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okkefac · 1 year

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FE Engage: Alfred Support Analysis [Spoilers]

On twitter I asked if I should really make an analysis and tier list of every Alfred support in Fire Emblem Engage, because the briainrot is real. Well, I was encouraged for some reason, so thought I may as well post it to tumblr as well.

I’ll be analysing them from the bottom up, but I do genuinely like every Alfred support!

WARNING: SPOILERS. For playable cast, as well as end cards.

Alfred/Amber

I’d say this is probably Alfred’s weakest support, which is to say it’s still good, but has nothing really going for it in particular. It’s what you’d expect - two fairly dumb characters going on a fairly dumb adventure together. It’s very straight forward, to the point, and sweet. It’s full of typical Alfred optimism - it’s a great support to help solidify his character, but doesn’t really do much more than that other than comic relief.

Alfred/Boucheron

Another support that is mostly surface level without much more going on. Surprisingly my two favourite characters, but still ranked this low. It’s very predictable, and the C and B supports are basically identical to Boucheron/Etie’s C and B supports. The A support ends sweetly but in a predictable manner. I’d again say this is a good support to learn of both Alfred’s and Boucheron’s characters, but is mostly just surface level and comic relief.

Alfred/Bunet

This support is basically the same as the other two in that it’s surface level and mostly there for comic relief - the only reason it rates higher is because Bunet is such a force for chaos that the comic relief is incredibly hilarious. The support literally starts with this banger of a line:

Bunet: Prince Alfred. Might I ask you for a quick lick?

And then contains these beauties:

Alfred: Speaking of which, Bunet, you’re looking pretty beefy.

Bunet: Beefy, you say. Do you mean you would like to have a quick lick yourself?

Alfred: Uh, no, I’m good. I was just paying you a compliment.

The A support ends weird, which is to be expected of Bunet, and is surprisingly gay for a non Alear support. Again very surface level, but its humour puts it above the other two for me personally.

Alfred/Veyle

An Alfred support where he “breaks character” so to say is always going to rate highly for me, as I’m a sucker for typically happy characters showing their true colours and thoughts. This support starts very generic, and the C support is hilarious, but has some really good points throughout it. Generally Alfred’s A supports are his strongest point, and this one holds up to that. You go into the C and B thinking it will be another surface level Alfred support where he’s going on about exercise, and Veyle is going on about spicy food and feeling insecure, but then the A support has a few little gems in it. In particular this line really struck me when reading it for the first time.

Veyle: Oh, Alfred. I don’t think my problems can be solved by push-ups...or crunches.

Alfred: Of course. You know that, and I know that.

His soft voice and change of tone when he says that - that’s his happy self taking a step back to let Veyle know that her problems are valid, he is taking her concerns seriously, this is just how he does so.

Alfred: If you don’t set your troubles down every now and then, they’ll crush you.

This line also sticks out once you think about Alfred’s backstory a little bit more, and read a certain support that I’ll get to.

Alfred: I’d be happy to push you so hard, you can’t think of anything else. It’s what I do best!

This line summing up his beautiful character is honestly so touching. This support really pleasantly surprised me once I got to the A rank. Really lovely.

Alfred/Diamant

So I want to love this support, I really do. Once I saw these two could support, and then that all the main royals supported each other, I was so excited because Diamant is one of my favourite characters, and his personality is very different from Alfred’s.

And for the most part, this support is as great as I’d hoped it would be. The C support fascinates me, I remember thinking how strange Alfred was acting during it - we usually see him as the cheery muscle guy, so seeing him actually act princely was a real surprise, and I’m really a sucker for characters acting parts and changing their personality to do so.

I’m even more of a fan when this breaks down, like Alfred so beautifully does so here.

Alfred: I was trying so hard to keep up the act, but I guess I blew it with that question.

Seeing him play the formal part and then break down and B support and upwards act like his normal self was such a refreshing change of pace from his other supports. It made me super excited to read this. The B support continues much on in the same manner, and these two are simply just cute together. It’s great seeing them bond, and Alfred being adorable and saying how close they are. It’s all so wonderful.

Shoutout as well to the beginning of the C support basically being that meme where the early risers and night owls meet up because they’re both awake. Love that for them.

But then we get to the A support, and I have to be honest this A support kind of frustrates me. At the same time of grinding this support out, I was also grinding and achieving the Diamant/Ivy support line, and got their A support shortly before Diamant and Alfred’s - and the Alfred/Diamant A support really confused me because it goes against not only Diamant/Ivy but several other Diamant supports. Diamant is always adamant that he will change Brodia’s ways, that he wishes for no wars, and he will deal with the political outfall to do so (Citrinne/Diamant support goes into this as well) - and yet suddenly in his A support with Alfred he can’t commit to not invading Firene? It reeks of forced drama because these two were too wholesome together. It’s wild that Diamant will go fight nobles to not invade Elusia, but will tell Alfred to his face that his people might make him invade Firene. Of course Alfred is wonderful about this, but this detail just struck me as so weird on Diamant’s part - and brings the whole support down for me, which otherwise was one of my favourite Alfred support lines.

Alfred/Etie

This was actually the final support chain I got for Alfred, and it started similarly predictable and disappointing as Boucheron’s. There’s nothing really to say about the C and B supports for me, it’s Alfred and Etie being muscle heads. It’s good generic character build up.

Then you get the A support, and it takes a wild left turn that genuinely I’ve been thinking about for around a day now, because I am incredibly pathetic. In Engage most supports are almost passionately platonic, characters do not even mention romance. Some supports are flirty, but again, genuine joining of relationships is rarely mentioned - and as I said this was my final Alfred support, so I can confirm outside of his S rank, Alfred is nowhere near the realm of even mentioning romance.

So when he casually mentions his queen, and his mother thinking he’d marry Etie, I was actually gobsmacked. That’s a surprisingly serious topic for Alfred to talk about, especially in a support that I was expecting to be generic from the C and B ranks. It gives some much needed personality to Éve that I wish we had more of, some backstory for Alfred and Etie’s relationship. I was worried, because my biased shipping heart can’t take it, that it would go a romantic route between Alfred and Etie, but I loved that both of them very sincerely seemed to find the idea completely ridiculous.

I am a sucker for a gay romance including inheritance drama if one of them is a noble, and knowing that Alfred’s queen has been a talking point gives me some damn good ammo for some family drama. Basically this support gave a different side to Alfred’s relationships, even if someone isn’t an Alfred/Alear (especially Alfred/M!Alear) shipper, or especially if they are an Alfred/Etie shipper (and you interpret this differently to me), this support gives a totally different side to his relationships that I find really fun to think about.

Alfred/Timerra

Funny enough, despite this being higher ranked than the others, I have less to say on it to be honest. This support is fairly simple and nice, but just felt more fulfilling than the supports I listed initially. I always find Alfred in new situations interesting, and I liked how he wanted to pick Timerra’s brain over dinner. The B support is basically nothing, and the A support is sweet enough. Sharing culture and learning more about each other is a very Alfred way to do things, and makes sense considering he has said before how he knows very little of Solm due to distance, so it’s nice seeing that referenced in this chain.

Shoutout to Alfred being the only royal who doesn’t sing in their Timerra support chain though, very sad. I guess Timerra knew he’d be too supportive. What a good boy.

