#fe-communitydesign

[eirikahime]

@fe-communitydesign February contribution; L I L I T H  ♪ ♫

[xinghai]

Children / Goodbye / Home  --  Family

I decided to double up for this last picture. Did this for both the last day of @ferarepair-week2k17 and March’s @fe-communitydesign theme~ I had a lot of fun with this one <3 

[raventooblue]

@fe-communitydesign not exactly autumnal haha but this is what I thought of for “golden”

[royaltyjunk]

A Golden Warmth [T, Lloyd/Ursula]

Summary:

It fades away all too quickly, and then she is gone and taking her golden warmth with her, leaving into a winter wonderland that will soon become a winter nightmare. Written for the FE: Community Design challenge on Tumblr.

Author's Ideas: NO I'M NOT DEAD I PROMISE

I had a busier summer than I would think, so I wasn't able to write as much.

Anyway, written for @fe-communitydesign.

We got some Elibe up in here, my dudes. Lloyd/Ursula is like… wow. I don't know how I started shipping it, but I did, and whoo-boy. They are… interesting, to say the least. Lloyd despises Sonia, but Ursula practically worships her. They still manage to treat each other with respect, despite their differences, and there's something about that that makes me wonder about their relationship if you get down to the nitty gritty.

It also doesn't help that the game developers don't tell us jackshit about Ursula and Lloyd's backstories, so I had to do a lot of speculation here.

As always, readable on FanFiction and AO3.

EDIT [09.09.17]: There is now a playlist based on this fic made by yours truly because I’m desperate lol. It’s right here, so give it a listen.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Fire Emblem.

When Ursula was young, she hated the crows.

She would sit by her windowsill and watch the black birds soar, caw, screech and screech until she could hear them in her sleep and yell at them to shut up, shut up, shut up!

She only hated them because they reminded her of herself. A bird that was caged, forced into the same actions every day, every hour, every minute.

Ursula saw the crows as herself. A young girl, trapped in a noble household that refused to feed its citizens, instead choosing to hold extravagant feasts every night. She begged her parents to give them food, but they beat her instead.

She wished she could help those citizens, who viewed her as a spoiled brat who knew nothing of their suffering.

She despised her family.

Her father drank every night, drank himself drunk until he was near dead. Her mother took those opportunities every day to bed other men. Any man who dare come to the castle never came out the same.

Ursula makes to get away one night, when her father lays drunk and unconscious one day, and her mother bedded by another man, as they always are.

She slips into a ragged cloak, pulls the hood over her head, and races down the stairs of the castle, out the garden door.

A gentle glass lantern guides her through the night, and she finds herself on the market streets where the locals starve. She can not bring herself to refuse the cries of her people, and offers the rations that she had packed to all.

Too late does she realize that she will be discovered, and next she knows, Ursula is on the cobblestone streets, pinned beneath castle soldiers, the bread and dried meats she is offering crushed underfoot. Her hood falls from her face, and the villagers shriek and cry aloud.

She scowls at the soldiers, screaming for them to unhand her, for she is the daughter of their lords. Yet they do not, and beat her before throwing her into her room, promising that her parents will see her when dawn comes the next day, whether she was ready or not.

The next morning, her parents are dead, laid in a bloody heap on the floor in front of her room, and a man with dirty blonde hair and a bloodied axe is extending his hand to her, a gently understanding look in his eyes.

She takes his hand.

She never once wonders why.

~ / . / . / ~

Lloyd first meets her when his father comes back from the castle of the lord, his axe on his shoulder.

"There's Father!" Linus points, and the brothers dash forward to meet their father. Yet, as they draw closer, they notice a young girl by his side.

"Father?" Lloyd asks once they stand in front of him, his eyes darting to the girl at his side.

"Later," he murmurs, handing his axe off to another warrior and scooping up the little girl into his arms.

The brothers watch their father walk away, a gentle look in his eyes.

Their father approaches them later during dinnertime, and there's only one question on Lloyd's mind.

"...Who is she?" he asks.

"She's your age. The daughter of those lords. She was thrown in the dungeons, and was going to be executed because she was feeding her people food she snuck from the castle."

"What a terrible set of circumstances," Lloyd murmurs under his breath, and Linus nods in agreement. It's only when they're passing by her room after they've been excused from the dinner table does Linus express his real feelings.

"I've never seen her. Father said she was our age, right?"

"Let me guess where this is going. You want me to go get her out of there?"

Linus nods, and Lloyd rolls his eyes, sighing.

"Fine."

Slowly, he pulls open the door. The room is dark except for a little candlestick on the bedside table. There's a rustle, and a blue-haired girl with sharp eyes comes into view of the light.

"Who are you? Are you going to hurt me? I can hurt you back," she snarls.

"No. I'm Brendan Reed's son, Lloyd Reed."

"Why should I believe in you?"

"You're right, you don't have to. But you can try. Just trust me."

Her face softens, and she looks away, an ashamed expression painting across her features. "You act just like Mr. Brendan… You really are his son, aren't you?"

Lloyd smiles. "Why don't you come outside with us?"

"Us?"

"My brother and I."

She hesitates, but nods. "Okay."

Ursula follows after him, and Linus looks up as they exit the room.

"You actually got her out?" his brother asks.

"Linus!" he scolds.

"I'm right here," Ursula deadpans.

