The return trip is as dull as the initial march. Well, the new members makes things interesting, especially Arthur, Effie is not exaggerating when she claims he has a streak of bad luck. I mean, who blasts a hole in the ceiling when cooking stew? Yet somehow the self-proclaimed hero of justice does it. He is quickly removed from the cooking duty roster afterwards, food is scarce enough as is without it flying across camp. And so Keaton and I have to bring in an extra kill to compensate for the near lack of stew. The hunt turns into a competition, who can haul in the bigger stag, it is so exciting! I have the strong feeling he will come out on top, like other things, but it is nice to see that he thinks I actually pose a challenge.

It comes out as expected, but my kill is cleaner, one hole carved from a jet stream through its heart. Keaton's first attack is a glancing blow and the second kills it. We agree… well, he tells me my kill goes to the camp. Like I would argue, it is always so thrilling and hot when he gets me to do something, sometimes it's enough to want me to present myself. I don't remember the last time I actually thought like a human near him.

The human side is saved for everyone else. It is always enjoyable chatting with Elise, Arthur is a riot to just watch, Effie provides an extremely tough challenge, I don't think I will ever beat her without tapping into my dragon side, she bench presses tree trunks for the Dusk Dragon's sake! Odin is tolerable when he speaks plainly, though it seems he lacks his enthusiasm and typically reaches for an excuse to leave when it comes to me, Niles… he is walking on thin ice with Keaton and I am pretty sure he knows and enjoys the glares and growls he receives. The archer assures my mate he wouldn't dare dream of taking me from him, his scent comes out honest enough for us to believe him, and the others support his rather perverse behavior. 'Hypocrite . '

Jakob has been slowly warming up to the idea of Keaton, eventually even coming to apologize for his attitude towards him. With Keaton's permission, we allow Jakob to serve both of us freely, and he is the only one who can just pop up and tend to me. The rest go through Keaton.

Elise expresses her concern about how much control Keaton has over me and I have to reassure her that this is something that I want. Then she points out about how Camilla may react to this, which did not actually cross my mind.

"Hey, Keaton." I say one night while we are lying down together. He chooses to not mate with me tonight, a rare occurrence. So I still have my armor and he still has his clothes on.

"Yea?"

"Just to let you know, if you thought Jakob got into my space often… my big sister Camilla is on a whole other level." He does not respond immediately, so I continue, "she's the doting mother figure, she frets over the smallest cuts and will gladly swing her battle axe at the ones who hurt the family."

"I see."

"But like I said, she's the mother figure, she's just looking out for everyone." I assure him. "I just don't want the arguments that happened with Jakob also go to her… or well, any of my family really."

"I'll worry about it when I actually meet them, but I'll keep what you said in mind."

"Leo's really smart and Xander's the protective one." I continue, smiling from the memories I have with them. "Gods, I love all my family." I pause, "And now I have you! Another member!"

"I have you ." He corrects, "and we're mates, family is a human thing. We'll be a pack when children come around."

"Sorry, I got carried away with some memories and thought like a human." I sheepishly smile.

He shrugs, "It happens, that side won't ever leave you."

We have arrived at Castle Krakenburg's courtyard, before the daunting descent down. I breathe in and smell all the filth, grime, expired food, dirtied water, and all the other things that Nohr lacks. 'That Hoshido has . ' Keaton gags when we arrive and I don't blame him. "This is just… wretched." He says.

"Everything is limited and everyone has learned to take what you can get." Elise comments with a frown adorning her face, "Even if that means doing stuff like eating week-old cheese."

"Unhand those stolen goods, fiend!" I hear Arthur shout and another person hits the ground, "Here you go, fair maiden!"

"Isn't he great?" Elise asks. "He even carried a family one-by-one to their new home once."

"Before tripping on a nail and slamming his head on the concrete." Effie adds.

"Yea… that did leave a big bump on his forehead for a few days."

