Work Text:
-Forte-
Forte had been on her usual daily patrol when she encountered Frey. The farmer/princess was standing in the town square outside of her quarters, holding her hands out in front of herself and staring at them.
The knight was worried that something was wrong based on the woman’s bewildered expression, so she rushed over to investigate.
“Frey! Is everything okay?” Forte stopped in front of her, hand resting on the hilt of her sword instinctively.
Frey blinked slowly a few times before looking up at Forte. Still looking confused, she replied, “I’m fine, Forte. Just wondering what exactly this weather is.”
Forte tilted her head. “It’s… snow?”
“Oh! So this is snow?” Frey smiled. “I’d heard about it from Venti, but I’ve never seen it myself.” Her expression melted into a troubled one. “Well maybe I have, but I can’t remember if so.”
Oh. Right. It still took some getting used to that Frey was an amnesiac and couldn’t remember anything about her life before arriving at Selphia. Forte couldn’t imagine forgetting all of her memories. They helped her stay connected with her parents. Even though her mother and father had passed, she still had fond memories of playing in the snow with them, and later, with her brother Kiel when he had been old enough to run around with her.
But Frey had none of these childhood memories. The princess had no idea if she even had a family to forget.
Very well then. It was up to Forte to help her create new memories of the snow. And she knew just how to do it.
“Why don’t we spend some time together in the snow?” she suggested. “We could build a snowman, have a snowball fight, maybe even make some snow angels?”
Just as Forte had hoped, Frey’s expression lit up to its usual bright happiness. “Really? Do you have time for that?”
Even if she didn’t, Forte couldn’t just leave Frey. She didn’t want to see her sad if she could help it. Luckily, since it was snowing, Forte’s patrol was going to be limited in its scope. Depending on how much they got, it would be difficult to leave or enter the town. With less travelers, Forte didn’t have to spend as much time making sure the area outside of town was secure, so she really only had to patrol the town itself. In all honesty, she had been planning on playing in the snow later today anyway, not that she would admit it. So it wouldn’t really matter if she moved spending time in the snow up in her schedule.
But Frey didn’t need to know all that. So, Forte simply replied with, “I do.”
Frey smiled. “Great!”
The farmer made a move to run out of the square, but Forte grabbed her shoulder before she got too far. “Hold on. You’re going to need to be more bundled up than that if you’re going to be spending more than a few minutes out in this weather.”
Frey looked at herself. “Really?”
Forte rolled her eyes playfully. “Yes, really. The whole town knows that you’re plenty tough, but the low temperature and the snow are no joke. You could catch hypothermia if you’re not careful.”
The other woman pouted. “Fine,” she whined. Turning on her heel, she ran back into her quarters, shouting, “I’ll be back in a few!”
Forte chuckled to herself. She waited patiently, watching the snow fall down around her. The town itself was fairly quiet. Not many people liked being outside when it was actively snowing. It was when the snow had settled that the citizens liked to go outside and play. For now, most people were probably stockpiling their firewood, making sure they would have enough to last until they could collect some more.
After a few more minutes, Frey came bursting out into the town square, this time dressed much more suitably for the weather. Gesturing forward, she said, “After you.”
Forte nodded and began the journey to Dragon Lake on the western edge of town. The two walked side by side, with Forte noting how Frey would bump her arm every so often. Whether or not that was on purpose, Forte wasn’t sure.
When they arrived, the two spent the better part of the day playing and frolicking in the snow, though if asked, Forte would say that it was training. Frey laughed the entire time, and Forte took more than one snowball to the face due to her distraction. The princess was so much fun to be around, and Forte was proud to be able to help contribute to her happiness.
The fun, however, had to come to an end, and Forte eventually told Frey that she had to get back to her regular patrol. Frey was sad, but she understood.
Forte offered to escort Frey back to her farm, since it was on the route anyway. The other woman had accepted, smiling.
As they made their way back, Forte noticed that the snow had piled up significantly since they had left earlier that day. Her patrol was likely going to be more difficult, but she could honestly say that she did not regret putting it off to spend quality time with Frey.
“Thanks for today, Forte. I really had a lot of fun.” Frey stopped at the bulletin board and turned to face the knight.
“Of course. I’m glad you were able to make some happy memories of your first snow day.” Forte gasped slightly as Frey closed the distance between them and gave her a tight hug. Frey didn’t usually hug Forte, and she had never hugged her with this much enthusiasm. Still, she didn’t hate it, so Forte returned it with just as much vigor.
“I’m glad I made them with you,” Frey whispered into her ear. The sincerity in her tone made Forte blush, and that blush only grew when Frey pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before pulling away.
“See you later!” Frey hopped back, an exuberant smile on her face as she made her way back to her quarters.
Forte stood there for a moment, not quite believing what had just happened. Sure, her friendship with Frey was a close one, but did she feel… that way about her?
She wasn’t sure, but it was definitely something to think about.
After nodding to herself, Forte took a step back and continued her patrol. Throughout it, she thought long and hard about her relationship with Frey. She ultimately wanted the other woman to be happy, and she wanted to be the one to ensure that happiness.
Huh. Perhaps she did care about Frey in a more-than-friendly way. The only way to make sure was to spend more time with her. And that was something easily accomplished.
She couldn’t wait.