Prince Norton of Nohr

For all her sulkiness, Flora was an efficient maid. By the time I reached my room, she'd already caught wind of my mission and my bag was halfway packed. Sixty seconds later, she'd finished her task. A blink of an eye, and she was gone.

I paced alongside my weapons rack, waiting for someone to inform me that everyone else was ready. My maid hated me. Xander was cold towards me. Leo loathed me. Kassandra was angry with me. Elise was half afraid of me. All that left was Jakob and --

There was a knock on my door, and Camilla's voice drifted through the wood. "Norton? May I come in?"

I lifted my favourite sword from my rack and picked up a whetstone. Sitting on my bed, I began sharpening the blade. "No."

She opened the door and peered around it, waves of purple hair tumbling over her shoulders. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Always." I dragged the whetstone across my sword with an especially sharp zing!

She came all the way in and closed the door behind her. "I just wanted to make certain that you're prepared for the journey. Is there anything you need?"

"No." I stood up and examined my sword, making a show of turning the blade this way and that before I sheathed it. Then I took another off the wall to sharpen.

But no one, not even Xander, was as ferocious as Camilla on the battlefield. It would take more than a threatening display of my swords to warn her off.

"Please keep your wits about you when it comes to Hans," she said softly. "And please protect Kass from him."

I sneered. "So that's what this visit is really about. The safety of Kassandra."

Camilla recoiled. "Norton, please. You know that I care about you."

"I can't think why," I muttered.

But we both knew the truth. Bastard children were largely accepted within Nohr, and King Garon was no exception to them. Camilla, Leo, and Elise all fell into that category. When Kass and I were added in, the only child who'd come from both Father and his first wife was Xander.

The rest of us felt, in different ways, scarred and unwanted.

Camilla and I had bonded through our scars, and of all my siblings, I'd been closest to her until six years ago. I had been the most tolerant of her constant doting, because it had filled the deep need within me to belong. And in letting her fuss over me, I had fulfilled her own need to act in the maternal way that her own mother had not.

There was another knock on the door. Without waiting for my permission, Camilla opened it. One of my men was standing there -- Belden. "Hans and your retainers are waiting on the First Bridge...my lord."

My sword almost slipped from my grasp. "It's sir."

Belden smiled, his eyes filled with awe. "We have been given leave to call you by your real name from now onwards, Prince Norton. We never knew --"

"No." I held up my hand. "I won't allow it. I earned your respect by being your captain only, so your captain I will be. I give you, and the rest of the platoon, leave to only address me as such."

Kass appeared in the doorway behind Belden. "So keen not to be associated with the rest of us?"

I cursed under my breath. "What do you all think this is, a damn sleepover? Camilla and Kassandra, you are forcibly dismissed."

Camilla left without a backwards glance, linking her arm through Kass' and taking her, too.

I looked at Belden. "Tell the men of my command. I am your captain before I am anyone's prince."

Belden nodded. I was pleased to see that the awe in his eyes had faded to respect again. "I will, sir. Have a safe journey."

"Thank you, Belden."

He bowed, then left the room and shut the door behind him.

I frowned. Why had Father chosen to tell my men of my title now? Was it a sign of recognition? He'd always told me that, as I was not actually of his blood, I would have to prove myself before anyone in the castle could call me Prince.

Had I proved myself?

I wasn't certain. My gut instincts, as sharpened as my swords, were cutting me. Something was amiss.

***

Just under a week of hard riding found us nearing the abandoned enemy border fort.

Over the last few days, our small group had fallen into a routine. Kass would start the morning riding alongside me and Ambara on her new warhorse, narrating all the tales she'd heard about the missions of Captain Norton and inviting me to expand on them. I would wonder if she knew the full stories: knew how many bodies I sent around Nohr to be displayed after every battle; knew that I was the member of the royal family who "donated" the most corpses to the spikes of Windmire.

But I would say nothing.

Her resolve would not crumble until the afternoon, when she would begin to grow exhausted and hungry. Then she'd snap. She'd ask me why I'd left and why I'd never gone back to visit her. When I didn't answer those questions, she would fall back to ride with Felicia and Gunter, who would work hard to make her smile again.

