And now from a Hoshidan Royal to a Nohr Royal, younger sister to older sister. Chapter 3 of Peaceful Moments starts now, hope you enjoy reading, fellow Fates fan. (Secretly grumbles about how I don't have a 3DS) –ArcanaHermit
Chapter 3: Dreams (Corrin x Camilla)
"Ah, isn't this nice, dear Corrin? It's just me and you having relaxing, barely a care in the world."
Corrin was stark naked save for his towel, with his wife Camilla sitting opposite of him, wearing much the same. They were quietly enjoying each other's company in the hot spring, which Corrin had to admit was pretty refreshing. The moonlight above just added ambience to the atmosphere.
Ever since they got married, Corrin (at Camilla's insistence) took time away from the busy war to go to all the places she always wanted to go with him: a lovely field of flowers, a crystal cave said to shine brightly at night, and many other wonders of Nohr. This was one of those wonders, a natural hot spring known for its rejuvenation properties, as well as its ability to make a woman's skin silky smooth. Corrin suspected it was more of the latter that Camilla wanted to come here.
"Y-yeah, I have to admit this is nice, simmering down in this hot spring. Thanks for the suggestion, Camilla."
Camilla moved closer to Corrin, gracing him with a simple smile, which led to him blushing even more intensely.
"Aww, is my dear little Corrin a bit embarrassed? How adorable, it almost feels like when we're young again, and we would bathe together."
"I suppose, but we're married now, so of course I'd be embarrassed a bit. It's the first time we've been this…exposed with each other"
Camilla simply giggled and gave Corrin a light peck on the cheek and wrapped her arms around him, giving Corrin a warm fuzzy feeling. Corrin couldn't help but feel content. For all her teasing, she has always been affectionate and protective of him, which is what he loved about her, despite her tendencies to go…overboard.
"So…assuming we get another break from the war, which is unfortunately somewhat unlikely after this, what part of your little map should we go?"
Camilla pondered for a moment, wrapping her arms slightly tighter.
"Hmm…I don't know, love. We could go hike on a mountain with the most romantic view you have ever seen…or we could go skinny dipping in a waterfall I heard from one of my little birds."
"Those sound nice…wait, skinny dipping? Did you always planned to have such risqué outings where we…you know…wear less clothes than is appropriate?"
Camilla simply replied with a curt laugh, which led to Corrin looking down. Clearly the steam wasn't just from the water, but from the amount of heat he felt on his head. Eventually Camilla replied, trying to break the embarrassing silence.
"I assure you I only planned those AFTER we got married. As doting as I am when I was merely your sister, I have my limits. Now that we're husband and wife, I figured we should be a little more open with each other. Is that…wrong?"
"N-no, we're husband and wife now, so this is o-ok, it just takes some time getting used to. And to be honest, I really don't care where we go, so long as you're happy."
Camilla pecked Corrin on the forehead. And they stared silently at the night sky for a while, content with simply being in each other's arms.
"Hey Corrin, remember when we first talked to everyone about our marriage?"
"How could I not? I could recall Elise cheering us on, Leo looking on at me in bewilderment, the other retainers supporting us. You might not know this, but even though Xander actually was happy for us, when we were alone he said if I did anything to break your heart, he'd disembowel me with Siegfried."
Camilla couldn't help but laugh aloud, which was joined by Corrin. Despite the grim meaning behind the words, the mental picture of Xander saying such a sentence seemed to amuse them to no end.
"Heh, I'd pass it off as him being humorous, but this IS Xander we're talking about, so he probably meant what he said. Ever the stern prince is our brother. Still, his concern is sweet, but I'm sure we'll live quite happily with each other."
A streak of light just flew across the sky, leaving behind a trail of white. Suddenly another one, and another one, until it looked like the black sky was raining white light.
"Ah…what a beautiful meteor shower, wouldn't you say Corrin? They say if you pray hard enough on a night like this, your greatest wish will come true."
Corrin remembered a night when all of his Nohrian siblings had taken him out to see a meteor shower just like this. It was such a wonderful sight when he first saw it, though he couldn't recall exactly what he wished for. It was so long ago, before life became a constant fight for survival. How he missed those simple days.
"Hmm, so if that's true, what would you wish for, Camilla?"
"Oh, silly Corrin, I already have everything I could wish for. A luxurious hot spring vacation with the one I love most of all, the fact that you fell in love with me and we got married. True, the war is a bit annoying, not giving me the amount of private time I'd like with you, but apart from that, dear husband, I couldn't have asked for anything more."
"Thank you for saying that, Camilla. Though if I had a wish, there would be one thing I would wish for."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
Corrin looked up to the skies, as if asking the sky above to hear his wish.
"Well, to end this war with as few deaths as possible. I don't even want to think about how many people I killed, how many lives I have ended, but I know I don't have a choice but to go on and continue killing. Still, if I could get through this with as little bloodshed as possible, I'd be happy. And to also finish this war quickly, because well…I'd like to spend some more time with you, as husband and wife."
Camilla pecked Corrin's forehead again, and begin brushing her hand through his hair. She always does this whenever she felt like he needed soothing.
"You have a kind heart, Corrin. Kinder that most people would give you credit for, honestly. You've gone through so much trouble sparing people when bloodshed would have easily solved the problem, and on top of that you're always thinking about your allies. And you even still find enough effort to go on our little escapades for my sake. I cannot express how proud I am of you. If there's one thing you should know, it's that you have my undying loyalty and love, and I will go whatever path you take us."
Corrin felt comforted at that last statement. That Camilla would always follow after him. Every decision always felt easier with his allies by his side, trusting him. But of all of his allies, if only Camilla trusted him, then that was good enough for him.
"Hey, it's getting a bit late. Why don't we get out of here and go to sleep? Maybe you can rest on my head this one time, while I brush your hair as you sleep."
"Ha, taking cues from me now, are you? I'll hold you to that, my dear Corrin. It'll be nice to know what that feels like for once."
They stood up and began exiting the hot spring, smiling at each other. They know that it'll be only a few hours before they had to return to the war, with all its hardships and bloodshed. But such little time spent in each other's loving company made all those days of battles and suffering worth it.
And I'm done with this chapter at last. Man, Camilla is harder to write than I initially thought. I hope I managed to write her character well enough. I hope you enjoy reading, and I'll see you next chapter. My inbox is always open if you'd like a nice little conversation –ArcanaHermit