III. On the Mind

March 12: Morning

"Haaaaa—hrk!"

Corrin's waking yawn was interrupted by a trio of scraping coughs. "Ghaa." He grimaced, massaging his esophagus as he sat up in bed.

Hastily, knock knock knock: "Corrin, are you alright?"

"Ye—" Corrin coughed again to clear his throat, to no avail. "Yeah, come in."

Felicia wore her concern plainly as she hurried inside. "What's wrong, Corrin? Are you sick? Do you need a healer?"

Corrin waved it away, trying to give her a reassuring smile. He gave clearing his throat another try, this time with more success. "I think I'm fine," he said. "Throat's a little sore, but I'm fine."

Felicia put her hands on her hips, adopting a scolding look. "It's easy to say that. Hold still…"

Corrin obeyed as Felicia came closer. She smoothed out the skirt of her uniform and sat on the bed next to him, putting a hand on his forehead. He winced at the frigid tingle of the back of her hand.

She furrowed her eyebrows intently, gauging his temperature. Corrin watched her blankly; She's really close. From here, her eyes were very big and blue. The way she was so focused was actually pretty cu—

—Normal. It was normal. When she put down her hand, still frowning, and stood from his bed, Corrin released an irritated breath at himself.

"You don't have a fever," said Felicia cautiously, "so I'm not gonna hold you here or anything… but let me know if it gets worse, will you?"

"C'mon, Felicia. Like I would keep something like that to myself." Corrin winked.

The maid was unamused.

March 12: Breakfast

Corrin and Camilla's utensils clanked against their plates as they ate, supplying the gardens with ambient noise. Idle chitchat had passed between the two, but Corrin's mind continually wandered to his work, and he guessed Camilla was probably the same way.

Corrin gestured vaguely with his fork. "I think the Nohrian advisors' numbers were off about the amount of rice to deliver to the Macarath area. There's no way that—"

"Mm." Mouth full, Camilla silenced Corrin with a violent wave of her fork while she swallowed her food. Smiling wanly once her mouth was free, she said, "Could we please not talk about that for a bit? I just want to not think about work even if it's only for a minute, haha."

Corrin smiled. "Gods. You're speaking my language, Big Sister."

Camilla laughed gently. "Let's just talk about the weather, or the food, or anything."

Corrin had something: he nearly asked, "So did Elise speak to you?" But he bit his tongue, realizing he shouldn't even know that Elise had planned to do so. He'd have to explain why he asked that of Elise, and Camilla likely wouldn't appreciate the reason.

But… she seemed fine, so.

"It's been really nice out lately," Corrin noted. "The weather's great in the evenings."

March 12: Afternoon

"…And it turns out I was right," Corrin resumed. Gesturing with a forkful of rice covering a meatball, he said, "The numbers were off about rice imports by a factor of ten. It was probably an honest mistake, someone jotted down an extra zero or something, but things got pretty heated in there for a few minutes." He then popped the meatball into his mouth.

"Aha, you helped!" Felicia interjected brightly. "You caught a mistake they didn't!"

Corrin shrugged mock-arrogantly. "Yeah, I'm pretty great, I know. I outwitted a team of Hoshidan and Nohrian professionals, no big deal."

Felicia snickered loudly. Corrin joined in as well.

"Yo, we're laughing!" A familiar cavalier slid into the seat next to the maid's, drawing the smiling gaze of Corrin and Felicia. "What's up?"

"Hey, Silas," Corrin greeted cheerfully. "At work, I noticed a mistake that no one else did."

"Ah," said Silas. "I see now why you guys were laughing! Lord Corrin actually takes the time to pay attention, and he immediately shows everyone up."

Felicia laughed at that, putting her hand on Silas's forearm. Again with the arm-touching, Corrin thought, his gaze sharpening. But he had to admit that the joke was funny.

"Heheh. That's, that's enough of that," Corrin said weakly, looking away from Felicia's hand. "It was nothing."

"Hey, the little things matter," Silas said with a shrug. "You can be proud if you want."

