Maribelle

"'Oh, hey' yourself! I've sprouted 14 gray hairs fretting over you!"

- Maribelle to Lissa in Chapter 2.

Maribelle (マリアベル Mariaberu, Mariabell in the Japanese version) is a playable character from Fire Emblem Awakening. She is the mother of Brady, and can potentially be the parent of Lucina or Morgan.

Profile
Maribelle is a member of Chrom's Shepherds, and is the daughter of the Duke of Themis, an influential noble family in Ylisse. In her supports with Gaius, it is revealed that in during a period of time preceding the events of Awakening, Gaius once hatched a plan to steal from the Ylissean treasury, but which was foiled when he was captured. Pushing the responsibility of the plot onto Maribelle's father and causing him to be put on trial, Gaius caused Maribelle to develop a deep-seated hatred for him. This hatred is later vanquished when Gaius, albeit reluctantly, admits that he had done so in order to protect her from being targeted by the nobles who had plotted against her father.

During her childhood, her personality had a negative impact on her social life, being alienated by many of her fellow noble peers, who, perceiving it as weird and bizarre, took to cruelly mocking her and falsifying rumors about her. Lissa was the only person willing to befriend Maribelle and accept her for who she is at the time, compelling Maribelle to view Lissa as her most treasured friend, vowing to protect her, even at the cost of her own life.

Maribelle is first introduced in Chapter 2 when Lissa introduces the Avatar to the Shepherds, where she is initially appalled by their apparent lack of manners when praising Vaike's burping. As she storms off, Sumia assures them that Maribelle warms to people slowly, and Lissa giggles, saying that she otherwise burns too quickly.

Later on, while Chrom and the Shepherds are busy attempting to seek assistance from Ferox, Maribelle is captured by Gangrel and his Plegian force in Themis, under the false justification that she had trespassed upon their borders, and could possibly be an Ylissean spy. Hearing word of her kidnapping, Emmeryn then intervenes by attempting to parley with Gangrel to spare Maribelle's life, only to be informed that a compromise can only be reached if the Fire Emblem is passed into his hands. Caught in the dilemmatic crossroads between saving Maribelle's life and protecting the relic of Ylisse, Emmeryn hesitates in forming a sound decision. Growing infuriated over Emmeryn's indecisiveness, Gangrel orders Aversa to execute Maribelle. Thankfully enough, Ricken arrives on the scene in the nick of time, where a Wind blast that he conjures succeeds in stunning and repelling Aversa and the Plegian force long enough for him to rescue her and eventually regroup with the shepherds. Strengthening her resolve to fight for the Halidom, Maribelle follows Chrom's army to achieve this goal.

Should Maribelle marry Chrom, at the end of Chapter 11, she will assume the role of the new Queen of Ylisse. Two years later, the couple will conceive their first child, Lucina. After the ambush on Carrion Isle, "Marth" reveals her identity as Chrom's daughter, Lucina, from the future. Witnessing Lucina weeping in Chrom's arms, Maribelle immediately assumes that she is his mistress, causing her to lose her temper out of hurt and disbelief. However, upon having her attention directed to the Brand of the Exalt manifested on Lucina's left eye, Maribelle is thereafter convinced of Lucina being the future incarnation of her newborn daughter. After informing them of her plight from the future, Lucina and Maribelle share a tender moment, where the two embrace each other affectionately, with Maribelle proclaiming a plan to show her daughter off to everyone.

After the war, Maribelle will return to Themis and become a magistrate, demanding equal justice to both commoners and nobles alike.

Paralogue
Prior to the events of Paralogue 7, upon witnessing a helpless priest and a band of villagers being threatened by a brigand vigilante group, Maribelle urgently presses Chrom to hurry to their aid. Inside the temple, if Maribelle is directed to speak to Brady, she will, in response to him laughing out of relief and happiness upon seeing her, respond with disgusted outrage, as she mistakes him for being a lowborn "mannerless cur". When Brady proceeds to reveal his knowledge of her name, Maribelle, further repulsed by his boldness, proceeds to accuse him of being lecherous before storming off.

After the bandit threat is contained, Brady approaches Maribelle once more, where he reveals his identity as her son by referring to her as "Ma". Maribelle is initially repulsed by what she perceives to be an act of ill-mannered boldness, vehemently refusing to believe his claim. Brady then attempts to prove his identity as her son by presenting her a carbon copy of her wedding ring, only to be accused of being an loathsome thief, at least until she checks that her ring is still intact on her finger. Evidently distraught that her future self had failed to raise Brady into the gentleman that she envisions her son to be, Maribelle laments over his unrefined, brusque mannerisms. After learning that her future self had diligently educated him in the noble arts, Maribelle is slightly comforted, thereafter tenderly acknowledging Brady's arduous transcendence of the time-space continuum to locate her.

