#AND if you put chrom in the chamber with no women in it. that's it that's his wife now

[moe-broey]

Playing Awakening as a guy (ESPPP a transguy) is so funny like. Immune to the universal experience of Chrom marriage jumpscare. Falling in love with Chrom anyway because his supports with m!Robin are SO GOOD. Mentally in my head in my heart I'm co-parenting Lucina she is also my daughter. Bonus points if you get extra funky in your head where you ship Maribelle/Lissa and Chrom/Gaius, marry Maribelle because you love her and have Lissa marry Gaius because they're pretty cute but also have it all be like. We're all bearding for each other. Olivia is there too bc she is the funniest option and adds to Chrom's disaster bisexual vibes.

And then you decide "Well next run I'm romancing Chrom because I love him I am making A Point to romance him" either make an OC or play as default Robin and. Get HORRIFICALLY MORTIFYINGLY jumpscared by Chrom's supports with f!Robin SO BAD YOU'RE GONNA THROW UP ABOUT IT (ESP AS A TRANSGUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

And to this day you have NOT married Chrom and the only way you could ever feel comfortable marrying Chrom is to hack your 3DS

[randomnameless]

Then why don't Dimitri marry Dedue 😕? This ain't about avatar-centricity it's about whether or not characters are written in a way that suggests the traits people claim they have are intentionally part of them. And I think "I'll get with a person but not their literal genderswap" is the single most definitive way to characterize sexual orientation. But then I've never found the concept of "sexual orientation" a helpful way to understand ppl or even myself.

Anon,

I don't think characters have to be written "in a way" to suggest if they are bi or not.

I have watched enough stuff from the 80s, 90s and early 2000s to know that when people wrote someone coded as "queer" it was an excuse to fit as many offensive tropes as possible onto them.

I guess we both agree on this, so, on the main topic.

Dimitri and Dedue follow a tradition of "very devoted knights and their lieges" from the saga, you can trace them back to Finn and Quan from Jugdral, to Elphin and Percival from FE6 and the weird... fixation Frederic has with Chrom, if you want to reach a bit.

They blush when they call each other's name, they rub ointment on the other's body, Dimitri calls him "cherished and irreplacable" and Dedue lit says he cannot fathom a life where he is not by his side.

It is way closer to Siggy "a fate without deedee is not a fate I will accept" than, say, "hey Cousin Seliph, I know I suck because I'm not a Crusader, but I'll do my best to help you so we will put an end to this war together".

Dedue is burried next to Dimitri in their ending, and if we don't even want to take Dedue into account, Dimitri has a deep and meaningful bond with Felix, that is so important to Felix that he cries more than Dimitri's wife when Dimitri dies!

So while I do not think it is purely a discussion and concept about Dimitri's sexual orientation, if the label straight could have been misleading (maybe Fodlan doesn't really have the same notions about sexual orientations, a bit like what happened in Rome it's just two people holding hands, one has his hand being held, while the other holds the hand), Dimitri definitely has "strong romantic feelings" for at least 2 male characters, and I suspect they're holding hands in his royal chambers.

Dimitri can have strong feelings for women and men - as for why he doesn't marry men, part of me wants to say they did not want to put "important male characters" in a bi relationship because, even in 2019, "peepee on peepee" action is still seen as uncomfortable by some people around the world, unlike "pure girls with pure girls giggling" which is, idk, more acceptable because sexism. So IS, a company from Japan, makes a lot of circumvolutions to avoid saying Dimitri'n'Dedue married, even if they take care of orphans, have their "eternal rest" next to each other and are on a first name basis while blushing like school girls.

For real life examples, it's just like Emperor Hadrian and his "friend" Antonin. They were not married, not at all, and historians from a certain era really really tried to paint them as friends.

But then morals evolved, so History was revised.

Other part is because Dimtri takes the Mandate from House Hresvelg - thus he must create a dynasty and that is just the way it is in FE.

Tl; Dr : while sexual orientation is, imo a trait and not a character, Dimitri is heavily coded to have "strong feelings" for both men and women, even if he doesn't marry his two male "love interests".

[princess--cynthia]

LEGACY || THREAD ARCHIVE

Participant(s): Exalt Cynthia Ylisse I, @lady-ylisse/Adelaide

Words: 7,381

Type: B-Support

Summary: Twenty years after ascending to the throne of Ylisse, Cynthia tries to figure out the mentality of her cousin and bodyguard - Emmeryn’s daughter, Adelaide. 

“Gah.”

Cynthia’s head sunk into her hands at the wordless exhalation, shaking her head slowly. Twenty years into this job and she still couldn’t wrap her head around how on earth her father or aunt had managed it - least alone her sister, for that scant period in the future she had ruled. She slowly stood up from the throne now that the last minister was gone, running her hands through the loose blue hair styled around her shoulders as she started to hook it back into the pigtails she wore when she was younger. Damn what the diplomats thought at this point, she needed some time to be herself.

