Okay...the 'shorter Chapters' thing really lasted long!

I like this Chapter a lot more than I like the previous one although it mainly just consists of a moral debate of sorts rather than anything plot related but eh, it's really just there to familiarise you all with where the story is up to now so it isn't supposed to feature a lot of plot stuff. (This will make more sense when you read it, trust me). Although, I must admit that I aren't a fan of how this Chapter ends just because it feels so unnatural however, this Chapter was already so long that I had to stop myself from writing any more and just find a way to finish it before it went on for a hundred pages...

Thank you to the guest reviewer 'Goddess of Time', I'm glad you like the story and as for making it hard for you to choose to side with your Nohrian family despite being a Nohrian girl? I have a horrible feeling that the guilt tripping towards the end of this Chapter will just make that choice even harder for you to make however, I do plan to balance it out when I move on to Corrin's life in Nohr so...don't worry too much. ;)

Also, a huge thanks to everyone else who has left me reviews: you're the best!

Time for an age update: there has been a two year time skip between this Chapter and the last and Corrin has been in Nohr for about three years in total. By now Ryoma is thirteen, Hinoka is eight, Takumi is five and Sakura three. You may notice how their ages haven't changed by two years, well that's because all their birthdays during the third year haven't occurred yet so they are due to turn fourteen, nine, six and four respectively but not just yet. (You'll have to forgive me if I've completely messed this up but maths has never been my strong point).

A certain character gets mentioned in this Chapter however, his physical description is a bit different from how he looks in 'Fates'. I wonder if you can still tell who it is by his role...(probably because you're all so smart).

*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 (Also mild gore in this Chapter so be warned.)


Chapter Twelve: Hypocrisy at its Finest

She had no idea what was happening. One second she was in her room looking out of the window, not really thinking about anything in particular, the next she felt someone behind her and a piece of cloth being pressed against her mouth. She couldn't remember anything after that as she'd fallen asleep; all she knew was that she was now on the move.

She wanted to open her eyes. She wanted to look around herself in order to work out what was going on however, she was afraid to do so after all she had no idea who had taken her. Maybe the concubines had finally decided to get rid of her on a more permanent basis? That would make sense, they despised her after all and they even forced their own children to avoid her at all costs.

Her life had been a tragic one up until this point and it seemed to just be getting worse rather than better after all, she'd now been taken against her will! Maybe someone like her wasn't allowed to find happiness, comfort or peace. It would make sense; she was different from everyone else; people who were different often found themselves bearing the brunt of other people's hatred.

She decided to remain silent and to pretend to still be feeling the effects of whatever was on that cloth, as she was just about to put all of her focus on breathing steadily, she heard voices around her. She couldn't make out what they were saying due to their words being swift and not having much volume behind them.

"We know you're awake, open your eyes Nohrian Princess."

Suddenly, she found herself being placed on her feet, her legs were a little wobbly due to her not having walked for a while but she quickly found her feet. Her eyes snapped opened and focused on the face of her red-haired kidnapper and the other people who were escorting her. They looked at her with emotionless eyes as they took in her form. Were they expecting her to run? Or to scream? Huh, I'm not that pathetic. - She thought to herself. She recognised them instantly as Hoshidan ninja and whilst she was a bit shocked to find that the Hoshidans had taken her she decided that it was probably best if she didn't show it.

"We're almost at the palace, don't try to do anything stupid now; us ninja move fast." The implied threat in his voice made her yearn to shiver but instead she just nodded and followed them as they continued to walk.

She looked to her side for a moment when something caught her eye only to see a man with black hair walking alongside her. He was wearing a mask over his face just like the other ninja however; his eyes seemed to lack the suspicion and hostility that adorned the faces of the other ninja present. Instead he looked at her curiously and with a hint of pain- did he regret being a part of this?

