Corrin has visions and entertains guests.

The war had ended eight months ago; she had been married for six and the baby was coming now, four weeks premature.

She was in Hoshido, visiting with her sister and arranging for more peace talks when an intense ache flared in her lower back. She steadied herself against the table and Hinoka glanced up from the documents asking, "Are you alright Corrin?"

Corrin had nodded,"Yes I'm fine, just the baby."

The aches and pains of being pregnant had become a regular part of her life and so she was continually dismissing them, especially when others inquired about them. Several more bouts of pain flared but she wasn't concerned until her water broke.

The woman that delivered the baby was a diviner turned midwife after the war andCorrin's was the first baby she helped deliver. She didn't mention this of course, but Corrin knew something was off all the same. The woman didn't ask Corrin any questions about the pregnancy thus far or about her pain level or anything that Corrin's midwife in Nohr had assured her they would thoroughly discuss when labor started. The midwife just sat in the corner, reading and ignoring Corrin's discomfort. Not that Corrin was vocal about her misery. The most noise she made was a muffled gasp every now and then.

When it came time to deliver, the pain was worse than anything else she'd ever experienced. Not even the Fujin Yumi piercing her heart hurt nearly as bad as this did. That may have killed her, but at least it had been quick.

She was in labor for ten hours. Hinoka left two hours in. Corrin had asked her to send Sakura but Sakura never came. She learned later that Sakura had outright refused to come. She didn't want anything to do with Corrin. The news was like a punch in the gut but Corrin couldn't blame her. She didn't know why she'd thought the outcome would be any different.

Silas and Felicia had come with her to Hoshido, but Corrin didn't summon them. She didn't want them there for the birth of her child when her husband couldn't be. He was hundreds of miles away, completely unaware of the agony she was enduring.

So her first child was born alone and loved only by her. When she held him in her arms, she was struck by how very small he was. His little face puckered and she was fearful that she might crush him somehow. He was so tiny; one wrong movement and her baby would be gone and nobody would even know he had existed except for her.

Silas was not Corrin's first visitor but he was the first not to cry.

He had left the battle at the Bottomless Canyon very early into the Vallite attack when a fellow cavalier had been gravely injured by a Vallite mage. Silas had taken it upon himself to get the woman to safety. He got her to the infirmary but there were too few healers and too many injuries. She had only died moments before, holding his hand.

Silas walked in unannounced. He threw open the door and moved like he was well acquainted with the room, like he had been there many times before. This was not the case because, despite his best efforts, Corrin had never invited him to her quarters. Still, he dreamt of it often and hoped that someday that might change. Today was not that day.

Corrin lay perfectly still and unconscious. The only indication that she was still alive was the weak rise and fall of her chest. Her skin was translucent and the veins shone through, dark and purple.

He sat beside her waist and stared down at her. With the back of his hand, he stroked a stray piece of hair from her face. The feel of her skin reminded him of their kiss in the forest. It wasn't the kind of fairy-tale kiss he'd been hoping for, certainly. She had flinched away so violently that he was certain she didn't feel the same, but she never told him she didn't, only stared at him in surprise. Did that mean there was a chance? Because she hadn't told him no? Maybe she had only drawn away because of her initial surprise? He wasn't sure. The thoughts had kept him up the night before. Either way, he felt like a lovesick fool that had pressed his luck far too soon.

Sakura sat at the desk, watching him. He knew she was there, but pretended that he was alone with Corrin. It would have been much easier if he was alone. He wanted to say aloud all the thoughts he'd kept secret even if she couldn't hear him. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, how she was always in his thoughts, how he'd spent years chasing after her because she was the greatest person he had ever come to know, but he couldn't. Not with Sakura's wide eyes acknowledging his every move. So instead, he pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek and left. He knew she'd be okay. Corrin had never given up before.

The crown was heavy on his head. It was obvious it wasn't meant to be his. She'd heard he refused to have it refitted; it was to serve as a reminder of the brother he could never replace.

When she walked in, his head was bowed to the ground. There was insurmountable grief etched into the downward curve of his mouth and reflected in the far-off look in his eyes. His fingers curled into the alabaster armrests as if he strove to leave a permanent mark in the stone. The throne was too big and he shrank himself smaller. When she drew closer, his head snapped up and his expression shifted to one of cool disdain. His eyebrows evened and his eyelids leveled.

