Three Stars

Disclaimer: Tibby-san, Writer-of-Worlds, and I do not own Fire Emblem. We just own our OCs and this unique take on Fire Emblem Fates.

Notes: There are some parts I have taken a lot of creative liberty with. You'll see.

FIC START!

Chapter 2

Windmire, the capital city of Nohr. Even though Rynah had seen it portrayed in her game many times, there was nothing like walking through the darkened city streets in person. Even the open roads were as shadowy as alleyways back home. It was hard to believe that she was actually walking through a city of Nohr, but here she was. People she could only touch through the touchscreen of a video game were walking with her. It was almost overwhelming. She knew the next event in the story, but she couldn't concentrate on the fact that she had to see King Garon. How would she be playing it if this was a brand new play-through? Right, so, she'd lead the army to plow right through Hoshido to the White Throne. That was easy enough.

She believed in the banner of the moon with all her heart, even though Nohr was known to be more strict. This was one of her homes in gaming, like Kakariko Village or Fisherman's Horizon or Taben's Peak. There was a reason for that. She followed along with her adopted siblings. Leo was in front of her, silent. Camilla and Elise both were on either sides of her. Xander marched behind them all with a stern expression on his face. He remembered how they rode back here at breakneck speed, with Rynah having ridden on the back of his horse, clinging to him. She refused to allow herself to show it, as that was the Nohrian way, but he could feel there was fear in her grip onto him.

"I don't mind the other two having gone," Camilla said. "That means I get to love on you that much more. I'll give you all the love they didn't want."

Rynah looked aside. "Kamui and Arielle are not replaceable," she said. She knew that they wouldn't have come with her here. But that was fine, wasn't it? Kamui'd be able to find that ninja guy she spoke of and be with him, which was what she really wanted. That was most important...

"The three of you are triplets, it would make sense that you feel that way," Xander said. "But you cannot let that get in the way of your duty."

Right now there was no way Xander felt any romantic feelings towards her, but every time she ever played through Conquest or Revelations, she couldn't help herself. She would remarry him again and again, against her gamer's nature of being a completionist. There was something about him that caught her attention, something that she clung to. Rynah stopped for a moment to heave a sigh. Even though she loved all of the siblings she had within the Nohr royal family, she did feel alone right now. And there would be no way that those who stood around her right now would understand exactly how lonely she was.

"You cannot allow yourself any emotional weakness," Leo said. "You know that is not our way."

"It's hard!" Elise cried out. "How would you feel if one of -us- were to just up and leave, Leo?!" She usually cheerful troubador now stood defensively in front of Rynah.

"As long as we're the only ones that see it, I don't think it'll be a problem," Camilla said. "Just do not show doubt in front of Father."

"That's what I'm worried about..." Leo confessed. "We do need to make our report, otherwise we'll be punished for breaking protocol."

"Right," Rynah agreed. "The sooner I figure out what I'm doing next, the sooner I can concentrate on that instead of all... this..." She forced herself to have a stone face, holding herself up high as she went back to marching towards the throne room. "I won't fail you. If I fail anyone else in the world... I will not fail you."

Xander kept his distance as he walked behind the rest of his siblings. There was so much to report to King Garon, but he was proud in what he'd managed to accomplish here lately. He couldn't foresee a reason why his father would be cross with him. Elise let out happy giggles, Camilla made that same longing sigh she was known for, Leo scoffed the way he always did. Eventually, they came to the door of the throne room, which is where he stepped in front of everyone. He put his hand up on the door, giving every one of them a glance, Rynah last. She looked up at him, as he was over a full head taller than she, and wasn't sure exactly what to feel at this particular moment. Part of her was scared even though she knew what was coming. Xander pushed the door open, annoucing himself to the man on the throne.

"I have returned, Father," he said as he stepped closer.

"So you have," King Garon nodded. "Word of your work in Hoshido preceds you, my son. What I've heard pleases me. Your efforts to vanquish our enemies will not go unrewarded."

"Thank you, Father," Xander said, bowing a bit. "There is something else. I bring good tidings. It's about Rynah. She's come home to us..."

Garon's face twisted for a moment into a look of something between disgust and surprise. Rynah, and the rest of the Nohrian family, slowly made their way to the throne. All of them gave a bow or a curtsy before allowing themselves to gaze upon the great king. "Rynah... has returned?" The disbelief in his tone made everyone in the room feel uncomfortable.

Rynah took a deep breath. She'd seen this scene before, but experiencing it was a completely different beast all together. "...Hello, Father."

"What are you doing back here, girl?!" Garon sneered, staring at her with contempt. "Why did you come back?!"

"F-Father?!" she gasped in confusion.

Elise ran up beside her, frought with panic. "Father, how can you say such a thing?"

