Day 19, afternoon


Another day, another patrol, and another few miles of Valmese coastline and mainland liberated.

For most of the Shepherds, this was good news.

For Felicia and the others that had not been chosen to patrol the area yet, this meant nothing more than the usual tedious maintenance and upkeep.

Then again, a maid did what maids usually did, right? Though, this sort of life was getting boring, especially with her master and her sister having the duty of patrolling the dangerous territory they were embedded in.

Without her.

Wasn't she the more combat-oriented of the two? Why was Flora, the actual maid, going into a combat zone, while Felicia was stuck with the other 'domestic' Shepherds and being nothing more than a glorified...

Maid.

The Ice-Tribe scion let slip a sigh. Why was she complaining? After all, she had sworn service to Lady Corrin. For more than a decade now, she and her sister had done what was expected of them. At first, the twins had no idea why their father had sent them away from the village. But now? Along with the silent honor of preserving the Ice Tribe, Felicia could not think of a better life than helping young Corrin as they all grew up together in that cold fortress they called home.

Not many retainers had the privilege to call their liege one of their best friends, after all.

Sure, she often did more harm than good when it came to her deeds in the fortress. Sure, countless sets of cups and dishes had found themselves from the shelves to Felicia's hands to the floor and then to the trash. But in those small moments when Felicia saw Lady Corrin sip the tea she painstakingly prepared, setting the cup on her lap to properly repay her efforts with that radiant smile...

It was all worth it.

Someday, Corrin would let her out into the wilderness to accompany the combat sorties, but for now, Felicia would do the duty she swore to uphold.

Tea, specifically Chon'sin green, was what Lady Corrin had been enjoying lately, so the least Felicia could do was to prepare a nice cup or two for her undoubtedly tired and weary master. With the scouts just coming into the camp, the leaders wouldn't be far behind. With this in mind, Felicia tied on her apron and strode into the kitchen, ready to work.

This maid was on a mission.


Snowflake, the Pegasus that Sumia had found on the way to Ferox, named due to its affinity to Ferox's brisk weather, was recovering from the arrow wounds she had sustained during the Valmese Sea crossing. As such, the Pegasus Knight, without a Pegasus to ride upon, had been re-delegated to an assistant cleric. With so many healers and hardly any injuries, Sumia rarely had to do anything pertaining to her role, instead focusing on the day-to-day chores like weapon maintenance, inventory check-ups, and cooking.

Especially cooking.

It had been during the Plegian war that Sumia had started cooking pies for then-Prince Chrom. As few and far between breaks were back then, she found the time and effort within herself to siphon a few ingredients from the pantry and present multiple pies for her captain, under the pretense that even he, the then-middle child of House Ylisse, would appreciate a moment or two of respite.

And then Olivia came along, enrapturing Chrom's heart and subsequently wearing the ring that Sumia may or may not have dreamed would be around her finger one day.

The pies came to a halt soon after. With the war won and much bigger things like his wedding rounding the horizon, Chrom didn't seem to notice.

Some days, she would just coast around Ylisse on Snowflake's back, enjoying the scenery, the light air, the freedom of peace.

And when she and her steed landed once more, Sumia would feel a desire deep inside to head to the kitchens. Just one more, she would insist to herself, tying on the aprons that the palace chefs usually wore.

It wasn't that her pies were phenomenal, though no one had complained about them yet. It was more therapeutic than for actual culinary expression. Some people enjoyed a brisk spar to relax, others a few ales. Perhaps Sumia just enjoyed the smells of the kitchen because they reminded her of her eagerness to see Chrom's smile.

Maybe she just enjoyed making others smile. It was an innocent notion in itself.

To the chow hall it was, Sumia decided.

Someone had to be hungry after that patrol.


Felicia saw nothing wrong with the tea when her work was through. Jakob on the other hand was currently in a state of limbo: all five of his senses were overwhelmed by the substance that Felicia had conjured deep within her black cauldron of a kettle.

"Woe is me," he moaned, before reaching to the heavens. "Gods, hear my cry! By all that is good and pure in this world, I beg thee that that foul concoction never reach milady's fair lips!"

"It doesn't even smell bad," Felicia retorted, sniffing the kettle and nodding at the neutral aroma.

The pink-haired maid nearly tripped over Jakob on the way out, giggling at the sight of the normally-taciturn butler now rendered incoherent.

"Alrighty! Lady Corrin must be really tired but she's probably planning in the war room! I'd better hurry in case she's thirsty!"


"Oh goodness," Sumia mumbled, rushing into the kitchen after being sidetracked, "I lost track of time..."

