*Blumenkranz [Music box ver.]

**Memory of Mom (FE9 OST)

***Puzzling Truth (FE9 OST)

Hunting had been particularly bad with the war on and all. Hell, he'd even had to cross over to Nohr to continue to ply his trade with any regularity. However, Daichi found that certain Nohrian bigwigs, from Duke Bayern and his superior Duke Toscana to that creepy little man Konrad, would pay top gold for any Wind Tribe member unfortunate or stupid enough to wander into the grasp of him and his men. The latter two would pay even better for any kitsune survivors for whatever reason, living of course, so that made his job somewhat more difficult, but the payoff made the trouble all worthwhile. Better all those country bumpkins starve than him, Daichi always told himself.

"Finally, I can see it!" remarked the poacher's right-hand man. "The convoy! Looks like a good night of boozing and whoring for us!"

"For how difficult these four mangy bastards were to capture, the payment better be as good as that prick was promising." remarked Daichi brusquely

The men of the "hunting" party pursing their eyes against the setting sun for a better view of the convoy, a lone Nohrian rider approached their leader, examining the cages with a sneer.

"So I guess it was too much for the likes of you to even come up with a decent haul, eh?" said the Nohrian disdainfully. "Lord Matteo will be most disappointed."

"Fuck you, the rest are in tow." Daichi shot back. "Don't worry, your duke will get...whatever it is the hell he wants with these guys."

"Tch! You'd best learn to still your tongue in the presence of your betters, savage! Had you no official business with the duke, you'd already be introduced to the business end of my blade!"

Daichi's sidekick gave a light yawn. "Can we get this over with?" he whined. "More than anything I just want a bed and since the innkeepers are going to jack up-"

The man's complaints were abruptly silenced by an arrow to the throat, apparently from the elevated vegetation overlooking the pass.

The bandit cursing profusely as he motioned his men into some semblance of a battle formation, the Nohrian rider was in absolute shock. "Savages!" he cried. "We have savages attacking at the-"

The man was abruptly thrown from his steed by the ethereal outline of a rabbit, sending the beast into a panicked retreat away from the battlefield. As the rider drew his blade, desperately seeking out an opponent amidst the chaos of the poachers scrambling to take up defensive positions, he continued his display of bravado. "Come out, you cowardly vermin!" he shouted. "Face me like men instead of the-"

Much like Daichi's right-hand man, the Nohrian was silenced with an arrow to the throat, falling to one knee as the breath left his body with some resistance from him. However, the woman who had fired the deadly projectile, from her thicket hideaway, seemed quite pleased with herself.

"Oh, did I do that?" asked Setsuna mockingly, her lips curling into a lazy smile as she recalled the rider's taunts.

"Just beautiful! I could kiss you for that!" answered a beaming Hinoka, pecking the other woman on the lips. "I'll be right back! This shouldn't take long at all!"

As her ragtag group of escaped prisoners-of-war, surviving stragglers, and her own retainers engaged the bandits with the goal of gaining complete control over the pass, the warrior princess had designated one primary objective for herself; take out the enemy commander so as to demoralize and disorganize the bandit group. From there, the pass would be theirs and the Nohrian supply convoy easy pickings from there. The systematic Nohrian culling of pegasi after the capital's fall had, in a sense, left Hinoka at a disadvantage, not unlike fighting with a missing limb. While she was in fact, considerably less mobile, the bandit snipers were far less of a threat and by extension, she far more a threat to them.

But where was the enemy commander? Hinoka knew she saw and heard one of them conversing with-slash-being berated by one of the Nohrians. After a brief clash in which she speared one of the opposing sellswords in the face, Hinoka realized him to be a guard for a man. A man with sickly, greedy eyes and hair crimson as hers. A man who seemed less-than-pleased to see her.

"Oh, crap!" swore Daichi. "The Nohrians were supposed to have killed you!"

"Well, I'm alive and they didn't." the princess shot back through gritted teeth, twirling her spear menacingly. "And just what do you scum think you're doing anyway?"

"Just trying to make a living. Nothing personal. Wait a second...the Nohrians are coming! If I bring you to Matteo, I'll be the richest man in Hoshidan history!"

"Well, all the money in the world isn't going to be doing you much good where I'm about to send you!"

Daichi cursed his earlier eagerness to go on the hunt, as he'd left his club back at the hideout. While possession of weapons by "savages" was a summarily-capital offense as far as the occupation force was concerned, he'd wished he had possessed the foresight to chance it this time as he found himself facing the princess with a less-than-ideal weapon. Nonetheless, muttering the incantation scrawled on the scroll, the bandit sent a large, ethereal serpent sailing through the air at the spearwoman. Expecting this well in advance, Hinoka sprung gracefully into the air, easily avoiding the snake outline and, as she came down to earth, lodged her naginata in the bandit's chest cavity, causing him to hack up quite a bit of blood as he fell on his back.

