Author's note:

This story was written in its entirety before uploading, and was initially intended to be a oneshot before length demanded it be split. In light of that, it would be best to read to the end before reviewing. Thank you :)


The Little Things


I. Monotony

March 8: Noon

"Now what should I do?" Felicia murmured to herself, tapping her chin thoughtfully. She watched Corrin lying slumped over his desk, breathing deeply and evenly. He looked so peaceful; his sleeping face brought a smile to hers. Really, she wanted to let him sleep.

"And he told me not to interrupt him," she added, still talking to herself. "Well not me, but anyone." Felicia faked a deep voice, puffing out her chest: "'No disturbances, Felicia! I need this time to work!'" Then the maid deflated with a sigh. "That wasn't even a good impression… He was polite about it, obviously."

Returning her attention to the sleeping dragon prince, she frowned at the papers Corrin was currently drooling on. "…That paperwork may be the reason he's so sleepy, but they're still important enough to save," Felicia whispered. "I think he'll understand if I wake him up… after all, he wanted this time to work, anyways."

Her hands fidgeted indecisively as she continued to watch him sleep.

"…Maybe I'll just tap him on the shoulder," Felicia pondered, "and then, while he's gathering his bearings, I'll book it out of the room! He won't even know I was here!"

She didn't make a move.

"Or," she thought with a sigh, "I could just wake him up like a normal human being." Shaking her head, she finally approached Corrin. The maid bent over to place her hand on his shoulder and gently shake him; "Lord Corrin?"

"Mmph."

Felicia couldn't help but smile as Corrin came to, blinking his eyes rapidly. "I know you said I shouldn't disturb you, but I could hear your snoring from outside."

"Mnhh…" Corrin rubbed his eyes sullenly, sitting up in his chair. "…Thanks, Felicia."

Felicia clasped her hands behind her back, leaning over his shoulder and squinting at the papers he was now clumsily wiping his own drool from. "'Proposal for trade negoti…' Corrin, are you writing this?"

Corrin took a moment to stretch his arms, and after that, he cleared his throat and reached for his pen. "Yeah." He gestured vaguely at the papers scattered across his desk. "For the meeting coming up, Ryoma asked if I'd mediate. Entails writing a proposal and presenting it to the Nohrian… advisory… council, thing." Corrin trailed off with a yawn. "The governing body, whatever."

"Okay… but why are you writing the proposal yourself? You're royalty, so someone should be writing this for you, right?" Felicia mock-gasped; "Unless you've been a commoner like me all along?! Boy, that'd be a shock!"

Corrin waved away her joke. "Yeah, normally I'd only have to present it, but I told my brother I'd write it too. Something… haaaaa." He yawned again. "Something to keep me busy, you know?"

"Busy," Felicia scoffed. "This isn't 'busy,' this is 'swamped.' Corrin, you passed out while working!"

Corrin grunted dismissively. "At least I'm getting sleep somehow."

She hesitated. "…What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Corrin muttered, regretting what he'd said. Sure enough, Felicia was abuzz with concern, checking his forehead, his pupils, his… pulse. "Gods, Felicia, I'm not dead, I've just been… Sheesh." He caught her wrist, prying it away, gently indicating Felicia to back off. "I've just had some trouble sleeping lately."

Felicia pursed her lips as she watched Corrin's surly expression. What she'd misconstrued as tired grumpiness was, she now realized, actual negativity. Same old, same old, unfortunately. He'd been like this for a while.

"Well, you should stop this," Felicia ordered. "Just pass it off to someone else! This is stressing you out too much."

When she reached over to snatch the pen from his fingers, he leaned away and stopped her hand. "I'm fine," he snapped. "Could you just get me some tea?"

Felicia pouted. "Please don't tell me you're going to work on this all day?"

"No, I'm not," Corrin muttered. "In case you forgot, I have guests to greet this afternoon, too. And before that I have messengers to speak to, and then the Hoshidan financial staff, and if I'm lucky then lunch will—"

"Okay!" Felicia exclaimed, putting her hands up defensively. "Okay, I'll get you some tea and leave you alone. But call for me if you aren't feeling well, all right?"

"Sure."

As the door closed behind Felicia, Corrin couldn't help but shake his head. 'If I'm not feeling well'… Felicia, I haven't been well for a very long time.