"Maybe I'll look for something bigger to be proud of, but thanks, Silas."

Felicia's hand casually slid away from the cavalier, which did not escape the prince.

March 12: Evening

"Hwahhh." Corrin flopped down into the tree-shaded grass. "Sorry, Elise, but I'm beat. You win."

Elise still seemed pumped up, her hands clenched into fists as she hopped from foot to foot. "Oh, c'mon, lazy! The sun hasn't even set yet and you're already all tuckered out?"

"That's not fair, I'm sick," Corrin lied. He sat up, hugging his knees; "I get a pass from hide-and-seek because of my sore throat, don't I?"

"You are such a faker!" Elise grinned mischievously and hurried over, grabbing one of Corrin's hands. "C'moooon!"

"Nope, nope." Smirking, Corrin easily resisted her halfhearted attempts to make him stand. "You'll have to try harder than that."

Elise paused, determining her next move. "…Well, if you won't come to me, then—!" She leapt onto Corrin, crying out, "Tickle fight!"

"Tickle f—?" Corrin began, but he was cut off by her sudden attack. Immediately she floored him with a tickling assault. "Wah—St-Stop it!"

He was laughing—not just at the tickling, but at her brazen immaturity—so hard he couldn't breathe. "Hh—E-Elise, haha, stop!" Corrin finally succeeded at taking hold of her wrists, staying her violent hands. Looking up at her straddling him, she was giggling like mad. Corrin couldn't help laughing as well, and she pressed her head into his shoulder as if to restrain herself. Corrin hugged Elise as the two of them calmed down.

Elise's breath was warm on his neck. Her hair smelled like—roses. The kind that used to grow in the Northern Fortress's garden. Looking up into the oak tree's leaves, watching the orange sunlight filter through, the thought struck Corrin that this—moment, it was actually perfect.

"Um…"

Corrin shifted slightly to listen. "Yes, Elise?"

"Are you…"

Corrin frowned, as Elise had trailed off seemingly without the intention of finishing her sentence. "…Sorry, is this uncomfortable for you?"

Elise didn't answer for a long moment. "I-I meant, are we… about to, uh…"

Corrin wasn't sure where she was going with that, but she definitely seemed uncomfortable. "Let's…" he murmured, gently nudging her to get off.

The princess hesitated. "I… O-Okay." Slowly, with clear reluctance, she disentangled herself from the embrace and crawled off of Corrin. She backed off to sit with her hands on her lap, looking at the grass, while Corrin sat up.

Elise was avoiding Corrin's eye. She—she just wished, that, that Corrin would just give in to his heart.

Granted, she understood perfectly well why Corrin had pushed her away just then.

She brushed her hair behind her ear and made a big smile for Corrin. "S-So, uh. How was your day, Corrin?"

"It was pretty good, actually."

Her smile turned smug. "Heard from Silas that you had a little mo~ment."

"Wha? Gods, I was joking when I was acting all cocky!" Corrin shook his head, sighing. "Silas is making such a big thing out of it."

"Hey!" Elise insisted seriously. "It is a big deal, Corrin! Didn't Silas say "the little things matter"? You remember what I'm here for, don't you?"

"To tease me?"

Elise grinned, shrugging. "That too, yeah. But I'm here to help you enjoy yourself, Corrin. I'm not busy, so it's up to me to make sure that when you have free time, you make the most of it."

Corrin frowned.

"Corrin, I'm not gonna lie, your job suuuucks," Elise drawled. "You need to make the most of the good times you have. Have fun, Corrin, or at least as much as you can." She winked, poking her chest with her thumb; "And that's what I do best! I help Corrin have fun. It isn't that hard, I don't think."

Though—it would be harder if she didn't have an ulterior motive.

"Thanks," Corrin said, weakly smiling. "I guess I really did have a good day, then."

"Yes!" Elise rubbed her hands together mischievously. "My evil plan is working!"

"Hahaha." Corrin shifted gears: "Oh right, forgot to ask: did you ever talk to Camilla?"

Elise winced, and immediately her smile faltered. "…Oh, um… yeah."

