Time for another SS fic! This time, it was an FE:A Secret Santa, and lo and behold, I wrote an FE:A story for Meghan! This one's...quite a bit longer than the TD one, but I loved the aspect I ended up using so much that I had to run with it. Apologies in advance for this being a ten thousand word one-shot, there was no way to split this into chapters without one chapter being at least 2 or 3 thousand words longer than the other. Enjoy and Merry Christmas (again) Meghan!

Being royalty was a tall order that nobody born into it ever signed up for, and when she thought about it, it was totally unfair to those unfortunate souls. Children would fantasize about being royalty and ruling over a nation, but none of them truly wanted to be noble in the same way she was. Despite what the little kids had thought, being royal was no easy feat. Princes were always looked towards to be strong, even if they were not in charge. They were asked to take wives and sire more strong little heirs to have the same ridiculous expectations thrust upon them. Meanwhile, princesses were expected to be delicate, dainty, and girly. They were never to speak out of line, always wear a smile and their finest dress (but never the same one twice in a row, gods forbid,) and take a nice, strong man as their husband to, you guessed it, bear more children that would enter the same damn vicious cycle.

And Lissa was bad at every single one of those things. Her brother met a lot of his criteria well, and Emmeryn's example set the bar much higher than Lissa's childish pigtails could ever hope to reach. She tried her damndest to not be dainty or delicate (which is what lead her to joining the Shepherds in the first place,) while she did enjoy the simpler things a girl was expected to from time to time, her girly exterior merely masked the prankster that lay within, she spoke when she wanted and how she wanted, her plain yellow dress was her usual attire and nothing could force her out of it bar a funeral, and to put a nice gay cherry on top, she was most definitely not thrilled with the prospect of taking a husband. In fact, she was quite busy doing exactly the opposite. Being in the Shepherds and having to sacrifice lounging in the lap of luxury meant that she got the opportunity to grow closer to an old friend of hers.

Maribelle was nearly the polar opposite of Lissa in every way. She was perfectly fine being a noble and relished in the privilege that afforded her, despite contracting the ire of other children when she was young. Lissa wasn't entirely sure how it happened, but a naive request to be friends with this strange girl who seemed lonely turned into a strong friendship that, after many years, somehow became so much more. Lissa wasn't sure what exactly lead to her being kinda sorta in love with her best friend, but something about watching Maribelle get threatened by those Plegian thugs caused feelings that Lissa didn't know she had to reach their boiling point. That isn't to say the two were swapping spit as soon as that very night, but it definitely helped speed things along.

Very soon after that, Lissa found herself thinking about Maribelle more often than was probably healthy for even best friends. She decided the only way to resolve this was to march right into Maribelle's tent one night and sit herself in front of her friend, demanding a night of soul searching. It was the closest thing to a girl's night out the two could get when they were in the Shepherds, and Maribelle was more than happy to oblige. She did make sure to complain about it briefly, but Lissa was having none of it.

It took surprisingly long for the two girls to shift their conversation to the topic of boys. Well, maybe it wasn't so surprising in retrospect, but that's not the point.

Maribelle started that train of thought by looking to Lissa expectantly and clasping her hands together. "Now Lissa, darling, I know you might not like me bringing this up, but I've danced around the subject for far too long. Time to address the pink pegasus in the room."

"The...what?" Lissa asked, not liking Maribelle's tone.

"Oh please, it's painfully obvious to any girl with her wits about her that you came in here to talk about one thing," Maribelle said, twirling her hair around one finger. "You, my dearest, are one lovesick puppy."

Lissa took a moment to digest whatever it was Maribelle has just said, but when she did, her face flushed as red and as warm as hot metal. "Um...I am?"

Maribelle nodded confidently. "Oh yeah. It's so obvious. I've seen this face on many a lovesick gal. Trust me, I know. Now pray tell, what lovely man has caught your eye?"

Lissa smiled awkwardly. "Um..." She reached up to scratch at her cheek, stuttering mindlessly.

"Now now, you're getting flustered like a little schoolgirl," Maribelle said as she shook her head in disappointment. "Just speak up and tell me which guy you fancy. I do promise not to tell." When Lissa was still silent, Maribelle sighed. "Oh, are we going to play the guessing game now? Let's see...is it Frederick?"

Lissa shook her head vehemently, shaken out of her stupor. "Oh no. Freddie's like a brother. Well, not even. He's more like an obnoxious cousin."

"Hmm...Virion?"

"Oh please," Lissa said with a giggle. "I hardly know the guy. He's so weird, anyway."

"Is it the new guy, Gaius? I hate him, but I wouldn't judge you, my dearest."

Lissa shook her head once more, starting to get flustered by Maribelle's pet names.

"Ricken? He is a dear..."

Another head shake.

"...The farm hand? Please don't tell me you love the dirty little farm kid." Maribelle turned her nose up in disgust.

"Donny's cool," Lissa said. "But no. It's not him."

The color started to drain from Maribelle's face. "You don't like...Vaike, do you?"

Lissa giggled uncontrollably. "You mean Teach? Hah, no. In his dreams, maybe."

"Then who is it? I've practically listed everyone of any note in this army."

"Well, obviously not," Lissa said, crossing her arms playfully. Suddenly, her anxiety started to settle in and she got a lot less playful. "Heh..."

"Oh, why are you so nervous? I promise I will never tell a soul." Maribelle held up a hand, as if she were testifying in court.

Lissa sighed, knowing that she would not be allowed to leave the tent until Maribelle's sick curiosity was satisfied. "Fine, I can tell you..."

"Please do, my dear! I'm simply on the edge of my seat," Maribelle said.

"Why do you even care so much?" Lissa hoped that this question would prolong having to admit what she was about to admit.

Maribelle leaned back, acting offended. "Why wouldn't I care? You're my best friend in the world, and all I want for you is your happiness. Besides, once I know, I can start keeping an eye on him. I'll make sure whoever it is you're infatuated with will never hurt you for as long as you both live."

"I'm not sure how you can really do that..." Lissa said with a singsong voice.

"What? Are you saying I can't?"

