#Yuki's Commissions | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yukiwrites · 19 hours

Text

Spring, Picnic and Budding Love

Thank you, thank you, thank you SO MUCH for the support and the BOTTOMLESS patience, @sundaychamomile ! I hope you like it!!!! TvT)b

Summary: What should a prince, one who strived to be as accomplished and reliable as anyone, do once he found someone he liked? Leo found himself in a pickle trying to call his sweetheart Effie on a date while still maintaining his dignity, though it was anyone's guess if he actually could...

Commission info HERE and HERE!

______________________________

The Astral Realm, a place where one can enter and be protected of both enemies, the passing of time and the seasons themselves. However, it wasn’t as though there were no seasons in such a realm at all — they simply behaved differently than the ones in the outside world.

It was fascinating, in all honesty. One week, it was spring, yet, come next week — bam! Autumn. All the flowers that were in full bloom just yesterday — falling on the ground, withering along with the cold weather.

A pattern did not seem to exist for such phenomena, yet, if one were to observe closely, one could predict the next season rotation and prepare accordingly. After all, there were farms and fields located at the warmest areas that grew as if following the real world’s time, while still being greatly affected by the Astral Realm’s seasons.

Leo had taken upon himself to study these marvels, not simply because of his own magical interest — given that his tome, Brynhildr, was closely related to earth and nature itself — but as a way to help improve their army’s conditions and provisions.

It was another task thrown into the pile of his own self-inflicted duties that he took pride partaking in. After all, he had a deep-rooted desire to prove himself despite being already quite accomplished, so it was something he chose to do.

Besides, knowledge was never wasted, no matter how trivial it sounded. Not that predicting the weather and the seasons was something trivial in the least, but… Alas.

No. Truth be told, Leo had ulterior motives after getting used to the predictions.

According to his calculations, spring would start tomorrow, and would last for all but four days. After that, it would be a scorching, long-lasting summer, so the opportunity might take a long time to ever come again.

Leo took a deep breath. He had four days to prepare. Four days to research the best spot, three days to gather the supplies, two to put it all together, and only one to actually do it.

Of course, he still had to ask for the other party's opinion on all of this and... Argh, that was the most frustrating part. Predicting people's reactions based on emotion.

Still, he was at least at a better level at it than Beruka, so he could at least give himself a pat on the back for that.

... Oh, what was he saying? Comparing himself to Beruka of all people regarding human emotions and thinking he had the upper hand? It would be weird if he did not!

"Breathe, Leo," he murmured to himself, placing one hand on a wall and lowering his head so he could take a deep breath. In and out, that's it. In and out. "This isn't like me at all," he sighed.

Ah, how love changes one person, does it not? Where did all that confidence and poise as prince had gone? If anyone looked at him now, basically all but trembling at a corner of the library as if he had been suddenly struck by anemia, they would think him mad.

Still, he couldn't mask the little smile that sprouted upon his lips as he imagined the scene — once his plan was complete, all the preparations were done, and the two of them, him and her, having a great time under the blossoming trees.

He placed the other hand on his faint heart, clutching it as if he could pat it directly so it would calm down.

Yes, he could do it. After all, who was he? He was Leo, second Prince of Nohr, most accomplished scholar, strategist and magician, heir of the magical tome of wonder, Brynhildr! And none other.

Puffing his chest up, after a small self-pumping session, he was good to go.

Little did he know that his little theater was a source of much entertainment for his retainer, Niles, who observed him from outside of the window, over a tree. He would laugh about it for a few days; might even tell Leo about it, too.

Still, Leo left none the wiser to his retainer's shenanigans, basically hopping to make all the necessary arrangements. There was a long night of detailed planning ahead, but Leo was no stranger to all-nighters.

As expected, spring had sprung once dawn broke, showering all of the Astral Realm with pink petals and dancing pollen.

For a nohrian, it was still a rather strange feeling to experience spring so clearly, and perhaps that was the reason why he figured spring would be the perfect season to invite her over. Such a magical season, full of sprouting buds, flowering delights and delicious food.

