AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi everyone! This is easily one of my most favorite ships of all time, and at this point I feel like I've read every Leo/Corrin fic out there ten times over. So, it was time for me to contribute with my own! I really hope you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed all of yours.
An important note: I understand that there is some interpretation on when exactly the Nohrian siblings knew that Corrin was not their blood-related sibling. For the sake of this story, every member of the Nohr family knows that Corrin is not from their bloodline, but choose to conceal this from her until Corrin discovers it as the events of the game take place :)
the element of surprise
time: in the northern fortress, before the events of conquest
Much to her greatest displeasure, Leo had become exceptionally busy as of late.
A dark and foreboding place, it was hard to make a home out of the Northern Fortress. The overcast days passed Corrin by with a forlorn feeling, filling her with a deep dreariness that she couldn't seem to shake. Her days were spent in dreaming, exploring worlds yet unknown to her from within flights of fancy. She longed to run the length of the wild fields, to feel the soft heads of wheat against her nimble bare feet, to watch the golden grains shine with their dewy coats beneath the light of the rising sun. She could only imagine how it must feel to dive into the green overgrowth of a meadow, a natural world bursting with life and splashes of color. To chase the occasional afternoon butterfly, feel the breeze as it glides against iridescent wings. She dreamt of these things, keeping them secret within her heart, lest her father discover her disobedience. She shuddered at the mere thought.
Her siblings (bless them) knew of her loneliness in isolation, but perhaps no one knew it better than Leo. The two had a sort of unexplainable bond, special from the rest, that had existed for as long as they'd known each other. Perhaps it was a natural result in being the closest in age, or maybe it was something else, some sort of drawing power from deep within. She was radiant and wild and bursting at the seams with spirit unmatched; if she was the sun, then he, in contrast, was most surely the moon. He was intuitive, melancholic, and often times- although he might have trouble admitting it- deeply misunderstood.
She lived for the days when he would visit her in her prison, which he did quite often. She relished in his company. The moments they shared together were like the fresh air she so longed for, the faintest breath of a summer's wayward wind. He brought along easy smiles and effortless laughter with him- although it was sometimes at his expense. "Curse this insipid collar," he snarled, realizing he had put it on inside-out for the five-thousandth time, Corrin laughing all the while…
So his insistence on ignoring her these past few days was becoming downright irritating.
"Corrin," he sighed, the girl hot on his heels as he scurried off to the fortress' sizeable library. "I told you, mastering the Wilderwinds spell is of the utmost importance right now-"
"How can you master something you've never successfully cast?" she jested, a smirk growing on her lips. He gave a halfhearted eye roll in response.
"Which is exactly why I need the practice. I should have had this down ages ago...if I can just figure out why I can't get it to work..."
"That's why you should take a break," she beamed, "Clear the mind! Make time for some fun now and then. Just...take a fifteen minute walk with me, Leo. Catch me up on what the rest of the family is up to. It might give you that epiphany you're looking for."
"As nice as that sounds," he groaned, continuing to evade her attempts to slow down his pursuit, "I can't afford to do that right now. All the texts on the Wilderwinds are in this library, and if I don't have it down before my match with Xander at the end of the week-"
"Then you'll get your butt kicked," she decided.
"Yes, then I'll get my b- hey!"
She laughed, snickering even more at his glowering reaction as they continued to pass through the hall.
"You know, Corrin, it would do you some good to brush up on your studies in the meantime."
"Oh? And what is that supposed to mean?"
"A wise king once said, 'A leader must never rest, never surrender, and most of all never stop learning..'"
Corrin mouthed the proverb as Leo recited it. If she'd heard it once, she'd heard it a thousand times.
"Yes, yes, with the ye olde proverb again….but I hardly think that applies to me," she sighed. Her eyes glossed over her surroundings with dismay. "I'm no leader. I'm a girl who's stuck in a gloomy tower."
He stopped in his tracks. Slowly, and with the slightest bit of hesitancy, he placed a gentle hand to her shoulder and spoke.
"The day will come when you can leave this place," he promised. She met his eyes, surprised to see a spark of hopeful determination glinting from deep within. She hadn't expected the sudden shift to a serious mood. Perhaps, despite her cheerful attempts to disguise it, he had sensed her loneliness, discerned her longing for the world beyond the barriers….
"I'm beginning to doubt that," she replied quietly, showing him a crestfallen smile.
He was silent for a moment, only staring at her with a curious expression, one that she couldn't quite place. In that moment, Corrin could only guess what sort of pressing dialog went on in his head, but from the look on his face she could imagine it was some kind of grievous resolve. She hoped he wouldn't talk to the others about this; she didn't need them worrying about her, too. He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and gestured her onward.
"Come on," he said, "the library's waiting."
Groaning the whole way, she followed suit.
