A/N: This is for you Saku! I finally finished the piano fic we talked about! I hope it's not too OOC. I am not used to writing Owain.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the picture used as the cover. This art was drawn by Herukas on Tumblr.

While festivities weren't commonly celebrated in Castle Krakenburg after the death of Queen Katerina, there were some exceptions. The weeklong banquet usually held in worship of the Dusk Dragon was one of these exceptions. While Garon seemed less enthused about the event as the years went on, it was still a tradition that must be held. The Norhian siblings weren't fond of this time of year either since they weren't allowed to leave the castle for the whole week. This meant nobody would go to visit the lonely princess of the Northern Fortress, Corrin.

The banquet had barely started yet Leo was already annoyed. All the nobles around him sucking up to anyone that could get them any farther up the ladder of power were so fake it was suffocating. One of these pesky nobles approached Leo earlier that night and gifted him some fancy chocolate cookies that she claimed were homemade. Leo doubted her statement since most noblewomen in Nohr usually didn't know how to work their kitchens, just hiring someone else to make their food. Despite his disbelief he held his tongue, it was only polite after all.

Leo wasn't very fond of this type of sweet so he knew as soon as the girl turned her attention to easier prey he would give the sweets away. At first, he considered giving the sweets to Elise, but he had seen his little sister pick up various cookies and brownies and other delectable pastries all throughout the night so he thought it ill-advised to fuel her sugar rush any further. Then he thought of Corrin. He knew she would appreciate a gift from one of her siblings while they were all held up at the castle. Making up his mind of who to give the cookies to now, he had to figure out which one of his retainers he would give this delivery task to. Niles would deliver the cookies if Leo asked him to, but he was afraid he'd say something obscene to Corrin or her uptight butler, so he knew the safer option would be Odin. Odin always responded to the smallest of tasks from Leo with enthusiasm, he just hoped he didn't regal the fortress staff with tall tales of his excellence.

Leo excused himself from the banquet hall, claiming to need fresh air. Once he was out the door, he began to look for Odin.

"Lord Leo! What are you doing away from the banquet?" Odin had come up unexpectedly behind Leo.

"I was looking for you actually," Leo didn't let his surprise show as he turned to face Odin. "I have an important task for you."

Odin's face perked up, Leo thought he looked like a dog excited to be taken out on a walk.

"What grand mission do you want Odin Dark to undertake?"

"You need to deliver this package to Princess Corrin in the Northern Fortress in a timely manner," Leo said as he handed the box over to Odin.

"Not as grand as I had anticipated... but maybe when I arrive the Princess will need protection from a fell dragon!", Odin said as he began to head for the castle's exit.

"Don't bother my sister and be careful with the package!" Leo called out to him. Odin didn't respond as he turned around the corner. Leo knew he could trust Odin with his life but ended up going back to the banquet with a newfound headache.

The journey from Castle Krankenberg to the Northern Fortress will take someone, at most, half of a day to arrive. This was the perfect distance for the princess to be protected according to King Garon.

Speaking of the princess, Odin was excited to finally meet her. He did dial his excitement back a little in front of Lord Leo. Odin worried that if he came off as too excited, Leo would just give the task to Niles instead. The sheltered Nohrian princess was a topic of gossip amongst servants in Castle Krakenburg. Odin had picked up on it from time to time just to hear more about the princess. Leo barely talked about her in front of his retainers and Odin rarely had chances to interact with the other royals of the castle. While it might be weird for a retainer to take interest in a beautiful princess, his fascination stemmed from the fact that she was the reason Odin and his friends had been brought to his world. She was a princess. A cloaked man gave him orders to look out for, but she was kept far away from anyone else, so not even Selena and Laslow had met her yet. Odin would be the first.

Curiosity and enthusiasm continued to swell in Odin's mind and soon he found himself in front of the infamous Northern Fortress. There were no dragons or beasts to be found terrorizing the fortress, but there was still an obstacle in Odin's way once he arrived: A man with a sour face and long white hair was the one to open up the fortress door for Odin. This was Jakob, the annoying butler Odin sometimes heard Leo grumble about.

"Who are you? What is your business here?"

"I am Odin Dark! Loyal retainer to Prince Leo with a gift for his dear older sister!", Odin said, holding out the box of cookies. Jakob took the box and opened it.

"How do I know you actually work for the prince? What if these are poisoned?", Jakob asked.

"I will eat one now to prove to you that these are in no way poisoned!" Odin said, grabbing a little cookie from the box and putting it in his mouth. They were more salty than sweet but maybe the princess liked this? Odin didn't let his distaste of the cookies show, instead he smiled to reassure the butler that they were not poisoned.

"I see, thank you and good day," Jakob said as he began to close the door on Odin. But the mage wedged his body into the door to make him stop.

"Wait, loyal vassal! I was ordered to deliver this package to Lady Corrin. I cannot leave until I deliver the package safe and sound. Only then will I be able to return and report my mission complete to Lord Leo!" Odin explained. Leo probably wouldn't mind if the butler gave the cookies to Corrin but Odin was curious himself so he insisted.

"You brought them to the fortress, isn't that good enough?" Jakob grumbled.
"I think it's fine to let him through, it is the young prince's order after all," a deeper voice chimed in behind Jakob. The man was an older warrior Odin had heard of him before, his name was Gunter and he was known to be quite powerful back in the day. Odin beamed at him knowing someone with such a legendary past would advocate for him!

Jakob looked back over at his mentor, a bit peeved, but eventually, he turned back to Odin. His brow furled with annoyance.

