A Night With Corrin

Chapter I (Beginnings)

Your simple life is far more exciting all of the sudden. You finally feel as though you're somebody important. Nohr is at war with Hoshido, and your biggest concern is your duty. Lord Ryoma's instructions are simple. You're to escort his sister Princess Corrin around camp and make sure she doesn't come to any harm. Assassins from Nohr snoop in the shadows. The largest worry for the crown prince is guaranteeing his sibling is safety: especially at the moment.

Very few people spared you a glance of interest before this, let alone sparked conversation. It's was very lonely here in camp. Now though, you have one special thing to make you smile, even when the dreary grey clouds loom overhead - Princess Corrin. Yes, she may be royalty - but she treats you with kindness and respect. Protecting her is an order, true: it's one you're happy with though. It may be little more than idle chatter, but her ladyship talks to you on the way to her tent on the cold winter evenings. Likewise, she greets you with a groggy smile each morning as she fixes her messy bed hair.

In some ways, you see a side of her that nobody else does. The rest of the army envisions her as a brave dragon who fights for the freedom of innocent people. You? Nope. You see her clumsy side. Once, you even stopped her from falling as she left her tent for an early morning war council.

You were but a common soldier in the years before the Hoshidan army advanced into Nohr proper. Young, but one of the more skilled swordsman out of the rank-and-file warriors. You served as a member of the small garrison tasked with protecting Lady Sakura while she oversaw healing duties at Fort Jinya. It feels like an eternity has passed since then - in more ways than you dare consider. Thankfully, the letters you write home to Mother are far more exciting, nowadays.

Only a handful of the everyday men and women rise through the everyday army to serve the royal family directly. After all, that's usually the role of a retainer. Now, however? You tell jokes every morning with Miss Felicia. You help her carry Corrin's breakfast to her tent because of her being so clumsy, too. You even keep her company while she fumbles her way through laundry.

So yes, your life was one of single-minded dedication toward winning the war against Nohr before. You had long-since discarded ideas of being in a committed relationship after countless hardships endured over the course of equally countless battles. Princess Corrin is different, however. All of the time spent around her has you feeling special in a way you haven't for a very long time. What's more, in the single fleeting instant in which you held her hand, simply to pull her to her feet after tripping, your heart thundered. Your cheeks felt hot.

More surprising to you was the princess' response. You swear she blushed.

It's all you've thought about recently: the way she looked at you in that single fragile moment. It has coloured everything a shade of romantic red. Unfortunately, you know the truth: the only outcome of for your feelings - anybody else would tell you the same if you shared the encounter with them.

She's a princess. Royal blood flows through her veins. Her powers are the stuff of legend. She can morph her body into the shape of a mighty dragon. Someone as powerful and regal as she would never look at a simple swordsman lovingly. You're smart, yes, one of the few in your family who can read. You've even captured the hearts of a few pretty tavern girl's in your time, and even a noblewoman at one point. This goal, however? The love of a princess?

It's out of your reach. You know that. Worse, when you courted the noblewoman, it ended badly.

"There's no sense in dwelling on it," you tell yourself, sighing. With your duties done for the day, so you might as well get some sleep. Your tent on the edge of camp awaits. It's probably for the best, too. You have to wake up early tomorrow to escort the princess anyway.