Theme: Raging Dark Winds

"Ugh, I should have put on some shoes…" Corrin grumbled. "These pebbles are killing me."

"Complaining about it won't help Milady," Gunther said. "The only thing you can do is wait until we finish up here and put on some shoes for the next task."

"I'll try to remember that."

"Aw, a lack o' shoes won't kill ya'," Ghans said. "When I was younger then you I ran through a field o' caltrops before. Didn't feel a thing."

"I can only imagine…" 'But in all honesty, pebbles aside, this new landscape is a pleasant departure from the stone-cold floors back home.'

"Gods, I can't wait to be rid of this place," Gunther bemoaned. "It's just nothing but horrid weather out here."

"Don't we always have horrid weather?"

"Yes, but this is far more terrible than our worst days. The sky here is always pitch black, lightning strikes anyone who dares fly up too high, and given the name of this place you don't want to be anywhere but on solid ground. Odin would have had a nervous breakdown here."

"Really? Why?"

"He's cripplingly afraid of heights, moreso if there are suspension bridges anywhere like here. Poor lad must have been traumatized in his youth."

"Wow. Well then, I wouldn't want to be here any longer so let's make sure the fortress we need is oper…able…" That's when the group of four saw something they didn't expect to see: Hoshidan soldiers. In fact, two of them were just up ahead.

"Hey, dude, check this out," one of the katana samurai said. "There's like four Nohrians up ahead, and two of them look really shady."

"That's kind of stereotypical but, whatever," the other samurai said. "Let's go see what they want." The two Hoshidans approached the group of four with a neutral expression to avoid giving the impression of looking for a fight. "Excuse me, may you explain your business here?"

"We're just passin' through to Hoshido," Ghans lied. "This is the safest route we can take and we need to buy some stuff from there. We won't be long."

"You're just passing through?" one of the Hoshidans asked. "There are like a million better routes to take than this one, and if you wanted to buy something how come you guys didn't send some kind of export request? We have those you know."

"You do?" Corrin said in genuine surprise.

"Yeah; well, kinda. Our queen tried to set up an export/import system between our kingdoms not that long ago but your king hasn't really responded back about it." Corrin didn't know what to say to that, suddenly having doubts about what they were doing there. This gave her a whole slew of questions she would have to ask her father once she got back.

"Oh. Well then…" The two soldiers looked at her with clear suspicion of her intention but their guards were lowered enough to not expect an immediate attack. Testing the waters with their situation, Corrin asked her own question. "Is it just the two of you out here," she said feigning genuine curiosity. "It seems a bit dangerous for two people to be out here like this."

"Nah, there are a few others up ahead," one of the samurai answered. "We've been assigned watch duty for suspicious looking types coming out here. That guy behind you with that, uh, black armor with fur looks suspicious. No offense."

"None taken," Ghans said in a so-so tone. "I get that all the time. Nothin' new."

"Don't worry. He looks rough but he's a very decent person," Corrin said knowing otherwise. 'I wish that was true…'

"Oh? I can't imagine many coming out this far. This isn't a very safe location, but it's the safest route we can take; the others are swarmed with brigands."

"Huh. Well if that's the case I guess we can let you through."

'That actually worked? That was much easier than I—,'

"'Course our commanding officer must meet with you first. Once he knows that you're just passin' through he'll let you go no problem."

'…Spoke too soon…' If the Hoshidans' commanding officer saw her there was a good chance that a fight would break out, and for all she knew the two Hoshidans before her may have feigned ignorance of who she was and was leading her into a trap. Corrin wanted to deal with the Hoshidans with as little issue as possible, but to her credibility she was a quick thinker.

"Alright then, take us to your commanding officer," the princess said. The samurai pair played right into her hand, leading the way from the bridge to the fortress; before any of them were off it, Corrin suddenly fell with a yelp and a clutched foot.

"Milady, are you well?!" Gunther asked in a start. Felicia and Ghans similarly crowded around Corrin as she remained knelt, wondering what had happened.

"I—I don't know," Corrin said. "I hit my toe against a gap in the bridge. Ooh, it stings!"

"You got a splinter in your foot?" one of the samurai asked. "Here, let us have a look at it." Reluctantly, the Nohrian princess showed off her foot to the samurai as they got down low to check her out. It was bare without footwear much to their bewilderment, but aside of that her foot looked fine to them. Thinking it to be a small splinter they couldn't see they got closer to where they were mere inches away from it.

"It looks pretty fine to me," the second samurai said.

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. You sure you got a—" The next and last thing that samurai knew, his face hurt like hell having something slam itself into it before he blacked out. Corrin had kneed him with her other leg as she rapidly stood up, and she slashed through his exposed neck with Ganglari before he could register what was going on. Ghans was quick on the draw as well, taking advantage of the other samurai's shock of the moment and tore his head off in one swing. The two Nohrians quickly rolled the bodies over the bridge's edge into the abyss below, but not quick enough for archers in the distance to not spot them.

Theme: Advancing Chaos

"Sound the alarms!" one such archer shouted to his comrades in the fortress. "Notify Captain Nikuya that we're under attack!"

"It's just four people," one other archer said. "How much trouble can four people—"

"Two of them easily killed two of our own, and I don't want to find out how many more their entire group of four can kill! Now move your ass already!"

"Fine, fine…" Word was spread to the other archers inside of the building, and two of them departed to inform and support their captain. The samurai inside took a horn and blew as loud as possible, making sure their allies and enemies knew what was going down.

"That's a warning blare!" Mozu exclaimed. "We're under attack you lot; send someone back for reinforcements, we'll deal with this enemy quickly if we work together on this!"

"Yes sir!" two archers saluted before heading eastward from the Bottomless Canyon. Mozu absent-mindedly wondered what enemy they were up against, hoping that they had enough manpower to put them down. Corrin — on the other hand and on the others side of the battlefield from him, was kicking herself for her plan.

"That could have been thought out better," Corrin lamented. "Now we have to engage them directly instead of quietly taking them out like I wanted."

"Come now mistress, there's no more we can do about it," Gunther said. "Nothing to it but to do it as some young folk say."

"You're right. And I guess a direct confrontation isn't so bad in a sort of manner; I'll get a much-needed battle experience this way."

"That's more like it."

"Then it's settled. Felicia, Ghans, are you two ready?"

"Always ready for my mistress!" Felicia assured.

"Princess, I was born ready to kill."

"That's…comforting to hear Ghans. Alright then, get ready for battle! We claim this land in the name of the Kingdom of Nohr!"

Theme: Nariko Nanba/Sonic the Hedgehog—Kingdom Valley ~ The Wind

Corrin sheathed Ganglari as she took cover behind a tree. The others followed behind her, waiting for her next commands.

"Got any good ideas Milady?" Ghans asked.

"I'm thinking," Corrin replied. "That fortress over there looks heavily guarded, but that's nothing a small party like us can't handle."

"For convenience's sake and for safety measures, we should try going around it," Gunther suggested. "They'll pepper us with arrows if we try to tackle it head on."

"Maybe a head-on assault wouldn't be so bad after all," Corrin thought. "At the least, it could serve a decent distraction. If that's the fortress we need captured, then we can sneak around to the back if possible and take the fortress from behind. They won't know what hit them."

"Sound idea Milady, but who will be the one to distract the soldiers?" Gunther asked. Corrin immediately turned her view to Ghans, and everyone else followed suit. The berserker already knew what the stares meant.

"Let me guess: I'm the one playin' the cheese for the little mice eh?" he asked.

"Precisely," Corrin answered. "As someone whose body's been through quite the punishment, you're the perfect person for the job. If we manage to find another way around, I'll have Gunther meet up with you, and I want no funny business from you in the meantime." Part of the reason she made the decision was that she also wanted to keep him away from her general vicinity, remembering how he did something she really didn't like from her dreams. It also helped that she just wanted to put him through some hell and that they needed a meat shield.

"Fine by me. I've been itchin' to tear up some hide anyhow. Let's see how them gooks like my little friend." His comment immediately earned him odd stares from the racial slur but he ignored them, barreling ahead with nary an ounce of restraint and howling like the Loup-garou his pelt was fashioned from. Corrin's trio waited for the Hoshidans to get occupied with the man and made their escape.

"Good, they're focusing on him," Corrin said. "Let's get a move on." Corrin, Gunter, and Felicia dashed out from the trees southward as Ghans made his way eastward grinning like the maniac he is. Two katana samurai at the bridge spotted him and readied their weapons, totally unprepared for Ghans's might. He may have had a severe disadvantage against swift katana wielders like them, but all the good their speed did for them was prolong their inevitable death against an increasingly ticked off Ghans. It took nearly a minute, but once Ghans spotted an opening he lopped off one of the samurai's head in a single stroke. The other one faltered in his stance from the way Ghans smiled at him.

"HA ha ha ha ha‼" the Nohrian laughed. "What's this? Is a proud Hoshidan soldier cowering before an enemy? Pah! And you call yourself a warrior."

"Sh-Shut up!" the Hoshidan shouted as he backed away. "I-I'm not letting you—" Not giving the man a chance to finish talking, Ghans silenced him with a cleaving blow through his neck when he lunged forward.

"Ah~, I think decapitations are my favorite way to kill a person." Looking at the fortress up ahead he spotted about four yumi samurai poised to pelt him with a spray of arrows, not to mention a single katana samurai at the fortress entrance. "A rain of arrows against a single warrior? My kind of action."

As Ghans charged ahead, south of him was Corrin's group reaching a cliff. On the other side of it was solid land, but the problem was getting across. Further south was another cliff and what looked to be another fortress across from it.

