertising the upcoming Talent Show auditions wallpapered every bit of wall space that existed throughout the halls of the third floor, Marth noticed, as he headed for the guidance counsellors' office. Despite Marth’s grades remaining steady, his teachers were concerned about how he’d been acting in class, constantly checking his phone, muttering things to himself… At one point he’d even fallen asleep in the middle of a lecture. His excuse was that he couldn’t sleep because of nightmares. His Study Hall/Intro to Creative Writing teacher was so concerned that she contacted his guidance counsellor; it was because of her that he was here during zero period to have a ‘discussion’ with someone he would rather not see, let alone talk to. Marth slid the door to the office open and then gently closed it. The lights were partially off, and no receptionist was there to greet him, so Marth carefully made his way to the very back where his counsellor (hopefully) awaited him. The door was partially open, and Marth could see Mr Lowe, a man whose name was way too close to his own for comfort, on his computer, readying himself for the day with a game of Solitaire. At Marth’s courtesy knock, Mr Lowe spun around on his chair, his greying and very curly hair bouncing. With a smile, he beckoned Marth inside.“I’ve heard a bit about you, Marth.” His voice was friendly and he seemed sincere. There was a warmth to it that made Marth feel just a little less nervous about how this meeting would go. “Ms Kaminsky seemed concerned. Tell me, how have you been adjusting to school?”Marth gave a little shrug as he took the seat right across from Mr Lowe.“Alright, I suppose,” Marth answered. “I’ve been keeping up with my studies. I’ve done well on my most recent tests, and I turn in all of my homework.”Mr Lowe nodded. “And what about your home life, Marth? Is everything okay there?”Marth said nothing. Should I lie and pretend that everything is fine, as my father would want me to do? Or should I admit that things could be better?  “Nothing has changed recently,” Marth said, which wasn’t exactly a lie. He hadn’t heard anything new from his sister in a while. Nothing about Altea, nothing about Ylisse, nothing about Chrom and Lissa. Chrom mentioned something about Emmeryn, but that was over a week ago, and it wasn’t anything he hadn’t already heard, which was to say, nothing. No one knew a damn thing and it was frustrating to him. He didn’t want to be kept in the dark and that was exactly what he felt like everyone was doing.“Ms Kaminsky noted that you seemed extremely preoccupied, and Mr Bell told me that you fell asleep during his lesson on the Periodic Table.” He shifted in his chair, folding one leg over the other at the knee. “So what’s going on?”Marth stared at his hands folded neatly on his lap.“Nothing.” Marth kept his face neutral, his voice even. He wasn’t going to betray any of his thoughts. This wasn’t anyone’s concern or problem except his. No one outside of him and his family needed to be involved.“I did mention that I wasn’t sleeping well as of late,” Marth continued. “But there are over-the-counter cures for that ailment. As for the other…” He couldn’t let his composure slip. Mr Lowe cocked an eyebrow.“I believe it’s hardly fair to expect me to be completely okay after hearing that my cousin was found, and little else in terms of news. Especially after everything that has already happened to me and my family. So I apologise for having these thoughts cloud my mind; I’m trying to not let them do so and interfere with my ability to learn.”Mr Lowe nodded. “I was just wondering if there was anything you would like to talk about. Get out of your head.” Yes, Marth thought, there is so much I would love to toss out of my head, but I can’t. “No,” he said out loud. “There’s nothing I need to talk about.” There’s everything I need to talk about. But my upbringing won’t allow such a show of weakness to those who don’t need to see it. “Well… My door is always open.” Mr Lowe smiled in a similar way to his sister, that friendly, familial way. “If you need to talk about anything—school, home, whatever—my door is always open. You can come in whenever you have a moment.”Marth nodded. “Thank you.” He got up. “I shall keep that in mind.” He turned to leave.“Marth?”Marth stopped right at the doorway.“As someone who has been displaced from their home against their will… I understand what you’re going through. Check in every once in a while with me, okay?”Marth looked over his shoulder at him. That look in his eyes… Marth knew that he was sharing a piece of himself that he rarely showed to anyone.“Thank you.” Marth was more sincere this time. It really did mean a lot to him to hear that.Japanese class went by in a blur of Mewtwo-sensei constantly yelling at Aras and writing things on the board without touching anything. Geometry was much the same to the point where Marth forgot basic algebraic expressions that would’ve helped him solve the angles of a triangle. Not that Marth particularly cared about how to find the sides of a triangle, or much of anything else Sarkofski said as she flitted about the room dressed like some kind of Greek oracle. Marth sat out for PE again after handing Ms Aran his doctor’s note. Whispers rippled through his classmates about how he was excused for “being too sad to play,” complete with snickering. Marth didn’t care about basketball, or football, or whatever this sport was that involved kicking a ball into a net goal hoop. He wanted to hear something new from his sister, or his cousins. Something that told him that Emmeryn was going to be alright. Something that said his family could maybe find some semblance of peace and normalcy in all of the chaos.Roy and Link noticed his lack of attention by sixth period, but said nothing about it. After trying to include him in their conversation about what they would do after school today, they gave up and talked amongst themselves.“He’s not okay,” Roy said, assuming that Marth couldn’t hear, even though Marth was seated right next to him, and could, in fact, hear every word. Marth wasn’t going to let Roy know, at least not at that moment.“I know,” Link said. “He hasn’t told you anything?”Roy shook his head. “I keep trying to get him to let me in, but he won’t.” He sighed. “We were doing so good, and then…” He whistled as his hand sank down to almost ground level. “Tanked.”“I haven’t lost my ability to hear,” Marth said, fed up now with the conversation. He slammed his binder shut. “If you’re going to talk about me, I’d rather you talk to me.”Marth had never seen Roy’s cheeks turn that shade of red before.“Sorry. We’re worried,” Roy said, turning in his seat to face him.“It’s like you’re worse now than you were when you arrived,” Link said. “Which I know probably doesn’t help you much in the ‘feel good’ department. But that means that something happened, and it doesn’t hurt to talk about it.”Marth shook his head, trying to instead focus on Mr Luigi’s lesson by opening his World History textbook to page 169.“There is a time and a place for such discussions, and this is neither the time nor the place.”“We can always talk later then,” Roy said, with a slight smile. “After school when you have time, if you want.”Marth pursed his lips. He focused on copying down what popped up on the Smart Board.“I’ll be fine. Really. It isn’t a problem that concerns you, so perhaps it would be to your benefit if you minded your own business.”
The truth is I’m not fine, I’m not remotely near ‘fine’ on the Chart of Feelings my one therapist dragged out to show me upon our first—and only—session together. Maybe if I say it enough, I eventually will be.
Roy and Link shared a look that was hard for him to read, but Marth decided he also didn’t care enough to decode their glances at each other. If Marth were honest, he would admit that he didn’t care enough about anything. At the same time, he cared too much about everything.Period 7 was the only class Marth kind of wanted to pay attention in, because it focused on writing, and one of the things Ms Kaminsky made sure her students knew was that writing could always be used as an outlet.“Channel all of your feelings into the pen, and give them life on paper,” she said. “Let the ink be the blood that flows through those characters’ veins.”Any other time, Marth would’ve found it campy as hell. Not today. She wanted them to write a short story about something that made them feel afraid. Marth was scared to write that story. The story of a boy who nearly died because someone disliked his father and wanted to make sure his whole line was wiped out. Whose lungs still hurt from all of the smoke, the raging inferno that was their house burning all around them. Elice’s hands, Cain’s arms, Jagen’s face, all burned trying to save what they could, who they could. And there was Marth, unable to see, hear, talk, breathe. By all accounts he should be dead. Altea’s people didn’t know whether he was actually dead or alive. Mad King Jiol didn’t know for sure either, but went forward on the principle that he was, and that his family was too. Vermin to be exterminated by Gra’s armies.So he wrote about something else, instead. An incident from childhood that to most wouldn’t be a big deal. Everything was scary to a small child, especially the hulking figure of the man who was his father. He was strict to the point of almost being cruel, but there was no malicious intent behind it. He did it out of love. Marth wasn’t sure that was actually the case, but everyone told him that that was the place it came from, and who was Marth to accuse them of being liars? In Marth’s eyes, he was a pawn, a means to an end. The next in line to a throne he had no intentions of sitting on. Something that should’ve gone to his sister, who was a few years older than him. Altea had female rulers once upon a time, before King Anri, and his popularity as a legend, a folktale, erased them from people’s memories and the pages of history. As if Anri being scorned by a woman, whether because of divine intervention or her own disinterest, made women suddenly unfit to rule a kingdom. Marth resisted an eyeroll.His phone buzzed inside his pants pocket, unheard by anyone who wasn’t him or immediately next to him. He removed his phone from his pocket as discreetly as he could, and tapped the home button. New message from Elice! the notification proclaimed a little too cheerfully. Marth’s stomach churned as he opened the notification, his fingers unsteady, his palms sweaty, and bile wedging itself firm in his throat to erupt if and when the time was right for that sort of thing to happen. Written in the most formal form of Altean that existed, he read the text.<Elice:> I am most sorry to inform you, my dear sweet brother, in this format, but I did not wish to cause too much disruption to your school day. As of only a few moments ago, your most trusted advisor General Jagen informed me of news from our most cherished of cousins about Emmeryn.His stomach churned more. He wanted to vomit, and tried to swallow the bile down, but it continued to stay lodged in his throat. One wrong move, and he would end up vomiting all over his schoolwork.<Elice:> It is with the most incredible sadness that I must inform you that our dearest cousin Emmeryn Sheppard, Holy Exalt of Ylisse has passed on to her life’s next journey.Chills crept up his spine and left coldness in their wake. Marth blinked. Reread the message again. And again. There was no way. Absolutely not. Emmeryn couldn’t be dead. They found her! She was supposed to be fine. He prayed every night since that message that she would be alive. He blinked back tears and raised his hand.“Ms Kaminsky?”She stopped mid-sentence to look at him.“Yes, Marth?” She frowned, but not out of anger at being interrupted, but concern. “You don’t look well.”“May I use the restroom, please?”Ms Kaminsky nodded and went over to her desk to write out a hall pass. Marth got up from his seat, taking his bag and his things with him. He grabbed the small square of paper and left the room in all too much of a hurry, nearly tripping on the sliding door track on his way out the door.
Emmeryn is dead.
His legs didn’t take him to the restroom. He ran down one of the back staircases, crumpled to his knees on the first landing his feet hit, and couldn’t stop the tears from falling as he beat his fists against the linoleum. At first the only noises that escaped his throat were whimpers not unlike a wounded animal. The longer the tears fell, the louder the whimpers became until he was bawling, yelling, and screaming.Somewhere in Gra, Jiol was probably laughing and popping bottles of the most exquisite wines in celebration. Nothing could stop him now. The longer things went on, the more likely it became that hope would fade in Altea’s and Ylisse’s rightful rulers returning. And once all hope was completely lost…what was the point of returning to fight and reclaim it? And Jiol would not stop until he was certain beyond any doubt that Prince Marth was dead. Until then the people would suffer. Everyone would suffer. Perhaps he should make things easier for Jiol… Marth wasn’t a fighter. He wasn’t a soldier. What hope in hell did he have of taking back what was stolen from him? There wasn’t one. Sure, he could just admit defeat and prostrate himself at Jiol’s feet in an act of mercy that wouldn’t be granted. He would be slaughtered where he lay. But something inside of him resisted that. Marth wasn’t taught to give up and give in that easily when it came to the kingdom that would one day be his. His duty as the Prince of Altea and Future King clashed with all of his desires as Marth Lowell the normal, teenage boy and caused him such anguish in these times… It could be over if he played his cards right, but he wasn’t even sure what cards would be drawn, and he hesitated in pulling any out… But did he have a choice?Shakily, Marth made it back to his feet. He sniffled and wiped away his tears. There would be no more crying and no need for future lamentations, because he would put an end to it all. Could anyone blame him for choosing this path? His father would call him craven for running away and leaving everything to rot away and die. Jagen would also feel the same. Elice and Cain at least would be sympathetic and understanding of the ‘why’ behind it. With Emmeryn and himself gone, Elice and Chrom would cease fighting. Jiol wouldn’t be able to get the Falchion let alone wield it, but he didn’t care about that; he wanted Altea, Gra, and Ylisse to become one once more. His sister and cousins could lead new lives uncomplicated by their pasts and start anew wherever they wished. His father would call it cowardice; Marth called it sacrifice. He was the lamb the hounds were after for a kill their master would be proud of. Rather than allow a butcher to slaughter him, he would throw himself off the cliffs and die on his own terms. He needed to get outside.The bell ending 8th period and drawing the conventional school day to a close had rung 20 minutes ago. Roy had arrived at their locker 15 minutes ago, and then stood there for a few minutes waiting for Marth and Link to show up before sending his first text.Roy:> hey, just wondering if youre ok? you werent in 8 pd and everyone was whispering abt how you stormed out of 7th?? do you need to talk?Link being late was one thing, because he always was. But Marth? Their last period of the day was together, so they always walked to their Unofficially Shared Locker once class let out. But Marth didn’t even show up to their English class. He cut it, which was out of character for the Altean to do. He knew that Marth had things going on back at home in Seine (to say nothing of what was going on in Altea). Did he have to abruptly leave for some reason? Roy stared at his phone screen, his brow furrowing at the lack of reply from his friend. Wouldn’t Marth at least answer him back if that were the case? Something seemed off, and Roy didn’t like the feeling one bit.Roy:> marth, youre scaring me. pls answer and tell me that youre ok at leastLink rolled up, his arms filled with books and various papers. His backpack was completely unzipped and hung from both elbows. Either the zipper broke, or Link ran out of time to put things away before the bell rang, and he decided, “Eh, fuck it, I’ll just carry everything.”“‘Lo,” Link said. He dropped the books and his bag to the floor so he could properly organise everything. He sat cross legged on the linoleum and began stuffing papers inside one of his folders.“Have you heard from Marth?”“No.” Link shoved the various folders, notebooks, and binders into his bag. “Should I have?”Roy shrugged. “I dunno. Marth wasn’t in class last period, and he’s not answering any of my texts…plus he never showed up here. I’m concerned.”Link threw in his Japanese and Biology textbooks before zippering everything up. Getting to his feet, Link leaned against the lockers and sighed.“He’s been kinda out of it today. Maybe he decided to go back to The Manse?”“Without telling me?” When Roy saw Link’s look, he hastily added in, “Or you?” It would make sense for Marth to at least say something to him since they were roommates and, one could argue, friends. But to say nothing? Roy tapped Marth’s name and listened to the line ring. When it reached his voice mail, Roy hung up and redialed, only for the same thing to happen. He repeated this a few times, each time hoping for a different result, only to be proven wrong.“Do you think something happened?” Link asked, as he watched Roy’s desperation grow with each failed contact attempt. “Like he heard something, or…”“I don’t know what to think,” Roy said. He sighed in frustration before pocketing the device.“Do you think,” Link began, his voice soft and severe, “that Marth did something?”The thought of that made Roy’s throat close up. He tried to suck a breath of air into his lungs and nearly choked. Marth was certainly capable of attempting something, especially with how he’d been acting lately. Distant. Trying to pretend everything was fine. Secluding himself when he could. There was being introverted and then there was Marth trying to hide his grief and his emotions behind a mask of calm and “I’m fine”s that Roy always saw through. He saw bits and pieces of Marth’s writings and they were all dark and filled with pain… Roy made sure Marth knew he was always around to talk, and Marth would occasionally take him up on it. Things seemed fine until recently, but Marth wouldn’t tell him anything, and Roy wasn’t going to force him if Marth wasn’t comfortable.“We need to find him,” Link said. “Before it’s too late.”Marth stood at the top of the bleachers. After his breakdown in the stairwell, Marth received a text message from his cousin Chrom about Emmeryn. All it said was, He forced her to jump for the safety of her family and kingdom. She did. His brain couldn’t fathom the message. Emmeryn was forced to leap to her death, and she did it knowing that regardless Jiol would kill her. It made him sick. It made his knees buckle. Marth didn’t know how to go forward, or if there was even a point in doing so anymore. This is too much. His father. His mother. Merric. Emmeryn. His heart couldn’t take another blow and they just kept coming and wouldn’t stop coming. He knew Chrom would be next, and Lissa wouldn’t be able to take on someone like Jiol, let alone Gra’s army by herself. Chrom could, maybe, with Falchion, but Chrom didn’t have it. No one knew where Falchion was…except Marth and Jagen. Not even Elice knew. And if Jiol found out, it would be another reason on a long list of reasons why they needed to find him… He couldn’t stomach any more loss at his expense. He would surrender. He would break. That’s what Jiol wanted, right? For the Prince of Altea to give up, lay down, and die somewhere? The last obstacle.Marth took the first step down. If he didn’t act now, he never would. He would keep hesitating and hesitating instead of taking action. That’s what his father always taught him to do. Once a course of action was decided upon, you had to act. Hesitation was a sign of indecision which meant weakness. Marth took a deep breath and took each step in a slow, almost robotic way. His eyes were trained on his feet to ensure he didn’t miss a single step. He reached the bottom eventually, and ducked under the railing at the end to hop down to the track instead of taking the stairs. He followed the track until he met the first curve where he veered off onto the field itself and pulled something out of his pocket. A folding knife, plain and strictly utilitarian. He could go to the other end of the pitch, too far for anyone to be able to see what he was up to, and end his life of endless despair and misery. At the other end of the field, cheerleading practise was going on, their chants providing a stark contrast to his actions. Joyful ‘go team!’ type cheers juxtaposed with his decision to end everything once and for all. He dropped to his hands and knees halfway to the other side, completely overwhelmed by everything hitting him all at once, his fingers gripping at the astroturf as if to anchor himself to it. He took a deep breath and let out a bloodcurdling scream as the wave of overwhelming sadness, grief, and anger broke over him. The pocket knife lay on the ground completely forgotten as the tidal wave of grief pulled him under.Marth didn't want to drown. He didn't want to take in water. There was no one to pull him out of the water. No one could see him trying to surface for much needed air.I'm going to die here, he thought. His fingers practically pulled the sod right off of the ground. It couldn't pull him out of the riptide, and Marth never learned how to swim. I don't want to die. Panic rose in his throat as hot tears rolled down his cheeks before landing on the back of his hand. He thought of Roy. He should've been more open with the Pheraean. Roy always listened to him, offered advice when prompted to, and words of encouragement when needed. A gentle hand on his elbow or shoulder always kept Marth tethered to the Here, and Marth was without that touch. Maybe if he was lucky he would be washed towards shore. Marth wasn't feeling so lucky.Roy and Link arrived outside just in time to see Marth collapse onto the football pitch. Roy and Link shared a look before launching themselves down the stairs just as Marth started screaming. Roy didn’t know if Marth was just yelling to vent his feelings, or if he was yelling out words or names; to him it didn’t matter. Marth was deeply wounded emotionally, and he shouldn’t be left alone. Roy slipped under the railing and broke off into a run as soon as his shoes made contact with synthetic rubber; Link opted to vault himself over the railing and almost didn’t stick the landing. The cheerleading squad was silent (or maybe he was too focused on Marth's predicament to give a shit about whatever they were yelling) as Roy ran like Marth's life depended on it, which it very well may have. Roy dropped to his knees and skidded on the astroturf a little like he was trying to steal a base in a game of baseball, stopping short of knocking into Marth. Roy didn’t care about decorum or protocol when it came to touching a royal as he touched Marth’s shoulder. To him, they were equals. They were friends. He pulled Marth into a hug, his arms wrapped tight around Marth’s shoulders. Marth’s head dropped onto his shoulder, and both of their bodies shook from the force of Marth’s sobs. Roy sucked in a breath when Marth’s arms wound themselves around him; he had no expectations of Marth returning the gesture, because he never did before.Marth needed this. Roy was the rock the drowning man was using to prevent himself from being pulled under. There was no exchange of words, it wasn’t necessary. They knelt there for what felt like forever, with Roy occasionally whispering something comforting in his ear. Marth's fingers dug into Roy's back as he clung on for dear life. After a time, Marth’s cries for “Emm” and "Mother" softened and turned into whispered, “I’m sorry”s. Sorry for getting your shoulder wet. Sorry for worrying you. Sorry for skipping class. Sorry sorry sorry. Roy hushed him.“The jacket can dry,” Roy said. “I’m just glad that you didn’t try anything.”“I wanted to," Marth whispered. "I can’t deal with any of this anymore. This is too much for a prince bound to his duty to handle.”Roy wanted to tell Marth that he didn’t have to be a prince if he didn’t want to be. That right now he certainly wasn’t. That titles didn’t actually mean anything. He didn’t, because he wasn’t sure they would help, especially for someone who felt beholden to his royal duties. Stripping him of that would cause even more pain, not less. “I want to run away,” Marth said. “Run away and never return. Let them think I’m dead so that I can start over.” He sniffled.“Is that what you really want?” Roy asked.“I want to be a normal 15 year old for once,” Marth admitted. “I want to be just…just Marth. But I can’t. The only escape from everything is death, and I can't seem to do that either.”“You can be 'just Marth' here,” Roy said. “This is not a place where you and I are considered prince and lord. You’re Marth and I’m Roy. Even in my respective country I don’t pull rank unless it’s necessary, but it’s probably not so in Altea where you’re from.”Marth wiped at his eyes with the side of his palm and sniffed. “It's not, no.”“Instead of holding everything inside because that is what the Prince of Altea has to do…why don’t we focus on what Marth needs?” Roy suggested. “What do you need, Marth?”Marth sat there for a moment. “Allies would be nice,” Marth said, and then corrected himself to say, “Friends. Friends would be better than just allies.”Roy looked up and over to Link, who had nothing to really say or add.“I think we can do that,” Roy said. “Right, Link?”“If we’re not all besties by the end of the semester, I’ll be offended,” Link said with a pout. “Like for real.”Roy smiled. “I’d like that too. Good friends, best friends… However you call it.”“Partners,” Marth said. “Brothers-in-arms.”“But we’re not in battle, Marth,” Roy reminded him. "So we're not 'in-arms'."“Best friends,” Marth decided then. “I would like for the two of you to be my best friends.” I would like for something more than that, Roy thought, and then wondered where such an idea even came from. That was something he would sort out later, maybe. Now was not the time.Marth seemed to realise that he was still hugging Roy, and pulled away with some reluctance. His hands lingered on Roy's forearms, and Roy noticed the slight blush on Marth’s face. Roy bit his lip so he wouldn’t start laughing. Sometimes Marth could be so adorable whilst being so vulnerable… It was hard to believe that a few moments ago, Marth had been screaming and sobbing, and now he was embarrassed over holding a hug for too long. To Roy, there was no such thing as hugging too long. He got to his feet and held out a hand for Marth to grab onto so he could pull himself up.“Let’s go home,” Roy said, as he helped Marth to his feet.“Peach is making stew for dinner tonight!” Link said with great cheer. “I dunno what she does with her potatoes, but they’re just so good…”“I hate to ask this,” Marth said, as they crossed the field and headed for the gate on Hickory Street. “What is a ‘potato’?”Link nearly fainted. “You don’t know what a potato is?!”“It’s a tuber sort of vegetable,” Roy said. “Grows in the dirt.”Marth frowned and shook his head. "There are many produce items that match that description."“They’re delicious!” Link said. In his enthusiasm, he nearly walked right into the light pole right outside the stadium exit. “Are you telling me that royals don’t eat potatoes?!”“It is possible that I’ve had them before,” Marth said, “but that’s not what we call them.”“Oh also, before I wonder why the hell I needed two backpacks... This is yours,” Link said, as he handed Marth his blazer and his backpack. “You left them at the top of the bleachers and I went back to get them once I saw Roy had everything under control.”"You have my thanks," Marth said, taking his jacket and bag. He slung the pack over his shoulder and kept the blazer draped over his arm.“What sort of vegetables do you eat in your soups and stews?” Roy asked, genuinely curious."Clearly not potatoes," Link muttered.“Oh! So, we do eat a lot of root vegetables, like…”The trio walked home to Marth’s explanation of produce products that may or may not have been turnips, carrots, and potatoes, just with different names that Roy had trouble pronouncing. Link didn’t even try wrapping his tongue around them, opting instead to ask after each one, "Which one's the potato?"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

20 October 2014

It’s been two weeks, sire. You must pick yourself up off the ground and continue on. Your studies are important, and you must focus on them. This is an important time in your young life.
Marth twirled his fountain pen in agitation as he read Jagen’s letter. How could Jagen ask him to focus on school, homework, and tests when Emmeryn—his cousin, someone who was like a mother to him—was no longer among the living? Was he supposed to just brush himself off and move on like she was no one to him? Pretend that Emmeryn and Elice hadn’t watched him and Chrom romp around as children as they sipped tea and discussed their magic training? That Emmeryn hadn’t warned them both to be careful whilst Marth and Chrom tried to kill each other with wooden swords? Lissa was really young then, barely toddling. This wasn’t a scraped knee. This was his family.Then again, Marth remembered with bitterness, he wasn’t allowed to grieve for his murdered parents either. A week of mourning was customary, but after that it was a return to business as usual. Marth was barely 14 when his homeland was invaded by a supposed ally, and just turned 15 when his home was broken into and set ablaze with everyone still inside by his uncle Jiol’s most trusted vassals.Jiol was no longer his uncle, not in his mind. Not after what he put into motion. He was just a man who’d completely lost his mind.
Your dearly departed lord father would’ve dried his eyes and taken up the crown once more by this point, sire. I am greatly concerned about Altea’s future. You do not want her to have a weak and soft king at her helm, do you?