Personality
Maribelle is a typical noblewoman, trained in the classical and finer arts of the higher ranks in society. Ironically, this has sparked within her an interest in the "plebeian" lifestyles of the common citizenry of Ylisse, in turn motivating her aspiration to become a magistrate that fosters equal rights between both the nobility and the common folk alike.

She tends to come off as being snobbish and prideful, warming up rather slowly to others. Once she has developed a fairly intimate relationship with a given individual, she becomes much kinder and is more sensitive to the emotions of the other party.

Due to Lissa being the only person she considers her true friend, she is quite possessive of their friendship, with many conversations showing this, going so far as in Harvest Scramble, where she claims she's sick and tired of sharing her and claiming she belongs to herself, much to her embarrassment.

According to her in-game profile, Maribelle is said to have the worst sleeping positions in the army, and frequently tosses in her sleep. Her birthday falls on April 14.

Growth Rates

 * Troubadour/ Valkyrie


 * 65%
 * 20%
 * 60%
 * 50%
 * 50%
 * 80%
 * 15%
 * 55%
 * }
 * War Cleric


 * 75%
 * 35%
 * 55%
 * 50%
 * 45%
 * 80%
 * 20%
 * 50%
 * }

Max Stat Modifiers

 * -3
 * +2
 * +1
 * 0
 * +3
 * -3
 * +2
 * }

Supports
Romantic Supports
 * Chrom
 * The Avatar (Male)
 * Frederick
 * Virion
 * Stahl
 * Vaike
 * Kellam
 * Donnel
 * Lon'qu
 * Ricken
 * Gaius
 * Gregor
 * Libra
 * Henry

Other Supports
 * The Avatar (Female)
 * Lissa
 * Olivia
 * Brady
 * Morgan (Only if Maribelle is her mother)
 * Lucina (Only if Maribelle is her mother)

Class Sets

 * }

Inheritance
Since the Troubadour and Pegasus Knight classes are female-exclusive, Maribelle's son will inherit the following classes instead:


 * Priest - Promotes to War Monk or Sage


 * Cavalier - Promotes to Paladin or Great Knight

Base Class
Maribelle is a very capable healer in her Troubadour base class. This is attributed to the fact that she possesses a slightly higher Magic growth rate than Lissa does, meaning that she often becomes a more effective healer at a faster rate, alongside the fact that her being on horseback allows her to be fairly mobile. Furthermore, Maribelle's high Luck growth rate will see said stat consistently rising with each level up that she attains, allowing her to not just be able to dodge more proficiently, but also be protected from the threat of enemy critical attacks. However, physically-wise, Maribelle is rather fragile thanks to her abysmally low defensive growth and starting stats. Thankfully enough, her Luck and Speed growth rates helps to remedy these flaws, allowing her to dodge most enemies. Nevertheless, keeping Maribelle out of the fray is the best strategy to keep her alive.

If promoted into a Valkyrie, Maribelle becomes a very effective mage-killer unit. As before, her mid-high Speed and Skill will be able to offset her low Defense, helping her dodge most incoming attacks. Using Dracoshields on Maribelle to remedy her low Defense is a wise choice if planning on using her as other units with high skill and speed, such as Heroes and Swordmasters, can offset her high speed and skill, ensuring heavy damage on her. Adding on to these benefits is the Dual Support+ skill; The best skill the Valkyrie class has to offer, this will allow Maribelle to serve as a potent support unit under Pair Up and Dual System situations.

As a War Cleric, Maribelle will be able to sustain physical damage much better with her higher Defense caps, but in exchange for a drop in Speed, Skill, and Resistance. However, her strength skill is severely low and given her reliance on Axes in this class, Maribelle will have almost no offensive capabilities without considerable amount of stat grinding or Energy Drops. Without a lot of investment and luck, War Cleric Maribelle will need to train enough to promote her Axe Rank to use Bolt Axes which uses her Magic stat instead of her Strength to be offensive viable. Even then, Bolt Axes are decently good for her as a War Cleric, if seeking the most amount of magic damage from her, Valkyrie is a much better option.

Reclass
Maribelle's re-class options are that of the Mage and Pegasus Knight class lines. In the Mage-based classes, Maribelle can fully harness her potent Magic and Skill as a Sage, although she will remain frail physically and has a drop in resistance from her Valkyrie option in exchange for the two mentioned stat raises. Overall, Maribelle can act as a pretty standard Sage and performs similarly to Miriel and is worth considering if searching for healing potency and offensive ability over mobility and resistance from her. Reclassing her into a Dark Knight will increase her Defence to a fairly solid cap of 39, at the cost of reducing her Resistance cap from 47 (as a Valkyrie) to 40. While her defences will be fairly competent regardless, Maribelle's Strength still leaves a lot to be desired, leaving her less suitable for the Dark Knight's general task compared to Tharja and Henry who have stats suitable to use the class effectively. Regardless of her final choice, putting some training into these classes will give Maribelle Tomefaire for stronger Magic in nearly all of her classes and Lifetaker for stronger regeneration if choosing an offensive approach for Maribelle. Slow Burn can be considered too if clearing maps takes a few turns.

