Please read the A/N at the end. Thanks!
Chapter 2: Working Off Some Steam
"…and done!"
A blunt, iron blade hit a wooden tree for what Corrin thought must have been near the thousandth time. It very well might have been, considering how much sword practice he had been getting in, using a lone tree near the edge of the forest surrounding the border gate and recent battlefield. He had just finished another set of practice stances that he had been taught by his brother, Xander. They were meant to build strength and work stress out of the body, focusing on performing the hardest strikes possible with one's dominant hand.
While it would behoove Corrin to find a sparring partner and practice his combat sets in this time of war, at this moment he needed nothing more than to blow off steam. From the way the poor tree looked, its first layer of bark completely torn away by the repeated blows, the sets seemed to be having the desired effect. The same could be said by how the young prince panted as sweat formed on his forehead, strands of white hair sticking to his moist skin. Taking a break, he let the wind cool him off as he walked over to another tree where he had shed his cape and most of his armor. Sitting against the trunk of the tree, he closed his eyes.
Haven't worked out like that in a while. Probably shouldn't be wasting my strength like that, but… Corrin frowned as a familiar blonde woman in crimson armor with freckled cheeks stared at him with her brown eyes. That woman…
Scarlet and Corrin's earlier argument still vexed him. He had thought he'd worked off all of his frustration, but the thought of Scarlet brought it all back... Again, he could not for the life of him figure out why he was feeling so agitated by a woman he had barely just met. Sure she had a differing opinion, and sure she was almost as stubborn as Corrin could be, but he still didn't see how such an argument would light a fire inside of him like that. He hadn't even had an argument like that with Felicia or Jakob, who he had known almost his entire life. Petty arguments over decorum and the like, of course, but never anything like what he had just had with Scarlet. Over peace, nonetheless! They were arguing over peace! Who the hell argues over that? No one in their right mind. Peace – and equality, Corrin added as a side note – should be something everyone strives for, and in the least violent way possible. Otherwise it would seem hypocritical at best, forced ideals on others at worst.
And Scarlet seemed to think that peace was peace, no matter how it was achieved. 'Over the lives of thousands? As long as its peace.' 'Over the lives of innocent civilians? No problem.' 'Over the lives of children? Well sure! Peace does come at a price, you know. Sometimes it's steep.'
At this Corrin's eyes flew open, his red irises seeming to become alight as if truly on fire, those words serving as its fuel. He grabbed his sword and immediately went for that unfortunate tree.
With immense strength, he once again began to assail his target. Strikes flew out at the tree in rapid succession, deepening the gashes that had already taken off most of its bark. He twirled his sword around in his hands, spinning himself gracefully around the tree in the process, taking his attack to the practice dummy's rear. He followed up with a precise horizontal slash that took out a clean chunk of the tree. But he did not even give this another glance as he continued his attack head on, bringing out his raw strength while simultaneously performing his combat sets. Without him even noticing, Corrin began to transition from set to set seamlessly, striking the tree with perfect ease.
The young prince flew sword-first into the tree, just striking its side as he soared past it. From there, he performed a roll and landed on his feet to transition into yet another roll towards the tree. Quickly, as if catching the imaginary enemy off-guard, he exploded from his roll and struck the tree with a precise downward strike. A quick side step from an imaginary weapon coming down on him and he was at the tree's side, but not before delivering a glancing blow where an enemy's rib cage would be. Then he threw himself at his practice dummy with reckless abandon, attacking the tree with all of his might, not caring about the mental notes he made each time he left himself exposed to an attack– a training technique that Xander and Gunter had beaten into him ever since he had taken up the sword. Finally, Corrin jumped back away from the tree, breathing even more heavily than he had been before. With a mighty war cry, he charged the tree, hands clenching around his sword. Using all of his might, Corrin swung his sword one final time at the tree in a devastating horizontal arc that would easily bisect any enemy.
For a moment, everything in the forest was still. Then, the sound of wood breaking reached Corrin's ears. He turned to see that the tree was falling away from him – chopped down by a brittle practice sword. It crashed into the earth with a powerful thud, causing a slight tremor, something Corrin swore he could feel.
