Chapter 6: Connections and Questions

Lilith was not happy. In fact she was in still in a state of shock that had started with Corrin's collapse. Since that event, the stable girl had been at her master's side nonstop. Every time she had been forced either to eat or to go to the bathroom, the paranoia and worry had curled up inside her like a snake. She was not the only one to be there however, much to her chagrin.

"Lilith, please sit down. You'll do no good if you push yourself to death. I know Corrin wouldn't want you to get hurt."

The blue and red haired servant glared at the queen regent of Hoshido but continued to pace all the same. The unlikely pair had been in Corrin's room, now outfitted to function as a hospital, for approximately a week and half now. Since then, the prince's condition had grown steadily worse. What had started as a coma and mild sweating had evolved into what could only be described as body horror. The skin on Corrin's body was in a constant state of flux, shifting from its normal pale complexion to a scaly grey hide reminiscent of a snake. In addition, various structures would periodically boost forth from his flesh before rapidly receding. From his hands and feet there were claws while wings would erupt from his shoulders and horns from his head. The only consolation was that the transformations did not seem to cause an increase in pain. Considering that the prince was and had been catatonic for over a week, this was hardly reassuring to Lilith.

Of course she recognized the transformations; she had seen a portion of it previously at the bottomless canyon. There it had been different. There they had been a controlled conduit for the prince's rage as he lashed out against a traitor. It was a product of Corrin's inheritance, of the draconic blood that ran through his veins. They should be as natural to him as wings were to a Pegasus. Yet here they were, seemingly consuming him.

But wait, Corrin reacted badly to the power there as well,. Lilith thought. After the fight with Hans he started clutching his eye and fell off the side. Could this be related to that? And if so, what's the trigger?

Lilith walked back over to Corrin's bed, being careful to sidestep as a tail like structure shot out before receding back under the covers. Ignoring Mikoto's curious glance, Lilith slowly bent over Corrin's head and carefully pulled the prince's left eyelid back to reveal a sight that made her heart skip a beat. What greeted her was not the crimson eyes she had seen ever since she had met her master, but instead a golden one not unlike Azura's.

Shock seized her. Slowly backing away, Lilith couldn't help but ask,. "M-my Queen, do you have any idea what this means?"

"Lilith? What's wrong?" The queen stood up and rushed over, her eyes filled with concern for the stable girl.

"His eyes. I thought the transformation into a silent dragon didn't affect the eyes. I thought they remained crimson."

"They- they should. Why what's happened to them?." Mikoto asked before quickly rushing over to her son to check on him herself. Following in Lilith's footsteps the queen remained silent as she checked. "This… this is not normal."

"Your highness, with all due respect, I knew that much."

"No, it's not just the color. After all, Azura is perfectly healthy," the queen mumbled as she raised a hand to her head and slowly backed away. "It's the feeling that it gives me. The eye is giving off an aura that is neither human nor draconic. It's like nothing I've ever sensed before. It reeks of something alien. Something old."

After quickly checking the other eye and finding it to be the normal red hue they remembered it to be, the queen fell to her knees as the tears she had been holding in for the past week and half finally began to flow. "And beyond that I can no longer sense his future. It feels like he doesn't even exist! This has never happened before… ev-even his father was always… always…" The rest of the queen's words faded and her sobbing grew more intense.

The serving girl watched in silence as one of the most powerful women in the world sobbed on the ground in front of her. Not quite sure how to respond, she finally decided to sit down next to her. "My qu- Mikoto. I know, our situation is a bit… unusual. And I still haven't changed my mind about what we discussed the other day. But, I do want you to know, that no matter what, I promise to keep Corrin safe. And to that end, I will never give up on either of you. No matter what the future may hold."

Wiping away a tear, the queen forced a sad smile as she turned towards Lilith. "Th-thank you. I'm s-so sorry that you have to see me like this."

"It's no problem. I'm a bit of wreck right now as well. I'm usually a lot more composed than this."

"I'm happy to see you so grown up, but, no there is a problem. I should have been there for you, for both of you. I know that you don't want to admit it but-"

"Please, Mikoto, I'm begging you. Not here. Not now."

"You're right of course." Mikoto admitted slowly, clearly embarrassed. "I apologize again. It was unfair for me to put you in that kind of a position. It's just, the last thing Corrin said before he fell unconscious was… he-he called me mother."

"He has his memories back?"

"I believe so."