"Sorry," Linus mumbles.

"Linus is… outspoken. He doesn't think before he speaks. At all." Lloyd glares at his sister. Ursula cracks a small smile, letting a gentle laugh slip from her mouth.

"I can see that."

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean!?" Linus cries indignantly, and Lloyd cackles as they hurry out of the Black Fang headquarters.

"Where are you going?" Brendan calls.

"Showing Ursula around!" Lloyd calls over the sound of Linus and Ursula's mock bickering.

"Stay safe!"

"We will!" Lloyd reassures, and then works on breaking up the playful punches they're hurling at each other.

They laugh the whole time, joking until they all sprawl out on a hill, leaning back against the grass.

"Hey, Ursula?" Linus asks suddenly.

"What is it?"

"Do you miss your parents?" Lloyd hisses in objection at his brother's question, but Ursula smiles.

"No," she answers, "I'm glad Mr. Brendan killed them. I hated them."

"Hated them?" Lloyd frowns. "Why?"

"They weren't good," the young teenager looks at him, her blue eyes like chips of ice. "They never loved me."

"That sounds terrible," Lloyd mutters, casting his eyes up at the starlit sky above them.

"It was," Ursula agrees, "but it was for the best."

Her words leave a tingling feeling in his heart. He comes to coin it a golden warmth.

~ / . / . / ~

One night, the leader of the Black Fang introduces them to Sonia.

They have grown since their days as teenagers. Linus and Lloyd make up half of the Four Fangs, and Ursula is on the cusp of becoming one.

Linus and Lloyd tower over her. They both hold immense power - Lloyd is a Swordmaster, and Linus a Hero. Ursula refuses to admit her improvement herself, but Lloyd praises her magic often.

They've grown closer, the three of them, but Lloyd and Ursula especially. Linus smirks every time she sits beside his brother in the dining hall, laughs knowingly whenever Lloyd stares at her during sparring practice. He's always one step ahead of them when they're walking around the headquarters, always volunteers to ride with Uhai so Lloyd can ride with Ursula.

She frowns at the thought of how silly the brothers are acting, considering they're hitting the end of twenty one years by the time the spring starts.

"Lloyd and Linus?" Legault tilts his head, an expression of deep thought on his face. "I think they're just glad, or sharing a secret. That's what they always do. It's a brother thing, I think."

"A secret about me, huh?" Ursula huffs, and Legault.

"Seems so. I do think I already know what that secret is, though."

"Really?" She raises an eyebrow at the thief. "Can't say I'm not intrigued…"

"I think you'll know soon enough," Legault reassures. "If I told you, I think both of them would cleave my head clean off my shoulders."

"Really?" Ursula raises her eyebrow at the thief, and he grins back.

"Wait for it," he hums.

The door to her room opens, and Lloyd glares at Legault.

"Shut it, Hurricane."

"Oh, don't mind me. I'll just be here," Legault whistles, sitting on the other side of Ursula's bed and mockingly covering his eyes.

She blinks. "Am I missing some context?"

"No, but…" he kneels down in front of her, pressing a box into her hands. "I got these for you."

Ursula looks at him strangely. "Where is this coming from?"

"I didn't get you anything for the holidays, did I?"

"I already told you, you didn't have to…" she smiles, taking the box and opening it. A pair of shimmering golden ring-shaped earrings lay nestled among the small box, and her smile grow wider. "Aren't these…?"

"You said you wanted them, didn't you? Why don't you try them on?"

Slowly, she removes the diamond studs on her ears and putting in the golden rings. She smiles.

"They're perfect."

"You look like you're proposing to her!" Legault throws over his shoulder.

Ursula flushes a crimson red, and Lloyd throws him a dirty look.

"Lloyd! Linus! Ursula!" Brendan Reed's booming voice comes from the first floor of the headquarters. Legault waves them off.

"Go on, lovebirds."

"Shut it," Lloyd hisses, and Ursula stands, sighing.

"Come on." Lloyd shoots one last angry look at Legault before following Ursula out of the room.

Linus smirks as they fall into step beside him in the hallway, and he leans over to whisper something in Lloyd's ear, his eyes on the golden earrings dangling from Ursula's ears. Lloyd punches his brother on the arm.

They descend down the stairs, and Brendan turns at the sound of their footsteps. He smiles.

By his side is a woman with jet black hair, blood red lips and nails, eyes the color of pieces of gold.

"This is Sonia," Brendan says, waving a hand at the woman beside him.

Something in Lloyd changes, and Ursula casts him a quick glance. His eyes are dark with worry, and his right hand grips tight around the sword's hilt. His left hand twitches. She turns her eyes back to the two people in front of them, but reaches for Lloyd's hand. He tangles his fingers with hers, squeezing her hand gratefully.

"Father, are you…" Linus starts, but trails off as Brendan mouths "later" at his son.

"Ah, this is Linus, then?" Sonia asks, a smirk on her red lips.

"Yes, this is Linus, that is Lloyd, and that is Ursula."

Sonia sweeps her golden gaze over the young adults. Lloyd grips Ursula's hand tighter, his shoulders growing tense.

"...I see. And those two are involved, are they?" Sonia gestures at Lloyd and Ursula.

"No," Lloyd narrows his eyes at the woman. Ursula bites her lip.