Yes, ‘delicious food’ was the key here. Leo had read in a book that ‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’, but gender was of no importance in this case. There had been several confirmed cases of such a phenomenon being true as he himself had researched not only within the army but also in some cities they passed by during their march.

Well, it had been Niles who went out to do the footwork for this research, but although he liked to fool around, he had Leo’s absolute trust. Ergo, the theory was proven true and he could start to apply it in practice. It was known for a fact that her appetite was on the… larger side, so the most logical approach would be to cater to that.

Although he thought he needed four days to look for the perfect spot, it didn’t take even half a day to find one: under the blossoming trees in the southern path leading out of the Astral Realm. Usually, since they could leave through each of the four corners of the castle, there were preferred routes they could take to arrive wherever they wanted. The southern path was the most beautiful, but also the furthest away from the living or farming area. In truth, it was the closest entrance to the mines and panning pools — places which weren’t really needed for a marching army to explore.

Suffice to say, it was a perfect, quiet spot with very low chances of interruption. Besides, watching the pink, fluttering flowers dance from under a large tree seemed to be a magical experience with guaranteed success in any romantic endeavors. Sure, Leo wasn’t about to take Niles’ word for it, especially considering the side smirk and the way he sneakily held his waist as if trying to hold back laughter, but seeing the place now, it did feel rather idyllic.

“Moving ahead of schedule,” Leo nodded to himself, crossing a bullet point in his notepad. He turned on his heel and left to procure the necessary ingredients for the feast.

The Astral Realm was really a blessing in that aspect — they could have a portable farm with them and not worry about taking great dips in their food stock. Sure, the farms still followed the real world’s time, but for an army that had to march year in, year out, it was a lifesaver to be able to enjoy the bounties of harvest while on the road.

As such, it wasn’t as if Leo was taking anything out of the pantry for his own selfish reasons — it was food that was going to be served to the soldiers anyway, especially considering his target’s bottomless appetite.

Ah, dear Effie.

She had caught his eye on more than one occasion even before they started marching into war. Through seemingly impossible odds, she became the youngest royal retainer to date only to reunite with Leo’s little sister, Elise, whom she had a budding friendship with a few years ago.

Through sheer determination, she bettered herself, perfected herself, trained herself. Each day she was ready to put her life on the line for her master and for her comrades, without ever losing sight of what was truly important.

The way she marched on ahead with a single goal in mind was baffling and charming to the overthinker Leo. She put her mind to one aspect of her life and ran away with it, cranking it up to eleven. Leo couldn’t help noticing how his gaze stayed on her longer and longer over the years, finally coming to the conclusion that he was in love after truly watching her in action.

She was dashing, she was caring… she was adorable, even when stuffing her face with food. Niles would laugh should he ever find out that Leo found her cute even when she tried to speak with her cheeks full of food. It was like a hamster. A huge, strong hamster that could bench press an uprooted tree like it was nothing.

So charming…

“Whoops,” Leo caught himself thinking about her as he procured the ingredients, noticing how his hands had stopped filling the entire crate with food. “Will this be enough…? I’ve seen her eat about this much food on a good day, but perhaps just to be safe…” he reached for a few more tomatoes.

Now that the plan was ahead of schedule, he had to think on his feet. If he started making the dishes right away, he would need to call on her as soon as possible — no matter how strong his preservation magic was, it worked best on raw ingredients. The moment they were mixed during cooking, the magic would lose its potency and the flavors could get mixed up should he try to strengthen it again.

So… it would all come down to him asking her out. He had already used a day of preparations, so if he cooked the whole day tomorrow, the food should still taste okay for the following day. Since there was no adverse weather in the Astral Realm, there was no need to worry about any spring showers ruining anything.

Thus, truly, it would all come down to him asking her out.

He took a deep breath.

In, and out. In… and out.

What a craven! Just the thought of coming up to her and asking to go on a date made his legs feel like mush. Besides, she was hardly ever alone. Sure, whenever she was training or eating she would stay by herself, but she disliked being talked to during such times.

She was such a serious and upfront person… Leo sighed like a schoolgirl in love, then shook his head to do away with such girlish thoughts.

