I do not own Fire Emblem, its characters, or anything else that is property of Nintendo or Intelligent Systems. Additionally, any recognizable dialogue is lifted straight from the game, although I have changed a great deal of it for the purposes of the story I am trying to tell.

The M rating is mostly for safety purposes. The story is likely to have blood and gore, and there will probably be mentions of adult themes, but nothing too explicit, I hope.

Visions of a Shattered Past

Chapter One

Corrin's dreams had been a part of her for longer than she could remember. Not all of them lingered into her waking hours, but enough did that she knew more than certain people would prefer. For instance, she knew Garon was not her father.

Some part of her, she suspected, would have always known, dreams or no dreams. He never acted particularly like a father should. Camilla and Xander would serenade her with tales of their childhoods and what a kind, paternal figure the king used to be, and even Leo had a few fond stories he only let surface in the darkest, loneliest of nights in her drafty fortress, when they both had need of the comfort the memories provided. But Corrin had never seen that side of Garon, and she suspected Elise had only ever imagined it, though her dreams informed her that Elise was in fact the daughter of Garon.

Corrin counted herself lucky that she did, unlike Elise, have a father who loved her, even if their situation was endlessly complicated and she could only see the evidence of that love in her dreams at night.

Despite the fact that most of her blood relatives only visited her when her head hit the pillow, she found very little about her waking hours lacking. She loved the Nohrian siblings, and although she remained wary of Gunter from the first, he too had a place in her heart.

Her first encounter with the elderly knight was memorable in many ways, and she suspected it would never fade from her memory.

Her dreams had given her no warning. She had been in the fortress for a few months, then, her memory fuzzy, her tumultuous nights filled with chaotic dreams as her gift attempted to fill in the gaps left by her forced amnesia. (That had been a difficult fact to come to terms with: that the reason she recalled so little was due to outside interference. And Xander wondered why such a tiny child was so suspicious.) The influx of information was confusing and overwhelming to the little girl, and oftentimes she simply drifted down corridors, ignoring the fortress staff who tried to coax her into talking or eating as she tried to make sense of her muddled thoughts.

She supposed Garon had become impatient with her unresponsiveness, for that day, she was startled out of her thoughts by a then-middle aged knight, scarred and taciturn, letting himself into her bedchambers.

At her young age, this was simultaneously far more and far less terrifying than such an event would be, were it to happen to her today. At any rate, she scrambled back against her bedroom window to put distance between her and the new threat. As escape routes go, the window was not a terribly bright one, as it was many stories up—too high to leap from without snapping vital bones—and she was not even sure it was made to open. Still, it reassured her. She stared at the intruder, scarlet eyes gaping at the whip held expertly in his hands.

(Later, Gunter would share his thoughts on the incident with her, in that way that old soldiers reminisce. King Garon was in a foul mood that day. Handed me the whip and ordered me to teach you how to behave. There you were, a lass of—well, couldn't have been more than half a decade. I was reluctant already, climbing those stairs to your chambers, but I was determined to heed my king—right up until the moment that door opened and I saw your innocent red eyes, staring up at me like you expected the worst of humanity. Like one more blow against you would break you permanently. I knew then that I couldn't be the villain, king's orders be damned.)

She should be grateful, she knew, that he didn't whip her then and there, that the old knight simply left, not a word spoken between the two of them. But somehow she could not bring herself to thank someone for something so… decent… as refraining from whipping a traumatized child. Did that make her unfair? He was under orders from his king. He could have been—likely, was, though she had not heard of such an incident—severely punished for disobeying. But she could not imagine any decent man letting an innocent child suffer in his place, at his hand, especially a knight. They were supposed to defend the defenseless, protect the citizenry. But that was not a Nohrian ideal. Not under Garon. Not anymore.

Corrin had dreams about her life to come, about her past, but she also had dreams about times long ago and places far away. Her favorite dreams, ones in which faces faded and details were murky but ideals shone through, featured another kingdom, one so foreign to Nohr, with a blue-haired prince and a jeweled shield and a blonde woman with a brand on her forehead, who carried herself tall and never lashed out and spoke with the words of a saint. Words spoken on a clifftop, desperate words from the heart, a message through the ages. War will win you nothing but sadness and pain, both inside your borders and out. Free yourselves from this hatred! From this cycle of pain and vengeance. Corrin did not know her name, but she knew she admired that woman; more than Xander, though she loved him; more than her own mother, though she was certainly a person to respect. If there was one thing Corrin clung to, one lesson she learned from her dreams, it was that one selfless act had the power to change the world.

