Stupid Cupid

See disclaimer in Part 1

He lay broken and bleeding out the last of his life onto the stone steps with the knowledge that if he couldn't lift himself just one more time, drag his failing body those last few inches, then it all would have been for nothing. But it felt as though he couldn't do it. He just didn't have anything left. The Chamber was awakening, its power redoubling as it sensed its ruler's return, pressurizing the atmosphere still further. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. It was all too much.

He tried to take in air, choked on the smoke around him, and shuddered. Fire. The whole place was on fire. It felt like his own body was on fire. It was leeching the life out of him, inch by inch, and he didn't have much left to spend.

It hurts…

He coughed and shuddered, watching hazily as his blood steamed on the cracked marble steps. So strange. He'd always loved the taste of blood, and yet it was burning his throat from every time he'd had to stop, barely supporting himself with his scythe, to cough and vomit what had to have been pints of it into the flames until his insides felt raw and twisted.

His whole body ached from exhaustion, but he could barely even feel the scores of wounds he knew he had. He'd thrown off his blood-soaked, sweat-stained armor along the flaming hall—he knew he wouldn't have been able to move with its added weight—and his clothes were ripped and blotched with red, his skin and muscle torn with the edges of broken bones still visible. A cut on his forehead stung and throbbed absently as blood streamed from it into his eye and down the side of his face, then into his hair and onto the ground.

I can't do this…

The beast seethed inside his body, impatient and excited, causing a crunch of pain through his spine. All through that last fight, there'd been another voice speaking through his voice, phantom claws stretched through his arms, sharp pain along his back where wings and scales had wanted to sprout. Brongaa was taking over, slowly but surely, and he couldn't do anything to stop his loss of control—the nameless horror bit at him just as much as the dragon's calculated invasion into his mind and soul.

He had to do this—if only so that the agony of sharing his body with this creature would end, so that he would die human… die himself.

I… I'm scared…!

He closed his eyes against the tears he feared might come, and strained to rise. His body, pushed so far beyond its limits, wouldn't budge.

Was this how it was going to end?

Everyone… I'm sorry…!

He'd failed all of Bronquia. His people… his family… and worst of all, himself.

He truly was a worthless waste of an Emperor.

It… hurts…

---

Gulcasa opened his eyes and sighed, staring up into the open sky above him.

It was an absolutely beautiful day. There were few clouds, the sun was bright, the breeze was warm, and the sky was blue. However, it wasn't doing much for the Emperor's mood—he sat in the long grass, his back against the tall stone monument that had been raised there at the end of the war, with a grave, pained look on his face and the weight of truth on his heart.

"That time… when I thought everything was over, that no matter what I did, I was going to die…" he said softly, hesitantly. "Before I realized what was happening, she was there. She was the one to pull me back from the abyss… she was crying. She held me, and she cried, and the only thing she said, over and over… was 'Please don't die'."

He was silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts before he put them into words.

"I dream about it all the time. What it was like, suffocating, bleeding… dying… I couldn't admit it even to myself at the time, but I was so afraid. There was no way out but death, but I was afraid to go like that. I understood then… that releasing Brongaa would tear my body and soul apart. And knowing that… it was the fear that paralyzed me as much as my own physical weakness.

"But every time it gets to that point, even in my dreams… I see her face, and the nightmare ends.

"Through all these years… I don't think I've ever trusted anyone this much. Not the twins, not Emilia, not you, not even Nessiah. Even though she used to be my enemy… I think now that maybe she and I aren't as different as we used to believe. I think… I think this really might be it.

"And I don't know what to do.

"If you were here… if you could answer me… I know you'd be able to give me the advice I need. I know you'd be able to help me move forward again.

"I'm sure…"

Gulcasa looked back at the stone, then resettled himself against it with a sigh. Alone on the hillside, he lay against the monument that marked his beloved mentor's resting place, torn between what his heart told him and the bitter knowledge he held.

---

Kylier gritted her teeth and tried not to growl out loud. Giving in to her frustration would do absolutely nothing but make her feel better for a few seconds. Besides, doing so would scare off her help. And Nietzsche, Emilia, and Elena really were trying to help.

