Lady in Waiting

By psychored1911

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Awakening or Fire Emblem Fates

Chapter 10: The Lost Prince and Princess

"Aah… we're finally here."

Azura threw herself onto the bed as the retainers brought her personal luggage into the room.

The Hoshidan Strike Force, as dubbed by Catria, had finally arrived in Windmire and more specifically, their hotel. Their accommodations had been a bit… excessive, in Sakura's opinion, but it helped sell the illusion of opulence. Plus, it gave them more than enough privacy to enact their plans.

How excessive was it? They booked an entire floor for themselves… and then the one underneath for good measure. It certainly sold the extravagant new nobility image she held.

"My my, sister, what do you think of our room? Do you think you'll enjoy yourself?" She asked overly loudly. Kagero and Saizo were knocking on the walls.

"Don't you think these are a bit too extravagant Az-Aqua?" Sakura said loudly as her adoptive sister eyed her. "Maybe we're drawing too much attention to ourselves."

Kaze went prone, put his ear on the floor, and listened carefully.

"Not at all!" Azura sat up with a smirk. "When in a new city, you should live it up! Maybe we should bring in several cats!"

"All clear, Lady Azura; this place has no spying walls." Saizo said sternly. "We should be safe to set up our operation."

"Perfect." Azura said calmly as she sat up, dropping the flighty noblewoman with no dayjob image at the drop of a hat. "Go help the rest with the equipment and bring it up." She then turned her attention to Sakura and stoically said: "We're not bringing any cats."

"Right…" It was starting to scare Sakura on how easily her adoptive sister shifts personas, but that usually means she's enjoying herself.

The two princesses brought over a table as Catria and Nagi brought over their important documents, with Rinkah bringing in their equipment. Soon after, the ninjas, Hana, and Subaki brought up their luggage and weapons.

As Nagi and Azura set up the table, the others, done with their task, gathered around them.

"Is everyone ready?" Azura asked, getting nods in response. "Good. Let's get started. As everyone knows, this mission is completely off the books. We are not supposed to be in this country; if any of us are found out, we will be executed. If you are caught, you and your actions will be disavowed by Hoshido; in your honor, do not reveal any information about our mission."

She was met with steely gazes, and a rondo of nods from the retainers.

"Our missions are to identify and destroy the manufacturing plant of the Faceless monsters by the Nohrian Military. To ensure none of this gets traced back to Hoshido, we want its destruction to look like an accident, preferably a fire or an explosion by their own black magic. Our second primary objective is to identify and assassinate the head mages as well as destroy their research. As much as possible, make it look like natural causes or an accident. If their precious new weapons look like they turned on their creators, then the Nohrians will have no choice but to bring this project of theirs to an end."

Looking at everyone in the room, their resolve unwavering, Azura continued.

"Princess Hinoka gave us a secondary, albeit optional, objective…" Azura said slowly. "We are to investigate the whereabouts of Prince Kamui, and, if possible, return him to Hoshido."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The room suddenly went quiet for a moment, until Saizo spoke up. "Milady, with all due respect, we've tried this before. All of our previous leads went cold."

"I know that…" Azura admitted, "but this is further than anyone else has gotten to this city. We have to try."

Nagi uneasily raised her hand. "...Who's Kamui, exactly? Was he a prince of Hoshido that was captured by the Nohrians or something?"

"...Kamui is the sole child of Queen Mikoto and the late King Sumeragi." Azura reluctantly explained. "Sakura and the others are the children of Sumeragi and the late Queen Ikona. When Queen Ikona died, Mikoto married King Sumeragi and raised them as her own."

There was a noticeable lack of mention about herself, and the other retainers were clearly uncomfortable with the subject matter, with Kaze, in particular, eyeing her with a look that clearly screamed 'Drop it.'. Nevertheless, against her better judgment, Nagi continued. "...What about you?"