Hoshido was a bright and colourful place compared to Nohr even though the streets were practically barren due to it being rather early in the morning. It surprised her, really, that two such different places could exist within the same world. The few people she could see were busy setting up stalls and they were all smiling and talking with each other in cheery voices; there was no fighting or arguments- no jealousy or hatred. She found herself smiling a little at this world that was so different from her own.

When they arrived at the palace, she was taken to the throne room where she saw a kind, gentle woman and a young boy with wild hair. They said nothing to her and she found herself feeling rather awkward. Were they waiting for her to speak? She didn't have much to ask them however, there was one question burning in her mind.

"Why have you brought me here?" She raised an eyebrow at them and glared between them. Maybe she should've tried to treat them with more respect and dignity however, they'd kidnapped her and whilst her life in Nohr wasn't a happy one that didn't change the fact that she'd never asked to be taken from there.

The woman in front of her opened her mouth as if to speak before she closed it again and turned her head away from the young girl. There seemed to be guilt in her eyes and a little bit of embarrassment- what was wrong with her?

They continued to stand in silence- it felt as if they were practically being devoured by the tense atmosphere but none of them made a move to try to obscure it.

Just then, the door behind them burst open and they all turned to face the man who had just walked through the door, he looked upset and distressed as he bowed before the woman in front of the throne.

"Queen Mikoto, we've had word from Nohr…"

Both the boy in red and this 'Queen Mikoto' shifted as they waited for him to continue his report. They looked rather expectant and optimistic which she thought was strange since this man clearly didn't look as if he was about to bestow them with good news.

"It's…not what we were hoping for; the King refuses to accept the trade."

"Oh gods!" The woman cried as she placed a hand over her mouth and tears began to fall from her eyes whilst the boy in red winced and turned to face the wall so that no one could see his reaction.

The girl raised an eyebrow at such a public display of emotion from the two people in front of her. She didn't deal well with people and 'feelings', she preferred to maintain her distance from both and now here she was; presented with both.

"Damn it! How could he not…?" The young boy turned back around to face them as he trailed off. "Thank you, Yukimura, you're excused."

"Of course, my Lord and don't worry, we will get her back."

'Her back'? She looked down when she heard that as she tried to piece things together. She knew that a princess from Hoshido had been kidnapped almost three years previously and that the Hoshidans in all that time hadn't stopped trying to get her back despite their attempts all failing. So…their latest one involved a trade, did it? But…what were they planning to give to Nohr in exchange for the princess?

Suddenly her eyes widened as she reached her conclusion and she felt disgusted that she was being used as pawn in such a cheap tactic such as this.

"Were you about to ask how King Garon could not want me back?-" Her tone was bitter and she was being incredibly hostile with him but she didn't care, as far as they were concerned, she was only of worth to them if it'd allow them to get their princess back and that clearly wasn't going to happen and so they were probably going to execute her anyway. - "It's simple; he doesn't care what happens to me- if you'd wanted to have a hold over him, you'd have been better off trying to take his eldest son and even then I doubt it would've bothered him enough to accept a trade; he likes having a hold over you."

Both of them looked deeply hurt by her words and she expected them to kill her on the spot however, the queen just sighed sadly before she spoke. "Ryoma, take her to one of the guest rooms for now- we'll sort a more permanent solution out later."

The boy nodded and walked towards her, he tried to place a hand on her back but she shrugged away from him and proceeded to walk on ahead- like she had any idea where she was going, mind you! She kept her head held high and didn't look back as she left the room behind.


"Did you hear that?! He's still refusing to give Corrin back." Sakura cried as she pressed her ear against the door.

"Ugh…"- Hinoka pulled away from the door and stood up. She rested her head on her arms; she could hardly believe the plan had failed. How could the king of Nohr not be experiencing the same pain and loss of having a family member taken from them that they'd all had for almost three whole years?! Granted, it shouldn't really have surprised her- he was hardly known for being the most loving or compassionate person but still…it baffled her.

