Prince Nayoko of Hoshido

We arrived back in the Hoshidan capital a few days later, all of us utterly exhausted. Sakura's sprained ankle had been easy for Azama to fix, but it seemed to have left her feeling weak, and she'd spent most of the journey double-riding Hinoka's pegasus. Ryoma, Azura, Kaze, and Semyaza had buckets of stamina, but even they were tired by the end of it. Kass and I were shattered, and we had sore feet and blisters.

I was worried about my twin sister. Ever since the battle against the ungodly Faceless, she'd looked drawn and pale, and she'd hardly been eating. The circles under her eyes were so dark that I wondered if she was getting any sleep at all. Nohr was very different from an outsider's perspective -- that was the problem. Even I hadn't known about the Faceless, and I'd been serving King Garon for six years.

Castle Shirasagi was a sight for sore eyes. It seemed like the flowers outside were even more vibrant than when we'd left, and I was pleased to return to their beauty and the peaceful atmosphere of the palace.

We went straight to the throne room. Mother was there, and she rose to her feet when she saw our sisters. "Hinoka! Sakura! I'm pleased that you're safe." She came down and hugged each of them. "Was everything all right?"

"Everything went smoothly," Ryoma said. It was not quite the way I would have put it, but perhaps that was because I lacked any Hoshidan optimism.

"Good." Mother stepped back. "While you were away, I made the decision to hold a ceremony publicly announcing Nayoko and Kaiya's presence in the castle. There have been rumours circulating about spies from Nohr infiltrating the capital, and I would like to quash them once and for all. The ceremony will be tomorrow."

"All right," Ryoma replied. "But has Takumi returned from his mission yet? He's the only sibling they haven't met. It would be a shame if they attended the ceremony not knowing who all of their brothers and sisters are."

"Indeed. He returned an hour ago and went to his room to rest." Her eyes swept over us all, then settled on the former princess of Nohr. "Azura, do you mind taking Nayoko and Kaiya to meet him?"

"Not at all. It would be my pleasure." The taut set of her mouth suggested that it would be anything but.

Kass and I followed her out of the throne room, our retainers hot on our heels. When we reached the corridor of royal bedrooms, they branched away from us with our bags. Azura knocked on a different door.

"What?" a voice growled inside.

"It's Azura. I brought Nayoko and Kaiya to meet you."

Silence.

"Wait a minute," the grumpy voice instructed.

I exchanged an uncertain look with Kass.

Azura forced a smile onto her face. "Well...while we're waiting, what do you two think of Hoshido now?"

"I don't think I've ever seen so much sunshine before," I said immediately.

Kass nodded. "Yes. It's -- it's quite a contrast to the fortress I grew up in."

"I'm glad you like it," Azura replied, just as the door in front of us flew open. "As I said, I've always been...happy...here..."

Her eyes were fixed on our final brother.

His room was dark, casting a shadow over his hard face. He was dressed in the uniform of a Hoshidan archer, still holding his bow in elegant hands as if he was contemplating shooting us.

"Kaiya, Nayoko," he said with malice. "How wonderful to meet you again."

Kass and I stared at him, taken aback.

"Do you have tongues?" he asked eventually. "Or did the Nohrian scum cut them out?"

"Takumi!" Azura exclaimed.

"Who said you could call me by name?" He glared at her. "You haven't earned that privilege!"

Kass raised her chin. "That's not fair! Azura has been in Hoshido for sixteen years. Shouldn't that be enough to consider her part of the family?"

Great. She's arguing with this brother, too.

"Who are you to boss me around?" Takumi asked. "Shouldn't you be heading back to Nohr soon?"

Kass caught her breath. "What?"

"I don't trust you. Any of you. You're all Nohrians. I just wanted to tell you that to your faces. You can leave now." He retreated into his room and slammed the door.

We all stood still for a long moment.

Azura closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I was afraid he'd be like that."

"Don't concern yourself." I pushed my shoulders back, finding my captain's voice. "It must be difficult to have someone entering his life again after sixteen years of absence. Perhaps we should leave him alone and go to our own rooms to get some rest."

