Note: Oh God, stop me. The Plot Bunnies! They're attacking! Aaaaaaarrrghhhhh -chokediestranglenoises-
Note: I can't distinguish colors very well, especially in video games, so if I get the color of someone's hair or eyes wrong, please tell me. I might not fix it (because I'm exceptionally lazy), but I'll at least acknowledge my mistake.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, only a copy of the game in which my Joshua and Natasha have been RNG-raped and are completely useless, and so ch 20 is giving me grief. WHYYYYY MUST CLERICS LEVEL UP SO SLOWLY
Pairings: EirikaXSeth, JoshuaXNatasha, EphraimXTana, InnesXL'Arachel (which is the greatest and most hilarious pairing ever FYI), ArturXLute, and many more. Most of them will be seen in the background or just implied, as EirikaXSeth are the main focus.
Rating: T for minor language, I just wanted to be safe. Didn't want ten-year-olds imitating my foul sailor mouth.
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining
Seth's mind was blank. He couldn't think straight. He rode as fast as he could with the bleeding princess on his back, keeping her unconscious form steady as he rode around the battlefield, trying desperately to find a healer. Save Eirika... Save Eirika... Save Eirika...
"Damn it all!" He shouted, stopping his horse and running up to Forde. He began rummaging through the bag on Forde's horse's side.
"Er, excuse me, Commander?"
"Zip it and give me a goddamn vulnerary!" Seth snapped. "Now!"
"Er, yes sir." Forde threw his commanding officer the salve.
Ephraim found Seth a while later patching up a wound on Eirika's shoulder, obtained when a Deathgoyle's lance landed a little too close for comfort. Seth's hands worked swiftly but gently, almost fluttering over her fair skin to apply the salve, pretending desperately to not notice that Eirika's shirt was undone and her armor was gone. They whispered to each other, mostly things like "You frightened me." and "I'm fine, it just hurts."
"Seth, what happened here?" Ephraim asked.
"A Deathgoyle, your highness. It decided the Princess was a good sheath for its lance. I managed to knock it back and repel it, but the damage was already done. I wasn't fast enough and I apologize." Seth said formally, not taking his eyes off the Princess' shoulder.
"Now, Seth, I already told you, what happened wasn't your fault. I wandered too far away from the company, that's all. If anything, the blame should be placed on me." Eirika said.
"Nonsense, Princess, I should have been by your side but it was I who wandered away from you. Had I been more diligent in my duties watching over you, this wouldn't have happened. It's my duty to protect you from harm and I failed."
"You didn't fail, Seth. She's alive, isn't she?" Ephraim cut in.
"Yes, sire, but she's injured! Oh, I tried to find a healer but Prince Joshua got cut on the leg and Sister Natasha had to tend to him, and Ewan got a nasty head wound, so Princess L'Arachel is caring for him, and then Moulder's got his hands full with Miss Syrene, who was shot out of the sky by a Maelduin! All of our healers are tied up so I've been trying to-"
"Seth, calm down!" Both twins snapped.
"Look, Seth, I'm perfectly alright-"
"The wound isn't that bad, she'll be up in no time-"
"Ahh!" Seth suddenly jerked and shouted out, trying to get them both to stop yelling over each other. "Please, sire, I'm merely a humble knight. I was charged in defense of the Princess and she was injured. Now, you know I hold you both in the highest regard, but let me be honest when I say I frankly don't give a damn whether you think I failed or not. The facts have been stated. I merely want to patch the Princess up the best I can until Sister Natasha is available." Seth's tone was frantic and firm, leaving no room for argument.
Ephraim began laughing heartily, nearly falling to his knees.
"What? Did I say something funny?"
"Nothing! N-Nothing... just the fact you said that is hilarious to me. Alright, well, I'll leave you to it, then. Just don't molest my sister or I'll pretend you're a Deathgoyle." Ephraim threatened good-naturedly, waving Seigmund vaguely in Seth's direction.
"Noted, sire." Seth said dryly.
Ephraim walked away, chuckling to himself. Seth re-focused his attention on Eirika's shoulder.
"We should get you to a healer nonetheless. This wound could get infected if it isn't healed properly."
"Seth, I'll be perfectly fine. You're overreacting. If it'll make you feel better, I'll go see Natasha in the morning, but-"
Seth's hands suddenly tightened, causing Eirika to cry out. Seth let go. "Or I can go see Natasha now." Eirika said through gritted teeth. Seth was a persistent bastard, she decided.
"Thank you. Come on, then." Seth lifted Eirika to her feet and onto his horse. "Hold on tight, Princess."
