Lady in Waiting Chapter 18: Devoted Darkness Part 2, a fire emblem fanfic

Lady in Waiting

By psychored1911

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Awakening or Fire Emblem Fates

Chapter 18: Devoted Darkness pt 2

"You know, you had me very worried there." Subaki said as he playfully pulled at Morgan's cheeks, "Not many could put the fear of the gods into me, you know. That being said, that was a very mean prank. You should not do that to others, okay?"

"Hehehe…" The child giggled as her cheeks were pulled, not seeming the least bit guilty for her actions.

*SMACK*

"Ow!"

"Focus!"

Hinoka angrily swatted the back of Subaki's head with the parcel, "What do you mean Azura found Kamui?!"

"It is as you said, princess." Subaki affirmed, rubbing the back of his head as the child scampered into Setsuna's lap. "Lady Azura stumbled upon Prince Kamui during our operations in Windmire, almost as if by fate. Kaze confirmed his identity himself."

"So, where is he?" Takumi pressed, "What did the Nohrians do to him? Let him rot in a cell? Torture him? Turn him into a Servant of one of their nobles?"

"Umm, no, actually…" Subaki tugged at his collar, "It seems as though King Garon has… adopted Prince Kamui as one of his own…"

The silence was deafening as the eyes of all the Hoshidans bored into him in utter disbelief.

"...What?" Hinoka uttered weakly.

"I wish I were making it up, but that's not all." Subaki admitted uncomfortably, "From how Lady Azura described it, Prince Kamui was raised as… Prince Corrin, second son of the late queen Katerina of Nohr. He does not remember a single part of his Hoshidan heritage."

"...Are you telling me that they raised Kamui as a Prince of Nohr?!" Takumi exclaimed in outrage, "You mean a prince of Hoshido now has a claim to the Nohrians' wretched throne?!"

"Well, he's supposedly only third in line due to their inheritance laws, but yes, I suppose." Subaki cleared his throat, "She said that you could communicate with her through the tome in the parcel. All you had to do was write in-"

Hinoka tore the parcel open, revealing one of the communication tomes inside. She stormed over to the nearby desk, slammed the tome open, and began to write in it:

Hinoka: [Azura, it's Hinoka. I want answers. NOW.]

One minute elapsed.

Then another minute.

And then another.

There was no response.

While Hinoka and Takumi (the latter of whom was now leaning over his sister's shoulder) stared at the book for what felt like ages, a man in a white dress shirt walked from the dining room into the living room.

"Table's ready." He then noticed Hinoka and Takumi staring into the book that was delivered by Subaki. "Did I miss anything?"

The child ran up to him, extending her arms towards him. "Up!"

"Aren't you too old for that, Morgan?" The man, Azura's fourth retainer, asked.

The child, Morgan, pouted, stomped her feet on the ground, and raised her arms again. "Carry me! UP!"

"Having trouble babysitting?" Subaki joked.

"Technically, it's not babysitting…" He replied. His attention returned to the little girl, he rolled his eyes and smiled, scooping her up in his arms, while she grabbed onto his neck for leverage. "By the way, Lady Azura isn't going to respond until around night time over there."

Takumi furrowed her brow, "How do you know that?"

"It was in the letter she wrote." He said, holding said envelope between two fingers. "You gave it to me a while ago with the other documents, remember?"

The Hoshidans all stopped and stared at him, stunned, as though the idea of actually examining the contents of Azura's letters never crossed their minds. "What?" He asked defensively. "I thought you read it too."

Morgan stuck her tongue out. "You're all stupid. Especially Mr. Takumi."

Takumi snapped his head up in offense, "Hey!"

"Mr. Takumi is stupid and scary." Morgan continued, almost innocently. "That's why he's still single."

Ouch.

While the others were still stunned at the child's barbs, the one dig at Takumi was enough to get them all to collectively start laughing at the Hoshidan prince's expense.

Takumi himself was fuming from embarrassment. "O-Oh yeah?! Well, um… you're single too!"

The laughter from the other Hoshidans only increased, as Takumi's comeback fell apart in multiple ways.

Morgan blew a raspberry at him, "I'm five. What's your excuse, loser?"

And then the laughter from the others reached a tipping point, with Hinata and Oboro just rolling on the floor, holding their stomachs as the man in white wisely decided to cover Morgan's mouth and pull out before Takumi could recover from his epic roasting. "Hush you. You're getting less dessert for comments like that." he chastised.

"Awww…" Morgan whined, only now regretting her actions as she was ushered away in the retainer's arms.

With the duo of retainers gone, Takumi slowly but surely closed his jaw, which had been hanging open the whole time in shock, before sitting back down in a harrumph, "I am so getting back at that brat."

"Takumi, she's a kid. And not your retainer." Hinoka deadpanned, quickly recovering from her laughing fit. "Azura, and mother, and I, will have your head if you raise a hand against her without her permission. Not to mention what he would do if you tried anything."

"I-I'm not gonna lay a finger on her!" Takumi pouted in denial, turning his head away.

"But I will blame Azama for being a poor influence on her."

"Eh, that one I'll allow." Hinoka shrugged. Azama's rapier wit was rubbing off on the poor kid in all the wrong ways.

Hinata and Oboro, slowly recovering from their own laughing fits, put their hands on Takumi's shoulder

"Don't worry, Lord Takumi! We know you're trying your best to get a girlfriend!" Hinata snickered.

"He's right!" Oboro giggled. "Who cares that you scared away all your suitors! We still love you just the way you are!"

"You're not helping!" Takumi roared with a reddened face as he shrugged the two off and stormed out of the living room, only earning himself more ridicule at his expense from the others in the process.

Pain.

Felicia's heart felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand knives. She didn't know why. But the sight of Corrin, happily chatting away with another woman…

IT HURT.

Flora whipped her head over to her sister in sheer bewilderment. "Felicia, who is that?"

"I-I dunno?" Felicia whispered as she grabbed Flora as they hid behind a nearby wall of a building. "This is the first time I've seen that woman in my life…"

"I heard Lilith saying something about Lord Corrin making new friends during his time in Windmire…" Flora grumbled, glaring daggers into the gorgeous woman linked arm-in-arm with their lord, "I swear, if he spent all this time flirting with girls I'm gonna…"

"...Flora…?" Felicia hesitantly put a hand on her sister's shoulder, "You okay…?"

