"Be sure to diligently care for your pegasus every day. The bond that you two form is key to ensuring victory in any battle."
The new Pegasus Knight trainees listened intently to Cordelia and nodded in understanding as they turned to their pegasi and resumed the proper grooming procedures. A small smile crossed Cordelia's face. Ever since the defeat of the fell dragon, she had been busy instructing the newest batch of Pegasus Knights, and they were turning out to be a surprisingly talented lot. She was confident that they would be excellent defenders of Ylisse in due time.
Everyone had been in high spirits lately, especially since Robin had been found and returned to Ylisstol. Frederick was noticeably happier, obviously, but the purple-haired tactician had made friends with everyone around her, so the general mood about the castle had been heightened exponentially. Nonetheless, Cordelia was feeling sad and lonely.
A large sigh escaped her lips. When Grima had been defeated, she had hoped to return to Ylisstol and resume a normal life with Gregor at her side. However, his wanderlust had crept back up to him, and he had left on a long journey across the country three months ago. He had wanted her to go with him, but she had responsibilities now, and she could not leave while there were eager young women who wanted to train to become Pegasus Knights. She had wanted to ask him to stay, but she couldn't bring herself to. Gregor was a free spirit and loved to travel, and she didn't want to hold him back from being happy. She also knew that he would indeed return to her someday. That thought still didn't ward off the loneliness, however, and she sighed deeply again.
"Oy, He knows he mention this before, but his Cordelia sigh more than anyone else in the land! Such a troubled soul indeed!"
Cordelia's eyes widened in shock as the voice hit her ears, and she quickly whipped around. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She removed her hands from her eyes and he was still there, with a huge, goofy grin on his face. A large smile slowly spread across Cordelia's face, and she was so overwhelmed with emotion that happy tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes.
"Gregor!"
Her lance fell to the ground as her legs carried her across the field as fast as they could, and she jumped and barreled right into Gregor. He grunted as he caught her under her legs and managed to stay on his feet. Cordelia wrapped her arms around him and hugged his head to her chest, laughing and crying tears of joy.
"Oh Gregor! I missed you so much!" she cried out happily, and she still didn't fully believe that this was actually happening.
"Yes, Gregor miss his Cordelia as well, but he prefer if she do not suffocate him to death!" Gregor said, his voice muffled as his face was currently crushed against her as she tightly held him in place.
"Oh! Sorry!" Cordelia said, quickly loosening her grip on Gregor's head. He chuckled as he looked up at her with admiration in his eyes.
"Ah, his Cordelia look just as beautiful as when he left. Gregor so sorry for being gone so long, love. He missed her so, so much." Gregor said as he nuzzled his cheek against hers.
"It's alright, I'm just so happy you're back here with me." Cordelia said, her voice dropping to a whisper as she pressed her forehead against his. He sighed contently and closed his eyes.
"Gregor not leave his Cordelia for that long ever again. Loneliness got too painful and he had to return most quick like. Next trip will be together, eh?" he said as he opened his eyes and met her gaze.
Cordelia smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'd love that." and she finally leaned down and kissed him passionately. Gods, she missed kissing him. She smiled against his lips and felt him do the same, and everything finally felt right in the world.
A chorus of 'awws' and giggling reminded her that they were not alone, and Cordelia broke the kiss. She looked over to find her trainees watching them and her face flushed red with embarrassment, while Gregor laughed heartily.
"Oh, um...Well, I, ah, think that's enough training for today. You're all dismissed until tomorrow." Cordelia said sheepishly as she let Gregor set her back on the ground. As the trainees took their leave, Gregor pulled Cordelia back into his arms and kissed her again, and she gladly reciprocated.
"Ah, Gregor is so so glad to be back!" he said when they parted, and he laced his fingers with hers.
"And your Cordelia is glad to have you back." she said, giggling as she gave his fingers a gentle squeeze. "You'll have to tell me all about your trip."
"Yes, yes! Gregor see so many different places and people! He visited one village that..." Gregor began, and they stood out on the field, talking for hours, and it suddenly felt like he hadn't even been gone all this time. And now he was here to stay, and she couldn't wait to see what life had in store for the two of them.