"Did we find the weapon near the bodies?!" Kaze shouts, ripping the remains of Laslow's shirt away as soon as they've carried him and Princess Corrin to the infirmary. The wound is ugly and raw, but it isn't bleeding nearly as much as it should, perhaps thanks to Lady Corrin's attention.

"Yes, sir!" someone shouts, and there's a frantic shuffle as the small knife is passed up to Kaze. He reaches to accept it from Keaton and freezes. He's seen knives exactly like this one hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times. He doesn't need to examine it to realize what it means, but he doesn't have the time to worry about it. He takes the knife and licks the edge carefully, trying to discern the poison beneath the blood.

Hoshidan plum,he recognizes, careful to spit as much of the substance out as possible. "Get me a general antidote and whatever medicinal herbs we have in stock," he orders as he rolls up his sleeves. As someone hurries off to do as he asks, he takes a quick look at the next bed over, where Corrin has been laid out unconscious. Her breathing seems labored and her face is shining with sweat, but her condition seems stable enough for the time being. It's Laslow who needs his attention now. He presses his ear to the man's chest, listening hard for the sound of a heartbeat.

Much too slow,he grimaces.

"And get a healer in here, quickly. Before he dies of bloodloss."

Dawn seemed to have forsaken the fortress. It seemed like hours that the Nohrian siblings spent waiting for news from the infirmary, huddled together in the mess hall like lost children.

"Xander..." Elise said quietly, tugging at her brother's cloak. "Are... are Corrin and brother-in-law going to die?" she asked, her voice meek and frightened.

"Of course they aren't!" Leo shouted, slamming his fist on the table. "Don't ask stuff like that!"

Elise sniffled, turning to Camilla for comfort, but the eldest princess was hardly present at all. The loss of her retainer, coupled with Corrin's condition, seemed to have knocked the fire from her heart. She stared blankly at nothing, hearing nothing, the tears long dry on her cheeks. Selena was not at her side. She and Odin had instead retreated to a corner of the room, away from the others, huddled together with their arms around each other's necks. Azura couldn't tell if they were crying, praying, or merely holding on for support; perhaps it was a bit of each.

Everyone in the room looked exhausted. Mozu had buried her face in her arms, while Effie and Arthur were having a quiet discussion at the other end of the table. Peri seemed at a loss by herself, and even Niles didn't seem to be in the mood to get on anyone's nerves. Only Corrin's retainers and Kaze were missing, all four of them assisting in the infirmary. And of course, Beruka.

Azura couldn't understand how someone so careful could die, just like that. Her body had been found discarded by a tree a ways off from the point, a single arrow through her throat. Her partner on the watch had been stabbed in the lung and dumped unceremoniously over her. Xander had quietly said they would hold a funeral for them both as soon as they were sure no one else had to be buried along with them.

The clock in the mess hall continued to tick on ominously.

She would have gone mad with grief and worry, had it not been for the presence of her family. Azura had never truly felt like a Nohrian princess, not even as a child. But now, seated with her brothers and sisters in quiet prayer, she realized that Corrin had had the truth of it. The only person who had been unwilling to have her join the family was herself.

Guilt made her hesitate, but she reached for Elise's hand, trying to be the elder sister the girl needed. The youngest princess took it easily, thoughtlessly, and Azura's heart ached.

She couldn't help it; she broke down into sobs, her shoulders heaving, and without a word, Xander wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder. Across the table, Elise reached for Leo's hand, and Leo sighed, his face slightly red as he coaxed Camilla into his arms, stroking her hair gently.

"Everything will be alright," he said, and all five of them nodded slowly at the words, wanting to believe them.

For the first time, Azura truly thought herself a part of something greater than herself. Blood and background didn't matter. They were all connected, all bound together by more than parentage and circumstance. A family, she thought as she cried. This is my family.

They had always been there for her; they had merely been waiting for Azura to make the first move.