Lilith stared back at her master once more, a mixture of confusion and unease spreading through her psyche. All right Lilith let's just take this one step at a time. Corrin's memories are back. They are back because he sat down on the Hoshidan throne. A throne that can break any enchantment. If what the queen said was true, it worked. Lilith's hands slowly turned to fists as she continued to think. But was the memory curse the only thing broken? And if not, what did we unleash? And what will happen to my brother?

Corrin floated in a sea of scattered images and ideas. It wasn't like when he had sat down on the throne, those had been crisp, clear, and concrete. These were immaterial, almost like he was just on the cusp of waking from an already half-forgotten dream. Every time he tried to focus on something it just slipped further and further away.

Struggling through the haze, the prince reached out, desperately trying to hold onto something, anything that might serve as an anchor. Grasping on to what appeared to be a floating orb of a light, for a second an image, clear as day, appeared in his mind. He was sitting at a table in a very blue room, wearing the most comfortable pair of shows that he had ever felt. Across the room from him, two figures were embracing. One was a young woman with white hair similar to Corrin's own. The other had blue hair and appeared to be slightly younger than him. For some reason that Corrin could not explain, the image of the boy brought a tidal wave of sadness, to the point where he felt the need to flee. Rubbing his eyes as the image faded back into the fog, Corrin began to notice more and more orbs of light scattered around him.

"You aren't ready yet," a voice said matter-of-factly. "It would break you."

Corrin glanced around in confusion as he searched for the source of the voice.

"I'm sorry, but that won't work. You see, there's no mirror here for you to look in. Though, I suppose you could make one if you wanted to."

"You're… you're me?"

"Afraid so. 'Thou art I and I am thou.' Heh heh, please excuse you. We've always wanted to say that. But for obvious reasons I'm sure you'll remember eventually, we've never really gotten the chance to."

Corrin's head began to hurt even more than it had before. "All right, for our, no my, sake can we just pretend for a second that we are two different people and talk accordingly?"

"I don't see why not. Though I was having fun playing the pronoun game."

"Well I'm glad one of us was,." Corrin replied, frustrated. "Now, can you please tell me what you meant before? What will break me?"

"Technically it already has. You created an alternate personality to shield yourself from all of this."

"All of this?"

"Haven't you realized yet? Each of these lights is a fragment. A memory long since locked away."

Corrin looked around at the tens of thousands of lights that twinkled in the world around him. "There's so many."

"And therein lies the core of our problem," the voice replied, sounding annoyed. "There ARE too many. If you were to try and regain them all immediately, kind of like what you're trying to do right now, it would tear you apart."

"But how is that possible? How can all of these," Corrin gestured all around him, "be from six years' worth of missing memories? And what about that blue haired boy? Or that angel and tower from before? How can all of those be from when I was less than six?"

"They aren't," the voice replied curtly. "Your memories from Hoshido aren't the issue here. Those ones have already assimilated back into your consciousness. It's the ones from before then that seek to overwhelm you."

"What does that even-"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, only provide some helpful advice," the voice replied with what sounded like pity. "Suffice to say, we aren't lucky enough for our past to just fade away. It WILL come back. And when it does, you will need these memories to defend yourself."

"But you said that it would kill me."

"Not kill, break. But in our line of work that's basically the same thing. What I mean is that for now at least you must make do with the single complete memory that you have. The one of the tower with the fairy and the angel. You remember that right?"

Corrin nodded, the images the voice referred to etched into his mind.

"Well even now that single memory is threatening to tear you apart. But if you can manage to reconcile the power that memory holds with the power you were born with in this world, then you should be able to slowly acclimate to the rest of your power."

"I'm sorry but you've lost me. Power I was born with? The power of a memory? What are you talking about?"

The voice snorted. "Damn, you're dense. This must be how Pixie feels twenty four seven… Listen! All you have to do for now is wake up with your weird tower memory and not die. Think you can manage that?"

"I don't have much of a choice do I?"

"No, no you do not. Now good luck! Remember, I'm rooting for you!"

Corrin began to feel himself slowly awaken. Right as the dream seemed it was about to end, he forced a final question,. "Will I speak with you again?"

The voice chuckled as the light of awakening began to blur and distort the prince's vision. "I have the strangest feeling, a premonition as it were, that the next time you come here, there will be no distinction between us. You will be alone. After all, I am you. Just a you that is temporarily forgotten."

