Stupid Cupid

See disclaimer in Part 1

Flone loved mornings, especially the kind where she woke up warm and content, the happiness from half-remembered dreams ebbing into a lingering peace in her heart. And this one was one of the best of those—because of the feeling of possibility she got from the day ahead, and because of Russell's warmth beside her, his arm still wrapped around her waist as he slept.

"I'm a very lucky person," Flone said softly, teasing a few stray strands of Russell's hair out of his face with a smile. Who wouldn't believe in blessings, in happy endings, when it would've been so easy for the Royal Army to have passed her by in Karona's dungeon, so easy for her not to have reached Russell in time to stop their battle, so easy for the war itself to have ended much more tragically than it had? It would've been so much likelier for things to turn out badly, and yet here she was, happy and warm with her fiancé beside her, literally counting off the days to their wedding.

She didn't deserve such happiness, but she had it—and she wanted to help others find it, too.

Flone leaned across the pillowcase and kissed Russell's cheek, then slowly began to sit up. Before she got far, though, Russell frowned and reeled her back in with an inarticulate moan of protest.

"It's cold out there," he reasoned sleepily, half-opening bleary red eyes. "Stay in bed with me."

"I wish I could," Flone said with a slight shrug. "But, my dear, there are a lot of people less fortunate than us who I think need my help today. Besides, if I don't go, Kylier is going to destroy your kitchen entirely."

Russell gave an exaggerated sigh and looked at his fiancée out of reproachful puppy eyes. "That's a low blow, Flone. You know I can't keep you here when you're defending my kitchen."

He is so cute, Flone thought to herself with a giggle, and ran her fingers lovingly through his hair. "Don't worry, I'll save it. Those horrible failures at cooking won't decimate it too badly, I promise."

Russell swatted at her lazily, making her giggle even more. "Taking advantage of me when I'm tired is a dirty trick, too, you know." Then he started to smile, easing himself up on his elbows. "You know what this means, don't you? Flone has to pay the toll if she wants to leave early…"

"Gladly, with interest," Flone replied, still laughing. "As if that wasn't your plan all along."

"Guilty as charged." Russell leaned in and kissed her, first softly, then more insistently. Flone sighed blissfully and embraced him as he shifted, covering her body with his.

I really am so lucky, Flone thought to herself, her heart full of love and her arms full of Russell. I'm so blessed to be right here, right now, with nowhere else I would ever rather be…

---

"Where are you going? I thought the whole point of staying here was that you wouldn't have to leave for anything," Nessiah pointed out in a teasing tone, leaning against the brick wall as he watched his Emperor tightening the saddle girth on his dragon.

Gulcasa started, then turned with a wry smile. "Caught me out, didn't you? …Well, not that it's any of your business, my nosy friend, but considering that Karona and Ishnad are so close, I'm going to go pay a visit to Baldus. I haven't been down to see him for a while, after all."

Nessiah sobered instantly. "You know you don't have to keep beating yourself up about that," he said softly, standing up straight and taking a few steps forward to lay a hand on Gulcasa's shoulder. "Baldus did what he did for all of Bronquia. If it hadn't been for him, you wouldn't have been able to evacuate nearly as many civilians as you did… and I know you—you wouldn't have been able to just run off and help him if it meant abandoning your people."

Gulcasa just looked at him, wearing the serene expression that, as Nessiah knew very well, he only used to cover deep anguish. "After my parents died, Baldus was like a second father to me and the girls. It's only right that I should head back there, pay my respects. I couldn't save him. I should've been able to. You know I can't forgive myself for failing like that."

"Well, far from it that I have the right to command the way you feel, but I don't think Baldus would like to see you acting like this," Nessiah admonished gently, shaking his head. "Still—I know better than to think you'll listen to me. Go on, and don't be too conspicuous about it. People will worry about you."

"Emilia and the twins know where I'm going."

"Yggdra will worry about you," Nessiah clarified.

Gulcasa instantly flushed. "If she really is worried, you can tell her where I am. I'll be back in two or three days anyway, it's no big deal."

"She hates to see you get depressed," Nessiah pointed out, examining his nails. "Even if she knows that it's something you feel you have to do, she'll still be afraid for you. I don't think I have to tell you why."

"I'm not like I was back then," Gulcasa protested, shaking his head helplessly. Nessiah noted with interest that he was blushing even worse than before, so much so that even the pointed tips of his ears were red. "I'm not going to try anything stupid, okay? That was… that was different, that was Emilia. And I didn't know if Luciana and Aegina were going to make it either…"

"She knows that, but she'll still worry. She cares about you. Irrational as that might seem to you at the moment. Just make sure you get back quickly, she's got enough on her plate. As I understand it, she's trying to mediate a rather ugly disagreement between Roswell Branthese and Rosary Esmeralda right now."

