Before you start reading, I should probably warn you that this will not be a standard game novelization. A lot of this will probably be considered AU on the grounds that it doesn't reflect any one route in particular, and this will contain a lot of my personal theories about the world of Fire Emblem Fates.

So… things I'm hoping to accomplish with this:

Make sense of the plot of Fire Emblem Fates – including supplemental information from DLC storylines (the Hidden Truths one in particular)

Incorporate and consolidate elements from all routes

Expand the roles of characters that received less attention in the canon narrative (Lilith being the most glaring example)

To emphasize that this story won't really be canon, the protagonist's name is different, though her personality will remain largely the same (albeit expanded in certain places to adjust for different circumstances, and with some aspects taken to their logical extremes). The protagonist also specializes in staves, because there's something dubious about a sword, a weapon, meant to bring peace.

Well, with that out of the way, enjoy!

Fuyu woke slowly, roused from dreams she could only half-remember.

"Lady Fuyu?"

There had been Hoshidans in the most vivid one – Hoshidans that called her sister. They were on a battlefield, someplace bright and filled with green under a blue, orange, and pink sky. Her siblings were there as well – Xander on his horse, his perpetual frown broken when he saw her safe and unharmed. Camila rushed to her side, quickly trapping her in an embrace so tight that Fuyu nearly suffocated.

And then the Hoshidans pulled her back, shouting at her siblings to get away.

"It's time to wake up."

There had been a woman, impossibly beautiful with hair as blue as the lake she waded into. She sang Fuyu's lullaby in a light, airy voice. Water swirled about her as she continued to sing, and she waded further and further in until Fuyu could no longer tell where the water ended and the woman began.

"Oh dear. It seems our dear princess hasn't completely awakened yet. Felica, would you please assist me?"

There had been a man in a white hood, humming Fuyu's lullaby as the woman's voice melted into his. He laid his hand gently on top of Fuyu's head and gave her a smile that made her want to stay by his side forever. "Please… come home."

And then, everything was cold.

Fuyu shrieked as she bolted upright. "I'm awake!" she shouted on impulse, shivering. She blinked rapidly as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim lamp of the glow by her bedside. It was still dark outside, and the clouds were so thick that it looked like the sun wouldn't come out at all.

There were no Hoshidans there to call her sister. There was only Flora and Felicia, giggling as they withdrew their still freezing hands. There was Gunter, stifling a laugh of his own as he offered his arm to help her stand. There was Jakob, laying her clothes out on the table by the window. There was a stack of Leo's books under the table, Camilla's quilt folded by her ankles on top of her red bedspread, Elise's miniature tea set and dolls still out from her visit the previous day, Fuyu's own healing staff propped up against the wall next to the door.

This… was home.

Fuyu laid her hand on Gunter's arm lightly enough so that it looked like she was accepting his offer and simultaneously showing him that she didn't need any assistance to begin with. She grabbed her clothes and made her way behind a partition that blocked her view of the window and the door, Flora and Felicia at her heels. "You interrupted an interesting dream," she complained.

"Oh?" Flora said delicately. Fuyu refused her help in changing – if she was going to be strong enough to win her father's approval, then she would have to do these things by herself.

"What was it about?" Felicia asked, somehow wrinkling Fuyu's dress even though she was barely touching it at all. Flora slapped her hand away lightly, and then smoothed out the creases in Fuyu's dress that her sister had created.

"Mm…" Fuyu said. "There were these Hoshidan soldiers that said I was their sister." She shook her head, laughing quietly to herself. "It's probably because I stayed up too late reading."

Flora gave her a serene smile. Like all of her smiles, it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm sure that's it, milady."

From the other side of the partition, Gunter cleared his throat. "Do you remember what day it is, milady?"

"It's definitely not my birthday," Fuyu answered flatly. She had that particular date circled on her calendar, and it was months off.

"It might as well be," Gunter said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

Her mind worked slowly, still dulled by sleep. Her birthdays were usually spent with her siblings – all of them at once, and not individually – and her siblings' birthdays followed a similar pattern. There were often presents – a dress sewn by Camilla, some books from Leo, a doll she was supposed to have outgrown from Elise – but they always dulled in comparison to the joy of spending an entire day, uninterrupted, with her siblings.

