He was five when they met.
"We're going to the Northern Fortress, Leo," Xander said, looking down on his younger brother.
"It's boring there. And cold."
"Your sister is there, and we're going to see her."
"What are you talking about? Camilla and Elise are both here." He was right of course- he always was.
"Your new sister."
"Another new sibling?"
"Yes. But she is different than the rest, Leo."
"She won't fight us? Mother is okay with it?"
Leo was fine with it then. He didn't really understand, but he got in the carriage, squished between Xander and Camilla, the elder of who held Elise on his knee. The Northern Fortress was a while away, and Leo was quickly bored. He hauled a heavy story book onto his knee, running his finger along the spine before he paged through it, picking out his favourite story. It was about a princess in a tower, not allowed to go out, who helped a prince up by letting her hair tumble down the side of the tower for him to climb up. When the carriage pulled up in front of the Northern Fortress, Leo couldn't help but wonder if his sister would have hair that would cascade down the side of the stronghold.
Camilla stayed downstairs with Elise- she was still young, and Xander said they didn't want too many people in with their new sister at once. Camilla had already met the princess, and spent the entire carriage journey singing her praises. Leo's expectations weren't high- a lot of the other siblings he had were awful people, and he didn't have it in himself to believe that this girl would be anything different. Xander knocked softly on her door, and she opened it, peering around the corner. When she saw it was Xander, she threw the door open and flung herself at his leg, almost knocking him over.
"Hello, little princess. May we come in?"
She nodded, and sat on her bed as Leo and Xander hovered near the door. Her hair was wild yet not long like he had imagined. Black was the colour of her hair and eyes, and her dress was the same colour. She almost blended in with her surroundings, but it was her red eyes that Leo noticed most, staring into his soul. He held eye contact with her for an unusually long time, before she looked back to Xander.
"Corrin, this is your younger brother, Leo. Leo, this is Corrin. She's six, just one year older than you."
"Nice to meet you," he offered.
She didn't say anything, but nodded slowly, her face confused. Xander coughed awkwardly. It wasn't his job to make them talk to each other- he was only nine himself, after all. He was no better at interacting with the younger girl himself, yet he seemed inexplicably to be her favourite. Xander would explain later to Leo that she just liked him most because they met first, and that she would definitely grow to like him in time soon too. Camilla too would tell him that- she took time to get comfortable around people, and it had been the same with her. But he was the closest in age to her, so it should be easier for her, shouldn't it?
So he supposed.
He was six when they actually had a conversation.
His mother wasn't too keen on him visiting the Northern Fortress all the time, so he was kept at home with her while his siblings went to visit Corrin. This frustrated him greatly- Elise was only four, and yet she was allowed to go almost every time, and she came back talking about how much fun she had playing with Corrin's hair, and how lovely she was. Leo didn't know anything more about the girl than the time he was introduced to her.
Xander invited him one day, when his mother was out of town and the weather was nice. The plan was for them to have a picnic in the small garden of the Northern Fortress, but that wasn't something Leo liked. Regardless, he went along with it, and a few hours later he found himself sitting in the garden on a checked red and white blanket with a basket Xander had somehow procured from the kitchens in Castle Krakenburg. Corrin was there too, her short hair adorned with ribbons of Elise's choosing. She sat opposite him, between Xander and Elise, while Camilla sat beside him, offering a friendly pat on the shoulder.
Sandwiches weren't Leo's food of choosing, but he nibbled through them, cake, and fruit to appease Corrin, as that is what she asked for. She barely ate at all- a small sandwich, a few crumbs of cake, and one apple slice. Leo had to wonder why she wasn't eating, but didn't question it out loud. Eventually, Xander had to go and train, and Camilla took Elise of to get changed when she spilled juice all over herself. This left Leo and Corrin alone, for the first time ever.
"How are you?" He asked quietly, not expecting a response. But she opened her mouth, and Leo raised an eyebrow when she spoke, her voice quiet and raspy, not at all how he expected it.