"...Yeah." Flora reeled herself back, blinking in disbelief, "I… don't know what came over me. I just saw that girl in Lord Corrin's arms, and I just- whatever…"

"Weird. Same." Felicia admitted uneasily,

"...Either way, I think we should follow them." Flora noted with a frown. "For all of Lord Corrin's virtues, he is a bit too trusting towards others. I fear this woman may have some ulterior motives for him."

"You think so?" Felicia asked.

"Yeah. A sheltered, handsome, kind-hearted prince, third in line to the throne?" Flora pointed out, "He's practically every young woman's dream… as well as every woman's-"

"Every woman's what?"

Any and all complicated feelings the twins were feeling were immediately thrown out the window as the duo laid their eyes upon three little kids staring right at them.

"Hi Felicia! Hi Flora!"

"Wow, you look pretty today!"

"You look different without your uniforms."

These weren't just any kids. Felicia and Flora recognized them. These three were the children of some of their peers in the Northern Fortress. They had no business being here themselves, and they doubted their parents would leave their relatively comfortable jobs to work in the city.

Felicia forced a smile and knelt down to them, "Hey, guys. What are you doing here?"

"Some guy invited us to the Dusk Festival!" One of the kids exclaimed cheerfully.

"He invited our parents and the whole legion to celebrate with everyone."

Felicia and Flora shared a look. Something was wrong. They would've heard from either Lilith or Gunter, who stayed behind at the Fortress, if such an order was made. Heck, they would've heard from Corrin first, as the Northern Legion can only be mobilized either by Corrin himself, or the king.

Flora's face turned concerned, "Does Lilith know about this?"

"Dunno." The third kid shrugged. "It happened sometime after you guys left."

That means this happened recently, and both Corrin and Lilith were kept out of the loop.

Sakura- Sara gulped as she approached the front gates to the Royal Villa. Even with Hana right behind her, she still couldn't help but feel nervous coming to this place. A feeling that stretched into utter panic when she saw that Lilith, her mother's long-lost firstborn and Kamui's right-hand woman, was standing at the other side of the gate, staring daggers into her.

She seemed to be in a foul mood.

Nevertheless, Sara swallowed down her fear and walked closer, with Lilith wordlessly opening the gate for her, out of courtesy and decorum rather than any due respect.

Before she passed her by, Sara stopped right next to Lilith and turned to her. "Y-You know… we don't need to be hostile to one another. E-Even though you dislike our mother… we can still be family-"

Sara clammed up as Lilith's eyes seemingly became even more intense, glowing red as she bored her eyes into the poor princess.

At that moment, she regretted not bringing Nagi along with her. As skillful with a blade as Hana was, Nagi was the only one in her retinue who seemingly wasn't intimidated by Lilith. She only wished she had some of that same courage within her.

…Now that she thought about it, Nagi did send a message to Kamui earlier that day. Perhaps she could have asked the retainer to join them for this later visit rather than send her out earlier. Oh, well. She couldn't do anything about it now.

Easing off just a little, Lilith wordlessly gestured for them to follow her to the courtyard.

Waiting for them was none other than Princess Elise, sitting at a patio table, sipping a beverage while watching several knights spar with one another.

It wasn't even a normal spar, though. Instead of a straight duel, it was a three-on-one match, with one knight, wearing a bearskin shawl of all things, taking on two heavily armored knights and one mounted cavalryman. Surprisingly, it seemed as though the pelt-wearing knight was actually winning the endeavor, as she didn't seem nearly as winded or injured as the other three.

"Ooh, Sara!" Elise perked up and waved her over, "I'm so glad you came over to visit!"

"I-I wouldn't dream of turning you down, Elise…" Sara stuttered, cautiously looking over her shoulder, only to find Lilith still glaring at her.

Elise raised a brow as she glanced at her brother's head maid, "Lilith? You okay?"

Lilith seemingly snapped out of her trance as she stood to attention, "Ah, yes, Lady Elise. I'm quite fine, thank you very much."

Elise was seemingly unconvinced, "...How about you take a break for a bit? Take a breather, why don't you?"

"It's quite alright, Lady Elise. Besides, I still have to serve refreshments." Lilith bowed before quickly excusing herself.

As she left, Elise put an arm around Sara's shoulder, "...You okay? I don't think I've ever seen Lilith that upset before."

"I-I'm fine…" Sara lied.

Elise furrowed her brow as she glanced at Lilith's direction, "Maybe she's just having an off day? I dunno what to tell you." She shrugged, "Well, anyway, why don't you meet my friends!"

She whistled, and all four knights stood to attention. The knight in the bearskin shawl returned with nary a wince in her step. The same couldn't be said about her compatriots, who seemed to be limping back and nursing their arms and legs.

"Sara, I'd like you to meet a few of the knights in our service." Elise started with the heavily armored girl, "This is Effie. She's one of my oldest friends."

"Tis a pleasure," Effie weakly but politely uttered with a slight bow.

Elise moved on to the muscular man, "This is Arthur. He's a bit unlucky, but he is quite the courageous knight!"

"N-Nice to meet you!" Arthur let out a pained but enthusiastic remark.

Elise then moved on to the cavalryman with the cowlick, "And this is Silas. He's an old family friend, but now he's Corrin's bodyguard. I mean, like, not right now, but… y'know."

"A-At your service…" Silas' forced smile did little to stifle the pained groan.

Elise then moved on to the woman in the bearskin shawl. "And last but not least, this is Marth, who'd recently taken the title of Nohr's best swordsman from my brother Xander." She glanced up at her choice of headwear. "No idea why she's wearing that today though…"

Marth shrugged, "I thought it looked nice."

Elise forced a smile. "...I'm sure you like it."

Hana leaned over to Sara and whispered, "...Does she look familiar to you?"

