The capital city of Umaeda seemed so lively, for it to merely be in the afternoon.

As the cart travelled through the streets, she could see the villagers treating to their goods and to each other. Kids chased each other through the roads at the chagrin of their watchful mothers. People haggled for their prices and the merchants would have to haggle back in order for both of them to earn a good deal. They were caught up in their little worlds that none of them seemed to notice the cart holding a Nohrian princess passing them by, staring at them as if they were subjects on display.

Is this how the outside world is like…?

When she had went to Windmire, everyone had already known that she was a princess, that she was of the upmost importance. As a result, they had bowed to her, treated her with the respect that those of royalty deserve. But without that, when she's on the street as if she was just a normal commoner, there is little to no room to crawl through. The cart was always inches away from a walking person, swaying away from it so that they don't accidentally bump into it. It was the biggest crowd of people that she had ever seen in her life.

And she couldn't stop staring at them.

Her fortress was always empty. Even with the few servants that were there and kept her company, they were not enough to crowd the hallways. It was almost as if she was in her own little world, away from humanity. The silence was always deafening, even when there were people. It became stilling, unsettling, to the point where even her siblings couldn't fill in the silence. Camilla's humming became of the few things that could calm her down to sleep.

Now that's she's in this city, filled with noise and banter and squeezing and debates, it was if someone had forced this crowd of people into one hallway and told everyone to get along. Silence was just something that didn't exist in this world, in this city. Maybe it's because of the sun, but everyone seems so upbeat and cheerful while still yelling at each other over…something.

"Never considered you a people watcher."

"Eh?" She turned her head. Rinkah had addressed her.

"You were staring at everyone so intently. Is Umaeda that fascinating to you?"

…yeah, I guess…" She turned back to the crowd. "I've…never seen so many people crowded together…"

"No?" That had obtained Kaze's attention. "Not even in…"

"Hold your breath, ninja." Rinkah grinned. "The castle approaches."

/=+=/

Castle Shirasagi seemed to be a mountain in itself, reaching so high above her head that it looked almost fake. But judging from all the hikoba that were flying around it, then this must be a real place. She couldn't help but wonder if Shirasagi is just as large as Krakenberg.

Rinkah and Kaze led the way, guiding her through the gates. Each time she passed a group of soldiers, they would always be looking at her funny. Some of them whispered in curiosity, that there wasn't a scheduled visitor today. Despite that, none of them tried to stop her. Instead, they seemed to notice Kaze before backing down on their curiosity. Perhaps he really is that important…

They walked in and through some winding hallways. The architecture was so much different from Krakenberg. It was brighter, lighter, with windows that allowed the sun to stream down onto the wooden floors. The roof seemed to be even higher than back then, almost as if it itself seemed to be reaching toward the heavens. She was about to ask why that was when she saw a hikoba fly over her head, heading forward at great speeds.

Oh, it's to let the fliers come in and out as they wish. Come to think of it, Krakenberg's roof seems to be high enough to let wyverns fly through them.

What had surprised her the most was how minimalistic the design was. Krakenberg was darker in tone, but because of that the walls were decorated in ornate designs. They were carved in, or painted in, no detail left untouched, so that one could spend hours staring into them and garner meaning from them. Heck, she spent entire years memorizing the pattern in her own bedroom. And yet here…the walls were bare. One simple color, stretching vibrantly across entire hallways, with the exception of flags bearing the crest of the Royal Family of Hoshido.

Oh wait, I'm probably going to go see them.

Instantly, the chills that she thought that she had stopped began to travel down her spine once again. She had only heard of them through hearsay, and even then Xander and Camilla told her that there was no way that she was going to meet with them. What was going to happen to her? At worst, she was going to be executed for breaking the truce between the two kingdoms. At best, her assumptions are going to be true and…

No wait, that's still the worst case scenario. The best thing that could happen is that they let her go home with no penalties.

