"Lord Corrin!"
"Hm?" As Corrin was walking with his siblings, with a little more pep in his step than usual, he heard someone call his name. He and his siblings turned to see Lilith and the clumsy Felicia walking towards them.
"Oh, Lilith and Felicia!" Corrin smiled. "I'm glad you guys are here."
"We're happy to see you as well, Lord Corrin!" Felicia said with a slight giggle. "Congratulations on finally being able to leave the capital! Lilith and I will be accompanying you and your siblings on the trip."
"Yes, Gunter wanted us to come with you to look after your horses," added Lilith.
"That's great! I'm sure you guys were tired of being in this fortress for so long too. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun exploring this world!" Corrin cheerily replied.
"Corrin.." Camilla lowered her eyes.
"I bet you there's so many amazing, different people to meet! There's probably so many different places to go too! Not to mention all the different foods! My mouth is watering just thinking of the endless possibilities!"
"Ooh, me too!" Elise grinned. "I can't wait to show you the different foods! Remember those cookies I snuck to you last time? They weren't even made here in Nohr!"
"Woaa, really? That's amazing! And they were so good too!" Corrin exclaimed.
"What's this about you sneaking something?" Leo glanced at Elise, and she stuck her tongue out at him. "Stealing is unbefitting of a princess. Just when are you going to act your age?"
"It was just some cookies! Lighten up Leo!"
"Yeah Leo, lighten up!" Corrin echoed. "Err...by the way Leo..I guess you didn't notice but..your collar is on the wrong way."
"W-What?!" Leo looked at his outfit and blushed at the fact that the collar was, indeed, on incorrectly. He grimaced as Elise loudly laughed. "I-It's not on wrong. This is just a new trend is all. Everyone's doing it!"
While Corrin rambled on, Camilla and Xander gave each other hidden glances. Xander, keeping up his usual blank face, was inwardly worried. He had almost forgotten that Corrin didn't know the true horrors of the world. 'Corrin..' He thought to himself. 'You're so naive. Was it a mistake to keep you locked away for so long? Should we have told you more about the world? We only gave you little hints warnings.' As his little brother continued to excitedly talk, Xander couldn't help but feel a shiver run up his spine. 'My little prince…your innocence might just shatter.' The blonde haired prince turned to the maids. "Lilith, are the horses ready yet?"
"Yes milord, they're packed and ready," she answered. "They even seem to be excited. I suppose they're all very fond of Lord Corrin."
"Ah it makes sense for even animals to love my dear Corrin," said Camilla, placing a hand on her chest. "After all, he has a very kindhearted soul. Why, I remember when, years ago, he rescued a baby bird and nursed her back to health!"
Lilith nervously laughed. 'That totally wasn't me,' Lilith thought to herself. 'Just act natural and no one will noti-'
'Woooah, where am I?' Another voice entered her thoughts, catching her by surprise.
'...Felicia?'
'Lilith?'
'...We will not speak about this.'
"Lilith? Are you okay?" Corrin asked.
"Huh? Oh I'm perfectly fine, there's no need to even question it! Really, there's nothing wrong!" She nervously replied.
"...Mkay."
"I believe the time for talk will come later. We shouldn't keep father waiting for any longer," Xander stated.
"You're right. Guys, let's go!" Corrin excitedly stated.
While the siblings walked towards the horses, with Felicia in tow, Gunter grabbed Lilith by the arm and pulled her from the group. She looked up at him with confusion.
"Lilith, excuse my roughness," Gunter began, letting go of her arm. "But I'm sure you've heard the rumors?" He lowered his voice. "The rumors of the Ice Tribe rebellion?"
Lilith's face grew serious. "Yes, the maids just can't keep their mouths closed about it. They always talk about it, though they are mindful of Corrin and Felicia."
"Well, we must keep our guard up. I've heard of travelers having everything stolen from them by Ice Tribe activists. They're everywhere. And as you know, Felicia is apart of of the Ice Tribe. While I don't suspect that she's apart, or even knows of the rebellion, she might not wish to lay a hand on her own blood. So we must be on our highest alert. Is that understood? "
"Yes, of course," Lilith replied with a nod of her head.
"Gunter! Lilith! Let's go!" Corrin called.
"Yes milord!" They both replied, making their way towards the group.
The group was only two days away from reaching their destination. At Camilla's suggestion, they stopped to rest in the woods close to a nearby, small, village. Xander, Camilla and Leo went into the village to purchase more water and food while Gunter, Elise, Lilith, Felicia and Corrin stayed on the outskirts of the village.
"Wow, it sure does feel nice to be outside that fortress!" Corrin said, looking up at the always dark sky. There was thousands of stars in sight. "It feels great actually! The air even smells a lot better. It's… refreshing!"
"The moment would be even better if you actually wore shoes," Gunter said.
"I made a promise to myself that I'd never wear shoes! I have to keep my promises, Gunter. You of all people should know this!"
"...Right," Gunter deadpanned.
Elise yawned. "I'm kind of tired. When will they get back? I'm so sleepy and hungryyyy." The petite princess leaned on Lilith, who gently patted her head with a closed eyed smile.
"Please be a little more patient, milady. They'll be back soon," Lilith said.
