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“ ‘Duke Riegan! You scoundrel! Fiend! Dishonest devil! Here I was, returning from the town marketplace, having found the perfect gift for you, my dear, to celebrate our marriage anniversary. I had to search back and forth, looking twice at every stall to find a gift worthy for you, and perfect to express how I felt about you…And now I find you, in our room, with this…woman! Have you no shame?!’
‘P-please my dear, I promise you it is not what it seems! J-just give me time to explain!’
‘Explain what?! The scene I see before me tells me more than any lie you could make up. You, being intimate with another woman, in our bed, on the day we celebrate the day I gave you my heart, and you gave me yours…But now, you shatter it whole by doing this! I would expect this from a fiend I face on the battlefield, but not from my own husband! And for how long has this been happening!? Days? Weeks!? MONTHS!?’
‘Y-you are simply getting ahead of yourself, d-dear! If you would just let me explain myself, I-I’m sure you would understand!’
‘Is that so? You cannot even speak without stuttering! That's something only a liar would do in this situation; explaining yourself is something you cannot accomplish.’
‘I just d-did not expect myself to be trapped in this situation, and even more with someone like you, the renowned hero and combat expert Luna Knight! Surely, you understand! I assure you, just let me s-speak!’
‘Spare me your excuses…There is nothing else to say. There is however, something I must do.’ The Luna Knight, enraged, approaches the cornered Duke Riegan, cracking her knuckles.
‘Dear, p-please do not do anything you might regr—’ Duke Riegan’s pleaded to the heartbroken knight, before being picked up whole. The Luna Knight’s battle-worn muscles lifted him with ease, like she would any wounded knight in the midst of a long battle. Our hero was determined to punish this deceiver, just like she did with any opponent she crossed swords with. She kicked open the door leading to their balcony and approached it, anger reaching every corner of her body and soul. She momentarily looked at the view on the balcony, the view that she and her beloved admired together so many times before and thought about those memories almost regretfully. She thought he loved her. She thought she loved him. She thought their relationship was like any other: genuine, full of passion and love for the other. But the past did not matter anymore. Whatever her husband had done for and with her before had to be pushed aside to carry out this punishment. Duke Riegan, still in her arms, begged for mercy.
‘Put me down, please! Do not do this! I am not a fiend, I am your husband!’
These words only served to anger the Luna Knight even more. ‘You will call yourself my husband no longer!’ She winded back, gathering strength, leaned forward, and threw Duke Riegan off the balcony. He screamed in fear as he fell, regretting all that he had done. His scream lasted mere seconds before his body crashed against the floor. As he touched the ground, he groaned in great pain; the fall may have not been high enough to kill him, but it left him with many broken bones; a reminder of the justice served to him for daring to deceive the Luna Knight.”
Having read this, Hapi burst out in laughter. The image of a traditional storybook knight—her body worn by years of fighting in battlefields, bringer of justice and who belived in doing what was true and right—throwing her husband off a balcony after having caught him cheating lingered in her head, and Hapi could not help but cackle at it. “Freckles already told me how this story goes, but after reading it myself, it’s so—”, said Hapi, struggling to finish her sentence due to giggling so much. She kept laughing for almost a whole minute but was asked by people in the library to settle down. Hapi apologized, even if in a slightly annoyed manner, and tried to keep her voice down. Although so much at glancing at the passages with Duke Riegan’s pathetic cries for help made her chuckle. “Ok, ok, calm down, Hapi”, she murmured to herself. “You need to keep it down, or you’ll bother the other people here. Even if I wish I didn’t have to…I don’t remember the last time I laughed that hard.”
Hapi felt a sigh trying to come out, so she took one of the pastries she brought with her and ate it in a single bite. Even if her curse had no effect in Askr, making a habit of sighing could prove troublesome if she returned to Fodlan. Luckily, the pastry was enough to calm her and prevent her sigh. After a short silence, Hapi noticed someone approaching her. She looked up and saw a man she had never met before. He had orange hair, a bandanna, dirty, old clothes and candy in his pockets. A lot of candy.
“ ‘Scuse me, sorry to bother you”, said the stranger. “I’ve been looking for something for a while now, but this library is so huge, I can’t find anything here. Could you help a man out?”
“Uh, sure”, replied Hapi. “I’ve been here a few times before. What do you need?”