We continue to walk around, Jakob seems to be haggling with a stubborn merchant and succeeding, Arthur offers his services to people. Niles weaves through the market with ease, either slipping his hands to grab bags of coin or whispering a few words to women that causes them to burn brilliant red. Odin is… being very Odin-like at the weapon stall.

"This blade… it beckons to my sword hand! There must be some hidden power within it!"

The shopkeeper did not seem amused and rolls his eyes, "It's an Iron Sword bud, now are you going to purchase it or not?"

"You don't even use swords, Odin!" I hear Effie shout. Then her stomach grumbles, "Great, now I'm hungry." A large bag of coins seemingly appears in her hands, "Huh? Was that you, Niles?"

"Whatever do you mean?" I hear him from behind us, already several feet away from Effie.

"Niles! That's stolen, Effie don't use that… here…" Elise goes to grab her coin purse and gasps, "...Wait. NILES!"

"I just assisted in giving your money to your hard-working retainer." He says and disappears back into the crowd. I giggle at it all.

"So… can I spend it?" Effie asks.

Elise holds her hand out and the Knight gives her the bag, "Some of it, we'll be eating when we return to the castle, anyway." She hands her a handful of coins, "There." Effie thanks her and leaves. Then Elise grumbles about Nile's behaviour and vows to tell Leo on him. She looks so cute when she is grumpy like that, so I rub her hair. "Hey!" The mock-bad feeling fades and she starts giggling.

Jakob returns with a new set of daggers, "My word, I have never paid so much for a set of Iron Daggers before in my life!" He huffs, "And that is after a 40% discount!"

I giggle, then she giggles. "This is definitely… interesting, at least." Keaton says.

"Ha! I have caught you th… Niles?" Arthur stops, "What are you doing with that bra?"

I couldn't contain it anymore and I start laughing out loud. "...Research." The archer answers.

The castle seems quieter than usual, maybe because the army has already gathered and left by now. "Ah, you're back, sisters." Leo walks down the steps, Divine Weapon in hand.

"Big brother!" Elise and I say and proceed to tackle him.

"Oof! Yes, yes, I miss you both too. There, I said it!" We both back up and let him dust himself off.

"Where's Xander and Camilla?" I ask.

"Missions, Xander's off Cheve to investigate reports of a growing rebellion while Camilla is scouting the Nohrian border for signs of the Hoshidan. And I…" He pauses, "Am to observe a magical disturbance to the North-east, there are reports of… distortions there. I am to leave in a day."

"Everyone is so busy…" Elise says.

"That's war, unfortunately." He nods, "Now, I need to go over my supplies and get an early rest."

"Hey, Leo." I start, "Your collar."

"Gods, don't tell me…" He reaches to check.

"Is on perfectly fine." Elise and I giggle.

He sighs and a smirk graces his face for a few seconds, "Yes, yes, very funny. I will see you hopefully in the morning." He stops, "Oh! That is right. Do go check your room, sister. Xander, Camilla, and I apologize for missing your birthday." He takes his leave. "Niles, Odin. Follow me." He calls from over his shoulder and the two jog to catch up.

"Huh, I actually forgot about that." I mumble. "Have to report to Father before anything else, though." I add outloud.

We walk through the castle towards the throne room, Jakob excuses himself to assure my room is spotless before I enter. "Well, I did as he asked… mostly." I hope the assistance doesn't anger him too much.

The thought of dead bodies seem to cross Elise's mind and she coughs, "...right."

The doors seem more intimidating than ever, "Uh, you kind of have to stay out here, Keaton. If you aren't royalty you have to wait to be called in."

"Yea, I get it." He obviously doesn't like the idea of me leaving his side. So I give him a quick kiss.

"A taste for later…" He grins.

"I'll be in the dining room, Lady Elise." Effie says.

"A feast fit for heroes? Sounds like a plan!" Arthur agrees.