“Come on, Adelaide.” She said quietly. Her baby cousin had been something of a bastion of strength for her once she’d come of age, transitioning from a glorified babysitter for Cynthia’s kids - something she desperately needed to apologize putting her through one day - to a more than competent right-hand woman, much like her father had been to Chrom or Emmeryn during their rules. “I need a walk…and a change of clothes. Twenty years and I still don’t know how you’re meant to walk in a dress with skirts this long.”

“At once, Your Grace,” the young Falcon Knight replied with a polite nod. Eighteen years of grooming had made the perfect, little knight out of Adelaide. She was courteous, efficient, serious, and totally prepared. After failing to save Chrom from his final fate, how could the girl’s father allow her to be anything less?

“Your boots have been shined and are waiting for you in your bedchambers,” she continued, “and I’ve arranged a selection of outfits for you to choose from. Will we taking a stroll through the gardens today or should I notify the Pegasus Knights that you’ll be visiting your subjects in town?”

“Thank you, Adelaide.” She sighed, shaking her head. Sometimes she wished that her cousin would lighten up, but…well. It was hard to imagine her differently these days, considering her parents’ attitude towards her training.

“The gardens, I think.” She said after a moment. “I want to spend some time with Sigurd, and he’s still not used to crowds. Hopefully he’ll grow out of it eventually - Haley’s so petrified of them that she’s threatened to abdicate should I name her my successor. Not that a Morgan exalthood is a pleasant thought to consider…”

She shuddered, only half-jokingly at the thought of her middle child having that much power. “I hope you didn’t have anything planned for the afternoon.”

“Do I ever?” Adelaide asked rhetorically, a light smile gracing her lips. “Heh, forgive me, Your Grace. I’m yours for as long as you need me.”

Offering her cousin a hand up from the throne, Adelaide dipped her head respectfully. Her poor cousin worked far harder than anyone else she knew. “Allow me to escort you to your chambers, and I’ll send word to the nursery to have Prince Sigurd readied.”

“You really should take some time off EVENTUALLY.” Cynthia scolded her lightly. It was an old conversation, but she wasn’t going to give up on it yet.

Finishing with her hair, she dusted herself down and nodded as Adelaide led her to her quarters, sighing a little. “Yeah, tell them. Make sure he’s got his coat on, it’s getting a bit nippy outside and I don’t want him catching a cold…”

Trying to purge the thoughts of the days discussions - hardly anything seemed like good news these days - she clicked her tongue. “If you can send someone to hunt down Morgan, too, that’d be good. I think she’s buried herself in the back of the library again.”

Adelaide’s expression didn’t change at Cynthia’s scolding. There had been a time when the Falcon Knight dreamed of seeing the world like her parents had with the Shepherds. She imagined the things she could have learned and the people she could have touched. In another life, she might have been a travelling diplomat or even an ambassador. But those dreams had been put to rest long ago.

For as long as Adelaide could remember, her cousin seemed tired… and perhaps even sad. Cynthia had looked the end of the world dead in the eye twice, and was still standing. And though she was able to make a wonderful family for herself here in the present, her parents were gone again and her sister had disappeared. Deciding that she’d do anything to help ease her cousin’s burdens, Adelaide had made peace with her own little life.

“I’ll have one of Captain Cordelia’s knights see to Princess Morgan, while I head to the nursery myself,” she replied pluckily when they reached the door to Cynthia’s chambers. “Please take all the time you need, Your Grace.“

“Alright.” Cynthia nodded, dismissing her cousin as she stepped into her room. Grumbling to herself, she stripped out of the formal dress and left it abandoned on the floor, heading over to her closet and staring at her old pegasus knight uniform for a moment.

“…as if.” She muttered, shifting it off to the side. She pulled down her riding clothes instead, fastening her petticoat and thick trousers around her before pulling on her riding boots. Stomping for a moment to get her foot into the heel properly, she laced them up and shut the closet with a last, longing look at her uniform. “Can’t believe I miss that thing…”

She walked past her walls covered in memorabilia from the wars and adventures she’d used to go on, trinkets from Valm, portraits of her parents and sister, before settling in front of her weapon case. Her fingers traced the spear that she’d made with her mother so long ago, then the brave lance she used during the wars, before she sighed and wrapped her fingers around Falchion’s hilt.

“This is never not going to feel wrong.” She muttered, strapping it to her waist. Rolling her shoulders, she headed back out of her room and smiled when she saw Adelaide returning with her son in her arms.

“There’s my little hero!” She giggled, getting down on her knees and holding out her arms. “Can you walk to mommy yet?”

Adelaide’s little quest hadn’t taken very long, but it certainly wasn’t boring. She returned with Sigurd in time to see to see Cynthia stepping out of her room with Falchion strapped to her waist. The Exalt didn’t wear the old sword very often, perhaps, Adelaide believed, because it brought back too many sad memories.

“There you go, sweet little prince,” the Falcon Knight chimed as she gently stood the little boy up on the floor. Her normally neatly styled hair was a little messy from the tug young Sigurd had given it, but she didn’t let it bother her. “Right to your mother, okay?”

