Amor Vincit Omnia
Title Translation: Love conquers all (sorry if my Latin's off, I literally took that from my Vocabulary book from school).
A/N: This was originally a request for Diedra D'Nai, but it ended up not following the prompt, so I'll be writing a new one for that. However, I liked this one enough to post it anyway.
--
At a small, round table on Castle Crimea's large, cement patio sat the Royal Knights' commander, General Geoffrey. Next to him, Queen Elincia was also watching the scene before them in amusement. The azure-haired man chuckled.
Do I dare to help my sister? he questioned inwardly.
Within range of their table the couple noticed the Count of Fayre was once again attempting to woo the general's sister. The blonde man held her by her wrists, refusing to release his grip on her. As he did so, he sputtered out comments that were beyond insane. Lucia, try as she might, could not break free of his grasp.
All of a sudden, he let go of her. Geoffrey and Elincia were both stunned, but figured that the girl must have found yet another reason to avoid him.
The count stood there, appearing quite confused, as Lucia made her way over to where her brother and sister-in-law were seated. She pulled out one of the table's chairs and took a seat--causing Geoffrey to give her a look of pure annoyance.
"Well, Lucia, I see that Count Bastian's been at it again!" Elincia smirked.
"Yes, I do wish he'd give it a break every now and then..."
"But, Sister, you honestly should give him a chance."
"Geoffrey! How can you say that? He's just so--"
She was cut off when a man's hands were placed upon her shoulders. She turned around to protest, but smiled when she saw the hawk king's "eyes" standing there.
"Janaff!"
He smiled back at her.
"Well hello, cutie."
Geoffrey rolled his eyes at the comment. Why was his sister actually talking to this...this...laguz?! And how dare he call her "cutie!" He clenched his fist when the hawk didn't remove his hands from the general's sister's shoulders.
"Janaff, if you would...remove your hands from my sister!"
The hawk jumped back, startled.
"O-of course, General..."
Lucia rolled her eyes at her brother and turned back to Janaff.
"Don't mind my brother, Janaff...he's, well, insane, to put it nicely. Did you need anything?"
"Actually, I had hoped to speak with you...in private, if I may."
"Of course."
Janaff took her hand in his and helped her up from her seat. He pushed the chair back in as Geoffrey and Elincia glanced at each other. The azure-haired woman smiled when the winged man took her hand and led her away from the table.
Her brother slammed his fist against the table as he watched them leave, causing his wife to jump from her seat.
"Geoffrey..." She placed her hands upon his fist.
"How dare he?! Who does he think he is to just talk to my sister in such a way?! In such a way that..." He trailed off.
"In such a way as friends would speak?" She finished his sentence for him.
"Yes! That's exactly it!"
The queen chuckled as she stood up from the table and placed a hand upon the general's shoulder.
"Did you ever think that maybe they are friends?"
"He's...a commoner!"
"Actually, in laguz terms, he's practically nobility."
"I don't care, he has no right to--"
"He has every right to talk to her. Maybe you should learn a thing or two about love..."
With that, the queen walked back towards the castle, leaving Geoffrey utterly confused. Had she really just referenced to love? She couldn't mean that Lucia... No, it wasn't possible...
--
"Janaff, this is beautiful..." Lucia gasped at the scene before them.
"Isn't it?"
Directly in front of them, water gushed through the waterfall, soaking all rocks in its path, and fell at their feet. On each side of the running water were plants sporting petals of various shades of red and pink. Their green leaves matched those of the trees that surrounded them. Small yellow buds peaked out everywhere, adding to the beauty of the scene.
Nearby, a dirt path led into the unknowns of a golden-yellow sunset. Small pink flowers, one of which the hawk had previously plucked and placed in the woman's hair, adorned the edges of the soil.
The lush green grass blew beneath their feet in the slight wind. In the numerous trees that dotted the forest sat a large range of animals from birds to small mammals. A herd of deer grazed a few feet away, seemingly unaware of the beorc and laguz that occupied the land close by.
Lucia stared at the scene in front of her, stunned.
"I hadn't known such a place existed in Crimea, let alone this close to the castle..."
Upon receiving no reply, the noblewoman turned around. The sight she was met with was majestic. Behind two twin trees, the sun shone brightly. She squinted her eyes a bit to see her companion kneeling before them.
"L-Lucia..."
"Janaff? Is something wrong?"
She rushed over to where he knelt and noticed something in his palm. He gently took her hands in his before speaking.
"Lucia...I love you, and...I-I would be honored to have you as my wife. I know that you're a beorc and a noble and all, but I just can't live with out you. Please...I--"
His list went on and on before the girl finally chuckled and placed her index finger to his lips.
"Janaff...what made you think I would say no?"
"I-I don't know... Wait, does that mean...?"
She laughed again.
"Yes, Janaff, it does."
He jumped up from his position and grabbed her into his arms, hollering like a madman in the process. The sudden excitement caused the deer to bolt from their position, which in turn caused Lucia to shake her head.
Their lips met before he slipped the ring onto her finger. She held her hand out to admire it, noting the jewelry's perfect fit.
"Janaff, I love you, but..."
"But?"
"I won't marry you if your clothes are soaked like this."
