This choice: Azura gets Elise's attention • Go Back... "Well, here goes nothing..." Azura slowly moved to the window of the dollhouse and watched as Elise finished the second drill of her hair, working herself off the chair of her vanity and moving to the dresser. Carefully, Azura opened the window and took in a breath of air, preparing her voice. "You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek life beyond the shore just out of reach..." Elise stopped gathering her clothes, recognizing the tune resounding throughout her room.
"That voice...!" Elise looked around in a hurried manner, trying to look for the source of the song.
"Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time, the path is yours to climb..." Elise came closer to the dollhouse, tracking down the music's source, and began looking out the window over the toy house, expecting the voice to be from across the pit of Castle Krakenberg. "Elise, down here." In response, the young princess looked downward, spying the tiny figure of Azura looking up at her. Slowly, Elise knelt down, eyes wide with shock, lip quivering, and spoke slowly.
"Big Sis Azura," she spoke in disbelief, "Is that you...?" Azura took a deep breath, confirming she was a living thing to the young princess, not a toy, and spoke.
"Yes Elise." Azura eloquently spoke, "I'm home." Elise looked on in shock as Azura began to climb out the window and stood on the desk, facing her far larger sister with a calm expression.
"You're so...You're so..."
"Tiny?" Azura asked, finishing Elise's sentence for her. "Yes, I suppose I am, aren't I? It's come as a shock to me as we-" Azura was cut off by Elise quickly snatching her up and bringing her to her cheek, slightly rubbing her body against it.
"CUTE!" The sharp contrast in Elise's moods put off Azura, and the songstress completely lost whatever calm composure she had, literally shaken up by her sudden shift in position. Wriggling between Elise's hands, Azura tried to compose herself once more and get comfy; Elise noticed this and opened her hands, palms up for Azura to sit on, and smiled down at her older sister. "I can't believe it! You've come back to us Azura! And you're so adorable to boot! Oh man! I should run off and go tell Kaze right now, he'll be so happy to see-"
"No!" Azura shouted, stopping Elise in her tracks. Azura inwardly cursed her reaction, her intent was to continue hiding in this state, she was certain that Kaze would be upset with her having disappeared & died without a word, and equally shocked to see her like this; quickly, Azura thought up a way to stretch the truth and tried to get Elise to run with it. "I mean, at this size, of course Kaze will be shocked to see me, we don't want to scare him, would we? Elise, we should just take things slow for now and-"
"Oh come on Azura! All husbands would be overjoyed to see their wives again! Even if you are super tiny!" Azura cursed her luck again. "Oh, but maybe I should take you to see Corrin first, she was so heartbroken after you left!" Azura begun to panic - Elise's overzealousness could easily cause an uproar in the castle of her return, especially if Corrin was around someone, which was very frequent in her frequent trips outside the castle to inspire the troops and act as a Nohrian mediator; if she was going to get some one-on-one time with Corrin, Azura had to nip this in the bud, quickly. "Oh, did I wake up too late again? Corrin might already be done with breakfast and on her daily walk through town..."
"Yes Elise, that could be true, so if you could just sit down a-"
"Man, I really need to get a clock for this room. Oh well, guess we can just see Kaze for now!"
"Elise, that's not a good idea, if you would just list-"
"Ah, but he could be busy running errands like he usually is. Maybe if we just go see Cami-"
"Elise. Listen to me." Azura's voice was low, but stern, commanding attention from the Elise as she sat upon the young princess' palms. Azura took a deep breath and begun to explain herself. "I was dead, Elise."
"W-What?"
"I was dead, I gave my life up to save you all in our last battle. Nobody else knew aside from the rest of your family. If you were to show me off here, it would cause a panic, and I can't afford-" Azura was again interrupted by Elise's actions; this time, she was clasped tight between Elise's hands again and being shook up and down in agitation by the young princess.
