Corrin Reacts to Side Stories!
A/N: Welcome, one and all, to Corrin Reacts! Well, seeing as we just had probably one of the more emotionally heavy chapters of the fic thus far, I feel like this is the time to tell some stories that need to be told. Most of them will…..pretty honestly probably be as equally emotionally heavy, but they're quite essential to how stuff will play out in the rest of the story and so I feel telling them while we can right now will make it a whole lot easier on us later. Anyway! Game's afoot, life needs to get going and chapters need to get started!
Also, remember when I said that this was an alternate universe fic, albeit with ties to canon? Yes, please keep that in mind when you read this chapter. Keep in mind that quite a few of these stories are not at all canon except in regards to the Reactsverse.
DISCLAIMER: Fire Emblem belongs to Intelligent Systems, otherwise we would have a Mongolian-themed faction one day. (I think there is, so if there is, please correct me!)
All mentioned franchises and characters belong to their respective owners.
That Day in the Ravine
This story takes place years ago, during Corrin's imprisonment-cum-residence in the Northern Fortress of Nohr. This is not a full recollection of events, but a small recollection of the incidents that are relevant.
….
"Flora, come on!"
"No."
"Come on, Flora! We can't sit here! Lord Corrin's going to be disappointed!"
"Then let him be."
Felicia frowned at her sister, sighing. She dusted off her own maid uniform, shaking her head at Flora. The two girls were standing by a window staring out into the cold wastes of northern Nohr. The snow fell heavily outside the fortress, blanketing the dead trees and the barren rocks in the sterile white. In the distance were grey, craggy mountains, caked with ice and pouring with endless snow, ringed with dismal grey clouds that seemed almost to extend from the summits. The feet of the mountains were shielded from sight by a ring of black, deadened trees, standing sentinel over forsaken wasteland. Flora and Felicia knew that their homeland lay past those mountains- the frozen home of the Ice Tribe, with homes carved from ice, snow and wood.
"Fine," Felicia exhaled, defeated. "I s-suppose I can't make you. A-are you sure you're fine?"
"I am fine. Go."
The pink-haired girl looked away at Flora's sudden harsh tone, before scampering away and leaving her sister alone to ponder at the window.
Kilma, their father and the chieftain of the Tribe, had left the two sisters here almost a week ago. He said that they were to be left to train themselves in etiquette and work under the careful eye of Nohrian royalty, something which the clumsy Felicia jumped at the chance at.
But Flora knew better. She was the older and smarter of the two and had long been savvy to the political machinery that ran the state of Nohr. She knew what had truly happened and why they were there; in reality, Kilma had been blackmailed by King Garon. In fairness to her father, Flora knew enough to realise that Kilma had no choice in the matter; the Nohrian king possessed a vast army capable of overrunning the Ice Tribe thrice over and more besides. He was concerned that the Tribe might rebel and so took the chieftain's daughters as prisoners- leverage to ensure that the Ice Tribe did not rebel against his tyranny.
Felicia had been kept in the dark- that much had been agreed on by Kilma and Flora. She knew her father favored her sister over her and desired to keep her safe from harm and worry. It was something Flora, though occasionally troubled, had largely made her peace with.
She knew why they were there. This did not mean she didn't resent her freedom being taken from her.
'This is ridiculous,' Flora thought to herself, exhaling deeply as she traced the path her father had taken through the icy mountains with her eyes. She looked down at herself, currently dressed in the maid uniform that Garon's men had provided her; her old clothes had been burned against their protests. It was claimed it was to ward off plague, and anyway the new clothes would be better, but Flora knew otherwise.
'I was born to be more than a mere maid to some arrogant Nohrian prince. Father shouldn't have had to give into Garon! Why doesn't he rebel? Why doesn't he tell Garon that he can take his men where they belong? To be forced to swear an oath of loyalty...I refuse to serve someone I don't even-"
"S-sorry…I-I'll be on m-my way…"
Flora, incensed, whirled around to see a shaking, grey-haired boy, dressed in what appeared to be a butler's outfit, replete with vest. She saw a shattered plate on the floor, and a shaking silver tray in the boy's hands; this, she deduced, was likely the cause of the horrified expression currently clouding the boy's face. It was either that, or the suddenly cold breeze rushing through the room, an expression of Flora's mastery of ice.
Just another servant, then. She must've scared him; perhaps, in her anger, her thoughts had been vocalised. The blue-haired girl swept her hair aside, calming herself down with the cold breeze fading away with her temper. Flora exhaled deeply, gazing calmly at the boy.
"No. It's…..quite alright," she reassured him, reaching out to touch him, but the boy recoiled, still scared of her.
"I-I…..I was just walking t-through. I p-promise, I w-won't do that again…."
His eyes snapped to the broken plate on the floor in front of him. Flora realised immediately. She shook her head hastily.
"No, I told you, it's alright. I'm not mad at you."
The boy's expression seemed to lighten, but traces of horror and shock were still palpable. He tried to muster a smile.
"T-thank you. P-Please…..d-don't tell L-Lord Corrin I dropped t-this plate…..h-he might get angry, a-and-"
"I won't let him," Flora replied swiftly, before huffing. "Have you been forced to serve him too?"
The boy shook his head, before looking down and wiping a tear from his eye. "I-I….I…..I don't want to talk about it….."
Guilt washed over Flora's face. Perhaps she'd touched a nerve, touching upon something sensitive to the boy.
'No…..I'm utterly worthless,' the blue-haired girl rebuked herself quietly. 'I had nothing against this boy and now he's crying because of me.'
"Sorry…..I didn't know," she tried to reassure him, and this time the boy, after a spate of heavy breathing, met her gaze.
