A/N: Thank you as always for your reviews, favourites and follows! I am starting to feel as though I have got my grips back on this story, and though ideas are still circling around my head for this; as it appears it will take a large amount of chapters to complete, I think I have the path mapped out once again!

The two royals stood in silence for a moment, looking at each other with bated breath as they wondered what their future would be. As the troubled young man stood to his feet, a slight frown on his face, Camilla walked towards the balcony, taking a peak outside at the courtyard below them. It was full to the brim, everywhere she looked all that could be seen was happy, smiling faces; all eager to hear what their beloved king had to say to them. Their excited chattering blurred together as one, only a few words breaking free for Camilla to hear; words such as marriage, rebellion and power. In a sea of colour, Camilla noted in that moment that not even one person was from Nohr, despite the war being over both lands were still without tolerance for the other kingdoms, and with a sinking realisation Camilla knew that she would not see such freedom, such fluidity within cultures, and nationality as she had so hoped.

As she looked out at the people she felt a pang of guilt, if they were to go through with this, all she would be doing was tarnishing their opinion of their king, she would be filling their minds with seeds of doubt about his honour, his reliability and his aims. So caught up in her thoughts, she did not notice the brunette growing ever closer until his hand touched her arm, far more gentle than she ever imagined he was capable of. "We should not keep our people waiting; it would only serve to give them a negative first impression of their future Queen."

"Nothing we say or do is going to change their opinions of me darling." Laughing dryly, Camilla took a deep breath before nodding slightly. "After you my King."

In an instant his whole demeanour changed, as though he had not broken down in front of her mere minutes before. He stood taller, radiating strength and confidence as he stepped forwards, brushing the curtain aside and walking out to meet his people. The cheering was instantaneous; Camilla had never heard anything like it. In all her time in Nohr, never had she heard such rampant excitement to see an individual; so long had the kingdom been ruled by fear that even now people were unsure of what to think of their newest king. It was contagious, just hearing such elation pulled a genuine smile from Camilla's lips as she looked at the man she was to wed. Though she knew deep down that their reaction would soon change, she could not help but to revel in the moment, knowing that this was what a kingdom united truly looked like.

Rather than addressing his people however, Ryoma turned back towards the room, his arm outstretched as he looked at Camilla. "If you are to be Queen it is only right that you meet your people with me Lady Camilla." He spoke quietly, completely at ease with the situation. Stepping forwards slightly however, Camilla's hands shook, never in her life had she been so nervous about a royal duty, and as she took the Hoshidan king's hand, she let out a shaky breath, apprehension welling up inside of her as she stepped onto the balcony.

The reaction was instantaneous; a deathly silence hung in the air as the crowd merely looked up at their king, distrustful looks in their eyes as they took in the sight of the woman they had come to know of as their enemy. After a moment or muttering began once more, though this time, Camilla did not need to hear to know that it was all about her, and none of it good.

"Silence my people; I come to you as your King to bear great news onto you all." Never letting go of her hand, Ryoma stepped towards her slightly, before turning to look at his people. "It has been several months since we saw an end to the dreadful war that shook our kingdom to its very core, and since then, as you all know, Hoshido and Nohr have begun peace treaties to ensure we never witness a repeat of the tragedy that befell us all. After long talks between myself and King Xander of Nohr, we have agreed that it is in the best interests of both kingdoms to bind us irrevocably, and what better way to do this than a union between the royal families." Ignoring the growing mutterings of his people, Ryoma gently pulled Camilla to his side. "It is my honour therefore, to present to you, your future Queen, Princess Camilla of Nohr."

Yelling erupted from the crowd like wildfire, their discontent clear as furious looks were directed straight at Camilla. For a moment she looked on in horror as the people raged, a multitude of people screaming their refusal to accept such a decision. As the crowd only grew more angered with each passing second, Camilla let go of Ryoma's hand, stepping forwards until she was at the very edge of the balcony. "People of Hoshido, please! Lend me your ears, if only for a moment. It is not my intention to cause you all such distress!"

Camilla's words only appeared to enrage the crowd further, their yelling only growing louder as they attempted to block out the voice of the woman who represented everything evil in the world to them. After a few moments a deafening cry was heard, the King silencing his people in order for his future Queen to speak.