"I'm fine. How are you, brother?"
"Good. I enjoyed the picnic."
"I'm glad. I had the food picked out specially. Do you think the others liked it?"
"I'm sure they did. Elise liked it so much she wanted to become one with her juice," he smirked. She stared blankly at him, not understanding his words. "You know, because she poured it over herself."
"Oh, right," she giggled, but Leo could tell she still didn't understand even after his explanation.
"You don't understand," he said bluntly. He was right of course- he always was.
"No, sorry," she whispered.
"It's fine. Maybe one day."
He was seven when they spent a significant amount of time together.
One particularly rainy day, he was abandoned in the Northern Fortress with her, while his elder brother and sister were brought back to the castle to go through their weaponry training. They had been staying with Corrin the past few days- after all, it would've been rude to deny the birthday girl seeing her family. Elise was there too, but as much as Leo liked her, he found her incredibly boring to be around after only a half an hour.
Corrin's room was at the top of the tower, and Leo scaled them on his own for the first time ever, hauling a heavy hardback tome behind him. Books were his thing, and he could share that with his sister, just like Camilla and Elise shared their love of clothes with her. He knocked on the door three times, and she called from inside for her to come in, although he had to strain to hear her quiet voice. He pushed the door open and wandered in. She was sitting on her bed, eyes glazed over as she stared out the window. She didn't acknowledge him as he sat beside her on her bed, and he noted her fingers pulling at the baby pink blankets beneath her. Eventually, she turned to him, smiling gently.
"Hi, Leo."
"Hello, sister. Would you like to read?"
"Read?"
"I brought a book."
"Why don't you read to me? I'm sure you're a lot better than I am. You're so smart, Leo. Everyone says so."
"I guess," he said proudly, doing his best not to puff his chest out. He was right, of course- he always was. He flipped the pages across to favourite story, moving the book so the weight was shared on her knee too. "Go on. I'm sure you could do it."
"Ra... ra... pun... I don't know this word."
"Of course not," he sighed. "It's her name," he said, pointing at the watercolour painting of the girl below the title.
"She's very pretty. Look at her hair!"
"Just try and read the story, Corrin. Her name is Rapunzel. It's a type of lettuce."
"Imagine calling your child after a vegetable!" Corrin laughed, holding her stomach. "Tomato, Pea, it's time for dinner!"
"Actually, tomatoes are fruits," Leo scowled, annoyed at how sidetracked they were getting.
"Seriously?"
"Just read the book, Corrin. Or do you not want to? I can go away."
"No! I'll try. But I'm not very good, Leo. If you want to read, maybe you should read to me?"
"I believe in you."
"Okay," Corrin agreed hesitantly, using her finger to point out individual syllables. "Once... upon... a time... there... was... a... pri... princess?"
"That's it," Leo encouraged. Corrin smiled widely, and turned her attention back to the book.
"She... lived in a... tower. Just like me! Her... mother... kept... her... there... to... keep...her...safe... from... the... world... Leo this is going to take forever. Look how long this story is!"
"Fine. I'll read. But you have to promise me that you'll learn how to read properly for the next time I come to visit."
By the end of the story, Corrin was entranced with the story of the princess with hair that never stopped growing, and Leo couldn't help but notice the way she twirled the lengths of her own hair around her finger. He closed the book with a thud, drawing Corrin out of her imagination. She seemed to enjoy the story a lot, even though she had given up on reading two sentences in.
"Do you think I should grow my hair long like Rapunzel? Then if anyone came to visit me, they could come right up to my room without having to walk up the stairs!"
"Maybe you should," Leo mused, holding back a laugh that such an absurd situation could even be plausible.
He was eight when he decided that Corrin was his favourite sister.
He couldn't compare her to Xander- she was far too different. He was stoic and serious, whereas she was bubbly and excitable. But unlike Camilla and Elise, she longed to learn like he did. Camilla and Elise did their usual lessons, but he often found Corrin reading the book of fairy tales that he had left for her. He noticed once that she had abandoned it, instead reading a short novel he had gifted her on her birthday, and his heart swelled with pride that he had managed to teach her how to read.
