The Prince and The Songstress
Chapter 1: A Meeting By The Lake
Corrin slowly made his way through the field leading away from Castle Shirasagi; there was so much spiraling through his head from the day's events that he wasn't certain where to start making sense of things. In the short span of one day, not only had he found himself under attack from the Hoshidans at the Bottomless Canyon, but he had also found himself taken to their kingdom and discovered that he was actually a member of the royal Hoshidan family and was taken by the Nohrians when he was only a little boy. And as if that wasn't enough for him, he also found himself reuniting with his supposed mother, Queen Mikoto. Sufficed to say, having to deal with this much in a single day was leaving Corrin filled with more questions than answers, and he figured that going for a walk outside would help clear his head as he was trying to make sense of everything that he had just learnt.
"This is all so confusing… the only family I've ever known is in Nohr… Xander, Leo, Camilla, Elise and everyone back at home, and then I hear all of this at once. I barely remember anything from my childhood, but now I learn that I'm a member of the royal Hoshidan family. Now I'm really not sure who I should believe…" Corrin murmured to himself, turning his glance down with an expression of uncertainty; it was clear to see that nothing was making much sense to him in the slightest. As he slowly turned his glance upwards back to the path in front of him, he stopped in his tracks when he noticed that he was approaching a large lake just in front of him. He couldn't help himself staring in awe, noticing the reflection of the evening sun glittering against the lake's surface and giving it the appearance of shining like a precious gemstone. Corrin couldn't help feeling a smile of awe cross his face as he looked around at the sight.
"Wow… this really is amazing." Corrin commented to himself. He slowly turned his glance upwards to look at the evening sky, noticing the combination of orange and dark purple illuminating the sky as the sun slowly started to set over the horizon, while large clouds that were tinted in purple drifted across the sky. "I wonder what everyone back at Nohr is doing. I bet they must be worried about me, especially Camilla and Elise… they've always really cared about me, and they probably don't even know where I am." Corrin added, with an expression of concern showing on his face as he started to think about how everyone back at Nohr were probably reacting to his disappearance.
He knew for sure that Camilla would probably want to go out and look for him, while Elise would probably be feeling worried sick about him, especially since he was her big brother, after all. And he also knew that Leo and Xander were probably thinking about him as well; while Leo had an odd way of showing it, which was not that much, Corrin knew that deep down, he truly cared about him, and he didn't even need to say anything concerning Xander.
"I hope everyone is okay, too…" Corrin then said to himself. If there was anything he was feeling worried about at the moment, it was his family's welfare; he didn't want to think about the possibility of anything bad happening to them. While he knew that they were more than capable of holding their own, with the exception of Elise as she needed to stay in the sidelines given her young age, the worrisome thought of them running into serious danger just wouldn't leave him alone. He then slowly turned his glance down, as he had a feeling that he knew exactly how to deal with this issue, before closing his eyes, clasping both hands together and turning his head up to look to the evening sky; while moments like this came few and far between for him, nothing helped Corrin feel better more than a prayer, especially when he did it for selfless means.
'Gods above, please hear me. I can't help myself worrying about everyone back at Nohr. I know they can all fend for themselves, but I can't help myself thinking about something bad happening to them, or the possibility of them running into serious danger. And I'm certain that they must be worried sick about me and don't know where I am. Whatever they are doing, please watch over and protect them, and please give them the reassurance they need that I am safe, and that I will find a way back to them.' Corrin mentally prayed. Once this was said, he felt a smile of reassurance cross his face along with a feeling of peace surrounding him and filling his heart and soul as he opened his eyes. He always loved this feeling that surrounded him after a prayer; it let him know that he was being heard. He then turned his glance up to notice the evening sky and let out a content sigh; he figured that he should start heading back to the castle soon as it was starting to get late. But as he was about to turn and leave, that was when the sound of a voice singing reached his ears.
You are the ocean's gray waves
Destined to seek
"Huh? What's that?" Corrin turned his glance back and forth in surprise, trying to figure out what the source of that voice was. He then turned his head to notice that just further up in front of the lake's surface, there was what seemed to be a wooden walkway leading forward. As he started to walk over to have a closer look, the singing seemed to increase in volume and he could hear it more clearly.
