We all ran out of the courthouse and didn't look back. The mob might not have been after us, but angry mobs tend to not discriminate on who they're tearing limb from limb. And from how ravenous they were getting, anyone who was between them and their target wasn't going to last long.

Morgan's soldiers lead us out the back exit, towards a covered carriage. My guess is that's what she used to get here, perks of being important. I load in with her and Mother, the guards sit at the front and take the reins. Stahl and his brother go over to their own horses, trotting off ahead of us.

As we start to roll down the street, I manage to relax and lay back. The adrenaline seeps out of my body and into the world around me. Slowly, my heart stops beating as fast. Everything settles, and I return to normal.

"Guess this was one way for me to track you both down." I tell them, trying to use some dry humor to defuse the situation. Morgan melts into a puddle of anxiety in her seat, meanwhile mother pats her head to try and soothe her.

"Never a dull moment with you two." Mother chimes, the only one who seems content between the three of us. "Almost as much trouble as your younger selves."

"Mooooooooooooooooom. We're not kids anymore!" Morgan whines, pouting from the kiddish treatment. But it's not like she's pushing mother away or moving her head, so I'm pretty sure she's enjoying this.

"You'll always be my children. Just as your children will always be yours." Mother affirms, giving me a particular look with that kernel of wisdom. Now I pout at her, looking out at the passing buildings while she chuckles.

Mother sighs, wrapping her arm around Morgan and bringing her back up. "So, I was thinking, after everything today, the three of us could go out together tomorrow night. Try to catch up."

I snort, keeping track of a couple as they trot past our rolling carriage. Catch up, great. I get to tell them both about my trip through fantasyland in more detail. Not that I'm surprised, but… look, you've been listening for a while now. I've already told my story plenty of times. It's getting exhausting.

Not that I don't want to spend time with them. I do, really. But I don't want to be the spotlight all the time. I missed them as much as they missed me.

Then again, this is probably the best chance I'll have to find out.

"Got any idea where we'd go?" I ask her, keeping an eye on the things we pass by. Forgot how lovely a city could be when no one's scared of what's going to happen next. There's bound to be somewhere around here we could hang around.

"I was hoping that one of you would know of a place. I've only recently arrived, after all." Mother admits, putting me on the spot. I don't know of any good places myself. Most of my time in the city's been in the castle or on training grounds, not really relaxing or having a good time.

...When was the last time I relaxed? Seriously. Even in Valla I spent every day helping Corrin with something.

"I know a nice restaurant!" Morgan exclaims, I can hear her scrambling in her seat as she gets a new wave of energy. "It's over in the river district! It's got a great view and amazing food! Virion and Cherche took me there my first night!"

"Ooh, an endorsement from royalty. That must mean it's splendid." Mother observes, her voice absorbing some of Morgan's excess giddiness. And there's always plenty of that. "What do you think about that, Severa?"

I shrug, smiling at the idea but doing my best to hide it. "Sure, long as I'm not paying. Between the three of us, I'm almost a pauper."

Morgan snorts, jumping over to my bench with a loud creaking sound. Almost makes me tumble out of the carriage, but I catch myself before my body rolls through the open port.

"Oh come on, you get paid plenty!" Morgan says with defensive pride. "I make sure everyone gets everything they need. That's my job!"

I turn around from my position, sizing her up before jumping over and dragging her into a hold she is very intent on squirrling her way out of. Too bad I'm like, three times as strong as she is. Gets even worse when I start giving her the noogie to end all noogies.

"Someone keeps acting like they're all grown up, when they're forgetting who's the bigger sister." I insist, cackling like some sort of villain as I keep giving her the business.

"Geddoff! Stop it! MOM!" Morgan cries as she remains at my mercy. Even though I'm enjoying myself, my fun gets cut off as Mother clears her throat. Looking up, she's giving me the 'Mom glare'. Somewhere between a pout, frown and loaded with authority.

"Severa, stop bullying your sister." She instructs in a level voice. My head lolls back as I groan, but I also comply. My grip loses enough for Morgan to free herself, moving to the opposite side of the same seat. The two of us glare at one another before we blow raspberries.

