[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
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.