"Hmph. If you say so."

"Let me show you around, Sonia. You three are dismissed." Brendan turns from the trio, gesturing to the first floor of the headquarters.

Lloyd and Ursula hurry up the stairs, Linus following them. They pause in front of Ursula's room.

"I'll see you later," Lloyd murmurs, and Ursula nods, letting go of his hand.

"Okay." She gives the brothers a worried look. "Will you two be okay?"

"Give us a bit of time," Linus hisses under his breath. She nods.

"I will." The woman pushes the door to her room open. Legault looks over his shoulder from where he's spinning a dagger on his finger.

"Back already?"

"Let me guess this little secret you know," she states, and Legault raises an eyebrow. "He has feelings for me, doesn't he?"

"It took you this long to figure it out?"

Ursula groans. "Now I see why Lloyd finds you so annoying…"

"Look, I'm pretty sure you already know your own feelings too."

"Are you certain?" Her eyes are worried.

"Think-" Legault freezes, and before she can ask, he dashes out the side door. Her other door opens at the same time, and she looks over.

"Lloyd?" she tilts her head. "Is something wrong?"

"Can we go on a walk?" he asks. There's an angry look in his eyes, and she stands, nodding.

"Yes. Hold on, let me…" she rummages through her closet, frowning. "Where are my coats…?"

Lloyd drapes his longcoat over her shoulders, and she smiles gratefully at him.

"Ready to go?" he asks, a gentle smile mirrored on his face.

"Yes," she breathes, and he leads her out of the headquarters and through the forest, taking her hand as they walk through the debris. They end up at the edge of the lake, on the edge of defrosting. Slowly, she sits. He sits beside her, and they stare at the horizon in the distance, a gentle silence settling around them.

"I don't like her."

Ursula bites her lip, her gaze glued to Lloyd whose hair is matted with the fog that slithers about the water's edge.

"I don't trust her. There's something about her that just-"

"Lloyd."

He looks at her.

"I'm sure she's fine. You're just worried. It is your father, after all."

He sighs, lowering his gaze. "I guess so." Lloyd throws his head back, running a hand through his damp hair before offering Ursula a crooked smile as he stands. She stands with him, moving to give him his coat back. "Thanks. Keep the coat for now. I'll get it back in the morning."

Her hand clenches against the coat around her shoulders as he brushes past her, moving past Ursula and towards their headquarters.

She spins around, and the noise does not go unnoticed by Lloyd, as he stops pushing through branches of the forest, waiting for her to speak.

"Lloyd."

He turns to look at her, and she purses her lips, keeping her eyes on her feet. She's struggling to keep her composure, and she knows Lloyd can tell, but she continues to speak.

"Lloyd, I-"

"I know."

Ursula glances up at him in surprise, and he smiles. "Trust me."

She giggles. "Of course."

The next day, she finds her coats in Linus's closet, and she refuses to speak to him for the rest of the moon.

~ / . / . / ~

Ursula spends less time with the staff, and more time with the tome, and with Sonia as a result.

Whenever he comes to the training grounds, there they are, throwing magic spells across the snow-covered battlegrounds. Fire and thunder char the snow for all the hours he spends hacking at Linus and more.

"You should talk to her," Linus urges one day as they retire to their rooms. Lloyd's hands clench around the cloth he's cleaning his sword with.

"She's busy," he murmurs in response.

"You love her," Linus retorts.

"...She's probably forgotten her love for me by now," Lloyd runs his fingers along the flat of his blade.

Linus stops removing his armor, looking over his shoulder at his brother. "You're a fucking wimp. You know that, right?"

"Go put your gold in the swear jar," Lloyd jerks his thumb over his shoulder.

"Why the hell do we have that anyways?" Linus yells as he leaves the room.

"That's ten pieces!" Lloyd calls back. Linus's footsteps fade away, and Lloyd sheathes his sword, leaving it on the table beside his bed. Sluggishly, he walks down the hallways of the Black Fang headquarters, letting his feet follow the path he had once thought was instinct. Watching the path his legs lead him, he realizes he doesn't recognize those hallways anymore.

Unfamiliar faces litter the hallways, members of the Black Fang he had never known existed, now salute him. All he can note is the striking golden eyes and jet black hair that some of the recruits have, features that look shockingly familiar to Sonia's.

Black hair as dark as her soul, golden eyes to mimic the golden warmth she had stolen from him.

He tells himself it's just his imagination, out of fear that Sonia has taken over his life.

Lloyd stops himself in front of her room, taking in a deep breath before knocking confidently on her door.

The door to her room opens, and Ursula starts upon seeing the man in her doorway.

"Lloyd…"

He cracks a smile. "Ursula."

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"Am I not allowed to visit you anymore?"

"No, but… you have duties, and I have mine. We're adults now, Lloyd. Not children, or teenagers."

"Ursula," he grabs her by the shoulders as she attempts to turn and shut the door on him. She looks up at him, and he pulls her into a hug, his hands resting on the small of her back. "I missed you…"

"Lloyd…" she presses a hand against his waist, leaning her forehead against his chest. "I didn't go anywhere…"

"I know, but-" he cuts himself off, and Ursula glances at him.

"Is something wrong?" she looks into his eyes, and her eyes darken. "Is this about Sonia?'

His hands tense up against her back, and she pulls away from him. "I'm worried."

