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-= 01: Beginnings =-

'It all began in Cheve. Where King Sumeragi of Hoshido was slain, and his son stolen away to be raised in the now-defunct Northern Fortress. Prince Corrin, though Hoshidan-blooded, was raised believing he was a Nohrian prince. A retired knight, two hostages from the Ice Tribe clan, and an abandoned orphan. Those were his companions in the years to come. By all accounts, King Garon didn't expect much from what he considered a project of his - a prince whose loyalty would be completely his through isolation and ties of blood.

Though it did not begin that way, from reading the diaries of my father who was the prince's close companion, the prince's personality was such that all who met him could not help but be enamored with his spirit and character. The royal family of Nohr, King Garon excepted, came to fully believe and love Corrin as their own sibling. The band of misfits that were to raise the young lord became as close as any family. Prince Corrin flourished, studying all the arts of war and magic as he endeavoured to one day make himself useful to Nohr.

Seventeen years of peace would fly by before King Garon would finally consider meeting his wayward son once more.'

- Dwyer, Historian.

Northern Fortress

Prince Corrin

"Surely you can do better, little prince? Father will be quite disappointed if this is all you can muster!"

Grimacing, the young lord leapt out of the way of another mighty swing, eyes still tracking the regal figure across from him. The armor so painstakingly polished by Jakob this morning, the sword Felicia had spent all too many nights cleaning - was that already a dent there? And then he had no time to bemoan the inevitable fate of ironing out the dents afterwards, as Xander stepped forward with two confident, wide slashes.

Corrin rapidly back-stepped, bare feet pushing against the cold stone tiles of the sparring room just in time as Xander's second swipe caught the edge of one of his sleeves. Both fighters returned to a ready position, and Corrin knew that time was most certainly not on his side. Perhaps he should try going on the offensive once more?

The silver-haired prince darted forward with a quick thrust to find, to his dismay, that Xander's defense was as impenetrable as ever. Xander's sword easily diverted his half-hearted lunge. The young prince found himself in the unenviable position of arm outstretched, sword nowhere close to his body, and an amused Xander looking at him.

"Oi oi, I'm up against the strongest knight of Nohr! Surely you can take it a little easier on me, Xander!"

"Flattery won't get you out of this! Prepare yourself, Corrin!"

'Oh well,' Corrin thought, 'it was worth a shot. This is going to hurt, isn't it.'

"Gahhhh!" Corrin, meet wall. Wall, meet Corrin.

'Yep. Oww... Oh sh...!'

The prince barely managed to get up on his feet before Xander closed in on him. Corrin staggered as Xander's weighty blow smashed into his hastily-prepared guard. Wincing, he disengaged, knowing that it was only because Xander was allowing him to do so. Shaking his head to reorient himself, the prince grimly reaffirmed the obvious conclusion that there was absolutely no way he could match Xander in pure swordfighting. His defense was stupidly perfect, every opening he thought he saw nothing more than a ruse.

"Giving up already? Where's all the bluster and resolve from earlier gone? Surely you know that Father won't let you visit him with that kind of performance!"

A tinge of panic. Those words hit a little too close to home. Corrin really didn't want to disappoint Father and to do so, he needed to convince Xander to take him to the capital.

"You can do it, Lord Corrin!"

Felicia's cheery voice blew through the tense atmosphere as the two duelists took a brief respite. Not even a trace of doubt, as if she hadn't been watching Xander demolish him for what must have been an eternity-and-a-half. Where did that confidence even come from?

"Don't get distracted now, my lord. Remember all your training!"

Flora. Her calm voice was a sharp contrast to her sister's but no less confident. And even without turning, he could picture that stern look he dubbed her 'I know you can do better' face.

But it was true - the young prince had spent weeks and weeks preparing for this and he knew he could do better than this. Corrin could still remember all the hellish training exercises Gunter had put him through, could still remember the phantom pain of endless mock duels with Jakob. Nobody expected him to win against Xander, but to land a single blow? Corrin was confident that he could do so. And now with his friends cheering him on, how could he let them down?