"I suppose the Hoshidans predicted that we'd take the fortress too," Corrin said. "This looks very much like there used to be ground here. Not a problem my Dragon Vein can't handle." 'I wonder if assuming my dragon form will amplify the effects. If there's a good time for me to test out what my dragon self is capable of, now would be it…' Standing at the edge, Corrin pulled out her dragonstone and drew out its power; she felt herself undergoing metamorphosis again, but it wasn't as painful as before, moreso invigorating. Less than ten seconds later the Nohrian princess completely assumed her dragon form, ready to give the landscape a makeover. "Alright, let's give this new power a spin." From the second fortress far-away, a panicked Hoshidan soldier was running to his commanding officer.

"Captain Nikuya!" the out of breath katana samurai shouted. "I bring urgent news!"

"Calm yourself man." the ninja replied. "Speak calmly. Now, what is it you want to report?"

"The Nohrians who are invading here…there's a dragon among them!"

"What?! Where?!"

"Just northeast of us standing at a cliffside!"

'O' great Anankos, hallowed father who resides within the heavens, heed your daughter's call,' Corrin chanted. 'Grant me the strength to give our forces passage to lands untouchable…" A sandstorm whipped up around Corrin's body before taking the shape of an earthen dragon. 'I command this breath of earth to form a hardy bridge of stone and restore the land!' The sand dragon roared aloud and bolted to the cliffside with a harsh impact. A rumbling was felt and soon a rock formation erected from where Corrin stood. It grew further away from her until it slammed into the other side, creating a sturdy bridge wide enough for a single person to cross.

"Captain Nikuya, you saw what they did to that cliff right?!" a Hoshidan soldier said in a scare. "Any idea on who we're dealing with here?!"

"Oh fuck everything…"

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"Everyone, we have a dragon fighting alongside the Nohrians!" Mozu announced. "Call for reinforcements, send a messenger back to Hoshido, and have every able body regroup here! We'll have strength in numbers and it'll make this easier, but don't underestimate our foe if you want to stay alive! Do not – I repeat, do not engage any of them until we're all regrouped! Now go!" The troops present gave a hasty salute and scattered in different directions to pull in as many troops as they could. Mozu remained at the fortress, contemplating their fate. "Gods, this is some mess we're in now…"

"Good, we have a bridge now," Corrin said. "Gunther, you head through here and meet up with Ghans on the other side of the fortress up north, provided he isn't dead already. If he's not engaging the Hoshidans there, find a safe place to hide until we reach you."

"Understood Milady."

"Felicia, you're coming with me. We'll clear out any soldiers that might be further southward."

"Alright."

'And this way I'll keep an eye on you to make sure that nothing gets you exiled this time…' "Hop on, I'll carry you." Corrin lowered herself so that Felicia would ride atop her, but the maid hesitated.

"A-Are you sure Milady? I mean, I've ridden a horse before but, this is—"

"Felicia, we really do not have much time to debate this. Whatever ideals you have about a servant's relationship with their master will have to take a back seat for now. Now hurry, we don't want to delay for much longer." In the end, Felicia complied without further resistance and climbed atop of her mistress, and once Corrin felt Felicia holding on to her tight enough she took off.

"Fortune and grace be with you Milady!" Gunther called out as Corrin disappeared in the distance. With his commands given, Gunther gave Jagen the signal to carry on. "It sure didn't seem as though Corrin liked Ghans so much; she was basically sending him to his death. What do you say Jagen?" Said horse gave a dismissive snort, reaffirming his rider's thoughts about the man as well. "I thought as much. Only His Glory and Iago seems to trust him, and to be frank I don't trust His Glory all that much either. We'll just have to see how this plays out."


"Damn, I haven't been beaten this bad since His Glory thrashed me while in rehabilitation," Ghans rasped out loud enough for the Hoshidans to hear. "Oh well, that just means I'm gettin' a real challenge here."

"How's this for a challenge?!" the katana soldier shouted. He leapt into the air higher than Ghans could now, his katana falling upon the berserker like a toppled giant. In that moment, he shattered the ebony armor clasped around Ghans form and forced him to drop his weapon.

"Shit, Jack‼" Ghans reached out as his axe fell over the edge. "Well, fuck me…"

"Last chance madman; retreat while you can or die here!" All it took was the tip of the katana at his throat for Ghans to realize his situation, scooting away from the man with a limp.

"Okay, okay, you win…" the man groaned holding his arms up in defeat. "Really starting to wish I chose a different occupation than this…" As Ghans trudged away out of sight, the samurai's comrade approached him.

"Do you really think that that was a good idea?" the archer asked. "That guy looked really shifty."

"It's not the Hoshidan way to dispatch the weakened, even if they are an enemy and no matter the situation. Besides, it looks like he's learned his lesson anyhow."

"I don't know man; he looked all sorts of rotten but whatever. I guess we just wait around for Captain Nikuya's next command." As the Hoshidans went back inside the fortress, Ghans was watching them from a vantage in the woods with an all-too satisfied grin plastered on him.

"Goddamn I am one good actor. They better hire me for the play based on 'The Shining'. Now to sit things out and see what happens next, then I'll spring the next part of the plan into action…"

Gunther and Jagen rode across the stone bridge hoping that he hadn't been spotted, finding more forests and some wasteland up ahead. Taking no chances, the two of them hid out in the thick greenwood when they approached it, waiting for an opportune moment to come out.

"I believe we may be close to our destination," the man whispered to his horse. "Quietly now old friend…" Jagen tried to manage baby steps northward praying that he didn't step on twigs on the way, but he instantly froze in his spot when he heard voices headed their way. "Hoshidan soldiers? Where did they come from? Never mind…keep silent for now and let's see what it is."

"I can't believe the Nohrians would breach our peace treaty," one yumi samurai said. "First one of Garon's concubines kills our queen, then he kidnaps our second queen's daughter, and then he kills our king too? What's next, he'll decide to kill our queen?"

"Complaining about it won't help," the other Hoshidan said. "Let's just get to the other soldiers and regroup. That way the Nohrians will regret picking a fight with us."

'They're regrouping? This won't end well for us if they do that. We have to take them down.' "Jagen…" The old horse didn't need to be told what to do next. Gunther readied a javelin that he took with him in one arm and tossed it ahead, quickly taking out his iron lance with the other arm and signaling Jagen to charge ahead. It took a small instant for the bowmen to notice that danger was afoot.

"Get down!" one Hoshidan shouted to his partner. The javelin whizzed overhead without leaving a mark, but the pair was distracted enough for Gunther to backhand one of them with his shield. With one soldier down but not out for the count, he turned his weapon on the other one who had an arrow poised to hit him. Jagen dodged the attack too early and landed right where his enemy planned to hit him: it his front leg. Right then Gunther had slid off and crashed onto the ground below, and the archer was quick on the draw to fire another arrow.

"I won't die here!" Gunther declared, raising his shield to stop the arrow. He was too slow; the arrow scraped by his face, soon to be followed by another. Jagen limped his way in front of his rider to shield him from the projectile.

"A mount protecting its rider," the samurai murmured. "You don't see that every day." He didn't care about it too much either way, ready to kill his targets despite being warned not to do so. Jagen covering Gunther served another purpose he didn't catch on to; it concealed his rider's next move.

"A grave mistake…" Gunther whispered. With his iron lance tight in his grip, Jagen suddenly moved from in front of him and he shot up in a sprint. Startled, the Hoshidan leapt back to evade Gunther but he tripped over a root, landing on back and ending up with Gunther's lance landing in his chest.

"Argghh, Gods‼" He knew he was a goner; between having his heart grazed open and his lung punctured, dying from blood loss or lung collapse was the next thing occupying his mind. He looked so pitiful to Gunther, him and his comrade who was slipping into unconsciousness. He knew that it would come back to bite him, but he knelt and drew forth a flask hidden in his armor. Jagen whinnied in a concerned reproval.

"Relax old friend, I know what I'm doing," Gunther replied. Popping the flask's top off he poured the solution into the man's chest. Seconds later the Hoshidan jolted up with choked screams and spasms, causing Jagen to have a freak out and to cast stares in every which direction; as deep as his bond was with his rider, he often wished that he were a little less merciful and more pragmatic, not wanting him to get in serious trouble. Next to Jagen the other Hoshidan came to and found the horse's face in his own, yelping and backing away. Jagen closed in and told him to shush like a horse could, looking back to the man's partner to convey the situation properly. This left the Hoshidan confused. "There you go," Gunther's voice came. The wound he inflicted on the archer was gone, and said archer sat up as carefully as he could.

"Whaarrrggghhh…Huh? You—!"

"Relax," Gunther said. "I've no further reason to fight you."

"…Say what?"

Theme: Homesick (Darkness)

"I may live to regret this, but it's shameful to waste another's life like this. I've little time to dawdle here, so I suggest that you find a place to hide."

"W-Why should I trust you? You just tried to kill me—"

"And yet I didn't. I have my orders but my superior never has to know, so long as you hide away someplace safe."

"But—"

"Take this opportunity to see another day when it's presented to you."

"I…but I can't just abandon my armsmen like this! If they are to die, then I must die with them. If you're going to kill the others, you may as well kill me too."

"Do you have a family back home to return to?" Gunther sharply asked. The archer of course had a family in Hoshido praying for his survival, a daughter and a wife. His eyes fell from the thought dying out in the bad lands and leaving them to fend for themselves. "I'll take that as a yes. Unlike some others I know, I can't stand the thought of killing others in battle simply for being on different sides, least of all those with others to return to. Now please, we're in the middle of something and I'd hate to be seen standing around like this. If my mistress were to see me here, it would make it very inconvenient for me to spare an enemy." The two Hoshidans shared a look of agreement between each other before turning to the great knight. With their minds made up they took their weapons with them and hightailed it out of the area. Gunther didn't get the chance to heal the other archer but he didn't fatally wound him, and when he couldn't see them anymore he returned to his horse ready to patch up his leg.

