A/N: Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Can you smell that? That's the scent of drama in the air.

"I—I'm sorry!" Blushing furiously, the girl whipped her head to the opposite direction. "I was just checking if you were breathing properly. You were unconscious in the pool, so I'd thought the heat might have gotten to you. I didn't mean to peek, I swear."

Now that the initial flare of indignation has died down, Leo was calm enough to register what she just said. And in that moment, everything came back to him: the journey, the village, the hot spring, and—

Closing his eyes, he let his head fall back onto the cold, tiled floor and resisted the urge to curse out loud.

Holy hells, he was a damn fool.

This was all his fault, borne from his folly and his ridiculous need for privacy. If he hadn't told Niles and Odin to leave him alone to bathe then this wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have drifted off to sleep or have fainted—whichever of the two had caused him to lose consciousness, he couldn't remember anymore—and he most certainly wouldn't have had to be saved by a complete stranger.

"Excuse me, are you alright?" The abrupt question interrupted his thoughts of self-loathing.

"Yes, thank you. I'm fine now." Leo breathed a despondent sigh as he continued to stare blankly at the bathroom ceiling.

As mortifying as it was, he needed to face reality; it wouldn't do him any good to sulk like an immature five-year-old.

A plan. All you need is a plan. Just get to your feet, grab your clothes, and go back to your room. And then you can pretend like this never happened.

Using whatever energy he had left, he raised himself to a sitting position, groaning at the shock of pain that surged through his tired muscles at the sudden movement.

"Gods." He hissed, his hands instantly going to his thighs—they were starting to cramp.

"Oh, right! Your clothes! Wait, I'll get them for you."

Through narrowed eyes, Leo saw the girl shoot to her feet, with a quickness that he could have admired if he hadn't been too busy gritting his teeth in pain. She made her way to the left side of the bathroom where the clean yukatas were hanging, and after hastily wearing one over her towel, grabbed an extra and came back to him.

"Here you go," she said when she was mere inches away from him, her eyes averted awkwardly. "Just tell me if you need anything."

When the girl simply turned around instead of leaving the bathroom, Leo didn't ask why. He couldn't, not right now. Not when it was taking all his strength and focus to get himself dressed, his jaw clenching with the effort he needed to ignore the sore tightness in his thighs.

He was just grateful that Hoshidan clothes were so easy to wear. Even with him sitting on the floor, he was able to put his yukata on—just enough to cover the parts that needed to be covered.

"Are you finished?"

"Yes." He ground out. Damn, the cramps were getting worse.

The girl swivelled to face him, concern heavy in her voice. "Your legs must be cramping really badly. I know a healing technique that could get rid of the pain. I can help you—if you'd let me, of course."

Leo was hardly in a position to refuse. He nodded jerkily.

Kneeling beside him, the girl placed her palms a scant distance above his right thigh, and then a faint white light emanated from them, causing a wave of warmth to seep into his skin.

The pain was already diminishing at a miraculous speed.

"Can I ask you something? What happened to you to get you like this? Your body is barely holding up from exhaustion."

Leo felt a prickle of annoyance at her overly familiar tone, but merely brushed it off. He knew from his studies that Hoshidans tend to be unwaveringly solicitous. Besides, he owed her a huge debt of gratitude; the least he could do was answer her questions.

He shrugged. "My comrades and I had been riding on horseback for days. We took small stops in-between, but I'm afraid they weren't enough to prevent the numbing and fatigue."

The girl nodded, her head bowed as she focused her efforts on his other leg. "I understand. Riding on a horse does take its toll on the body. In my case, I could barely stand up after the journey here, and I ended up having to heal myself just to get rid of the discomfort afterwards."

"You mean you don't reside in the area?" He raised a brow. "I could've sworn you're a local, judging from your accent."

"Oh, I'm a Hoshidan, yes, but I live in the capital. It's a few hours of horseback riding from here. What about you? Where are you from?"

Her question gave Leo a pause. He hadn't thought this far ahead. He disliked lying, but was there any other way to respond to her? He couldn't very well lay out all his cards to a virtual stranger, could he?

She must have sensed his reluctance, because she promptly added, "You don't have to answer. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"It's fine. I'm… a scholar who more or less dabble with the dark arts." There. That was true enough.

"Dark arts?"

"Tomes, grimoires, ancient spells, magical potions. I study them."

She made a thoughtful sound. "I don't know about tomes and potions, but we use scrolls to control spirits here. How different are they?"

"That's something I intend to find out. Right now, my companions and I are busy on an errand. We've travelled all the way from Nohr for it." Again, true. He did plan on studying Hoshidan magic in the future, and he was on an errand, only this one entailed getting married to a princess. But that's something no one else needed to know about.

There was a sudden gasp, and the warm, comforting sensation on Leo's legs immediately vanished.