“You wouldn’t happen to know where a man could find a cookbook, would you? Or rather, a bakery one?”
“A…cookbook?” Hapi thought about the times she visited the Askr library, to see if she recalled seeing a cookbook somewhere. Nothing came to Hapi's mind. Why would she want something like that? All she ever found herself needing from a library were knight novels recommended to her by Ashe, books about flowers, or just anything that helped her kill time. Hell, sometimes she read some more...'exciting' books that made her heart race and her face blush ever-so-slightly. But no cookbooks. “…Sorry, don’t remember seeing any. Why would I, anyway?”
“Well, I don’t wanna make assumptions or anything”, the man chuckled. “But I do see you chomping down a few pastries. I just thought you were a fellow sweets connoisseur and could lend me a hand.” Hapi thought about that last sentence for a moment. “A guy who loves sweets so much, he keeps candy in his pockets”, she said. “Why do I feel like I’ve heard of you before?”
“Oh, is that so?”, responded the man, surprised. “How flattering. The name’s Gaius, and those rumors you heard are spot on. Expert in matters of thievery, and weak only to money and sweets. Especially sweets.”
“Right. I'm Hapi. But back to the point: what do you need that cookbook for, exactly?”
“Funny you ask. Since you have heard of me, I don’t know if you’ve also happened to hear of a young, delicate princess from Ylisse called Lissa. Whenever I’m low on my emergency rations”, he said, pointing to one of his pockets, “her brother Chrom always gives me bags of candy. Her candy. Recently, she found out, and now she refuses to give me any more without me giving one in return. I know how to make my fair share of goods, but I find myself running out of ingredients that I would typically find in Ylisse, so I gotta work with what I got here in Askr. I thought a bakery cookbook written here would give me some new recipes to practice.”
Hapi almost chuckled hearing such a story. A thief whose addiction to sweets held such a tight grip on him that it landed him in a candy debt. A debt to a young princess, of all people. Now that would make a funny book to read. “Well, I don’t have what you’re looking for, but you can have one of these.” She took one of the pastries she brought with her and offered it to Gaius. “Whoa there”, he said. “I don’t wanna take another person’s sweets again, it’s against my code…well, the code I updated just recently. And I can tell it’s your last one, too.”
“I don’t mind sharing”, said Hapi. “I’m not as hungry as I thought I would be.”
“Alright, then, if you say so”, replied Gaius, as he took the pastry and curiously analyzed it. Hapi thought he looked funny, carefully examining a piece of food given to him. “Where did you get this? I don’t remember seeing something like this before.”
“There’s a bake sale being held by a bunch of Heroes close to here. I walked past it earlier and bought some of these.”
“Whoa-ho, a bake sale? How have I not heard of this? I should check it out soon. Maybe if I can get my hands on more of these, I could study them properly and learn how to make them—and of course, leave some for myself...Though that book could have helped with that. I don’t even know what ingredients this thing has, or how many of each I’ll need.” As Gaius said this, someone approached him, holding a book in their hands. Hapi noticed and took a quick glance at the person. A young girl. She had snow white hair and wore a very familiar uniform. “Pardon me”, said the girl. “I was browsing the shelves for a while and overheard your conversation. I believe I have found what you need, sir.” She took the book in her hands and lifted it slightly, to show it to the man standing in front of her.
“Could it be?”, said Gaius, looking at the cover of the book being shown at him. “Whoa, it is! ‘Askr Baking Recipes’…I really owe you one, kid.”
“You are most welcome”, replied the girl, and handed the book over to Gaius. “Oh, excuse my manners, I do not believe I have introduced myself. I am Lysithea von Ordelia of the Leicester Alliance.”
“Lysithea, huh…Cool. The name’s Gaius.”
“My pleasure”, said Lysithea, before quickly turning her attention to Hapi, still sitting at the table, listening to their conversation. “If I’m not mistaken, you must be Hapi, correct?”
“That’s me”, responded Hapi. As much as she wanted to brush it aside, she only grew more curious the more she looked at Lysithea's uniform. It was surely not a coincidence that she was from Fodlan and wore that uniform; all she wondered was why she hadn't seen her before. “Oh, you said you were of the Alliance, and that uniform…Do you attend Garreg Mach?”