"Sorry for the long wait old friend," Gunther said. "I hope that wound of yours hasn't festered." Jagen stubbornly tried to convince Gunther that it was just a flesh wound, but trying to stand proved otherwise. "For a horse older than me you certainly are a feisty one, but who am I to talk for someone of my age? Now stop trying to muscle your way through this and let me treat you already." In a huff Jagen sat back down, sticking his leg out for Gunther to pour his trademark concoction into. "There you go, and now to bandage it up." He quickly ripped out a part of his waist cape and tied it around Jagen's leg, tight enough to keep from coming undone but loose enough to not be very constrictive. "Just let me know when that leg of yours heals up enough so we can get going alright?" The old stallion gave a much more grateful whinny, and with nowhere else to go Gunther sat against his horse to rest up with him for a moment.

"You know, I'm very grateful for you always standing beside me Jagen. I know that I don't always do things you like and that you only want me to be safe, but many times I can't help doing the things I do. For you to put up with me for all these years is very comforting. I hope that you know that." Jagen gave a sarcastic snort in response to that; someone had to look out for Gunther after all, and who better than his own horse? But being honest and as much as he complained about it, he'd do the same things his rider did. He let the calm moment capture him for a spell, leaning his head upon Gunther's shoulder. "Now don't start getting soft on me; we still have work to do in a little." Jagen laughed at the thought of him being the soft one but kept his head where it was, and Gunther kept where he was. Little did the pair know, they were being watched by a shady pair of eyes leering at them.

"So that's where they're hiding…That's right, rest on up and enjoy your time with each other…it'll be your last…"


Theme: Nariko Nanba/Sonic the Hedgehog – Kingdom Valley ~ Lakeside

Further south in the Bottomless Canyon, Corrin and Felicia were stopped by another cliffside. The princess stood at the earth's edge and charged up energy for another bridge. Just then she noticed more Hoshidan soldiers in the trees on the other side of them, all of whom expectantly stared her way.

"That's a lot of soldiers…" Felicia muttered.

"Don't worry Felicia," Corrin said, "we can handle them with no issue." With her Dragon Vein done charging up power, the princess released it in a blast of sand, stretching the earth out like clay beneath her to form her second bridge. Despite doing this, none of the Hoshidan soldiers were in any hurry to rush at her like she expected them to.

"They're not moving Milady…I think they have a trap waiting for us."

"Of course it's a 'trap' for them to be waiting for us in the woods. But oh well, let's go 'spring' it for them then. Hang on tight." Hoping to catch the Hoshidans off guard, Corrin pawed the ground like a bull ready to charge while Felicia gripped her tightly. The Hoshidans faltered a little from the beast galloping toward them but Mozu held his ground.

"Get it together men!" the ninja shouted. "We face our most deadly adversary yet but we must not let Hoshido down, so toughen your stances!" The men only felt their knees almost fail them when Corrin approached with great speed; Felicia on the other hand could feel her stomach churning for the second time that day. When the princess reached her enemies she came to an abrupt stop, quickly sweeping out wide with a tail swipe. She almost caught the soldiers in her attack and tore through the bark of several trees, but it didn't deter her. A yumi samurai still recovering from dodging was smacked into a tree, felled from the harsh blow to his head. Angered at the loss of a teammate, another archer shot at Corrin but was met with silence from the arrow missing, and a katana samurai's own attack ended similarly. Retaliating with a horizontal horn slash to the katana samurai, Corrin had barely noticed how Felicia steadily loosened her hold on her.

"You okay there Felicia?" the princess asked.

"Y-Yeah," the maid replied. "I-It's just a little upset stomach is all."

"Okay then…" Knowing that it was more than a "little", Corrin was careful to not move as much or as fast. Another arrow flew at Corrin or rather at Felicia, and the former quickly raised flicked her tail to deflect the attack. "You…!" Angering rather easily, the half-dragon charged at the culprit and impaled him on her horn, hoisting him up and flinging him aside. That's when Corrin heard an ill belch from Felicia.

"Uh-oh…"

"Hey, do you need me to set you down?" Felicia didn't answer and another arrow was aimed her way. That's when Corrin knew that the Hoshidans were targeting her weaker partner, and thinking her to be sick the princess considered pulling out for the moment. Quickly turning on her hind legs she galloped towards the nearest exit.

"Pursue them!" Mozu ordered. "Don't let either one escape!" The archers complied and gave chase after Corrin. She soon made it out of the forest areas but found a distressing sight: three pegasus warriors were waiting for them with iron naginatas in hand. Just catching up to her were the archers, iron yumi in hand poised to fire at will. Behind the fliers she spotted a fortress, but didn't have enough room to get past them. Know realizing what sort of hands she played into, she folded her wings around Felicia and prepared for the assault.

"Come Hoshidan pawns, do your worst!" Corrin challenged. Keeping her eyeless face on both sides she waited to see who would strike first; the archers looked quicker on the draw and Corrin remembered something vital from her dream. Trying her luck, she zoomed toward a pegasus warrior and attacked, missing the Hoshidan and hoping to goad the others to attack a recovering foe. No arrows came forth but the archers closed in, falling into her ploy. She quickly lashed out her tail as she did before, this time catching one of them and flinging them off of the bridge before moving on to a pegasus warrior. Only two archers remained, and in a state of fury one of them shot at Corrin. The princess sensed the projectile heading her way, dodging in the nick of time and watching it pierce through the flier. The Hoshidan lost her balance and fell off her mount, but before she could get to her feet she was swept off the bridge into the abyss by Corrin's tail. The archer that shot at Corrin looked on in horror at what he had done.

"Dude, watch where you fire that thing next time!" the other archer scolded.

"I—but…" A scream brought the bickering pair out of it; one of the two remaining fliers was slashed across her leg and clutching her mount for dear life. Her teammate shot out at Corrin but kept herself high up to avoid another accidental arrow; this let Corrin duck underneath her and run past the two fliers to escape.

"Crap, she's getting away! Catch her!" The injured pegasus warrior stayed behind while the other one gave pursuit, but not before one of the archers tossed her a vulnerary to use. Flying as fast as she could, she wasn't prepared for when Corrin suddenly stopped running.

"Get off, quick!" Corrin whispered to Felicia. She opened her wings and the maid let go of her as the princess crouched down, sliding off of her mistress. Corrin then leapt at the incoming enemy with her claw outstretched, grabbing the warrior and slamming her mount to the ground hard as she found footing on it. With her opponent beneath her, Corrin considered how to finish her off, a moment of weakness coming to her.

"Helplessly pinned down by your natural predator…" she began, "and to think that humans rule the world." At first fear was the only thing the Hoshidan felt but her anger over her slain comrade took over, and remembering that she still had her iron naginata in hand she quickly tried impaling the dragon above her. It didn't cut her deep but it did slight her captor, and her anger was replaced by fear once again. "Ooh, so you like to play rough, do you? Well, two can play that game…" Right before she could jam a horn inside, the image of Xander's and the others' frowning faces came to mind, as well as what her siblings told her.

'We want you to grow as a princess of wisdom, compassion, and mercy toward others no matter who it is…'

'No one should act like that, and I wish that Father hadn't grown into that kind of person nor try to impart any of that into you…'

'You gave us your word that no matter how much you despised the Hoshidans' actions that you would not allow such powerful feelings of hatred to fester and overcome your better judgement…'

Her claw loosened its hold on the Hoshidan, slightly backing away from her. She was so close to torturing another Hoshidan so soon after leaving the company of her siblings. Was she really this weak-minded and insincere? She had given her word twice, and she was not about to go back on it a second time and disappoint her siblings. Her father, however, demanded that she eliminate her enemies, and with that she made up her mind.

"Milady, look out!" Felicia's voice came. Before Corrin regained her bearings, Felicia dashed out from behind her and stabbed her iron dagger into the pegasus warrior who was preparing to jab her mistress in the neck. This killed the woman very slowly, her nervous system going dead over a matter of seconds from the stab between her eyes. Corrin paid no attention to the fallen enemy who would have attack her, rather Felicia who found it difficult to stand again. Corrin could detect more Hoshidans on their way over, so she hurriedly carried Felicia to the inside of the fortress. Once inside, she sat the maid down on her back.

"Felicia, what's wrong?" Corrin asked.

"I…I don't know…" Felicia answered. "I think breakfast made me sick…more than I already was…"

"You're sick? Why didn't you tell someone about this?"

"I told Flora and my father after I left, and they wanted me to stay home, but His Glory…he wanted me to go with you…" Corrin's father knew Felicia was in ill condition but sent her out anyways, or did he even know about it? Surely he must have noticed her before he entered the mess hall.

"Found you!" a voice shouted. Corrin looked around and found the three remaining Hoshidans ready to attack.

"Crap!" In a huff the princess positioned herself over Felicia, taking the two archers' projectiles in each of her forelegs. The pegasus warrior shot out with her naginata, getting the weapon jammed between Corrin's antlers. The two yumi samurai dashed around Corrin to aim at Felicia better and she couldn't shake the pegasus warrior off her, taking a kick to the face when the Hoshidan leapt off her mount. This exposed the maid to attack from one side, and no time was wasted in getting a hit in from one archer.

"Hrk!" Felicia had been hit in one of her legs, killing off any chance of standing soon. Corrin noticed her pain and whipped her neck out with the pegasus warrior still clinging to her weapon. She flung the Hoshidan off the weapon between her antlers and into one of her comrades, and that's when one of the two archers got bold; he ran up to Corrin and feigned an attack, jumping on top off the dragon princess before leaping off. Still upside down he shot at Corrin, nicking her in her back and forcing her to crouch lower over Felicia. He prepared another one but Corrin whipped out her tail, snagging him along the spines at the end of it and tossing him into a wall near his allies.