"Do you take me for a fool, Rynah?" Garon asked, shifting his weight onto the other side of his throne. He held up his head by leaning into a balled fist, like he was somewhere between annoyed and bored with all this. "I have spies everywhere. I know that you've spent all this time at the castle of Hoshido. Their filthy queen must have told you lies of all kinds about the evil Nohrian family having taken the three of you away from your birthright... Poor little princesses... Surely now you know the truth, that we are your enemies. And yet..." he stopped, concentrating to look at her, to analyze her as intensely as he possibly could, "And yet... you came back, all the same. I can't help but wonder why."

The king's advisor, who stood next to the throne. "Smells of treachery to me," he mused, playing with his long, scraggly black hair. "Here for an assassination attempt, I'd wager."

Rynah shook her head vigorously. "I-I could never! I could never bring harm to the man that I called Father as long as I can remember!"

"It simply isn't possible," Xander said, explaining about how she turned away from her own triplet sisters as they chose not to return. All of the Nohrian family had seen her make the decision and fight back against the Hoshidan army valiantly. He told of how she asked Kamui how she could turn her back on the family that raised them directly, how she proudly marched back to the capital of Windmire with her head held high despite all that.

"But... Xander..." she wanted to interrupt so she could correct him about that last bit, but both Leo and Camilla put their hands on her shoulders and indicated to just let their big brother handle this.

"A convincing story..." Iago said, shrugging, "...though it proves nothing. Could be some sort of elaborate ruse."

Xander's gaze met with Iago's, and his voice boomed with a tone befitting that of a future king. "Silence, Iago! I swear on my honor as Crown Prince that was no act. You were not there, you fool! How could you know how things transpired?!"

"That is enough, Iago..." Garon said. "Your words have been heard and considered... Xander, my son."

"Sir?"

"Kill Rynah."

She stood in fear, feeling her heartbeat rise skyrocket, lost in thought. Even though she was surrouned by people defending her, she was all alone within her mind. She couldn't find the words to try to try to beg for mercy. Rynah knew that Xander would not point his sword at her. She knew there was no way she was going to die here. But that didn't mean Garon wasn't imposing. His voice, his demeanor were almost demonic in nature. He seemed as if he could have gotten right out of his throne and disembowled her right then, and he wouldn't have felt a thing. Iago was scary, too, but in a different way. He carried himself in a way that radiated dark magics, allowing them to enter within his body and come right back out, almost ephemerial. There were cries in protest from all of the siblings except Xander. Would this be the moment where this dream ended? Would she not have the chance to hold Xander to her, the way she always did every time she played this game? She didn't want to leave Nohr, no matter how frightened she was. This was her home. She decided this was her home. She wanted this place to be her home. But, maybe because there were three of them, things were different? How she longed to lace her fingers through Xander's, to find comfort in his heartbeat, to dance with him under the light of the full moon... There wasn't much she wanted from this world that had become an escape from her daily routine.

"Please, no!" Elise cried. "Don't hurt our sister!"

"That is enough, Princess," Iago said. "It is not your place to question the King's decision. Not even a queen could overrule the command given by King Garon!"

"Xander. You have your orders," Garon said. "No more stalling. Proceed."

Xander walked around Rynah once. He put his hand on the hilt of his sacred dark sword, staring directly into her eyes. For a moment, their spirits seemed to connect. Even though the love he had for her now was nothing more than just that of a big brother towards his little sister, she could see that he loved her. He didn't give that sort of look to many people. as he was a man very shielded in the traditons of royalty. As he answered the king, he did not look away from her soft brown eyes. "I'm sorry, Father... I refuse."

"Aww, what's the matter?" Iago asked. "Don't have the guts?! Or... could it be that our crown prince is also a traitor? He IS defying a royal order..."

"Stop!" Rynah cried out. "Don't you dare pin what my sisters... what I have done on Xander! If the world would be a better place without me, then maybe it's best I go! Give me a weapon, I'll take care of it myself. Just as long as you don't hurt Xander!"

"You would sacrifice yourself for Xander? Now that is interesting," King Garon said, slowly standing up. He towered over even Xander in height. There was so much he had witnessed in his throne room, so many voices that all had something to say about this strange adopted daughter of his. There was only one that could make the absolute decision, even higher than that of a king. "...If that is the case, then I will ask the sacred dragon, Anankos, on your behalf what should be done. The dragon alone will decide your fate."

On the other side of the continent, the one of the many fortresses that belonged to Hoshido was Fort Jinya. It had been ransacked by Nohrian forces days ago, with the wounded strewn about the place, calling out for those capable of using healing magic. Buildings reduced to rubble threatened to fall at a moment's notice upon those beneath them. The youngest Princess of Hoshido, Sakura, went to each of them with her tender demeanor, doing her best to take care of all the soldiers in pain. The glowing particles of power that emanated from her festal offered many a man and woman relief.