“That’s a clever boy.” Cynthia beamed as her son stumbled across the room, scooping him up with a giggle. Pressing a kiss to his forehead, she adjusted his wool coat and raised an eyebrow at the state of Adelaide’s hair.

“He got you again, huh?” She said wryly. “Maybe I should get him on my bodyguard team as well if he can best Ylisse’s finest so easily.”

“And deprive him the chance to join the New Shepherds? Princess Lucina and my poor father will be crushed,” Adelaide joked dryly, brushing her hair back into place with her hand.

“In any case, Your Grace, Princess Morgan wasn’t in the library after all,” the young knight continued, “I saw her and your husband playing a game of chess in the study on my way to the nursery… and as usual, she was winning.”

“Oh, great. He’s going to be smiling all night again.” She grumbled, shaking her head. Resting Sigurd on her side - far away from Falchion’s hilt - she started heading to the gardens, humming a little. They passed the training grounds, the exalt stopping to longingly stare at a few of the knights engaged in lance practice before shaking her head and continuing on.

“I miss my spear.” She grumbled, partly to herself and also to her poor cousin who was duty-bound to listen to her. “I get that they need to see someone using Falchion and all, but - eugh. I sucked with swords when I started training with it, and I’m not that much better now. Plus I barely get to practice anyway. I bet if you put a lance back in my hands I could wipe the floor with half the women in the Knights right now.”

“I’d wager you’re better with it than I could ever be,” Adelaide replied reassuringly. “Besides, Your Grace, you wouldn’t be the first pegasus rider in our family to practice swordplay. In the Hero King’s time, Pegasus Knights like Queen Caeda used swords and spears alike. Perhaps you could be the one to bring that old tradition back?”

“Eugh. Maybe.” Cynthia shuddered at the thought. She just plain didn’t like using swords, and the appeal of Falchion had worn off almost as soon as she realized she’d only gotten it since her father had died.

She reached the gardens and stood there for a moment, staring at the carefully tended rows of flowers. She’d tried to keep them intact herself, but just hadn’t had the time or the patience - thankfully someone else had volunteered, knowing how important they were to her. “You see these, Sigurd? Your grandmother planted the flowers the first time.” She told her child, zoning Adelaide out for a moment as she rested her son on the floor. He stumbled over, shakily walking before sitting on the rocks containing the flowerbeds. “I wish you could have met her…”

Adelaide fell silent as she stood watch over the Exalt and her son. Occasionally, the young Falcon Knight had to remind herself that her liege lady was not the Cynthia she had grown up alongside. Though both had been orphaned by the Fell Dragon, the younger Cynthia and her older sister, Lucina, had grown up in a loving home.

“You know, my prince, your Auntie Emm likes to remind me of something whenever I think of those who aren’t here with us anymore,” the Falcon Knight said, taking a knee beside Cynthia and offering little Sigurd a tender smile. “She says that the people we love never truly leave us. That they live on in the things they left behind and the love they inspired in hearts of others. Just like the flowers here, your grandmother left so much behind for you to get to know her by. Your grandfather too. I like to think that’s their way of watching over you. What do you think, Your Grace?”

Sigurd stared up at Adeliade as she was explaining, clearly trying to follow along but not quite getting it. Cynthia herself was oddly silent, staring wordlessly at the flowerbeds in front of her as her cousin spoke. A hand tightened into a fist, trembling against her thigh as the exalt tried desperately to contain her emotions, closing her eyes and hanging her head down.

“I think,” She said choking a little. “I think that’s probably right, Adelaide.”

Concerned, Sigurd tugged on his mother’s sleeve, as she picked him up again and stood, keeping her head hung for fear of anyone seeing her cry. “…I think we need to go back inside.”

Looking at Cynthia first, and then around the gardens, the Falcon Knight wanted to be sure they were alone here. The more Adelaide thought about it, the more she began to understand how much her cousin needed this. Between Ylisse, her family, and all of her other responsibilities, Cynthia had probably been holding this in for years.

“Your Grace… it’s alright to cry,” the Falcon knight reassured, offering Cynthia her handkerchief. “We’re the only ones here right now, and I think we’re bound to happen upon someone on the way back. Besides… I think this is important. Let me hold Prince Sigurd for you.”

“Right.” Cynthia took a deep breath, handing Adelaide her son carefully. Eyes still brimming with tears, she took the handkerchief and walked over to the corner of the flowerbed. Staring at it for a moment, she crouched down and ran her hand through some of them, staring into a small goldfish pond in the middle for a moment.

She barely recognized the woman staring back out at her for a moment, even if she’d pulled her hair back into her tails again. Lines crossed her face that her makeup were barely managing to hide, bags below her eyes making her look drained and devoid of energy. Streaks of grey were starting to show in her hair, tainting the blue with the threat of stress and age. Even her figure had changed - while she’d tried to keep up her training, it had been hard, and the almost acrobatic form that she’d once been so proud of slowly vanishing, along with the future she’d dreamed of ever since she’d come back in time cruelly ripped away from her for something she never really wanted. A fish disturbed the surface on the pond, and for a moment she thought she saw her mother smiling out at her.

