A/N (IMPORTANT!):
Hello there guys, I'm back! Sort of…..
I apologize for the quality of this one. This is the result of an exams-induced procrastination fic.
Now, this is a new fic, a one-shot related to the "Aid from the Past" after the Mila Tree stage when they met Tiki. It was obvious that I was shipping Chrom with My Unit/Kris (named Aya). In that universe, I was planning on making an OC, which will be Lucina's twin. Think of it as Kris' version of morgan.
Anyway, about my story "Aid from the Past", good news is I'll try working on it again, if anyone's interested. The reason it took this long was my laptop was broken back then so I had no other means of updating my fic, and by the time that it was fixed, I re-read my story, and I noticed that it had lots of embarrassing flaws. It had too many plot holes, corny moments and stuff like that, and I sort of lost interest. But now, I'll try rewriting it in hopes of making it better. And by rewriting, I really mean scrapping the entire thing and making a new one.
I'll be making a few references to my other story "My Last Memory" so I really hope you read that one too, but it's not really necessary to hopefully understand this fic. This one is hopefully not that bad.
There will be another A/N at the end of this one, please I beg you to read everything in here.
Well then, enough of that. Let's get started and I hope you enjoy this one!
..
It should have been a relatively simple mission; Reach the top of the Mila Tree and ask Naga's oracle for guidance in defeating Grima. An unexpected reunion between two warriors from the Hero-king Marth's time was not in their plans, and the revelation that Aya, Chrom's wife and queen to Ylisse, was not only from the Hero-king's time, but was Marth's right hand was even more unexpected.
From Aya's story, she fled from Altea in hopes of providing peace of mind to everyone, and to start her own life. But unknown to all, it was not the only sole purpose. She fled because she wanted Marth to have his peace. She knew they both felt the same about each other, but it was never meant to be. She was only a knight, and he was meant to be more, and he was also engaged to Caeda, princess of Talys and her dear friend. Tiki told them however that it somewhat changed Marth. It was barely visible to anyone who barely knew him, but to the people he was close to, it definitely affected him. Aya felt guilty about it, but she justified herself, saying that it was a necessary sacrifice they both had to take. She also felt selfish about it, but she won't tell them that. She reminded them that their new knowledge about her true identity should not change their treatment of her. She already saw the religious ones and the children from the future (apart from her two daughters), who had held Naga at the highest respect and admiration, look at her with awe.
"To think that Naga herself would send someone from the Hero-king's time with her blessing, and for her to join the exalted bloodline" Frederick looked at Chrom with a sudden realization. "Milord, this is truly a blessing from the gods."
Worshipping words from Libra did not help her situation. And soon, more murmurs from more people joined in. This was what she was afraid of, the reason why she never intended to tell them until the final battle. It did not help that Owain was shouting about his sword hand shaking and glowing with hope, and Severa smacking him at the back of his head.
However, she was thankful for Chrom breaking the situation and reminding him of the reason why they went here in the first place. Although, he sent her a look that implied that he will be asking questions later when they were alone. She nodded and decided to listen to Tiki's words.
Several hours later after, the Shepherds returned to their camp, and with the newly acquired Azure with them, they now have two gemstones in hand. Aya decided to walk outside of the camp as soon as she arrived to go to a spot she found when they were scouting the area. It seemed a pretty good place to relax and do some thinking.
It was evening now, and as she was lying on the grass while looking at the stars, she thought that she should return now, dinner should probably be done in a few minutes.
'Still a lot more to do, it seems…' She sighed.
She's right. There's a lot to do and a lot to worry about. They still needed to defeat the Valmese and deal with Grima. And the situation with Plegia was not helping them to say the least. There was an ominous feeling that after the war with the Valmese, they won't have any time to rest.
Her thoughts were broken when she heard leaves crunching and someone walking to her. Instincts told her to reach for her blade, but did not when she heard someone call her.
"Mother, are you there?" Lucina spoke as she exited the tree line and seem to look for her.
"Lucina, I'm right here." She called back, motioning for her daughter to come and sit beside her. "Is the food ready?"
"No, it won't be ready for a few minutes." Lucina sat down beside her mother and looked at her softly. "Actually, I came to talk to you."
Aya continued looking at the night sky. She knew this was coming. She felt her daughter's gazes while they were returning to their camp. "What is it about dear? Is it about sword techniques? Or perhaps you wanted to pair-up for the next battle?"
She looked at her daughter then grinned. "Or maybe it's about the problems of the heart."
