7/21/14

I am still riding that Robin and Lucina wave...I'm just so happy and as I've said before I never wanted Smash 4 more than I want it now...wow.

Xenolog: Took out Metal Face and arrived at Galahad Fortress, woo Mechanical Rhythm! Also 3 runs and I still don't think I make the most use out of the Gem system. I'm just not that strategic, I just treat them as stat buffers.

This chapter, this freaking chapter took me much longer to proof, about half way through the original draft I scrapped three scenes and rewrote them. The final result is just so much more enjoyable.

There is virtually no Sigrun and Tanith stories but I'm not surprised, I just wanted to give Heather and Nephenee people who could understand them in every way and it was a much better choice than...well anything else really. That and I do like Tanith and Sigrun even though I bring Marcia or Elincia more often to the finale.

Dual Loves

"Wow…"

Nephenee stood on the balcony of her and Heather's room, looking out over Begnion. Despite having been in the country several times in the past she was seeing it now, in the throes of peace as a civilian, everything seemed new.

Feeling hands wrap around her waist, Nephenee smiled as a light pink shade came to her cheeks.

"Heather…"

"This place is really beautiful-"

"Not as much as you."

Heather raised an eyebrow and looked to Nephenee who just smiled "That was what you were going to say, right?"

"Hmm…I'm becoming predictable."

Nephenee shrugged "It's fine because I really think that as well…"

Turning the Cerulean haired woman to face her she spoke "Excited for our double date?"

Nephenee nodded "Of course…I just can't help but feel like I'm imposing…none of this is free-"

"C'mon Neph. Marcia and Lucia wanted to treat us to that stay in Melior and Tanith and I have been working at this trip for some time now…no one is doing anything they don't want to."

"I suppose…"

Turning back, Heather continued to hold Nephenee as they looked out over Begnion "I've got some very interesting questions for Tanith and Sigrun, don't you?"

"About what?"

"About their relationship, they're both older than us and have managed to stay together for even longer. I'd like to know what it's been like for them, though I know most of Tanith's part already."

Thinking about it Nephenee agreed, she didn't think of herself as a nosy person and definitely didn't want to pry into others' business but she was truly interested in how Tanith and Sigrun got together in the first place.

Moving away from Nephenee, Heather gestured back to the room "Well, we should get ready to meet them at Sienne Plaza, don't want to keep em waiting."

Nodding to each other the couple began preparing.

"It feels as if its been too long since our last 'day off' doesn't it?"

Thinking about what Sigrun said and the days leading up to this, Tanith finally realized how busy the pair had really been. "With all the activity at the Pegasus Barracks I didn't really notice how much we were doing…quite a few new divisions were formed and a long stream of knights were trained…we did well."

"The last time any progress like this was made for our division was before the Mad King's War…hard to believe really." Turning from Tanith, Sigrun gestured for Vanessa and Syrene to approach.

As they saddled up Tanith looked over to Sigrun "Did you see Heather yesterday? On our way to the hotel?"

Sigrun nodded "A bit…she seemed…tense."

Locking eyes they came to the same conclusion and smiled before taking off.

"Oh…what's this?"

Nephenee stood aside as Heather walked past several stalls along the road. Most of the things being sold were unique to Begnion as a whole, drawing lots of attention and interest from the rogue.

"D-don't-"

"I'm not gonna take anything." Heather said as she continued looking.

As Nephenee shook her head a couple walked up to her "Excuse me, are you from around here?"

"Wha? Oh, no…I'm from Crimea."

The man tilted his head "Really? I must say you don't look it."

Nephenee scratched the back of her head, no less than five minutes ago Heather was saying how she looked far more noble when she was all dressed up. She didn't believe the rogue but it seems she was telling the truth.

"Thank ya but no, Ohma is my home…but I have been around Begnion a bit before, maybe I can help. My name's Nephenee."

"Bryant."

As he and Nephenee shook hands the woman moved forward "Tae. We just arrived in Begnion a short while ago and we're looking for the Mierre Hotel…"

Nephenee practically cheered, knowing where that was she felt good being helpful. After giving them instructions she shook hands with Tae, noticing a ring on her finger before looking to Bryant.

"Oh…did you just get married?"

The man laughed "Very observant, we did and it is the reason we are here, always dreamt of visiting."

"If you don't mind me asking, what brings you all the way from Ohma?"

"Visiting some friends." Nephenee said as Heather joined them "Hey Neph I found-oh…hello."

