Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem
Her heart. It was breaking into two. As she pointed the sword at his chest; as she told him she needed to kill him; as she neglected to tell him she was pregnant. She pushed her doubts away. I need to kill him. It's so Father won't die and the world will be saved. I'll be averting a great tragedy…
She waited for him to say something. Anything.
For a moment, all is silent. Then, "Very well. My life is yours… It always has been."
She was sorry. She was a coward. And she would do anything to avoid that gaze. "D-don't look at me like that! I love you!" Her voice got quieter as she approached her next words. "Do you have any idea how hard this is for me?"
He chuckled slightly and looked her straight in the eye. "I would give my life for Chrom. …And for you." He pulled out the silver sword at his side. "That's why I'm saving you from making this choice." Before Lucina could say a word, he slit his throat. He was always better at Tomes. His handiwork was poor, causing blood to spurt all around him. Lucina felt a contrast as the hot blood landed on her clothes, warming them against the cool night.
She jumped back, shocked and horrified at what had just taken place. She dropped Falchion on the ground and embraced his dead body. "Why?! You didn't need to kill yourself! You damn fool!" She knew she could never kill him. She knew that she didn't have it in her. Despite her knowledge of this fact, she still pointed her sword at him. She tried to convince herself that she could do it.
She convinced Robin to kill himself.
The tears ran down her eyes as she came to the truth. It's all my fault. If only I'd shoved my feelings down and hadn't done anything about them…
She ran. Far, far away towards the camp. She spoke to no one; looked at no one; avoided everyone. She made her way to her tent and changed her clothes. Lucina buried her bloody clothes behind her tent, letting her tears wash the spot of raw earth once she was finished. "With these clothes, nobody shall know of my secret," she murmured. "My dirty, dirty secret." She was sick of telling secrets. Sick of telling lies. Sick of it all.
In that moment, she felt more alone than she had ever felt before. Even in her bleak future, she always had hope to hang on to. Hope that everything would change. But now, there was nothing. Robin was gone. The only thing keeping her alive was her objective. What she had came to do in the first place. I must save Father. I must save the world. She felt her stomach. And I have to birth this child… There was just so much she had to do. It seemed impossible to do everything. But now that Robin's dead, wouldn't that put a huge flaw in Validar's plan? Now, he can't summon Grima. I should be happy… She shook her head. No. I'd kill myself before feeling happy about someone dying. Especially my own husband. She went back inside her tent and laid on her cot. Despite how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to go to sleep.
Her heart was troubled.
She snapped to attention as she heard shouting outside. She quickly walked outside the tent to find Chrom all in a tizzy. "His body was just lying there!" he ranted. "Someone killed Robin in cold blood!"
Lucina felt her blood turn to ice. Please don't look at me, she silently pleaded.
People were starting to gather. "What?!" Morgan shouted. Lucina could see the tears in Morgan's eyes.
Oh, Morgan, Lucina thought. I'm sorry. Suddenly, a thought struck her. Wait! If Robin's blood flows through Morgan… She felt the tears well at her eyes once more at her realization. I have to kill her, too… Morgan couldn't be allowed to live. It was all or nothing. If Lucina didn't kill Morgan, then Robin's death would have been for naught. She had to kill them both.
Sumia noticed her daughter's tears. She hugged Lucina. "Aw, it's okay. I know about Robin. I'm sorry…"
Although Lucina wasn't crying about Robin, she didn't say anything. This is better for them. It's better to believe that he was killed by a Plegian with a grudge. I don't want to lose their trust. As long as they kept her around, she could still complete all her objectives. She could still save Chrom and she could still save the world. Of course, she would still have her child whether she left or not. But this way, she could do all three.
She could see Chrom was irate. She saw him assembling people to search for the Plegian who killed Robin. Little did he know, the perpetrator was standing only a few feet away from his very eyes.
Chrom looked at her. "Do you want to come with?"
Lucina shook her head. "No. I just want to go back to my tent."
Chrom ground his teeth in frustration but said nothing. Lucina slowly made her way towards her tent. Suddenly, Morgan ran up to her side. "I'll be with Mother!" she called to everyone else.
