Bouquet

(C) Intelligent Studios and Nintendo

-0-

A Blinding Whirlwind of Petals (part two): Chrysanthemum, Acanthus
(hearts left to desolation must create artifices in order to survive)

Louise deserves absolute honesty, Pent thought not for the first time as he tried to compose his letter to her. She deserves that much.

I wish I could give that to her.

Beyond the small table where he was sitting was the open flap of his tent. The sight of fog creeping across the camp, no matter the time of day, was still as unnerving to him as it had been when he first arrived two weeks ago, and he took a moment to let down the flap. The glow from his lantern suffused the tiny area; for someone like him, who once claimed an entire castle as his home, not to talk of the large library that was his favorite place to stay, a tent which only managed to fit a bedroll, a table more suited for a child's breadth of studies than a military captain's, and some advanced magic textbooks he had brought with him for some sense of familiarity was a novelty, and not necessarily an unpleasant one at that. He did miss some of the comforts of his home, especially a hot pot of tea and a large desk with requisite comfortable chair, but it surprised him how little he needed what Reglay Castle provided for him. In another world, or perhaps just another campaign, he thought a military life would have suited him well enough.

But this posting at the Western Isles was meant to be a punishment to him, and it was.

He looked down at the letter, a page of meaningless words woven together into a spell of half-truths designed to comfort her, if not put her more at ease, and he folded it and put it in its own envelope before placing it within a larger envelope meant for his steward. A ferry from the mainland came twice a week to drop off supplies and orders, and he intended to send out his letters with the one coming in tomorrow. Louise should get it within the next week, if his estimates were correct. She'd be happy to hear from him, he imagined. He'd be happy to hear from her. How much did the words matter, so long as they could reach out towards each other from this distance?

The fog had long since rolled past his tent; he couldn't even see the dull glow emanating from the commander's tent anymore. It was as if Pent was the last living being on this bit of land. The thought left a disquieting anxiety thrumming through him as he blew out his lantern and went to sleep.

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For two days out of each week the commander and his lieutenant would go to the nearest town, where a castle was being built for one of the highborn nobles who had heavily invested in the recent excavations in the mineral-rich island of Fibernia. As Pent had learned during his formative school years before Pére Magie, Etruria had long been bound to the Western Isles for the latter's wealth of precious and semi-precious stones and metals, but only within the last generation had Etruria decided to fully take root within the islands; the lowered prestige in the brutal warriors of Berserker Durban's land as the people began to subsist on agriculture rather than plundering northern Etruria's fertile fields was cited as a key factor in this changed relationship. The leaders of the Western Isles, such as they were, allowed Etrurians within their nation to take their lands' bounties so long as Etruria reciprocated, and that had naturally evolved in this situation, where the native people of the Isles rebelled against their foreign masters. As such, Etruria was forced to send some of their own troops to protect their investments, for to do otherwise would make them appear weak to Bern, whose mountain deposits rivaled the Western Isles. Bern was already unhappy that Etruria was establishing this independence; any sign that Etruria could not rise up to the challenge they had started would do considerable harm to their prestige, and thus their relationships with the other nations of Elibe.

Pent had learned these things, but years of study at Aquleia's premier magic academy had pushed these lessons away from the forefront of his mind. To remember them now, while he was here ostensibly to protect Etruria's holdings, made him feel oddly wary. This was a punishment and he had accepted it, but all the same he felt as if he were nothing but a brick in the foundation of his kingdom's aspirations. As he was born to lead rather than to be led, his unorthodox childhood aside, he had to admit some measure of emotional dissonance at the thought. Was this all right? Was he happy with his country's path? Was he happy extending this path with all the power his mind and body brought to bear?

He had the feeling that he was very privileged in even being able to think about this in such terms. When he watched common soldiers train, he was sure of it.

While his commander and lieutenant commander were gone, Pent was the one in charge; as he had some leadership training, he performed his duties to the best of his abilities. These two days a week became something of a vacation, for when Commander Michael was around, Pent was expected to do all the undesirable work of ordering people to do things they would prefer to leave well enough alone as well as the paperwork. Orders were one thing, as his relative youth was balanced by the fact that he was undeniably experienced in issuing commands, no matter that in Reglay he seemed to be ordered around by his vassals as much as vice-versa, but he hated paperwork. His steward Raike could be commended for his energy and willingness to do everything he could before leaving the rest for Pent, but the military was quite a different creature in this respect. He had the feeling that he was being looked upon with pity by some of the veterans on the Etrurian side, and as for the pegasus knights...

