For the Living

…Men and women in armors were flung around like pebbles by the white beast as it sprang toward a group of people…

…One of them, a young man, stood up before the beast, a golden sword brandished in his hands. The tip of the blade stayed just inches from the eye of the beast when it abruptly halted the charge...

…The beast gazed at the man, the sword, the people that it had left behind and those in front of it. It then recognized something…

…At that same moment, the blade itself broke free from the the man's grasp; he held his bloody hand in excruciating pain, his hoarse scream rising in chorus with the howls of the beast…

The royal garden, like the few other things in the kingdom that had survived the war, was left in a state of disrepair. It was no longer the splendid artificial forest it used to be, with neatly-cut bushes of dwarf box to form a maze of hedges, and a small pond with exotic dwellers from every corner of the continent. For now, it was a labyrinth of life: Shrubs grew wild, suffocating the delicate necks of garden flowers; cherries left to blossom and rot with no eye to appreciate their beauty; mistletoe seeds defecated by birds on every oak tree branch and now sprouting unsightly bushes – Unpleasant to the mortal's eyes? Yes. But that was how Nature made its own paradise

It's one of the rare days that Aqua can comb her daughter's hair in peace. The austere chair she sat on did not fit their social standings, and their black dresses contrasted greatly to the lively scenery of spring around them, like the anticlimax in the most glorious poem of Nohr's Eddas.

With the ivory comb in hand, she gently unraveled Kanna's white strands, and then curved them into a wavy pattern. For the hundredth time, her mellifluous lullaby guided the girl to the land of Nod.

"You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek
Life beyond the shore just out of reach
Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time
The path is yours to climb..."

One might say there were surprisingly few scars on Kanna's head, considering how many times she had had it bandaged: Most of them from the fighting the Faceless. (No one remembered who first said to the little princess that headbutting only worked when after she had morphed into a dragon.)

The largest of her scars, however, wasn't claimed in the heat battle. A diagonal one that ran about two inches near the nape of her neck. It was from an accident when she was young: Kanna, for no reason, climbed on the tallest branch of a pine tree only to fall as the hysterical servants tried to get her down. Aqua had never seen her husband as angry as he was that day…

Her husband…King…Liberator of Three Kingdoms…A confused boy…The loveable soul…

Corrin…

"...In the white light, a hand reaches through
A double-edged blade cuts your heart in two
Waking dreams fade away,
Embrace the brand-new day

Sing with me a song of birthrights and love
The light scatters to the sky above
Dawn breaks through the gloom, white as a bone
Lost in thoughts all alone..."

Aqua put a light kiss on her daughter's scar…

The two great swordsmen of East and West faced each other under the gaze of a rising sun.

Xander and Ryoma wore the clothes they wore for training, a linen undershirt and a shitagi respectively. However, the way they held their swords and the sharp glint in their eyes betrayed that this routine spar was anything but routined.

The King of Nohr made the first move: A flunge merely to test the waters. Ryoma, whose left foot was forward and sword held pointing upright, simply ignored it and followed with his blade hammered down on his opponents…

It wasn't the first time they had faced each other like this. But from the eyes of a swordsman worth his salt, why must the bearer of Siegfried be so… meticulous with his move. He definitely knew his opponent, as someone who had crossed blades with the other warrior regularly in the past – and on some occasions, barely escaped with his neck intact. So why did he make that many feints and parries? Why constantly take the defensive, and wait with painstaking patience to riposte on only one of five moments his opponent was open?

And the warrior holding Raijinto, the more he fought, the more powerful his hits landed, the more sinuous and illusory did his slashes dance, and the more rhythmic did his legwork become. His blade slashed too fast for eyes to follow, leaving behind only the thin singing of falcon wings cutting through air. However, he was also drunk in his reckless, uninterrupted assault. Remise after remise, without a moment for his blade hand to rest.

But were these fighters truly so single-minded? Or was this how they wanted their duel to be? The blades, fateful familiars to them, vibrated with something other than the lust for a challenge. Not once did they make contact longer than three seconds, and not once did their masters' eyes meet.

…

Dawn was finally out of the horizon and now, with steady gallops, it made its way to zenith. Sunshine shone upon the faces of two great swordsmen. Sweaty and exhausted as they were, not a ripple of emotion was visible save the utmost focus on one single aim.

