FELL PRINCESS.

the wall of rocks that has the two of them trapped in this cave doesn't even budge. they're totally and completely stuck, separated from the party they'd been accompanying.

".. i'm sorry joachim." she looks up at her newly made companion with an expression full of a mix of guilt and worry. "i should have pushed back against that knight more. we wouldn't be stuck like this if i just asserted my authority a little more..."

Maybe she should. Maybe she will.

The dagger Veyle holds is little better than a child's toy. Zephia remembers the way its imitation had felt in her palm; remembers, too, how utterly useless it'd been. Clutched now in those trembling hands, it can't even be considered a weapon anymore.

So, why this disgust? Why this anger? Veyle is no longer a creature that Zephia needs to concern herself with. Lord Sombron is dead, and he has taken his ambitions and his promise with him. What pieces of him linger behind through his errant children are simply residual waste.

Flower, tree. Jewel, trash. Her lady, her curse.

(So it is not 'why' to mean for what reason she feels disgust; it is to wonder why it must be disgust and not relief, anger and not apathy.

See? she wants to say. This is who you have always been. I am not someone you wish to remember.)

maybe it’s the fond memories veyle still as of her despite everything— at least with her papa she could confidently say that he never ever cared for her and that their relationship as father and daughter were doomed from the start, but…

“… i don’t want to hurt you.” she finally says with a conflicted expression on her face, lowering misericorde and looking at her feet. even with zephia threatening her now, bringing up sore points that veyle was sure to get angry about if she didn’t think about controlling her reactions.

i’m happy that you’re my knight, mauvier.

But when his Lady looks at him, when she cuts to the core of what's bothering him, even if she's not sure what it is...he knows he has not. He still carries the weight of the lives he'd needlessly taken, the suffering he had abetted.

This is not the time or the place to lay all of that out, piece by jagged piece. Nor is it the time to revisit the doubt he'd felt, in his lowest moment at Castle Meath, wondering if he was still fit to be a knight. If he ever was.

And he would compromise here: he is not a knight fit for any spare cause, any haughty noble or deity. His loyalty is honed specifically for Lady Veyle alone, extended to the monastery's students out of a desire for purpose, not for the meager coin it grants him.

And what does she ask, in return? When Mauvier would lay all the world at her feet, she simply wants to share a meal with him.

Nuisance, maybe. Failure, definitely.

Despite all of the hot air, she knows exactly where she stands. She hadn't fully understood back then why Mauvier found the title of 'friend' more burdensome than 'knight', but she understands more clearly now. The weight of harming and continuing to harm your liege is one thing, where your relationship is based only on how well you do your job. It is another thing entirely to hurt someone that cares about you beyond what you can do for them.

You missed me even though I messed up again?

That's the question she wants to ask, but Veyle holds her hands like a priest ready to absolve her of sin. She swallows down the words like bile, letting the guilt burn on the way back down.

If they had been friends sooner, would she still be like this?

her brow furrows with excess worry. marni was still trying to make up for everything? veyle can’t help but think that a fell dragon like herself doesn’t deserve the kind of guilt her knight expresses, but she knows she’ll only upset marni if she says that kind of thing. (it would have upset mauvier or alear if she said it to either of them, after all. )

Not that she was going to be an enforcer herself! If it'd just been left at that, maybe he would've just apologized for his awkward moment and be done with it, but instead—

“Is it wrong of me to want to protect you??” Leif bites back, coming off as more indignant than he'd necessarily planned. In the face of her taking a sudden rough tone though, the petulant part of him can't help but meet bark with more bark.

She may be an unexpected source to find fault in his actions, but she is far from the first to spin a question at him as a clear weapon rather than a curiosity in his eyes.

“I'd protect any ally of mine from a bad spot if I'm in the right place with the right means to do it,” he asserts, frowning. “Or am I to just leave people to their fates??”

emblem leif is mad at her. it’s not like she isn't either but emblem leif is mad at her. she has to stand her ground.

With a small nod, she accepts the orchid and generosity both, thinking to herself Veyle also might be carrying things which impede her growth too, decaying leaves on the verge of coming off the person she wants to be.

"No need to apologize, you do not have to explain yourself to me."

Maybe there could people in her past who deserve to hear an apology, but Sara is not one of them.

Her eyes land on the hand which hangs in the empty space between them. Veyle seems uncomfortable. Sara must be responsible for one reason or another. Instead of taking the hand, she folds a spider lily from her bouquet into it.

"There is no need to be nervous. I cannot say I am surpised we have never managed to run into one another, but I will not force you to speak with me. I was part of a church once, however I chose to leave it behind. You reminded me of people I used to know, the good ones. "

"that is, uhm... thank you." fell princess manages a smile as she carefully places the lily into her bouquet. it looks nice next to the rose nel gave me.

"oh, here! you can have one of my orchids! i don't know what it means but it's also pretty isn't it?" she feels the beauty is lost a little with herself as the owner, but that's not something she says out loud.

"marni!!!!!!!!"

veyle shouts almost at the top of her lungs, running and jumping into her embrace."i'm so happy to see you!!" she sobs and— oops. people are staring now.

She did think about leaving when the lights went out, tucking her tail between her legs and escaping before the nerves of being back in such a dim environment can claim her. After all, what is there to gain from being here? She danced a little, she ate food, she begrudgingly said hi to people. It's not like she really needs to stay for the whole night. As frustrating as it is, the chances of anyone noticing or caring that she'd turned tail were pretty low. If she leaves now, she could—

A singular voice disrupts her train of thought, followed by the warmth of a human body crashing into her.

"Lady Veyle?!"

Marni, who is still in the single digits in terms of hugs experienced, has no clue what to do with her hands in this moment. Even putting aside her status, when she thinks about what she'd done to her brother(?) on the other side of the mirror, a pang of guilt freezes her hands in the air.

Here's Veyle happy to see her again, meanwhile she'd messed up again while she wasn't looking.

it’s nice to be the person to give someone the love that they deserve but don’t usually get. nice enough that veyle doesn’t think about why that is for long enough to get sad about it.

“uhm, not that long.” veyle smiles and giggles as she forces herself to pull back from the crushing embrace. she’d like to hug marni a little more but she doesn’t wanna make her precious knight uncomfortable.

   “Well… thank you for the vote of confidence, though I don’t get why you’d have expected me to look at you ‘weird’. You were looking out for your sister, and frankly I think mine would approach Alear with far less tact than you approached me.” In fact, the thought of Lissa’s approach sent shudders down Chrom’s spine; she would likely regale embarrassing stories of the two while growing up, and Chrom could not fathom the embarrassment from that.

   Then Veyle says an odd line. Something about believing in the her that believes in him. It was new, and rather innovative, likely something native to Elyos and original to Ylisse. He would have to adopt that in the future, for it was clear that such a saying had results; Chrom felt undeniably more fired up, eager to confess- though that would have to happen later still. 

also, this isn't about her.

"hehe." she giggles, placing her hands back on her hips. it feels nice to give others some confidence in themselves. (did her sister feel like this when she helped her keep going? she wonders briefly. ) "you uh.. you got this, yeah!" then she pauses and looks around for a familiar face.

it's not hard to spot red and blue hair at all— she sees alear talking to someone she doesn't know pretty quickly.