"She's not that bad, Lloyd. She's… She's a good teacher."

"I know, it's just… I don't trust her."

"Lloyd, it's not about trust, it's about-"

"Do you trust me?" He interrupts.

"Of course," she responds, but he hears uncertainty and doubt in her voice, sees darkness in her eyes, feels the golden warmth in her heart seeping away, all because of that witch.

He never sees her again until Sonia assembles the Four Fangs, one year later when the snow falls lightly on their headquarters in Bern.

~ / . / . / ~

He speaks to her one last time before she leaves for the Bern manse.

He finds her in the stable, her hands clenched tightly around a Bolting tome as she saddles her white mare up.

"Ursula," he calls out, and she freezes, turning to look at him.

"The White Wolf."

Her voice is hypnotically sweet, coated with honey and the tone she speaks in is hauntingly familiar to Sonia's.

"I'm sure you know me by a better name, Blue Crow."

"...Lloyd." Her voice is low and soft, and she avoids his eyes.

"Ursula," he lets her name roll off his tongue pointedly. His tone softens. "How long as has it been since I last spoke with you?"

"Two weeks," she responds, and her voice is cold and void, missing that seductive allure it had moments ago and the gentle, genuine sound from years ago, when he had loved her. She reaches for the Elfire tome on the ground by her steed. There's a glimmer of gold behind the bangs that cover her ears, but he doesn't want to dream, only for it to be crushed.

"Since we last really spoke."

She tenses up at that, pursing her thin lips. "I don't have time for your estranged sense of conversation."

"Estranged?" Lloyd curls his lip. "I suppose it's ironic for someone who's become a puppet to say that."

"Who is the true puppet, then? Me? Or you?"

"Am I the one who followed that she-witch, the one who trails behind her like a mutt does its owner, the one who would do anything she ordered? No, I haven't changed. You have."

"...You haven't changed. You really haven't."

"What did you say?"

"I have to go," she states, turning abruptly. The hair hanging in front of her ears flows in front of her face. His eyes widen when he sees the earrings on her ears, golden rings that glimmer under the setting sun.

When he speaks up, his voice is half-caught in his throat, and Ursula barely catches his words.

"Stay safe."

"I am perfectly capable of protecting myself."

"Come back alive," he urges, "we still have to talk."

Ursula looks at him, a placid look on her face, yet the confusion imminent in her eyes.

"Trust me."

She smiles, and for a second, her smile brightens, and he can see the old Ursula. The Ursula that fretted over his injuries, that could barely pick up an Elfire tome without complaining. The blue-haired girl that pushed him into the lake during night hikes on the shoreside, the woman who blushed when he gave her the pair of golden earrings she wore. The Ursula that would never hesitate to stuff snow down his cloak at the first snow of winter, the Ursula that lay on the floor of her bedroom with him on late nights when they were but silly youths on the peak of adulthood, laughing at the stubble growing on his chin.

It fades away all too quickly, and then she is gone and taking her golden warmth with her, leaving into a winter wonderland that will soon become a winter nightmare.

Sometime at night, when Lloyd lays, restless, counting the raindrops that splash against his rooftop, he hears a crow caw, and the White Wolf can only curl into himself deeper, wishing desperately for the golden warmth of the crow that would never reach him through his fur.

The next day, he picks up the Runesword and Iron Rune Sonia gifted him moons ago and makes for the Shrine of Seals, his golden warmth gone.

~ / . / . / ~

Props to you if you can figure out where I got Ursula's backstory from :p

[lightningbug-lane]

Finished my entry for @fe-communitydesign just in time before May ends! ;v;

The theme was Light/Dark and since I’m playing the Blazing Blade, I wanted to include a character who goes from the light to the dark. And since that goblet is what changed him, I wanted to include it too

[reidiantdawn]

This month’s theme for @fe-communitydesign is Light/Dark, so of course I immediately thought of Genealogy of the Holy War. I also saw a certain Julia image recently that gave me the idea of a role reversal... After all, it certainly isn’t the Book of Naga that Julia has here. Sorry Seliph, looks like more than just hair colour (and items) was passed down through blood.

[wat-dha-fak]

September Prompt by @fe-communitydesign​: Golden

Even though the sentence “The maiden fair had golden hair! ♪ Unbraided, it spread everywhere!” is from Shigure and Ophelia’s C-Rank, it always made me think about my Charlotte!Nina from the Conquest file, because hey... Shigure is somewhat talking about a girl with golden braids.

[fe-communitydesign]

August Theme

Hello everyone! It’s been a hectic July and now we’re getting into the last month of Summer before everyone goes back to work or school. Thank you so much for participating in July.

Because August is the last hurrah, this month’s theme will be Festival.

From fireworks to water fun, maybe even a little Christmas in July August. Plus, if you missed the Summer theme and wanted to participate like Mod Grima, you have another chance to do so. Like always, tag us directly at @fe-communitydesignor to use #fecommunitydesign in your entry.

Let’s all celebrate like no tomorrow before play turns to work. Thank you!

[lazualazua]

I once again did something for @fe-communitydesign and for this month the theme is light/dark.

So this here is based on one of my newest aus which is the Second Gen kids as the Phantom Thieves like as if they blend in the dark and hide but also blend in with the light as law abiding citizens. This au won’t follow the plot exactly. A list of who I think would be each character undercut and I’d love to hear who else you guys think would each fates character fit.

