Prince of Fire Emblem: Three-Ring Circus

[didntaxyou]

So, not how she expected to spend her day.

"We have to get this done by mid-afternoon if we're going to have time to eat afterward, and for me to still have tea with Maribelle..."

She's walking, but she stops short at the remembrance of her friend.

"Ooh, someone's gonna have to tell her, huh? She should hear it from me."

She glances back at Bunta, expecting him to be following her as she navigates the castle town. Several people recognize their princess and raise their hands or hats, which she acknowledges with cheerful return waves or personal calls as she goes, but plenty of others see no significance in the presence of a girl in a plain cleric's habit, walking down the street.

"Wait, what should she hear from me?" She gives him an almost pleading look. "Should I... be honest with Maribelle? Or not?"

Comments

[volleygenius]

Marui is as guileless as ever as he looks back at her. "Because you haven't looked here yet." Is this a trick question?

[didntaxyou]

"And you have?"

Of course, she can't really help what attracts her eyes. She points at something with an iridescent stone in silver setting.

"What kind of stone is that, do you think?"

[volleygenius]

Bunta shrugs. He did look earlier, but that isn't relevant, is it? Lissa wants to choose her own ring to wear for the arrangement, and she deserves to be able to. And if Bunta happened to see a ring that made him think of her, and he just happened to act on the feeling that he really wanted to get it for her, that's a separate matter.

Mostly.

"I dunno. Ishimitsu?"

"Ah, that's an opal! Beautiful, isn't it? Would you like to try it on?"

[didntaxyou]

"I, um." Suddenly, she's a little unsure.

"I guess that's a good idea. I guess if you have any more opals, I'd want to try them..."

[volleygenius]

"Certainly! Let's just take this one out first..." Ishimitsu says as he retrieves the opal ring Lissa asked about and offers it to her to try on.

"Do you like the iridescence? There are many different kinds of opal that have similar effect. There are also certain crystals with that quality."

Bunta stands a bit off to the side, lifting his eyebrows when Lissa shows interest in the opals but saying nothing.

[didntaxyou]

"It's a bit more interesting than just plain sparkling," she answered by way of explanation, admiring the the way the gemstone caught the light.

"I guess a diamond would be more ladylike, though. Rainbow colors might be a little childish for the king's sister."

[volleygenius]

Ishimitsu hesitates for just one moment before he replies.

"Well, you certainly can't go wrong with a diamond for an engagement ring. They are the classic choice. However, I would suggest that opals are not at all a childish option. It's a very popular stone among matriarchs, and it is associated with love, passion, fidelity, and protection. When you consider its symbolism, it's very interesting to me that the diamond is the standard stone for an engagement. Opal would seem a most fitting choice for the occasion."

[didntaxyou]

"If diamonds weren't more expensive, I'd think you were just trying for a sale," she admitted, honest to a fault.

She held the ring up for Marui's approval.

"Can you picture me as a matriarch? Of anything? I wouldn't know how to act without Seiichi's guidance!"

[volleygenius]

Ishimitsu is thankfully used to all kinds of personality types and laughs politely.

Bunta looks the ring over and smiles at her.

"Sure. You can be the grand matriarch of banana splits."

[didntaxyou]

She stuck her tongue out at him purely on reflex.

"I wish you were paying for this now..." she mumbled.

It passes, though, as another sunbeam gleams across the surface of the opal.

"I'm pretty much settled on wanting an opal," she decided. "Maybe Sei-niichan will spring for matching earrings for my birthday. I'll say one is a gift for him, too!"

[volleygenius]

"He might," Bunta grants. There wasn't much Yukimura wouldn't do for Lissa, and the exceptions all fell into the category of squarely-against-Lissa's-best-interest. A pair of pretty opal earrings shouldn't be a problem.

"What do you think? Do you want that one?"

[didntaxyou]

"I think so," she said, taking another look at the band. Pretty color, but plain... yet she didn't want to drag this chore on any further, even if it was fun to go shopping with Bunta.

"Everyone's going to be so..." she trails off. Surprised? She remembered that some of the others said, about chaos and people's reactions.

"It would be kinda tacky to be showing this off, huh?"

[volleygenius]

"Not at all-- jewelry is supposed to be noticed!" Ishimitsu assured her. "And that goes double for an engagement ring. It has an important job to do in communicating availability."

"That's true," Bunta said. "Wear it with joy, after the announcement."

That's her out, if she isn't comfortable wearing it yet, or simply doesn't want to deal with the swarm of attention and questions it's going to generate now. It's okay to wait: let the ring be the confirmation, not the breaking news alert.

[didntaxyou]

She can't go into the complicated emotions this gives her in front of a veritable stranger, but she still gives Bunta a bit of a weird face.

It only lasts a minute, though. It is a pretty ring, and if nothing else, maybe this will give them a story to tell. She takes some comfort from the evidence that Sei-niichan won't send her away as the physical embodiment of some trade agreement. That and excuses to hang out with Bunta-- those are things to be joyful about.

