Hey hi, I just wanted to let you guys know that if the posting schedule goes according to plan this will be the first chapter I've posted this month, however that also means that I'll be the last one I'll post before going on vacation, I'll see you guys the first Monday after I get back. For the record that will be November 18th. Alright enough talk, New chapter let's go!

The Prince's Future

Chapter 5: The Night Before Departure

Shulk was thankful that he had already packed his bags before going to speak to the Exalt. Because now the rest of his day was free.

At present he was looking for Marth. Mostly because on his way back from dropping off his bags he was given a request. He checked Marth's room, the training grounds, the kitchens, and lastly he was headed to the library.

When he pushed open the large double doors he was greeted by conspiratory whispers. When he strained his ears he could make out one of them. He knew that cadence, that all too familiar melody.

He made his way to the far back and found the Prince in question, draped dramatically over an armchair, book in hand. The Duchess likewise was laying in another armchair directly beside him. They were both reading seemingly different books and whispering to the other.

"Look I'm just saying that I think there is something going on between those two," he peered up from his book over at the Duchess. "He normally keeps his mask up to avoid looking at idiots."

She looked up to meet his gaze as he continued, "And the other is loud and chatty, intentionally trying to get a rise out of him, it's clear that he would have his mask on. He should have his mask on, and yet he doesn't? Sounds fishy to me."

"Thank you!" Zelda said a touch too loudly, then she righted herself and in a quieter tone added, "I'm almost certain this whole I'm-so-sick-of-him-shtick is all just a ploy, but no one believes me."

He stared down at his book. "Oh it's definitely a ploy."

Shulk chose this moment to step in, "Your Highness?" Marth rushed to get out of his chair, ending up rolling out of it and hitting the floor. "Sorry to interrupt."

"Smooth Mar-Mar." Zelda was already mostly sitting properly and simply re-adjusted herself.

"Shush" he hissed at her before standing, "Shulk, were you looking for me?"

He found himself smiling, "Yes, your sister has arranged afternoon tea in the gardens and has asked me to get you."

"Alright," he found the Prince bookmarking the novel he was engrossed in. before tucking it into his cloak, no doubt for later. To the Duchess he added, "knowing Luci, she's going to want to see you."

The two followed Shulk out of the library and into the royal gardens. Between hedged walls and between patches of colorful flower beds sat a rather large pavilion, in the middle of the wooden structure sat a round table with three people seated at it, talking amongst themselves.

"Roy?" the Prince rushed past his seer and rushed up the stairs, as the unfamiliar redhead stood up from the table. They embraced and Shulk felt something shift in his chest, a gentle nagging in the corner of his mind, strange.

"It's good to see you too Marth," the redhead, Roy, flashed Marth a bright smile and the Duchess responded similarly to his Prince.

She rushed up the steps but was tackled by the Princess, yanking her up into a tight bearhug. "Zelda! How have you been?"

"Lucina! Let me down!" the Duchess wheezed out but the smile on her face never faltered.

When she was let down the two rushed over to the two at the gazebo. When the Duchess made her way to Roy, she didn't embrace him. She held him at arm's length, before looking him up and down. "Roy, you've gotten taller too."

Roy seemed content with this information before Marth patted the top of his head, and matched it to himself. "And you all made fun of me for being short growing up." Marth made a face then, like the cat who ate the canary.

"Now that's just not fair," Zelda huffed as she lined up against the other three. She seemed to be the shortest.

Shulk felt a bit out of place then, sharing a quick glance with Corrin. He knew nothing about the other nobles from the twins' childhood. He was tempted to leave.

"Oh Zelda," the Princess beamed, "this is Corrin my-"

"Your wife, right? It's good to meet you. Marth tells me you've been teasing him in my stead." Corrin beamed at that. "He also told me that you had an eventful love story with our dear Luci."

Corrin's face burned, all the more evident with her silver hair and pale blue dress. "Oh it's a long story."

"Corrin taught me how to use magic," Lucina beamed, "and she's quite the skilled dancer."

Shulk finally decided to cut his losses, and approached to dismiss himself formally. However the moment he approached the gazebo's lower steps he heard Marth make a noise. "Ah Shulk, you've already met Zelda, but this is Roy, from Phaere, he's another childhood friend."

Marth beamed as he added, "Roy, this is Shulk, my retainer. Truly I'd be lost without him." Shulk felt a twinge of pride at the sheer joy on Marth's face as he said so.

He felt a bit awkward as Marth led him to the table, before motioning to the redhead that stood taller than him. Roy held his hand out. "A pleasure, I'm the acting Marquess of Phaere."