"Look who still needs Mom to get out of a headlock." I say, trying to get the last word in.

"I didn't need her help! I was about to get out anyway!" Morgan protests.

"Suuure, that's why you were squirming around like a fish. Totally almost had it." I reply sarcastically.

Morgan pouts, getting even more defensive. "It wasn't fair, you did a sneak attack!"

"Please, since when do I play fair?" I remind her.

"Because you can't win if you do!" She insists.

"Yeah sure. Sore loser."

"Cheater!"

"Momma's girl!"

"Hypocrite!"

"Girls." Mother says, voice booming over our bickering. We both clam up as quickly as we started yelling, backs shooting straight up as we right ourselves under Mother's totalitarian aura. She keeps her eye on both of us, and neither of us move an inch so we don't really piss her off.

Leave it to Mom to make me feel five again.

When we made it back to the castle, I left to go find Subaki and Caeldori. Morgan told me that she needed me to be present for another meeting before our dinner-date with Mom. Even though I'd rather avoid even more work, I agreed to come on the promise that she paid for my food.

Had to twist her arm a bit, but eventually she gave in and agreed to foot the bill. I guess she realized that I don't get paid as much as she does.

Funny. Even though I'm a noblewoman, I've never really gotten to experience luxury for extended periods of time. Not for lack of access, I had years full of nothing to do after my mission was done. But I never really thought I… well, that I deserved it.

You know what? That's changing, starting now. For the next few weeks I'm going to relax and enjoy myself. No work, no stress.

...Starting tomorrow, after whatever's left for me to do today. Whatever meeting Morgan's bringing me to is probably going to stress me out. If I even find them… if they're even together.

I start with the most obvious place, the bedroom I have with Subaki in the castle. After that, the stables. Then the library. Then the dining hall. Then the armory. I keep checking room after room until I reach the practice field.

There, I'm greeted by the sight of Subaki sparring with an unknown soldier. Both of them are going at one another with polearms, striking and parrying at a pace well above my capacity. Spears and I have never really mixed, why I favor swords.

The other guy's good, but my husband's better. It's obvious he's toying with his opponent, blocking and defecting each strike with a simple flick of his wrist. Subaki doesn't go on the offensive, but he doesn't need to. He could probably land a winning hit with his eyes closed.

But he isn't. He's purposely trying to let the man get a hit on him.

"Speed up your movements! Keep your target off balance!" Subaki instructs, which lets me know what this really is. Not a duel, but a lesson. This guy is probably someone under him.

That explains why Subaki's enjoying himself so much. Teaching other people brings out a part of him that most don't get to see. He becomes more considerate and careful, trying to nurture the best he can out of others. It's when he really becomes… himself.

Well, that and whenever he shows off. Pompous poofer that he is.

They spin around one another again, which leads to Subaki catching a glimpse at me. Smirking, I wave at him with my good hand. He forgets where he is and tries to wave back, which leads to him getting smacked rather strongly in his sternum.

As he gasps for breath, his student panics and drops the practice spear. Subaki tries to laugh it off, clutching his abdomen and keeping his pupil away at arm's length.

After a flurry of apologies from one man and some final pointers from the other, the soldier leaves the sparring grounds and leaves me with my husband. I go over to join him in the ring.

"Not what a woman wants to see, her husband getting smacked around by some nobody." I tell him, enjoying the nervous blush he has on him now that I've witnessed him commit another gaffe.

"He only hit me once." He protests, weakly, waiting for me to reach him before he pulls me into an embrace. We share a kiss, and he looks down to my slung arm. "How bad?'

"Complicated, I don't really understand myself." I admit to him, freeing my arm from the sling and tossing the fabric away. He doesn't say a word while I flex my arm, trying to see if any feeling has come back over the past few hours. Not that lucky, unfortunately.

"When we brought you back, we feared that the healers would need to amputate it." He tells me, clearly worried judging by the sound of his voice. I don't even want to know what he was thinking when I got carted back to camp, body half burned and unresponsive.