"Is that all?"

When Commander Leto's black eyes met his gaze, Pent had to force himself to not react. She was, like her subordinates, an attractive woman, what with her delicate facial structure and pale skin that he believed was an Ilian trait, but her eyes were intensely off-putting. So dark that her pupils and irises could not be differentiated, her eyes were more a window to the abyss it was said elder magic originated from rather than her immortal soul. This, combined with her hostile demeanor, made the commander the last person on the Isles he had no interest in dealing with more than necessary--which made his job as liaison to the unit of pegasus knights on behalf of the Etrurian Army rather unpleasant.

"It is. Thank you for your consideration, Commander." He glanced from her face towards her two sub-commanders, one gray-haired with the faintest tint of light purple (similar to his own gray-blue hair, which interested him as he had never seen anyone else with comparable coloring), the other with long, wavy dark purple hair. Both young women stood at attention even though he was visiting their area of the encampment; Pent had the feeling Commander Leto was a martinet, although he couldn't say if that was worse than his own commander's shortcomings or not.

Commander Leto smirked. It made the cruelty in her eyes that much more apparent. "I don't need your gratitude to help me do my job, Captain Naive. You can just go on your way now."

For a moment, it hadn't even registered in his mind what she'd called him. When that moment passed, he found himself staring at her with a dull hope in his heart that he had heard incorrectly, though by the widened eyes of the gray-haired sub-commander it seemed he was beyond hope now. "Pardon me," he began, attempting to hide his annoyance from both his tone as well as his expression, "but I'd prefer to be called by my proper name."

With a tilt of her head, Commander Leto conveyed enough insouciance that he knew he would have been better off retreating. "Well, well. Sure, I'd be willing to, if you're worthy of respect."

"And how would I show that?"

"That depends on how you see us."

Pent frowned. "I've always treated all of you with respect. We are allies, after all." Behind Commander Leto, the purple-haired sub-commander covered her mouth, her squinting eyes revealing how difficult she found stifling her laughter to be, which only confused Pent further. For her part, Commander Leto only shook her head.

"You'll see."

-0-

Louise's reply reached him the day after his confrontation with the pegasus knights' commander, two weeks to the day he had sent his first letter.

Dearest Lord Pent, it said, I am so relieved to find that you are doing well. Please continue to take care of yourself. You must not concern yourself overmuch about me. I am doing well. There are no major problems to report here, and Reglay is so lovely this time of year. The flowers in the gardens are blooming wonderfully...

He had to read it twice before he could convince himself that it was actually from her, but once he did he found he was smiling, though not completely from relief. Yes, he had worried over Louise's stay, knowing the sort of people in his county, but just to receive a letter from her made him happy. The end result of her goal did not interest him nearly half as much as the girl herself did.

Even though he was so far away, the people at his home hadn't forgotten him. Things had really changed from his childhood, after all.

-0-

Horns blared, shouts carried. The skies were cloudless and there was no hint of the fog that besieged the Western Isles so often. Pent supposed that it was a good day for a battle.

The Etrurian forces numbered no more than one hundred, which Pent figured was due to their status as defenders of the kingdom's claims and not marauding invaders or anything of the sort. Today they had lined up according to their weapon type, the vast majority being foot soldiers armed with either swords or lances. Commander Michael and his vice-commander (whom Pent rarely communicated with) were the only two on horseback; being a mage, Pent could only depend on his own two feet as he stood on one side of his commander's tawny horse behind their regiment. His stance was firm, but he couldn't help but grip his regulation Fire tome to calm his nerves as he saw the resistance descend the nearby mountains with animalistic roars that well suited the reputation of those from the Isles. He imagined fighting these people, letting loose magical fire upon those fighting for their homeland, and something inside of his stomach flopped.

Really, truly--what was he doing here?

Commander Michael raised his hand and Pent steeled himself as best he could, ready for the command to charge, something inside of him wavering although he knew his position allowed him to be relatively safe. Ready--yes, he was ready.

And then he saw the shadows.

Pent looked up and saw the full wing of pegasus knights, Commander Leto the most discernible with her black uniform on her white steed. The eleven dame knights soared above the Etrurians, their flight strangely silent. Nostalgia pressed down upon Pent's shoulders as he remembered his academy days in Aquleia, those cloudless summer days when he would keep the window to his room in his townhouse wide open throughout the night and wake to the sight of birds taking flight from the trees nearby his window. Those birds had been so loud, though, and none of them were as flawlessly white as the pegasi swooping towards the Islanders now.