First, he would cook. Then, he would look for her at the end of the day — surely she would be retiring to her quarters and, most importantly, far, far away from Elise. It would be the perfect moment to strike.

Puffing his chest up again, Leo nodded to himself and leff with light feet, confident in his own plan. Executing it would be another story, but for now, he was content.

The following day, he poured his heart out into cooking. He was someone that was able to master a skill after watching it once or twice — despite his initial clumsiness — so doing an array of tomato-related dishes was no problem at all. Nonetheless, he had to keep Effie’s tastes in mind when cooking, so he added plenty of meat and carbohydrates in the form of a wide variety of sandwiches. Tomato juice, tomato sauce, cheesy sandwich with sweetened tomato — a product of his own creation which he dubbed ‘ketchup’ — plenty of different kinds of patties of meat pressed between fresh vegetables and fluffy bread… It truly looked like he was preparing a feast for 50 people.

It would allllll go only for her. He smiled, thinking of her content expression in the face of such scrumptious lunch. The more he cooked, the more confident he felt about his odds.

So much so that he rode that wave and left as soon as he was finished storing it all safely, making his way to the soldier’s quarters.

Call it eagle’s eyes, rose-tinted glasses or what you will, but Leo managed to find Effie quite easily amidst them all. As royal retainer, she was allowed to sleep at the tower adjacent to the royal family’s, and Leo caught a glimpse of her just about to enter it.

“Effie!” He called out, proud that his voice didn’t crack. She was thankfully alone, so now was the perfect time.

Hearing her name, Effie turned around. For a moment, it felt like they were the only ones in the world. Leo felt like the falling petals and warm wind around them were spurring him into action. He could almost even hear some sort of background music, as if a world famous harp player were accompanying Azura’s most heartfelt song.

He gulped, taking another step forward.

“My Lord?” Effie turned to him, her cheeks slightly turning pink from catching the attention of someone so distinguished as Lord Leo himself. She looked up to his taller height as he approached, her heart fluttering.

Oblivious to Effie’s inner positive response, Leo somehow managed to walk over to where she was without tripping. He was focusing so much on basic movements he was out of breath.

“Effie, are you—” he huffed, shaking his head. “Are you free tomorrow?”

“My Lord, are you okay—” she reached out to his sweating countenance, catching a whiff of something delicious coming out of his clothes. “This is…” she took a deeper breath, being charmed by the smell of food.

“Well? Are you?” Leo urged, slightly panicking after she made a motion to touch his forehead with a handkerchief that somehow appeared in her hand.

Effie felt somewhat more comfortable after smelling food, so she reached her goal of patting the beads of sweat on his forehead. “Hm?” She smiled, catching Leo off guard. “I’m sorry, my Lord, could you repeat that?”

“It’s—!” He screeched, then cleared his throat. “C-come…” he tried to breathe in, but the scent of her floral handkerchief inebriated him, making his eyes twirl in panic. “Come tomorrow to the southern entrance!!” He blurted it all out as an order instead of as a request, but he was practically hyperventilating, so coherent thought was the first to go.

“B-but…” Shocked, Effie pulled out her hand, but Leo took it in a stupor, making them enter each other’s personal spaces. She gulped, her heart beating so fast she also was at a loss for words. “But what about training…”

“You can come after! After the morning training!” He almost yelled, squeezing her hand before letting it go altogether, turning around to leave. “You better be there! I’ll be waiting!” he said as he ran away, bright in the face, redder than the ripest of tomatoes.

“L-Lord Leo…” she reached out the place he was just a moment ago, seeing only his retreating back as he ran out of the soldier’s garrison.

“Whaaat?! Did he pretend not to know I was here, or something?!” Elise puffed up her cheeks, coming out of the door behind Effie.

“I don’t… I don’t know.” Effie turned to Elise, returning the handkerchief. “Thank you for this, Lady Elise.”

“Honestly…” Elise crossed her arms after tucking the hankie away. She had even greeted him, gave Effie something to wipe his sweat with and waved from behind her and everything! How blind was he?! “I’m gonna ask Camilla if she knows anything about this, Effie. Thanks for escorting me, buh-bye!”