"It's okay. I…..I'll tell you, s-some other time. W-what's your name?"
"I'm Flora. And yours?"
"J-Jakob…..n-nice to m-meet you….", the grey-haired boy mustered a shaky smile, before bowing to her. "I-I have to go. I-If Gunter sees me slacking o-off, he'll tell me off again! I'll just clean this up quickly….."
Jakob scurried off to find a broom and dustpan, leaving Flora alone once more. She exhaled, looking out the window once more upon the frozen land.
"I wonder what kind of crime his parents committed, to push that poor boy into service," the maid muttered. "No matter. I refuse to treat this Corrin like my master. If my father and my sister won't rebel, then I will."
A few weeks later….
"That's not good enough," Gunter brusquely chided Flora and Felicia, as he looked about the corridor they'd been cleaning. "You two need to keep a better eye on your handiwork."
Though the two girls had done a decent job of it, there were dusty places here and there, and a few stains still left in the carpet. Gunter had been training the pair to be good servants ever since their arrival a few weeks ago, taking in Flora, Felicia and Jakob, who was trying to learn to be less clumsy and more coordinated. However, for some reason, Corrin, the prince they'd been charged with serving, had yet to be seen around the fortress.
Felicia hastily bowed apologetically, shaking. "S-sorry! I-I didn't notice them!"
"That's not an excuse," the old knight calmly, but bluntly reminded her, looking down at the two primly. "You two are in the service of Lord Garon. His tolerance for failure is minimal. While I don't wish to scare you, I want to make sure that you two serve Lord Corrin to the best of your abilities, for your own sakes."
Flora breathed heavily, trying to calm herself. "It was a pair of stains that we'd forgotten. We'll do our best to clean it."
"A pair is not good enough, Flora. The floor must be spotless."
"And what good will it do anyone?" The blue-haired maid protested. "I haven't seen hide nor hair of Lord Corrin since I arrived. Why should I serve an absent master? I have no reason to."
Felicia stared at her, horrified. "F-Flora-"
"No," Her sister would have none of it, bluntly and quietly backing away from her sister. "…..Felicia, if you wish to be loyal to Lord Corrin, then so be it. But I will not. I owe him nothing."
Flora stormed off, ignoring Felicia's attempts to reach out to her. "W-wait! Come back! Flora!"
She looked apologetically at Gunter. "S-sorry about my sister! I-I promise, I-I'll get her b-back-"
"No," the knight sighed calmly, not even looking angered about Flora leaving. There was something incomprehensible in Gunter's expression, as if he and Flora shared in a secret that Felicia was unaware of. "…..I know. She…will calm down in her own time. Do not worry about it. I do not hold it against her. It is hard to learn to suppress your emotions, especially with one so young and with reason to be infuriated."
"What?" The pink-haired girl looked confused. "What's going on?"
"…never you mind. Just get back to cleaning."
…..
Flora stalked off towards the window she'd taken to gazing out of, breathing deeply.
In hindsight, it was unfair of her to have snapped at Gunter. Perhaps Gunter was just like her, forced to serve Corrin against his will. She didn't know, but it was certainly a fair conclusion; after all, who in their right mind would willingly follow the commands of a tyrant king like Garon? Gunter didn't seem like the type to do it voluntarily.
"I owe Corrin nothing," Flora uttered once more, full of venom for the unseen prince she was to be serving. "I may owe Gunter an apology, but I owe that boy nothing. I will make that clear. I should leave, flee back to the Ice Tribe. Maybe Father will pay attention then."
"…are you okay? You sound upset."
It was a male voice Flora heard. Not Jakob's, but someone around his age. Perhaps another servant? The blue-haired maid turned around, staring at the newcomer.
He was tall, even for his age- perhaps standing a head taller than her. His ears were pointed, his eyes red and his hair a silvery-white, lending him an almost otherworldly air. His attire was clearly Nohrian, with the Nohrian emblem embossed onto his tunic, a pair of plain trousers covering his legs and his pale feet going bare.
At once, she knew who this boy had to be.
"…you must be Corrin," Flora uttered suspiciously, backing away from him. The boy's eyebrows arched, curious.
"…who are you? How do you know that name?"
"I know you're supposed to be my master," the maid replied bluntly, turning away with a whiff of cold air that made the prince shiver. She tried to calm herself down despite her indignation. "…but that does not make me your servant."
"So you're the new servant Jakob was talking about," Corrin commented curiously, slowly approaching her. "It's….uh, nice to meet you! Jakob really likes you, so I was wondering if I could finally get to meet you. What's your name?"
"Does it matter to you?"
"…..yes?" The prince seemed confused. "…why wouldn't it?"
Something about him made Flora think twice about snapping at him. Maybe it was the innocence of his expression, or the kind tone of his voice.
"…Flora," the blue-haired maid quietly answered. Corrin seemed to smile at that.
"Flora, huh? You must be Felicia's sister. That's…..that's a nice name," he remarked. "It's nice to meet you, Flora. I hope we can be friends!"
Flora glared at him as if he'd said something foolish. "…..what's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You don't have to be polite," the blue-haired maid brusquely ordered him. "You can get rid of the pleasantries. I know what you're really like. What you really think."
"I-I don't understand," Corrin stared confusedly at her, backing away. "What are you talking about? Flora, i-is everything-"
"I am your prisoner, and you are my captor, and nothing more. You don't need to be so polite."
Corrin at that looked completely lost. "Flora, I don't understand. Is-"
"Of course you don't. You wouldn't be able to. Forget it."
The blue-haired maid stormed off, leaving an absolutely confused Corrin and a freezing wind in her wake. The boy seemed almost at the verge of tears.