"How is she doing?"

"Better, her heart rate is finally coming down."

The words seemed strange, the voices far off. Corrin tried to open her eyes to see what was going on, but she found that her eyelids were heavy and her body didn't seem to want to listen to her.

Where am I? she thought groggily, but still she couldn't move.

Someone touched her face and moved her head a bit. She groaned in pain; her neck was incredibly stiff.

"Lady Corrin? Can you hear me?"

The voice was familiar, but she didn't have the strength to respond.

"Is she alright?" someone asked worriedly. Corrin thought it sounded awfully like Felicia.

"She's conscious, I think," the first voice noted. "It'll be a side effect of the antidote. Her muscle and nerve responses will be a little slow until it wears off."

"Thank the gods," Felicia sighed.

"Felicia, focus," someone rebuked. "We have to keep him cool!"

"R-right!"

It was a few minutes before she was finally able to blink her eyes open.

"Kaze! She's awake!" a man cried, and Corrin had a glimpse of Jakob's face before he ran off. A second later Kaze was there, looking tired and worn.

"Don't push yourself, milady," he warned as she tried to speak and found her tongue too thick and dry to move. "You'll be fine, but you need to let your body absorb the antidote first."

She had no idea what he was talking about, but she had no idea how to convey that when she could hardly keep her eyes open.

"He's bleeding again! Jakob, your stave!" someone shouted, and both Kaze and Jakob hurried from her side. She lost consciousness again a minute later.

"Inigo, what happened?!"

He was five years old, his clothes ripped up, his arms and face covered in scratches and bruises as he cried. Severa stood at his side, just as worse for wear, angry tears in her eyes.

"They- They...! Wahhh!" he wailed, clutching at his mother's clothes.

"Stop crying!" Selena insisted in fury as Olivia bent down to look over her son.

"Who did this to you?!" she asked, horrified at the marks on his face. Inigo was too distraught to reply.

"Some boys from town," Severa explained for him, rubbing her bloodied cheek. "They made fun of him."

Olivia turned her attention to Severa's wounds. "Oh, these look terrible... Did you jump in to help, Severa?"

"Of course, I'm a knight," Severa said proudly through a busted lip. "Inigo is so useless, I had to do something."

"Poor things," Olivia muttered, stroking the tears away from Inigo's face. " Come on, I'll get you both patched up." She offered a hand to each of them.

"Don't cry anymore, Inigo!" Severa commanded, and Inigo whimpered at her tone. "I'm gonna ask Mommy to kill all of 'em, just watch!"

"Severa!" Olivia cried, shocked. "Don't say things like that!" As soon as she turned away, Inigo glanced at Severa and mouthed at her silently.

Promise?

She nodded solemnly and Inigo sniffled, certain that she would keep her word. Severa never lied, not to him.

"Corrin!"

She winced at the shout, but it was nothing compared to the sudden shock of Elise's weight as she threw herself at her.

"Ow!"

"Elise! For gods' sake, be careful!" Azura cried, and Corrin felt a wave of relief as her younger sister was pulled away. She smiled tiredly up at them all, each of her siblings minus Camilla crowded around her bed.

"How are you doing, sister?" Leo asked, taking a seat at Corrin's side.

"Alright," she assured him. "I wasn't badly poisoned, so I'm told."

"You have a high tolerance," Kaze said as he set down a bowl of broth at her table. He had dark circles under his eyes and his voice sounded cracked; since he was the only authority on ninja poisons and medicine in the entire army, he'd been working nonstop since they'd returned to the fortress. "You were lucky, milady."

"Ye- yes," she said softly. She didn't need to be told to understand how close she'd come to losing her child. She knew the child had made it, or the dragon in her blood wouldn't have been so at ease, but it was only by some miracle of the gods that they'd both managed to come out relatively unscathed. After all, neither Kaze nor any of the healers had had any idea that they were saving more than one life.

