The Gifts
Before reading the story, I have a few things to address. In this story, Morgan and Lucina were born in consecutive years, a year after Chrom, Robin and the shepherds have defeated King Gangrel. This means that any of the events that happened in the game past King Gangrel's defeat didn't happen and are irrelevant to my plot. Also, Prince Marth (Lucina's persona) isn't a part of the story as both Lucina and Morgan are born normally and didn't come from the future. I also decided to divide the story into four different chapters.
Also, this entire story is a contest entry made for Fanfiction-Friends on DeviantArt. I will post a link to the Deviation once it's done.
Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1 – The Young Tactician's Plan
A snow-haired boy holds a huge book in his hands as he sits on the couch next to his bed. A Tactician's Guide to War, the book title reads. The lad is awfully young to be studying such things yet is reading it with gleaming eyes and a thirst for knowledge in warfare. This young man is named Morgan. He is one of the two children of the Exalt of Ylisse, a kingdom that has seen peace in the last five years. Despite his father being quite the celebrity, Morgan has always dreamed to be like his mother, Robin.
A couple of years back, Chrom, then a prince, teamed up with a strange tactician whom he met sprawled across the grass in a random field. Little did those two know that what started as an unbeatable partnership would blossom into what Morgan and his sister Lucina grew up to see; love that has stood the test of time and the pangs of war.
A tactician is the brains of an army. Although it may seem as if the position is the least dangerous, one would be a fool to underestimate the indispensability of a tactician. Despite being one in the backlines during battle, the result of war is hugely based on the strategies and tactical defenses and efforts made by the tactician.
Morgan is fascinated by the idea of tactical warfare; he remembers watching his mother formulating strategies that ended up winning Ylisse her peace as he carries on reading the book.
Just a few moments after he started reading, three loud knocks to the door send Morgan in astonishment, almost dropping the heavy piece of literature.
"Morgan!" a muffled voice cries from the other side of the door. "Father's calling you, it's time for dinner!
"L-Lucy," Morgan replies timidly. "You go on ahead; I'll catch up in a bit."
"No, Morgan, it's time to eat," shouts the girl with deep blue hair. She gives the door a couple more loud knocks. "Morgan, Father and Mother said they have something important to tell us over dinner. We don't want them waiting for either of us so let's go!"
"Fine," Morgan finally gives in. "I'm coming."
Morgan and his sister Lucina make their way to the dining area. The room has huge windows, each panel draped with expensive fabric in a nice blue tone. On every one of the drapery is a huge image of a symbol familiar to all of Ylisse- the brand of the Exalt. Echoes of their footsteps on the marble flooring resonate throughout the entire room. In the middle is a long dining table covered in white linen and at the very end of the table sits Chrom and Robin, Morgan and Lucina's parents.
"Sorry we're late, Father, Mother," Lucina says with her head bowed. "I had to force Morgan into joining us.
"Haha, sorry Mom and Dad," Morgan mumbles, scratching his head.
"No worries," the middle-aged man says calmly. "The two of you should take a seat; your Mother and I are starving."
"Yes, you two sit down already so we can start eating," Robin says cheekily. As Chrom shares his hair color with Lucina, Morgan too has inherited his Mother's snow-white hair. Robin carves the roast and serves her family.
In the middle of dinner, Lucina suddenly remembers something. "Ah, Mother! You said you had something important to tell us right? What is it" she asks curiously.
Robin eyes on Chrom as if waiting for him to say something. She sighs after Chrom gave her a worried smile. "You see, kids. Your father and I have decided to leave for Regna Ferox with the rest of the shepherds first thing tomorrow morning."
Lucina quivers upright in surprise, her hands hitting the table. "W-what?" she cries. "But Christmas is just next week. What business do you have in Regna Ferox? What's going on?"
"Peace, Lucina!" Chrom firmly replies. "As the warriors of Ylisse, it is a grave responsibility for us to assist our allies in situations like this.
Morgan, who has been staring at his plate, finally speaks up. "M-Mother, can you tell us what actually is happening in Regna Ferox? Why would the Khans need the Ylisseans' assistance unless they're up against a huge enemy?"
"You really took after your Mother, Morgan." Chrom grins. "Lucina, take your seat and hear what your Mother has to say."
"The Feroxi scouts have reported sightings of a huge army of Risen forming in the hills just south of Regna Ferox. The Khans asked for our assistance because their troops will be outnumbered based on the scouts' reports." Robin explains. "Look, I know that celebrating Christmas together has been a family tradition and believe me when I say this isn't easy for your Father and I but it has to be done." Robin adds, placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder.
Lucina, now seated, finally calms down. "F-fine," she grumbles, trying to hold back her tears. "When are we leaving?"
In surprise, Robin takes a quick glance at her husband.
"You and Morgan will be staying in Ylisse, Lucina," Chrom declares. "It is not safe for children to be a part of this mess and besides, if anything ever happened to the two of you, Robin and I will never be able to forgive ourselves. The Shepherds and the Feroxi army should be more than enough to handle a Risen army."
