Okay, I really need to make these Chapters shorter. I don't have much to say about this particular one which is good as it allows you to just get on with reading it! If you've read the last two Chapters and worked out what I'm doing then you should be able to guess who this Chapter focuses predominantly on. I hope you enjoy.

*Spoilers Warning* Definite spoilers about the Avatar's actual relation to the Hoshidan royal family (hopefully people will know what that means and if they don't then that probably means they shouldn't read on). Also, spoilers about certain game events.

*I own nothing to do with 'Fire Emblem [Fates]', its locations, characters etc.*

Rated T

Chapter Ten: A Prince's Duty

"Can you believe that it's almost been a year since the events in Cheve?" A female servant murmured.

"I know-"- Another young woman sighed. - "It's still all so surreal; I can hardly wrap my head around how tragic of a day it was and Princess Corrin still hasn't been found…"

The two castle servants strolled off as the young boy remained hidden behind a wall, trying his very best to go unnoticed as he snooped in on their conversation. So…they were still on about his 'sister', huh?

Nearly a year on from her being taken from them by the king of Nohr, the people of Hoshido still focused the majority of their time and attention to Corrin either through talking about her, thinking about her or trying to aid with the attempts to get her back even though they had all ended in vain thus far.

It made him feel sick if he thought about it for too long. Why did they all still care so much about her? She was either already dead, still alive but suffering or still alive and being brainwashed by the Nohrians. Regardless, she was either never coming back or-if she did- then she wouldn't be the same person that she was before she was taken. Surely they should focus on the remaining members of the Hoshidan royal family that still remained rather than on one that was no longer there?

But…even those remaining royals themselves dedicated all of their efforts and time to Corrin. Ryoma was in charge of the rescue efforts and was working alongside Yukimura to work out their next move, Hinoka spent all of her time practising to become a Sky Knight in the hopes of using those skills to bring her back from Nohr and both of them were teaching a two-year-old Sakura all about the sister that was taken from them.

Meanwhile, Takumi was left in her shadow all because unlike the rest of Hoshido, he wasn't as besotted with Corrin or even slightly keen with the idea of getting her back. He'd recently turned four and on his birthday, he'd been expected to make the same wish that both Ryoma and Hinoka had vowed to make on their birthdays but he'd point blank refused to do so; he was a person in his own right and he shouldn't have to base all of his life choices around someone who wasn't there to witness the consequences of them! Also, it was her fault that Takumi was no longer the same younger brother who used to worship the ground that she walked on. She had broken her promise to him, it'd be hypocritical of him to break the promise that he'd made to her in return:

"…I'll never forgive you if you don't come back, though…"

He was doing a very good job of keeping to his word much to the annoyance of Hinoka (who still didn't know about his reasons for not being thrilled with the prospect of Corrin returning to Hoshido one day) and Ryoma (who felt more guilty than anything else but still couldn't understand why he was so determined to bear a grudge against his sister despite knowing of their last conversation before Corrin had set out to Cheve).

Takumi sighed and started to walk down the corridor towards the training hall which was currently occupied by Ryoma and his retainer, Saizo. After the events in Cheve, Saizo's twin brother, Kaze, hadn't been seen around Hoshido in the months since however, this didn't seem to bother Saizo all that much- maybe he knew of his brother's whereabouts? Not like it was Takumi's place to question him about it.

"We will be leaving at noon tomorrow, best be prepared, Saizo."

"Yes, my lord, I will be ready." Saizo replied before disappearing into thin air, Takumi couldn't understand how ninja did that, it was a little eerie if he was being honest with himself.

Ryoma turned to face his brother with a smile, "Yes, Takumi, how may I help you?"

Takumi went to the storeroom where the practise weapons were kept, pretending that he was actually planning to do some training rather than admit that he was just snooping around the castle because he was bored. "Where are you going tomorrow?"

Ryoma's expression turned serious in an instant as he replied, "We've got a tipoff about a potential location for Corrin, nothing concrete but it's best to check it out anyway. If it turns out to be correct then I'll be back in a few days and if it turns out to be false? Well…I should be back by the time the sun sets tomorrow."

Takumi made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat as he turned to his elder brother, "Why don't you just give up already?! This is completely pointless! Our people are constantly being taken by Nohr or losing their lives and freedom at the hands of those monsters and yet we don't go out of our way to do anything to help them."