March 8: Late Afternoon

Corrin blinked rapidly when Jakob's elbow nudged him to attention; he clasped his hands together patiently and continued waiting for the front gates of the fort to finish slowly creaking open. "Thanks," Corrin muttered to his butler, who merely inclined his head in acknowledgement.

The prince rubbed his eye and yawned. He could hardly even remember who was supposed to arrive today. Nohrians, he recalled. Something about budget discussion. Couldn't wait, of course, for him to meet with the Advisory Council in just a couple of weeks. What they had to discuss with him was just too important.

Soon, the gates were open, and an opulent convoy of carriages lugged inside. The next few minutes were an exhausted haze as Corrin shook hand after hand, thanking a bunch of strangers for taking time out of their day to come take time out of Corrin's too. When it was done, Jakob led the guests to their rooms, leaving Corrin alone at last; he took the time to lean against one of the carriages and catch his breath.

They'll be busy with themselves until the morning, Corrin thought. I can't progress much farther on my proposal without their input, so I guess I'll… wait for them.

He froze.

…Free time? Seriously? Wow. What should I do? I know what Felicia would want me to do, but—

"Corrin, dear!"

The prince's head swiveled toward the voice, and immediately he broke into a wide smile. "C-Camilla?! Is that—?"

The Nohrian princess cut him off with a tight hug. "Oh, goodness, you've grown so much since I last saw you! How have you been, darling? How are your Hoshidan siblings? No wait, I don't care, tell me about you!"

Corrin pried himself out of the (more or less) chokehold. "Gods, Camilla, I'm an adult, I'm not going to get any taller—and certainly not after just three months," he chided, but he couldn't not smile. "It's been so long…! I'm so glad to see you, Camilla." He shook his head. "Wh-What brings you all the way over here? I thought it was just going to be some stuffy Nohrian bureaucrats."

"Tsk, tsk!" Camilla tapped him on the nose with each tsk. "You forget, sweetie, that since the war is now over, I myself am a stuffy Nohrian bureaucrat! So, as much as I would love to say I only came this far for you, I am in fact here for work. The same work as yours, I would imagine."

"Oh." Corrin shook his head, fighting the creeping cynicism. "Well, I, I'm glad you could make it regardless. Thank you so much."

"Of course, dear," she said, tapping his nose affectionately once again. "Now, I'm afraid I will be busy for the rest of the afternoon, but I'll meet you for breakfast in the morning, okay?"

"Absolutely." Corrin hugged Camilla again, and the princess was on her way.

As Corrin watched her go, the cynicism slunk back in. My sister comes to visit, and I'll barely have time to see her. Her free time won't even overlap with mine for the most part.

Gods. This is awful.

Why couldn't…

"…rrin?"

He sighed deeply. This really figures. This is just a microcosm of my postwar life. Plenty of family but no time to enjoy them. What I wouldn't give for…

"Helloooo, Corrin?"

Corrin looked around, surprised, before his eyes settled on—"E-Elise!" He laughed. "Oh, gods, I can't believe you're here too!"

"I know, right?" Elise clasped her hands behind her back and approached, smirking coyly. "Soooo. How much didja miss me. A lot? Or a WHOLE lot?"

"Definitely a whole lot," Corrin chuckled. "It's so good to see you, Elise. I've missed you so much."

"Oh, I'm sure," Elise said cheerfully, "and I missed you even more (don't fight me on this one), but here I am!" She gestured down at herself, and Corrin's eyes followed down her dress. Her usual wear, neat and well-kept.

"Very regal," he said, nodding. "So, are you gonna give me a hug, or…?"

"Like you have to ask!"

Giggling, Elise immediately leapt onto Corrin, throwing her arms around his neck. He effortlessly lifted her and spun her in a laughing embrace.

Soon, Corrin put her down; Elise backed away a bit.

"Elise," Corrin said, and his expression grew serious. "Please tell me you aren't here for work."

"Sorry, but yeah, I'm a real bigwig around Nohr lately," Elise said, nodding gravely. "You see, I'm very important, and I do very important things, like, uh…" She paused to scratch her head. "…Finance… stuff. Just like Big Sister."

Corrin squinted, watching her expression.

Elise quickly caved under Corrin's scrutiny. "Okay, okay, I'm kidding! I'm TOTALLY free!" She punched his shoulder playfully. "Really, I just came here to see you. And, I'm glad to see you. Really."

