I decided to marry Maribelle to Vaike in my playthrough, and it was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made in a game. Their little family is so great, I had to write about them, haha. Some minor spoilers, I suppose.

Tea for Three

Her tea parties were among the many things Maribelle took pride in. She often brought out her best china for the occasion: the pot with pink embellishments, the cups with the delicate engraving, the saucers in the shape of hearts. She only served the best tea that the land had to offer, and if Lissa and Chrom were visiting, she would bring out those she had blended herself.

Today, however, she was on a personal mission. One that she considered far more important than that of stopping a conqueror or a fell dragon.

Those could wait.

Today she would teach her son and husband how to act their part as future nobles.

"The Vaike has never done tea time," Vaike said, for perhaps the tenth time since they sat down at the makeshift table she'd put together. He lifted one of the tiny cups - recently purchased from a nearby town, and far from what Maribelle considered the best, but for now it would have to do - and suddenly paused. "Wait. Do I start drinking tea in the future or somethin'? Does Maribelle put me up to this?"

Brady brought his own cup to his lips and took a gentle sip. "I dunno. And mine needs some more sugar, Ma."

Maribelle seethed gently as she poured herself tea (her own blend, of course; she was going to need the very best if she wanted to make it through this). "You mean you 'Do not know, and may I have more sugar, dear Mother?'"

"More sugar, Ma?"

"Brady, honestly," she said, though she handed him the bowl of cubes anyway. He took three and dropped them into his cup.

"Now you're going to ruin the flavor," she added. "This blend was already made sweet. It doesn't need anything else."

"Really? It's kinda bitter."

Her smile cracked. "Well, to each his own, I suppose. Not too much, though. You'll get a stomachache."

"I'll be fine, Ma. But thanks for worrying."

"Mother."

"Ma."

"I may have given up in your future, but not here. You will call me Mother."

"Fine, Ma."

"You know, this isn't half bad," Vaike suddenly said. Maribelle glanced over just as he drained the last of his tea in one impressive gulp. "You make this yourself?"

"I did. Now sip your next cup, love. You're not a fish."

Vaike poured himself more - just sloppily enough that some of it went spilling onto the pristine tablecloth Maribelle had taken the time to purchase with the new tea set - and downed it.

"Nice, Pa," Brady said appreciatively.

"Brady, don't encourage him. And call him Father. Honestly, it's not that difficult. Oh, Vaike, remember what I said-"

"It's delicious! Ol' Teach can't just sip something this good."

"Try adding some sugar, Pa. It tastes even better."

"Gotcha! Let's see, how many did you add? Four? Five?"

Maribelle took an aggravated drink of her own untainted tea. Culturing her small family was obviously going to take a lot longer than she anticipated.