TITLE: Portal
SUMMARY: With their respective kingdoms at war, Sakura and Leo find themselves mysteriously transported to another realm. Working together, will they be able to find a way to return home? And as they begin to develop feelings for each other and meet interesting friends along the way, will they even want to?
SPOILERS: So far just early Fire Emblem Fates spoilers up to Chapter 6, but I'll update this each chapter if/when that changes.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fire Emblem, obviously.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story started off as just a dumb little idea I had in my head, and then ended up taking off. If you decide to read this, please let me know what you think!
This story begins during Chapter 6 of Fire Emblem: Fates.
Chapter 1 - Mother
A man's pained wails echoed throughout the Hoshidan plains, coming from a nearby forest.
Screaming, of course, was not uncommon in the midst of a skirmish, and it was generally hard to even discern one shout from another. Yet these particular sounds originated away from the fighting, piquing Sakura's interest and concern.
The young Hoshidan princess had been dutifully following her siblings and retainers at a safe distance, knowing that she shouldn't get too close to the fray of battle as they attempted to reclaim her brother, Corrin, from the Nohrians. Yet hearing the howls of a wounded man made her veer from her path, and without much further thought, she soon wandered away from the main army to investigate.
After walking almost fifty yards through the trees - all the while following a trail of blood - she finally found the source of the noise. It was a Nohrian soldier whose stomach was cut wide open, the wound likely inflicted by the katana of a samurai. Sakura could tell immediately that the injury was fatal, since the blade had damaged multiple organs beyond repair, and she was surprised he'd even managed to drag himself this far.
Regardless, she readied her healing rod. Her siblings would surely scold her for attempting to heal a Nohrian - Takumi in particular - but it just wasn't in her nature to let anyone suffer when there was something she could do to help.
It was all in vain, though, just as she'd predicted. No rods nor healing incantations would help this poor man, and despite her earnest efforts, the Nohrian didn't seem to have much time left in this world.
"It hurts," the man whimpered, his eyes opened but unseeing. He sounded so small and afraid, and that was enough to make Sakura's heart break for him. "Oh, gods, please help me! Mother, help me!"
"Shhh," Sakura implored, taking one of the man's hands in hers and holding it firmly to help soothe his panicked cries. "It's okay now. Don't b-be afraid. M-mother's here."
Sadly, this wasn't the first time she'd pretended to be a dying soldier's mother, and it likely wouldn't be the last. Many of the wounded that she'd attended to had called out to their mothers in their final moments. To Sakura, though, being a good healer didn't just mean healing those who could be saved - it also meant comforting those who couldn't be.
At the very least, she'd always wished that she could quell her anxious stutter during such times of comfort. The Nohrian didn't seem to mind or notice, though. At her words, he quickly calmed and even smiled.
"Yes… Mother," he responded. But then his hand went limp and slipped out of her fingers, and Sakura knew that he was gone.
A familiar pain rippled through her as she watched yet another young soldier die. Even though this man was Nohrian, it didn't lessen her sadness. After all, if both Hoshidans and Nohrians sought comfort from their mothers in their dying moments, how different could they ultimately be from one another?
"Sweet dreams," she told the dead man while gently brushing his eyelids closed with her hand. She resolved to add him to her prayers that night in the hopes of easing his journey to the afterlife.
Standing up, she brushed the dirt off of her dress and grabbed her Sun Festal. Yet, right when she was about to leave and return to the battlefield - as she was sure that her siblings and retainers would be worried about her by now - she heard a branch crackling from a few yards away. Looking up sharply, she saw a young man, maybe two or three years older than her, watching her with interest.
Fear instantly seized Sakura as she identified the man to be Nohrian. In fact, she recognized him by his black, purple, and gold armor, as well as his blond hair - this was one of Corrin's brothers, a prince of Nohr.
Sakura couldn't stop herself from trembling under his gaze. He looked so stern and serious, although there was a hint of curiosity lighting up his eyes.
The two stood in silence for a while, just looking at each other. Clutching her rod tightly, Sakura waited for him to speak. Eventually, though, she just shifted her gaze to the ground, no longer able to stand his intimidating glare.
"That man," the prince stated, finally breaking the silence. "He is Nohrian."
"Y-yes," Sakura nodded, still avoiding eye contact.
"I saw you try to heal him, and then comfort him as he died. Why would you do that?"