Raijinto, blue as the sky and crackling like a heavy downpour. Siegfried, black as the night and sizzling like boiling lava. Their masters injecting all of their power into their weapons for this Coup de Gras: a simple, if not suicidal lunge. As if they had been synchronized to each other, both of them charged forward at the same moment…

When the two forces of nature met, man stood in awe and questioned if he was really there or not, feeling like merely an illusion compared to the truth there.

And… It ended. Both warriors slumped to their knees, their back turned against each other. The blades fell out of their hands and sizzled on the grass that was still wet with dews. Their eyes still did not met, but What use did they have in that moment? All the thoughts and feelings between two men were lingered in the smoke of the explosion.

"Do you think that is enough for him?"

"No, never. He would be horrified to see his brothers fighting like two mad dogs against other.

"Then what have we done if not to make an offering to him?"

"It's for the living… For the living…"

Before the grand chamber of the King, three men stand guard diligently… Or one stand guard diligently. The other two were absorbed in argument, and it must have been about something grave, judging from how they lowered voices that had already been little more than murmurs.

"There must be one! I'm sure of it!"

"Nonsense! I've never heard the King say anything about a 'second name' at all!"

Silas and Jakob's exchange was about to reach new heights when Felicia brought them the midnight tea. Her husband, Kaze, stood on the sideline but tried to keep the argument in check.

"The prince does have another name! It's just that only his parents know it! It's 'Marx', I think."

"You must've been mistaken! That is the name the late king Garon called his son when king Xander was still a child." Unlike Silas, who threw his arms around wildly during the strained moments of the talk, Jakob kept his icy exterior and contended his stand with an even, but passionate tone.

"Um…Kaze, what is going on here?" Kaze graciously took the teacup from his wife's tray and gave her a brief explanation: Silas suddenly insisted that the Prince and Princess had two names each. That in itself was not a strange occurrence. Many of the children born from the unions of comrades in their united army also had two callings for uses in Hoshido and Nohr respectively: Caeldori and Matoi, or Rhajat and Syalla. Strange enough, someone like Nishiki sometime called himself "Kaden" and claimed it as his "Wolfskin's name" given by his soul brother, despite the absurdity.

"I say yes!"

"And I say no! There is no proof for your claim!"

"Need I remind you two of our mission?" The third men in present briefly glanced at the gold-lined door they were guarding. Jakob and Silas, with a newfound embarrassment, ended their argument immediately.

"Sir Silas, I don't think the Master made another name for his children. I was there when he named both of them." Felicia softly said while the two taking their own cup of tea without looking at each other

This immediately piqued the interest of three men, especially Jakob; he had always pestered her to tell him about these moments. Apparently the Chief of the Royal Family Assistance Staffs (a title sarcastically given by Dwyer) considered not knowing everything about his masters a serious blow on his honor. To think he was almost late to witness her twin sister giving birth to his son…

With their ears all on her, Felicia began to recite the tale:

"The day Lady was in labor, you remember? We found a relatively intact house in the Ruined City. Master stood next to the bed of our Lady for a long, long time, right after he returned from the frontlines." Felicia turned gravely serious and whispered. "The healers said behind the King's back that they might have to…sacrifice the Prince… to save his mother."

Seeing Silas's face turned white as paper, Jakob cracked his knuckles. Even the years that had passed had not been able to wash his disgust away, but when he spoke there was satisfaction to his voice all the same:

"And I remember to have burned the tongues of those infidels after they were done with their job. Not like anyone would like be 'healed' by them." How, the others didn't dare to ask.

"Um, I don't think the Master is pleased with that…" Felicia murmured, but righted herself soon after: she had a tale to finish, and she meant to do it well. "Anyway, everything went well until the end, and both of them were overjoyed. It was in the middle of the sunset, but when the Prince cried, there was a drizzle! A drizzle in the summer!"

"And the princess?" Silas asked in anticipation like a child.

"Master was extremely worried for the Lady's life when she was with child again, so he sent her, me, and Flora back to Hoshido. He would had been there the moment Princess Kanna was born, if not for the war. That was just few weeks before we faced the Lady Shenmue." They all stopped to imagine the horror of their Queen when facing the devil in the shell of her mother a mere month after her infant daughter was born. Kaze turned his head away in shame, not wanting to recall, but found his hand grasped and warmed by the gentle fingers of his wife.

