It was almost too calm.
Corrin waited patiently as the water to the kettle slowly heated up.
Did she deserve this sense of relief?
It had been a day since Kaze, Sakura, and her retainers joined her cause. She almost couldn't believe it was real.
When she had made her choice, it didn't take long before her bravado left her. When both Xander and Ryoma rejected her choice, the moment she got back to the Astral Realms, the weight of her decision had crashed down on her. She didn't know where she would even begin. For all the years she had wished to be away from the Northern Fortress, her freedom was shattered with so much loss. In such short days, she had lost Gunter, became separated from the her family of the fortress, separated from her Nohrian siblings, and after briefly discovering her Hoshidan family...lost her mother, and was pushed away from all she loved...
Just because she couldn't choose. Because she loved them all. Because she selfishly believed that happiness should not require sacrifice.
She knew now that she was wrong.
And when she, Azura, and Jakob fled to the Astral Realm, she was struck by how big the world was, and how small her family suddenly became.
That night, when Jakob tried to serve her tea, she had left it on her table, cold. She spent her night crying, not letting him go.
"It's just us now, isn't it? Gunter's gone. I probably won't ever see Felicia or Flora again. Or Xander, or Camilla...Leo probably hates me now. And I must have broken poor Elise's heart." She went on, speaking of Lilith, then naming her Hoshidan siblings, choking over her words as she described every detail she had learnt of them in such short days, gushed all of her regrets to him, experiencing hyperventilation, feeling numb and cold in his arms.
And he had held her tight, brushed his hands through her silver locks, and listened to every word. Gently, he had wrapped her in her blanket to keep her warm, and let her lean her weight against him.
And when the flow of her tears finally began to subside, she selfishly commanded: "Don't ever leave my side, Jakob. Don't ever scare me by disappearing from my life. If I lose you, too..."
So he had reassured her. Reverently, he sung her praises, reminding her every bit that he would never abandon the guiding light in his life.
And the next morning, when she woke to find him at the side of her bed, asleep in what could be the most uncomfortable position in his chair, she realized how much he had done for her, and she felt that every 'thank you' and every bit of praise she had given him would not be enough in comparison.
And so she asked him to teach her how to make tea.
Corrin had potential, one that allowed her to be good at anything she can pick up, within physical constraints, so long as given ample practice.
Her prior attempts had all been somewhat bitter, but tonight, she will get it right.
Gunter was still alive. Sakura and Kaze trusts her. She was beginning to see hope in her cause. She will prevail. She will gain back what she had lost, and more. And she never wanted to take any moment of experience for granted ever again.
The kettle whistled. She carefully lifted it and poured the steaming liquid over the leaves. Capping the pot, she turned the small hourglass.
Light tendrils of steam escaped from the teapot.
She wanted all of her gratitude to be in this effort she was making. She had told Jakob that she wanted to be able to do something for him...more than what she had already done. The acts of kindness from their past, that he so reverently held onto even now, were but in the past.
Their lives have changed. And so will change the way she can appreciate his efforts.
The sand flowed lightly. Behind her, she could hear armored footsteps.
There was only one person at her castle fort who wore armor that heavy right now. And she had heard those steps for so many years...
"Lady Corrin. What a surprise to see you in the kitchen."
As she expected, when she turned, she was greeted by Gunter. A smile gently brightened her face. "Gunter! Good afternoon!"
"Afternoon, Milady. Is that a pot of tea I see? Where's Jakob? I've never seen him not perform his duty and leave you to make your own tea. Should I seek out that boy for you, princess?"
She chimed in light laughter. "No, Gunter. It's all right. I've been wanting to practice." Turning back to the hourglass by the teapot, she wistfully stated: "The past...I don't think I can ever regain. The new future after the war...I don't know where that would lead us. All these years, my life felt stagnant, and now that it flows again, I can't help but feel that I have taken many things for granted. I was foolish to believe that all the good things will always remain so..."
The top half of the hourglass emptied. She removed the leaves from the pot. Gunter gently moved beside her, observing her movements, making she she didn't hurt herself.
"You all have taken such good care of me. But as a person...as Corrin, just myself, a girl who was sheltered from the world, I feel like I have never been able to repay such kindness. It felt so good to be under such love and care. And all of you...deserve the same." Gently, she poured a cup of tea out, and offered it to Gunter. "Please, tell me how it is. Don't hold back."
