Her fingers brushed a lock of golden hair from his forehead, a gesture reserved for someone precious, someone who had suffered far more than they ever should have. She looked upon the young man before her, and did not see the villain that Remnant believed him to be or who he presented himself as.
She saw the frightened boy who had stepped into a burden no mortal was ever meant to carry.
The Blacksmith bowed her head, and a sob escaped her. "Oh, my little soldier boy..." she muttered.
Carefully, she slid one arm beneath his shoulders and another beneath his knees before lifting him from the stone steps
It wasn’t like a warrior carrying a fallen soldier or a goddess carrying a champion. It more so resembled a mother lifting her sleeping child. Jaune's head rested against her shoulder as his arms limply hung off to the sides.
The Blacksmith held him close against her chest, protectively and possessively, as though she could somehow shield him from every hurt he had ever endured.
Her tears fell freely now.
"There was never supposed to be so much suffering,” she said, rocking him gently back and forth.
The motion was comforting because it was like a mother soothing an infant after a nightmare.
"Not for you," she said as a tear fell into his hair. "You were always so kind, even when the world wasn't," she continued as she smiled sadly.
She remembered every opportunity he had been given to surrender. Every chance to become bitter and cruel.
And yet somehow… He had remained Jaune Arc.
But still, he remained Jaune Arc, the boy willing to sacrifice himself for others.
The Blacksmith held him tighter. "You stubborn, wonderful boy,” She said. "You carried entire worlds on your shoulders, and still worried more about everyone else.”
Her forehead rested against his, and for a long moment, she simply stood there, cradling him, as if he was simply taking a nap.
The Blacksmith closed her eyes and spoke once more. "You don't have to be strong anymore; you don't have to save anyone or suffer more," She whispered into his ear.
The leaves of the tree that followed her from the Ever-After around them began to glow, and a warm light surrounded his body.
"When the time comes… I will make you anew," The Blacksmith told him as her head stroked his hair. "I will give you back all the years that were stolen, Jaune Arc. You will laugh again, smile again, and live again."
The Blacksmith looked down at him, and she saw the boy who had sacrificed everything. The boy who believed everyone else's happiness mattered more than his own.
"Rest now, little one," The Blacksmith told him as she pressed a kiss to his forehead. It was gentle, protective, and full of love. "You've earned your happy ending, too."