So for this I decided who shall take what role but the undecided ones are Sojiro, Ohya, Ryuji, and Sae.

Rhajat as Protagonist/Akira (for the whole misunderstood thing)

Mitama as Futaba

Siegbert as Goro

Shigure as Yusuke

Shura as Iwai

Kanas as the twins

Percy as Morgana

Ignatius as Mishima

Soliel as Ann

Orochi as Chihaya

The yato-forger as Igor

Kiragi as Shinya Oda

Arthur as Yoshida

Caeldori as Makoto

Nyx as Takemi

Charlotte as Kawakami

Hisame as Hifumi

[icebergish]

Finally got around to using one of @fe-communitydesign themes! This month’s was light/dark, so have some conquest Takumi.

[gzeidraws]

For @fe-communitydesign Family theme (•ᴗ•)

[eirikahime]

My favourite mage, Lute from Fire Emblem The Sacred Stones April contribution to @fe-communitydesign; Theme is “umbrella”

[kingvlion]

@fe-communitydesign is starting up and I wanted to participate in the first theme which was Valentine’s/Hearts!  I chose these girls because they’ve all got valentines colors as their canon hair colors.

[raventooblue]

@fe-communitydesign

It’s august so I figured I’d do some awa odori dancers!

[royaltyjunk]

Mother, You Were Never There [T]

Summary:

It’s well before dawn and slightly after midnight when he leaves the wooden house they’ve built up in the mountains of Daein. Written for the FE: Community Design event on Tumblr.

Author’s Ideas: ¼ of my birthday gifts to you guys.

Yeah, my birthday is today, and what better way to celebrate than give you guys four fics all on the same day? Thank you for all your support so far!

The June theme for @fe-communitydesign was “invisible”, so I awakened my inner Tellius spirits and decided to write a bit about Almedha and Soren’s relationship. Also background Ike/Soren. And angst. Because I can. 

Disclaimer: I still don’t own Fire Emblem.

It’s well before dawn and slightly after midnight when he leaves the wooden house they’ve built up in the mountains of Daein.

It’s a rugged little cottage, built from the ground up with logs and used tomes that stuff any holes in the walls or roof. They’d lived a happy and isolated life there after coming back from their ten year journey. Sure, it was shabby, and it failed them. A lot. Soren could count the number of times it had withstood any form of rain with one hand.

Still, it was their house, and he closes the door gently, his fingers lingering on the rusty brass doorknob. He scoffs at himself and jerks his hand away.

He remembers the bottle of ashes in his pocket and gently puts a hand to the wooden door, like he’s feeling for something - a heartbeat, a movement, anything to signify Ike.

The house doesn’t give him a response, and he feels foolish for expecting one.

Moonlight slips around the form of the rugged house he’s so familiar with, lighting a sliver of his face. He brings the bottle of ashes up to the light, lining it up with the white shimmer of the moonlight.

There’s something invisible in the bottle and in the house, but Soren doesn’t need to think to know who it is.

From somewhere, he feels a pair of invisible red eyes watching him. He turns his back to the shining moon and lets the scratching of his blood, his laguz and beorc blood, guide him down the mountain and to his next destination.

~ / . / . / ~

“Welcome,” Kurthnaga smiles at him. Soren gives him a tense half-smile back.

“Thank you for letting me stay here.”

“Of course. The Gouldians are accepting of anyone.”

Soren opens his mouth to respond, but thinks better of it, choosing not to respond about the villagers that shut doors in his face and refused to give him food or shelter upon gleaning the brand on his forehead.

“Ena will show you the way to your room,” Kurthnaga beckons forward the pink-haired woman, who smiles at Soren.

“Well met, Sir Soren.”

“Hello again,” he says gruffly as he shifts his feet, impatiently waiting for his guide to take him to his room. Ena gets the hint stored in his voice and beckons him forward, leading him out of the throne room. Soren follows her down the hallway and up a winding stairway. She takes a left and then a right, and stops in front of a large set of double doors.

“This will be your room during your stay in Goldoa. Should you need anything, my room is down the hallway at those golden doors,” she gestures to the end of the stretching path, and Soren catches a glimpse of shimmering doors, “and several maids live in the room over there.”

Ena leads him to a room diagonal from his own, and knocks gently.

Three maids bustle out, their eyes bright and gentle.

“Lady Ena!”

Ena motions Soren to step forward, and he does, trying to ignore the flinch that ripples through all three of them.

“This is Sir Soren. He will be staying Goldoa for an extended period of time, and you three will be expected to attend to him through his stay.”

“Yes, Lady Ena!” They bow and turn to Soren, expecting orders. He shakes his head.

“I don’t have anything you need to tend to right now.”

They seem shocked, but nod tentatively and retreat back into their room. The door closes behind Soren as he turns away and heads back down the hallway to his room. Ena follows him, keeping pace with the dark green-haired man.

“You can leave me alone. I’m not planning on doing anything else.”

“If you’re not, then how about I show you around? We could talk to Grandfather, or-” Ena cuts herself off, and Soren senses realization and shock rippling through her.

“Or what?” He demands. “What were you going to say?”

She pauses, and then shakes her head. “I’ll take you to King Kurthnaga. He can - will - explain.”