They agreed, and we dispersed.

When I reached my quarters, I found Semyaza inside, putting a clean set of clothes back in the chests. She turned around as I shut the door, her lips curving into a smile. "That was fast, my lord. Was Prince Takumi having a nap?"

"No," I replied.

"Ah." A knowing look came into her eyes. "He's a hothead, I'm afraid. But I'm certain he will warm up to you soon."

"He hasn't warmed up to Azura yet." I sank onto my bed, the confidence I'd conjured already lost.

"True, but you're his blood. Surely that must count for something?"

"I hope so."

Semyaza's eyes softened. "Well, whatever Prince Takumi thinks, you have five other siblings who love you, my lord. And Queen Mikoto is happy beyond words that you've returned. Always remember that."

"You're right. I will."

I'd been overwhelmed by all the love I'd received from strangers lately, and it left Takumi's reaction as an even bigger shock. It all made me long for my early, easy relationships with my Nohrian siblings. Relationships that had been built over time as we had come to know each other. Relationships that had not been thrust upon us.

I had been a fool to throw them away.

"I'll leave you in peace to think," Semyaza said after a minute of silence had passed. She bowed, then moved to the door and left.

I lay back and stretched my arms above me. One week was still hardly enough time for me to process the fact that I was a prince of Hoshido, never mind the rest of it.

What were my Nohrian siblings doing right now? Worrying, probably. Camilla was likely tearing the whole country apart to find us.

Deep in my heart, I felt that I would see them all again soon. Then I would have a choice to make. Would I try to escape and go back to Nohr? After all, the Hoshidans had essentially kidnapped Kass and me, even though they'd thought they were bringing us home.

But I didn't know where home was.

I didn't know if I could stay in Hoshido. I also didn't know if I could leave. Despite not having seen me since I'd been five, my blood family had welcomed me back with mostly open arms. If I gave them time, I would get to know them. And part of me felt like I belonged here.

However, part of me felt like I belonged in Nohr. I was King Garon's most obedient child: cold, harsh Captain Norton who killed on orders and granted mercy to no one. Prince Nayoko was a more respectable man; a man more like his honourable twin sister. But was he really me?

I groaned and dragged a hand down my face. Kass, despite her principals, didn't belong in Hoshido. I could tell that she liked the scenery as much as I did, but that seemed to be where her happiness ended. Since her first discussion with Ryoma, she had either avoided him or been snappy. Takumi was obviously a non-starter. Hinoka's extensive love was making her uncomfortable. Sakura was shy.

She seemed to get on well enough with Kaze, Semyaza, and Azura, but that wouldn't hold her in Hoshido. As soon as she was given half a chance, she would leave. There were too many people she loved in Nohr for her not to.

Especially Xander. Rumour had it that, after Kass' failed attempt at escaping the Northern Fortress, he'd pleaded with King Garon for years to let her ride outside it -- a bold and risky move. He'd stood at her side wherever they'd gone in Castle Krakenburg, and there was something intense in the looks they shared. Something that I hadn't noticed six years ago.

There was a knock on my door, and Hinoka's voice drifted through the wood. "Nayoko, can I come in?"

I sat up, sweeping aside my frazzled feelings and trying to find my composure. "Of course."

Hinoka entered with a smile. As well as being the oldest of my sisters, her personality was poles apart from Azura and Sakura: I'd already noticed that she was loud, brusque, and always seemed to have a reply waiting on the tip of her tongue before someone had finished asking her a question. She wasn't a chatterbox, but she was assertive -- and a tomboy, too, judging by the hair that was cut shorter than any of my brothers' on either side of the border.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," she said. "But I've missed you so much, and I can't rest when you're here at last."

I smiled back, slightly touched. "It's all right...although you do know that I remember nothing of our time together before I was kidnapped?"

"I'll just have to fill you in." She sat beside me. "What has Ryoma told you?"

I tried to keep my words vague. "That we were playmates, and I wanted to be like him."

She laughed. "Oh, yes! You worshipped the ground he walked on. He called you Little Shadow Prince."

"So you remember that, too." I winced. "Please tell me you looked up to him as well. I can't have been the only one."

