heart of flame.

"I was abducted."

"No. Not magic. Science."

"Who was it who bested you?"

"Well, I've had many a man's wife."

"That thing out there is dangerous."

"I thought you didn't wanna see me."

"Oh, no. But it might come in handy."

"What I create is not from this world."

"No! Because humans killed them all."

"Promise me and we can be together."

"This is a 'see you in five minutes' kiss?"

"What you can do is tell us what you did."

"All these years, you've been here… alive?"

"So, uh, you didn't get what you wanted?"

"An ogre? I'm pretty sure I've dated a few."

"Now, what are you doing aboard my ship?"

"You have to tell me what happened to you."

"Why am I doing this? Who am I protecting?"

"That could've stopped it. Maybe it was fate."

"Seeing the inevitable can be a terrible price."

"Your mom. She's a piece of work, you know?"

"You said magic was bad, and you were right."

"Oh, because you took such good care of him."

"I cannot let this stand. I will not let this stand!"

"Time's come for you to start trusting someone."

"We have to move camp. They're coming for us."

"I can see I just launched you on a heroic quest."

"I'm done reading about heroes. I wanna be one."

"I know, I know. It's just… sweetheart, I'm dying."

"Despite what you must hope, I'm still a monster."

"I hurt his heart. (name) is just where he keeps it."

"You're dying. And right now, I am your best hope."

"Well, that is quite a list of grievances, now isn't it?"

"Hey. Don't worry, all right? It was just a bad dream."

"I might be a pervert, but you're definitely a car thief."

"Don't you see? That's exactly the reason I have to stay."

"Because I have the benefit of a little more… life experience."

"Guardian angel? I'd say you've been doing a pretty crap job."

"Just because your father was a coward doesn't mean you are."

"I know, sweetheart. It's a curse. It's not meant to be pleasant."

"Is that why you did this? Why you wanted magic? For revenge?"

"It's not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you run a hotel."

"Frustrated, are we? Serves you right. You earned every bit of this!"

"I know that things don't always happen the way we want them to."

"This would have been enough. You… you would have been enough."

"You find goodness in others, and, when it's not there, you create it."

"Maybe I don't need answers. Maybe I just need to punch you in the face."

How do you do it? Live with yourself, knowing all the bad things you've done?"

"As long as you hold the spirit of goodness in your heart, I shall never leave you."

"Promise me. Promise me you won't give into your hate. Promise me you won't kill her."

"Everyone who loves you will lose you. But there's something worse: you'll lose yourself."

"It says that you can see the future. Why can't you just look and see what's going to happen?"

"The future is like a puzzle. With missing pieces. Difficult to read. And never, never what you think."

"So even if I don't believe in his methods, I'm going to honor his wishes. I'm going to keep you safe."

"We said we were gonna take the kingdom back and we can't do that with our tails between our legs."

"The way you treated me wasn't an accident. You made it so no one believed me. You made me feel like I was crazy."

"Well, you tell yourself you did the right thing. And, if you say it often enough, one day you might actually believe it."

"Everything he does, he does for you. And now he's going to die for you. Love is sacrifice. Something you clearly don't understand."

" woah . look at those . . . " hands sprawled against the glass , face all but pressed to the window of the emberlight forge where decorative swords were fanned out for display .

not that anna knew two licks about swords or the like , but their designs were fantastical ( and impractical ) enough to have caught her eye . had she the time , and permission , she might have liked to take up study of the sword --

but mostly , she preferred to gawk rather than train .

" if steel could be cute -- actually , i'm not really sure where i was going with that , but they are pretty cute swords , don't you think ?? "

WHAT  that  spark  is  . . .  myst  files  away  to  ponder  and  glean  over  at  a  later  moment.  instead ,  he  raises  one  set  of  their  joined  hands  high  over  the  seafoam  crown  of  her head ,  adding  a  twirl  to  her  previous  yet  brief  dance.

"  . . .  casted  as  the  student  and  still  rewarded  at  the  finale  ?  well  then ,  you  have  my  attention ,  "  he  then  says ,  mouth  tugging  into  a  near  smile — a  shy  but  genuine  thing  upon  an  otherwise  stoic  expression.  though , it  now occurs  to  him  that  it  is far  too  late  to  claim  utter  indifference  towards  this  event  and  all  that  it  entails.  but ,  the  words  still come  forth  in  a reflex ,  propping  themselves  up  like  a  defiant  shield: 

"  however  —  do  not  worry  over  MY state  of  enjoyment.  i've  lived  far  too  long  and  seen  all  there  is  to  see  to  find  amusement  in  MOST.  simply  continue to be . . .  "  happy.

the  abbadon  blinks ,  attention  slipping  away  from  his  line  of  thought ,  and  turns  toward  the  unique  array  spread  across  the  countertop.  there ,  he  idly  examines  a  rolling  pin  with  obviously dull  interest.

but byleth was not as skilled with weaving words as the prince of faerghus was . she was a poor trader of words , and so with lips pressed thin , byleth simply marveled and kept her silence in the meanwhile .

"it's a jam - filled pie . or — that is the closest that the bakeries have here anyways ," she explained , flipping through her own journal . she landed on the entry for saghert and cream . the recipe had been written down in whole , then modified by byleth's neat handwriting , substituting ingredients in some places , and making written note the fruit most similar to fodlan's .

Blessing of the White Harp

Waiting for the Fell Star🌠Can you spot the crest of flames?👀 Inspired by Edmund Leighton's "Stitching the Standard"! Closeups below the cut if you want to appreciate the crosshatching ;)