After five long hours hunched over a few dusty old tomes and maps, reading book after book, map after map, Noella could feel the left side of her temple throb painfully. The pain was but a distraction, but a good one.
Noella carefully closed the tome she had been reading; one Tharja recommended she read in order to improve her magic skills. It wasn't so bad, a tad strange, yes. But not terrible. But of course, Tharja had warned her about various rituals that lingered inside the book. Noella shuddered to even think about, much less read them. Knowing Tharja, they wouldn't be nearly as pleasant as Henry waving a dismembered Risen arm in her face a few days prior.
The young tactician rose up from her seat, legs sore and stiff after spending hours confided to a hard wooden chair, and placed the hardly used tome back onto the barrack's oak shelf. Darkness crept through the open flap of the tent, revealing how late it had gotten.
Noella brushed back a few strands of white hair from her eyes, unconsciously touching the braid that was currently tied back with the rest of her hair in a ponytail; Noella decided it was finally time to venture to her tent. She knew all too well if she stayed up any longer, someone would drag her back to her tent, most likely Lucina or Chrom, who frequently patrolled the camp from time to time.
Outside the tent, people hurried along doing, Naga knows what. Even the boisterous Nowi was busy; running back and forth between people with a childlike smile on her face.
Noella walked pasted her, earning a smile and a giggle. Noella could only raise an eyebrow when the girl winked at her. The Manakete was acting strange today. Not like that was anything new. In fact, for the past week, everyone had been acting funny. Every time she walked into a tent occupied by a group of people, they'd stop what they were doing and tried and talk about something else, awkwardly mind you.
Pretty soon it got to the point where she was tearing her out in frustration, unable to figure out why everyone seemed to be acting so strange. No one told her anything.
"Hey! Wait up Noella!" Nowi suddenly cried out in her loud, girlish voice. Neave turned around, facing the Manakete who rushed to her side.
Noella smiled at the woman. "What is it Nowi?" A grin spread over the green haired woman's face, as if she was enjoying a private joke.
"Lissa wanted me to tell you she wanted to see you by the lake! She said it was very important!" She giggled. Noella groaned as she thought about all the horrors Lissa could do to her.
"Fine, I'll go see her." It was the only thing the tactician could do, given the fact she didn't feel like going to bed just yet.
Both of them said their farewells, to which the Manakete took advantage of and rushed off to Naga knows where. And now, Noella knew something was wrong. Almost everyone in camp was nowhere to be seen.
The white haired tactician double checked to make sure she had her silver sword, her magic tomes, and elixirs on her person before setting off. Thankfully, she did.
The eerie silence was disturbing as Noella walked through camp and into the woods to see Lissa. A few ants scuttled across a leaf, their antennae twitched as they felt her come towards them. The birds softly cooed in the canopy. As to whether they were oblivious towards to her presence or just didn't care, Noella didn't know. But no matter how many times she strained to hear human voices, the more the silence seemed to confound and unsettle her. Nature made noise. But her comrades refused to. They had to be lurking somewhere in this forest, it was the only logical reason she could come up with.
The path towards the lake was worn, showing faint footprints that had worn it down due to constant use. The ground was smooth, no rocks in sight, nor twisted tree roots. It was remarkably clear of anything that would hinder her movement, almost startlingly so. A cool breeze swept across her body, but ignored it even as the wind caused goose bumps to appear on her exposed arms.
The forest grew smaller and smaller, pushing her towards a clearing where very few trees grew. Underneath the sound of chirping birds and the sound of crickets, the sound of rushing water steadily grew louder. Right in front of her, with the forest behind her, a large spring fed lake stood before her in its silent tranquility.
Mindlessly Noella walked over to the water's edge, blankly gazing down at her reflection that stared back at her. Two dark brown eyes looked into hers, unblinking and unmoving even as the wind blew across the water's surface, distorting the image being reflected. When the image reformed, Noella's silhouette wasn't the only thing staring at her. Standing silently behind her was another person, a blond haired woman dressed primarily in yellow cloth. In the moonlight, Noella could see the light shining off of the War Cleric's metal staff, a faint blue glow emanating from a stone at the very top.
She spun, coming face to face with the young princess. "Lissa, why did you want to meet me here?" She asked, noticing how Lissa seemed to fiddle with her staff, still grinning ear to ear.
"I can't tell you, silly!" Lissa chuckled, obviously hiding something from her. At this point, Noella couldn't help but allow her right eyebrow to rise up in suspicion.
Lissa had a habit of playing pranks on her, but she was harmless and wouldn't do anything that could seriously harm her. Sure, the princess ruined one of her favorite books – but it didn't hurt her all that much. A book could be easily replaced.