Corrin sat up on his bed. The final words of his annoying alter ego still drifting through his rattled subconscious. Note to self: If that is how I sound to everyone around me, I need to make a much more concerted effort not to a dick. Because that was extremely obnoxious.

Corrin raised a hand to his head while he tried to gather his bearings. It appeared he was back in his room, though there was now what appeared to be medical equipment piled haphazardly around him. In addition he could make out two figures slumped up against each other on one of the walls adjacent to the window. Closer examination revealed the duo to be Lilith and his mother. Smiling softly, Corrin wondered why he was wearing what felt like a gauntlet. Looking down at his hand, it took all the willpower he had not to scream.

His entire left arm was covered in a layer grey scales that ended in a claw where his hand should have been. Struggling to remain calm, Corrin noticed that the scales seemed to give off a dull pain, similar to muscles after a long day of training. Then, as Corrin stared at the scales, his feeling of horror turned to fascination as they slowly and steadily receded back into his flesh. Eventually they completely vanished, not leaving a single clue that they had ever existed.

What is this? Corrin thought. Is this what asshole me was referring to? One of the two powers that's tearing me apart? Corrin glanced down at his bed and noticed the ripped bedding and damaged bedframe. And did it do all of this? Whatever is going on here, I need to get to the bottom of it, and fast.

A flurry of movement and a pouncing stable girl dragged him back to reality. Grunting from the impact, Corrin forced a smile and patted Lilith on the head as he returned the hug. "I'm sorry I worried you there."

Lilith emitted what sounded like a stifled grunt and continued to press her face into his shoulder. Smiling, Corrin waited for the stable girl to have her fill. Eventually satisfied, Lilith broke the hug and backed away, tears dripping down her cheeks. "M-milord, I'm s-so sorry. It's just- well, we thought that…"

Corrin waved her down. "It's fine Lilith. To be fair, if what I woke up to was any indication you probably had it much worse than I did. Now, I really hate to ask, but how long was I out?"

"Eleven days," a new yet familiar voice replied. Looking up, Corrin saw the exhausted face of his mother staring down at him. "Ever since you sat down on the throne, you've been here, hovering between life and death. Azura, Kaze, and your siblings have been in to visit you every day and they would have been here now as well had there been room."

"Eleven days?! Wow, that's just… wow. Dare I ask what the symptoms were?"

"That's… a conversation that would be better to have after you've regained your strength. How do you feel? Are you in pain?"

Looking away from the queen and back to where the scales had been on his arm, Corrin opened and closed his hand a few times, testing to make sure that the muscles were all still functional. "I believe so. I won't know for sure until I test it out on the practice field, but outside of a very odd skin condition when I woke up, everything seems normal."

"Skin condition? Yes, that's what we'll call it," Mikoto mumbled before smiling again at her son. "But more about that later. You must be starving! I'll go down to the kitchens and inform them that you're awake. Lilith if you'll- Corrin?"

While she had been talking, Corrin had reached over and grabbed the queen's wrist with a trembling hand. Some things had to be said, and they had to be said as soon as possible, otherwise he might lose his nerve and never do it. "Umm, my queen I'm sorry but… I just wanted to tell you that regardless of the end result, your plan did work. I do remember everything, mom."

Mikoto remained silent as the prince continued, now rambling, "And I don't want you to blame yourself. I don't regret sitting down on the throne. Even if I did almost die, I'm finally back to normal and that's worth it! You, and my siblings, and even dad-" The rest of Corrin's speech was cut off by a hug from the queen.

"Please don't say that. Please, just, just…" Mikoto pulled back to reveal a smile coupled with tears. "Be still, I'm glad you're back too. My son."

Corrin's defenses crumpled under the onslaught his brother unleashed. Desperate to mitigate the damage, Corrin jumped backwards, barely dodging the last of Ryoma's fierce combo. Forcing himself to ignore the pain of the samurai's initial blows, the white haired prince raised his blade back to its starting position.

His opponent's features gave nothing away. There was an intensity to Ryoma's gaze, as though he were dissecting his every movement. As much as Corrin was loath to admit it, his opponent was not only his superior, but also probably Xander's as well. Whereas Nohr's crown prince had taken up combat as a necessary evil to facilitate his own ends, Hoshido's clearly had a passion for it. Ryoma made swordplay an art. His sword was a shooting star flashing across the arena and Corrin had absolutely no clue as to how to deal with it. Compounded with that was the fact that he was forced to use an unfamiliar type of sword. Due to his losing the Ganglari, Ryoma had been all too happy to provide a replacement in the form of an iron Katana. And although it was clearly a beautiful weapon, the different weight distribution, number of edges, and overall shape meant that all of Corrin's training in Nohrian swordplay was useless.