"My beautiful reward..." Daichi croaked before expiring.

Sweeping the blood from the spear with a flourish, Hinoka readied the weapon once more. "Alright, who's next!" she challenged.

"Er...Lady Hinoka..." replied Azama, looking quite distressed and utterly-serious. "We have a bit of a problem."

The cause of the monk's distress soon became apparent. While the princess had expected the convoy to be somewhat defended, what accompanied the convoy's rear was an entire column of Nohrian forces, with a heavy emphasis upon armor and cavalry, the latter closing fast as to complete the encirclement. From the Nohrian lines rode forth one of their paladins (a commander judging by his personalized armor and weapon), a permanent expression of cruel contempt visible under his helm and bushy, greenish-black mustache.

"Listen up, you sorry heathens!" he demanded arrogantly. "I am Pietro, one of the great kingdom of Nohr's strongest, most decorated generals! Now, if it were up to me, you swine would all be slaughtered like the vermin you are where you stand, as banditry is a capital offense without exception!"

"Without exception, you say? Then what of the rampant banditry committed by Nohrian forces since the war's beginning?" barbed Azama to murmurs of general agreement among the Hoshidan survivors. "To say nothing of the outrages committed against women and girls-"

The Nohrian general apparently took this (technically not untrue) barb as a great slight: Twirling the flame-red lance in his right hand, Pietro pointed its equally-fiery tip at the man to Azama's left, the poor soul immediately bursting into flames, his comrades and enemies alike grimacing at the pained, impotent, minute-long screams before he finally and mercifully expired.

"Care to impugn the honor of Nohr's brave soldiers any further, savage? Because I can make it last longer than that." he spat. "As I said previously, I'd see you slaughtered like the vermin you are were it up to me, but that is not the case today-"

"Wait, why is that?" inquired Hinoka. "What do you know?!"

"Impudent little-" sputtered a scandalized Pietro, shifting his steed to face the princess. "Didn't the beasts who whelped you teach you not to interrupt your betters! I ought to-"

"That's enough, Pietro. I can take it from here."

Dismounting the wyvern on which his escort had bought him, as Prince Leo came into focus, Hinoka felt somewhat more relief. She'd dealt somewhat with the prince and, while not exactly a warm, kind man, she knew him to be stern, but generally fair. Nonetheless, there was something particularly disconcerting about his gait, tone of voice, and (particularly) the tome he clutched in his right arm as if it were his firstborn. "Really now, Princess Hinoka?" he said condescendingly. "My sisters spare your sorry life and this is how you repay our fair kingdom? With banditry such as this?"

"Well, you're not really giving us much choice, now are you?" the princess said through gritted teeth, ignoring the slight in the interest of her troops. "As far as I know, you've shown no interest in peace even though we're on our knees with Nohr's blade at our necks."

"So you truly intend to do this? Very well, and here I was-"

An unconsciously-summoned barrier blocked an arrow sent hurtling at Leo's chestplate, the prince conjured a ball of sickly-purple flame in his hand, sending it at the thicket from which it came. Stomping over to the projectile's origin, Leo scoffed with contempt as he kicked the woman who had fired it, picking up the weakened archer by her neck. "Well, what do we have here?" he said viciously. "I guess since you're all worthless in a straight-up fight, you savages inevitably resort to perfidy such as this. Perhaps proper recompense would be to drain her life itself from her body?"

Setsuna quite transparently in great pain from the dark magic draining her strength, Hinoka turned to her other retainer, his apprehensive tone met with her pleading one. "Wait!" she called, setting her spear down. "Lay down your weapons, everyone! Please, just don't hurt them! Don't hurt her!"

The Hoshidan survivors following suit, Leo scoffed at this display. "Why should I?" he replied coldly. "What's to stop me from putting her empty little head on a pike outside your capital to serve as a warning against further treachery from you people?"

"Please!" plead Hinoka, on the brink of tears. "She's all I have left, please just let her go!"

"Once again, what are you willing to offer in exchange for her life?"

"Me! I'll go as your hostage!"

The survivors murmuring among themselves in in confusion and concern, the monk tugged on Hinoka's collar. "Lady Hinoka, what are you thinking?!" Azama whispered urgently. "I realize that this has been difficult on you, but-"

"I know what I'm doing!" she insisted. "He's just putting on a show for his people. Once we're away from all these prying eyes, we'll actually have a chance to discuss an end to the war!"