Noella rubbed the bridge of her nose, praying that whatever the girl wanted to do to her didn't involve taking a dip in the lake. "Lissa, if there isn't anything you want-"
Lissa smile seemed to grow wider. "Noella, would you do me a favor? Could you close your eyes and keep them closed until I tell you to open them?" The young woman was reluctant to follow her request. But in the end, Lissa won with her pouty, puppy dog eyes.
"Ok my eyes are closed, now what?" A tiny hand grasped her left hand. "Just follow me." Lissa's loud girlish voice echoed inside her ears. Neave could only nod as the smaller woman encouraged her to move forward and deeper into the forest.
Twigs cracked under her plated boots, cutting through the silence as she mindlessly followed the War Cleric. Nature didn't bar their way, instead, it seemed to be on their side since Noella neither tripped nor stubbed her toe on any roots or stones. The dirt beneath her boots seemed flattened, like it was another path that people traveled along quite frequently.
Temporarily blind, Noella held onto Lissa's tightly hand, unconsciously taking note of how long this walk was talking. "We're almost there, Noella." She was sure Lissa let loose a giggle, worrying the tactician just a bit.
Slowly the scent of mold, moisture, and water seemed to evaporate in a matter of seconds. Scents like roasted duck, sugary sweets, and freshly baked bread filled her nose, practically having her salivating at the thought of food. And then, without any warning, Noella felt herself bump into something unpleasant
"Ouch…" She grumbled. Her hand rubbed her forehead that had now become sore and tender. "Ah!" Noella could feel the pigtailed girl jump, startled either by the silly accident or the sudden contact between the two of them.
"I'm so sorry Noella!"
"I'm fine." The white haired tactician shot back, eyes still glued shut. "Can I open my eyes now?" She asked. In the background, mummers began to suddenly appear out of now where. From what she could determine, none of the voices seemed to come from Lissa.
There was a pregnant pause before Lissa answered. "Yes, you can open them." Noella swiftly opened her eyes the moment those words left the pigtailed War Cleric's lips and the sight before her astounded her. All around there was food piled on top of rather long tables; fruits, vegetables, sugary confections, and drinks of all kinds teased her dark brown eyes. And around all that food, Noella saw her friends' familiar faces. Chrom sat at the nearest table, smiling and waving at Noella like his usual, non-kingly self. Nowi on the other hand, was busy stuffing her face and chugging various liquid refreshments down her throat. That was expected. There was a no sign of Tharja but knowing her, the dark mage was silently watching from the shadows with her husband, Libra
Noella noticed Yarne, Nah, and Lucina chatting up a storm under a tree to the far left. "Ah! This… tastes like a thousand suns dipped in gold, drenched in warmth and bliss…" Noella could hear Owain in the background describing the flavors of every single food he could get his hands on. The boy tended to go overboard, just a tad.
Tiny paper lanterns floated in the air above everyone, held up, no doubt, by Ricken's magic. Looking at everyone smiling and dancing (Inigo and Olivia mainly), it seemed like Noella as in the middle of a festival. It was surreal.
"Why are you staring? Come and join the fun, this is for you!" Someone poked her in the side, causing her to snap her head over to the offender. Chrom smiled at her like usual, offering her a strawberry with his outstretched hand.
Curious, Noella prodded him for further explanation. "What do you mean for me?" The blue haired prince laughed. "You don't know the day you were born, yes?" Noella nodded. "Well then, consider today to be your birthday!" Chrom shoved the fruit into Noella's hands before addressing his sister. "I'll be taking her for a few minutes. I'll bring her back." Chrom's hands pressed against her back, pushing her in the direction of the merriment. In the background Lissa shouted, "Have fun!"
Everything after that was a blur. The young tactician was pelted with gifts from her friends as they wished her a very happy birthday. It was endearing, more so shocking, but extremely sweet. Nearly two years ago, on this same day, she had awakened in a field only to be found and recruited by Chrom. It was very amusing to see that Chrom had orchestrated such an event under her nose. Better yet, that he had managed to keep his sister from the spilling the beans on such a lovely event.
"Hey Noella watch out!" The warning came too late as a piece of cake flew at her face, splattering her with pink frosting and chocolate cake. The white haired woman wiped the cake off quickly enough, eyeing Nowi who was currently sporting a very smug looking grin. Feeling devious, Noella scooped up a piece of cake from a nearby plate, and flung it at the little Manakete. The tiny green haired woman was quick to duck as the cake flew through the air. Noella winced as the cake hit Sully in the chest, splattering pink and green frosting all over her recently cleaned armor. It wasn't until three seconds later that there was cake flying through the air, this time hitting Chrom in the face as he tried to speak to his wife Olivia. From there, an all out cake war began.
Sadly, the war was cut short due to Mirabelle's loud protests about how childish and undignified all of them were acting. So the fun was cut short and everyone went back to eating and joking with one another.
