A/N: This chapter has also had a major change to it. The training scene from Chapter 4 has been moved into this chapter, and the fight scene from the end of this chapter has been moved into Chapter 7 to better balance everything. There have also been some minor changes, like making more time pass to help keep things realistic.

The next day, Felicia wakes me up again. She hands me clothes—an off-white shirt, a pair of dark brown pants, and equally dark leather boots. They're both made of a heavy, somewhat rough fabric that feels a little uncomfortable, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. When she leaves, I put them on. The shirt's long and loose, so I roll up the sleeves and put my belt around my waist to deal with the bulk. The pants fit much better, as do the boots. Wow. She really got this stuff right.

I look myself over and the ensemble overall looks a fair bit like the getup of the villagers from the game—as you might expect. I walk around the room experimentally and do some quick stretches. The fabric isn't as bad as I'd expect, and I've got more freedom of movement than I'd expect. Protection-wise, it's probably pretty weak, but I'll hopefully be able to get some actual armor in time for combat.

I exit the room and Felicia's waiting for me again. "Hi!" She looks me up and down. "Wow, you look like you're actually a Nohrian commoner! Well, minus the glasses!"

Felicia, don't do that! I look down the hall to make sure that snake isn't around. "Shhh! Keep that down!"

"Sorry, sorry!" She shakes her head. "Does everything fit okay? It's not uncomfortable?"

"Yeah, actually. Did you pick this all out? It feels great."

"I did! I based it on what you were wearing before. I'm glad I managed to do something right!" You can hear the pure joy present in her voice.

"You're too hard on yourself, you know? Even if you drop plates or whatever you can do a lot of things well, too."

"It's kind of you to say that, but you haven't met Jakob, or my sister Flora… they're so great at everything, it's not fair!"

I do know them, in fact—just not personally. "It's all good. Just relax, okay?"

"All right, I'll try. Anyway, we've wasted enough time! I need to take you to see Lord Xander for your training!"

"Now it's time to try out what you've learned," he says. "We will spar together. Give it your all," he instructs, taking several steps back.

"Are you sure about this? I don't think I'm really very good yet…"

"You will never truly learn without practicing the techniques for yourself," he says, holding out his wooden sword. "En garde!"

Well, damn. No room for argument there. I start moving to the left, circling him, hoping that he'll get bored and attack. Which he does. He takes a step then lunges forward in the blink of an eye, whacking me in the arm with his sword.

"Shit! Ow! " It stings, but I'm not bleeding or anything. Maybe a bruise, but it wouldn't show itself yet.

"Again!"

We walk back to where we started off the bout. Okay, so defending didn't work for me that time. It's time to get aggressive. I rush in, lunging forward, and take thrust at Xander. He bats the sword aside with his own and follows it up with a short stab to the chest. It didn't hurt as much as the first time, but I'm still defeated.

"Don't just rush in blindly. Look for a strategic opening. One more time!"

We return to our starting positions once more. Hm. Think. So just waiting won't work. That allows him to attack on his own terms. And I can't just barge on in. That allows him to also attack on his own terms once he parries my poor-technique attack. I've got to remember what he said yesterday—I need to maintain control of the battle. I have to force his hand. That's it.

My lips turn into a smirk and I begin to execute the plan. I close about half of the distance, sword at the ready. I can see Xander's shoulders begin to shift, indicating that he's about to go for it, and sidestep. I picked the right direction, as his swing misses. Fuck yes! I step forward and give him a quick whack to the shoulder, but the wooden sword simply bounces off his armor.

He whirls around and slashes at me again, but I jump backwards just barely in time to miss it. After the swing's negative is up, he goes again for another one. I duck and lunge to the right, getting in a quick shot to that side of his torso. It hits armor again, but it connects, which has been way more progress than before.

Still undeterred, Xander goes for one more charge, sending a flurry of sword slashes my way. He's advancing faster than I can step back, and I know not to turn my back on an opponent. I grip my sword tight and try blocking him. We lock swords at just below eye level. Then, just like in a lightsaber duel, he drops and swings much lower, where I catch him again. I can feel his immense strength from through the sword… I try to match it as best I can, but it's just not working. I drop the sword, defeated. My hand is sore and red.

"Fuck, I'm awful at this, aren't I?" I say. It's grammatically a question, but I say it as if it's a fact, because it is. I'm going to be useless. I just know it.

"Do not be discouraged. This the first time you've fought with a sword, is it not? I've been trained by Nohr's finest and my father, the king himself, since I could walk. Even when I hold back my full abilities, it's no surprise that I could defeat you handily. It's no surprise that I would defeat you handily," he says.

"Yeah, but if I get into a fight, I'll just get my ass kicked and probably die. And I don't exactly have years to throw at the problem."

