Xander

Two days after the start of our trip, we arrived at the border wall that our soldiers guarded. It was here that father decided to make camp finally, giving the horses some rest and allowing us to get out longer than a few minutes to stretch our legs and relax. We pulled out the various tents needed for us to make camp and as I helped with the preparations, I realized that Corrin was no where around. I stood up and pulled Laslow aside, wondering where my wife could be.

"Oh, she's by the horses, milord," was his answer. I took off in the direction where we were letting the horses graze.

I came upon my wife standing next to a horse, her hand on its neck and she was stroking it gently. Her other hand was on its nose and she had her eyes closed, her forehead leaning against the horse. She was humming softly to herself, a tune I had never heard before and she was swaying back and forth to the melody. She was changed out of the gear she was in and was in a simple white dress, no sleeves on it and it came up to her neck. The dress fell to her knees and it showed off her legs… she had… decent legs, I had to grudgingly admit. She didn't notice my presence until the horse nickered and turned its head. She jumped a little, surprised at the horse's sudden movement and she looked in the direction it was facing.

Her gaze met mine and it fell away quickly. After the night that she had fallen asleep against me, she had woken up a little confused. She made care to not touch me much after or look at me. I approached my new bride and put my hand on the horse.

"Her name is Munchkin," I said. My wife looked up at me.

"Huh?"

"The horse, her name is Munchkin. Elise named her after she was born because she was so tiny," I said softly. I looked down at Corrin and shrugged. "My sister loves horses."

"Oh, that's kind of cute," she said with a smile on her face. "I think they're beautiful animals, but I never got the opportunity to ride one. We don't have many horses in Hoshido." She stopped suddenly as she realized, as I did, that she spoke in a wording that meant she was still with Hoshido.

"We have plenty in Nohr. Maybe Elise can teach you sometime," I offered. My wife looked up and then away again.

"That would be lovely, I would love to learn to ride," she said and then she turned her gaze upon Munchkin. Munchkin was a dark brown shade with black over its hooves. Munchkin shook her head almost as if she were agreeing with Corrin. This elicited a laugh from Corrin. I stared, I had never heard her laugh before. It was like a light tinkling noise, and it was so happy that I was frozen a little. "I think she agrees too, don't you?"

"Uh, yes, she does," I said, clearing my throat and forcing myself to return to the conversation at hand. "Don't you think that you would be more comfortable back at camp?" 'And safe.' Was my next thought, but I wasn't going to say that.

"Oh, I suppose you're right," she said, a little drop in her voice caught my attention. The horse made her happy. That was a surprise. She turned back to the way camp was and started walking.

When she noticed I wasn't immediately following she looked over her shoulder and gave a half smile and said, "Well aren't you coming?"

With that we walked back to the campsite together, and on our way, we walked passed the maids and footmen. I noticed that they were eyeing us, casting glances between us. The distance. We weren't holding hand or acting like we were in love, and to my people, passion and love were vital in relationships. They would never accept her if we continued this way about our marriage. I knew then we would have to fix it. I was going to speak to Camilla about educating her on Nohrian ways for a woman. Camilla would be the best choice because Elise would get side tracked and Azura wasn't the best example of an accepted Nohrian woman.

After seeing their glances at us, I stepped closer to Corrin and pulled her hand into mine. No time like the present to act. I felt Corrin jump in surprise and she looked down at our hands where they were joined. I looked down as well and then at her, our gazes met again, and she looked away quickly. I leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"We have to at least act like we're in love."

"I just don't see how that is necessary," was her response. Her words seemed forced.

"Come, we have a tent set up for us, we'll talk in there." I said gently and leaded her to where our tent was stationed.

The royal's tents were all together, father's tent was going to be where Leo stayed, and that tent was in between mine and my sisters. Azura, Camilla, and Elise would be staying in one together. Now that I was married, I had to share one with my wife. If I was not married, Leo would be staying with me instead of our father's tents. The maids and footmen's tents were on the outskirts of the camp we made with our retainers having two separate tents behind ours.

Once we got into the tent that was set out for us, my wife jerked her hand from mine and sat on the bed roll that was laid out for us. She stared obstinately ahead at the wall of the tent, refusing to meet my gaze as I stood near her. I sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.

"What is it you have to say?" She asked.

"Things and Hoshido and Nohr are different. Your country values purity and, of course, love. But they aren't big on showing affection in public settings. My country, Nohr, values passion and strength and above all, love in the most vital form. My people, well, our people, are going to notice that we aren't in love if we don't touch at all. They will never accept you as one of them unless we start to make this happen. In private, I will not touch you at all, so no worries there," I said in an even tone. I was trying to make this as logical to her as possible, but I wasn't sure if I was going to get through.

"So, what are you asking?" She questioned.

"What I'm asking is that we need to at least show the briefest of touches. We need to show my- no, our, people that we are at least loving towards one another. They must accept you, or this will never work. I will speak to Camilla once we're done here and see if maybe she can help you with Nohrian etiquette. In the meantime, try to appear as if you're in love with me." She stared. I sighed, this wasn't going like I planned. She was going to be difficult, but even though I knew she couldn't help it, it still frustrated me.