It was only a shame that so far, Corrin had seen few such selfless acts—outside her dreams—from anyone other than her adopted siblings. Even their selfless acts were generally small moments of rebellion against their father, inspired by their familial love. She took notice of every single one, though. Tracked how it affected the world. More and more, in every lighthearted smile, in every strengthened bond, in every ray of hope that clung stubbornly to existence in this dark fortress, she saw undeniable proof that her philosophy was true.

She was not sure how selfless an act Gunter's refusal to punish her was. Even at her young age, she saw the calculated gleam in his eye, the one that said, 'You could be useful to me in the future.' The part of Gunter that hated Garon, that knew loyalty was far more powerful and longer-lasting than fear. But she could not deny that his actions on that day transformed their relationship from what it might have been, one of animosity and resentment, to something approaching friendship, or at least a kinship. They were both prisoners of Garon, forced into a life they would never have chosen simply for the overpowering will of a man who thought himself a god. Neither of them loved their king, not the way that the Nohrian siblings undeniably loved their father, no matter the individual resentments they may have harbored towards him despite it. And that hatred was personal to Corrin and Gunter the way it was not to the rest of the fortress staff, like Flora and Lilith. He had wronged them individually.

Corrin was not proud of the fact that she despised Garon. She wanted to hold true to her dream woman's ideals, forsake violence and hatred. But there was no denying that Garon was the villain of her story. He had murdered her surrogate father, lured him in under false pretenses, kidnapped her from a loving family, separated her and her mother, and kept her isolated her entire life. Sent strangers to punish her when she did not conform to his expectations. He abused his power over her.

She had yet to muster the strength, as a woman oppressed, to forgive her oppressor.

But she hid it well, and she did not take it out on his children or his subjects, and Xander and Camilla were left none the wiser. Leo knew something of it, as he had shared his own misgivings with her and she had felt the freedom to respond in kind, but he knew not the depths of her ire.

But Gunter knew. She suspected he had known from the beginning, sensed the hatred festering in her from the time she was old enough to comprehend what had been done to her. He was drawn to her rage, and it manifested in a kind of gentle encouragement, the way it had that day when he returned to her bedchambers, a leather ball replacing the whip in his possession. He had taken the time to fashion one into the other. He sank to his knees before her—a feat that would have been far more difficult for him now than it was over a decade ago—and carefully rolled it over to her. Suspicious, but overall, rather indifferent to him now that he had diminished the threat inherent in his presence, she plucked the ball off the floor, turning it over in her hands. After a few minutes' contemplation, she chucked it back at him. He caught it deftly, then immediately tossed it back to her, transforming it into a game. At first, she was far from entertained, but as they continued tossing the ball back and forth, somehow Corrin's chaotic thoughts became that much more organized, more bearable. She really had been starved for human contact.

From that day on, she improved. She spoke to the maids when they addressed her, played the occasional game, and generally lightened up. She rebuilt herself. But she never forgot what the fortress had been to her: a prison.

Still, she was patient. Her dreams informed her that she would escape this prison, one day. And as the years went by, she enjoyed her life. She played with Silas as a girl, appreciated every moment with him for she knew the memory of him would be taken from her, at least for a little while. She drew sketches of his face, hid them in her favorite books, so she could reminisce fondly even when she would not know why it brought such joy to her. She studied with Leo, talked with him through the lonely nights. Learned magic at his side. She smiled at how he seemed immune to jealousy over her ability. She was decent at magic, she knew, but he never seemed to hold it against her the way he blamed Xander for his talent. He smiled proudly when she understood something, hugged her tightly when she mastered a particularly advanced spell. He never seemed threatened by her, although admittedly her ability never quite approached his own aptitude for spellcasting.

She picked flowers with Elise, made up silly songs together—although Corrin's imagination in that area was somewhat lacking, so she usually stole songs from her dreams and passed them off as her own creations. Elise did not know the difference.

She learned swordplay at Xander's knee, bonding with her mentor and preparing for the day when she would leave the Northern Fortress. As much as she wished to avoid war, she would need to protect herself.

