New Way

Marianne gently opened the doors to the monastery's training grounds, a reticent expression on her face. There, she found Sylvain, hacking a lance at a dummy upon his horse. She had been looking for Sylvain for a little while. He was alone, surprisingly. The day was growing old, and a faint dark blue sky begun taking shape.

Sylvain guided his horse forward and, as he closed in on the dummy, his horse tailed to the left. "Hrrrah!" He swung the training lance horizontally at the dummy, leaving a cut into its torso. As his horse trotted back, his eyes caught sight of Marianne, watching him close by. "Oh, Marianne..!" He exclaimed, wide eyed. His horse slowed down, stopping by Marianne's side.

"Hi, Sylvain.." Marianne said, gently caressing his horse's muzzle.

Sylvain hopped off of his horse, lance still in hand. "Wh-What are you doing here, Marianne?" He asked with genuine, but surprised, curiosity. "I wasn't expecting a surprise visitor during my personal training session." He joked to recompose himself.

"I was looking for you." She replied simply.

"Yeah? What is it? Was there some important event that I missed?"

From beside her, his horse looked at Sylvain, blinking slowly. "No. I wanted to ask you a question."

"Huh." Sylvain nodded. "Okay, then what was it?"

"Do you remember five years ago? When you said that you think a person's smile is what determines a person's worth?" Her hands fall from the horse's muzzle.

Sylvain chuckled in surprise. "Wow, I'm surprised you remember that. What about it..?"

She looked down, eyes closed. "I told you that I wanted to work on my smile.. and that someday I might be able to go into town with you." Sylvain's eyes widened. Marianne looked back up, a big smile on her face. "I think.. today is the day I'm ready to go with you."

Marianne's smile was beautiful. Stunningly so, even. It was so refined compared to her first attempt back when he spoke to her about smiling. Sylvain was a little in awe, his composure shaken by such a request. "Hah, wow. Okay." He took a breath. "Well, I can't deny a request as sweet as that." He winked at her. "Although, I'd like to clarify that I'm not the flirt I was back then. So, I hope you don't take this trip as a date. Just a night on the town between close friends."

Marianne's smile was still present, unaffected. "Yes, I wouldn't think of it any other way."

Sylvain was impressed. He smiled wide, himself, letting out a small hum. He pat the side of his horse once. "Then let's spend a night together. Feeling hungry?"

She chuckled. "No. Let's just walk and look. I want to see all the amazing things that the world has to offer." She gently pumped her hands up in front of her in excitement.

Sylvain put his hands on his hips. He looked his horse in the eye, which returned the look. "This is looking to be a promising night."

…

Marianne and Sylvain sat at a small round table, a teacup set down on their respective sides. The sky was now a pitch black, and stray lanterns were the only thing illuminating the world around them. The two had enjoyed the evening together, walking and talking to their heart's content. "Wow, Sylvain.." Marianne murmured, looking up at the star scattered sky.

Sylvain stifled a chuckle. "Yes, Marianne?" His smile was wide.

"I never would have imagined.. how pretty the world was once I looked up to see it."

He laughed, not holding back his glee. "See? I told you how great it was." He looked up, too, the gentle mist from the piping hot tea meeting his chin. "Even amidst this seemingly never-ending war, the world itself is still a beautiful place."

Marianne turned her head down to look at him. "Sylvain.."

He met her eyes. "Yeah?"

"How do you smile, even if the world around you keeps putting you down?"

Sylvain looked up again, giving thought to her question. "Hm.." He blinked slowly. "Because it helps put my friends, and myself, at ease. I've gone through a lot of hardship, but smiling helps me get through the stress of surviving another day, or what could have been." He looked back at her. "And what about you, Marianne? What makes you smile now?" He winked.

"The fact that I am still here." Her smile was bright. "And that I don't feel burdened by my crest anymore."

That sentiment made Sylvain smile brighter than he ever had before. "To hear that my advice helped you that much, Marianne, makes my heart flutter with pride."

She giggled. "Thank you, Sylvain! Thanks to you, I see the world in a different way."

Sylvain looked down at his tea. His reflection stared back at him. "I hope that, someday, I too can feel free from my crest with you." He muttered, hopeful.

Marianne and Sylvain have attained support level A.