AUTHOR'S NOTES: I somehow picked up a quirk where I use certain American spellings and certain British spellings. Don't let that be too off-putting. That aside, this was an interesting chapter, because while it jumps into parts of the game's 5th chapter despite me not technically finishing the 4th one yet, it's also about to help transition into a scene that was not originally in Revelation. Also, yes there is chess, and yes it's Hoshido/Nohr style.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 24: Lady Mikoto

Sing with me a song of Secrets and Queens...

Kamui bided her time in her room without interruptions until Corrin was ready. Kagero seemed to be the messenger between the two, also running some sort of errands for Kamui, before finally alerting her that Corrin was waiting for her in his study.

"This isn't some game of Hoshidan trickery that I've never heard of before, is it?" she asked,

"Highly improbable," Kagero explained, "I am not sure how familiar you are with it, but I almost guarantee that you have it or something very similar to it in Nohr."

"Good to know," Kamui muttered as she met up with Corrin. In front of him was a board and two small armies of pieces. Kamui did recognize the game, and recognized the pieces. On one side were Hoshidan pegasi, diviners, samurai, and a King and Queen among others, and on the other were Nohrian wyverns, mercenaries, dark mages, and a King and Queen of their own.

"I take it I don't even need to ask which side you want to play as?" Corrin offered an amused expression as Kamui analyzed the pieces while she sat down.

"Well, we could always throw one another for a loop and have me be Hoshido and you be Nohr…" Kamui quipped, "but nah, it'd be easier for us both to just stick with what we know."

"Right then," Corrin finished setting up the pieces, "Nohr makes the first move."

"I don't know if I should be flattered or offended," Kamui analyzed the pieces and the board in front of her, "but alright. Let's do this."

Kamui made a few moves, while Corrin's moves seemed slower and more calculated.

"Sorcerer takes samurai at E4," Kamui smirked, "that's first blood."

"Until the king is dead, the game continues," Corrin reminded her, moving his queen to chase after Kamui's sorcerer, "Almost like in real life."

"Huh…" Kamui mused, "I can see the parallel there." She thought about Garon. Was he the reason this inevitable war was looming over their heads?

"Nohr is itching to strike," Corrin looked down at the board, where Kamui's pieces were in a formation to go all-out offensive, much like how Kamui did when she fought, "If the magical barrier that Mother has set around this land were to fall, the invasion would come."

"You seem awfully presumptuous for someone who has never even set foot into Nohr," Kamui looked a little defensive, "don't tell me you've been taking notes from Takumi or something."

"I am wary for the sake of my kin and countrymen," Corrin pointed out, "but not to the point of fully distrusting them. I am simply stating what we've seen in the 15 years you've been gone."

"Perhaps it's time you meet some actual Nohrians instead of just the usual coin-hunting mercenaries that Garon sends out for sport," Kamui pointed out, prodding her queen towards a cluster of Corrin's pawns, "but for that matter, why all the sudden distrust? Do you know something about my family that I don't?"

Corrin gave pause before moving a pegasus to help defend his samurai. "They have inquired about you." he admitted after making his move. Kamui froze with her hand still on her queen.

"When? How long has it been? What have you told them?" her expression changed dramatically, her eyes showing a mixture of fear and frenzy.

"Most of those questions you'd have to ask Mother about," Corrin began, "but from my understanding, they have inquired regarding your location, and are going to be here within a week in Izumo to discuss your peaceful return—or perhaps peace as a whole."

"So that's what the whole Izumo thing was about," Kamui did not want to openly admit that she could not point out Izumo on a map, but she also didn't imagine that she'd have to trek through Hoshidan wilderness alone to go and find it or anything. Besides, if Xander and Camilla knew where it was, that was enough for her (although she would make note and learn of its location and how to get there, by going there and back).

"That's what it was about," Corrin nodded, "although don't get too distracted, or you'll lose your other sorcerer like the one my pegasus just captured."

"Right," Kamui shunted all of her new thoughts aside for the moment to focus on the game. Her competitive nature had her really wanting to win, perhaps mainly since he had declined to spar with her, and she had wanted to see what he was made of.

"You're better at this than I expected," Corrin complimented her, "but you're leaving your king too open by pressing the offensive. You might want to be careful. Diviner takes tower at H3."

"Well then," Kamui picked up her queen again, "let's see you counter this." She set the piece down on a different square, feeling proud of herself.

"I don't need to." Corrin chuckled. "You just made the wrong move…" He moved his queen into position, pinning Kamui's king and ending the game. Her eyes glanced around the board as if looking for an escape, but after not finding one she simply muttered curses under her breath and conceded. She was mentally proud of herself for not flipping the table, because the urge to do so had certainly been there.

"So I want to ask you something," Kamui looked up as she and Corrin stood up.

"Go for it," Corrin nodded. "If you want a rematch though, it might have to wait."

"No, it's not that." Kamui shook her head, "I was more wondering how long you knew about this. How long has my family been trying to find me?"

"I assume they likely went looking for you the moment that you were brought here," Corrin indicated, "and probably eventually just figured that you were in Hoshido. Mother didn't say, but she seemed rather upset."

"I'll be honest," Kamui admitted, "a week in Hoshido is not long enough to want to stay here for the rest of my life, but I really do feel for it here. I want to feel for you and your family the way I do for Camilla and the rest of my siblings in Nohr. I feel like I'm getting pulled two different ways, and it's hard. It's really hard."

