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     There were so many rooms in the resort to accommodate all the... guests, that sometimes Sumia got lost in the winding halls. There was little to no variation, and after a while, each woven chair or framed picture of the sunset began looking like the last. What was worse⌠she didnât seem to be running into any people, either.Â
     Pegasus plop. What was she supposed to do in a situation like this? If only she could ask someone where the exit was⌠Maybe then she wouldnât have to feel like a dunce for not being able to find her way out.
     Suddenly, a rustle. Sumia turned and noticed a door slightly ajar, right at the end of the walkway. Was someone here? She knew it wasnât right to just barge into someoneâs room, but these were desperate times. Taking a deep breath, Sumia approached the door, opening it ever-so-slightly to see who was inside. It would probably be okay, right? This was her dream after all! Though it was safe to say that of all the things she expected on the other side, it wasnât this.Â
     âCaptain!â she exclaimed. âI-I mean, Chrom!âÂ
     Sheâd never seen him look so startled. His face was pale, his eyes were wide, he dropped to the ground and--Â
     Well, that wasnât right. Chrom mustâve tripped. The crowned leader of Ylisse wouldnât duck and scurry under the bed like a common insect. Oh, goodness. Sumia rushed forward, leaning down and checking through the gap underneath the bed to make sure he was alright. At least he seemed to recognize her.
     âThatâs right! Itâs me, Sumia!â Turn around?! Oh, no. Whirling back in the direction of the door, she was ready to fight any manner of intruder who had snuck up on themâŚ!Â
     But there was no one there. Concern morphed into confusion. Just what was going on here? It took Sumia shifting to Chromâs side of the room to finally grasp the situation.Â
     âO-Oh! My apologies, captain, I didnât mean to walk in on you changing!â A light pink tinted her cheeks. âI understand the embarrassment, but Itâs nothing Iâve never seen before. No one in the Shepherds will ever forget the day you proudly shed you modesty and laid yourself bare for the world to see. All for our sake! It was so cool, even Vaike couldnât stop smiling even after he teared up from being so touched! We couldnât even say the word âprinceâ without him bursting into laughter.âÂ
     Although looking at him now, Chromâs muscles did seem a little less⌠sparkly than she remembered. Weird. But if her darling Exalt needed protecting, then protecting she would give him! It didnât matter if it was from assassins, risen, prying eyes, or cool breeze on his exposed chest. She wouldnât let him down.Â
     âDonât worry, I have you covered!â Literally. Sumia made a grab for the nearest loose fabric her fingers could wrap around. The blankets and sheets were tucked in, but with Chrom looking so mortified, the curtains felt like they could be a quicker solution to the problem. Only⌠maybe she grabbed a little too enthusiastically. In one motion down came the curtains along withthe rod holding them up. Sumia didnât have time to react before metal banged over the top of her head, Her vision went white with painâŚ!Â
     âAh! OwâŚâÂ
     ...No! Her vision was still white! Did she go blind?! Sumia stuck her arms out straight to feel around, only to realize the curtains had fallen on her completely.Â
     âCaptain? Are you there?! Iâm coming!â
     She just needed to find her way out of all this darn fabric first.
     On a night long ago, they had all gathered round the campfire to hear each others most blood curdling tales. He could remember Ricken's brave face, and Henry's mad smile, but most of all were the stories of spectres and poltergeists that they had traded on gentle whispers. Chrom wasn't sure why those had stuck with himâsomething about slaying monsters made the simple horrors all the more menacing, and ghosts, unlike fiends, had history.
     Right now, he was fairly certain he was in one of those stories. Centuries would pass, yet children would continue to spread the tale of Chrom the Inconceivable, Exalt of Ylisse and he who prevailed against Grima only to be bested by a friend's smile.
     Sumia was many things. Kind, sweet, a lovely baker, and just a tad careless at times. That was why, tomorrow, he may regret yelling at her good intentions, but for now Chrom had no such reserve. Face red and eyes seething, he opened his mouth in anger before he quite knew what say.
     âWhy would youâ? Thatâits not the point, Sumia!â
     Nothing she hadn't seen before? DAMN Frederick! He could burn in hell with all those bloody posters that he'd strewn about the camp, and damn her too for reminding him that half the continent must have seen him... seen him in, or no, not in moreoverâthere hadn't been so much as a sheet, and she'd the GAUL to bring it up again?!
     Chrom couldn't decide if he should push her out the window or the door, but then, Sumia made it easy for him. He watched as she jumped back to greet a nonexistent foe, nearly as quick to get tangled in the drapes as she was to protect her captain. He was still furious, but he couldn't stay mad at that.
     Chrom hauled himself to his feet and, sighing deeply, dragged a sheet from his bed. It was far from perfect as he knotted it around his waist, but it would do. Besidesâit was nothing she hadn't seem before.
     âHold on,â he said. Then, within a matter of moments, he had clasped his fingers round the metal pole that she'd torn down. Bit by bit, they found her againâa hand here, a shoulder thereâuntil all of Sumia stared back at him. She was wrapped in white linens from head to toe like a ghost, or a bride, and neither was a thought that Chrom cared to entertain.
     His ears were still pink, and his jaw was tight. Chrom was certain that there was something he wished to say, whether it was confirmation that she was alright, or an inquiry into what she was doing here in the first place, but try as he might no words would come. In the end, he just stood there crossly, and, having excavated his friend, turned away.