Even if they were actually doing anything but.

"N-n-now, Nietzsche-san, you have to be more careful when you crack the eggs, or—"

"Nietzsche's fine! You don't need to keep saying so!"

"Well, yeah, but look at the total and complete mess you're making! You suck as bad as Kylier does!"

"Heyyyyy, Nietzsche's not the one who kept saying we had to put in half a cup of salt, so be quiet!"

"Um, um, please, you two…"

Kylier groaned aloud. This was going absolutely nowhere fast. Her chocolate was never going to get done…

"Well, well, looks like I got here just in time," said an amused, familiar-sounding voice at the door.

Kylier turned, exasperated. "Rosary, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you decided to put off apologizing to Roswell by jumping the bandwagon and coming to 'help' the rest of us in the kitchen?"

Rosary twitched, turning pink. Kylier deduced that her guess had been right on target.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that for today, anyway," the griffon rider said, shaking her head. "He doesn't want to see anyone at all today. He's got the hangover from hell, meaning he's bedridden and violently sick, and he's not letting anyone but Yggdra and his attendants come within twelve feet of him. You'd either irritate him or make him even more miserable by bothering him."

"…nngh…" Rosary colored further, crossing her arms and hunching her shoulders. Kylier thought she looked guilty about it, and was vindictively glad. "W-well, that doesn't matter, because I'm in here to help you, hopeless ingrate that you are. All the rest of you, move over so I can set things right."

"Whatever." Emilia backed off, rolling her eyes. "At least you know how to cook."

"Yes, I do." Shooing Nietzsche away from the eggs, Rosary competently broke the shells and pulled them apart, dumping whites and yolks into the bowl. "Now clear off and let me work, kids."

Silently, Rosary stirred the mix of egg and powder into a thick, glutinous goo, then scraped it from the bowl onto the greased pan and stuck it in the oven.

Elena turned to Kylier and gave a tacit little sigh. Kylier nodded, grimaced, and earnestly mouthed "I know what you mean" in her direction.

However, instead of turning up the dial, Rosary pulled out the coal drawer beneath the main shelves of the oven, stared at it for a moment, then pointed at the coals themselves, causing them to burst into flame.

She then shoved the drawer back in and closed the oven door.

"AUGH! Idiot! Idiot! What do you think you're doing, you stupid dummy?!" Emilia yelped.

"R-Rosary-san! Please… the chocolate, the chocolate's going to…!" Elena cried, clearly flustered.

"What's wrong with you two?" Rosary asked, frowning. "This is the way I always cook. It's fine."

"But, but, look!" Nietzsche told her, pointing.

The goo in the pan was flaming joyfully.

"What?" Rosary stared. "But, that's…?"

"We're cooking manually, not magically, you stupidhead!" Emilia yelled. "Hurry and put the fire out!"

As the other girls swarmed around the oven, Kylier leaned against the counter and sank to the ground, pressing her face into her knees. She was so frustrated, she could just cry. At this rate, she was never going to be able to make Milanor chocolates in time…

"Oh, dear… you all have made a mess in my kitchen, haven't you…?"

Kylier looked up, wide-eyed with surprise. Flone was standing at the door with crossed arms and a grimace; Nessiah was at her side.

"Looks like we just made it before things got ugly, too," Flone commented, staring pointedly at the smoking pan and the other girls' guilty faces.

"You all do know that when I told you Kylier was in the kitchen and needed help, I wanted you to find Flone, right?" Nessiah asked wryly. "This is important to her, and all of you are just making a mess of things. Elena is just too polite to be effective damage control by herself."

"Let's get rid of this first, shall we?" Flone said with a sigh, heading over to Rosary and the others and the still-smoking would-be chocolate.

Kylier watched her for a moment, then turned back to Nessiah, who was trying to cover a cough (the smoke was probably bothering him again), stood, stared for a moment, and then flung her arms around him, pressing her face into his shoulder to stifle a sob.