"If you insist, milady. I shall do my best to keep Setsuna and this lot out of trouble in your absence."

"Very well." said the prince, abruptly dropping Setsuna to the ground. "Away with you, wench! Out of my sight! Before I change my mind!"

"But..." sputtered the archer, desperate to catch her breath. "Lady Hinoka..."

"Do what he says, Setsuna." the fiery princess said grimly. "Azama and I will be back for you in no time."

Taking several tentative steps toward the thick wood nearby, the archer turned balefully back towards her beloved liege and confidant, requiring several close calls with blasts from the prince's new tome to follow suit and actually flee into the forest. "Now, princess." resumed Leo, casually approaching her. "We have just one more order of business."

"What's that? I don't understand." she responded.

Grabbing Hinoka by the nape of the neck, Leo, producing a syringe of some sort from his belt, jabbed her neck with the device, the princess quickly losing her balance before just as abruptly losing consciousness. "Matteo, send for Konrad and his men." the prince commanded. "It's not far and I'm not exactly sure I've done this correctly."

"At once, milord." said the duke dutifully. "Much as I may dislike him."

"Pietro! As you were! Dispose of these insolent savages at once!"

A crooked grin crept onto the paladin's face. "Your wish is my command, milord." he replied gleefully.

The flame-haired princess had been a warrior for some time now; the smell of death, of the dying and dead, while never exactly pleasant, was not an unfamiliar one. But there was just something that this dungeon reeked of, oddly familiar, but uniquely sinister, that made the hairs on the back of Hinoka's neck stand on end as soon as she came to, her accommodations a literal cage being gawked over by two quite unpleasant men.

"That meatheaded brute raved about what he witnessed down here, milord." remarked the first man, tall, thin, his haughty face fixed into a permanent scowl. "Are you absolutely sure-"

"Of course he is." responded the second man, bent and stocky with a low, nasally, sinister tone. "Lord Leo would not miss such an occasion for the world...After all, we almost never capture such a specimen..."

"Konrad speaks the truth, Duke Toscana." stated a third man, his voice stern, commanding, cold, and all too familiar to the princess.

"You!" Hinoka shouted accusatorially. "What did you do to me?! Where am I?! What did you do to my troops?!"

The Nohrian prince coming into focus better for Hinoka, the blond young man scoffed dismissively. "It's simple." Leo stated coldly. "Your roaches made the mistake of exposing themselves to the light, so I exterminated them to the last man. Isn't that what you do with this sort of vermin?"

"What?!" Hinoka cried, her heart sinking into her stomach. "You bastard! You promised they wouldn't be harmed!"

"No, I promised that I'd let the stupid little bint with the droopy eyelids free. You begged me for her worthless little life."

Shock, disgust, outrage, relief, and confusion all attacked Hinoka at once. Shock, disgust and outrage at the murderous treachery of her opposite number, the prince, relief at the news that at least one of her troops (incidentally, the most precious one to her) had escaped with their lives, and perhaps most of all, confusion at the source of this past perfidy and present abuse to which the princess was now subject.

"I don't understand it." she conceded. "Your father, I would expect this kind of thing from, but you? When she was with us, Corrine would talk about how kind and gentle you were."

The prince chuckled mirthlessly. "That's the interesting thing about getting older, is it not?" Leo posed rhetorically. "Whatever became of him at the end, I realized Father possessed more wisdom about the world than I had ever given him credit for. He knew that because this world is so cruel, the only thing you can avoid being taken advantage of is to show it cruelty in return."

"So that's the lesson you learned from so much time with someone as idealistic and gentle as Corrine? You know, when we met at Izumo and even outside of the castle, you were always kind of arrogant, but I got the sense that you were a decent person deep down. How do you go from that to this?"

An otherworldly purple ember briefly sparking in his right palm, Leo held the arm outstretched as if to grasp something, choking the breath from the princess for several seconds before she fell sputtering to her knees. "Shut the fuck up!" roared the prince. "How dare you judge me! You can't possibly know what I'm going through!"

"Er, milord." said Konrad fearfully, clearly afraid of being on the wrong end of the prince's new powers. "With all due respect, I must implore you to make a decision; this serum is very temperature sensitive..."

"Yes, of course." replied Leo gratefully as his incensed tone would allow as he took the syringe from his hands. "Thank you, Konrad."

The Hoshidan princess still weakened from both the sedative and Leo's punishment, remained on her knees, her shackled arm hanging lazily at her left. As Leo altered his line of sight between the syringe in his hand and the shackle holding Hinoka's arm, Leo was once again conflicted. This kind of thing had its origins in Iago's foul research (hence why a degenerate like Konrad was so eager to test it on a living soul) and injecting Hinoka with the serum could very well kill her, at the very least doing severe psychological damage to her. But the benefits of mastering such applications on humans could be almost limitless! Besides, Leo wondered, would Hinoka and her country's witch doctors really be doing much different with him were he at their mercy?