Noella spied Gaius and Sumia chatting away in a remote corner, Virion singing a pretty sappy love song to Sully, and Ricken and Miriel testing out some sort of experiment far away from everyone else. Walhart was nowhere to be seen among all the participants, Gangrel included. Then again, Noella figured they weren't likely to attend even if they were forced to; Walhart had been very clear about his dislike for social events, and Gangrel commented on how lackluster parties were. They didn't have enough blood for his liking. Noella sighed.
Emmeryn's green robes drew Noella's attention to the three siblings: Chrom, Lissa, and Emmeryn sitting together at a heavily crowded table. All three siblings seemed so happy, smiling and laughing without a care in the world. It was such a heartwarming moment; one Noella was pleased to watch.
And then there was Yen'fay; Say'ri's older brother and an enigma to almost everyone in the camp. It wasn't surprising that she was unable find him among the party goers. It was a tad worrying since the war was over and he had no purpose now. It was quite possible he had left, without saying so much as a goodbye to everyone.
Noella felt a pain in her chest when that thought crossed her mind. It hurt to think he would just up and leave without saying goodbye, but then again, he never liked parties. He said they were rather distracting, and kept him from practicing. There were a few times she and Lissa had practically pulled him up off the ground to join them for dinner or breakfast, scolding him and reminding him he needed to socialize a bit more. Sure, it seemed cruel to do such a thing to him, but it did help. After five times of dragging him to the lunch tents, he soon got into the habit of eating with everyone else. Lissa and Noella smiled to one another, silently expressing their small victory. In fact Owain, Lon'qu, and Anna liked to talk to him, coaxing him out of his shell bit by bit. She couldn't help but grin when she saw him talking to the others, having what she hoped, was a normal conversation with another person. The young woman was so lost in her own thoughts she barely registered the person standing right in front of her.
"Ah, there you are." Noella broke out of her perpetual slump and looked up. A smile lit up on her face the moment she recognized who it was standing before her. It was Yen'fay.
"Hello, Yen'fay." A loud crash came from behind. Sumia was sputtering apologies to Chrom and Gaius, saying she was sorry for knocking the punch bowl over and getting them all wet in the background.
The disturbance didn't seem to distract the white haired swordsman in the least. "I have something important I wish to discuss with you, in private." Noella couldn't help but feel curious now. "Oh? What is it, Yen'fay?"
The swordsman shifted uneasily in front of her, being oddly quiet all of sudden. And then, he gestured towards a remote area, far away from everyone else and prying eyes. Noella nodded, quickly following him towards their destination without so much as a word spoken.
This was quite worrisome. Yen'fay normally had no trouble speaking to her out in public, seeing as she bumped into him all the time in the middle of camp. Those chats usually lasted for a quite a bit while she tried to cheer him up and steer him towards a brighter future. Had something happened to Yen'fay that caused him to be secretive all of a sudden? Perhaps, she swallowed hard; he wanted to bid her farewell.
"Is something wrong, Noella?" She heard Yen'fay's worried voice broke through her conflicting thoughts. Quickly she shook her head, sending her long white hair flying for a brief moment. "No, I'm fine Yen'fay. Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?" She smiled, preparing for the dreaded goodbye that would have them going their separate ways.
Noella was pretty sure her smile wasn't helping the situation. Yen'fay paused, staring at her with his closed eyes and paying close attention to their companion's voices. "It's about our talk… regarding my life after the war. Though this may be presumptuous, I would beg a boon of you."
So this was really a goodbye. Noella sighed and kept smiling in order to lessen the pain and make this as easy as possible for the both of them. "I'd be delight to help any way I can. What is it?"
"After we reach Ylisse, I shall be wandering, without purpose…" His voice trailed off. Noella could feel a dull ache inside her chest, reminding her that Yen'fay was truly a ghost, fleeting and always out of reach.
The young woman felt the air in her lungs suddenly leave her when he added, "When that happens, I want you at my side." Noella couldn't fathom what he was saying, or what he meant when he said 'at my side.' Wasn't he meaning to part ways here?
"I'm… not sure what you mean…?" Her white eyebrows knitted together in confusion, wiping away the forced smile off of her lips. Yen'fay raised his hand in the air, quelling the questions she wished to fling at him.
Music began playing in the background, possibly Olivia's or Brady's doing. The sound was lively and joyous, much like her friends and comrades she had fought with for two years or less.
Yen'fay shifted in place, lowering his hand back down to his side. "Let me explain, Noella." He began, gaining the woman's undivided attention. "You have been so kind to me. Advising me. Helping me. On each occasion, you gave me the inner strength to persevere..." Noella heard his voice trail off for a moment, contemplating how to put his feelings to words. "I've begun to believe that with your help, I could reach my final home."
