The idea that pirates would sneak into a boat occupied by perhaps the most dangerous people on the continent (perhaps even the world) was entertained by some of the soldiers on the ship certainly, but Beruka herself never thought that they would be so eager to move out during the day. She had anticipated an operation that would take place at night, but it appears that something had managed to force the hands of the lawless scum of the sea.
Selena and Beruka ran ahead of quite a few other troops, reaching the treasury where the Nohrian gold was kept. It stood at the back of the ship, and was guarded by two imposing black doors, whose impressive size and appearance didn't stop the pirates from opening them ever so slightly to try to sneak in. Behind the doors stood a wooden hall with about six doors, with a room containing part of the treasure for each. The door at the end of the hall had a wider part than most, which was perhaps the reason why the pirates decided to loot it. However, the way back was blocked by quite a lot of soldiers, and the room itself had no other exits.
Beruka and Selena made their way to the room, wondering what sort of phenomenon could so easily stalemate a group of soldiers on their way to bring a country to its knees. Upon reaching the room though, they could easily see why.
The "pirates" inside were small in numbers, barely six of them. They were all dressed in proper Nohrian uniform, hinting that they probably got on the boat by conscripting. One of them, the youngest one going by his youthful face, was holding a crackling Fire tome above his head, pointing at the army. The rest of the pirates seemed to be looking at him, contemplating on what to do next. Only one of them seemed to be keeping his calm, though even then, some sweat was rolling down his face.
The numerous chests in the room were untouched for now. They truly botched it apparently. It probably didn't help that the room itself was wide enough for an entire army to fit in, and the chest themselves were so heavy that even Effie would consider them decent for her work-out challenges… which meant that lifting them was beyond the ability of most people.
"Put that down, kid." He said. "This won't help."
"Stay back!" He warned. "If I see even one of you take just one more step, I'm going to drag you all down with me, you hear?! B-back off!"
The soldiers perhaps couldn't hope to stop the pirates in time, since it looked like the young pirate was quite ready to live up to his threat, but Camilla's retainers were quicker than the average individual. Selena nodded at Beruka and, in a flash, both women crossed the distance separating them from the Fire-wielding pirate. Beruka smashed him in the face with a powerful punch and Selena leapt in the air to grab the Fire tome, though her gloves barely protected her from the heat.
Looking down, the young boy's left hand had some nasty burns on it. Was burning his own hand preferable to facing Nohrians in his eyes? Beruka didn't really have the time (or the desire) to care about it, because one of the pirates right next to her decided to try to hit her with a clumsy punch, out of desperation perhaps. Before he could do so though, the other soldiers managed to burst into the room and quickly began cutting down the pirates as Selena landed close to a dark mage, holding up the book to her.
She put on a casual smile. "Care to secure that?"
"Of course, milady!" Replied the mage, using her magic to quickly take care of the book. While her back was turned around, and while most of the room was busy attacking the pirates, Selena shook her hand and quickly blew on it, though her cocky grin slipped back unto her face by the time the Dark Mage turned to look at her.
Meanwhile, in the room itself, the situation was quickly coming under control. Only one pirate was even alive at the moment, and he wasn't really fighting, with most soldiers being quite eager to stick him in a corner, slowly surrounding him while perhaps deciding on how best to kill him. His helmet fell off, revealing that he had rather… towering hair, and his hair was white apart from a black mark on the middle. He seemed rather worried, holding his hands up with a nervous smile.
"Hey, buddy." He said. "Shouldn't we be talking?"
"Ah!" Gloated a Nohrian soldier with a blood-stained sword. "Shouldn't you be DYING?!"
The man swung his sword horizontally, but instead of hitting the pirate, he made a most dramatic miss, since the outlaw made a acrobatic jump to dodge the blade before promptly attacking with a swift kick, sending the man flying into the crowd. Boorish yelling ensued, but before he could be stopped, the man threw a smoke bomb right at the ground, blinding the nearest soldiers and causing them to stumble around. A few knives attempted to hit the spot where he was standing, but the man had already performed a most dramatic leap to reach the nearest wall, newly-acquired sword in hand. His sudden bout of agility surprised most of the people in the room, and thus, he easily made his second leap towards the entrance door.
Beruka prepared to intercept him, but the shifting mob prevented her from gaining the focus and time to accurately jump to intercept him, and to her deception, Selena herself was gawking at the sudden agility of the pirate, only reacting when he landed right next to her before promptly leaping backward. A few soldiers in the halls swung their weapons but the man avoided them with effortless ease. What he planned to do by leaping around, she didn't know, but even Beruka had to admit that he was quite well trained.
In fact, his movements reminded her of those done by Hoshidan shinobis, but even more skilled. The assassin didn't doubt that she'd catch him though, and with great swiftness herself, the blue-haired woman began a chase that was… promptly cut before it could begin, when a familiar figure stepped in front of the escaping pirate. And she very easily recognized Corrin, his "Grim Yato" in hand. The pirate also seemingly recognized him, stopping in his course and locking eyes with the prince.
"What is the matter here?" Asked the young man. "Who are you?"
The fleeing man chuckled bitterly. "Just my luck." He said. "I guess I should've anticipated this but I didn't except for you to be that fast."
