sarajayechan: Angel smirking as he shows Charlie a bondage club doubling as a trust exercise (Arthur)
the spider near your car keys ([personal profile] sarajayechan) wrote in [community profile] fandomweekly2016-05-16 07:13 pm

[#013] Fortune's Turnaround (Fire Emblem Fates)

Theme Prompt: Superstition
Title: Fortune's Turnaround
Fandom: Fire Emblem Fates
Rating/Warnings:
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 431
Summary: A stone can't have lucky properties, right? He was just working harder and being careful.



He used to believe that he didn't need anything but Lady Justice on his side to overcome his rotten luck. Fortune favored the just, and there was no one more just than a man who protected the royal family.

When Benny gave him that honey-colored stone, Arthur thanked him but doubted it had the good-luck properties his friend claimed it did. Luck came from being on the right side and hard work, right? Not a stone.

Today, though, he was halfway back to camp when he realized he hadn't tripped or fallen into any mud puddles for the past six miles. During the battle earlier he'd escaped two possible near-death situations with only a small scratch on his cheek. And just moments ago, he'd won the army eight steaks in the arena, against three of their toughest contenders.

"Maybe Percy's starting to rub off on you," Setsuna suggested as they settled into their tent for the night.

"Well, Ace is being nicer to me than usual," Arthur mused, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I wonder if...no, surely it's just all my hard work! Well, our hard work." He grinned, but couldn't help thinking of the stone, safe in its pouch around his waist. But a stone can't do all that, can it? All due respect for Benny's beliefs, but still...

It was at that moment Setsuna wriggled free of his embrace and opened the flap of their tent, pointing to the sky. Arthur blinked, looked where she was and gasped.

"That isn't...is it?!"

"I think it is," Setsuna said lazily, leaning against his shoulder. "Yeah...it's definitely a shooting star." Her eyes lit up, a contrast to her lazy tone of voice, and Arthur's heart sped up. I'd given up on seeing even one long ago, Percy sees enough for the three of us...

But here he was, looking up to the clear night sky, watching the light cruise through the darkness before it disappeared. It had only lasted a few seconds at most, but they were the most vivid few seconds of his life. Only becoming Lady Elise's retainer, his marriage, and the birth of his son were as vivid as those few seconds.

You didn't simply see a shooting star by coincidence or hard work. Arthur's hand drifted towards the pouch on his hip, feeling the shape of the stone beneath the leather, and he smiled.

My thanks to you, Benny. He hugged Setsuna closer, cheek against her hair as he gazed towards the sky. Even if it was the only shooting star he ever saw in his life, it was one more than he ever thought he would.

impala_chick: (Default)

[personal profile] impala_chick 2016-05-18 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
I don't know the fandom, but I liked the happy tone to this.