The Princess And The Guardian Spirit

by BigMoose01

After meeting Sommie for the first time, Hortensia is immediately drawn in by its cuteness and begins spending lots of time with it. However, Sommie soon starts to get too much attention from her, and the guardian spirit of the Somniel begins to grow scared of Hortensia, eventually reaching the point where it runs away and hides, leading to a Somniel-wide search for it.

One evening, Alear and a few of his allies returned to the Somniel after a skirmish battle against the Corrupted at the Great Crossing in Brodia.

"Good work, everyone", Alear said, "you all did well."

Among the units who went to battle with Alear was Hortensia, who was feeling quite cheerful, as she usually is.

"Did you see me as I struck those Corrupted down, Divine One", Hortensia asked, "I defeated them and looked cute while doing it."

"Yes, Hortensia", Alear said, "you more than earned the MVP title in that battle."

Vander, who had stayed behind while Alear and the others were out, noticed the group approaching and proceeded to greet them.

"Divine One", Vander said, "you've returned."

"Greetings, Vander", Alear said, "yes, we're all back from our skirmish."

"How did you fare against the Corrupted", Vander asked.

"The battle went well", Alear said, "we managed to defeat them, and everyone got a bit stronger."

"Wonderful to hear", Vander said.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go change into my divine attire", Alear said.

"Of course", Vander said.

Alear walked away to his room to change into his casual clothes, and a little later, he was walking down a path that led to a lower part of the Somniel, and Hortensia, who was going for a stroll nearby, noticed him walk by and became curious.

"I wonder what the Divine Dragon's up to", Hortensia said.

Back with Alear, he continued on down the pathway and soon arrived in the Grotto of the Somniel, where someone very special was waiting for him.

"Guess who's back", Alear said.

It was Sommie, the guardian spirit of the Somniel who had been living on it for centuries, and when it saw Alear, it barked happily.

"I brought you some food", Alear said, "are you hungry?"

Sommie happily looked up at Alear as he opened up a bag that he had brought down with him.

"Okay", Alear said, "let's see what we've got here."

He dug around in it for a little bit until he pulled out some pork.

"Here", Alear said, "how about this?"

He fed the pork to Sommie, and once it had finished eating the meat, it jumped happily and barked.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it", Alear said.

Sommie then proceeded to produce some bond fragments.

"Nice", Alear said, "thanks, Sommie."

Alear collected the bond fragments and began to pet Sommie, and Hortensia, who decided to follow Alear to see where he was going, walked into the Grotto and found Alear.

"Divine One", Hortensia asked.

Alear was surprised by Hortensia's voice and turned around to look at her.

"Oh, Hortensia", Alear said, "what are you doing down here?"

"I saw you walking this way and wanted to see what you were doing", Hortensia said.

"Oh, nothing much", Alear said, "I just came down here to..."

Suddenly, Hortensia noticed Sommie on its shrine, and her eyes went wide.

"Oh my goodness", Hortensia said.

She rushed past Alear and and got in front of Sommie.

"Oh, look at you", Hortensia said.

"I see you've met Sommie", Alear said, "it's the guardian spirit of the Somniel."

"He's so cute", Hortensia said, "I've never seen another animal like it before."

"You can pet it if you want to", Alear said.

"Really", Hortensia asked, "thank you."

Hortensia petted Sommie on its head, and it made a happy noise.

"Hi, Sommie", Hortensia said, "I'm Hortensia, the second princess of Elusia, and I think you're the cutest little animal in all of Elyos."

As Hortensia continued to interact with Sommie, Alear watched them with a happy smile on his face, and a little while later, he and Hortensia left the Grotto and made their way back to the Plaza, during which they had a little talk.

"Hey, Divine One", Hortensia said.

"Yes", Alear asked.

"Thanks for introducing me to Sommie", Hortensia said, "I really enjoyed meeting it."

"My pleasure", Alear said, "and if you ever want to go down to the Grotto and pay it another visit, you're more than welcome to."

"Thanks", Hortensia said, "I might do that."