It wasn't her birthday; Leo's birthday had already passed, and Xander's, Camilla's, and Elise's wouldn't come for a long while. There was nothing to celebrate, and yet…

"They're coming today!" Fuyu said excitedly. In a rush, she pulled on her shoes and grabbed the staff by the door. She managed a small curtsey that looked like an awkward stumble. "Thank you, Gunter!" And then she ran – all the way down the stairs to the ground floor, and then down the hall.

She barreled straight into her oldest brother, and he let out a small grunt as he threw his arm around her shoulders instinctively, bracing her against him so that they wouldn't fall. "Easy there, Fuyu," Xander said, and his smile looked less like a grimace than it usually did.

Fuyu dropped the staff and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "You came!"

Xander chuckled. "Of course I did." He bent down to pick up her staff and then handed it back to her. "Shall we get started? Leo's waiting for us."

"Yes!" Fuyu said excitedly. "I've been training with Gunter, you know. This time, I'll finally beat you!"

Xander laughed and ruffled her hair. "We'll see, little princess."

Objectively speaking, Fuyu hated training with practice swords, and that was exactly the kind of training that Xander would insist upon every time he visited. It would only take a few sparring rounds, sometimes even fewer than that, for the novelty of Xander's visit to wear off – those rounds consisted less of Fuyu actually swinging her practice sword and more of Xander landing blow after blow after blow because she was too slow to parry or dodge, or because she dodged the wrong way. He never used anywhere close to half his full strength on her – Leo made that abundantly clear whenever he chastised her for not taking her training seriously.

Gunter said it was an honor to train under the crown prince – an honor not extended to anyone but the strongest in the military – but Fuyu hated how it seemed to transform Xander into an entirely different person – someone harsh and unforgiving, so unlike the kind and gentle brother she'd come to know.

So when he knocked her back with minimal effort, after she'd charged at him with what felt like everything she had, she wasn't so sure she wanted to get up again. "I know you can do better than that," Xander said sternly, his grip tightening around his practice sword.

"Big Brother—" she said breathlessly.

"How do you suppose you'll defend yourself from your enemies? Father has been tracking your progress, you know."

"Wh-What?" Xander thrust his practice sword at her, but she raised her own too slowly, and the impact sent her crashing painfully to the ground. "D-Did he say anything?"

Xander scowled. "He was disappointed, to say the least."

To the side, Leo scoffed. "You won't beat the strongest knight in Nohr by sleeping all day, dear sister."

"I know that!" Fuyu snapped at him as she staggered to her feet. Her arm hurt where Xander had hit her before, and she struggled to maintain a firm grip on her practice sword.

"Come at me again," said Xander. He hadn't even broken into a sweat, and it wasn't fair in the slightest. "Don't hold back."

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are." For a split second, he looked almost pained. "You'll never improve if you don't come at me with the intent to kill."

But the fact of the matter was that Fuyu just wasn't good at fighting. Swords felt awkward and clunky in her hands, but staves were an entirely different matter. There was something fulfilling about watching someone's wounds disappear in a single instantaneous flash of light – it was infinitely preferable to watching new bruises and cuts form. Not to mention—

"If this were a real battle, you'd be dead by now," Leo said dryly.

"I know!" Fuyu snapped. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then slowly readjusted her grip on her practice sword. It wasn't Xander in front of her, she tried to convince herself, but rather a Hoshidan soldier trying to kidnap her, just like the Hoshidan king had tried to do all those many years ago. When she charged at Xander again, it wasn't her brother that she saw.

He parried every blow she sent his way, but then dropped his guard – or, more likely, he decided to take pity on her. Fuyu took the opportunity to thrust the practice sword forward, into his stomach. Xander let out a small grunt from the impact, and Fuyu stumbled back, suddenly aware of where she was and who she was fighting.

He recovered quickly. "Think fast!" he said as he swung his practice sword at her. With a shriek of surprise, she ducked out of the way. When Xander smiled, she noted with a hint of pride that she hadn't fallen or even stumbled this time. "Good."

Fuyu released the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, and smiled. "Yes!" she cheered.