"I…" Azura paused, gripping her hand in frustration, before spitting out in near-reluctance. "I was adopted into the Hoshidan Royal family by Queen Mikoto. My birth mother's name was Arete… and my stepfather…" She shook her head, "is King Garon."

Catria flinched, "King Garon. The ruler of this kingdom, conqueror of nations, and supposed genocidal maniac that everyone in Hoshido hates?! That King Garon?!"

"Do not remind me." Azura hissed. "I was abandoned and forgotten by the Nohrian Royal Family. I hold no love for any of them. Not anymore."

"So how does this relate to Kamui?" Nagi asked.

"...During peace negotiations with Hoshido, King Garon assassinated King Sumeragi and took the young prince Kamui from him," Azura explained distastefully. "During which he abandoned me. No one knows what happened to him after that, and every attempt at ransoming or rescue for Kamui has ended fruitlessly. It was as if he never truly existed."

"I wish to find him." The small crowd looked at Kaze, his hands shaking angrily. "I agree with Lady Azura, we have to try something."

"This better not be because of what happened years ago." Saizo growled.

"It was my fault he was taken! I should be the one who brings him back!" Kaze argued.

"Kaze, you were a child too. The fault does not lie with you." Saizo said.

"You weren't the one there!" Kaze snapped back.

"Kaze, I'm going to need you to take a deep breath," Azura said solemnly, staring the green-haired ninja down. "If we go in with no plan, we will be running around in circles, wasting our limited time and resources. I understand how you feel, but rushing headfirst into trouble is not how we'll succeed; are we clear?"

"...Right…" Kaze rubbed his head bashfully, keeping his head down. "I'm sorry…"

"Great." She turned to Catria and Nagi. "Catria, Nagi, neither of you seem tired. Do some reconnaissance and get us some supplies. We're going to be here for a long while."

The crowd died down when Corrin walked into the main building with pride in each step. As for the people, each one of them returned to their duties with a smile on their face. Their lord overcame insurmountable odds; winning a duel that seemed absolutely hopeless. Even though it was just by a technicality, Lucina couldn't be upset at the results.

She sat down on a crate by a nearby tree where she thought no one could see her. Even though she was mildly annoyed by being slapped in a swordfight, the fact that she was defeated under the rules of engagement set means that her student had finally earned a victory under her tutelage.

And that meant she could only go that much harder on him the next time they sparred, so win-win.

"Corrin's strategy… it's awfully similar to something he would have done."

All Lucina could do was groan. It was her. This time, she was sitting next to her on the crate, almost nuzzling against her.

"It's you again…" Marth uttered quietly.

The girl seemed a bit hurt by Marth's quiet dismissal of her. "...Do you… hate me?"

That caught Marth's attention as her gaze snapped back to the little girl beside her. "No. of course not. There's no way I could ever hate you."

"Then why did you leave?"

"I…" Marth paused and looked down at her hands. "Shouldn't you know already?"

"You didn't answer the question."

Lucina sighed deeply. "I'm not really… feeling well… I'm not exactly someone you should be around."

She doesn't seem too convinced. "Uh huh…"

"Besides, you won't forgive me. You know what I did."

Unbeknownst to Marth, a certain someone went looking for her. Just to see if she was alright.

"She's talking to someone…" Elise whispered to herself. "What did you do? What happened to you?" She couldn't help but wonder aloud about her retainer.

"Greetings, Lady Elise."

Elise jumped, and the little squeak she made drew Marth's eye as the little princess turned to find Selena right behind her.

Elise groaned, "C'mon, Selena. I told you that titles aren't necessary with me in private."

"I'm not risking it with King Garon and his personal guard lurking around." Selena frowned.

The little princess sighed, "Yeah, fair enough."

Marth hopped off the crate and approached the two. "May I help you two?"

Selena shrugged, "Eh, I was just checking if you were alright. You always were kind of a sore loser."

Marth pouted, "I am not a sore loser."

Selena raised a brow. "So, you're not going to increase the difficulty when teaching Lord Corrin?"

"No, I was just thinking of how to make sure he learns at a steady pace."