"Haven't we been over this already? I'm amazing, the rules don't apply to me!" I brag, which is about the only way I can rationalize why my charcoal arm still works perfectly fine even though I can't feel a thing with it.

"Apparently not." He says, not sharing my uncaring aura about an injury of this caliber. He goes to hold my hand, running his thumb over the swath of bandages that still cover it. I can see his face crease with thought and concern, but he doesn't say whatever he's thinking.

Heh… you know what. We're alone right now, and it's been a while since I had some 'fun'.

I take advantage of this and pull him down again, bringing him into another kiss. Though this one is more uh… risque. I press myself up against his body, poking his teeth with my tongue before it gets itself inside. I can feel that he's caught off-guard by how forward I'm being, which I use to my advantage.

A little bit of leverage, and I'm able to get him onto the ground with me on top of him. Slowly I start to lose myself in the embrace, letting my hands rest on his chest while I pin him at the hip.

It's been a long time since I felt this… desire in me. So much has been going on that I haven't let myself feel it. Work and responsibility always gets in the way. But now… now. I get to have him all to myself. Just like I deserve.

...But I probably shouldn't have him in a room with no doors.

I stop myself before I go too far, pulling away and going up so I'm straddling my husband. Both of us stare at one another, breathing raggedly as we try to recover from almost turning this into a public humping session. I want to go further, and I can see he does as well, but our better judgement's the only thing stopping us.

"Should we head upstairs?" He asks me, testing my resolve. I bite my lower lip, weighing if we have enough time before the meeting that I need to go too.

Ugh, no. We probably don't. Fucking damn it.

"Later." I tell him. "I've got some things to do, people to see."

He sighs, taking hold of my hips. "Just as you were getting to the good part." Subaki laments.

My eyes narrow, seeing what he's getting at. "Oh no, we're not doing this here. Remember the last time we ended up rutting outside of our quarters?"

"It wasn't that bad…" Subaki tries to say.

"Really? I'm not sure that's how Prince Takumi felt." I recall, remembering just how horrified the Hoshidan royal had looked when he stumbled onto us behind the castle's armory. Now that was humiliating.

"Alright, alright." Subaki says, giving in. But he still grins at me from his position below. "But I'm expecting returns for this tonight."

Knowing what he means by that, I share his grin before leaning back in. One final kiss before I dismount and take my leave.

May as well give myself plenty to look forward to.

Morgan gives me some lip over not using the sling anymore, but she gives up once she realizes I'm not putting it back on.

The central hall of the castle is something straight out of a storybook from Marth's time. Tall, grey stone walls surrounding a large room with a circular table in the center. Tapestries hang on each of them, blazing purple with the heraldry of Roseanne and the Duke's household reigning dominion. Ancient heirlooms rest on pedestals, each of them with some kind of plaque describing their age and importance. The first crown of the Duchy, a sword used during a forgotten war. Even a shield that belonged to someone called 'Conrad'. Wonder who that was.

As mother and Morgan talk about politics from back home, I keep an eye on everyone else who's present. The men and women all look important, people who have some measure of power here in Roseanne proper. They've got long robes, some of them wear armor denoting a rank of importance. None of them seem very interested in this whole meeting, treating it like a social gathering.

One of them makes their way over to me, an older woman with a smile so fake I want to punch it off her face.

"I've never seen you here before, child." She observes, her teeth bright white as they show themselves to me. "Are you the famed Knight-Captain Cordelia? I was told she would be present this evening."

I roll my eyes, jabbing my thumb over my shoulder to my Mother. "I'm not Cordelia, she's talking with the Commander."

Revealing this information, her smile disappears completely.

"Oh." She replies, clearly disappointed. "And who are you, then? Another Ylissean General?"

"I'm a Major." I clarify, which seems to make her even more upset. This is obviously supposed to be some sort of 'elite of the elite' gathering going on, and for some reason a foreign line officer's polluting the party with their presence.

