So things happened. And by things, I mean that I kinda soured on a lot of the ideas that I was setting up in the chapters I'd written, not to mention that after thinking about what I want to write, I came to the conclusion that the framing device didn't originally suit the type of story I wanted to tell. The formatting will likely remain the same, but I've changed the framing device to better suit the story I want to write. So I decided to reboot the story (just call me DC comics...)! Hopefully this new version will be better

It was a quiet, early morning when Xander stepped through the portal within Castle Krakenburg and emerged in Valla's Nohrian Embassy. The buildings dark-grey granite walls and black marble floors making it an almost perfect copy of Castle Krakenburg's interior, down to the rather morbid artwork and glowing red lighting. Even the temperature was quite close to that of his homeland, albeit as a result of artificial cooling rather than a perpetual lack of sunlight. Regardless, Xander found himself just as grateful for the large fur cape he wore now that he was king.

Looking around the room, the blonde was slightly disappointed to find that his wife wasn't waiting for him in the room, but that was understandable. After all, the building was magically cooled for the comfort of Nohrian visitors and having grown up in Hoshido, his beloved Hinoka had found adapting to the weather and temperature of her new home to be just as difficult as learning the ins-and-outs of an entirely different culture. Even with the warmest clothing available, Hinoka still shivered outdoors and clung to him in bed even after it had been heated with a bed warmer. Not that it was a bad thing. The Nohrian King enjoyed the impromptu cuddles and the couple had found more than a few…enjoyable ways to stay warm in bed.

"Milord, are you ready to depart?"

Xander turned to face the voice and had his good mood soured a little when he came saw that two of his new retainers had just stepped through the portal. All four of them had finished basic training at the top of their classes and had earned considerable renown and prestige within the Ordre de la Couronne de Ferbefore; slowly working up the ranks of vassalage to become Royal Guard. They were highly skilled, dedicated, professional organised, efficient and respectful, never overstepping so much as a single boundary. They were the pinnacle of what it meant to be a Nohrian soldier and an example of what every retainer should aspire to be.

And yet his relationship with them was so lifeless and dull that the blonde often found himself constantly wishing for the company of Inigo and Peri. The food they brought him lacked the 'spark' that Peri's possessed, the conversations were terse and cold as opposed to the friendlier and more open talks he had with Inigo. While their duty as his retainers had at times made him doubt that his relationship could ever be considered true friendship, it was certainly the closest he'd ever come to it and with each passing day, Xander missed Inigo's friendly nature and Peri's infectious enthusiasm more and more. Hell, he'd take scolding Inigo for attempting to flirt with a married marchioness or dealing with one of Peri's murderous moods than the constant professionalism of these new retainers.

"Milord? Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine Roland." Xander said, attempting to assuage the Paladin's worries. "Let's go."

As expected, Hinoka had chosen to wait outside the Embassy rather than within it, and was quite happy to greet her husband once he was no longer within the building. It was a simple greeting consisting of a chaste kiss and a quick hug, neither of them being the type to make grandiose expressions of affection, let alone public ones. The two royals parted just as swiftly as they had come together and Xander found himself increasingly aware of his retainers presence despite them not making any noise and having given the royals plenty of privacy. Xander turned to his retainers and informed them that their presence was no longer required; giving them orders to find their quarters and settle in.

"Are you sure Milord? What if-"

"There is no danger here Richard, so you might as well relax. Once you've settled in, you and Roland might like to try the hot springs. I'm told they're quite lovely."

"If that is you command, then consider it done!"

The two soldiers saluted in unison before turning and walking down the main hallway, presumably searching for a member of the capital's staff who could help them find where they would be staying for the next few nights. Xander would've helped them himself, but having not seen his wife in almost a week left him with different priorities.

"Still don't like having them around?" Hinoka asked, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, but it's only been a little more than two months since they've been assigned to me. I'll get used to them eventually."

"You say that, but you still always seem to have a reason to be away from them."

"I was like this after Inigo and Peri took the place of my first retainers and I remember not thinking much of them beyond 'lecherous fool' and 'obnoxiously childish' at first. I'll be fine dear; it just takes me a while to get used to change is all."

"I'm sure you will, and it's not like I can complain about you being stubborn considering my track record. Besides, we can always swap retainers if you want!"

"No thanks. I'm not that desperate." Xander stated, a ghost of a smile breaking his normally stony expression. Hinoka feigned disappointment at his rejection of her solution, but quickly dropped the pretence and let out a quiet chuckle. As much as they frustrated her at times, Setsuna and Azama had been her companions since before she had completed her apprenticeship for the Sky Knights and she considered them to be indispensable and amongst her greatest companions. Well, most of the time anyway. The number of times the Nohrian Queen had talked her husband's ear of with complaints about Setsuna's laziness or Azama making yet another child cry with his talk about the pointlessness of life, it was no wonder that he had shot down the offer so quickly, even if he wasn't completely serious.

"C'mon, we'd better settle in." Hinoka said, gesturing to the main hallway.

"I assume we'll be staying in the same room as last time?"

"Well yeah. It is permanently reserved for us."

