AN: This was inspired by Rapis-Razuri's age swap AU Down the River Line. This was meant as a sort of continuation of the story so I would recommend that you read it first. It's really good. You can read it on this website and ao3. I'd put in links but I'm having trouble getting them to show up. There are spoilers for the Conquest path end game. You have been warned. I hope you enjoy reading this. :)

Ryouma

As soon a Ryouma sees the enemy, he knows that he cannot retreat and let Fort Jinya fall to them. Fort Jinya is one of the most important parts of Hoshido's line of defense, if it falls, Hoshido falls. He knows that his siblings sent him to the fortress to keep him safe, but he will not hesitate to fight, and fall, alongside his men.

They fight well, but not well enough, as the battle drags on, it becomes clear that the only options that remain are death and surrender. Ryouma knows nearly everyman under his command. He has learned their hopes and dreams and fears. He doesn't want to see them die.

And so, when Corrin offers a chance of surrender, Ryouma takes it. But not for himself. He refuses to be a pawn of Nohr; to be taken prisoner and used as a tool. He knows what a samurai's final duty is.

It is when he is lying on the ground, impaled on his own sword, with the world fading around him that he hears the screams of his men around him. The last thought he has before he dies is that he made the wrong choice.

Marx

Marx is disturbed by the massacre at Ft. Jinya, but he tries not to show it. He doesn't want to be an embarrassment to father. He will do what father wants, and right now, if father wants this slaughter, then Marx will do nothing to stop it. There is nothing he can do.

Afterward, as he walks through the fortress with Corrin and the others, he notices the body of the prince who was defending this place. He is lying in a pool of his own blood. Marx has heard stories of Hoshidan samurai warriors who would rather face death than dishonor. But he sees Corrin trying to not let his grief show, and he wonders if what the prince did was really all that honorable.

Confidence has never been Marx's strong suit, but this war is changing things. After walking through the carnage that day, he knows that he has gained glory and he knows that he can fight. But that doesn't stop him from wondering if what he is fighting for is really what is best for Nohr. Maybe, if he had the confidence to confront father, none of this would have happened.

That day, Marx swears that he will find the confidence he needs to help Nohr in the right way.

Hinoka

Hinoka watches the Nohrian army approach the Great Wall of Suzanoh. Takumi warned her that the army would try to come this way so she isn't surprised to see them approach. What worries her is the direction that they are coming from. Ryouma was supposed to be safe at Ft. Jinya, she thinks, sending up a silent prayer to the Dawn Dragon that her little brother is safe.

She rallies her troops, not letting anyone see the nervousness that she feels. Hinoka knows that failing here means Hoshido will almost certainly fall. The stakes here are higher than any that she have ever faced. But she has never been one to back down from a challenge. Not ever.

No matter how hard she tries, she can't stop the battle from turning in the Nohrians favor. Hinoka finds herself at the receiving end of a Nohrian archer's bow. She falls. She counts herself lucky that she didn't break her neck. But her faithful Tenma is dead and she can't help but remember that it was an arrow that injured it when they first met.

HInoka forces herself to walk away. She knows that this battle has been lost and that she must stay alive to fight Nohr if everyone else has died. She can't bring her mount with her, but she can bring Raijinto, a treasure that will serve her well if she must fight.

Let Nohr think that she is dead, she will rise from the ashes like the phoenix.

Camilla

Camilla never feels more alive than when she is risking her life. She swoops and slaughters on the back of her wryven. She has heard the fearful whispers of the Hoshidans. They talk of a demon on a dragon wielding a dark axe as they curse her name under their breath.

She doesn't care about what they think. So what if she's not the young lady that she's supposed to be? She will use the strength that she has to defend her siblings. Marx, Elise, Leon, and Corrin. Leon and Elise are not always appreciative of her efforts, but she will fight for them nonetheless. Corrin is different, he is older than her, but he acts like he is younger. Camilla decides that she will be an older sister that protects him.

So, at the Great Wall of Suzanoh, when she hears Corrin's tears for the sister that is no longer his, she goes and looks for the body. Camilla can't bare to see Corrin cry.

She finds the body of a temna in the forest, but no sign of the princess. Camilla tells nearly everyone that she is dead. Corrin is the only person she tells the truth. If the princess is still alive, she can consider her life a gift.

Camilla hopes that the possibility is enough for her brother.

Takumi

Takumi knows that as the crown prince of Hoshido it is his duty to guard the throne, to be the last line of defense against Nohr, but he insists that Sakura take that place. They previously received word that Nohr was pushing forward and had taken the capitol. There is no other reason that pride to keep fighting now when there battle is all but lost.

So he insists that his sister stay back because, while he knows that they are going to die, he can't help but hope that somehow he can push back the Norian army. He knows that it won't make a difference. He knows that they are surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered. He knows that they are going to die. It is clear that the question is not whether or not they will survive, but how much of the Nohrian army they can take down with them.