What about my future, Jagen? Are Altea and I so inexorably linked together that there is no way to separate us? That we are essentially one in the same?
Jagen would likely tell him yes.Marth crumpled up Jagen’s letter and tossed it in the waste paper bin by his desk.
I have more strength than you ever gave me credit for. A strength no one cared to realise because they weren’t concerned about me, they were concerned about the Prince of Altea.
Would Jagen accuse him of being a petulant teenager who would learn his place eventually? Most likely. Right now, Marth didn’t care.He pulled out a few sheets of unlined paper, something sturdier than typical copy paper that took fountain pen ink well. If he didn’t respond in a timely manner, Jagen would be quite cross with him in the next one.

My most respected guardian and retainer—

Marth hated writing formal correspondence and he hated even more the archaic forms of address he was required to use. He wasn’t allowed to simply write, Hello, Jagen, how are things? or even just Dear Jagen. Doing so would give the impression that he, as a prince, saw someone beyond their function in the hierarchy. Jagen was his retainer. They were not supposed to be friends or even on friendly terms. To address him as if he was would be an insult.
I have been doing my best to ensure that my academics have suffered little to no ill effects as a result of my most esteemed cousin’s passing. I know how important my knowledge attainment is for my kingdom and her people. It would do them and her an incredible disservice if their future king was ignorant of the world and her topics. I have been too busy burying my head in said academic pursuits to ponder much about my most esteemed cousin, her passing, and the manner in which she  lost her life.
All of it was complete and utter hogwash. Though his grades were still decent—A’s and B’s with maybe one C as an exception—Marth’s head wasn’t in the classroom at all. His focus was shot. His brain kept bringing up question after question after question, and no one dared to (or maybe cared to) answer him when he asked any.Truth was, Marth felt terribly alone. Being a prince was isolating enough; being a future king preparing for the most important role of his life isolated him even further. He had to think of his people, his vassals, and his neighbourly relations first. To think of himself was to be incredibly selfish.Grieve and then swiftly move on was his father’s motto. Shed your tears and then continue living, for little to nothing can be done for the dead. Marth hated that way of thinking. It did nothing but damage everyone’s mental wellbeing—but since when had anyone given a damn about his mental health?And then, of course, there was the matter Jagen had been mentioning over and over the past few years, ever since Marth came of age, which he also mentioned in his latest correspondence (that currently had a home inside the trash bin)…
You are a prince, sire. There are certain duties that are expected of you...
Marth sighed loudly, both out of frustration and exhaustion.“Ah, yes,” Marth said to the otherwise empty room, “the expectation that I am to choose a queen to give me a son.”When Marth was 11 or 12 (he couldn’t remember which age exactly), he asked Jagen, “What happens if I’m not interested in any of my potential suitors?”Jagen had simply replied, “Milord, if your lineage is to continue, you must marry and consummate the union in order to produce an heir.”Marth nearly laughed. Most 11 year olds didn’t have to think of wedding bells and wedding nights filled with procreation towards the next generation, but he did. He had to think about it even more now that he was 15—he was expected to be betrothed by 16 to his future queen, after all.Is that all I am to everyone? Some political pawn at the mercy of creating some marital arrangement that produces more political pawns? Are we not simply chess pieces placed on a board moved from square to square in certain patterns to create whatever outcome is most desired? I was merely shoved onto this board without being asked if I even wanted to be on it in the first place. I was told which ways to move and what to do once I arrived there and expected to comply with a “yes, sir”. I wasn’t supposed to think about it or ask questions, just do as I was told “for my own good”.And yet here he was questioning everything he’d ever been told.
I must respectfully reiterate that I have no intentions whatsoever of taking the hand of the Emperor of Archanea’s daughter, the Imperial Princess Nyna, nor do I intend to take the hand of King Mostyn’s daughter, the Crown Princess of Talys Caeda. I wish to take the duties of finding a suitable spouse to rule at my side into my own hands. If I am to lead Altea and her loyal subjects to great success, I would like to be able to have complete control over whomever gets seated on the throne to my left on the dais.
If it is a fellow princess, so be it. If it is a lady of noble birth, so be it. If it is a fellow prince, or a lord of noble birth, so be it. The question of heirs and progeny can be answered at a later date that my co-ruler and I agree on.
It was you who taught me that the king’s word is absolute. There is no questioning it. A king’s subjects obey without hesitation. When my father’s life was taken from him, the proverbial crown fell into my hands as his only son and heir. I am your king, am I not? My word is absolute, is it not? Or was that just something said so that I would obey my father’s instructions without once asking why I was to do so? I do not wish to partake in drastic measures that would call into question my mental faculties and my ability to make decisions on my own behalf. However, if I must…I will do so.
I am not a game piece you move around a board collecting tokens and money with. I am a human being no different from you or anyone else save for the circumstances in which I was born into. If you do not agree, then I must ask that you free me from the shackles of Altea’s crown.
Marth sat back and looked over what he’d written, the ink still wet as it slowly absorbed into the fibres of the paper. His message was bold, but clear. There was nothing to suggest he’d lost his mind out of grief or some other discernible reason, though Jagen would certainly say otherwise. He knew he would likely receive a phone call, probably from Elice, upon receipt and review of the letter and its contents. He knew that another war would end up brewing, this time in the royal family itself, one he wasn’t sure he would win, but would try his damnedest to win anyway.Or die trying.“Are you okay?”Marth’s head shot up at the voice, his heart pounding from being startled. He looked at the clock and saw that a few hours had passed—had he fallen asleep? If so, when? Was he so exhausted that his body forced him to take a rest? Whipping himself around in his chair, he saw Roy in the doorway of their shared room. A towel was around his shoulders, sweat gleaming on his fiery hair and glistening on his exposed skin. A duffel bag hung from his shoulder half unzipped, his work out clothes preventing it from closing the whole way. In his left hand was the scabbard of his training sword.Instead of wanting to answer Roy, Marth was paralyzed by the urge to kiss him. To taste his sweat, to taste his lips and feel whether they were soft or chafed or dry like his own. To memorise every inch of him with his fingertips. This was a problem popping up with increasing frequency every time he and Roy were alone, when he could admire the young man’s beauty in private without anyone questioning why he was looking at him a certain way.Emmeryn’s death and Jagen’s attempts at matchmaking weren’t the only things plaguing Marth’s mind lately. His feelings for Roy were growing stronger, almost like they were attempting to consume and overshadow the grief and depression in his heart. When he spoke in his letter of possibly being in love with a noble of the masculine persuasion, Jagen likely assumed it was his best friend Merric. The truth was, of course, the noble Marth spoke of and wrote of was Roy, the son of a marquess on a completely different continent from Archanea. Marth’s position meant he couldn’t—shouldn’t—act on these feelings without inviting some kind of trouble. Merric was one thing, he was an Altean noble in addition to being his best friend. But Roy? Roy was a foreigner from an even more foreign land. Jagen would never approve of it.If you have to have same sex inclinations, I pray that the men are at least known to us, was a line his retainer loved to employ. Merric was known to them; Roy was completely unknown.“Roy…” He was so overwhelmed with the feeling that Marth had to hook his ankles around the legs of his chair so he wouldn’t fling himself at his roommate and good friend. Though Merric hadn’t minded it when Marth did that very thing in the castle library, Merric had at least expressed a mutual affection beforehand. Marth was also Merric’s liege first and foremost, and therefore, Merric couldn’t (and wouldn’t) deny him anything.(Which Marth knew was incredibly problematic and wrong.)To Roy, Marth wasn’t a prince. He wasn’t a royal at all. They were on equal footing with each other within The Manse and the halls of the Academy. Marth didn’t want to ruin anything. Though he suspected that Roy did have less than platonic affections for him, he wasn’t exactly certain. Assumptions led to mistakes, and this was a mistake Marth couldn’t afford to make.“I…” Marth swallowed the viscous lump that formed in his throat. He shook his head. “No. Not at all.”Roy frowned, his brows dipping in concern as he closed the door gently behind him. He dropped the bag to the floor and leaned the sword against the wall.“News from home?” Roy crossed to Marth’s side of the room over to where he was seated. Roy’s hands gripped the back of Marth’s chair. Marth’s cheeks burned.“From Seine,” Marth said, correcting him, his voice back to normal for the most part. He practically choked from sucking air into his lungs too fast. He didn’t realise he was holding his breath.“Is it about your cousin Emmeryn?”Marth shook his head. “Partially. Mostly, it was Jagen telling me that I am a prince before I am anything else and need to take my studies seriously so I can properly lead my people.”Marth paused in shock at himself. He wasn’t expecting to blurt all of that out.“And for me to consider who I’m to marry. I’ll be turning 16 and he would like me betrothed or at least on the road towards it by then. If not, there will be some kind of crisis, I’m sure.”Roy’s face turned solemn. “I see… Altea is like Bern in that regard.”Marth stared at his desk side rubbish bin, where Jagen’s letter could still be seen.“I don’t see why Jagen’s so concerned about it anyway. If things continue on their current trajectory, Altea won’t be in my possession still; he also said that things can change in a year or even three years, but do I want to wait for one or three years to ‘start my life’…?” Marth gave the barest hint of a smirk at that. “I haven’t been taking my role as a royal seriously for a few years now, according to him, and must now begin doing so.”“While there’s a war going on.”Marth nodded. “Whilst a war rages on, yes.”Roy gave a very noncommittal shrug. “I’m sure Jagen is only saying what he is because he feels obligated to do so by his duty to you.”“Not his duty to me,” Marth corrected. “His duty to the Prince of Altea. Those are two different people.” Marth leaned sideways against the back of the chair so he could see Roy better. The built-in lumbar support dug painfully into his side now.“Might I trouble you for complete honesty?”Roy nodded. “Sure.”“I don’t give even the smallest of cares about finding a queen or becoming king… Any of it.” Marth draped an arm over the top of the chair back and waved dismissively with the other. “I have more important things to worry about, like whether Seine is going to be my permanent residence, or if I’ll one day be able to return to the land of my birth and help rebuild.”Roy hummed in thought. “There certainly are still nobles who are part of the ‘Old Guard’.” He smiled softly. “My father isn’t one of them.”Roy launched into his parents’ love story, how his father Eliwood married for love when that wasn’t the fashion at all. Roy’s mother was a dancer, something many considered quite ‘scandalous’ back in the day.“He loved her with his entire being. So when it came time for me to start, you know, thinking of those things, he told me he didn’t care who I ended up with, as long as we treated each other well, and we both loved each other dearly.”Marth was curious now. Was there someone waiting for Roy at home? Someone as charming as Roy had to have a few suitors chasing after his hand…“Have you any prospects?”Roy chuckled. “I’ve had a few dates if those count, but nothing that would lead to anything serious.” He shrugged. “Out of everyone I’ve been with, I’d say that being with Wolt felt…really nice.”Marth cocked an eyebrow. “Wolt?”Roy nodded. “Lady Rebecca and Sir Lowen’s son.”Son. Did that mean that Roy also preferred men over women like he did? His father Eliwood sounded like he was accepting of whatever choices Roy made, but Roy was still the son of nobility.“I’m guessing from your silence that that wasn’t the answer you were expecting from me.” Roy chuckled as he walked around Marth and took a seat on the edge of his desk. Roy had a small smirk on his face as he folded his arms.“No,” Marth said, his voice quiet. “It was not. I can’t say that I’m surprised by it, but at the same time…”“From what I’ve gleaned in your talks about Altea, and by extension Archanea, I’m guessing this isn’t something that happens often.”Marth faced front once more. “You would be correct in that assumption.”Roy’s gaze lost focus. “I know a princess—Princess Guinivere of Bern.” Roy tilted his head to the side, his brows furrowing once more. “Well she was the princess—she’s the queen now. Didn’t want to marry at all, she wanted to throw herself into the service of Saint Elimine. Advisors said no, she was the queen, she needed to marry. So she did, rather unhappily.”Marth rested his cheek against his palm, his elbow braced on the armrest of his chair.“I’m sure that turned out about as well as anyone would expect.”“They’ve been married a little over four years, and both her advisors and retainers are panicking because she’s not yet with child—or whatever euphemism they use nowadays.” Roy sighed. “But that isn’t how we do things in Lycia. Not even close.”
It must be nice to live in a place where they couldn’t care less about politics.
“Do you have someone you fancy?” Roy sounded genuinely curious. “Back home in Altea, or maybe you found someone in Seine… It is Seine where you’ll be staying outside of school, right?”Marth nodded. “I do fancy someone. Not from Altea or Seine, but…here, in this town.”Roy hid his shock behind a grin. “Are they cute?”Marth frowned. “That isn’t the turn of phrase I would use to describe him, but yes, I do find him rather…attractive.”Realisation appeared to strike Roy then. “Jagen doesn’t realise the reason you’re so against marrying a princess is because you’d rather marry a prince.”Marth’s expression turned grave. “Because of who I am, I am not allowed to even consider a relationship with someone who is the same sex because of the amount of scandal it would bring, though my guardian has eased up some in the last couple of years. I would need to either take on a wife regardless, or have a woman on the side. Neither option is one I find acceptable, because it would require being disingenuous to someone I’m supposed to love and honour, and I was raised to always be a man of honesty.”“And if you continue holding your ground?”Marth chuckled. “I would be put in a position where they would be after my crown.” He tapped the circlet of engraved gold on his head. “I mean that both literally and figuratively.”In all of Altea’s (admittedly short) history, there was never a king who had been barred from ruling or forced to otherwise abdicate the throne—the royal lineage could be traced right back to Anri, the First King of Altea through his brother Marcellus, Altea’s second king; Marth was the First King of Altea’s great-grand nephew.“So who is this boy who’s captured the heart of the Prince of Altea? Is it the prince of another kingdom?”“He isn’t a prince, nor is he of any of the seven realms in Archanea. He’s not from anywhere near where I am originally from. The boy I’ve fallen in love with is a boy with foreign origins.”“So he’s not from Archanea at all...?”Marth shook his head.Roy sucked in a breath. “Marth,” he said in mock-surprise, “you’re the Prince of Scandal.”Marth got up from his chair and went to stand in front of Roy, his voice low and almost sultry-like as he leaned in close, his hands on either side of where Roy was seated.“Would you marry the Prince of Scandal, Lord Pherae?”Roy rested his hands on the table and leaned forward, their faces so close that there was only maybe a foot of space separating them. If Roy looked up and moved too far…“I suppose that would make me the Lord of Scandal, wouldn’t it?”Marth smirked. “You would be more than that, Roy.” Marth offered his hand to him. “You would be my king, crowned alongside me if I have my way.”Roy chuckled as he eyed Marth’s hand.“Why, Marth, are you asking for my hand?”Marth cocked an eyebrow. “Am I?”Roy looked up with a mischievous grin plastered on his face.“‘Kings of Scandal’ has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”“Yes…” Marth’s answer came out as little more than an exhale between them. “Yes, it certainly does…”Roy took Marth’s hand just as Marth closed the distance between them by pressing his lips against Roy’s. There was no need for Marth to say anything further when actions spoke louder than words ever could.Marth looked down at their clasped hands, his voice a little hoarse when he asked a very important question.“Do you understand the implications of us being together, Roy?”Roy seated himself fully on the desk and pulled Marth in close enough for their noses to almost touch. His fingers kept a tight grip on the collar of Marth’s t-shirt, causing Marth’s breath to quicken, his face growing hot enough to possibly melt wax.“I think I do, Marth,” Roy said, before returning the kiss hungrily.“Then you’ll be my consort for my broken kingdom?”Roy wrapped his legs around Marth’s waist and pulled him against him.“I will.”Anything Marth would have responded with was lost in Roy’s kiss.
Do you know what you’re getting yourself into, Marth?
That little voice washed over Marth’s mind like a wave lapping against a shore as Roy’s hands tugged at Marth’s shirt in an attempt to pull it off, or at least bare more of Marth’s skin.Marth, you can’t do this. Another wave.Your father would be so disappointed. The beginnings of a riptide. So disappointed in what his son’s become.Marth hadn’t ‘become’ anything—he was always this way—he was just good at hiding how he truly was.Roy pulled away long enough to take proper hold of Marth’s shirt and tugged it off before doing the same to his own. The discarded clothing ended up somewhere on the floor behind him; Marth didn’t care where. Roy’s eyes were a much deeper blue and Marth nearly lost himself inside them.
What will Jagen say when he finds out this boy is the future marquess of a faraway land?
Their lips met again. Marth’s arms found themselves around Roy’s shoulders, his hands sliding into Roy’s hair. Roy’s skin felt hot, sweaty, sticky, and Marth found himself not minding it one bit. He’d had dreams about moments like this, dreams where Roy seduced him with kisses that made his knees feel weak as his hands touched places only one other had touched before. It often left Marth awakening in the middle of the night hard, sweaty, and gasping for air. Marth staggered away so he could remember how to breathe, and had a moment of what the hell am I doing?
You shouldn’t be doing this.
Roy grabbed him from behind a moment or two later. Roy turned Marth’s head and stole a kiss that almost scorched Marth’s mouth from its intensity. Roy’s hand snaked around Marth’s waist, his palm settling on Marth’s bare abdomen, fingertips brushing the waistband of his pants.“I can go lower if you want,” Roy whispered. He nipped at Marth’s neck, earning a gasp in response, and left a mark there as proof that Marth was awake. Marth’s breaths came quick, his heart pounding against his ribs.“Or we can stop if—”“No.” Marth angled his head to give Roy more access to his neck and shoulder. “I don’t want to stop.”
Will you give up the crown for this, Marth?
Marth took hold of Roy’s wrists and moved his hand exactly where he desired it as Roy continued marking Marth’s neck and shoulder. Roy slipped it underneath Marth’s waistband and went further south until he heard Marth gasp and moan. The lust in Roy’s eyes flared when Marth ground his hips into Roy’s open palm.“I don’t want to stop.”
Are you willing to give up the crown for this boy?
Roy chuckled deep in his throat as he wrapped his fingers around Marth’s covered erection.“As you wish…my king.”Something inside of Marth burned hot as he claimed Roy’s mouth; Roy let him take what he wanted. Marth’s hand found its way into Roy’s hair, which he lightly tugged.“Roy…” Marth’s face felt hot, like he was smouldering from Roy’s intensity and his passion. If he wasn’t careful, he might end up combusting, and Marth found himself not caring.
Let me burn if I must.
“Bed,” Roy said against Marth’s mouth.
If in doing this I am stripped of everything I have ever known…
They stumbled to the nearest bed, which happened to be Roy’s, leaving a trail of discarded clothing as they did. Roy trailed kisses along Marth’s jaw and neck before they fell together onto the mattress. Marth hit the cold sheets and it didn’t even register, his skin was too warm. Roy crawled onto Marth and straddled the prince’s waist, their boxer briefs the only barrier between them. Marth knew that Roy could feel how much he wanted him, and he didn’t feel the least bit ashamed of it.
…then so be it. I would rather burn to death in the throes of passion than continue living a lie.
“I’ve never done this before,” Marth said. “This part.”Roy grinned in such a way that the feelings it gave Marth immediately shot straight to his dick.“That’s okay,” Roy said, as he lay flush against Marth. He trailed kisses from the middle of Marth’s chest, up across his collarbones and along his neck. “I have.” He worried the skin there before moving up to just underneath Marth’s ear to plant a wet kiss there.“Roy…” Marth was practically out of breath from all of the feelings and stimuli going on in and around and on his body. Roy chuckled from somewhere deep in his throat as Marth wrapped his legs around his waist. Roy ground his hips against Marth’s and swallowed his little moans and gasps. Marth clung to Roy like he wanted to keep him there forever.“Do you want me to?” Roy murmured. “Do you want me to take your throbbing cock into my mouth?”Marth tried to stammer out a response, but all that came out was, “Oh my gods.” He thrust against Roy.“Please, Roy…”“‘Please, Roy’ what?”Marth let out a moan that was mixed in with a whine that Roy silenced in a searing kiss. One hand dipped in between their bodies and underneath the thin fabric of Marth’s boxers, the other headed in the opposite direction, into Marth’s hair.
I choose to willingly give up everything I have ever known—
Roy’s fingers gripped the prince’s crown and slid it off of Marth’s head.“What do you want me to do with you, Prince Marth?”
—which includes the crown, and my future on Altea’s throne—
Marth looked at Roy through half-lidded eyes.
—if it means I am able to freely love and wed this Lycian noble by the name of Elroy Pherae.
“Debauch me.”Roy didn’t need to be told twice as he pushed the crown off Marth’s head. Marth grabbed it and tried putting it on the bedside table, but missed and dropped it on the floor instead.
I choose to be selfish.

21 October 2014
Sunlight filtered through the slats of the half-closed blinds, awakening the prince from his slumber. In the dim light of morning, Marth could tell that there was a lump under the sheets that didn’t belong there. Reaching for the bedside lamp, he found nothing but empty air instead.
Where is my light?
The table was on the right, not left like it should’ve been.
What the hell?
He flicked the toggle and brought too-bright artificial lighting into the mix, overpowering any natural light that might have remained. Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he realised why his table was on the wrong side of the bed.
This isn’t my bed.
Turning back to examine the lump, he peeled back the top of the blanket to reveal a shock of red hair that harshly contrasted with the royal purple bedding.
Why are Roy and I sharing a bed…?
Memories of the previous night came flooding back, heating his face up.
“Do you want to come?”

“Y-Yes…” Marth’s grip on Roy’s shoulders tightened, his nails digging into the soft skin there. “R-Roy… Please… Please let me c—”
“Marth? Are you okay?”Inquisitive blue eyes stared into Marth’s.“I’m…not quite sure.” Marth stretched and realised just how sore his body was.“We should probably shower before getting ready for school,” Roy suggested. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Do you want to go first, or…”Marth shrugged. “I don’t take that long, it’s up to you.”Roy hummed in thought for a moment. “I don’t take that long either. You go ahead, I’ve gotta find clean clothes…”Marth slipped out of bed and headed for the en-suite. Once inside, he shut the door behind him and leaned against it, wincing when his back made contact with the solid wood.
All of that really happened. It wasn’t a dream, it wasn’t a fantasy, it was real.
He laughed lightly as he approached the vanity sink so he could look in the mirror right above it. Dusting his neck, collarbones, and the tops of his shoulders were love bites. Some were an angry and very deep red, others were a pinkish shade. His hair was a mess, like it had been tugged one too many times, and there was a small cut on his bottom lip.
And to think, in all of the talks about sex I’ve had over the years, Jagen made it sound like I would look and feel completely different after.
Outside of the hickeys and mussed hair, Marth didn’t look different at all. He felt a little sore, sure, but not radically changed. The transformation from ‘boy’ to ‘man’ had nothing to do with sex. Behind him was the shower stall, which he climbed into before turning the taps to the desired temperature.Marth was, in fact, changed as a person. In his mind, he didn’t feel beholden to anyone or anything, whereas before yesterday, he felt a heavy, pressing weight on his shoulders. Pressure to live up to the standards Jagen and his father set up for him. Pressure to perform as Altea’s crown prince. Anxiety over whether he could really be the King of Altea when the time came for him to step up and receive the coronation of a lifetime alongside the woman he didn’t want to wed, but had no choice but to do so, so Altea had a queen.Marth shampooed his hair, running his fingers through it to make sure it was thoroughly covered.The way he saw it, Altea might never come back. A tragedy, to be sure, to lose the one place he called home for his entire life up until recently. Would he still be able to live there after giving up the crown? Marth wasn’t sure, there wasn’t any precedent in place for it. Depending on how long the war waged on for, Marth might be better off planting new roots somewhere else. Doing that would give him a chance to meet new people, forge new connections…
I could live in Lycia with Roy.
Marth was getting ahead of himself.“One thing at a time,” he reminded himself. “We only just had sex, that doesn’t necessarily mean—”
“Would you marry the Prince of Scandal, Lord Pherae?”

Roy rested his hands on the table and leaned forward, their faces so close that there was only maybe a foot of space separating them. If Roy looked up and moved too far…

“I suppose that would make me the Lord of Scandal, wouldn’t it?”

Marth smirked. “You would be more than that, Roy.” Marth offered his hand to him. “You would be my king, crowned alongside me if I have my way.”

Roy chuckled as he eyed Marth’s hand.

“Why, Marth, are you asking for my hand?”

Marth cocked an eyebrow. “Am I?”

Roy looked up with a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

“‘Kings of Scandal’ has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

“Yes…” Marth’s answer came out as little more than an exhale between them. “Yes, it certainly does…”

Roy took Marth’s hand just as Marth closed the distance between them by pressing his lips against Roy’s.
Marth scoffed. “He probably thought that was all part of foreplay, that I was leading up to everything that followed. Surely he didn’t—”
“Then you’ll be my consort for my broken kingdom?”

Roy wrapped his legs around Marth’s waist and pulled him against him.