Relief washed over Corrin like it hadn't in a long time. "Oh, thank the gods. I actually get to spend time with you."

"It's been WAY too long," Elise urged. "I haven't seen you since, like, the end of the war! We've got so much to catch up on." She lunged for his hand, taking it in both of hers. "Let's hang out, right now!"

"O-Of course," Corrin stammered. Soon, she was dragging him away by the hand.

A giddy little smile grew on his face, and he didn't even try to resist.

Anything to get away from it all.


"Geez, this fort's so crowded," Elise muttered under her breath. She put her hands on her hips and surveyed the hallway ahead.

Corrin soon caught up to her, followed her eye, and sighed. The hall was bustling with people, Nohrian and Hoshidan both: soldiers, nobles, workers. "Yeah. Busy times, I guess." He glanced at Elise and gestured at the masses. "So, want to start wading through that mess?"

Elise scrunched up her face in thought. "Hmmmm…" She shook her head. "Nah. Even if we got somewhere, it would still be super noisy." She smiled at Corrin. "Honestly, I kinda wanted you all to myself this afternoon."

A grin creeped across Corrin's expression. He was about to respond, but Elise cut him off by latching onto his arm excitedly: "Ooh, follow me! I bet I can find us somewhere quiet outside of this cramped castle."

So, again, Corrin was left smiling and letting Elise drag him around. Not that he minded in the least. The alternative was—work. Nngh, and just thinking about it dredged up stress he didn't need. He squeezed his eyes shut to kick out those thoughts before they could ruin his mood. Had to keep spirits high around Elise. He couldn't possibly bear making her as—as sour as him.

He opened his eyes, and there was… green. Sunlit grass. They had left the castle behind while he wasn't paying attention, and now they were running through the afternoon plains surrounding the fort. When Corrin's gaze shifted from the area to Elise, hearing her melodic laugh ringing out, he realized that to think he could ruin her mood was a foolish thought. Elise was not the type to absorb the mood from others; she was always the one to set the mood, leaving others to match her cheer.

Corrin needed that.

Elise pointed ahead. "There, over there! Oh, that tree's perfect!"

Corrin had to agree. The tree Elise was pointing to stood alone atop a hill overlooking the plains. If Elise wanted a relaxing setting to speak with him, under the shade of a lonely oak would be perfect.

Corrin and Elise slowed to a walk as they neared the top of the hill. Both panted slightly for breath, and Elise sprawled out under the tree's shadow, grinning widely, while Corrin leaned against the trunk to catch his breath.

"Th…There we go," Elise breathed. "Isn't this place nice?"

Corrin sat down with his back against the tree, and immediately his eye caught the fort in the distance. They must've walked nearly half a mile away. "This is… a little farther than I thought."

"Ah, but it's no big deal, right?" Elise pulled herself to a sitting position with a little oof.

"No, definitely not." Corrin smiled at the princess. "I'm glad to be here, Elise."

She beamed. "Me too." Then, she rubbed her hands together, enthusiasm brewing a smile on her expression: "So let's catch up! What've you been up to?"

Corrin sighed. "Work." He hated to even think; thoughts of it threatened to sour this moment. "I've got this… big thing of paperwork. I have to present it to the Nohrian Advis—" He cut himself off, looking away from Elise. "…Nah, it's boring. Don't worry about it."

Elise watched him cautiously for a moment. "…Seems like it's stressing you out."

Corrin couldn't help but laugh. She'd always been so good at seeing through him. "Haha, you could say that, yeah."

"If you wanted, you could bounce it off of me," the princess offered. "Read it to me like I'm your audience."

Corrin frowned. "Would you be alright with that?"

Elise shrugged with a smirk. "Why not! I'd love to see Business Corrin. In-The-Zone Corrin. Super-Serious-Face Corrin. Corrin-Being-All-Real-And-Stuff. Corrin—"

Corrin put up a quieting hand. "Got it," he chuckled. "Next time we meet up, I could bring it. I'll warn you now that it isn't exciting, though."

Elise tapped her chin. "So when can we meet up?"

"I think…" Corrin trailed off as his calendar came to mind. "Let's see… for the next couple of weeks, I'll be spending the days working. I'll be talking to the Nohrian and Hoshidan finance committees a lot, but they'll always be done by the evening."