"It's going to be okay now," Nessiah soothed, returning the hug and patting Kylier's hair. "Flone knows what she's doing. You don't have to worry about anything anymore." As Kylier stood up straight, he made a face. "I really am sorry about this. I thought they'd understand what I wanted them to do, but…" He shrugged. "And it took me a long time to find Flone. But since she's here now, then…"

"It's okay," Kylier said with a shaky smile, her eyes stinging. "Thank you."

Nessiah hesitated, then gently touched her face. "…Don't cry. It's going to be okay. I know how much this means to you. Flone can take care of it, so don't stress about it. You can learn from her. She'll—" Suddenly pulling back, he covered another burst of coughing. "Ugh…"

"Look, it's okay—you just need to get out of here. We both know you can't take standing in the smoke for too long, it's going to irritate your scars, and they'll swell up and—" Kylier covered a shallow gasp. "Oh my God."

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," Nessiah said from behind his hand, coughing again.

"You little liar, you most certainly are not," Kylier yelled, staring. "You're bleeding!"

"I—what?" Nessiah clapped a hand to his cheek, suddenly noticing the thin ribbon of blood sliding down it like tears. "Oh—oh, damn—"

"Flone, I—" Kylier turned to the other girls beseechingly.

"Don't worry about it, just go," Flone told her. "Cleanup will take a while, don't worry—just get Nessiah down to the doctor. That needs to get looked at."

"Right…" Grabbing Nessiah by the wrist, Kylier pulled him out of the room and down the hall before he could offer a single protest.

---

"Hello—I hope you don't mind my intruding. I just wanted to see how you're holding up…"

Roswell groaned and opened one eye to look at her. "…Yggdra…?"

"Oh, dear…" Yggdra walked over to his bedside, setting the tray she carried on the table and sitting down in the chair that had been dragged up there. "You're not feeling any better, are you…?"

"For what it's worth… my headache's not so bad, and they say my temperature's going back down," Roswell offered, giving Yggdra a weak smile. "You shouldn't worry so much… it's my own fault, anyway…"

"Don't act like that," Yggdra murmured soothingly, stroking his hair. Inwardly, she was a lot more worried than she let herself look—Roswell's skin was clammy, and even though his forehead was hot to the touch, he was shivering. He was even paler than usual, too—ashen right to the lips. "Whenever you get depressed you always take everything out on yourself. It's not healthy. Just relax. You don't have to lay blame on anyone, you just need to get better."

"…You're probably right, as usual," Roswell sighed, closing his eyes.

"Have you been able to eat or drink anything?" Yggdra probed, watching anxiously.

"I can handle liquids, but just the thought of food makes me feel sick. I've tried once or twice, but I can't keep anything down at all."

"I see…" Yggdra picked the small teacup off the tray she'd brought. "Then, please, drink this. It's weak peppermint tea with milk. It should help you feel better, and get back to sleep. I've talked to the doctors, and they say that it's best that you try to sleep this off if you can."

"Thank you…" Roswell opened his eyes, tried to straighten up a little, and accepted the cup. Yggdra leaned in and put an arm around his shoulders to help him sit up while he sipped at the tea. "It's warm…"

Yggdra smiled as he finished it. "I'm glad you like it."

"Not just the tea," Roswell told her, handing the cup back to her. "You. Just being around you makes me feel warm… safe… protected. It's the aura you have… like a mother would, you spend your life happily giving everything you have to those around you. That selfless air of yours… it's so much of the reason why you're such a successful monarch. Fantasinia has needed a queen like you for a long time. You bring out the best in everyone around you, and you make us want to be able to smile and forgive everything like you do. There's no reason for you to spend your precious time catering to someone who drank himself sick, but you do it anyway… because that's just the kind of person you are… so open-hearted, so loving."

Yggdra blushed badly. "You really think so?"

"I know so," Roswell told her, leaning into her arms with a sigh. "There are so few people in this world like you and Gulcasa… the two of you can support each other now, reach each other in ways the rest of us can't perceive. I'm happy that you met someone so like you… I know you can feel it like I do, even though he tries to hide it… that caring aura, that wounded heart. He's not—like me. I—would want to stop existing for selfish reasons. But…"

"I know. And… don't put yourself down like that," Yggdra chided gently.