The sabatons of Xander's armour and the steel soles of Hinoka's riding boots clacked loudly against the floor of the hallway. Perhaps it was just a lack of familiarity with the building, but something about the building had always seemed…off to Xander. From the walls and floors made of a pristine, almost blinding white material highlighted with equally shining gold, to the many awe-inspiring decorations like artificial waterfalls and decorative trees and bushes that appeared to have be made out of clear crystal quartz, all of which displayed a mastery of engineering, art and magic that blew even the most advanced Nohrian equivalents out of the water. There was just something about the place that made the king feel uneasy. The closest Xander had ever come to being able to voice his discomfort was that the place was 'too clean and perfect', almost to an unnatural degree and even that didn't fully explain it.

Not helping matters was the lack of sound or population. While the two's quiet small-talk and footsteps prevented kept the area from being totally silent and that they would occasionally pass by a servant or two performing various duties, but both of those did little to alleviate the eerie silence and emptiness of the capital. It didn't even fit into the category of culture shock that his time in Hoshido had induced; everything about the capital was just so alien, from the intensity of the colours to the strangeness of the architecture and decorations to the point of being uncanny.

It was almost a relief when they entered their room in the guest quarters which, while still as unnaturally clean as the rest of the capital at least didn't possess the same bright and shining colour pallet. No, their room bore the much more familiar black, purple and brass colours of Nohr. Dark grey floors and walls highlighted nicely by purple curtains and bed-sheets and each decoration trimmed with brass. However, the design of the room was quite clearly inspired my Hoshido with the exception of the king-sized bed; bamboo drawers by either side of the bed, a rice-paper shoji screen with a red cherry blossom tree by the corner closest to the bathroom and a writing desk that required one to sit on the ground or a pillow rather than a chair, something the king had always found perplexing. The room was otherwise decorated rather spartanly and the end result was comfortable and familiar for both the king and queen, as well as being surprisingly tasteful considering that most attempts to combine Nohrian and Hoshidan design had come out looking incredibly tacky at best and downright hideous at worst.

"Now this is more like it!." Hinoka trumpeted with delight before flopping onto the bed, the wooden frame creaking under the weight of her armour.

"Is the room to your liking dear?" Xander chuckled as he began removing bits and pieces of his own armour.

"Definitely. The decorations and architecture are much better here, not like those ugly…things back in Nohr."

"I believe 'sturdy' is the word you were looking for. I don't recall ever breaking a Nohrian-made door just by opening it."

"Hey, just because you're clumsy doesn't make them any less sturdy. You can't yank a door open and expect it to be fine afterward."

It was an old habit of theirs to have playful debates about whether Nohr or Hoshido was better in a giving area. The arguments hadn't been so jovial at first, having started as much more heated confrontations times during the Third War and gradually becoming less intense over the course of their courtship; from calm intellectual debates to casual discussion and finally, to more of a running joke between the two than anything else.

"Not to mention that-" Hinoka began as she started emptying out the contents of her travel back into the bedside drawers before pausing, eyes narrowed in confusion as she pulled out two books with identical covers. Oh, right. Here, I ran into your brother while I was training and he asked me to give you this."

The redheaded woman passed one of the books to Xander and the king gingerly took it from her hands before scowling as he recognised the title. Xander knew perfectly well what this book was about; having had to deal with the fallout of its contents for a little more than a year had left him very well acquainted with its content. The blonde momentarily wondered what would possess Leo to give him a copy of the book before he noticed the additions that had been made to the front cover.

"Heroes of Fate, Volume I: The Tale of Corrin/Kamui (Amended Edition). What's this about?"

"Well since the original one was so…'controversial', Azura wanted publish a new version that would clear the air."

"I see. And is when is it going to be released to the public?"

"Oh, it's not done yet. Look." Hinoka took the book from Xander's hand and flipped to the pages near the end, all of which were blank. "Only Azura, Leo and Takumi have contributed thus far. You, me and the others are supposed to read it and then write our memory of the events in the back, then it'll all get made into one book."

"I'll make sure to get around to that."

"Good. Anyway, I've gotta go spar with Ryoma now. You coming?"

"No thanks, I'd like to rest before the meeting."

"Okay. Rest well and I'll see you when the meeting starts."

The Hoshidan royal quickly kissed the king's cheek before darting out the door, eager to get to the training rooms. Xander meanwhile, removed the final piece of armour from his body and laid it next to the rest of the set before lying down, sighing contently as he relaxed every muscle in his body. It was only then that the prince realised that he'd forgotten the obsidian crown. Xander sat up with a grown before removing the jewellery from his head and placing it on his bedside drawer, his hand coming into contact with his copy of the book.

"Hmm…"

Xander took the book from the top of the drawer and stared at the cover for a moment before absent-mindedly flicking through some of the pages, his mind only barely registering the information on the pages and noting that it seemed like everything was as it was in the original, although the addition of footnotes had lengthened the book considerably. Looking over to the quill-and-ink on the writing desk and briefly wondered whether he should start contributing immediately or lie down and rest. In the end, however, the instincts developed over a life of being groomed to become king won out and the blonde stood up and started heading toward the desk.

"Might as well get started."