"So what was the matter?"

"Don't," Elise suddenly insisted.

Corrin missed a beat. "What?"

"Don't… pry about that, okay?" Elise murmured. "That's between me and Camilla."

An ominous chill raced down Corrin's spine. "Elise…" …keeping a secret? "Are you guys okay?"

"Yes. We'll be fine, but… please drop it, okay?" Her eyes shifted. "It's… personal."

Corrin shivered from her tone. "…Okay. As long as…"

He trailed off, leading into a heavy silence.

…It didn't last too long, however. After all, having had a few moments of downtime, Elise was able to talk Corrin into a few more rounds of hide-and-seek. Soon they were back to the high spirits Corrin could never evade for long in the princess's company.

March 13: Breakfast

"Mm. Camilla?"

Camilla was in the middle of carefully bisecting her scrambled eggs with her fork and knife. "…Yes, dear?"

"How are your retainers doing?" Corrin asked. He bit into his sausage biscuit, careful to keep the bread from getting lodged in his fangs. "Havem't heard amythimg aboud dhem."

"Ah." Camilla set her utensils aside, frowning thoughtfully. "Beruka is in the capital, patiently awaiting my return. I tasked her with my usual duties around the castle while I'm away." She tilted her head. "As for Selena… well, she left my service. Left Nohr altogether, from what I understand."

"Is that so?"

"She told me she had to return home." Camilla sighed. "Oh, I do hope she is faring well wherever she is…"

Corrin chewed absentmindedly. Soon, Camilla picked up her fork and knife and resumed.

"I'm glad you aren't lonely back home," the prince noted. "Everyone seems so busy."

Camilla chuckled. "Likewise, Corrin. I must be honest: it seems like the war provided you with a surfeit of allies."

A thought occurred to Corrin: "I suppose the same goes for you, right?"

Camilla tilted her head, inquisitive.

Corrin smirked. "I guess I wasn't clear, but I'm referring to suitors. How about it, Camilla? How's your love life going?"

The princess laughed heartily. "My love life? Goodness, Corrin, I haven't given it any thought. To be frank, I don't care much for it either." Her eye that was not masked by violet hair narrowed smugly: "Why, is this a love confession?"

Corrin was taken aback enough to laugh, and Camilla soon followed suit.

"Hahaha. Of course, I'm only joking, but now you have me curious." Leaning over the table, cupping her chin in her palm and eyeing Corrin thoughtfully, Camilla asked, "Do you have any news on that front, Corrin?"

His smile wavering, Corrin swallowed heavily. "Eh… No."

"No?" lilted Camilla with an ever-greater smirk. "Ohoho. You're lying to me."

"What? N-No I'm not."

"Yes you are, I'm certain of it. In fact, I know it's true." Her eye bore a wicked glint. "You've been spending quite some time with someone special to you. Anything to share with your big sister?"

"No," Corrin insisted uncomfortably. "Nothing." Fidgeting, he found himself eager to escape the situation. "We need to get to work."

Camilla's grin lost its edge. "…Ah. Yes, I suppose so." They'd be quite early if they left now, she knew, but her inquisition seemed to have made Corrin much more uncomfortable than she'd expected. "Here; let me take your tray…"

Corrin shot furtive glances his sister's way throughout the long meeting. She was attentive as usual, eyes darting between her notebook to write and the debaters to listen, allowing no distractions.

Quite unlike the dragon prince. He couldn't help but fret: She seemed so certain when she was asking me that. What does Camilla know?

Clenching his teeth into a frustrated grimace, he tried to force himself to pay attention. His knuckles were white as he gripped the pen, but soon, as the annoyances began to fade away into the monotony of scribing, he breathed easy and his grip unknowingly relaxed.

He didn't entertain the thought directly, but the words teased the fringe of his consciousness:

Would it be so bad if she did know?

To his credit, he stayed focused for the meeting, and the rest of the morning after. The work needed to be done.