"So… stop wasting time here with me," Roswell said softly, sleepily. "Give him your best. You always have to do your best… for the one you love…"

"Thank you, Roswell," she murmured, leaning down to kiss his forehead. He didn't respond—apparently, her tea had worked even faster than she'd thought. He was already fast asleep.

---

"You idiot," Kylier berated as the healer pulled gauze and bandages out of a nearby drawer, glaring at Nessiah. "You know better than anyone that this gets bad whenever you're around an irritant for too long! If you realized you were in trouble, you should've gotten out of there and not minded us!"

"It doesn't matter that much," Nessiah protested, holding a bloody pad over his scar-sealed eye. "It's not even bleeding badly."

"Yeah, you might say that, but you need to be more careful now," Kylier snapped, pacing back and forth angrily. "Yggdra doesn't have the Gran Centurio anymore, remember? Now that it's sealed away, if anything happens to you, you won't revive right away anymore. It could take months, even years, and your time with us already isn't going to be all that long compared to how long you're going to live! Every moment is important. I know you as well as you know yourself, remember? I know how painful it is to be all alone in the world. So… don't take stupid risks with your health! I don't want you to have any regrets when this is all over."

"…Kylier…"

"Jeez, I always have to lecture you about this stuff." With a grimace, Kylier relented, and put an arm around Nessiah's shoulders. "Don't forget that you're important to me too, okay?"

Nessiah smiled and leaned into her side. "I know… you're my other half. As long as you're alive… I won't be able to exist without you."

"The feeling's mutual, so don't go getting yourself killed again. Once was enough."

Nessiah was silent for a moment, then he smirked. "Milanor's going to get jealous."

"Yeah, well, he's going to have to learn to live with it. It's not like we wanna jump each other or something like that. Which would be ten different kinds of wrong and creepy."

"If you two are done having a moment, change your gauze," the healer said strictly. Nessiah made a face, peeled himself away from Kylier, and took the proffered pad, dropping his soaked one and covering up his eye again. "I don't think I've ever seen such an inexpertly treated scar before. Shame on the doctor who looked after you when you got that."

"There was none," Kylier explained. "Even the person who was willing to look after him wasn't allowed to do anything to treat his injuries, so they healed on their own."

"It was fairly ugly. And it wasn't as though I was in any kind of mental state to try treatment myself," Nessiah added. "This has happened once or twice before… overexposure to irritants always makes these scars swell up and start bleeding. I once had it explained to me that when they originally closed over they were still highly septic, and so even now the tissue is vulnerable."

"All the more reason you should listen to milady here and take better care of yourself," the healer informed him. "Now hold still so I can bandage this up."

"You can go on back," Nessiah told Kylier. "I'm sure Flone and the others are waiting for you. And you can't just blow off your plans for Milanor for the sake of keeping me company. This is more important than sitting here and babysitting me, you know that."

Kylier sighed. "You're right, you're right. I'm sure you can handle yourself when someone's still right here to watch you. And when you're done, go find Yggdra or something; she can always keep you in line. Too bad Gulcasa went off wherever, 'cause he'd give you the lecture you deserve."

"I'm sure," Nessiah replied dryly. "Now go on, get back there. Learn to cook. It's a skill you'll need in life."

Kylier stuck out her tongue at him and went.

When she reached the kitchen, Flone was standing with the very guilty-looking Rosary, Elena, Nietzsche, and Emilia, a look of concern on her face. "Is Nessiah alright?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine, it wasn't serious. He was just being stupid and forgetting himself," Kylier said with an awkward shrug. "So… yeah. We really need your help in here."

"I would be happy to help," Flone replied, smiling. "Now… I have to tell you, chocolate and fudge can be temperamental and difficult to make for beginners, so I have an alternative, if you'd like."

"Anything," Kylier said pleadingly. "I think I've already proved I can't make chocolate—I just want to give Milanor something for Valentine's Day…"

"Don't put yourself down. Everyone's bad at cooking when they first start," Flone said diplomatically. "Anyway… how do chocolate-chip cookies sound?"