"Xander says next year he'll teach me how to use a sword," Corrin told him excitedly one day. "That means he'll probably teach you soon, too!"
"I don't really want to learn swordsmanship," Leo confessed.
"Really? How else will you fight?"
"Camilla's been using an axe," he pointed out.
"Oh, so is that what you'll do?"
"No. I'm interested in magic."
"Is magic real? I thought it was just in stories."
"No, it's real. We have so many mages in Nohr, and I'm sure one of them will teach me."
"I can't wait to do weapon training. What Xander says is really cool!"
"You really look up to him, don't you?"
"Big brother is really nice to me," Corrin nodded. "He teaches me lots of things. I'm getting lessons now, too. Gunter says I can read well enough. And I think that's thanks to you."
"Well, I'm glad. What is it you're reading now?"
"It's about a factory where they make sweets," Corrin explained, holding the book up for Leo. "Although it takes me a long time to read it," she admitted, glancing at her knees.
"That's okay. It took me a long time to read when I was just starting too."
"But you're younger than me, Leo, and you read long books that I know I couldn't."
"But you only just started. You're not going to improve that quickly." He was right, of course- he always was.
"What's your favourite book?" She asked, quickly changing the subject.
"That's a hard question," he said. "I read one once about a woman who was ostracised from her town because she had a baby."
"That sounds interesting."
"It was very long, and took me a while to read. Perhaps I'll read it again in a few years when I'm older."
"You must be a genius, Leo. At least, that's what Camilla calls you."
He was nine when she started paying less attention to him.
For years Leo had been alone. He was never particularly good at socialising, and didn't really feel the need to. Camilla and Xander were the only ones he interacted with, and when Elise was born, they turned all their attention to her- she was new, a novelty so to speak. And they were allowed to speak with her, unlike so many of their other half brothers and sisters. Elise was cute, he'd give her that, but she couldn't do anything. She just lay there for ages, doing nothing, staring at everyone around her- that was it.
It was only when Corrin arrived that he didn't want to be alone any more. They had spent a lot of time reading together, and Camilla often commented that the two got along extremely well. But when she turned ten, she picked up a sword, and Leo found himself and his books replaced by Xander and his practice dummies. He often watched her train from his bedroom window in the Northern Fortress. She was talented; he would give her that, as if she was born to wield a sword. She was light on her feet, nimble as she dashed around Xander, who was definitely getting a run for his money.
It wouldn't be long until he could begin to train as well. Camilla had trained early, and he hoped that if he asked father nice enough he may be allowed to pick up a tome soon too. There was a promise of a mythical weapon if he could get good enough, and he hoped that he could prove himself. He had stolen a tome from the armoury once when it wasn't guarded, but it had burned his hand (it was fire, after all). He had resigned himself to reading it- it was full of spell explanations on how the tome itself worked, and this greatly interested him.
Corrin was still outside training when he looked out before going down to dinner. She had promised him they'd read together after her training, before dinner, but that clearly wasn't going to happen. She was ten now, of course. Everyone began to ignore him when they reached ten years old. Perhaps he'd do the same to them then- it was only seven months to his birthday (not that he was counting).
He promised himself that he'd perfect magic. If not for himself, and his own satisfaction, then for the rest of his family- he was always looked down upon as the second son, the second youngest child. He wouldn't amount to anything. Well, he'd show them. Prove them wrong.
He was right, of course- he always was.
He was ten when he figured out that Corrin wasn't actually his sister.
Although he couldn't tell her- he wasn't sure if he even knew herself. Leo had always been very acute in his observations, and he cursed himself for not noticing it earlier. Her hair was completely different than his other siblings- that, he originally put down to whoever her mother was. Camilla's hair was purple, of course, unlike the rest of their blonde. But that was the only thing he had a rational explanation for. Corrin's eyes were red, and almond shaped, unlike the purple that the rest of his family had, including their father. Her nose was different too, he noticed one day while observing her. Her nose was small and round, different from the strong Nohrian nose he and his brother were always told he had. And then there were her ears.
