Birth and Re-Death
Chapter 54: ...For Some Very Bad Decisions, Part 1
"Hey, Luci," I say, knocking on the door to her room. I haven't seen as much of her lately as I would have liked, especially considering the embarrassing predicament I've put myself in now.
The door opens with surprising speed, and I encounter one of the most adorable sights I have ever been blessed with: Lucina bedhead. "Uncle Randy?" she asks urgently, Parallel Falchion in hand. "What's the matter?"
I raise my hands in a calming gesture. "Whoa there boss, there's no fire. We're all good. Sorry to wake you suddenly like this."
She sighs, then sheathes her sword. She goes back into her room for a moment and emerges with her eyepatch on. She's also smoothed out the bedhead some, and her face is a little red.
"So what is it?" she asks, a little irritably.
"Well, now I feel like I've killed the moment a bit, but come with me a second, will ya?" I gesture toward the stairs. "It was a little too big and unwieldy to wrap, so it's still in my room."
Her head cocks to the side a bit. "Wrap? What do you mean?"
"Just come on, you'll see." I take her hand and start heading for the stairs.
"Oh! Um, alright," she stammers, falling into step behind me.
"I felt awful when I realized I'd forgotten it. I know I'm a few days late now, but hopefully this will make up for it," I say as we ascend to the men's floor.
"Late? Late for what?" she asks.
I almost laugh. She must have forgotten too. "Your birthday, dummy."
We pause at the top of the stairs. I look back. A half-second of confusion on her face, then the light of realization behind her eyes. "Oh! It was, wasn't it? In all the… well, everything, I suppose it just slipped my mind. I'm not used to thinking about birthdays in this timeline."
"Happy, er, nineteenth, right?" I half-ask.
She nods. "The math is a little strange, because I didn't land at the same date that I left. But I think for simplicity's sake, I'll just say that I'm 19 now."
I have to laugh. "Time travel is weird. Well come on then, you gotta see your present!"
Lucina smiles brightly. "Okay!"
We enter my room, and I direct her to stand in front of my closet. She dutifully stands where I guide her, grinning with excitement. This is so flippin' precious. God I hope she likes the damn thing.
"It took me forever to pick it out. I had to get Sumia's help to pick something nice. Ordinarily I'd have asked your mom or Aunt Lissa for help, but as you know they're swamped in wedding prep stuff. Anyway, close your eyes," I say.
"Alright!" She covers her eyes with her hands.
I open the closet and carefully extract her present. I hold it up proudly in front of her. "Alright Luci, have a look at this!"
She uncovers her eyes and sees the silk dress in my hands. Mostly a rich shade of midnight blue, but with a large streak of dark red down the middle, and accented with that shade of red throughout the dress. It's not a giant ballgown or anything, but it's replete with folds and the shoulders are what I would call elegantly puffy. It didn't break my bank, but I'd say I'm proud of it.
Especially when I see her face looking at it. "Uncle Randy… This is…" She steps forward and feels the dress, running the fabric through her fingers.
"I figured, you know, what with your parents getting married and all… you'd need something to wear, right?" I say, a little bashful at her transfixed expression.
She finally looks away from the dress to look up at me. "Something to wear to… their wedding?" she asks.
"Uh, yeah. I know you have that white dress your mom gave you, but isn't it a thing that you're not supposed to wear a white dress to someone else's wedding? I feel like I heard that once. So yeah." I press the dress into her hands. She takes it carefully.
"It's just… I wasn't sure if I was even going to go," she says quietly, still examining the dress. "It seems unwise. I was going to watch, of course, but… from a distance."
"Why would you do that? It's gonna be a great time! And from the day they get married onward, it's not even like you really need to worry about them finding out about you in the first place, right?"
"I mean, that's true," she says uncertainly. "But I don't want to risk somehow getting in the way. I would hate to be the factor that makes something that was supposed to happen somehow come undone by my presence."
"How would you get in the way?" I ask. "You'll just be watching from the audience, right? You're not planning on dramatically objecting to their union or whatever, I assume."
"Of course not! I just…" She sighs. "Oh, fine. I suppose you're right. Just being there as an observer shouldn't be too big a problem." She holds the dress against her chest. "And it's such a lovely dress, after all."
"So you like it?" I ask hopefully.
"Are you kidding? I love it!" she exclaims. She carefully lays the dress down across my bed, then turns around and leaps forward to snatch me into a hug. "Thank you, Uncle Randy!"
My heart is about to explode. This is too much. "Sorry it took so long. It would've been nicer to actually give it to you on your birthday. But I've just been… not feeling like myself lately, I guess."
The energy of the hug changes. Her prior excitement shifts to something more subtle, more sincere. "You don't need to apologize. I know exactly how you feel. I feel the same way."
"Heh, I guess that's true. You might be the only one who really gets it, Luci." We release each other and each take a half-step back, both a little red in the face. "Sorry, I didn't want to spoil the excitement. I'm glad you like the dress. Sumia has good taste, huh?"
Her smile is recharged. "Definitely! I've never had an eye for this sort of thing, but I know a beautiful dress when I see it. I'll have to thank her too when I get the chance."
"So you're going to come to the wedding after all?"
She nods. "You've convinced me." With a little laugh, she adds, "What a rare opportunity. Not many get the chance to attend their own parents' wedding, more than a year before their own birth."
I laugh too. "Yeah, that's probably a new one. Well go on, try it on! I wanna make sure it fits. I'll step outside."
She grins. "Okay!"
I go into the hall and close the door behind me. A warm feeling spreads in my chest. Seeing Lucina so happy about something is a bandage over the lingering image of her face in that rainy graveyard. Far from forgotten, but… better.
The door opens behind me. "Uncle Randy," Lucina says a little shyly. "Could you, um, lace it up?"
"Oh! Yeah, definitely." I enter the room again and find her facing away from me, holding her hair up and out of the way. God alive, if someone saw us now, it would be hard for them not to get the wrong idea. I try not to think about it and hastily fasten the laces on her back.
"There we go. How's it feel?" I ask.
She turns around. I don't wanna brag or anything (especially because it was almost entirely Sumia's choice), but this dress is gorgeous on her. Even bed-headed, she looks elegant as all hell. "It's a little difficult to say," Lucina says. "I'm not used to dresses like this. I haven't had occasion to wear one in ages. But it's comfortable."
"Give it a little–" I pantomime shimmying the front of the dress.
She grabs a couple fistfuls of fabric and sways the dress side to side, giggling as she does so. Perfectly ultimate cuteness.
"With a dress like that, there's no way you can just watch the wedding from a distance," I say.
She nods with a grin. "I can't argue with that."
"Come on, Randy. It's not weird. Ricken and Donny do it all the time!"
"Maybe, but it's still weird considering this usually works the other way round."
