Xander

"We need to talk."

I looked at her, Corrin was staring at me anxiously and I could see her hands wringing themselves. She was tense. Noticing me looking at her, she pointed at the medicine still in my hand and I grimaced before I took a long drink of it. I almost gagged. It was disgusting, just like I thought it would be. It tasted like horse dung and it smelled worse. I wanted to rinse my mouth out, but I drank the entire contents after that first drink. I almost threw the cup but contained myself and just handed it back to her. She took the cup from me and sat there on the bed.

"Cheve, isn't the most peaceful is it?" She asked me. I looked at her and sighed. "Your father was here with Camilla and Leo when I got here. They were killing people. What is going on here?"

"Corrin, you don't need to know the details," I answered. My voice sounded harder than I intended but we had meant to not let her know these things.

"But Xander, these people were dying. Something happened here and I need to know what. You expect me to be a queen of a country I know nothing about, how am I to do that if you keep me in the dark?" She asked hotly. I looked at her for a long time, debating on whether I should tell her the dirty details of the Cheve rebellion.

"Cheve has had a rough history with the crown. They believe that my father has ruled too harshly, and they want a change. Your arrival has sparked more of that. They want you and I to rule and to dethrone my father. They would do anything to get it," I replied. I saw her mouth drop. "The leader of the rebellion was said to be based here, and we were hoping to capture her. I was to take you on ahead and prepare for our wedding while the rest of my family took care of the threat here. We wanted no interruptions to ruin the wedding."

"So, what you mean to tell me is that your family went to kill a ton of people to prevent a coup? How is that any better?" She demanded hotly. I felt my temper spike a little, this isn't what I wanted to discuss. "Shouldn't we be, oh I don't know, talking to them? Meet some of their demands? Why aren't we doing that instead?"

"That's not how it is here, Corrin. Not everything can be resolved with passing words. Nohr can't meet most of their demands right now. Not everything is like Hoshido," I answered evenly. I had to keep calm, getting angry with her wouldn't solve anything right now. I didn't have the energy to be angry towards her.

"What do you mean like Hoshido?"

"I mean, we've been without an excess of food and medicine. These things keep a country alive. I have had to devote my life the last ten years to making sure my people don't die," I retorted. "Hoshido kept food from my people for years. How did you expect them to be? They turned hard."

"Well if your father hadn't kidnapped my father then those actions wouldn't have been necessary!" She cried out. I glared at her. It was apparent she didn't know the details of what happened, and I wasn't going to be the one to tell her. Not yet at least.

"You know nothing about that. Until you do, do not speak to me about it. You know nothing, little princess," I said hotly. My temper was starting to get the better of me and I needed to cool off. I closed my eyes and tried to maintain my calm.

"What does that mean?" She asked angrily.

"It means that I'm tired and I would like some water and I no longer wish to discuss this."

"Fine," She said, she stood up and turned on her heel to leave. I eyed her as she was leaving.

She was in that tan dress she was in in the clearing, but there were some serious modifications to the outfit. It was slit up both sides, and because she dressed so hastily this morning, nothing to hold her bosom back. Her breasts moved freely beneath the fabric and it was hard to not watch. What are you doing? I jerked my thoughts from thinking about her body and sighed. I leaned back against the pillows and put a hand over my forehead. This woman was more trouble than she was worth.

I laid there for a while, Corrin didn't come back. I sighed and tried to sit up, hissing with discomfort as I did so. My shoulder was bandaged, and I felt something like stitches pulling in my shoulder as I tried to move. I finally got a good look at my shoulder and noticed it was completely covered up in bandages. The bandages had a faint green tint to them, I'm assuming from the same kind of medicine I had already drank. The parts of my shoulder I could see showed redness tinged in the skin, almost like it was infected but was trying to heal.

I heard a noise outside my door and my head turned to the direction of the door. I heard low words being spoken urgently, two feminine voices, one Peri's I'm assuming, and I heard Laslow speak a little louder.

"King Garon and Princess Corrin said no one was allowed in other than family and doctors," came his muffled voice. That I could pick up on clearly.

"I don't care what the new princess has to say. Let me in."

"Ma'am, we aren't allowed to let anyone in. Orders from the king as well," Peri's voice sounded out. I heard a groan and then…

"Let me in to see Xander or so help me I'll curse both of you."

Nyx.

Corrin

I slammed the door behind me, hoping it would make a bigger noise than it did. These doors were sturdy, and I didn't have enough force behind it to make a big difference. I growled under my breath and I saw Laslow's startled glance in my direction. I turned on my heel from Xander's retainers, completely fed up with this now, and decided to go and talk to someone else that wouldn't infuriate me beyond what I could handle.

The place we were currently staying at was the manor of the local lord and he devoted his entire home to us other than the wing his family was in. I couldn't fathom a place this big for a lord, lords in Hoshido were modest in their holdings and they didn't have such grandeur as this. The lord even had a training ground for his guards to train and he said he would open his home to us. That was where I decided to go. It wasn't until I got to the grounds, I realized I had left my Yato in the room with Xander, and I sighed in frustration. This was just what I needed.

I spotted Kaze speaking lowly with Camilla in the training grounds. They were standing in a corner and I spotted Camilla wearing armor. I wasn't used to seeing her in something other than dresses. She was wearing black armor that… was more like a skin suit than armor. It was revealing, showing off her breasts and thighs, with breasts that were so heavy I almost envied them. I had large breasts myself, but Camilla's were huge. Her body made me a little jealous, she was almost perfect.

