Hi y'all, lovely to see you here! I'll tell you a little secret: I'm very proud of this fic. I wrote this for a href=" /fe3hmonthly" rel="nofollow"The Goddess Messenger/a, a trimonthly charity zine. My issue's theme was celestial/stargazing!
I'd had the idea for this fic (Dorothea going to Brigid with Petra) in my head for months and this zine helped me get back into writing after a 2-year break.
Petra enjoyed her first quiet morning in over five years. She was sitting in her favorite chair, right next to her favorite window, holding a mug with her favorite tea, enjoying the familiar sounds of her home country.
The early hour mostly consisted of happy bird chatter and the distant sounds of the city waking up. Unlike the outside, her childhood room was quiet. It was a room fit and made for the Adrestian nobility. Even in adulthood she still felt small in rooms this big.
She took a sip of her ginger tea and looked over the gardens. They could only be described as a slightly better maintained jungle, but she found them comforting. Her great-great-grandfather had designed it that way and it had remained roughly the same ever since. Petra didn't mind, she couldn't imagine it any other way. Where the inside of the palace was orderly, the outside was wild and that was where her heart truly lay.
A sound behind Petra brought her from her memories. It didn't surprise her Dorothea was still sleeping soundly. Their journey to Brigid had been longer than they'd expected and it had been late when they had arrived the night before. Even Petra had to admit she felt exhausted, but the joy of being home pushed every other feeling to the background. She was so excited she'd barely slept.
Dorothea moaned softly and reached for the empty side of the bed. Already her bare skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat and Petra prayed to whoever cared to listen that she would get used to the heat soon. She wanted Dorothea to fit in and be happy here, away from the mainland. Too many bad memories remained behind there.
The sigh she breathed out was a content one. Seeing Dorothea relaxed like this made Petra's shoulders just a bit less tensed up. She already regretted disturbing the quiet. Carefully holding the half-empty mug in one hand, she got up and stepped over discarded clothes and shoes.
"Wake up, sleepyhead," she kissed the side of Dorothea's forehead. "It's morning."
Dorothea groaned in response. "No, it's not," she rasped. To prove her point, she grabbed Petra's discarded pillow and pulled it over her head. "See? It's still dark."
Petra laughed. "I could let you sleep a few more hours or you could get ready to meet my grandfather in an hour. He's excited to meet you." She emptied the mug and set it down on the nearest bedside table.
Dorothea, awake instantly, yanked the pillow away. "You're not serious." She squinted her eyes at the sudden light.
"Why would I lie about my grandfather being excited to meet you?" Petra reached for the hand that was clutching the pillow tightly. Dorothea allowed their fingers to interlace.
"Then why didn't you wake me sooner?" There was a hint of panic.
"Someone said something about a beauty sleep last night, so I didn't want to wake you any sooner than I had to." Petra stroked Dorothea's hand absentmindedly. "You looked like you needed it, too."
Dorothea's groan turned into a suppressed yawn. "I'm not sure whether to kiss you or be angry at you."
Petra smiled. "I'm not opposed to a kiss, but brush your teeth first, please. No kissing allowed before you brushed your teeth."
Dorothea scoffed. "As if that's stopped you before." She rolled out of bed as she spoke, and stretched her arms to the ceiling with a satisfied noise in the silence that followed.
"That was then and this is now." Petra said more seriously than she intended, so she added: "If you want to spend time with me instead of getting dressed, I'm not opposed to that."
Dorothea deflated slightly. "Right."
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Petra asked as Dorothea entered the ensuite bathroom.
"You can, actually. Help me decide what to wear." Petra was barely able to hear her over the running water.
"Any of your dresses that let your skin breathe will be good." Petra, already dressed and ready to go, sat back down in her favorite spot, though this time she watched Dorothea moving around in the bathroom, much to her own amusement.
Dorothea, already half undressed and without any modesty, appeared in the doorway. "You're not helping."
"I like the green one," Petra said with a smile. "It suits your eyes."
Dorothea thought for a moment. "That summer dress?" She sounded like she wasn't sure that was the right choice.
