Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as per usual. I kinda dropped a bomb last chapter lol

Dinner that night was odd, in Leo's opinion. Camilla seemed to be laughing at some private joke, a smile present on her face. He caught her staring at him from time to time, and she made no effort to hide that. So she was preparing herself to tease him. Of course. It was Camilla after all.

Xander seemed dour, but any king would after news of rebellions and assassination attempts. He stared at his food, a look of consternation on his face. He seemed so displeased, and Leo didn't blame him.

Corrin seemed wistful, a far off look in her eye. She must have still been thinking about 'Kazahana.' Leo hoped that she didn't dwell too much on it.

Elise seemed chipper, even more so than usual. She chattered aimlessly, talking about her day, but it was when she mentioned 'Kazahana' that his ears perked.

"So the new girl, Kazahana, and I are going to start looking for music to do a duet!" So it seemed she had met her already. Leo couldn't find Elise all day; she wasn't in her usual spots. He wondered if she had been in the library after all, the one place he didn't look, in search of sheet music for this supposed duet.

"Oh, really? That's good. I take it she's eager to as well?" Leo asked politely. His sister was always coming up with new schemes and plans, either begging for her siblings' attention or even the servants'. Elise knew no difference. She made friends with everyone she met.

"Oh yes! She seemed a little shy at first, but she agreed! I'm thinking tomorrow we can start looking. I tried today, but I didn't find anything that I thought would suit her instrument. Maybe we can head to the market tomorrow and look for more…" and Elise kept talking.

Leo was glad Sakura had found a friend in Elise. Or so he hoped. He wasn't sure how eager Sakura truly was. He knew she was shy; the fact that she opened up to him at all was a feat he felt, and for her to state she reciprocated his feelings…

He wouldn't go down that road. He had to take the left fork, the path that led to a single life dedicated to his station, not the right where he could be with someone he actually cared for. It wouldn't work out, or so he tried to convince himself. Leo was a stubborn fool, but he'd never admit to it.

"…so that was my day! I know despite how everything is so crazy right now, I think a little music will cheer us all up!" Elise chirped. "We've got to do something."

"Elise," Xander began, "it isn't that simple. Music won't prevent havoc."

"But it can ease people's spirits! Everyone loves music!" Elise was insistent.

"Darling, Xander is right, loathe I am to admit. It's not that easy," Camilla agreed. "You mustn't forget your duties as a princess and healer. We may need your skills yet."

"It's not like you to be so negative, Camilla!" Elise whined. "I just want everyone to be happy."

"We all do, Elise. But I've said it already: it isn't that simple. People are displeased due to their beliefs and our actions. There has been unrest since the end of the war and it seems to only worsen." Xander was trying to be kind yet firm, but Leo saw his brother's patience wearing thin. Elise could do that to a man.

Corrin finally said something. "Elise, I think it's admirable you want to keep everyone's spirits up. How about we all worry about the war and address it, but you make it your duty that we don't sink too far?" She smiled at the youngest. "I think it's a role that suits you well."

"See? Corrin gets it!" Elise stated proudly. "I know everything is bad, but we shouldn't let that affect us so deeply. I have faith that as long as we stay positive and do our best to promote the peace and try to make everyone understand why it's so important, then everything will end a-okay!" Elise got out of her chair. "Now I'm inspired! I'm going to get Kazahana and make her play for us! We've gotta start somewhere!"

"Elise, wait!" Xander called after her, but it was too late. Elise had already run off in search of her new friend. Leo laughed quietly.

"I think perhaps what Elise said is…somewhat wise. It wouldn't do for all of us to stay so negative."

"Look at you," Camilla cooed. "The ever dour brother suddenly a ray of sunshine? What has this Kazahana done to you? Awww, it must be true love."

Leo looked away, embarrassed as always by Camilla's words. "I wouldn't say that…"

"Awww, but Leo, we all know you like her! Just let it be what it is. I think it's good you finally found someone that's taken your heart." Camilla smiled at him.