That was when she finally broke, years of frustration and sadness breaking through, and Cynthia started to weep uncontrollably. She buried her face in the handkerchief, trying to keep some kind of appearance of decorum if nothing else. She was there for five long, painful minutes, memories and hopes filling her mind as she let her emotions run rampant, if just for a short while. Eventually her tears ran dry, and she stood up again, clutching the wet handkerchief in a tight fist as she turned back to Adelaide. Falchion swung on her belt, slapping against the side of her thigh in a painful reminder of who she had to be now.

“…I’m sorry you had to see that.” Cynthia said quietly, reaching out to kiss her son’s head while staring at her cousin. “I know it’s not exactly something I should have been doing.”

Adelaide cradled little Sigurd in her arms, being especially careful to keep the young boy from seeing his mother let her emotions out. When her cousin began cry, the Falcon Knight distracted the child with a gentle smile and softly-sung lullaby. Cynthia had the weight of the world sheathed at her waist… and years of repressing her grief must have made that weight unbearable.

“Please, Your Grace, you needn’t apologize. Sometimes tears are necessary… and it seems to me like you’ve been holding yours back for far too long,” Adelaide replied sympathetically. Looking down at the boy in her arms, the Falcon Knight perked up a bit. “Besides, with how quickly Prince Sigurd dozes off, it isn’t like anyone important saw. Your secret is safe with me, Your Grace, and well… if you ever need to share the burden with someone, I want you to know that I’ll always be here for you.”

“Thank you.” Cynthia said again, taking her son into her arms and smiling down at him before sighing. She shook her head, biting her lip for a moment as she let her eyes wander through the gardens again before a more resolved look fell over her face. “Right, well, if the theme of the day is working through some repressed emotion I know where we’re going next.”

She set off towards Sigurd’s nursery at a brisk pace, the look on her face confident if a little…well, perhaps it was a little psychotic in a way. “We’re going to put my little sleepyhead to bed, and then we’re taking a trip down to the training grounds. I think I need to start keeping tabs on my guard’s capabilities myself.”

“That’s the spirit, Your Grace. I believe young Prince– Wh-What?!” A chill ran up the Falcon Knight’s spine as she stopped dead in her tracks. Did Cynthia mean to terrorize the Pegasus Knights of the royal guard… again?

“Your Grace, you know the oaths the guard take before they’re sworn in. They aren’t allowed to lift a finger against you,” she pleaded, making sure not to wake little Sigurd in the process. If Adelaide wanted to save her friends some grief, she’d have to think of something quickly. “Wh-Why don’t you and I have a match instead? I am technically a princess after all! Ehehe…“

“That rule seems a little abusable if I turned out to be a tyrant. I mean, I knew they were loyal, but why didn’t anyone tell me I had a rabidly dedicated death squad at my beck and call?” Cynthia wondered, before freezing. “…oh, gods above, there is no way I can let Morgan become exalt. I am not letting her get a rapidly loyal death squad. That’s the last thing she needs.”

Shaking her head to clear it, she considered Adelaide’s offer for a moment before nodding firmly. “Fine, you’ll do - but don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

Reaching Sigurd’s nursery, she placed her son in his crib and smiled, stroking his head with a finger before turning to face her cousin with a slightly less psychotic but still determined look on her face. “Although I still think it’d do them good to practice blocking drills if they’re not allowed to strike back.”

Adelaide nodded politely at the nursemaids, who seemed more than a little surprised to see them back so soon. The young prince had caused quite the ruckus only a few minutes earlier, and here he was no, sleeping perfectly sound.

“I’ll be sure to pass your input along to Captain Cordelia, then. I’m sure she could come up with a new drill along those lines for them to practice,” the young knight replied nonchalantly. Perhaps she was getting her friends into a little bit of a jam, but an afternoon of hard training seemed far kinder than what Cynthia had in mind for them.

“In any case, Your Grace, will we be sparing with swords or spears today?” Adelaide asked. “Father has trained me in both, so I hope to be enough of a challenge for you either way.”

“I want to say lances, but I’m meant to do a solid hour of training with Falchion each day…” Cynthia grimaced, shaking her head with a sigh. “…ah, what the hell. I need to make sure I don’t get rusty anyway, we’ll just cheat and do one round with each.”

She gave her son one last, quick look before leaving the nursery again, grabbing the first training spear she encountered as she practically stormed onto the training grounds. Some of the poor trainees who were in her way practically fled, electing not to stop and stare like the ones on the outskirts were.

“If you hold back, Adelaide, I’m not going to be impressed.” Cynthia said pointedly, turning on a dime to stare daggers at her cousin. It might be a blunted spear, but for a brief moment Cynthia was starting to feel like her old self again, if a bit more restrained.

Adelaide smiled and nodded, following close behind her cousin. She took a little longer to choose out her training spear, making sure the length and weight would be just right for her. Cynthia seemed very enthusiastic to get back onto training grounds with a spear in her hand again, and Adelaide wasn’t about to let her Exalt down.