Corrin pointed his sword. "Answer my question, and you shall be spared?"
The pirate turned to look at the army at his back and smiled mirthlessly. "Well, sorry, but your buddies didn't exactly spare mine!" And, concluding his brief interaction, he leapt forth, attempting to get past the prince. Beruka ran, guessing that the chase was on again, but fate proved her wrong again when Corrin easily moved in front of the individual, at such speed that he might've been a blur for the gathered members of his army, and easily struck him down in the stomach with the pommel.
The agile outlaw barely managed to gasp a "Gah…" before he began to fall backward, defeated in one blow. However, the prince mercifully grabbed him by the arm to prevent him from falling… and also to seemingly prevent any dirty tricks from being pulled. Corrin's guess proved wrong though, for the shinobi that he struck down was unconscious yet entirely unresponsive. By all accounts, he was defeated.
A guard ran close to Corrin. "My liege, apologies, he got past us!" And, after a short while, more guards found themselves accompanying him, all surrounding Corrin to marvel at the feat of speed he just demonstrated. The young man looked a little intimidated, but calmed down slightly when Beruka walked up to him, bloody axe in hand. She locked eyes with him before nodding down, and he answered to that by shaking his head, to her surprise.
"He is dangerous… my liege." Argued Beruka, forgetting that she casually addressed him as Corrin otherwise and almost slapping herself for almost doing so in public. "We should end him."
"He's quite different from the average outlaw, I feel like killing him would be a mistake." Answers Corrin. "We should try to get some answers out of him later and then we'll see."
Camilla and Azura reached the treasury and, soon after, so did Xander and Leo. Needless to say, the man was doomed from the start with his dim-witted attempt. Beruka frowned, wondering just what exactly would drive a seemingly skilled pirate to make such a momentous mistake.
"We've intercepted the thieves." Said Corrin. "This one is disabled, and the others are…" He took a glanced at Beruka's bloody axe. "Dead." He concluded. He looked regretful, but not as much as he would've done before. The assassin was getting to him apparently, which was good. The more the war ramped up, the less useful his reluctance with killing would be… Not that she was yearning for him to murder indiscriminately, like a certain bald captain. She just wanted him to be able to use lethal force when he needed to.
"Pirates on this ship?" Leo looked down at the unconscious man. "Not very wise of them. There's probably not much use to keeping him alive but I trust your advice, brother."
"Should he escape again though, we may need to be harsher in our sentence." Said Xander. "It pains me to hand off our problems to another, but we may need to put him in a Mokushujin prison."
The unconscious man was put in chains and dragged out of the spot in time. The rest of the ship eventually scattered, though Corrin's effortless defeat of the outlaw sparked some conversation. A lot of the soldiers on the ship were new to the army after all (and thus didn't know the extent of Corrin's strength), and also didn't really get to see a royal fight up-close, even for a second. The prince himself was currently talking to Kaze, though Beruka didn't see fit to willingly join a conversation yet, especially when she could simply ask either of them about it later.
She simply began to clean her axe, and walked away.
…
The ship was progressing under the night of the moon. Somewhere in the distance, the warriors could see the lights of Notre Noblesse from afar. It would've been smart to perhaps put the pirate in there, but Xander had to say no. They were required to reach Hoshido as soon as possible to begin a large invasion altogether, and while a ship of lesser importance could've made a docking before quickly attempting to catch up, the royals spearheaded the invasion, and it wouldn't be very proper for them to be slower than the other ships.
The excitation over the pirate's arrival had dimmed for now, and wariness settled in. In the minds of the soldiers, more pirates could be on board, plotting. Leo, not one to leave things to chance, grabbed the records concerning the soldiers aboard and scrubbed the ship, looking for a soldier that'd be out of place or getting somewhere where they shouldn't be. As a result, things were stricter on-board, not that Beruka minded. She rather enjoyed the calm, especially since the soldiers spent the first hours being quite chatty.
The bodies had been disposed of by giving them away to the fishes. The surviving outlaw was in a cell deep within the ship, and was being watched over by soldiers constantly. Beruka had proposed to watch over him, since she could deal with an attempted evasion, but Camilla apparently thought that it'd be better for her to hang out and train with her fellow retainers or dine with them, apparently.
The "dining hall" of the ship was filled with soldiers and various tables of varying sizes were scattered over it. In the middle of the room, the largest table had the Nohrian royals eating together. All around them, various Nohrian soldiers dined, chatting together. They would perhaps talk louder, or even fight, if it weren't for the presence of Xander, whose mere presence proved to be a powerful deterrent against usual Nohrian rowdiness.
The soldiers sat with whoever they wanted. This meant that Beruka had a relatively empty time, having only herself, Kaze and Selena. At times, some of their fellows made effort to approach, but then ended up getting cold feet, or simply disdained to eat with an Hoshidan. Some even seemed to think that Kaze's presence was the reason why the food was checked for poison before being served. A couple of them even glared at him from their table, to the ninja's seeming obliviousness. Their glares found their match when Selena immediately stared back though, and Nohr's servants quickly went back to their meal. The redhead glared daggers into them before eventually going back to her own fairly modest meal.
