Laslow rounded the corner and paused for a moment, looking at the orange-ish oak door. He wondered about the servants and how they would be faring, and he felt a bit guilty for not considering that prior to this moment. They had signed up for this duty, though, he supposed, and really, it wasn't so awful: sure, they would age faster than anyone in the outside world, but they were spared the ravages of war to raise a child. Surely that couldn't be so bad. Of course, Soleil's tantrums—or what he had seen of them, at any rate—could rival those of her mother. The little girl could be quite the terror when she wanted to be, but the silver-haired mercenary was hopeful that by now she would be grown a bit beyond that phase.

Today was her fourteenth birthday. It was funny to think about: every day for the past two weeks had been her birthday to her father, but only because he had kept her in the strange realm shown to him by Corrin and Lilith, the Astral Dragon. The idea of it made his head spin, but once the premise had been boiled down for him, it seemed like the natural choice. He knew he wasn't equipped to handle a baby, and certainly not while he was in the midst of a war, but his choice also meant he missed out on a lot of his daughter's growing up. He had been determined to make it up to her by being there on her birthday, which for him meant re-entering the Deeprealm at right around two o'clock every day.

He knocked on the door and waited for one of the servants to answer. A young-looking butler with brown hair and green eyes pulled it open. "Ah, Master Laslow," the butler greeted him, "You're here to see Mistress Soleil, I take it?"

"Really, Edward," the mercenary sighed, "there's no need for such formality."

The butler cleared his throat, "Forgive me, milord. It's just that your appearances are so rare to us… I feel that we simply must treat them as special."

"I understand," Laslow nodded, "you're right, of course, but I'll insist anyway."

The butler laughed, "I'll go fetch Soleil right away, sir."

"Thank you," he answered, entering behind the butler and shutting the door as he came in. The manse that had been constructed to house Soleil, the servants, and their children was larger than he had expected. It amused him to think that its high walls and sturdy wooden beams had been fashioned in only a day's time—less than that, more likely. He watched as a few skinny boys and girls tore down the hall, and a large woman in a kerchief chased after them hollering all the way. She paused to curtsey before Laslow and wished him a pleasant day.

In a few moments, Soleil raced down the hall and leapt at her father, who managed (thankfully) to catch her midair. "Daddy!" she shouted with glee as she embraced him.

"There's the other most important woman in my life," he said, cradling her close, "Look how big you've gotten! I hardly recognize you."

"Must be all the milk I drink," she said as she was set down, stretching and admiring her own physique, "You told me it builds strong bones, so I started drinking at least one glass every morning. Nobody's bones are stronger than this gal's!"

"Your hair," Laslow stammered out as he took a good look at his daughter's periwinkle locks. They were cut jaggedly and reached down well beyond her shoulders.

"Oh," she looked up, "Yeah, I forgot about that. I decided to let it grow a little longer. Whaddya think?"

"I'm surprised," he admitted, "I didn't think you'd like having long hair. Plus, with those long blue locks, you look a bit like…"

She stared at him a few moments, "Huh? I didn't get that last bit."

"You remind me of someone I know, that's all," he concluded, "A good friend."

"Oh, hey, hey!" Soleil started, "Speaking of friends, I have someone I want you to meet!" Laslow waited patiently as his daughter withdrew into the halls. He heard some rustling in one of the rooms and a few candid whispers before his daughter dragged a girl with orange hair and green eyes out of the hall by her wrist. "Daddy," Soleil announced, "this is Lily."

The girl's eyes were at the floor as she murmured, "Uh, hello, sir."

"Hello, Lily," he said back, "No need to be afraid. I'm not scary, I promise—just ask Soleil."

"Yeah, daddy's way funnier than he is scary," Soleil agreed, "Maybe you should tell her a story to prove it, daddy. How about that one with the guy who wears all the masks? You know, the one where you said—"

"Soleil!" her father shouted, "I thought I told you that story was to be kept between us!"

