You manage to trip in the face of Valm customs a total of three times.

She, the Valmese lady of dragons, manages to laugh off each one.

The first is when you're on laundry duty again, about to start the last load when you smell it. It's the sort of smell unfitting of dirty clothes, and is not the finishing fragrance you've slipped into the soap on the sponge. You cock your head at it when she shows up, surprised to miss laundry duty and- judging by the downturn of her lips- slightly disappointed.

You realize you're nose deep into her cloak when she identifies it as hers. "I sprinkle it with a special fragrance I find soothing," she explains. "It helps me get a good night's rest, even when we're camped in the wilds."

That explains how it's so unique and appealing- and it also explains how it's so Cherche, even regal in the wilderness. "Gods, it's like nothing I've ever smelled before!" .

She giggles. "It smells of home to me. It's quite common back where I come from." That may be true, but already you have associated the smell with her, not Valm.

"It's interesting how things vary from place to place," you muse reverently. "Smells, fashions, art, manners…" Or from person to person.

She takes a few seconds to respond. Her face is blank, and her eyes distant, but before you can ask if she's okay, she continues.

"Before the empire swallowed up all of Valm, the land was split into small, unique realms," she explains, forcing a smile. She looks normal, but you can't convince yourself that she is. "You can still see these differences today as you move from town to town."

The way she talks about home- and of how the empire "swallowed us up" like she's caught in the gullet still- is like a baby bird who misses the nest she was driven out of. Of someone who tries to convince herself it was the best decision to fly, someone who doesn't desperately want to be sheltered by it, but misses it anyways.

You listen with deeply devoted interest.

Somewhere down the line, she points out "Speaking of manners and customs, it is... Um…" The more she gets embarrassed, the more intently you listen with a goofy smile. "Well, in my land, it's considered very bad form to go sniffing a lady's cloak."

Well. It's probably bad form anywhere, you think, your inner Stahl kicking himself. You didn't even think to be embarrassed by your sloppy actions until now, but play it off with humor, as humor is always a good way to mask embarrassment. "Then why do you make it smell so good? It's like a trap!"

She giggles again, still looking at the ground near the basin. "Heh. I suppose it is, at that." Still, while she would probably never admit it, you can see a small pink tint to her cheeks, and you wonder to yourself how on Earth the Dragon Tamer of Valm became so shy.

The second is when you invite her to look for firewood with her. Taking stock of everything reveals that you're low on it so you were headed there anyways, but when she approaches the tent you're in, hand on the center beam, you realized you didn't want to skip an opportunity to spend time with her.

Awhile after she sees you and you make small talk, she points out "You know, it seems like every time I see you, you're engaged in another chore."

You scratch the back of your neck with a sheepish smile. "I volunteer a lot. I just enjoy keeping things...tidy, I guess." Since that makes you the chore guy and not someone who can fight, you add "Plus, you don't want some of these axe slingers going anywhere near your laundry."

She smiles in a distinctively charming way, slinking around the tentpole to face you and possibly drive you wild with her form twisting around the center like a snake. "Well, I think it's very admirable. Perhaps you could use a hand?"

You pop the question. "Well, I WAS just about to head out to collect more firewood... Perhaps you'd care to accompany me to the forest?" She stops twirling and looks at you, confused and concerned. To make it more appealing, you add "I can use your talents if we stumble across any fell beasts."

Unlike the last time where she let you bite the lure before catching, she informs you quickly. "Back in my village, an invitation to collect firewood indicates romantic interest." Your eyes widen when you realize the hole you stumbled into, but she seemed more occupied with why it indicates such. "Something to do with firewood igniting the flames of passion in the girl's heart…"

"Wha?!" You barely remain in your feet. Gods help you for innocuously sending the wrong signals! You nearly panic. "G-good gracious, truly? I... I meant no offense. I swear!" A pause. She smiles as if to forgive. Then, remembering her own confusion on the manner, you blurt "Also, that is a really weird first date. I'm just saying."