"I fail to see why you are hesitating, my boy." Leo's mentor whispered. "Her arm is right there..."

"I know, I know!" Leo insisted. "It's just..."

"Oh no, she almost certainly helped her sister to murder Xander, Elise, and all of your companions." lied the voice. "Listen to her hypocrisy, lecturing you about 'compassion!' Your beloved Corrine and Camilla spare her sorry life, only to repay them by helping Sakura with her murderous treachery! Is there a more vile creature in all the worlds?"

*Of course! Leo thought finally. It all made sense now! Of course Nohr's hereditary enemy would be inscrutably wily and duplicitous to call demons to do their dirty work in a desperate attempt to stave off their inevitable destruction! And not only that, thought Leo, this bitch had the audacity, the sheer, unadulterated gall to appeal to Corrine's kindness and naivete to help pull it off! And that, in Leo's mind, was the unforgivable part; death outright or any sort of torturous death found in the annals of Nohrian history were too good for Hinoka, only this serum would do. If she lived, she'd live, performing a valuable service for Nohr in the process. If she died, she died, Leo thought savagely, yanking the princess to the edge of her accommodations with the chain.

Leo driving the syringe into the vein with considerably more force than necessary, he took a sort of grim pleasure in seeing the sickly, coppery serum leave the syringe and flow into the princess' body.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" she demanded. "Did you inject me with something?!"

"What does it matter to you?" responded Leo coldly. "Besides, you supposedly spent damn near all of your life trying to 'protect' Corrine from us. Now, this serum will let you protect Corrine from her actual enemies."

"What is this?..."

Already becoming violently dizzy and ill, the serum sent Hinoka to the cage floor in a fetal position, her breathing so light as to be almost inaudible, the three men attempting to discern such signs of life for the next few minutes.

"Is she-" began Matteo.

"It's possible, but she should not be." reassured Konrad, taking her pulse.

"If that's the case, then she really is even more of a duplicitous, cowardly weakling than I'd thought." Leo remarked savagely, staring down at the princess, kicking her. "Konrad, dispose of her however you dispose of dead savages."

These dismissive, dehumanizing words seemed to have a mildly enervating effect on Hinoka. Her breathing becoming slightly stronger and displaying mild tremors, the princess began to mutter lightly. "Ryoma...Takumi...Sakura..." she began lightly. "Ryoma...Takumi...Sakura..."

The researcher ecstatic at his "treatment" seeming to have the desired effect, as much as he would have disliked admitting it, Leo found himself more than a little intrigued as the princess continued reciting the names of her siblings like a mantra for a good five minutes in a low, distraught voice. However, her breath becoming stronger, Hinoka's voice eventually reached a pitch more mournfully infuriated as opposed to simply mournful. "Ryoma...Takumi...Sakura..." she continued. "RYOMA! TAKUMI! SAKURA!"

Her bloodshot, feral-seeming eyes shooting open, Hinoka sprang to her feet, screaming, grasping, and clawing wildly at her two tormentors, catching the off-guard Konrad by the throat, cutting off his airway for several seconds before Leo momentarily subdued her with a weak blast from Naglfar. This did little to deter her, as she momentarily went back on the attack, grasping and clawing futilely through the cage bars.

"What in the gods' name is wrong with her?!" inquired Duke Toscana. "It's as if she's a madwoman!"

"It seems the experiment was a success..." Konrad remarked with a nasally giggle, massaging his sore neck "It seems the feral serum WILL work on humans, even without transformation ability after all..."

For his part, the prince was more than a little impressed, giving the scene a self-satisfied smirk. This was, righteousness, this was justice, he thought to himself.

"Excellent work, Konrad." congratulated Leo. "I'll personally see to it you'll not want for any of your needs from now on."

"Oh, I'm not worthy of such flattery, milord." remarked the "scientist" obsequiously. "But I and all Nohr will be eternally grateful for your patronage."

"I have just one question: Can this...thing be utilized for military purposes?"*

Particularly in light of recent events, the return of their probably one of their most famous native daughters to the province of Mutsu was a cause for celebration in a year which had bought little in the way of such. Especially heartening to the average person was the safe return of their princess, long-feared slain at Nohrian hands. However, in the lord's manor in the town of Tagajō, the atmosphere was truly ecstatic with joy.**

"Oh, Hana!" cried a middle-aged woman, her unkempt, graying brown hair somewhat irritating her daughter in her embrace. "Thank the gods you're alive! I've been so worried, especially with the news from the capital! You're not hurt, are you?"

