A Collection for Reminiscence | Fire Emblem

Moonlit Dance - FE6

Suffering from the trauma of a war now over, an adult Roy finds himself reuniting with a figure from his childhood.

*:･ﾟ✧*

Five years. Five years after Roy had killed King Zephiel, and defeated the dragon Idunn. But even after he had finished his studies in Ostia and moved back to Pherae, the nightmares remained-and over and over again, he was forced to witness the death of his friends and soldiers. Forced to rewatch the tragedies of war. The blood. The screams. The smell of death. And though he would argue to himself as he lay awake at night, trying to convince himself it wasn't his fault, the memories lingered on. Haunting him. Hector, his father's best friend. Even his own best friend, Lilina, had been taken by the war. "It's not your fault. They died fighting for what was right... died trying to protect you..." The young man mutters restlessly, tossing and turning in his bed. "Oh gods, I'm sorry. I'm so... so sorry."

Quietly, Roy sits up to peer out his bedside window at the starry sky. It was a calm, peaceful night. Not one star was out of place, and the moon shone brightly upon the land, bursting through the many clouds. "If only it were possible to be at such peace as well," he sighs, looking up and asking the stars if his comrades had forgiven him for his mistakes. Nothing. Just the gentle breeze and the sound of his father, Eliwood, sleeping a few rooms over. For the breifest moment he wonders how it is that he can sleep so easily at night before climbing back into bed and shutting his eyes tight in a feeble attempt to block out the echoing screams of pain in his head. Then comes a vaguely familiar voice coming from the main hall downstairs, drowning them. It's a voice that he hasn't heard since he was a child.

"Let's go in the garden, you'll find something waiting, right there where you left it lying upside down... When you finally find it, you'll see how it's faded, the underside is lighter when you turn it around..."

"It can't be," Roy thinks, shifting to sit upright once more. Yet something draws him towards the voice, calling his name in the dark. Beckoning him. So downstairs he goes, making sure to step lightly so as not to wake anyone. "There's no way it's her."

"Everything stays, right where you left it..."

But there, standing in the main hall is someone he thought he'd never see again in his lifetime, dancing gracefully in the moonlight as they sing.

"Everything stays, but it still changes..."

"It... really is her," he whispers, watching quietly. But it couldn't be, could it? His mother, Ninian, had died a long while ago when he was just a boy. He hadn't even turned two yet. But... although the memories he had left of his mother were blurry, vague, and few, the young man would recognize her anywhere. Those striking yet kind eyes and pale blue hair; the very same portrayed in the painting that hung above the throne, gave it away. Besides, how many people could dance so gracefully? And who else knew that soft, gentle lullaby?

"Ever so slightly...daily and nightly..."

The song was coming to an end now. "In little ways..." Roy hums along, closing his eyes and finding peace settling in his heart. He had not heard this since... well, it seemed to be forever. He smiles, and despite his terribly hoarse voice, sings the last line in tandem with her. "But everything stays...~"

Hearing him, the dancer turns around, a loving expression coming across her face as she gazes upon him. "Roy?" She questions, taking a few steps forward. Yet it seems more as if she is gliding. Floating, even. "Is that you?... Ha, you look so much like your father now. In fact, I almost thought you were him."