Corrin frowned, squinting her eyes at her older brother's flamboyant retainer. She found him an enigma, more so than his other buddies Odin and Luna. Although there was something definitely mysterious about all three of the lot, for some reason the brown-eyed dancer in training was the most intriguing to her. He seemed like he was hiding the most.
Not that Corrin was distrusting of the man or his comrades, since to distrust wasn't in her nature, but she was more curious than anything else.
The young man under the Nohrian princess's intense stare was Lasward, a fairly built and lean looking thing with the most charming of smiles.
Well, he usually had a charming smile, while as of right now that was not the case.
The whole Nohrian army was inside the mess hall, eating, laughing, telling jokes and sharing stories. Most were gathered around Arthur, listening to him retelling tales of his heroic deeds and often the misfortune that happened as well. It was always a big riot hearing him recount his past experiences, and the others found it funny giving him a hard time for it.
Around this time, Corrin found it common that Lasward would be absent from all the others and off chasing some poor girl in a nearby village. Today, though, he was somewhat situated with the rest in the mess hall.
Although the ones who were listening to Arthur were all heavily crowded and bunched around him, Lasward was distanced and sat a few tables back. He seemed like he was kind of listening, if only vaguely, to Arthur too.
His eyes looked distant as he stared off into some nondescript location far off.
That was the thing with him, or at least one thing, that the princess found so curious about him. You would see him, the soldier, but he never really seemed truly there right in front of you. He was animated and lively and a huge flirt in the spotlight, but when no one was looking, Lasward was just kind of… dismal.
It was as if when he thought no one was paying attention, only then could he allow himself to wallow in a deep, mournful sorrow.
Not that this behavior was so extremely out of the normal, since, well, they are all indeed in a full scale war after all, but within the army was camaraderie, friendship, and family. Soldiers didn't have much to hide here, because what could you possibly need to hide from your family? Even with the heavy weight of danger and war on everyone's shoulders, people still found the ability to smile and have fun.
Except Lasward often seemed except from that rule. Maybe it wasn't even that he couldn't have fun so much as he didn't allow himself to.
It was not long after that Lasward seemed to step out of his trance as goose bumps began to coat his skin. He felt the crushing weight of someone's eyes piercing into him and looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of his sudden discomfort.
After scanning his head to the right, there seemed to be no one paying attention to him. Now scanning his head to the left—oh. He immediately felt a blush rise to his cheeks as he locked eyes with the second princess of Nohr.
Upon being discovered, all of her curious intensity bubbled away only to leave a deep, awkward blush in its wake too.
They played this game for a bit, wide-eyed and awkwardly staring at each other as if both were caught committing a secret crime.
After a long moment of silence, Lasward decided to speak up first. He cleared his throat and willed for the blush to lessen.
"L-lady Corrin,"—he paused, waiting a moment for the shy stutter to leave his voice—"can I help you? A lovely lady such as yourself should not need stare so intently at a gentleman such as I. If you need something of me, all you must do is approach."
Princess Corrin, not nearly so smooth, or good at pretending to be, could barely do more than shake her head. "I'm f-fine, thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I was just about to leave actually so although this conversation has been truly riveting, I'll just—"
She got up quickly, trying to make a quick escape before the embarrassment of the entire situation swallowed both of them whole. She decided that she would retreat for now, and conduct more staring research on him later when he wasn't looking again.
But he was quicker and got up from his seat faster, making it to her side in no time.
Gone was the secretive, shy Lasward Corrin sometimes caught glimpses of when he let his guard down and back up was the flirtatious, womanizing soldier of a man that he let everyone see.
"Milady, no need to make such haste! Since we're already here together, why don't you join me for some tea? I know a splendid place nearby that makes for a great walk together along the way."
Corrin did her best not to roll her eyes. Of course he'd take advantage of every situation he could in inviting a girl out. Suddenly it was a lot easier to forget about how awkward the situation was moments before and focus on how cringe-worthy Lasward was when he tried charming a girl.