"Well duh, but that's when I'm in my human form. I'm smaller than you then. But right now, who's bigger than who, huh?" Nowi flexes her draconic wings out and raises her head to its full height to emphasize her point. I didn't realize when Nowi dragged me out to the field south of the barracks that she intended to have me ride her on a flight over the city. Had I known, I probably would have conjured an excuse not to come.
"Okay, yeah, true enough. But don't you usually have, like, a saddle or something? If Robin finds out I've been riding a manakete without a harness or something else to keep me flying and not falling, she'll skin me alive." Especially because if I managed to permakill myself going on a friendly flight with Nowi, that would be an incredibly dumb way to go.
"If Robin's name was Cliff, would you jump off her?" Nowi asks irritably. "And yeah, in battle we use a saddle because they need to like, shoot spells or throw javelins and stuff. But it's just a little ride! I'll even fly over the lake so you don't have to worry about what you might fall into!"
"Great. I can break my back and drown afterward. Perfect," I retort.
"Come oooon!" she whines, which juxtaposed with her gigantic dragon form is utterly hilarious to me. "Puh-leeeease?"
I can feel my resolve wearing down. "Just a short ride, right?"
"Yes!" She flaps her wings excitedly, knocking me off balance with the wind following her wingbeats.
"Alright, fine. But don't fly me over anything that would kill me. Like spear top fences or open fires or whatever." I start walking around the side of her, trying to work out how to even get on.
"Okay!" She lowers her head. I guess I'm supposed to sit on the base of her neck? Whenever I've been on a wyvern or pegasus in the past, there's always been a saddle so I didn't have to think about it, but now that I consider it, I have no idea where my legs are supposed to go.
"How do I, uh…?" I ask uncertainly.
"Just sit on my shoulders!" She gestures with the tips of her wings at what I guess you could call her shoulders.
"Allllright," I say, approaching awkwardly. I swing a leg over her neck and slowly lower myself to a sitting position on the nape of her neck. Surprisingly, not uncomfortable so far. I was expecting her scales to be hard and unyielding, but they're just a little flexible, resulting in a firm but fairly comfortable seat.
"You alright?" I ask. Even in her dragon form, it's hard to shake the mental image of me crushing the shrimpy little womanlet under my weight.
"Yeah!" she replies, her neck scales vibrating as she speaks (which is strange, because her mouth doesn't actually move when she talks in dragon form; where is that air going?). "Don't forget, I'm used to carrying Ricken and Donny at the same time."
"Got a point there," I admit. "So what happens now?"
"Now, you hang on tight!" Nowi suddenly raises her head, lifting me with it. I instinctively wrap my arms around her neck and lock my legs against the sides of her torso.
"Okay!" I yelp as she braces for takeoff. Her legs and wings flex and prepare to leap and start flapping.
But then, we are interrupted.
"General Belmont!" someone yells.
General? Ah, right. I forgot that Robin told me I would be her acting general overseeing the city in the event of a military emergency.
Fuck, is something going down after all? My blood runs cold. In an instant, I think about where Longinus, my Ruin tome, and the pegasus knight messenger are located relative to here, planning a route to each one.
I look over and see a helmeted soldier waving me down as he rushes over from the palace's general direction.
"What is it?" I call back urgently.
"Your attention is needed at once, sir! Our scouts have apprehended Lord Hadrian Osprey. He's just been brought back to the capital. He's being transported from the south gate as we speak," the soldier says.
I breathe a slightly shaky sigh of relief. I was worried we might be under attack. I tap Nowi on the neck. "Gonna have to let me down, dude."
Nowi groans. "But I was about to take off!"
"I know. But I have to handle this. We'll fly later."
She reluctantly lowers her head with a draconic sigh. I leap off her neck and go to join the soldier. "Let's go."
He salutes crisply. "Yes sir!"
I turn briefly back to Nowi. "I'll catch up with you later."
"Okaaaay."
As we start heading for the palace, I ask, "Has Maribelle been told about this?"
"Another soldier was sent to inform Lady Maribelle of her father's arrest, sir," the soldier replies.
"Good. I don't think it's my place to make a unilateral call on what to do about this."
"Yes, sir. Though you are the highest-ranking officer in the city at the moment," the soldier says.
"Yeah, I guess that's true." As odd as that feels, even if it's a temporary measure.
We walk mostly in silence until we reach the palace, where Maribelle, Lissa, and Emmeryn are all standing out on the front steps, along with a couple guards.
Maribelle notices our approach. "Ah, Randy, thank goodness you're here. I take it you've been told?"
"Yeah. Is he here yet?" I ask. Maribelle shakes her head. "I see. What do you want to do about this?"
"As magistrate, I am tasked with determining the proper charges for suspected criminals when they are placed under arrest. But a magistrate can delegate that duty to a member of the military or guard force if she is, for any reason, unable to charge the suspect herself. I want to avoid this conflict of interest business you and I spoke about the other week. So I would like you to charge him with whatever crimes you have cause to believe he has committed," she says, her voice a little strained.
I shake my head. "Doesn't work, Maribelle. I have a conflict of interest too. Not only do I know you, his daughter, but I also stayed in his house for months, befriended his staff, worked—unwillingly—for his rebellious cause, and am otherwise a witness to his criminal actions." I hold out some of the fabric of my coat. "Also to this day I still wear the coat that I'm pretty sure was intended to be a bribe. The one who charges a defendant with a crime shouldn't also be a witness."
She looks a little ashamed. "I see. This avoidance of conflicts goes further than I thought. I hope you'll sit down with me soon and help me understand the specifics. In the meantime, what should I do?"
"There are other magistrates, right? For now, just keep him detained, and as soon as you can, have this matter adjudicated by another magistrate, preferably one you and your dad don't know personally if you can manage it." I decide for now not to mention how messed up I think it is that charges are brought by the judge. Since Ylisse already lacks formal prosecutors, I think trying to get into who should bring charges against suspects is several layers into a conversation that hasn't happened yet.
"Alright. I'll see to that as soon as we have him safely detained," Maribelle replies. "Thank you, Randy."
"No prob. Hey, is that them?" I point out a small covered wagon being pulled up the street, flanked on either side by a pair of cavaliers with lances in hand. Another rider, probably a paladin by the look of his armor, leads the group at the front.
The caravan arrives at the bottom of the steps. A pair of soldiers get out of the back of the covered wagon and come out with a manacled—and decidedly road-worn—Hadrian Osprey. He struggles to climb the stairs up to us with his ankles manacled by a length of chain to his wrists.
In the meantime, the paladin ascends the stairs to approach us. Maribelle hisses at him, "Was it really necessary to restrain him like that?"
The paladin sighs and removes his helmet and smooths out his greying hair. "Unfortunately, milady, yes. More than once after we initially apprehended Lord Osprey, we caught him attempting to flee the camp in the night. Eventually we had to resort to this."
