So, here's something a little different. There's a lot of territory I wanna cover in this story, but some of it is a little too detached from the main plot to smoothly incorporate. So here's my copout; paralogues! I've got no idea how many I'll make or how often I'll do them, but they'll be a great way for me to still develop plotlines and characters that aren't currently integral to the story. So without further ado, here's paralogue one!

(Also, to reviewer IsThisWorking, she's dead as a doorknob.)

Ryoma

It didn't matter how much time went by in Cheve; Ryoma still couldn't get used to fighting without Raijinto. He missed the grip of the blade, missed the gentle hum of stored electricity that coursed through his veins. He missed how it always swung exactly where and how he wanted as if it knew his thoughts and desires perfectly. Of course, he was aware that Raijinto had a consciousness of some kind; it was a trait all of them shared. However, he never was sure of just how strong that consciousness truly was.

He gripped the spear tighter, adjusting the helmet covering his face. Showing his identity in the rebel headquarters was one thing, but out in the streets, it was a death sentence, and not just for him; if the Nohrian royals were to learn of his presence in Cheve, it would most certainly become a primary target for suppression.

The night air, especially biting on the rooftop, kept his armor far too cold for comfort, though it didn't seem to bother Scarlet much. Quite the contrary in fact; she seemed to revel in it, occasionally just closing her eyes and letting it overwhelm her for a few seconds, before returning her attention to the task at hand. He must have been looking at her one too many times, because eventually she whispered, "Hey, one of us has to keep an eye on the street." A grin accompanied her words, as if to acknowledge the selfishness of her request. He didn't mind much, turning his focus back to the cobbled street below, where a squad of Nohrian troops was to pass through, on their way to the frontlines of the war. Taking them down would be a minor victory, but it was meant more to raise morale amongst the rebels, rather than make any sizeable difference.

There was another stretch of time spent in silence. The squad was later than predicted. Scarlet took advantage of this to spend some more time talking. "Here's what I don't get: you found Corrin, just like you came here to do. Your ninjas headed back to Hoshido, but you and those two maids stayed. Why?" It was a question that Ryoma had tried to avoid answering for a while, but it was also one that Scarlet was insistent on asking whenever she had the opportunity. It seemed the squad wasn't going to arrive fast enough to save him from giving her an answer.

"The rebellion still needed assistance, so I chose to stay. Flora and Felicia know Nohrian culture better than I do; they've been invaluable during my time here." Deciding to use the maids to change the subject, he remarked on their proficiency. "Those two really have pulled their weight and then some. Even when their loyalty had been proven, they insisted on continuing to work to the best of their ability. They really are something."

"They're something alright, I'll give you that." Scarlet concurred, looking down at the street. "Still, you've noticed Flora, right? How weird she's been acting?" Ryoma nodded. It was true, the girl had been having a harder time performing some of the manual labor as of late. She was tiring more quickly, and seemed more easily distracted. He made a mental note to talk to her about it, see if she was eating enough, or if she needed to spend some time planning strategies and logistics rather than performing reconnaissance and engaging in combat. Still, he had a feeling it wouldn't go well, especially if Felicia was still fighting; she tried to hide it, but he knew Flora was sensitive towards the subject of not being able to hold the same standard as Felicia when it came to combat.

Speaking of the devil, Ryoma spotted Flora, wearing a cloak to better conceal her identity, walking down the street; the signal that the enemy squad was near. "That's her. Come on." Scarlet spoke, getting up and heading for the trapdoor on the roof. Ryoma got up as well, going in after her, finding himself back in the attic of the citizen who had so generously allowed them to use her house as a recon point. Hurrying down the stairs, worry began to flood his mind. Were the archers in their correct positions? Had everyone else spotted Flora, and readied themselves? Too much could go wrong, and though there were precautions in the plan for many of these outcomes, he still couldn't help but grow anxious.