The next day, Hortensia made her way down the path to the Grotto and went inside, where she found Sommie sleeping on its shrine.

"Hi, Sommie", Hortensia said, "it's me!"

Sommie yawned as it woke up and stretched, and when it saw Hortensia, it looked up at her happily.

"I couldn't wait to see you again, so I thought I'd come do it now", Hortensia said, "do you want to have some fun with me?"

Sommie responded by barking happily.

"I'll take that as a yes", Hortensia said.

Sommie hopped down from its shrine and followed Hortensia out of the Grotto, and later on, Alear was walking towards the Fishing Pond to do some fishing, when he heard Hortensia's voice.

"Oh, I love you so much", Hortensia said.

"Hmm", Alear said, "I wonder what all that's about."

He followed the sound of Hortensia's voice and soon found her near the amiibo Gazebo happily playing with Sommie.

"Who's the cutest little guardian spirit on the Somniel", Hortensia asked, "you are, yes you are!"

"Oh, Hortensia", Alear said, "it's you."

"Hello, Divine One", Hortensia said, "I'm just having some fun with Sommie."

"So I see", Alear said, "and it looks like it's pretty happy too."

"I know", Hortensia said, "I'm so happy that I get to be with something this cute."

"Indeed", Alear said, "Sommie is such a fun creature to have around, and it's only right that everyone on the Somniel be able to enjoy it."

"Well, I'm certainly happy that I get to enjoy it", Hortensia said.

"Good to hear", Alear said, "well, I hope you two have fun together."

"Thanks", Hortensia said, "we will."

Alear went on his way back towards the Fishing Pond, and Hortensia went back to focusing on Sommie.

"Now then", Hortensia said, "it's time for us to have some real fun!"

Hortensia spent a good portion of the day doing all kinds of activities with Sommie, such as running together in the grass, playing tug-of-war with some rope, and sitting together on a bench, and a little later, Hortensia was walking up the path towards the Plaza while carrying Sommie in her arms.

"I love you, Sommie", Hortensia said.

Sommie made a happy noise in response.

"I hope that the two of us can be friends forever and ever", Hortensia said.

Later that evening, Sommie was walking around in the Cafe Terrace feeling tired, and soon hopped onto the couch that was near the door to the Arena and curled up to get some rest next to Ivy.

"Looks like Sommie's had a pretty long day", Ivy said, "I'd better let it rest peacefully."

But at that moment, Hortensia arrived and picked Sommie up off the couch, much to the latter's surprise.

"Sommie, there you are", Hortensia said, "I was worried I wouldn't find you."

Ivy was also surprised by Hortensia picking up Sommie, and also a little concerned.

"Hortensia", Ivy said, "what are you doing with Sommie?"

"I just came to get it so we could do some more stuff together", Hortensia said, "we've had so much fun all day that I don't want it to stop."

"Yes, but I think Sommie would like to take a break from having fun for a while", Ivy said, "perhaps you should wait and see if it's more interested in spending time with you later."

"Don't be silly", Hortensia said, "once we get back to having fun, it'll be enjoying itself so much that it doesn't want to stop either."

"Very well", Ivy said, "do as you will."

"Thank you, Ivy", Hortensia said.

Hortensia carried Sommie away, and Ivy watched her leave with concern.

"Oh dear", Ivy said, "my sister's so drawn in by Sommie's cuteness that she's become oblivious to its own feelings."

Hortensia took Sommie out near the orchard and set it on a tree stump.

"I've got a little surprise for you", Hortensia said.

She then took some small clothing and accessories that were hung on tiny hangers on a tree branch.

"It's time to play dress up", Hortensia said.

Sommie suddenly became very concerned over Hortensia's announcement.

"Let's get stared", Hortensia said.

Hortensia picked the worried Sommie up and began dressing it up in different outfits to see which one looked best on it, and soon found one that she thought looked good, which consisted of a gold tiara and pink tutu.

"There", Hortensia said, "oh, aren't you adorable?"

But Sommie didn't like the outfit Hortensia dressed it up in and felt rather uncomfortable.

"Now I've got another surprise for you", Hortensia said.

