Italics = Thought

I do not own Fire Emblem.

Cross published on AO3

Azura stared out over the pond in the Royal Gardens. It was, she admitted, her favourite place in the world, barring a certain someone's arms. Quiet and peaceful. She felt an entire world away from everyone's problems.

"E-Excuse me? Lady Azura?"

The blue haired Princess turned, and smiled warmly at the brunette at stood fidgeting behind her. "Mozu, good to see you. Is something the matter?"

The former farmgirl shook her head. "N-No. Lady Mikoto wants to talk."

Azura nodded, and gestured for the younger girl to follow her. Mozu had come from a farm that was attacked by what the Hoshidian's called 'Faceless'. She had been the only survivor, and had come into Azura's own service a little over a year ago.

She was also a secret keeper of Shigure's birth. Azura had on a number of occasions wanted to ask her to join in her and Corrin's grand scheme, but reasoned it would be better to wait, and ask Corrin about it.

She smiled again. "Lead on then."

When the pair arrived in the meeting chamber, Ryoma and Takumi were trying to calm Mikoto down. The Queen was distraught, tears cascading down her cheeks. Azura sighed. She could predict what would come next.

"Dare I ask?" She murmured.

"Your contact betrayed us. That's what happened." Takumi replied sharply. "As expected of Nohrian Scum."

Azura raised an eyebrow. "Why so quick to jump to betrayal, brother? My friend is a true enemy of Nohr, regardless of his heritage. Yes, he is Nohrian, why should it matter? If he brings Corrin home, I doubt you'll care."

"His name is-"Ryoma started to shoot back.

"-Corrin. My friend informs me he prefers Corrin."

"Your friend is the one who got Rinkah and Kaze-

Captured!

This fact alone stung Rinkah more than her actual wounds did. Her captors had allowed her men to run, although Kaze had been captured with her, on the insistence of the very boy they had come to rescue.

The Royals had arrived that their overnight stop, the estate of some minor noble or other, and she and Kaze had been locked in a guest room.

Kaze lay unconscious on the bed, and she was sat in one of the chairs, her hands in restraints in front of her.

How did I get roped into this? All I needed to say was no. But I just had to go and say yes. Genius idea Rinkah, simply inspired. Not!

The sound of the door unlocking snapped her out of her reverie. The dark haired cyclops of a Prince sauntered in, another man, presumably his servant judging by his clothing, at his side. The prince glanced over his shoulder to speak to the trio of guards behind himself and his servant. "Close the door behind us. We will knock thrice when we are ready to leave."

"Yes my Prince!" The guards stood at attention, and closed the door.

Corrin walked over to a spare chair, and sat down. "…..Your men have been allowed to leave, Elise has patched their injuries up. I'm afraid that you and Suzukaze will be accompanying us to the Capital."

"Why us?"

"You are the heirs to two of Hoshido's greatest allies. The Saizo family and the Flame Tribe. You will make excellent hostages. You'll be treated well, I assure you. If you're asking why just you two, I convinced Xander it would be easier and less bloody if we just brought the two most important would-be assailants."

Rinkah grunted in annoyance. "Why'd the Crown Prince send you? Why not the Butcher of Nohr?"

"Please do not call Camilla that. She really dislikes it. As for why Xander trusts me to do this…number one, I'm the one you wanted to take. Therefore, it is unlikely you'll harm me. And two, I'm his brother, and he always trusts family." Corrin kept an easy smile on his face. "Oh, and you are plainly aware that you owe me for your soldiers' lives, and, if you made the mistake of harming me, your employer would be angry, and that is if you manage to escape my siblings."

Corrin's smile grew wider and darker. "So all in all, I am perfectly safe."

"What do you want?"

Corrin's servant spoke up now. "We want you to play along with a….performance we're putting on…."

The guards opened the door, and allowed Corrin and Jakob to leave, promptly locking it after them.

"Make sure they do not escape, Gentlemen." Corrin advised them with a small smile.

"Do not fret, My Prince. Neither will escape on our watch."

"Very good. Good evening to you."

"Good evening, My Prince."

Jakob kept pace with his liege as the pair walked. "Will they play their part, My Prince?"

"Probably. She will no doubt be curious about it, in any case. All we need to do is play our part."

"You are aware of how you may be treated on arrival, yes?"

"I am aware. But it is a changeable part of the plan, myself being-

"Imprisoned?" Azura succeeded in keeping her anger down. "Over what could have been a mistake on the part of our men?"

"It's just temporary." Mikoto assured her. "Just until we can determine what went wrong. Please understand, this mission was of national importanc-"

"Rescuing the son you abandoned is hardly 'national importance'. It's fixing a mistake you never should have made!" Azura seethed.

"…You vanished for nearly a year! How are we meant to trust you if you refuse to tell us where you were or who you met!"

"I WAS MEETING WITH CORRIN!"

Mikoto stumbled back a few steps. "W-What?"

"My friend in Nohr? That's Corrin. He and I have been engineering his escape for years. All of my small trips? I was meeting Corrin."

It was enough of the truth to hook Mikoto in. Azura wasn't foolish enough to tell her everything, despite what The Plan called for. It was too risky. But letting her know the first part was probably okay.

"Why not tell me? Why endure all the accusations?"

"Would you have believed me if I came right out and said it? No. I had to wait until either Corrin was here, or the soldiers you sent to retrieve him were captured."

Azura narrowed her gaze. "It was also the perfect chance to see if you actually trust me. Dearest Aunt."

"How do you-"

"Know a fact only a Nohrian could know? Hah! Do you honestly think Corrin and I merely planned? We talked about anything and everything. Including the fact he isn't Sumeragi's son."

Mikoto could only watch as Azura started to walk away.

"Which begs the question, does it not? Just who is his father?"