Alfred/Vander

This was one of the last Alfred supports I got, and my opinion on Vander wasn’t stellar beforehand, but this support very pleasantly surprised me. Much like Timerra’s, this support doesn’t have loads going for it, but is just of a consistent quality and very nice for both characters. Alfred is rarely self conscious, and again this is a sort of bias that I have in that I love the happy go lucky characters going through mild angst, so starting with Alfred’s guilt did immediately draw me in. I did love getting a support that talks a bit more about Lumera, and Firene’s close relationship with her. Knowing Lumera gave Alfred flowers for his birthday is honestly such a damn cute mental image, especially since Alfred presumably would have been quite sickly at the time, so probably saw great treasure in it.

This support is overall just adorable, and these two play off of each other very well. A very subdued Alfred support, but a really good point.

Alfred/Ivy

So when I got this support, it was mostly because I had suddenly decided to use Ivy and needed everyone in my army to support Alfred as soon as possible. This support very pleasantly surprised me, and made me love Ivy especially. Again like the two before, it’s just an overall great support with nothing much surprising going on Alfred is of course very trusting and kind, as he always is, and I love Ivy’s teasing. These two play off of each other very well. The B support is a change of pace from most Alfred supports, where Alfred sort of has the upper hand, which is rarely the case for him, and he gets to tease Ivy in turn.

The A support is predictable, but has a great line from Ivy.

Ivy: This is unacceptable. I demand that you be troubled immediately!

This support chain highlights both of their characters in really great ways, and I adore the dynamic these two have together, which is not something I expected!

Alfred/Yunaka

I think this was my first Alfred support that I got to A rank, so revisiting it for this write up was so much fun, and reminded me how much I loved it at the time. This support shows Alfred at his best, a genuinely lovely and friendly person, who is willing to trust and support whoever needs it. The C support starts in a way that makes you think the whole chain will be obvious, Yunaka is sneaky, Alfred trusts, he slowly over time pries info out of her, they get closer, bla bla - but then the B support completely subverts that. Where most characters, honestly understandably so, would question Yunaka’s motives and not like that she is openly willing to lie, Alfred takes her completely at face value and doesn’t even try to pry - when he accidentally asks too deep a question he backs up and lets Yunaka take the reigns of their friendship. Rereading this I was reminded why I love Alfred so much.

Their A support continues and again I was expecting to gain some info on Yunaka, but Alfred respects her boundaries, something more people should do in general, and it just ends with Yunaka genuinely in awe of this - and you can tell she appreciates it.

Alfred: From one weird bird to another, I hope we stay friends for a long time.

What a fitting end to such a lovely conversation. This was such a different support than I expected these two to have, and I loved every moment of it.

Alfred/Alear

Okay and here is where my obvious biases come in. The main reason this support is so highly rated is because of the S rank, not just because I ship these two like mad, but because I appreciate learning of a character’s romantic side. The topic of romance is also why I loved Etie’s A support so much.

This chain is again for the most part fairly formulaic - but does have that added twist that I said before where Alfred is surprisingly out of character, he’s incredibly self conscious in a way that is only seen in a handful of other conversations of his, and this stays throughout the whole support conversation. The C support reads very much of “and they were roommates”, and the B support is probably their weakest one where it just reads as wacky things Alfred does to show his support. Since at this time I was also getting the Clanne and Framme Alear supports, it wasn’t super exciting to read at the time.

The A support is for the most part a logical conclusion to the B and C supports, but does have an extra bit of information that I think about a lot. Alfred mentioned how he visited Alear a lot as a child during his slumber, and saw Alear as a friend during that time, and how that explains his clingy behaviour. This again can read as just Alfred being Alfred, but once you learn more of his backstory and think more on his person and history, actually becomes incredibly touching if not quite sad. Alfred grew up very sickly, we can probably conclude from this that he didn’t have many friends as he was likely in recovery a lot, I can only imagine what kind of friendship he might have imagined with his deity - someone he probably prayed to to fix his condition, and to now be able to have a real genuine friendship with, is so interesting.

Now, their S support is absolutely everything I wanted it to be. If I’m going to romance someone, I want romance dammit! And boy does this deliver. If anyone wants a non-platonic Alear S rank, please look no further than Alfred. This again is a natural conclusion, and makes reference to their old supports, whilst being very explicitly romantic. The exchange of gifts is touching, and Alfred dares to use the word love. His confidence gained from this and his S rank wake up convos are such a delight, he’s honestly quite flirty and I gotta say I adore it. These two are just so cute together, that I might scream just thinking about it.

Alfred/Céline

Oh boy. Okay, let’s get into it.

My initial tier list calls this required reading, and to be honest it really is. This support underpins basically Alfred’s entire character, and in retrospect makes every other support of his so much better. If you don’t romance Alfred yourself, his ending is basically so incredibly left field unless you do the Céline support - and if you do the Céline support, it’s just mind shatteringly depressing. I would be as bold as to say this is one of the most important support chains in the whole entire game - especially considering how major a character Alfred is to the plot at large.

Alfred/Céline’s support chain starts innocently, as many of Alfred’s otherwise do. His C and B supports are him digging and Céline essentially calling him a himbo. It’s really funny, and it’s nice to see Céline teasing him, as it was difficult to gauge what their relationship was like just from the main story alone, since Céline doesn’t appear in it for long.

Then you get to their A support. I didn’t count but this support seems to be much longer than any other Alfred support that there is, and for a very good reason.

There is often a saying of if something is too good to be true, it probably is, right? Alfred is such a lovely person, he’s always so happy, so carefree, he was sickly as a child but worked through it, he’s doing amazing now! This A support takes all that and tears it to the frigging ground. Alfred’s illness has returned. Now, if you had only done Alfred’s supports, you probably know that he was ill as a child, but it’s not really brought up, been there done that y’know? But it’s a common theme in Céline’s supports, and she mentions it so much, and it’s obvious she has a lot of trauma and anxiety from genuinely fearing for her brother’s life for so long. For Céline to find him like this is literally one of her biggest fears come true.

And you have to wonder, if this was such an important part of Céline’s life, and if Alfred was truly *that* sick, wouldn’t we have heard about it? Well, I think this line that he says to try and stop Céline getting him medical help explains it well.

"As far as they’re concerned, I want to be the spirited prince who loves working out."

And this is where my heart sank. God am I a sucker for tropes like this, but it genuinely hurt because Alfred doesn’t deserve this. It’s an act, of course it is. Of course he can’t be this airheaded wonderful man who’s just undeniably sweet - of course he’s actually aware of what’s going on. Of course he’s putting on a brave front so others don’t worry about him. Of course! Because he’s a goddamn amazing character, and I love him.

This broke me, this truly broke me, because when I think of how he must be feeling, how Céline must be feeling, how his whole dumb muscle shtick started just to save his damn life, I get depressed knowing that it’s returned and that his arguably-more-canon ending has him frigging dying from it. It’s not enough. All the work he did is not enough. I don’t think I have the heart to not S rank him, because that ending just hurts so much man.

These lines later on in the A rank, because this A rank is long, also made me sad in that it shows a mindset that to my knowledge is quite common amongst those with chronic conditions.

Alfred: Well, what about you, then? What brings you true happiness?

Céline: Nothing.

Alfred: Really? You’ve got good friends, you got your health─none of that does it?

“You got your health” - Céline has all that Alfred could want, all that he needs. Most people don’t value health as a baseline form of happiness, most people take it for granted. But it’s been this big part of Alfred’s life looming over him. Something that, unless you S rank him, he never gets to truly understand.

