Happy birthday to me! Here's a new chapter to celebrate.

Leo

Castle Shirasagi was like a maze. Every corridor seemed identical, and the entire building was confusingly laid out. It wasn't like he could ask for directions; every servant seemed scared to death just being near him, and anybody above their station were intent on keeping their pride by not associating with a Nohrian Royal. Leo was no fool; he understood perfectly well the reputation Nohr carried in Hoshido.

Now, where in blazes was Elise's room? He was supposed to wake her up, but that seemed unlikely when he couldn't figure out how to navigate around this damn—

Leo's thoughts were whacked out of focus as he ran right into someone, grunting in pain as their foreheads collided. He stumbled back, trying to keep himself balanced. "Great, another addition to my headache…" Leo grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

"You wanna say that again? I'll give you an even stronger headache if you don't shut it." The girl in front of him threatened. That caught Leo's attention. Not only was she talking to him, which was a first, but she was threatening him. He finally really looked at the girl for the first time. "Oh, shit." Her eyes widened as she herself got a good look at Leo. "You're one of those Nohrian Royals."

"And you are?" Leo asked, giving her a harsh glare. It seemed to snap her out of her shock, and she sent a glare of her own right back at him.

"I'm hurt you don't know who I am. I was sure daddy dearest would tell you and your siblings all about the girl he left for dead after murdering her father. Maybe over dinner? Ooh, or perhaps as a bedtime story." It was like needles were striking Leo with every word she spoke. The sheer venom in her words told him that she wasn't lying. The girl in front of him was none other than Princess Corrin.

"Ah, Princess Corrin. A pleasure to meet you at last." Leo tried to keep his composure as he greeted himself. A diplomatic mission would not work if he couldn't get the most important voice in Shirasagi at the time on his side.

"Cut the shit." Corrin said dismissively. It was startling to hear a princess speak so vulgarly and callously, but if the rumors of her upbringing were true, it was only natural. "What do you want? You look like a lost dog."

Leo cleared his throat, giving himself a moment to respond. "Ah, so you noticed my current predicament. I must admit, Castle Shirasagi is quite the labyrinth. Perhaps you know where the rooms my siblings are in are located? I'm supposed to be making sure my sister Elise is awake."

"…Elise, you say?" An unsettling grin formed on Corrin's lips. "Alright, I'll take you there. Follow me." She turned around and began walking down the hallway. Despite her strange response, Leo doubted he had any better options than to hope she was taking him where he needed to go. After a few minutes, the two arrived at the entrance to what Leo presumed was Elise's room. "Well? She should be in there."

Leo walked past Corrin and knocked on Elise's door. "Huh? Camilla, is that you?" Elise called out from inside. He breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to know that he wasn't being tricked by Corrin. A few seconds later, the door slid open, Elise standing behind it and rubbing her eyes, still in a nightgown with her hair undone. A rare look for her. "Oh, hey Leo. What's…" Her gaze drifted over to Corrin. "…up…" Before Leo could say anything, she slammed the door shut.

Elise

This could not be happening. There was no way that she just saw Corrin standing next to her brother. "Elise? What's the matter?" Leo called out from the other side of the door. Elise took a deep breath, opening the door just a crack to peer out. The two pairs of eyes locked right onto her. She slammed it back shut, feeling her heart beat fast and hard. That was Corrin, no doubt about it. What in the world was she doing here!?

A loud guffaw could be heard from the other side of the door. It definitely didn't belong to Leo. "Oh man, the look on her face! Priceless!" Elise felt heat rising in her cheeks as a blush formed. "Oh, right. We've met before. Forgot to mention that."

"Elise failed to mention meeting the lost Princess of Hoshido." As Leo said that, Elise felt like she was going to keel over and die then and there. She was the lost princess that Elise had heard about. It was impossible. She opened the door one more time.

"Y-you'd better start explaining Corrin, and fast!" Elise shouted with all of the strength and intimidation she could muster in her embarrassed state.

Mozu

Niles laid out a sheet of parchment on the ground in Corrin's room, allowing Rinkah and Mozu to look over it. "Study it, memorize it. Tonight we're gonna act on that memory." Niles instructed. It was a floor plan of Castle Shirasagi, detailing the layouts and connecting elements of each part of the main building. Mozu's eyes darted across the parchment, noticing how it seemed to be rather hastily scrawled out.

