Chapter 19 - A Feeling You Just Can't Describe


Anna woke up.

It was sudden, like that time one of her sisters threw a bucket of ice water on her to wake her up, but far worse. Gasping, her breaths came labored, she couldn't move. The world surged around her, blurry and unfocused. She tried to move again, but was met with resistance.

Resistance in the form of pain.

It flared bright and brilliant, lancing not just through her head, but through her whole body, and she heard herself cry out. Her voice came out indistinct, as if she was hearing herself from the end of tunnel. Her vision swam still worse, and she felt nausea worm its way through her gut.

She heard more than saw a blurry, indistinct shape come up next to her, murmuring in a tone that may have been words of comfort. She felt a calloused hand place a cool cloth on her forehead.

A feminine voice came from the somewhat indistinct figure, topped by a blob of light pink that might have been hair. A distinct feeling of wrongness tingled at the core of her being, and Anna couldn't help but flinch back.

"Whoa whoa, easy. You're gonna be alright. Want me to get Ai?"

Anna had no idea who or what that was. She groaned, and darkness whirled over her moments later.


"Well, at least that big meanie didn't get you, Leo."

Leo scoffed. "I doubt he could have. After he was captured, he didn't even set foot in the Izumite Castle where I was busy explaining my innocence with the Izumite rulers, and deflecting accusations. According to Odin and Niles, he escaped in a hurry, and only went through those who stood in his way.

He saw Elise pout as she crossed her arms. "Why do they always blame us? We had nothing to do with it. It was all that crazy man Robin, right?"

"Right." He suffered her innocence on the matter. It was somewhat the truth, even if, according to Father, the death of the Archduke had been planned anyways. In time, it would fold and become another foothold to Hoshidan territory.

She blew out a puff of air, slouching slightly in her straight-backed chair. "Sounds like a horrible person. I bet if Xander faced off against him, he'd be toast in no time."

"Undoubtedly."

An armored hand made its way into his view, with a delicate floral teacup full of...juice? One of Elise's retainers, Effie, stepped back and in a gruff voice said, "Freshly squeezed."

Smiling brightly, Elise perked up as Effie set another cup in front of her. "Thanks so much!"

Effie shrugged. "It's a good hand and forearm workout anyways. Want me to make more?"

"Sure!"

A smile crept onto Effie's face and she went back to the nearby stone table, and took more fresh strawberries, carrots, and other fruits and vegetables over a bowl. Out of the corner of his eye he watched in fascination as Effie crushed more apples. Her look of intense concentration made him feel sorry for the wellbeing of the fruit.

She did it with her bare hands, juice seeping through a cloth filter out into a bowl she was mixing up the juice they were drinking. He shuddered a little involuntarily, glad she was on his side. Even though he didn't know of some of the fruit's origin, all met the same demise, literally squeezed to death by Effie's bare hands.

"Drink up, Leo!"

Muttering a quick 'apologies,' Leo felt an odd sense of déjà vu as he sipped fruity juice out of the delicate, flowery tea set Effie had set out for them. It was far too sweet for his taste, but he suffered it for his sister's sake. At least he was sitting on a chair this time at the height tables were meant to be, not squatting on a flowery poof from the Izumite castle.

"How is it?"

He grimaced, trying to force a smile. "Palatable. Better than last time we did this, but still far too sweet."

One side of Elise's mouth turned downward. "I think your taste buds are broken."

"Perhaps if it was based on tomatoes..."

She stuck out her tongue. "Blech."

Chuckling, he set down the drink, mostly untouched. His eyes strayed to the sweet confections to the side; pastries no doubt full cloying filling. "Your aversion to vegetables will get you in trouble one day, you know."

"I'm a sweet girl who needs sweetness to be more sweet."

"Logical to a fault."

His eyes drifted back to Elise as she made a happy sounding squee, downing her own juice. "Maybe we can take time and go visit Corrin before long. And if we're lucky, we'll meet Camilla there too. All we'd have to do is grab Xander and it'll be a big party!"

Leo chuckled. "That would be quite the event."

Even though it was a nice thought, with how Father was talking it likely wouldn't work out. Perhaps when things calmed down, he could visit her. It was always refreshing to see Corrin and her more view of the world, untainted by the dangerous games of Nohrian nobles.

A small part of him always felt bad about lying to her about her origin. If they could help it, she would never find out how she'd been kidnapped from Hoshido. She could be Nohr's shining beacon to lead them out of this endless war.