"Don't get too arrogant, Fuyu," Leo quipped. "You still have a long way to go before you're anywhere close to beating him."

She puffed her cheeks in annoyance. "I know, but… I got a hit in today!" Father will be pleased with that, won't he?"

"I'm sure he will," Xander said gently. "Now—"

"I believe it's our turn now?"

Fuyu gasped when her sisters approached her from behind. Camilla stood with one hand braced on her hip, smiling warmly, and Elise practically bounced on the balls of her feet. "If they were the enemy, you'd be dead by now," Leo said dryly.

"Yeah, but we're not," Elise pointed out. She took one more look at Leo, and then burst into a fit of giggles. "By the way…"

Fuyu glanced over at him, and then giggled as well. "Oh, right!" she said. "There's something I forgot to tell you."

"Is it really so important that we must derail the current conversation?" Leo asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Your collar…" Elise started.

"It's inside out," Fuyu finished.

Leo flinched, his perfectly composed mask disintegrating at once. "Wh-What?" He jerked his head to one side, and then to the other as he tried to get a decent look at his collar.

Xander laughed. "It seems that someone got dressed while still half asleep this morning."

With a quiet laugh of her own, Camilla made her way behind him. "Here, let me fix it," she said.

Leo's face turned scarlet, and he refused to look Fuyu and Elise in the eye. "You should have said something sooner…"

Camilla pat Leo twice on the back when she was done. "Have you told her the good news yet?"

The smile never left Xander's face. "No, not yet. You see—"

But before he could get another word in, Elise leaped excitedly in front of Fuyu and grabbed both of her hands, swinging them back and forth. "Father wants you to come back to the capital!"

"He what?" Fuyu looked from Elise, to Camilla, to Leo, and then finally to Xander. "But you said he was disappointed!"

Xander's smile widened. "That might have been a small white lie. It seems to have fulfilled its purpose and sufficiently motivated you, at any rate."

Fuyu puffed her cheeks again. "That's not fair!"

"It's your own fault for being so gullible," Leo retorted. "You shouldn't take people at their word so easily, dear sister."

"Camilla!" Fuyu whined. "Make them stop!"

Her sister chuckled, one hand delicately covering her mouth. "All right, that's quite enough," she said. "Are you ready for our round of training?"

Leo sighed. "Yes, of course." Xander nodded and smirked confidently.

Fuyu smiled, and couldn't be more thankful to discard the practice sword in favor of her healing staff.

Camilla turned to smile at her and Elise. "Are you two ready?"

"Yes!" Fuyu and Elise answered in unison.

Camilla flipped her hair over her shoulder, and her smile turned vaguely sinister when she looked back to Xander and Leo. "I hope you two are prepared. I don't intend on holding back."

It was a long, long way to Windmire.

The Northern Fortress was one of Nohr's lesser known strongholds, and one of its better kept secrets. On paper, Fuyu held full jurisdiction over it, her will second only to that of King Garon himself. The reality wasn't quite so romantic – there was little to do in the Northern Fortress, and Castle Krakenburg had even littler to do with it even though one of its royalty resided in it. It was far enough away from the capital and secluded enough that a decent number of Nohrian citizens knew nothing of it aside from the usual assumptions – that it was a place to fall back to in the worst case scenario, and that it housed a fair share of Nohr's weaponry, textiles, and books, but little else.

On foot, it would take at least half a day to reach the capital from there, but carriages reduced the travel time to a couple of hours. Fuyu left for the capital with her siblings shortly after hearing the good news. Gunter and Jakob had decided to accompany her, while Flora and Felicia were ordered to stay.

So Fuyu soon found herself sitting in a carriage with Lilith, the stablehand and one of her closer friends. Camilla had been surprisingly gracious about it, and Gunter had managed to usher Jakob away just this one instance. There wouldn't be many more chances to see Lilith when Fuyu moved back into the main castle, and she wanted to make the most of what little time she had left.

It all felt like a lifetime away.

Even with the extra time, they didn't do much talking at all. Fuyu clasped her hands tightly together in her lap, looking out the window but not really seeing anything that passed by.

"Lady Fuyu?" Lilith said in a small voice. "Are you all right?"