Petra cocked her head. "Yes? It is summer, so there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"I'll need a moment to think about it." She disappeared again. "Do you remember where I left my hairbrush after unpacking? I don't see it here."
Petra did remember. She grabbed the brush and handed it over, receiving a swift minty kiss in return. "Do you need me for anything else? Bring you breakfast or tea? Massage your feet?" She said it playfully and even bowed.
"Honey, I've been doing this for most of my life, I'll be fine." Dorothea waved her away. "I'll be done before you know it."
In the end, Dorothea put on the green dress Petra suggested and asked her to give her a "Brigid braid" because "first impressions were everything."
Petra certainly didn't complain. She loved Dorothea's hair and treasured the times she was allowed to touch it. Her hands worked swiftly with the perfectly detangled hair.
While Petra was braiding the brown hair, Dorothea inhaled two pieces of dry toast that were brought by a servant – Petra said something about the cheese that was supposed to be on there but Dorothea ignored her – and then they were ready.
"Do you think your grandfather will like me?" Dorothea sounded nervous as they were led through the palace.
"You would be doing something very wrong if he didn't."
Dorothea groaned. "Don't make it sound like a challenge."
Petra tucked some stray brown hair behind Dorothea's ear. "You worry too much."
And, as it turned out, Petra was right. The King of Brigid welcomed her kindly and Dorothea charmed him with a few broken words spoken in his native language – words taught by Petra when Dorothea had asked how she could impress the man.
He was impressed by the "hello" and "how are you doing," but insisted with a heavy accent – heavier than Petra's when she'd first arrived at Garreg Mach – that he had learned the Fódlan language and was comfortable speaking it.
All Petra did was glance between the both of them with pride, sit back, and leave Dorothea to work her magic. Within the first few minutes, they were so engrossed in their discussions about the Mittelfrank Opera Company, the best restaurants in Enbarr, and old landmarks the King remembered from his younger days that Petra found herself relaxing. The only thing neither of them touched upon was the war and everything around it.
Petra enjoyed listening to the two of them talk, only speaking herself when a question came her way or the rare time her grandfather wanted her to translate a word, which she was happy to do. Learning the language of Fódlan had once been her biggest challenge, but now she was proud to call herself fluent.
Early morning turned into late morning, which in turn transformed into early afternoon. They were only interrupted by people bringing tea and a Brigid delicacy, then lunch.
Eventually, many hours later, the King was reminded he was late to a meeting. Dorothea had to promise him to join him for dinner soon and with that, he was gone and they were alone again.
Petra had just taken a sip of her tea when Dorothea spoke. "You never told me I pronounced your name wrong."
"You're not," Petra said after swallowing the hot liquid. "Not really, anyway. My grandfather pronounces my name in the Brigid way. Pronouncing it differently doesn't make it wrong." She reached for Dorothea's hand, which was still clammy from both the nerves and the heat, and squeezed it once.
Dorothea tried the foreign pronunciation. "Pay-trah, Pay-trah, Pay-trah." She tried. Her rolling r's didn't come out very well.
"You'll get there." Petra assured her. "You have all the time in the world to practice."
The rest of the day was spent exploring the palace and discovering its secrets. Every new painting or sculpture came with a question about its history, courtesy of Dorothea. Petra, who wasn't well-versed in art history, told her the King was the best art historian in Brigid, so Dorothea should ask him instead.
As part of her tour, Petra took Dorothea to the main market square near the palace, which was also known as the busiest place in all of Brigid. Unlike most of Fódlan, people seemed to have come from all the near corners of the universe. As there wasn't a universal language, the market was loud and sometimes aggressive. Petra stepped in a few times to translate or mediate, much to Dorothea's awe. She commented on it after it happened a third time.
"It's the least I could do," Petra said, waving the compliment away.
"Your people are lucky to have you."
Petra shrugged off the compliment, instead opting to change the topic. A mischievous glint appeared in her eye. "Do you want to know where to get the best food in all of Brigid?"
Dorothea was glad to change the subject. She offered her hand for Petra to hold. "Show me."
Petra grabbed the offered hand and pulled her along to their next destination. They laughed like little children exploring the world for the first time.
