Authors note:Sorry I took so long with chapter 5, I was out of town for several days. I don't trust hotel internet so I didn't bring my laptop. I hope you all enjoy chapter 5. Plus I'm going to post my side story one next time.

Chapter 5 - Hoshidian Princess

I slowly opened my eyes to find myself in a room which I did not recognize. I also wasn't wearing my normal clothes but instead, I was wearing a white Hoshidan dress. I opened the curtains that covered the windows I gasped in shock. I was not in Nohr. What I saw out of the window was the beautiful city of Shirasagi Hoshido's capital. Hoshido looked like ancient Japan or China, heck, I even felt like I was in ancient China or Japan. They had the same buildings and clothing, like kimono and other stuff. There were also people out and about in the streets talking and chatting as if nothing was wrong despite the conflicts between Nohr and Hoshido. But then the realization hit me in the face, I was in the Capital of Hoshido. I remembered how I was kidnapped the night before. I was hoping to avoid Hoshido completely, but some part of me knew that was inevitable.

"I guess soon I'll be meeting my Hoshido family," I thought quietly to myself , then I let out a soft sigh.

I left during the night…my Nohrian family who were probably worried sick about my wellbeing.

"Well, there's no use in crying over spilled milk." I shrugged. "Might as well get this thing down and over with."

"Sapphire..."

I turned around and saw Orion floating in the air.

"I was really worried about you when I saw Rinkah...then I guess this means you'll meet your Hoshdian family now huh?"

"Yes, Orion...yes..."

"I can help you escape...if you want to..." Orion offered.

"No...I have to face them. I can't keep running forever... no matter how much I want too..." I answered.

Then a ninja can in. He didn't even knock. When I looked at him, I saw it was Kaze.

"Princess Sapphire, I have come to take you to your family," Kaze said bluntly and then began to move down the hall and urged me to follow him. I knew exactly where he was taking me, and I knew exactly who I would meet. Some part of me was really glad to meet them as myself, but a part of me didn't want to meet them-because it would make the decision all the more difficult.

I saw a room with the doors wide open. From the range from where I was standing I could tell that it was the throne room due to the singular large gold and white throne that was a completely different to King Garon's creepy dead-like black, dark gray throne. Kaze headed towards the door and I followed, when I entered the throne room I couldn't help but gasp in shock.

Standing at the foot of the throne was a muscular man with wild dark brown hair and brown eyes wearing the clothes of a Samurai that suited his body built perfectly. His arms were crossed and he appeared to be waiting for me and Kaze to arrive. When we did, Kaze bowed to the man.

"Thank you for your hard work Kaze. Please wait here." Ryoma told Kaze with a smile.

Kaze nodded with a small smile "of course, Lord Ryoma."

I remember Ryoma greatly, he sure has bulked up since last time I saw him. He saw me last is when I saved Sakura from a faceless and I was badly injured. But his physical strength has changed so much-too much actually, he wasn't supposed to be the strong and powerful in the first place until later on. But yet he trained long and hard with the new power he possessed and was able to harness it at his own will. I messed up with history too much and now this is what I get. I should've never had come to Hoshido too soon because of that, history has been changed, so if I do choose my Nohrian siblings, Ryoma would be too powerful and strong for me to fight and I would lose instantly. I decide to get my head out of the clouds and at least start from where we supposed to be.

"Um…who are you?" I asked the red and white Samurai in front of me.

"I am the High Prince of Hoshido, Ryoma."

"So this is Ryoma huh? He sure does look intimidating." Orion stated. "Quick! Say something before he gets suspicious."

"Alright...if you're going to execute Prince Ryoma, please hurry up and get it done and over with please," I said calmly willing to take my execution.

Ryoma was in shock at what I had said and was about to speak before we were all interrupted by the sounds of incoming footsteps and we all turned to see that they belonged to a beautiful woman with elegant black hair, a crown around her forehead. She was wearing a white and yellow gown with a blue, white and yellow cape over the top. On her face, a delicate smile and her eyes filled with familiarity as she stared at me. I found myself shaking at the mere sight of her, I also felt my heart beating faster and faster in my chest. My mind was telling me that I knew this woman that was standing before me. And I did, I knew exactly who this woman was.

"You've returned to us…it's really…it's really…" the woman spoke with relief and sadness in her voice.

"Look Sapphire...there's your mother...and you are right. You really don't look like her at all." Orion said, in a sad tone.

It felt good to see her again, but yet in order to stop screwing up the timeline like I already have, I had to act surprised.