"Oh, right," she remembered, then shrugged, "Well, it was funny, anyway."

"There's no need to be shy, suffice it to say," Laslow told Lily, his cheeks a bit red, "Any of my daughter's friends are welcome company."

"Soleil!" the redheaded girl strained a whisper to her companion, "Does he know?"

"Huh?" Soleil put her finger to her chin, "Oops! I guess he doesn't."

"What don't I know?" Laslow cocked an eyebrow at her.

"O-Oh nothing," she shrugged it off, "Anyway, there's a boy I want you to meet, too. He's got the cutest hair!"

"Ah," he smiled as he was led away by the hand, "what did I tell you about boys, young lady?"

"That they're nothing but trouble," she nodded, "but, as far as I've seen, that's just you. Most of the boys around here are super nice to me!"

"Have you ever considered that that might be because they're the children of the people whose job it is to serve you?" he asked.

"I never thought of it like that," she admitted, "Eh, but they seem nice, anyway. I think I'll stick to mommy for advice on boys, thank you very much."

"Right, your mother," Laslow rubbed the back of his neck, "Just… take everything she says with a grain of salt. And use good judgment, all right?"

"Yeah, yeah," she kept leading him on, nodding her head while rolling her eyes. They got outside and Soleil jogged along the open plain with her father not far behind her until they reached a boy with a full head of thick, curly, almost wool-like brown hair. Soleil waved to him as she called out, "Hey, Dustin! I want you to meet my daddy!"

"Your daddy?" the boy cocked an eyebrow, and then both his eyes went wide when he saw the silver-haired man approaching. "You mean," he looked at Soleil as she came to a stop before him, "That's Master Laslow?"

She laughed and nudged his arm, "Aw, don't be silly! He's your dad's employer, but he's not that important."

The boy straightened up quickly, "Uh… M-Master Laslow, sir! It's a pleasure to meet you! C-Can I get you anything, sir?"

"No, that'll be all right," he replied, "but I do have a question for you: are you in a relationship with my daughter?"

Soleil's eyes jumped open and she blushed, "Daddy!" She swatted at him ineffectually.

"W-Well," the boy stuttered, "we have had lunch together a few times, but, uh, I wouldn't say that we've ever strictly had a, uh…"

Laslow smiled, "It's all right, son. Just don't do anything you wouldn't do with me around and everything will be square."

"Yessir!" the boy jumped into a taut salute.

"All right," Soleil began to push her father away from behind, "I'm regretting this already. Why don't we just head back to the house and we can have a chat."

"A chat sounds lovely," her father let his own legs take over as they walked back toward the manse. The boy let out a long sigh and sat back down. He fished a necklace out of his pocket, stared at it for a few moments, and then put it away again.

There was a big mahogany table in the center of the manse's dining room, large enough for eight people if they all packed in together tightly. The wood of the table was dark, but sanded and finished so that it gleamed in even the faintest torchlight. A brass chandelier hung above it. Laslow seated himself at the head of the table with a cup of tea, and Soleil sat on his left-hand side with another. "So," she craned her neck a bit to look sideways at her father, "Are you staying the night here?"

He nodded, "I should think so. It'll be nice to get a full night's rest in." It was especially easy knowing that the time he spent there would amount to no more than a minute or two outside of the Deeprealm, but he left that detail out.

"Good," she smiled back, "It's always nice to have you in the house for the evening. It feels… you know, less, uh… empty."

Laslow's face switched to a frown, "Oh, Soleil…"

She shook her head, tossing her bangs everywhere, "Er, sorry, that's not what I meant. I just mean that it's nice having you home. It feels safer and warmer… you know."

"I do," he agreed, "And I'd be lying if I said I didn't also prefer sleeping under the same roof as you. That way I know you're safe. But then, your safety is also part of the reason why you're here, so…"

"So…?" she stared at him blankly.

"So… I'm a fighter, not an orator," he concluded, "I think you're safer here, but I miss you, too. Just try not to grow up too quickly, okay?"