Opening the front door of the house, he almost ran right into Flora, who was out of breath and panicked. "T-they saw me, they're coming this way, fast! I think they know who I am!" Ryoma cursed under his breath, pushing past her with Scarlet close behind, entering the street. From down here, the tall, stone buildings cast long shadows, jagged and deafeningly dark. If it weren't for the gaps that allowed moonlight to flood in, he wouldn't have seen the Nohrian soldiers a few blocks away, walking right towards them.

Scarlet must have noticed his nervousness, because she turned to him and tried to reassure him. "Things are just happening a bit faster than usual. We still have the upper hand. Stay focused." He took her advice to heart, taking in a deep breath, gripping his spear tightly once again. They were closer now, at least a dozen of them. Just like the report said, there were no mages within their ranks; instead, they were mostly swordsmen, along with two cavaliers in the front. They had spotted Ryoma and Scarlet now, and seemed to be talking amongst themselves, likely deciding how to react. Just a little more… Ryoma thought to himself. They were almost to the correct spot. Just a few more feet…

From the alleyway that the soldiers passed by, Felicia let loose a blast of ice magic, surging across the ground and freezing their feet in place. At the same time, archers positioned at the windows of various buildings made their presences known, firing upon the squad. By the time they even had their feet free, the horses had been spooked and ran, flinging their riders off, and half their rank had been taken down. Ryoma and Scarlet charged with Flora behind them, the girl flinging a dagger which embedded itself into a swordsman's shoulder, sending him down to the ground.

Scarlet ducked under a swipe from a swordsman, using the momentum of her movements to swing her axe up with her body, crashing into his breastplate, accompanied by the sound of breaking ribs. As another soldier ran at her flank, she let gravity to the rest of the work for her, swinging back down and right into his helmet, cracking it and the man's skull in the process. Ryoma targeted the less armored cavaliers, who now were forced to fight without their steeds. Now free of the ice, they charged at him, spears raised. Knowing they were one of the few weapons that posed a substantial threat to his heavy armor, being able to thrust up into the cracks separating the various plates, he decided to borrow a tactic he had seen Hinoka use, attacking horizontally, rather than thrusting as normal.

It made sense why Hinoka would use that strategy; a naginata had a curved blade, much better suited for more freedom in attacks. A spear, however, did not. The attack was awkward, and bounced harmlessly off the soldiers' armor, only forcing them to back up a few seconds before resuming their charge. He cursed under his breath before charging right at them, a daring tactic which could have easily resulted in him impaling himself on their spears. Thankfully, it worked to surprise them, and he rammed right into one of them, sending him flying. He quickly turned and grabbed the other one by the shoulders, slamming his armored head right against the man's uncovered skull. It made his head rattle, though he could only imagine just how bad the other guy was feeling it, as he was on his back before he could look.

Then, Ryoma turned his head and felt horror settle in his gut. There, on the ground, was Flora, the swordsman she had attacked now on top of her and holding onto the dagger that she had thrown at his shoulder. He plunged down, aiming at her stomach, but to Ryoma's surprise, she grabbed the blade with her hands, screaming in pain as she clenched them tightly, pushing back against him. Another dagger flew at him, this time hitting him in the throat, allowing Flora to push the now dead Nohrian soldier off her. From Ryoma's distance, he had no idea how bad the wounds were, but they were bad enough for Felicia, now grabbing her sister, to let out a sob of fear as she dragged her into a nearby alleyway and out of the fighting.

Nearby, Scarlet was finishing off one of the last standing soldiers, throwing her axe right at him, hitting him perfectly in the shoulder. By the time she walked over to yank the axe out, the battle was over. Any soldier that hadn't been defeated by the two of them had been picked off by the archers. Seeing that it was now safe, Ryoma quickly ran to the alley that the two sisters were in. Flora was laying on her sister's knelt legs, her hands out and trembling as Felicia used a staff to try and heal them as quickly as possible.

What worried Ryoma wasn't the wounds; it was how calm Flora seemed to be about it all. Even as Felicia rambled and ranted about how scared she was, Flora just kept saying, "I'm alright. He didn't get me. I'm okay. We're okay." The monotone calm she spoke with did nothing to dissuade Ryoma's suspicions about her behavior. Talking to her about it, however, would have to come later.

