A Cold Welcome Epilogue One Part Two.

“I… I had a dream… or a nightmare. I can’t… I can’t remember most of it now but… I was in a city, Whiteridge I think…” As Corrin spoke, Kaguya’s expression chilled as she gazed intently. She would not miss a single word her daughter uttered.

 “There… the city… it was empty… ruined… and then I heard voices and suddenly…” Corrin took another breath as Kaguya held her hand, letting her daughter breathe for a moment before she continued. “Corpses filled the area and… a river of blood began to drown the city… I tried to escape but the voices came again… the corpses grabbed me and… I woke up in a… a Temple? No, it… it wasn’t like our temples to the Gods, I just know there were symbols on the walls and black chains and a terrifying red Moon instead of our Moons… and… and in the center of the place was Night Eater, bound in chains… But… but her name wasn’t Night Eater, Mother!” Corrin looked ready to cry again as Kaguya steeled herself and spoke calmy.

 “It is all right Corrin. Tell me what you can and I promise you, you will not have another nightmare like this again. Tonight you will sleep with your Father and I.” Kaguya spoke as Corrin’s blue blush deepened.

 “Mother I… I haven’t done that since I was a child…” Corrin looked at the wall as Kaguya smiled.

 “You will always be a child to me. My child. Even when you have great grandchildren, you will be welcome to cry in my arms and I will sing to you all night if I need to.”

 “I… I love you, Mommy.” Corrin wiped fresh tears from her eyes as she smiled softly.

 “I will always love you, Corrin. Are you ready to continue?” Kaguya asked as she stroked Corrin’s hand. Corrin nodded.

 “It was Night Eater in the center of the room, but she was… her body was in ruins. The silver… the claws and horns and blood I saw on the battlefield, that Papa saw a year ago. It wasn’t natural it… it had burst from her right side and was growing under the skin of her left. I walked in front of her and…it was so horrible Mommy. She… her chest was open, I could see her silver heart, and inside it was the whip, the whip that everyone said Night Eater was supposed to be. It was wrapped around her silver heart and growing inside her… eating her and merging with her body… I… I threw up in the dream and even though she is my enemy… I wanted to save her… I still wanted to kill her but… what I saw was so horrible I wanted to break the chains right there to free her. She… The chains… black ooze started coming off of them and it went inside her, Mother. The black ooze poured into her wounds and her silver spikes and claws grew as she writhed… I asked for her name and… the second voice said it was Syndra as the first voice… the woman’s voice said Night Eater this time and… and then… I couldn’t…” Corrin was starting to cry again as Kaguya quickly grabbed her and pulled her into another deep suffocating hug.

 “Shhh, I understand. I understand. That sounds horrible my Snowbear, you are so strong for telling me.” Kaguya rubbed her head again as Corrin sniffled and hugged her Mother for another minute before pulling back.

 “Do you know what it meant, Mommy? I’ve… I’ve never had a dream or nightmare like that… it felt so real… I was… I was even cold inside that place.” Corrin asked as Kaguya’s expression tightened. Kaguya tried to think of what to say… what to do with what her daughter had just told her. Was it just a nightmare? Or was it a vision? O 

ne bestowed to those whose fates had been changed… Kaguya did not know which idea she hated more. But the longer she thought about it, the more she realized which one it must have been.

 “It… You are likely linked to this… Syndra, in some way, Sweetie.” Kaguya began as Corrin’s eyes widened.

 “Like… she’s related to us?” 

“No honey, of course not. I have heard many times from your Father and others that sometimes, someone will receive a dream unlike any before as if it were possessing them this dream will show them something, something they may want to see or something they may dread. The Seers… they call it a Link to Fate. That those who have seen a Link can change the destiny of themselves…and those they saw in the Link.” Kaguya explained.

 “How come I’ve never heard of this… Link of Fate before Mother?” Corrin asked as she sat upright. Kaguya gave a bit of a wry smile.

 “Because you did not pay attention in your studies, Sweetie. And… because it mostly concerns the Seers. Very few will ever experience a Link of Fate, and those who do often do not know what it means, that is what the Seers are there for. I actually had one a long, long time ago. I saw myself freezing solid until a man lit me aflame, yet the fire only burned the ice away. For years I did not know what that meant, I thought a human might try to kill me and I isolated myself from my sisters even more… then one day I met a man on Lady Death’s Door, covered in bleeding wounds and succumbing to Hypothermia. I took that man in and…”

 “He was the man from your Link! And that was Papa!” Corrin smiled as she understood. Kaguya nodded.

 “Indeed, Snowbear. But others that see this Link, they might see something horrific, like their own death, or the death of a friend…”

 “Or what I saw…”

 “Yes.” Kaguya rubbed Corrin’s head as the two sat there for a moment.

 “Does that mean… I… In the dream, the Link, when I threw up, my vomit and my tears were Silver… but then… when I tried to help Night Eater… they were normal again. What does that mean Mother? Am I… Am I going to become the next Night Eater?” Corrin’s words temporarily stopped Kaguya in her tracks as the very thought made Kaguya’s heart pound in her like a drum. Kaguya would kill anyone in the world if she had to to prevent that, even the Blackflame King himself or every last Citizen in Whiteridge by her hands.

 “No Sweetie, that would never happen!” Kaguya realized her voice was a bit forceful and she quickly pulled herself back. (I would never let it…) “These Links of Fate as we call them, Visions as I hear other countries often do. They are not guaranteed to happen. They don’t even show you things exactly as they are. They are just like a dream you have to interpret, which is why we get the Seers to see and help decipher them… as useless as they normally are. Your…Your Link could mean a dozen things, but… the most important thing is what you want it to mean. Tell me, Corrin. What do you want to do about this? I will listen to whatever you say.” Kaguya made sure her voice was stable and comforting as she looked into Corrin’s beautiful eyes. Those pitch-black sclera and glowing pupils… how she wished she could just tell her daughter the answer herself, but for once Kaguya did not know what to do.