"Sister usually put a vase of flowers next to our Lady's bed, so maybe that was the source of Princess Kanna's name… The Queen wanted her daughter to be a lively girl that would be adored wherever she went."

Her story ended there, and left each of the four to pursue their own train of thought. For Felicia, what came to mind was the memory of the first thing that her master did to his children: Pinching them. Oh… Of course their Lady wasn't as thrilled with his idiosyncratic action…

"...You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek
Life beyond the shore just out of reach
Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time
The path is yours to climb..."

The song drifted through the tranquil of the night as if it, too, was part of the silence. It was somber, yet drunken. Clear, yet hazy. Holistic, yet free.

"Is that…" Felicia was in absolute horror when she recognized the song that she knew by heart was coming from inside the room they were standing in front of.

Kaze whispered sadly into her ear:

"Yes. The Queen has been there since this morning. She refuses everything, food and water alike."

"How can you leave her like that! What if… How can our Lady attend tomorrow's funeral like this!" A moment ago Felicia had been the serene storyteller: now she was a flurry of outrage. But as soon as she tried grabbing the knocker, Silas stood up between her and the door, and Jakob made the order in his strictest tone:

"Do not disturb the rest of my Masters, or else I'll have to kill you." The expression on his face meant the butler was deathly serious.

"...Embrace the dark you call a home,
Gaze upon an empty, white throne
A legacy of lies,
A familiar disguise
Sing with me a song of conquest and fate
The black pillar cracks beneath its weight
Night breaks through the day, hard as a stone
Lost in thoughts all alone..."

With each of the note, an invisible nail was hammered on Felicia's heart. She had to lean on the wall to keep her balance.

A solemn air descended upon the three young women, each bearing an impression unfit for such ladies: Caeldori gasped with her mouth wide, Ophelia's breathing sounded as if she was choked, and Soleil…

Their conversation proceeded on with whispers; as if they feared there would be eyes and ears hidden in the murals of Hoshido mountains around them.

"This will be a huge scandal if any other person knows about it."

"Oh, don't make things sound so serious, Caeldori! Nobles do it all the time!" Despite rejecting the claim, Ophelia was visibly nervous: her fingers sought the hems of her sleeves when.

"Nobles do! Soleil is no noble; she's...she is…Imagine the ridicule of a royal born outside of marriage!"

"I don't think the people will care that much . Everyone is still too busy with rebuilding the kingdom." Soleil delivered her reply with more force than normal. She never spoke like that to friends, but ever since she had learnt of her shocking condition she had been on edge. Even talking with her two best friends did little to alleviate the stress.

"That is what I worry about! The royal family has just been reestablished, so the trust of the common men hasn't taken root. Even the maids will begin to mock you!"

"Gossips! Why should I be mindful of that? I have Shigure and you guys! You'll stay by my side even when the ducks start flying, won't you?"

"Yes…But…"

"Without a doubt!" We Justice Cabal have vowed to be the buckle for each other!"

Caeldori and Ophelia answered her, the latter with very much gusto.

"We have a sacred vow to help in all way possible to one of us in the time of need. Isn't this our chance to fulfill the oath?"

"Thank you, Ophelia. You're a great help." Soleil sent Caeldori a rising eyebrow for a question: "Why can't you be more like her?"

"I need you to…"

Their conversation was abruptly ended with the oak door opened by Laslow, husband of Peri and father of Soleil. His arrival made his daughter and company even more anxious, which they did their best to hide with awkward smiles.

"Soleil, it's time to get you into the dress! Your mother and Selena are itching to get you into it!"

"Father, can you please wait for a moment?" Had his daughter just raised her voice to him?

Something was wrong. No, neither because he hadn't scored with any fair maiden that day, nor because his wife had attempted to widow herself because of his attempt. This was too serious to be that…

"Are you having your period?"

"FATHER!" Followed the uncomfortable silent, Ophelia, Caeldori, and then Laslow himself started giggling, much to Soleil's embarrassment. One of the rare times his joke worked! This is a horribly bad joke… No daughter would feel inclined to confide in her father after such a tasteless, demeaning, misogynistic joke…

But when did his daughter become this sensitive?

