Dedicated to FireEmblemFanGirl on AO3! Thanks for the encouragement throughout this series and I'm so glad you like it as much as you do.

I don't have a Beta so all mistakes are mine. Please inform me of any and I'll fix them right away. Still don't own Fire Emblem Fates or any of these characters.

Dear Xander,

Forgive me for not using honorifics, but I feel I know you already and consider you a friend. My baby boy talks about you a lot. He tells me many stories of your great feats as a prince and all you hoped to achieve as a king. I've never seen him smile that wide before since we found him. Yes, you read that right, found.

You see, the Inigo you know is not really my son. I mean, he is, but he isn't. The mother he knows was killed in another time and another place. He doesn't like to talk about it much. None of the kids do, but I know how much he hurts. How much it pains him to look at me and remember his real mother. The one who raised him and taught him to dance. The one who tucked him into bed each night and placed a kiss on his forehead. The one who died to protect him.

Don't get me wrong, I love him as if I had given birth to him myself. No matter what time he's from or what world, he's still my son. When we met on the battlefield, my heart soared as my cheeks flushed upon learning who he truly was to me. Learning that I was to give birth to a second child that would grow up to be such a handsome and kind man. One who traveled through time because he loved his mother so much. He's my brave little man.

I was saddened knowing that I could never hold his hand as he took his first steps. Or hear his first word. Or watch him grow. There was a disconnect between us that I couldn't bridge and it broke my heart.

When Grima was killed and peace took hold, I could see the sense of lost he felt accumulating within himself. His sister had already been born and it would only be a matter of time before he would be brought into this new world. My husband and I let him stay in the palace. He had found some joy and amusement from raising our daughter; A much younger version of the sister he grew up with. But I think it was a constant reminder of what was coming.

We were surprised when he told us he was going away. Leaving Ylisse with his friends to help someone who begged for their assistance. It was wonderful to see him find a new purpose and we wished him luck and bade him farewell. Then he came back and the exuberance I felt from him the day he left was gone. He was a shell of himself. Walking through the halls of the palace like a ghost. My baby boy was fading away before my eyes. We became afraid for him.

His father and I tried to spend more time with him. I helped him learn the final part of the dance his mother never got to teach him. His father sparred with him each week. Every meal was the three of us. Lucina, and the newly born Inigo, were fed earlier to keep that reminder away from him. But no matter what we did, I felt like it was never enough. He was slipping further and further away.

I contacted his sister who had moved to another town with her husband. My belief being that if he was surrounded by someone from his real family, he'd perk up. She came and it seemed that he was getting better. He was smiling more, but it never reached his eyes. His father had enough and contacted his cousin, Owain. I believe you know him as Odin.
He told us everything. Their mission. The people they met. Their decision to return. About you. Owain concluded that Inigo was suffering from a broken heart. And my heart broke for him in turn. He had left the man he loved to return home to us.

And for the first time in my life, I felt anger. The kind that makes you want to cleave something with a sword. This kind and selfless man returned home for us when he had already given more than any parent could ever ask for. He helped save our lives. He helped us change our fates. He fought desperately against a force that was bent on destroying everything he loved with a smile on his face and only hope in his heart. And he returned to make us happy.

But the truth is, we're already happy. We had a chance to know our son in a way that would have never been possible. Inigo had become more than our son, he became a friend and comrade in arms. All we've ever wanted was his happiness. To watch him grow and become his own man. To live his own life. So I have a request Xander...

He has chosen to return to Nohr. To you. For once in his life, he has chosen to act for himself and I couldn't be prouder. I know how difficult it is to rule a country. The expectations that haunted Inigo are very real and it's easy to suddenly feel like you're suffocating under the weight of a crown. Let Inigo help you. Let him stay by your side come what may. He's a strong person and I know together you both can handle any hardships that come your way. I believe you can mend what once was broken.

Inigo won't ask for much. He never does. But he'll give you everything if you let him.

With my love and blessing,

Olivia