"Oh, for crying out loud…" Gulcasa headslumped. "I just don't understand women…"

Nessiah held back the urge to laugh. "You'd better get going, then. Give him my regards once you're there."

"…sure…" Gulcasa swung himself up into the saddle, patting his dragon's neck as it pranced in place, eager to start moving.

"Tell Her Majesty not to worry—we'll take good care of him," piped up one of Gulcasa's bodyguards helpfully, giving Nessiah an easy salute. "It's our job, after all."

"Yes, yes." Now Nessiah actually did laugh. "You always have, to everyone's gratitude. Go on, get moving. Don't let me hold you back."

Gulcasa shook his head, but motioned for his two dragon knights to follow him, then nudged his dragon's side with the heel of his boot, causing it to take off at a quick trot down the hillside towards the castle in the distance.

Nessiah folded his arms and watched the Emperor leave, smiling to himself. Playing the matchmaker was exhausting sometimes, but using what he knew to tease Gulcasa sure was fun.

---

Kylier glared into the kitchen suspiciously, clutching her list (to which she'd added grease) in one hand and shoving the other into her pocket.

"Okay, let's try this again…"

Taking a deep breath and hunching her shoulders, she walked into the room and got her ingredients out of the cabinet. She'd just spread them all out on the counter and was about to get started on her second attempt when a knock at the door made her jump three feet in the air and spin around in a panic.

"The cavalry is heeeeeeeeeeere!"

Kylier stared, putting a hand to her heaving chest. "Oh, my heart! Ye gods, don't go sneaking up on me like that! That just took fifteen years off my life! And what are you doing down here, anyway?!"

The two girls standing in the doorway turned to each other, then looked back at Kylier.

"Hey, is that any way to treat people who are just coming in here to help?" Emilia pouted, annoyed.

"Nietzsche just wants your Valentine's Day to turn out well," the undine whimpered, giving Kylier huge, sad eyes. "Is that… is that bad…?"

Kylier sweatdropped. "No… just… you startled me! And…" She folded her arms and gave the girls a suspicious look. "Who told you I was down here and what I was doing?"

"Nessiah did," Emilia and Nietzsche chorused.

Kylier groaned. That little—ugh, I oughtta… I can't believe this! Does he really think I'm going to need help from a couple of kids?

Well… then again… considering last time… I actually might. It was just real luck that I didn't blow up the oven. Russell and Flone will KILL me if I blow up their oven. And besides, with the smoke… Nessiah's eyes could've gotten really bad. So… I hate to admit it, but… I guess he might be right…

With a sigh, Kylier looked from Gulcasa's little sister to the youngest member of the Royal Army and back again. "Look… do you two know anything about cooking? Have either of you cooked before?"

Emilia shrugged. "Before the revolution, I used to cook for Aegina, Luciana, and my brother sometimes."

"Never!" Nietzsche admitted cheerfully. "But, Nietzsche's sisters liked to cook, and Nietzsche always watched. How hard can it be?"

You have no idea. "Well, as long as you have some experience, 'cause I don't have much idea of what I'm doing. I really suck at this, but I've gotta do it for Milanor."

"But you used to live out in Lost Aries, right? How did you survive without knowing how to cook?"

Kylier averted her eyes. "I just made other people cook for me. Or ate stuff that didn't require cooking. Now can we concentrate on the task at hand, please?"

Emilia covered a giggle. "Fine, fine."

"What do we need, then?" Nietzsche asked.

"Well, first we need butter, cocoa, sugar, flour, and salt," Kylier explained. "Oh, and somebody has to grease the pan with the butter. Why don't you do that, Nietzsche?"

"Okay!"

"How much of those things do we need?" Emilia asked, stretching up on tiptoe to try to peek at Kylier's list.

"I dunno. It's all in pints and cups and measurements I don't understand."

"Jeez, you really must've grown up in the back of beyond," Emilia said scathingly. "A pint's twice as much as a cup. Don't you know anything about cooking?"

"No, I don't, and shut up before I have to smack you, you little twerp."

Emilia rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just go get a measuring cup or something. That'll help someone as thick as you fix chocolate."

"A wha?" Kylier asked blankly.

Emilia headslumped. "No wonder you suck at this. Never mind, I'll go find one on my own!"

As the little redhead trooped off towards the pantry, Kylier growled to herself, then sighed and watched after her. "You sure you don't need a stool or something to get to the top shelves?"