"You're from Nohr?" The girl met his gaze, her wide eyes glittering with unbound curiosity like shards of ruby. Leo couldn't remember ever seeing eyes as red as hers.

In fact, Leo couldn't remember ever seeing her. He had been so preoccupied with his pain that he had overlooked her presence altogether.

He sucked in a breath, his heart beginning to race.

She was… so beautiful.

Leo had made similar observations in the past—had noted beauty in several people before—but none affected him like this. Never had he felt the need to test the softness of the person's skin. To explore the supple pinkness of her lips. To admire the perfection of her silver tresses that made him think of threads made from moonlight.

Never had he experienced the pang of want.

Until now.

"Um, are you okay? You look dazed and flushed." The feeling of her palm on his forehead was like a bolt of lightning, sending sparks of awareness through his body, effectively jerking him from his fanciful thoughts. "I don't think you have a fever, though."

What the hells was he doing, desiring a stranger? This was utter madness!

Leo quickly drew away from her as if burned.

"I'm fine," he muttered curtly, his throat tight from the guilt he now felt.

Damn it all. He knew better than to entertain these thoughts—these feelings—for someone who wasn't his betrothed. He might not love Princess Corrin, but he was certainly going to do his part as her husband. And that meant being faithful to her. That was the duty he has resigned himself to fulfil, and he would be damned if he would let a slip of a woman deter him from it.

No matter how much he ached to know her.

Snap out of it, you cretin.

Leo shook his head. "Sorry, I was thinking about something. What were you saying?"

She regarded him uncertainly, hesitation evident in her eyes—those beautiful eyes of hers, damn them. "I… was just wondering if you could tell me about Nohr."

"What about it?"

"Well, you see, I've never been there, and I'm curious about the culture." Blushing, she gave an awkward cough and dusted off an imaginary speck of dust from her sleeve. "Do you have strict rules of etiquette for women? For brides?"

Leo's eyebrows shot upwards.

Brides? What did they have to do with anything?

He was about to ask, when a slightly muffled voice sounded from beyond the door to the hallway.

"Eh? It's locked?" A series of knocks followed, its sounds echoing inside the large bathroom. "Hello? Is anyone inside?"

"Hinoka!" The girl gasped and scrambled to her feet, pulling a confused Leo with her. "Wait, just a minute! I must have locked the door!"

Facing him, she lowered her voice, her words tumbling together in a succession of hushed whispers. "It's the ladies' time in the baths now, so she might get the wrong idea if she sees you here."

"Who?" Leo asked in an equally small voice, before letting her drag him into the corner behind the large cabinet. Thank the gods the pain in his limbs were completely gone now.

"My sister. She can get violent so you might want to stay there before we go." She drew back and briefly inspected his hiding place. Seemingly satisfied with it, she spun around before he could take in what she said.

"Corrin, please open up!"

"Wait! I'm almost there!"

Leo stopped breathing.

"I really need to talk to you, Little Sister!"

"Yes, just let me open this."

The doorframe rattled, and the voice was much clearer now.

"Who were you talking to, anyway?"

"N-no one. I was just mumbling to myself. You know how I get sometimes."

"You had me worried there, Corrin. I thought a pervert came inside while you were bathing. Knowing you, you'd probably just let him go."

Corrin.

Leo's throat felt dry.

No.

No, it couldn't be.

"I'm not that bad, Hinoka."

"You are. You're too softhearted, you know. Anyway, Oboro, Kaze and Mozu are in your room. We have exciting news for you!"

"I thought she was done making alterations to my bridal kimono?"

My bridal kimono.

Good gods.

"That's not it. Just come quickly. Come on."

Their voices were becoming fainter and fainter now, the sound of their footsteps receding, but Leo couldn't hear anything aside from the thunderous pounding of his heart.

-x-

Clutching the piece of paper in his hand, Niles used his other one to shake Odin's sleeping form.

"Odin, wake up!" He didn't want do this, especially since his comrade clearly needed the rest, but if his suspicions were correct then Lord Leo was in trouble.

Niles felt the bile rise in his throat, driving him to jerk Odin more forcefully on the futon. "Wake up!"

"Niles?" Odin blinked groggily. "What are you—?"

"Where's Lord Leo?! Is he still there? In the baths?"

Niles saw the exact moment when Odin understood the full implications of what he just said. Without wasting any second, they rose from the floor with tremendous speed, and, ignoring the protests of their aching muscles, darted off into the hallway, slamming the door open in their haste.

This was bad. If Lord Leo was still there, he could have fainted already—or worse.

He shouldn't have left the inn—even if it was to do his liege's bidding. Damn it, he should've had the foresight to anticipate this, knowing that it was Lord Leo's first time at a hot spring. The message to Lord Xander could've waited.

Cursing under his breath, Niles made a sharp turn at the end of the hallway—only to collide with a pair of women.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" The red head growled, rubbing the part of her forehead that hit Niles' chest.