“Indeed”, replied Lysithea. “I had seen you a few times around the monastery, though I do not recall seeing you in our class.” That statement only confused her more; Lysithea had seen her, but Hapi had not seen her. Maybe she had been reading a book the times Lysithea had seen her? Maybe they were eating at different tables in the mess hall? Or...maybe it was one of the times Hapi was spending time with her mysterious, dumb and funny purple-haired friend. Spending time with him always seemed to make her unaware of her surroundings and other people around her. She almost drifted into a daydream about the many conversations they've had, but she was pulled back down to Askr by Lysithea, who continued the conversation.
“In any case”, Lysithea said, “I have a question: where exactly is this bake sale that you mentioned earlier? I-I do not ask for my own sake, let it be clear, I am just…curious is all.”
“Right”, replied Hapi, slightly raising her eyebrow, wondering why she had to be so specific about her intentions. “It was near the entrance to the castle. There were a lot of Heroes handing out pastries.” Hearing this, she saw Lysithea put her hand over her chin and mouth in a pensive manner, and heard low murmurs from her. “Maybe Mercedes and Annette are there…If they are, I should head there soon…”
Hapi and Gaius looked at each other in silence and confusion. Hapi found Lysithea’s odd specifications of not wanting to go to the bake sale, but still asking and murmuring to herself about it weird, and Gaius looked like he was thinking the same. He had a small smile on his face and raised his eyebrow. They turned their attention to Lysithea again, and she noticed the two of them glaring at her. “What? Are you suspecting that I want to go to this bake sale so desperately for my own sake? I am no child! I just…have a friend who likes sweets, and I thought about bringing them one. You know, as a gift.”
“Sure”, replied Hapi, playing along with Lysithea’s poorly delivered excuse. That said, her murmur from earlier mentioned some names. Maybe they were people who Lysithea knew, but Hapi swore that she had heard them before. “Actually, you mentioned some names just now. Mercedes and Annette…Are they from Garreg Mach too? One of them with long, blonde hair and the other, orange hair? You know them?”
“Yes, precisely!”, confirmed Lysithea, before quickly correcting herself. “They're from the Blue Lion house. W-well, I mean, I do not personally know them, but my…friend does. Apparently, they share pastries with them frequently.”
“Then this friend of yours should consider themselves lucky”, replied Gaius, who also seemed to play along with the supposed anecdotes from Lysithea’s ‘friend’. “I’ve heard they make some of the best goods in Fodlan. I should really try some later.”
“I think you should! I belie—I mean, my friend also thinks they’re delicious, or at least that is what they tell me.” After Lysithea said this, Hapi looked at Gaius, who looked like he was holding back a chuckle. ‘Can’t blame him’, she thought to herself; the girl was not very good at lying yet did it so much and seemingly desperately. Hapi typically disliked being told lies to, but she made an exception for this instance; it was amusing, in a way.
“Right”, said Gaius after a moment. “Now that I think about it…”, he said, turning his attention to Hapi. “What exactly were you reading earlier, Crumbs? Maybe my ears tricked me, but I swear I heard you laughing from the other side of the library. Sort of how I found you in the first place.”
Hapi took a moment to internally ask herself why she was just referred to as ‘Crumbs’. It wasn’t exactly the first time someone tried to give her a nickname, but out of all the choices, ‘Crumbs’? After thinking for a moment, she widened her eyes and took a good look at herself. Her questions were then quickly answered: she had pastry crumbs all over her, from the candied delights she was eating earlier. “Oh…”, replied Hapi as she looked away from Gaius briefly, embarrassed, and cleaned the crumbs from her face and shirt. “It’s called ‘Tales of the Luna Knight’.” Hearing the title of the book, Gaius’ face scrunched, as if he was trying to make sense of what she just said. Was her response not clear enough? “…What?”, she asked him, tired of seeing him analyze her words so deeply.
“Sorry”, he responded, after lightly shaking his head, like he was pushing some thoughts in his mind away. “I’m just…confused. I didn’t imagine you of all people would be into knight novels.”
“A friend told me about it, so I wanted to read it myself.” Suddenly after saying this, Hapi paused to think about what Gaius had just told her. She thought to herself about what their conversation since Gaius approached her. But all she remembered talking about was pastries and candy, yet somehow, Gaius seemed to know something about her. He, somehow, knew that she was related in some way to knights. After recollecting her thoughts, she spoke. “Wait, what do you mean how ‘I of all people’ am into knight novels—which, by the way, I’m not?”