They spent the next few days relaxing at the beach. Despite the language barrier, Dorothea was quick to make friends with the children playing and instead of lounging in the sun that she had looked forward to so much, she and Petra played with them. In return, they taught Dorothea a bunch of new words and sentences.
By the time Dorothea showed visible tan lines, both were bored enough of doing nothing that it was time to find something else to do.
It took a few days of relaxing on the beach for them to get bored of it, so Petra asked Dorothea if she was up for a surprise. She agreed reluctantly, and only after Petra promised that it would be a fun experience.
The place Petra wanted to go to was the biggest island of the Brigid archipelago. Unlike the smaller islands, this one was mostly uninhabited due to the rough and uneven terrain that covered most of it. One of the people there, an old friend of the king, was happy to provide them with a place to sleep and a warm meal when they arrived at his house.
They set out in the early afternoon so they could take their time getting to the spot without having to miss anything. The path itself wasn't particularly long, but it was steep and sometimes hard to walk. It took them through a part of the jungle, where Dorothea acted skittish with every sound she heard despite the battles that they'd both seen.
Both Petra and Dorothea were wearing heavy boots, hence why they were able to walk on the uneven ground and sharp rocks without any problem. They reached their destination when the sun had almost completed the final part of its descent.
It was clear the tiny plateau had seen human visitors over the years. Someone had piled up some rocks that suggested a campfire, surrounded by logs big enough to sit on.
Brigid didn't have mountains the way the mainland did, but its hills did give a beautiful view. From the top of the highest hill, only the vast ocean was visible, stretching as far as the eye could see towards the west. Towards the east were the other islands, with the capital, palace, and the mainland. Some of the Brigid islands were so small that they were made mostly of sand and were considered uninhabitable.
At the far end of the horizon, the last rays of sunlight slowly disappeared. On the other end, the stars were already shining their twinkling light on Brigid.
Dorothea, who had trained her eyes mostly to the ground to keep herself from stumbling on their way here, kept turning her head to look at all the different colors in the sky, not knowing where to look so that she could see everything.
On the other hand, Petra only had eyes for Dorothea. Even though the magic of this sight never went away no matter how many times she witnessed this view, she admitted to herself – and herself only – that Dorothea was the most beautiful sight to behold in this moment.
Only minutes later, when the sun was fully gone, did Dorothea notice she was being watched. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she laughed shyly.
Petra swallowed what she was going to say. "It's nothing. I'm just really happy you're here with me."
Dorothea threw her an odd look but shrugged it off, her eyes turning back to the sky.
"I know…" She swallowed. "I know the war was a terrible thing where we did terrible things, but I am thankful that it showed me so many beautiful parts of the world, horrible as they might have been."
Petra agreed and wanted to say as much, except Dorothea continued.
"I– we have seen so many beautiful sights, yet I can only say this is the most beautiful of them all."
Petra glowed in the dimming light. Knowing a fact as true and having someone else confirm were two completely different things. Hearing Dorothea say it made it feel even more true than it already was.
The darkness of the night started catching up to the remaining light. With every passing moment, all the pinks and purples and reds and oranges turned into the deepest blue.
"I could see this every day for the rest of my life and yet I would never get tired of it." Dorothea sounded breathless.
"I feel the same," Petra said. "It's hard to believe this isn't the only thing I wanted to show you."
Dorothea stopped staring at the growing darkness to look at Petra. "It's not?"
Petra smiled. "I have another surprise for you." But contrary to her words, she sat down on one of the logs, facing the sea. "We're not in a hurry, though. You can enjoy the view a little while longer."
Dorothea sat down next to Petra and leaned her head on her shoulder. Petra threw an arm around her shoulder to pull her a little closer. This high up, and with night falling fast around them, it was nice to share body heat. Petra absentmindedly planted a kiss on Dorothea's temple, earning her a soft headbutt in response.
They remained silent until even most of the dark purple had disappeared. Only then did Dorothea speak. "Seeing this, I find it hard to believe you have something even better waiting for us."
Petra hummed. "Maybe it won't be prettier, but it's definitely more special."
"How can it be more special than this?"
"I'll show you." Petra moved and Dorothea took the cue to stand up.
