Chapter Six

"Eirika!"

"Brother!"

Ephraim, in full royal regalia, wrapped his arms around Eirika and held her in a fierce embrace. "We heard what happened." He pulled back and looked her up and down. "You're sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. No sooner had he let her go than Tana, in her sweeping white wedding gown, hugged Eirika just as tightly.

"And Seth?" asked Ephraim.

"I'm told he'll be fine." She'd been banished to the outer ward of the infirmary shortly after Seth had been brought in. Before they could use their healing staves it was necessary that the healers remove the crossbow bolt from Seth's leg and they had insisted that she wait outside, though they'd assured her that he would be all right. "But..." And now she looked from Ephraim to Tana and back again. "Are you two married?"

A blush crept into Tana's cheeks. "Not yet."

"Do you think I'd get married without you there?" Ephraim said. "When no one knew where you were and then it looked like Seth had disappeared as well we began to worry. I set the whole castle looking for you."

"I'm so relieved," said Tana. "When we heard you'd been attacked..."

Eirika shook her head. "It was wasn't me she was after."

"What do you mean?" asked Ephraim.

While they waited to be allowed in to see Seth, Eirika recounted what had occurred in the garden. By the end, Ephraim was glowering and Tana, looking pale.

"I knew her," whispered Tana. "Not well but... She once took out an enemy archer that had my pegasus in his sights. I can't believe it."

Ephraim shook his head. "I'll have to have Verras freed from the dungeons. I suppose we're fortunate this happened when it did. Another few days and an innocent man would have been put to death."

Eirika started as the door to the inner ward opened and one of the healers emerged.

"Your highnesses," he said with bow.

"How is he?" Eirika asked.

The healer smiled. "He's fine. There might be some stiffness for a few days and I want him to stay off his feet until tomorrow, but he'll make a full and speedy recovery. You can see him now."

The healer led them to a room at the back of the infirmary with several beds, all empty save one. Seth's face was ashen as he sat propped up by some pillows, but he smiled as he saw her. It was only Ephraim's presence that kept her from throwing her arms around him.

"Sire," he said as he caught sight of Ephraim.

Seth shifted to sit up more fully, but Ephraim raised a hand. "Be at ease, Seth. You've been through enough for one day." Seth nodded and eased himself back against the pillows. "How do you feel?"

"Well enough, Sire. I must apologise, however. I never meant to place Princess Eirika in danger. I–"

"Enough, Seth," Ephraim interrupted with a wave of his hand. "No one holds you responsible. "We're just glad you're both all right." Ephraim shook his head. "I don't know what we'd do without you, Seth. You're like family after all."

"My lord, I..." He bowed his head. "Thank you."

"We should get back, though. There seem to be a wedding and a coronation scheduled and I suppose we ought to attend," said Ephraim with a smile.

"I'll be just a minute," said Eirika. Ephraim nodded and he and Tana moved to the doorway.

When she sat down on the edge of the bed Seth glanced at her and she thought at least a little colour returned to his face. "Are you really all right?" she asked, placing her hand over his.

"I am. Lady Eirika," he began. His air had grown sober and she steeled herself against another speech about duty and the obligations of their positions. She was not quite prepared, however, when he did speak, his voice grown husky with emotion. "You saved my life."

"Seth, I..." She smiled. "I couldn't do otherwise." After a moment, her eyes flitted to the doorway where Ephraim and Tana were waiting. "I should go. I'll come by and see you after the ceremony."

"You needn't do so."

"I want to."

He smiled and nodded. As she got up to leave, he took her hand and brought it to his lips. A thrill ran through her and she knew, when she crossed the room to join Tana and her brother, that there was a bright flush to her cheeks. Ephraim peered at her, one eyebrow raised, but she simply made her way out of the infirmary without a word.

ooo

Seth lay awake in the darkened infirmary. Tired as he was, he could not sleep while her laughter still tumbled through his thoughts.

When a servant had arrived in the infirmary holding a plate heaped with the delicacies from the wedding feast, Seth had known Eirika had had it sent to him. He had been more than a little surprised, however, when Eirika herself had followed only a moment later. She'd regaled him with a recounting of the ceremony, every detail of how the bride and groom had been accoutred, of the knights' procession during the coronation, of the feast laid out before the guests in the banquet hall. He hung on her every word, knowing that she had tried to take in every detail so that she could share it all with him. Her face had radiated happiness– though concern had flitted across her features at times when she looked to him.

"It was beautiful. I wish you could have been there," she'd said and squeezed his hand.

"That I'm here at all is thanks to you," he'd replied and been delighted by the lovely flush in her cheeks as he'd brought her hand to his lips once again. She could never know how it made him tremble to do so: she was the Princess of Renais! Yet she was also...

