Inigo stood alone in a storage area in the center part of the chateau. It was the only part of the building that could be considered the basement, sunk into the ground to provide some temperature regulation for the foodstuffs stored within. Inigo brushed his fingers over a rack of wine bottles, picking off some thick cobwebs idly. His mind was racing at a speed his lazy motions did not reflect, wondering just how he was going to perform damage control on his outburst, or the whole situation for that matter. 'It would have been easier for everyone if I had just left,' he thought. Of all the comments he could have made, all the diplomatic options he could have taken, why did he decide then to be honest?

As his hand mindlessly turned over another wine bottle, he heard a shift by the door that caused him to freeze in thought and motion. He turned quickly to the door, which was hidden from his view by some crates, and placed a ready hand on his sword. His blue eyes gazed with the precision of a hawk as a few footsteps made their way toward him, relaxing only when he saw the head of blonde hair coming around the corner.

"Oh," Owain said, "I thought I might find you here."

"Why would you think that?" Inigo said.

"I imagined you would want to go somewhere quiet," Owain replied, "it's what you usually do after all."

Inigo smiled weakly and turned away. "You know me so well."

Owain took more steps into the room, moving around a poorly placed crate to stand closer to his cousin, placing a hand on his heart. "We've been traveling together for a long time, cousin. What kind of noble would I be to be ignorant of the habits of one of my greatest allies?"

"Perhaps the kind of noble to know when a grandiose speech is not warranted."

Owain's smile faltered slightly. "I can see you are quite troubled, Inigo. If you would prefer, I can wait outside the room until you feel willing come out."

Inigo looked at him ambiguously, so Owain added on with a smile, "I can even guard the door if you like, make sure nobody comes to disturb you in your time of solitude."

A look of serious consideration took hold of Inigo's face, but with a sigh he shook his head no. "You do not have to do that," he said, "perhaps it would be easier to talk things out with a...well, not neutral party, but...you know what I mean."

Owain smiled happily at that, and grabbed a smaller crate that sat near a wall, pushing it toward Inigo, and patting it like a chair. Inigo obliged, taking his seat as Owain hopped on a larger crate that was close by. Inigo took a deep breath, then sat in silence for a long moment. Owain looked around awkwardly, and thought about breaking the ice with a question of his own. But, what question? Something direct, or should they work towards it?

"I," Owain began, "hung around after Lucina's rampage earlier." Inigo did not move, looking down at his hands in his lap. "Severa and Cordelia were talking about it when Lucina left with Uncle Chrom." Owain considered his next words with a pause. "Would you like to know what they said?"

Inigo turned his head toward Owain in attention, a silent plea evident in his eyes. Owain continued, "Severa was pretty hurt that you were so adamant about not courting her. It's strange in a way...I never imagined she would be so upset that you never used your charms on her."

Inigo continued to sit quietly, so Owain continued further. "But, after they thought about the last thing you said," Inigo's eyes were now fixated on Owain's words, "they were confused about what that meant." Owain, who had been avoiding eye contact thus far, turned directly to Inigo now. "What...what did that mean, Inigo?"

Inigo held his gaze for a moment, before turning back toward his hands still in his lap. A moment of silence passed again, but Inigo finally responded. "Do you remember the day my father died?"

...

Lucina stepped out of the study, silently chastising herself. Of course he would not be by the piano, the root of so much of this drama. But then, where could he have gone? To the woods maybe? He always strayed off when he was upset to dance himself into a better mood. At least, that is what Lucina thought he did. She had only followed him once early in the campaign out of concern. Perhaps he practiced his sword motions, or simply sat quietly listening to nature for a while, or sought inspiration for a song. Anything seemed possible now given recent revelations.

As she turned a corner to continue her search, she nearly ran into a certain red-haired warrior whose presence she had purposefully avoided up to this point. Severa looked just as surprised to see her, and both took a quick step back out of mutual concern. Severa's look of surprise, however, gave way to her signature annoyed frown as she crossed her arms. "What are you doing here?" she said.