Fuyu inhaled as much as she could – she couldn't take a full breath – as her heart raced. "I'm just nervous," she said. "It's been so long since I last saw Father… and what if what Xander said is true? What if Father really is disappointed in me?"

Lilith giggled. She was always so relaxed about big changes like this, so perhaps it was only natural that she didn't react too strongly to the sudden move. "If he was, then I don't think he'd be welcoming you back like this."

Fuyu exhaled slowly and smiled. "I suppose you're right."

Fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, Lilith looked downward. "Why did you come to the Northern Fortress anyway?"

"Honestly…" Fuyu replied slowly. "I don't remember half of it myself. All I know is that Hoshidans tried to kidnap me as a child, and Father kept me there for my own protection."

"Really? So it has nothing to do with your health?"

Fuyu shook her head. "I'm sure that's at least part of why I stayed there so long." She tipped to the side and rested her head against the window. "Father said he wanted me to be strong. Although…" She sighed again.

"Lady Fuyu?" Lilith prompted in a small voice. Her name always sounded awkward and clunky on Lilith's tongue, but today, somehow, it was even worse than usual.

"Xander said that Father's health… hasn't been good lately," Fuyu said quietly. "Maybe Father was simply delirious when he said he wanted me to come back. O-Or perhaps he's so badly off that he…"

Lilith took one of Fuyu's hands and squeezed it comfortingly. It wasn't the first time Fuyu expressed such doubts to her, and it wasn't the first time Lilith tried to comfort her in such a way. "If I may… those are just possibilities. It might be best not to dwell on it."

"I suppose…"

The carriage drew to a halt then, and Lilith quickly withdrew her hand before anyone in the other carriages could see her lack of propriety. Fuyu straightened up in her seat and smoothed out her dress. "We're finally here," Lilith said. Fuyu nodded in return. "Lady Fuyu…" But then Lilith clamped her mouth shut, clasping her hands tightly together in her lap.

"What is it?" Fuyu asked.

Lilith smiled. "Nothing. Or rather… it's not important. I'll tell you later."

The carriage door swung open, revealing a very excited Elise who bounced incessantly on the balls of her feet. "Are you ready?" she asked in a voice so cheerful that Fuyu felt her worries and anxieties melting away instantly.

"Mm-hm," she replied, stepping out of the carriage to join her siblings.

Lilith parted ways with her there, and she went to join Gunter and Jakob. "Good luck, Lady Fuyu!" she said, waving.

King Garon was a tall, broad-shouldered man who sat proudly and fearlessly on his throne despite his sickly grey complexion. Camilla often threatened Xander that, if he were to keep frowning like he usually did, his forehead would look a lot like their father's before he reached the age of thirty.

Garon looked up without lifting his head when Fuyu entered the room. It was impossible not to think about his gaze on her, evaluating everything about her from her appearance – she always felt too small and awkward and delicate in his presence – to even the slightest twitch of her fingers. "I see you've returned," he said, his voice gravely but still powerful.

Fuyu quickly dipped into the most graceful curtsey she could manage. "It's good to see you again, Father," she said. No, that was wrong – it was too informal, too overly familiar.

Sure enough, his brow wrinkled with displeasure. "Xander and Leo have informed me of your progress," he said. "I hear you still have a long way to go before reaching the strength of either of them."

So he was disappointed. And why wouldn't he be, if she'd only just landed her first blow on Xander and hadn't even graduated from practice swords? "I'm sorry," she said immediately. "I-I was ill recently, and…" No, that was definitely the wrong thing to say. It sounded like an excuse, and Garon had very little patience for excuses. Saying that she'd been ill was reiterating why he'd kept her in the Northern Fortress for so long, and it was of little consequence when she was ill so irritatingly often to begin with.

"Silence," he said firmly.

"I'm sorry…" Fuyu mumbled quietly. Her face grew hot, and she bowed her head, praying that her cheeks weren't quite as red as it felt like they were.

"However," he continued, "I have been informed that your tactical genius is almost on par with Leo's."

"Well I wouldn't call it genius…" she whispered. Leo jabbed his elbow into her side, and she immediately backtracked. "I mean... I've been studying. Diligently. To, um, compensate for my lack of physical strength." No, that was the wrong thing to say. "N-Not to say that I have no physical strength, but the fact is—"

"Silence," Garon said again.

