I sat down in the castle garden staring at the stars. They twinkled in the sky so brightly, it was almost as if there was no Hel invading the kingdom. I sighed wishing I could just go to sleep but today's events were giving me vivid nightmares replaying everything that had happened just several hours before. I also had this nagging feeling that I should go comfort the prince and princess and yet it felt so… wrong. What right did I have to do that when I had put them in this position in the first place? The only solace I had was that in saving Alfonse, we still had hope in defeating Hel.

"Kiran? Are you alright? The whole Order has been looking everywhere for you." I hear Corrin's voice from behind me.

"No, I'm not alright. I told them that I wanted to be alone. I didn't want the entire castle to come look for me…"

"I know that you are upset about King Gustav, but you've gotten everyone worried about you. Especially Alfonse and Sharena. You just kind of ran off on them after the battle was over"

"Corrin… can I ask you something important?"

"Of course, Kiran. I want to help you in any way I can. You are my friend and I'm rather worried"

"Back in your world you had to make a difficult choice… do you ever wonder about… the choices you've made? Do they still haunt you?"

"I'd always wondered what would've happened if I had chosen my birth family. Until I had met the other me, I would constantly question my choices. There were a lot of things I've wished I had done differently. Once I talked to the other me, I realized that I would have felt the same way had I chosen my birth family. We've both witnessed the deaths of the people we cared about. But what made you…?"

"I'm not sure if should tell you the whole story. I'm not really supposed to tell Al or Sharena… so I guess I shouldn't give the exact details to whoever asks. All I can say is that I've made a choice and I feel terrible about it. Even if it was the right choice, it's led to His Highness' death at Hel's hands. I just wish I could just tell Alfonse and Sharena everything, but I can't. It was His Highness' last request. I feel as though I should honor what he wanted, even if I had never truly got along with him in the short time that I knew him."

"It's alright, Kiran. I understand that feeling all too well. Making choices, keeping secrets and not being able to share it with someone else...If it ever gets to be too much for you to handle, I am always happy to just sit and listen to you."

"You're too kind Corrin. It's no wonder why so many people seem to take a liking to you. I guess I should consider myself lucky to call you a friend"

"It really is no trouble at all, Kiran. You're always so good and kind to everyone here even when you don't see eye to eye with them. There's so many heroes here now, and yet you've managed to befriend so many of them. You're amazing!" Corrin said while trying to lighten the mood

"Thanks, Corrin. I don't exactly feel like I'm an amazing person, but I am glad that I can rely upon you. I just hope that… if Alfonse and Sharena ever find out my new secret, they would forgive me for the sin I've committed." I say darkly

"I don't think you need to worry about it. I'm sure that whatever you did, they would understand."

"Thanks… Well I suppose I should let them know that I am still alive. I at least owe them an explanation after I ran off on them like that. I have a feeling that if I linger here for too long Al would probably tear the castle apart brick by brick trying to find me."

Corrin chuckled "I don't doubt it. It's crazy how close the two of you have gotten since you first summoned me. You are pretty much glued to each other by the hips now, but before, he rarely even spoke to you unless it was work related."

"Well he had a thing against socializing with Heroes. He had a close bond with one of them before, but they left one day without a word. When I arrived, he was never rude or cold to me but he was very distant. I could be standing right in front of him, but it would still feel like he was miles away. At the time I was quite upset with Anna, Sharena and Al for unceremoniously plucking me from my home. I was in a strange world and I was being asked to help raise an army. I'm the daughter of an ex-military officer turned mega businessman, but that didn't mean I had any practical knowledge on battle tactics. I guess after working together as often as we did, we slowly formed a strong friendship."

"I'm actually kind of surprised to hear you speak about your family. I think you've only mentioned your family in passing but you had only mentioned your brother. What was your family like?"

"Well I have father, a mother and only one brother. After that, everything is kind of messy. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and but we arent as close knit as yours is. My mother is a women's doctor and my father is a retired officer. Though, nowadays he just trots around my world making business deals. I don't hear from him much anymore. I unfortunately inherited my parents insane work habits. All they do is work themselves to exhaustion. I fear for Al if he ever meets my parents… they are workaholics and it might give him a heart attack. Everytime I have asked them to take breaks, they just gave me some stupid line about how they are trying to give me and my brother what they didn't have when they were kids. It's a nice sentiment I guess, but it doesn't mean jack squat if they are never around anymore." I ranted.

