PM: As told by the summary, this is a birthday present fic for one of my e-friends- Fire Emblem MewMew. Hopefully, it'll be more than her than enjoys it, but that may just be wishful thinking. ^^;
*insert unnecessary disclaimers here* This site covers any and all disclaimers you may need. You might as well not bother blabbing them out…
Eirika's Birthday
It was one of the three most-celebrated days in Renais. The other two had already passed. For the fifteenth time, a full year had gone by from one February twenty-sixth to another.
It was Eirika's birthday.
Actually, it was the day before the princess of Renais's fifteenth day of birth, if only by a few hours. But with all of the hustling about, it was just as hectic…
Since Eirika had already gone to bed, everyone at Castle Renais- soldiers, well-known military men, even General Seth- were all being as quiet as possible while secretly decorating most of the castle's interior.
King Fado and Prince Ephraim were among those many men attempting to decorate the enormous royal structure- currently, the father-and-son pair was beginning the adorning of Eirika's favorite "room": the left castle side-garden.
Between two solid blue walls, one of defense and the other of structure, there was a long, grand garden tended to by, aside from the soldiers, Princess Eirika herself.
Having lit five pairs of torches, Fado and Ephraim looked around. Lining the walls were square hedges, with three rows of flowers grown in descending height- four-foot sunflowers in front of the hedges, pink and purple clusters of chrysanthemums around a foot in height at the front, and roses standing at about two feet in-between; said flowers were patterned in color, going red-pink-white.
"I'm quite proud of this garden…" said Fado, sighing contentedly. He was garbed a sleeved blue vest with a blue muscle shirt beneath it, dark blue pants, and brown work boots- not the uniform of a king, but a gardener.
"Even when you can't see the flowers very well, you can smell them." he finished.
Ephraim looked farther down the hall that was formed by the two walls. The long lines of hedges were split into thirds by large rhododendrons, one at each wall's corner and another in-between; the corner plants had purple flowers, while the middle ones were pink.
"Yes. Even a barbarous brute would be taken aback by the beauty of this hallway, father…" said the Renaitan prince. He, too, wore something different from his normal clothing, but it was similar to his father's.
The king of Renais looked down the twin rows of green hedges. "However, these hedges need trimmed, and we need flowers for the bouquets. I'll handle the trimming, Ephraim. You can…"
He was interrupted by a loud noise, sounding like skin smacking against a solid metal or rock object.
"Who goes there?!" boomed Fado.
From around the southern corner of the hall, a face familiar to the Renaitan royal family slowly and painfully stood up- clothed in a long purple robe, a black shirt, similar pants, and silver shoes, was the Gradian prince Lyon.
Ephraim walked towards his friend. "Lyon? Err… What happened to you?"
The frail boy held his head. "E-Ephraim. I, um… I-I can't see very well in the dark. I… I tripped over that hedge and into the wall."
It was all the prince of Renais could do to avoid laughing his head off. He managed to make a decent response.
"I… I see, Lyon. Wh… Ha-ha… What are you doing here at this time?"
With a sigh, Fado began his job on the hedges by himself, using a large pair of gardening scissors from his vest.
Lyon grabbed something concealed by his body and his cape; it was wrapped in blue, white, and yellow paper, the common colors of anything related to Renais. A colorful ruby bow was attached at the large, spherical end; aside from that, the wrapped object was long and thin.
"I arrived early to help you prepare for Eirika's birthday, and so I could give her my present. The way she's been writing me, you've been teaching her how to fight…"
Squinting an eye, Ephraim interrupted. "…Excuse me? Writing?"
"Ah!" gasped Lyon. A small sweat-drop rolled down his head and a red tint appeared on his pale face, veiled by the darkness. "…Err, uh… Y-Yes, Eirika and I write each other at least once a month… With my ailing father, I can't come and visit her any time I wish. Even then, it would be, um…"
"…Awkward? Hmm." finished Ephraim. "Well, then… How'd you get here? And, how is Emperor Vigarde…?"