Beruka's own ration was pretty small, and she took small bits out of it. By contrast, even Kaze, who had perhaps been trained to thrive on a half-empty stomach, managed to acquire himself a wider portion. He wasn't finishing it though, simply observing the room. The assassin didn't bother questioning him on this, but Selena chose to do so.
"So, Kaze." Said Selena. "I gotta ask, isn't it… weird for you? You're going to roll in and invade your former country." She waved her hand and tried to come up with a description. "You're still looking pretty zen."
The ninja raised one eyebrow and smirked slightly, slowly chewing and politely swallowing his food before talking. "If I were to express doubt now, surely miss Beruka would stab me right now." He said, and they both eyed her. She didn't bother to dignify their goading with anything else than a vague grunt. Selena smirked a little, as if dismissing it as a joke, but both the silent killers at the table knew better than that. "But, well… I was ready for such a scenario as soon as I made my offer to Lord Corrin, at Notre Sagesse."
Selena tilted her head, seemingly not satisfied with the answer. "But you've got friends and family right? Not-not trying to guilt trip you there, but…" The redhead found herself struggling to end her sentence. "You know."
"This is my decision." Said Kaze. "To be honest, as a ninja, we aren't really trained to have "friends", anyway, and I only have one family member alive right now." He didn't lose the calm smile, but some melancholy briefly appeared in his eyes. "I've made peace with the fact that my brother may need to be taken down, and it may need to be done by my hand. I can assure you, Lady Selena and Lady Beruka, that my blade shall not be swayed however."
The part about the training of a shinobi interested Beruka. She had only heard rumors so far. Myths, done to intimidate the population into thinking that ninjas are inhuman monsters that one needs to put down without any remorse once beaten, else they strike again. And she admittedly had the smallest interest in figuring out just how exactly they were trained.
"Well, you do you, but you're so serene, it's pretty weird." Said Selena. "It's a bit like Lady Camilla, ya know?"
"I… guess." Said Kaze, not quite catching the comparison. "But I know that Lord Corrin will not destroy Hoshido. My former nation will survive, though perhaps it will do so in a weakened form."
"… Alright, so, switching topics, whaddya think of Nohr so far?"
"It is." He took a moment to pause, and perhaps find a way to describe Nohr's landscape. A lot of words could be used to refer to something negative after all. "A country that has suffered."
"Well gee, color me surprised." Said Selena. "I guess you didn't really get to see much of it anyway."
"I cannot blame you for that." He said. "A Hoshidan walking amongst Nohrians is most unusual, is it not?"
"Yah, how did you get away with that part?"
"I pretend to be a Mokushujin. Their alliance with Nohr is known, and I can imitate the accent and mannerism well enough." He replied. "Speaking of them, I may need to hide again, if you do not mind. I am… well-known in Mokushu, and my presence amongst the troops may cause complications."
"Heh, take it up with Lord Corrin, can't do much to help… How are you going to hide though? Ohhh, I know."
"The world inside the crystal ball should provide me with the means to hide. Good deduction." Kaze had a brief look of recognition. "Oh, say, Lady Beruka is probably one of the few amongst us who has yet to see it yet."
"Good idea! There's interesting stuff!" Selena got a teasing smile. "The kind of stuff that would surprise even you, Beruka!"
"… Where you in that "world" at Cyrkensia, Kaze?" Replied Beruka, concluding her meal and staring at the ninja dead on. Selena didn't bother getting mad at her line being brushed off. She knew that her comment was doomed anyway. Either Beruka would dismiss it quickly or she'd grunt or she'd simply let silence settle in. Kaze, meanwhile, didn't look annoyed.
"I was getting familiar with the city. I couldn't really show myself to the high-ranking members of Nohr, couldn't I? I was scheduled to be executed in front of King Garon before I was rescued."
Beruka barely budged. "And then the Hoshidans showed up." She basically accused. "Strange."
"And here I was thinking that you would trust me by now." He replied, sadly shaking his head. "But nonetheless, remember that a spell binds me from taking arms against those of Nohr, and know that I wasn't aware of the plan to attack Garon directly." He leant forward, putting his elbows on the table. "The mastermind behind the attack was not affiliated with our army, for they judged him too… extremist in his actions."
"Easy to say." Replied Beruka. "Hoshidans were close to Nestra via Cheve."
"Takumi's army couldn't field so many soldiers after the damage done to it." Said Kaze. "Kumagera chose to strike Nestra because he knew that the King would be there, but Hoshido didn't consider Cyrkensia to be worth attacking. It is too far away, was uninvolved in the conflict until now and it would be a waste of manpower to subdue it when our attention was turned towards overwhelming Nohr." He raised a finger. "We did send men to Notre Sagesse, but because the Sage was in there."
He leant back. "I didn't see the signs, and I apologize for that. But I can guarantee my innocence relating to Kumagera's attack."
Beruka and Kaze stared at one another before Beruka eventually decided to continue the conversation later, simply getting up from her table. "I am… satisfied for the moment. I shall now feed Altena."
"Alten-ohhh, right. It's a pretty cute name for a wyvern!" Teased the redhead. "And you found it quickly, rumors says!"
Beruka grunted and simply headed out of the dining room. Kaze sighed warily as Selena turned towards him.
"So, are you good with Kimonos?"