"It's best you rest for a few days now," Xander said meaningfully, standing behind Leo.

"But Xander, what about the ambush? Surely there are troops nearby; ninja wouldn't attack us like this on their own."

"We've already sent scouts," he said. "We're preparing to strike back as soon as they return."

"Then I have to-!"

"No," he replied firmly, his eyes glinting. "We'll take care of the war for the time being. You may join us when you've recovered your strength."

Corrin sighed. Her brother had a point, as much as she hated to admit it.

"Very well. I'll stay and tend to Laslow," she said softly. She glanced at the bed next to hers sadly. He was alive, but he'd lost so much blood that it had been a close call. Felicia and Flora were taking turns keeping his fever down and trying to mend as much damage as they could through magic, but Kaze had warned Corrin that it was unlikely he would ever be able to use his arm properly again. The knife had torn through too many ligaments in his shoulder, and he would be in a lot of pain when he finally woke.

"That seems for the best," Xander said, and Corrin tore her eyes away from Laslow's battered body.

"I'll be coming back once I've recovered," she said sharply, and Xander gave a small tight-lipped nod.

"Of course," he said stiffly. "We couldn't win this war without you, little princess."

The topic, as anyone could tell from Corrin and Xander's expressions, was clearly dropped.

"Azura?"

Kaze listened for the sound of her voice as he closed the door to their quarters behind him. A light was flickering from their bedroom, but there was no reply.

Perhaps she's fallen asleep, he thought as he quietly poured himself a glass of water. After forty eight hellish hours, Laslow had finally stabilized enough to allow the medics and healers to rest.

If only we could have saved the others too... His thoughts flashed back to corpses of Beruka and the other guard, to the torn flesh and the sickly sweet taste on the knife. Hoshidan plum wasn't a rare poison, but it was strong; the others would have died even if they hadn't been instantly killed. Laslow had been lucky that Lady Corrin had tried to treat him, though the blood loss had been nearly as dangerous as the poison in the end.

His grip on the glass tightened slightly.

The poison wasn't rare, no, but the knife... That was unique. There was only one ninja clan that engraved their knives in that particular fashion.

Perhaps I should have told Lord Xander, he grimaced. He wasn't sure what had made him hesitate; it was important information that concerned the safety of everyone in the army, but Kaze didn't want to point blame when he wasn't certain. The knife could have been stolen or bought, and Nohr and Hoshido were quick to hate each other on the smallest offenses. If he was wrong, peace might become an unattainable dream. They had, after all, targeted Lady Corrin's husband and Lady Camilla's retainer. Someone would have to pay. And if the blame of that went to the clan...

He sighed. He just couldn't take that risk, not while there was any doubt.

He put the glass down and made his way to the bedroom. To his surprise, Azura was still awake, sitting in the window alcove and staring out at the crescent moon.

"Azura?"

She didn't reply. She was completely still, her eyes unfocused. Her hair tumbled over the cushions, a river of blue silk on the red satin. It was only when he stepped closer that she gave a small start and realized he was there.

"Kaze, you startled me!" she said.

"I've been here for a while," he said, giving her a small, timid smile. They hadn't exactly parted on good terms when he left, and they'd had precious little time to speak since.

"Oh," she said simply. They stared at each other for a minute.

"Forgive me," he said, sitting on the bed. "I was out of line, ordering you to stay. You are my liege, not the other way around."

To his surprise, she laughed.

"Have you been worrying about that this whole time?" she asked. "I'm not upset anymore. You were right; I'm in no condition to fight now."

"Well, I just thought, since you slapped me..." he winced. Her expression softened.

"I wasn't thinking straight," she said, clasping the fabric over her belly. "I was just... afraid."

She let the words hang in the air, as if she were ashamed to admit it.

"That's natural," he said gently. "Your sister and Laslow were in danger. You were worried for them."

"Yes, but..." she stopped, biting her lip. "I don't know. It doesn't make sense, Kaze."

