It was a curious thing, him constantly wanting to be around her. Not that she minded; she enjoyed his company. However, at first, that was a different story. Certainly, his love for death, macabre, and weirdness caught her off guard, and the unvarying smile on his face made her question his true motives, but she learned to look past those things and become his friend. By her side, always helping her in battle or cleaning, or finding new tactical books, he was no doubt useful. Not to mention his jokes; she was a sucker for corny jokes. She had even become friends with the flock of crows that always seemed to linger around the camp since he arrived.

Henry was a one of a kind young man, and despite his oddness, he was loved and respected by the Shepherds. It took some time for people to trust him due to his past alliance with Plegia, but when Panne revealed that he was the one to have warned her about Emmeryn's assassination, Chrom warmed up to him quickly. It did not take much time for Henry and Ricken to become best friends, and even Frederick became his confidant. Ricken looked up to the Dark Mage, whom had taught him so much about magic so quickly; at his and Nowi's wedding, Henry had stood by his side as his best man.

Not only was it curious that Henry wanted to be around her, but it was even more curious that she thought about him when he wasn't. As expected as a Shepherd, people took turns for the nightly watch; it was always in pairings, for one should never be alone. When it was his turn, she cared about his safety, and did not sleep well until she saw his was all right the following morning.

She thought about him as she sharpened her sword; she had decided to take the path of Hero instead of a Grandmaster. Henry, on the other hand, had become a Sorcerer. It was his turn again to be the night watch, and he had taken it alongside Ricken. Too deep in thought, she did not hear the flap to her tent open.

"Hey-o, Elena!"

Startled, she dropped the sword onto the ground and looked behind her to see Henry.

"Haha, whoopsie. Looks like I scared you," he laughed.

"Just… a bit," she breathed. He walked to her, bent down, and picked up her sword for her. He handed it to her, and she nodded in thanks. "How was the watch?"

"Uneventful. Even my crows were bored. They were just looking for something to CAWse a battle," Henry replied. Elena giggled; him and his crow jokes. "Ricken never seems to run out of things to talk about, either. He and Nowi are perfect for each other, haha."

"Aren't they, though?" Elena found herself giggle again.

"Boy, but Elena, you look beat. Did you not sleep last night?"

"Oh, I just was… sharpening my sword."

"All night? Must be pretty sharp by now! Ooo, it could probably cut a Risen clear in half!" Henry awed. "When you try it out, make sure I'm there!"

"You're always with me during battles anyway, Henry. You'll see it, I promise."

"Awesome!" Henry smiled at her, to which she returned the smile.

She rose to her feet and put the sword down on the chair she had been sitting on. Henry was a good foot and a half taller than she was, and her long, red hair cascaded down her back. Her brown eyes seemed to always be vigilant, but they also held compassion and love for her fellow soldiers. It amazed him how much she cared about others, and how she went out of her way to ensure everyone's happiness and wellbeing.

She started to walk toward him, but she suddenly froze, her face quickly and oddly changing to a look of utter horror. He saw her take a couple steps back and point at him with a shaky hand.

"What? Am I turning into a crow? Please tell me I'm turning into a crow!"

"B-b-b-BUG!" she squealed.

"A bug? Where?"

"ON YOUR SHOULDER!"

Henry looked on his left shoulder to see a Rhinoceros Beetle, and a big one at that. "Well, would you look at that?" he said as he stepped toward her.

"Do NOT bring that thing over here!" she panicked.

"Oh, come on, Elena, no need to be so CAWtious," he joked.

"This is not the time for jokes, Henry!"

Henry reached a hand up to his shoulder, and the beetle crawled on it. He brought the hand to in front of his face and examined it. "He's harmless! Just look at him."

"I will NOT. Oh GODS, look how huge!" Elena backed away further. "Get it out of my tent!"

"Okay, okay," he agreed. He walked to the flap, opened it, and held his hand out. The beetle flew away, and he closed the flap and turned to face her. "Bye-bye, Mr. Beetle." It was obvious she was upset, and for what reason, he did not know. "Don't worry, Elena, he's gone."