Maribelle looks tired. "Very well. I trust no one was harmed?"
The paladin shakes his head. "No milady. After Octavia Issachar announced the disbandment of the Patriots, it seems Lord Hadrian immediately began preparing to flee Southtown. We found him not very far from the town, heading southeast. It didn't take much effort to subdue him."
"Right. Well, I appreciate your efforts, Captain. I'll have you escort him to a cell momentarily, but first I wish to speak with him."
He nods. "Of course, milady." He stands aside just as Hadrian reaches the top of the steps.
Hadrian has a ragged, fearful look in his eye. Still, he smiles when he sees Maribelle. "Oh, my darling girl! Thank the gods you're here. I know we can get this whole matter sorted out." He steps closer, and at first the soldiers move to hold him back, but Maribelle gestures for them to stand down.
"Father…" she says, looking at his chest rather than his face. "I'm glad you're alright." She turns to one of the soldiers flanking Hadrian. "Please remove his manacles. I am confident he will not attempt to flee right here in front of everyone."
"O-of course, milady!" the soldier stammers, and he and the other flanking soldier fumble around with the keys and chains for a few moments before the irons finally fall to the ground with the grating sound of metal on stone.
Rubbing his wrists, Hadrian says, "Thank you, my dear. Now we can finally get to rectifying this whole mess. I'll be glad to put this all behind us posthaste."
Maribelle shakes her head. "Father… please don't act like I'm ignorant about this situation."
Hadrian's painted smile cracks. "Maribelle… I assure you there's a good explanation for–"
"How could you do this?" Maribelle interrupts. "Did you think about who you were harming? What these people succeeding would mean?"
"Of course I thought about it!" Hadrian says, finally speaking without a performing veneer. "That's precisely why I took steps to protect our family!"
"Protect our family? Is that what you think you were doing?" Maribelle asks incredulously, her eyebrows raising dangerously.
Hadrian speaks fast, too fast. "You were too young to remember it well, but the events of the last war were devastating. Neither government was popular after the war. It was no wonder that there would be a rebellion after that. And I knew that if rebellion came to our country, the noble families would be targeted. I needed to ensure that if the rebellion movement came to Themis, they would not have cause to harm us. And once I was made aware that Lord Aventine was the one behind it all, I strongly believed that he would succeed. If it hadn't been for everything falling apart at those peace negotiations in our villa, I would still think that to this day. Don't you understand? I did what I did to protect us, and I never intended to get so personally involved in the affairs of the Patriots."
Maribelle looks furious. "You expect me to believe that you did this for my sake? You thought supporting a cause that sought to at least depose, and possibly assassinate, my best friend's family would be something I would ever approve of? And you speak of personal involvement? What do you call this?" She marches over to me, turns me on the spot, and shows off the back of my coat to Hadrian. "This, Father, is an express endorsement of the Patriots on behalf of the Osprey family. You call this protecting our family?"
"The Patriot movement was gaining ground in the southwest at that time, and Randall was already starting to take on a role as the face of the organization. I believed it was important that our family be seen as champions of the people," Hadrian says defensively, glancing at me, as if I might step in on his behalf.
"Well I hope it was worth it!" Maribelle says, commanding her father's gaze back onto her. "Because now our family crest is associated more with the man who assassinated Commander Phila than anything else, at least in this city. And now you'll be tried for… I don't even know what to call what you've done. And as for me, the last living member of the Osprey clan that isn't under arrest, I am about to leave the clan in name forever."
Hadrian's brow knits in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Maribelle holds up her left hand. "I mean this, Father. I am engaged. To Chrom, the acting-Exalt, one of the people that your movement would have seen killed."
I have possibly never seen a man look as baffled as Hadrian looks now. He looks small, which if you're standing near Lissa is an impressive feat. "I… I don't… That's wonderful, my dear," he stammers.
"Yes," Maribelle says, her voice choking up with the effort to stay composed. "It is wonderful. And now you know what you should have known from how dearly I have treasured Lissa all these years. That our family's fate has been tied to the Exalted family all along. I would never have tolerated benefitting from a world where my best friend and the man who would become my fiancé were violently overthrown to get there. I would have gone all the way down with them, even if it meant standing against you."
"Maribelle…" Hadrian says, truly at a loss.
Maribelle sighs shakily. "For what it's worth, I am glad you aren't harmed, Father." She turns to the captain. "Please escort him to the palace dungeon. Find him… preferably a cell on the top level. I need to see about assigning his case to another magistrate."
Hadrian has run out of things to say. He just hangs his head resignedly. The captain salutes. "Right away, milady. Lord Hadrian, please follow me." He starts walking off, and Hadrian shuffles along behind him, still flanked by the other two soldiers to make sure he doesn't suddenly make a break for it.
He gives me one last pleading look over his shoulder. I don't even know what he expects me to do. You went along with my kidnapping and imprisonment, dude. And unlike Octavia or Vasto, you never tried to make it right; you just tried to save your own skin.
For a second, I consider finally telling him I dated his daughter. But then I decide maybe he's had enough of a beatdown for today. Maybe I can let that one go.
The moment Hadrian disappears around the corner, Lissa immediately comes around and hugs Maribelle tightly. "Oh, Maribelle! I'm so sorry you had to go through that!"
Maribelle sniffles a couple times, but remains resolute in her struggle not to cry. I shoot the remaining soldiers hanging around a 'get the hell outta here' look, and they waste no time scrambling away.
After a minute or so, Maribelle has calmed down enough to speak. "Well, at least I know he is safe. He'll have to deal with the consequences of his actions himself."
"It'll be okay, I promise," Lissa says kindly, softly rubbing Maribelle's back.
Maribelle laughs weakly. "Well, I know better than to defy you when you've made up your mind about something, darling."
Lissa giggles softly. "Good."
The little dragon girl half-skips into the barracks common area, hoping she might run into Ricken or Donny to play a game. Sure enough, when she gets there, the young wind mage is sitting in one of the cushioned armchairs, poring over a thick, leatherbound book.
"Hi Ricken!" Nowi shouts, startling him so much he drops the book with a papery thump.
"Nowi! Don't surprise me like that!" Ricken exclaims irritably, hastily scooping up the massive book off the floor.
"Hehe, sorry Ricken," Nowi says with a slightly apologetic smile. "Whatcha doin'?"
"Studying," he replies sullenly.
"Doesn't seem like you're having much fun." Nowi drapes herself over the back of the chair, resting her chin on Ricken's head and squashing his mage's hat down over his eyes.
He irritably yanks the hat off his head and whirls around to glare at the manakete. "No one said becoming a master mage is supposed to be fun."
"Are you mad at me?" Nowi asks, trying not to sound hurt.
Instantly, Ricken's hardened demeanor softens. He just doesn't have it in him to be mean to the dragon girl. "No. Not really."