Lucina's eyes widened and looked away. "M-mother! That's not why-that's!" She stopped when she saw her mother giggling. Embarrassed, she tried regaining her composure. "A-anyways, I wanted to talk about earlier. The Mila Tree, about what lady Tiki said."
Aya sighed then looked back at the sky. She couldn't look at her daughter when she brought this up now. It brought up a lot of emotions inside her.
'But maybe, they have to know…..' She instantly dismissed the thought.
"It's just, it's amazing. I really looked up to father. I tried following his legacy, his strength and how he would push through any situation." Lucina sighed, and looked at her mother. "I looked up to you too, mother, back when I was a child. But when you and father-" she stopped. Lucina always had a hard time remembering her future, her parents' death.
Sensing this, Aya put an arm around her daughter and tried to comfort her, "Its okay Lucina, you don't need to continue if you don't want to." A part of her wanted her to stop. She knew where her questions will lead, and she didn't want that.
'I guess I'm selfish too….'
"No, I'm okay mother" There were tears building up in Lucina's eyes, but she wiped them and tried to continue. "When you and father perished, and I became exalt, I followed father's example under my Lady Tiki's guidance."
"Let me guess, you were guided by Tiki and Rihann was under Lissa's care" She tried to loosen up the heavy atmosphere between them. "I can see she has some of her aunt's….uniqueness" Her other daughter and Lissa got on pretty well, too well, in fact. They sometimes team up to prank Chrom, especially Robin. 'Gods, I remember Robin's screams a few nights ago' That night, they thought someone attacked their tactician, and Chrom quickly summoned the guards, only to find a laughing Lissa and Rihann, and a nervous robin, as well as frogs jumping out of Robin's discarded cloak.
Lucina started laughing softly, remembering her quirky sister. "She made the future less serious. I remember her sometimes bad commentary during our fights with risen. It made everyone feel at ease before every fight." Lucina then turned back to her serious tone. "But, I've seen her break down at times. She had father's aggression, especially the moment she heard of your deaths." Lucina remembered the time they first heard the news. She was too shocked and numb to move, her "crowning" as the exalt passed by like it was nothing. Rihann however, took the news badly. She remembered her sister shutting herself in the training room, practicing her swordplay and her magic. Often times, she never slept for days and would often pass out. It was her only rest, and would resume training once she woke up.
Aya felt guilty when Lucina told her their story the day they arrived. She's seen her other daughter, laughing and being relaxed. She cannot imagine the things her daughters went through, she cannot even imagine the hell the other future children went through, and being heirs to the exalt didn't help them, and it was her fault.
"Anyways, I wanted to ask about the Hero-king's time" Aya stiffened at the mention of "Hero-king". It was fortunate that Lucina did not notice. 'Thank god she inherited Chrom's denseness'
Aya sat up, and looked at her daughter. "I always forgot that these people are legends to you" She sighed, remembering everyone; From Ruke's pride to Cecille's violent tendencies, from Caeda's cooking to Marth's…. 'I better stop now'
"To me, they were just friends, acquaintances, comrades-at-arms" She sighed, she really missed them. But it's good that they're remembered as great heroes. That their legacy still lives on, at least that counts for something.
"But mother, to be the Hero-king's right hand, its amazing! I only ever dreamed of emulating his example, but to have fought with them, the legends of old, even fighting alongside Naga's oracle, it must've been fantastic" Aya really tensed hard, she's been dreading and avoiding this topic and now, it came to bite her back.
"They were, especially the Pegasus sisters. Their triangle attack was an art of combat at its finest." She tried steering the conversation away.
Luckily, Lucina seemed to take the bait. "Funny, I remember overhearing Cynthia while I was looking for you"
"What were they talking about?" Now Aya was curious as well.
"She was asking for Lady Sumia and Lady Cordelia to do, in her own words, 'a more heroic and cooler version of a triangle attack'. Saying something about stunning enemies by their amazing heroism" Even she found it funny. Cynthia was one of the more approachable future children. "She even asked Lady Sumia to talk to you about teaching it to them."
Aya laughed as she imagined it. In all honesty, she can remember how they do it, but she doesn't know how to teach it to them. "Oh my, I never had an experience riding pegasi, or any flying mount"
"I better tell Cynthia so she can stop bothering Lady Sumia" She looked at her mother again while smiling. "I wanted to ask how it must've felt to be with Hero-king Marth"
She really was nervous now. She didn't know what to say to her daughter. 'I loved him, I kissed him, we made love even when he was engaged to my friend, when everyone did not know' She won't say that, not in front of her daughter. Not yet at least.
