Chrom knew braids.
Oh boy did Chrom know braids.
What Chrom did not know was-why he was currently braiding the hair of the person seated in the pew in front of him.
Growing up with two sisters will require you, if nothing else, to learn how to braid hair. Little messy braids done on a whim; long, straight traditional braids; and even full, blown-out updos covered in intricate patterns of small flower-like braids.
Chrom had done it all.
He distinctly remembered the day Emmeryn had taught him the secret to braiding.
"Now, Chrom," she began gently,"Hair braiding is one of the most important skills a person can possess."
The young boy grimaced in disgust at the topic of all things girly. He hated it when his older sister tried to teach him stuff she knew. He was a man! Well...Not yet, but he would be! And he didn't need to know how to braid! That's stuff for women!
"Now, now. No whining," she continued, calm smile still in place. Chrom hated it when she acted this sweet, he could never refuse her.
When she kept her serene gaze fixed on him, he finally resigned to his fate. It was obvious he was going to learn this 'braiding' today.
"Fine, Emm..." He sighed.
Her face lit up even more, if that was possible, and Chrom smiled very slightly, though it was still a little painful.
Sweeping over to her large white dressing counter, she pulled open the upper right drawer and took out a ceramic brush with fine bristles. The top of the brush was white with rings of gilded flowers decorating the paddle and handle. Along with the brush came a few metallic pins and a clasp-like barrette with a shining blue gem situated carefully in the middle. Chrom groaned. Why did everything look so girly?
His sister padded softly back to him and motioned for him to sit on her small cushioned stool. He hmph'ed as he plunked down onto the rosy colored chair.
Emmeryn ran her fingers through his locks-something unknown to most people was that Chrom's hair was, well, different when he was younger. When he was older, his hair was short, but long enough to cover the nape of his neck. It was cut specifically to smooth the edges, and indeed felt soft to the touch.
However... When Chrom was younger... His hair was extremely long. Not just long. Long-long. His hair fell down his back in long wavy blue locks. He had always seen hair to be so beautiful, and growing up with a family of three long-haired females, naturally, he wished to have long hair also.
Once Emmeryn was finished with his braid-as soon as the clasp made a clipping sound, Chrom leapt out of the chair. He raced across the large room and stood in front of his sister's tall mirror. Turning around, he looked over his shoulder and studied his braid. He gaped at his appearance. His bangs fell over his forehead and covered his ears. He stared on in shock at the reflection of this person. Was this really him!?
Chrom was frozen until Emmeryn tiptoed-it always seemed like she was on her tiptoes-over to him and lightly placed a crystalline crown on his head. Not a strong, golden crown carved for a king; a silver tinted tiara covered in brightly colored gems of blue topaz. His own princely band which he wore was girly enough-! But this-this!
Lissa walked in precisely at that moment, and upon seeing her brother's changed appearance, giggled. It sounded malevolent to the young prince's ears.
She pointed directly at Chrom,"Now we are three sisters!" She gasped out between laughs.
Chrom would have strangled her, had not Emmeryn been present. Instead he rushed out of the room, and both his sisters glanced at one another.
After this, let us just conclude that Chrom's hair was no longer braid-able, and his sisters did not ever again mention his braided hair to anyone, not even him.
So basically, sisters will ruin one's life if they try to teach one to braid. A bit dramatic? Not at all. But...back to the matter at hand.
Chrom was drawn out of his musing when the body in front of him moved ever so slightly back and forth, wriggling around in the pew and making it quite difficult for Chrom to braid properly. Short hair was hard enough-but try braiding when said person was moving so darn much!Curse the gods! Why wouldn't they stop!?
Chrom leaned forward very, very slowly. Ever so slowly, trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible. As he quietly made these movements, he picked up the holy book in the pew's back compartment, pretending to be deep in thought over the words of Naga.