And because this support keeps on giving, Alfred then goes back to his cheery self, saying how happy talking to Céline makes him, and points out a four-leaf clover. They talk about how they always used to look for happy little things as children, and Céline used to be better, but at one point Alfred got better. Céline’s mental health struggles are honestly another talking point I could go into massively, but the idea that the person who has suffered, the kind older brother, is so selflessly looking out for joys to make his worrying sister feel better, and has done so since childhood, is just so beautiful.

One more line that sticks out, knowing how Alfred’s solo ending goes.

Alfred: Hey... I’m not gonna die, OK? I’ll be fine if I stick with my training.

This pair of siblings honestly has such a tragic story and end. This support chain is so stunningly beautiful, again pretty much entirely in the A support. It ends with Alfred later saying he can’t guarantee anything, but that they must work together for Firene. It’s bittersweet, and how bitter or sweet it really is depends on if you S rank Alfred, but even with his health improving, his history has had such a profound effect on both of them, and is truly explored in this support.

This support reveals information that underpins both characters core personalities, and makes both of their other supports so incredibly better. It’s honestly one of my favourite supports not only in the game, but in the Fire Emblem series as a whole.

Absolutely beautiful.

#fire emblem #fire emblem engage #fire emblem alfred #fire emblem alear #fire emblem boucheron #fire emblem amber #fire emblem diamant #fire emblem timerra #fire emblem ivy #fire emblem celine #fire emblem yunaka #fire emblem vander #fire emblem etie #fire emblem bunet #fire emblem veyle #fe engage #fe17 #fe17 spoilers #alfred fire emblem

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nowis-scales · 4 months

Text

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

General Warnings: Depiction of Wounds, Minor Depictions of Violence

Fandoms: Fire Emblem Engage

Relationships: Ivy/Timerra

Additional Tags: Childhood Friends, Childhood Crush, Political Alliances, Flower Crowns, Alternate Universe — Character Swap, First Crush, Slow Build

Story Word Count: 9,200 words

Story Summary: If things had gone differently, Timerra and Ivy would have been friends. If things had gone differently, Elusia and Solm wouldn’t be at odds. If things had gone differently, Ivy would not be left to die, not knowing if Hortensia was still alive. If things had gone differently, Timerra thinks. If things hadn’t gone differently in the past, then she would try and make them different now.

[Read it on AO3.]

The hot sun makes Ivy feel as if she is going to die. The blood seeping out of her wound, even more so. It’s like she can physically feel her eyes longing to roll back into her head as she stares up at the blistering warmth, the expanse of blue sky doing nothing to comfort her as her fingers reach for solace in a mess of sand. Sweat drips down her brow as she lays there, completely spent, poised to be reunited with her father once more.

She didn’t even get to find out if it was true – if Hortensia was alive. It was the only reason she came to this godsforsaken place. If there was a chance, even a chance, that her only surviving family was here, she wanted to be with her. She wanted to be at her side, even if it meant abandoning all that her father once held dear. Before all else, she was Hortensia’s big sister and a servant of the Divine Dragon. She would do what she needed to do.

That conviction… it had led her straight into Zephia’s hand. Were she anyone else, Zephia would have used her to do her bidding – toyed with her like a marionette, using her affection for her father as a weapon to push her towards whatever she wanted… but Ivy was a non-believer. As far as Zephia was concerned, she wasn’t even worth being the Fell Dragon’s pawn. That’s what she had said, with nothing more than the way she looked at her, with such disappointment. It was not a foreign sight. People had been looking at her with those eyes all her life. It was just another piece in a puzzle, another link in a long string of perceived failures. She should have done something more, those eyes screamed. But what more was there to do?

The sunlight burns her eyes. She knows she should close them, to at least try to protect them from the fiery Solmic sky, but to do so now would feel like surrender. She doesn’t want to risk letting herself melt into the expanse of crimson she sees when she shuts them, watching her world slowly get darker as she sinks into the bitterness of death. She doesn’t want to think of her corpse being left for the birds.

She doesn’t want to wonder if this is what Hortensia might have felt like, were her final moments truly her last. She wants to die hoping she will not be greeted by her little sister in the great beyond.

Voices whisper at her in the distance, twisting her thoughts and mind away. If she weren’t wounded, scarlet pooling out of her body and staining the sand, she might have thought herself mad. Now, she can just imagine that the delirium is coming from her impending death. That’s all this is.

Even as the voices get louder, the figures standing above her, trying to get her attention… they are delirium. Just angels come to free her from this living prison.

“Princess… certain…?”

“The… she’s… deserter… we don’t know… enemy…”

“It was my understanding… the… way…”

“… stick your neck out…”

As she stares up at the figures before her, blurred to the point of being little more than a couple of silhouettes, she can’t help but listen in as everything start to fade. There is little sense to their words, and little familiarity, but something about being with them brings her comfort. Perhaps it is they who will guide her towards the loving hands of the beyond, back to the arms of her precious little sister once more. With nothing more to say or to see, Ivy’s eyes begin to flutter shut, embracing death as it crosses her shadow.

__________________________________________

Few people saw the prince and princess of Solm. Even fewer got to see the princesses of Elusia.

That day had been a real treat for the whole company, for now an unusual occurrence would be happening in two ways. However, nobody else seemed to be as excited about it as Timerra was. Wherever she turned, it seemed as if everyone else was rife with hesitation – her mother most of all. It was unlike Queen Seforia to worry so much about something. Fitting in with the kingdom of freedom, she tried to approach most things with a nonchalant ease. Despite this, there were some things Timerra supposed she just couldn’t get off her mind – and how easily an attempt to communicate a desire for peace with the Elusians could go sour seemed to be one of them.

Solm wasn’t a country fond of fighting. Most of the time, they preferred to be left to their own devices. It was why it was so easy for them to forge a contract with Firene: they wanted to live in peace and Firene wanted that too, so they struck up a peace deal, offered some exports in exchange for imports, and all was well. People like the Firenese worked well with the Solmic, like senita cacti and senita moths. The Elusians, on the other hand, were something else entirely.

They were not a country of war quite like the Brodians were, constantly attacking and conquering to try to expand their own rule. In a way, one could say that they took notes from Solm on a preference for more isolation. However, the biggest problem that plagued the Elyosian Alliance when it came to matters of Elusia was that they had an indescribable fascination with the Fell Dragon Sombron. While Timerra and many other Solmic children were raised to treat every religion with respect, the Fell Dragon’s followers were ones that always terrified them. Many religions were harmless, but after the Thousand Years’ War, no one had the confidence to say that any sort of worship of Sombron would be more than a thing of evil. Thus, if the Elusians were Fell Dragon worshippers, then someone must have had some bad blood within them as well… or so the adults told them, anyway. Timerra wasn’t so sure that it was cut and dry. She didn’t feel like a good person just because she believed in Queen Lumera and the Divine Dragon.

Perhaps that was why she didn’t have any trouble smiling before the Elusian royal family as they arrived, bowing and bidding them the warmest welcome to Solm. It was why she didn’t have any fear as she looked into King Hyacinth’s face, thin and greyish, yet not unkind. It was why she took the hand of the first princess when their parents agreed to talk, urging her to come along so she could show her around the palace while their parents talked. After all, what fun would it be to listen to adults talk about crusty old politics all day? Maybe she could even help Mom with relations, making Princess Ivy like her enough to talk them up to King Hyacinth.

Surely, she could be of help in that way. Princess Ivy was easily the most reticent flower bud Solm had ever seen, but with a bit of laughter and a good time, maybe she could blossom into the brightest bloom. This is what Timerra told herself: be brave and be kind, for the good of the kingdom. Never mind that she couldn’t help but want to be near someone like Princess Ivy, who was the prettiest girl she’d ever seen.