Marth frowned at that. "Ah, has your father not gotten better?"

Roy let out a breath, not quite a sigh but leaning that way. "He has but…"

"Not quite completely." Marth sighed, and took his seat at the table, dragging the seer along to sit beside him.

"It's an improvement," Roy took the seat on Marth's other side. The three girls sat opposite them, Corrin between Shulk and Lucina and Zelda beside Roy. And Shulk found himself pouring the tea out of habit.

Oracle was used to sleeping in shifts so he was up by lunch time. Sure it wasn't an amazing sleep by normal standards, but for him it was the best sleep he's had in weeks.

He sat at one of the unoccupied tables waiting for a server for lunch. He was in no rush. In truth he was still trying to get used to the sounds of a busy inn. It was almost as comforting as the Last Bastion, but there were other reasons why that tiny camp was his comfort.

"What'll it be?" a voice startled him out of his thoughts and when he looked up he was met by a tall man, with spiky blond hair and very particular eyes.

Soldier? He could have sworn the receptionist had told him he wasn't working today.

The man looked down at him unamused, and the faint furrow in his brow told Oracle he was losing his patience. "Sorry, I'll take whatever."

He wrote something down and when he caught Oracle staring again he let out an annoyed sigh. "Do you need anything else?"

Oracle sighed. He's losing his edge. "Those eyes… Soldier, correct?"

The other man had him by the collar rather quickly. Impressive. "Relax, I'm not your enemy." Oracle had to contain a bitter laugh. "I've heard of the runaway First Class Soldier turned Phantom Thief"

Thankfully he let go of him. "What do you want?"

"It's a complicated tale," he flexed his mechanical fingers, "we will need a minute."

Soldier sighed, "I don't have a minute, can this wait?"

At that he nodded, "I have time. Finish your shift and we can talk later." Then as he had expected doors to the dining part opened and the Lunch rush began.

Oracle smiled as he watched the makeshift tavern fill with customers. He allowed himself to melt into the melodious hustle and bustle of eager souls living their lives. He missed times like these. Peaceful times.

Marth took his seat at the large dinner table. Sadly he had to separate himself from his friends after tea due to some insistent count that demanded an audience. The irritation that Was this meeting ended up lasting all the way until he was summoned to dinner.

He was at least thankful to the dinner bell and even more so that this was a ceremonial dinner so his presence was absolutely necessary. He was the last to join the table.

His father sat at the head of the table, Robin was to his left, Marth at his right. Lucina between Robin and Corrin, Zelda beside her at the end of the table. On the other side Shulk sat between Marth and Roy, with Roy's squire at the edge of the table opposite Zelda.

Then shortly after his arrival the staff went to serve their plates. He was impressed with the amount of food that was able to be prepared for this rather large dinner on such a short notice. Robin's talent for coordinating things was incredible. He almost wished he had worked here sooner.

The food smelled delicious, he almost lost his composure. Almost, being the key word. Instead , he righted himself and waited patiently for his father to speak. Because he would speak. He knew a feast when he saw one. And had he not met the two honored guests personally he would have been tipped off by the sheer amount of food presented.

Then there was the sound of metal tapping on glass, and as expected his father had stood. "We are honored to finally see such good friends in our home again." Zelda and Roy raised their glasses in toast.

"It is a shame that we will not be able to see to your stay personally," he continued, "but this business is urgent. However, we will be back very soon." Then with a smirk on his face he added. "To make up for our unfortunate lack of foresight, I will be formally inviting you to the Spring Festival, as we shall be back by then."

He took his seat but didn't lower his glass as he ended his speech with, "may your stay be enjoyable and do not hesitate to let anyone know how to make things more comfortable."

With that the dinner formally started and Marth was quick to start cutting into the slab of meat on his plate. His mouth watered as the knife cut effortlessly through the cut of beef. When he popped it into his mouth the flavor danced on his tongue. The chefs at the castle really outdid themselves.

When he peeked up from the table he caught his sister holding a fork to Corrin's face. A bite of steak dangled before her. Timidly she opened her mouth and ate it. The happy little humm she made told her she must have liked it.

He wasn't quite sure what Corrin had and hadn't tried before joining their family but he supposes he had no idea what she used to eat at her own castle or if steak was a new experience.

He peered off to his left and found Shulk lightly scraping the steamed vegetables to the edge of his plate and far from his potatoes.

He couldn't keep the smile off his face, as this was the main reason they sat next to each other. It wasn't custom that the Royal Seer take a seat at the table. Nor was it necessary as his retainer to stay at his side all day. But Marth was more than eager to help his dear seer.