All of this was a ruse however, as he brought his mouth closer to the ear of the person in front of him-the one whose hair he had hair been braiding. His mouth hovered beside the small, protruding form of cartilage. Chrom released a breath he hadn't known he was holding, and the person before him shivered ever so slightly, but enough to not go unnoticed by the blue-haired prince.
Then Chrom spoke.
"Ricken! You're making it darn near impossible to perfectly braid your hair! Your squirming is extremely annoying. Next time this happens, I'll use a rake or the stable's curry comb on your rat's nest!" He whispered in complete fury and seriousness.
The young boy turned his head like a ticking clock and Chrom could almost hear the cringing of the imaginary cogs in his neck.
"C-Chrom!?" He stuttered and began wheezing as he attempted to catch his breath from his surprise. "What are you doing? Are you crazy!?" He seemed shocked to find his idol and Lord braiding his short hair. Maybe that was a surprise.
Chrom just narrowed his eyes and pouted his lower lip out at the younger man. "Possibly. Maybe. Doesn't matter. But that doesn't make your writhing any more insufferable!"
Ricken looked scandalized, eyes wide and mouth open in the shape of a small 'o.' How Chrom would love to politely clamp that small jaw shut with a fist and kindly turn the boy around so he could happily go back to braiding. Yes. Oh so happily.
"Writhing!? I was not writhing! Absolutely not!...What if someone sees us? What will they think!?" Ricken whispered fiercely. His small, almost feminine eyebrows were drawn together and furrowed in obvious confusion.
Chrom sighed loudly. A little too loudly, as someone beside Ricken turned their head toward Chrom and peered over the pew. Chrom just buried his face in the book he was still holding and turned a page, releasing a long-drawn out breath. The person nodded their head and went back to paying attention to the man at the pulpit.
Chrom took this opportunity to glance back up to the front. He frowned as he watched the priest walk back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Was that all he did? Well, he was speaking of course, but Chrom didn't hear a word. He sighed once again.
Curse that tactician. Along with her help, Libra had convinced the whole group of Shepherds to attend a service. Chrom was no atheist. He most definitely believed in Naga...but he was not a regular attendee to chapel services.
For this reason: he was not one to sit still very long.
Close to nothing could hold his attention for hours on end. On the battlefield, it was true that he was a little reckless occasionally. His sisters' words. But he was also energetic is leading his men and women and extremely aggressive in battle. Nothing could beat the feel of a strong sword in his hands, the clanging clash that followed as it collided with that of another soldier. Battle was truly exciting, indeed it was.
This service on the other hand...
He enjoyed the chapel services he supposed, but Libra...well, Libra was just much too long-winded for his liking.
Chrom waved his hand at Ricken, motioning for him to turn his head back around. The boy looked at him suspiciously but did what his prince wanted him to do. He never was one to disobey an order, if it could be called such.
Weaving the strands of short hair together, Chrom admired the softness of Ricken's hair. Unlike Emmeryn's long curls, or Lissa's uncontrollable bush-he would not deem it anything else-Ricken's hair felt like un-plucked cotton and had a certain fluffiness to it. The hair seemed as obedient as its owner as it allowed Chrom to tame its usual unruly spirit.
As he ended the short braid, the size of it dwindled until he could no longer braid the hair evenly. He held the end with one hand as the other went on to search for some type of string in his satchel. The good thing about sisters was that sometimes their extra beauty supplies, which they made one carry, came in handy, Chrom thought as he pulled out a rope-like cord with a small blue violet attached to it. Blue would look good with Ricken's attire and would do as a nice contrast to his almost red hair.
He wrapped the band around the hair, once, twice, three times for good measure, and tugged lightly on the braid to check its strength. The braid didn't give out, and Chrom snorted when the auburn-haired boy let out an almost mute whine of indignation at the yank.
Chrom let go of the braid and it flopped back down against the nape of the boy's neck. Studying his work, Chrom quietly decided to himself that it needed more. He would outdo himself.
