I do not own Fire Emblem nor its characters.
Mist could hardly hear Mia's excited squeal over the sound of the roaring roller coasters. Right now she could be with Titania, taking a stroll in the sun through the amusement park. Or with Rolf, throwing darts at the balloons for a chance to get a giant teddy bear. She'd almost rather be with Soren, who was currently sitting in the shade of the trees and calculating the company's finances. But instead, here she was-with Mia of all people-waiting in line for the front seat of one of the scariest rides in the park.
The coaster train came to a screeching halt on the shiny red tracks. Mist noted that some passengers were talking excitedly and laughing, while others merely stood wide-eyed. They pulled off their restraints and left to take their belongings and leave or fix their disheveled, wind-blown hair. Then, the riders in front of Mist and Mia boarded it and pulled down the safety restraints.
"We're almost there!" Mia cheered, and started bouncing up and down in excitement.
Mist sighed. She was usually always in a good mood, but being dragged on a big ride like this made her feel nervous and skittish. Not even fighting enemies made her feel so edgy! At least there her friends would defend her and keep her from harm. But here, her life depended on a lowering metal bar!
"What's wrong, Mist?" Mia asked. She had noticed her friend's uneasiness. "This is supposed to be a fun vacation, remember? Don't be scared!"
"Well, it's just that... It looks so scary. And my life depends on a metal bar," Mist replied.
"You're afraid of dying? Come on!" Mia exclaimed. Mist was about to protest, but Mia cut her off. "What, you afraid you won't go to heaven or something?"
"I-ugh forget it. It's not that," Mist said. She was too anxious to argue, and Mia wasn't really helping either. But Mia continued anyway.
"Sorry, that was a bad joke. But you shouldn't be scared. God will do what's best for you. That's why I'm not scared of dying on roller coasters. He has control over that."
That comment surprised Mist very much. She hadn't thought that Mia was very religious. Even more surprising was Mia's seriousness. So Mist decided to take those words seriously.
Before long, she could make out a faint rumbling sound, and as it got louder, the platform they were standing on shook until the train finally stopped. Mist boarded (with Mia right on her heels) and sat down on her seat. She fumbled with the seat belts and, feeling rather embarrassed, realized that she indeed did not have much experience with roller coasters. Luckily, Mia buckled the seat belts in for her and pulled down the bar for them.
"Mist, remember what I said earlier? Have trust!" Mia said, commenting on Mist and her fidgeting. "Besides, it's not like there are any loops on this. It's actually really smooth and fun. And sitting in the front feels less slower and you get to see where you're going."
Before Mist could respond, the train slowly started moving away from the shaded platform and down the tracks out into the sunlight. As far as Mist could tell, the ride was just a very long straight track that led right to... A huge drop.
The ride suddenly stopped right outside the platform. Mist waited for it to start again, but as the seconds passed she wondered. Did it break down? Mist couldn't decide whether to be relieved or more nervous. She looked over at Mia. Mia didn't look confused. She was just looking straight ahead with a huge smile on her face.
"What Mia? What is it?" Mist asked. Right at that moment, a voice blasted into her ear.
"Here we g-" was all Mist could hear before they were launched off on the long track at speeds she didn't think were possible! The harsh wind that was created felt like Soren's Wind. It brought tears to her eyes until she could only see the red of the tracks and the green of the trees. It only kept accelerating more and more until they shot upwards to gain height for the drop. Mist then saw the bright blue sky and Mia's purple hair flying in her face. Then, some red track down below. Mist was shocked at the sheer angle of the drop.
She closed her eyes shut for it. They fell very fast. Mist could barely breathe, although she could vaguely hear Mia screaming and whooping over the sound of her own heartbeat. Then they rose up to fall again on another drop. This time she could really feel her stomach rising up, but she had no time to think about that, because up ahead were some corkscrews. Mist closed her eyes the moment they began twisting. She could feel herself turning over and the wind rushing at her face. Then they spun right. After twisting over and over and over again, they suddenly stopped. Again.
Mist lost it. The entire ride she was paralyzed in fear; she hadn't screamed once. Now she had built up so much fear, adrenaline, and energy, so she released it all in a horrible, bloodcurdling shriek that made Mia cringe and hold her ears.
After that, Mist yelled, "OHMYGOSH IT'S GONNA GO FAST AGAIN!" and then resumed to her panic attack.
But she was wrong; the ride was pretty much over. The train slowly returned back to the station. Everyone was staring at Mist, but she didn't notice, because she was shaking Mia and shouting, "THAT WAS AWESOME LET'S RIDE IT AGAIN!"
"Um, Mist? Are you okay?" Mia asked, but was dragged through the exit by Mist. Waiting for them at the bottom was the entire company. She noticed that Rolf's tongue was stained blue from the cotton candy he was eating, and Oscar was holding a large teddy bear that Rolf must have finally won.
"Brother brother did you see me?" Mist exclaimed.
"We all did, Mist," Ike replied.
"And we all heard you too," Shinon murmured. Rolf coughed.
"Yeah Mist, was that you screaming bloody murder?" Oscar said.
"Dang Mist! I didn't think you could scream like that! You don't even do that on the battlefield when you're helpless! That sound was...hm..." Boyd trailed off.
"Demonic," Soren finished for Boyd.
"Hey!" Mist protested, but she was quickly cut off by Mia asking, "Where's Rhys?"
"He's on the carousel," Titania answered. "He said he would join-"
"Merry-go-round? Like he's riding on a horse?!" Mia shouted before sprinting for the carousel.
Mist watched her friend leave, but was distracted by Ike, Boyd, Rolf, and Gatrie stifling snickers. Like they were trying very hard not to laugh...
"What?" Mist asked. Then the guys lost it. They started cracking up and laughing so hard that Boyd started rolling on the ground, and Gatrie quickly joined him.
"What? What?" Mist demanded. She was quite dismayed to see even Oscar and Titania smiling.
"You haven't seen your picture yet, have you?" Titania said
"Oh no," Mist muttered, and ran up to the photo booth; the others followed close behind her. When she saw it, her jaw dropped.
On her left was Mia, who had thrown her arms up in the air and was smiling right at the camera. Right next to Mia was a girl whose messy hair was being blown back to expose her face. Her eyes were as big as tennis balls, and her mouth...
"Mist! Your trap...was probably bigger than... your head in that picture...I bet...you caught...at least...a thousand flies in there!" Boyd got out between chuckles.
Mist's visage became distorted. "When did they get this?!" She demanded.
"When you first took off," Oscar replied. Oh good, so it wasn't when I was screaming, Mist thought.
"Let's buy it!" Boyd suggested.
"NO! NO WAY!" Mist yelled.
"But Mist, don't you think Mia and Rhys will want to see it?" Boyd reasoned, and quickly went to buy it.
"Ugh!" Mist groaned. Of course Boyd had gotten a gigantic picture of it, framed it, and nailed it to a wall in the fort. Not long after Boyd had paid for it, they were kicked out of the park because Mia had tackled a man who looked like Rhys and knocked him off the horse to the ground, where he got a concussion. Rhys was actually nearby the carousel, watching a puppet show.
"I think I like it here. What do you think?" Boyd asked.
"I love it!" Mia proclaimed. "Let's keep it here forever!"
After they all gazed upon that picture, one by one they left until it was just Mia and Mist there.
"I like it. I think it's a good reminder of trust, right?" Mia said.
"Yeah. It's perfect." Mist replied. She stayed there looking at the picture until she was the only one left in the room.