Princess Ivy was a bit older than Timerra herself by about two years, about ten years old, and you could definitely tell she was moving towards womanhood sooner than Timerra would be. She was almost a full head taller than her, thin and a bit lanky, but Timerra could tell that she would grow into her body. Her skin was pale like the winter’s snow, an uncommon sight in Solm, where the sun burned bright and hot. That must explain the parasol she had carried in – if someone like her even caught a sun’s wink, her flesh would grow red like a saguaro fruit. Nonetheless, Timerra could not help but admire how smooth and pristine her skin was. Not a single blemish or mark rested upon her, apart from the hint of beauty mark that made a home underneath her lips. It charmed her, for it seemed as if the spot would smile just as Ivy did. She didn’t see much of it, only catching a brief glimpse when she tickled her toddler sister’s tummy, but she had a nice smile. She could put a songstress to shame with that grin, especially with the way it made her eyes sparkle. Surprising no one, Ivy had pretty eyes, too. And pretty hair – it was the colour of the amaranths Timerra had seen in Firenese paintings. It was long and flowed down her back, looking absolutely soft to the touch. She couldn’t help admiring her and her grace as they wandered through the halls of Solm’s Palace, though she was reluctant to look at her too much, lest she grew uncomfortable.

“So, Princess Ivy,” Timerra began, eyes focused forward, “Is there anything you want to see first? We have a great palace here, and I’m sure it’s pretty different from what you guys have over in Elusia, so just say the word and I’ll show you whatever you want!”

Ivy walked behind Timerra, trailing her a bit like one might a tour guide, so Timerra couldn’t see her face to know her answer. In fact, Ivy’s voice did not ring out around them at all. Timerra turned her head back to look at her, wondering if maybe she said something wrong, but when she found her… her head was tilted skyward, drinking in the sight of the architecture. The sight made a grin play at Timerra’s lips.

“It’s really pretty, isn’t it?” she said, giggling to herself at how bewildered Ivy looked when she realized that oh, yes, Timerra had caught her in her daze. “This palace is hundreds of years old. We update it every once in awhile, of course, but it’s mostly maintenance stuff. Still, doing that, it blends a lot of past and present architecture in here.”

Ivy continued to not say much in response, only nod. Even when she spoke to Queen Seforia, she had said nothing more than the customary greeting for a first princess to a queen. If it weren’t for that, she might have wondered if the Elusian princess could speak at all.

“The stuff from about two hundred years ago is my favourite. You can sort of see it in the moulding, up there.” she pointed, tracing her fingers along the spot, taking in the carvings of wolves in gold. “They used a lot of wolves in their stuff back then. I like wolves.”

A pause. Ivy didn’t say anything, still admiring.

“Do you have wolves in Elusia?”

Ivy nodded.

“We mostly have a subspecies of grey wolves here. Most people call them desert wolves.” she paused again. “I guess you guys must have all kinds of wolves in Elusia. They like the snow.”

Ivy nodded again. For a moment, Timerra thought that this might be all she would get out of her, but much to her surprise, Ivy finally seemed to have found her voice.

“They do.” Her cheeks seemed to flush at the fact that she had spoken. It was cute. Still, Timerra tried not to giggle at it, afraid that it would make her not want to speak again. “Glacies wolves are my favourite.”

“Glacies wolves?” Timerra echoed.

“The white ones. They eat white hares and muskoxen. They usually aren’t afraid of people.” She smiled softly. “I don’t usually like animals, but I think they are very pretty.”

“They sound pretty.” A pause. “Say, Princess Ivy, have you ever ridden a wolf before?”

Ivy’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “R-Ridden?” She shook her head. “We have no such traditions in Elusia.”

A mischevious smile crossed Timerra’s face. “Oh, you’re in for a real treat, then. I’m the best wolf rider around these parts. I’ll teach you everything I know.”

A flicker of fear crossed the Elusian princess’s face, but she said nothing, opting only to offer a nervous grin and nod. Were she truly afraid for her life, she would have refused. Thus, Timerra did not hesitate in taking her by the hand and leading her out into the arena, eager to show her new acquaintance what it really meant to ride a wolf like a Solmic warrior.

The rush of the wind running past them as they rode on wolfback, Ivy’s arms wrapped tightly around Timerra’s waist, the way she snuggled into the younger girl’s shoulder. Timerra will never forget the sound of her tiny squeaks every time Ashraf, Timerra’s wolf, would leap over obstacles or turn a little too fast. The experience had been magical without using even a dash of magic; it was a memory that Timerra longed to hang on to. That moment when she climbed off Ashraf, extending a hand to Ivy and seeing that genuine, pleased but exhausted smile on her face… She knew she had done a good thing. Heck, maybe even made a new friend. She didn’t hesitate to invite Ivy to a lunch composed of only Solm’s finest meat next.

Braised beef in grape sauce, meat pie, mutton and cabbage stew, minced-meat dumplings, salt pork, veal rolls… The palace chefs prepared every one of Timerra’s favourite meat dishes for the girls to try. No one knew exactly what Princess Ivy liked, so they thought they might just go for everything. They even threw a few veggie dishes on the side, much to a young Timerra’s disinterest. She would never understand how Princess Ivy could so happily chow down on Clover Salad, but she wasn’t going to make any judgments. At least she could appreciate all of the other piping hot foods they’d laid out for her, all while being a bit embarrassed about the decadent juices that kept threatening to dribble down her chin.

“How’s the food, Princess Ivy?” Timerra asked with a smile and a mouth full of blood sausage.

Ivy swallowed politely before even daring to speak. Oh. Right. Timerra always had trouble with that one. Probably wasn’t as big of a deal in Solm as it was in places like Elusia. “It’s lovely, thank you. Your…” she glanced around the spread, “country is fond of meat, isn’t it?”

Timerra chuckled. “Nah, more like our crown princess is. I thought you could try a sampling platter of different meat dishes from all over. I know Elusia doesn’t really get to talk to the other countries lots.”

Uh-oh. Was she supposed to say that? The way the servants around her tensed slightly made her think maybe she shouldn’t have. Carefree or not, everyone knew how important this relationship with Elusia could be. Merely offending Princess Ivy now could be curtains for the connection, even if Queen Seforia and King Hyacinth could get along… that was how royal relations worked, right? The thought of ruining things made Timerra’s heart skip a beat, and for a moment she considered retracting her statement overall, but the lacking twist in Ivy’s expression told her that maybe she should just… take a moment and wait.

“You’re right, we don’t. They don’t…” she paused. “They don’t like us very much.”

Timerra knew she should have stopped herself, but she found it going along anyway. At the time, she thought maybe it was because she was too curious for her own good, too eager to know about the stranger that came from guarded castle walls, but… The older she grew, the more she began to wonder if it was perhaps truly just a fascination with Ivy herself that drew her forward. After all, it was her way of thinking about it that she recalled desperately wanting to understand.

“Why do you think that?”

Ivy’s shoulders rise and fall, her gaze focused down on her salad. She used her fork to play with the droopy, dressing-drenched leaves. Timerra disliked seeing her looked somber once more. “Because we worship the Fell Dragon.”

Timerra frowned. Something about this made Ivy try to retract her statement.

“Or, most of us do, anyway. We didn’t used to.”

“Do you?”

Ivy looked startled, like a hare caught in a trap. Her mouth opened and then closed again.

“I would like to talk about something else, please.” She pushed for an easy smile that did not come. Timerra’s stomach twisted. She should have known better.

