Pictures of Longing

Year of the Stones 789 Eirika and Ephraim were six.

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Fado looked down at his children and smiled. "Daddy!" exclaimed Eirika. "We found a neat place in the gardens!"

Ephraim chimed in with, "Yeah, you should come see it!"

Fado knelt down to their level and placed his hands on their small heads. "I promise I'll have you show it to me soon. Right now I have to go meet with the Earls. For now why don't you show your maid?"

"Hm... okay. You promise right?"

"Of course." Fado stood up and faced their maid. "They're in your care for now."

"Yes my King," she said with a bow. As Fado walked off to his meeting, the twin's faces dropped. "Hey, can you show me this place?" prodded the maid, trying to distract them.

After a moment's hesitation Eirika's face lit back up. "Yeah! It's this way!" Eirika and Ephraim took off down the hall, with the maid trotting to keep up.

Year of the Stones 793 Eirika and Ephraim were ten.

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The spring air was warm and comforting. A fifteen year old Seth amused Ephraim with a pair of wooden swords, teaching him the basics of swordplay. Eirika, watching from the side with Fado yelled, "Get him Seth!"

"What?" responded a displeased Ephraim. "Aren't I your brother? Why are you cheering for Seth?"

Eirika stuck her tongue out at him and then turned a smile to Seth. Fado laughed and told Ephraim, "Careful Ephraim! I've given Seth permission to actually teach you swordplay!"

"Hah?" Ephraim shouted back between strikes and parries. "What's that suppose to mean?"

Eirika piped up with, "It means Seth's allow to kick your ass! Go Seth!"

Fado laughed even harder at this. "When did my daughter learn to talk so crudely?"

Through her smug smile, Eirika replied, "Ephraim talks like that to Prince Innes of Frelia all the time! All it took was a little bit of watching them argue. See? Seth's gonna whoop your butt Ephraim!"

"What? I do not! Ah, Eirika, why did you have to tell them about that?"

"Prince Ephraim, you shouldn't be looking away during the middle of a duel." With a slight grin, Seth effortlessly knocked Ephraim onto the seat of his pants.

Eirika let loose a peal of laughter. "See Brother? You'll never beat Seth! He's the best!" She stood up and strode over to her twin, helping him stand back up. As she brushed the dust off his coat she said, "I'll still help my brother out though." Prancing over to Seth she added, "But Seth's still better!"

Ephraim pouted for a moment before saying, "Maybe I'll learn how to use a lance instead."

Eirika looked up at Seth with pleading eyes. "Then can you teach me how to use a sword Seth? I'll be a much better student than Ephraim!"

Ever the obedient solider Seth responded, "Only if your father allows it."

As one their three pairs of eyes turned to Fado.

"No, you're right. We must not allow them to slip away. If outlaws are taking refuge in Carcino, then we must pressure their Council to aid us in rooting them out." Fado was locked in conversation with a courier.

Seth noticed a new weight on his leg and looked down to see Eirika leaning on his leg, her back to Fado and the courier. Her bright eyes were covered in clouds of anger and rejection. She stood back up and took his hand. Her face was a mask of bitter detachment. She began pulling Seth toward the door that Ephraim had already left though. "Come on Seth, let's go. I give you leave to teach me swordplay."

Seth followed her out, wondering what he should do.

Year of the Stones 798 Eirika and Ephraim were fifteen.

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"Father, Sir Seth told me that my blade-work is making much progress."

"Hm? Oh yes. I'm very glad to hear that. Give Seth my regards." Fado's form was bent over his desk, drowning in papers.

Ephraim was in Grado, learning the art of lances while Eirika stayed in Renais. She fidgeted uncomfortably trying to find her words. "Father? Um... is there something I can do for you? Perhaps I could aid you in some manner?"

Fado looked up at her with a tired smile. "Thank you Eirika. I'll be fine though. I'll be at supper in a few hours. Maybe you and Ephraim could find something interesting to do."

Eirika's breath caught in her throat and her eyes narrowed.

"Hm? Is something wrong?"

"...No." She turned sharply and walked out the door of his study. She found herself on the training field as the sun began to set. The pages and squires had left for the day, leaving the grounds empty. She picked up a sword leaning against a wall and began hacking at a straw dummy. The sharpened blade made short work of it and she moved on to a post standing next to it. Slash after slash chipped away at the wood. Hack after hack did little to calm her and eventually she struck it wrong, embedding the blade in the wood.

As she yanked on the hilt trying to free the blade, a familiar hand enveloped her wrist. "My lady, these kinds of strokes will ruin the progress we have been making."

"Seth! Oh... you startled me."

"My apologies," he said bowing.

"I um... was only practicing the ah..." stammered Eirika trying to regain her composure.

"I'm not sure that dummy thinks you where only practicing."

"I... How long were you watching?"

"About halfway through the dummy's demise." Eirika was silent. "My lady, is there something-"

"Something wrong!" she exploded. "Yes there's something wrong! And it's the same thing that's always wrong!" Her small shoulders heaved up and down as she vented her rage. "He's always in his stupid study! Why can't he bother to keep up with ANYTHING else!"

Seth waited patiently as the anger flooded out of her. "Did something happen?"

"Yes..." She was suddenly very quiet. "Yes, something happened." Tears began welling up behind her troubled eyes. "He forgot that..." she muttered, the second half of the sentence inaudible.

"Forgot what?" prodded Seth as gently as he knew how.