It was then that she felt the sun hit on her, and she realized that she was inside of the throne room. Rinkah lifted her hand up, keeping Elizabeth standing at the door, while Kaze entered the room. At the far end of the room stood three people, staring at the throne before them and supposedly talking amongst themselves. As Kaze walked in, the hikoba from before flew over her head and landed next to them, garnering the attention of the youngest one, a girl with pink hair and a white robe. She called for the others to notice her, and soon they were greeting the flier, another girl with short red hair and a uniform similar to the fliers that she saw while climbing the mountain.

This is the royal family…of Hoshido. This is how close she was to them.

All of them were staring at her now, eyes seemingly bearing straight into her soul. All she could do was shiver in response. She hadn't had this many eyes look back upon her since the incident with King Garon back in Castle Krakenberg. They weren't judging her, though. Instead, they were looking at her with anticipation. Joy. Elation. She could tell from their eyes that it was as if this was a reunion. This was something that they wanted their entire lives.

"Ryoma-sama." Kaze knelt down at the feet of the only man in the room. "I have brought her, just as you wished."

"Thank you, Kaze." The man answered, turning his head to her. "Welcome."

"…welcome…" Elizabeth couldn't help but blink in confusion. "I, uh…"

Why in the world were all of them just standing there? Why were they all smiling at her? Wasn't she supposed to be the enemy? A Nohrian princess, who is at war with this kingdom? They had to have known that. These reactions were the exact opposite of what she had expected the Hoshidans to have done to her. The only way that this could have made sense is if…is if Kaze was right. That these people in front of her were her real siblings, and she was supposed to be here this entire time. But still…there was no way that could be right…

"So…what are you going to do with me?" She finally brought herself to state out loud. "Since I had led the forces that invaded your kingdom, there must be some type of punishment for me…"

She noticed that the group around her looked at her with surprised eyes. It looked as if they didn't even consider that possibility at all. Elizabeth notices this, and she becomes surprised as well. Yes, this has to mean that Kaze was right. Family does not hurt family, after all. Xander taught her that much. And sane people would follow that rule as well. These people have to be her family. But at the same time…she can't bring herself to accept this. None of them look anything like her. But then again, Xander and the other did not look like her either. She rubbed her forehead in confusion. What could even be believed?

Footsteps came up from behind her, and she turned her head to see another figure coming into the room. She was wearing a long, formal Hoshidan dress, accenting her long, slick black hair that had been held up with a headdress. When she had walked in, everyone else the room quickly turned their heads down in respect. Everyone except Elizabeth, who stood transfixed at her appearance. This had to be the queen of Hoshido, known as Queen Mikoto. Everyone in Nohr knew of her name. But that wasn't why she was shocked.

"…Michiko? Is that…really you?"

She had never seen Queen Mikoto in person before, any knowledge of her described by anyone else who seemed to know who she was. But as she saw how she walked, how she held herself together as if she was scared that anything that she could say would break them, how her gaze faltered when making eye contact with Elizabeth, even how she clenched her hands as if to hold herself back…

"Oh, my daughter…you have come back to us!"

It was as if she was looking at a mirror. Even the way that the queen hugged her: tightly, with no regard with what others would think or even the person who's hugging her, felt strangely like how others had described her hugging tendencies. Her eyes widened as it finally sank in. Yes, they had to have been telling the truth. This has to be her family. This had to be her blood brothers and sisters.

And this was…

"…what…what's happening…?"

/=+=/

It had taken a few minutes, but the queen had finally released her grip on Elizabeth. After a few minutes of wiping away tears, she backed up and tried to get a good look of her. She took advantage of it to take a good look at Queen Mikoto. Her dress looked loose and relaxing, as if one could run and fight with it, while still looking good and formal. Nohr never had anything like that. Armor and formal attire were two completely different things. If anything, the large man in red armor reminded her the most of Nohr…and before she knew it, her gaze had moved to him, who seemed to be mostly amused by the look on her face.

"I know that you have many questions that you want to ask." He stated. "But first, we should partake in formal introductions."

