Chapter 19 Presents
"Emmeryn, I know you're pretending to be sleep." The tactician scoffed as he tried to slither from his wife's hold on his arm. "Really, Emm. I have to get ready for the strategy meeting with Chrom, Flavia and Say'ri. We'll be marching to Walhart's castle when everyone's wounds have healed from the fight with Yen'fay. It's very important that I'm on time." It was as if Matthew was light and Emmeryn was a window since his words went right through her and didn't take in anything.
"Mmmmm" She moaned and smiled as she nuzzled her head into his arm.
"…You know I see you smiling, right?"
"Mmmmmm…I'm sleeping…mmmmmm."
"Playing games now?" Said Matthew with a smirk appearing on his face. "If it's a game you wanna play, then it's a game you'll get."
"Hmm?" Emmeryn was completely unprepared for what the tactician was about to do. Her eyes shot open and a burst of cute giggles escaped her mouth. "HeheheHAHAHA!" She squirmed around as she tried to get away from the tactician's fingers that assaulted her ribs. "P-Please Matt! I'm awak-hehehahaha!"
Her plead got through to the tactician and he stopped his assault. Matthew watched as she turned away from him and tried to catch her breath. Those laughs just now were way too cute. A smirk creeped on his face as an evil idea surfaced in his head. "I don't believe you are awake just yet. A little more will do the trick!" She didn't even have time to retaliate as her husband jumped on top of her and held her hands above her head. Without mercy, he attacked the sides of her body and watched gleefully as she let out the adorable laugh he loved so much. No part of her body was safe and she was completely unable to do nothing but swing side to side and kick her feet furiously in the air.
"Hehe! I-I can't b-b-breathe Matt!"
"You started this game sister! This is your punishment!" Matthew stated as he intensified his attack.
"I-I'm gonna die-HeHAHAHA!" Tears were literally starting to fall down her face, but there was no mercy in the tactician's eyes.
"Say "I submit" and I will free you from your suffering!" Matthew commanded to his guffawing wife.
"I-I submit! P-Please spare me!" Emmeryn cried, but the assault did not end.
"I'm not convinced. Say it in a more convincing way!" Matthew demanded as he went to her underarm and attacked the new area. He was awarded with even harder laughter and squirming than before.
"I-I submit t-to only you Matt! I-I love you v-very much, s-s-so please stop-HAHAHA!" That was a little more than what he wanted from her, but it was good enough. He stopped his malicious attack and allowed his wife to finally catch her breathe. After a minute of breathing heavily, Emmeryn looked up to her husband who still hovered over her; a childish expression plastered on her face. "Your mean…" Emmeryn pouted.
"But your laugh was too cute." Matthew smiled innocently, which caused his wife to look away with the same pout on her face.
"I just wanted you to stay…a little longer." Emmeryn mumbled, which didn't go unnoticed by her husband. Matthew leaned down and pecked her lightly on the cheek. "I would like to stay longer too, but I have to make sure that we are able to the next day, you know." Emmeryn's face grimaced when the words left her husband's mouth, which really concerned him. "Emm? Is something wrong?"
"Why…do we have to keep fighting…?" The question through the tactician off guard. "Why did we have…to turn to war? Couldn't we have settled this peacefully?" Matthew gave his wife a furlong look before letting out a soft chortle. Much to her serious question, Emmeryn looked with anger. "Matt, I'm being serious!"
"I know you are, Emm… I was just thinking that the old you would have asked the exact same thing." Matthew smiled at his blank faced wife and said, "I know that this war is terrible, and I would do anything to see it over as quickly as possible, but we are fighting right now for the peace of not only Ylisse, but the people of Valm as well. We also have a future to save, so once all of that is taken care of, then we can spend as much time alone as we want. How does that sound?"
Emmeryn beamed back at her husband and replied, "I say we hurry… I want to hurry and…have our own house together. That would make me very…very happy." Matthew smiled and kissed the brand on her forehead before mounting off of her and began putting on a fresh shirt and his purple cloak. He stopped midway between putting the cloak on and looked to the tent roof in a daze. "Is something wrong, Matt?" Emmeryn asked while pushing herself to a sitting position.