"He was a great man, a courageous fighter, an amazing ruler, and a great friend…."
"From what were taught in history, it was said that he toppled nations with only a handful of fighters under his banner, and crushing his opponents. He recruited left and right, even recruiting his enemies. He was the greatest swordsman in Ylissetol" Lucina looked again at her mother "He was just amazing"
'Amazing huh? He was a great man, a great friend, I bet he's even a great husband' She suddenly felt bitter. 'Caeda's lucky to have him…' Why is she lucky though? She's better at the sword than him, he's sometimes naïve. 'Come to think of it, he was pretty naïve' He was a relatively idealistic man, and sometimes he shows his weakness, resulting into her rushing to his aid, nearly killing them most of the time.
'And he cannot see the big picture. He's frustrating at times. He cannot understand why I even wanted to be left out of their story. He's too idealistic, and he thinks he can make everyone happy. He can't make everyone happy, he just can't! If he can, why can't we be-'
"Mother"
Her thoughts were abruptly stopped when her daughter called her attention. She looked at Lucina then realized something. 'Did I say that out loud?'
"Mother, is something wrong? You were saying something…"
'I'm an idiot. I thought I was better than this. I'm acting like an immature and emotional kid' She reminded herself of her discipline as a knight. 'I have a husband and two children'
"No, it's nothing. I just miss all of them" She lied
"Mother" Lucina sat closer to Aya, which somewhat bothered her. "I know something's wrong, do you not trust me?"
'Damn it, I cannot believe that my daughter's really perceptive…' She sighed, she know that she must tell this to both her daughters, but she wasn't prepared. "Lucina, I- Whatever I tell you, please, can you keep it to yourself? I'm not yet prepared to tell it to both of you" She nearly begged Lucina, she couldn't face the Shepherds if they hear about her past.
"O-of course mother! I swear on my honor as former exalt"
Aya sighed, happy that she had her daughter's assurance that she will never tell it to anyone, even her twin sister. "Good. I do not know where to start. I guess I can start from after we defeated the Earth dragon Medeus."
-Two thousand years ago-
As soon as the battle was over, they left the temple to properly set a camp to tend to the injured and for the army to properly rest. Marth was standing in front of everyone to address the ones who gave their aid to him, and to thank everyone who helped him in his fight.
"It's over, we finally did it. Earth Dragon Medeus is no more, peace has been restored, and most important of all, everyone's alive, included the ones under Gharnef's spell. I thank everyone who supported me throughout all of this. You will all be remembered as heroes."
Meanwhile, Aya was inside the medical tent. She was exhausted and badly injured, taking the brunt of Medeus' attack, allowing Marth to deliver the final blow. She also protected her allies while they were attempting to take the clerics under Gharnef's influence.
'Thank the gods, after everything that's happened, I'm still conscious' she chuckled softly, afraid that it would lead to a slight pain in her abdomen.
"Milady, stop moving, or you're going to re-open the wounds" One of the healers scolded Aya.
Hours have passed after Marth finished delivering his speech when she was still being tended to by the healers when he entered.
He quickly looked around and spotted her, lying in bed. He ran towards her then looked at the healers. "Leave us"
The healers began leaving quickly out of respect for Marth's orders. When everyone left, he sat on the chair beside her bed.
"How are you feeling?" He placed a hand on her head, trying to comfort her.
"I will be fine, milord. I will probably need a crutch in order for me to walk for a few weeks, but I'll live." She looked at him softly then smiled. "You don't need to worry about me, milord. As long as you're fine, and everyone's alive, then I am happy."
He placed his hand on hers then held it tightly. "Damn it, Aya. You died, and yet you expect me not to worry about you? We were lucky that Elise was able to use the Aum staff. If not, I-"
Marth cannot say anything else. The thought of losing her, even if they win, means nothing to him. "And the moment you were revived, you ran to battle again, this time barely surviving. After we used the used Aum staff on you, it broke. If you were to die that time, I would never forgive myself."
She sighed, one of many today. He really did care for her. "Marth"
He quickly looked up, surprised that she called him by his real name, only to be surprised once again when she put her palm on his cheek, wiping away a loose tear.
"I told you, I'll be beside you whatever happens. I promise."
Marth took her hand, and kissed it. "I'll hold on to that promise."
-A few days later-
Jagen was walking in the hallways of the royal castle to head to the war room. The war might have ended, but the work is not yet over. After Archanea's occupation of the countries around it, it was Altea's royal delegation that will be in-charge of restoration, with marth being the unofficial ruler.
