Work Text:
“Three cheers for the Nohrian Princess!”
Cheers erupted in the mess hall as the humbled Nohrian princess entered the room, bowing to those whom she passed. After a long, treacherous battle, the middle princess of the royal children had come out victorious, securing a win against a few dangerous Hoshidan threats in a nearby town. What better way to congratulate her on a job well done than a victory dinner with the whole army? The mess hall was bursting with hungry soldiers who wanted to go all out in the night’s celebration.
Various people came up to the princess to congratulate or thank her, and she gave them a simple smile in turn before sitting down at a nearby table with her siblings. Soldiers grouped up with each other and indulged in simple chatter for a bit, remarking on the recent fight and complaining about their hunger in the same breath. The other members of the Nohrian royal family were similar in their conversations; they, too, were only human. They all praised the princess for her victory, which she humbly insisted “wasn’t her doing alone”, and before long, all five siblings were in an uproar on about how excellent they had all did, complimenting each other’s strength with cutthroat seriousness.
“Leo, you’re truly amazing! You saved my behind more times than I could count!” Princess Elise insisted, looking rather upset that he didn’t agree, to which Prince Leo simply replied, “Nonsense. You helped quite a lot as well; without you, I would have fallen early in battle.” He stated it so matter-of-factly that it made Elise just more upset.
“Now, now, let’s settle down.” Prince Xander said, chuckling to himself over his siblings’ quarrels. The middle princess herself agreed, though not without laughing a bit at Leo’s attempt to come off as “cool”. The friendly atmosphere was something the princess loved about her family- the smiling faces of her loved ones as they bickered was something she adored, knowing it was over how amazing they thought each other was. To be honest, the battle had went by in such a blur she could hardly remember anything, so she almost felt guilty trying to come up with little white lies about what she felt about everyone’s efforts.
Suddenly, someone at the front of the mess hall clapped their hands loudly, grabbing everyone’s attention and hushing them into silence, those who were standing quickly taking a seat at any nearby table. When everyone had sat down, the clumsy head maid, Felicia, was left standing alone, a content look on her face. She made a point not to stumble over her words, stating very clearly, “We have special main dishes for the princess to celebrate a battle well done, while we’ll be serving everyone else another secret dish. In the meantime, while we wait for everything to cook...How about some appetizers?!” Felicia cheered, stepping aside and gesturing to a table behind her that had an abundant arrangement of juicy, smoked meats on it, and the bands of soldiers cheered. In almost a stampede type of rush, everyone quickly grabbed their plates and helped themselves before sitting back down at their own tables.
While the middle princess stood up to chat with other soldiers, her siblings had gone up to get their share of food as well. Princess Camilla returned to their table with enough pieces of meat to feed a dozen people, yet didn’t seem like she was going to share any of it. After sitting back down and not wanting to get up from her place after standing for so long mingling, the princess quickly swiped a piece of meat off of Camilla’s plate, eating it before she could say anything.
The taste was absolutely divine-- smoked to perfection, with all the herbs and sauces the meat was cooked in tastier than anything she had ever eaten before. She gasped with the food still in her mouth, “Dwelishous!” She exclaimed, and Elise, who sat next to her, had the same thought, already halfway into finishing her first plate. “Isn’t it?!” She agreed, swallowing her food quickly and greedily shoveling another portion into her mouth. The two sisters ate their hearts out at the table, prompting the other three siblings to chide them for not minding their manners.
It seemed like nearly no time had passed before Felicia clapped her hands once more, everyone hushing themselves again.
Once the mess hall was completely quiet, she spoke, “And now, the main dish specially made for the victorious princess! May her power guide us through many more victories against Hoshido!” Felicia cheered, and Flora came out of the kitchen, bringing a medium sized dish with silver cover forward. She placed it in front of the princess with a proud smile, as if to say, Good job today. Dishes were quickly brought out to the rest of the mess hall, and everyone began eating with haste.