"Oh please, you were probably thinking about how to incorporate horses and lances in your next lesson, except instead of Lord Corrin learning mounted combat, you'll have him bound to a damn scarecrow while you run him over."

"..."

"..."

"...Shut up." Marth growled, clearly wondering how Selena predicted exactly what she was thinking.

Selena smirked. "Yeah, that's what I thought. This isn't the first time you did that."

Marth turned away again. This was a bit more than a pout, she was distinctly looking down at an angle again, not daring to say a word. Selena didn't give it a second thought. Elise, on the other hand, was looking for this specifically.

Is she talking to someone again? Elise thought. She's seeing someone… someone very short… shorter than me…

"So, Lady Elise, is there something you wished to ask me?" Marth asked.

"I just wanted to invite you to some tea and a board game." Elise chippered before turning to the redhead. "Would you like to join us, Selena?"

"Nah, can't do that, Lady Elise." Selena shook her head, "I just got word that Prince Xander and Princess Camilla will be arriving in another hour or two, so I have to help out with an actual welcome wagon this time."

"A shame, maybe next time?"

Selena nodded and walked away.

"I should probably join her," Marth said as she followed Selena.

Elise grabbed Marth's wrist. "Nope, you and I are finally gonna play that board game of yours."

I have an idea. Elise thought as she pulled Marth away. It's a bit of a gamble though.

"I-I'm free to go?" Corrin asked in disbelief.

"Must I repeat myself?" King Garon coldly stated.

"N-No, father." Corrin bowed, "Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

"Give you?" Garon bellowed, "Perish the thought. You have shown improvement; you have proven your strength and valor. Of course, you did not best your brother as per our terms, but you did best the strongest knight in all of Nohr, at least via technicality. Such effort is to be rewarded. As such, you may stay in Windmire until the end of the Festival of the Dusk Dragon, wherein you shall return back to your fiefdom."

"I've never been able to celebrate the festival with the rest of my siblings…" Corrin said.

"That's not the only gift I came to grant you." Garon said as he snapped his fingers. Two of his royal guards came in bringing a large ornate chest. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the guards and gestured to Corrin to open it.

Corrin knelt down and unlatched the chest. Inside the chest was…

"...Armor?"

Armor was an understatement. The set appeared to be forged from greyed and blackened steel, but it also appeared scale-like, animalistic even; it almost resembled the hide of a dragon rather than any other set of armor he's ever seen before. Yet, despite that, it was wonderfully ornate, engraved to more closely resemble that of a dragon's hide than plate, with various runes inlaid with silver and obsidian just to remind him of its man-made origins.

"One of the finest sets of honor within the Nohrian treasury." King Garon stated. "It was found in the vault of another kingdom, unfortunately lost to the eternal war between Nohr and Hoshido. None of our armorers have even come close to replicating it.

"It's beautiful, father…" Corrin said in awe as he picked up the armored vest… "But, I don't think it will fit me."

"Put it on." Garon said.

With no room to argue against his father, Corrin slipped the chestplate on… and panicked as it seemingly clamped on him and began tightening around his body. "F-Father?!"

"Give it a minute." King Garon said as more pieces of the armor flew from the chest and clasped itself around Corrin's panicking form: first the armored pants and greaves, then the vambraces and gloves, and finally the draconic helmet that completed the set, clasping over his face and neck. None of this brought Corrin any comfort, however, as he fell to the ground and tried tearing the thing off, screaming all the while.

"The armor bonding to your body has come to be known as the dragonskin armor due to its apparent affinity with those who bear ancient dragon blood in their veins." King Garon said, even as Corrin flailed about the floor in terror. "Anyone else who tried it on was unceremoniously executed by whatever spirits or spells that reside within its plates. So it would be in your best interest to calm your heart and allow the armor to merge with your form."

Taking his father's wisdom into account, Corrin took a deep breath and ceased his struggling, allowing the armor to shift and warp around his body, until eventually, it stopped.