She giggled, "No worries about that."

"Maybe not for you," Laslow muttered under his breath.

The two paused in their conversation as a shimmering light illuminated the door frame visible down the hall, and a rippling sound made its way to their ears. In a moment, Soleil was out of her seat and running to the door, chiming "Mommy's here!"

Laslow got up and walked slowly behind her. There had only been a few seconds' difference between when he and his wife had entered the portal. As many times as he had been in the Astral Plane by now, the ratio of time still staggered him. His thoughts were interrupted, however, when the door opened and revealed his wife, Peri, in its frame.

She smiled and picked up the teenager below her, "There's mommy's little pumpkin pie!"

"Hey mom!" Soleil chirped as they embraced, "I missed you!"

"Aw, mommy missed you too, sweetie. How's your training going?" Peri replied.

"Oh, it's been great!" she beamed, "I managed to bring down a boar with a single spear. It's all in the wrist, just like you taught me."

"That's my girl," Peri nodded, ruffling her daughter's hair, "Why don't I bake some cookies tonight to celebrate? The boar thing and your birthday, I mean."

Soleil's mouth watered at the thought, "Yes, please."

"Then it's a done deal," said Peri, "Laslow, you'll help, won't you?"

"Of course," he assented.

"Awesome, because, see…" Soleil approached them both tacitly, tightening up her shoulders, "I sorta promised some of my friends that I'd go hang out with them for a while, and…"

"That's fine, dear," said Laslow, "You don't always have to be with your mom and dad on your birthday. You're getting to be that age, anyway."

She hugged her father, "Oh, I knew you'd understand, daddy. You're the best."

"Well, now," he blushed, tugging at his collar.

"Just be careful," Peri said authoritatively, "Anybody says anything bad about you, don't let them leave without at least one broken bone."

"You got it, mom," Soleil saluted as she ran for the door, "Thanks guys, love you, bye!"

The door slammed shut and the air became still and dry. Laslow went back to his seat and picked up his tea. Peri followed him and took a sip from Soleil's cup. "She's certainly full of energy," Laslow supposed, "You should have seen her a little earlier, darting this way and that. She's like a tornado."

"And she's a big flirt, just like her daddy," Peri added.

"H-Hey! I'm not a flirt, I'm just…" Laslow paused, "Well, I mean, I'm… er, given to complimenting people."

"She had you wrapped around her finger," Peri giggled.

"What?"

"'Oh, daddy, daddy,'" Peri imitated her daughter's voice, balling her fists excitedly, "'You're the best-est-est! I love you sooo much!' I used to say the same things to my daddy whenever I wanted him to do something for me."

Laslow folded his arms, red showing on his cheeks, "Well, for your information, I didn't do it just because she wanted me to. I let her go because I really do think it's perfectly fine for a girl her age to want to celebrate with her friends instead of sitting around with her parents all day."

"I agree," Peri said, smiling and sipping from the teacup again, "So why don't you look happy about it like I do?"

Laslow rested his arm on the table and his chin on his palm, "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to hear about all the friends she's making, and all the training she's doing, all the exercising, all the learning… all of it is great, it's just that…"

"What?" Peri probed, wide-eyed.

"How do I put this?" he asked the ceiling, "Peri, do you remember what you told me about how you felt when your mommy died?"

"Of course," she nodded, "I could never forget—it's the same feeling I get every time I stab a bad guy right in his ugly face. It feels really great… for a little bit. Then it hurts a little. Xander says that might be because I'm about to burst a blood vessel, which sounds fun, but it never happens."

Laslow blinked at her, "Remind me to tell you a story about a crow-loving man I once met. I think you two would get on like a house on fire."

"That sounds fun, too," she smiled.

"My point is," Laslow went on, "I told you about how I lost my mother, too, and then my father. I spent so much of my life missing both of them, it's hard for me to believe that Soleil doesn't want to spend as much time with us. It's not her fault, of course: when I think about it, it's only natural, but it still seems bizarre."