Not wanting to wait much longer, and already plenty hungry from smelling her siblings’ meals, the princess grabbed hold of the plate cover. To her surprise, however, two more figures came from behind her and set down two more dishes with covers in front of her. She turned around.
“Oh! Arthur! Percy!” She exclaimed.
Standing before her was her heroic husband, Arthur, and their son, Percy, both with the same grin on their faces and twinkle in their eye. These three were her own, personal family, one that she didn’t share with anyone else. Arthur was a rather doting, emotional father, with the princess as a strong willed, protective mother, both whom cared for Percy more than anything else in their lives. They were inseparable; it was uncommon to see one without seeing another with them.
Not only were Arthur and Percy her loveable family members, but they were also valuable assets to her army. The two were often on the front lines with her, despite her protest and concern. In their last battle, she had heard they were wounded greatly, so she assumed someone must have healed them; perhaps Leo’s son, Forrest, who was a gifted troubadour, had done so when everyone returned to camp.
She stepped up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on Arthur’s cheek, then leaned down to kiss Percy on the head. The two of them beamed with similar satisfaction. “Both of you look like you healed up just fine.” She examined them, scrutinizing every detail, worried she would find something wrong.
“Come on, Mom, we’re fine!” Percy insisted, puffing his chest out in a strikingly similar way that his father always did, “And, if you really wanna know, we’re all so much better that Felicia begged us to take these out to you, cuz she was scared she would drop them--” Arthur elbowed Percy in the side quickly to give him the signal to stop talking, still maintaining a smile for his wife.
The princess giggled, then grabbed their hands, “Well, come on! Sit with me and the rest of the family! I’ll share with you-- I can’t eat all of this on my own.” She looked toward two empty seats across from her, next to Leo and Xander. Understanding what she wanted, the two rounded the table to take their seats. Xander pat Arthur on the back as he sat down next to him, something Arthur could never get used to despite being married to Xander’s sister for quite some time now, and Leo cooly summoned magic at the table to impress Percy for a brief moment before Elise yelled at him to stop “trying to show off”.
“Alright, now let’s get to the main dish!” The princess cheered, as did the rest at the table, and she grabbed the lids of the the three plates, then pulled them off at the same time.
On each of the shiny, white plates, finely decorated on a bed of fresh greens…
was a head of a different Hoshidan general.
Princess Hinoka, with her hair neatly brushed back and eyes closed like in slumber, Princess Sakura, with her headband sparkling neatly and her battle wounds gone from when they had last fought, and Prince Takumi, who still had a defiant look on his face even in this very moment.
The three were here, in front of her… Dead?
Words could not describe the confusion she felt, almost dropping the plate covers in her hands out of shock. She did not speak, and instead, her mind was reeling, asking questions upon questions with no answer. Why were these three here? How had this happened? Who in the army had not only defeated them, but decided to… Cook… Them...?
Breaking her out of her moment was Percy’s voice, and she looked to her son, who had put his hands on the table leaning forward, “Woah, so that’s why we took them back with us after the fight?! Mom, this looks delicious!” He said, clearly jealous. Why was he jealous? She looked at the rest of the table, who all seemed to be interested in her “meals”, then realized- she was the only person reacting normally to this mess.
She let herself breathe for a moment so she could get answers, finding the words to ask, “Y-You… You fought them…?”
Camilla leaned over to pat Percy’s head, “Sit down, love.” Then, she looked to her sister, “Don’t you remember? You asked us to fight them yourself. It's how Percy and Arthur got their boo-boos. In any case… You love your big sister enough to give her a bite of some of this, right?” She grabbed her knife excitedly.
The princess’s thoughts were out of control, Was that actually how they got hurt? In any case, I don’t remember even saying that- I don’t remember any of the battle, much less if those three were there! Hell, I really don’t remember anything but arriving in the mess hall, now that I think about it--
Xander took hold of his fork, “I’ll admit it, I never expected that I’d be grateful for a Hoshidan, much less General Ryoma and his siblings, but today has woken me up.” He said, rather pleased, and Leo closed his eyes in agreement.