"…..w-what did I…..d-did I do something wrong?" He futilely called out after Flora, who had already long since left. Gunter strolled in looking around the room to look for Flora.
"…..ah, Lord Corrin," the old knight looked down at the boy. "I suppose you're enjoying your first day of no longer being grounded?"
"…d-did I do something wrong to Flora?" Corrin inquired, confused. "I just…..she…."
"No, milord," he sighed. "I just think that there is something that troubles her. It is none of your business for now. Go back to your room."
Later that night…..
"Maybe I shouldn't have spoken to her," Corrin muttered, sitting alone on his bed in his cold, drab room atop one of the spires of the fortress. Only moonlight and the dim light of small candles around his room gave the room some warmth and illumination, the pale snow of the surrounding wastes lying as still as the grave outside his window.
The maid's anger at him had troubled him for hours and hours. For some reason, her words had stuck with him, despite having barely spoken to her for minutes. Maybe it was the fact that his only other friends in the world were Jakob and Felicia- both shy, kind people who were barely ever angry at him. Maybe it was the fact that the only anger he'd ever known was from Garon, the kind of anger which he always feared.
Whatever the case, Corrin had dwelt over it for hours.
"Maybe she thinks I did something bad….." The young prince concluded, his eyes lowered in guilt. "Maybe Jakob and Felicia can help me find out what…. Maybe I'll find out why she doesn't like me…"
He shook his head, running his hands through his hair. The prince exhaled deeply. He was about to speak again before the sounds of yelling and footsteps approached his door.
Curious, Corrin strolled towards the door, opening it a creak. "What's going….on."
His voice caught in his throat.
He saw a weeping Felicia, trembling as she sniffled and sobbed in front of a concerned Gunter. Neither of them was aware of the young prince's presence, as the old knight placed a hand on Felicia's shoulder to steady her.
"….a-and I can't find her!" Felicia choked out, trying to blink tears from her blue eyes. "S-she's nowhere to be found! W-we have to go look for h-her!"
"Do not worry," Gunter spoke reassuringly. "I'm sure we'll find Flora. She cannot have gotten far."
Jakob appeared around the corner, breathing heavily, a terrified expression on his face. He shook his head.
"I-I can't find her. She must have found a window or some sort of escape route!"
"…as I thought she might," Gunter muttered, closing his eyes. "….very well. Jakob, Felicia, return to your beds."
"W-what?" Felicia inquired, surprised. "I-I'm not leaving until I find Flora! S-she's my sister!"
"I refuse to l-leave until we can find Flora!" Jakob also stood his ground. Gunter made a stern noise of protest, crossing his arms.
"That is an order, the two of you. I have already prepared to go outside to search for Flora. We'll find her before morning. The gods know what will happen if I don't….."
Corrin looked horrified as he overheard the news. He may not have gone out very often, but Corrin knew enough to know that it would be hard, even for someone like Flora, to trudge into the cold unprotected and survive for too long. Felicia had told him stories of Ice Tribe members who thought their mastery over the cold was superior to nature itself, and were found dead, frozen husks of themselves, punished for their hubris.
'I have to do something,' the young prince thought, determination building. 'Even if F-Flora hates me…..I-I can't let her die out there.'
…
Outside…..
Flora shivered as she sprinted as fast as she could through the snow wastes, hurling herself as far away from the fortress as she could. The trees surrounded her now, their dead branches and black trunks helping to shield her from sight. Tears streamed from her eyes, shimmering in the pale moonlight that shone through the mountains and treetops.
She reckoned she had about half an hour before Gunter called together a party of horsemen to find her. By that point, she hoped, she'd be able to get to the mountains.
'Then maybe I can hunt to get food,' Flora thought to herself desperately. 'Father taught me how, I can do this without anyone else. I just need to survive a week. One week. Then I can get back home. I can tell Father that he needs to mount a rescue to get Felicia back and to rebel against Garon! I just need to get to the mountains before Gunter finds me…..'
That's all she needed to do. Get back home. Get home safe. Father would listen to her, surely.
Maybe she could get Jakob and Felicia to join her. Gunter, maybe. Corrin, most certainly not. That prince could return to Windmire and Garon could certainly keep him.
It wasn't far, Flora knew, to the Ice Tribe from the fortress.
Unbeknownst to Flora, the mountains ahead of her were separated from the rest of the forest by a small ravine, carved into the ground by a small, but strong, river that ran from the mountains, carving a gorge into the foothills and pottering on for miles before widening up into a larger river that extended downwards towards Windmire. She didn't notice this particular land feature while Kilma was bringing her and her daughter to the fortress.
It was a mistake.
Flora was too busy occupying herself with thoughts of what to do when she got back that she ignored the ground ahead of her.
Nobody heard the echoes of her scream of shock, as the maid's foot met air and she tumbled down into the deep gorge.
Her last thoughts before losing consciousness were of intense terror, as the maid tumbled down the ravine, grazing and cutting herself with rough stone, before her head collided with a rock at the bottom, before the world went dark.
"…..Fl….st….th me…."
Flora's eyes slowly fluttered open to a white sky- hours must have passed since she lost consciousness. The first thing she could feel was a slight wetness on the side of her head and the faint smell of iron. She knew she was wounded; the dull throbbing in the side of her head told her as much. She couldn't feel the ground beneath her, for some reason. The second thing she could feel was that someone had wrapped a thick, cotton blanket around her, swaddling it around her like a mother to her child.
"…Flor…..ay wi…me…."
