Unbeknownst to Nyx, Gunter was at the accessory shop for reasons far more than simply purchasing a gift; he was sent by Corrin, who had intentions of observing her actions around others besides himself. He was not pleased to receive the results later on that stormy night.
Felicia allowed the old man inside after he was through playing a few knocks on the door of their private quarters; unaware of the situation between her husband and he, she was puzzled to receive him, but, after brief explanation, she guided him to their bedroom, where Corrin lay resting. Upon the arrival of the two, Corrin rose, paying them eye as they spilled inside.
"Good evening, milord." announced the old man. "I've come to deliver the results as you requested of me."
"Good." Corrin set his feet on the floor, stretching with a moan. Felicia, watching the two in the meantime, laced her fingers over her stomach; her eyes darted back and forth with concern.
"Um..." she started awkwardly. "The matter sounds confidential... Do I need to be taking my leave?"
"No." her husband replied. "If anything, we would need your womanly input in the matter." his eyes went to Gunter, where he nodded. "Proceed. Can I assume she's doing better?"
Gunter's fade dropped, a sigh rumbling in his throat as he closed his eyes. Though he wished otherwise, he slowly shook his head, listening to rain pelt the roof above their heads.
"Not in the slightest." he answered. "She still sports widow's clothing and offered quite a grouchy mood towards me, worsening when I persisted in coaxing her into speaking. She continues to take the loss terribly hard..."
Corrin's frown deepened.
"And here I had figured she would have spoken with you, seeing that you're probably the closest match to her age and experience... How long has it been? A month? I know it takes some more time to recover than others, but they at least make progress during that time. To me it sounds as though she hasn't made any at all."
"I wouldn't imagine her to make any at this rate." Gunter sighed. "I noticed something curious when I payed her a visit; she studied a tome as she maintained the shop. Now, if my memory serves me correctly, I do recall her brining up to me that she took quite well to reading novels because it allowed her to escape the horrors of this world... For a woman in mourning, it's quite strange that she would not seek comfort material and take to studying instead."
Felicia, having figured out who and what the conversation surrounded, gazed at him with interest.
"That's... That is quite strange. Do you think there to be a motive for this sort of behavior?"
"Indeed." the man nodded. "Though I shudder to consider what that motive has such a chance of being... She plans to remain and lend her strength until the war is over, but the moment Lord Xander is crowned the new King of Nohr and peace spreads through the land, she will disappear, ushering herself to death."
Corrin, alarmed at the thought himself, felt his eyes narrow. Slowly, he shook his head.
"As much as I hate to admit... I can see such a thing to be true. The only reason why she hasn't let something, including herself, kill her by now is us... Us and our cause."
To their surprise, there played another knock on the door the moment his lips shut. Their faces perked in curiosity, Felicia straightening herself as she headed to tend answer. She fondled the locks and latches, then pulled the door open just a pinch; there, she peered outside with caution. For just a moment, the maid stood still, baffled by whatever it was she saw; at last, she announced it:
"Why hello there, Nyx." she said, warning the two behind her. "Is there something we can do for you?"
It was Nyx indeed that stood in the doorway, her wet hair matted down, her black clothes drenched. The rain behind her poured down, creating lakes out of holes. Her gaze hardened, frown deepening.
"I hate asking things from people, but I need a place for the night."
"Oh dear! Has your tent flooded?"
"The tent fine, but staying there is out of the question." her brows furrowed. "If you don't want me here, I completely understand. I can find someone else to ask if it's absolutely necessary."
Corrin appeared over Felicia's shoulder, his face stern.
"Let her in." he said. "She can stay the night."
And so, after Gunter took his leave, Corrin and Felicia worked to set up a pallet on the floor using what little they had, like the blankets and sheets laying atop their bed. In the meantime, obeying Corrin's command, Nyx sat before a fire, drying herself and her clothes. Seldom did they meet eyes, seeing that Nyx kept her gaze low, refusing to lift it.
The bed had been stripped entirely, leaving only a pillow to spare from the floor. Upon finishing, the two workers rose, sighing as they looked down at their handiwork; it wasn't anything marvelous, but it sufficed even so.