"I'm sorry," Fuyu said again. Xander sighed, and she wanted to melt into the floor.

"As you know," Garon continued, "Nohr is at war with the eastern kingdom of Hoshido." Fuyu nodded. "We of the royal family are descendants of the First Dragons. We must use this divine strength to conquer those who oppose us. Xander, Camilla, and Leo have already shown that they possess this power, and I expect no less from you."

"Yes, Father," Fuyu said.

"If you are to serve Nohr," he said, "then you will need a suitable weapon. Iago?"

Out from the shadows walked his head tactician, a tall man with long, stringy black hair. "Of course, your grace." He stepped forward, carrying something long wrapped in a fine, deep red cloth.

Unconsciously, Fuyu looked to Xander. Her brother frowned, but then ultimately nodded in her direction.

She stepped toward Iago slowly, hesitantly, and pulled away the cloth, uncovering a long, dark sword with a curved blade glowing purple with something that looked vaguely like Dark magic. "This is Ganglari," Garon said, "a sword infused with magic from another world. See to it that it does not go to waste."

She'd never received a gift from her father before. The mere thought of it made her feel giddy, and she was suddenly sure that she'd done something right, that despite any disappointment he might have displayed earlier there was still a part of him that was proud of her. "Thank you so much, Father," she said.

"Now, let us see you put that sword to proper use," he said instead of responding to her words. "Bring out the prisoners!"

"Yes sir!" shouted a soldier. As he ran off, Fuyu gripped Ganglari tightly. Prisoners meant that Father would want her to… she didn't want to think about it. Prisoners likely meant Hoshidans, since Nohr was at war with Hoshido. Maybe her kidnappers, or people who wished to kidnap her yet again. The image of someone large and imposing, with long hair sticking out in multiple directions, came to mind, and Fuyu shivered.

Instead, the soldier returned with a man and a woman, both covered in scratches and bruises. The man was taller than her, sure, but the woman was rather close to her height. They were both still armed – the woman with an axe and the man with a pair of knives – and Fuyu didn't know if that was a testament to their weakness or her father's confidence.

"These are prisoners from our most recent skirmish with Hoshido," Garon said. "Finish them."

The woman squirmed in the soldier's grasp, her grip tightening around her axe. Her hair was pale though her skin was dark, and there were red markings on her cheeks that Fuyu didn't recognize. "I swear on my father's honor that I will not fail here," she spat. Fuyu willed herself not to flinch at her blatant display of aggression. "Nohrian scum… prepare yourself!" She charged at Fuyu, raising her axe.

Fuyu instinctively raised her sword to block the attack and bit her lower lip to keep herself from crying out in alarm. The woman continued to charge at her relentlessly, forcing Fuyu to remain on the defensive. "Fuyu!" Camilla called out from the sidelines. "Remember your training. You have a sword to her axe, so you're at an advantage!"

"Silence," Garon snapped at her.

The male prisoner frowned. He crossed his arms over his chest and buried his nose in his scarf. "Fuyu…?" he repeated quietly to himself.

When the woman charged at her again, Fuyu dodged in the correct direction so smoothly that she could almost picture Xander smiling at her with pride. Her opponent only barely stumbled, but she took the opportunity to turn her sword around and ram the hilt into her chest. The woman fell back, her axe clattering to the ground, and Fuyu picked it up before she had time to react.

When she turned to look at the man, he knelt down and laid his knives on the ground. "I yield," he said gently, bowing his head and closing his eyes.

"Kaze!" the woman snapped as she staggered to her feet. "Don't tell me that—"

"Don't just stand there, idiot girl," Garon said. "Finish them!"

The man Kaze bowed down so that his forehead was pressed to his propped up knee. His expression was solemn, and his shoulders sagged with defeat. "I'm sorry, Rinkah," he said quietly.

The woman Rinkah sighed harshly and dropped to the floor next to him. "Fine," she said, bracing both palms against the ground. She squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth together. "Do what you must."

