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She spoke so quietly that, for a moment, Khalid wasn’t sure if he had imagined it or not. But he slowly stopped brushing through Dorte’s fur, looking over the top of the horse’s back to watch her on the other side. They were currying him together, since his long fur had gotten tangled in it.
“Once upon a time…” Marianne said, her voice hushed and her brown eyes looking down. She was still brushing Dorte, one hand at the top of his back while the other ran a curry through his thick fur. “There was a little girl.”
Khalid held his breath.
“And she had a mother and a father who loved her very much,” Marianne continued. Khalid could only see the top of her head, and the neatly braided plaits that she wore everyday. “She was very happy, but… as the girl got older, she started to have strange dreams. D-Dreams about… a monster and a forest and…”
Khalid stayed silent. He wouldn’t dare to interrupt her. Not after last week, when he and Byleth had gone into the misty forest to help her face the black beast. Marianne had always been a woman of secrets and fear, and that had piqued his curiosity when they were younger. After five years, she had changed so much, but she still held her heart delicately, afraid of anyone breaking it.
How much he wished he could cradle that precious heart with her.
You don’t have to carry this alone, Marianne, he thought to himself. I’m here.
Marianne’s voice hitched. He could hear her throat tightening. “One d-day… the girl woke up from her horrible dreams and found that her parents were gone. There was only blood on the doorstep… A-and she waited. She waited for them to come home… day after day, but every night, the monster from her dreams laughed at her and…”
He saw her hand curl in, nervously clutching at Dorte’s long fur. Khalid moved his hand to rest over hers. His chest felt tighter. He’d told her his story once, now it was her turn.
Marianne looked up at him when he gently squeezed her hand. He saw her round, brown eyes peeking up from the other side of Dorte, who either hadn’t noticed the emotion turn in his friend’s voice, or had the great tact not to react.
Horses.
But she wasn’t. Marianne held onto his gaze, her eyes brimming with emotion, but not tears. Khalid felt so proud of her for that. She had come so far, she deserved to let these old wounds air.
“Go on,” he whispered. “What happened to the girl?”
“One day… a fine lord came to her house,” Marianne whispered. “And he told her… that her parents would never come back. He…. he would be her father now.”
Khalid’s hand gave hers another squeeze.
“The fine lord took her away and forbid her from mourning the parents she had lost. He… he told her that she was cursed, but must never tell anyone,” Marianned went on, still looking at him, even though he could see how much she wanted to hide.
Be brave, he thought. You’re so beautiful when you let yourself open up.
Marianne took a deep breath. “And so… she never told anyone. About the curse or her parents who had disappeared in the night… She k-kept her secrets until they started to eat her alive--”
“But not anymore,” Khalid interrupted. He couldn’t help it. As much as he didn’t want to interrupt her journey, his chest had grown tight and he wanted to remind her that she was safe now. She was going to be alright.
Marianne stared at him, their eyes locked. He smiled softly. She smiled timidly back, and Khalid’s heart felt fuller.
She was so radiant when she smiled. Even the bittersweet smiles, like this one.
Do you know how important you are? Do you know how much love there is for you in the world?
“Right,” she nodded her head. “The girl… doesn’t have to be alone anymore.”
Khalid gave her hand one last squeeze. “Because she has a very charming friend who will always be there to listen.”
Dorte let out a sputtering huff of air, lifting his head from the small bucket of oats Marianne had brought him before they started cleaning him. He turned his head toward Khalid, looking over his own shoulder as if to protest Khalid’s addition to the tale.
He chuckled and patted the horse’s flank. “A charming friend named Dorte, of course.”
Marianne laughed too, her voice lifting into a bright little giggle that made Khalid want to kiss her. He wouldn’t-- they were friends, and there was too much war around them for them to be anything else. But a part of him wanted to.
But Marianne pulled her hand out from underneath his, instead switching so that hers fingers could curl around his.
“The girl has two very charming friends,” she amended. “Who are both very good listeners.”
Khalid nodded his head. “Friends who care about her very much.”