…
Beruka was not the only one to leave the dining halls. One minute after her departure, Corrin emerged out of the room, carrying a plate of food and some glass of water with him. He had excused his absence, explaining that he wished to consult his maps to properly assess how much time it would take before arriving, and his royal siblings chose to accept his departure, aware that the occasion to dine together would certainly come up many more times in the future.
Still, as the cold breeze of the night caressed his pale skin, the young man felt almost bad for lying to them. He intended to strategize further, yes, but first, he intended to visit a certain person. And since the food could get cold quickly, he couldn't ponder any further on the guilt he felt. Swiftly, Corrin headed towards the brig. It was located right below the stables but the prince knew better than to get lost. Every now and then, he encountered roaming soldiers, who were either on their way to eat or simply guarding the ship.
"Sir." They said, and each time he smiled at them with a nod and a "Hello" before getting to the brig, quickly descending down the stairs. He reached a small room lit by some candles, where two bored guards stood. One of them yawned loudly before seeing Corrin's arrival, prompting him to unceremoniously interrupt himself to salute. His fellow took about three seconds to notice his sudden reaction, and about five to realize just why.
"Did you eat?" Asked Corrin, walking past them. And the soldier on the right, who looked quite thin, shook his head as a negative. This prompted the prince to nod outside. "Don't worry about it, go get yourself something to eat then, your shift should end."
"But, milord, what will happen if the fiend attacks you?" Spoke the concerned soldier.
Corrin smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I've beaten him, haven't I?" And that seemed to be enough to convince the soldiers, who eagerly left. The prince then went down the stairs, seeing a row of cells in front of him, with only one being properly lit. The cells were wide enough for a man to comfortably walk around in, since each were meant to hold more than one lost pirate, who could be found at the end of the hall, observing the night-sky out of the small window in his cell.
The man turned around upon hearing Corrin and looked at him warily at first, before smirking slightly when he noticed the food. "A prince of Nohr is my waiter, I see."
The prince sighed and just reached the door of the cell, opening the lid and sneaking the plate through it. The man took a hold of it and looked down at the food in interest. Corrin took it as a small victory – He deliberately picked a simpler meal (some chicken, a salad, tomatoes and even some cheese) just in case the pirate would reject it. He then handed the glass and, once the prisoner settled his meal on the ground, the young man pulled some cutlery out of a pocket in his armor. He grabbed the very tip of the silverware before passing them through the bars, ensuring that the outlaw wouldn't try to grab his hands just in case. The man seemed to notice this, but he didn't comment on it until after he had it in hands.
His mouth formed a wry grin. "Cautious, yet naïve, heh?" He said. Corrin leaned back on the bars of an empty cell, arms folded, trying his best to look imposing in front of the pirate.
"Naïve? I don't think so." Said Corrin. In answer, the man raised the cutlery before digging in the meal.
"Got myself some sharp tools." He said, before he began to eat. The prince allowed the slightest hesitation to cloud his mind, but then he pondered : How would Beruka act in this situation? Well, she'd probably just shut down every attempt at a debate, and would be a lot more careful, but he was sure that she'd have shot back "I'll be taking those away once you're done."
The outlaw raised an eyebrow but seemed to agree to that. His presence here was enough of a proof that the prince's words weren't merely empty threats. He began to eat and drink rather enthusiastically, happily biting into the meat. It took until the salad was done for him to realize that he probably wouldn't have a second ration, and he began to get more conservative as a result. All the while, Corrin pondered on when to speak, and occasionally observed the brig. A lantern was placed to illuminate it but otherwise, the room was pretty dark and quiet, though the prince could hear the stomping of nearby excited soldiers, or the splashing water outside.
"… I'm sorry about your friends." He said, resolving to break the silence. "The men and women under my command reacted as they wont to do, so I won't shame them for killing, but I still want to apologize." Corrin expected an answer as soon as he ended his phrase, but silence greeted him. The young man's red eyes laid upon the target of his little apology, who was sitting in front of his plate, cross-legged, observing the prince while chewing on his meat. Thinking that he perhaps hadn't been heard, as inane as it sounded, the blue-haired young man moved to speak up but his interlocutor placed his fingers in front of lips in silence, in such a bold manner that the man stumbled on his words for about three seconds before he managed to stammer out a "Wait, why are you…"
The brig's sole inhabitant so far swallowed. "I don't talk while eating. It's impolite." He kept a serious face through his dialogue. "I'm an outlaw, but that doesn't mean that I'm a savage." Having explained himself, he moved forward. "And I don't give a shit about those guys." This caused Corrin to get a bit closer, in indignation. "Well, that's how outlaws rolls, especially in Nohr. If death is a bother, then you're going to be an empty shell by the third day, assuming you're lucky."
He began to drink and allowed Corrin to recompose himself. "But, still, those were your teammates, you… you can't just dismiss them that easily!"
"You do eventually." He replied. "I gave those guys a good chance to start anew and avoid the authorities by slipping away in Bunkatsu, but they got greedy."
"Then, why would you follow them?" Asked Corrin. In his heart, he hoped that the man was lying and actually meant to save his friends, but his answer was quick and betrayed no hesitation or remorse. "Those idiots could've gotten us killed with that Fire tome they smuggled in." He explained. "Barely had one more use to it before it cracked. That spells disaster on such a ship. And I didn't trust the idiots here to deal with it in time. But those dames proved me wrong."