And once it stopped, the armor felt like the most comfortable set he ever wore. No impediment in his movement, no weight bearing down on his body. No, in fact, it almost felt like an extension of his own body. Even the helmet's glass-like visor did nothing to impede his vision, and he even felt the implicit feeling that it won't shatter upon impact. In fact, it seemed as if the armor was asking him to entrust his protection to it.

"A perfect fit. The spirits within have blessed you with their favor." His father said proudly. "Happy birthday, son. A messenger has already been sent. The guards at the city are preparing for your arrival. You will be there tonight."

The helmet retracted into the chestplate, almost in response to Corrin's unconscious feelings, startling the prince for a second, before he disregarded the feature and bowed to the king. "Thank you, father. I hope this armor will serve me well. But…" he glanced at his braced arms. "...How do I take this off?"

"Take that stupid shirt off."

"We're in the middle of a road."

"Did I stutter? Take off that ridiculous shirt."

"No. I think I look good in this shirt."

"There is no realm between Hoshido and Nohr where anyone would look good in that horridly dyed rag. No, no, I believe that actual rags would be a step up from that fashion disaster."

Peri and Beruka, driving the Royal carriage in lieu of their normal mounts, exchanged glances as their respective lords bickered over Lord Xander's choice in clothes. Namely, his gaudy-looking shirt. The gaudy, hot pink shirt with green flowers that were seemingly stitched atop the shirt, with the seams ending with bright yellow glittering lace.

"..."

"Don't look at me like that!"

Beruka said nothing, but that judging stare of hers spoke volumes to her current counterpart, who puffed her cheeks in offense.

Knowing that this back and forth with his sister was getting nowhere, Xander swung open the door to the carriage and pointed at one of the knights riding beside the vehicle, "Silas, I want your genuine and honest opinion," he then gestured to his atrocity of a dress shirt. "How do I look in this?"

The newest of the Royal Knights, Silas, gulped as he scanned the thing that… enveloped his prince, "Permission to speak freely… and preferably without fear of reprisal, milord?"

"Granted."

"I… wouldn't let my worst enemy wear it." Silas uneasily admitted, avoiding eye contact with his prince.

"Ugh…"

"Ha!"

Camilla then popped out from that side and closed the door right as Xander dropped his head down in defeat, flashing the cavalier a charming smile. "Thank you, Silas."

"Of course, milady."

Xander groaned and glared at his retainer at the helm. "Peri, I thought you told me that this was the best shirt at the tailors."

"Nooooooo… you told me to get the most expensive shirt at the tailor's." Peri corrected. "That thing had so many dyes and foreign material that it would cost a baron's estate. Heck, they said that was more of a proof of concept than a fashion statement. I liked the other one I showed you much better."

"What?!" Xander guffawed, "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"I did! But you said to buy it anyway!" Peri harrumphed.

Xander buried his face in his palms, avoiding the smug look his sister was giving him. "Next time, you're picking out my outfits. I've lost all faith in the fashion sense of my retainers."

"Hey!"

Camilla giggled, ignoring Peri's indignant cry. "Of course, Xander. Anything to help my big brother with his first crush!"

"I told you it's not like that."

"Of course. Of course, it's nothing like that in the slightest! Why in blazes would I want anything other than you and Marth getting along."

Xander sighed, knowing his sister's teasing was not going away soon. He looked up, noticing that his soldiers and the retainers, including Beruka of all people, were listening in on him.

Silas rode up a bit and whispered to the more talkative retainer at the helm, "Who's Marth?"

"Oh, she's the new Royal Knight that we hired a few weeks before you." Peri said cheerfully. "To this day, she's the only one of us who managed to beat Xander in a fight."

Silas was taken aback. "She beat Lord Xander in a fight?" He had been hearing rumors of some vagabond beating Lord Xander in single combat, but to think it was real, and it was one of the newest knights at that. He only lasted for a few minutes with barely a scratch on Xander's armor. This new knight had to be something else.