After exchanging greetings, with the couple giving their thanks to Nephenee, they turned and left.

Heather shook her head "Is there anyone you can't make friends with?"

Nephenee just smiled in response before noticing Tanith and Sigrun walking towards them.

Once the four met Heather looked to the sky "Where are your Pegasi?"

"Suffice to say we gave them the day off. They enjoy a free flight every now and then." Tanith answered.

"Well, we have a long day ahead of us, what say we begin?" Sigrun stated with a smile.

Given how early they woke for the occasion, the group stopped at a small eatery for breakfast. Once again, the taste of Begnion was new to Heather and Nephenee.

"I've seen my fair share of waffles before but…woah." Heather stated chuckling, said waffle was pretty large but as she tried it, she was surprised at how fluffy it was.

Nephenee looked up from her food and smiled upon seeing Sigrun feed Tanith, the former laughing as the latter chewed her food.

"Do you two get enough…time to be around each other?"

"Well, since we work together we see a lot of each other regularly." Sigrun started.

"But I assume you mean as a couple, right?" Tanith finished.

The cerulean haired woman nodded "I know…well…I can at least imagine how busy you two must be."

"Indeed. Getting my work done is rather tedious with Tanith being the flirt that she is."

Tanith scowled as Sigrun laughed, Heather gave a toothy grin "Flirty? I don't see you as that kind of person…no offense."

"Well…"

As Tanith trailed off Heather nodded and put an arm around Nephenee "So you're physical as well?"

As the former Halberd blushed Sigrun nodded in agreement "I imagine she is making it abundantly clear to anyone that…well, in the simplest way, I'm hers."

"That I understand." Heather responded before returning to her food.

After breakfast, Sigrun and Tanith led Heather and Nephenee out to the edge of the city where a long winding road continued through the countryside. Rolling green hills continued onward bringing a smile to Nephenee's face.

"Wow…this is so much…more than anything back home."

"I'm pretty sure you've seen the maps, Begnion is big. We need a lot of everything." Sigrun stated simply.

As Nephenee began asking Sigrun about the farming and cultivation techniques around Heather approached Tanith.

"What's that look you're givin me Tanith?"

Smirking the Falco Knight checked to make sure Nephenee was still preoccupied.

"I know what you're planning."

"Planning?"

"With Nephenee."

In any other situation Heather would deny everything and anything but she could tell that she could not pull any wool over Tanith's eyes.

"Yeah…I guess I'm not hiding my nerves well."

Tanith put a hand on Heather's shoulder "It'll be fine. Take it from me."

As Heather was about to ask, Sigrun snapped her fingers and laughed "I completely forgot. You didn't tell them about this in any of your letters did you?"

Looking at the other Falco Knight, Heather tilted her head "Tell us what?"

In unison, Tanith and Sigrun took off one of their gloves. Nephenee and Heather's eyes widened as they spotted the rings.

"You two…got…married?" Nephenee asked.

Sigrun smiled as she put her glove back on "Yes…not too long ago, Tanith didn't think a letter would be the right way to tell you."

The four began moving down the road as a comfortable breeze picked up.

"I would've loved to come to the wedding." Heather stated to which Tanith shrugged "Being part of the Holy Guard and personal aides to the Empress gave us a rather…stuffy reception."

Sigrun shook her head "Come Tanith, you know Sanaki did that all for us. She wanted to give us a big celebration. As she put it, if the people see the Empress in full support of this union, they wouldn't question it."

"So…no one…cares?" Nephenee asked to which Tanith nodded.

"It's no one's business but…yes; we received many congratulations at our reception though I still think most of them were false. At the same time though I could care less."

Heather smirked "No one would bother standing up to you anyway."

"Funny story actually."

As Tanith began, Nephenee looked over to Sigrun "Did…did anyone…"

Sigrun moved closer to the younger woman and put a hand on her shoulder "Many people make the mistake assuming I'm delicate. One man thought he had a say in my life and…well, no one has seen him since."

Nephenee gasped only to hear the Falco Knight giggle "I would never do anything untoward but I spoke my mind…no matter who it is I will always choose Tanith and I know that if it comes down to it you and Heather would do the same, right?"

The Halberd sighed remembering the encounter with Rae "I don't know…I'm not…I'm not that strong."

"You have Heather at your side and inside you at all times. Just borrow her strength. I know you can do it Nephenee. You love Heather."

