Chapter 3 - Marth

Chapter 3
Marth

Sierra and Roy followed the mysterious person onto a grassy valley. They had crossed both mountains in no time at all. They saw that their friend wasn’t exactly mysterious at all. Once they all sat down, they saw who their friend was. He had hair that was a different-looking dark blue, matching his narrow blue eyes, and his blue armor looked to be that of royalty like Sierra’s. “Uh…hey! I’m Sierra, Princess of Jarus, and that’s Roy, the soon-to-be lord of Pharae in the red armor. What’s your name?” “My name is Marth,” said the guy, “and….I don’t necessarily have a legal title.” “Well, tell us about yourself,” said Roy, “if you want.”

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the lost kingdom Altea, right? Well, I am the betrayed prince of that kingdom, all thanks to dark magic. I was forced into exile because enemy kingdoms invaded mine. Seeking revenge, which wasn’t the wisest thing, I led a one-man revolt and slayed the dark dragon Medeus the First with my beloved and divine blade, Falchion. Afterwards, before I could say anything, my kingdom was annihilated by an evil someone that I don’t know, magic again. To this day I hang around the Altean ruins, sleeping in caves, and wishing for some new adventure to rise.”

Sierra felt her jaw drop. A betrayed prince? That sounded a lot like her own story, which she told along with Roy’s, and how they met. Pretty soon, they found that Marth was actually a great person once you got to know him. They enjoyed each other’s company, talking about random subjects that would deem them crazy if they were in the open public. “Sierra,” said Marth, curiously, “you said you were an exiled princess searching for your kingdom, attempting to pass through cities like Ostia and Pharae. I was wondering…if…I could join you. I have tons of spare time, and I have been to some of these cities.” Sierra paused, and said, “Why not? I mean, you can come with us, but it’ll take six months and a day. Are you okay with that?” Marth laughed. “Sure! I’m used to long-term adventures. They’re so much fun!” Roy chimed in, “Hey, if we’re all going together, maybe we should come up with a name for our group!” “How about the Betrayed Blue-bloods?” he suggested. Sierra and Marth just sat there, until Marth said,

“How about the SMR—Sierra, Marth, Roy.” Sierra and Roy agreed to Marth’s suggestion. “Hey, if we’re a group, we should have some sort of rules, like taking turns cooking, free time every couple of hours to rest, and other stuff like that,” said Roy. The three of them agreed to the rules that they also suggested. It was officially Marth’s turn to cook. He put all their nuts in a hollowed out piece of metal left on the ground, washed with water, and used as a pot. He then poured lots of water on all the nuts, and added salt, pepper, and a hint of spice. “Marth,” said Sierra, “what are you fixing for us?” “Nut soup! It’s been passed down in my family for generations, for the weary travelers that came to the palace.” Roy and Sierra were staring at Marth’s ragged apron that said, ‘Danger: Royalty Cooking.’ Marth noticed, and said, “My apron? I made it while I was on the trail. I used cow hide, dyed it white, and used red dye to paint on my design. Yes, I actually sewed and tanned the leather and everything.” “You can sew?!” Roy said. “Yeah,” said Marth, “like I said, I have lots of spare time.”

After their long conversation, the nut soup was ready. Surprisingly, it tasted creamy and had lots of crunchy nuts, even though the only real ingredients were nuts and water. The nuts, however, were coated in the spice, as if they were prepared with magic. They actually had a decent supper that night. The moon shone above them, bright and full. For the first time, Sierra left her feeling of loneliness. She had the greatest friends who she could relate to, who were funny, and whom she could actually confide in.

That night, Sierra awoke late to see their campfire still burning, and Roy sat in front of it, staring. Sierra sat next to him, just like the night they met. The moon was full, and the sky was dusted with stars. “Roy?” Sierra said. “I cannot sleep,” Roy whispered, as if he was choked in sobs, “because I just received word that…my father is dead.” When Roy said that, he wiped away a tear. “Oh, Roy,” Sierra whispered. “I’m so sorry!” Roy actually cried for the first time, in Sierra’s eyes, anyway. “So…you’re a lord now,” Sierra said. Roy nodded. “It’s all so sudden!” Roy cried, more tears streaming down his face, “why does it have to be this way! N—not that I dislike l—lordship…” Sierra put her arms around him. “I know, Roy…I know.” As Roy cried his eyes out, Sierra began to realize exactly what happened. Roy’s dad died, and he would have to face his promotion alone, with no advice to help him. That was the exact feeling Sierra had when she was exiled. So, consequently, she too cried, for Roy’s sake. Also, she hated seeing her friends cry. For a long time they cried their eyes out, until they decided that crying all night was not as wise as they thought, put out the campfire, and went to sleep under the stars.

The next morning, they all woke to Sierra’s sweet-smelling berry cakes, fresh with raspberries today. “Wow, Sierra!” said Roy, half-eating, “you really outdid yourself!” “Thanks Roy! What do you think, Marth?” “I think they’re the best form of pastry ever,” said Marth, taking another bite.

They spent the next twenty miles of their journey talking about their kingdoms. “Roy, what’s Pharae like?” Sierra inquired. “Pharae is just a simple kingdom. All we did for fun was shake up soda cans and shoot them at neighbors. The king banned that act two years before I even left the kingdom for Ostia. It was fun, though.” Marth laughed. “Altea was similar, only we never had soda. The most popular drink was called Happy Pop, which wasn’t even carbonated. My father the king invented the drink. It had an Altean spell cast on it where it would pop going down your throat. It was interesting.” “Well, do you mind me taking the subject off of drinks,” said Sierra, “because I want to talk about parties. Speaking of which, once we arrive in Jarus, there’s a grand ball. There’s going to be dancing, soda, lots of cool music, and the like.” “In Pharae, there were balls, but like I said, it’s a simple kingdom, so we all just had a violinist and two types of soda and waltzing,” said Roy. “How boring,” sighed Marth. “In Altea, the parties were always held outdoors. We had games, lots of Happy Pop and nut soup, and beautiful music played by my former servants.”

After their conversation, they stepped onto a cliff. In the distance, they saw a huge brown castle. “SMR,” said Roy, “we are exactly twenty miles away from Ostia!!!”

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