Corrin looked at me with exasperation. It was as if I had told her that pigs had sprouted wings in my world and that the sky was bright pink. While Corrin also had her own unique family situation, her family in Nohr were so close to each other. My family was not as close.

"That must've been rough, Kiran. I'm so sorry that you had to go through that"

"Well it wasn't always like that. Once they considered my brother old enough to not do anything too crazy, they kind of just left us on our own. I mean, they gave us plenty of money for living expenses but we weren't legally adults either. I was entering high school and my brother was graduating high school and enlisting in the army. Which is another thing about my family. All the men on my father's side serve in the military. It's some sort of a tradition, I guess. I wasn't expected to enlist because everyone in the family seemed to agree that I'm not cut out for it. Instead, I wanted to be a historian of sorts. Anyway, before the great parent diaspora, my dad would often be gone serving in the military, but occasionally he was able to come home and he would listen to music with me. My mom was very loving and pretty much documented everything that me and Kaiden did. Everything about us she loved. She used to watch cheesy romantic comedies with me and stuff. I really missed it when my parents were able to just spend time with me."

"Speaking of Kaiden, what is your brother like? With the way you've spoke about the few times you've mentioned him, I would say you really look up to him."

"Damn straight I do. We have this awesome friendly rivalry going on between us but he is the brawn and I am the brains. That's not to say that Kaiden isn't smart, but he tends to be more physically active than me. Even before he joined the military, he was always involved in sports. He is super reliable too. He is much more of a hero than I ever was. He got all of my parents' good looks too. All I got in the looks department was the ability to confuse people into thinking that I am a boy." I sighed after realizing that I might never see my brother again.

"Don't worry, I think you are a Hero in your own way. You are exactly what this Order needs, Kiran. You will always be a Hero in my books" I hear a new, yet familiar voice say. I jumped in fright, not expecting someone to be listening in on my conversation with Corrin.

"Alfonse! How long have you been listening in on us?"

"Just long enough to hear you talk about your family. My apologies, Kiran. I was very worried about you when you ran off on us. I've already lost Father… I just didn't want to lose you as well. Please… don't run off by yourself again." Al looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"I'm sorry… I just needed to sort my own feelings about what happened today. I didn't really know your Father for very long but I can't help but feel upset. He died far too soon and I… feel guilty about what happened. Had I been smarter, I could've found a way to save the both of you." I averted his eyes.

"There was nothing else you could've done better, Kiran. Father wanted me to live so that I may find a way to defeat Hel. The best thing we that we can do right now is to keep on fighting the enemy." Alfonse looked like he was trying to hold all of his emotions in an attempt to appear cool and composed, but I knew him all too well. I could see his lips tremble and his hand grasping the handle of his sword. However, he never pulled it out of its sheath. It was one of his 'nervous tics' he had that I had noticed over the past two years.

Corrin, Al and I all stood there awkwardly in silence, the somber atmosphere threatening to engulf us. Ephraim strolled through the garden and then stopped. He looks at me, then Alfonse, and then Corrin. It had seemed that even he realized that something was amiss.

"My apologies. I was just looking for Princess Corrin" Ephraim said apologetically

"Is there something I can help you with tonight?" Corrin asked surprised by his sudden appearance.

"I just wanted to ask you to spar with me tonight. I've been feeling restless since the last fight and I have yet to test your mettle against my own. Fighting you would perfect opportunity to let out some steam"

Corrin then looked at me, as if asking if it was ok to excuse herself. I nodded yes and she politely excused herself. I waved her goodbye and expressed my wish for them to be safe and not over do the fighting.

"Kiran, would you come with me to my room? I want to speak with you privately." He asked me quietly

"Of course, Al. Please lead the way" I muttered. Normally I would have jumped on the chance to hang out with him, but the shame that I had been feeling from Gustav's death overrode any positive emotions I would've normally gotten from spending time with Al. I quietly followed him to his room. Neither of us said a word the entire trip. When we finally arrived at his room, I took a seat on one of his arm chairs next to the fireplace. The castle was rather drafty at night, so the warmth of the fire was a very welcome feeling.