"You don't need to be the best fighter in the world. You need to be able to defend yourself, and that's what I'm teaching you to do. For anything beyond that, you can rely on your allies, your friends—and by that, I mean my siblings and I. But I must say that while your technique is undeveloped, I see the makings of a fine soldier in you."

"Really? You're just trying to make me feel better, right?"

"Lying is unbecoming of a prince of Nohr," he says. "But yes. You learned so much in such a short time, and I didn't say one word to you. Each round you improved immensely. The best soldiers, and the best commanders, are the ones who can adapt their plans and turn a losing battle into a victory."

"Mm… you think I can do that?"

"I have full confidence in you." It's then that I notice Elise and Camilla walking up to us.

I wave them over and smile. "Lady Elise! Lady Camilla!"

"Hi, Harrison!" Elise says in her trademark cheery voice. "How's your training going?"

"It's… going." I look to Xander and sigh.

"Again," he instructs. "Let's give them a show."

Feeling a little more emboldened, I step back to create some extra distance between us. Xander takes a few cautious steps closer, then charges at me. I instinctively dash to the right, but it doesn't work. He apparently anticipates it and moves to match my dodge, swinging his sword high in the air at me.

My primary strategy was foiled. As a last resort, I raise my sword to block his, and I'm able to hold that position for a little bit. I push as much strength as I can into it, and somehow the angle at which the swords cross gives me just enough leverage to push his sword away, which gives me the fraction of the second I need to close the gap and get in a side slash at his arm, just at the elbow. I expect the familiar sensation of the sword bouncing off his armor but instead the wood just… connects, with a little smacking sound. A direct hit if I've ever seen one.

He recoils and I jump back as well. This time, he's hanging back, so I'll take the initiative. I charge and at the last second skip to the left, parrying his preemptive slash with one of my own. He aggressively steps forward and takes another swipe, which I dodge by ducking under his swing and getting behind him. Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to get back on my feet before he wheels around and delivers a slash to my back.

"Fuck…" I mutter, reaching over my shoulder with my right hand to feel the area in question.

"You had me going there for a while," he says. "That hit between the armor plates was excellent."

"That was a fluke."

"Don't give up! You're doing a really great job!" Elise cheers. Camilla just sits there with her satisfied, surface-of-the-sun-hot smile. "Don't you think so too, Camilla?"

"Hm? Well, watching him spar with Xander is rather cute. Like a kitten using its claws for the first time." Camilla called me cute?! Sure, it's baby-animal-cute… but you take what you can get. Beggars can't be choosers.

"Uh… thanks," I say, face heating up again. Blush reflex, please stop. I don't need you all up in my business like this.

"Back to your position. Focus on trying to replicate that strike to my weak points."

We go back and forth as I experiment with new tactics—circling him, engaging him in an all-out frontal assault (didn't work very well), baiting Xander into making the first move and following with different approaches to a counterattack. It's fun, and kind of like a game, but by the end, I truly am exhausted, brought to the same state I was yesterday. Xander lets me go and I retreat once again to my room.

Elise, of course, proceeds to launch a barrage of questions again. She beams when I tell her about how Xander destroyed me in just about every bout. He really is her hero, I think to myself.

The next days pass by in a similar blur. Training, eating, sleeping, trying not to get spied on. I'm worried I'm indulging too much in the hospitality of the royals, and I offer to help, but I suppose there isn't much to do around the Northern Fortress. Someone unskilled and unknowledgeable like me would probably just fuck up any important job they give me. Still, they let me do minor chores—organizing Leo's book collection, helping Elise clean her room (she pouts and carries on the whole time), polishing and oiling spare weapons in the armory. None of it is particularly engaging, and not nearly as fun as sparring with Xander, but I figure it's something to do, and I'm taking any opportunity I can to learn about this place.

I still miss home, and I can't stop thinking about it. Do my parents, my sisters know I'm gone? How did this happen? Is there any way I can get home? I take peeks at Leo's books, but there's nothing in there about it. They're all treatises on elder magic. Interesting, maybe, but most of the magic stuff is incomprehensible, written in runes and glyphs that I can't even begin to make out. As long as I'm cooped up in the Northern Fortress, I don't know if there's much I can do. The best thing right now might just be to train hard and study up.

When I meet Xander at the training grounds again, he gives me a piece of light chain mail to wear as armor. It fits over me like a loose T-shirt and reaches down to just below my waist. It's a little heavy, but not ridiculous, and it doesn't seem to be impairing my ability to move.

"Tell me, Harrison—how well do you think this armor will protect you in an actual battle?"

"Well… I'm assuming you're not going to skimp out on me with this stuff, so... pretty well?"

"Wrong answer. Your armor is always weaker than you think it is, and your opponent's is always stronger than it may appear to you at first glance. Remember this, and you will be much more cautious in battle, and therefore much more difficult to defeat."

"Permission to speak freely, milord?"