"What doesn't?"

She held his gaze, and Kaze got the impression that she was thinking hard.

"It's not my place to say," she finally sighed.

"I see."

"I'm just... I'm worried for Corrin. I have a terrible feeling, like she's going to leave me behind somehow... I hate it. It unsettles me to my very core." She shivered slightly, and Kaze noted that her hand was clenching her nightgown so hard that the knuckles were turning white.

"Azura..." he said, getting up and prying her fingers gently open. "That's okay. We're at war. It's only normal to feel afraid that our loved ones will get hurt."

"But this is different," she insisted, looking up at him. "I don't worry about Xander and the others like this!"

"Well, you and Lady Corrin are close, aren't you?"

Azura suddenly turned away, her eyes full of guilt.

"We were, once. But I've been so preoccupied with other things..."

He stroked the side of her face, brushing his thumb over her cheek.

"If you miss her, you need only speak to her more often, love."

She smiled at him bitterly.

"That's true, but I can't shake the feeling that something isn't right between us."

"You'll only understand what that is if you tell her. I'm afraid I can't be her substitute in this conversation," he said.

"Mm, that's true..." she said, glancing out the window again. When she turned back to him, her smile kind and gentle once more. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ramble on. You must be exhausted. Shall we turn in?"

"Yes," he agreed, kissing the top of her head.

Tired as he was, it was some time before sleep came to him. His own words kept turning over in his mind as he held Azura's sleeping form in his arms.

'We're at war. It's only normal to feel afraid that our loved ones will get hurt.'

He thought of his brother, Saizo, not for the first time in the last few days. Surely he'd heard of Kaze's betrayal by now. He was not the sort of man to forgive a crime of that magnitude, but that didn't mean that Kaze was ready to turn on him just yet.

Azura made a small noise in her sleep and buried her face into his chest.

No, I must stop this, he realized. I am not Hoshidan any longer. My wife and child are part of the Nohrian royal family, and so am I. I have cut all ties to the clan. I can't consider them family, not while I have kin to protect. Not even Saizo.

The army set out before Corrin could really understand what was happening. She had never been left behind when the banners were unfurled and the sound of boots crunching through the mud and snow echoed through the town like thunder. It felt wrong, watching from her bedroom window, her fingers caught on the lattices.

"Gods, I hope they all make it back safely," she muttered to herself. She would be joining them in less than a week, but even then she felt useless and sick with anxiety. Every moment she wasn't there was a moment that peace could slip through their grasp. Hoshido had to be conquered, but it had to be conquered with as few lives lost as possible. Corrin didn't think she could handle the alternative.

"Milady, would you like some tea?"

She didn't turn.

"No, thank you, Flora."

"At least have something to eat, Lady Corrin," her maid said, and Corrin heard the sound of a plate being set down on the table. "You are still recovering your strength."

Corrin sighed.

"Very well," she said, pulling away from the window. She sat down at her tea table and let Flora pour her a cup of juice.

"Don't tell Felicia I fixed her juice," Flora said, her eyes twinkling in the morning light. "She mixed up salt for sugar. Again."

"You are a blessing, Flora," Corrin laughed. "I haven't had a bad meal in months, not since you came."

"Oh, Felicia isn't a bad cook..."

"I know, she's just... Felicia."

"Her heart is in the right place," Flora chuckled. She handed Corrin a plate of biscuits. "Will you be visiting Lord Laslow today?"

"For the last time, Flora, you don't have to address him like that," Corrin said, picking out a biscuit. "It's only Laslow, after all."

"He's your husband, milady, I couldn't-"

"Husband, yes. Noble, no."

"Well..."

"He doesn't like it when people make too much of a fuss," Corrin said, grinning slightly. "He'd prefer it if you just continued to address him by his name, I'm sure."

"If you insist, milady..."