"If they're really easier, then I've got absolutely no problem with it," Kylier said emphatically. "So where do we start, then?"

"It looks like the rest of us won't be needed after all," Elena remarked.

"If any of you would like to stay, that would be fine," Flone said, shaking her head. "I can teach you all, and as long as you're under somebody's direction, you won't get under each other's feet."

"Nietzsche'll stay," the undine announced cheerfully. "Learning new things is fun!"

"I'd love to compare recipes with you, Flone-san," Elena said with a giggle. "If it's not too much trouble, I would love to stay here."

"Oh, what the hell," Rosary said, flinging up her hands. "I have nothing better to do, so I might as well."

"Ah…" Emilia blinked and grimaced slightly, her eyes widening. "I… I wanna stay, really, but I just remembered that there's something I've gotta take care of… I can't really explain, but there's gonna be trouble if I don't. I'm sorry…"

"It's okay," Flone told her, smiling. "I'd be happy to teach you some other time, Emilia-chan."

"Thanks. 'Bye everyone," Emila called, bobbing her head to them and retreating, her hair trailing after her in a lively bounce.

"She sure is cute," Kylier remarked after she'd gone. "Reminds me a little of myself at that age…"

"And she's surprisingly well-mannered most of the time. It may be a fact that her strength comes from her dragon's blood, but it has to be Gulcasa's influence that she's so mature for her age."

"He sure does dote on her a lot," Kylier agreed. "That's right—he brought her up by himself, didn't he? Still… if she hears us talking like this she'll get mad, so we should get to work."

"Alright. Now, who greased the last pan?" Flone asked.

"That was Nietzsche!"

"You did a good job with it. Would you mind doing the same for this one here?" Flone handed the fresh pan to the undine girl, who immediately started rubbing down its sides with a stick of butter. "Now, while she's working, I'd like the three of you to help gather the ingredients. I've got the list here—let's see, we need chocolate, flour, sugar, eggs, milk…"

---

Yggdra walked down the hall, trying to still her racing heart, clasping her hands on her skirts. I'm finally doing it… going out to ask. I have to get this right… because I want… I want to see him smile…

But she slowed her pace and came to a stop when she realized that the end of the hall was being blocked by the valkyrie twins, Aegina and Luciana—her half-sisters.

"H…hello. Is something the matter…?" Yggdra asked, giving them an awkward, nervous smile. There was a long history of bad blood between them, stemming from their resentment towards her for growing up happy under the care of the royal retinue while they, as King Ordene's illegitimate daughters, had been sentenced to banishment upon her birth. Gulcasa had told her the story in the period of recovery following the end of the war, when she'd wondered aloud in his presence why they hated her so. He'd also told her that his family had been the ones to take the two of them in, and that Aegina and Luciana had been accepted as sisters to him and Emilia.

"Yes, dear sister," Luciana said coldly, stepping forward. "Something most certainly is."

"We know what you're doing, and we want you to stop it," Aegina snapped, glaring ferociously at Yggdra out of her remaining eye. "Stay away from Gulcasa-nii!"

"You've already caused him so much suffering," Luciana accused, taking another step closer. "You and the rest of your family… your stupid father was the reason his parents died, and it's all your fault that Baldus and Eudy are gone! You and your army nearly killed him, time and time again, and you're the reason he felt he had to kill himself to save our country! After all your actions against our people, what gives you the right to come anywhere near Gulcasa-nii?!"

"You're bad for him," Aegina pressed. "You're the reason he's still so depressed, and if you stay around him, you'll just push him back over the brink again! If you're really still deluding yourself into thinking you care, then you'll get yourself out of his life! If you know anything about the sovereignty you took from us, then you know that when Gulcasa-nii accepted the Crown of Thorns, he bound himself to Bronquia, and you've already made him bleed so much for it! He's under enough pressure already, so keep your damn distance!"

"You may have helped him once, but don't get conceited, you little bitch," Luciana snarled, grabbing Yggdra by the shoulders and pushing her up against the wall. "Stay out of it!"