"Al… I truly am sorry for everything that happened today. You were right… I shouldn't have needlessly risked myself like that. I was just afraid that I would lose you for good. You mean a lot to me and so I…" I found it hard to form more words to convey my thoughts perfectly.

"I understand. I trust you with my life, but I didn't expect you to try use yours to try to shield me. I've caused you so much grief this past week and it scares me. I should be thanking you for saving me, but I can't stop thinking about it… losing you I mean. I don't want to lose anyone else." Alfonse said as he picked up an old dead tree branch from the top of his dresser.

"Alfonse… I promise that I won't pull anymore stunts like that. If you ever need to talk to me about anything or if you need a shoulder to cry on just come to me. I will always be there for you" Al nodded somberly in agreement

"I would say the same for you Kiran. You can always come to me if you are feeling down. I know that Father's death has hurt you as much it hurts me. You may have not known him for very long, but that doesn't mean that you are not allowed to feel grief."

"My sadness is different from yours. I never fully saw eye to eye with him this whole week. I never really knew him and yet… I saw a lot of you in him too. He had this way of getting under my skin, but I could tell that he really cared about his people and that he cared about you. I can't even begin to imagine what is like to lose a parent. My dad might not have been around much back in my world but I am lucky to have a father that is still alive. In war there are always sacrifices, but the atrocities the Hel has committed should not go unanswered. We will find a way to end this war, I promise."

"I know and I will continue to count on your support. You're my best friend and my partner. Together we will get through this…"

I gave him a warm hug and stroked his hair. It was something we both really needed. I no longer felt the coldness of the curse lingering in his chest. It was replaced by a familiar sense of warmth that I felt when I had hugged him before the curse was placed on him. This reminded me of what I had sought to protect earlier.

"Honestly, what would you do without me?" I asked half jokingly

"We'd still be trying to find Zacharias, I think." Al mused

"I kept trying to tell you guys that he was really Prince Bruno, but no one believed me! Like after he saved me from Veronica, I realized his voice was similar to Bruno's but noooooo. I was just being silly." I said still feeling very salty that everyone had ignored my theory at the time. Serves them right… I was right.

"Yes… I remember you doing a victory dance when it turned out you were correct. Even got Gaius to bake a cake. 'In your face I was right' I think you wrote on it?" Alfonse asked smugly.

"That was because I was right and I will never let you guys live that one down."

"That's true. You have never let any of us live that down since. It didn't matter to me though… I was just happy that we had found him. I really hope that he finds a way to break Embla's blood curse"

"I think you mentioned killing Embla's dragon, once during the last spring festival. I did a bit of research and confirmed it with Tiki, but I think that killing Embla could actually work. My current hypothesis on Zacharias' and Veronica's curse is that Embla has denigrated into insanity. Embla has probably been in that state for some time if I am correct. However, I fear that if this is true, Askr may also eventually fall into that state as well. I also think that there may be a possibility that killing Embla will neutralize the Emblian royal family's ability to close world gates. If we ever do decide to go through with that plan, we would have tread carefully. This is only conjecture based on the information I have gathered. I don't have any actual physical evidence that can prove my hypothesis"

"I will definitely have to look into it for sure then. It would be a welcome temporary distraction from Hel at least."

"Perhaps we could schedule a trip to the library when we aren't being hounded by the undead. I have a few pet projects that I have yet to make headway on. Unfortunately, I cannot read the old Askran language so a majority of the historical records were unintelligible to me."

"Well I could help you with that, if you want. Is there anything in particular that you are interested in?"

I flashed a smirk at him "The question really should be 'what am I not interested in?' But I suppose that on the top of my list would be to see if the library holds any historical documents on how Breidablik was made. Without that, I can only make educated guesses on how and why it was made. You may recall from my earlier conversation with Corrin that I wanted to study history for a living yes?"

Alfonse nodded "Of course. I remember it quite vividly. I'm always curious about your world and what your past was like. It's like I get to see what you were like before we met."