It had been a week since his coronation; two since his brother and sister had died.

"I don't think you should be alone," she told him, resting on the first step.

"Your concern is unwanted," he responded lazily. He was trying very hard to be appear unconcerned but she knew him better than she knew anyone else. Two years apart had done nothing to change that. His fingers rapped against his thigh the way they did only when he was upset.

"You can't shut me out," she said but he snarled, "Why not? Because you're the only family I have left?"

As her eyebrows rose, he continued, "Camilla's gone. She disappeared after the funeral."

"Leo," she contended, "You shouldn't have to live in misery. You shouldn't-"

"You don't get to boss me around anymore," he interrupted, "I'm king now. You saw to that yourself."

Camilla limped into Corrin's room about twenty minutes after Silas had left. Even as she entered the room, she knew she had made a foolish decision. It would only be a matter of minutes before Selena and Beruka realized she had snuck off and came looking for her. But she had to see Corrin.

She didn't even know how long it had been since they'd last spoken. She regretted their silly fight. She wished she had been able to apologize and mend the gap, but she'd been too prideful. Now, it might be too late. Corrin might die thinking Camilla hated her.

Like everyone else, Camilla had heard of the terrible state Corrin was in but the rumors and hearsay in no way prepared to see Corrin with her own eyes. It was something out of one of her worst nightmares. Corrin lay still and silent. Her breathing was barely audible and very weak. There was terrible grief first, followed by how-could-this-have-happened disbelief, and then there was only anger.

Though she wanted to kiss Corrin's forehead, her back injury prevented the motion. So instead, Camilla pressed a kiss to her fingertips and transferred it to Corrin's hairline. Her fingers wavered when she found the skin to be hot and feverish.

"I'm no healer but I don't believe she's supposed to be burning up," Camilla snapped at Sakura. The Hoshidian princess didn't deserve her anger but seeing as the degenerate worm that had done this wasn't there at the moment, Sakura would have to do. Sakura explained, "I-it's from her body trying to fight off the poison."

"Well if her body's fighting off the poison, then why can't you heal her?" Camilla asked with false saccharine. The question was barbed; no matter how Sakura responded, Camilla would pounce, ripping the poor girl to shreds. Sakura, unaware of the danger, opened her mouth to respond and began, "There's-"

"There you are!" Selena shouted bursting through the door. Beruka followed silently behind; her face just as cross as Selena's. The two grabbed each of Camilla's arms despite her protests and dragged her through the door chastising, "The healers told you to stay put!" and "You can't just go running off like that!"

As the door slammed shut, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

The graveyard was located deep within the palace garden, past the sakura blossoms and beyond the zen garden. Corrin had never been so deep into the garden before. She'd never deviated from the main stone path. Her feet sank into soft dirt as Hinoka led her farther and farther from Castle Shirasagi. They traveled in silence and Corrin wished for some sort of conversation. But she couldn't make herself speak. Nothing felt right, the colors muted, the sounds muffled, and the world smaller.

"Here we are," Hinoka said stiffly like her voice might shatter at any moment. Two graves stood out from the rest, more polished and clearly newer. Corrin could not read the kanji but she knew that they said Ryoma and Takumi respectively. Unlike a Nohrian grave, there were no flowers, only incense before each one. She blinked hot tears from her eyes.

She moved forward and knelt before the graves as she'd been told was custom. She bowed her head in respect and tears rolled off her nose into the dirt. Her knees began to ache but she could not bring herself to move. She thought of the few happy memories she had of her brothers, from the few weeks she'd spent with them before the war.

"Corrin, it's late," Hinoka announced. When Corrin didn't move, Hinoka turned and left. This had become a sort of ritual between the two; Corrin would do something for too long and Hinoka would leave without a word. It didn't upset her anymore; Hinoka had every right to not want to be around her. She had ruined Hinoka's life by forcing her into a role she was never meant to have and she had destroyed their family. It was only made sense that Hinoka hated her.

But at least Hinoka could still stand to be in her presence. Corrin had not seen Sakura since the end of the war. Her younger sister had avoided her at Hinoka's coronation and had ensured that Corrin didn't get the chance to speak to her. Sweet and gentle Sakura no longer existed. The deaths of their brothers had changed her into this bitter, sorrowful thing.