"Camilla… You know I can't pursue her…"

"And why not? She's a commoner? Sure, I didn't expect that, but it's hardly unheard of. It's happened in the past. Our own father took concubines from nearly all walks of life." Camilla insisted.

"It's more than just that… She's Hoshidan."

"So? Suddenly you're prejudiced?" Camilla really had no room to talk. She once held resentment towards the nation too.

"Absolutely not! But the people we rule are! If I were to become betrothed to Kazahana, all hell would break loose." He took in a shaky breath. He felt like he could cry, but that would not do.

"Leo…" Corrin uttered. "That doesn't matter. You shouldn't let other people decide things for you. You make your own fate."

Leo couldn't have disagreed. Corrin had proven that despite one's circumstances, anything could change. She changed the fate of Nohr…and Hoshido.

"…perhaps you're right. Maybe I'm being too hasty about this thing."

Camilla giggled, glad her brother finally let loose his chains. "Then go get her!"

Xander only groaned. A sister who teased relentlessly, ignoring the gravity of the situation by meddling in her siblings' lives… Another sister who wanted to please everyone… A brother caught in the river of love, wanting to drown but struggling to swim… And the last sister convinced that positivity was key to everything… Xander wanted to call them all fools, but he loved them dearly. It made them who they were.

"Leo, I know you feel your duty as advisor is important, but I know this girl of yours will only distract you should you deny yourself of her. Therefore, as king, I command you court her, if only to alleviate the pain in your heart."

Leo scoffed. "You can't order such a thing."

"I can and I will, Little Brother."

Leo almost laughed at how serious his brother looked, but knew that Xander was serious. So Leo resigned himself to court Sakura when the time was right.

But right now, as Elise dragged her in, she had a performance to do.

Two maids cleared the table as a butler helped cart in the koto. He helped her set it up and she kneeled before it, plucking a string here and there, preparing to play.

"Oh, I'm so excited!" Elise gushed. She sat next to Sakura, entirely enthralled.

Sakura began to play a song that started very slow but soon picked up. It was soothing and made Leo feel…happy. He felt like her soul was being poured into this song.

Did she hear what they had said? Was the idea of finally being courted exciting for her? He wasn't sure if she actually heard, but he liked to think she had.

When the song ended, everyone who heard clapped, applauding her performance. She stood up and bowed.

"Shall I play another?"

"Absolutely, if you feel you are up for it. It's getting late and I know you must be tired," Xander considered. "But seeing you play so up close is enticing to say the least. I'm sure Leo here would agree." Xander winked at his brother. It was always odd when he tried to joke and jibe, but Leo appreciated the sentiment. Xander cared and that was all there was to it.

"Then I shall," Sakura said, and she played another song.

This one was slow and kept that tempo. It was romantic and Leo found he was lulled by it, feeling as if he should get up and dance with her. He was engrossed.

Camilla observed how engrossed Leo was and chuckled quietly to herself. Her baby brother had it bad.

All good things must come to an end, and thus this song too ended. Everyone applauded her again, but Xander finally decided to end this impromptu concert, saying it was important for everyone to get some rest. There was much to do tomorrow, and he wanted everyone at their best.

"Kazahana, I would very much like to see you perform again soon. Have you tried your hand at writing music?" Xander asked cordially.

"Actually, that l-last song I played was written by m-me. It was the first time I ever p-performed it."

"It was exquisite," Leo said quickly. Everyone turned to him. "What? It was!"

"Awww, Leo, so eager to please," Camilla teased.

Leo wanted to tell her to shut up, but he knew it was no use, so he stayed quiet.

Sakura got up to leave. Xander cleared his throat.

"Leo, do escort Kazahana back to her room."

Leo wanted to ask why, there was a butler right there, but Xander dismissed the servants and Leo never had a chance to argue. So he sighed and went to her.

It wasn't like he was insulted. He just felt it was awkward for his brother to suddenly play matchmaker. He heard Camilla giggle. Elise bade them goodnight and Leo led Sakura out of the dining hall.

They arrived at her room after Leo struggled to carry the koto up the stairs (the damned thing was heavy, he thought) and he opened the door for her. She thanked him and led him inside.