Waiting for his brother to make the first move, Corrin was desperately trying to form some type of strategy. So far he had decided that at best he would have to keep on the defensive and hope that Ryoma would slip up somehow, but it was rapidly becoming clear that was futile.

Ryoma surged forwards once more, his blade cutting through Corrin's thoughts. Struggling to parry, Corrin was slowly but surely forced back. As he retreated he started to notice qualities inherent in his opponent's fighting style that he hadn't noticed before. It was odd; they weren't martial arts forms or techniques that he noticed but only what he could describe as elemental affinities. There was a slight static tinge to the samurai coupled with a feeling Corrin could only describe as sturdiness. Given time he probably could have discerned just what it meant, but Ryoma refused to let up. Distracted, Corrin missed the final parry and was knocked to the ground.

Rubbing his head, Corrin looked back up to his victorious opponent.

"Not bad, little brother. Though it's clear that you have a long way to go. Your form was passable but you'll need to focus on maintaining a clear head. During that last exchange it seemed as if you were dazed for some reason."

"That might be the concussion I'm pretty sure you gave me,." Corrin countered, a plan beginning to form in his mind. "But in all seriousness, what else did you notice about our fight? I could obviously use the pointers."

Nodding, the high prince began to talk, being sure to critique in an as effective and respectful way as possible. But Corrin wasn't paying attention, instead he was trying to focus on the aura he had spotted during the fight. Eventually a word sprung to his mind. He couldn't truly be sure where it had come from, but it felt very familiar.

Analyze! Corrin thought before almost jumping backwards in surprise. As the ability activated, the aura surrounding Ryoma suddenly made perfect sense as the perceived qualities were fleshed out and expanded, the information entering the white haired prince's consciousness.

Electric Affinity- Null. Physical Affinity- Resist. Ice Affinity- Weak. Other Affinities- Normal. Level- 7. Clan- Non-demon, subclass human.

Corrin was midway through trying to determine if he had indeed been hit too hard in the head when he heard Ryoma, cry out in alarm and he felt an intense pain in his left arm and leg. Frantically searching for the source of the issue, Corrin noticed that the limbs in question were fluctuating between their grey scaled and original forms. Startled, Corrin fell backward and hit his head.

"Corrin, are you all right? I'll go grab Sakura. Hang on!"

"Ryoma, hold on! I think I might be able to fix it. Just, give me a second." Forcing himself to remain calm, the prince began to focus on the offending appendages. Ignoring the pain as well as his brother's look of concern Corrin focused only on the skin. Nothing else mattered. Slowly the pain began to fade, but instead of transforming back, the mosaic like scales shined where the skin had once been. Confused for a second, an odd sense of curiosity wormed its way into the prince. Smiling, Corrin moved the arm a little, testing it, before reaching down to pick up the sword with his newly armored claw. Upon picking it up, he found the blade was now as light as a feather.

"That's amazing." Corrin said while looking at the arm in wonder.

"Corrin?"

"The sword, it's like it isn't even there. I think I can…" Corrin tried to get to his feet only to jump forward by accident as his left leg pushed much, much harder than his right. Flying forward he eventually crashed down face first. "Ouch. That hurt. A lot. I guess the left leg is stronger as well. My poor face…"

"Are you all right?"

"Ya, just…" Corrin rolled over and stared at the sky until he stopped seeing stars. Forcing himself to sit up, he focused on his leg once more, willing the transformation to revert. Slowly, beginning at a snail's pace but speeding up as it went, the scales slowly receded back into his being and his skin reverted to its normal pale complexion.

Smiling with satisfaction, Corrin continued. "Now, let's see if we can…" The white haired prince held out his right arm and focused. Sure enough the hand transformed into a claw and a sea of scales slid into place. Switching the iron katana to his dominant hand, the prince got to his feet and looked at the worried face of his brother. "What? Never seen a man with weird scale-arms before? I swear everyone is so sheltered here in Hoshido…"

"Corrin, I don't think you understand the gravity of what is going on here. You didn't see what it was like while you were in the hospital."

"Brother, I understand exactly what gravity is: it's what knocks you on your ass when you fall!" Corrin cut in with a smirk, sprinting towards the high prince with his practice Katana raised.