"Dames… oh, Selena and Beruka." Corrin hanged back. "Well, still, even if they were foolish, I don't think dead people should be dismissed easily."
"Heh, honoring the dead is bullshit. Not like they care at this point." He took the time to eat some more. "But it's odd that a Nohrian prince would say that, what's with your wizards and their experimentation on dead folks."
The prince frowned. "I do not condone or contribute to such practices, and I'd ban them if I could!" He said. "Those are not things that a kingdom should be doing!" His outburst got the outlaw to actually tilt his head a little.
"…Aren't you Prince Corrin?" He said. Corrin nodded in answer to this.
"Well, I'm… fairly easy to recognize." Said the prince, half-mindedly pointing at his pointed ears.
"You're taller in the drawings."
"T… they exaggerate stuff! Anyway, yes, I'm Prince Corrin of Nohr, and I shall not allow my homeland to be mocked." He folded his arms and frowned, but while the outlaw recoiled, perhaps remembering his painful defeat, he looked a bit more amused. "And what's your name?"
"Name's Shura." He said. "I'm glad that it took a rising legend to knock the wind out of me, I guess."
"L-living legend?" Answered Corrin, flustered. He recomposed himself quickly enough. "Well, I haven't done much."
"We both know that you're just being falsely modest, come on." Argued Shura. "But I'm surprised that you even bothered to spare and feed me. You're a lot more ruthless apparently." He did briefly glance down at his mostly-finished meal, as if wondering if it had been poisoned;
"This is mere propaganda. I… have shed blood upon Cheve, and I regret it, but the culprit of its destruction is Hans. I shall fight to the bitter ends to protect those I love and my country, but I will never slaughter helpless citizens or beaten enemies. It's too inhuman."
"Good mindset to have when you're settling out to sack an entire country, huh."
"D-don't mock me." Said Corrin, attempting to put authority in his voice. "Man is… no, we are all meant to be better than this. We're not meant to just tear each other apart endlessly. I believe that Hoshido and Nohr together could do great things, and I refuse to just wipe out an entire culture. I've been called many things recently." He scratched the back of his head. "But "destroyer" will not be one of those, I want to ensure that."
"Hrm-hrm, nice speech." Shura folded his arms. "You're going to give it to the high prince too? And King Garon? He had a pretty nice one, too, but his was a bit more decisive."
"No, I'll… I'll figure it out. But no countries will be destroyed under my watch." Said Corrin. "And my siblings are in agreement with me about this."
"You've got a problem with people who destroys countries?" Said Shura, concluding whatever was left of his meal beforehand. Corrin nodded quickly, and the outlaw gave him a bitter laugh. "Well, I'm looking forward to your encounter with Kotaro and the fine people of Mokushu."
"Huh? Why?" Asked the young prince. His interlocutor looked around, as if spying for some hidden enemy, and turned a sly eye towards the young man.
"I'll tell you more about it… maybe. Long as you give me a nice meal. Or ask your Hoshidan friend." Replied Shura. He turned around and began to lay on a small bed, turning away from Corrin. "Anyway, I think I'm done. You'll give my compliments to the chef, waiter."
Yato's owner was speechless. He could force Shura to give his answers perhaps, but that'd be… thuggish. The fact that he even considered the idea for a second was enough to get him to turn around to leave. However, before he could do that, the young man turned around and held his hands up.
"Wait. Shura?"
"Hrm?"
"The waiter isn't supposed to be leaving empty-handed, right?"
"… Clever little guy."
…
Once he was out of the room, Corrin was barely surprised to see Camilla and Azura both waiting for him. Azura was her usual stoic self, but Nohr's warrior princess had a sly smile on her face and was leaning against the wall with her arms folded, her eyes quickly setting on Corrin's empty plate. This prompted the royal to look down at it and sheepishly raise his head, an apologetic grin forming on his face.
"Oh oh." Camilla laughed. "Looks like someone had dinner in the brig."
"W-well, yes, someone did but it's because-"
"Was Beruka down there?" She asked, teasingly. Corrin blushed and denied rather quickly, prompting the princess to laugh harder. "Oh, I am only kidding, my dear Corrin! No needs to panic!"
"I… I was just giving some food to the prisoner below. I don't think he's fed much, so I brought him some. I know, it's, erm."
"Awww, so nice of you to do that!" Camilla pinched his cheek. "I'll keep it a secret! But admittedly, I was hoping that you'd get to dine alone with Beruka. You two have been hanging out together for a while now, didn't you?" Her visible eye winked at him, and Corrin felt like sinking through the boat.
"Well, she's… she's strong." He admitted. "She always manage to make things look effortless, I kind of envy that." Camilla nodded wisely. Corrin pondered on adding that this is part of what interested him in a woman, her strength, be it physical or of character (though he'd like both), but then realized that this was perhaps a private matter. Above him, he heard some footsteps, and awkwardly realized that a soldier may have been hearing this. "I-I'll tell you more, but I think there's an elephant in the room."