"I won't!" Yggdra cried, flushing and pushing Luciana back. "I'm sorry, but I won't stay out of it!!"

"Then maybe it's your turn to bleed," Aegina said wickedly, drawing her rapier.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Unhand Her Majesty!" came a familiar voice from further down the hall, then a rush of running footsteps.

Yggdra turned to see that it was one of her guards. "Lily!"

"Don't presume to order us around, vermin," Aegina said coldly, and caught Lily's strike with her rapier, sweeping out with a kick and sending the sword maiden collapsing to the ground.

"Lily, are you alright?" Yggdra broke away from Luciana to help her bodyguard to her feet.

"Don't worry about me, Your Majesty. If these two think they can just do whatever they want to you, they've got something else coming!" the blue-haired girl declared vindictively, struggling gamely into a ready position.

"Please stop this," Yggdra said frantically. "I won't have bloodshed in these halls! Remember the negotiation! In its current state, Bronquia can't take another war, and I won't see its people slaughtered trying to defend it! Don't do this!"

"Then all you need to do is give your oath as Queen to stay the hell away from our brother," Luciana ordered, drawing her own rapier to stand beside her sister. "Well?"

"Don't order Her Majesty around like that," Lily yelled furiously. "She and His Imperial Majesty have the right to fall in love with whoever they want, whether you like it or not!"

There was a moment of tense silence in which everyone glared at each other, but it was broken by yet more running footsteps.

"I can't believe you two! Are you guys crazy? What do you think you're doing?"

Aegina and Luciana both turned. "Emilia? What are you doing here?"

Gulcasa's little sister crossed her arms and glared up at the two of them. "I was going to learn how to make chocolate-chip cookies, but I get a feeling that you're doing something bad, and sure enough, here you are harassing Yggdra! What's up with that? Niisama's gonna get mad, you know!"

"Gulcasa-nii is too naïve to realize that getting involved with that girl is just plain bad for all of Bronquia," Luciana explained, jabbing a finger in Yggdra's direction. "We're just making it clear to her that she needs to back off and give him some damn breathing room."

"Really." Emilia gave them a look. "I think Niisama can decide for himself whether or not it's bad. Stop picking on Yggdra. It's not her fault she likes him."

"You make it sound like you're on her side," Aegina said, staring. "Emilia, what are you thinking?"

"That's what I wanna ask you," the Scarlet Princess retorted, glowering. "And I'm not on her side. I'm on Niisama's side. 'Cause it's his decision who he wants to spend time with, not yours."

"Emilia!"

"You hate this girl like us, don't you? Emilia!!"

"I used to," the little girl replied with a shrug. "But you know the other day, when I was working with the new griffon the trainers bought and she wouldn't stop rolling around in the dirt? Niisama and you guys were watching, and he started laughing about it? It sounded so strange to me, and I started wondering how long it had really been since Niisama had relaxed enough to laugh about something like that. And it wasn't just that we were at peace, because even before we went to war with Fantasinia, Niisama was always worrying, always serious. He never smiled like he meant it, not like he does now. I think Yggdra's the one who's been able to help him be himself again. And even if I don't like it, if she's good for him, then I don't have any choice but to let it happen. I promised myself that I was going to protect Niisama's smile, because I don't want him to be sad like he used to be ever again."

"But…"

"We…"

"You guys hafta think about what's best for Niisama right now," Emilia said sternly. "Remember, the doctors told us that when people start hurting themselves, it's almost always hard for them to stop, especially when they're having trouble in their lives. We all have to take care of him now so he can stop, you know?"

Aegina and Luciana were both silent.

"…Emilia…" Yggdra looked at the little girl wonderingly, touched by her passionate words.

"So go think about it for a while," Emilia concluded. "If you really wanna help Niisama, then you know what you have to do. C'mon, Yggdra, I think I oughtta talk to you for a sec."

Smiling, Yggdra followed Gulcasa's sister out of the hall, with Lily on her heels.

"Thank you for helping me protect Yggtan," the sword maiden said once they were away from the valkyrie twins. "I don't know what I would've done if it'd been just me."