I knew that to make her smile was my job. But my biggest job of all was to keep her safe.

Hans stayed out of it, never conversing with me until the afternoon when Kass had gone. Despite Camilla's warning, I found a solace with him that I could find with none of my other companions. He spoke frequently of his old war stories, some of them sounding even greater (and bloodier) than the ones Gunter had told Kass and me as children. In return, I spoke of my own, and he not only praised my victories but understood them. He knew the struggles of war as well as the glory.

Once, I would have had such conversations with Gunter. Sometimes, I'd had them with Jakob. But Gunter, once the trainer for both me and my twin sister, had been Kass' retainer alone for six years. The distance between us was palpable. I'd lost his respect when I'd left the Northern Fortress.

Jakob still gave me his respect, but he'd been friends with both Kass and me as children. He was nothing but bluntly honest, and so there was no mistaking the fact that he didn't approve of my behaviour towards my sister.

Thus, it was the murderer who best understood me.

To reach the enemy fortress, we had to cross the Bottomless Canyon. I'd never seen it before, and when it loomed up as a long fissure in the earth, I felt the same way I had when I'd first seen Castle Krakenburg. It looked like a death sentence.

"Is this it?" Kass asked from behind. "The Bottomless Canyon?"

"Yes," Gunter replied. "It's the natural boundary dividing Nohr and Hoshido here in the north."

"It can't really be bottomless, can it?"

"Let the eternal darkness below be your answer. Those who fall in never return, and lightning strikes all who fly across. This is clearly a place us mortals were never meant to enter. Normally, we'd go around. But the fort that King Garon wants to be surveyed is right over there."

I frowned at the building on the other side of the bridge that hung perilously over the canyon. "And occupied."

Black figures moved around against the overcast sky, looking out over the buttresses of the fort. I called a halt to our procession, and Kass brought her horse alongside me again. Some of the figures streamed out of the building.

"Blast!" Gunter said. "Why the devil is this place crawling with Hoshidans?"

The enemy stopped on the other side of the bridge. "Do not advance any further, soldiers of Nohr! Crossing that bridge is a violation of our border treaty. Turn back at once, or we'll be forced to attack!"

"What should we do?" Kass asked me.

"This is your mission," I said, "and it's you who is supposed to be examining the fort. You are in charge until we leave the Bottomless Canyon."

Kass stared across the bridge. "Well, I think I can see enough. It clearly isn't serviceable if it's occupied by Hoshidans. We were ordered not to fight, and so I think we should turn back and report to Father."

"Wise decision, my lady," Gunter said.

Hans kicked his horse's sides. "Who asked you, old man?"

He shot off from standstill to canter, tearing across the bridge. It creaked and swayed ominously. In hindsight, I wished that he'd fallen off it.

"Hans!" I yelled.

He was already across, his sword drawn and slashing the neck of a Hoshidan. He laughed. "Die, scumbags!"

"You'll pay for this!" another Hoshidan yelled. They drew their weapons.

Hans galloped back across the bridge before they could close in on him.

"What are you doing?" Kass shouted. "We had no reason to engage these troops!"

The Hoshidans began to cross the bridge. More streamed out from the fortress behind them. There had to be at least one hundred soldiers, if not more.

One hundred against seven of us.

"Kassandra, get behind me," I said. "Hans --"

But the scoundrel had galloped off again to meet the Hoshidan army.

"I'm not staying behind you," Kass scoffed. "You said that I was in charge!"

"I've changed my mind -- you've never been in a battle before. Stay back with your retainers. Jakob, Flora, and I will serve as the front line. Do not argue with me. I'm speaking as Captain Norton now, not your brother. This is my battle strategy, and those are my orders. Understood?"

She glowered and drew her sword. But she kept her horse still. "Understood."

Jakob, Flora, and I rode forwards, letting Kass and her retainers serve as our very limited reinforcements. I cursed Hans. Perhaps I was not so in touch with him after all.

