At long last, the day of Hinoka's coronation arrived, heralded by yet another glorious sunrise. The castle servants had worked themselves into a frenzy to make sure that everything would be as perfect as possible. According to what Xander had gathered, the people of the castle town were eagerly looking forward to the festivities – no wonder, after everything they had been through.

Hoshidan coronations, Xander had learned, were quite different from Nohrian ones. The ceremony itself was longer, and much more of a spiritual nature. At the crack of dawn, Hinoka had departed for the shrine, to seek guidance from the gods and her ancestors, clad in nothing but a simple white kimono. Ordinarily, the king or queen-to-be would have been accompanied by their spouse, but, since Hinoka was still unmarried, she had to go alone.

White, Xander had been told, was the colour of pilgrims. He had assumed, based on previous observations, that it was a colour of mourning; however, Hoshidans used it in several different situations, including weddings, of all things.

Xander had filed this particular piece of information away for later.

While the Crown Princess was away, her guests gathered in the main courtyard. Sakura – as the only close family member present – was kneeling on a cushion in front of the entrance, awaiting the return of her sister.

Finally, Hinoka arrived, still wearing the same plain outfit from earlier. The crowd parted before her, and she ascended the steps to where Sakura was waiting. She then knelt, facing the crowd, and a monk, who had been waiting nearby, lifted the crown off a cushion and held it high above Hinoka's head.

"As by our laws, Hinoka, daughter of Sumeragi, will now succeed him as Hoshido's new queen", the monk announced.

The crown was a simple gold band that had a sunburst attached at the back. When the monk placed it on Hinoka's head, it caused the impression that she had a halo. It was quite a nice effect.

"All hail Queen Hinoka!"

As one, the people prostrated themselves – including Sakura. Xander and his siblings, not used to this form of showing reverence, opted to drop to one knee as a sign of respect instead.

Hinoka rose to her feet as her people bowed, and, after a short while, bade them rise again. Her speech was short and to the point, and soon followed by people queuing to offer their congratulations as well as gifts.

Xander recognised Rinkah, the chief of the Flame Tribe, but not the boy who went to offer his congratulations to Hinoka after her.

"Laslow, do you know who that is?", Xander asked his retainer.

"That's Tsukuyomi, Chief Fuga's son", Laslow replied. "He came in his father's stead, I'm told."

"Smart move. The queen probably wouldn't be too pleased to see Chief Fuga."

"Indeed. Tsukuyomi will lead the Wind Tribe one day, and they might be able to mend their relationship. There are even rumours circulating that Fuga intends to step down soon – but no-one seems to know if that is actually true."

Apart from the leaders of the two tribes, many Hoshidan nobles had come to pledge their allegiance to their new ruler. Xander even spotted Archduke Izana, who gave him a wan smile.

After most of the Hoshidans had offered their congratulations, Xander joined the line – not wanting to seem like he was trying to make himself seem more important than them.

"Queen Hinoka, I'm afraid I have been unable to prepare a gift befitting such an occasion, but I have something to give nonetheless, something I hope will be of some value to you." He beckoned to Peri, who approached with a tome. "This is a book on Nohrian history, from the formation of our kingdom all the way to more recent events. It is my hope that this might help further understanding between our two nations."

Hinoka cautiously accepted the rather ancient book and inspected the cover.

"Truth be told, I didn't really expect you to get me anything", she replied, passing the tome on to Asama. "I thank you for this gift – I'll make sure to read it, when I have time."

"I'm glad."

Xander inclined his head and proceeded to meander toward the edge of the crowd.

"Well, thank goodness the Queen was pleased with the gift", Laslow said in a low voice.

"Indeed. The only alternative I saw would have been to acquire a gift here, in Hoshido, but that seemed like bad taste to me."

"Yeah, I imagine it might have come across as weird", Peri agreed.

Once all the guests had offered their gifts and well-wishes, they proceeded to the feast, while Hinoka disappeared inside to change into a more festive outfit. The feast was held on a series of terraces situated in the back of the palace. Numerous Hoshidan delicacies were on the menu, and dancers, singers and musicians provided entertainment. Xander and his siblings were seated among the other rulers and clan leaders, near the table Hinoka and Sakura were sitting at. The atmosphere was relaxed and joyful.

The celebrations lasted the entire day and, once dusk started to settle across the land, was finished by a display of fireworks. Colourful bursts of light filled the skies, and the people cheered.

Xander allowed himself a rare smile. It had been a lovely day.


A/N:

The coronation ceremony is partly based on the crowning ceremony of the current Tenno, as far as I remember it, as well as Ozai's coronation from Avatar.

I'm currently in the process of revising The Curse of the Brand, my PoR/RD fanfic, which is an OC-centric novelisation of the Tellius-games. As of today, I've replaced chapters 1-14 with slightly updated versions - I mostly corrected minor errors or improved wording. I might add a scene later on, but would make that known in the Author's Note of that chapter.