April 22th, 1506 AD
Unease and worry plagued the house of Arya. Corrin was supposed to return after her mission. But all they found when they searched for her was a wounded Jakob. The butler had very little breath and was covered in light burns. He would survive and salve would fix his state however he was currently unconscious. Both the princess and the elder knight, Gunter, had disappeared. And the only one who knew where they could possibly be was Jakob.
The royals shook with worry at the disappearance of their sister. Xander kept soldiers on the search party, Camilla herself joined almost all of them, Elise kept Corrin's room tidy for when she would return, and Leo kept himself distracted.
While the younger prince did care for his sister, he didn't have much to offer in the search. Xander and Camilla were leading the search parties while he sat in his library to keep himself occupied until they found her. Here… He was useless. Even Elise, with what little she had, brought a semblance of hope for Corrin's return.
"Lord Leo!" The voice of his retainer, Odin, called out to the prince from the doorway of the library. Leo turned his head to see the blonde dark mage heave out heavy breaths after running. "As you requested of me, I've come to inform you of the Berserker, Hans! I've been told through the darkest channels that he has not returned yet from his mysterious mission sent by the king himself."
"Did he flee?" Leo curled his fingers around his chin at that. This strange mission, which probably entailed him killing someone, perhaps he was arrested? If that is the case, good riddance. "...I'm more curious about my father, what exactly he had him do…"
"I'll get right on that, milord! With haste!" Odin immediately rushed off, causing Leo to sigh. The idiot didn't even know where to start but at least he should be expecting some answers to his question eventually. What he lacked in intelligence was made up in diligence.
After finishing up a book, Leo made his way to Krakenburg's infirmary, where Corrin's butler Jakob was resting. He would check periodically on the man's condition, waiting for him to rise and speak on what he knew. As he reached for the door handle, he heard Flora's voice from behind the door.
"Jakob...? Oh my gods, Jakob!" At that, the prince immediately opened the door to see the butler stir awake with Corrin's maid at his bedside. The butler rose from his bed, wincing at his bandaged wounds.
"What… What happened? Where's Lady Corrin?" Jakob weakly said as he turned to Flora.
Leo walked towards the butler's bed and answered his question, "Missing, along with Gunter. You were the only one we could find, your wounds aren't anything too serious but you should be resting for a while."
"Nevermind me, what about them?!" He exclaimed with a strained throat. Flora calmed him down and kept him to the bed.
"That's actually why I came here," Leo took a nearby stool to sit beside Jakob's bedside. "What do you remember when you three went to the border? Anything helps in this case."
"What I remembered?" Jakob furrowed his brows in thought at that, "We were attacked…The fort wasn't abandoned, it was filled with Hoshidans."
Leo reeled back in surprise before collecting himself. With that, he uttered a 'thank you' as he walked towards the door. He looked to Corrin's servants with a nod, "We'll get her back, that I can make sure of."
August spent most of his time wandering around Castle Shirasagi, trying to figure out some questions he had concerning Corrin's familial situation. In the midst of his walking, he stumbled across Prince Ryoma. The taller man was out of his usual armor and wore a predominately red yukata.
"Oh, Augustus, was it?" The prince asked with a friendly smile and a bow, "I was just getting ready for dinner."
August stepped out of the way with a deep bow, "Well then, go on ahead then milord."
Ryoma smiled at his etiquette, "Actually, would you like to join us? As a friend of Kamui, we'd like to know more about you."
August paused to think about that before immediately accepting. As the two of them walked towards the dining room, he began a conversation with the prince. "I have my own questions, if you don't mind. Cor‒Kamui, she has a very unique appearance. I don't remember seeing people with pointed ears and red eyes like hers in Hoshido, the white hair and pale skin maybe but that's quite rare."
"Yes, that is quite true." Ryoma nodded, "Kamui is very unique amongst us. Truth be told… We do not share the same mother."
"Yamato Ikona, I'm well aware of her. Mother of the four Royals and first wife of Sumeragi, passed away after a complicated birth with Princess Sakura." August said, causing Ryoma to frown at how casually he brought it up. "But Sumeragi, that is where I find it strange. Neither Mikoto or him had the same unique traits as her. That's where I find things to be strange."
"Curious one, aren't you?" Ryoma insinuated, causing August to give a short bow of his head.
"Apologies milord, I don't mean to be callous or offend you, but I find a few things not adding up. I don't doubt her to be Mikoto's biological daughter, her facial features have similarities that much I know. I suppose I've always been questioning her strange appearance for the years I've known her."
The prince relaxed at that, letting another laugh escape him. "That's fair enough. But I have a question for you as well. That blade you carry, I've been told that it can control the very elements by my sister Hinoka. Is it true?"