“I will.”
Roy essentially said ‘yes’. Maybe Marth would end up betrothed by 16 after all.“Did you do the homework assignment for Mewtwo-sensei?”Marth nearly choked on his morning toast as Link bounced into the kitchen without warning.“Which?” Roy asked.“‘Which’ whaddya mean ‘which’?” Link sighed in exasperation. “The homework assignment! We had to read the thing and learn all the words for the things and…reading the language notes…for the things.”Roy laughed into his bowl of Corn Flakes. “That doesn’t really help much.”“What are you going on about, Link?” Marth dabbed at his mouth with a paper napkin. “Are you talking about the end-of-chapter vocabulary list?”Link nodded enthusiastically as he snapped his fingers and pointed at Marth.“Yeah! And we need to know words like ‘arigatou’ and ‘hajimemashite’ and ‘enpitsu’.” He pretended to hold up a writing tool. “‘Kore wa enpitsu desu!’ was one of the examples that Mewtwo made us memorise, remember?”Marth and Roy shared a look over their respective breakfasts before turning their attention to Link.“I know we had to go and look for some Japanese proverbs or something and translate them into English, but I don’t think that was due today…was it?”Marth shrugged. “I don’t even remember him even saying, ‘kore wa kimi no shukudai desu’ like he usually does before writing things out on the board.”Link bounced on his heels as he pointed between Marth and Roy. “Aha! ‘Shukudai’! That’s one of the words we have to make sure we know before we go onto Part Two or Mewtwo said we’d be screwed!”“Oh brother,” Roy muttered, before draining the rest of the milk from the bowl. He pushed away from the table and put his bowl and spoon in the dishwasher. He turned to Marth.“You almost done?”Marth drank the last of his tea, leaves and all, before wiping his mouth and hands with his paper napkin.“Give me one moment.”“Here, let me…” Roy reached over Marth’s shoulder and took the teacup and plate away from the table.“Roy, that wasn’t necessary…”Roy smiled. “It’s fine, Marth. Really.” The teacup went in the sink, and the plate was disposed of in the regular garbage.Link looked between the two of them with suspicion. “Am I the only one freaking out?!”Marth paused in pushing away from the table as he and Roy turned to Link and said in unison, “Yes.”Link would’ve had an easier time keeping track of assignments if he remembered where he stashed his school planner ‘so he wouldn’t lose it’.The skies were fairly overcast and appeared to threaten rain as Marth, Roy, and Link made their trek to Melee Academy. Link trudged on ahead, his nose in his Japanese textbook as he tried to cram as much end-of-chapter vocabulary into his head as he could in 45 minutes. It worked out for Roy, who wanted some time alone with Marth so he could talk about what happened the previous night.“Marth… About last night…”Marth focused on Link’s back. “You mean to talk about what happened between us.”Roy blinked. “Yeah.”Marth slowed to a stop, Roy coming to a stop next to him.“I know there are consequences to what we did last night.” Roy tugged at the straps of his bookbag with his thumbs. “For you.”Marth folded his arms, his face and voice betraying no emotion.“Yes, there are. They’re quite severe, in fact.”“If it would make things easier for you, we don’t have to pursue—”Marth took Roy by the shoulders, his touch gentle, yet firm.“I am the Prince of Nothing and Future King of Nowhere. Technically there are no consequences, though my retainer may declare otherwise.”“But if you do get Altea back, then…you would be king.”Marth nodded. “If I am indeed her king, then my word is absolute. According to Jagen, the king’s word is law. If that is in fact true, then I can declare my situation legitimate. You are my rightful co-ruler. My king consort. And they can’t tell me otherwise.”Roy didn’t look optimistic. “There would be backlash.”Marth chuckled. “Most definitely.”“And if they insist that you can’t actually have a king instead of a queen?”Marth tapped his headpiece. “It’s as simple as taking this off and walking away.”Roy looked surprised. “And you would do that for me?”Marth took hold of Roy’s hands. “What we did last night… I asked if you would marry me despite the fall from grace I’ve had in the eyes of my allies and potential allies. That wasn’t in jest, I was being serious. Were you also being serious when you answered yes to me, or were you just playing along?”Roy squeezed Marth’s hands and took a couple of steps closer so he could look Marth directly in the eyes.“It wasn’t in jest, Marth. I was being serious too. Prince or not, I would be more than happy to stand by your side. Whether that makes me a king or you a simple lord doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that you truly love me.”Marth smiled. “I do, Roy. I do.”“Then let me prove my loyalty to you…”They shared a kiss right there on the Avenue, not caring about who might see them.“Let’s go before we’re late,” Marth said against Roy’s mouth.“I don’t care if we are.”Marth gently pulled himself out of Roy’s embrace. “I do. You know how Mewtwo gets.”Roy pursed his lips. “Yeah. True. Let’s go.”They walked the rest of the way in silence, their hands linking them together. They didn’t come across Link, but figured that he managed to get to the Academy okay and in one piece since they didn’t find any bits and pieces of a Hylian strewn all over the pavement or road.“Ohayou gozaimasu.”Mewtwo sounded even more deadpan than he usually did, which was saying something. He remained seated at his desk, arms folded, spectacles perched on whatever he considered a nose. He broke classroom protocol by not starting off the day with the students standing and bowing after the usual greeting, and he didn’t bother taking attendance, opting to just assume that everyone was present. He swallowed a human handful of caffeine pills and downed that with a Redbull in the hopes that it would help him wake up to the sad reality he found himself in—“Uh…Mewtwo-sensei? We can hear you. Are you okay?” Alex asked.“Redbull won’t help with depression, but there are counsellors available—”“Be quiet,” Mewtwo said. “I know that most of you didn’t study for the end-of-chapter test I had scheduled for today, and instead of needing to grade them all on a massive curve, I will just give all of you A’s and move on to the homework assignment that a good chunk of you may have completed.”“W-What?” It was Link, who sounded like all of his hopes and dreams just shattered in front of him. “B-B-But ‘kore wa enpitsu desu’! Mewtwo-sensei! We need to have this test! My grade depends on it!”Mewtwo blinked. “You are getting an A on it by default.”“Just be quiet for once,” Stephanie said. “I’ll gladly take a free A.”Contrary to what Mewtwo had hoped, the caffeine pills and energy drink combo did not cause his heart to explode. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and floated over to his teacher’s podium.“Kimi no shukudai onegaishimasu.”Link was too busy sobbing to get out the blank sheet of paper that was supposed to hold his homework assignment. All anyone could hear was him very faintly whispering, “Kore wa enpitsu desu…”“It was just supposed to be one proverb, right?” Frankie asked.“If you did more than one, that is also acceptable, but quite frankly overachievers in my class disgust me, so I am hoping you did the bare minimum so I have less to grade you on.”Frankie ripped the bottom half of his loose leaf off and let Mewtwo take what remained.Marth removed his from the pocket of his binder and held it up.“Douzo.”Mewtwo nearly gave Marth a paper cut from the force of his telekinesis. He didn’t apologise.Roy scribbled some katakana that kind of resembled ロイ・フエレー at the top of his paper before Mewtwo unceremoniously took it, not giving Roy a chance to offer it or say, “Douzo.”The rest of the students either got paper cuts or chunks of paper ripped out of their homework assignment because Mewtwo gave zero shits.“I will look at these when I feel like doing so.” He stashed them in his grade book ledger and pulled out his teacher’s edition of Yookoso! “Let’s get on with today’s lesson, which is on page 17.” Mewtwo went over to the white board and, using telekinesis, wrote out CHAPTER OBJECTIVES in purple dry erase marker.“Your objectives for this chapter are to be able to count up to 20, asking for and giving out phone numbers, asking for and giving time, asking what something is, and all about hiragana. Which you should be starting to learn, correct?”No one said anything, except Aras.“What’s ‘hirikama’?”Mewtwo turned to Marth. “Marusu-kun, hiragana wa nan desu ka.”“It’s one of the writing systems for Japanese used for native—”“Hai, arigatai, Marusu.”“It’s ‘arigatou’, Sensei,” Dean corrected.“No, ‘arigatou’ and ‘arigatai’ are both correct,” Stephen interjected. “‘Arigatai’ means—”“Enough!” Mewtwo chugged another energy drink that lied about giving him wings, crushed the can, and threw it at Dean, who was hit and subsequently knocked out cold. No one tried rousing him because they knew he’d be fine once the bell rang anyway.Mewtwo took a deep breath and steadied himself using his podium to do so.“Who knows any numbers in Japanese?”L’Andrea’s hand shot up. “Ichini!”“Ii desu, Riandoreia-san—”“Watashi no namae wa ‘Randoreia’, Sensei.”Mewtwo rolled his eyes. “Chotto warui.”“Baka! What about sanshi? Or ichisan? Or what about—”Mewtwo bashed his head against the white board as L’Andrea and Aras argued over what ships were and weren’t considered ‘legitimate’ according to the ‘numerical system of our fandom’. Mewtwo didn’t know what any of it meant. He didn’t care. With 25 minutes left in the class (15 if you took out the morning announcements), Mewtwo cleared his throat.“Next week, I am going to try and do calligraphy with you.” He pulled out a stereotypical totally-not-from-Amazon calligraphy wall scroll. “Where you will be attempting something like this. Except it will definitely not look like this, because all of you are amateurs.”Frankie huffed. “Sumimasen, Sensei, but my family does calligraphy every weekend as a family bonding exercise.” He pulled out his mobile and went through his pictures before finding the right one. He tapped it and held it up for Mewtwo to see. It was a picture of the characters 東方不敗 that was held by Frankie and his twin sister Fran. In the background was the rest of the Ngo family doing their own calligraphy.“Does that say ‘Tohofuhai’?”Frankie nodded. “Yeah.”“What does tofu being too high have to do with anything?!” Aras asked, her voice too loud like always.“I thought you said you watched G Gundam,” L’Andrea remarked. “Or were you lying about that like you do about most things?”“What does G Gundam have to do with anything?” Aras asked. “Baka! Stop deflecting!”“Tomorrow we will learn how to give and receive phone numbers,” Mewtwo continued, ignoring Aras’ outburst. “I decided for Halloween or whatever you call this holiday to have us discuss bakemono, or monsters. You will do a report on things like tengu and tanuki—”“Oh oh oh! Sensei!” Aras’ hand shot up.“Are you about to ask a stupid question?”“Can I do a report about Tom Nook?”Mewtwo gave her a very sour looking glare.“Why do you always have to ask stupid questions?”“It’s an important question.”“And there will be some—” Mewtwo let out a loud sigh. “—‘spooky’ and ‘witchy’ vocabulary to match the season. That will be this coming Monday.”Mewtwo floated back to his desk right as the morning announcements began. He reached into the mini fridge under his desk and pulled out a Four Loko. He cracked it open and gulped it down as the announcer droned on about the upcoming costume contest and other things no one in his class cared about except maybe Link, who spent the entire lesson sobbing while holding up an uncapped pen. Mewtwo finished his drink just as the bell rang. He didn’t bother dismissing his class, he just let them figure it out themselves, which worked for the most part.Aras was still seated there even as students for Mewtwo’s second period class filed in. No one said anything. She was still there when the bell signalling the next period sounded. Class wasn’t over until Mewtwo-sensei said so, right? And Mewtwo-sensei hadn’t said a word.The other person left behind was Gary Stu, who was sound asleep at his desk. He didn’t stir even when the student whose seat he was occupying shoved him out of it and claimed it. Mewtwo wasn’t paid enough to care.“Next month we will be moving on to Fencing.”Ms Aran walked back and forth in front of her students. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she kept her steps steady, occasionally stopping to look a random student in the eye to see if they were still paying attention.“Fencing as in…a picket fence?”Ms Aran shook her head. “No. Fencing as in the sport.” She pulled out a fencing foil and showed it off. “This.”Marc shrugged. “Like I’m supposed to know what that is.”“It’s a sport that rich kids do,” Ms Aran continued. “And rich kid schools offer it for whatever reason. Anyway, that’s not the point. That’s what we’ll be doing starting in November.”“Think I’ll sign up for Weight Room instead,” Marc muttered, and scuffed the floor.Fencing was the one athletic endeavour that Marth had a chance at being good at.“Today, instead of teaching anything or having anyone get hurt, I thought it would be fun to see just how much you’ve all learned over the past couple of weeks.” Ms Aran pushed a button and the divider that sectioned off different areas of the gym retracted, revealing what looked to be an…obstacle course? An obstacle course with different targets?“It’s called ‘Break the Targets’, and in case you didn’t get it from the name, you break the targets by hitting them with an arrow, all while going through this obstacle course to get to as many as you can before time runs out.”Link bounced on his toes. “Is it a competition?”Ms Aran shrugged. “If you want it to be.”Link’s face turned serious. “Challenge accepted.”“How much time do we have?” Sher asked.Ms Aran looked at her watch. “How does two minutes sound?”No one raised any objections.“There’s 10 targets total for you to hit. Oh and just as an aside—I have the course set up in a special way so I can press different buttons to change things up between attempts. No two students will have the same obstacle course or target locations. That way the person who goes last can’t nail every single one by virtue of memorising previous attempts.”Five students decided to be brave and step up to the challenge. One of them was Link, who already had his quiver loaded and his bow all ready to go. Marth and Roy stood at the sidelines, opting for friendly support rather than total embarrassment.“Lebosa, you’ve got two minutes on the clock.”Gwinny nocked her first arrow and approached the starting area. She nodded. “Ready.”“Go!” Ms Aran tapped the timer start button on her smartwatch.Gwinny hit the first three targets no problem. She nearly fell getting the fourth, but managed to recover, and just barely got the fifth. The sixth target, however…“Um, Ms Aran? How am I supposed to get up there to hit it and continue on to the next one?”“That’s for you to figure out, not me. All of the courses are doable, by the way. Some will just require some thinking.”Time ran out before Gwinny could even begin to try and tackle her problem.“Time’s up!”The next three people did a lot worse: Marc barely managed to get two, Raimund got three before he fell off the course and disqualified himself, and Sher got one before a freak accident involving her bowstring and a piece of velcro on her gym uniform caused an awful laceration across her arm and face. Gwinny volunteered to take her friend to the school nurse.“Mekkai, you’re the last one! Think you can get all 10?”Link hopped onto the course. “I don’t think I can—I know I can.”Ms Aran changed the course up one final time before resetting her stopwatch.“Ready?”Link was off before Ms Aran finished saying, “Go!” Within the first ten seconds, Link already had two targets down and was most of the way to his third. The fourth and fifth ones were right next to each other, and without skipping a beat, Link executed a perfect set of wall jumps to get to targets six, seven, and eight. Nine and ten were moving targets, and it took Link a bit to figure out their movement pattern before taking down both with the same arrow.Ms Aran was so impressed, she didn’t even announce that time was now up.“So it’s true what they say,” Ms Aran said. “About you being Hyrule’s best archer.”Link backflipped off the course and almost didn’t stick the landing. He replaced his bow on the bow rack and hung up his quiver.“I wouldn’t go that far,” Link said, the tips of his ears turning pink. “Like yeah, I did win some awards and some competitions, but I’m sure there’s better than me even just in Hyrule.”Ms Aran left for a moment before coming back with a sheet of paper. “You should try out for the archery team. I think with you, we have a chance of a sports team actually winning something.”Link took the paper and looked it over. It was a flyer advertising sign ups to try out for The Bowmen Smashers in teal coloured Comic Sans font.“Think about it, okay?”Link nodded. “‘kay.”
My most respected guardian and most loyal retainer, Jagen—

I do hope that this letter finds you in good health and spirits. As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer and cooler, I find myself missing you and Cain a great deal. I would do anything for a bowl of his famous spiced pumpkin soup to help me through these dark, cold nights. Alas, I am here, and you and Cain are there in Seine. Please give Cain my regards and thanks for keeping with his duties.

Insofar as my schooling goes, I have been doing my best to ensure that my academics have suffered little to no ill effects as a result of my most esteemed cousin’s passing. I know how important my knowledge attainment is for my kingdom and her people. It would do them and her an incredible disservice if their future king was ignorant of the world and her topics.

I have been too busy burying my head in said academic pursuits to ponder much about my most esteemed cousin, her passing, and the manner in which she lost her life. Though my heart feels heavy, I do try to not let it weigh me down to the extent that I am immobile and wracked with sadness. I try to remember and cherish all of the good memories I have of her, instead of focusing on anything negative. I am doing the best that I can dealing with my emotions. I am unfortunately only human, and have so far to go to even get close to attaining what Father considered ‘perfection’.

I must respectfully reiterate what I have told you in both past correspondence and in-person meetings that I have no intentions whatsoever of taking the hand of the Emperor of Archanea’s daughter, the Imperial Princess Nyna, nor do I intend to take the hand of King Mostyn’s daughter, the Crown Princess Caeda of Talys. This is due to me having found someone suitable on my own, which I know you may be cross with since you were not part of the vetting process in any which way. You may or may not be pleased with my choice, and might even try to overrule me on it; I must remind you that I am before anything else your king, regardless of whether there was a coronation or not. I will have further details soon once I’ve had further discussion with my betrothed on when and how we plan to announce our good news.

Written and signed by your liege, I am

HRH MARTH LOWELL

Prince & Future King of Altea
*
My dearest and most gracious sister, Elice—

Allow me to cast aside any formalities between us, for I find them cumbersome for something as intimate and personal a topic as this. Please keep the contents of this email between us.

My dearest and sweetest sister, I have found someone with whom I can see a future with. I have asked for their hand, and they have given it freely to me, the current political climate of Altea be damned.

Sweet Elice, by now I’m certain you’re aware of my romantic inclinations towards those of my own sex. You’ve caught Merric and I kissing in the library on more than one occasion, and though he insisted that it was nothing, to me it was something. It awakened something inside of me that in turn made me realise I am not meant to be with a woman. I pray that you are okay with this and are accepting of my choice.

My dear sister, it was another boy, more specifically a young man the same age as me, who stole your unsuspecting brother’s heart. Part of me thinks that I left it completely unguarded on purpose in the hopes that he would abscond with it; the other part thinks this was completely beyond my control and done through no actions of my own. Whatever the case, your lovesick brother has asked for his hand, and he has accepted it. He knows of the circumstances surrounding Altea, and is sympathetic to my woes, though I certainly do not burden him overmuch with my worries.

Dear sister, I am completely smitten. I am in love. This love is most sincere and genuine, and though I haven’t felt anything like this before, I know this to be so. Our time together has been short, only mere months, but I know what we have is real.

I know your curiosity is piqued, so I shall write a little about him. He is a noble, the son of a marquess from a country called Pherae, located in a territory known as Lycia. You will find both on a map of the continent called Ereb, in case you wished to look it up in one of the atlases of the world.

It is my intent to declare him my king consort should I end up ascending to the throne as Altea’s fifth king. I have no intentions of taking on a concubine for the purpose of having children. Instead, I fully intend on declaring our dear cousin Chrom my heir, and should something befall him to make him ineligible for the task, I would ask that Lucina or any of Chrom’s children (should he have any) be my heirs. It would keep things in the family, seeing as Emmeryn is the daughter of our dearly missed father’s late sister, so the line of succession won’t be broken.

Perhaps you will think me selfish for putting my own interests ahead of those of the kingdom and our people. For that I am sorry. I am not cut out for the task as ruler if the only happiness I want is my own. I wish to be treated as someone with desires and feelings the same as anyone else.

If you would like to discuss this topic further, which I’m sure you will, you know all of the avenues in which you can contact me.

Always your brother, no matter what hardships may come, I am

MARTH
Marth handed off Jagen’s letter to the Rito postman who showed up at the same time as he always did, at 12 noon exactly. Once that was done, he sent off his email to Elice before he could change his mind for the fifth time that afternoon. He slumped back against the chair, his hands falling away from the computer keyboard. Marth was glad the Media Centre was empty save for the librarians.
Gods help me.
Marth knew that Jagen wouldn’t consider the engagement official unless there was proof of it, typically a ring or other token that was important and could be easily traced back to him. All he’d done was ask in his own way if Roy would marry him, and Roy said he would. Did that count? To him it did, but he knew that Jagen and possibly Elice wouldn’t consider him “off the market” until there was Definitive Proof.They would need to arrange meetings so they could talk to Roy and feel him out. Meet his father. Check out Pherae and Lycia by extension. If any of it didn’t meet their expectations, they wouldn’t accept the engagement. At that point Marth would have two options: break things off and do what was expected of him, or go through with it anyway and risk being overthrown.He took his crown off and turned it over in his hands. The lighting revealed the intricate engravings that made it ornate in a very subtle way. Inside the etchings were slivers of rubies and other gemstones. The back piece of the crown was plain in contrast, and thin enough to sit under his hair so it was completely out of sight, giving the appearance of a diadem or tiara instead when worn. This crown had been placed on his head once he was old enough to wear it, though at first it was too big to fit without some adjustments to keep it in place. It was practically a piece of him.Marth might need to make a difficult choice later on: keep the crown and remain miserable, or give it up and be happy.
My crown, or Roy?
“Today, I would like us to write about our emotions.”Groans were heard throughout the classroom.Ms Kaminsky laughed. “It’s not as hard as you think.”She pulled up what she called the Wheel of Feelings on the SmartBoard. Different annotations explained different things about the wheel and how to read it.“I want everyone to ‘spin’ the wheel and write about the emotion they end up landing on. It can be about anything you want: a short story, a biographical experience, what that emotion feels like to you… Whatever you want.” She held up what looked like a projector clicker. “Who wants to go first?”One by one Marth’s classmates took the wheel for a ‘spin’. Many of them landed on positive emotions; one landed on ‘grief’, and another landed on ‘anxious’.“Marth, you’re up.”Marth clicked the button to activate the wheel. He wasn’t sure where or when he wanted it to stop, so he just closed his eyes and hit the button again.“You have to write about the feeling of being terrified.”Marth had no idea what to even write for it, but it was the emotion that was chosen for him, so he was stuck with it.“Alright! Everyone’s got their emotions to write about… You have the rest of the period to come up with something and hand it in to me, starting…now!”Marth looked around his classroom. Most of his classmates were hunched over their papers writing something—whether it was something legible or something that made sense, Marth had no idea. He pulled out his notebook and opened it up to the first blank page and sighed.
What do I write…?
He chewed on his pen cap as he thought of different things that terrified him, discarding ideas that wouldn’t work or weren’t interesting enough to write about.
Maybe a bit of stream-of-consciousness writing is in order to get the words flowing…
Marth started things off with, I feel terrified…

I feel terrified…

I’m staring down a cliff and it’s a sheer drop. Behind me is my family, my country, and everything I’ve ever known. Everything that is familiar to me. My hands are shaking and my knees feel weak, but I can’t look away from what’s waiting for me at the bottom. It could be something good or it could be something bad, for I can’t see it due to the bottom being shrouded in fog so thick it’s impenetrable. Like if I fell I would collide with a solid mass, or maybe bounce back up like it was a trampoline.

Marth didn’t care if it made any sense. He just needed to get the words out.

I’m terrified my family’s love is merely conditional, because love has always been nothing but figures and numbers that are constantly being crunched. I feel like the beads on the abacus are going to fall off the wooden dowels and everything will end up unbalanced and broken.

Like my kingdom, a crumpled heap currently ruled by a megalomaniacal tyrant who tried to wipe my entire family off the map. Everything is broken and the crown on my head means nothing. I am terrified it will continue to mean nothing. I am a broken prince who rules over nothing in a land called Nowhere. Jiol wants me dead and I don’t know why because I’ve done nothing to him except try to be a good nephew. It wasn’t my choice to be born to my parents. It wasn’t my choice to be born the Prince of Altea.

I’m terrified everything would be better if I ceased living. I’m terrified of dying, but at the same time I welcome it with open arms. If I must perish I will go down fighting…but how long is that fight going to go on for?

I’m terrified that my death would end up meaning nothing.

Marth sat there for a while after tossing his pen down. Once a few of his fellow students handed their pieces in, Marth tore his work out of his notebook and submitted it to Ms Kaminsky. After he returned to his desk and sat back down in the quite frankly uncomfortable as hell plastic chairs the student body was supplied with, he spent the rest of the period wondering if he did the right thing by letting Elice and Jagen know what was going on in his life.
I don’t see Elice having an issue… It’s Jagen that I’m more concerned with. Jagen is all about upholding traditional values that I’m not sure how much of a chance I have at convincing him… Still, I’m willing to try, and if I have Elice, Cain, and Abel on my side, then maybe the scales will be tipped—
“Marth?”Marth was jarred out of his thoughts by his teacher.“Yes, ma’am?”She looked at him with concern written all over her face.“I would like to talk to you after class if that’s okay.”
Ah…
Marth nodded and tried to give her a fake smile to let her know that there was nothing to be concerned about, nothing at all! Really!“Of course.”
Shit.
Marth wasn’t the type to cuss, but when he did, it meant he was in deep—very deep—trouble.The bell rang and everyone filed out of the classroom—except Marth. Marth remained in his seat at the back of the classroom, unsure of what he did wrong, but was pretty sure it had to do with his writing, though he wasn’t sure what. He wrote about being terrified, surely she expected it to be a little on the dark side of things, right? Rows of empty desks separated Marth and Ms Kaminsky from each other. Marth turned his gaze to his hands, which were folded neatly on the desk, as his teacher read over his assignment again.Clearly it was something about his writing that unnerved her, or concerned her, or gave her some kind of ill feeling she needed him to explain—which he would gladly do if she gave him the chance.The feet of her chair scraped against the linoleum as she got up from her desk and approached him in a slow, steady, and calm manner.“Do you mind if I sit here?” She gestured to the seat diagonal to him.“It’s your classroom, sit where you want.”She nodded and took a seat.“Marth, you are a bright young man who has a way with words.”Jagen would likely argue otherwise.“You wrote at the end of your piece, ‘I’m terrified everything would be better if I ceased living. I’m terrified of dying, but at the same time I welcome it with open arms. If I must perish I will go down fighting…but how long is that fight going to go on for? I’m terrified that my death would end up meaning nothing.’ I must ask… Are you suicidal or having suicidal thoughts?”Marth blinked. “Pardon?”Ms Kaminsky looked just as uncomfortable as Marth felt.“Do you have thoughts that you would be better off dead?”Yes. Marth couldn’t say that, couldn’t admit that he sometimes wished he was dead because that would lead to more trouble, more problems, more lies about how he was actually fine and didn’t mean any of it.“It’s just an example of being terrified,” Marth said. “Nothing more. There is a certain existential dread surrounding death that terrifies people, and I felt like writing about it. There’s no deeper hidden meaning in my words.”Ms Kaminsky didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?”No. “Positive.”Ms Kaminsky didn’t believe him for a minute, Marth could tell, but without any concrete proof that there was anything wrong, and with Marth not budging one bit, there wasn’t much more she could do but take him at his word.“Alright, Marth.” She stood up. “If you do need to talk, my help period is after school on all five school days.”“Thank you.” Marth didn’t know what to say beyond that. She wrote him a note explaining that he was late to his last period of the day due to needing help with an assignment, and handed it to him. He left the classroom soon after, knowing full well that he just dodged a ballista that should’ve not only hit him, but criticalled him.“Marth?”Marth looked up from his homework to see Link standing in the doorway of The Manse’s cavernous library. His voice echoed a little thanks to the incredibly high ceilings and acoustics that would make any musician jealous.“What is it, Link?” From the frantic look on the Hylian’s face, Marth knew this couldn’t be good. He capped his pen and shoved it into his notebook before closing it and his textbook.Link came running over to Marth’s table, his tablet in hand, a look of utter horror on his face now.“Everyone knows.”Marth wondered why Link sounded so ominous.“‘Everyone knows’ what, Link?”Link dropped his tablet on Marth’s schoolwork.“About you and Roy.”Marth blinked. “What?” He didn't even know that Link knew, let alone anyone else.Link pointed at the touch screen. “See for yourself.”Marth picked up the Sheikah Slate™ brand tablet and saw the timeline feed of Link’s Facebook. All Marth saw were comments made by people he didn’t know freaking out about…

“Oh my gods, the Prince of Altea is gay?!”

