His Woman-king
woman king
Author's Notes: My entry for FE Contest's eleventh prompt, "Woman King", where I had to write a fic that was no more than 500 words long. The fic itself is...500 words, so I barely made it.
I've always wanted to write a fic about Caeda, and I figured this was as good an opportunity as any to do so. Enjoy!
-x-
She promised him, as she worked alongside him, her hands and knees dirty, scrapped, bleeding, that she would remain by his side no matter what the circumstances, no matter what happened. He said her life would not be easy if she took this path, a path that hadn't been carved yet, a path through thick forests, fast moving rivers, and blood.
She said she didn't mind as long as she was with him, that she would resist anything. He knew first hand that she was a tough nut to crack—it was her strength as well as her grace and beauty that endeared her to him. She was stronger than any princess he had ever known, which he had to admit wasn't very many. If she were a boy, she would have been the perfect king—kind, generous, fair, firm. Her people would love her, respect her.
Of course, she wasn't a boy, but a girl—no, he corrected, a woman. A woman who could fight right alongside the men, wasn't afraid to get dirty or get blood on her clothes. A woman who wasn't afraid of anything.
Not even death.
-x-
"My lady..."
Caeda looked away from her view of the ocean from the library window and to the boy calling for her attention.
"What is it, Ryan?" She was amazed at how much he had grown—he was but a boy when she had seen him during the War of Heroes.
He flushed slightly and bowed deeply. "His Majesty's advisors are requesting a meeting and they cannot find his kingship anywhere. They told me to ask if you might know his whereabouts."
Caeda's fingers traced the edge of a page from the book that was lying open in her lap, her mind elsewhere to where her husband was.
"He won't be back for a while," she answered. "He is visiting the newly opened orphanage today. I guess they forgot about it." She said the last part low, under her breath. These people were supposed to know where Marth was at all times, they were the ones who scheduled these things in the first place, and yet they were coming to her, someone who really wasn't supposed to know anything, like all queens. But Caeda was not like all queens—it wouldn't suit her to be.
"Might I be able to be of some assistance?" she asked, closing the book without even looking at what page she was on. She didn't even remember opening the book in the first place. She touched his shoulder, causing him to rise.
"I beg your pardon if I sound out of line, Lady Caeda, but you are—"
He shut his mouth immediately when she stood, graceful as always, book in hand.
"My father always said, 'Behind every great king in history is a woman-king standing beside him, supporting and helping him always'."
To Altea, Caeda was simply their king's wife; to Marth, Caeda was his woman-king, always remaining by his side, no matter what lay ahead.