Let me know what you think.

Corrin never had much interest in music, but that didn't mean he didn't appreciate the art; it kept him entertained and that was all that mattered to him; sure there were times that Elise or Camilla would ask him to listen to them play their instruments, asking for critique, he would just nod and smile. In fact there was one time both his sisters would get him to learn to play an instrument, he tried, and never again.

After finding Felicia, who was utterly confused as to how she even arrived at the opera house, she brightened up seeing her Lord and sister. But as they were prepared to leave they realized the large crowd that had gathered, in fact Corrin spotted the King up in his private little booth overlooking the stage; this piqued his interest, he never would have imagined Anankos would be one for music. Corrin chose to stand at the back overlooking the entire opera house; his eyes wandered, guards stationed at every corner, it would certainly be difficult for anyone to try and sneak in. He spotted a couple of empty seats, pulling his retainers along they sat, blending into the crowd as it started to go silent; the performance had begun.

There was something mesmerizing about the dancers movements, Corrin could not stop watching, and that song, it enchanted him, and most of all it was familiar, the lyrics and the tone of her voice, he has heard this song before, but where? The more the dancer moved, the more he thought, Corrin tried piecing together his memories, the familiarity was bugging him.

"What is it Corrin" Garon asked.

"That song…. There is something about it"

"Have you ever visited this city before?" Corrin shook his head.

"Even if I did, I don't think I heard this song here"

"In the Northern Fortress then"

"Highly doubt it; the only music I have heard during our stay was when Elise or Camilla played the violin"

"Elise can play the violin?" Garon asked both proud and surprised.

"Yes, she's also very good; she tried teaching me once, but I never got the hang of it, I'm terrible in fact" Garon let out a chuckle.

"Now I'm interested to hear you play"

"Just so you can make fun of me?"

"Never, I'm fairly certain Selena will do that for me" Corrin couldn't see Garon's face, but he could picture his smug smile; he could even hear Selena's laughter.

"Anyways. I think it might be Hoshido"

"That wouldn't be surprising; this city has both Nohrian and Hoshidan citizen's come and go, it could be a common Hoshidan song"

"That may be…. But the lyrics, they don't sound Hoshidan" Corrin stated; and then something clicked, he jumped out of his seat. "Azura!" he silently exclaimed.

"Lord Corrin?" Felicia whispered. Corrin very quickly sat down.

"Hoshido is going to attack" he spoke very quietly, only Flora and Felicia who sat on his left and right could hear.

"Are you sure Milord?" Flora questioned, Felicia glanced around; Corrin nodded making his way out of the opera house.

"We need to regroup with the others" his retainers nodded following their Lord closely. Corrin had a very bad feeling about this, if there was anything he was worried about, it was encountering his sister; he had been lucky last time that he had only encountered Takumi, however if he had to fight Kamui, he didn't know what he would do; could he fight his sister? Or would he falter. He could handle all the pain in the world, he could handle death, but he couldn't even fathom the thought of hurting his beloved twin sister.

"Do either of you know who the woman performing was?" Corrin asked.

"I do believe it was supposed to be a songstress by the name of Layla. She is very popular" Flora told him.

"Then that means her face will be recognizable. I want the two of you to search for the real Layla and bring her to me" the two nodded while running off. Corrin was still caught off guard by how quickly Felicia is able to switch her mentality.

Layla had disguised herself with a cloak, she hoped it would be enough to slip out of the city unnoticed; granted she was lucky most people were all too busy enjoying the festivities to bother acknowledging a hooded individual, even the local guards were more lenient today. She spotted a few Hoshidans walking about, and instantly remembered how she managed to gain the opportunity to return home, she was eternally grateful for the Hoshidans that came to her aid; yet, there was this nagging feeling that something will go wrong. Slapping her cheeks, she pushed away all thoughts, making her way to the exit, she slipped into an alleyway, a pathway not many would use.

