Did Renais Castle always feel this distant?

The thought seemed like an odd one to Forde as he passed through the castle halls. After being away so long, returning to his home was almost an unfamiliar feeling. It's like he never had been here before. And yet, through thick and thin, it was still Renais Castle. It still had the same architecture. The same paintings lining the halls. It was all here, and yet… Forde could hardly feel any semblance of nostalgia. Perhaps because he knew things were nowhere near close to done. Eirika and Ephraim hadn't taken back their home- they took back a castle. It would be a long time before that feeling of warmth and hospitality Forde knew would return to these walls. But as it were, it felt no different from taking Renvall. The place all looked like the castle he knew, but in Orson's neglect it fell into disarray, with garbage and dust cluttering its rooms, and its walls stained with blood of the battle that had gone on there.

Feeling suffocated by the castle walls, Forde thought that perhaps the garden would bring him some semblance of peace- after all, he always did prefer the company of nature. Walking out, passing by soldiers scuttling about trying to organize everything, maids and butlers trying to clean the battle ridden halls, he manage to remember the way there. The Renais garden was always a gorgeous place, filled with luscious flora and rich gardens of vegetables the late king Fado tended to himself. Eirika and Ephraim would practice fencing, Forde would sneak off to nap under the cover of the rose bushes… Granted Kyle would always find him and give him an earful. But this place held, at least to him, some peaceful memories he hoped to remember. But it seemed the place was in no good care. Much like the rest of the country, the garden fell into disrepair in Orson's neglect. Flowers were trampled, the vegetables rotted and foul looking, the once inviting place seemed more like a graveyard than a garden. Yet one thing from those days still remained there- Eirika.

Eirika stood in the center of the whole thing, looking around with a forlorn expression. Even she could not help but be changed by all the events of Orson's rule- much like the castle, her warmth had cooled to an image of sorrow. A frown on her lips and tears in her eyes, she looked around at the devastation around this place that once held so many cherished memories for her. Not being a man to let a woman cry in solitude, Forde reached out for her, moving towards her with a loud yawn to break the silence.

"Not quite as good a napping ground these days, is it?" he said, an attempt at humor in his tone.

Eirika jumped, blinking a few times, jarred away from some deep thought, "Oh, Forde. I didn't see you… No this place looks quite downtrodden."

Forde sighed to himself, and pulled out a small handkerchief, extending it to Eirika. She looked at him confused for a moment, unsure of why he was offering it. Then with a quick motion, she reached up to her face and felt the tears on her cheeks. Her face shined a slight tint of red as she accepted the handkerchief, drying her tears, completely unaware of the emotion that had welled up within her. The two stood in silence for a few brief moments, neither sure where to progress the conversation. It was Eirika who broke the silence.

"… Do you remember when we got in trouble for sleeping all day here?"

Forde cocked his head in confusion. HE got in trouble all the time for that. But he never remembered taking Eirika down with him. "No, I can't say I do."

Eirika smirked and motioned for him to follow her, "It was about 2 years ago… You were supposed to take inventory for my father's vegetable garden to see what seeds he should buy."

Forde followed her through the tampered brushes, the memory coming back to him, "Oh yeah, I remember… His majesty asked me to do that, but you know a head of lettuce looks an awful lot like a pillow. Before I knew it I was out for the count."

Eirika giggled; a sound that was almost foreign now, "Yeah… I found you there after my father had asked me to go looking for you. I tried to wake you up but… Well, you know how you are. Once you're out a horde of screeching wyverns can't wake you."

Forde scoffed, feigned hurt in his tone, "I'm offended, milady. I'm one of the most on the job knights out there! I fake sleeping to catch the enemy off guard, it's my signature tactic."

"Oh? And what enemies were you fighting that day?"

"… Insomnia"

The two laughed together, and started laughing so hard that they had to stop walking. The joke wasn't even that funny, but neither was honestly laughing at it. After a few seconds, they collected themselves and Eirika arrived at their destination- the remains of the vegetable garden. Eirika knelt down at a part of it.

"It was right here. I couldn't wake you, so after 10 or so minutes of trying, I decided I would just do your job for you."

"You see now why can't Kyle think like that, it'd make my life easier."

Eirika rolled her eyes and continued, "But when you were asleep… Your grip was strong. I couldn't pry the parchment from your hands, and I ended up tripping and falling on top of you." A blush started to form on Eirika's cheeks, "You were really warm… It was only a moment, but I must have dozed off on top of you. When I awoke, Father was standing over us, piping mad…"

Forde sighed, a less pleasant part of the story coming back to him, "Yeah, I remember now. I got such an earful that day. He was chewing me out for 'corrupting his daughter with my laziness'."

Eirika sighed, though a smile was still on her face, "Yeah, Father always cared about Ephraim and me, though he wasn't always the best at showing it…"

Silence again took root, as the loss of King Fado was one they both felt in their hearts. The silence draped over them for a few minutes until Eirika caught something in the corner of her eye. She walked over to it without saying a word, and Forde merely followed behind. It was a small flower bush, lying seemingly untouched by the calamity around it. The flowers were small white bulbs growing from thing vines, in small clusters of a dozen or so per vine. Eirika picked one, holding it gently in her hands as though she were holding an infant.

"Lily of the Valley… The Lilies of the Valley are still blooming."

Forde scratched his head and looked around. There was a gardening hose and shove near, as though these flowers were the only ones maintained in Orson's rule. "Perhaps they were Monica's favorite or something." Forde mused to himself. He picked up the watering can, water still in it, and sprinkled the flowers in front of him. Eirika watched him, still tenderly clutching to the flower in her hands.

"You know," Forde said, "These flowers look pretty healthy. They should be very easy to maintain if we tell the maids to keep an eye on them.."

Eirika nodded, "Yes… And maybe we can plant all kinds of new flowers too! Maybe… Things can return to… return to how they were."

Eirika's voice fell off, and this time Forde would not let silence take hold of them again. He went up and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. She seemed startled, but gave no effort to pry him away.

"Eirika…" his voice was almost a whisper, "I told you… I told you I would help make your dream come true. A Renais restored… I will make that happen with you. I promised you didn't I?"

Eirika turned her head up to meet his gaze, tears again starting to form in her eyes, "Yes Forde… You did. Renais… It will be home again. I'll- No… We'll make sure of it."

The two looked into each other's eyes for a moment and, with no hesitation on either side, pressed their lips together. It was brief, only together for a second at most, but it was all the two needed. They looked down together at the flower still in Eirika's hands, a white flower almost glowing. Neither had to say it, for they both knew.

Life would return to this place

Whew lad, first fic after years. Don't know if this is a return to form or not, but I had this idea and in an hour wrote it all up. I don't know when creativity will come again, but here's to hoping it's within the end of the decade. Also for those wondering, in the language of flowers, Lily of the Valley stands for returning happiness.

Until next time… See ya Space Cowboy