Outtake Fifty-One: Home
Game: Awakening
Spoilers: None, really
Summary: The war with Plegia is over, and Gaius has a surprise for his wife. He brings her to his home in Ylisstol, where she meets his family...
Note: I wanted to say last outtake that I see Gaius as a man who's seen the world. He knows what it's like to be at the lowest of the low, and can comfort Araceli because of it in the last outtake. He's caring, and just tries to help his own, as you'll see...well, I won't spoil it any longer.
Enjoy!
Araceli followed Gaius through the streets of Ylisstol, leaving the neighborhoods of the higher-classes and entering the streets of people who were more common. "Where are we going?" she asked her husband.
"You'll see, Ara, just be patient."
Araceli huffed. "At least slow down a bit. Why are you in a hurry?"
Gaius shrugged and paused, letting his wife catch up, taking her hand in his when she came to his side. They continued along the streets, hand in hand, until they came to a house. It was small, but looked very much homey. Gaius tried the front door, but found it locked. He muttered under his breath and knocked. Voices could be heard on the other side of the door, steadily getting louder. Gaius glanced at Araceli. "Brace yourself. These guys can be crazy."
Before Araceli could question his meaning, the door was unlocked and opened. "Gaius!" The three orange-haired children on the other side launched over the threshold and hugged the thief, much to Araceli's surprise, all babbling at once.
"Who's your friend?" one girl asked.
"Is it true you fought in the war with Plegia?" the boy asked.
"You should have come to visit us earlier!" the other girl demanded.
"Woah, quiet down there. This is Araceli. Ara, these monkeys are my siblings. The twins Melanie and Phoebe, and Silas."
The three children didn't hesitate to pull the couple into the house. "Ma! Ma, Gaius is home! He brought a friend!"
A woman emerged from another room. Gaius grinned sheepishly. "Hey, Ma."
"Foolish boy, getting caught up in a war," Gaius' ma's voice was scolding, but she was trying to hide a smile. "I bet you joined up for a sack of sweets."
"He did," Araceli replied with a grin.
"Ara, really?" Gaius asked. Araceli laughed. "Ma, I was fighting directly under Prince Chrom, in his elite militia group, the Shepherds. 'Sides, I was well looked after."
"Fine, fine." His ma gave him a hug. "Mind introducing your friend?"
"She's my wife actually…" Gaius replied.
That sent the children into more talking, and Araceli received a hug from Gaius' mother. The two Shepherds were quickly invited to stay for dinner. Araceli and Gaius volunteered to help with the cooking. Silas was sent out to get a honey cake from the local bakery.
They finally sat down to eat, and dinner was a happy affair. After desert and after Melanie, Phoebe, and Silas left to play, Gaius leaned back in his chair. "Thanks, Ma, that was amazing."
"Thank yourself and your wife. You both did help, after all." Gaius nodded and grinned at Araceli. "So, Araceli, you never did say where you're from."
"It's a bit of an odd story. I joined the Shepherds about six months ago, when Chrom found me in a field near Southtown."Araceli looked down at her hands, twisting the ring Gaius had given her. "I had no memory of my past, and I still don't. I guess to answer your question…I don't know where I'm from. Even so, Chrom took me in, made me the Shepherds' tactician, and it's been rather smooth sailing since."
"Chrom's offered to make her his head tactician and primary advisor," Gaius said, his obvious pride for his wife evident in his voice. "He's also offered us a suite in the palace, so don't you worry, Ma. I know you were going to ask that question."
His ma smiled. "You know me well, Gaius." She glanced out the window. "You'd best be off. It's gettin' dark and I don't want you out on the streets late. War has caused some big changes to Ylisstol."
"You sure you don't want us to help clean up?" Araceli asked.
"No, honey, you just head on home. Just promise you'll stop by and visit."
"We will, Ma," Gaius promised. They said their goodbyes and the two Shepherds set out to the palace.
After a few moments of walking, Araceli spoke up. "You have a nice family, Gaius."
"They didn't overwhelm you?"
She laughed. "No. Compared to the Shepherds, your siblings are tame."
Gaius grinned. "I suppose so."
"There was something I was wondering, though."
"Oh, yeah?"
"What happened to your father? I heard your ma say something about if only he could have seen you now."
"Caught that, did ya?" Gaius sighed. "We were struggling to make ends meet when I was little. My pa got caught up in some nasty business trying to make a living for us and ended up getting killed. I was seven. My sisters were newborn, and Silas was only two."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I barely remember the guy anyway. I started helping out to make money for the family, and soon enough I found myself in the thief business. Ma wasn't too happy with me; she would worry I'd get myself killed like Pa did. Several years later, Validar hired me to break into the palace and the rest is history. 'Course, I've discovered that being a Shepherd pays much more than being a thief ever did, and I've been able to send some of my pay home."
They reached the palace grounds as Gaius finished his tale, and Araceli paused. "There's more to you than I know, Gaius. I wonder if I'll ever figure out all of your little secrets."
Gaius raised his eyebrows at her, smirking. "Why don't you come and find out?"
Araceli laughed and reached up to kiss him. "Sure, why not?"
Author's note: I thought I wouldn't get this up today. As an advance notice, I don't have any more finished outtakes. I'm in the middle of one, and I may or may not finish it by Wednesday. I'm updating on a as-I-finish-each-chapter basis. Things might slow down next week as I have finals.
Published 12/2/2013, edited 12/4/2013