“I have to admit, I am confused as well”, said Lysithea. “I do not recall Hapi mentioning anything about that before talking about the book she was reading.”
“And you are right”, responded Gaius to Lysithea’s question. “I’ve only heard rumors. A young lady, cursed with the ability to summon monsters by sighing, seeking help from a church, only for its knights to seize and throw her in an underground dungeon. I don’t know if any of it is true, it’s just what I heard.” Hapi was surprised at how accurate those rumors were, for the most part. She could not help but wonder who he heard it from. Maybe one of her friends from Fodlan told someone, as if asking around for her. But who in this world would go around wondering where she was? She was summoned alongside her friends in Abyss, so it couldn’t have been them. A few of her other friends came to mind: Dimitri, Ashe, Lindhardt, Edelgard, Claude, Bernadetta...Why would any of them ask for her, though? That question remained until a certain mercenary friend of hers came to mind. Maybe it was him after all, that dork. But that did not matter, Hapi told herself, as she pushed these thoughts aside.
“Well, you aren’t wrong. I wouldn’t really call Abyss a dungeon, but it was the place where the Knights of Seiros locked me in, thanks to my ‘gift’.” After hearing this, Lysithea pondered about what Hapi said, and murmured to herself. “An ability to summon monsters…so you’ve been cursed by a Crest as well…” Hapi and Gaius turned to her in confusion, and Hapi was especially bewildered. Why would Lysithea bring up Crests to this conversation, when Hapi hadn’t even mentioned her own? And why would ‘being cursed’ by a Crest be something that concerns her?
“Huh?”, Hapi asked, still bewildered. Lysithea turned to her, surprised. “Wait, did I say that out loud? My apologies, I meant to…” Lysithea then sighed, pulled a chair towards her and sat down. Gaius followed suit, putting the cookbook he was holding on the table. “This is just an assumption from my part, but that ability you have manifests due to your Crest, correct?”
“Sort of”, replied Hapi. “But what do you mean that I’ve been cursed by my Crest ‘as well’?”
“I do not think you know this, but I have two Crests. I was born with one and was… ‘given’ another. It granted me great magical prowess, but at the cost of not being able to live a long life. As we speak, the clock continues ticking, and everyone’s lives become a second shorter…but for me, that tick cuts my life far more than anyone else’s.”
These words took Gaius and Hapi aback. A young girl, still carrying out her studies, already thinking about her impending death, was a thought that shocked Hapi. Sure, she's technically at the risk of becoming monster dinner if she sighs, but it's only if she sighs, not something that is predetermined to happen. She was surprised at it all, but she noticed Gaius being particularly pensive about it.
“…Look”, says Gaius after a moment of quiet. “I don’t know much about this whole Crest deal and how it works, but I can say this: I know how you feel.” The girl is left fuddled by such words. “You do?”, she asks.
“All too well. The feeling of knowing your life could end very soon is one I faced at one point. I’ve only been through it once, but I wouldn’t do it again if, even if I was paid to. But the worst part is how I got out of it. I had to do some cowardly things that I regret to this day…or at least, I regret how much they affected a friend of mine. She had held a vendetta against me for years, and who can blame her? I was a coward, and I deserved it.”
Hapi took some moments to reflect upon all that was said. To think she was sitting with people that were so different from her, but at the same time, went through struggles that she has known for a long time. Crests being more of a curse than a blessing or gift. Feeling like your life could end at any moment, whether by fate, or by one’s own mistake. Hapi noticed that Gaius and Lysithea seemed to be lost in their own minds too. She wanted to break the silence but could not find the right words to do so. Eventually, though, Gaius did just that, as if he had noticed Hapi’s intent.
“This might not be the right time to say this, but I think there’s a bright side to all of us being summoned here in Askr”. Having heard this, Hapi and Lysithea turned their heads at Gaius. Gaius turns to Hapi. “Crumbs, as far as I know, your sighs don’t have any effect here, right?”
“Kind of...” she confirms. “How did you know?”
