And here is the last set of oneshots. Thank you readers and reviewers; I hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave comments, suggestions, requests, or anything.

There was supposed to be peace after the end of war. The land had to be hurt, of course – but salvageable, repairable. Eventually, all was supposed to be fixed, with hard work and sacrifices. But it was supposed to pay off. Everything should have worked out.

But the gods clearly had something else in mind.

For she was standing with him by the castle gates, wishing that time could be slowed, or stopped, or reversed. Seth was needed to aid Grado's people in recovering from the landslide. Eirika was needed to govern and rule with Ephraim at home. He stood by his horse, armored and prepared to depart, a company of knights following him as their general, their leader. There was no one else fit to go in his stead.

The pale morning light misted across the clearing and seemed to settle around him. Eirika stepped forward, traced the lines of his face with soft fingers, and studied the glimmers of emotion in his auburn eyes, afraid that she would never again have the chance to be so close to him. She felt his arms close around her. His lips pressed against her hair, and he rocked her gently back and forth, murmuring words that she couldn't hear.

"You must go," Eirika said. "Go, as soon as possible. Send word when you can. Promise me you will stay safe and help as many people as you can."

"I would never do anything less, Eirika," said Seth. He lifted her chin between his fingers, met her eyes with the blazes in his own, and kissed her sweetly, without regard for the knights there to witness or those with viewpoints from the castle windows. His lips teased hers, caressed hers, until she was left supported only by his arms around her back. Slowly he pulled away. Eirika took one step back, then two, giving him the space to mount his horse and lead the party through the castle gates.

She waved as he disappeared, a tight pain in her chest making it seem like he were taking a piece of her heart with him as he went. But once he was gone, she closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and stood straight with her head held high. She would do what she had to do, on her own if there was no other way.

But some part of her knew that she would find a way to see him again. Her heart was bound to his, and she would follow in time. She only had to live until then.

Months had passed. Eirika was in her room, glancing between what seemed like hundreds of scrolls and folded parchments. Letters to the palace, formal documents, reports from treasurers or from generals across the continent. Mostly from Grado. In a few, she could see Seth's handwriting, distinct in the mandatory information reports that were the duty of any commanding officer. Even the famed Silver Knight had to complete his duties. He probably had more to do than any other general, with so many to command. And yet, all his reports were detailed, careful, and considerate. It was all the more proof that he was the finest knight Renais had. No one else could take his place in the effort to aid Grado. It made Eirika's heart ache. She was proud of him, so proud – but that meant that he couldn't come back, not for a long time.

Beneath all the reports was the stack of new deliveries that a messenger had brought to her room. Just by glancing at them, Eirika could tell that they were more international reports and letters, all containing different seals. One from Rausten, one from Jehanna, two from Grado. She broke the seals and read. Rausten and Jehanna were informing her that they were sending more soldiers to Grado, and that they would be taking the flatland route through Renais' territory. The Grado reports were just as the rest had been. Grado was struggling.

One more letter was in the stack. It contained no seal; a blue ribbon was tied neatly around the parchment. Eirika unrolled it slowly, frowning a little. It was Seth's handwriting on the outside, but it was no report.

Something small fell onto the desk with a clatter. Eirika picked it up, feeling its smooth coolness against her fingertips. It was a stone - a glittering shard of crystal that was the color of the ocean. Something seemed to have worn it down, for it was a little bit smoother than most crystals, and there was a tiny, natural hole near the narrow tip. A chain had been slipped through it, sliding like quicksilver through Eirika's fingers as she lifted it. The stone sparkled as the light hit it.

Eirika,

I am sure that you know by now that there is far too much destruction here for me to be able to return to you soon. I don't know when I will have the chance to see you again.

The rockslides have destroyed the foundations of Grado's lands. But they also exposed things that had once been hidden. Pain brings people together, and it can either bring out their truest virtues or uncover their darkest evils. We find gemstones in the fallen rock right next to the bones of lost children and families.

This stone is for you. Keep it close if it reminds you of the hope, or throw it into a river if it reminds you of the pain. I hope that – somehow – the gods will return this land to harmony, and we can be together again.