"I have a feeling that today is special, but I just can't put my finger on what's so special about it. Hmmmm."
"Was it something important?"
"…Don't know… Oh well. I'll probably remember while I'm walking around. I'll see you later, Emm." The tactician finished putting on the remainder of his cloths before exiting into the bright light of the outside. Unable to fall back to sleep, and seeing no reason to stay in bed, Emmeryn kicked her feet off the bed and slid out of her white nightgown. She quickly clothed herself and went to exit the tent. However, before she could, the tent flap flew open and Morgan literally rammed into her; sending them both crashing to the ground with the little girl on top of her mother. A few seconds later Naomi also entered, in a more calm matter than her twin, and looked to her mother and sister on the tent canvas.
"This is why I told you to slow down, Morgan." Naomi scoffed.
"Ow~. You okay Mom?"
"I-I'm fine, Morgan." Emmeryn reassured as the young girl eased off of her mother and helped her to her feet.
"Anyways, Mother, have you seen Father?" Morgan asked, returning to her happy self.
"He just left a few minutes ago." Emmeryn replied, watching as the little girls face contorted into anger and she pounded her foot against the ground.
"Darn it! I thought I could catch him in the morning!"
"If you would have woken up when I told you, then we wouldn't have been late!" Naomi scoffed.
"It's not my fault! I stayed up all night with Cynthia and Owain! You have no idea how much fun we have when we are alone!" Morgan retorted.
"And it's because of that "fun" that we missed him! Gods, I don't have time to waste arguing with you. We have to go find him quickly before anyone else finds him."
A since of concern went through the former Exalt's head at the urgency in the young dark mage's voice. "Is something going to happen to Matt?" She asked, and was replied with a smile from Morgan.
"Of course not, silly. Today is Father's birthday and we want to tell him before anyone else does!" Emmeryn eyes widened at the revelation. She could feel her heart stop and her blood go cold.
"T-Today is Matt's birthday?" Emmeryn asked, almost dreading the answer from her daughter.
"Or course!" Morgan beamed. "You are so lucky that you got to tell him happy birthday before everyone else, Mother! I'm gonna make sure to get to him first before anyone else gets to tell him, right Naomi!?...Naomi?" Morgan turned around to where her sister once stood, but only saw the flap to the tent. Morgan's blood boiled as she yelled, "That cheater! She took advantage of the situation! Sorry, Mother, but I will talk to you later!" Morgan did not waste any time leaving the tent and shouting down the camp at her sister.
Meanwhile, Emmeryn stood motionless in the center of the tent. I didn't know… What do I do now…? What could she do now? She was sure that Matthew was already aware that she didn't know about his birthday, but was that really a good enough excuse to not know your own husbands birthday? How on earth could she make up for not congratulating him on his most important day in his life?
…
After pondering what to do next Emmeryn could only come up to one conclusion: make this the best birthday he had ever had. To do this, she would need two things: a cake and a present, but not just any cake or present. No, it would be a cake that is so good that it will have him begging for another bite, and a present so grand that he would cherish it for the rest of his days! Emmeryn slapped her cheeks two times before looking to the sunlight tent flap and stormed outside.
The hunt was on.
"So, you want me to bake a cake for Bubbles' birthday?" Emmeryn nodded at the thief, trying desperately to ignore his bandaged right eye and cast left arm. Coming to the thief for help had its benefits. For one, if anyone in this camp knew about making sweets, he would be on the top of the food-chain. The bad side to the thief would be his tendency to add just a little~ too much sugar to his already sweet pastries. "I don't mind making one, but not really in the condition to do so." Gaius said while he motioned to his bandaged armed.
"Don't worry about his arm, Emm." Lissa spoke up and wrapped her arms around her husband's uninjured arm. "If he needs to cook, then I'll make up for his injured arm! After all, it's my brother in law's birthday!" Emmeryn looked at her little sister with the utmost gratefulness, then back to the thief who turned away rubbing the back of his neck.