“Hm, yeah… bye…” she lifted one hand in a half-hearted parting gesture, still looking at the place Leo had disappeared to.

Elise, with a frown still adorably knotted in her face, went up the stairs, deep in thought.

It wasn’t uncommon for Leo to make silly blunders, like coming out of his room with pajama pants, or with his clothes inside out. There was one day when he came out to the battlefield still holding his pillow! It was hilarious.

Nevertheless, he was second only to Xander in overall competence within their family, so Elise respected him a lot despite all his flaws. She just wasn’t sure why he was acting so strangely with Effie when she was right there…

Deep in thought, Elise arrived in Camilla’s room right after, being welcomed with a big hug. While they caught up and Camilla brushed her hair, she explained what had happened a few minutes previous and jumped in surprise when Camilla threw her head back in laughter.

“My, oh my!! My, my!” She giggled, her beautiful face glistening and reddening in delight. “Elise, dear, you weren’t planning on going with Effie tomorrow, were you?”

“Huh? I mean…” she looked down, rather dejected.

“Oh, dear, so you figured it out, too? Why the long face?” Camilla hugged Elise’s shoulders from behind.

“It’s just that, I dunno… It feels kinda lonely. I look up to Big Brother Leo a lot and I respect him and I know he would be perfect for Effie since she’s my bestest of friends and I want all of the best for her, but… But…” she covered her face with her bangs, hiding her expression through the mirror Camilla was looking at.

“Mhm, darling. I’m proud of you for saying all that. How much you’ve grown!” Camilla teased, feeling Elise snort a bit before going back to pretend to sulk. “If you’d like, why don’t we take a walk tomorrow? Say, perhaps by the southern entrance…”

Elise’s head shot up. “Eh?! B-but won’t we intrude on them? I’m…”

“Oh? Whatever do you mean, my dear? We will just be taking a leisure walk, we won’t be disturbing anyone’s business,” she winked, making Elise’s expression brighten up.

“Uh-huh! I get it! Undercover spy mission!” She struck a pose much like how Odin would. Her shoulders felt less burdened and the smile returned to her lips.

“Now that suits you much more, dear,” Camilla smiled, caressing the corner of the oblivious Elise’s lips.

The two sisters planned their stakeout and gossiped until way into the night.

The following morning, while Elise slept, Camilla left earlier in the morning for her own training, though she also planned to go to where Leo was. If anyone needed a big sister right now, it was him.

She watched over how he loaded up a cart with a few crates and jugs, nodded to himself and ran back in only to come out one hour later fully dressed with a cute vernal outfit, and perfumed to boot!

“So cute, little brother. This big sister will watch over you,” Camilla giggled as he strapped the cart on his horse and had it pull it to the designated spot. “Well, I should go to Elise before she notices I’m gone.”

Another hour later, the pair of sisters were ready to start their stakeout.

Elise adorably wore a black cloak over her entire body, and tried to cover her face with one of her oversized pigtails. It looked so silly and cute Camilla couldn’t take it, so she said nothing and simply followed her lead.

“Are you sure this is okay, Big Sister?” Elise asked with a muffled voice from all that hair, glancing back at Camilla who was walking around like normal behind her. “W-won’t we get found out? I think Leo would be super mad at me if I do something wrong… I’m scared when he’s really angry.”

“Don’t worry, dear Elise, everything will be fine. He’ll be so caught up in our lady friend he won’t even notice us. Besides, there’s a gazebo a bit further down the path from where we can see it all with no trouble.”

Why Leo didn’t choose that place as the date spot was anyone’s guess, honestly. It would protect them from the elements and from falling petals, but it wasn’t for Camilla to guess what went through her little brother’s genius mind.

Arriving safely on their spot, the sisters comfortably sat down, enjoying the cool spring breeze.

“Ah!” Elise perked up, pointing somewhere below them. “He’s there, big sister!”

“So he is,” Camilla nodded.

Leo had decorated the place perfectly. Since it was under a tree, he brought a sturdy, light-colored cloth to place on the ground, then another, lighter and cuter one to place on top of it for a spot of color; separated the food in various baskets and dessert towers while keeping the larger jugs of beverage and water somewhere closer so it would be easier to refill their cups.