After placing his gift atop a hedge, Lyon replied. "I rode here with Duessel. I've got saddle sores to prove it…" He sweat-dropped for a moment. "As for my father…"
Lyon sighed, and looked down. "…He's not improving at all. I've left him in the care of Selena and the imperial doctors for a few days."
Ephraim crossed his arms. "You didn't have to come if it worries you so much to be away from your father, Lyon. You could've simply sent your present…"
"Oh, no, I could never have done that!" Vigorously, Lyon shook his head. "I-I haven't seen Eirika for a while, and it'd be disrespectful as a friend to not be here on her birthday…"
Recalling his own celebration some time ago, Ephraim cleared his throat. "You didn't come here on my birthday. You only sent me a note and a lance- as much as I appreciated it, don't you think a Silver Lance was a bit much?"
Lyon stuttered, and blushed again. "Err… I-I, uh…"
Meanwhile, Fado was still busy trimming a certain troublesome hedge, muttering things under his breath.
"I am the one-man gardening army. How exciting…"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Later…
It was in the wee hours of that morning that the hallway was finished. Bright pink ribbons and bows had been strung across the top and middle of the walls, and not a single plant had been missed in Fado's scrupulous look for imperfection. The happiness of his daughter was all that mattered on that day.
Lyon, surprisingly, had been quite the help as well. While he was too frail to do any heavy-lifting, the young Gradian prince was surprisingly good with nearly all necessary gardening tools.
After checking everything a second time, Fado, Ephraim, and Lyon finally began to rest, with the latter using a guest room alongside Duessel. With five hours between then and eight o' clock, all three hoped Eirika would sleep in for an extra two hours…
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Four-and-a-half hours later…
But those hopes didn't hold out. Eirika had woken up half an hour early…
She and her brother were walking down the hall in which the Renaitan royal family's bedrooms were. While Ephraim was in his normal uniform, minus the shoulder and chest plates, Eirika wore something quite different…
The princess of Renais wore a blue dress with puffy shoulders, the skirt portion reaching her knees. A second, pink layer could be seen coming from under the blue layer. Semitransparent, elbow-reaching, pink gloves adorned her arms, while pink heeled shoes and dark blue stockings clothed her legs. Eirika's final piece of clothing was a large pink ribbon atop her head.
In the three years Eirika had donned said ribbon, there were at least a few comments on it. Most women or girls at her parties referred to it as cute, or to her as beautiful; on the other hand, Ephraim could hardly suppress a sneer or snicker whenever he first saw it. Even Innes seemed… Amused, if anything, when he first saw it.
"So, Ephraim. Do you know if anyone's here yet?" asked Eirika.
After managing to suppress a yawn, her brother responded. "…Mm… Let's see… Well, there's of course Seth. I'm not sure Tana and Innes are here yet. Duessel rode to here from Grado, along with… Lyon."
Happily, the now-fifteen-year-old girl clapped. "Oh, Lyon! Where is he?"
Ephraim fingered his chin for a moment. "…Well, Eirika… He and Duessel are in two of the guest rooms. However, they're both tired from their trip. Plus, Lyon was helping Father and I with… Something."
Eirika looked down. "…Oh… Okay. I'll let him rest. Until Innes and Tana arrive, or Lyon wakes up, I've got you to spend the day with!"
She slowed her walk for a moment, and then hugged Ephraim when their bodies were side-by-side. He blushed, and patted the girl's right shoulder.
As they walked to the hall's end and turned the corner, both of them jumped when they saw someone standing in the middle of the hall.
Lyon.
EEE! Lyon's awake! squealed Eirika, mentally.
"H-H-Hello, Eirika." stuttered Lyon. I'll never get over how cute she looks in that outfit… he thought.
Eirika walked up to the Gradian prince, and then past him. Lyon began following, while Ephraim stayed behind and scratched his head.