"Well, what's up then?" Nowi asks.
Ricken looks down at his book ashamedly. "It's stupid. Don't worry about it."
"Well I don't think it's stupid."
"You don't even know what it is."
"Nothing that you would worry about could be stupid. You're too smart to worry about something dumb," Nowi says kindly.
Ricken scoffs. "And here I thought you knew me. I worry about stupid stuff all the time."
Nowi exhales impatiently and comes around the chair to look at her friend straight on. "Ricken. Something's bothering you. I don't care if it's stupid. Just say it! You'll feel better!"
Ricken tries to avert her eyes, but her gaze eventually commands a response. "Fine," he says, reddening before he's even started. "I just, you know… I noticed how much time you've been spending with Randall lately. And it seems like you're paying him an awful lot of attention."
"Hmm… yeah, that's true," Nowi replies.
"And it just made me wonder if you… well, like him," Ricken says at last, his face crimson with the shame of teenage insecurity.
"Oooh," Nowi says, smiling with relief. "It's not like that at all!"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not trying to get together with Randy. I just want Robin to think I want to get with him," Nowi explains.
"Huh?" Ricken's expression shifts from self-consciousness to confusion.
"I just want Robin to finally get a move on and get together with Randy before she misses her chance. But she's being a total slowpoke about it! So I want her to get jealous and make a move already."
"But Robin's not even in town right now! She hasn't been for weeks!" Ricken exclaims, still plainly confused about his friend's machinations.
"Well yeah, but this stage is called 'laying the foundation' Ricken, duh," she replies, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "If I only spent time with Randy when Robin was around, Randy would figure me out and then it wouldn't work."
"I guess that makes sense. So you don't like Randall like that?" Ricken asks.
Nowi shrugs. "It doesn't matter. Randy obviously sees me as just a kid. Which is fine, cuz that's how I want to be seen most of the time."
"Most of the time?" Ricken repeats.
"Yeah. Most of the time. Sometimes it's nice to actually be recognized for being the thousand-year-old manakete I am. I'm not actually a kid anymore."
"Why do you want to be seen as one then?" Ricken closes his book and sets it on the floor next to the chair.
Nowi shrugs. "Because for most of my life, it's only been kids who make time for me. In my early years, I was really lonely, but after a few hundred years I got better at finding human towns and villages and stuff. Kids always want to have someone new to play with, so I would get along with kids real easy. But then they would do something that I never could: they'd grow up. They'd become adults, get married, get jobs, and then they wouldn't have time for me and my dumb kid's stuff anymore. They'd outgrow me."
"Nowi…" For a brief moment, Ricken sees the age behind her eyes. Eyes that have watched the passing of centuries, almost unaging.
But just as quickly, it's gone. "So yeah! Most folks just see me as a kid, and that's fine. It could be nice to have someone who actually sees me as a lady someday though."
Ricken hesitates for a moment before daring to speak his mind. "Well, I won't outgrow you," he says at last.
Nowi smiles. "I appreciate you saying that. But you can't know what you'll be like until you get there. When you're grown up you can prove it."
The young mage folds his arms defensively. "I am of age already, Nowi. I'm almost seventeen."
Nowi can't keep a very slightly condescending tone out of her voice. "Sixteen years old isn't old enough to know if you've outgrown me, Ricken. Especially since you were sixteen when we met in the first place."
"Now who's treating who like a kid?" Ricken asks accusingly.
"When you turn 1000, you get the right to treat everyone like a kid," Nowi says smugly.
"Anyway, I'll show you. It doesn't matter how old I get; I'll never outgrow you," Ricken says, his eyes set firm and resolute.
The smug expression leaves Nowi's face, softening into a more genuine smile. "I look forward to that," she says.
She can tell he meant every word. Even after all these centuries, humans have not stopped surprising her.
There it is. The western gate. No destruction, no fires, no evidence that anything has gone wrong. I've never been this happy to see that wall before. I feel like I can finally breathe.
The time it takes to actually get to the gate feels like ages. I can't sit still and ultimately end up leaving the command wagon to walk along with the infantrymen. Even then, it still takes forever, and also I end up wearing myself out. I'm both tired and restless at the same time.
Gods, I'm a mess.
After an interminable hike that makes me thankful my usual job is more focused on planning than endurance, we finally reach the gate. As the guards on the wall open the gate to let the caravan back in, I rush to the front.
There's a crowd waiting on the other side of the gate. Mostly strangers, though at the front of the crowd are some familiar faces. The Shepherds are here to welcome us back.
Standing there among them, waving hello with a smile as the gate opens, is Randy.
Finally, a real breath. He's safe. I'm safe. Everything is fine. Now don't run to him. You'll feel like a fool if you don't contain yourself. Just walk. Briskly.
He's holding his arms open as I approach. I waste no time walking into them. They wrap snugly around me, warm and strong.
"Hey Robin," he says, quiet enough that I barely hear it over the din of the crowd welcoming us back. "Did you miss me?"
"You know I did, dummy," I reply, laughing with relief.
I feel him take a deep breath. "Good. I wasn't the only one then." My stomach flutters.
Too soon, he lets go of me. "God alive, I don't know about you, but I had myself worried sick," he says, and it's only now that I get a good look at his face.
He hasn't been sleeping, or at least not well. His eyes are dark, tired, even sad. He smiles, but I feel the dragging weight behind it. He's exhausted. I wonder if I look similar.
"I was worried too," I say. "Both because I thought something might happen here, and because I thought we might have been walking into a trap I wasn't ready for."
"And it looks like we did all that worrying for nothing," he sighs. "Not much of note happened here. Hadrian Osprey was arrested and is now awaiting charges. I convinced Maribelle not to adjudicate that case herself. Other than that, nothing to report."
I sigh, exhausted. "There's plenty to report on my end, but right now I just…"
He chuckles. "Unless it's an emergency, it can wait. Let's get you to bed. I might just take a long nap myself, actually. God knows I need one."
I remember how it felt to sleep by his side. The feeling of his arms around me. I had never felt so safe before. I think about how he teased me the other week, the night Lucina learned that Libra died. He asked if I wanted to join him in bed. Gods, how I wanted to say yes. I still wonder if he might not have been just teasing me.
I snap out of my smitten stupor. Randy does not need to be worrying about romance or anything else right now. I want him to finally get a chance to just decompress.
"Yeah, I think a long sleep is exactly what I need," I say.
"Come on," he says, taking my hand and leading me through the crowd. While everyone else is excitedly catching up with each other, exchanging stories about what they saw out west or what's been happening in the city, Randy gently pushes his way through the mess of people, keeping a firm hold on my hand all the while.
It takes some time, but eventually we break free of the crowd. Randy hails a carriage nearby. The soldier driving the carriage looks at first like he wants to dismiss us, but he sees my grandmaster shawl and quickly changes his tune.
