Walking
Walking through the Dark Forest of Melfiye, Leaf observes the gloomy atmosphere; trees rotting, grass rotting, dead soldiers and Lopto priests rotting... everything is rotting away, including the old monastery. Isn't there anything with life here? he thinks to himself, but to his dismay, there doesn't seem to be anything to answer his question.
However, in the distance, he notices a faint glow in the distance, and curious, he runs over to investigate. Upon arrival, he only finds a young girl where the strange glow should be, but he feels a warm sensation in his chest when she meets his gaze.
She is probably only a couple of years younger than him, but she emits an impression of maturity beyond her age. She also seems to possess the beauty of someone beyond her age; long, flowing violet hair reaching to her legs, a small, slender build projecting a sense of fragility, and a warm face filled with innocence.
But no matter who she is, she should not be alone in this dangerous, rotting forest.
"Who are you?" Leaf asks the girl, and she smiles at him, seemingly out of recognition, even though Leaf has never met this girl before. Yet, she does not answer; instead, she seems to study him, causing him to shift uncomfortably.
"Hello?"
"Sorry," she apologizes. "I am Sara, and... I knew it. You are Prince Leaf."
Leaf raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Why do you know my name? What else do you know?"
"Are you puzzled? You were looking for me, weren't you?"
"I... was?"
Now it's the girl's turn to be confused. "Yes. And I know that your mother was pretty like mine... but they are both dead now. Both our father's were killed too, out of jealousy. Your father from Trabant, wanting the Gae Bolg, and mine from my grandfather, who loved Mama too much. But now your new mother is in danger..."
"Wait a minute!" Leaf interrupts. This girl is saying so much, but what does it all mean? What does she want from him? "I'm not sure how to react to this!"
Leaf's words cause the girl's face to sadden, and Leaf immediately regrets his actions. "I'm only trying to help..." she replies, "but if you don't want me... then fine! I'll go!"
The girl turns to leave, and Leaf contemplates the last couple of minutes. He meets a pretty young girl in this depressing forest, and after she offers to help him, he shrugs her off. That face she made too; she is clearly upset about how he treated her.
And while Leaf certainly doesn't believe in love at first sight... there is a mysterious aura about her that is just pulling him to go back and get her... to find out more about her...
...to keep her close to him.
"Wait! Sara!"
Sara looks back in surprise to find Leaf running back to catch up to her, puffing and out of breath. "Sara! I'm... sorry. I want to find out more about you. Will you come with us?"
With only slight hesitation, the girl nods. "Okay then... shall we walk back together?"
She outstretches her hand, and Leaf happily takes it before the two of them walk slowly back to Leaf's camp to meet the rest of the soldiers in his army.
It's a lot more enjoyable walking through the dark and rotting forest when you're with someone you enjoy being with.
"Leaf, I... like listening to your voice," Sara says quietly, looking up at him with a smile on her face. "Can we go for walks like this more often?
EPILOGUE
Turns out, the two of them went for many walks together. After every battle, the two of them walked together to clear their heads, and even before retiring for the night, they would always take a short walk together, watching the stars in the sky or just talking softly about their pasts and futures.
When Sara eventually revived Leaf's foster mother, Eyvel, with her Kia staff, Sara was somewhat worried that Leaf would just shrug her off again like when they first met. However, after Sara vanished once Eyvel was revived, Leaf found her walking alone to leave the castle and the army. After a few minutes of conversation, they shared their first kiss.
Their most memorable walk was on their wedding day, even if the only witnesses were a few of Leaf's most loyal retainers and his foster family. Fearing for Sara's safety due to her relation with the man who instigated the entire Holy War, the two quietly disappeared with Fin to Fiana to live with Eyvel and the rest of Leaf's foster family. Leaf's long lost sister Altenna took the throne so the three could escape, so her suspicious news of 'Leaf and Fin dying in an accident' was forgotten once the throne was re-established. Sara's existence was never mentioned.
They continued walking with each other daily even as Sara's belly slowly grew with their first child. After their daughter was born, the three of them went together, eventually to the point where little Uny could walk by herself without any help. Eventually having two more girls, Una and Unity, they would all walk together as Leaf and Sara related stories from the war...
...including when the two of them took their first walk together.
THE END
Author's Notes
No guest reviews please. They will be deleted!
My first FE5 story! I think it's cute; I hope you do too! Actually, I hope there are actually people reading this in the first place. :p
Obviously, this is a slightly embellished and slightly OOC story. ("A faint glow in the distance?" :D) I kind of worry about the flow as well. However, I did make sure that the epilogue made sense and that all problems were resolved. (remember Sara's ending? Lived under Leaf's protection? Wouldn't be possible if she was queen!) This is the first time I put an epilogue in a one-shot! And past tense too!
According to my baby names site I look names up on, all three of those girls' names mean "together" in Irish. Adorable! I couldn't find anything for "walk" or "walking", though.
Sara's in-game portrait doesn't do her any justice. In her official artwork, she is much prettier, and in fact, she is one of the most beautiful girls in the game. Take a look!
Anyone hear about how a bunch of us lucky Canadians got FE13 five or even SIX days ahead of schedule based on an error in records? SCORE ONE FOR CANADA! We NEVER get anything first. So... I got FE13 on January 30th, 2013 (five days ahead of schedule) instead of February 4th! It's AMAZING! I already have four married couples and counting! You guys are gonna love this game! Unless one of you readers and reviewers ARE one of the lucky Canadians who got the game already!
Next one-shot before more of A Glimmer of Hope? One of my strangest pairings ever! Enjoy! And enjoy the 4th, all those not in Canada!