Takumi made a noise as he folded his arms over his chest. "Well, we really should've expected that that monster would respond like this and now we have a Nohrian staying with us to boot- what a momentously joyous day this turned out to be!" His tone became heavily sarcastic for that bit.

Hinoka was about to reply when the door opened to reveal both Ryoma and a blue-haired girl with startling eyes. She paid no attention to the Hoshidan siblings and their snooping as she began to walk away however, Ryoma halted her as he turned to his siblings.

"Seriously?! What are you all doing out here, you're supposed to be Hoshidan royalty, spying is hardly acceptable behaviour now, is it?" He frowned, disapprovingly at them.

"W-we just wanted to see if we were about to g-get Corrin back, brother." Sakura stuttered as her lower lip began to tremble.

Ryoma sighed and bent down to brush his hand through her hair. "Sorry, Sakura but by the looks of things it isn't happening yet."

The little girl began to cry and she threw her arms around Hinoka. Once the three siblings managed to calm her down, Hinoka turned her attention to the new arrival.

"Hey! What's your name?" She didn't ask this in a mean way after all, she didn't want to scare the poor girl. She looked to be about nine, making her approximately one year older than what Corrin would be now.

The girl studied the Hoshidan siblings for a moment before answering. "I really don't see how my name could be of any use to you. You're probably going to kill me before the sun sets anyway." Her voice was very monotonous as she responded.

Hinoka stumbled back a bit and even all the other siblings looked shocked by her words. "K-kill you?! What sort of monsters do you take us for?" Takumi snapped at her.

"Well I'm sorry if I didn't get the best first impression of you but last time I checked, you took me from my home against my will in an attempt to get back a sister of yours who was taken: against her will. If that isn't irony and hypocrisy at its finest, I don't know what is! If you ask me, you're no better than the 'monstrous king of Nohr'."

The Hoshidan siblings had to give it to her- the girl had guts! She didn't turn her gaze away from them despite the fact she'd just compared them to the man who'd killed their father and taken their sister in fact, her eyes were as defiant as her tone.

After a moment, she spoke up again. "Besides, your Queen said that you'd be coming up with a 'permanent solution' for me- how could I not take that as an indication of my upcoming execution?"

Ryoma was the first to speak up. "Ahem, she just meant that we'd find you a more permanent living quarters here; you can't just stay in a guest room. It was always our intention to ke-I mean, to let you live here if King Garon didn't accept our trade."

"So…what you mean is that I am now your prisoner here, correct?"

"Only in name, you won't be kept in a jail cell or anything." He smiled a bit at her.

The girl took in the prince who was addressing her with suspicion in her gaze. By the looks of things, he was the eldest of these siblings and as a result, he probably remembered his missing sibling the most out of the four; she could understand his desperation nevertheless, he still seemed to be incapable of realising that she was still being kept as their prisoner- he'd even started to say as much before 'correcting' himself! He seemed like a bit of a bumbling idiot if you asked her however, he was still nice enough…for the time being.

"So…your name?" Hinoka asked her again. "I'm Hinoka. This is Ryoma, Takumi-" -Takumi looked like he was about to object to his name being brought up but Hinoka moved on before he could interrupt. - "-and Sakura."

After a moment, she replied. "Azura. My name is Azura."

Hinoka smiled at her. "There, see…progress!"

Azura rolled her eyes. "Can I be shown to my room now, please? I'm tired."

"Oh err…of-of course." Ryoma stumbled over his words seemingly baffled by her displeasure and lack of respect she was showing them even though they were royalty. After all, they were used to everyone tripping over their own two feet to fulfil their every need and whim and whilst they didn't particularly like or enjoy all of that 'high and mighty' stuff, it was still the behaviour they were most expecting from people however, she was technically royalty herself and they were her 'captors' so maybe this sort of treatment from her was to be expected.

Once they were out of earshot, Takumi spoke up whilst shaking his head, "I don't like her, I don't like her one bit. How dare she think that it's okay to talk to us that way! Plus, she compared us to that volatile King- how could she possibly insult us like that?!"