“I can only promise not to hurt you too badly, Your Grace,” Adelaide chuckled, giving her lance a final twirl to check its balance. “At your ready!”

“Oh please. I’ve been doing this years longer than you have.” Cynthia snorted as she settled down into a fighting stance. Her hands slid down the shaft of her lance, the wood almost achingly familiar to her now. She’d still have preferred to be in her old uniform instead of the clothes she’d always associate with Lucina over herself, but that couldn’t be helped. Good strategy would have been to wait for Adelaide to move first, scout out her fighting style and respond correctly. She wasn’t patient enough for that crap. Instead, she let out a harsh shout, diving forwards with her lance spinning over her head for a few moments before she brought the blunted point plummeting down towards Adelaide’s exposed throat.

A little surprised at Cynthia’s approach, Adelaide quickly sidestepped the blow and maintained eye contact with her cousin. The Exalt was faster than she expected, but speed wasn’t anything Adelaide couldn’t gauge and counter.

“That isn’t going to work, Your Grace,” she replied, taking a swipe at Cynthia’s side. If she could wear the Exalt out a bit, her speed would be far less of an issue to deal with.

“Just testing.” Cynthia said lightly, easily jumping back to avoid the blow. Laughing to herself, she kept the tip of her lance low, ready to flick up if Adelaide was going to try anything.

“Come on, baby cousin. What’re you waiting for?” She taunted, tilting her head as she slowly circled around her guard. “If you’re waiting for me to get tired you’re going to have to wait a long time.”

“Just an opportunity, Your Grace,” the Falcon Knight replied, smiling at her cousin as she secretly studied the way Cynthia was circling. If she could put the Exalt on her toes, she was sure to find the opening she needed to have her on her back.

“Though father told me it was best to make my own!” Waiting until Cynthia took a step, Adelaide stepped in to make a quick swipe at her cousin’s ankle and doubled up to strike at her face. If the Exalt held her ground, Adelaide intended to close the distance and overpower her. If she moved to avoid, she’d keep her moving with another series of swift strikes.

Cynthia’s eyes widened a little at the sudden strike, hopping over the swipe at her ankle and realizing she’d fallen for the feint just a little too easily. Gods above, she was far too rusty at this.

With the lance heading towards her face, Cynthia let her instincts take over and in a series of moves that would probably have made her mother start rolling in her grave, improvised. Dropping her lance, she used one hand to grab the end of Adelaide’s just below the tip as it approached her face. Yanking it forwards to try and pull Adelaide off her balance - or at least open her guard - she brought her right fist darting forwards, missing her cousin’s face and clipping her shoulder instead. Not a bout-finishing blow by any means, but enough to knock her back a few paces.

“Don’t be afraid to make stuff up, Adelaide.” She said cheerfully, considering her options before her cousin recovered. Bending down to retrieve her lance would take far, far too long - and leave her stance too low to properly defend herself. Realizing what her only real option was, she took a jump back and drew Falchion, the magical charm keeping its edges dull during training making it gleam in the sunlight.

In the crowd, someone clapped, and the exalt had to resist the urge to curtsy. Distracting herself like that could end up with her getting humiliated in front of her guard, and that wasn’t an experience she was looking forward to having.

Wincing as she shouldered the blow, Adelaide jerked the shaft of her lance back, hoping to pull Cynthia back with her. All she needed now was a chance. If she could get Cynthia into close quarters, the match was as good as hers. One good blow, and the Exalt would be on her back.

But when that plan didn’t pan out, Adelaide narrowed her eyes as she watched Falchion come out of its scabbard. The only other time she had been on the receiving end of the holy blade was when she was knighted. Even though she now had the advantage of reach, Adelaide had to admit that she was a little intimidated.

“And here I thought you were looking forward to wielding a lance again, Your Grace,” Adelaide taunted, kicking Cynthia’s trainer out of the ring. She’d need to get into her cousin’s head in order to take control of the match. “I hope for Falchion’s sake that you’re able to keep a better grip on it.”

“Yeah, and  you nixed that plan pretty quickly, didn’t you?” Cynthia responded, nodding her head towards the discarded training lance. Her eyes narrowed a little as it was casually kicked out of reach, even more as Adelaide taunted her. Her grip tightened on Falchion’s hilt, the Exalt forcing herself to take a deep breath at her cousin’s later words.

“You shouldn’t have said that.” She said quietly, before lunging forwards. She feinted with the blade, mimicking the same movements that normally led to an overhead swing while keeping the tip low enough to parry any attempts to slide under her guard, lashing out with one foot in what was possibly an overly brutal kick at Adelaide’s shin.

Adelaide saw her opportunity: Cynthia had been thrown off her balance by the taunt and it was beginning to show in how reckless her attack was. This was a good chance to finish things quickly. Taking advantage of Cynthia’s over-committed kick, Adelaide swept her cousin’s ankle to the side with the shaft of her spear, using the Exalt’s momentum to spin her off angle and make a clean opening.

“Hyaah!” With a quick turn and a harsh shout, Adelaide let the lance slip through her hands so she could strike at Cynthia with the weapon’s full length. Surely there was no avoiding this!