Well, lady. Sucks to be you, I'm not going anywhere.

Our standoff's interrupted by a new figure walking into the room. Said figure is none other than Blanche, still wearing the same clerical robes she wore in the courthouse. Seeing her again sends a few shivers up my spine, remembering that creepy smile she had while that guy got attacked by the mob.

"Bishop Navarre." The woman calls as Blanche passes us, stopping her as she looks on.

Spotting me, she frowns a bit, then turns back to the noblewoman. "What is it, Countess? The meeting is about to start."

"Well it can't possibly begin with this-" She says, pointing to me with a curled finger. "-in our presence. What is a simple officer doing in our company? A Ylissean one especially."

"Real funny way to treat the people who just saved your hides." I spit back at her, noticing that Mother and Morgan's voices have stopped speaking. They can probably tell that I'm about to murder someone, they usually can.

The Countess snarls at me, but Blanche speaks up again. "You have a problem with the Major's attendance, Lady Marley?"

"Absolutely! She has no reason to be privy to sensitive discussions!" She insists. "Now, I request your guards escort this rude little hellion out of my sight at once."

As I open my mouth to start tearing into this old bat, Blanche steps before me.

"That 'hellion', Countess, has done more to protect this nation in two months than you have in two decades." Blanche declares, surprising both of us with how fervently she comes to my defense. "She has earned the right to stand here, and is my guest. And if you dare challenge that again, I will have my guards remove you. Am I understood?"

The Countess has no words, simply slinking away back towards her wine as far away from the both of us as possible. Running with her tail between her legs from the sheer force that Blanche exudes.

"Insufferable fossil." Blanche mutters to herself, looking to me again. "Apologies, Major. Some of our nobility thinks too highly of themselves."

"Most nobles do." I chime, not sure how I'm supposed to take what she just did. Over the course of our time together, Blanche and I have had a weird chemistry. One moment we're at each other's throats, the next I think we're actually becoming friends. Random situations like this don't help how complicated this relationship is.

She smirks, then moves to take her own seat. A few minutes later, one of the criers announces that the meeting is to start. Mother, Morgan and I keep standing off to the periphery. All the other nobles, ten in total, sit themselves down.

It's at this time I notice that Sumia isn't here. Neither is Gerome or Cynthia. As the meeting starts, I turn to mother and whisper to her.

"Where's Auntie?" I ask, surprised that she'd miss anything important.

Mother's face flinches a bit, but she sighs before explaining. "She had to leave with most of her forces."

"What!?" I say in alarm, trying to keep my voice down. "She just got here! Where did she go now!?"

"Back to Chon'sin. Say'ri told us that the Valentians are preparing for something, and she needs our help." Mother explains carefully, not wanting me to start freaking out while the others keep discussing.

"And what about Cincy and Gerome?" I follow up.

"They're with her. You'll see why soon." Mother replies cryptically.

The meeting starts off as all meetings do, with a dry overview of the situation and topics. The two main points are obvious; what to do about the Duchy's new lack of leadership, and how to handle the Valentians going forward. Everything else just blurs under my notice, either too benign or too obscure for me to even try and care.

None of them mention anything about the rogue Manakete, which confuses me. I guess Morgan didn't tell Blanche? Or, at least Blanche isn't telling everyone else. Reports about how risen sightings seem to have stopped completely, and how the border with Valentia's been almost abandoned. Mother's pegasus knights haven't spotted any movement for the past few days. Even when they fly into enemy territory, there's no sign of the enemy army. They've pulled back entirely.

"Small comforts. We save our Duchy in exchange for our royals." A man in military armor laments.

"It's a sacrifice they both made willingly." Another man points out.

"They are not dead yet, let's not jump to conclusions."

"If they have not died yet, they will." The Countess from before bites, sipping at a goblet. "The healers reported that their wounds were catastrophic. Pretending that they will survive this is mere fantasy."

"They will survive." Blanche says firmly. "The Ylissean Queen left for Chon'sin with them days ago. Empress Say'ri's healers are leagues beyond what we can offer here, I have full confidence in their recovery."

