A/N: Hello everyone, welcome to my first story about Fire Emblem Fates. After spending the last month of my free time binge-playing all three versions, I just had to write something like this. Because man, this game has extremely powerful feels.
So yeah, this is now a thing because one, I read waaaaaay too many fix-it fics for my own good, and two, Ryoma's death in Conquest just completely murdered my feels (the Birthright ones were worse, but I have to start somewhere), and I feel like if I actually was in that situation, I would not have been as composed as Corrin (who will henceforth be referred to as Sky, as that is what I named her).
Her description: Body F2, Hair 06, Acc. 03, Color 09, Face 02, Detail 01, Voice F1.
Side note, Sky's not as optimistic about Takumi surviving the fall as she is in the game. That's all the necessary context.
I still hope you guys like this story. It should be an interesting ride.
I don't own Fire Emblem Fates…
Prologue - A Twist in Fate
(No, no, no. This, this can't be happening. We were supposed to be a family again… I made a promise!)
The young woman with pink-tinged hair stepped forward, mouth agape and eyes wide, an arm stretched out to the fallen form of her brother. Her real brother, the one she hardly got the chance to know, and now would never have that chance. Just like Takumi… driven to suicide rather than to die at her hand—even though she never would have laid a hand on them; she would sooner kill herself than slay her own family. There could have been another way, he didn't have to die like this!
"R-Ryoma…"
Was that even her own voice? It sounded so broken, so quiet, she failed to see how such a sound could have come out of anyone's mouth, especially not hers. And yet…
Azura gently laid a hand on Sky's shoulder, her golden eyes masking grief just as Sky's red ones were. "Sky, you must keep yourself composed for just a little longer," she whispered, for fear of Garon overhearing what was said. He was right there behind them, after all, and should their plan be discovered, everything would have been for naught.
Sky's hand fell to her side, and she clutched at her skirt to steady her hands. It did not work; if anything, she trembled even more than before. Azura was right, it was only a matter of time before their siblings would know the truth about Father, and they would finally have peace with Hoshido. Besides, Ryoma… he'd said that he was counting on her…
"Hmph!" The displeased grunt of Iago's brought her attention back down to earth. "King Garon, do you accept this travesty? Lady Sky did not kill the prince as you so clearly commanded!"
The princess gritted her teeth, tensing her fingers. If there was ever a person that actually deserved to die at her blade, it was Iago. He'd caused her nothing but pain and suffering, and she'd been able to do nothing for fear of ruining the whole plan.
(Just a little longer. Just a little longer. Just a little longer.)
"True, but I will accept this victory nonetheless," came Garon's reply. "Prince Ryoma is dead, as is Hoshido. Victory belongs to Nohr." The King of Nohr paused, spreading his arms wide. "At long last, I am now king of everything and everyone!"
The twist in her gut burned with anger, the warmth blossoming into Sky's chest. Her red eyes ablaze, she clenched one hand around the Grim Yato and the other grasped at air. She'd had enough, she couldn't bear one more second of listening to her "father" laugh like a madman in the sight of this tragedy. "Shut up…" she growled. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
"Sky!" Azura's grip on her shoulder tightened, voice filled with alarm. "You mustn't—"
Sky shrugged her friend away. "Stay out of this, Azura." Turning her attention back to the monster, she continued, "You're no… You're no king! You're a monster!"
If she noticed the terrified looks she received from all of her siblings as a result of her outburst, it did not bother her in the slightest. It was too late to take back her words—if she even wanted to. All of her pent-up rage and emotion finally allowed a release; she felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders even though she knew that this was probably a mistake in the back of her mind. And so it was because of that euphoric release that she fully drew the Yato and charged…
…only for her blade to clash with another, not the monster's flesh. Before she could even blink, she was forced back to her original position by none other than Xander. For a moment she froze; would she really fight her brother to get to Garon? He didn't know the truth, and she didn't want to hurt him… so… "Get out of my way, Xander!"
Her brother looked pained as he shifted Siegfried in his hands. "You truly mean to kill Father?"
"Weren't you listening to me? That thing isn't Garon anymore!" Sky screamed back at him. "I've seen him for what he really is—he's no longer human! Just a monster pretending to be him!"
Off to the side, Iago smirked, laughing briefly. "Such treasonous words, I knew the princess was a traitor all along." And now she'd shown her true colors; claiming that King Garon was a monster? Preposterous, nothing more than a false tale spun by a traitor. "Whatever will we do now, King Garon?"
For a moment, the chamber was silent aside from Sky's heavy breathing. The tension was so thick no one dared move or say a thing until the monster masquerading as a king made up his mind. "I shouldn't have allowed this problem to progress so far, regardless of Anankos' will. Xander… kill her."
That was it. Her punishment for her outburst was to be death, and at her brother's hand. But… Xander wouldn't, he couldn't do it. Right? They were family even if they weren't related by blood. Surely Xander would never—truly—raise his blade against her… And, and, last time, when she'd first returned to Nohr and he'd received the same order, Xander had refused. He had to be on her side… And yet… and yet, the crown prince of Nohr, with his brow furrowed, lifted Siegfried again and aimed it at Sky.