The maid's eyes were heavy-lidded with exhaustion and injury, but she managed to open them. Slowly, Flora looked down, to realise that she was being carried by someone wearing a thick furry coat. Their labored breathing was palpable; she could hear it and feel it, as she realised that she was being carried by her arms and legs, her front resting against her rescuer's back. The head of her rescuer had a mop of silvery-white hair, flecked with snow, blood and mud. His pointy ears were caked in frost, and the maid could feel him shiver despite his thick clothing, shivering against the harsh blizzard they were trudging through, the snow battering the pair as they fought their way back home.
'Corrin. The prince. He…..he saved me..….'
Flora tried to speak, but she was too weak, too injured, to muster up the power to talk. She could finally hear what he was saying, recovering enough from her exhaustion and pain, trying to push through the pain of her aching temple..
"Come on," the prince muttered, almost more to himself than her. "Stay with me, Flora, stay with me…I'll get you home, I promise. Gunter will get help, so please-!"
Somehow, someway, Corrin had snuck out from the fortress to find her. Flora, in her feverish state, could scarcely do anything but wonder through a haze of injury and cold.
'Why…why did you come for me? You…..you could have left me there…..' the maid wondered in her mind. '…..why did you…..save me?'
Corrin trudged on, despite clearly beginning to succumb to the cold. He was beginning to slow down from the combination of carrying her weight and the effects of exposure. Nonetheless, however, he continued trying to push through.
'Just….put me down and save yourself,' Flora thought. 'Please, Corrin, you….I'd rather die than come back. You don't need to die with me.'
"Milord…." the maid requested in a strained, hoarse whisper. "I-if you…..get back, please tell Felicia….I-I'm sorry. Tell Father I'm….sorry."
A moment passed.
Then she added, "…..I'm sorry I said all those things to you."
Corrin didn't reply, before his right leg buckled, and the prince tumbled to the ground, unconscious. Flora's eyes widened as she tumbled to his side, seeing his frost-covered face, a peaceful smile on it as if he'd-
'No. No. He isn't dead. Not yet.'
The maid, fuelled by desperation and whatever else, managed to prop herself up on her knees, cringing as she felt the coldness of the snow on her pale knees. Trying to tolerate the pain, Flora turned Corrin over on his back, facing down at him.
"No," she croaked out, holding the back of her hand over his mouth to feel for the tell-tale warmth that would come with breath. Mercifully, though faint and ragged, she could feel it. She exhaled deeply, placing her hands over him.
'I just have to do what Father taught me,' Flora reassured herself. 'I….I just have to do what the medicine men of our tribe did.'
It was a well-known secret that the Ice Tribe possessed the power to control the internal temperatures of themselves and others through drawing out heat or cold from others into themselves. If done incorrectly, one could die doing it, which is why Kilma, before sending his daughters off, had told them he'd only teach them this technique when they were older- much older.
Flora didn't have the luxury of time. Corrin was dying in front of her, right now. She needed to work, and quickly.
Placing her hands over him, the maid shut her eyes tightly and placed her hands over Corrin, concentrating. She attempted to draw the cold out of his body.
"Come on," she forced out with a whisper. "Come on…..work….."
Then pain wracked her hands, as the cold flowed through her body. Flora bit her tongue to hold her mouth closed and keep a yelp of pain from escaping. The maid held on, trying to force out more of the cold from the prince.
His breathing grew less ragged at last, but Flora could take no more. Screaming in pain, the maid pulled her hands back as if knocked asunder by an invisible force, before falling across Corrin's unconscious body, her own mind rapidly fading from the waking world.
The last thing she saw were shadows running towards them, a flash of grey and pink across their heads.
"…..she's waking up. Thank the gods…."
"Good job, Jakob and Felicia. I knew you two would take good care of her. I made sure Garon wouldn't find out about this incident."
"O-oh, thank you, Gunter! F-Flora and Corrin won't get into trouble, r-right? You're not mad, r-right?"
"…..of course not. Now, you two keep quiet. Flora needs her rest. I must take my leave."
Flora's eyes fluttered open, barely seconds before two arms in black wrapped themselves around her and a pink blur fell on her chest. The blue-haired maid groaned, her vision slowly clearing to see a sobbing Felicia hugging her tightly. She was in a room- by the Nohrian emblem hanging of the wall on a banner, presumably back in the fortress- with three beds, one she'd never seen before. She looked around, seeing that she was in a bed with white sheets, her own-likely soiled and dirtied-maid uniform replaced with a white sleeping gown.
The first thing she noticed was that the throbbing at the side of her head was gone.
Felicia sniffled, looking up at her sister with bleary eyes. "I-I'm so glad y-you're okay! D-don't worry us like that, okay?!"
"H-how…." Flora croaked out, moving a strand of light-blue hair from her eyes. "…..h-how long have I….."
"Three days, Flora," Jakob calmly explained, sitting across the bed from Felicia, a smile on his face. "Felicia and I found you and Lord Corrin unconscious, ten minutes from the fortress. Your head was bandaged, and your wound was closed. He must've cleaned it and covered it, so we didn't have to do too much there."
"Y-you were lucky to be a-alive!" Felicia exclaimed, hugging her sister tightly and squeaking, Flora returning the gesture by hugging her sister weakly with her arm.
"C…Corrin!" Flora's eyes widened, looking around hurriedly. "W-where is he? Is he okay?"
Her eyes set themselves upon Corrin's unconscious form on the next bed over, his eyes squeezed shut and his chest rising and falling gently as he breathed. Flora felt a sense of relief, but somehow her dread had not been completely quelled.
"H-he's fine," Felicia reassured her sister. "J-Jakob made sure of that."
"I stayed up day and night to make sure Lord Corrin was alive!" The butler stated proudly. "Felicia did a….surprisingly good job of taking care of you. Of course, I must thank you for helping keep him alive- I doubt that, without whatever you did to him out there, he would be alive right now."
