Nina, when she was in the mood, was capable of being a very hard worker. This was evident in the fact that she had pulled off many successful heists, making off with all sorts of goodies that would keep the hungry fed for at least a few months. As a matter of fact, she could think of only one that she could write off as a failure, but that was because her adversary was an army, an army that just so happened to have Niles in it. Niles, being Niles, knew the ways of thieves having been one himself, and calculated her every move before she even made them.

That one wasn't fair, so it didn't count. Thus, Nina could proudly say she had never failed a break-in, all thanks to that sheer dedication of hers.

So, because she was so good at working when she wanted to be good at working, Nina returned to camp with quite the load of sticks in her arms, all piled up beyond her head. Her boots scraped against the dirt of the clearing, and, at the far end, she set them down, wiping a tear of sweat from her brow.

"Whew." she said. "Got the twigs, Percy."

"Great to hear. I'll be done chopping the firewood in just a second."

That was odd; Percy's voice was an awful lot deeper than she recalled it. It definitely wasn't that voice of that cute little kid she knew. Not at all. If anything... That sounded like a full grown man.

Alarmed, she looked up, seeing him stand over a stump; he swung down his axe, breaking a log in two, his strapping muscles straining from work. He lifted his head afterwards, puffing his thick chest as he released a sigh.

"All done. How does breakfast sound?"

"P-Percy..." she began, her face starting to flush. "What on earth happened to you?"

Percy's eyes widened with concern.

"Something wrong, Nina?"

"You're... You're buff! And you're tall! And you sound like your father!"

Percy relaxed then, starting to laugh.

"You sure are funny." he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head with a mighty palm. "I guess this is what being stuck in the forest for twenty years does to you."

"Tw-Twenty years?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? We stole some of Benny's sugar cubes when we were kids; we were chased out of the castle and haven't been able to get back in ever since." he raised a brow playfully. "Don't tell me you hit your head too hard on a rock and forgot everything, did you?"

Her breathing picked up, her heartbeat pounding hard enough for her to hear. Her legs wobbled, giving way to have her to land on her knees, her palms grabbing a fistful of dirt.

"Twenty years... In the boonies? N-No way... I can't spend twenty years out here! No way!"

Her eyes snapped open, a yelp vomiting out of her mouth as she brought herself up. The environment there to greet her was surprisingly tranquil; a little pond sat just a few feet away, birds chirping away their songs. In the distance, there was a clearing, a path of some sort.

"Gee, Nina. You don't sound too good... Everything all right?"

Terrified, she turned to her side, gazing at the voice. Percy was there, leaning against Ace's side as she had been. His eyelids seemed heavy, groggy from being yanked out of sleep, yet all in the meantime, concerned.

He wasn't ripped.

That voice of his was still high.

He was just as short as she recalled him.

At last, she sighed in relief, allowing her shoulders to sink. Losing structure, she fell back, resting against Ace once again.

"Just a nightmare." she sighed. "We were stuck out here for twenty years."

"Wow! Twenty years is a long time!"

Her face started to turn blue.

"N-No kidding."

"No need to worry about that, Nina; once we're ready, we should go back to the front gate of the castle and see if we can get back in. Maybe after they've slept on it, everyone might not be so mad at us anymore."

That's what they were counting on, and boy were they mistaken to do so. The castle itself wasn't far away, for a simple walk along a trail would deliver them to the gates. The only problem was what was there to greet them when they got there: a guard which stood watch at the front.

The sight made her grit her teeth, taken back in distaste. Likewise, Percy stopped, standing on his toes to get a better glimpse.

"They never have a guard up front." Nina hissed angrily. "They must've figured we'd come back.

"Not sure why they'd only have one there. Two can easily overpower one."

Well, Nina was about to wonder the same thing before the realized who that person at the front was; it was a boy, slender in frame, holding a naginata in his hand. Part of his face was lost to a lock of hair, blue as the sky. The sight made Nina narrow her eyes.

"It's Shigure." she murmured. "They must've had him stand watch on purpose."

"Oh? Why say that? Rumor had it that two of you broke up."

"My money says that's the reason why he's there..."