It took years of knowing each other before he ever saw them, usually tucked away behind her dark hair. They were pointed at the ends, instead of the round ears that everyone else he knew had. In fact, he had never even seen ears like hers. It was the moment when she absentmindedly brushed her hair behind her ears while penning a letter to Elise back at Castle Krakenburg that he realised that there was no way they could truly be brother and sister.
He sought out Xander. Surely, as the oldest, he would know, or at least be able to understand his doubts about their sister's origins. The fact that he only met her aged six was another factor- he had met Elise the day after she was born. What annoyed him most, though, was the fact that it took him five years to figure it out.
"Xander?"
"Yes, little brother?" He answered, setting his teacup down. Camilla did the same, clearly they were having afternoon tea together, and he felt like he was intruding.
"I have a question. "
"Go on, then."
"Is Corrin really our sister?"
There was a pause. He was right, of course- he always was. The silence itself was confirmation- Xander didn't even need to say anything. Camilla snorted into her tea. Leo couldn't tell if she was impressed or laughing at him.
"Not by blood, no," Xander filled in eventually. "But she is our sister nonetheless. While not related by blood, she is a part of the family."
"Okay." He was contented by his elder brother's answer. But it was his facial expression, and Camilla's too, that didn't sit well with him. He looked worried, on the verge of panicked, perhaps because Leo had figured it out. The ten year old was always praised for his genius, so why was it so strange that he found this out too?
He was eleven when he noticed how long her hair had become.
Instead of letting it sit wildly around her shoulders, she often tied it up now, either in two buns or two pigtails. Her hair was noticeably curlier now, more akin to Camilla's hair texture. He watched her intently one day as she read, back to the thick tome full of fairytales. She often read what he would consider proper books now, but seemed always to make her back to the magical make believe of the stories.
"How many times have you read that now?" He asked one day, sitting opposite her at dinner. Camilla had commented that she was becoming like him now- rarely seen without a book.
"It's my favourite," she laughs softly.
"Still reading Rapunzel?"
"She's an inspirtation."
"Inspiration," Leo corrected.
"I tried."
"Is that why your hair is so long now, then?"
"Yeah. I'm hoping a handsome prince from a far away land will come and rescue me from my tower," she said sadly, staring down at her barely touched plate of food.
"You hate being here."
"You state the obvious," she laughed dryly. He was right, of course- he always was. But she seemed genuinely upset, as if she truly did want someone to climb up her wall and spirit her away. When he realised this, part of him regretted giving her the book. But the other, more sensible part of him knew that that book was likely her only solace here, alone more often that. A lot more often- he and his siblings had stopped visiting as often, he had noticed. He and Xander had sword training every day now, but Leo was largely uninterested in that.
"You'll be able to come to the Castle soon, though. Not that you're missing much- it's still dark and dreary there, though," Leo said in attempt to comfort her.
"Leo, have you ever been to Hoshido?"
"No," he answered quickly, feeling Xander's eyes on him. All eyes had turned to Corrin at the mention of the other country. The war had largely been kept from her- here in the Northern Fortress, Corrin was kept away from the majority of the fighting. Elise too- she knew little of the horrors her family were committing on the battlefield. Neither Camilla nor Leo had seen it for themselves, but Xander had been out, and Leo could always tell when he'd had to kill someone. But that was what they were trained for, so they couldn't complain.
"I wonder what it's like there," Corrin mumbles almost wistfully. "These books all paint it so beautifully."
"We're at war with them, Corrin," Leo said, not meeting her eyes.
"War?" She said, testing the word out in her mouth. She knew what it was, of course. "Oh."
"Sorry, Corrin," Xander said. "But you will likely never see Hoshido."
"It's okay."
Leo felt awful upon seeing her face fall.
He was twelve when he trained with her for the first time.
