Work Text:
Babysitter-General
"Aunty Shiden! Aunty Shiden!"
General Shiden Iida—Commander of Her Majesty's First Royal Guard—turned to face her charge, Crown Princess Victoria Milizé-Nouzen. Victoria was almost a mirror version of her mother—if said mother had the red eyes of a Pyrope and had the black hair of an Onyx, instead of the striking silver features of an Alban. With an amused smile on her face, Shiden ruffled the little eight year-old's tresses. Mark my words, Lil' Princess will be a heartbreaker when she grows up.
"What is it, Lil' Princess?"
"Why don't you have a date, Aunty Shiden? Today's Heart's Day!"
Children. They always have a way of just spitting it out, don't they?
"Well, uh..."
Victoria had a brief pout on her face, and furrowed her eyebrows—as if she was deep in thought—as she continued to rattle on.
"I mean, Mommy has Daddy, Aunty Anju has Uncle Dustin, Aunty Annette has Uncle Theo, Uncle Raiden has Aunty...Isa...Isa..."
"...bella. Aunty Isabella."
"Yes! Yes! And Uncle Vika has Aunty Lerche—even though's she a robot! But that's cool—no...that's AWESOME! Even Aunty Kurena has Uncle Zafar! But..."
Here it goes.
"Why don't YOU have a date! When you're...you're..." Victoria's face cutely scruches, and gestures for Shiden to crouch. Shiden obliged. When Her Highness commands—she must obey. Anything for the Lil' Princess. Besides, who could possibly resist that adorable face! Victoria then whispered to her faithful knight's ears, "...you're like, the BEST AUNTY EVER!"
Somehow, Shiden felt a certain lightness after Victoria whispered those words. It was as if there was an anchor nailed to her heart that she was not aware of—and now that anchor was cast off.
Damn. Lil' Princess, you sure know how to cheer someone up. Shiden could not stop a shit-eating grin from forming on her wonderful face. "Best" Aunty? Hell yeah. Wait 'till Aunty Rita—and the brat—hear all about this. Who's the best aunt now?
Pumped up from her cute little niece's praise, Shiden answered with more than a fair hint of braggadocio. "I'm probably just too awesome, Lil' Princess."
Victoria didn't seemed convinced. "Uh huh..."
But before the young princess could press Shiden further—a loud yawn involuntarily slipped out from Her Highness. General Iida knew the drill. Time to put the Lil' Princess to sleep.
"Put me down, Aunty Shiden! Put me down! I'm awake! Awake! And you haven't answered my question yet!"
...
"Zzzzz..."
The Crown Princess was curled up in a lush four-corner bed fit for royalty; her small frame was enveloped in a comfortable woollen blanket that was imported straight from Wald.
But Princess Victoria's most precious posession was a peculiar plushie—an odd blue bear with miscolored eyes—that was a hand-me-down from that little brat. Well, former brat; Lady Rosenfort was all grown-up now.
Shiden stiffled her laughter at the thought of Lady Rosenfort. Seeing the Reaper of the 86th and the Federacy's Fire Breathing Dragon glare at an unlucky suitor of Frederica—some guy named John, an exchange student from the Alliance of Wald—was utterly hillarious. Knowing that the poor boy actually shat in his pants? Priceless.
Playing with Victoria's tresses, Shiden wondered about Her Highness. I am actually praying for any stupid idiot who genuinely wants to win your heart, Lil' Princess. Would take a miracle just to survive your dad.
But Lil' Princess was still little. Years away from teenage sweethearts and adolescent angst. Still a cute little girl clinging on to a worn blue bear plushie with miscolored eyes.
Plushies, huh.
A precious memory came to the Cyclops of the Queen's Guard.
"Lil' Princess, mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure!"
"Why'd you like that old plushie from Aunty Fred so much...don't you want a new one? Besides, that bear has weird eyes—"
Princess Victoria turned to General Iida, a cute—but serious—pout on her face. Shiden couldn't resist a grin upon seeing resemblance between mother and daughter; Lena had exactly the same face whenever she was commanding Juggernauts against the Legion.
"No! It does not have weird eyes! And you don't have weird eyes too, Aunty Shiden! Your eyes and Mister Bear's are awesome eyes!"