The two had intentions to continue talking, hoping to conceive a plan, but that was before Shigure's hand went up, waving at them. The motion made the two jump, scrambling back a step or two.

"Blast, he can see us!" Percy cried.

Before Nina could reply, a voice called out to them; it was definitely Shigure's voice, mellow as a lark.

"Nina. There's no need to hide any longer; I can see you. Come down here so that I may speak with you."

The two remained still, soon exchanging looks. Percy blinked. Nina blinked. At last, the former shrugged.

"Go on." he said. "If anything happens, Ace and I'll be there to swoop down and get you out."

She sighed, straightening her posture.

"No need, Percy." she murmured. "Just wait here, I'll deal with him..." and with that, she started forth, making her way up to the front of the castle...

...Had Nina known the walk up there was more of a walk of shame, she probably would have changed her mind back there and did nothing. Sure enough, though, the air between she and the one she approached was thick with tension, her head hung low. She fought the temptation to look up, no matter how loudly it beckoned her; only when she was before him did her eyes meet his face.

His expression wasn't quite as hardened as she figured it to be, surprisingly. Though there was a pinch that was demanding, it was serene for the most part, looking down at her with his golden eyes. He butt of his naginata touched the ground.

"Hello, Nina."

She looked to the side.

"Hey. Here so you can slap some cuffs on my wrists and haul me off to the prison again?"

"That won't be necessary, actually."

"I get it, I'm a thief; at least I was doing it to help someone. Go on; you can drag me to that cell all you want, but you can't extinguish my dignity. I'm going to keep doing what I-" her eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

Shigure shook his head.

"I saw you in the mess hall last night, Nina." he said. "The way you looked at Percy as he passed by, acting as though he had been told the world was to end. You went to help him, looking for any way to cheer him up..." his head shook. "I explained everything to Lord Corrin and Benny, and they were sympathetic, especially the latter. He wasn't upset with you after learning that you took his sugar cubes to give them to Percy..."

She watched him as his gaze sunk, dulling sadly.

"So... Am I getting this right? I'm not in trouble?"

"No, not for helping someone. Of course, there were always better methods of accomplishing your goal, but in the end, they still had good intentions." his eyes shut. "I volunteered to keep watch at the gate for you because I hoped we would be able to speak the soonest possible. I'm sorry, Nina. I treated you poorly, thinking the worst of you. I overreacted when you insulted those of royal name; I should have known you thought my mother and I as an exception." he released a huff, then gave way to a tiny smirk. "My, doesn't that feel like a weight off my chest. I'm happy to have finally told you; please, take my words however you please, I won't discriminate your decision."

Nina's eyes were wide, a hot blush painted across her face; for a good while, perhaps until she could feel the air of discomfort steaming from him, she stared without moving a muscle.

"Um..." she began. "Th-Thanks for the apology, Shigure. I'm sorry I... Uh... Was so vague when I said that back there." a hand rested on her hip. "So what happens now? Do I get to come back in?"

"Not without first speaking with Lord Corrin." replied the boy. "Rest assured, you're the only one he wishes to see; Percy is not in any sort of trouble, so he is welcome to come inside whenever he wishes." slowly, he lifted his naginata, then nodded. "Let's not leave a moment to waste, shall we? Follow me, please."

Shigure delivered Nina to Corrin's private quarters, just as she had suspected. Easily, he held the door open for her, but never did he set foot inside; to her alarm, she found that he left her alone.

So, in front of the door to a warm colored room, Nina stood awkwardly, looking around. A pair of bookshelves had once again been filled with books she remembered bringing to her tent, and that little trinket on the nightstand was back too, even though she last saw it in her tent as well.

They must have ransacked her place while she was gone. Great. Just great. That was sure to make her look fabulous.

"Good to see you showed up again. I was beginning to wonder if you and Percy ran off and decided to never come back." called a voice, mild. Her attention went to the little table at the side of the room; at it, there sat Corrin, sipping from a cup of tea. Before him, across from his seat, was a chair. For some reason, she had a feeling that seat had her name written on it somewhere.

She felt a wave of heat scale her body as she locked up; even so, she slapped on a fake grin.