It was at that moment that he heard a sharp whistle from behind him. Turning towards the sound, Corrin noticed the familiar silver hair of Silas. The knight looked on with a smile, his silver eyes wide in surprise. "Wow, haven't seen any training like that before. Well, not from you anyway," the young Nohrian knight commented with a smirk. "You were like an artist there for a minute, then just a full-on animal. Rough day?"
"You could say that," Corrin said, smiling. His entire demeanor changed at the sight of his childhood friend. "Saw the whole thing?"
"Well, from the moment you charged at that poor defenseless tree." Silas glanced around Corrin towards the now-fallen tree. "What did it do to deserve that? You run into a branch and think the tree hit you in the head on purpose?"
"No," Corrin replied with a chuckle as he approached his equipment, throwing the now-useless practice sword aside for the time being.
"Birds in it singing too loud?"
"Nope."
"That's good, you'd be a heartless dastard if that was the case," Silas responded with a laugh. "Hm… Oh, I see, you were trying to get the honey from that beehive there."
"No, I wasn't… Wait, beehive?" Corrin turned towards the tree in the middle of clasping his cape onto his armor. It was at that moment that the young prince and his friend noticed a moving cloud of angry bees, seemingly looking in every direction to see what caused their rude awakening. Once they noticed Corrin, the buzzing emitting from them increased in volume.
"By the Dusk Dragon… Silas," Corrin said as he picked up the rest of his armor and took a step back.
"Yeah," his friend joined him, a nervous smile now on his face.
"We should run," Corrin turned and sprinted away from the approaching mass of angered bees.
"Yeah!" Silas yelled as he joined Corrin.
Without missing a beat, and as if they were in some sort of comedy, the bees began chasing after the two.
The pair zipped through the trees, trying to evade the bees as the menacing bugs drew closer. A few of the faster bees were right on their tail, just out of stinging range.
"Why are they chasing me!? I didn't even do anything!" Silas shouted in between breaths.
"Well, guess it's just one of the perks of being my friend, huh?" Corrin said, flashing Silas a smile.
"Yeah, lucky me!"
"So what do we do? I'm too tired to go on for much longer!" Even then, Corrin could feel his lungs on fire as he willed himself to keep running, lest he be on the receiving end of hundreds, if not thousands of the angry bees' stingers.
"Don't worry, we should be getting to the tree line soon, and… There!"
Silas pointed towards a spot where the trees ended and grasslands began. Corrin could barely make out a horse being silhouetted by the unimpeded sunlight. It looked to be grazing peacefully, unaware of the massive storm of bees trailing behind Corrin and Silas.
"Hey! Avon!" Silas called, ending with a piercing whistle using his fingers to get the horse's attention. From what both men could see, the horse had raised its head and was now looking their direction. It reared on its hind legs and let out an acknowledging whinny. As soon as Corrin and Silas broke through the trees, the two immediately saddled Avon; Silas in front and Corrin in the back, holding onto his friend for dear life. "Let's get out of here! Hyah!" Without another moment's hesitation, the horse bolted off, both at its master's command as well as the familiar sound of buzzing bees coming somewhere from behind it. It sprinted across the plains making a beeline towards the border gate.
The journey was quick; they avoided the battlefield in front of the border gate and went through one of its smaller side entrances that were usually used for supplies or other such instances. Upon reaching the entrance, both men hopped off of Avon.
Silas leaned against the cobblestoned wall of the border gate while Corrin fell onto his rear as soon as his feet touched the ground. Both panted as their hearts raced. They both knew they had just escaped certain death… Or at least a few hundred painful stings and an interesting story to tell the healers. Upon realizing this, Corrin and Silas looked at each and began laughing uncontrollably.
Avon simply grazed while its master and his friend got it all out of their system. The laughter lasted for a few moments before both men started calming down. They wiped away tears of mirth and relief that had formed at the corners of their eyes.
"That was… that was too close, Silas," Corrin said in between his last bouts of laughter.
"You said it. Didn't come this far to be stung to death by vengeful bees though. Which was your fault, by the way," Silas replied, smirking.
"Yeah, well… Fair enough," Corrin responded lamely, too tired to think of a wittier retort. He gave one more chuckle. "At least we have another memory made to catch up on old times, huh?"
"Too true. But let's have the next one not put our lives at risk, deal?"
"Deal."