"Huh. Well, I'm all alone now. Maybe I can find Duessel…"
After looking around for no apparent reason, he walked down the hallway he and Eirika had been in.
"So," addressed Eirika, "…You came last night, huh? I'm glad to see you here, Lyon."
For emphasis or otherwise, she wrapped her left arm around his waist. Lyon managed to suppress his second blush in not even ten hours.
"Y-Yes, thank you Eirika. It's great to see you again… Ephraim as well. Despite our letters, I… Miss you often. Ah, er… Both of you. Ephraim and I don't write each other, but, err…"
Oh dear… sighed Lyon, mentally.
Eirika giggled. "Well, then, Lyon. This may be my birthday, but I want to know… How's your father?"
Lyon closed his eyes for a moment…
"…He hasn't improved. It pains me to be away from him for even a few days, but… Father managed to tell me I should go… I-I never did attend Ephraim's last birthday party."
The blue-haired girl frowned. "I'm sorry about that, Lyon… Oh, but we can't be depressed on today, of all days! Come on, Lyon. I'll have to greet my guests, but… If I'm not doing something with someone else, why don't we spend the day… Together?"
Eirika leaned her head on the top of Lyon's right shoulder, causing the Gradian royal to blush, yet again.
"T-That's a… A good idea, Eirika…"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Later that day, around noon…
As with the left garden hall, there were many large pink bows and ribbons pinned at two levels on the walls of the enormous dining room. There were smaller blue ones in-between; pink and blue were Eirika's favorite colors.
Three long tables were placed in the spacious room, all covered in light blue tablecloths. One of them had the special guests seated at it- Prince Innes and Princess Tana of Frelia, Prince Lyon and General Duessel of Grado, General Seth of Renais, and of course the Renaitan royal family, Fado, Ephraim, and Eirika.
The other two tables were taken up by Renaitan soldiers. Ephraim and Eirika included the royal soldiers in the list of attendees, unlike Innes and Tana when their birthdays were celebrated.
King Fado sat at the north end of the table, garbed in his dark blue king's robe and brown boots, as well as his sapphire-adorned gold crown. The two closest seats were taken up by Eirika on the left and Tana on the right; Tana had a blue dress and dark blue heeled shoes as her attire for the day.
Farther down one seat, on the right side and across from Ephraim, was Innes, who wore a fancy silvery-blue suit, complete with a tie and black dress shoes. Down from Ephraim was Seth. The Silver Knight of Renais had a black suit on. Across from Seth was Duessel, who only had his normal uniform on; he didn't bring a formal suit with him.
Down from Duessel was Lyon. He was the last of the guests, but, in Eirika's eyes especially, far from the least.
After glancing about the several faces seated at the long table, King Fado stood and cleared his throat.
"May I have your attention? Hmm. I thank you all for coming and celebrating the birthday of my daughter, the princess of Renais. It's her fifteenth one, with hopefully many more to come anon. You may all eat to your heart's content. First, however…" The bluish-green-bearded man looked at his daughter. "…Your presents, Eirika. We've received all of the gifts from the soldiers. Everyone else shall give them to you individually."
Fado pointed at a previously unnoticed stack of variously-colored boxes, all adorned with bows of some kind. At least twenty of them were there.
As Eirika gleefully walked towards her stack of presents, she glanced back at the table.
"Anyone who wants to help me open these is welcome to!" she said with a smile.
Tana quickly got up, carrying two boxes- her and Innes's presents to Eirika. "Sure, Eirika! I'd be glad to help."
Innes watched her sister assist Eirika in choosing which to open first. "…I may as well. No sense in being rude…"
Obviously swallowing his pride, Innes stood up and calmly walked over as well. Ephraim looked left, then right; he then sighed. "He's right…"
Grabbing another gift out from under his chair, he stood and joined the other three. After watching his son walk by and smiling with the corner of his mouth, King Fado looked at the fifth and final royal heir, Lyon.