She took down something else that was hanging on the tree branch, which looked like a piece of cloth that was tied together on both ends.

"Ta-da", Hortensia said, "it's a Sommie sling."

She then put the sling over her shoulders, picked up Sommie, and set it in it.

"Now we can go everywhere together", Hortensia said.

Pretty soon, Hortensia was walking around the Somniel with Sommie in the sling, not noticing how unhappy it was, and she soon ran into Rosado and Goldmary near the Boutique.

"Hey, you guys", Hortensia.

"Oh, hello Hortensia", Rosado said, "you seem to be in a cheerful mood."

"I am, Rosado", Hortensia said.

The two retainers then noticed Sommie in its sling.

"What have you got there", Goldmary asked.

"This is Sommie, the guardian spirit of the Somniel", Hortensia said, "we're just spending some time together."

"I see", Goldmary said, "well, if you don't mind me saying so, Sommie doesn't look very happy."

"Goldmary's right", Rosado said, "in fact, I think it wants out of that sling."

"Don't be ridiculous", Hortensia said, "he loves being in here."

But the distressed look on Sommie's face said otherwise.

"Perhaps you should let him walk around for a bit instead of carrying him around like an infant", Goldmary said.

"What does he need to walk for when someone as loving as me can carry him around instead", Hortensia asked, "trust me guys, as a lover of cute and adorable animals, I know what's right for Sommie."

She then walked away with Sommie, and Rosado and Goldmary watched her leave with concern.

"I don't think she realizes how one-sided her feelings really are", Rosado said.

Later, at night time, Sommie was trying to relax on a lounge chair by the fishing pond, but Hortensia had it wrapped up in her arms and pulled close to her face, causing it great discomfort.

"I just love snuggling with you, Sommie", Hortensia said, "I hope this never ends."

Just then, Vander walked over to Hortensia.

"Princess Hortensia", Vander said, "I'm here to inform you that it's almost curfew time."

"Okay, Vander", Hortensia said.

"Please return Sommie to its grotto and head back to your quarters so you can get some sleep", Vander said.

"Do I really have to put Sommie back", Hortensia asked, "can't it sleep with me?"

"I'm sorry, but I simply can't allow it", Vander said, "the Grotto is where Sommie resides."

"Alright, fine", Hortensia said, "I'll take it back."

Hortensia picked Sommie up and carried it back to the Grotto, and when she got there, she removed the outfit she had dressed Sommie in and set it on its shrine.

"There, you're home now", Hortensia said, "but don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow, and then we can have even more fun!"

Sommie watched Hortensia skip out of the Grotto with a scared look on its face, and later that night, as it was sleeping, it began to have a bad dream about Hortensia.

Dream Sequence

Sommie was sleeping on its shrine, when it heard Hortensia's voice chuckle evilly, then saw her shadow appear on the ground.

"Sommie", Hortensia's voice said.

Then, Hortensia herself walked into the Grotto, but here appearance was very different from what it normally was: she had messy hair, dark makeup under her eyes, and an evil smile on her face.

"Hortensia's here", Hortensia said.

Sommie quivered in fear as the evil Hortensia walked closer to it.

"I've got lots of fun lined up for us today", Hortensia said, "I'm gonna carry you around in a bag and play with you like a doll, and then, at the end of the day, I'm going to squeeze you until you pop!"

Sommie cowered on its perch as Hortensia moved closer to grab it with a deranged look still on her face.

End Dream Sequence

Sommie suddenly woke up from its dream panting heavily, and looked around the Grotto to find, to its relief, that Hortensia was nowhere to be seen, but it had still been shaken by its nightmare and hopped down from its shrine and ran away out of the Grotto, and the following morning, Hortensia made her way down the path that led there to see Sommie.

"Another beautiful morning here on the Somniel", Hortensia said, "I hope Sommie's ready for some more fun-filled activities."

She soon arrived at the Grotto and called out for Sommie.

"Sommie, I'm here", Hortensia said, "are you ready to spend some more time together?"

But when she walked up to the shrine, she found that Sommie wasn't there anymore.

