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"Brother! What the hell were you thinking?!" Ryoma was fuming. After the battle, he came charging into the former prince of Nohr's room.
"Ryoma? What are you doing here?" Corrin had done nothing wrong last battle, as far as he knew. He made a few slip-ups here and there, but it was certainly not why the high-prince was acting unnuasually angry.
"What I'm doing HERE?! What were you doing out THERE?!" Ryoma was mustering all his willpower to not bash the nearest wall down. "You let half the enemy forces slip by you, you missed about half of your swings, and near the end you ran off to the other side of the battlefield, leaving Sakura unprotected!"
Oh. That. Well, Corrin was glad that his older brother was the first one to notice. He'd die from embarrassment if Felicia or Azama found out. "*sigh* I guess there's no more hiding it, huh? I... I'm worried about Kanna. All the children, really. I mean, Midori's barely turned fourteen and she's already at the front lines! And at least her father raised her to be able to defend herself! I was barely there for my daughter and she's only still alive because the timing of us visiting her and her deeprealm getting invaded matched up... I just wish she'd stay on the sidelines while we do the heavy lifting, but she's so damn stubborn...! I'm sorry, brother. I shouldn't dump this on you."
Ryoma's rage had gone away. This was a feeling he knew all too well, with Shiro being a recent addition to the army. Although he was older than most of the children of his comrades, he was still immature and in need of training, for the war and for his eventual station as king. He sat down with his brother, putting a hand on his shoulder. "This is something that I've pondered as well. Although it pains me to see my son risk his life on the battlefield day after day, we must accept that this newer generation has incredible potential, Corrin. Kanna may be young, but I've seen what she can do on the battlefield. She is one of the biggest factors in contributing to our victory out there. That said, you ARE her father, and the tactician in this army. It's only just that you get the final say in this. Just know that whatever you decide, me and our siblings will support you."
And with that, Ryoma left the treehouse. Corrin threw himself onto his bed, lost in thought. Was he doing the right thing? Is he willing to risk the life of his only child to save those of his people? His own thoughts blocked out the noise of the door to his room opening.
"Papa? Why are you crying? Did I do something bad?"
The silver-haired prince put a hand to his eyes. In all this talk of sacrificing family, he had started to cry. He looked at his child and smiled: "No, sweetie. You did nothing wrong. Come sit here. Tell me about your day."
...
When dinner time rolled around, Kanna and her father were knitting dolls, like aunt Sakura had showed her the night before. "Look Papa! I made a dragon! Roargh rawr!"
Corrin smiled, with a hint of sadness still in his eyes. "It's a very scary one, too. Hang on one second while I go grab us something to eat."
The child grinned happily. "I want a ham sandwich! Ooh! With cheese, too!"
...
Corrin quietly hummed a melody Azura had taught him a while back. He couldn't remember the lyrics though. Something about birthrights and love or something like that. He climbed up the steps that led to the rooms of the whole army, a few lights still on at this late hour. But the one inside his quarters wasn't. A weird feeling crept up to the prince. "Kanna? Are you awake?" He said, opening the door.
Inside, he found the whole place torn apart. The window was shattered, the walls had scratch marks on them and the wardrobe had fallen over. On the now chairless table was a note, hastily written with purple ink:
'We have the children. Meet us tomorrow on top of Wolfskin Peak at noon. Bring your divine weapons and don't try anything.
- The Order of the Night'
To be continued...