March 13: Afternoon

The first thing Corrin noticed as he carried his tray through the mess hall was that, at the usual table where he shared lunch with Felicia and occasionally Silas, both already had eyes on him and were patiently waiting for him to arrive. More curious was the smirk plastered on both of their faces.

"Sooooo," Felicia sang before Corrin could ask. She and Silas exchanged a smug glance while Corrin sat down. "What's up, Lord Corrin?"

"Yeah, any news?" Silas egged.

Corrin carefully weighed his options. It was clear they intended to tease him about something, so now was the time for preemptive damage control. Minimize the ridicule without seeming like a fun-killer. "…The project is moving along," he said evasively. "At this pace, I'll be done before the deadline."

"That's really great," said Silas; his voice hadn't lost the mischievous tone yet. "That means you'll have plenty of free time in the evenings, huh?" At that, Felicia hit him on the arm scoldingly, but she was still grinning.

Chills ran down Corrin's spine in waves. "E…Excuse me?"

Silas laid out his hands on the table. "So! Lord Corrin, I heard from an acquaintance of mine that, while he was returning from his late patrol, you were seen sneaking into the castle deep into the night, a giddy little smile written from ear to ear and the most—curious—blush lighting your cheeks." Silas leaned closer. "In light of that, do you have any other news to share?"

Corrin was frozen, caught in their trap. Was this what Camilla was talking about? His thoughts sluggishly churned in vain search of an excuse. He could lie that he wasn't out that late. He could continue his story that he was just exercising at that hour, which wasn't entirely a lie. Above all, he needed to perpetuate his story: he was not out fraternizing with Princess Elise of Nohr.

With Elise…

The prince's mind hadn't yet adjusted to the fact that he had already given himself away. A giddy little smile, identical to the one Silas's acquaintance had described, was slowly playing itself across his face as he absentmindedly pondered the cavalier's assertion. A traitorous little grin that proved them right.

Felicia's voice stirred consciousness in the prince's bones. "You totally do," she giggled. "Lord Corrin, savior of the world, has a little crush!"

"Wha, I, I don't…" Corrin began, but even fighting the smile back was impossible, much less selling the lie. Felicia and Silas both watched amusedly as Corrin gave in at last. "…Okay. Yes, I… I might have a little crush, but it's not something I'm going to act on!"

"Who is it?" Felicia urged excitedly, leaning closer and putting her hands on Corrin's. "Tell me! Oh, this is so great!"

Corrin couldn't help but feel a little eager himself from receiving all this attention, but he had to think rationally. It wasn't his place to reveal his and Elise's secret. He'd already given away more information than he would have liked, so he needed to think fast if he wanted to pacify his retainers' lust for gossip.

"She's… from the village," Corrin began evasively. "That's all I can say. Happy?"

Silas and Felicia weren't happy, both talking over each other to express their need for more details, but Corrin put up a silencing hand: "Enough, guys. That's all I want to say about it."

They both fell quiet, disappointed.

"…Okay," Felicia murmured dejectedly. "I'm just glad to know you're having fun."

Corrin shrugged. "Yeah… I have been sleeping better thanks to her." Noticing their smirks returning, Corrin quickly tried to correct himself: "B-Because I exercise with her, so we wear ourselves out, and—" He began to blush, realizing he was making things worse.

Fortunately, Felicia came to his rescue. "Wait, SHE'S the reason you've been sleeping better?"

Corrin let out a sigh, trying to ease his flustered expression. "…Yes. Really, I… owe her a lot."

Felicia sat back. A pleased smile—not a smirk, at last—grew sweetly on her lips. "I think I'd really like to meet this girl."

"Yeah, me too," Silas added genuinely.

"Heh." Finally taking his fork and knife in hand, Corrin began slicing himself a fraction of his steak. Enjoying the moment too fully, he couldn't help but add under his breath: "I think you'd be surprised."

Their smiles waned slightly, and they exchanged a confused glance, but eventually they went for their meals anyway.

March 13: Evening

"Conversation kinda drifted away after that," Corrin relayed, shrugging. "I didn't tell them anything sensitive, though."