What Lissa wanted to say was something along the lines of, "it's hard to keep an eye on yourself," but nervousness overtook her halfway through, so it came out as more of a, "it's kind of, um, hard to, uh...watch...er, that is...I mean..."

Maribelle raised an eyebrow at Lissa. "Now now, speak up. Not so much that other tents will hear you, but at least enough that I can hear you. You're quieter than a mouse."

Lissa shook her head quickly. "No no, it's...fine."

Maribelle rolled her eyes. "Look, we've messed around enough. I'm not going to stop asking you until you tell me."

"I shouldn't bother," Lissa said. "They wouldn't like me back anyway..."

"Oh, perish the thought! Lissa, my dear, any man with half a brain would absolutely adore you. If whoever's lucky enough to have caught your gaze doesn't reciprocate, then they were never worth your time in the first place." Maribelle punctuated her statement with a nod and looked to Lissa expectantly. "Now then. Who is it?"

Lissa's voice was reduced to a whisper. "I think you're worth my time." It was so quiet, she wasn't even sure she said it.

Maribelle put a hand to her ear. "Speak up, for the gods' sakes. We'll be here until sunrise if you keep beating around the bush like that."

Lissa sat straight, swallowed hard, and looked to Maribelle nervously before saying, "Maribelle, you take that back, because I know for a fact you don't feel the same, but you're worth my time anyway!" It was all said in one breath and once it was out, Lissa gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Maribelle froze, eyes wide, and the two girls just sat for a moment, staring at each other while their cheeks gradually flushed red.

Finally, Maribelle coughed. "Oh...Oh my. I didn't, uh, think you felt that way."

"I'm sorry..." Lissa turned away, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I'll leave if you want."

She made a move to run back to her tent and cry her eyes out, but Maribelle stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Lissa, wait! I don't want you to leave. We've finally started getting somewhere here."

"Wait...what?"

Maribelle nodded. "I worked so hard to get that out of you, and now that you've finally said it, we must do something about it."

"Something needs to be done?" Lissa asked. "It's not...bad, is it?"

"Of course not! Lissa, I...feel that way about you too. I just didn't want to say anything because I thought you wouldn't reciprocate." Maribelle breathed a sigh. "Well, I guess that was silly of me, wasn't it? One would think we were both a couple of little blonde, more attractive Cordelias, pining silently like that."

Lissa giggled a bit, thankful for the attempt at lightening the mood. Then reality set in and her breathing grew unsteady. "Maribelle, there's no way we can be together."

"What ever do you mean, my dear?" Maribelle asked. "Surely it wouldn't be that big of a deal."

"Are you insane?" Lissa started to raise her voice before realizing they weren't safe from being overheard. "I'm the princess of Ylisse! You're a noble yourself. We'd be in so much trouble if anyone caught us together. The people would never approve of the beloved Exalt's little sister being with another girl!"

Maribelle nodded. "I guess I see what you mean. Maybe it would cause a stir if we were to be together..."

Lissa had to work to contain a sniffle. "It sucks. I, uh, didn't know I liked you until you said I was lovesick, and then it all kind of fell into place at once... Now we both know and there's nothing we can do about it."

"That is where I disagree," Maribelle said with a headshake. "While it is true that we would cause a PR disaster by being together, I think there is a way around it."

"What is that?" Lissa asked, the possibility of being able to get with Maribelle after all relieving the sinking feeling in her gut just a bit.

Maribelle laughed in that way she did when she knew something somebody else didn't. "I am saying, of course, that who said anybody has to know?"

Lissa gasped. "You mean we date in secret?"

"Obviously," Maribelle said. "I love you too much to let this opportunity slip through my finely manicured fingers."

Lissa giggled, her face flushing once more. "Aww...well, what if we get caught?"

"I am a very rich noble. If we were to get caught, I think I'd be able to ensure that whoever is responsible would never utter a word of it to anyone else."

"Money can really do that?" Lissa asked, a sense of wonder in her voice.

Maribelle barked a laugh. "Oh my dear, money can do anything if you use it right. So what do you say?"

"Well, if you promise we won't get caught..."

"Which we won't," Maribelle assured her.

"Then let's go for it!"

The girls smiled at each other, ecstatic beyond words. They hugged each other tight, not ever really wanting to let go.

"Thanks for letting me in tonight, it helped a lot," Lissa said.

"Always my pleasure, dear." Maribelle pulled away from the hug and gave Lissa a quick kiss.

Now, Lissa was no stranger to kisses from Maribelle, but those were always, well, kisses on the cheek, because that was considered a formal greeting; but something about this particular kiss felt like nothing Lissa had experienced before. It was probably the fact that this one was on her lips. Yeah, that probably did it. It wasn't a long, lingering, or particularly special kiss by any means, but it was one that Lissa felt for hours afterwards, and one whose memory never left her mind. The bliss Lissa felt that night as she returned to her tent made her feel like she could just lift off the ground and fly all the way to Valm without resting a bit. The weight of the world was lifted off her shoulders, and now she had a girlfriend with whom to shoulder that weight, should it ever return.

And that was awesome to know.

The rest of the war against Plegia was a bloody affair, and many lives were lost, the most notable of which being Lissa's very own older sister. It was difficult, and many tears were shed, but under Robin's expert guidance, the Shepherds somehow managed to surmount the odds and put Gangrel in his place, which was, of course, six feet under.

However, no one knew better than Lissa or Chrom that no number of victories could make up for the loss of Emmeryn, and many nights were lost to the tears that came from having to watch her fall to her demise. Lissa's dreams were haunted by the images of Emmeryn plunging to the ground, the sound of her body making contact, and Gangrel's deranged laughter. Luckily for Lissa, Maribelle was a devoted other, and spent all of her free time helping her through it. Sometimes they would even share a tent through the night so they could find comfort in cuddling one another and occasionally sharing a kiss when Lissa was up for it. This was a feat she wouldn't have been able to get away with if she had taken a male suitor, but since everyone knew the two were the best of friends, it was overlooked.

