The realms grounds were a bit more quiet than usual. Sure, there was still the ambient clamor of idle chatter, dummies being beaten, and the sharpening of blades, but something was missing. The royals always seemed to stand a bit taller than the rest; that obviously being a matter of prestige for some of the royals, not height.
"Wait, where even is the war room?" I said aloud. The last time I had been the-wait, I already said that. You get the gist. Bad memory. Moving on. The weather seemed nice enough. No clouds at all. If I wasn't on the way to a meeting, I'd have probably stuck around and enjoyed it. Oh well. Someone here probably knows. Hmm.
Following the sound of clashing weapons, I jogged over to the training grounds. Effie was grimacing and lifting weights by the tent's entrance. God's, that's nearly triple my weight! Benny sat by the neighboring wall, a handful of tulip bulbs in one glove, and a spade in the other. D-digging flowers out of the ground before they've bloomed?! He's so intimidating. Lastly, there was Laslow, shakily drawing an arrow onto the string of a bow.
"Hey Laslow," I called out. "You don't look so good. Are you okay?" The ashen-haired merc jumped, letting out a yell as he let his arrow loose downward, only a hair's-length from his feet.
"...Oh. Greetings Lord C-corrin! I see you've found me training. I strive to serve you milord," Laslow blurted out, his face reddening. "What can I do for your lordship?" I laughed and made a thespian bow.
"I thought I told you to cut it with the formalities. It seems too fake," I protested. "Since when have you used a bow, any how?" It wasn't a weapon I'd seen him wield before, which was supported by his lack of apparent training.
"I was simply trying to further my expertise on the field! An old man had handed me a strange golden ornament when I was out on the town just yesterday, and he told me to take up the bow. Their gesture was strange, but it was compelling," Laslow explained. "Is there anything you need, milord?"
"Oh, yes. Thank you for reminding me. Do you by any chance know where the war room is located?" I inquired. Laslow raised his eyebrow.
"Excuse my asking sir, but wouldn't you be the one to ask?" Laslow squinted at me.
"I suppose that does make sense," I confessed. "I have no excuse. I really do need to get there though. Do you know?"
"All I know is that it's west of the throne room. I won't keep you any longer," Laslow said, slowly re-stringing his bow.
"That's the wrong end of the arrow Laslow."
"Ah. So it is." Laslow said nervously.
"Well, good luck with your aim."
"Good luck to you as well Lord Corrin. I hope the meeting goes well."
I waved to Laslow and ran off to where he had directed me. I think I'll stay a bit away from him next skirmish. The training grounds were set up nearest to the merchant's circle, which was not that far from the throne. Not much time at all spent running. The fact that we even had a throne was strange. We have two crown princes, but a lesser royal treated as leader. I didn't even want a throne. I wasn't about to tell Lilith that however. She worked so hard to make the realm, and I wouldn't want to make her feel bad.
As I ran through the thrones west gateway, my memory of the area picked up and I only ran down the wrong hallway once. Okay, twice. No more though. The farther the castles wings got from the realms core, the more confusing they got. The main fields were fairly straightforward and organized, seeing as they were all melded en masse by Lilith, but the castle was different. The halls were haphazardly modified via dragon veins whenever it was needed, be it a new armory here or a pantry there. Almost no rhyme or reason.
It occurred to me as I ran that I was just on my way to a meeting, and my full set of armor was unnecessary. Panting heavily, I wished that I had remembered that before I made another wrong turn. Sorry, three times. That was it, I swear. It was probably poor judgement on my part to let Elise have free reign there as well, as the hallways grew more winding and extensive; ending in dead-ends and stairwells to nowhere. She sure likes to play the trickster. At least she made hide-and-seek a bit more fascinating.
I heard a murmuring coming from around the corner. I mean the next corner. Through that doorway. Leo has been trying to go back and correct the labyrinth here, but it's gotten so extensive that any attempts are fruitless. Finally, after a few more pointless doorways, I arrived at the war room entrance. Inside, a dull roar was audible.