It's only when we sit down in the back of the carriage and start the trip back to the barracks that my fatigue really hits me. My eyes struggle to stay open. I feel myself falling asleep sitting up here.
Randy chuckles next to me, low and soft. "Here," he says, and he gently pulls my shoulder over, prompting me to rest my head on his shoulder. "I don't want you falling out the back of the carriage."
My stomach flips, a mix of elation and embarrassment, but I relent and let myself relax against him. I want to savor this, to etch this moment into my memory, but I can't will myself to stay conscious any longer. I barely have time to process that it's happening at all before I fall asleep.
My sleep is dreamless and seems to pass in the blink of an eye.
When I wake up, I'm in my bed. My coat and boots have been pulled off, but other than that I'm still fully clothed. I realize, with color rising in my cheeks, that he must have just carried me straight to bed. I don't know how long I've been asleep, but it's dark out now.
I consider just rolling over and going back to sleep, but then I remember how beaten-down Randy looked earlier. I definitely needed this rest, but I don't want to go back to sleep without making sure he's okay too.
I drowsily get to my feet and head into the hallway. It must be late, because I don't hear anyone talking or moving about. I pad down the hall and up the stairs to the men's floor. I shuffle in the dark until I reach Randy's door.
I'm trying to decide whether it would be acceptable to just poke my head in and check to see if he's in there when I hear a familiar sound from the other side of the door. Snoring. I listen for a moment longer to be sure that it's coming from his room, but it's clear that he's asleep in there. Good.
The temptation crosses my mind again. What would he do if I just went inside and lay down next to him? If I told him that part of the reason I was so anxious when I was away from him is that I'm in love with him? That I never want to be apart again? Would he laugh that wonderful, quiet, sincere laugh, hold me close, and say something like, "And here I figured you were just worried I'd set the city on fire"? Would he rest a hand on the back of my head, gently pulling me in for a kiss? My skin tingles at the thought.
I want this. I want this more than anything. Gaius's words echo in my head; I can't wait forever. My fingers brush the doorknob.
A loud snore startles me, breaking my chain of thought. I stop.
He's fast asleep. He needs so badly to rest for once. He's been dealing with so much lately, and this is finally his chance to just take a breath. It's possible, maybe even likely, that Randy feels the same way about me that I do about him. But if he doesn't, and I do something like this to him, it's just going to be one more worry to put on the pile. And he'll feel like he can't come to me about it, because it will be my fault.
I don't want to leave this alone. But now isn't the time. For now, he deserves to just have a quiet, normal life, while he still can. If what he says is true, and we're going to have another war to contend with in less than two years, I want us to make the most of the time we have.
I reluctantly step away from the door and start retreating to the stairs. About halfway down the stairs, I'm startled when I nearly trip over someone coming up the staircase. I stumble back and stammer half-words of alarm.
"Whuh? Bubbles, is that you?" I hear in the dark.
"...Gaius?" I ask.
"That's me. I left something in my room, going to get it," he says.
"Ah. Sorry," I say, attempting to make way for him to pass me.
"What were you doing up here though, Bubbles? Did you..?" he asks expectantly. I can hear the smirk on his face.
"No, I didn't. I was just… checking on him," I say, unable to hide the self-consciousness in my tone.
"I noticed he's been running himself into the ground recently," he says. "Maybe now that you're back, he'll be back to his old self again."
"I hope so," I say.
He chuckles and finally moves past me. It's only now that I realize he's in his underwear.
He pauses at the top of the stairs. "I'm rootin' for ya, Bubbles."
I don't know what I'm supposed to say to that. I settle for muttering, "Thanks, Gaius."
I read over the note from this Lord Vendrick guy again.
"Jesus. I knew the Grimleal were dangerous, but I didn't realize how crazy fast they'd be," I say. "They really didn't want to risk us getting our foot in the door to have a say in the new power structure." I fold the note and set it on Robin's desk.
"Why are the lords just rolling over and letting this happen?" Robin asks. "Couldn't they mobilize the military against the church's radicals?" She sighs sharply. "Don't answer that. I know why. It would result in bloody civil war and tear the country apart," she says in the tone in which one might say "Okaaay Mom."
"Or it would just get the lords killed if the people sided with the church and turned on them. Asking for not only violence, but violence against Grimleal specifically, would be a hell of an unpopular proposition right now," I reply. "And then the Grimleal would pretty much rule unilaterally."
Robin paces around a bit, occasionally letting a lone spark dance along the blade of her Levin sword. "Outside of the nobility, there really isn't anyone left, is there? Most of the military high command was killed in the war too. Generals Mustafa and Campari are dead. We killed that Orton character back in the first battle of the war. The only one left alive that I'm aware of is–" she grimaces, "–Vasto, and he's a traitor to his own country. Plus, no one knows where he went regardless."
"We just have to make sure we're ready," I say. "At least we know it's coming. The Grimleal are taking charge. Unfortunately, until the coming war with Valm is done with, it's probably too risky to make a move on Plegia either way."
"So we just have to play dumb, huh?" Robin grumbles. "How bothersome."
"We do have time to prepare, though," I remind her. "And because we know what we're looking for, we can keep a more effective watch on them. I think we need to keep an open channel of communication with Lord Vendrick. Maybe some of the other lords too. They're quickly becoming irrelevant, but while they still have some influence we should make use of it."
"True enough," Robin says. "For now we have some advantages. We shouldn't lose sight of that."
I sigh in exhaustion. Planning for future wars is a taxing business.
"You know what?" Robin says suddenly. Without waiting for a response, she ducks down and digs around in one of her desk drawers. When she re-emerges, she has a bottle of amber liquid and two glasses. "We've earned a drink."
"Oh, hell yes," I say, eyeing the bottle lustily as she sets it on the table.
"And I gotta show you something I picked up the other day. I had no idea things like this existed." She ducks back down and digs around a little more, then returns with a short wooden box, about a foot long and a few inches wide. She opens the two latches on the box and opens it.
I don't know what I expected inside, but an ice tray was not it. Mounted into the box is a steel tray with 12 little holes, each filled with ice.
"The interior of the box is lined with magic runes," Robin explains, showing off the slightly blue-glowing markings on the inside of the box. "I didn't even know ice magic was still used at all. I heard its combat application was phased out of most warfare in this continent some time ago. But I guess its use has shifted almost entirely to the civilian sector."
"Huh. I hadn't thought about it, but that makes a lot of sense," I say. "Sounds like it would be really useful for preservation. How long are those runes good for?"
"They should last for a while, but once they're spent I can have the guy who sold it to me re-energize the runes." She bends the tray a little, breaking the ice cubes out of their place. "Ooor I could learn to do it myself~" she says, happily flipping an ice cube into her glass.
"I haven't had ice in a drink since I came to this country," I remark as Robin places a couple cubes in my glass. "I didn't even realize how bad I missed it."
