Yeah…so…I just had to write some Leo x Corrin to get my feels out after beating all three games. I almost called it a collection of oneshots, but it's not really that. The story is kind of cleaved in half, with the first half being Leo's perspective in the past and the second half being Corrin's perspective in the future. They take place during the game and kind of stemmed from a head-canon I had going in my head. Think I'll just leave it at four chapters. Maybe five to wrap it up nicely.
Leave a review if you like what you see! :) And happy first day of spring!
Leo didn't like the Northern Fortress from the moment he stepped inside.
The hallways were drafty and dark. The little lights that hung on the ceiling seemed unable to pierce the suffocating shadows. It was the same in the rooms. They were big and empty with stone floors. Gray stone so cold that they put goosebumps on your feet, even if you were wearing boots.
When he complained to Xander, his older brother had just told him off. Said he was being silly. The Northern Fortress was nothing compared to mighty Castle Krakenburg. But to Leo, the castle was always full of light and life. This place was like…a rat's hole in the ground.
"Here is your room, little lord," a butler said, showing the young boy into the room he would be staying in for about a month.
Leo stepped inside, squared his shoulders, and turned up his little nose. "I want the room next to Xander's," he said stubbornly.
"Sorry, darling. That one's mine."
Camilla and Xander came walking into the room behind him, observing the décor of the room Leo had been given. It wasn't drafty or dark like the hallways, and a lovely red rug covered most of the stones in here, but Leo was in too foul a mood to notice.
Leo hated Camilla's endearments. She always treated him like he was three. He wasn't a little kid! He was almost eight. And he was plenty old enough to come here and start training alongside his siblings. In a way, today was the day he was finally coming of age.
He couldn't wait to pick up a sword and spar with Xander. Or maybe he would be good with an axe, like Camilla. And his mount! There was a horse or a dragon that was going to become his trusted mount, his partner through thick and thin. Everyone in the royal family had a mount.
Of course, he wouldn't be allowed to ride one on his own until he was ten. And that was so far away. He'd die of old age before he ever reached ten.
Frustrated, Leo threw down his pack. The butler looked at him quizzically, unaccustomed to Leo's silent tantrums. "Would you like me to unpack for you, milord?"
Leo gave a brisk nod and turned around. Then his eyes went wide. Xander and Camilla had vanished. One second they had been standing right behind him, and the next they were gone. He shot from the room in search of them, his boots making a light pitter-patter as he charged down the stone corridors.
He found his siblings downstairs in the kitchen. Leo immediately found the kitchen to be the most pleasant room in the fortress. It was warm and emanated a comforting yellow light. The scent of baked goods hung in the air. Leo's mouth watered as the smell of baked apples and blueberries reached his nose.
The head chef was there, showering Xander and Camilla with little treats of freshly made pasties. They were filled with all different flavors of jelly with a bit of sweet icing drizzled on top. Leo eyed the one in Camilla's hand jealously.
Then the chef caught sight of him and started making a big fuss. "If it isn't the little lord Leo! Welcome to the Northern Fortress, dearie!"
Leo puffed up with indignation and said nothing. Why did everyone insist on calling him little lord? It nauseated him so, causing him to lose his appetite. He was so irritated; he refused to take any of the chef's treats, even when offered.
He could practically hear Xander and Camilla rolling their eyes at him.
"Please forgive my little brother. He always gets excited and loses his appetite when he goes somewhere new," Xander apologized.
"Can we go to the armory now?" Leo asked, flooded with determination. "I want to see all the weapons!"
"Aww. Too bad you won't get to," Camilla cooed.
Leo looked to his sister, flabbergasted.
"Today we're taking you on a tour of the fortress," she explained. "Then you get to spend a few days in observation, learning all of the rules. You can't just pick up a weapon and start fighting!" She shook her head, causing her blue locks to swing back and forth. "That would be awful. You might accidentally hurt a precious little hair on your precious little head." She stepped forward to pat said precious little head.
Leo's nose habitually wrinkled at Camilla's sickening display. But he was so shocked by her words that he could find none of his own. The spark of excitement that had been glowing in his heart for weeks, no, months, had just fizzled out. He struggled to speak. "B-but…but…!"
"Don't bother arguing. We've all had to do it," Xander sighed. "Here, we'll show you the library. You'll have fun."
He reached to take his little brother's hand, but Leo snatched it away.
"I don't need you to show me around!" Leo snarled. Then he turned and sprinted out of the kitchen.
He could hear the chef chuckling at how adorable he was and Camilla's voice raised in complaint. Xander said something about letting him be, and going to train instead. Camilla squealed in excitement at this idea.
Leo's throat swelled with grief and frustration. He felt sick inside. They lied! All month they had built this day up like it would be the best in his life. Then, at the last second, they'd ripped that away and trampled his expectations into dust.
I'll just have to take matters into my own hands, Leo thought, suppressing a tiny smirk. To the armory!
Unfortunately, getting to the armory was easier said than done. Compared to Castle Krakenburg, the Northern Fortress was small. But it was incredibly huge for someone as young as Leo, who had no idea how to navigate its maze of corridors. He soon found himself lost in its cold, dark hallways.
His heart began to pound nervously with each passing minute. Despite this, he walked with his head high and a level expression. The occasional maid or butler that passed by cast him curious glances and friendly smiles but traded no words with him. They had places to be, jobs to do. No one bothered asking Leo, "are you lost?" even though he desperately wished they would. He was too proud to ask for help himself.
Finally, by some miracle, Leo spotted the training grounds from one of the highest windows in the tower. Xander's blonde head shone like a spotlight far beneath him. He was trying to train Camilla in the ways of the sword, but she looked clumsy handling it. I could do better, Leo thought. And he would.