"I do," she said. It was nice, thinking about Laslow as his usual self, slightly cross every time someone addressed him as a lord. It seemed like an eternity since she'd seen those warm, mischievous eyes or heard his teasing voice, though it had only been a few days. "And yes, I will be going to see him as soon as I'm dressed."

Flora nodded.

"I'll prepare an outfit for you then."

"Ugh, being a prince sucks."

Owain stood in the garden, ripping a frightfully awful frock over his head with a petulant whine. Severa and Inigo were crying of laughter on the ground.

"You look so stupid!" Severa screeched, clinging to Inigo's arm for support. Owain threw the garment at her.

"I didn't want it! Lucina forced it on me!" he cried, his face red.

Inigo sniggered.

"But it suits you so well!"

Owain's response was cut off by a sudden call from the other side of the garden.

"Owain! Where did you go?! I haven't finished styling your hair!"

"Oh gods, it's her! HIDE ME!" Owain wailed, searching for a way out.

"She's only a princess, how bad can she be?" Severa teased, offering no help whatsoever.

"Awful, that's how. She treats me like a doll, not like her cousin!"

"You're exaggerating," Inigo teased.

"Am not-!"

"Owain, there you are!"

A girl a few years their elder marched toward them, and Inigo and Severa found themselves at a loss. She was very pretty, in a sweet, childish sort of way, with deep blue eyes and hair like the bottom of the sea, but that wasn't what stilled their tongues. Her very presence was commanding, regal. They'd heard stories of Princess Lucina, of course, but they had never met her. Owain was different; he was a prince, but his family lived outside the castle and his mother, Lissa, was close friends with both their mothers. They'd been playing with Owain since they were very small. Lucina, on the other hand, was the crown princess, daughter of the king and queen of Ylisse. She wasn't often seen outside the castle.

"Why did you run away?" she asked, pouting. "Weren't we playing? And who's this?" She turned to Severa and Inigo with polite curiosity. Inigo pushed Severa forward, suddenly shy.

"Don't-! Oh, uhm..." Severa floundered, not sure what to say. "We're just friends of Owain," she said hastily.

Lucina smiled.

"A pleasure to meet you," she said. "I am Lucina."

That moment left a deep impression on Inigo for a long time to come.

He was the same as always, unconscious, his face pale and his brows furrowed in pain. Corrin smoothed his hair back gently, taking the hand from his uninjured arm in her own.

"Hello," she said softly as she sat on the bed next to him. He couldn't reply, of course, but she always hoped that he could hear her, somehow, and that he could take a little bit of comfort from hearing the voice he always said he loved so much.

"He's doing better," the medic said as he checked the bandages around his shoulder. "The bleeding is under control."

"That's good," she said, not taking her eyes off his face. "Will he wake soon?"

"I couldn't say, milady. It's probably for the best that he doesn't. He'll be in terrible pain."

She nodded.

"I wish there was something I could do," she muttered to herself as the medic left. She wanted him to wake, to be his old self again, to pick her up and spin her around for no other reason than because he was happy to see her. She missed the constant banter and joking in his presence, she missed the sense of comfort that came with being at his side.

"I miss you, Laslow," she whispered, laying her head down on his chest. "It's lonely without you."

She closed her eyes, guilt roiling in her heart as she listened to his heart beat. She knew it was her fault this had happened to him. Beruka and the other watchman would have died regardless, but if she hadn't sent him, he wouldn't have been hurt.

I'm sorry, she thought, over and over again, her fingers clinging to his like a lifeline. All of this is because of me. If only I hadn't sent you... if only you'd married a normal, simple person who loved you back the same way you love me. If only I was strong enough to control myself, if I could have prevented any of this from happening...

Something within her moved.

She froze, shocked. For a moment she thought she'd imagined it, but then it came again. A gentle sort of push against the inside of her belly. She sat up, unnerved, and had to stop herself from making any obvious gestures in front of the medics. She wasn't sure what to do or how to feel. She was about four months in now, a little under halfway through the pregnancy, and she felt more lost than ever.