"What's on your mind, Leo? You seem so distracted today."

"Hm?" He shook his head, shaking off the feeling. "Oh. Apologies. Father just tasked me with something difficult. My mind is...occupied with it."

"Does it have something to do with that Robin guy?"

"Not exactly." Or at least he hoped they were unrelated as Odin insisted they were. "It's probably not something I should discuss openly."

"C'mon, you can tell your younger sister! I won't tell anyone."

"Just like you didn't tell anyone about the last secret I confided in you and before the day's end the entirety of Castle Krakenburg knew about it?"

"That was one time, Leo. I'm much better at this sort of thing now." Leo refrained from pointing out that it had happened only six months ago. After a moment, she huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, if you can't tell me, maybe I can help somehow?"

This was the last kind of thing he wanted to involve her in. "No, it's-"

His head snapped over to the door as it burst open, admitting Elise's other retainer, Arthur, with his usual exuberance, smile, and wavy blond hair. "Lady Elise, I have urgent news for both you and Lord Leo. I-whoops!"

With all the poise of a tumbling mole, he tripped, falling face first onto the floor. The letter grasped in his hand slipped out, flew high into the air before fluttering down in front of Leo.

Getting up and dusting off himself, Arthur cleared his throat. "I endeavored to arrive as quickly as possible, Lady Elise! The messenger wyvern arrived recently from the Northern Fortress." His face scrunched into a frown. "They seemed awfully troubled."

Leo broke the wax seal, drawing out a brief letter, written in frantic, but recognizable handwriting. His eyes narrowed as he read it a couple of times to be sure.

Leo,

I don't know how, who, or why, but Corrin is gone. The Wards are still in place, but she is gone. I'm sending another letter with more information to Father.

I'm going on the hunt.

Camilla

Gone? How?

"What is it?" Elise asked, worry seeping into her voice, as she made to reach out for the letter.

He almost reflexively snapped the letter away from her, but after a moment, thought better of it. She would find out anyway as the only thing of significance at the Northern Fortress was Corrin. The Fortress itself was just a relic of a war long passed.

"Nothing good. I'm going to go speak with Father." Perhaps it was simply a form of paranoia, but he couldn't help but wonder if her sudden disappearance was connected somehow. He stood. "I'll see you later, Elise, and...don't get into any trouble, alright?"

"Okay...?"

He left without another word.


Azura ignored the stares of everyone as she rushed past. Normally, she would have cleaned herself up after a trip to Valla. Normally, she would have tried to be more discreet, but her mind was whirling faster than Hinoka on a pegasus in a dive bombing maneuver.

The guards in place in front of the door to the throne seemed surprised to see her - and likely her unkempt state - but they admitted her without question. A long standing order from Queen Mikoto for which she was thankful for.

"Mikoto, I-"

She stopped short. Mikoto was there, but so was someone else. The sight of him made her stop short.

Takumi's arms were crossed, annoyance clear as the frown on his face. "You look like you've been through a war. What, did you run to the borderlands and back while fighting Faceless?"

Pressing her lips into a thin line, she stifled her retort. Why were Takumi and his retainers still here? Unless…

Had it really been less than an hour in Hoshido? In Valla it had been at least the better part of a day, possibly more.

The time between the two places was always so frustratingly inconsistent.

"Takumi, please." Mikoto admonished, rushing forward, and Azura turned her head as she fretted over her noting little bruises and cuts that she had done her best to ignore. "What happened?" she whispered.

Azura looked pointedly at Takumi, and whispered back. "Why is he here?"

"They know, Azura."

Her heart sped up as her eyes widened. "Were you the one who…?"

Mikoto gently shook her head. "Someone else. It's complicated."

She breathed a sigh of relief. She had only seen the curse take someone once, but she never wanted to see anyone disappear like that again. Watching her real mother go through that was enough. Even if they weren't what she would call close, she wouldn't wish something like that on Mikoto.

"There's something I need to tell you," Azura murmured. "Alone, if we can."

"Later. Takumi needs this right now." She stepped back and Azura frowned. Maybe it was her exhaustion, but the dismissal irked her. Mikoto started speaking normally. "Do you remember what happened nearly a month ago, when we received that invitation from the archduke of Izumo?"

She nodded. "I heard from Sakura that the invitation was strange, but that there didn't seem to be any ill intentions to it. It was during the Festival of Spring, and they were invited, so they went. What happened?"

She saw Oboro scowl. "Nohrians, that's what. Nohrians and dragons."