What did he say? General Ryoma?
It was like she was at the edge of a cliff, constantly tipping over and feeling the anxiety of what was to come, but never actually falling. Her stomach began to knot, her vision blurring as though she would pass out from pure disgust, if she truly understood what Xander was saying. Hesitantly, she looked at each of the three dishes in front of her and realized someone was missing, then looked at the size of the platters that had contained the appetizers. If you were to compare the overall size of the platters to a certain General Ryoma, then it would certainly seem like...
“Ah…” Was all she could choke out.
The entire table seemed to go on without her, almost like she had walked away from them. Arthur and Xander chatted together quite normally for two men with three decapitated heads in front of them, and Percy swiped a bit of Camilla’s meal from her plate, to which she giggled. Elise was reprimanding Leo for not holding his fork properly as he ate his dinner, to which he responded by continuing to eat without saying anything to her. Was what everyone else was eating for dinner also made out of...? The princess looked down again at the three dishes and felt her stomach cramping. This can't be real... I didn't want this... It can't be real--
Leo fiddled with his fork for a second before holding it firmly, speaking quite clearly and seriously, “Well, we’re doing them a favor. This is the first and only time any Nohrian will be grateful for a Hoshidan. They’re better off dead.” He said, then, without asking her for her permission, took his fork and
sank
it
into
the
cheek
of
Prince
Takumi’s
head.
It was at that point she woke up, sitting upright in her bed and panting, sweat dripping down her forehead.
She was in her bedroom. Not in the mess hall, not on a battlefield, in the comfort of her own, private room. She had not just been in battle, had not just been served her bloodsiblings’ heads for dinner. It was a dream. A nightmare, to be exact, but she refused to differentiate the two anymore, when dreams like these ended up being more common than peaceful ones.
She tried to get a feel for how much time there was until daybreak. It was too early to be up; to her distaste, the room was almost entirely black, with the exception of the light of the low moon outside that gently cascaded onto the floor. She would have to go back to sleep and possibly face another dream similar to that one.
She squeezed her bed sheets, breathing in and out, trying to calm herself down. Her heartbeat rang in her ears. A dream, a dream, a dream… She thought to herself, feeling her hands begin to clam up and shake. It was a dream, a dream, a--
The taste in her mouth from the dinner she had eaten earlier that day filled her head-- Smoked meat. Leo had gotten one of his retainers to make it for her, and she thoroughly enjoyed it, at that time at least. However, now was different. Almost instantly, she thought of her nightmare again, and she felt herself become sick.
She threw off her bed sheets and ran into the bathroom, switching on its light and immediately falling to the ground to lean over the toilet, feeling her insides knot and twist.
Upon hearing the sudden noise of the bathroom door being flung open, Arthur, who was snoring beside her, awoke from his deep sleep with a start. He immediately began to get out of bed to find out what was wrong, jumping to his feet. Unfortunately, his legs were still asleep, and he fell over, the sheets being ripped off the bed as he desperately grabbed them in his fall to try and save himself. He landed on the floor in a heap of sheets and pain, but quickly pulled himself up and threw the sheets onto the bed, figuring he would fix it later.
He approached the bathroom, not peering inside, and instead, turning his back to her, so she would have her privacy. He stood right outside the door frame. “Is…” He coughed, “Is everything alright, dear?”
She took a deep breath, “N-Nightmare.” She sputtered, not moving from her place on the floor. “I… I apologize for worrying you.” She said.
Nightmares were a common thing with the princess, and Arthur knew this well. Elise had remarked that “Either she has a nightmare, or she doesn’t sleep at all!”, and Arthur still could not believe the magnitude of that truth. Most nights, they were small, insignificant dreams that she could sleep through, maybe briefly mention it in passing as they both woke up together in the mornings. However, terrors like these were becoming nearly weekly, which concerned Arthur greatly. It had also been the first time in months that a nightmare had caused her to physically react as well, making him worry even more.
Arthur quickly entered the bathroom and knelt down, rubbing her back. She tensed at his touch, but soon paid it no mind as she continued heaving over the toilet bowl.