"Maybe you should just be happy that she's never been so unhappy that only we can make her happy," Peri supposed, slurping tea loudly.

Laslow stared at her again, "Peri, I swear, sometimes it's like you're a completely different person."

A fly landed on the table next to Peri's arm. She lifted her fist and crushed it before it could fly away, denting the wood of the table. She took another loud slurp of tea, "Whaddya mean?"

Laslow rubbed his face and sighed, "Never mind. I'm just a little bothered for no reason, I guess."

Peri stood up, "Nothing a few cookies can't solve. C'mon, time's a-wastin'!"

[…]

"Ouch!" Peri gasped, "Laslow!"

"Sorry, sorry!" he held his hands out, backing away from the oven, "I just thought I could help a bit and…"

"You've already managed to 'help' one of the maids burn her hand."

"And I am so sorry about that, I just thought—"

"Maybe you're not quite suited to kitchen duty. You've got those big, clumsy hands…"

"What? My hands are not 'clumsy!' There's nothing 'clumsy' about me—I'm the very picture of elegance and dexterity!"

"Well then why don't you use all that elegance and dextera-whatsit to not bump into me and make me burn my fingers!"

"I slipped!"

Peri scratched her head, "Look, sweetie… I do everything my mommy's way when I cook, and usually my daddy wasn't around to, er, help when she did. So maybe…"

Laslow frowned, "Is it that bad?"

"Honestly, I'd trust a bull to run a china shop more than you to run a kitchen," Peri sighed, "Why don't you try to track down Soleil? Everything's gonna be ready pretty soon."

The silver-haired mercenary expelled a prolonged sigh, "Very well. And, uh… sorry, again. Remind me to give that maid a bonus."

She took a second to respond, then chirped, "Sure thing, sweet bread. Just go on ahead—it'll only be a couple'a minutes."

He flung the door open and walked out into the cool inky black of night. Unlike the years that passed in the blink of an eye from the outer realm, in here, night seemed to fall even more slowly. A stiff, cold breeze blew by and made him shudder. He touched his cheeks and felt them grow hot in response while he lamented his uselessness in the kitchen. Moments later, however, his attention drifted to a faint sound. It was a repetitive plodding in the grass, not quite regular enough to be footsteps, and not very loud or heavy. It could be an animal, or it could be that a stealthy invader was trying to minimize the sounds of his presence. Laslow decided he wouldn't take the chance of letting it go and braced himself against the wall of the manse. He sidled along the wall until he hit a corner and peeked around it.

There, he spotted a familiar stream of blue hair spinning in a circle. "One-two, one-two," she murmured rhythmically, stopping her spin, reversing her direction, and spinning again. She stopped and planted her foot, tapping it and then kicking it up before repeating the motion with the other foot, "Three-four, three four." "All right," she announced to herself, throwing her hair back behind her shoulders, "now, let's put it all together—big finish." She repeated the spinning motion, stopping to stretch out her arms as if blowing a kiss. "Never miss a beat," she told herself, stopping on one foot: she tried to tap the foot and kick it back like before, but seemed to mix up the requisite foot and tripped over herself, falling into the grass.

"Ooh," Laslow winced.

Soleil pushed herself up quickly, "Ack! Who's there?!"

"Er, nobody," her father stood before her, rubbing his neck.

"Daddy!" she turned her head, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," he answered.

She paused and stood up, brushing the grass and dirt from her dress. She stood another moment in silence, not daring to meet eyes with her father, then finally decided to look up, "Um, so… I imagine you're disappointed."

Laslow cocked an eyebrow, "Huh?"

"I know it must be sad," she rocked on the balls of her feet, "being a great dancer and having a daughter with two left feet and all."

He scoffed, "Why would I ever be disappointed in you? You're everything your father wishes he could be, Soleil."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, daddy," she replied, wagging her finger, "isn't that lesson one?"

