At one time, there were two nations at peace. Their names were Hoshido and Nohr. These nations held stark contrasts in ruling, climate, terrain, ethics and religion, but they still were able to keep at peace with one another, trading for resources to keep the kingdoms alive, and entering one another's celebrations.

I myself have lived through the entirety of the war. The time of peace was but a fairy tale to me. Most of my waking hours were filled with training in swordplay and magic, under the watchful eye of my father, King Garon. Before conflict escalated, he was stern, yet kindred, but after some time he became cold. My elder brother, Xander, wished to deny the change, and still obeyed every word he said, and did not question him.

My elder sister, Camilla, denied change as well, yet could not help but have doubt in him. My young sister, Elise, had barely known father before the change, and so she had no two views for a long while.

Father despised my doubting behavior. Blunt as that, he just despised it. He wanted me to be like my other siblings, constantly obedient and unquestioning. When they were around, I did act obedient, yet still asked questions within my mind. Whenever I questioned him or went about an order a different way, I was punished. At first with words, and soon enough, actions.

Instead of complying and growing obedient, I had adapted to punishment. When I were to get punished by any sort of physical method, I'd wear an extra undershirt or two to cushion the pain. I had grown numb to voices, and grown more passive with each punishment.

My brother eventually started to grow tired of my attempts to open his eyes, and soon enough turned to me to say my words were empty. After that, I grew quiet toward my siblings.

Leo

At one point my passive but doubtful actions had gotten me thrown out of Krackenburg. I had assumed at the time that father had issued the command, but it turns out my teacher, Iago, had thrown me out, both out of spite and disapproval.

I ended up laying at the feet of another King, King Sumeragi, of Hoshido. He was about to enter the castle in an attempt to quell the tense between the nations with negotiation. Once he saw me out there, for some reason that befuddles me to this day, he took me up from the cold floor, I was the age of about ten at the time, and brought me to the prosperous nation.

Shortly after, he sent a messenger back to Nohr to notify Garon that I was safe, and was only brought out of the cold of the street.

The messenger did not make it.

"Child." I was startled out of prodding the unfamiliar meal that had been placed before me. I dropped the utensil I was given to eat with, two sticks that I was to place between my fingers to grab food with, which I was failing miserably at doing (it's harder than it looks). They clattered against the table in a wooden echo. My eyes met the stern yet kind eyes of the foreign king.

"Y-Yes, sir?" I managed to utter, and the room fell to silence again. Footsteps echoed from the hall, light, but quick, like an excited child. The footsteps made their way to the room, where the door slid open, but I couldn't see who or what had entered.

Small fingers grabbed the table, and I caught a quick glimpse of a face as they tried to jump up to see. They had auburn-orange eyes similar to my own, and surprisingly long gray hair for how old he looked.

The king looked at the child. He chuckled slightly. "Takumi, did you come to see our guest?"

"Uh-huh!" The child responded wordlessly. He struggled to climb up onto the chair across from me, and had to kneel on it. He stared at me, his eyes blinked, having probably never seen a Nohrian man before.

A servant to the king entered with another platter of breakfast, a sort of egg with rice on the side, before the child, and a pair of sticks. He picked them up and started to almost expertly pick the meal apart and eat it, never taking his eyes off me. He noticed that I didn't touch my food, and assumed that I struggled with the sticks I needed to use to pick it up. He attempted to show me how to use it, and with how exaggerated his motions were, it gave me a chuckle.

The King watched the open doorway, as if waiting for someone.

"Where are those two?" He asked, before putting a hand to his face, thinking.

"Sorry, Father!" I heard a voice enter in. Two figures, a taller, long, brown haired prince whose hair almost reminded me of lobster for some reason, entered in after a shorter, red-haired princess, who seemed to be at least four or five years older than me.

"We had went to see Mother and our new sister this morning." The tall son explained, facing his father. "We didn't realize Takumi ran out of mother's room." He glanced at the child called Takumi, who just responded with a giggle. He smiled slightly and took a seat next to him, ruffling his hair. Soon his eyes met mine as well, but his eyes revealed a startled expression. I looked to the other sibling, whose expression also betrayed that thought.

The king seemed to notice this, and told them with a firm yet reassuring voice, "Ryoma, Hinoka. The boy is our guest."

"Guest? But why?" The one I assumed was Hinoka spoke up. "He's Nohrian." She seemed to put special emphasis on the word. My eyes slowly averted, as I felt the hostility that grew in the room.