Another chill goes down my spine. So that's where they're going.

Can't say it doesn't make sense. Roseanne's a very small country, and it's biggest resource is crops. Even in the capitol, technology and medicine isn't exactly cutting edge. People are still recovering from Walhart, and most healers can handle the average surgery at best. Whatever happened to them is beyond even Blanche's healing ability, and she's supposed to be a medical legend.

I can feel the pit in my stomach grow. Even more failures to add to my list. Two more people I failed to protect.

"We can't do anything about that now." A local officer says, bringing the conversation back. "What we can do is ensure that their sacrifice wasn't in vain. Are we certain that the enemy has left us?"

Morgan steps up, coughing into her fist before speaking. "Our scouts confirmed it; they're gone. No camps, no troops. Based on the reports we've received from the south, it makes sense. They'll need everything they have to invade Chon'sin."

"Then we clearly need to take advantage of this." Another woman observes. "We must strike them! Now, before they return."

"Absolutely not." Blanche booms. "The militia was stretched to its absolute limit as is. We do not have the supplies, let alone the men to sustain an offensive campaign."

"The Bishop is correct." An especially rich looking man agrees. "Our economy has already suffered greatly from all of this. Any aggressive action will bankrupt the entire Duchy."

The group falls into murmurs and prattle, trying to decide what to do with this information. Attack would be self-destruction, doing nothing would seem like wasting a great opportunity. Personally I say we take Morgan's forces and just go in ourselves.

Another question pops to mind, though.

"Mom… why didn't you leave with Aunt Sumia?" I ask, curious. Sumia is my mother's best friend, they're sisters in everything but actuality. Plus, my Mom's job is to keep the Queen safe. Hard for her to do that if she's not around.

Mother chuckles. "Her highness decided I needed a 'break for my mental health.' Her words, not mine. So she ordered me to stay here with a detachment of my Knights. Stahl is doing the same with some of his cavaliers."

I glare at her, not buying it. "You just stuck around to keep an eye on me, didn't you?"

"Two birds, one stone." She honestly tells me, giving me a quick pat on the head. Gawds.

"Guys." Morgan says, nodding back over to the table. Seems like they've carried on without us paying attention.

"We still need to discuss what will happen to the title of Duke." One of the nobles reminds.

"The heir still lives, there's no discussion to have." Another says, as if that would end the discussion.

"He's still a child, we can't expect him to rule now. Especially in a crisis like this." Someone injects. It's true, younger Gerome is way too young. He's even younger than Emmeryn was when she took over Ylisse, and Lucy's aunt was… what, ten? Eleven? Gawds, I can't imagine running a country at that age.

"Crises like this are where leaders are forged." Some idiot says. Wow, not the sharpest people get titles here.

"Or where bloodlines die." Someone with some actual brain cells answers.

"Then what do you propose, Baron." The previous man requests, upset at being snubbed.

"A regency." He offers, earning a few voices of protest from the crowd. "Someone to lead until either the Duke and Duchess' recovery. Or, Naga forbid, to lead until the boy comes of age."

"And who in blazes would be the regent?"

"Me."

All the heads in the room turn to look at Blanche. The nobles, the guards, the three of us standing in the back. All of us watch as she stands to her feet, leaning on the table as she addresses us all.

"Roseanne needs strong leadership, now more than ever." She says. "Someone who can guide her through the storm to come, and more is surely coming. As the closest living relative second to the Marquess, I hold the most legitimate claim to the regency."

"You can't be serious." Someone calls. "A cleric for a Regent? On what grounds are you ready for this task?"

"Simple." Blanche says, mounting her grin again. The same evil, wicked grin she had earlier. Like a witch ready to suck my soul straight out from my body.

"I control the Army. Three of you answer to me already." She informs as those in uniform shift in their seats, her words making Morgan visibly nervous. I take my hand and clench hers, trying to help her calm down.

"While the rest of you have been hiding here, away from all the horror, I was the one who led our people against our foe." She continues. "I was the one who nursed them back to health after the Empire fell. I was the one who raised half the orphans in this city. What have you all done?"