Lucina felt a lump rise in her throat. Morgan was playing into her own death. Lucina had hoped to procrastinate a little. Maybe ponder it a bit. But now was her chance. Who knew when she would have such an opportunity again?
Lucina sat down on her cot and Morgan hugged her. "Mother, I'm so sorry. We'll both miss Father."
"Morgan, can you get me some tea? There's a kettle on the other side of the tent," Lucina murmured. Sympathetic for her mother, Morgan obeyed without a second thought. As Morgan was facing the kettle, her attention absorbed with the task at hand, Lucina glanced at her rapier. She couldn't bring herself to use Falchion. To kill her own child with the weapon she always carried around with her. That would be too much.
Grabbing the rapier, she crept up behind Morgan. "I wanted to tell you that I love you, Mother. And I'll be here for you," Morgan was saying.
Lucina blinked her tears back upon hearing Morgan's words. Morgan suddenly turned around, right as Lucina swung the rapier down. Confusion clouded Morgan's gaze a second before her skull was shattered. Once again, Lucina felt blood envelope her clothes. But this time, it was much more. It soaked her from head to toe. She felt bile rise in her throat at the sticky warmth she felt on her skin. She leaned down and gently touched a fragment of Morgan's forehead. "I love you, too. And I'm sorry," she whispered.
She got up and snuck out towards the stream nearby. She washed herself clean and dug up her previously buried clothes. "I can't bury these so close to the tent. It's too close to where Morgan died. Chrom will get suspicious and will dig them up," she told herself. She brought them to a place right outside the camp. She reburied them right next to a shrub. That way, the overshadowing leaves would partially conceal the spot.
She went back to her tent and took a deep breath. I'm ready, she told herself. She ran outside, desperation in her eyes. "Help!" she screamed. "Someone killed Morgan!"
Everyone not out looking for Robin's killer surrounded the tent. Sumia ran up. "What's wrong?!" she demanded.
Lucina forced herself to start crying. "I saw a dark figure burst in the tent! They killed Morgan before running off into the darkness!"
Maribelle shoved her way up front. "Out of the way! I need to see her! I might be able to do something for her."
Lucina decided not to protest. I'm supposed to be upset about Morgan. It would only be natural that I'd be willing to let Maribelle look at her.
For a moment, all was silent. Then they heard a scream from inside the tent. "Gods! Whoever did this to a poor girl is a savage!"
They all looked inside the tent to see Morgan's corpse. Or what was left of it anyway. It didn't really resemble a human body after Lucina was done with it. There were only fragments of her skull, all of them surrounded in a pool of blood. Her body was mangled, left that away after the rapier's clean cut. Lucina gagged at seeing Morgan's eye lying a few feet away from the body, torn out and just sitting there. The details about her organs were too gruesome to accurately describe. They were right in view for all to see.
"Oh, poor thing!" Sumia cried.
Lucina could see many of them were retching and even getting sick on the ground. Lucina could feel it herself. I did this to my own daughter. I mutilated her corpse beyond repair. She hated herself. She was selfish; she was a killer; she was a horrible person. She had sacrificed so much to achieve her goal.
Sumia let Lucina spend the night in her tent. Lucina didn't get up for days. She was wasting away and she knew it. Oh, how easy it would be to let herself die. Just starve to death in the comfort of her mother's tent. But she couldn't. She had to be there to see it. She had to see the world be saved. She had to have Morgan. So much pain and she hadn't even completed one of her goals yet.
Chrom walked into the tent. "Lucina?"
Lucina looked over in his direction, but made no effort to get up.
Chrom walked over towards her. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
Lucina flinched. Does he know? Is everything I've done for nothing?
Chrom put his hand on her arm. "Look, I know you're upset about Robin." He grimaced. "We all are." The grimace vanished and he continued with a soothing tone. "But you need to know that we're here for you. I don't want you to die wasting away in bed. I've already lost Robin. The last thing he would want is to see you follow his tragic end. Get up, Lucina. I'm not letting you lay in this bed until you die."
Lucina bit her lip. For the first time in days, the unmoving numbness that had settled over her emotions had been torn away. I don't deserve your words. Not after the sins I've committed. To please her father, Lucina sat up. "You're right; I can't meet my end this way. Thank you for making me realize the truth."