A few hellish minutes passed, but, after a while, the princess lifted her head and took a deep breath. When she didn’t put her head back down, Arthur, who had sat himself down on the floor by now, spoke up, “Are you alright?” He asked, and she nodded, leaning back and resting on Arthur’s body. She brought her hand across her forehead to wipe away her sweat, then breathed out, driven to exhaustion by her own panic attack.
“I apologize.” She said once again, and Arthur shook his head, “No need to apologize to me, my love.” He insisted.
With a delicate hand, Arthur brought his wife up off the floor, making sure she was well balanced and able to walk after being so weak before. She, as he expected, walked with ease, as though nothing happened. However, even though she had previously claimed she was alright, he could see in her eyes that there was something wrong. This was another pattern in the aftermath of her nightmares- no matter what, no matter how much Arthur asked, she would never say what was on her mind. It was like asking a swordsman to give up his blade; he would never do it, much less even consider it for a second. She would not open up to him, much less consider opening up to him, despite their marriage. He understood her reasons as to why; she hated to turn topics toward her own personal feelings if they regarded negative emotions. She saw sharing such feelings of hers as "unnecessary".
When she left the bathroom, she quietly began remaking the bed, not speaking a word. He could see her hands were shaking.
Arthur decided he would break the cycle.
“Is it possible the two of us could go on a stroll for a bit?”
;;;;
“What are we doing out here?” The princess asked as Arthur led her outside. The two were still in their nightclothes; her in a nightgown, him in a plain shirt and pants. His grip on her hand was tight, not so much so that it hurt, but it gave a strong sense of urgency. When he did not respond, she remained silent and continued to walk with him, eyes darting around the camp.
The night was cool- not too cold that she would want to wear something heavier, but not too warm that she would have wanted to stay inside. The camp was barren, as expected to be-- the mess hall from her nightmare had its lights off and its door locked, the weaponry remained untouched and dark, with its weapons outside reflecting the moonlight above, and so on. It seemed no one was awake this moment other than her and Arthur, which was understandable. In a way, she almost felt guilty for waking Arthur, knowing he needed his sleep just as much as everybody else did.
As she was about to request that the two go inside so he could rest, Arthur inhaled deeply with a notion of satisfaction, “We walked under this same sky the night I proposed to you, don’t you remember?” He asked.
Was this in response to her question before? “Of course I do,” She replied, “Only, there weren’t stars out, like there are tonight.”
Arthur stared up at the sky, which was glistening with a plentiful amount of stars. “...Quite. Not to mention any ditches I haven’t stumbled into yet.” He remarked, almost sounding a bit bitter.
“Perhaps my luck is rubbing off on you?” She teased. “I do have rather good luck, you know.”
Arthur refrained from a comment, which made her laugh a little. Eventually, the two came to an area in the camp where the ground elevated to form a small hill, and Arthur beamed with satisfaction, “Here seems like a good place. Come, sit!” He marched up the small hill and sat at its peak, and she followed, sitting beside him.
From where they were, the two sat in silence, simply staring at what the camp had in front of them. She gently leaned against her husband’s arm, unsure of where this small venture of theirs would lead to, but she didn’t mind just sitting about.
“...If I may…” Arthur started, catching her attention, and she raised her eyes to look at him. He was looking forward, not looking her in the eye, something he did when he was only exceptionally nervous-- a rare sight for a self-proclaimed hero. He began to speak, “I know I am not one of the most… Erhm, intelligent people out there, at least, compared to you. Not to mention, my skills in cooking leave something to be desired, and I often forget to make the bed in the morning, nonetheless clean our room… Our boy Percy can even best me in battle on some days… And sometimes, I accidentally use your shampoo, which I know you don’t like…” He continued to list negative traits, almost killing the mood, yet it somehow managed to make the princess giggle to herself.
“Yes, yes, I know it’s pitiful. But…” He immediately dropped his playful front, staring at her seriously. “Even if I’m not as skillful or intelligent as you, don’t you think I could help you carry some of the weight you have on your shoulders?”