Hinata put a calming hand on her shoulder, and the woman's scowl deepened. Azura wasn't sure if the scowl from Oboro was for her, or the memory of what had happened.

The samurai looked at her, laughing in a polite, if awkward sort of way. "Sorry, lady Azura. As it turns out, the archduke invited a Nohrian royal and his retinue as well. It, uh, went about like you'd expect. They're as crazy as ever, and the archduke was crazier for inviting them."

"And for trusting them after they clearly tried to assassinate him," Oboro growled. "Actually, no, they were successful."

Takumi shook his head, exasperatedly. "We don't know that it was them, Oboro." It sounded like this discussion had already occurred. "Crazy as he is, the archduke was right about this 'avatar of the fell dragon' existing, but he said nothing about him being connected to the Nohrians. If anything, the Nohrians seemed just as surprised as we were."

"One of them knew of him."

"But," Takumi insisted, "he didn't seem happy to hear about him again."

Perceiving her confusion, Mikoto turned to her to clarify. "The archduke was assassinated by someone that he received a divine warning about. Afterwards, the man in question escaped imprisonment with a small band before justice could be dealt." She sighed, her brow creasing. "I was on good terms with Izana, and he was good for the nation. I worry what will happen to the world with his passing."

Azura passively raised her eyebrows. Perhaps she was supposed to mourn because of the loss of the leader of Izumo, but she found herself unsure of how much she cared. Why should she care about this fell dragon's avatar when it wasn't part of her war?

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around why that guy did it," Hinata mused.

Oboro crossed her arms. "Regardless of the reason, the Izumite government shooed us out really quickly after they figured we didn't have any part of it. You could tell they wanted us out. It was a mess, and I'm glad we were able to get out of it."

Takumi shook his head in annoyance. "So much infighting. There was no clear heir or inheritor in place, which was ridiculous. And that's not even taking into account the other half of Izana's warning. It's hard to believe that this dragon, Anankos, is as much of a threat as he said, especially with-"

Azura's mind froze, as she stopped listening to what he was saying. Takumi had just said his name. Anankos.

In fear she started looking for the telltale signs of the curse activating. For pain, for trembling, for him to begin disappearing. But as he kept talking, nothing happened, and as she stopped panicking and focused more on the situation, she noted that none of the symptoms appeared.

Her fingers went instinctively to her pendant, but there was no stirring there either, not a ripple of anything. As much as she and Takumi didn't get along, she wouldn't want him to be swallowed by the curse. The initial fear slowly dissolved, replaced by confusion.

She looked to Mikoto for an answer.

"Perhaps," Mikoto ventured, cutting Takumi off. "we should take this discussion elsewhere."


For the second time that day, Leo found himself kneeling before the Obsidian Throne with his retainers close by his side. Garon was standing this time, and the scowl that Leo had learned to associate with the lined face of his father was back.

In one of the king's hands, a bowl etched with runes. In the other, an ornate ceremonial knife.

"Do you make an oath before the king, the Obsidian Throne and before the Dusk Dragon and pledge to keep what I am about to reveal to you secret?" Garon asked.

Leo swallowed. No going back now.

"I do."

The words were echoed by his retainers. Though he was touched by their loyalty, Leo hoped this wouldn't lead to their deaths. He held out his ungloved hand. Garon approached.

"Then by His blood which runs through your veins, given by your free will and choice, I seal this oath."

Leo winced as the knife cut a thin line on his hand, his blood dripping into the bowl. Garon followed and did the same to his retainers. The runes on the bowl glowed each time new blood dripped into it.

A Nohrian blood pact. There wasn't any specific trigger for it: it was under Garon's control. So in theory, Leo could still reveal these secrets to others. And so long as word of that never made it back to Garon, he would be fine.

A razor thin line to walk. Especially since Garon wasn't kidding when he said his agents were everywhere.

He looked up, a satisfied expression on his father's face. That he expected. However, Leo couldn't help but notice the sadness in his eyes. A moment later, it was gone, so soon that he might have imagined it.

"Rise, my son. Come. There is much to discuss."


The smaller, private room of Castle Shirasagi was simply furnished, lacking in any of the breadth and grandeur that had been present in the Hoshidan throne room. Azura kneeled at a low table, Takumi and his retainers seated opposite, with Mikoto at the head.

Tea had been served, but hers sat untouched on the table, still steaming.

"As you saw in the throne room," Mikoto began, "something drastic has changed. Whatever part of his…Anankos' curse that triggered upon saying his name seems to no longer be present. It's unclear how long ago this change occurred."

