SPOILER ALERT FOR FIRE EMBLEM FATES CONQUEST, BIRTHRIGHT AND REVELATION ROUTE AND PERHAPS ALL DLC. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

EDIT: 8/15

Paper Dragons

PART I

Imaginary

Once, every hundred years, dragons were born into the royal families of Nohr and Hoshido; they were to be the protectors of the families, they were to be their shields, their weapons.

Krein knew this story well. It had been his favorite growing up and one of the few that made him dream. He would dream of dragons locked in combat, protecting the innocent, banishing the wicked. He dreamed of people cheering for him, smiling at him and bowing to him. He dreamt of a day when he would be King.

But eventually, as he grew older, he knew his dreams had been naïve and foolish to be real but to him, they were good and he always remembered them, always cherished them.

It was his Mother who told him to always value his dreams.

She would laugh softly at him as he told her about his dreams and she would always tell him to keep on dreaming and that someday his dreams could come true.

At first, Krein disregarded her advice but as he grew older and his dreams more ambitious, he knew his Mother's words were wise after all. He knew his dreams would come true; after all, he was one of the great dragons, one of the many protectors. He was a dragon of Nohr and soon, their King.

Krein grew up knowing he had no equal and that soon his dreams would come true.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A couple of months before his sixth birthday, Krein had found out that another dragon existed in the world and he had been furious.

That couldn't be right, he had reasoned: He was the only dragon! He was the only dragon! And if another dragon existed it meant that he would never get to be King!

But his Mother just smiled and said that it was always like this.

The woman explained it all as her son sat with her, fuming and annoyed at the revelation; his Mother told him about the other dragon, the dragon from Hoshido. The dragon was a girl and if rumors were to be believed, she was younger and smaller and weaker. She was so weak that, according to the rumors, she hadn't even showed her true self (the dragon) to her people.

Krein remembered being too angry to care.

Whether she was weak or not didn't matter, all that matter was that Krein was the only dragon! He was the only one! The real one!

"Momma!" he had cried out, indignant. "That ain't true, right!? Not another dragon! I'm the only one!" His Mother, he remembered, had laughed and passed a delicate hand over his unruly blonde curls before she whispered,

"Are you jealous, my sweet? Please, don't be…that other dragon is not like you! You! My little boy! You are stronger than ten Hoshidan dragons put together! So why should you be jealous of such a frail, sad creature as that dragon from Hoshido?"

"But she's a dragon! And that's not fair!"

"So she is," Mother had replied, smiling sweetly before she explained, "and yet you despair my child…why should it matter if she is a dragon or not…she is Hoshidan after all." And then, the conversation had ended there. His Mother had figured that she had explained herself rather well by saying that the other dragon was from Hoshido. She hadn't.

Krein could still remember bothering her about it for a whole week afterwards. His Mother took it in stride, however, believing that jealousy was giving him a lousy temper and would always say that the other dragon was "just a Hoshidan" and expect him to just get over it.

By his eighth year, Krein finally understood his Mother's reasoning for saying that the other dragon was just a "Hoshidan" but by then he wasn't too worried about not being the only dragon in the world.

Like many children growing up, Krein had begun to realize how alone he was in the world.

Perhaps it had been the lessons and the stories of the Great Dragons that had made him think that way but Krein was never a foolish child and he realized with a strange sense of despair that he was alone among his own loving family.

He had the blonde hair and brown eyes and a certain paleness to his person but he knew he wasn't like his brothers and sisters. He knew he wasn't like his Mother or like his Father. He didn't have the bushy tails and long, furry ears of the Wolfskin that lived up in the mountains.

He was a dragon.

Krein knew their stories and he cherished them but the dragons in those tales were long gone. They had left this world a long time ago, leaving behind blood pacts and misery. The only truth of their existence remained with Krein and that dragon from Hoshido.

He was a dragon masquerading as a boy and for some reason it made him feel lonely; at least the Wolfskin had each other.