Chrom smiled at her. It was the first time she had seen him smile since Robin died. He patted her shoulder. "Why don't you go get something to eat? It's right around midday."
Lucina left the tent, squinting against the sunlight. I'm so sick of the lies.
In the following months, everyone fussed over her once they found out she was pregnant. It was the last memory they had left of Robin and Morgan. She was spoiled silly, never having to practice for battle or gather firewood. She only did those things because she insisted. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life lazing around after what she did.
Sumia approached her as they were preparing to assault Grima. "Lucina," she started, "since you're so far along, and everything, I wanted you to stay out of th-"
Lucina's eyes blazed. "You think I would turn coward and not fight?!" she hissed. "Robin died for this. I will make things right!"
Sumia flinched. "I guess there's nothing I can say or do to stop you. That's why I've enlisted the help of your father."
Chrom walked up shortly after she said that. He looked Lucina in the eye. "You're not fighting."
Lucina tensed up. "But, Robin-" she protested.
"I know about Robin," Chrom interrupted her. "He was your husband and my closest friend. He does not want to see you killed in battle."
Lucina's nostrils flared. Not even the words of her father could stop her. "I came to the future for this," she retorted, her voice considerably calmer than before. "Everything that's happened… I went through all that to see and experience this day."
For a moment, nothing was said. Finally, Chrom hugged her. Lucina struggled in his grip, unsure how to react to the surprise. "Just don't get yourself killed," he whispered in her ear.
He walked off, Sumia complaining after him about 'sending their daughter to her death' and other things.
Lucina smiled grimly. I will be there to see it, she vowed. And she was. She witnessed Chrom land the final blow, putting Grima to sleep. She witnessed the world being saved. And, best of all, she got to see her father standing on the ground all in one piece. Despite the great victory that had just taken place, she trudged into the shadows, not to be seen by anyone until much later. Although everyone searched for her, no one found anything. She was just gone. But Chrom knew she would be back. He just knew it.
Lucina trudged through the dead of night, taking care to hide her face. It had been a couple months since Chrom and the Shepherds had won against Grima. Lucina had left, staying low for a while until Morgan was born. She gently shushed the slight whine emanating from the wicker basket hanging at her side. It was just large enough to fit a newborn infant.
With her black cloak fluttering in the wind, Lucina knocked on the door to the palace from the gardens. She set that basket in front of the door and started to walk away. She heard a creaking noise behind her. "Lucina..?" she heard Chrom ask.
She froze. Damn, I wasn't fast enough, she scolded herself. She turned around to face Chrom, still hiding her face under the black hood she was wearing. "Yes?"
"Why did you disappear?"
"..." She took a deep breath. "Because I had reasons." She started to walk away, only to freeze at Chrom's next words.
"You did it, didn't you?"
She said nothing. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied icily.
"You know."
That was the answer she got. It was so quiet and so simple, yet it had been the thing she had been dreading most to hear. Especially from her father.
"How long have you known?" she muttered.
"A few days after Robin died. You seemed...off."
Another long silence ensued. Then, suddenly, she was laughing. All the laughter that had built up inside her since the day Robin died came spilling out faster and faster until, all too abruptly, it stopped. She smiled, showing him her face. "I did it," she whispered softly. "And I hate myself more and more every day for it."
She turned the other way and walked off.
"Morgan, too?"
"Yes," she replied before disappearing into the dark of night. She thought of killing herself after that. But she decided against it. Her punishment needed to last the rest of her life. And her punishment was living itself. She lived in a quaint house, in a quaint village, on a quaint mountain. And she was never seen again.
At last, all the cards were laying on the table. Revealed to all. There was no more room for deception. The script had already ended, leaving all the actors unsatisfied. She was so sick of the lies. And now they were all gone. Not every story has a happy ending.
Fin
This was a request I did for pokemonrhoades. Originally, it was supposed to be a Super Smash Bros. fic, but I managed to haggle it down to an angst fic contingent on a nice, fluffy fic after. So now I have to write a fluffy fic about Robin and Lucina. Oh yeah, the first person who can figure out which anime my profile pic's from will get a shoutout at the end of my next fic. Just post it in the reviews. But guests don't count (sorry) since you all look the same. I dedicate this to pokemonrhoades for requesting this and all. Hope you enjoyed~