Life beyond the shore
Just out of reach
As Corrin listened closely to the singing, he felt a smile of awe show on his face. "Wow… what a wonderful song. I wonder who that could be singing; they really have such an amazing voice." Corrin commented. Once he got to where the walkway was located, he then turned his head to notice that there was a shadow of a figure walking towards where he was standing. "There's someone coming!" Corrin quickly rushed forward to take cover behind one of the trees, and once he made sure that he hadn't been spotted, he slowly poked his head out to find out just who this mystery person was, and he let out a silent gasp of amazement: he could see a young woman with long, light blue hair that hung down freely along with a long white hairpiece that hung down over her hair like a veil with a gold and light blue jewel set in the centre, along with a white dress with a light blue color on the inside, light blue patterns that were in the shape of straight lines along the middle with a butterfly-like symbol in the centre, long white fingerless sleeves that had light blue and gold flower-like markings on the side, a long white neckband and a golden necklace with a pendant on the ends of the golden chain that had a light blue jewel encrusted in the centre. As Corrin stared at her in amazement, he watched as she slowly stepped out onto the walkway, and she continued her singing.
Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time
The path is yours to climb
Corrin let out a silent gasp of awe as he nearly felt his heart stop, and he slowly stepped out from behind his hiding place as he stared at this young woman in amazement. Not only did she look absolutely amazing in his eyes, with the rays of the evening sun shining down on her, but she also had the most wonderful singing voice he had ever heard. But then he was met with a surprise as she turned around to spot him standing behind her, and he could see that she had lovely golden colored eyes, and from where she was standing just behind the sun setting over the horizon, they were given the appearance of shining like lovely golden gemstones. "By the gods… she… she's beautiful…" Corrin softly whispered, feeling a smile of awe slowly crossing his face as he was watching the young woman, almost like he was smitten with her at first sight. To him, she was the most wonderful girl he had ever met.
But unfortunately for Corrin, while he was staring at the young woman in awe, he didn't seem to notice that the woman in question was walking over to him. "Yes?" she asked, watching him like she was wondering why he was staring at her that way. Corrin blinked rapidly a few times as soon as he realized that the woman was talking to him, just to be certain that he had snapped out of his daze, and then he showed a bright smile before he made his way over, while she stopped once she noticed that he was coming over to her instead. Silence filled the air for a few seconds before Corrin was the first to speak up.
"Er… hello. I'm sorry to bother you. I just got lost in your singing. There's something about that song that captivated me…" Corrin said. He felt his smile slowly grow brighter as he could still hear that lovely voice echoing in his mind; it was like after he had only heard that song once, he felt like there was no way he could get rid of it. To him, it truly seemed like something special.
The young woman looked at him in silence before she nodded in understanding. "You must be Prince Corrin." she stated. Corrin nearly jumped in surprise as soon as he heard that she recognized him on first glance before he nodded in agreement; he figured that maybe she may have known about him during the time that he was in Hoshido, if he could even remember those times, that was.
"Yes. And you are?" Corrin asked in response, pointing up at the woman out of curiosity. "I am Azura." The young woman replied.
'Azura…' Right away, Corrin loved the sound of that name. If he knew his names from all the time he had spent in the Nohr library, he figured out right away that the meaning of her name was sky-blue, and that couldn't have been accurate if it tried. As Corrin kept his glance on Azura, he could spot her long sky-blue hair, the areas of sky blue on her clothing and those eyes… Corrin felt as though he would be lost in her eyes, they just seemed to shine bright as jewels in his mind. While Corrin felt a smile of awe show on his face looking at Azura's eyes, he was quickly snapped out of his daze as she spoke again. "I'm a former princess of Nohr." Once her voice suddenly rang in his ears, Corrin blinked rapidly a few times to make sure that he was still paying attention, and then he showed an expression of surprise at this statement.
"Former? I don't understand. If that were true, surely I would have heard of you. I grew up with the Nohrian royal family…" Corrin replied, scratching his head in puzzlement. He never heard any of his siblings make any mention of Azura while he was growing up, so this seemed to be a little puzzling to him, to say the least. Azura seemed to take notice of his confusion, because she then continued as she turned around to look out to the horizon, watching the evening sun disappear behind the treetops out in the distance.
