A/N: My friend sent me this amazing prompt about the Mark of Grima appearing on Lucina's body and her hiding the mark from her family. So, lots of angst and hurt/comfort~ :DDD
Warning: Angst, slight AU
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem
Lucina noticed something was off the moment she woke up. A grunt left her mouth as she turned over on her stomach, pulling the sheets closer to her body as she curled up. It felt as though the skin on her side was crawling, or as thought there were thousands of beetles crawling along her body. She tried curling in on herself to try and stop the uncomfortable feeling. However, instead of the feeling going away, it only grew worse.
Hissing in irritation, Lucina pushed the sheets off of her body, grumbling lowly before she rolled out of bed. Bringing a hand to the area that was giving her problems, she snatched her hand back as a burning sensation throbbed through her hand. Eyebrows furrowing, Lucina moved over towards his mirror, lifting up her shirt and turning her body so that she could see her back.
The sight that greeted her was not one that she had been expecting, and her face paled in horror.
Stretched right across the plane over her side was a familiar dark mark, one that she hadn't expected to see ever in her lifetime again.
"Naga, no...," Lucina muttered to herself as the Mark of Grima slowly appeared on her skin, disgusting purple shade bright against her pale skin.
At once, her thoughts ran rapidly through her head as she tried to comprehend exactly what she was looking at. Grima was supposed to be dead, gone forever. She has seen her mother kill the beast during the final battle, and had felt the evil surrounding the entire land become purged in an instant. It had felt like a breath of fresh air. She had never imagined that she would exist to see a world where Grima was destroyed and her family was alive and well (or as well as they could be, being Shepherds who continuously sacrificed themselves for Ylisse).
And yet now, her worst nightmares were becoming a reality again. A shudder went through Lucina's body as she watched the horrendous mark on her body glow brighter and brighter on her skin, almost as though it were a beacon as to what was going to come.
She could not let her family see the mark, that much was a given. While she was sure that her family wouldn't do anything drastic, such as cast her out of harm her in any way, she still didn't want to take that chance. It was thankfully not on a part of her body that was constantly on display, like her mother's mark had been. But living with the Shepherds has taught Lucina that her comrades had little to no regard to privacy and would easily walk inside of another's tent, male or female, without any warning (that was how her parents ended up having her after all, a thought that she refused to think about in the least).
It wouldn't have been a problem, were it not the fact that she was related to one of the nosiest Shepherds in the entire camp. Morgan wasn't a gossip, and didn't talk about people behind their backs. But he did have a habit to saying things that he shouldn't. The moment that he found out about anything, it was all over the camp in less than an hour. It made Lucina sick when she thought about what may happen if he were to find out about her mark.
Staring hard at the mirror in front of her, she tied off the rest of the bandage around her stomach, letting out a rough sigh. The bandage thankfully covered up the problem area, but it also restricted some of her movements. She was still able to move around as needed, but she knew that when it came to combat, it would be glaringly obvious to those around her that something was wrong.
It was a temporary solution to a hopefully temporary problem.
"Hey Lucina~! Did you think I could borrow that book that mom let you...," Morgan skipped into Lucina's tent with a happy grin on his face, only to come to a stop when he stared at the bandage wrapped tightly around his sister's body.
Both siblings stared at each other for several moments. Lucina's eyes were wide in shock and horror, while Morgan's were surprised, yet contemplative. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but held himself back from saying it, looking up at Lucina's face for a moment. A sweat drop appeared on Lucina's forehead, slowly trailing down her face as her nervousness racked up by several degrees.
After a few more seconds of staring, Morgan tilted his head to the side a bit, blinking at Lucina. "...So...do you have that book?"
Not comprehending the words her brother were saying for a moment, Lucina shook her head for a moment to clear her thoughts before clearing her throat. "A-ah, yes I do. It should be with the rest of the texts on the shelf," she stated in a slightly strangled voice, pointing over towards her bookshelf.
Nodding his head, Morgan walked over to the bookshelf, not even commenting on the fact that Lucina was watching him the entire way, or that she was bandaged up. It only took him a few moments to find the book that he wanted before the Tactician was making his way out of Lucina's tent. However, before he left, Morgan glanced over shoulder, a worried expression on his face.
"You might want Mom to look at that, Lucina. I don't think a bandage is going to fix that," he said before leaving, closing the flap behind him.
Lucina stared at the spot where her brother had been for a moment before glancing down at her side, where a bright purple glow was emitting from the bandages, causing her to nearly scream out in horror before stumbling over her feet to try and find something to hide the glow with.