Turning, Nephenee saw Tanith and Heather sharing a laugh, bringing a smile to her face.

"You're right Sigrun. Thank you."

A few hours later, Sigrun made the group stop at a local playhouse to watch one of her favorite plays. It told the story of several brave warriors from years gone by on a foreign continent and it was so long it was divided into two stories following the parents before switching to their children.

At the conclusion of the first story they exited the playhouse "The second part is tomorrow, I highly recommend it."

Tanith smirked "Sigrun's seen it more times than I can count and she has dragged me to half of them."

Giggling, Sigrun nodded "Maybe so, but don't act like you don't enjoy it."

Above them the sun was nearing its set, soon the moon would rise and the group still had quite a few things to do.

"Sometimes it feels like only yesterday…"

The four stood before the Tower of Guidance, since the end of the Dawn War no beorc or laguz has approached it in anyway.

The warriors that fought against the Goddess' forces around the tower were the only people of Tellius that came to it from time to time.

Nephenee recalled a letter from Ilyana were she just had an urge to see it and think of the time that has passed. The halberd assumed it was a negative feeling but all Ilyana spoke of where the good times, being around the greatest people she'd ever met.

"You two were pretty roughed up, I was worried."

Heather commented to which Tanith shrugged "That happens to the best of us when surrounded by infinitely respawning enemies. We're just glad you beat the Goddess when you did."

Nephenee raised an eyebrow as Sigrun looked down "Sigrun. Are you alright?"

Tanith chuckled lightly "Well…it may come as no surprise but I fought close to her and I leapt in to cover her…"

"I've never been more scared and worried about anything in my life then when I saw Tanith fall…"

Nephenee looked to the Tower "I felt the same thing."

Now looking at the Halberd the Falco Knight remained silent "Heather was badly hurt during our fight against Lekain and Hetzel…the fear of that moment…it gave me some kind of clarity. I admitted to myself again how much I really cared for Heather."

"I wish it didn't take the worst of it to make us see the light…but things happen." Tanith commented "In the end we all came out stronger…in more ways than anyone can imagine."

As Heather looked at the Tower she kept thinking about how odd it was that she went in. Most of her closest comrades had some sort of high status at one point while others were war veterans. She was just a rogue from Ohma.

"Well, we should get on the next turn off of memory lane eh?"

Tanith, Sigrun and Nephenee nodded to Heather, the four took one last brief glimpse at the Tower of Guidance before leaving, the night now setting in.

Following a somewhat extravagant dinner the group returned to Heather and Nephenee's hotel where they settled in to just talk of the times.

The atmosphere was bright and the conversations were happy, a drastic change from their personas outside the fated landmark.

"You were Sigrun's student once, right Tanith?"

The woman nodded to Nephenee "Yes…the student falling for the teacher…it sounds rather cliché but it is the truth."

"You've told me plenty of stories of the time you spent under Sigrun's tutelage and how you felt about her…but what about you Sigrun? Was there anything there in the beginning?"

The Falco Knight smiled at Heather "To be honest…I'm not sure. Tanith was my star student. She picked up on everything almost instantly…to this day she is one of the best and my 2nd in command. I was proud of her as my pupil…it was Tanith that took the steps to make our interactions more personal. Asking about my life and such…"

The older woman noticed a sort of spark of realization in Nephenee's eyes "Ah…so Heather did much the same to you?"

Nodding the Halberd spoke "She asked a lot about my life…she always showed so much interest in me. I didn't think myself an interestin person but Heather assured me I was one of the best people she'd ever met. I just…really liked having her around and talking to her…then just…being with her."

As Heather put an arm around Nephenee, Tanith sighed "I wish it was that easy for me. Given our positions as student and teacher Sigrun wasn't too keen on getting so personal at first. Conflict of interest or something like that, I don't follow the political maneuverings but I didn't give up."

Sigrun laughed at that "No she didn't…once I started opening up to her though…everything just felt…better. I smiled more at work, the pressures of being where I'm from all but vanished when she greeted me at the start of each day."

"Where you're from?"

Sigrun and Tanith looked at Heather oddly before turning to each other. After a few quick whispers they chuckled with Sigrun speaking. "Well, I suppose I forgot to mention that my family is of House Mierre. A powerful, influential and rich family with a long history of service to the Apostle…almost hand in hand you could say. As such my father was very keen on finding me a suitor to expand the family's influence…surely Tanith's told you off the issues we had with the debtors hounding the barracks for Marcia and Makalov right?"