Elise brightened. "So you mean—!"

"Y-Yeah, it looks like I'll always have my evenings free," Corrin murmured, almost disbelievingly. His face was still wrung out in confusion when Elise threw her arms around his neck with giggling glee. I can't believe I'll have that much free time…

"That's AWESOME!" Elise laughed. "We'll have so much time to spend together! Ooh, and we could make this oak tree our meeting point every day!"

Corrin sighed, his spirits deflating. "But I should be using that time for working. The proposal has to be ready by the time the Advisory Board can see me."

Elise puffed her cheeks out and pulled away to give the prince a serious look. "But it would be working, remember? I'm helping you!"

Corrin rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Elise. I'm sorry, but I'll be busy."

"Or!" Elise put her hands on his knees urgently. "Portion it out. Look at all you have to do, divide it up, and only do part of it every day. Okay?"

"That's…" Corrin found his resolve deflating. "That's a good idea and all, but—"

"Plus, if you're not working yourself to the bone every day," Elise pinched Corrin's arm to emphasize her point, "then you'll be happier!"

Corrin mulled it over for a bit, sighing again.

Elise smiled wider, nudging him. "…And that's what I'm here for, isn't it? To make you happier?"

The prince sighed again. "Gods, Elise… Why is it so hard to argue with you?"

"You know exactly why," Elise giggled, and she stood. She put her hands on her hips as Corrin rose as well; "I am PERSONALLY making it my job to help you enjoy yourself for my whole stay here! And you know that me and Camilla aren't leaving until after your little meeting with Big Brother, so I've got plenty of time."

"Big Broth—?" Corrin paused. "Gods, I forgot…! The king of Nohr has to be at the meeting!"

"Xander'll be so happy to see you," Elise giggled. "We'll all be united again, just like before!"

Corrin ran a hand through his hair, and a grin slowly sprouted on his expression. "Wow, it's… it's been so long."

"So!" Elise bounced on her toes. "What do you wanna do today?"

Corrin rolled that thought around. "Well… Felicia has said I should get more exercise." He grinned sideways at her, awaiting her expected enthusiasm.

Sure enough, excitement brightened Elise's expression. "Well then! Have I got just the medicine for that!" She immediately lunged to poke his arm: "Tag!"

"Ohoho, you're asking for it!"

Laughing with atypical mirth, Corrin chased Elise as she fled.


March 9: Morning

"Haaaaa…"

For Corrin's first act of the day, he stretched his arms high over his head and released a bellowing yawn. He'd yawned more than his fair share in the last few days, but this one was especially satisfying.

He sat up in his bed, glancing around his empty room. It seemed somehow brighter than it had recently—

Knock, knock. The sound pulled Corrin from thought before he could even lose himself, and he soon noticed the simple clothes Felicia must have left folded by his bed.

"Heya, Lord Corrin," came the spoken devil's voice from outside, revealing herself as the knocker; "are you decent?"

"Just a sec." Corrin swung his legs over the bed, reaching for the pants Felicia had also neatly placed at his bedside for his convenience. As he slid his legs into the soft clothes, he offered in addition, "Good morning, by the way."

There was a pause. Corrin didn't notice at first when Felicia didn't reply, but the silence soon became palpable. When he realized, he put getting dressed on hiatus, and said with concern, "…Felicia?"

"A-Ah, good morning, Lord Corrin!"

Frowning, Corrin resumed dressing himself. He slipped his left arm into the button-up shirt. "Was it that weird?"

"No, no, it was great! I just—you took me by surprise, is all."

"Hm." His right arm went through next. "You can come in now."

Corrin focused on buttoning his shirt as Felicia slunk into the room, quietly nudging the door shut with her foot. "I brought your laundry," the maid added, and Corrin noted the full basket in her arms. "I'll get to folding it. H-How are you, um, feeling?"

"I feel… so much better today," Corrin marveled. I slept so well…

Felicia smiled back while she placed the laundry basket on his desk; she took a towel in her hands. "That must be what happens when family visits~" she sang, placing the folded towel aside and reaching for another. "I'm glad your mood's gotten this much better already. The next step is taking care of yourself, you know? Go grab some breakfast, milord."

