I do not own anything.

Black in Color

Growing up in Nohr Camilla had a very sheltered idea of what seasons like autumn, spring, and summer looked like. The closest she'd ever gotten was in picture books and paintings of a world beyond the dark wasteland that was Nohr. Sure, she loved her homeland, but there was something to be said about how dreary and singular-colored the land was. When she flew on top of Marzia all she saw was endless stretches of grey and black, from mountains to fields, to deep dark forests. For years the colors of darkness-black, grey, violent, and blue, were what she'd grown up with. They were the colors she'd associated with and had come to call her own. She'd become a creature of the darkness, just as many born in Nohr did.

She was about fifteen years old when she saw the world beyond Nohr, a world where black and grey were in the minority. Then there was Hoshido, a world of omnipresent light and color.

While it all intrigued her interest Camilla kept her optimism in reserve, unlike little Elise who was exuberant at seeing the outside world. Elise could deserved to live in that world of life and color, Camilla…did not.

When the war started she thought she'd at least have the pleasure of dying in the sun. Of course there was still the little notion of her fighting to conquer the land of Hoshido and subject it to the ironclad rule of her father, or so she believed. Camilla was resigned to either burning Hoshido's colorful landscape to a blackish-grey wasteland same as Nohr or she'd be thrown into a dark cell then given a public execution, at best. At least with the latter she might have had a chance to see the cherry blossoms Hoshido was famed for before she passed from this world. To her immense surprise none of those things had happened, instead she was now a part of the royal family that ruled this land of vibrant color and life.

During the Silent War Camilla had no trouble telling her Hoshidan allies she was openly envious of their lush brightly-colored homeland. As the war continued and the two sides became closer it became her earnest wish that one day Nohr would someday hold the same lush beauty of its neighbor. She never expected she would become the queen of Hoshido, the very land she both envied yet at the same time had been ordered to conquer.

"It never ceases to amaze us, does it dear?" She questioned stroking Marzia's scaled back. Below them the wondrous green fields Hoshido had to offer lay stretched out before her as far as the eye could see. Beneath her the battle-tested beast gave a murmur of approval. Having grown up the same as her Marzia was used to the smell of decay and rot blanketing the land, Hoshido had neither of those. To her sensitive noise the smell of fresh fruit, greenery, and simple clean air was something new and exquisite. As evident by her deep inhales of breath the Wyvern was greatly enjoying the taste of clean air that no longer smelled of death. "This is our home now, Marzia. I hope you come to enjoy it as much as I have." It was a calm wind that passed through the clear skies, another thing that separated Hoshido from Nohr. In the latter rarely did the grey clouds party, and even rarer was there a warm day one could enjoy. With Hoshido it seemed the land had been blessed by some weather deity with incredibly warm and sunny weather most days, even going into autumn. For that reason Camilla found she needed a slight change in wardrobe least she spend every day sweating herself wet.

Without the darkness of the clouds she could track the sun's movements across the sky, something she always liked doing to pass the time. Most days it was visible from the time it came up to the time it went down, creating some truly spectacular sunrises and sunsets. Really, it almost seemed unfair how vastly different the White Kingdom was from its black counterpart. Then again, it was for that exact same reason that so many Hoshidans were having trouble adjusting to the fact she was soon to be their ruling queen.

She'd learned quickly enough to fly relatively higher up, almost at cloud level. Even though the war had ended more than a few farm and townsfolk would have heart attacks or even faint if they saw a giant Wyvern flying over them. As an avid Wyvern-rider and lover it broke her heart somewhat that such horror stories had spread throughout Hoshido, granted some of the stories had basis but it still hurt a little. One day she hoped she'd be able to fly closer to the ground and not have to worry about townsfolk cowering in fear of her, or throwing rocks at her and Marzia.

"Time to head home girl, we did promise Ryoma we'd be back before dark." An affirmative huff left her lips as she veered off in the direction of the royal palace. Marzia needed no guiding hand or directions to find their destination leaving Camilla time to enjoy the scenery. The scent of cherry blossoms on the wind grew stronger as they drew closer to the place the rider and her mount had come to call home in the past three months, the place they would continue to call home for years to come hopefully. "Here's hoping it's more family friendly than Krakenburg."

As with many things Castle Shirasagi sharply contrasted to her home back in Nohr. Whereas Krakenburg was something of a beehive deep within the earth Shirasagi had been built on top a sheer-sided cliff teeming with life. She'd once been told the castle's name meant pure white heron, a fitting name, she thought for a kingdom associated with white with said color as the dominant feature. White, red, blue, pink, and just about every positive color on the light side of the color wheel could be found in the castle's design. On numerous occasions Camilla felt almost like an intruder, what with being dressed in dark colors riding a black-scaled Wyvern. More than a handful of the palace's residents never let her forget just how out of place she was, but there was one that could drive away all their unkind words and glares.

That one person was waiting for her down below, a warm smile on his face. "Welcome home." Ryoma said offering her his hand as she dismounted. Turning to Marzia he softly nuzzled her snout, an action that was rewarded with a soft purr from the Wyvern.

"I didn't make you wait long, did I?" She playfully jested kissing his cheek.

"No, not at all. I know how all of this is still a little much to take in." He followed her over to the ledge that overlooked the collection of hills split by a sparkling blue river. "They will come to respect you. I know it."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, though I imagine my hair will be graying by the time that happens." She noted leaning against his shoulder as she so often did. "Still, I'd say this is definitely a land worth fighting for. I'm glad Corrin was able to open our eyes before things went too far. Even I would have had a hard time sleeping with the thought of burning this entire country down to the ground."

"I doubt you would have done that, while yes you can be…"

"Bloody-thirsty? Borderline psychotic?" Though she was being playfully it stung a little those were the words that had been tossed around when she first came to Hoshido. Camilla really couldn't argue with them since like with Marzia there was a hint of truth to them. "Thank you though for having faith in my sense of humanity."

"You're a Nohrian, no different from any of the people down there, even if you do like dressing in black more than the average person." The brown-haired man mused.

"Speaking of dressing, since I'm going to be staying in Hoshido for the foreseeable future I think I should consider something of a wardrobe change." She said realizing how contrasting they were. Ryoma was dressed in a bright red kimono that suited him to a T, since it was all she had left Camilla had to wear her tradition black Nohrian armor whenever she went out riding. They were polar opposites lined up side by side. Oddly enough a part of her took pride in that, they were so different, yet here they were watching a sunset together.

"I'll be up tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like you know a shopping trip when you hear one. Quite a surprise for a bachelor like yourself." Camilla stated shooting a sideways glance at her fiancée.

"Before you I have had a few female encounters, none of them can quite compare to you though." Ryoma smiled.

"Good boy."

Something of a belated fall chapter I should have done way, way earlier.