Azura reflexively clutched her pendant on hearing the name, but no, still nothing. Still not even a pulse from it. She was talking openly about it. Mikoto was talking openly about something that triggered the curse and nothing was happening.

"Why do you keep looking so surprised?" Takumi asked, eying her.

Her eyes narrowed at the antagonism laced in his voice. "What do you know?"

Takumi's eyes bore into hers. "Not much. I know that you and mother have had a secret war for a long time. The archduke warned us that Anankos," she winced at the casual use of his name again, "will destroy the world or something if we don't unite with Nohr against him." He scoffed. "Mother wouldn't tell me everything, said it was 'too risky.'"

"Because it is, Takumi," Mikoto insisted. It sounded like they had already had a similar argument. "You don't know what he is capable of."

"And you won't tell me what he's capable of either."

"Even though there has been some shift in the magic that threads through his curse, we must be cautious." Mikoto insisted, "Please refrain from using his name. I…" a pained expression creased her face. "I wouldn't be able to stand losing any of you if that shifts back once again."

"Then how do you expect us to talk about any of this? Do we even know anything about Anan-" Mikoto gave him a hard glare, to which he grimaced and his face flushed with embarrassment, "About him besides that he's a dragon? About his plans, or base of operations?"

"I'm afraid I cannot say."

"More of this 'curse?'" Takumi scoffed. "Then what's even the point of us even meeting if we can't do anything about it?"

"Please, allow me to finish. There is little we can do at the present moment. Not without more information. At least not here."


The small room adjacent to the Nohrian throne room was one Leo had never seen, nor personally knew existed. Of course he knew that Castle Krakenburg held secrets and he'd even discovered a few in his time growing up here.

But this was certainly…different.

Though the circular room was simple and well lit, it resembled war rooms he'd seen in the past. Minus the other people and advisors that normally came with them. Dominated by a table in the center, with a large map of the continent spread on top of it, Leo noted little wooden markers all over the map.

However, it wasn't the table that truly caught his eye, but what bordered on the walls. Slotted in indents lining the walls were dozens of orbs that appeared to be fashioned from glass. Oddly, when he reached out with his magic, he didn't feel any sort of response from them, even from the one of them was currently glowing. Perhaps they were shielded in some way?

"What is this, Father?"

His aged eyes turned towards him, and he growled in disgust. "The secret war. Years ago, I was given these crystals to aid in my efforts to…destroy Anankos."

"By whom? And, what are they?"

His father glared at him. "I cannot speak of their source. However, they are a means of communication. Each is part of a pair given to my most trusted agents all across the continent. On the receiving end here, they glow with light when there is a message to be relayed."

Leo gestured to the currently glowing sphere. "So the person who has the other pair to this sphere is waiting to speak to you?"

"No," he chided, "that would be foolish. Neither they nor I have the time to sit and wait for that. They simply activate them, speak their message. When I am ready, I receive their message here."

Leo narrowed his eyes. "Why haven't I seen these in use before? Something like this could change the tide of the war with Hoshido."

"It already has," Garon remarked. "With these my agents are able to quickly communicate to me about the goings on of the war, and anything they find about Anankos." He pointed to markers on the map, close to Izumo's capital city, Yorokobi. "Anankos operates in secret, but when you know where to look for them, there are signs that follow his underlings."

Leo and his retainers walked closer to the map, and he noted the small wooden tokens all over the map. "What do these tokens represent?" he asked. "A sighting? A sign of Anankos' forces operating?"

"Correct. From my observations over the years, they seem primarily to sow discord wherever they go. At times it appears targeted, and others there is no pattern to it. None that I can see, and I have spent years attempting to discern what his goal is to no avail. Of course, this is only his activity that I have been able to discover."

Leo frowned. "Is that so?"

Garon nodded. "Indeed. One of the most recent sightings was in Yorokobi," He pointed to Izumo's capital. "I received a report that they were sighted while you were in the city, during its festival of spring. Both in the city and the castle."

"In the castle?" Anankos' agents had been there? Leo's hand went to his chin in thought. "Hold on. After the archduke's assassination, there were other allegations thrown against us as well. They said there were signs of a large battle in the archduke's study, as well as a few servants dead that same night. I assumed that it was just part of Robin's doing, or that group of thieves. Are you implying that Anankos did that?"