Soren narrows his eyes at Ena’s correction mid-sentence, but doesn’t inquire further, instead letting Ena bring him through the twisting hallways he’s already sick of. The sound of their footsteps echo through the large and lofty castle as they descend down the staircase in quick steps.

“King Kurthnaga should be in his chambers,” Ena explains when they suddenly turn away from the throne room, and Soren opens his mouth to speak up. “He prefers to stay there unless there are visitors that he must attend to.”

Soren nods before narrowing his eyes. “What is all this about? Why have the king tell me when you are perfectly aware of this… secret, as I might say?”

Ena pauses, and then turns her head back to Soren.

“It’s about your mother.”

The world goes dark for a second. He stumbles, and bumps his head against the wall where they’re supposed to turn the corner. Ena reaches out to steady him, and unconsciously, he lashes out at her, glaring.

“Leave me alone. I am fine.” He can’t keep the hatred from seeping out of his lips and tainting his words, and Ena glances at him before understanding flowers in her eyes, and she withdraws her hand.

“My apologies. Although… I’m sure you have figured it out, have you not?”

“My mother was that woman… that woman who called out to me after we left the Tower of Guidance.”

“Correct,” Kurthnaga’s voice rises from the other end of the hallway, and Soren looks up, fixing the dragon king with an icy glare. Kurthnaga ignores the frosty look he receives and smiles warmly. “She is your mother.”

“How long have you know?” Soren growls.

“She realized when you went into the Tower of Guidance. It was her first time being near you, and so she could sense that you were Branded. It is natural for a laguz to sense their child if they are close enough. She told me after the battle, when we returned from fighting Ashera. You remember her calling out to you, do you not?”

Soren just scoffs and rolls his eyes. “And what if she did?”

“Do you not care about her?” Ena’s words are cautiously chosen, and they slip out of her tentatively. Kurthnaga jerks his gaze towards her, shock widening his eyes.

“Of course not. She wasn’t there for me. Why should I?” Soren curls his lip, a look like hatred firmly settled on his brow. The king glances at Soren tentatively before turning his eyes to the floor.

“But… Almedha is your mother. Without her���”

“Almedha? Is that her name?”

“Yes. She is my sister.”

Soren’s eyes darken. “She is Goldoan royalty?”

“Yes,” Kurthnaga murmurs softly, and then lifts his gaze from his shoes to Soren’s deep crimson eyes, “meaning you are Goldoan royalty as well.”

“Kuh…” He feels a prick in his chest, a burning pain that consumes him, and he realizes that what he feared most is reality; that he’s something he doesn’t want to be, he’s something he never wanted to be because of a woman he never cared about. His jaw clenches, and his fingers curl into a claw-like shape, nails digging into the wall.

“I am sorry, Soren,” Ena apologizes softly. “I could not bring myself to tell you.”

“I would have preferred it if you hadn’t told me,” Soren snaps back, and Ena flinches, her eyes flickering at Kurthnaga, who stands silent amidst Soren’s rebukes and harsh words. The dragon king has his eyes closed, and his nephew snarled at him.

“I’m leaving.”

“You have nowhere to return to.”

Kurthnaga’s words stop Soren from turning and dashing away, and he tries to form a coherent response.

“I don’t-”

“Brother?” 

A strangely familiar voice rings about the hallway, and Soren feels a chill run down his spine. There’s only one other person who could call Kurthnaga their brother, and he prays to the goddess above that it isn’t her, that it isn’t the woman he doesn’t want to talk to right now, that-

“Almedha? What are you doing here?”

He condemns the goddess to hell.

“Brother, there you are. I was looking for you.” The sound of footsteps draw nearer, and Soren tenses up. They scrape to a stop beside him, and he pointedly turns his head away from her.

“Soren…” Ena murmurs from the other side of him. He just responds with a scoff.

“Did something happen, Almedha?”

“No, I was just wondering if you had…” She trails off, but Kurthnaga seems to understand and nods.

“He knows.”

“I know,” Soren chimes in bitterly. “I know, and I wish I didn’t.”

Almedha steps in front of him, her hands folded together and lips pursed. “Soren, I am so very sorry, but… I had to do it. I did not mean to-”

“Fine then,” Soren spits with anger, “I never cared about you anyways. You, who left me to die with no remorse. You’re no worse than a cold-blooded killer.”

He barges past the woman who is neither laguz or beorc, and doesn’t spare a glance over his shoulder because she’s invisible.

She doesn’t exist, to him.

~ / . / . / ~

“He looks like her, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah… I’m surprised. Plus, the way he’s treated here in the castle makes it seem like he’s-”

“No, he couldn’t possibly be!”

“But the Lady Almedha has never transformed before, has she?”

“I suppose-”

“Now is not a time of war. There is no need to.”

“L-Lady Ena!”

“Go on. You have chores and such to attend to, do you not? And next time, when you start slandering someone, try to find a place where they can’t listen in.”

The group of gossiping maids scatter as they rush off with flush faces, and Ena watches them disappear before sighing and turning to Soren.

“That has to be the first time they’ve done it in the presence of a guest. I’m sorry about that.”

“I’ve been here for a year. Naturally, they’d think I’d be used to things around here.”

“Are you?”