"This way, Kamui," Felicia said calmly.

"What is this place?" Kamui asked as she followed Felicia.

"This is Fort Jinya. Sakura is all ready here taking care of the wounded. Let's go help her."

"Yes, I agree!" she nodded. As she continued through more of the destroyed area, she came across Sakura, wearing a beautiful red and white kimono. Her youngest sister welcomed her with a gentle embrace. Two soldiers stood by, one male and the other female, watching her ever carefully. "What can I do to help?" Felicia walked off for a moment, as she had a staff that she could use to help heal the fallen, and to give those two time to have their family moment.

"I'm so glad you're here," Sakura said as she pulled out of the hug. "We're short handed and can really use any help we can get. I have satchels full of vulneraries and medicines for those that cannot use the sacred festals so we may quickly tend to all of those in pain here." And then, as she was starting to get back to work, she said, "Right. Before we get started, these are my retainers."

"I am Hana," the girl said, her wavy brown hair framing her face and cascading down her shoulders. "Lady Sakura has told me all about you."

"And I'm Subaki," the man said. He had long red hair pulled up into a ponytail. He wore the armor befitting of a pegasus knight, with a spear in a holster strapped to his back. Seeing a spear reminded Kamui of her sister that had decided to go back to the dreary land of Nohr, but she did all she could not to concentrate on that. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Kamui."

"It's nice to meet you both," Kamui said politely. "Though I'm afraid you probably know more about me than I do about you."

"You don't have to worry. They are friendly," Sakura said with a gentle smile. "They are always close by and welcome to help."

"Thank you..."

Suddenly Felicia ran back up to Kamui. "I hate to interrupt, but... Kamui, we have trouble! Nohrian forces approach!"

"What?" Kamui asked, frozen for a moment. Was Rynah really all ready on the march to prove herself? They hadn't been apart that long, had they? She tried to remember the pacing differences between the paths, but she was mostly unfamiliar with the Nohrian path. But, then again, now there were three paths, and that meant things were going to be different. Kamui wondered if she would be ready to battle against Rynah. She had what she wanted, she all ready had Xander close by. Kamui had not been able to connect with Kaze yet. How unfair! Knowing her luck, Rynah'd be riding into battle on the back of Xander's horse, running her fingers through his hair, their lips locked at the very same time that they both made an attack, crossing her spear with his sword. Shit. For the sake of all things holy, why did Kamui imagine that?

She gathered her wits and looked around at the few troops she had available. "Very well. Prepare for battle!"

Lilith had led Arielle and her dutiful servant Fiora somewhere secret and hidden from the rest of the world. This place was an empty fortress now, but based on what Lilith explained, there would be plenty of buildings to fill the fortress with. Lilith lived in a temple in the dead center of the fortress. She explained that she was the protector of this space, and those who gave her tribute would be able to make her stronger, so she could do more to defend the fortress. The place was laiden with dragon veins, which made it possible to do all sorts of amazing things with it. A few days after having run away from being forced to make a decision, Arielle spent most of her time resting. She didn't want to go back and potentially have to take her axe into battle with those she cared about. Fiora tended to her, looked after her, kept her company.

Eventually, after hours of casual conversation about nothing ended with Fiora suddenly looking over at Arielle and said, "I really hate to bring this up, but... what are we going to do now?"

"I don't want to fight against my family," Arielle answered, frowning. "On either side."

"Nohr and Hoshido against us... there's not a lot we can do," Fiora said, sighing. "Though... when I last went to share dinner with Lilith, she said something that caught my attention."

"And what was that?" Arielle asked, cocking her head to the side.

"There is a place, safe from both Hoshido and Nohr. There's a secret hidden at the bottomless cavern."

"You mean where Hans tried to-"

"That exact place."

"I don't want to go back to the Bottomless Cavern. That was the start of this whole mess!" Arielle said, shaking her head in protest. "If we hadn't left the Northern Fortress, then we wouldn't have been separated. Xander said that if we didn't fight him, we never would have been permitted to leave, but we did. And we passed. Maybe we shouldn't have..."

"Oh stop it!" Fiora said. "I know that you're scared of having to fight your sisters, but... what you did was right."

"What?"

"You said you believed there is good in both Nohr and Hoshido. You stood your ground. And now, you might be the only one capable of... standing up to your sisters, making them understand that the only way for peace is to come together," Fiora said sternly. "I may be Nohrian, but I don't want to see our homes engulfed by war forever. One day, there has to be a way that we can all be loyal to our homes without that meaning that we constantly fight each other."

"And... you want us to go to that place Lilith mentioned so we can start doing that."

"Yes," she nodded.

"Oh, all right," Arielle said, getting up. "Prepare to depart."

"Yes, my lady!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TIBBY-SAN!