{-Sharena-}

It was hard to tell who won when they finally stopped fighting but, with the amount Dagr was cheering, it was safe to assume it was Reginn. Eventually she came back with what Sharena guessed was Gramr; Nótt was close behind her.

Dagr hugged Reginn. "I knew you could do it! Can you believe the rest of these guys thought you were going to lose?"

"I did too, honestly…" Reginn mumbled as she backed away. "I hadn't realized how much those military drills helped…"

"None of that matters," Nótt sighed. "What matters is that I'm sure Ótr's making a mistake somewhere. Something's wrong, I know he can't truly wish for Reginn to be killed… perhaps it's better for the true ruler of Niðavellir to take the throne. Fáfnir's warped reasoning is affecting Ótr's judgment. That has to be it…"

"Or your boyfriend's just using your love as a bargaining chip," Dagr remarked casually. "But, hey, I'm the one with a girlfriend so who am I to say anything?"

Nótt gave her a glare, but made no other mention to it. "Now that Reginn has Gramr, our next goal is to find Ótr. He'll tell us who the heir is, and maybe I can try to understand what he thinks he's doing. He mentioned moving towards the capital, so that's where we should go."

"If we go to the capital, we're not going to be able to avoid the king," Anna pointed out. "It seems like the two of you already know who it is. Why can't you just tell us? Then we don't have to risk an encounter until we're ready for it."

The twins, for a minute, just stood there. Eventually Nótt shook her head to say, "Those are things best left for Ótr to explain."

…

They left the next morning. While they stuck together for a little while, it wasn't long until they split into three different groups; Alfonse and Anna whisper-arguing in the front, Nótt and Dagr loudly arguing in the back, and the conversation between Sharena, Fauna, and Reginn in the middle.

"I wonder if Ótr actually knows the true heir?" Reginn mumbled. "He has to, right? That has to be what Eitri was talking about. But… when could he have met her..? Why doesn't the whole kingdom know that she's alive..?"

"Maybe he's trying to protect her," Fauna offered. "If the people who liked Fáfnir knew she was alive, they'd kill her so then he could stay on the throne."

"Or she doesn't know who she is." Sharena had gathered enough from the fragments of Alfonse and Anna's argument that she overheard to know what they thought. "Maybe you're not the only two who were able to escape."

"Ótr made it sound like they tried really hard to make sure no one made it out of the palace, even after a couple of years. There was always a group he never wanted me around… They threatened anyone they thought might have information about the princess. Ótr made sure I was never alone when I went to where they were…" Reginn sighed. "I don't know what's worse; that she's alive at all and what she needs to do, or the fact that it feels like everyone else knows but I don't."

"Welcome to being the little sister," Sharena remarked. "No one listens to you and they definitely don't tell you anything. And, Lekra, before you say anything, it doesn't matter what the 'reasons' are. It's ultimately still the same thing."

Fauna was somehow gentle and blunt as she said, "You know, it might help if you talked about your feelings."

"Thank you! Be the voice of reason she doesn't let me be!" Lekra agreed as if she could actually hear them.

"Oh, shut up," Sharena grumbled, swatting the air around the nightmare. "That doesn't work, Fauna. I've tried."

"But was it passive-aggressive-trying or trying-trying?"

The response didn't really answer the question. "Alfonse doesn't seem to realize it. Anna doesn't care if it keeps me out of the way. Everyone else that would listen can't do anything. Zacharias would've listened to me and been able to do something, but, wait a minute, he's Prince Bruno now and we're strangers and those five years might as well have not existed!"

"Sharena…"

Luckily they didn't need to talk about it anymore, since Anna turned towards the rest of them. "We're going to make camp in a little while," she called.

…

She had never completely been "okay" with it. It was something she needed to accept, respect, and move on. Except she couldn't really accept it, it was hard to respect it, and she certainly couldn't move on from it. She thought those days—days of losing someone, then seeing their familiar face and remembering their memories together meant nothing—had stopped with Fauna. That, perhaps, with the help of the Summoner, they could all pretend like nothing had changed at all. All they got was empty space, awkward moments, and the ever-present knowledge that their quick fix could collapse one day.

As Sharena thought of what Zacharias had said, the more questions she had that he would never answer. She tried not to cry because she didn't want to bother the others. But that kind of self-control couldn't happen when she was asleep; voices were enough.

"You did it! I didn't think anyone could do it!"

"I guess I'm just that amazing, then. Here."

"Thank you! I think I know just where to put it…"

"Is something else on your mind?"

"I… wish Alfonse could come, too. I feel like we're never actually together just to hang out. You know?"

"That's it? Between the two of us, we can definitely get him to come next time! If you'd told me sooner, I could've dragged him out of the library tonight."

"Do you think we can get him to come to New Year's?"

"Didn't Henriette want you to join her?"

"You're right…"

"How about the Day of Devotion? Even if it's just for a couple of hours, he'll definitely have enough warning to be able to spare some time."

"That sounds great."

She slowly woke up to the awful feeling of Lekra freaking out. "What..?"

"Start waking up the others," was the first thing they told her. "Eitri took Fauna. I'll keep an eye on them so we don't lose track of them, but you've got to be quick."

((A/N: Why, yes, they ARE talking about the same Day of Devotion a bonus in another story was set during! AKA the beginning of Alfonse and Zacharias's month-long relationship and the point where everyone starts regretting the things they can't control.

And this is the last chapter of the fun, equal attention of Alfonse and Sharena for POVs… Honestly I'm surprised it lasted this long.))