"Thank you, Mother." gasped Hana, semi-suffocating from her mother's grasp. "But I'm fine. Lady Sakura is safe and I can still fight, so I'm going to be alright."

A slightly older man with hair entirely greyed and a stony, but kind countenance, beamed at the swordswoman and the princess. "As was I, Hana, milady." he replied serenely. "Well met, Princess Sakura, how long has it been? You and my niece have grown into strong, courageous young women of whom all Hoshido can be proud."

"Oh, no." replied a half-scandalized Sakura. "I-it was all Hana's doing. Were it not for her, I would surely be-"

"Hey!" called out a tall, lithe man, his jet-black hair braided into a topknot. "There's my little sis! And Lady Sakura! It truly is a miracle!"

Affectionately ruffling the hair on Hana's scalp, the man exchanged a couple of playful punches with the swordswoman. "You know, Father and Uncle Tomokane always said you were destined to accomplish great things, and here you are! Rescuing our fair princess from the marauding Nohrian bastards! I call that something to go down in Hoshidan history!"

"Oh, you and your dramatic embellishments, Takeshi!" Hana barbed in return. "This is my duty! I was just doing my job!"

"Hey, Hana." interjected Rinkah, her tone somehow more neutral. "Mind giving giving me some introductions here? I'm kind of out of the loop."

"Oh, right! Of course!"

"You've already met my uncle." began Hana, gesturing at her respective family members. "My mother Akiko and my brother Takeshi."

The elder woman gave a tired, faint smile of recognition as her son continued. "Well, well, I get to meet the infamous Princess Rinkah?!" said Takeshi, his tone, while jocular, still managing to betray some awe. "Come to seek my hand in marriage?"

Rinkah scoffed, rolling her eyes. "In your dreams, guy." she retorted.

"Well, good! Because the wife would kill me otherwise!"**

With Hana more accustomed to her brother's sense of humor and Rinkah still unimpressed by it, Sakura nonetheless, managed a tired giggle much to Hana's relief.

"Ah, if it isn't Lady Rinkah." resumed Tomokane. "It's been years, hasn't it? How is Kikai?"

"He's concerned. Very concerned." said Rinkah urgently. "Concerned enough to send me here to investigate. About what Nohr's up to, about the rumors of strange disappearances among the tribes spreading like wildfire."

Stroking his beard contemplatively, Tomokane's expression quickly turned to one of grave concern. "Oh, dear." he said. "Perhaps we'd better discuss this in my study, away from any possible prying ears."

"Good idea," piped up Hana. "Besides, Uncle, there's something we need to discuss sooner rather than later and it's related to Rinkah's plight."

"Very well." replied the manor's lord. "Lady Sakura, this is sounding like it may be a matter of concern for you, as well."

"Actually, it's been a long day, and I'm q-quite tired-" began the younger princess sheepishly. "If it's alright with you all-"

"Ah, say no more, milady. Mother, could I ask you to show Sakura to my old room and remain with her for a while? This shouldn't take long at all."

Akiko beamed, her expression noticeably strengthened by the news of her daughter's good health. "Of course, dear." she replied serenely. "If that's alright with our princess."

"Of course, ma'am!" answered Sakura. "I-I'm just a guest in your home."

"So sorry to inconvenience you, Mother." said Hana. "If it's necessary, one of my old blades is in-"

"It shouldn't be!" cried an offended Takeshi. "With the war and all, I've got men patrolling the manor grounds day and night."

Their uncle having already departed for his study upstairs, the samurai took the opportunity to catch up further with his little sister. "So, how's that lovable son of a bitch Hinata doing anyway?" he inquired.

Hana closed her eyes, gritting her teeth. "He died an honorable death defending his liege and fellow retainer from the Nohrian army." the swordswoman reported bitterly.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. At the very least, he went out with his honor. Hope he got to take a few of the arrogant bastards with him as well."

From the deflated tone with which her brother replied, Hana knew it was a wise choice to omit the gory details surrounding his old friend's death; apparently, a group eight or so Nohrians got in in their heads that Hinata spent his final moments leering at one of "their women." The fact that they gouged out Hinata's eyes before putting him out of his misery was the least of his concerns. They even got kudos from that bald, murdering degenerate, Hana fumed internally!

***As the trio entered Tomokane's study and Rinkah explained her father's grave concerns about the situation with Nohr and the tribes, the lord of the manor returned to his earlier grave countenance. "Hm, that does bode ill." he confirmed seriously.

"It's not like I had a choice." Hana uncharacteristically snapped. "It was either them or us and you've heard what they've been doing to the neighboring provinces!"