Rinkah. Kaze. Their names were clearly Hoshidan in nature, but the man and woman before her were nothing like the monsters that haunted Fuyu's worst nightmares. They were defenseless and utterly beaten, and all they had left was the hope for a quick and painless death – a death Garon wanted Fuyu to deliver.

This… This wasn't right.

"But they yielded!" she protested belatedly. "They're defenseless!"

Garon's brow furrowed further, and she shivered. "You dare question me? Kill them! That's an order!"

"B-But Father—"

"Insolent fool!" Magic swirled about his arm, and he pointed it toward Kaze. Fuyu didn't think. Before even she could process what was happening, she was standing between Kaze and her father, her sword bared defensively in front of her. She barely even registered the pain of the impact – it was likely only a small fraction of what Kaze would have suffered through if she'd left him to her father's wrath. What… am I doing…? "You would defy me directly?"

"Father!" Xander interjected. "Please forgive her! She's only just arrived, so she doesn't understand our situation."

Slowly, Garon lowered his arm. "Fine. Xander, you kill the prisoners."

Xander grimaced, and Fuyu averted her eyes downward. She had no idea why she was even fighting – it was clearly disappointing her father, the last thing she wanted – but letting Rinkah and Kaze die was so much worse.

Her brother stepped toward her with slow, measured steps as he drew a glowing red sword. It wasn't the first time she'd seen Siegfried, but she'd never seen it pointed at someone, even though that was its exact purpose. "Xander, please…" she said quietly.

"I don't expect you to understand," he said just as quietly. "Hoshidans are our sworn enemy. We have to—"

"But they can't fight anymore! So why do we have to—"

Between Camilla and Elise, Leo sighed exasperatedly. "You two are utterly hopeless," he muttered. "I see the dirty work must fall to me yet again." As he stepped forward, Brynhildr flipped open, and its pages fluttered. He raised his arm just like Garon had done before, and in a flash of green light, Kaze and Rinkah were gone. "Please forgive my softhearted sister, Father," he said with a sneer. "Our enemies have been dispatched, just as you ordered. I only ask that you be merciful in her punishment."

The rage seemed to melt off of Garon, and his shoulders slumped too much for it to be anything but a sign of his now noticeably poorer health. "I will consider the matter," was all he said before stalking off, his tactician following him closely.

"Leo!" Fuyu followed her brother with her fists clenched at her sides. She gripped Ganglari tightly, unused to its weight and unsure of what to do with it aside from carrying it with her, and she stomped forward, struggling to keep up with her younger brother's long strides. Xander and Camilla walked several paces behind her, with Camilla and Xander whispering to each other in hushed voices. Elise trailed a few paces behind them, her hands behind her back and her head bent low. "Leo, they yielded! There was no reason to—"

He stopped suddenly and whirled around. With his boots, he was slightly taller than her, and with the way he was glaring at her, he seemed to be intentionally using the added height to his advantage. "Yes, agreed, now hush." He made a noise halfway between a grunt and a sigh, and his expression softened as he gently whacked her on the head with his tome. It didn't hurt in the slightest, but she flinched exaggeratedly anyway. "What were you thinking, arguing with Father like that?" he asked in a gentler voice.

"I…" Fuyu sighed, her previous irritation disappearing suddenly. "I don't know why I did that. I just… It wasn't right!"

"And you think we have a say in that?" Xander asked. He, Camilla and Elise had caught up to them by now, and he stood with his arms crossed over his chest. "We must obey Father, no matter what."

"But why?" Fuyu asked. "They were beaten, and they couldn't fight anymore! So why did we have to—"

"I agree with what you said in there," Camilla said calmly as she soothingly laid her hand on Fuyu's shoulder, "but arguing with Father like you did is practically a death sentence. He won't forgive a slight, you know."

"But Father's not going to do anything to Big Sister, is he?" Elise asked in a small voice. "I mean… she was right!"

"I know, but…" Camilla sighed. "You'll understand when you're older – both of you. Sometimes, there are people that just can't be reasoned with, and Father is one of them."

"Not to mention," Xander added, "it took a long time for us to convince Father to let you return. Are you really so ready to throw it away for the enemy?"