"Sir Laslow, Soleil was too nervous, that is all. I think some more time with us will make her calm enough for the ceremony."

The knight would have heeded the advice and immediately walked out of the room if not for a discreet glance passed between Soleil, Caeldori and Ophelia. The children were definitely hiding something. But…A young girl should have her secrets, Laslow supposed.

"Soleil, you know that you'll always be my daughter? You can tell me anything if you want to."

"I… I know that very well… I… have something that I must talk to my friends alone…I will tell it to you later…"

As soon as the door closed behind Laslow, the trio resumed to their previous topic. Caeldori's voice soon rose with worry:

"Are you sure you want to reveal it to Sir Laslow and Lady Peri? Isn't it too risky? After your mother, it'll be lady Charlotte, then lady Camilla, then…"

"Listen to me! It'll eventually come out, so what difference does it make if I scream to the whole kingdom that I'm carrying the prince's child?"

Since the beginning, she had made up her mind about letting the cat out of the bag and bear with it like her brave father did every single failed conquest… Scratch that! Laslow had never taken refusals well: that might even be the reason he married Peri in the first place. Few dared to even think of refusing her.

"You need time, Soleil. To make you and him comfortable with it, and maybe organize a wedding. Or at least clear your mind… Please don't mistake my words. It's just that you've been talking and acting weird in the last few weeks."

"It's the stress… And no objection! I've made up my mind when I was sober. But I need your help to tell my parents about the baby. Will you help me?"

Caeldori finally accepted, after what seemed like an extremely long struggle between loyalty and scruples. Ophelia agreed, too, but she asked a question first:

"Why don't you tell it to Prince Shigure? He'll know what to do, right?"

"Not at the moment…But believe me, there is nothing more I want to do than sharing it with him. For now, let's just focus on keeping my mother's axe as far as possible from the neck of her grandchild's father."

It was strange how quickly the last surviving commoners of the middle kingdom set up a bar in the aftermath of the war. Or how fast they burned through ten barrels of ale and seven of whiskey all in a day's work…

Most of the feat was contributed to the officers of the liberation army. This particular bar was in the center of the market, not far from the royal palace. Soldiers from Hoshido and Nohr were forbidden to leave their respective barracks on the outskirt of the city to make a fool of themselves (they still got an ample ration of spirits), but the restriction didn't extend to the commanders. So, naturally, the bar became a sort of den for all the named heroes on this continent.

The bar wasn't any brighter than how it usually was when Azama walked through that door. The earliest sunshine couldn't breech into the room – it was all but absorbed by the layers of soot and lard that substituted wall paint and lacquer for the furniture. And his occupation definitely did not brought enlightenment neither to the bar nor its customers.

"You… No drink? That is a bit different." Niles commented to the priest, who had just shaken his head to answer the bartender's knowing eyes.

Azama took his seat next to the thief, in front of the a big tree served as the bar – because of the shortage of time, they had only cleared off its branches and cleaved the trunk in half before setting it up

"You know what day is it, yes?"

"I know, I know. But if you want to keep that head of yours clear during the ceremony, why bother going here?"

"A bad habit, I suppose. We don't have many more chances to visit this place, anyway."

Azama passed his pipe to Niles. It was a kind of privilege to his friend, because the priest had just taken his first drag of the day.

"…So how is the preparation on your side? My snipers are ready for anything." Niles lowered his voice, and so did Azama.

"It's all done. My father has just arrived last night. He is going to be the head priest of the ceremony."

"So your old man is going to wave that silly stick around and suffocate us all with your… what is it again?"

"Incense. And it doesn't suffocate people."

"Bah! You've inhaled so much of it you can't taste fresh air anymore."

A groan interrupted their conversation. It was from the black mass that occupied the seats next to them. The bartender had cautiously placed the candlesticks out of the way so that no light could have disturbed them.

"Did your prince stay here drinking all night?"

"So did yours. I came back early last night, and when I arrived this morning, nothing short of a Golem could wake them. How much did they drink, Rosky?"

"One barrel, at the very least. And the best stuff. If they wake up by tomorrow it's because you set their pants on fire."