"-tell us what's going on, Xander," an irritated voice spoke up through the door. "I can't be bothered to just wait around for nothing." That sounds like Takumi.
"Mi-Mi, we're just waiting on Corrin. Chill for a minute."
Is that Izana, I wondered. He is royalty I suppose. Huh. I sighed aloud, and pushed open the door.
The word to describe the room most was cramped. A great deal of the room was filled with shelves, repurposing the room into a pantry. What wasn't crammed with food was crammed with royalty. A large round table took up the center, with the royals ringing the edge. Upon its creation, the room's occupants could have sat easily, but with the new renovations, seating was a bit more stressed.
"Welcome brothe-" exclaimed both Ryoma
"Welcome brothe-" and Xander at once. Ryoma sat down, and let Xander make his introduction. "Welcome," he said, clearing his throat. "We have been waiting for you, you know." My face reddened and I quickly took my seat next to Azura and Elise.
"W-well, you know how the halls are here," I muttered. Azura gave me a sympathetic glance, while Elise only giggled.
"That may be true, but we've grown tired waiting Corrin. Timeliness is befitting of royalty." Xander crossed his arms.
"You yourself said this wasn't too important Xander," Hinoka said, cutting him off. "Don't make him feel bad for getting lost. You yourself had to backtrack a few times on the way here, if you remember." Ryoma chuckled, while Camilla laughed outright.
"She's got you there brother. I do recall a certain prince having to run to catch up more than a few times," Camilla teased. Xander looked aside, clearing his throat.
No one in the room actually seemed irritated for my lateness, save Takumi. His irritation didn't seem to stem from me however. Everyone did indeed have their own seat, even with the room's state, but you wouldn't think so with Izana. The Izumon archduke had his seat pulled close enough that he was practically on the Hoshidan's lap.
Takumi's face was reddened, glancing over at Izana every so often, who was smirking and staring, equally red. If you saw Takumi walking around camp, Izana was usually not far behind. No one quite knew why he fawned over the prince so much, but he never showed any ill intentions, so it wasn't questioned much. That doesn't mean it wasn't made fun of. Playfully of course.
"Jeez Takumi," Leo snickered. "It's good to know how affectionate the Hoshidan's are, but you don't need to brag. Get a room." As Leo spoke, the coalescing royals across the table had two similar yet distinct reactions; Takumi's frown increased while Izana's smile grew borderline ribald, both of their blushes deepening regardless.
"Aww Mi-Mi," the archduke urged. "Could we get a room away from here?" Takumi's instant response was to start yelling and storm off, sending a bolt from Fujin Yumi sailing into a loaf of bread upon the shelves. Izana cackled and followed suit, leaving the meeting two members less. The room by this point had all but forgotten about my late entrance, everyone at least suppressing a smile. Except for Xander. Xander had his his face in his palm, slowly shaking his head, blonde strands falling in front of his eyes.
"...Why does something like this happen any time we do anything?" Xander said, slumping down slightly in his chair. He wasn't wrong. The last meeting had Elise riding in on Odin's shoulders, giggling about the 'darkness of her soul,' only to trip and buckle the center table, causing Sakura to break down. "I don't know why we can't take anything seriously here," Xander continued, adjusting himself in his seat. Before that, in response to being startled by Hinoka behind him, Leo's Brynhildr misfired and sprouted saplings from every wall. Very few times had a meeting gone with no strange occurrences.
"Everyone! Settle down!" Ryoma barked, looming over the room. "Have respect for Prince Xander! Corrin just arrived, so we can begin." Ryoma crossed his arms and sat down, his words eliciting a shared silence across the room. "Xander. Please take the floor."