August looked down to the sheathed sword at his hip, "In a way, it does… This sword is named Laufey, created by my mentor. He crafted the blade with the same properties of a tome, allowing me to channel magic through it. Much like your Rajinto, except it draws from my own energy rather than the blade having magic imbued into it. It's less of a sword, really and more of a sharp tome I can swing."
"That's quite incredible, If I must say." Ryoma commented as they reached the dining room, where servants prepared dishes for them. "You're quite the interesting man, Augustus."
"I'd prefer August, milord." He respectfully corrected, "But thank you."
Corrin walked into the dining room alongside Azura. The two princesses were greeted by attendants as they walked into a room where the royals and August sat. They all sat onto the floor in front of a table with an enormous amount of food. Corrin stood silent as she took a minute to examine all of it.
"Kamui, are you going to join us?" Mikoto asked, knocking Corrin out of her stupor.
The princess seated herself beside August and faced an unfamiliar young man with gray hair that was tied into a high ponytail. He gave her a cold stare that unsettled her, to which Mikoto softly scolded him before looking at Corrin.
"Kamui, this is Takumi. Your younger brother… I remember how he would follow you wherever to play with you." Mikoto laughed, causing her son to look at her with a strained look on his face before collecting himself.
"Well, that was a long time ago…" That was all he said before holding up two sticks and looking at his rice bowl.
"Here, big sister…" Sakura looked to Corrin and handed her a pair of the same sticks that they all had. "We kept your hashi for you."
"Hashi...?" She looked to August for an answer as he raised the sticks in one hand.
"Common utensils here in Hoshido, also known as chopsticks in common tongue." August clicked them together like pincers.
Corrin nodded in understanding as she took the chopsticks, looking at them in confusion as everyone else in the room watched her. How was she going to chop anything with these? Not only that, she had only a bowl of rice to eat…
"Here, let me…" August began to pile her bowl of rice with meat and vegetables, "We all share dishes so you just pick them up and put them in your bowl… As for the chopsticks, what you want to do is‒"
"You know what…" She handed him the sticks, "Just feed me."
"What?" August gave an amused exhale of breath before he noticed her stern expression. "Are you serious, Corrin?"
"No, I'm hungry. And I'm not going to figure this out anytime soon so just feed me." Corrin said before uttering a dry 'ahhh'.
"It's not that difficult‒ Queen Mikoto, this is highly disrespectful right?" August looked to Corrin's mother, who was busy laughing at their dynamic.
"Oh no, it's fine…" The queen laughed behind her hand. Ryoma, Hinoka, Sakura, and Azura gave amused smiles. Only Takumi raised his brow in confusion at what he was watching.
With a sigh, August relented. He took Corrin's bowl and began to feed her. Though not without a quick jab, "Do you want me to read you a bedtime story as well as tuck you in?"
"Whatever works for me."
The two paused, Corrin shifted in embarrassment at what she caused while August was red in the face. Mikoto gazed upon the two in amusement, something that did not go unnoticed by August.
"Why are you embarrassed? You're the one who couldn't work your brain to use two sticks…." August hissed at Corrin, causing her to give him a sharp glare.
Mikoto asked the two, "How did the two of you meet?"
August froze up at the thought. He looked to Corrin who gave a devilishly evil curl of her lips. She turned to her family with a sneer as August braced himself.
"Well, it all began when..."
Oh gods, help him.
Late at night, August was busy in the library. Letting a single candle illuminate the writings he gazed over. Hoshidan books were a bit more fragile than the ones in Nohr so he had to be careful there. In the midst of his reading, he noticed the sounds of feet pattering behind the door. August looked up from his desk to see a woman standing in the doorway. He let out a sigh as he expected the castle attendant to ask for him to head back to his room. But instead he saw Queen Mikoto herself walk into his view.
Immediately, August stood up straight as he looked at the queen. "Uh, Queen Mikoto, how are you tonight? Er… I mean, what brings you here?"
"I had learned that someone kept themselves busy in our library," The queen said as she kept a respectful distance away from his study. "Might I ask why you are doing such a thing?"
"Well, the past few days have been plaguing my mind and I haven't been able to sleep well." He gestured to the thick volume in his hands, "I suppose studying keeps me calm."
"That rings the opposite for me. Our tactician, Yukimura, often deals with the more intellectual deals thanks to my inability to sit still." The queen laughed, "...In truth, I came here to ask you a few questions about my daughter. About her family and… who she is. When she was six, I had lost her. And you know her more than I do."
August paused at that, he looked to the ground for a moment before looking back to Mikoto. With a nod, he began to explain what he knew about Corrin. The way she treated her servants like family, the love she shared with her siblings, the effort she put into her studies, some of her odd little quirks that he's noticed over the years. Mikoto paid attention to all of it.