"How are these things usually announced?" she asked the commoners. "I'm not important enough for like, a speech, am I?"

[volleygenius]

Sorry, Lissa. He knows that's a bit of a loaded suggestion, but there are appearances to keep up with current company. At least it's a pretty ring?

"Who knows," Bunta shrugs. "Yagyuu and Yanagi will help you prepare it, if your brother wants one."

[didntaxyou]

A vigorous shake of the head is all that earns.

"I'd rather nobody know but that's not... really how it works."

So, they might as well brace for it.

"Should I wear it out?"

[volleygenius]

As uncomfortable and conflicted as she already felt, it seems to Bunta the last thing she needs is to wear the ring out. All it would take was one pair of eyes and the rumors and gossip would spread like fire on oil. She'd be mobbed and made the talk of the whole town before they could reach the castle gate.

But maybe she's thinking differently. Maybe she wants to get it over with so she doesn't have to dread everyone finding out. Wouldn't that be a wild time? Well, ultimately this isn't his call either way, is it? His job is to guide her to an answer, not decide it for her-- and then take care of her through whatever consequences it brings. Let's do this!

He steps in with a warm smile, places a hand on her shoulder, and curls his other around the ring in her hand, though he doesn't attempt to pry it away.

"What do you want to do?"

[didntaxyou]

He's suddenly so close and maybe that's not weird, it's not like he doesn't have a point to make, but... suddenly he's so close.

But this was going to be their reality for... well, a while at least. Up until she found someone else. However... however long that might take.

The thing she really wanted was for the king to go back to being her brother, the serious but indulgent man he'd been before falling ill.

"I guess I want to look pretty in new jewelry," she said, but still a little half-hearted.

[volleygenius]

Pandemonium it is!

"Well, let's go shake things up then," he says as he releases her hand and flashes a wild grin before walking for the transaction desk. "Ishimitsu! We're ready. Nice seeing ya again."

"Yes, you as well! Thank you for stopping by and supporting our business. Please send my regards to King Yukimura."

"Yep yep." A couple of minutes of signing papers, sharing the king's seal for the invoice, and the clerk hands Bunta one claim form for the custom order to be filled as well as two ring boxes, both of which go into his pocket. One of them, of course, is empty.

"Ready?" He asks Lissa.

1/2

[didntaxyou]

She nods, suddenly a little serious.

Because jokes aside, it was... going to be real. Or not real. Everyone would think it was real, except Seiichi's friends. She didn't know what he'd say about Maribelle.

But she smiles at Bunta as they exit. She feels weird about the whole thing, but knowing he's going to be going through it with her-- that's reassuring in a lot of ways!

2/2

[dateddiva]

Dorothea was on her way out of the Officers Academy when she caught sight of a familiar face, and waved.

"Bun!" she exclaimed. "A fond farewell is all you were going to give me? I had to hear from Jackie that you were back in town."

She immediately turns to smile at Lissa. The royal family is a great patron of the Rikkai National Opera House, and the princess' down-to-earth cuteness was enough of a charm point that she wasn't going to spoil any fun she was having as a normal girl.

"I'm afraid we haven't been introduced yet," she said, smilingly, and technically accurate. She knew Bunta had that good job from the king, and all the attendant security-- it wasn't a surprise to see him being a discreet bodyguard for the princess.

[volleygenius]

At the time they left the jeweler, Bunta hadn't fully realized just how much this assignment was going to affect his life, particularly his life while off-hours.

That blissful lack of awareness is about to come to a screeching halt. He smiles at Dorothea and holds a casual hand up in greeting, then takes the prompt as the mutual contact when Dorothea calls attention to the needed introduction.

"You're right... Lissa, this is Dorothea. She's a friend of mine. She has an amazing voice! You may have heard her at the opera. Dorothea: Lissa Yukimura, princess of Rikkai."

[dateddiva]

"Oh, gosh! Yes! I can't believe the way you hit that one note and didn't even need to breathe for like forty seconds!"

Lissa's hands clap over her mouth in delighted surprise, as Dorothea laughs politely.

She immediately notices the gemstone on Lissa's ring, however. Their princess is usually so adorably modest that it seems incongruous.

"It's just how I earn my living," she said lightly, although she could feel the time slowly ticking away on her ability to do so. "Meanwhile, Princess!" She winked. "What a lovely ring you have there... gift from our most magnanimous sovereign lord?"

Had it been a diamond, she might have thought differently, but...

1/IDK

[volleygenius]

Dorothea's noticed the ring. She's asking about it. That means Lissa is going to clarify the meaning. That's going to beg the question of to whom and holy cupcakes this is not the way Bunta would have chosen for Dorothea to find out about this.

Well. She does need to know about it, because-- oh.

[volleygenius]

Oh, shit.