Noella felt a frown spread across her face, eyebrows knitted together as her brain refused to make sense of his words. "But, how…?" She wanted a clear answer, something she could understand so she could fulfill whatever boon Yen'fay wanted of her.
And answer he did, although he never clearly said what boon he wanted from her until the very end. "In life, there are many paths we can follow and many choices to be made. It is far easier to find your way if you have someone with you. Someone you trust." Noella could faintly hear the wind picking up as Yen'fay paused once again, his face turning a faint shade of red. "Someone you love… Or so I have come to believe, thanks to you."
His confession hit her like a ton of bricks, leaving her breathless far longer than she liked. At first she expected this to be about goodbyes. But in fact, he had just- proposed to her, saying he wished her to be with him when he eventually parted ways with everyone else once they reached Ylisse's castle.
It was surreal to think someone thought about her more than just a friend, more than a sister. All this time Noella had resigned the thought of marrying, even though she could have if she wished to. It was just, she thought of everyone here as her friends, nothing more. With Yen'fay, it was the exact opposite. Her chest hurt when she thought about him leaving for good, not even saying goodbye to her. She also remembered how her face turned bright red on multiple occasions when they talked, and when either one of them dusted the other off, and spun them towards a brighter future. Yen'fay had been her confidant when she couldn't find a reason to smile, and she had been his when he felt he was nothing more than a tool to be used and abused. During their time together, she convinced him he was human and could find his own path to walk while he still breathed. He could anything he pleased once the war was over, maybe travel the world and find his own path. And Yen'fay in turn, listened to her fears and helped her to laugh again in his own strange way.
If not for him, Noella was sure she wouldn't be standing before him right now, listening to his confession.
Without realizing it, Noella had kept her silence for too long and it showed upon Yen'fay's otherwise neutral looking face. He looked hurt, as if her silence meant she didn't wish to be with him.
"If I have offend-"
Noella shook her head to try and rectify her mistake. "No, you haven't done anything wrong! Yen'fay, I'm…" Blood flushed to her face, staining her cheeks a bright, crimson color. "..I'm… so happy to hear you say that, you have no idea! I love you too." Joy ran through her body, creating a tingling sensation inside her stomach as she kept smiling at the man she had come to care deeply for.
She wasn't sure when she hugged him after that, nor when the white haired swordsman hugged her back. The only thing she noticed was her face bore a similar shade of red that was currently spread across Yen'fay's face. "I feel the same way… I never want to leave your side. Whatever happens. We will find our way, you and I both. And we'll find it together." She muttered against his clothing, feeling the strange material brush across her skin. It was only then she realized, someone was bound to come looking for either one of them, most likely to toss more cake at her or give her another present. If anything, she prayed that Sully, Lissa, Sumia, or Virion were not the first ones to find them together like this. It would be terribly awkward.
The music in the background seemed to get louder, the sound of a violin drowning out everyone's voices with its sweet sounding music. Someone had persuaded Brady to play his violin for the party. Noella wasn't sure if she should be happy or worried about this.
But there was one thing the music couldn't mask, and that was Yen'fay's voice. "Yes, together…." It sounded like he wanted to say something else, but their friends seemed to have other ideas.
It wasn't long before a green haired Manekete and War Cleric came around, noisily arguing with one another over something silly. And then, they screeched like some sort of hawk going in for the kill.
"Chrom! Chrom! Noella and Yen'fay finally got hitched!" Lissa loudly exclaimed, smiling and laughing up a storm. No doubt Lissa was happy to know the young tactician, after two years of roaming the world, had finally found someone she could spend the rest of her life with.
After all, it didn't look like she was going to marry until now.
As quickly as they embraced, both Yen'fay and Noella separated and faced the two young girls, faces bright red with embarrassment.
Nowi grinned, showing off her pointed dragon teeth. "Yay!" She threw her hands up in the air, practically jumping for joy before flying at the tactician and embracing her in a heartfelt hug. "Now you get to have some fun!" Nowi's words took on a different meaning inside Noella's head, causing her blush to turn a deeper shade of crimson.
Someone whistled in the background, reminding her of a certain sugar thief. "Well Bubbles, good going on getting proposed on your birthday." She literally wanted to hurt her friends now; the teasing was way too much now.
"Oh leave her be! It's her birthday; don't freak her out before the day is done!" Sully's voice boomed, as she strolled towards the commotion with her husband in tow. Now Noella had had hands over her face, praying Virion wasn't going to comment on their new union.
He did, and she wanted to run and hide now. Noella was fairly sure Yen'fay wanted to leave this awkward mess that their friends had created. Some might call this sweet, how they congratulated the two of them, and embarrassed them to death.
Celebrations sure were fun, weren't they?