Flora sank back into her bed, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods...I saved him."
"And don't you dare worry us like that again!" Jakob primly chided her. "You two could've died in that blizzard. It was a miracle Lord Corrin found you so quickly!"
"W-what do you mean?" Flora stared at him, confused.
"You were out there for three hours," the butler replied matter-of-factly. "As far as we know, Lord Corrin left the palace ten minutes after you did."
"H-he….he went out to find me himself?" the blue-haired maid was simply stunned.
Tears welled in her eyes after a moment, and poured out moments afterward. She was horrified at what she'd done, horrified at what she'd brought about.
"E-eh?" Felicia looked confused. "Flora? Why are you-"
"I-I'm sorry….I was so selfish…." the blue-haired girl choked out, sniffling. "I….I shouldn't have run…..t-then Lord Corrin wouldn't have-"
"….d-don't worry about it."
Flora's eyes flitted towards Corrin, who was weakly sitting up, a fragile smile on his drained face.
"B-but Lord Corrin, y-you-"
"D-don't call me Lord," the prince requested. "Just….Corrin. And…..I saved you, d-didn't I? That….makes it worth it."
The maid was stunned. 'How…..how can someone be so….kind? I….I haven't done a thing for him, except to keep him alive….'
"B-but I…..I'm worthless to you."
"I don't care…." Corrin reassured her. "A-as long as we're friends…..I won't ever leave you behind. I-I'd do that again i-if I had to."
"Please don't," Jakob drily remarked. "I regret to inform you that we don't have the winter attire to brave the blizzards outside again."
"J-Jakob!" Felicia cried, protesting.
"No….that's quite alright," Corrin weakly laughed at Jakob's remark. "….are y-you okay, at least, Flora?"
"….yes," the maid nodded, at last flashing Corrin a smile. "Friend. I…..I like that."
'…I was wrong about Corrin,' Flora admitted quietly. '…he's nothing like I thought he was. I….I rejected him and he still….'
"B-but….I don't deserve that," she added, looking away guiltily, sobbing. "I don't deserve to be your friend!"
Corrin looked confused.
"Why?"
"I….I ran away! I yelled at you! I hurt you! I wanted to break my oath of loyalty! How….how can you still call me 'friend' after that?"
Several quiet moments passed, as Felicia and Jakob stared at the pair in silence.
Flora's eyes were filled with tears, her chest heaving with anguish.
'I've done it now,' she thought. 'Corrin will surely reject me.'
Then her eyes widened, as Corrin's soft laughter filled the room, breaking the silence.
"H-huh?"
"Flora," the prince answered. "…I don't care if you did all that. I….I don't remember who said taught me this…..but I once heard that an enemy is….a friend who just doesn't know it yet. Even if you yelled at me, even if you think you hurt me…..I'll always be your friend, Flora. Me, Felicia, Jakob, even Gunter- we'll always be here for you.
It's just that simple."
"As foolish as your actions were, I have to agree," Jakob nodded curtly, his gaze lingering on Flora a bit longer than necessary. "…you can count me as your friend, if Lord Corrin shall too. Besides…..you and Lord Corrin are the first friends I ever had."
"H-he's right!" Felicia smiled despite her tears. "Y-you and I, we're sisters. You may be the o-older one…..b-but that doesn't mean I won't p-protect you when you need it. Also, w-wait a second? Where am I in t-that?!"
Flora giggled, in spite of her feelings.
For the first time in a while, she felt light, as if a weight had been taken off of her.
'Maybe….' the maid wistfully mused to herself. '….maybe this fortress won't be so bad after all.'
….
The Present Day
"Wow…." Azura chuckled, smirking. "I can't believe something like that happened to Flora and Corrin.
"U-um…..yeah!" Felicia giggled, in a light mood after sharing that story. "So, n-now you believe me when I say Corrin and Flora have gone w-way back?"
"I always believed you, silly girl," the songstress winked. Felicia stared at her in shock.
"W-what?! Then w-why did I have to tell that s-story?!"
"So I can get some nice gossip on dear Corrin, of course~" Azura answered. "After all, he knows all about how my life went in Hoshido. It's hardly fair I don't know what happened in Nohr, hm? And that explains that stunt Flora pulled with Camilla back in the port."
"Y-yeah…..s-she'd kill me if I told y-you that t-this is why that happened…." Felicia's cheeks went beet-red. "D-d-don't tell Flora I-I told you about this…."
"Hm. Of course," the songstress promised. "Your secret's safe with me."
Vigil
This story takes place during Corrin's campaign in Valla, as Corrin makes the first incursion into the Invisible Kingdom with the aid of Ryoma and Xander's armies.
"Corrin, watch out!"
Scarlet's voice rang out through the canyon, as the mysterious invisible figure that was attacking them caught aflame, with searing purple fire surrounding them.
Corrin had no time. Scarlet had pushed him out of the way while he was still stunned by the last attack.
'Scarlet!' Corrin wanted to cry. 'No!'
The mysterious attacker seemed to hesitate, suddenly. Corrin could feel as if their gaze was on him, for whatever reason, for all of a second or two.
For a second, it seemed as if the mysterious figure was thinking about something.
Then they released a blast of flames, Scarlet's eyes widening as the almost-certainly fatal blast of magic was hurled at them-
….
"Scarlet!" Corrin shook the unconscious wyvern knight as she lay unmoving on the ground of Valla. She lay almost perfectly still, her left side smoking from the blast of magic that had struck her. The flower that she had pinned on her chest had burned up from the flames. Her face was curled up in pain, indicative of her last moments.