“Called it.”

“idk why everyone is freaking out, everyone knew the marquess’s son was a fag for like ever??? Is this news to all y’all?”

“Guess King Jiol just has to wait for Marth to die since it’s not like there’s gonna be kids LOL. End of the bloodline for sure.”

“ah yes prince marth the future king of faggots LUL”

Those were the ‘nice’ comments. The majority were a lot more homophobic, to an extent Marth was completely unprepared for. Marth looked up at Link and saw the worry in his blue eyes.“This isn’t from a tabloid rag like you’re probably assuming,” Link said. “It’s from an actual news source. Like a legit news station—NBS. Those were the comments on the link posted to their Facebook page.” His face turned grim. “You don’t wanna see the comments on the article itself. They’re brutal.”Marth scrolled through the article anyway. There were pictures of Marth and Roy holding hands, of the two of them sharing a kiss—from this morning, from the looks of it. This wasn’t some photoshop nonsense, these were actual pictures.

Is the Prince of Altea In A Relationship With the Future Marquess Pherae?

Marth stared at the headline for a while, trying to come up with a way to control the spread and damage that this would cause.“Does Roy know?”Link took back his tablet and closed the cover for it.“Yeah. Yeah he does.”Marth muttered something that sounded like “fuck”.As if summoned, Roy appeared in the library, mobile device clutched in his hand. He walked over to Marth and Link with purpose in every step.“Link, take a picture of me and Marth.”Link looked a little stunned, so much so that he nearly dropped Roy’s phone when Roy tossed it to him."Take pictures of Marth and me kissing."Roy pulled Marth out of his seat and kissed him just as Link snapped a picture of Roy flipping off the camera with one hand while pulling Marth to him with the other.“If they’re gonna talk about us, we might as well give them something to talk about.”Marth let Roy shove him up against the library wall and kiss him hard, let Roy press him against the side of a bookcase with his hand unbuttoning Marth’s uniform shirt, let Roy slip his tongue into his mouth…all of these things (and more) Link took pictures of.“Here.” Link handed Roy’s phone back. “If you want me to go full on ‘Instagram Influencer’ on ‘em, I can do that, but that should be enough.”Roy’s thumbs were already tapping away. “Thanks, Link.”“What are you doing?” Marth peered over Roy’s shoulder.“I’m making a Facebook post,” Roy said. “If the media wants to try to spin some sordid tale, fine. They might as well get the pictures and story straight from the horse’s mouth.”When Marth checked Roy’s Facebook a couple of hours later, he was shocked at all of the encouraging comments Roy received—the one that stuck out the most, however, was the one from Roy’s father:

Which Marth replied to, of course, because Eliwood didn't have to comment at all, but he did. A couple of minutes later, there was another reply, this time from a man named Hector, one of Roy’s friends:

I hope Elice will be as encouraging when she sees this…
The cat was out of the bag now. There was no turning back.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It had been a week since Marth had sent off his emails and letters admitting that he was in a relationship with Roy. A week of Marth being so filled with apprehension that he barely had any appetite. A week since he had a good night’s sleep instead of a bunch of cat naps all strung together into something that may have resembled sleep to the passing onlooker, but was anything but restful to those who knew.Marth developed a compulsion to check his push notifications and email every ten minutes which ended up becoming a “check every quarter hour” reminder on his phone in case he forgot.“No wonder you’re having problems sleeping,” Link muttered over breakfast one morning. “You keep checking your phone every two seconds.”Marth chuckled as he smeared jam on his toast. “Not that often. Every 10 to 15 minutes at the most.”Link nearly choked on his CinnaToasties with Extra Crunch! which caused Zelda to sigh in disappointment as she thumped on his back.When Marth awoke on the last day of October, he did what he always did—check his phone for any updates or news (nothing outside of a breaking news story involving Gra citizens taking up arms against their king, which Marth found quite interesting and worth sharing to his Facebook account), check his email (the Inbox (0) seemed to taunt him at this point), see if he had any voicemails (nothing there either) or missed calls (which were also zero). To say Marth was filled with unease was an understatement.
The calm before a large thunderclap welcomes in a curtain of rain and a massive storm breaks.
Elice always told him he should be a poet or a writer, but their father would never allow the future King of Altea to be anything outside of king.
You can have your frivolous hobbies, but they will never take precedence over your people.
Nothing could ever be above the people except on Sundays when folks crowded the small chapels dotting the landscape to pray to Saint Archanea and an effigy of King Anri. As if Marth’s ancestor was that worthy of being worshipped when all he’d done was slay a dragon.Allegedly.With a sword Marth had never seen, that was allegedly housed in a cave somewhere.Or was it a museum in Archanea’s capitol?
Maybe it’s like many other swords of legend and Falchion is shoved in a stone pedestal in the woods or a castle basement somewhere waiting for the hero chosen by the gods to appear and pull it out after a series of gruelling trials.
Marth wasn’t sure how to take Elice’s silence—if that was good or bad. Was she trying to figure out the proper wording for her feelings before saying anything? Was she going to let her silence speak for her?Had his sister cut ties with him? She would at least tell him that, wouldn’t she?
At least Jagen responded…
On his desk in the room he shared with Roy was a hefty letter addressed to HRH Prince Marth Lowell with a wax seal on the back that Marth hadn’t broken because it was from Jagen. It had two postage stamps on it, and something like that coming from Jagen was concerning to say the least because it meant he had a lot to say, and the likelihood of it being good or positive was nil... More condemnation, perhaps? Five pages of Jagen’s version of what the absolute fuck, sire? The thought of Jagen dropping an f-bomb made Marth chuckle a little.
The audacity of the Altean prince to admit he’s gay where people can see it.
Marth made the very bold decision to make things “Facebook Official” with Roy the day after he’d sent off his correspondences. All it said right now was that they were “in a relationship” together. Once he and Roy discussed their betrothal details and things like when (and how) to disclose this news to everyone else, they could easily change it to “engaged”. It made Marth excited but also nervous to the point of wanting to vomit. He wasn’t sure how Roy felt, exactly, but considering Roy was happily posting selfies of the two of them doing mundane things like eating breakfast and doing homework together, Roy had to at least be okay with their relationship as it currently was…Right?Marth looked over to his boyfriend—boyfriend, a word Marth never thought he would ever use—and watched him pack last night’s homework assignments into his backpack. When Roy caught him looking, he gave Marth a grin and a thumbs up before zipping the main compartment closed.“I don’t want to read this.” Marth pushed the letter as far away as he could, nearly pushing it off the desk.“So then don’t.”Marth leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Unfortunately, Jagen expects a reply and will send another asking why I haven’t answered his previous letter. And then another would follow pondering upon whether I’m deceased because he’s still not heard—”“I understand.” Roy sat down on the edge of the bed.“I’m not sure you do when your father and your retainer aren’t breathing down your neck trying to get you to see that politically motivated arranged marriages are the way to go, sire, really.”“No, but I’ve told you the story about how my father caused a scandal by marrying my mother.”Marth still wasn’t convinced Roy knew first-hand the pain of not having a family that accepted him for who he was.“That’s still not you, that’s people around you.”Roy sighed through his nose.“Well then… How about I read Jagen’s letter first and give you a synopsis of its contents?” Roy offered. He leaned forward a little and held out his hand. Marth looked from the outstretched hand to Roy’s face and saw his genuine desire to help clear in his eyes.“Alright.” Marth shook Roy’s hand. “You can vet its contents and whether it’s worth responding to after having a breakdown over Jagen being…Jagen.”Roy smiled. “If it’s not then you can just throw it away and say it got lost in the post.” He got off the bed and dropped his bag off by the door so he wouldn’t forget it and focused on getting dressed for school. “My father does this sort of thing for Lord Hector when it comes to Lycian League meetings minutes...”Marth sighed. “I feel craven for not sucking it up and just dealing with it myself. I’ve known Jagen my entire life. I should have no problems trusting his word.”Roy swapped out his pajama bottoms for dress slacks and his sleep shirt for the white button down he was required to wear. He combed his fingers through his hair in front of the full length mirror with the cheapest plastic frame Mr Hand felt like supplying for dorm usage.“It could say that the reason you feel this way is because I’ve corrupted your innocence, and you just need to return to Seine and go to some fancy school there instead.”“I was privately tutored my whole life up until…” It was still too painful for Marth to talk about. “...the everything that happened. Jagen in all likelihood would send me away to Talys for tutelage there, away from any ‘unknown influences’. As if that somehow erases the fact that I liked boys before I ever met you.”Marth caught Roy’s eyes in the mirror’s reflection.“But I will admit to you being the first boy I’ve ever caught feelings for.”Roy turned around to face him once more.“For real?”Marth nodded before getting up and heading for his own closet. If he didn’t start getting ready for school himself, time would end up running away from him and he would end up like Link, incredibly last minute with everything, but somehow on time, like time slowed down or even stopped for him so he could play catch up—but that wasn’t possible. It didn’t take Marth long to dress, all he needed to do was do up his tie, which Marth could do, but not very well.“I just don’t want you to be upset by the contents of it.” Marth attempted to knot his tie using his reflection, without much success. “That’s all.” It could’ve been Roy standing next to him providing heat and distraction. Roy raised a questioning eyebrow at Marth before turning Marth towards him so he could do it instead.“Why are you concerned about how it might make me feel when it’s a letter addressed to you? I already expect it to be bad, which is why I want to be the one to read it first. So that I can lessen the blow of everything.”Marth began the tie knotting again. “Even so…”“Let’s open it after school—here, let me do your tie for you.” Roy gently moved Marth’s hands out of the way and finished the windsor knot Marth was attempting. “And if there’s something upsetting or anger inducing, I can help you through it.” He finished it off with a kiss to Marth’s mouth before smoothing the polyester blended fabric out so nothing was askew.Marth returned the kiss and sighed. “If it pleases you...”Roy retrieved their school blazers from a hook by the door and held one out for Marth to grab before shrugging his own on. Before they left the room, Roy grabbed Marth’s shoulders and gave him another peck on the mouth with a smile of reassurance when they parted. Roy’s hands cupped Marth’s cheeks, the warmth of his skin driving the chill from Marth’s skin.“I love you, Marth. No matter what happens.”Marth’s cheeks heated up even more after hearing that. Had Roy ever said those three little words to him before? Nothing sprang to mind.“My father and his people will welcome you with arms wide open even if yours don’t do the same for me.”Marth gripped Roy’s upper arms.“My sister and Merric would.”They broke apart; Roy grabbed his bag and passed Marth’s over to him before swinging the door open.“Ready?”Marth nodded.“Wonder what Peach has for breakfast today…”Marth followed Roy out the door, making sure to shut it behind him.
I’m concerned that no one would accept you as part of my family, even though I pretend like they would.
If Marth couldn’t trust his sister, best friend, and most trusted and loyal retainer to have his back in all matters, who could he?“Hold it, hold it, hold it.”Roy skidded to a stop and Marth nearly collided with him in the doorway to the kitchen, where they could both still smell warm homemade breakfast pastries fresh from the oven—no Poptarts or toaster strudel here at The Manse, no sir. Barring access to said breakfast was someone around Roy’s height dressed in something that reminded Marth of dancers and fortune tellers. Poofy looking pants made of shimmery fabric that was semi-transparent until it got to the lower torso, where it became completely opaque. A top made of the same fabric adorned this person’s upper torso, the chest portion completely opaque as well. Designs adorned what looked like cups made to hold and support breasts in gold thread and…were those jewels and thin, almost nonexistent chains in the shape of some sort of lizard? Though the person’s face was hidden behind a face veil, Marth could tell they were blushing at the impromptu outfit examination. They drew their arms up to their chest and crossed them over, causing the fabric to bunch up and accentuate their chest even more.“H-Hello,” Roy coughed out. Marth nudged him in the ribs with his elbow. “Are you new to The Manse? My name is Roy—”They removed the face veil from the bejewelled headdress adorning their head, revealing the face of…“Link?!”“What took you guys so long?” Link switched between scowling at Roy to scowling even more at Marth, as if he knew their delay was all his fault. “And where are your Halloween costumes?!”Marth and Roy looked at each other before resuming their what the hell are you wearing? looks towards Link.“Where did you get the outfit?”Link looked down at himself. “I…got it from Zelda, who got it from Gerudo Town, in the Valley.”All Marth knew about the Gerudo was that they were an all female, very close knit, very closed off tribe of people who lived in a very hot desert.“Zelda’s my best friend and she’s dating the current chieftain, so…” Link shrugged. “She has connections to all the best jewellery, all the gold pieces…”“Is her dating the chieftain a political thing for Zelda?”Link let out a loud laugh. “Not at all.”“And you have this…why?”“Because men aren’t allowed in the Valley, so they would have to dress up like this. Even me, someone who is considered an ‘honourary Gerudo’.” Link did some stretches. “It's actually really comfortable.”“So you have to dress like a woman to visit.” Roy gestured to the inside of the kitchen. “Can we get in so we can maybe pick up some toast before we have to leave for school?”“Clothing isn’t specifically for ‘men’ or ‘women’ where I’m from.”“That’s great, Link. Can we come in—”Link’s carefree attitude changed in an instant to something so much more serious.“Absolutely not.“Link, quit fooling around.” Marth just wanted his tea and toast. “Let us through.”“You have to be dressed up for the holiday to enter.”“Link—”Link shook his head. “Na nihmuy karehlabolekiman.”Marth sighed. “I don’t know what that means.”“It’s Gerudo for ‘come back when you’ve learned to obey the rules’.”“We’re gonna be late,” Roy warned. “If we leave now, we might be able to get breakfast from the cafeteria.”“What about Link? He’ll be late too if he keeps guarding the door.”“That sounds like a Link problem and not an us problem.”Marth stared at Link until the Hylian let out a huge sigh.“Okay. Fine. I’ll get my stuff and we can go.”“What about breakfast?” Roy asked.Link grabbed his bag from the back of his chair and slung it over his shoulder.“I always carry pudding cups and apples and things like that in my bag. We can eat on the way.”Link pushed his way through Marth and Roy and headed for the front door.“Just letting you guys know that neither of you would know fun if it came up and tripped you.”Marth didn’t understand the point in dressing up to begin with.“Oh, is that what this is supposed to be? ‘Fun’?”Link opened the front door and stepped through it.“That is the point, yeah.”Marth glanced at Roy. “Must be a difference in cultures.”“I mean, we have days where we do things like this,” Roy said. “But they’re not holidays, per se.”The two of them followed Link down the front steps and down the walkway leading to the pavement.“Hey, baby… Where you heading off to looking so fine?”Link sighed. “School. Hence the backpack.”The passerby blocked Link’s path, which in turn blocked Marth and Roy from continuing on.“Why go to school when I can teach you all you need to know, huh?”“Because if I don’t go to school and graduate, I won’t be able to go to the Hyrulean Knight Academy and that would make me sad.”“I think we should go,” Roy said, his discomfort growing by the second as this stranger kept trying to put moves on his friend. He grabbed Link by the wrist and tried to pull him away, but Link was rooted to the spot.“You guys can go, but my lady friend and I are gonna stay right…here…”“No, no, I would prefer to stick with my friends…”“I can be your friend. Name’s Tod. Let’s get to know each other…”Link whistled a short tune that caused everyone nearby to wince.“What the fuck? Are you trying to make me go deaf?”Before Marth, Roy, or Link could do anything further, the cry of a winged apex predator cut through the air. Mr Stranger Danger wound back his arm to punch Link when a larger than usual Ferruginous hawk swooped in and knocked Mr Stranger Danger to the ground. It perched on his chest and let out a mighty kree! before it began pecking at the would-be-assailant’s face.“Let’s go!” Link said, shoving Marth and Roy ahead of him and pushing them away. “We all saw nothing, okay? Nothing!”Link Mekkai was clearly not like other Hylians. Marth could’ve sworn he saw a faint golden glow on the back of Link’s left hand, but played it off as a trick of the light caused by the shimmery material of Link’s outfit.“Did you hear about the guy who got randomly attacked by a giant hawk?”“There was nothing left of his face.”“Cops had no idea what to do so they called animal control and they didn’t know what to do either. Wildlife experts came and were stumped like where the fuck did this hawk come from…”Link kept himself hidden behind Roy and the trio stopped at Marth’s locker.“There was this really loud howling or whistling or something and then SQUAAAAAK this giant fucking bird comes swooooooshing in and attacks some guy.”“Where does something like that even come from?”“Congratulations, Link, you’ve caused a stir throughout the student body.” Marth swapped out the books in his bag and grabbed his first three classes’ materials.“I’m thinking that I should’ve just been a werewolf instead of a Gerudo for Halloween.”“One of us could’ve punched him in the face or something instead of…calling a hawk down to take care of it…” Roy looked away from the crowds of people and focused on Link. “Where did you learn how to do that anyway? Are you a falconer?”Link blinked. “A what?”“Like do you raise falcons or something? Other large birds?”Link shook his head. “I was always told that whenever I was in trouble, I should call on my animal friends. They’ll help me.”Marth and Roy switched places so Roy could get ready for the day.“So you are a literal Disney princess?”Marth received a blank stare for his comment.“I grew up basically in a forest,” Link said, his voice quiet, as if he was afraid of someone overhearing him. “I’ve explored a lot of Hyrule, and I was told when I was like 8 or 9 by the spirit of the Kokiri Forest—the Great Deku Tree—that if I ever ended up in trouble and needing help, that I should call upon my animal friends. They would help alleviate my problem and come to my aid.”The look Marth gave him said I think you’ve been smoking too much of the ‘Gift of the Forest’.“He taught me some songs that would let nature know I was in need of aid and send me the best companion for whatever task. I was in trouble and needed something to protect me, so I got a hawk.”“Yes, but…how does nature—or whoever—know what to send you?”“My mother always said that because we always helped take care of the land, that Faron blessed us and…” Link sighed and held up his hands. “Look, I know it sounds really far out there, but us Hylians are considered ‘favoured’ by the gods and spirits…”The locker door rattled when Roy closed it. He slipped the shackle through the hole and secured it. Not that there was anything worth stealing if someone did manage to break in, he just wanted to make it more difficult for someone to try. Risk assessment and all that.“Just because I don’t believe in it necessarily, doesn’t mean I think it’s hogwash.” Roy yanked on the lock for good measure; it held without any problems.“If it works for you, it works for you,” Marth said.“I just feel that a killer hawk is a bit overkill, like who does your forest spirit think they’re protecting?”Link shrugged. “Dunno. It’s not like I’m the ‘chosen one’ you hear about in legends.”The morning bell rang, and the trio began their morning walk to the second floor of the old building, where Mewtwo’s classroom was tucked away into a very unassuming corner.“Think you could prove your worth to the gods and gain access to the—what was it? The Triforce?”Link scoffed. “Be serious, Roy. No one’s even sure that Hylia’s chosen one actually existed outside of folktales.”“Our legendary hero existed,” Marth said. “Whether he slew a dragon and saved the world, I don’t know, but he existed. His brother existed. He had a son named Marius and he in turn had a son named Cornelius.”“Yeah but that’s different,” Link insisted. He was so caught up in this discussion that he nearly concussed himself on the door frame whilst pushing the door to the second floor open. “That’s your great-grand uncle and he founded your country. Of course they’re gonna make a big deal out of him.”“Like Roland founding Ostia after The Scouring ended,” Roy remarked.“My mother told me the old stories before I went to bed every night… She would rock me to sleep weaving together stories about Loftwings and I would have dreams of flying this crimson one… I found a picture of what it might’ve looked like in a book when I was older and it…looked exactly how I imagined it.” Link chuckled a little. “She would always go, ‘This is where your name came from, Link… It was the name of the goddess Hylia’s chosen hero. The Sheikah elder said she sensed his spirit dwelling inside of you, ready to awaken once it needed to.’ Whether it’s true or not, I dunno, but that probably explains why there’s so many kids in Hyrule with the same name as me…”There were students milling about outside of Mewtwo’s classroom. The door was locked and Marth swore he heard Mewtwo giving himself some kind of pep talk.“I will not use my telekinetic abilities to throw a student out the window… I can’t afford a mistake like that again…”“Mewtwo is having his morning breakdown before he has his coffee,” Dean said. He adjusted his Naruto headband so it could cover the fact that his wig didn’t cover the hair at his hairline.“Ah, so the typical morning ritual then.” Marth was right then about hearing Mewtwo’s words of ‘encouragement’.“He should be done soon with a minute to spare so we can sit down inside.”Mewtwo was, unsurprisingly, not in any sort of costume, save for a very obviously fake, poorly adhered moustache. He watched everyone filter in and silently judged everyone’s taste in costumes. The smart ones, in his opinion, were the ones who didn’t bother dressing up. He waited for the bell to ring before pulling out the attendance sheet and placing it on his podium.“Minna-san, tatte kudasai.”The class stood more or less in unison, save for Aras, who was trying to fix her Spirit Halloween version of a Sailor Moon costume.“Ohayou gozaimasu.” Mewtwo somehow managed to reach new levels of “deadpan”, sounding like he was doing this under pain of death.(Which, to be fair, maybe he was.)“Ohayou gozaimasu!”“Rei.”Mewtwo bowed and the class followed suit.“Ow!” Aras accidentally stabbed herself with a safety pin.“Suwatte kudasai.”Chairs scraped against linoleum as everyone tried to hastily sit back down, not of their own volition of course—a lot of this was Mewtwo’s puppetry.“I will now take attendance because I am required to and not because I want to.” He cleared his throat.“Stephanie.”Stephanie raised her hand. “Hai!”“Janae.”“She dropped,” Dean remarked. “Like. A while ago.”Mewtwo scratched her name out. “Thank you for letting me know weeks after the fact, Dean-kun.”Dean nodded. “Doitashima—”“Dean.”“—hai?”Mewtwo marked him absent because that was what he did with students who annoyed him too early in the morning.And so it went. Kweenetra, Stephen, and L’Andrea responded when Mewtwo called their names, and he marked them as ‘present’ for not giving him lip or causing problems.“Marth.”“Hai, sensei.”“Link—”Link looked up. “Sensei?”Mewtwo narrowed his eyes. “Why are you dressed like this?”The Hylian blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”“You’re dressed like a girl.”Link shook his head. “No, I’m dressed as a Gerudo.”“Isn’t that the same thing?”“Uh… No? Not necessarily?”Mewtwo didn’t understand but he also didn’t care enough to try to understand or ask questions. He could probably just google it and end up on some Tumblr post that explained everything and then look at some weird fanart in the related posts; maybe he would be better off just searching Reddit instead—“Uh, sensei? You’re having audible thoughts again.”Mewtwo stopped thinking at once. “Thanks, Alex-kun.”Alex did some finger guns.Mewtwo skipped over Aras and barely let Frankie answer before moving on to “Elroy.”Roy’s face fell. “I’m here, but I really wish you’d call me Roy—”Mewtwo marked the rest absent because he grew bored of putting tick marks by people’s names and decided it was up to them to inform the main office of their attendance, not him.“Kyou no ressun wa…shoudou desu.” Mewtwo wrote 書道 on the whiteboard. “Who can tell me some things used in calligraphy?”No one said a word. Mewtwo sighed and put the dry erase marker down.“Do any of you know what calligraphy even looks like?”Frankie raised his hand. Mewtwo ignored him in favour of pulling out some totally not bought online calligraphy scrolls and unrolling them.“This is what shoudou looks like.” It was clearly printed by machine, but Mewtwo didn’t care. He could’ve painted over everything with black acrylic paint if he wanted to make it look “authentic”, but Mewtwo didn’t put any more work than he had to into his class lessons, and that required too much effort for his taste.“I am not expecting your calligraphy to look anything like this, of course.”“Of course not,” Frankie muttered. “Mine will look way better than something purchased on Ama—”“Let me explain to you all of the different components to calligraphy as I hand the respective items out.” He telekinetically grabbed ink dishes, ink sticks, little squirt bottles of water, and brushes and distributed them to the class.“You have your ink sticks—your sumi—that you rub against the suzuri using a little bit of mizu—”Alex and Frankie gave each other one look before bursting out laughing. Dean turned around in his seat.“Guys, get your minds out of the gutter…”He joined in on their laughter anyway, because his mind was also in the gutter with theirs.“I don’t get what’s so funny,” Link muttered.“Think about it,” Roy said. “You’re taking a stick and rubbing it on something you’ve poured a liquid on…”Link was completely lost.Mewtwo could tell he was losing the class to some unintentional innuendo.“All of you just want to write pretty Japanese characters on paper to show off to your friends, you don’t care about the actual mechanics behind it.”Dean raised his hand. “I wanna learn how to actually do calligraphy, sensei!”“I’m not sure I want to bother with this lesson plan anymore.” Mewtwo took out a book of matches. “We can always do something else…”“What if we watch a YouTube video on how it’s done? Then you can sit back and enjoy another RedBull Coffee.”Mewtwo stared at the book of matches longer than was comfortable for all assembled.“Yes… Yes, we could do that…”Mewtwo’s love of coffee and energy drinks won out over arson and endangering the welfare of many minors, and he connected the smartboard to his computer. Mewtwo searched for Japanese calligraphy lessons on YouTube before clicking the first video he saw.“For anyone who still wants to continue with this catastrophe of a lesson, I will write the two characters I want you to write on the board after you’ve watched this 15 minute long time lapse video that will probably teach you nothing, and no I will not answer any questions so put your hand down.” He sat down at his desk and pulled out a book entitled How to Win at a Job You Hate before cracking open another RedBull to put in his freshly brewed (via the mini Keurig he had hidden underneath his desk) coffee he otherwise took black, outside of the 20 sugar packets he also stirred in.Aras lowered her hand with a pout. “Sensei no baka!”“Well okay then.” Alex brushed a hand through his hair and looked over all of the implements Mewtwo passed out. He opened his notebook and tore out a sheet of paper. Clearly Mewtwo wasn’t going to give them good paper, because he knew that they would likely fuck everything up and do something not worth displaying on the classroom walls.“Um, Mewtwo-sensei, where is the paper?” Link asked.“Ask me in Japanese and maybe I’ll pretend I care.”Link sighed. His Japanese skills weren’t the best compared to, say, L’Andrea, or Marth, or Dean… Even Roy was more fluent. Not Aras though. Link was better at speaking Japanese than that embarrassment of a weeb.“Anou…Mewtwo-sensei, kami wa doko desu ka?”Mewtwo responded by throwing an entire ream of copy paper at the Hylian, who caught it one handed. With no feedback on whether that was correct Japanese or if it was just merely understandable because the words he used made some semblance of sense, Link would forever be left to wonder if he asked Um, Mewtwo-sensei, where is the paper? or instead asked Um, Mewtwo-sensei, where is God?“Kami-sama is god,” Mewtwo said, answering Link’s thought but skipping Link’s question.Fifteen minutes and three seconds later, everyone was trying their hand at drawing the two characters Mewtwo had put up on the board: 死 and 殺.“Um, sensei?”Mewtwo sighed and completely ignored Dean, hoping that if he did that long enough, students would stop asking him questions.Stephanie took the torch from Dean. “Sensei? Shitsumon ga aru.”“Ore ni wa kotae ga nai, omae no shitsumon ga nan de atte mo.”“It’s like I need subtitles for real life,” Aras lamented.“Sensei, how am I supposed to write this?” Link held the brush up with his left hand.“Very carefully.”Link sighed. “My left hand is gonna smear everything…”Stephanie pouted. “I just wanted to know what these characters mean so I’m not inadvertently writing something bad.” Knowing Mewtwo, they could’ve meant anything, but likely nothing good.Mewtwo, who was pouring a second RedBull into his otherwise sugar-laden black coffee, didn’t feel like teaching the class anymore. Knowing that he had students who probably knew more Japanese than even he did, he decided to test his hypothesis.“Who knows what these characters mean?”Aras, who Mewtwo knew didn’t know anything except a handful of vocabulary she picked up from some anime show, answered, without raising her hand.“The first one meaaaaans ‘hana’ and the second one means ‘zatsu’.” Aras sat there looking smug.Roy thumbed through a kanji dictionary. “Actually, no, the first one means—”Aras glared at Roy. “Oi! Omae! Who do you think you are, huh? You’re a baka! You don’t know what you’re talking about! Are you 1/16 Japanese like me???”“Pretty sure you’re about as Japanese as I am,” Mewtwo said into his coffee mug.“I don’t think you know what you’re talking about either,” Marth muttered.Aras gave Marth the dirtiest look before sticking her tongue out at him. Marth gave her the Altean equivalent of flipping the bird, which consisted of making an “o” with the right thumb and index finger, and sliding the left pointer finger through it before using the right hand to ‘break’ it. This move shocked both Roy and Link.Aras, who didn’t care how much scandal Marth would cause if anyone from Altea witnessed him doing what he just did, made a little “hmph!” sound and looked away.“As I was saying…” Roy sighed. “The first one is ‘shi’ and the second one is—”Aras made Phoenix Wright’s Objection pose. “Mata chigau! That’s not the kanji for ‘four’!”Marth, who had given up on doing any calligraphy, said, “Just give up, Roy. There’s no point in trying to correct her.”Five minutes of silence came and went. Frankie was the only one not having any difficulties with the assignment, the rest…Aras held up her computer printer paper filled with smudges, lines, and globs of calligraphy ink that was too expensive to be wasted on her “artistic endeavours”.“Mite at the sugoi kanji I drew!” She stood so everyone in the classroom could see, her face beaming with pride over her work. No one looked directly at it, not even Mewtwo, though most took little glances.“Who gave a three year old a calligraphy brush?” Gary asked. It was the first time anyone had heard him speak in weeks, and honestly, though he sat in the front row right in front of Aras, no one realised he was still coming to class.Not even Mewtwo, who had been marking him as absent this entire time.Link, trying to be as genuinely kind as he could muster, dared to ask, “Oh, that’s really great, Aras! The style you chose makes it hard to make out which one is which so… Which one is that?”“It’s the hitotsu one! The one that means ‘hana’!” She held up the second scribble she drew. “This is the futatsu one that means ‘zatsu’.”L’Andrea sighed out a “dear sweet Valoo please help those you deem unworthy” audibly enough that it caught Aras’s attention from two rows away.“Nani?”“Don’t think Valoo can help her.” Link draped his blazer over the back of his chair and rolled his sleeves up. He took several deep breaths to prepare himself for trying his hand at calligraphy. It couldn’t be any different from the fanciful calligraphy tapestries hung in Hyrule Castle’s hallways, right?L’Andrea tripped over the legs of her desk in her haste to walk over to Aras. She slapped the childish looking scribbles out of Aras’s hands.“Hitotsu no kanji wa ‘shi’ da! ‘Hana’ to ja nai! Futatsu no kanji wa ‘satsu’ da! Muzukashiku nai!”Aras bent down to pick her fallen papers up.“Sounds fake but okei no poroburemu,” Aras replied in a very snooty tone.Roy leaned over Marth’s desk and whispered, “How much time do we have left in class?”Marth consulted the clock on his phone and found that there was still way too much time left before morning announcements.“35 minutes.”Roy groaned.“You of all people should recognise these two kanji without an issue,” L’Andrea continued. “Considering the first one is in Shinigami to Yobareta Gundam and the second one is used in omae wo korosu.” And then, as if to drive her point home, L’Andrea took the sheets of paper Aras treasured so much, and ripped them in half. They fell to the ground in slow motion as Aras’s eyes filled with tears.“Hi-Hidoi…” She sniffled. “My…my calligraphy…”“That was a bit much,” Dean said.“Did you really have to hurt her feelings like that?” Alex asked.L’Andrea took her seat and muttered, “Ninmu kanryou.”Aras let out the most feral of shrieks as she picked up one of Mewtwo’s precious ink sticks and snapped it in half. She threw her ink dish and sent black ink flying everywhere, not giving a shit what it ruined or who it splattered onto. Dean and Frankie looked down at their ruined Halloween costumes, their faces filled with absolute horror.“Mewtwo-sensei, may we be excused?” Link asked.Mewtwo poured himself another RedBull mixed with some kind of alcohol Link wasn’t familiar with and stirred it into another cup of coffee. If anyone else attempted to drink even half the amount of coffee beverages Mewtwo did in a single lesson period, they would be hospitalised for some kind of poisoning—alcohol, caffeine, or sugar.“Why should I let you leave my class, Link?”“Because I am concerned for my safety.”Something shattered to pieces right above Mewtwo’s head, causing bits of ceramic to fall into Mewtwo’s drink. He continued stirring like nothing was going wrong around him.“Bakayarou! All of you! F-Fuzakkenna!” Aras kicked her chair away, sending it flying into the desk behind her with enough force that it skidded back a couple of feet before falling over. She grabbed her backpack and stormed out of the classroom.No one said a word. Link winced as he heard Aras shrieking down the hall, which was cut short by an unnaturally deep voice yelling something in another language no one understood…except Link, who made a face.Mewtwo cleared his throat, said, “I’ve lost complete control over my classroom,” and looked everyone in the eye before saying, “I’d like your bakemono reports, please.”“But what about the calligraphy?” Frankie asked.“Never again.” Mewtwo held out his hand-paw. “Shukudai onegaishimasu.”Marth had never been more grateful than he was at this moment, when the familiar three tonal sequence that signalled the start of announcements came over the overhead system.“Happy Halloween and harvest blessings! At the top of our list for today’s events: the Costume Contest! Please see Mr Guerrero if you’d like to participate…”Marth’s phone vibrated in his pants pocket. As the announcements went on about school events he couldn’t care less about, like archery club sign ups, he pulled out his phone enough to see the screen.
New Email From [email protected]