"I'll… just lean against the wall." The Wolfskin says awkwardly.

The retainers take their leave and Keaton takes his spot on the wall. Elise and I go through the doors. "Father." I bow when I approach the throne, "The Ice Tribe has been suppressed, as you commanded." I glance to see Iago's wretched form on the side. I suppress a growl.

King Garon smiles, "Well done. I expected nothing less from you."

Then Iago opens his damn mouth, "King Garon, I have reports that our esteemed princess did not finish this task alone, as you have commanded."

The smile is replaced with a scowl, "Yasei, is this true?"

A picture of Iago being snapped in half by Keaton rolls through, 'Break, kill' , "It is true, and there is more besides that. Flora has turned against the throne and committed treason by assaulting and attempting to kill me and the others."

"Treason…" His anger drops a bit, "And I trust you handled the punishment correctly?"

I nod, "She bled out next to the chief, whom I personally ran through with Yato."

"Elise? Do you support all of this?" His gaze turns towards the youngest princess.

"All of it, Father. The entire Ice Tribe is…" She hiccups, "well, dead." 'Gods, I should have said that, not her.'

I half-expected him to be furious, he did say suppress after all. But he laughs, "Well done! You have exceeded my expectations!"

"I, um… thank you, Father." I stammer.

"Sometimes, my daughter," He starts the humor gone as quick as it came, "it is best to salt the soil to prevent further weeds from sprouting, do you understand?"

'Huh, that's strange, Father never gives words of wisdom like that,' "Yes, Father."

Iago thankfully stays silent, "For your outstanding success, I have another task for you. Something more suited to your and your army's skills."

I catch my breath, that last battle was tough enough as is. "Whatever you command." I try to hide my nervousness.

He stands, "As I am sure Leo has told you, I have sent your other siblings on various, but nevertheless critical missions, yours will be no different. The Hoshidans move to capture the Rainbow Sage, this man grants great power to those who visit him. You are to travel to Notre Sagesse, rid of any Hoshidans, receive this power, and end the man's life. I cannot allow anyone else to gain such power."

'End him?' I gulp, this man willingly gives strength and I am to kill him after he helps me? That's insane, but this is Father's orders, to ignore them leaves me with a fate akin to Flora's. "Understood, Father. Consider it done." I feel Elise giving me a critical look but stays silent.

"You have given me high expectations, daughter, I hope you will exceed them again." He sits back down, "You will depart tomorrow morning, I will have Iago draw up a map with the most efficient route. Now, go!" His voice echoes throughout the throne room, Elise and I bow then take our leave. Iago grumbles, though I cannot make out his words right now.

"That's a pretty tall order, mate." Keaton comments after the door is shut.

"It's not good to eavesdrop on Father." Elise chides.

"So that's why you wanted to wait here." I say.

"If I am unable to see you, I will make damn sure I can either smell or hear you." The possessiveness makes me shiver, "Speaking of smell, he's got the stench of a corpse."

"Iago?" We start walking towards the dining room.

"No." He shakes his head.

Elise gasps and looks around, "Watch yourself," She whispers, "If someone were to overhear you saying something like that…"

"I am well aware of how many people aren't within ear-shot… my hearing, that is." And knowing him, that could probably mean half of the castle.

"I know… it's just, starts a sort of fear, you know?" Keaton shrugs at her question and we continue in silence.

We enter the dining room to see Effie by herself… unless I count the plates as people, then which there is a whole festival happening here. 'Where does she put all that food?'"Oh, hello Lady Elise, Lady Yasei. Food's decent tonight! Grab a plate or ten."

"It does smell slightly more tolerable than that slosh during the march." Keaton says. "I could probably stomach a serving or two." Within a minute of sitting down, servants place a plate with some sort of darkened meat and a glass of water. "Ugh, it looks worse than it smells. Oh well, bottoms up!"

I grimace, "Could I have some wine with this?" 'I think I need to kill my taste buds first.'