It was worrying, however, that Chrom seemed to have been affected by the loss most out of everyone and didn't even accept any of his friends' offers to help out. He was silent and reserved, sometimes getting lost in thought in the middle of important meetings and even training sessions, which were what used to take his mind off of things. The people of Ylisse expected him to take a wife in celebration of Plegia's defeat, but he didn't seem too thrilled with the prospect. In fact, on the very day of his wedding, he looked like he would much rather have been cast out to sea than be in his own home. Lissa approached him about it, a jutted lower lip telling her brother all he needed to know. "Okay mister, speak up. What's got you all spacey today?"

Chrom shook his head. "Me? Spacey? No, not at all. I'm just...er, busy."

"Busy being off in your own world, maybe!" Lissa put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot expectantly. "Now, Chrom, you tell me what's wrong this instant. First you make the weird choice of marrying some village maiden I've never even seen before, and now you don't even seem excited for it!"

Chrom looked around, searching for any excuse to get out of the current conversation. "Look, it's complicated, Lissa. You'll understand when you're older."

"That's not an answer, Chrom."

"Lissa, today's a big day, and I'm busy. I'll explain it to you later, alright?"

Lissa rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I'm not gonna forget. Even when you're totally smashed at the reception tonight."

That was when Maribelle joined in on the conversation. "Lissa, that is no way for a lady to talk. Especially at her own brother's wedding."

Chrom's eyes widened, thankful for the distraction. "Maribelle, just in time. You take Lissa to go find a seat, alright? I'll talk to you ladies later."

"Gladly, milord," Maribelle said with a curtsy. She grabbed Lissa's arm and took her to their seats.

Together, they watched the ceremony commence. Lissa scanned the crowd and managed to pick out every single member of the Shepherds. Well, all of them except for one. "Maribelle, have you seen Gaius?"

"Why would I have?" Maribelle scoffed.

"Everyone's here except for him."

"And? Just because someone's a Shepherd doesn't mean they're immediately obligated to go to Chrom's wedding. Besides, I'm sure that filthy, no good layabout doesn't even own anything fancier than the rags he wears on the regular." Maribelle shook her head sadly at the thought.

"I guess you're right," Lissa said. "Sorry to bother you."

"You can't bother me, my dear," Maribelle assured her, making sure not to use any of the new, more intimate pet names they exchanged in private.

Once the ceremony had ended to uproarious applause, everyone made haste for the banquet hall for the reception. As the main people responsible for planning the wedding, the first three to get there were Frederick, Maribelle and Lissa. However, they found that someone was hanging out in the designated area already. He had a sample of one of the many sweets in between his fingers and he was examining it closely. When Frederick cleared his throat, the head of orange hair whipped around. "Oh, hey! Well if it isn't Princess, Tinkles and Freddy Bear." Gaius put on a cheesy grin and waved his free hand at his visitors. "Is it reception time already?"

Maribelle crossed her arms and scoffed. "Ugh, I should have known you'd show up for the reception, you sweet-toothed little creep."

When Gaius' only response was to pop the sweet into his mouth, Frederick stepped in. "Gaius, why didn't you go to the actual ceremony? Don't you know it's rude to skip someone's wedding for the sweets at the reception?"

"And you better not have eaten all of them!" Lissa snapped. "I was saving some for myself."

Gaius put his hands up, gesturing about his innocence while he swallowed. "Well, you know me. I can't make myself sit still through such a boring event," he said once his mouth wasn't full. "I was there in spirit though, and something tells me Chrom would accept that."

Lissa couldn't help but giggle at this. "The funny part is, he probably would actually accept that."

Frederick rolled his eyes. "It is his wedding after all...alright, I shall talk about this with milord, and if he accepts, you can stay. Otherwise, you will be escorted out by me."

"You got it, bud," Gaius said.

"And no snacks until we clear this with Chrom," Lissa said. "We don't need them all being eaten by someone he doesn't even want here."

For being a seasoned thief, Gaius was being oddly cooperative with his response of, "whatever you say, Princess," but nobody thought to question it.

When the planners and their plus one had finally tracked down the groom, he listened intently to their story, nodding solemnly as they explained Gaius' situation. Finally, he looked to Gaius and sighed. "I can't say I'm surprised. He always did have a problem with sitting still for long periods of time..." As Chrom thought about what to do, Lissa, Maribelle and Frederick looked between each other confused. Finally, Chrom nodded his approval. "Gaius, you can stay. It would be rude of me to deny entry to a fellow Shepherd."

Gaius smiled and bowed sightly towards Chrom. "Thanks, Blue."

The edge of Chrom's mouth twitched after Gaius spoke. "Please stop calling me...and there he goes."

Sure enough, Gaius had made himself scarce and was making a beeline towards the sweets table that he was originally found at. Lissa couldn't help but smile as she shook her head. "What a strange guy."

"Indeed," Frederick agreed.

The rest of the reception proceeded as normal, but as soon as the commoners went home, it became a Shepherds-only party, and that went well into the night. When it was finally over and all the Shepherds had retired for the night (Gregor and Vaike had to be hauled off by Chrom and Frederick because they passed out from all the alcohol they imbibed,) it was finally time for the royalty and Frederick to settle down. Frederick had decided to spend his time cleaning the banquet hall, refusing to allow anyone to help him, so Chrom, his maiden, Lissa and Maribelle all eagerly left for their respective rooms. Once she was sure they were alone in the halls, Maribelle snatched up Lissa's hand in her own, intertwining their fingers tightly. "So, shall I accompany you to bed tonight, my sweet treat?"

Lissa giggled, her face heating up slightly. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like that."

They made they way to Lissa's bedroom, and the moment the door was locked tight, Lissa collapsed on her bed. "Oh man, I'm exhausted. Who knew planning a wedding would be such an ordeal?"

"Quite so," Maribelle agreed as she started to disrobe. "Lissa, dear, are you really going to sleep in such a fancy dress? It looks uncomfortable, and it wouldn't do the fabric any favors besides."

Lissa heaved a deep sigh. "You're right." She dragged herself to her feet and slipped out of her fancy dress, leaving both the girls in simply their undergarments. Maribelle took the time to change into one of Lissa's nightgowns, sure she wouldn't mind, while Lissa flopped back onto her bed, too tired to bother.

"You don't want me to grab another of your nightgowns for you, Lissa?" Maribelle asked.

