Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Wanderlust

by Oribes

This old house. It had been a familiar, comforting haven. But now it was going to be left behind. She gazed around the room one last time. Was this really going to be the final goodbye?

"Anna! You ready to go?" A voice startled her out of her reflections.

"Oh! Jake! Sorry, I was just thinking about all the memories we've made in this land, and how much I'm going to miss it." Anna turned and saw her sweetheart poking his head in through the door.

"You know, not to break your sentimentalism, but you say that about every place we've lived in," Jake said. "When we arrive, you're always going on about how it's so new and how you'll never get used to it, but after a while you never want to leave."

"Please. A girl can't wish to have a permanent home sometimes?" She shot back, eyes twinkling.

"I'm just stating the truth. You've said the same thing about Akaneia, Barensia, Jugdral—" Jake began to tick off the names on his fingers.

"Yeah yeah, I know, I complain too much," Anna admitted, but Jake wasn't finished.

"—Elibe, Magvel, and now Tellius." He looked up and grinned. "If I know you, I'd think that you've taken a certain shine to this particular continent."

"Well, not to be unfair to the others since they were all pretty exciting, but Tellius does seem to be just a bit more… I don't know…" she trailed off.

"Special?" Jake offered.

"Maybe," Anna replied. "I guess it's because we've had to stay here so long. I mean, it's been five years since we last discovered a new region to explore. Usually we'd only stay on one continent for two, maybe three years before moving on."

They both became silent, remembering the many homes they'd made over the years, only to leave them behind when adventure called. Then Jake gently spoke again.

"Do you think… that maybe it's time for us to really settle down?"

Anna looked up at him. Were her ears deceiving her? Jake disliked staying put in one place. It made him nervous, he said. In fact, she had been initially attracted to him because of his desire to explore, because his wanderlust was just as strong as hers. So why was he suggesting that they give it up now?

"I mean, if you really want to stay here, I… wouldn't mind staying… with you." Jake almost seemed to not believe what he was saying himself.

Anna gave the room another sweeping glance. With their few belongings packed up and stowed away, the walls seemed bare and empty. But if she just said yes, she could go to the wagon right now and take back her bundles. She could open them up and replace everything where it was supposed to be.

But was that what she really wanted? Her time here in Tellius had brought her some of the best memories of her life, and admittedly, she did sometimes envy the other girls who got to marry the man of their dreams and start a family. She thought her nomadic lifestyle had dashed all hopes of her doing the same with Jake, and she even counted herself lucky to have found someone who loved to travel just as much as she did. Now he was willing to sacrifice his passion if it made her happy.

She turned away from the walls and walked to the open window. Outside, the wind was blowing gently and she could smell the salt of the ocean nearby, as if it were enticing her with the allure of unknown lands just across the water. She knew she couldn't stay. It wasn't in her nature. She had never been able to resist the challenge of exploring a new world, and this time, no matter how hard the departure, would be no different. It didn't matter if she never got to marry Jake. With all the time they spent together, they were practically married already. And as long as he was by her side, it didn't matter where their home was. Home was wherever he was; she didn't need a set of walls and roof above her head to tell her that.

"Come on, let's go. I think we've stayed here long enough," she said.

"Somehow, I knew you were still going to leave." Jake smiled. "Nothing can tie you down for too long, not even nostalgia."

"You know me too well," she laughed.

"Hey, no matter how many girls I meet, you're still the only one for me," Jake said.

"Aw, thanks! I'm flattered!" Anna grinned slyly and rested a finger against her face. "Well, no use in standing around, then. Off to the seaport!"

At that, he took her hand and together they left the now-empty house. As they climbed onto the wagon, she took one more look back. From the outside, there wasn't any more indication that the house was theirs. It was time to pass it on to the next owners. She faced forward again, confidently looking towards the sea. "Goodbye Tellius," she whispered as the wagon began to move. "Hello Ylisse!"