His scrawny mage's prepubescent body wasn't the sort for sword fighting, but Xander had been training him regardless of his complaints. He had shown his elder brother his spells he had been practising, and Xander had been impressed, promising to find Leo a tutor specifically for the training of magic. But his sword skills were still lacking, and Corrin was older, and stronger, and he didn't have it in him to hurt her in any way.
"Good luck big sister!" Elise called from the sidelines, staff clutched between her gloved hands. Gunter had suggested that she get some real life practice on what was the closest she'd ever get to a battlefield situation.
"Aren't you going to wish me luck?" Leo complained, holding his sword between two shaking hands.
"No, because I want Corrin to win."
"She'll win no matter who you cheer on," he muttered. He was right, of course- he always was. "Are you ready, sister?" He all but sneered.
"You may have the first move."
And he did, dashing toward her with his sword poised in front of him to strike. She spun out of the way, but lost her balance and hit the ground with a bump. She quickly got the upper hand, though, when Leo offered to help her up and she hit him with her sword, pushing him away from her to allow her to jump to her feet and move towards him. He blocked and parried every single one of her strikes, until finally he was pushed down with an expert strike that reminded him so much of Xander's style of fighting. Her style was unique, though. Her movements were more fluid, dance like. She practically floated into every strike, and it was only when she pointed her wooden practice sword at his throat did he realise that he had lost. She offered a hand to him to pull him up, and he begrudgingly took it, getting to his feet.
"That was so good!" Elise cried, bouncing over to her two elder siblings. "Now, stand still so I can heal you."
"You have the devil's own luck," Leo commented, stealing a phrase from one of his favourite novels. "You make good use of other people's weaknesses."
"I wouldn't call your kindness a weakness, Leo," she said kindly.
"I would," he said bluntly. "A-anyway, I don't even want to use a sword."
"Magic, right? See, I remember." A smile broke out on her face, and he couldn't help but laugh.
"Xander said he would find me a tutor."
"I'm sure you'll make a wonderful mage."
"And what about me?" Elise said, pouting at the lack of attention.
"Your healing is already wonderful, little sister. I can barely even feel that I've been hurt!"
He was thirteen when he was given a sacred weapon.
Xander had already received Siegfried, and there was talk circulating of a weapon for Corrin, although no one knew what it was or when it would show up. Camilla was perfectly happy with just the axe that she practiced with, and as of late she had been practising with tomes as well. Leo was admittedly jealous- magic was his thing, and he possessed more talent than she ever would, even two years younger than her. And of course, Elise was a healer, the staff being the only thing she needed to make her impact on the battlefield.
So when Brynhildr was passed into his hands by his father, Leo couldn't help but feel a mixture of pride and extreme responsibility. The binding in the book looked fragile, but the more Leo turned the pages, the tighter wound they became- some sort of magical reaction to the power both he and the book possessed. This tome was a lot more detailed than any of the Fire or Wind tomes he was most used to (though he did have a thing for the destructive power of Elfire, he discovered). Each paged contained hundreds of tiny, hand written words, and diagrams detailing how it was supposed to work.
Brynhildr gave him complete control of nature- he could grow plants with each hand, huge oak trees and entire flowerbeds and vines that could crawl up a person and suffocate them without him getting his hands dirty. Well, that's what the book detailed. In reality, all he could really do was grow tiny shoots in the palm of his hand that he could crush with barely any effort. It took all his effort to do that, but he continued, in the hope that eventually, the oak trees that the tome detailed would somehow sprout in front of him.
The other power it gave him was a certain level of control over gravity, and that came in particularly useful one day when Corrin was training with Camilla. The mage had never used this particular aspect of the sacred tome before, so when the situation arose that it was necessary, he didn't know properly how to use it.