The servants had returned with a plate for both of the other royals who entered the room, and after they left again, the king spoke yet again. "It seems the situation within Nohr has worsened." He closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Do you know who this is?"

The room was silent.

"This is the youngest Nohrian prince, Prince Leo. He was," He paused, "thrown out of home, for what reason, I do not know."

"I protested what father had ordered, sir. He wanted to plot an ambush." My voice weakened at the end, I felt wrong for saying that, but it also felt as if pressure was lifted from my chest. They all stared at me, before I went back to poking at my food. Takumi seemed confused, as he tried to keep everything he was hearing in order, but eventually gave up, and went back to eating.

The dining room remained in such silence that sounds down the halls entered in and could be heard clearly.

"I see." Ryoma says, finally breaking the silence. "It is unfortunate that you have to go through such turmoil at home."

"Father!" Takumi spoke up. He set his utensils down, and stood on his chair. "If things are so bad in Noh- Nohr, why not have him come to little sister's birth cele- celebration?"

Sumeragi thought about the proposal for a few minutes, before nodding. "That sounds plausible, Takumi." He looked over at me. "You probably want another perspective, anyways."

"Yes, erm, thank you, sir."

"You may call me Sumeragi." Once everyone finished their meals, he got up. "Let's find you some clothing more fitting for a celebration." I slowly complied and followed him, Takumi following behind us.

I was led to a room with smaller stalls in it, and the king left. He came back with a black and white kimono in hand, with white flowers on the black cloth. The clothing was odd, as it looked like a dress, but he had insisted that this traditional wear was meant for both men and women to wear. Having been taught what I assumed were only lies about the nation of Hoshido, I believed him, and took the kimono in to put on. The king stepped out as I did so, but partway through, the door was slid open again by a very vocal Takumi, who started calling out to me to hurry up, though he was a couple years younger, and a foot or two shorter.

Luckily I was just about completely dressed when he entered to command me to hurry, and I slipped into the sleeves of the kimono. I looked into the mirror for a second and was surprised as how oddly fitting the kimono looked on me, and how soft and silky it felt. I heard Takumi speak behind me, whatever he said was illegible to me, but he looked at me and said it again. I shook my head and opened the door, wondering if he was talking in the kingdom's native tongue.

Sumeragi had been waiting for us to be ready, and turned to face us. I had noticed he had kept his armor on and attempted to point it out. He shook his head.

"No matter the occasion, a king must keep his armor on, especially in this time of war, there is too much of a risk of attack."

"Then why do you celebrate, no matter the risk?" I asked, feeling that there was a gap in reason.

Sumeragi thought, as us three started to walk down the hallway to meet up with Hinoka and Ryoma. He eventually opened his mouth again, and responded, "That would be robbing our kingdom of traditions because of conflicts. Tell me, do you know about the Festival of Bonds?"

The Festival of Bonds, I thought, I've only heard stories of that celebration. I looked over and shook my head.

"Never? That's quite disappointing. It was a celebration where the nations came together and celebrated the similarities between one another, no matter if there was war or peace." He explained to me, and I finally understood his point.

"Big brother!" Takumi bumped into me and ran down the hall, to where Ryoma, Hinoka, and another woman, with red-pink hair, holding an infant were. He hugged his older brother, and turned to Sumeragi and I. "Hurry up, slowpoke!" He yelled, prompting me to quicken my pace, in an attempt to respect their time. The woman behind the two royals looked over at me. She smiled, and bowed slightly.

"Hello." She greeted, adding to my confusion. She laughed slightly and she added, "You look nice in that kimono, prince Leo."

"Th-thank you?" I managed, questions raising about the friendliness of these royals towards me. I was an enemy, why am I accompanying them to a celebration?

I was thrown from my questions as the woman, dressed in a white kimono, said, "I am Queen Ikona." Takumi pulled away from Ryoma and went over to his mother, who crouched down and affectionately rubbed his head. As she crouched down, I was able to see the child she held in her arms clearly. She was a very small one, already with a full head of pink hair like her mother's. Her darker brown eyes were open, and I felt that she was staring directly at me. Ikona soon stood up, and looked at me again. She then held the child out to me so I could see her clearly.

Her eyes closed again and she seemed sound asleep.

"Her name is Sakura." Hinoka spoke as she came over near me. She still had little trust in me, and I understood why.