The hawk gave her a confused look, but she only laughed once more and nodded towards his legs. Looking down, the man realized that kneeling on the forest floor next to the running water of a waterfall wasn't such a great idea after all.
They both laughed before he took her arm and led her back to the castle. Geoffrey definitely wasn't going to like this...
--
The general stood staring out the window, awaiting the arrival of his sister. Rain had begun pouring down upon Crimea a short time ago and now it was actually pelting the castle's outer walls. Where could she be?
Next to him, Queen Elincia and Count Bastian both sat, anxiously. The count stood up and began pacing the hall while the queen drummed her fingers against her chair impatiently. If Lucia didn't hurry up, she was surely to catch a cold.
Suddenly, the door burst open and Lucia and Janaff emerged from the outside world, both dripping wet. Geoffrey shook his head. What was he doing here?
The blonde-haired sage quickly dashed over to Lucia and took her hand.
"Milady, do you fare well? Has this beast harmed my pretty little dove? If he's even laid a hand on you, I'll--" He stopped dead in his tracks as he examined her finger and the ring which rested upon it. "M-Milady?"
"Bastian, is something the matter?" Geoffrey inquired, moving closer to his sister.
"G-General, I... She... How?"
"Possibly you could try modern tongue, Milord?" The general chuckled to himself until he, too, noticed the ring on his sister's finger. "Lucia...?"
She pulled her hand away from the count's grasp as Janaff wrapped his arms around her, attempting to comfort her. Elincia stood up and stared at the four near her castle's entrance.
"Lucia, Geoffrey, what's going on?"
"This...this beast! He's..."
"Geoffrey? What's wrong?"
As she moved closer, the queen could see the worried expression on her foster-sister's face. Janaff softly stroked her hair while Geoffrey glared at him. Bastian looked heartbroken.
And then, she saw it. The diamond that had been placed on Lucia's finger. She understood everything at that moment: Geoffrey's anger, Bastian's loneliness, Lucia's fright, and Janaff's worry. It all made sense.
"Lucia!" she exclaimed, causing Geoffrey to look at her, puzzled.
The queen threw her arms around her best friend's neck, pulling her closer and soaking her own clothes in the process. The other woman tried to back away at first, but realized that that wasn't going to happen and hugged her queen back.
"Lucia, I'm so happy for you!" She pulled away from their embrace. "But... Now I think you should go change out of these wet clothes before you catch a cold."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
--
"Janaff's so romantic!" The queen exclaimed after hearing her friend's version of the previous events. "So unlike Geoffrey..." She sighed sadly, resting her head on a pillow that was propped against Lucia's bedroom wall.
"Well, Geoffrey's just...Geoffrey. I'm sure he can be romantic...if he wants."
"True, but still... Janaff rivals even Count Bastian!"
Lucia shook her head and then shivered from contact with her wet hair. Both women had already changed out of their dripping wet clothes, but the woman's blue hair was still partially soaked. The girls now sat in Lucia's room on her bed, with Lucia lying down and Elincia leaning against the wall.
"Bastian, romantic? Since when?"
"Oh come on, Lucia. You know that he is romantic at times."
"Well...I suppose. He's just too annoying and quite bold. Janaff was always so sweet."
The queen thought for a moment before speaking again.
"So those anonymous flowers and gifts were from Janaff then?"
"I suppose most of them are, though quite a few had to be from Count Bastian. I mean, the notes attached to them were in his handwriting, plus no one else would dare to speak so idiotically."
"Hehe...that is quite true. I wonder why Janaff didn't sign the cards though..."
"That's a good question..."
"I had to think of some way to win you over, didn't I? I just didn't have the courage to sign my name out of fear that you would reject me..."
Both women glanced over at the door, where they found the hawk leaning against the doorway. He walked in and sat down next to his fiancé, taking her hands in his.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Of course not! I was just leaving..." Elincia lied as she stood up. "I'll see you two later."
The emerald-haired queen exited the room as her foster sister sat up from her place on the bed, resting her head on Janaff's shoulder. The laguz ran his fingers through her still-wet hair.
"I assume you liked the gifts then?"
"Of course I did, silly!" She exclaimed before pecking him on the cheek.
"Good, because I have one more present for you. Duke Renning!"
Lucia tilted her head in confusion as Janaff stood up and Elincia's uncle walked into the room. The dark-haired man handed something to the hawk behind his back before nodding at the woman and walking back through the door.
"Close your eyes and hold out your hands."
She did so and heard Janaff move closer to her before he placed something in her palms. The woman could tell that it was warm and fuzzy and nearly dropped it when it moved. Janaff chuckled.
"Open them."
She lifted her eyelids and squealed when she saw the little kitten in her hands. The tiny little thing had orange fur and bright green eyes.
"Do you like her?"
"Very much."
He wrapped and arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
"I thought you would."
--
A/N: So, this wasn't horribly bad, right? It didn't turn out like it was supposed to, but that's okay because I can just open up a blank document and actually follow my prompt this time. I'm surprised I actually like this, considering I'm no longer a fan of Lucia/Janaff like I was when I wrote Forbidden Love and Sacrifice.
Anyway, if you liked this, leave a review. If you hated it, let me know what I need to improve on. If you have any sort of request for pairings, send them to me and I'll consider them. Other than that, there's really nothing else to say! But if you did like this, watch for the new one that will be centered around the actual request!