"Granted," he says, with a quizzical look on his face.

"That was pretty clever, what you did just there."

"Thank you," he says with a self-satisfied, but not unkind, smile. "I hope you found it informative. By the way, that piece of armor is actually rather stronger than it looks. It's standard issue for Nohrian soldiers in support roles, and even on the front lines when they don't have enough plate."

"Are you just trying to bait me into being overconfident here?"

"No, I am being serious. What I said earlier was just an adage, some words of advice to keep in mind. Enough of this, however. Let us begin."

We continue, and I apply my knowledge that I gained from yesterday, taking advantage of Xander's momentary weak points. He likes to swing his sword in wide arcs, probably from his experience with Siegfried, so his backswing gives me an excellent opportunity to retreat, reposition, or, when I'm feeling especially cocky, strike. The armor actually does provide moderate protection from his hits. I can still feel them, but they're not painful like they were before.

The training session continues for another two hours, and I'm doing somewhat better than I was last time. I notice that I'm moving faster, striking more precisely, and able to fend off his whirlwinds of attacks for longer before being overwhelmed. Even so, I still reach my breaking point, gasping for air, my new threads drenched in sweat. We decide to call it a day.

"Excellent work," he tells me. "Much better than yesterday."

"Thank you, sir," I reply, and begin heading to my room. The rest of that day and the next proceed much similarly to the day before—collapse into the cot, wake up for dinner, take care of a few odds and ends, collapse into the cot again, and repeat. Later, I run into Leo in one of the fortress's hallways.

"Lord Leo!" I call out to him.

"Harrison? What is it?" he looks a little annoyed.

I walk over to him. "So I know I've been helping you organize your library for the past few days, but I have a question for you, about it, I guess."

"What can I help you with?"

"All the books in your library are about magic. Er, that's not a problem, but I was wondering if you had anything on the history or geography or anything like that of this world. I figure I'm going to be here for a while, if not forever, so it can't hurt to learn a little about it, right?" Thanks to the games, I have a basic understanding of it all, but it actually could never hurt to brush up on my lore. Plus, I'm sure the true situation ahead of me is much, much more detailed than even the most completionist and die-hard lore fans would be able to understand.

"An excellent idea. Unfortunately, as you've said, I've only been looking into my magical research here in the Northern Fortress. However, my brother has told me we are to return to Castle Krakenburg soon. It has a vast library, and I'll show it to you when we get there. It would also be interesting to see if it has anything related to your arrival here…" he seems deep in thought.

"Mm. That seems like it'll be a tough one to crack. Still, thank you, milord! This will help out a lot!"

"Glad I could help."

I return to my room, and, as mentioned before, collapse into bed. Tomorrow, Xander had told me, would be Corrin's ultimate test. It's time for the first big fight, and I want to be well-rested.

"Harrison?" An unfamiliar voice says. I can't directly place it as any of the characters… I open my eyes and it's Corrin. That's why.

"Lady Corrin…" I mumble as I sit up and collect myself.

"It's time for us to get ready for our test. Come with me," she holds a gloved hand out to me. I grab it and take it as she leads me off the cot. Luckily, I'm still in my clothes—I was so exhausted from yesterday I didn't think about changing out of them.

I rub my eyes and look into hers… Their red color had never stood out to me before. Despite all the usual connotations you'd expect them to carry, they seem friendly. I nod. "Let's get this show on the road, then."

We walk outside, onto a raised, stone section that's almost like a rooftop. Corrin and I stand on one end, and Xander stands opposite us, nearby his horse. He gives me that shirt of mail, and us metal swords. I pick mine up and do some practice swings in the air, trying to get a feel for the added weight and how it affects the balance of the weapon.

Xander observes me for a minute, then speaks up. "They're bronze—beginner weapons, but live weapons as opposed to those sticks we trained with earlier." I stop my swings and look at him. He's for real? Giving me real weapons? Are you clinically insane, dude? Are you that sure I'm not going to accidentally lop my arm off or slice my carotid artery open? "Do not be afraid. You can handle this, Harrison. You're ready."

He mounts his horse and takes up his position on the other side of the mini-arena. "Harrison! Corrin! Don't hold back. Do your best to defeat me. The first move is yours."

I take a deep breath and look around. Leo, Camilla, and Elise are watching, as are Corrin's entourage—Felicia, Flora, Jakob, Gunter, and Lilith. This is it. Are the stakes low? Sure. But this is a chance to prove to the royals that I'm not a total useless piece of shit who needs to be babied, like a lost puppy. I might be lost, but I can pull my own weight.

I hope.

A/N: Nightshade McArthur asked about Harrison's knowledge of the FE universe: He does know about Awakening and some of the other games, but he tries to keep the "Fates identities" separate in his mind from the "Awakening identities". Maybe he will screw up at some point in the future and that'll lead to some awkward conversations.