"Of course, Lady Yasei."

"Hey! Me too!" Keaton calls out. The maid glares at him, but I catch her attention and nod at her, she smiles and leaves.

"You have had wine before?"

"Yea, we sometimes get a few caravans crossing my territory from time to time, they usually have some alcohol on them."

"Lady Yasei," The maid hands me a whole bottle. Wait, she only has one bottle. "And sir…" She brings him one glass, granted it is larger than the glass of water, but still…

Elise coughs, "I need to wash." She leaves her plate half finished, "You can have the rest, Effie!"

Keaton glares and I intervene before he does something reckless, "I would suggest you get my retainer an entire bottle." He raises his eyebrow at me, I mouth 'in a bit' to him.

Her attitude shifts immediately, "Gods, I apologize Lady Yasei, I-I had not realized you chosen your second retainer."

"Give your apologies to Keaton, not me."

"Sir Keaton, I apologize for my initial rudeness, I ask that you forgive my actions." I nod at him to accept it.

"Two bottles and consider it done." I sigh, better than ripping her apart at least.

"Yes, Sir Keaton!" She leaves.

"Retainer? Are you ashamed to call me Mate in public?" He sounds hurt.

"They're human, they wouldn't understand the concept of Mate, so I grabbed the next best word I could find."

"Why not husband?" Effie asks as she stacks three more plates aside. "Whew! Now that is a meal." She sighs in relief… then burps out loud. If Elise were here she would chastise her for that, but I personally let it slide.

"Husband? You mean that ritual you told me about?" Keaton asks.

"We're not approaching this as humans, Effie. He is a wolf and I am a dragon. I am his mate."

"Huh… well it's not my place to judge. As long as it doesn't cause my liege pain or interfere with my training schedule I really don't care." She gets up, "Speaking of, time to put more training rocks in my armor and do two hundred reps of everything, wanna join me?"

"No thank you." I decline while Keaton just shakes his head. Effie shrugs and walks off.

"Sir Keaton, your wine." The maid bows then places the bottles on the table beside him. She fidgets as he waits for his response.

"That'll do." She bows again and leaves. He downs the spare glass of wine and grabs the two bottles, "Your brother suggested we visit your room, right?"

I grab my own bottle, "Yea, I think it's going to be my birthday presents. I wonder if Jakob is…"

"Lady Yasei!" As if speaking his name summons him from the shadows, Jakob enters the room, "My apologies for taking so long but there were some rather irksome stains that refused to budge. The maid who was handling your room was just… ugh."

"We can go in though, right?"

"Yes! I would accompany you to show you all the hidden compartments, but I need to have a long talk about the duties of a servant with that maid. I, er… you do remember where to go, correct?"

I giggle, "Yes Jakob, I remember. You are free to leave. Try not to scare her off!" He bows and takes off. Keaton walks up to my side and grabs my arm, his two bottles in the other hand. "Let's check it out." I wink at him.

My room is spotless, I wonder where all the stains were… "Not bad. I guess, it's too… confined." Keaton would probably hit at least one wall if he shifts. He places his bottle on an end table.

In the center of a room held a small desk with four gifts, wait I already got Camilla's gift, who's the fourth? "I wish you all were here to see me open these…"

"Hold on, sis! Don't start without me! Oof!" I hear Elise from outside the room.

"Lady Elise! Please no running in the hallways!" It is Jakob. The door opens and Elise enters, a small red spot on her forehead. Jakob tuts as he closes the door.

Elise is still wet from her bath, not enough to where water is dropping, but she hasn't completely dried yet. Her hair is flowing down her back, rather than done in her usual pigtails, "Whew, I made it in time. Now, this one first!" She hands me the smallest one.

I place my bottle on an empty spot that the gift took up. "Let me guess, this is from you?" She giggles with a drawn out 'maybe'. I unwrap the paper to unveil a mini-statue of the Dusk Dragon alongside a small seal of the Nohrian Royal family. "It's cute, just like the person who got this for me!"