"Thank you." Mikoto bowed her head after August finished his details. "I've had visions of my daughter in my premonitions. That she lived in Nohr, that she went by another name, and that she wanted to see her mother."
August's tongue went dry yet he still uttered the name, "Arete. She believed that her mother was Arete."
Mikoto took in a deep breath and sighed solemnly, "Yes, she did… She… She never met her, huh?"
August looked up in surprise at the queen, finding her question sudden and her cadence odd for the woman that essentially replaced her. "No, Corrin was diagnosed with amnesia as a child and she forgot her early childhood with her Arete. Well, we know now that was just a lie." Mikoto slowly nodded her head, eyes still downcasted. August slowly asked the queen, "You… knew Arete?"
Mikoto noticeably reeled back in surprise and her eyes glinted in fear. The queen took a moment to breathe before addressing her guest, "I met her once when we were both queens of Hoshido and Nohr. It truly is funny, we both came into the kingdoms as concubines of the kings then were soon wed to them. I suppose I found some kinship with her."
August nodded. Swallowing the hunch of her lying, or at least hiding the truth. He could tell by the subtle shakes of her head and the way she avoided his gaze. Good people tended to struggle in lying, so he had no reason to call her out on this.
Instead he wanted to speak on another subject brewing in his mind, "I've heard about your premonitions, although only hearsay of tall tales and the gossip of housewives. If I'm being honest, I've always had an itching of curiosity ever since I heard about your ability. Sorry, if I've overstepped some boundaries."
The queen looked at him oddly before a smile formed on her lips, "It's quite alright, and you do not need such formalities to fear offending me. I wasn't always a queen." She chided him sweetly, as a mother would. "The truth is that my premonitions work much like peeks through a mist. I can see events and sometimes even what leads to them but I can never know when."
"That's… quite inconvenient." August muttered. "Pardon me for asking, but what have you seen for example?"
Mikoto dipped her head ever so slightly at his question. "Some good things… many atrocities. I saw my husband's death days before we recovered his body. I've seen my daughter taken away from me. I've seen the evils of the Nohrian Elites and the destruction they bring." Her voice was now venomous, as if it built up and it was in this moment that she was able to spit it all out.
With inhale and deep exhale, she managed a weak smile. "But, like I said before, I am able to see good too. I've seen my Kamui happy despite the darkness. Seen flashes of her growing. I've even seen the man she'd fall in love with."
August felt his heart sink at such a reveal. Mikoto's eyes were casted to the table, a smile still on face. He kept the sudden flare of his emotions hidden, at least he tried to do so. August swallowed every thought racing in his mind and focused on the conversation with Queen Mikoto.
"And there is one vision, I saw it in a haze yet it brought me such joy knowing it." Mikoto shook her head for no particular reason. "That I would be reunited with my daughter for a brief period of time."
August's brows were raised at the wording. "A brief period of time? Milady, what does that mean? What's going to happen?"
Mikoto's expression noticeably became grim at his question, "I do not know. I could only see that our time together was very finite. So until then, I'll cherish the moments I have with my daughter. I want to truly know her. And I want her to be with her true family in Hoshido."
A break of silence lingered between the queen and scholar. He looked at Mikoto, finding his tongue to become dry again as he stared upon the silent fury that she emitted. August spoke in a low voice, "I don't think… Kamui, will be able to side against Nohr. Or go against Hoshido, it seems that she's taken a liking to you all. If a war were to break out, then I can't imagine what it would do to her…"
Mikoto glanced at the ground and said, "I see your point… But it's not up to Hoshido to decide war, we've actively avoided such means. But Nohr is a greedy nation, they take land in order to feed themselves."
"Perhaps that is how it appears, but you are quite aware of how much they need and what little they have. Judging by your remark." August's words caused the queen to flinch, "I can't comment on the likes of Garon but I will say that the people of Nohr have been going through great strife. I've witnessed first-hand the morsels that Nohr has due to the poor soil there. Orphanages are filled because parents can no longer feed their children or die from the illness because their bodies are too weak from hunger. I've seen what Nohr will do to keep its people sustained, I don't blame them for that. Nor do I blame you for your hatred, you have the right to have it. But it isn't as cut and dry as it looks. I know you can't see eye-to-eye on such things but I ask you to keep an open mind."
Mikoto clenched her arm as she looked to the ground with a pained expression on her face, "I know disaster, I know atrocity, and I don't doubt that to be true from what I've seen. But I will never forgive Garon for what he's done. For kidnapping Kamui and killing my husband and so much more… I want nothing to do with Nohr, I just wanted my daughter back."
