Flourish

by the Legendary Armor

Sunlight filtered down from the cloudy sky, bright and glowing as the uneasy calm over the world was made chaotic by the energy of a single woman. The blonde rogue skipped merrily up to the queen of Crimea, her tresses flowing behind her till she slowed to keep Elincia's even, easy pace. "Hello, Your Majesty," she greeted cheerfully.

"Good afternoon, Heather." Elincia was used to the energetic, eccentric woman wanting to speak to her--ever since she'd shown up to fight, Heather had made it a point to chat as though Elincia were almost any other (cute) girl in the army, which was partially Brom's fault, since he'd said a while back that Elincia wouldn't mind. "You look quite pleased with yourself. Has something good befallen you?"

The woman's reply came with a merry grin, and she punched the air with a victorious fist. "You bet! Today's the day I'm gonna ask Nephenee!"

Elincia blinked. She was quite aware of Heather's ambitions concerning the halberdier; it was her favorite thing to talk about, after all. "Ask her what?"

Heather's deep azure eyes glinted in the sunlight, her smile seemingly eternal. "Oooh, don't be so innocent, Your Majesty! I'm going to ask her if she'll be with me."

"'Be with you'? As in--"

The rogue waved a hand and grinned. "You know, the way you want that lance paladin of yours. I'm going to ask her to be with me!" The words, spoken so boldly, caused Elincia to blush slightly.

"I'm sure she'll say yes, Heather. I'm very happy for you."

Smiling, the alluring thief replied, "That's such a sweet thing to say! Thanks." She paused, then added, "There sure are a lot of cute girls in the army, but Nephenee's so much more... so much more glorious! This is great. Hey, you know, I think you and that Geoffrey guy, you'll be the same. You'll have your handsome knight, and I'll have my adorable Nephenee!"

Elincia did not think it was the same thing; she and Geoffrey were very different than Heather and Nephenee, in things such as past, personality, and station. Still, she felt her heart warm as Heather bounced away when Nephenee caught her sight; before she turned away to mind her own business, she caught a glimpse of them talking...

Heather was saying something, and whatever it was caused the teal-haired halberdier to blush and fall silent--after a moment, however, she nodded her head, looking very shy and flustered. The rogue's sudden shout of joy rang out across the entire camp, followed by an affectionate embrace.

So it was true, Elincia realized, that even the darkest of times could not impede the strength of the heart.

(end)