Though she'd been invited, Corrin couldn't bring herself to attend the funeral. She wasn't stupid; she knew she wasn't wanted there.

Her husband couldn't understand her anguish. He didn't even know that this was the reason for her journey. She mourned alone.

"They gave their lives so the war could end," he'd say but Corrin knew that wasn't so. Ryoma sacrificed himself for Corrin and her betrayal of Hoshido had killed Takumi.

"I'm so sorry," she said to the black stones, "This is my fault."

Her voice broke and gasping sobs racked her body. She wept and she prayed for their forgiveness.

Azura almost didn't visit Corrin. She certainly didn't want to and came up with numerous reasons not to. But she found herself making her way there nonetheless.

Sakura was barely awake when Azura entered. Her head bobbed up and down and her eyelids fluttered opened and closed. When Azura entered, the girl's head snapped up and her face turned as red as her hair. Azura smiled to let her know it was okay; she wouldn't tell anyone. Sakura sighed and rubbed at her eyes.

As Azura moved closer, she forced herself to look at the face of the woman she'd forsaken. In her comatose, Corrin seemed entirely at ease. She breathed through her nose so her lips were completely even. Crossing one leg beneath her, Azura sat on the bed and reached for Corrin's hand. She held the limp hand between her own and thought of her mother's dying words.

"The child of the dragon is easily corruptible," she'd gasped, "You have to keep her safe, Azura."

At the time, Azura had no idea what that meant. She didn't know any dragons and she only vaguely understood the word corruptible yet she had promised her mother she would all the same. But she'd broken that promise. She'd abandoned Corrin the moment Corrin had brought up her nightmares because possession always started like that. Azura had resorted to an old bedtime story because to say the words was too terrible; the actual truth of it seemed too awful. How do you tell your best friend that they were susceptible to having their soul destroyed and body stolen? That the visions they were having meant that the process might have already begun?

After she'd left Corrin's room, she'd returned to her own and suffered a bout of severe hysteria. She sat on her bed with her arms wrapped around her legs and stared in silent horror at the wall. On the blank stone she visualized her mother's death, devoured by the vitriolic tendrils of Anankos' curse, Mikoto's tragic sacrifice, killed so suddenly and unexpectedly by Anankos' trickery, and her father's death, mutilated by the dragon in its madness, over and over and over and over. She relived Mikoto's violent death most of all. When she finally managed to calm herself down, hours had passed and her eyes stung.

After that, Azura couldn't bear to be near Corrin when she knew that her friend could be taken at any moment and become the very monster that had killed her entire family.

Staring at Corrin now, Azura knew how foolish and selfish she had been. Corrin laying here, practically a corpse meant Anankos wanted her dead, not a puppet. She was the only person on earth that could kill him and he wouldn't risk a failed possession if it meant his death.

And even if he did want her as his puppet, Corrin was strong, inordinately so. The injustices she had suffered at the hands of Garon were soul crushing and yet she never faltered. Her sorrow never clouded her judgment, never affected her interactions. If she lived through this, she would never let Anankos take her. But she had to be aware to prevent it.

Azura wanted to tell Corrin everything, if only to get it off her chest, but she didn't know how much she should or shouldn't share. If she told Corrin about her father would she be able to kill him efficiently or would their relationship give her pause? If she told Corrin that the nightmares weren't nightmares at all but visions from every possible future, would she stop sleeping entirely? If she told Corrin that anybody in the camp could be a spy of Anankos', would she trust anyone? If she told Corrin that she might end up killing them all, would she leave and go on her own? There was no way to know.

But Corrin had a right to know about the risk of possession. The other things, Azura would decide whether to share or not later. If Corrin survived.

At the moment, Azura wasn't so sure she would.

Scarlet died quickly, but she shouldn't have died at all. One minute she was flying along the remaining soldiers ordering a full retreat and the next she was spiraling towards the earth; an arrow sprouting from her chest. She hit the ground hard, but it was neither the fall nor the arrow that killed her.

A knight rushed forward to retrieve her but he was cut down, an ax splitting his head in two.

She lay flat on her back staring up at the sky when a figure darkened her view. All she could say was, "You?" before a burst of black magic stopped her heart. Anyone that saw was killed seconds later by the same magic.