"I'll be fine, thanks," Lissa said. Maribelle joined her, and within moments, the two girls were cuddling, sharing each other's warmth beneath the covers and chatting about how the day went. Finally, Lissa sighed once more. "I wish I could plan a wedding of my own."

Maribelle's expression softened and she nodded agreement. "I know. T'would be an affair for the ages."

"Too bad it'll never happen," Lissa said sadly.

"Now why would it not?" Maribelle asked.

"Uh, hello?" Lissa motioned around them. "We're dating in secret for a reason. I wouldn't be able to marry you."

"Oh..." Maribelle's face flushed and she looked away.

"What's wrong?" Lissa asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

Maribelle smiled and shook her head. "No, I merely didn't think you would go so far as to marry me..."

Lissa gasped. "What? Of course I'd marry you! What, did you think I was just experimenting or something?"

"Kind of?" Maribelle said. "I'm not one for insecurities, you know this. But I was a bit afraid you wouldn't stay with me long enough for that to happen." She then gave a weak laugh. "I know, it was stupid of me to think that."

"Oh not stupid. Just a bit silly!" Lissa said in the cutest voice she could muster amidst her tired haze. "Maribelle, I genuinely think you're the love of my life. And nothing will ever change that. I promise." To seal the promise, the two shared a soft, lingering kiss before they drifted off to sleep.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. This remained true for Lissa and Maribelle's secret relationship. They tried to be as careful as possible during the two years in between campaigns, as it is much more difficult to explain away sharing a bedroom than a tent, but all of their effort eventually came to be for naught. The fateful day when they were discovered came on a peaceful autumn afternoon, shortly after it had been announced that Chrom's new wife was currently with child.

It wasn't a particularly cold day by any means, but it was the kind of gloomy day that made Lissa just want to stay inside, and so she did, with Maribelle by her side. The two stayed in bed, cuddling, talking and exchanging the occasional kiss until well into the day. It was an hour or so after the noon sky started its westward travels that something finally happened to pull them out of bed. Unfortunately, that something came in the form of Chrom banging on the door, a worried tone in his voice. "Lissa, are you in there? What's got you sleeping in so late? You never do this."

Maribelle and Lissa both gasped and Lissa scrambled to get out of bed, only half dressed. "Uh, I'm not sleeping in, don't worry!" She called to the other side of the door.

"Alright," Chrom responded. "Are you decent? May I come in?"

Lissa mouthed an expletive that, under different circumstances, would have earned her a stern talking to from Maribelle. "Um, I'm not decent. Wait a moment, please."

"Is...everything okay?" Chrom asked. "You sound bothered by something."

"Oh, it's nothing," Lissa said, rushing to put on a nightgown at least. When she wasn't in only her underwear, she ushered for Maribelle to hide under the covers and ran to the door, throwing it open. "Hey! What's up, bro?"

Chrom gave her a weak smile. "Ah, to be young and able to afford staying in your nightclothes until after noon." He shook his head.

"What's wrong, Chrom?" Lissa asked, hoping he wouldn't look too hard at her bed.

He pushed past her and into the room with a sigh, reliably being his unobservant self. "I have a lot on my mind lately, and I kind of want to talk it all out with you. Would you mind if we did that?"

Lissa bit her lip. She knew saying yes would doom Maribelle to sitting in the bed for at least the next hour, but saying no meant angering Chrom, and she wasn't sure which person's wrath would be more difficult to bear. Finally, she figured that she couldn't say no to her brother and ended up nodding her head. "Sure thing, bro. It's been a while since we've had some nice sibling bonding time." She knew this was going to earn her a stern eyeroll later, but she was sure she could make up for it with a kiss or something.

Chrom smiled and took a seat on the bed, ready to talk out his problems. Unfortunately, he had somehow managed to sit right where Maribelle's feet were, which caused her to emit a high-pitched squeal from under the blanket. Chrom cried out and scrambled to stand up, but got his foot caught in the bit of Lissa's blanket that was hanging over the end of the bed. He fell to the ground, his foot taking most of the blanket with him, revealing an underwear-clad Maribelle, who screamed. Lissa's first instinct was to shoo Maribelle out of the room while the blanket was settling over Chrom's head, but she knew her brother wasn't a total idiot. Instead, she stood there with her hands over her mouth and her eyes wide. Chrom struggled under the blanket for a good ten seconds, cursing sharply under his breath. Finally, he managed to poke his head out from under the blanket and stare at Maribelle with wide eyes. "What the hell? Maribelle, where in blazes are your clothes?"

"Stop staring, you pervert!" Maribelle reprimanded. She shot up and yanked the blanket off of Chrom before draping it over herself once more. "Have some class in the presence of a lady."

"Lissa, what the hell is going on here?" Chrom took a shaky stand, one hand clutching his usually armored shoulder. "Why is there a nude Maribelle in your bed?"

"Mostly nude!" Maribelle corrected him. "The nerve!"

Chrom opened his mouth to respond, but Lissa put her hands up innocently. "Look, Chrom, I can explain! Really!"

Chrom stood still a moment, silently looking between Lissa and Maribelle, the latter of whom had her free hand over her chest and a very red face. Finally, he shook his head. "I don't think you need to explain it to me..."

"Wait, what?" Lissa asked.

"You two are a thing, aren't you?"

Maribelle rolled her eyes. "Such crass language. You might as well have asked if we're fu—"

"Maribelle!" Lissa shouted, her face turning red this time.

"...Well, have you been?" Chrom prompted nervous;ly. Lissa responded by bypassing the friendly slap and actually punching Chrom's good shoulder. "Ow, hey, it's a valid question I think."

"No matter how valid it is, it's none of your business!" Lissa's face was about as red as a wide-eyed tomato now. "Look, Chrom, you can't tell anyone about this! If anybody learned about me and Maribelle, there would be an outrage. Please, Chrom?"

Chrom crossed his arms and put on his stern leader face, the one he usually wore when telling slacking Shepherds to get to work. A tense moment passed during which Lissa broke into a cold sweat and Maribelle might have passed out. Finally, Chrom let crack a small smile. He nodded and let his arms fall to his side. "Your secret's safe with me. In fact, I'd like to share a secret of my own with you. Would you like to come with me?"

