AN- So, we have confirmation that Roy is at long last back in Smash. We must celebrate this. So, I do not own anything but my own ideas, thanks, and enjoy! –Twilight Joltik

Red Letter Day

By Twilight Joltik

The morning sun had barely risen yet, and Lucina was already at the post office. If what Robin had told her was correct, and she didn't doubt it was, the postman delivered the mail around sun-up each day, and if her estimations, or at very least impatience was correct, the care package her mother was sending her was due to be there on that very morning. Normally, she would have just waited until someone, usually Pit, decided to check the mail and ended up picking up everyone else's, but she'd been told the parcel would be rather fragile, and frankly, she didn't want to take any risks.

Soon enough, the pelican postman arrived with a bag slung across his shoulder stuffed to the point that white corners of paper were peeking out of it. That seemed a good sign, she thought to herself as she ran to meet him.

"Good morning sir," she greeted, casting a sideways glance at the bag, trying to discern its contents. "You have an awful lot of mail, it seems."

He shrugged. "No more than usual, really. Most of it's for the Mayor, as always."

The Mayor-? She tried to reason who that was, until she recalled the short boy followed around by a canine secretary being referred to as such a few times. "Oh, yes, um, you wouldn't happen to have a package for me, would you?"

After a few moments spent in what looked like deep thought, the postman suddenly pulled out a letter. "No package, your highness, but I have a letter for you," he declared brightly, and then handed her a small envelope marked by a very generic red wax seal.

Without even thinking, she started to walk back towards the Smash Mansion and open the letter. Or well, at least she began to, but soon saw that the front of it was marked with only a name, one that hadn't been hers for a very long time: "Marth". Almost unconsciously, she began to apologize for opening his mail before realizing she was completely alone on the now familiar cobbled path. In half a second, she'd quickly torn the envelope away from her line of sight and had turned a bright red from the revelation that the postman must have thought she was the Hero King.

No sooner had she gotten to the front door than she dashed off to find her ancestor and apologize to him for nearly reading something clearly only meant for his eyes. Even as she made her way to the room he shared with the Radiant Hero, she felt a slight gnawing at the back of her mind, the cloying curiosity for what it was she'd so nearly read, but she banished it as best she could. Instead, the second he sleepily opened his door, she practically threw the letter at Marth and tried to explain herself the best she could.

"I'msorrymylordbutIaccidentallygotyourmailandIalmostreaditbutIdidn'tIswear!", she blurted out rapid-fire, leaving the Hero King looking rather dazed.

With a look down at the envelope, he replied "Er, it's fine. Please, don't worry about it. Thank you for bringing this to me. Did you happen to catch who it was from?"

She shook her head in response, was given the dismissal of a quick "thank you", and went on with her life, all but forgetting about the letter and its contents. Or, at least, she forgot about it until she next saw Marth.

The two of them, along with Falco and Little Mac had been called into a battle, and despite her best efforts to actually pay attention to the fight, she couldn't help but notice just how off her ancestor was acting. He fell several times to attacks he easily could have blocked, and missed easy opportunities to score hits on his foes, and for some odd reason, was wearing a purple attire she couldn't remember seeing him in before. She didn't feel accomplished in the least for scoring a finishing blow on him, because he wasn't even paying enough attention to count as an enemy. Despite his poor performance, he seemed cheerful all the while, and burst into a grin at the most random times.

After the battle, she intended to ask him why he'd been so out of it, but he was nowhere to be found. A part of her was almost worried about him, but another told herself that he wouldn't have been in such high spirits had something been wrong. Regardless, she decided if she couldn't ask the person she respected most about it, the one she respected the second most might be able to help.

Unfortunately, Robin didn't seem to know a thing about it. When asked about it, he looked at her oddly for a moment before muttering "I suppose he did seem awfully distracted earlier, but I have no idea why that might be."

"Nor do I, but I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," Lucina assured herself this more than her father's tactician. "I just wanted to make sure he hadn't said anything to you about that letter he got this morning or something that happened. I mean, if something was wrong, he would have told you, right?"

Robin nodded absentmindedly for a moment before his eyes widened as what she'd said kicked in. "Why would he have told me? I'm no closer to him than anyone else! I mean, if he was gonna talk to someone about something that was wrong it would be Ike- Wait, did you say he received a letter this morning?"

"The mailman gave it to me by accident, that's the only reason I knew about it," she quickly assured him, but regretted saying so the second the wavering half-grin of held-back laughter appeared on the mage's face.

He regained his composure quickly, though. "Er, well," he continued, clearly biting the inside of his mouth to keep from making her turn any redder than she already was. "I don't know what it could be, but it's possible he just heard some good news from home. Like, maybe his sister's pregnant?"

Lucina shook her head. "No, Princess Elise won't bear children for another three years, given Marth's current age."

