It would have been nice to say that when the dragon-child of Hoshido and Nohr refused on that fateful day and two royal families were forced not to fight lest their sibling -no matter that he was estranged to one and without the blood of the other- throw himself upon both their blades. That as they marched towards the abandoned northern border castle the enemies walked side by side, the air thick with tension, but ultimately already willing to set aside their differences for at least the moment. Many historians painting their grand pictures of the war would in fact write precisely this, a romantic account, a wishful thought that perhaps they had not been so different from the very start.
In truth, the scene was not nearly so nice as it would eventually be painted and described. Rather than walking at the head, Corrin was forced to make his way in between Ryoma and Xander, keeping a physical barrier between his blood brother and his adoptive brother to prevent them from resorting to violence and even then he could not stop them and his other brothers and sisters from a constant duel of cold glares and harsh jabs. At first they sought to appeal to him directly,
Corrin be reasonable, family has nothing to do with blood, we raised you, we care for you.
Corrin please, you're our brother, our true brother, don't listen to these false promises.
But as those direct appeals fell on deaf ears they turned to each other instead. "Nohrian scum, stealing our brother, now trying to steal his mind too? You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Cried Hinoka. "We didn't steal anything, we just gave him the proper love and care that you never would, isn't that right dearest brother?" Camilla replied. Even scholars that are bold enough to try and capture a little of the true vitriol these families held for each other at the start of those negotiations and how tense that walk the the castle must have been do not make any overtures to recognizing certain behaviours. Blows were nearly struck as Camilla -renowned as an incredible beauty as well as a deadly warrior in Nohr- wrapped one arm around Corrin's shoulders, scaring away his maids Flora and Felicia who'd been clinging close to him between the two armies, each wrapped around one of his arms in fear of the incredible powers surrounding them.
By their accounts it is only Corrin's presence that prevented Hinoka from trying to sever Camille's arm from her body, and as Elise quickly took the place Felicia had previously occupied clinging to his left arm as well, Hinoka and Sakura refused to be outdone and tried to crowd the Norhian women out in the same way.
Thus, rather than two tense but dignified columns often described in history books of the day, what arrived at the castle gates was an undignified mess as Corrin's sisters were practically reduced to physically pulling him away from each other and his brothers -in a rare moment of unity for those early days- shared a glance that spoke of understanding the madness of siblings at each other.
After a disagreement of seniority between Ryoma and Xander, it was decided that Corrin as the only neutral party -not to mention the only one whose retainers Flora and Felicia were immediately present- would be the one given the commander's room while his brothers and sisters would be allocated elsewhere, the Nohrian siblings in the officers rooms, the Hoshidans in the visitors quarters. Given that this was a border fort neither option was particularly luxurious but they were well enough up to the standards of comfort that neither group would complain over preferential treatment or anything of the like.
It was as the two factions were finally settling in that Corrin was finally left alone for a while. The day was late, and while the two factions settled into their new quarters away from each others' throats the lingering staff of the castle prepared a meal for the assembled group, leaving an hour of free time as the sun started to dip below the horizon and night began to fall.
In truth, the scene was not nearly so nice as it would eventually be painted and described. Rather than walking at the head, Corrin was forced to make his way in between Ryoma and Xander, keeping a physical barrier between his blood brother and his adoptive brother to prevent them from resorting to violence and even then he could not stop them and his other brothers and sisters from a constant duel of cold glares and harsh jabs. At first they sought to appeal to him directly,
Corrin be reasonable, family has nothing to do with blood, we raised you, we care for you.
Corrin please, you're our brother, our true brother, don't listen to these false promises.
But as those direct appeals fell on deaf ears they turned to each other instead. "Nohrian scum, stealing our brother, now trying to steal his mind too? You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Cried Hinoka. "We didn't steal anything, we just gave him the proper love and care that you never would, isn't that right dearest brother?" Camilla replied. Even scholars that are bold enough to try and capture a little of the true vitriol these families held for each other at the start of those negotiations and how tense that walk the the castle must have been do not make any overtures to recognizing certain behaviours. Blows were nearly struck as Camilla -renowned as an incredible beauty as well as a deadly warrior in Nohr- wrapped one arm around Corrin's shoulders, scaring away his maids Flora and Felicia who'd been clinging close to him between the two armies, each wrapped around one of his arms in fear of the incredible powers surrounding them.
By their accounts it is only Corrin's presence that prevented Hinoka from trying to sever Camille's arm from her body, and as Elise quickly took the place Felicia had previously occupied clinging to his left arm as well, Hinoka and Sakura refused to be outdone and tried to crowd the Norhian women out in the same way.
Thus, rather than two tense but dignified columns often described in history books of the day, what arrived at the castle gates was an undignified mess as Corrin's sisters were practically reduced to physically pulling him away from each other and his brothers -in a rare moment of unity for those early days- shared a glance that spoke of understanding the madness of siblings at each other.
After a disagreement of seniority between Ryoma and Xander, it was decided that Corrin as the only neutral party -not to mention the only one whose retainers Flora and Felicia were immediately present- would be the one given the commander's room while his brothers and sisters would be allocated elsewhere, the Nohrian siblings in the officers rooms, the Hoshidans in the visitors quarters. Given that this was a border fort neither option was particularly luxurious but they were well enough up to the standards of comfort that neither group would complain over preferential treatment or anything of the like.
It was as the two factions were finally settling in that Corrin was finally left alone for a while. The day was late, and while the two factions settled into their new quarters away from each others' throats the lingering staff of the castle prepared a meal for the assembled group, leaving an hour of free time as the sun started to dip below the horizon and night began to fall.