We arrive at Cheve to see it somewhere between abandoned and ransacked. The commoner's buildings have been broken into, some of them are even outright destroyed, and a few bodies lie on the ground. 'Are we too late? Even with that shortcut?'

"Gods, what are you all doing here?" I see two guards approach us, one with a bow on his back, however unlike that strange messenger, his armor is of standard issue, as is his bow. The other soldier seems to have… no weapons? Wait, there are these two blades with grips on them, the blades are forming a half-moon. "All civilians are to evacuate the area, before the battle erupts." The bow wielder continues.

"Civilians?" Elise asks, "Uh, excuse me, we're here under Father's orders to help out big brother Xander."

"We are rather well equipped for civilians, aren't we?" Phoenix driely comments.

The blade one elbows the other in a rather childish manner, "Our apologies, we are just under orders and he can take things a little too seriously."

"It looks like the battle has already came and went." Caeldori speaks up, I turn to see a grimace on her face. "Gods…"

"A battle." The bow one corrects, "That was a skirmish, which is why we are to evacuate the surrounding areas." He looks over my army, "At any rate, we should not hold you up. I apologize for the confusion." The two step aside and let us pass.

We make our way to the nearby castle, where there are a number of Nohrian guards posted outside, they part the minute when approach, a few rooms in and I see the rest. "Big brother!" Elise and I exclaim as we dash towards him, the Crown Prince is hunched over a set of documents, but looks up as we get near him.

"Elise? Yasei? Camilla? Gods, what are… wait, did Father send you as the requested reinforcements?" Despite the evident worry, he is happy to see us.

"That's right!" Elise nods.

"All we need is our darling Leo and we could do this as a family." Camilla comments, "It would have been our first battle together…"

Xander's brow furrows, "Speaking of, have any of you received any letters from him so far? It has been at least a month by now, right?"

"Sadly, not."

"Nope." Elise adds.

"Nothing so far," I confirm, "I hope he's alright."

"Oh, I have no doubt he is well, it is just rather… unusual to not receive updates from him." Xander pauses, "I see you have amassed a rather sizeable force here, little sister. I don't recognize a number of them." His eyes land back on me, then takes note of the gifted blade on my waist, "I… um." He uncharacteristically stammers, "Has the blade found use?"

I frown, "Well… no, but I'm not just going to leave it behind, either. You put too much work into it just for it to stay in a case."

My answer puts a small, rare smile on his face, "I'm glad to hear that, sister."

Phoenix approaches then bows, "Hello, Crown Prince Xander, I am Phoenix, the Tactician of your sister's army. Pleased to meet you."

"Phoenix, hm?"

"She's really something, big brother!" Elise praises her, "She is really smart when it comes to battle strategies… like really really smart. She is also a powerful spell caster! And she can make call outs while in the fight!"

"...Please, Lady Elise. I am just doing my job." She actually starts blushing.

"I am glad to see that my sisters are in such capable hands. Now, the rest of the new faces?" He scans the people again, 'He hasn't tensed yet, where is Keaton?' Then he raises an eyebrow, "Where are your retainers?" He looks at Elise, whose face falls, "And Beruka?" The sudden silence is his answer.

"Three, that is Azura." I point out. "She is Caeldori… and our third is… somewhere."

"Azura? I actually do know her, but Caeldori?"

"I recruited her when we were attacked on the boat ride back to Port Dia, she is the daughter of Reina and Subaki." Phoenix supplies, then looks at the lance-wielder.

"Th-that's right, Crown Prince Xander." She shakily nods, "I fight for Nohr." It looks like she is disgusted to say that.

"Subaki? The retainer to Sakura?" 'Oh, so he does know.' "She hasn't been…"

Phoenix and I shake our heads, "I have her on a tight leash, so to speak." The Tactician continues, "Besides, I am half-manakete, she couldn't lie or sneak out without me knowing." She points to her ears.

"I see…" He narrows his eyes, "And this third person?"