Immediately, she pulled her head away from his arm, staring at him. He continued, “You’ve been plagued nightmares ever since I’ve known you. Lady Camilla has told me before that they’re stress-induced. If you could just ask me to do more things for you, or listen to you about your troubles, wouldn’t that make you feel better?” He asked, now forcing himself to make eye contact while also giving a supportive smile. “I know I can’t make them go away automatically, but wouldn’t talking about what makes you have them help you in some way?”
Silence. The princess didn’t know what to say. She lowered her gaze, embarrassed that this conversation was happening.
Perhaps “embarrassed” wasn’t the right wording-- she hated that this conversation was happening. Talking about herself? She had always put the needs of others, or the need to do the right thing before her own, so much so that her own feelings were never spoken, lost alone inside her. By continuing to be plagued by her nightmares, she had led herself to this moment, and she hated it so deeply she wished she hadn’t made so much noise upon waking up.
The princess let out a sigh, “...I-I can’t. I don’t want to put the burden of my problems on you.” She said, frustrated, and Arthur’s smile faded just slightly. After all, she didn’t want to worry anyone, much less her husband. After a moment of silence between the two, where she continued to hang her head low, he spoke again.
“...But that’s why I gave you this, isn’t it?”
Arthur gently picked her hand off the ground, putting it above his so he could show her what he was talking about-- her wedding ring. It was a bit of a plain one; a thin, silver band with no detail. However, the most beautiful piece of amethyst took the place of a standard white diamond, and it was one of the most gorgeous accessories she had ever owned. Even now, under the moonlight, the stone sparkled like it first did when he put it on her finger.
She tore her eyes away from her ring and looked up to Arthur, whose grin was as wide as could be. “Your problems aren’t a burden to me. I’m your husband, after all!” He pointed to himself, puffing his chest out in a heroic manner.
She simply stared at him.
It was hard to put into words the stress she was under daily. She didn’t even know where to start. She had just figured speaking about what she felt would be a waste of time, a hassle, compared to the grand scheme of things.
She took her hand away from Arthur’s, brought her knees to her chest, and hugged them tightly, resting her head on them. The two stared out at the fortress in front of them in silence, listening to the swaying of the trees in the slight breeze of the night and the flowing water in the nearby bathhouse. The serenity in this moment was like heaven compared to the everyday battles of the Nohrian army, and she relished every second. It was so beautiful, it stirred a feeling in her heart she was not sure of.
Perhaps it was out of desperateness, or perhaps she was so moved by the beauty of their world in that moment, she found herself speaking, suddenly. “Ever since our conflicts began with Hoshido…” She started, and before she knew it, the words were spilling out of her mouth no matter how much she wanted to stop it, “Ever since the Nohrian army began its endeavors, I began realizing that, even with the Yato by my side… I can’t save everyone. War is a cruel beast, leaving no one unscathed in its wake. Everyone is touched by its fury, its misery, no matter what side you happen to be on… We come back from battle sometimes with serious wounds and wonder if we’re going to live, or we mourn a lost friend who fought until their death on that day.”
She hugged her knees tighter, her voice trembling. “Because of that, I’m scared. I’m scared of my siblings dying. I’m scared of the family I’ve made with you dying. And I’m even more scared of myself. I’m scared of losing my fear, even, I’m scared of becoming hardened to the emotions of war, getting used to loss. On top of this, I cannot fight a Hoshidan leader without feeling regret and fear, yet others do so with ease. The burden of soon having to kill them under order is on my conscious every second of the day.” She lowered her eyes, which had begun to burn with the premonition of tears, “What can I do? How can I be a leader when I’m too afraid to lead, and how can I be a human if I do not have that fear? Would it be better to not be human, if it meant I would stop feeling this way?” She asked.