Subject: In Regards to Your Email…

Marth, I hope this reaches you wel…
Marth felt bile rise up in his throat as he hastily shoved the device back in his pocket.
The email I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived.
Roy reached across the aisle and took hold of Marth’s hand.
And now I wish it hadn’t.
“Today we shall be learning the art of the measuring and classification of angles.” Ms Sarkofski flitted about the room, dressed like a Great Fairy (if she wore something more school appropriate). “What is the measuring and classification of angles, you might ask? Well—”She picked up a piece of chalk and wrote MEASURING AND CLASSIFYING ANGELS on the board and underlined it.Gertruida, who was clearly named after her great-great-grandmother, raised her hand.“Miss, you misspelt ‘angle’.”Ms Sarkofski looked at what she had written. She peered through her thick lenses and laughed.“Ah, so I did!” She did nothing to correct her mistake, because like Mewtwo, Ms Sarkofski wasn’t paid enough to care if something was spelled wrong.“Before we can measure them, we must learn what exactly an angle is. Can anyone tell me?”“It’s in the book,” one student said.“Ah, someone wants a detention for talking back…” Normally Ms Sarkofski would’ve filled out a detention slip, but today she was not only feeling generous, but she was also on her last fuck to give.Ema raised her hand. “An angle consists of two different rays with the same endpoint.” Ema wasn’t particularly smart when it came to geometrics, the definition was literally written in the textbook open right in front of her, like Oliver had mentioned. Ms Sarkofski applauded her anyway.“So who can tell me how one goes about measuring one of these angles? What sort of device is used?”“The ‘measure’ app on a smartphone,” said one student.“A ruler,” muttered another.Rosemarie held up a compass. “Whatever this is.”“Ah yes the stabby spinny thing,” Oliver said. “My favourite weapon.”Rosemarie gave him a very concerned look.“No, no, and no,” Ms Sarkofski said with a laugh. “You use a protractor!”Link blinked. “A what now?”“Isn’t that a prostate doctor?” Oliver asked.“You mean a proctologist?” asked Roy, who didn’t mean to get involved in this discussion, but couldn’t help himself.Ms Sarkofski held up a semicircular piece of transparent plastic with lines and numbers on it. “A protractor!”No one in the class had one of these, save for Marth (whose guardian kept an eye on his supplies lists) and Roy (who used it to draw cool shapes on his notebook cover).“I have some you can borrow during class time, but I highly recommend you go out and purchase one.”“Why not a ruler?” Justyce asked.“Because angles are measured in degrees, not inches or centimetres,” Marth mumbled. For the first time in a while he wondered why the hell he was in this class when he placed high enough to be in Algebra Two. He’d have to ask his counselor about that one.“Oh.” Link dropped his compass in his bag. “So like. Temperature. 300 degrees.”“98 degrees,” Justyce added.“No one listens to them anymore,” Lourda remarked. “They’re old news. Like the Backstreet Boys.”Justyce gasped. “You take that back!”Lourda shook her head. “Absolutely not.”“My sweet sisters in Levias, will you focus on the lesson at hand?”It took Ms Sarkofski the entire lesson time to explain how to properly use a protractor, including three YouTube videos and a live demonstration. There were a few who still didn’t understand its usage and why they couldn’t just use a ruler like they did with anything else. Link was one of them, who insisted that a compass should’ve been just as usable, if not more so than a straight edge.“Why does every class end up going so far off the rails that there’s no way for anything to recover?” Marth asked, his voice muffled by his Geometry textbook.“I don’t know, but I hope Father is getting his gold’s worth in tuition for my education.”“Which is…?”Roy did the calculations on his fingers. “Uhhh room and board plus school ended up being 476,197 gold. Which is about 15,000 in Nintendia’s currency.”“How much is that in rupees?”Roy shrugged. “I dunno. How much are you paying in rupees?”“1.5 million rupees, 40 joy pendants, and deluxe Pictograph pictos of trees—three of them.”“That’s…interesting.” Marth didn’t know the prices of those things, but hoped that Mr Hand was proud of his bargaining and negotiation skills.The bell rang and though Ms Sarkofski tried to explain the homework assignment, few listened long enough to write it down in their student planners (or somewhere they could remember it).Marth was one of them; he gave Jagen enough to be disappointed about, why add one more thing to his list?The walk from the gymnasium to the sciences floor was always a long and arduous one that no one in the trio enjoyed, especially Marth and Roy, whose shoes may as well have been replaced by boots made of iron.Roy stopped on the second landing in between the first and second floors of the new building.“Do you know what you want to do after high school? Like is this something you ever think about?”Link’s brow furrowed as he rummaged through his bag to verify he’d packed his Biology textbook. He zipped his bag up and they continued their trek to the third and final floor of the building.“After graduating I’m heading for the Hyrule Knight Academy to become a full fledged knight.”Roy arched an eyebrow. “A knight?”Link nodded. “Yeah. I know, pretty lofty goal, huh? My father, he was a royal knight of Hyrule, captain of the guard in fact. Tasked with keeping the royal family out of harm’s way. He was considered the best.”“Sounds like you’ve got a lot to live up to.”Link shrugged. “All of Hyrule prayed to the goddesses when my mother was pregnant, asking for sons. She had three—me, Anaka, and Tuuli. She died in childbirth with my sister.”“I thought you said your parents were killed by Ganondorf?”Link’s expression changed at that name.“He did. He started the war that killed my father, and he put a curse on my mother. He may not have killed them directly, but through his actions, he did. My grandma—my mother’s mom—raised us until she couldn’t keep up with all of us anymore, and I…pretty much lived out on my own, just Anaka and me, and Grandma kept Tuuli and Aryll…”“You were left alone then…” Marth pondered what an unsupervised childhood felt like. If anything, his was too structured.“Oh I still had plenty of adult supervision and my share of responsibilities. I helped Fado out with his goats, helped out Talon with his ranch a lot, milk deliveries and such to the castle…”“So then how did you end up here?”The third floor of the new building felt empty. Two students were frantically searching through a locker for something; classroom doors were partially open until lessons officially began… The trio walked through the tunnel connecting the two buildings, putting them in between the third and fourth floors of the “old” building, which was really just the original building before the addition, a designation that still confused many students.“Because I am the eldest son of Sir Anaka Mekkai.” Link was the first to take to the stairs heading for the fourth floor. “That’s why. I’m sure the two of you understand what that’s like.”It was obvious, wasn’t it? Marth was here as both a war refugee and the late Altean king’s only son; Roy was here as the only child of the Marquess Pherae. When it all came down to it, it was all about who they knew, and who they were. Nothing more, nothing less.“Does a Hyrulean knight need things like Geometry?” Roy asked.Link laughed as he pushed the door open. “Absolutely not.”“Then why do you bother?”“Well, if I don’t get into the Knighthood program, I need options! Like, I can always be a ranch hand at Lon Lon Ranch…or the best goat herder Ordon Village has ever seen.”“You don’t really need Geometry for that,” Roy remarked.Link shrugged. “Maybe not like how they teach here with impractical examples of it, but we use things like Algebra in real life all the time without realising it.”Marth thought Link had his whole life figured out, all at the age of 15.“And you’d be okay with that? Working at a ranch?”“Well, I mean…” He brushed a hand through his hair as they continued straight ahead. “I’d rather be a knight, of course. But I love animals, especially horses—which I’d have to learn about anyway—so it wouldn’t be too bad.”“Have you considered dropping Geometry and doing something else? Some kind of math that you’re good at?”Link paused before the first bend in the hallway.“I have. My counselor won’t let me. Says I need it for later on in life, even though I won’t. And if I fail it then I would have to pick something else, but I think Ms Sarkofski is the kind of teacher who passes everyone regardless of whether she should or not.”Link waved goodbye to Marth and went inside Mrs Fujimoto’s almost full classroom.“The bell’s about to ring,” Roy said.“My classroom is three doors down—I’ll make it.”“I’m gonna see if Tzezekev will let me go to the library today. I’m all done with my project, so it shouldn’t be a problem…”“We have history class together, I think you can survive two classes in a row without me.”Roy pouted a little before kissing Marth. The kiss lingered for longer than necessary, to the point where the bell ringing for class to begin was what broke them apart.“Love you.” Roy had a sheepish grin on his face as he backed into the classroom and slid the door closed.“I love you too.” Marth’s lips tingled from where Roy had touched them.Marth stared at the classroom door for longer than he should have.“Take a seat, Mr Pherae.” Mrs Fujimoto didn’t sound too angry. If anything she had a tiny smirk on her face. “I won’t count you tardy this time since you were right outside the door, but please don’t make this a habit.”Roy took his seat next to Link. “Yes, ma’am.”“Understand?”“Yes.”Mrs Fujimoto went over to the music stand she used for a podium and adjusted it to the correct height and angle.“Alright, class, today’s lesson… Photosynthesis…”“Everyone saw.” Link had a cheshire cat’s grin on his face as he opened to a blank page in his notebook.“Saw what?”“You kiss Marth.”“Okay…” Roy pulled his binder out of his backpack and flipped it open to the notes section.“Today, I am going to showcase how photosynthesis works using a model of…this.” Mrs Fujimoto held up a plastic model of a very blue, very beautiful plant.“This plant is called solanum lucidum, but everyone else has probably heard it called—”“Blue Nightshade.”All eyes were on Link now.“Its nickname is ‘nature’s nightlight’.”Mrs Fujimoto nodded. “That is correct. An ordinary plant during the day, at night it ‘glows’ in the dark due to a little something called bioluminescence.”While Mrs Fujimoto went over the model and explained how photosynthesis did its thing, Roy took a look over Link’s shoulder to see what he was doing.“Is that a drawing?”Link quickly sketched out a few more lines before putting labels next to the different parts and what photosynthesis did inside it.“Yeah.”Roy let out a little gasp. “Link, that’s incredible.”Link shrugged off Roy’s praise. “It’s just a sketch. I’ve drawn better on my nature walks.”“Nature walks?”Link nodded. “Yeah. When I was a kid, I used to go through Faron Woods and Kokiri Forest…almost got lost in the Lost Woods once or twice even. There’s a lot of plantlife you can only find in those areas of Hyrule, and I would sit there in the grass and sketch them out. Made my own little ‘guidebook’ of sorts about plant life…”“What’s in the Lost Woods?”“Oh, you know…” Link switched over to copying a chart Mrs Fujimoto pulled up on the SmartBoard. “Deku shrubs, some Skull Kids, Deku bulbs… The Master Sword… Lots of things like Blue Nightshade and various shrooms… The occasional Stalfos and Wolfos…”Roy’s brain latched onto the one thing that didn’t sound like a type of flora or fauna.“The Master Sword?”“Mmhmm.”“What is that?”Did Link really feel like getting into Hyrule’s lore during a Biology lesson?“It’s a sword mentioned in all of the myths and legends concerning Hyrule’s chosen ones.”Roy nodded in understanding. “So something that doesn’t actually exist.”Link shook his head. “Nope, it’s an actual sword. Supposedly forged by Goddess Hylia herself and given to her chosen hero to seal away evil…” Link made it sound like it was no big deal that such an important ancient relic could be found in the middle of some woods somewhere. “It used to be in the Temple of Time, but the temple was destroyed in the last war, so they had to move it to somewhere better protected.”“Oh… Huh.”“I’ve never personally seen it, and no one knows how to get to it anymore, so it’s probably lost forever inside the Lost Woods, especially since I’ve pretty much been everywhere in it… But then again, maybe it only appears to someone the goddesses deem worthy.”Mrs Fujimoto moved on to the next slide in her presentation.“Who can tell me what chlorophyll’s role is in photosynthesis?”Link’s hand shot up so quick he nearly caught Roy in the jaw.“It converts light into energy that the plant can use for…plant operations.”Mrs Fujimoto smiled. “That’s part of it, yes.”Link did a little fist pump.“‘Plant operations’?”Link was back to drawing again, this time some sort of mushroom.
Biology with Link is fun, but I wish Marth were here too.
  
Chemistry wouldn’t be as boring if Roy were here with me.
Marth didn’t want to admit it, but he fell asleep in his chemistry class a couple of times—nothing too alarming, maybe just five or so minutes each time. To be fair to the prince, scientific notation wasn’t the most exciting thing he’d ever had the pleasure to learn about—and Mr Bell was trying so hard to make it as not boring as he possibly could to boot—or read examples of in his textbook. The only reason he woke up was not because of Mr Bell nudging him awake with the metal presentation pointer he often used, but because his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out thinking it was from Roy, and instead saw it was from his sister.
<Elice:> Did you get my email?