It was absolutely perfect.

“But, Little Brother, if you do it like that for so long…” Camilla placed one hand over her cheek in worry.

Leo, oblivious to the stalking sisters a ways behind him, was too fidgety to worry about anything but how to breathe at that moment.

He didn’t know if he should appear stoic, cool, aloof or eager when she finally arrived.

The poor prince changed positions at least seven times over the course of a single minute. Should he lean on the tree, or should he cross his legs? Maybe lean one arm over a knee and read a book with the other, coolly? Perhaps place the book on his lap and read normally? Or…

Curse having Odin around him all the time! Now he couldn’t stop overthinking the impact that a cool pose could have on a woman. He wasn’t about to go around yelling BLOOD AND THUNDER or whatever nonsense Odin screamed during battle, but now he was so overwhelmed by it all he was almost thinking Odin was right…

His eyes were twirling and he was getting dizzy, so maybe he should drink a cup of warm tea…

As he was reaching towards the teacup, he heard her arrive.

“S-sorry, Lord Leo, it took a bit longer than usual to do my routine…” Effie huffed, covered in sweat and still wearing her training clothes — which were weighted and heavier than normal clothes — but she still looked so striking.

The few rays of light that filtered through the trees illuminated the sweat running down her face, cheeks, neck and collarbone, wayy into her clothes…

Leo flinched at where his eyes were going, mentally slapping his face as he quickly got up. “Don’t mention it, I didn’t wait long— wah!” he obviously tripped over his legs which were asleep from being seated for so long, despite all of the moving around while trying to find a cool pose.

“Lord Leo!” Effie effortlessly caught him with one hand, though she knocked over one of the dessert towers in the process. “Oh, oh, I’m so sorry, Lord Leo! I’ll put it all back in no time—” She crouched to pick the food up, but the moment she took a fruit, she was bitten by an ant. “Ouch…”

“No, no, it’s all my fault for arranging them like this—” he tried to dissuade her and finally took a look at the ‘picnic for 50’ he had arranged all around him.

Ants.

There were so many ants.

Some went after the fruits, while others followed the juice’s trails. Some even went onto the sandwiches as well.

No, no, nononono! Leo froze on the spot, his stomach sinking.

It’s all ruined! Everything!

His plan had been so perfect; his organization, his cooking, even how he asked her out! … Well, maybe not that one, but still! How could he have been so stupid as to forget the existence of such stupid pests?!

He was the one in charge of developing pesticide for their crops, for gods’ sake!!! He knew they were an issue! He did!

Befuddled, Leo didn’t know what to do or what to say. “Effie, f-forgive me, I didn’t take that into account. It’s fine if you want to leave— Wait, what are you doing?! Don’t eat that!” He touched her shoulder in a panic as she ate an entire sandwich after swatting away the visible ants.

“Don’t worry, Lord Leo. It’s all really delicious!”

“I mean don’t eat them! They’re insects!” Pale in the face, Leo was aghast at Effie’s nonchalant attitude.

Effie tilted her head to the side. “They’re good for eyesight, didn’t you know?” She said with the straightest face one could ever muster, making Leo rethink his entire life.

“They’re… what?” He sat down, perplexed.

For a few seconds, there was only the sound of Effie munching, but then she started to shake a bit before giggling. “Pfft… B-because… Have you ever seen one wearing glasses?”

“What…?” Leo deflated, his eyes spinning. “What do you mean? There is no way to produce a pair of glasses small enough for ants to wear—”

Effie couldn’t hold it anymore and laughed a bit louder. “F-forgive my impudence, my Lord. It’s… it’s just that you’re so smart, I didn’t think you would take me so seriously…” She snorted down some more food, picking up the enormous jug with one hand and drinking straight from it without bothering with a cup.

“So it was… it was a joke.” he frowned, cursing his stupidity, then looked at the giggling woman in front of him.

She was… she was having fun. She was eating his food, even though there were ants all over the place.