"You made this, Niles?" Mozu asked in amazement. Niles nodded almost dismissively, not even lifting his head up to look at her, too busy scanning it over. "That's amazing! I never could have made something like this…"

"I nearly got caught too many times to count when I was transcribing, so I'm glad you think that." Niles gruffly remarked. "Lemme know if anything seems inaccurate. We gotta make as much go right as we can. The less complications, the better."

Mozu couldn't think of anything in the floor plan that seemed wrong, at least to her knowledge. As she kept looking over it and the route that Niles had drawn out, she noticed one key point that sent her anxiety through the roof. "Um…Niles? It says here that we have to jump off a roof. That's…not true, right?"

"No, it's not. We actually rappel off a roof." Niles nonchalantly answered, much to Mozu's horror. She noticed a grin form on his face. "What's wrong? Got butterflies in your stomach? I hope you know it's too late to back out from this."

"Who said anything about backing out!?" Mozu fired back. She refused to waste the chance that Corrin had given her. Even if it was going to be fraught with danger, even if what she was doing may not necessarily have been the right thing, she had to do it.

Niles finally looked up at Mozu, staring her in the eyes as his grin turned into a full-fledged smile. "Now that's the spirit. Keep that up and maybe even Rinkah will warm up to you." The silent girl gave an annoyed grumble in response. Mozu couldn't help but giggle. Even if she was doing this for Corrin, and to ensure her own survival, it helped that Niles and Rinkah were nice people.

Corrin

"Corrin, I…" Elise stared at the ground, nervously running her hands through her undone hair. "Gosh, I never realized." Corrin had filled Elise and Leo in on the details of her livelihood as a thief, and how she had wound up on the streets in the first place. She only realized after she was done, when she looked at Elise and saw the overflowing guilt in the girl's eyes, that she had been too callous.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's not your fault I got dealt a shitty hand. It's your scumbag dad's fault." Corrin said with a shrug of her shoulders. Elise only looked more distraught. Corrin cursed herself mentally as she realized that Elise actually respected her father. And if Leo's annoyed expression was anything to go by, he did too.

"Corrin? Do you still hate me? You know, for lying to you?" Elise asked, taking Corrin and Leo by surprise. Corrin stopped to ponder the question. In truth, she hadn't given it much thought, since everything else had been eating up her time. In the moment, when she saw Elise, the simple flower girl who she regarded as a little sister of sorts wearing the garb of Nohrian nobility, she was enraged. But after all that time, after everything she herself had gone through, she found it hard to summon those feelings again.

"No. I don't think I do." Corrin answered, much to Elise's relief. Leo seemed to also be glad to hear that Corrin held no ill will towards the Nohrian Princess. "Though I'm disappointed that I won't get to see you in your flower girl outfit. It was cute." Corrin winked, stretching her arms out. "Well, that was a fun talk. I need to go find my older brother; I was supposed to talk to him an hour ago." She got up and casually left Elise's room, briefly glancing back at the two royals and basking in their surprised faces.

"Alright Ryoma, where are you…" Corrin muttered to herself, wandering the castle halls. If she remembered correctly, he was in the training grounds at this time of day. Or was he supposed to be in his room? She rubbed her head, wracking her brain in an attempt to remember where he told her to find him. Of course, this was all under the assumption that he would still be there an hour after the fact.

It was incredibly disappointing for Corrin, knowing that she wouldn't be able to take part in the heist. Her presence at the gala was mandatory, and even if she skipped it regardless (a tempting thought), she'd put the others at more risk of being discovered. She had to play the part of princess, just for one more night. Once the gala was over, she would escape the castle. She'd finally be rid of it all.

Corrin was so busy thinking about the heist that she managed to bump into another person. Their heads collided and Corrin cried out in pain, falling down. "Damnit! I swear, if I run into one more person I'm gonna scream!"

"My sincerest apologies! Here, let me help you up." Corrin looked up at the man she had bumped into. He must've been around her age, judging by his appearance. His amber eyes shone brilliantly, complimenting his short blonde hair. His armor, a classic Nohrian black, had purple cloth lining it, a color that complimented it well. He held out a hand to her.

"Thanks." Corrin said, though she didn't accept his hand, instead getting up on her own. "Are you the other Nohrian prince? Xander, was it? You certainly look similar to Leo."

The man seemed shocked at the mere idea, his eyes widening. "Oh, no! Though I'm flattered you would compare me to Lord Xander. No, I'm merely one of his retainers." He gave a brief bow. "Siegbert. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss…"

"Corrin."