Robin pours the whiskey, and we briefly raise our glasses.
"To staying one step ahead of the Grimleal," Robin says with a sardonic smile.
"Wouldn't that be nice?" I reply, clinking my glass against hers and taking a sip.
Oh my God. Cold beverage. This is so nice. I never would have thought I would consider a couple ice cubes in a glass such a luxury.
I notice Robin giving me a funny look. "What's up?" I ask.
She blinks. "Oh, nothing. You're just funny. You're looking at that glass like you're in love with it."
I chuckle. "You've got a point. Maybe this is love." I take a sip. "Nah, I just didn't appreciate how much I used to take ice on demand for granted."
"You mean you had this in America too?" Robin asks.
"Yeah. We didn't have magic at our disposal, so to provide material advancements in our society we relied on technological ingenuity. One of the most major things we utilized was the power of motors and electricity. I couldn't for the life of me tell you how it works, but I can say that the majority of American houses had at least one machine that could pretty much make ice whenever you wanted it. We called them freezers, because we are very creative."
Robin watches me speak with surprising interest. "So even without magic, you could freeze things at will?"
"Uh, yeah. We had technologies for all sorts of things. Cooking, cleaning, transportation, entertainment, communication, and more. Frankly, I know so little about how a lot of it works that it may as well have been magic to me. But that was how we got by without it," I say.
"That's amazing!" Robin exclaims. "There must have been all kinds of developments to compensate for the lack of magic."
I laugh at how counterintuitive that seems. "I don't know if we really saw it that way, but yeah, I guess that's what it was in practice. By the time I left that world, you could cook a meal in minutes or even seconds, travel down a thoroughfare at over a hundred miles an hour, or even talk to someone on the complete other side of the world instantly. Not to mention it was these advances in technology that allowed me to learn about Ylisse and this world in the first place."
Robin is starry-eyed. "Wow… That all sounds amazing. Especially that part about communicating with people from far away. Sure would have been nice to have something like that before. Do you know how they did that?"
I shake my head. "I know some of the very basics, but broadly speaking, no. There were multiple ways to do it though. Some involved the use of machines that produced long-range wavelengths that other machines could receive and translate to audible messages. Basically it was sending a message from one machine to another that was invisible and inaudible until it reached the other side. We called it radio."
"Whoa. And you're sure this wasn't magic?" Robin asks.
"It may as well have been, for how much I knew about how to actually make it work," I say with a shrug.
"Wouldn't that be great though?" she asks, her excitement mounting as she speaks. "To be able to communicate with each other, no matter the distance? I've been trying to work out a way we could do it, but it seems that there have been very few in history that have done anything like it, and always with magic."
"Like what?" I ask. She's right, of course; being able to communicate from a distance would have been a major relief for both of us. So if there's a solution, I'd love to find it.
"Well, for example, in the War of Shadows, there are records of the sage Gotoh sending Prince Marth and his allies a vision of himself while Gotoh himself was being kept in Macedon by King Michalis. There are also records that suggest that Valentian sages from the same era had similar powers. However, it seems that only the most powerful of mages were able to do it, and even then not consistently. It's a lost art, sadly."
"Well, shit. It would be nice to have that in our back pocket," I say.
"Agreed. I'm working on a way to at least approximate it, but anima magic wasn't turning up any promising leads. More recently, I've been talking to–" she glances at the door, "–Tharja, to see if there's anything dark magic might be able to do for us."
"And? Anything encouraging?"
She shakes her head dejectedly. "Not so far. Hexes are not meant to be helpful. It's antithetical to their nature. Tharja said that dark magic has been used cleverly in the past, but at the base level, hexes are supposed to be harmful."
"Huh." Guess I'll have Tharja explain it to me more thoroughly when I get a chance.
"Anyway," Robin says suddenly, setting down her glass. "Enough about Grimleal and curses and all that stuff. Let's make an agreement, right now. Unless an emergency happens, from now until after the wedding, we both promise to put aside all our worries and just enjoy ourselves. Okay?"
It's kinda funny seeing her look so serious about the idea of having fun. Like it's a mission. That's so Robin. "I think we can manage that. Agreed."
Her shoulders loosen up. "Alright, good. After everything, we've earned at least one day of just letting ourselves relax."
"I couldn't agree more."
I stand with the other Shepherds, watching Chrom stand on the balcony of the palace, overseeing the massive crowd that has formed in front of the palace steps. Behind him, standing on either side of him are Lissa and Maribelle, and off a little further to the side, I can just barely make out Frederick in his wheelchair. Thankfully he's really tall even when seated. And standing off to the side is Robin, in her Grandmaster General garb.
Chrom's voice booms over the crowd when he finally speaks. I think he must be getting some magical help from Lissa or Maribelle to boost his voice, similar to what Emmeryn did back in Golgotha.
"Good people of Ylisse, and esteemed allies of the halidom, thank you for joining me today." His tone is formal, stiff. It's clear he's been rehearsing this.
"I am fortunate to be able to come before you today, here in this place. We are all blessed by the efforts of our fellow countrymen, as well as our steadfast allies, to have been able to return to this place. War was cruel, and there is not one person who did not suffer because of it. Even so, we have proven since the day we declared victory that the people of Ylisse are stronger than the wounds we suffer. We are rebuilding, day by day, and I am proud to be leading that effort."
He takes a moment to breathe before continuing. "Until now, since the Battle of Golgotha, I have been leading the halidom as acting-Exalt. I did so because, as many of you know, and many more of you probably suspect, my elder sister, Exalt Emmeryn, is still alive today." A murmur of general reaction ripples through the crowd. "However, from this day forward, that is going to be changing. You see, while Exalt Emmeryn did survive her captivity, she was grievously injured in the battle, and her ability to lead has been compromised.
"It was for this reason that I stepped in while my sister was recovering. I sincerely hoped that with enough time and care, she would make a full recovery and step back into her rightful place as Exalt. However, in spite of the tireless efforts of my younger sister, Princess Lissa, it has become apparent that our sister is not going to return to her old self in the foreseeable future. Exalt Emmeryn is working every day to regain her strength, but progress is slow, and we suspect some of the damage done to her was permanent.
"In the meantime, our nation needs a leader. We love Emmeryn dearly. I love her with my whole heart. It is not fair that we put the pressure of leading a nation on the shoulders of one who has already suffered so much for us. It is time for someone else to take up her mantle."
Chrom hesitates. "And so, from this day forth, I am no longer simply your acting-Exalt. I am assuming the title of Exalt in full. However, I wish only to do so if I have the support of the people I seek to lead. Therefore, I put it to you: if I relieve my sister of this burden and seek to claim it for myself, will you follow me?" He raises his hands up and outward, inviting a response.