The spar was mostly gentle- Camilla would never have dreamed of hurting a hair on her sister's head. It was Corrin that made the mistake- she jumped and grabbed onto Marzia's legs. Camilla didn't notice at first, and flew higher to get away from the battlefield. Marzia kicked up a fuss, and Corrin fell. Leo was sitting on a bench nearby, reading the details of the tome, when he saw Corrin's dark hair streaming out behind her as she plummeted towards the ground. Leo threw a hand out in a futile attempt to catch her. But she stopped, frozen, suspended in mid air. He thought time itself had stopped until Camilla landed Marzia and Corrin turned her head to him, her mouth open as if to scream.
"What have you done?" Camilla asked, rushing over to him.
"I don't know," he replied, his voice panicked. "The tome- Brynhildr- supposedly gives the owner control over gravity. I guess that's it."
"Well, put her down."
"I don't know how!"
"Why didn't you think about that before you stopped her?"
"I didn't mean to! But I saved her life!"
"Can you just put me down!" Corrin called, and Leo reached his hand out again for her, causing her to crash unceremoniously to the ground. He went over to her, to reach out to her, properly, and help her up.
"That was stupid, wasn't it?" He said, smirking. He was right, of course- he always was.
He was fourteen when he was forced to lead his own army into battle.
He didn't even know he had his own army. They were supposed to be visiting Corrin one weekend, but word had been sent from the Northern Fortress that the princess was sick, and couldn't have any visitors. Everyone was visibly upset at this news, particularly Elise, who had an entire weekend of fun planned out for her big sister. Leo was obviously saddened by the news as well, but wouldn't let his siblings know this.
It was almost immediately after this news came to him that he was summoned to see his father. Garon didn't usually have much to do with the youngest Nohrian prince- it was Xander that was the obvious favourite, although he often doted on Camilla too. Even Corrin was higher in his favour- she wasn't even biologically his, and Leo had to wonder why he'd taken her in all that time ago.
"You wanted to see me father?" He asked, nervous in the presence of the king.
"Yes. I want you to lead a small army to quash a rebel alliance on the outskirts of Cheve."
"Me?"
"You are Leo, correct?"
"Yes, father."
"Then go. Think of it as a test of your strength. None of your siblings will accompany you. Well... I suppose Elise could go. I don't know how much she'll help you, though."
"Thank you, father. I won't let you down." He was right, of course- he always was. He returned successful. He wasn't sure if they'd really quashed the rebellion, since there was only maybe ten people to fight when they got there. He had heard of an army quickly gaining strength inside Cheve, but the walls had been impenetrable- Xander had to retreat from them mere weeks earlier. Elise had come with him after all, and healed the minor injuries he and his army sustained. And for the first time, Leo produced the tree he so wished to with the Brynhildr- a powerful sycamore that wrapped its branches around the house itself and crushed those still inside.
Camilla met them returning into the castle, a grim expression on her face. Leo pushed past them to report to his father, his legs weary and his eyes dead. Elise followed behind him, and it was only then that Leo realised that he never should have let his twelve year old sister go on the mission with him.
"We got rid of the rebels, father," Leo reported.
"Well done, my son. I'm glad to hear you're using the Brynhildr to its full potential."
"I'm thankful and incredibly humbled that you would decide to bestow it on me, father."
"Alright. Now, be gone. I have other business to attend to."
Surprisingly, Leo wasn't that upset.
He was fifteen when he began to hate himself more than ever.
He was sitting in the hallway of the castle when Corrin walked past, tossing her hair over her shoulder, her fringe sticking to her forehead after a sparring session. He glanced up at her, and his eyes went wide. His heart was beating quickly in his chest, and he felt his face heating up. She smiled sweetly at him, walking past before backtracking a little.
"Are you okay, little brother? You look slightly feverish?" She asked, and to make things worse, she placed a hand on his forehead. He swatted her away, and when he answered, his voice came out rather choked.
"I'm fine."
"If you insist," she laughed, not believing a word that he said. She moved on, but he stayed there, holding his head in his hands.
It wasn't the first time that Leo had noticed Corrin's 'womanly charms', but the first time he had realised why. She was his sister, but it was only now that Leo began to realise that he saw her as more than that. It was disgusting, and wrong, and he knew it, but part of him knew that because they weren't really related, it wasn't as bad. He could pursue her to his heart's content. He was right, of course- he always was. But at the same time, he was oh, so wrong.