Of course, when later came, something else came up with it. One of the rebel soldiers had informed Ryoma that Scarlet wished to speak with him. He headed to her quarters, no longer in his heavy armor, instead wearing a simple shirt and pants, which oddly felt less comfortable to him. Once he arrived, he knocked on her door, and a few moments later, heard her voice inviting him in.

Once he had closed the door behind him, he turned to face Scarlet, who had a deathly serious look on her face as she sat behind her desk, paperwork piled up on top of it. "Is something wrong?" He asked while approaching her, only for her to stand up and walk around her desk, meeting him halfway. "I thought you'd be in a better mood, considering the victory."

"You need to get your retainers under control, Ryoma." Scarlet warned, her no-nonsense tone indicating that she wasn't in the mood to argue about it either. "Flora was supposed to stay back and provide ranged support, not charge into battle. She nearly got her fingers chopped off in the process." Ryoma opened his mouth, but she held a hand up, silencing him. "I know they're technically Corrin's retainers, but she's not here right now. You are, and you've been the one giving them orders. So give Flora the order to listen to my damn commands next time."

Ryoma was honestly taken aback by how angry she was. She never got this wound up, save for when she was talking about anyone who lived in Castle Krakenburg or her former supervisor during her days in the Nohrian Military. "If that's what you want Scarlet, I'll let her know. If I had known it was such a sore spot for you, I'd have done something sooner."

"It's not just that, Ryoma, and you know it!" Scarlet fired back, once again surprising the Hoshidan prince. Now he was more confused than anything, and hesitantly answered.

"Then, what is it about? Scarlet, you need to tell me these things if you want us to work together as well as we have—"

"Oh don't you dare pretend this is about our ability to work together." With that, she slammed her hand on her desk. "Why did you stay? Don't give me any excuses, or lies, or keep any secrets, because by the Gods above you are a terrible liar and I will know if you lie to me like you did before that battle." Ryoma was so caught by surprise by Scarlet's demand that it took him longer than he would have liked to answer her.

"Scarlet, I don't believe now's really the time to—"

"Answer me."

There was another long pause. Then, Ryoma sighed and spoke. "I…I wanted to make sure nothing happened." Scarlet crossed arms and gave her a look that told him that he'd need to go into a bit more detail than that. "Nohr was already gazing down here, sending more and more troops. It's only a matter of time until they send down a large enough number of troops to wipe out the rebellion, and likely Cheve, for good."

"Bullshit. Even you wouldn't be able to stop them if that were the case."

"That's why I don't plan on stopping them!" Ryoma took a step closer to her. "You and your troops need to come to Hoshido. You can help us fight from there, and you'll stop giving Nohr a reason to target Cheve. It kills two birds with one stone."

Scarlet let out an almost offended chuckle. "And what, abandon my home? My people!? Chevois Knights don't just run wherever the battle suits them best; they plant their feet in the ground and stay there! Doing anything else would be cowardice!"

"Not cowardice; survival. Scarlet, what do you think staying here will accomplish? King Garon will turn Cheve into nothing but another reminder to the nation's under Nohr's control to stay complacent. At least in Hoshido you can still fight without putting your people under so much risk—"

"Don't you dare tell me what's best for my people!" Scarlet took a deep breath, running her hand through her short hair. "There you go, changing the subject again. What's best for the rebellion is not what we were talking about. I still want to know just why you keep insisting on staying."

Ryoma almost asked her if she would prefer him to leave, but that was too petty a remark for him; perhaps Corrin's behavior had rubbed off on him more than he was willing to admit. "I wanted to protect you." He realized the answer wasn't clear enough, and so he elaborated. "I realized that I didn't want to see something happen to you. I didn't want you to die out here while I sat in a war tent far away from the conflict, getting the news in some report I'd be forced to shove aside."

Another chuckle escaped Scarlet's lips. "If I didn't know any better, that sounded like you actually cared for a second there."