Her furrowed eyebrows eased, and soon, she found herself to be laughing. Henry raised an eyebrow, totally confused; just a second ago, she had been upset, and now she was laughing.

"Boy, you sure are crazy, you know that?" he spoke.

"I'm sorry," she giggled. "It was just so funny."

He stared at her a moment, then found himself to be laughing as well. "It is. You sure can kick some Risen butt, but bugs are a completely different story."

They laughed for a brief moment more. They found that with each other, laughter was a common event. It was a small blessing to have, during the time of war. Any time they could catch reprieve and enjoy each other's company they would seize the opportunity immediately. Moments not spent together felt almost wasted.

Elena made her way to him and looked up at him. "Thank you, Henry."

"No thanks needed! I'll gladly help you, Elena. Whatever you need," he said.

Warmness spread throughout her chest, and she found herself smiling at him. While smiles between the two were common, this smile was different and held so much more. Realizing that she more than likely looked stupid with a goofy smile on her face, she looked away.

"You should get some sleep while you can, Henry. We'll be pulling out of here soon."

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded. "See you in a bit."

Several days passed, and battles were fought, mostly with Risen. As usual, Henry and Elena fought side by side. While she was excellent with a sword, Henry's magic was impressively powerful. It seemed like a perfect duo; when she would attack, she would move to the side for Henry to use a spell. Often, he would protect her from an enemy assault by jumping in front of her and casting a barrier; it worried her when he would do this. It was a cycle, one that they were used to. It always worked, so no one complained.

But this battle was different. She should have been paying attention better, but she was distracted by the Risen that was in front of her. Behind her, she heard a grunt, a lightning spell cast, then a Risen moaning as it perished. Once she defeated her enemy, which was the last one, she turned to see Henry's back to her, his cape hiding him from her view.

"Henry?" she called. He did not reply, so she walked in front of him, shocked to see a deep wound on his side, which he held with his right hand. "Henry! You're hurt!"

"Seems so. Look at all this blood!" Henry said with a smile; it was not a mystery that his pain receptors were didn't function properly. "I wonder how much there is?"

"S-stay right here. I'm going to get Lissa," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," Henry nodded, ever so obedient. His legs shook, and he nearly fell off his feet. "Um, actually, I think I'll sit down."

As hastily as she could, she found Lissa and had her follow her to Henry. Miraculously, he was still conscious when they arrived, so Lissa healed him just enough to where the bleeding would stop. Once they returned to camp, she examined his wound more thoroughly and did what she could. It would leave a scar. Not that he minded; he, of course, thought it was awesome. Weak from blood loss, Lissa had him stay in the medical tent over night to keep a watch on him.

It was a sleepless night for Elena.

When morning arrived, she was still awake. In efforts to keep Henry's injury off her mind, she had taken out all her tactical books and alphabetized them. Then categorized them from most to least efficient. Then re-alphabetized them. She was working on putting them back up when Henry walked into her tent.

"Hey-o, Elena," he greeted. She turned around to see his usual smile, and she felt her heart ache. She could have lost him, and it would have been her fault. Sensing her distress, he walked up to her. "What's the matter? You didn't sleep again, huh? You look like a Risen right now."

"You sure know what to say to flatter a girl," Elena joked. "It's nothing."

"Well, I get the feeling that something's wrong. Did someone hurt you? I'll hex them into next week."

"It's nothing, Henry," she denied.

Henry's eyes met hers, and she could tell that he was studying her over to try to find what was wrong. Of course, he would never figure out that she had been concerned for him, and blamed herself for his wound; he never really thought about himself much. Unable to discern her troubles, he gave up.

"Y'okay!" He looked around her tent to see all her books out. "Cleaning out? Need some help?"

"I'm fine. You just got out of the medical tent; get some rest."

