The brunette quickly sidestepped a soldier carrying several ornate boxes. Luggage, but not any commoner's luggage. As if the commotion did not already scream royal procession, seeing the older princess' personal effects at least helped confirm the nature of the expedition, and, fortunately, it was not an aggressive one. Yet.
"Going somewhere?" He smiled and gave a half bow after folding his arm across his chest. It was a formality, but one the prince appreciated.
"Yes, my siblings and I are going to pay a visit to the Northern Fortress."
As expected, "Care for an entourage?"
The crown prince raised his brow, but said nothing, "Not this time, Laslow. Instead, I wanted to talk to you about your most recent report."
This caused his smile to falter a bit, "Yes, my liege." It still did not feel right calling anyone that other than her.
"Not here," The prince looked around at the busy servants, "Follow me."
Laslow followed the prince to an out of the way storage room. It was hardly befitting a serious meeting, but it was away from prying eyes and ears. The prince's expression was even more stern than usual as he broached the topic.
"How confident are you in your report?"
"Very, sir. I trust my informants with my life."
"I don't need to tell you how troubling this is. If Father hears that Hoshido is building up its military, he may very well choose to strike."
"I am aware, Prince Xander."
"So," Xander pulled his arms behind himself, demanding respect despite standing in a storage closet, "For now, Father isn't to see this report. I want you to make absolutely certain before we tell him. I don't want to risk a war over one report no matter how much you trust your sources."
"I understand, my prince."
"To that end, since you seem so well connected I want you to see if you can find anything else about this aggressive stance. I will take appropriate action to defend Nohr and her interests, but this seems out of character for Queen Mikoto. I would like to be certain."
"Understood," Laslow saluted, "I'll see what I can dig up."
"Very good," Xander nodded. He had given up on asking about said sources, but they had proven accurate so far. Despite his suspicious origins, Laslow had yet to give him much reason to distrust him. Other than his incessant flirting with the maids.
"We should be back after a week," Xander told his retainer, "We'll address this further then."
"Yes, milord," Laslow waited at attention until the prince left. Then he let out a breath. He was at least glad they were not going to war, but this was still a fine mess. Worse yet, it was rather hard to even get a glimpse of their target.
Letting out another sigh, Laslow muttered, "You'd better have something more pleasant for me this time."
The crown prince let a frustrated sigh leave his lips upon making a quick exit after the ending of the meeting. Adjusting his expression to not so easily give away his discomfort, the samurai continued down the hall. He did not make it far though.
"You seem troubled, Prince Ryoma."
Said prince forced himself to stop and calm himself before turning to face the woman. She had brown eyes that gave away only a portion of her intelligence with a face framed by snow white hair. The kimono wound around her spoke to her position, yet nothing of her status as a stranger.
"I am fine, Kanpaku. I am merely…troubled by recent events."
"Ah, you do not agree with my advice," She walked down the steps to get a bit closer.
"I am uncertain," Ryoma backed up a step, "I believe we should be ready to meet any threat that Nohr presents, but Mother…she believes in peace, and I would like to believe in her."
"I definitely understand that. That said, not everyone can be reasoned with. People like Garon will not honor peace talks. Something your family unfortunately knows all too well."
Ryoma's fists tightened, "Yes, I am well aware of King Garon's treachery, and, believe me, few would like to see him pay more than me, but I worry we are provoking the beast here."
"A reasonable fear," The advisor agreed, "One that I have included in my calculations. Though with Garon's track record, it makes sense to be prepared. Plus, I can handle anything that so-called tactician Iago throws our way."
That did earn a slight chuckle from the prince, "Of that I have no doubt. I haven't seen anyone who could match your tactical prowess. I daresay there is no tactician in this world that could match your skill."
"Well, this is gloomy," Robin looked out over the countryside seeing nothing but overcast skies.
"It is not exactly a picturesque landscape," Lucina tugged on the strap holding her backpack in place.
"But this should be the place," Robin hoisted his bag as he looked to his wife, "Ready for a new adventure?"
"So long as you are by my side."
"Always."
A/N: I'm back! Took a while, but I progressed enough on this story to deem it ready to start publishing. Progress is a bit slower these days, but I naturally do intend to finish it.