You would know, wouldn't you, Laslow? You'd know how to feel about all this... you'd know how to set me at ease.

She hated how helpless and young she felt. How selfish could she be, relying on him even now that he was barely there at all?

Azura stands outside the door, trying to still her nervous heart. She's decided to see Corrin before she leaves for the battleground, to try to properly patch things up for good.

What should I say to her...?she thinks, unsure. They're speaking again, but Azura still feels like something has changed between them, and it doesn't feel right somehow. Corrin is more distant than before, less likely to seek her out, less likely to want to chat. Azura finds she doesn't like that at all.

I know I wasn't the most attentive sister, but still...

She sighs, knowing she's being petty. She steels herself and raises her fist to knock.

"Come in."

She pushes the door open.

"Sorry to intrude..." she begins, but she's struck dumb when she realizes what she's looking at.

It's Corrin, yes, with her fiery red eyes and that pitch black hair that is hers alone, but the beautiful tresses are gone, hacked off unevenly at the back. It clings to her face, making her look far younger than she really is. That's shocking enough, but it's not the only change. Corrin has always worn expensive, tailored clothing like the other princes and princesses. Camilla has always given her fine silks and lovely blouses to wear, and even her armor is exquisitely wrought, though worn now after so much fighting. Now, however, she's wearing an old, padded tunic, patched in some places and far too large over her shoulders and chest. She gives Azura a small smile and returns to her preparations.

"Hello, Azura. Come to see me off?" she asks, buckling her Yato to her belt.

"Corrin?! What on earth...?! Isn't that Laslow's armor?! Why are you dressed like that?!"

Corrin pauses, her eyes staring at the wooden floor, her fingers trailing over the sleeve of the tunic briefly.

"I don't really know," she says softly. "I just... I feel better, safer, being close to some part of him." She looks up, her expression sad and lonely. "It's my fault he's not coming with me. The army lost a skilled man, and Laslow lost the use of his arm. The least I can do is fight for us both, and come back to him when it's over. I owe him that much."

"Corrin... I... Are you sure? Do you really have to do this?" Azura asks. "Laslow wouldn't want you to go, you know he wouldn't..."

"Laslow knows why I'm doing this. He decided to support me a long time ago," Corrin says, rubbing her arm in a nervous kind of gesture.

"Won't you at least wait until he wakes?!" Azura pleads.

"... No, it's better I go while he's still unconscious," she replies. "He'll be more worried if he sees me off. He always meant to come with me."

"Then don't go! If you won't do it for yourself, do it for him! For your family!" Azura is too wound up to realize, but she hates the words coming out of her mouth. They aren't what she wants to say, not at all.

"I am doing this for him, for all of us," Corrin says sharply. "And... for myself too," she says, pressing a hand to her stomach thoughtfully. "I want to make this a world safe for my child. A world where they won't have to be afraid or hungry, a world where they'll be able to know all their aunts and uncles, not just the ones who survived. A world safe from Garon. Isn't that what you want too, Azura?"

"Of course it is! But I don't want that world if the price is losing you!"

Corrin seems to fall still, her eyes searching Azura's face for a second, her cheeks growing pink and then pale all at once.

"I... Thank you, for saying that," she says, and her expression is impossible to read. "But you know it's not that simple, sister."

She steps past Azura, and there is a moment, a small, fleeting moment, where Azura thinks there may be tears in her eyes. She reaches out, clasping Corrin's wrist.

"For me then," she begs, her voice a desperate whisper. "Stay for me, if nothing else."

Corrin doesn't look back. Her voice is cold as she pulls her hand out of Azura's grasp.

"I can't. They need me."

She doesn't clarify who she means before she's pulled the door closed behind her, leaving Azura alone in the room.

Notes:

There's more than one kind of love in the world.