The market was bustling, with crowds of people struggling to get past each other. Stalls were lined up with customers, each of them anxious to hurry with their purchases. A variety of items were being sold; ranging from common fruits to, crazy enough, weapons for self protection.
Someone who has often visited this busy castle town would obviously grow tired of the constant crowds, but this was never the case for Ike.
Grabbing his father's hand tightly, he intently stared at the bustling market before him. His eyes shone with a childlike charm; the young boy always felt a sense of excitement at this place. Ike could care less about the packed area; all his interest was focused on all the potential gifts he could get today.
Ike felt a squeeze in his hand and looked up to his father, who seemed like a giant compared to the little toddler. His face was adorned with wrinkles and a scar from previous battles crossed the side of his forehead. Greil always seemed to be the intimidating type, but the warm smiles he gave Ike made the little boy feel content and happy.
In return to his father's smile, Ike responded with a big grin.
Greil chuckled lightly at this. "What are you waiting for, son? Aren't you going to look around the market? You only get this opportunity once a year, you know."
Ike nodded, knowing the effort his father put in to get him to the castle town every year. The both of them lived on the outskirts of the kingdom, in a small village not known by many besides its inhabitants. The castle town was very far from their home; so far that both Ike and Greil had to wake up early at dusk in order to get to the town before noon. Not only that, but they made the trek on foot. However, despite the difficulties and exhaustion from the trip, little Ike believed it was all worth it in the end.
The two began to walk through the market, taking in all the sights. Ike quickly darted his eyes back and forth, taking interest in all the shops and stalls. But one particular stall caught his eye.
"Papa? What's that?" Ike pointed to a rather empty stall compared to the others, with only one or two customer interested in its sales. The older man looked in its direction, figuring it was a weapon shop due to the swords, shields, and other military items being displayed. Greil chuckled in amusement. "Now why would you be interested in that?"
"Because," Ike paused to look back up at his father. "I want to be a strong soldier like you, Papa!" Greil could only smile warmly at this. "I am glad you have such big aspirations, Ike. But you know I left that job to take care of our family. When you were born, you and your late mother were my priorities." Greil began to reminiscence back to the days when he was a proud army general of Altea.
Ike cocked his head. "But couldn't you have just stayed as a soldier? I mean, to protect us?" The older man laughed. "Well, even if I wanted to, I couldnt." Greil gestured to the old, faded scar on the side of his forehead. "See this? This is one of the many painful injuries I earned from fighting for the kingdom."
"So.. You don't want me to become a soldier?" Ike inquired, a sad tone in his voice. Greil shook his head. "It's not that. I'm just reminding you that fighting for the kingdom, as brave as it is, leaves permanent scars."
Ike turned back to look at the swords displayed by the stall. "Well, if I can't become a brave soldier, at least I can learn to protect our family!" He said happily. Greil smiled. "I will get a training sword for you, if that's what you would like. However, I need to check with the salesperson to see how much it is. Let's hope we saved enough money to buy it."