Seth

Eirika stared, her eyes flying over his words again and again, as if by reading them she could hear his voice. A single tear fell onto the parchment. Impatient, Eirika brushed it away and closed her hand around the little crystal. Keep it close if it reminds you of the hope, or throw it into a river if it reminds you of the pain.

After a moment's hesitation, she slipped the chain around her neck and clasped it under her hair. She let the stone fall under her bodice and rest right above her heart. All that could be seen from the outside was the silver chain, but she could feel the crystal's pulsing coldness against her skin.

"Eirika?" A few knocks rapped against her door. For a split second, Eirika thought it would be Seth, but then her mind registered Ephraim's familiar voice. She rose and opened the door to allow him in, but he didn't move from the threshold.

"Brother?" Eirika asked, running her hands over the silver chain. Ephraim didn't seem to notice it. Looking him over, Eirika saw that he was fully dressed in traveling attire, his spear across his back and light mail over his chest. He had on strong riding boots and a warm cloak for the chilly air, and his face was strained and somber.

"I've just received a messenger," he said slowly, rubbing his face in his hands. "Seth called for me. The situation is worsening. I have to go to Grado."

Eirika blinked. "Seth sent for you?"

"Yes."

A familiar tightness clamped around Eirika's heart, constricting inside her chest in what used to be an unbearable pain. But by now, she had grown so accustomed to it that it was merely an ache, a dull reminder of what was missing. Seth had called for Ephraim, in an effort to keep her out of danger. Looking up, Eirika saw her brother glancing guiltily at her, his gaze troubled.

"He told me not to tell you where I was headed, or why," Ephraim explained. "But I know that you can see through every lie I tell. I thought it would be best if I told you the truth from the beginning. Seth wanted you to stay here, where you would be safe."

Eirika looked out the window, playing absently with a loose thread from her dress. She longed for so much. She longed to wear her sword again, to see the world again, to see her proud knight again. The dimming sun was setting over the castle walls, casting everything into a blood-red light. The castle grounds were shadowed while the distant hills glowed with the coming night.

"I will go," said Eirika, firm. "I will travel to Grado in your place."

"I knew you would say that," sighed Ephraim. "I told my advisors that. They still insisted that I ready for travel and leave without informing you. I couldn't do it."

"Please, Ephraim. I must go."

Reaching out, Ephraim took her chin with his hands and held her face up into the dying sunlight. His eyes were held hers for a long moment, and Eirika could see the indecision and the understanding mixing in his gaze. "Go," he said at last.

Eirika nodded. After a tiny moment of hesitation, she threw her arms around her brother and held him tightly. "Thank you," she murmured. She let him go, squeezed his hand, and whipped around to find her other clothes, her sword, her supplies. It didn't matter that the sun had almost vanished over the horizon, or that a cold night was soon to fall over the land. She would lose no time. For it was all too likely that her heart would not be able to continue without the piece that had been missing for so long, the piece that Seth had, unknowingly, taken with him when he led his men out of the castle's doors.

She clutched the crystal stone that rested over her chest and closed her eyes, praying to all the gods that she would find him, unharmed and whole.

Seth's hands were raw and stinging from his labors the night before. Every one of his men were suffering the same way, too. Months and months had meant endless scrapes that still made their hands bleed every night, then ache in the mornings. And yet still they worked on. The pain was nothing, really. Not compared to the kind of things they'd seen. But sore hands made it so much more difficult to shovel through stone, drag salvageable pieces of wood and supplies from the rubble, or build and repair the homes that had been destroyed. Seth sighed, blinking at the rising sun and thinking about nothing more than the day's tasks.

They had to take care of another family whose home had been destroyed. They were supposed to be looking for survivors. Most of the time, they found bodies. Seth was charged with writing reports to send to both Renais and the closer Grado Keep. But other than that, his association with those in power was limited. He and his men were on their own, working on their own honor to help the people of a suffering country.

Hour after hour, the day wore on, until at last night began to fall. There was little time left to work. Seth walked around a mountain of rocks to see if a different side was safer or easier to work from. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of what looked like a shadow standing on top of a nearby hill. He heard his name, and for a moment, thought it must have been in his imagination. For it was Eirika's voice – he'd heard it often enough in his dreams that it was all too likely that he had begun to hear it in his waking hours, too.