"Alright." Corrin announced before turning to the girl. "It's ready when you are."
"You have my gratitude." she murmured. "I wouldn't have asked this of you had there not been such a downpour tonight."
"There doesn't even have to be a downpour for you to be welcome here." Corrin murmured. "Got that?"
Though Nyx said nothing, he knew she agreed.
The three spent their time sipping away at tea freshly prepared by Felicia and listening to the sounds of the storms. Amongst their short lived conversations, Corrin laughed, cracking a joke out of the blue.
"If it pours any harder, the whole army may need to stay the night in here."
Ultimately, though, not a single visitor more payed them a visit. When the clock told of late hours, Corrin finally stretched, laying himself down on the blanket-less mattress, Felicia following after him. The fire slowly began to dwindle in size, but left Nyx dry, her hair nor clothes no longer sticking to her face. The air around them calmed, Nyx finally paying the pallet on the floor a visit. As she lay, the blankets pulled up to her nose, she listened to the quiet pillow talk on the bed above her. Some words were words she couldn't distinguish, the others she could pick up simply discussed the day, plain as can be. She found no place in the conversation, eventually giving herself to a light state of slumber. Slowly, she was slipping into a dream before long, a dream she wouldn't remember when she awoke; from the dreariness of such a vision, she heard her name.
"Nyx." she struggled, her brows furrowing. "Nyx. I would like to speak with you."
Her eyes opened, seeing the room that was barely lit by a perishing fire. Slowly, she looked up, seeing Corrin's blood red gaze staring down at her; Felicia lay motionless at his side, asleep most likely, not budging an inch, even when her partner leaned over the edge of the bed. For a while, as she tried to wrestle herself free from the beckoning calls of sleep, Nyx stared back at him.
"You said something?" she inquired groggily, to which he nodded.
"Yeah." he replied simply. "I've been wanting to speak with you, so I figured now would be a good time." when she didn't object, he looked around, frowning. "I remember a while ago, when I was speaking with Gunter, I was told that you destroyed a town on accident when attempting an advanced spell... And as a result, you were cursed." he propped his head up with a fist. "You said that wasn't the whole story, that you were cursed for more than a mistake; I need to hear it."
Nyx shut her eyes, sighing with a frown. Softly, she adjusted the pillow beneath her head, fluffing it, then rolling over.
"So you want to know the true foolishness of my youth..." she murmured. "On a dark and stormy night, the room lit only by the steady glow of a fire... It's like something out of a book, wouldn't you think? How fitting." another sigh escaped her lips. "I suppose I've hid myself from others long enough. I hope I'm not mistaken in trusting that you would react honestly.. I won't be angry with you however you choose to take it."
"This sounds like something bad."
"It is. It's... Perhaps beyond just 'bad'... My talents as a dark Mage baffled many, including my own father, who I held with such high regard. To think... To think I would someday best my father... It was a thought that flattered my already bloated mind." she rolled over again, looking up at him stiffly. "I'm sure you're familiar of the ways of children; you have one of your own, and it wasn't too long ago you were once a child yourself. So tell me, what happens when a child has an inflated ego?"
Corrin's eyes narrowed.
"Um..." he started. "It starts acting as though nothing else matters in the world except itself."
"Precisely, Corrin." she nodded. "To have such an immature thing wielding such devastating power... It all rushed to my head. I didn't see people as people, I saw them as means to sharpen my abilities, targets to hunt and kill for sport. Not once had there ever been a time when I thought there had been enough bloodshed by my hand, I was too drunk on power to care about about was happening or what I was doing... I was so fixed on getting more, so fixed on becoming the most powerful mage that ever walked the earth; I knew I could reach such a goal if I wanted it badly enough, for it was my family that told me I had promise regardless of what path I chose to walk down. People from all over knew my name and my face; when I walked into town, the first thing villagers would do is dart inside their houses, taking cover from the potentiality of my wrath; it was such a thrilling thing for a power-hungry child to see, only deepening my cravings. But finally, my vanity drove me to attempt a spell so vile and heinous it even sent chills down my father's spine. It was true I made a mistake while casting it, but destroying the entire village was not the aftermath of such; that part was my intention all along, the opposite of the stories I have told others such as you and Gunter. What the mistake caused was a curse placed upon me, a curse which would never be lifted.