Ambara set his hooves on the bridge, and it swayed. Halfway across, Hans was engaging with the Hoshidan soldiers. For just one man, he was holding up well.

Before we reached him, the bridge shook even more. Horses were galloping up behind us.

I twisted to look over my shoulder, and Kass released a cry of joy. "Xander!"

Xander, Leo, and Elise brought their horses back to a trot behind us. A wyvern shrieked in the sky, and I looked up. Camilla was flying overhead.

I remembered Gunter's warning about the lightning, and panic flooded my veins. "Camilla! Stay back!"

"What's going on here?" Xander asked.

"Hans attacked the Hoshidans," I growled. "Now we must face the consequences. Oh, hell, Camilla!"

She came alongside us, flying directly over the yawning chasm. I looked up at the sky, searching it for lightning.

She laughed. "Don't worry about me. I was worried about the two of you! Who dares to attack my beloved Norton and Kass? I'll have their heads on a platter!"

"We're not hurt, Camilla," Kass said.

"But, darling, it's the thought that counts!" She swooped towards the Hoshidans and Hans. Within a second, two soldiers had met the wrong end of her axe.

Kass gasped. "I never knew Camilla could be so...ruthless."

"Keep your eyes open, Kass," Xander warned. "We're about to engage ourselves."

There was just enough room on the bridge for Xander and Leo to squeeze their way onto the front line. Leo came alongside me, so close that our boots were touching. He held himself stiffly, and knowing that he didn't like being there made me feel uncomfortable.

Then we were engaging with the Hoshidans, and I thought only of survival.

A katana whizzed towards my face, and I blocked it with my longsword. I urged Ambara forwards as I thrust my blade into the soldier's chest. My horse knocked her out of the way, and I engaged with the next soldier who dared to raise their sword against me.

I cut, slashed, and stabbed, grateful that the Hoshidans were on foot. We needed as many advantages as we could when there were so few of us.

Another advantage was that we were pitting our finest warriors against Hoshido's standard soldiers. Camilla was ruthless, as Kass had put it, but so were Xander and Leo. And then, of course, there was Hans, slaughtering with reckless abandon.

After a few minutes, the Hoshidans fell back, shouting in confusion.

"How many are there?"

"There are more than first thought!"

"Retreat!"

"We're outnumbered!"

I almost laughed. We'd confused them. Thank the gods.

We reined in and broke our formation three-quarters of the way across the bridge. Leo looked at Xander. "What should we do now?"

"Kass is safe," Xander replied, "and the fort's condition has been evaluated. There is no reason to engage Hoshido further at this point. We will withdraw. Norton, you take the lead with Kass and Gunter. We'll travel behind in case the Hoshidans change their minds."

I turned Ambara around.

"Thank you for coming to help us, Xander," Kass said softly as she followed suit.

Xander's jaw tightened. "I'm glad I did. I knew I couldn't trust Hans." His eyes widened. "Where is Hans?"

I glanced back over my shoulder at the Hoshidan fort. Hans was nowhere in sight. "He must have taken off when no one was looking."

"That coward!" Kass spat. "He took the lives of Hoshidans who didn't wish to fight and risked our own! He can't just flee!"

She put her heels to her horse's sides and cantered back down the bridge towards Nohrian turf.

"Kassandra!" I yelled.

She kept on going.

"Idiot," I spat under my breath, nudging Ambara into a trot. "Gunter, with me!"

Our trainer didn't grace me with a reply, but I heard his horse trotting along behind me. I sat and growled at Ambara, spurring him into a canter, then a gallop. The bridge shook and swayed. Kass was nearing the end of it.

When we reached stable land, I swerved around her mount and yanked Ambara to a halt. Gunter stayed on the bridge.

"What the hell, Kass?" I shouted. "Don't just go charging off on your --"

Her eyes darkened as she caught sight of something over my shoulder. "Hans!"

I twisted in my saddle. The veteran warrior was walking his horse towards us from the bushes at the side of the bridge. He stopped between Gunter and Kass, grinning. He looked a far cry from the wise warrior I'd thought I was conversing with on our journey.