Unlike Dorothea, Petra didn't need any light to navigate her way down the mountain. It wasn't the same path they took earlier, so they took it slowly. Dorothea carried a small torch, careful of anything that would make her trip while also keeping an eye on whatever moved between the trees.
Dorothea wasn't exactly feeling unsafe but she wasn't feeling safe either being so far away from civilization. The fact that the jungle was alive with sounds didn't help.
The way down felt much shorter and in no time they stood on flat ground again.
Petra seemed to notice and extended a hand. "Don't be scared, I know the way."
Dorothea accepted it gratefully, though she wasn't fully at ease.
Here the trees were far apart enough that they could walk side by side. While they walked, Petra explained a bit about Brigid's beliefs.
"Since ancient times we believe that when someone dies, they never truly leave us. Instead, they become a star in the sky, watching over us during our darkest and most vulnerable moments. Of course, we don't think this happens only to our own people but to everyone. Every star you see is a soul watching over us until it is time for us to join them."
Dorothea looked up through the leaves and branches. "That would mean…" Her voice trailed off.
Petra nodded. "Yes, that would mean they are up there too."
Dorothea stopped dead in her tracks, her face pale next to the flame. "Do you think they're angry?" Her voice trembled on the last syllable. "I hope they're not angry."
Petra squeezed her hand and looked up too. "Do you see that one?" She pointed to a bright star that flickered in different colors.
Dorothea nodded.
"We believe that stars feel the same things we feel, but all the negative emotions never stay long. Do you see how many colors it has? It has red and blue, but it's mostly white. And when they're white, they're at peace."
Dorothea reached out as if to touch the night sky. "It sounds awfully sad, don't you think?"
"It does." Petra agreed. "Dying is sad, and it will happen to us anyway."
"I'm not ready yet to turn into a star." Dorothea sighed.
"No? But you're already a star." Petra cocked her head, but her grin betrayed her thoughts.
Dorothea gasped, the grief leaving her face again. "You did not just say that."
Petra's grin spread wider. "And what if I did?"
"Well…" Dorothea stepped closer to her, their previous topic completely forgotten. "If you did, I might decide to kiss you."
Petra also moved in closer, until their noses almost touched. "I'd like to admit my guilt then."
Kissing Dorothea was always a soft experience, yet each time felt different from the last. Petra, who was the only one with a free hand, cupped Dorothea's face. Only when they broke apart to catch their breaths did Petra notice Dorothea was shivering.
"You're cold." It felt silly to state such an obvious fact.
Guilt passed over Dorothea's face. "Maybe a little."
"And you didn't say anything."
"I didn't want you to worry."
Petra sighed a laugh. "We can go back if you want?"
Dorothea frowned and shivered openly now. "Are you sure? What about your surprise?"
That earned her a smile. "We'd still have to walk a short distance before going back, so it will take a while before we get back to the house."
Dorothea looked doubtful.
"The surprise will still be there tomorrow, and next week, and next year, or probably even fifty years from now. It can wait." Petra reassured her.
"You're too patient with me."
"You take things at your own pace and I like that about you." She looked around to pinpoint where they were exactly. "If you want to return, I know a shortcut."
"Okay, show me the way."
They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they saw the light of their accommodation through the trees, Dorothea suddenly snickered.
Petra waited for her to say what was so funny.
And Dorothea delivered. "I'm imagining us climbing that hill in fifty years. I'd crawl if it meant I could see that view again."
"That will be a sight to behold." Petra laughed.
"We'd both be gray, and wrinkly, and our joints won't stop hurting."
"That sounds like a perfect future."
Dorothea grinned. "I know, right. It sounds like a promise."
"It could be. Let's become old ladies together."
"I'd like that."
Petra bumped their shoulders. "Then let's enjoy our youth while we can, yes?"
Dorothea just laughed.
For someone who hasn't written anything in over two years, I'm damn proud of this one! Oh, did I say that already? Whoops.
Please check out a href=" /fe3hmonthly" rel="nofollow"The Goddess Messenger/a and maybe support an upcoming issue
Thank you for reading, and maybe I'll see you next time ❤