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After being brushed off by her retainers in such a brash manner, Charlotte was in one of her worse moods. She decided not to yell at them— for now. She'd let them go stir crazy with fear of what their punishment might be. But she still needed to get her anger and resentment off her chest. She decided on a whim to chat with Corrin, as she was the only sound option. But even that wasn't exactly a good idea; they hadn't even patched up their relationship after their multiple one-sided fight. Still, Charlotte needed to air her feelings out to someone, and Corrin was her best option. It also gave her a chance to fix their relationship for good.

Charlotte knocked on her estranged friend's door, and she suddenly felt nervous. A bunch of awful scenarios played in her head, each one ending with Charlotte abandoned. What if Corrin screamed at her? Or kicked her out? Or told her to never come back into her life? Each similar scenario had Charlotte on edge. She tried to stay optimistic, but it wasn't an easy task. Given how rocky things had been, Corrin could react in a negative way- or maybe in a positive way.

Charlotte lost her train of thought when Corrin opened the door with baby Kana in her arms. The infant was fast asleep, oblivious to the unfolding situation. Corrin on the other hand, immediately had her guard up.

"I need to talk to you," Charlotte said.

"I'm not sure I want to," Corrin confessed.

"I know…but it's serious. I won't lose control, I promise."

"Fine, then. But if you end up doing so, I'm throwing you out without hesitation."

Charlotte nodded before entering the bedroom. Corrin quickly put Kana in his crib before finding a seat on the bed.

"Is something the matter?" Corrin asked.

"With Laslow and Peri, yes."

"Your retainers? Does it have to with the riot?"

Charlotte's hands balled into fists at the fresh memory. But she bit her tongue to keep her composure.

"Well…it more has to do with what happened afterwards."

Corrin furrowed her brows. "How do you mean?"

"I came up to them afterwards to thank them for leading our soldiers into dispersing the crowd. Instead of thanking me properly, they just shooed me away and sauntered off to their room! I don't understand…I was only trying to be nice. I never raised my voice or got angry the entire time! I know this sounds petty, but some appreciation when I give them gratitude would've been nice!"

Sensing that she was about to lose her temper, Charlotte shut her mouth. She took a couple deep breaths to calm herself down.

Corrin wasn't too sure what to say or think about the situation. She sensed that Charlotte's behaviour justified what her retainers had done, but she couldn't be certain. Rather than make any assumptions, she nodded with her most heartfelt expression.

"I understand how upsetting that would be. Maybe they were just exhausted from what they had to deal with? But I agree— it was wrong of them. Would you like me to talk to them?"

Charlotte's eyes widened. "You would do that?"

"Sure. Maybe I can figure out what's going on. I have a feeling that, after what you had to deal with, they won't tell you what's going on."

"Thank you, Corrin…I appreciate it!"

Corrin swallowed hard before forcing herself to nod. "You're welcome."


"Rough day, huh?"

Laslow and Peri gave their fellow retainer an exhausted look, but it was Laslow who responded.

"Do you think I need to answer that, Niles?"

"No, I'm simply teasing. It was definitely a hellish mess, dealing with such an unruly crowd. I was there, remember?"

"Yes, I do," Laslow said.

"Thanks for helping, by the way," Peri added.

Niles nodded. "Anytime."

"What about I, Odin Dark?! Have you forgotten your good friend of dark magic?"

"No," Peri sighed, "I didn't forget you. I was gonna thank you next."

Odin narrowed his eyes, but suddenly burst out laughing. "Sorry, I was merely joking."

"I know."

Just then, Effie, Arthur, Selena, Beruka, and even Kaze showed up to chat with their friends. They were also quite eager to discuss this morning's riot that had exploded out of nowhere.

"Justice managed to prevail!" Arthur declared. "And it feels wonderful indeed!"

Effie rolled her eyes. "And no one got hurt, which is good."

"Boring, but good nevertheless," Beruka muttered.

Selena let out a laugh. "It's been too long since anything like that happened."

"I was enjoying not having to keep people in line," Laslow muttered.