"You big dummy! How could you leave us like that, after all we've done for you?! Nobody asked you to die for us!" Azura felt like she was going to hurl any moment, but her shaking suddenly stopped, and she begun to hear sniffles from Elise; looking up, Azura could see the princess' face covered in tears. "H-How could you leave me like that? We were supposed to be a real family again...!" Elise took one of her hands away from her grip on Azura and begun wiping her face with it, sobbing while doing so. Seeing this, Azura managed to free herself from Elise's single hand, no longer focused on holding the little songstress, and she carefully walked up the span of Elise's arm, coming up to her shoulder. The tiny woman begun stroking Elise's cheek and spoke to her soothingly, causing her to open her tear-sealed eyes.
"Dry your tears Elise," she spoke softly, "There is no need to cry. It was specifically your wish that brought me back from death, our bonds as a family that let me live. Your doll has now become my body, it is the symbol of the bonds that we share together, and I swear to you, so long as I live, I'm not going anywhere anymore."
"P-Promise?" Elise said through chokes of tears.
"Promise." Azura spoke with a smile, "No more secrets between us. We can become a family once more." Elise smiled and dragged Azura closer into her face, sitting down on her bed and hugging Azura for a short while as the little songstress stroked her face and sung to her in a soothing manner.
----------
"So, wait," Elise asked as she tugged her boot up her leg, trying to reach around her large-rimmed dress, "It was that big dumb pendant that killed you in the first place?" Azura sat adjacent on top of the dresser, her legs hanging over the dresser's edge.
"That's correct." Azura responded, clutching her chest where the pendant used to be. "It was a gift from my mother, a remnant of a place we used to go to together."
"Like what, a vacation spot? Did you find it in a cursed stall run by a gypsy?" Azura closed her eyes and remembered the tale of Anankos, the world under the Bottomless Canyon which used to be her home, the curse that prevented her from speaking of it outside of the world.
"...I can't say, for now at least. It's a secret I must carry, but once we find Corrin, I'll be happy to explain it to both you and her." Elise puffed her cheeks and pumped her fist skyward, as she commonly did when heated.
"Well, I'm glad that stupid piece of junk is gone! No more family break-ups, that's what I say!" Azura shook her head for a moment.
"Elise, you don't seem to understand," Azura retorted, "I need that pendant for my songs to have power, especially now more than ever."
"Nu-uh, I said no more family break-ups, okay?!" Elise, now fully dressed, stood up from her chair and flexed her arm, grasping her bicep muscle, and gave Azura a strong, determined look. "This time, you're gonna let us save you from whatever it is you gotta fight! I've been getting stronger too you know - I can now do fifteen push-ups in a row!" Azura looked unimpressed at first, but soon her expression broke into a smile and she giggled at her larger sister.
"She's right," Azura thought, "Corrin's Yato holds considerable power now, and she's been hardened through the trials we've faced. Even then, our siblings have grown considerably as well, I'm sure they would be able to quell the madness that threatens our world." Azura stood up, ready to get on the move once more. "Alright Elise, I'll trust you on this. Please, could you carry me around?"
"Sure thing!" Elise scooped up Azura in her palm, but before the songstress could relax, she felt herself being tilted downward and fell off Elise's palm into the open collar of her dress, pressed close against her chest. Azura held onto the hem of the collar and looked up at her sister, face a little reddened.
"Elise! Don't you think this is a little...close?"
"Sorry Azura," Elise giggled, "But I don't actually have any pockets on this dress! Safest I can manage while also keeping you hidden, just make sure not to wiggle too much, and you should be fine." Elise begun walking over to her door in an upbeat manner. "So, where to first?"
"Please take me to see Corrin, Elise," Azura responded, "I have to see her as soon as possible."
"Are you sure you don't want to see Kaze first?" Elise asked, "I'm sure your kids must really miss you. You can't hide from them forever, and I'm sure they won't hate you for being dead all this time." Azura mulled the thought over in her head; Elise was right, she couldn't keep herself hidden from her family, and both Kaze and her children were strong warriors who helped them through their war on Garon, they would be extremely instrumental in their journey to the other world, as would all the other allies she had fought with, shared meals and stories with. "It's your call Azura, I'm not gonna push you or anything, just gonna walk you around."  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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