April 22th, 1506 AD
Queen Mikoto led Corrin and Prince Ryoma to a room of paper-thin walls and simple decor that was very much of a Hoshidan style. Beside them was a servant girl, who held a wooden tray of tea. She laid them onto the table and poured their cups, filling them with tea that had a strange green tint to it.
The Hoshidan royals kneeled down to the short table, looking to Corrin to do the same. The princess obliged, folding her legs in cross-legged fashion while Mikoto and Ryoma folded their legs onto their thighs while sitting upon their heels. The princess blinked at their certainty uncomfortable way of seating but she held her tongue.
Queen Mikoto looked to her 'daughter' as she and her son took the cups from the table, "Well, it's for you."
"Oh… Right," Corrin took the cup and noted how cool it was compared to the tea that Jakob makes. With a held breath, she took a sip. She noticed the sweet, floral taste it had. Corrin went for another sip, letting it flow past her lips. She stopped to look at the queen and prince, who gave a subtle smile. "It's really good… What kind of tea is this?"
"Green tea," Ryoma said with a laugh, "I remember how much you actually hated drinking it when you were young, it reminded you of medicine."
Corrin raised a brow at that but made no comment, finishing up her cup and placing it onto the tray. She looked over to the royals, who had finished up theirs with formality to their movements. The queen stood up and walked over to Corrin, she leaned forward in a fashion similar to a mother talking to her young child. A warm smile still on her face as she held out an open hand for her to take.
"Thank you for the tea, but I see nothing that proves that I'm really your daughter…" Corrin sighed, still resilient in the idea of a possible mistake.
Mikoto walked over to one of the dressers in the room and pulled out a wide book. She walked over to Corrin and spoke, "This room was yours, though I remember how you would always try to sneak out at night and the servants would find you passed out in the throne room."
The princess cringed at the thought of her supposed younger self doing that. But as she was wrapped up in that thought, Mikoto opened up the book to reveal very crude drawings. Images of Hoshidan symbols such as their trees and even Castle Shirasagi were flipped past. She saw four children with different colored hair and names hovering above their heads without proper penmanship.
Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura. She was able to discern with its poor lettering. Her apparent siblings as Mikoto claimed. With one last flip, Mikoto revealed another drawing.
A tall man with long spiky hair standing beside what looked to be Mikoto. And in the man's arms was a little girl. White hair that was scribbled onto her little head and red dots for eyes. The title read out, Me and Mama and Papa.
Corrin took the book into her hands, letting the realization set in. It was her, no doubt about it. As she stared into the image, she could feel a hand graze her shoulder. The princess flinched at the sudden touch, turning around to see it was Mikoto behind her. The queen quietly uttered an apology to her daughter for making her jump.
"...We had made sure to make sure this room was kept well, it would have been like giving up on ever seeing you if we had ever packed a single item." Water began building up from Mikoto's eyes. And immediately, Corrin held her hand to comfort her. The queen looked up to see Corrin's worried expression, causing a smile to form on her lips.
The princess slipped her hand out, realizing what she was doing. She looked between Ryoma and Mikoto, feeling a faint bond that was present between them. Corrin… Or… Was she Kamui?
"Lady Mikoto! Lord Ryoma!" A man behind the paper door spoke to them, not allowing himself to open the door. "I have an urgent message. We're under attack from the north!"
"What?!" Ryoma exclaimed, "Hinoka and Sakura are in that area! Rally any soldiers available! Summon Temna Knights to take me there!"
"Yes, milord." The silhouette turned to run off and follow his orders, however Ryoma quickly spoke once again.
"Wait! Where's Takumi? Tell him this right away, we're going to need his help."
"Lord Takumi is in the southern patrol, I'm afraid we don't have enough time to get to him." Ryoma cursed at the attendant's reveal, softly chiding himself.
Corrin raised a hand amidst this, "I want to help, if people are in trouble then I feel inclined to offer any help I can."