"I understand, Father," he said, neither his voice nor his eyes betraying his true emotion.
"N-No! Big Brother, you can't!" Elise cried, attempting to run to his side—maybe to grab his arm, maybe to take his sword, maybe to shield her sister—but was stopped by Camilla, who picked up the youngest princess and held her tight despite her squirming. The eldest princess herself wished that things hadn't come to this, but there was no way Sky could be helped now.
Sky closed her eyes—if only for a moment. In order to get to Garon, she would have to cut down her brother now… there was no way he would see the truth now. So soon… after watching Ryoma die… the very thought of raising her blade against Xander made bile rise in her throat, and she wanted nothing more than to toss aside the Grim Yato and accept her punishment.
But she couldn't.
She couldn't.
Ryoma was… counting on her. She had to, she had to bring Hoshido peace. She had to kill Garon. And if that meant striking down Xander… "So be it," she whispered to herself, opening her eyes and raising her sword. "I won't back down, Xander. If I'm to die here, the least I can do is take that monster down with me!"
(Here goes nothing…)
"Gyah!"
The fight between the two was unmatched from the very beginning. Xander's strength and dexterity with the Siegfried would not budge against Sky and the Grim Yato no matter how hard she tried. She'd only managed to land two minor hits in the entirety of their battle, the rest of her time spent blocking and dodging to the best of her ability—and much as she hated to admit it, she was extremely outmatched.
Her vision blurred as she tried to catch her breath, focusing on her anger in an attempt to pull what little strength she still had left to the surface. She couldn't… fail here… even with these injuries—
The Grim Yato slipped out of her grasp, clattering on the floor, and she soon followed suit. Whatever energy she thought she had was gone. There simply was no way she could win this fight. Already, she watched in morbid fascination as her blood spilled out of a large wound on her side—the newest of many. She couldn't even feel the pain anymore.
"Little princess… tell me, why did you choose to raise your blade against Father?"
Sky didn't bother looking up at him. She spat out a mouthful of blood at his feet, though. "I… already told you… Father's… no longer human…" Now she did decide to look up at her older brother. "If you would just… open your eyes and stop… blindly following him…!"
The Crown Prince of Nohr narrowed his eyes again, hesitating for a moment. Then he shook his head to rid himself of the conflicting emotions tearing through his soul. "I am no blind follower… I am doing what is best for my country. Or did you expect me to stand idly by while you killed Father?"
Sky laughed, though it quickly divulged into a coughing fit. She knew he wouldn't believe the truth about Father, not without seeing it with his own eyes. "I'd… hoped to… convince you all… of the truth, first… Ruined it with… my outburst, though…"
(…There's still… one thing I can do…)
In truth, she had almost forgotten about the Dragonstone she always carried, yet never used. Partly because she preferred fighting with a sword, and partly because she could vaguely remember the first and only time she'd turned into a dragon—she'd nearly killed Azura. With her Grim Yato out of her reach, and no options other than death…
She clutched the pulsing stone tightly. "I won't surrender!"
There was a burst of bluish light, and then instead of a silver-pink haired young woman in black, there was a silver-blue dragon in her place, large enough to tower over the others in the room. In the split second that Xander froze upon witnessing her transformation, Sky lashed out with her left hand—somehow getting lucky enough to knock her brother out of her way. She thought she heard him hit a wall or something, but no time to focus on that, she just had to—
"Brynhildr!"
—and suddenly she found herself entangled in phantom trees that were strong enough to pierce her scales and deepen her already-dangerous wounds. The trees vanished almost immediately and she fell again, reverting back to her human form. She couldn't move. Could hardly breathe. Red dotted her quickly-fading vision.
Somehow she mustered up enough strength to look up at her younger brother. The stern look on his face almost matched the one Xander had for the entirety of their fight. "Leo… why…?"
"Nohrian law is blunt on the subject of traitors," he replied without missing a beat. "There is only one punishment… the sentence is death. Not even you can escape it, Sister."
She closed her eyes. All she'd wanted… gone in an instant…
"No, Sky is no sister of ours anymore," Xander's voice suddenly cut in—so he hadn't been severely hurt by her attack. "As Father has decreed, she is nothing but a traitor to Nohr."
There was a sharp pain in her chest—burning, burning, burning…
…
And then… nothing.
…
…
…
…
"Come to Hoshido, Sky!"
(…What…? Ryoma?)
"No, Sky! Nohr is your home!"
(Xander…?)
The fallen princess opened her eyes to what had to be a dream. After all, she was dead.
So then why was she reliving the moment when she had to choose which country to side with?!
A/N: So, your thoughts? Did you like it, or did you find it lacking in places? I'm open to any and all feedback, and will not shun criticism as though it doesn't exist. And… I suppose I'm open to suggestions for future pairings even if romance isn't going to take a major part in this, and even if I might have some ideas for what pairings I'm going with.
Thanks for reading, please take your time to leave a review, and maybe favorite or follow this!