I hesitate, but Phoenix decides to just drop the fireball, "Keaton. The Wolfskin." I glare at her and she just shrugs, "There's no need for a dramatic wait."

Big brother opens and closes his mouth a few times, a very visible anger coming up, "Gods, Yasei. Why? You didn't lose another section of your memories, did you?" He rubs his temples. "There better be a damn great reason for this."

Camilla, Elise, and Phoenix back up, giving us some space. "He is my mate, Xander." I try to calm my nerves. 'Oh, that is not the best thing to say…'

"And? What else? Would you want, gods I don't know, Elise or Camilla to stay with a husband who tries to kill them?"

"He isn't my husband, it doesn't work like that." I internally flinch, 'Damn it! Think like a human! He won't listen to Shifter reasoning.'

"The point still stands, little sister. You do know that Leo sent out orders to keep him from you, correct?"

I flinch, but my voice remains steady, "...Camilla never said anything about that."

He shakes his head, "I still have his letter, where is this beast? I will have him removed from here."

"He will always come back, you can't keep him from me."

"Then I will have him executed. For the crime of attempted assassination of a member of the royal family."

"I won't let you." I snarl.

"As Crown Prince, I have the authority to. Only Father could overrule my orders. You have no say in this, sister."

'Gods, no.' "Then… I'll…" 'I'll what? Think… don't just lash out. Come on, I need to get a grip on my Dragon side…' I take a breath, 'Kill… No!'

He waits, "You will what?" He challenges me, "Choose your next words carefully." I hang my head, unable to think of a rational answer, something that won't make me a traitor. "As I thought. Attention! I order you all to find and capture this 'Keaton', if you can't detain and remove, then kill him!"

I hear the footsteps of every guard leave, 'No…' Tears fall as I start crying. I barely even register Camilla bringing me into a hug, trying to soothe my pain. "Sh… he's only doing what's best in the long run."

I snap at those words and pull away as I did the last time, "Doing what is best?!" I yell, "What is best is for Keaton to be by my side! What is best is for my family to accept that I am not just a human! What is best if for you all to understand that my Dragon transformation back in Hoshido changed me!" A haze starts to cloud my vision and I can feel my horns growing, a sort of armor covering my head. "Why can't you all just accept that?"

"He almost killed you, sister." Xander looks calm, but I can smell the underlying aggravation.

"He was doing what he could to calm me down, he didn't know any better!" I counter as my lance forms 'Ravage, revenge!' I start to dismiss my human side once more, 'Rip, rend.'

Then the haze fades as I hear a captivating voice fill the room, "Azura?" The lance, horns, and helmet retracts.

The Songstress's amulet is glowing as she sings a beautiful tune. She stops after my anger seems to have completely fled me, then smiles at me, "That song is the only reason you are still here… if I hadn't used it back in Hoshido, you would still be a Feral Dragon."

I glance from Azura to Xander, "Please, forgive my outburst, I…" I look away and sigh, 'I can't change his mind…' "I'll ready myself." I walk out the room.

"Hey, big sis?" She nudges me, "I'm sorry, I wish I could do something about this, but…"

"I know, he is the Crown Prince. Once he makes an order, even we can't do anything about it." I open a door to one of the random rooms and throw myself on the bed, Jakob removes Yato and the gifted blade, "Thanks, Jakob." I say into the pillow, the plushness already beginning to become wet.

"Of course, would you care for anything else?"

'That isn't against Xander's orders?' "No, have the rest of the day off, I don't care…" I know that is one of my orders that he will not obey, but… whatever. He leaves regardless.

Elise hops onto the bed, wedging herself in the middle, since my body is covering most of the bed. "...Would you like to have a Cot Buddy tonight?" I can almost hear her smile with that phrase.

"Yea…"

"Then you know you are going to have to make some room for me, right?" She giggles.

I lazily comply, repositioning myself towards one side and she lies on the other, her eyes staring into mine. "...Love you, Elise."

She smiles, "I love you, too, Yasei." She kisses me on the forehead.