The next morning came a lot quicker than Roy thought it would. That made no sense, he knew, because eight hours was still eight hours, but when the morning bells rang over the mall's speakers, he was already ready to go.

The glass ceiling was still tainted with the deep blue of the night when he and the other Fire Emblem fighters left the Fire Emblem Chess shop. In the month of December, the nights stretched on well into the early hours of morning, or so the other Smashers had told him. Usually, it annoyed Roy that it was still so dark, but today, he didn't mind it at all because he had more exciting things to do.

"You're looking very excited today, Roy," Chrom commented as they steered down the marble halls and toward the food court. "Have anything special planned for Christmas Eve?"

Roy ducked his head, but he laughed it off. "No, I'm simply looking forward to meeting with a friend. It's no different from the usual state of affairs."

"That sounds fun."

"I hope so. In fact, I think I see her here right now."

Chrom hummed, and he followed Roy's gaze across the hall. There, standing just on the other side of the Great Cave Offensive, was Zelda, gently picking her way through a crowd of Pikmin. In the orange glow of the molten lava dripping down the walls of the Stage, she practically glowed a shimmering shade of gold, like a statue forged in her likeness that she probably had lying around somewhere at home.

Chrom nodded and hummed. "You're meeting with Zelda? I don't believe I've ever seen you talk to her before, how did that happen?"

Shrugging, Roy replied, "I don't know. Perhaps it was a star-crossed meeting of some sort."

Suddenly, Ike stepped into the conversation. "I would caution getting close to her. She and her boyfriend have been having issues as of late."

"That's actually why she asked to meet with me today." Upon receiving strange looks from Chrom and Ike, Roy added, "She told me she needed help with her boyfriend, and I offered her my assistance."

"Well," Chrom said slowly, "if you need us, we will be in the Kingdom Hearts Bookstore, reading books together."

"I think they have a rule against that," Roy said, frowning.

Beside him, Marth sighed. "I said that too. It's rather rude of us to freeload, but Robin has convinced Ike that we are too poor to afford to buy the books legitimately."

"It's true!" Robin, the male one, piped up from the front. "No one wants to buy chess sets, so we're broke. Besides, didn't you agree to come along?"

"Only to find a present for my wife."

"With what money?"

Marth huffed. "With the money I would have had if your other half hadn't decided to give it to the Byleths for budgeting. It's common knowledge that they spend ludicrous amounts of money on tea."

"Hey. I didn't force you into this life of crime, you made the choice yourself."

Roy quickly decided that the best course of action would be to distance himself from what he was fairly sure was a violation in the making, ducking under the barrier to the Great Cave Offensive Stage. How the sweltering heat of the lava didn't leak into the mall outside, Roy didn't quite know (it was the Hands' Subspace magic. It was always Subspace magic) but as soon as he entered it, he immediately wished he hadn't.

It was also there that Roy realized what a stupid idea it had been to wear his cape today, as when he tried to duck around a ball of spikes, his cape dipped into the lava and caught on fire. He hissed and tried to stamp it out, but his cape slipped out from under him, causing him to slip and nearly fall into a nearby cannon.

Maybe I should get out before trying to extinguish this, he thought, pulling himself back up.

Taking a moment to pull his cape off and sling it over his arm, Roy managed to navigate through the rest of the stage before he finally came out on the other side. He threw himself out from under the barrier, reached for his cape, which had been almost halfway engulfed by flames at this point, and weakly flapped it in the air in the hopes that it would at least save some of it.

A blue light engulfed the blue cloth, lightly lapping against his arm. Roy watched it, fascinated as some invisible force caressed the flames, gently pushing each flickering tongue away from the cloth until all that remained was a black splotch on his cape.

He looked up, and who else did he see standing over him but Zelda, an amused smirk playing on her lips.

"Perhaps it would have been wiser to make your way around the stage instead of forging through it, hm?" she said, offering him a hand.

Roy blushed, but he accepted her hand, letting her draw him to his feet as he brushed down his pants and cleared his throat. "Yes, it certainly would. Hindsight does seem to make many things clear."

"It does..." Zelda trailed off, her voice suddenly taking a strange hitch.

Roy frowned. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Zelda didn't answer. When Roy peered at her, she looked far too distracted to give him an answer. He tapped her shoulder, and she blinked, her eyes focusing back on him.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" she asked, her smile returning to her face as if nothing had happened.

"I asked if something had happened," Roy said again. "Did I bring up bad memories? I'm sorry if I did."

Zelda shook her head. "Oh, no, it's nothing for you to worry about. Just something I've been thinking about lately, that is all."

Funnily enough, that only made Roy worry more. He didn't know enough about her to pry, however, so he tried to shelve it to the back of his mind as he brought back his own smile as well.

Besides, it's probably none of my business. I have no right to ask for what might be deeply personal, no matter how much I might want to help, he thought, shaking his head.

"Alright then. You said you needed somewhere to take Link to for a date?"

"Indeed. I've not had much time to search on my own because of all the Christmas shopping," she hefted a plastic bag and shook it, letting the plastic sounds speak for her, "but if you have any ideas, that would help me cut down on plenty of searching."