"Like the blossoms on those trees?" I asked, and Hinoka nodded in response. It seemed a fitting name, I thought, I wasn't sure why, but it did.

Everyone was drawn out from looking at the new life by King Sumeragi clearing his throat. He had went ahead while we all were distracted. "There's less than an hour left before it starts. Let us get going."

"Of course." Queen Ikona got up onto her feet and walked ahead to Sumeragi's side. He wrapped an arm around her before planting a kiss on her lips, and let go, to stroke their new daughter's head, and plant another kiss on her forehead.

Yet with the kind-hearted mood this area was in, I couldn't help but feel a knot of dread form in my stomach.

We were in the throne room of the castle, a massive place, all up around the throne where the Queen sat, the King standing beside her. I watched as the many Hoshidans started to enter in. Each held some form of gift, from food to drink to clothing and everything between. While some gifts were for the King, Queen, and their children, each Hoshidan was gifting one another. I saw a man gift a child with a new kimono. The child was wearing old, worn out clothing, and seemed to appreciate the gift. There was music, song, and mostly a calming and joyous air about the place.

A few individuals came in late.

A man with paler skin and somewhat messy black hair, dressed in an Onymoji's robing, and a few Diviners. The Onymoji looked familiar to me, yet, I couldn't place my tongue on why. The celebration continued late into the night, and by that time I could barely keep my eyes open, I had been given multiple flowers adorning myself, as the Hoshidans paid little mind to me as opposition.

I had walked into the crowd to get a feel for the foreign sensation that radiated through. Soon enough, the feeling of the knot in my stomach came back, and I went back to the throne in an attempt to communicate my unease. I went up to the throne to speak to the Queen, and as soon as I opened my mouth to emit an utter, a scream erupted through the crowd.

I turned in time to see a dagger fly through the parting crowd, and in my frozen fear, the dagger launched past me, and I felt something warm hit the side of my face. Liquid. I touched my face, and pulled my fingers away. Blood. The Queen! I turned to her, and saw her still, and unresponsive. Sumeragi had already leapt into action and drew the Raijinto, running into the crowd to fight.

Through her chest had went the dagger, killing her instantly. I glanced to Takumi, whose expression screamed trauma, and he was frozen there. The Hoshidans who had no weapons attempted to run, as more Nohrian soldiers entered to back up the assailants. A Diviner's weapon skidded over to me, and I slowly picked it up, and noticed that a Nohrian soldier had gotten up behind Takumi, and raised his lance to strike.

"Prince Takumi!" I shouted, the words barely escaping my lips as I ran toward the defenseless prince and shoved him out of the way. The lance grazed my side, drawing blood, and tearing the kimono. Without hesitation and on complete instinct, I raised the weapon in my hand, and it drifted out, becoming the multiple charms that danced in front of a Diviner. The soldier realized who he had attacked, and his expression grew terrified, as a red oxen exited the ring, and stampeded through his chest, killing him.

The sounds of the battle around me blurred into silence, as I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears. The soldier remained still, and I was once again frozen. I had killed a man, I had thought in terror, and not just that, a Nohrian man. Something moved in front of me, as fire blasted across to both sides of me. Ryoma had blocked a Fire spell from hitting me, and Hinoka had swiftly stabbed the mage with her naginata. He looked back at me, and ordered me to run. I complied, running to the doors next to the throne, before I paused, hearing crying, I looked to the queen's body, seeing that the infantile princess Sakura was still laying there. I hesitated for a second, before grabbing the child, and escaping with her out the door.

It was at that time that Iago had noticed that Leo escaped into the castle's interior. Assuming he was a Hoshidan trying to escape, he looked to an Outlaw beside him and ordered, "That rat's escaping. After him, leave no survivors!" The outlaw nodded and went after him. At the same time Leo had ducked into a room and took cover in a closet in the messy room, trying to calm the sobbing infant in his arms.

(Hello! I'm brand new to this site and the last few times I tried to upload the story, it was giving me issues, so I'm crossing my fingers it works this time. I've had inspiration for this story and many others for a while, and I would love feedback on this story. Also, I'm uploading this story by phone since I don't have a computer, so some features may be an issue for me to use like indents. Also, that many views on the first day? That's awesome, and I took the advice of my first reviewer, I'm sorry I forgot your name, and compiled the first few chapters into a well flowing full chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations or their names stated in this story. Some characters may be slightly out of character for reasons of mine to shape them as developed characters, or some difficulty of understanding the character, but I'm doing my best!)