As the retainers continued to chat about this morning's events, Corrin followed the sound of voices to its source. She got there in time to see Odin making some grand statement about helping clear out the riot the most. He fell silent when he saw her appear.

"L-Lady Corrin!" he cried. "Is something the matter?"

"Relax, Odin. I'm only hear to speak with Laslow and Peri. It's about Charlotte."

"Of course, milady. I shall make my exit."

With that, Odin and the other retainers left Laslow and Peri with Corrin. They exchanged nervous looks, unsure of what was about to happen.

"Greetings, milady," Laslow began. "Is something the matter?"

"I talked to Charlotte just now," Corrin replied. "She said that she thanked you guys for getting rid of the angry mob, but you were rude to her in response. She was pretty upset about it, and isn't sure why you guys did that. Did something happen?"

There was no way in hell Laslow and Peri could confess all the hell that Charlotte, Queen of Nohr and their liege, had put them through. There was a strong chance that Corrin wouldn't believe the stories they had. Sure, she knew that something was wrong with Charlotte; everyone living in the large dark castle in Nohr knew. But both retainers had a feeling that Corrin would believe her friend over them each and every time.

"I didn't think we did so," Laslow lied, fake concern lacing his words. "We were rather exhausted after dealing with the people…they had been quite rowdy, to say the least."

"They were mean, too!" Peri chimed in. "We just wanted to rest after we got rid of them all. I guess we didn't think she had anything to say about what happened, so we went to our room to rest."

Laslow picked it up from there. "It's just a misunderstanding, milady. It sounds like it, at least."

Corrin nodded, understanding how things could've been lost in translation amidst such chaos. She relaxed enough to grin.

"I see. I believe you guys, especially with how angry and chaotic the crowd was," she said.

Peri and Laslow did their best to hide shocked expressions. They kept their jaws locked and eyes straight on Corrin.

"I would explain what happened to Charlotte," she added. "Clearing the air would help your relationship with her, seeing as she is your liege. She'll understand."

"We will," Laslow replied. "Thanks for talking to us, milady."

"Yeah, thanks!" Peri said with her happiest voice.

After Corrin left, the couple gave each other horrified looks.

"What the hell are we going to do?!" Laslow cried.

"Lie to Lady Charlotte 'cause we don't have a choice?" Peri answered. "I don't know, Laslow!"

"Perhaps we'll have to."

"What?! I don't wanna lie to her…Xander wouldn't have liked that."

"Xander's DEAD! HE CAN'T HELP US!"

Peri shrunk with widened eyes. She'd never seen Laslow so angry over anything— and that included when Xander had died. His outburst didn't make her angry or even sad; it just reaffirmed what an awful situation they were in. She simply looked at the floor, speechless.

Realizing what he had done, Laslow ran his hands over his face. He took a few moments to collect his emotions and thoughts properly before cupping his wife's face in his hands.

"I'm sorry…I'm just frustrated with everything," he whispered. "You didn't deserve that."

"I'm frustrated," Peri replied. "I understand, sweetie."

"It doesn't make it right, though. And also…I miss Lord Xander a lot. I wish he was still here… Not just because I miss him, but because then maybe— just maybe— Lady Charlotte wouldn't be like this. I often wonder how things would be if he was still alive."

"Me too."

The couple kissed before Laslow released his grip. Without saying another word, the two went to their room to spend some quality time with baby Soleil as a family. They still had worries over what exactly they would say to Charlotte the next time they saw her, but decided to not worry about it right now. A distraction was all that was necessary for just a little bit.


There you go! I hope you all enjoyed it. :)

Review Responses:

LittleMissEmblem: Aww, I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, Charlotte's definitely trying to make amends with lots of people. Of course she wouldn't confront the mob herself- that's why she has Peri, Laslow, and an army ready to serve at her beck & call! And yes, what Camilla & Elise did was bold, albeit a little bit of a bad idea. See, Charlotte DOES have some redeeming qualities! XD Oh God, I don't wanna know what image you had in mind...sounds nasty AF. XD

Please review, and don't forget to stay tuned for chapter 9! :D

- Elizabeth