"No, this can't be….." the prince uttered, continuing to futilely shake her. "Scarlet! Answer me, dammit! Scarlet! You can't die now! Get up!"
He felt tears well up in his eyes as he punched the ground with a clenched fist.
Scarlet was dead. Not injured. Not sleeping. Not unconscious. Dead.
And she'd died trying to protect him.
"Oh, gods," the prince uttered quietly, trying to muster his composure, as he heard the footsteps of soldiers approaching, and saw the telltale flames surrounding Vallite soldiers approach. "…..how am I going to tell Ryoma?"
"You don't need to."
Corrin scarcely had a moment to respond before Ryoma sped past him, Raijinito shimmering in the light of the Vallite sun and sparking with deadly lightning.
Within seconds, two Vallite snipers lay dead in front of Corrin, their blood splattering the ground as Ryoma flicked their blood off of his sword. A cold, murderous glint shone from his eye as he turned to Corrin, his eye lingering on Scarlet's prone form. He turned to Corrin, and his anguished tone spoke volumes more than he could ever say.
"Stay here with her. I'll take care of them."
'…no. None of the Vallites will survive,' the swordsmaster thought to himself. 'I refuse to let them.'
"W-wait!" Corrin reached out after Ryoma, but his older brother had already sped off into the mass of invisible soldiers, sword and wielder twirling through the mass in a fatal, deadly dance. Several Vallite soldiers approached Scarlet's corpse, but Corrin saw their tell-tale flames from the corner of his eyes.
"No! Get away from her!" The prince roared, as he drew Yato and cut them one down instantly with a beheading cut, slamming his foot into the other to kick them back. The remaining Vallite said nothing, flickering into sight briefly to reveal the undead pallor that was characteristic of all the soldiers of the Invisible Kingdom. The remaining Vallite attempted to charge at Corrin, but the prince was prepared. He yanked his Fimbulvetr tome from his side before blasting the soldier with a burst of freezing wind, throwing them off of the island they were on into endless void.
Corrin stood guard at Scarlet's body, Yato passing between his hands anxiously as he looked out for any other Vallites. It was not long- Corrin estimated that not ten minutes had passed- before Ryoma had returned, just as the rest of the army had arrived, Xander leading the rest.
"Corrin, thank the gods!" The Nohrian prince sighed in relief, sitting atop his horse. "We thought you'd been…."
His relieved smile faded as he saw the grim look on Ryoma and Corrin's faces and the wyvern knight's unmoving body. Elise immediately fell to her side, looking Scarlet over. Sakura's eyes were ripe with fear.
"W-what happened?", the young Hoshidan princess inquired shakily.
"We were ambushed," Corrin explained, trembling. "I-I would've died, b-but Scarlet-!"
"They got away," Ryoma almost growled, forcefully sheathing Raijinto as he approached the group. "I killed as many as I could, but their ringleader retreated before I could…."
He breathed deeply, strolling over to Scarlet's body and kneeling by it, raising her head with his hand almost tenderly, a thumb on her cheek.
Ryoma and Scarlet had been close while she was alive. The wyvern knight was a freewheeling spirit, and the prince an uptight, calm man of honor, yet they had made fast friends. It helped that they had the same cause; to overthrow Garon himself and free Cheve from his tyranny. It helped even more that, even beyond that, Ryoma had taken a liking to Scarlet- and everyone noticed, considering that outside of either Corrin, Xander or the Hoshidan royals, Scarlet was the person he spent the most time with.
So it was obvious to everyone present that Ryoma was not taking her death well.
Elise placed a mirror over Scarlet's mouth to check if she was still breathing.
"…Corrin…swear to me," the swordmaster uttered under his breath as he continued gazing at Scarlet, clearly trembling as if he was struggling to keep his own composure. "Swear to me, that you will not let her sacrifice be in-"
"She's still alive!" Elise suddenly exclaimed in shock, falling backwards as faint breath fogged up the mirror in her hand. "S-Scarlet! She's still….."
Corrin's eyes widened in surprise and elation. "W-what?! She's….alive?!"
Ryoma immediately grabbed the mirror from Elise's hand, putting it to Scarlet's mouth to see if what she was saying what was true. Indeed, though it was faint, one, then two breaths fogged up the glass. Elise was right; Scarlet, through luck or through intention, had yet to pass from this mortal coil.
He immediately turned to Sakura and Elise, his face betraying nothing but his eyes, welling with tears, telling all. "Heal her! Now! Hurry! And bring a stretcher! We have to get her back to camp quickly!"
"A-alright!" Sakura ran forwards, spurred by the desperate tone in her brother's voice. "Elise, c-come on! We can still save her!"
"Right!" Elise nodded, pulling herself to her feet before shoving her older brother aside. "Move, Corrin! I need space!"
The effort to save Scarlet's life was tremendous. Azama, Corrin's servants and the other healers in the army- even Shura, the adventurer who until then had kept to himself- had piled in with their staves. Orochi and Hayato worked on potions as fast as they could, their alchemical knowledge serving them well as they raced to work on mixtures that would heal Scarlet from her state of near-death.
Ultimately, however, at the end of it all, it was all on the wyvern knight's body to heal herself. The magic that had struck her was strong; even Nyx was stunned by how strong it was. She had remarked that had whoever had assaulted Corrin and Scarlet in the canyon hit Scarlet dead on, they would not be healing a person, but mourning a corpse.
Ryoma had been around the whole time, keeping a watchful eye on Scarlet, barely masking his own anxiety.
"I'm sorry, milord," Azama assured Ryoma, the monk's eternal smile unwavering even now. "But we've tried what we can. If she lives, then you can thank the gods. If she doesn't, then we can't do anything else. That's life."