Ah, yes, the email I’ve been purposely ignoring but at the same time anticipating because I’m not sure how well I will handle your rejection of me because of something completely out of my control.
Marth made sure Mr Bell wasn’t looking in his general direction—sitting in the very back of the classroom helped—and typed out a response with plenty of help from auto-correct and predictive text.
Marth:> Yes. I haven’t read it yet, but I will.
The way others were leaning back in their chairs suggested Marth wasn’t the only one having problems staying awake.“So lemme get this straight: we can add or subtract things in scientific notation?”Mr Bell sighed. Maybe he too was tired of this lesson and on the verge of falling asleep himself.“Yes, Cooter, you can. Like any other mathematic equation once you learn how to.” Mr Bell uncapped a dry erase marker and wrote out 6.2 × 10⁴ + 7.2 × 10³ = 62 × 10³ + 7.2 × 10³ = 69.2 x 10³ = 69 x 10³ = 6.9 x 10⁴ on the dry erase board in the “margin” of the slide.“Is this even in English?” Clifford Johnson asked.“It’s numbers, not letters.”“Are you sure? ‘Cause this looks like Swahili to me.”In the driest tone of voice, Mr Bell replied, “These are technically Arabic numbers, so I guess this is technically in Arabic…”“Oh I ain’t speak Araback.”
<Elice:> Jagen wants to know if you received his letter in the post.
Ah, yes, the letter that was currently sitting on his bedroom desk unopened and purposely ignored because Marth really didn’t want to have a breakdown today, not when he’d gone a few days without one and didn’t feel like breaking his streak.Unfortunately, Marth tapped out. His thumb hesitated over the ‘send’ button as Mr Bell went on about how addition and subtraction of scientific notation worked. His lab partner snorted in his sleep as a puddle of drool pooled out onto the table. Marth grimaced before ripping off a few sheets of paper towel and gently draping it over the saliva puddle. Some of it ended up covering Erik’s face.“I’m not sure I understand.” Cooter, who sat at the front of Marth’s row, let out a huge sigh and dropped his pencil onto the table in defeat. “I can’t do it.” He broke down into loud sobs as Mr Bell tried to console him. Mr Bell looked around at his students like he was searching for someone to help him.
Marth:> Unfortunately I haven’t been able to read it. I’ve gone as far as tearing open the wax seal before getting interrupted by other things.
Marth’s urge to keep things as diplomatic as possible was a habit so ingrained in him, he couldn’t be rude or terse if he tried.Not via text, anyway.“I’m…sorry…to…hear…that… Please…see me…during help…” Mr Bell managed to free himself. He brushed off his sweater vest and backed away from the mess of a student using loose leaf as a tissue. “...period so I can have a more in depth explanation with you.”
<Elice:> Jagen says it contains something of the highest urgency.
Marth sighed. Everything is urgent with Jagen.
Marth:> Tell Jagen that I will look his letter over once I have a free moment. I’m currently in class and unable to do so.
<Elice:> Oh! I didn’t realise! My apologies, brother. Study hard but not too hard, eat a good lunch, and pay attention in class!
Instead of Marth paying attention in class, he switched to texting Roy.
Marth:> I received a text from Elice… She wanted to know if I’ve read her email or Jagen’s letter.
<Roy:> what did you say?
Marth:> I told her that I didn’t have time to because I’m at school.
<Roy:> do you wanna read it on lunch? the email I mean
Marth:> I don’t have a lunch period.
<Roy:> … …shit, me neither.
<Roy:> BUT if my 5th period teacher lets me go to the library today
<Roy:> I could do that during your study hall.
Marth:> No. I don’t want to risk someone having a breakdown or getting upset in the school library.
Marth:> We can do it first thing when we return to the Manse.
<Roy:> ok. sounds like a plan.
Marth had just put his mobile away when Mr Bell’s metal presentation pointer slammed down on the desk in the space between him and Erik. Erik bolted awake with a snort.“Jumpin’ flamin’ hot cheetos!”Mr Bell looked very cross, his glasses almost dangling from his nose with how close they were to falling off.“Someone on their phone is at least half paying attention to my lecture. Someone in deep sleep isn’t paying any attention at all, are they, Mr Cosimar?”Erik, who was incredibly disoriented at best, looked around the classroom like he had no idea where he even was. The paper towel from earlier was stuck to his face and he didn’t even notice.“I want to see if you’ve been paying some attention. Mr Lowell, what is the answer to the problem?” Mr Bell pointed at the second question on the board.
Explain the advantage of using scientific notation.
“It helps keep things neater, more accurate, and with less zeroes taking up space…?”Mr Bell looked at Marth with all of the disappointment of a stern father before nodding once. “I’ll accept that. Please give me your full attention from now on, Marth.”Marth knew he deserved that reprimand. Erik, meanwhile, had a huge scowl on his face for the rest of the period because his nap was disturbed.Mr Luigi Mario looked like he had a case of bad indigestion and was also trying to not vomit. Considering it was after his prep period/lunch, bad food could’ve been a factor in Luigi Mario feeling unwell. The other reason was because of a kid dressed up as a ghost in every one of his classes. As everyone filtered into his classroom, many decked out in some kind of costume, Luigi was on high alert, expecting there to be someone dressed like a Boo, or some other ghost-like creature that haunted his nightmares. Ever since that “adventure” he’d had in a haunted mansion trying to look for his brother, Luigi—who wasn’t a fan of spooky things anyway—was even more nervous and paranoid when it came to the paranormal.So far so good… Luigi was sweating bullets. He dabbed at his brow with a tissue and took deep breaths.Marth and Roy were two of the five students who hadn’t bothered with costumes and either wore the school uniform, or something related to Halloween, much to Mr Luigi’s relief. Maybe this would be the one class where no one dressed as some spooky entity. Could Mr Luigi be that lucky?“You okay there, chief?” Johnny John Johnson III. “Scared of a little Halloween mischief?”“It’s not that Halloween scares me or anything!” Mr Luigi insisted. “It’s just g-g-g—” Mr Luigi couldn’t even utter the word “ghost”.“Ghost?”“Wah!”“Have you considered anti-anxiety medication?”A student by the name of Leo walked through the door dressed as a Poe, a type of ghost that frequented the Kakariko Graveyard and places left empty and abandoned, like temples that hadn’t seen worship for centuries. Mr Luigi let out a yelp and hid behind his teacher’s podium.In Mr Luigi’s defence, it was a really good and convincing costume.“Oh hey, nice costume.” Link gave Leo a thumbs up.“Right back atcha.” Leo looked Link up and down. “Kinda pale for a Gerudo though…”“I have porphyria.” The look on Link’s face would convince anyone of his statement being factual.“And short, aren’t they, like, over six feet tall?”“Growth disorder.”The bell rang, which caused Mr Luigi to nearly have a heart attack. He gripped the sides of his podium and tried to catch his breath.“S-Settle down, everyone! Take your seats, please… If you’re wearing a s-scary costume, please sit where I can’t see you…”Leo, who already sat in the back of the classroom, tried to sit further back, to no avail.“What’re we learning about today?” Constance asked.Mr Luigi looked down at his lesson plan, where he’d written down in red letters HYLIAN SUPERSTITIONS. To Mr Luigi’s horror, he didn’t have any material for this lesson, due to not wanting to look anything up and his brother Mario not wanting to “coddle” him by doing the work for him.“S-Seeing as how we’re on the H-Hyrule history unit… I decided that, for the holiday, we would delve into the types of…” Mr Luigi audibly gulped. “Superstitions in and around H-Hyrule….” He shut his lesson planner hastily and laughed nervously.“You don’t have anything for this, do you?” Roy sat back in his chair.“Well…” Mr Luigi’s eyes darted around the classroom. He was making shit up as he went. “I thought we could take a trip to the media centre and…look up some superstitions! Hyrule’s superstitions! And-and-and do a report on one of them.”Nice save, Marth thought.“Was that the actual plan, sir? Or are you just winging it?” Link was curious to know, because he had a lot of material for this topic, and he was eager to share it if this was, in fact, planned.“It was definitely planned! I wrote it in big bold red letters!” Mr Luigi gathered up a notebook and a few other items he felt would be useful, and hovered by the door. “Let’s-a go, class!”  “Thank you, Mr Byrd, for allowing us to take up space in the media centre on such short notice.”Mr Byrd eyed Mr Luigi for a moment before shrugging and going back to his library administrative work.“You’re welcome, I guess.”“Alright, class! Do you remember what topic I assigned for everyone to do a report on?”“Hyrulean superstitions,” the class droned.“That’s-a right! You’re gonna all pick-a one and do a report in MLA format, to present tomorrow!”“Isn’t that a little short notice?” Johnny John Johnson III asked, as he fired up Netscape Navigator, the only browser he could find on his machine.“Okay, fine, it’s due November 2nd.”Link found out the hard way that trying to open Netscape Navigator on his computer caused his entire system to completely crash, resulting in a very ominous looking Blue Screen of Death that looked a lot different than normal.
A problem has been detected and Windows has been

shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

The problem seems to be caused by the following file: NETSCAPE.EXE

PLEASE_UPDATE_TO_NEW_WINDOWS_IT_IS_2014

If this is the first time you’ve seen this Stop error screen,

restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow

these steps:

Update from Windows 98 Special Edition to Windows 7.

If unable to update to Windows 7, please for the love of

EVERYTHING HOLY upgrade to Windows XP.

If you REALLY can’t do that, I suppose Windows 2000

will have to suffice but that’s PUSHING THINGS.

Technical Information:

*** STOP: 0xc00021a…
“Well okay then…” Link did a hard reboot and decided that he wasn’t going to be able to research anything on his assigned machine. Instead, Link decided his time would be better spent playing Typing for Fun instead of fighting with the school administration over incredibly outdated machinery.“Why are these computers running Windows 98?” Ryan McNally watched Netscape Navigator very slowly load the splash page for Google. “What year even is it?”“Mr Hand is too cheap to pay the educational licensing fees to even let us install Windows 2000—let alone Windows XP—on any of our machines.” Mr Byrd didn’t even look up from his paperwork. “It took me five years to convince him to upgrade from Windows 95—Windows XP is out of the question.”“That’s why it’s pointless to get anything useful done.” Magnolia booted up SimTown. “Just open up KidPix and fuck around in it like it’s the Early Internet Days again.”“You can practise your typing in the Galaxy Taxi minigame in Typing for Fun… That’s educational, right?” Link was trying to convince himself that edutainment was just as valid as regular educational games like Math Blaster or Reader Rabbit.Marth decided to trawl the shelves for books on Hylian superstitions instead of fighting with technology, because Marth was going to use the class time as it was intended to be used—to work on class assignments, not fool around. Why this didn’t occur to anyone else as a valid option, Marth didn’t know.By the time the bell rang to signal the end of class, Marth was almost done with his report on the Haunted Wasteland. He saved the Word document onto a USB thumb drive so he could work on it when he got home, put the books he used on the return cart, and packed up his things.“See you Monday, Mr Byrd.”Mr Byrd waved at Marth. “Have a good weekend.”Mr Mario barely walked through the classroom door before he launched into the day’s lesson plan.“I hope all of you read the chapters I’d assigned earlier in the week…” He dumped his papers and books on his desk with a dull thud and looked around the room expectantly. He received blank stares for his efforts.“Um. Which one?” Harper Rosenfeld asked.Mr Mario opened his planner to see. There should only be one, maybe two books assigned for this week—this month even.“I have no idea what you are talking about.”“You assigned us to read like five books this week. Not to mention reading in the textbook itself…” She held up the six books.Mr Mario blinked. “Mama-mia…” He’d had lapses in memory before, but this was a bit of a doozy.“Well, Wildflowers Bloom in the Dark and The Little Prince were the only ones I was supposed to assign for this month…”Marth rummaged through his backpack to try and find any of the assigned reading, only to come up empty handed. He upended his bag, letting all of his notebooks and textbooks clatter to the floor. Still nothing. Sorting through the items, he found one assigned reading book: a copy of Oedipus Rex, which wasn’t one of the books on Mr Mario’s list. For Marth’s class anyway.“Roy.”Roy looked over at Marth and then down at the mess on the floor.“Why are you pulling a Link?”“Never you mind, I’m in a bit of a conundrum here.”Roy gestured to the contents of Marth’s backpack. “Well yeah, you dumped out your backpack and now you want me to help clean it up—”Marth sighed. “No.” He held up the Sophocles play that was definitely not his. “Where did this come from?”Roy’s eyes squinted in concentration. “Wasn’t Link reading that in the lounge yesterday with us?”Marth opened the book and found one of Link’s bookmarks nested inside, the one shaped like a fairy of some kind that said HEY! LOOK! A BOOK! READ IT! like something a kid obsessed with fairies would purchase from the Scholastic Book Fair in first grade.This was definitely not any of the books Mr Mario assigned to them.“Where the hell are my books then? Does Link have them? Are they still in the common room?”Roy shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine?”Marth turned to text message for his answers.
Marth:> Link, I have a question.
<Link:> omg not now marth not now
<Link:> i am LOSING MY SHIT
Marth:> Link.
<Link:> I repeat L O S I N G M Y S H I T
Marth:> Link
<Link:> i have somehow lost my book and mr georgeston is gonna MURDER ME
Marth:> LINK
<Link:> marth i am too busy panicking rn
<Link:> what do u want w my life
Marth:> Link. I have it. I have Oedipus Rex.
<Link:> what
Marth:> I have your book
<Link:> wha
<Link:> well why tf do u have it???
Marth:> I don’t know. Do you have any of the six books Roy and I were assigned instead?
Marth listed them off.
<Link:> i have ur antigone
<Link:> ur wildflowers bloom in the dark AND
<Link:> i have ur sigurd book
<Link:> but i do not have ur prince book
<Link:> sry
<Link:> thats probs still in the lounge where i thought mine was
Right when Mr Mario was prepared to go on with his planned lesson (just doing something from the textbook since everyone carried those), the fire alarm decided to go off. Mr Mario looked up at the flashing lights by the door and scowled.“What is this?” He looked very put out. “Master Hand never said anything about any…fire drills…”Marth and Roy shared a look, each thinking the same thing: Had Mewtwo-sensei actually set fire to his lesson planner like he’d threatened? They couldn’t hear any maniacal laughter, so maybe it wasn’t. But what if it was…?Out in the hall there was screaming as someone pounded on the door. Heather Hillensburg, who was seated right by the door, slid it open. Panic in the hallways could be heard and seen as students and faculty alike were headed for the nearest fire exit. This was no orderly fire drill, this was an actual fire.An actual fire that may or may not have been arson.An actual fire that may or may not have been arson committed by the Japanese teacher.An actual fire that may or may not have been arson committed by the Japanese teacher hopped up on an entire case of RedBull, an entire pot of coffee, and enough sugar packets to see God and kill him.“Get out of the building!” the nameless student shouted, as smoke began billowing out into the hallway. “We’re all gonna die!”Mr Mario cursed under his breath. Things would’ve been fine if he hadn’t left FLUDD at home. He could’ve been the hero and saved the day! He looked around and all he had were bottles of water. Those wouldn’t do…or would they? The moustachioed former-plumber-former-princess-rescuer took a bunch of them in his arms and ran out the door, presumably to the source of the flames.“I said to get out, not go towards the flames.” The student threw up their hands and walked away.“We’re gonna die?!” Demetria threw her books off her desk and stood up so fast and with so much force that her chair went flying. “Oh my god I’m too young to die! I’ve never even been kissed before and this is how my life is gonna end?!”The overhead speaker crackled to life with a squeal of feedback barely audible over the fire alarm wailing and the sound of flames crackling.“EVERYONE GET OUT OF THE BUILDING.” It was Crazy Hand, the vice principal. “GET THE FUCK OUT NOW WE ARE ON FUCKING FIRE. I REPEAT. FUCKING FIRE. LEAVE.”Demetria went screaming out of the classroom. No one else bothered panicking when there was more than enough of that going on out in the halls.“This is fine, I guess,” said Alex. He shut his copy of The Little Prince and blew a raspberry as he leaned back in his seat. If this was how he was going to die, then so be it. He’d lived a full life in his opinion.“I’mma sure it’ll all be fine,” a student who called themself DiskoTeknik said. They looked on their phone to see if there was anything official released, but all the Facebook said was GET OUT OF THE BUILDING THIS SHIT IS ON FIRE THE ROOF THE ROOF THE ROOF IS ON FIRE!“They will just dispatch a water Pokemon and it’ll use water gun or bubblebeam or something and then class will resume like normal.”“Sooooo we shouldn’t leave?” Harper asked. “We should just sit here and cook to death?”“Sounds good to me,” Alex said. “I won’t stop you from trying to save yourself though, but this is fine. Really. I’m okay with this.”Maybe once this was all over, Alex would go see his guidance counselor to unpack that kind of thinking.An eerie song that sounded more at home in a carnival than a school could be heard over the fire alarm and the screaming, each note cutting like a knife through all of the panic and calming the flustered masses.“Who the hell is playing a flute at a time like this?!” Heather asked.“It sounds more like a panpipe actually,” Remington Edison remarked.When the last note had faded, there was a strange and heavy silence.“Well that was anticli—”Every sprinkler in the surrounding area activated simultaneously, causing a cacophony of sounds—the sprinklers, the alarm that sounded when the sprinklers were activated, the fire alarm itself, and the prerecorded “the building is on fire, please head towards the nearest exit and meet in your designated areas” that was now glitching out like it belonged in some kind of EDM house remix—overlapping one over the other.“Take that, Volvagia!” echoed a voice that sounded suspiciously like Link’s.“Why is someone shouting about vulvas?” Alex asked.“Volvagia is the teacher in room 221?!” screamed someone else. “Oh my god, it’s arson!”I don’t think Volvagia has anything to do with any of this. Marth wasn’t entirely sure about that, however, but he was fairly confident nonetheless.“Who is Volvagia? I thought Mewtwo-sensei set the fire.” Roy looked disappointed.That same vaguely flute-sounding instrument played a melody one would associate with the sun rising in the morning, like Edvard Grieg’s Morning Mood. The sprinklers shut off, though some still trickled water for a bit.“How…?” Marth didn’t know Link had some kind of magical ability—Marth didn’t know for sure that that was Link despite it sounding suspiciously like him, so it could’ve been someone else. His clothes were soaking wet, and he felt incredibly uncomfortable.“I’m glad that’s over with. Now—”The bell rang. Alex simply sighed and rested his head in his hands.“I think that was Link.” Marth collected his now drenched belongings and put them in his backpack. They were in desperate need of a hair dryer, though he supposed in a pinch the hand dryers might work…“How do you know that?” Roy peeled his blazer off and tossed it over his shoulder as he got up from his seat.“How many people sound like Link?”“I was binge watching Yu Yu Hakusho last night and Hiei kind of sounds like Link,” Alex offered. He made no move to pack up his things and leave.“How many people here sound like Link?” Marth reworded.“Oh. Dunno.”The only way to find out was to head for his locker and confront Link directly.“Yeah, that was me.” Link shut the locker door and locked it. “Why?”Marth expected Link to deny it—he was shocked when Link was very forthcoming about everything. Roy took a seat in front of the locker with an entire industrial sized roll of paper towels he’d pilfered from the janitor’s closet on their way to Link’s locker.“So…what happened?” Roy was busy layering sheets of paper towel between the pages of his English textbook so that they wouldn’t stick together and dry into some awful papier mache book block.“Well, I forgot one of my books, which I found out was in Marth’s possession for some reason, and Mr Georgeston gave me a referral to the Disciplinary Office, which is run by Ganondorf, who I hate because he murdered my family.”“Right, by cursing your mother and starting a war your father got involved in.”“Well I wasn’t gonna go there and let Ganon have a free shot at me, so I wasn’t gonna show up at his office at all. I planned instead on sneaking into Zelda’s last period and pretending I was there the whole time. That didn’t pan out, because I forgot she had a field trip today. So I opted to just go to the bathroom and stay in there until the bell rang.”“You could’ve just gone to the library.” Marth folded his arms.“Or out into the stadium,” Roy suggested.“Anyway… I went by Mewtwo-sensei’s classroom. Door was open. He was throwing things into his cheap plastic paper bin and almost giggling to himself… Before he dumped what looked like lighter fluid in there—which I saw him take a sip of, no joke—and then an entire book of matches went in after he lit them all up.” Link made a gesture with his hands to mimic a mushroom cloud from an explosion, complete with sound effects.“One of his calligraphy tapestries he bought off eBay or wherever caught fire from a stray piece of paper flying out because this fire was really going…and it spread to everything else in the classroom. And he sat there like nothing was happening, sipping straight from a bottle of Jack Daniels.”“Which might be the real culprit,” Marth said. “Mewtwo being under the influence of gods know what.”“So I’m guessing the fire left the room somehow and spread that way?” Roy’s textbook had grown in thickness to a point where he wondered if this would fit in his backpack or if he would have to hand carry it home.Link shrugged. “I have no idea. I was too busy trying to find one of those ‘break glass’ pull fire alarms to see what Mewtwo-sensei was doing after that.”“But then it started spreading to the other floors because people kept trying to take the fire and move it to somewhere else that wasn’t on fire.”“Which in the process, spread the fire.” Marth wondered who was doing such a thing and if they knew how fire worked.Link nodded. “Yup!”Roy sighed. He wasn’t sure whether the paper towels were even helping anything or if it was a wasteful effort. He could always just wait until they got back to The Manse and ask to borrow someone’s hair dryer…“The sprinklers weren’t triggering and people were starting to panic. One of the faculty threw up, the language department head passed out… It was getting pretty serious.” Link pulled out an object that looked like a purplish-blue sweet potato with holes. “So I decided I would try and trigger the sprinklers.”Marth raised both eyebrows. “With a…sweet potato.”Link gave Marth a weird look. “What? No! It’s an ocarina.”“And that was supposed to help turn the sprinklers on…how?”Link grinned. “It’s not just any ocarina, Marth.”“Get to the point, Link.”“I’m trying, but you keep interrupting me with dumb questions!”Marth took a deep breath so he could hold back the retort he desperately wanted to make.“As I was saying… This isn’t just any ocarina, it was a gift from the royal family, and if you play certain tunes on it, it’ll do things!”“Like put out fires.” Roy accidentally tore a page in the textbook. “Oh gods dammit.”“So you can control things…with your ocarina?” Marth looked incredulously at Link, who simply shrugged and went, “Kinda? Some things I have to jump through hoops a bit to get them to work as intended, but I still get the result I want at the end, and that’s what counts.”Roy held his English textbook tight to his chest so that the water would absorb into the paper towels faster.“So anyone can just…play this magical little diddy and poof!” Marth threw invisible pixie dust in the air. “Result?”Link chuckled. “Not quite…”“So it’s magic? That only certain people can do?” Marth was tired of this conversation and just wanted to get home. “Roy, we can do this at home, you know.”Roy sighed, wrapped the entire book in several layers of paper towel, and stashed both in his backpack.Link shook his head. “I guess? It’s…complicated.”Marth folded his arms. “Does this mean that you are some sort of ‘chosen one’ who has a part to play in some sort of cosmic prophecy.”Link stashed the ocarina away. “I… Well…”“Link?” Roy got up from his spot on the floor with Marth’s help.“When I turn 17, it’s said that I will have to make a life altering choice according to a Sheikah elder and—listen, I know how it sounds.”“Will you prick your finger on a spinning wheel and fall into a century long slumber?” Marth saw Link’s eyes stare at something behind him, though there was nothing there when he turned to look.“I don’t think so. Supposedly the ‘spirit of the hero’ is supposed to awaken inside of me.”“Sounds like puberty to me,” Roy muttered.“Now I don’t know what ‘spirit’ was being talked about, but I don’t think it’s about that. ‘The Change’ has already started.”“Is that what they call it in Hyrule?”The entire janitorial staff was mopping the floors still from when the sprinklers went off and all hell had broken loose. “Slippery and wet” signs were all over the place, and as if proving the signs were true, Link slipped on a particularly slick spot and went crashing through the double doors. Wordlessly, Marth and Roy took an arm each and hoisted Link back to his feet.Marth brushed bits of glass off of Link’s face with a handkerchief so he didn’t cut himself.“Let’s go home before you break the glass on another door.”Link was okay, despite managing to go through a tempered glass door, because it was Link, the guy who was virtually indestructible. He had a cut on his forehead and a few bruises, but was otherwise okay.From [email protected]To [email protected]Subject: In Regards to Your Email…Marth, I hope this reaches you well.You know that I am not the most expressive of our family—that honour goes to our late cousin Emmeryn—and I don’t want to say the wrong thing, but feel that it’s better to word things wrongly than to let silence try and speak for me.You are my brother. You are my future king if we are to eventually regain control of Altea. My loyalty lies with you, Marth, and no one else. Because of this, I feel that I can tell you with complete and total honesty that I will support you no matter who you end up being with in the end. Yes, there is the matter of children, but there are plenty of options for that. Surrogates, adoption…Do not worry about losing my love or my affection, brother. You will never lose me. I cannot speak to anyone else, but I am sure that Cain at least will remain at your side. I would like to think Jagen would too, but he is quite old fashioned, and still loyal to our father, who is gone now.I don’t know what Jagen’s letter contains. Please inform me once you’ve read it what it says. We can discuss it via email or over the phone if you wish. If it’s admonishing you, and you need someone to vent or cry to, I am here. If it’s supportive, I will be here to congratulate him for choosing to be loyal to you instead of Father’s ghost.Elice  
Sire,

Time is of the essence. Please discontinue playing these childish games. I have enclosed your marriage contract upon which you are to sign and mail back to me. Once I have receipt of it, I shall begin to plan a wedding worthy of your royal highness three months from your 18th year.