He heard Ricken sigh in relief, perhaps believing Chrom to be finished with his hair. Chrom smirked, though unbeknownst to the younger man in front of him. This was only the beginning, he thought as he once again dug through his satchel, grabbing any blue and purple colored hair ornaments he could find. Emm and Lissa really had given him a lot to carry.
After he had found all he needed, or wanted rather, he placed them on his lap. Out of his loot, he chose a barrette with a purple flower-like gem and smaller blue gems adorning the sides. He ran his fingers through the unbraided shorter pieces of Ricken's hair and placed it near the top of his head. A silvery dragonfly shaped pin followed after it, this one closer to his ear.
After creating a similar design on the other side of the boy's head, Chrom shoved the rest of the accessories into his bag. It seemed he had finished just in time, as the people near the front of the church stood in a final prayer to Naga. Chrom bowed his head, but he looked up when he felt a pair of eyes watching him.
He looked up to see Ricken, turned to face him. His eyes glinted with mischief at the boy's stare, and he gave him a thumbs up. The other just stuck his tongue out and blew a quiet raspberry at him. Chrom laughed.
The service ended and some decided to speak to the priest, while others solemnly, but joyfully, stepped out of the church. The blue-haired prince walked out of his pew and headed toward the back of the church, taking a relaxed stance by the large, wooden doors of the chapel.
He noticed Ricken quickly leave his seat beside Gaius-since when had he been sitting there?-and come his way. The small boy Mage stood beside him, a mint green book clutched to his chest, his small hands squeezing it tightly enough to turn his knuckles white from the pressure.
He smiled at the skill he had when he had braided the hair, Ricken's usual mop of ruddy hair was tidy on the sides, with the pins keeping his hair tame, and on the back where his braid lay. His bangs were still splayed out on his small forehead and curved off to the sides as they usually did.
This style, combined with the braid, gave him a very cute, boyish look, making him to be more of the child he seemed, than the actual young man that he was. Chrom almost laughed aloud. It definitely contradicted Ricken's efforts.
The older noted that the other had yet to hide this most embarrassing hairstyle; instead his much too large blue hat stayed crumpled under the his arm, tightly pinned against his body.
That was when Chrom realized that he couldn't put the hat on. They were still in the chapel, and that was considered disrespectful. By staying in the church and not leaving to quickly hide his hair, Ricken was, in a way, trying to show that he wasn't afraid of being seen with such a hairstyle. When attempting to desperately show he was a man, he sometimes made himself look so childish. Chrom laughed to himself and shook his head in disbelief. Ricken glanced at him when he made this movement, but quickly averted his eyes when he noticed he was looking.
As they stayed beside the doors, Gaius walked up to them and stood on the opposite side of Ricken. Chrom inconspicuously glanced at the red-head, and noticed that he was trying to hide a smirk as he looked at the smaller boy's hair. When his eyes met Chrom's, they stated at one another-Chrom couldn't tell why for the life of him-until they heard a nervous cough from the boy between them. At the same time, they noticed that the short young man was nodding to a smiling Libra and a grinning Lissa.
Chrom gave Lissa a strange look. But she just smiled sweetly at him. She was always up to mischief; it made it difficult for Chrom to trust her. He noticed her glancing shyly at Gaius and his suspicion heightened.
"Hi, Gaius," she greeted, putting her hands behind her back and leaning forward on the balls of her feet.
"Hey, Princess." Gaius replied with a nod. Chrom wondered at these simple words; he'd have to look into it later...
Then Libra spoke as she-he brushed the hair out of his eyes. "Ricken, you're hair looks lovely. I love what you've done with it."
Chrom looked to Ricken and saw that his face was red. Tomato red. His cheeks had changed color quite considerably and the prince thought he may faint from all the blood rushing to his head. He quietly noted that the tips of the boy-Mage's ears had also turned red.
"I didn't know that you had such talent in braiding...?" Libra began, but Ricken quickly cut him off.
"I don't."
