Gypsy is back with something short and sweet, something i really wanted to get out on Xander's birthday, but I got delayed. Oh well, better late than never! :)
Rain tapped endlessly and violently against the window, wind whistling a chorus through the air and lightning occasionally flashed, lighting every crevice shadows slipped into for the smallest second. Needless to say, this was one of the worst storms to hit Nohr in years. The young crown prince found himself unable to sleep with the relentless storm, so he spent the hours away by engrossing himself in his studies. It was the middle of the night by now and the storm was still going strong. Even though he knew he likely wouldn't be given any assignments by his father until the storm was over, which was likely not for another few hours, he figured that he should at least get some rest.
He was just about to retire for the night when he heard a soft tiny knock on his bedroom door.
The sound was very light against the raging storm, and for a moment, he considered that he might have just been hearing things and was about to ignore it, but being that he knew could have made that knowing, he walked briskly to the door and opened it.
He almost immediately kneeled down to meet the eyes of his adopted sister.
"Little princess, is something wrong?"
The young girl who stood in the doorway, a simple nightgown flowing around her along with her long silver hair, slowly looked up at him, eyes wide in terror and tear trails shining against her face.
Just as she was about to speak, another flash of lightning came along with a loud clap of thunder. In the second that white light filled the room, Xander heard her shriek and felt her small arms quickly wrap around him and her face nuzzled against his chest. Up close, he could hear her soft whimpers under her breath, could feel her body violently shaking and could practically feel her heart thundering against her chest. It didn't take long for him to piece things together.
"Now, now, little princess...shhhhh…"
He softly cooed to calm her down, one hand softly running through her hair to soothe her. He stood up, cradling her in his arms, and shut the door.
Even though there wasn't that big of an age difference between him and Corrin, she was still only half his size and was rather skinny, so he was able to hold her with ease as she clung to him like life or death. To think that she had likely been suffering like this the past few hours the storm had been lasting made his own heart wrench. He went and sat on the edge of his bed, his sister sitting in his lap.
"It's okay, little princess...I'm here...it's alright…"
His gentle voice slowly worked to soothe the young girl's nerves, the soft strokes through her hair and against her small back eased her into a calm disposition, her cries falling silent as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"The storm doesn't seem like it won't be stopping for a while," He whispered in a low voice, "Would you like to stay here, little princess?"
She looked up at him and gave a small nod. She moved off his lap as they laid down on the bed. Corrin snuggled up close to his chest as another flash of lightning lit the room, her grip tight on his night shirt as one of his arms held her close. He was just about to drift off into some much needed sleep when he heard her soft voice just beneath the raging storm.
"...Xander…"
"Yes, little princess?"
"...Promise me...you won't ever leave…"
He let out a soft laugh before answering, "Of course. I'll always be here for you. Even if something were to ever separate us, I won't rest until I'm at your side again. I promise."
A small smile graced her face as she cuddled closer to him.
"...I love you, big brother."
"I love you too, little sister."
Xander couldn't help but feel a strong sense of déjà vu as he listened to the raging storm outside. Normally the army could easily avoid dealing with intense weather like this by going to the astral plane, but since they were on the move with several Nohrian soldiers, it would definitely raise a lot of confusion if some of them were to mysteriously vanish, even if it was just for the night. And while he was handling the storm well, he could tell his wife wasn't doing so well.
Corrin had tried to keep herself distracted from the storm by engrossing herself in a strategy book Leo had given her, but he could tell that her focus was barely on what she was reading. With every flash of lightning, he could see her face growing more frightened and tense and her body became more swaddled in the blanket. Her grip on the book had grown devastatingly tight; by this point he was surprised that she had yet to tear any of the pages.
Quickly finishing up his last report, he went to sit down next to her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Want to stop for the night, little princess?"
She gave a quick nod and closed the book, placing it on the night table as she leaned next to him.
"...Xander, do you think it's ridiculous that I'm still scared of thunderstorms?"
He chuckled lightly as he pulled her close, holding her against his chest as he lightly stroked her hair. She hadn't really changed much throughout the years, but as he grew, her cuteness had grown into unmistakable beauty in his eyes.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, little princess. Everyone is afraid of something. Besides, I told you a long time ago that I will always be here for you, now and forever."
A warm smile graced her face as he leaned down and gently kissed her.
"I love you, Xander."
"I love you too, my darling wife."
Xander really is such a sweetheart, I love him so much. 3
Hope this makes up for my inactive nature recently. I've just been dealing with a lot of stuff. Bye for now! :)