"Uh, sure," Lissa said nervously. "Can we...get dressed properly first?"

Chrom's face flushed and he rushed for the door. "Please do. I'll meet you out in the hall."

After Lissa and Maribelle finally got themselves dressed, they followed Chrom through some old halls of the castle that Lissa had almost forgotten about. "So Chrom, how's your shoulder?" Lissa asked, placing a hand on the shoulder he landed on.

Chrom winced a bit as her fingers made contact. "I think I sprained it. Do you think you could take care of it once this is all sorted out?"

Lissa paused. "...Sure, but what needs to be sorted out?"

Chrom looked confused before he remembered how he had worded his sentence. "Oh, nothing. I'm just gonna tell you my secret and then it will be over. Sorry I sounded like this was a bad thing there for a sec."

"So you approve of us?" Maribelle asked.

Chrom chuckled. "To be honest, I don't know why I didn't see it coming in the first place. It seems so obvious in retrospect. As Robin likes to say, hindsight is always 20/20." He paused to remember one of his tactician's wise lessons before continuing, "but yes, I'm fine with it. I know you would never hurt my sister, Maribelle. I just hope you two are okay with this..." It was at this point that they reached a door that was locked tight.

"What's up with this place?" Lissa asked. "The door looks brand new, but everything around here looks like nobody's been down here in years."

"We didn't bother cleaning this corridor. Didn't want anyone looking down it and finding something they shouldn't," Chrom mused while he dug through his pockets for something.

"...We?" Maribelle asked as Chrom triumphantly produced a small key. "What's going on?"

"One moment. Please wait here while I..." Chrom's sentence got lost as he unlocked the door and slipped inside, quickly closing it behind him. The girls heard several hushed, hurried whispers behind the door, a gasp, and then a shush. The whispers paused a second before continuing and finally, Chrom stepped out of the door, closing it behind him quickly. "Lissa, Maribelle, I have a secret to tell you. One much like the one I just learned about you." The girls exchanged a glance and he coughed awkwardly. "You see... this has been a really hard time for me, and I needed my own help through it. We weren't childhood friends like you two, but...I'd like you two to meet the person I would have married if I'd thought I could get away with it." Chrom stepped away from the door, and finally, it slowly opened. When Maribelle and Lissa saw who was behind it, Lissa gasped and Maribelle jumped back, nearly fainting.

Once more, that orange head of hair graced their presence, only this time, wearing much less formal clothing. He gave them a wave and a smirk. "Hey Princess. Tinkles. Just heard the big news. Congrats!"

Lissa and Maribelle had very different reactions to learning about Chrom and Gaius' forbidden romance. Lissa's was a loud proclamation of everything that was weird about the wedding finally making sense, from Gaius refusing to attend the ceremony to the random choice of a maiden no one knew. Maribelle's reaction, on the other hand, was to threaten to barf many times while voicing her disapproval. Gaius' reaction to that was to give her several witty comebacks.

As they bickered and shared empty threats, Chrom and Lissa promised each other never to spill their secrets to the others. "You and Maribelle would probably eventually be accepted, " Chrom said with a sigh. "As for Gaius and I, well, what would Ylisse think if its Exalt was dating someone who used to be a common thief?"

Lissa nodded along. "Man, that's rough. I'm so sorry Chrom. Is this what's been on your mind?"

"Sort of," Chrom said. "I was hoping I'd find a way to tell you soon, to be honest. It's much easier to share this secret with someone than shoulder it on our own. He's helped me get through Emm's death, and so have you; so I thought you should know."

Lissa's only queston was, "are you gonna tell Robin?"

"What, Bubbles?" Gaius asked, interjecting at last. "Hell no."

"Robin probably could care less about our love lives. I'd rather we didn't," Chrom said.

Lissa nodded. "I see. Back to what you were saying, I guess it does feel a bit better knowing that you're okay with me and Maribelle, so I guess this all was a good thing. Even if it meant you learning the way you did."

Chrom sighed once more. "I wish I could say the same. I think Maribelle's just about fit to murder me."

Lissa giggled awkwardly. "She's probably just surprised is all. I'm sure she'll be fine with it. Those two do have something in common, after all."

"What's that?" Chrom asked.

"Us," Lissa answered with a smile.

Gaius cracked a grin at Maribelle. "Hey Tinkles, you know, if both of us married our respective royals, that'd make us siblings-in-law. Should I call you Sister Tinkles from now on?"

"I will ruin you!" Maribelle snapped, bringing about a round of laughter from everyone else present.

Having Chrom and Gaius help keep her secret made life a lot easier for Lissa in some ways, but in some ways, it was more difficult, as Chrom's secret was a bigger one to keep, and it also meant several long nights of sharing deep sibling talks about how much they longed to be able to love who they loved in public without fear for the repercussions. Chrom had married the village maiden to make sure to quell any rumors before they started, but that had the unfortunate outcome of making sure that revealing it would be even worse for him, which was stressful.

That lack of forward thinking was why Robin was a godsend for Chrom and his army.

Anyway, the next handful of months passed, carrying with them the somewhat joyous birth of Princess Lucina, but also an ominous wind from the west. The start of the Valmese campaign was a brutal and gruesome one. The strength of The Conqueror's army was a lot for the poor Shepherds to handle, and sometimes that meant long, restless nights for Lissa, Maribelle, and the other healers. And then things had to take a turn for the bizarre, because why wouldn't they after the last strange war?

Still, collecting amnesiacs was nowhere near as bizarre as time traveling children. One day, Lucina was a small baby, staying back at the castle safe and sound, and the next, she was the full-grown woman fighting right alongside the Shepherds. Her promise of others having made the trip with her made several of the Shepherds insanely curious as to what might come of this exciting new prospect. It was natural for everyone to wonder what came of their love lives, but a certain couple dreaded meeting children of theirs, due to the unfortunate implications they would carry with them.

