One Snowy Night
Day 7: Beginning
Everything was new.
The cushions of the carriage he was sitting on was softer and more comfortable than anything he'd encountered before. His gaze drifted to the doors of the carriage, carved out of – oak? Maybe. He couldn't be sure. The interior was lined with some sort of velvet cushioning, and the upper half of the door was painted with some design he wasn't familiar with, a crest in gold and blue. A window was built into the door too, allowing him to look out at the snow still falling in soft but persistent waves.
"We'll reach the manse soon." The voice from his side broke through his thoughts and Erk looked over, suddenly extremely self conscious about his behaviour, and wondering if nobles didn't fidget and look about carriages while they were travelling in it.
The man – Lord Pent – fixed him with a kindly smile before continuing. "You're unused to such a long journey, aren't you, Erk? Don't worry though. We'll be there soon."
And as if on cue, the view outside the window changed, from endless snowy plains to an elaborate mansion. And despite himself, Erk's mouth fell open. It was enormous. Larger than any of the buildings he'd seen in his life – although he had to admit that he hadn't seen very many at all up until then.
The carriage rolled to a stop, and Lord Pent stepped out first. Then, almost as an afterthought, he turned back, holding out a helping hand.
"Will you need help getting down, Erk?"
His first instinct was to say no, but the carriage steps were steep, and he didn't want to make a bad first impression by tumbling down the snowy lane. So he nodded, once, and reached out to grab the offered hand.
As they stepped through the towering main entrance, they were greeted with what looked like a small army of servants bowing in attendance to Lord Pent. But before any of them could say anything, there was a clattering noise from the far end, and a woman – golden of hair and with a warm smile rushed up to them.
He blinked, unsure. He had never had much interaction with nobles until he had recently caught Lord Pent's eye, but her behaviour seemed rather... carefree?
"M – my apologies, my lord," one of the more senior looking servants said. "We tried to convince her to at least wait in the reading rooms, but the mistress would not be dissuaded."
Lord Pent let that matter pass with a small smile and then he had stepped forward to embrace the woman – probably his wife, Erk surmised. In the meantime, he glanced at the other people standing in the hallway of the place – none of them paid him any attention.
"And you must be Erk!" Suddenly the woman was looking down at him, a warm smile on her face. And Erk found himself unable to reply immediately as his brain scrambled for the proper words. Instead he stared back at her, feeling silly.
"He is. And from now on," Lord Pent had raised his voice, subtly including all the servants present and letting him know the status of the young boy in ragged clothes who had been brought here with him, "he is my student."
A brief murmur passed between the assembled servants before they nodded.
"Erk, this is Louise." If anything, Lord Pent's smile only grew wider. "My dear wife."
"Indeed, I am Countess Reglay. But please, Louise will be fine. Come on, then!" Louise clapped her hands once. "It's late, and you've just had a long journey. I'll show you to your room, and then you can have a quick supper and you can turn in after that."
Barely waiting for a response, Louise had started ushering him down the hall. He was moved through the manor, past door after door, and after a wall Erk simply gave up on keeping track of where he was.
All the while, Louise chatted away at him and Pent, seemingly not minding that Erk wasn't making much effort to reply to her.
"Oh, but look at those clothes! They're so worn, and they barely fit! And you say those are the only set he owns? That won't do at all! I'll call the seamstress first thing tomorrow. What is your favourite colour, Erk?"
He was about to reply that he didn't really have one, when suddenly they halted in front of a particular door. With a smile, Lord Pent pushed the door open, and Erk peered cautiously into what was presumably his room.
His mouth fell open.
The room was huge – far larger than any bedroom he'd slept in before. And judging by the single bed resting at the far wall, he would have it all to himself! At the near corner was a wooden desk, simply but sturdy and adorned with several books and what looked like a new, unopened inkwell with a quill pen resting beside it.
A couch, a small bookshelf lined with leatherbound tomes – a fireplace!
"I hope this is to your liking, Erk!" Louise said. "When I received word from Lord Pent that he was bringing home a student, I decided to prepare your room in advance."
"Yes, Louise is very much my better half when it comes to affairs like preparing a warm welcome."
"Is this...?" he blinked, look around again. This luxury was... well, beyond anything he'd ever dreamed of. "This is all for me?"
Something softer entered Lord Pent's body language, and he crouched down, so he was looking the boy at eye level. "Yes it is," he said, a gentle smile on his face. "You are my student, Erk. But you are now my ward as well.
"From now on, you may consider this place your home. And you may consider us your family, too."
One cold snowy night, in the Etrurian countryside, in a house filled with warmth, and light, and love, Erk's new life began.
Story End
Author Notes: Writing about Erk is a bit meaningful to me since he's the guy I wrote a lot about back when I started writing FE fanfiction. So I hope you enjoyed this!