"…Alright, fine. I'll get to making one right away." Emmeryn's face lit up and she did a short bow to the thief.
"Thank you so much, Gaius."
"You don't have to thank me, Emm. I'll start on it right away. I should be done with it sometime around noon, so get ready to throw Blue's taste buds into a heaven sweeter than sugar!"
Emmeryn bowed again before turning around and exiting the couple's tent. That was already one down, and it was barely 10 minutes! If she continued like this, then she would be done in no time! Now, that only leaves the present….
What was it that she could get him? Getting him one of the many books he already had was out of the question. Maybe a new coat? No, the only one he would wear was the purple one or his Grandmaster one. A sword? He already has two perfectly good ones…
"Hmmm…Oof!" Emmeryn back pedaled to get away from whatever soft substance she bumped into.
"Ah, if it isn't good ol' Emm! How ya been?" Emmeryn looked up to the grinning nightmare of the Shepherds and his wife, Panne.
"I'm sorry…for not paying attention to where I…was going."
"It would seem that your speech has gain a tremendous leap forward, man-spawn." Panne complemented while crossing her arms. "Have your memories come back yet?"
Emmeryn sadly shook her head. "I still can't remember things…but that's not important right now. I have to think of a gift for Matt, but I can't think of what to get him…"
Panne raised an eyebrow. "Why does Matthew need a gift? Is it for something special?"
"Yes," Emmeryn nodded. "It's for his birthday."
"Wow, it's Matthew's birthday? Why didn't anyone tell me?!" Henry complained. "I would have gotten him a gift so CAWazy that it would leave blood running down his nose!"
"I-I don't think that's safe." Emmeryn said in a nervous tone.
"I was also uninformed of the tactician's birthday. If it is today, then I will have to give him my wishes to him. What about you, Emm? You said that you were looking for a present for him. Does this mean that you haven't already prepared a gift for your spouse?"
Emmeryn's head dropped and she slowly shook her head. "I didn't know about his birthday…until Morgan told me this morning…"
"YEOWCH! That's gotta hurt a man's feelings that his own wife didn't know his birthday!" Hearing that was like have a dagger pierced right through the former Exalt's heart. Panne elbowed her husband before trying to comfort the grieving Exalt.
"I think that getting the tactician a good present will be an acceptable apology for forgetting his day of birth, but you will have to be creative when getting him a gift. Otherwise, it will seem that you didn't really put forth an effort to get him anything."
"…Thank you, but I don't really know what to get him. He has many books already…and I don't want to give him anymore weight…to carry. I thought about a sword as well…but he already has two good ones…"
"You should get him food!" Henry suggested. "The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Especially when it's something like boar meat! Boar meat always make a man happy, but be careful. They might BOAR you to death! Eh? Get it?!"
Ignoring her husband's pun, Panne suggested, "Why not give him an amulet or talisman? They are affordable and normal cherishing items. I'm sure Matthew would accept that as a good birthday present. If you make good use of the dark mages here, you might even get them to make it a special amulet or talisman."
Emmeryn thought over it for a moment. She had nothing else in mind to get for her husband, and the things she thought she could get him was something he probably already had, so the Taguel's suggestion was her best bet. "I can do that…but where will I get one?"
"I'm sure Anna would have some in stock. She does seem to carry around the things we need at the most awkward of times."
"Okay…" Emmeryn looked to the smiling Shepherd and asked, "Do you know any hexes that…I could put on the item to make it…special?"
The white headed boy massaged his chin in thought before looking back to the former Exalt with a wider smirk. "How about a body switching talisman? With it you will be able to switch bodies with each other whenever you want! But make sure you are at least three meters close to each other before you do it, or things could get very bloody!"
Emmeryn had a flashback to the day where she had switched bodies with Tharja. As fun of an experience it was to wield dark magic, it turned into quite the taboo when the dark mage used her body to commit indecent acts to her husband. She shook her head free of the memory and said, "I-I'd rather not…experience that again."