Sure enough, these fears came to fruition in the form of an eccentric boy swinging around swords and gabbing about his "sword hand." Owain had oddly colored hair, unlike anything Lissa had ever seen and certainly had the most unique personality of anyone Lissa had ever met. However, in a strange turn of events, Owain did not immediately introduce himself to his mother as her child, as he had an odd feeling that something wasn't quite right with this time he landed in. Instead of introducing himself, he started observing his mother and the man he remembered as his father. When he saw no sign of them interacting for a long while, he decided to approach his father and ask coyly about what the hell was going on in his usual mannerisms. The loud greeting and obnoxious posturing was lost on his poor, dim dad, who merely scratched at his cheek in confusion. "Uh...I'm mighty sorry, but I don't have a dang clue what language yer speakin'. Can you repeat that for me?"
Owain's character broke and he bit his lip nervously. "Er, I'm sorry about that. I was just asking your name, kind sir."

The boy with the tin hat smiled. "Oh, well I'm Donny! You can call me Donny. Wait, I might have said that wrong..."

Owain smiled at his father. "Well met, Donny! Now, I must ask you something. It's sort of...personal, though."

"What kinda personal?" Donnel asked. "I'm not big into secrets, so you can ask me any ol' thing and I'll tell ya."

"Do you have any experience with...girls?" Owain asked, raising an eyebrow. "I ask because well, I'd like advice on how to properly talk to the fairer sex, but I know not how. I thought you would bestow upon me some of your wisdom!"

"Heh, well, I'm afraid yer in the wrong place," Donnel said, absentmindedly tapping the spear in his hand against his pot. "I ain't never had any luck with the women folk around here."

Owain gasped, his eyes widening at the implications of this. "But...but you...I mean, you look so...hm, this is bad." Without another word, Owain rushed off, leaving Donnel to wonder what in tarnation had just happened.

His next stop was in the med tent, where he found Lissa and another of his future-traveling companions tending to some wounded soldiers. Brady gave Owain a wave, but was ignored in favor of the other medic on duty. "M—er, Lissa!"

Lissa turned and looked at Owain with a raised eyebrow. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? And how do you know my name? I haven't spoken to you yet."

Owain stuttered, mentally berating himself for using his mother's name so brazenly. "Er, everyone knows your name. You are the princess of Ylisse, after all."

"Good point," Lissa said with a shrug. "What do you need? You don't look hurt."

"I'm not, but I am here on important business nonetheless," Owain said, his mannerisms coming back in full force. "Please, allow me to ask you a simple question. It may be personal, but I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me."

"What is it?" Lissa asked, starting to get a bit nervous.

"What do you think of that Donnel guy?"

Lissa cocked her head to the side a bit. "Oh, Donny? He's friend of mine. He's nice, if a bit on the dim side. That gives him charm, though. Why do you ask?"

"It's...kind of complicated," Owain said, struggling to think of anything. "You see... ah, right! I am doing some matchmaking!"

"Matchmaking?" Lissa repeated. "Are you...sure? Who are you matching Donny up with? He never seemed like the type to care about love."

"He doesn't now, but that is merely because he hasn't found the right woman yet!" Owain held his hand in front of his face coyly. "I would like to set you two up on a date!"

"Oh, gods..." Lissa said, chuckling awkwardly. "Well, you see...about that. I'm not interested."

"What? Why not?" Owain asked, straining not to sound desperate. "That is...I mean, you seem like a lovely lady, and you seem to be lonely..."

Lissa gave a laugh, her thoughts immediately going to Maribelle as if she hadn't thought enough about her that day already. "It's quite alright. I appreciate your efforts, but I'm not interested in guys right now."

Owain let his hand down. "Hmm...alright. Well, whenever you are, consider looking into that Donny boy. I hear he's nice."

"You heard it from me," Lissa said with a deadpan voice.

"Regardless!" Owain ran from the tent and Lissa gave Brady a confused look.

"Is he normally like this?"

Brady gave a halfhearted shrug. "Y'know, I know him personally, and I couldn't even tell ya. Owain's a strange fella, that's for sure."

Lissa shook her head, dismissing the eccentric boy entirely.

Later that night, Lissa recounted the story with Maribelle, who nearly doubled over in laughter. "Donnel? The farm hand? Why?"

"I have no idea," Lissa said, sharing in Maribelle's contagious giggles. "I mean, I consider him a friend, but why would I ever date him?"

"The fanciest piece of clothing that boy owns is that tin can on his head!" Maribelle wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh gods, I would throw up."

"Brady said he's always really weird, so I guess we can chalk it up to that."

Maribelle scoffed at the mention of the new healer in town. "Oh, that boy? He's so...ugh. Hearing him talk is like putting my ear in a cheese-grater."

"He's a sweet boy, though," Lissa insisted. "Once you get past the...rough exterior. Everybody who's joined since Lucina did is a bit strange though, come to think of it."

"Speaking of that, have either of those two shared who their parents were in their future?" Maribelle asked. "Everyone else has been more than eager to divulge that."

"Hmm, now that you mention it, I don't think they have," Lissa said. "Maybe they did that in private with their parents. Or maybe they're not even from the future in the first place."

"Perhaps," Maribelle said. "Either way, let us sleep now. It's been such a long day."

"Good idea," Lissa said with a nod. "Goodnight Maribelle."

Maribelle smiled and gave her a kiss before laying down to sleep. "Goodnight my Lissa. I love you."

"Love you more," Lissa countered with a giggle.

Nearby, a similar duo (except for the whole in love part) were sitting in a tent, talking about the day's events. "What the hell were you goin' on about?" Brady asked. "Your ma looked atcha like ya lost yer damn mind."

"It is her who has lost her mind," Owain insisted. "Her and my father hardly know each other. This is bad, Brady. What if us coming back has influenced this time for the worse? What if I never exist in this time?"

Brady shrugged. "I dunno, man."

"And what about your mom?" Owain asked. "Any luck with her?"

Brady shook his head sadly. "I haven't even been able to get her to talk to me. I don't see her around with my pa much either, but I've no way of knowin' they're together without soundin' nosy. Not that it matters much anywho. This time'd probably be better off if I don't end up existing."

Owain put a finger to his chin thoughtfully, completely disregarding Brady's last self-deprecating thought. "Hm. This requires more investigating. We have a battle plan for tomorrow!" He stood up and made his way to the entrance of Brady's tent. "I'll see you bright and early on the morrow, comrade! I swear we will exist in this time, or I'll eat Ike's chest hair!"