Her words echoed in his head.
Are you okay, little brother?
With his eyes closed, he could imagine her face at first if he made a move. She'd laugh at first- I love you too, brother. But when he explained properly, her face would fall, contort into a mixture of disgust and horror at his words. And then she'd leave- he'd never see her again, the object of his affections. But she wasn't just an object. Corrin was a goddess, some ethereal being that could cut down practice dummies like they were made of butter even with the worst sword available to her.
And Leo was nothing in comparison to her.
He lifted his head to see Niles in front of him, but he ignored the older man's taunting questions, even if they came from a genuine place of concern. He walked down the corridor in the same direction that Corrin did, but went into his own room that he slept in while in the Northern Fortress. He locked the door behind him and lifted Brynhildr from the shelf, holding the spine loosely in his hand. He held the other hand out in front of him as vines wrapped around his arm, clinging slightly too tightly. With another thought of her, the vines sprouted thorns and cut into his arm, causing blood to seep from each puncture. Tears rolled ungracefully down his cheeks, causing his face to grey as he slid down the wall. He landed hard on the ground, Brynhildr falling out of his grip, sliding across the floor. Corrin flashed in his mind again.
He was sixteen when he watched her spar with his older brother.
He was never quite sure where he stood when it came to Xander. He was clearly Corrin's favourite, and had been since they met. Even though Leo and Camilla were closer in age to her, she didn't pay them anywhere near as much attention as Leo would've hoped she would. Elise too was largely ignored as Corrin grew up, her penchant for play, even at fourteen, went largely ignored by her older sister. Corrin cared more about swordsmanship and getting as strong as she possibly could than the fickle things that Elise was interested in.
So instead of spending time reading with her as they used to do when she was much younger, he watched her fight Xander, dashing to meet his sword thrusts and parrying them. She had nowhere near as much physical strength as he did, but her agility and the fact that she was so nimble on her feet meant that they were on almost an even footing. Xander still won almost every time, but Corrin was never injured by her older brother.
Leo had never had the sort of sword skills necessary to properly match up with Corrin. They had sparred on a few occasions, and every time she beat him. He was too scared to hurt her, and he knew that even now, especially now, he couldn't face her in a one on one fight. He turned back to his flower bed, concentrating hard to make fresh pink tulips sprout, right beside the white roses. He heard a final clash of metal, and a few seconds later, Corrin was kneeling by his side, carefully poking the newly grown flowers.
"Is this what you do for training?" She smiled softly.
"I do battle training too, thank you very much," he answered defensively. She was much too close for his liking, and he moved away instinctively.
"I appreciate your plants, though. I can see them from my window. And these ones are particularly colourful." She grinned at him baring her pointed teeth. That was another thing he noticed was different about her.
"I planted them for you, you know. To make things nicer around here for you. It's more grim than at Castle Krakenburg, I tell you."
"Thank you, Leo," she said kindly, squeezing his upper arm.
"Corrin!" Xander called, and within an instant she was back on her feet, waving to him as she left.
"See you later."
He glanced up at her tower that she had gestured lamely at before. She was a princess stuck in a tower, not allowed to leave for her own safety. Leo had perceived that there was a magical barrier around the castle. He was right, of course- he always was. When he probed Xander about it once, he couldn't give him a straight answer- but Leo had his suspicions. Corrin had only once left the fortress, to his knowledge, and when she was reprimanded for it, he just had to wonder why.
He was seventeen when he was forced to watch her have her own party to celebrate her coming eighteen.
It was nice to see her being excited about something for once. Nobles had been invited to the fortress, most of them for the first time, to see her on this special occasion. One didn't turn eighteen every day, after all. They were all invited into the ballroom (which was a lot smaller than the one in Castle Krakenburg, Leo noted) and she met everyone and talked and danced the night away. He and his other siblings were invited too. Free of his armour for once, Leo hung at the side of the room, awkwardly circled the food table, not even touching a plate of it.
