Kairi was restless. It had already been weeks since she arrived at the castle. How long does it take for word to get to Hoshido and back? She had already missed Sakura's first birthday! Thankfully Azura and Camilla had lent her clothes that fit her. She only had the kimono that she was wearing when she was taken.

"I hope Mother gave Sakura the birthday present I got her." she murmured as she leaned against a tree in the garden. She would have been in the library, but it was a nice day and she wanted some time outside. There's only so much time she could spend reading while she waited for her family to arrange to get her. Camilla was also with her to keep her company.

"Father tells me that political discussions can take a while, but I don't think he meant that the matter of returning a princess to her father would take this long." Looking over at the younger princess, she started thinking of how to bring up the mood. "Maybe later we can talk to Father, see if he has any news." she suggested. Kairi smiled a bit, but it was still nervous. It was only natural, since she had been away from home for so long.

That afternoon, Kairi and Camilla went to King Garon's office. When they reached the door, Camilla knocked. A few seconds later, a voice from inside told them to come in. Garon was sitting at his desk with his hand on his head, stressed from something. Perhaps the paper that was in his other hand.

"Father? Are you alright?" Camilla asked. At the sound of his daughter's voice, he turned to the door.

"Ah. Camilla. I'm fine. Is there something you needed?" He gave her a smile, but it appeared false; there was sadness masked behind it. Camilla pulled Kairi into the room.

"Kairi was wondering if there was any word about when she would be able to go home." Garon's smile suddenly vanished. The girls immediately knew something was wrong. He turned back to the desk, looking at the paper.

"It appears that my diplomat and the messenger that I sent to Hoshido have been murdered and their bodies thrown back into Nohr. It's clearly a message from King Sumeragi." he sullenly responded. Small gasps came from the girls before the elder of the two found her voice again.

"But why? Doesn't King Sumeragi want Kairi back? She told me that he promised to come and find her last time she saw him!" she cried out. Putting the report back on the desk, Garon stood up and faced Camilla again.

"The soldiers that found them reported that the bodies appeared to be cut by a katana and burned there by lightning magic. Considering the state of the killing blow, it appears as it might have happened at the same time. I can only think of one blade in Hoshido that can do that." He turned his attention to the young Hoshidan princess, who had tears filling her eyes. He regretted hurting the girl, but she needed to know.

"I'm sorry, Princess Kairi. I'm not going to be able to send you back to your family."

Two Years Later:

"She's having another episode."

Xander stopped when he heard two servants talking. Clearly it was about his adopted sister, the former Hoshidan princess, Kairi. When she was officially brought into the family, she had insisted on a new name, so she was now called Corrin. However, she was still suffering from what happened to her. Upon hearing the news for the first time, she ran to her room and refused to come out for three days straight. She didn't eat and barely had anything to drink. Even two years later, she was still having trouble, locking herself in her room every now and then so she could cry without anyone seeing her.

"It's really a pity. She's such a sensitive young girl. I can't imagine how her former father wouldn't want her back." Xander stayed around, eavesdropping on the conversation. He knew he wasn't supposed to, but maybe they had an idea of what could be done.

"Still, it's hard for me to see her like this. She doesn't even talk to her siblings about it. Bottling it up can't be healthy for her, even ignoring what she does." The maid paused with a sad sigh. "I can't help but think she fears that she'll be abandoned again."

Abandoned again? He and the rest of the family had assured her that she would be a permanent part of the family. Did she still fear that they would leave her behind? It did take her quite a while for her to accept them. She had only just started calling King Garon 'Father'. There had to be a way to help her out of that state of mind.

He walked away after that. There was something he needed to figure out. Maybe she needed a friend to vent to. He had seen a young boy who was only a few years older than her working with the other servants. Maybe he could ask his father to introduce the two. Or maybe she could meet the child of a noble that lived nearby.

Either way, he needed to tell him what was going on.

Three Years Later:

Even though Elise was almost six years old, she had taken it upon herself to keep everyone in her family smiling. It was a big job for a little girl, but she felt she was ready for the job. Her big sister, Corrin, was her biggest challenge, but she did manage to cheer her up when she was having a bad day.

Even though she knew that Corrin was adopted, she didn't know what happened that caused her to be a part of their family. Everyone thought that it was for the best. She would find out when she was older and able to understand.

Her favorite way to cheer her sister up was to get Corrin to play with her or read her some of those fairy tales she loved so much. She didn't really understand why she had those bad days, but they were getting further apart.

That was enough for Elise to smile. She was glad to be helping her big sis.

Five Years Later:

Looking back on the years since the young Hoshidan princess was found during the raid, King Garon realized just how many highs and lows that came along with his daughter. The ten years had passed quickly, and things had changed quite a bit as all the children grew up.

When Garon made the decision to adopt Princess Kairi, he didn't know how she would react. Even after it was done, there were plenty of challenges that came with it. The political issues were easy enough to deal with for him but making sure that Corrin grew up like a semi-normal child wasn't easy. She was so hurt it took several years for him to convince her that she wouldn't be abandoned again. There were so many nights where she would wake up long before dawn, crying from a nightmare of her kidnapping. He often had to spend time in her room, just holding her and letting her cry until she fell asleep again.

Those were the difficult years.

After a while, Garon noticed Corrin getting happier, especially once she befriended Jacob, Silas, Flora and Felicia. She also got closer to Azura. Perhaps she just needed some people that could help her forget. Either way, she had grown up just as he hoped.

There was only one more thing that Garon was worried about. Corrin's dragon blood. It was clear to him from the beginning that it was much more potent than anyone else's, and his advisor Arete had informed him of a dangerous possibility for the true power of it. It could not only harm those around her, but it could possibly cause her to lose herself forever.

He was thankful that Arete had provided something that could protect Corrin from that; a dragonstone. Supposedly, it would keep the most dangerous part of the power in check, whatever it was. He would have to ask her how she knew about it, as well as where she even got it. According to her, it was quite rare

For some reason, he couldn't help but feel like she was protecting his family from something else.

Well, how are all of you dealing with cabin fever from the illness and the craziness that is what's going on in the cities? Thankfully I'm away from cities, so I'm not affected. I'm just chilling at home and doing summer classes.

Anyway, about the story. I wanted to do an interlude chapter because thirteen years is WAY to big a jump to have without any explanation as to what goes on. I hope this is serviceable.

Now, back to my classes.