When it came to academic stamina, no one could match Leo. Corrin felt like it they'd been cooped up for days in dead silence, save for the sound of a page turning every so often and Leo's occasional frustrated mumbling. She had tried to read diligently- for the first hour or two. Her concentration had broken somewhere along the way, and she found herself having to reread a paragraph about the element of surprise three times over. A break, she decided, was most definitely in order.
She glanced over to Leo. His brows were furrowed in deep concentration as he scrawled something in the margins of the text. The feather tip of his quill pen danced maddeningly. There was no way he was leaving now. Once he was into something, there'd be no stopping him. She would have to move the heavens above and the earth below to get his attention now. Why, she could probably take her leave and he wouldn't even realize she was gone for another chapter or two…
The element of surprise….
Which gave her an excellent idea. A playful grin spread across her lips as she carefully slipped away.
True to her original thoughts, Leo did not notice her exit. Far from it, he had grown even more engrossed in the textbook before him. Perfect, Corrin thought.
With great caution, she creeped her way to the nearest row of books, situated directly behind where Leo was sitting. The shelf towered high above the room, easily concealing the mischievous princess. She slunk to the floor, wrapping her legs beneath her to get into a comfortable position. It would take a some time to fully enact her plan. She drummed her fingers against her knees as she waited patiently.
Ten minutes….fifteen minutes...twenty minutes….
Keeping the weighty silence was painful. Her legs were starting to cramp up, and if she got any hungrier, the impeding roar of her empty stomach would give her away. She reminded herself that the prank would be worth it, and resolved to see it through.
"...this is beyond frustrating," Leo spoke aloud suddenly. "None of these volumes address why my tome hasn't been functional. Niles claims he got it from a reliable merchant...I swear, Corrin, if I find out that he gave me a botched tome...Corrin?...Cooooorrin?"
Yes! Finally! He had noticed her absence! Now, she could put her plan into motion. Operation 'Scare Leo' was in full swing. Oh, how she wished the others could be here to watch. The surprised look on his face was going to be priceless. Quickly, she unraveled her arms from her atop her thighs and pushed her palms against the cold tiles, aiming to rise in haste and stalk him silently from behind. From behind her post, she could she his head scanning the room for her.
She found she couldn't rise as a sharp ache buzzed in her veins. Her legs would not respond.
What? No! Ah, come on! Not now!
She bit down on her lip, growing very irritated with her current state. She shook her calves, poking and prodding with great urgency in a desperate effort to wake them up. As the sound of Leo's boots rapped against the floor, she knew her time was growing short. Pushing with all her might, she launched herself up from the floor in a glorious, last-ditch leap.
And, of course, landed on the floor in a glorious, last-ditch thud.
"Corrin? What on earth are you doing?"
She groaned face-down into the tile.
"...Just...hanging out, I suppose."
A baffled expression flashed across Leo's face.
"Well...how about you stand up and help me find something? I think I have a new lead on my problem-"
"Oh, stand up! What a brilliant idea, I hadn't thought of that! Thank you, Leo," she quipped, holding back a laugh.
"Honestly, you're so strange sometimes," he said, rolling his eyes as he extended a hand down. She placed her hand in his, gripping it tightly. Maybe a little too tight. Not realizing the bottom half of her body was asleep, Leo found he gravely underestimated the amount of strength it would take to pull her up. She merely flopped back, legs twitching as she sent him flying. A deafening yelp escaped his lips as he crashed against the shelf and plummeted to the floor, landing beside her.
She couldn't contain her laughter any longer. The peals of laughter were so strong that she was left gasping for air.
"H-hey!" His cheeks were pooling with blood, glowing a vibrant red. "S-stop laughing at me!"
"I'm sorry," she said, taking in the sight of him. His hair was tousled in every which way, the disarrangement complementing the embarrassment apparent on his face. Her heart felt warm at his flustered state. "You should have seen your face! Your eyes were as big as Jakob's favorite tea saucers!"
She mimicked the expression he had made, pairing it with a mock yelp. She began to crack up again, much to his chagrin.
"Was this your plan all along?! To wrestle your poor brother to the ground?!"
"No," she shrugged, "Not originally. But all I truly needed was the element of surprise, and I suppose I got it."
Sensation beginning to spill back into her legs, she shuffled herself into a semi-upright position and pulled him up along with her.
"'Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west.' See? I have been brushing up on my studies," she beamed, reaching to further mess up his already disheveled locks. His cheeks blushed even darker as he gently swatted her hand away.
"Well, I retract my original statement," he said. He smoothed his hair back into a normal state. "If this is what you're going to put your newfound knowledge to use for, then you don't need to study any further."
"Oh, come on, fussy britches. Let's go find that book you were looking for."
"I thought I told you not to call me that."
"No, you told Camilla and Elise not to call you that. You never said anything about me!"
He in grumbled in frustration, Corrin laughing all the while. She couldn't keep the smile off her face for the entire rest of the day. And, in the moments when he didn't think she was looking, she could have sworn that he was smiling back, too.