Corrin grinned, mock-saluting. "Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, that reminds me: Lady Camilla told me to tell you she's eating her breakfast in the gardens." Felicia gestured out of Corrin's bedroom door with her thumb. "So you'll wanna meet her there with your food."

"Camilla," Corrin murmured, his smile growing more content. So we DO have free time together, thank the gods. "Right."

Felicia stared him in the eye. Intensely: "With your food."

"…Right," Corrin repeated, a little more uncomfortable. "Have I been that bad about it lately?"

"You missed breakfast yesterday. That's why you passed out! Low blood sugar."

"Gotcha. I'll be more careful."

Felicia smiled slightly. "I'm glad." Hands occupied, she gestured out the door with her chin. "Now go, go, don't keep Her Highness waiting!"

"Right, right! Later, Felicia."


Though Corrin left his bedroom smiling, it wasn't long before a new feeling crept from the darker depths of his mind.

Guilt.

Why?

He knew why—or, rather, he was pretty sure he should know why. At the moment, he couldn't put his finger on it. Something he shouldn't be doing. Some feeling he shouldn't be… allowing. Though he slept well last night, it felt cheap, unearned: like he'd cheated for it.

A confusing feeling. He shook his head and pushed it down, back where it came from. He'd sort out the root of it later.


March 9: Breakfast

"Corrrrriiiiiin!"

The prince was already smiling wanly as Camilla left her table to rush him; she'd evidently been watching the door eagerly, waiting for Corrin to enter the sun-kissed gardens. Her arms wrapped around Corrin with the intent of pushing his face into her breasts in her usual motherly hug, but Corrin had had enough practice evading this to be able to place his chin on her shoulder instead; he achieved the much more normal kind of embrace he preferred.

"Hey, Big Sister," Corrin chuckled, patting her on the back. She seemed reluctant to let him go, but she did so regardless even without Corrin's prompting. "Gods, I'm so glad to see you. I thought I was going to be stuck here with a bunch of strangers for the next two weeks."

Camilla nodded. "Oh, I know! I could have worked with the Council directly, you know, instead of coming here. But I couldn't possibly miss this chance to spend some time with my darling baby brother."

"Not a baby," Corrin pointed out. "Anyway, I'll go grab my breakfast. Left it in the hall, since, well, I expected the hug."

Camilla giggled lightly. "Of course, of course. I'll wait for you at the table."


"…Really? The entire proposal?" Camilla frowned. "That's a lot of work, dear."

"Yeah, well, it's not like I have to do all the math on my own," Corrin noted before taking a short swig of his coffee. "The finance committee's there for that. I just have to put all the information on paper and then present it." He smirked slightly over his mug; "Doesn't sound too bad when I put it that way, right?"

"I suppose." She crossed her arms uncertainly. "Truth be told, I'm not even doing all of my part of the proceedings alone, and it's less work than yours. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Yes," Corrin said in a voice that did an excellent job of masking his own doubt. "I've even portioned it out, divvied it up by day. If I do so much of it every day, then I'll have the whole thing done on time. And I've always got Felicia nearby to keep me awake."

Camilla's eyebrow lifted. "My my, it seems you've quite thought this through! I'm impressed, Corrin."

Corrin wanted to mention that it had actually been Elise's idea, but the praise tasted sweet. Eh, she probably wouldn't mind. "Thanks."

They were quiet for a bit, just enjoying their breakfast and each other's company. Bacon, eggs, and family. Sounded like a good time to Corrin.

"What's new with you?" Corrin asked. "Anything exciting since the end of the war?"

"Oho, absolutely not," the princess laughed. "The capital has been dreadfully dull for the last three months, even in a time of change like this. I regret to say I find myself missing the war itself at times."

Corrin almost had a playfully scolding quip for Camilla's admission, but it faded from his tongue as he found himself less and less willing to voice it. He tried to deny the thought, refuse it from entering his mind—but he slowly found himself agreeing with her.

There was no denying the sense of togetherness the war had inspired. The camaraderie. But, in their new peaceful world that they had fought so hard for, he was alone.

Again.

They ate in silence for a while longer. The clinking of silverware and the chirping of birds in the cherry trees provided relaxing ambience for the stepsiblings. After a long moment, Camilla dabbed at her mouth with a napkin, and she placed it, folded, on her plate. Smiling kindly, she broke the silence at last: "We have a meeting to get to."