Thankfully, Lucina found that the mark didn't glow through her clothes, which she believed had to do with the dark color of her outfit. That made her very relieved, because she could not handle another incident like the one with her brother. She wasn't even completely sure if he knew what he had seen (he probably did, since he had stuck to their mother like glue and probably had been up close with the mark that had been on her hand.
Gritting her teeth, Lucina clutched her fists as she walked through the camp, trying to figure out some solution. Morgan had been right when he said that a simple bandage wouldn't be enough to get rid of the mark. She would need the help of someone familiar with magic.
Her mother was immediately out of the question. While Lucina knew that she would be the most reliable and helpful source out of everyone, the fact that she was her mother made that plan go right out of the window. Lucina still remembered how she tried to kill her mother because of her ties with Grima. And now, she had the same ties with the monster that murdered her father, took control of her mother in her timeline, and nearly caused the end of the world in two (three?) timelines.
She also couldn't go to Aunt Lissa or Maribelle. Her aunt (no offense to her) had loose lips and would probably let slip what was wrong with her to her mother. And Maribelle was very similar, although she was much pickier about who she shared her gossip with her. If Maribelle found out, she would tell Lissa, which would take her right back to her aunt telling her mother.
She could go to Tharja, although she wasn't exactly sure how...trustworthy the Dark Mage was. To be honest, Lucina was a bit apprehensive around her and Henry, as both started out from Plegia. They had, of course, proven their loyalty to her and the rest of the Shepherds. But there was still a part of Lucina that was very very cautious about who she trusted, especially with sensitive information such as this.
Which, in the end, left her with...Morgan, Brady, or Libra. She wasn't close to Libra enough to trust him with information like this, so he was out. Her and Brady were fairly close, having fought alongside each other several times. She would even take a blow for the healer. But as to whether or not he would have the information to help her out...she wasn't quite sure.
Morgan...took after their mother in a lot of ways. He was very smart and resourceful. She was sure that he had already made a huge dent in their mother's personal library. So, it would make sense that she go to him with this. He did know that something was wrong already.
But would he be quiet about it was the question.
"You know, you should probably watch where you're going Luci, before you end up in the middle of nowhere," a voice said from above her.
Jumping in fright, Lucina's hand immediately flew to Falchion, glaring upward at whoever caught her off guard. When she saw that it was only her brother, grinning down at her, Lucina had to hold back the urge to shout up at him like an imbecile. Sighing in irritation, Lucina removed her hand from the hilt of her sword before straightening her posture up.
"I do not have time for games, Morgan. I have urgent business to attend to right now," Lucina said stiffly, her hands curling into fists by her side.
Huffing in mild annoyance, Morgan shut the book that he was reading before hopping down from the tree, tucking the text underneath his arm. "Would that business have something to do with that mark on your side?" he asked, eyebrow lifting in curiosity.
Flinching at the question, Lucina quickly composed herself before shaking her head. "I don't know what you're talking about, Morgan. Now if you'll excuse me-" Lucina found herself trailing off as Morgan lifted his hand up to grasp his sister's.
"I know you have Grima's mark on your body," Morgan said suddenly, serious expression on his face.
Lucina froze in horror, her hand shooting down to her side. "H-How...-"
A bittersweet smile came to Morgan's face and his hand went to shoulder unconsciously. "Because it happened to me when Mom went missing after she killed Grima." His eyes dimmed a bit, fingers clutching the fabric of his robe and his lips piercing together. "It was absolutely terrifying. I had thought that Grima had somehow survived Mom's last attack and that everything we had worked for had been for nothing...," he trailed off.
Lucina's eyebrows flew up and she looked at her brother incredulously. The time when their mother had been missing had been hard on all of them, especially Morgan. The tactician, who was normally chipper and active to the point of being hyper, mellowed out and kept to himself. He had always seemed to be thinking about something, all of his attention focused on their mother's tomes.
But she hadn't noticed anything other than that. Especially not the fact that her brother had the same mark. "What happened to the mark?" she asked cautiously, almost afraid of the answer.
A lopsided smile came to Morgan's face and he shrugged off his robe, revealing his bare shoulder. Sitting right there was the same blasted mark that had suddenly appeared on her skin that morning. It wasn't glowing like hers, and appeared to be faded in a way. Just looking at the mark brought a shiver down her spine.
"When Mom came back, I asked her about the mark, since I was afraid that it was a sign that Grima wasn't dead and that he was going to come back," Morgan explained, placing a hand over the mark in response. "She said that Grima was gone for good, and that the mark is similar to dad's family crest. It's passed down through her family, only showing up on people who would have been suitable hosts for...for Grima. The mark is harmless." It looked as though a weight had been taken off her brother's shoulders as he said that, smile coming back to his face and his eyes lighting up once again.