"…oh. Right." She answered. "Well, my name is…" She paused. Should she even introduce herself? They seem to know her very well. But…it couldn't hurt to try. "My name is Elizabeth."

"Is that the name that Nohr gave you?" The taller redhead folded her arms unapprovingly. "How sickening, ripping out every part of your Hoshidan identity!"

"Hinoka, calm yourself. She is here now. We have no need for lashing out." The man stated, before turning back to her. "You might have lived your life under the name Elizabeth. But the truth is that you are indeed Hoshidan like us, and that your real name is Michiko."

"Yes…Michiko." Mikoto placed a hand on her chest. "That is the name that I had given you. Do you…remember it?"

"…no, I don't." She answered, looking down. "To tell you the truth, I…I don't remember much about my childhood, past whatever I had in Nohr."

That statement alone made the woman they called Hinoka look even angrier. But she seemed to keep her cool, as she didn't look like she was going to lash out again like the last time. Indeed, it seems as if the only one who seemed to be keeping their composure is the man in the red armor and the younger redhead hiding behind the other two. But even so, the name 'Michiko' hovered deep within her mind. She didn't seem to recall any memories with it, but it still sounded…right.

"Well, let's continue with introductions. That one over there is your mother and the queen of Hoshido, Queen Mikoto." The man in red led the introductions. He seemed to be really good at this. "I am the eldest son and the heir apparent of Hoshido, Ryoma. The one with the hikoba is Hinoka, your eldest sister. And the one behind her is Sakura, the youngest of us all. She was born after you were taken from us."

"…nice to meet you all." Again. She was going to say again, but it felt as if something was in her throat, preventing her from saying it out loud. From the looks on their faces, it just confirmed that she remembered nothing. "But…how was I taken from here…?"

"You weren't the only one that Garon took…" Hinoka stated, fists fully tightening. "He took the life of father as well, under the pretense of 'peace talks' in Cheve. And then he took you away during the chaos! We had thought you dead for years!"

"Hinoka, it's okay. She has returned to us." The man named Ryoma turned back to her. "After we learned that you were alive, we tried as much as we could to bring you back to your homeland. But we never did…until now."

"…Garon…"

"That man can no longer hurt you. You are safe in Hoshido." Ryoma smiled. "We don't expect you to remember everything that we are telling you. But know that this is the truth."

"…the truth…" Elizabeth rubbed the back of her head, the amount of information given to her swirling in her head. "I…uh…I need a moment."

"Of course. Take as much time as you need."

Elizabeth nodded a bit before walking out of the throne room, rubbing her forehead and trying to figure out what exactly is happening. Everything that they had told her seemed to make sense. No one back in Nohr knew who her mother was, or at least seemed to openly release that information. The lack of memories of her early childhood could easily be explained by her being a Hoshidan princess. And the fact that she had been kept in that fortress for so long, never allowed a single moment outside those empty walls…perhaps Garon was afraid of her finding out the truth about her past? Yes, every hole in her life could easily be explained by this. And yet, she still couldn't consider them family. Ryoma, Hinoka, Queen Mikoto…they said that she was their family. Everything pointed to them being her family, and yet, she can't find it in her to make such attachments. Shouldn't the blood of family be so tight that it can keep the bonds of love even after so many years apart? Why does she seem so apathetic about them, even though they had waited for years for her to return?

Her head and heart were on two separate ends of the argument, not allowing themselves to cross over and make an agreement. Part of her wishes to go back to Nohr, to her family, and explain everything about what she had been told. That maybe, since she was a Hoshidan princess, that it could be the beginning of a ceasefire and a full peace treaty between the two nations. And yet that other part of her wanted to stay in Hoshido. She wanted to stay with these people, the ones calling themselves her real family, explore the boundaries of this kingdom since she had been denied the ability to do so back in Nohr. The world had just opened up to her, and choosing to go back to the place that kept her imprisoned didn't sit well with her.

However, out of all of this confusion, there was only one thing that she was definitely sure of.

"…Michiko…"

She liked that name. It was much better than Elizabeth.