“Of course,” Soren responds, narrowing his eyes. He knows that Ena takes two walks a day, once in the afternoon and once at sunset. He knows that the servants all gossip when they clean rooms or have meals. He knows the royal chef keeps multiple bottles of poison in the cabinets above the knives, confiscated from all the other kitchen workers when they’d first come to work in the castle. He knows that Nasir keeps a Laguz Gem pinned to his scarf. He knows that Gareth, Ena’s son’s chamberlain, dotes on him when no one is around. He knows that King Kurthnaga often has nightmares, and stays up under candlelight reading old stories of his father.

All that he does not know about is connected to his mo- to Lady Almedha. He has no interest in her, and know that she would not dare do anything harmful to him, and so he does not bother to observe her daily routine.

“Soren? Did you hear me?”

“No. What did you want?”

“King Kurthnaga wishes to meet with you. Come with me.”

Begrudgingly, he closes the door to his room behind him and follows the red dragon.

The door to the throne room is pushed open, and Kurthnaga glances up from the papers in his hands. He offers them a smile and stands.

“Soren, thank you for coming.”

“It was a call from you. I had to.” Soren brushes off the king’s thanks, and Kurthnaga nods, before waving his hand at Ena. The pink-haired woman bows and leaves the room. Kurthnaga approaches Soren then.

“People have been spreading rumors about you, Soren.”

“So?” An annoyed look flits across Soren’s face, and Kurthnaga shakes his head.

“Some citizens have gotten wind of your being here. We know your presence here is supposed to be concealed, but some maids and butlers who are suspicious of you have begun spreading rumors of you. So, please. All we’re asking you to do is be more interactive, Soren. Perhaps greet some guests, or be more willing to come to feasts. Try a little more, for your sake if not for ours. That is all I wanted to say. You are excused,” Kurthnaga smiles, and retreats deeper into the throne room.

Almedha steps forward from her place beside the throne then, and clears her throat before speaking up.

“Soren-”

“Lady Almedha, I am quite busy. If you will excuse me,” he interrupts, turning around and leaving the room.

Nasir catches up to him as he ascends the stairway one step at a time.

“What was that?”

“What?” Soren’s voice is cold and harsh, a clear sign that he didn’t want to talk. He walks faster, taking two steps at a time. Nasir keeps up.

“She’s your mother. You can’t just ignore her. She’ll be here for another handful of centuries, and you will too.”

Soren stops and turns on him. “Nasir. I-”

The sound of footsteps cut him off, and Almedha runs by the base of the staircase. Ena chases her, but stops and looks up the stairway.

Soren meets her gaze with a glare, and sadness tints the red dragon’s eyes as she dashes away, following Almedha.

He looks back at Nasir. “She was invisible. She was never there. Am I supposed to love a woman who never did anything for me?”

Nasir purses his lips and Soren turns abruptly, continuing up the winding staircase as he ignores the churning feelings in his heart.

~ / . / . / ~

The queen of Daein dies to a sudden illness sometime during his fifth year in Goldoa, his one hundred and third year alive in total, and her ninety-ninth year alive.

She comes to Goldoa two days later, a black cape on her shoulders and a maid’s towel wrapped around her head.

“You needn’t prepare a room for me,” she laughs and waves off the group of servants, who rush forward to help the former queen. “Micah made sure that I had more than enough before I left.”

“That’s a nice son you have,” Nasir comments, and Micaiah lets out another bubbly giggle.

“He’s worried that I can’t handle myself. He forgets sometimes that I’ll be living for another thousand years or so.”

“Where will you be going from here on out?” Soren questions. “It will be hard for you to stay in Tellius without the cooperation of a kingdom.”

“I will be staying in the Kingdom of Serenes, under concealment, alongside Lehran. You are welcome to come visit me if you wish.”

“I will,” Nasir promises, and then gestures to Soren. “Soren, why don’t you show her to the sunroom? She can stay there until King Kurthnaga is available.”

He rolls his eyes but turns to lead the former queen of Daein to the sunroom located at the end of the hallway where his and Ena’s rooms are. The bright golden doors reflect back at them, and he pushes them open.

Sunlight spills through the large windows of the room, falling over the tables and chairs settled on the patterned carpet along the hardwood floor. He glances at the white-haired woman, who walks to the window and places her hand on the glass.

“It’s beautiful…”

“Wait here until someone comes to get you,” Soren commands, and with a glance over his shoulder, turns to leave the room.

“Alright,” she says, and then gasps and spins around.

“Oh, Soren! I heard about… your mother, and-”

Soren turns his head to glare at her, and Micaiah’s voice trails off. She clenches her hand against her chest, a forlorn look in her eyes.

“I see… so you’re…”

“I don’t care about her. That’s all.” Soren turns to leave.

“And why not? At this point, the one at fault here is you, Soren. She must be overjoyed to meet with her son, and is instead greeted by harshness and anger?”

Soren whips around to address Micaiah.

“Even if she is my mother, it does not change the fact that she is the one at fault. I’ve no desire to be her son, to be doted on,” Soren spat out the words like poison on his lips. “You saw what happened to Pelleas, how she treated him. How she would have willingly sacrificed a kingdom - her former kingdom - to save the life of one person!”

“Have you forgotten how you once acted?”

The cold reply in her warm voice stops him from speaking up.