One day, after his lessons had come to an end and he was free to do what he wished for the rest of the day, Krein began to hold imaginary conversations with the dragon from Hoshido. It seemed silly at first but Krein didn't care. He wanted someone to talk to that could understand him even if this friend wasn't real. And so, he began to converse with this imaginary dragon.

In his head, he fantasied her reaction and later, her joy, at finding out that there was another dragon like herself…that there was another dragon that was just as lonely as her. He converse with this 'imaginary' dragon multiple times when he was upset or looking for understanding. If he was sad, she understood, if he felt lonely, she was his constant companion.

As the years passed, the conversations grew longer and deeper, with Krein wondering how she looked as a dragon. Was she big and strong or frail as he Mother had whispered? Were her scales dark like his or did they glow in the sunlight? Did she have long ears too?

Krein could still remember the conversations he had with his imaginary friend about his ears. They had been the most embarrassing ones but in the end, like always, his friend understood whispering words of agreement when he said he didn't like his ears and then, they'll share a laugh and feel better at the end of the day.

Even as he grew older and understood the silliness of it all, Krein never stopped talking to the dragon inside his head. She made him happy and when things went bad inside Castle Krakenburg, the dragon comforted him.

She was the only thing keeping him sane while his brothers and sisters killed each other. She was there for him when they had tried to kill him. She comforted him when his Mother died and stayed by his side as he went to sleep. She offered her support when he told her that one day he would take the throne from his Father and be a King.

The dragon in his head would always be his friend; she would understand him when others did not, and she would support him and as long as she did, Krein believed that he would be fine.

One day, however, he realized with a start that this dragon in his head wasn't the real Hoshidan dragon.

They would meet one day, he knew, and Krein was afraid.

His imaginary friend didn't speak to him for weeks as he thought about the real Hoshidan dragon.

She was replaced by an imposter. She was replaced by a real dragon that didn't understand him and did not approve of what he had become.

Eventually, the false dragon returned, whispering gentle words that if they met this real dragon, they would meet her together; if she didn't understand him, Krein didn't care.

The false dragon had been more of a friend than she had been anyway.

-0-0-0-0-0-

They met on a summit; they're both young, he's twenty-one and she is eighteen.

She's nothing like what he imagined.

She is pale, paler than even him, and she carries herself like a delicate flower but is always alert, always smiling. And her long white hair curls at the end, flowing like a cascade and her long ears, longer than even his, are barely covered. Her eyes are red and piercing and gentle.

Krein fascinates her but he is just disappointed.

He couldn't really explain the disappointed he felt once they met, couldn't properly explain the agony in his heart when he realized just how different they actually were. He was almost jealous. He looked almost normal compared to her.

She introduced herself as Kamui, the dragon from Hoshido, smiling brightly as she extended her hand to shake his. Krein didn't smile but he shook her hand all the same while his imaginary friend sneered at her.

"Your Mother was right," the Kamui in his head had whispered. Her voice was unfamiliar but gentle and soft like the real one that stood before him. "She is just a Hoshidan…a weak one…she couldn't possibly understand you like I do…"

But this Kamui, the real one, was sweet and kind and nothing like what he had imagined.

He was attracted and despite the other Kamui's constant whispers to ignore her, he just couldn't.

She was sweet and understanding, like the one in his head. She was polite but curious and understood when he didn't want to talk about anything in particular but she offered him stories if only to hear one of his own.

He decided to humor her, despite the imaginary dragon's protests, and told her about Nohr and about his siblings. He left out the part about his Mother's passing and the fights that took her life and his wish of conquest over Nohr and how he had imagined her—dreamed of her—when he fell into despair.

Kamui, too, had humored him with her life in Hoshido. She was more secretive, her eyes sparkling at the mention of her brothers and sisters and her parents (the Kamui in his head whispered obscenities as she went on) and about many other things he took no interest in. He did take note, however, that she had mentioned no friends or retainers. He found it odd but Krein did wonder if she had felt lonely once just like him but then, he let the matter drop.