As he passed by Marth's quarters, he heard two voices arguing from inside the room. He quickly recognized the other voice as Aya's, but he cannot recognize the other. He then chose to quietly listen when suddenly he heard shouting.
"Damn it, Aya, I am not going to do that to you!"
Jagen was in shock, it was the first time he heard Prince Marth shout at anyone, much less to someone he's really close to. He then decided to continue listening.
"Milord, please listen to me. It's the only option we have. You should be the only one taking the sole credit of leading our army. This will guarantee that you'll be seen by the people as a savior, maybe even the hero Naga sent to save humanity"
"No, I will not accept that. What about you? You're as important as me, maybe even more important!"
"Milord, I-"
"I told you, no means no, Aya!"
Silence filled the room. Even Jagen can feel the tense atmosphere between the two. It was a painful silence, only broken again by his liege.
"We are done for tonight, we will continue to-"
"Listen to me, Marth! You're not seeing the big picture here!"
Jagen heard Marth gasp, even he had to contain his surprise. This is a night of firsts. First time to hear his liege shout at someone, and the first time he heard one of the most disciplined and loyal knights in Altean history shout at her lord.
"Listen to me. Just think for a bit. What would happen if you tell everyone that we're the two that led the army in defeating Medeus, what would you think would happen?"
"Well, they will give you the honor you deserve. Surely, you want that too"
He could hear Aya sigh in exasperation. Maybe she's infuriated that her liege is not getting something, but even he is having a hard time understanding her thoughts.
"Considering the people's desperation right now, clinging to something that would at least ease their mind. They'll most likely use us as an idol, or some religious warriors sent by the gods. Considering also that I am a woman, it's bad."
"I don't understand what you're saying."
"What I'm saying milord is that with us being viewed us being viewed as holy warriors by the people, I am scared that the royal court will be pressured to…."
"Pressured to what?" Marth voiced similar thoughts to Jagen
"They'll be pressured to wed us"
Silence, He does not usually hate it. More often than not, he likes it. But when the silence is caused by fighting, or a certain moment, he usually does not like where it was going. Sighing silently, he quietly walked back to his room. He decided he's heard enough, and allow them to sort their arguments. One thing bothers him though, but he chose not to mind it.
'Why is she in milord's room?'
Marth stared at Aya who effused to look at him. It made him bitter, and he can't keep his thoughts to himself.
"Are you that much appalled by the thought of marrying me?" He can't help but spit every word. It angered him.
She then looked at him with wide eyes. "You have got to be kidding me. That's not the point Marth"
"Then what is your point?!"
Both of them were shocked by his outburst, but he was too angry to mind. He doesn't even care that this is the first time that he showed his anger to one of his friends.
"Don't you care about Caeda?" That one sentence was all it took for Marth's anger to fade. He stared back at her, only to be replied by a glare. "Are you seriously going to tell me that you don't consider how she feels? What she would feel if she knew about this? Are you seriously jeopardizing your engagement to her for some… fancy that will never be?"
Marth was taken aback by her questions. "N-no, I-I care for her. I love her deeply"
She sighed again, walking towards him. "You know that we were never meant to be. You know that…."
Marth felt another surge of emotion, but this time, it was not hate but something more familiar, something more that made his heart light. He wasn't thinking about it, he just followed his instincts and he let it guide his following actions.
In a short moment, he grabbed Aya's wrist and pulled her close to him. It surprised both of them, but he did not care, he only felt love.
She was surprised to see his one calm liege, grabbing her all of a sudden. "M-Marth, whatever you're planning, don't do it"
He then cut her off by kissing her deeply, all the while pulling her to his bed. Upon reaching it, he fell to it, dragging her with him.
"I'll show you that you're not just some fancy" Aya was about to say something when she was again cut off by his lips on top of hers. She can feel her resistance fading. 'M-maybe, I can still stop him…' She tried to push him away, but to no avail. She tried fighting back, but his emotions empowered his actions. And by the time he pinned her arms above her head, she can no longer resist.
'We really did it…' Marth fell asleep on top of her, maybe from exhaustion. She couldn't sleep. Part of it was the weight on top of her naked body, but also from her thoughts. She did not regret it, not even one bit. But it didn't feel better, now that she thought about it.
'We were never meant to be. We both love each other, but…'
She fought silent tears from pooling around her eyes. It hurt, and it hurt a lot. She hated this feeling. She hated hurting him, and hated hurting Caeda, but most of all she hated herself.
Slowly, a plan crept up from the crevices of her mind.
'I can be his concubine… No!' She will not lower herself, even if it's because of her love. Still though, it was tempting.
