Divine Day | Fire Emblem Awakening (Holiday Shepherds Book 1)

Chapter 4: Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Robin: 12th December

The stench of burning filled my nostrils, and I heaved a sigh as I lifted yet another blackened batch of biscuits from the clay oven. I threw them onto the counter with a loud clatter, then held my hands up in surrender as Cordelia stopped kneading dough and raised her eyebrows at me. "I can't cook to save my life. I give up."

Stahl chuckled as he took the burned tray of biscuits away to be disposed of, and Cordelia allowed herself a small smile. Then she lifted a flour-covered hand to point at a recently finished batch of biscuits that were sitting in a tin. "Could you take those down to the garrison, please? I'm assuming that's where you're going next."

"Of course," I said, placing the lid on the tin and tucking it under my arm. "Thank you for trying to teach me to bake. Even if it didn't work."

I headed towards the door with a spring in my step as I thought about the preparations that were still to be made, returning Lissa's wave as I walked past the small icing station she had set up in the corner.

A few minutes later, I was jogging down the steps to the Shepherds' garrison. Upon entering the main living space, I found Sumia sitting at the large table, surrounded by towering piles of paper contraptions.

I cautiously set the tin down on the only part of the surface that was clear. "Hello."

"Robin!" She sprung to her feet and knocked a pile of paper loops to the floor. "These are the decorations I was talking about – the ones you can make. I'll teach you, if you like."

I was pulled into the chair next to her before I could reply, and a pile of paper was thrust into my hands. I watched in bemusement as Sumia showed me how to make paper chains and paper snowflakes. Then I had a go myself. I was surprised to find that it was quite therapeutic, and I quickly became just as enthusiastic as my friend. The Shepherds kept taking handfuls of them away to hang in their rooms, but still the pile continued to grow.

I was just having to start putting our decorations on the ground when the garrison door flew open. Cordelia walked in, both her arms full with tins. Stahl and Lissa were in a similar position behind her, and a gentle thumping and scraping sound could be heard following them down the steps. It was time to decorate the Divine tree.

Cordelia cleared some space on our table, sending another mound of paper chains toppling to the floor. Her eyes widened. "I think we have more than enough decorations here, Sumia. You always get carried away."

Sumia finished cutting out her last paper snowflake with a giggle, then set her scissors down. Mine slipped from my hands and landed somewhere beneath my chair as Chrom and Frederick appeared in the doorway, carrying the Divine tree together. Chrom paused to give me a heart-warming smile, then carried the tree to the other end of the room and began to stand it up.

Lon'qu arrived a few seconds later with a large, wooden box in his arms. It was overflowing with decorations. The Shepherds swarmed around him like flies at the sight of them. Once it had been set down near the tree, I joined them and tried to wriggle my way to the front of the crowd.

Once I eventually got to the box, I hesitated over what to pick up. Was there a particular order they needed to be hung on the tree in? Should I –

Something soft landed on my head. I jumped in surprise, and it slithered off again.

Chrom started laughing, and I realised he was right next to me. He grinned. "Stay still. It just fell on the floor."

He bent down and picked up a ring of silver tinsel. Then he carefully placed it on my head again. "There. Now," he grabbed a decoration at random from the box, "hang this from an empty tree branch."

"Any empty tree branch?"

He pressed the decoration into my hands and picked up another. "Any empty tree branch."

I approached the tree hesitantly and hung my decoration on the edge of a branch. Chrom shoved his on, then we went back to the box. Chrom told me the story of each heavy ornament that I pulled out, and I listened with interest as I hung them on the tree. Some of them had been bought at markets, while others were presents and had been in the family for hundreds of years. They were often small carvings of dragons, Falchion, or snowflakes, but there were more unusual shapes amongst them, too.

I found one that looked like a tiny ice skate, and another carved in the shape of a sleigh. They made me smile fondly as I hung them up. Chrom looked pleased as he watched me, and I wondered if he'd secretly bought them at the Winter Festival as a reminder of the new memories we had created.

Eventually, it was time to place the large model of the divine dragon at the top of the tree. I stood back, thinking that Chrom would do it, but he caught me around the waist and looked into my eyes. "This is your first Divine Day, Robin. I think you should be the one to put the divine dragon on the tree."

The other Shepherds murmured their agreement, but they sounded muffled and distant. I couldn't drag my eyes away from Chrom until he'd moved behind me.

My heart leapt when he lifted me up, and for a moment I was too distracted by his touch around my waist to do anything. Then I slowly placed the dragon on top of the tree with shaking hands.

The Shepherds cheered, and Chrom lowered me to the floor. My tinsel slipped down over one eye as I landed. He chuckled and gently brushed it out the way. Then he fleetingly pressed his lips against my forehead.

While everyone gathered around the tree to admire their handiwork again, he drew away. He snatched up an abandoned paper snowflake from the table, then left the main living space of the garrison.

He returned a few minutes later, grinning mischievously as he entwined his hands with mine.

I didn't get the opportunity to investigate what he'd been doing until that evening, when I retreated to my room for the night. A small, paper snowflake had been pinned to the wall above my headboard, a message scrawled across the centre in spidery script. I walked to my bed and reached towards it, intending to take it down so that I could get a closer look. Then I stopped.

I hesitated, chewing my bottom lip. Then I toed off my boots and stood precariously on my mattress. A smile stretched across my face.

I love you.

I traced my finger across the handwriting, my heart warming. Chrom could be so soft sometimes. Lately, he was becoming less of a burdened ruler with a cloud of grief hanging over him and more of a carefree man. Often, I could feel his mood shift when I walked into the same room – or maybe it was my own spirits lifting. Regardless, I didn't need a paper snowflake to know he loved me, for our time together always proved enough.

I left it where it was, and I didn't stop smiling as I got ready for bed. Even as I slipped beneath the covers, a warm, happy feeling stayed with me.