Princess Kassandra of Nohr

It was the headache that kicked me into consciousness. I groaned and reached towards my scalp, trying to remember how Xander had managed to inflict so much damage. My hands stopped short of my head. Chains rattled.

I opened my eyes.

I wasn't lying on my bed in the Northern Fortress, but on a bunk in a little room of grey stone. Norton was sitting opposite, watching me. He was also wearing handcuffs.

"Are you all right, Kass?" he asked. There was a softness to his voice, a simple sincerity that I had not heard for a long time.

I considered complaining about my sore head, then thought the better of it. He'd probably sustained far worse wounds in his time as a soldier. "I'm fine. Where are we?"

"Hoshido." His face hardened. "We're inside the fort that Hans tried to attack. The woman, Rinkah, went to fetch the ninja when I came around. They will take us to Castle Shirasagi, situated in their capital city."

"To be executed?"

"It seems likely. We are now publicly part of the Nohrian royal family, even if it is not by blood. Executing us in the capital before the citizens would make a greater statement than simply ending us here."

I swallowed, saliva grating against my throat. I'd always known that fighting for Nohr might one day claim my life, but I hadn't expected that day to come around so soon. There were still so many things I had left unsaid. To Xander. And to Norton.

"What happened on the bridge?" I asked. "Your arm --"

"Forget it."

I watched him. "You're not surprised. Has this happened before?"

"Forget it," he growled.

"Is that why --"

"Kassandra!" His face was closed off; creased with pain. "Forget. It."

I bit my lip. "Well...thank you for saving me, I guess."

The door creaked open, and Rinkah and the green-haired ninja stepped in. Rinkah tugged on my chains. "Up."

I stood. Norton did the same as the ninja took hold of him, and he stared at the Hoshidan man with cold eyes. "May I ask who you are?"

"Kaze," the ninja said. "And I'm very glad that we found you both."

I exchanged an uncertain glance with Norton.

***

We travelled by carriage all day, all night, and all day again, mostly in silence. Norton and I were kept together but alone, our chains off unless we were taking a break outside, and our meals delivered to us whenever we stopped. For the life of a prisoner, it wasn't bad. But I knew that we would be thrown into rotten cells once we reached the capital -- if we weren't executed immediately.

We arrived after the sun had set on the third day and rolled through the streets in the dark. The carriages climbed up a mountain path, then finally stopped in a courtyard. Lanterns hung around the edges, illuminating a tower of beauty and colour. Bright reds and soft blues shone in its stones, turrets, and tiles. Arches curved above the main entrance, and shrubbery and flowers grew around the walls. It looked like something from a fairy tale.

It was what I had always wanted a castle to be.

Kaze led us from our carriages without chains. Rinkah was hanging back, clearly intending to bring up the rear, so we had no choice but to follow. I went first, and Norton fell in behind.

As we halted at the entrance to Castle Shirasagi, I tipped my head back to look at the top. I wished Castle Krakenburg was like this -- though it was strategic, it seemed like a hard place to call home.

Guards bowed and drew open the doors, and we followed Kaze inside. We walked the hallways quickly, colours spinning everywhere instead of the darkness I was used to. It was dizzying, and terror rose with the unsettlement, cramping my stomach. I had been determined not to make a fuss -- to take my death with the cold grace befitting of a Princess of Nohr -- but it was getting harder not to crack by the minute.

It was difficult to die with honour when I didn't want to die at all.

We entered a large hall decorated with low-hanging banners of luxurious silk. A large, golden throne stood before us, a semi-circle carving like the sun at its back. A kind-faced woman with dark hair sat atop it, and a man in red Hoshidan armour stood next to her, brown hair even longer than mine tumbling down his back.

Kaze and Rinkah got down on one knee. Norton and I stayed standing.

"You may rise," said the Queen of Hoshido.

Kaze and Rinkah stood up again.

"Welcome back, both of you," the man said. His gaze swept over Norton and me with the same careful calculation Xander sometimes commanded, except it was a touch warmer -- he was both assessing us and genuinely pleased. "This is really them?"

"Yes, my lord," Kaze replied. "King Garon was hiding them under the names of Norton and Kassandra."

My stomach twisted again. There was something not quite right here...

The Queen stood up. "I cannot believe it's really you! Oh, I've missed you so much!" She flew forwards and gathered us in her arms.

I tensed, adrenaline flushing through my body. Her reaction was so unexpected, and so out of place with our impending execution, that it was more frightening than the sight of any weapon. "What --"

Norton tore free of her grip. "What the devil is going on?"

"Mother." The man's voice was tinged with amusement. "Perhaps we should tell them who they are?"

The Queen finally drew away, tears misting her eyes. "Oh, my poor children, I'm so sorry. I'm just so happy to see you."

My breath caught. "C-children?"

"I am your mother, Mikoto. When you were very young, you were taken away by Nohr." She looked at me hopefully. "Do you remember?"

I opened and closed my mouth like a fish. How could she ask that so casually? Of course I didn't remember. I'd been born in Nohr.

"It must be a shock," the man said kindly, stepping down from his spot by the throne to join us. "But I assure you that she speaks the truth. I am your elder brother, Ryoma, High Prince of Hoshido. You are Prince Nayoko and Princess Kaiya. You were taken from us sixteen years ago when King Garon lured King Sumeragi -- our father -- to Cheve under false pretences. He said it was for a peace conference, but his real plan was to murder our father in cold blood and kidnap you."

"No." I shook my head viciously. "That's just not possible. You're playing a cruel trick on us before we die -- seeing how gullible Nohrians are. You're laughing at us!"