The killer strung her across his back and turned to the bridge. He lumbered through the ranks but nobody attacked because they knew him. They let him pass through, Scarlet motionless over his shoulder. Then, with a grunt, he flung her into the chasm.

Corrin became aware immediately of her mother's embrace and of the tears cascading from her eyes and turning her mother's white kimono gray. Mikoto stroked Corrin's hair and hummed low in her throat. It brought little comfort as debilitating pain still raked Corrin's entire body. Corrin sobbed, "W-why do I keep seeing all these things, mother? All these awful, painful things? All this suffering?"

Her mother said nothing, only held Corrin tighter, but Corrin could hardly feel her arms around her anymore. Breathing became a struggle and her vision diminished. Corrin curled against her mother, searching for warmth but receiving none. Her thoughts slowed and she felt very, very cold. In a way it was like falling asleep.

Elise had only been in the room for two minutes before she shrieked, "Her heart's stopped!"

Sakura leapt across the room, heard the gasping breaths Corrin tried to take and felt the nonexistent pulse.

"The poison's in her heart," Sakura responded. She stepped away from her sister. There was nothing she could do. She had been watching over Corrin for hours believing with each passing hour that her sister was growing stronger. There had been no indication either way, but Sakura had done her best to remain optimistic. It was all for nothing.

"There has to be something we can do!" Elise shouted. Even as she said it, it was obvious she knew it was a fruitless thought. Her mouth sagged and her eyes were devoid of hope. Sakura had administered an antidote but there was no way to know whether it had taken. Now, it was obvious that it hadn't.

Sakura had not cried through the entire ordeal and had held herself together with poise and calm. Now, she broke. The tears came unbidden and gushed so intensely that her vision blurred. She stumbled and Elise caught her. Sakura's knees buckled and she sank to the floor, dragging Elise down with her. They cried together and held one another as Corrin struggled to breathe. The sounds were guttural and haunting. When it was finally over, Sakura was numb from Elise's squeezing.

They cried for awhile longer, clinging to each other and pretending like it hadn't happened. It was Elise that stood first. Sakura held herself on the floor but found no support in her own arms. Elise reached towards Corrin face and it was then that their sister took a gigantic gasping breath.

Elise shot backwards and tripped over Sakura and they both tumbled over. Elise banged her elbow off the floor and Sakura twisted her ankle but their minor injuries didn't stop them from scrambling to their feet and then to Corrin's side. They examined Corrin from top to bottom and then stood side by side, arms hanging limp. She still had no pulse. They exchanged wide eyed glances as Corrin took another gulp of air.

"T-this is impossible," Elise stuttered. Sakura nodded mutely and fumbled for Corrin's wrist. Her skin was cold to the touch and for a moment there was nothing. Then there was a very dull bump. Her pulse was weak and slow, but it was there. Still unable to speak, Sakura gestured for Elise to check the pulse herself and soon they both wore identical open mouthed dumbfounded expressions.

Corrin had come back from the dead.

Corrin, of course, had no idea she'd been dead. All she knew was that she had fallen asleep in her mother's embrace and woken up in a field of green. Long grass tickled her face. She sat up and stared at her leg. It was still just as mangled as it was before, but it didn't hurt, not even a little bit.

"That's gonna take awhile to get better," someone said. A small figure descended from the sky and there was a flash of light. Corrin threw her arm up to shield her eyes and when she lowered it, a young girl in simple clothes sat crossed legged in the grass. Her hair was a blue, similar in shade to Azura's but a hint darker. It lay braided against her right shoulder and stuck out beneath a white bonnet. Corrin almost didn't recognize her.

"It feels good to be in this form again," Lilith confided. The little-dragon-now-human plucked a blade of grass and twisted it between two of her fingers. Corrin blinked rapidly but couldn't find the words. Lilith smiled and announced, "You look a little confused."

"I-I am a little confused," Corrin admitted slowly. Lilith nodded and stated, "Well, you died."

"I did?" Corrin asked. She had no idea how to react to that information so her face contorted into a sort of bemused calm. Her eyelids flickered and her mouth formed into a shape somewhere between a smile and a frown.

"Yeah," Lilith responded with a nod. She twisted the grass around her ring finger and held it out in front of her so she could examine it.

"So I'm dead?" Corrin questioned trying to mimic Lilith's blasé tone.

"Well," Lilith said slowly, "no."

