Defying Fates

Chapter 3: How a Man Wears Pink

You know, tea was a good thing. It soothed a sore throat (if at the right temperature), and warmed up a person just right.

For me, it was freaking heaven. The sweet scent of tea leaves and the occasional cube or two of sugar or a spoonful of honey was like a drug for me; anything to wash away the constant stress that filled my days.

Well, metaphorically.

I felt the beginnings of a wet cough forming at the bottom of my throat, and took a quick sip from my generously warm cup of tea. I was beyond grateful when Floria came by with a trey of freshly brewed tea a bit earlier.

I locked myself up in the library since Emm and I parted ways after breakfast. I wanted to stick with her today, but I couldn't since she had to attend a few meetings and such. Of course, as a "servant" under the royal family, I wasn't allowed to attend. Hah, sometimes I had forgotten that I was officially a random Plegian that became a "Spoil of War" on paper. Technically, I was supposed to be a servant of a nobleman, but accidentally befriending the Prince of Ylisse certainly placed me where I was now.

...Not that I was complaining. If anything, I was more than grateful to cover up Chrom's accidental training accidents with pretty lame, but believable excuses. Like that one time where he bashed a hole in the wall and-

"Hey, Robin, I was just won-Whoa," came a voice, "It's pink!"

I nearly choked on my tea, hurriedly placing the cup down on the table. I looked over to see the familiar sight of an awfully big hat sitting on top of a boy's head, "Uhm... yeah. Good afternoon, Ricken..."

"I thought you hated pink?" Ricken asked, taking a seat across from me. The thick wind tome in his arms still seemed a little odd on a boy as young as him, but I grew to accept that it was a normal occurrence with him.

I gave him a flat stare, "Real men wear pink."

"Riiight," Ricken drawled with a grin on his face, "You usually complain about-"

I cut him off with a wave of my hand, "We can talk about this later. Besides, we have some readings to finish up."

"Ugh - I almost forgot! I still haven't finished reading about the foundations of the thunder tome!" Ricken lamented, dropping his grin and his shoulders. I couldn't help but shrug my shoulders with a small smile.

"Don't worry, Ricken. I can help you if you need it. I've finished that section a little earlier," I said as we both got up. Ricken nodded to me in thanks before disappearing into the many shelves.

Our castle's library was huge. It could easily fit about five, maybe even six sizes of my own room (which is pretty big, mind you). The walls were lined with shelves filled with hundreds of books. The best part was that the books here were not just limited to just general subjects, magic, fantasies, and such- it varied from history of Ylisse to the foundations of Plegia (written in Plegian). In other words, it had a ridiculous amount of subjects to pick and choose from. After living here for eight years, I still have yet to finish a fraction of the library's books. The fact that Emmeryn made it a point to have literature from surrounding kingdoms just made this library feel pretty diverse. I couldn't help but think that I might've played a role in that.

I quietly pulled a book off the shelves and made my way back to my seat. Ricken still hadn't come back yet, so I figured that he planned to read at a random spot. Pulling up my legs, I got myself comfortable for a long hour of reading.

Well, that was until I heard Ricken say something.

"What did you say?" I called out, pulling a bit of my sleeves. Was it getting colder in here or not?