"Goddamned pests!" Corrin snarled. She was starting to lose her cool and found rage clouding her mind, and in her haze she didn't realize that she was far too close to Felicia, smothering the small girl below her large frame.

"Agh! M-Milady, please‼" Felicia wheezed out to deaf ears. "You're crushing me‼ Please, get off, get off, GET OFF‼" Acting on instinct Felicia tried getting her mistress off herself, but while she intended to merely punch her in her sides she forgot that she still had her dagger in hand, and she also should have paid attention to where she would hit Corrin.

"ARGH, FUCK‼" Corrin cried out from Felicia's dagger getting through her torso's softer skin, lunging out of the way and ready to maul the surprise-attack perpetrator to kingdom come. She saw Felicia, haunted-looking and still holding her bloody dagger, and realization hit Corrin; she was crushing her own vassal to death, prompting her to stab her to save her life. "Oh my God…" The maid was still trembling and nearly unresponsive, and much to Corrin's bad luck the Hoshidans were coming to, taking a stab from Felicia had weakened Corrin though, feeling herself grow heavy and frail. "Shit‼ Hang on, I'll get us out of here!" Now the Hoshidans were pissed and slowly stood to their feet about ready to kill. When one archer drew an arrow at the escaping pair, hooves from afar could be heard.

"It's not your time yet!" Gunther shouted as Jagen stormed inside the fortress. He thrust his lance at the attacking archer, piercing through his ribs and lungs. The remaining Hoshidans both took a stab at Gunther, but neither of their attacks had any effect. Jagen spun around on his hind legs while Gunther swung his lance outwardly; he caught the second archer by his throat and barely missed the pegasus warrior's face. He took care of her quickly though, jamming his lance through her skull with a second turn. With the three Hoshidans dead he turned to his comrades, finding a bleeding Corrin holding a still frozen Felicia. "M-Milady, what happened here?"

"I almost crushed Felicia and she…struck me to get me off…God, I almost killed her…"

"Don't move, I've got my potion on me." Gunther quickly hopped off of Jagen and brought out the last medicine flask he had. He found Corrin's wound and poured the salve onto his hands before rubbing it in; the princess hissed from the touch but she remained in place. Felicia was still stuck in a daze even after Corrin sat her down, and after yanking the arrow from her and applying his salve Gunther did what he did best. "Stand firm, soldier!" he shouted. As he hoped, Felicia jumped up in a start albeit screaming and looking frantically around her with her dagger drawn.

"Who?! What?! When?! Where?!"

"Felicia, calm down! It's us!"

"H-Huh?!" It took her a while to recognize Gunther and Corrin, but she calmed down once she did. The same couldn't be said about her stomach, and the pain in her leg forced her to the ground and she ended up retching in front of her comrades.

"Felicia, pull yourself together," Gunther said, this time quieter to not give the girl a heart attack.

"*cough* Muhhh…alright…"

"Gunther, please," Corrin started, "let her rest for a while. She wasn't feeling good before coming out here." Gunther gave her a stare of disbelief but knew that his mistress would never let an ailing vassal out to battle. That left only one person responsible for Felicia being out there.

"Was your father aware of this?" the man asked.

"I'm not sure…"

"Hrrmm…I suppose that she's been through enough for today. The same could be said about you Milady."

"What? But, I'm fi—" Right as if on cue Corrin's legs almost gave way, prompting the elder knight and horse to run up to her side.

"Easy, Milady, you need to relax until the pain completely dissipates. Allow me to lead us in combat for the time being."

"Fine."

"You may also want to change back into your human form. You'll put too much stress on your arms like that."

"But, who's going to carry Felicia?"

"I will. I may not be able to cover her as good as you can, but I'll be damned to let an ally die on my watch, and you need your rest anyhow."

"Alright." Corrin couldn't sense her dragonstone but she tried focusing her mind on her original form while suppressing the draconic power within her. She slowly began changing shape from beast to (wo)man, losing her bestial features and seeing a return to human form in little time. Her swords were still in the same places she had them sheathed before transforming, and her dragonstone was in her hand as it was before changing shape.

"Just like that, everything's back to normal."

"I guess so…" Corrin's arms and chest still hurt from the arrows but at least the wounds were closed. Gunther motioned for Felicia to climb aboard Jagen while Corrin stuck to the side of the veteran duo.

"Just tell me where we need to go Milady."

"We need…to go Eastward. I made a bridge and there's another fortress that some ninja was occupying."

"Sounds like where we need to go rather than where we sent Ghans. Stay close by but not close enough to be in enemy range, alright Milady? And Felicia, hold on just a little longer. We'll be home and then you can finally get your rest." The girls nodded as Jagen and Corrin sped off to face Mozu. Said ninja was alone, wondering what happened to the reinforcements he was to receive.

"Where is everyone?" he wondered aloud. "I hope they aren't picking fights with the Nohrians right now, we really need to regroup. Wait, I hear something." The man moved from his spot to peek through the forest for any sign of his troops, but the sound he caught was not that of footsoldiers. Gunther burst through the woods with his javelin in hand, followed by Corrin with her levin sword drawn. That moment was when Mozu knew that he was simply screwed, but to his credit he didn't act like it. "So, you've finally made it. The name is Captain Nikuya Mozu, proud ninja defending the Bottomless Canyon's borders into Hoshido. I hope you Nohrians know what you've just done…"

"We do," Gunther spoke. "We've killed all of your men and reinforcements, and we are about to claim this land in the name of the Kingdom of Nohr. Surrender and we may spare your life; fight us and risk death."

"I'll take that chance. I refuse to surrender to the likes of you cowards, attacking us and breaching our peace treaty."

"What peace treaty?" Corrin asked. 'The others never mentioned anything about a peace treaty with Hoshido before…'

"You seriously don't know the peace treaty your king co-signed with Queen Mikoto after the killing of Queen Ikona by one of his concubines, or are you just playing stupid to justify this barbarism?" This clearly confused Corrin who had never heard of a peace treaty between the two kingdoms. Coupled with the export/import trade system the other Hoshidans mentioned earlier, this gave Corrin a whole slew of new questions she'd have to ask her father about once she finished up with her task. "I hope that you group of three still have enough strength to at least put up a fight after all of my men that you slaughtered, else I'd be disappointed."

"We have more than enough power to defeat you," Gunther said, "hence the warning I gave you earlier. As a veteran knight in the service of the Army of Nohr, I hereby challenge you in combat, Captain Nikuya."

"Formality won't save you from me…" Mozu snarled.

Theme: Nariko Nanba/Sonic the Hedgehog – Kingdom Valley ~ Water

In a snap he vanished into thin air, faster than any of the Nohrians could see and hiding in the trees. A second later, Corrin felt a flick of air headed her way and dodged forward on reflex. Mozu reappeared behind her with his iron shuriken, missing her by a hair but not leaving himself wide open to attack. Before Gunther could run him through he vanished again, leaving the Nohrians on the lookout once more.

'Again with this disappearing trick?' Corrin groaned. 'Damnable ninjas…Think Corrin; he couldn't have simply poofed into thin air.' The princess thought back to her previous fight with Suzukaze, trying to find a pattern in the ninja fighting style; both were stealthy and preferred to attack from a distance to avoid retaliation. When she heard a shuriken fly her way she immediately ducked while darting off in the direction the weapon was thrown, catching Mozu as he was recovering from an airborne shuriken toss. The ninja was light enough on his toes to evade a slash from Corrin, but he wasn't so quick when trying to find a spot to hide.

"No you don't!" Corrin shouted as she chased after the ninja. As he hopped away from her he flung a shuriken at her every four trees he jumped from, a bad move on his part. Recognizing the pattern very quickly, when he threw his fourth shuriken at her Corrin had switched from Ganglari to her levin sword and fired a lightning bolt at him. The magical bolt caught his calf right before he could leap out again, causing him to slip from the branch he was standing on and plummet to the ground. Right as Corrin closed the distance to end him Mozu tossed his iron shuriken at her, getting her to block the incoming projectile with her arms.

"Got you!" Mozu proclaimed, snatching Corrin and forcing her down in a scissor takedown, fighting through the searing pain in his own leg. He pulled out another shuriken to throw until he heard hoofs barreling his way, backing off Corrin as fast as he could with an injured limb. Gunther had come into the fray and tried to stab at Mozu, missing him by a large margin even when the other man was somewhat crippled. When he tried retaliating though, Felicia threw her own iron dagger from sitting behind Gunther into Mozu's abdomen, catching him by surprise.

"Gah!" The ninja yanked the dagger out from him and instantly felt the weakening effects of the weapon settling in. 'What is this? Is that Nohrian girl a ninja too or what?' Bringing him back to reality was Corrin charging at him with an overhead slash, raising his own vambrace blades to guard the blow. Flashbacks of a similar encounter in her dreams rang through Corrin's head, and with Mozu's abdomen unguarded the princess kicked him as hard as she could, leaving him wide open for another attack.

"I've got you now!" Gunther said. He tried to stab at Mozu again and struck true this time, impaling the ninja's chest. The man stumbled backward from the fatal blow dealt to him, landing with his back against the fortress's old gate and with the Nohrians closing in on him. Mozu would refuse to let a Nohrian defeat him, pulling out a thin sheet of parchment with ancient Hoshidan characters inscribed on it.

"I can't let you filthy cowards take my life…" Mozu rasped out with blood in his mouth. "To die like this would disgrace my countrymen, and so a ninja performs his final duty in life…" He took his shuriken and slashed it against the parchment, igniting it into a bright flame with the force of the cut. Wrapping the parchment around the shuriken, the ninja jammed the weapon into himself and simply waited until the flames completely engulfed him.

"Look out milady!" Gunther warned. Corrin and her retainers backed away from the increasingly intense fire Mozu had set on himself, watching as the flames consumed the man from afar.