"Are you sure that's all?"
"That's all," the monk nodded. "Now, don't make a racket. She needs her rest. Anything could change, after all."
Ryoma resisted the urge to punch Azama in the face. He could hardly punch the man who had helped save Scarlet, after all- and on most days, he wanted to punch him in the face anyway. Still, the temptation was highest today.
He breathed deeply, sighing. "…..as you wish."
Azama's smile widened. "Now, if you excuse me, milord, I must get some rest. And…..you too. It'll do you no good to worry about her all night."
A pause.
Then he added, "Scarlet would hate it if you worried about her this much."
Ryoma didn't respond. Azama shrugged, as if to say "No skin off my back", and strolled out of the infirmary tent, leaving Ryoma alone.
He sat down on a chair placed next to Scarlet's bed. The wyvern knight, normally vivacious and free-wheeling, looked fragile and weak. Her damaged armor had been stripped off for reforging at the hands of Niles, and she was currently in a white sleeping gown. Her face, though no longer as pained as it was, still looked troubled, bad dreams flitting beneath her eyelids. She lay almost limp, save for her quiet, ragged breathing- if Ryoma didn't know better, he would've thought her dead.
He sighed, closing his eyes as he sat by her side. "Scarlet, I….."
Ryoma stopped. He breathed in deeply.
"Scarlet, I….I don't know if I said this before," the Hoshidan prince admitted. "…but…..perhaps I should apologise. Perhaps the old proverb, that we never appreciate what we have until it's gone is appropriate, but…..I regret not getting to know you better while I could."
A weight felt lifted off Ryoma, though the words reached deaf ears. Exhaling, the prince continued.
"I know that I may seem uptight, and that I never seem to appreciate your sense of decoration, or your freewheeling nature. But…..I do. Someone like you is rare, and I, perhaps, was foolish enough to take you for granted," the swordsmaster almost sobbed, as he felt one tear roll down his cheek. "Nobody would ever talk to me as you do, and nobody treats me as you do- as an equal. Nobody treats me like that. Not Takumi. Not Corrin. Not my retainers. And…I need someone who can ignore all that I am. That I am the Prince of Hoshido. That I am an older brother. That others hold me above themselves.
I need someone who sees me as nothing more than an equal. Who will stand by me as a partner. Someone who I can truly imagine spending my life with."
He clasped Scarlet's hand tightly, gazing tenderly at her.
"Scarlet…..I need you. I need you to come back. Please."
Ryoma never noticed Corrin's eyes peering at the scene he had created, the younger prince hiding just outside the tent.
The next morning….
Ryoma woke with a start. He had fallen asleep at Scarlet's side, after hours and hours of standing vigil over her. He remembered that the sun had begun to rise, before sleep took over him and forced him to rest.
"Hey, sleepyhead. Don't squeeze so tight. You're crushing my hand."
Ryoma pulled his hand away from Scarlet's, turning towards her. The wyvern knight had woken up, a faint grin on her face. She was still weak from injury, but she was making her best attempt to hide her weakness.
"Scarlet," the swordsmaster uttered in relief. "You're…..okay."
"I've…had worse," Scarlet commented blithely. "My side hurts…..and what are you doing here, anyway? Don't tell me you sat here all night watching over me. That's probably going to make your hair look even more crazy."
"That's…." Ryoma paused, his cheeks a little red from embarrassment- a rare event on the level of a blue moon, a solar eclipse and Azama opening his eyes. Scarlet's grin widened.
"Oh. So you're a sappy one. Did you at least get 'em for me? The person who put me here?"
"No," Ryoma shook his head. "I tried, but…..more soldiers showed up."
Scarlet groaned in irritation. "Damn. I must've missed a good fight. You probably kicked all their asses."
Ryoma had to resist the urge to chuckle at her coarse mouth. Instead, he smiled. "I….yes. You could say that."
"Good," Scarlet replied, sighing and leaning back in place. "Now…...do you know when I can get out of bed? I'd rather not sit here while you guys go out and fight."
"Azama said you'd probably be there for a few days, while your body recovers. You were almost dead."
"Just, I dunno, drag me up there, tie me to my wyvern and tie my lance to my arm," Scarlet suggested almost desperately. Ryoma sighed.
"We can't do that. You need your rest. And….I shall ensure that you are-"
"And don't you dare sit here. As much as I like having you around," the wyvern knight grinned. "You should go out and kick some ass for me. I'll be here when you come back. I promise. Don't stop being cool for my sake."
"…I'll keep that in mind," Ryoma promised. "I'm….just glad you're alive."
"Of course you are," the wyvern knight cheekily remarked. "Is there anyone who isn't?"
The Hoshidan prince laughed.
'…thank you, Scarlet,'he wanted to say. 'Thank you…..for being you.'
What Happened With Everyone Else During The Festival
Kaze and Felicia
"Wow….." Felicia looked around Shirasagi's marketplace, her eyes sparkling with wonder at all the knick-knacks and food to be bought in the market. "….I've been here m-many times, but….it's never b-been like this before!"
Kaze nodded in agreement, smiling. "You're right, it hasn't. A lot of people only open up during festival days. They'll draw enough money in to keep them for the rest of the year."
"Really?" the maid looked shocked. "…you must get a lot of visitors!"
"There were many before Garon began making moves against Hoshido," the ninja explained, his brow furrowing as he tried to remember. "Many people stopped coming here. They were scared that war would break out any minute. It's only now that they've started coming back. And all the better- the city doesn't look right if it isn't full during the Festival of the Stars."
Felicia nodded slowly, still in awe. "I….guess y-you've been to quite a few."
