"Hey, Flora," Ananias dully greeted. "How are things?"

Flora turned to smile at him. "Oh, Ananias!" She then immediately went back to what she had been doing. "Things have been going just fine. And you?"

Ananias nodded. "Same." He took a moment to look around. "Seems like everything around here has been running pretty smoothly as of late." He then frowned and folded his arms in frustration. "It's... actually kind of boring."

Flora frowned before nodding her head and admitting, "Yes, it certainly does leave one with very little to do, does it? I've been dusting this room for quite a while now."

Ananias raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I mean, does it need dusting?"

Flora sheepishly shrugged. "It did... but it certainly doesn't now."

Ananias walked up to the closest thing he could examine and ran his finger against it, and, sure enough, found absolutely no sign of dust on his finger. He let out a low and impressed whistle. "Wow." He turned to Flora and smiled. "This is almost insultingly clean."

Flora blushed a little as she averted her eyes to the side. "Oh, stop!"

"Why? It's the truth. It actually makes me wonder if I've ever properly dusted anything before in my life. Either you just had way too much time on your hands or you know something that the rest of us don't."

Flora giggled. "It's just a matter of how much patience and discipline you have. I'm sure if you put your mind to it, you would be able to dust just as well."

Upon hearing this, Ananias sheepishly scratched the back of his head and said, "Well, if that's the case, then I'm doomed. I'm not THAT patient or disciplined."

Flora gave him an incredulous look. "Really? You?"

Ananias' eyes widened in surprise. "What? You thought I was?"

"Well, you certainly seem more patient and disciplined than others."

Ananias pondered over this before shaking his head and softly saying, "Nah. I'm just quieter and more insecure, that's all. And in all honesty, that's probably what makes me the least patient and disciplined person out of everyone here." The two of them were silent for a moment before Ananias let out an exasperated sigh and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I guess that makes me a bit of a fraud then, huh?"

Flora hesitated cautiously before softly replying, "Even if you were, who am I to judge?"

Ananias' eyes widened in surprise. "Hmm?"

She bowed her head. "A maid's duty is to happily and readily serve their master," she explained, "but... I hated Lord Corrin for so long, blamed him for my situation even though he had nothing to do with it. And even if I didn't secretly hate him, I only ever really took pride in being a maid because it was something I was good at, not out of a sense of selflessness and altruism." She gave Ananias a look that clearly conveyed the sense of remorsefulness that she currently felt. "So I suppose that makes me a bit of a fraud as well."

Ananias chuckled. "Well, I guess if you really feel that way and you aren't just saying that to make me feel better... then I suppose that makes us two peas in a pod, doesn't it?"

Flora gasped and blushed before shyly turning away and saying, "Oh, please! We're not that similar!"

"Maybe," Ananias admitted. "But... it's nice to know that there's someone just like me around here, even by just a little bit, you know? Like - "

"Like there's been a great weight that's been lifted off your shoulders?" Flora softly finished.

Ananias stared at her in awe for a moment before nodding his head. "Y-Yeah. That."

"W-Well, that's to be expected. It's what we promised each other, wasn't it? To talk to each other whenever we wanted to talk to someone about our own feelings of inadequacy?"

"O-Oh, yeah, right. That." An awkward silence came between the two of them before Ananias asked, "H-Hey. Can I... ask you something?"

"Oh, um, yes." Flora took a moment to recompose herself before turning to Ananias and asking, "What is it?"

"I-It's a little personal," Ananias warned.

"But what about our promise?" Flora innocently asked.

Ananias sighed. "Yeah, you're right." He then hesitated for a moment, opening his mouth but having nothing leave it for a while before softly asking, "What does Jakob have that I don't?"

Flora blushed and was immediately taken aback by such an unexpected question. "W-What?"

"... What does Jakob have that I don't?" Ananias repeated. "What is it that makes you look at him the way you do, but not for me? Are we just too similar? Is that it?"

Flora quickly shook her head and frantically waved her hands. "N-No! Of course not!"

"Then why? I need to know because... I don't think I can move on from loving you if I don't."

Flora gasped. "Loving me?!"

"Is the idea really that far-fetched?"

"I... I... I...," the poor girl shook her head as she cupped her face with her hands, "I don't know!" A cold wind began to blow furiously around them. "I... I guess it's because I just felt that he and I were always so similar, that he was the only one who could understand me! And he was always just so handsome and we've known each other since we were children!"

"So that's it," Ananias said, defeated.

"B-But," Flora said, "knowing that you love me... that changes everything!"

Ananias' eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"I... I was so fixated on the belief that Jakob was the only one for me that I didn't even consider..." She began hitting herself on her head. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

"F-Flora? Are you alright?"

"You were right here, opening and lending your heart to me for all this time and looking out for me whenever I needed it! And yet I was always so focused on Jakob, even when he barely gives me the time of day!" It was at this moment that tears began to fall down her face. "And now... because of my own foolishness... I've probably lost you too!"

"Whoa, hey, wait a minute!" Ananias frantically and gently said. "Even if you still love Jakob, that doesn't mean that you're going to lose me!"

Flora let out a small sniffle before asking, "Really?"

"Of course!" Ananias said, grabbing her hands and giving them a warm and comforting squeeze. "I'm always going to be right here, whenever you need me. And," he pulled her closer towards him, causing the cold winds around them to grow even stronger, "I could be there forever, if you'd let me."

"Ananias..."

"Flora, I know that Jakob will always have a special place in your heart," Ananias said, "but... if you marry me, then why should I care? Even if your feelings for him linger, you'll be mine, and mine alone! And I promise, no matter what, that I'll do whatever it takes to make you the happiest woman in the world!"

Flora then shook her head. "No. No! It's not fair to you! You deserve someone who loves you and only you! Not someone as terrible and as hopeless as me!"

"And I'm saying that I love you anyway!" Ananias insisted. "I swear, if you marry me, then I'll make you love me even more than you ever loved Jakob! All you have to do is give me a chance, and I'll do it!"

"Ananias..." Flora stared at him in awe for a moment before finally breaking down in tears and hugging him as if her life depended on it, the storm surrounding them growing stronger and stronger as she did. "I love you so much!" she sobbed.

Ananias then hugged her back with just as much feeling and intensity. "I love you too, Flora," he whispered, completely ignoring the freezing cold around them in order to completely lose himself in the shared warmth between them. "And that will never change. You have my word."


Ending: Ananias and Flora

Ananias continued with his humble life as a messenger almost immediately after the war had ended, his home being the only guaranteed place anyone looking for him could find him. His wife, Flora, chose to follow him rather than return home. The two were always together.


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 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!