"From the reports I received on the Izumo incident, it seems possible to me, yes. Unfortunately, I have no clues as to what his motives were. As it has been with most of this 'war.'" he spat the last word in disgust.

"So what are we to do against a foe we can't see? One who acts so erratically?"

"There is little we can do to move directly against this foe, at least not without more information. Something that I have always lacked in. However, there is hope. Before you returned to the capital, I received several reports from my agents. Some of which have been slain."

Garon reached under the table and retrieved a token from a bin there, placing it on a locale near…

"The Bottomless Canyon?" Leo inquired.

"More specifically, a deserted village close to it. However, as you can see, it's on the Hoshidan side of the border." He looked up at him. "I need you to investigate it and retrieve the orbs if possible."

"You want us to investigate?" Leo's eyes narrowed. "Forgive me, Father, but as a Nohrian royal I am not exactly discreet. If we were discovered, it could break the tentative ceasefire early. Earlier than would be wise."

"I am aware. That is why this will be a covert operation. You will meet one of my agents in a village on the Nohrian side and proceed from there."


"And that," Mikoto's gaze turned towards Azura. "Is why I need you to take them to the Bottomless Canyon. Relay everything you can there."

"Are you absolutely sure about getting them involved in this?" Azura asked.

Mikoto nodded firmly. "Despite his eccentricities, I would have trusted Archduke Izana with my life. If he and the divine being he took counsel from believe in them, I will put my trust in their decision."

"That's all well and good," Takumi interjected, "but what about the whole uniting with Nohr against…" he sighed, "against 'him?' You know what the Nohrian king did the last time peace was attempted."

Azura saw Hinata subtly elbow Takumi. A simple glance at the pain on Mikoto's face at the reminder was enough. Azura didn't need the reminder. After all, she had been an unwilling part of the "exchange," between her and another girl she had never met. And at this rate likely never would.

Cheeks flushing, Takumi averted his eyes, as if realizing what he said. "I'm sorry."

Mikoto shook her head. "I will be fine. Though at the present time I cannot see clearly how such a union with Nohr could be achieved, if Izana believed a union to be possible, I will put my faith in that. For now, start by traveling to the Bottomless Canyon. It will be the safest way."

Azura didn't like this. Getting more people involved, especially someone like Takumi, still didn't sit well with her. After a terse moment, she nodded. "Alright."

Takumi crossed his arms. "So what about that other man? The 'Avatar of the Fell Dragon?'"

"Based on what you told me about what the late archduke said," Mikoto continued, "this avatar must be related to this in some way. Though if he is working with him, I do not know how."

"One of the Nohrian Prince's retainers knew him." Hinata's voice was uncharacteristically subdued to what Azura normally heard from him. Though, since she rarely interacted with anyways, perhaps that wasn't surprising. "He called him 'Robin.'"

Oboro scoffed. "I still think he's working with the Nohrians."

"It is too early to tell," Mikoto admonished. "Perhaps he is working with the Nohrians, or was once allied with them. Perhaps it is simply a coincidence. It is not something we know at the present moment. However, on your journey, keep an ear out for any information on him. I will have my own people begin looking into him. The archduke's warning only solidifies my opinion that he will be a key player in this conflict."

Takumi nodded. "We'll ask around in any towns or villages we stop at along the way. If there's nothing else, I don't see any point in delaying. We should go as soon as we can."

"You only just got back from Izumo," Mikoto cautioned. "And Azura needs time to recover."

"I will be fine," Azura assured her.

Takumi huffed. "Are you going to tell me what that's about either? Or do you not trust me enough for that?"

Azura leveled a glare at him.

"Patience, both of you. Takumi, I assure you that you will understand soon enough." Setting a gentle hand on her shoulder, Mikoto looked sternly into her eyes, then over to Takumi. "Rest. Both of you. At least for a day. Set out at dawn the next day if you must, but no earlier."

He glared at Azura. "Fine. We'll leave at dawn in a day." He stood and left, his retainers following out after him. The door slid shut.

Sighing, Mikoto squeezed her hand again on Azura's shoulder. "What was it you needed to tell me privately?"

"While I was there, I saw him. Sumeragi."


The door to the secret room slide closed, and Leo marveled at how seamlessly it blended in with the wall once again. "There was one other urgent matter I wanted to discuss with you, father. Did you receive Camilla's message from the Northern Fortress?"

"Yes, I am aware of the situation with Corrin." His voice was dispassionate.