The purple-haired prince was looking around his immediate vicinity, with a puzzled look on his pale face.
"Lyon?" addressed Fado. "Is something the matter?"
Lyon gasped. "Ah! Oh, err… K-King Fado. My apologies, I… Seemed to have misplaced my gift…"
Duessel looked up, thinking for a moment. "You had it with you during our trip and when we arrived, my prince."
The king of Renais fingered his beard. "…If memory serves… You placed something on a hedge last night in the left hall garden."
"Yes, th-that's right…" Lyon nodded. "May I be excused to retrieve it?"
Eirika looked at Lyon; half the presents had already been opened- well, a fourth of that half had been properly opened; Eirika had marked which ones she opened due to her violent mutilation of the paper that stood between her and her presents.
"Don't worry about it, Lyon. You can give it to me later. We've still got gifts to open. How about helping us?"
A small smile appeared on Lyon's face. "A-All right, Eirika. Just don't let me forget."
He stood, and walked towards the other four lords…
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Later, that evening…
Tana and Innes had left for Frelia just as the sky had begun to turn pink, while Ephraim was, as he was before, sparring with Duessel. The only guest remaining with Eirika was Lyon.
With the sun casting an orange-red glow on everything, Eirika led Lyon to the area of the castle he himself had helped perfect, the left outer hall of castle Renais.
On top of the southernmost hedge on the left side was Lyon's gift. The prince smiled as he saw it.
"There it is, Eirika." he said, walking to the bush and grabbing his gift. Lyon knelt down for a moment while Eirika was looking about…
He stood back up quickly and handed his gift to her. "Here you are. I'm sorry for the wait."
Eirika only smiled and accepted the present; it was neatly-wrapped considering the odd shape. After poking a hole in the blue, white, and yellow paper, Eirika tore it open from that; it was much less murderous than when she opened the gifts from the soldiers…
What she pulled out from the paper astonished her: a gleaming, silver-colored Rapier. It looked like a freshly-forged weapon, and had her name carved on the guard, in fancy cursive; something solid and blue had been placed into the engraving.
"…L… Lyon, I… This is amazing… A personalized Rapier! Wh-what is this made of?" said Eirika, still awed- she had gotten jewelry, money, and a few stuffed animals that she was slightly embarrassed about, from the others.
Lyon smiled. He hid something behind his back as he replied. "The blade and guard are silver. The engraving was filled with pure sapphire. I hope you truly like it. You had told me Ephraim was training you to fight, and… Hopefully, you'd never need to use this weapon, though."
Eirika looked up at Lyon and nodded. "I love it. As much as I don't like violence, I have to admit… I'm captivated by greatly-designed weapons. Like this. Lyon… Thank you."
Taking in a deep breath, Lyon walked closer. "Also, er… Though it's something you could get any time, I-I have something to make up for the wait…"
He pulled his arm out from behind his back, revealing what he had been hiding…
…A red rose.
Eirika quietly gasped while she accepted the flower. "Oh, Lyon… Th-that's so sweet of you…"
She looked from the flower to him and instinctively embraced the prince. Whether she was on cloud nine or not couldn't be told; however, Eirika did something that seemed a bit unlike her…
The princess of Renais planted a kiss on the prince of Grado's cheek.
Lyon's face turned deep red, while Eirika's cheeks had already turned pink.
"…E-Eirika, I… Uh… Oh, dear, I need to go. I need to find Duessel…" he stuttered, leaving Eirika's embrace. He spoke again as he walked around the corner. "Good-bye, Eirika! I hope you stay well while I'm gone."
As the prince of Grado left her sight, Eirika looked at her rose and her new sword. Lyon… I… Thank you…
PM: I've never written Lyon/Eirika before, so this is definitely a first for me. I hope you liked it, FEMM. Same for anyone else who read this. ^_^