"No?" Corrin repeated.

"You're not dead anymore."

"But you just said-"

"I said you died."

Corrin didn't know what to say so she didn't say anything. In front of her, Lilith tore up another piece of grass and wove it around the other on her finger.

"Lilith, where are we? Are you real?"

"I'm real Corrin. So are you."

"This is the in-between," Lilith continued, "We're here together because we're both nearly dead."

"What? Lilith you-"

"The astral dragons decreed a dragon must die today but I can't let it be you," Lilith said matter-of-factly, "When I heard about what happened to you, I begged them to take me instead."

Corrin's throat closed as the realization set in; Lilith was giving up her life for her. The little dragon was going to die instead. Somehow, the astral dragons thought that was an okay thing to let her do.

Before she could say anything, Lilith hushed her and announced, "Corrin you're too important to die."

Her smile didn't reach her eyes. It was a very sad smile. It broke Corrin's heart.

"No, I won't let you do this!" Corrin shouted but it already seemed to be too late. She lunged at Lilith but couldn't reach her. Lilith's eyes began to water and Corrin felt her body becoming dust.

"I love you sister," Lilith whispered as Corrin faded away. Corrin heard the words in the nothingness and began to weep.

"This is amazing!" Corrin squealed, squeezing her sister tighter. Hinoka laughed and swooped low, bringing the pegasus to graze the tops of the trees below. The wind whipped the hair from both their faces and Corrin's streamed behind them like a silver banner.

Beneath them, the Hoshido landscape sprawled in shades of green. They flew over towns and lakes and forests and rolling hills and Corrin took it all in with shining eyes. The air was crisp and sweet and invigorating on her skin. As they drew closer to Shirasagi, the landscape exploded in a symphony of pinks and whites. Corrin felt tears escaping her eyes and was grateful to the whipping wind that blew them from her face.

"You know, I always wanted to take you flying," Hinoka admitted as she brought them in for the landing. Corrin leapt down and pulled her sister down behind her. She wrapped the older girl into bone crushing hug. Hinoka laughed and returned the hug, squeezing her sister just as tightly.

Ryoma went to see Corrin after her miraculous return from the dead. He was one of few in the camp to know that she'd been dead at all, though it wouldn't be long before the news spread. It would be good for troop morale to know that they were being lead by a woman that had escaped death. It would certainly squash any harbored doubts about Corrin being unfit for the role.

He knew from experience what a worthy adversary Corrin was. He had been at the receiving end of her army and had suffered many substantial setbacks at her hands. Yes, he was very confident in her abilities as a leader.

When last he'd seen her, Corrin had looked like a corpse. Sakura had told him she didn't look much better, but he thought she looked great!

Yes, her skin was still frighteningly pale and yes, she lay completely motionless but her veins were not as prominent nor were they purple and her breathing was strong! The bandages had been removed from her leg and the once mangled flesh had been knit back together; an angry, puckered line indicating where the flesh had been split. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it was infinitely better than it had been.

"We healed the leg, but it's going to give her a lot of trouble," Sakura had told him, "Since we had to wait so long, there was a lot of muscle decay. She might not be able to walk for a while."

Ryoma knew Corrin wouldn't be pleased to hear that and, to be honest, he had no idea what that meant for the army. He was capable of filling in for her as she regained her strength, but he wasn't eager to. He also doubted that Corrin would even let him.

But those were thoughts for a later time. Now, he cleared his mind of such worries and sat awhile longer, hoping for the best.

"Oh Corrin, you're late!" Camilla scolded as Corrin entered. Camilla had set up a table with five place settings and a steaming tea kettle in the center of her bedroom. Around the table sat Elise, Leo and Xander who all stared at her expectantly. She blushed and hastened to sit down. Camilla laughed her tinkling laugh and poured Corrin's tea. She smiled sheepishly and thanked her.

"So does this mean you've canceled your party?" Leo asked Camilla sipping from his own cup. She laughed again and shook her head.

"Of course not!" she tsked, "I only wanted to spend the day with my lovely family before the festivities tonight."

Leo grumbled and turned away, thrumming the fingers of his free hand against the table.

"Oh Leo, I'm sure it won't be as bad as last year!" Elise chirped, "I mean what are the odds of you tripping into the courtyard fountain two years in a row?

