Obvious spoilers ahead: This is an AU short story. Some of the events that happened in the game will change. I dislike how in the end the whole "blood family" turned to be false, so in this case, Anankos is Mikoto's father with Corrin being born as a concubine of Sumeragi and inheriting the most powerful draconic traits. Now, I don't entirely hate Nohr, it had potential to be good, but let's be honest here: They are cartoonish evil, and the supports contradicts the way they act in the game proper. Was going to be a one-shot but grew into a short story. Another story I've been sitting on for months. Probably 4-5 short parts
Chapter 1 – Takumi
In the fields of Hoshido, a white-haired princess stood between two armies. One lead by the people that killed her father and kidnapped her, raising her as a pawn. The other lead by her birth family, who welcomed her with open arms. They had been so eager to be together once more, only to lose their mother at the ploy of the man she had come to call father.
She had to choose between protecting or conquering her land of birth.
The princess made her choice.
"Ryoma, withdraw your troops."
With those words, Corrin sealed her fate.
She chose her adoptive family.
The looks of betrayal from her blood family cut deep into her heart. Despite the little time she had spent reforming the bonds she had forgotten, she still loved them. But Corrin had been sure she made the choice that could save the most lives. Nohr was not evil in her eyes, just desperate. That her ...father must have a good reason for this. That this had to be the path of least bloodshed.
That's what she naively told herself as she engaged her blood family in a long war.
Too bad she chose the losing side.
Emptiness. That's all Corrin could feel at the moment. The chill of the dimeritium shackles dug into her skin as she marched through the streets of Hoshido, but she hardly noticed it. The special binds on her wrists prevented her from transforming into a dragon while the Yato had been taken from her. Not that she had the will to fight or complain. She had used the Hoshidan treasure to slay Hoshidan troops. It was the ultimate insult.
She could ignore the sneers and spit thrown at her, but it had been the words cut deeper than any blade had during the war. "Kinslayer" and "traitor" were only a few of the words that were hurled at her. Those hurt the worst, making her emptiness feel like a pit of despair.
A naginata poked her on the side, making the dragon wince and snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Keep walking, Nohrian, or next time I will use the sharp edge," Oboro snarled at her with disdain.
Being paraded through the town was humiliating, but the draconic girl couldn't say she didn't deserve it. The survivors of her army marched alongside her, waiting for their own sentence. It's no accident that they walked through the square where her mother had died protecting her. They most likely wanted to rub in the guilt in her face.
It worked.
It didn't matter that she did her best to spare the troops, Nohrians still spilled Hoshidan blood and they hadn't taken kindly to her betrayal. They fought with blind fury in the name of their fallen queen, forcing her to slay the countrymen that had waited for her return.
Kaze, who marched in chains at her side, spoke up in her defense. "Oboro, please. There is no nee–" the ninja stopped as he felt the sharp steel of Hinata's blade on his throat.
"Stop talking, Kaze," the samurai said coldly, an unfamiliar tone compared to the cheerful voice he used when she first met him at Castle Shirasagi. "Unless you want to make things worse for all of you."
Corrin bit her lip, drawing blood but unwilling to provoke the samurai. She couldn't understand how things went so wrong. Sure, the Hoshidans had managed to push them towards retreat on that fateful day. Even when having her adoptive siblings at her side, they couldn't win. But Nohrians were a tough people. They would prevail and end this war with as little bloodshed as possible.
'Not like the soft Hoshidans,' her troops assured her. They loved boasting about how tough Nohrians needed to be to survive in the kingdom's harsh conditions. 'Those savages are soft and uncivilized, they will fall without their magic wall.' Oh, how she wanted to throttle the idiot that said that to her. He should be vulture's shit by now. The Hoshidans had been nothing but kind and welcoming, at least at first. Not greedy monsters laughing at the starving Nohrians like Iago's propaganda painted them as.