"She beat him without even breaking a sweat. And now my dear brother is head over heels for her~!" Camilla playfully chimed in.

"I am not!" Xander denied. "No more talking for the rest of the trip! That goes for everyone!"

Everyone did as he asked. The entourage was quiet, save for Camilla's stifled laughter.

"On a more serious note…"

"I just said no more talking." He said as he massaged his temples.

"You'll want to hear this." Camilla stated as she pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket. "This is about the armory."

Xander stiffened and looked up at the paper Camilla was holding. "What is it?"

"Something stolen, theoretically of course."

Xander took it from her and read it, a design of a sword, but not one he recognized. It resembled the bastard child of a saber, and a saw. "What kind of sword is this?"

"It's called the killing edge. An infantry weapon some of our artisans have been experimenting with as of late."

"And its design?"

"Supposedly made with the intent of ripping through Hoshidan armor; there were even some Hoshidan techniques forging techniques used for its crafting. However plans to mass produce and outfit the front lines with the blade was halted."

"How so? It was incapable of killing people?"

"Quite the opposite, in fact, it was too effective in killing people."

Xander narrowed his eyes. "Too effective?"

"It's one thing to kill someone; this thing mauls, it eviscerates, it rips them apart." Camilla claimed solemnly. "It cuts through armor like butter, it tears skin like paper, and it makes blood splatter easier than any infantry weapon that Nohr has ever developed."

"That sounds more like a plus-"

"Unfortunately, it seemed to traumatize our men just as easily as it did the enemy." Camilla sighed, "Even though dismemberment is par for the course in war, it was as though it was too easy to kill. Most of the poor soldiers who tested this weapon resigned from active duty not long after… and a few even took their own lives from guilt."

Xander frowned, "Dear gods-"

"It was also prohibitively expensive." Camilla added, almost as an afterthought. "We could probably arm a small squadron with surplus bronze blades with the amount of gold it takes to forge a single killing edge."

It almost troubled Xander with how dismissively Camilla treated the deaths of others, even if they were Hoshidans. Then again, logistics were more of Corrin and Leo's thing rather than Camilla's. Though, after the Queen's Massacre, he could hardly blame her for being used to such bloodshed.

"Anything else about it we should know?" Xander inquired.

"Our only prototypes were left in the armory storage, not to be touched. They were originally thought to be destroyed alongside everything else in there, however, due to the killing edge's unique design, the destroyed remains should have looked differently than the other blades. Hence, they think some of them were stolen in the chaos."

"Hmm… This just gets stranger and stranger." Xander thought. "All that trouble couldn't have been for just a sword…"

Marth was at a loss, absolutely befuddled, completely oblivious to Elise's winning strategy. On a related note, she was just as oblivious to the fact that she had the worst poker face that anyone had ever seen before.

They were having fun, despite the losing streak that Marth was suffering.

Until… Elise made an error. A string of errors, really, and Marth capitalized on it, before eventually, she managed to snatch up victory right from the jaws of defeat.

"I win!" Marth said with a small cheer.

"Yeah, you finally did." Elise giggled. "You've played this game a lot before, haven't you?"

"Yes, I've played this game with my husband quite a lot. He always lost to me, though." Marth cupped her chin, "Which is strange, because he always won when he played against my father."

"Were those games long by any chance?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Is it possible that maybe he just wanted to spend more time with you? And he threw a match or two for the sake of it?" Elise suggested.

"I doubt it. He had a lot of pride in his strategic mind." Marth shook her head.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't we been doing the same thing?" Elise asked. "We've been playing the game for a while and we've been talking quite a bit. Do you think that, with his strategic mind, he did that on purpose to spend time with you?"

"Hmm… That is an interesting thought… but it's not like I can ask him about that now."

Marth's mood seemingly depressed, and Elise immediately leaned over the game board and grasped Marth's hands. "We can infer; his actions spoke for himself, don't you think? Y'know, if he wanted to spend his free time with you like that, then he must've really enjoyed being with you. To think he devoted all of his free time with you like that, doesn't it sound so romantic?"