He laughed, "Got me there. It isn't flattery, though. The way you stay so positive, so carefree… it's an inspiration to everyone, Soleil. Even me. You've been that cheery ever since you were little, that's why we gave you your name. It means 'sun.'"

"You called me your son even though I'm a girl?"

"No, no, 'Soleil' means 'sun,' like the thing in the sky. The warm source of light that gives everyone hope every time a new day dawns."

"Well, either way, that seems backward."

"It does?"

"Yeah. You were the one who made me like this, daddy. And mom, too. Whenever I felt bad, you'd dance a little for me, or give me a big silly smile until I just couldn't help but be mad. And whenever I was angry, mom would make a training dummy and would stand out there with me while I pummeled and throttled it to death. That made me happy, too."

"But we come here so infrequently…"

"I know, that's why I remember those times so fondly, and why I know I have to smile all the time when you guys are here. It's so important to not lose a moment of happiness. And that's why I wanted to surprise you both, by trying to get this dumb dance right. But I just couldn't do that."

Laslow sighed and smiled, "Don't worry, Soleil. I don't care if you can dance or not—your job isn't to emulate me, it's to be yourself. That's what makes me proud of you, what makes me envy you, even: you're never afraid to be who you are."

"What does that mean? Are you saying you're afraid to be who you are, daddy?"

"I mean I fake a lot of my smiles to hide the fact that, deep down, I'm really quite scared of everything. There's a lot of what I seem to be that is… less than genuine, and that's something I think about often, but you're proof that something good can come from me. Because all those smiles of yours are genuine."

Soleil sniffed, "I, uh, didn't mean for this to suddenly turn into such a mush-fest. I was just trying to do something nice for you guys."

Laslow wrapped his arm around his daughter, "I know, Soleil, and it means a lot to us, both of us, that you're trying so hard. I'd like to give you a little something for your birthday."

Her eyebrows jumped up, "Hm? What is it?"

Laslow produced from within his armor a white hairband that was decorated by intersecting gold lines, forming a diamondlike pattern, "It's a hairband, and a very special one, at that. It belonged to my mother."

"Your mom?" Soleil repeated, "As in grandma? The famous dancer?"

"That's right," he nodded, "I kept it with me for years, thinking it would protect me, imbue me with some kind of extra grace that I wouldn't normally have. Mostly, it was a way of keeping my mother close to my heart."

"Boo," Soleil jeered at the wordplay.

Her father laughed, "In any event, I think I've expended its usefulness on me, not that I ever deserved it to begin with. Now that there's a new lady around to take up the mantle, I can't think of anyone better or more deserving to wear this hairband. Plus, with that hair of yours growing so long, I think you're going to need it."

Soleil watched her father's eyes carefully, "Are you sure about this? I… I know how much grandma meant to you."

"Believe me when I say I can't think of a higher honor than to have you wear it," he handed the article over. Soleil placed it in her hair, tucking it underneath some locks and letting it suppress others. It was a bit of an awkward fit.

"It'll, uh, probably look better when I can style my hair around it," she giggled.

"I'm sure it will," her father concurred, "Now, are you about ready to go inside and see your mother? I think she's all done with the cooking and the baking."

"Oh, yes!" she leapt, "I'm starving! The thought of one of mom's cookies right now… and she made a cake, too, right? Gods, I can't wait!"

"Well, go on," he ushered her forward, "no time like the present."

Soleil rushed in and found her mother standing in the middle of the dining room, surrounded by the other servants of the manse. She held the cake forward, while each of the six servants held a separate plate of cookies. "Happy birthday, pumpkin!" Peri grinned when her daughter entered, "Ready to dig in?"

Soleil looked at the cake and saw the frosting featured a crude design of her, her father, and her mother all decapitating a helpless soldier, complete with jelly-blood. She giggled and ran up to the table, "So ready!"

Laslow looked up at the starry sky and shut his eyes to take a breath. Once the moment passed, he walked in and shut the door behind him, humming "Happy Birthday."