Work Text:
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones or anything pertaining to the game.
Note: This would take place after the events of the game with an A Rank Support between Eirika and Seth, but obviously before their marriage.
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Italicized: Words Written
It was night time in the newly restored land of Renais, a time where most people were curled up in their beds after a long day of work to ready their bodies and minds for the ‘morrow. However, deep inside Renais castle, barely outside the hall of the Royal Family; one candle remained continued to burn away atop of a desk, granting the most minimal amount of light. Illuminated by the light, a figure with hair coloured crimson sat silently, with a quill, some parchment, and a bottle of ink. For a long while, he simply stared toward the paper with eyes that matched his hair. The stoic knight dreaded writing on parchment. Nothing good ever came from it; however he was ordered to do this, and shy away from his duties was never something that the Silver Knight of Renais had done. Thus, he took the quill in hand with a trained poise that only came with writing many a letter in the past and began to write.
Normally, when I sit at my desk and place a quill to parchment, it is to deliver terrible news to a poor family who just lost one of their loved ones in battle, or to report from afar just how my present tour is doing. Today, however; the reason for my scriptures is for another reason altogether. My oath leads me to my writings today, and however hard I find it to write; an order from King Ephraim is still an order and his order is absolute.
It seems he has noticed that my feelings are getting in the way with my duties and he was concerned. When he brought this up to me, I half expected to be discharged; death before dishonour, after all. However, he simply commanded me to let out my growing emotions on paper. That way I need not hide them, and yet never expose them so that I may return to my duties to my Princess as her Retainer. However, I am not sure where I should begin. Ah, I am merely avoiding this to the best my quill hand can provide; the answer to where I should begin is simple in all rights, everything has a beginning.
A romanticist would likely say I’ve always been in love with the Princess Eirika, and although it is true that I’ve always had an admiration for the Princess of Renais, I can tell you the exact moment that I realized that I loved her. That part will come, but first allow me to indulge in memories of the past and write them out on parchment such as this. It may be stalling for time, but it is an important event in my life nonetheless, and it ultimately led to when I fell in love with her.
When I first met the young Princess, I was naught but a squire; barely fourteen, training to become a Paladin under Renais’ service. In fact, I had not known she was the princess at first. As I recall it, I was practicing my technique with the lance near the hour of dawn, when I saw a young girl sneaking around the perimeter of the court yard; although ‘sneaking’ was a relative term. The child was basically running and hiding behind various armaments or training dummies, and she was uttering a sound that resembled “Ni~Ni~Ni~Ni~”. I also noticed that she was almost watching me. I presumed she was a child of one of the many people who worked at the castle and simply kept to my training.
It was likely because she was watching me that she didn’t see the protruding rock, tripped and fell; hard onto the ground. I immediately ran over to the girl and kneeled beside her, the spear discarded. “Are you okay, miss!?” I asked as I checked her over for injuries.
The poor girl looked at me with tears in her eyes, obviously in pain and said in a voice which was filled with a quiet strength “I’m not going to cry… my brother would laugh at me if I did.”
“It’s okay to cry.” I told her as I found that she had scraped her knee to the point it bled profusely. Or at least, profusely from the perspective of a squire who had not been subjected to wars. “I won’t tell anyone if you do.” I smiled to her in a reassuring manner as I removed the cloak which was part of the uniform and tore a piece big enough to act as a bandage. I didn’t understand why, but she seemed to trust me enough that she began to cry and let me bandage her knee. As I prepared to move her, I noticed her skin was chilled, likely from the morning dew and wrapped her in the remainder of my cloak before I lifted her into my arms. She clung to me, likely so she wouldn’t fall free; not that I would let her, but I digress. She continued to cry for a small while and I simply held her in my arms, silently watching the blue haired girl whom I held.
Once she stopped crying, I carried her to the medic station, and was shocked to find out that she was Princess Eirika. As I stumbled to kneel in front of her, she stared at me like I had two heads. She then giggled lightly and kissed my cheek before she skipped off happily to find her brother, probably to tell him that she got hurt and she didn’t cry. Heaven only knows. I never did see that cloak again. I assume the tattered rags were thrown out.
It was strange though I had come to realize, that even though I had been living at the palace for as long as I had, I had never come across the young princess.
I was sixteen the next time that I had a proper encounter with her majesty. I was a newly anointed Knight of Renais, and as the standard remained for all new knights, we were required to tilt at the first tournament of the spring months. My general in command told me that the Princess requested my presence. Not one to disobey orders, I marched along to the Royal tent with great haste.
As I saw the young princess, I kneeled before her in reverence, and like she had two years prior; she giggled lightly. “What is your name, sir Knight.” She asked in a quiet voice to me. I questioned to myself as to why she would want to know, but I would not question aloud.
“My name is Seth, milady. I have been told that you requested my presence?” I answered her solemnly as I raised my hand to my breast. She giggled again and took my fist into her small hands. I had learned by now how to keep my expressions in check, so I merely watched her calmly as she did this. The next thing I knew, a handkerchief had been wrapped around my wrist.