"Awww…Oh! How about a cursed that makes whoever is wearing do whatever command you want! This could be quite helpful to get the upper hand when you two are fighting, and it works quite well when you want him do to stuff around the house!"
"I'd rather not hold control of my husband…"
"I see… Well, third times the charm! How about an amulet that forces the wearer to tell the truth, or a cruel and bloody death will await them in the future!"
"A-Anything less…violent?" Emmeryn asked, wanting a more peaceful item to give her husband and not something that would question her sanity.
"Hmmm, I'm not really good at hexes that don't go "BOOM". Oh, but Tharja is good at that kinda thing! You should ask her for something CAWazy! I'm sure she will be willing to help ya!"
"Okay, that will work… Thank you Henry and Panne!" Emmeryn did not waste any time getting away from the couple. Panne treated her nice at times, but Henry was too hard to deal with. But that wasn't important right now. Anna was her first destination, then Tharja! Now, where was Anna's tent again…
Finding Anna's tent was quite the monumental task. Out of the hundreds of tents out there, she just had to be placed smack-dab in the middle of it. Once you actually found the tent, you would immediately notice the difference from other tents. For one, it was significantly bigger than all the other tents (most likely to keep all of her riches and merchandise in sight) and it was conveniently placed next to the armory tent.
But, as before, that wasn't important right now. Getting Matthew's present was top priority. "What can I do for you, Emm?"
"I'm looking for amulets and talismans, Anna… Can I see what you have?"
"Ah, getting a late birthday gift for Matthew I see." Anna said with a grin. Emmeryn smiled nervously and nodded. "If its amulets and talismans you want, then I have nothing but the best! Just give me one second while I fetch them for ya!" The merchant turned away from the former Exalt and began digging in the many bags she had in the back of her tent. Naga only knew how long it took the merchant to actually prepare her tent at night.
Anna came back with two long, rectangular boxes and laid them on a table in front of the former Exalt. "These are all the amulets and talismans I have in stock. Amulets are good for Naga's protection, while talismans are good for luck. But if you ask me, I think you should go with the talismans. They are less dazzling than an amulet. Plus, in my opinion, amulets are more fitting for a woman to wear, not so much a man."
"I see." Emmeryn murmured while evaluating the talismans in front of her. They didn't really look all that inspiring. They looked like normal rings with colorful orbs in them, or necklaces with wide confusing patterns on them. None of it really caught the former Exalts eye. Just when she was about to ask the merchant if she had anything else, an item that was at the edge of the box came into view.
"What's that?" Emmeryn pointed to the one idled at the left corner of the box.
"Whoops! That must have fallen when I was moving!" said Anna as she reached for the item and held it out to the blonde. Out of all the other talismans, this was without a doubt, the best one she had seen. It was a short, silver necklace that had the words "faith" in cursive hanging above a double edged sword. It wasn't much, but it spoke to her more than any of the other items. "When I look closer, this is nothing but a regular necklace. Doesn't really have any special effects and it's a lot cheaper than the other ones. I think you would be better getting something else than this silly th-"
"I want that one." Emmeryn said excitedly, which made the merchant's jaw drop.
"Y-You want this one? B-But it's not really special like the talismans and amulets, right? Didn't you say you wanted a special gift for Matthew?"
"I like this one better." Emmeryn stated.
Anna's face began to drop from the determined look in the woman's eyes that told her she wouldn't change her mind. Sighing in defeat, the merchant took the necklace and began putting it in a small plastic bag. "Will that be all for today?" Anna asked in a not so motivated voice.
"Hmmm….would you happen to have anything sweet to drink…like wine?"
Anna raised a brow at the Exalt. "I didn't know that you drink wine, Emm."
"I don't…but I read in a book once that couple…drink this together at special times." Anna's face began to come back to life as an opportunity to make money showed its head again.