"I do not stand before you all ignorant of the wrongs my kingdom has done to your people, the damage that was caused to your lands, to your families, to your businesses was unjust and unacceptable; I do not wish to act as though it never happened, as I do not wish to make light of the suffering many of you experienced at my people's hands. My kingdom has committed many wrongs under the leadership of my late father, and my siblings and I cannot apologise enough for the damage it has caused, for the damage we ourselves have caused." Taking a deep breath, Camilla straightened up, standing strong as she thought of all the speeches she had watched Xander give, of all the apologies for their fathers actions he had been left to give. "It is not my intention however, to see your kingdom suffer any longer. I have witnessed the beauty of your lands, I have seen the rich and vibrant customs of your people and I do not wish to destroy them like you must think. Instead I wish to embrace them, I want to help your country to flourish once more, not as a Nohrian standing on the side-lines, but I wish to become a Queen worthy of the Hoshidan name. I come before you today not in the garb of my people, but in attire your kingdom holds so dear."

Looking out at the sea of people, she could not help but notice that her words had seemed to do nothing. Stepping backwards slightly, she sighed. "I do not expect you to believe me now, but I hope that in time I can earn the trust of your kingdom and be a Queen you can be proud of."

Without further ado she quickly turned on her heel, slipping back inside the room as she closed her eyes tightly. She had imagined that it would not be easy to marry Ryoma, she had accounted to the people disliking her, she had even accounted for Ryoma's distance, but to see the horror in the eyes of so many people she was set to lead was far more painful than she could ever have imagined. She watched as parents had shielded their young from her, as though she was some ferocious demon. Taking a shuddering breath, Camilla wondered if she would ever be able to win the kingdom over, for how much good she could do while its people despised her.

Slipping into a nearby seat, Camilla looked at her hands, the screams of protest ringing in her ears as she tried to compose herself once more. Surely there was something she could do, some way to prove to the kingdom that she was not seeking to harm its people, only to help them.

"They will come to see the truth in time, should Hinoka have married King Xander I believe she would have received a very similar response." Ryoma spoke quietly, standing close by as he looked down at her. "Perhaps it is best that you do not leave the castle grounds unaccompanied for the mean time, lest we tempt fate."

"I am more than capable of handling myself; I will not be forced into hiding merely because of your subjects stereotypical views." Standing up, she straightened her gown. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have much catching up to do with my sister before the celebrations this evening, perhaps it would do you well to find your own sister, I have heard she is unwell."

Frowning slightly, Ryoma exited the room without a word. As she watched him make a hasty exit, Camilla smiled to herself slightly as she realised that perhaps they did indeed have one thing in common; their devotion to their siblings. Slipping out the room after him, Camilla began to wander the castle in search of Elise, hoping that she would not be too far away.

After a few minutes the young woman came to a grinding halt, turning to her left as she heard the faintest of sobs. Her curiosity piquing, she slowly began to follow the source of the noise, not wanting to startle whoever was in distress. As she opened the door slowly, a familiar head of blonde hair caught her eye, and in an instant she launched forwards, pulling her younger sister into her arms. "Elise, oh my dear sweet Elise." Stroking the young woman's hair, she kissed her sister's forehead. "Who had made you cry like this?"

"It... It's nothing, I just..." Her body shaking violently with each cry, Elise struggled to get control of herself. "He's gone Cam... He's gone and he's not going to come back."

"Who's gone?" As Elise dropped to her knees, so did Camilla. She had never seen Elise so sad, she was the ray of sunshine within their dark lives, so to see her cry so dearly shook the lilac haired woman to her core. "Darling talk to me, let me help you!"

"Y-You can't! I've been looking since they left, he... he said he's not going to come back." Collapsing into Camilla's arms, her body looked almost broken. "It's not fair, I love him! I love him so much, and he just ran off with Laslow and Selena."

"You... you love Odin? Of all the people to fall in love with, you chose one of Leo's retainers?" Sighing slightly, she kissed Elise's forehead. "He's a fool to leave you Elise, if he has even a jot of sense he'll come back and grovel on his knees for you to take him back."

"He won't, he probably thinks I'm just some little girl, that's why he left, because he wants a real woman, not me." Sighing slightly, Elise looked up at her sister. "Why can't I be more like you, there's no way anyone could not love you! I mean Ryoma must know how lucky he is to be marrying you right?"

Laughing a little, Camilla continued to stroke the younger woman's hair gently. "You clearly did not see the announcement; I seriously doubt that King Ryoma still thinks that this is beneficial for our kingdoms, let alone feeling lucky to marry me. He is in love with another after all; would you like it if you were to wed another?"

Her eyes widening, Elise looked up in horror as her sister's words sank in. "I... I couldn't do it, I couldn't marry anyone but Odin, it wouldn't be right."

