Disclaimer: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and its characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.
Warning: This story takes place after the end of the game, so if you're not there yet, please read at you own risk.
Knights of Renais
Chapter 10: Franz the Faithful
A young commander with short blonde hair sat silently on a stool near the stable. He seemed to be deep in thoughts. In his head, he was trying to recall the event that took place about a month ago. He, himself, did not understand why, he had not been able to stop thinking about it. It had been bothering him to no end.
It all started when a Pegasus Knight from Frelia came to deliver a message from General Seth to Queen Eirika and King Ephraim. Both were having their afternoon tea in the garden behind the castle and had asked him to join them. Now that he had time to think about that day, he wished that he had not been present when the queen received the message.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flashback: One month ago
"Queen Eirika, I had been asked by General Seth to deliver this message to you."
Eirika looked at the letter that the Pegasus Knight was holding and smiled. "I thank you very much for bringing this letter to me. You may leave, for I do not wish to send anything back. Please take care and travel back safely."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Once the messenger had left, Eirika turned to speak with the young commander.
"Franz, would you mind very much if I read the letter here? I know for certain that Seth would have something to say to you."
Franz looked embarrassed. He did not expect Queen Eirika to ask him for permission and managed to reply shyly. "N-No, not at all, Your Highness. Please do as you wish."
"Very well." Eirika opened the letter and began reading it aloud. Once she was done, Franz noticed that his queen looked upset although he could not imagine why. The message did not contain any bad news; nevertheless, he was concerned. Franz wanted to ask Eirika what was wrong with her, but before he was able to sum up his courage, Ephraim spoke. "Eirika, what is the matter?"
Eirika could only smile weakly in return. "Nothing is wrong, brother. It is just that…." Eirika looked briefly at Franz before continued. "Seth did not have a lot to say to me. He practically left me out of the letter, and here I have been very worried about him."
Franz was feeling uncomfortable. At that moment, he did not wish to be there listening to what he thought should have been a private conversation between Eirika and Ephraim.
Apparently, Ephraim did not mind. He smiled brightly at his sister. "Eirika, please do not be upset with Seth. You know as well as I do that Seth is not a man of many words. Do you not remember that during the battle with the Demon King and his minions, he rarely spoke to me even though I was fighting by his side?"
Eirika remembered the battle very well. "Yes, brother, but that was different. Both of you were concentrating on the fights at hand. There was never enough time for any of us to relax. It was one battle after another. I do understand that Seth is a man of few words, but at least…" Eirika could not bring herself to finish the sentence.
Suddenly, Ephraim turned to speak to Franz. "Well, do you agree with me Franz? I do not think that Seth intentionally left her out."
Caught off guard, Franz could only say "I-I, uh, do not know, your Majesty." As soon as he had said it, he turned around to look at Eirika. The look on her beautiful face made him want to bang his head several times on the marble table.
Ephraim noticed that he had unintentionally embarrassed his knight and also upset his sister. He thought that he should change the subject immediately. "Eirika, is it not almost time for your regular visit with the villagers?"
Glad that Ephraim understood him, Franz quickly spoke. "If you do not mind, Queen Eirika, I shall like to accompany you."
Eirika smiled at Franz. "I do not mind at all Franz, thank you very much, and thank you Brother, for reminding me. I shall be back before our dinner. Please keep this letter for me." Eirika got up, handed the letter to Ephraim and walked away.
Franz was about to follow her when Ephraim stopped him. "I do not wish to be blunt, but Franz, you do know how my sister feels about Seth, do you not? You are one of my close friends. You may be frank with me just as I am with you."
Caught off guard twice in one day, Franz blushed and stammered. "W-W-Why yes, I-I believe I do know what is going on." Franz was wishing to god at that moment that Ephraim did not notice that he was blushing, but of course Ephraim did, being an intelligent man that he was. Nothing really escaped him, especially when the matter concerned his sister.
"I have known this for sometime, but please, do not worry, Your Majesty. I would never do anything to further aggravate the Queen and her feelings."
Ephraim nodded his head and continued. "I know Franz. You are very loyal to both Eirika and I. I just wanted you to, perhaps, keep an eye on her. I know that my sister is very stubborn and determined. Once she decides to do something, she sticks with it. Even though I am her brother, I cannot always know precisely what she is thinking.
Ephraim sighed. "In other words, I just do not know how serious her feeling toward Seth is. So, I am asking you to watch over her and maybe talk to her when you think she needed someone to talk to. Can you do that for me?"
Franz was more than glad to carry out this duty. Following Queen Eirika wherever she went was not at all a bad idea. "Yes, Your Majesty. I will do my best."
End flashback
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Franz sighed. Even since that day, he had been following Queen Eirika around. Eirika had gone mostly to the villages that had been badly damaged during the battle with the Demon King. During this time, he had kept a close watch on the Queen. If Eirika had known and been uncomfortable with it, she did not say a word, and Franz was glad, for he would have hated to explain to her the reason.
Being so close with her these past few weeks had made him realize just how fortunate General Seth was, and how much he envied him.
Suddenly, Franz noticed that Queen Eirika had left the courtyard and was now heading toward the garden. He followed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the garden,
Hiding himself behind one of the many rose bushes, Franz could clearly see that Eirika was not alone in the garden. She was with a Pegasus Knight. Judging from the color of the armor, he must be a messenger from Frelia.
The messenger handed Eirika a letter. After Eirika thanked him, he took off. Eirika opened the letter, but before she had a chance to read it, Franz noticed that there was something moving in the rose bush right next to her. It was a snake!
From his hiding place, he could not tell what kind of snake it was. For all he knew, it could have been a common garden snake, but it could have also easily been a python or a cobra, one of those poisonous snakes he had read about in the book. He had got to get the Queen away from it! How was he to accomplish this task? If he moved too suddenly, the snaked would surely strike her. There was only one choice left.
Franz moved quietly towards Eirika. He could tell that she did not notice either him or the snake. The snake had moved back in the bush, but it did not go away. Now was his chance. He grabbed Eirika from behind, putting one hand over her mouth.
Eirika was about to scream, but Franz quickly spoke in her ear. "Pardon me, Queen Eirika. Please do not scream, and move slowly away from the rose bush, for I spotted a brown snake moving underneath it."
Realizing that it was Franz, Eirika quietly complied.
Once the two were a good twenty feet away from the bush, Franz let go of Eirika.
"I really must apologize, your Majesty. What I did to you was…"
Eirika quickly interrupted him. "Please, Franz. There was no need for you to apologize. You had to do what you did in order to save my life. I thank you very much."
Franz noticed that Eirika was not looking at him when she spoke. "Are you feeling well, your Majesty? Your face is red."
Eirika suddenly looked up and smiled shyly. "I am well, Franz. I believe that it was time for me to go back to my room." Eirika did not even give Franz a chance to say anything and started walking away.
Franz opened his mouth to stop Eirika, but a sudden thought struck him. He had just barely realized why the Queen's face was red.
He did not have to hold on to her for as long as he had! Once they were a couple of feet away, he could have let her go, but he did not.
It was Franz's turn to blush. What had he done? How was he to look at the Queen again? But before Franz had a chance to hit himself in the head, he happened to notice a letter that Eirika had dropped next to the rose bush. Franz went to pick it up. The letter was already opened. It was very tempting for him to read it, but Franz knew that he must not. He was about to put it away when he noticed General Seth's name on it.
TBC