Corrin paused, setting his fork down. "…'We'?"

"I did tell you my work related to yours, correct? I will be going to the meeting with the financial committee as well." She tilted her head. "Mind sitting next to me, Little Brother?"

"No, not at all," Corrin said, bemused. He picked up his food tray and stood, Camilla following suit soon after. "Let's drop these off and get to it, then."


Corrin was glad he had rested well the previous night, because had he not, the meeting would surely have lulled him to sleep. Hoshidans talking about resources, Nohrians talking about gold, and vice versa. Debating and discussing. Corrin merely had to take notes, fortunately. Mark down important points in the discussion. Anytime they'd mention a number, the cost of some resource, he'd add it to his notes to later put in his proposal. They'd have documents on the subject to share with him later as well.

Truly exciting times we live in, Corrin murmured, hiding a yawn behind his hand. Resting his cheek on his fist, he glanced aside at his sister to see if she was as bored as him. Mystifyingly, Camilla seemed to be paying rigid attention: sitting up, eyes forward, pen working. Unbelievable.

Corrin sighed and returned his attention to his notes.


Corrin's high spirits from that morning had completely dissipated by the time he, Camilla, and the two arguing finance committees flowed from the conference room.

Corrin waved his stack of notes, giving Camilla a halfhearted smile. "Now for the fun part. I get to go add all this crap to my proposal."

Camilla smiled equally wanly. "Good luck with that, dear. I have an 'exciting' paper of my own to write as well, so I suppose this is where we part ways for now."

"Maybe we can grab some breakfast tomorrow, too," Corrin offered.

Camilla nodded, cupping Corrin's cheek in her palm affectionately. "Oh, I certainly look forward to it." Her hand fell away, and she started to walk. "I'll see you then, darling."

"Later, Big Sister."

Corrin stood still for a while longer, Hoshidans and Nohrians still trickling out of the room to pass him by. Dread grew in his chest, and he had to work up some courage to return to his room and work on that godsforsaken proposal. Considering all he'd written down in the meeting, incorporating all of it into his proposal sure seemed intimidating right now.

He huffed impatiently. Well, it wouldn't get any easier if he kept putting it off. He had a quota to meet for today.

The thought of Elise's idea brought a giddy smile to his face.

One day at a time.


March 9: Afternoon

Felicia's eyes brightened as she noticed Corrin approaching her table; past the usual lunch hour, they usually had the lunchroom more or less to themselves at this time. "Hi, Corrin! Ahem, Lord Corrin." She gestured down at her plate. "Meatloaf today!"

Corrin placed his tray on the table and slid into the seat across from his maid. "Yeah, it's great."

Felicia felt a stab from Corrin's tone: a sharp contrast from this morning's cheer. "…Bad day?"

"Normal day."

So a bad day, Felicia thought with a sigh. Corrin was stuffing his mouth now, poignantly avoiding her eye so as to avoid speaking; she knew he probably didn't want to bring her mood down as well. Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Felicia humored him, not forcing conversation. Returning to form, they ran their usual routine of eating lunch together in silence. And when their meals were through, Felicia wished Corrin luck, and he departed for his room to continue working.


March 9: Evening

Corrin felt stupid. Really stupid. He tightly hugged the manuscript, the proposal, to his hip as he neared that same little hill, as if this was something resembling a good idea. Elise was already sitting under the oak tree, her legs folded to one side as she smiled down at a plucked flower in her hands. When she heard his grassy footsteps nearing, her smile widened for him. "You made it!"

Corrin smiled as well, in spite of himself. Her cheer was infectious to a fault; he was grumpy, dammit! He'd actually brought the proposal here, like she had suggested! And for what? "I'm sure you were just kidding yesterday," Corrin said, weakly gesturing with the stack of papers under his arm, "but on the off chance that you meant it, I brought the proposal."

"Ooh!" Elise's smile lowered to show her eagerness. "Yes, sweet! Lay it on me."

Corrin blinked. Slowly, he sat down across from her. "I was… sure you weren't serious. Elise, you remember when I said this is super boring, right?"

"Well yeah, but you wanted help, didn't you?"

"Sure, but—"

"Then let me!"

Corrin was taken aback. Elise's expression was surprisingly serious, and she'd fixated her gaze on Corrin. Almost an aggressive look. And now that he was paying attention, he realized how pointed her words had been: let me.