"I got just thing for you, Emm!" Anna exclaimed as she ran to a shelf that held many different bottles on it. She brought a bottle that was almost a yard wide and slammed it on the table; causing all the previous items to bounces from the shock-wave. "This is the one of the best wines I have in my stock! Its grape flavor called "Moscato" and it's sure to make Matthew fall in love with it!"
"That sounds good… I think I will take that as well." The sweet sound of gald crashing together in the palm of the merchants hand rung in her head. Emmeryn was completely unaware that she had fallen into the merchants trap.
"If you are getting him a bottle of wine, then you must get yourself one as well!" Anna stated.
"Can't me and Matt just share this one?"
"Of course not! It goes against the rules of buying wine!" Anna lied. "If you buy wine for someone else, it is only right to buy wine for yourself as well. Otherwise, the other party will take it as you being rude. You don't want Matthew to think that you are being a bad wife, do you?"
Emmeryn's face contorted into horror and she shook her head furiously. "Of course not….I'll take one more!"
"You got it, sister!" Anna almost felt bad for the poor woman, but if you didn't know the game, then don't play it, right? "Here you go, Emmeryn. Another bottle of Moscato! I think that's everything you need. Now, let me just add that up." Anna evaluated the items thoroughly before looking back to the former Exalt. "That will be 2400 gald!"
Emmeryn heart almost stopped at the price of the items. "I-Is it really that much?" Emmeryn asked innocently.
"Yep! But since you are a good friend of Matthew, then I guess I can drop it slightly. How does 2390 sound?!" Anna bargained as if that really made a difference.
"O-Only 10 gald?"
"What, you want more? Alright, alright. 2350 gald. Take it or leave it."
"Is there any way…to get it lower?"
"…How low are we talking about here?" Anna asked. Emmeryn reach into her robe and pulled out a small bag. She slowly counted each and every gald before looking back to the merchant with an anxious look on her face.
"Is there any way….to take it down to 100?" Anna's knees literally gave out at the near mention of the ridiculous offer, but luckily, she was able to catch herself on the table before she could hit the ground. She looked to the former Exalt that showed an expression that asked, "did I say something wrong".
"100 gald?!" Anna retorted. "Sell my best products for only 100 gald? While I'm at it, I might as well throw in the rest on my merchandise in for free!"
Emmeryn perked up at the offer. "Could you really do that?"
"I was being sarcastic damn it!"
"Hey, Anna, can I speak to you for a second?" Anna tensed up at the call of her name from the tent entrance. The one person she did not want to see at the moment just walked in.
"W-What can I help you with, Chrom?"
"I wanted to know if you have any-" The blue head paused when he noticed the presence of his older sister. "Oh, hi, Emm. What are you doing here?" Chrom looked to the table of items. He frowned when he saw the large bottles of wine and asked, "And why are you buying two bottles of wine?"
"I wanted to get something…for Matt for his birthday…I read that wine was a local thing and…Anna said that it was traditional to have two…" Anna could feel the daggers being pointed at her from the blonde's brother. Sweat began to stream down her face as she looked away from the glaring Exalt and stared off into space.
"It's not common to buy two wines, Emm. It's also not common to buy wine on someone's birthday, but if that's what you want to get him, then I will buy it for you." Life came back to Anna's face at the mention of spending money and looked to the Exalt who approached her with a thick bag. Chrom placed it on the table and said, "That's 2000 thousand gald. That should cover the cost of these items." Chrom said in a "deal with it" attitude and snatched the two wine bottles off the table, while Emmeryn happily grabbed the necklace.
"Hold up!" Anna yelled at the Exalts leaving the tent. "You owe me 400 gald!" Chrom stopped and began evaluating the tent that he was currently in.
"This tent cost Ylisse about 200 gald, and the men who helps you place all of these items in here deserves a little compensation as well, so there is your 400 gald you happily spent for yourself." Chrom didn't say another word and exited the tent along with his sister. Leaving Anna to stare at the tent flap lifelessly.