Leo glared at her as they all laughed, remembering his epic blunder last year. He smoothed his face and quipped, "At least I ended up in my own room that night."

Now it was Corrin's turn to blush. Ignoring the heat in her face she responded, "Only because you wouldn't tell me how to get back to the right wing!"

"That's not a good enough excuse for falling asleep in Silas' room," he retorted with a smirk, "The poor man thought you were trying to run away with him."

"Don't remind me," she groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, "That was an absolute nightmare."

Beside her, Xander shifted uncomfortably. She nudged his foot under the table with her own. He offered her a small smile but she could tell he was still troubled.

"So Camilla," Elise began looking over the rim of her cup, "I hear you've grown awfully close to Kaze."

"Mmm? Who told you that?" Camilla responded coolly. She sipped from her cup, cautious not to smudge her lipstick.

Elise didn't answer only gave a big grin in response. Camilla slammed her cup down and shouted, "It was Charlotte, wasn't it!? I knew I shouldn't have told her anything! That girl is such a terrible gossip!"

Elise giggled and Camilla sobered.

"Charlotte didn't say anything, did she?" Camilla asked, squeezing her eyes closed. Elise shook her head, pigtails whipping from side to side, and announced, "Corrin saw him sneaking out of your room last week!"

Corrin shouted "Elise!" at the same time Camilla shouted "Corrin!"

Elise giggled and sipped more tea.

"I didn't know it was a big secret!" Corrin responded and then turned on Elise yelling, "I didn't even say anything to you about it!"

"No, but Leo did!" Elise smirked. Camilla threw up her hands and exclaimed, "Is nothing sacred?"

"Camilla, you set the precedent for sharing everyone else's secrets years ago," Xander stated taking a long drink. Camilla's face soured and she muttered, "Keep pushing it and I'll tell Corrin what happened at my party four years ago."

He choked on his tea which sent Leo and Elise into hysterics. Corrin leaned forward with a smirk and asked, "What happened at your party, Camilla?"

"Camilla if you say anything I'll tell them about what you did in Nestra!" Xander shouted. A furious blush spread across Camilla's face and she growled, "You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

Camilla huffed and conceded, "I guess you'll have to hear about that another time Corrin."

She raised her cup to her lips but paused before taking a sip.

"Leo?"

"Yes Camilla?" he responded mocking his cheery tone.

"Your collar's inside-out."

"Damn it!" he cursed and fled the room like a chicken with its head cut off. They all laughed, Xander laughed so hard he slapped his palm against the table and made all their teacups jump in place. Between giggles, Camilla shouted, "You better come back! It's still my birthday!"

When Xander entered Corrin's room, Ryoma still sat on her bed. Though they'd come to a mutual agreement to put their animosity aside, neither was in any rush to be around each other. The two stared at each other uncomfortably until Ryoma stood and cleared his throat saying, "I'll be going."

Ryoma hustled through the door without another word and Xander was thankful to have him gone. He stared down at Corrin and was shocked by how small she seemed. She had always been small, standing nearly half his height, but now she seemed the size of a child; tiny and innocent. He sighed and took the spot previously occupied by Ryoma. Much to his discomfort, it was still warm. He tried to ignore it and focused on Corrin.

The angles in her face seemed harsher than he remembered but he knew that wasn't just from her near death experience. He had to remind himself that she was no longer the excitable young girl that spent her days dreaming about the outside world. She was this new person, hardened by war and loss. But she was still Corrin, even if she wasn't the one he remembered. He folded his hands in his lap feeling very exposed in the silence.

"Leo was the one that wanted to visit you," he said aloud. He listened to her steady breathing for a moment then continued, "The medics won't let him out of their sight."

Then, as an afterthought, added, "He nearly killed himself today."

She didn't respond, of course, and he wondered if she could hear him. He didn't dare touch her like the others before him had.

Unlike Leo, he wasn't confident in that the hostility would end between them. They had spent the better part of a year on opposite sides of the war and Xander remembered well their last interaction. He could never forget her broken eyes after he'd spat traitor at her. If Leo hadn't shown him the truth of what their father had become, it would still be the first thing on his mind when he thought of her. Still, that wasn't such an easy association to shake even now that he knew her decision to turn her back on Nohr had been the correct one. Nothing would ever be as it had been.