Ryoma sighed and assumed a defensive posture, ready to intercept the younger prince's attack. Swinging his blade, Corrin was shocked by the shear strength behind his blow as his blade knocked Ryoma's back for the first time and forced the high prince on the defensive. Grunting in surprise Ryoma leapt backwards, swinging his sword in a wide arc to buy himself space. Pressing his advantage, Corrin continued to rush the high prince.

What followed was far more intense than any of their previous encounters. Corrin now had the edge in strength and was keen to try and capitalize on that advantage whenever possible, but Ryoma was a monster. Though Corrin could now easily overwhelm him, Ryoma had yet to give him the chance to do so. Employing his parries and strikes in such a way that the force of Corrin's blows was dispersed, the high prince was minimizing the impact of each attack. Combined with his superior speed and agility, Ryoma was more than able to hold his own against Corrin's new augmented form.

Knocking aside one of Ryoma's reposts, Corrin sidestepped before aiming a strike at his brother's legs. Mid swing his left eye started to itch causing Corrin to hesitate mid strike. Seizing the opportunity, Ryoma leaped over the attack, flipping over Corrin and swinging the practice sword at his head. Rolling out of the way, Corrin tried to stand but found the itch in his eye had increased to an intense pain. Try as he might to keep his sword raised, Corrin found he could barely hold onto it in the face of what felt like red hot daggers digging into his eye.

Ryoma, noticing something was wrong, tried to call out to his brother and Corrin even saw his mouth move, but he couldn't hear anything. The pain was all encompassing, and… familiar. This- this is the same as at the bottomless canyon. This was what happened after Hans. ARRRGGGGGGGG! I have to- I have to find a way to stop it before I go unconscious again. Desperate Corrin did the only thing he could and focused on returning his arms to their original form. Fighting through the pain, Corrin through his entire being at the transformation. Slowly, the arms returned once more to normal and as they did the pain in his left eye disappeared as well.

Breathing heavily, he barely noticed as Ryoma came up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder in concern.

"Are you all right?"

"I think so;, the pain is gone at least." Was it the transformation that triggered the pain? It certainly seems so. Well in that case, I learned something at least. From that session it appears that there is a certain amount of time I can use the ability before the pain activates. Approximately three to five minutes by my estimate. I'll need to test it out to find out for sure, though. Speaking of tests, that 'Analyze' thing… did that trigger the initial pain and transformation in my left limbs? Probably. And what was that information it gave? If that is true that is one heck of a power.

Ryoma's voice brought him back to reality. "That was certainly quite the show you put on. Reminds me of the time we tried to force Hinoka to walk the plank."

"That was the time at the lake right?"

Ryoma chuckled. "That's correct. We had made a raft out of some old branches and the two of us had taken it out to the middle of the pond. At the last minute before we left the shore, Hinoka jumped onto the boat from the dock, propelling us into the center of the pond and knocking the oar from your hands."

"Ha, ha. I remember. Because of her we got stuck in the middle. I gave a huge speech and called her a stowaway before trying to push her off so she could go grab the oar. She was much stronger than I thought she was."

"That she was. It boiled down to the two of you flipping the raft." Ryoma sat down next to him. "You know, when you first got back I didn't think we would ever be able to have conversations like this ever again."

"You mean about before I was kidnapped?"

"Yes. I thought you were dead to me, to all of us. To have you finally back is… well it means the world to us all."

"Even Takumi?" Corrin asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ryoma sighed. "I know it seems like he doesn't care, but I promise he'll come around. He may have been young when you left, but he was as heartbroken as the rest of us. Just give him a chance."

"I'll try, but if I'm being honest, this whole memory thing has still got me confused. I just got out of bed this morning after all. I can barely handle all of these feelings."

"I must admit, I was surprised that the first thing you wanted to do after waking up was spar. I was even more surprised that mother allowed it."

Corrin looked at the afternoon clouds floating in the sky above them. "Sparring has always helped me clear my head. With this many new thoughts and feelings it's pretty much full to bursting. Besides, what else was I going to do? Sit in that room and go through another twenty medical examinations? Not on my life."

"Mother is only doing that because she cares about you. Even you have to admit, that ability of yours is… unusual. I haven't heard of anything quite like it even in legends. And while you were uncurious it was running rampant. We just want to make sure you are alright."

"I know, I know. It's just so much to take in,." Corrin replied before letting a silence fall on the two brothers. After a few minutes, Corrin looked back to his brother. "Ryoma, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Corrin."

