Elise had already gone ahead to the castle. Xander and Corrin, stuck with last-minute responsibility, would only come the next morning, on the day of the banquet itself. Camilla did not like to travel by daylight, and preferred to travel by night, and so promised that she would come later. Leo, on the other hand, wanted to come early enough. Social gatherings stressed him out, no matter how accustomed to them he'd become, and he often wanted time to steel himself for them beforehand.

Niles and Odin were finishing up the packing, loading their baggage onto their horses. Odin was dressed more modestly than his mage robes, in a tunic and pants that were yellow and red, still as flashy as his personality. Niles was his complete opposite-dressed in dark, muted, and almost dirty colors, outfitting himself like a shadow.

"Is everyone ready?" Leo arrived, adjusting the glove on his hand, looking like he'd just hastily finished dressing. He was hardly a morning person, and the war had steadily taken a toll on his sleeping hours. He looked over at them-Niles, Odin... and Charlotte, dressed in one of Camilla's old riding robes-looking alert, fully dressed, and like they've gotten a full eight hours of sleep. They had to be doing something right.

"We've finished packing, milord," Odin said. "All that's left is your order for us to embark."

"Then let's do just that," Leo said, heading straight to his horse, and quickly alighting onto it. Only when he was on his horse did he realize one thing. "...You didn't get a horse for Charlotte."

"She's supposed to be your girlfriend," Niles said, with a bit of a snicker. "I thought it would be unnatural if she had her own horse."

The outlaw seemed to be enjoying this charade a bit too much for Leo's liking, but so early in the morning like this, he was too tired to lecture. "Fine. Charlotte, come on," he called out to her, extending his hand out.

Charlotte only stood before him, staring at his gloved hand. Leo stared back, confused at her lack of reaction. And then it dawned on him.

"...You don't know how to ride a horse," not a question, but a realization.

Charlotte winced, but admitted to it. "I'm a border guard, not the cavalry," Charlotte said. "Just tell me how to get on."

"Like this-" Niles said, approaching Odin, who was already on his horse. "Odin, you lout. Be a gentleman and give me your hand."

Odin had a bewildered look on his face, but he was never one to back away from theatrical acting. "Oh, my apologies, o fair, and, uh, beautiful maiden! How could I be so inconsiderate? Here, please take my hand." He held his hand out to Niles.

"Oh, tee hee hee, how kind of you, milord!" Niles said, responding with a high pitched voice, holding a hand to his chest while he held onto Odin's outstretched hand. Charlotte raised an eyebrow. Was he... impersonating her?

Odin pulled up the outlaw, who had hoisted himself up to the saddle behind him. Niles wasted no time closing the distance between them, holding onto Odin's waist tightly. "Oh, milord! That was so kind and wonderful of you! Marry me!" he said, still in-character, obviously getting a kick out of the little performance.

"H-Hey, watch the hands, you knave!" Odin broke character, shuddering as he felt the outlaw's hands on his waist and stomach. "I-I mean, my lady, please show restraint! We can't do this... not in public..."

"Alright, enough," Leo finally said, but he finally had a huge smile on his face now, and he had been chuckling underneath his breath. His retainers were just completely silly sometimes. "I think you understand what they mean," he said, turning back to Charlotte, offering his hand again. "Just take my hand. I'll help you up."

"As you wish..." Charlotte said, feeling some heat on her cheeks as she held onto the prince's hand. While she always fooled men into treating her like so, in wartime she was more often their equal, and it was a luxury to wish to be treated like a lady.

A simple courtesy-that she did not have to con out of someone-felt satisfying.

He pulled her up and she eventually did manage to mount on his horse, albeit not as smoothly as Niles demonstrated. Not knowing what to do next, she held onto Leo's waist.

She noticed the prince stiffen a bit, out of surprise at the touch. He wasn't in his heavy war armor, so he could easily feel her hands against his tunic.

"...You know, you didn't really have to follow through my retainers' silly skit all the way," he said.

"O-Oh! My apologies. So, uhm, where should I...?"

"It's fine," he said. "Just hold on tight and make sure you don't fall off."

He held onto the reins, and glanced at his retainers, who he found were staring at him and Charlotte with massive interest, their eyes aglow like the town gossips when they've just witnessed something juicy.

"You two should go to the castle riding together like that," Leo said, teasing them first before they could tease him. "I can't wait to tell everyone that one of my retainers proposed to the other."

Niles look surprised, and Odin looked aghast, both at a loss for words. Leo laughed, and kicked on his horse to move, leaving his retainers stunned and quickly trying to separate from each other.

The ride back to the castle was pleasant, the weather cooperating with them. At first it seemed odd, even awkward, for Leo to have a person riding behind him, holding onto him, but soon enough he had gotten used to it. Charlotte filled his ear with pleasantry and small talk-and with the front lines of the war away from him, he finally had time to indulge her, to talk about things like the castle, the banquet, and towns that they passed by.

Charlotte found that Leo was not as cold as he first seemed-only that when he was at war, he prioritized the war and his duties, truly too busy for mundane things like small talk.

"Lord Leo... uhm, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," she suddenly said, sounding quite hesitant. Something had been bothering her all this time, and she didn't know when or if it was even appropriate to bring it up.

"What is it? Go ahead then," he said.

He felt her tugging on his shirt, as if perhaps she'd found something wrong with it. "Is the stitching of this supposed to be out? Is this a new fashion trend? Because I've been wondering if it is or if you just-"

"Oh, for the love of-!" Leo pulled his horse to an abrupt halt, Charlotte holding onto him tightly out of surprise. Behind them, Niles and Odin stopped in their tracks as well, wondering what the commotion was about. Leo quickly dismounted, looking at his shirt, turning red in embarrassment when he'd realized he had been wearing it inside out all along.

A/N:
Sorry for the slow pacing, and this chapter could easily be filler, but I felt it was too cute to leave out, and I have an easier time writing in short bursts and scenarios like this. Finally picked up this fic again after a few months of being busy.

When I had Charlotte and Leo support in my game, I already knew about Leo's background, and the kind of upbringing he had, which is expressed in his support with Elise and the other Nohrian siblings. So when I read the Charlotte x Leo supports, I always interpreted it as him trying to break her-if not avoiding her, it was like he was baiting her to show her real self, as if he'd been aware all along about her act.

Will post the next update soon, it's already almost done! Reviews are very welcome. It's not a very popular ship here on FF, so it'll really encourage me to know if others are interested.