"B-but this is what Lucy and I have prepared for, Dad! We're good enough and you know it!" the quiet Morgan breaks out in argument. "I want to help Mother in setting out strategies! Please!"
"Peace, Morgan. You know your Father is right," Robin stands and places her hand on Morgan's head.
"Please! You know how hard I've trained!" Morgan bids, his hands curled and his head bowed, facing the half-full plate.
"Enough, Morgan," Lucina says quietly. "Mother and Father are right, and it is our duty as their kids and as a part of the Exalted family to survive under any circumstance."
The dinner goes incredibly gracelessly with Morgan and Lucina taking small bites, as if they have lost their appetite. The roast and the potatoes have gone cold and dry. After getting enough food, the Family bids each other a good night and Morgan and Lucina go to talk in the older sibling's room.
"Morgan, what are you doing?" Lucina says curiously at the boy who is pacing back and forth on the bedroom floor.
"I just can't get over the fact that our own parents find us useless enough to leave us out of the fight! You've been training, I've been training, what else do they want?" replies Morgan who is getting more and more irate.
"Morgan, you know that our parents know best. The least we can do is send them our wishes tomorrow morning before they leave with the rest of the shepherds, okay?" Lucina implies.
"Hmm," the younger sibling grunts. "Are they leaving by foot?"
"No, they will be taking a couple of horse-pulled caravans for their supplies," answered Lucina.
The boy's frown faded into a smile, stretching from either side of his face. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking Lucy? It's time for us to show our worth."
"No, Morgan. Whatever it is that you are planning; I will take no part of," goes his sister.
"At the break of dawn, we hide inside the caravans so no one can see us. We then join the shepherds; Mother and Father are left with no choice but to let us fight! Gods, this is perfect!" Morgan jumps up and down in enthusiasm.
Lucina sniggers at her brother's idea. "Listen, Morgan. You're a smart boy, a prodigy, even, however; that's probably the stupidest thing I've heard. Gods, Morgan. What makes you think Father will let us through easily?"
Before Morgan could even answer, the two are surprised by gentle knocks on the door.
"W-who's there?" Lucina cries, going towards the door.
"It's me, I need to talk to the both you," replies a familiar voice.
"It's Mother." Morgan adds as he opens the door.
Robin is wearing a beautiful silken night dress with her white hair flowing elegantly. In her hands are two packages, one bigger than the other. She proceeds to take a seat on the bed and gestures for the kids to come closer. "Come here, I have your presents," she says gently.
Morgan and his sister sit beside their mother. "Mother, I'm sorry for how I acted back in the dining room. I must've upset Father." Morgan says with his head bent, avoiding eye-contact with his Mother. "I've really spoken out of terms."
"Me too Mother," Lucina says, grabbing her Mother's hand.
Robin gently squeezes her kids' hands. "Here, open these. Since we probably won't be seeing each other this Christmas, I thought it would be a good idea for me to give your presents early, no?"
The siblings opened their individual packages. Lucina's contained a heart-shaped pendant with a small picture of her parents, her brother and herself. "Ah! I remember when we had an artist draw this for us! I love it Mother, thank you very much!" The blue-haired girl wraps her arms sound her mother.
"Whoa, what is this?" Morgan says out loud. "It's a tome!"
"Yes, son," smiled Robin. "This tome was the very first one I got to use ever since your father found me lying unconscious several years ago. It's not the strongest of spells but I will hold its sentiment forever. I figured, however, that it would be most useful in the hands of a budding tactician such as yourself." she strokes Morgan's hair and pinches his cheeks slightly. "Gods, the two of you have grown up so fast."
The three spend the night reminiscing about their happy memories as a family. After a while, Robin bids her children a good night and the kids wish her and the shepherds a good luck on the quest. Lucina and Morgan continue talking about Morgan's plan. Lucina, although hesitant, decided to join Morgan, more so because she was worried that he'll end up doing something even more dim-witted. The two agree to meet at the stables before the break of dawn
Although the siblings have wished each other a good night, neither of them sleeps. Morgan immediately starts packing his things for tomorrow's quest. "My book, a bottle of ink, a couple of potions, some parchment," says the boy to himself. "I feel like I'm forgetting something," he exclaims while wandering around his bedroom. "Ah, Mother's tome!" the boy goes to grab the Thunder tome and places it in his leather sling bag.
On the adjacent room, the blue-haired teenager is also stuffing her fair share of things into her bag. In it are her potions and spare clothes. She also prepared her dagger and her sword. Around her neck hangs her Christmas present; the locket given to her by Robin.
Hey there! Thanks for reading this chapter, I really appreciate it. Just so you know, I am very open for critiques and constructive criticism so do leave a review if you wish. Also, if you manage to spot any grammatical inconsistencies and/or errors, I would appreciate it greatly if you point them out so I can edit. Thanks again and I hope you enjoyed reading!
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction based on existing characters and settings from existing franchises. I own none of these characters (unless stated) and they belong to their respective owners and corporations. In no way am I earning anything from writing my fan-fictions.