"My family would have nothing to do with me after they saw the village, nothing but ashes, baffled by the atrocities committed by their daughter. It opened my eyes, and only then did I truly see the devastation I had wrecked, the wrong I had wrought. I ran into the woods, then, disappearing into the dark. I lived so long after that alone, stealing my meals and sleeping in alleys; many times more than I can could, I contemplated suicide... Coming frighteningly close to doing so a handful of instances. The loneliness became unbearable, the shame seeping so deep it seemed to have a stench. All hope I had... I lost it before long, bound to never receive it again."
The room grew quiet, only having the sounds of a crawling fire. A log, becoming skinny, broke half, embers soaring into the air, but never escaping far enough bring a threat. Corrin lay still, looking down at the girl before him; his face wasn't clear, as though he was struggling to process the weight that had been thrown upon him.
"So... The things you told Gunter and I..."
"Yes, they were distortions of the truth, used in the name of preserving my image before others." she scoffed. "Oh brother, it must be a crime to lie to you with a history such as mine; you have my apologies..."
"N-No... I probably would have done the same... Especially when... So much guilt bubbled inside of me..."
"I've been undergoing much lately, during the month of being by myself. I've had plenty of time to contemplate myself, observing and weighing the troubles and fortunes that I've encountered over the course of so many years. I used to feel angry and nervous over my this curse, beating myself over and over again, so hateful for the things I had done to so many innocents... Many whose faces I didn't bother to record... No longer am I at the point of anger. I suppose you could say I have reached acceptance. Until the day I die, I will be stuck in this cursed body, but anger has no place within me, for I cannot go back and change the crimes I had committed. I cannot atone for my dirty sins, no matter what I do. In the end, I can do nothing but blame myself and not expect much good to come..."
"You believe you'll never be happy? That's an awful thing to say!" his brows furrowed. "I'm glad that you've accepted what's what, but thinking... Thinking that you'll never be happy because of what's what... I won't stand and take that."
Slowly, she ran a hand over her forehead, grazing the tips of her fingers nails over the symbols etched on her skin.
"Do you want to hear my honesty? I'm frightened, Corrin." she said roughly. "I'm frightened because, even after so many years of living with it, I still do not know what else this curse can do to me besides prohibit my growth. I've started to wonder lately, about Silas... Was his death just another casualty of war? Or was it perhaps an arrangement of fate? I've taken the lives of so many people, all dear to someone else; it's my turn now to have someone dear taken from me as payback. Though I cannot ever fully repay for the things I've done, regardless of how long I roam the earth, I'm forced to pay with what little I have. Those dear to me... I fear for their lives. I can't associate myself with them any longer, for I fear they may share the same untimely end as Silas, the one I held dearest."
Corrin nodded.
"That would explain why you've been avoiding people more than usual." he murmured. "I don't like that. You're going to kill yourself once the war's over, aren't you? You should take the time and enjoy those who love you before you go off all by yourself forever."
He heard her huff, an arm thrown over her eyes.
"You children are more perceptive than I gave you credit for." she commented lowly. "Well done figuring out my intentions; yes, I believe my time is drawing nigh. Of course, I can't simply leave you during a war, a war in which you are outnumbered in each battle; I shall lend you my all, using that abominable tome to win your battles, cursing myself further... It doesn't matter in the end, for when it is all over, when your endeavors are reached and all is well, I shall take my leave to join Silas in the afterlife. It is there, the curse cannot affect me any further."
"... I see..." Corrin sounded, his voice dull. "I understand, seeing that I have no control over you and what you do with your life... But promise me that you'll at least enjoy yourself with us? Please? We all want to know you... I want to know you... Promise me you'll at least humor that?"
He saw her frown, her breathing slowing; she rolled over one last time.
"I'll consider it." she spoke. "Let me sleep and I should hopefully have an answer when dawn breaks, sound fair?"
"Absolutely." Corrin smiled slightly as he returned his back to the mattress. With a sigh, he closed his eyes. "Good night, Nyx."
Her response, the same words as his, were delayed.