A pleased grin came to Corrin's face, which quickly faltered as another thought struck him. He looked down at the ground, his white bangs covering his eyes from view. "Isn't it strange that I'd forget how close we used to be? I mean, you became a castle knight just so our paths would cross again… While I, on the other hand, forgot you existed at all." Corrin grabbed a handful of grass, frustration coursing through his veins.
"This again?" Silas rubbed the back of his head, laughing humorlessly to try and dispel the sudden cloud hanging over his friend's head. "Really, though… I wish you wouldn't worry about it. You remember now, and that's all that matters to me. Besides, it worked out didn't it? I became a knight, and here we are. I'm grateful for the chance to make up for lost time."
Steel armored boots appeared in Corrin's vision. Corrin looked up, noticing Silas offering him a hand. With a nod, the prince took the knight's hand, and stood, seemingly solidifying a tight bond that was just waiting to be formed anew.
"Grateful, huh?" Both men still held onto the other's hands, seemingly locked in place. "That's a good way of looking at it. Thanks, Silas." Corrin's bright smile returned as Silas' usual optimistic nature infected the young prince.
"There's the cheer I remember." Silas released Corrin's hand as he went to tend to Avon, causing Corrin to follow his gait. As he started taking out an apple for the horse who had carried both men to safety, the knight added in, "Oh, hey! Why don't we go take a little trip together sometime?" Silas snapped his fingers as the idea, and the wish his childhood friend made long ago, came to mind.
Corrin brought his hand to his chin, thinking on the idea for a moment. "Hmm. It sounds fun, but where should we go?" Corrin questioned, ever the careful planner. After all, in times of war like this, the pair couldn't be spending months on the beach, wilting away in the sun and wasting gold on souvenirs like a pair of spoiled princesses. They would be lucky if they could even travel a mile without having a search party sent after them.
"Someplace you always wanted to see," Silas chimed, which stumped Corrin. What could he have possibly wanted to see so many years ago?
Well, anywhere else but the Northern Fortress, Corrin guessed internally.
"When we were young, you had a long list of places you wished you could go. We couldn't go to any of them at the time, but nothing's stopping us now! Whaddya say?" The knight looked at Corrin with eager eyes and his trademark optimistic smile. He reminded Corrin of a child asking his father for gold to spend on candy.
Corrin couldn't say no to that face.
"Well, it sounds nice… You know what? I'm in!"
"Alright, can't wait!"
"But!" Corrin stopped Silas' cheering, though he couldn't help feeling as giddy as his friend. "We need to find some time to do this. After all, we can't just take off in the middle of a war saying we're going on a trip."
"That's true… Well, maybe we'll get lucky and Nohr will see the error of its ways, and surrender," Silas said cheerfully. He finished treating Avon to another apple and did a quick comb of the horse's coat. The knight began leading his trusty steed toward the stables out front. "Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll have a chance sometime. During or after the war, right?"
"Definitely. See you around, Silas. It was great talking with you." Corrin waved at his friend, as he began moving towards the side entrance on his aching legs.
"And running for our lives," Silas responded with a chuckle and a wave. As Corrin approached the side entrance he heard Silas call one last thing to him: "By the way, while you were out hunting for honey, all the adults were working. Ryoma asked me to find you, and for both of us to join him in the border gate's strategy room. Okay?"
Corrin responded. "I didn't want any honey, just needed to work off some steam. I'll tell you about it later. Meet you there!"
"Got it! See ya there!" Silas replied as his horse was now tugging him along, wanting to be properly fed and groomed at the stables. "Ow, okay, boy. I'm coming, I'm coming…!"
Corrin looked on and chuckled to himself, before stepping through the cobblestone threshold. "Silas is a good guy," the young prince commented. He raised a hand to his head, a worried look appearing on his face as he cringed. "So… how did I forget all about him? He told me not to worry about it, but there's got to be a reason…" With that, Corrin ventured into the border gate, hoping to find someone who would help him locate the strategy room and mumbling all the way about his 'damned amnesia'.
"First, before we begin, I would like to personally thank and congratulate all of you. Taking over an entrance to Nohr was no easy task."
