Fire Emblem: Engaged Gastronomy (Commission - Ch. 1)

            Alear woke to the soothing sound of Chloé’s voice. Despite reminding her soldiers not to rudely awaken her, Alear frankly didn’t mind Chloé waking her up. She knew how to properly stir someone from their sleep, and it most likely stemmed from the fact that she was a noblewoman.

            “Good morning, Divine Dragon,” Chloé said. Her long teal hair fell from one side of her head as she leaned forward to face her at her level. She was dressed in her usual Pegasus rider attire, with the skirt that Alear always admired and felt complemented her figure well. Alear, though still sleepy, made a mental note to ask her where she got it.

            “Good morning, Chloé.” Alear closed her eyes again. “Is everything alright?”

            “Yes, everything’s all right. I just wanted to make sure you would wake on time. We are supposed to go to Florra Port today.”

             “Oh. Right. Yes, I remember.” Alear didn’t, but it would have been rude to say otherwise.

            “The morning is the best time to ride there, so it’s best to get a move on now. I have breakfast ready downstairs! But of course…if you’d rather go another day then I would understand.”

            Alear sat up. “No, I’m fine. Perfectly fine. I’ll be ready to go in a few minutes.”

            “Very well. See you downstairs.” Chloé bowed before leaving Alear’s chambers.

            Alear sighed heavily. She felt rude for forgetting about today. Her mind really hadn’t been focused on the lives of her soldiers. Lately, she had not been feeling like she had a hold on the emotional prowess for commanding an army to take down Lord Sombron. As her army grew larger, her capacity for managing diminished. So many people were depending on the great “Divine Dragon”, but it was hard to follow up to a name you don’t even remember. It would help if she recalled any of her past life, her achievements and power and abilities.

            She contemplated putting things off with Chloé until tomorrow, but doing so would dig her further in this hole of feeling like she’s letting everyone down. So, she mustered her motivation to dress into her divine attire. She stared at herself in the mirror for some time, feeling dissatisfied with how her hair looked. She settled with letting her hair down, and finally left her chambers.

            Upon entering the stairwell, an intense aroma from the kitchen hit Alear’s nostrils. It was early in the morning so most of the group had yet to wake up, and the plaza was empty. But Alear followed the delicious scent into the kitchen, where Chloé had just finished cooking and was cleaning the counters.

            “There you are, Divine Dragon. I was starting to think you fell back asleep. Breakfast is ready. But if you wish, we can eat on the go.”

            “What did you make?”

            Chloé gladly showed her. Alear nearly jumped at the dish filled with skewered lizards.

            “W-what is that?” Alear asked.

            “Skewered lizards! They were brought over from Solm.”

            Alear grimaced at the charred, crispy lizards. She couldn’t believe Chloé could be so nonchalant about food like this. Alear wasn’t exactly opposed to trying something new…but it was early in the morning. Did Chloé normally eat food like this for breakfast?

            “Chloé…do you think maybe this is a bit rough on the stomach for breakfast?”

            Chloé was already biting off a piece. With a full mouth, she said, “What do you mean?”

            “I—well—most people usually prefer to have something softer. Like…eggs. Or wheat. Or a small pastry even.”

            Chloé seemed offended by the mention of those foods. She in turn grimaced and said, “But those are so…boring. I always believed it’s best to wake up strong and alert with good food. Something that will wake you up!”

            “I see.”

            Alear hesitated to reach out and pick up a skewer. Chloé smiled ever so graciously at her. Alear slowly bit into a leg, chewed a little, and then found it remarkably tasty. The skin had just enough crisp, and the meat was tender.  

            “Mmm. This is actually quite good.”

            “See?”

            Alear found herself eating three of them. They satisfied her appetite without making her feel too full, and they were ready to fly for the Florra Port.

            Chloé had told Alear about all the foods that were imported there from the different kingdoms. Every harvest, they hosted a massive festival showcasing the most exquisite foods from across Elyos. She clearly was ecstatic about attending it every year, and thought it would be nice to invite Alear this itme.

            Florra Port lay at the southern edge of the bountiful farmlands of Firene, and directly across the strait was the desert sands of Solm. As such, it was no wonder that Florra Port experienced the mixture of many cultures.

            Upon arriving at the port, the delicious aroma of hot foods made Alear hungry in an instant. She gazed out at the cobblestoned streets lined with tents and shouting vendors. The festival was so packed it was difficult to not bump into someone’s shoulder every other second. This quickly overwhelmed Alear, but Chloé had tugged her along taking the lead.

            “Oh, this is going to be amazing. You have no idea!”

            Deeper into the festival, they finally did find some shoulder room as they entered the main square. Alear got lost staring at all the flamboyant dresses and armor from the multitude of foreigners.

            “Try this!”

            Alear jumped at the sight of a massive pill bug the size of both Chloé’s hands. She let out a disgusted gasp. The pill bug was obviously dead, but it had been stuffed with what looked like meats and sauce.

            “Uh…what is that?”

            “This is a deep-fried pill bug from Solm. Try it!”

            Alear stared at the unpleasant dish and then back to Chloé. She was at a loss for words for how a beautiful woman like Chloé could eat such bizarre foods. Chloé was ever so graceful, who daydreamed about fairy tales and outwardly appeared prim and proper. Those traits clashed with her desire to eat things like this.

            And Chloé was always so sincere too. Alear couldn’t bear to refuse. She gulped hard and nodded. “S-sure, I’ll try some!”