The Hoshidans weren't that soft, either. A combination of plentiful resources, good diet, and pure hatred for Nohr made them capable of fielding a powerful army. Each infantry unit more than a match for one of their mounted knights. Their tenma swifter than the stronger, but slower wyverns. Ironically, it was the Faceless that gave them the experience they needed to surpass their counterparts.
Lifting her head, Corrin gazed at the back of Prince Takumi, her younger brother. A young man that didn't trust her since he first set eyes on her. He who had his accusations ignored, but vindicated when Corrin sided with their mother's killers.
If anything, maybe she could ask for mercy on her remaining troops.
"Takumi?" she tried to get his attention, but the Hoshidan prince didn't spare her a glance. "Please, brothe–"
Quick as an arrow, Takumi's armored foot lashed out, earning a cry of pain from Corrin as it connected with her side. Her ribs were already tender, and one was certainly broken now. She fell to her knees, holding the tears of pain back.
Jakob shouted at the sight of his master getting struck. "You uncouth bas–Agh!" His defiance was silenced when an arrow of wind graced his ear, nearly ripping it off. They knew full well that if Takumi had wanted to, the butler would have a hole between his eyes.
"Shut your mouth, Nohrian scum!" Takumi growled as he lowered Fujin Yumi. "You are not nearly as valuable a price as the traitor is. Don't think I have any issues with putting an arrow between your eyes! You only keep breathing because I don't want to listen to her whining."
"Please stop! Do not hurt him!" Corrin pleaded, powerless to do anything else. She was glad that the civilians and soldiers had not joined in. Even they were keeping their distance from the enraged archer.
"You do not get to ask anything, traitor!" Takumi snarled at her. "The only reason you are still breathing is, for some unfathomable reason, Ryoma still has some foolish love for you." He gave a hollow laugh at the idea. "I can't understand him sometimes..."
It pained her that he did not include her other siblings in there. Not a surprise, though. Not after all that happened. "Please, let me explain…"
"A little late for that, is it not?" he sneered at her, dismissing her pleas. "I have no time for your empty words. Ryoma and the others were fools for trying to reason with you. Should've killed you when I first saw you. Tell me, are you really my sister? Did the Nohrians use their magic to change your appearance or put some harlot's soul inside my sister's body? Or are you really Kamui, who decided to side with our parents' murderers?!"
"Takumi... In your heart, you must know. That as your sister, this war is the last thing I ever wanted," she tried to reason. "If only we could ta–"
The prince barked a dark laugh, looking at her with scorn, letting his temper rise ever higher, "Ah, how quaint. More empty words from the Princess of Betrayal," he mocked her and then she realized how empty her words were. "How can you stand to live after the horrors you caused for Hoshido?! Village after village razed by those Faceless abominations. You mad dogs razing our lands, killing the Kitsune tribes, and stealing from the smallfolk. Just because Nohr doesn't care about their own citizens doesn't give you the right to destroy our way of life! Your damn mages tried to brainwash me!"
Felicia spoke for the first time, loyalty shining through her pained eyes. "Lord Takumi, your sister has suffered through this war too! I have seen the pain she shouldered through her choices!"
Corrin bowed her head, feeling some strength from Felicia's trust in her. "Words could never express my sorrow for what took place for our actions ar–"
The words didn't seem to move Takumi. "Oh? Are you still human enough to feel remorse?" The prince questioned with dripping sarcasm. "I'm sure you are regretting it now that Hoshido is winning this damned war."
"That's not it at all! There is a reason for this war! King Garo–!"
"Don't talk to me about that monster!" He roared in rage making Corrin recoil into herself. "You know what that man and his followers want? What his reason is?! To pillage Hoshido and strip it bare just like they do to every country they conquer! To massacre our civilians just like they did in Cheve! Do you know how many warriors that fought to defend their homes were cut down? Or survived just to succumbed to their wounds? How many Nohrians had poisoned their weapons? How many women were taken by Hans and the rest of the bastards you call comrades?! They do that to their own people!" Every word he roared eroded more of her willpower. "You sided with the monsters! Don't you try to weasel your way out of this!"