The armory couldn't have been far from the training grounds. Leo stood on his tiptoes to peer out the window, memorizing the landscapes and mapping out a route to his destination. Then, with renewed energy, he charged back the way he came, taking stairs two at a time on his way down. He was full of hope and excitement.
All of that hope came crashing down when he got to the armory and discovered it was locked. Downtrodden, Leo turned to leave with his head hanging. Then the view from the tower walkway flashed in his mind. There was another way into the armory! He might be able to get into it by going through the fortress's garden. There was a tough wall to climb, but he was resourceful. He could do it.
Leo maneuvered through the hallways to the outdoor garden, only to find that the gate was locked. Do they lock up everything?! he thought, frustrated. It was impossible to climb with its long, iron bars. There were no footholds.
Still, Leo was not willing to give up. The solution turned out to be simple. There was an open window that he could drop down from, into the garden below. He didn't consider the fact that he wouldn't be able to get out. He was too focused on accomplishing his goal.
Pretending he was a Hoshidan ninja, Leo squirmed out the window and dropped down into the garden. It was a longer fall than expected. He landed heavily on his feet and pitched forward. "Ouch!"
Suddenly—CRASH! A great commotion broke out just on the other side of the open window.
Gasping, Leo scrambled towards the nearest bush and threw himself under it. His hands scrabbled in the dirt as he struggled to immerse himself completely in the leaves. He curled his body into a tight little ball and held his breath, listening.
He could hear a butler apologizing to a maid for bumping into her and causing her to drop her tray. The exchange didn't last more than a minute and the two went on their way. Only after their steps had faded completely did Leo realize something: he'd crawled under a black rose bush.
It was one of the only kinds of flowers that bloomed in the dark kingdom of Nohr. It was revered for its soft, lovely petals…and its sharp thorns.
Leo gingerly tried to extract himself from the bush, but getting in hand been a lot easier than getting out. "Ow!" He cried out as a thorn pricked his cheek. Gritting his teeth, he pushed a branch away from his eyes and the thorns pierced his hands. He suppressed a whimper, took a deep breath, and forced himself out of the bush in one swift motion.
The thorns ripped at his clothes and skin for a brief instant. There was a prickle of pain. Then he was free.
Leo lifted his arms, surveying the damage. The thorns had torn through his once-clean white shirt. There were little red tracings of blood on his skin, staining the fabric. When he touched a finger to his stinging cheek, it came away red too.
Leo groaned loudly. "Ughhh—"
"Way to go."
Leo nearly jumped out of his skin at the unexpected voice. This action brought on an onslaught of giggling. He quickly located the source.
A little girl was perched in a nearby tree, peering down at Leo through the bare, twisty branches. She looked to be about the same age as Leo. Her light hair was tied in a messy side ponytail and she had stunning red eyes that reminded Leo of the rubies rich Nohrian women liked to wear. He found himself drawn into them for a few long seconds.
The eyes narrowed in annoyance and he realized too late that he had been staring quite rudely. "You shouldn't be here, you know," the girl said, hopping down from the tree.
Leo's jaw dropped. The girl was barefoot…and her feet were positively filthy. The thick layer of dirt caked onto them could have been a pair of shoes. And this girl had the nerve to tell him what to do!
Leo rose to his feet and haughtily crossed his arms. He lifted his chin and declared in his most confident voice, "I'm a prince! I can go wherever I wish."
The mysterious girl's lips split into a big grin. "Yeah, you really look like a prince with all those twigs sticking out of your hair."
Leo's face flushed red. With no clever response, he turned and stomped away to find the nearest mirror. Then he realized that he was locked in the garden and stopped in his tracks.
"Wait! Let me help you."
Hands snaked into Leo's hair and he stiffened. The girl's touch was gentle as she picked leaves and twigs out. The young prince could feel his face heating up even further.
"Sorry I made fun of you," the girl apologized. "What's your name? Do you want to play? I'm a princess, you know. I can't play with the servants, but maybe I can play with you."
Leo instantly didn't believe this shoddy-looking girl was a princess. If he had to guess, he'd say she was the daughter of one of the servants, playing pretend. Or trying to take advantage of him. She wasn't the first little girl to say to Leo she was a princess, to capture his attention and get him to play with her. He'd long since learned to stop believing lies like that.
So he brushed off this statement and answered, "I can't play. I'm trying to get into the armory."
"You want to go in there? But it's so boring!"
Leo felt a flash of annoyance that this stranger had been inside the armory and he, a prince of Nohr, had not.
"Look—you're new here, right? I can show you around!" Her scarlet eyes glittered with hope.
"Err…" Leo avoided her gaze. He wasn't so sure he wanted to go into the armory anymore, especially with these stinging wounds. Besides, this girl knew what he was up to. She would probably tattle on him if he tried to do anything. The thought annoyed him. "I don't need to be shown around!" he snapped, more forcefully than intended.
The girl's face fell and Leo instantly felt bad. He hurried to cover his tracks.
"I…I mean, I'm going to go exploring by myself. But if you want to come along, I'd be okay with that."
The girl's smile returned and Leo found himself staring at her dirty feet instead of her face. Then the girl grabbed his hand and yanked him towards the window.
"Come on!" she trilled. "We'll go to all of my favorite places! The library, the stables…ooh! Maybe they'll give us a treat in the kitchens!"
"You're going to pull my arm out of its socket," Leo complained as she dragged him back to the window. But he couldn't help noticing how warm her hand was. In a place as cold as this, it felt nice to hold.
The girl stopped under the open window and pointed up. "Give me a boost and I'll pull you up!"
Leo did just that, allowing the girl to scramble onto his shoulders. "Ow—wait!" Leo said as the girl stepped on his head. "What's your name?"
"Corrin!" she piped up cheerfully. "What's yours?"
"Mine's Leo."