Part III – Love of Dawn
It must have been weeks since I died, because for some strange reason I felt no violence whatsoever. The air felt soothing, enough to eliminate any nausea I suffered in that stuffy desert. There were no Disciples of Order, that's for sure. As a matter of fact…
I opened my eyes, only to see a lonely great light emerge from the otherwise pure darkness. Not too long afterwards, gravity decided to work its wonderful magic and bring me to cool, green grass. Could the assuaging lake, the beautiful people, and the cloudless daytime sky be real? Especially when not too long ago I was swamped with a path of blood and death?
One woman in particular, with her well-done vermillion hair and elegant light blue dress, stood out from even the most beautiful people here. An anthropomorphic dragon looked at her with profound gratitude, saying, "My goddess… Thank you so much for your good graces and for counting me worth to enter this realm. I am in debt to you."
"It is my pleasure, my child. There's no greater reward for me than to see my creations enjoy what I have given them."
"My goddess…" Could this woman be who I thought she was? The goddess who gave me that dream? In my desire to learn more about her, I approached her with a hopeful look.
"Why, hello there," the woman greeted me. "How are you today?"
"Fine, thank you." The woman's voice sounded even more mollifying heard from up close. "You aren't the goddess Ashera, are you?"
"Not exactly. My people call me Ashunera, the combined form of both Yune and Ashera."
"Then… I must be in heaven."
"Right you are! You're a clever one."
I stepped about three meters from Ashunera and let the scenery calm my mind. "I knew it. There's no way this can't be heaven, not after all the bloody war I've endured in Tellius."
"You'll find no war or violence here. The gods are all very loving and willing to assist anyone who needs help. Everyone is free to express themselves as they wish and love whom they want."
"Love whom they want?" Ashunera's voice brought me reassurance.
"Yes. You have no idea how it pained me to learn that in the early days of Tellius, people would scorn upon beorc-laguz unions, even going so far as to murder the children of such unions. Anyone, beorc or laguz, should be able to love whomever they want without crowds to persecute their love. It hurt to learn that even Ashera would weaken the laguz parent and cast the Branded into the shadows."
"When you say that 'people should be able to love whomever, they want,' do you also mean that people can love, regardless of gender?"
"But of course! I created all of my people equally."
"Then…" Ashunera's words bolstered my hope. "Does that mean that-"
I didn't need to utter any more words, for the sight of a certain blonde archer I knew answered my question. With my joy quickly rising, I ran for the archer, shouting, "Leonardo!"
"Yipe!" Leonardo, for some reason, began to flee at the sight of me. Now, why would that be? After months of not seeing each other alive, he has to act like that? I would have none of it!
"Leonardo, wait!" Before Leonardo could hide behind a giant tree, I nearly lunged forward to grab him by the wrist. "There you are!"
"Edward… So, you've died in battle, too."
"Leonardo…" I slapped myself silly and pinched Leonardo's cheeks, much to the archer's chagrin.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"So it's true… This is real. No dreams, no illusions, no falsehoods. Just me, a wonderful scenery, and my gorgeous boyfriend."
"…" Despite how overjoyed I was to even touch my beloved again, in his silence Leonardo did not appear to feel the same.
"Talk, damn you!" Perhaps this wasn't the paradise I had hoped for, after all. A world in which some deceiver took on the guise of my boyfriend, having him treat me like a stranger, is not my ideal world. "The Leonardo I knew wouldn't act so aloof to his own lover."
"I'm just embarrassed, that's all."
"Embarrassed? That you died in a war that should not have transpired?"
"No!" Leonardo turned away to run, but I held him firmly. "I'm embarrassed… that I couldn't hold our promise. I swore to you that we would see Daein return to its former glory. But… But I had to die, despite my vow to see us both safe and sound until the end of the war."
"Oh, Leo…" I turned Leonardo around, looking at him tenderly. "If I didn't love you so much, I would probably hit you right now for panicking over such a petty matter."
"Edward… Do you forgive this man for being such an utter fool?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" I held Leonardo's tear-soaked face close to mine, so close that I could taste his breath and notice the fine contours of his face. "I've said it once, and I've said it again… Leonardo, you are not a fool for dying in a war that isn't your fault. We are in our own paradise now, and we have this Tempest Blade to attest to our love."
"You still held onto it after all this time…" Leonardo drew our Tempest Blade from its scabbard. "Even though King Pelleas gave you the Caladbolg, a far more powerful blade."
"Caladbolg is nowhere near as powerful as the Tempest Blade." I took Leonardo's hands into my own, as we both held the Tempest Blade close to our chests. "When I wield the weapon given to me by my one true love, I can only be motivated to give every battle my utmost effort."
"Edward…" Leonardo leaned forward, closing the gap between our faces for a prolonged kiss. I didn't even need to let go of the Tempest Blade to hold him close, for in its symbolism this sword bound our souls together.
"And Leo?" I spoke after our kiss had ended.
"Yes?"
"We can still watch the complete restoration of Daein from heaven. But more importantly, we have still held onto our most important promise of all."
"What might that be?" Leonardo asked as a springtime breeze accentuated the profound romance we felt through each other's bodies.
"In this heavenly paradise, we will stay together – forever and ever."
The idea for this fanfic came from my father, who plays a ton of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Watching him react to certain situations, such as enemies hitting at less than 50% (which happens a ton with him, poor guy), is very entertaining.
Anyway, he let Leo die in Part III (The Price chapter; Mia killed him – with terrain disadvantage, no less!) and Eddy die in Part IV (the Grann Desert chapter; I don't remember how he died in that one). As a die-hard fan of both characters (and, ultimately, this game), I threw a humongous hissy fit over it. I'm the type of player that never lets characters stay dead, and no matter how far I get in a RD chapter, I'd move heaven and Earth to bring Eddy or Leo back. What better way to "make light" of this situation than to write a tragic fanfic of them? LeoxEddy used to be my OTP, for about a year after RD came out.
This is not only my first tragedy, but also one of my shortest stories. I originally intended for it to be a one-shot.
By the way, I must say that En from Binan Koukou looks like Leo's and Eddy's love-child, haha. :D