Ryoma closed his eyes. "If an opportunity to help them presented itself then of course I would act on it immediately just as I am doing now however, the lack of concern for your own sister is disconcerting to say the least." He then proceeded to pick up his practise sword without saying another word.

Takumi just watched his brother for a little while as he mulled over his words. Not only did Takumi have to contend with living in the shadow of his sister but he also had cope with living in his brother's as well! To the people of Hoshido, Ryoma was perfect in every sense of the word; kind, gentle but firm and proud. He was able to lead his people, protect his family and solve almost any problem that came his way.

Meanwhile, I'm treated like the runt of the litter. Takumi thought to himself bitterly. I'll never be able to compete with him.

"Do you really want her to come back? What if she isn't the same sister you know and love?" Takumi asked whilst staring at the wall.

The sounds of a sword slicing through the air halted and all was silent for a moment. "Well…I'm not the same brother that I once was. I've learned from my mistakes and grown and changed as a person but that doesn't mean that Corrin won't still know and love me. If anything, I'd be more worried if she hadn't changed in the time we've been apart. I just-I just wish that I could be there to see her grow up."

Pain flitted across his elder brother's features and Takumi regretted asking him about it. Yes…his brother was seen as this perfect being but Takumi was one of the few people that got to see behind that façade; he got to see his brother's pain, he knew of his regrets and even if Takumi wasn't that bothered about Corrin, that didn't change the fact that her kidnap had had an effect on Ryoma, Hinoka and their mother- Mikoto. Those three would do anything- give up anything- to be reunited with her and nothing Takumi ever said or did would change that.

He busied himself by picking up a bow and arrow. Recently his mother had been helping to teach him how to use one as he'd taken a liking to the feel of one however, Ryoma was still helping to teach him how to wield a sword as well. At the moment, he wasn't really dedicated to either weapon type, though, and was just dabbling in both.

"Listen, Takumi, I know that you're still angry at Corrin for breaking her promise to you but…it really couldn't be helped. Your trust has been battered and bruised but that's no reason to allow yourself to become so bitter. It won't benefit you in the long run."

Takumi's eyes narrowed on the target in front of him before he fired the arrow, "Maybe not but…it could be argued that it's better to be safe than sorry." He let another arrow loose and it hit the target dead centre. He moved the bow away so he could admire his handiwork before turning to gauge Ryoma's reaction.

Ryoma looked disappointed with his brother and he shook his head before storming off without saying another word. Did he do that because he despaired over Takumi's apparent lack of forgiveness for Corrin? Why didn't he even take a moment to comment on his skill with a bow and arrow?

Of course, everyone praised Ryoma's skill all of the time and ignored his. He groaned in frustration; was it truly his fate to forever live in the shadow of all his elder siblings and not just Corrin's? He looked around himself feeling incredibly alone and underappreciated and bowed his head. "I'll never be good enough, will I?" He sighed as a singular tear fell down his cheek.

"Look, they're back!" Sakura shouted excitedly as she pointed at figures approaching the castle, the sun setting behind them whilst she tugging at Takumi's sleeve all the while.

"It means the tipoff was false then."- He observed- "Looks like Hinoka and Ryoma are going to be in a foul mood again. Best be prepared, sis."

"Huh?" The little girl looked confused by his words before she bounded off as soon as she saw Ryoma approach in order to welcome him home. He wasn't the one leading the troops but was actually in the centre, he was still too young to lead the troops himself for the most part but often still accompanied them on missions such as this especially ones that were supposed to help to bring Corrin back.

She walked giddily over to him and he picked her up and hugged her tightly. Hinoka was flying nearby and she swooped down to join them, from this distance, Takumi couldn't hear what was being said but he didn't particularly care. He was just about to turn around to go back inside of the castle when he heard Ryoma call his name.

"What is it?" He asked his brother, arms folded across his chest as Ryoma ran up to him, Sakura was now in Hinoka's arms as she stood next to her Pegasus in order to allow the young girl to stroke its wing.

"As you know, three days from now it'll be exactly one year since Corrin was taken from us."

"Yeah…what of it?"

"Like every time we set off out following a new potential lead to Corrin, we were expecting to bring her back today but- as you can probably tell- that hasn't happened. So, in three days, the ceremony to mark that day in Cheve, her kidnap and the death of our Father will go ahead as planned."- His lips pulled into a tight line.

Takumi was confused; what did any of this have to do with him? "I don't quite understand what you're getting at."