“Sir Seth, as Crown Princess of Renais, I command you to win today’s tournament in my honour.” She demanded of me, using on me for the first time, that tone she would come to so often use when she was determined to have things proceed as she wished.
To say I was somewhat shocked and nervous was an understatement of the facts as they were. After all, the crown princess had just given me such a tall order. However, my calm demeanour allowed none of my confusion to be betrayed to her. Unfortunately, she easily picked up on my nervousness. A skill I would never understand how she picked up. Her response was to simply cross her arms and stare at me; and I knew I could not protest. “Yes, your highness!” I answered her in the same manner I had arrived in.
This was the very first order I completed for my princess. I fought fiercely against my peers and my superiors and vanquished them all. I remember little else from that day, merely the sound of my horse galloping with full speed, the fierce intensity I held in my strikes. I refused to lose, when I had the faith and the order of my princess pushing me forward. It was not long after that, that the late King Fado assigned me to become Princess Eirika’s retainer.
The knight paused for a moment to realize that he had managed to write a number of pages by now on simply just earlier experiences he had with the princess and sighed. He had to get to the point sooner or later, and thus took a new parchment and dipped his quill. “Pray that these words never make it to beautiful ears.”
It was three years ago, that either I fell in love with the princess, or realized I had been in love with her for a while. At this point, I’m not even sure which of those it is anymore. Regardless, I had been escorting the now fifteen year old Princess Eirika through the city just outside the palace gates, and I watched her speak with some anyone whom she came across. She looked so beautiful and happy that I’d found myself almost staring at her. I felt her gentle kindness and her quiet strength, and even her poise radiate freely from her; and I knew this was not an act, for this was just part who my princess was. I knew beyond most others about her fierce determination too, which I knew always captivated me. I’d been accosted by a few of my equals, whom had told me, at least in a joking manner that I seemed to be doing that a lot. I silently vowed at that moment that as long as I breathed, I would do everything in my nature to protect my princess. Back then, however; I had no idea what I was feeling, and simply disregarded those thoughts as simple adoration her. After all, a knight is a subject of his princess, nothing more and I was naïve enough to believe that a knight could ignore the normal feelings of being human. These days however, I know better. I may have ignored it, and never questioned my duty; but that was when I subconsciously knew I was in love with Princess Eirika. I am certain of it now.
She had to have noticed I was watching her as she looked at me with a curious expression, her eyes filled with wonder. Admittedly, it was cute and if I was slightly less stoic; I may have laughed lightly at how her expression was. My only response, however was to continue to watch her through cool eyes and ask “Is there something troubling you, milady?”
“Ah, no Seth” I recall her respond to my question and look away, before we continued on our tour through the city. The rest of the day was spent in silence. As a knight, I continued to perform my duties, never questioning my oath, nor my honour; until that fateful night.
As I rode through the night with the Princess tight against my form for safety with my wounded arm around her waist, all of the feelings I suppressed began to leak through. I remembered wanting to protect her from all harm, and I questioned myself. There was nothing more I wanted to do, than to whisk her away forever. For her, I would give up my duty… but I knew I couldn’t. Renais meant everything to her, and so, I would guide her to accomplish her goals and her dreams.
So, I encouraged her to take responsibility for her kingdom. I denied her emotions for me, and told her that I would lay my life down for my queen, when all I wanted was to take her in my arms and take away her pain. I however, know that reality is sometimes harsh and that I’ve made my bed, and now I must lie in it. As it stands, I will always love my queen and will protect her with my life. I would never end up like Carlyle, but I will protect my queen from any and all whom wish her harm. Ah, it seems that even though I was somewhat reluctant to scribe these words to paper, I verily did much more than I first expected.
When Seth finally placed down the quill again at this point, the candle which burned dimly had burned away almost completely. He gazed toward it with as straight as face as ever, albeit tired. He realized he’d felt much better than before he began to write, and a million times more than when the King ordered him to write. He looked toward the drying parchments and simply nodded his head before he went to bed. He would deliver them to Ephraim first thing in the morrow as instructed and resume his duties at his queen’s side; not before destroying the evidence.
After the Silver Knight quickly fell asleep, he did not notice Eirika as she quietly stepped into the room. He did not notice her read the parchments which he had scribed the words of his heart, and he most definitely did not notice her crawl into the bed beside him and curl up against his body. His body however reacted in a way that almost surprised the princess and pulled her closer to his own, almost as if his body knew she was close. As the exhausted Silver Knight slept and the princess rested at his side, Eirika was fully aware what manners of speech that this would bring about throughout the palace, and she knew just how her retainer would react, but she did not care. Reality wasn’t quite as harsh as he thought it was, and she was going to make the knight stop running away from her, for the sake of duty. Also, she would have to thank her brother later for setting all this up.