"She is practicing the piano now. Wait outside her door for her to finish, deliver the cookies and then leave immediately, got it?"

"Yes!" Odin said as he burst through the door and headed up to where Gunter directed him. As he got closer, he could hear the sound of a piano traveling through the hallway like a spring wind. Soon, he got to a large wooden door at the top of the fortress and the song she was playing could be heard as clear as day.

Odin was in awe of the pretty melody. He sat down with his back to the door so he could hear loud and clear. Odin had heard this song before, it's usually an upbeat song but when Corrin played it he heard a bit of a somber undertone he had never heard from the song before, but it felt natural like it was always a part of the piece.

As he sat there he felt his mind wandering. This song resurfaced a memory for Odin. He was a young boy in a castle with his mother. He was putting on a show in the grass. He used a branch as a sword and the rosebush was a dragon. He was doing his best to cheer the solemn woman up. They had just lost his father and it was all his fault. War was raging on after the death of his uncle and his mother had become a make ship queen. He was rather young but he could still tell she was stressed and sad. He loved to come up with stories and play the hero, so he put together a story to cheer her up. After he was done he could tell the effort was appreciated. The blonde woman, with tears in her eyes, brought the boy into her embrace.

"Good job, Owain."

Suddenly Odin felt the door move behind him, he had been leaning on the door and once he lost his support he fell back full force onto his back. A girl with white hair, red eyes, and ears like a manakete looked down on him in surprise.

"Who are you?" She asked. Odin immediately sprung to his feet to answer.

"I am Odin Dark! Loyal retainer to Prince Leo with a gift for Princess Corrin. Are you the princess?"

"Yes, I am!" Corrin exclaimed with a big smile. "So Leo sent you, is the banquet going okay?"

"I think so! Retainers aren't allowed to attend until the final day so I am not sure," Odin explained as he handed her the box.

"Well at least you get to attend one day," Corrin said with a solemn chuckle that Odin picked up on. However, the soft smile never faded from her face so he made no comment.

Corrin placed the cookies on a table next to her bed and Odin remained at the door and looked over at the piano that she had just been playing. He still had that beautiful melody stuck in his head.

"Your playing was lovely," Odin blurted out.

"O-Oh?" Corrin responded with a blush. "Thank you…" She opened the box to see the chocolate cookies inside. "They look delicious!" Corrin took a cookie out then looked back over at Odin. "Would you like one Odin?"

"Don't worry about the cookies princess! I confirmed they aren't poisoned!" Odin said proudly.

"Huh? That's not why I asked but that's good to know…" Corrin said, popping the cookie in her mouth. "Ugh, salty!"

"I thought so too!" Odin laughed and blushed a bit while watching the princess's cute reaction.

"But still… Leo thought of me to give these too. That makes these more delicious than any cookie I've ever had…" Corrin said, a lonely look clouded her face when she looked down at the treats. Odin felt his heart shatter in two for her.

"I will let him know how thankful you are," Odin said lowering his voice, it was less dramatic in tone now. More raw.

Corrin just gave him a smile in return. It was so beautiful Odin felt his heart skip a beat.

"Jakob will have to make some tea to go with the cookies, with extra sugar to help with the salty cookies…" Corrin put her hand up to her chin and began to mumble.

"Since you're here, let's make a meal of it! Gunther and Jakob and Flora and Felicia will have to eat with us! Felicia and I started reading a new book. Would you be interested to hear about it?" Corrin asked Odin.

"You want me to sit at the same table and eat delicious sweets with you, milady? While my blood does boil at the opportunity I don't know if I will be able to stay for much longer. I was told to leave as soon as the cookies made it safely to you!" Odin said. He wanted to stay. Oh how much he wanted to stay. But the butler probably wouldn't let him stay.

"Does Leo need you back so soon? It's only the first day of the banquet right? I don't get company here besides my family often so can you…make an exception?" Her red eyes really did look like those of a dragon, but at that moment they were pulling Odin in. But before he could say anything, the butler had made his way upstairs.
"What part of leave as soon as you deliver the package did you not understand?" Jakob said with a scoff when he saw Odin standing at Corrin's door frame.

"Sorry, Jakob! I was just chatting with Leo's retainer. I wanted him to stay for tea and cookies," Corrin said.

"But I was on my way!" Odin said. "It was nice to meet you, princess, I hope you enjoy the cookies!" Odin said as he waved her goodbye and began to walk away. As he passed, Jakob the butler grabbed his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "If you value your job don't go telling anyone you got to meet the princess."

"I know," Odin responded a bit coldly, breaking free of the butler's grip and heading out of the fortress. As he made his journey back to the castle, he couldn't get Princess Corrin out of his mind. He thought about her smile and her lonely expression. He thought of her beautiful eyes, enchanting like a blood moon, he bet her white hair and pale skin would be soft to touch. Then he daydreamed himself actually getting to sit with her, eat cookies, drink tea, regale her with his epic tales. And she would smile at him, hang onto his every word and be one of the only people in his life to not treat him like a joke. At least this is what he dreamed.

Little did he know that a few months later the lonely princess would get her chance at freedom, and with it, a war would start. But at least the two would meet again, on the battlefield that is.

A/N: I tried to leave the ending vague as to which side Corrin chooses so if you prefer playing Conquest over Revelations or vice versa it works. Or if you want angst and this is Birthright!Corrin that works too! Also the noblewoman did indeed make those cookies, she tried her best but they weren't very good. Can we get an F in the reviews for the poor, random noble lady?