"You may have won this day, but we will have our justice in due time!" Mozu proclaimed. "Beware Nohrians; you have just committed your greatest atrocity yet! Remember this day when you meet your ends!" With the last words spoken the man's body began crumbling apart like the last of firewood into ashes. Soon the man was no more than dust to blow away in the wind, and his death heralded the Nohrians' victory.

"Huh. I thought that he would be more of a challenge than Suzukaze was, but I was wrong," Corrin said sounding somewhat disappointed. "If only we had more soldiers with us to guard this place now that we have it under our control. Oh well, we'll simply request guards to station here when we return to Father." Though she didn't look like it outwardly, she was very much bothered about what Mozu said about the peace treaty in addition to the trade system the Hoshidans mentioned. She didn't want to think it, but if what the Hoshidans said were true then there was something off about this entire invasion of Hoshido as much as she didn't like the Hoshidans.

"Is something bothering you, Milady?" Gunther asked.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing important…" the princess lied. She didn't know why she did seeing how Gunther could see through her like glass, so she relented somewhat. "Actually, it's about what we did here. Do you think we're doing the right thing?"

"Whatever could you mean Milady?"

"I…I'll tell you a little more about it when we leave. Let's head inside the fortress and inspect its condition; it could very well be worn and old given its appearance."

"Sound idea." Stepping through the old gate, the trio of Nohrians found the inside of the fortress rather decrepit but in some state of functionality. Its design was Hoshidan from entrance to interior, and just looking at it reminded Corrin of the people she detested so much, but she had to force those feelings out of her. As much as she believed the Hoshidans deserved it, she wouldn't do her family of vassals proud with her attitude (aside of Garon of course) so she forced the feelings down for the time being.

"How far are we from Hoshido?" Corrin asked while looking around.

"I'd say we're about a good day and a half until we're out of this region and into Hoshido if we travel by horse," Gunther answered. "Where we want to go – Shirasagi Castle Town – would be two and a half days from here by horseback as well."

Corrin remembered the name from her dream as the capital of mainland Hoshido, where Queen Mikoto and the other Hoshidan royals lived. It was likely where her brother also lived if he hadn't been kept away from the world like she was. "Kamui…"

"I beg your pardon Milady?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about my twin brother."

"You must really be thinking of him a lot eh?"

"Of course. I…only have some early memories of when we played together as young children. Nothing about anyone else comes up; it's just me and him as if we were the only ones. I wish we can find him soon…" As much hostility the two of them showed toward each other in her dream, Corrin wanted little more than to live happily with Kamui again, being the only company she could remember before being locked away by Garon for her own good. But if she could remember him clearly, why didn't she remember anything else as well? She couldn't remember her own mother at all, she never knew where the two of them were when they played, the names of their siblings and parents were completely omitted, and she didn't even remember her brother's kidnapping either, only knowing what her father had told her before putting her away in the Nohrthern Tower. How strangely selective her memory was being.

"I cannot agree with you more Milady," Gunther spoke. "Your brother was a bright young lad, and I can tell that he would be adored by all of your siblings, especially by your sisters. So fret not Milady, we will see him again soon."

"You're right…" Having looked at everything she thought was important, Corrin was about ready to leave the fortress and return home. "Well, this mission was quite the success; we have routed the Hoshidans stationed here and claimed this territory as ours, and now all that's left is to report back to Father and have him send soldiers to maintain this fortress. Are the rest of you ready to leave?"

"Very much," Gunther said.

"Yeah," Felicia replied.

"Good. I'd rather waste no more time here myself." With everything as it should be for the upcoming war, Corrin and her vassals left the old fortress and made their way to where they came from. Remembering what he had asked Corrin earlier, Gunther brought the subject back up to get some answers out of his mistress.

"I hope I am not intruding on particularly private issues Milady, but, would you care to tell me what has had you so troubled earlier?" the great knight asked. The princess had almost forgot about it, but she was feeling more willing to let her vassals know what was on her mind.

"I hope neither of you misunderstand me when I say this, but there is something about engaging in war against Hoshido that doesn't sit right with me…"

"How so?"

"The Hoshidans mentioned an export/import trade system that they planned to implement with us, and that Father never responded back about it."

"There was supposed to be some discussion about it, though His Glory had dropped the subject on it rather quickly and never brought it up again."

"And then there's the peace treaty that Father himself signed with Queen Mikoto. Is this true as well or is it a Hoshidan ploy to make us feel guilty for attacking them like this?"

"It is true. I myself wondered what had made His Majesty want to violate the treaty so soon. I fear that the infiltration of Hoshidan soldiers into Nohr has gotten him rather paranoid of Hoshidans spilling our blood in our lands. This is especially worrisome for him since Suzukaze and Rinka were the first and only Hoshidans who managed to make it into Nohr since the treaty was signed."

"That reminds me Gunther: did you ever manage to interrogate those two about how they got past the barrier?"

"Honestly, it had slipped my mind to do so. Forgive me for not gathering information out of them Milady."

"That's fine Gunther. I'm just glad that they won't be troubling us any further." Gunther refused to look Corrin in the eye when she said that, causing her to wonder if it was because of her brutal treatment rather than if it was because he let them go.

"Yes…they certainly won't be…Now let's hurry and be off this horrid bridge. I can't stand being on here a moment longer." The cryptic tone in his voice gave Corrin some unpleasant thoughts about the two Hoshidans' aftermaths but all of it was cut short, as when they were crossing the bridge to leave Ghans suddenly appeared before them.

"Don't you worry about a thing Gunther," Ghans spoke, "you won't have to stand there for much longer."

"Ghans? What is the meaning of this?" Gunther and Felicia were confused about the berserker's sudden reappearance after the last they saw him, long after the battle had ended. Corrin immediately tensed up and reached for Ganglari on her side, but the other two Nohrians hadn't their weapons drawn. Gunther motioned for Felicia to dismount and that's when Ghans spoke again.

"Less talk, more death."

Theme: Advance Confusion

The man ran straight for Gunther with an axe in hand and took a swing, only to be blocked by Corrin in the nick of time. "Huh? Princess, what are you—" He was cut off with a harsh slash across his torso, backing away from the trio.

"Take another threatening step toward my vassals and I will have your head brought before Father." Corrin warned, brandishing Ganglari the man's way.

"Gghk…! You don't know what you're doing princess! Stay out of this!" Ghans ignored her and simply sidestepped her the second time she tried to block him, taking another shot at Gunther. "'Bout time your old self retired anyhow!" Gunther deflected the attack with his swing but recoiled slightly from the force of the blow. Now realizing that Ghans was a definite threat to them, Felicia drew her dagger and flung it Ghans's way, but he dodged the projectile with ease. Corrin also attempted to close the distance and attack with her sword, only for her swing to be redirected and her momentum turned against her.

"Milady!" Gunther rushed over to Corrin to make sure she didn't fall from the bridge, and that's when he took a vicious axe to his back. He was too slow to avoid a second hit from Ghans, and his mount Jagen could feel the bridge beneath them giving way.

"Stop this Ghans!" Corrin bellowed. "As the second princess of Nohr, I command you to desist with this madness at once!"

"…Madness?" Ghans said. "Madness?" He stopped his attack to look at Corrin for a moment, apparently taking offense at her statement. "This isn't madness Milady…" he simply told her. He readjusted his stance from that of a warrior to a normal person to look his superior in her eyes. The others were wondering what was going through Ghans's head at that moment, and Corrin wished that she had seen his mouth flash the evil grin it did sooner. "This…is…NOHR!" In a whirling movement Ghans took both of his hands and swung his axe into Jagen as hard as he could, slamming into the heavy horse with enough force to send him and his rider over the bridge's edge. If Corrin never knew horror before, this very moment opened her eyes to what it really was in a slow-motion like viewing. Her beloved vassal who was like another father to her was just sent over the bridge into the dreaded Bottomless Canyon right before her eyes, and Ghans had done this all with a smile on his face.

"Oh, my God…" Corrin muttered. She had so many emotions swirling inside of her as she looked over the edge of the bridge, and she steadily started losing herself in them.

"N-No…" Felicia nearly cried. How could someone turn on their allies so callously she thought. Gunther was such an influential person to Felicia when she first came to work for the royal family, teaching her how to refine her natural gift of combat skill and was a reassuring figure no matter how strict he was. She didn't want to believe that he was just flung over the side to his death, but she couldn't deny that she saw exactly that. Then Ghans turned his attention to her.

"Aw, did I just drop your babysitter into the ditch?" he mocked. "Here, I'll send you to the bottom to meet up with him, or what's left of him anyway." The berserker menaced a few steps toward the maid as she stepped away in fear, ignorant of the increasingly furious Corrin beside him.

"I knew you were nothing but trouble…" she whispered. Ghans didn't know who she was referring to, but after she rose to her feet and glared his way he knew he royally pissed her off.

"Listen princess, he—" The rest of the words died in his throat when he saw the princess: she had tears rolling down her face marred with rage as expected but something about her red eyes seemed unsettling to him now than before and her teeth were bared like a hound's while showing off inhuman canines to complete the look of a wild animal. If Ghans wasn't crazy, he could swear that Corrin's eyes were slit like a reptile's and that the air itself tensed up with Corrin's mood. For once, Ghans was worried about what was going on.

"I swear to God Ghans, you're a dead man…you're DEAD‼" That last word was spoken with a distortion in the speaker's voice and Corrin had reared back like a beast about to pounce, her face reminiscent of her dragon form's head. Though this made Ghans uneasy he wasn't so much where he wouldn't fight back; Corrin made the first move with a high jump and downward slash; and she moved with such speed that Ghans never saw it coming. Such power Corrin had now that the berserker was legitimately frightened, and that itself was a rare sight. Now scared for his life he swung at Corrin wildly, but he missed her when she simply jumped over the attack. The next thing he saw made his heart sink: Corrin's arm had somehow morphed into some grotesque lance, and in his shock he took a stab to his chest from it. Now his body burned with pain almost surpassing what he went through in re-habilitation, and he tried to fight back. The shapeshifting princess blitzed him before he got the chance to, taking an underhanded swipe up at him and forcing him to drop his weapon into the abyss.