The crowd does not wait to give it to him. Cheers resonate across the square, especially (and unsurprisingly) from the Shepherds. It's possible I'm getting a biased perspective from this gaggle of Chrom-lovers, but it seems clear that the yeas have it.
Chrom nods solemnly as the crowd finally calms down after a couple minutes. "I thank you, friends and allies. I pray that I will lead you in a manner that justifies your assent today. And to that end, as my first act as Exalt, I have two announcements to make.
"The first relates to the war we all just endured together. It is clear that the halidom was not prepared for this conflict when it began. When the previous war ended some sixteen years ago, my sister, a mere 9-year-old, was forced to make some incredibly important decisions for the future of this country. Given the circumstances, I will forever assert that she made the best choices she could. However, the choice to dismantle the military in its entirety, leaving the country only with a small royal guard force and, later, the Shepherds, proved in the end to be a mistake. My sister had faith in the goodness of all people. She believed that all people desire peace. For the most part, I believe she was correct. There are much, much more peaceful people than there are violent ones in the world.
"However, the fact remains that some people are simply aggressors. Some people are committed to their violent, hateful ways. Sometimes, these people are allowed to gain power, and when they do, they can impart their violent agendas onto otherwise peaceful people. We saw this in the war we only just concluded weeks ago. We saw this in the former king of Plegia, Gangrel. Even before the war began in earnest, I saw firsthand as a member of the Shepherds how the people of Ylisse suffered at the hands of Plegian bandits, who invaded the country at Gangrel's behest. People like Gangrel take advantage of the peaceful nature of others. The violent see the peaceful as weak, as pushovers that can be strongarmed into submission."
Chrom raises a fist. "We must be a different sort of peaceful people. Never seeking conflict, but always prepared to resolve it. We will never again allow ourselves to be placed in the situation where an aggressor targets our people, and we do not have an answer for it. To achieve this goal, I hereby announce the reformation of the Ylissean army."
Another murmur, less confident than before, drifts over the crowd.
"I know many of you are nervous. An Exalt building a military no doubt brings back memories of the mistakes of exalts past. It is not a small thing I ask of you all today. I ask for your trust. We have suffered through the second war in recent memory, and the pain could hardly be more fresh in our minds. However, I hope you all will consider this: if Ylisse had a military one year ago, perhaps we could have avoided this war. Perhaps a coward like Gangrel, seeing a country unafraid to defend itself from invaders, would have backed away and left us in peace. I truly believe that if we build a strong, robust military, we can avoid disaster like the one we just endured. Never again will the halidom face an enemy unprepared."
He turns and gestures for Robin to step forward. "To accomplish this, I want to officially introduce to the halidom, my Grandmaster General, Robin. She is a foreigner in this land, it is true, but I have never met anyone more committed to the protection of our country and our way of life. And on top of her virtuous mindset, I will also declare with confidence that I have never met a more impressive, and intimidating, tactical mind. There is no one more qualified to lead this new era of Ylissean homeland defense."
Robin waves a little awkwardly, clearly bashful after that public heap of praise dumped on her head. She opens her mouth to say something, but it becomes clear after a few seconds that she's not being amplified like Chrom.
Chrom taps her on the shoulder to stop her. "Uh, Robin, you're not, uh," Chrom says, audibly to everyone. He stops himself on realizing we can all hear this technical difficulty, and he looks out at the crowd like a deer in headlights. This earns a laugh from the crowd, which, while I'm sure it's embarrassing up there for them, frankly feels like something the crowd needed after an announcement like that. Lissa and Maribelle scramble around behind them for a moment, waving their hands and weaving some sort of spell, then finally things calm down.
"Ahah," Robin laughs nervously, and loudly. Guess they got her hooked up to the magic mic somehow. "Thank you all. And thank you, Chrom. It's an honor, truly. I was so lucky to have been found by such wonderful people. And I want to keep working to make sure I earn the kindness everyone in this land has shown me. I will protect this land and its people with everything in me. You have my word on that." She turns to us again. Her eyes scan the crowd until she finds the Shepherds, all standing together. I wave. She raises her hand slightly and waves back. What a goofball. "Thank you all. I may not have been born here, but this place is my home. I will make you all proud."
The crowd applauds, once again especially the Shepherds. Lots of whooping and hollering, and I'm pretty sure I hear Nowi let out a draconic roar of approval, which makes me quite nervous. There is not enough space to transform here, kiddo.
Robin stands there stiffly for a moment, taking it in, then quickly retreats back to her place behind the others. I guess she must be a little skittish appearing in front of a massive crowd like this.
Chrom clears his throat, prompting the crowd to settle down again. "I mentioned before that I have two announcements. That was the first. But on a much more personal note, I have a second announcement to make."
He turns over his shoulder to look at Maribelle, who steps forward to stand next to him. "I could not be more pleased to announce that Maribelle Osprey of Themis has agreed to become my wife. The beautiful woman standing beside me will soon be the queen consort of the halidom."
The crowd cheers louder than ever. Of course, to us Shepherds the engagement is old news, but we cheer as if we're hearing it for the first time. Maribelle smiles brightly from her place at Chrom's side, looking every bit the poised noblewoman up there.
"We want to share our joy with the entire halidom," Chrom says. "After the wedding ceremony, it is our hope that the city can come together to help us celebrate. Let this occasion of love be a sign to us all that not only will we put this war behind us, but we will build back stronger than ever. We will never be discouraged. We will overcome all obstacles, and the peace and love Emmeryn fought for will never die!"
The crowd, unsurprisingly, erupts. For my part, I'm just happy that the announcements went over so well. Saving the engagement announcement for last was definitely a smart move on Chrom's part. Having it announced like this just makes it feel all the more real to me. I couldn't be happier for the two of them. After everything they each went through in the last year, they both deserve all this happiness and more.
Speaking of the wedding, it's a little jarring how quickly it approaches after Chrom announces his engagement. It feels like they're barely down from the balcony before we start seeing guests from across the halidom rolling into the city, filling the palace guest rooms and nearby inns. It feels like the city is constantly buzzing with anticipation of the event.
One of the palace servants fills me in on my role as a groomsman. Pretty familiar stuff for me, which is nice. 1) Make sure Chrom shows up to his wedding. Shouldn't be too hard. 2) Walk down the aisle with my matched partner from the bridesmaids. I learn that Emmeryn is my procession partner, which is pretty flattering for me if I'm honest. Not everyone gets a chance to walk arm-in-arm with the former Exalt, after all.
From everything that I've been told, it seems like Ylissean weddings more or less follow the Western style that I'm more than used to at this point. When you grow up one of the youngest cousins in a huge Irish Catholic family, you see more than your share of weddings. All of this sounds like a walk down a well-worn path to me.