"That's strange", Hortensia said, "I wonder where Sommie is."

She looked around the Grotto to see if she could find it, but no luck.

"It's not here", Hortensia said, "Sommie?"

She looked around the area outside the Grotto for Sommie, but it wasn't there either.

"Sommie, where are you", Hortensia asked.

Hortensia looked and looked, but no matter how hard she searched, she still couldn't find Sommie.

"It doesn't seem to be anywhere here", Hortensia said, "oh, where could it be?"

Meanwhile, Alear was asleep in his room, when he heard the sound of Hortensia's voice.

"Divine One, wake up", Hortensia said, "please, wake up!"

Alear slowly opened his eyes and found Hortensia standing in front of his bed.

"Hortenisa", Alear asked, "what is it?"

"I need your help", Hortensia said, "it's an emergency!"

"Okay", Alear said, "just give me a minute to get changed."

Alear changed out of his pajamas and into his casual clothes, then followed Hortensia down to the Grotto, during which she filled him in on what had happened.

"So, you know how I was having fun with Sommie yesterday", Hortensia asked.

"Yes, I remember", Alear said.

"Well, I was on my way down to see it again so we could have more fun today", Hortensia said, "but when I got there, it wasn't there."

They then arrived in the Grotto and walked up to the shrine together.

"See", Hortensia said, "the shrine is empty."

"That's strange", Alear said.

Alear went outside to see if he could call Sommie.

"Sommie", Alear said.

There was no response, so Alear decided to try again.

"Sommie", Alear asked.

Once more, there wasn't a response, and Alear started to grow worried.

"This is weird", Alear said, "Sommie doesn't normally stray from its grotto without someone accompanying it."

"What do you think happened", Hortensia asked.

"I'm not sure", Alear said, "but we'd better gather everyone together and see if we can find out."

Alear went to get all his allies together, and soon, everyone was gathered in the Plaza, where Alear spoke to them.

"Thank you for coming here, everyone", Alear said, "we have a dire situation on our hands."

"Is Sombron coming here to attack us", Clanne asked.

"No, nothing like that", Alear said, "Sommie, the Somniel's guardian spirit, has gone missing."

Everyone was surprised to hear that.

"Sommie doesn't normally wander from its grotto by itself, so I'm worried that something bad may have happened to it", Alear said, "I need everyone's help to search the Somiel and see if we can find it."

"Don't worry, Divine One", Alfred said, "you can count on us."

"Yeah", Timerra said, "if Sommie's anywhere on this island, we'll find it."

"Thank you, everyone", Alear said, "now, with that out of the way, let the search begin!"

Everyone split up and went to look for Sommie, and Alear joined them, still worried about his little creature friend.

"Oh, Sommie", Alear said, "where could you have gone?"

All of Alear's allies were split up in different parts of the Somniel to try and find Sommie, with Alfred and Céline searching near Lookout Ridge.

"Any sign of Sommie yet", Céline asked.

"No", Alfred said, "but looking for it really makes for a good workout."

Céline looked over at Alfred and saw him holding several large rocks that he had picked up while searching for Sommie.

"If I keep this up, I'll have big, bulging muscles in no time", Alfred said.

"Alfred, can you please stay focused", Céline said, "we're supposed to be searching for Sommie, not having a training session."

"Why can't I do both", Alfred asked.

Céline simply shot her brother an angry glare.

"Okay, fine, I'll stop", Alfred said.

He then proceeded to set all the rocks he had been carrying back on the ground.

"Thank you", Céline said, "now come on, let's go and search somewhere else."

The Firenese royal siblings walked away to look for Sommie elsewhere, and meanwhile, Diamant and Alcryst were searching around the Farmyard for it.

"How goes your searching, Alcryst", Diamant asked, "have you found any traces of Sommie yet?"

"No", Alcryst said, "but then again, I'm not much help at finding stuff."

"Keep looking, Diamant said, "we're bound to find something eventually."

Diamant went back to his search and turned his attention to the barn where all the animals adopted by Alear were kept.