"Arrrgghhh!" Ghans finally realized how much of a mess he was in; if only he took time to explain things to Corrin first before he acted, and maybe she wouldn't be attacking him. It wasn't too late for him to try, if Corrin was in the mood to listen to him. "P-Princess, hang on a second—"

"You'll pay for this!" Corrin had no ears for Ghans now, and if Ghans thought that a lance-arm was horrifying then a dragon's mouth in place of a hand was eldritch by comparison.

"What the…what kind of…freak…are you…?!" The gaping dragon's maw that was once Corrin's hand was building up a large volume of water in Ghans's direction. Seeing no other option, the man pressed his luck and simply opted to block it head on. Corrin let the large sphere of water loose his way, and he'd regret his decision to block the move; it hurt worse than anything else he took with raw power, and it left his body in a small bout of paralysis to boot. "N-No…This can't be happening to me…" He was in too much pain to stand to his feet, and from as far as he could lift his head he could see that Corrin was slowly making her way over to him. He tried his last attempt at reasoning things with the princess before things got worse. "H-Hang on a second, your highness…h-hear me out—grk!"

"I should have never trusted you, contemptible vermin…" Corrin hissed as she hoisted Ghans up by his neck, dangling him over the very edge he sent Gunther over. "Father will surely have your head over this shameful act."

"A-Actually, he'd…he'd congratulate me for doing a job well done—hngg!"

"You dare spit lies at me scum?"

"N-No…I-I'm serious. Wh-When everyone left, His Glory told me that G-Gunther had been helping criminals escape f-from the pits…L-Lord Shakespeare caught him doing it with those two Hoshidans you defeated…They ordered me to kill him here…"

"…What?" Corrin's grip on Ghans lessened slightly, almost dropping the man into the chasm and letting the truth of the matter die with him. As much as she wanted to kill Ghans, she needed to hear the whole story from her father first, and she'd make sure that Ghans was there as to give him nowhere to run.

"P-Please your highness…it's the truth. I swear on my beloved friend Jack the Axe that I'm not lying to you." Corrin didn't believe Ghans for a second, but something in the back of her head told her that he wasn't. She looked to Felicia who was all but spooked, almost as if she was looking for the maid's approval. Shaky as she was, the girl gave her mistress a slow nod, wanting to hear the entire truth from Garon too. With her mind made up, Corrin removed Ghans from over the edge and back onto the bridge, leaving him gasp for air. "Oh thank the Gods. You truly are—"

"Silence Ghans," Corrin sharply ordered. "I personally don't believe that you're telling the truth, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt and take you to Father myself to hear what he has to say if only to be a fair princess. Until then, you are not to utter another sound until we have returned home. Am I made clear?"

"Y-Yes your highness…" Ghans stood as though Corrin would bind him, but she had another idea in mind. She took out her dragonstone and assumed her draconic forme, taking the berserker into a claw rather roughly while Felicia climbed atop her.

"I hope that you're found to be lying Ghans…" Corrin said, not to the man himself but rather to herself, that nagging voice still telling her otherwise.


Castle Krakenburg: High Noon

Theme: Raging Dark Winds

By the time Corrin had finished her mission, the other royal siblings barring Elise had long been done with theirs and were simply waiting for the second princess to return.

"Say, Lord Leon," Niles began, "any particular reason Corrin was locked up for all these years and just barely meeting everyone?"

"Father had Corrin isolated in the Nohrthern Tower as a precautionary measure against the Hoshidans who kidnapped our brother Kamui." the prince replied.

"Really now? I don't remember a 'Kamui' being mentioned much back then."

"Believe me, we never thought we had another brother or sister after Elise was born. But Father came to us one day and presented Corrin as the child he kept hidden from the other concubines during their infighting. He said that Corrin and Kamui were gentle yet frail children back then, and out of safety for them and their kind mother they were kept hidden away. Things got bad when one of Father's concubines killed Hoshido's previous queen, and when Corrin and Kamui's mother went to visit her sister who moved to Hoshido, their mother was killed out of revenge and Kamui was kidnapped. Corrin was almost kidnapped but Father stopped the Hoshidans and had her locked away ever since, at least until now."

"Huh. That's…" Niles would have said more but something told him to stop, or rather Pieri started freaking out at the dragon nearing the castle's entrance.

"Eeek!" the cavalry knight shrieked. "Scary dragon thingy approaching!" The warning had been given and the retainers brandished their weapons when the creature drew closer. The royal siblings would have done the same had they not recognize the creature, but much to their curiosity said creature held a berserker in a tight grip and was mounted by a small maid.

"Corrin, is something the matter?" Xander asked. It was then that he and the other siblings noticed the distinct lack of Gunther with the other three. "Where is Sir Gunther?"

"Go on, tell them what you told me," Corrin ordered, tossing Ghans out in front of the others. He looked like shit to be frank, but they couldn't bring themselves to care when Corrin implied that he had something to do with Gunther's absence. "Where's Father? I need him to clarify this."

"I am right here," the devil spoke as he entered the area. The moment his presence was known, Ghans practically tried to crawl toward him, but Corrin snatched him up in her claw to keep him from running.

"Tell them. Now." The berserker blurted everything out to prove his innocence and keep his life, hoping that he would be let go. While everyone present looked on with hatred for the man, Garon's face remained as stony as ever.

"Is that all you have to report to me?" Garon asked, directing his attention to Corrin. "What of the mission I had assigned to you? Have you completed it or not?"

"I…" Corrin was confused; she had just gotten Ghans to tell Garon everything he did and the only thing Garon said was whether Corrin did what he told her to do. She looked to her siblings who quickly conveyed to her not to keep their father waiting on an answer. "I have finished my assignment Father. The Hoshidans have been routed and the fortress is in weathered but functioning condition."

"That is all I need to hear."

"I…Father, if I may say one more thing—"

"Out with it then. I'm only here to confirm whether you were successful or not, and I have places to be right now."

"Did you truly order Ghans to kill Gunther at the Bottomless Canyon for letting prisoners in the pits escape?"

"Yes." That was all he said as he turned on his heel to leave, leaving Corrin and the others completely baffled.

"Wh-What? You…You mean you—"

"Did I stutter, child? I gave you my answer, and now I take my leave."

"W-Wait, Your Glory?" Ghans spoke up, quickly getting Garon into a bad mood at being held up.

"What is it now?"

"M-May I report something I discovered?"

"Make. It. Quick."

"A-As I was regrouping with Corrin's group, I bore witness to Felicia stabbing the princess in her side as she was injured with Hoshidan soldiers surrounding her. Surely this is an act of treason, isn't it?" This earned the berserker a nasty look from Corrin and her siblings, and while Garon had a similar look it was directed at the maid in question.

"You did what to my child?"

Theme: The Dim Abyss

Now with the heat having shifted from Ghans to Felicia, everyone was worried that Felicia was in for a swift execution.

"P-Please Father, allow me to explain—"

"I want to hear it from her, not you. Felicia, is this true?" The way Garon glared at her made the girl want to piss herself, and though she knew the punishment for doing such a thing she wouldn't dare lie to her king. It was taking some time for her to muster enough courage to tell him, resulting in an explosive response as the king's anger reached a peak. "ANSWER ME‼" he roared, scaring everyone else near him into standing at least a yard away from him. Tears running like a facet, Felicia confessed as honestly and loudly as she could.

"It's true! I-I-I didn't mean to! It was an accident! I—" The only look Felicia earned from the king with her stammering and apologies was a hateful scowl that very much meant she was f*cked.

"F-Father, please—"

"ENOUGH‼" Everything was dead silent at the king's command, and Corrin only hoped that her Father would allow her a chance to explain the situation better. It wasn't meant to be. "Guards!" In a flash Garon was accompanied by two holy wyvern knights and two sorcerers who were ready to heed his command. "Strip this traitorous wench of her citizenship and cast her out into the wastelands!"

"Father, no! Let me explain—"

"All threats to the royal family must be punished! I will hear no more of this! Guards, do your duty!" Contrary to what he expected, the four Nohrians were rather hesitant to carry out their orders, looking between the pleading Corrin and her increasingly furious father.

"I…I mean not to disobey you, Your Glory, but—'

"Are you defying a direct order from me?!" the king snarled. "If you will not do as I ask, I will do it myself!"

"NO‼"

"Corrin, stop!" Xander warned, having Camilla help him physically restrain the princess from doing something she would regret.

"Let me go! He's not listening to me!"

"Corrin, don't! He'll kill you for defying him! You're making the biggest mistake of your life!" Corrin tried as hard as she could to tear herself away from her siblings, to stop Garon from sending her vassal away and into the hands of the Hoshidans, to make sure she wouldn't come to blows with someone she loved dearly. It was too late; Felicia tried one last time to prove her innocence in the matter, but she couldn't get even a sound out as Garon nearly slammed Bölverk into her and cast his Nohrian sorcery. In a split second the maid felt as though something was violently ripped out of her, and just like that she was no longer a citizen of Nohr.

"For your treachery, you have lost your privilege to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Nohr. From this day forth you are not welcome here; leave, and never return…"

"P-Please Your Glory, I can explain…"

"What, you expect me to listen to whatever lies you cooked up? You have been banished, now go!"

"But…I can—"

"You stand here still and continue to defy my orders?!" Felicia could not believe this was happening to her; her king refused to hear her side of the story about what happened, and out from behind everyone else she could swear that Ghans was grinning like kid who stole without getting caught.