Marth smiled warmly. "I'm not unwelcome to that idea."

Elise took a deep breath. She knew what she was about to do was going to be a risk, but it might be necessary.

"By the way…"

"Yes?" Marth tilted her head.

"I wanted to ask you about something, and I promise you can stop me if I get out of line." Elise was nervous, but steeled her resolve.

"Okay?" Marth raised her brow.

"Who is the kid you keep talking to?"

Marth froze, her eyes suddenly shifting to her feet. "...How do you know about her?"

"Well… I've been paying attention to you. You keep looking down to your side, as if you're looking at someone, then you keep smiling, and then, when you think you're alone, you start talking as if there's someone there?"

Marth said nothing. Any response refused to leave her lips. Fear consumed her. How was Elise going to react? What was she going to say?

"I just wanted you to know that it's okay."

Marth looked up in surprise. "What?"

"You've been hiding haven't you? You were afraid about what people would think?" Elise put her hands up, attempting to reassure her. "When you're alone with me, you don't have to be afraid. You can talk about them at your own pace if you want."

Marth smiled, settling down knowing her friend wasn't judging her. "I'm sorry. I'm not ready to talk about her yet."

Elise nodded, putting her hands on Marth's again. "Your secret is safe with me. My door is always open when you are ready to talk about it."

"Thank you, Elise."

"Uhh… finally!" Camilla stretched her limbs as the carriage came to a halt. "We're finally here."

Xander yawned as he got out of the carriage. "Well, at least that's over with."

"Yes, now you can get another shirt out of your trunk and replace that insult to the fashion gods."

Xander rolled his eyes, "There are no fashion gods, Camilla."

"Oh, I know that." Camilla twirled a bit of her hair. "If there were, they would've smited you over that stupid shirt."

Xander threw up his hands, "How long are you going to make fun of my shirt."

"When it stops being funny, Xander." Camilla teased.

Before Xander could offer a rebuttal, Silas chimed in. "Hey, milord, isn't that King Garon's carriage over there?"

Camilla and Xander jolted out of their exhausted fatigue and sat up, leaning towards the window, spotting their father's personal carriage parked right outside the drawbridge. The respectful nods of the royal guard that stood sentry by the carriage all but confirmed their father's presence.

"...We're dead."

Without even thinking, the two royals rushed inside the main building and-

"Oof!"

-collided with the resident klutz of a maid, sending her skidding across the floor and into the wall.

"Oh, dear." Camilla helped the maid up, "Apologies for that, Felicia."

"N-No, problem, L-Lady Camilla?" Felicia sloppily saluted as she attempted to regain her bearings.

"Easy, girl." Camilla patted her on the shoulders, allowing the maid to rebalance herself before continuing. "Now, do you mind telling me where our father is?"

"Oh, King Garon is in Lord Corrin's office, milady."

"You don't need to stand on-"

"I'm pretty sure King Garon would strongly disagree, milady-"

"Xander."

The three froze as their eyes went to the top of the stairs, where their king was waiting.

Felicia wasted no time bowing and getting out of the way as King Garon descended, with his eldest children dropping to their knees and bowing before him.

"Xander. You are the future king of Nohr, not the future king of the circus." The King Stated as he reached the bottom. "Take that ridiculous thing off."

Camilla bit back a chortle as Xander looked down at his shirt with a resigned sigh. "Yes, father."

"Good. I shall be leaving now. I expect you back in Windmire by tonight. Have your usual merriment and laughter with Corrin; I fear I have intruded upon your traditions long enough."

"Wait, tonight?"

"Must I repeat myself and explain? Your brother has earned the privilege of leaving his fiefdom to join us for the Dusk Festival."

And with that, the King and his entourage left.

The three of them were lost in their thoughts, his words echoing in their brains.

Camilla stood there, still stunned by their father's announcement to even pay her brother any mind. "Did he say-?"