"And don't forget, Hana and Princess Sakura saved my life." Rinkah defended. "If it weren't for them, right now I'd be-"

"Do not misunderstand me, Hana, I'm not blaming you." confirmed the older gentleman, contemplatively stroking his beard. "You carried out your duty to your liege to the best of your ability in difficult circumstances. Even more disconcerting to me is Rinkah's report. If even being aware of it, her status was not even enough to deter these brigands from attempting to outrage her and their commander spoke the truth, it sounds as if influential players in Nohr are offering bounties to their soldiers for these killings."

"Why are you surprised by that at all, Uncle?" Takeshi asked scornfully, turning to the princess. "No offense, but they consider you guys in tribes to be on an even lower level than us Hoshidans."

Rinkah grimaced. "No apology is required." she replied matter-of-factly. "Because it's true. You know how they keep calling and treating you all like animals of some kind or another? Yeah, we're exactly insects to them; animals can at least be useful to them for a little while. Although, a few are in denial about this, assuming that we'll be raised up by helping them tear you guys down. Poor deluded bastards."

Retiring to his desk chair, the manor's lord linked his fingers, focusing intently. "With this in mind, we must be prepared to defend ourselves further. Even after the capital's fall and their prince's rise, Nohr has shown little interest even in a punishing peace settlement." said Tomokane resolutely. "Takeshi! Gather up your finest men and order the most able to devise a new training regimen! Have your most trusted scouts scour the province for any weapons and usable materials. This cannot wait until morning!"***

"At once, Uncle!" replied the samurai proudly.

"Hana." he continued urgently. "All of Nohr will have heard of Princess Sakura's escape and will doubtlessly be howling for her blood. If protecting her is your first priority, then you must seriously consider taking her outside the country. Depending upon how things develop with Nohr, you will likely have to go abroad and seek the aid of the tribes and remaining neutral nations. Even though it's going to be kind of lean this year, don't worry about the harvest-"

Hana beamed confidently. "Of course!" she answered, her tone matching her expression. "I'd do anything to protect her! Also, I can help with the harvest. You're short-handed anyway."

"If you do have to take Sakura outside of Hoshido, that actually works well for me." affirmed Rinkah. "It's highly doubtful Nohr would attack the Flame Tribe lands outright and I have to give my report to Father anyway."

As Tomokane dismissed the trio and Rinkah retired to meditate, Takeshi, before setting off on his mission, decided to offer his sister some advice in his trademark manner. "Hey, you still like cute things, right? he inquired.

"Of course, why do you ask?" replied Hana as her brother had suddenly sprouted a third eye.

"Well, then go get her, champ!" he insisted with a wink. "You know, the one you had Mother look after during the meeting."

Hana's face turned red as her palms as she grabbed her brother aggressively by the shoulders. "What in the world are you talking about?!" she said indignantly.

"Oh, come on, Hana." her brother continued in a tone managing to mix levity and seriousness. "Mother, Uncle, and I have always known you were a little...different from the other girls. And I don't mean the sword thing either."

"Alright, fine! I admit it! I like women! You happy now?!"

"It's not so much about me being happy; you're my baby sister! Since we've all lost so much, I just want you to gain something from all this."

"It's not that simple, you idiot! Sakura is my liege, my best friend! I can't just- What about the family-"

"If you're worried about the family name, don't be, because I've got giving Father an heir or three well in hand. Besides, It's pretty clear she likes you anyway."

Releasing her brother without another word, Hana started back to her old room, a hundred different thoughts racing through her head at once. Of course that idiot thinks it's so easy! He's Father's heir! He literally just took a local girl whom he'd always had a crush on as his wife, and he could do that! With a master and a servant, let alone childhood friends of the same sex, (while not exactly frowned upon by virtue of their culture and social class) it was entirely different!

Hana sliding back the screen door to her old room, she gave a slight blush to find Sakura and her mother chatting away like old friends.

"So polite, ladylike and charming, isn't she?" Akiko inquired, passing her daughter.

"Y-yes, she is, Mother." Hana replied uncharacteristically sheepishly.

"So, Hana." began the princess. "What did you, your brother, and Rinkah talk about with your uncle?"

Free from prying ears, Hana gave a slightly sanitized version of her conversations with Takeshi and her uncle, omitting the conversations about the Battle of the Great Wall and Rinkah's description of the common Nohrian worldview.

"More running?" the princess asked. "B-but so many people are still suffering here!"

"Milady, I admire your spirit greatly, but we may not have much choice." plead Hana. "And besides, Rinkah has to report to her father anyway, and it's not like we'll be able to hold out against Nohr without help. Besides, even they won't pursue you into the tribes' lands."