"...I'm not sure." Sara whispered back. True, while Marth seemed to bear a resemblance to… someone she met before, Sara, for the life of her, couldn't quite put a finger on it. Perhaps it was just the hood of the shawl that was throwing her off, though; it looked as though the woman's face was just sticking out of the bear's mouth.

Sara blinked and cleared her throat, "Um, I'd like to introduce you to my friend… Hannah."

Hana, or by what her fake passport says- Hannah bowed, before eyeing Marth. "Marth, is it? I challenge you to a match."

Elise blinked, "You sure about that?"

Hannah nodded, ignoring the worried looks of the three knights Marth was sparring with earlier. "If it's all the same to you, of course."

Elise paled, "Actually, I-"

"It is no problem to me at all." Marth replied, flourishing her steel sword almost casually. "Follow me."

"Now, young lady-"

"That is a really bad idea-"

"You really shouldn't-"

"I'd like to think of myself as one of the better swordsmen in the world, so I find such a thing a rare opportunity." Hannah grinned.

Sakura gulped as her retainer ignored the frantic warnings of the three knights. She knew of her penchant for challenging tougher opponents in Hoshido, but to challenge the strongest knight in Nohr? She was just asking for trouble.

Hannah drew her sword, clumsily, still unused to non-katana swords, before taking a more practiced stance against her opponent. Marth, on the other hand, just kept her sword pointed to the ground, adjusting the strap on that butterfly-shaped shield.

Elise shook her head in disapproval, "Marth… try not to fight dirty."

"No promises." Marth affirmed, tightening the straps to a snug fit.

Elise could only turn to Sara with an apologetic, forced grin before sighing. "You may begin."

Sara only blinked, but in that instance, Marth closed the distance between herself and Hannah almost immediately. Hannah let out a yelp of surprise before barely ducking out of the way of Marth's blade and leaping backwards out of immediate harm.

"To be fair, she's doing decently well compared to how most of these duels go." Elise commented.

"...Does Marth get into fights a lot?" Sara hesitantly asked.

"Yep." Elise popped that last syllable out, "Though, half the time it's training my brother Corrin. The other half has her getting challenged to fights. The other day, some soldiers wanted to test their mettle against her, and she ended up wiping out a whole garrison unit."

"I-I see…" Sara said, clearly more concerned for her friend than ever. "She certainly is… tenacious."

"Apparently, this is her holding back." Elise commented.

Sara snapped her head back to the Nohrian princess in disbelief, "T-This is holding back?!"

"Yeah. Even when my brother Xander was going up against her, she was apparently still handicapped by a hangover." Elise shrugged, before gesturing over to the other knights, who were just staring at the 'duel' (read: one-sided game of cat and mouse) with pale-faced horror, "Notice how they're not that hurt? She was deliberately pulling her punches, and she was juggling all three of them at once!" Elise cupped her chin, "Actually, now that I think about it, I should probably heal 'em up right about now…"

"L-Let me help… I know healing magic too…" Sara said as she pulled out her staff.

"You do?!" Elise's eyes lit up. "We know the same type of magic too! I knew we were gonna be best friends!"

While the two princesses healed the knights, Sara took a closer look at their injuries. Despite being covered in dirt, grime, and… tomatoes, the three knights were in remarkably good condition. Sure, there were cuts and bruises virtually everywhere, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and the injuries looked more like they were being thrown around rather than being hacked at by a master swordswoman.

"U-Uwaaah?!"

"Hit the deck!"

Elise pulled Sara down as Hannah sailed overhead, flailing her arms about in a panic as she crashed into the unforgiving earth below, with Marth almost casually walking over to her opponent.

To Hannah's credit, she did manage to scramble back to her feet, this time for an actual counterattack rather than keeping on the defensive.

Bringing her sword down, their blades locked. Hannah was pushing against her opponent with all her might, but Marth didn't even budge, or even seem winded at the trial. Heck, if Sara didn't know any better, she would've thought Hana was clashing against a statue of all things.

Hannah was beyond bewildered, "It… It can't end here…!"

"Of course not. I say when it ends!"

Marth suddenly leaned backward, rolling onto her back, and forcing Hannah to stumble forward on her own momentum. With her knees bent, and her feet now reaching Hannah's abdomen, Marth kicked, throwing Hannah into the air once again and leaping back to her feet before finishing Hannah off by spiking the midair retainer back into the ground with her shield.

Sara winced and turned away before Hannah slammed into the earth again. And Elise could only shake her head, "Marth, I'm calling it. She's done."

Marth nodded, almost demurely bowing back despite the results of her handiwork lay literally at her feet, unmoving, save for the occasional twitch.

Sara shortly walked over to her retainer and cast a healing spell on her, stirring her friend from impending unconsciousness, "Maybe next time, you should-"

Hannah's head shot up as she pulled herself to her feet as a tenacious fire lit up in her eyes. "Best two out of three!"

Sara blinked, "W-Wait, what?"

Hannah snatched the sword off of Silas' hip, brandishing both swords at the ready, and stomped back over to Marth. "I ain't holding back anymore, Marth! Do your worst!"

Sara covered her eyes, "Ooh, I can't watch!"

Elise shrugged in resignation, "'Aight, I'll tell you how it goes."

Lilith walked over to the table and set down a tray. "Lady Elise, your tea and lunch are ready."

"Excellent! Thank you, Lilith." Elise dragged Sakura over. "Come now, we have much to discuss."

Azura- Aqua walked arm in arm with Corrin. She didn't think much of it, it became instinctual at this point to latch on to him. Not that Corrin was complaining, he seemed to rather enjoy her company.

"Say, Corrin, do you know of a swordswoman named Lucina?" Aqua inquired. "Regal, refined, polite? Blue hair, magic sword? Mother of one? Golden-hearted, terrible fashion sense?"

Corrin furrowed his brow, "I know a few people who fit some of those criteria, particularly women with blue hair, but I wouldn't say I know of anyone who would fit all of those descriptions, or anyone with that name, for that matter. Why do you ask?"

"One of my closest friends has been looking for her sister, the mother of her niece." Aqua explained, "She's been looking all over for her. I heard some things in Nohr, some things in Hoshido, but I didn't have a chance to confirm any of these rumors."

