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In a way, Xander has laid down his sword. He knows it’s not what Elise had meant, but at least he can take some small solace—if there is such a thing—in the fact that he’s only killed one sibling this evening, rather than two. And perhaps he will see Elise again soon.
In the meantime, he needs to make Corrin understand their duty. Especially now that he’s failed in his. Corrin’s tears stain their face, but Xander remains dry-eyed. Those tears he shed for Elise, his first since he can’t remember when, have no place on his face now. There’s nothing for him to mourn in this conversation, save that they don’t live in a world where this all could have been avoided.
White presses in on Xander’s vision. This is it, then. He gives a silent thought for his other living siblings, for the continued strength of Nohr, and he knows no more.
Except…
His moment of disorientation is just that: only a moment. His senses start returning in stages. A hard surface beneath his hands. Unfamiliar voices. He opens his eyes and sees that he’s on all fours on some sort of stone flooring, but it’s not the flooring of Castle Krakenburg. He scrambles to his feet, gripping Siegfried to fend off whatever strange magic is at work.
“You’re safe here, Prince Xander,” one of the voices says. It belongs to a girl with long blonde hair. He thinks of Elise for a split second, but this girl is taller, a touch older, and wearing gold, white and blue. “Or is it King Xander? Hmmm, no, that crown looks like your prince one.”
These people are familiar with him. In addition to the blonde girl, there’s a red-haired girl and a dark-haired boy. All three are in the same style and color of clothing and armor. The final figure is wearing a robe with its hood up. Xander can’t make out anything of their face. In their hand is a strange object that he’d say is a weapon if not for the fact they aren’t holding it like one.
He glances around. There’s not a familiar landmark anywhere, and even the landscape seems wrong. He’s certainly not in Nohr, nor is he in Hoshido. Where is he, then? And how is he here?
“What is all this?” he demands, pushing as much of his authority into his tone as he can. Even as his world has somehow found a way to crumble further, he still has that strength.
Their answers don’t help. Oh, the three non-robed figures are all more than happy to tell him what’s going on, but it’s difficult to make sense of it. Given what’s happened, the explanation fits…yet to accept he’s been magically summoned to a completely different realm is difficult. And the idea of there being more versions of him just walking around?
“Is there anyone you’d like to see?” the blonde girl—who he’s learned is named Sharena—asks. “It shouldn't be too hard to find them.”
“Or you’re welcome to explore on your own,” the one called Alfonse says.
The look he gives Sharena is one all too familiar to Xander. The two must be siblings.
“Thank you for the offer,” Xander says. “I will familiarize myself with Askr on my own for the time being.”
“Okay.” Sharena has the energy of someone who is rarely in a bad mood. “Just let any of us know if you need anything.”
The four walk off, leaving him alone as requested. For a moment, Xander wonders if he should have asked if he could be returned to his realm. Then he remembers what he would’ve been returned to. Death, and nothing more. Returning to his realm will accomplish nothing. He can only move forward now.
He sheathes Siegfried. Where to start? He needs to learn as much as he can about Askr, for one thing. Find out where he’s needed and do his duty.
Yet it’s impossible to ignore the fact that versions of his siblings are also roaming the land. From the explanations he’d been given, he knows they aren’t truly his siblings, but they can’t be all that different, can they? Xander’s eyes go to the castle. That’s where the library will be, and it’s bound to be one of the more busy routes of the other so-called heroes.
He starts his walk. It always takes him time to adjust to being somewhere that doesn’t have the near-perpetual darkness of Nohr, and this Askr seems as sunny as any place he’s been. No wonder why he spots some people running around in swimming clothes. Strangely enough, they all still seem to be armed. Umbrellas, lances adorned with shells…what’s next, a giant carrot for spring?
There are indeed many heroes, it seems. Askr must be a troubled kingdom indeed to need all of these people to help protect it.
It takes time, but he does begin to catch sight of some familiar faces. A version of Laslow is talking under a tree with a young woman with a sword, and far off in the distance is someone who looks to be Ryoma.
“Brother!”