"I suppose you're right, Hana. But if what Rinkah says is true, do you really think there will be another w-war?"

"As far as I know, Lady Sakura, the war is still on."

Blowing out the lantern in search of some much-needed sleep, the room illuminated only by the moonlight, Sakura noticed something troubling her; her retainer lying in on the floor as to impede the entrance.

"Hana, what are you doing?" she asked gingerly, seeking not to second-guess her guardian.

"Oh, this?" replied Hana as she stretched. "Something Saizo drilled into all of us when we're protecting someone. It's to impede potential intruders."

"But you'd be sleeping on the floor! This is your room!"

"I'll be fine, Lady Sakura! I've slept on the ground and given you our bags, remember?"

"W-well, why don't you sleep up here with me, Hana?"

"No, I couldn't do that-"

"Hana, I insist. If you don't, I'll just come down there with you."

Blood flow quickening throughout her body, Hana blushed deeply as her two dueling inner voices put forth suggestions.

"Come on, what's the harm? You used to do it all the time!"

"Yeah, when you were children!"

A few moments more of this (increasingly explicit) bickering with herself and Sakura looking so serene and inviting, Hana's choice was clear as she took up the invitation, taking a place at the opposite end of the futon. "Oh, fuck it, you only live once." she told herself.

The next morning, after Hana had completed her sword training, she found it to be quite helpful to keep both her mind and body occupied by something not related to the war. Helping with the harvest even seemed to lift Sakura's dour spirits somewhat. But nonetheless, this was not exactly foolproof. At noon or so, Hana placing down a basket of grain, noticed something, behind a great oak tree, her liege weeping. Racing to her side, Hana took the princess in her arms. "Lady Sakura!" she exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

Sakura sniffed. "Oh, Hana, I'm so sorry you had to see me like this!" she said, wiping some of the tears from her eyes.

"Don't apologize to me, Sakura! Just tell me what's wrong!"

"It's-it's just when I think about Ryoma, Hinoka, and Takumi, I just think- M-maybe if I were stronger, I could have prevented this. I could have saved at least someone's life!"

"Sakura, listen to me! You are strong! Probably the strongest person I know! Being strong isn't just about being powerful, it's about having the courage to get up and keep going no matter what the world throws at you!"

"Oh, Hana..." the princess said once more. "I can't be queen! What kind of a princess runs away from her own people when they need her most? I don't deserve any kind of crown."

"Oh, Sakura..." the swordswoman said balefully, checking their surroundings. "Wait right here! Don't go anywhere."

Fortuitously, the clearing possessed a variety of flowers and suitable branches for such a project. Gathering several flowers, the swordswoman took some loose strings from the old rags she wore for the harvest and bound them onto the semi-circular branches, fashioning a crown of sorts. After ten minutes or so, Hana returned to the great oak, her liege awaiting exactly as she'd instructed, the princess beaming at the gesture. "Ta-dah!" Hana introduced proudly.

"Oh, Hana, it's beautiful!" the princess replied. "Thank you!"

Placing the crown of flowers on her head, Hana smiled just as proudly.

"Fuck Nohr!" she remarked. "No matter what anyone says, you'll always be my queen, Sakura."

Normally recoiling at salty language, whether from her brothers or Hana herself, Sakura managed a genuine smile, followed by a giggle of joy.

"That's what I like to see!" Hana said with an even wider smile.

None of the members of the former regency council were exactly pleasant to deal with for Corrine, but the sheer arrogance and toxicity of his personality made Duke Matteo of Toscana truly one of the most sickening individuals in Krakenburg, in Windmire, and probably the world, even for the princess' forgiving nature.

"I don't know milady." said the duke said airily. "The prince-regent absolutely adores you, but Albrecht, my man on the ground, agrees with the consensus."

"And what might that be?" inquired Corrine, bracing for some nastiness or another.

"That for all your prowess with the blade, that you have a reputation for being soft on the savages."

"Must you honestly refer to them as such?"

"See. This is exactly what I mean! The reports of you going out of your way to avoid inflicting casualties upon them are numberless! I even remember the times you protested Sir Hans dealing with the vermin as they ought to be dealt with!"

It was true, she told herself bitterly. Countless innocent lives had been lost in her misguided attempts to bring peace by enabling naked aggression and ruthless, murderous powermongering for so long. Hell, she'd even unable to keep literal criminals from terrorizing innocents in the name of Nohr so long as they were useful to her "father."

"Look, Duke Matteo." she said wearily. "I don't like you, and you certainly do not like me. But we both have an interest in building something better from the ashes of this war."

