Corrin woke up to an odd smell wafting into his bedroom. It didn't exactly smell like something was burning, but burning with an unrecognizable smell. Corrin tried to place it, but he could not remember a scent like it. He sat up, rubbing the remaining traces of sleep out of his eyes. He assumed that it was around noon, but just by looking at the window he couldn't tell due to the gloomy Nohrian sky. Noon was about the normal time he woke up anyway, with the aid of his retainers. It struck him as odd that none of his retainers were there to wake him up either. He expected Gunter to be there, chastising him and keeping him to a strict training schedule, and Jakob, telling him that it wasn't fit for a lord to sleep in that late. They would bring along Flora, Felicia, and Lillith to assist them because Corrin was not the best at waking up.
Yet, his room was empty. For once he was waking up on his own. A pang of loneliness struck Corrin. Even though he didn't like being woken up, he missed their presence in the room.
Corrin got up, getting dressed to distract himself from the unwelcome feeling in his chest. He had to keep himself busy. And find out where that smell was coming from.
Corrin walked into the hallway, the kitchen being the first stop he had in mind. Unless there was an event going on, the smell was most likely coming from there. While he was walking through the fortress halls, the lonely feeling crept in again. Corrin tried to shake it off by paying attention to the intricate details of the ceiling and the floor. In fact, he was so engrossed by the faint spiral pattern in the stonework that he ran right into Jakob.
"Lord Corrin! I was just going to fetch you," remarked Jakob. Corrin was surprised that Jakob wasn't even knocked off balance from their collision.
"Oh hi Jakob, sorry, I was lost in my thoughts," Corrin replied, glad that the lonely feeling was fleeting in the presence of another human being.
"Don't worry milord, I just bring news that you are wanted in the kitchen," Jakob reported.
"Great, I was just headed there now, thank you Jakob. Would you accompany me?"
Jakob's face contorted into a slight grimace on mention of going into the kitchen, before responding. "It would be better if I were to not. I apologize milord."
Corrin sighed, trying to fight off that stupid loneliness that was trying to claw its way back in. "No worries, Jakob. Thank you again."
"Always happy to be of service." Jakob gave a slight bow, before walking past Corrin and down the hall.
Now that he was alone, Corrin was again vulnerable to the loneliness. He made a brisk pace towards the kitchen, eager to be in human company again.
As Corrin neared the Kitchen, he noticed a slight haze. The closer he got, the thicker it became. Was Felicia cooking? No, she was actually a pretty decent cook. Then what was going on?
Upon pushing open the door to enter the kitchen, Corrin was met with a pleasant and slightly scary surprise. All four of his siblings were gathered around the stove, Leo holding a pan with a flat white object in it. Upon flipping it, Corrin saw that it was a golden brown on the other side. It was an interesting food item that he had never seen before. Not only that, but the kitchen was a disaster. There was white powder everywhere and was that an eggshell on the ground?
The door closed behind him and four sets of eyes landed on Corrin. Those eyes lit up and were suddenly coming closer. He was enveloped in a hug by his older sister Camilla, pressing him up against her rather large chest. Elise was next, giving him a big hug for her small size. He couldn't stop beaming, the traces of loneliness chased away completely.
"You guys are back!" Corrin exclaimed, trying not to tear up from joy at seeing all his siblings again.
"It is good to see you again," Xander stated.
"Brother it has not been that long," Leo remarked, only to be interrupted by Camilla.
"Oh Leo, it has been a long time for poor Corrin locked up in this fortress all by his little self. I bet he's so lonely," Camilla chimed, "Don't worry dear. Big sister's here."
"You're… crushing… me.." Corrin struggled for breath in Camilla's tight embrace.
Luckily, she let him go and left him gasping for breath. Leo chuckled.
"Corrin, Corrin! Look what we've made!" Elise chanted, grabbing his hand in her small one and leading him to the stove. The iron pan sitting on the stove was black around the edges, chuck of charcoaled something sitting in them, the middle however was clear of the black spots. Corrin assumed this was where the haze in the kitchen was coming from.
"Look Corrin! We made pancakes! They even have sweetened chocolate chips in them!" Elise exclaimed, shoving a plate in their face. Corrin eyed the 'pancake' which looked like a bunch of scattered pieces of smooth white bread chunks mixed with brown on a plate.
"What's a pancake?" Corrin asked, still looked at the item on the plate suspiciously.
"It's a thin flat cake made with batter. A chef at the castle introduced it to use and taught Camilla how to make them," Xander piped up.