Seth rode towards the healer's tents, and let Eirika off the horse. "Miss Natasha? Are you-oh goodness!" The scene inside the tent turned comical as Joshua tore his lips away from Natasha's neck in shock, her hands flying from around his waist as they yanked themselves apart faster than was seemingly possible.
"Eep! Oh! Goodness, Princess, you scared the Light right out of me!" Natasha's cheeks blushed a bright shade of scarlet as Joshua quickly retrieved his trousers from the bedpost and limped away, his own face as red as his hair.
"I apologize for intruding, Miss Natasha!" Eirika squeaked.
"No, er, no, it's no trouble at all! Um, did you need something, your highness?" Natasha replied nervously, fixing her veil so it covered the obvious marks on her neck and chest.
Seth fought to remain composed and stifled a few snickers as he explained Eirika's situation, to which Natasha quickly brought up a Mend staff and instructed the Princess to sit down.
"This will tingle a bit." Natasha warned as she chanted slowly under her breath. The healing magic began doing its job and Eirika could feel her flesh being knitted back together and the bleeding ceased. "I wouldn't use that arm for a couple of days, regardless. That was quite a hit you took. If you hadn't come to get it healed properly it might have become infected. You never know what nasty toxins those monsters use in their weapons." She suggested to the teal-haired princess.
"See? I told you..." Seth mumbled, more to himself than anyone. Eirika heard and, if looks could kill, Seth would be dead, buried, and with the archers still shooting at his grave. Seth tore his eyes away before he turned to stone, regaining his stony composure. He cleared his throat nervously. Natasha quickly exited the medical tent, probably to go find Joshua again, Seth pondered.
"But really, Princess, I did tell you. I knew I should have been there." Seth said the last part more to himself.
"Your sense of duty is unwavering and admirable, Seth, but really. I'm a grown woman and can take care of myself. I don't need you there all the time. I do understand your need to watch over me, but please give me a little more room when we're on the battlefield. It does make me nervous when everyone's staring at me. It makes me feel like you're all just waiting for me to make a mistake so you have an excuse to baby me. I don't like being babied, Seth. I'm a princess and I understand that comes first, but I don't want to be watched 24/7. That doesn't mean I don't want you to totally leave me to die alone either... but don't smother me." Eirika explained.
Seth sighed and knew he wasn't going to get out of this. "Alright. I will do as my liege wishes. However, know this. While we are on the battlefield, should you find yourself in any sort of real danger, any at all, do not hesitate to call my name. No matter where in Magvel you are, I will find and protect you. But if you feel you no longer need me... I will stay as far away as you like." Seth said. There was a twinge of sorrow in his voice, though he tried to disguise it.
"No, don't do that! You can stay right by me if you wish, just don't feel that everything that happens to me is your fault. This is war, Seth, and people are going to get hurt. You just have to trust that I'm all grown up now and know my own limits, ok?"
"Yes..." Seth replied dully, his voice dead.
"Oh, don't look so sullen! What's the matter?" Eirika said, sitting up and placing her good hand upon Seth's face. His auburn eyes reflected dull sadness.
"I just... It's nothing, Princess. I was merely... thinking."
"What is it? Seth, you know you can tell me anything."
"I don't want to leave you alone. I want to be there to protect you from anything and not just because you're the Princess of Renais. Hell, if you died, the country would still have your brother. But that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying..." Seth sighed. "When I saw that Deathgoyle strike you, and you fell off your horse, I was stunned beyond words. I thought it had killed you. You fell off your horse, and were unconscious for a good ten minutes. In that time... well I'm glad you weren't awake to see the disemboweled and headless pile of mincemeat I turned that Deathgoyle into. It took both Forde and Kyle to drag me off of the damn thing. Sieglinde fell a good twenty feet away from you, blood was pooling around your shoulder..." Seth chuckled despite himself, "I never thought I would absolutely despise the color red so much. My brain went blank. I forgot there was a war going on. I forgot your title and rank. There were two words repeating themselves in my head over and over and over. Save Eirika. Save Eirika. Save Eirika. There was nothing else. No 'Princess', no 'my lady', no 'my liege'. Save Eirika. Save Eirika. Save Eirika. Eirika had to be alright. Eirika had to survive. How would I live without Eirika? I ran to you, and called for a healer, but they were all needed elsewhere. Every single one. When you awoke, I had to try and fix you with a vulnerary, though that's when your brother stepped in. I was frantic. I needed you. I still do." Seth spoke as if the words poured out from within him, breaking his stony-cold mask and letting an uncharacteristic side of himself show through. "I always will."