“I… I want to kill Night Eater for what she did… but… I don’t… I don’t want to spare her but… I want to save her from those vile priests… I… do I want to save her, Mother? Isn’t that traitorous to want to help an enemy?” Corrin looked at Kaguya with confused eyes as Kaguya smiled. Her daughter might have inherited quite a bit of her temper, but she inherited her Father’s kindness after all.

“Hmm~ Oh my Snowbear I am going to have to make you go back and study several years of schooling aren’t I.” Kaguya smiled as Corrin looked horrified before understanding her Mother was joking. “Who are the Exalted, Corrin?”

 “The Exalted are… the enemies of Blacktorch we deemed worthy. Those we captured and showed the ways of our wonderful home, showed them they can be better than what they were. And when the King decides they are truly saved and worthy of joining us, they become Exalted and the Lord of the Saved helps them find their new homes in the city!” Corrin said proudly as Kaguya nodded.

 “Yes, Sweetie. Most of the Exalted were enemies of our home, enemies we captured and showed exactly how wonderful our home is. While I would never capture an enemy… it is not traitorous at all to want to show kindness to our enemies and capture them instead. After all, for those who pledge themselves to the Blackflame and become Exalted, they are all happier and better than they were in their old, misguided homes. Is that what you want, Corrin? To capture Night Eater… Syndra, and show her how wonderful Blacktorch is?” Kaguya asked as Corrin thought for a moment.

“I… I don’t know how but yes, yes Mother I think I want to! Though I still want to beat the shit-”

 “Corrin! Language!” Kaguya snapped as Corrin covered her mouth before giggling as Kaguya’s face broke into a wry grin and soon she was clutching her daughter and laughing with her. “Ohhh, Sweetie, you are far more merciful than me~. If only your Father was awake right now, he will be so jealous he missed this moment. Your Father will be so proud to see the woman you are becoming. I will tell your Father your plan tomorrow, and I am sure my Virrate will come up with something to help our little princess. Now how do you feel, Snowbear?”

 “Wonderful Mommy. Thank you! And heehee, I am surprised Papa didn’t come too. Was he busy?” Corrin asked innocently as Kaguya’s eyes widened a little as her face turned a bit blue. Kaguya stifled her smile as she knew exactly why her hubby was passed out before smiling.

 “He simply had a very looong day and I let him sleep. I’ll make sure he and your brother’s owe you an entire week of sledding and whatever else you like next week, okay Corrin?” Kaguya smiled as Corrin beamed.

 “Now. With my darling princess all better, do you want to go laugh at the Dwarves as they build the new mansion? Seeing their short legs wobble around compared to the Strakkad or Minotaur Makyrs will cheer you up even more.” Kaguya grinned as Corrin stood up before tilting her head.

 “New… Mansion… Did I-!?” Corrin’s face turned dark blue as Kaguya realized Corrin thought she destroyed it… Kaguya’s face turned dark blue as well as she put her hands together in a regal display.

 “Actually, Sweetie… it was me…” Kaguya spoke as Corrin’s face turned even darker as she nodded. Both Yuki Onna’s faces as dark as blueberries as mother and daughter smiled it off. “Ahem. Now, let’s go get Sigrun and watch the-“

 “No!” Corrin’s sudden exclamation shocked Kaguya as Corrin’s cheeks steamed with shame. “That… I don’t wanna see that pervert Sigrun right now! She… I… ” Corrin said before looking down at her breasts in a failed attempt to look at the floor…

“I see… Hmmph~ Very well Sweetie. We’ll go together and that’s it. Come along now.” Kaguya said with motherly authority as she opened the door and Corrin walked out before squealing as the entire hallway was ice and three Valkyries arms and legs and mouths had been frozen over with icy shackles as Kyrta hastily stood from warming one of the Valkyries up.

 “Moooooooom!” Corrin whined as Kaguya glared at Kyrta for not cleaning up the mess before she finished.

 “Oh, Sweetie it’s okay they are still alive!” Kaguya said as Corrin yelled at her Mom even louder.

After Kyrta apologized to Kaguya and Corrin for existing and Corrin apologized for Kaguya’s freezing the Valkyries who took care of her. Corrin and Kaguya left the Seventh Reserve Shelter and walked out into the night and gazed at the gorgeous Aurora lights above, and the predatory Aurora Wraiths flying high in the sky still.

 The two would watch in awe at the army of Makyrs rebuilding the Valkyrie Nest as they headed towards the Irrvast residence to see the second army of Makyrs making a new mansion for them.

 However… after a bit, Corrin saw glowing snow on the ground and started to piece together why several times she could hear moans coming from houses on the way… children and husbands obviously kicked out of the house and partying in the cold as people celebrated the “Shining Blue Beacon of boundless energy and cold!” that had apparently lit up the sky hours ago…

 After Corrin’s brain processed what that Beacon everyone was talking about was… she began to hyperventilate for a different reason as she started scream-crying in embarrassment and Kaguya had to buy her hot chocolate to avoid a temper tantrum as Corrin realized thousands of citizens for miles around had seen what she had done and were now celebrating it as some sort of show!

 Corrin wailed into Kaguya’s arms with a belly full of hot cocoa until she passed out again and the tired Mom carried her baby all the way home. An evil smile on her face as she thought of what she’d do to Ingal tomorrow…