"I will try. For the sake of your country," she said, putting an emphasis on the fact that it was my country. Noted.

Corrin

A little while later after our conversation, I was sitting around the fire with Xander's siblings. Garon and Xander were in Garon's tent conversing about travel plans. Camilla was on my left and Azura was on my right. Leo and Elise were on Azura's other side and they were talking about magic. I stared at the fire that we were gathered around and sighed, I missed Hoshido. Lenore was a good comfort to me, but she had duties she had to attend to with the other maids. Kaze was ever watchful but I knew I couldn't talk to him while he was on duty as well, he had to remain vigilant for my safety. Considering we weren't exactly in a safe position, I knew he wasn't ever going to rest.

Camilla was looking at me strangely and I arched an eyebrow at her, what was she staring at? Did I have something on my face?

"Camilla, is there something I can help you with?" I asked.

"I was instructed by Xander to educate you in Nohrian society rules… I'm just wondering how we should start off that conversation," she replied in her sultry voice. Her hand came to rest under her chin and she gazed at me.

"Yes, he mentioned something about that earlier," I answered. Her eyes watched me curiously and I felt very uncomfortable. It was almost like she was gazing into my soul.

"I'm just curious as to what you know about Nohr?" She asked.

"I know that Nohr is a mining country and that it has harsh winters and mild summers. The land is very unsuited to farm land and only a few towns can do it successfully, definitely not enough to supply your country with enough food." I took a breath. "I also know you can be… a little… promiscuous?" I trailed off on the last word, hoping I didn't offend. Azura was now watching us silently and Elise and Leo also got quiet at my last word. I fidgeted. Camilla laughed.

"You mean we like sex? Well, darling, you're not far off the mark. However, while in Hoshido your country holds purity and reservation dear, our country is more about emotions and feelings. We like to laugh and have a good time, and affection is one of the most important things. Touching, smiling, kisses, all these things are typical and normal in my country. I know that in yours these things are reserved for private moments. Ours is not so. We were raised on this belief, darling, and I think that you will need to adapt quickly," She said. "Maids and footmen gossip like crazy. They will carry the story of your love, or your hatred, if you choose to. They will be watching you and if you want to be accepted as the future queen of Nohr, you need to make adjustments quickly."

She adjusted herself and crossed her legs. Azura smiled slightly and she nudged me slightly with her arm.

"What Camilla is trying to say, you need to be the one to make a few changes. Xander will follow your suit in public, and he will do his best to make sure you're accepted. Xander is honorable, he won't let you flounder," Azura said with a smile.

"Exactly, which means if you take the lead on the affection, he can follow your lead and make sure you're not uncomfortable. If you do it, then it will make it easier on both of you in the long run." Camilla became thoughtful for a moment. "Just know that Xander was raised in a country where touching and feelings were expressed to a great deal. This is how we were all raised. Affection comes natural to him, it's how he was raised. For him to not have it is unusual for him just like it is for us. We are able to show our emotions more because we are not the heir to throne, and trust me we don't wish to be. If you want to be successful, heed our words, sister, as they will prove invaluable to you. We have much more experience in these matters than you do, and we are only trying to see you be successful as well."

"Look at it this way, the more the people accept you and Xander, the less responsibilities we have and the more we can help you," Leo said matter-of-factly.

"Leo, I wouldn't quite put it that way," Azura chided. "We want to help you, Corrin, we also don't want to see Xander miserable in the process. If you can find a happy medium, I think you both can be happy."

I looked at the Nohrian siblings and blinked. This wasn't happening was it? I knew that I knew nothing on the affairs of the Nohrian people, but this was completely against everything I was raised for. People in Hoshido kept their private affairs private. We didn't divulge many things to others as that was just not our way. I barely saw married people touching in public unless it was an extremely tender moment, even then it was the simplest of a kiss or a hand touching a cheek. The hugs my family gave me were always done in private. We didn't do affection this way.

I sat, ruminating on my thoughts and staring into the fire. It wasn't long before my new siblings got up to go to their respective tents and turn in for the night. Except for Leo who went to go "take a stroll in the moonlight", whatever that means. I was still sitting by a now dying fire when Xander finally emerged from the King's tent. I stood up from my spot. There were some maids and footmen still milling about and I knew if I was going to have any chance of surviving this country, it was going to have to start now.

I walked up to Xander and he still had his head in the tent, uttering a few last words to his father. Once I was by his side, I slipped my hand into his. I felt him tense and jerk his head out of the tent to see who was holding onto him. His eyes found me and then he looked at our hands before he looked back at my face.

"Husband, it's time for bed, don't you think? We should turn in before it gets too late," I said clearly. His eyes showed surprise and I gave him a smile. Better get a handle on this touching thing now before it was too late. His eyes glanced around the camp and then he nodded at me.

"Yes, I think it is time for bed," he returned. With that, walking together, we went to our tent.