Shiden's mouth formed an "o" in surprise. She didn't—
"You know, Aunty Shiden—I like Mister Bear 'cause he reminds me of you! And you're always there to protect me, and mom...and even dad...even if you and dad end up fighting a lot!"
If she had a daughter...
What if Little Victoria was Little Shana instead...
Sure, Shiden had plenty of flings and one-night-stands after the War—perks of being a war hero. Not a single one really lasted. Not even "Pizza Girl." That one had a shot of being serious, for once. Her marriage had even actually made history as the first gay marriage in San Magnolia's history—a case which Her Majesty cunningly used to legalize gay marriage in the Kingdom.
Her Majesty was a smart lady. She wasn't.
Took less than a year for Shiden to make history as the one responsible for the first gay divorce in the history of San Magnolia. Thankfully, Pizza Girl was sorta nice about it—amicable and all. She understood. That was a real tough political pickle for Her Majesty, though. Lil' Reaper had every right to be pissed at her that year...
Yeah, Shiden had "moved on" a lot from the battlefield like many of the Eighty-Six. But it felt as if sometimes—a good chunk of her heart was still stuck there.
Her first love was the most wonderful woman in the whole world, a living saint who could an absolute klutz. She was taken in every goddamned sense of the word; Bloody Regina's love story with the Reaper was the stuff of legend and corny romcoms. I mean, who the fuck reunites in a field of flowers! Her best friend—who could read her mind as well as she could read hers, who loved her even as she had eyes for another, and who was only one in her entire life with whom she could have truly moved on with—had died at sea.
She missed that quiet fool.
Yeah. This was unhealthy. Shiden knew that. General Shiden Iida had virtually no life outside the Royal Guard—no life outside ensuring the safety and happiness of the royal family, of Her Majesty's family...of Her Highness. Thankfully, Her Majesty was dense. Heh.
Others weren't so dense, though. Shuga tried to start an intervention. She gave the right hand of the bastard a solid upper-cut. Emma tried to talk to her. She politely listened—and politely told the Snow Witch to kindly fuck off.
"...I like Mister Bear 'cause he reminds me of you! And you're always there to protect me..."
God. Someone must have snuck in onions.
Drowsiness started to overtake the tired general. Like her charge—General Shiden Iida tried to resist the call of slumber. Resistence was futile, though. Her worries had worn her out.
"Zzzzzz..."
...
General Shiden Iida woke up to find a blanket on her body, and an empty bed missing one cute little princess. Goddamnit. Someone snuck in. Without me noticing! She would have panicked, if her eyes hadn't spotted a small card on the desk.
Her Majesty's handwriting. Ah.
"Dear Shiden," That was always nice to hear—Her Majesty saying her name.
"Thanks for taking care of Little Victoria. I hope that she wasn't too troublesome." No, Your Majesty. Little Victoria was every bit the saint you probably were, if the gossip of Rikka's mistress—heh—was correct. Always well-behaved, if a bit more rambunctious. Probably got that from Daddy Reaper. Adorably precocious too. Smart brat already had your "serious" look. Heh.
"I took the liberty of draping a blanket over you. Now, I truly appreciate the service that you've rendered. Sorry, Shiden. I shouldn't be saying that. I'm not just your commanding officer—I'm your friend." Who told her? Who?
"You haven't taken a single day of paid leave, Shiden. You've worked overtime to keep me and Vicky safe—and Shin as well. Though, I hope you don't tell Shin that. He keeps telling me that 'he doesn't need guards to protect himself.' Such a boy." Heh.
"But back to the matter at hand—as your friend, I'm asking you to take a break. Please, Shiden. I know that, even after all these years, losing he. Sorry, I can't pretend to know what you've been going through." Your Majesty. Knowing that you care is good enough. You don't have to walk on eggshells with me. You don't.
"But I know—I know that if I died—I wouldn't want Shin to be stuck with me for the rest of his life. I'd want him to have hope—to move on." Tough luck there, Your Majesty. I and Lil' Reaper are very alike in that aspect.
"So rest. Take a vacation. That's an order. Friends don't order friends, Lena. But if that is what you will.
"L Sincerely, Lena." If that is...what you will.
Propped up by a few pillows, Mister Bear stared with his own miscolored eyes at the quiet general.