"Exactly. Now, why don't you go clean yourself up darling, the royals of Nohr do not show weakness in front of strangers after all." Smiling warmly at her sister, Camilla let go of the younger woman, slowly rising to her feet. "I promise I'll find out where that buffoon is, just leave it with me."

Nodding slightly, Elise shakily stood up, rubbing her eyes as she looked at her sister. "Thanks Cam... you always know what to say." Smiling slightly, Elise carefully straightened her dress. "I'll see you at the party, Leo and Xander will be here by then too!" Forcing one last smile, Elise turned on her heel and made her way out of the room, racing down the corridor before Camilla even had chance to respond.

Sighing slightly, Camilla followed her sister out of the room, looking around as she thought about what had just happened. She couldn't say that it was unexpected for her younger sister to fall in love, but she and Odin were just so different to one another; while Elise was sweet and innocent there was a look in Odin's eyes that he just could not shake, no matter how hard he tried. Ever since the beauty had met the sorcerer for the first time she had known that something was off about the man; once she had even caught him wielding a blade; a weapon he was supposedly terrible with, as though he was an expert swordsman. But still, who was she to deny her sister the man she truly loved; if only she knew how to go about finding the mysterious blonde.

Before she knew it, Camilla was walking outside, a variety of beautiful scents overwhelming her senses as she looked around. Though she had been in the Hoshidan castle for over a week now, she had yet to take a tour of the gardens, a fact that Camilla now severely regretted with every ounce of her being. Much of the plant life had been destroyed in Nohr, practicality took favour over beauty, and as such many plants had been deemed a waste by her late father. Stepping further into the garden, a genuine smile began to spread across her face as she took a sniff of the plants nearest to her.

"That's a Camellia, rather fitting that you were drawn to that flower off all the ones here." A small smile on her face, Azura smiled as she walked towards the elder woman, her hair flowing down her back. "I...Wanted to speak with you, if you have time to spare that is."

"Of course darling, we need not be blood related to be family; you are family to Corrin, so you're family to me." Walking over to the delicate looking woman, Camilla frowned slightly. "What can I help you with, is something troubling you Azura?"

"I witnessed the reaction the crowd had when King Ryoma announced that you are to be Queen of Hoshido, I wanted to see how you were." Taking a seat on the nearby bench, Azura began to fiddle with the lace gloves that she was wearing, all ready for the party. "For the longest time I have felt a stranger in this kingdom, though I have lived here since I was young I have never really felt at ease or welcome in this land, apart from by Sakura of course. Ryoma and Hinoka tried, but there is a certain reluctance to trust Nohrians that is so ingrained into this land that I fear it will never fully go away."

"I am not afraid of a little bit of resistance; it is understandable that they would not trust me." Sitting down next to Azura, Camilla smiled slightly. "I do wish that you had not had to experience such hardship, especially when you have done nothing to harm this kingdom, but I cannot expect anything but fear towards my presence."

"That is no way to look at the world Camilla; you should not have to prove your intentions to anyone, for people to insist upon such things, it just shows the sad state of the world right now." Looking around, she pointed over to a beautiful koi pond several feet away. "Everything here is filled with beauty, it is a far cry from the state of the kingdom, but I don't think it's gone forever. If anyone can see the true beauty and elegance that Hoshido should work to preserve it's an outsider, like you or I. They might not see it now, but you will do this kingdom far better than anyone realises."

Shaking her head slightly, Camilla looked over towards the koi pond, watching in awe as petals began to slowly fall into the water one by one. "You overestimate me Azura, there are several other royals who could do a superior job to me, you yourself could choose to make your royal status official within the kingdom, you seem to have such a vision for this land, and you have lived here long enough to know the hearts of the people."

"My heart is already taken I am afraid, I would give up anything for him, including a chance at fixing this kingdom." Smiling slightly, Azura looked over at Camilla. "There is more than one way to right the wrongs done to this kingdom, you and I will just have to take a different path to make the world a better-"

Before Azura could even finish her sentence, Camilla jumped to her feet, quickly pushing the songstress out of the way as an arrow flew towards them. Covering the smaller woman's body with her own, Camilla waited for a crunching noise, the arrow surely embedding within the tree trunk behind them, however, much to the young woman's surprise she instead heard the sound of metal connecting with metal.

As the two women sat up, turning back to the direction the arrow had come from, two familiar bodies stood in their way; red and green side by side as their bodies were crouched, ready for battle. After a moment or two, the shorter of the two turned around, a worried look on his face as he looked at the two women. "Azura my love, are you hurt?"