"…But…my moneyyyyy…"
After giving one of the sweet wines to Chrom for him and his wife, Emmeryn stored her wine bottle underneath her vacant tent's cot and headed straight to Tharja's tent. It had actually been a while since Emmeryn had been alone with the dark mage. It was mainly because they both had their respective families to attend to, and it left little time to help with hexes and things of the sort. Luckily, not only was Tharja alone, she was already preparing to work on a hex of her own. This saved time for sure. "So, you want me to turn this thing into something like a good luck charm?"
Emmeryn nodded with a bright smile. Thara, on the other hand, looked to the woman with a blank stare. "…You do realize that I'm a DARK mage, right? Why would I make something as dumb as a good luck charm? If you want good luck, then you should have asked someone like Libra."
"Then, you can't do it-"
"I never said that I couldn't. It's just not my field of expertise." Tharja affirmed while waking over to her pot and placing the silver necklace on the table. "If we are going to be making anything that will involve Matthew, then we are gonna need a sample of his DNA."
Emmeryn slightly tilted her head to the side. "DNA?"
"Yeah, like a fingerprint, or even saliva. Hair can also work, and is actually the quickest and less challenging thing to get."
"Alright…how will I get some of his hair?" Emmeryn asked.
"We will need quite the amount for making something from scratch and in such a short amount of time." Tharja looked around her tent in search for something. Her eye fell on a short, about 2 feet, stick with a hammer-like tip and walked over to it. She took ahold of it and handed it to the former Exalt. "This a balmwood staff. It usually heals, but I have modified it to put people to sleep. All you have to do is tap them slightly on the head and they will be out cold for a few minutes. When Matthew turns his attention away from you," Tharja raised her arm and brought it down in a quick swinging motion. "Strike... Got it?"
Emmeryn nodded and repeated the dark mage's motions. "When Matt isn't looking," the blonde lifted the staff above her head and swung downward as hard as she could. "Strike…right?"
Tharja nodded. "Correct, now get going. I have some things I need to get ready if we are going to make this thing."
…
Emmeryn left and proceeded straight to her tent. She continued to go over the plan over and over in her head, making sure she didn't mess anything up. When he turns away…Strike…When he turns away…Strike…When he turns away…Strike! Playing this pattern over and over in her heard was actually making her a bit nervous. People she passed were kind of worried for her and asked for her well-being, but she reassured them that she was alright.
But, as always, that wasn't important right now. What was important was the mission she was currently on. She stopped when she was in front of her tent. Hearing movement in the tent told the blonde that her husband was there. Emmeryn took a deep breathe before marching into battle; making sure the wooden staff was well hidden behind her back. Matthew was standing up, hand on his chin, while reading a thick book. "M-Matt?" He was taken by surprise and looked to the tent to see Emmeryn standing before him.
"Gods, Emm! You scared me half to death!"
Emmeryn panicked. She wasn't five minutes in and she already had him on edge. "I-I'm sorry!...I didn't...mean to..." Matthew smiled while closing his book.
"Peace, Emm. You've done nothing wrong." Emmeryn put a hand over her beating heart and sighed in relief. "So, was there something you needed, Emm? I'm quite busy right now." Emmeryn looked to the ground and shuffled her feet as she desperately searched her mind for something to say.
"I...Umm...well I..." Emmeryn began to sweat, gripping the staff behind her back. How could she have forgotten to think of something to actually say to her husband?! And she practiced so hard too! Matthew tilted his head to the side in confusion at his fidgeting wife.
"Is everything alright, Emm?"
"Wha-" She jumped. "Y-Yes! Everything is...fine...just..." Ugh! Come on, Emm! Think! Think!
Matthew sighed. "Forgive me, Emm, but if you need help do you mind asking Chrom? I really need to get back to this." Matthew turned his attention back to his book and opened it back to the page he was on. Emmeryn panicked. Her opportunity window was closing fast. She needed a distraction and she needed it now!
Out of options, she did the only thing she could think of. She outstretched her hand and pointed straight ahead. "Look!" She cried. The tactician turned his attention toward Emmeryn, then to the direction she was pointing. Tharja's words echoed in her head as an opportunity showed itself.