He stops so suddenly that he nearly loses his balance. That voice…
For all his small hopes of seeing his siblings on the way, he’s not at all prepared to actually see Elise as he turns around. Elise, alive and well and beaming.
“I’m not your brother,” he forces himself to say. And after what he’d done to her, it feels all the more the truth. “I’ve only just arrived.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re Xander, aren’t you?”
“Yes, of course, but—”
“Then you’re my brother,” Elise says. “Welcome to Askr!”
“...Thank you.”
Xander can only stare at her. After several beats, her smile starts to fall. For all her innocence, she’s excellent at knowing when something’s bothering him. Instead of asking him about it, she throws herself at him—his mind flashes back to that moment, Elise diving in front of his blade—and hugs him tightly. He doesn’t deserve this, doesn’t deserve to hold her in his arms again when his gloves are still stained with her blood, but he can’t help but return the embrace.
“Is this helping?” she asks, voice slightly muffled.
“Yes, I believe it is,” he says. She has no idea how much.
“Yay! I’m glad.”
The hug lasts several beats longer before Xander is the one to end it. If he hadn’t, he doesn’t know if he ever would’ve been able to let her go. He steps back, then touches her cheek lightly before straightening one of her pigtails’ bows. She’s likely confused by these unusually clear signs of affection, but she doesn’t question them. She just smiles up at him again.
“Where are you going? I’ve been here a while, so I can show you around if you want.”
Having her so close after what had happened is almost overwhelming, but how can he turn down more time with her? He no longer has to keep his siblings at as much of an arm's length, on account of no longer having a throne waiting for him in this new place. It may be a hard habit to break, but he can start here.
“I would like that,” he says. “I had planned on going to the library, but wherever you think is best.”
They don’t get far before someone else catches Elise’s attention.
“Camilla, over here!” she calls. “A new Xander was just summoned!”
Xander looks to where his sister is focused. While this Elise is just as he remembers her, this Camilla is different. Her crown is that of Nohr’s queen, not princess, and she carries a staff rather than her trademark axe. For her to be queen, something must have happened to him in her realm. Killed by Corrin, perhaps?
“Oh?” Camilla changes direction and approaches them. “So he has. It’s always a nice surprise when another sibling joins us.”
She looks him over. Her gaze pauses on his face, and he can’t find the strength to smooth out his expression. Of their siblings, she alone understands what it was like to grow up in the chaos of the Concubine Wars. She must recognize the haunted look Xander is sure is in his eyes.
“Your face…” She rests a hand on his cheek. “The worlds we came from must be similar. If you ever need to talk about it, I’m here.”
Assuming their worlds are the same, it’s good to see that she’d been able to lead Nohr without being overly weighed down by grief. Then again, he doesn’t know how long she’s been in Askr. Perhaps this lightness has come over time. Regardless, he may just take her up on the offer. He certainly can’t talk to Elise about it.
“Thank you,” he says. “I had hoped to find some version of my siblings before long, but I hadn’t expected how much it would ease the confusion of my arrival.”
“I was confused when I got here too,” Elise says, “but then Sharena gave me the grand tour. I got to meet some amazing heroes, and so many of them were kind too.”
Elise has never had difficulty making friends. Xander isn’t surprised that her adjustment period had been much shorter than he suspects his will be.
“You just have to find a new path,” Camilla reassures, with all of the added elegance of being a queen. “All of us who have been summoned here have had to do the same.”
He can’t be the only hero who’d been summoned at a less-than-ideal time. (Not that he can think of any time it would have been ideal to be yanked out of his life.) It seems likely that all of those people have still managed to find their way after a time. As Nohr’s crown prince—while that likely matters little here in Askr, he refuses to let go of the piece of his identity that’s shaped his entire life—he can do no less himself.
“Whatever the reason is that brought me here, I will meet the challenge.”
“There’s our Xander,” Camilla says with a smile, patting his cheek. “Now, shall we go see if we can find a Leo to continue the welcoming party?”
“I bet I can find one first!” Elise declares, then rushes off without another word.
Despite everything, Xander chuckles. With his siblings with him once more, he will, once again, find his way.