"Corrin won the privilege of leaving the Northern Fortress?" Xander finished incredulously.

"No way…" Felicia smiled. "He finally gets to see the outside world! Oh my god! I'm so happy for him! Ooh, I hope he brings me with him to Windmire!"

Camilla giggled and patted the younger maid on the head, "Of course he'll bring you with him. You're his favorite, after all."

Xander blinked, "Really? I thought Lilith was his favorite."

"He can have more than one favorite!"

Azura was at her desk, desperately trying to keep herself busy. She was the one leading this mission, but it was still a lot to process. Not to mention, now that she was finally here, her mind was consumed with doubts and thoughts she hadn't thought about in a very long time.

The 'family' she once had.

She thought about the two 'siblings' she had in Nohr. How she hated the fact that after everything that happened, they abandoned her to her fate. Sure, the Hoshidans were kind to her, and that she was adopted into a loving family, but she still felt that deep sense of betrayal. "Xander… Camilla…" She muttered. What would she do if she was forced to encounter them? Camilla promised her that they would be family, not that anything ever came of such empty words to Azura.

Another thought raced through her mind.

Whatever happened to her birth mother? The woman who taught her to sing and dance. Mikoto was Arete's old friend and took care of her, she earned the title as her mother in her eyes, but the thought always lingered in her mind; what about Arete?

Would she be able to pay her respects to the woman she barely knew?

She looked at the maps they acquired. A location of interest that she circled numerous times was the royal graveyard.

"Would she be there?" She muttered to herself.

Azura had trouble thinking about it. What if she was? What if she wasn't? It was haunting her. The thought barely occurred to her until she was this close to it.

"I'll check for myself later…"

"We're back everyone!" Catria called out as she and Nagi came into the room with bags full of groceries.

Azura looked up from her desk, hiding the map she was looking at. "Just set it on the table over there."

The two retainers set their groceries on the kitchen table and hovered over to their liege, "Where's everyone else?" Nagi asked.

"Resting in the other rooms. If you intend to stay awake, then by all means, stay here." Azura told them, smiling, assuming they can see her face, but not looking up from her notes. "Did you find out anything interesting?"

"Yeah, apparently the city's abuzz with excitement for some reason." Catria shrugged, "They're saying that Prince Corrin is coming back to the capital for the first time in years."

Azura paused and raised her brow. "Who?"

"Prince Corrin." Catria repeated, "From what I hear, he's the second prince of Nohr, and that he's the surviving twin brother of Princess Kana, both born from Queen Katerina."

"...What did you just say?" Azura turned her head from her desk with wide eyes.

"He hasn't been in the city in years?"

"No, not that. His mother, his siblings." Azura stood up, her iron mask of a stoic face cracking.

"Oh, so apparently his mom is the late Queen Katerina, and he is the second son after some guy named Xander and is twins with someone named Kana. That, and he's the middle child of King Garon's surviving children, why?" Nagi said, summarizing the rumors they've been hearing on the streets.

"No… No, that can't be right…" Azura closed her eyes, cupping her chin, as she stood up and paced around the room, immediately putting the two retainers on edge. "That's impossible… there's no way…"

"...Err… Azura?" Catria nervously reached out to her, holding onto Azura's shoulder. "You alright?"

"Catria… Nagi… There is no such individual known as Prince Corrin of Nohr." Azura slowly told them, her eyes wide as plates, her stoic facade broken to reveal one of complete and utter shock, "Kana was stillborn…. and she certainly never had a twin. There is no child of any of King Garon's wives or concubines that ever bore that name."

"Huh?" Nagi furrowed her brows, "Wait, if Prince Corrin never really existed, then who is he?"

A/N: And done. Special thanks to SK for helping me beta this fic again.

This is probably the fastest I've updated a fic. I'm gonna be honest with you guys, my updates are gonna be slower, I am in the last year to get my degree, SK got a new job, and my bro who helps is trying to get into grad school. Next chapter is gonna be awesome, just letting you know. As always, please review!