In the Pegasus-based lines, Maribelle will not only remain vulnerable to physical attacks, but also face an increased threat from bow-wielding units; One that cannot be remedied even with her high Skill, Speed and Luck. To this end, it is advisable for Maribelle to only assume these classes once her stats begin capping in others. It is still recommended for her to be re-classed into at least a Dark Flier regardless, as doing so will allow her to learn the Galeforce skill, allowing her to help clear enemies and either choose to attack again or back away and heal others. Galeforce is one of the only skills worth passing on to Brady along with Dual Support+ due to their exclusiveness to female classes and usability.

Maribelle is, in a similar vein to Lissa, capable of being a Rally Unit, as she can potentially learn all five Rally skills that Lissa can. However, such a role may not be too ideal, as her low Defence, even in the War Cleric class, may serve as an impediment for her survival while supporting everyone else.

Quotes

 * Maribelle/Awakening Quotes

Possible Endings

 * Maribelle - Dire Damsel
 * After returning home to Themis, Maribelle became a magistrate who demanded equal justice for nobles and commoners alike.


 * Maribelle and Chrom
 * After Grima's defeat, Chrom was officially welcomed as Ylisse's new exalt. Queen Maribelle kept him always on his toes while she strove tirelessly to become a magistrate and reform the halidom's laws.


 * Maribelle and the Avatar
 * Many wrote of Avatar's legendary exploits, but accounts of his origins and character varied. Scholars, poets, and bards agreed on one thing alone—he loved his wife, Maribelle, above all else.


 * Maribelle and Frederick
 * As Ylisse's new knight captain, Frederick took charge of keeping the peace and training new recruits. His wife, Maribelle, did her own part for Ylisse by studying hard and becoming a respected magistrate.


 * Maribelle and Virion
 * Virion returned home to Rosanne, where he was labeled a traitor and a coward, or else ignored entirely. But his wife, Maribelle, treated the people fairly and equally, and in time, they learned to forgive him.


 * Maribelle and Vaike
 * Vaike returned to the streets that raised him and was welcomed as an hero and brother to all. But people were fonder still of Maribelle, who worked tirelessly to win them equal rights in the eyes of the law.


 * Maribelle and Stahl
 * Stahl continued his service as an Ylissean knight and led crucial missions across the realm. Maribelle was quick to whip his scatterbrained nature out of him and the two lived a long and happy life.


 * Maribelle and Kellam
 * After returning home to Themis, Maribelle became a magistrate who demanded equal justice for nobles and plebeians alike. Her husband's name has been lost to history.


 * Maribelle and Lon'qu
 * Lon'qu returned to Regna Ferox and served as Basilio's right-hand man. Maribelle, for her part, could not stand her new home's nonsensical laws and eventually guided both khans to an era of reform.


 * Maribelle and Ricken
 * While continuing to study magic, Ricken realized how childish some of his actions had been. Maribelle went on to be a magistrate, and the couple leaned on each other for the rest of their days.


 * Maribelle and Gaius
 * Gaius never lost his sweet tooth, though he ultimately returned to less savory enterprises. Having studied to become a magistrate, Maribelle feared the day she would meet her own husband in court.


 * Maribelle and Gregor
 * After the war, Gregor briefly took into a life of excess, but fear of his wife’s verbal abuse led him to resume work as a sellsword. Maribelle’s family never approved of Gregor, and he never cared.


 * Maribelle and Libra
 * Many an unfortunate child found joy in the small orphanage Libra and his wife built after the war. Sadly, Maribelle's sharp tongue and proud attitude rubbed off on the tykes, making them quite the handful.


 * Maribelle and Henry
 * Henry settled down with Maribelle and turned out to be a surprisingly good father. Their newborn son inherited his mother's noble blood—but also her sharp tongue, as time would reveal.


 * Maribelle and Donnel
 * Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and Maribelle. Still, he was careful not to pester his new bride about working in the fields, lest she lift a scythe for other reasons.
 * Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and Maribelle. Still, he was careful not to pester his new bride about working in the fields, lest she lift a scythe for other reasons.

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Maribelle is illustrated in the trading card game with the following cards:

Etymology
Maribelle is a combination of the names Mary/Maria and Isabelle, both of which are often associated with high class 'Southern Belles'.

Trivia

 * Maribelle's fastest romantic support is with Frederick.