"Barring the year we spent fighting in….Valla," Kaze spoke, forgetting that the curse upon the name of the Invisible Kingdom had died with Anankos for a moment. "….I have attended every year."
"So this isn't new for you, h-huh," the maid looked a little disappointed. Kaze noticed it, smiling.
"Don't worry. It's always a new experience to have a partner to come with."
At that, Felicia's eyes lit up. "You….y-you mean you never came with anyone?"
"I had…..many admirers," the green-haired man admitted, chuckling. "But…..I felt none of them were the right partner to attend with."
"E-eh!?" the pinkette's cheeks turned red. "R-right partner? W-what do you mean?"
"Someone who I'd genuinely enjoy being with," Kaze confessed, smiling tenderly at her.
"D-don't make jokes!"
"I'm not joking," he replied. "Is it so unbelievable that I'd like being around you? We've been friends for a long while."
Felicia looked down, playing with her fingers. "I-I….well….I mean, I'm clumsy, a-and I make m-mistakes a lot, and-"
"Don't worry about all that. Tonight, it's just you and me," Kaze reassured her, pulling her closer. Felicia squeaked at his touch, but didn't pull away. "…Of course, I should have probably told you that the people who someone invites to this festival are usually someone the person loves."
The maid almost fainted at that. "W-what?! W-w-why didn't you s-say that?!"
Kaze simply smiled, closing his eyes. "Perhaps we should go find something to eat. The fireworks are starting soon."
"D-don't just ignore my question like t-that!"
"I can't resist," the ninja confessed, smiling. "Corrin's rubbing off on me. Don't worry about it."
He paused for a moment.
"…still, if we were lovers…I don't think I'd mind terribly."
Felicia blushed immensely. "I…..t-thanks, K-Kaze. I…..I don't think….I-I'd mind either." She mustered a smile despite the clear elation she felt at that.
Kaze breathed in deeply. "Now, Felicia. Dinner? My treat."
"Y-yes please!"
Silas and Mozu
"You won't see something like this back home," Mozu wondered at the spectacle she was witnessing, a stick of ikayaki in her hand with a bite taken out of the squid tentacle. "Even my village never had stuff like this. We had one of those small fetes around harvest time, but…."
"You're telling me," Silas laughed. The two of them were dressed in normal clothes; Silas didn't own a yukata and Mozu found the things too difficult to wear. "I've never seen anything this big before."
Mozu stared at him, surprised. "You haven't? A city boy like you, never seen anything like this?"
"Windmire wasn't exactly as open to this kind of thing," the cavalier replied, shrugging. "Not that I'm complaining. It's home, after all, and it's got its charm."
The villager chuckled, sighing in relief; she wasn't the only one new to all this. "I was worried, you know. Just little old me, lost in the big city with only you for company in the middle of a big festival…."
"Well, you'll be pleased to know I know almost nothing about Shirasagi," Silas cheerfully declared. "You're not alone. By the way, is the ikayaki good?"
"Yeah!" Mozu nodded affirmatively. "I never thought I'd have something fancy like squid someday, but….it's really good! A little rubbery, but good."
"Aren't you the budding food critic?" Silas gently ribbed her. Mozu crossed her arms, rolling her eyes.
"The pot calling the kettle black! You were complaining about the yakitori being burned!"
"It was burned!"
Mozu snorted. "It was perfectly good. Your palette's just used to fancy city food!"
"That was fancy city food."
"I could make chicken like that any day," the villager retorted, before smirking. "Now, you, you nearly poisoned Corrin with soup."
"In my defence, I tried my best!" Silas protested suddenly. Mozu smiled triumphantly.
"Maybe I should teach you how to cook. Your parents may have taught you how to cook fancily, but I'll teach you how to do it properly."
The cavalier chuckled. "Well, that wouldn't be such a bad idea. I mean, you are good at cooking. Maybe you'd make better yakitori too."
"Maybe?" The villager raised an eyebrow, before chuckling. "….try definitely."
"Well, aren't we confident?" Silas teased her, smiling. "Still…..it's a nice night tonight, huh?"
Mozu nodded in agreement. "Well, yeah. It is. Perfect night for a festival, too."
"…you know, I do wonder how Partner's doing," the cavalier commented, frowning. "I haven't been around to Corrin's in a while."
The villager shrugged. "Corrin? I'm sure he's fine. He's probably with Azura right now, knowing those two. They're like birds of a feather."
"Probably," Silas snorted, chuckling. "Maybe we'll catch those two making out."
Mozu punched him in the arm, causing Silas to rub it. "Ow! What was that for?"
"Don't be like that! Besides, it'd be weird if we walked in on those two."
Suddenly, in the clear Hoshidan night sky was a giant plume of flame, rapidly expanding from where the firecracker had unleashed it, red, yellow and orange dots flying outwards in a synchronised manner forming the shape of an elegant, blooming flower standing out in the blackened sky, petals unfurling into an elegant pattern in the night sky. The bang of the firework echoed throughout the plaza, as Mozu and Silas watched it unfold, stunned.
"Whoa…" the cavalier was temporarily speechless. "….that's….."
"We gotta get up on one of those roofs!" Mozu started dragging him by the arm. "Come on! We can't see it properly otherwise!"
"W-wuh? Hey! W-wait! Wait up!"
END
A/N: Okay, well, those were three nice bits of story. Or rather, two stories that went for far longer than I expected them to and a bit of stuff about what happened to the others during the Festival. Anyway, now that that's done, next chapter will be about…something. Maybe the scrapped Archenemies chapter. Or maybe something new.
Anyway, so, I hope you enjoyed that, leave your ideas, comments, criticisms, suggestions, reviews and thoughts, and I hope you have a GREAT day! Until next time!