Lucina straightened herself up. "I was looking for my brother to make amends. It does neither of us any good to let something fester between us."

"Yeah, no kidding," Severa said.

"I am picking up on your sarcasm," Lucina replied, scowling.

"I would hope so," Severa said, "I'm laying it on pretty thick."

Lucina grit her teeth for a moment, before taking a deep breath with closed eyes. Of course Severa would be angry with her. Who wouldn't be? "Inigo is...not the only person I wish to make amends with," she said.

Severa's eyebrow raised, but she said nothing. "My actions have been the cause of the recent trouble, most notably in attacking you without justification. For that I am deeply sorry."

Severa looked at her still as Lucina averted her gaze, hands clasped in shame. Severa took a heavy breath and turned away herself. "Just tell me why?" Lucina said nothing. "Why were you so angry with me, even if it was true?"

Lucina looked back at her, but quickly looked back down at her feet. "I thought...I thought that you had lied to me. That you had gone behind my back. That you did not trust me."

Severa turned back to her. Lucina finally found the courage to make eye-contact. "You have been with me, and Inigo, and Owain, since the very beginning. You've been one of the only people I know who can tell me when I'm wrong, or am acting stupid." Lucina stepped closer. "My whole life, I was surrounded by family. Later, after...you know...," and Severa did know, "I was surrounded by people who looked up to me as a leader. Who depended on me to save them. To save Ylisse. To change fate."

Severa's arms remained crossed, but her scowl was gone. "In all that time," Lucina said, "I had nobody that I could truly call a 'friend;' nobody who associated with me not out of familial obligation or because they thought I was my father's successor, but because they cared about me." Lucina took a shakey breath. "You were the one that came closest."

A long silence passed then as Severa processed this thought. "Closest?" was all she managed to say. Lucina nodded, then said, "I never confirmed it, and I knew you were always closer to Inigo and Owain, so I thought-" before she was cut off by Severa's tight grip around her body.

Lucina stood there not returning the hug, looking at the red braid now blocking part of her vision in confusion before she heard speaking again. "You thought I wasn't your friend?" Severa said, and even Lucina could perceive the betrayal in that sentence.

"Why would I think you would want to be?" Lucina asked. "Why would anyone be friends with someone like me?"

Severa pulled away then, looking Lucina in the eyes with her hands on her shoulders. A short second passed before Severa broke down in laughter at her friend's confused face. Brown and blue eyes met once again. "If I have to answer that for you, "Severa said, "then you really are hopeless."

Lucina was going to continue talking, but Severa let her go and started to walk away. "C'mon, she said, "let's go find your brother." Lucina smiled and followed her down the hallway.

...

The beauty of the scene was undercut somewhat as both women searched the chateau for any indication of Inigo's whereabouts. Nobody they asked had seen him after his outburst, and they had searched for some time before finally ending up in the center part of the building near the kitchen. "This is hopeless," Severa said, "this place is huge. How are we going to find him like this?"

"Perhaps he is no longer in the building," Lucina said, "he may be outside, or maybe..." she trailed off.

"Maybe what?" Severa said. Lucina gave no reply, staring off into the kitchen, and Severa stepped closer and followed her gaze. The women saw Owain walking carefully into the cellar, and after a moment's pause, heard Owain say, "Oh, I thought I might find you here."

Both women's eyes opened wider when they heard the response, Inigo's voice saying "Why would you think that?"

Severa took a step toward the door Owain left open, but Lucina grabbed her shoulder. "Perhaps we should come back later," she said.

Severa looked back at her uncertain, saying, "we'll wait until they are done, and when Inigo leaves we'll talk to him."

"But...should we not wait out here? It feels wrong to listen in," Lucina said.

"Oh, so now it feels wrong?" Severa replied with a grin and a raised eyebrow, at which a small blush creeped across Lucina's cheeks.