"Oh, my! You're the Princess of Hoshido that's been attracting so much attention. I hardly recognized you." Siegbert paused, seemingly regretful of his choice of words.

"Hardly recognized me?" Corrin asked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you had a reference point to go off of."

"Ah, no! I mean to say that you're, ah…" Siegbert paused, likely trying to think of the correct words to say. Corrin was very interested in what his response would be, considering it would end up leading to her either begrudgingly accepting his answer or punching him in the face. She could get away with that, right? "You're just more beautiful than the descriptions stated."

Siegbert regretted saying that. That was made evident when his face turned red, his mouth opening slightly as he let out a few embarrassed breaths. Corrin smiled. "Oh, is that so? I should find whoever wrote my description and give them a piece of my mind. Thank you for the compliment, though." Siegbert only grew more flustered, trying his best to look presentable in spite of the fact. It was adorable. "Well, if that's all, I'll just leave."

"Wait!" Siegbert stammered out. "There is…something else I must say." The change in Siegbert's tone was noticeable. The embarrassment had vanished, replace with a solemn air to him that made Corrin a tad bit nervous. "You…" He stopped. "Never mind. It was nothing." With that, he briskly walked past her.

"Hey, wait!" Corrin turned around, calling after him, but he kept walking. She debated pursuing him, but eventually decided against it. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the Nohrian. He seemed like one of those formal types who had no clue how to function outside of said formality. At the same time, that look in his eyes when he was about to say something to her…she couldn't quite pin down what it reminded her of.

Kagero

"Saizo."

"Kaze." The two brothers regarded eachother with a lack of emotion, facing eachother in one of the castle gardens. Kagero watched silently, not wishing to interrupt their reunion. After a few more seconds of silence, Kaze approached his brother, wrapping his arms around him. The embrace lacked tears or substantial time to it, but it was enough to express any emotion he needed it to.

"I've returned." Kaze stated. Kagero almost found it amusing how formal the two brothers were, even in a moment as emotional as this one. On the other hand, it also frustrated her how they seemed so inept at expression emotions that weren't negative.

"Why was it that the letter sent by the Nohrian Royal Family contained your name encoded within?" Kagero asked, seeing that the emotion was subsiding and recognizing that information was needed. Kaze explained the situation behind his being stranded in Nohr, and how he was granted mercy by Princess Elise and Prince Leo.

"You're certain it wasn't just a trap, designed to gain some sort of upper hand over Hoshido?" Saizo asked, as cautious as ever. Kaze shook his head. "Very well. I trust your judgement on this." The red-haired ninja paused, closing his eye. "It's…good to see you again, Kaze. If you had perished in Nohr, I'm not sure how I would have taken the news."

"It was not my time to die, Saizo. I'll know when that time comes. Until then, I'll keep fighting for Hoshido." Kaze explained. Saizo responded with a simple nod. The three ninjas parted ways. None of them needed to express any more emotion. They all knew eachother well enough to understand what they were feeling.

Hans

Xander's retainer was beginning to piss Hans off. The girl with the multi-colored hair seemed intent on acting like a child as often as possible, no matter ill-suited for the situation her behavior was. "Why can't we kill them now!?" She'd whine. "Can't I just stab somebody already!?" She'd groan. If she didn't stop, Hans wasn't sure if he'd be able to hold himself back from slitting her throat to shut her up.

"Shut it, for five minutes!" Hans exclaimed to the currently moping Peri, who was expressing her frustration after he prevented her from attacking a Hoshidan servant. "You are fully aware of why we're here. You know your orders, you aren't an idiot. Even if you do act like one. So why, oh why, are you so intent on mucking everything up!?"

"Because, it's so boring here!" Peri whined, looking up at the ceiling. "Everything here is all peaceful and bright and happy and I just hate it! I hate it I hate it I hate it!" Hans definitely felt like he was a few seconds away from knocking the girl senseless.

"You have hours until all the boredom goes away. Be patient or I'll shut you up for good." Hans threatened. Peri's childlike anger began to fade.

"Be careful what you say, Hans. Garon only needs one of us to kill all those people. I'm not the only one who's expendable." Hans froze as Peri flashed a sadistic grin. "I'm just kidding, Hans! As long as you were 'just kidding' too. You were only kidding, right?"

"…Right." Hans grumbled. Damn this crazy girl. He'd be the death of her, probably literally.