Elise was biting her knuckle, lost in thought—thoughts about what Corrin had just said, Corrin hoped. He expected a non sequitur as much as he did an on-topic response. Fortunately, it seemed she had been paying attention.

"I… don't think I'm following," Elise murmured slowly. "I thought…?"

Corrin shook his head. "What?"

"Aren't… uh…" She scratched her head, likely trying to think of a good way to put her thoughts in words. "Aren't you and Felicia a thing?"

"Wh-What? No!" Icy tingles raced through Corrin. "What the… What made you think that?"

Elise furrowed her eyebrows. "That's a silly question, don't you think? You like her, don't you?"

Corrin threw his hands up. "What is with everybody today?! Is today some sort of romantic holiday I didn't know about, because why the hell else would this be on everyone's mind!"

"I think you just aren't as good at hiding your feelings as you think you are." Elise winked at him. "You're kind of an open book, Corrin."

"Gods." Corrin leaned back against the thick trunk of the oak, crossing his arms and looking away. Hesitating for a moment, he muttered, "I was wrong, this must've been what Camilla was talking about… Felicia. You and she are always on the same wavelength."

"But seriously, Corrin! You like Felicia, don't you? And she definitely likes you."

Corrin scoffed. "Yeah, right. She probably has a thing for Silas." He shook his head quickly—"N-Not that that's a bad thing! Silas is great, and they get along well. They'd be good together."

Elise sighed deeply. "…You're so easy to read, Corrin. Like, it doesn't even take effort."

Corrin tensed with anger. "Enough, Elise! Even if I did think of her that way—which I don't—I don't have the time to be thinking about that sort of thing! Juggling all of my responsibilities and worrying about romance? I'm not ready for that, and she wouldn't be either!"

"You aren't going to be busy forever."

"I know that!" Corrin shook his head heatedly. "But it doesn't matter anyway! How could I ever be in love with her if I'm still in lo—"

He bit his tongue.

Cold silence hung in the air for a long time. Corrin hugged his knees to his chest, refusing to meet Elise's eye. He knew that, even though he'd cut his confession short, she would know what he had almost said. He just wondered how Elise would react. He wasn't lying when he said he wasn't ready.

"So, um…"

Elise's voice made Corrin flinch.

"…Have you ever had the steak here?"

Corrin hesitated. His eyes scanned Elise's expression, searching for signs of jest, but all he found was a hint of sadness buried under her usual bright smile.

"Y…Yeah, had it for lunch," he murmured.

"Me too, but, see, I thought it was kinda stiff," Elise mused. "Prolly undercooked it, y'think?"

A smile traced its way across Corrin's expression. "…Yeah, that sounds about right. But I think they got the mashed potatoes right. What'd you think of…?"

March 14: Morning

Corrin masked a cough; Felicia may have been on the other side of the door, but she'd hear if he didn't muffle it, and he really didn't need her cosseting right now. Standing from his bed, he called, "C-Come in."

Felicia nudged her way through, carrying a basket of unfolded laundry. "Morning, Corrin!"

"Mor—" Aaand the stealth had all been for nothing, as trying to reply elicited a reflexive coughing fit he couldn't have attempted to hide. All he could do was play it off, so even as Felicia was rushing over to check his temperature again, he said nonchalantly, "G, good morning. How'd you sleep?"

"I slept fine," she murmured absently, placing her palm against the prince's forehead; he winced at the chill. "No fever, but… are you feeling alright?"

Corrin squirmed under her touch. Again, she was far too close, and he had to force himself to look away. He'd been mildly uncomfortable in the past, but now, remembering what Camilla and Elise had both divulged yesterday, he was painfully aware of why they'd gotten that impression. He gently pushed her away, offering a reassuring smile. "I feel fine, don't worry. You don't need to worry about me."

Felicia pouted. "It's my job to worry about you."

Corrin tried to casually brush it off. "It's pretty much spring, you know. The equinox is in a week. It's probably just allergies."

"I've never heard of a dragon getting sick…"

"You've cared for me for years, Felicia. I'm sure you can remember a time." He turned to approach his mirror; he eyed his shirt, adjusting and fixing the buttons. "…Listen. Can I ask you something?"