Severa walked over to the door frame, staying outside, but leaning her back against the wall trying to look casual. She saw Lucina did not follow, so Severa smiled and put a cupped hand to her ear in a mocking gesture. Lucina bit her lip, but curiosity got the better of her, and she slinked on over beside the redhead listening in. Owain said something she did not catch, but she heard Inigo's response loud and clear: "Do you remember the day my father died?"

...

Inigo exhaled. "Everything changed after that day. It wasn't until that moment that I realized how high the stakes were. What kinds of sacrifices would need to be made. Lucina started training harder than I had ever seen her, and I tried to follow suit. I tried...I really tried. But, I was clumsy, weak, nowhere near the warrior my father was, or anyone else for that matter."

"You got better," Owain said simply.

"Maybe...But, I never realized it then. My mother would walk in on me crying because I couldn't keep up, and she would take me into the forest, just me and her, and she would teach me different kinds of dances." Inigo's face lifted toward the ceiling, a small smile creeping at the edges of his mouth. "I still remember how beautiful she looked, her rings and bracelets glimmering in the moonlight, the crickets our melody for all kinds of dances."

"I never saw it then," Inigo said, now looking back down, "but, it's all I see now when I think back. The lines under her eyes, the wrinkles, the strands of gray in her hair..." Inigo let off a pitiful laugh, "stress was eating her alive, but here she was, every week, taking hours out of her time to teach me to dance."

A silence came, and Owain shifted uncomfortably. "We were out dancing the night it happened...Risen came from every direction, and my mother threw herself at them to give me time to leave. I didn't even think to bring my sword...If I had, I'm not sure I would have used it. Too much a coward. She died protecting me, she gave up her life for my life...and what have I done with it?"

"I," Owain said, "I'm not sure I understand-"

"My sister," Inigo interrupted, a fire growing in his voice, "my sister, who should have had nothing on her mind, now had to bear the weight of a falling kingdom. She took it upon herself to save me, you, everyone. She, through her own power, managed to give us enough hope to abandon Ylisstol on a long shot, and, against all expectations, managed to give us the best chance in the universe for us to change fate."

Inigo stood up now. "We went back in time, Owain. Do you understand that? We did the impossible thanks to her! And nobody, especially not me, deserves any of the credit for that! I owe her my life, and I intend to give it if the need ever arises."

Owain opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced once again. "And do you know what happened two hours ago? She snapped; for the first time in her life, she snapped, and it wasn't because of Risen, or our father, or Emmeryn; it was because of me."

"She worries about me. She was nearly in tears earlier because she didn't know I wrote music in my free time. The fate of the entire world is resting on her shoulders, and she's worried that she hasn't spent enough time with me! Do you have any idea ridiculous that is?!"

Owain finally stood up. "Inigo!" he said, "You are being too hard on yourself."

"No," Inigo said gravely, "she is being too hard on herself." He measured out the next sentence stressing every syllable. "She is the greatest person I know. If every legend about the Hero-King Marth was true, he still wouldn't hold a candle to her. And somehow, not only have I failed to ease her load, I have put more stress upon her because she's worried about me. Me! Someone utterly replaceable!"

"You are not replaceable!" Owain said, his own conviction rising. "Do you think we just keep you around because you are family? Your skills with the sword have been instrumental in every battle! Your wit and candor keep spirits up even in the face of destruction! Do you really think that can just be replaced?!"

"I can swing a sword, I can tell a joke, I can write a song," Inigo said. "But, I am not a leader like my father is. My dances can't inspire people like my mother's can. If they or Lucina should die, everything we have worked for, everything we built would crumble." A brief pause went by. "My mother died because I was not strong enough to save her. I do not intend to make that mistake twice."

"You won't make that mistake," Owain said, "and do you know why? Because you're not alone this time. Me, Robin, Gerome, Severa, everyone; we are here to help you, to keep everyone safe. To win this war once and for all. To save Ylisse and everything it stands for!"