"Oh, you know me; always getting back on that bucking horse..."

"Why don't you come have a seat?" the tone of his voice didn't exactly give her any options besides what he obviously insisted. With no room to squirm or run, Nina awkwardly approached the table. "So where did you and Percy spend the night?"

"In a clearing in the woods. It wasn't quite as bad as it may sound."

"That's good to hear; you've always seemed like a real trooper, so I'm not entirely surprised."

The seat might as well have had nails sticking out of it; the moment Nina sat herself down, she wanted to get up. Instead, she fought that urge with a strain, cringing on the inside.

"Oh, flattery... Sounds like you've found one of my weaknesses... Haha..."

"Don't worry, we've found another one." mentioned another voice, one that did not belong to Corrin; meddling with the tone was a few clicking noises. And something cold that brushed against her leg.

Her heart nearly stopped as she turned to her side with a gasp. There, standing beside her, was Felicia, who had just got done cuffing her ankle to a leg of the chair. Terrified, Nina's mouth gaped, and sweat began to spill from her forehead.

"Wha-"

"It's nothing to lose your breath over; we just can't have those sticky fingers of yours getting the best of you today." Felicia chirped, flashing a devious smile.

Nina turned back to Corrin, flabbergasted.

"No way! I've been conned! Cheated! Lied to! Shigure said you weren't mad at me!" she started to struggle, hoping to liberate her ankle, now mated with the chair. "No, no, no, no, no, no. Y-You can't do this sort of thing, disabling me on a chair; haven't you heard about what people to do people when they're tied down to chairs? I'm a young innocent girl! They'll believe me when I testify to the crimes you're about commit! You won't get away with this, I swear by it!"

The room fell silent to have Corrin and Felicia fix their eyes on her, bestowing an awkward, if not embarrassed, scowl.

"No, Nina..." Corrin started, frowning. "We're not going to do anything to you. You should know that we would have to do something when you steal everything within arm's reach."

She gasped suddenly, taken back.

"Everything within arms reach?" she echoed. "You paint me into some sort of felon when you put it that way! I have to say that I feel horribly misrepresented, I-"

"I didn't call you in here to talk about that, Nina." Corrin's gaze hardened as he pulled up his chair. What an odd sight he was; seldom had she seen him so on edge, and never had it been because of her. That alone was enough to shut her up. "Since you clearly won't listen to your father, I'm taking matters into my own hands."

"B-But I thought you weren't angry at me f-"

"Nina, I want to start by saying that you are an invaluable asset to my army; you're fast, you're down to business, you're a good shot... But this habit of yours needs to stop. I know that what you did last night had pure intentions, but I can't let you walk away with what you did scot-free. Stealing wasn't the answer."

Her chest began to burn again, a certain pressure building in her lungs; how she wanted to make a run for it, but in the end she knew it would do her nothing. Instead, she basked in the scorching rays of defeat, her head hung low. As a matter of fact, it hung low enough to have her wham her forehead on the table.

"Oh..." she mewled. "You're going to throw me back into that prison cell, aren't you? I... I got so lonely in there, C-Corrin. Nobody came to see me for weeks."

Corrin raised a brow.

"I don't see why you would complain about that since I never see you talking to people anyways. What difference does it make?"

Well, she wasn't going to tell him the key difference between being alone in a cell without windows and being alone in the open world. Her eyes couldn't be quite as... Prying... In a cell without windows.

"At least I get some sunlight when I'm out and about. Loneliness and dark places don't mix well, you know? I remember when I caught a cold a few years ago and had to stay in my dark room for several days straight. As soon as I was cured, I think I had contracted depression..."

Corrin and Felicia looked at her for a while, soon rolling their eyes. With a huff, the former shook his head.

"In any case, putting you back in the prison wasn't the idea I had in mind as far as punishment goes..."

Slowly, Nina lifted her head, her gaze wide and full of wonder.

"Y-You're kidding me..." she breathed.

"Nope." Corrin replied. "But you may not like the alternative any better. According to your father, you'd rather be in hell than in the kitchen."

And her eyes got wider.

"No way."

Corrin shrugged.

"Sorry."