"Don't worry about it," Emilia told her. "Like I said, it's for my brother, so you guys don't owe me anything."

"Still… thank you." Yggdra smiled at her. "It means a lot to me that you don't object to the way I feel about your brother…"

"You make him happy, so I don't have anything to complain about," Emilia said matter-of-factly. "You were coming down to ask about what to give him for Valentine's Day, right?"

"How did you know?"

"It was pretty obvious. You've been running around asking about everyone, and everyone includes him, so I had a feeling you'd ask sooner or later."

"So… what would you recommend, then…?"

"Well, my brother doesn't like chocolate all that much—he'll eat it, but there are things he likes better. But don't worry—just for you, I'm gonna tell you his secret weakness! Once you know that, you can't lose!"

Emilia went up to Yggdra, stood on tiptoe, and whispered something in her ear, grinning all the while.

"My…" Yggdra blinked, blushing slightly. "Is that true?"

"Yep! My brother's a total sucker for them, they're his favorite. If you can get him some it'll make him really happy, don't worry about it."

"Thank you so much—you've just made my job so much easier," Yggdra said gratefully.

"No biggie! It's just too bad I won't be able to see his face when you give it to him. It's gonna be totally priceless. Go on now, you've gotta get this done in time for Valentine's Day now!"

Yggdra giggled. "I will. Thank you!"

Emilia shrugged. "Like I said—I'm just happy that you've been able to make my brother smile again. Take good care of him… okay?"

"I will," Yggdra promised. "I always will."

:TBC:

Notes on the text

Gulcasa's monologue: There are things he'll tell Baldus that he won't tell anyone else (not even Nessiah!), but he isn't even able to say his deepest reservation about entering a relationship, the poor guy. It'll be clarified later.

Yggdra's tea: Even though tea has caffeine in it, putting hot milk in it makes it as good as tranquilizers. I speak from personal experience as an insomniac.

Roswell and Yggdra: Their scene here was extremely intimate. Part of Roswell's openness both in this chapter and in chapter 3 comes from being feeling like crap and wanting to be babied and being completely plastered respectively, but it's also because he trusts Yggdra absolutely, in a way that he finds it hard to trust others. It comes from the way she risked her life to save him in Verlaine and all the other times when he nearly got himself killed during the war.

Yggdra: She's been acting like she's everyone's mommy here because she feels so responsible for them. That and she just likes to take care of people. With Gulcasa, it's different—more of a mutual reliance than anything else. She feels that she can relate to him better than to others because of their positions as sovereigns, because they've both been invaders and defenders in the war, and for various other similarities between them.

Kylier and Nessiah: These two are pretty intimate, too! Because of the way Nessiah's attempt to control her backfired and linked their minds for a short time, they know and understand each other almost completely, which is also why Kylier states repeatedly that she can never stay angry at him. They still feel connected, and are able to read each other pretty well—Kylier astutely picked out the fact that Nessiah has already realized that he's still going to be alive long after the rest of the cast is dead, and isn't sure how well he'll be able to cope with it, for example. However, their relationship is still completely platonic. Considering the nature of their bond, if they did like each other "that way", it would be practically incestuous!

Once someone starts hurting himself, it's hard to stop: The reasons people turn to self-injury are always a little bit different, but many people who do those things do it partially because of the endorphin release cutting causes. A lot of those people become addicted to that endorphin release, and it's as difficult to put a stop to as drug dependence. This is what the doctor Emilia talks about is referring to. (Although technically, what Gulcasa was doing was attempting suicide rather than ordinary self-injury, and along with intent to kill himself came the resolution to cause deeper and more severe wounds than a cutter would.)

Eudy: Couldn't really figure out how to save her, either. (squirms) After all, she was standing right next to the Ankh when it exploded, and if it killed Al, who was further away, then there's not much I could do to get Eudy out of there…

BF33: I'm sure people are wondering, so I'll clarify: As Roswell and Rosary both survived in Verlaine, Yggdra confronted the leaders of the First and Second Royal Cavalries in Welheim. She mentions earlier on in the plot that they and their people died saving her, so they were my only option for guilt-inspiring opponents.