"We have a problem, then."

"Don't be so pessimistic." Niles patted his partner in the shoulder. "We've pulled out unscathed in much direr situations than this. Just give them some time."

Azama observed his peer. Takumi-san's ponytail had loosened and become a mess, with a huge spot of discoloration. His eyelids spasmed over restlessly moving eyeballs, and the smell of sweat mixed with old ale made his nose crawl.

Prince Leo wasn't much better. He slumped over the bar with his arms wide and his face flat on the rough surface of the bar. Scuffle marks were visible on his otherwise flawless skin, and his fingers curled up like a spider's legs.

The two princes had fought hard against each other in the last few days, so it was both abnormal and reassuring to see they could finally drink their problem out.

Niles had the same thought as him and voiced his opinion:

"To think that they just have a brawl over something like a funeral. What difference does it make to a dead man anyway?"

"…I suppose that you don't believe in an all-powerful being?"

One, two, three, four… an army of ants marched across the bar counter. They were of the red species, very aggressive and had terrific stings, so the men moved their hands out of the ants' way.

"No. Not when you see how ugly the dragon you were taught to worship since childhood is. And definitely not after you kick its flabby ass."

"True enough…" The mild aroma of his tobacco added another layer of mystery to the already dubious bar. Through the white smoke, Azama tried to solve the riddle that was Niles. The problem was that he seemed to hide nothing under the tongue.

Maybe his clerical tendency of overanalyze people trumped his judgment. Granted, nobody would ever take a thief for an honest man, but why should there be any cryptic meaning behind Niles' words?

So he spoke directly what he thought:

"I think that death should send us a reminder once in a while. Life will always go on, but people need to overcome obstacles to appreciate it. You can think of it like boulders in the middle of the river."

"… For the living, huh?"

"For the living…"

…Their conversation had finally touched Takumi and Leo's ears. Their slumber ended groggily, but lingered on their eyelids and made them reluctant to open. The Nohr prince feebly used his elbow to get up, only to fall face flat onto the hard wood again.

"It's about time, your highness. We have another two hour before it begins…Rosky, make me a drink of tomato, lime, and gin…You ought to go, too. And maybe I should take a bath like you. Even Ol' Benny shaved for today."

Shigure somberly watched his mother cried through her song. He couldn't see her expression, because the long blue hair covered all but a sliver of her face. Drips of tears, however, fell onto the King's chest and sucked dry by the velvet he rested on. The Prince thought he could imagine the "tach-tach-tach" sound of each one falling on the white armor.

"…The path you walk on belongs to destiny, just let it flow
All of your joy and your pain will fall like the tide, let it flow
Life is not just filled with happiness, nor sorrow
Even the thorn in your heart, in time it may become a rose
A burdened heart sinks into the ground
A veil falls away without a sound
Not day nor night, wrong nor right
For truth and peace you fight

Sing with me a song of silence and blood
The rain falls, but can't wash away the mud
Within my ancient heart dwells madness and pride
Can no one hear my cry…"

His mother's song had made the world silent: Birds stopped chirping, wind did not make the leaves rustling anymore, and Shigure's heart had halted its beat altogether.

Aqua stopped for a brief second before moved to final of the third stanza:

"…You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek
Life beyond the shore, just out of reach
Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time
The path is yours to climb
You are the ocean's gray waves."

He couldn't hear anything more from there but only the cry of his sister, followed by his aunts and others: their voices seemed deafening. But why couldn't he cry?

…

When his mother stood up, it was with a new sense of tranquil found and embraced. The Queen moved away to make room for the men who would carry the boat on their shoulders: Kaze, Jakob, Silas, and Shura – the King's closest allies. The rest of the attendees formed a line behind them, with the family of Corrin on the lead.

The trip to the edge of the lake was only a hundred yards long, yet it felt like thousand of miles away to these people, who had marched across the continent to fight the evil that had once shadowed this land with heavy wings.

Although hardened by battle, these men and women had not made themselves a name from famous victories. They were simply those lucky enough not to be included among the thousand bodies that had lain rotting in the sun when victory finally came. And today, with feet made of lead, they marched in farewell for another of these thousand.