Her heart rate was increasing the more she spoke, like she was running a marathon just to get the words out. Her voice began to increase in volume, like she was accusing Arthur of something in an argument, but he had not said a word. “And what do I do, when all is said and done, and we are inside Hoshido? When we are conquering it?” She said, a tone of anger and helplessness in her voice. “How do I face the family I turned my back on and kill them? How am I expected by everyone to do something so horrible? Are they not human, too?! Ryoma, Sakura, Takumi, Hinoka… I don’t want to do it, I don’t want to fight them! I…!”
She let a tear drip down her cheek, followed by another, and she cried out, “Arthur, I don’t want to…!” Her voice broke, and she couldn’t finish speaking, putting her hands to her face. Arthur put his arm around her and pulled her into his chest solemnly.
The princess quickly grabbed onto his shirt and sobbed into it, frustration and sadness pouring out of her. She had never done such a thing before in all of her adult years; letting out such raw emotions in front of someone else. It was embarrassing, like she had always thought of such displays, but she was too upset to even care at this point.
Through her tears, she began to vent about everything she could think of; about how her father didn’t listen to any of her suggestions and how she felt he hated her, about how none of her siblings showing concern for Hoshidans made her worried and upset, about how one time she saw Percy get hurt and went on a rage that ended in the deaths of enemy soldiers, which is never her intention in battles. She went on to cry about her nightmares, too, as silly as it sounds to cry about what isn’t real, from everything to the small insignificant ones to the terrors like she had earlier that night.
Arthur, of course, said nothing. His only response was to delicately hold her in his arms and stroke her hair in an attempt to calm her down.
It took a while, what felt like an eternity of tears even, but eventually, she did calm down. Her sobs died down into mere sniffles and her body ceasing its terrible shaking. When he could tell that she was ready to listen, Arthur finally spoke, his voice surprisingly soft. “You were appointed as our leader because we know you are responsible. You’re a respected, talented woman of justice.” He ran his fingers through her hair, continuing to hold her close. “But, even as our leader, you were given the command from your father to fight the Hoshidans, and you must go through with it. That is the reality of the situation, and I know that it pains you to turn your blade toward people you would never fight in the first place.”
“Listen to me, my sweet.” Arthur now rubbed her back, and she rubbed her head into his chest, hiccuping and mumbling lamentations only she could hear. “You feel remorse and fear because you are a caring person, and there is nothing wrong with that. You should never discard that part of yourself. You should never feel ashamed that you have retained your humanity, for both our fallen comrades, and for the misguided Hoshidans. Your sense of kindness and justice makes you who you are.”
His face fell as he continued, “However, with these feelings, you also put so much stress on yourself! You are ashamed of how you feel, so you bottle up your emotions, you refuse to say anything, and then it piles up in your heart until situations like this happen! How unjust that is to you! How hurtful that is to you!” He said, “You must understand that you need to take care of yourself as well!”
He put his head down so his face was right above the top of her head. “Seeing you in such misery makes my heroic heart feel like everything I have done has been for naught. I want you to tell me everything, I want you to know that your feelings aren’t wrong. Perhaps you could tell your siblings and fellow soldiers how you feel, and maybe this army may change, working toward what you want. Perhaps then your nightmares may go away, and your fears just become minor thoughts in your mind.” He kissed the top of her head, “I do not care about anything but our family and the justice I am to protect you, Percy, and Nohr with. So, please… If you could just be open to someone, anyone...” His voice trailed off, and he lifted his head up to give her more space.
The princess’s face, still wet with remnants tears, slowly raised itself to catch Arthur’s attention.
“Do you really mean that?” She asked, her voice a whisper.
“Mean what?”
“That you…” She paused for a second to get her thoughts together, pulling back from him only slightly, “That you don’t think it’s wrong for me to feel sympathy for the enemy? That that’s okay?”
“If that is what you feel, then I know it is correct.” He said. “I would never question your judgement. You speak from a very personable place, dear.” He put his hand to his heart, and she stared at it.