She stopped, eyes darting behind her; her heart was suddenly beating fast; she realized it was a bad idea to take the alleyway. Without thinking she broke into a sprint, hoping to make it out into the crowd. But she wasn't even able to take three steps when a hooded figure dropped in front of her, arm stretched out knocking her off her feet. Her vision became hazy, with everything spinning, she felt a hand grasp her shoulder.

"Layla I presume?" it was a female. She didn't know what was going on but nodded; and immediately she felt her entire body freeze while someone tied her up; she couldn't do anything, other than let them do as they pleased, slowly she started to lose consciousness.

Flora looked at her sister who slung Layla's body over her shoulder; she had a quick glimpse at Felicia's eyes and her heart sank; she didn't like seeing Felicia like this, she didn't know how or when this happened; maybe it was when they were children training in self defense or it could have happened during their time in the Northern Fortress; but Felicia's eyes, they were not of someone simply fighting to defend themselves, they were the eyes of a killer. Months back during the Ice Tribes rebellion, Flora remembered Felicia's blood-lust when she had tried to harm Corrin, in fact she almost had her throat slit by her, luckily Corrin had stopped her just in time. But that experience taught her one thing; to never bring harm to Corrin of any form. Granted she never desired to hurt her Lord, in fact during the rebellion, it pained her greatly to be fighting Corrin; he was a kind Lord, in all her years in his service, he has treated them with respect; even after coming back from the dead a changed man, he still retained that kindness, and she was thankful for that, after all …. It was that kindness that she fell in love with.

"Flora!" Felicia's voice broke her from her trance. "Lets go"

"Right".

Corrin suited himself up in his cavalier armor, he didn't normally wear a helmet, but now it felt unnatural not to have it on. His soldiers gathered behind him also armed; they stationed themselves at a Nohrian military base that was set up by the border of the city. Everyone was disappointed that their time off was cut short but they understood and were prepared to accomplish their duty. Flora and Felicia arrived with Layla who struggled for release, there was kicking and screaming, but Felicia was completely unfazed and simply dropped the woman in front of Corrin. The prince sighed, though he knew what needed to be done, this entire situation gave him a headache; it was one thing after another, first it was an attempted assassination on the King, now it was the King ordering the execution of all the songstresses; he needed to resolve both issues at the same time, and with the least amount of casualties; luckily Leo would be assisting.

"You must be Layla" his booming voice startled Layla, sending her into a sweat; it wasn't his intention to intimidate, but if this helped get his message across then so be it. "Do you know why you are here?" Layla wanted to answer truthfully but she had reason to believe her answer would get her killed, so she could only instinctively react by shaking her head.

"Your replacement for the Kings performance attempted to assassinate him, so to retaliate, the King has ordered the execution of all the songstresses in the city" Layla's heart stopped for a moment, she was in absolute shock, she never would have imagined her choice to trust the Hoshidans would escalate like this.

"But… but they are innocent!" she cried; her face was painted with anguish and fear, yet Corrin did not react.

"Not in the eyes of the King; for all we know all the songstresses were involved in the assassination" hearing this made Layla realize what she truly had done. Her entire body collapsed, she lost the ability to think, let alone speak. "Tell me, why did you have someone take your place?"

"I….I…." still in shock she struggled to form words. Corrin sighed, he couldn't bear to watch her pathetic state anymore; kneeling down at eye level.

"Do not be afraid, you will not be punished," he told her. "However, I need you to tell me everything; only then can I save your friends".

"My mother…." she whispered.

"Your mother?" Corrin repeated, yet somehow he knew where this was going.

"My mother is very sick, the doctors say she doesn't have much longer to live…. I …. I just wanted to see my mother one last time" she broke down in tears. Corrin didn't need to look around to know his men had similar thoughts to his own, they pitied the girl. Corrin placed a hand on Layla's shoulder.

"Very well, I will help you visit your mother, however I want to save your friends, I'm sure you feel the same way" Layla nodded. "Then I will need your full cooperation, can you agree to that?" he asked. Layla wiped away her tears, her eyes full of determination.

"What do I have to do?"