The bridal party will process in, followed by the bride herself, then the ceremony begins in earnest. Some Nagalei prayers happen, which I'll just be doing my best to keep up with. Considering Flavia and Basilio are in the bridal party too, I'm just glad I won't be the only one there not familiar with the local religion. Then Chrom and Maribelle will do their vows and officially get married. Then after some more formalities, they process out, and eventually we make our way to the reception. Which, by the way, I learn is going to be outdoors and pretty damn sprawling, overtaking pretty much the entire palace grounds and extending across the training field to the barracks. Poor Lon'qu has been going insane ever since his go-to training area was subsumed by tables and flowery decorations.
Also, lamely, I learn that at least among the noble class, there's no such concept as a bachelor party. At first it seemed like Vaike and Basilio were down for the idea, but when Frederick caught wind of our plans, he quashed them near instantly. I suppose in fairness, pretending to kidnap a head of state might cause more of a panic than it would be worth.
One thing I'm relieved I don't have to worry about myself is how to dress. All the groomsmen are wearing the same thing. It's an almost entirely white suit, with tall white boots and large cuffs. The suit is trimmed in a navy blue that resembles Chrom's usual outfit, as well as some traces of gold. And there's a matching blue cravat. I have never in my life had occasion to wear one, but I have to admit, once it's actually on I kind of dig it. It's not super obnoxiously big or anything, just kind of a modest accent for the outfit. I don't think I could ever commit to this style the way Virion does, but for a special occasion like this, I'm down. Anyway, Chrom's outfit is pretty much identical, except it also features a cape, white on the outside, lined in blue. It's held together on his shoulder with a gold clasp that resembles a small Fire Emblem.
One more thing about the groomsmen's outfits: the daggers. I'm told it's a tradition among nobility (or those who want to put on airs of nobility) in Ylisse for the groomsmen to wear daggers at their sides during the ceremony. I guess it was born out of the example Marth set when he had his war companions as his groomsmen. It's a sign that you're all brothers-in-arms or something. Anyway, we've all been crafted our own daggers specially for the occasion. The blades are thin and fairly long, maybe 8ish inches, crafted from weapons-grade silver and with a little fuller carved out of the blade. The handle is covered in black-stained wood and wrapped in a decorative silver spiral of metal up the length of the grip. At the center of the crossguard is a little embossing of the Brand of the Exalt. Each dagger also came with its own dark leather sheath. Basically designer custom daggers. Rich kids get all the best toys. Chrom himself will be wearing Falchion, unsurprisingly.
As for the ladies, I haven't been allowed to see Maribelle's dress yet, but I have seen the bridesmaids' dresses. They're mostly blue, modestly cut and with a large, flowing skirt. The bodices have tasteful dashes of gold as well. The sleeves are long and widen out toward the wrists, with gold trim around the cuffs.
It's pretty adorable watching Emmeryn try to get used to wearing such a busy outfit. Lissa has to kind of police her to make sure she isn't constantly fidgeting with her sleeves or her skirt. Thankfully, the girls are wearing shoes that are nearly flat, so she isn't having too much trouble moving around in them.
If anyone's suffering in her bridesmaid dress, it's Sully. Constantly shifting the fabric around, fighting the urge to hike up her skirt or roll up her sleeves. She says it makes her feel "constrained." Vaike, who has been forced into an actual shirt for once, looks like he's suffering in a similar manner.
The day before the ceremony, we have a practice processional in the palace chapel. Chrom processes down first, alone. Normally the groom would be accompanied by his mother, but in this case, of course that isn't possible. Then the bridal party processes in pairs after him. Vaike and Sully first, then the khans, then Emm and me, and finally Lissa and Frederick. We've set up a small ramp up one side of the stairs to the altar to give Frederick access, so he can wheel right up.
After us, the bride will enter. She didn't want to rehearse with everyone because she said it would be "bad luck," so we just made do without her today. I realized watching Chrom walk down the aisle alone that Maribelle is probably going to have to do the same, considering her dad is sort of under arrest for treason right now. That'll no doubt be a sore spot on an otherwise great day.
After that, we practice processing back out, and that's that. As we exit the chapel again, I ask Emmeryn on my arm, "You ready to do this again tomorrow?"
She nods and smiles. "Mmhmm!" Her hold on my arm tightens a little with excitement. "Lissa says I look… beautiful. And tomorrow… Maribelle will be my sister."
"Lissa's right, Emm. You definitely look beautiful," I reply, returning her smile. "And I'm sure you'll be a great sister to Maribelle."
Emm giggles. Like every time I've managed to spend some time with her, she brightens up my day with pretty much everything she does. She's every bit the ray of sunshine her little sister is, and that's saying something.
"Do I detect someone flirting with my big sis?" Lissa says, a tone of mock-scandal in her voice, as she walks over to join us.
"Didn't you hear? Emm and I are to be wed only a fortnight hence!" I reply.
Emmeryn shifts in confusion beside me. "We are?"
Lissa frowns. "You shouldn't tease Emm like that, Randy," she says.
I release Emmeryn's arm. "Yeah, you're right, my bad."
She pretty much instantly perks back up. "Besides, if there were any man going after my sister's heart, I would know about it. And whoever he is, he'd have to contend with me to get to her."
Emm places her hand on her chest. "My heart?"
"That's right, Emm. And if any man proposes to you, you'd better come see me straight away before you answer," Lissa says.
Emm cocks her head a bit. "Proposes?"
"Like this." With an unnecessarily dramatic flourish, Lissa drops to one knee. "Milady Emmeryn, would you do me the honor of becoming… my bride~?" she asks in a faux manly-yet-dandy voice, a supplicating hand raised to her sister.
Emmeryn giggles. "Is that… what Chrom did?"
Lissa gets back to her feet. "Yes. That's exactly what he did."
Now Emm and I are both laughing.
"And because Randy and I are both right, and you look beautiful in that dress, there's a chance someone might try to propose to you too. But you should never say yes to a proposal for marriage unless you really love that person, and you want to spend your whole life with them," Lissa says matter-of-factly. "It's a really big decision. Maybe the most important decision of your whole life."
Emmeryn listens intently, and when Lissa's done talking she nods in understanding. "Okay," she says.
A/N: Happy new year everybody! I was hoping to have this chapter up by Christmas, but as you may have noticed by the words "Part 1" up there, this chapter got too big to manage in one chunk. So the tradeoff is you get one half now, and the next half tomorrow. It's definitely been a weird year, but I think the latter half definitely improved on the former. Thanks as always to Mixed Valance for reading and revising this draft. I happen to have certain insider knowledge that a new chapter of TWCT is hopefully not too far off as well, so enjoy your anticipation of that ;)
Here is your Mixed Valance out-of-context quote of the week: "Snort wasabi, that will clear out your head."
I'm saving review responses for Part 2 tomorrow so that I can respond to anything people might have to say about this chapter as well. Mercifully brief notes!
Join the discord: discord. gg/ 3mdunvc
As always, comments and critiques are welcome. See you next time!