"It's only because of Virion you were even allowed to do any of this!" A man yells out. "You were a traitor! You served that butcher Walhart! If it wasn't for the Duke, you would have never been let back into the city!"

"A lot of ifs, I'm hearing." Blanche observed smugly, reveling in the man's displeasure. "I owe the Duke much, I owe all of you nothing."

"You are not of landed status, Bishop. You do not qualify." The old Countess protests, to which Blanche just scoffs. I see her head turn towards me ever so slightly.

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that nobility means nothing." She says, her eye twinkling. I keep my expression hidden, not sure what she's meaning by looking at me like that. Is she saying I'm not a noble? Is that a compliment or an insult?

She doesn't answer, instead focusing on the group once again. "My nephew will not lose his parents. Until they return here, I will keep him safe. Along with every man, woman and child of our homeland. And I will do it, with or without all of you."

Blanche stands up straight, beaming down at the helpless cavalcade of 'leaders' who don't know what to do. "So. Any objections?"

Silence. The sound of people, backed against a wall, weighing their options.

As if they have any options. She holds all the cards. Almost like this was planned.

In the end, three people stand up and storm out of the room. The rest stay seated, not saying another word, silently admitting defeat as they've been completely outmaneuvered. Mother, Morgan and I share glances. The three of us all know what just happened here.

We just witnessed a coup.

By the time I get to my bedroom, the sun's already set.

Gods, how long has it been since I slept in a proper bed. Ever since coming back, most nights I've spent on a cot or in a bedroll. Sleeping on a real mattress feels utterly divine, like I'm sinking into a fluffy marshmallow of relaxation and comfort.

Maybe things are finally going to get better now.

The war seems to be over. Everything's calming down, even with that craziness that happened before. Virion and Cherche will be fine, I have to believe that. They won't die after everything we've been through. It wouldn't make sense, surviving Grima and then getting killed by some risen after the fact. It'd be the most anti-climactic thing ever.

Blanche's show was… unnerving. But it was also a whole lot of 'not my problem.' So what if she's running the place until Virion comes back? No skin off my back, I don't take orders from her anymore! I'm just another noblewoman, floating around and doing whatever she wants. Whatever she wants.

Gods, I can't wait. Finally going to have something resembling a real vacation.

Maybe I could take Caeldori swimming? I never taught her how, and I don't think she knows either. Her deeprealm didn't have any lakes or ponds for her to practice in, and her caretakers said she spent most of her time training indoors.

Ooh, and the boutiques here! Sooo much stuff for me to buy! I could bring a whole treasure trove of clothes and jewelry back home to show off! Plus I can borrow some designs from here as well, practice some of my needlework.

And tomorrow I get to hang out with Mom and sis, get to find out what they've been doing while I was gone. Might be able to hear more about the others. Laurent, Nah, Noire, Yarne… Lucina.

Gods, Lucina. What am I going to tell her when we meet again? Our last conversation was really, really awkward.

As I remove my armor and get down to my blouse, the door creaks open. Subaki walks in, yawning loudly before he catches me undressing.

"You went back to sparring after I left, didn't you?" I ask him, unbuttoning the rest of my shirt. When my mind remembers what we had planned to do when we met up again, I stop.

"He came back, asking me for some more pointers." He explained, walking over and wrapping his arms around my waist. "But I managed to shake him off."

"Thinking with your head, I see." I joke, before jumping up and picking up where we left off. It's not long before we fall onto the bed, laughing as we start to enjoy ourselves.

I think I'm going to like taking a load off.

A/N: I promise there won't be any lemons. That's either going to relieve or disappoint a lot of you.

For the next good bit of this fic, we're gonna see a lot of less serious chapters. Fluff, bonding, comedy. So on. We've been doing plot-driven stuff for a while now, so I want to show people what I'm sure they want to see. More of the central family, along with some fun side stuff.

Also probably Severa getting stab-happy with Caeldori's crush. We'll see.

o/