"I'm afraid I've been here a long time. After you were taken by the Nohrians, the Hosidan forces retaliated. They tried desperately to get you back, but they failed again and again. However, I wasn't as heavily guarded. Hoshidan ninja easily kidnapped me. I suppose we've both been hostages for most of our lives…" Azura explained, her voice slowly trailing down to near silence as she turned her glance down at the memories of those hard times. Corrin let out a silent gasp of shock as he heard this; he couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it must have been for Azura, having been separated from her family for so long and never knowing who they were. In many ways, it seemed to reflect what he was experiencing at the moment.
"Azura… I'm so sorry…" Corrin softly replied, showing an expression of dismay at having just listened to her recollection. However, Azura didn't seem as fazed because she then turned back around to face him and showed a smile of understanding before shaking her head in response.
"No, it's okay. I may technically be a hostage, but I've lived a happy life. The people of Hoshido have accepted me as one of their own. Even Queen Mikoto herself treats me as if I were her daughter." Azura replied. Corrin showed a smile of relief upon hearing this, feeling great relief at the fact that Azura had come to accept Hoshido as her home in spite of it not actually being her home. But that smile quickly faded once he realized that she had just said that Queen Mikoto had always treated her like a daughter, and then he turned his glance down to think, having just remembered what had happened when he first saw her, in what seemed to be the first time in years in her eyes. Azura seemed to take notice of this as well, as she showed an expression of concern. "Did something happen between you and Queen Mikoto?" she asked.
Corrin turned his glance back up to Azura in surprise hearing this and then he shook his head in response. "No, it's just… I just don't know what to do. She seems perfectly lovely, but I don't feel any connection to her." Corrin replied, turning his glance down as he remembered how Queen Mikoto seemed to take notice of the fact that he couldn't recall any memories from his early childhood, and that he needed time to think things over and understand what was going on around him, and he could recall the visible sadness on her face once she realized that. He then turned his glance back up to Azura as she watched him, like she was waiting patiently for him to continue with what he was saying. "But she loves me, and so do all of my blood siblings, who I've just met." Corrin added, recalling how he met Ryoma at the palace, and Sakura and Hinoka at the mountaintops and he remembered just how happy they were to see him again after what felt like a long time to them.
Azura seemed to realize what he meant as she slowly nodded her head in understanding. "I understand what you mean. If I were to return to Nohr, I suspect I'd feel the same way." she replied. As the two were busy with their conversation, they didn't seem to take notice of the fact that the color of the sky above them was slowly changing from a combination of orange and dark purple into a lovely dark blue, a sure sign that night was slowly approaching with each passing second.
"Do you think you could start over there? Live a new life among strangers?" Corrin asked, showing an expression of curiosity; despite what he had been hearing from Azura over the last few minutes, he wanted to be certain on her thoughts of returning to a home she had never known much about for many years and possibly beginning anew there. However, it seemed that Azura disagreed with this idea as she shook her head in response.
"No. Given a choice, I would prefer to stay here in Hoshido. Queen Mikoto is a peace-loving ruler. King Garon is not." Azura replied. Corrin slowly nodded in understanding, but he felt an expression of uncertainty slowly cross his face as he turned his glance down to think about the whole situation he was in: he had always seen Nohr as his home for as long as he could remember, but now he had discovered that Hoshido was actually the place he had been born into. He may not have been able to recall any time he had spent in Hoshido, but he did know for sure that the Hoshidan royal family was torn up after his disappearance, and now that he was here, it seemed like they could be a family again. But at the same time, he had always seen the Nohrian royals to be his family, since they had been so caring towards him for the large amount of his life. So needless to say, Corrin was finding himself stuck in a predicament he had no answer for. However, his contemplation was interrupted when he heard Azura speak again.
"So, Corrin… what are you going to do?" she asked. Corrin turned his glance up to her in surprise at this question and then he looked down again before turning his glance out to his side, while above the two's heads, stars were starting to twinkle in the now night sky.
