"Kaze, you found my book?!"

"Yes, your highness."

"Oh, thank you, Kaze! Thank you so much!"

"It is my pleasure to serve the royal family, your highness."

"…"

"…"

"Kaze, can I—can I give you a kiss?"

"A—a kiss, your highness?!"

"To say thank you! Isn't that what princesses do when someone does something nice for them?"

"Heh heh. I guess they do, your highness."

"Okay. Can you bend down a little?"

"Of course, your highness."

"…"

"…"

"Was—was that okay?"

"Yes, milady, it was fine! I just—I've never kissed anyone before."

"Hee hee! Me, neither! It was nice."

"It was very nice, milady."

"Lady Corrin!" Flora called in her usual singsong voice. "It's time to get up!"

"What?" I mumbled groggily. "Already?"

"Yes, Princess Slugabed," Flora laughed good-naturedly, "and although it's just Jakob and me this morning, I can still manage an icier wakeup call for you."

"Please don't!" I cried, fully awake at this point. I was still reluctant to get out of bed, but anything was better than being on the receiving end of Flora's ice powers. She laughed again, helped me into my tunic and breeches, and began brushing the tangles out of my hair, leaving me only a few moments to ponder my odd dream before Jakob entered with my armor, polished to a brilliant shine.

"Good morning, Jakob," Flora and I greeted him.

"Good morning, Lady Corrin," he replied with a bow. "Kaze was right behind me. Shall I see him in?"

My heart lept into my throat, but I stammered out a quick yes with only a little trouble. Of course Kaze would give me his daily report of the goings-on of the camp. Before Kaze had pledged himself to my service, this was one of Jakob's duties, but one of the few things that both the Nohrian and Hoshidan armies agreed on was that Kaze was likeable and that Jakob was…less so. As fond as I was for my butler, I received fewer complaints from both armies after reassigning the daily report to Kaze.

When my beloved—wait, beloved?—ninja joined us, I tried to steady myself as stealthily as possible, but my heart pounded just a little too strongly for me to feel like I'd recovered from last night's dream. I'd felt drawn to him ever since our bizarre reunion in Nohr. I thought I'd never see him again when Xander, Leo, and I freed him and Rinkah, but when he joined me again after I'd chosen not to side with Hoshido or Nohr, I felt that strange pull again. Some time between helping him with the abundance of radishes some adoring ladies gave him and accepting him as my retainer, I'd started caring for him in a way I wasn't familiar with. But dreaming about kissing him? That was new.

"How are you today, Kaze?" I greeted him, shaking off the memory of last night's dream.

"Very well, Lady Corrin," he said with a bow, but he caught my eye and gave me a small smirk. I'd told him not to worry about titles or forms of address—I wanted him to see himself as my equal partner on the battlefield, or so I told myself at the time—but we'd agreed to maintain Jakob's idea of proper decorum whenever my butler was present, lest Kaze face Jakob's wrath for simply calling me by my name. "And you?"

"I'm…fine," I said, more hesitantly than I would've liked. Well, that was subtle…

"As usual, milady," Jakob broke in, interrupting my embarrassed internal monologue, "breakfast will be served in ten minutes. However"—he shuddered—"Felicia has been placed in charge of breakfast today, so I am perfectly happy to fix you something else."

Normally, regardless of who was doing the cooking, I'd eat with my siblings and friends in the mess hall, but I couldn't manage it this morning. The thought of sitting right across from the man I'd just dreamt of kissing had my stomach in knots. "Jakob," I asked, "could you maybe just bring me some tea and toast?"

That was the first time I'd ever taken him up on his offer, and he seemed extraordinarily pleased with it. "Certainly, milady! I will only be a moment." He bowed and excused himself to the mess hall.

"Corrin, are you alright?" Kaze asked, stepping closer to me with a concerned look on his face.

I tried to laugh casually. "I'm fine, Kaze, truly. Don't worry about me." I still had trouble meeting his lovely violet eyes without blushing, though, so I continued. "What's the news around camp today?"

"Camp has been fairly quiet this morning," Kaze stated with a shrug. "Honestly, between Niles's tongue and Rinkah's temper, you'd think I'd have more to report," he chuckled, "but I suppose that means that your dream of peace between your siblings' nations may be coming true faster than any of us anticipated."