"Oh, that…" Camilla gestured, and the duo quickly followed her, departing from the deck to her quarter. On the way, she took what he held and handed it to a soldier, prompting a nervous Corrin to awkwardly offer a quick excuse. Azura was as silent as ever, and waited until they were in Camilla's rather lavish apartment before speaking up.
"As you have surely seen, King Garon has seemingly underwent a most unsettling transformation."
Camilla frowned and sat down, observing Azura suspiciously. "I… have." She said. "I reached father and he was a… thing… He reformed quickly afterwards though, before the soldiers could arrive. He explained it away as a curse of a sort."
The princess stared right at Azura. "And perhaps it is? I don't know much about your song, my dear, and I struggle to think that it could have been anything more than a illusion. I would require you to explain yourself in due time."
"My song has much power, but it cannot curse." Answered Azura, calm in spite of the pressure on her. "Lady Camilla, I am aware that what I am saying must sound insane, but King Garon hasn't been himself lately. I think that this is no open secret for… everyone on Dreiz." She gripped her staff. "His cruel orders, his grey skin, the way he surrounds himself with scum like Iago or Hans…"
"I am aware of those but this… I apologize, Azura, but this is an harsh truth to accept." Camilla slumped in her seat a little, and the songstress approached to put her hand on her shoulder. Corrin, not really knowing what to do, did the same but for her other shoulder. This seemed effective in cheering her up, if only a little.
"I am aware, and I apologize, Lady Camilla." She said. "But… what could have happened to him? Is he under a curse? Is this Iago's doing?"
"No. It… seems stronger than any regular curse. It taints his soul and his body. It is a spell, but I fear that is it mysterious and foreign."
"And how shall we heal him?"
Silence.
"… It appears that doing so, at this point, is impossible. My song harmed him when it was meant to do the very opposite." She said. "By that point, it would appear that removing the force would mean killing him."
Camilla went silent and did absolutely nothing for a while. She briefly held up her finger as if to speak, but then went silent once more and started to ponder. After a little while, she got up and went to admire a small painting above her luxury bed. It depicted her as a toddler (though she already had her famous bang over her eye) being held by her father. He already looked much more imposing and broad-shouldered, but the smile on his face held genuine affection, and he held Camilla close to him, as if trying to reassure her.
"Camilla, I understand that this is hard to cope with." Said Corrin, approaching his adoptive sister. "I… I wish I could provide some words of advice but I don't think I can. "
The princess's answer came in through some sobs. "J-just… stay close to me, will you?" And Corrin nodded. Remembering how he had been calmed at the lake, the young man spread his arms and attempted to hug Camilla, causing her to temporarily stop. Then, after a while, she returned it before backing off, finally showing her face to her two siblings. It was a bit reddened, perhaps because of the tears.
"What will we do then?"
"We… we will see with Elise, Xander and Leo. I don't know if they will trust us." Affirmed Azura. "But it is capital that they learn of this in time. I do not think that Garon is telling the truth about stepping off the throne following his conquest."
"Then, will we need to fight him?" She said, with a dreary tone.
Corrin's thoughts raced. Was Garon going to try to ambush the wounded royals, exhausted from their fight, with his army? It was a possibility. But then, what could they do? They would be needed to spearhead the invasion, and while they could set up a siege, they just couldn't fight their own King in front of their armies. The confusion would make it easy for Hoshido to strike, and while Garon's death could reveal his true nature, the world as a whole could easily dismiss them as a bunch of remorseless kingslayers, willing to demonize their own father (harsh as he was) to gain access to the throne at a time when Nohr was poised to become the dominant country on Dreiz.
Of course, that assumed that they could defeat Garon. In Nohrian hierarchy, strength was important, and the King was the strongest of all as a result.
They'd need to convince their family and soldiers, somehow… hm…
"Hey!" Said Corrin. "Maybe we could consult Izana of Izumo?"
"The arch-duke?" Said Camilla. "Wh-… oohhhh."
Azura's eyes widened slightly. "You wish to reveal the truth by speaking to Izana?"
"Yes, the spirits speak through him, don't they? We could ask him to reveal father's true nature to Xander and Leo. Maybe even our soldiers!"
"Hm… that could work." Said Azura. "Assuming that we get an audience. But is Izumo within our path?"
"Yes. We're supposed to regroup here with people from other ships."
Gathering so many soldiers of an aggressive nation within one's capital was foolish of the people of Izumo, but they had a particular way to ensure that no single Nohrian soldier would be getting out of line.
"That'd be effective… I doubt that we will be able to convince our soldiers of his true nature." Offered Camilla. "He doesn't exactly make wide-spread fortune telling apparently."
"At least we could get them to discover the truth… We'd still need something to reveal him to the others, though. If we could reveal his monstrous nature to the army, they wouldn't doubt us, right?"
"Right… well, my dears, I suggest we discuss this later. I have some things to dwell on, and… maybe I'll think up a way to just convince the others. The spirit of the night will certainly bring counsel after all!"
"Right." Said Corrin. "See you later!"
Both he and Azura left the room and closed the door… and Corrin found himself faced by the chill yet again. He didn't mind the cold too much, though he hoped it wouldn't affect Azura.
"I'm going to ponder on how to convince Izana to show the truth to the others." Said Corrin. "Good night Azura!"
