Gift...
Emmeryn was about to turn 16 when she was summoned out to the southwestern territories of Ylisse to deliver a series of speeches to boost the morale of her people’s post-war plight. Though she direly wanted to be in Ylisstol to celebrate with Chrom and Lissa, her people needed her more and she kissed her siblings before leaving the capitol with her royal procession.
Frederick was still new at his position as Chrom and Lissa’s guardian, and the young Cavalier did not know how to be a substitute for either their parents or their older sister. His earlier attempts at pacifying the pair were futile, and today was no different.
“Milord, Milady. What do you two wish to do to celebrate Lady Emmeryn’s birthday upon her return to Ylisstol?” Frederick asked as warmly as he could.
“Nothing!” Chrom shouted defiantly. “I want to be there with Emm on her birthday! It isn’t fair!”
“Mhmm!” Lissa chirped in clutching her brother’s hand. “No fair!”
Frederick tried to console the two tykes, but soon found that they were inconsolable. Dishes were thrown, shins were kicked, and Frederick was assaulted by a barrage protests and blown raspberries. Eventually, the two siblings wore themselves out and Frederick was able to get them to go to bed.
It was a typical day for him, but secretly, he too wanted to have them to have some sort of reunion. The next morning, Frederick got up early and found a recipe for a butterscotch cake that his mother had sent him from home. Chrom and Lissa awoke to the sound of Frederick running back and forth through the kitchen trying to complete multiple tasks at once and lent him a hand the best that they could. When the cake was in the oven, Frederick wrote a note for them to sign and promised that Emmeryn would receive the cake and card in time for her birthday. The pair quickly signed the card before Chrom handed the pen back to Frederick.
“Here! You have to sign too! You made the cake and wrote the card, so it’s only fair.” Chrom said decidedly. Frederick smiled and signed his signature below theirs in smaller lettering to divert attention to their big, bold signatures.
Putting the finishing touches on the cake, Frederick boxed it up with the card and headed outside where a young Pegasus Knight was waiting.
“Thank you for being here on such short notice, Cordelia. Please make sure Her Grace receives this package post-haste and intact by no later than sunset today. It is of the upmost urgency.” Frederick said as he handed her the box.
“At once, Sir Frederick.” Cordelia said. As she flew out, she looked to the palace and blushed to see Chrom waving at her, averting her gaze and pretending not to notice instead of waving back.
Cordelia reached the Exalt’s convoy an hour early and delivered the package to a very surprised Emmeryn. Opening the box, she noticed that the cake was still fresh and discovered the envelope containing the note. She set the cake down and smiled as she read the frosting covered note. When she got to the bottom, the final signature had been smudged out by the glaze, but based on the modesty of its size compared to the two above it she could only guess whose it was. She let out a short laugh, “Thank you, Frederick.”