"Ephraim's in Grado!" Her rage returned, lighting her eyes with a fierce glow. "He can't even remember what his son is doing! The crown prince! His own SON! And he doesn't bother to keep up with it!"

Her small body, quivering with rage and despair, looked like it might fall over at any moment. Before it did, Seth found her hugging his waist, her face buried in his torso. As much as he longed to help her, his twenty years of life offered him no words of wisdom to give her. He settled for stroking her hair until the tears soaking his shirt ceased.

She backed up and wiped a few remaining tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry Seth. That wasn't something I should have done. It must have been-"

"Thing nothing of it Lady Eirika."

Looking at her feet, she whispered, "Thank you Seth. I'll be alright." She turned around quickly and walked off the grounds, back to her quarters.

As Seth watched her go, the sag in her shoulders told him her true feelings. His own frustration with the situation started to boil. He was loyal to Fado and respected the man with every ounce of his being, but it killed him to see Eirika and Ephraim suffer this neglect. His hand found a mace lying on the ground. He stared at the sword embedded in the post. The mace came up over his head and fell onto the sword with all his anger behind it. The sword snapped like a twig. The mace and shards of the sword remained on the ground as Seth stalked off.

That night, Eirika was alone at supper.

Year of the Stones 800 Eirika and Ephraim were seventeen.

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Soldiers of Grado were flooding Castle Renais, wave upon wave, meeting little resistance. Fado's face was grim. "Have we received any word from Ephraim's troops?"

"No my King." Seth knelt and bowed his head to his king. "I have sworn loyalty to Renais and will serve her under your command until the very end."

Fado stood and squared his shoulders, drawing himself into a truly regal pose. "No, that is not your duty today Seth." Seth looked up, confused and Eirika walked over from her seat near the wall. "Eirika, are you wearing the bracelet I gave you?" His face turned to stone as he steeled himself for what came next.

"Yes Father, it's right here." The worry and confusion made itself evident on her face.

Fado's chest rose and fell, laboring greatly as he forced his next words out. "Take her Seth. Flee with Eirika to Frelia. Stop for nothing."

"What!" pleaded Eirika. "Why! Am I not the Princess of Renais? I will not flee in her desperate hour!"

"Go Seth! Now!" Fado's voice boomed through the ancient halls, a commanding presence that silenced Eirika's protests.

Seth moved with haste to grab Eirika and begin to run. "Forgive me Lady Eirika."

As she was dragged from the room, her pleas renewed themselves. "No! FATHER!"

So upset and shaken by the tragedy unfolding before her, she did not notice Fado's strong legs tremble as he watched his daughter leave him for the last time. She could not see his lips move as he whispered, "I am sorry my children. I love you." And she could not see his regret of the past years filling his eyes.

She would never know that watching her go was as hard for him as the coming years would be for her.

Year of the Stones 801 Eirika and Ephraim were eighteen.

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The halls were eerily silent now that the fighting had ended. Castle Renais had been reclaimed, but the blood splattered across the stones was ever present. The royal twins of Renais were alone in the throne room. Eirika leaned against a wall and Ephraim sat in a chair.

"Eirika?"

"Yes Ephraim?"

"What was it like?" Ephraim asked. "When Father ordered Seth to leave with you?"

She was silent as the scene, still burning fresh in her memory, played itself yet again. Her eyes unfocused as she watched the red uniforms of Grado swarming into the room where her father remained. "Terrifying... and painful. But... somehow... the same as always... Father seemed concerned with keeping Renais together as much as he could. Just like always."

Ephraim slowly said, "You think he kept us alive in order to keep his bloodline intact?"

She turned to face him, anger beginning to spark in her eyes. "No. You've always been too quick to judge Father. He told me to flee so that I would live."

"Because you're part of his bloodline," he responded.

"Stop it Ephraim! There was more than that! In the first week of the war, before Grado reached the castle, Father asked after your exploits every day! He was worried about you, but he was so proud of you! He did care about you!" Her eyes bored into him, their ferocity forcing him to listen. "He did care about us."

Ephraim stared at the floor, unmoving. After ages of painful silence, he swallowed his pride and whispered, "Maybe you're right."

Eirika placed her hand softly on her brother's shoulder as he continued to stare at the floor. "I know there was more distance between you and him, but please believe me. He cared about us as his children, not his bloodline. All the work he did, and all the time he spent in his study... I really want to believe he did that for us... trying to keep us as happy as he knew how."

Ephraim didn't move at all. He remained bent over in his chair. Eirika stood quietly, leaving her hand on his shoulder, a soft reminder of her presence and empathy.

One might have mistaken them for statues, save for the tears gathering at Ephraim's feet.

Year of the Stones 807 Eirika and Ephraim were twenty four.

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The autumn wind blew through the courtyard, robbing it of any warmth. The twins stood silently before Fado's memorial, their faces as blank as the marble they stared at.

Finally, Eirika managed to speak. "Father, the war has been over for five years now. The reconstruction of the castle is complete and nearly all of the surrounding countryside is too. Grado has begun to accept aid from the other nations as they recover from the earthquake."

Ephraim followed. "Renais has built strong bonds with all the other nations and cemented our alliances across all of Magvel. I've ascended to the throne with the blessing of all the Earls. Tana is carrying my child and the clerics say it will be a healthy birth."

"We both miss you Father," whispered Eirika. "Seth and I will be wed in the spring. I wish so much that you could be there for the ceremony." A gust of wind swept through the courtyard again, dragging yellow and red leaves with it. "Ephraim?"

"...Yes?"

"I just remembered... We never got to show Father the place we found in the gardens."