A/N

I have mixed feelings on Fire Emblem If, and its name isn't helping matters. Still, got me to drabble this up at least.

Blood and Water

"Well?" I ask. "Is it true? Is blood thicker than water?"

"Why do you ask me?"

"Your name. It's Aqua."

"A name is but a name. It is our choices that define us, not titles."

I sigh. Name. My name is Kamui. My title is the Prince of Nohr. Only recently have I learnt that my "true title" is Prince of Hoshido. And my true name…did my adopted family give it to me? Or is it my true name? Is "Kamui" the name of the enemy? Is Hoshido the enemy at all now?

"You look troubled," the dancer says.

What I know for sure is that two decades' worth of court intrigue has left me unprepared for actual truth. I look at her eyes. Her sad face, her compassionate gaze, her teal hair, running like the nearby stream, but blowing in a bitter wind. Two decades of lies, and I can't hide the truth.

"Yes," I say. "I am troubled."

"Then you must rectify that."

"Thank you," I sneer. I pick up a pebble, tossing it into the nearby stream, tearing through the water as the truth has torn through me. "Thank you for such great insight. I now know what I must do. Destiny has unfurled, the path before me is clear, and-"

"I do understand sarcasm you know."

I glance back at her. My gaze narrower. The wind gone. The stream softer.

"Your name is Aqua," I repeat. "So I ask you this – is blood thicker than water?"

"I do not know. But the river is wide. And there is much blood that will be spilled no matter what side you choose."

Sides. Great. I toss in another pebble. I wish I was rock now, I reflect. A rock can last for aeons. Rocks go unnoticed.

And rocks don't bleed.

She's right though, I reflect. War is coming. War's been coming for years, and the revelation that Hoshido is the place of my birth will not change that. I would like to think myself an accomplished swordsman and tactician, but even I know that my presence on either side of this war will not dictate the outcome of it.

"I suppose…" I trail off, glancing down the path. Expecting my 'family' to show up. "I suppose Nohr is the side to go for if I want to live." I meet Aqua's gaze. "Larger army, a better trained one…"

"I suppose," she answers. "But we know that's not really a consideration for you is it?"

"Isn't it?" I ask. "And how do you know this?" I get to my feet. "How do you know me?"

"I see it in your eyes," the dancer answers softly. "Your eyes are like the river. They hide nothing. I see the bottom."

"Then you know…" I run a pebble between my hands. Hard hands, calloused from years of holding a sword. "Then you know that…I don't know what to do."

I look at her. Hoping that my eyes show truth still. That I am lost. That I'm afraid. That right now, here, on the riverbank, I feel that she's the only one I can trust. A choice between a false family, and those of my blood who would likely kill me on sight.

"Whatever you choose," she answers, "I will follow you."

"Why?" I snap.

She smiles. "I like an audience for my dances."

Is that a metaphor, I wonder? I won't deny that she's attractive…and mysterious…and…well...

"Just tell me," I say. "Nohr, or Hoshido?" I throw the pebble away into the bushes. "Please, just tell me this."

"Cross the river," Aqua says. "That's all I can tell you to do. Cross the river, and find what is on the other side."

Cross the river. Right.

I look at the stream, still running. I look at the sun, still setting. I look at our shadows, growing longer. And I look at a flock of crows, still flying. Crows are intelligent beasts, I reflect. Crows always know where to find carrion.

And once more, I look at the river.

A river that is wider than ever.