Happy Birthday, Kiran!

Kiran opened every door in the castle they came across, calling Sharena's name, "Man, where the hell is she?"

"Kiran?" In the distance, Alfonse observed Kiran's mad dash across the corridor and called out to them.

"Oh, Alfonse!" Kiran ran up to the prince, "Have you seen Sharena around? It's her team's turn to go to the Training Tower."

"Sorry, Kiran, I have not," replied Alfonse. "Perhaps she's in the library?"

"The library, huh? Yeah, I haven't checked there yet.... Thanks, Alfonse!" Kiran dashed off and waved goodbye.

He smiled and waved back. When Kiran was out of sight, Alfonse turned to the pillar next to him and called out, "Okay, Sharena, they're gone."

Sharena peeked out and wiped her brow, "Phew! For a second there, I thought I'd get caught." She stepped out from behind the pillar and grinned, "Thank you so much, Alfonse! Looks like we bought a little more time to prepare Kiran's birthday surprise."

Alfonse crossed his arms, "How do you know that Kiran's birthday is today? Have you even asked them?"

"Nope!" Sharena giggled, "But exactly one year ago today, Kiran was summoned to our world, and they made no mention of their birthday at all since they've been here. It's guaranteed to have happened by now! Even if we're a little late on the celebrations, we can still throw this party as thanks for all the hard work they've done."

"I do have one question," said Alfonse. "How many people are involved in this?"

Sharena showed her brother a wide grin, "Basically everyone in the entire Order."

Kiran walked into the library and quickly skimmed over the bookshelves to see if they could catch a glimpse of the blonde princess. "Hm... Not here either." Just as they were about to give up, Kiran spotted Raigh reading in one of the sofas.

"Yo, Raigh!" Kiran approached the boy.

"Hm," Raigh replied without taking his eyes off the book.

"Have you seen Sharena at all?" asked Kiran.

"Nope," Raigh flipped to the next page. "Been busy reading,"

"Dammit," Kiran scratched their chin, "I'm all out of leads! Well, not that I had many leads to begin with, but still." They paced back and forth, "Let's see, where else haven't I looked...?" Kiran stopped and snapped their fingers, "The courtyard! Duh! That's like Sharena's favorite spot."

Raigh slammed the book down onto his lap, "Wait! Kiran!"

Kiran turned to Raigh, "Hm? What's up, dude?"

Raigh regained his composure, "I... I just remembered that Sharena passed by here earlier," Raigh cleared his throat, "Yeah, I think she said she was heading to the Training Tower portal?"

"For real? I must have missed her," Kiran headed for the library exit and waved to Raigh. "Thanks, Raigh!"

When Kiran was out the door, Raigh slumped into his seat and exhaled, "Close call."

The first thing Kiran noticed when they arrived at the portal room was that only one person from Sharena's team waiting there. "Eirika?"

The blue-haired princess turned around, "Oh, Kiran! Any luck finding Sharena?"

Kiran looked around the room as they continued the conversation, "Not at all, but that's not important now. Where's Nino and Olivia?"

Eirika tensed up, "Ah, well, Nino had to help Gaius with something, and Olivia said she was busy too..."

Kiran crossed their arms, "I guess it can't be helped. I'll just call in Matthew's team--"

"Ninian is busy as well," Eirika piped up.

Kiran cocked an eyebrow, "Okay, then will Team Celica do?"

"Azura is... also busy," Eirika grimaced.

"Why the hell are all the dancers busy--" A sudden realization washed over Kiran. "Eirika, is there something everyone isn't telling me?"

"Kiran, you are simply imagining things," Eirika placed a hand on Kiran's shoulder. "You know, you have been working so hard trying to gather everyone at the Training Tower today. Why don't you rest in your chambers for a while?"

Kiran rubbed the back of their neck, "Well, I gotta admit all that running around kinda tired me out."

"See?" Eirika grinned. "Here, I'll escort you."

Kiran and Eirika walked down one of the castle's many hallways to Kiran's room. At the end of the hall, a pair of voices could be heard.

"Careful on that end, kid! We're almost there."

"Wait, Gaius! Slow down!"

Kiran and Eirika looked over to see Gaius and Nino walking in their direction carrying a large cake.

Eirika pushed Kiran in the other direction, "Ah, let's go the other way, Kiran! We shouldn't get in their way."

Kiran tried turning their head to see what was going on, but Eirika blocked their vision with her head, "Wait, what's going on? Eirika!"

"Just stay right here and rest, okay Kiran?" Eirika quickly pushed Kiran inside their room and slammed the door shut.

"Wait!"

Kiran groaned as they trudged over snd plopped onto their bed. "God, why is everyone so weird today?" As much as they wanted to keep thinking about the situation, Kiran couldn't shake the feeling they were being... watched.

Kiran slowly rose from their bed and took slow, cautious steps to the center of the room. They hovered their right hand over Breidablik which was hanging from their hip and examined the room.

A quiet rustle emanated from under the bed. Just as Kiran was about to turn around, they were suddenly grabbed from behind. The attacker clamped one hand over Kiran's mouth and the other over their eyes, "Mmph! Mmph!" Kiran tried their best to struggle out of the attacker's grasp.

