"Hey Jade, what's that on the plate?" Lucina whispered towards the princess who sat right beside her causing the princess' eyes to drift towards her.
"Chevre croquettes" She responded, Lucina had to pretend to recognize what she meant.
"And those?" The knight asked again, pointing at a golden dish filled with small, dark balls.
"That's caviar, dear."
"What about those?"
"Those are tomatoes..."
"Right... I knew that." Lucina blushed slightly, embarrassed at her own question. She had never seen any fruit that big, or shiny. It was the perfect accent to the massive, golden dining room they found themselves inside of. The luxurious and seemingly unending foods sat atop a long table after pouring out from a kitchen that from the outside looked cleaner than the place Lucina had slept in just last week. On one end, her fiancée and her sat, on the other, her future parents-in-law. The king joyfully indulged in the many delicacies as the queen quietly watched him. Sprinkled in between were four other people, who Lucina assumed were the rest of Jade's siblings with one notorious exception which made her sigh with relief.
"So," spoke the boisterous voice of the king after he swallowed a piece of an unrecognized bird. "Sir Luke, what do you think of my humble abode now that you've had a chance to live inside it?"
"Well, my liege..."
The king raised an arm to interrupt the knight. "Bah! We are family now, Sir Luke!" He bellowed, chunks of food escaping from his mouth. "Call me Jayce! Or father!".
"Now dear," Spoke the elegant woman next to him. The current queen of Helikor. "Even if Sir Luke is marrying Jade, he shouldn't forget your title of lord." Her tone was cold but not as cold as her gaze. The king looked at her like a sad puppy and nodded.
"Of course, Lord Jayce." Lucina quickly corrected herself. "I would say humble falls short. You have a most beautiful home."
One of Jade's siblings laughed at her statement, causing Lucina to shrink slightly. "Beautiful?" They asked as they brushed a tuft of their long dark hair out of their face. "Maybe if you are a simpleton. Sculptures are beautiful, nature is beautiful, rhythm is beautiful! This building is just... pompous."
King Jayce let out a hearty laugh. "Oh Adwin!" He said between chuckles. "You and your funny words! I apologize for my child, Sir Luke. They just have very high standards!"
"It's not about standards, father!" Adwin screamed out. "But of course, I wouldn't expect you to understand."
Lucina was taken aback from the interaction. She had never seen anyone speak like that to their father, much less for a father to seem so unbothered by the comments. It must be a high class thing... she thought to herself
"Nobody understands you, you freak! It's not dad's fault you make no sense." Yelled out a woman with curly blue hair. She sported a puffy dress that matched her mane and more gemstones than Lucina could count.
"Says, Celine, the spoiled brat!" They responded.
"Oh that is it, I've had it up to here with you..." Both siblings kept screaming increasingly insulting profanities. After a point, Lucina stopped understanding their words and chose to focus on the full plate in front of her which carried a large piece of beef with melted butter on top and an assortment of roasted vegetables on the side. Surrounding her meal were five sets of forks, knives and spoons. She picked one knife and one fork at random, causing Jade to quietly clear her throat at her as she shook her head. Lucina then picked up another set and turned to see her fiancée, this time being greeted by a nod.
She took her first bite. Suddenly, every light in the room began to shine even brighter. The air around her smelled better. A pink filter filled her vision. For a second, she thought the meal might've been poisoned, causing her to hallucinate, but even if it was, it wouldn't have stopped her from taking a second bite, and then another and then another. It was no poison, quite the opposite in fact. She was experiencing... true joy.
"Sir Luke?" a voice finally broke her bliss, causing her to choke a little. As she tried to contain her coughing, she realized no one was shouting anymore, Adwin and their sister just staring maliciously at each other.
"Y-Yes?" She was able to respond after forcing the food in her mouth down her throat flashing a fake smile as if she hadn't just been caught having an out of body experience thanks to a piece of meat.
"There you are!" Spoke a woman with thick beige hair. She was almost as beautiful as Jade but in a different, warmer manner. "I asked where you are from! Apologies if I caught you off-guard."
"No need to apologize, lady..." She didn't know her name.
"Dorothea, sir Luke." There was no hint of anger or displease in her voice as she bowed towards Lucina. A welcome change of pace from the others.
"A most beautiful name, milady." She complimented before thinking how to answer the princess' question. "I have lived my whole life in this very kingdom, on its outskirts at least in a... quaint farm" She knew she couldn't tell the children of the king how she slept in a barn with the rest of the livestock atop a bundle of hay if she was lucky.
"A hero with humble origins!" King Jayce said with an air of pride. "I can't wait to meet the people responsible for you being here!" He was evidently alluding to Lucina's parents.
"As much as I'd like to give you that honor, Lord Jayce," She explained. "I'm afraid my parents... aren't available. I uh..."
The final sibling present finally chimed in. "Not available? What could possibly be more important than a visit to the royal palace?"
"Let him finish, Richard." Jade intervened with a serious look in her face, causing her bearded half-brother to stop talking. He looked like a proud man, which only made it that much more impressive when the eldest princess shut him down. Lucina could not help but feel more relaxed at it.
"As I was saying," Lucina continued. "My parents... they are..." She couldn't reveal that the reason she couldn't introduce them yet was actually because her parents did not know about her quest or her new identity for that matter. "Quite sick! And I wouldn't want to bring them here and spread their disease. Yes, once they are feeling better, we will all rejoice and meet at the earliest convenience!" Her tone was not as confident as she would've liked it to be.
"Sick?" The king looked genuinely concerned. "Sir Luke! You should have said so before! I will send the royal doctors to aid them!"