“Sure, um…” she swore she could feel the sweat on her brow. “What do you like to do in your spare time, Princess Ivy?”

“Oh, spare time…” she paused again. The Elusian princess seemed fond of pausing. Everything about her just seemed to be… contemplative. “I’m getting less and less of it now. Royal duties and all that. The rest of the time, I… I study. I read. Sometimes.”

“Really?” Timerra quirked a brow, leaning forward on the table. She had to recover this somehow, so she might as well try to take more of an interest, even when her companion did not have much to say. “You don’t have any hobbies other than that?”

Ivy looked a bit offended. “Being crown princess is an important job. You should know that, too. Don’t you have things to learn?”

“Well, yeah, of course. But it sounds like you’re not really free to do much of anything. You seem so busy. When do you have time to spend with your friends or your sister?”

“I have time with my sister.” Ivy answered, half-defensively. “I have some time with all my siblings. I get the most time with Hortensia.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you had more siblings!” Maybe this could be a good out, she thought. “How many?”

Ivy frowned, turning away. “Thirteen total. All half-siblings. I rarely get to spend more than an hour or two with most of them. Their… mothers don’t like me.”

Timerra pushed a kind smile as best she could. “Well, that sounds like their loss, then. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that you must be a pretty good big sister by watching you with Princess Hortensia.”

Ivy seemed to return her grin, if only by a little. She took this as a good sign, even if she could sense that these siblings were a sensitive subject for her. Best to just focus on the one her father brought along, and be empathetic when talking about the others.

“Still, I’m sure that’s probably kinda hard. You must wish you could spend more time with them. My brother and I are full-blood sibbies and only a year apart, and even we don’t spend that much time together… Although that’s kind of more of a Solm thing.”

“Solmic children don’t spend time together?”

“No, no. It’s more like we’re pretty free. We’re still pretty little, so Mom won’t let us go out without a couple of castle folks to make sure we’re safe, but aside from that, we’re pretty much allowed to do whatever we want. That means Fogado is usually out… especially when I’m in here trying to do princess stuff. I miss hanging out with him.”

Ivy shrugged thoughtfully. “I hadn’t considered how that might make things different here. Honestly… I’ve been jealous ever since I first heard about how much freedom you have. It’s not like that in Elusia. The court is not a nice place, and I have to be watched everywhere I go, in case someone decides to hurt me. I didn’t realize that a life of freedom could be lonely in its own way, too.”

“It is what it is. I try not to worry about it too much.” She didn’t know what to say to Ivy’s admission about the state of Elusia’s court. With the whole country shrouded in mystery, she’d heard nothing but rumours, but she’d thought they were all unfounded. People had a habit of saying whatever about Elusia just to make them seem scary. To hear that there was more truth to them than she thought, well… a girl of eight wouldn’t quite know what to say to comfort someone about that. After all, she was never actively hunted.

Ivy’s fingers traced a circular pattern against the table. “It must be nice.”

It can be, Timerra wanted to say, but she wasn’t sure she saw a point. The worlds she and Ivy lived in… they were so different. They could come to hear more of what the other had to say, but in the end, could they understand each other? Hm. She wondered if that was maybe the very same problem the adults were having. What were Queen Seforia and King Hyacinth talking about, while the two of them ate and played?

“It really bothers you, what’s going on in your court, huh?” Timerra knew better than to pry, but with that sad look on Ivy’s face… She just wasn’t sure what else she was meant to think. “Do you feel lonely?”

Ivy’s face hardened, clearly hoping to give off the impression of a refined young girl, but once she saw the sincerity in Timerra’s eyes… her shoulders slumped and her jaw relaxed. Did she have to be this on guard all the time, Timerra wondered.

Ivy nodded, licking her lips. She did not say anything else. By now, Timerra had gathered that this princess was far from a talkative one. She would have to be the one to carry things, if she wanted them to talk. That was fine. Timerra could do that. To be honest, sometimes people told Timerra that she talked a little too much.

“I can get that. It must feel pretty weird. You’re busy a lot, you don’t get to see your sibbies at all… Doesn’t sound like you get a lot of time to just spend being with people you like. Do you get to spend a lot of time with your dad, at least?”

Ivy seemed to wince at Timerra’s casual terminology, but did not condemn it. “We have father-daughter outings twice a week. He also visits me during my tutoring sessions to see how I’m doing.” A smile crossed her face. “Sometimes he helps me practice by trying to explain to Hortensia what I’ve learned.”

Timerra smiled fondly. She could picture it – Ivy leaning over a dark oak desk, quill scribbling away until King Hyacinth and Princess Hortensia come wandering through the door. They are welcomed readily by the tutor, all too familiar with the king’s routine, and Ivy’s face lights up with delight at the sight of her father and sister. The little toddler goes running to Ivy, and she picks her up with ease, putting her on her lap. King Hyacinth doesn’t even need to say a word for Ivy to begin recounting the story of Elusia’s founding, and how a great many people came together to build the kingdom that they now call home. That must have been so nice for them.

“That sounds pretty cute. Does Hortensia remember much of these?”

Ivy laughed – a small, insignificant snicker, but one that made Timerra’s own heart grin nonetheless – and shook her head. “Not a thing. She just likes that I’m talking to her. I think she will enjoy it someday, though. She’s very smart. Already smarter than I was at her age.”

Timerra found herself snickering and nodding along. “I get that. I see that in Fogado all the time, too.”

“It’s always the ones who aren’t going to rule who get all the best skills,” Ivy sighed, shaking her head. “Nonetheless, I’m sure you have some skills that could come to inspire Prince Fogado, too.”

“Like talking a lot?”

Ivy let out a nervous titter. “Well, you are…” she paused, trying to think of a nice way to say it. There was no nice way to say it. Timerra knew she never shut up, and she did not have a problem with it. Most of the time, it was an asset, making anxious people more comfortable with her because they did not have to shoulder the burden of first conversations. “-loquacious, but that is not what I meant. What I meant was your kindness.”

Timerra tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“King Morion and Queen Ève would not have had their children greet me as you and your mother have. Queen Ève sees Elusians as wreakers of havoc, and King Morion…” Ivy’s face darkened at the thought of the Brodian king. Elusia and Brodia notoriously hated each other. Considering King Morion had been trying to capture Elusian territory for years, Timerra could understand her hatred – even if she knew she should not voice the disapproval for the actions of one of her country’s allies out loud. “He would not allow his sons within three feet of me, if he had his way. You are different.”

Timerra blinked. “Me?” She didn’t think of herself as any different. She was just being herself. Still, though, she supposed she could see what it meant to Ivy.

“You. You’ve probably noticed by now that I am not well-liked – in my own kingdom and outside of it.” Ivy pushed for a smile, clearly hoping for it to come across as sincere. It came out pinched. “Nobody but my father and my sister are this kind to me.”

Pity swelled within her. Based on what she heard, nobody had a real reason to dislike the first Elusian princess other than their own petty grievances. She was just easy to hate because she was there. The idea that this, something that seemed so insignificant in the grand scheme of things, was Ivy’s first kindness in awhile? It broke her heart.

“I just… I merely…” she paused again. “I want to thank you. It… means more to me than I think you understand.”

It does, I think, she longed to answer. I don’t really know what world you’re living in, not without you telling me, but… If she could tell her with such courage her fears and her sorrows, then was there anything to do but to believe her? She was not so much of a coward that she would assume her companion was just trying to pull a trick working from the inside.