Seth shifted in the infirmary bed. His leg ached dully. But it was not the wound that made his chest constrict when he thought over the events of that day. As a knight it was his duty to protect her. As a princess it had been her duty to flee when she'd had the chance. As a princess her well-being should have outweighed his.

I'll not leave you to be murdered...

She had protected him, saved his life, in defiance of duty, of obligation. He would never have forgiven himself if she'd come to harm, yet...

We both know that in this world we can't always protect the ones we love. When we can it's a gift...

A gift...

Seth clutched the small leather pouch in his hand. After Eirika had left, one of the servants had asked Seth if there was anything he needed and Seth had asked him to fetch something from his quarters. The pouch was light enough that one might almost have believed it to be empty but for a slight clinking sound when the servant had handed it to him. He'd waited until he was alone to inspect its contents. He had never thought to give it away, but every time he closed his eyes all he could see was Eirika standing over him, sword drawn. He didn't think he'd ever loved her more than in that instant.

He was still clutching the leather pouch when sleep finally claimed his wary thoughts.

ooo

The sky had taken on a silvery sheen and the air in the royal gardens was heavy with the coming rain. A stillness, thick with waiting, had fallen over the world, and even the bubbling of the fountain seemed muted. It was strange to think that only two days ago blood had been spilled here.

Eirika spun on her heel, her hand falling to her hilt, as she heard a step from behind. "Princess." Her hand fell away from the sword.

She could not keep a smile from appearing on her lips when she saw Seth standing there in the doorway. He was still officially on leave and so he did not don his regular armour, but only a shirt and a pair of nondescript trousers, yet even in plainclothes his bearing gave him away and he looked tall and noble and handsome. As he came to stand with her by the fountain she kept a keen eye on his movements, looking for any sign of a limp as he walked. But she found none and his eyes were bright and clear of pain. "How are you today?"

"Very well, my lady."

"And your leg?"

"There's some slight stiffness, but it should be gone by tomorrow."

"Good. I want my favourite sparring partner back." Eirika chided herself as a wave of giddiness coursed through her at the smile that curved his lips. It seemed ages since she'd seen him look truly happy.

"How are the new king and queen?"

A smile quirked her lips. "Fine... for the little I've seen of them."

"Yes, I suppose they've been busy."

She could feel her cheeks growing warm and cleared her throat. "I'm going to look at the flowers."

Together they began walking around the small garden, pausing before the flowerbeds of gladiolas, lilies, and zinnias. "I saw Kyle earlier," he said as they stood before a plot of roses. She could feel his eyes upon her as she knelt and caressed one of the flowers' velvety petals and leaned closer to inhale its sweet scent. "He praised your skill quite highly."

"He's an excellent swordsman," she replied. "But still..." She glanced up at him, smiling slyly, "He can't compare to our Silver Knight."

"You flatter me, milady."

"Tell me truly, Seth," she said, rising to look him in the eye. "I want to improve my skills and I would have you teach me and help me perfect my swordsmanship as much as I'm able, but if it makes you uncomfortable I'll accept learning from someone else."

He shook his head. "No, Princess, I want to. Your skills are excellent and deserve to be honed. And..." He darted a glance over his shoulder towards the fountain. "Were you not as skilled as you are, I wouldn't be alive. You have my gratitude."

She sighed inwardly and let her eyes wander over the flowers as they swayed in the breeze. It wasn't gratitude that she wanted from him. Was it really so selfish to wish for more? When she'd returned to see him in the infirmary the evening of Ephraim's and Tana's wedding, he'd seemed very much at ease. They'd talked, laughed even, much as they had around campfires during the war, for even during the darkest of times there had been good days and reasons to rejoice. She so enjoyed his company when he set aside his armour and allowed himself to be only Seth.

Startled, she turned once more to look at him when she felt his hand brush her cheek. "Prin–" He stopped himself and began again. "Eirika." She could not take her eyes from his as he looked at her with the gentleness in his eyes that she had always loved, that calmness which could be so expressive. "There's something I want to offer you."

He removed something from a leather pouch at his belt and held it in his fist. When he opened his hand, she saw that he held a silver chain on which hung a polished silver pendant in the shape of a heart. "It was my mother's," he explained. "It was given to her by my father when he asked for her hand. As I now ask for yours."

Eirika's heart skipped a beat. She had never expected... "Seth," she breathed. He held out his hand. Her own was trembling as she reached out to place it in his.

When, in one smooth motion, he swept her into his embrace and his lips crashed down onto hers, she felt for a moment as if she were drowning. She was enveloped by his arms, his scent, his taste, and all her benumbed mind seemed able to think was that she wanted more. When he pulled away, her whole body ached with the loss of his nearness.

Flushed and slightly dazed, she took a moment to catch her breath before she dared to look up at him again. An abashed grin, which gave him the air of a boy caught stealing sweets, burst onto his features. She bit her lip to stave off an equally silly grin of her own while her cheeks burned and her heart fluttered.