Looking at her now in the dimming light, he thought of his premonition during the battle today. He'd experienced such a strong sense of impending doom between his shoulder blades and turned to cut down the source of the feeling, an assassin poised to strike, but that hadn't been the end of it. Corrin was there between the assassin and himself, ghostly and ethereal.

At the time he'd taken her appearance as a sign that she had died, but that wasn't the case. She had died for a bit, but not while he had been in battle. He had later attributed the vision of her to pure fatigue but now he wasn't so confident in that theory.

"Did you save me?" he asked quietly.

Corrin stirred and his breath caught. Her eyelids flickered but she didn't wake, only made a quiet noise in her throat and began to breathe deeply once more.

He wondered what she was dreaming about or if she was even dreaming at all.

She awakened with blissful simplicity; one moment she was asleep and the next she wasn't. She shifted her legs and adjusted her arms into a more comfortable position. She lay still for a few moments and then her heartbeat skyrocketed. Her eyes flew open and her breath hitched. Her arms were empty. She could have only dozed off for a couple of moments. Where was the baby?

Frantically, she tore the bed sheets apart searching for the infant. When this proved fruitless, she flung herself from the bed. She stumbled immediately but managed to catch herself on the night stand. Her head buzzed from both dehydration and exhaustion but it did not deter her. After she had overturned every piece of furniture in the bedroom and the baby was still nowhere to be found, she threw open the hallway door. The tile was cool beneath her toes as she ran through the corridors of the castle. Fright motivated her every step and tears streamed from her eyes.

Who would have taken the baby? She had not let him out of her sight since the moment he'd been born. No, she'd held him in her arms every chance she got. From the moment she'd learned she was pregnant again, she made a silent promise to herself to love this child as she hadn't been permitted to love the first. Siegbert had been her baby for three days. Now he wasn't fully hers anymore; he was Nohr's. He was barely allowed to be a child, barely allowed to have fun. He'd grown close to Laslow's children and was permitted to play with them, but only after his rigorous lessons. After six years, she'd given up on fighting about it. But she would make sure this one would never have to live like that.

Her mind raced as she tried to come up with places to look, but she knew that none of the servants nor her sisters' would have taken the baby without letting her know first.

She was not without enemies. There were numerous fringe groups that still remained, blaming her for the desolation of Hoshido. Any one of them could have taken the baby. Her pulse boomed in her ears and she would have thrown up but she had not eaten in hours.

"Shh," someone cooed and the sound of a mewling baby caught in the still night air.

She skidded to a halt. She spun on her heel and chased after the sound, leading her back past her room. Candlelight flickered from beneath her son's cracked bedroom door. With the tips of her fingers, she nudged the door open.

Siegbert sat on the floor in his night clothes, baby brother cradled in his arms. He held the baby against his chest but did not lean over him as if he were afraid the infant might break if he didn't give him enough space. As the baby began to whimper again, he rocked him slowly and hummed a soothing melody. It was one that Corrin recognized, a simple tune that she had heard hundreds of times during the war. As she listened, she realized he must have picked it up from Laslow's son, Shigure.

The baby fell silent and Siegbert smiled. He shifted his brother in his arms and kissed the crown of his head. The baby made a small noise and then yawned. Corrin took a step into the room, floor boards creaking underfoot.

Siegbert was not alarmed by her sudden appearance only said, "He's sleeping mama."

She knelt beside her children and rubbed Siegbert's back. He stared lovingly down at his brother and told her, "I didn't mean to scare you, mama. You fell asleep and he was still awake."

"It's okay baby," she responded. She let Siegbert hold his brother for a little bit longer, watching them both and thinking that this was one of those moments that she'd want to remember forever.

Siegbert was one of the last people in camp to find out what had happened to Corrin. As far as he knew, the only person still unaware was Kana.

Soleil, Shigure, and Shiro had kept the information from him all day. The fortress was in total turmoil during and following the battle so it wasn't very difficult on their part. They scrambled around all day, doing whatever they were asked. There was little time to talk. He'd discovered Corrin's condition by dumb luck. He'd overheard a conversation that went like this:

"Is Lady Corrin okay?"

"No, she's dead."

At the time, he'd been carrying a box full of extra gauze for the infirmary. It had fallen from his hands and the rolls of fabric unraveled several feet. He didn't pick them up; he ran to his friends. Shigure calmed him down and told him not to worry. Shiro told him to go see her. Soleil told him to wait.