The room fell silent except for labored breathing from both of them that neither had noticed until now. Owain's hand went to his heart, feeling a quick beating not usually felt outside of battle or a very intense speech. Both looked at each other, and Owain's face creeped into a grin, which Inigo's could not help but imitate. The two stood quietly in the lost echos of their breathing, their smiles displaying that strange emotion that occurs during mutual embarrassment. To get so worked up over a conversation...

...

Severa and Lucina said nothing as the pregnant silence continued. Several tears ran down Lucina's cheeks, her hand covering her mouth, her chest heavy with a weight she had felt before, but never this strongly. Severa, for her part, could say nothing and do nothing as she pondered Inigo and Owain's words.

...

Owain, however, had one thing left on his mind, and rather than drag it out, he made it clear outright.

"I am still confused on one thing, though," he said, and Inigo took notice. "How does all this relate to Severa? That is how this conversation got started after all."

Inigo took a breath and looked at his cousin. "Severa has stuck by us through the worst. When Lucina told everyone of her plan to go back in time, she was the first one to volunteer. She deserves so much better than what she's got...She deserves better than to worry about me."

"So, it's self-pity then?" Owain said bluntly, and Inigo looked at him surprised at his break of character.

"When did you get so coarse? No flowery speeches of optimism this time?"

Owain turned away with his arms crossed, his face portraying an exaggerated annoyance. "I guess you've run me dry for today."

"Well, there's a first time for everything I suppose," Inigo said.

"Humph" Owain pouted, "After everything I've done for you."

"You have done a lot," Inigo said, placing a hand on Owain's shoulder before Owain childishly pulled it away. "What, really?" Inigo said.

"I'm not talking to you until you take back what you said."

"About the flowery speeches?"

"About you being a nobody who drags on everyone!" Owain said pointedly.

"Fine," Inigo said with a sigh, "then I guess you won't want to hear about a new idea for a song I've had."

Owain's frame twitched, and Inigo's face formed a grin. "A...song?" Owain said.

Inigo turned away, placing his hands over his heart in an exaggerated pose of heartache. "I have a melody, pulled straight from the throat of a native blackbird who was calling for its mate on the rooftop. It is a simple tune, so dry and lifeless without a set of lyrics to raise it to higher power. Its subtlety and nuance lost without a poem to ground it in reality."

Owain turned to Inigo with wider eyes, his form shaking, his resolve crumbling, and Inigo could feel it radiating from him. 'Jackpot,' he thought.

"I guess I'll have to make do without," Inigo said. "I hope the masses will forgive the publication of such a subpar work." Inigo made a move toward the door, but Owain jumped out in front of him.

"No!" he said, "You are not leaving until you admit you are worthwhile!"

"Owain-"

"I will not be moved by your trickery, you charlatan!"

Inigo's smile slowly faltered. "Alright, alright. I matter to you and Lucina and others. I make a contribution to the effort that is worth mentioning. I am not a drag on my sister, Severa or anyone else."

Though Inigo said these words with the conviction of small child admitting he did something wrong, Owain seemed pleased enough about it. Inigo made a motion to exit the room, but Owain did not move. "What now?" Inigo said.

"You are not leaving until you fill me in on your melody," Owain said smugly.

Inigo sighed. "You have forced me to take drastic measures then," he said, smiling while wiggling his fingers. A drop of sweat fell down Owain's face as his smile crumbled.

"Don't come near me with that thing," Owain said, as if Inigo was approaching with a knife.

"Now Owain," Inigo said, "If you don't get out of the way, I can't be held responsible for what happens to you."

"You have a problem," Owain said.

"I have a lot of problems, but you are a problem I can solve." Inigo reached out toward Owain's chin, but Owain dodged and ran out of the room, Inigo following close behind. Owain's face was fearful, but his mouth emitted nervous laughter, while Inigo's face was one of determined joy.

Both men sprinted out of the storeroom and through the kitchen, Inigo's hand inches away from Owain's neck as they turned the corner down the hallway. In their excitement, neither noticed the two women who stood frozen against the wall, watching them go and unable to say a word.