Corrin took a deep breath, cleansing the haze of panic and uncertainty that had overcome him. His world narrowed to just him and Xander, and their swords.

Analyze. Assess the situation. He was quickly tiring and he could hardly be expected to outlast Xander.

Conclusion? He needed to change it up. This course of action wasn't working.

'Time to put some of my other lessons to use, then!'

Prince Leo

Off to the side, the maid sisters winced as they watched Xander sent their lord flying with a nasty-looking shoulder check. The crown prince of Nohr was truly a force to be reckoned with, one who earned his accolades through hard-fought battle, and it sure didn't look like he was pulling his punches despite this being a practice spar. The blond mage knight watching the spar with them merely sighed.

"Well, that's our brother for you. Though perhaps it's not entirely fair to expect Corrin to match up against the shining exemplar of Nohr."

Prince Leo truthfully didn't expect much else to the contrary. After all, he too had spent his entire life chasing after that enormous shadow cast by his brother. He could sympathize - Dusk knows he wouldn't even dare to match blades against his brother. He had turned to books and magic in his pursuit to find a path that Xander hadn't already trodden upon. So in that regard, Leo could praise Corrin's bravery in attempting to match the crown prince in swordplay.

Though, perhaps, he could also criticize Corrin for his foolishness in dueling Xander at his own craft. The younger prince hadn't even landed a glancing blow in this spar yet.

That was a little disappointing for the reclusive prince that his siblings had taken quite the shine to. And given Xander's praise for him on the trip to this gloomy fortress, Leo would have thought Corrin to be some sort of budding swordmaster. Leo suspected his sisters would be a little upset with Xander if poor Corrin was battered too much more than this. He sighed, and watched as Xander bested Corrin in yet another exchange of blows.

'I hope you've taken something useful from the last couple of weeks."

Crown Prince Xander

Across from him, Xander raised an eyebrow at the sight of Corrin abandoning all pretense of caution and dashing forward towards him with almost reckless abandon, sword poised for a wild swinging arc.

'Surely, the little prince doesn't expect this to actually work?'

Xander honestly had started to look forward to these practice spars - despite being cooped up far away from others, the young prince had taken to his tutorage with almost maniacal enthusiasm and drive. Though his visits were not quite as numerous as dear Elise, each time Corrin had shown visible and huge leaps in skill. While he was supremely confident in his own ability, he had honestly thought that Corrin would catch up to him in swordplay relatively soon. A small sigh, as he raised his blade for the parry-step-strike that would end this bout...

The young prince launched himself backwards into the air, sword swinging as gracelessly as expected. That was still a predictable action and Xander had parried the blow with ease and stepped forward to punish his airborne brother who was wide-open to attack. There would be no escape as Corrin had committed himself into the air.

A tiny smirk was the only warning he got, as his eyes widened. Xander reeled backwards as a bolt of chilling frost struck his sword arm. Numbed, he heard one of the maids gasp, but had no time to see which one before Corrin rebounded off the ground and was once more within his guard. Without hesitation, he gripped his sword with his other hand.

The two princes stared at each other, each with their blades to the other's neck.

Xander was the first to break the silence, frowning slightly. "Bringing magic to a swordfight? And when did you even learn magic?"

A roguish grin. "You've never said our spars were limited to only swords. And brother Leo's been teaching me the last few times he's come by and Flora's been really helpful in between visits." Corrin then visibly deflated. "Even then, you still recovered so fast. You're really amazing, Xander."

The crown prince chuckled, as he sheathed his sword. "I suppose I did not set any rules to our spar. Well done yourself, little prince. I will concede that I was taken off-guard by that last move of yours. Truly, you're getting stronger every day. Mixing both magic and swordplay? If you continue to improve at the rate you are, someday, you will become the greatest warrior in all of Nohr."

Corrin's smile returned at that. "Thanks, Xander, but I think that's a bit too much teasing from you. And I definitely couldn't have done it without your and Leo's tough love anyways."