At the others nods Sigrun continued "Well, nearly every other day I had some rich man from some rich duchy or land somewhere calling for me. Despite my best attempts to explain to my father that I had no interest in getting married he persisted…if not for Tanith I might've crumpled under the pressure. It was one of the first things I thanked her for as a dear friend of mine."

Sigrun looked over to her partner with a smile placing her hand on top of Tanith's.

"That's very sweet." Heather commented with Nephenee nodding "How about now? How are things with your pa? Uh…if ya don't mind me…askin."

Before Sigrun could speak Tanith cut in "Doesn't matter. I did my best to talk to him…get him to know me as a person not the wretched woman corrupting his daughter but nothing got through to him…we're married now and he has yet to tear down the wall and let Sigrun in. His fault, not ours."

Nephenee moved back a bit as Sigrun whispered to Tanith, the brown haired woman sighed "I'm sorry Nephenee. What I mean to say is…well, he's not our biggest supporter…frankly the opposite but with the Empress backing our union he himself doesn't have much support and his behavior has steered away many of the members of his own House."

The Halberd shook her head "I didn't think it'd be such a touchy subject…I don't know what I'd do if my family didn't support me…I love them. I need them…are you…fine with this, Sigrun?"

"I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me…he is my father after all…but like I said before, no matter who it is I would always choose Tanith…though I still hold hope that he'll come around."

"I don't." Tanith muttered.

Heather held her hands up "Alright, enough negativity...there is a story about you two that I've wanted to hear for quite some time now."

"…and that is?"

Heather grinned "Your first date! How'd you ask her out Tanith? How did it go? When did you decide to be an official couple? How did you propose? Wait…that's about three stories actually…"

Tanith shook her head as Sigrun giggled "We haven't shared those stories with too many people have we Tanith?"

"No we haven't…and who better to 'read in' than these two?"

Heather and Nephenee smiled to each other as Tanith inhaled "It is a rather long story but I can see from your expressions that you're alright with that. So let me start at the beginning…"

"Tomorrow we'll go riding, trust me it'll be fun." Sigrun stated with a smile.

"Hey, Marcia isn't here to pull of some flips and freak me out so I'm good, can't wait!" Heather laughed at the memory before turning to Tanith and shaking her hand as Sigrun and Nephenee shared a quick hug.

After they left Nephenee sighed deeply "That was a great story."

"Yeah…"

"Heather?"

The rogue remained silent as she walked out to the balcony, overlooking the dark city.

Nephenee came up next to her "Heather?"

"Can you believe how long it's been since we got together? Since we admitted to loving each other?"

Nephenee smiled at the memory "It's still so fresh in my mind…"

"It's more than that in mine…I said this before but with all the time we spend together I keep fearing that our love would degrade…but each time I look at you…think about you…kiss you…"

Heather now faced Nephenee, the latter was blushing "I realize that I still love you as much or maybe even more than when I first told you…and that I never want this to stop."

"I-I feel the same way…Heather."

A powerful thumping began to ring in Heather's ears; it was a powerful and painful sensation that had been with her all day. Her chest felt like it was about to burst and she could swear Nephenee could hear it but the woman just stared at her like any other day with her beautiful eyes.

Closing her eyes, Heather remembered what she told her mother before she left.

She remembered what Tanith told her.

Above all she remembered what she told herself.

Opening her eyes she smiled, the thumping had ceased and everything became clear.

Nephenee gasped and almost took a step back as Heather went down on one knee and pulled a small case from her pocket.

"Nephenee…I didn't know what else to say or how else to say it, how to show you how I felt…until one day it just…came to me. I do want this…for as long as possible. I want to be with you, have you at my side and make it so that everyone knows that I love you."

Opening the case to display the same ring she showed her mother several days ago she finally asked "Nephenee, will you marry me?"

To Nephenee, everything seemed to stop, she felt her mind bombarded with thoughts on how to respond. The thoughts could take her all day to process but she knew, deep down that she already had an answer.

As tears ran down her cheeks she smiled and nodded "Yes, Heather. Yes, I will marry you."

Heather remembered that feeling she had when she first kissed Nephenee, what she felt now was unbelievably more massive. Sliding the ring onto Nephenee's fingers she stood up to face her now, newly betrothed.

No longer needing words, they embraced each other and kissed.