She rarely sought out time with Camilla, but it was not from a lack of interest in her oldest 'sister'. More, Camilla had a tendency to seek her out whenever possible, doting on her as if they were truly blood related.

(Corrin was never sure how much the Nohrian siblings were aware that she was not their sister. She dared not give away her own knowledge by prodding, but surely Xander, at least, could not believe they were related. He was old enough to be highly skeptical of a relative appearing from seeming nowhere, shortly after the death of the Hoshidan king. And with her fluffy aqua hair and red eyes, she did not resemble the Nohrian siblings, nor Garon, in the slightest.)

Most recently, Camilla had whisked Corrin away from her studying with Leo, insisting on a 'girl's day'. Apparently, that translated to Camilla trapping her in the Malig Knight's bedchambers, trying on all sorts of outfits Camilla had procured from some Nohrian market, all in Corrin's size. Corrin was rather baffled by the fact that they all fit, given that she had grown three inches and an entire cup size in the last year alone, and Camilla's last visit had been nearly that long ago. Clearly, Camilla—or her retainer, as Camilla had confessed that her retainer had picked out most of the garments, having something of a magic touch when it came to clothes shopping—had some sort of clairvoyance of her own, focusing on clothing sizes for a growing young woman. While Corrin played the human—mostly human, Corrin thought wryly—dress-up doll, Camilla interrogated her over her preferences. ("Now, I know there isn't exactly a high selection in this drafty old place, but is there anyone who's caught your eye? Your maidservant, perhaps? Or that butler. He's a bit… proud, but his cheekbones are rather striking. No one's good enough for you, of course, darling, but if you want companionship, I could help you… entice someone.")

Some of Camilla's advice was rather useful, actually, and certainly no one else was willing to talk to her about that subject, but Corrin made sure to take everything Camilla said with a grain of salt. The purple-haired princess had a way of making a scary topic exponentially scarier.

Corrin had emerged from that bonding session wiser and with a bit more certainty in her own feelings.

One drawback of knowing that the Nohrian siblings were not, in fact, her siblings, was that she was at first an adolescent girl, and then later a woman, with a close relationship with very attractive people who were not blood-kin to her in any fashion but that she had to pretend were. She had never been particularly attracted to Camilla—oddly, given the Malig Knight's sensual demeanor—but she supposed their friendship was far too familial to allow for that. Elise, too, she saw as a little sister, but her first crush had been on Prince Xander, which made sword lessons incredibly awkward when she could not keep herself from blushing each time they drew close. That faded in her early teen years, when she realized how stubborn he could be, and how blind to his father's cruelty. He saw her as a child, as well, and that scarcely helped.

Her affection for Leo, however, was more complicated. They connected on an intellectual level, and they shared a dissatisfaction with their current circumstances and the world around them, and Leo was not nearly so willfully blind as his brother when it came to King Garon. Moreover, they were of an age, even if Corrin was a little older, and their relationship was one of equals.

But Corrin was not supposed to know they were not siblings.

More than once, when the two of them were caught up in some exciting research or spell, they would share a thrilled grin, and she would have to catch herself before she leaned in too far. She could never say how Leo would react, whether he would return the kiss, whether he even knew about their lack of relation. So she held herself back. She had too much to lose.

But the years passed, and as the months counted down to her inevitable leaving, she grew more and more excited. This night, on the cusp of her journey, she had another dream.

She was lost in the pandemonium of battle, drowning in soldiers' screams of pain and bloodlust alike. The fighting encompassed her as she drifted through the melee, untouched by the combat. She was drawn to two figures, one in red and another in purple, each symbolic of royalty in their respective cultures.

"Nohrian general!" The man in red called, voice confident and carrying across the battlefield. "You face the high prince of Hoshido, Ryoma! I challenge you to single combat!"

A little late, Corrin thought chidingly. Your soldiers are already gutting one another.

"I will accept your challenge, 'high prince'," the figure in purple replied with disdain that Corrin thought boded ill in a future monarch. They should respect one another. "But I'm no general. I am Crown Prince Xander of Nohr!"

With that, he lunged, urging his horse into a gallop as he struck with his sword at Ryoma. The Hoshidan responded in kind, letting out a battle cry as he brandished his katana.

Corrin let out a cry of dismay, but she was quickly comforted by a red-haired pegasus knight who swooped down to grin cheekily at her. "Corrin! Don't be worried. All of your siblings are here with you. These Nohrians don't stand a chance!"