It sounded as though Garon didn't want to elaborate. Frowning, he took a chance and pressed. "Are you not worried that this is some move by Hoshido? Or…perhaps something of Anankos' doing?"

Garon turned to glare at him. "I do not believe that Anankos had anything to do with it, and should those Hoshidan rats be responsible, I trust that Camilla will find them and end them. But I have a…feeling that you need not worry about it. Corrin is strong, far stronger than you give her credit for."

"I…" Leo hesitated. Why was Garon being so blasé about this? With how much work had gone into keeping her from the Hoshidans and then constructing the wards around the Northern Fortress, he would have thought Garon would be beside himself. "I see. I will defer to your judgment."

Even though secrets and plots like this was normal in Nohrian politics, it didn't sit well with him. What was he missing?

"Good. You are dismissed."


The news of Sumeragi had gone over with Mikoto about as Azura had expected. Shock at first, then denial. Then at Azura's insistence at what she had seen and fought against, sadness. It was difficult to forget nearly being impaled by a thrown katana.

Mikoto sighed. "As much as it pains me, if what remains of Sumeragi is under his control, he is no longer the man I loved. At the very least, we have answers to where his body went after Kamui's kidnapping. But it is disturbing that he would do such a thing."

"Yes. But why would he…" Azura's eyes widened. "It means he has access to dragon veins here on the continent."

Mikoto frowned. "It does. That is…concerning."

"There was one other thing." Azura hesitated, trying to think of how best to describe what she has seen. "Once I had escaped, but while I was still there, I encountered something…unnatural. Like a crack in the air. Nothing about it made sense, and every time I try to remember it, it's a struggle. Have you ever heard of something like that before?"

Mikoto's forehead creased in thought. "No, I can't say I have. Whatever it was, it can't be good."

So she didn't know either. Perhaps that wasn't surprising. There were still plenty of things that neither of them knew about Valla after all.

Mikoto frowned. "I'm sorry, Azura. I…have some thinking to do. Do you mind leaving me to my thoughts?"

"Of course." Azura wasn't heartless. She knew how much of a blow the news of Sumeragi's fate would be for Mikoto. Though a part of her was frustrated by it, she knew clearer heads would prevail with what to do with this information with more time. "And…I'm sorry."

Azura left without another word.


When she awoke again, Anna could feel that time had passed. Her awakening wasn't filled with horrible pain and confusion that had accompanied it the first time. The pain that had thrummed through her body earlier was absent. However, an acute ache lingered in her right arm.

Carefully pushing herself up with the arm that wasn't painful, she sat up – a damp cloth falling from her head into her lap. Trying to blink away her lingering exhaustion, she ran a hand through her red hair and felt that it was matted, and that she stank somewhat of sweat.

A small flickering light danced on the walls, and for a fearful moment, she thought she might be back underground in that dungeon cave again. At least until she could more clearly see the wooden walls of her current residence. And the light came from a candle.

Taking stock of the surroundings, there wasn't too much to look at, nothing she'd call fancy, though the wood and the rice paper over the sliding door was clearly Hoshidan in origin. A window to one side was blocked out by heavy looking curtains.

There were no personal effects to suggest it was someone's room. If anything it reminded her of an inn. Looking down, she found she was propping herself up on a thick padded pallet on the ground, a blanket covering her.

Wincing as a throb from her right forearm brought her attention back to it, she drew the arm out from under the blanket, spotting the bandage wrapped around the middle.

"By the way." He pointed, his finger hovered over the handle of the knife still embedded in her right forearm. "Doesn't that hurt?"

A pulse of pain throbbed through her head. Right. Her arm had been stabbed through with a knife. She had been going somewhere, and a prison guard had stabbed her through. That much was clear.

Her mind abruptly went blank as she tried to remember the rest of it, but it came in pieces. Most of it she couldn't remember at all.

The wound would be fine; healed. No need to worry about it right now.

But she felt...sick. Not the kind of sickness that came from being ill, but a deep inward dread that inevitably kept spreading outwards.

Then she remembered why.

There was...something stuck in her head. Snatches of the memory of the conversation flitted by in her mind. And the being, if Grima, was telling the truth, Anna had put it there. And it had been talking, whispering to her in her own voice.

So then, how was she supposed to know which of her own thoughts were really her own? And if she had been seeing pieces of its memories, could it see hers?

For the first time since she disappeared in Izumo, anxiety gripped her.

There really was no way for her to tell.

Her fearful introspection was interrupted by a soft snoring snort, and Anna whipped around, noticing that she wasn't alone in the room.