Ryoma placed a hand on the young boy's back and turned him to face the returning troops. "Everyone you see here went out there with the same hope that both myself and Hinoka had; to bring Corrin home and to turn what is going to be a day of grief into one of hope for the future; into one of forgiveness and moving forward.

"Instead, on that day all we can offer our people is a chance to remember and to reflect on the past year with no way to bring an end to their suffering. Hoshido will never be a truly happy place until Corrin is returned to us."

Takumi looked away from the soldiers, "Yeah, I'm sure that these proud and brave people are so upset about the loss of one princess, their lives are practically unbearable without her, I'm sure." Takumi sneered before trying to walk away.

Ryoma shook his head and held firmly onto the boy, "It isn't about them missing her, that isn't causing their pain! It's about knowing that we lost our King and that Hoshido failed to protect one of their own from a fate worse than death, they failed- we failed- to protect her from Nohr's King. It's about constantly trying to right our mistakes and constantly having to go through failure after failure with no end in sight. Their suffering and their grief is caused by knowing that with every passing day and with every failed attempt to bring Corrin home, Nohr robs us of our dignity even more."

Takumi's eyes widened as he looked at the troops again. He saw the way their shoulders sagged, the tired bags under their eyes and the way their lips were all pulled down into frowns. The only thing they lacked was the slight shadow cast over their expressions that was cast over that of both Ryoma's and Hinoka's; that shadow contained all of their sadness, their loss and hardships and their agony at not having been able to return their sister to them and to Hoshido.

Just then, Takumi felt a slight pressure against his left hand and he looked down to see that Ryoma had placed something in his palm. It was a rag doll. A rag doll that Takumi knew oh so well…

"I don't want Corrin to ever come back! I'll never forgive her for what she did. She shouldn't have gone out there, she shouldn't have told me that she would be coming back for that stupid doll and you should never have made her feel oh-so-protected and safe because then she might not have thrown caution to the wind."

…It was the same doll that he'd been referring to, the one that Corrin gave to him as reassurance that she would be coming back however; this doll was slightly crumpled and covered in dirt. It used to smile up at whoever was holding it but now it almost looked as if it was frowning, like it knew that its owner had long since left it behind.

Hinoka and Sakura both came over to join their brothers then and Hinoka placed a reassuring hand on Ryoma's shoulder whilst Sakura looked at the doll in Takumi's hand.

"Why do you still have this?" Takumi looked into Ryoma's eyes questioningly.

"Because I was waiting for the right time to give it back to you. I was waiting for the day that I could finally make you understand what it means to not have Corrin with us here in Hoshido. Even if you can't find it in yourself to forgive her or to trust her or to even love her; even if you can't find a personal motive to want to bring Corrin home, as a prince, it is your duty to your kingdom to bring her back at all costs so that one day, you can erase the darkness that currently looms over our people every moment of every day."

Takumi looked at the doll in his hand. Ryoma is right- he thought to himself- even if it's not what I want, it's what the people want and as a prince of Hoshido, I have a responsibility to fulfil their wishes regardless of whether or not I share it with them.

Yet again, the young boy began to cry. "Corrin." He whispered. He looked at his siblings and saw them all smiling through their own tears as they began to fall. "Father, I-I'm so sorry! All this time, I've been failing as a prince of Hoshido; I've been failing my Father and Corrin and- of course- all of you. I hope you can all forgive me."

He threw his arms around all of his siblings. He didn't know where this left his relationship with his missing sister, he was still incredibly angry with her and the betrayal still stung. He probably wouldn't be able to work out the state of his relationship with her until he saw her again and he would do-one day- because it was his duty to bring her back no matter what state she would be brought back in. Hoshido and its people couldn't find closure and move forward until they knew the truth about the fate of their missing princess.

"Come on, Takumi, we're going to be late!" Sakura dragged him by his sleeve as they ran towards the plaza, panting and gasping as she went.

"Sakura, calm down, we'll make it, don't panic." He laughed as the small girl showed a surprising amount of strength as they rushed through the streets of Hoshido.

Suddenly, they both came to an abrupt stop as Sakura bounded into their mother; she turned around to greet the two siblings as she released Hinoka's shoulders.

"Aah…careful, now, you might have hurt yourself." She smiled warmly at Sakura.

"No, I'm fine, Mummy."

"Haha, that's good to hear and what about you Takumi?" Hinoka asked, smiling slightly as well.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm all right as well, could've done without all of the pointless running, though by the looks of things, you haven't even started."