"I'd better check that barn", Diamant said.

Diamant opened the door of the barn and called out for Sommie.

"Sommie", Diamant asked, "are you in here?"

But Sommie didn't come out of the barn, rather, it was a Panna Camel that Alear had adopted during a previous trip to the Tullah Desert in Solm.

"You're not Sommie", Diamant said.

The camel responded by spitting in Diamant's face.

"Something tells me it's not in there", Diamant said.

Diamant wiped the camel's spit from his face, and Alcryst spoke to him.

"I'm sorry, Diamant", Alcryst said, "I'm the one that camel should have spit on."

Diamant facepalmed in response to his brother's self deprecating statement, and meanwhile, Ivy had been flying around the Somniel on her wyvern, and landed it in the area where the Wyvern Ride event took place and walked over to Timerra, who had been waiting for her.

"Well", Timerra asked.

"I combed the entire Somniel, but no sign of Sommie anywhere", Ivy said.

"What do we do now", Timerra asked.

"We'll just have to look for it here on the ground", Ivy said, "hopefully the others are having better luck than we are."

Meanwhile, Hortensia was searching for Sommie on the walkway near the Orchard, but wasn't having very much luck.

"Sommie", Hortensia said, "come to Hortensia!"

Alear was also searching for Sommie in that area and walked over to Hortensia.

"How's your searching going", Alear asked.

"Horrible", Hortensia said, "I can't find Sommie anywhere."

"It's got to be here somewhere", Alear said, "keep searching."

Hortensia joined Alear in searching for Sommie, and as the two of them walked down the stairs to the Orchard, they heard a familiar munching noise.

"What's that noise", Hortensia asked.

"It sounds like it's coming from the Orchard", Alear said, "come on."

Alear and Hortensia entered the Orchard, and there, in the shade of one of the trees, was Sommie, who was eating an orange that had fallen from the tree.

"Sommie, there you are", Alear said.

Sommie looked up at Alear, and Hortensia moved him aside and walked up to it.

"Sommie", Hortensia said, "at last, I've found you!"

Upon catching sight of Hortensia, Sommie became scared and ran away as fast as its legs could carry it.

"Hey, where are you going", Hortensia asked.

She quickly took off running after Sommie with Alear following her.

"Hortensia, wait up", Alear said.

Sommie ran through the Plaza with Hortensia and Alear hot on its trail.

"Come back, Sommie", Hortensia said, "it's just me!"

The three of them ran past Rosado and Goldmary, who were checking with Calney at the Smithy to see if she had seen Sommie anywhere, and back at the Wyvern Ride area, Ivy was checking there one more time for Sommie, when she heard her younger sister's voice.

"Wait", Hortensia said, "don't run away from me!"

Then, Sommie ran right past Ivy and jumped into the bucket of the Somniel's Ancient Well, and Hortensia and Alear walked up to it.

"There you are", Hortensia said.

Sommie ducked into the bucket and cowered as Hortensia approached it.

"I was so worried about you", Hortensia said, "now let's get you out of that bucket."

Alear could sense that something was wrong and walked past Hortensia and up to the well.

"Please, allow me", Alear said.

Sommie looked up and saw Alear standing before it, and happily jumped into his arms.

"Oh, Sommie", Alear said, "I'm so glad I found you."

"Me too", Hortensia said, "I was starting to worry I'd never see you again."

Sommie became scared once more when it saw Hortensia and began to shiver.

"Oh look, it's shivering", Hortensia said, "it must be cold."

"No, I think it's scared", Alear said.

"Scared", Hortensia asked, "why?"

"I don't know", Alear said.

"I might know why", Ivy's voice said.

Alear and Hortensia looked and saw Ivy walking up to them.

"What do you think might have spooked Sommie, Ivy", Alear asked.

"Simple", Ivy said, "too much attention from Hortensia."

Alear and Hortensia were surprised to hear that, especially the latter.

"Too much attention", Hortensia asked, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like", Ivy said, "you've been spending too much time with Sommie and not giving it a moment's peace."

"What are you talking about", Alear asked.