"Hm… good night Corrin." She answered, observing the ocean lit up by the moonlight. The prince awkwardly stuck around, wondering if he could say something else, but opted not to and simply headed back to his cabin.
…
Unfortunately, Shura apparently didn't find the subsequent meals up to his refined tastes or he simply felt like messing with Corrin. By the time of the young man's arrival to Mokushu, he only knew that the outlaw was active through Western Dreiz, but the reason behind his presence on the ship were unknown. By the time he walked out of the brig, he actually found himself a little frustrated, scratching the back of his head in annoyance.
Felicia simply took the plate and held unto it with both hands. She had been lucky in not dropping them so far and intended to carry on with that string of successes. "You… you sound upset, Corrin. Oh, sorry, lord…"
"Don't worry about the lord part." Said Corrin. "You know, I could take care of the plate stuff myself. You shouldn't need to wait outside for me."
"W-well, Corrin, I'm a maid." And Felicia pointed at something behind Corrin. "And you're a prince who should be ready to land!"
The young man turned around and gasped. Behind him, the boat was heading right for the coast of Mokushu. Many soldiers had gathered at the tip of the ship, to better contemplate the land in front of them. Their interest was well-earned, since Mokushu looked beautiful even from afar. A mountain towered over a large port town, itself surrounded by a lush forest. Plenty of ships were leaving or entering the port, though it looked like a special place had been made for the Nohrian one.
The prince left to get himself ready, adjusting his short haircut. Upon reaching his cabin, he quickly put him his armor and then proceeded to stare at the mirror, taking various poses that would make him seen as mature. He has heard that Kotaro, the leader of Mokushu, was quite the war veteran, so he wanted to hopefully not make a fool of himself in front of him. The young man, after a little while, folded his arms, imitated Beruka's glare, and nodded at his mirror… before dropping his stance, sighing exhaustedly.
"Hm… I'm bad at this whole serious thing!"
"On the contrary, sir, you looked quite intense."
Corrin yelped and wheeled around to spot Kaze, leaning on the door. The ninja smiled slightly at his lord's lack of composure. "I wish to warn you that I will be hiding away using the sphere. We… may not see each other for some days."
"Oh, yeah, I understand." Answered Corrin, adjusting his collar for the umpteenth time. "Lilith will hold you company and I could check in if you want."
Kaze raised his hand. "Don't worry about me. You already have much to do in this world. We shall be seeing one another soon… farewell, milord."
Corrin nodded. "Farewell, Kaze!"
The ninja departed and Corrin closed the door with his feet. He'd miss the ninja, even if it was a matter of mere days. Briefly, the prince contemplated just what Kaze could have done to be apparently this infamous, but then he realized that he'd just ask him later… and, perhaps, a part of him could already guess why.
…
Kotaro had placed several ninjas around the wooden docks, to look formal, but also a row of cheering citizens, though they stood on the beach below instead. The various soldiers of Nohr, however, were more interested in the land itself. They had already noticed the clear water (to the point where they could see the various fishes swimming below their ship and the sand below), but the golden sand of the beach, the luscious forest below and the clear sky above also seemed to almost entrance the soldiers.
It made sense. Many of them grew up in a harsh condition and rarely ever saw the sun. The sight of such a beautiful country would fill anyone with wonder, even if they happened to be tough warriors. Beruka, for instance, stopped for about one second, though unlike the others, she was quick to shrug it off and continued to fly off the ship with the other wyvern riders (with the notable exception of Camilla), to reach some open-air stables built close to the town itself, where handlers were supposed to take care of the beasts for the short amount of time that they were going to spend here.
She felt that it was perfect for a trap, they were cut off from the others after all, but once that was done, the wyvern riders were simply led into the city.
As for Corrin, he was walking with his family in front of the entire army to meet up with Lord Kotaro himself. Mokushu's, daimyo. He wore a black and brown suit of ninja armor, though the middle part of his chest was exposed. Most notably, he had fearsome sharp spikes all over his armor on the arms, which seemingly weren't cause of concern for the masked ninjas who stood next to him.
He was an older man, and his long brown hair was tied in a ponytail. He had a beard and what people described as a smug look on his face. Corrin didn't know if he had actual evil intentions or simply happened to have an evil-smile on, but a less charitable person would definitely describe him as someone with a punchable face. It was an odd thought, considering that he was supposed to talk with the man. And wishing to punch someone usually made interactions like these difficult.
"Welcome, princes and princesses of Nohr, to Mokushu." He said, bowing down. The two ninjas next to him did the same thing. Both reminded him of the King's Shadow : They were covered in a black suit of armor, and had red masks to hide their faces. "I am Kotaro, Daimyo of Mokushu and your ally in this battle against Hoshido."
"Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Kotaro!" Said Corrin. "I am honored to be working with you."
"And I am even more honored with assisting Nohr in the war." Said the ninja. "But while I appreciate the back-and-forth politeness, I am aware that we have more pressing matters to attend to. Please, follow me."
The royal family quickly followed and, while Kotaro was busy, Corrin turned towards Xander, as if silently waiting for his approval. Xander smiled with approval, but then ever so slightly nudged his head forward, and the youngest prince got his head back into the game. He and a good deal of the soldiers who weren't busy with unloading the ship, walked amongst the Mokushujin streets.