Lucina herself felt a sense of relief and her body noticeably relaxed. The monster responsible for taking her family away from her was gone and wouldn't be coming back. It wouldn't try to take control of her mother or herself. And yet, she still felt anxious for some reason. Even though the words had come from her brother, who she trusted a lot, she didn't feel as though the words quelled her worries enough.
Hand clutching the hilt of her sword, Lucina looked at her brother with a determined look on her face. "Where is mother at right now?"
Robin sighed as she finished yet another tome, a loud yawn leaving her mouth. She had been at it since five in the morning, trying to decipher the Plegian texts that she had found during her expedition to her childhood home. The language was strange (she figured it was Grimleal's influence to try and keep outsiders from reading their books), letters familiar, and yet not at the same time. It had taken her several hours just to translate the language, and a couple more to fully understand what she was reading.
She picked up her notes, preparing herself for the arduous task of organizing and translating further for better understanding, when a soft knock sounded on her tent door. Glancing at the doorway for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed before sighing. She supposed this was Naga's way of telling her she needed a break.
Rubbing her eyes and yawning again, Robin leaned back in her seat and called out to the visitor. "You can come in."
Robin was mildly surprised to see Lucina enter the tent, eyes glimmering with purpose. It was rare that her daughter came to see her while she was working on her tomes. She tended to go to her father, more concerned with practicing her sword technique and battle tactics. It was a pleasant surprise for Robin though, and she smiled as she waved her daughter to come closer.
"Lucina! I didn't expect to see you today. Is something wrong?" she asked, small frown coming to her face.
A grimace came to Lucina's face and she glanced all around the tent for a while before she hesitantly nodded her head. Robin remained silent, waiting for her daughter to explain why she came to see her. Lucina was much different from Morgan. She wouldn't open up with prodding or questioning like her brother would. Lucina was the type to open up on her own terms.
It took a couple of minutes of silence for Lucina to speak up. "...What would you say if...if I had..." Lucina trailed off, not quite sure how to break the news to her mother. Anything words that came to mind seemed too strange or abrupt. Huffing in frustration, Lucina decided that the only way to explain what was going on to her mother was to show her. So, Lucina slowly started stripping herself down, removing her armor and placing it down at her feet. She noticed the look of surprise on her mother's face, but didn't comment. When she got down to her clothing, a moment of hesitation came over her. Her eyes narrowed a bit and her side twinged before she removed her outer clothing.
When the bandage came into Robin's view, she stood up immediately. "When did this happen?!" she asked quickly, moving to her daughter to try and assess the damage.
Stepping back a bit, Lucina looked at her mother with a slightly uncomfortable expression on her face. "...It...it happened this morning. But...it's nothing life-threatening. Morgan said it was harmless, but..."
Robin could sense the doubt in Lucina's voice, which just made her even more nervous. They hadn't gone into battle that day (and actually haven't had any battles for the past week or so). She supposed that it could have been from hunting or training, although there wasn't any blood on the bandages, new or old. And as she inspected closer, she could make out a faint purple tinge on Lucina's side-
Lucina's hand moved over to the side that Robin was staring at, biting her lip nervously. "Do you...promise not to be mad when you see this?" Lucina asked hesitantly.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Robin nodded her head, becoming even more worried by the second. "Lucina, why would I be mad? Did something happen?"
An awkward silence floated around the two females and Lucina dipped her head down before she slowly started to undo the bandages, cloth falling to the ground. As the mark slowly started to show from underneath the bandages, Lucina felt her skin start to crawl uncomfortably and the area heat up for a moment before returning to the regular temperature that the rest of her body was. As the rest of the bandage fell to the ground, Lucina kept her head down, not wanting to see her mother's face. She could only imagine the disgust, the disappointment that was on her mom's face. Logically, she knew that her mother probably wasn't disappointed in her, as she hadn't been disappointed in Morgan when his mark appeared. But she couldn't help but feel that she was letting her mother down somehow.
"Lucina..."
Hearing her mother's voice float around her, Lucina tensed up, not sure what to expect. So, when she was suddenly drawn into a tight hug, her eyes grew wide and she blinked for a couple of seconds in shock. "M-Mother-"
"Why would you think that I would be mad at you because of the mark, Lucina?" Robin asked, pulling away for a moment and taking her daughter's face in her hands.
Staring at her mother, Lucina couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes and the way that her lips started to tremble. Tears fell down her cheeks the more she stared at her mother before she finally broke down, falling into her mother's arms in an instant. She felt her mother's arms wrap around her, her gentle voice reaching her ears with words of love and encouragement. And suddenly, all the worries and fears that Lucina had built up over the past few hours left her body in an instant.