The long-haired one next to her tried to say something, but Niles quickly moved past them, leaving Odin to hastily apologise on his behalf.

He didn't have time for such nonsense.

And judging from the simple and short apology that Odin gave, neither did he.

The way to the hot spring seemed longer than it did earlier, and Niles all but ran across the hardwood floor, Odin directly at his heels.

They were almost at the entrance when the door opened, revealing a seemingly disoriented Lord Leo.

"Milord!" Niles sighed with relief. He might've looked a little out of sorts, but at least he hadn't fainted inside.

Aside from the shallowness in his breathing, Odin beamed with his usual exuberance next to him. "My spirit soars to see you hearty and hale, my liege."

"Oh. Niles, Odin." Lord Leo murmured distractedly as though he had just noticed them, his violet eyes looking past their shoulders. "Have you seen a girl on your way here? The one with silver hair?"

A girl with—?

Odin suddenly exclaimed. "Oh, yes! The silver-haired maiden had just sped past us earlier as we made our way here, milord."

"So she is staying here." Lord Leo muttered to himself, his lips erupting into a slow grin.

Niles' eye widened in surprise.

The prince rarely showed his emotions to people, and he never—never—smiled this broadly.

He was also not the type of person given to outbursts of laughter, something that he was doing now to his retainers' immense disbelief.

Niles threw Odin a questioning look, but the mage simply shrugged. His face was as dumbfounded as his.

"Er, milord, did something happen?" Niles took an uncertain step toward Lord Leo, who was still chuckling slightly.

"No. No, it's nothing." Taking a calming breath, his master glanced at the paper in his hand, his expression instantly turning into one of concern. "Niles, is that a missive from Xander?"

He nodded. "Yes, milord. I sent him your note earlier just as you asked, and I was surprised to get a reply after a mere few minutes."

"The mighty crown prince must be within the vicinity. Could it be? Argh—yes! My aching blood could sense his presence!" Odin cried, his hands posed comically about him.

I see Odin's back to normal, Niles thought wryly, as he handed the note to Lord Leo.

It appeared to be a short message, however, because after just a few seconds, Lord Leo lifted his gaze from the paper and said, "You're right, Odin. Xander's close by."

-x-

The second Corrin entered her room, she was greeted by an outburst of remarks from Oboro and Mozu, who excitedly swarmed her with several articles of clothing at hand.

"You should wear this, Lady Corrin!" Mozu declared breathlessly, lifting a white floral kimono in front of her.

"No, this suits her better." Oboro countered with a red variation lined with golden flowers.

Huh?

They began to debate with so much enthusiasm that Corrin could barely keep up. There was one thing that stood out from the cacophony of words thrown at her, though, and that was—

"Wait, what's this about Prince Leo?" Corrin felt her pulse accelerate. "Please, could someone tell me what's happening?"

Hinoka was grinning beside her. "Little Sister, Kaze reported the most exciting thing! He said that he saw Prince Leo just outside Draconhaven."

Gasping, Corrin turned to the ninja who, up to now, was quietly observing in the corner. "Is this true, Kaze?"

"Yes, milady." Kaze bowed. "I just came back from scouting the woods, and I happened upon the prince's party. From his clothes, his bearing, and his physical appearance, there could be little doubt that he's the Nohrian prince."

He's really here. I'm finally going to meet him.

Corrin felt light-headed all of a sudden.

"What should I do?" she asked weakly, her hands gripping Hinoka's arm for support.

Her elder sister chuckled. "What else, Corrin? Of course we're going to help you be perfect when you meet this prince of yours."

At this, Corrin managed a smile. "Everyone, I'll be counting on you."

-x-

A/N: Yes, Prince Xander was the one Kaze saw in the woods. Just in case you guys are wondering.

Also, I read a review that asked why they couldn't send painted portraits and whatnot. Those are valid points, I agree.

If you're also wondering, here're my answers:
1. They weren't able to send painted portraits, or any similar mediums to one another because the marriage was settled quickly. If you remember, it was only 4 days ago that Leo found out about it. They needed to travel to Hoshido asap.

2. Ryoma and Xander both knew what each other looked like because as crown princes they had to interact with each other. The other siblings rely on Xanders' and Ryoma's descriptions. (Leo didn't ask for any hint anyway; he was pretty bummed out by the engagement in the first place).

3. It was said in chapter 1 that no formal ties existed between Hoshido and Nohr, meaning they weren't obligated to know each other. So despite the fact that Xander and Ryoma were acquainted each other, they merely saw each other every few years at most. Their accounts on how the other looked like would probably murky, as a result.

4. Oh, poor Kaze! In his defence, they were all just given the following facts: violet eyes, blond hair.

Don't fret; I plan to incorporate numbers 2 to 4 in the future chapters.

Thanks for reading!