STRIKE!
Emmeryn brought the wooden staff from behind her. She gripped it with both hands then closed her eyes as she raised the staff above her head. With all her strength she swung the staff downward and it connected with Matthew's skull. First there was a loud "crack" from the wooden staff, then there was a soft thud as Matthew's body hit the ground like an arrow felling a Pegasus. Emmeryn slowly peeled her eyes open. First she saw the head of the once wooden staff now broken in two, then she glanced up to see Matthew's face planted into the canvas of the tent.
"F-Forgive me." She apologized before walking over to the unconscious man. She crunched down to swipe the pieces of hair that laid around his head from the strike; occasionally glancing at the knot that grew on top of the tactician's head. "I'm so sorry" escaped her lips before she quickly stood and escaped the scene.
…
Tharja was placing items for the hex when the flap to her tent shot open. She looked up to see Emmeryn, hands on her knees, gasping for air. "That was fast." She acknowledged. "So, where is the hair?" Emmeryn lifted her left fist to the dark mage and opened it, revealing multiple strands of brown hair. The dark mage smirked and said, "Good girl." Tharja went to retrieve the hair when Emmeryn's other hand came up, revealing the shattered staff. "…What in the world did you do? Beat him with it?" Emmeryn looked away from the dark mage in embarrassment.
"S-Sorry...I...panicked..." She mumbled.
Tharja looked at her then shook her head. "It's alright. You don't need to apologize...but when I said you needed to 'strike' I didn't mean you literally take his head off." She laughed. Emmeryn looked up in astonishment. After 3 months of being friends with the dark mage, she has not once heard her show any true form of glee. Seeing her friend's true smile brought happiness to the former Exalt and she smiled brightly. The dark mage stopped and looked up to the smiling woman. "What are you smiling at?"
"You laughed…"
A blush appeared across the dark mage face as she turned away. "I-I did no such thing!" She stuttered. "Come! Let's get this hex over with so I can continue my other hexes!" Emmeryn smiled and nodded as she followed a blushing Tharja.
…
Meanwhile, back at Matthew's tent, Chrom walked into the tactician's tent to find his face planted in the ground. The blue head immediately panicked and ran to his friend's side. Chrom turned him over and held him in his arms. There was no signs of blood, and the tactician was still breathing; softly, but still breathing. The only thing noticeably different about the tactician was the huge lump peeking from his white hair.
"Matthew! Damn it, wake up!" Chrom yelled at the unconscious tactician while shaking him back and forward. After constant yells and shocks, the tactician grunted and slowly opened his eyes.
"Hey...Chrom?" Matthew mumbled as he said three princes before him. "Since when...did you get two twins?...I think I should sleep more. My headache is making me see three Chroms." Chrom tried to shake the tactician awake once more, but got no reply. With great speed and strength, the Exalt lifted the tactician on his shoulder and stormed him to the medical tent.
5 hours later
After hours of trying to forge the necklace, it was finally done. Emmeryn thanked the dark mage before heading back to see if her sister and husband was done making the cake. Everything was coming together perfectly! So far she had wine bought by her brother, and she had an enchanted necklace from her best friend. Everything seemed like it would go without a problem at all!
Which is kind of why she was a little disappointed at the cake she current held on a plate in her hands. "W-What happened to the rest of cake?" Emmeryn asked as she looked to the one forth slice of chocolate cake on the plate.
"Sorry, Emm... We kinda got carried away with the taste testing." Lissa confessed while wiping off some left behind chocolate from her cheek and placing it in her mouth. "Ah~, that was FAR too good!"
"If you hadn't showed up when you did, we might have eaten the rest of it." Gaius joined in, not taking his eyes off of the chocolate cake.
"W-Well, I guess this will be good enough. Thank you for the cake guys." The duo didn't seem to be listening to her. Instead, their mouths hung agape as they stared at the cake in the former Exalt's hand. They looked as if they would attack her at any moment. "I-I think I should go." Emmeryn did a short bow before quickly retreating from the mess hall tent.