I am your loyal retainer, as always,

Jagen
  Marth took a deep breath as Roy folded the note up, steeling himself for Jagen’s knife in the back.“How bad is it?”Roy grimaced—no words were necessary.“He wants you to marry Princess Caeda. Even enclosed the paperwork to do so that he wants you to sign and return to him so he can begin preparations.”Marth pursed his lips and said nothing. Preparations for a birthday party/wedding that he didn’t want at all. At this point Marth wondered if he even had a life of his own or if he was just one very disobedient puppet refusing to move when the strings were pulled.
Caeda and I are nothing more than friends.
Marth knew that Caeda had a crush on him, that if she could have him for her spouse, she would. But she knew Marth would never love her as anything more than a sister, someone he loved but didn’t love romantically or sexually. To Marth, marrying someone you couldn’t love in that sense was more cruel than outright hate.“There is little more I can say to persuade Jagen that my intentions to marry you are true and genuine.” Marth’s voice sounded defeated. Weary. Exhausted. Roy passed the papers back to Marth, who turned the bundle over and over in his hands as he stared blankly at it.“Are words really necessary in order to get your point across?”Marth stilled the papers in his hands. The marriage contract that would never be filled out or signed by him seemed to taunt him almost.If you would just do what you’ve been told and what is expected of you, this wouldn’t be an issue, it seemed to say.Marth was really tired of being someone’s puppet.“Please procure for me an envelope.”
I’m not going to be someone’s puppet anymore.
Roy went and grabbed one from their shared store of stationery.
If they want to know who Marth of Altea is, I will be more than happy to show them.
“Do you need paper?”Marth shook his head. “Words aren’t necessary for this response.”
This is the most gracious I can be in the face of those who do not wish to heed me.
Marth ripped the marriage contract in half lengthwise before ripping it in half widthwise. He took each quadrant and ripped those in half as well, and kept doing that until all he had was large chunks of confetti. He held the opening of the envelope up to the edge of his desk and swept the bits of paper into it before tapping it against the desktop so it settled inside nicely. He lit a candle and held a stick of wax to the flame until some spilled onto the back of the envelope flap, to which Marth pressed his seal into it. Flipping it over once it was hardened, he scrawled in perfect penmanship Jagen’s name and address onto it before affixing postage to it.Satisfaction was something Marth had never felt before and it felt empowering.“I believe that speaks for itself, does it not?” Marth smirked and blew out the candle.“I must say… The effort you’ve put in and continue to put in in defiance of people who matter most to you so that you can be with me is something I greatly appreciate, Marth.” Roy took Marth’s hands and clasped them together. “Most wouldn’t go through this much trouble.”Marth kissed him, letting his lips linger a little before pulling back.“You are worth the effort, Roy.”
You will always be worth the effort.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was the 15th of December, four days before the start of the winter break, and Marth was seemingly on the outs with his family.Like “Jagen refusing to return his calls” outs.Like “Elice giving him monosyllabic text responses” outs.It was just before dinner, and Marth ducked into the mostly empty common room and decided to try calling his sister, because maybe this time would be different. Maybe this time she wouldn’t mind speaking to her brother, the pariah of the family.That’s what he felt like, anyway.Marth’s fingers trembled from a combination of anxiety and trepidation as he dialled her number, only messing up the numbers twice, before placing the device to his ear. He tucked the hand not holding the phone in his underarm so his elbow had somewhere to brace itself, and tried to make himself as small as possible, which wasn’t hard—Marth wasn’t this overly buff, takes-up-way-too-much-space guy. Zelda, who eased herself into one of the overly plump armchairs in a very cosy corner, tucked her feet underneath herself, reading materials in her arms that she tried (and failed) to balance on the armrest of the chair, spoke words of encouragement to him.“Everything will be fine.”Marth focused more on the books falling to the floor than to the line disconnecting. He pulled the phone away from his ear and tutted at the screen.“I’m not sure that that assertion is fact.” He hit redial and tried again. He looked up at the “crystal” chandelier installed not that long ago, the plastic-not-glass crystals lightly tinkling against each other.Zelda pursed her lips, her eyes narrowed in contemplation.“She will answer on the third ring.”He was already on the fifth ring, so clearly not.“She wants to hear from her brother. I promise.” Zelda opened a particularly thick and dusty tome, the lettering on the spine half faded away from age.Seventh ring. Maybe she didn’t want to hear from her brother.“She could be busy with dinner preparations, or maybe she’s on a date…?”Marth fidgeted with his signet ring, using his thumb to spin it around on his index finger.“I don’t believe my sister is courting anyone’s affections…”
Please pick up, Elice. I need to speak with you.
He heard the telltale ‘ding’ that meant he was successfully connected to the other line.“Marth! It is so good to hear from you.” She sounded happy, judging from her cadence—an important mood indicator when it came to Altean. She wouldn’t have answered if she didn’t want to talk to him, right? He took several deep breaths with his side of the conversation muted so that Elice wouldn’t hear how nervous he was over calling his own flesh and blood. Marth thought himself absurd for how he was acting, but could anyone blame him when prior to this, his calls and texts were left unheeded or barely acknowledged?“Elice—it’s good to hear your voice,” he said in English, before switching to Altean for, “May we please talk?”The conversation started off normal enough with the usual pleasantries, the how are yous and I’ve been fine how are yous as Marth paced back and forth in front of the empty settee, wearing a path in the cheap fibres of the wall to wall carpeting Marth thought was an ugly shade of green. He would pause every now and then to make a large gesture with his hand to represent some otherwise abstract idea, since Marth making gestures as he talked seemed to help him articulate his thoughts better. Altean was what Link once called a “handsy language”.“I’m so sorry my interactions have been rather sparse and empty sounding… We’ve been rather busy getting things ready for winter festivities and for your homecoming, so I’ve come off as distant and distracted.”
Ah, so you are expecting me to come home.
“That is why I’ve decided to reach out to you, dearest sister.” Marth took another deep breath. “When are you expecting to receive me home?”“Ah….” Here she was, sounding distracted, like one looking for something. He heard the rustle of papers and wondered if she was literally looking for the answer amidst all of her daily paperwork. She made a little “aha!” sound and cleared her throat.“Today is the 15th… Your break is the 19th?”Marth nodded. “Yes. I have an early dismissal that day.”He heard the uncapping of a pen. “At what time?”Marth looked to Zelda for that information. “Zelda, what time are we getting out on Friday?”Zelda looked up from the text she was deciphering. “12:45 I think.” She shifted so she could pull her phone out of her pocket and tapped a few things.“Yes, 12:45.”Marth nodded his thanks. “It is at quarter to 13:00.”He heard the scratching of a pen nib against what sounded like very coarse paper.“I can have you retrieved from The Manse around 14:00. Do you have any objections?”Marth shook his head. “No, that’s fine—that’s more than fine, actually.”“Very good. I wrote it down so that Jagen or Cain can make the arrangements with the car service. I’ll send you all of the details in an electronic message.”Now that that was settled, Marth had something else he’d wanted to talk about, but was either getting the runaround or getting no answers at all.“Have you been reading the news, dear sister?”There was the slightest of pauses, like there was some kind of audio delay, before Elice answered with, “What kind of news, Marth?”“About home.”“I don’t watch the news. A lot of the media coverage is either too biassed or it’s completely wrong, so I’ve been relying on Jagen’s reports about the ongoing situation back home in Altea. Why?”
Because news reports from reputable sources state that Altea has completely fallen.
“What do Jagen’s reports tell you?”Elice’s tone sounded guarded. “That we are doing as well as could be expected. Morale is low, but not completely lost—they are all fighting in your name. Soldiers from Gra are deserting and joining our ranks.”
That’s not what the scouts from Archanea are reporting.
“We should have Altea back in our rightful hands by the end of next year, if not sooner.”
That’s not what Princess Nyna has written me.
“Why, Marth? You sound like you have your doubts.”
Because I do, my dear sister. I do.
“So you are to tell me that Altea hasn’t been lost to us. That by the start of 2016, I will be participating in the coronation to declare myself King of Altea…and begin the process of my betrothal to Roy.”The silence was so long that Marth thought the call dropped. He pulled the phone away from his ear just to check to see if the call was still connected. It showed that he still was, with the timer counting on.“Dearest sister.”“The only answers I have for you are what I’ve read in Jagen’s reports, which are compiled from Altean scouts in the thick of battle.” Elice’s voice was softer, more tired.“Then I must wonder why they differ so much from Archanea’s scouts, sent by allies in the Capital, and reported directly to the Imperial Princess Nyna herself.”
Altea has fallen and we aren’t able to get her back. Our soldiers are deserting, and recruiting anyone to our cause is getting harder and harder. Morale is so low that they’ve given up all hope of reclaiming Altea for their prince, whom they think is dead, and is being dangled like a carrot to a horse over their heads so they continue offering themselves up for slaughter at Jiol’s hands.
“Please inform Jagen that I wish to see only factual information in my reports from him. If Altea has indeed fallen, I would like to know so I can properly mourn for such an insurmountable loss. I would like to know that I am no longer indebted to being Altea’s servant.”Elice said nothing except, “Yes, my lord brother.”Marth wasn’t sure why such an intense heat shot through him upon hearing lord brother, but it was scalding. He could feel the flames lick at his throat, and the intensity made it difficult to breathe.“My dearest sister, with all due respect, I must insist that you never use such titles with me. I am your brother before I am your prince.”
And at this point, I’m not even your prince.
“Marth—”“My dearest sister whom I hold in the highest regard… Please. Do as I request of you. If Altea has fallen, I hold no titles and neither do you, so why hold them as a wall between us? The only titles left are ones that mark us as family, and those are the ones I hold as most important to me. So please… I may never be your king, but I will always be ‘Marth’ to you.”It took Elice a moment to say something, likely due to shock from how blunt his words had been, no matter how true they were.“...very well, Marth. As I mentioned before, I will send you all of the details you have need of in an electronic message, once I am in receipt of them.”“I look forward to receiving such correspondence.”“It is late and I must retire for the evening—”Marth looked at the clock. It was only going to be quarter to eight in the evening.“Please continue to do well in all things you set your mind to, Marth. I will speak to Jagen on your behalf, rest assured.”“I… Yes. That will do. Thank you.”“Have a good night, Marth.”“And you as we—” The line went dead. Marth stared at the screen of his phone as CALL ENDED flashed over and over before disappearing and returning him to the dialling screen.Marth knew that Elice would go directly to Jagen with a list of topics they’d talked about, one of which was Jagen is lying to us both and needs to cease doing so immediately. Marth would end up getting chastised.
You told Princess Elice that you are her brother before you are the Prince of Altea. What gave you that idea? Was it that boy you’re with? Is he filling your head with all sorts of strange ideas, sire?
Marth was supposed to confirm that he was a prince before he was her brother. To gently remind her that his word was absolute. The problem was, Marth wasn’t going to lie to his sister if he could help it.
I’m just her brother, Jagen. Why tell her lies?
It was December 16th, and there was a dusting of snow on the ground, or as Link exclaimed, “Holy Nayru, there are three flakes of snow on the ground!”Any quantity of snow on the ground meant that there was a delayed opening. Which there was, according to the text message that sent Marth’s soul to another realm from a dead sleep, due to his phone vibrating against his night table’s particle-board=and-wood-veneered surface.Once his soul met back up with his body, Marth crawled out of bed and pulled back the curtain to see…“It’s not even a dusting of snow coating the ground.”He watched groundskeeping clear away the three flakes of snow out on the pathways with brooms, no shovels necessary. One held a dust pan and the other swept it into it before moving on.Marth pulled the curtain closed and glared at his mobile. He grabbed it and contemplated chucking it across the room, but really didn’t want to go through the pain in the ass process of getting a new one, so he opted not to. Tapping his phone screen to wake it up, he saw all sorts of notifications, most of them about the one to three inches of snow that were supposed to arrive, but clearly hadn’t.One of the notifications that wasn’t meteorologically related or a random group invite from Facebook was a text message from Jagen.
Sire, Princess Elice has informed me of your telephone communication that took place…I do not wish to cast any doubt on your sources outside of me and mine, because you are more than welcome to engage with other scouting reports and news from the surrounding areas. However…I feel I must disagree with something that you told her, if I may do so respectfully. I do not feel it was appropriate for you to tell her that you are only her brother. Sire, you are more than her brother, you do yourself a disservice—
Marth swiped left with his thumb to delete the message.“You okay?”Marth looked up from his phone to see Roy standing in front of him, eyebrows tilted downward in concern, towel clutched tightly in his hand. Roy must’ve been on his way to the bathroom to shower or wash his face when he stopped to voice his worry, the prince reasoned.“I’m…I’m fine.” It’s just Jagen chastising me like I’m a little kid again.“You sure?” Roy gestured behind him with his thumb to the bathroom door. “I was gonna go shower really quick, but if you wanted to talk now, I don’t mind…”Marth shook his head as he tossed his phone onto his bed.“It’s nothing to delay showering over.”Roy tossed his towel onto his shoulder and shrugged.“If you say so. I’ll be done in ten minutes, okay?”Roy gave Marth a quick peck on the mouth before sauntering off to the bathroom. The door closed with a soft click and Marth let out the breath he’d been holding without meaning to.
Okay, what do I need to do before school this morning…?
Marth found himself in quite the conundrum.Bundled up in his winter coat, scarf, hat, and mittens, he made the walk to Melee Academy in solitude.Well, maybe that wasn’t exactly correct.Marth had his thoughts for company, and those consisted of him mentally replying to the nearly 8000 word email sent in two parts for “ease of reading” from Jagen.You knew Altea had fallen and would likely never be reclaimed, but you told us otherwise because…you didn’t want me to lose hope? Marth let out a sardonic chuckle. So you would rather your prince live shrouded in lies and falsehoods than accept the truth? Do you not realise how dangerous that is?
Sire, if I may be so bold as to speak plainly…

The castle needs to be rebuilt, as do the surrounding areas.

Many areas were scorched, and charred shells are all that remain of various villages.

I would prefer it if you had someone ready to rule at your side before your coronation.

That is why I must insist upon your marriage shortly after your eighteenth birthday

to either Princess Nyna or to Princess Caeda.

They would be the balm that can help heal Altea of her wounds

and help her people rebuild their lives.

Jagen, with all due respect, why not just say what you really mean to say? “Just do as you are told, Prince Marth. Why can’t you just do what is expected of you?” Because, most esteemed of Father’s generals, there are no longer any expectations of me. Altea is gone. I have already done my grieving. I can’t go back—I’ll have to put down new roots elsewhere. That is a tragedy, yes, of course.

What would happen if the men and women fighting for you

and dying for you heard you speak this way?