"Well, I'm not sure I know what places might be the most romantic," Roy said, rubbing a hand over the back of his head, "but Ike takes us camping on the stages often, so I know where a few of the more scenic stages are. Would that work?"

Zelda smiled. "I think that would work just fine."

It was an encouraging smile, and one that worked for Roy, as when she gave it to him, he decided there that, no matter what, he could not let her down.


Roy was beginning to think Zelda was feeling a little let down.

Obviously, he hadn't expected the first stage to be an immediate success, and she hadn't said anything just yet, but he could tell just from how she had to put in effort to put on a smile that hid her underlying disappointment beneath.

"Is it not to your liking?" he asked, biting his lip nervously.

Zelda swept her gaze over the scenery, before she turned back to Roy. "It is quite beautiful, make no mistake. It's simply that..."

A fireball hurled over their heads and smashed into one of the cobblestone buildings behind them, sending a shower of dust and rubble hailing down onto the street below.

"It isn't exactly the most peaceful setting," she finished. "I do not think having to worry about being attacked in the middle of a picnic constitutes an ideal romantic evening."

"This place isn't constantly under attack. And look," Roy said as the air around them shimmered and melted into a blinding white light. "It can change to suit your needs. There are fewer interruptions inside the castle."

True to his words, as the light fizzled away, revealing a hall draped with red banners, two large marble statues looming overhead. Roy motioned to them enthusiastically, but he knew it was a lost cause as soon as Zelda gave him that smile that stretched ever so slightly too far.

"It's nice, but not what I want."

Roy sighed and slumped his shoulders. He walked over to the wall, tapped it twice, and as the stone crumbled away to reveal a set of elevator doors, Roy pulled a list out of his pocket and crossed out "Castle Siege" with a thick red marker.

Oh well. Failure was always a part of any endeavor. The first stage might not have been perfect, but he still had plenty more to go.


Roy watched as Zelda pressed her toes against the delicate green sheet spread out beneath them. A light ping echoed her footstep, trailing off into the dead air of the bright green sky. Zelda closed her eyes and listened as the last traces of the sound succumbed to silence, before she turned to Roy and asked, "Is it always like this?"

"Eh. Sometimes fish pass through here and bounce off the leaves and create pretty little melodies."

"Really? I'd like to hear them."

"Yeah..." Roy said, kicking the floor and grimacing at the pinging sound that made, "but they only appear at completely random times, so whether you'll be able to hear them is completely up to luck."

"Oh." Zelda tilted her head, before she looked up and dragged a finger over the underside of the leaf above them. It made a light trilling sound, like a wind chime tussled by a spring breeze. Roy thought the sound was pleasant.

Zelda did too, from the way she closed her eyes against as the sound lingered for a second that Roy thought would last forever, but when the song was once again drowned by the surrounding silence, the strained smile settled back on her face.

"It's not peaceful enough?" Roy asked, wincing.

"No, that's not it," Zelda said. "It's a little too peaceful. There are no birds, no wind, no insects. Silence is golden, but gold is only worth so much because of how rare it is."

"Yeah, I suppose that is true. None of us come here to camp very often because the silence can get a little unsettling. I'll see if I can find a stage with a little more noise."

Some of Roy's disappointment must have shown on his face, because as he turned around to signal for the door again, Zelda stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not look so downtrodden," she said, tickling his ear with her soft voice. "With each failed attempt, the right fit will become clearer. I have faith that you will find a suitable place."

Roy sighed. "I wish I could share your faith, but we have seen almost every place on my list. I can't help but feel as if this has been nothing but a waste of your time."

Zelda frowned, the first he had seen today. "It has been no such thing. I'm sure I would have spent much longer on my own, searching through the same stages for the perfect place for my date. If anything, your company makes this search feel a little lighter on my shoulders."

Roy blinked. "I... I appreciate that, but I only have a few places left on my list."

"Then perhaps a break could help you think of a few more places," Zelda said, and she drifted past Roy, reaching over to tap the giant stem at the base of the leaf. "There is a read-aloud at the Kingdom Hearts Bookstore in fifteen minutes, and I'm sure Rosalina would be more than happy if we were to help her."

The elevator doors pulled open with a low hum. Zelda stepped inside, and when she motioned for Roy to step in beside her, he felt his spirits lift just a little. He crossed Hanenbow off his list before he slipped inside.

"That sounds like a good plan," he said. "Maybe a good story is just what I need."

That, and if the rest of the Fire Emblem fighters are still there, perhaps I could ask them for advice, he thought as the doors drew to a close. They must be a lot better at this whole romance thing than I am, anyway.


I have returned from the grave! Yes, this isn't Thursday or Tuesday, but I was unable to do anything on account of being plagued. I no longer have the ability to speak, nor taste, which is odd because I was diagnosed two days ago and had completely different symptoms.

Don't get Covid. It's not fun. 1/10, would not recommend. Only reason why I don't give it a zero is because I'm sure the experience would be marginally better if I didn't have to lie on the floor at school for half an hour on the day I got it.

Hopefully, by next week, I'll have returned to some sense of normalcy. Enough normalcy to get back to posting on Thursday, and relaxing on Friday, at least. Until then, take care of yourselves out there, and stay safe!