“You’re very welcome!” Timerra tried to chirp back, injecting as much honey into her tone as she could manage. “Honestly, it’s no big deal. People should be treating you nicely. I mean, I know I don’t know you that well, but you seem pretty great.”

To Timerra’s surprise, Ivy’s eyes widened a little. For a second she wondered if perhaps she had offended her, but the rosy shade that suddenly appeared on her cheeks and nose told Timerra all she needed to know. “T-Thank you, I… You are lovely, a-as… as well.”

“Thanks!” She leaned forward on the table, careful to avoid her plates and cutlery so nothing would go flying. She once sent a fork four feet in the air by doing that without looking. “Say, if you want, we could keep in touch after this. What would you say to writing back and forth? Would that be okay?”

Ivy’s face lit up like a firework, a distinct twinkle manifesting in her eye. She clearly thought better of it, trying to recompose herself by sitting up taller, but Timerra found herself giggling at her joy anyway. “I… yes, I would… I would love that.” She smoothed the skirt of her dress, as if it would have somehow gotten ruffled by her delight. “I imagine it would be good for Solm and Elusia’s relations as well.”

Timerra shot a pair of finger guns in Ivy’s direction. “You know it!”

A skip in her step after their successful meal, Timerra decided that the next place she would show the Elusian princess would be the greenhouse. Given Elusia’s snowy climate, she was relatively certain that there would be flowers and plants in Solm that she would never have laid eyes on. Only so many things could survive a climate in damn-near seven months of winter. Plus, if naming conventions meant anything, then the Elusian royal family definitely had a thing about plants. It would be the perfect place.

Ivy felt confident enough in Timerra to let her hold her hand as they wandered the greenhouse. She figured that was a good sign. Ivy did not strike her as the kind of person who felt confident to let a lot of people do a lot of different things, so to be trusted with this was… a compliment. She must have really meant what she said when they were eating. Few people were nice to her in the way she deserved. She didn’t understand why. The sight of Ivy’s smile alone, or even the slightest joyful twitch of her mouth – for Timerra, they were enough to make her want to smile every day. So if Ivy wanted to hold her hand as they wandered through the garden, she would not hesitate to do it.

“Say, Princess Ivy, do you know how to make a flower crown?” Timerra asked, knowing in the back of her mind that she did not directly care about the answer. It was just politest to ask.

Ivy shook her head. “Only with tissue paper.”

Timerra’s head flicked back to look at her. “Whoa, really? I didn’t know you could make them with tissue paper! That is too cool.”

A blush rose in the older girl’s cheeks. “Yes, well… In Elusia, the weather…” her voice trailed off. “It is the easiest to do.”

“That’s amazing! You’ve gotta teach me sometime.” Timerra reached up to brush some strands of hair away from her face. “Hey, how about we make a deal? If I teach you how to make a crown with real flowers, will you show me how to make paper craft ones?”

Her companion graced her with another one of her smiles. “Certainly.”

“Perfect!” Timerra cried, squeezing Ivy’s hand tighter in her own as she began to pick up the pace. “Then I’ve got the best thing to show you!”

Truth be told, the Solmic princess had been making flower crowns since she’d first learned to toddle. Her mother had always had an affection for them, even creating a certain sect of the royal greenhouse that would allow her to create as many as she pleased. When asked, Queen Seforia would tell people that making the crowns was just methodical enough that it allowed her to reflect. It was at this spot that she thought over the main issues that plagued their kingdom, searching for solutions and ideas. When her daughter grew old enough, she would bring her there to do the same. Fogado, only a year younger, would follow not long after. While it was a place of politics for the royal family, it was also undeniably a place of pleasure – some of the greatest laughter they had shared was at that very spot, so Timerra knew that Ivy would like it just as much as they did.

Her belief was confirmed the moment they crossed the threshold from the regular flowers to the crowning ones, for Ivy let out a gasp that could only be characterized as sharp delight. Though the greenhouse of the Solmic Royal Palace had been graced with many extravagant and beautiful plants, the crowning area boasted uncountable collections of flowers, all blended together in the richest soil that they could find. Clusters of phacelias danced not far from clouds of lilies, who complimented the pops of purple and yellow that burst forth from the asters and marigolds. Golden poppies gathered with datura discolor flowers, complimented by the bright colours of the chuparosas. Each and every one of the flowers found in this section of the garden were some of Solm’s best, and were taken care of almost as well as, if not better, than the others that were in the main part of the gardens. The biggest difference between them was that here, they were all for the taking.

“Every flower beyond this little section of fence here is ours to play with. You want to make a flower crown with any of these bad boys, you go right ahead,” Timerra laughed, putting her hands on her hips. “Mom for sure won’t mind.”

Ivy blinked, hesitant. “This is your mother’s garden?”

Timerra nodded. “Yeah, but she lets Fogado and I in here to make crowns all the time. She always tells us to bring our friends, too, if we want. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I taught you here.”

Ivy’s face grew dark again, just as it had at the table before. “Are you certain?”

Timerra crossed her heart. “One-hundred percent. Mom’s not the kind to flip out over little things like this, even if she didn’t want us to do it. Even if she did, I promise, I would protect you!” She puffed her chest up proud, like a warrior. This made Ivy laugh again – that warm, melodious laugh. “I’m a lot tougher than I look. I even win against my training dummy sometimes now!”

This comment made Ivy laugh even harder. Timerra’s heart swelled with pride. Yes, she was doing a very good job of making the Elusian princess feel comfortable. Her mother would be so pleased that she was improving relations, and so pleased that she had made a new friend, too. She knew Mom worried about how lonely she was when Fogado wasn’t around.

“You’re really something, aren’t you, Princess Timerra?”

She shrugged in response. “Better to somethin’ than nothin’! And by the way, you don’t have to call me ‘princess’ if you don’t want to. If we’re going to be friends and flower crown buddies, then you should just call me Timerra. Or Tim. Or Erra. Whatever helps your wyvern’s wings glide!”

Ivy giggled again. “If you say so, Timerra.”

The girls went on to spend a few minutes picking out the different flowers they were going to use. Ivy, Timerra discovered, largely favoured colours that reminded her of home. Anything white, purple, or pink would get snatched up in a second. The roses growing in the foreign flowers section of the garden, she noticed, were also a particular favourite. It was harder to get those out with the thorns on their stems, but they managed. Timerra decided that she would match whatever Ivy tried to make, so they could have crowns that looked the same.

“That way, I’ll remember that it was the flower crown I made when I spent time with you!” She had said. Ivy appeared to like that comment.

The actual act of creating the flower crowns went quickly… Or perhaps Timerra just remembers it as having gone fast. At the beginning, it was peaceful. Ivy was a good student, and took well to Timerra’s instruction. When told to pinch, she pinched. When told to weave, she weaved. Timerra liked leaning into her, guiding her hands where she could. The closeness was comforting, in a way, and another sign that the two of them were making progress. She swore Lady Luck must have heard her thinking to herself about this, about how lovely it would be to have a friend in Elusia, because it was at that moment that fate decided to throw them for a loop.

Stemming from the edge of the greenhouse with a rapid movement in, accompanied by two very nervous looking servants, was Ivy’s father… l

And he didn’t look very happy.

In the distance, she could hear her mother calling out to him, trying to bring him back.

Timerra tried to keep calm, at first, even though she could feel dread flowering in her stomach.

Just because King Hyacinth didn’t look happy didn’t mean anything bad. The man just had that look about him, the resting unpleasant face. He looked much older than he was, with sunken cheeks and sharp amber eyes, but Ivy said he wasn’t mean. In fact, she spoke quite highly of him. Surely, he must simply have come to get a better look at what his eldest daughter was up to. If he didn’t also have Princess Hortensia with him, she could hardly see how it was a bad omen.