He watched Corrin from a distance. She seemed to be a natural at the whole socialising thing, unlike him. From experience at the parties that they were sometimes invited to at Castle Krakenburg, he had realised that they really weren't his thing. Camilla too was a people person, and while it wasn't Xander's favourite thing in the world, he persevered through it. And Elise... well, Elise was everyone's favourite. She lit up the room, while he was just... forgotten.
Corrin stood in the centre of the room, her black dress pooling around her feet. It looked as though it was made from the stars themselves, unnoticed until she stood in shadow and the light hit it just right and it lit up. Her hair was tamed and tied in a low ponytail, and she had silver jewellery up and down her arms. He knew the instant he saw her that it was Camilla that had styled her so beautifully, so perfectly for such an occasion. He wanted to go over to her and ask her to dance, but she had been floating around with Silas for most of the evening, and it was only a matter of time before they began to waltz. Besides, it would've been improper for her to engage in such behaviour. Dancing with her younger brother- who did he think he was?
But she came over to him anyway, despite how much he tried to hide behind waiters with floating trays of champagne and made himself busy by talking to random aristocrats he didn't know and had no interest in. She placed a hand on his lower arm and gently led him away from those he was using as an excuse to avoid her. She knew his game immediately, and he swallowed hard.
"Are you ignoring me?"
"Not at all, sister," he replied smoothly, putting particular emphasis on the 's'.
"It looks like it."
"I would never ignore you, and you know it."
"True," she hummed, tightening her grip on his arm. Her eyes were unreadable, and he felt his face heat up as they held eye contact.
"I was going to ask you to dance, but I know you'd say no."
She moved away then, and true to his prediction, she was dancing with Silas. He was right, of course- he always was.
He was eighteen when he had the same sort of experience.
It was Camilla that styled him too, sweeping his hair off his face, putting his hair band back n properly, and ensuring weeks in advance that his suit fitted him perfectly. Camilla cooed over her little brother, placing numerous kisses on his head. He ended up swatting her away, but she followed him around the party, telling him which girls to talk to and which to avoid. She was followed by Elise, who had let her pigtails down and had abandoned the pink in favour of a black dress that Camilla also had a hand in.
Corrin on the other hand, was dressed a lot more demurely, with a tea dress the same colour as her eyes. His eyes were still drawn to her over all the girls in the room. She knew about what he thought of her, he reckoned. She ran her hand over his arm and winked at him every time she walked past. He did as Camilla instructed, and talked to those girls that she had pointed out. None of them were as exciting as his sister, however. None of them had the excited twinkle that permanently resided in her eyes; none of them had the natural life energy that shone out from her.
He had to get away. He practically flew down the stairs and out onto the training field, to the tiny flower bed that he called his own. He had requested that he held the party at the Northern Fortress because he wanted Corrin to be there, and Elise had excitedly informed him that her own party would be there in two year's time. He said that he wanted to be here, but he had left at almost the first opportunity he got. She was stifling him, and she knew it.
A click of heels grabbed him from his stupor.
"What are you doing out here?" She asked, and Leo lifted his head to see her standing there, leaning one hand against the wall.
"Claustrophobic," he mumbled, and she grabbed his face in one hand.
"Don't lie to me," she growled, and he could smell the alcohol on her breath.
"You," he managed to get out. It wasn't a confession of any kind- there could be a million reasons why he was avoiding her. But she pushed him into the stone wall behind him and kissed him hard, her lips sloppy against his. His knees went weak, but he pushed her away.
"This is wrong."
"That's not to say you don't like it." She kissed him again, and this time he reciprocated, snaking his arms around her waist to get as much contact as he could.
He thought he had gotten over his feelings for her, but it was at this moment that he realised that he had always been wrong.
A/N: This is supposed to be dark but i am Bad at dark so its just angsty, Will have a happy ending! Next chapter will detail his life from 19- 27 ish probably. two shot!