“In such a big kingdom”, says Gaius, “word gets around fast. Sometimes loudly. But my point is, since you’re free of your curse, you can start over. You can live life how you want and not be followed by some curse. And it’s a good chance to talk to others without them being afraid to be near you.” Gaius opened his mouth to continue, but bit his lip before he could. He put his hand to his chin, like he was having second thoughts about what he said. “…That came off ruder than I wanted to. Sorry.”
“No worries; you’re right, anyway. People in Fodlan used to avoid me like some kind of plague, but that doesn’t really happen here in Askr, weirdly enough. In fact, since I got here, I found myself being followed by a group of people. It wasn't anything I wanted, but...maybe what you’re saying is true.”
“Glad to hear.”, Gaius says, before turning over to Lysithea. “And you, Sugar-hair, this kingdom is full of a lot of professionals in magic—and probably experts in these Crests matters too. Maybe you can find one that can help with your particular problem.”
Lysithea stared at Gaius for a moment, narrowing her eyes, and later shook her head. Hapi thought she was wondering about the name she was just called, and pushed the thought away, same as Hapi did herself earlier. ‘Sugar-hair...That's a good one’, Hapi thought to herself. Lysithea then thought about what Gaius said. “Someone…”, she said, “that can help me? Is there really someone here like that?”
“I won’t say it’s guaranteed that you find a person that can help you, but hey, there’s a chance, right? Especially with how many Heroes from different worlds are summoned ‘ere daily. There's bound to be one at some point.”
“Maybe you are right…there is indeed a chance. That means there’s no time to waste!” Lysithea quickly got up from her chair, determined. She then starts walking quickly away from Gaius and Hapi, on her way to exit the library. “I have to find that someone!”
“Whoa, hold your horses, Sugar-hair!”, exclaimed Gaius as he got up from his chair; Lysithea then stops and turns around. “What? If there really is someone that can help me, I must search for them now! I don't have time to spare, you know that! And who knows, they might even be able to lift Hapi’s curse too!” Hapi tried to hide it, but that possibility gave her hope. Perhaps there really was someone that could free her from the curse that haunted her life for so long. She was hopeful, but neither wanted to show it, nor get her hopes too high. There was also a possibility that there was no one who could help her and Lysithea. If that were true, she would rather face that truth having expected it, than to have those hopes crushed by the revelation. These thoughts raced around Hapi’s mind, but she laid them aside. Now was not the time to think about that.
“Yeah, I know, kid”, replied Gaius to Lysithea. “But I was gonna ask if you two wanted to come with me to the bake sale. You two are probably hungry—at least I am. Maybe we could go get some sweets together?” Lysithea looked almost offended by Gaius’ request, once again narrowing her eyes at him.
“We could be searching for someone that can cure my condition as well as Hapi’s, and you are more concerned over eating some pastries?! Even a child has better priorities than that!”
“…So, it’s a no?”, Gaius asked her. Lysithea opened her mouth, seemingly to scold him again, but quickly closed it, and pondered for a few moments. ‘She hides it, but I think she likes sweets more than me and Gaius do’, Hapi thought to herself. Some seconds passed, and Lysithea gave her answer, almost reluctantly. “I suppose some pastries would be fine before starting our search. T-that is, even if I do not like them that much. So, yes, I will accompany you.”
“Sweet”, said Gaius. “And you, Crumbs? You comin’?” Hapi widened her eyes in surprise; she never imagined someone would ask her to go with them somewhere. Usually, people walk in the opposite direction whenever she shows up, and without saying a single word. “Me? Really?”, she asked.
“Why not?”, responded Gaius. “It'd be rude of me not to invite you, wouldn’t it? Besides, I can tell you would like some more of those pastries.” And he was not wrong; Hapi only said she was not hungry earlier to not worry Gaius for taking the pastry Hapi offered him. The truth is that she was still somewhat hungry, and meals taste better when eaten alongside friends. At least that's what she heard a student at Garreg Mach saw frequently at the mess hall. He had the right idea. For the first time in their conversation, Hapi felt...well, happy, and smiled. “Yeah, I do want some. Let’s go.” Hapi got up from her chair, and walked along with her new friends, headed for the bake sale. They kept chatting on the way there, and it made Hapi feel good. She cherished being able to talk with others in a friendly manner, away from the walls of Abyss and from the shackles of her curse. For the first time in years, she felt truly free.