“You once would have given everything and anything to ensure Ike’s survival.”

Soren stutters, his mind searching for an answer. “Ike is… different.”

“In what way?” Micaiah asks, tilting her head.

“He helped me. He was my friend, and he liked me. He loved me, something I’ve never felt before. He was willing to give up everything to protect me, just as I was.”

“And you think mothers don’t do that?” Micaiah’s eyes blaze with an emotion best described as fury, although it doesn’t fit the gentle-hearted woman she is. “Do you think we don’t love our children until they’ve grown up? Do you think we despise the infants we hold in our arms? Do you think that all mothers will abandon their children eventually? Is your view on a mother shaped only by what you think? Were you too stubborn to open your eyes and look around? At Ena, at Mist, at anyone who was a mother, including myself?”

Soren gives her silence. She sighs and then speaks again, the passion and anger in her voice subsiding. “We love our children. It is a mother’s duty to do so, and it was your mother’s duty as well.” Her eyes soften. “You cannot act like she is invisible, Soren.”

He tries to snarl back, tries to get a retort out of his mouth, but it disappears at the tip of his tongue, and he just storms out of the sunroom, leaving Micaiah to watch him disappear into the castle hallways with an understanding look in her eyes.

~ / . / . / ~

The month of the General, the twenty-third day.

The day Ike had died, exactly twenty five years ago.

The day he had come to Goldoa, six years ago.

The day he talks to his mother for the first time since arriving in Goldoa, twenty four years ago.

“Happy birthday, Soren. Is that one hundred and four now?”

Soren brushes off the king’s words with a roll of his eyes. “Birthday this, birthday that. I could care less about it. It’s just a gruesome reminder that I have a thousand more years of my life left to live out.”

Kurthnaga smiles understandingly, and lays a gentle hand on Soren’s shoulder before retreating from the quiet library.

The silence leaves the former tactician alone to his thoughts - foreboding thoughts that soon consume his mind. He’s not needed, he doesn’t belong in this world no matter how hard he tries. He should just disappear, he should just leave. Ike never loved him, Ike never wanted him. He was just clingy, and Ike was compassionate, his mother abandoned him out of hatred, his father hated him, everyone hated him especially Ike because he was never needed never wanted never required never-

Soren shuts down that part of his mind and stands abruptly. The deep green-haired tactician growls, slams the book in his hands shut, and leaves the library behind, not bothering to fix the fallen chair that he once sat in.

Taking the long winding staircase up to his room, he skips several steps at a time despite the taxing effort it takes to climb the entire thing. Just as he rounds the corner, a chill runs down his spine, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. He curses and walks quicker. His laguz instincts have reacted too much to the same person that it’s hard for him not to want to run away.

“Soren! Wait!”

He tries not to hiss as he jerks to a stop, and clenches his fingers tight around the book in his hands as the footsteps draw closer.

Almedha takes softer steps the closer she gets to her son, and Soren glances at her from the side of his vision. She comes at his right and gives him a smile, although, for all the work and analyzation of people he’s done, he doesn’t know if it’s genuine or not.

“What do you want?” He asks, continuing to walk down the hallway to his room.

“Oh… I just…” Almedha glances around nervously, and Soren scoffs.

“Did you really think I would let you talk to me without a reason? If you’re here for idle chatter or some ‘mother and son bonding’ thing, I’m leaving.”

“No, I… Today is your birthday, is it not?”

“I’ve been here for six years, and you don’t remember.” Soren snorts. “So? What of it?”

“It’s… It’s not your real birthday, my dear. You were-”

“I know it’s not my real birthday. I don’t care about it. It just serves as a reminder to the day that I was born into this miserable world by you.” He ignores her flinch, and continues talking. “I wouldn’t want to celebrate any birthday for me. But today is the day Ike gave me a birthday, so I will celebrate today. Today and only today.”

Almedha stares, wide-eyed at Soren, and then looks away guiltily. “I’m sorry, my son… I did not mean to offend you.”

Soren stops and turns to look at her suddenly, his eyes cold and angry.

“I may be your son biologically, but you will never be my mother. So stop calling me those names, because I will never accept you. Never.”

Almedha lets out a gentle sigh, an understanding expression flitting across her face.

“So… I am dead to you?”

“You are not dead to me.” Almedha looks up in surprise, and Soren continues on, “But you are invisible. You do not exist to me. Lady Almedha is alive, but my mother is not.”

He turns on his heel and enters his room, leaving the hallway in a cold and stunning silence. Almedha falls back against the wall, her face in her hands and fingers clenching around her head, long fingernails digging into her scalp. There’s a sensation like hot coals, burning her heart, and she pretends to not acknowledge it, even though she knows it’s the feeling of her heart breaking.

Soren slams the door to his room behind him and crumples to his feet, his fingers combing frantically through his dark green hair. There’s no regret or remorse in his heart, but he feels anguish rising from his lungs and into his throat, and he bites his lip to hold back a scream, feeling the stabbing sensation of pain grow. He watches as crimson blood slips from his lip and beads onto the floor beneath him.

They never speak to each other again.

[lightningbug-lane]

March Entry for @fe-communitydesign! The theme was Family.

Takumi used to have dolls according to Orochi, so I imagine he gave them to Sakura once he outgrew them. Doesn’t mean he gets out of playing with them with his little sister!