            Chloé handed her the massive pill bug. Alear had assumed it was a two-person meal but apparently not. Chloé turned around to fetch another one for herself from the vendor. Without any hesitation, Chloé bit into hers and Alear flinched at the loud crunch, followed by some flying spittle of guts. Green ooze dribbled from Chloé’s chin, yet she smiled dumbly.

            Alear slowly bit into the pill bug…and the resulting crunch tasted very scrumptious. As soon as she thought it was a little weird, the sauce and meat they put on it mingled well with the crunchiness. Alear found herself chewing faster, then swallowing and actually taking another bite.

            She wasn’t sure yet if she really liked it, but she certainly didn’t shy away from eating it. “This is…interesting.”

            “Right? I know it’s not easy on the eyes but once you try it you will be amazed!”

            When Alear finished, she nearly wanted to say aloud how she couldn’t believe she just ate a giant bug. The food fell heavy in her stomach, but after burping daintily into her hand several times, cautious not to let Chloé notice, she felt much better. Thankfully, the crowd around them was too loud for Chloé to have heard the deep eructation.

            Chloé wanted to bring her to another grill section, but got sidetracked by desserts. Alear relaxed at the sight of something more conventional – soft delicious foods like cinnamon buns, pound cakes, cheesecakes, and lemon tart.

            Alear leaned over one such counter, admiring the pastries. “Ooo, Chloé, these look very good!”

            Chloé did a double-take and tugged Alear aside. “That’s too bland. We have those at the castle. You MUST try this instead!” Alear was shocked at her rudness, not even thinking about how the vendor might have felt by having their hard work be called “bland”. The old woman glared at them as they disappeared into the crowd.

            Chloé brought her to yet another “exotic” vendor – an old wrinkly man serving the strangest looking food Alear had seen yet. She stared wide-eyed trying to discern what she was looking at, for she had trouble describing it.

            “Sandworm Jelly!”

            Alear repeated what she said slowly. “Sand…worm…jelly?”

            “Yes! These are baby sandworms. These are a delicacy among the nomads of the desert in Solm! They skewer them and then stuff them with cheese and egg yolk. Other times they add fruit. There’s no actual jelly but the result feels like you’re eating jelly.”

            There was a slight quiver at the pit of Alear’s stomach that she ignored. She thought it was just her innate hesitation in looking at the wobbling little cylinder-shaped sandworms. The vendor had shelves filled with them since they were small, appropriate to be considered finger-food. Alear at least found comfort in that – she wouldn’t have to stuff her face with anything large this time.

            “Alllright,” she said uneasily. “Let me try that one.”

            “Oooo, that one is stuffed with strawberries. Good choice!”

            The wrinkly old man happily handed two small plates to them. Alear cringed a little when Chloé dug her spoon into the side of what used to be a live sandworm, and blithely put it in her mouth and smile at her.

            Again, Alear was taken by surprise by how delicious such a bizarre food tasted. The substance was soft and creamy. Before she knew it, she was sad that her plate was empty. Without telling Chloé, she asked the vendor for another one.

            Chloé laughed. “Good, isn’t it? I told you!”

            “By the gods, I could have five of these!”

            The vendor settled with handing her a bag filled with them, so they could continue on their delectable culinary journey.

            Having eaten this much already, Alear had just been wondering about what to wash this down with when Chloé was already on top of drinks. She had led her to a stand that sold juices. Alear found comfort in knowing that this looked familiar. How different could juice be? There were only so many weird things one could do with juice. But when Chloé handed her a mug of something, she reeled at the noxious smell. She gagged and almost poured the suspicious liquid away.

            Chloé bawled with laughter. “I was waiting to see your reaction! Oh gods, I’m so bad. I’m so sorry. I should have warned you!”

            Still gagging, Alear croaked, “W-what is this?”

            “Fish bomb.”

            “Fish—what?”

            “They take the liquid from the eye of a fish and—”

            Alear wanted to vomit. “Stop talking. Stop talking right now. I am honestly going to hurl!”

            Chloé pinched her nose and downed her mug in one go. She smacked her lips. “Just do it like so! Many sailors across Elyos like to drink this. You know, when you’re out in the sea for so long sometimes you need a kick to snap you out of motion sickness. This miraculously cures seasickness! I PROMISE it tastes good. It’s definitely one of those things that smells worse than it is.”

            Alear pinched her nose, but still quivered looking down at the liquid. Chloé couldn’t help but keep laughing. Her cheeks blushed and she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make fun of your reaction. It’s just amusing to see the Divine Dragon hesitate to drink this.”

            That comment made Alear grumble a little. She WAS the Divine Dragon. Was a little folk drink going to stop her? Of course not.

            She gripped the mug and downed the drink.

            She opened her eyes and let go of her nose, realizing how smooth the strange milky substance tasted. In fact, it was the smoothest drink she ever had!

            Much like the sandworm jelly, she was a bit saddened to realize her mug was already empty. The smell had dissipated.

            “Good, right?” Chloé said. “So as I was saying, they put—”

            “I think it’s best you never tell me the rest of what they put in here.”

            Chloé laughed again. “That’s fine. Do you want another?”

            Alear sort of did, but the only thing holding her back was the ever-growing warmth in her belly. She heaved a little, feeling the need to burp again, but held it back. Her clothes were already getting a little tighter around her waist – and yet they had only just started the festival!

            “Let’s circle back here after a while,” she said.

            “Alright. Let’s look for noodles!”

            Alear painfully smiled, and then grimaced when Chloé wasn’t looking. The thought of more food honestly made her feel sluggish. Her stomach was really starting to feel weird…