But then the call came again. Surely his subconscious wouldn't call out to him twice. The sound was too perfect; how would his mind have remembered exactly what her voice sounded like? I sent my last letter to Renais a month ago. It can take a month to get from Renais to here.

But Eirika was not supposed to come. Seth's breath caught in his throat as he turned around and scanned the tops of the hills. On top of one stood horses and soldiers, all straight-backed and proud, bearing the crest of Renais on their light armor. But in front of all of them was a lone figure, mounted on a white horse and with long, pale blue hair flying in the wind behind her.

It was her. Against what he'd said, against what he'd asked, against what he hadn't dared to hope, she had come.

He watched in amazement as she kicked her horse forward and flew down the hill, the small group of soldiers following close behind her. There was one familiar face in that crowd – Kyle, one of the few elite knights who had stayed at Renais rather than accompany Seth to Grado. But all of Seth's thoughts were focused on Eirika as she cantered to a stop, swinging herself deftly out of the travel-worn saddle. She was wearing the clothes she'd worn during the war, and her sword hung at her belt. Her steps towards him were fervent and hurried.

Everything else disappeared from Seth's mind. He forgot that this was dangerous, he forgot the work he had to do, he forgot that he had asked for Ephraim so that Eirika would remain safe. Nothing else mattered. With none of the grace that she always claimed in battle and in her castle, Eirika stumbled into his arms, her own arms wrapping tightly around his neck. Seth held her close, remembering even after so long the feeling of her soft skin under his fingertips and the scent of her hair, dusty with the road but still so her. He brushed his over her back before settling them around her waist, leaning back so that he could see her face. Her eyes were bright and piercing, as strong as they had ever been.

"Before you say anything," she whispered, "I am not sorry I came. I know that you only wanted to protect me, by asking Ephraim. He could never keep secrets from me. I had to come, Seth. I had to be with you."

"You shouldn't be here," murmured Seth, remembering the danger and fear so abundant around them. He leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes, half-afraid that when he opened them again, she would be gone. "Eirika, you should not have come. It is too dangerous."

"Well, I did come," she stated firmly. "I can help just as Ephraim could. I can take care of myself; I can keep myself out of danger."

Seth felt light fingertips touch his cheek, and he opened his eyes. She was still there, still in his arms. Her gaze searched his face, falling on new scars and cuts that hadn't been there when he had left Renais. "And I have you," she murmured, letting her hand fall back to his shoulder. "I had to come here, Seth. To have you again."

For a moment, Seth considered shaking his head, insisting that she go back to Renais, where it was safe. But he couldn't do it. He had missed her too much; had wanted her in his arms again for too long. Cupping her face in one hand, he leaned forward and kissed her carefully, the taste of her lips sweet and familiar. Her hands slid back over his shoulders. Their bodies were close; so close that not even air could pass between them. Seth's heart pounded as they broke apart. Their eyes met, and in Eirika's gaze Seth could see a blazing fire that meant she never change her decision. She had come, and would not return to Renais, not without him. They were there to stay.

It was only then that Seth remembered the people around them and the situation at hand. From the sudden flush of Eirika's cheeks, she remembered, too, and they both smiled. She slid out of his arms and stood beside him, facing her soldiers unashamedly.

"Set up camp where it is safe," she said. "Do as we have done. Rest well, for tomorrow we will follow General Seth's commands and do whatever we can to aid a country in need."

All the men nodded smartly and set off to do as they were told. Kyle winked at Seth as he passed, his face impassive.

On impulse, Seth pulled Eirika into another embrace, kissing the top of her head and letting her cheek rest against his chest. He had been without her for far too long. There was lost time that would never be regained, never be filled.

"I missed you, Seth," came Eirika's voice, soft and gentle.

"And I you," Seth murmured. "Far, far too much, sweet."

He refused to admit – even to himself – just how much she meant to him. He refused to let himself relax and be glad that it was her who had come. But as she leaned into him, strong and trusting, Seth knew that he could no longer lie to himself. Despite the danger, despite everything that he should worry about – he was suddenly happy. He could think about risks and protecting her later, when they were working. But until then, he would take advantage of the sole moment of peace that they had. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and smiled.