It was a complete disaster; Zola had betrayed them and their cover was blown, surrounded by Nohrian soldiers, Kamui was frustrated, and to make matters worse, Leo was at the forefront, no doubt the entire situation was going to get messy. They were so close as well; with Garon dead, they could end this war. But Azura had ruined that; Kamui couldn't help but feel anger towards the Nohrian Princess, why did she act so rashly? If she only communicated her plan, then she and her soldiers could have prepared for it. Now…. Now she was stuck cleaning up this mess; in fact, she only now noticed, but Azura was nowhere to be found.

"To think you would have the guts to show your face traitor!" Leo yelled; much to Kamui's surprise, there was no malice in his voice, almost like he lost all interest in her; it made Kamui feel uneasy.

"Leo! You must listen to me" Kamui tried to reason. "You must stop King Garon! You can't let him slaughter all the innocent people! The songstresses are not to blame!"

"And why should I have to listen to the person who would kill her own twin brother" Leo responded, Kamui choked up. "You have lost the right to speak to us".

"How dare you Nohrian filth!" Hinoka screamed. "Had you not brainwashed Corrin, he would have been with us where he would be alive and safe" Leo glared at Hinoka. "You Nohrians have cost the lives of three family members. How much do you plan to take before you are satisfied" Leo seethed with anger, they were acting as if they were the victims; at this point Leo has lost all logical thinking. One hand out, he summoned roots that attacked Kamui and her soldiers.

Kamui unsheathed Yato striking the roots, cutting them into pieces. But Leo wasn't finished, signalling his soldiers they moved in to subdue the Hoshidan soldiers. Niles let loose a few arrows, three of which struck down the enemy, while the one aimed at Hinoka was deflected by her spear. The Hoshidans were overwhelmed, and Kamui could barely push back, parrying swords, spears and axes from all directions. Hesitant at first but, Kamui allowed one soldier to land a hit which opened the opportunity to counter, stabbing him through the stomach; he moved to the next enemy; with one less, defeating them was easier. She pushed towards Leo who kept a careful eye on her. Niles and Odin were prepared to intercept but Leo stopped them; he unsheathed his sword and parried Kamui's sword away.

"I never would have thought you would know how to use a sword" Kamui commented. Leo narrowed his eyes, he tucked Brynhildr into it's belt strap.

"There is much you don't know about me traitor" and he struck with mighty force. Kamui was completely taken off guard, she was struggling to hold her ground. When Kamui tried to open distance, but Leo would follow, closing in like a relentless beast. "I may prefer magecraft over swordsmanship, but that doesn't mean I have not trained myself in the art" with one more mighty blow, he broke her form where he then proceeded to kick Kamui in the stomach.

"Smile for me Princess!" Niles yelled catching Kamui's attention, an arrow struck her in the shoulder.

"Kamui!" Hinoka stabbed a soldier with her naginata before rushing to Kamui's side. "Pull back!" but a wall of fire trapped them. Leo glanced over to Odin who had cast the spell; his retainer gave him a smile and a thumbs up, Leo acknowledged him a job well done.

The heat was throwing Kamui's head out of whack; biting the insides of her cheek she pulled out her dragon stone; she hesitated but with one last mental push she transformed into a dragon. Everyone was completely taken off guard, backing off immediately; Leo in particular was in complete shock. Silver white talons crushed the stone floors, a majestic tail thrashed and cracked the air, and finally the dragon unleashed a shocking roar rippling the earth, water and air.

"Fall back!" Leo yelled. Now with an opening the Hoshidans retreated. Leo quickly unleashed Brynhildr once more, roots restrained Kamui, but it was to no avail, with titanic strength she ripped free, before unleashing a torrent of water decimating the area around her before running. Witnessing the destruction, Leo signaled his soldiers to stand their ground, they would not pursue, what came next was up to Corrin.

Back in human form, Kamui rushed to catch up with her comrades; she was angry with herself to have revealed her trump card; for months she has polished her skills controlling her dragon form, all so that she could use that power to kill King Garon; and now, now that was all ruined. She was a real fool, if only she had killed Zola back then, then none of this would have happened; Kamui spent the entire time thinking about the what ifs that she didn't even notice Hinoka beckon her. A hand grabbed Kamui's arm and her heart almost jumped out of her mouth, very quickly she pulled out Yato pointing the tip of the blade at Hinoka.