"Well, I will look into it, but I can't promise anything." Corrin replied, "What brought this on all of a sudden?"

"I just supposed I had a promise to fulfill, and I haven't been doing my part as of late." Aqua said, giving him a glance that made his heart flutter, "Besides, if any of your sisters went missing, wouldn't you go to the ends of the earth to find them?"

"I suppose you're right." Corrin admitted. "I would probably tear through every building in this kingdom if either of my sisters ever went missing…"

They talked for a bit longer, their conversation getting ever so more and more personal. This was definitely the most either had talked to with a relatively new stranger.

"Lord Corrin."

A woman's voice called out to the young prince, pulling them out of their conversation.

It was Flora, but Corrin had hardly recognized her outside of her usual maid uniform. She certainly cleaned up nicely. She was wearing a shoulderless blouse with a vest over it, as well as a pair of shorts and heeled boots. All of this was topped off by a bright blue bandana that tied her hair back. She looked like she was going exploring in the woods rather than the city, but she pulled the look off quite well.

The slight tug on his sleeve from Aqua pulled him away from his staring, and he cleared his throat, "Erm, Flora, fancy seeing you here. This is my friend Aqua. She is a countess from Nestra." He then motioned over to the woman by his side, "Aqua, this is Flora, one of my closest friends, and the heir apparent for the duchy of Freesia."

"Ah," Aqua's face went unreadable as she eyed Flora, "It's a pleasure to meet you, duchess."

"The feeling's reciprocated, countess." Flora deadpanned with a curtsey as her eyes flickered back to Corrin, "Milord, there's something that urgently needs your attention. Would you please come with me for the moment?"

"Of course." He turned to his companion, gently pulling his arm out of her grip. "I'll be back in a bit."

He stood up and walked out of earshot from Aqua as Flora pulled him aside. "Milord, I have reason to believe that King Garon has mobilized your Northern Legion."

Corrin blinked, "What? That's absurd. What makes you say that?"

"Felicia and I have stumbled upon some children from the Fortress; they claim that the king invited their families to Windmire for the coming festivities."

He doubted it was that simple. That was probably the version of the story to tell the kids. He would have to regroup with Lilith about this… and possibly confront his father about this as well.

"Also, milord," Flora's eyes bored into his own, "...Please tell me you haven't spent all your time in Windmire philandering with girls."

Corrin flushed red, "W-What?! No, of course not! What do you take me for, Laslow?!"

"If you were anything like Laslow, neither I nor Felicia would want anything to do with you." Flora snarked, taking a deep breath as she took his hands into hers. "Please milord, keep yourself in check, for all of our sakes. The last thing any of us want is for you to descend into decadence."

Corrin sighed, pulling Flora into a hug. "I won't, I promise."

Flora smiled as she slowly pulled herself out of the hug, "That is all I ask. Now, if you excuse me, Felicia and I have to bring the kids back to their parents, lest they end up in any unsupervised trouble. Windmire is quite different from the Northern Fortress, after all."

"Hold on," Corrin shook his head, "Let me see them. I have to hear this nonsense for myself."

Corrin then followed Flora over to where Felicia was playing with the kids. And by playing with the kids, she was hopping around on one foot, making silly faces overall acting as a fool.

"Blehh! Guffaw!"

Despite this, Corrin couldn't help but notice that her outfit matched Flora's, albeit with a pink skirt rather than a blue pair of shorts. It suited her.

Flora cleared her throat, "Felicia."

"Aah?!" Felicia yelped as she immediately straightened herself out, much to the amusement of the kids, "F-Flora! A-And Corrin?! How much of that did you see?"

"The whole thing. We saw the whole thing." Flora deadpanned.

Corrin cleared his throat, if only so that the younger sister could save face, addressing the children directly. "Do you guys know who told your parents to come here?"

"Nope."

"Never saw him."

"Dunno who he is."

"Do you know somebody who probably does?" Corrin asked. "Your parents? Any adults you know?"

"Weeeelllllllllllllll…" The eldest one lit up, "Reena got roped into working at a bakery over there."

The kids then pointed at a very cutesy-looking bakery. It was colorful, painted in bright pastel colors, decorated with flowers, contrasting heavily with the rest of the more rugged buildings that made up the district, as well as the tough, thuggish, muscular, brigand-types of men who were making a single-file line outside of the bakery. Some were bald, some were heavily scarred, and more than a few were wearing eyepatches.

If one didn't know any better, it looked like they were going to rob the place in an orderly fashion, taking turns, one right after the other.

Corrin sagged his shoulders. "Yep, that sounds like Reena…"

Flora massaged her temples. "Unbelievable…"

Felicia's eyes went wide in bewilderment. "Again?"

Corrin turned back to the kids, crouched to their level and dropped a handful of coins into their hands. "Go back to your parents. It's getting late."

"Yes, milord."

The kids scampered off as the three of them shifted their attention to the bakery in question.

"If I had a gold coin for every lowlife she attracted, I'd be rich enough to buy my own duchy twice over." Flora deadpanned.

Felicia frowned, "That's not exactly fair, it's not like she's doing it on purpose."

"Regardless, she probably has more context than the rest of us right now, and it will take a while for me to track down one of the others, so…" Corrin cupped his chin. "Any ideas on how to get in there?"

"We could just wait in line." Felicia suggested. "I mean, it can't be that long of a wait."

"I dunno. I've heard Camilla mention seeing lines for boutiques she was interested in." Corrin folded his arms.

"I also recall Lady Camilla mentioning how the owners of said boutiques practically rolling a carpet out for her upon realizing that the First Princess of the Kingdom was interested in their wares." Flora snorted. "Milord, you're a prince. Just walk in. No need to make things more difficult than it has to be."

"To be fair, despite his heritage, he is still a relatively unknown figure in his home city. Pulling rank could end rather disastrously."

The three of them turned their heads as Aqua chimed in to add her opinion.