"Yaaay! I'm so happy you like them!" She hugs me.

"What do you think, mate?" I show him the items and he squirms uncomfortably.

"Sorry, I'm not used to this… thing you two are doing. Uh, nice, I guess?"

"Wha-?" Elise gasps, "You don't have birthday parties? That's a bummer." She then smiles, "Hey, when is your birthday?" She winks.

"No, we don't… and don't worry about it." Elise whispers for me to get the information from him. "I heard that, you know."

She giggles, "I know."

"Well, uh, sit down and relax, then?" I suggest, he shrugs and grabs a bottle of wine, removing the cork with one of his nails. I turn my attention back to the gifts, "Let's see… this one is shaped like a book… so, Leo then?"

"He does love his books." She agrees.

It is, in fact, a book. I flip open the pages and it seems like… a diary? There are dated entries of memories with me. A note slides out. I read it aloud, " Hey sister, I wrote this because I knew I wouldn't be here to share this moment with you ."

"But he is here!" Elise protests.

" I wrote this during the time you were taken by the Hoshidans, they say you don't realize what you have until you have lost it. I didn't realize how much you meant until you vanished. So this is a collection of memories that I have cherished over the years ."

"Leo has a diaryyyy." She giggles.

"Hold on, there's an piece at the end. P.S. Don't you dare run around calling this a diary. This is a Manly Recollection of Cherished Events. " I look at Elise, "Diary?" I ask.

"Diary." She agrees while nodding.

"Diary." We say together then start laughing. I can sense Keaton's mood has been lifted a bit. "Now then, this one…" It is rather long and rectangular. It also looks like it has been wrapped and unwrapped several times, since there are several tears and different types of wrap on it.

I look at Elise and she shrugs. "Maybe Xander? He wasn't with us when we placed all the presents in here."

I unwrap it to find a glass case, containing an exquisitely crafted sword. "Xander." I say and Elise agrees. I open the case, this has to be the highest grade Nohrian steel! The blade holds a faint glow and the blade itself looks deadly, the hilt is gold with a leather strap which is also glowing. On the center of the hilt contains an intricate version of the Nohrian Royal seal. A note is tucked in the corner.

" In case I am not here to share this moment with you. I crafted this sword in preparation of the day that Father lets you travel Nohr. Many hours and pounds of ore were used in making this. I must admit that the royal blacksmith has forbade me from using any more of this steel and he had the royal jewelcarver to make the seal."

"Huh?" Another note drops from that note, "Ah, I forgot to mention, the blade is enchanted so it should not dull and the leather won't degrade over time." ...Then another one drops, "Jeez Xander, get all your thoughts out at once, would you?" Elise giggles. "I… hope this blade will still find use. I am informed that you received the Divine Weapon, Yato. I arranged to have this sword placed in this case, do not feel as if you have to use this one."

"Aw…" Elise says.

"I will use it." I promise, "I'm not sure for exactly what, but I will use it." I notice that there is something under the blade, I pick up the sword to find a well-decorated sheathe. "That's right, I still need to get Yato a proper sheathe." I slide the new sword into its sheath and attach it to my hip. The gold contrasts my armor.

"Ooo… you look really intimidating now, sister. You have two swords!" I nod before replacing the sword into the chest, while Yato leans on the table.

"Now the last one." It is shaped like a box, I unwrap it and sure enough, there is a box. I open it… and my heart drops, as does the box.

"Sister?" Elise nudges me, but doesn't go after the box.

"Mate!" Keaton is by my side, a heavy odor of wine on his breath.

"...it's from Gunter." I feel like crying, he got me a present over a month beforehand, and he was so sure he would make it that there is no note. "Gods… Gunter." Tears fall.

"A-are you sure, sis?"