The high prince turned to his sister, his eyes first widened at that but softened as a small smile curled onto his lips at that. "Thank you. Come then, let's save our sisters."
The villagers hid in their homes as Nohrian troops wreaked havoc at their door. They brought titans without faces that tore at buildings with mere fists and struck down the soldiers that defended them. Amidst them were the princesses, Hinoka and Sakura themselves. The two kept close to the villagers. Lady Sakura made sure to take care of the wounded while Lady Hinoka stood by with her naginata.
"Sakura," Hinoka turned to her sister, who rubbed her sprained ankle, "Are you okay?"
"Y-yes," The girl weakly nodded her head, "I'm sorry for n-not helping much…"
"You've done plenty, Lady Sakura." One of the bandaged soldiers said as he pressed down on his covered up wounds.
At that moment, one of the beasts struck down the front of the building they were in. Several people rushed to the back. Hinoka immediately readied her naginata and stepped forward, challenging the creature without a visage.
The beast reached out with its massive hand. Only for it to be tossed aside by a powerful force. Following this sudden attack came the sound of lightning crackling. The screams of Nohrians erupted as they were attacked by bitter cold. It was as if nature itself was in battle.
Hinoka looked outside, seeing what was the cause of this. In the midst of the field of snow was a man who carried with him a simple sword. With each swipe, he brought forth elements.
Fire that scorched the Nohrian soldiers. Blades of lightning that cut into the muscle-bound beasts. Blasts of ice that keep the enemies still. And a surge of wind that protected him. Each element played out one after the other, not one at the same time. He commanded these elements like a rhythm that drained him from energy‒ as shown by the heavy breaths he took.
Hinoka looked to the soldiers inside as she hopped onto her tenma and called out, "Any soldiers who can fight, come with me! The rest of you lead the people out of the village alongside Princess Sakura!"
With that, Hinoka took off. The princess rose to the sky and dove into several of the Nohrians, cutting them down by their waists. This allowed for the strange mage to move without the crowd surrounding him.
Hinoka landed beside him and spoke, "You, why are you here? You aren't a soldier, nor do you look Hoshidan."
The man shrugged as he leveled his blade towards the still prevalent enemies, "I'm just a wanderer who's in debt to this village, I suppose this is where I repay it."
The princess furrowed her brows in thought at his words, but ultimately accepted it. Right now, she needed allies and this man was willing to fight these Nohrians. She raised her naginata and began to hover above the ground to continue the fight.
But before she went off alongside her fellow Hoshidan soldiers, she looked at the man and asked him a question. "What do I call you, if you don't mind me asking?"
"You mean my name? It's Augustus…" The man twirled his sword, letting out weak bursts of winds. "Or August, for short."
Corrin held onto the sky knight's waist as she was flown alongside Ryoma, Kaze, and Rinkah. She held her breaths as she looked down to the battlefield. Where she spotted Nohrian soldiers… They were attacking that village of people. To see what Nohr was doing in secret was… mind shattering. Did her father know of this? She hoped not. Corrin clung onto the idea of a possible future of peace.
"Kamui, we're descending." Ryoma announced as he unsheathed a curved sword that was wreathed in lightning. "Prepare yourself for a fight."
"Oh… Of course." She nodded her head, bracing herself as they descended. Once she stepped off of the horse, the snow bit at her bare feet. The blood stains patches around the area felt morbidly warm when she accidentally crossed them.
Corrin looked onto the field, gasping at what those large figures were. They were the same as the beast that… killed Gunter. She raised her sword on impulse, its blade shook with anger.
"Stay on your feet, sister." Ryoma warned as he readied his sword.
The prince led the charge alongside the few troops they had. Corrin rushed in and witnessed her comrades duel. Rinkah swung her club with violent force, Kaze aimed his shuriken with deadly accuracy. And Ryoma seemed to have controlled the battlefield altogether. His sword cut with precision and speed. Lightning surged from it and electrocuted the enemies that stood before him. It was like witnessing an unstoppable monster.