"I don't recall teaching you ice magics though. And we'll certainly have to talk about how sloppily crafted that spell was. I thought I taught you better than that!"

Leo strode up to them with an expression torn between indignation and satisfaction, the maids following close by. Felicia visibly bouncing in excitement, while Flora smiled with an expression of pride.

"Ah, haha. Well, it was a pretty spur of the moment idea since Xander was beating me to a pulp, you know?" Corrin scratched his head bashfully. "You weren't here all the time, so Flora's been helping me out quite a bit with what she knows of the Ice Tribe's magic."

"Apologies, Lord Leo, but I'm afraid I'm not very good with the fire magics you were tutoring Lord Corrin in myself and Lord Corrin really wanted to practice while you weren't here," the mentioned blue-haired maid said. "Congratulations, Lord Corrin."

"Yeah, that was amazing! I'm so happy for you, Corrin!" Felicia cut in enthusiastically, the pink-haired maid almost jumping in excitement.

Sighing, Leo shook his head before turning back towards Corrin and Xander. "Fair enough, I suppose. We can work on it at some later date. But for now, well done, Corrin. Are you losing your touch, Xander?"

"Not at all. The little prince has certainly improved his technique at an astounding rate. I was genuinely caught off-guard with that little trick at the end," replied the crown prince.

The slight groaning of the rusted door was the only warning anyone had, before a princess-shaped missile barreled into Corrin.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there Elise! I'm still a little sore there!" Corrin laughed.

"You won, right? I was really worried about you, you know, but yayyyy, you won! I knew you could do it!" squealed the adorable pig-tailed blonde princess as she spun around Corrin. She stopped when Corrin winced, and turned to pout at Xander, "Big brother, you didn't have to hit Corrin so hard! Now I can't give him all the hugs!"

"I agree. Brother Xander is quite the brute. Do you need to lie down, Corrin? I can take extra-special care of you…"

Frowning, Xander turned to the speaker and said, "That's hardly fair, Camilla. He wouldn't learn if I went too easy on him and he's certainly proven that he's hardly one to be underestimated."

The lavender-haired woman that entered the room merely shook her head. "There, there, Corrin. Let your dear older sister take care of any bruises Xander gave you." Xander grumbled under his breath, a little indignant at his sister's ridiculous bias. She paused for a second, as she turned quizzically towards one of her other siblings. "Leo, dear, did you know that your collar is inside out?"

Xander glanced over to see that indeed, that was the case. Though judging by the smug look on Corrin's face, his opponent had realized the whole time and had just chosen not to inform poor Leo.

"W-what?! Ugh, why didn't anyone tell me earlier?!" Embarrassed, Leo rushed out the door amidst the chuckling of his siblings.

"That said, Corrin, Jakob has prepared quite a feast downstairs to commemorate the occasion," Camilla said. Eyes twinkling, she teased, "And I brought some more of the sugary treats that you liked so much last time. Though you will have to share them with Elise."

Corrin and Elise both cheered at that. Flora looked like she was going to say something, but ultimately decided to just resignedly smile as her lord and the young princess dashed out the room with childish glee. "Lady Camilla, you spoil them too much."

"But of course, it is the duty of the elder sister to spoil all her younger siblings!"

"And poke fun at your elder brother?" lamented Xander. Xander hung his head in defeat when his sister immediately, without hesitation, nodded cheerfully. He quickly perked up though. "Though, whatever the little prince's butler has cooked up does smell absolutely delightful. I dare say Peri might be interested in some of his recipes."

The crown prince of Nohr, along with Camilla and the two maids, exited the room to join the revelry downstairs with smiles on their faces.

Princess Elise

"Really?! Father really said that?"

"Yep! Isn't that wonderful?! Now I can spend even more time with brother!" The excitable blonde princess giggled at the dumbfounded expression on Corrin's face. "I'm so happy, I can introduce you to Effie and Arthur and all the…"

Camilla patted her on the head. "Breath, Elise, breathe. But yes, Corrin, you can finally leave this drafty fortress. You won't be lonely anymore, stuck here and separated from the rest of the world..."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Corrin turned towards brother Xander and brother Leo, opening his mouth.