No.

Cynthia knew she shouldn’t be so focused on this right now. For Naga’s sake, it was a spar with her baby cousin of all people, not a life or death battle. She should feel proud, not angry. But something about having others watching, having heard Adelaide’s taunt about Falchion - something had switched off in Cynthia’s heart, unleashing feelings that she’d hoped she could have kept long buried.

Reaching out with her free hand mid-fall, she gripped the tip of the training lance, ignoring the pain as its blunted edges dug into her palm. Trickles of blood ran down the inside of her left arm as she yanked the lance to the side to pull her cousin off-balance, Falchion lashing out at the younger woman’s chest in a last, desperate strike.

She missed, and her back slammed into the floor as she finally finished her fall. Wincing, Falchion was jarred from her hand even as she kept her grip on the end of the training lance, slowly standing up without relinquishing her hold and glaring at her cousin.

A flash of steel forced Adelaide a step back, stopping her from finishing Cynthia off as she fell to the ground. Even with a protective charm keeping the holy sword from doing any serious harm, the princess-turned-knight didn’t want to feel the bite of her cousin’s blade any time soon. But when Falchion itself clattered to the ground, Adelaide noticed something that made her eyes wide with shock.

“M-My apologies, Your Grace!” she gasped, relinquishing her grip on her weapon and dropping to a knee. “This was supposed to be a friendly duel. I didn’t meant to draw first blood!”

Adelaide kept her head low. Her heart was still beating from the excitement of the match, but now she felt terrible for what had happened. She should have expected Cynthia to grab at her weapon. Perhaps she shouldn’t have swung so hard… or perhaps she shouldn’t have spun her off balance. What a fool she was to have hurt her Exalt like that.

“Oh for crying out loud.” Cynthia sighed, the sudden exasperation brought on by her reaction evaporating most of her anger in an instant. She tossed the trainer off to the side, glancing at her hand for a second before shrugging and wrapping a handkerchief around it in a makeshift bandage for the time being. “It’s okay, Adelaide. I should have grabbed it below the blade or something.”

“Stand up.” She grumbled, giving her cousin a slight kick on the walk past. The crowd of trainees around them glanced at each other nervously, realizing that the situation had just gotten a bit more serious. The exalt picked up Falchion and stared at it for a moment, eventually sighing and sheathing it again. A light kick brought her original trainer up to her good hand, fingers wrapping around the shaft. “Don’t start grovelling or anything, you know how much I hate that.”

“Yes, Your Grace…” the Falcon Knight responded, quietly rising to her feet as her cousin passed by. She spared a glance at the trainees, asking them to leave with a slight motion of her head. Now wasn’t a good time for an audience. As soon as they got the message and scattered, Adelaide sighed and looked to her cousin again.

“You know I would have taken your hand off and then some if you tried that in a real fight?” she asked, raising a concerned brow. “I don’t mean to lecture you, cousin, but you really mustn’t be so reckless. You’re our queen, Cynthia. What would become of us if something were to happened to you?”

“You wouldn’t have, that’s why there’s metal plates in the palm of the gauntlets and leather along the joints.” Cynthia said absently as she wiped her palm on her skirt, frowning a little. “Besides, losing me wouldn’t be that big a deal. Either they’d give this job to Owain for a year or so, then Micaiah sucks it up and takes it once she’s more experienced.”

Grumbling, she tightened the makeshift bandage a little more, glaring at Adelaide a little. “I’ve been reckless all my life and yet somehow I’m the only one of my closest family who made it into her forties. Auntie Emm’s the only other one who managed that.” She laughed bitterly, unstrapping Falchion from her belt and staring at the sheathed sword before hurling it across the grounds with a scream.

“I HATE THAT THING SO MUCH!”

When the sword clattered to the ground, Adelaide lost the desire to argue back. She had seen Cynthia get upset like this a few times before, and she understood her pain to an extent. To some degree, the Falcon Knight even felt responsible. She was a child who was never fated to exist, born to parents who failed to protect the man they loved so dearly.

“Father told me that it was a miracle mother survived after what happened to her,” she commented weakly, walking towards the sword Cynthia had thrown. “And mother told me that all our lives are miracles… no matter how hard they may seem.”

Falchion had come loose from its sheath and the charm had come off of the hilt, but Adelaide knew that she probably wasn’t one of its chosen wielders. Carefully picking up the sacred blade, the Falcon Knight turned back to her Exalt.

“I won’t pretend to know what you’ve gone through, cousin, but I want you to know that it would be a big deal… especially to me. I’ve always thought that you were pretty miraculous,” Adelaide offered warmly, sheathing Falchion and smiling at Cynthia. “I didn’t become a knight of the royal guard just because father asked me to. I knew how hard things had been for you, and I wanted to help however I could. And if it means being the wary knight to your reckless royal, then… hehe, I’m your knight!”

Cynthia glared at the sword before taking it back, grumbling as she strapped the sheath back around her waist. She was acting like a child again, she knew that - but she just couldn’t help it. This entire day had been…frustrating wasn’t the right word. Perhaps emotional was.