All those reasons, and she knew she was lying to herself. The way Ivy rose to her feet and lowered her head at the sight of her father told her as much. To this day, she is not certain that she heard it, but she thinks Ivy muttered an apology.

“King Hyacinth!” Queen Seforia bellowed from further behind the king, pulling up her skirts to try and match King Hyacinth’s quickened pace. “King Hyacinth, just one more moment, if you please!”

Hyacinth continued forward, keeping his eyes locked onto his daughter as he made his way across the greenhouse. Hyacinth was glaring at nobody in particular, only focused on getting to Ivy, yet Timerra felt as if it was her he disliked. Perhaps a cheery Solmic girl was not worthy to even lay eyes upon his precious daughter.

“With all due respect, Your Highness, I believe you and I have nothing more to say to each other.” His tone was flat. It seemed like it would have been sharp, if he had not controlled himself. He didn’t even bother looking back at Queen Seforia. “At this point we are closer to inciting conflict than we are to solving it, and my people already have enough to worry about.”

He stopped dead in front of the two girls, holding out his hand. He didn’t even spare Timerra a sideways glance, didn’t even allow for a moment’s breath. The expectation of Ivy’s response was immediate.

“Come, Ivy.”

Ivy glanced from her father’s hand to the flower crown in her own, a frown etching itself into her features. For a moment, just a flicker of a moment, Timerra thought she might have seen a hint of sadness on King Hyacinth’s face. Like he understood that Ivy actually may have been having a good time, and maybe liked Timerra enough to wish to stay. That must have been why his voice was so much softer the next time he spoke.

“We need to be leaving now. The servants are already preparing the carriage and tending to Hortensia. We must go.”

Ivy looked as if she could cry. Heaving a sigh, she turned and handed her half-finished flower crown back to Timerra. Her eyes grew glassy like a doll’s. “You finish it.” She murmured. “Keep it for yourself, Princess Timerra.”

“W-What? Ivy-”

Queen Seforia’s voice, pleading for King Hyacinth to understand, to just give her a few minutes of his time, echoed throughout the greenhouse. She almost sounded lost, like she wasn’t sure where he was. The place was a bit of a jungle.

The older girl’s voice suddenly grew firm. “I said, you finish it. I don’t…” her eyes squeezed shut. “I have to go.”

“But-”

“I’m sorry.” Her bottom lip quivered. “I have to go.”

Timerra continued to protest, continued to let requests and even demands spill from her mouth, but there was no use. Ivy made quick work of taking her father’s hand and turning to leave, barely able to look back at the girl she had left behind. As she did, she could see the tears wetting her lashes, but she did not dare let them fall. Instead, she merely leaned into her father’s arm, snuggling in when he appeared to whisper her a few words of comfort.

She wanted to go after them. She wanted to scream and yell and beg and demand that they just wait, just for one second! Surely, they could have been friends. Surely, she could have shown Ivy what real freedom was like. There had to be a way out of this! There had to!

Yet even a child’s mind knew just as well as that of the full-grown queen that they had lost their chance at connecting with Elusia. And Timerra, she had lost her chance at ever seeing Ivy again.

Or so she thought.

__________________________________________

When Ivy’s eyes first peel open, she believes she must have become a ghost.

The last thing she remembers is the feeling of sand between her fingers, grasping at the nothingness, the stickiness of her blood mixed with the fine grains creating strange sensations on her skin. By that point, her vision was darkening and her ears were ringing, and though she faintly remembers the sound of voices filling her ears as she faded from consciousness, they seem to have been nothing more than a fable.

Her eyes blink lazily, waiting for her vision to clear. Unless, of course, it is that ghosts always see things in a haze? She hopes not. She has never needed glasses, but she has heard what a nuisance it can be from numerous people. She remembers how one of her brothers used to be tortured by the other siblings for wearing them.

Hm. Her heart aches at the thought of him. He’s been dead and gone for quite some time… Perhaps now that she’s a ghost, the two of them can be together once again. At least… she thinks they can. Do ghosts’ bodies usually ache this much? That stinging in her side…

Grunting, Ivy lifts her head from the pillow, desperately trying to ignore how much everything hurts. Probably not a ghost. Even the slightest twitch of her muscles reminds her of just how tight everything is, absolutely pushed to her limits from the battle with Zephia and the struggle for survival against the elements. Hot, white pain sears into her side as she moves, and she winces, longing to lie back down. She cannot allow herself that. Even though her head is spinning, she can only let out a hiss of pain as she tries to regroup and tries to get herself into a better position. Her body might ache and her throat might be as dry as the desert she was lost in, but she needs to know. The more she comes to, the more she wonders if perhaps this is not the afterlife, but perhaps somewhere else entirely. After all, she doesn’t remember any of Elusia’s tales of death containing a palace soaked in this much gold. Gold and… wolf décor?

Ivy’s chest heaves from the effort of sitting up. Nonetheless, she is able to stand somewhat tall against- against a cot? She blinks, clutching at her head. Nothing about this feels familiar, yet at the same time everything does. It’s almost like she’s lost in a dream, off in a distant past, a memory she had long tried to forget she had. This palace bathed in yellow, the animalistic décor, and the sounds of those… those voices… Were they not angels after all?

She curses under her breath as the realization hits her. Of course she couldn’t be left to die a semi-dignified death. The enemy had to find her, had to drag her away from an honourable demise so they could slit her throat and throw her out for all of Elusia to see themselves. Zephia was right about her. If she’s been caught by Solm now, then there was no going back – unless the rumours were true, which at this point, Ivy doubted they were. She would have recognized Hortensia’s voice if she heard it. None of those angels – no, those girls – had a voice like that. They were all lower, more even, more… Well, one of them may have been at least a little familiar, but she was no Hortensia.

She has no idea what is to become of her now. Surely she will be put to death, right? She almost longs to call out, longs to demand that they just get it over with and rip her side open again. Just get it over with.

It’s a strange thought, that one, because it’s almost like someone can hear it. The moment it pops into her mind, a set of footsteps comes wandering towards the door. Her blood runs cold. She swallows hard. No matter what, she must keep a stiff upper lip, but she won’t lie and say that she doesn’t fear what lies beyond that door. As it swings open, Ivy’s heart thunders, and even as the figure comes into full view, it does not stop.

It has been nine years since she last saw the crown princess of Solm.

And of course, she has aged just beautifully. From what she can recall, Timerra was undeniably a cute little girl – all pudgy limbs and sparkling eyes, her skin the same rich shade of sepia that it is now. She is taller now, much taller, and has a build that seems a reasonable cross between thin and muscular, showing that she hasn’t been slacking on her training all these years. Looking at her, Ivy feels soft in comparison. Magic doesn’t build muscles. She never did ask Timerra’s preferred weapon of choice, but just looking at her arms, she imagines it must be something like a spear or an axe. She tries not to linger on them impolitely. Instead, she drifts her eyes towards Timerra’s hair. It was much shorter when they were little, just kissing the top of her shoulders, but now she has it tied up in this glossy ponytail that reminds her of darkened cedar bark. She builds contrast in her hair by wearing a hair tie and headpiece that just scream colours: rich turquoises and bright yellows, cheery pinks and proud oranges. These colours seem to spread from her head to her toes in her outfit, accented by golden jewelry from her neck to her shoulders. She is the picture of Solmic beauty, and somehow even prettier than Ivy remembers her. Just looking at her, she is struck dumb by the sight of her old friend. It takes her a minute to even realize that her mouth is hanging open slightly.