But it didn't make sense. Pent looked up at his commander. "Aren't we going in now?"

"No. Why would we?"

"They're--" Pent's mind was moving faster than his mouth, and he had to pause for a moment to collect his thoughts. "They're our allies, sir. Etruria hired them to fight with us."

"Don't be so foolish." There was a look of disgust on Commander Michael's face as he finally decided to give Pent his full attention. "Our illustrious kingdom has bought the full measure of their lives to do as we will. It's better Ilian lives are cut down rather than those of our countrymen."

To hear those words...it felt as though something fundamental shifted inside of Pent. He could not hide his feelings any longer, aiming as venomous a glare as he could manage at his commander. "That's ridiculous. This was Etruria's conflict to begin with. Are you saying that we can't even fight our own battles now?" Turning away, he saw that his argument had caught the attention of not just a few soldiers, whose mixed expressions were unreadable. Whether they agreed with him or not, it was obvious that many of them were conflicted about throwing themselves into the fray.

"You will stand down, Captain. That is an order."

Not so long ago, Pent had been a count, beholden to none other than the king himself...and to his own sense of integrity. That integrity had led him from Castle Reglay's Great Hall to the rocky shores of the Western Isles' largest island, but he had never regretted it until now. Now, now he had to obey absolutely, because here he was only an officer of low rank and little prestige, with whatever privileges he had enjoyed now stripped away from him--perhaps for good. He could bear being commanded, but to be ordered to throw aside his integrity for the sake of obeying such an asinine, intolerable mandate when lives were at stake...

And he had thought giving undesirable orders on behalf of his commander was the punishment? The paperwork?

But he could not resist, the knowledge that he would not get very far even if he was right locking his feet to the ground. He knew that the cost of disobeying orders from his commander was higher than he could afford to incur, particularly considering that Commander Michael expected absolute obedience. Humiliated, disgusted with himself, Pent bowed his head and gave in.

It was only when the steady beat of wings could be heard overhead that Pent looked up, his face uncommonly hot and his heartbeat rapid inside his chest as he watched them descend to the ground a short distance away from the Etrurians. None of the pegasus knights had incurred anything worse than minor wounds, but the young women looked exhausted. He made the mistake of glancing at Commander Leto after this observance, curious if she mirrored her companions, and found himself frozen by a slight grazing of her eyes meeting his. Her stare was flat, and after a moment she sneered before turning away. He understood her disdain now. All he could do in his powerlessness was understand, and agree.

Pent Martel, Count Reglay, had thought himself unable to do much. Pent Martel, a captain of the Etrurian campaign in the Western Isles, knew it.

-0-

That night, he began to write a letter to Louise.

Dear Louise, it stated, I am doing well, all the much more because of your letter. There is little here to concern yourself with; in fact, one could say it was quite boring. I have certainly been much more troubled in Aquleia during exams, truly...

-end-

Happy Valentine's Day, and a very happy Lunar New Year for those who celebrate it! A short second half, but one that says so much (I hope). I'm very grateful for the response to the last half, though I'm a little embarrassed at my whining--I was very stressed out at the time, but I'm not sure that's much of an excuse. As always, thank you for reading!

A primer on FE6 and the Western Isles: As I mentioned during Sprig and Sapling II, Pent's story is meant as a mirror to Klein's later actions in the Western Isles. This half is entirely set around an aspect of Klein's first appearance: how he treats his Ilian allies. One of Klein's soldiers asks why they're attacking the rebels (read: Roy's army) in tandem with the pegasus knights, as it was ordered that the peg knights should fight first to lessen Etrurian losses. Klein isn't having any of that, which leads to an annoying recruiting sequence...but never mind that. Of course, as Pent is merely an officer and has no say here, things turn out for the worse.

Age: Pent is seventeen here, the same age as Eliwood and Hector. But, doesn't he seem weaker here than them? Of course that will change, but I thought it was interesting. There's something to be said about the respective nature of their quests, where Eliwood and Hector were beholden to no one while Pent is trapped within Etruria's military structure, but it is interesting.

I'll be taking an extra week off due to exams and increased hours at work, but please look forward to the next story on 3/08!