Felicia paused, a little smirk growing. "…No, Corrin, I refuse your question!"

Corrin laughed. "Yeah, sorry, stupid thing to say." He glanced at her via the mirror; she was hovering awkwardly next to the bedside table, apparently torn between handling Corrin and handling the laundry she'd placed there. "Felicia… I, uh, have a rhetorical question, kinda." His scarlet eyes flicked back to his shirt; he didn't really have a reason to, just wanting something to do with his hands.

"Well, go ahead, milord."

"This isn't a 'milord' situation."

"Um… then, go ahead, Corrin."

Corrin took a deep breath. "Felicia, I don't have the free time I need to pursue… romance. Serious romance. I don't know what my schedule is going to be like after I finish the proposal for the Nohrian Advisory Board, but for all I know, I could be just as busy forever." He glanced at her reflection. "So—I think—uh, I think I shouldn't deal with… that stuff. Not now, maybe not ever."

Felicia didn't reply for a moment, letting it sink in. "…It's not like you, um, have to be in loooove with the village girl," she began. "As long as you're having f-fun, then… um…"

Corrin winced. He supposed he had no reason to believe Felicia would think he was talking about anyone besides his fictional crush, but it worked just fine.

Felicia laughed weakly. "I mean, I didn't think this girl was, was 'the one' for you or anything. I'm really just glad you can enjoy the little things. You've been so down lately."

Corrin felt the words sting. Still, he didn't respond.

"A-And it's not like you have to report any of this to me." Felicia's voice was much quieter. "Honestly, I kinda feel bad about asking you so many questions yesterday… Your love life, it's, it's your business. Don't worry about keeping your maid in the loop."

Ah, her words were so painful. Guilt gripped Corrin's heart.

"Now, um, be sure not to miss breakfast with your older sister." Felicia gestured at the door. "I'll be folding laundry in here if you need me…"

March 14: Breakfast

His meal with Camilla was uneventful. Corrin coughed once, but he played it off as food going down the wrong pipe. Camilla could be even worse about coddling than Felicia, he knew.

Likewise, the meeting was mundane. Discussions continued to move at a glacial pace; this was the sixth day now, and

Cough, cough

and still nearly a week of debate remained. Today and yesterday had both been spent on compliance with Nestrian regulations, which should barely have been an issue considering

Cough, cough. He got a few glances that time, and Camilla briefly rubbed his back without prying, but conversations went uninterrupted:

—considering that Nestra was a neutral state. Corrin figured they would say "okeydokey, we've got some Nestrian trade regs to worry about but we're all professionals so they're taken care of already." Instead: excessive amounts of meandering repartee between two sides that seemed to hunt for details to loudly disagree about.

All in all, his pen wasn't getting much of a workout this morning (though Camilla's was, curiously), but—

Cough, cough, cough

Cough, cough

He'd coughed loudly enough to silence the current speaker: a scrawny Nohrian. "…Milord, are you feeling well?"

Corrin huffed irritably. "Yes, I'm fine. Continue, we've wasted enough time tod—" Another cough interrupted him.

Camilla put a hand on his shoulder, concern in her violet eyes. "Oh, Little Brother, you sound ill…"

Corrin brushed her hand off, growing annoyed. "Yes, I'm fine! Gods, I cough a couple times and you people think I'm dying."

"Corrin, it isn't like you to get sick."

"I am not sick. At the very worst, my throat is sore." Corrin gestured angrily at the Nohrian advisor; "Get on with it! Just ignore me if I cough any further."

The advisors glanced amongst each other; the man with the floor cleared his throat and straightened his papers awkwardly. "A-As I was saying, shipments passing through the port of Nestra must always respect the weight limit of…"

March 14: Afternoon

Corrin was careful to stay hydrated throughout the day, aided by Felicia never letting him be without a cup of water. By lunch, he had food in his system, and he felt in good health once again.

By that evening, he didn't cough once while playing games with Elise.