Elise adjusted to sit on her knees. "So tell me about it, Corrin. What's the proposal for?"

Corrin relaxed into a smile. "Just assuming you've convinced me?"

Elise smirked. "What, am I wrong? Go ahead, tell me no. I dare you."

If Corrin had even considered the dare, he would've had to wrestle himself over it. Why go to that trouble when he could just give the "yes" he knew he'd give anyway? "Hahaha! You're so full of it, Elise!"

"Because I'm right!" She booped him on the nose with her finger. "C'mon, Corrin, I've got you allllll figured out, and you know it."

Corrin shook his head, now smiling widely. "Oh yeah? Well, what am I about to say?"

"You're about—" she touched her gloved fingertips to the sheets in Corrin's hands—"to tell me all about this little project you're working on." She winked. "How'd I do?"

"You did… just fine," Corrin murmured, and he laughed. "Well, if you insist…"

Corrin hefted the stack onto his lap, resting his palm on top. Elise crawled over on all fours to get a glimpse.

"The war between Hoshido and Nohr went on for years, and it's pretty clear that Nohr got the bum end of the deal, even if we're all 'united in friendship' and stuff now. I'm sure I don't have to explain to Nohr's princess that her country's soil isn't the best at growing food." Elise nodded with a smile, and she sat back again, indicating Corrin to continue. "So that's what I'm doing. This proposal," Corrin tapped the stack of papers, "has to do with resource allocation; since Ryoma became High King, he's been pushing for trade agreements to benefit Nohr and, well, to avert future war. I just have to present it to the Nohrian leadership and see if they agree on all of it. And, well, to be honest…" Corrin flipped through the pages. "I think this is pretty generous. They'll be pleasantly surprised, I bet."

Elise shrugged. "Well, Ryoma always struck me as a generous guy! Gotta say, I like the man. Seems like a good fit for king."

"Heh. You're not gonna hear me disagree. I think he's doing great so far."

She nudged him, a tiny smirk on her lips. "You have to say that. He's your brother."

"Wh… But I mean it! I-I mean, look here." Corrin furrowed his eyebrows and leafed through the pages. "Here! Sake trade."

"Oh boy, alcohol! My favorite!"

Corrin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, alcohol is your favorite. You don't even like tea!" While Elise giggled, he shook his head. "Anyway—the numbers are the important bit. Hoshido'll trade that much sake," he pressed his finger into the page, "and he's only asking for…"

As the minutes dragged on—Elise doing a great job of either paying attention or looking like she was paying attention—Corrin lost himself in reciting his speech. The more he spoke, the more he realized he'd have to trim this information down, or organize it more coherently at least. He didn't know if his speech would have a time limit, but he'd at least need to keep his audience's attention.

Plus, rereading his work under Elise's watchful eye, he noticed more than a few typos. None were particularly glaring, or even important, but Corrin smiled at each correction he made. Almost a palpable feeling of forward movement, of progress.

When he glanced up at Elise, he noticed she was smiling too.

I set the mood, he thought, amazed. By being cheerful, I'm making her happy, too.

He grinned a little wider. It wasn't even a big deal. None of this was at all important. Why, then?

A part of Corrin itched, a part that knew the answer. All he knew was that that truth, whatever it was, was one he didn't want to tell her. Not yet, anyway.

He furtively gave Elise another glance. She radiated cheer, good feelings. Corrin felt…

He shook his head. He felt uncomfortable. Not—not in a bad way. Just… unfamiliar.


…Ah, but this, this Corrin knew all too well.

He was exhausted, he knew he was. After Corrin had read a passage of his speech to Elise, he had wound down by playing a game with her, one that involved scaling and descending that hill at least four times each. He should have been sound asleep by now.

He rolled over, hugging his sheets to his breast and squeezing his eyes shut. Insomnia, back and more vile than ever. The reason for it had made itself clear again. The same thing from this morning. (Or was it yesterday morning? Corrin couldn't tell how late it was.)

He tried to let his mind wander, to stop focusing on things. Maybe that'd make him sleepier.

Elise's smile drifted into mind.

Corrin shook his head, trying to fight thoughts of her. She really wasn't helping. In fact, he was pretty sure she was part of the problem.

Part of the problem.

He knew what the rest was.