"I think I know what would serve you well," Corrin smiled, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder. "You should talk to Mother in the throne room. I think she might be able to clear things up."

"Thanks," Kamui sighed, "you're a lot more level-headed than I thought."

"Not all problems need to be solved with violence," he teased her, "but I do what I can to bring out the best in everyone."

With this farewell, Corrin and Kamui parted ways, with the latter walking cautiously through the halls towards the throne room. She knew she was going the right way the higher up into the castle she got, although when she reached the grand hall that led to the throne room, she felt a lingering presence that she could not really pin down. In a brief moment, she saw flickering illusions of invisible soldiers and monsters, although a couple of blinks and some rapid head-shaking did away with these premonitions. Still, the hallway was empty, and the many side rooms in every direction did not appear to be inhabited at the moment either. Despite the well-lit and brightly-colored environment, there was something about this place that gave Kamui an unexplainable sense of dread.

She cautiously pushed the magnificent throne room doors open, only to find Mikoto perched upon the throne, looking as gentle and harmless as she always did.

"Mother?" she paused, and Mikoto smiled, stepping down from her throne for a moment.

"Kamui," she smiled. "You seem a lot better off now that you've had some time to clear your head. Even then though, you look troubled. What's the matter?"

"I'm… not sure," Kamui shook her head, "for some reason as I came up here, I felt this horrible looming sense of dread, almost as if there was a great evil the gripped this chamber."

"Oh, Kamui, dear…" Mikoto sighed, "it's actually quite the opposite. This is one of the safest places on Ferevs. However, seeing your apprehension makes me wonder… would you humour your dear mother and do her a small favour?"

"Well, that depends on what it is, I guess." Kamui shrugged, curling her toes against the floor.

"It's nothing too difficult." Mikoto smiled, "I would just like to ask you to try sitting on the throne for a moment."

"Mother," Kamui tilted her head, "I know I like to daydream and fantasize when I write books and stuff, but I don't need to sit on Hoshido's throne to appease some sort of grandiose scheme for the Glory of Nohr."

"Kamui," Mikoto actually laughed, "dear, this is hardly anything so absurd. It's more to answer a question of mine I was having. I don't distrust you here."

"Well, what's the reason for it?" Kamui was still a little cautious. She figured that maybe she read into the Nohrian notion of Hoshidan treachery, but she hoped she was just overthinking it.

"The throne is infused with the power of the First Dragons," Mikoto explained, "And it is said that those who sit upon it regain their true form and true mind. In short, I think it might help you see a much bigger picture of what your childhood was like."

"You don't suspect I'm under some kind of Nohrian spell or something do you?"

"I have theorized that there was one that stripped you of your memories in Hoshido. The throne would remove any haze that clouded your mind on the matter. And if I am wrong, then there is no harm done. Nothing ill will befall you from trying."

"But surely you would know of all sorts of Hoshido's trickery," Kamui admitted, "I mean… I trust you… it just seems so odd, and so simple."

"If you do not wish to, I can understand." Mikoto sighed, "Perhaps I am slightly selfish in saying this, but I like the others hope you can stay with us."

"I want to… but I don't want to abandon my family in Nohr either. If there was a way for us to get along…" she approached the throne. "I trust you, Mother. You have done nothing but good for me in the short time we've known each other…"

She sat upon the throne, and to her surprise, two things happened. Kamui lurched forward, falling into her hands and knees before her form warped into a metallic four-legged dragon. The transformation was brief, but when she morphed back into her humanoid form, she stood up and gasped. A clear memory of the day Sumeragi was murdered was now burned into her mind, as well as distant and slightly vague but solid memories of her childhood in Hoshido. Furthermore, fond memories of her tough but rewarding childhood in Nohr returned, as she remembered all of the childhood memories she had made while growing up with Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Elise.

"I… I remember!" she gasped, although there was a contrarian part of her that suspected Hoshido-style trickery from all of this. "King Sumeragi… Cheve… you, I…" she paused, looking at Mikoto, her eyes watering.

"This just makes it harder though!" she cried, throwing her arms around Mikoto. She'd ask about the dragon later. "I saw the incident in Cheve. I saw my childhood take a drastic turn… and while it made me gain a newfound love for Hoshido, it also gave me further love for Nohr. I saw the rest of my childhood; parts I had forgotten or ignored. 15 of my 20 years were spent there, and it makes it difficult for me to want to choose one or the other. Forgive me, mother!"

She understood she belonged here by technicality, but that had not stopped the royal family of Nohr from treating her like one of their own.

"My poor girl…" Mikoto gently embraced the trembling Kamui. "There is nothing to forgive. Corrin has told you about the meeting in Izumo, correct?"

"He has…" Kamui whispered, "and while moments ago I was eagerly looking forward to it, now, I'm suddenly dreading it. That's my day of reckoning, Mother. I'm not ready to handle saying goodbye to someone so soon."

"I'm happy to help ease that burden in any way I can." Mikoto promised. "I love you Kamui. I never wished to make your life hard… I just wanted to see my daughter alive and well again."

Kamui mumbled in acknowledgement, but she still couldn't shake the notion of what she would have to do in the next week or so. She had long since established that family was the center of her life, and she wanted to keep it this way—and wanted both Hoshido and Nohr involved.