"What? Even if Corrin here is the second prince, he's still a nobody in the city's cultural climate. Of course they'd let in his socialite of an elder sister get away with such privileges. However, since our prince is a recluse in the grand scheme of things, albeit not by choice, he wouldn't be privy to such a warm welcome from other strangers, even with the differences in status." Aqua pointed out, "And I doubt our esteemed prince here is willing to cause trouble in his father's lands for petty little reasons. So it stands to reason that if you really want to go into this patisserie, your best option is to stand in line like everyone else."

Corrin cupped his chin, before ultimately nodding his head, "Alright, I guess we'll go with your idea, Aqua."

"But it-"

"Come on, let's go." Aqua turned Prince Corrin around and headed toward the back, with a concerned Flora following right after.

As the others went to the end of the line, Felicia sadly uttered, "But it was my idea…" before sulkingly following after them.

"..."

It spoke volumes about the awkwardness when a bunch of hardened-looking thugs kept a wide berth from a trio of beautiful women and a rich, naive-looking nobleman. Especially as the trio of women were seemingly having a silent standoff between them, their faces unreadable as their eyes darted between themselves.

Corrin, tugging at his collar uncomfortably, and probably feeling like this tension was somehow his fault, cleared his throat, "Ladies, we're all friends here-"

"Friends?" Aqua raised a brow in offense.

"Oooooooh…" Some of the nearby thugs- patrons audibly winced.

Corrin gulped, "I- uh… I mean, uhh… Aqua, these are my friends Felicia and Flora?"

"Friends?" Flora scoffed in offense.

"Oooooooh…" Even more of the thugs- patrons winced as Corrin clammed up.

"You're screwing up." One of the thugs- patrons leaned over and whispered into his ear.

"Which part?" Corrin asked desperately.

"The part where you tried to court three women at the same time and had them meet each other." The patron said, "If you wanted more than one lover, you really shouldn't let them know about each other."

"So, how do you two ladies know him?" Aqua asked the twins, seemingly in an attempt to break the tension (but mostly so she could ignore the commentary from their newfound audience).

"...We've been friends since childhood." Flora answered reluctantly. "I would say we are quite close."

"I see." Aqua raised a brow, "You know, I've read from a lot of fictional literature (as well as one gods-awful book filled with useless dating advice) that childhood friends are a leading cause of marriage next to arranged marriages."

"If you read the same literature that I have, then you would also know that those same childhood friends tend to lose the race for the protagonist's heart half the time." Flora deadpanned.

Felicia visibly shuddered, clutching a hand over her heart, but only Aqua seemed to notice it in the corner of her eye.

The countess shrugged, "True, but sometimes they are just as victorious in love. It usually depends on the author's intentions. After all, I read a study where men and women who grew up together effectively can't see each other in a romantic light. It would be as though they are siblings to one another rather than potential lovers."

Felicia seemingly clutched her hand tighter over her heart.

"I would agree, countess." Flora uttered through grit teeth, "However, I'd say that love would go unrecognized unless said children develop the emotional maturity to recognize their feelings for one another."

"So, you are in favor of the trope of childhood friends becoming lovers?" Aqua inquired.

"I find it to be one of the best forms of love." Flora admitted, "I find it much less contrived than some newcomer woman stepping in out of nowhere and taking the friend's place at her loved one's side."

Corrin uneasily took a step back, "Why are you having such a serious conversation on the plots of romance novels?"

Aqua ignored him, and continued on, "I'm just saying, if a childhood friend wanted to declare herself as the lover, then she had all the time in the world to admit her feelings. Since she didn't, then the male protagonist is fair game to any and all suitors."

"Perhaps, but then again, love is unpredictable." Flora countered, balling her hands into trembling fists, "It can happen spontaneously, or it can take time. Who knows when the childhood friend's feelings truly mature into love. And there's always those little complications when it comes to love, such as, oh, I don't know, there being two childhood friends in love with the same man, and neither made a move out of fear towards the other's feelings."

Corrin leaned over to Felicia, "Is it just me, or are they taking this a bit too seriously?"

Felicia trembled, not meeting his gaze, "I-I wouldn't really know…"

"Are you okay? You don't look too good…"

"I'm fine…"

This very uncomfortable 'conversation about romance novels' went on until they got to the front of the line…

"Are you seriously trying to mimic Robin's long-range crossbow thing?" Odin asked incredulously.

Laslow scoffed. "I can only hope at this point. Have you seen Selena? I thought she would be here first."

"I am sure she will be here any moment now." Odin affirmed as he pulled the Falchion out of its sheath.

Laslow put the crossbow away and turned to Odin, staring at the sacred sword in his hands, "...I pray we needn't use that."

"I pray we can talk him out of this madness." Odin agreed, "Lest this blade pierce his flesh a second time."

Laslow shuddered, "I only ever saw the aftermath of that incident. I've never seen one of our own in such bad shape."

"Lucina was nigh inconsolable from guilt after that day…" Odin said as he gently laid the blade onto the table, "I would have never anticipated her to go to such lengths to halt Grima's reign."

"All the more reason for us to succeed in our endeavor." Laslow agreed. "If she had to put him down a second time, I fear she may not be able to put herself together again."

Odin was about to offer a reply, but something drew their attention. Something heavy had landed on the roof of the hotel room they were staying at. Confounded, Odin stuck his head out of the window and looked up, only to yank himself back inside at the last moment with a yelp, as Selena expertly climbed in from above, smirking and basking in the afterglow of her own superiority.

"Hehe, I still got it!" Selena all but cheered as the two guys stared at her in disbelief.

"...Did you just come here… from the roof?" Laslow asked incredulously.

"Sure did! I had to land somewhere." Selena beamed smugly, "I bought that Nohrian pegasus from the stable today!"

Odin blinked, "You mean the one that-"

"Yes, the one that killed that baroness last year." Selena affirmed, "Turns out, all you need to be the kingdom's first pegasus knight is to not have a pointy stick shoved up your butt. Who knew?"

Odin laughed and gave her a high-five. "Congrats on the new mount, friend. Now, what shall you name her?"

Selena grinned evilly, "I named her… Cynthia."

Catria sneezed for the fourth time that day, with that sudden urge to punch Severa in the face spiking within her once again.

Laslow chortled, "You know she's going to kill you, right?"

Selena shrugged, "Eh, it's not like she'll ever know."