Shigure barely registered what happened around him during the walk: Aunt Sakura and Aunt Elise walked together hand-in-hand, with eyes that had no more tears – and barely even life – left in them. Rhajat moved separately from the group, almost parallel to the boat. Sir Benny sobbed profoundly while barely able to support himself on the shoulder of his wife. Lord Yukimura constantly wiped his glasses, only for them to be stained the next moment. His sister's hand turned cold within his…

The army had made it halfway through when howls stopped it in its tracks. They were neither the battle cries nor one celebrated victory – sorrowful notes filled the beastly calls. From the shadows of the trees, one by one, giant shadows revealed themselves as the symphony kept resounding from their throats. And when it was over, the leader of them cried one more time, a signal that was taken by his brethren to leave him to his human friends. Flannel, in his proud Mánagarm form, took his place next to Nishiki, who had been dragging his brilliant tail on dirt and rock.

Many of them stumbled, but others immediately offered their shoulders and hands. They seemed chaotic, but a closer look revealed these soldiers were going through another familiar march, with loose but identifiable ranks. King Xander and Emperor Ryoma, who usually in command of them, left their comrades to their own paces today and instead walked side-by-side, just behind the boat. No word was exchanged between those who knew what their comrade thought just by looking at their eyes - even eyes left cold by death.

Sir Gunter thrust the flagpole firmly into the ground, signalling that their journey ended here. All that needed to be said had already been spoken at the outskirts of the forest, and thus everybody but the four men halted. Then, they prudently lowered the boat into the freshly-dug ditch.

"Wait!" The crowd parted to make way for the prince and princess to where the king rested. Shigure unbuckled the belt that held his scabbard tightly to his waist. Murmurs came like the rain, and the Prince thought he had heard someone make an attempt to advise him not to go through with his action. However, he only looked at his mother.

"Mother, can I?" The queen gave her son a slight nod. Shigure put Yato on his father's chest, and then crossed his arms around the sword to secure it. Corrin's fingers weren't cold or flaccid like Shigure had thought. It was still very much warm and firm, as if he was still alive.

Time had stopped for Corrin when he met his end – one last gesture of respect from Death, perhaps. A victorious smile of knowing all of his strife had paid off was etched eternally on his lips. On his chest lay the dragonstone – the warm, luminous light had not returned to it since that day, and never would. The large gash caused by Anakos was now remembered by only a clean hole on the polished armor. (There had been talks on whether or not to dress him up in a new suit of armor, but ultimately the order was given by Aqua to let him rest untouched.)

Next to the King was a single flower, a lily, the dew still fresh on its petals. Whoever brought it there must have known his father well – Corrin always said to him the most beautiful things beside his wife's song and his son's paintings were the white flowers Kanna brought him.

Looking at how the father's eyelids rested without any weight on them, aversion flared up from nowhere within the son. Shigure just wanted to grab him and scream words of hatred and grief until Corrin extended his arms and brought them into his warm embrace, like he always did.

…Hahaha… What is happening to him...?

…Kanna was about to put her dragonstone inside the boat when her brother stopped her with a hand on her wrist. She read his lips:

'Do you want to say anything?' Kanna shook her head, and after giving Corrin one last hug, she returned with her brother to the crowd…

Wyverns, pegasi, and golden kites encircled the sky above the funeral. Some of them were mounts of the knights down there, while others were wild ones who had just returned to their now-free fatherland.

In the midst of them was a stranger, a creature more majestic than any existence had ever flown on earth. It was small, miniscule compared to the beasts now occupied the sky. But its azure scales shone brighter than even the sun during the summer solstice. The diamond-hard tail waved back and forth, created a ring of no intrusion.

The dragon paid no mind to the noisy surroundings, instead focusing solely on the scene that unfolded below: The boat, after being pushed away by the four men, slowly sank into the water. By the time it floated to the center of the lake, half of the inside had been filled with water. The men, the women, and the dragon watched it foundering away in silent.

It was not until the face of the young man inside the boat had completely disappeared under the ripples that the dragon began its departure. It glided around the lake three times, each round marked with a roar, before it departed, away from the still rising sun.

Soleil approached her lover, who was standing on the balcony of the royal palace to admire the setting sun. Shigure hadn't said a single word after the ceremony, nor had he accepted any food or drink that the servants offered. Lady Aqua, before she retreated to her chamber with Kanna, said that they should let him be.