Eirika was silent for a moment, looking at Seth with concern in her eyes. "Seth..."
"I know... I... I'm in the wrong. I shouldn't have forgotten my duty... My duty is to be a Knight of Renais and nothing more... but I-"
"Seth, shush. It's ok. It's always been ok. I realize now why you stay so close in battle and if that's your reasoning I see no problem with it."
"My lady..."
"Shush." Eirika leaned forward and kissed Seth gently, a light brush of her lips upon his.
Ephraim peeked his head in the tent flap and smiled warmly before darting away unnoticed.
About damn time, he thought.
Seth couldn't find words. He simply smiled and stroked the Princess' hair. "Princess..." he eventually rasped, his throat suddenly very dry.
"Uh-uh. No 'princess'. My name is Eirika. Call me Eirika."
"But my lady Eirika, that simply isn't-"
"When have I ever given a damn about what is proper, Seth? I love you. What does it matter whether I'm a princess and you're not? I love you too much to give half a damn about propriety."
Seth was stunned speechless for a moment, before kissing his beloved Princess with every bit of the passion and fervor he'd been harboring inside for so long.
"Oh, goddammit." An irritated voice sounded from their right. "First I get slammed in the chest with an axe, and I have to walk in to see that? My virgin eyes!"
"Damn it all, Innes! You ruined the moment!" Eirika exclaimed. Seth could merely laugh.
"Come now, Eirika, did you really think that one through? I mean, I could care less who you decide to sleep with but in the medical tent? At least be more discreet like Sir Kyle and Lady Syrene. They at least scamper off to a private tent before doing things like that."
Seth blinked a couple of times. ". . . .I was wondering where Sir Kyle often disappeared to. He never seemed like the type to shirk duty."
Natasha came scampering back into the tent, dressed in a higher-collared set of robes. "Honestly... all these people getting hurt. I've gone through three staves today. Hold still, your highness, and I'll clean your wound right up."
"Sure, whatever. Do you need to get at it, or something?"
"Well, no, not if you don't want to. I can heal through your clothes just fine. Though why you'd want to hang around in wet, bloody clothes is beyond me. However, you are the Prince of Frelia and it's ultimately your decision."
Innes shrugged and pulled his shirt off. Natasha took it and put it in a bin of soiled clothes to be washed later. As she ran for her staff on the other side of the tent, she motioned to Seth that Eirika was fine and could leave. Seth lifted his princess and carried her out while she giggled about his chivalrous nature.
Eirika giggled. "That Innes..." She said, shaking her head. "He's going to get himself killed."
"No, he won't. His sister would dig him up and kill him again if he died out here in this wretched place." Seth responded. "No, I think he'll keep himself alive, if only to spare himself the endless nagging in the afterlife."
As Natasha scrambled out of the tent for the twentieth time that day, grabbing yet another Heal staff as her old one crumbled in half in her hands, Seth sighed.
"Poor girl. I almost want to learn magic to help her out a bit."
"We are a bit short on healers, aren't we?"
"What a horrorshow. We took so many casualties in that last battle."
"Well, when you're fighting something as powerful as a Draco Zombie, it's bound to happen."
"When will some of our other magic users be able to use staves?"
"When pigs fly. The last time Artur tried to use a staff, the bulb end exploded and caused him to need to be healed himself. Ewan..." Eirika shook her head. "I just don't trust him with anything stronger than a Fire tome."
Seth laughed, "I barely trust him with that. Remember when Prince Joshua's hat mysteriously caught on fire in the middle of a battle?"
"You and I think so alike, Seth."
"Perhaps this is why we fell in love."
The Knight and his Lady looked at each other, and embraced.
"This war has been horrible. It will take months, years even, to rebuild our world. But still..."
"We can do it together, my Princess."
"Do you promise, Seth?"
Seth knelt down and bowed to his princess, his russet hair catching the sunlight and lighting up his face.
"I swear to you on my honor as a sworn Knight of Renais that I will be with you, by your side, for the rest of my days, whether I am a knight or a commoner, a Lord or a beggar in the streets. As long as I can continue to serve you and stay by you until the end of my life, I swear to you I will not falter. I will not fall in battle, and I will not be wounded. This I swear to you, my beautiful and wonderful Princess of Renais, on my honor and my life."
"Oh, Seth...!"
"Kiss her!" Came a shout from somewhere behind them.
"Goodness, Brother, can't you not meddle in my affairs for once?"
"Nope. I'm the big brother, it's my job. Now kiss himmmmm~!" Ephraim teased, pushing Seth forward so his and his Lady's lips connected.