"Eh? What do you mean…?" I asked. It honestly broke my heart to see her like this. I wish I could tell her I knew the truth, but I couldn't.

"Thank the gods…you're safe!" the woman cried as she walked closer to me and wrapped her arms around me gently, pulling me into a tight hug. But then whispered to me:

"My beloved daughter…Sapphire!"

Of course, I freaked out when she said those words. I had to ask surprised, and yet even though I had known this information for a long time it still hurt me that she told me. Orion was just floating in the air sighing.

"So...I'm your daughter, huh," I said calmly with my hands on my hips. I gave the small chuckle at the news. I walked up to the woman and then I looked at her ears. I sigh when I saw her ears were normal looking. The woman had a confused look on her face. They all did actually. I looked away from her for a moment and then she pulled me towards her.

"It's alright Sapphire. You are a princess of the Kingdom of Hoshido" the woman laughed.

I would've laughed but I wasn't exactly a laughing mood, I didn't even make a smile. I just looked at the woman with the regular calm face, with a little bit of depression in it. I decided to speak my mind.

"Ok since no one's going to say it, I will!" I bluntly said. "How are you my mother, when you look nothing like me!"

The room was silent and the Empress look down to the floor.

I needed an explanation and a very good one at that!

"When you were young…you were kidnapped and taken away to the Kingdom of Nohr. I am your mother, Mikoto. And the Hoshido are your family." The Empress said with a soft expression on her face. I knew what she said was true, but yet somehow in my heart, I couldn't actually see her as my mother. No matter how hard I try I couldn't exactly see her as my mother, though I wish I could. Mrs. Garrett was the only person that ever was like a mother towards me, but when I looked at her it reminded me of my real mother back home. And ironically I didn't exactly look either one of my mothers, both here and home. I was still unsure about this, and the look on my face is what drew Ryoma to my side.

Ryoma stepped forward and placed his hand on my shoulder, "But that's how it is. It's the truth, Sapphire."

Then he tilted my head to have my eyes met his. "I am your older brother, Ryoma," he said.

"My...older brother," I whispered softly as I felt tears fall down my face. Oh, how I wish I could tell him the truth, he probably would be shocked. But yet I don't know if I even have the guts to even accept this as it is.

Ryoma nodded, "that's right. I am the oldest of your siblings. You have two sisters, one older and the other younger their names are Hinoka (the older) and Sakura (the younger). You also have a younger brother named Takumi."

I wiped away the tears that spill onto my face, "Their names sound familiar…" I whisper softly as I look back at Ryoma. "Of course they do," I thought to myself. My head was spinning and my heart was racing, I didn't know if you think I'd be able to handle this.

"You must stay calm Sapphire. You can not tell them that you already knew the truth." Orion explained. And he was right.

Ryoma offered his armored hand for me to accept "I won't tell you to trust us straight away Sapphire. But I was wondering if you accept us?"

I tensed up at the suggestion. Did I want to accept this truth? This reality that I am now living in? I knew that the Nohrian sibling weren't really my family. I knew that I needed to accept this reality that I was staring in the face. But yet wanting to face it and having to face it, are two completely different ballgames. I knew I would have Orion's support, no matter what my decision was. But yet I wasn't exactly ready to make it. I looked at Ryoma, and then at the Empress, then I looked at Orion. I turned around and held myself tight. Then I said "I understand-I understand this, but yet give me some time to think about this, this is all happening so fast, I don't know if I can cope with it all. I'll give you my answer when I'm ready."

Everyone in the room went silent, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. But the silence was soon interrupted by the sound of someone bursting through the doors. A soldier rushed through the door and kneeled before Ryoma, "General! I am here to report that the Northern Mountain villages are currently under attack!"

Ryoma seemed to be taken aback by the soldier's statement and worry clouded his brilliant warm brown eyes, "What! But Sakura and Hinoka are in that are right now…"

"Yes sir. Lady Sakura and Lady Hinoka are currently at a village where the people are taking refuge" the soldier reported calmly.

Ryoma gritted his teeth, "…Understood. Kaze find Rinkah. We will be heading there immediately!"

He then turned to me with anger in his eyes, "Sapphire, you and your companions will also be accompanying us as well. I want all three of you to see the truth with your own eyes."