Behind her, seated cross-legged on a simple cushion was another woman with her head leaning on her left arm, braced against her leg. Wearing a relatively simple padded dark tunic with trousers, the young woman had light pink-hair held back out of her face with a relatively simple hair band. She blearily woke up, yawning.

Despite the innocence of the actions, Anna froze looking at her. A distinct feeling of wrongness emanated off the young woman, even though there didn't seem to be any reason as to why. She'd felt that before, when she'd woken up in so much pain.

The young woman smacked her lips, and her greyish eyes widened as they met Anna's.

"Oh!" Anna jerked at the sound. "You're awake. Shoot, that means I fell asleep on the job, doesn't it?" She laughed awkwardly, a hand slipping to the back of her neck, a sheepish grin on her face. "Sorry about that."

Anna tried to respond, but it came out in a rasp, and she started having a coughing fit.

"Here."

Coming out of her fit, she saw the other young woman was holding out a cup of water to her. Anna quickly grabbed it and drank it down greedily.

"Whoa! Go easy there, girl. Drinking it that fast isn't gonna help you."

Anna took a couple of slower sips, and then cleared her throat. "Thank you. What's your name?"

Her grin went into a smile. "My name's Soleil! And it's no problem. It's the least I can do for you after what you did for Shura back in Kotaro's den. I'll never be able to thank you enough for that. All of us thought for sure it was going to be a suicide mission for him."

Anna narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Huh?" Soleil tilted her head, confusion in her eyes. "What do you mean 'what do you mean?' The way Shura put it, you practically popped into existence and put a knife through Kotaro's head before he could even react. It sounded awesome!"

"I...what?" The memory dripped into her head. She had done that. She could feel herself dragging the dagger out of the flesh of her arm and setting it into the man's - Kotaro apparently - head. "Oh, um, yeah."

She had killed a man. Apparently a bad one, but still…

Soleil tilted her head, appraising her. "You don't sound very sure about it, but it was definitely you. Both Shura and that other guy - uh, Robin I think - saw it. But you collapsed pretty much right after. Must have taken a lot out of you."

A sudden shiver went through her and she tugged the blanket up around her. "Where is Robin?"

"He's with Shura and that kitsune. They're off getting something."

So they were gone. "Will they be back?"

"In a few days, maybe a week. I dunno. Of course, if it was me I'd totally come back for a cutie like you." The young woman's smile brightened and she winked.

In the bleary, only partly woken up state she was in, Anna was unsure of how to take that, though she felt her cheeks flush. "Who even are you and Shura anyways? And…where are we?"

"Well for starters, you're in Suterusu."

"Mokushu's capital?"

"Yup." Soleil nodded. "And you picked an interesting time to visit. Though I guess you've already figured that out. Especially with us around." She glanced around, leaned in and whispered "If you ask me you picked the right side."

"Side? Isn't Mokushu neutral?"

She waved her hand to the side. "Oh, I'm not talking about the whole Nohrian-Hoshidan thing. Of course, Kotaro has been schmoozing with the Nohrians for years, but that's something for another day. I'm talking about what he did to Kohga. He deserved what you gave him."

"So then, who are you?"

"I'm part of a little merry band fighting to repair the injustices caused to Kohga by Mokushu – lead by Kotaro - decades ago. Basically, we're here to help put smiles on people's faces!"

"Does your group have a name?"

The young woman laughed. "Nope!"

"Really?"

Rolling her eyes, Soleil shrugged. "Yeah, I know. It's kinda dumb, but that's Shura's thing. I guess it kind of makes us more 'mysterious' or whatever. But anyways. Suterusu. It's been a couple days, but like I said, you killed the daimyo. Hardly anyone knows that, but hey, you've got my approval."

The door slid open, and an older woman tapping along with a polished bamboo cane entered the room. "I thought I heard you yapping, Soleil." The older woman's eyes drifted down to Anna. "Ah, not to yourself this time. Good. We have enough crazy people around here."

"Less now that Shura left, right?" Soleil asked innocently.

"Don't push it," the older woman growled, though there didn't seem to be any ire in her words. She shuffled into the room and Anna's nose twitched at the wonderful scent steaming up from a platter she balanced on one arm.

Anna's stomach growled audibly.

The older woman smiled, not unkindly. "Figured you would need food, but didn't think you would be conscious yet, so it's liquid based. Are you well enough to feed yourself?"

Stretching her arms, she winced as her right arm throbbed in pain. Doing her best to hide it, she nodded. "Yeah. Who are you?"