The princess began fighting, focusing on the large beasts rather than the soldiers. The faceless creatures struck with a slow, powerful force- Corrin narrowly avoided each strike as she cut into its flesh. She was fueled by pure raw emotion.
The death of Gunter and Jakob, the revelation of her family, everything‒ It all fueled the flames that strengthened her. The princess jumped as she dug the Ganglari into the monster, leaving a bloody streak across its chest. She caught her breath after seeing it keel over, coming down from the high of battle. However, she let herself be vulnerable.
A bolt of lightning struck her back, riddling her with static. The princess furled in pain as her body gave sudden convulsions as the dark mage hovered close to her state. She saw the man's fingers curl with another jolt of static, a devilishly evil smirk curled onto his face as he saw the terror on Corrin's face. But that was all short lived, as the mage had coughed up blood.
A blade was forced through his chest, his body was then tossed aside as he went limp. But the one to have killed that mage had shocked Corrin. Before her stood a familiar man clad in a dark blue coat, his dark gray hair tied into a low ponytail. In his hand was a sword that had a fusion of designs between Hoshido and Nohr. He reached out an open hand for her to take.
"August? Is that you?" Corrin took his hand, standing up with her muscles returning to normal after the shock.
"In the flesh, princess. I'm assuming your tale is a long one as well?" Corrin gave a weak nod of her head. August simply smirked as he raised his strange blade and turned to the field, "Alright then, let's get to work."
The two joined the Hoshidan soldiers who overlooked the battlefield. Currently, the Nohrians had outnumbered them by a small margin. It didn't help that they had those faceless creatures as soldiers. They had to be smart about this.
"Brother," A red headed sky knight descended beside Ryoma. "Our troops are very few, some dead but more wounded."
"Damn…" The prince let out a low growl at that, "Are there any healers here? Where's Sakura?"
Hinko shook her head, "She could barely move after being chased by those creatures, I sent her away with the villagers to-"
"Big brother!" A shrine maiden with short strawberry pink hair ran over to the group with a healing staff in her hands. She moved with a limp and made her way over to the red samurai. "I'm here to help."
"Sakura, you can't‒"
"No, Hinoka." Ryoma interjected with a raise of his hand, "We have men who are injured, let's not put ourselves above their lives."
Hinoka let out a sigh before nodding her head, "Alright… Sakura, just make sure to stay away from the fight."
"G-Got it." The girl gave a light smile as she held her staff close to her chest.
Amidst this, both Corrin and August walked up to the group. August spoke first, "While I'm glad that you have all of that settled, I'd rather focus on the fight. Despite them outnumbering us, these soldiers are on the defensive. Since the villagers have been evacuated, we don't need to worry about them."
All of the troops, save for Corrin, looked to August in confusion as he laid out his battle strategy.
"Focus on the monsters, they've been relying on them for the most part. Their beasts are strong, yet slow. So wait for an opening, they have plenty of them- believe me. Attack their chests with as much force as you can, let them bleed out and move onto the next and be quick about it. But don't be surrounded, stick beside a group and make sure to look out for each other. Remember the weapon triangle well and back off if you're at a disadvantage against the soldiers, so don't stick to someone who has the same weapon as you."
"Who is this man?" Ryoma turned to Corrin, who gave a curl of her lips in response.
"A friend." She said with an amused shrug.
With August's sudden orders, the soldiers looked back to the battlefield and marched. They kept his words in mind as they fought. Ryoma made an attempt to join them, but the same man from before made one last comment.
"Prince Ryoma," The samurai widened his eyes at his recognition, "You're the strongest fighter here, take the charge and make sure to wipe out the faceless beasts first. These men should fall back after seeing them dead. I've seen them cower when I took out a few of them."