Hinoka looked at her brother as she replied, "Calm down, Takumi. She's just been kidnapped and taken to a foreign kingdom, it's understandable that she'd be harsh with us to begin with however; we have no intention of mistreating her whilst she's here and so we should become closer overtime- we just need to give her space and a chance to adjust." She smiled sweetly at him.

He rolled his eyes at her before stalking off with Sakura close on his heels. Hinoka sighed as she was left alone. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Azura and I have every intention of looking after you but I still want Corrin back so badly it hurts…" She murmured to herself as she looked out of the nearby window longingly.


A few hours later and Azura had basically taken up the same position that she had done during the moments leading up to her capture; she was now staring out of the window but this time, she was taking in the lush plains of Hoshido rather than the dreary lands of Nohr. If she was being honest with herself, she could quite quickly get used to life here after all, living in Nohr was pure torture for her but that still didn't change the fact that she hadn't asked to come here and when Corrin finally returned she would no longer have a place in Hoshido nor would they want her anymore.

Suddenly, there was a quiet knock on the door to her room. "Enter." She murmured.

Before her stood the prince of Hoshido with his wild hair and bizarre outfit. He looked a little uncomfortable but he still appeared determined to make an effort.

"How are you adjusting to life here?" He asked.

"I've only been here for about half a day. That's hardly enough to time to accept the fact I'm in Hoshido let alone get used to life within its borders."

He grinned at that. "Heh, that's true enough. My apologies." Just then, his brief smile turned into a frown and he hesitated for a moment.

"Speak up, Prince Ryoma otherwise leave me be. I'm not one for talking."

"Please, just call me Ryoma. I-I wanted to ask you…do you know how Corrin is? Do you know how they're treating her? Is she okay? Is she…" He trailed off as all of the questions he'd wanted to ask someone- anyone- over the years came bursting forth. His normally calm composure disappearing completely as thoughts of Corrin flooded his mind.

She stared at him for a moment as he seemed to get lost in memories of the past he'd shared with his sister before she bowed her head and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry but I can't answer your questions. I've only ever heard of her; I've never met her or spent any time with her. In fact, I've spent much of my life in isolation; I wouldn't be able to tell you much about anything or anyone."

He closed his eyes as he took in the news and winced a little. "I see. I'm sorry to have bothered you then, I'll leave you to it-"

"However,"- She continued as she resumed looking out of the window and just resigned herself to watching his response to her words by looking at his reflection in its glass surface.- "If they're treating her in the same manner that they used to treat me then I'm afraid to say that the life she's leading in Nohr is by no means a happy one."

He stumbled back a little at her words and clutched a hand to his chest when she said that. His eyes were wide and frantic as the possibility that he'd entertained many times- the one in which his sister, his beautiful, lovable sister, was experiencing a miserable existence whilst she was a prisoner in Nohr's borders- was presented before him by someone who used to live in Nohr, no less! If anyone would have an idea of the type of treatment Corrin was receiving in Nohr then it'd be someone who was seemingly in a similar circumstance to her. She was- after all- also being guarded in the same way that Corrin was it's just that she wasn't as heavily guarded which is why they'd been able to find her and bring her to Hoshido.

"I-I see, thank you for telling me." He whispered as he turned to leave her in peace.

"I'm sorry I couldn't paint a more optimistic picture for you."

He shook his head. "Don't apologise, if anyone should apologise it should be us. We took you from your home just to get our sister back without considering the impact it would have on you. However, from the sounds of it your life in Nohr wasn't a joyous one and so we'll try to make up for bringing you here by making your life as fantastic as possible whilst you're in Hoshido."

She smiled at his words. "Thank you. Although, I don't think your people will be too happy with me being here."

Ryoma's lips puckered at that. "Maybe not but only by giving them time will they learn to become more accepting of you."