I take the gift out, it is a simple ball, one that he made so I could have something to play with. It has been thoroughly cleaned and re-done. I clutch the ball closer, as if it would cause Gunter to come back and pat me on the shoulder, like he would assure me that everything will be alright. The same way he would when I started to feel worse than usual of being cooped up in that fortress.

Then I grit my teeth in anger, "Hans…" I growl. The room goes red as I envision Hans lying dead, 'I will rip him apart! His body will lie in pieces!' I hear the dragon in me growl its thoughts. 'Revenge, kill, blood, rend!'

"Mate, cut it out, now." Keaton's command rips through the anger with ease.

The effect is instant and the haze fades, I suck in deep breaths. "I… what?" The room feels like it is spinning.

"Lady Yasei!" Jakob rushes in, "Gods, are you alright? I heard roaring and I feared the worst!"

"J-Jakob, Big Sister grew horns… and wings." She looks terrified.

"I… did?" I look at the ball in my hands. Gods, I pierced it. My only physical piece of Gunter's existence and I deformed it. I gently place the ball back in its box and close it, then push it away from me. I curl into a ball. Today was going so well, too. 'Rip, tear, murder, feast .' The dragon forces itself out more, 'Gods, it's getting hard to focus…'

"Lady Yasei woul…" Jakob starts.

"Go." I interrupt with a small voice. "All of you, just… go." I climb into the bed and throw the covers over me.

"As you command, Lady Yasei." The Butler leaves.

"I love you, big sister!" The Troubadour follows and the door is closed.

Keaton refuses to budge. "I need space, please just go."

"I don't answer to your human side, mate."

'Gods, not now.' "You stayed put outside the throne room just fine!" Anger boils in me.

"There were actual rules to follow." He sounds calm but I can sense the anger matching mine.

"And there are thousands of little rules, too. Leave!" I sit up to face him.

He meets my gaze, unflinching. "No."

My Dragonstone glows, his Beaststone glows in kind. Roaring starts to ring in my ears. I thrust my hand forwards… but a lance appears instead. I recognize it as the attack I used on Hans. ' Hans . ' I growl again. He easily dodges the lance, still in his human form but his Beaststone glows brighter. "Stand down, mate." The command falls on deaf ears, I'm too focused on the anger and Hans's face. In this moment, there is no Keaton, nor is this my room.

I am back on the bridge over the Bottomless Canyon and I am staring down at Hans. I retract my lance arm and tackle Hans. We land on the bridge, he throws me off of him and I roll from the bridge to the stone platform. Hans procures two massive two-handed axes and wielding each one like they were as light as a feather. He charges and attempts to cut me in half, I form another lance and pierce his leg. I am awarded with a grunt of pain. 'You KILLED Gunter . ' He forces my lance out of the ground and throws me, I slam against a stone wall. 'You will pay! Blood for blood!'

I growl and form a maw out of my other hand, my lance points at him. He charges again and I send an energy orb from the maw, he nimbly dodges it and attempts to strike me with his right axe, my maw catches it and cracks the metal. He roars in frustration and tosses the now ruined axe away from him. He tackles me and we tumble through the stone wall and end up in the fortress north of the fort with him on top. His axe rips into my lower chest and I scream in pain. 'Blood, revenge!'

I retract my lance and punch him with my left hand causing enough of a stagger then I toss him off. He rolls and leaps towards me I duck and summon my lance once more, the invigorating sound of flesh tearing fills my ears. 'Life for life!' The piercing isn't lethal and he manages to crush the lance with his left axe. I cry out in pain. 'Die!' My left arm now refuses to cooperate. He is crouching and ready to strike, I ready my maw, he leaps and I prepare another energy sphere…

But ice quickly envelopes me, going from my bare feet to neck in a matter of a second. Hans is in a similar situation, ice grew up from the fortress's ground and met up with his body encasing him in ice. A potent blast of magic knocks him out and a tree sprouts to destroy the ice. The same thing happens to me a second later…