"Oh, fine, fine." conceded Matteo, eager not to have his motives probed any further. "I suppose I can work something out, see if he has an opening."

"Thank you! I promise, you will not regret this!"

"But let me make one thing clear, milady. There'll be no special treatment for you this time around. You will follow the directives handed down to you both by Albrecht and the prince to the letter. Oh, and speaking of Lord Leo, he wishes to see you in his garden as soon as possible."

"Hmm? What about?"

"I merely follow orders, milady."

Matteo taking his leave much to Corrine's relief, as the princess made her way to her "brother's" study, she wondered what could have possibly merited such an indirect formality. Still, the facility annexed to Leo's study was a sight to behold, almost dreamlike with its pane glass ceilings and exotic flora. For the past two months or so, Leo had been ordering exotic plants from across the continent, forming a personal greenhouse of sorts. As it helped him deal with his newfound stress and losses of Xander, Elise, and (presumably if Azura's suspicion was correct) Nyx, Corrine approved of his new hobby immensely. Finding the garden's master tending to a particularly rare type of Hoshidan tree, Corrine tapped him on the shoulder. "You wanted to see me, Leo?" she asked.

*Turning from his project to face her, the prince gave one of the few genuine smiles he had in months. "Ah, Corrine." he said peacefully. "You came."

"Of course, I did, why wouldn't I? Gods, Leo, I'd heard about this place, but it really is so beautiful."

"Indeed, it's almost dreamlike. Of course, both things could be said about something else here."

"What do you mean- Oh-"

Strolling casually over to some nearby bushes, Leo began to trim, ever-so-gently, some spare branches. "Yes, the garden is beautiful." he repeated. "But it is also a lot of hard work. It must be cultivated, watched, and nurtured. People are much the same way."

As he made his way to a very iconic Hoshidan tree however, his expression turned to one of subtle, inexplicable darkness as he removed a cherry blossom from its branch and the flower which (oddly enough) almost seemed to be guarding it with its stem and petals. "But there are sometimes things which must be removed." he continued, an ever-so-slight hint of murderous rage in his tone as he tore both cherry blossom and flower to shreds before burning them in his palm. "So that the rest of the garden can thrive or even survive at all."

His expression abruptly flipping back to one of levity, Leo approached the silver-haired princess, producing a bouquet of roses from behind a bush. "And these, are for you." he said presenting the bundle to Corrine.

"Oh, Leo, they're beautiful!" marveled the princess. "But why?"

"Corrine, I've something to ask you. You are fond of me, yes?"

"Of course, Leo! You're one of my favorite people in the whole world. Why would you even ask that?"

"Because there's something I've been thinking long and hard about. I know we've had a most...unusual relationship, but I must confess something."

Corrine felt her heart leap into her throat as the prince produced a small square box from some compartment or another on his armor. Oh, gods, she thought. He can't really mean that?

"Corrine, I would be most honored if you would become my queen." the prince said proudly, opening the box to reveal one of the finest, most substantive diamond rings she'd ever seen in her life. "Because I am wildly, madly in love with you."

Corrine swore she could hear her heart skip a beat. While everyone knew that there was no blood relation, they had in fact, been raised as brother and sister. Furthermore, in Nohrian culture, especially among nobles, it was simply not done for a lady to turn down a proposal such as this with phrases along the lines of "I just don't like you that way." or "I just don't like any man that way." Seeing the great length to which he had gone and the emotional investment which he had placed in the occasion, the dragon princess resolved to let him down easy.

"Oh, Leo." she began tentatively. "This is so wonderful! You're so wonderful! But I'm sorry, I can't marry you."

"Is it because we're siblings?" he said, disappointment audible in his face and tone. "Everyone knows that you're 'adopted,' everyone! You're worried about the rumors and slanders, I get that. Well, when I'm king, I'll have any tongues who want to slander my queen fucking ripped out and-"

"I'm so, so, so sorry, Leo, but-"

Abruptly turning from his would-be bride, the prince closed his eyes in furious contemplation. "I see." he said tersely. "So there's someone else?"

"No, that's not it!" protested Corrine.

"I'm not a fool, Corrine. Please...just leave me be for now."

Taking her leave of her "brother," the princess felt a dark cloud of guilt hanging over the rest of her day as she left the future king to his solitude. Leo for his part, would have simply returned to his garden to wallow in his sorrow if not for one innocuous feature of it. Both the reflecting pond and the slow drip drip drip of the miniature waterfall seemed to be inexplicably taunting him for whatever reason. As if teasing him about something dear which it had taken from him and would never ever give back. A minute more of this was too much for the prince, roaring in fury as he hurled one of the considerably-sized rocks into the pond.