Libra looked surprised, yet it seemed he expected that answer. "Well, then who-?" He questioned as he looked from Gaius to Chrom. His line of sight did not dwell on Gaius too long, as he shook his head and chuckled. However, his gaze did linger on the blue-haired prince. Too much lingering for Chrom's liking.
Lissa caught the direction of Libra's gaze and looked at Chrom also. Her face lit up in realization, and he could only hope that she would not open her rather large mouth. But naturally, never one to hold back information-she did.
"Oh! Chrom did you-!" She exclaimed excitedly.
Chrom didn't allow her to finish her sentence.
"What are you talking about!?" He almost yelled. He sounded panicked. Panicked was bad, so he lowered his volume. "I-I can't braid!" Now he sounded nervous. Too nervous. He never was good at lying.
At his 'confession,' Gaius raised his eyebrows. Did he know something? Chrom frowned at the red head but continued on.
"B-braiding is for women!" He nearly shouted this statement. This sounded eerily familiar to what he had said once a long time ago. He opened his mouth to say more, but his jaw snapped shut when he noticed that Libra wasn't smiling anymore.
...Oh...OH.
Of course, now Chrom had just gone and insulted the priest.
"...Sorry, Libra..." He said, scratching at the back of his head in embarrassment.
Said priest was running his fingers over his braids in comfort-? Affection-? Chrom didn't know anymore.
"It is fine." He replied, though not in his usual kind tone.
Lissa looked at Chrom with a twinkle in her eye. A knowing look on her face. The prince inwardly groaned. Gods, how he hoped he wouldn't hear of this later.
"Well, me and Princess here were gonna drag Padre down to the market. You two wanna come?" Gaius asked, looking at them with his usual undisturbed, complacent expression.
The two young men declined, but expressed that they were grateful for the offer. The thief just shrugged his shoulders and walked outside. Libra followed suit, still looking concerned for Chrom's well-being, and maybe a little bit annoyed. Lissa followed the two men and on her way out, she winked at Chrom and then began humming. Oh boy. Chrom was going to have fun later it seemed. He groaned.
The younger man beside him stayed quiet, but did peek at the prince from the corners of his eyes. When he realized that Chrom was looking directly at him, unabashedly, he turned and walked to stand in front of his companion.
Narrowed caramel eyes glared at him as their owner crossed his arms over his chest, huffing in annoyance.
"Do you KNOW how-how-embarrassing-no-how HUMILIATING that was!?" The boy seemed furious.
Chrom thought his eyes were going to pop out of his skull and then he'd be looking at a small head with empty eye sockets. The eyes would be lying on the floor, optic nerves and fluid surrounding them-ok, time to stop that train of thought. Chrom did not like the mental image that was evoking. Ew.
Looking exasperated, Ricken sighed loudly. "Are you even listening to me?"
Chrom shook his head to rid himself of thoughts of eyes, and stared blankly at the boy. Apparently he had said more.
"Chrom! Why am I even friends with you!?"
Chrom almost snorted at the comment. Maybe because he was in charge? Maybe because he was the prince/heir of Ylisse? Maybe because he was royalty? Maybe because he was just so amazing-no, probably not that one. But despite these reasons. Chrom decided to take the charming route.
He tugged lightly on Ricken's braid, and the boy's head jerked upward to stare at the other man in disbelief.
"Maybe because you like how I braid." Chrom retorted and let Ricken process the information for a second, before waltzing out of the church and into the meadow which surrounded it.
Not even five seconds later, he saw the shell-shocked boy heave as he pushed the giant oak doors open and ran after him.
"Chrom! You get back here and say that to my face!" He screeched, Mage hat on top of his head and wind magic book threateningly opened.
Chrom chuckled. "I already did!"
Chrom kept laughing as the frustrated boy banged his tiny fists on the prince's back.
Chrom knew braids.
Yup, Chrom definitely knew braids.
And maybe it wouldn't be so bad to know them after all.