"...Ew."

Owain and Brady spent the next few weeks of the Valmese campaign keeping very close eyes on their mothers, trying to figure out why those two hadn't gotten with their respective husbands yet. Brady had an easier time of it, as he spent most of his time with at least one of the two in the med tent, but even he had no clue what the answer to this riddle was. It was some time, but at last, they finally stumbled upon the answer.

Whether they wanted to or not.

It was an early morning, and after a night without any decent sleep, Owain found himself patrolling camp, looking around for anyone at all to talk to or, if they were an intruder, to stab. The former option came when Lissa emerged from her tent, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and stretching, unintentionally catching his attention in the process. He smiled at his mom and held up a hand to wave. "Hey Lissa," he greeted, finally used to not calling her any variation of mother.

"Hm? Oh, hey Owain," Lissa said sleepily. "What's got you up so early?"

Owain shrugged in response. "Couldn't sleep. And you?"

Lissa smiled. "I always get up this early. Being a medic in an army means early mornings and late nights, y'know?"

"I should have figured as much," Owain said with a nod. "And you sound like you had quite the late night yourself."

Despite her best efforts, Lissa snorted. "Heh, yeah, but not for the reasons you'd expect."

A confused Owain raised one of his eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, nothing," Lissa said, her face heating up. "Now run along, I have some very important business to attend to."

"If you insist," Owain said, starting to move on his way. However, he was stopped in his tracks when a voice came from inside Lissa's tent that he was not expecting to hear.

"Lissa, dearest, is the coast clear? I'd love to stand now." Owain whirled around, and seeing that made Lissa's eyes widen. When no response was given, Maribelle poked her head out. "Lissa, you're supposed to tell me if the coast is clea...oh no." She locked eyes with Owain, who pointed between the two, trying to process what was going on.

"What's...going on?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Nothing..." Lissa said, her voice wavering.

A moment of silence passed, during which not a word was exchanged between the three people present. Finally, Owain bolted off in the direction from which he came, heading towards Brady's tent as fast as he could.

Lissa muttered a curse under her breath before calling out to him. "Owain! Wait!"

"That buffoon is gonna tell the whole camp!" Maribelle cried as she scrambled to get out of the tent. "We need to catch him."

Seconds later, Owain was barging into Brady's tent. "Brady! I figured it out!"

Brady roused from his sleep and looked at Owain with a confused, tired look. "Wha...? Man, it's too early for this business. Whaddya want?"

"I figured out why our moms aren't talking to our dads!" Owain said, hastily peeking out of the tent to look around and make sure nobody else was in earshot.

"Yeah, why's that?" Brady asked, still half asleep.

Owain turned back into the tent when he figured the coast was clear. "Because they're together!"

Suddenly, Brady was as alert as he would be at noon any other day. He sat up straight and looked to Owain with a wary look. "Hey now...don't you be pullin' a fast one on me this early, ya hear? Are you sure 'bout this?"

"Is the sky blue?"

Brady rolled his eyes. "Right now, maybe. I dunno, I ain't looked at it yet."

Owain stomped his foot in frustration. "Listen to me!" Before he could say another word, a hand reached into the tent, latched onto his shoulder with a death grip, and yanked him out.

Maribelle wrapped her arms around his waist and prepared to throw him to the ground if need be. "Who have you told?" She demanded. "Speak! I am well and prepared to suplex you!"

"Wha...! Hey, please don't hurt me!"

Brady peeked out from his tent, confused and slightly embarrassed at the sight of Owain about to be taken down by his own mother. "What's goin' on out here?"

Lissa approached the group and crossed her arms, looking at Owain sternly. "Now, Owain. You have to promise to keep what you learned just now a secret from everybody!"

Owain held up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, I won't tell anyone else."

"Else?!" Maribelle yelled, tightening her grip on the poor boy.

"Eek! Yes! I already told Brady! We deserve to know this!"

Brady looked between Lissa and Maribelle, seeing the anger on their faces and learning what he needed to from that. "Wait...you mean ta tell me that that wasn't a load of horse dung? They are together?"

"Yes, but we have to keep it a secret!" Owain said, hoping to appease the very angry Maribelle.

"We...we can do that," Brady promised, his voice wavering and his lip quivering.

When Owain reinforced Brady's promise with his own, Maribelle sighed in relief and released her girlfriend's son. "Whew. Good. Because I don't actually know how to do a suplex. I was going to be fine with learning though."

Before Lissa or Owain could respond, Brady broke down crying. And this wasn't just sniffles. The poor boy was howling. Everyone looked to him, confused by his outburst. "Brady..." Lissa said. "Are you...alright?"

Brady sniffed and rubbed a tear from his eye. "No..."

"What ever is the matter?" Maribelle asked. "Are you devastated that two beauties such as ourselves are officially off the market?"

"N-no..." Brady repeated.

Owain sighed and shook his head. "I know what's wrong. You see..."

"Shaddup!" Brady interrupted through his tears. "I'm just...a little bummed that everyone else'll exist except for us, awright?"

Lissa and Maribelle looked at each other with wide eyes. "Wait..." the former said. "Does that mean...you two are...our children?"

Owain and Brady looked to each other before nodding solemnly. Maribelle snapped her fingers as if she had figured it out on her own. "I knew it. That would explain why you guys never told anyone who you belonged to."

Brady sniffled again. "I'm sorry ma, I just..."

"Don't call me that," Maribelle said dryly.

"Hey, please don't be so hard on him," Owain said, his character dropped as if it never existed. "Knowing that a version of you will never exist is hard to accept this early in the morning."

Lissa put her hands on her hips, not quite sure how to respond to all of this. "This doesn't make sense. If you two are our children, but we can't...yeah," she made an awkward hand gesture before continuing, "...Then how'd we have you two in the future? I don't like the idea of leaving Maribelle for anyone, even if it is just to make a child."

Owain shrugged. "I know not how this all happened. Mayhaps we were sent to a bizarre alternate reality where we weren't even meant to exist in the first place." This elicited another sob from Brady. "The gods do work in mysterious ways, but this is a bit too strange for my liking."