"Kamui it's me," she told her. Kamui's heart was racing, her breath short and uncontrolled; lowering her sword Kamui collapsed to the ground.

"Milady" Jacob was already by her side ready to assist her recovery. "That was reckless, you know how dangerous transforming into a dragon can be" he scolded her; but Kamui wasn't listening, in fact, so many thoughts were racing through her mind that she almost lost consciousness.

"Um…." A foreign yet familiar voice was heard. All heads turned to the new presence, some soldiers even drawing their swords in fear it was the enemy. They were pleasantly surprised to see it was not.

"Layla?" Kamui spoke slowly. "What are you doing here? Weren't you going to see your mother?" Layla looked almost fearful for what she was going to say next, which caused both Hinoka and Kaze to look at her with suspicion.

"I heard what happened. I am here to help" she told them. Kamui who was desperate for good news, smiled at her.

"Thank you" Layla didn't react to her, instead she looked aloof beckoning them to follow her.

"This way, I will help you escape".

She could hear women screaming and Azura could only clench her fist, squeeze her eyes shut; she didn't mean for any of this to happen; she just wanted to help, she just wanted to stop King Garon, and now because of her, all the innocent performers were going to be slaughtered. Part of her wanted to turn herself in, if only to save all those innocent lives, yet she knew she couldn't, she needed to live, she needed to deliver a message to Kamui. The lost Hoshidan Princess, she was brash and headstrong, but she had a kind heart. Unlike her, Kamui knew where she stood, amongst the people of Hoshido and on the side of justice; she, on the other hand, did not know where she belonged; for years she thought she would find herself fitting into Hoshidan society, among the people; after all, they treated her with kindness, as if she were one of their own; but it just didn't sit well with her. And she definitely didn't belong to Nohr, they were cruel unlike the Hoshidans, they were a people who only knew how to take; she didn't know why her mother would reside there and even become their Queen…. She just didn't know anything anymore.

Silence; was it over? Azura peeked out from behind her hiding spot, the streets were littered with bodies, but why were they all Nohrian soldiers? Did Kamui save the songstresses? That was the only conclusion she could think of. Revealing herself, she went searching for Kamui. As she moved, something unnerved her, the surroundings, it was far too quiet; by now she should have at least heard Kamui barking out her orders. She heard the sound of metal boots.

"Kamui?" she called out. But what returned her call made her heart sink.

"I'm afraid it is not your Hoshidan comrades" a tall Nohrian captain revealed himself, Azura remembered him, he was Corrin's old comrade, the captain of his army, Silas, she believed his name was. "Subdue her" he ordered. Two soldiers restrained Azura's arms and pushed her to her knees; the man unsheathed his weapon and brought the blade to her throat. Tears escaped from the corner of her eyes, this was the end, she had many regrets but what she hated the most was that she couldn't do more, she couldn't stop King Garon.

"Where are we?" Kamui asked. Layla had led them into an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city. Though Kamui seemed to not think much of it, Hinoka had already readied her naginata, eyes darting left and right; her two retainers also readying for anything that could be unleashed upon them. Setsuna pulled out an arrow while Azama readied his hexing rod. Kaze and Jacob also followed suit, though concealed, they had kunais and daggers ready.

"You should be safe from the Nohrian soldiers here; this place was once a storehouse for supplies, but a new building was built and this one was left abandoned" Kamui was about to thank her when she noticed Layla's pained look.

"What is the matter?" she asked her, when suddenly the sound of metal footsteps echoed through their ears. A helmeted Nohrian commander revealed himself.

"Greetings Hoshidans; busy night tonight?" Kamui recognized the voice; clenching her fists, she unsheathed and pointed Yato at him.

"You were the assassin who took Sakura hostage all those months ago" the man let out a hollow laugh.

"So you remember me, I feel honored" Kamui stepped in front of Layla shielding her from the enemy, only for the songstress to walk past her and stand by the Nohrian commander.

