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

Chapter 5: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Robin: 15th December

A few days later, it was the day of the Divine Festival. The excitement in the air was almost tangible as we walked down to the central streets of Ylisstol. The colourful stalls at the sides of the roads were visible long before we reached them. My heart started beating faster. This, I had been told, was the time to get my Divine present shopping done. What in the name of Naga was I going to get for Chrom?

At least I could be secretive about it. As soon as we reached the first street of stalls, we split into smaller groups. Sumia and Cordelia laid claim on me, and they made certain that Chrom, Frederick, and Stahl were walking in the opposite direction before they led me to the stalls.

The Divine Festival was much busier than the Winter Festival in Regna Ferox, especially as the citizens were starting to realise that royalty was present. We had to squeeze our way through a crowd of bundled-up, enthusiastic civilians just to see the goods.

We cast our eyes over silky scarfs the colours of jewels, then moved on to the next stall. I examined the extravagant swords that were on display, including a rapier with a green handle and a golden knuckle-guard. I picked it up hesitantly. Falchion was a strong sword, but a rapier could potentially be useful to Chrom in battle. And yet...I put it down again. I needed some time to think.

The next stall along was a stark contrast to the one prior, just as that had been to the one before. It sold vanilla cupcakes with buttercream icing in pastel pinks, light purples, and sky blues, each adorned with a marzipan figure. Some were topped with reindeer and others with snowmen. There were even two people ice skating.

I selected a few of them for Lissa, and the vendor presented them to me in a pretty candy cane striped box. Sumia liked the look of it so much that she bought some, too, just for the sake of the packaging.

We breezed from stall to stall, slowly collecting gifts for everyone. It took a few hours before I caught sight of anything I wanted for myself.

As a gap opened up in the crowd, a glint of gold caught my eye from a stall that had previously been hidden to me. I stopped and stared at the array of expensive jewellery across the tabletop until I found what had caught my attention again. Then I dashed across the path of the crowd to take a closer look, leaving Sumia and Cordelia to hurry after me.

It was a golden pendant, small and relatively plain. I picked it up, examining the simple engravings, then turned it over and traced my finger across the blank, smooth back. It fit snugly in the palm of my hand as if it already belonged to me.

A familiar laugh from behind made my heart leap, and I spun around to see Chrom looking over my shoulder. Frederick and Stahl were standing a little way behind him, pretending to look at woolly hats while they watched their other halves from the corners of their eyes. Chrom made no attempt to hide his intrigue in what had captured my attention. He lifted the pendant from my hands and looked at it thoughtfully. "I saw this earlier, and it reminded me of you. Do you like it?"

"Yes," I murmured as he placed it back in my palm. "I've never been one for jewellery, but there's just something about it..."

"You're cheating," Sumia said, appearing at my elbow. "How are you supposed to buy each other surprises when you're together? You can't confer about it. Come on."

She linked her arm through mine and pulled me away. I barely had time to set the pendant down again before we'd melted back into the crowd. I looked over my shoulder forlornly, but my view of Chrom and the necklace was already obscured. My heart gave a small tug at the thought of leaving the piece of jewellery behind.

It's just a pendant, Robin.

I turned back to face the way we were walking with a sigh. Cordelia gave me a sympathetic grimace, but Sumia seemed oblivious. She beamed at me. "So! Have you decided what to get for Chrom yet?"

I thought over all of the things we had seen so far. "Perhaps. There's a stall we need to go back to..."

***

One hour later, we finally all had the presents we needed, and we'd met up at the grand fountain in the city centre. Now we were sitting on the stone edges, waiting for the Divine parade to march through. I'd bought another set of cupcakes, including the one with the ice skating couple, and I was discreetly sharing them with Chrom.

Every time I thought about taking his hand, I became conscious of the many eyes watching their prince and stilled again. We simply sat side by side, with more than the usual amount of space between us. Even then, his presence seemed to warm me.

We'd just split Chrom's favourite cupcake in half when a horn was blown, and everyone in the centre quietened. Further down the streets, cheering starting, and a band began to play. Everyone around us craned their heads eagerly as they waited for the parade to make their appearance.

I gasped when they finally stepped into the main square, the half-cupcake in my hand forgotten. There were women in shimmering gowns, men dressed as fierce warriors, and huge dragon models that required multiple people to wear them. Every costume had been stitched, painted, or carved with beautiful attention to detail, and I admired them all in astonishment as they went by.

I knew the story of the first exalt and the divine dragon off by heart now, but Frederick narrated it to us all anyway as the parade passed. We sat quietly and listened to his voice blend with the beating drums until the tale was finished and the music was fading. The parade moved out of the square and to the east of the city, where it would bring more joy to the citizens waiting for it there.

"I'm starting to feel as if I'm almost caught up with the traditions now," I said, finally lifting my cupcake to my mouth again as people began to disperse.

"The only thing that's missing is snow," Lissa said wistfully from my right. "The perfect Divine Day isn't complete without it, but we don't always get it in Ylisse."

"Many think that it will fall this year, however," Chrom said, smiling hopefully at me. "Then you'll get to learn even more traditions!"