Work Text:
Xander breathed in, pondering the increasingly hopeless situation that he found himself in. His eyes were fixed on Siegfried, which lay on the windowsill near the chair he sat upon. The wolves were at the gates, and Krakenburg was about to fall.
He was the Crown Prince of Nohr, and nothing could shake him from his duty. Not the increasing madness of his father, not his siblings’ broken resolve, not the desperate situation he found himself in. Someone had to shoulder the family’s burden, and who, if not him?
It all seemed futile in the grand scheme of things. Iago and his slimy subordinates Hans and Zola were defeated; a relief, truth be told, aside from the doom it portended for Nohr. What had occurred – his little princess abandoning them, betraying their family, and bringing the might of Hoshido to bear against them – had caused a cascade of events that would change the fate of the nation Xander loved, and perchance cast his homeland to the wayside of history. Corrin’s choice was Nohr’s greatest and most devastating betrayal.
With an effort, Xander pulled himself away from the window, his sword, and his dark thoughts. He took a few steps back to the bed where Camilla was resting. Cuts marred her beautiful face, earned in her ill-fated battle with Corrin. Xander knew that Camilla had gone easy on their former sibling, even though he could never speak such a thing aloud. Not that it mattered much anymore.
Xander broke the silence, his face stony. “The Hoshidan army has breached the Grand Staircase. I must take the field, sister, and fight Corrin myself.”
He had once loved his little princess, but he had guarded his affection for her, believing she needed a stern hand to guide her, to make her strong. Had he not shown her enough love? How could she not only leave him but side with his enemies?
A flash of Corrin’s smiling face appeared in his vision. When she was a young girl, her eyes used to light up in delight when her siblings came to visit her in the Northern Fortress, her isolation never driving her to resentment. On the contrary, she had always seemed to love the four of them.
Or so he had believed until she sided with Hoshido.
Xander banished her smile from his mind; he could not bear to ponder this further.
Camilla’s voice was weak. “Xander, must we continue to fight our beloved Corrin? Our chances are dwindling. Elise and Leo are nowhere to be found.” Camilla had always had a soft spot for Corrin, much like him, and had taken the events of the last months very hard. When she spoke of her sister, Camilla had fluctuated between deep sorrow and unhinged bloodlust.
Xander glanced to the side, his face hardening further. He hated to call attention to the despairing gossip he’d overheard earlier, but he could not keep it inside of him any longer. “I’ve heard that Elise may be accompanying Corrin. Do you know anything about that, Camilla?”
Camilla’s voice was filled with sadness. “I’m sorry, dear brother, I did not see Elise when I fought Corrin.” It was an evasive answer, one he suspected was disguising the truth. They had not seen her in some time, and Elise had become increasingly obstinate toward him and Camilla before her disappearance, demanding to know why they had to fight her beloved sister. Had he failed so miserably at teaching his siblings the importance of loyalty?
Nothing was to be gained by pressing the matter with Camilla, however. With a deep breath, Xander turned and slowly walked back to the window. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword, causing it to reverberate with the power granted to him by the Rainbow Sage. It was time for him to go and seize Nohr’s destiny. Or hasten its demise. He let out a long sigh. “I cannot hesitate. You know this, sister.”
“I know how you are, Xander. Always so stubborn and so loyal to our father. I can’t make you stay. But I want you to know that I have always admired you and cared for you. You kept this family together through everything.” Camilla looked toward him, but seemed to look through him, rather than at him. She spoke to him as if he were already dead.
Could he really kill his beloved sister? Corrin had always been the light of Nohr; her isolation had left her untainted by the political intrigue that had swept up him and his siblings. Could he really put her to the sword for escaping this country’s pit of hatred and violence?
–
As the doors fell open and he beheld his two youngest sisters, determination written on their faces, Xander had made his decision.