"Ananias!" Flora cried, hastily making her way towards him before he could give her the chance to lose him.

Ananias stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. "Yeah?"

Flora took a moment to smooth out the creases of her outfit before poising herself and rather awkwardly saying, "I...I wish to apologize to you."

"Huh?" Ananias gave her a mildly confused look. "Apologize? For what?"

"For...," Flora bowed her head and averted her eyes as she blushed, "for throwing such a fit last time."

"Hmmm... 'last time'?" Ananias took a moment to try and remember what Flora was referring to before letting out a gasp of surprise. "Oh! You mean that one time when I did your laundry for you, right?"

Flora shamefully nodded as her blush grew ever the more brighter. "W-Well, it was actually Lord Corrin's laundry, but yes, that is the time in which I am referring to." It was at this point where her body began to sheepishly fidget around. "It... it was wrong and childish of me to have reacted in such a way, especially when you were only trying to help. I promise you that it will never happen again."

Ananias shook his head and nonchalantly and reassuringly waved his hand. "Ah, don't be too hard on yourself." He then sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "If anything, I should be apologizing for not thinking things through before doing what I did. After our first laundry mishap, I should've known that you would've reacted badly to me doing your job for you, but when I saw you sleeping, I just immediately started doing your job around you. It's a bad habit of mine. Next time, I'll make sure to get you for anything Corrin-related, okay?"

"N-No! Not okay! Who am I to get in your way if it is for Lord Corrin's sake? Please, the next time that you want to do something for Lord Corrin, just do it! I insist!"

Ananias' eyes widened in surprise. "Um... are you sure?"

Flora smiled and nodded. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well," Ananias said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as he did, "it's just, you take taking care of him so seriously. I wouldn't want to get in the way of that, you know?"

"B-But, then I would be getting in the way of you helping Lord Corrin!" Flora countered.

"Yeah, but like you said, you're his maid, right? I shouldn't get in the way of that."

"And are you not his friend?" Flora argued. "And aren't friends not supposed to help one another whenever they need the help?"

"Uh...," Ananias shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "sorry, I'm confused. Is this about Corrin or us?"

"W-Well," Flora took a moment to sort out her thoughts amongst the brief moment of confusion, "Lord Corrin, obviously!"

Ananias' eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, you really do care about him, don't you?"

Flora, rather immediately, stood at attention and replied, "It is not out of romantic affection, I can assure you. I simply wish to be the very best maid that I can be."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize that being a maid was an occupation one would wish to excel in."

Flora frowned sadly. "It isn't," she softly admitted. "But it is the only thing that I have left, so..."

Ananias raised an eyebrow in mild curiosity. "Hmm?"

Flora sighed before explaining, "It was never my wish to become a maid. My sister and I, we were kidnapped by King Garon in order to keep the Ice Tribe from rebelling against Nohr, and ever since then, we were forced into Lord Corrin's servitude."

Ananias let out a tiny gasp of surprise upon hearing this. "Flora, I'm... I'm so sorry to hear that."

Flora smiled sadly before shaking her head. "Thank you, but you really shouldn't feel too badly about me." She bowed her head. "Because the more I think about it, the more I think that maybe this was all just one small blessing in disguise."

"Huh? How so?"

"The Ice Tribe... it is a tribe full of warriors, something that I certainly never was. Being a maid... it's sadly the only thing in my life that I've ever felt pride for or have ever had confidence in. So much so that, every once in a while, I will wonder to myself, 'What place did I really have within my own tribe?' Despite how horrible my situation was, was I better suited being a maid who was a prisoner than to be a disappointment who was free? If Felicia and I were to ever return to the Ice Tribe, it would be my sister who would be welcomed with open arms, not me. She was always the warrior among the two of us."

"Is it really so black and white?" Ananias softly asked.

Flora shook her head. "No, it probably isn't, but I just couldn't imagine any scenario in which I was completely happy to be back in the Ice Tribe either."

"But you still hate being a prisoner here though, right?"

"That's where it gets complicated," Flora admitted. "Obviously I hate being a prisoner being held against my own will, but like I said, being a maid here, despite how it was just a job thrusted upon me in a kingdom that I've grown to loath... I have also grown quite attached to it, both the profession and the place in which I work. I know that I shouldn't, but I can't help but associate some of my happy memories with this place with the plethora of bad ones." She then let out a bitter chuckle. "My apologies. I must not be making any sense to you right now."

Ananias shook his head. "You'd he surprised. After hearing all of that, I think we both have a lot more in common than we'd care to admit."

Flora's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

Ananias gave her a small and reassuring smile. "That feeling that you've been feeling, I've felt it too. It wasn't an easy decision, becoming a messenger. It felt like I was giving up, you know? Like I was admitting that I would never be a merchant like the rest of my family. But then I actually started doing the job and I slowly realized just how much I liked it. I could visit my relatives, have some peace and quiet, take things at my own pace, you name it. Sure, there were some drawbacks, and once in a while I still regret not ever becoming the merchant that I thought I had to be, but in the end, I think things worked out pretty well for me. And who knows. Maybe things will work out pretty well for you too."

Flora tilted her head in curiosity. "You really think so?"

Ananias nodded. "As long as you don't think too hard and just take each day one step at a time, then I'm sure the answers you want will just come to you naturally."

Flora took a moment to consider everything that she had just heard. "Huh. Well, when you put it like that, maybe they will." She then gave him a grateful smile. "No. I know they will! Thank you, Ananias. I suddenly feel like a great weight has been lifted off of my shoulders!"

Ananias chuckled. "Yeah, that'll happen. And hey, if you ever want to vent about anything, feel free to come to me, alright?"

Flora nodded. "Yes! I'll do just that! And if you ever feel like talking about your own feelings of inadequacy, feel free to come and do the same with me."

"Hey, I'm already over all those."

Flora gave him a knowing smirk. "Yes, because someone who is always looking to help out surely isn't compensating for anything."

Ananias let out a weak and awkward laugh. "Well, when you put it that way..."


Author's Note #1: The next supports after Flora will be Odin, followed by Laslow, Rinkah, Arthur, Silas, Leo, Keaton, and Subaki.

Author's Note #2: The Fire Emblem Warriors poll is now officially up on my profile! Vote for which five characters you want for Ananias to support with from that game the most and, in the end, ten characters will be selected for Ananias to support with, so make your voices heard. Happy voting!