I don’t want anyone else dying for me, Jagen. We are all weary from the constant drum of war. What are they even fighting for anymore? For a prince who may never end up sitting on Altea’s throne? For piles of rubble and ash? For a cause that was lost since the very beginning?
Marth stopped in the middle of the pavement, his breaths coming out in spurts he could see in the frigid air.
Remind me again, Jagen, about the reason I exist in this world. It’s because my parents had a daughter and the throne only goes to sons. Mother would’ve been perfectly content with just Elice, but she was pressured to have another child. Because of her station she had no choice but to pray, and pray, and pray to fall pregnant with a boy who would one day be king.
Marth looked up at the very grey, very overcast skies and watched tiny snowflakes fall. They landed on his face and mingled with the tears he didn’t know he was crying. Not that it mattered, his face was numb from cold exposure.
Even my sweet lady mother knew that I wasn’t cut out for the throne. Would my people listen to me? Will you listen to me, Jagen?
“What would you have me do, Jagen? Return to the kingdom I was forced to flee in order to save my own craven skin? Go back and fight for Altea? Has any of her kings ever fought for her and died a martyr? Should I be the first?”
You are a king before you are a father, a husband, a son, or a brother.
The soft and gentle snowflakes turned to sleet and pelted any of Marth’s exposed skin with tiny needles.Marth had a choice to make, and it all boiled down to…Be a king or be a father.Be a king or be a husband.Be a king or be a son.Be a king or be a brother.Be a king or be selfish.
If I choose Roy, to whose detriment would that choice be? Mine? My people’s? My family’s? You don’t have an answer to that, do you, Jagen? Would you ask me if I’d end up regretting whatever my choice ends up becoming?
A passing car hit a patch of black ice and jumped the curb after narrowly avoiding two parked cars and a car in the lane right next to the pavement Marth was occupying. It came to a stop after crashing into a vacant building on the Avenue, its FOR SALE sign now heavily dented by the car’s fender. Marth, his path now blocked by this ugly, tan-maybe-beige-maybe-champagne coloured monstrosity of a Ford Taurus, watched the driver get out and begin to assess the damage. He wore the uniform belonging to the Brawl Institute, a neighbouring school with a third of the student body compared to Melee Academy.“Oh man…” The student grabbed at his snow cap. “Mom’s gonna kill me…”It wasn’t the first time Marth wondered if the universe was trying to tell him something.“You’re here early.”Ms Purell looked over her glasses at Marth, one of two students seated in room 221. The other was Alex, who everyone joked lived at the school. Ms Purell was the substitute teacher covering Mewtwo-sensei’s class until he was back from “vacation”. Why the head of the language department chose someone with a decidedly posh and very strong British accent was anyone’s guess, when it made her Japanese sound “off” to an almost comically absurd degree. Marth had this strange sense he’d met Ms Purell before, though he couldn’t place where, or when. Maybe it was in another timeline…“What are we doing in class today, Purell-sensei?” Alex asked, as he pulled out one of those Jimmy Dean bacon and egg sandwiches from a very well used brown paper lunch bag.Ms Purell looked over the notes that had been left for her.“You’ll be watching some children’s holiday special dubbed in Japanese.”Alex didn’t like that idea. He asked, his mouth filled with egg and sausage patty, “No subtitles?”“It’s for kids, I’m sure you’ll do fine understanding what’s going on.” Ms Purell blew a bubble with her chewing gum and popped it with her tongue.“Why is it that whenever a teacher has no idea what to do with their class, they just throw a movie or something on? What are we, five year olds?” Alex pulled out a bottle of ketchup, separated the croissant from the sausage patty, and squirted some onto it before reassembling the sandwich.Marth, who was rummaging for a pen, paused to give Alex a look.“Kids who are preoccupied are less destructive.”Alex turned in his seat to look at Marth. “Well yeah, but we’re teenagers, we’re not kindergarteners!”Marth wouldn’t be surprised if Mewtwo-sensei made no distinction between the two.“Listen, if you don’t want to watch Hataraku Tsubasa e no Negai. you can go to the library or I can find something else to put on.” Ms Purell went through the small shelf that housed a mixture of Mewtwo-sensei’s DVD collection and all of his Red Bull energy drinks.“Purell-sensei, I don’t even know what Hatatateraku Subass eno Naga is.”Ms Purell turned her nose up at Alex’s gross mispronunciation of Japanese, as if hers was any better.“No wonder that poor man took ill, his drinking habits are appalling.”Gradually, the other students filtered inside, including Roy and Link.“How long have you been here?” Roy asked, as he took his seat next to Marth.“For the past 15 or so minutes.”“Oh. I didn’t expect you to leave ahead of us.”“I had a lot on my mind I needed to suss out, and I wanted to do it in solitude. That’s all.”Link reached into his backpack and pulled out a plastic sandwich bag. He handed it to Marth.“It’s a fried fish fillet sando that Peach made for everyone. Figured I’d snag you one.”Marth took the sandwich.“Th-Thank you…?”Link grinned. “Don’t mention it.”Marth pulled out the fish sandwich and the packet of tartar sauce, drizzled the sauce over the fish fillet, and took a bite. The fish was the right kind of flaky with a slight crunch to the breaded crust. Marth was in tastebud heaven.“Ohayou, Purell-sensei!” Aras greeted, not even stopping to bow at the door before entering as was expected. “Nani are we doing today?”“Kyou wa nani wo suru no?” L’Andrea asked, repeating exactly what Aras said, just in actual Japanese. Aras stamped her foot in annoyance.“Mou… Honestly…” Aras muttered.“Kyou wa eiga wo mimasu,” Ms Purell said. “...if I can figure out which one since Alex-kun doesn’t want to watch Hataraku Tsubasa e no Negai…”L’Andrea and Aras went through the DVDs with Ms Purell, their hands both landing on the same movie.“I picked this first,” L’Andrea said through grit teeth.“Chigau! It was watashi!”Ms Purell, who was now caught in the middle, took both their hands and pulled them away from the DVD.“We can watch this one so long as there’s no fighting in my classroom.”“Demo, kono classroom is not anata’s, Purell-sensei.”Ms Purell sighed. “If you’ll acknowledge that this is my classroom until Mewtwo-sensei returns, we can watch this movie.”The squeal of excitement Aras let out could’ve alerted every canine in the vicinity. Ms Purell pulled the title off the shelf.“Is this even a winter or Christmas or winter holiday movie?” Ms Purell asked, as she went over the synopsis on the back.“It takes place during Christmas if that counts.” L’Andrea took her seat and hoped that the human equivalent of a dog whistle would sit down and shut up.Ms Purell gave a shrug. It was close enough for her tastes, and Mewtwo-sensei didn’t have to know, did he?The bell rang, signalling the start of class. Ms Purell stood at the front of the room, the DVD case in her hands. On the cover appeared to be some robot with what appeared to be angel wings. Did robot angels exist?“There’s been a change in movies today… Instead of Hataraku Tsubasa e no Negai like Mewtwo-sensei wrote down in his lesson plan, L’Andrea was kind enough to pick out a new film.”Marth couldn’t help but suspect that Aras getting snubbed was intentional.“What’s the movie, Purell-sensei?” Frankie asked.Ms Purell held the movie cover to her face a little too close for comfort so she could read it.“It’s called Shin Kidou Senki—”“Wait so what’re we watching?” Dean asked, whose sleepy brain was not yet awake.“Shin Kidou Senki Gundam W Endless Waltz,” L’Andrea said, before Aras could “correct” her or say otherwise. To go one step further, Stephenie, who was now L’Andrea’s assistant or second-in-correcting-Aras, wrote 新機動戦記ガンダムW with エンドレスワルツ underneath that in katakana for extra pizzaz, even though it was never shown as being written in anything other than English. Stephenie learned how to write in katakana and by gum she was going to show it off!“Who knew Mewtwo-sensei was a Gundam fan?” Dean asked.“I would’ve pegged him as more of a UC kind of guy, honestly,” Frankie said with a light chuckle. “Like posters in his classroom supplies closet of Char or something.”“Guess he likes his Char archetype with long hair and a bad attitude.”Surprising to no one, Aras had no idea what Dean and Frankie were talking about.“You know His Excellency grabs Zechs by his long hair and gets him to drop to his knees, right?” Gary Stu Wesker remarked, shocking everyone. “What? Are y’all not 13x6 shippers?”The briefest of silences was broken (unsurprisingly) by Aras, who asked, “What’s thirteen-ex-six?”Stephenie let out a groan. “Wing fandom doesn’t lay any claim to her, just FYI.”Ms Purell, who had no idea what any of the conversations meant or were referring to, put the DVD in and waited for it to load up. After skipping through the menus, she found herself on the subtitle selection screen.“Should we have subtitles or hope for the best?”“Sink or swim,” L’Andrea said, after taking a glance in Aras’ direction. “Shizun dari, oyoi dari.”Aras had never actually seen Endless Waltz before, and was lost immediately.“But this isn’t how episode 49 went!”Ms Purell produced a bucket of popcorn from an unknown location. There was the crackling of static as the overhead speaker came to life for morning announcements.“There will be an unscheduled school-wide assembly held in the gymnasium, taking the place of second and third periods.” The voice was smooth as velvet and oddly deep—too deep to be either of the Hands. There was almost a sinister edge to it.“Who let Ganondorf do morning announcements?” Link muttered. He shoved his hand into the communal popcorn bucket before passing it to Roy.“It’s either something stupid,” Roy said, “or the usual before break school assembly. Don’t forget midterms are coming up. Study hard. That kind of thing.” He took his own handful of popcorn before giving it to Marth, who passed it to Gary.Roy brushed the crumbs off his hands. “Either way, I would rather just go to class than sit in another assembly bored to tears over things that are only important to a select group of students.”“If it’s really the typical school assembly about exams, why is it not a scheduled assembly?” Alex asked. “Why is it a randomly decided assembly?”“When has anything this school’s done ever made sense?” Marth asked.The bell rang, and right after the last echo faded, the overhead speaker came to life once more.“Everyone, please make your way to the gymnasium at this time,” said a very weary sounding voice that definitely belonged to Mr M Hand. The sound of something being poured into something else could be heard faintly in the background. Marth doubted it was water being poured.“We will finish this off tomorrow.” Ms Purell paused the movie. “Feel free to bring your own snacks!”Marth grabbed his things and made his way out the door in the hopes he beat most of the student population on this floor to the gym… …which was packed with students and faculty alike. Ms Purell opted to remain with her class, a feat most teachers didn’t do. Tucked between her gradebook and her lesson planner was what looked like a crossword puzzle book. A good way to get through a mind numbingly boring assembly. Most students just spent it on their phones, and faculty would talk to each other in hushed voices about the latest hockey team win, or whose spouse was cheating on who on Gotta Go Faster: The Sordid Tale of Shadow the Hedgehog.A stage had been hastily erected in the middle of the gym floor out of what looked to be step stools, old splintery looking wood pallets, and cardboard boxes. The odd milk crate finished up the corners to add something sturdier than duct taped together bits of banana boxes. Instead of a podium there was a half broken music stand that could barely remain vertical and was also taped together with a combination of shipping tape and CAUTION tape. There was a headset and some papers haphazardly put on the tray part. A table behind the makeshift stage had some metal folding chairs tucked underneath it; Mr Dragmire occupied one, sitting like a king would sit upon a throne. Next to him was Mr Crazy Hand, who sat with his feet propped up on the table, much to Mr Dragmire’s disgust. Knowing Mr Dragmire, sitting next to Crazy Hand wasn’t his choice at all, and something foisted upon him.Mr M Hand was strangely absent. If this would go like any of the previous assemblies, he was going to make some kind of overwrought melodramatically theatrical entrance since he was, after all, originally some kind of magician. Allegedly.All of the lights in the gym cut out simultaneously. A few students (and one teacher) screamed, the head of the science department exclaimed, “I just peed my pants!” and Mrs Fujimoto complained, “Someone sat on my sandwich!”There was never a student assembly, in Marth’s (short) time at the Melee Academy, more chaotic.A single beam of light shined down right where a speaker would stand. It wasn’t a beam of light from a stage spotlight, because those were expensive and installing them in the gym on such short notice was even more money, so someone hanging from the ceiling rafters, one of the custodians, held a flashlight in his mouth instead. A flashlight from the dollar store that would occasionally flicker off and on before dying completely, and the poor custodian who picked the short straw for this task would need to smack the bottom of it with his tongue to turn it back on every time it happened.“Everyone, please welcome to the stage your principal, Mr Dex—” There was some microphone feedback. “—Hand.”Mr M Hand, who was dressed in an all black suit with matching tie, walked onto the stage, waving to the crowd of assembled students…who were not cheering for him, or clapping for him, or reacting to him at all. He stood behind the music stand, donned the headset, and loudly cleared his throat in the most obnoxious manner possible.“Do you need a throat lozenge?” a student asked.Mr M Hand waved that student’s concern away. He doubled over, gave one very throaty cough, and spat something out into a nearby garbage can.“Good morning, everyone!”No one responded. Someone played a cricket sound effect on their phone.“Tough crowd this morning,” Mr M Hand muttered.“This isn’t a circus!” someone, who sounded strangely like Aras, shouted, before hurling peanuts at Mr M Hand. One of them hit his eye, blinding him.On the contrary, this entire spectacle is a circus.“Anyway! There are some important matters to discuss this morning, which is why I called this impromptu meeting of the student body. First thing’s first: the strange people in stranger suits with even stranger creatures.”Most didn’t react and those who did were confused and had no idea what he was even talking about. Mr M Hand was learning the hard way that the student body couldn’t care less about the various happenings in and around the school, which was disappointing to him.“We have a bit of a rat infestation. No one is sure how they got in, or who let them in, just that they’re here, and we had to get the issue taken care of.”“You hired an extermination team that uses cat Pokemon as mousers,” a student said, “instead of just letting the stray cat population into the school to capture and kill the mice.”Any of Mr M Hand’s remaining enthusiasm for this assembly deflated.“Yes.”Mr Crazy Hand pulled out a bucket of popcorn and started eating some of it.“I don’t expect them to be here for the whole week,” Mr M Hand continued. “Maybe the next couple of days, if that. Do not be alarmed if you see a rat! If you can, catch it in something and bring it to your science lab of choice, or, failing that… Dispatch it.”“‘Dispatch it’?” Link had never heard that word in that context before.“Kill it,” Marth said.“But we’re not the exterminators, the guys in the white haz-mat suits are!” another student remarked.“Why have them do the job they’re being poorly paid for when Brother D—” Something crashed to the ground and made a very loud bang. “—can just get the student body to chip in? A rat here, a rat there, three rats, what difference does it make?” Mr Crazy Hand added an evil sounding laugh to the end of his sentence for good measure.“The next important item… I’m sure everyone’s noticed Mr Mewtwo’s absence.”There was a murmur throughout the bleachers. The only students who weren’t gossiping about what act of horror Mewtwo committed were the ones in his Japanese classes, because they were well aware of the reasons why Mewtwo was “on leave”.“Yes, yes… The reason for his absence is a sad one. Long story short, Mr Mewtwo came down with a dreadful case of the LMOA sickness that has been going around different heavily populated areas as of late. As a result, he will be recuperating at home until he is well enough to return to his position. Until then, we have Ms Desinfey Purell filling in for his classes.”No one clapped. Ms Purell was too busy doing her crossword to care.Mr M Hand cleared his throat again, knowing he was losing his audience’s attentions fast.“I would like to read a little something I found about the sickness known as LMOA.” He held up an index card that, without any hint of doubt, had information written on it stolen from Wikipedia. “What is LMOA disease? Lingering Moans of Agony, or LMOA for short, is a sickness that leads to the sufferer becoming overcome with madness, the urge to hit themself or others, and talk to the evil Sharpie Thieves who pillage your underwear in their search for alcohol based markers in vibrant colours.”Link choked back a laugh at that.“This has nothing to do with the allegations of Mewtwo committing arson, which are false by the way!”“Even though video evidence suggests otherwise?” Rudolfo Rudolfini asked.Mr M Hand laughed. “What video evidence? Do you think our school budget can have us afford luxuries such as CCTV cameras? For students to level such accusations against one of our best teachers should be a crime in and of itself!”“Someone took video on their cell phone, sir.”Mr Crazy Hand’s already erratic laughter became even more so.Rudolfo tried to say something further, but Mr M Hand snapped his fingers and Mr Dragmire, with a very reluctant sounding sigh, used some sort of sorcery to pluck his voice out of his throat a la Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Instead of containing it inside of a nice little nautilus shell, Mr Dragmire kept it in a small mason jar filled with what appeared to be sand. Or sawdust. It was hard to tell exactly and the label was written in Gerudo.“We wish for Mr Mewtwo’s most expedient of recoveries! Anyway, the third important topic…” Mr M Hand sorted through his index cards. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that those pesky houses next to the school are gone! We were able to successfully eminent domain them after ten years of trying and being told ‘no’ by the town council. We tore everything down and will put on another addition to the school…which leads to the next thing I need to announce.”Mr Crazy Hand jumped on the table, kernels from his bucket of popcorn spilling everywhere. He nearly knocked the jar containing Rudolfo’s voice to the ground.“We are taking over another school!”As the bell signalling the end of second period blared, Mr M Hand picked up off the floor and threw one of Aras’ peanuts at his popcorn bingeing brother, which connected with his temple and knocked him out cold. Mr Dragmire pushed the unconscious form of his fellow vice principal as far away from him as he could muster, which was pretty far thanks to Mr Dragmire’s long arms.“What my ignoramus of a sibling is trying to say is…starting in the 2015-2016 academic year, another school will be joining with us.”“Another school is merging with us because their enrollment is failing and they can’t keep their doors open,” Mr Dragmire translated.“It is a shame,” Mr M Hand said, not sounding sad in the least, “to see such a grand school like the—” He peeked at one of his cue cards. “—Brawl Institute shutter its doors for good, but as the saying goes, ‘one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity!’”
That’s the name that was on the uniform of the student who crashed in front of me this morning…
“I don’t think that’s a saying,” Roy muttered, at the same time Link said, “I think you made that up on the spot.”“So we’re not the ones closing like all the rumours said?” Dean asked.Mr M Hand barked out a laugh that mingled discordantly with the late bell signalling the start of second period. “No! We are the superior schooling institution with a lot of private and public funding coming through our coffers. The weak end up consumed by the strong, and we are not weak!”Mr Dragmire got up from his seat, rearranged his robes of woven silk about him so they could billow appropriately when he walked, and shoved Mr M Hand out of the spotlight.“Your time in the limelight is over.”With a clap of Mr Dragmire’s hands, all of the lights came back on, blinding most of the student body from the sudden switch from darkness to full on LED lights.Mr M Hand’s brows knit in confusion, though it was hard to tell from the face paints applied heavily to his face.“Ganon, what are you—”Mr Dragmire made himself even more imposing by standing to his full height of holy-shit-that-is-a-tall-man (or 6’7” in what everyone knew as Freedom Units), which was only a few inches taller than the height of an average Gerudo adult.“Starting September of 2015,” Mr Dragmire began, completely ignoring Mr M Hand’s admittedly feeble protests and attempts to pull him away from the “podium”, “this school will be known as the Melee=Brawl Institute of Higher Learning.”“I thought we agreed to ‘Melee-Brawl Academy of Higher Learning’,” Mr M Hand stage-whispered. “Since we are the superior school.”Mr Dragmire swatted Mr M Hand away and smoothed out his now wrinkled sleeve.“The way I have it is more pleasing to the ear,” Mr Dragmire stated, in a voice that told everyone and anyone that he wasn’t to be questioned, that he was the one currently in charge.“The school will still be here in this building, and the new addition should be finished in time for the 2016-17 academic year.”Link raised his hand.Mr Dragmire rolled his eyes in a way that was almost too elegant to be real. “What, Mekkai?”“How many new students are we getting that we need an entire new addition?”“200. Of those, only six will be in need of housing accommodations, so there are no ‘new additions’ for them.”“Is that all of the students at that school?” someone else asked.Mr Dragmire’s voice held a touch of annoyance and a lot of contempt at the constant interruptions.“Yes.”“I can see now why they’re merging with us,” Roy said. “You can’t sustain that amount of students.”“This means we’ll be getting new dorm-mates,” Link whispered. He looked excited, because new blood at The Manse meant one thing: more friends.Mr M Hand straightened up his already straightened tie. “Anyway… That will be all for this assembly—”Mr Dragmire held up his hand, the fabric from his sleeve nearly smacking the former alleged magician in the face. This action was successful in stopping Mr M Hand from dismissing everyone.“Who said you could end this gathering, Dextera?”Mr M Hand gaped at Mr Dragmire, notecards clutched tight to his chest.“H-How dare you—”Amber eyes narrowed in complete contempt over someone Mr Dragmire considered a lesser being.“Silence! Contemptible man who doesn’t deserve to stand in my shadow let alone kiss my feet!”Mr M Hand shrunk back a little. The audacity of this Gerudo…!“There is one more thing to note and I will be the one to deliver it.”Mr M Hand’s brow furrowed in confusion as he went through his notes.“No, there isn’t. That was the last part of the assem—”Mr M Hand’s notes disintegrated into wood pulp a moment later with the snap of Mr Dragmire’s fingers. If Mr M Hand was devastated at the loss of all his hard work, he didn’t show it.The entire student body was engaged now, for reasons Mr M Hand couldn’t fathom. Why did they never look at him in the way they looked at Mr Dragmire? It was as if Ganondorf Dragmire stole their affections for him! How could Dextera “Master” Hand let this stand?In a deep and booming voice, Mr Dragmire announced, “The Melee-Brawl Institute of Higher Learning will be under the administration of a new principal.”Mr M Hand blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry?”Crazy Hand woke up at that moment. “My brother is being replaced?” He jumped onto the table, which promptly broke in half. “By whomst?!”Mr Dragmire smirked. “By me.”Silence. Someone else once again played a cricket chirping sound effect.“We will also be acquiring a new school supervisor, who will be using our school as a home base—his name is Mr Leiche Tabuu, and he came highly recommended.”Mr M Hand was at a loss for words and could only sputter as he tried, feebly, to grasp for some. Crazy Hand, meanwhile, was trying to find something to make a molotov cocktail out of, and found only a plastic water bottle and some rubbing alcohol.“It was part of the merger agreement that you signed—or do you not remember, Dextera?”Mr M Hand hadn’t heard his first name said so many times in a single day, let alone a five minute span. It was true that his parents had high hopes for him, and named him Dextera, a very affluent sounding name that indicated important status. Upon becoming a world famous magician, he fashioned himself the title “Master” Dextera Hand. It would be like Mr M Hand calling Mr Dragmire “Ganondorf” all the time (although, admittedly, Mr M Hand called him “Ganon” or even “Gan” in a way he considered affectionate). Was Mr Dragmire trying to bait him into losing control of everything he’d worked so hard for up until this moment?“If you have any questions about the merger, please feel free to ask. I might have answers, I might not, depending on what you’re asking about.” Mr Dragmire looked quite pleased with the chaos he’d created. “The assembly is over, so once the bell rings, you can head for your next period. Until then, talk amongst yourselves, or sit there and contemplate all of the information you’ve just heard, I don’t care what you do.”“Can I have my voice back?” Rudolfo signed.Mr Dragmire sneered. “No.”Link, who wasn’t one to just sit idly by and watch someone get bullied, stood up to confront the former King of Thieves.“Give him his voice back, Ganondorf.”Mr Dragmire looked Link up and down and barked out a laugh.“You’ve got guts, kid, to stand up to me.”Link held out his hand. “Give me the jar with his voice so I can give it back to Rudolfo.”Mr Dragmire's sinister chortle sent chills up most people’s spines. Not Link’s though. His resolve didn’t change at all.“Who do you think you are to stand up to the likes of me, boy? I was almost your king!”There was the faintest of whispers and what looked like something small and ethereal dancing around Ganondorf’s head.
The hero of Hyrule has awakened…
The normally faint and barely there mark on the back of Ganondorf’s right hand began to react. He held it up to his face and practically snarled at Link.“Just who the hell are you, boy?”“The eldest son of Meridia and Anaka Mekkai.” Link’s voice didn’t waver once. The look in his eyes changed, like something had awoken from a very long and very dormant sleep inside him.“Give the boy his voice back, King of Thieves.”Ganondorf threw his head back and cackled. “Or you’ll do what? You’ve no sword that can pierce my skin! No sword that can banish me to some dark and forsaken realm for one hundred years.” His amber eyes seemed to glow. “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.”Marth nudged Roy. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but we need to get Link out of here before he actually gets killed.”Roy nodded.The matching mark on the back of Link’s left hand glowed with an intense brightness as he pointed at the jar and made a wind-up gesture with his hand; before everyone’s eyes, the jar was picked up by invisible hands, unscrewed itself and the voice trapped inside retraced its previous path back into Rudolfo’s throat.“Link, watch out!”Marth pulled Link away just in time for the Hylian to avoid a would-be fatal blow from the sword Ganondorf seemingly drew out of nowhere.“Let’s go.” Roy grabbed Link’s hand and practically dragged him through the gymnasium and its doors, Marth close behind. Everything felt like it was running at 2x speed until the doors clicked closed, cutting off the chaos unfolding. Through the tempered glass window pane cut into the door, the trio could see Ganondorf still raging on.The mark on the back of Link’s hand dulled down and blended in with his skin.“What just happened?”There was more reverb in Marth’s voice than he thought there should be. The hum from the overhead lights was quieter now, more stabilised. Roy looked as shocked as Marth felt.“I…I don’t know,” Link answered. He raised both hands to eye level so he could carefully examine them. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary now. “I’ve heard stories about, like, the Triforce disappearing or being broken into three pieces and going to their predestined holders… But like the stories about the hero of legend, they’re just stories.” He chuckled. “Stories. About a hero who is supposed to be reborn every one hundred years to seal away the darkness that threatens to consume the land once again.”“Link…” Marth was concerned about the look in Link’s eyes, that borderline in-danger-of-having-a-breakdown look.“Here’s the thing, okay?” Link’s hands dropped back to his sides. “I’m just Link, the son of a knight and a wood carver’s daughter. I’m not…” The smile left his face. “I’m not the destined bearer of the Triforce of Courage.”“But the mark on the back of your hand—” Roy’s mouth shut when he saw the look in Link’s eyes, this expression of severe pain.“I just want to be a normal kid, not someone whose job it is to save Hyrule and her surroundings. To embark on some quest to awaken the Master Sword, or—or awaken the sages from their slumber.”Roy and Marth shared in Link’s pain, knowing that their cultures had their own, very similar stories about destined heroes and chosen ones who would come back and save the world. Marth didn’t even know what to say as he watched Link try to keep it together.“I don’t know what any of this means. Those were all supposed to just be bedtime stories. I don’t want to be the hero reborn! I don’t…”Link paced between his friends, a wild look in his eyes, like he was looking for the escape route from this situation.“I just…I just wanted to help Rudolfo…”Link crumpled to the floor. Roy knelt next to him and took the Hylian into his arms. He stroked Link’s back.“I know…”“And—And that s-seems to have—have awakened s-something that I d-don’t want any p-part of!”Marth did the only thing he could think of to do: search for a phone so he could contact someone—anyone—within the building capable of helping a student in the midst of a mental breakdown. There was one above a fire extinguisher, a strange place for a phone, to be sure. with a list of extension numbers one could dial. 0032 was for Guidance, so Marth picked up the receiver and tapped 0-0-3-2. As the phone rang in his ear, Marth watched Roy hold Link, who was muttering incoherently.“Hello?” It was the secretary for the Guidance suite.“Can I be connected to Mr Lowe’s office?”“Sure, hold on one second…”Marth was placed on hold, the Call Holding Muzak nearly lulling him to sleep. He heard the telltale click when the call was successfully transferred.“This is Dudley Lowe speaking, may I ask who—”“It’s Marth.”“What can I help you with, Marth?”“Link is having a breakdown.” Marth sounded too matter-of-fact even for his taste. “Right outside of the gym. I didn’t know who else to call, and I don’t think Roy knows what else to do—”“I don’t want to be the hero!” More incomprehensible words. “I don’t want to be the hero!”“Can you please help?There was a brief pause before Mr Lowe replied, “Bring him to my office. I’ll take care of him.”Relief flooded Marth’s system.“Thank you.” Marth ended the call. “We need to bring him to Mr Lowe.”If he and Roy had to carry Link between them in order for him to get there, that’s exactly what they would do. And that’s exactly what they did.Marth and Roy eased Link into one of the chairs in Mr Lowe’s office.“Thanks, boys.” Mr Lowe sounded genuinely grateful. “I’ll take it from here.”But Link didn’t want them to leave. He kept hold of Marth’s and Roy’s jacket sleeves.“Stay.”“We can sit out in the waiting area,” Roy suggested. “That way we’re close by if you need one of us, but far away enough to give you privacy. How’s that sound?”Link sniffled. “Okay, I guess…”Roy squeezed Link’s shoulder. “Okay. We’ll be right out there, okay?”Link nodded. “Yeah.”Marth and Roy took their leave and weaved through the maze of tables and chairs to the waiting area. Roy flopped into the nearest chair without the tiniest hint of grace, exhausted from his ordeal with Link; Marth took the seat next to him, easing himself down as only someone with too much dignity and pride could.Today was a disaster.Today was still a disaster.Marth and Roy were still seated in the waiting area of the guidance counselling suite, though in different chairs now, in uncomfortable silence. Any time one of them tried to say something, Link started wailing again, his voice sounding completely ragged by this point from all of the yelling and screaming he’d done for the past half hour.Was it a half hour? Maybe it’d been an hour. Marth wasn’t keeping track, but it felt like a really, really long time. Three bells had gone off, so how much time did that signify?It was tiring to listen to, Marth had to admit, though he could only imagine how it made Link feel. Neither Marth nor Roy could clearly make out much thanks to Mr Lowe’s closed office door, just that they could tell when Link was speaking versus Zelda (who had been called down about ten minutes in) or even Mr Lowe.Not that Link was really speaking so much as trying to talk through his sobbing.One might question why Marth and Roy were still sitting there, and the answer that Marth would’ve given at that moment was, “We were the witnesses to what Link was saying and how he was reacting.” They wanted to be there just in case Link needed them, because Link was their friend, and that's what friends did.“I can’t wait for it to be winter break,” Roy muttered. “I think we all need some time away.”“Getting away would be nice, but I don’t know if returning to Seine would be any quieter.”Roy sat up a little more in his chair when one of the secretaries had to pass through so they wouldn’t trip over his legs.“You don’t want to return to Seine?”Marth sighed and rubbed his temples. “I don’t know. I feel like everything is so fragile right now, and if I say or do the wrong thing, I’ll completely break everything.”Roy took Marth’s hand and laced their fingers together.“You don’t have to go home if you don’t want to… You can stay at The Manse, or…” Roy’s cheeks turned a very light shade of pink. “You can always come home with me. Meet my father, and my friends. I could show you around Pherae.”Marth squeezed Roy’s hand. “I would love that, but…I know if I go with you, those closest to me will accuse me of ‘running away from my responsibilities.’”Roy looked at their joined hands. “What responsibilities?”Marth shrugged. “To pretend that I still have a kingdom to return to someday.”Roy nodded his head slowly. “Altea is no more then, I take it…”“It fell months ago, Roy. Jagen is in denial and thinks we can get it back, but when you have so few soldiers in comparison to the enemy, what hope is there?”Mr Lowe’s door slid open, and on the other side of it was a very tired looking Hylian, his eyes red and splotchy from crying. Zelda had her arm around his shoulders and a hand on his left forearm to keep him steady.“He’s in shock,” Zelda said, her voice soft. “I will need to write home to my father and see what he suggests. He may suggest Link return to Hyrule for an extended period of time to rest and recover.”Link’s head snapped up at that. “What? No!” He looked from Zelda to Marth and Roy. “I can’t leave my friends again! That’s what happened the last time I had to leave the Academy, and I was miserable when I returned. Everyone moved on without me.” He took Zelda by the shoulders.“Link.” Zelda’s hands were on his wrists now. “How will you become a knight if you won’t listen to your princess or your king?”Link didn’t move a muscle. Zelda’s words clearly struck a nerve.“All I am suggesting, Princess, is that you—or your father—don’t take me out of the Academy again. Recalling me once because of Aryll was bad enough, but to have it happen again would disqualify me from serving my kingdom, and I couldn’t bear it.”Zelda patted his hands. “I am sure Father would be willing to discuss things once he hears word that the prophecy has come true.”Link’s face looked even more pained.“Take it one day at a time,” Roy suggested. “Rest up during break and by the time we need to come back, you’ll be good as new.”“Not to mention, you have mine and Roy’s numbers… You can always reach out to us, to talk about whatever needs to be talked about.” Marth flashed a small smile.“Yeah, we’re all friends, right?” That’s what friends do for each other.”Link let go of Zelda’s shoulders and wiped away stray tears. “You promise?”Marth and Roy nodded.“Yeah, my texts are always open,” Roy said. “There’s that group chat you started that Marth and I are part of, you can send us your funny memes and weird Buzzfeed articles.”Link sniffled. “You guys…”Roy was the first one up out of his seat. He walked over to Link and hugged him with purpose. Marth joined them, turning it into an impromptu group hug that Zelda didn’t join in on; she stood awkwardly off to the side.
Royalty doesn’t participate in behaviour like this.
Marth wasn’t your typical royal.“I don’t want to be a hero or some predestined badass who will one day save the world from evil or whatever,” Link murmured. His head hung between Marth’s and Roy’s. “I don’t want to be some special or super cool guy either.”“You’re not.” Marth was afraid of coming off too blunt with his response. “To us, you’re just Link. You don’t treat any of us special regardless of actual titles or achievements, so why would we treat you any different?”Link chuckled a little at that before wiping his nose with a tissue.“Thanks, guys.”Roy slid the door to the suite open and gestured out into the hall.“Shall we head off then?”Link blew his nose—loudly and with much gusto—and hiccupped as he tossed the used tissue into the nearby garbage bin.“I guess so.” Link sounded a little congested still. The trio stepped out into the hallway—not a soul was around, save for the snoozing hall monitor.“Are we heading off to fifth period, or…?”Roy adjusted the straps of his backpack. “I was thinking of something more exciting.”Link tilted his head a little. “What’s more exciting than school?” His voice dripped with sarcasm.Roy grinned. “You wanna ditch?”Marth blinked. “Ditch?”Link’s eyes grew as wide as grapefruit. “Roy Pherae! Are you suggesting we cut class?” Link covered his mouth in mock-surprise.“It’s right before break, what’re we missing exactly?”“Exam prep.” Marth’s voice was very deadpan.Link waved Marth’s concern away. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”Marth folded his arms. “Where will we even go? Won’t there be truancy officers or something on the lookout for us?”“It’s a lunch period. No one’s gonna be looking for us. If anything, they would just assume we’re out for lunch.” Roy looked between Marth and Link. “So? You in?”“Zelda’s not gonna like it, but I’m sure she’ll understand.” Link loosened his tie. “I’ve had a long and trying day after all.”“Yeah, and we couldn’t just leave you to your own devices after everything you’ve gone through today.” Roy patted Link’s shoulder. “Right?”Link nodded.Both Roy and Link looked at Marth now.“I am pretty sure my sister will gut me if she finds out.”“Make sure she doesn’t find out,” Roy said, at the same time that Link said, “Then don’t tell her.”Link linked arms with Marth and did the same with Roy. “Time to turn you into the Prince of Rebellion, Mar-Mar.”Filled with an almost fatal amount of confidence, Link led Marth and Roy to the main entrance of the building. There was no hall monitor around, nor was there anyone manning the booth that visitors were required to stop at first. Link pushed the front doors open with his shoulder and pulled Roy and Marth outside with enough force to pop their arms out of their respective sockets—thankfully their arms were perfectly fine. Instead, Roy nearly fell to the ground and Marth almost ate shit on the concrete outside.“Freeeeedom!”The streets were practically deserted.Probably because there was still one flake of snow remaining on the ground, and anyone smart, of course, wouldn’t dare to take any chances in such perilous weather.Marth, Roy, and Link enjoyed the stillness of a roadway that was usually a busy, traffic jammed street. Link had unhooked his arms from his two friends, opting instead to hold their hands, which neither Marth nor Roy minded. That’s what friends did, right? Held hands?It was Link who broke the silence. “I’m in a bit of a pickle.”“What did you do now?” Roy’s hint of amusement let everyone know that he wasn’t being completely serious. “Or is this about being the hero the elders spoke about hundreds of years ago?”Link sighed. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s something more…mundane.”Roy cocked his head to the side. “Oh?”“I have a crush.”Marth didn’t see what was wrong with that. “That’s…not a bad thing…?”Link chuckled. “It is when the targets of your affections are already involved with other people.”“Mmm… That does make things more complicated.” Roy tried to sound sympathetic towards Link’s plight. “If you don’t mind me asking, who is it?”“Roy, you can’t just ask someone who they have a crush on,” Marth chided.“That’s why I led with ‘if you don’t mind me asking’.”“I am pretty sure that they have zero interest in me.” Link ignored Marth and Roy’s banter. “So there’s…there’s no point in even saying who.”Roy decided to guess anyway. “Is it Zelda?”Link nearly stumbled. “What? No!”Marth blinked. “I thought you were gay?”They came to a stop at a red light. Despite the lack of vehicular traffic, they opted to play it smart and not cross against the light. Just in case. Cars were known to come out of thin air and almost run you over.“I am.” Link let out a really big sigh. “I very much am.”“We won’t judge you or anything.” Roy watched as one of those Randomly Appearing Cars nearly took out a lamppost. Instead it took out its passenger side blindspot mirror, which the driver left at the side of the road.“I’d rather not ruin our friendship.”The light turned green, just in time for that same car to successfully take out a fire hydrant. The hydrant landed 500 yards away, in someone’s backyard. A car parked nearby decided that was the perfect time to set its alarm off, likely in the hopes someone’s attention would be grabbed; unfortunately it didn’t know that most people completely ignore car alarms. The trio crossed the street without any threat to life or limb.“Why would it ruin our friendship?”Link shook his head as if to dismiss such a question. Instead, he squeezed both Marth’s and Roy’s hands and smiled at both of them.“You’re the best friends a guy could ask for.”Marth and Roy shared a look over Link’s head—which wasn’t hard considering how short Link was compared to the two of them—one that told the other It’s one of us.“I heard Peach is cooking a feast for dinner tonight.” Whenever Link wanted the subject changed, it usually had to do with food. “I can’t wait to see what she conjures up tonight! I think she said it involves apples, but there are so many apple dishes…”“I’m sure it’ll be good,” Roy said.Marth, who absolutely loved Peach’s cooking, nodded in agreement. “I’ve not had a bad thing from her so far.”“Let’s eat together tonight,” Link suggested. “Like a date!” His cheeks turned the same shade of red as the beginnings of a sunset.“A friend date,” Link amended.“Nice save there, Link,” Roy muttered.“I tried my best.”
Does Link have a crush on me? Or is it Roy?
What would happen if it was one of them? Obviously Link was painfully aware of Marth and Roy being in a relationship together. Marth had heard of “throuples” or “polycules”, which sounded more like an ailment than a relationship descriptor, but had never been part of one, or known anyone who was part of one.Was Marth open to maybe sharing Roy with Link?Was Roy open to sharing Marth with Link?Marth wanted to pinch himself for making all of these wild assumptions. He found himself falling behind a little as Roy and Link raced up the hill that led to The Manse, stopping short at the bottom of the driveway for it.Link was attractive, Marth was realising. The little wisps of hair escaping from his ponytail framed his face nicely and emphasised his cheekbones. He wasn’t overly muscular, but he also looked like he was strong enough to pick up some incredibly heavy sword straight out of a legend. Link was on this imaginary line that separated feminine and masculine; it was labelled androgynous. With a little jolt, Marth realised something.
I like that.
That of course didn’t mean he wasn’t attracted to Roy—who was definitely more on the masculine side of things—because he was very attracted to Roy. But Link brought in a hint of flavouring Marth had never tasted before in his otherwise vanilla ice cream, and he wanted to explore it more.
But does Roy want the same?
And what about Link?
Why does love and romance have to be so difficult?