"Even though I know that they aren't my real family, even now that I know I was kidnapped, I still miss the Nohrian royals. Heck, I even still think of myself as a Nohrian. I miss my siblings. I miss my home. I still want father's approval… What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Corrin… I don't know what to say. You've been through a lot. It will take some time until you truly come to terms with who you are. I don't know what that will entail, or even how you will go about doing it, but please remember that if you ever need help, I'm here for you. All of us are."

"Thanks, Ryoma that means- hey incoming."

"Hmm?" Ryoma turned to see where Corrin had indicated. A castle servant was approaching the pair, a scroll grasped in his right hand. As he approached, Corrin noticed that he was breathing heavily. Did he run all the way here? And if so, just what does that scroll say?

"What seems to be the issue?" Ryoma inquired as he stepped forward to accept the message.

To his surprise the servant bowed to the prince before replying. "I apologize my prince, but the message is actually for the Nohrian."

"This Nohrian is Prince Corrin and you will-""

"Ryoma, that's enough." Corrin waved his infuriated brother down. "Just leave it, that's not important." Reaching out to receive the message, Corrin thanked the servant who made a quick exit, probably eager to avoid the high prince's wrath. Reading the message, Corrin's face quickly grew dark.

"What is it?" Ryoma asked, worried.

"A summons,." Corrin deadpanned. "Apparently the leader of the Fire Tribe heard about Kaze's return and came in person to find out just what happened to his daughter. Considering my involvement, my presence is required."

Ryoma went silent and Corrin took a second to consider just what this would entail. How am I going to explain this? Neither, Lilith, Kaze, or myself can speak of Valla outside its borders and I'm basically the reason that Rinkah got murdered by Arete. Well if you can call that death. It's probably worse- STOP that is not the point here. I guess I'll just have to come clean and tell the story. Hopefully he's reasonable.

"Ryoma, this man… is he?"

"Little Brother, it would probably be for the best that I go with you. This might get…heated."

Rolling his eyes the white haired prince sarcastically replied. "Wonderful. Just wonderful! Well we might as well get this over with." Corrin started towards the throne room before stopping as a thought crossed his mind. "Hey Ryoma, quick question. How do you feel about snow and ice in general?"

"Hmm? Odd question. I guess if I had to answer I'd say that I really don't care for it. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." So was that 'Analysis' really true? If it was that is one amazing ability. Oh the things I could use that for… Too bad it seems like I can't use it without my body going crazy. Speaking of crazy, let's get this over with.

"So this is the Nohrian prince?" tThe short, haired man standing in front of Corrin asked. He was wearing the ivory and crimson uniform of an Oni Chieftain. A short beard graced his face while the hair on his head appeared to be thinning. He had the same brown skin as his daughter as well as the same fire in his eyes. Surprisingly muscular, the man appeared more of a warrior than a leader and that image was completed by a silver club hanging from a large cord that functioned as a belt. "Do you know who I am boy?"

"Chief Kasai. Leader of the Fire tribe that lies in northern Hoshido."

"That's right. And I am the father of the heir to that tribe, my daughter Rinkah. Now you are familiar with my daughter are you not?"

"Chief Kasai…" Mikoto said as she attempted to intervene.
"Mikoto, you know it is my right to question him. A right I will not have denied." the chief growled before turning back to Corrin. "Now, did you know my daughter?"

"Yes." He's certainly an aggressive one.

"And where did you meet her?"

"In the Nohrian palace at Windmire." How do I swing this story so that Mikoto and the others don't get in trouble?

The chief's voice grew low as he continued. "Tell me prince: under what conditions did the two of you meet?"

Corrin looked the chief directly in the eyes. He couldn't afford to show weakness here. If he did, it would be a fatal mistake. "I was ordered to fight her." He's out for blood. I wasn't sure before but now…

"Oh really?" The chief closed the distance between the two and stood an inch from Corrin. Their noses were almost touching and Corrin could smell the distinct aroma of smoke wafting from the man's breath. "And just how did this fight end?"

Refusing to back down, the white haired prince answered. "With my defeating her followed by her apparent execution at the hands of my father's chief advisor, Iago." You want someone to be angry at? By all means, choose me. If I can use it to manipulate you then fire away chief.

The chief remained silent. Turning around so that his back was facing the prince, Corrin waited for a few tense moments before he heard the man ask. "What do you mean by 'apparent' execution?"