"I mean, we did stumble upon Lucina." Odin pointed out. "Who knows? Maybe we'll find Cynthia here, hoping to bring Lucina back home."

"Lucina finding us here is a miracle by itself," Selena replied, "The odds of us stumbling upon another one of our friends is slim to none."

"Correct, Owain. Don't ruin my dream of seeing Cynthia again!" Laslow barked.

"Exactly-" Selena did a double take, "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"When we are done with our work here, I plan on heroically returning to Ylisse and making Cynthia my bride!"

Catria sneezed for the fifth time that day (maybe she was catching a cold?), this time finding herself shuddering in disgust as the urge to punch Severa in the face was replaced with the even more bizarre (but completely reasonable) urge to slap Inigo until his cheeks were permanently red.

"..."

Selena and Odin stared at Laslow in stunned disbelief. They then looked at each other, felt that they had a mutual understanding, and then turned back at their friend who said the craziest thing they had heard of in a while.

"...That sounds… like a terrible idea." Odin said flatly after a few minutes of silence.

Selena massaged her temples, as though she was trying to wring out the idiocy that had the misfortune of entering her ears. "Inigo, offense completely intended, but that is by far the stupidest thing I've ever heard to escape from your lips! And I grew up with you, so I know what I'm talking about!"

Laslow blinked, "What? Why would you think that?"

"Laslow- no… Inigo…" Odin- Owain shook his head, "We haven't seen Cynthia in years. Years, mind you. For all we know, she's probably gotten married by now. And that's assuming she settled down in Ylisse in the first place."

"And even if she didn't get hitched in the few years we were here," Selena- Severa droned, boring her eyes through Inigo's skull as she plopped herself onto a nearby chair and gestured to Inigo to continue. "Which part of that sounded like a brilliant idea to you? Go on, tell us. I want to know this from the bottom of my heart. Tell me. With complete sentences, what exactly are you going to do if you waltz back up to Ylisse and find out that Cynthia is married? Or better yet, what if she doesn't want to get married to you?!"

"I- uh…" Laslow- Inigo's words died at his throat as he struggled to find a response to Severa's somewhat difficult question. "Well… for the second one, I'll make a compelling argument and sweep her off her feet. For the first one… I'll hope she gets a divorce?"

Severa and Owain threw their hands up in exasperation.

"Inigo, buddy…" Owain struggled to find the words that could properly articulate his frustration. "Nothing in these past few years tells me that you would be willing to settle down into marriage."

"Oh, yeah?" Inigo asked defensively, "What makes you say that?"

"You still hit on any woman who so much as look in your general direction." Selena deadpanned. "Besides, you're not her type. She's into guys who, I dunno but I'm just spitballing here… actually have a brain."

Inigo balked in offense, "I do so have a brain!"

"Yeah, but despite that, you would rather think using that little prick between your legs instead of what's between your ears, you numbskull!"

"*gasp* It is so not little!"

"Enough!" Owain stood up, startling the other two, "This is ridiculous. Sure, Inigo's plan is short-sighted and ridiculous, but Selena, you're going too far with your insults! What we are about to do is very important! We should not be fighting!"

The two paused, staring at each other as a thick, uncomfortable silence blanketed the room.

Selena uneasily scratched her head before finally saying, "Sorry. I blame the stress."

"I'm sorry too." Inigo apologized as he sat back into his chair, "I'm sorry too. My plan was always doomed to failure. I never could find the courage to even ask her for a date."

"At least you did have some semblance of a plan," Selena admitted, "I dunno what I plan on doing. Maybe I could head home myself after my contract's up. Maybe I could go back to Ylisse and join my mother's pegasus knights." She glanced over at Owain, "What about you? Got any big plans?"

Owain shook his head, "None, unfortunately. But perhaps Inigo has the right idea. Perhaps settling down with a spouse is the best thing to do in the future."

Severa scoffed humorously, "As if anyone would put up with your theatrics."

Owain snorted, "Oh, like there's any guy willing to put up with your barbed tongue."

"Says you! I hear that smart-mouthed women are all the rage these days!"

The three continued to joke around for a while, their love lives being the brunt of the joke. Everything to stifle their nerves.

Once their laughter died down, the trio of lifelong friends sat in the silence. Owain continued honing the Falchion, Inigo continued tinkering with his marksman's crossbow, and Selena looked out the window with a telescope.

Everything was going to change very soon.

"So, what are your thoughts on potential peace talks between Hoshido and Nohr?"

"I dunno. At the moment we have an armistice, but nobody knows when it could break down."

Sakura- Sara should hate Elise. She was the princess of the enemy kingdom. She was the little sister to the brother she wanted.

She had every reason to be mortal enemies with Elise.

But, despite all of that… she couldn't find herself able to hate her.

Elise was just too… genuine. Her kindness was just that: kindness. No doublespeak, no underlying threats or message, no little inkling of political subterfuge to be found.

It was quite refreshing, especially in comparison to other nobles she was acquainted with.

And she was also quite intelligent as well. She didn't know how such a sheltered princess was able to keep up with the complex political doctrine, but Sara found herself more engaged in such conversation than she ever thought she would have before.

"Perhaps someone could broker peace between the two kingdoms." Sara suggested.

Elise shook her head. "Supposedly, it's been done before. Several times, in fact. Apparently, one such incident was so bad that it was stricken from history itself. I doubt any other minor kingdom would willingly be the ones to broker peace if Hoshido and Nohr were going to have any real ceasefire.

"Eh?" Sara blinked. "This is the first time I've heard of it."

"Well, that was what I was taught." Elise shrugged, "Not like talking to me is gonna get anywhere. I may be a princess, but I'm more or less a bureaucrat in the grand scheme of things. My brother Xander will be the one who'll have to make all the big decisions regarding the kingdom. It's probably the same thing over there; the royal runt of the litter is usually the powerless one."

"I doubt it's ever that simple." Sara said before changing the subject, "Perhaps a political marriage could end the hostilities.

"I doubt a political marriage would be the solution to anything…" Elise joked. "Heck, they tried that too… and the alliances lasted about as long as the marriages, which didn't last long either. Heck, I heard the second prince of Hoshido is a total jerk; I can't imagine myself or Camilla getting hitched to a guy like that."