"Shh, don't scream. It's just me."

At that moment, Kiran recognized their attacker. They stopped resisting, and the attacker uncovered their mouth.

"Matthew?"

"Bullseye!"

Kiran balled their hands into fists, trying to resist the urge to knock Matthew in the crotch, "Okay, Matthew. Two questions." Kiran took a deep breath and put up a finger, "One: what the actual hell?" A second finger up, "Two: why are you still covering my eyes?"

"Allow me to kill two birds with one stone," Kiran could practically hear Matthew's signature cocky grin in his voice. "I'm under orders by Sharena to take you to a secret rendezvous point." In one smooth motion, Matthew removed his hand from Kiran's eyes and replaced it with a blindfold. "There we go. Ready?"

"Actually, I have one more question," said Kiran.

"Shoot."

"Why the hell didn't you just come through the door and do this like a normal person?"

Matthew patted Kiran's head, "And miss out on an opportunity to mess with you? It's like you don't know me at all, Kiran!"

Kiran groaned, "Of course."

"Okay, I'm going to let go of your hand," Matthew told Kiran.

"Are we finally here?" Kiran grumbled.

"Not quite yet," replied Matthew. "Just follow the sweet sound of my charming voice." Kiran rolled their eyes under the blindfold and followed Matthew's voice. "That's it. Keep going. Almost there... Anddddd... Stop!" Kiran could hear Matthew step behind them. "Remove the blindfold."

Kiran slipped the blindfold off, and what they saw left their jaw on the floor.

Streamers were hung on every pillar in the main hall. Lines of tables of food and drink were all around the hall. A stage was set up with a band at the end of the hall. Every Hero in the Order was before them. With smiles on their faces, they cheered, "Happy Birthday!"

A smile was plastered on Kiran's face, "Y-You guys...!"

Matthew lightly pushed Kiran forward, "Go crazy, kid! Today's your day!"

For the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening, Kiran went around the room thanking every Hero for their attendance and joined them in feasting, drinking, and reminiscing the past year.

In the middle of a conversation they were having with Robin, Soren, and Corrin, Kiran felt a tap on their shoulder. They turned around to see Alfonse.

"Sharena told me she wanted to meet you in the courtyard," he said.

"Oh, okay! I'll head there right now." Kiran bowed to the Heroes, "Sorry guys, gotta go. Enjoy the rest of the party!"

The courtyard was dark; the only source of light came from the moon up above and a line of lampposts leading to the gazebo in the middle of the area. Kiran followed the illuminated path until they reached the gazebo. There they saw Sharena standing in the middle wearing a sleeveless white silk dress with gold trimmings. Kiran's mouth hung open; they were at a loss for words.

Sharena walked over and smiled at Kiran, "Hi, Kiran. Enjoy the party?"

"U-Uh yeah," Kiran still stood dumbfounded, barely finding the words to say, "So, you planned all this?"

Sharena nodded, "Mhmm. I'm glad everything turned out great!"

"Yeah..." Kiran rubbed the back of their neck. "So, would now be a bad time to tell you it's not my birthday, or...?"

Sharena laughed, "Don't worry, I had a feeling that was the case. You've done so much for the Order of Heroes in the past year. Now's a good time to celebrate that."

Kiran sighed and smiled, "Thank you, Sharena." They looked Sharena up and down, and blurted out, "Sharena, you look absolutely stunning." Realizing what they just said, Kiran frantically fidgeted with the hem of their cloak, "A-Ah wait...! I meant--I just--Oh jeez...."

Sharena stepped toward Kiran and smiled sweetly, "Thank you, Kiran. I'm glad you think so." She pulled down Kiran's hood, "You look charming as usual."

Kiran's cheeks warmed up at Sharena's comment. Kiran looked into Sharena's eyes, still unsure of what to say or do next. Music and Azura's melodic voice from the castle's main hall projected to the courtyard. Kiran turned their head toward the source of the music, then back to Sharena. She stared at them expectantly. Kiran cleared their throat, took a deep breath, and bowed to Sharena, "May I have this dance, your highness?"

Sharena curtsied, "It would be my pleasure."

Sharena took Kiran's hand. Kiran pulled Sharena close, and the two embraced as they stepped in time with the music, "This is the best 'birthday' ever, Sharena. Thank you."

Sharena nuzzled against Kiran's chest and smiled warmly, "You're welcome, Kiran. Just let me know when your actual birthday is. We'll do a proper celebration then!"

"Heh, of course," Kiran chuckled. "But still, the effort you put into today was amazing. I loved every bit of it." Kiran looked into Sharena's eyes and smiled, "I have no words for just how thankful I am to you. Not just for the party, but for everything you've done for me."

"I can say the same to you," Sharena blushed. "You've done so much for the Order, and you've been such a kind and wonderful person to everyone." Sharena ceased her steps for a moment and cupped Kiran's face. "Allow me to express my gratitude." She stood on her tiptoes, brought her face closer to Kiran's, and kissed Kiran on the lips.

"Happy birthday, Kiran."