"I…have something to tell you, Prince Leo."

He didn't like the way she said it. Something happened.

"Yes, Sakura?"

She was a little put off that he used her given name so easily, but she let it slide. "It's important."

"Then speak." He realized how blunt that was. "Sorry. That was rude of me."

"You're fine. I'm not offended…" She took a breath. "Elise knows."

Well, that was unexpected.

"She…knows?" He was confused.

"She knows my identity. She somehow figured it out."

Elise was never the shrewd one. Leo always felt like her head was in the clouds, but she was hardly unintelligent. She just never used her intellect for the right things.

"What…what did you tell her?!" He felt panicked. This was beyond terrible. Elise would surely open her big mouth…

"I couldn't d-disagree… She was in-insistent." He heard her sniffle and saw the worry on her face. "But she promised she wouldn't tell."

"Elise takes promises seriously, but this is still bad." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "What should we do?"

"I suppose we just let things happen… When the time comes, I g-guess I have no ch-choice but to prove my identity."

"In front of my siblings? But…"

She was melancholic as she said, "I know. They'd ship me off back to Hoshido. I'm sure of it."

It was so conflicting. Xander and the others wanted Leo to court 'Kazahana.' But if they found out she was actually Sakura… Would their feelings change?

He decided he'd address that. "I have something to say too."

"Oh?" She looked surprised.

"Xander and Camilla… Well, everyone really… want me to court you."

Sakura felt her entire world stop. "And your answer…?" She finally managed to say.

"I agreed."

She wasn't sure how to feel. Both knew this was a bad idea, but Sakura wasn't upset. She was happy, but worried for Leo's safety.

"But the assassination attempts…"

"Corrin said I should follow my heart and ignore what any opposition says. And despite my inclination to deny myself happiness, she convinced me that this was worth it. That you were worth it. And I agree." He grasped her hand, guiding it to his lips. He kissed her hand and looked at her through hooded eyes. "Would you have me?" He asked.

Before she could even process it, she immediately answered.

"Yes."

Leo had never courted anyone before, so he had no idea what to do. Was he supposed to just continue on as he did, spending time with her and listen to her play? Or was there something more that was expected of him to do? He didn't know, so he first went to Xander.

"Brother, I have no idea what I'm doing," he began, utterly desperate. "How does one court a lady?"

"You ask as if I know," Xander chuckled. "I've only had the occasional lady by my side, and as you know it never worked out."

"So you're just as clueless as me," Leo deadpanned.

Xander shrugged. "The only thing I can tell you is to just spend time with her and listen to her. Buy her gifts perhaps?" Xander looked unsure. "I've done that, but something was always off. I could never place what though."

Even Leo didn't have an answer to that. "I'll…try my best," he said lamely.

"You'll be fine," Xander returned. "She likes you, clearly. I've seen the eyes she's made at you."

Sakura was only here for not even a week and it was already obvious the two were taken with each other. So far, Elise did not spill the beans, and Leo was thankful for that. He had yet to address it with her though.

"Thank you, Brother. I will see what I can do. I'm off." So Leo left Xander to his work and decided he'd find Camilla.

Camilla had suitor after suitor and perhaps hearing a woman's side would give him some idea of what to do. The only thing that he dreaded was this was Camilla, the woman who would tease him mercilessly.

"Sister, I have a question," Leo started, praying to the Dusk Dragon that Camilla would go easy on him.

He had entered her room, where she languidly lay on a chaise by the window, drinking wine. Selena and Beruka were nowhere to be found. Good. Less witnesses to his utter embarrassment.

"Yes, dear Little Brother?" she responded. "What is on your mind?"

"I have a question in regards to courting a lady," Leo began. "I'm not quite sure what to do."

"You still haven't courted our dearest little Kazahana? What have you been up to?"

"Mostly reading in the library and playing chess," he sheepishly said.

"With her, I hope." Camilla seemed astonished at Leo's disgraceful attempts at courting.

