#abrightenedfuture

((started my game and this happened; HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCIIII!!!!))

((*gropes. blames it on Luci.* GOODNESS WOMAN CONTROL YOURSELF.)) “….?!”

SIGH.... not again....

Oh Naga forgive her, she had never felt more embarrassed, she was certain. “Sorry, sorry!” It was all she could muster in response, pressing her hand to her face in attempts to hide her glowing cheeks as she waved dismissively at him.

Still whimpering like a whelp taken from the mother -heavens Gerome, get it together!- , Gerome turned his back towards the obviously embarrassed girl. He would not make it worse by staring at her... Oh gods, how he wished she would stop staring at him.

What in the-

For a moment Gerome was unsure how to react to the princess' nonsensical fidgeting- then she leaned forward. Soft lips brushed against his; only for the edge of a second, sweet and light like a breeze, and yet it was enough to send him railing backwards, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Wh- WHA-....WHY-... !?!?!?!?!"

“Well… there are quite a few people I’ve learned to live without, that I honestly and truly, never thought I could…” His parents, their friends who were like aunts and uncles to him, the people who’d raised him with love and care. 

Gerome stared at the neatly woven words on the small paper, not sure how to react. It was a letter of appreciation it seemed, yet how she could truly mean those words he was not sure.

[I've enjoyed every moment of it]

He had not exactly tried to make their time enjoyable... Sure, he had never driven her away like he did many of the others; They truly had known each other for a long time after all... and she had done more for him than he had repaid her for.

When he really thought about it, he did not deserve her sentiment. And yet here it was, black on white. She had gotten the right of it, they did not always agree. And she sure was stubborn! well... maybe he was too... but he had his reasons. reasons that she probably understood all too well.

[I look forward to a brighter future with you in it.]

What was he to do with this?! Rubbing his temples he placed the letter on his saddlebag. Should he reply? But what would he write... That he felt the same? That he would fight until his last breath if it meant that he could fulfill her ridiculous hope for a better future than the one they had returned from? She had earned his respect and gratitude more than once, not only as an ally but as a friend. A good friend...

Agh, damn it all.

Aaw damn…

From all the way down here it looked much…. higher than he had thought. Now that was a lie, he had known just fine how high the Princess’ window was, had he not been walking past it several times since…

 He sunk his head, not wanting to think about the loss that still clawed at his heart. People still kept reminding him of the great sacrifice they had made. How proud he should be. Fools. All of them. Well… maybe but one… His eyes darted back up to the window, and the tree in front of it. Up in its branches flattered the little piece of cloth that the wind had ripped from her delicate fingers earlier, as though to add another loss to her suffering. A suffering he could relate to. No, he would not let this happen. Not to the person who had opened her arms, and her castle to him when he had nowhere to go. The person who kept inviting him to visit, although he rarely found the courage to attend said invitations. She had done more for him than she knew, and if this piece of cloth could offer her heart just a little bit of consolation right now, he would retrieve it for her.

It were those thoughts that accompanied his first clumsy attempts to scale the tree. The bark was old and rough, easy ground for his feet to find hold on. The first reasonably thick branch however stretched itself at a height that he could not reach, and so he clambered and clawed at the trunk until his fingers managed to grab hold of it. First stage accomplished.

The real test was only before him however, and he knew it. Adjusting the mask that he had gotten accustomed to wear in uncomfortable situations, he did his best not to look down. Despite Cynthia’s attempts to force him to a flight on one of Ylisse’s famous Pegasi, Gerome had no love for heights and likely never would. But what choice did he have.

Taking a deep breath, the boy looked up to the next branch in reach and swung himself up with a surprising ease. Upwards, always upwards, he continued his mission, until he reached the object that had called him all the way up here. Or… almost reached it.

The higher branches were much thinner than those currently holding his wobbly legs, and he could feel his muscles stretch painfully far as he reached for it. Almost… Almost… Hah! He could feel the soft fabric touch against his skin and immediately curled his fingers around it; He would surely not be this lucky a second time. For a moment he thought that maybe the wind itself must have had mercy with him; how else would the tissue have waved his way? That was until he realised that the same wind now picked up and eagerly pulled on his legs- nonononono!

“URGH!” Too late- he had looked down. And immediately the world started spinning. He had not even had time to notice how high up he had actually gotten; not that it mattered. It was high enough to trigger his vertigo. He could feel his knees go soft and grabbed on tighter to the fabric as if it could prevent the unpreventable. Of course it could not. The small tissue ripped under his weight, and for the first time in his life Gerome felt the unbelievable thrill of complete weightlessness, that he did not yet know he would come to love more than anything in a couple of years. For now: he hated it.

“RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!”

Crash!

Clatter!

Smack!

Black… for a moment the world was black. Then there was noise, buzzing at first, accompanied by shifting colors. Blue… Someone was calling his name, and he turned his head to face the familiar features that were staring down at him with such worry. No… he had meant to make her feel better! Ugh he really sucked at this…

“Here…” Was all he managed, trying not to grimace as he sat up and every bone in his body reminded him of the fall he had just completed. He scolded himself for even trying. The tissue had not even made it; It was ripped, and dirty from being pressed to the ground underneath him. The Queen’s embroidery was barely visible anymore…

“I…INIGO… FOR THE LOVE OF NAGA… HAVE SOME HUMILITY….” she says as her face fills with blood that begins pouring from her nose…..