"But, I'm perfectly fine," he argued. "Let me help. If not, this is gonna take forever, and you'll miss breakfast. Perhaps even dinner."

How could someone be so crazy and so amazing at the same time? He wasn't normal- far from it, as a matter of fact. When she was around him, her stomach felt as though a million butterflies flew around inside, and her heart felt warm. Sure, he would worry her with his… oddness, but Tharja was much more concerning than he was. And when he was injured the day before, it scared the hell out of her. She had seen her fellow soldiers wounded before, and indeed, she worried. Yet, when he had been hurt, it was all she could do to not cry.

"Olivia and Donnel are getting married in three days," she heard Henry speak, breaking her out of her train of thought. She looked at him to see him putting some of her books in a crate.

"Oh, really? Aww, good for them! They're cute together," she beamed.

Most of the Shepherds were married already: Chrom and Sumia, Ricken and Nowi, Gaius and Sully, Stahl and Lissa, Maribelle and Vaike, Lon'qu and Cherche, Cordelia and Kellam, Tharja and Virion, Panne and Frederick, and Miriel and Gregor had all found love. Elena thought about marriage often, and if she would ever have someone fall for her. Libra seemed interested in her, but she never thought of him that way.

"Yup! They asked if we would come. Sort of hard not to, considering they're getting married in the camp, nya ha."

"I'm definitely going," Elena smiled widely, returning to her task. "I bet Olivia is going to be beautiful."

She unexpectedly heard some books fall to the floor, and when she looked around, she saw Henry sitting in the floor, holding onto his side. Immediately, she set her books down and hurried to his side, where she knelt down next to him. She knew he should have taken it easy and gotten rest; it had only been a day since he had received his wound.

"Are you okay?" she asked, deeply concerned.

"Whoa. That was intense," he spoke. "The room was spinning around. Like I was on a carousel, and it was on the highest speed ever."

"That's an… interesting analogy, Henry. But, you didn't answer my question."

"Nya ha, don't worry about me," he answered.

"If I don't worry about you, who will?"

Henry looked down at the ground. "You must really care about me."

This statement took her by surprise, and she found herself unable to say anything in return. She looked to the ground as well, trying to think of something to say. It was true; she cared about him a great deal. What seemed to be an small electrical shock ran through her body as she felt his hand on top of hers. Her eyes relocated to see Henry's face so close to her own. Before she could stop it, her cheeks turned a deep crimson. Why did this feel so right? She dared not turn away from him. Not now.

She finally found the words to say. "Of course I do. More than… anyone."

He moved slowly in to her, and their lips were so close, nearly touching. She could have sworn to hear her own heart beat.

"That's good to hear," he whispered. "Because I care about you, too."

Finally, the gap between them closed as he placed his lips on hers. Every bit of oxygen she had left her lungs, and this time, it felt as though the room was spinning for her. His lips were so soft, as were hers to him. It hit her then how much she wanted, needed this, and for it to be from him. When he pulled away, both let out a laugh to see that their cheeks were nearly infrared, but nonetheless, they were elated it had happened. He continued to surprise her; she would have never thought him to have a sweet side. They smiled at each other, letting the moment sink in-

"Achoo!" they heard from the flap to the tent.

"Ricken! Way to give us away!" they heard Nowi fuss.

"Nowi! They would've just thought it was someone passing by had you not said something!" Ricken fussed back.

"What are you two doing?" Elena asked. The two opened the flap, guilt written all over their faces.

"We were coming to check on Henry. Lissa said he was heading here," Ricken began.

"But then we saw you two about to kiss, and we just couldn't interrupt!" Nowi confessed.

"So, you watched us instead?" Elena questioned, humility and disbelief in her tone.

"Um, is there a wrong answer to this question?" Ricken sheepishly replied with another question. Elena slammed the palm of her hand to her forehead, and with a shriek, Ricken and Nowi sprinted off.

"Gods, Ricken. You ruined their moment!" they heard Nowi fuss as the two ran away.