Soleil was still in her mourning dress (a matching one with the royal family, a great honor to wear), but carried a freshly-baked baguette in her hand. Without hesitation, she used it to playfully rap her Prince in the head.

"Haven't you had enough of the sunset already?" The burning horizon on the West was the last fortress for night to claim before it finally ruled the sky. And it was a night of no moon or star.

"Soleil?"

"Doesn't this smell make you only want to go 'Woah'?" She broke the bread in half and waved it before his nose. Another three minutes with no reaction, and she recognized her trick wouldn't work. Soleil's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"…Will you do everything for me?"

"What haven't I done for you? You know every nook and cranny of my body." Laslow's daughter had expected a blush, but it did not come. In fact, it was one of the few times she saw Shigure this serious.

"Then marry me."

"What…" He fell down on his knee, seized her hand and held it tightly[, as if fearing she would turn and run.

"You're right. I've had enough of this sunset, and a lot of other things. Death… I saw it this morning, Soleil…"

The longer he spoke, the more it became incoherent mumbles:

"What kind of son I'm… No, no… I don't want this...To hell with this throne…"

"Please, Soleil… I don't want to lose you…" She could feel the heat of tears run down her hand, making that "tach-tach-tach" sound when it met the marble floor.

It was best described as going through heaven, purgatory, and then back, all within a minute (or, in short, hangover). Soleil found it exhilarating at first, the fuzziness that had crept into her heart with his proposal. But the aftermath, when she recognized how insincere her lover was, and how they wouldn't truly devote themselves to each other in the near future.

She had to make a choice. Which one?

Soleil looked down on her belly. Her maternal instinct told her to accept it, and then let everything unravel itself as time passed. Or, maybe that was their child pleading her?

But, by doing that, will you truly be happy, my unborn child?...

Instead of giving an answer, she crouched to Shigure's level, brought his head to lean into her chest, and cried with him. She made sure not to let a single sob past her lips, but the tears freely wet the Prince's robe.

"I can't… I can not marry you now…But I'll always be there for you…I promise." While rocking him like how a mother did her child, she murmured words of strength into his ear, and for herself.

"We live for the living…and the death, my dear."

…The tears became fewer and fewer. His breathing, while rasped, had gone back to the ordinary. But she didn't let go of him, and he apparently had no intention of facing her. Each of them knew how scared the other would be if they could see directly into their eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm too weak to be a king, aren't I? Even Yato didn't choose me."

"You will have a toughtnut to be your queen. We're too stubborn to die, so this is nothing...And maybe what Yato needs is not a witful king who reign in peace…"

Her kiss put Shigure into a trance. That warmth on his forehead… Long ago, someone used to do that for him and his sister, so many times… He could recall the man's face clear as day, at first - but it faded, gradually, and that person was leaving him. Or was Shigure moving further away from him?

…A smile of that person was all the answer he needed…

FIN

This story was written for Serene Forest Forum's Scribble competition. Unfortunately, I failed in the first round.

To sum it up: After the battle with Anakos, Corrin was killed in a moment of carelessness by the dragon in his last breath. By his request, Corrin's body was put on a leaked boat and left to founder into a certain lake (where Aqua should had suicided there)

The story deals mainly with how his comrades and family deal with the death of a close one. In the end, everyone moves on, with different levels of difficulty - especially his children. The italic part on the start of the story depicts the moment everybody surrounded Corrin's body, while Kanna went berserk. Shigure used Yato to stop his sister, and succeeded; however, the sword rejected him outright.

(It was Lunar New Year in Vietnam a few weeks ago, so what is better to write about the triumphant of life? Specifically, it was written around the date of the Vernal Commences/beginning of spring in the lunar calendar.)

There are some parts (e.g Corrin was crowned before the war was over; Aqua and Flora live, the latter even married Jakob, e.t.c) that may come as unfamiliar to you. That is because this work is extracted and modified from a bigger story of mine (basically chronicallized and merged all three routes into a coherence story). So yes, the story has another layer of inherent cryptic beside the author's intention.

Well, that is a mouthful! Anyway, thank you for reading my work!

Feel free to post your comment! But I'll be sad if you say the story makes no sense.