In all honesty, Lasward wasn't at all bad looking and, dare Corrin think it, maybe even cute. He was nice enough too, as well as strong and trustworthy enough for Xander to take him in as a loyal retainer. Really, he'd be a big hit with the ladies if he just didn't lay everything on so incredibly thick. He was over the top with his lines and totally insincere, using the same tricks to pick up one girl after the next. If Corrin wasn't already sure that she was just about the ninth girl he asked to tea in one day, she maybe would've said yes.
"No, Lasward. I'm afraid I'll have to decline. What a pity, truly. But you see, I have… stuff to do. Royal stuff, you know. Since I'm… royal, and things. And royal people do important royal stuff, so again, if you'll excuse me…"
Lasward winced at her words, as if there were an invisible pull on his heartstrings. In a dramatic flair he clutched at where his heart would be, right over his chest, and said, "Ah, there it is! Rejection, my dear old friend."
Corrin blinked up at him. "Um, right. Well, if you'll let me slip by, then I can be on my way and—"
Again he interrupted her, both hands now holding hers. "H-hey! Just hold on a minute and think about it Princess. I may not be here forever. Sometimes you'll be surprised to find how your precious time with others is so very fleeting, and you'll find that you regret all the things you did and didn't do when they were still there with you. That precious time spent with those precious people can never be recovered or had anymore when they're gone. Those precious people can just disappear, and the realization that comes afterwards of never being able to see them again… It's a painful thing, and it can be crippling."
Looking at his eyes, they were suddenly like glass. And there in those glassy eyes was the hidden Lasward again. It was the most of this secret part of the dancer she'd ever seen before, this side of him she was more interested in than this confident front he put up with everyone.
He seemed sucked in another trance again, and the pain that was stained in every word was evident.
Corrin felt this strange hurt in the deepest pit of her stomach, but it was more of a sad aching for him than it was for herself.
"Lasward?" The irritation and rough edge in Corrin's voice disappeared as a quiet softness replaced it.
There was a pause and a heartbeat until Lasward's hold on the princess's hands loosened until his own fell limply at his side. His gaze, which were glued to where their hands had been connected, lifted to look at her. Lasward gave a casual shrug, as if he could shrug away the hidden pain Corrin had just seen, and casted her a winning smile.
Corrin was almost surprised by how quickly he could pretend and hide behind his façade.
"Of course, I only say these things to protect you, milady," he lied. His voice had taken a light and lively tune again, and the glassy look in his eyes gone. "I'm not too certain myself, but I do hear the feeling of loosing someone dear to you is a most heartbreaking thing. I just wanted to spend as much time with you, and everyone else, as much as I can. After all, I might not always be around to offer you invitations to tea, Princess Corrin."
His smile looked tight at the last sentence, and Corrin couldn't pinpoint why but there was something about the way he was talking that she didn't like at all. It almost sounded like—
"A goodbye? Are you saying an early goodbye? You sound as though you're going to go somewhere soon."
Lasward didn't answer, only giving Corrin his warm, casual smile as an evasion to the question.
Not soon, he thought. It might be a little longer than that before I go home.
"So how about it, milady?" he piped up again. "Will you join me for tea?"
She tried finding the hidden Lasward in his eyes again, but to no avail. He was hidden well. Maybe she'd see him again if she accompanied him just this once for tea.
Corrin wasn't all that certain why, but the curiousness to searching for the secret man hidden away inside him grew stronger than ever now, bordering on being a need. She didn't know why, but she had to find him, or else she felt that one day both Laswards she knew would disappear forever.
Before she could think better of her decision, she took his hand in hers and dragged him forward.
Lasward looked surprised at her acceptance to his invitation, but eventually his face eased into a sincere smile and Corrin managed to smile back as she lead the way.
Not long after, they had to turn around because Corrin didn't know where they were going so Lasward took the lead.