A/N: A short little drabble I had one night. Wish there was more to say about it but it's just one of those things where I type out the central part of it and it just feels like nothing else needs to be added to it. Like this is all that needs to be said. One day I'll get a solid idea again.
"My father used to tell me that the moment you show fear in front of your men, you've already lost them. I used to think he was just being crazy but when I look back on it now… he never once showed fear. He never once second-guessed himself and he never even went back on his word, no matter how small it was. If he said that we were going to dispatch the bandits easily, we did; if he said he was going to be home at dusk, he was. I look back on this because… that's the Commander I need to be now and I'm not… I don't think I ever will be."
"Just like a Commander, a ruler cannot allow her country to see her fear or even get the hint of her discomfort. The moment the country sees fear, it panics and like a horse, it darts off into the direction it sees is the safest. Unfortunately… panic and fear distorts the vision and sometimes it runs head first into the cause of the trouble. Just a tiny little slip in the eyes or a crack in the voice, and people question. They question everything and… things get blown out of proportion but by the time that step is reached it's too late. There are no more edges to grab on to."
"You're handling it well though."
She chuckled lightly and pushed herself into the tent; letting the thick cover flap fall close behind her. "Keep talking to me about it and you'll figure out that it's not quite as perfect as I make it to be."
"As long as you can pull it off, that's all the country needs." He replied; setting his sword aside as he sat down on the edge of his cot. "It may seem pretty harsh but the country doesn't need to know the details. As long as it knows that it's safe, then there will be no complaints."
"The thing about a country is that there will always be complaints." She humored. "People are always looking to create a mess when it isn't needed."
"Feels like that's becoming more common than normal now."
She smiled lightly as she walked forward and took his hands into her own. "I think we'll survive somehow."
"Maybe so." He spoke as he brought the back of her hands to his lips. "As long as we don't keep those facades up around each other."
"Ike, when was the last time we ever kept something from each other?" she questioned as she dipped down and pressed her forehead against his own.
He chuckled and moved his hands to rest on her hips. "Hmmm, let me think, there was that one time with the whole 'I love you but you're a Princess' and the 'Still love you, but hey you're a Queen now' and then the whole-"
"I get it." She interrupted.
"You asked the question; I was just trying to give the answer."