Now it was well into the night and he sat at the foot of Corrin's bed. She was breathing normally and her flesh was an even beige. If he couldn't see the massive red line running down her leg, he would have thought she was completely fine. He rubbed at his eyes and sighed. Now that he was here, he wasn't sure why he'd been in such a panic. It wasn't like he was close to her; this wasn't his mother after all. Still, knowing that she breathed soothed his racing heart.

Siegbert turned from Corrin to his surroundings. The room was sparsely decorated; a table in the center, a desk in the corner, some boxes along the wall, a few bookshelves, and a dresser. He knew she must not spend a lot of time in here as a thin layer of dust coated everything except the desk and the dresser. His mother hated to be alone too.

Knick-knacks on the dresser drew his attention and he moved to it. He recognized a whittled doll that Kana must have given to her. It was a good likeness of Corrin except Siegbert noted that this doll looked more like their mother than the Corrin in the bed. There were lines on the figure's face that were maternal and weathered. This Corrin didn't know the first thing about being a mother. She was more a friend to Kana than anything else.

Kana had given each of them a doll; "rain-go-away" figures he called them. He'd made them on a lazy day while the others had been training in the arena. Making the dolls had taken hours and then he'd spent days carefully drawing the faces. His hard work had payed off and the tiny figures were nearly identical to their respective inspirations. Soleil had complained that Kana had made her doll's hair look like the back of a porcupine and Shiro's doll had a unibrow, but they were beautiful, thoughtful gifts.

Siegbert's sat on the windowsill in his hurt beside Shiro's. The last time Soleil had been over, she had turned them to glare at each other and said,"There! Now it's like real life!"

Beside the doll, there was an assortment of random articles; a broken pearl necklace, a frayed black ribbon, a smooth pebble, a bamboo branch, a torn white glove, a tarnished gold bracelet and a dirty red bookmark. The bracelet was familiar and Siegbert wondered if his mother had the same one.

In his time, his mother also had a talent for finding forgotten or unwanted things, though her collection was much more extensive than this Corrin's. In Krakenburg, her dresser had been covered in obscure things. Most of the objects would be considered trash; anyone else would have thrown them away. The majority of her collection had come from the war and served as a constant reminder of everything she had lost.

His favorite in her collection was an engraved pendant she'd gotten from Hoshido. It was cracked down the middle and chipped at the bottom but the faded script was beautiful. He couldn't read it but his mother had told him it said for all the forgotten memories. He thought that was a wonderful sentiment; a reminder of all the lost things so that nothing would ever really be lost. Unlike the rest of her collection, she hid the pendant in a pair of shoes she didn't wear. She wouldn't tell him why but he suspected she'd gotten it as a memento of his deceased uncles'.

Sometimes, he'd sneak into his parents' room when they weren't there and turn the pendant in his hands. He'd think about his uncles that he'd never met and his aunts that never wanted to see him. He'd think about Shigure and Soleil and wonder how they felt about lost things; if they thought of their mother as lost. He'd think about the lines on his father's face that disappeared when he looked at his mother and the lines that appeared on hers when she looked him. He'd wonder why that was. He was always sure to put it back where he found it. Siegbert was positive his father didn't know she had it.

Siegbert frowned and leaned against the dresser. He thought of his parents rarely. He missed them sure, but thinking of them evoked painful emotions. He could picture his mother, worried sick, pacing in the throne room, biting her lip and wringing her wrists until his father shouted at her to stop. The pressures of the throne had created a divide between them and Siegbert knew that their disappearance only widened it. His mother would blame his father; his father would blame his mother. You're too hard on them! You never let them enjoy being children! his mother would shout. And you're too soft on them! You'd let them get away with murder! his father would yell back. They were both right but could never find an easy medium. Siegbert was too cold and calculating and Kana was too emotional and erratic.

Siegbert was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize Corrin had awakened. He didn't hear her stir and he didn't hear her push herself up onto her elbows. Her eyes bored holes into his back and when he turned around, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes narrowed. With a voice low from disuse, she demanded, "Who the hell are you?"

And Siegbert didn't know how to respond.

A/N Corrin's visions come from both the Conquest and Birthright routes. I just really wanted to write King Leo.