{-Alfonse-}
He both felt like it had been months since returning and as if they'd only came back yesterday, despite arriving back in Askr three days ago.
After Eir confirmed that Hel was dead, they quickly went to the gateway they'd used to get in the realm of the dead before all of them closed. Alfonse had offered for Veronica to stay in Askr until someone came to escort her back to Embla—not being fond of the idea of her traveling on her own then, and still standing by that now—though she declined and left almost immediately. Away from the others, he promised to keep in touch in case he found something useful to her and Zacharias nonetheless. Sharena and Fauna showed Eir around the Order's castle, and were likely at a nearby village with her now. Anna had oddly been kind enough to wait this long before telling Alfonse it was time for him to go back to the royal castle and talk with Henriette, something he'd only done for a short amount of time after returning.
If he was being completely honest, it felt wrong to be this close to the king's throne without his father being there. But…this was his now, whether he wanted it to be or not. Askr was never known to be ruled solely by the queen, and especially not when she'd been married in to the royal family and the heir was of age… He felt the full weight of all of that as he stood there, considering the legacy he had to live up to and the large amount of expectation thrown on him from friends and strangers alike.
"Alfonse? Thank goodness you're in here. I was beginning to think I'd just missed you." Henriette closed the door behind her when she entered, waiting until she was closer to him to continue. "Of all the places in the castle, I didn't quite think that you'd be here. I don't want to rush you into it, but we really need to discuss what your father had planned for when he left."
"That's why I'm here," Alfonse sighed. "If Commander Anna hadn't insisted I'd still be helping her." To say there was a lot that needed to be done in the Order would be a bit of an understatement; between sorting things out after Hel, plotting out better scouting routes to try to find Loki, and preparing for whatever was to come, there wasn't a shortage of things to do. He'd been assisting Anna wherever she'd let him to not only feel useful but to generally keep her from having to do all of it by herself.
"It shouldn't take too long," Henriette promised. "When we discovered that he likely wouldn't be here much longer, we began to work on a plan so then you didn't have to choose between the throne and the Order. Eventually we realized the easiest way to do that was to split the work up between the two of us; I've had my fair share in dealing with the more boring tasks of ruling and will gladly do it again to help. You'll still need to be here and will be notified when something important comes up, of course, but it'll grant you that much more free time. Your father personally spoke with each member of the council about it until they understood, so you won't need to worry about that either."
He barely managed a weak smile for the thought. "I don't quite see how this helps the 'half the kingdom believes I want nothing to do with the throne' problem. The less I'm here the more they'll think I'm just running away from it. It's a well-meaning effort, but…it solves a personal request only to add to a more important issue."
"I…suppose you do have a point." Henriette frowned. "But it was what your father wanted above all else. His final wish, of sorts. He didn't want you to have to go through this on your own like he had to, not as long as he'd be able to stop it. In a way, you're already much better off than he was—you have family and friends for support, and even if you don't have the kind of popularity he did, you more than make up for it with your own skills. We both knew that you'll do great things for Askr. It's only a matter of getting started."
Maybe Alfonse would've believed a bit more of what she was trying to tell him if he'd heard it from his father. Knowing this did, in fact, come from Gustav instead of just trusting that Henriette wasn't making it up would've been more reassuring. Barely any praise came from the late king, and even rarer did he show support in the way she seemed to be describing.
Alfonse gave a small, absent nod in response. "So I've been told…" He felt like he was drowning amidst the responsibilities, expectations, and unannounced deadlines again, only this time unable to do anything but repress his uncertainty about it. There really wasn't much time to falter. He'd barely be able to show any possible sign of weakness if the council was still going to act the same towards him as they'd done in the past.
"He never got the chance to apologize to you and Sharena," Henriette remarked quietly. "He was so afraid of what you'd say to him when he admitted to being wrong…to say that what he put both of you through was unacceptable. I'm not sure if it truly means anything—though honestly it would be better than staying where you are now—but you're more than welcome to move to your old rooms again. We could set up a new room for Fauna, if she wants, but I know Sharena's room is getting a little crowded."
"I'll be sure to tell them." It would make sense; even with Henriette's offer, Alfonse was sure he'd be spending most nights at the royal castle. He knew the Order couldn't always be his getaway from the inevitable stubbornness of the council, and he had to do his best not to let people assume that it was. "Is that everything? There's still a lot I'd like to get done today."
After a couple minutes of silent debating, Henriette nodded. "Before you leave, though, I'd like you to remember something. You're always welcome to come to me if you need anything. No one can fault you for looking for a bit of guidance, or stumbling on the way. You don't have to carry all of this weight on your own if you don't want to; me, Sharena, and your friends are all here to help you through all of this. I know the events leading up to all of this wasn't particularly ideal, and it doesn't seem like the struggle is going to be ending for a while longer, but we'll be fine as long as we work together. And do make sure you're taking care of yourself—it's easy to forget in times like these, but rest is still as important as ever. You're allowed to walk away for a bit, as well, if that's what you need. I promise all of this is going to get better soon. Just make it through the next couple of months, alright?"
"Yes, Mother." Alfonse was able to give a more genuine smile this time, thankful for the support. He didn't doubt any of it.
Maybe, even if it was by the tiniest sliver, everything would turn out fine. Assuming they all stayed moderately normal. Henriette had an idea about the current situation of the Order but likely didn't give it as much mind as it should have. They didn't work well as a team under pressure—with Alfonse needing to spend more time in the royal castle than at the Order's to keep the peace among the others, he couldn't really see the situation getting any better. Not like he could do much more than pray for the best now.
((A/N: Even a stumble is a step foward...
This is the last actual chapter of Of Life and Death! There's a bonus after this, and continue reading below if you want to see a preview of what's to come and how you can show your interest to the story/series!
Preview: We forget things for good reasons, most of the time. But when the search for Loki is getting cold, they're given no other choice but to remember. What these memories hold, however, can only cause more harm than good. Alfonse fails to realize everything's taken a harder hit than he'd thought, and Sharena can only hope to understand why she's so important to the nightmares... Find out in Road to Remembrance, coming July 7th 2020! AKA about two weeks after posting this chapter!
Wanna give me motivation to continue, or want to show others that you like the kind of convoluted AU I've got going here? Well look no further! If you want to look at my art—including OCs (which is honestly going to be the only way you know what some of them look like, whoops) and canon characters—check out my DeviantArt as puppy-luvr06! There's also an Ask the Characters running there, and you can PM me here if you want a link or to participate without a dA account! I also have a (will that show up..?) under PuppyLuvr06, where I eventually plan on having bios for all the OCs that appear in my stories! Right now I only have Fauna, Lekra, and Philyra (appeared in Untold Truths), but that's going to be changing soon. Want to see a story full of one-shots involving the characters in my stories, and maybe some AU notes explained in a in-universe way? Tell me! It's a thing I've been thinking about for a while, and I'm hoping to gauge how many people might be interested! And, maybe the simplest of them all (unless if you're socially awkward like I am), send a review saying what you thought of the story!
Like always, thanks for reading! I hope to see you around later!))