"Yesterday evening, Sommie climbed up on the couch in the cafe for a rest, but Hortensia showed up and just picked it up with no warning."

Alear looked at Hortensia with a stern look on his face.

"Did you really do that", Alear asked.

"Kind of", Hortensia said.

"And that's not all she did", Rosado's voice said.

Alear noticed Rosado and Goldmary coming his way, the two of them having decided to see what was going on when he and Hortensia ran past them after Sommie.

"When Hortensia came over to us with Sommie, she had it in a sling looking very unhappy", Rosado said.

"And it was also wearing some kind of outfit that she no doubt dressed it up in", Goldmary said, "it didn't look very happy about that either."

Alear wasn't happy to hear that and looked angrily at Hortensia.

"Hortensia", Alear said, "why did you do all of that to Sommie?"

"I was only having some fun with it", Hortensia said.

"Well, did you check to see if it wanted to do any of that", Alear asked.

"No, I guess not", Hortensia said.

"Hortensia, I know you love Sommie, but it's a living, breathing creature with feelings of its own", Alear said, "it needs its space and time to rest."

"The Divine One's right", Ivy said, "how would you feel if someone never left you alone and always made you do stuff they wanted you to do?"

"I don't think I'd like that very much", Hortensia said.

"Exactly", Ivy said.

"You can't just play with Sommie all the time like it's some kind of toy", Alear said, "you need to leave it alone sometimes and let it have some peace and quiet."

"You're right", Hortensia said.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to let everyone else know that we've found Sommie", Alear said, "and then get it back to its grotto, where it belongs."

Alear walked away carrying Sommie, and Hortensia hung her head down in sadness.

"Ivy and the Divine One were right", Hortensia said, "how could I have been so selfish?"

Some time later, after telling everyone about Sommie being found and ending the search, Alear walked down to the Grotto with it and set it down on its shrine.

"There you go", Alear said, "safe and sound."

Sommie yawned and lied down on its belly.

"Don't worry", Alear said, "everything's okay now."

As Alear petted Sommie, Hortensia watched from the Grotto entrance, still feeling guilty about what she had done.

"There has to be some way I can make things right", Hortensia said, "but how?"

Hortensia walked away thinking to herself about what she could do, and the next day, Alear walked down to the Grotto to pay Sommie a visit, and upon seeing him coming, Sommie stood up and barked happily.

"Hi, Sommie", Alear said, "happy to see me again, I see."

Alear petted Sommie, and after he finished, it produced some bond fragments.

"Why, thank you", Alear said.

As Alear picked up the bond fragments, he heard Hortensia's voice.

"Divine one", Hortensia asked.

Alear looked at the entrance to the Grotto and saw Hortensia standing there.

"What are you doing here", Alear said.

"I wanted to say something to Sommie about what happened", Hortensia said, "may I?"

"Sure, go ahead", Alear said, "but just a heads-up, it's still a bit shaky about you."

"Thanks", Hortensia said.

Hortensia walked up to Sommie, and upon seeing her, it began to shake in fear.

"Sommie, I'm sorry about everything I did to you", Hortensia said, "I just got so caught up in how cute you were that I wanted to keep having fun with you, but I forgot to think about how you probably felt about what I was doing to you."

She then reached into a handbag that she had with her and pulled out an orange that she set in front of Sommie.

"Here, I brought this for you as a peace offering", Hortensia said, "I hope you can forgive me."

Sommie, who had calmed down a bit after hearing Hortensia's apology, looked at the orange and sniffed it, then proceeded to eat it up, and after it was finished, it walked up to Hortensia and rubbed its head against her arm.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven", Hortensia asked.

Sommie responded by barking and jumping.

"I think that's a yes", Alear said.

"Oh, yay", Hortensia said, "thank you Sommie."

"Now, then", Alear said, "with that done, why don't we let Sommie have some alone time for a little while."

"Sure thing", Hortensia said, "see you later, Sommie."

Sommie curled up on its shrine to take a nap, and Hortensia walked away with Alear, having learned a very important lesson about considering the feelings of others.