Owain's companion shook his head. "Don't matter how or what happened. Irregardless, this still means we won't ever...happen!"

Maribelle grit her teeth at Brady's horrendous grammar. "Don't you ever use that vile word again."

"Sorry ma..."

Lissa shook her head and held up her hands to stop the conversation. "Look, this is all very weird for us too, but we'll figure it out. Later. For now though, Maribelle and I are needed at the med tent. Brady, you can come too if you're up to it. We'll discuss what to do about all this later, and hopefully not in the middle of camp where anyone could hear us."

"Yeah, that was a terrible idea. I was here for the whole thing. So, you and Maribelle, huh? Never thought I'd see the day. Uh, hello? ...Can anyone see me? ...Oh. Alright. I'll just...head off."

Everyone nodded agreement to what Lissa had said and the group of four (or five?) went their separate ways, each preparing for the day in their own manner.

The campaign went on, and all interactions between Lissa, Maribelle and their sons were extremely awkward, none of them ever leading to a resolution to the issue at hand, that being the children being concerned for their alternate selves' well-beings. The situation was still very much at hand for the final battle atop a massive dragon, soaring through the air at inhuman speeds. Lissa and Maribelle shared a tender embrace as they went into the fight, both knowing it could well be their last. The battle got under way after a dramatic stand-off between Grima and Robin, and the Shepherds were immediately surrounded by Risen as the toughest fight of their lives got under way. Everything came down to this, and all of their efforts culminated in this one final hurrah.

Lissa, Maribelle, Brady and the other healers had it the roughest, being forced to juggle battle with healing their comrades, and that meant letting their guards down just long enough to mend someone's wounds and hopefully get back to cutting down Risen. A tall order, especially when these Risen were so powerful that several people would need medical attention at a time.

When Lon'qu was nearly felled by a speedy lance-wielding pegasus knight, Maribelle rushed to his aid. When he resisted, she smacked him upside the head and commanded that he put his fear of women aside for one damned second. Unfortunately, this exchange would be what lead to the worst-case scenario. As soon as Lon'qu was up and running again, he nodded at Maribelle to show his thanks and bounded off, back into the thick of battle. That was when the surprise attack struck, bringing Maribelle to her knees.

Her scream echoed across the back of Grima and fell on Lissa's ears. "Maribelle!" She ran to her girlfriend's side, effortlessly cut down the attacker with her axe, and set about healing her dearest companion.

The healing process wasn't a very long one, but her patient being who she was, Lissa had to make sure she was doing everything precisely right. Maribelle thanked Lissa for her consideration and the two shared a quick kiss, no longer caring who saw.

What happened next was a blur of swords clashing and someone screaming. A trio of Risen descended on the two, attacking while their guard was down. Fortunately, someone nearby had been paying close attention to his mother's whereabouts. "Mother!" Owain jumped into the fray, attempting to cut down the attackers as he slung quips and one-liners at them. However, they proved to be too much for Owain to bear. His cries sent shivers down Lissa's spine and the sound of blood splattering against the scaly ground did so even worse.

"Owain?" She whirled around to see a hopelessly mangled figure fall to the ground in a pool of his own blood. "Owain!"

She ran to his side and prepared to heal him, but he weakly shook his head. "No, mother...it's too late for me."

"No, I can fix this!" Lissa tried to force a reassuring smile, but inside, everyone present knew that his wounds were simply too much for any amount of healing to handle.

"Mother, I'm sorry. I failed you... My sword hand...wasn't strong enough." He tried to crack a smile, also failing miserably. "Remember...there's nothing to be afraid of. Nobody will...think less of you." His eyes closed, his head fell to the ground, and his life left his body, leaving Lissa and Maribelle to stare at his body in disbelief.

Thanks to Robin's heroic sacrifice, that wasn't the last death that the Shepherds saw in that battle. Grima was vanquished for good, but unfortunately, that meant Robin shared that fate.

The bittersweet victory was hard on everyone as they ventured back to Ylisse, all while sharing tales of Robin's daring and Owain's eccentricities. All the while, Owain's final words ran through Lissa's mind over and over again. Finally, when their meaning stuck, she made it her mission to head back to Ylisse and make her secret known. She, of course, started with the Shepherds, and once she finally convinced Maribelle to agree, they shared their secret with all of them. They all, surprisingly, approved of this development and some weren't even surprised, once again taking hindsight into consideration.

"I've known for a while now, to be honest with you. You just didn't notice when I learned. ...Hello? Please notice me."

Once everyone had known, Lissa approached Chrom, gave him a hug, and told him that maybe he should consider sharing his secret with everyone as well. It wasn't going to be as easy, considering his marital status, but Chrom promised he would some day find a way to be as brave as his sister was.

Not long after the battle for the world ended, Lissa and Maribelle threw a massive party. This wasn't to celebrate Grima's defeat, or mourn Robin or Owain's passing, no. This was a chance to finally do what they had yearned to for so long. Both of them wore similar (but not too similar, gods forbid) regal dresses and both of them absolutely cried their eyes out, finally being in that wedding that they had dreamed about for years.

Even Gaius showed up to the ceremony, which was a surprise considering his "restlessness" at the last one.

With those two finally being wed and the country celebrating nearly unanimously, all that left was the matter of a promise Lissa had made to herself after watching her son die.

Once she explained her idea to a certain someone, he was more than happy to volunteer, and then Lissa went to Maribelle for permission. It was a big decision to make, and it took some thought, but after months of consideration, Maribelle finally decided that yes, she was ready for that kind of commitment.

So, a long while after their wedding, and thanks to a donation from one very eager Donnel, Lissa found herself cradling a bundle of joy in her arms that meant the world to her already. Maribelle was just as enamored by this development, and the implications alone made Brady break down, and thus baby Owain was welcomed into the world, blissfully unaware of the sheer avalanche of love and affection his mothers (and older brother-in-law) were going to shower him with.

She didn't end up taking a man with whom to bear children, and maybe she wasn't the girliest girl around, but maybe Lissa wasn't so bad at this being a princess thing after all. At least, Ylisse didn't seem to think so. And even if her subjects did care, all that mattered was that the love of her life loved her back.

Which she did, so everything was pretty good, regardless of outside opinions.