Setting the tray down beside her pallet, the older woman groaned as she stood, leaning on the polished bamboo cane. "Everyone calls me 'the proprietress.' I'm sure you're confused, and no doubt Soleil couldn't stay on one topic long enough to make sense."

"Hey!"

"For now, eat. I'll explain what I can."

Fortunately for Anna, the proprietress' telling of events was close enough to what Soleil had told her that she only had to ask a few clarifying questions. Before long, she finished her broth, and the bowl of rice Soleil had brought later.

"See," Soleil bragged, "I already told her all about what happened."

"Yes, quite," the proprietress mused. "Well, as fulfilling as this has been, I originally came here to tell you something, Soleil. Something unexpected is happening."

Soleil's expression turned serious, though that smile didn't quite leave her face. "How unexpected are we talking?"

"We thought Kotaro's subordinates would stay quiet until the other lords of Mokushu began arriving, or perhaps even until a new daimyo had been chosen."

Soleil scoffed. "Not like any of them would've gotten here alive."

"Be that as it may, a major public announcement is being made later today. It was announced out in the streets barely an hour ago, but we have no idea what it will be about."

"Oh, I see. And you need me," Soleil waggled her eyebrows, "the lovely, unassuming mercenary to go check it out in case it's something serious. All right, gotcha."

"Good. I'd like to have a chat with Anna now."

"Okay."

"Alone, Soleil."

Soleil rolled her eyes, rose from where she was seated on the ground and with that ever present smile sent her a wink before she slid the door closed.

The wrongness was gone, and even though Anna had become somewhat used to it, she relaxed, if only a little. Why had she felt that? Nothing about Soleil should put her on edge.

So what was it about her that made her feel that way?

The old woman chuckled after seeing Anna's relief. "Soleil means well, but she can be too bubbly for some people."

"No, it wasn't that."

"Oh?"

"It's…nothing."

"With how much has happened to you, I hardly think that nothing, dear girl." The proprietress paused, and shuffled closer to the mat. "So, tell me. How did you do what you did to Kotaro? The tale Shura and your friend Robin told was a strange one for sure, but I'd like to hear it from your own lips."

Anna averted her eyes from the proprietress' stare. "I'm sorry. I don't know."

"Don't try to hide anything. It would be pointless, for your own safety as well as the safety of everyone else. While you were unconscious, we saw your entire body flickering like a candle in the wind."

"...What?"

Like what Robin had described had happened at Izumo's castle.

"If you weren't on that mat I'd smack you. You've got young ears. You heard me. If you are a danger to the people around you, let me know, and I will do everything I can to help. If you know anything, tell me so I can help you."

"I already said, I don't know!" Anna snapped, raising her bandaged right arm, the black lines stark on her skin. "Do you think I enjoy not knowing what's happening to me? Do you think I enjoy barely remembering what I did? If I knew what was going on, I would tell you!"

The proprietress' face remained neutral.

Anna's breath shuddered, and she brought her knees up to her chest. "Sorry. I shouldn't have yelled."

"It sounds as though you have every right to be frustrated as you are." The proprietress' voice had a more gentle air to it. "I just had to be sure. I'd be a fool to anger an Anna sister. Especially after what one did to help me."

"...Right." Anna didn't ask at the obvious attempt to change the subject. She winced as a slight throb went through her head. "So, what now?"

"Take it easy for now. Clearly you've been through much."

But did she really have time for that right now? What about Soleil, and the feeling she'd felt from her?

She did want answers after all.

"Actually, would it be alright if I went with Soleil?"

The proprietress scoffed. "You just woke up from who knows what and you want to do that? Even if the fresh air would do you good, are you even well enough to walk?"

It was a good point, and she probably shouldn't, but even so, Anna stood to prove her point. Shakily, unsteady at first, but she stood.

The older woman's eyes widened, surprised. Her expression changed back to something more neutral as she rolled her eyes. "Youth is wasted on the young. At least bathe before you go. I'll let Soleil know to wait up for you."

Anna nodded, allowing the proprietress to lead her to a bathing area while another woman drew water for a bath.

It wasn't until after Anna was already walking towards the city plaza with Soleil, that it hit her. Where had the idea to go with Soleil come from? Had that really been her?

The feeling of not knowing unnerved her because it had felt like her own idea. And all while Soleil chatted animatedly away, that feeling of wrongness persisted.


A/N: Wow it feels good to write this again.