Greetings readers, so this is my first attempt to write a Fire Emblem Fanfiction, so please be nice.
I do not own Fire Emblem Fates or any of its characters.
It was a typical late evening for the Nohrian royal family. Leo was pouring over a military history book, Camilla was sewing, Elise and Corrin engaged in an intense game of chess while Xander and Azura engaged in a conversation. After a few moments, Camilla stood up.
"Well, if you'll excuse me darlings, I think I'll be heading off to bed," Camilla announced, standing up. She placed her sewing on a table and wished them all good night (and almost crushed Corrin in a massive hug) before exiting the room.
"Finally," Leo said. "I thought she'd never leave."
"Okay! Mission Happy Birthday is ready!" Elise announced excitedly.
"So, what's the plan this year?" Xander asked, as he, Azura, and Leo all pulled up seats at the table where Corrin and Elise had been playing. Camilla's birthday, November 30, was tomorrow and every year her five siblings had celebrated in various different ways, though their success rate tended to vary from complete success to embarrassing failure.
"Well," Corrin began. "We know that she's not a big party person, so inviting everyone in the kingdom to attend is out of the question."
"And I don't think she'll like having a clown over either," Elise commented in a serious tone, though everyone could not help but smile at her suggestion.
"We could just take her to that new hot spring," Azura suggested. "You know how she loves those."
"Oh come on, we took her to one last year," Leo replied.
"And the year before that," Xander added.
"And the year before that," Elise pipped in.
"Come to think of it, I don't think there's a hot spring in the entire nation Camilla hasn't visited," Corrin said.
"Alright, no hot springs," Azura said as she took out a note pad and started crossing of ideas.
"We need something simple," Xander said. "Something that proves our love but doesn't take her out of her comfort zone."
"I duuno, maybe if we just locked her and Corrin in the same room together for the whole day, she'd be happy," Leo suggested with a wry smile.
"And let her smother me to death," Corrin replied, sweat forming at the thought of the idea. "I can barely survive a normal day."
"What if we took her to see a play?" Xander suggested.
"Maybe…" Azura said writing it as a possibility.
"No, that seems like something we can do anytime. This has to be something special," Corrin argued.
"Oh! I know!" Elise exclaimed. "How about breakfast in bed!"
"Hmm that's seems like a good idea," Xander said, pondering the idea.
"It's easy," Leo added.
"It's simple," Azura commented.
"And it shows her we care," Corrin said. "Okay, that's what we'll do."
"Only the best for our big sis!" Elise cheered.
Beruka sat in the mess hall, craving designs into the table. She looked up to see Selena sit down across from her.
"All right, what's so important?" Beruka asked, still irritated at being dragged out of bed.
"Lady Camilla's birthday, of course," Selena replied.
"Right, so what should we do, this year?" Beruka asked.
"I don't know yet. But is has to be something special, something important. Something that shows how grateful we are for being her retainers," Selena insisted.
"Well, I heard there was a new hot spring opened," Beruka offered.
"No, we did that last year. And the year before that," Selena replied.
"Well, she seems to enjoy them," Beruka argued.
"Yes, but that's not special enough," Selena said.
"I dunno. Maybe we should just lock her and Lord Corrin the same room together for the whole day," Beruka said.
"Corrin, Corrin, Corrin, Corrin! It's always Corrin!" Selena fumed. "I've heard enough about Corrin! It's impossible to hold a conversation with Lady Camilla without it eventually ending in 'oh isn't Corrin so cute!'"
"Well, he is her brother," Beruka said.
"Oh, and if isn't Corrin, it's Elise, or Leo, or Azura!" Selena continued, ignoring Beruka completely.
"They are her family," Beruka tried.
"But what about us! Aren't we family too!" Selena said, slamming her hands down on the table.
"Jeez, jealous much?" Beruka quipped.
"Grr. This year, we're going to something that will completely outshine Corrin and all the rest!" Selena vowed. "Wait. I've got it! Beruka, What does Camilla love above everything else."
Beruka started to say Corrin but Selena interrupted her.
"Bonbons! Camilla loves Bonbons!" Selena said. "So we're going to get every bonbon in the castle and give them to Camilla."
"Alright," Beruka said reluctantly.
"Only the best for Lady Camilla!" Selena declared, triumphantly.
The next morning Leo, Azura, Elise, and Xander gathered in the kitchen.
"Okay, now all we need is for Corrin to show up and we can get started," Xander said, tapping the table patiently. After a few moments, Corrin staggered down the stairs. His temples looked red and small ice fragments hung from his hair.
"Umm…Brother what is…" Elise began before Corrin cut her off by explaining.
"I told Flora and Felicia to wake me up early. Unfortunately, they were having trouble getting me up the normal way."
"Oh. Well, you all begin cooking. I'll go make sure that Camilla stays asleep," Azura said before heading upstairs.
Xander walked over to a shelf and pulled out a cookbook.
"So, I was thinking about that steak that she's so fond of and an omelet on the side," Xander explained as he flipped the book to the page of the recipe.
"Oh, and don't forget the bonbons!" Elise added, cheerily.