"What is the meaning of this!" Hinoka demanded.

"I'm sorry…." was all Layla could muster out.

"You do not need to apologize to these people" the commander told her. "It was their lack of responsibility that caused this mess" out of the shadows a woman with pink hair dressed in leather armor approached.

"Felicia?" Kamui called out, she couldn't believe her late brothers retainer would be here. However the girl didn't respond to her, instead Kamui was met with the coldest gaze she's ever seen on the maid. Felicia guided Layla out of the abandoned warehouse. "Felicia!" Kamui tried to give chase but was stopped by the commander who pointed his sword at her.

"Don't ignore someone who has given you their full attention; it's rude" the man was mocking her. Yato in hand she knocked the enemies sword away; very quickly she thrust the blade and with her full might aimed at the soldier's chest. However, when she looked up, she was shocked to see her blade in the hand of the commander; she suddenly felt his foot impact her stomach, her knees gave out causing her to collapse. "Back to the business at hand" the commander sheathed his sword and clapped. "Kill them all" Kamui's eyes widened as she turned back and from the side the wooden walls collapsed revealing soldiers fully armed with swords, spears and axes, they advanced attacking the unprepared Hoshidan soldiers, it was a massacre.

"No!" Kamui attempted to rush to their aid, but the commander grabbed her and knocked her out with a swift strike to the back of her neck.

Hinoka was barely able to hold her own, there were far too many of them and they were all incredibly skilled fighters, far too skilled to be normal soldiers, it was almost like they had no openings for attack, she glanced around, all she could see was bloodshed, the only ones still standing were her own and Kamui's retainers, but even they were barely able to keep up; was this the end for them?

Then as if the Great Dragons had listened to her plea, a massive form crashed from the ceiling landing in the middle of the chaos. It was a fox, a big one at that.

"I'll create an opening, you guys take the opportunity to escape!" Kaden told them.

"What in blazes is that!" The Nohrian commander yelled, it wasn't over though, the wall behind him broke down and in came a rampaging beast.

"Taro!" Hinoka's pegasus burst in to her rescue; with his raging stampede, the commander threw Kamui to the side and took a hoof to the stomach. Hinoka took the opportunity to rush to her sisters side, grabbing her and slung her onto the saddle of her pegasus.

"We're making a full retreat!" she yelled. Kaden took that as the signal and unleashed a gust of wind that threw all the Nohrian soldiers away; everyone made a run for it, leaving the Nohrians in the dust.

"Commander!" Silas yelled rushing into the destroyed warehouse; everyone was recovering from the aftermath. Corrin threw his helmet to the side while stammering back to his feet nursing his stomach.

"I think I might throw up…" he muttered, he turned to his platoon. "Is everyone alright?" a collective of acknowledgements followed.

"What on earth was that thing?" Baxter asked referring to the giant fox. Corrin shook his head.

"I don't know, could be Hoshido's new weapon"

"What new secret weapon?" Silas asked.

"Just as we were about to secure our victory a giant fox came crashing in, it performed some weird voodoo magic allowing the Hoshidans to escape" Baxter told him.

"Giant fox?" Silas questioned deep in thought. "Do you mean the Kitsune?"

"Kitsune?" Corrin asked.

"Similarly to the Wolfskin in Nohrian territory, the Kitsune are shapeshifters that reside in Hoshido. They are…. A lot friendlier than the Wolfskin" Silas explained. Corrin managed to stand up still feeling queasy.

"That certainly makes things complicated" Corrin now had to take this new beast into consideration when planning his next encounter with Hoshido. "You should tell me more about them Silas"

"I'd be happy to…" Silas looked worried for his commander. "Maybe you should sit down, you look terrible" Corrin leaned forward gasping for breath, shaking his head.

"I'll be fine"

"You sure Commander? You look like your about to throw up" Baxter asked, while everyone gathered around Corrin; the man in question just waved them all off.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine just give me a moment…. Why don't you all clean up and go resume your day off….." and then he unleashed his lunch. It wasn't pretty.