Gunter didn't say a word. Slowly, the veteran accepted the fine china cup from her, and sipped its contents.
"...to anyone else, it would be an average cup of tea, Lady Corrin. But to us, whom you dedicate this to, with such care and kindness, then it is the best tea in the world." He gave her a smile of pride and gratitude, and returned to her an empty cup. "You have grown up to be a fine young princess. We are lucky to have you as our liege."
Tears welled at the corner of her eyes. "Thank you, Gunter. Thank you, for everything so far, and for everything that is to come." She began to set new teacups and the pot of tea on a tray, added a bowl of sugar and a small pitcher of milk to it, as she liked her tea with the sweet and smooth flavors.
"...Would you like for me to tell him to meet you for tea?" Gunter could easily guess whom she would like to have her tea.
"Please. At my quarters. But don't tell him about having tea. He will always come with tea if I ask him over for tea. And I want this to be a surprise." She paused, considering something. "He fainted last time I even mentioned how I wanted to do something for him out of consideration. I hope this surprise won't be too heart-stopping. Things are a bit awkward after a fainting spell..."
The great knight chuckled. "Milady, I hazard to say that you need not worry. Your consideration more than likely is what keeps his heart beating."
"Milady? Is this...?"
Jakob stood at the doorframe with reverent awe.
Corrin sat at the table, the scent of tea emanating from the set on her table.
"Please sit with me, Jakob." She beckoned, a spark of glee in her eyes, and stood to pour the red liquid into the two empty cups. In his eyes, she exuded a grace of her own. Her movements different from his practiced ones, yet it was so endearing.
"...You always took you tea the same way I did when we had tea together. Is that how you would like your tea?" She continued as she added some milk and sugar to her own cup, stirring it gently with the silver spoon, careful for the silver to not meet the porcelain.
Jakob hadn't moved from the doorframe. He was still gazing at the scene before him, awestruck.
She glanced up and noticed that he hadn't moved. "Jakob? Come on in." Her smile was radiant.
He finally realized that she had asked him a question prior. "I find merit in many forms of tea. Please prepare mine how you see fit, Milady."
As he watched her, he also made way to his seat. And when she finished, he could see that she eagerly await for him to taste it.
So he gingerly lifted the teacup to his lips, his metal gauntlets barely clinking against the cup.
Was it the flavor of the tea that made his heart flutter? No, it the expectant expression on her face. Since recovering Gunter, and now gaining Princess Sakura to her cause, her mood had been lifting. More than that, in fact.
Outside of the cage of the fortress, he could see that she was finally stretching her wings, growing, and changing.
"Your tea is wonderful, Lady Corrin. I...I'm undeserving of this treatment."
"Hush now." She chided in soft laughter. "I meant what I said, Jakob. I want to be able to do something for you, because you have done so much for me. You said that I can't deny you your reason to live...but Jakob, life is different now. Every moment is too precious to continue in the same monotonous way. And I so desperately want...to let you and others experience the same kind of kindness that I receive."
A thousand words were caught on his tongue. He wanted to let her know how he already felt her kindness, how she didn't have to do anything different. But in this dream-like reality, he could feel an emotion that he had tried so hard to suppress for years...
Like the breaking of surface tension from a glass of water, filled over the brim, the emotion overflowed.
"Milady, I..."
But he knew he couldn't say it.
"I'm touched. Even though you had said so, I still find myself surprised that you would go through all this effort for me."
"Then know that this is how I feel, too. Towards everything you do for me." She looked so pleased, to be able to convey that message. "Would you like another cup?"
And so he indulged in the moment, trying his best to ignore the gnawing feeling in his chest that told him he was to the point of no return.
And so Corrin realized, as she watched him receive her care, that she didn't want this to be the only time she could do this for him.
She wanted this feeling to last.
He feared that the taste would make every moment onward pale in comparison to now.
And as the two let this new experience wash over, they would come to be more acutely aware of each other...
To the point that in subsequent days, Corrin would notice and worry on why Jakob tried to make himself scarce. And Jakob would stress when he saw her looking for him...believing that he was at a stalemate, knowing that leaving would hurt her, but thinking that staying close would break them.
Once upon a time, in the past, it would have been hard to believe that something as mundane as tea could lead to now. But if one had looked between all of those moments, it would have been clear...what better foundation for love, than such devotion found on kindness?