'Damn it, what are we supposed to do?'
Slowly, it made sense, and slowly, realization dawned on her.
'It's better to only hurt myself, than to drag them into my pain…' She looked at Marth, a painful smile slowly appeared on her face. 'I think I have a plan…'
She woke up Marth, and he was surprised to see her still awake, then he noticed that he fell asleep on top of her then he quickly sat up
"I-I'm so sorry!" He felt really embarrassed
She laughed, but deep inside, she is hurting. "I know a place. It'll be really relaxing to stay there. It's somewhere near the outskirts of town, a very short walk from here."
Marth found the offer strange, as she was the one who usually asked him to stay indoors. "Well, what's with the sudden offer?"
'I need to leave' "Well, I just felt happy tonight. And, well, I wanted to show you this amazing scenery which I bet you will love"
Marth chuckled at her sudden boldness, but relented nonetheless.
"Alright, but let us dress first" He stood up to gather his clothes, and give hers back.
'I'm sorry…' She put on her smallclothes then stood up before wearing her clothes. "Come, I'm somewhat excited" She smiled. Unfortunately, Marth did not notice the redness of her eyes as she quickly left the room.
-Present time Valm-
"Mother…" Lucina was surprised. This was more shocking than the revelation on Mila Tree.
"I'm sorry, Lucina. I know this was not the story you wanted, nor expected. But I wish to be honest to you." She cannot look her daughter in the eye, she had no right to. After revealing her past, she wouldn't be surprised that she will avoid her for a few weeks. She was not prepared, however, when her daughter's arms wrapped around her.
"Lucina…"
"Mother, its alright. I would never judge you." Her embrace tightened, and Aya felt her tears started dropping.
"Oh Lucina, I'm so sorry. I-I wasn't a good mother in your future, and I was never a good mother to you to begin with. I hope you forgive me"
Lucina let go of her mother then smiled at her. "Mother, there is nothing to forgive. Your past does not define you. And even after telling me that, my love for you never changed"
"Thank you Lucina, this made me feel better. Thank you so much" Aya smiled at her daughter, wiping s few tears off her eyes.
She's really lucky to have come to the future. She has a great husband, two great daughters, and a life that she will never give up for anything. 'Was this a part of Naga's plan?' She doesn't care, but she will never let go of this new life.
They stood up from where they sat when another voice came out from the trees.
"Lucy, mom, are you two here? Dinner's done and dad forced me to call both of you so I can't eat your shares!"
Aya giggled at her daughter's antics while Lucina called to her twin sister while shaking. "Yes Rihann, we're here"
Rihann appeared out of the clearing and looked at the two. "Seriously, what are you two doing here? Don't tell me you had some mother and daughter bonding time, and I'm not invited"
"Don't worry, I just planned to call mother for dinner too, but we sort of talked about the events earlier"
Rihann looked at her mother with a playful disgusted look. "Sheesh mom, you lived for two thousand years and just decided only years ago to marry? Talk about an old maid."
"Yes, just like a grandmother than you can never beat. May it be in spells or in swordplay" Aya looked at her other daughter and grinned.
"Hey, it's unfair! You had a divine lizard's blessing" She suddenly covered her mouth "Darn, I hope Naga did not just hear me"
Lucina looked at her twin incredulously "Says the one who's been praying to Naga every night before bed" Lucina took off after saying that, knowing what will come after.
"Y-you take that back!" Too embarrassed to give a witty reply, Rihann decided to chase at her surprisingly relaxed twin sister. "A-and besides, you're just running fast to take the spots and sit beside robin!"
Lucina blushed, and tried to make a comeback, but failed.
Aya looked at the two while smiling, a genuine smile. For all the pain she endured thousands of years ago, this was all worth it.
"Mom, are your granny legs having trouble keeping up? Come on!"
At her daughter's teasing, she decided to follow them and ran at a very leisurely pace. She really wouldn't have it any other way.
Another A/N:
Wow, that was a pretty long one. Anyways, for everyone who noticed (or those who don't), the very last MarthXAya scene was the prologue to the "My Last Memory" fic.
If I was too OOC for them, I understand, and it wasn't unintentional. The games depict Marth as a goody-goody saint like character, but somewhat I did not like that. Cause to be honest, he's human too. And it's somewhat obvious that he is really emotional at times.
Also, I added an OC (named Rihann) which, like I said in the intro, is like my "My Unit/Kris' version of Morgan"
Anyways, I thank you for reaching at the very bottom, and I hope you like it!