"Well, I think we should divide out efforts," Leo suggested. "I'll take the omelet."
"I should attend to the seasonings, Camilla is very picky about her sauces and vegetables," Xander said.
"I'll do the steak. I'm a great chief!" Elise bragged.
"It's chef, Elise," Corrin corrected friendlily. "Well, I'll just get the bonbons. I'm not that great at cooking."
"Alright, it's settled," Xander said. "We'll meet back here once everything's done."
"This should be easy!" Elise declared.
And with that, the four departed.
Leo sorted around in the pantry for a few moments before finding a suitable collection of eggs. He set a wide pan over an open fire and started cracking the eggs one at a time. He went through three until he came to the last one.
"That's odd," He commented inspecting the egg. It was much larger than the rest and its shape was slightly less oval than the others.
"Oh well, the bigger the better, I suppose," He shrugged. He lifted the egg to crack it open when he heard a small cracking noise. He lifted the egg to eye-level and found a small crack had appeared on the shell.
"This was perfect when I found it," He muttered, confused. Then, another crack appeared, shortly followed by another.
"What in the…" Leo wondered. However, an explanation appeared quickly as the egg shell shattered to pieces. A baby wyvern sat in Leo's hand where the egg had once been.
Momentarily stunned, Leo stared at wyvern.
"Oh! Well hello there, little friend," Leo greeted the small dragon. "It seems someone must have mistaken you for a chicken egg. I hope you forgive me for almost cooking you."
The baby wyvern stared back at Leo in seeming understanding. It then raised its head and bit down on his finger.
Azura stood diligently in the hallway in-front of Camilla's room. Maybe I should get some singing practice in while I wait, Azura thought. She opened her mouth to begin.
"AUUUUGH!" Came a scream. Oh no. Azura thought.
Suddenly, the door to Camilla's room flung open. She charged out of her room with an axe in each hand.
"Are we under attack?" Camilla asked, looking around wildly.
Azura stood, frozen by panic for a moment before calming herself. Quick, stall her stall her. Azura shouted at herself.
"Good morning and happy birthday, sister," Azura said, trying to sound completely relaxed.
"What's going on?" Camilla asked, still concerned.
"Oh nothing. You should go back to sleep," Azura said. "You have a big day today."
"But I heard a scream," Camilla argued, though drossiness was seeping into her voice.
"I'm sure Felicia just dropped something, again. Now, go back to sleep," Azura said, practically pushing Camilla back into her room.
Xander pulled out a drawer and pulled out a knife. He had pulled out Camilla's favorite vegetable from the ice box. He raised the knife and started to chop it. However, when he struck the vegetable, the knife bounced off it.
"What in the world?" Xander wondered. He stared at the knife to find that it had a chip in it.
"Perhaps I should wait until this thaws out," Xander said. "Though, Camilla could awaken at any moment. No, I'll just have to find a bigger knife.
Elise stared down at the steak in front of her. Xander had given her very specific instructions on how to cook the steak.
"Okay, well first things first. I should start a fire," Elise said to herself. She pulled out two coal rocks and hit them against each other. Only a tiny spark resulted from her efforts. Elise let out an annoyed whine before trying again to the same result.
"Grr. Stupid rocks, work!" Elise commanded, striking the rocks against each other numerous times. After experiencing the same result, Elise threw the coal away in a huff. How am I going to light this fire? She wondered, frustrated. She stood up and noticed a fire tomb laying on the table. An idea forming in her mind, she picked up the tomb. However, part of her told her this was a bad idea.
"Oh come on," She said to herself. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Azura wiped the sweat of her forehead. That was close, but at least the worst is over. Azura thought. Then, a miniature explosion rocked the castle.
Again, Camilla flung opened her door.
"What was that?" Camilla asked, completely shocked.
"Nothing…I'm sure it's fine," Azura said. "You should really go back to sleep."
"Sister dear, while I appreciate the thought, I really think that we should see what's going on," Camilla commented.
"N-no! You can't," Azura said, throwing herself in-front of Camilla.
"And why not?" Camilla asked, giving Azura a suspicious glance.
"Because there's a different emergency," Azura said, thinking up an idea. "Stay right here." Azura shot off. She ran into Elise's room, found a random doll, tore off its arm and ran back to Camilla.
"Elise broke one of her dolls and she's very upset by it," Azura lied.
"Oh, poor thing," Camilla said, her gaze softening. "Come inside. I'll sow it right back on."
Corrin winced as the castle rumbled. What was that? He wondered. He quickly put it out of his mind, though, deciding to focus solely on finding the bonbons. He walked into the closet and started sorting around. However, Camilla's precious sweets were nowhere to be found. Panicking, he started moving boxes and crates right and left to try and find them. Then, he spotted a single one lying on the ground. He leaned down to inspect it. Then, he saw another one and then another forming a trail. Corrin started following the trail until he spotted the entire crate being carried by Selena and Beruka.
"What are you two doing?" He asked. Camilla's retainers stopped dead in their tracks and turned to face him.
"Greetings, Lord Corrin," Selena and Beruka replied simultaneously. "How do you do today?"