"I have! But I also don't want to get in the way of her practice. It's very important to her." And it was. Sakura had practiced restlessly since she arrived. It was how she dealt with her stress, he had come to find out.

"Hmmm, courting one of the commoners is quite difficult when both parties have different occupations. How have your own duties been going? Have you been shirking them?"

"Absolutely not," Leo refuted. "I wouldn't dream of letting Xander down like that."

"Ah, Leo. You're so cute." She hummed. "The only advice I can give you is lavish her with attention and surprise her with many gifts. Compliment her relentlessly and always make her feel appreciated."

Well, Leo had already done most of those things. He hadn't gotten her anything, but she wasn't the materialistic type. He had spent as much time with her as he could, and he had taken to writing her little notes when he found he was too busy. He hadn't sent them to her though. They were mostly his way of coming to terms with his feelings.

"She's Hoshidan. Perhaps she'd appreciate the more artful ways of courtship. Have you tried wooing her with poetry and music? She is a musician." Camilla suggested.

"I have yet to do those things," Leo admitted.

"I think it would be lovely. Perhaps you two could go out, have a lovely dinner, and play her the violin or read a poem you've written. Be ever the romantic, Little Brother." She flicked hair behind her shoulder and took a sip of wine. "I know you have it in you."

"I think you're drunk, Sister," Leo said out of embarrassment.

She chuckled. "You know how well I hold my alcohol, Little Brother. I'm better than even Xander." Well, she wasn't lying. Camilla was frightening at a party. So many had tried to get her drunk to try and take advantage of her dulled senses and she had outdrank those suitors. Camilla took no prisoners.

"Regardless, I'm not sure this is the advice for me…"

"Don't be embarrassed! You have it in you, Leo. She likes you already. Let it happen naturally. It already has for the most part," she insisted. "Now, I'm going to enjoy the last of this wine. I want you to work on a poem or plan a date. You have potential and you're so cute. She'll adore you."

So Leo left Camilla to her devices and gulped in nervousness. This was all so new to him, and he felt he was only meant for disaster.

When she was Sakura, there were no suitors. She was always holed up in the shrine preparing herself to become a priestess, or she was in her room having tea with her…dolls. It was childish, yes, but many had always viewed Sakura as a child and thus a child she stayed. As she grew, she took her koto practice more seriously, and spent less time having tea with dolls, but in the end she was always seen as the youngest Hoshidan royal, and thus not much of her was taken seriously, at least, not to those who weren't family. Her family took everything she did seriously and loved her regardless of what she deemed were flaws. Therefore, there were no room for suitors because her life was too full of family. What need was there for the youngest to be married off in a kingdom of plenty?

When she was Kazahana, there may have been a page boy or two who flirted, a choir girl even, but she was very rarely ever pursued. In the opera house, she dedicated her life to her playing, so she had no time to even think about romance. Every day it was practice as if she had no other purpose, for at that time she truly did not have any other purpose. It was presumed Sakura had died. Kazahana lived now and Kazahana wasn't some lost princess. No. She was a foreign musician in an opera house.

Now? She didn't know who she was. She was so used to being Kazahana for so long that suddenly being called Sakura again by Leo threw her off. Could she call Leo a suitor? It was what he was doing. But calling him that seemed impersonal, as if there were no feelings to be had between them. Sakura (yes, she was Sakura now, she decided) and Leo had gone through too much together to be simply deemed as a couple. What they had felt more like a partnership, yet they weren't even at that stage yet. At least, she didn't think they were. What they had was odd. It wasn't every day that a prince goes on an adventure with a forgotten princess-turned-musician and developed romantic feelings for said princess.

She was in her room, brushing her hair. She glimpsed at her koto as she did so, wondering how on earth something she used to love doing led her to this moment.

She reminisced on how Subaki, brave, brave Subaki, had taken her away from the battle at her home, desperate to get her away from the carnage, only to be felled some two days later when they had taken refuge in an abandoned, destroyed village. Subaki bade her run and though she refuted, in the end, running was all she could do. Subaki was a formidable warrior, but the lone Sky Knight had no chance against the small amount of rogue Nohrian reinforcements. Sakura had indeed run off, alone and afraid.