'That big, mean, stupid…doodoohead! I can't believe he'd do this to me! How can I explain to His Glory that I don't deserve this when he already—wait a minute, he exiled me. That means that I…' Her eyes met Garon's once more who expected her to leave as he instructed, and for the first time in her life Felicia felt this surge of boldness before the king. He may have intimidated her before, but now she wasn't going to put up with him anymore.

"Are you deaf, child?!" he barked out again. "As your king I order you to leave this place immediately!" Felicia didn't flinch this time; the response she gave was a simple—

"No." If any of the royal siblings thought Felicia might have made it out alive, they changed their minds in a heartbeat. Garon looked ready to burst, getting up close in the maid's face.

"What. Did you just say to me, little girl?"

"No."

"You would dare defy me, your king—"

"I don't think you've noticed, Your Glory, that as a non-citizen, I'm not obligated to obey you, and you are not my king anymore. You exiled me, remember?" Garon only took a moment to realize that Felicia was completely right. He would have been furious, but even he had to slap himself in hindsight over what he just tried to do.

"Well played," the old king bit out. "That still doesn't mean I'm willing to listen to you."

"You don't have to have me tell you. Why not ask your daughter who was actually there to see what had happened?" For this instance, Garon had allowed himself a clearer mind and looked to Corrin for an explanation, improving everyone's mood.

'Unbelievable…' Leon thought. 'She actually got Father to listen after he was pissed off with her? What in the seven hells allowed this to be possible?'

"Corrin," Garon spoke now sounding a bit weary, "explain. Now."

"Gladly," the princess said. "Felicia was injured by Hoshidan soldiers so I took her to a fortress give her rest, and then we were ambushed by reinforcements. I used my dragon forme to shield her from the attacks but I hadn't realized that I soon began crushing her to death by mistake. She intended to punch me in my sides to get me off, but she had stabbed me by mistake not realizing that she was still armed. What Ghans told you was that she simply stabbed me, not why, and I can't fathom why he left that part out." She shot a dirty look at Ghans who looked ready to split.

"Is this true, Ghans?" the king questioned. "Did you intentionally omit this detail when you reported to me?"

"Er, no, I didn't…" the berserker answered, but Corrin was having none of it.

"Tell him the truth…" Corrin hissed, "or else…"

"I swear, I didn't forget to tell you! I-I wasn't there to see everything!"

"If you actually saw her stab me then surely you must have known why."

"I-I don't! Honest. Don't go berserk on me again, please!"

"Thank you for being honest, Ghans. I hope to expect more of that from you in the future."

"So Felicia stabbed you because you were about to kill her by mistake," Garon wanted to confirm.

"Yes."

"I see. And did she heal you after the incident?"

"No, Gunther did. Felicia had gone into shock from the crushing pressure of by body afterward. Felicia is at no true fault to this stabbing incident." Corrin felt so much better having finally gotten the truth to her Father, and by now he would surely realize his rather hasty judgement and undo the un-branding. Garon seemed to sigh in resignation and held his axe up high.

"You must expect me to rechristen Felicia as a citizen of Nohr," the king spoke. "And though she got wise with me, it was only so that the truth of the matter would be said. And I also suspect that Felicia will forget that this ever happened once I rechristen her and she will happily return to serving the royal family as she always had."

"Of course!" Felicia said, now having a positive outlook on her situation.

"I must confess; there is a truth to this matter I have not yet revealed to you." This left everyone confused, especially Corrin. What else could there be to the incident? She was there the entire time and knew what happened. Unless Ghans somehow relayed some other information to her Father that was likely false, there shouldn't be anything more to this. Unless – and she didn't want to think it – Garon was banishing Felicia for some other reason.

"I could care less why she did what she did," came Garon's "revelation". As fast as everyone's hopes had gotten up, they had sunk like a stone to the ocean's floor. "The very fact that she had stabbed you at all is grounds enough for her exile."

"…What?" Corrin could feel her temper begin to rise against her father for the first time; she had just explained that Felicia had made an honest mistake and would surely not have caused or left her in pain, and her father still refuses to take her vassal back in? What was going on through her father's mind? Xander had begun to feel this gradual rise in emotion from his sister, and knowing how Garon was with even his children the prince tried to calm her down however he could.

"Corrin, keep calm. At worst, Father will simply have her exiled, nothing more."

"But…he…"

"Corrin, we know. Trust us…we know…" That did little to ease Corrin's mind, and she wondered how long Garon had gone on acting the way he did.

"I…but, King Garon I—"

"That is quite enough," Garon said raising a hand to silence the perplexed girl. "Your side of the story has been told, and I will remember it, but it ultimately changes nothing. You are still exiled from this kingdom, and that is all that I will say on this matter."

"But…that's not fair!" Now Felicia was really losing it; what would she say to her father and her sister, "Sorry father, sorry Flora, I accidentally stabbed my mistress to save my life and I'm being kicked out of Nohr" would not be the last thing she would say to them.

"Wh-Where's my father, I want to speak with him!"

"I don't think you've noticed, Felicia, that as a non-citizen, I am not obligated to grant you anything, and you don't have the privilege to speak to anyone in this kingdom anymore. I exiled you, remember?" Felicia's heart sank from Garon's cruel use of irony: she used her status to get Garon to listen to her, yet he didn't care and is now using her status against her to deny her the chance to see her family. As fate would have it though, her father and sister were planning to visit her when she came back with Corrin.

"And here is the castle entrance, Chief Arendelle," Jakob said as he escorted.

"My word this castle is expansive," the Ice Tribe chief exclaimed. "We Ice Tribalists live in simple housing; I'd easily get lost in here."

"I've lived here for years Father," Flora commented, "so imagine suddenly changing from a house to a—is that Felicia?"

"What?" There she stood with Garon opposing her and everyone else behind him. The scene didn't look pleasant, and they wondered why Felicia had the king directly before her outside of his throne room. Whatever it is, the chieftain had a bad feeling about it and tried to get his daughter away from the man.

"Your Glory?" Kylmä asked, "Has my daughter slighted you in any form? I apologize for that in advance; I'll have her home and properly disciplined for sterl—"

"That will not be necessary," Garon said cutting him off. "Felicia has been exiled for attacking my daughter out of self-defense in the middle of combat, therefore she has been stripped of her citizenship."

"What?! She's been…Your Glory, tell me that this isn't some cruel jest—"

"I never jest. She has been exiled. Simple as that."

"I…I can't…If I may, I can simply remove her from duty in the castle and relocate her to the Ice Tribe with me—"

"Your territory constitutes a portion of Nohr, and as her punishment for her attack she has been forbidden from setting foot in any Nohrian territory."

"This is outrageous! Your Glory, as a citizen of Nohr and her father by blood I would ask you to relinquish my daughter unto me!"

"You will ask nothing of me, chieftain," Garon said harshly. "You may be a citizen, but you are a low class one at that. And as per our agreement, I am granted authority to do with your daughters as I please."

"We agreed to nothing on that matter…" Corrin was wondering how much worse the situation was going to get, and with Felicia's family present this would go one forever until someone gave. "I refuse to let you keep my daughters anymore. Come Felicia, Flora, we are leaving at once."

"Yes Father," both girls said, and as Kylmä turned to leave he left Garon with one last word in edgewise.

"So you banished my daughter over something trivial? Fine then. I hereby relinquish my citizenship, and Flora will cede hers as well. We'll simply re-establish ourselves elsewhere." To hear her two vassals being taken from her broke Corrin's heart after having already lost Gunther, and she could only look to Jakob – her last vassal. Garon, however, wasn't going to have anyone else have the last say on his decisions.

"You've no authority to cede your citizenship or interact with non-citizens, but if you are so brazen to go against me then I will simply punish you as well." With as much hate as he could muster, Garon held his axe before him and slammed it into the ground. A streak of white hot fire erupted from the crack, snaking its way to Felicia. Corrin could only scream before anyone else noticed it, and it was too late by then; the flames caught up with Felicia and combusted with great volume on impact, sending the girl flying forward and tumbling like a rag doll. Everyone recoiled from the horrific scene except for Ghans, and Corrin felt herself wanting to cry as much as the maid's father and sister wanted to. Garon was in no mood for any further foolishness and ordered his two holy wyvern knights to deal with the Ice Tribalists. "You; take this trash outside of our borders. And you; knock the other two unconscious and return them to their tribe. Do not fail me a second time." The knights didn't want to do it but they feared Garon too much to end up like the maid, so the first wyvern knight scooped her up onto his mount while the other one rushed Kylmä and Flora before they could react. Away into the air Felicia went, and down on the ground her family went. With everything taken care of, Garon finally made his way near the castle interior, motioning Ghans and his two sorcerers to follow him for an implied execution for the latter two. Before he disappeared, he left Corrin one last message.

"Those who threaten the royal family must be dealt with, no matter who it is: the lawless who threaten our order, the monsters who threaten our peace, and the traitors who threaten our honor. Remember this well my daughter, else you will meet a swift demise in this world."

Left outside to gather their thoughts, the royal siblings and their vassals tried to calm their nerves after what just happened. Corrin just couldn't understand how her Father could be so uncompromising and without mercy; three of her vassals were gone on his command, and even when she vouched for one of them it didn't do anything. She had barely left the Nohrthern Tower today, and at about high noon her image of her father was all but almost shattered. The man she thought was a fair and reasonable king was a man who had a nasty temper and lack of tolerance for questioning him in any fashion. She thought a good king listened to their people first and foremost like Xander had told her, and it honestly made her want to cry.