She smiled fondly at Hinoka, even as she worried for Xander and Ryoma alike. They would destroy each other and not think twice. Not grieve for the lost chance. But Corrin knew what could be, and she longed for it.

"I'm not scared for myself, Hinoka. I don't want to lose another person I care about."

Hinoka smiled in a way that clearly communicated she would have rested a hand on Corrin's shoulder if she had not been astride a pegasus. "You're so like Mother, Corrin. She hated to see us march to war, as well."

It was true. Corrin wondered if it was in her heritage or if it merely existed as a byproduct of having visions, as she and her mother did.

An arrow whistled through the air, and Corrin called out a warning to Hinoka, but the pegasus knight was already in motion, dodging with a finesse borne of long practice.

"What lucky star were you born under to have that reaction time, Hinoka?" Corrin laughed.

Hinoka grinned. "That? That's skill, little sister."

Corrin wondered what star she herself must have been born under, to be forced to spend so much time lying to the ones she loved about her relationship to them. But she could hardly explain her parentage, not with the curse in effect, and it brought them comfort to see her as their family.

Ryoma's voice carried across the fighting. "I demand to know why you Nohrian dogs are invading Hoshido! Was that cowardly attack on my people your doing as well, princeling?"

Insults always calm things right down, Corrin thought critically. Although Ryoma does have a point. Still, it wasn't Xander's fault; it was Hans's, and Ryoma should have known that, as she herself had told him.

As always, presenting a united front with his father despite his personal misgivings, Xander merely replied, "I have nothing to say to you. Surrender now. If you refuse… you die here."

Hinoka scowled fiercely. "As if that Nohrian coward could take Ryoma in a fight! He's the best samurai in Hoshido."

As was Sumeragi before him, Corrin thought wryly. It did not save my surrogate father, in the end. But she said none of this to Hinoka. It would only hurt her, and it would not further Corrin's goal of peace.

Suddenly, Corrin was out of her body, flying across the battlefield, her vision now playing out from a bird's-eye view. She watched from above as Leo and Camilla finished off a few Hoshidan soldiers by a large river, Elise healing the occasional wound from atop her horse. As they fought, the bridge over the water crumbled, as if impacted by a quake from below.

"Oh no!" Elise cried. "The bridge collapsed! How can we help our sister now?"

"Not to worry," Camilla soothed her. "This royal blood in our veins is still good for something!"

Leo grimaced, likely thinking, as Corrin was, how irate Garon would be were he to hear his eldest daughter's words. "Have you spotted a dragon vein, Camilla?"

Camilla chuckled throatily. "You know me too well, dear little brother."

Stretching out a hand, she called upon her ancient birthright, muttering Arcane under her breath. The river dried up at her command, allowing Leo and Elise, with their horses, to cross it, along with their troops.

Elise giggled. "Phew! It worked! The river dried up!"

Camilla smiled proudly. "I would never let you down, darling. Now!" She called her troops to attention. "Everyone, follow me!" Her wyvern took flight, leading the way to the greater battle.

Leo motioned for Elise to stay. "Elise, fall back with the healers. You're not ready for the front lines just yet. Camilla and I will take care of the Hoshidans."

Elise pouted, but acquiesced, turning her horse around to join her fellow healers as Leo coaxed his horse to follow Camilla.

Abruptly, Corrin was flying again, her vantage point transitioning back into her body where she stood by Hinoka.

"They used a dragon vein to dry up the river!" Hinoka noted with a modicum of concern. "I thought only royals held that power."

A harsh voice filtered into Corrin's ears, and she noticed that Takumi must have joined them while she was otherwise occupied. "Yeah, which means there must be some real big shots over there." He shrugged, grinning cockily. "Suits me just fine. I've always wanted to use a Nohrian royal for target practice."

Corrin couldn't help it; she snapped at him. "They're human, the same as you and me!" She ignored the fact that she was not human, not exactly. "The youngest princess is just 15. Would you put an arrow through her?"

Takumi's smile wavered a little uneasily, but he snapped back. "They killed my mother, and you would call them human?"

"King Garon killed our mother," she stressed. "And yes, he's human, even if he's the lowest form of scum. Never forget that men can be monsters, or you run the risk of becoming one, Takumi."