"I don't know. For now, I'm just going to spend some time thinking." Corrin replied. Azura nodded in understanding; she had a feeling that Corrin would need some time to make sense of what was going on around him. As Corrin turned his head back to Azura, his eyes then tilted upwards to spot the stars in the night sky. "Azura, look. The stars are all out." Corrin commented, pointing up at the night sky. Azura turned her glance up to notice that he was right; the sky was now a dark blue colour and there was several stars shining above their heads. "I didn't realize how fast time had passed." Corrin said, staring up at the sky while Azura walked over to stand beside him as she looked up as well, and she nodded in agreement; the two of them had been so engaged in their conversation, they didn't notice that evening had slowly been changing into night around them.
"Neither did I. The night sky really is beautiful; I always keep a lookout for the stars whenever I can." Azura replied. Corrin showed a bright smile of awe as he had a look around at how many stars there were shining in the sky; during his time in Nohr, it always looked like it was nighttime, but he never actually saw any stars in the sky. Now this felt like this was the first time he was seeing something like this, and just to make things better, he was seeing it with Azura. He then turned his head to her and felt his smile grow brighter as he watched her looking up at the sky, noticing how the stars seemed to shine in the reflections of her eyes and making them look even more dazzling, before she turned her head to him in surprise. "Corrin, are you okay?" she asked.
Corrin showed an expression of surprise before he quickly nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. It's just… this is the first time I've ever seen the night sky like this." he replied, turning his glance back up to the night sky, while at the same time noticing Azura's expression of surprise as she was wondering what he meant. "You see, growing up in Nohr, it always looked like it was night all the time, but I could never actually see any stars. But now seeing this… it feels like this is the first time I'm seeing something like this." Corrin explained.
Azura simply stared in silence for a few moments before she nodded in understanding and turned her glance back up at the night sky, with the stars shining brightly over the two's heads. Silence then filled the air as Corrin and Azura continued to stare up at the night sky, before Corrin turned his glance to her as he spotted reflections of the stars shining in her eyes. 'Wow… Azura really is someone amazing. I've only just met her, but I feel like I've known her my whole life. Even though I've never known about her until now, it feels like she's always been with me. I wonder what something like this could mean. Could this be… love?' Corrin asked himself. As soon as he realized what he was saying, that was when he showed an expression of alarm: could he possibly be in love with Azura, even though he had just met her? He honestly had no idea how to respond to this realization, and he felt even less uncertain of how to handle something like this. He then turned his glance back to Azura and he couldn't help feeling that smile return to his face; she just seemed to have that effect on him when he looked at her, and he had felt like he was captivated by her voice after first hearing it. And her eyes… they just seemed to draw him in, and he felt as though his heart would soar just looking at her! He knew that he couldn't deny it no matter how much he wanted to: he had fallen head over heels in love with Azura, and he felt like no one else could have this kind of effect on him like she did.
"Uh… Azura?" Corrin asked. Azura turned her glance to him with an expression of surprise before she turned around to face him. "Yes?" she asked in response.
"I…" Corrin nearly stopped himself once he realized what he was saying; he did still need time to think over how he was going to handle the situation he was currently in, and he decided that this could wait for the time being. He hated having to hold off his sudden realization, but he had a feeling that it would be necessary until he could decide what he wanted to do about the situation he was in at the moment. "…I better start heading back to the castle now. I have a feeling that everyone might start getting worried and probably come out to look for me." Corrin explained. Azura showed a smile of understanding and nodded; she figured that it would be best for him to do just that.
"I understand. I was about to start heading back as well. Why don't we go together?" she suggested. Corrin simply nodded in agreement at this suggestion, and with this, the two started to make their way to where the castle could be found, where they had a feeling the royal family would be wondering where Corrin was. As the two were walking through the field together, Azura turned her head to Corrin. "Were you going to say something earlier?" she asked.
Corrin turned his head to her in surprise, wondering what she was talking about, before he remembered what she meant and nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I was going to say… well…" Corrin fell silent for a few moments to think about what he was going to say; he had a feeling that it would be best to wait on his discovery of his feelings until the right moment came, so that meant he had to keep it to himself for the time being. "Thank you. I think our talk helped me feel a bit better about everything." Corrin replied. Azura couldn't help showing a smile at this reply before she nodded.
"You're welcome. I'm glad I could help you in some way." Azura replied. Corrin couldn't help himself smiling back at this reply, and with this, the two turned their attention back to the path in front of them, so they could continue their route back to the castle.