"Oh, yes, of course." The tactician looked rather embarrassed for not having known that, or perhaps just astonished that he'd been outdone on historical knowledge for once. "Er, as I was saying, there's really no way to tell, but if it's something that'd affect us, well, there's one thing you can do."

Pretty much at once, she knew whom he was referring to, and wondered why she'd hadn't thought to ask him first. "Of course! Do you know where Shulk would be at this hour, though?"

For what seemed like far too long, Robin simply stared at her with blank eyes. "I was going to tell you to just ignore it," he suggested in a voice that said quite plainly he was ready to stop talking to her. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, so just don't bug him about it. I'm sure if it pertains to you he'll bring it up eventually."

"Oh- okay." Lucina awkwardly turned away from the tactician and sighed. It was none of her business, she supposed that was what he was trying to say.

Still, when she did inevitably run into Shulk, she asked the seer if any of his visions had held anything she should be concerned about, or anything pertaining to the Hero King. Though he claimed to have seen nothing of the sort, the way he said it left her feeling like he had in fact seen something, but he dared not speak of it. That certainly didn't make ignoring Marth's odd behavior or the letter any easier, and she was now baselessly positive that the two were intrinsically linked.

What could possibly distract someone normally so calm to such extents, she wondered? Was it possible simply some news from home could consume his mind so? Were the history books she'd read wrong, and he was expecting a new addition to his family? She couldn't think of anything else to shake him so very out of his normal composition, but no, would even that be enough? Whatever that odd letter had said, it had been enough to cast such a powerful spell over him…

A horrifying possibility occurred to her. The letter, was it possible it had been a curse of some sort? And if so, it would be her fault he had received the curse for not realizing it was something bad. She filled with dread and guilt. Of course, it had been unmarked and sealed so oddly, how had she not found it suspicious?

If it hadn't been consuming her before, it certainly was now. In fact, in her next battle, she could barely concentrate herself, despite being up against Ike and Link. Her poor showing embarrassed her, but her mortification over the notion of being at fault for the Hero King's curse was far greater.

Her performance refused to go unnoticed, as only minutes after it ended, she was approached by the Radiant Hero. "Lucina, are you alright? You seemed sort of out of it during the match."

"I-I'm fine!", she lied, but guilt quickly flooded over her for it. "I-I mean, I- I- I'm worried about that letter I gave Marth earlier. I mean, it was unmarked and the seal on it was really suspicious and he was acting so strangely after I gave it to him and I should have known it was cursed and- and-"

Ike cast a brief look over at some point in the distance and then gave a small chuckle. "Calm down, won't you? Nothing's wrong. Actually, that letter- well, I don't think I'm supposed to tell you about it, but- one second, okay?"

The Radiant Hero quickly dashed off and returned a few moments later with the Hero King in tow. He held a crumpled paper in one hand, and had the clothes he'd worn in their battle wedged under his arm, neatly folded. Seeing it again, she suddenly recalled seeing that attire one other time, on a date that's only significance to her was that it was the birthday of Nah, who she couldn't even call a friend rather than a comrade. "Lucina, it's very sweet of you to worry for me, and I apologize for being in such a daze to cause a need to, but, well, I fear to explain it to you, for if someone finds out that this was told to you, or even to myself, the consequences could be dire."

"I understand," Lucina stated. "It's none of my concern after all. H-have a nice day!"

She turned as if to leave, but Marth caught her by the sleeve to prevent it. Upon turning back around, she saw him bearing a smile bigger than any she'd ever seen on him. "I can't bear not sharing such good news, though. You must swear not to tell a soul of this, understood?"

She nodded, and he simply handed her the piece of paper he'd been holding. It was a letter, undoubtedly the one she'd given him that morning:

Marth-

I was told not to tell anyone about this, but I couldn't stand you not knowing. Besides, I remember well how you take surprises, and I don't care to put you through anything more than I already have. I'll cut to the chase: I've been re-accepted into the tournament! I'll get to fight alongside you once more- and rather soon, I think. I can't wait to meet all those people you've told me about, but most of all, I can't wait to see you again. I know I haven't written as much as I should of, and I'm sorry I had to leave you like that for so long, but that'll be over soon.

Best Wishes, Roy

Roy, the name was familiar, but it took her a moment to place it until a few brief stories the Hero King had shared with her resurfaced. "The 'Young Lion of Pherae', so I'll get to meet him in the flesh at last," she mused, looking up to meet eyes with her beaming ancestor. "Thank you for sharing this with me. I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"To be honest, as excited as I am to see him again, I'm just as excited for him to meet all of you," Marth remarked. "For the people who have meant so much of me to all meet at last, it will be wonderful, don't you think?"

All Lucina could really say was "Y-yes!".

AN- Today, we are reminded that Roy is, and always will be our boy. Oh, and Ryu's there too. Megaman's probably excited about that. So, thanks for reading! –Twilight Joltik