She wanted to defend the honor of her Nohrian family, but how could she when they were leading their army across the Hoshidan territory?
Another voice came to her defense. "Takumi..."
"I have nothing to say to you, Azura," the archer spat. "I wish I could say I'm surprised that you sided with Garon, but that would be a lie. You know, Ryoma was furious when he learned of your kidnapping." He snorted, shaking his head. "I knew it was pointless to mount that rescue for you. And you proved me right, you Nohrian traitor."
"I could not return to Hoshido, Takumi. Not with things as they were," Azura said, looking at Takumi in the eyes. "It saddened me deeply to leave behind those who treated me so kindly. But it was Hoshidans that kidnapped me and the Nohrians that saved me."
That only earned a scoff from the prince. "You sound just like the royal traitor. I always knew this would happen. As soon as Nohr offered you a hand you took it. That's why I never trusted you. Had I known your betrayal would come so swiftly, I'd have killed you myself. Still, I should have pressed mother harder to banish you years ago."
"How was kidnapping me and raising me in Hoshido different than what Nohr did with Corrin?"
The prince roughly grabbed her face, looking her directly in the eyes. "Don't play that game. Your kidnapping was an accident after the failure to recover her. And we didn't brainwash you into a loyal little soldier, erasing your memories like the Nohrians did. Mother loved you like her own child."
"And I loved her as if she was my own mother," the singer said. Corrin remembered the smiles and tears Queen Mikoto had upon her arrival. How could she forge the warm, unconditional love that not even her siblings had shown her? Garon never did. It only made things harder.
"Glad you repaid that kindness by helping raze her home," he snapped. "Why don't you stay silent like that child over there?" he added, pointing at the silent Princess Elise. The girl marched in the middle of the formation, lacking any of her usual enthusiasm. She had accepted her defeat.
Azura had nothing to say, visibly saddened at his mistrust.
"It wasn't Azura's fault! It was Hoshidans who kidnapped her!" Corrin insisted with anger in her voice. "Hoshido is not entirely innocent in this war!" She realized her mistake as the crowd started voicing their protests.
"I know," Takumi admitted, stopping her cold and silencing the mob. "We tried to minimize casualties at first on mother's orders but there is too much bad blood to hold back the thirst for vengeance. Civilians will always die in war, but we didn't start this war. Hoshido is not perfect, but we don't go to the lengths Nohr does. Those soldiers disobeyed orders but only after you showed them they couldn't trust any Nohrian. If anything, they should've killed her and been done with it. It's more than a traitor deserves." And to twist the knife, he spoke in a whispered voice. "I had hope that... No, I can't believe that for a stupid moment I consider you two sisters."
Corrin dropped her head in defeat, knowing she couldn't change his opinion. "I-I only wanted to bring peace and stop the bloodshed. I thought I was doing the right thing."
"Fantastic job you did. I remember when Nohr sent their Faceless to our villages. They were such nice, peaceful tourists as they razed them to the ground," Takumi said sarcastically. "Nohrians don't know the concept of peace. Only conquest. They have been killing each other for ages. It's their nature, and then they dare to call us savages. Only a few like Scarlett have honor."
Corrin tried to defend her newest home but was interrupted by Takumi's other retainer.
"Lord Takumi, we should move. We are causing a scene." The two royals looked around and saw the crowd had grown quite large. And they were showing Corrin their barely concealed disgust after hearing Takumi's rant.
Calming down, the prince scowled his features and nodded. "You're right Hinata. We can continue this during that farce of a trial."
That didn't stop the retainers from uttering some last words to the princess in honor of their master.
"You should have stayed in that tower and let the civilized people live in peace, Nohrian," Oboro spat. The princess had come to understand that the spearwoman had a deep hatred for Nohr. Her words made it clear that she was not bothering to hide her racism for the invaders. "No wonder Nohr is a barren wasteland. Monsters like you only bring death and destruction in your wake."