Ryoma had begun the strategy meeting on a high note, wanting to remind everyone there of their accomplishments. Looking around the small, secluded strategy room, Corrin noticed that only his siblings, Silas, Kaze, and Scarlet were present. Upon entering the meeting, the young prince greeted everyone with a friendly smile. That is, until his gaze came to the familiar wyvern rider he spoke with earlier. Corrin's smile disappeared as he gave Scarlet a curt nod; she responded in turn by crossing her arms across her chest and returning her gaze to the map on the central table. Corrin knew that he wouldn't receive anything more from her, so he took his spot in between Silas and Kaze, opposite Ryoma.
"Secondly, I would like to take a brief moment of silence for those we lost today… It's the least we can do for them." Everyone in the room, catching Ryoma's tone, joined him in bowing their heads in reverence to the dead. For a few moments, they all stayed silent, quieting their minds or reciting a prayer for the recently deceased. All of them knew what happened in war, and this battle was no different: people fought, people died. They had to move on.
Once Ryoma was satisfied, he raised his head and softly said, "Thank you."
As if on signal, everyone else raised their heads.
"Now, onto the matter at hand," Ryoma began, his commanding tone returning. "We have claimed the border gate here." He pointed to an area along the border of Nohr and Nestra on the map. "Like I said earlier, this is a great stepping stone to continue our march towards Windmire. However, messengers slipped through our grasp before the previous battle, warning King Garon and his army of our imminent victory. As soon as the fighting ended, I sent out soldiers to scout ahead, see what lies in wait for us. What they reported was… discouraging."
Ryoma's finger moved from its position on the map to a pass between two mountain ranges. Half a dozen small, black wooden cubes cluttered the narrow pass, blocking it off almost entirely. "The Nohrian army has massed at this pass here, the only reachable way to the castle. Unfortunately, they number in the upper thousands."
A wave of disgruntled murmurs spread through the strategy room.
"Are they sure of this, brother?" Takumi asked, his eyes furrowed in what could either be worry or aggression. "After all we only have a couple thousand soldiers. If we engaged them in battle, it would be a difficult fight."
"Thinking clearly for once there, Takumi?" Hinoka jabbed, earning a small bout of laughter from everyone else.
"Funny, sister," Takumi responded, letting a small smirk betray his biting tone.
Kaze spoke up, "The question still stands. If I may ask, milord… How do we plan on proceeding?" His blue eyes stared intently at the map. "From what I've read of the scouting reports, I don't see any way we can get around Nohr's forces undetected."
Corrin sighed, his hand rubbing his brow in frustration. "There really is no other way, is there…?"
Ryoma closed his eyes. "That's not entirely true." All eyes immediately turned on him.
"Really? Let's hear it then! It doesn't look like we have any other options." Corrin's excitement was mirrored by the nods and sounds of agreement by everyone else in the room.
A sigh escaped Ryoma's lips as he opened his eyes and faced Corrin. He began slowly: "Technically speaking, it is possible to traverse further into Nohr via Mount Garou… However, Mount Garou is more commonly known as the Impassable Peak."
"How can you even suggest such a thing, Lord Ryoma?" Kaze's voice garnered everyone's attention as he looked at the Hoshidan prince in shock. "Especially now, of all times. We'd fare better against ten thousand Nohrians soldiers out in the open!"
"I am aware of the downside… and so is Nohr," Ryoma admitted with a sigh, running his hand through his long, brown hair. "And as you said, especially now. Winter will soon come to Nohr, making Mount Garou even more difficult to cross than it already is, yet… If we time it right…"
Ryoma's sentence hung in the air, allowing an uneasy silence to fill the room.
"…and if we time it wrong, we'll be sitting ducks for the Nohrians to easily pick off," Hinoka finished. "Seems risky."
"But if we don't end this war soon…" Takumi chimed in.
"Then our efforts will be wasted," Corrin finished, closing his eyes in thought. "By now, most of the northern regions of Nohr are most likely covered in snow. That means winter will probably be here sooner than we think, catching us off-guard and trapping us on a mountain for an entire season. Kaze, is that our only path?"
"From what scouting reports have said, yes milord. No enemy troops have been seen blocking the area, giving us easy access. But surely this must be intentional."
"They're leading us into a trap. Classic Nohrian tactic: why fight an army when that army can fight itself?" Silas commented matter-of-factly.