Sara internally sweatdropped at the thought of her brother's relatively poor reputation preceding him even in the depths of the enemy kingdom.

"What about Corrin?" Sara suggested. "Would he be interested in a political marriage with a Hoshidan princess?"

She was grasping at straws on the matter, but a political marriage would bring Kamui back to Hoshido without any bloodshed.

To Azura of course. Not to her, or Hinoka. That would just be weird.

Elise turned to Lilith, who returned the Princess' gaze with her own, before they both burst into uncontrolled laughter.

"Bwahahahahaha!"

Sara leaned back uncomfortably as she glanced at Lilith, laughing as though her suggestion was a mere joke. That was the first time she saw her half-sister actually enjoying herself to some degree, and for whatever reason, it still put her on edge.

Elise wiped a tear from her eye as her laughter settled down, "Sorry about that. The thought of Corrin getting- BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The youngest princess of Nohr kept laughing with Lilith for a solid ten minutes, before she managed to recover.

"Oh, man, sorry about that." Elise uttered with a slight giggle. "You just brought up a hilarious memory from way back when."

Twelve years ago…

"...Where is everyone?"

"...I think it's best if you come and see for yourself, milord."

Gunter ushered the Royal siblings in, as Corrin himself was currently occupied to greet them himself.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here…"

…And they would soon learn why.

When the four siblings popped their heads into the main dining hall, they were beholden to… a wedding, of all things, between Corrin and Flora. Lilith was ministering the wedding, the staff were all in attendance, and there was a big, fancy wedding cake in the corner, towering over all the staff.

The Royal Family was utterly dumbfounded. Xander in particular rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things. When he pinched himself and, yes, there was a wedding taking place, he could only stare blankly at the scene before him. "Huh. That was fast. I guess I could tell Father not to arrange more potential suitors for Corrin."

"S-So, Corrin is already married… to the Duchess of Freesia." Sara uttered in a confounded conclusion.

"Well, not exactly. All of us knew it was just a play wedding in hindsight. Lilith isn't exactly a proper minister." Elise explained, her gaze humorously turning to the side. "Not that Corrin or the two knew it at the time…"

"Well, if that was the end of the story…" Lilith mused.

"Best four outta seven!" Hana yelled.

"So be it." Marth deadpanned.

"What do you mean?" Sara asked, ignoring the perpetuating duel between the retainers.

"Well…"

The week after Flora and Corrin got 'married', the other four Nohrian siblings left and came back, and stumbled upon…

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here…"

…Another wedding. All of the staff were in the same places as they were in the week before from the previous 'wedding'. Lilith was still 'ministering', the staff were all in the same positions as before, and there was also another, equally fancy cake as the one there early. The only real difference was that the 'bride' was not Flora this time, but Felicia.

Xander blinked, "Again? Didn't he 'marry' Flora the other day?"

Camilla massaged her temples in exasperation, "Goodness, Corrin will grow up to be a philanderer like father once was, won't he?"

Elise cupped her chin, "Come to think of it, they probably just wanted an excuse to have more cake…"

"I… see…?" Sara tilted her head, "So, they were having play weddings, and they did it all for cake?"

Elise grinned, "Yeah, but I think the twins were taking it just a bit more seriously…"

The air was freezing. The room was enshrouded in ice and snow. The windows were frosting over as a whirlwind of flurries raged on.

"He's mine!"

"No, he's mine!"

And the reason for this icy madness was the feuding sisters, tugging at the hapless prince by the limbs, glaring bloody murder at one another.

It was… mostly Corrin's fault. The poor boy simply did not know the deeper implications of marriage (and love in general) at his young age. And to be fair, neither did Flora or Felicia.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop Corrin from (unwittingly) trying to keep the twins to himself, which led to the current predicament in which the poor boy is being fought over by a pair of catty twin sisters.

Is it an enviable position? To teenage boys with more hormones than sense, absolutely. To adults who know better, as well as the poor Prince Corrin at the moment, absolutely not.

…Lilith probably would have intervened earlier if she didn't initially find it utterly hilarious. She would have intervened sooner after it escalated if she didn't find the melodrama entertaining.

"...And that was back when Lilith was just an apprentice maid." Elise finished her story, "Nowadays, she practically runs the Fortress in Corrin's stead. I don't think he would be able to function properly without her."

Lilith curtseyed. "You're too kind, milady, but if I may, I do believe that you're giving Lord Corrin too little credit-"

"B-Best five out of nine…"

"I think you've had enough for now."

The two nobles then paused their conversation and glanced at their retainers. Marth was sitting cross-legged but otherwise fine, grinding out the newly-made deformities in her sword with a whetstone. The same could not be said for Hannah, who was sprawled on her back, panting heavily, her limbs erratically twitching every few seconds.

Hannah slowly craned her head, forcing herself to reach for her sword, which was just out of reach.

…Was she seriously trying to keep fighting?

Sara sighed as she stood up, walked over to Hannah, and picked up the sword before Hannah could grab it. "You're done."

Sara then used her staff to patch up Hannah for the final time that day. Hannah, upon recovering, immediately tried reaching for the sword again, but Sara pulled away, giving her a stern look, practically challenging her to try, before the latter relented, visibly deflating as she bowed her head in defeat.

Once she was certain Hannah was not going to challenge Marth again, Sara softened up and asked, "Are you okay?"

"My pride hurts a lot more than my body." Hannah admitted, rubbing her arms, enjoying the lack of throbbing pain in her… everything.

"With all due respect, you should let go of your pride when in a battle." Marth advised, her eyes still focused on sharpening her blade, "It shall be your downfall in the future."

"Thank you. Have a pleasant day."

Despite the line outside still queued up with every man of questionable repute this side of Windmire, a woman of wavy, orange hair took a little break to regain her bearings, sagging her shoulders as she tried to recall the convoluted chain of events that led to this situation in the first place-

"Oh, thank gods! Reena, I need to talk to you."

"I'm on break, gimme like, ten minutes." Reena groaned.

"Reena, look behind you."