"I was lots of things before we met. Had we met five or six years ago, you would've seen a very different version of me. I was… extremely rebellious. I dressed up in all black, drank beer at wild parties and I had um… physical relationships with a few people that were my age at the time. I am not proud of anything that I have done in my teen years but at the time, but everything I did was to 'get back' at my parents." I don't know why I decided to tell him the bit about me not being a virgin, but it served to drive home the point.

"I… had no idea… but then why are you so…?" Alfonse struggled to find the right words.

"Different? I guess I just found something more interesting to pursue. I don't know much about Askr's education system but in my country, children are required to attend school from about five years of age until the age of eighteen. After that, you could elect to go to college or university if you wanted to further your education. My dad hired a tutor for me when I was seventeen to help me with my coursework and to help me straighten my act I guess. It didn't really work at first, but I guess something about the way that tutor explained everything made me more interested in certain subjects, mainly ancient and medieval era history. It didn't change me right away but it did spark something in me. Now I'm a giant book nerd. Funny how things turn out in life isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess you are right." Al sighed

"So now that you know what you know about me… do you still think of me as a friend? I don't know what people in this kingdom generally think about people like me. All I know is that in my world, when it was at the technological level Askr is at right now, my actions would have at the very least been socially frowned upon. I don't want to ruin your reputation or anything since you are going to be king soon." I was legitimately worried about what he thought of me.

"Why should other people be able to tell me who I can and cannot associate myself with in private? You have made some mistakes in the past, but the Kiran I know right now will always be my best friend. If anyone objects, I will remind them of what you have done for Askr. I may be good enough at tactics, but I don't think we would've gotten as far as we have now without you innate talent for tactics."

"Oh thank goodness… I don't know what would've done if you had said something else. I guess it seems silly to worry about now, but I'm glad im able to share all the things in my past. Not just the good parts but the bad and the embarrassing parts too. I don't know what I have done in a past life to deserve you as a friend, but I'm not going to complain either."

"I'm not really that amazing, Kiran. I'm just doing what any friend would do." Alfonse said sheepishly

"But it's true! You're awesome! Like… you will always be awesome to me. Anytime you feel unsure of yourself, I will give you a swift kick in the pants and a hug. It's the Kiran House Special."

"Duly noted. I also have something I need to tell you, Kiran. It's very important, so I need you to listen carefully." Alfonse said while staring at the dead branch he was holding

"Alright, what do wish to tell me?"

"I've been thinking about hiring a retainer for you. With everything that had happened today with Father and Hel, I think it may be time to reconsider it. I just want to keep you safe and wanted to ask you first before doing anything else about it."

"Al, I really don't feel comfortable with the idea of having someone hover over me. I think it would be a better idea to have me continue training with the weapons. I want to be able to defend myself just like the others."

"Kiran, it's going to take a long while before you are ready to properly use any of those weapons on the battlefield. I'm just being cautious is all. Would you please think it over?"

"This all too sudden for me… I will definitely need some time to think it over, I guess." I muttered.

Getting a retainer? Why would I need one when I was making progress on learning how to use tomes and knives? This was just all too much for me to handle right now. No amount of comfort and safety Alfonse could offer me was gonna change what had happened. In my mind I could see that scene replay over and over again. I could still hear the sickening sound Hel's scythe made when it sank into Gustav's chest. I could still smell the scent of his fresh blood. I was beginning to feel sick.

"Kiran are you ok? You look ill…your face has gone pale" Al asked with worry

"I feel nauseous… I'll be fine I-I think…" I barely manage to say

"You need to lie down and rest. You can use my bed."

"N-no I don't think I should…" I stammered

"It's fine, Kiran. We've both been through a lot today, so I don't mind it. We've shared a bed last night too so I don't think it's a bad thing. I'll carry you"

Alfonse then lifted me up from the armchair bridal style. Between my nausea and being held in this manner, I was rendered speechless. A few weeks ago, this would've been the highlight of my day, but the nausea made it difficult to enjoy the moment. He then gently lays me down on the bed"

"Are you showing off? It's working by the way, if you were wondering. I'm actually very impressed. You are much stronger than you appear. W-which is not to say that I never thought that you weren't strong but um…"

"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. The point is that you aren't feeling well and you needed some rest. Do you want me to grab a healer for you?" Alfonse said while trying to maintain an air of a calm and collected person trying to help a sick friend. What he didn't know that is that I saw him crack a slight smile after I had complimented his strength. God I swear, this guy is just too much for me. Why am I like this? His dad just died and I'm borderline flirting with him. I don't even think he realizes that I was even flirting with him. I wasn't even trying to either, that's just how it came out sounding like.