"I'm not saying you should forgive him." August commented, "But your daughter is Hoshidan born and Nohrian raised. And when the options are given to her… I'm not sure she'll pick the one you wish for. And, from what I know of her, she would pick neither if it meant not to raise a blade against family. The world would end before that happens."
The queen stood in silence, letting herself calm down as she stared to the ground. She took a deep breath before speaking, "Thank you for telling me this. And thank you for taking care of my daughter. She's picked an excellent friend."
August looked to the queen, who had an odd twinkle in her eye at the word 'friend'. But he had something else to say, something felt wrong to spit out.
"I'm… planning on leaving early in the morning. When Kamui was to leave the fortress, then I would be released from my role." He glanced at Mikoto's expression, and the queen reeled back in surprise. "Despite what you say, our 'friendship' was merely a task that was given to me. She's a good person, but my goal doesn't involve her in my life."
"What would be this goal of yours?" Mikoto asked, her head ever so slightly leaned forward.
August looked at the queen, a sudden strain in his voice appeared, "I… I wish to seek more about the First Dragons, and I'm afraid I've known all I can here in Hoshido. Perhaps I might come to see anything I've missed but that is uncertain."
Mikoto pondered that last note, looking to August with an indiscernible expression on her face. The queen spoke once again, her voice surprisingly sweet as she held a smile on her face. "Would you care to stay for a few more days? We will be having our Dragon Festival in the week and I believe that Kamui would appreciate it if you would be there."
"Alright then," August shrugged as he placed down the book. "I suppose I could stay for a while. But… I will be leaving, no matter what."
Mikoto gave a light frown at his words, "I see… Well, I do hope you enjoy yourself here in Hoshido. And… I wish you luck on your goal.
April 24th, 1506 AD
The streets of Shirasagi square were bustling, stands were set up and the festival began to rise with energy. August peered out through the window in the library to see a sliver of the Dragon Festival. The citizens of Hoshido moved from stall to stall amidst the background of color that was Shirasagi. Music played from the court band in a melodic tune of strings and heavy drums.
"Well, I won't be able to get anything done…" August stood up from his desk and walked out the library. He gathered the two objects that the Sage gave him, as he'd rather keep it on him for when he left than walk back to the castle to pick it up. He walked down the halls and found Prince Takumi standing beside the doorway, his arms crossed as he furrowed his brow impatiently.
He walked over to where the Hoshidan royal stood, and the prince immediately acknowledged his presence with an unimpressed glare. August gave an amused smirk as they shared a glance, Takumi's eyes lingered on his. "Prince Takumi, I see that you're going to the festival in your military attire. Excellent choice."
"Don't mock me…" He seethed through his teeth as he held his bow, the Fujin Yumi, close to his shoulder. "I've been trained to be on my guard no matter what, inviting Nohrians into Hoshido will only bring trouble…"
"I've told you, I'm not Nohrian." August sighed, "And that Nohrian that you speak of is your sister."
"A sister that's been groomed into a soldier by the same kingdom that killed my father." The prince coldly interjected, "I don't care what you claim to be, I won't let my family go through hardship anymore."
Before this little squabble could escalate any further, the door opened and out came the other Royals. Ryoma walked forward in a hakama with a red haori over it and his long hair tied into a top knot. Sakura followed, dressed in her usual shrine maiden attire with a golden clip in her hair. Next came Corrin, who caused August to give a double take at. Her long white hair was styled into a braid with two peonies at the sides of her head. The princess wore a traditional haori, and underneath it, she could be seen wearing her armor. The princess wasn't wearing anything extravagant, but it caught August's eyes all the same.
"Well? Are we ready to go?" Mikoto looked at her children with a smile, "Meet at the plaza when the bell rings, that's when the ceremony should start. Hinoka should be picking up Azura so make sure she heads straight to the festival."
With that, the Royals headed off to the annual celebration with attendants at their side. August looked to Corrin, who had a blank expression on her face. He held out a hand for her to take, which she politely shook her head at before moving forward.
"Got something on your mind, Corrin?" He asked as he moved beside her.
"No… I just‒" As soon as they walked out the door, Corrin cut herself off.
August looked towards where Corrin's eyes were locked onto, discovering it was. Several pink petals followed down from the trees. Its strange nature decorated the scene as Corrin slowly walked towards it.
"Cherry Blossoms… Flowers that bloom in spring, otherwise known as Sakura‒ your Hoshidan sister is named after this." August attempted to lighten her up with a fun fact but Corrin was still in a trance.
"These petals… I remember them," Corrin opened her hand out, letting the pink petals flow onto her hand as they walked down to Shirasagi. "I remember seeing them at Queen Ikona's funeral, I remember seeing them at my first Dragon Festival… Hoshido…"
She turned to August, her eyes welled up as the petals fell into her hands. "This place truly was my home."