It was then that they realized they had drawn a crowd. Cheers and calls of "It's about goddamn time!" came ringing from the company.
Seth's face turned redder than his hair and he chuckled nervously. Eirika squealed happily at the attention.
"Look, Seth, we've all known forever. We've known you loved her before you did. And frankly, this war has brought so many people closer together...how could I not approve?" Ephraim said warmly, as Tana came behind him and took his hand, and L'Arachel took Innes' arm.
"Prince Ephraim..."
"No need for formalities anymore, Seth. Call me by my name."
"I... Thank you. I... Just... thank you."
"This war has been devastating. Thousands of lives have been lost, some dear to us. We all need someone who can help us through the pain and the suffering this war has caused. Then again, it was this war that allowed some of us to find those people that we hold dearest to ourselves now. It's been a horrible time in our lives, killing and slaughtering others just to stay alive and never knowing where your next meal is coming from... but that's war. We need each other in this war, Seth. You need my sister, and she needs you now. Love her, and keep her safe, so that we can travel back to Renais in victory, waving the bright flags of victory over our heads, and rebuild the kingdom we unjustly lost. Will you do this for me, Seth? Not as your prince, but as your friend and your brother, I am asking you. Will you do this for me?"
"I will, Ephraim. I will, and I will until I die. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity. I cannot thank you enough. I have watched over the two of you since you were very small, and I am proud to be in your service." Seth repeated, holding Eirika close to him.
"There is one condition I need to have fulfilled though, before you whisk my sister away."
"What is that, Ephraim?"
"You let Tana and L'Arachel plan the wedding. They've been good so far, but trust me when I tell you they're holding themselves back."
Seth laughed, "Whatever you say, sire."
Tana and L'Arachel squealed and dove upon the happy couple, fawning over them and cooing about how adorable they were together and how their babies are going to be so cute oh my god! Eventually even the rest of the girls joined in, even the aloof Marisa cracked a smile.
Ephraim looked at Innes and laughed. "They seem happy to be planning a wedding."
"I never could deny L'Arachel anything. She's...persuasive."
"And you're abrasive. Seems to be a perfect match."
"I have a feeling that after this war is over, the wedding bells won't cease for months."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, old friend."
"Frankly, neither would I."
The wedding was spectacular, with Seth dressed in the dashing-est white armor the designers could find, trimmed with silver and inlaid with gold. He had on fine white clothing, and a white silk cape, and generally looked the part of the Dashing Paladin. He even had a sapphire-and-ruby-studded scabbard strapped to his side, with a fine Silver Blade housed inside. Eirika wore the most beautiful and wondrous white gown, and all of Renais came to this fairy-tale union.
What was the most memorable part of this beautiful wedding was when Colm decided to put a small firecracker deep within the wedding cake, and when it exploded, cake was splattered all over everything.
This, in turn, caused the greatest and largest food fight Renais had ever seen. By the time it was over, no one could blame the navy-haired thief, for he too was coated head-to-toe in cake frosting.
When Eirika threw the bouquet, it was fair L'Arachel who caught it, and Innes blushed the reddest shade of scarlet Renais had ever seen.
However, Seth didn't really notice all the wedding-time antics. He was too enthralled with his beautiful wife, Princess of Renais, fair Eirika, and he kissed her so deeply then, that the entire cathedral was awash with cat-calls and laughter.
"I love it when you tell that story, Daddy! It's so cool!"
"You were the awesomest knight ever! You were like swish, swoosh! And mommy was like bang! Wahaaaa!"
"Mund, don't be stupid!"
"Hey! Daddy, Linde called me stupid!"
Seth laughed and propped his two beautiful children on his lap. Sieglinde and Siegmund, named after the Sacred Twin weapons of Renais that helped save them all, were twins in their own right, a little russet-haired girl with bright teal eyes, and a little aqua-haired boy with auburn orbs that reflected happiness and a thirst for life in each of them.
"Do you two want to go outside and wait for Mommy? She'll be back with presents soon." Seth said to his children, who immediately jumped up with squeals of joy, running towards the door.
When Eirika walked in, her arms full of bags and boxes, Seth looked at her and smiled, as their children jumped and circled around her legs. Ten years made not a difference in her appearance, and she was as beautiful then as she was ever. He would hold on to her and love her for the rest of his days, no matter where those days took them.
The War of the Stone was a horrid one indeed, but every darkened storm-cloud had a silver lining deep inside.
Wow, I went sappy as hell at the end there. I planned this in a whole different direction at first. This story basically just wrote itself when I wasn't looking. Oh well. Thank you for reading!