"And I said-" Reena snapped her hazel-brown eyes to whoever was trying to get her attention, before rapidly reeling back upon realizing Corrin, her prince, and more importantly, her boss, standing in front of he counter, flanked by the twins, Flora seemingly annoyed and Felicia seemingly… depressed?

And also some other woman she didn't know standing behind them, but by this point, she wouldn't be surprised if every other eligible bachelorette in the kingdom didn't already have a thing for him.

"I can explain." Reena backpedaled.

"Look, you're not in trouble, but you still have to report to Lilith later." Corrin reassured her, "Just… tell us what you know."

"Well, what do you know so far?"

"Some kids from the fortress are here, as well as some of my maids and soldiers. Lilith also was not made aware of this, and neither was I."

"Well that's just the tip of the iceberg." Reena just shrugged, "Well, for starters, remember that creep with the mask that works for the king?"

"Iago, my father's advisor." Corrin's lips curled into a frown, "What about him?"

"Well, rumor has it that Prince Xander and Iago were both sent to handle the dread fighter before things got worse. Unfortunately, neither have found anything yet. Supposedly, this is why Iago invited most of your staff to the city to deal with the Dread Fighter. Claimed the king sent him, but we can tell he was just trying to push his weight around." Reena told him, folding her arms in disgust. "From how I understand it, he's technically holding the kids hostage and telling the adults 'You don't want your children around with a Dread Fighter loose in the streets, do you?'. The damned creep."

Corrin clicked his tongue, "That figures. And your work here?"

"For starters, your soldiers have been to increase the security detail of the people. As for me and the other maids, we have been getting jobs in places where people talk. We've been trying to suss out any rumors. Me specifically, I have been trying to use my atrocious luck with guys to my advantage." She waved her hand, prompting the four of them to look around at her clientele waiting outside the bakery. "The underbelly of the city speaks louder than those on high."

"Do they have any leads so far?"

"I have one, but it's a dumb one." Reena grumbled. "The folks 'round here think it's Marth."

Corrin blinked, "Our Marth?"

"Yeah, they claim the Dread Fighter's some blue-haired chick with a sword. But that's impossible, since she's been with us the whole time. Unless there's some other woman who fits the description." Reena eyed Flora and the other woman behind Corrin, who seemed to have her curiosity piqued from her description of the alleged Dread Fighter, "Otherwise, they don't have other leads. Heard most of the city nobility are scared out of their wits, though, so that's a plus."

Felicia groaned. "So no actual leads then?"

The woman behind Corrin raised a brow, "Who is Marth?"

Corrin visibly shuddered, "Marth is a whirlwind of destruction in human form, a terrifying, sword-wielding monster of-"

Felicia slapped Corrin in the back of the head. "Milord, she's not evil; she's actually very sweet. At most, she's exasperated with your bragging, and that's it."

Flora pinched the bridge of her nose, "Milord, you won via technicality, with her holding back. It's nothing to be particularly proud of."

"And why can't she be the dread fighter?" The woman inquired.

"Because the Dread Fighter was still active while she was in the Nort- Lord Corrin's estate." Reena stated, eyeing the mystery woman, "I'm sorry, who are you again?"

The woman curtseyed, "Ah, I am Countess Aqua of Nestra. It's a pleasure to meet one of Corrin's subordinates."

Reena did not miss Flora's eye roll or Felicia's wince. Flora looked unimpressed. Felicia, on the other hand, seemed insecure from the woman's presence.

Looks like the twins were not happy with another suitor cozying up to their prince.

Reena pointed at the countess casually, "Do I have to put her in my report to Lilith too?"

Corrin shook his head in exasperation, "Don't. She already knows about her."

Of course Lilith knows.

Corrin just threw his hands up as he turned to the countess, "Aqua, I'm sorry, but I think I have to break things off for the moment. This is a bit more important than hanging out and I have to handle this sooner rather than later."

"...Fine." Aqua pouted, only to give the prince a quick peck on the cheek. "But you'll have to pay me back at a later date."

Corrin looked embarrassed. Felicia looked crushed. Flora looked livid.

And Reena, she cupped a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from audibly wincing at the sheer audacity of the countess.

The countess then walked out with a slight but noticeable sway in her hips, one that the prince unwittingly kept his gaze locked on until she closed the door behind her.

"I think I hate that woman." Flora mouthed,

"...Is there anything else I can do for you, milord?" Reena quickly said, hoping to distract the twins from potentially strangling their prince at that moment.

Corrin cleared his throat, clearly trying to regain his composure, as he dropped a few coins on the counter, "Y-Yes, I'd like to order some cake, please."

Reena grinned, "Cheesecake, milord?"

Despite the everlasting darkness of Nohr, night was still night. Few people were awake at this hour, and fewer still were at such a public area of the city.

The three of them readied themselves, hands ready to draw their weapons, and set themselves in their places.

Which made the Dread Fighter's sudden appearance all the more eerie. No sounds, no footsteps, nothing to even indicate its presence.

The Dread Fighter just stood there… menacingly. Glowing red eyes peering through a Hoshidan fox mask, its robe clasped by mismatched, specialized samurai armor, all surrounded by a dark miasma, nigh invisible in the darkness of Windmire's night. It bored crimson eyes into them. It was expecting them. It was challenging them.

The three stared at the dread fighter, supposedly a monster in human form. They saw those eyes… crimson… glowing… yet, unfamiliar somehow… vacant, distant… as though this was not the friend they once knew…

Selena was the first of them to gather her courage, gulping down whatever emotions bubbling within her as she uttered what everyone else was thinking:

"Robin, is that you?"

A/N: Sorry this came so late. Real-life came first. A lot of real-life came first. But, I think I got most of what I wanted to do. This chapter is going to be the second part of a three-parter, though, because there is still something I want to do in this mini-arc.

I'd like to thank my friend Ashmirkier for letting me borrow their OC Reena. There was a scene that took me forever to work out; I needed to put information out and didn't exactly have a way to put it out. I had an idea that involved that OC, but I managed to get it in the end. I'm actually kinda proud of the final product, to be honest.

Anyways, that's it for now. Please review!