"I hope that's the case," I said, finally returning his gaze. "All I've heard is that Felicia's in charge of breakfast today." Behind me, Flora gave some combination of a sigh and a snicker.

"Well, then, you're all caught up," Kaze declared. He paused, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "That is, unless you wish to hear of Laslow's latest romantic exploit."

I laughed at that. "Thank you, but I'll ask him about it. Xander isn't in too bad of a mood, right?"

"Nothing that Laslow hasn't directly caused," he chuckled, the smirk now dominating his handsome face. "No, your brother's mood is fine—much better, I think, than my brother's is on any given day."

I chuckled at that. Saizo the Fifth was a powerful, talented ninja, and I trusted him and Kagero with Ryoma's life, but Saizo was a known and oft-avoided grouch. I'm glad Kaze feels he can joke around me now.

"Is that good enough, Lady Corrin?" Flora asked, a teasing note in her voice as she handed me a small mirror so that I could inspect her work.

"Perfect, as usual, Flora," I replied. "Thank you."

"In that case, milady," she continued, "may I be excused to ensure that my sister doesn't poison the whole camp?"

I laughed again. "Please do!" But when she left, I could feel butterflies in my stomach. The last time I felt like this was when I met Prince Chrom—but now there are even more butterflies! I looked back up at Kaze to find that he was studying me carefully. "Kaze? What's on your mind?"

"Something is troubling you, Corrin," he stated with a worried frown. "I wish you would tell me what it is."

"It's really nothing," I insisted, "just a dream."

"A dream?"

"I—I've always had strange, vivid dreams, ever since I was little," I explained.

His face softened as though he was trying to recall any incidents from my brief childhood in Hoshido. "I think I have some tisanes that could help you sleep, if you like," he offered at last.

And keep me from dreaming about you? I wasn't sure whether that was tempting or repulsive to me, but my hesitancy caused me to flush again. "I—yes, that might be helpful."

Kaze nodded as Jakob entered with the tea and toast. He laid my breakfast before me in his usual meticulous fashion, and my empty but churning stomach delighted at the scent of freshly toasted bread and Jakob's special blend of tea. Was that a jar of my favorite Nohrian berry preserves?! Jakob is too good to me. I thanked my butler and began wolfing down my breakfast with as much etiquette as possible. About three bites in, though, I noticed that Jakob and Kaze were still standing in my room.

"Kaze, Jakob," I said, "you can go ahead and go to breakfast."

"Milady, would you not prefer that I remain to gather the dishes once you've finished eating?" Jakob inquired.

Considering that means that you and Kaze will stand there for the rest of my meal in watchful silence, no thank you. "Go ahead! Flora's helping Felicia, so I'm sure it'll be at least edible!"

"Are you sure, my liege?" Kaze asked.

"Lady Corrin, may I not be of further service to you?" Jakob added, concern etched in his features.

"No, Jakob, really, I'm fine," I insisted, gulping down a sip of tea and trying to dismiss my retainers as elegantly as possible. "The dishes can wait until you've had something to eat, I promise."

Evidently defeated, Jakob bowed and said, "As you wish. Come, Kaze—let's witness the poisoning of the royal families." With that, the two men left.

I finished the pot of tea and my toast pretty quickly—the appetite of a dragon, isn't that what Father always said I had?—but once I'd eaten, my thoughts returned to kissing Kaze. Fed up, I decided to leave my quarters and take a walk in the brisk morning air.

I need to clear my head.

I tried to push thoughts of Kaze out of my mind as I strode through the camp, but just walking wasn't doing the trick. I stopped for a moment by the stables. Maybe the horses and pegasi can distract me. I'd always had an affinity for animals, after all, even before I knew about my own powers. It was worth a shot, at least. So, I ducked into the stables, where I was greeted by the soft whinnies of my siblings' and friends' mounts.

"Hi, everyone," I called with a little wave. "How is everyone today?" I gave each of them a soft rub on their velvety noses as I made my way down the line. "Anyone hungry? How about a brushing? Anyone need to be groomed?"