“Long time no see, Ivy,” Timerra giggles, striding into the room with all the confidence of someone who knows exactly where she’s supposed to be, “It’s been awhile.”

Ivy tries desperately to come up with something clever to say, some cool retort, but all that comes out is sputters. Ugh. What is it about Timerra, where she always finds herself nearly silent every time she wants to talk? Sighing, Ivy allows her hand to graze her injured side, holding it almost protectively. She’ll have to find a way to talk to her somehow.

“Princess Timerra.” She says, sharp and cold in a way that is so undeniably false that even she does not believe herself. “Why are you holding me here?”

The Solmic princess blinks at her. “Well, I wasn’t just going to leave you there. You were bleeding out.”

Ivy grits her teeth. She only came out here for Hortensia. She does not want this. She is not here to rub elbows with Brodia or Firene or Lythos or even Solm. Believer or not, she… she couldn’t just abandon her sister. Ivy had lost far too many brothers and sisters already. She would not lose Hortensia, too. She cannot let petty, insignificant feelings from years ago stand in her way. She has to protect her sister. She has to protect her country.

“Am I not your enemy?” Ivy quirks a brow. “You should have been glad to find me there, inches away from death. Less trouble for you.”

Timerra frowns. It doesn’t suit her. She has one of those faces that is just destined for a grin. Somehow, it brings relief to Ivy to see that hasn’t changed. “You’re a lot different, huh?”

She shrugs, non-committal. She cannot say much of anything when she knows what position she must take. There is only one way to play this, only one way to even have the hope of keeping her dignity alive. As it stands, she struggles to believe Timerra will allow her to leave alive. She might not ever see Hortensia again. The least she can do is not be put to death disgracefully. “I’ve grown into my princess shoes. I understand that anything that may have happened in the past is just that – the past. You and I have no connection to each other.”

“We were friends,” Timerra counters.

“For a day,” Ivy fires back, stopping to cough. A fit overtakes her, squeezing her sides uncomfortably. Timerra waits until she is done before she speaks again, her tone pointed.

“And that day mattered.” Timerra steps further in the room, shutting the door behind her. “Even if we didn’t get to be friends like we wanted to, it proved that we could. It proved that… that connections are bigger and stronger than centuries-old feuds.”

“Our parents could not repair the rift between our two countries, and look what is happening now. Are your eyes even open? Nothing that is happening right now is proof of your claims. A war thousands of years old has reignited, as has a bid for power over the Emblems, and you want me to believe that years of hatred can be forgotten in a moment of affection?”

Timerra falls silent. She does not look away, does not try to hide her face or any sense of shame she has from Ivy. Instead, she just stares, her chestnut-coloured eyes boring into Ivy’s core. She could almost shiver from the intensity of her stare, but she refuses to back down. Stiff upper lip.

“To be honest with you, Ivy-”

Why does she have to keep calling me that?

“I don’t. I don’t think that… that just because we were friends for a day when we were kids, that means that everything is going to be okay. I don’t know if it means that I need to worry about you, or anybody else. Solm has its own problems. We don’t need to borrow someone else’s.”

This may well be the first time that Ivy has ever seen her serious about something. It’s a mixture of unnerving and awesome at the same time; something that makes her heart beat faster. It startles her that it almost seems like a blend between shock and a hint of attraction.

“Pannette and Merrin, they told me I shouldn’t stick my neck out for you. They told me you would only hurt Solm in the end. And to be honest, I felt like I had every reason to believe them. But when I remembered that day I spent with you, and all of those things you told me… how you said I was the first person outside your family who showed you unconditional kindness and respect… I realized what that meant. You believed in me without even really knowing me that well, and I thought to myself, ‘if I can’t believe in Ivy, without really knowing her now, who can I believe in? If I can’t trust my friends, what kind of queen will I be?’ That’s why I saved you. That’s why you’re here. Because I know my friend Ivy.”

Her throat feels like someone has stuffed cotton down it. “I could have hurt your kingdom. I could have hurt you.”

“What, lying half-dead on the ground with magic wounds?” Timerra’s frown deepens. “The Four Hounds crossed through there. I know it was Zephia who attacked you.”

Ivy swallows, her gaze flitting to her lap. “I just… wanted to find Hortensia.” She blinks back tears. “They t-told me she’d… but I heard that she might have lived, so I… I went to find her myself, to bring her home.”

Her arms fold across her chest. “But you don’t want that. You don’t want to go home.”

Ivy’s face reddens. Gods, it has been ages since she last saw Timerra, so why does it seem as if it is so easy for her to read her like a book? It’s not fair. She couldn’t read her like this if she tried, which only made her more jealous.

“My duty is to Elusia.” She says each word slowly, carefully, with deliberate emphasis. “I must.”

Timerra sighs and shakes her head, taking a few more steps towards Ivy and kneeling next to her cot. Her voice, once loud and clear, softens to something that almost feels akin to a whisper in the ear. If the intensity of her eyes had struck Ivy before, they feel even more intense now, but in a different way — a warmer way. It’s all she can do not to blush harder.

“Your duty is right here, with your sister. With us.” She reaches up to brush a strand of hair away from Ivy’s face. It feels strangely… intimate, given their current position, but she does not find it unwelcome. “The Divine Dragon, she believes we can stop this. She has vowed to keep fighting until the very end, with all of us at her side. The others, they want to believe in you. Hortensia definitely does. And me, I know I do, too. You’ve always been misunderstood, Ivy, but… this is your chance to do something that you know is good. You don’t have to answer to anybody else.”

Tears wet Ivy’s lashes. “I’d be betraying my father. I’d be betraying everything Elusia knows.”

Timerra shakes her head once more. “I disagree. Your dad, he… he didn’t know. He was blinded, but he trusted you to take care of Elusia. So even if you weren’t doing what he would have done, I think… I think he would have tried to believe in you. The people of Elusia will too.”

Ivy reaches up to wipe at her eyes, hating that this is the second time she’s fallen to tears in front of Timerra. She’s going to get the idea that I’m some weepy-eyed schoolgirl. She tries her best to sniffle and snicker it away. “You’ve grown awfully mature in our time apart.”

To her surprise, her companion lets out a small giggle. “Y-Yeah, not as much as you’d think. Most of this stuff, it’s a pretty recent revelation.” She shrugs. “But I did mean what I said. Even if I couldn’t believe in anything else about this, I knew that I could believe in you. I know you have a good heart.”

Heat rises in Ivy’s cheeks once more, even more intensely this time, and she finds her gaze darting away again. The last thing she needs right now is the feeling of warmth that is spreading through her chest, so she would really rather ignore it… Even if it did feel strangely good, to hear about how special she was to Timerra. It was a comfort, really, to know that she had spent just as much time thinking about her as she had after all of these long years.

“Alas,” Ivy sighs, taking her turn to shake her head, “You are still far nicer to me than anyone else.”

Timerra laughs again and puffs up her chest. “Well of course! I’ve gotta keep up my title. Stick around and I’ll butter you up some more. Whaddya say?”

A warm smile graces Ivy’s lips. “I’d say… against my better judgement… it sounds like a reasonable plan.”

#can’t believe I’m at my last submission already!! it’s been so much fun #fire emblem #fire emblem engage #fire emblem Ivy #fire emblem Timerra #Elusia #Solm #fire emblem rarepair week #FE rarepair week #Koto writes Engage #fire emblem engage spoilers

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