Again, she giggles, but you're the one turning bright red, flustered. "Oh, it's quite all right," she says, and the way her eyes glint is a tad bit mischievous. "How were you to know?"

You scratch the back of your neck while thinking Perhaps if I were a better study on Valm, but the more she talks, asking you to tell her about Ylisse in a way that saves you from your own embarrassment, you realize that you are a very good study on her.

You admit from the moment your eyes first laid on her, you knew she was something special. She stood with the grace of a warrior, perfect posture, jaw always held firm as she looks up at who she's talking to, never down, mauve hair resting in a straight line against the spot where her outfit bares her back. The more you learned about her, the more you saw her talk, the more she fought with the same fixed slight smile on her face, the more you knew she was someone special.

"Shall we?"

You realize you've completely zoned out and laugh. "Sorry, on my way!" You watch as she beckons you forward and turns away, her hair turning with her, a tiny amused smile on her face. You know you have to be careful when asking her next time, but you already want to go with her again.

The third time is when you're presented with a handkerchief and you take it to mean far more than it does.

She says it's as a gift for telling her all your stories on Valm, which honors you immediately. It's beautiful, rounded and folded into quarters, made of soft pink silk with a cloudy mix of white that reminds you of her. "I'm not an expert at needlework," she says, and you catch yourself from laughing at her wild inaccuracy.

You're still looking at it when she says she wants to visit Ylisse. You look at her with a small bit of puzzlement, because Ylisse is certainly nice (it's your home, after all) but would it honestly impress the Lady of Dragons? So you say "That's funny, because when peace comes, I've decided to visit your homeland." Her eyebrows raise a centimeter too high to be coordinated, and you add "I want to help reunite families and rebuild their towns and villages."

A small bit taken aback, she says that it should really be her job, and you wonder if you came on too strongly. The idea sends you reeling, because it wasn't strong enough.

The more you see her, the more you realize her control is from the years she spent as the servant and knight to Virion, and how- even though you know Virion hides a deeply caring heart underneath his bluster- he has not appreciated her enough. She is not a vassal, even as she would say she knows as much, and she should not accept the reconstruction of Rosanne to be the sole responsibility of Rosanne. It should not be the entirety of her goals. She deserves more, and you realize you would rebuild her entire nation from the ground up just to see her smile.

As if to give a reason, you hold out the handkerchief, and say "This handkerchief is a gift given from one best friend to another, is it not?" Her eyes meet yours, and your heart races in passion to the point where you forget how to take it easy. "So forget Ylisse! There are plenty there who can rebuild better than I. Instead, I shall work to rebuild the country of my dear, close friend, Cherche!"

You feel like you stuck the landing for approximately half a second until she looks at you with confusion, and then, pity.

"Why, Stahl, that's very sweet of you," she starts, though doubt in her gaze tells you she's taken it as a sweet nothing. "But, I think you made a mistake. The gift of a handkerchief is only significant when exchanged between women."

Oh.

She continues. "From a woman to a man, it has no meaning at all... " Trying to brighten her eyes, she adds "Well, other than a nice gift."

Damn. You feel foolish, and she really doesn't have to keep focusing on making you feel better. "Blast, this is most embarrassing…" you reply darkly. To lighten the mood, you add "Why didn't I read that passage more carefully?"

She laughs quietly, but it's not legitimate, as if she's also trying to bring life back into the moment. "It's quite all right," she says. "I'm flattered you thought to read about my country at all." You're grateful, but you know that someone like her deserves to have her culture regarded correctly by someone who claims to want to be its savior.

And, to be honest, you wish her gift had meant more than it did.

The one time you got it right is when you hold a ring in your pocket and ask her for a moment, because if you're honest you just want to get this disappointment over with. It's hard to imagine a world where Cherche accepts your proposal, but if you don't ask now, blessing or curse will come too late and you will miss every moment.

She reads you like a map of the distance between Ylisse and Valm when you accept that the two of you are friends, and you think that it will never branch out to anything more, because she is Cherche, lady of dragons, tamer and mother to Wyverns, the hero of Rosanne, and because you thought that a handkerchief was a symbol of lifelong commitment.