"Yes, yes, Father said that. You don't need to ask again, be more proud of your achievements! And really, I'm almost offended that you would think of us cruel enough to lie to you about this anyways." Leo exasperatedly preempted, tugging at his collar. Teehee, he's been really worried about that all day after Camilla pointed it out.

"Truly. Your growth has been a joy to watch and Father is quite interested in meeting you. I have, after all, only had good things to say about you," said Xander. Xander's always looking out for all of us, after all!

She turned to Corrin, smiling. Now he could finally leave this lonely place forever! Whenever Elise thought of poor Corrin, by himself in this gloomy place, it made her sad. He was always so interested in hearing her talk about her friends and all the little things like how yellow the sunflower she picked up the other day was. She didn't like that he couldn't do any of the things she did himself. And...

"Corrin?" Was he crying? Why are you upset? Elise walked over and gave him a hug. She always did when she came to visit Corrin.

Her brother wiped his eyes before patting her on the head. "I… I can't thank you all enough. Wow. Maybe I can join you all as a soldier of Nohr? I still can't believe it…"

Already, he was thinking of work and fighting and boring things. Elise pouted. "Don't think about that yet, silly. I have to show you all around Windmire and all the stores and all the flowers-"

Camilla cut her off again. Mouuuu, but Corrin really needed to see all of that. She needed to start plotting ways to get Corrin to play with her.

"We can iron out the details later, but no need to thank us. We're just as glad to be able to see you more," said Xander.

"Everyone…" Corrin swallowed with repressed emotion. "Thank you. I won't let you down!"

As if there was anything he could do that would ever! Silly Corrin!

Princess Camilla

"Jeez, what's taking them so long? Brrr..." Dear Elise was positively shivering, poor thing.

Camilla glanced at the target of Elise's indignation. Dear Corrin was standing motionless at the gate, staring back at that prison fortress he called home. She quelled the worry and urge to go over and hug him that rose in her heart. This would have to be something dear Corrin would have to come to terms with himself.

Though, she noted, it looked like she had nothing to worry about as her brother's servants gathered around him. Awww, the maids were giving him hugs...! How adorable. If only Camilla could be part of that! Or if Beruka and Selena could show a bit more affection like that... Perhaps she should spend more time with her lovely retainers herself?

Beside her, Xander was smiling at the sight of Sir Gunter and Jakob bowing to Corrin. Truly, dear Corrin had turned his servants into a second family. Camilla was almost a little jealous - though her brother deserved all the love he could get.

Oh? It looks like Corrin was giving a little speech to them! That's her brother!

Unfortunately, poor Elise really was getting a little too cold and impatient. "Hey, hey, hurry up, Corrin, hurry up! It's cold out here and it's a long ride!"

"How long are you planning on keeping us waiting?" She glanced to see Leo shivering too. It wasn't that cold, was it?

But more importantly, "Don't whine, dear Leo. It's hardly befitting of your station, you know?"

"Elise and Leo do have the right idea. We really should be on our way. We mustn't keep Father waiting too long." Xander, ever the serious one.

Corrin's face was like the sun as he turned towards them and even Leo couldn't help but smile at that. 'The rising star that will bring light to the darkness that shrouds Nohr" indeed.' Xander's words echoed in her mind.

Truly, her brother was destined for great things. And she would be with him as much as she could, helping every step of the way.

A/N: This is mostly an idea that I've been unable to shake off myself for the greater part of a year. A retelling of Fates without the presence of Anankos or Lilith or any of the Deeprealm shenanigans. More importantly, no dragonstone - Corrin is just yet another royal here albeit one with pretty important ties to both Nohr and Hoshido. So this story won't adhere very strictly if at all to the canon story - I have no desire to retell the original story and it wouldn't make sense anyways without some of the dragon background.

I also haven't written anything in years, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.