As he was about to leave to meet with his family, the girl asked, "Prince Krein…do you…do you know how to use a sword?" Her voice was shy, the question innocent but it was a rather strange question to ask…perhaps she did feel lonely among all those people and she only wanted to keep him closer.

Krein smiled and despite the other dragon's protests, he said, "Of course…I wouldn't be much of a prince if I didn't." He winked at her as Kamui's eyes lit up. The other Kamui just shrugged and muttered something along the lines of "you fool" as Kamui let out a small cheer before she composed herself.

"Alright…ahem…would you…would you care for a spar?"

Krein smiled widely, feeling his attraction growing stronger and stronger before he whispered, "A spar…not at all, Princess Kamui…not at all…"

Growing up, Kamui had been taught two things; how to fight and how to live.

Shura, a foreigner turned spy, taught her all that he knew of war, of holding swords and axes and spears and bows, of strategies and tactics and survival. Her Mother, a young priestess, on the other hand taught her kindness and humility and values and a few healing spells along the way.

She had lived in an old mansion alone with her Mother and a few servants, constantly under guard by many ninja and samurai. She was rarely allowed to go outside, unless it was for training or to accompany Mother to her visits to the Castle.

Kamui remembered being confused by the freedom she was given inside the mansion while she was forbidden from going outside. Her Mother had told her it was for her own protection but Kamui had wondered why they let her train outside, though, even if it was away from the populace. Kamui would immediately stop caring when she noticed the look of hurt on her Mother's face. She hadn't understood then.

Her visits to the Castle, too, were mysterious. They would always meet with a man with glasses and while her Mother left to meet someone else, Kamui and Master Shura would remain behind while the man with glasses asked for a report from the older man. Minutes later, a boy, older than Kamui, would appear behind the man with glasses. He was an odd one, with long, spiky hair and a katana too big for him to use. He had challenged her one day to prove his power over hers and despite Shura's protests, she and the boy fought.

She lost that fight and the few ones that came after and Kamui began to dislike the boy because every time she lost she would be forced back to train and that meant she wouldn't see Mother until the end of the week.

Sometimes, as she grew older, a young girl would appear with the boy and challenge her as well. She was not as strong or skilled as the boy but Kamui had been at a disadvantage and she had lost.

Losing didn't hurt as badly as it had before, though but Kamui had seen the disappointment on the stranger's eyes. Her Mother and Shura were never disappointed with her and one day, annoyed and stubborn that she had lost yet another match, asked her teacher on why he didn't care that she had lost.

Shura had shrugged before he said, "Did you learn?"

"Learn?"

"Yes…did you?"

"Umm…" The question had confused her and as the day went on, Shura elaborated so as to not leave his charge confused.

"If you always win," he explained "you never learn…those kids…they'll probably lose a fight…not against you, though…but against someone better…and then, they'll learn…but you…heh…you hold back…you're too soft...and that's okay, you just have to learn better and efficiently then, you won't lose."

"…but…wouldn't winning all the time just make it worse…?"

"Training is training." Shura had told her, "In training, winning or losing isn't the point…but outside, in the battlefield, winning is a must."

Kamui was still confused even at the end of the week, when she was allowed back home to spend time with her Mother who hugged her close and told her how much she missed her.

-0-0-0-0-0-

She was twelve years old when she and her Mother moved into the Castle.

Mother was set to marry the King of Hoshido, whose wife had been lost two years back.

It was an odd piece of news but Kamui took them with a smile. She would finally have a father! A real one! She would finally have kids her age to play with! And perhaps her training could stop...and maybe she could stop hiding and maybe—

But she was wrong.

After her Mother married, Kamui was forced to keep her distance; she wasn't allowed to be near her new family and while her Mother would visit and Shura and a new pair of ninja stayed with her, Kamui couldn't help but feel lonely.

The Castle became her new cage and like in the mansion, she wasn't allowed outside either.

She wasn't allowed to visit her new brothers and sisters and father. She couldn't see them at breakfast, lunch and dinner. She didn't celebrate birthdays nor did she get to accompany them to festivals.

