Chapter Text
My dear Sumia,
Though I have all the time and candlelight I wish for, I find that I cannot put to parchment the joy I felt upon reading of your coming trip to Chon'sin. Long have I yearned for the chance to show you my home, but now that it is upon me, the mere thought of seeing you again makes me freeze. It has been months since our first letters, and the fire I stoke in my heart for you has only burned brighter in your absence from my days.
Prithee, do not apologize for being unable to attend my coronation. We both understood the distance between us from the day we separated. It has been painful, but I shall endure.
I am full glad to hear of your promotion to First Lieutenant. I believe I have said that your Captain has an eye for talent, and it seems I am correct. Is your visit a result of your new position? I will have to extend my thanks to her if it is.
The reconstruction has been proceeding well. It has been a trying endeavor to secure raw materials for building, but with Duke Virion and Rosanne's aid, we have been able to make repairs to the palace, at least, while we make work to restore our farmlands and mines. The sakura gardens are growing quickly, with the help of a visiting mage. Ah, I pray that the trees bloom for your visit, that I might take you into my arms underneath the blossoms...
Fie, I have been unable to focus since your last letter. Even reading what I have inked, I can see my thoughts drifting towards you. 'Tis the most wonderful curse I could ever ask for. Even during official business, I think of our last night together, of your face in the moonlight, and the moments we shared before this damnable parting. I pray for the strength to bear this wait, that I may behold your beauty once more.
Give Belfire my dearest regards, and tell her I look forward to riding with her, and with you, in the sky once more. I will be waiting for you.
Forever yours,
Say'ri
Sumia folded the paper and slowly placed it back in her pouch, as though even the slightest jostle in the carriage would destroy it. She patted the pouch and sighed. She had thought about sending another letter to Say'ri, but she decided she would rather surprise the Empress of Chon'sin with her in-person reply.
She gently pushed the cloth curtain of the carriage window aside, to look at the markets of the capital city. Since she and Belfire had arrived in the small port town on the Chon'sin coast, she had been ferried into this small carriage, with Belfire flying overhead. She had only seen the nation in Say’ri’s paintings before now, and she got the feeling this wasn’t the first impression that the Empress had wanted for her. Many of the larger buildings were still in ruins, and some smaller huts had been risen to allow people to rest in between hauling materials and rebuilding.
But even so, there was still a beauty to it. Even in the most desolate of rubble, Sumia could see the shops and houses that they were meant to be. And past the buildings, she saw the rolling grass hills of the fields, dotted with the occasional maple tree. The trees were beginning to take on their spring colors, a dazzling array of reds and pinks.
“Does the view please you, milady?”
Sumia jumped and whirled her head around to see the source of the voice, just barely managing to avoid bumping into the carriage window. She saw one of the horsewomen that was accompanying her to the Royal Palace, dressed in the armor of a Chon'sin samurai – the same style of armor that Say'ri had worn back in the war.
Sumia shut her mouth - had it been hanging open? - and nodded. “Yes, very much so. I, um, hope I didn't look too foolish.”
“You were only slightly gawping,” the samurai said, not without a hint of humor in her voice. “Do not worry yourself overmuch. Once, that was a common reaction from visitors.”
“But not anymore?”
“Since Walhart and his campaigns, we have not had many outsiders. A scant few volunteers from the Novis priory, and small donations from Rosanne, but every nation on Valm has had their share of troubles after the war.”
Sumia closed her eyes. “It wasn't too different a couple of years ago in Ylisse, after our own war. But with us in a better position, we're able to send at least a little bit of aid.” She continued to look out at the landscape as the carriage trundled along the dirt path. In the distance, before the mountainous horizon, she swore she could make out the Mila Tree.
“May I ask you something, milady? Do forgive my impertinence, but we had expected the Exalt of Ylisse to come to our nation, rather than a common pegasus knight.”
Sumia tried not to blush as she recalled the way she had nearly begged Chrom and Robin to go in their place. She hadn't been too obvious, had she? “Oh, the Exalt is trying to focus on domestic matters. I can be considered a representative of him – I've been a member of the pegasus knights since he was just a prince.” She omitted the fact that she had merely been a trainee back in the days of Chrom's Shepherds. She managed to sound official, after all. A little bit, at least.
“I see. Again, I must ask your forgiveness. 'Twas not my place to ask.”