Kaze's olive hair hung in his eyes a little and he was smiling at Camilla, he was such an easy-going man. It was rare to see him in an ill mood. He noticed me walking up and he turned to face me, his smile still there but not as big as when he was talking to Camilla. He then noticed my expression and his face turned serious. He knew me well, we had grown up together. He was a few years older than me, but he was always there when I needed him, and it was always known he would be my retainer when the time was right. His twin brother went to my brother, Ryoma, and Kaze went to me. Kaze was a ninja and he was very skilled in his job and abilities.

"Milady, everything okay?" Kaze's deep voice came and Camilla looked at me as well, her eyes curious.

"Yes, everything is just dandy. I have a wonderful husband," I said vehemently. I saw Camilla's eyebrows raise in surprise and I didn't think I could handle her comments right now.

"What happened?" Kaze asked, his eyes looking like he would take on even my husband for my honor. The thought came to me of Kaze and Xander battling it out and it made me smile, a smile I had to repress right now.

"Xander just won't listen to me. He is so closed off," I huffed out. "He is such an ass."

"Darling, it's how he is. He has to be, he's the next in line to the throne," Camilla said in her sultry voice. Her hand touched Kaze's arm and I noticed he looked at her with something akin to… lust? Did I imagine that? As soon as it was there, it was gone, and he refocused on the situation.

"But I'm not an ass to him," I growled. "And besides, he is just blowing me off saying I don't know anything. What the hell does that mean?"

"Corrin, you have to understand Xander and you came to be in unusual circumstances. He must adjust to you just like you do to him. I think he is trying his best, but getting angry won't solve your issues," Camilla answered. Kaze stepped forward.

"What can I do to help you, milady?" He asked calmly.

"Work out the frustration, I suppose. I left my damned Yato in the room with Xander… I was hoping for some hand to hand combat, if you would assist me, Kaze?" I asked with a resigned voice.

"Of course, milady," he said.

I changed into some pants and a shirt that the soldiers in the training area had on hand. We spent the next few hours in hand to hand combat and both Kaze and I were panting and sweating by the end. Camilla watched and gave commentary on everything she saw. She would tell us what we needed to fix and where. It was refreshing to do something different other than politics and worry about everyone. I needed to work off some steam and at the end of our sparring session, Kaze and Camilla went one way and I decided to go back to the room I shared with my new husband, Xander.

As I approached the door, I noticed Peri was standing there alone. I gave her a wary smile and she returned it with a brilliant grin of her own. As I stepped up to the door, she stepped in my way and blocked the handle of the door. I looked at her in surprise and she maintained the smile and shook her head.

"Prince Xander is indisposed," Peri said lowly to me. I blinked.

"Okay, well I need to get inside to bathe," I answered with a pointed look at my own body. Anyone could tell I had been sweating.

"Yes, milady, but as I said he's indisposed."

"Well, considering that this is my room, I'm going inside. Now if you'll excuse me," I said hotly. I half way pushed her out of the way and opened the door.

I saw my husband on the bed, Laslow was there with him and my husband was completely naked. I couldn't help my eyes looking over his body. He was still tired and panting a little and it looked like he was just helped back into bed. Xander's muscled chest heaved with his breaths and my eyes roved lower… to see a… quite large manhood. I blinked and my mouth went dry. His body was toned all over, and I'd be an idiot to not appreciate what showed there. What are you doing? I ripped my eyes from my husband's body, and I felt a blush creep up my neck and onto my cheeks.

"Xander… W-What are you doing?" I asked with a cracked voice. I heard Laslow laugh and Xander sighed.

"Laslow was just helping me to bathe… if you had listened to Peri, you wouldn't need to have your… sensibilities offended," Xander said tiredly. I heard a rustling and noticed that Xander was now covered up and Laslow bowed to me as he moved to leave.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to walk in on you…" I stammered out.

"It's alright," He said, and he patted the bed and gave me a look. "Come, we need to talk." With that, I moved to sit on the bed with him and I faced away from him. My back was to him and I looked at the wall opposite from me so I wouldn't look at his… chest.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to say that there are some things you need to know before you get to Castle Krakenburg. Some things you need to know to stay alive." He looked up at the ceiling. "As you have experienced, we are constantly in peril with our lives. The slightest change and the slightest movement can cause someone to take your life. For that reason, we have tasters for everything we eat. From here on out, you will no longer eat anything without a taster eating it first. Also, when we get to Castle Krakenburg, I will be upping your retainers from one to two. I have a young man in mind that I think you'll like. I believe he will work well with Kaze. Corrin, you must be careful. I took this arrow because you knew no better. From now on, you will know better. You cannot let your guard down, not even for a moment. If you do, it might end your life or someone else's." He ended it and I felt his fingers touch the back of my neck. I almost jumped at the touch, but I willed myself to stay still. Almost as if he sensed my trepidation at his touch, his fingers dropped from my neck.

"Xander, I am so thankful you saved my life, but… I need to ask, why?" I looked at him on the why. He blinked and seemed surprised by my question. "You don't love me, you don't care for me, why would you risk yourself for me?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure. All I did was react, and I couldn't help my actions," he said bluntly. I'm not sure why, but his answer stung me. I felt a biting feeling in my chest and I felt a wetness spring to my eyes. It hurt my feelings. I wasn't entirely sure as to why it hurt, after all, I didn't care anything for him, right?

"Well, at least you're honest. Thank-you, again," I said with a small smile.

"Corrin, what have you been doing?"

"What do you mean?" I asked looking down at his face.

"You're… well, when I touched your neck, you were sweaty, what have you been doing?" He asked with a small smile. I couldn't help myself and I laughed at his question.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"