“Thanks.” She said grudgingly a few moments after Adelaide finished talking, standing with her hands loose by her side. Staring at the wall for a few moments, she groaned and sat on the nearest stool, head in her hands. “…let’s just call it a day for now, Adelaide. I need a rest.”

Well, it was more along the lines of needing to go and work off her stress in private for a moment, but there wasn’t any point in phrasing it like that. “If you can pull my husband away from his work early for once, I’d appreciate it. Feel free to use force.”

“Yes, Your Grace!” Adelaide replied with a sharp salute. She expected that allowing Cynthia to return to her normal schedule would help her calm down a bit. But when the Falcon Knight’s hand reached her forehead, something warm splashed against her face.

“Hm?” Brushing a droplet off of her cheek, Adelaide inspected her fingertips to see a red smear left behind. When she looked at her hand, she noticed a thin cut running along the palm of her hand. “Gah! W-Where did this come from?”

“…I’ve got an idea…” Cynthia said slowly, glancing at Adelaide’s hand for a moment. She was suddenly even more grateful that the rest had left for now, because if she was right this likely wasn’t the kind of news that should spread to the public. “Well, two. Either I did actually hit you at one point, or…”

She fingered Falchion’s hilt for a moment thoughtfully, wondering if she should even broach the subject. She knew that her cousin treated the sword with so much respect she almost seemed to fear the blade - but then again, at one point so had she.

Well, if nothing else, it might give the woman a confidence boost. She drew Falchion from the sheath again and tossed it hilt-first towards her knight, trusting in her own reflexes to stop herself from getting hurt. “Catch. Oh, and block!”

Hopefully before Adelaide could really process what was going on, she grabbed one of the small bags of sand normally used for in-flight archery practice and tossed it at her, hard. At worst it’d bruise.

Catch? Blinking in confusion as Falchion sailed through the air before her, Adelaide reached out and grabbed the sword by the hilt. In the moment, her only thought was to stop the sacred blade from hitting the ground again and getting damaged. Then Cynthia’s second command registered with her. Block!

The Exalt had thrown the sandbag so hard that Adelaide barely managed to see it. Panicking, she pivoted on her heel and swung the sword. When bag split apart on impact with the blade, the Falcon Knight was quickly covered in sand… though she was far too stunned to mind.

“No…”

“Remember to breathe, Lady.” Cynthia giggled, walking over to her cousin and glancing at the blade in her hands. Gods alone knew that it looked more natural in her grip than her own - although that may have been spite towards the blade, or even more likely Adelaide’s conditioning to swordsmanship.

Seeing that the knight was still in shock, Cynthia shook her head and let out an exaggerated sigh. She hated exercising authority, but maybe it would snap her out of it. If her father’s training was anything like she remembered it, well…this should be second nature. “CAPTAIN! ATTENTION!”

“Y-Your Grace!” All at once, Adelaide was standing up as straight as a pole. It was more reflex than freewill. Did Cynthia call her to attention? She was never one to pull authority, especially on her own cousin… and was she still holding Falchion? Adelaide remembered cutting through the sandbag, but it felt more like a daydream than something that had just happened.

“I-I’m sorry, Cynthia… I don’t know what got into me,” she apologized, nervously biting her lip in between sentences. “This has never happened to me before…”

“Yeah, it freaked me out the first time too.” Cynthia admitted, picking up a pair of training swords and advancing on her cousin menacingly. It was good to make sure, after all, and perhaps this would help her snap out of her reverie. “We’d better make sure, just in case.”

“Block!” She ordered, swinging one of the swords at Adelaide’s head. Falchion would cut it in two in short order, provided she met it edge-on-edge - that was the bizarre thing about using Falchion. Since the damn thing couldn’t blunt or break, meeting other’s blades on edge instead of with the flat was both possible and recommended.

“Cynthia, I’m serious!” the Falcon Knight protested. “This isn’t supposed to befreaking me out; it isn’t supposed to be happening to me at al– Eeep!”

Seeing her Exalt take a swing at her with a wooden trainer, Adelaide frantically tried to parry the practice sword only to feel it coming apart cleanly against the honed edge of the sacred sword. “P-Please! No more! I really shouldn’t have picked it up in the first place!”

“Focus, Adelaide!” Cynthia barked, tossing the ruined trainer away and circling her cousin carefully. Her eyes flickered down to the blade and back to Adelaide’s face before softening and she lowered the other blade.

“Look, I get it. Knowing you can use that thing kind of sucks.” She said gently. “Especially considering what happened to the last three people who did before me. But you should be proud of yourself, Adelaide. Even if you think you’re not worthy of it, well…welcome to the club.”

Falchion shook in her hands as she stared her cousin down. She would let Cynthia hit her with the trainer before using the holy weapon again. This wasn’t her sword. It wasn’t even her birthright. This whole situation was so wrong.