Her hand was still clasped in his, over the pendant, and only now did he release it. She turned her eyes from Seth to regard the silver pendant in her palm. "I don't expect you to wear it," he said, serious once more. "I know it's hardly worthy of a–" She put her fingers to his lips.

"Will you help me put it on?" She handed the chain and pendant back to him and then turned, holding her hair up away from her neck. He looped the silver chain around her throat. She smiled at the way his fingers fumbled with the clasp, even as she shivered when his fingertips brushed across the nape of her neck.

She turned to face him. "How does it look?"

"Beautiful," he replied, but he wasn't looking at the pendant and the way he stated at her so fondly was more than she could bear and she wrapped her arms around him, sighing as he embraced her in return.

It was several moments before he spoke again. "Eirika?"

"Hmm?"

"About the king..."

It jarred her when she realized that he meant her brother. All her life "the king" had been her father– her father who would not be there to see her married. She nestled closer to Seth. "Let's wait a few days. Let him enjoy the first days of his marriage before he has to think about anything else." She could feel the tension in Seth's body and the realization at once thrilled and terrified her. She had never before been this close to him, even the night they'd fled Renais, for his armour had been a barrier between them. "Ephraim won't object," she assured him.

"But what about–"

She interrupted him by bringing her lips to his.

ooo

Seth's newly polished armour glittered in the morning light which slanted through the castle windows and his footsteps echoed boldly through the corridors as he made his way to the throne room. His back was straight, shoulders squared, his head raised, his demeanour stolid. Not a hint to give away how his stomach churned and his palms were damp with sweat as he marched through the hallways to meet with his king.

When he entered the throne room and asked after the king, the guards indicated that Ephraim was in the small study adjoining the throne room. He paused a moment at the door, steeling himself before he knocked. "Sire, do you have a moment?"

"Come in, Seth."

When Seth entered the study, dominated by a huge oak desk at which Ephraim was seated, he could not help but notice a lightness about the king that he had rarely seen before. His hand moved with a jaunty rhythm as he finished off the final lines of a letter and then sealed it with emblem of the King of Renais. "What can I do you for, Seth?" he said with a smile.

"I came to–" He cleared his throat. "I came to speak to you."

Ephraim raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I can see that. About what?"

"About– that is–" He took a deep breath and plunged in. "I came to ask for Lady Eirika's hand in marriage." Seth's stomach fell when, for a moment, Ephraim froze.

"Seth."

"Yes, Sire."

"If I'd known," he said, his expression sober, "that all it would take was a crossbow bolt through the leg, I would've shot you myself months ago."

"Milord?"

But Ephraim was smiling as he rose and came to stand across from Seth. "Seth, I would be proud to have you as a brother." And with that he clasped Seth's hand.

Seth, too flummoxed to speak until Ephraim let his hand go, finally managed a strangled "Thank you, my lord."

"You'll have to stop calling me that when we're in private," said Ephraim. "I trust you're not still calling my sister 'Princess'?" he asked deadpan, though Seth was almost certain he'd seen his lips twitch in a suppressed smile.

"No, my lo– No. Not when we're alone."

Ephraim fell back into his chair and regarded Seth for a moment and Seth was reminded forcefully of King Fado. The former king's eyes had always seemed to looked through you, past all your defences. He had been known not only as a peerless warrior, but also as a keen and

discerning leader. "I was beginning to worry," said Ephraim finally, "that you would turn into another Carlyle and go mad pining for her for the next twenty years."

"Sire, I would never–"

"Peace, Seth. I spoke in jest." Yet Seth could not help but wonder if that was entirely true. He supposed it was a moot point in any case. Ephraim leaned back into his chair and sighed. "Still, I wonder sometimes... They say love makes men mad. I never believed it."

"And now?"

Ephraim shook his head. "I don't know what to think. Carlyle, Orson, Lyon, this Ursula who attacked you... I must admit that I enjoy the thrill of battle, but this war... We fought our friends, our allies. It took feelings that should have been good and noble and turned them to something ugly and base." Ephraim fell silent, and though his eyes were fixed on the surface of the desk, he seemed to be looking past it to something visible only to his mind's eye. "Seth?"

"Yes, Sire?" Without looking up Ephraim raised an eyebrow. Seth cleared his throat and tried once more. "Yes?"

"Has Eirika said anything to you... about Lyon?"

Seth closed his eyes a moment, recalling the tears on her cheeks that day, the tremor in her voice as she had spoken Lyon's name. "She has."

"Good." He smiled wanly. "I've tried to talk to her about it, but..." He shook his head. "She should never have had to strike the final blow. I should've been the one to end it."

"My Lor–" He stopped and, steeling himself, began again. "Ephraim, I too would do anything to spare Eirika this pain, but she's as strong as she is gentle; that strength will see her through."