"I hope they hurry. It's starting to get really cold," Corrin rubbed his shoulders.
"It's because you don't have on shoes," Felicia joked, causing Corrin to childishly stick his tongue out at her.
"Actually, I also feel that the temperature has lowered," said Lilith.
Elise wrapped her arms around Lilith. "Hey, me too! It was nice just a moment ago! Now I really hope they get back soon, or we'll freeze to death!"
"Heh. Well, that is the point.." A mysterious voice called out to them. Instantly, Gunter, Felicia and Lillith were on their guard. The trio made a circle around Corrin and Elise who looked around in confusion.
"Who goes there?" Gunter called out.
"Guess we've been caught." Out from the bushes sprang four people, two females and two males, each dressed in blue and black coats. All of them were wearing hoods, so their faces were hidden from sight. "No matter. It was bound to happen sooner or later. "
Gunter withdrew his sword, and nodded his head towards Lilith. The blue and red haired female withdrew a few knives. She was no fighter, admittedly, but she would do her best to protect Lord Corrin even if it meant giving up her life. Felicia, too, got into a defensive stance. Corrin watched on in confusion, while Elise tightly clinged to him.
"Who are you people?" Corrin called out.
"Introductions are pointless," spoke the apparent leader of the group, a tall male. "You're going to die anyways."
"Just hold on a minute!" Corrin, gently freeing himself from Elise's hold, took one step towards them. He recognized this moment as his chance to bring light to the darker parts of the world his siblings sometimes told him about. Corrin didn't believe anyone was too cruel to be turned good. Gunter, Felicia and Lillith stayed close. "There's no need for violence when we can solve this peacefully. Let's all put down the sharp thingies and be calm about all this, huh?" Corrin gave the enemies a closed eyed smile.
The leader didn't say anything for a moment, only opting to slowly put away his weapons. His cronies followed suit, as did Gunter, Felicia and Lillith. Corrin took this as his opportunity to step closer to the group. He walked past his friends and stood in front of the mysterious group. Outstretching his hand, with the same smile on his face, he said, "Why don't we all just try to get along?"
The leader began to slowly outreach his hand. Corrin inwardly cheered. 'I knew the world wasn't as bad a place as Xander sometimes made it out to be! We can resolve everything if everyone is calm an-' Before he was even able to finish his thoughts, Corrin was swiped at by the leader of the group. Gasping in pain, he clutched his cut hand and stepped back. Gunter quickly rushed forward and took a swipe at the leader- the man dodged the attack by jumping back.
"You fiend," Gunter growled as Elise, Felicia and Lillith rushed forward.
"Man, that kid is incredibly naive," The leader stated with a slight laugh, pointing at Corrin. The albino male's hand was being tended to by Elise. Corrin stood there in slight shock.
"Doesn't he know to never trust a stranger?" One of the cronies snickered. "Seriously, he's as dense as a wall."
"Unfortunately you will have to pay for such an ignorant act. Striking a prince is a crime punishable by death," Gunter got into an offensive position, as did Lilith and Felicia. The leader of the gang laughed as he and his group also took on offensive stances.
"That kid is a prince? If that's the case, I guess I must be the king of Nohr," the leader sneered. "Actually I think I'd like that. I'd be a much better ruler than that bastard, Garon."
"Leave my father out of this you jerks!" Elise cried, momentarily stopping her treatment of Corrin to glare at them. "You're just a bunch of dirty, rotten thieves!"
"Please say it again, beautiful. I love hearing those words come from the mouth of a bitch who's never known the true meaning of a struggle, especially when you have whack ass body guards for friends," The leader replied.
Gunter angrily slashed at the man, catching him by surprise. He let out a surprised cry, and held on to his arm. "Don't think you're dealing with any old rookie," Gunter snarled. "War and I go way back."
"You've really done it now, gramps," the leader growled. The groups took menacing steps towards each other, ready to attack at any moment.
Before anyone had the chance to attack, however, a loud cry of "Stop!" halted everyone in their tracks. From the trees sprang yet another hooded figure, dressed in all black. The figure gracefully landed between the two groups. The figure slowly stood and glanced at the group of bandits.
"Do not attack them," the hooded figure stated, the voice sounding very feminine. "They are crucial to the plan, and the plan isn't to be enacted at this very moment."
The group of bandits grudgingly seemed to understand- without another word, the group took off running, including the new hooded figure, into the woods. Gunter made to rush after them, but was halted by the sound of more foot steps. Xander, Camilla and Leo were approaching the group and quickly.
"There's no need to run after them," Leo called as the older siblings made their way to the group. "I already have it under control."
A/N: Hello again everyone! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favorited! As you can see, once again major changes have been made to the story. It's all apart of the plan to make Fates great again! Haha. But anyhow, I'm sorry that this chapter may seem rather lacking- at least it seems that way to me. But this was the best way I could write it, at least for now. The next chapter will be better- I think. I also just want to apologize if anyone feels the humor is kind of dry. This story is going to get really serious at some points, but I want it to have it's light hearted moments as well. Please stay tuned for the rest of the story, it's definitely going to be a long and wild journey! Oh, and to my guest reviewer I would love to talk with you! I really appreciate the feedback you gave me haha.