"N-no I think I'll be fine for now… maybe just have one of the maids grab me a small bucket just in case though?" I asked weakly.

"Alright. I'll send for Tonia to fetch some sick buckets. She's very quick so it'll arrive faster than you'd expect"

"Thank you… but I may I ask you for one more thing? I know it's kinda pushing it but, can I sleep next to you tonight? I tried going to sleep earlier before you found me and I couldn't stay asleep. I was thinking that if I was with you then…" I blushed. Truly I being ridiculous, asking to spend the night with him like that. No matter how much I had wanted it, this was wrong. It felt wrong to do this but… if it was ok last night, then what difference does it make? Or... so I had tried telling myself anyway.

"That is fine with me. In fact, I would prefer that you stay in bed for now. You look like you're burning up. Do you have a fever?" He asked as he touched the back of his hand first before touching my forehead.

"It's not a fever, I'm blushing. It's just a little embarrassing to be caught sick like this… I am supposed to be the Legendary Summoner or something like that aren't I? I shouldn't be letting a little nausea stop me from doing what I need to do"

"That's nonsense. You're a person just like everyone else here, and just like everyone else you can get sick. You of all people should know that by now."

"I don't have time to rest though. I still have research to do, battle plans to make, and now I'm somehow managing the royal knights on top of all of that. The knights have been answering to me for some reason even though all I do is send battle strategies at them. They really should just be answering to you. You are the prince, not me" I pouted

"I'm sure they are seeing the same thing in you that I did when we first met. I haven't been wrong about you yet. I'll take command over the knights regiments for the time being. I'm starting to think all of this sickness is induced by being constantly stressed out. You need to stop biting off more than you can chew. Starting tomorrow, I'm putting you on that vacation that I had promised you earlier.

"But what about-?"

"I'll have Robin take care of your tactician duties and I can take Sharena with me to the library to look for the info you need. All you need to do is at least get some sleep." He then patted my head and left the room. Presumably to grab some medicine. Either way, I had a feeling that I was in for an interesting day tomorrow.

A/N: Wow... so this is kinda awkward for me. Remember how several chapters ago I was like "no uncessary A/Ns"? Lol now I've done several ones in consequtive order. So much for not using A/Ns to make the word count reflect the actual word count I guess. Also, as for my last update where I mentioned that my upload schedule was going to be a bit skewed? Well... unfourtunatley there some things that arent quiet working out for me in the irl department and I may suddenly have more free time to write again. *sigh* oh well. Anyway, I also want to quickly adress a couple things.

1) I suppose this should be explained in the story itself rather than in the A/N section but, the reason Kiran calls Anna "Boss" is because Anna is the one who summoned her and thus, Anna has contract a contract over Kiran. Kiran mostly just uses that nickname for Anna as a sign of respect and friendliness though. Also my headcannon says that the top order of the chain of command in the Order of Heroes goes like this: Kiran -- Anna -- Sharena -- Alfonse

2) I dont plan on ripping dialouge straight from the game again. It's not something I do too often because it makes it harder for me to adapt it with the stuff Im writing anyway. I mainly did it last chapter because I wanted to keep the dialouge mostly in line with the cannon of the FEH main story. I just hope that the non cannon portions of my fic that involve Gustav were done without breaking too much character. Gustav in particular was a bit difficult to write at times because I only had his conversations with Alfonse to go off of to get a feel for his personality and general mannerisms.

That is all for now I guess... Im going to go back to fanfic idea Hell for more stuff to put in here. I am currently under the impresion that Thrasir= Future other Veronica and Eir= Other Sharena. after the recent main story chapter revealed that Lif= Alfonse... which means... I have some fun ideas to play around with if my theories are true. Though Emboar bof's video on youtube regarding this idea better explains it than I could.