"Xander, we need to talk." Corrin stood at the doorway with her arms crossed. The older brother looked up from his notes and noticed the annoyed glare of his sister. Sighing, he put his pen down and turned around.

"Is there something wrong, Corrin?" he asked. She huffed and strode into the room.

"Why did you order me to work with them? You know they're only going to try and get me to go back to Hoshido." she asked. While she tried to keep her voice even, he could hear uncertainty in her tone. Understanding immediately, he put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.

"If they wish that, they will have to deal with our father. You know that, right? I don't think that he will allow them to take you after what happened. Not if you didn't want it. At most it would probably be meeting them as a diplomat." With that, he turned back to his notes. Since he knew the basic strategy that the faceless took from recent encounters, he needed to figure out the best way for the forces to deal with them. The faceless seemed to rely on numbers to overwhelm the soldiers. Of course, if they dealt with them smartly, they would be able defeat them easily. The problem was the numbers seemed to be gradually increasing. If they could find the source of the faceless, then the numbers would be much more manageable.

Corrin was silent for a few minutes, but then she looked up at him. "Do you think I should let them get closer? I don't want them to get the idea that I'll be coming back, but I do think that it would be helpful to know the state of affairs in Hoshido." That caused him to pause for a moment. If she was willing to do that, she likely saw a benefit to Nohr, even if she didn't want to do it. And he agreed with her. New relations with Hoshido would be beneficial in fighting the faceless. If she could be the one to step into the role of diplomat, the process might be easier.

"That is a good suggestion, Corrin. Why don't you start with the second prince?" he smoothly said with a borderline order. Corrin stiffened at his tone. It left no room for argument. With a huff, she turned and left the room. She had a lot of thinking to do. How was she supposed to talk with Prince Kamui when she almost pointed her sword at him?

Kamui was pretty sure that Princess Corrin was watching him closely for the past two days. He wanted to go up to her and apologize for his careless words, but after that confrontation during the patrol, he didn't know how. He really screwed up with that.

Shaking his head, he decided to do a little training to get his mind off the problem. Grabbing his katana, he went to a quiet clearing just outside of the town. However, after a few swings of the blade, he was still having trouble focusing, making a few rookie mistakes.

"Darn it! What's with me today?" he muttered, gripping the hilt a little tighter.

"Don't do that." He jumped a little at the new voice behind him. Turning around, he saw the woman he had been trying to avoid standing a bit away, watching him, just as he had been doing to her a few days ago. She sat down on the grass as she continued. "Like I told Elke, it'll only hurt your hand." He blushed a little but sheathed his blade.

"Listen… I-" Kamui started, but he was quickly cut off.

"I should be the one apologizing. You had no idea what happened." Corrin shook her head sadly. "I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. I'm sorry." Kamui was taken aback by that but walked over and sat down next to her.

"After you were taken, I kept having nightmares about that day. Even so, I had a strong feeling that you were alive. I don't know why Father never let us go look for you." He looked down and closed his eyes when he said that. "I wish I had gone anyway."

"But then you might have been hurt by the bandits." Corrin tried to reassure him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I was their captive for what felt like weeks. I'm pretty sure that they had me for less time, but I couldn't tell. I was bound and kept in the dark for most of the time that they had me, and they tied me up so tight I could barely move. Besides, even after I was rescued, you might have been captured by other bandits." There was a pause as they both reflected on what was said. Even if Kamui had come for her, the chances of him getting kidnapped were incredibly high in Nohr back then. And how was he supposed to get her back if he went alone?

"I still hate this."

"You're not the only one."

They just sat there for a bit longer, silent as they tried to read each other. Yes, they were twins, but they didn't really know each other.

"So… how are things in Hoshido?" Corrin spoke up again, trying to break the ice.

"It's different then how it was when you were taken." Kamui said sadly. "We're more isolated, there's a strong feeling of distrust of the other nations, and my siblings and I are almost always watched when we go out to keep us from suffering the same fate as you, even though we're older and can defend ourselves."

"That's weird." Corrin murmured. "Father prefers us to have our retainers or guards with us too, but the way you say it…" She struggled to find a kind word to describe it, but Kamui understood what she was trying to say.

"Stifling, right?" Blushing, she nodded. He chuckled a little at her face. "Don't worry about it. We agree. That's why we had our ninja retainers sneak us out of the capital." He laughed a little. "I was actually wondering if they would have to smuggle us out in some old sacks due to how much we're watched back home. Wasn't exactly looking forward to being slung around like that." With that mental image, the wall broke and she had to try stifling her laughter. They spoke for a little while longer, but then Corrin stood up and offered her hand.

"Want to spar with me? I've never fought against a Hoshidan sword style before. It could help us both." He agreed, and with that, they spend some time trying to figure out the other's fighting style. After all, one can learn a lot about a person when sparring together.

"Saizo, have you seen Kamui?" Ryoma asked his retainer later. He knew that Kamui had gone out to train that morning, but he hadn't even come in for lunch. The red-haired ninja looked towards the door.

"He went to the river with the Nohrian princess. Kaze said something about them doing magic." he said with irritation. Ryoma was pleased, but surprised. He hadn't expected Kamui to start bonding with their sister so soon after that patrol. What had changed?

He should consider speaking to her soon. There was something going on with her.