41. Tea Party

Seven-year-old Roy smiled as his father dropped him off near the Altea castle. The other day, the redheaded boy had gotten an invitation from his best friend, nine-year-old Marth, for a tea party. Roy knew that Marth was feminine, but he was still his best friend, so without a second thought, he accepted the invitation. Besides, it was just another excuse to visit Marth—not that Roy needed one.

When his father's carriage began to move away from the castle, Roy ran towards the entrance. There, the familiar blue-haired boy waited for him.

"Hey, Marth!" Roy greeted with a wide grin, waving at the small prince.

Marth smiled shyly as he waved back, and the two entered the castle together. "Um…" the young prince spoke in a small voice.

"You're having a tea party, right?" Roy asked, his grin still in place.

Marth nodded. "Y-yes...though it's not really a party. It's just you and me."

Roy giggled as he hugged the older boy. "It's still a party if two friends have it together!" he exclaimed.

Marth smiled. The two had been very close friends since a few months ago, when Roy's family visited the Altea castle to discuss political means. Marth had grown up with no friends, and he cherished his friendship with Roy dearly. The blue-haired prince was also teased over his feminine nature, but Roy accepted Marth for who he was.

The two boys walked into the dining room, where the maids were making tea. Beside the long table was a much smaller, blue table with two chairs that were the same color. On the plates in front of the chairs were small pieces of Altea's famous bread. The more Roy stared at it, the more hungry he became. Granted, he'd never tried this country's bread before, but the delectable aroma definitely made him want to try it now.

Marth and Roy went to their seats, and Marth picked up the bread. "Altea makes the best bread," Marth commented. "Would you like to try it?"

Roy nodded. "Of course!" He grabbed the bread and took one large bite of it. The warm and whole grain taste hit his mouth, and he groaned. "Yummy!" Roy exclaimed after he swallowed the bread.

Marth smiled. "Y-you like it?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Roy cried before he took another large bite of the bread. Marth giggled as he took a small bite of his own bread. After a few minutes, both of the children were done with their food. That was when one of the maids came over with two cups of black tea.

"Here you go, sirs," the maid said with a smile as she placed them on the table.

"Thank you, ma'am," Marth whispered, grabbing the handle of the cup and taking a sip.

Roy also grabbed the cup by the handle. When he took one small sip of the tea, he reeled back when it scalded his tongue.

Marth raised an eyebrow. "A-are you okay?" he asked, concern filling his voice.

Roy gulped before nodding. "Yeah. It's just that this tea's too hot."

Marth giggled. "Let it cool off a bit."

As Marth took another sip of his tea, Roy stared at him. "But isn't yours hot, too?" Roy asked.

Marth shook his head. "Not really."

After a few minutes, Roy's tea was cooled off to a reasonable temperature, and Roy began drinking. The drink was quite strong in taste, but Roy enjoyed it anyway. After a few minutes of drinking, the two boys talked about meaningless things, like the weather and about their respective country's famous food and drinks. Marth seemed to be quiet most of the time, though; he listened to Roy's stories about his father's adventures. Marth had met Eliwood from time to time, but he hadn't gotten the chance to get to know him. When he heard of the Marquess' dangerous adventures, Marth looked up to him as a brave and loyal individual.

Once they were done drinking their tea, the party was over. The two decided to play outside until Eliwood came back to pick Roy up.

When Eliwood returned, Roy turned to Marth. "Thanks for inviting me to your tea party," he said before embracing his best friend.

Marth blushed before he whispered, "Y-you're welcome…I hope you could come over again for another tea party."

"Of course!" Roy cried with a large grin. Letting the prince go, he ran off to meet Eliwood outside the castle. "See you tomorrow, Marth!"

"Goodbye, Roy!" Marth called back.

Once Roy and Eliwood were gone, Marth had a huge smile on his face all day, thinking about the tea party they had together.

I'm so glad to have a good friend like Roy. I hope that we could stay friends for years to come…

Constructive criticism is welcomed!

Beta reader: h34rt1lly