"You sound almost...dissatisfied about that," she points out, mouth slightly open in concern. "Or is that your naturally furrowed brow?

You chuckle dryly, in resistance to yourself, as you remember how you may have mentioned that before you collected firewood for the first time. Still, you admit "I think you have the right of it, Cherche." You think, and clarify "Dissatisfaction, I mean."

She looks at you with concern. Like she's on the precipice of losing something. "What are you saying?"

May as well dive in.

You reach into your pocket, grabbing the ring for support. "Cherche." You sound out her name reverently. "When I'm with you, I want something more than friendship." Immediately, her face flames as pink as her hair. "I misinterpreted your gift last time, but this time there can be no mistake. So...here."

You pull your hand from your pocket and realize you're nearly wearing the ring you're presenting. Quickly, you pull it off. She laughs, but she's more nervous than you have ever seen her, as if she knows what you're doing.

She plays dumb. "You're giving me a ring?"

"It's an Ylissean custom," you explain carefully. "It means I want to marry you."

She gasps, closing her eyes as she holds the hand with the ring in is. Careful, ginger, as if she could hurt you with one wrong swipe, when the only way she could is by not taking what's within your palm.

Then: "I know. We have the same custom in Valm."

She's kind, and her voice is wispy. She doesn't take the ring but doesn't let go. She holds your hand like she's keeping you from falling while she's about to herself, and in that moment you do not doubt that you absolutely love her.

"Great," you say breathlessly, forcing a smile she does not see. She smiles, but you feel her hand trembling in hers, and you know that it's wrong, it feels wrong, Cherche of Valm does not shake like this. Still, if humor can mask embarrassment, maybe it's the cure for other troubles. "Then my intention should be crystal clear!"

As hoped for, she smiles. Good, because that's one thing you know you're good at. You place your other hand on hers, and she opens her eyes as you begin.

"I love you, Cherche, and friendship just isn't enough anymore," you admit, and it's far easier than you imagined, enough to get you carried away. "I want us to be man and wife, and maybe raise a family together. I want your home to be my home, and I want to help rebuild your country. What do you say, Cherche? Shall we build a future together?" You stop there, and you find that you're staring at her intensely, out of the ocean of promises and coming to land entirely terrified.

She notices. "You look worried again."

You take the top hand off of hers and scratch the back of your neck awkwardly. "Er, I was going for more of an earnest and beseeching kind of thing…"

She giggles, and takes your other hand when you go to return it with her free hand. She offers courtesy: "Yes, I see it now. A pleading look, especially around the eyes." You laugh in a way that makes you realize how calming your own humor can be in times of heightened emotion.

She wraps her hand around your ring, as if to grab it. She stops. She doesn't quite grab it, but her hand still touches yours.

Then she whispers, her voice shaking.

"Are you sure you want to abandon Ylisse and throw in your lot with Valm?" You know she has more to say, and it takes her too long to say it. "When your ardor... cools, and reality sets in, you may well regret your decision."

Maybe she has a point. Maybe as you go by the decision to stay in Valm rather than going to rebuild Ylisse is a decision whose appeal will wear. But the more she cups the ring like she'd take it if only she didn't fear you would reconsider and pull it away, the idea of fulfilling her fears on any level seems further and further impossible somehow.

"The ring symbolizes a lifelong oath," you swear. "I shall not break it."

She finally takes the ring and places it on. You smile, and you can feel the tears in your eyes as surely as you can see them on hers. "Then I must make a promise, too," she says. "Stahl, I will love you and honor you for the rest of my life."

You choke out a sob but it sounds like a laugh. It was probably both.

She drops your hands, then grabs the back of your neck and kisses you fiercely. You're surprised, and she's so swift to kiss you that she may have knocked out two teeth, but you knew this sort of passion lay beneath her ribs. You return it, hands on her back, and the two of you are clumsy as you kiss, but you don't care if she falls over or is about to cry in your arms, she will still always be the brave, powerful, determined Valmese Lady of Dragons you first met.