"Yes they're simply divine dear. You must try one, we all made one for you. Even Xander." Camilla moved to pick up a plate. On it sat a thin, flat cake in the shape of a heart with little brown spots on it. It fit the definition of pancake more than Elise's did even if it looked a little burnt on the edges.
He tried Camilla's first, trusting hers a little more than Elise's. He also didn't have much of a choice, seeing she was trying to feed him it. The flat cake was delicious, slightly crunchy, and the chocolate in it was a sweet treat. He had barely finished hers, when Elise shoved her "pancake" into his face. He tried it, scooping up the gooey bits in his hand. It was quite delicious as well, but different from Camilla's. Hers was not very crunchy and still had what Corrin assumed to be batter in it still. There was also a lot of chocolate. Almost triple the amount of chocolate than in Camilla's. It was very, very sweet. Corrin was barely able to eat it all due to the pure amount of sugar in it. He went to compliment theirs, but Leo was there with a plate before he said something.
"My turn," said his younger brother, eager to show off his skills.
Leo's looked exactly like Corrin would imagine a pancake would look like from Xander's definition. It was a perfect golden brown, no blemishes other than the six chocolate chips that sat in a nice circle. Corrin was eager to try it, hoping it was as good as it looked. However, as soon as he took a bite out of it, he was met with a whole lot of batter falling out of the middle and onto his clothes. Somehow Leo had only cooked the outside, not all the way through! Leo frowned, distressed by the state of his pancake. Corrin giggled and ate the rest of the pancake. It was still quite delicious with the warm, gooey batter inside.
"They were all very good!" Corrin announced, earning smiles from his beloved simblings.
Xander cleared his throat, holding out his plate. "You have one more to try, little prince."
Xander's pancake looked exactly like Leo's, perhaps a bit darker. The only difference was there were no chocolate chips on Xander's pancake. Corrin took the little cake (which was about the size of his hand), inspecting it to see that neither side had chocolate chips. Still, Corrin ate the pancake. On first bite, he tasted soft bread. But on his second bit, Corrin was hit with an explosion of sweetness. Somehow Xander had put the chocolate chips inside the pancake! Corrin devoured it down. There were a couple slightly crunchy parts, but it was a masterpiece.
"All of you made super delicious pancakes!" Corrin exclaimed.
Elise tugged on his arm. "So, which did you like the best?"
Corrin beamed, "They were all so different, I can't compare them. I liked them all!"
"It was probably mine," mumbled Leo.
"So can you show me how to make these?" Corrin asked. He was super excited that they were enjoying family time together, not worrying about outside conflicts or training.
"Well first.." Camilla and the others guided him through the short process of pouring the batter onto the pan, sprinkling the chips on. Camilla helped him flip the pancake despite his protests of not being a child. Eventually, there was a perfect golden brown pancake sitting on a plate.
They divided it up evenly between the five of them and eat had their piece.
"I think Corrin's is the best!" Elise shouted, almost jumping in excitement.
"Yes, dear brother I think this is the best pancake i've tasted," agreed Camilla.
"No, this was made by all of us. Not just me," Corrin corrected his siblings, he didn't deserve all the credit.
"I'd like to see our brother make his own than, it will most likely be as good as this one," Leo remarked.
Camilla and Elise cheered Corrin on, while Xander watched with an amused expression on his face.
"Fine, i'll do it!" Corrin announced.
He grabbed the bowl with the batter, but wasn't prepared for it to be slick. This ended up with him accidently dropping it, getting batter all over himself and the unfortunate Leo who was right next to him.
The other three siblings broke out in laughter and Corrin couldn't help joining in. It didn't take long for that scowl to disperse into laughter on Leo's face either. Corrin felt happy and aloof with his siblings. They made his days in the fortress not lonely when they were here.
"Alright, let's get you two cleaned up, and probably help with the mess we made in the kitchen." Xander chuckled.
Leo and Corrin got a tongue lashing from Jakob when they went to change clothes, but to Corrin it was well worth it. He had a great bonding experience with his family and most importantly they spent time together. He wouldn't throw that away for the world, even if it got him in a little bit of trouble. Eventually his siblings would have to leave again and he would be all alone. Even with his retainers, it was hard to stave off the feelings of loneliness without his siblings. But for now, he would focus on the fact that they were here. That they could spend time together. That they could eat delicious pancakes.
AN: Another one-shot in the span of a day! I was making pancakes and inspired me to write this. I left out a couple parts, like Elise getting Leo to make the batter blue and them having a little fight with the batter, but I really couldn't find a spot for those. So just imagine it ;). Feedback greatly appreciated.
~J