Emilia rounded on her furiously. "No I do not! Stop treating me like a little kid!"

As Kylier opened her mouth to give a scathing retort, she was interrupted by a tug on her horsetail. "Nietzsche's done! Now what do we do?"

The green-haired griffon rider sweatdropped. "Okay… first of all… don't yank that. And… well, let's check the list, okay? Besides, Emilia wants to go look for a measuring cup or whatever."

There was a knock at the door that made all three of them turn.

"Oh, my… then I've made it in time?"

Kylier gave a long-suffering sigh. "Lemme guess, Elena. You heard that we were trying to cook and decided you just had to come down to help too?"

"Well…"

Kylier groaned aloud. "Man… I bet Nessiah told you, too, didn't he?"

Elena sweatdropped. "He's just trying to help…"

"Yeah, I'm sure he is," Kylier grumbled, disgusted with herself. "He's also being an insufferable pain in the rear, because that's what he does best. Rubbing it in like this… jeez. The little cretin."

"Um… don't be mad… he really is just trying to be helpful…!"

"I know, I know." Kylier made a face. "And I can't ever stay mad at him. So I'm going to be good and mad while I still can be. Now, you know your way around the kitchen, right?"

Elena nodded. "Y-yes… I just hope I can be useful to everyone…"

Kylier sighed. "Well, come on in and let's see if we can make use of you."

"The more the merrier," Nietzsche chirped.

"Found it!" Emilia cried triumphantly in the back of the room, holding up what looked like a miniature glass pitcher with black markings down the side.

"Okay then… let's get down to business."

---

Yggdra looked up from setting the tiny squares of chocolate she'd prepared into a box as she heard footsteps, then smiled as she recognized her guest. "Good afternoon, Nessiah."

"Hello, Yggdra." Apparently perceiving Yggdra's greeting as an invitation to join her, the violet-robed mage sat down next to her on the cushioned window ledge. "Almost done, I see?"

"As soon as I'm finished here, I'll have almost everyone's chocolates done," the young queen said proudly, smiling brightly at the results of her long labor. "There are just a few people left."

"You know… part of the reason I came to see you was to give you a message from Gulcasa," Nessiah said at length. "He's gone to Ishnad for a few days so that he can visit Baldus' grave." As Yggdra's smile abruptly vanished and her brow creased with worry, Nessiah held up a hand. "He also gives you express orders not to worry about him. His guards are going with him, and they promise to take good care of him."

"I… I know." Yggdra looked down at her hands. "I just hate to see him upset…"

"Sorrow and suffering have always been a part of Gulcasa's life," Nessiah said with a helpless shrug. "Hopefully that will change now that the alliance is forming, but… it's going to take him a while to let go of his self-blame from the war. You have to realize that by now."

Yggdra nodded, miserable and silent.

"Although… part of the reason I'm telling you this is because—as you have to realize—this is your best chance to ask around to decide on a gift for him. Most of the people here are on your side, and want to see this relationship work." Nessiah thought about mentioning Luciana and Aegina, but decided better of it. "Anyway, you can't let yourself get distracted now. This is important, isn't it?"

"…Yes, I know." Yggdra sighed. "Um… do you have any suggestions, Nessiah…?"

"I was only with Gulcasa for about a year or so before the war, so I don't know everything about his tastes in food, but I can say that I've never seen him eating chocolate or candy of any kind. Now, that may be because he doesn't like things like that, or it could just be that he wasn't allowing himself any excesses considering the major crop failures that year—you'd be better off asking someone who's known him longer."

"…Oh…"

"Sorry I can't be of much use," Nessiah offered with a grimace, but Yggdra shook her head.

"No, don't worry about it. You've already been such a great help in the negotiations, it wouldn't be fair to ask any more of you." Closing the box of chocolates, Yggdra shifted it to the floor, scooted closer to Nessiah, and gave him a one-armed hug. "I'm just so glad that you and the others are so supportive."

"You're always welcome to our help," Nessiah replied, flushing slightly. "After taking us all in the way you have… there's nothing any of us wouldn't do to assist you."

Smiling, Yggdra let him go. "If you really think so."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment.

"If you don't mind my asking… I've been curious about this for a while, but…" Nessiah shook his head. "From my experience in the war… Gulcasa always hated you, and all Fantasinians. But when you came to Ancardia that time… the two of you already seemed to be close. I know the general idea of what happened in Flarewerk, but… I don't really understand how the gap between you closed so quickly."