Azura brushed off his statement. "Don't worry, even if they don't learn, I'm used to not being accepted so I'll be fine with it."

"That's a really sad thing to say…"

"Maybe so but it's the truth: the truth doesn't just change because it's not what we want to hear."

"I guess so."

They were silent for a moment before Azura spoke up again. "Is there anything else you want?"

He looked startled by the question despite its simplistic nature. "Huh? Err…I just wanted to welcome you here and I also wanted to tell you that Mother-I mean, Queen Mikoto wants to speak with you properly whenever you're ready to do so. She's very sorry for being so abrupt earlier but it's hard for her every time one of the plans to get Corrin back fails, trust me, I've been there to witness every single time she's heard that Corrin still remains in Nohr."

"I can understand that and don't worry, I will speak with her when I have the chance but I'm quite tired at the moment so I'm going to rest for a while first."

"Certainly, take as long as you need."

Ryoma carried on standing in the doorway even as Azura stood up. The nine-year-old rolled her eyes at him and cleared her throat. "Err…Ryoma? That was a hint for you to go now."

"Oh. Oh! I'm so sorry; I'm going…right now. I err…I'll see you later."

Azura watched him as he left and she rolled her eyes at him again. So this was one of Hoshido's princes and Corrin's elder brother? -He's really approachable...I wasn't expecting that.- She thought to herself before frowning.

She had no problem picturing the kind of relationships he had with all of his siblings especially with Corrin. It was clear that he cared deeply for her and that every day that he was apart from her was pure agony. It was also clear from how awkwardly he was behaving around her that the idea of keeping her prisoner here-even if they planned on treating her better than Nohr was probably treating Corrin- didn't sit well with him and so he was being overly welcoming and friendly as a result. She really hoped that he would stop acting like that sooner rather than later.

But…for the moment she was really comfortable in Hoshido and she couldn't wait to spend more time here and even if she was just being used as a temporary replacement for Corrin, she would gladly accept that role if it allowed her to feel as happy as she did right at this moment in time.


Ryoma couldn't sleep. That was a common occurrence mainly because sleep brought with it nightmares that featured the events in Cheve but tonight he couldn't sleep because guilt and disgust were weighing heavily on his conscience.

It'd been his idea to kidnap the blue-haired princess from Nohr and he'd been the one to give the order to go ahead with it and whilst he was glad that they'd seemingly liberated her from a life of pain and suffering; they hadn't done it for her benefit, they'd done it to benefit themselves.

"All we want to do is get Corrin back and protect Hoshido but…are we going to lose ourselves in the process?" He bit his lip as he sat up in bed and ran a hand through his hair.

The fact that the consequences of this act hadn't even occurred to him until he'd heard the accusing words from Azura's lips earlier worried him to no end. She'd even compared them to King Garon! No, he'd been the one to go through with this plan therefore she'd compared him to King Garon; the man who'd killed his father and taken his sister!

The immense suffering he'd experienced every single moment of every single day and night since then hadn't ebbed even a tiny bit in the almost three year time period since the events that day. In fact, it just seemed to be getting worse and sometimes he'd feel so disgusted with himself and the contributions that his failures that day had had on how that situation played out that he'd actually be physically and violently sick. He would shake and gasp and cry as his thoughts tormented him with 'what ifs' and 'maybes'.

But…he'd vowed to always stay true to his convictions no matter what. No matter how tainted he would become, how black his heart would turn or how tortured and mangled his soul would feel by the end of it. What he'd put Azura through was cruel however, he'd make up for it by looking after her whilst she was here even though he could do that for a lifetime and still not be able to make up for bringing her into this mess. But as for Corrin…how could he ever make up for his failures and the consequences they'd had for her? Azura's words from earlier came back to him:

"However, if they're treating her in the same manner that they used to treat me then I'm afraid to say that the life she's leading in Nohr is by no means a happy one."