“Don’t worry about them, my Lord. There’s no harm in eating ants.” She said with such conviction it actually made Leo feel less miserable. “Besides, with food this good, I wouldn’t want them to have it all for themselves!” She smiled toothily, making Leo’s heart skip a beat.

Ah, she was so beautiful. Even as she ate, even as she choked from eating so much — wait, he had to help her there, but still. She was so beautiful, so caring; so understanding.

She accepted his blunder with stride and managed to keep their picnic from flubbing completely.

Truly, there was no woman like her, Leo thought as he smiled shyly, taking a bite of one of the few sandwiches that were safe from the ants.

From their spot, the sisters breathed a collective sigh of relief to see the two of them enjoying themselves.

It was a good day.

#fire emblem fates #fire emblem #leo fire emblem #effie fire emblem #elise fire emblem #leoeffie #whats the ship name i wonder #camilla fire emblem #my writings #yuki's commissions

3 notes · View notes

yukiwrites · 3 months

Text

Kiran, Pondering

Thank you for the support and boundless patience as usual, @xpegasusuniverse! I hope you like it! I cried!!! so much!

Summary: Azura had told Corra and Rind that she was the sole survivor of her world's war, despite coming from the Revelation World. Worried that they would be heartbroken should the truth come to light, she asked Kiran to tell her right away if he summoned someone from her world...

Commission info HERE and HERE!

_______________________________

Askr was a refuge.

To Corra and Rin, — Princess and Prince Corrin from the Conquest and Birthright worlds respectively — Askr was the only place where they could meet and learn how to deal with the regrets gnawing at their souls.

It was only between themselves, as the existence known as ‘Corrin’, that they could find respite and support to allow them the chance to move on from their choices. To help them overcome their mistakes.

They connected with each other every single day. They held hands, drank tea and trained together, sometimes without even uttering a single word.

Just by having one another’s presence was enough to fill each of them with strength. They never spoke specifics about the war, as their wounds were still too raw, but just by being together, they felt like they could conquer the world.

Or at least conquer their own pain.

Once it was time to head home, however, it was as though they were pulling the bandages out of a still bleeding wound — reality would come crashing down on them, showing each of them the state of their world, and the crushing notion that it was all, after all, their own fault.

It was because they made the wrong choice. It was because they made the right choice.

It was because they chose. It was because they lived; because they were in that position, it was because, it was because, it was because…

The pit of their regret was bottomless. No matter how much they scooped out of it during the day, the two of them, together, it filled right up again once they were back home, to face the consequences of their choices on their own.

In fact, it was getting harder to go back home, instead of easier.

Askr was a refuge, but it was also a prison.

A comfortable prison, in which time did not pass and none of their choices — past, present or future — truly mattered. They were there to help with Askr’s own problems, while trying to deal with their own.

Coming and going to Askr had been great and terrible for the duo. To learn of the myriad of worlds out there and to know that they were not alone was reassuring in and of itself, but it also meant that they could see, touch and feel the consequences of the actions they did not make.

Just meeting one another was proof enough — not to mention the implications of their own existences.

What state was the world they each left behind to stay in Askr? What could have had changed, what different actions could have they taken so that this or that did not happen?

Just by looking at each other’s eyes, they could see the same questions plaguing them deep down.

They were strong together.

But once they went back to their worlds… They crumbled that much harder.

Flora had noticed it first, since she considered not meeting Felicia in Askr just so her sister would not break down any further. To give her hope during the day and pull it from under her feet after she came back home was much too cruel.

The clumsily adorable little sister did not deserve that.

Her wonderful, thoughtful and merciful Lady Corrin especially did not deserve that. Flora could see the pain gnawing away at Corrin, slowly but surely, every single day.

The mask that Corrin wore to the world; the one she used to protect herself from the guilt… it was crumbling. Each day, her smile faded more into gray. Each day, her feet dragged harder to stay in Askr for a while longer.

Each day, she looked up at the bright sky, something so foreign back in Nohr, and sighed wistfully.

Each day, Corra and Rin parted ways with heavier hearts than when they had met, unable to break away from their chains of regret.