The buildings looked like a cross of Hoshidan and Nohrian architectures. They looked like the former, but were built rigidly like the latter, and some houses were built directly into the trees themselves. Some were even built on top of one another expertly, though Corrin couldn't help but be a little worried. The roads were paved Nohrian-style, and children could be seen running outside, or staring curiously at the soldiers. A few vendors were out as well, causing quite a few hungry Nohrians to remember their location for later.
Most startlingly though, Corrin could see a few burnt houses nearby, being surrounded by what appeared to be Mokushujin diviners. They were clad in black, unlike their Hoshidan counterparts, and they all wore face-concealing gears, be it a mask, some cloth over their face or even a veil of a sort. Kotaro must've noticed the prince's shock, for he spoke with haste, waving his arms dramatically (though he made sure not to accidentally slaughter a companion).
"Hoshidan attacks, milord. Those fiends have been attacking us for years… We've been hoping to fend them off with your aid. As you can see, they prioritize the civilians over the warriors. But in other parts of this humble province, the raids are even worse. And our soldiers, while competent, are lesser in number."
"How vile!" Exclaimed. Corrin, who briefly wondered if Kaze himself took part in those raids. "I pledge my support in getting rid of them."
"I am pleased to hear this, my liege. I wish for nothing less than the safety of my people in this time of war."
Leo frowned, but didn't comment on what was happening as the group reached two black buildings. Those were notoriously more Nohrian in architecture, to the amazement of several soldiers. Kotaro smiled and pointed at the structures.
"Your soldiers will reside here. I do hope that they'll appreciate the attempt at making them confortable."
"They certainly will." Said Xander. He gestured as well, and the soldiers began to enter the buildings to settle in, though a few stood at the entrance to greet the wyvern riders. Corrin hoped to stay behind but before they could do so, Kotaro brought the royals (and only them) to his palace. It was a large wooden building, bearing the emblem of Mokushu : A sun, with three sharp curved points to it, akin to a shuriken. Upon entering, the royals could see that it was quite busy, with a lot of mere workers and soldiers alike pullulating all over the floor.
"This is my humble abode." Joked Kotaro, deemed himself successful enough when Elise giggled. "However, what will truly interest you stand below it. Follow me."
Kotaro walked down a wooden hall and opened a door, leading to some black stairs that went deep into a black cavern of a sort. Corrin briefly considered the idea of a trap (Beruka had gotten to him), but the presence of his siblings reassured him enough.
"Do not be intimidated by these caverns." Said Kotaro, as they began to walk them down. "This is where my throne sits, but this is also where I keep interesting prisoners."
"O-oh, speaking of prisoners…" Said Corrin. "We've captured someone with great skills on the boat. He moves like a ninja, in fact…"
"Ah, yes, the man in chains." Said Kotaro. "You suspect him to be an Hoshidan? Then we thank you for waiting this far, for we will be quite pleased to interrogate him… If you haven't done so already, of course."
"I only gleaned that he's not for Hoshido. Well, at least, I don't know what he'd do all the way in Nohr…"
"We shall find out." Said Kotaro. "Our men will know to bring him here, and I expect that he will enjoy the company that awaits him down there."
"The company?" Asked Camilla. And Kotaro, once they went down the stairs, simply walked down a few rocky halls before reaching a room. While passing by, Corrin could see quite a lot of wooden cells within the room, though most were empty. The last one, though, had a few soldiers occupying it, weapons in hand. And the wooden cell itself had an inhabitant. To Corrin's shock, it made the brig look positively agreeable : The wooden cell was barely big enough for someone to budge around with, and the prisoner within it had very little space to walk around in.
He could recognize her, for he saw her perhaps some weeks ago by now.
The woman in the cell was Kagero. Ryoma's retainer and one of the deadliest women on all of Dreiz, according to the high-prince himself. She wasn't active for now though, opting to simply meditate in her cell. She didn't move one muscle as people entered the room, or as Kotaro placed his fist on the bars themselves.
"She's been the mastermind behind a lot of the raids." He said. "We're lucky we caught her while she was heading back from that disastrous raid on Macarath… that you fended off, of course."
Corrin merely focused on the woman. Whatever little food she had would be disgusting for a fly, and the water in her little cup gleaned with an odd color. Those… those weren't proper conditions, even for an enemy.
"If she get the informations out of her and that man on the ship, then perhaps the invasion will be made easier." Said Kotaro.
He wished he could say that he was pleased, or attempt to ignore it all, but something in Corrin awakened, and before he knew…
"Kotaro, we need to talk."
…
N/A : Oh no, will Corrin kind of screw over his alliance with Mokushu? Guess you'll know it in five days, hehe!
The boat trip took longer than I thought, but the next chapters should have more action as a result. I can also promise that the next chapters will focus much more on Beruka, since Corrin has been getting the spotlight for a little while now!
Now that they're there, I feel like it's safe to say the fic is halfway done. It depends, though, since I may take more than one chapter per "level" in the game so to say (Izumo, for instance).
Anyway, hope you liked this chapter! Don't forget to drop reviews, they're always appreciative and I just love getting them!
See ya!
