[Fire Emblem Fates Novelization.]
Nohrian twins Princess Kassandra and Prince Norton have been estranged for six years: separated by stone, distance and hearts. When they're kidnapped by Hoshido and told of their true lineage, they're suddenly drawn...
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Princess Kassandra of Nohr
I woke up just before daybreak, when Xander's warmth slipped away from me. He dressed silently, kissed me on the forehead, and left the room.
Catching more sleep was difficult. He was on my mind; had left his imprint on my body. I felt thrilled with our illicit secret, but now that we had taken it deeper, I was also wary of it being discovered. King Garon's wrath was lethal, and Iago had the ability to appear anywhere. What if our intimacy was written all over our faces the next time he saw us?
What if the others saw it?
Maybe they wouldn't. I'd always regarded the rest of them as family, and I knew they regarded me the same way. It had blinded them to the feelings between Xander and me so far...
Despite that logic, I couldn't shake off my worries. In the end, I rose for the day and went to the medical ward.
When I reached Elise's door, I raised my fist to knock -- and stopped. It was silent in there. I couldn't even hear shifting fabric. Camilla and Leo were either impersonating Dusk Dragon statues, or they had fallen asleep at Elise's bedside.
I decided that it was best not to disturb them, and so I ventured outside to explore the grounds of Palace Macarath. There were many courtyards and gardens pocketed between the indoor space, and so I found myself wandering into grassy rooms and then back onto mosaic again. The décor was so light and cheerful that I could have been in Hoshido, and there were even beautiful plants and flowers surrounded by rare fertile soil. But the walls infringed on the beauty and the peace, and I felt like I was walking through a cruel illusion.
Everything in the world was cruel. Norton was in Hoshido, and it was hard to think of him as an enemy when the lines were so blurred. Beneath my anger at his desperation to take me back -- and Ryoma's -- I felt understanding. All they wanted was for us to be on the same side so that we didn't have to fight anymore.
I followed the sound of bubbling water, hoping to find peace beside it, and discovered another garden with a pond. But even that was like a trick -- ugly walls had been carved into the earth to create an unnatural shape. It was man-made.
I was just about to sit down when Azura suddenly stepped out of the artificial shrubbery, her back to me. She waded into the water. Her eyes were sad and downcast, and I wondered if I should leave her alone. Then again, perhaps she was bothered by the same thing that was troubling me. The Hoshidans had been her family once, too, even more so than they had been mine. I was the only person who understood how she felt, and she was the only person who understood how I did. It would do us both good to talk.
She walked into the pond until the water was up to her shoulders, soaking her clothes. I opened my mouth to call out to her.
She ducked her head beneath the water and vanished.