The heart…
She took her own hand and put it to her heart, as well, then took her other hand and put it over Arthur’s hand. The two sat in silence for a spell, her hands still in place. Then, with a steady voice, she began, “I want peace.” She paused, then, when Arthur didn’t say anything, she continued, “I want to try and negotiate when we get into Hoshido, so we can come to stop this war. I know that’s not what my father wants. I know he’ll be furious. Maybe he’ll even kill me for it. But I…” She squeezed the fabric of her nightgown, her expression turning bitter, “I refuse to kill people needlessly over what could be resolved through other means. I’m sure even my siblings could understand that, if I talked to them about it…” She put her hands down, “Does any of that… make sense? Is that right of me to want to do that?”
Arthur had never heard her be this insecure before, and knew he had to give her his full support. He gave a solemn nod, “Of course. Peace is something everyone could benefit from. Your idea of sparing lives for peace is especially heroic, going against what is wanted to do what is just, instead, it’s just...” His voice trailed off, and suddenly, he wiped at his eyes, “My sweet, you have made such a lovely transition into a heroine of justice! Now the entire family is a trifecta of heroes, I’m so proud…!” He cried, and she stared at him, confused, before bursting out laughing. “I’m not a hero, I’m not a hero.” She insisted, “That’s you and Percy’s job!”
While she was still giggling at her husband’s burst of emotions in that moment, as he tended to do whenever family was brought up, Arthur wrapped his arms around her tight and squeezed her into a hug. Then, without warning, he fell backwards into the grass were on. Unfortunately, he hit his head firmly on a rock, but endured the pain quietly, shifting his body over slightly so he could rest on soft ground. In their current position, she was laying on top of him, resting her arms on top of his chest and having her head on top of them. She gave him a wide smile, and he gave her one in turn.
In that moment, when she had calmed down from both her laughing and her prior venting and realized that she had gotten so much off her chest, she felt like an entirely different person. It was true that just talking about her problems wouldn’t solve them, this she knew. It would take a long time before her problems were solved, and that was assuming they could be solved to begin with. However, telling someone else about how you felt and having them comfort you… Was this relief what she had been avoiding so long? At the end of the day, it would have made so much more sense to just say what was on her mind in the first place, wouldn’t it?
“Arthur…” She stared at him, her voice low. She couldn’t believe that all this time, from before they were married to after, she had been so stubborn as to not say anything, when he accepted her fears and complaints with open arms. A pang of guilt hit her in the chest.
“Do you remember when Percy was born?” The princess asked, her voice a whisper.
Arthur raised his eyebrows, recalling the day, “Of course I do! Well, I wasn’t allowed near you during the process, as Lord Xander and Lady Elise were afraid my bad luck would somehow harm you during that time…” He scowled. The entire Nohrian royal family had ventured into the deeprealm Arthur and she had stayed in to oversee the birthing process, Arthur distinctly remembering Xander escorting Arthur from out of the birthing tent, with Elise giving a (weak) shove as well. He continued, “Luckily, I was only attacked by bees once and nearly stabbed by poles outside of the area twice due to faulty construction in the nearby tent--”
The princess quickly cut him off, “Not that part! Goodness, I wasn’t even told you were hurt that much.” She said, worried about his safety. “I was talking about after that, when he was in my arms, and we were alone together… You kept crying all over me, about how you loved us and about how worried you were about me.” She put her finger on his nose, and he felt his face burn up with embarrassment. When Arthur had finally been allowed to see her after waiting so long, Leo had to personally escort Arthur into the room, as he was crying so much upon hearing that wife was alright that he couldn’t see properly. He cried even more when he was finally able to see Percy in her arms, which made Leo promptly abandon him at the door frame without any remorse, only strong embarrassment. Camilla later scolded Leo for being so cruel, and Leo simply responded that the true cruelty was having him lead such a mess to his destination (he was later forced to man the weaponry without break to atone for his rudeness).
“Well,” Arthur huffed, “As you’re of petite figure, I was extremely worried you would be harmed some way in the birthing process…” He looked away, his face red upon remembering how emotional he had gotten.
