{-Alfonse-}

He prayed the others were still able to keep up with him. Thrasir hadn't closed the portal after they were all through; that didn't seem to be on her mind at all. Both her and Líf grew solemn, as if the world itself was the memorial for what had happened here. Alfonse kept thinking of more questions—things about why everything around them was silent, what had happened that required Hel to "return their subjects"—but knew better than to ask them.

They walked to a town close to the royal castle. He was almost surprised how similar it looked to the town he knew. Almost everything was in the same place and if they hadn't mentioned it earlier he would've assumed they'd returned to his Askr. Could a town from Líf and Thrasir's time, as the first king of Askr and first emperor of Embla, really have changed so little between then and a time Alfonse was familiar with?

Líf eventually took the lead, guiding them to the town's center.

"Should we really bring him this close to her..?" Thrasir mumbled.

"You said we're showing him his future," Líf responded distantly. "I think… he should see it now. Maybe it won't be so much of a shock when he truly experiences it."

"Whether you realize it or not, you haven't changed," she sighed. "It's annoying."

Alfonse began to understand what they were talking about when they reached the center. Flowers were laid out delicately, clearing a path to walk around without stepping on any of them. Candles were scattered through the square, though none seemed to have been lit in a while. Both things concentrated in the middle, drawing his attention to the real memorial.

Well, more specifically, the person the memorial was based around.

Líf looked back at him. "Do you recognize her, Alfonse? Everything seemed hopeless when she became like this. Once I kill you, I want her to wake up to these flowers… so that even if I'm not there when it happens, she knows that everything's alright."

It only took a minute for him to recognize her. The longer he stared—the more he hoped he was mistaken—the more undeniable it was. It had to be her. It had to be—

Their forewarning came as all the candles lighting up at once. Then each and every one of the flowers were set ablaze, bringing Líf into a single-focused and desperate attempt to rescue the woman.

"Don't just stand there, you idiot! These flowers aren't going to burn forever!" Alfonse didn't think he'd ever be happier to hear Veronica's voice. He gave one glance at Thrasir (who had gone to help Líf) before dashing towards the others.

"Thank you," he breathed.

Veronica clearly tried to make it look like she didn't care. "Well, if anyone's going to murder you, it's going to be me. It'll ruin all the fun if someone else kills you instead."

"Let's get out of here before Líf and Thrasir try to follow us," Anna said. "Hopefully we can lose them."

…

He was almost surprised how Sharena waited until after they made camp to throw herself on top of him. She rambled for a couple of minutes before calming down, ultimately being the first to fall asleep. Everyone aside from him and Anna were soon to follow.

It took a while for Anna to start a conversation. "I'm assuming you're well aware of how risky that stunt was?"

"Of course I am," he replied simply. "But it was a risk I was willing to take and no harm came out of it."

She sighed. "I'll admit, two weeks ago I probably wouldn't have cared so much. I'd just tell you not to do it again and we both moved on. Circumstances have changed, though. You know that, right?"

He stayed silent.

"I've always made it my mission to protect the two of you, but it takes on a new meaning when it's no longer just the prince and princess. Now I'm protecting the king. There is no room for mistakes or stupid decisions. I know you did what you did because you didn't want Sharena to get hurt; I don't want that either. But there was a lot more at stake than just you or her. You've got a kingdom to think about now. They can't lose you."

"So I was supposed to let Líf do whatever he wanted to Sharena and hope he didn't just kill both of us?"

"If that's what it took to keep you safe? Absolutely."

"But—"

"You're damn lucky he played fair to begin with. He's probably one of the only people who will. If Thrasir had been there it could've been a loss either way. It didn't matter if you went willingly because, as soon as you're unable to do anything, she could swoop in and kill both of you anyway. Do you at least get why you can't die?"

Still, he stayed silent.

"I know King Gustav probably put it in the same way I'm going to now: if you die, we're all screwed. Queen Henriette and Sharena can't do anything at that point. If Veronica was really serious about Askr, all she'd have to do is kill Sharena and, just like that, her goal is complete and the Askran royal line doesn't exist anymore. There won't be anything to rally behind. It's not the 'practice run' anymore. Every decision matters. It's time to stop focusing on the small details and look at the big picture. Take that to heart before you have to figure it out the hard way."

((A/N: Anna knows what it's like to make incredibly tough decisions. I wanted to go into more detail about that but I couldn't fit it in… a future bonus, perhaps?))