"Fine. Now, what are you doing with that?" Corrin repeated. Selena dropped her end of the crate, which landed on Beruka's foot.
"You see, Lord Corrin, Lady Camilla's birthday is today and our plan was to give her this entire box to show her our love and appreciation," Selena explained.
"Ah, I see," Corrin replied. "Well, perhaps I could borrow a few."
"Not possible," Selena replied.
"But you don't even know why I want them," Corrin argued back.
"Doesn't matter. These are for Lady Camilla and Lady Camilla only," Selena snapped.
"Selena, I think you should just give some to him," Beruka whispered to her fellow retainer. "It's just a few and maybe, we could take Lady Camilla to a hot spring later to make up for it."
"How many times do I have to tell you, we can't keep doing the same thing every year," Selena growled back. "I'm not letting him take these from Lady Camilla."
"Listen, I'm sure that if we talk this through, we can come to an agreement," Corrin began, walking toward the crate. However, he came face to face with Selena's blade.
"Get your own. These are for Lady Camilla," Selena warned.
Corrin grimaced before deflecting her sword with his Yato.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," He said, trying to sound as imposing as Xander.
Azura sat in Camilla's room watching her sew the delicate arm back unto the doll. Azura had chatted with Camilla for a while, however, the conversation had inevitably drifted into another 'Corrin love-rant' by Camilla. But, Azura did not mind, as it kept Camilla busy.
"Come back here, you thieves!" Came a shout followed by the resonating sound of a clashing of swords.
What is going on down there? Azura wondered as both she and Camilla exchanged confused glances.
"That sounded like Corrin," Camilla said, dropping the doll.
"Over my dead body!" Came another shout, followed by another clash of blades.
"Come on, sister. It sounds like dear sweet Corrin is in trouble," Camilla said, rushing to the door, practically pulling Azura along as she spurted trying to think of another excuse.
Xander started down at the frozen vegetable with utter hatred in his eyes.
"You've left me no choice, you cur," He growled, as he eyes darted to the massive pile of chipped knives.
"Perish now!" He shouted before raising Seigfrid and striking down on the vegetable with his blade.
"Brother…"
Xander turned to see Leo staring at him in utter confusion. In Leo's left hand, he held a plate with an omelet. In his right hand, a baby wyvern hung from his finger.
"Why did you stab the counter?" Leo asked in confusion.
"Leo…why is a dragon eating your hand?" Xander asked, completely mesmerized by wyvern currently chewing on Leo's hand.
A volley of coughs drew their attention away from each other and to the barrage of smoke coming from the kitchen door. Elise, covered in soot and dirt, stumbled into the room.
"Is this right?" She asked, holding out a burnt and brittle steak.
Leo opened his mouth to speak, only to be shoved by Beruka as she charged into the room, holding a massive crate of bonbons. Leo's omelet flew into the air and landed on Xander's head. Beruka was shortly followed by Corrin and Selena, who were in the middle of a massive duel.
"You selfish noble, you won't lay a finger on Lady Camilla's bonbons," Selena growled as she and Corrin locked blades.
"Selfish? I want these for Camilla!" Corrin argued, pressing against Selena.
"But they're my gift!" Selena scoffed. "You've always hogged Lady Camilla! Well, not anymore!"
"Are you crazy? I'm her brother," Corrin insisted.
"And I'm her retainer!" Selena shouted. She shoved Corrin back and swung at him. However, Corrin side-stepped causing Selena to hit the box of bonbons. He crate spilt opened unleashing a practical flood of sweets which enveloped a hapless Leo.
"Now, look what you've done!" Selena growled.
"What I've done? You're the one who-" However, Corrin was interrupted by a distressed.
"What is going on?"
The six turned guiltily to see Camilla standing at the foot of the stairs, a horrified expression on her face. Azura stood close behind her, her face white in panic.
"Corrin, Selena, why are you fighting? And Xander, Why is the kitchen destroyed?" Camilla asked, looking around.
"D-don't be mad, sis," Elise said, tearing up. "We were just trying to make you happy."
"We were attempting to make you breakfeast," Leo explained.
"And I just wanted to get you some sweets," Corrin offered, lowering his blade.
"Me too," Selena admitted, staring at Corrin with a guilty expression.
Selena was interrupted by a stifled sob. Camilla put her hands up to her head, as tears trickled down her face.
"So all of this was over me?" She sniffled.
Selena and Corrin exchanged helpless glances.
"L-lady Camilla," Selena began, though she was at a loss for words.
"Please, don't cry," Corrin said. He and Selena approached her, only to be enveloped in a crushing hug.
"I-it just makes me so happy to have a family that cares so much about me," She said, tears of joy still streaming down her face.
"L-Lady Camilla," Selena chocked out.
"Can't breathe," Corrin gasped. Camilla released the two and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Thank you all so much," She said, a joyful smile on her face. "I'm so glad that you're my family. And that of course includes my precious retainers."
Selena brightened at that last comment.
"Anything for our great big sis!" Elise added.
"So, it's your birthday," Azura began standing next to Camilla. "What would you like to do?"
"Well," Camilla began. "I heard there's a new hot-spring open."