"I do care about you, Scarlet." It was only after Ryoma said that that he realized he had taken her hands in his own. The two of them both found themselves unable to find the right words to say. So, at the same time, they both reached the conclusion that there was something better they could do than speak.

The kiss was brief, lamentably so, but it did its job. As Ryoma and Scarlet, both stepped back, each of them understood exactly what the other one felt. She was the first one to speak. "This isn't a good idea. You're at war with Nohr. Falling in love with a Nohrian is—"

"Is exactly what I want." Ryoma said, looking at her with a focused gaze. "Petty politics won't change my mind." Though he put on a calm demeanor, his mind was racing, questioning if he was supposed to do anything else.

Scarlet let out a long sigh, rubbing her temples. "Just…go talk to Flora. Make sure she understands not to be so reckless." Ryoma knew it would be best to leave her alone, so he did, turning and walking out of the room. Just as he was opening the door, Scarlet spoke again. "And Ryoma? I'll think about it."

"Think about what?" He asked, turning to face her. Instead of answering whether she was talking about the plan to go to Hoshido, what had just happened between the two of them, or maybe even both, she just flashed a grin. It only reminded him just how much he had fallen for her.

A few days later, once he had gotten word from Felicia that Flora was out of her care, he summoned the girl to his quarters, sitting down at a desk of his own. The girl stepped inside, her hands still bandaged up from the tips of her fingers all the way down to her wrists. It was a sight that would make most people wince from looking at it. He told her to take a seat, and she did, silent as a mouse. "Scarlet tells me that you've been disobeying orders lately. I'd like to know why."

Flora didn't answer, her eyes glued to her lap, looking more conflicted than he'd ever seen them, even when she and her sister were spilling all of the information that they knew about Nohr in order to gain sanctuary in Hoshido. "It's not just that, either. You've been more irritable. I've heard stories from some of the rebels about you screaming in anger when someone drops supplies around you. They say you haven't been eating as much some days, and others you've been asking Felicia to share some of her portions with you. If the stress is getting to you, I understand, but you need to speak up, so I know you're—"

"Pregnant."

There was a moment of silence.

Followed by a moment longer.

And for a few more moments, silence still reigned. Then, Ryoma spoke. "…Pregnant." It was more to verify that he had heard her correctly. She nodded in confirmation. "You're…pregnant." That explained…well, just about everything. The mood swings, the eating, everything. "How long?" Was all he could ask.

"It happened on the night of the gala, back in Hoshido. A butler I used to work with, named Jakob. He now serves as a retainer to Prince Leo. It won't be long before my pregnancy will be visible to anyone from a glance. I've been able to hide it so far, but…" She still refused to look up at Ryoma, and he couldn't exactly blame her.

"That's…a lot to take in. When were you planning on telling anyone?" All Ryoma got in response was a look of guilt. "Did you think you'd be able to hide it forever? That nobody would find out?" More silence. "Does Felicia know?"

"No." Flora answered, her voice already having grown hoarse. "The only other person who knows is a cleric I checked with a month ago. That's when I found out." Ryoma slumped in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. He recalled the battle, where Flora was ready to sacrifice her own hands to stop the soldier from plunging that dagger into her stomach, and it suddenly made so much more sense.

Ryoma sighed once again. "You are to cease all combat missions, effective immediately. You will instead focus on the upkeep of headquarters, as well as tactics and mission planning. Do you understand?" He could see the hurt in her eyes as she nodded, but he refused to put her and her child in any danger, no matter how much it hurt her. "You will inform Scarlet and any other members of the resistance that she believes need to know this information currently." Flora nodded once again. "Before that happens, however…" He sat up in his chair. "You are to tell Felicia. Do you understand?" Flora hesitated, and then nodded. "Good. You're dismissed."

Flora stood up and left the room, wasting no time. He couldn't exactly blame her, considering what he had said, but he didn't regret it. A few minutes later, he could hear Felicia shouting in surprise, despite knowing her and Flora's quarters were situated near the opposite side of the headquarters. He chuckled, both at the girl's reaction and because he had to admit that he never expected this role would be so hard. In some ways, it was harder than being a prince, even.