Effortlessly he reached his fork out and snatched one of the carrots on Shulk's plate. That had caught the boy's attention. Then, as if careful not to anger some cosmic force he subtly started moving his veggies to Marth's plate.

Marth always liked vegetables and this was no exception, mostly because they paired nicely with the partially rare steak. Then in a whisper he heard, "I am in your debt, My Prince."

Shulk found it endearing, the way his prince stared down at the rest of his plate. He had almost finished everything, however the extra serving of vegetables was a miscalculation on Marth's part. He knew that look, Marth was trying, waiting to see if he could muster the will to finish off what was left.

Shulk decided he would save his prince from the struggle, and swapped plates with him. Leaving Marth with an empty plate and Shulk an extra serving of potatoes, although he wasn't going to complain.

"Consider your debt repaid." Marth chuckled as Shulk finished off whatever was left behind.

Then upon finishing, a new group of servers appeared. This time carrying plates of desserts. This time around it was a slice of cake, intricate with strawberries both inside and decorating the top.

One quick glance at Marth's face was enough to understand the excitement radiating off him. Doubly so when Shulk picked the strawberries off his own cake and placed them on Marth's. "You really don't have to."

"I know I don't have to." He began to pick at his own cake, "I simply wanted to."

"Thank you." Marth's voice was shy but he was smiling sincerely.

"You best finish that quickly." the voice in the back of his mind spoke up suddenly. He was almost surprised. Thankfully he hadn't taken a bite yet.

Shulk decided to heed the warning, and almost the second he finished his slice of cake he felt a tap on his shoulder.

When he turned he found Fiora smiling at him and in the sweetest voice she could manage said, "Mind giving me a hand with these?"

Ah so that's what they meant. Fiora was not a force to be trifled with, or to be kept waiting.

He stood from the table and began gathering the empty plates, His own, Marth's, Roy's, whoevers he could find, but the moment his eyes returned to the Prince he realized they would have to part ways for a moment.

"You're going to help in the Kitchen?" Marth almost sounded disappointed at his departure.

"Yes, we do have quite a full house today." Something in his chest squeezed as he stacked the plates and prepared to leave.

"Alright, best of luck." It was at that moment that he realized his time with the prince had come to an end. Despite his best efforts he still had a thing or two to do, and then he had to make sure that Pyra had Marth's schedule for the time he would be gone. He had to make sure that Fiora would be aware of the Prince's tea habits to make sure his sleep schedule wouldn't start to drift again. He had so much to sort out that he wouldn't be able to steal a moment with him before he left… unless.

"Ah actually…" Marth peered up at him as Shulk scooped the dishes into his arms and in a hushed voice whispered, "Meet me at the gazebo later tonight."

All he needed was a moment to say goodbye. That's all he needed. It would leave him uneasy to leave without saying so. Yeah, that was it.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself."

Shut it, I don't need your two cents right now.

Oracle took another sip from his drink before finishing his meal. He hadn't had curry in a very long time and this was by far the best he had had in years. It also seemed that the coffee served here was made to be paired with it.

He had eased into the dinner rush, enjoying the aimless murmurs. It was such a lively sound. Overwhelming at times but only if he tried to hear everything all at once. Instead he focused on a random conversation before moving to another.

"So I heard that His Grace is going to Plegia tonight." he heard a man say.

Oracle almost choked on his coffee.

"No way, you're full of it," someone else at his table complained. "Not after the war."

"It has been years though," a woman at the table started, "besides the Exalt seems to be over the war, his tactician is Plegian after all."

"Not this again," One of the men groaned, "besides I don't think he'd be so quick to meet the new King after what happened with the Princess last year."

"But didn't the Phantom Thieves confess to kidnapping the Princess?" his comrade added.

"Oh they did." the girl provided, "I think that might be why he's going, he'd probably want to quell the rumors that it was Plegia."

"How are you so sure this isn't just one big joke?" the first man growled.

"Because I have a friend who works at the castle stupid." she huffed.

His heart started beating quicker as she continued. "And she told me that the Count she's working for has been insufferable lately, that apparently the Exalt wouldn't hear a word from the council and he's headed there, like it or not."

"No wait," the second man sighed, "she might be onto something, I delivered a huge amount of supplies to the castle recently"

That made Oracle's blood run cold. Tonight? The Exalt was leaving Tonight! He was under the impression that they had already left, after all in his time the Exalt told him that Zelda didn't arrive at the castle until he had already left with Chrom. Had he changed the course of time?