Sumia let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
“Oh, no, no apologies are needed. I know it isn't exactly common for a lieutenant to go somewhere in a ruler's place.” Good, she managed to keep from raising any suspicions. Though she didn't know a thing about life in the Chon'sin court, she doubted they would take kindly to the Empress and a "common Pegasus Knight" exchanging love letters nearly every fortnight over the last seven months.
“We shall be arriving at the palace within the afternoon, Dame Sumia. A good time to make any preparations you have left.”
“R-right, thank you.” Sumia could look into her pouch, but it wasn't much good – Ylisse's real gift to Chon'sin was being carried on Belfire's back. And in any case, when Sumia did reach into her pouch, she ended up with Say'ri's letter in her hands once more.
My Beloved Say'ri,
I've been promoted! You're now writing to the First Lieutenant of the Ylissean Pegasus Knights. I know it's not much of a title compared to Heavenly Empress of Chon'sin, but I'm still proud of it. I wish you could've been there to see it. It took all my willpower not to jump up and down with joy!
I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to your coronation. I tried to get leave from Captain Cordelia, but with the remnants of the Grimleal still around the continent, we really needed all hands on deck. It sounded so lovely, too. But guess what! Exalt Chrom got your invitation for a state visit, and he agreed to send me! In just a few weeks, I'll be on a ship to Chon'sin! I got giddy just writing those words. It's been much too long since I've seen you, Say'ri.
I've wanted to see your home ever since I first heard your stories of life there. How are the rebuilding efforts? I hope you haven't had much difficulty in recovering from Walhart's campaigns. That's actually part of why Chrom sent me. I'm bearing a monetary gift for the Chon'sin treasury – but don't tell anyone you know!
Belfire misses you, by the way. I see her looking westwards, towards Valm, Chon'sin, and you. She had so much fun flying with us that sunset, and I think she's been morose ever since.
I miss you too, Say'ri. For so long now, my memories have been stuck with our nights and days together after the war in Valm. I practically begged Chrom to let me come and see you, without using those actual words. I want to be with you in person again, and see the land that made you into the wonderful person you are – Empress of Chon'sin, and empress of my heart.
Wait for me, my love. I promise I won't be long.
With Love,
Sumia
Say'ri's fingertips softly stroked Sumia's signature on the letter, before she folded it and placed it in her drawer, atop a pile of letters from her dearest. She felt her lips crease into a smile, before turning away from her desk. This room was one of the few in her palace that she could truly consider private, without any prying eyes to see the letters she wrote, or the memories she kept in here. Say'ri looked out to the window, towards the fields baked in the midday sun. Though the war was long done now, she could still see the smoke that bellowed upwards from the horizon the day Cervantes' forces crushed the Heavenly Army and her brother...
Her brother...
Say'ri shook her head. Thoughts of Yen'fay, his actions, and his passing still haunted her, but she had to push them aside as well as she could. She had a nation to rebuild. She stepped towards the rear wall of the office, upon which her outer robe was hung. While previous rulers of Chon'sin had favored pompous robes that took an eternity to don, Say'ri favored garments that she could change in and out of at a moment's notice – a holdover from her days as a warrior.
She looked up towards a shelf on the wall, upon which rested her veiled crown. The hat itself was a simple affair of iron and silver, but sheer cloth hung down to cover the wearer's face – meant to conceal the emotions of the Emperor or Empress. In the past, Say'ri had scoffed at this notion. But now, faced with the prospect of meeting her beloved again after so long apart, she began to see the merits.
Say'ri was jerked out of her thoughts by a rapid knocking at the door. “Enter,” she called out, and an armored guard opened the door and bowed to Say'ri. He took exactly two steps into the room before stopping to deliver his news.
“Heavenly Empress. The envoy from Ylisse is here to see you.” The guard spoke as he knelt before Say'ri.
She nodded to the guard. “Thank you. Let her know that I shall speak with her shortly.” He stood, bowed once more, and walked back out of the small office. Say'ri waited until the door was closed before letting her smile return. “It has been so long, my dearest,” she muttered. “And yet, I doubt you've changed at all.” She lowered the crown onto her head, letting the veil fall over her face. Just this once, she would need it. She adjusted the crown to ensure that her face wouldn't easily be visible, before stepping through the door, out of her office, and toward the throne room. Imperial business with Ylisse awaited - as did the humble Pegasus Knight who had stumbled into her heart.