"Th-that won't be necessary, Lord Jayce!" She quickly exclaimed. "I mean, that would be too kind of you, their sickness is nothing to be concerned with!"
"Well... Don't you want your parents to feel better soon? The doctors can surely shorten their illness."
Lucina stuttered as her mind raced. "Father..." Jade intervened. "You know how humble sir Luke is." She let out a chuckle to really sell her excuse. "He would never accept help even for his own relatives when that help could be better used elsewhere." The king scratched his large, sharp chin with his eyes closed.
"By the gods..." He finally let out. "Everytime I think I know how chivalrous sir Luke is..." As he opened his eyes, Lucina saw they glimmered with unending pride. "He manages to surprise me yet again! You're right, brave knight, the royal doctors should help people whose lives are actually in danger!"
Dorothea clapped quietly to herself as Adwin and Celeste rolled their eyes almost in unison at how easily their father was swayed. Richard just nodded in approval of Lucina. The knight placed her hand atop Jade's in a silent way to show her gratitude. The princess responded by holding her hand properly, causing her face to be flushed with color. The rest of the feast continued on without any more issues. Lucina told the story of how she had slain Asmodeus to the king's elation and the queen's indifference and while she would not describe them as friends, she was at least able to properly meet the princes and princesses she would be living with for now. She ate the most filling meal of her life until she could no more. After dinner, Jade and her excused themselves as they walked in silence towards her bedchamber.
She laid in Jade's bed for the second time that day as both women prepared to go to bed. Lucina finally had her usual face back as she looked up at the ceiling of the room.
"So..." The dragon princess broke the silence. "That went well I think."
"You have a funny definition of the word 'well', Jade."
"Oh come on, Lucina." She rebutted. "You're alive, your identity is safe and now everyone in the castle knows you! I'd say this is a victory for us." Lucina covered her face with her hands as she let out a long sigh. "You're right... Sorry." She gave in. Unexpectedly, she felt Jade's hand upon her chest.
"What's wrong, darling?" She asked in a worried tone.
"I already told you, you're ri-"
"I know what you said." Lucina was interrupted. "But now I want to know what you feel. These eyes aren't just good for seeing through your spells."
"I... " The knight thought about how to word the turmoil inside her head. "Just feel like today was a reminder of how I don't belong in this world, Jade..."
"Is this about the tomatoes? I didn't mean to make you feel bad..."
"No, no it's not about that..." It was Lucina's turn to interject. "Or rather it's not your fault, it's mine. I wasn't raised in silk sheets or with full plates of... I don't even remember what those things were called. I've met more of your siblings than my own, and I'm pretty sure half of yours hate me. What if this is a mistake? What if we're risking both of our lives over something that wasn't meant to be? I don't know... Maybe it's ridiculous to even complain about it..." She held her knees up to her torso.
"It's not ridiculous, Lucina." Jade tried to comfort her, embracing the curled up knight tightly. "I know exactly what you're talking about..." The knight lifted up her eyes to meet her partner's gaze. "When I was born, the world was still not prepared to have someone like me in the royal family. My parents understood that, but they were in love and weren't about to let public opinion change that. Half human, half dragon, never really belonging to either, then my mother vanished and suddenly one of the two people who ever truly accepted me was gone. Even when my father remarried and had my brothers and sisters, they saw me as nothing but the daughter of a forbidden marriage." She let a single teardrop fall from her face. "But you know something? If I had given up, ran away, thrown myself off a cliff, they would've considered it a victory. The only way I could prove my worth was to keep going and winning in spite of their best efforts! That is what they feared the most, that despite all the words they screamed at me, all the rocks they hurled my way and all the hate inside their hearts, I was still here. In the throne room, when I finally peeked inside your helmet and saw a woman staring back at me, defying some of the longest standing, misguided traditions of our kingdom, all to do the right thing... I saw some of that fire that burns inside me and pushes me forward." Jade placed a hand upon Lucina's chin. "How could I have not fallen in love with the brave knight who carried that flame? If that isn't meant to be then I don't know what is. You may feel like you don't belong now, but as long as you keep living and trying, you will carve your place in this kingdom and in history. And I, for one, will be most delighted to be right by your side."
"I..." Lucina was speechless. She couldn't believe just how deeply the heir to the throne understood her. It seemed almost impossible and yet she could feel the honesty in the princess' words. "I'm sorry... I didn't know."
Jade shook her head. "You needn't apologize, darling. It's like you said, you didn't know." She hugged her tightly once again. "Just please stay with me. Even now, I don't have many people I can trust and l-" She interrupted herself as she realized she was about to say something she had never told anyone outside of her family. "L-love..."
Lucina's eyes widened and her mouth formed a tender smile. "Alright," She said "I promise I'll keep trying and stay beside you. I... also like to have someone I can trust..." She held Jade's hand. "And love." Without hesitation, Lucina placed her lips upon Jade's who lovingly reciprocated the kiss and with it, the knight's worries and concerns melted like snow on a flame, she knew they would come back but for now at least, they didn't matter to her as much.
"Say..." Lucina spoke once the kiss ended. "I know you don't sleep and all, but would you mind staying in bed with me again?"
Jade let out a chuckle "I never said I don't sleep!"
"Wha-" She was taken aback. "But... This morning you said..."
"I just said I don't sleep like you." Jade explained as she brushed the knight's hair with her hand. "But just for you, I'd love to pretend like I do."
Lucina shook her head. "You know what? That's all that matters" And without another word, both women got comfortable in the large bed and closed their eyes, hoping for a better, brighter tomorrow.