Unbeknownst to them, kind eyes had been watching them from afar, and, much like how Flora worried over them, so did she. Azura may not hail from the same world as them, but she still considered the existence known as ‘Corrin’ to be someone precious to her. It hurt the princess to see them suffer so.

She and Flora had interacted very little in the past — even in Azura’s own world where Flora is still alive and well — but they decided to quietly meet every now and then so the maid could tell her about the progress between Corra and Rin.

Flora had realized, after talking with Azura a few times, that the princess was not only not the one she knew, but that she hailed from a world where things did not take such a bleak turn, as opposed to her own world.

Although Azura had a great poker face and rarely changed expressions, Flora was good at reading people, so they soon came to the agreement that Flora would report on the Corrins’ mental state while Azura would act as a shield between them and the other people who might hail from her same world.

Azura had, then, brought the matter to Kiran’s attention — though she did not bring the full picture so as to protect her friends’ inner turmoil.

Truthfully, she had just told the Summoner to call her should he summon someone from the Revelation world — how she came about that name was unknown, even though that was classified information hidden deeply in the Royal Library’s secret area — but Kiran could understand even after receiving Azura’s silence on the matter.

As the Summoner, Kiran could see information about the Heroes that no one else could, at least not without delving into the secret library. He could see, and interpret, the threads that bound each Hero to their version of their own world, so it wasn’t hard to imagine the reason why Azura would ask him that.

Surprisingly, Sharena was the one who brought up a concern about the matter to Kiran a few days later — or perhaps not so surprisingly, especially taking into consideration the princess’ disposition to befriend all Heroes.

She had noticed the subtle changes happening between the Corrins — not between themselves, mind, but between each of them and all the others around.

“I can’t really put my finger on it,” Sharena tilted her head with a frown, lowering her gaze to the floor. “They’re acting the same, but not really. Get it? Like,” she gestured something incomprehensible, waving her hands around like a little girl, “like they’re putting up with it, you know? They seemed okay in the beginning, but now… it’s like they’re straining themselves. Do you think we’ve been overworking them too much? Do they need a break? Should we, uh, let them have a vacation? There are a lot of good beaches around…”

Sharena babbled, her voice dying as she realized the nonsense she was spewing. Askr was never peaceful for long, as they have been constantly reminded on a daily basis. It was unthinkable to focus on giving Heroes vacations — especially when they had their hands full with barely maintaining the Order afloat with the sudden flood of newly summoned Heroes.

Alfonse, who sat beside her, had a serious expression. “It’s common for royals to manage their expressions and hide their true intentions, Sharena. Don’t you think you’re overthinking this?”

“You’re not a people person, Alfonse! You wouldn’t understand,” she puffed her cheeks, crossing her arms. Though, in a corner of her heart, she wondered if she wasn’t imagining things either. She wanted to get along with everyone, but it wasn’t as though all of them shared the same mentality.

Corra always greeted her with a big smile and held her hand as they walked — and she kept behaving the same as usual, it was just… there was a shadow over her smile from time to time.

Rin was a bit more reserved, but he was still just as warm — he even told her it felt great to walk barefoot on the morning dew, just as the sun was rising, and he had been right! It felt liberating, even exhilarating, since she had to sneak out of her palace to do so one dawn. Yet, when she excitedly went to tell him about that, she saw his stiff smile and forlorn expression as his gaze headed towards the west training grounds.

“N-not a people person…” Alfonse choked on the words uttered by his little sister, frowning as a way to recover from the shock.

Kiran shook his head at the siblings, looking down to Breidablik in his hands. “I believe you, Sharena. Actually, Azura and Flora came to tell me the same thing recently.”

Sharena beamed while Alfonse’s frown grew deeper, though Sharena soon went back to frowning. Being right about a bad thing doesn’t make it good.

“So, um… What should we do?” She twiddled with her fingers.

“... Nothing?” Alfonse said tentatively, to which Sharena responded with a glare. “We have no right to interfere in other people’s lives,” he added calmly, looking between Kiran and his sister, “especially when they are trying not to show us how they are truly feeling. There is not a single person who likes being confronted about the things they are trying to hide.”

There was a short silence as Alfonse’s words lingered in the air, being digested by the listeners.