Kamui was trapped with only her shadow and the constant visits of her Mother for company.

Her Mother would always come around for breakfast every day and when she couldn't, she'll meet Kamui at lunch. Sometimes, she came alone and others, she had the company of a pair of women who were her retainers. Yuugiri, the older one, is kind and gentle, asking her questions about her health and if she slept well while the younger one, Orochi, gave her smiles and some sweets (which they all shared) and sometimes a few little fortunes here and there.

Orochi's family, her Mother had explained, were from a long line of diviners and they could see into the future and Orochi had a particularly good fortune to impart to Kamui one day.

The woman told her that one day she'll have to share her table with many people in the coming days.

Kamui was rather confused while her Mother had just smiled sweetly and nodded.

Days later, her Mother had come to meet her for lunch with her usual guards and a pair of girls.

Kamui had almost not recognized them; she had seen them in the wedding reception and so she knew they were her new sisters. The older of the two, Kamui hardly recognized until the older girl jogged her memory. Her name was Hinoka and she had been with that boy, Ryoma, and had been her opponent all those years back. She had shorter hair now and seemed much less angry and more determined. Next to Hinoka, with short hair that almost reached her shoulders and a timid nature, was her younger sister, Sakura, smiling at her nervously as they sat down next to their new Mother.

Kamui could still remember crying once they left.

They had made small talk as they ate, with Hinoka apologizing for not coming to visit and Sakura, timidly, wondering if she was okay and that she too was sorry for not coming to visit and would visit when they could.

And they did.

Sometimes they would come by themselves; sometimes they would come with Mother while other times they would come with their retainers.

Azama and Setsuna, Kamui had learned, were the odd ones out; Setsuna barely reacted to anything while Azama would constantly try to rile her up as if he was expecting something to happen. Kazahana and Tsubaki on the other hand were the strange couple; they would always complain about something or the other, always compete, always annoy the youngest princess and the others until she cried for peace and they could (finally) start eating.

Kamui didn't mind the company. It was company and they were fine people and it made her happy to have company at last, just like how Orochi had predicted.

Eventually, one day, Hinoka arrived at her usual time, Sakura by her side and a new face. Kamui, too, recognized the frown on the boy's face and immediately identified him as the young prince. Hinoka introduced him as Takumi and Kamui, smiling excitedly, went to hug him as she had done with her two sisters all those days back. Takumi had turned pale, wondering what to do before he gently patted her back in greeting and they separated.

Two days later, Takumi had come back, this time their sisters were not with him but rather he was with the last of her siblings, Ryoma. Kamui didn't really know how to react towards the boy she had met those years back.

Takumi introduced him as the eldest prince and her new brother.

Ryoma smiled at her and she gave him a small, shy smile in return.

They ate in silence that day, surprising Takumi who had expected a barrage of questions from Kamui like his last visit but kept his thoughts to himself upon sensing the strange tension between the two.

A couple of days later, Ryoma returned, accompanied by her Mother and another man.

She knew this man from the wedding and when Shura took her out to train in the gardens. She remembered how the man would smile and wave towards her when she was looking his way.

He introduced himself as her Father, the King of Hoshido, and after that, the questions were few, with Kamui nervously answering them as best as she could. It was an odd evening to say the least.

Her Mother came to visit her the next day, her retainers guarding the door outside as the Queen went to hug her and then she told Kamui the truth.

The Queen explained that due to political reasons, Kamui was kept at a distance from her siblings and the King.

"…it's not because I'm a dragon?" Kamui remembered asking innocently. Her Mother just gave her a sad smile and then whispered,

"In…in a way…" the woman began, deciding not to lie nor sugarcoat her words as she had done so long ago, "…the people…they…are not sure about you…if it were up to your Father…well…he would have let you live with us…we would be together…" Her Mother sighed and then began crying as Kamui went to comfort her.

She never asked again why the people of Hoshido feared their own protector.

Years later, she would meet Prince Krein of Nohr in the Izumo Summit and wonder if he was feared as he was loved.