"I am so sorry that this had to happen to you, sweetie," Camilla finally spoke. "Father is a very difficult man…We've known this for a long time…"

"You never said he was this difficult…" Corrin half sobbed. "Why…?" The princess didn't know if she was asking why Garon was the way he was, why her siblings whitewashed how he was, or why everything she did to keep Felicia from getting exiled backfired on her and got Flora in trouble too.

"We…We didn't want you to have an overall negative impression of him," Xander answered. "Father is not the same man he once was, and I'd hate for others to think that the way he is now is all there ever was to him. Perhaps we should have told you from the start."

"How long was he like this?"

"Ever since some time when the horrible infighting with his concubines had ended and when Kamui was kidnapped afterward, almost right after Elise was born."

"That's about right up to when you turned eighteen today," Leon said. "Pretty long time if you ask me."

"You mean that…Elise has had to deal with this her entire life? The poor girl…"

"He's the only father she knows, and maybe that's why she's taking this much better than us."

"We honestly wish these cruel acts surprised us," Camilla noted sadly. "Maybe we'd be more hopeful that we could somehow change him back into the wise, brave, and compassionate man he used to be."

"We've had no such luck changing him in a slight positive manner," Xander said. "It only seems as though he grows more bitterly cold, and not just toward us but toward others as well. We may be asking a lot from you sister, but don't forget what it means to be a royal of Nohr. The Father we spoke on about so lovingly to you all these years? Keep him alive in what you do, cherish the lessons he gave us and that we have passed on to you and Elise, pray that you and Elise may never have to do the things we've done to survive this hellish place, and always remember the most treasured Nohrian belief: perseverance."

Over the pain of having three of her dear vassals taken from her in a single day of newfound freedom, Corrin wondered how torturous it must have been for her siblings to have to deal with their father for so long, and it didn't seem that there was a light at the end of that tunnel. She was about to ask her siblings for some solid advice for her to go on, but the king had reappeared from the interior's entrance requesting the royals' presences.

"Children, I have another assignment for each of you I want completed before this nightfall, and supper is prepared in the meantime. Corrin, I have a different assignment to give you, and I shall discuss it with you in private after you finish your meal." That was all he said before disappearing inside, and the others winced at how soon Corrin was to be deployed after the traumatizing experience.

"Let's go," Xander spoke up. "We shouldn't keep the others waiting."

"Goodness Corrin," Camilla said, "you've been granted freedom outside of the Nohrthern Tower just hours ago and Father already has a private assignment for you. Lucky you." Corrin surely didn't feel lucky, more like she was being tormented for earlier.

"I know that look," Leon remarked, "you already don't feel like you're up to this right now, are you? Well, you gotta grin and bear it like we've been doing this whole time. You don't have much options to do otherwise." Corrin really didn't like when Leon left the discussion on a sour note, but that was to be expected after what happened today. Her head held high despite the bad air, and while she hoped that things wouldn't be as stressful afterward she had a feeling that it was otherwise.


Plains of Hoshido, High Noon

Theme: Egdelwonk

"Man, how much longer do we have to go…?" Odin whined. "Couldn't we have flown there instead?"

"Wyverns would have given us away if the Hoshidans knew that Nohrians were attacking them," Selena said. "And quit complaining; we'd have been there sooner if you weren't busy getting us lost with your 'Odin Dark Magic Stone' horse plop."

"I was not!"

"You were too!"

"I. Was. Not!"

"You. Were. Too!"

"Enough, both of you!" Laslow scolded. "You did get us lost in the first-place Odin, but it's doing no good starting petty arguments over it Selena. Less bickering and more getting where we need to be." Both Selena and Odin grumbled in response but they kept quiet afterward. "If we're lucky we should be reaching a Hoshidan border guard outpost soon, then maybe some of the guards can ferry us to the capital."

"Pfft, sure," Selena scoffed. "Hoshidan border guards aren't so trusting to readily accept just about anybody who comes knocking at their door. Trust me: I've worked with some a few years back and they are paranoid about shady people crossing over."

"Really? If Mikoto's barrier protects Hoshido from all violent intent against it, then what's the reason for the suspicion?"

"Non-violent spies like us trying to get rid of the barrier."

"Oh."

"I hope you two brought your 'identity documents' with you."

"Of course," Odin said. "Got mine right here!"

"Mine's in my shirt," Laslow said.

"Mine too," Selena said.

"At least we're all on the same page here." The trio continued for another several miles in the open lands, getting closer to their rivaling kingdom. High in the sky, the sun was better seen without Nohr's dreary clouds shrouding it away, and with Laslow's keen eyesight he could spot what looked like a Hoshidan border guard outpost up ahead. A few minutes of getting closer to it, a person's body could be made out on the ground. "Heads up guys," Laslow warned, slowly walking up to inspect the body; closer inspection revealed it to be a young girl, passed out and curled up on the ground with dried tears on her face. Her maid clothes were tattered and burned from what seemed to be magic, but what gave her identity away was her orange-brown hair. He knew who this maid was much to his shock, and it was the last thing he expected to see so far away from home. "Felicia—?"

"Felicia?" Selena exclaimed. Worried, Odin and Selena ran up Laslow to check if the maid was okay. "Oh my God, what happened to her?"

"I don't know…" Laslow knelt to search her body for anything useful, earning a "Hey!" and a slap to the back of his head from Selena. "Ouch! What was that for?!"

"What do you think YOU'RE doing running your little fingers all over her for?"

"I'm just checking to see if she has anything on her; I swear that it's not what you think!"

"Hmph, yeah right." Ignoring her Laslow continued his search; he found her person completely vacant. No money, no food, no combat equipment, absolutely nothing. Fearing the worst, he searched for her pulse for signs of life; to his relief she was still alive but to his horror she wouldn't last another day.

"She's not going to make it soon…"

"What?!"

"She's only got a day left before she expires. Quick, somebody hand me a flask."

"Um, yeah, about that," Odin sheepishly started, "since we weren't going to be doing any combat we didn't pack up any combat gear, healing equipment included." Laslow could not have possibly mustered a more disbelieving stare even if he tried, looking between an embarrassed-looking Odin and an impatient Selena respectively. A flat "what" was the only response his brain could come up with.

"The Hoshidans would've known that we're Nohrian if they saw our weapons!" Odin lamely tried to explain. Laslow simply took a deep breath to keep himself from going off at everyone's complete lack of foresight.

"…Apparently I'm the only one who took the Hoshidan weapons I had from Hoshido with us, though this is equally my fault for not thinking to grab some medicine before we left. Try to catch me if I seem to do that in the future."

"Erm, right."

"What are we still standing around here for?!" Selena shouted. "Felicia's dying and we're wasting time! C'mon, let's take her with us!"

"Right." Laslow scooped the maid up into his arms and the trio resumed their journey to Hoshido. Laslow hoped that they would make it in time as Odin was kicking himself for forgetting his Hoshidan weaponry back home. Selena seemed more focused on how Laslow handled himself: infamous a flirt he was, he wasn't without some genuinely charming qualities, and she asked herself why he didn't show those qualities more often. His only problem was his often-crass philanderer's tongue, but beyond that was a woman's dream man.

"You know Laslow," Selena started saying, "you look like a real gentleman right now; here you have a lady in your arms and the only thing on your mind is saving her life rather than whatever it is you're usually thinking of doing with women. That's a welcome change to see from you."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah," Odin chimed in. "She's actually got a point; you seem like a much more tolerable guy than you usually are." The resulting scowl of disproval from Laslow was all it took to kill anymore backhanded compliments from Odin. "Sheesh, calm down man. You really are starting to take after Lord Xander, n-not that I mean that in a—oh, nevermind. Point is, you're a truly good guy. It just doesn't show too often."

"I—wow. Thanks guys."

"Don't get too comfy with me calling you that," Selena said. "I know you too well to say 'Gentleman Laslow' on a regular basis."

"Fine with me," Laslow laughed. "I'll just have to work harder to earn more of those lovely compliments from you."

"Don't push it." Continuing their journey a little more and with the subject of what they were going to do on their minds, Selena wondered how the other two felt about their mission from King Garon. It wasn't something she liked at all but she would carry it out if she had to. If she had to guess, Odin was very uncomfortable with it while Laslow didn't feel so strongly and treated it more as a necessary evil like she did. "…Say, what do you guys think about all of this?"

"What, finding Felicia out in the middle of nowhere?" Laslow asked.

"No, about what we're going to do when we get to Hoshido."

Laslow thought for a moment; this wasn't the first time he had to carry out a mission that involved someone's death whether directly or not, but something about this mission made him feel an unease he hadn't felt in a long time. They would contribute to a war that would invariably lead to much bloodshed, and there was no telling how events would unfold. The best he could do was to never forget why he was doing it and never forget the sacrifices that would be made.

"A part of me can't feel too bad about what we're doing," Laslow answered, "but another part of me says that something about this is so off that this shouldn't be happening."

"She reminds me too much of somebody else who was too good for bloody murder," Odin said. "I'm so glad that we weren't the ones given that task; I don't think I could bring myself to do that."

"Don't get to comfortable now Odin," Selena said. "For all we know His Glory may very well order us to kill her afterward. It's of small comfort that nobody else seems to be on board with his commands aside of Lord Shakespeare and that buff-looking axe guy whose name I can't care to remember."

"It's for the good of Nohr His Glory says," Laslow said.

"Since when did you guys start referring to King Garon as 'His Glory' even when he wasn't around?"

"Since years ago, Odin," Selena responded. "I'm surprised you of all people haven't started calling him that in private either, let alone come up with some ridiculous name like you always do."

"I just…I can't really seem to find enough…er, creativity for that."

"It's fine. We won't ask you to if you don't feel comfortable." Selena and Laslow walked ahead of Odin who seemed to be worried for his friends.

'Well they've certainly changed…Maybe living in Nohr for so long will do that to you…I just hope that they're still themselves in the end…'