“Cynthia… Your Grace, with all due respect, I don’t think you do,” Adelaide quaked. “When I was little… I wanted to wield this sword. I wanted to feel like a part of our family… But I realized later that I wasn’t even supposed to be born. All I’ve wanted ever since then was the chance to prove my worth. Don’t you see? Having Falchion choose me as a wielder… it’s like Naga herself is pitying me! I wanted to prove myself, but… it feels like I’ve lost that chance…”

“Adelaide…” Cynthia sighed, shaking her head. She reached out and tussled her hair, stepping away before she could have a chance to give the sword back to her. “Seriously, I used to think the same thing. It used to kill me that Lucina could use it and I couldn’t, like it meant…like it meant that I wasn’t important enough to be a part of that family. Then I learned I could use it, and I became petrified that I was meant to be a replacement for when Lucina died.”

She gestured at the blade helplessly, shrugging her shoulders. “Being able to use that thing - it’s not pity, Adelaide. It might not even be a good thing. Hell, sometimes I’m convinced the stupid thing is cursed. If you really want to prove yourself, stop crying about it and do something already!”

“If it isn’t pity, Cynthia, then it’s some kind of divine joke,” the Falcon Knight quaked, clenching her eyes shut to try to stop herself from tearing up. “By all rights, this is Lucina’s sword. She’s been working her whole life to take the burden of leadership off of your shoulders, but we don’t even know if she can wield it! But me, a body guard? A second-rate royal who was never supposed to exist in the first place? What is Naga trying to say by choosing a nobody like me?”

“Trust me, I’m pretty sure it’s a joke sometimes too.” Cynthia sighed, wincing at the reminder of her…well, younger sister, now. She put a hand on Adelaide’s shoulder trying to comfort her while keeping her composure as much as she could, a small smile on her face. “Maybe Lucina was meant to be the one who used it during the war, and you’re meant to have it during peacetime.”

Her face hardened a little as Adelaide mentioned ‘never supposed to exist’, having to resist the urge to slap the other woman with physical difficulty as she took a deep breath. “Adelaide, for gods’ sakes. Of course you’re supposed to exist. The fact that you didn’t live in the future where everything went straight to shit doesn’t mean you’re not important. What, because only Morgan and Haley came back for me, does that mean Sigurd shouldn’t exist?”

She pressed Falchion’s hilt into the Falcon Knight’s hand again, determination in her eyes. “Also, seriously, you just beat me in front of a bunch of other people. Maybe Falchion’s not meant to be used by the person ruling it, but the person who keeps it safe instead. Like my father had it while your mother was ruling.”

“I… I don’t know,” the Falcon Knight gulped, shaking her head, “I’m not sure about anything. I never even considered this as a possibility, but… maybe you’re right. If Lucina’s to ascend the throne someday, then maybe I have a role in helping her keep Ylisse safe. Maybe Naga is trying show me a path forward that I can’t see just yet.”

Wiping her eyes and carefully sheathing Falchion, Adelaide dropped to a knee and offered the sword back to her cousin. “I’m sorry for putting you through all of this, Cynthia. Fate, destiny, other futures… it’s all so confusing. I don’t even know where to start. Here and now, though, before all else: I am your knight. That’s the one thing I’m sure of.”

“I’d kind of hope Lucina doesn’t end up on the throne. That means all my kids are either dead or abdicated.” Cynthia grumbled a little, trying to make it sound like a joke. Sighing, she reached down to take the sword’s hilt, fingers curling around it as she paused and glanced down at her with light in her eyes.

Drawing the blade smoothly from the sheath, she touched both of Adelaide’s shoulders in smooth succession, hopefully faster than she would be able to object, smiling to herself.

“I know you’ve already been knighted, but sometimes it’s nice to renew some vows. She joked, sheathing Falchion and tossing the blade up into the air for a few moments. She paused again, eyes flickering from Adelaide to the blade before passing it back. “Go on, Adelaide. Tell your parents the good news. I’m going to want that sword back, though, I’m not dead yet.”

Adelaide kept her head respectfully low as Cynthia joked, rolling her eyes at her cousin’s attempt at humor. Lucina was Chrom’s rightful heir, and though Cynthia had been a wonderful Exalt, she also deserved to live her life as she pleased.

With her head so low, though, Adelaide barely had time to realize what her cousin was really up to. When the sword was returned to her hands, the Falcon Knight looked up at her Exalt and gave her a very soft smile.

“As you command, Your Grace,” she replied, hesitantly accepting the sword. Adelaide imagined what this might mean for her future, and a little bit of her cousin’s optimism suddenly rubbed off on her. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. “And… thank you, Cynthia. I don’t say this nearly enough, but I love you. Hehe, I’ll be sure to tell you all about how badly father overreacts tonight. I won’t be surprised if he ends up fainting!”

“He’s going to be very proud of you once his heart attack finishes.” Cynthia agreed with a grin, patting Adelaide on her shoulder. She picked up the training lance she’d been using earlier and slid it back into the rack, humming to herself before glancing at the knight with a hint of pride in her eyes.

“I love you too, Adelaide. Now go on, captain, scat. You’re dismissed.” She waved her off with a laugh. “At ease, off duty, whatever the right order is. Get out of here.”