It was a grueling few weeks she spent, on the run from the Nohrian army. Had she noticed things were calmer the farther she was from the capital, from Castle Shirasagi? Not really. Her only focus was her survival, as she wouldn't let Subaki's sacrifice be in vain. That was her only thought: Subaki sacrificed himself.

She knew that it was a retainer's job to do such a thing, but she never thought she'd cause this much trouble… No. She didn't cause the trouble. Everything was fine until… Until Corrin came to Hoshido.

So it was Corrin's fault. Sakura, not normally one for such bitterness, accepted this. Corrin was the cause of all of this. But, Corrin was also the one that ended it. Sakura wasn't sure to forgive her or to thank her. Corrin was always in the middle, the sister she never knew.

Sakura then thought of all the homes she took refuge in, trying her best to conceal her identity. It was one of Subaki's requests before he passed.

"No matter what they tell you, Lady Sakura, trust no one. In these times, any desperate fool will sacrifice their royalty to buy what they call peace. Your own people could turn against you."

It was with this advice that Kazahana was born. The inspiration? Her retainer, Hana. The name was to pay homage to her lost retainer, in a way to instill courage and bravery, something that Sakura always felt like was lacked in her own personage. So she took to the name when she realized Subaki wasn't coming back, and only allowed strangers to help her if she felt like there was no choice.

She had managed to travel all the way to Izumo on her own and had boarded a ferry from there that would sail to Dia, a port town in Nohr. She was dirty, filthy even, her pink hair having lost its luster and was now a simply dull rouge, fair skin smited with dirt and grime. The ferryman was surprised that a girl in such a state had the money to pay for this ferry. But he let her go, assuming she was one of many who had lost everything in Hoshido and could only hope to gain in Nohr. Hoshido, the Hoshido she loved, was destroyed.

From there, things only seemed to become harder. She was in Nohrian territory, and her grimy, Hoshidan appearance only made the people turn their noses up at her. She spent days on her own, the people not even willing to give directions. She had on her person only her bow, an Illusory Yumi, and a single Sun Festal, with some remaining gold.

She had to leave Dia. There was nothing there for her but fish, sailors, and busty women in brothels. She saw how she was being ogled. Sakura learned quickly on her own that she could easily become a commodity. Subaki again had said as much before he passed.

So she left Dia and wandered for the longest time on her own and ended up in Nestra, more specifically Cyrkensia, and found the opera house. She overheard the beautiful music coming from within and it was then that she realized she could settle here.

What else was a lost royal to do?

With the very last of her gold, she managed to buy a koto at some dingy little music shop, and auditioned before the opera house master. He had found her playing so unique and refined, he hired her instantly, even though he noted her clear lack of hygiene. She had apologized and said it was only due to circumstance. She had gotten cleaned up and had lived at the opera house ever since.

She was the only Hoshidan there, which made things awkward and difficult. So many euphemisms went over her head. Some had joked that her humility was due to her Hoshidan modesty. She had been on the receiving end of racist language. Nevertheless, she continued her playing and she seldom left the opera house. However, things had only gotten terser over the months and she eventually saved up enough money to buy a small flat near the opera house, if only to give her peace of mind. The cast members and other musicians could be horrifically catty.

Then, Leo showed up that one night, that fateful night, and her entire world had changed. How could such a handsome man be so enamored of her playing? She was hardly anything really. Then, she realized who he was, and that only made her heart suffer more. Nothing would come easy, it seemed.

But here she was now, in Castle Krakenburg, brushing her hair in her own dormitory, soft moonlight filtering in through the window. There was a balcony that overlooked the garden, or what would soon be a garden, as it was Leo's pet project.

Sakura had been Kazahana for two years. She was prepared to stay Kazahana should she stay here for the rest of her life. But, she noted, things in her life had ceased being simple, and she would have to prepare herself for the day when all would know her as Sakura.

Did that mean her days with Leo were numbered? Perhaps. She knew that regardless of the outcome, an ending where she was happy with Leo was not to be.