Fire Emblem: Before Awakening

New Work

Anna

"Mom? Where are we going?" I asked, clinging to her hand.

"I've been asking around the town for any possible work for the winter," she replied. "All of the taverns and inns are full, but I've heard that there's a house that is looking for workers. We're heading there right now."

I nodded, looking at all of the people passing by. They made me nervous. "What kind of house?"

"A duke resides there, and he's looking for servants to take care of his house."

I nodded. "O-ok..."

We stopped walking and Mom bent down to my level. "What's wrong, Little Bird?"

Tears began to fill my eyes. "I'm scared, Mom. I'm really scared," I choked. "What if they don't accept us? Or what if everyone there is mean?"

She took my face into her hands, brushing away my tears. "Do not worry about that, my love. I promise that everything will be all right." She kissed my forehead. "We'll get through this together. Like we always do."

I sniffled. "Promise?"

"Pinky promise." She took my hand once more and stood up. "Now, we're almost there. Can you keep going?"

I nodded, determination filling me. "Yeah! I can do this!"

Mom giggled. "That's my girl."

...

The house really was fancy. There were guards outside, and once we got in, a whole team of maids welcomed us and escorted us to a room with a lot of books.

Mom sat down in a cushioned chair in front of a big wooden desk. I sat in the chair next to her. "Love, if you want, you can go outside and play with some of the other kids. You don't have to be here for this."

I shook my head. "No! I wanna be here for you!"

She chuckled lightly. "All right, love. Thank you."

"My apologies for making you wait." An old man stepped into the room. He had long white hair and a beard. He walked with a wooden cane as he hobbled over to the other side of the desk, sitting down.

Mom sat up a bit straighter. "No worries, Duke Ivo. I'm sure you must be very busy."

The Duke waved her off with a wrinkly hand. "Please, call me Percy. I've never much cared for titles," he said. I think I like this guy.

Mom smiled. "Well, Percy, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Evelina," she gestured to me, "and this is my daughter, Anna."

I waved shyly. "H-hello."

Percy smiled back. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He took out a few papers from his desk. "Well, I suppose we must get to business. You're looking for work, correct?"

Mom nodded. "Y-yes, I am." She swallowed thickly. I've never seen her so nervous in my life. Is she always like this during these interviews? "My daughter and I travel around a lot, and we don't have a home to call our own." Her face flushed in embarrassment. "I-I mean, we live like this by choice! I'm afraid that because of reasons I cannot say, we have to move around a lot. However, we cannot live in the wild all winter. I normally take jobs at inns and taverns and live there during the winter. Please, I know I sound desperate, but I really have nowhere else to go. It will only be for a few months, I promise."

The Duke scratched his bearded chin, thinking to himself. "Well, Miss Evelina, what work can you do?"

"I am an excellent huntress. I can cook, sew, fight, use magic, take care of children-"

He chuckled. "Slow down, you sound very qualified."

Hope shined in Mom's eyes. "Th-thank you, Milord."

I nodded, puffing out my cheeks. "I-I can't really do that much, but I can learn! I wanna help!"

Percy smiled. "Well, I love that enthusiasm." He stood up from his chair and hobbled over to Mom. "We'll be glad to have you and your daughter, Evelina."

"R-really?" Mom stood up and shook his hand. "Thank you so very much. You won't regret this!"

They began to talk about some really technical and boring stuff so I stopped listening. I think I helped! I'll be able to work with Mom! I can't wait! 

*****

*jazz hands* Exposition. Prepare to see a lot of them in this manor. Now comes the really important stuff. Also, can I just say that I totally pulled the name Percy from Critical Role? I love that show. XD So, in case you didn't know, my July Prompts have started and it would really mean a lot to me if you checked them out. The first chapter is called Birdsong and it's very fluffy and angsty. Anyway, thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!