"I'm not really all that sure myself," Yggdra murmured, shaking her head. "We hated each other, and even when I began to understand what invading Fantasinia had really meant for him and everyone in the Imperial Army, my own actions against the people of Bronquia only made him hate me that much more. I think… I think it was because of what happened at the end, in Flarewerk. I just… I was so sick of seeing people die. We'd lost so many good people, killed or almost killed so many of Gulcasa's loved ones, and Kylier and Roswell were both so close to dying… and when I realized that Gulcasa meant to sacrifice himself to Brongaa, I… I started thinking, what would his people do if something happened to him? And then, I just… couldn't let him do it."

Nessiah sat silently and listened as Yggdra carefully chose her words, obviously trying to sort it out herself. "Afterwards, he was just… I'd never seen anyone so lost or, or helpless before. It hurt so much to see that he'd abandoned his will to live. I… I'd started caring about him, and I just couldn't stop. It was over for me the minute I began to worry about his well-being." She looked up into the distance and shook her head. "But… I don't think that bond really formed until the day we found out Emilia was going to be okay. Until then, Gulcasa had acted like he was already dead, but… hearing those things, and seeing his sister, woke up something inside him. He finally broke down and cried, and I couldn't leave him then. I promised that as long as he needed me, I would stay by his side. Then, when you raised Ancardia and I gathered the Royal Army to go investigate, and he followed us… he might have said he was just fulfilling his debt, but I think we both knew it went deeper than that. That was when he became one of us… when he became my friend."

Nessiah gave her a crooked smile in response. "You saw him at his most vulnerable, and you healed him. I'm sure… that his gratitude was what finally ended the cycle of hatred between you. Yggdra… you may not know this, but Gulcasa hates being in the presence of others in his moments of weakness. And he doesn't often allow himself the luxury of tears. You've seen a side to him that few others have been privy to—the two of you are linked in a way that can't be broken." His smile grew, and he covered a quiet laugh. "I'm sure that's part of the reason he has no idea whether he's on his head or his heels when he's around you."

Yggdra blushed bright pink and smiled at him. "…You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Definitely," Nessiah replied, struggling to keep a straight face. "This is a lot more fun than causing wars. I don't know why I haven't tried it earlier." Giving up, he flashed the young monarch a mischievous smile. "I really do want to help, you know."

"You're a sweeter person than you give yourself credit for," Yggdra told him, putting her arm around his shoulders again. "And that reminds me—what would you like for Valentine's Day?"

Nessiah instantly went crimson. "Y-you don't have to—"

"I want to give you something. You're my friend," Yggdra said pointedly. "Now: What would you like?"

"Anything is fine."

"Nessiah…"

"I mean it—anything is fine," he repeated, shaking his head. "It just makes me happy that you would go to the trouble for someone like me."

"If you're sure," Yggdra relented, sighing. "I should probably get back to work."

"That's fine." Nessiah stood up, stretching. "I need to find Flone, anyway. I hate to disturb that elated brilliance of hers, but Kylier and some of the others have invaded the kitchen and may do considerable damage if someone with sense isn't there to stop them."

"Break the news gently. I'd hate to put Flone in a bad mood," Yggdra said meekly.

"I doubt that's possible, the way she's been acting lately. I can't even tell which particular glow is brighter—that of 'Getting Married' or 'Getting Laid'."

"Oh, you." Yggdra giggled and swatted at him. "Go on, enlist her help. I'll work on Gulcasa's present, don't you worry about me."

"It's hard to stay concerned for you," Nessiah told her as he retreated from the room. "You have a way of always reaching your goals sooner or later."

:TBC:

Notes on the text

Baldus: (squirms) The only reason he's not alive like the others is because I couldn't figure out how the hell I was supposed to rescue him and keep the story intact. He's as stubborn as the Black Knight from Monty Python (even if I cannot really picture Baldus threatening to bite anyone's legs off), and literally won't let you go unless it's over his dead body.

Gulcasa with the Royal Army, revisited: They left for Ancardia; Yggdra had explained it to him beforehand, and even though he'll never admit it to anyone, he was worried, so he collected his bodyguards and went after her. He didn't realize that Nessiah was the one behind everything, however, until the final confrontation at the Great Temple (he showed up a bit late).

Gulcasa's nearly nonexistent softer side: Some of the details here are canon, such as the fact that he only angsts about things once he's kicked everyone else out of the room first. And he really does hate looking weak in front of others; you rarely see him falter unless he's received a real mental blow—usually the death of a comrade.

Crop failure in Bronquia: The wheat fields weren't producing enough usable grain, so the people had a tight few years. One of the first things Gulcasa did when he started taking Fantasinian land was to liberate a little of their surplus to feed his own people. More about this may be elaborated later.