Emmeryn made a beeline to her tent. Luckily, her husband wasn't present and she could set up stuff accordingly. She placed the cake on the tactician's work table and retrieved the bottle of wine from underneath the cot. Once she placed the bottle on the desk, she sat down on the cot and crossed her legs.
Now, she must wait…
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…
What was her husband doing? She had been sitting in the same spot for nearly 2 hours and the tactician had yet to come back. It was already after dark, and it was now scaring her. Did something happen? The sleeping staff shouldn't have lasted that long, right? What happened?!
No, calm down, Emm. The blonde told herself. He might be running late is all. Emmeryn blushed as the sound of her stomach growling rang through the tent. Her first thoughts immediately were of the chocolate cake that sat on the tactician's table. "No, that's Matt's cake." She told herself, but her stomach seemed to speak for her and it moaned again. "…But one slice couldn't hurt." Emmeryn closed the book that she picked up hours ago to keep herself from dying of boredom and went over to the chocolate cake. She used the cake to cut herself a small slice and placed it in her mou-
Oh…my…Gods…Emmeryn's taste buds were literally crying in joy the second the chocolate cake hit her tongue. This is delicious! Before Emmeryn knew what she was doing, she began to take another bite of the cake.
Then another.
Then another…
Then another…
And another…
…
The next thing the former Exalt knew, she was staring at a plate with a slice of cake so thin that it shamed a piece of paper. Mouth full and worry overtaking her, the former Exalt began to panic. Her panic only intensified when the flap to her tent opened and she looked up into the eyes of her husband. He looked to her with raised brows while holding a bag of ice onto of his head. "Emm? What are you doing…and what's all this?"
Emmeryn smiled with a mouth full of cake and shouted, "Haffy firffaay!" Matthew's confusion only intensified at his wife's sudden speech. A laugh escaped his lips before he walked up to her with a handkerchief.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Emm." He said while wiping the crumbs and chocolate away from her mouth.
"Sowwy." Emmeryn apologized while trying to force the rest of the cake down her throat. After her mouth was free of the sugary substance, she looked at her husband who stared at the thin piece of cake on the plate.
"Is this suppose to be for me?" He laughed.
Emmeryn dropped her head and nodded. "It was…for your birthday…but I ate it…" Seeing his wife grimace from such a small thing made him smile.
"You don't have to apologize , Emm. I'm not mad at you or anything."
Emmeryn looked up to her husband with wavering eyes. "Your not?"
"Of course not!" Matthew reassured and walked over to his wife. "If anything, I'm glad that you went out of your way to get me something for my birthday! Plus, it's not like it's actually my birthday. Since October 25 was the day Chrom and Lissa found me, I decided that this day would be my birthday. It's not the real day of my birth."
"But…this day was suppose to be special…"
"Is special, Emm." Matthew mumbled and kissed the brand on her forehead. "I have the most beautiful girl in the world waking up next to me this morning and every morning after that. It makes me feel like it's my birthday every day!" The tactician's smoothing words made the former Exalt's grief disappear and replace with a warm feeling in her heart. She smiled and reached into her robe and pulled out the silver necklace she had been safekeeping.
"What's this?" Matthew asked as his wife placed the object in his hand.
"It's a necklace that I bought for you. I had Tharja forge it especially for you… I don't know what she meant, but she said, "whenever you have lost your way, this necklace will bring you back to the right path"."
Matthew tightened his grip on the necklace and smiled. "I couldn't have asked for nothing else. I will cherish this gift for the rest of my life."
After sharing a kiss, the tactician blew out the candle that lit the dark room, and the couple moved over to the bed to share the one moment that they could only share with each other. To share that closeness, that touch, those kisses.
It was, without a doubt, an enjoyable night for the couple.
I invested MANY hours into this chapter; so much that I question if I really have a life or not :/. Well, the chapter is out regardless and the next chapter will be ready next Sunday, so look forward to it!
As always, thank you for the reviews, favs, and follows and hope to see you next time!