"Hmm…"- Hinoka murmured before turning to Mikoto. - "Mother, we're about to begin, we should meet up with Ryoma."

"Of course, my child." Mikoto replied.

The two had finally managed to see eye to eye over the last few months. After having a particular nasty spat, Hinoka had finally felt guilty enough about her treatment of Mikoto to try to make an effort to get along better with the woman and they quickly grew to love each other as a mother and daughter should.

Hinoka would always love and remember Ikona but so much had already tried-and succeeded with -tearing their family apart and so Hinoka realised that in order to preserve some sense of stability within their broken unit, she had to embrace and accept Mikoto and the role she way trying to fulfil as their mother and as Hoshido's queen.

As they walked towards the centre of the plaza, a few people greeted their royal family and wished them well. It was the evening of the ceremony and the people of Hoshido had come together on this cool spring night in order to pay their respects to their fallen king and their stolen princess whilst also remembering all of the troops who had lost their lives that day a year ago. Despite the melancholic atmosphere, the night was as peaceful as they come.

"Mother, are you making a speech?" Hinoka inquired.

Mikoto shook her head and nodded her chin in the direction of Ryoma who was taking his place directly in the centre of the plaza. Despite the fact he was about to talk in front of a huge crowd of people, he didn't look at all nervous; his natural charm and charisma no doubt helped his case a lot when it came to things like this.

"People of Hoshido-" He began, his voice travelling throughout the crowd as they all fell silent to listen to his commanding tone and his words.- "I'm sure you are all well aware of why we are gathered here this evening. We're here to remember the late, great and honourable King Sumeragi. He was a wise, proud man who loved his family, his people and Hoshido with all that he was. It will always be a great tragedy that we lost him and that we never got to bring his body home. But we have our memories and tonight, we shall reflect on them."

He took a moment to collect himself before continuing to speak. "We're also here to think about all of the people who lost their lives that day. Obviously, we were caught off-guard as we had not arrived in Cheve with the expectation of engaging in combat with Nohr's troops and its King. We'd gone there in the hope of taking the first steps towards peace between our nations however, we were all fooled and all of us willingly walked into a death-trap. A trap that took many from us; many who had families, passions and duties but most of all they had lives that were cruelly taken from them…"

Takumi stopped paying attention for a moment as he looked out around the silent crowd. He took in the image of a crying woman holding a baby that looked to be no more than a year old, an injured man who looked as if he was recalling the night that had left him unable to serve his kingdom any longer and the image of three siblings who looked as if they were without parents. Had that night a year ago left them orphaned? Takumi felt his heart break in two at that prospect. Suddenly, Ryoma's words brought him back to his senses.

"…But whilst we are still suffering, whilst it may seem that there is no hope of Hoshido ever being able to recover from the tragedies of that day we must remember that not everyone who went out to Cheve lost their lives- some of our troops managed to survive. These brave souls were there to witness something most shocking. Princess Corrin-"- His voice caught a little on the name and he took a steadying breath before continuing. - "- Corrin, in an attempt to help us risked her life by following us into Cheve in order to provide whatever service she could.

"Of course, being only five at the time there was so little she could do and sadly, she was kidnapped by Nohr's King. To this day, we still haven't been able to find out what fate awaited her when she arrived in Nohr but we will never rest until we find out. We will bring her home to Hoshido and we will never stop until we find the light at the end of the tunnel. People of Hoshido, we will never give up on the idea of peace, we will never allow ourselves to be broken no matter what comes our way!

"So tonight, I ask of you to remember the tragedies of a year ago, keep them with you as a lesson of what awaits us if we ever allow ourselves to falter again. But I also ask you to smile, to hope and to dream. Myself and my family dream to be reunited with Corrin and to restore the spirit of Hoshido and all of its people after all of the ill that has befallen it and I ask of you to find a similar wish that gives you an incentive to carry on moving forward no matter how hard it becomes. Thank you all, we wish you well."

As Ryoma walked back to re-join the rest of his family, the people of Hoshido bowed as they closed their eyes.

The silence stretched out around the plaza however, it wasn't an awkward silence in fact, it was a sign that they were all remembering and paying their respects. As Mikoto and Hinoka both placed their hands on Ryoma's shoulders in order to offer him comfort, Takumi once again found himself looking out at the people. He wanted nothing more than to heal their suffering and to take away the horrible memories of the events that had taken them to this point.

Just then, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. The young prince turned his attention to the three children again and his eyes widened as he smiled.