"Gah!" He cried out as all sorts of painful images of what they could be doing to Corrin went through his mind. He thought of all the Nohrian torture methods he'd learned about in case he ever found himself being subjected to one. He thought about how distant and detached Azura seemed to be from the world around her and how haunted and troubled she seemed to be when reflecting on what she'd experienced in Nohr. The thought of his once bright, bubbly, and cheerful little sister coming back to them a tortured soul herself was almost as bad as any of the other outcomes his mind had created over the years.

"Corrin." His broken and tired voice echoed out around his room and he stood up from his bed. He found himself leaving his room and he wasn't aware of where his legs were taking him until he found himself right outside of the door that led to Corrin's old room. Despite going in there sometimes, no one had ever touched or moved anything in the room. They honestly couldn't bring themselves to do so.

Ryoma himself had only gone in there a handful of times when he'd wanted to reminisce over happier memories of Corrin: ones like when they'd coloured and drawn pictures together or ones where they played board games together and then that one time they'd played hide and seek and she'd had the 'creative' idea of hiding behind her curtains but failed to realise that her legs sticking out from underneath was a dead giveaway as to where she was and she spent the rest of the day being in a foul mood because she had no idea how she could've possibly lost at such a simple-('yet stupid')- game such as hide and seek.

He sat on the floor of the room in a corner where he wouldn't disturb anything and just looked around himself, taking in every little detail. In fact- as he thought about it- he actually had a second reason for coming in here, it allowed him to remember what he was fighting for more clearly than when he was anywhere else. Of course, he could never forget- would never forget- what he was risking everything for yet when he was here, he could focus solely on his reasons for being so desperate to get Corrin back. All of the promises he'd made to her, all the times he'd told her he loved her and she'd told him that she loved him back and all the times they'd made each other smile; he wanted more of those times with her!

He sighed to himself. "I'm so sorry that I had to drag you into this, Azura and maybe you're right- maybe bringing you here makes me no better than the monster who took my sister to begin with however, I've said it before and I will say it again and again- as many times as it takes for the world to understand: I will not- under any circumstances- falter again. I will bring Corrin home to Hoshido even if I have to sacrifice everything to do so."

As he started to fall asleep where he was still sat on the floor, his head resting against the wall; the prince of Hoshido found himself hoping that all of these sacrifices that he was making for Corrin, for the rest of his family and for Hoshido would be worth it. If- in the end- all of his efforts to reunite his family and to bring Corrin home to Hoshido would be in vain, he wouldn't be able to stand it nor would he be able to stand becoming something that he hated in an attempt to make his dreams become a reality only to find out that despite his best efforts, they never would do. This wasn't the road that the young boy wanted his life to take but if he had to take it then so be it- he would follow it until the bitter and twisted end if he had to.

If that level of dedication made people hate him or stopped people from understanding him or pushed people away then it would upset him but he wouldn't let it deter him. He may regret his actions in regards to Azura however; he knew he would do it again if he had to in a heartbeat. How could he not? His entire existence was dedicated to his family and to his kingdom- he wasn't allowed to put his conscience first!

He murmured his last words before he fell asleep: "Corrin, I hold dearly onto the belief that if I bring you home then I can ease the suffering on my soul a little. I can rectify the mistakes of my past and maybe even be forgiven for some of them. Come home soon, sister, I'm just…so tired of all of this."

With a heavy heart and a broken soul, Ryoma the prince of all of Hoshido slept fitfully that night as he tried to cling onto whatever hope for the future and for his well-being he had left.


Ugh...the ending line is so bad! But other than that, I like this Chapter (even with all the guilt tripping I put in there, I'm such a mean person, aren't I?) So...Azura is finally in Hoshido. I know that she loves the Hoshidan royals in 'Fates' and classes them as family however, I find it very believable that to begin with the hypocrisy of their actions would really annoy her and thus this Chapter was born! Plus she has a lot of attitude and sass in this Chapter which I like and hope you do too. Until next time. xXx