The prince looked at the man strangely, unable to understand a semblance of who he is. But he had to push that pondering aside for now. They had a battle before them. Ryoma rushed in, Raijinto in hand and fire in his heart. While the battle went on, August stayed behind. He felt his lungs on the verge of crumbling after the rampage of spells that he casted. He used his sword to support him as he watched the units fight.
The soldiers kept close to each other, taking full advantage of the weapon triangle as they took down the Nohrians. Princess Hinoka and Sakura flew upon her tenma, the elder princess laid down quick strikes before taking off and avoiding an attack. Ryoma cut down the beasts as if they were made of paper. And even Corrin fought with great skill. The princess' attacks were strong and quick, catching August off-guard at how deadly each slash of her sword was.
Eventually, each beast toppled over dead. And without their titans, the few Nohrians retreated. Not another life was lost in the skirmish. August walked over to the troops, who all let out sighs of relief at their survival.
Ryoma looked to the Nohrians who ran off northward, "They're heading towards the border patrol, we don't need to worry about them."
"Thank goodness," Hinoka wiped the sweat from her brow as she stood beside Sakura, who was gazing over the fields stained with red and bodies in complete shock.
A deafening silence broke out, leaving weak breaths audible. Amidst this, Corrin walked over to her. She placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch for a bit.
"Are you okay?" She asked the younger girl who looked at her with unease. "I know how scary it is, but… we were able to save people. Innocent people in that village who were being attacked."
Sakura pondered that for a moment, hesitantly turning away from the sight of the bloodshed and towards Ryoma and Hinoka. Her siblings walked over her, looking at her with comforting smiles. The youngest princess held her staff close to her and nodded, "Y-Yes, I understand. Thank you, miss…"
Corrin blinked at how she trailed off at her name, "Oh, right! I never gave my name to the two of you. It's… Kamui."
"K-Kamui?" The sky knight gaped at the name, her eyes widened as she gazed upon the Nohrian princess. "Oh gods… It really is you…"
Corrin reeled back in surprise as the red-headed sky knight drew close to her. She placed her hands on her shoulders and lowered her head to her chest, tears flowed from her eyes. The stranger began to speak in a hushed voice, " Finally…after all these years… I…I've missed you so much."
"U-Um… I…"
Ryoma looked at the sight. With a gentle voice, he spoke. "Kamui, this first daughter of Hoshido‒ our sister. You and her were quite close, so when you were taken… All of us were damaged when we learned that you were taken, Hinoka, more so.."
The high prince moved over to the shrine maiden, who stood confused as she stared at Corrin. "And this is Sakura, your younger sister. I remember when you used to pester mother until you could get the chance to hold her when she was a baby."
Amidst the reunion of family, August walked forward with his hands in the pockets of his coat. "I'm sorry to be cutting in here, but I think it would be best for all of you Royals to head back to Shirasagi. You have men wounded here and it would be best to call someone to deal with the mess."
Ryoma nodded at his words, "Right, thank you for your help."
August began to walk off, but he was stopped when a hand reached out to grab him by the arm. He turned his head to see Corrin. The princess spoke with a shakened voice, "Wait, August… Could you… come with me?"
The man looked at her with a raised brow. The princess continued in a low volume, "Back to Shirasagi… I know that your time as my tutor is over now but…"
With a deep inhale, August sighed. "Alright, I suppose I should."
Yamato Takumi rushed towards Shirasagi at the news of the attack near the North. He was preoccupied in aiding the troops in the south after the last attack of Nohr's creatures. His sisters, Hinoka and Sakura, were visiting their father's grave there. Damn the gods for cursing his family with such poor luck! He slammed open the door and rushed to the throne room, where he hoped to see his mother and speak with her about the attack. But as he passed by the dining room, he was stopped by Mikoto's voice.
"Takumi, you're here!" She said in a cheery voice. The prince did a double-take at the unexpected tone after what had happened. His mother looked at him with a smile on her face as she peeked out from the dining room. "Go get ready to eat, we're going to have a little celebration."