When he said that I thought "are you nuts! I just had a life-changing experience here! And you want me to go into battle now! Men!" so I excepted my predicament and followed Ryoma out, soon to be joined by Rinkah. But before I left I looked at the Empress, she was very sad and her head was looking downward. I could tell it was what I said that hurt her badly, but I couldn't accept my situation right away. In fact, I didn't actually think I could accept my situation at all. On our way to the village, I was preparing myself to meet, Hinoka and Sakura. But when we got there we saw two women (one older and one younger) with red hair and gray/brown eyes struggling against a legion of fearsome monsters that were obviously trying to advance to the village but the women were not allowing that to happen, slowly angering the monsters more and more. The older of the girls was riding a Pegasus and continuously striking the monsters with fierce strikes using a simple steel lance whilst the younger one was muttering a chant and the staff that she was holding emitted wave and wave of holy white light. But I could easily notice that they wouldn't last much longer on their own and then the realization hit me when I got a better look at their faces (as did everyone else) and I knew immediately who these girls were.

"Princess Sakura! Princess Hinoka!" Kaze yelled out with a worry running through his voice.

I glanced at Ryoma to see how he was taking this. I could tell he was furious because he was gritting his teeth and his fists clenched.

"We are going to save them no matter what!" Ryoma declared with determination as he drew his lighting katana and charge the enemy that was threatening his family. I looked in awe as Ryoma easily defeated one of the creatures with a single swing of his katana. And I thought "Ryoma has gotten a lot better since last time we met, yep I'm doomed." I let out a sigh. "Ryoma really did live up to his title as the "Dragon of Hoshido."

"Big Brother!" Sakura cried out to Ryoma.

Sakura!" Ryoma said as he rushed towards the two girls with Rinkah and Kaze right behind him.

I felt terror enter my body when I saw at least six monsters race towards me. These creatures were huge and demonic with their muscular body built with iron masks and chains.

"I'm not a fighter, I'm a pacifist, plus a priestess." I thought. "Oh man I am so screwed!"

Before the faceless attacked me, Ryoma rushed over towards me to see if I was okay. When everything was okay Ryoma returned to fighting faceless. I saw Ryoma striking down the monsters one by one, I couldn't help marveling on how strong he's gotten. I guess I really did screw up this because he wasn't supposed to be this strong now. I guess I got my hands tied with this one. I wonder if Ryoma remembers "her." Oh, who am I kidding? I know he's forgotten about Serenity. Well, the fight was over, and I went over to see the two Hinoka and Sakura. I stood next to Ryoma as I looked at Princess Sakura and Princess Hinoka that Ryoma, Kaze, and Rinka had safely evacuated all the civilians, they seemed a bit tired and worn out but otherwise, they were perfectly healthy. I was fine (though my back was slightly injured.)

"Thank you very much! For saving us..." Sakura said with a polite bow, "um...if possible I would like to know your name?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Ahh...I'm" I stuttered trying to find the right words to say, but Hinoka stepped forward and looked at me directly in the eyes.

"...Sapphire...?" Hinoka asked me and I blinked in confusion "Ehh?"

"...Sister Hinoka?" Sakura asked her older sister. Hinoka then lowered her face and I saw tears dripping down her face and onto the snow covered ground before she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into an embrace.

"You're...you're really...were really meeting...I...Sapphire..." Hinoka stammered as her head rested on my chest.

"I...Wahhhhhhh!" Hinoka said as she burst into tears, worrying me greatly "Ummmmmm..."

Ryoma let out a small laugh when he saw my worried expression, "Sapphire, Hinoka is your older sister" and I looked up at him to see that it darkened subtly "When you were young and after you were kidnapped...Hinoka always cried when she thought of you. And with no further combat, she did nothing but hone her skills with a naginata. She said that one day, she would take you back from the Kingdom of Nohr..."

Hinoka then backed away and wiped away any stray tears but I noticed that a slight blush was present on her face which made me smile slightly.

"Sorry, I lost my composure..you're really back though Sapphire, I'm so happy to see you," Hinoka said with a bright smile on her face.

Sakura then walked forward and waved at me with a smile on her face as well, "Ah, so your my sister Sapphire."

I nodded in response and she gave me a brief hug and then walked towards the rest of our team with Hinoka to thank them for their help.

"Alright, the faceless are defeated. Everyone, we can return now!" Ryoma said with a smile as he waved to everyone who responded with a cheer. As we walked down the mountain, back to Hoshido I stayed beside Ryoma, "So Ryoma, care to tell me what exactly were those monsters?"

Ryoma turned to me and sighed, "They were monsters summoned from the Kingdom of Nohr."

