Split Kingdoms | Fire Emblem Fates (Novelization)

Chapter 14: Feel Our Pain

Princess Kassandra of Nohr

We rode hard and fast back through Nohr until dusk began to fall. By the time Xander called us to a halt on the fringes of a dark forest and we dismounted, my arms were aching from hanging onto his waist for so long.

As our army began to set up camp, he turned to my siblings. "Come into the woods, all of you. We need to talk -- alone."

Camilla linked her arm through mine as we walked, and within two seconds, Elise was attached to my other side. Leo stayed ahead of us with Xander, but he did look over his shoulder a lot.

Once we were well within the trees, Xander stopped. Camilla immediately threw her arms around me. "I was so worried about you, darling! Don't ever wander away from me again!"

Elise joined our hug. "Yay! We got our sister back!"

When they pulled away, Leo smiled at me. "I'm glad you're all right, Kass. You must have the devil's own luck!"

I laughed, then turned to Xander just as he suddenly crossed the distance between us and crushed me against his chest. The familiarity of his broad, strong frame filled me with a rush of relief that turned my knees weak. Whatever he felt in return had him holding onto me for quite a lot longer than necessary.

Eventually, he let go and looked me over critically. "They haven't harmed you, have they?"

"No."

"Good. I want to hear the whole story, no details spared, of what happened from the moment you stupidly took off on your own to the moment I saw you on the battlefield."

So I told them: what Hans had done to Gunter, the way Norton had transformed and what he'd done to Hans, being captured by Kaze and Rinkah, discovering my true birthright, fighting against the Faceless, the explosion in the capital, and Norton's full transformation into a dragon.

But there were also things I didn't say, like the chill that the dark woods sent down my spine after living in the bright sunshine of Hoshido, or the acceptance I'd been starting to feel towards some of my blood siblings. Or the pang of guilt I experienced every time I reminded myself that I'd left them.

Once I'd finished my tale, I looked around my Nohrian family. "Did you know?"

Xander frowned. "Know what, Kass?"

"Any of it. My true lineage, for example, or the existence of the Faceless."

Camilla and Elise shook their heads.

Leo lowered his. "I knew about the Faceless. But nothing else."

I nodded, too numb to decide how I felt about that. Then I looked at Xander.

When he didn't say anything for a while, everyone else looked at him, too.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Yes. From the moment you arrived at the Northern Fortress, I knew the whole story. Father swore me to secrecy until he deemed that the time was right. You were kept in there so that rumours would not fly for the Hoshidans to hear, and you were given new names to the same end. And I suppose Iago must have sealed away your memories somehow."