Damn. How do I explain this? I can't talk about Valla. I'll just have to relay it as though I were escaping from Nohrian territory. Hopefully he doesn't have a very in depth knowledge of our terrain. "Rinkah and her troops were not killed by Iago's spell as I thought at the time. Instead she and her allies were teleported to an unknown location. A location I later found myself after I fell into the Bottomless Canyon. Once there I found the group but it was already too la-" Corrin was cut off by the chief's fist connecting with the side of his face sending him reeling. AND we're further along than I thought we were. Hurray.

Pushing himself to his knees, Corrin looked up at the rage filled face of the fire chieftain. His hand hovering over his club, the old man began to tremble with rage. "You think I'm a fool? That I would believe such a lie?! How dare you! I ought to kill you where you stand, scum!"

"You will do no such thing." Mikoto's ice cold voice reverberated across the throne room. "And if you so much as touch him again, I will have your head, Chief Kasai."

Kasai swung towards the throne where Mikoto sat. "You dare?! You would support this liar, this murderer, over your allies? We have ALWAYS stood by you. We have been your hammer across countless generations and THIS is how you repay us?!"

This is bad,. Corrin thought desperately. At the rate this is going, the chief might go so far as to blame the queen for Rinkah's death. If that were to happen, it might lead to a civil war which I sincerely doubt Iago would just let play out naturally. I have to do something to prevent this, but what to do? I can't kill him; that will just lead to more violence. Crippling him would have the added benefit of humiliating him… That might be the best way to do it. No, that's the only way to do it. Now to dangle the bait.

"Please think rationally,." Mikoto responded, though there was still an edge to her voice. Gesturing to the green haired ninja to her right she continued,. "If what Corrin said was false how did Kaze manage to return to us? And, for that matter, how did they appear in the royal gardens? A location, I remind you, that is under guard at all times. Even if you do not believe his story, even you must admit that there is enough doubt to warrant at least a chance."

"My Queen, please,." Corrin said while forcing himself to his feet. He guessed a black eye had already begun to form based on how his face felt. Looking into the disdainful eyes of the chieftain, Corrin slowly continued, "What I told you was the truth. That being said, I am still the reason why she is dead. If I had acted sooner, I might have been able to save her. Instead I hid and only made my move after I saw her fate. True, I was able to save Kaze but I doubt that means anything to you, nor should it. If you wish to blame someone for her death, it should rest on me and me alone. Leave the Hoshidan royals out of this. "

Kasai's eyes narrowed. "And would you be willing to take responsibility for your actions, prince?"

"If you want to try and avenge her, I will not refuse your request,." Corrin shot back. "But neither will I lay down and die." If my battle with Ryoma was any indication, I should have about three minutes to defeat him if I use my transformation abilities. And if I combine that with 'Analyze" I'll know where to hit him. It'll be tricky but if I take him by surprise I should be able to incapacitate rather than kill.

"Enough! Both of you!" Mikoto decreed. "Chief Kasai, Corrin has just admitted that he tried to save your child. His only sin is putting the wellbeing of both himself and his companion first. The fact that they managed to save anyone at all is a miracle. And as you continue to remind us, he is a Nohrian prince, a diplomat from our most powerful neighbor. He was under no obligation to save one he saw as an enemy combatant. Now, please. I know how hard it is to lose a family member. But we cannot stoop to Nohr's level. Revenge cannot be our only motivator."

For a moment Corrin thought that Kasai was going to demand a trial by combat regardless, but a second later he saw the man's shoulders slump. The face that looked back up on the queen was forlorn, like it had lost all faith. "You would ask me to give up my only chance to give her peace? To just accept the one who is essentially her killer?"

"If that is how you describe it, then yes. I do." Mikoto responded curtly.

An intense silence fell over the throne room as everyone present waited on baited breaths for what would happen next. Eventually the chieftain turned towards the door and his two bodyguards fell into position by his sides. Not bothering to turn around the old man yelled back,. "Queen Mikoto, hear my words. From this day forward know that we are no longer friends. We will support you in the defense of our kingdoms from that scum's country but make no mistake. It is necessity that binds us together, never kinship. And if you should ever need our aid, send a courier; I want nothing to do with you or your children ever again."

And with that the man left, leaving a tense atmosphere in his wake. Looking at the assembled court and at her son, the Queen eventually spoke up,. "If we are to survive, we must secure our borders and raise our army. If we are to live, we must secure our values and raise our hearts. I will not rule a kingdom that allows those virtues to be trampled underfoot after someone has done us a great service. Now, let us disperse for the evening. I know we have all had a very long day."