Hinoka broke up their glaring contest. "Stay focused, you two. The Nohrians brought their heavy hitters this time, and we can't afford to argue amongst ourselves."

From the corner of her vision, Corrin caught sight of Hans. She glared at him, poison in her crimson stare, as he ushered more troops onto the field. For what he had done to Gunter…

"Damn it," Hinoka muttered. "Their reinforcements have arrived," she spoke up. "I'll go scout out how many there are. Takumi, Sakura," she called, and Corrin suddenly realized that the youngest Hoshidan princess had joined them, as well. She had such a quiet presence, Corrin had not noticed. "Stay with Corrin!"

"Understood," Takumi responded, glaring at Hans much the same as Corrin, though with significantly less personal ire.

"Y-Yes," Sakura agreed. "Good idea. Be safe, big sister."

"Sure thing!" Hinoka called as she urged her pegasus into action.

"Hang in there, Corrin," Takumi warned, oddly polite to her. "The Nohrian royals are no pushovers. We'll have to work together to beat them." He sighed in frustration. "As the eldest, I guess you're in charge. Tell me what to do and I'll do it."

Corrin laughed. She supposed Hoshidan customs occasionally worked in her favor when it came to Takumi. "Let's make our way to Ryoma and Xander. I want to see if I can talk some sense into them."

Takumi snorted, but he took the lead, shooting down a few Nohrian wyverns. Corrin winced, but she fought through the foot soldiers, protecting Sakura. Sometimes fighting is necessary to create peace, she thought nervously. Even if I wish it weren't.

She took a blow to the shoulder in her distraction. It didn't hurt, as this was still a dream, but she still bit back a sharp cry.

"Are you hurt, big sister?" Sakura exclaimed, coming close to examine the wound. "Here, let me heal your wounds!"

They were caught off guard a few times on their way to Ryoma and Xander's duel, but they made it out unscathed, and Hinoka reunited with them shortly. "Corrin, Takumi," she praised. "Good work fighting off those soldiers."

"You were amazing, Corrin," Sakura added with a shy smile. Corrin blinked. Takumi was fighting, too. Why is she complimenting me? Is it the sheer novelty of my presence?

Takumi was too busy smirking in triumph to be upset by his little sister's dismissal. "That went well. Probably because someone gave you good advice," he said pointedly. "You're welcome, by the way."

"No time to talk!" Hinoka called, despite having started the conversation. "Ryoma may need our help."

Idly, Corrin wondered what the point was in Hinoka scouting if she did not intend to share her findings.

Still, they made their way to Ryoma without further incident. "Ryoma!" Hinoka called. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," Ryoma answered gruffly. "I'm glad to see you're all safe. Enemy reinforcements are headed this way. I want you to get rid of them. Corrin, I'm counting on you to keep Hinoka and the others safe."

Corrin started to reply, but Xander interrupted, bringing his horse closer. "Corrin!" His voice was filled with a desperate sort of energy that touched Corrin. "Thank heavens that we found you, and that you're alive and well. Quickly, come join us! Your family has come to take you home where you belong."

Ryoma swung his sword angrily. "Quiet, Nohrian filth! Corrin is my sister and a princess of Hoshido!"

Xander scoffed. "On the contrary, Corrin is my sister and a princess of Nohr."

The other Nohrian royals approached their group, Camilla holding her arms open as if to embrace Corrin. "Darling! I was so worried about you. Don't ever wander away from me again."

Leo smiled at her, a hint of buried anguish in his eyes. "You must have the devil's own luck, Corrin." He seemed about to say more, but he was interrupted by Elise's ecstatic squeal.

"Yaaaay! We got our sister back!"

Hinoka snarled. "Nohrian scum! First you kidnap her, now you lie to her? Corrin is my sister, not yours!"

"You are mistaken," Camilla said sweetly. "Corrin is my adorable little sister. You may not have her."

"Don't be fooled by their words," Ryoma addressed Corrin, who was stunned into silence. "You belong with your true family in Hoshido!"

Xander pleaded with her. "We have loved you and raised you since you were a child. Come home, little princess. We can live as a family once more!"

"Come home to Hoshido!" Ryoma commanded.

"No, Corrin! Nohr is your home!"

With their pleas echoing in her ears, and the pain in Leo's eyes haunting her, Corrin awoke.