"Thank you Ryoma," Xander sighed, brushing stray hair out of his view. "I wish both of our families could be a bit more like you," he said, earning an eye-rolling from Leo, and a frown from Hinoka. "Now, as you know we're here to talk about Deeprealms. Before I sa-Yes Elise, I'll explain. Now, before I say anything, I want all of you to promise to say nothing till I'm done. Okay?" The room nodded as one. "Okay. You know the castle we reside in is a part of the Astral Realm, correct? Yes? It's very similar. Here time is slowed in relative to the outside so we have time to prepare amidst a war. The Deeprealms are also of astral origin. They're pockets in space much like here. The warping of time is similar as well, but much more drastic. Two day's outside of the realms equates to a whole year within. So, you're probably wondering why we need a place like this. Well, we need a place for young children to dev-"
"Who had sex?" Camilla interrupted. "Someone did. No use beating around the bush, brother." Xander scowled while the rest of the room and I looked at Camilla in shock. Quite conspicuously, Azura and Ryoma both turned their heads away from the accuser. "You did it with the lobster, Azura?! And you're expecting? Oh, I'm so happy for you!" Camilla leapt around the table, subsequently smothering her half-sister. The two guilty parties face's reddened, Azura choosing to speak up.
"W-well, I'd put it bit more tastefully, but yes. Me and Ryoma are expecting twins," Azura said, loosening herself from her sister's embrace.
"We got a clairvoyant in town to determine it," Ryoma added. "Two bo-OOF" Camilla shifted her attention and squeezed the Hoshidan prince as well, carefully evading his spined plating. "We tried to get Nyx to do it, but we couldn't find her. She's wandered off before, so I'm fairly sure she's fine." The tense atmosphere in the room was lessened, replaced by congratulation to the expecting couple. Even Xander, as he was trying to regain control of the room, still smiled and patted Ryoma's shoulder.
"If you went to an auger," I said. "Did you learn anything about the kids?"
"Blue."
"Spears," Ryoma and Azura said, respectively. "That's all we got."
"Listen everyone! I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just have to add a few more things." Xander stood up, and everyone took their seats. "As said, there is a time difference. These two will be taking a four day leave. One day trip there and back, and two days inside. Ryoma's retainer's will be going with them as well. The Deeprealms will be marked on the maps so as not to wander inside unintentionally. Is everything clear? Good." Xander said, pushing his chair to the table. "You may all go about your daily business. Meeting adjourned." Everyone stood, bustling with a combination of confusement and excitement.
"Hinoka," Ryoma called out. "Can you go run the news to Takumi? I'm sorry to inconvenience you, but he should know where we are." Ryoma shook his head, sitting back down. Azura sat as well, leaning up against the prince.
"Got it brother," Hinoka said. "Corrin, you wanna come help? I could use the company."
"Yea, sure." I ran over to join her, and walked together out of the war room. "I'm still a bit shocked. I wouldn't have expected them together." Hinoka shrugged, peering down a winding corridor.
"They were together for a while before you showed up. We weren't sure what happened, but they broke up. Azura still showed up for meetings, but it was tense." Hinoka decided on a doorway, and we continued on. "I honestly think he was just relieved to see her safe when we joined you. Must have rekindled something. Who knows." Realizing the door we chose was wrong, we doubled back and went from there.
"Gods, it's confusing in here," I said, looking upon a window inset in the wall, showing nothing but brick. "That is interesting though. All of this astral stuff is strange."
"Pretty much. Saaayyyy," Hinoka said, smirking. "Is there anyone you wanna have a Deeprealm made for? I've seen you looking at Mozu." My face reddened and I frowned, prompting a laugh from the pegasus rider.
"I did like her at one point, I'll give you that. She's cute. But she likes Xander. She said so herself. We're just friends." I looked at my feet and picked up the pace. Hinoka only laughed harder.
"Okay lover-boy. If you say so," She snickered. "Wait, what about Keaton? I saw you looking him over during training. I can see the appeal."
"Gods! Just lay off it," I pleaded. "He doesn't even like guys."
"Fine, fine. Look there's the exit. Let's get Takumi."
"He's probably still getting pestered by Izana."
"Heh, true. C'mon."
Hinoka did raise a good question though.
What's gonna happen after the war?
So yea. The chapter's from now will probably be about this long from here on in, give or take a page. Also, every two chapters or so, I'll have a little intermission, that being one or two tiny little excerpts of other ships. Next up is Rinkah/Hinoka and Elise/Odin.