Pulling out the charred remains of a rhubarb pie, the knight winced in disgust after unsuccessfully trying to pierce the black shell of the ruined pastry with her knife.

"And here they come, too," she noted, watching the exhausted patrols heading into camp, greeting their friends with tired smiles.

Gazing back to the pie, Sumia took a more optimistic approach, deeming it possible to consume, were one to close their eyes and pretend it was something other than pie...

"There has to be someone that can't be that picky," she hoped, carrying the tin and heading outside, looking for a stomach to feed, and hopefully an apathetic tongue that came with.


"We're making good progress; I think now's a good time to initiate the next phase of our advance," Robin declared, chalking out the surrounding areas on his map. Beside him sat Corrin and Chrom, Robin's chessboard sitting as an ornament atop the table they surrounded. Xander and Ryoma sat on the far end, an obvious distance between each other. Azura stood behind them, aloof as usual.

However, the tired leaders were only half-attentive towards Robin's debrief. For various reasons, the general consensus being hunger and fatigue, Robin was whistling to the wind.

"I'm a bit hungry," Corrin complained. "Can't this wait?"

"Likewise," Chrom added, holding his stomach in pain. "You know, for all the genius maneuvers you've orchestrated, putting Sully in charge of our meals instead of Peri or Cordelia is not going to be regarded as one of your bright moments. My stomach is not handling the abuse too kindly."

"This will honestly take five minutes at most," Robin groaned, looking to Ryoma and Xander for inspiration.

Both princes shrugged, gazes darting to each other and then nonchalantly drifting to the growing line outside the mess hall.

Robin followed their gaze outside his tent, letting out a sigh when he saw their ideal paradise.

"You too, huh..."

"My apologies, Commander. I find it hard to concentrate without proper sustenance, and with Sully in charge of meals... well..."

"Azura what about..." Robin pleaded, hoping there was at least one leader who was capable of staying still for just a few more minutes-

"Where'd she go? Oh."

The songstress was already in line for food, far out of earshot.

"That's our cue," Chrom whispered, rising alongside Corrin. A quick spell from Robin knocked them back onto their seats, the caster none too pleased with his board of leaders. Ryoma and Xander wisely stayed still, though it was an unspoken fact that they could overpower the tactician.

"Okay, I admit the logistics could use some revision, but please work with me for five minutes-"

"Lady Corrin? Are you in here? I have tea!"

Felicia burst in, grinning from ear to ear when she saw the tired Corrin amidst the group. Robin immediately got up to resist, but Corrin shut him up upon seeing the gods-sent objects in her hands.

"Felicia, can you wait for a few minutes and-"

"-set that right on the table?" the female commander interrupted, glaring at her counterpart sternly.

"O-of course!" Felicia nodded, batting away Robin's chess pieces much to his horror, setting the steaming kettle onto the polished wood board instead of on the table.

"...My chessboard is not a trivet!" Robin screamed, running over to his beloved board game and trying in vain to save it from the hot metal that rested atop its surface.

As Felicia handed teacups to each of the leaders except for Robin, Sumia burst in, the cremated pie still firmly within her grasp.

"Captain Chrom? It's been a while, and I thought-"

"...Sumia, if you could wait a few minutes until-"

"-We finish distributing this lovely pot of tea," Chrom interfered, also glaring at Robin now. "Ah, there we are. Go ahead and set the pie on..." Chrom glanced around, seeing the perfect place for such delicacies.

" Actually, just place it on the map," the Exalt waved nonchalantly. Robin on the other hand did not appreciate Chrom's orders in the slightest, rising up quickly.

"Wait! No-"

Startled at seeing Robin lurch suddenly, Sumia tripped over Felicia and onto Chrom, knocking over both the maid and the Exalt and landing face-to-face with the latter.

At the same time, the tea spilled out of Felicia's grip, splattering itself all over Robin's map, much to the tactician's horror.

Moving too slowly to stop the events unfolding, Robin could only watch as the tea flowed atop his map, smearing the ink and smudging whatever marks he had made over the past few days.

Meanwhile, Sumia found herself being cradled by Chrom, who was looking at his friend with a concerned expression.

"Are you alright?" he asked, not particularly aware of the compromising situation he was currently stuck in.

"...Yeah!" Sumia stuttered, feigning wooziness if only to stay in Chrom's embrace just a little longer.

Felicia on the other hand looked at her handiwork in despair, tears falling from her eyes as the tea she had made dripped, a complete waste. Running outside, she was quickly chased down by Corrin, out of sight of the rest of the leaders.

Feeling something within him die, the fallen tactician closed his mouth and fell back onto his chair, shielding his sorrowful gaze with his hands.

"What the hell is wrong with this army?"