Thanks to Elise, Corrin recovered from his internal bleeding; he was now thinking of recruiting some healers to his platoon, it certainly would be beneficial. Additionally, with this experience he had a lot to think about, the appearance of the Kitsune was certainly surprising, they were all lucky nobody was severely hurt and the Hoshidans were on the run, had this been a proper battle, no doubt they would have suffered heavy casualties; he still had much to learn.

Standing in front of the King with a bloody bag in his hand, Corrin looked up with complete stoicism; at this point, he's developed a form of immunity to the King's intimidation; in fact Corrin openly welcomed his threats and his bloodlust, he dared the King to try harder, he dared him to try and end his life, this would be a message to Anankos, an invitation to come kill him himself.

"Your Majesty" he greets while raising the bloody bag. "I have brought you the head of the one who tried to assassinate you" the King eyed him.

"So you did" was his response. "Show me their face" Corrin obliged, removing the bag revealing long strands of blue hair.

"I do believe this woman was Princess Azura, the lost princess of Nohr" he explained, but the King looked incredibly bored. Corrin didn't expect this, he had anticipated at least some small reaction from the King, especially considering he was certain Anankos knew who Azura truly was. His eyes wandered to Iago, who, like always, stood closely to the King.

"Nothing to say Iago?" Corrin questioned. The dark mage ignored him looking away.

"To think such a worthless girl would make an attempt on my life," the King said. "Tell me Corrin, what did she look like when you took her head?" Corrin responded with equal boredom.

"What else was there. She begged for her life, nothing more than that" the King finally unleashed a booming laugh, which was more what Corrin expected.

"She begged for her life" he repeated. "How amusing, you should have kept her alive boy, I would have liked to kill her myself" Corrin responded with distinct disdain.

"Then I did her a favor" he looked at Azura's head. "But I do have a request your majesty" he didn't wait for the King to answer. "Might I keep her head as a souvenir?" to this the King raised a brow, clearly surprised by his request.

"Do what you want" Corrin smirked, before bowing and walked away.

Corrin walked through his campsite, his soldiers leisurely hanging around. He casually juggled Azura's head in the air, when the head transformed into a lump of wood, stopping, Corrin tossed it back into the wood pile before making his way towards a large tent; Selena, Laslow and Odin standing by the entryway.

"Boy!" he stopped turning around.

"Azura" he greeted the old lady. "What are you doing here, I thought I told you to stay in the Northern Fortress?" Azura glanced next to her.

"Kamui. This boy honestly thinks I need permission to do as I please. Hilarious isn't it?" Corrin backed away defensively.

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you. Who knows what sort of enemies are out there" he then realized something. "By the way, how did you get here on your own? It would have been at least a weeks worth of traveling to get here by foot".

"Magic" was all she said. And Corrin could not denounce her. Azura stretched her arms walking closer to him.

"Kamui and I find the fortress stuffy; it is good for the body to take regular walks"

"And you decided to come halfway across the country to do that?" his reply made the old lady glare at him.

"Just like how you decided to spend two years dying over and over again just so you could get stronger?" she questioned. Corrin was attempting to think of a good excuse and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I-I heard you learn better from failure" Azura rolled her eyes.

"You certainly do, but you take it to the extreme" she then looked him over. "By the way. Are you eating well? Because you look terrible. Doesn't he look terrible Kamui?"

"I've been eating well, I just had an unfortunate accident" but Azura didn't look convinced.

"Mhmm, that's what they all say. Where is your kitchen, I'll prepare something for you"

"You don't have to" Azura silenced him.

"Kitchen Now!" Corrin knew he had no way to argue with her, sighing he pointed towards the long tent; Azura left without a word. With the old lady off to her own devices, Corrin returned his attention to the tent guarded by the otherworldly trio; he saw Selena hiding her laugh.

"Go ahead laugh it up, I'd like to see you try arguing with her"

"I'll pass" Selena responded. Corrin shook his head walking inside. There sat a woman with a bag over her head, both Felicia and Flora standing by. He removed the bag revealing long blue hair.

"Hello Azura".