“That’s true,” Kiran said in the end, nodding.

“B-but!” Sharena tried to protest, but Kiran kept talking.

“Still, even if talking to them about it would be too upfront,” he glanced at Sharena, then turned his gaze to Alfonse, “I think we could at least do what Azura and Flora asked us to do.”

“Hmm,” Alfonse bobbed his head to the sides, pondering on Kiran’s words. “If you think so, Kiran, then I’ll respect your decision.”

“But it’s not like you agree, huh?” Kiran took a jab, chuckling at the twitch in Alfonse’s brow as he got up from his seat. “Alright. Thanks for the heads-up, both of you. I’m off to the summoning stones, then.”

“I-I’ll go with you!” Sharena awkwardly got up, blowing a raspberry at her brother before running after the Summoner.

“Wha—?! Hahh…” Alfonse shook his head with a sigh at his sister’s behavior, but ultimately got up to follow them as well.

Once he arrived, Alfonse witnessed the most ironic coincidence.

A knight with a cowlick and donning dark armor politely greeted them once he stepped out of the smoke.

“My name is Silas, a knight of Nohr. I'm a little surprised I was summoned, but I'll do what I can to help!” He said with a big smile, setting off Sharena as well.

“Hi! Welcome to Askr! I’m Sharena and that’s my brother Alfonse over there, and this is Kiran, our Summoner! Now, tell me all about yourself!” She excitedly took Silas’ hand.

“Oh, and she’s a princess,” Kiran added jokingly, somehow knowing how Silas would react.

“A p-princess?! M-milady, forgive my rudeness for holding your hand like that…” Silas turned beet red and jumped out of Sharena’s range, hiding behind Kiran.

“That stuff doesn’t matter here,” she elbowed Kiran out of the way, “we’re all equals at the Order of Heroes, anyway!” She grabbed Silas’ hand again, but this time, he didn’t run away.

Instead, he chuckled. “You sound like my best friend.”

“Oh?!” Sharena widened her smile. “Who are they? Maybe they’ve been summoned too? What about me did you find similar to them?”

Silas looked up at the pristine sky, taking a deep breath. The sky he was used to, the one he had grown up to, was nothing like this. Nohr had always been a dark place; and the place he lived now had floating islands polluting the view, so seeing nothing but clouds up there was actually refreshing in a way.

“His name is Corrin!” He said, puffing his chest with pride, not noticing how Sharena’s hand flinched. “He’s a king back in my world, but he keeps saying to treat him the same way as usual, especially since we’ve been comrades-in-arms for so long.”

Unable to hide her expression, Sharena stiffly looked from Kiran to her brother. The two men exchanged glances as well and nodded.

Before Silas could even realize that something was out of place, Alfonse placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. “That’s most interesting. Would you care to elaborate?”

“B-brother? You don’t usually like—ooooh, right. Yeah. Yeah!” She managed to smooth it over after receiving a piercing glare from Alfonse as Kiran silently excused himself. “Tell us more, Silas! C’mon, we’ll show you around,” she took his hand while Alfonse grabbed his opposite shoulder, effectively trapping him between themselves.

Oblivious to it all, the knight simply nodded and smiled, glad to be welcomed so warmly to this new, strange yet exciting place.

Kiran tiptoed away to find Anna so she could help look for either Azura or Flora, though they had to do it quietly lest anyone found out that there had been a Summoning — after all, once word got out, it would quickly spread.

Time was of the essence and, although Kiran shared most of Alfonse’s sentiment on the matter, it wasn’t as though he would turn down the opportunity to help when he had the power to do so. Still, hiding Silas’ existence or pretending he came from another world would only go so far, especially when dealing with people who shared strong bonds between themselves.

Kiran only hoped that none of it would blow up in their faces later, as he hurried his steps back to the Order while Alfonse and Sharena took Silas to the royal palace instead.

Time was of the essence.

#fire emblem fates #feh #fef #alfonse fire emblem #sharena fire emblem #corrin fire emblem #fire emblem #corrin #kiran fire emblem #kiran #my writings #yuki's commissions

3 notes · View notes