"Celebra‒ Mother, where are Hinoka and Sakura?! Are they okay?" Takumi shouted.
Mikoto gave a grateful nod, causing Takumi to relax a bit. "Yes, very much so. Fortunately they were able to drive away the Nohrian attack. Today, the gods have truly blessed us. Your sister, Kamui, has returned to us."
The prince looked at his mother incredulously. The name Kamui has been very present in their family. Second daughter to the house of Yamato and his elder sister by a year and a few months. She was captured by Nohrians when Takumi was a toddler. He had very little memories of her, but her presence lingered with them like a ghost.
So to have her basically come back from the dead, was immensely strange. He didn't know what to make of this news. Or… if she was more Nohrian than Hoshidan.
Corrin walked near the outskirts of Shirasagi, trying to clear her head after the events of what occurred today. Her family… It was still hard to process. Even her name, Kamui… It still didn't feel right.
She looked down at her clothes, a Hoshidan dress called a yukata. Her armor was currently being tended to by the servants of the castle. It was made of soft cotton, and wearing it made her feel… strange. It was certainly beautiful but it felt like she was almost betraying Nohr and her family. Xander, Camilla, Leo, Elise, and… her father. What would they think if they saw her like this?
Corrin let out a sigh as she arrived near the docks. As she walked near the lake, she noticed a beautiful melody that came from someone at the docks.
You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek
Life beyond the shore, just out of reach
Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time
The path is yours to climb
Corrin walked over to the docks to see a girl around the same age as her. Long sky blue hair and dressed in a white silk dress. She turned around to face her, her golden irises meeting Corrin's red eyes. The blue-haired girl contrasted most of Hoshido, who most normally had hair that wasn't as vibrant as hers. She tilted her head at Corrin, causing the princess to realize how awkward the situation she put herself in.
"Um, hello." She gave a short greeting as she walked over to the girl. "I had overheard you singing and I guess I got lost in thought being so captivated by it."
"I see," The girl walked over to her with a blank expression on her face. "You must be the lost princess, Kamui‒ Mikoto's daughter."
"I suppose I am," Corrin gave an awkward laugh, "But… I'd prefer to be called Corrin, it was the name I was raised with and the name 'Kamui' was sprung onto me. But enough about me, what about your name?"
"Azura," She answered blandly.
"Azura…" Corrin repeated the name, "It doesn't sound Hoshidan."
"It's not, the truth is that I was once a princess from Nohr." Corrin's eyes widened at the reveal but she kept herself quiet as Azura continued to speak, "My mother was Queen Arete, she was the one who taught me the song."
Corrin felt her heart sink at that. This Azura person, was Arete's true daughter? While she bore no memories of the woman, it was still a shocking revelation for her. To have it hammered into her mind that her mother was this woman, it was all just another lie fed to Corrin.
"It's all I have left of her, along with her pendant." She clutched the necklace that hung from her neck. "It was precious to her, as well as Nohr. She loved the kingdom despite her poor upbringing, and she loved my stepfather‒ Garon. But, I suppose, that love was never reflected onto us. The reason I'm here in Hoshido was because of a hostage exchange that was supposed to occur. I was to be bartered for your return to Hoshido. But Garon refused, claiming that you had disappeared without a trace."
Corrin's chest tightened at that, unable to process such information. That she affected someone's life like that without ever knowing. She meekly asked her, "I'm so sorry, that happened to you because of me…"
Azura shook her head at that, "No, we were just children used for the political conflict of both kingdoms. And… I've come to quite like Hoshido. Its people have come to accept me and its beauty has entranced me. But a part of me wishes to see Nohr again, it feels as if I had left a piece of myself there."
"...Yeah, I know what you mean." Corrin looked to the sky, tears welled from her eyes. "Despite everything… I love Nohr, with all my heart."