"We all looked up to him. Just not as obsessively as the Little Shadow Prince."

I turned my head away.

She laughed again. "All right, I'll stop calling you that. I'll tell you something you can tease me about."

"Oh? I'm eager to hear this."

"I looked up to you the way that you looked up to Ryoma. You were my idol."

"Really?" I raised my eyebrows. "But you're older than me."

"It didn't matter. I was a very different person back then. You were strong, and I was a cry-baby. When we played, you would be the samurai, and I would be the damsel in distress. I always hoped that when you came back and saw the warrior I am now, you would be proud of my change. And I thought of all the things we would do together, like sparring or taking a ride on my pegasus." She stopped abruptly and almost blushed. "Sorry. I'm getting carried away."

I was exhausted, but, like Hinoka, I didn't want to rest. "We could do something like that now, if you wanted."

Her eyes brightened. "Why don't we go flying? There are no pegasi in Nohr, are there?"

"No. There are wyverns, but I usually stick to horseback when I'm travelling. It would be nice to fly somewhere and actually take in the view."

She stood up. "Then let's do it!"

***

Hinoka did not stop smiling. She smiled while she guided me to the stables, she smiled while she introduced me to her pegasus, she smiled while she tacked her mount up, and she smiled once we were both on board. Her enthusiasm washed away some of my stress. It seemed that little things, like making my estranged sister happy, could really go a long way.

"You'll love this," she promised.

We flew over the mountaintop, dropping as the land did to admire the beauty of the nature around us. Cherry trees blossomed across grassy flats and in the gaps between the rocky outcrops. Butterflies danced between bright flowers.

Hinoka didn't take me directly down the mountain, but instead wound around it. For a while, the cherry trees vanished, and all I could see was sheer rock face.

Until we came around the east side.

Water roared down the mountain, tumbling over its jagged edges and sending droplets flying through the air, sparkling like crystals in the afternoon sun. A land bridge arced above the waterfall, and Hinoka urged her pegasus down so that we were flying low enough to pass beneath it.

Then we were there.

The roar heightened to an earth-breaking avalanche of sound. Water shattered across the rocks, soaking me to the bone. We were so close that I could see the shimmering scales on the red fish that leapt out of the torrent.

We drew away from the waterfall and came out from under the land bridge. Hinoka ordered her pegasus to ascend, then turned us around completely so that we were flying towards the tall mountain islands the bridge connected to. We touched down on the highest, which was so small that it could only hold a few trees.

Hinoka twisted in her saddle. "What did you think?"

"I've never experienced anything so beautiful," I replied honestly.

"That's what I think, too. This mountain is my favourite place in all of Hoshido." Her gaze turned thoughtful. "I knew you'd like it just as much as me. In some ways, you haven't changed at all."

I nodded and looked away. I would never know how to answer things like that.

"Sorry, I didn't warn you that we'd get wet," Hinoka said. "Are you all right? If you're cold, we can go back to the castle and get a change of clothes before we carry on."

In Nohr, I would have been cold. The sky was always overcast, and the breeze was always chilled. But here in Hoshido, it seemed that the sun was always shining, and it was already warming me.

"I'm fine," I said. "I'm looking forward to seeing the city from above."

"Good." Hinoka tapped her heels against the sides of her pegasus. "Let's go!"

And go we did, down the mountain and over the city. Black-tiled roofs scattered below us, interrupted by bright market stalls and more blossoming cherry trees. The people wore a range of fashions in royal blues, ruby reds, and jade greens, and they roamed the streets without a care for oppressive soldiers or violent criminals. They talked and laughed; tasted goods and haggled prices; held hands with their partners and swung children in their arms.

I was silent for our whole circuit, absorbing everything. Hinoka let me keep that silence as we flew back to the castle. But when we touched down in the courtyard, where flowers peeked through gaps in the cobbles, she turned to me. "Well, what do you think?"

I had seen the rolling fields. I had seen the endless sunshine. I had seen the beautiful waterfall. But the attitude of the people was the most startling contrast to Nohr of all.

"I think," I said, "that I'm in love with Hoshido."