With a few minor grunts of disdain, the court left. A few of the members, the higher ranking officials of noble birth, gave Corrin looks of disgust as they passed. Corrin tried to ignore them, and instead searched out his older brother. Seeing Ryoma at the other side of the room speaking with Yukimura, the white haired prince slowly weaved his way through the crowd to his target.

Upon seeing him, Ryoma gave a solemn nod while Yukimura bit his lip and remained silent. Sighing, Corrin felt the need to say something, anything. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about that. I was hoping it could turn out better than it did."

The high prince held up a hand to silence him. "Peace, brother. You acted as best you could. It could have been much worse."

"But now our relations with the Fire Tribe are the worst they've been in generations,." Yukimura added. Giving Corrin a cool gaze, the bespectacled tactician continued,. "At this rate there will be high resentment towards the crown. This may have lasting repercussions that we still can't fathom."

"Yukimura, that's enough,." Ryoma ordered. "We will endure. I'm sure the chieftain will come around. And besides, with Corrin here, we might finally be able to broker a lasting peace with Nohr."

But the high prince did not sound too certain. There was a very real sense of doubt in his features, somehow managing to cut through his normally stoic façade. Corrin realized just how much damage his presence had done to this kingdom and to his family. He had to fix this somehow.

"I'll go after them. Maybe I can convince him, maybe I can-" Corrin began.

"No," Yukimura interrupted, his gaze hard. "I think you've done enough. I don't know how things are done in Nohr, but you basically looked for a fight throughout that entire exchange. Based on that performance of yours, I think everyone in the court knows whose son you really are, and it isn't our queen. No matter how much she may pretend otherwise."

Corrin froze in place. All his muscles seized up and his stomach felt like it had been punched. Is, is that really true? Have all my actions really done is serve to alienate mother from the rest of her subjects? But in Nohr, a show of strength it- it is supposed to show respect, commitment, and power. I- I- I- what can I… What should I do?

And in an instant Corrin realized the truth. There's nothing I CAN do.

"YUKIMURA. That is tantamount to treason,." Ryoma thundered, his hand already reaching for Raijinto as the smell of ozone began to fill the room.

"Ryoma, please,." Corrin said, stepping between the two of them. "He may be right. Perhaps there's more of Garon in me than I thought." Trying to hide the look of sadness that had come unbidden, he looked to the ground. "I- I think I need some time. I'll see you later." Turning his back on the two men, Corrin slowly made his way back to his room, the learned lessons of Nohr still battling with the recently remembered proverbs of Hoshido.

Author's Note-

So I knew this was going to happen eventually, but it seems I might have overestimated what I could fit into this chapter. Needless to say we didn't make it to the Hoshidan public part yet, and I am sorry about that. I can't promise something like this won't happen again, but I'll try my best to make sure it doesn't.

That said, I do hope you enjoyed the chapter! As usual, if you have any questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you! Of course no spoilers.

Also a big thank you to the friend of mine who volunteered to help proof this. Hopefully this will help ensure higher quality writing!

Two things before we get to the responses.

First- this chapter had our first OC Kasai. Oddly enough, the fire tribe is the only one of the three elemental tribes you never visit in Fates. Considering what happened to Rinkah, I felt it would have been odd if there were no repercussions. Hopefully you guys enjoyed him!

Second- About Flynn and Nanashi. For the latter I haven't played Apocalypse yet so I doubt he'll be making an appearance any time soon. (He might eventually though. Depends if it fits or not. If I am going to write him, I want to give him justice.) As far as Flynn is concerned...

vampireharry the 2- Glad you enjoyed! Thank you again for continued support!

Otaku-Nation666- NO MERCY! But in all seriousness, I really hope you enjoy what's coming. There is a plan to make sure everything doesn't get too jumbled or crowded.

Demons Anarchy of Pride- FINALLY I can say this: Way to call the Demifiend reincarnation back in chapter 1! As for how he is related to the greater SMT universe, we'll have to wait and see. Speaking of that prediction, the ending that was taken was a variation of the freedom ending. Thanks for the recomendation about the RUBY crossover, I'll be sure to take that out.

Mzr90- More than you know, less than you might think.

Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.

Next Time- Corrin deals with the ramifications of meeting with Kasai and Mikoto introduces Corrin to the Hoshidan public! (For real this time.)