“That’s true.” She said, “But, even if you were crying, or when two of us were just looking at Percy in silent admiration… Something about that made my heart feel like, This is where I’m supposed to be. As though I had made the right choices in order to experience that moment. And again, after talking with you, I feel that way.” She stretched herself forward to plant a kiss on his cheek, then rested her head on his chest. “Thank you. For listening to me and for understanding me. I know now I need to continue to confide in you.”
He squeezed her tightly, “You have no need to thank me. All in a day’s work.” He breathed out, “I feel the same way about you, my love.”
He stared up at the night sky, which was so adorned with beautiful stars he felt like maybe, possibly, her good luck was truly rubbing off on him.
;;;;
“Mom and Pop have been sleepin’ out here?!” Percy, wide awake and only in his pajamas, ran outside of the barracks, following Camilla, who was still in her nightgown. The morning sun was bright, not hindered by any clouds, and the cool temperature of the night had dragged itself into the day. Percy stumbled to catch up with Camilla, who was worriedly increasing her pace as she walked.
The two had a close relationship; Compared to Percy’s other aunts and uncles, Camilla was far more dedicated to making sure Percy favored her overall, often buying him lavish gifts and candies and smothering him in love whenever she could. Perhaps she liked him so much because she was so fond of Percy’s mother, or because she loved children in general, and perhaps Percy liked her so much because she indulged in his “heroic adventures”, or because the two often bonded over their Wyverns so much, both loving them to no end. Either way, the two were often seen together, especially when Percy’s parents weren’t around.
As part of their close relationship, Camilla felt obligated to take him with her to check on his parents. On the way, she began to explain, “You see, they left the barracks some time before dawn, I was keeping watch of them while hiding in the bathhouse. However, I accidentally fell asleep in the warmth of the bathhouse to the sound of my beautiful little sister’s voice…” The two walked faster in the camp, passing other soldiers without stopping to say hello, “Your mother and father were having a moment, so I didn’t want to interupt, but my carelessness…! When I awoke, I was in my room! I suppose Leo must have went to the bathhouse in the morning when he takes his usual bath and found me there snoring...”
Percy tugged on her arm, “Auntie Camilla, don’t be sorry! I’m sure they’re fine!” He begged.
“Oh, sweet Percy! I was unable to protect your poor mother from the horrors of night…!” Camilla cried, grabbing onto Percy’s hand tightly and using her other hand to squeeze the bridge of her nose.
He gave a nervous smile, “...Well, Pop is with her, so…” He then trailed off, realizing how little comfort that could offer.
“Considering his unlucky streak, that is one of the particular reasons I am concerned.” She said.
At last, the two dawned the hill at the end of the camp, the hill where the princess and Arthur had last been seen. Both hurried nervously, expecting to find the two in terrible condition; perhaps mauled by bears or covered in fire ants. Instead, the two laid on the ground in the same position they had earlier in the night, with Percy’s mother laying on Arthur while he held onto her, both deep in their sleep.
Percy let out a sigh of relief, “Ah, man!” He exhaled, relieved to see his mother and father were fine, yet also unsettled that they were in such a lovey-dovey pose. He turned away, not looking at them out of embarrassment.
Camilla stared in awe at the couple, silent for a moment. Then she spoke, “Percy, would you like to hear something strange?” She asked, still looking at the two.
Percy looked up at her, interested, “Sure, what is it?”
Camilla confessed, “You see, your mother is quite odd. She gets nightmares very easily, almost every night in fact. You can tell by the way her face looks while she’s sleeping whether she’s having a nightmare or not-- I learned this when I used to wake her up in the mornings during our first days on this journey. Some nights, I would wake up and find her just pacing the hallways of the barracks after one of her nightmares, because she wore that discontent and fear on her face even after she woke up.” She continued, “But now, if you look at her…”
The two stared at her face, which was looking to the right of them, gently laying on Arthur’s chest. She had a peaceful smile on, something subtle, yet it spoke volumes.
Camilla looked at Percy with a smile of her own, “I think this is the most peaceful I’ve ever seen her sleep.”