"Of course," Corrin muttered. He weighed the options in his mind, trying to figure out a way to gain access to inner Nohr territory with minimal, or no casualties. Not an easy task, especially when factoring in Mount Garou. If they timed it wrong, moved out too late, then the entire army would be trapped and most likely freeze to death on top of the Impassable Peak. That was too much of a risk. "I think we need to wait. Let winter pass, and allow most of the snow to melt off Mount Garou. Otherwise it could be the end for us."
"What!? Do you not know Nohrian weather? That could take until the middle of spring!" Scarlet countered. Her outburst had received the wide-eyed attention of everyone in the room, and a glare from a certain white-haired prince. "I'm sorry, Lord Ryoma." Scarlet bowed to the Hoshidan prince, who waved her off and allowed her to continue. "If we don't go now, we may lose our chance to catch Nohr with its guard down. They may know where we are, but if we traverse Mount Garou now, we'd catch them off-guard! By spring, that opportunity will have up and gone. We should go now, risk traversing Mount Garou, and hope for the best."
"And what if that doesn't happen?" Corrin retorted, as his voice rose in volume and he slammed his hands on the wooden table. "What about the worst-case scenario: us, stuck up there on a freezing mountain for months on end? Our army would be dead, and so would all of Hoshido's nobility, leaving our homeland with no one to protect it and no one to rule it. It's a gamble that's not worth taking. Besides, by now the Nohrian army blocking our path will be bedding down for winter. We'd best use this opportunity to do the same, conserve our strength and prepare for the next year."
"No, we need to-"
"That's enough!" Ryoma's voice boomed, almost shaking the room's cobblestone walls. Everyone fell silent. "Corrin, you are right. We may need to halt our advance for now and resume the campaign in spring. That would be best for our army. And Scarlet, you are equally right: we will lose our ability to surprise our enemy if we wait. For now I propose we send two scouting teams out: one to examine the Nohrian army and their behaviors, and the other to determine Mount Garou's climate. Once we have figured out these unknowns, then we will come to a decision. Understood?"
"Yes, Lord Ryoma," Scarlet muttered begrudgingly.
"Alright, brother. I trust in your judgement," Corrin responded, his eyes narrowing on Scarlet.
"Good. Kaze?" Ryoma turned to the man in question.
"Yes, milord?"
"Get a team together and have them ready to scout out the mountain tomorrow. Then find your brother, Saizo, and tell him to do the same for the Nohrian army. Report back as soon as you are able, and do not risk the lives of you or your men. Understood?"
"Yes, milord. I will begin immediately."
Before he could leave, Sakura's voice piped up for the first time during the meeting. "P-please be careful, Kaze," she stuttered quietly, a light blush rising to her cheeks.
The ninja smiled softly. "For you, milady? Anything."
With that, Kaze seemingly vanished into thin air, leaving the room behind.
Silas let out a low whistle. "Wish I could do something ninja-y like that."
"Now that that's settled, we can move on…"
Everyone in the room turned to Ryoma as he began listing each of their respective duties. During this, Corrin and Scarlet stared each other down with heated glares, blocking out most of what Ryoma said. They had just had one argument today, now they had another. Something was off between the two, and neither could figure out what it was. All they knew was that they could not stand the other. Yet while neither of them broke eye contact, two of the room's occupants took notice of the changing attitude between the pair…
A/N:
"Corrin and Silas attained support level C!"
Well, had to begin the interaction between them in this fic! Also, isn't this supposed to be a Corrin/Scarlet fic? So, why do they keep fighting? Be patient, my friends, and keep on reading, you will see.
Anyway, thanks for reading through this chapter y'all! If you made it this far… Well, there's still a long way to go. So prepare yourself, for we haven't even entered the meat of this fic yet. But don't worry, the proper plot is on its way!
I would like to thank everyone who read the first chapter and support the fic in anyway, whether it be by review, favorite, or follow. Any and all of it helps! It means a lot to me when I see something I've written get attention from readers. I intend to deliver the story y'all want, so keep on reading and I'll keep on writing!
I also want to thank TheRepeat for helping me deliver another awesome chapter. Thanks man, your betaing and advice helps me greatly!
And please, leave a review if you can, or follow and favorite as well. Anything helps. Seeing an e-mail pop up saying "so-and-so has favorited/followed/reviewed How to Find Peace" really makes my day! Your comments also help me become a better writer and drives me forward. Looking forward to hearing from y'all!
Hope you enjoyed the story,
nickdaman6