He almost slapped himself. Of course he had changed the course of time. Link… he was the Duchess' guide and it was evident that he was easily distracted while traveling. He had meddled with that. He had dragged the Duchess and her Royal Guard by the hands to the Castle's gates. He had brought her to Ylissitol far before she was to arrive.

And like an idiot he was laying around while his younger self was about to run right into a trap.

He downed the rest of his coffee and bolted for the door. He still had time. He knew how to get into the castle. He could stop himself from leaving. He could save him years of torment.

He knew where he would be, how could he ever forget.

Marth leaned against the stone railing of the gazebo. He was back here, in the secret, or not so secret, garden. He watched the way the moonlight danced along the surface of the small pond. His heart felt heavy and his anxiety had reached the eye of the storm.

He heard footsteps on stone steps and didn't need to look up to know who it was. He couldn't look at him, lest he lose his resolve. Those same eased footfalls walk the length of the gazebo and he rests beside Marth looking out at the lake.

Neither one wants to break the silence, neither wants to make real the end of their time together. It felt stupid thinking of it that way. Shulk would come back, he had faith he would, but his chest still ached, as if this would be the last time he would ever see the Seer.

He squeezes the vile in his hands, the small capsule of strange glowing liquid. Its light always brought him comfort before, just as the lantern had. He would fall asleep to that glow some nights. When his mind would run away from him, he simply would unshutter the lantern and fall asleep to the faint glow. Staring at the delicate stars painted into the upper edge of the lantern's glass, imagining he was sleeping under the stars again.

And after Lucina's wedding he had found that on those nights when his mind was too loud to let him sleep, this little capsule pressed to his chest would ease all his doubts and worries.

But it was a good luck charm, Shulk's good luck charm to be exact. If there was ever a journey Marth would wish Shulk luck on, it would be this one. He swallowed his fear and finally peered at the seer at his side.

Shulk had been watching him, a soft but knowing look on his features. He knew Marth was nervous. How embarrassing.

He took the Seer's hand quickly, "Here." he could feel his face heating up. As he placed the little vile into the Seer's open palm, "for luck."

Shulk looked down at it and back at his lord, before placing his other hand gently on top of Marth's own. "Thank you."

Marth didn't dare pull his hand away. The night was cold and Shulk's cupped hands were warm. "Please," it came out just above a whisper, "be careful."

"I will." He gave Marth's hand a little squeeze. Marth had to swallow down his heart to keep himself from coming apart at that moment.

He couldn't fight that fear, he couldn't bring himself to believe that everything would go according to plan. His heart knew, it ached in the same way it had when Corrin had confessed behind her door the night before their botched wedding. It was as if the universe squeezed his heart, as if he knew that he would never see Shulk again.

Shulk, just as delicately as he held Marth's hand, rested his forehead against the prince's. The same way he had before his wedding. And Marth focused on that. On his heartbeat, on the heartbeat he could feel cradling his hand.

They stayed like that for a moment longer, before he could hear some commotion coming from the castle. Marth let go of the tiny canister and reluctantly slipped his hand out of Shulk's. "I guess it's time."

Shulk cast him a smile, something warm and comforting. "See you when I get back."

"Yeah." Marth felt a bitter-sweet joy fill his chest, "be back soon." there was something else he wanted to say. The words evaded him but he could feel their weight on his tongue.

Instead he swallowed them down and waved goodbye to his dearest companion before saying goodbye to his father and Robin. His father said some words of encouragement, so sure that Marth would take good care of the castle in his stead. But Marth was only half listening. It all didn't feel real.

He had watched the wagon leave, and continued to watch the road after. As if he would suddenly wake. And Shulk would greet him as he did every morning and his father would moan about wanting to avoid council meetings. Then he would have tea with his sisters, and in the evenings Shulk would bring him his tea before he would rest again.

But the night kept moving, growing colder. And suddenly he was filled with the same unease as the day after his sister was kidnapped. Fearing the safety of someone so dear to him. And fearing that he would not be strong enough to hold the crown.

AN/ Welp there you go, the hands of fate are moving and all good things must shift out of our control eventually. Leaving us in an anxious and staggering state. I'm going to be real. I have no idea what I just said but I'm not cutting it out. I'm tired. As I mentioned before this will be the last chapter I will post before I leave. So no chapters for the rest of October and some of November. I should be back by the 18th. So if you haven't read The Princess's Dragon Bride now would be the time to catch up. Anyways I hope you've enjoyed and I'll see you in November.

~ (8/13/2024)