They fight Corrin's little army. Takumi wonders how his traitor brother can act like he regrets what he's doing, and still fight his family. He fights them furiously, but he can't win.

He is dieing from dozens of wounds and he can't help but think that if he had the Fujin Yumi, it would've made a difference, even though he knows he was doomed from the start.

Leon

Leon can see the worry in Elise's eyes when she looks at Corrin. Elise has always wanted to protect everyone, and Leon is quite content to help her do it. She draws him aside as they enter Hoshido's palace, and asks him to help her to find a way to save Sakura. She wants Corrin to have at least one of his Hoshidan siblings survive because she can see how their deaths hurt him. Leon tells her that he will try. They both know that his success is dependent on whether or not he can fool father.

Sakura is the last obstacle that they must face. She challenges Corrin to a duel, though it seems to Leon that she does it primarily out of a sense of duty. He watches as Corrin accepts, though it is clear that he has no desire to bar his sword against her.

While the chaos of battle rages around them, Leon watches Corrin's duel carefully. And, when he has defeated Sakura, but not killed her, Leon steps in to deal the final blow.

Father objects, but not as much as he would of if Corrin had argued with him once again.

Only Leon and Elise know what really happened. Sakura is injured, but not dead. Though Corrin weeps now, he'll know the truth soon enough. Elise will tell him.

And Leon will watch and continue to work his own brand of magic from the shadows.

Sakura

Sakura isn't sure why she is still alive. She wakes up in the care of none other than the Crown Princess Elise herself. When she first wakes things are a blur. There is talk of peace, a treaty, and a coronation. People are addressing her as queen. Bit by bit, she puts together the pieces. Takumi is dead. Ryouma is dead. For a time there is talk of Hinoka being dead, but she is alive. Sakura thanks the Dawn Dragon for small mercies.

Without explanation, Nohr packs up and leaves, as if the invasion never happened. Sakura is left behind to mourn. It is her duty as the queen of Hoshido to try and forgive Nohr and to forge a hopeful future. She tries, but it is hard act as if the two new graves next to Sumeragi's don't exist.

There is talk of a marriage in order to solidify the treaty. And, though Sakura knows that it will probably be necessary one day, she ignores it. Right now, she just wants to focus on rebuilding Hoshido and recovering from her own, personal losses.

She tries to comfort Hinoka, but her sister refuses to be comforted. Sakura watches as Hinoka fights as if strength is all she needs to bring back her family. She envies the way that her sister is able to forget herself in her training.

Sakura can't pick up the Fujin Yumi without remembering Takumi and how much he had wanted the weapon.

Sakura doesn't feel ready to take the throne. Queen Elise of Nohr is willing to talk and cooperate in ways that have never happened between Hoshido and Nohr before. There is so much resting on Sakura's abilities to repair her war torn country. Everyone is looking to her to make things right; to solve problems that she doesn't know if she can solve.

Sakura finds herself admiring what her stepmother did more and more everyday.

Elise

Elise has finally achieved the peace she dreamed of. Tensions are still rocky between Hoshido and Nohr, but there's nothing that she won't be able to overcome. The largest problems that she faces are the ones at home. She pretends not to hear the rumors whispered behind her back saying that she was planning this all along, that she killed her father in a premeditated move, that she's going to destroy Nohr with her new policies.

But the words still hurt because she can't help but see the truth in them. Elise loved who her father used to be, she didn't love who he became, but she stood by his side nonetheless out of respect for the man she remembered. The man who was a good king.

When Corrin told them that their father was dead, and had been for years, Elise hadn't wanted to believe him, but when she saw the monster that took her father's place, it was clear that their was no other choice but to destroy what he had become.

Elise remembers her father the clearest of all her siblings, and so she regrets their actions the most of all of her siblings. She knows that she must look to the future, so she leans on the father that she loved in the past. She has always leaned on her family even as they leaned on her.

The entirety of Nohr is her family now. Elise vows to live for it and protect it. It will be her monument to the family that didn't live to see this day.

Corrin

Corrin feels regret more than anything else. He has eyes. He could see the way that Sakura and Hinoka looked at him when they attended Elise's coronation. He has ears. He can hear the whispers calling him a traitor behind his back whenever he sets foot in Hoshido. He knows that he's not wanted by the people that he tried to help.

He blames himself for the deaths that happened. Mt. Garou, Ft. Jinya, Ryouma, Takumi. At least he managed to save the ice tribe. Corrin can't help but feel that if he made a different choice, those people would still be alive. He tells himself that he will find a way to make amends for his actions.

Corrin refuses to believe that Aqua is truly dead. He knows what he saw, and he saw her, he heard her, that day. He throws himself into a search for her, telling himself that if he finds her, he will finally feel that his actions were justified. She could always convince him that he was making the right choice

They say that he is living in the past, but they just don't understand that it is his duty to make things right.

Aqua

Aqua is lost, but not forgotten.