"Hey!"- He whispered, catching the attention of his family as he nodded in the direction of the crowd. - "Look!"

The Hoshidan royal family turned to look at their people and gasped as they watched. One by one, the crowd was lighting candles and placing them in the shape of Hoshido's official symbol before bowing yet again and remaining bowed as other people placed their own candles down onto the ground before the royal family.

This hadn't been planned and the family had no idea that this was going to happen. Sakura began to cry as she looked at the beautiful image at her feet and Mikoto scooped her up and held her tightly as she tried to fight back her own tears.

Hinoka was frozen in place, her hand still resting on her brother's shoulder as he stood there, mesmerised by the sight. Even Takumi himself was transfixed, it was clear that the people of Hoshido still placed their faith in its royal family and their ability to lead them to a better tomorrow.

When the symbol was complete, the crowd spoke in unison. "For Princess Sakura. For Prince Takumi. For Princess Hinoka. For Prince Ryoma. For Queen Mikoto. For King Sumeragi. For Princess Corrin. For Hoshido!"

The bemused royals stood there for one moment longer before Mikoto placed Sakura on the ground and then linking hands with Hinoka; all of the royals locked hands before gazing at their people once more.

Then, they murmured in synchronization, "For Hoshido!" before looking up at the sky wishing all the while that this moment signified a new start for the broken kingdom.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Hoshido, a young boy approached his homeland. It had been little over a year since he'd last stepped foot in the kingdom and-if he was being honest with himself- he was completely dreading it!

After he didn't speak up at the final meeting before the troops set off out to Cheve, he felt an overwhelming sense of dread and at many points during the march, he'd considered bringing up what he'd seen but he never did.

Oh, how he wished he had done!

After King Sumeragi's death and the kidnap of Princess Corrin, the boy with green hair hadn't returned to Hoshido despite his twin brother still remaining on as Lord Ryoma's retainer; he hadn't been able to face the royal family he was supposed to dedicate his life to serving and protecting come what may and so he'd disappeared off the radar completely.

But…a year on from the events of that day, he could no longer bring himself to run. His agony and guilt had become too much of a burden to bear. If the royal family decided to hear him out only to then decide he wasn't worthy of mercy and proceed to execute him on the spot then he would gladly accept that fate and if by some miracle they decided to forgive him for his foolishness, he would spend the rest of his days trying to make things right.

He knew that Princess Corrin had not yet been found and had not yet returned to live with her family in Hoshido, if he would be allowed to live then he would start there. After all…it was his fault she was no longer with the family that loved her with all of their beings.

He could still remember witnessing Lord Ryoma as he'd crumpled to the ground and screamed his grief out into the early morning light after finding his father's body was no longer where he had fallen and after watching Corrin being taken to Nohr by King Garon. That scream would always be burned into his memory; it was the sound of a broken person. A sound that signified that he'd reached the brink of what he could take.

He imagined all of the Hoshidan royals had experienced the same amount of pain as Lord Ryoma had done and it was all because of his stupidity! After he saw that scene play out and as he'd watched Ryoma being taken by the few remaining Hoshidan guards back to where he would be reunited with the remaining members of his family, Kaze had fled from Cheve without looking back.

He'd spent the past year thinking, grieving and finding the strength within himself to work out his next move and his next move would be to return home to face the music. He could no longer justify running.

As he looked at his homeland that was shrouded in darkness he wondered what he would be returning to. Would it be peaceful and calm just like he remembered it being? Or would it be just as broken and desolate as the once great kingdom of Nohr was? Would it still be whole and united or would it now be bearing the scars of a land wounded by too much suffering and grief?

Only time would tell him the answers to those questions. As he started to walk towards the castle at the centre of it all in order to meet his fate head-on, he once again went through his explanation of that day in his head before clearing his mind of thoughts completely in a vain attempt to preserve whatever sanity he had left.

Well...I couldn't resist bringing up a certain green-haired ninja again. How could I? He's just so precious. Anyway, I hoped you liked the scene where I brought all of Hoshido together to remember the events that took place in Cheve. It actually made me really emotional writing about them creating the symbol of Hoshido out of candles. More emotional than I thought it would, in fact. As you can see, I never explained who those three children were and what their situation is, that's because I'm leaving up to you to decide, since it isn't all that important but I figure some of you may be worried about them which is why I'm explaining they aren't significant outside of this Chapter. Until next time. xXx