"Corrin?" I heard from the far end of the stables. "Is that you?"

I know that voice! "Hi, Hinoka!" I replied. "Yeah, it's me!"

My Hoshidan older sister stepped out from the stall where her pegasus stayed, one of Kaden's brushes in hand. "What are you doing here, little sister?" she asked with a smile.

"I, uh, was hoping I could help out here for a bit," I answered. "Do you need any help with anything?"

"Well, everyone's been fed, and the stalls have all been cleaned," she said, "and most riders prefer to groom their own mounts." Her smile widened. "Actually, I was just finishing up brushing Kamui, but you can brush her mane if you want. That's her favorite."

"Really?" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah, why not?" she said. "I always did want to take you riding. This way, you and Kamui can get to know each other." She gave Kamui's mane a couple of strokes before handing me Kaden's short-bristled brush. "Just like that, see?"

"Okay," I said enthusiastically. I began to brush Kamui's mane gently, just as Hinoka had shown me. "How's that, Kamui? Does that feel nice?"

Kamui whinnied in response. Hinoka chuckled, and we settled into a comfortable silence, occasionally punctuated by swishing tails and rustling feathers. It was amazing how relaxing it was to brush Kamui's mane. There was something soothing about reconnecting with my sister over her beloved pegasus. It was almost enough to keep me from thinking about—

Kaze.

Dang it.

He was in my thoughts again. My kind, good-hearted, loyal, handsome retainer—

This has to stop. I can't keep falling for him. It's not appropriate.

Kaze is my friend. My very sweet, very handsome friend…

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and tried to refocus on each pass of the brush I made in Kamui's silky mane. But what had that dream been about? It had felt so real—like a memory!

"What do you think?" Hinoka's question woke me from my reverie.

I started a bit but recovered well, or so I thought. I could feel her warm eyes on me. "It's great!" I managed. "I never knew how soft a pegasus's mane could be!"

"Kamui is really something else," she said, beaming with pride, but her eyes and their quiet expectation never left me.

Okay, fine, I have to know.

"Hinoka?" I asked timidly. "Is there any chance—I mean, when I was little, were Kaze and I, um, sweethearts?"

Hinoka gave me a quizzical expression and then laughed. "Oh, Corrin," she began, a grin breaking across her face, "you have no idea. Once, when you were five or so, you lost a book you were reading, and he looked for it for hours! When he finally found it, you kissed him right on the mouth! I've never seen him blush like that since, not once!"

Well, now I was blushing. "Are you serious?!"

"Perfectly serious!" she responded with another laugh. "It was so cute."

"Oh, no," I groaned, trying to cover my rapidly reddening face with my hands. "Why did I do that?!"

"Because you liked him!" she exclaimed, her laughter morphing into slightly squeaky giggles.

"Hinoka, this isn't funny!" I cried indignantly.

"Oh, no, it's very funny," she replied, catching her breath. "I mean, it's been years since I've been able to tease you about crushes. At least some things never change!"

"More things than you think," I mumbled to myself, my cheeks aflame.

Hinoka paused and regarded me with scrutinizing eyes. Maybe I'm not as quiet as I think I am. "Wait," she said finally. "Corrin, do you still have feelings for Kaze?"

"M—maybe!" I stammered, nervously carding my fingers through my hair. "I mean, I think so?"

Hinoka gave me a knowing look.

"Okay, fine!" I exclaimed, looking down at my bare feet. "Yes, I have feelings for Kaze."

Hinoka chuckled and reached out to give my shoulder a reassuring pat. "That wasn't so hard, now, was it?" she teased.

"But he's my retainer," I continued morosely. "He'll never see me as anything other than his liege."

"I doubt that," she said in a voice that she'd use to calm Kamui. "Oboro's been in love with Takumi since she started working for him, and I know he likes her, too. It's possible."

Could she be right? "I—I guess so…"

"Hey, I'm your big sister, right?" she asked, pulling me into a brief but strong hug. "I know all about these things."

I giggled. "It's nice to hear you say that." I paused. "I'm glad you're my sister, Hinoka."

"Me, too, Corrin," she said as she released me from her embrace. "Me, too."