"What is the meaning of this?" Gunter asked.

Hans laughed. "Less talk! More death!"

He galloped at Gunter, sending his horse crashing straight into our trainer. Gunter's mount staggered back. Its hindquarters fell over the bridge, its hoofs trying to stand on thin air.

I turned Ambara and spurred him towards them. But I was too late to prevent the inevitable.

Unbalanced to the point of no return, the rest of Gunter's horse followed its hindquarters, taking our trainer with it. They vanished into the Bottomless Canyon, swallowed up by the dark.

There was no shock as I watched them go. I only felt a familiar rage burst to life within me, too powerful to control. My grip on my actions slipped.

I rode onto the mouth of the bridge. Kass screamed and followed me, but the sound was muffled as my anger exploded. One arm extended as I neared Hans, my fingers sharpening into claws. I slashed a string of deep wounds down his chest, acting on the only instincts I had left. Bloodthirsty instincts.

Kass reined in beside me, her eyes wide.

Hans tumbled from his horse, landing behind a large bush at the edge of the bridge. I dismounted, not thinking, never thinking now, and fell to my knees before his bleeding body. Muscle tore beneath my claws. Hot liquid swelled between them.

Hans cried out. "What kind of freak...are...you?"

I growled. I was waiting to see if he would die or if he needed a final strike.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Kass dismount and tie her own horse and Ambara to the two posts at the end of the bridge. She came towards us slowly. I did not consider her as a threat, so I ignored her.

She crouched beside me. I felt her eyes on my arm; my claws. Then they moved to my victim. "I want answers, Hans! Why are you doing this? Why did you provoke the Hoshidans? And why did you kill Gunter? Answer me!"

"Just...following...King...G-Gar..." His words died on his lips.

"Hans!" Kass yelled.

But I knew he was gone. I could feel the sweet vengeance breaking the spell over me. My claws retreated. My arm returned to normal. I stared down at my hands.

It had happened.

"Norton?"

I looked up at Kass. I knew that she understood, without me having to explain, that I had not been myself.

She reached towards me, but I flinched away and stood. "No!"

The others had to take her, and quickly. Surely they would be here at any moment. They were always here to save her. But I couldn't see where they were from behind this bush.

I stepped around it.

Kass screamed.

I whirled on my heel, my blood running cold. Ganglari, still in her hands, was making a sudden dive towards the edge of the bridge.

"No!" I yelled.

Kass flew over the side. I leapt across the distance between us, dropping to my stomach and flinging my arms out. She tumbled through the air.

And then my hand found her ankle.

She jerked to a halt so abruptly that I was afraid her foot would be torn away. I reached for her other ankle, straining my muscles to their limits. My fingers brushed against the slim bone. "Drop the sword, Kass."

"I can't."

My hand fastened around her ankle. "You're not even trying. Just open your fists and let it go. The Bottomless Canyon is the best place for it, before it pulls us both over."

"I can't! It won't let me!"

"What? What kind of dark magic is in that thing?" I took a deep breath, re-calculating. "Hell, all right. I'll pull you both up. And then I'm taking it off you."

I slithered backwards, my fingers growing slick with sweat as I struggled to carry her weight. Her knees came onto the bridge. Then her hips. She put her arms back and placed her hands on the wood, pushing herself the rest of the way on.

We both lay on our stomachs, shaking. In the distance, I could hear Xander calling our names.

"Damn it!" I pushed myself upright and looked around the bush. Everyone had already ridden past and were fading into the distance, leading our horses along with them. I tried to shout, but my voice shook feebly and faded.

I went back to Kass. "We'll have to catch them up. But before we do, give me the --"

The green-haired Hoshidan ninja who we'd freed at the castle was standing behind her with a club. She was pushing herself to her feet, oblivious.

"Kass!"

She looked up, her eyes widening. "Norton, watch --"

The club connected with her skull. She fell forwards, her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

I turned to see who was standing behind me, but it was too late.

Everything turned black.