But even as I spoke the words, I was finding the story easy to imagine. I remembered the whip lashing across my back when I'd refused to do anything but train. I remembered Garon's orders for Xander to kill me if I got in his way. And I remembered his threat that ordinarily, I would be dead for disobeying him.

"This is no trick, Kaiya," Ryoma said. "And we are not sentencing you to death. Do you truly not remember us?"

I looked at Norton. He seemed frozen in place, his face snowy-white.

"No," I replied slowly. "Neither of us remember anything before we were five, when we woke up in the medical ward of the Northern Fortress. Iago told us that we had been left on the steps. Abandoned. Unwanted."

"Nothing could be further from the truth," Mikoto said fiercely. "We've been searching for you ever since the day you were taken."

Norton finally found his voice. "So...you're..."

"Your mother."

I'd never seen Norton in so much shock before -- Hans had been a healthier colour when he'd died. I moved closer to my twin and put my arm around his shoulders, scared that he would keel over. I hoped he couldn't feel my hands shaking.

I'm related to the enemy. Or are Xander and the others the enemy?

My fingers clenched. Xander. Had he known? Or was this a secret that Garon had kept from all of us?

"It's very late," Mikoto said gently. "Perhaps you would like to go to bed and think this over? I had Kaze and Semyaza prepare you two rooms. Ryoma, do you mind taking them?"

"It would be my pleasure. Kaze and Rinkah, you are dismissed. Nayoko and Kaiya, please, follow me."

Ryoma led us out of the throne room and down a set of wide, airy corridors painted white. Rounded pine doors stretched out on either side, marking hundreds of rooms. A handful of guards stood on every stretch, and each bowed as we passed. Ryoma greeted them in soft tones, but he never lingered.

When the white paint turned into golden swirls and the amount of stationed guards doubled, Ryoma stopped beside two rooms on opposite sides of the corridor. "Here we are. Perhaps we should go inside for a moment, and you can ask me any immediate questions that are on your mind."

"Yes, of course," Norton said faintly.

He pushed open the door, and we stepped into his new room. It was smaller than my bedroom at Castle Krakenburg, but the white walls made it feel less claustrophobic. There was a bed, a few trunks, a full mirror, and a dressing screen. It had obviously been aired on a regular basis, because it smelled of mountain flowers and fresh skies.

Norton sat down on his bed, and I sat at the foot of it. Now that he was safe from collapsing, I thought it would be best to keep my distance. Ryoma stood in front of us and folded his arms across his chest, waiting.

Norton dragged a hand down his face. "I can't believe this."

I was also struggling. Even though I'd always known King Garon was not my father, accepting the identity of my parents was difficult. I'd believed I was Nohrian. Surely I couldn't be the enemy by birth -- much less enemy royalty. The idea was nigh on fantastical.

However...

"Is it really so hard to imagine King Garon kidnapping us?" I mused.

"I suppose not." Norton rubbed his face again. "We were so young. Our memories fragile, our accents malleable. But I've been in Father's service for years. It didn't blind me to his ways, but I thought he loved me in his own manner. I thought that he'd displayed us a kindness by treating us as his own children." He sighed. "I suppose you must think differently, having only just met him."

Ryoma looked confused, so I briefly explained the Northern Fortress situation to him and the fact that Norton had left six years ago. It felt strange to talk about the people I'd always regarded as my family, especially when they were a world away now. And it felt strange to look into his eyes and acknowledge -- even if it hadn't quite sunk in -- that he was my blood brother.

"I wish that I could question King Garon about this," I murmured. "I want answers. I want answers for everything."

"Gunter was Hans' fault, Kass," Norton said quietly.

I clenched my fists, nails cutting my skin. "No. You heard his last words."

Norton turned away, and silence fell over us for a while. If Ryoma had any questions about Gunter, he kept them to himself.

"What happens now?" Norton asked eventually.

"You'll live here with the rest of us, as a prince and princess of Hoshido," Ryoma replied. "The others will welcome you back into their arms."

A chill swept over my skin. I hadn't wanted to die, but I'd been prepared for it. I had not been prepared for this.

The Hoshidans were keeping me alive...yet I still would never return to my family. The thought made my stomach turn. I needed them, and not in a way that could be explained logically. Only in a way that could be felt in the heart.

"The others?" Norton repeated.

"Yes." Ryoma smiled. "Hinoka, Azura, Takumi, and Sakura."

"That's a lot of siblings."

"Our own will be worried about us," I reminded him.

"Forget them," Ryoma said. "We're your family."

Norton tensed, glancing at me. What he saw made him shake his head at Ryoma. But it was too late.

Hot anger washed away my shock. I jabbed a finger at Ryoma. "You're my family? I don't even know who you are! Maybe we're related by blood, but I'm related to my Nohrian siblings by heart. I love them. I can't just substitute one family for another with the click of your fingers!"

Ryoma stepped back, his face crumpling. "I understand."

"No." Norton sat up straighter, some of his own shock visibly clearing. "Kass, we may not remember Ryoma, but he remembers us. Perhaps you should mind your --"

I leapt to my feet. "You bastard! You think you have the right to talk to me about what I say? Our family was never good enough for you!"

He closed his eyes. "Kass --"

"Kaiya, hold," Ryoma said. "I started this, and I'm sorry. But Nohr is our enemy, and it's hard to imagine any of them treating you like I would have. Especially descents of King Garon."

I raised my chin and looked him in the eyes. "They are the kindest siblings I could ever have asked for. When I needed them the most, they were there."

I turned around and marched to the door. Ryoma started to follow me, but Norton said, "It's best to leave her alone when she's like this. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry." Ryoma's voice was weary. "I should have expected it. Kaiya always had a hot temper."

I stepped out and slammed the door behind me. What do you know, High Prince Ryoma of Hoshido? None of you were ever around when I needed my family the most.