A true smile graced Ephraim's features. "I know. She's my sister, though, and I worry. Even when I needn't."

Ephraim rose and moved towards the door. "We'll make the official announcement tomorrow. I imagine the castle staff will have a fit when they find out they need to prepare for another wedding."

"Indeed," said Seth, finding it difficult to grasp that it was his own wedding they were discussing as he followed Ephraim out into the throne room.

"It's good news, though, and that's certainly a welcome thing these days. I'm sure it will make for a popular tale among our people: the Silver Knight being wed to the Princess of Renais. Mark my words, Seth, they'll be telling your story to their children before bed."

Seth managed to stammer a reply which he could not quite recall moments later once he'd been dismissed and was standing outside the throne room, feeling a little lightheaded. His dazedness turned heady as he made his way to the walkway between the gatehouses where he knew she waited for him.

The sky was pale and cloudy as he made his way over the battlements, and the land beyond the castle was hazy with a light mist that hovered over the summer fields. As he saw Eirika standing on the walkway, slender arms leaning on the crenellated wall, her long hair falling loosely about her shoulders, a scabbard close at her side, he was struck once more by the way grace and strength were melded in her frame. He felt as giddy as a squire who'd received a nod from the king when she turned and smiled at him.

"It's done?" she asked as he joined her on the walkway.

"It's done."

"See? I told you Ephraim wouldn't lock you in the dungeons or banish you from the kingdom. He didn't tease you too much, did he?"

Seth cleared his throat. "No. Of course not."

She raised an eyebrow, looking thoroughly unconvinced. His eyes fell on the silver pendant she wore openly now. These past few days she'd tucked it into her clothes, but now that they'd told Ephraim of their plans there was no need to be secretive. Eirika seemed to notice his regard for she glanced downward a moment and, as she turned to look out over the countryside once again, clasped the pendant.

"Eirika?" She was not smiling.

"Seth, I–" She sighed. "What Ursula said, you know it isn't true, don't you?" He tried to respond, but speech failed him; Ursula's parting words had burned like an open wound. "Seth..." She hung her head a moment. Her hand was still clutching the silver pendant at her throat. "You've always done everything in your power to protect me, my father, this kingdom, and I'm just thankful that for once I was able to protect you in return."

"And I'm grateful," he said.

She spun to face him. "You're not marrying me out of gratitude, are you?"

Her question left Seth flabbergasted so that, for a moment, he could only peer at her in utter shock, but the concerned look on her face snapped him out of it and a smile softened his features. "No. Most certainly not. Eirika, when I swore that I would never again think of you as anything other than my liege..." He shook his head. "It was the greatest lie I've ever told and the only vow I've broken."

"You don't always have to be the Silver Knight, Seth. It's not the knight that I love, you know."

"And it isn't the Princess of Renais that I'm in love with." His reply earned him a smile and he reached out and let his fingers trace down her cheek. Her skin was as soft as it had been in his heated dreams and he longed to hold her without the hard shell of his armour between them.

"Good," she said, taking a step towards him and smiling as he wound his arms around her waist. She released her grip on the polished silver heart which she'd been clutching all the while. "I've gotten used to wearing it," she said, glancing down at the pendant. "I don't think I could bear to return it."

"It's yours," said Seth, leaning closer to her. "As am I."

And then she kissed him.

For a moment he closed his eyes and let the world around them fade away. To kiss her was to taste of something wild and forbidden, but also of something deeply familiar and comforting, like the steady toll of the castle bells that he had grown up with and which had welcomed him home from journeys and from wars. To be able to touch her skin, to tangle his fingers in her hair without furtiveness or guilt made his heart swell with joy and his body tingle with desire. He dared not dwell on thoughts of their wedding day, of marching past his fellow knights with his beloved Eirika on his arm, of swearing oaths to her before his king and all their comrades, and then to lie with her on their marriage bed, to be her lover, her husband, to father her children... The life he had wanted, but never dared believed could be his, stretched out before his mind's eye.

They broke apart as they heard a wolf-whistle from below. Eirika flushed scarlet as together they looked down towards the courtyard and spotted Forde grinning up at them in spite of Kyle's reprimands.

Seth could not help but smile in spite of his own abashment. It would not be a perfect life by any means; time left its mark like the patina on an aged piece of armour, but he wanted it anyway, he wanted it as fiercely as he had ever wanted anything.

"If I'm an oath-breaker," he said, turning to her and, once more, reaching out to embrace her, "then I don't regret it. Not for a moment."

She leaned in close against his chest in spite of his armour, just as on the night they'd fled the castle together. "Seth," she said quietly, "even if you are a little tarnished, I only love you the more for it."

THE END


A/N: Thank you to all those who left reviews (or will in the future). Feedback is always appreciated and it's just plain nice to know someone actually reads these fics. I hope you enjoyed it!