His inquiry compelled her to look up at him. "I'm a h-healer," she said simply, and from the exasperated expression on the prince's face, this wasn't the right answer.
"Surely, you can't be this dense?" he wondered. "That man was your enemy, and probably wouldn't have hesitated to run that lance of his right through you had he not been dying. So, I ask you again - why?"
Sakura shrugged in response. "I… I g-guess it just seemed like the right thing to do."
The prince raised an eyebrow at that and then smirked, letting out a slight chuckle. "I see… honestly, that sounds like something my brother would say."
His words cut her, and Sakura quickly averted her eyes. She wondered if he was referring to Corrin, her brother. The brother that had chosen to side with Nohr against his Hoshidan siblings, against his true family. The brother that she'd spent her entire life wanting to know and love. The brother that her mother had died to protect, and yet, he'd still chosen to side with Nohr.
If she had been looking at the young prince, she would have seen his confusion over her visceral reaction. Soon, though, realization dawned on him.
"Ah, I recognize you now. You're one of the Hoshidan princesses… Princess Sakura."
She glanced back up at him, unable to hide the raw pain from showing on her features.
"That's r-right. So if you plan to kill me… you should just g-get it over with." Sakura had never been brave, but all of her sadness and anger in that moment, brought on by thoughts of her brother, was fueling her courage.
The Nohrian prince appeared to be a bit taken aback by her words, but even so, he waited a few moments while he contemplated his options. To Sakura, he seemed like the type of person that always considered his next move carefully… not at all like her brother, Takumi, who was similar in age to the young prince, but tended to act brashly.
"I won't kill you, of course," he finally said with a sigh. "I probably should incapacitate you, or at least capture you. Not only are you a princess of Hoshido, you're also a healer, and having you treat our enemies will only make things more difficult for Nohr. Yet, Corrin would never forgive me if I did you any undue harm. And, as for capturing you… consider my letting you go as a repayment for a debt owed," he noted, nodding over to the dead man. "But… I suggest you go quickly before I change my mind."
There could be no doubt that this was meant as a warning… Sakura could tell by the way that his eyes suddenly turned dangerous. She nodded at him in response, signaling that she understood, but she made no move to leave. It made no sense for him to let her go, and they both knew it. Was the young Nohrian prince perhaps not as cold and calculating as she'd originally thought?
She watched as he turned around and muttered something to himself. She couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but heard the words "Corrin" and "going soft." She then saw him scan the surrounding area before he turned back to face her.
"I don't suppose you've seen a horse anywhere nearby?" he inquired, sounding somewhat frustrated. "My steed got skittish during the battle and bucked me off. She then ran somewhere in this direction."
Sakura shook her head. "A-are… are you hurt?"
He smirked at her. "I don't need healing, if that's what you're asking. Unless that thing can do something for my bruised pride?" he asked rhetorically, nodding toward her Sun Festal.
She shook her head again, her eyes wide, and the young prince chuckled. "I thought so. In that case, I better go find my horse before this battle ends without me."
He bowed slightly toward her to acknowledge his leave, and then started walking away.
"W-wait!" she cried out, surprising herself and him. He turned around again, this time with his right eyebrow arched in question. "May I have your n-name?" Sakura wondered, her cheeks tinting red at her forwardness.
With that, he smiled at her, making him look much kinder than his stern face or haughty smirk usually afforded. "It's Leo," he told her.
"P-Prince Leo," Sakura greeted with a respectful bow. "Th-thank you for your kindness."
He turned away from her and scoffed, but before he could comment, a loud noise erupted throughout the woods. Within seconds the ground between them started to disappear, turning into some kind of strange, purple circle. As this swirling vortex replaced the area under Leo's feet, he fell into the newly-formed abyss with a surprised and startled look on his face. Sakura screamed, but before she could run for help, she found herself falling in as well.
Soon afterward, the purple circle was gone and the ground reappeared, leaving no sign of the two royals that had been standing there only moments earlier.
END NOTE: As I said, this story started out as just a dumb idea. (Not that it isn't still dumb, but I digress.) I was playing Valkyria Chronicles, and if you've played it, you'll notice that the Sakura/mother scene strongly resembles an Alicia scene in that game. This has turned into something completely different than a simple meet-cute idea, though, which you will soon see as you continue reading.