"...From Nohr?" I asked with shock that something like those creatures could be summoned from Nohr.

Hinoka turned around to face me, "Mother...Empress Mikoto created a barrier that protects the Kingdom. As long as Mother remains alive, the Nohr Soldiers would not be able to enter this land. The moment they passed through that barrier they would lose the will to fight. "That's why the Nohr Army does not consist of soldiers. They instead send these soulless monsters."

Ryoma started with anger shining through his eyes. "From then on, the Kingdom of Hoshido has been currently harassed." Ryoma finished and then looked back at me only to see that I had stopped and was shaking.

" I see..." I said. "Oh this is torturing my soul, I do not want to go through this." I thought.

"But those things are wild, they will attack their own people as well." Hinoka said with gritted teeth and a clenched fist, "In order to win this war, the Nohr will sacrifice the peace of their own people...they are evil! They'd resort to this kind of foul play."

"There is so much prejudice here," Orion whispered.

Hinoka then looked at me teary-eyed once more "Above all else, they took you away when you were young! I cannot forgive them! Sapphire, you've suffered so much...you will get your retribution.

I remained silent and simply started walking again as millions of thoughts entered my mind. I knew what was true and I also knew that some part of what they were saying was wrong, they weren't lying, it was just misunderstood that's all. Because of all the pressure on my heart, it made me pass out and soon I felt my vision fading away and turning to black as I collapsed in Ryoma's arms.

"Sapphire/Sister!" I heard the four members of the Royal family yell out before fading away into unconsciousness.

After I woke up from my unconscious state to see Empress Mikoto starring me in the face.

"Good. You're fianlly awake Sapphire. I was beginning to worry.' Orion said. then I turned my attention to Empress Mikoto.

I knew exactly what she wanted to do next, so when she told me to follow her, I did. Right into my old Hoshidan bedroom. I looked at the room that Empress Mikoto had brought me to and looked around to see that it looked like it belonged to a child with all the pictures around the floor.

"Wow, I guess I even like to draw when I was a child huh." I thought.

"This is your room Sapphire," Empress Mikoto said with a small smile, "You can use it however you like."

I walked up to one of the many pictures on the floor and saw that it was one consisting of a roughly drawn image of a child, a woman, and a man. I realized that this was my own work when I was little. I've seen this room in my dreams and I remember the feeling I had but being here in real life made me have a different feeling.

"What is this...?" I asked the Empress showing her the picture.

"Oh, this is a picture you drew when you were little. Take a look. That's me, that's your father and their's you" Empress Mikoto said as she pointed out each of the figures on the paper.

"This was the room you lived in as a child," Mikoto said softly, which upset me, "After you were taken away, this room was left the same. If we cleaned it up it would feel like we had given up on your return."

I looked back to the Empress and saw that she had tears in her eyes, "And I couldn't do that to you" she wiped away the tears and smiled brightly again, "But you've grown up so much haven't you Sapphire…"

I wanted to say that I remembered my mother and everything we had ever done. I wanted to say that I remembered my siblings but, I couldn't tell them that I was a visionary it was against the law of the visionary, and she wouldn't understand anyway.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Which is why…after hearing all of this, I don't know how I'm supposed to react" I hugged myself, "To you I am your loving child but to me, you are just someone that I met today, so even if you tell me that we are family, I can't accept this feeling."

Mikoto gave a small sigh, "Sapphire."

"I'm sorry."

"No…don't try and force it…When you were taken away, I wanted to bring you home so we could be a family again. But I knew it would take some time to mend so please come speak to me when you feel you are ready." Mikoto said softly before leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I let out a small sigh of relief after Mikoto had left, I knew that she was my mother. I couldn't just accept it. I knew that I couldn't just accept my feelings like that…I decided to distract myself from my worries by looking out a nearby window only to see that there was a beautiful blue lake in the center of the woods nearby the castle. It felt familiar so I thought that would be a good place to gather all my thoughts together and go there. As I looked onto that lake, it reminded me about the first time I came here, when I was a priestess and Stephanie was with me, and for the first time in my life, I fell in love.

(Read Side story 1)

As I remember my first time here, everyone was the same. Except Ryoma. "Boy, I really screwed things up," I thought, propping my chin in my hands. "I didn't think he'd get so strong so quickly" I sighed out in annoyance. "Now I got to figure out how to avoid him if I choose my Nohrian siblings." While I was thinking hard about this things, I slowly drifted off to asleep.

I saw a small flash and a large purple flash. "Is this a dream?"

"HEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPPP!"

"Ah!" I shot up from my sitting position. "I'm-I'm still in my room," I thought still in shock. "So it was a dream" I sighed. "That voice, though...that voice in that dream...its was calling for help." I panted trying to regain my composure. *huff huff huff* "that's a new one." Then it hit me. "That-that voice was calling for help." Then I looked up to the sunset sky. "That's a different voice than I usually hear, maybe that voice will be able to give me some hint to why I'm here." In order to clear my thoughts, I decide to go walking, and I knew exactly what my destination would be, and who I would meet. So I left the castle and headed to the forest. Then I thought about my Nohrian siblings. Xander, Camilla, Leo and Elise.

"You alright Sapphire?" Orion asked.

"Yes," I answered. "I just had a weird dream, that's all."

Then I heard a familiar song.

Flowing the path of the flowing water…

Those hands will open the way to tomorrow

When I finally made it out of the forest, I found myself staring at a familiar blue lake. Then I saw that walking on the small wooden walkway that stretched out to the center of the lake, there was a woman with long light blue hair wearing a white and blue dress. I knew this person-I knew this person all too well. And the song she was singing was very familiar to me, just like her I also knew that song. When the girl was finished singing she then lowered her hands, her eyes closed as she went silent. She then turned around and saw me.

"So...that's Azura huh? Wow, she has a lovely voice. Buuuuut not as lovely as yours." Orion said.

I looked at Azura. "Hi. I'm disturbed you, I was just walking around" I apologized.

"You must be...Princess Sapphire." The blue hair women stated.

"And you are...?" I asked.

Her golden eyes seemed to warm up immensely but yet her face was just...well she just was calm she didn't make any reaction at all," my name is Azura", the woman said. Azura sighed and began her story, "I am a Princess of Nohr…or should I say was."

"What do you mean?" I asked with a surprised look on my face.

"After you were kidnapped by the Nohr…The Kingdom of Hoshido tried to take you back but failed. In order to trade for your return, the ninja's stole me away from Nohr. I guess you could say that…I'm your replacement." Azura continued still not showing any emotions.

"What did you say?" I said taken aback, and how she said "replacement" was really cold.

"No…wait, and please don't misunderstand. Even when I was taken to Hoshido, I never thought myself unlucky. I may be a princess of the enemy, but the people of this country are kind." Ironically that's when she allowed a smile to appear on her face. But for some reason that hurt me. Maybe because she'll have something that I'll never have. A bond with the Hoshidan royal family, a bond I'll never have with them...or with the Nohrian royal family.

"Because you see, unlike back in Nohr, Empress Mikoto treats me like I'm her real daughter," Azura said with a beautiful smile.

I remained silent as thoughts rushed through my mind of the conversation I had with the Empress only a few hours ago. I felt bad, I had completely thrown all of her hopes and dreams back in her face by saying that I couldn't accept any of what was happening to me at the moment. I guess that encounter with the faceless had made me doubt a lot of my beliefs and here was a fellow Princess from the enemy country that accepted her captors with open arms whilst they were my real family and I had thrown it back in my mother's face – breaking her heart. I don't deserve this, I don't even deserve to be loved by this people. Then I held myself tight. Oh, I wish I was home. Azura seemed to pick up on my sadness.

"Did something happen between you and Empress Mikoto?" Azura asked with concern.

"…I don't really know. What I should do?" I said. Azura yet she went back to that still face.

"I just found out that she's my mother…but I don't feel as close to her as I should be. But she loves me. As does Prince Ryoma and all my other siblings…" I continued as tears came to my eyes and Azura held her chin thoughtfully.

" I see. I don't know what I should say…if I was to return to Nohr, I would probably feel the same way as you do know. I was born in Nohr, but raised in Hoshido." Azura said.

"Yes, whilst I was born in Hoshido but raised in Nohr." I nodded in agreement at our similar predicament. But I knew the real truth about our heritage, and wher Azura and I really came from.

"And I lived with the people of Hoshido, and this country…I've become friends with everyone. I think it's because I know of the peace and love that Empress Mikoto believes in…" Azura said.

"And I also know how cruel of a person King Garon is…" Azura trailed off as if a dark memory from her past resurfaced and I remained silent as I also thought back to all the cruel things that my 'father' had done, and will do.

"I have made my decision, now what is yours, Sapphire?" Azura questioned.

"Yes...what is your decision, Sapphire? What path will you choose?" Orion asked.

"I...