"They're not…" Fuyu started, but then that same image before – of someone large and imposing, with long hair sticking out in different directions – came to mind. "I mean… I guess they are, but…" But they couldn't have been much older than she was. They probably had family and friends and entire livelihoods that would no doubt mourn their passing.

Leo cleared his throat. "If it's any consolation," he said, "that spell I used was a weak one. It should only have incapacitated them."

"Incapacitated…?" Fuyu echoed. "So that means they're okay!"

"Though whether they'll be smart and leave like they should, I can't say," Leo added.

"They were injured, weren't they?" Elise asked. She tugged on Fuyu's hand as she began to run.

"Yes definitely," Fuyu answered. "And I might have injured Rinkah more? If I hit her hard enough, that is."

"I brought your staff by the way."

"You never cease to amaze, Elise."

It was as if that dreadful confrontation with their father had never happened. For the first time since her siblings had told her she was allowed to return, Fuyu was able to breathe. Elise tossed her staff to her, and Fuyu promptly dropped Ganglari to catch it.

They found Rinkah and Kaze crouched by a fountain in the castle courtyard. "I told you not to overdo it," Kaze said calmly as he bandaged Rinkah's arm.

"You have no right to talk," Rinkah retorted, scowling. "You surrendered at the first sign of trouble."

"That's not why I…" Kaze started, but then he trailed off when he saw Fuyu and Elise.

"Are you okay?" Elise asked, eyebrows raised in concern. "You're not too badly hurt, are you?"

Rinkah's axe was still in the throne room, but the woman reached for one of Kaze's knives so quickly that Fuyu could barely process the motion. "Get back," she practically snarled.

Fuyu crouched before them and raised her healing staff, and Elise soon followed suit. Healing magic swirled around them both – Fuyu focused on Kaze while Elise worked on Rinkah – and soon the bruises and scratches disappeared without a trace. Rinkah snapped her head to the side, muttering curses under her breath, while Kaze stared up at Fuyu in wonder. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I… Well, I suppose I should have known what Father wanted me to do, but…"

"Save it," Rinkah snapped. "Your words mean nothing, Nohrian scum."

"I know," Fuyu replied calmly, "but they're all I have."

Kaze tilted his head to the side. A strand of hair as green as the forests in Fuyu's books fell across his forehead, and a twinge of pink bloomed at his cheeks. His voice was surprisingly warm and gentle, not at all fitting for the greedy, gluttonous monsters Hoshidans were supposed to be. "Lady… Fuyu, was it?"

It was surprisingly easy to smile. "Yes, that's right. And you're Kaze?"

He exhaled slowly when the last of the healing magic surrounding him dissipated. "Yes."

Elise groaned in frustration. "Hold still!" she grumbled. "It's going to hurt more if you keep squirming like that!"

"Hmph," Rinkah said contemptuously. "As if I wanted to be indebted to some Nohrian—"

"Oh, you're not indebted," Elise cut her off. "Don't worry! We just want you guys to get home safe." Fuyu nodded in agreement.

The corners of Kaze's lips twitched upward with the tiniest of smiles. "Thank you," he said. "When we were captured, I was certain that only death would await us. Though if even Nohrian royalty is capable of such kindness… there may be hope for this desolate country after all."

"So this is where you were." Fuyu jumped at Xander's voice behind them, mentally cursing herself for not noticing his presence. When she looked to Leo, he shook his head at her in a way that practically screamed, You would be dead right now if he were an enemy. "Listen well: my sister's kindness has bought you your freedom. Leave now, lest you be spotted by the high king."

"You should be good to go now," Elise said as the healing magic surrounding Rinkah faded. "Don't overdo it on your way back, okay?"

"Y-You…" Rinkah scowled her gaze shifting from Fuyu, to Elise, and then back to Fuyu. "The next time we meet, I'll make you pay for this humiliation!" She ran off before Fuyu could utter a single word of protest.

Kaze stood slowly, and then bowed to Fuyu. "You have my gratitude," he said before following Rinkah.

Fuyu sighed as she watched them leave. Everything was going to be fine. They would get home safe, because Elise's skill with a healing staff was nearly on par with Leo's skill with a tome, and healing always came more naturally to Fuyu than fighting did.

She gripped her staff tightly with both hands. It would be fine – she would make sure of it.